出三藏記集 9
English (machine translation) 9
- Language
- English
9.1
Compiled by Shi Sengyou
9.2
Record of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, Number One (from the Postscript to the Sūtra)
Preface to the Combined Commentaries on the Daśabhūmika-sūtra, Number Two (composed by Shi Sengwei)
Hu Names and Book Narration of the Daśabhūmika in the Gradual Completion Sūtra, Number Three (author unknown)
Record of the Two Sūtras Bodhisattva-bhadraśīla and Bodhisattva-dhāraṇa, Number Four (compiled by Shi Sengyou)
Record of the Mahāsaṃnipāta, Ākāśagarbha, and Akṣayamati Sūtras, Number Five (compiled by Shi Sengyou)
Record of the Sūtra on the Tathāgata's Great Compassion, Number Six (author unknown)
Preface to the Dīrgha-āgama, Number Seven (Dharma Master Sengzhao)
Preface to the Madhyama-āgama, Number Eight (Dharma Master Daoci)
Preface to the Ekottarika-āgama, Number Nine (Dharma Master Dao'an)
Preface to the Extracts from the Catur-āgama-artha, Number Ten (author unknown)
Preface and Record of the Upāsakaśīla-sūtra, Number Eleven (from the Postscript to the Sūtra)
Preface to the Bodhi-sūtra, Number Twelve (Dharma Master Sengfu)
Preface to the Dhyāna-sūtra Translated in Guanzhong, Number Thirteen (composed by Dharma Master Sengrui)
Preface to the Dhyāna-sūtra on the Expedient Means of Practice at Mount Lu, Number Fourteen (Dharma Master Huiyuan)
Record of the Secret Scripture of the Essentials of Dhyāna, Number Fifteen (from the Postscript to the Sūtra)
Preface to the Contemplation of Impurity on the Stages of Practice, Number Sixteen (Dharma Master Huiguan)
Preface to the Śrīmālā-sūtra, Number Seventeen (Dharma Master Faci)
Preface to the Śrīmālā-sūtra, Number Eighteen (Dharma Master Cifashi)
Record of Mañjuśrī's Vows, Number Nineteen (from the Postscript to the Sūtra)
Record of the Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish, Number Twenty (compiled by Shi Sengyou)
Postscript to the Sūtra of the Eight Auspicious Signs, Number Twenty-One (from the Postscript to the Sūtra)
Preface to the Anantanirdeśa-sūtra, Number Twenty-Two (composed by Liu Qiu)
Preface to the Avadāna-sūtra, Number Twenty-Three (composed by Kang Fasui)
Foreword to the Sūtra of One Hundred Parables, Number Twenty-Four (from the Foreword to the Sūtra)
9.3
Record of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, Number One
9.4
From the Postscript to the Sūtra
9.5
The Hu original of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra had a total of 100,000 gāthās. Formerly, the monk Zhi Faling obtained these 36,000 gāthās from Khotan. On the tenth day of the third month in the fourteenth year of Yixi of the Jin, the year being Chunhuo, at Daochang Temple established by Sikong Xie Shi of Yangzhou, they invited the Indian meditation master Buddhabhadra to hold the Indic text in hand and translate the Hu into Jin. The śramaṇa Shi Faye personally acted as the scribal recorder. At that time, the Administrator of Wujun, Meng Yi, and General of the Right Guard, Chu Shudu, were the dānapatis. By the tenth day of the sixth month in the second year of Yuanxi, the translation was completed. The Hu text was collated twice in all. In the second year of Yongchu of the Great Song, the year Xinchou, on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, the collation was finished.
9.6
Preface to the Combined Commentaries on the Daśabhūmika-sūtra, Number Two
9.7
Composed by Shi Sengwei
9.8
Now, the dark ravine uses emptiness and void to act in stillness, and the hundred rivers take it as their origin; the ultimate peak uses marklessness to signify the profound, and the myriad things take it as their ancestor. Therefore, dharmatā abides in tranquil oneness to dwell in the marvelous; it silences chaotic entanglements to operate smoothly. The spiritual root shines with perfect illumination to achieve its capacity; it mounts dynamic activity to unfold its application. Yet capacity essentially relies on an endowment, and application must have a foundation. Because application must have a foundation, when one governs the foundation, comprehension proceeds without fixed boundaries. Because capacity essentially relies on an endowment, when one comprehends emptiness, one achieves its smooth operation. When there is smooth operation, it encloses and reflects the six directions, and being and non-being are both perfectly illuminated. When there is obstruction, application follows external conditions, and responsive action is bound to be partial in thought. When illumination is perfect, spiritual efficacy reaches the ultimate; when thought is partial, ruin and subversion arise. Therefore, when the four great waterways overflow, their vast currents flood the ravines; when heavenly constellations deviate from their paths, the three luminaries dim their light. Deducing from this, we surely know that smooth operation has an ancestor, and the accumulation of transformation has a foundation. Now, as for the ancestor of smooth operation: conditioned arising initiates its convergence, and marklessness fulfills its culmination. As for the foundation of the accumulation of transformation: the ten paths inaugurate its stratagems, and the art of the mind portends its beginning. Therefore, when the art of the mind relies on non-being, spiritual illumination becomes unobstructed and the Mahāyāna expands; when it is attached to being, the spiritual void is obstructed and the nine abodes open. Yet if we examine it to the utmost, it is solely mind and dharmas; if we extend and unfold it, it continually displays itself across the eight bounds. Allow me to explain and designate them: The myriad dharmas are vast and boundless, taking the one marklessness as their ancestor; the spiritual soul encompasses them, unifying the ultimate in perfect illumination. This is merely designating substance and application as the myriad dharmas, calling the emptiness of nature marklessness, naming the fluctuating sovereign as mental consciousness, and calling tranquil governance wise illumination. Therefore, when attachment to being causes thoughts to be obstructed, it is called 'mind' and 'consciousness'; when relying on emptiness causes illumination to be unobstructed, it is called 'wisdom' and 'view'. 'View' is right view, the partial designation of initial understanding. 'Wisdom' is right universal knowledge, the perfect title of the ultimate substance. Right view is the beginning of first entering the path; right universal knowledge marks the end of realizing the ultimate substance. These four are indeed the refined soul encompassing, mirroring like water the myriad dharmas; though their numbers vary according to conditions, the spiritual illumination remains eternally one and unchanging. Now, when substance and application are without fixed boundaries, their application truly diverges from illumination. Therefore, chaotic consciousness becomes defilement, and the mind's desires open view, which is called 'jewel', and broaden wisdom, which is called 'seed'. Because the mind is defiled, the five desires are a chamber of poisoned wine; because view is opened, the Three Jewels are a gate of jade and stone; because consciousness is chaotic, the six dusts are a marketplace of illusions and bewilderment; because wisdom is broadened, the knowledge of all forms is the abyss of the black dragon. These four are truly the vastness of the myriad dharmas sharing the same reality while differing in illumination; though stimulus and response reflect one another, they take the one marklessness as their ancestor. Therefore, consciousness governs the six dusts and thus blinds the nature; the mind rushes toward the five desires and thus darkens thought; view relies on the Four Noble Truths and thus cleanses discernment; wisdom caresses marklessness and thus illuminates unhindered. Thus, although objects belong to principle, because the mind conditions them, the refined soul encompasses them; because it is the substance, there is spiritual illumination. Because it is spiritual illumination, they are collectively termed the 'One Mind'; because of that which is conditioned, they are generally named the 'One Dharma'. As names shift with numbers, they are vast and boundless; when unified through mind and dharmas, the end and the beginning are not two. Therefore, the Daśabhūmika became a sūtra in order to exhaust the profound origins of the art of the mind and fulfill the initial articulation of true awakening. Spiritual efficacy is initiated through the manifestation of transformation; the eighty thousand [teachings] converge in perfect illumination. It causes the spiritual mechanism to have no concealed traces, and the great creation to have no hollow, stolen name. Thereupon, one sloughs off clinging consciousness to reflect inward; one upholds true wisdom to dwell in the ancestor; one opens the ten paths to set its application in motion; one rests in marklessness to extend its smooth operation. Uniting the three meanings to expand capacity, one outwardly reveals the grand appellation called bodhi. 'Bodhi' is the exalted title unifying the ultimate of the ten paths, the marvelous designation encompassing and benefiting all beings. It is precisely the Daśabhūmika that initiates the perfect ultimate of spiritual illumination, far-reachingly propagating the extraordinary track of the great unimpeded path. Therefore, 'Daśabhūmika' (Ten Stages) is the designation for the tranquil illumination that stills the mechanism and turns the discernment inward. The reason it crowns the initial proclamation of the great undertaking and unifies the common designations of the ten stages under the outward title of 'Ten Abodes'—surely the meaning lies right here! The meaning lies right here! Thus, the arising of the Daśabhūmika indeed clarifies the resonance of spiritual awakening and polishes the whetstone of true wisdom; it is the Tathāgata's boat and carriage that travel against the stream to exhaust the source; it is the World Hero's heavenly treasury for responding to assemblies and giving birth to transformations. It is indeed the ancestral origin of the myriad sūtras, the deep wellspring of the Dharma treasury, truly the water-mirror discerning the beginning and grasping the end, the sun and moon brightly proclaiming the Buddha's wisdom. Now, an expansive reach cannot be exhausted by words and symbols; a profound Dao cannot be plumbed by names and numbers. Therefore, its text is concise yet its meaning is rich; its words are gentle yet its purport is vast. It portends the hundred practices by opening the rut of the mind; it initiates the eighty thousand [teachings] by raising a single corner. Were it not for one who probes the mysterious and subtle and examines the mechanism, who could raise upright discernment to revere the subtle and elusive, or awaken outstanding comprehension to infer the other three corners? How lamentable is the delusion of adhering to habits! Although people bear in mind what they have formerly heard, they do not study this essential teaching—like carrying the sun and moon on one's back and yet being increasingly blinded, or facing a dark ferry without crossing over. Allow me to summarize and outline it. Now, to raise something high one must reach far; to reach deep one must stir the profound. Therefore, it opens up the six heavens as a marvelous abode, and attracts the Cloud of Dharma as an extraordinary assembly. Truly, without an extraordinary [assembly] there is no way to knock at the profound abode; without a marvelous [place] there is not enough to brighten this Dao. For the Dao to shine, it essentially requires a method; to knock at the profound, one must find the right person. Therefore, situating the marvelous abode in an exceptional realm leaves behind all defilements; opening the profound court to lead the assembly causes outstanding talents to outshine their age. The abode reaches the peak of the six heavens, and its reality reflects the seven treasures; the assembly raises the spiritual nature of the Dharma, and their substance mirrors the nine abodes. It displays the six transformations to unfold the working of destiny, brightly illuminating the grand view that dazzles the world; it taps the three teachings to reveal the depths, harmonizing with the overarching rhythm of the profound middle; it issues five requests to express sincerity, ensuring the mass's devotion becomes ever purer; it passes through twice seven [days] to circulate the stimuli, mutually applying them at the profound tip. It opens the spiritual track at the juncture of the three turnings, and portends spiritual awakening in the abyss of the nine consciousnesses. Comparing other sūtras to this is certainly like comparing things that cannot be mentioned on the same day; unfolding the eighty thousand to distinguish their application—how could one speak of them in the same kalpa? The substance encloses the three meanings, and the Dao unifies the two extremes. Who could possess such grandeur? Who could possess such grandeur? Judging by this, its Dao is deep indeed! Its reach is profound indeed! Even one with the hidden cultivation of the diamond [nature], who unifies spiritual eloquence to dwell in application, still cannot fathom its depths in a single day—how much less can those who have descended from compassion? Yet the Dao does not operate alone; its broadening must depend on man. Therefore, across a thousand years, it has caused the spiritual fluid to have something to lodge in. The foreign Dharma Master Kumārajīva possessed a celestial awakening that was prominent in his age, and his heroic style surpassed the degenerate customs. Riding on his hidden destiny, he traveled alone, relying on the fortune of the Qin to propagate the Dao. He struck the profound tempo in soundless notes, and expressed subtle words beyond the forms. He could dispel the old and introduce the new; in setting his mind upon the three advantages and comprehending the ancestral principle, his entry into the rut was almost more than halfway achieved. Fate fulfilled his vows, and he met with this propitious occasion. With my nature of lead and rubble, I took a place in the market of southern gold. Truly, my understanding lacked the capacity to infer the other three corners, and my thought possessed no plan to investigate the profound. Yet regarding the matters I heard and appreciated, I hoped to have no doubts. Therefore, caressing the sūtra and quieting my thoughts, I deeply reflected upon the past. I was constantly troubled that its text was concise while its reach was grand, its words gentle while its purport was profound, causing the spiritual lamp to be eclipsed by hidden numbers, and the great ancestor to be obscured by narrow text. The spiritual standard came to be constrained by expedient models, and the profound style thenceforth declined from pure to dilute. When I withdrew in leisure and quietly reflected, beating my breast before the gate of the ferry, how could it not have long made me sigh deeply, stirring my feelings as I witnessed the decadent decline? Therefore, I have compiled this record of what I heard above, providing a brief commentary and explanation. How could I say that the deep ravine waits for the morning dew? It is merely to express the intent of utilizing my own heart, in the hope that later wise and enlightened ones may use it to extend and supplement.
9.9
Sanskrit Names of the Ten Stages in the Jianbei jing and Preface to the Text, Number 3
9.10
Author unknown
9.11
Pamutiduo (Pramuditā), in Jin called 'First Stage'.
Weimoluo (Vimalā), in Jin called 'Second Stage'.
Papojialuo (Prabhākarī), in Jin called 'Third Stage'.
Azhimo (Arciṣmatī), in Jin called 'Fourth Stage'.
Touzheye (Sudurjayā), in Jin called 'Fifth Stage'.
Abimuxie (Abhimukhī), in Jin called 'Sixth Stage'.
Touluojiama (Dūraṅgamā), in Jin called 'Seventh Stage'.
Azheluo (Acalā), in Jin called 'Eighth Stage'.
Chautoumoti (Sādhumatī), in Jin called 'Ninth Stage'.
Tanmomojia (Dharmameghā), in Jin called 'Tenth Stage'.
9.12
Names of the Ten Stages in Jin according to the Jianbei jing:
9.13
The first stage is named 'Joyful'.
The second stage is named 'Free from Defilement'.
The third stage is named 'Arising Light'.
The fourth stage is named 'Blazing Radiance'.
The fifth stage is named 'Difficult to Conquer'.
The sixth stage is named 'Manifest Before One'.
The seventh stage is named 'Profound and Marvelous'.
The eighth stage is named 'Immovable'.
The ninth stage is named 'Excellent Thought'.
The tenth stage is named 'Dharma Rain'.
9.14
Practices of the Ten Stages in the Jianbei jing:
9.15
The first stage is now forgotten.
The second stage explains the practice of moral precepts.
The third stage explains the matter of the twelve gates and five spiritual penetrations.
The fourth stage explains the matter of the thirty-seven factors [of enlightenment].
The fifth stage explains the matter of the Four Noble Truths.
The sixth stage explains the matter of the twelve links of conditioned arising.
The seventh stage explains the matter of expedient wisdom.
The eighth stage explains the matter of transformations through psychic power.
The ninth stage explains the matter of teaching and transforming through psychic power.
The tenth stage also explains the matter of teaching and transforming through psychic power.
9.16
The Jianbei jing was translated by Master [Dharma]rakṣa in the seventh year of Yuankang. This sūtra has five fascicles and over fifty thousand words. The first fascicle explains the matter of the first stage, but this first fascicle is now lost. At present, from the second stage up to the tenth stage, there are ten chapters.
9.17
The Ten Abodes of the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra (Zhanbei jing) differ from those in the Benye jing and the Larger Prajñāpāramitā (Dapin). Its exposition of matters is more detailed than that of the Benye jing and the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. I do not know why it remained hidden in Liangzhou. Formerly, among the monks of Liangzhou, Shi Jiaodao and Zhu Fayan were renowned for their explanations. Both of these two monks were widely learned and devoted their minds to the scriptures and teachings. I do not know why they did not collect this sūtra, nor have I heard of them ever lecturing on it. Only now do I know how difficult it is for the widely learned to bring scriptures to light for others! Moreover, it is also a great scripture: its treatment of subjects is vast, and its doctrinal principles are profound and subtle; it is indeed the jewel of all scriptures. Its rhetoric is richly abundant, truly containing wondrous revelations. And Bo Faju was likewise a widely learned monk, with whom I also associated in Ye in the past; I do not know why he also did not collect this scripture, nor have I heard of his words [on it]. A wide learning and powerful memory are truly hard to find. The venerable Dharmarakṣa translated the Surata-paripṛcchā-sūtra (Xulai jing); although I have not seen it, I have always heard Fayan discuss it. Zhang Tianxi again translated the Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra; thus it should naturally be more detailed than the earlier one. On the twenty-first day of the eleventh month of the seventh year of Yuankang, the śramaṇa Dharmarakṣa translated the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra at the Xisi Monastery in the western market of Chang'an, holding the Hu manuscript in his hands and translating it into the Jin tongue. The venerable Dharmarakṣa was a person of bodhisattva nature! Tracing his lingering voice and remaining tracks makes one look up to him all the more distant. The scriptures on various vaipulya and unproduced samādhis were mostly translated by this master; he was truly an unseen ladder for sentient beings. Although several decades have passed since the Larger Prajñāpāramitā appeared, the earlier masters barely practiced it in detail. I do not understand why these gentlemen did so. Their talent and insight surpassed ordinary men; if they could have applied their minds to deep contemplation and taken it as their supreme endeavor, they surely would have attained much! Yet the earlier masters still regretted that Dalan [i.e., Mokṣala] left many regrettable defects in phrases and sentences. Lately, both in the east and the west, those who lecture and study the Larger Prajñāpāramitā all take it as their primary task; yet regarding the phrases and sentences, they still do not fully perceive its increasing depth. However, one's talent is limited and one's contemplation has an end; its hidden import is indeed not something that shallow thoughts can exhaust. Still, one can certainly strive with the text and sentences, and I am about to investigate it thoroughly, hoping to make some slight contribution in the remainder of this life. As for the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra, I regret not obtaining the first roll; I hope that through the unseen help of causes and conditions, I will suddenly obtain it again. The positions of the ten abodes and the myriad practices expounded in the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra each have their proper gradations; at present, it is strikingly different from other scriptures. I am just intending to investigate it thoroughly from the root, but now I feel as boundless as traversing the great sea, not knowing what is expounded in the first abode. If there should be an opportunity and a reliable messenger, Sir, you must not fail to obtain it, doing your utmost to seek it out according to principle. If there are steps to pursue for the first two rolls of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā, please also apply your mind diligently to it. The venerable Dharmarakṣa's translation of the Guangzan [Prajñāpāramitā] was, by calculation, nine years before the Fangguang [Prajñāpāramitā], or if not nine, then eight years. I do not know why it was subsequently lost in Liangzhou and did not circulate in the world. When investigating the translation of this sūtra, it was indeed produced in Chang'an, yet it did not circulate at all; I truly do not know the reason. Formerly, when I was north of the Yellow River, I only saw one roll of the sūtra. The colophon at the back said: 'Seventeen chapters,' and the era name, month, and day were also identical to this record; only the place was not recorded, which makes it different. However, concerning those present when the sūtra was translated, it is said that Nie Chengyuan was the scribal recorder, and Bo Yuanxin and the śramaṇa Fadu were all men of Chang'an. Deducing from this, it must roughly have been translated in Chang'an. The Hu manuscript of this sūtra is also said to have been brought by the Khotan śramaṇa Jiduoluo. This matches the letter sent by Huichang and others from Liangzhou, which made it seem as if it was translated in Liangzhou; the reason is not yet clear. Perhaps when the venerable Dharmarakṣa was in Chang'an, before the scripture had circulated, he solely carried it to Liangzhou; this cannot yet be examined in detail. On the twenty-fourth day of the fifth month in the bingzi year, the first year of Taiyuan, this sūtra reached Xiangyang. In the you year, Shi Huichang sent this sūtra via Kang'er, a merchant from the border market, passing it on to Chang'an. An Fahua in Chang'an dispatched someone to send it to the border market, and the border-market person delivered it to Xiangyang, handing it over to the śramaṇa Shi Dao'an. At that time in Xiangyang, there were three hundred monks who were assembled; they had Shi Sengxian copy it and send it to the monk Zhu Fatai in Yangzhou. The Gradual Accumulation Sūtra reached Xiangyang on the third day of the tenth month in the first year of Taiyuan; it was also sent by Huichang and others, coming together with the Guangzan. Recently, people in Nanxiang detained it to make a copy, so it did not arrive together with the Guangzan. The Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra and the Surata-paripṛcchā-sūtra both arrived together with the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra. The Liangzhou monk Shi Huichang copied this sūtra at the Neiyuan Monastery in the renshen year, and sent it in the you year; it reached Xiangyang on the twenty-third day of the fourth month in the zi year. The matters in the Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra are in all respects more extensive than the earlier version; this chapter—not the first, second, or ninth—is the most extensive, having nearly three to four hundred more words, which is extremely beneficial to the phrases and sentences. The Surata-paripṛcchā-sūtra is also slightly more extensive and contains fine passages. It is said that there are five hundred precepts; I do not know why they have not arrived. This is the most urgent matter: if the four divisions [of the saṃgha] are not complete, there is a deficiency in the great transformation. The Prajñāpāramitā scriptures take good men and good women as the head of teaching, and the precepts are the basis of establishing practice and the beginning of the hundred deeds, like a tree having roots. I always hold this as a deep regret. If there is an opportunity, you must do your utmost to seek it out according to principle. Since the previous Hu manuscript had a reliable messenger, rely on this so that it does not fall into oblivion.
9.18
Record on the Two Scriptures of the Bodhisattva-śīla and the Bodhisattva-bhūmi, No. 4
9.19
Composed by Sengyou
9.20
I, Sengyou, have investigated the old catalogues: this sūtra has ten rolls and was translated in the capital by the Tripiṭaka Master Guṇavarman during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Song. The text of the sūtra states: 'This sūtra is named Good Precepts (Shan jie), named Bodhisattva Stages (Pusa di), named Bodhisattva Vinaya-mātṛkā (Pusa bini moyi), named Tathāgatagarbha (Rulaizang), named Root of All Wholesome Dharmas (Yiqie shanfa genben), named Land of Peace and Joy (Anle guo), and named Collection of Pāramitās (Zhu boluomi ju)'; altogether it has seven names. The first roll first presents Upāli's inquiry about the method of receiving precepts; only in the second roll does 'Thus have I heard' begin, successively arranging chapters up to the thirtieth. Furthermore, there is another manuscript entitled Bodhisattva-bhūmi-sūtra (Pusa di jing). Examining these two copies, the text and phrases are completely identical, only one or two chapters differ slightly in chapter division and chapter names, while the meaning is also not different. Since we do not see that a different person retranslated it, by deduction it should be the same scripture; yet the various chapters are confused and disordered before and behind. The Bodhisattva-bhūmi manuscript is divided into three sections: the first section has eighteen chapters, the second section has four chapters, and the third section has eight chapters. It is not yet clear which of the two manuscripts is the definitive original produced by the Tripiṭaka Master.
9.21
Furthermore, the Bodhisattvabhūmi-dhāra-sūtra (Pusa dichi jing) has eight rolls and twenty-seven chapters, and is likewise divided into three sections: the first section has eighteen chapters, the second section has four chapters, and the third section has five chapters. It was translated in Western Liangzhou by Dharmakṣema during the reign of Emperor An of the Jin. At the beginning of the sūtra, there is a homage to the Three Jewels, without 'Thus have I heard,' resembling a compilation of the Buddha's words; no different names are mentioned in the text. Today, this version is sometimes entitled Bodhisattva Precepts Sūtra (Pusa jie jing), and sometimes entitled Bodhisattva Stages Sūtra (Pusa di jing). Although its text differs from the Bodhisattva Good Precepts Sūtra produced by the Tripiṭaka Master, they share five names; hence they are recorded together. Moreover, the doctrines explained in these two scriptures are similar, and at the root they seem to be one scripture; because people from different countries produced them, they became distinct works. Both explain the six perfections in sequence; their chapter titles are mostly identical, though the phrasing differs. I, Sengyou, have seen one copy of the Bodhisattva-bhūmi-sūtra whose Chapter on Precepts (tenth chapter of the fourth roll) was actually the Chapter on Precepts from the Bodhisattvabhūmi-dhāra-sūtra, and it also lacked the ninth Chapter on Giving. This was surely due to confusion during sun-drying; later people did not realize this and simply transmitted and copied it. Its missing portions are numerous, and I fear this will bring confusion. If one carefully examines the internal titles, it becomes clearly visible. If there is a copy of the Bodhisattva-bhūmi-sūtra that lacks the ninth Chapter on Giving, it is precisely this erroneous copy.
9.22
Record on the Three Scriptures of the Mahāsaṃnipāta, Ākāśagarbha, and Akṣayamati, No. 5
9.23
Composed by Sengyou
9.24
I, Sengyou, have investigated the old catalogues: the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra (Daji jing) was translated in Western Liangzhou by the Indian śramaṇa Dharmakṣema during the reign of Emperor An of the Jin. It has twenty-nine rolls, with twelve sections from beginning to end that together form one scripture: first, the Chapter on Necklaces; second, the Chapter on the King Sovereign over Dhāraṇīs; third, the Chapter on the Precious Maiden; fourth, the Chapter on Unblinking; fifth, the Chapter on Sāgaramati; sixth, the Chapter on Wordlessness; seventh, the Chapter on the Inexpressible; eighth, the Chapter on Ākāśagarbha; ninth, the Chapter on the Jewel Banner; tenth, the Chapter on the Ākāśa Eye; eleventh, the Chapter on Jewel Topknot; twelfth, the Chapter on Akṣayamati. We do not see that any other person separately translated it; yet today, separate recensions consist of only twenty-four rolls.
9.25
Examining its scripture text, the rest is entirely identical; only between the Chapter on the Inexpressible Bodhisattva and the section on the Jewel Banner, there is a gap of five rolls containing the Chapter on the Inquiries of Ākāśagarbha. Furthermore, the sūtra ends only at the Chapter on Ratnacūḍa (Jewel Topknot) Bodhisattva, also lacking the four rolls of the final Chapter on the Inconceivable Expounded by Akṣayamati. Thus, omitting two chapters and nine rolls, the remaining twenty rolls are merely divided into twenty-four rolls.
9.26
Furthermore, examining both copies, they both take the Chapter on Sāgaramati Bodhisattva as the fifth, skip directly to the Chapter on the Wordless Bodhisattva as the seventh, and lack a sixth chapter; the reason for this is not yet clear.
9.27
Also, examining the catalogues, there is separately a Great Ākāśagarbha Sūtra complete in five rolls, which is precisely the Ākāśagarbha Chapter of this scripture; people of that time presumably extracted it to form a separate work. There is also separately an Akṣayamati Sūtra complete in four rolls, which is likewise the final Akṣayamati Chapter of this scripture. However, the catalogue of the venerable Dharmarakṣa also lists an Akṣayamati Sūtra in four rolls; whether it is identical to or different from this version is not yet clear.
9.28
Record on the Tathāgata-mahākaruṇā-sūtra (Rulai da'ai jing), No. 6
9.29
Author unknown
9.30
On the seventh day of the seventh month of the first year of Yuankang, the Dunhuang Bodhisattva Zhi Fahu [Dharmarakṣa], holding the Hu scripture entitled Rulai da'ai (Tathāgata-mahākaruṇā) in his hands, orally transmitted it to Nie Chengyuan and Daozheng, who recorded it in the standard script of the Jin tongue. It was completed on the twenty-third day of the eighth month of that year. Fahu personally proofread and collated it, intending to make the Great Dharma shine brightly and circulate broadly. May those who grasp it swiftly obtain dhāraṇī and express and moisten the wondrous Dharma!
9.31
Preface to the Dīrgha-āgama, No. 7
9.32
Composed by Shi Sengzhao
9.33
The ultimate principle is beyond appellation, and therefore sages and worthies remain in aloof silence. The profound purport cannot be transmitted without words, and for this reason Śākyamuni delivered his teaching. Thus, when the Tathāgata appeared in the world, his great teaching was threefold: in restraining body and speech, he checked them with the prohibitive vinaya; in illuminating good and evil, he guided by means of the sūtras; and in expounding the subtle and hidden, he discerned it through dharmalakṣaṇa. Thus, the production of the tripiṭaka originates in differing responses; when brought together in the fundamental principle, disparate paths tend toward the same goal. The prohibitive vinaya is the Vinayapiṭaka, consisting of the Fourfold [Vinaya] and the Ten Recitations. Dharmalakṣaṇa is the Abhidharmapiṭaka, in four sections and five recitations. The sūtras are the four Āgama piṭakas: the Ekottarika-āgama has four sections and eight recitations; the Madhyama-āgama has four sections and five recitations; the Saṃyukta-āgama has four sections and ten recitations; and this Dīrgha-āgama has four sections and four recitations, combining thirty sūtras into a single text. 'Āgama' in the language of Qin means 'recourse of the Dharma'. The 'recourse of the Dharma' is indeed the profound storehouse of all goods, the grove of dhāraṇī. As a scripture, it is profound and vast, comprehensive and rich, gentle yet expansive; it clearly proclaims the traces of misfortune and fortune, of the wise and the foolish; it determines the sources of truth and falsehood, of differing salvations; and it records throughout the calculations of success and failure from antiquity to the present, as well as the categories of things between the two poles of Heaven and Earth. There is no Dao that does not proceed from it, and no Dharma that is not present within it. It is like the great ocean to which the hundred rivers return; hence it takes 'recourse of the Dharma' as its name. Because the long pathways it unfolds and distinguishes record what is distant and enduring, it is designated as 'Long' [Dīrgha]. Those who study this scripture will suddenly awaken from long delusions; the difficult distinction between heterodoxy and orthodoxy becomes as apparent as day and night; retribution, though dark and obscured, is illuminated like shadows and echoes; the tally of kalpas, though vast, is brought as near as morning and evening; and the six directions, though broad, appear right before one's eyes. This may indeed be called a bright torch shining in a dark room, wisdom bestowing five eyes upon the blind, where without peering through doors or windows, knowledge is all-pervading. The Heavenly King of the Great Qin, having cleansed his mind with profound contemplation, stands out in lofty temperament; quietude and wisdom mutually nourished, he brings relief to both the religious and secular worlds. Ever fearing that the subtle words might be obscured in foreign customs, he took the General of the Right, Imperial Commissioner, Colonel of the City Gates, and Duke of Jin, Yao Shuang, whose character was upright, pure, and gentle, and whose profound mind was transcendent—venerating the Great Dharma and having a natural, wondrous awakening. His Majesty paid particular regard to him and constantly entrusted him with Dharma affairs. In the twelfth year of Hongshi, the cyclical year shangzhang yanmao, he invited the Kapiśa tripiṭaka śramaṇa Buddhayaśas to translate the Vinayapiṭaka, the Fourfold [Vinaya] in forty fascicles, which was completed in the fourteenth year. In the fifteenth year, the cyclical year zhaoyang fenruo, he completed the translation of this Dīrgha-āgama. The Liangzhou śramaṇa Zhu Fonian served as translator, and the Daoist master Daohan of the state of Qin served as the scribal recorder. At that time, eminent and renowned śramaṇas of the capital were gathered at his residence to collate and verify it. Reverently receiving the Dharma words, they were attentive and free of errors, eliminating ornamentation and esteeming simplicity, striving to preserve the holy purport. Having the fortunate encounter to be humbly included among those listening, although I had no merit in assisting the good, I participated in the concluding stages of receiving it personally. Therefore, I have briefly recorded the events of the time to show to future readers.
9.34
Preface to the Madhyama-āgama, Number Eight
9.35
By Shi Daoci
9.36
The Record of the Madhyama-āgama states: In the past, the Dharma Master Shi [Dao'an] produced at Chang'an the Madhyama-āgama, Ekottarika[-āgama], the Great Exposition of Abhidharma, Saṅgharakṣa, the Abhidharma-hṛdaya, Vasumitra, the Tridharmaka, and the Pratimokṣa for the Two Assemblies. These sūtras and vinayas amounted to more than a million words in all, but they often contravened the original, lost the purport, and the terms did not correspond to the reality; relying on vague expressions, the phrasing and nuance were also flawed. This was truly because the translators were rushed and not yet well-versed in the language of Jin, which caused it to be so. It happened that Yan and Qin engaged in war, and the Guanzhong region was thrown into great chaos. Thereupon, the fine master passed away, and thus there was no opportunity to correct them. Several years passed until the region east of the passes had a slight peace. The Ji Prefecture cleric Shi Fahe and the Kapiśa śramaṇa Saṅghadeva gathered disciples and traveled together to the city of Luoyang. In the course of four or five years of study and lecturing, they attained mastery, and the man gradually came to understand the Chinese language; only then did they realize the previous errors. Thereupon, Fahe regretted the past errors, and immediately, together with Saṅghadeva, re-translated the Abhidharma and the Great Exposition. From this time on, these sūtras and vinayas were gradually all translated correctly; only the Madhyama-āgama, Saṅgharakṣa, Vasumitra, and the Pratimokṣa had not yet been re-translated. It happened that Saṅghadeva traveled further to the capital, answering the call to spread the teachings and bestow the Dharma gifts south of the Yangtze. At that time, the Great Elder of the Jin state, Prefect of the Masters of Writing, General of the Guard, Marquis of Dongting, and upāsaka Wang Yuanlin, who constantly took the protection and upholding of the true Dharma as his own duty, served as the dānapati. For the purpose of translating sūtras, he established a monastery and invited some forty doctrinal śramaṇas of virtue, such as Shi Huichi, providing them with all necessary comforts and the four requisites without lack. Moreover, he previously invited the sūtra master Saṅgharakṣa, maintaining support for him for several years. Only then, on the tenth day of the eleventh month in the dingyou year, the first year of Long'an of the Jin, in the Jiankang county boundaries of Danyang commandery in Yang Prefecture, within his monastery, did they re-translate this Madhyama-āgama. They invited the Kapiśa śramaṇa Saṅgharakṣa to expound the Hu text, and invited Saṅghadeva to translate from Hu into Jin. The Yu Prefecture śramaṇa Daoci served as the scribal recorder, and Li Bao and Tang Hua of the state of Wu wrote it down together. By the twenty-fifth day of the sixth month in the wuxu year, the following second year, the rough draft was first finished. This Madhyama-āgama has five recitations in all, comprising eighteen chapters and two hundred and twenty-two sūtras, totaling 514,825 characters, divided into sixty fascicles. At that time, encountering a great crisis in the state, it was not immediately copied as a fair text; only by the xinchou year, the fifth year, could it finally be properly copied, collated, and circulated. This translator's rendering differed greatly when compared with the earlier translation. Among these two hundred and twenty-two sūtras, if one were to submissively follow [the old], one feared losing the holy purport; if one followed the original to establish the terminology, many terms differed from the old, thus running contrary to previous familiarity and displeasing the public sentiment. For this reason, the translator could not act on his own authority, and occasionally altered the text to follow the old terms. Yet, among the differences and similarities of the five divisions, who knows which is correct? In my, Daoci's, humble opinion, I felt vexed at contravening the original; therefore, all the altered names have been extracted and annotated below them. Preserving both the new and old, they form a separate fascicle connected to the catalogue, to show to those who come after, so that future worthies will know the similarities and differences and can investigate further; should they happen to meet an eminent foreigner who is skilled in both Jin and the Fan regional languages, they may consult on its successes and failures, and edit it to accord with correctness.
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Preface to the Ekottarika-āgama, Number Nine
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By Shi Dao'an
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The meaning of the Four Āgamas is identical to that of the Madhyama-āgama; since the beginning has already clarified their purport, I will not preface it again. As for the Ekottarika-āgama, the Dharma items are systematically arranged in numerical sequence. Where numbers end at ten, one is now added to them, hence it is called 'Ekottarika' [Increased by One]. Moreover, every number increases, taking 'increase' as its meaning. As for its doctrine, it mostly records prohibitive vinaya rules and strict discipline, being a regulation for transcending the world. Sages of the cliffs and valleys and persons of the rivers and seas in foreign countries mostly chant and savor this scripture among the four Āgamas. There was a foreign śramaṇa named Dharmanandin, a man of the country of Tukhāra. He left home in his childhood and attained broad learning and recitation of the two Āgamas, reviewing the old to understand the new every day. He traveled through various countries, leaving no land unvisited. In the twentieth year of Jianyuan of the Qin, he came to Chang'an. His foreign countrymen all respected him. Zhao Wenye, the Grand Administrator of Wuwei, requested him to produce it. Zhu Fonian translated, and Tan song served as the scribal recorder. In the jiashen year, in the summer, the translation began, and by the spring of the following year, it was completed. It formed forty-one fascicles, divided into an upper and a lower section. The upper section of twenty-six fascicles had nothing missing or forgotten. The lower section of fifteen fascicles lost its summary verses. Fahe and I examined and corrected it together, while Senglüe and Sengmao helped collate omissions, and it was finished in forty days. In this year, there was the military campaign of Acheng, with war drums beating in the nearby suburbs, yet our concentration was devoted solely to this undertaking. Having the complete two Āgamas in one hundred fascicles, the Vibhāṣā, Vasumitra, and the account of Saṅgharakṣa—these five great scriptures are the finest among the scriptures produced since the Dharma flowed east. The four Āgamas were compiled by forty arhats, ten people compiling one division, inscribing summary verses at the head of the texts, fearing that if the Dharma remained in the world for long, they would be lost and scattered. Among the various scriptures previously produced in this land, there are clearly parts of them present. Now, for the two Āgamas, I have made a new catalogue of one fascicle for each, preserving their old titles and annotating their merits and defects, so that those consulting the scriptures might find them somewhat easier. Combining the upper and lower sections, there are four hundred and seventy-two sūtras. In general, when scholars compiled these two Āgamas, there were frequently vinaya words within them. In foreign countries, it is not permitted to allow novices and laypeople to look at them together. From now on, I hope we will guard them together and treat them like the vinaya; this is indeed an urgent matter in this country. May these earnest admonitions not be listened to with disregard! To be broadly learned and yet not know how to guard the prohibitions is truly a wound right through the scholar. When Kang Mengxiang produced the Zhong benqi [jing] and translated the chapter on Mahāprajāpatī, he did not know it was a prohibitive scripture, the rules for bhikṣuṇīs, and being displeased by its straightforward severity, he cut it out and discarded it. This was truly a great vulgarity, a deplorable matter. Only capable clerics can see these two scriptures, and they should apply their minds to them. If anyone is negligent and does not take it to heart, may my companions sound the drums and attack him!
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Preface to the Excerpts of the Catur-āgama-artha, Number Ten
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Author Unknown
9.42
'Āgama-artha' in the language of Qin means 'tending toward nothingness'. After Ānanda recited the twelve divisions of scripture, he also extracted their essentials, which directly lead to the Dharma of the Way, making the Catur-āgama-artha, which, together with the Abhidharma and Vinaya, formed the tripiṭaka. Scholars of Shendu considered that the supreme virtue had not yet fallen to the ground. There was an arhat named Vasubhadra, who excerpted its essence to form a single text in nine chapters and forty-six folios, cutting out redundancies and eliminating repetitions, with concise text and abundant meaning; it may truly be called the garland of the scriptures. Excellent in the hundred practices, distinguishing right from wrong, there is nothing it does not record. Deep and rich, the mastery of practice is exhausted in it. There was a foreign śramaṇa styled Yintili, who had previously brought it to the Nearer Division [of Jushi], keeping it secret on his person and not showing it to others. Its king, Midi, sought to obtain it and recite it, and so it was able to be circulated. In the eighth month of the renwu year, traveling east to visit the monastery of my late master, in the Ye monastery I had Kumārabodhi hold the Hu text, Zhu Fonian and Fohu translate, and Sengdao, Tanjui, and Sengrui serve as scribal recorders; it was completed by the eleventh month in the winter. In the summer of this year, the Abhidharma was produced, and in the winter, this sūtra was produced; within a single year, two piṭakas were fully obtained. I consider myself deeply fortunate, but I only regret that it was not until my eighty-ninth year that I encountered this scripture; I fear the leather thongs will snap before I can complete the task. If a few more years were granted, there would perhaps be no great error. Recently, I instructed the translators merely to turn Hu into Qin, explaining the regional languages and nothing more; the literary ornamentation and plainness of the sūtra were not something I dared to alter. Furthermore, wherever there were uncertain numbers or uncertain matters, I consulted that person and annotated them below. Where my own understanding occasionally provided clarification, I made it an exposition. Where the exposition notes 'sūtra' [xiuduolu], that person was commenting on another scriptural text. Where it directly says 'sūtra' [xiuduolu], it cites a sūtra to verify, not as an explanatory note.
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Record of the Upāsakaśīla-sūtra, Number Eleven
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Postface to the Translated Sūtra
9.45
In the binyin year, on the twenty-third day of the fourth month in the summer, the Heir Apparent of the King of Hexi, General Pacifying the Army, and Manager of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing, the Grand Jiqu Xingguo, together with more than five hundred upāsakas, in the capital city, jointly requested the Tianzhu Dharma Master Dharmakṣema to translate this precept for householder bodhisattvas; it was completely finished by the twenty-third day of the seventh month in the autumn. The Qin śramaṇa Daoyang served as the scribal recorder. May this merit cause the state's fortune to be boundless, and in future lives may we encounter Maitreya, awaken upon first hearing [the Dharma], and attain the forbearance of non-arising. May all sentient beings in the ten directions share in this vow.
9.46
Preface to the Commentary on the Bodhi-sūtra, Number Twelve
9.47
By Shi Sengfu
9.48
Now, the myriad dharmas lack intrinsic marks yet possess the two truths; the sage is without intentional cognition yet possesses two designations. The two truths are the conventional and the path [of the ultimate]. The two designations are expedient means and wisdom. The two designations take speech and silence as their appellations; the two truths take conditioned arising and essential nature as their expressions. Conditioned arising and essential nature are both set forth, yet their actuality does not diverge; speech and silence are indeed distinct, yet their hidden purport is not twofold. Therefore the Prajñā-sūtra says: 'Form is emptiness; emptiness is form.' Seeing conditioned arising is seeing the Dharma. As for the *Bodhi-sūtra*, it is the essential treasury of all Buddhas and the governing guideline of the ten abodes. Though its phrasing is concise, its meaning threads through the multitude of scriptures; though its purport is profound, it is luminous and easy to grasp. It is like the sun and the moon gracing the heavens, whereupon the myriad images naturally become clear; indicate one corner, and the other three corners naturally become evident. As for the structure of this sūtra: when discussing conditioned arising and essential nature, it takes the two truths as its cardinal principle; when speaking of subtle convergence, it takes expedient means and wisdom as primary. In speaking of bodhi, it regards non-attainment as profound; in clarifying the arising of the aspiration [for awakening], it regards implicit confluence as wondrous. Gracefully concise yet expansive and deep, there is nothing it does not encompass. This is the esoteric teaching of Master Jīva, [imparted to his] inner disciples. Those who personally received it were few, and therefore it has rarely circulated in the world. My master [Shi Dao]shun obtained it at its initial assembly. Although I lack acumen, I mistakenly heard it as the fiftieth [in succession]. By nature careless and prone to omissions, I have therefore recorded the affair upon my sash. How could this be called a commentary to invite future ridicule? It is merely hoped that those who share my aspiration will comprehend it beyond the words.
9.49
Preface to the Dhyāna-sūtra Translated in the Guanzhong Region, Number 13
First 49 of 87 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 出三藏記集 — 僧祐, Classical Chinese