開元釋教錄 9.3.7

9.3.7

Sārdhaśatabuddhaprashāmsā-gāthā (Hymn of One Hundred and Fifty Verses in Praise of the Buddha), one fascicle (composed by the venerable Mātṛceṭa; translated at Nālandā Monastery in Central India, and revised and reedited at Jianfu Temple by the second year of Jingyun).
Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva's Suhṛllekha (Verses of Exhortation to the King), one fascicle (third translation, the same text as the older Exhortative Essential Gāthās to Kings, etc.; translated at Tāmralipti in Eastern India, and reedited upon arriving in the capital).
Da Tang Xiyu qiufa gaoseng zhuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks Who Sought the Dharma in the Western Regions under the Great Tang), two fascicles (composed while in Śrīvijaya in the South Seas upon returning from the Western countries, and sent back).
Nanhai jigui neifa zhuan (Account of Buddhism Sent from the South Seas under the Great Tang), four fascicles (composed while in Śrīvijaya in the South Seas upon returning from the Western countries, and sent back).
Essential Practices for the Distinct Confession of Transgressions, one fascicle (sometimes without the character bie [“distinct”]).
Essential Practices for Using the Three Types of Water, one fascicle (or called “Essential Practical Method”).
Prescribed Rituals for Protecting Life and Releasing Living Beings, one fascicle (or called “Method of Prescribed Rituals”).
Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-śāstra (Treatise on the Lotus Sūtra), five fascicles (author unknown; whether an only or retranslation is not yet clear; translated in the second year of Jingyun).
Pramāṇasamuccaya (Compendium of Valid Cognition), four fascicles (translated in the second year of Jingyun; the texts above mostly take the year and month of submission to the throne, which is why the dates of completion are recorded as the same).
The sixty-one works in two hundred and thirty-nine fascicles above (the two works of nine fascicles below the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-śāstra have lost their originals).
Śramaṇa Shi Yijing was a man of Qizhou. His lay surname was Zhang, and his courtesy name was Wenming. In his childhood, he renounced worldly glory and shaved his hair. Thereupon, he consulted famous masters everywhere and broadly investigated numerous texts. He was thoroughly versed in both inner [Buddhist] and outer [secular] teachings, and knew everything of past and present. At the age of fifteen, he set his resolve to travel to the Western Regions, revering Faxian's noble deportment and admiring Xuanzang's lofty character. Furthermore, he was diligent and wasted no time, never letting a scroll slip from his hand. At twenty he took full ordination, becoming even more resolute in perseverance and integrity. In the second year of Xianheng [671 CE], at the age of thirty-seven, he finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish. Thereupon he went to Guangzhou, initially forming a covenant with a full ten companions who shared his ambition. But when it came to boarding the ship, all the others shrank back and quit. Only Yijing's resolute resolve grew ever more ardent, and so he set out alone. Enduring all hardships, he gradually reached India. Wherever he arrived, he mastered the local speech. Wherever he encountered kings and ministers, he was treated with honor and respect. He personally climbed both Vulture Peak and Cock's Foot Mountain. He toured all of Jetavana and the Deer Park. He rested at Nālandā and paid homage to the Bodhi tree. He studied under famous masters everywhere, learning both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. When his tasks were complete, he returned to his home country. In all, he traveled through more than thirty kingdoms, spending over twenty years journeying and inquiring into the Way. In the first year of the Zhengsheng era of the Heavenly Empress [Wu Zetian], the yiwei year [695 CE], in mid-summer, he returned to the Yellow and Luo river region. He brought back nearly four hundred texts of Sanskrit sūtras, vinayas, and treatises, totaling five hundred thousand gāthās, one true image of the Vajrāsana, and three hundred grains of relics. The Heavenly Empress, revering the Dharma and respecting the man, personally welcomed him outside the Shangdong Gate. The clergy of Luoyang prepared banners and flags, accompanied by drums and music, leading the way before him. An imperial edict ordered him to be housed at Foshouji Temple, and all the Sanskrit manuscripts he brought were ordered to be translated. At first, together with Śikṣānanda, the Tripiṭaka master from Khotan, he translated the Avataṃsaka-sūtra. Only after the Jiushi era did he begin his own translations. Thus, from the first year of Jiushi, the gengzi year [700 CE], to the third year of Chang'an, the guimao year [703 CE], at Fuxian Temple in the Eastern Capital and Ximing Temple in the Western Capital, he translated: Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtrarāja (Sūtra of the King of Glorious Light), the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the Sūtra of the Seal of the Fixed and Not Fixed in Samādhi, Maitreya Becoming Buddha, the One-Syllable Dhāraṇī King, the Sūtra of the Glorious King Dhāraṇī, the Bhadrakārātrī-sūtra, the Sūtra on the Transmigration through Existences in the Mahāyāna, the Sūtra of the Nidāna of King Suvarṇavarṇa, the Impermanence Sūtra, the Sūtra on the Eight Non-Conditions and Conditions of Leisure, the Sūtra of the Long-Nail Brahmacārin, and others; the Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya, the Vinaya-nidāna-mātṛkā, the Śataika-karman, the Vinayasaṃgraha, and others; the Hastavāla-prakaraṇa, the *Upādāyaprajñapti-śāstra, the Ṣaṇmukhī-dhāraṇī-vyākhyāna, and others; as well as Nāgārjuna's Suhṛllekha. The twenty works in one hundred and fifteen fascicles above were verified in Sanskrit meaning by the North Indian śramaṇa Ajñā/Anizhenna. The śramaṇas Polun, Fuli, Huibiao, Zhiji, and others transcribed the text and certified the phrasing. The śramaṇas Fabao, Fazang, Degan, Chengzhuang, Shenying, Renliang, Dayi, Cixun, and others certified the doctrine. Xu Guan, Assistant Instructor at the National University, supervised the scribal transcription and submitted them to the imperial court. The Heavenly Empress composed a Preface to the Newly Translated Holy Teachings and ordered it placed at the beginning of the scriptures. When Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne in the first year of Shenlong, the yisi year [705 CE], he translated the Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī (Great Peacock King Sūtra) at the inner court chapel in the Eastern Capital. Furthermore, at Great Fuxian Temple he translated the King Prasenajit Sūtra, the Dhāraṇī of Fragrant King Bodhisattva, the King of All Virtues and Ornaments Sūtra, and other sūtras—four works in six fascicles in all. The śramaṇa Bandhu read out the Sanskrit text; the śramaṇa Xuanzan took dictation; the śramaṇa Dayi certified the text; the śramaṇas Shengzhuang, Lizheng, and others certified the doctrine. Vice Minister of War Cui Shi, Supervising Secretary Lu Can, and others polished the style and corrected characters. Yang Shenjiao, Chief of the Palace Library, Imperial Son-in-law, and Duke of Guan, supervised. Emperor Zhongzong, deeply revering the Buddhist scriptures, composed a preface praising them, entitled Preface to the Tripiṭaka Holy Teachings of the Tang Dynasty's Restoration. The Emperor proceeded to the West Gate of Luoyang and proclaimed to the assembled ministers the texts newly translated by Yijing, ordering them all to be prefaced with it. In the second year, the bingwu year [706 CE], he accompanied the imperial retinue back to the capital. An imperial decree ordered that a separate Translation Hall be established at Great Jianfu Temple to house him. In the third year, the dingwei year [707 CE], the Emperor summoned him into the palace, along with his fellow translation śramaṇas, to spend the ninety-day summer retreat. Because the Emperor had previously been confined in Fangzhou with nowhere to turn, he had prayed to Bhaiṣajyaguru and had consequently received divine blessings. In celebration of this past grace, he wished to spread the great doctrine further, and thus commanded the assembly of the Dharma to undertake further translations. In the Hall of the Great Buddha's Radiance, they translated in two fascicles the Sūtra on the Fundamental Vows and Merits of the Seven Buddhas of Lapis Lazuli Radiance, Bhaiṣajyaguru. The Emperor presided over the Dharma assembly and personally wrote down the translation with his own hand. Then in the fourth year of Jinglong, the gengxu year [710 CE], at Great Jianfu Temple, he translated: the Merit of Bathing the Buddha Image, the Merit of Rosaries, the Wish-Fulfilling Mind, the Uṣṇīṣavijayā, the Dispelling of Karmic Obstacles, Going Forth and Entering the Womb, The Five Aggregates Are Void, Turning the Wheel of the Dharma Three Times, Parables, Curing Hemorrhoids, and other sūtras; the Mūlasarvāstivāda-bhikṣuṇī-vinaya, the Vinayakṣudrakavastu, the Prātimokṣa-sūtra for Both Assemblies, the Vinaya-kārikā, the Kṣudrakavastu-saṃgraha-gāthā, the Nidāna-mātṛkā-saṃgraha-gāthā, the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-ratnasaṃbhava, the Commentary on the Ālambanaparīkṣā, and others. The twenty works in eighty-eight fascicles above were verified in Sanskrit meaning by the Tocharian śramaṇa Dharmavarma and the Central Indian śramaṇa Bāṇu; verified in Sanskrit phrasing by the Kaśmīri śramaṇa Dharmananda; certified against the Sanskrit manuscript by the lay householder and Eastern Indian chieftain Īśvara; the Sanskrit manuscript was read out by the śramaṇa Huiji, the lay householder Li Shijiaduopeduo of Central India, and others; verified in doctrine by the śramaṇas Wengang, Huizhao, Lizheng, Shengzhuang, Aitong, Siheng, and others; transcribed by the śramaṇas Xuanzan, Zhiji, and others; certified in translation by the lay householders Gautama-vajra of Eastern India, Prince Ashun of Kaśmīra, and others; while over twenty officials, including Grand Academician of the Xiuwen Academy, Specially Promoted, and Duke of Zhao Li Qiao, Minister of War and Duke of Xiaoyao Wei Sili, Vice Director of the Secretariat Zhao Yanzhao, Vice Minister of Personnel Lu Cangyong, Vice Minister of War Zhang Yue, and Secretariat Drafters Li Yi and Su Ting, arranged the style and polished the text.