法苑珠林 100.5

100.5

I have heard that the nine rivers had their courses dredged and the records were stored on the Numinous Mound; the four directions aligned with the carpenter's marking-line, and the books were kept on Mount Qunyu. There are also the stone-engraved texts of the Three Sovereigns of the Blue Mound and the Purple Mansion, and the marvelous characters of the Liujia with green tallies and yellow cords. Yet how could these compare to the Tathāgata's secret treasury, likened to a radiant jewel, or that which all buddhas venerate, identical to a clear mirror? As for the teachings of the four noble truths in the Deer Park and the texts of the eight treasuries in the Garden of Ascetics: could even the gigantic strength of Mount Gandhamādana bear their weight? Even the jewel casket of the dragon palace cannot tally them. This is truly because our teacher Śākyamuni deeply laid the roots of virtue starting from the beginning of the three incalculable kalpas; his wondrous fruition alone rose high, accomplished at the end of the hundred kalpas. He gathered the entire dharmadhātu to serve as his wisdom, and exhausted empty space to make his body. How could it merely be that he received his vital breath from the two modes of nature and that his way simply encompassed the myriad things? Therefore, his body is nowhere absent, its measure extending beyond all standards and rules; his wisdom leaves nothing undone, its function surpassing all conception and discourse. He cannot be measured by human affairs; how could he be discussed in terms of spatial locations? He is indeed the Great Teacher of the three realms, stepping alone through myriad ages! Being of mediocre talent, how could I describe him exhaustively? Even if the Duke of Zhou instituted rites and composed music, Confucius expounded the Changes and edited the Odes, Zi-wo and Zi-gong possessed eloquence, Ran You and Zixia were versed in literary scholarship, down to Zuo Yuanfang, Ge Zhichuan, Heshanggong, and the Archivist beneath the Pillar—though all matched strides within this worldly sphere, how could they be worth speaking of [beside him]? Since the merits of us sentient beings were exhausted, the Dharma King passed away, turning his head to the north by the Hiraṇyavatī River at the age of eighty. When his responsive body shattered like grains and his blood flowed, what could recall him? They vied to resolve their final doubts; they competed to offer their parting provisions. Alas! When the torch of wisdom and the cloud of compassion were extinguished, how lamentable indeed was it for his children in the long night! Thereupon, they contemplated his marks and characteristics in fragrant sandalwood, and recorded the fish-traps and haresnared words upon palm leaves. The tripiṭaka was received and maintained; the four refuges assumed their successional stations. That the exemplary way of our Teacher has not fallen into ruin is solely relying on this! However, the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma have declined and shifted, and the sentiments of the multitudes have grown superficial and degenerate. As human generations passed from ancient to modern times down to the degenerate era, the Dharma, having journeyed north, gradually spread eastward. Thus the Golden Man appeared in the dream at the bedchamber of Liu Zhuang [Emperor Ming], and Kāśyapa Mātaṅga awaited the invitation of Cai Yin. The transmission of the bequeathed teachings to the land of Han first began here, and it has been more than six hundred years up to the present. From then on, Kang Senghui, Dharmarakṣa, Fotudeng, and Kumārajīva arrived in succession, magnificently proclaiming the Vaipulya teachings. Consequently, comrades such as Daosheng and Dao'an, and followers such as Huiyan and Huiguan, were all able to silence their voices, hang up their official caps, and converge in devotion toward him. Coming down to the August Tang, Dharma Master Xuanzang's virtue surpassed all antiquity and his renown soared through the cosmos. He traveled through one hundred and fifty countries; he translated one thousand five hundred fascicles of sūtras and śāstras. Thoroughly good and thoroughly beautiful, he is truly worthy of praise and veneration. The treasured scrolls produced before and after him approach nearly five thousand. The Dharma gate has been broadly propagated, the community of dark robes has flourished, and the benefit received by monastics and laypeople alike—how could it ever be told? In my youth I studied the texts and classics of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, and in later years I admired the profound words of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi. Both of these fall short of crossing the river of suffering and still remain submerged within the burning house. What can endure long and be truly great is solely the Buddhist teaching! Thereupon I aspired to the pure dust of previous generations, looked up to the distant traces of all the eminent figures, took refuge in this right path, and pulled myself out from the sinking mire. Those originally styled free men detached from desire and great generals who destroy heresy—when I rejoice in my companions, does it not refer to these? Now I list the translations of earlier and later periods, amounting to over five thousand fascicles of various scriptures produced across a total of eighteen dynasties. Through the eastward transmission of the Buddhadharma, three suppressions of the Dharma caused the loss of the translated texts of three hundred and ten works, in five hundred and thirty-eight fascicles. That which is listed here provides an overarching account of the eras of emperors and rulers, as well as the classifications and outlines of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna scriptures, completely recording persons and teachings to serve as a preservation of the great corpus. It also records the ancient and modern learned talents among monastics and laypeople who, relying upon Buddhist sūtras, produced approximately three thousand fascicles representing the hundred schools and various masters. It also lists the amount of merit generated by rulers through the ages, and also lists the hidden and manifest years of the Buddha's descent into Jambudvīpa, briefly calculating the eras and intervals. Essential records such as these are all appended thereafter, in the hope that future wise ones may join in examining and broadly recording them.