貞元新定釋教目錄 13.11

13.11

[...and having once joined the black-robed order, I twice bathed in] imperial favour. This occurred when the Son of Heaven dwelt on high and the dukes and ministers administered the government, splendidly raising high the sun of the Buddha, distinct from the Han and Wei dynasties, and reverently upholding the teachings of Śākya, completely different from the Zhou and Sui. Thinking of Daoan and Huiyuan, I hoped to follow in their footsteps; meditating on Sengyou and Daocheng, I did not forget to tread in their shadows. The traces of the Tripiṭaka teachings were not yet complete in the land of Han; the twelve divisions of scriptures, I considered, could be obtained from Central India. At the age of seventeen, I thought of traveling to the capitals of the Five Indies; approaching thirty-seven years of age, I vowed to reach the realm of the Twin Trees. Bidding a sorrowful farewell, I went south, journeying far to the west. Through surging ocean billows and treacherous mountain passes, I traversed over thirty foreign realms and brought back four hundred genuine scriptures. Vowing to translate them for the sake of sentient beings, I took leave of the sacred stūpas of the Eight Aspects and returned to the divine province of the Ninefold Luo. The Son of Heaven welcomed me in person; the ministers esteemed the Dharma. With joyful heart and diligent thought, I gave all my strength, forgetting fatigue. Constantly sheltered by the imperial grace of five sage monarchs, my hundred-year lifespan has gradually declined. When the Buddha expounded parinirvāṇa, the twelve divisions of teachings were transmitted. Seeing that I am about to die, how could I not leave a word or two? Looking into the distance, I do not know how many leagues lie on the road ahead; pondering rebirth, I do not know in what year it shall be. Alas, how sorrowful! Reaching a place that is unreached, arriving at a realm not arrived at—this can be known only through realization. As for this physical body that is born yet unborn, my mind remains perplexed. Since matters are pressed and urgent, I fear there will be no time for further words. For the scriptures I have translated, my reverent respect is boundless; for the texts not yet translated, my remorse and sorrow are all the deeper. I could not fulfill my original intent; I could not complete my original vow. I know not whether Heaven has purposefully taken it away, nor whether the spirits have purposefully brought this to pass. Where now are the physicians like Master Sang and Yu Fu of old? Why are the hands of Bian Que and Ge Hong missing today? The fleeting spark of the flint-stone cannot be rekindled once extinguished; the iridescent blossom on the water does not linger for long. Holding my breath, suppressing my voice, harbouring grief and swallowing tears, full of bitter regret, I set down these words. My disciples and followers cannot all be recorded here, so I write in brief, hoping you will transmit the lamp. You who study the precepts and the vinaya, do not violate even minor details. You who study the treatises and sūtras, you must discern heterodox doubts. The three trainings jointly achieve the supreme vow of Buddhahood; I take no joy in one-sided adherence to a single practice. Those who have full ordination must be cautious regarding transgressions; those who approach ordination must observe the proper order of seniors and juniors. May those who lecture on the vinaya never let their kindness cease; I hope those who transmit the scriptures will put them into practice. If you serve as monastery abbot or administrator, protect and maintain [the community] with all your body and life. The monks must be kind and patient; the nuns must keep the precepts distinct and clear. Above all, you must remain steadfast. If you act according to my words and practice my Dharma, then if I become stone or earth, I shall be your dwelling; if I become a catalpa or cypress, I shall shelter your forms; if I become a god or spirit, I shall nourish your vitality; if I become a flower or medicine, I shall augment your spiritual lifespan; if I become a deva or a human, I shall provide you with sweet delicacies for food; and if I attain the Way and realize the fruit, I shall bring you peace and joy through spiritual power. If you transgress my instructions and abandon my words, then if I become stone or earth, when you die I shall not become your mound or tomb; if I become a catalpa or cypress, when you die I shall not become your inner or outer coffin; if I become a god or spirit, I shall become a curse and not your protector; if I become a flower or medicine, I shall become poison and not your strength; if I become a deva or a human, I shall become evil and not bring peace; and if I attain the Way and realize the fruit, I shall terrify your mind as a companion. My kindness is like this; my compassion is like this. Chongqing, Chongxu, Yuankuo, Xuanxiu, Xuanrui, Huishen, and others: intelligent by nature, uniquely gifted, and remarkably endowed, you must maintain the effort of 'boring through the wall' so that you have no share in 'facing a wall'. Peeling off skin for paper was the great resolve of the bodhisattvas of old; honouring the Dharma and transmitting scriptures depends on the care of you all. I have been ill for a long time; lying constantly upon bed and pillow, neither recovering nor worsening, I have no joy in living. From Huishi and Wudao on down to the younger ones who returned to lay life, your arduous service has been deep, and I feel immense gratitude and shame. As Wenyi is the oldest among you, you must treat him with special tenderness and affection. There is already a memorial regarding the Indic texts, entrusted to Zhiji, Caiyi, and others. You must erect for me a large stele commemorating my hundred virtues. My robes, alms bowl, and staff should be gathered by those who uphold the vinaya. I have other instructions, which I have already entrusted to Caiyi. Master Zhen, Master Zhuang, Master San, Vinaya Master Heng, Sthavira Zhao, and Master Haidu of the capital have divine dispositions naturally bestowed, with profound capacity and thorough wisdom; they are eyes for sentient beings and serve as...