翻譯名義集 3.133

3.133

[Aśoka] Also called ashuke (aśoka); the Great Treatise translates it as "tree of sorrowless flowers" (aśoka-flower tree). The Sūtra of Causes and Effects says: "On the eighth day of the second month, the Lady went to the Lumbinī Grove, saw the sorrowless flowers, raised her right hand to pluck [one], and [the child] emerged from her right side." The Later Han Faben neizhuan says: "Emperor Ming asked Dharma Master Dharmaratna, 'Can the month and day of the Buddha's birth be known?' Dharmaratna said, 'In the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao, the jiayin year, on the eighth day of the fourth month, within the Lumbinī Grove beneath a parākṣa tree, he was born from the right side.' Thus the Lalitavistara says: 'He widely radiated a great light illuminating the trichiliocosm.' This corresponds to the Zhoushu yiji, which says: 'In the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao, the jiayin year, on the eighth day of the fourth month, rivers, springs, and pools suddenly surged and rose, and wells all overflowed. Palaces, houses, mountains, rivers, and the great earth all shook. That night, a five-colored vapor arose and penetrated the Taiwei enclosure, spreading across the western quarter, completely turning blue-green and red. King Zhao immediately asked the Grand Astrologer Su You, "What omen is this?" Su You said, "A great sage has been born in the western regions; therefore this auspicious sign appears." King Zhao said, "What will become of All-under-Heaven?" Su You said, "For the moment there is nothing else, but after a thousand years, the sound of his teachings will reach here." King Zhao then sent men to carve a stone to record it, burying it before the heavenly shrine in the southern suburbs. The sixth ruler of Zhou, King Mu, Man, in his fifty-second year, the renshen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, when the Buddha was seventy-nine years of age, he only then entered extinction.' Thus the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'On the fifteenth day of the second month, when approaching nirvāṇa, he emitted various lights, the great earth shook, his voice reached the Peak of Existence (bhavāgra), and the light pervaded the trichiliocosm.' This corresponds to the Zhoushu yiji, which says: 'In the fifty-second year of King Mu's reign, the renshen year, on the dawn of the fifteenth day of the second month, a violent wind suddenly arose, damaging people's houses and breaking trees; mountains, rivers, and the great earth all shook. After noon the sky clouded over and turned black, and in the west were twelve white rainbows running through from south to north, not extinguishing throughout the night. King Mu asked the Grand Astrologer Hudu (pronounced guang), "What portent is this?" Hudu replied, saying, "In the west a great sage has entered extinction; it is merely the appearance of his departed spirit."'" Tanmozui of the Wei, as well as Falin of the Tang, Shenqing of Beishan, and Fashang's answer to the inquiry from Goguryeo, all agreed on this dynastic era. Jingxi's Fuxing also says: "It corresponds to this jiayin year of King Zhao of the Zhou." Second, Wang Jianqi of Qi in his Record of the Dhūta Monastery states: "The two Zhuangs of Zhou and Lu personally witnessed the mirror of the night illumination." Later, the sutra-translating scholar Fei Changfang of the Sui compiled the Lidai sanbao ji, [stating that] the Buddha [was born] in the tenth year of King Zhuang of Zhou, which corresponds to what the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Zuo Commentary state: "The seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the year being jiawu, on the eighth day of the fourth month." As the sign of his birth was already manifest, the Lalitavistara therefore says: "He widely radiated a great light, illuminating the trichiliocosm." This is what the Zuo Commentary describes as the fixed stars not appearing and the night being bright. The Ruiying jing says: "A bubbling star appeared below to attend the prince's birth." Therefore the Zuo Commentary says: "Stars fell like rain." The Lalitavistara (Benxing jing) states that the sky was cloudless and it naturally rained. The Zuo Commentary also states that it was accompanied by rain. It also says: "Achieving enlightenment corresponded to the eighteenth ruler, the nineteenth year of King Hui, guihai. Manifesting extinction corresponded to the twenty-first ruler, the fifth year of King Kuang, guichou, on the fifteenth day of the second month, when he was eighty years of age." Gushan's commentary on the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters and Jingjue's Tongyuan ji rely on this dynastic reckoning of Fei. This is because the Commentary on the Vimalakīrti says: "When the Buddha arose in the time of Zhou, stars fell like rain." Falin commented: "Relying solely on the fixed stars as proof to claim the Buddha's birth fails to realise that the fixed stars were due to another matter. Inspecting the Mañjuśrīparinirvāṇa Sūtra, it says: 'Two hundred and fifty years after the Buddha's extinction, Mañjuśrī went to the Snow Mountains, and having converted five hundred ṛṣis, returned to his native land, emitted a great light, illuminated the world everywhere, and entered nirvāṇa.' The auspicious sign of the fixed stars was precisely at that time. Furthermore, Changfang's statement that 'the Buddha attained enlightenment in the nineteenth year of King Hui of Zhou, guihai' also contains a great error. Why is this? Inspecting Liu Xiang's two old catalogues, they say: 'In the time of King Hui of Zhou, Buddhism had already gradually spread, and one hundred and fifty years later, Laozi only then spoke his five-thousand-word text.' If he only began to become a Buddha during the time of King Hui, the scriptural teachings should not have already been transmitted to Luoyang." Third, Dharma Master Dao'an of the Later Zhou in his Treatise on the Two Teachings says: "The light of wisdom shone afar, and King Zhuang thereby beheld the night illumination; the spiritual fluid just flowed, and Emperor Ming thereby had the divine dream." The note says: "The Spring and Autumn Annals and the Zuo Commentary say: 'In the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the year being jiawu, on the night of the xinmao day of the fourth month, the fixed stars did not appear and stars fell like rain, which was the tenth year of King Zhuang of Zhou.' King Zhuang's Biezhuan says: 'He then consulted the Yijing by divination, which said: "A bronze-colored man has appeared in the western regions; the reason the night is bright is that it is not a calamity for the Central Xia."' Moreover, according to Master Kumārajīva's chronology and the stone pillar inscriptions, both tally with the Spring and Autumn Annals. The Tathāgata was born in the fifth year of King Huan of Zhou, the yichou year; the Buddha entered extinction in the fifteenth year of King Xiang, the year being jiashen." Falin commented: "Dao'an's treatise relies on Kumārajīva's record; Kumārajīva's record follows An Shigao; and An Shigao translated in Luoyang during the time of Emperor Huan of Han. Trusting the scribes, they relied on Emperor Huan's time. But Kumārajīva only arrived in the Qin period, whereas Shigao arrived earlier in the Han dynasty; the two masters were nearly three hundred years apart. Trusting that succession and recording accordingly was not Dao'an's fault in hastily making a false presentation; it was entirely the error of the transmitters of that time." Furthermore, the Faxian zhuan says: "The Sage appeared in the Yin period, born in the twenty-sixth year of Wu Yi, the jiawu year." Bianzheng commented: "Although he travelled abroad to various countries, his transmission cannot be relied upon. The years and months are contradictory; strange customs are truly far-fetched." Furthermore, the Xiangzheng ji fixes it to the wuwu year in the time of King Ping; Falin commented: "Relying on the Xiangzheng ji has rarely seen any basis." Inspecting Tonghui's Record of Sages on Vulture Peak, in explaining the Buddha's birth, there are altogether eight different accounts: first, the time of Jie of Xia; second, the time of Wu Yi at the end of Shang; third, the time of King Zhao of Western Zhou; fourth, the time of King Mu; fifth, the time of King Ping of Eastern Zhou; sixth, the time of King Huan; seventh, the time of King Zhuang; eighth, Zhao Boxiu in the first year of the Great Zhou under the Liang, who met Vinaya Master Hongdu at Mount Lu and obtained the silent record of the various sages after the Buddha's extinction, deducing that it corresponded to the twenty-ninth ruler of the former Zhou, the second year of King Zhending (Liang), jiaxu. Since the times indicated earlier and later were so tangled and mixed, in the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan reign of the Tang, an imperial decree dispatched the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Liu Dewei, and others to ask Dharma Master Falin why the transmissions and narrations were discordant and lacked anything reliable. Thereupon Master Lin first set forth what was genuine and then presented what was erroneous. He then determined that the Buddha was born in the bingyin year of King Zhao of Zhou, and that the Bhagavat manifested extinction in the renshen year of King Mu of Zhou. Counting from this up to the present thirteenth year of Shaoxing, the guihai year, it is altogether 2,094 years (this is calculated according to Chan Master Yun's Pure Regulations; if according to Vinaya Master Wen's chronological biography, it is thirteen years less). The Xiyu ji says: "Since the Buddha's nirvāṇa, the various schools have different opinions: some say more than nine hundred and not yet a full thousand years have passed; some say more than one thousand two hundred years; some say more than one thousand three hundred years; some say more than one thousand five hundred years. However, since antiquity and modern times are distantly separated, and east and west are far removed, one should not rigidly adhere to asserting that one is right and the others are wrong." Therefore Vinaya Master Nanshan [Daoxuan] asked a heavenly being: "This land constantly transmits that the Buddha was from the Yin period, the time of King Zhao of Zhou, or Duke Zhuang of Lu, with differing accounts; how can it be definitively designated?" [The heavenly being] replied: "All have their reasons. I, a disciple, was born in heaven during the time of Jie of Xia and fully witnessed the Buddha's manifestations. Furthermore, the Buddha has three bodies. The dharmakāya and saṃbhogakāya are not seen by ordinary humans; they only transform those who have ascended to the stages (bhūmi) and above. Only the nirmāṇakāya universally covers the three thousand, ten thousand kotis of worlds. Thus there are ten thousand kotis of Śākyamunis who, in accordance with people's receptivity, are not fixed in their earlier or later appearances. Whether at the end of the Yin or under Duke Zhuang of Lu, all are within the great chiliocosm. Early and late all transmit a single transformation; receptivity and perception occur earlier or later according to capacity, while the dharmakāya and saṃbhogakāya are eternally quiescent in themselves, which is not to be doubted." Having concluded the discrimination of the dynastic eras, if one discusses the months: the Bathing the Buddha Sūtra says, "All Buddhas are born on the eighth day of the fourth month." The Ruiying jing also says born on the eighth of the fourth month; the Sarvāstivāda says born on the eighth of the second month; Fei Changfang says born on the night of the eighth day of the mid-spring second month; Shenqing says the Great Sage was born in Kapilavastu on the eighth day of the second month. As for the date of manifesting extinction, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says the fifteenth day of the second month when approaching nirvāṇa. However, these various texts differ because the Western Regions take the sixteenth of the yin month as the start of the year and the fifteenth of the yin month as the end of the year. They distinguish the three periods, while here we establish the four seasons; moreover, in setting the first month in the Eastern Land, the Three Dynasties differed: the Xia began the year with the yin month, the Yin began the year with the chou month, and the Zhou began the year with the zi month. Since the Buddha's birth and extinction are based on the Zhoushu, the count of months and days should follow the Ji house (Zhou). The Sanbao ji determines the fourth month to be the second month; hence Beishan says: "The second month of Zhou is the present twelfth month." And as the Great Sage was during the Zhou years, taking the eleventh month as the start of the year differed from the present age. In this month, heaven and earth are shut up, dragons and snakes hibernate, subtle yang is secretly distributed beneath the deep springs, and sprouts have not yet reached above the earth. Being born at this time is coming in response to the movement of cosmic qi; entering extinction at this time is departing in response to the cycle of succession. Now, examining the nirvāṇa in the second month as belonging to the twelfth month, this is completely fitting; but fixing the birth also to the twelfth month is not yet fully sound. Thus the Treatise on the Two Teachings says: "The Zhou took the eleventh month as the first month; the fourth month of the Spring and Autumn period is the second month of the Xia. According to India, the use of the first month is the same as the Xia." Furthermore, the Sengshi lüe says: "That Jiangbiao takes the present eighth day of the fourth month as the Buddha's birthday relies on the Ruiying jing. If using the Zhou first month, it should be the present eighth day of the second month; the present use of the month of the si branch is the sixth month of Zhou. Examining this improper use of the si month, it stems from using it upon hearing the sound, without grasping the reality to seek the actual time." Furthermore, the Treatise on the Two Teachings says: "Du Yu calculated using the Jin calendar, [finding it to be] the fifth day of the second month, xinmao; Dao'an together with Dong Gongfeng calculated using the Lu calendar, finding it to be the seventh day of the second month; using the former Zhou calendar, it is the eighth day of the second month." Moreover, today in the northern regions, bathing the Buddha is still observed on the eighth day of the twelfth month (la ba), which belongs to the festival of achieving enlightenment. Hence the Zhoushu yiji says: "In the second year of King Mu of Zhou, guiwei, on the eighth day of the second month, the Buddha attained enlightenment at the age of thirty, which corresponds precisely to today's eighth day of the twelfth month." The Xiyu ji says: "The Bodhisattva, on the eighth day of the second half of the month of Vaiśākha, which corresponds to the eighth day of the third month here—" The Sthavira school takes the fifteenth day of the second half of the month of Vaiśākha, which corresponds to the fifteenth day of the third month here. The Wenzhu xianji says: "The Buddha, at the age of eighty, on the fifteenth day of the second half of the month of Vaiśākha, entered nirvāṇa, which corresponds to the fifteenth day of the third month here." The Sarvāstivāda school holds that the Buddha, on the eighth day of the second half of the month of Kārttika, entered nirvāṇa, which corresponds to the eighth day of the ninth month here. Now, examining the Western Regions, as Master Xuanzang said: "They take the yin month as the start of the year"; the second month then corresponds to the mao month, and the fourth month belongs to the si month. Moreover, when the Nirvāṇa and Ruiying sūtras were translated and transmitted here, it coincided with the period after the Han and Wei, which all followed the Xia calendar. Therefore, that throughout All-under-Heaven it is traditionally held that the mao month was the nirvāṇa and the si month was the birth indeed has its reasons. As the dates recorded in the various texts differ, they are appended to this collection to be recorded and displayed for future generations.