貞元新定釋教目錄 1.55.1

1.55.1

Sūtra in Forty-Two Chapters, one fascicle (translated jointly with Falan at the Baima Temple in the tenth year of the Yongping era [67 CE], cyclical year dingmao; first translation; the Old Catalogue refers to it as Emperor Xiaoming's Forty-Two Chapters).
The above one work in one fascicle is presently extant.
Śramaṇa Kāśyapa Mātaṅga (also called Zhu Yemoteng, and also called Shemoteng;
various catalogues preserve different names, and it is not clear which is correct; because it was formerly left untranslated, it is fully detailed here). He was a person of Central India, of the brāhmaṇa caste. In his youth he was intelligent and sharp, learned, and broad of hearing, with refined and outstanding cognitive ability, particularly illuminating the sūtras and vinaya. He once travelled in Western India, where there was a small state that invited Mātaṅga to lecture on the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra. Soon after, a neighbouring state raised an army and came to attack; as they were about to cross the border, there was suddenly an obstacle and the troops could not advance. The army of that state suspected there was some uncanny art, and secretly sent an emissary to spy on them. They saw only the assembled ministers peacefully listening together to his exposition of the Mahāyāna sūtra explaining the method by which the earth-spirit kings protect the realm. Thereupon that state requested peace and sought the Dharma. In the seventh year of the Yongping era [64 CE], cyclical year jiazi, Emperor Ming dreamed of a golden man sixteen feet tall, with a sun disc around his neck, shining brightly, flying before the palace hall. The next day he broadly questioned his assembled ministers: “What divine marvel is this?” The erudite Fu Yi stepped forward and addressed the throne in reply, saying: “Your subject has heard that in the Western Regions there is one who attained the Way, styled the Buddha. Might what Your Majesty dreamed be him?” The Emperor took it to be so, and issued an edict dispatching eighteen men, including the Gentleman of the Interior Cai Yin, the General of the Household Qin Jing, and the Disciples of the Erudites Wang Zun and others, to journey to India to seek out the Buddhadharma. In the realm of the Great Yuezhi, they encountered Mātaṅga. At that time, Cai Yin and the others earnestly petitioned Mātaṅga, and he accordingly came with them, arriving at Luoyi. Emperor Ming received and treated him with great appreciation. The Buddhist sūtras they brought and the painted images they obtained were borne on white horses and arrived together in Luoyang. Consequently, a saṅghārāma was erected, named the Baima (White Horse) Temple. Various prefectures vied to establish temples in requital of the favor of the white horses. At the Baima Temple, Mātaṅga produced the Sūtra in Forty-Two Chapters. It was initially stored inside the fourteenth compartment of the stone chamber of the Lantai (Orchid Terrace). From then on, the teachings of Śākya arose consecutively like clouds, and śramaṇas and faithful laymen followed on each other's heels in transmission and translation. Arranged according to the catalogues, this is indeed the ancestor of the scriptures and Dharma in the Han land. An old catalogue states: “This sūtra was originally an extract from foreign scriptures, fundamentally drawn from a large work; it gathered the essentials to guide common folk, resembling the Classic of Filial Piety in eighteen chapters.” It is found in the Old Catalogue, Zhu Shixing's Catalogue, Sengyou's Chu sanzang ji [ji], and elsewhere; it is not recorded in Dao'an's catalogue. Mātaṅga, considering that the Great Transformation had only just arrived and people did not yet have deep faith, kept his subtle understanding concealed and did not immediately translate extensively; he merely condensed the essentials of the scripture to guide the customs of the time. Mātaṅga later died in Luoyang. The detailed account of its origin is fully recorded in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue, the Gaoseng zhuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks), and elsewhere. When Sheng traced the origins of the catalogues, his initial intention was to narrate how the translated scriptures came to be, which required giving the causes and circumstances; therefore, he broadly gathered various accounts to widen knowledge of rare matters. Although it makes for verbose text, the narrative of the circumstances is complete.

Sūtra on the Severance of Fetters in the Ten Stages, eight fascicles (also in four fascicles; also called Ten Abodes; first translation; the same text as Zhu Fonian's Sūtra on the Severance of Fetters in the Ten Abodes; produced in the thirteenth year of the Yongping era [70 CE]; seen in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue, the Gaoseng zhuan, Fei Changfang's catalogue, etc.).
Ocean of Dharma Treasury Sūtra, one fascicle (one copy lacks the character zang [treasury]; first translation; the same text as the Ocean of Dharma Sūtra, etc.; seen in the Gaoseng zhuan, Fei Changfang's catalogue, etc.).
Sūtra on the Former Actions of the Buddha, five fascicles (produced in the eleventh year of the Yongping era [68 CE]; seen in the Gaoseng zhuan, Fei Changfang's catalogue, etc.).
Sūtra on the Previous Lives of the Buddha, one fascicle (seen in the Gaoseng zhuan, Fei Changfang's catalogue, etc.).
The above four works in fifteen fascicles are all lacking their texts.
Śramaṇa Zhu Falan was also a person of Central India. He said of himself that he recited tens of thousands of sections of sūtras and śāstras and served as a master to Indian scholars. When Cai Yin arrived in that country, Falan joined Mātaṅga in agreeing to travel and convert, and so followed along to come. Encountering his disciples who held him back and obstructed him, Falan came by travelling along secluded paths. Having reached Luoyang, he resided together with Mātaṅga. After a short time he became skilled in the Han language. At first he translated the Sūtra in Forty-Two Chapters together with Mātaṅga. When Mātaṅga passed away, Falan translated four works by himself, including the Sūtra on the Severance of Fetters in the Ten Stages. In the past, when the Former Han Emperor dug the bottom of the Kunming Pool, he found black ash and asked Dongfang Shuo. Shuo said: “This is not something your subject knows; you may ask the barbarians of the Western Regions.” When Falan arrived, he was subsequently questioned about it. Falan said: “This is the ash from the conflagration at the end of the kalpa.” Shuo's words were thus verified, and those who believed were very numerous. Furthermore, when the envoy Qin Jing returned from the Yuezhi country, he obtained a statue of Śākya, which was the fourth replica made by the craftsmen of King Udayana's sandalwood statue. Arriving in Luoyang, the Emperor immediately ordered that it be painted and copied, and placed it upon the Qingliang Terrace and the Xianjie Tomb for making offerings. From then on, painting [the Buddha] has spread down to the present day. Falan later died in Luoyang at an age of over sixty. Furthermore, Changfang and other catalogues state that Falan translated the Comparison of Differences in the Two Hundred and Sixty Precepts in two fascicles; this is not so. A close examination of the titles shows it was not translated by Falan. The detailed search into similarities and differences is narrated below in the Detailed Catalogue of Missing Texts.

Sūtra on the Practice of the Perfection of Wisdom, ten fascicles (titled Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra on 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 Mingdu, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā, and the Fourth Assembly of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra; produced on the eighth day of the seventh month in the second year of the Guanghe era [179 CE]; seen in the two catalogues of Daozhi and Sengyou).
Sūtra on the Immeasurable, Pure, Equal, and Perfect Enlightenment, two fascicles (also called simply the Immeasurable and Pure Sūtra; second translation; the same text as the Large Amitābha and the Assembly of the Immeasurable Life in the Ratnakūṭa; seen in the Wu Catalogue).
Sūtra of Akṣobhya Buddha's Land, two fascicles (translated in the first year of the Jianhe era [147 CE]; or one fascicle; first translation; the same text as the Assembly of Tathāgata Akṣobhya in the Ratnakūṭa; seen in Zhu Shixing's Han Catalogue and Sengyou's catalogue; also called Sūtra Chapter on the Training in Precepts of Bodhisattvas in the Buddha-field of Akṣobhya; or without the character guo [land]).
Sūtra of the Maṇi Gem Left Behind by the Sun, one fascicle (Master Dao'an says it emerges from the Vaipulya section; first translation; the same text as the Assembly of Samantamukha Bodhisattva in the Ratnakūṭa; also named Ancient Chapter of the Sūtra on the Prajñā Spoken by Yiri; also named Mahāratnakūṭa-sūtra; also named Mahā-adornment of Jewels Sūtra; seen in the two catalogues of Sengyou and Fei Changfang).
Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra, three fascicles (also named Sūtra on the Samādhi Where the Presently Abiding Buddhas of the Ten Directions All Stand Before One; formerly called Large Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra; or two fascicles; translated in the second year of the Guanghe era [179 CE]; first translation; the same text as the Bhadrapāla Sūtra in the Mahāsaṃnipāta; seen in Nie Daozhen's catalogue and the Wu Catalogue).
Dousha Sūtra, one fascicle (seen in Sengyou's catalogue and the Wu Catalogue; an alternate translation of the Chapter on Names in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra).
Sūtra of the Questions of Druma[-kiṃnara-rāja], two fascicles (first translation; Sūtra on the Ratnatathāgata Samādhi Asked by Druma; the Old Catalogue refers to it as Sūtra of King Druma Dhāraṇī; or three fascicles; first translation; the same text as the Mahādruma-kiṃnara-rāja-paripṛcchā-sūtra; absent in 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 Samantamukhanirhāra-samādhi-sūtra, etc.; seen in Sengyou's catalogue; Dao'an's statement that it comes from the Dīrgha-āgama is incorrect).
Sūtra of the Hundred Treasures of the Inner Storehouse, two fascicles (also called Hundred Chapters of the Inner Storehouse; first translation; slightly different from An Shigao's translation; Master Dao'an says it comes from the Vaipulya section; seen in Sengyou's catalogue).