代宗朝贈司空大辨正廣智三藏和上表制集 4.36

4.36

The śramaṇa Amoghavajra states: Amoghavajra served his late teacher in youth, over two twelve-year cycles ago. Having received heavenly favor early on, for over thirty years I have expounded the Yoga Dharma gate and received the gracious consideration of successive sagely monarchs. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, exceptional benevolence has grown ever deeper, granting me the yellow pavilion to reside in and descending from the purple palace to inquire about the Dao. Favours have accumulated repeatedly, day after day and month after month. Though I exerted my sincere devotion, how could I repay one ten-thousandth of it? But dew and lightning are hard to halt; willows easily wither. Ever since I took to my bed, from spring to summer, Your Majesty has been deeply concerned, inquiring after me repeatedly, with inner envoys and famous physicians seeing each other on the roads. Yet when an illness reaches the vitals, even acupuncture and medicine can hardly restore life; how could a mortal body subject to arising and ceasing be made firm by attachment and longing? Suddenly since last night, I felt my strength abruptly fail, and my body seemed no longer mine; my breath gasped from moment to moment, and my consciousness gradually grew faint. Parting forever from the Sacred Court, I cannot bear my longing and devotion. Amoghavajra has now passed beyond middle age, so this is not a premature death. Only, in the past I crossed the southern seas and travelled through the Five Indias, seeking what had not been heard and learning what had not been understood; I obtained one hundred thousand verses of the Vajraśekhara Yoga, dhāraṇīs of various divisions, and over five hundred thousand verses of scriptures and treatises. I hoped to translate them all to make a small repayment to the nation's favour. Why has my lifelong wish not been completed while my life has suddenly run out? This is what Amoghavajra regrets. I humbly pray that Your Majesty descend the compassionate benefit of the buddhas and deign to fulfill the wishes of men below. Amoghavajra previously submitted the Sūtra of the Buddha-Realm of the Great Holy Mañjuśrī; Your Sagely Mind then permitted its dissemination within and outside [the court]. I humbly pray you take pity and remember my deathbed words, in the hope of bringing blessing to the imperial house and multiplying auspiciousness for myriad kalpas. This would truly be the glory of a monk in life and in death. The five-pronged vajra bell and pestle transmitted from my late master, along with a silver dish, bodhi seeds, a crystal rosary, and a box, are all respectfully presented along with this memorial. Facing the paper, my tears flow in grief. Parting forever from the sagely era, I am overwhelmed with longing. Respectfully, through the Supervisory Envoy Li Xiancheng, I present this memorial to express my farewell and submit it for hearing. The śramaṇa Amoghavajra, in sincere sorrow and sincere devotion, respectfully speaks.