開元釋教錄 8.6.10

8.6.10

The Master returned to Jicui Palace to continue translating. When the Dharma Master first had an audience with Emperor Taizong, he had already requested to translate sūtras at Shaolin Temple. In the ninth month in autumn of this year, he again requested to enter Shaolin, but the Heavenly Emperor issued a handwritten edict declining and not permitting it. In the second month of the third year, he accompanied the imperial cortege back to the capital. In the seventh month in autumn, Ximing Temple was completed; an edict ordered the Dharma Master to reside there, granting him one superior quarter and assigning ten newly ordained śrāmaṇeras, including Haihui, to serve as disciples. Because the Dharma Master had been held in high esteem by the late sovereign, the Heavenly Emperor, upon ascending the throne, revered him with even greater courtesy; imperial emissaries and court officials came to make inquiries without ceasing. The Eastern Country valued the Prajñā[-pāramitā] teachings; although previous dynasties had translated them, the texts were incomplete. The community repeatedly requested that they be retranslated in full detail. However, the Prajñā section was vast, and the capital had many distractions; moreover, human life is impermanent, and he feared it would be difficult to bring it to completion. He thus requested to go to Yuhua Palace to translate. Thereupon, in the tenth month in winter of the fourth year, he moved to Yuhua Palace, accompanied by the translation-assisting Bhadantas and his disciples. All provisions and supplies were provided just as in the capital. Upon arriving there, he was accommodated in Sucheng Hall. On the first day of the first month in spring of the fifth year, he commenced the translation of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra. The Sanskrit manuscript contained a total of two hundred thousand verses, spoken by the Buddha in four locations over sixteen assemblies. As the text was vast and extensive, the students requested to abridge it, following Kumārajīva's translations by removing complexities and redundant passages. Just as the Dharma Master was about to yield to their wishes, he had an extremely terrifying dream at night as a warning. Awaking in dread and fright, he recounted it to the assembly and decided to translate according to the comprehensive version as before. That night, he saw most auspicious visions of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas; upon waking, he rejoiced and dared not abridge it any further. On the twentieth day of the tenth month in the third year of Longshuo, the work was finished and he put down his brush, amounting in total to six hundred fascicles. Joining his palms in delight, he announced to his disciples, 'This scripture has an affinity with this place. That Xuanzang came to Yuhua was by the power of the scripture. If I were still in the capital, entanglements and distractions would have made it impossible to finish. That it is now completed is entirely due to the unseen aid of the Buddhas and the protection of the nāgas and devas. This is indeed a canon that guards the state and a great jewel for humans and devas. You disciples should all leap for joy and celebrate!' In the interim, he also translated the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra, Madhyāntavibhāga-śāstra, Viṃśikā-vijñaptimātratāsiddhi, Prakaraṇapāda-śāstra, and others. On the twenty-second day of the eleventh month, he instructed his disciple Kuiji to submit a memorial reporting this and requesting an imperial preface for the scripture. On the seventh day of the twelfth month, the Ceremonial Reception Officer Feng Yi proclaimed an imperial edict granting permission. On the first day of the first month in the first year of Linde, the translation-assisting Bhadantas and the community of Yuhua Temple earnestly petitioned to translate the Mahāratnakūṭa-sūtra. Seeing the single-minded devotion of the community, the Dharma Master translated several lines with difficulty, then gathered up the Sanskrit manuscript, halted, and told the assembly, 'The volume of this scripture is equal to that of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā. Xuanzang measures his own strength and knows he can no longer manage this.' From the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, an yisi year, when he first opened the Sanskrit texts at Hongfu Temple, until the first year of Linde, a jiazi year, when he concluded at the temple of Yuhua Palace, over a total of twenty years, he produced altogether seventy-five works in one thousand three hundred and thirty-five fascicles of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras, vinayas, and śāstras. In addition, he separately composed one work, the Records of the Western Regions. After completing the translation of the Prajñā[-pāramitā], he applied himself solely to diligent practice of the Path, worship, and repentance. He said to the translation monks and disciples, 'Conditioned phenomena must inevitably return to destruction; how could a physical form of foam and illusion last long? I am now sixty-five years old and shall surely pass away at Yuhua. Those who have doubts regarding the scriptures and treatises may ask quickly now.' He also said to his disciples, 'My coming to Yuhua was originally for the sake of the Prajñā scriptures. Now that the scriptural task is done, my life is also at an end. When I have passed away, you should dispose of my remains with utmost frugality; wrap me in a coarse bamboo mat and carry me out. Choose a secluded spot in a mountain ravine to place me; do not bring me near palaces or monasteries. This impure body should be secluded far away.' When the disciples heard this, none failed to choke with sorrow. Throughout his life, Xuanzang had always vowed to be reborn in Maitreya's presence and to travel to the Western Regions. Moreover, hearing that Asaṅga and his brother were both reborn in that heaven, and having frequently prayed and received clear signs, his single-minded dedication made him even more zealous. All the merit he cultivated was dedicated to being reborn there. On the ninth day of the first month, he tripped and injured his shin, whereupon he took to his bed with illness. Opening his eyes and closing his eyes, he saw a great lotus flower arrive, fresh and white; he also saw magnificent forms and knew he would be reborn before the Buddha. Thereupon, he instructed the monk Jiashang to read aloud the list of translated sūtras and śāstras, as well as the images he had made, scriptures copied, alms given to monks, provisions for the needy, lamps lit, and living beings released. Having had them all read out in full, he felt joy in his heart. He summoned all his disciples who had karmic connections to assemble together, whereupon he relinquished all his robes and personal possessions, ordering them to make further images and offer donations for reciting scriptures and vegetarian feasts. He also instructed the sculptor Song Fazhi to erect the framework for a Bodhi statue in Jiashou Hall. Having bid farewell to the monastery monks and disciples and dispatched his memorial, he silently recollected Maitreya and bade those beside him chant verses wishing for rebirth. On the fourth day of the second month, lying on his right side with feet resting on each other, his right hand supporting his head and his left hand extended on his thigh, he did not turn over even until the final moment. Neither drinking nor eating, at midnight on the fifth day, his disciple Faguang and others asked, 'Will the Upādhyāya definitely be reborn in Maitreya's inner assembly?' He answered, 'I shall be reborn there.' Having spoken, his breath gradually diminished, and in a short while his spirit departed. His attendants did not notice the moment of his death; only when the wisp of cotton was applied did they find that warmth gradually receded from his feet, leaving the crown of his head warm last of all. His complexion was fair and ruddy, more serene and joyful than usual. Even after forty-nine days, there was no change and no offensive odor. Had he not been adorned with samādhi and wisdom, and supported by the fragrance of śīla, who could achieve such a passing? Furthermore, there were numerous unseen responses, fully recorded in his separate biography and omitted here. At that time, Dou Shilun, the Governor of Fangzhou, memorialized that the Dharma Master had passed away. When the Emperor heard it, he was filled with grief and sorrow, suspending the court audience and saying, 'We have lost a national treasure!' At that time, none among the civil and military ministers failed to choke with grief and shed tears. Having spoken, the Emperor wept so bitterly he could not contain his grief. The next day, he again said to his ministers, 'How lamentable! Our state has lost the single person of Dharma Master Xuanzang. It can be said that the main beam of the Śākya assembly has collapsed, and the four kinds of living beings have lost their guide! How is it different from a boat suddenly sinking just as one is crossing the ocean of suffering, or a torch being extinguished while the dark chamber is still pitch-black?' Having spoken, the Emperor sighed with regret and sorrow. Soon, he issued an edict to convey the sacred coffin back to the capital to be placed at C'en Temple, with all funeral necessities to be provided by the state. He also decreed that on the day of the burial, monks and nuns of the capital were permitted to accompany it to the burial place with banners and canopies. Because the Dharma Master was of luxuriant Dao and elevated virtue, and deeply mourned by the enlightened reign, grace was repeatedly bestowed upon him after his passing—something unprecedented among the ancients. Thereupon, white canopies and white banners gathered like clouds floating in the sky; mournful flutes and sorrowful chants rose up, arresting both humans and spirits. The four classes of laypeople were chilled with sorrow, and the seven assemblies lamented his passing. On the fifteenth day of the fourth month, he was buried ten li west of Bailuyuan, east of the Chan River. Black robes and white garments filled the graveyard, which was close to that of his elder brother, the Venerable Jie. Towering aloof, the white pagoda shone near the imperial capital; because it was often visible from within the forbidden palace, it frequently grieved the imperial mind. On the eighth day of the fourth month in the first year of Zongzhang, an imperial edict ordered his reburial on the northern plain of Fanchuan. The prefectural and county authorities were notified to supply official labor, and he was disinterred once again. All marveled with admiration, for after such a long time...