貞元新定釋教目錄 12.20.2

12.20.2

[He took] essential extracts from the scriptures, translated and compiled into twelve rolls. Śramaṇa Xuanjie and others took them down with brush. At that time, there were the monks Ānandasaṃgha (?), Mokṣamaster, Kāśyapamaster, and others from the Mahābodhi Monastery in Central India, who translated the Ritual of Śrīmahādevī at Jingxing Monastery. Because it was incorporated into the tenth roll of this anthology of sūtras, it was not preserved separately.

Anthology of Essentials from Various Sūtras (Zhujing Yaoji), twenty rolls (composed at Ximing Monastery in the fourth year of Xianqing).
The one work above, in twenty rolls, is extant.
Śramaṇa Shi Xuanyun, whose original personal name was Shidao, enjoyed high renown in Vinaya studies and modeled himself upon the former virtuous ones. He made compilation his duty and additionally had extracts, subcommentaries, and annotations on numerous scriptures. When Ximing [Monastery] was first established, he was summoned as a Great Virtuous One. In the middle of the Xianqing era, he read through all the scriptures, extracted all the essential matters, and compiled them into one work named Anthology of Essentials from Various Sūtras. The rest is recorded in the Neidian lu.

Collection of Deliberations on Śramaṇas Not Paying Homage to the Secular (Ji Shamen Bubai Su Yi), six rolls (see Neidian lu).
The one work above, in six rolls, is extant.
Śramaṇa Shi Yancong possessed acute discernment and great intelligence, was broadly conversant in the various scriptures, was skilled at literary composition, and was especially proficient in writing works. In the second year of the Longshuo era of the Heavenly Emperor, the cyclical year renxu, an imperial edict was issued ordering [clerics] to pay homage to sovereign and parents. Fearing that this would harm the nation's edification, [the emperor] ordered all officials to deliberate thoroughly. At that time, Śramaṇa Daoxuan and others jointly submitted a memorial to inform the imperial court, where the numerous opinions diverged. When the relevant officials submitted them, the Sage Personage inspected them himself and issued an imperial decree revoking it. Fearing that later generations would hear nothing of it, Cong compiled these events, along with precedent cases from previous dynasties and the responses of former worthies, titling it Collection of Deliberations on Śramaṇas Not Paying Homage to the Secular, to transmit it to later generations to serve forever as an exemplar, defending the fortress of the Dharma so that the profound tradition would not falter. He also compiled Records of the Monasteries in the Capital of the Great Tang, which circulates in the world.

Sūtra of the Questions of the Bodhisattva King Lion Ornament (Shizi Zhuangyan Wang Pusa Qingwen Jing), one roll (also called Eight Maṇḍalas Sūtra; translated in the third year of Longshuo at Cien Monastery; see Great Zhou Catalogue).
Sūtra of the Ritual for Worshipping the Buddha Asked by the Bodhisattva Immaculate Wisdom (Ligouhui Pusa Suowen Lifofa Jing), one roll (translated in the third year of Longshuo at Cien Monastery; see Great Zhou Catalogue).
Sūtra of the Aṭavaka Spell (Azhana Zhi Zhou Jing), one roll (translated in the third year of Longshuo at Cien Monastery; see Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks).
The three works above, in three rolls (the former two works in two rolls are extant; the latter one work in one roll lacks an extant text).
Śramaṇa Nadi, rendered in the Tang as Fusheng; if fully following the Indic phonetics, it is Puṇyodaya. Because the phrasing is verbose, it is here merely abbreviated and corrupted as Nadi. Originally a native of Central India, he left household life at an early age, was awakened by renowned teachers, and had far-reaching and heroic aspirations. Bearing the propagation of the Way in mind, he traveled through various kingdoms, making the edification of beings his purpose. Moreover, he was thoroughly accomplished in phonetics and grammar and conversant in glossaries and interpretations. The Tokharians (Daxia) summoned him as a literatus, comparable to a compiler in the Orchid Pavilion (Lantai) of this land. He loved widely and had a taste for the remarkable; whenever he heard of someone who had attained realization, he did not shrink from distant barbarian lands. He once went to the Kingdom of the Lion (Siṃhala) and then ascended Mount Laṅkā to the southeast. In the various countries of the South Seas, he traveled afar to convert beings according to conditions. Having heard that the Mahāyāna Buddha-Dharma was flourishingly transmitted in the eastern land of Cīna and was the most revered in Jambudvīpa, he gathered together more than 500 bundles of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras, vinayas, and śāstras, totaling over 1,500 works. In the sixth year of Yonghui under the Heavenly Emperor, he arrived for the first time in the capital. An imperial edict ordered that he be accommodated at Cien Monastery and provided for by the relevant authorities. At that time, Dharma Master Xuanzang was in charge of translation, his fame and renown flourishing and resplendent. Having no avenue to display his abilities, [Nadi] was overshadowed and neglected; attaining renown was indeed difficult. Not receiving an introduction, Nadi had no way to reveal his skills. In the first year of Xianqing, an imperial edict [ordered him] to go to the various kingdoms of Kunlun to collect rare medicines. When he arrived in the South Seas, the various kings took refuge and respected him, erecting separate monasteries for him, ordaining people, and conferring the Dharma. The breadth of his propagation and transformation was double that of before. Because he had formerly received an imperial edict to go, it was proper for him to report his mission, and he planned to study again the Indic texts at Cien Monastery. In the third year of Longshuo, he returned to the old monastery. The various scriptures he had brought had all been taken away by Xuanzang. Wishing to translate them, he had nothing to rely upon. He only translated three works, including the Eight Maṇḍalas Sūtra, which were succinct, essential, and suitable for regular practice and study. Śramaṇa Huize of Zhanlin Monastery translated the spoken words; Śramaṇa Daoxuan of Fengde Monastery polished the text and composed the preface. That year, the kingdom of Zhenla (Cambodia) in the South Seas, having long been transformed by Nadi, revered him boundlessly. Yearning to see him, they urged one another on and came from afar using trade routes to make a request, saying: 'Our country has fine medicines which only Nadi recognizes. We request that he personally gather them.' An imperial decree permitted him to go, but whether he ever returned is unknown. Inquiring broadly of travelers from Daxia (Tokharistan), they said: 'Tripiṭaka Master Nadi was a disciple of Nāgārjuna. His understanding of the signless was diametrically opposed to Xuanzang's.' An Indic monk from the west said: 'After the Great Master (Nāgārjuna) passed away, this man was foremost. He deeply understood the true reality and was adept in skillful means. In the Vinaya of the five Hīnayāna divisions and the four Veda treatises of the non-Buddhists, there was none whose depths he did not penetrate, being thoroughly clear in their words and meanings. His words poured forth like linked pearls; his principles flowed freely like rising mists. The Mahāyānasaṃgīti-śāstra (?) he composed was around forty rolls; just as he was about to translate it, he was sent away and so it was left undone.' Truly, the lament of 'cradling the unicorn' has left its traces in every age; how hard it is to know a person! Rare to encounter in a thousand years, Nadi came from afar embracing the Way; cast upon the Northern Darkness, he found nothing to rely upon. He was poisoned three times and twice assigned to missions in the south, traversing tens of thousands of li on rugged roads and repeatedly braving malarial vapors. Entrusting life [to duty] and suffering such a fate—this was true of this man. Alas, how lamentable!

Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, Later Translation: Section on the Cremation, two rolls (also called Cremation Section; also called Later Section; with a preface composed by Śramaṇa Huili; see Great Zhou Catalogue).
The one work above, in two rolls, is extant.
Śramaṇa Jñānabhadra, in Tang called Zhixian, was a native of the kingdom of Poling (also called Heling) in the South Seas. He was proficient in the study of the Tripiṭaka. Formerly, during the Linde era, Śramaṇa Huining of Chengdu in Yizhou traveled to India to view and worship sacred traces. Sailing west on a ship, his route passed through the kingdom of Poling. Thereupon, together with Zhixian, he translated two rolls of the Later Section of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], and sent the scripture to Jiaozhou. Only then did Huining go to India. Later, at the beginning of the Yifeng era, Liang Nandi, Area Commander of Jiaozhou, dispatched an envoy to bring the scripture into the capital. In the third year, the cyclical year wuyin, Śramaṇa Linghui of Da Cien Monastery submitted a petition at the Eastern Palace requesting its distribution and practice.

Mahāyāna Manifestation of Consciousness Sūtra (Dasheng Xianshi Jing), two rolls (second translation; same text as the 'Bhadrapāla the Merchant' Assembly of the Ratnakūṭa; see Great Zhou Catalogue; translated in the first year of Yonglong at Taiyuan Monastery in the Eastern Capital).
Great Vaipulya Buddha Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Continuation to the Chapter on Entering the Dharma Realm, one roll (sometimes without the character 'continuation'; continuing the missing text of the old Avataṃsaka Sūtra; see Great Zhou Catalogue; translated in the first year of Chuigong at the Guining Cloister of West Taiyuan Monastery).
Extensive Sūtra of Great Ornamentation (Lalitavistara), twelve rolls (also named Supernatural Play; fourth translation; same text as Dharmarakṣa's Puyapao jing, etc.; see Great Zhou Catalogue; translation completed on the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the second year of Yongchun at the Guining Cloister of West Taiyuan Monastery; Śramaṇa Feli took down the text with brush).
Sūtra of Attestation to the Mahāyāna (Zhengqi Dasheng Jing), two rolls (also named Entering the Wisdom of All Buddhas' Realm, the Vairocana Treasury; second translation; same text as the Sūtra on the Identical Nature of the Mahāyāna; see Great Zhou Catalogue; translated in the first year of Yonglong at Taiyuan Monastery).