大唐貞元續開元釋教錄 1.7.10

1.7.10

下信崇特令翻譯。功勤靡輟今帙告終。特賜
幡花又令重進。微僧為幸驚寵伏深。臣家西
蕃得居中國。名參戎禁榮及私門。父子相歡
實慚天地。僧人何德更蒙委曲。洪私願奉修
持福資皇祚。臣之多幸誓死答恩。載喜載歡。
無任抃躍之至。謹詣光順門。奉表陳謝以聞。
臣好心誠惶誠恐頓首頓首謹言。
聖神文武皇帝批曰。
卿之表弟。早悟大乘。遠自西方來遊上國。宣
六根之奧義。演雙樹之微言。今以精誠所宜
欽重。是令翻譯俾可流行。卿夙茂忠懃職司
禁衛。省覽表疏具見乃懷所謝知。洎十二月
二日。將軍王希遷宣奉勅醴泉寺僧思惟。院
宜與罽賓國進梵本六波羅蜜經僧般若安置
又至二十三日。勅右神策軍判官內謁者監馮
國清宣。送賜罽賓國僧般若院八尺床三張。
各夾帖及席褐官絁褥白[示*犀]氈白副手巾二
枚。銅水瓶一。鐵鍋二枚。三斗釜一口。白瓷
椀十枚𣗪瓶一枚。蒲團一枚。新𣗪二十釧。并
𣗪碾子一副。又於進經日奉恩旨。令再譯六
波羅蜜經中真言契印法門唐梵相對進來者。
至五年二月四日繕寫畢功。與沙門良秀等
進上。恩勅賜𣗪三十釧。又譯六波羅蜜經。了
日又譯大花嚴長者問佛那羅延力經一卷。
強一紙許。其年十二月十五日校寫終畢未
獲進上。今隨目錄進奉。至五月四日御製六
波羅蜜經序。成題之經首。勅下千福及章敬
寺。各賜經一本轉讀流行。是時章敬千福惟
雅智柔。修表謝聞。皇帝批曰。此經出代以來
未傳中夏。須因梵本至自西方。詳考宗源克
符覺義。遂令翻譯俾可流行。師等虔奉法門
住持斯久。令加繕寫。錫在伽藍。庶此真文攄
之不朽。省覽章表煩有謝恩。洎六年六月二
十三日。沙門般若進當院菴羅菓二百五十
顆。奉勅賜絹十疋。至七月十五日。又賜絹五
十疋冬衣五副。仍勅般若。充往北天竺迦濕
蜜國使。至十七日又賜春衣一副。并弟子二
人各絹三十疋冬衣四副。二十二日於右銀
臺門引般若入於三殿對見。受中書門下勅
牒。二十四日進發宿長樂譯。二十五日又勅
罽賓國進梵夾六波羅蜜沙門般若。宜賜名
般若三藏。仍賜紫衣。二十七日續使送此告
牒并雜藥物十斤。至宜領取。師等好去明辰
又發。路取迴鶻北庭鎮西大食天竺。時般若
三藏法師行年五十七矣。又三藏法師奉制。
前千福寺大德智柔。請更重譯般若心經。及
奉使西蕃不遑進奉。至八月十一日。隨表上
聞。序分流通此經具足。文曰。
沙門智柔言。伏以聖智宏深。籍弘演而彌廣。
真源妙極。假言象而方傳。斯經乃眾聖師宗。
群經本母。曩者沙門玄奘已譯流行。雖義滿
無遺。然文虧首。從昨遇罽賓國僧般若。親覩
梵文因請傳通。重賀贊翼。始知鷲巖精舍實
啟金言。誦者除疑。真風更遠。伏惟。陛下親
承佛囑。善無不從。道洽生靈。人無不化。智柔
不揆庸淺。輒獻愚誠。冀補皇風願資聖壽。伏
乞俯垂天鑒覽此金文。如或可從。請頒宣中
外。則一切迷生。沙門幸甚。不任罄竭丹誠之
至。謹附表陳進以聞。沙門智柔誠惶誠恐死
罪謹言。
聖神文武皇帝答曰。
般若心經大乘祕旨。頃者玄奘所翻字義已
周其於首從或未詳備。近因罽賓僧般若來
至中華。傳此遺文。足相翼贊。師所陳請深為
允愜。今依來奏用廣真經。時般若三藏奉承
王命出使北天。路取大原途經振武。入遊迴
鶻也。沙場異域踐歷山川。暑往寒來奉忠奉
法。向二周載旋于太原。即貞元八年三月也。
自月八日公牒而行。四月上旬還上都也。勅
使勞問。賜紫袈裟。宜歸醴泉舊院安置此之
所述。略舉其由委細而知。廣如般若三藏續
譯圖紀。論曰。自佛法東流。高僧繼踵。共推翻
譯初業最高。其次義解參玄傳揚疏記。今般
若三藏即其人焉。所謂尋師印度學究五明。
遠涉滄波流通三藏。東西南北非類於瓠瓜。
豈唯釋氏之真僧。抑亦應聘之上士也。

[Your Majesty] deeply reveres [the teachings] and specially decreed the translation. With diligent labor unceasing, the volumes are now completed. You have specially bestowed banners and flowers and commanded a further presentation. For this humble monk it is great good fortune; overwhelmed by this favor, he bows deeply. My family is from the Western Barbarians, yet we have come to dwell in the Central Realm. My name is listed among the imperial guards, bringing glory to my humble house. Father and son rejoice together, feeling truly unworthy before Heaven and Earth. What virtue does a monk possess to receive such gracious indulgence? With great gratitude, he vows to maintain his practice and dedicate its blessings to the imperial reign. For my abundant good fortune, I vow to repay your benevolence even unto death. Filled with joy and gladness, I am bounded by overflowing elation. Respectfully going to Guangshun Gate, I present this memorial to offer thanks and submit it to your hearing. Your subject [Luo] Haoxin, truly fearful and trembling, knocking his head repeatedly, respectfully speaks."

The Holy, Divine, Civil, and Martial Emperor's endorsement stated:
"Your cousin was early awakened to the Mahāyāna, and from far in the west he came to travel to the Supreme Realm, proclaiming the profound meaning of the six sense bases and expounding the subtle words of the Twin Trees. Now, as his pure sincerity deserves esteem, we ordered the translation so that it may circulate widely. You have long shown abundant loyalty and diligence, holding office in the imperial guard. Having examined your memorial, we fully perceive your sentiments; your thanks are acknowledged."

On the second day of the twelfth month, General Wang Xiqian proclaimed the imperial decree: "The courtyard of the monk Sihui of Liquan Temple should be arranged to accommodate the monk Prajñā of the kingdom of Kapiśa, who presented the Sanskrit text of the Six Pāramitās Sūtra."

Then on the twenty-third day, an imperial decree was proclaimed by Feng Guoqing, Court Eunuch Attendant and Judge of the Right Divine Strategy Army, bestowing upon the courtyard of the monk Prajñā from Kapiśa: three eight-foot couches, each with linings, mats, coarse woolen blankets, government silk padded mattresses, white felt rugs, two white hand towels, one copper water bottle, two iron cooking pots, one three-dou cauldron, ten white porcelain bowls, one tea jar, one cattail cushion, twenty strings of new tea, and one set of tea grinders. Moreover, on the day the scripture was presented, an imperial favor was received ordering him to translate again the mantras, mudrās, and doctrinal gates in the Six Pāramitās Sūtra, presenting them in parallel Chinese and Sanskrit. On the fourth day of the second month in the fifth year, the copying was completed, and together with the śramaṇa Liangxiu and others, he presented it to the throne. By imperial favor, thirty strings of tea were bestowed. After completing the translation of the Six Pāramitās Sūtra, he also translated one fascicle of the Sūtra of the Mahāvaipulya Elder Asking the Buddha about the Nārāyaṇa Strength, slightly over one sheet long. On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of that year, the proofreading and copying were concluded, but it had not yet been presented. Now it is presented following the catalogue.

On the fourth day of the fifth month, the imperial preface to the Six Pāramitās Sūtra was completed and placed at the head of the scripture. An imperial decree was issued to Qianfu and Zhangjing Temples, bestowing on each one copy of the scripture to be recited and circulated. At that time, [the monks] Weiya and Zhirou of Zhangjing and Qianfu Temples drafted a memorial to express their thanks. The Emperor's endorsement stated:
"Ever since this scripture appeared in the world, it had not been transmitted to the Central Realm; it required the Sanskrit text to arrive from the West. Examining its doctrinal source, it truly accords with the meaning of enlightenment. We therefore ordered it translated so that it may circulate. You Masters have devoutly upheld the teachings and sustained them for a long time. We have ordered additional copies to be made and bestowed upon the monasteries, hoping that this true text will be preserved forever. Having examined your memorial, your expression of thanks is noted."

On the twenty-third day of the sixth month of the sixth year, the śramaṇa Prajñā presented two hundred and fifty mangoes from his courtyard. By imperial decree, ten bolts of silk were bestowed. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, fifty bolts of silk and five sets of winter garments were further bestowed. Furthermore, Prajñā was decreed to serve as an envoy to the kingdom of Kaśmīra in North India. On the seventeenth day, one set of spring garments was also bestowed, along with thirty bolts of silk and four sets of winter garments for each of his two disciples. On the twenty-second day, Prajñā was ushered through the Right Yintai Gate into the Three Halls for an audience, receiving the decree and official dispatch of the Secretariat-Chancellery. On the twenty-fourth day, he set out and lodged at the Changle Station. On the twenty-fifth day, an imperial decree further directed: "The śramaṇa Prajñā from Kapiśa, who presented the Sanskrit pothi of the Six Pāramitās, should be granted the title 'Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā', and further bestowed a purple robe." On the twenty-seventh day, an envoy was subsequently sent with this decree and diploma, along with ten catties of miscellaneous medicines, to be received upon arrival: "May the masters depart safely!" The next morning, he set out again, taking the route through the Uyghurs, Beiting, Zhenxi, the Arabs (Tāzī), and India. At that time, Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā was fifty-seven years old.

Furthermore, the Tripiṭaka Master complied with an imperial decree. Previously, the Great Virtue Zhirou of Qianfu Temple had requested a retranslation of the Heart of Wisdom Sūtra (Prajñāhṛdaya), but because he was dispatched as an envoy to the Western Barbarians, he did not have leisure to present it. On the eleventh day of the eighth month, it was submitted along with a memorial; the introductory section for circulating this scripture was complete. The text stated:
"The śramaṇa Zhirou says: I humbly consider that the sagely wisdom is vast and profound, relying upon extensive expounding to become ever wider; the marvelous peak of the true source depends on words and images before it can be transmitted. This sūtra is the teacher and source of all sages, the fundamental mother of all sūtras. In the past, the śramaṇa Xuanzang translated and circulated it; although its meaning was complete without omission, its text lacked the beginning and end. Recently, I met the monk Prajñā from Kapiśa and personally beheld the Sanskrit text. I therefore requested its transmission and translation, repeatedly celebrating and assisting it. Only then did I know that the retreat at Vulture Peak truly opened these golden words; those who recite it will dispel doubts, and the true influence will reach still further. I humbly consider that Your Majesty has personally received the Buddha's entrustment; there is no goodness you do not follow. Your Dao permeates living beings; there is no person you do not transform. Without measuring my own unworthiness and shallowness, I have ventured to offer my foolish sincerity, hoping to assist the imperial influence and wishing to bolster the imperial longevity. I humbly beg that Your Majesty deign to cast your heavenly gaze upon this golden text. If it is acceptable, I request that it be promulgated throughout the realm; then all deluded beings and this śramaṇa will be most fortunate. Unable to bear the utmost outpouring of my sincere devotion, I respectfully attach this memorial to present it to your hearing. The śramaṇa Zhirou, truly fearful and trembling, deserving of death, respectfully speaks."

The Holy, Divine, Civil, and Martial Emperor replied:
"The Heart of Wisdom Sūtra contains the secret tenets of the Mahāyāna. Formerly, what Xuanzang translated had words and meanings that were already complete, yet it may not have been fully comprehensive regarding its beginning and end. Recently, because the monk Prajñā from Kapiśa came to China and transmitted this remaining text, it is sufficient to assist and support it. What you, Master, have stated and requested is exceedingly agreeable and fitting. Now, in accordance with your submission, let it be used to broaden the true scripture."

At that time, Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā received the royal mandate and went on a mission to North India, taking the route through Taiyuan, passing through Zhenwu, and entering the Uyghur territory. Across desert wastes and foreign lands, traversing mountains and rivers, as summer passed and winter arrived, he served with loyalty and Dharma. After nearly two years, he returned to Taiyuan; this was the third month of the eighth year of Zhenyuan. Departing with official dispatches on the eighth day of the month, he returned to the Upper Capital in the first ten days of the fourth month. An imperial envoy conveyed solicitous greetings and bestowed a purple kāṣāya, directing him to return to his former courtyard at Liquan Temple to settle. What is recounted here merely outlines the background, which can be understood in detail; it is fully recorded in the Illustrated Record of Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā's Sequential Translations.

The Appraisal states: Since the eastward transmission of the Buddha's teaching, eminent monks have followed in close succession. All acknowledge that the enterprise of translation is of the highest order, followed by doctrinal interpretation, delving into the abstruse, and propagating commentaries and records. Now Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā is just such a person. It is said that he sought teachers in India, thoroughly mastered the five sciences, crossed the vast waves from afar, and circulated the Tripiṭaka. Going east, west, south, and north, he was not like a gourdvine fastened in one place. How could he merely be a true monk of the Śākya clan? He was also a superior man who responded to the court's mission!