道宣律師感通錄 1.34

1.34

又今日戒壇之興。佛所重也。祇桓一寺。頓結三壇。兩居佛院。惟佛所登為集諸佛登壇。而論僧尼結戒也。僧院一壇為受具者。莊嚴別窟如須彌座。神景石柱守護不虧。下至水際經劫無沒。北天竺東。見有石壇相狀。弘律師今何緣特立壇相。天人幽顯莫不贊悅。余答云。曾見僧傳南林戒壇。意便重之。故仰則也。彼云。豈惟一所。今重幽求。南方大有。初昔宋求那跋摩。於蔡州立壇。晉竺法護於瓦官寺立壇。晉支道林於石城汾各立一壇。晉支法存於若耶溪謝敷隱處立壇。竺道一於洞庭山立壇。竺道生於吳中虎丘山立壇。宋智嚴於上定林立壇。宋慧觀於石梁寺立壇。齊僧敷於無湖立壇。梁法超於南㵎立壇。梁僧祐於上雲居拪霞歸善愛敬四處立壇。今荊州四層剎基。長沙剎基。大明寺前湖中並是戒壇。今以事斷。江右渝州已下。迄于江淮之南。通計戒壇。總有三百餘所。山東河北關內劍南。戒壇事不絕。使江表佛法今四五百年曾不廢退。由戒壇也。戒為法之初。元本立而不可傾也。自北河之左右。曾不聞名。由此佛法三被誅殄。又江漢之南。山川秀麗綺錯。見便忘返者。土地之然也。人依外根。故使情智聰敏形心勇銳也。遂能詳度佛教。深有可依。無所疑慮。不可忘廢也。中原兩河。晉氏南渡之後。分為一十六國。以武猛相陵。佛法三除。並是北狄之亂也。本非文地。隨心即斷。曾未大觀。豈不然乎。故戒壇之舉。住持之式相也。眾僧說戒受戒。咸往登之事訖。東迴左轉南出而返也。余曰。經中咸言。右旋右繞右脇等相。今云。左遶如何。答云。天常法爾人乃右也。故日月星辰皆左行也。天氣風轉遂從西沒。不見月之始生也。初在西方漸漸而東。亦從西沒漸上東迴也。西沒風轉也。地上蔓草生必左旋。此天常也。今有西從日月之轉人謀也。佛亦從之左轉者。此方不為清淨也。故如來右脇而臥。首北面西。觀本生地佛法久流之方也。制諸比丘悉右脇臥。因從請出祇桓圖相。遂取紙畫分齊一一諸院。述其源流如別。可有數紙。不久復有天來云。姓姚氏云云。

He also said: "The rise of ordination platforms today is what the Buddha esteemed. In the single monastery of Jetavana, three platforms were established at once. Two were in the Buddha's courtyard; only the Buddha ascended them, to assemble the Buddhas upon ascending the platform, and to discuss the establishment of precepts for monks and nuns. The one platform in the monks' courtyard was for those receiving the full precepts. It was an adorned separate chamber like Mount Sumeru; its divine radiant stone pillars were guarded without decline, reaching down to the water's edge, never submerged through the kalpas. To the east of Northern India, the features of a stone platform are presently seen. For what reason has Vinaya Master Hong now specially erected the form of a platform? Both devas and men, unseen and visible, all praise and rejoice in it." I replied: "I once saw the Southern Forest Ordination Platform in the monastic biographies, and mentally esteemed it; therefore I looked up to and modeled after it." He said: "How could it be only one place? Now, seeking deeply into what is hidden, there are very many in the south. In the beginning, formerly in the Liu Song, Guṇavarman established a platform at Caizhou. In the Jin, Dharmarakṣa established a platform at Waguan Temple. In the Jin, Zhi Daolin established a platform each at Shicheng and Fen. In the Jin, Zhi Facun established a platform at the hermitage of Xie Fu by the Ruoye Stream. Zhu Daoyi established a platform at Mount Dongting. Zhu Daosheng established a platform at Mount Huqiu in Wu. In the Song, Zhiyan established a platform at Upper Dinglin. In the Song, Huiguan established a platform at Shiliang Temple. In the Qi, Sengfu established a platform at Wuhu. In the Liang, Fachao established a platform at Nanjian. In the Liang, Sengyou established a platform at four places: Upper Yunju, Qixia, Guishan, and Aijing. Now the foundation of the four-story pagoda in Jingzhou, the foundation of the Changsha pagoda, and in the lake before Daming Temple—all are ordination platforms. Deciding by the facts today, from Yuzhou in Jiangyou downward, reaching south of the Yangzi and Huai rivers, calculating the ordination platforms altogether, there are more than three hundred in total. In Shandong, Hebei, Guannei, and Jiannan, the affair of ordination platforms was never broken off. That the Buddha-Dharma in the regions south of the Yangzi has not declined or retrograded for four or five hundred years up to now is due to the ordination platforms. Precepts are the beginning of the Dharma; when the root is established, it cannot be overturned. To the left and right of the northern river, their names were never heard; on this account, the Buddha-Dharma was thrice eradicated. Furthermore, south of the Yangzi and Han rivers, the mountains and rivers are magnificent and interlaced; those who see them forget to return, which is due to the nature of the land. Because people depend on their external faculties, their emotional intelligence is bright and discerning, and their bodies and minds are bold and keen. Thus they are able to examine and deliberate upon the Buddhist teachings, finding them deeply reliable, with nothing to doubt, and never to be forgotten or abandoned. In the Central Plains and between the Two Rivers, after the Jin house crossed south, the region was divided into sixteen states, encroaching on one another with martial ferocity; the three eliminations of the Buddha-Dharma were all due to the turmoil of the northern barbarians. Originally not a land of culture, they cut things off as their impulses dictated, having never taken a broad view. How could it be otherwise? Therefore, the raising of an ordination platform is the model and hallmark of sustaining [the Dharma]. When the saṃgha recites the precepts and confers the precepts, they all ascend it; when the affair is finished, they turn east, revolve to the left, and exit to the south to return." I said: "The sūtras all speak of turning clockwise, circumambulating clockwise, lying on the right side, and such marks. Why do you now speak of circumambulating to the left?" He replied: "Turning to the left is the constant nature of heaven; only humans turn to the right. Therefore the sun, moon, and stars all move to the left. The celestial wind shifts, and they consequently set in the west. Do you not see the birth of the new moon? At first it is in the west, and gradually moves east; it also sets in the west, gradually rising and turning east. Setting in the west is the turning of the wind. Creeping plants growing on the earth must coil to the left; this is the constant nature of heaven. Now, having things from the west follow the rotation of the sun and moon is human design. That the Buddha also followed turning to the left was because this land did not regard it as pure. Therefore the Tathāgata lay on his right side, head north and face west, looking toward his native birthplace and the region where the Buddha-Dharma would long circulate. He instituted that all monks lie on their right sides." Because of this, I asked him to bring forth the plan and image of Jetavana. He then took paper and drew the boundaries of each and every courtyard, describing their origins and developments on separate sheets, perhaps several sheets of paper. Before long, another deva came, saying his surname was Yao, and so forth.