代宗朝贈司空大辨正廣智三藏和上表制集 4.92

4.92

A single moon glides through the sky, yet myriad streams are not obscured; Five Indias hang with portents, and the Tripiṭaka Master is born. Of whom is this spoken? It is our Great Master. The Great Master's Dharma name was Amoghavajra; he was the son of a northern Indian brāhmaṇa. Earlier, his mother encountered a physiognomist who said, 'You will certainly give birth to a bodhisattva.' Thereupon he vanished. A few days later, she indeed dreamed that the Buddha smiled and emitted light from his eyes to bestow abhiṣeka on her head. When she awoke, she still perceived the chamber bright as day, and consequently became pregnant. Losing his father early, at the age of ten he followed his maternal uncle to Wuwei Commandery; at thirteen he traveled to Taiyuan Prefecture, and soon entered Chang'an to seek the essential path of transcendence. Seeing the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Propagation of the Teaching, Vajrabodhi, he regarded him as his true master. Initially, [Vajrabodhi] tested him by teaching him the Siddhaṃ syllabary and ordering him to recite Sanskrit sūtras. The Sanskrit words were intricate and precise, yet hearing them once, he lost none. [Vajrabodhi] then permitted him to enter the maṇḍala altar and conferred on him the precept of generating the bodhicitta. When he had just reached the age of fifteen, [Vajrabodhi] had him leave home. At twenty, he took full ordination under the Sarvāstivāda and became a great monk (bhikṣu). Thoroughly versed in the characteristics of the vinaya, knowing them he did not abide in them; wishing to study the treatise on phonology (śabdavidyā) and fathom the Yoga school, he informed his former master. His master did not grant it at first. At night, [his master] dreamed that the images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas all came walking, and said, 'What I dreamed indicates that the Dharma treasury has someone to whom it may be entrusted.' Thereupon he transmitted to him the three mysteries and expounded the five wisdoms; what usually required twelve years of work was accomplished in six months. In the autumn of the twenty-ninth year of the Kaiyuan reign (741), after the former master grew weary of the age and entered his stūpa, an edict ordered [Amoghavajra] to carry the state credentials as an envoy to Siṁhala. White waves stretched like mountains; huge aquatic beasts bestrode the seas; great surges boiled and welled; ferocious winds violently agitated. Whenever difficulties arose, he brandished the vajra pestle, recited the Pratisarā Dhāraṇī, repelled the disasters, and all became tranquil; the vessel reached that country. His monk disciples Hanguang and Huibian witnessed this with their own eyes. The king of Siṁhala went out to the suburbs to welcome him, made offerings in his palace for seven days, bathed the Great Master with vessels of pure gold, and proceeded on his elbows and knees to inquire after his health, maintaining the Indian protocol. The king's relatives, prime ministers, and court officials exhausted their reverence and respect. In that country, there was the holy man Samantabhadra Ācārya, whose stage was adjacent to the holy ground and whose virtue was revered in that age. [Amoghavajra] went to seek guidance from him, fully expressing his utmost sincerity, and presented offerings of gold, cowries, and jewels. [The Ācārya] said, 'What I treasure is the mind, not these treasures.' Soon he conferred upon him the five hundred-odd Sanskrit manuscripts of secret scriptures, sūtras, and treatises containing the Eighteen Assemblies of the Vajraśekhara Yoga and the five-division abhiṣeka mantras of the Mahāvairocana Great Compassion Garbhadhātu. Everyone considered that he had obtained the authentic lineage. On another day, the king staged an elephant-taming display to test the Great Master. The Great Master formed the Buddha-Eye seal, abided in the samādhi of loving-kindness, and recited mantras to turn them back. The elephants tumbled over and could not advance. The king held him in great awe and marvel. How did this differ from [the Buddha's] subduing the drunken elephant with his fingers? Thus one knows that the flowers of the Saptaparṇa originally have no fragrance, and how could the lodge of the five aggregates harbor a self or a person? In samādhi he demonstrated his ability and wisdom. In the sixth year of the Tianbao reign (747), returning from Siṁhala, Xuanzong invited him to enter [the palace] to erect an altar and personally conferred abhiṣeka upon [the Emperor]. He resided at Jingying Temple. At that time, a severe drought caused concern at the ramparts. The Great Master formed an altar, and right on time, oil-dark clouds arose on all four sides, pouring down a torrential rain. Thereupon, the Emperor brought forth precious caskets from the inner palace and bestowed a purple kaṣāya and two hundred bolts of silk to honor his spiritual efficacy. Or when there were disasters of great winds uprooting trees, or pestilence from the evil stars losing their tracks, he only had to raise his mind and silently recite, and the response was like an echo or shadow. In the thirteenth year (754), an imperial decree ordered him to go to Wuwei at the request of Military Commissioner Geshu Han, who had sent an envoy. He established a great arena, conferring the five-division abhiṣeka and the Vajradhātu Mahāmaṇḍala method upon the Indian monk Hanguang and lay disciples such as Li Yuancong, Commander of the Opening of the Office. At that time, the ground of the arena trembled greatly. The scattered flowers of those with karmic obstacles did not fall, but adhered to the canopy above, like swarms of bees tasting the fragrant stamens, unable to be driven away, falling only after the rite was concluded. How could it be so spiritual as this? In the tenth month, an imperial decree summoned him back to the capital to reside at Daxingshan Temple. When, during the Zhide reign, Emperor Suzong had his temporary headquarters at Lingwu, the Great Master secretly submitted the scripture of the eight-direction divine banners of Acalanātha, and precisely set the date for recovering the capital, which proved true like a tally. In the Qianyuan reign, he was invited into the inner palace to perform homa and personally conferred abhiṣeka [on the Emperor]. Abundant favors arrived repeatedly, far beyond standard etiquette. Soon he was ordered to chant and recite at Zhiju Temple, whereupon he moved the jade uṣṇīṣa hair of the principal deity to suddenly shine with great brilliance, illuminating the cliffs and valleys. And when our Baoying [Emperor, Daizong,] ascended the court to drive the golden-wheel chariot, his sagely virtues accumulated ever more; serving [Amoghavajra] as his master, he revered the Way. He granted him the rank of Specially Advanced, Court of Imperial Regalia Acting Chamberlain, and added the title of Vast Wisdom. Personally receiving the secret subtleties, auspiciousness arrived. Either Samantabhadra poured forth divine light in the purple hall, where the six palaces rendered homage; or Mañjuśrī manifested auspicious signs at the Golden Pavilion, worshipped by the myriad-chariot Emperor; or while translating the Sanskrit texts of the Ghanavyūha and State Protection, clouds flew in five colors; or while rendering the palm-leaf gāthās of the Ākāśagarbha, mist enveloped a thousand monks. The Great Master undertook the imperial command to ascend Mount Qingliang (Wutai), and receiving imperial grace, returned to the imperial city. All these efficacy and responses are difficult to describe fully. One realizes then that the flower in empty space inherently has no birth or death; how could the function of Thusness have coming or going? In total, the sūtras translated on various occasions in obedience to imperial edicts amounted to eighty-three works in one hundred and twenty scrolls; all have been promulgated and entered into the canon catalogue. He also petitioned that all temples under Heaven regard Mañjuśrī as the seat-leader, and accordingly establish courtyards and erect images to protect the realm and express deep reverence. In the eighth year of the Dali reign (773), there was an imperial decision: at the original courtyard of Xingshan, the Golden Pavilion of Mañjuśrī was built anew. Palace funds were issued from within, and the artisans came eagerly like children; precious parasols hung from the highest heavens, and imperial incense was also bestowed by the One Man. The dust-mote-like multitudes seemed to well forth from the earth; music of the Heavenly realm seemed to descend from the sky. On the eleventh day of the sixth month of the ninth year (774), an edict promoted the Great Master to Commander of the Opening of the Office Equal in Rank to the Three Excellencies, enfeoffed him as Duke of the State of Su, with a fief of three thousand households, while the rest remained as before. Honorific inquiries were attentive and generous; imperial favors and splendor were frequent. The Supreme Pole lowered its reverence to perform the rites of a disciple; banners, images, jade, and silks were bestowed; imperial letters filled boxes, and palace couriers succeeded one another in view. Since ancient times, there has never been one with such pure faith as our Sovereign, nor with such sincere loyalty as our Master! From the age of twenty until he reached his seventies, for over fifty years, the Great Master performed the four-period chanting and recitation in the arena daily, ascending to the imperial palace above and descending to the common couch below, without an instant's interruption. The cold pines among ten thousand peaks that brave severe frost to stay dark green may serve to illustrate his upright discipline. Moreover, entering vermilion gates was to him like thatched doors; for five or three years he wore clothes like quails' feathers. Though he rode among fine steeds, he constantly abided in the purity of the nine samāpattis. Standing alone and unapproachable, he was one with Great Pervading Wisdom; the many-colored maṇi jewel originally has no fixed hue; colors cease on their own, what do they do to me? Truly, he was the profound artisan of the mantras, the great treasure of the Dharma King! Alas! A bodhisattva manifests in response to attain the non-abiding mind; the Tathāgata in the sala grove crossed over the multitudes of sentient beings. Manifesting a slight illness, he knew on his own the time of his departure. On the fifteenth day of that month, he accordingly ordered his disciples to submit a memorial taking his leave and entrusted his subsequent affairs. Shaving his hair and bathing, he lay on his right side with feet folded, and serenely passed away. His worldly age was seventy; his Dharma age was fifty. At that time, torrential rain poured down, but a small square of sky cleared. Grief and lamentation filled the nine-tiered palace; the court was suspended for three days. Bestowed were three hundred bolts of silk, two hundred bolts of cloth, three hundred thousand cash, four hundred piculs of rice and flour combined, sesame oil, firewood, charcoal, and provisions outside of the various seven-day memorial feasts. In addition, two million two hundred and fifty thousand cash was granted to erect a spiritual stūpa for the realm to look up to. Furthermore, an imperial edict appointed Li Xiancheng, a High-Grade eunuch, to manage, and Li Yuancong, Commissioner of Merit and Virtue and Commander of the Opening of the Office Equal in Rank to the Three Excellencies, to supervise. On the sixth day of the seventh month, he was granted a ritual burial at Shaoling Plain south of Feng. On that day, the Secretariat-Chancellery issued an imperial directive posthumously granting him the title of Minister of Works, with the posthumous name of Tripitaka Master and Upādhyāya Amoghavajra of Great Eloquence, Rectitude, and Vast Wisdom. In addition, Liu Xianhe, Court Attendant of the Inner Palace, was dispatched to proclaim the eulogy and offer sacrifices. Incense wood was issued from the inner palace to burn his spiritual coffin, fulfilling the rites of cremation. That the temple pond dried up and its flowers withered was the portent of the end; dreaming of the banner tilting and the pavilion collapsing was the moment of alarming warning. The signs of the twin groves turning white and the sensation of cave waters flowing backward—how are these confined to former times? The prime ministers and hundred officials who had once received the Dharma seal all wept with grief. His disciples, such as Daji, Monk of Daxingshan Temple, Imperially Appointed Regular Commissioner of Merit and Virtue and Concurrent Palace Attendant, together with the fourfold disciples numbering tens of thousands, lamented that the great night had grown dark again and grieved that the lamp of wisdom was permanently extinguished. Not considering me lacking in talent, they ordered me to record his fragrant virtue. I, Feixi, unworthily attended the seat of Kumārajīva, presumptuously receiving the gathering of the Qin Emperor; imagining the weeping of Gao Chai, it is completely like the sight of tears of blood over fallen blossoms. To express the exposition of the inexpressible, I praise the dragon among dragons. The verse says: