釋迦方志 1.86

1.86

The kingdom of Vārāṇasī (in Central India, anciently Poluonai): It is more than four thousand li in circuit. The capital borders the Ganges to the west, being less than twenty li long and about six li wide. The population is abundant, but most believe in non-Buddhist paths. There are more than thirty monasteries with over three thousand monks, all belonging to the Hīnayāna Saṃmatīya school. There are more than one hundred deva temples with over ten thousand non-Buddhists, most of whom worship the liṅga of Maheśvara. Within the great city are twenty deva temples; the liṅga is more than one hundred feet tall. Northeast of the city is the Vārāṇasī River; to the west is a stūpa built by King Aśoka, more than one hundred feet high, in front of which stands a stone pillar of green moss-like stone reflecting the Buddha's image. More than ten li northeast of the river is the Mṛgadāva Monastery. Its precinct is divided into eight quarters, enclosed by continuous walls. With layered eaves and multistoried pavilions, it houses one thousand five hundred monks, all belonging to the Hīnayāna Saṃmatīya school. There is a vihāra of the Buddha over two hundred feet high; its brick niches are arranged on all four sides across a hundred tiers, all with bas-relief golden images, brass Buddhas, and the like. To the southwest, the next stūpa is over one hundred feet high, in front of which stands a stone pillar over seventy feet high; clear and transparent, images appear upon it according to the sincerity and good or bad karma [of those who pray]. This is the site where, having attained awakening, the Buddha first turned the wheel of the Dharma. Beside it are three stūpas where the three past Buddhas walked and sat. Nearby are several stūpas where five hundred pratyekabuddhas entered extinction. Beside them is another stūpa where the Bodhisattva Maitreya received his prediction [of buddhahood]. Farther west is a stūpa where, in the past, when the Buddha was the Bodhisattva Prabhāpāla, Kāśyapa Buddha predicted his present attainment of buddhahood. Next to the south is the promenade of the four Buddhas, fifty paces long and seven feet high, built of stacked blue stone, upon which an image of Śākyamuni walking is crafted. The image has a distinctive form, with a protuberance rising on the uṣṇīṣa and strands of hair emerging from the head, manifesting divine efficacy. The monastery has a great many traces; its vihāras and stūpas number in the hundreds and cannot be detailed completely. West of the monastery is a clear pond, two hundred paces in circuit, where the Buddha once bathed. To the west is a smaller pond where the Buddha once washed his bowl. To the north is another small pond where the Buddha once washed his robes. Dragons abide in these three ponds; their water is sweet and pure. If anyone insolently contaminates them, a makara beast emerges and harms them. Beside them is a square stone bearing the imprint of the pattern of the Buddha's kāṣāya robe; if non-Buddhists or wicked men tread disrespectfully upon it, the dragons of the pond stir up wind and rain.