出三藏記集 7.62

7.62

Now, the turning and matching of good and evil deeds are like a form and its shadow beholding each other. The retribution received shows clear proofs in generally three gradations: the present life, the intermediate life, and the future life. Spreading the profound kindness of the nine-colored deer to please the eyes and ears of the heavenly consort, a solitary bird threw itself upon the king to preserve its life, yet its form suffered the extreme cruelty of having its five extremities chopped off—this is retribution in the present life. A flock of companions sank concealed into a dark ravine, their spirits rising and falling, drifting without change; enduring the grief and calamity of lifetimes, not understanding why the prince lost his eyes—this is retribution in an intermediate life. Araṇa suffered misfortune due to having no signs, caught and entangled in perpetual delusion from start to finish; becoming a violent winged leopard cat, flying and sinking while suffering hardships beyond measure—this is retribution in a future life. Therefore, when the sages descend their spirits, it must have a cause; if it is not of pressing necessity, they do not intervene, and their purity and brilliance are evident. Mystically inspecting the wanderers who have lost their way across the three periods of time, and deeply bearing in mind the burdens of brittle forms in future lives, one proceeds to enter the chamber of a hundred refinements. Ever since the Tathāgata passed away and Aśoka ascended the throne, he governed the Jambudvīpa and his light reached across the six directions. He mapped and built eighty-four thousand divine monasteries; arhats guided the world, universally delivering hundreds of millions. The lord of the state took them as masters, and his mysterious transformation flowed copiously; the myriad people looked up to him incessantly, and the gods trusted him even more deeply. Now Prince Dharmavardhana (Kuṇāla) had planted vast karmic deeds in the past; born in the royal palace, he had extraordinary looks, yet he also suffered this retribution without knowing its cause and tendency. It happened that Yao Min, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat of the Qin, General Assisting the State, Minister of the Imperial Clan, concurrently Commandant of the City Gates, Commissioner, and Colonel Director of Retainers, was a native of Nan'an Commandery. He was the next elder brother of Yao Shao, with the style Jingyi. In cultural letters he was a paragon among scholars, and his glorious exploits will shine for a thousand ages; in martial arts he stood far above the crowd, clear and uniquely preeminent. In evaluating matters and understanding reality, his eloquence was sharp and far-reaching; maintaining plainness and giving rein to his feelings, he soared without peer. His virtue was pure and admirable, his model hard to imitate; his illustrious writings surpassed those of all talents, and he wielded dragon-like majesty at the Kunwu edge. Yet, lamenting that perpetual delusion is hard to rescue and grieved that the foolish mob fails to awaken, he wished to inherit the surviving traces of former victors and establish the mysterious doctrine among the degenerate mundane. Therefore, he invited the Indian śramaṇa Dharmanandin to produce this source of nidāna. In the sixth year of the Jianchu era of the Qin, the year being xinmao, in the city of Anding, it was produced beginning on the eighteenth day of the second month and concluded on the twenty-fifth day. The Hu original consisted of 343 ślokas, translated into the Han language as 18,000 words. Fonian translated the sounds. The meaning and sense were truly difficult: at times deviating from the literal text to adhere to the sense; at times rectifying obscurities to achieve general comprehension; at times taking explanations from the reciter; at times condensing details while keeping them fully prepared. It is hoped that scholars of the future may examine the imperishability of sin and merit; if there be any who add the slightest embellishment, let it all be marked at the very beginning—hence this preface.