開元釋教錄 2.5.3

2.5.3

Sūtra on the Method of Repentance, 1 fascicle (or without the word "Method"; also titled Preface and Text for Bowing and Repentance in the Ten Directions; found in Sengyou's catalogue).
Sūtra on the Virtues of the Worthy, 1 fascicle (found in Sengyou's catalogue).
Sūtra on the Brahman's Purifying Vows, 1 fascicle (found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on the King of the Country of Azhi, 1 fascicle (found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on the Parable of the Lion Boy of King Weilou, 1 fascicle (one copy lacks the word "Parable"; found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on King Landan, 1 fascicle (also titled Sūtra on Maudgalyāyana's Merit, or Sūtra on the Merit of Maudgalyāyana's Dependent Origination; found in the Wu Catalogue).
Sūtra of a Hundred Parables, 1 fascicle (found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on the Affair of the Five Aggregates, 1 fascicle (found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on Māra Transforming into a Monk, 1 fascicle (found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on Uttara's Mother, 1 fascicle (one copy lacks the word "Mother"; found in Sengyou's catalogue).
Sūtra on the People Seeking Wishes, 1 fascicle (found in Changfang's catalogue).
Sūtra on the Expedients of Cultivation, 2 fascicles (also titled Meditation Sūtra on the Expedients of Cultivation; found in the Wu Catalogue).
Dharmapada, 2 fascicles (second translation; also called Dharmapada Compilation; found in the Classified Catalogue and Sengyou's catalogue).
The above eighty-eight works in one hundred and eighteen fascicles (above, from the Sūtra of Miscellaneous Difficulties of Weiri, fifty-one works in sixty-nine fascicles are extant; below, from the Mahāprajñā Dhāraṇī, thirty-seven works in forty-nine fascicles are lost).
Upāsaka Zhi Qian, courtesy name Gongming, also named Yue, was a man of the Da Yuezhi. His grandfather, Fadu, led several hundred of his countrymen to pledge allegiance [to China] during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han, and was appointed Palace Vice Commander Who Leads the Virtuous. When Yue was seven years old, he was riding a bamboo horse and playing at a neighbour's house, when a dog bit him, fracturing and crushing his shinbone. The neighbour wished to kill the dog and take its liver to apply to the wound. Yue said: "Heaven created this creature to guard and bark for humans. If I had not gone to your house, the dog would never have bitten me. Thus the fault lies with me and has nothing to do with the dog. Even if killing it would cure me, it still should not be done, let alone when it brings me no benefit and merely incurs great guilt in vain. Moreover, beasts have no understanding; how can one hold them accountable to reason?" Thereupon the neighbour was deeply moved by his words and did not kill it.
At the age of ten, he studied Chinese texts; at thirteen, he studied Brahman texts. He became master of both, and furthermore was fluent in the languages and sounds of six countries. Earlier, during the Huan and Ling eras, Zhi Qian [Lokakṣema] translated out Dharma texts. There was a Zhi Liang, courtesy name Jiming, who received instruction from Kṣema. Qian, in turn, received instruction from Liang. He read widely in the canonical scriptures, understanding every one thoroughly, and extensively mastered worldly arts. In person, he was tall and slender, dark and thin, with white-dominated eyes and yellow pupils. People of the time made a saying about him: "Young Master Zhi has yellow pupils; though his body is slender, he is a sack of wisdom." Originally devoted to the Great Teaching, he deeply mastered the scriptural tenets. At the end of Emperor Xian's reign, when the Han house fell into great turmoil, he fled to Wu together with several tens of fellow townsmen. On the day they first departed, he had only one quilt. A traveler followed him, but in the severe cold had no quilt. Yue called the traveler to sleep together with him. Toward midnight, the traveler snatched his quilt and ran away. The next morning, his companions asked where the quilt was. Yue said: "Last night it was snatched by the traveler." His companions all said: "Why didn't you tell us?" He answered: "Had I reported it, you would certainly have punished him for robbery. How could it be fitting to kill a man for the sake of one quilt?" Those far and near who heard of this all sighed in admiration.
Later, the Ruler of Wu, Sun Quan, heard of his broad learning, talent, and wisdom, and summoned him for an audience. He then questioned him on the profound and obscure meanings in the sūtras. Yue resolved difficulties as they arose, answering every doubt without exception. Quan was greatly pleased and appointed him an Erudite (boshi), having him tutor the Crown Prince, conferring lavish favour and official rank upon him. Yue considered that although the Great Teaching was circulating, the scriptures were mostly in Sanskrit and none understood them. Since he was skilled in both Chinese and barbarian tongues, he collected various copies and translated them into the language of Wu. From the second year of Quan's Huangwu era (gui-mao) to the second year of Liang's Jianxing era (gui-you), over more than thirty years, he translated eighty-eight works, including the Da mingdu jing. He subtly captured the sacred meaning, and his phrasing was elegant and refined. Moreover, based on the Amitāyus-sūtra and the Zhong benqi jing, he composed a three-stanza Sanskrit chant in continuous verse praising the Bodhisattva, and annotated the Liaoben shengsi jing, all of which circulated in the world. Later, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, [Zhi Qian] retreated into the Qionglong Mountains and withdrew from worldly affairs. From the Daoist-monk Zhu Falan, he further received the five precepts. Those with whom he associated were solely śramaṇas. Later he passed away in the mountains at the age of sixty.
The Ruler of Wu, Sun Liang, wrote to the saṅgha: "Zhi Gongming's illness was incurable. His conduct and practice were humble and pure, noble from beginning to end. My sorrow and grief cannot be stilled." He was cherished by his contemporaries to this extent. As for the number of works and fascicles translated by Qian, the various accounts disagree. Sengyou's Sanzang ji records only thirty-six works; Sengyou's biography of Qian in his catalogue says he translated twenty-seven sūtras; Huijiao's Gaoseng zhuan lists forty-nine sūtras; and Changfang's catalogue records as many as one hundred and twenty-nine works. Now, considering that what is recorded in Changfang's catalogue mostly consists of extracted texts or duplicate entries under alternate titles, I shall now delete them in sequence as explained below:
Sūtra of the Deer's Son (its text is identical to the Sūtra of the Mother Deer translated by Zhu Fahu of the Western Jin).
Sūtra of Shenri (also identical to the Sūtra of the Youth Candraprabha translated by Fahu).
Sūtra on the Merits of Leaving the Household (now there are two texts: one is a Qin translation, appended to the Qin catalogue; one is an excerpt from the Xianyu jing, now appended to the catalogue of extracted texts).
Sūtra of the Adamantine Purity (also titled Vajrasamādhi Sūtra on Original Nature Pure, Indestructible, and Undying; also listed in the catalogue of anonymous translations of the Later Han; upon examining the text, it was not translated by Zhi Qian, so it is now moved and appended to the Qin catalogue).
Sūtra on Great Benevolence Without Diminution.
Sūtra on the Precious Maiden Inquiring About the Thirty-Two Marks.
Sūtra on Māra's Daughter Hearing the Buddha Preach the Dharma and Attaining a Male Body (the three sūtras including Great Benevolence Without Diminution are all extracted from the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra).
Sūtra on Ratnasāgara's Pure Aspiration Fulfilling Great Compassion (extracted from the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka-sūtra).
Sūtra of Bodhisattva Samantaprasādana (this is the independently circulating Sūtra on Rebirth According to Vows, extracted from the Guan ding jing).
Sūtra on King Modiao (extracted from the Liudu ji jing).
Sūtra on the Buddha Preaching the Dharma for the Wilderness Demon Hārīti (or simply called Hārīti; extracted from the Madhyama-āgama).
Sūtra of the Withered Tree (or with the word "Great" added at the beginning).
Sūtra on the Hawk and Falcon Hunting.
Sūtra on the Affair of the Kite (the three sūtras including The Withered Tree are all extracted from the Ekottarika-āgama).
Sūtra on the Impermanence of Form.
Sūtra on the Exhaustion of All Outflows (or without the word "Outflow").
Sūtra on the Snowy Mountains Having No Macaques (or written as "monkeys", or without the word "No").
Sūtra on Child Without Mother.
Sūtra on the Contemplation of Impurity.
Sūtra on the Three Kinds of Fine Horses.
Sūtra on the Four Kinds of Fine Horses.
Sūtra on the Shortening of Lifespan.
Sūtra on the River Grass-Turtle.
Sūtra on the King Achieving Five Dharmas and Enduring Long in the World.
Sūtra on the Buddha Preaching Detachment from Desire for the Non-Buddhist Suśīma (the eleven sūtras including The Impermanence of Form are all extracted from the Saṃyuktāgama).
Sūtra on "This Is Mine".
Sūtra on the Brahman (the above two sūtras are both extracted from the Jātaka-sūtra).
Sūtra on King Jietan (extracted from the Arthapada-sūtra).
Sūtra on the Non-Buddhist Śreṇika Preaching Deliverance.
Sūtra on Converting the Brahman (the above two sūtras are Hīnayāna excerpts).
Sūtra of the Blind Turtle.
Sūtra on the Brahman Inquiring of the Buddha on the Increase and Decrease of the World.
Sūtra on the Three Fish Deprived of Water.
Sūtra on the Path of Amṛta.
Sūtra on Subduing One Thousand Brahmans.
Sūtra on the Brahman's Son Dying and the Rice Spoiling.