開元釋教錄 1.17.1

1.17.1

Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters, one fascicle (translated together with Dharmarakṣa at Baima Temple in the tenth year of the Yongping reign [67 CE], cyclical year dingmao; first translation; the Old Catalogue calls it The Filial Emperor Ming's Forty-two Chapters).
The one work and one fascicle above is currently extant.
Śramaṇa Kāśyapa Mātanga, also called Zhu Yemateng, and also called Shemoteng.
Various catalogues record different forms, and it is not clear which is correct. As it was previously untranslated, all are recorded here. He was a person of Central India, of the brāhmaṇa caste. From youth, he was intelligent and sharp, widely learned and well heard. His reflective power was exceptionally acute, and he was especially clear on the sūtras and the vinaya. He once traveled to Western India, where there was a small kingdom that invited Mātanga to lecture on the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra. Soon after, a neighboring country raised troops and invaded. Just as they were about to cross the border, circumstances arose that hindered them, and their army could not advance. Suspecting that some extraordinary art was at work, the invading army secretly sent an emissary to spy on them. They saw only the ministers peacefully listening together to the Mahāyāna sūtra being lectured, which explained the Earth Spirit King's method of protecting the kingdom. Thereupon, that country sued for peace and sought the Dharma. In the seventh year of the Yongping reign, cyclical year jiazi [64 CE], Emperor Ming dreamed of a golden man, sixteen feet in height, with the sun's disk suspended at the back of his neck, shining brightly, flying before the palace hall. The next day, he broadly questioned his ministers: “What divine wonder is this?” The widely learned man Fu Yi came forward and replied: “Your servant has heard that in the Western Regions there is one who attained the Way, called the Buddha. Could what Your Majesty dreamed be him?” The Emperor considered it so. He decreed that Gentleman-of-the-Palace Cai Yin, Court Gentleman Qin Jing, Erudite's Disciple Wang Zun, and others—eighteen persons in all—be sent to Tianzhu to search for the Buddhist Dharma. In the realm of the Great Yuezhi, they met Mātanga. At that time, Cai Yin and the others earnestly invited Mātanga, and he subsequently came with them to Luoyang. Emperor Ming received and treated him with great honor. The Buddhist sūtras they brought and the images they obtained were loaded onto white horses and arrived together in Luoyang. Therefore, a monastery was erected and named Baima Temple. The various provinces vied to establish temples to repay the grace of the white horses. At Baima Temple, Mātanga translated the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters. It was originally stored in the fourteenth chamber of the stone room of Lantai. From then on, the teachings of the Śākya clan flourished one after another like rising clouds; śramaṇas and faithful laymen followed in succession to transmit and translate them. Arranging according to the catalogues, this was indeed the ancestor of the scriptural Dharma in the land of Han. The Old Catalogue states: “This sūtra was originally an extract from foreign scriptures, originally coming from a large work. It extracts essentials to guide common folk, resembling the eighteen chapters of the Classic of Filial Piety.” This appears in the Old Catalogue, Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue, Sengyou's Records of the Extraction of the Tripiṭaka, and others; Dao'an's catalogue does not record it. Because the Great Transformation had only just begun to spread and people did not yet have deep faith, Mātanga harbored his profound understanding and did not immediately translate much, but briefly extracted the essentials of the scripture to guide the worldly custom of the time. Mātanga later died in Luoyang. The details of his account are fully recorded in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue, Biographies of Eminent Monks, and others. When Zhisheng examines the origins of the catalogues, the intention is to describe the translation of scriptures. The provenance of translated scriptures must have its origin. Therefore, I have broadly gathered various accounts to widen what may be heard, and though the phrasing is lengthy, the affairs of the Saṅgha are made complete.
Daśabhūmika-kleśa-saṃyojana-nirhāra-sūtra, eight fascicles (or four fascicles, also called Ten Abodes; first translation; the same text as Zhu Fonian's Sūtra on the Ten Abodes and Severing Bonds; produced in the thirteenth year of the Yongping reign [70 CE]; seen in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue, Biographies of Eminent Monks, Changfang's Catalogue, and others).
Scripture of the Ocean Treasury of the Dharma, one fascicle (one version lacks the character 'Treasury'; first translation; the same text as the Scripture of the Ocean of the Dharma; seen in Biographies of Eminent Monks, Changfang's Catalogue, and others).
Scripture on the Buddha's Former Deeds, five fascicles (produced in the eleventh year of the Yongping reign [68 CE]; seen in Biographies of Eminent Monks, Changfang's Catalogue, and others).
Scripture of the Buddha's Previous Lives, one fascicle (seen in Biographies of Eminent Monks, Changfang's Catalogue, and others).
The four works and fifteen fascicles above are all lost.
Śramaṇa Zhu Falan was also a person of Central India. He said of himself that he had memorized tens of thousands of sections of sūtras and śāstras, and was a teacher of Tianzhu scholars. When Cai Yin reached that country, Falan had already agreed with Mātanga to travel and teach together, so he followed him. His disciples there tried to detain and hinder him, so Falan traveled by a secret route to arrive. Having reached Luoyang, he resided together with Mātanga. In a short time, he became fluent in the Chinese language. At first, he translated the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters together with Mātanga. After Mātanga passed away, Falan independently translated four works, including the Daśabhūmika-kleśa-saṃyojana-nirhāra-sūtra. Formerly, when Emperor Wu of the Former Han excavated the bottom of the Kunming Pool, black ash was obtained. He asked Dongfang Shuo, who said: “This is not something your servant knows; you may ask the foreigners of the Western Regions.” When Falan arrived, he was subsequently questioned about it, and Falan said: “This is ash from the kalpa fire.” Dongfang Shuo's words were confirmed, and those who believed were very numerous. Furthermore, when the envoy Qin Jing returned from the realm of the Yuezhi, he obtained an image of Śākyamuni Buddha, which was the fourth replica made by the artisans of King Udayana's sandalwood image. When it arrived in Luoyang, the Emperor immediately ordered copies to be painted and placed on Qingliang Platform and atop Xianjie Mausoleum for veneration. From that time on, painting in pigments spread down to the present day. Falan later died in Luoyang, over sixty years old at the time.
Furthermore, catalogues such as Changfang's state that Falan translated the Two Hundred and Sixty Precepts, Combined and Differentiated in two fascicles; this is not correct. When examining the title in detail, it was not translated by Falan. The investigation into the correspondences and differences is detailed below in the Classified Catalogue under lost texts.
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, ten fascicles (titled Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra of the Practice of the Way, also called Prajñā Sūtra Chapter on the Practice of the Way; or eight fascicles; first translation; the same text as the Brightness and Small Chapter, and the Fourth Assembly of the Great Prajñā; produced on the eighth day of the seventh month of the second year of the Guanghe reign [179 CE]; seen in the Min and You catalogues).
Sūtra on the Infinite, Pure, and Equal Enlightenment, two fascicles (also simply called Sūtra of Infinite Purity; second translation; the same text as the Great Amitābha Sūtra and the Assembly on the Infinite Lifespan in the Ratnakūṭa; seen in the Wu Catalogue).
Akṣobhya-buddha-kṣetra Sūtra, two fascicles (translated in the first year of the Jianhe reign [147 CE], or one fascicle; first translation; the same text as the Assembly of the Tathāgata Akṣobhya in the Ratnakūṭa; seen in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue and Sengyou's Catalogue; also called Sūtra on the Chapter of Bodhisattvas Learning and Attaining in the Realm of the Buddha Akṣobhya, or lacking the character 'realm').
Sūtra on the Mani Jewel Left by the Buddha, one fascicle (Master Dao'an says it belongs to the Vaipulya section; first translation; the same text as the Assembly of the Bodhisattva Prabhāpāla in the Ratnakūṭa; also called Old Chapter of the Prajñā Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha's Left Legacy, also called Great Ratnakūṭa Sūtra, also called Mahāyāna Jewel Adornment Sūtra; seen in the Sengyou and Changfang catalogues).
Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra, three fascicles (also called Sūtra on the Concentration Wherein All Buddhas of the Ten Directions Stand in One's Presence; the Old Catalogue calls it Great Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra; or two fascicles; translated in the second year of the Guanghe reign [179 CE]; first translation; the same text as the Sūtra of Bhadrapāla in the Mahāsaṃnipāta; seen in Nie Daozhen's Catalogue and the Wu Catalogue).
Tousha Sūtra, one fascicle (seen in Sengyou's Catalogue and the Wu Catalogue; it is an alternate translation of the Chapter on the Names in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra).
Druma-kinnara-rāja-paripṛcchā-sūtra, two fascicles (originally called Precious Tathāgata Samādhi Sūtra Inquired by Druma-kinnara; the Old Catalogue calls it Druma-kinnara-rāja Sūtra; or three fascicles; first translation; the same text as the Sūtra on the Great Tree Kinnara; absent from Dao'an's catalogue; seen in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue and Sengyou's Catalogue).
Ajātaśatru-rāja Sūtra, two fascicles (first translation; the same text as the Superior Universal Samādhi Sūtra; seen in Sengyou's Catalogue; Master Dao'an's statement that it comes from the Dīrgha-āgama is mistaken).