貞元新定釋教目錄 14.3.5

14.3.5

rākṣasas, dark winds, and bitter mists constantly guard the rare jewels on this mountain. Those who are not pilgrims to the sacred traces cannot climb up or enter this mountain." The upādhyāya burned incense at the foot of the mountain, bowed his head in reverence, and made a great vow: "May I see the mountain deity from the time when the Buddha of old was in the world preaching the Dharma!" Having finished making his vow, the sky opened, the mist dispersed, and the ferocious beasts concealed themselves. Thereupon, together with his disciples, he crossed the water on the northern side towards the east and climbed upwards, turning then to the northwest and again to the southwest, following ravines, climbing by vines and grasping creepers through strange and perilous terrain, until reaching the mountainside. Nearby on the north side, there was a spring flowing forth, in which were entirely red crystal, se-se gems, gold, silver, and various jewels. There were also many precious medicinal herbs, as well as mandārava flowers and utpala flowers. From time to time they encountered niches and caves, which were all places where spiritual beings of old had cultivated the Path. The fragrant flowers, herbs, and trees on the mountain were beyond count. Climbing without stopping or delaying for seven days, they finally reached the summit. Searching for the spiritual traces, he saw a round stone, roughly four or five cubits high and some twenty cubits in square width. The Buddha's right footprint was embedded on the stone, appearing somewhat broken and damaged. In his heart, doubt arose, thinking it might not be the Buddha's footprint. Looking up to heaven, he wept aloud, reminiscing about the Tathāgata of old. Thereupon, five-coloured clouds appeared in response, along with a circular halo; the wheel-mark of the Buddha's footprint became clearly manifest. A voice was heard saying: "This is indeed the true footprint of the Buddha. It was left solely because the heavy karma of future sentient beings would bring about past generations' [welfare]." Having heard this, he was filled with joy, made offerings of incense and flowers, and entered samādhi for one day. Having emerged from samādhi, he circumambulated for seven days, grasping the stone and circumambulating to practice the Path. Outside the Buddha's footprint on the stone were several stone cups, which also held burning lamps. At that time, a native came carrying sugarcane, coconuts, plantains, wild yams, and other medicines to offer to the upādhyāya. At that time, seeing him, the disciples fled in all directions. The upādhyāya said: "He has come to make offerings, not to harm you." He then took what had been offered and conferred the three refuges and precepts upon him. The native took a small stone, struck it against the Buddha's footprint to break it into pieces, and took it to eat. When asked why he did this to damage its center, he said it cured heart pain. From this, one knew by verification that the Buddha's footprint had gradually become damaged. Up there, winds were frequent, so they could not stay long. Gazing around from the summit in all four directions, fifty to sixty li below the mountain, it was entirely surrounded by mountains, like city walls. Upon the mountains were entirely white clouds. The people of the country call it Mount Laṅkā City. Outside the mountain, to the northwest, it adjoins the border of the Lion Country (Siṃhala); the rest is the great ocean. While gazing out, the upādhyāya unwittingly lost his footing on the steps; facing the cliff, he stopped, without a hair being harmed. One should know this was the Buddha's inconceivable power. The disciples' surprise and joy were boundless. Thereupon they returned by the same route, bowing again in reverence to all the spiritual traces as they departed. Going and returning took a year, after which he returned to South India. He reported all the above matters in full to the king. The king again invited him to stay in the palace and made offerings to him for a month. The upādhyāya said to the king: "This poor monk previously made a sincere vow to pay homage to Mañjuśrī in the land of China and transmit the Buddha's teachings." He took leave of the king that very day. The king said: "The route to the Tang country is exceedingly distant, and the great ocean is difficult to cross; you may not be able to reach it. Staying here to teach and transform would be of sufficient benefit." He pleaded with him repeatedly to stay, but the upādhyāya's long-held aspiration did not waver. The king said: "If you must go, I shall dispatch envoys to escort you and also present local tributes." He thereupon dispatched General Miquna to present an Indic palm-leaf manuscript of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, a cord-bed of the seven treasures, golden armlets of the seven treasures, earrings inlaid with jewels, various robes and armours, patterned silks, aloeswood, camphor, and various fragrant drugs, to be presented to the Tang country, wishing that the upādhyāya oversee and bless them so that they might reach that land. On the day of departure, the king, ministers, and the fourfold assembly, with incense, flowers, and music, escorted him to the seashore. The upādhyāya faced east and paid homage from afar to Mañjuśrī, and faced west to pay homage to Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva; then, bidding farewell to his disciples, he boarded the ship and entered the ocean. Encountering a favourable wind, he crossed the sea in a day and a night and arrived back at the port of Bozhili in the Lion Country. He met thirty-five Persian ships trading jewels in that country. The merchant chieftains, seeing the upādhyāya, accompanied him with one mind. The king of the Lion Country, Śrīśrī, hearing that the upādhyāya had arrived again, once more welcomed him into the palace for a month of offerings. He pleaded bitterly for him to stay, but could not; [Vajrabodhi], having again paid homage to the Buddha's Tooth Relic, immediately set out on the road. The king dispatched monastics and laypeople with incense, flowers, and music to send him off at the coast. On the day the upādhyāya set sail, all these merchant chieftains also crossed the sea with him. After one month, he arrived at the country of Fo shi (Śrīvijaya). The king of Śrīvijaya brought a golden parasol and a golden couch to welcome the upādhyāya. Delayed by adverse winds, he stayed for five months; only after the winds settled could he set out. The various small, strange things of the countries he passed through, and the marine perils with swelling waves churning up violently, cannot be fully recounted. Calculating that he was within twenty days of the Tang border, in between they suddenly encountered an adverse wind; clouds abruptly arose, rising into darkness, and creatures such as venomous dragons and whales appeared and disappeared, crossing heads. Over thirty of the merchant ships were swept away by the waves, their whereabouts unknown. Only the upādhyāya's ship was spared this disaster by his reciting the Mahāpratisarā [dhāraṇī]. Calculating the sea voyage to be over a hundred thousand li, tossed by the waves and surges, it was approximately three years of traveling through various foreign lands with all kinds of hardships before he finally arrived in the sacred realm of the Great Tang. Reaching the Guangzhou prefecture, he again encountered torrential rain. At that time, the military commissioner dispatched two to three thousand men aboard several hundred small boats, who, with incense, flowers, and music, went far to welcome him at the mouth of the sea. In the middle of the eighth year of Kaiyuan, he first arrived in the Eastern Capital (Luoyang), received an imperial audience in person, and memorialized every matter. By imperial decree, orders were issued to accommodate him with the four requisites of support. Monks requested the Dharma, and princes and dukes inquired about the Path. From then on, he accompanied the imperial entourage back and forth between the two capitals. Only in the eleventh year did he undertake translation. At Zisheng Monastery and the Jianfu Bodhimaṇḍa, he translated four works in seven fascicles. In the gengwu year, the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan, these were already entered into the Kaiyuan Catalogue of Buddhist Teachings. After the nineteenth year, he further translated:
Jingangding jing yuqie xiuxi Piluzhena sanmodi fa (Method for the Cultivation of the Vairocana Samādhi in the Vajraśekhara-yoga), in one fascicle;
Qianshou qianyan Guanshiyin pusa dashen zhou ben (Original Text of the Great Body Dhāraṇī of Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva), in one fascicle;
Qianshou qianyan Guanzizai pusa guangda yuanman wu'ai dabeixin tuoluoni zhou ben (Original Text of the Vast, Perfect, Unobstructed, Great Compassionate Mind Dhāraṇī of Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva), in one fascicle;
Budong shizhe tuoluoni mimi fa (Secret Ritual of the Acala Messenger Dhāraṇī), in one fascicle.
The four works above in four fascicles are extant in text.
Translated by the Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Vajrabodhi of South India (in the Tang language called Jingangzhi).
In the twenty-fourth year, he accompanied the imperial entourage to the Western Capital. In the twenty-ninth year, an imperial decree granted his release to return to his native country. Reaching the Eastern Capital, he manifested illness and announced his decease. On the twenty-seventh day dingyou, following the first day xinwei of the second month of the guizhi year, the second year of Tianbao, a stūpa was erected at Longmen. At that time, the recluse Hunlun Weng composed the inscription, the title of which reads:
"Stūpa Inscription with Preface for the Late Tripiṭaka Master Vajra of Daguangfu Monastery in the Eastern Capital of the Great Tang."
The text reads:
"The Supreme Path is profound and deep; the Mysterious School is clear and remote. The hundred spirits appear at intervals; the Great Sages occasionally wander. Their transformation