古今譯經圖紀 1.7

1.7

The śramaṇa An Qing, courtesy name Shigao, was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Parthia. When the king died, he yielded the throne to his uncle, received pravrajyā, and traveled abroad. In the second year of the Jianhe reign era of Emperor Huan of the Han dynasty, he arrived [in China]. Before long, he became exceptionally proficient in the Han language. At first, he stated of his own accord that in a previous life he had received pravrajyā and had a fellow student whose temperament was prone to anger. Gao had told him, "Because of this, you are destined to receive an evil physical form; I shall certainly deliver you." Gao then bade him farewell, saying, "I am going to Guangzhou to repay an old retribution." When he reached Panyu, on the road he met a youth who drew a blade against Gao. Gao smiled and said, "I have come expressly to repay you!" He then stretched out his neck and received the blade. Thereupon he returned to Gao's body again and translated scriptures as before. After a long while, he said, "I must deliver my former classmate." He then traveled to the temple at Lake Gongting. The temple deity was stern and fierce, and boatmen prayed at the temple. The deity uttered an incantation, calling to Gao: "Formerly I was a fellow student with you, and now my lifespan is coming to an end from dawn to dusk. I fear that this ugly form will defile the rivers and lakes, and I must die in the marsh west of the mountain. I also fear falling into hell. I now have a thousand bolts of silk as well as miscellaneous treasures and the like, which I wish to dedicate to building a stūpa. I wish to manifest my ugly form, but I fear the crowd will be frightened." Gao said, "Just manifest it; there is no harm." The deity then brought forth its head, which was a great python. Gao addressed it in a barbarian language and chanted praises for it. The python wept and withdrew. Gao arrived in Yuzhang at that time and immediately founded a monastery for it. At the initial laying of the foundations, there was a youth who stood before Gao; after receiving an incantation and blessing, he suddenly disappeared. Gao said, "He has obtained liberation from the evil form." Later people saw a dead python in the marsh west of the mountain, its head and tail spanning several li. The Snake Village in present-day Xunyang commandery is it. Gao again traveled to Guangzhou to seek out the youth who had harmed him in his previous life; he was still alive. Gao spoke with him of their past affinities, saying, "There is still a residual karmic retribution, and I must go to Kuaiji to complete it." The youth followed Gao to that place; in the marketplace there was a disturbance with people fighting, and Gao was struck on the head by mistake and died. Examining the records of Gao's affairs across various catalogues, there are omissions and additions among them; this is simply because miraculous traces are difficult to comprehend, and what was seen and heard varied. From the second year of the Jianchu reign era of Emperor Huan, year cyclical wuzi, to the third year of the Jianning reign era of Emperor Ling, year cyclical gengxu, he translated: the Yogācārabhūmi Sūtra (seven or six fascicles); the Dharmapada Sūtra (four fascicles); the Mahābhikṣu Dignified Demeanor Sūtra (four fascicles); the Fifty Items Sūtra (two fascicles); the Miscellaneous Forty-four Chapters Sūtra (two fascicles); the Seven Bases and Three Contemplations Sūtra (two fascicles); the Ten Retributions Sūtra (two fascicles); the Great Stages of the Way Sūtra (two fascicles); the Resolution to Realize the Way Sūtra (two fascicles); the Dhyāna Sūtra (two fascicles); the Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra (two fascicles); the Amitāyus Sūtra (two fascicles); the Skandhadhātvāyatana Sūtra (one fascicle); the One Hundred and Sixty Chapters Sūtra (one fascicle); the Greater Twelve Gates Sūtra (one fascicle); the Lesser Twelve Gates Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Inherent Desires of Man for Birth (one fascicle); the Abhidharma Five Dharmas Sūtra (one fascicle); the Seven Dharmas Sūtra (one fascicle); the Universal Dharma Meaning Sūtra (one fascicle); the Distribution of Āsravas Sūtra (one fascicle); the Four Noble Truths Sūtra (one fascicle); the Nine Untimely Deaths Sūtra (one fascicle); the Eightfold Noble Path Sūtra (one fascicle); the Great Ānāpāna Sūtra (one fascicle); the Essentials of Meditation Sūtra (one fascicle); the Twelve Causes and Conditions Sūtra (one fascicle); the Parable of the Five Aggregates Sūtra (one fascicle); the Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma Sūtra (one fascicle); the Flowing and Gathering Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on What is Dharma and Not Dharma (one fascicle); the Dharma Receiving Impurity Sūtra (one fascicle); the Fourteen Intentions Sūtra (one fascicle); the Original Characteristics Dependence Sūtra (one fascicle); the Abhidharma Ninety-eight Fetters Sūtra (one fascicle); the Dhyāna Practice Dharma Conception Sūtra (one fascicle); the Dhyāna Practice Thirty-seven Aids Sūtra (one fascicle); the Nandi the Householder Sūtra (one fascicle); the Solely Wealthy Elder Sūtra (one fascicle); the Elder's Remorse in Three Places Sūtra (one fascicle); the Elder Youqi's Repentance Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Explaining the Ripening of Faculties for Naku (one fascicle); the Elder Brothers Visiting the Buddha Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha's Supernatural Power Rescuing the Elder's Son (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Anāthapiṇḍada Converting His Seven Sons (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Householder of Ten Branches and Eight Cities (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Fearless Licchavi Speaking to Ānanda (one fascicle); the Receiving Incantations and Blessings Sūtra (one fascicle); the Restraining the Elder's Son Sūtra (one fascicle); the Householder Ugga Seeing the Buddha, Hearing the Dharma, and Awakening Sūtra (one fascicle); the Attaining the Contemplation of Impermanence Sūtra (one fascicle); the Śārdūlakakarṇa Sūtra (one fascicle); the Causes and Conditions of Leaving the Household Life Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Delivering the Caṇḍāla Boy to Pravrajyā (one fascicle); the Śrāmaṇera Cunda Sūtra (one fascicle); the Tīrthika Leaving the Household Life Sūtra (one fascicle); the Diligent Four Smṛtyupasthānas Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Difficulty of Repaying Parents' Kindness (one fascicle); the Dhyāna Contemplation Fulfillment Sūtra (one fascicle); the Counting of Breaths Practice Sūtra (one fascicle); the Dhyāna Methods Sūtra (one fascicle); the Dhyāna Secret Essentials Sūtra (one fascicle); the Worldly Words on Beautiful Form Sūtra (one fascicle); the All Conditioned Things Do Not Abide Permanently Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on a Person Receiving a Body and Entering the Aggregates (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Sentient Beings with Many Inverted Views (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Four Hundred and Four Diseases of the Human Body (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Human Illness That Physicians Cannot Cure (one fascicle); the Distinguishing Good and Evil Arising Sūtra (one fascicle); the Chopping the Poisonous Tree and It Grows Again Sūtra (one fascicle); the Precept Violations and Gravity of Retributions Sūtra (one fascicle); the Progressive Methods of Dhyāna Upāya Sūtra (one fascicle); the Araṇya Dhyāna Practice Method Sūtra (one fascicle); the Names of Four Hundred Samādhis Sūtra (one fascicle); the Self-Vow Samādhi Sūtra (one fascicle); the King Virūḍhaka Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Bathing the Sangha in the Bathhouse (one fascicle); the Kāśyapa Compilation Sūtra (one fascicle); the Abusive Words Sūtra (one fascicle); the Various Places Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Explaining Similitudes for the Brāhmaṇa Piṇḍola (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Brāhmaṇa Asking the Buddha about Gaining Merit through Giving (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Expounding the Dharma to the Horse-Trainer Village Head (one fascicle); the Brāhmaṇa Conduct Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Brāhmaṇa Dhūja Debating and Leaving the Household Life (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Expounding the Dharma to the Fire-Worshiping Brāhmaṇa Who Awoke to the Way (one fascicle); the False Brāhmaṇa Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Converting the Great Xing Brāhmaṇa to Pravrajyā (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Explaining Self-Made and Other-Made Suffering to Acela Kāśyapa (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Brāhmaṇa's Son Dying and Cherished Love Not Departing (one fascicle); the Four Ṭha Brāhmaṇas Leaving the Household Life and Attaining the Way Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Speaking Verses to the Arrogant Brāhmaṇa (one fascicle); the White-Clothed Brāhmaṇa Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Brāhmaṇa Asking the World-Honoured One How Many Buddhas There Will Be in Future Ages (one fascicle); the Brāhmaṇa Escaping Death Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Expounding Plowing Fields for the Brāhmaṇa (one fascicle); the Seven Old Brāhmaṇas Requesting to Become Disciples Sūtra (one fascicle); the Brāhmaṇa Penetrating Sūtras and Treatises Sūtra (one fascicle); the Buddha Covering the Naked Ascetic Sūtra (one fascicle); the Brāhmaṇa Understanding Many Arts Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Expounding Four Dharmas for the Brāhmaṇa (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Buddha Expounding Knowing Good and Unwholesome for the Young Brāhmaṇa (one fascicle); the Māyopama-samādhi Sūtra (one fascicle); the Ānāpāna Sūtra (one fascicle); the Inner Repository Sūtra (one fascicle); the Five Gates Dhyāna Essentials Practice Sūtra (one fascicle); the Water Simile Sūtra (one fascicle); the Floating Wood Parable Sūtra (one fascicle); the Turtle Parable Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Devadatta Entering Hell in His Physical Body (one fascicle); the Sūtra on the Woman Ciñcā Slandering the Buddha and Entering Hell in Her Physical Body (one fascicle); the Ghosts Questioning Maudgalyāyana Sūtra (one fascicle); the Eighteen Hells Sūtra (one fascicle); the Many Sufferings of Hell Sinners Sūtra (one fascicle); the Retributions of Hell Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Maudgalyāyana Seeing Sentient Beings Whose Body Hairs Are Like Arrows (one fascicle); the Chapter on Retributions in the Mahāyāna Vīrya-pāramitā Sūtra (one fascicle); the Venerable Bakkula Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Ānanda Asking about Auspicious and Inauspicious Matters in Serving the Buddha (one fascicle); the Kātyāyana on Impermanence Sūtra (one fascicle); the Future Transformation and Destruction Sūtra (one fascicle); the Crown Prince Mūkapangu Sūtra (one fascicle); the Four Unattainables Sūtra (one fascicle); the Resolute Mind and Upright Intention Sūtra (one fascicle); the Clearly Distinguishing Sins and Merits Sūtra (one fascicle); the Multiple Increasing Ways Chapters Sūtra (one fascicle); the Āmrapālī and Jīvaka Sūtra (one fascicle); the Golden Woman Sūtra (one fascicle); the Mātaṅgī Woman Sūtra (one fascicle); the Quarrel over a Woman in a Past Life Sūtra (one fascicle); the Serving Those Superior to Oneself Sūtra (one fascicle); the Repentance Method Sūtra (one fascicle); the Śāriputra Repentance Sūtra (one fascicle); the Crown Prince's Dream Sūtra (one fascicle); the Lesser Parinirvāṇa Sūtra (one fascicle); the Benevolent Non-Killing Sūtra (one fascicle); the Ānanda's Fellow Students Sūtra (one fascicle); the Merchant Escaping the Calamity of Thieves Sūtra (one fascicle); the Lute Player of the Past Sūtra (one fascicle); the Śigālaka Worshipping in Six Directions Sūtra (one fascicle); the Worldly Robbers Giving Alms Sūtra (one fascicle); the Merchant's Son Performing Buddhist Deeds Sūtra (one fascicle); the Incantation against Thieves Sūtra (one fascicle); the Suddenly Encountering Thieves and Tying the Sash Incantation Sūtra (one fascicle); the Brahmā Visiting the Brāhmaṇa Lecture Hall Sūtra (one fascicle); the Formation and Disintegration of the Five Aggregates Sūtra (one fascicle); the Eightfold Light Sūtra (one fascicle); the Five Fighting Men Sūtra (one fascicle); the Five Dharmas Sūtra (one fascicle); the Five Elements Sūtra (one fascicle); the Three Poisons Sūtra (one fascicle); the Āgama Correct Practice Sūtra (one fascicle); the Good Timing Difficult to Meet Sūtra (one fascicle); the Seeking Release from Prison Sūtra (one fascicle); the Lotus Maiden Sūtra (one fascicle); the Solitary Mother Losing an Only Son Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Two Persons Who Formerly Loved and Respected Each Other (one fascicle); the Abiding in the Skandhadhātvāyatana Sūtra (one fascicle); the King with the Mirror-Face Sūtra (one fascicle); the Son Dying Sūtra (one fascicle); the King of Gandhara Sūtra (one fascicle); the Praising the Jewel Maiden Sūtra (one fascicle); the Mahākāśyapa Encountering the Nirgrantha Sūtra (one fascicle); the Proper Fasting Sūtra (one fascicle); the Sūtra on Aniruddha Contemplating Maudgalyāyana's Supernatural Powers (one fascicle); the Ratnakūṭa Samādhi Sūtra on Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva Inquiring into the Dharmakāya (one fascicle); the Śāriputra Inquiring of the Jewel Maiden Sūtra (one fascicle); the Candrapradīpa Samādhi Sūtra (one fascicle); the Ānanda's Doubt Sūtra (one fascicle); the Buddha-Seal Samādhi Sūtra (one fascicle); the Kāśyapa Questioning Ānanda Sūtra (one fascicle); the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Essential Wisdom Sūtra (one fascicle); the Responding Samādhi of the Pure Space Deva Sūtra (one fascicle); the Mind Abandoning Sin Sūtra (one fascicle); the Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata Bodhisattva Contemplation Sūtra (one fascicle); and the Vinaya of Determining Meanings (one fascicle)—in all, he translated one hundred and seventy-six works in a total of one hundred and ninety-seven fascicles.