貞元新定釋教目錄 16.5.1

16.5.1

The Sūtra of the Questions of the Bodhisattva Mahāgaganagañja (Eight Fascicles)
The above work in eight fascicles. In accordance with the imperial edict of the eighteenth day of the sixth month of the first year of Yongtai, Du Mian, Defence Commissioner of Fufang and other prefectures, Specially Advanced, Probationary Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Commissioner with Imperial Tally in Charge of All Military Affairs of Fu Prefecture, Prefect of Fu Prefecture, concurrently Vice Censor-in-Chief, Upper Pillar of the State, and Duke of the State of Zheng, submitted a memorial: "Regarding the actual fief of one hundred households in Xuan Prefecture granted to me by imperial decree on the nineteenth day of the fifth month of the first year of Baoying: your subject originally had no meritorious service, yet has unduly received imperial favor and undeservedly stepped into honored rewards. Wishing to repay the imperial benevolence, I now transfer all revenue from after the first year of Baoying up to before the first year of Yongtai, estimated at over ten thousand strings of cash, and request to divert it toward generating merit on behalf of the state. Of this, more than two thousand five hundred strings from the fief for the first year of Baoying had previously been collected and brought to the capital, and handed over to Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra of Xingshan Monastery to aid the translation of Buddhist scriptures. I request that the cash from the fief revenue collected be applied to provide offerings for the fasting assemblies at the practice hall, and for expenses of food, copying, and translation. For that which has not yet arrived, I have first dispatched my younger brother Dan to receive and collect it. I hope you will instruct the relevant authorities respectively to dispatch and continue forwarding the provisions. As there may be Indic palm-leaf manuscripts of Buddhist scriptures that remain untranslated, I hope to see them translated into Chinese; and although ancient versions exist, their rendered meaning is not exhaustive. I particularly hope for the Heavenly Grace to entrust General Li Yuancong of the Longwu Army to manage this together with the Tripiṭaka Master and the Senior Virtuous Qianzhen of Xingshan Monastery, and to jointly select ten Senior Virtuous scholars of doctrinal learning from the capital to take part together in translating and verifying the texts. Let twenty-one copies of each be written and promulgated to all circuits and large monasteries of the capital, so that they may be transmitted through a thousand worlds and circulated for ten thousand years, causing those who refuse to submit as subjects to have their bee-and-scorpion forms annihilated, and the wild invaders to have their wolf-and-dhole tracks swept away. Humbly I pray that Your Majesty may receive boundless fortune and meet with boundless felicity; then this foolish subject's humble sincerity and lifelong vow will be fulfilled. I particularly hope that Your Imperial Benevolence will grant your subject's request." An imperial decree was issued: "Approved as requested."

From this point, various Mahāyāna scriptures were translated: first the Renwang jing (Humane Kings Sūtra) and the Ghanavyūha-sūtra, as well as the Renwang jing recitation method and recitation kalpa. On the twelfth day (bingwu) of the eleventh month of the second year of Yongtai (bingwu), the era was changed to the first year of Dali, the year remaining bingwu. Next, the Gaganagañja-sūtra was translated. From the Jin to the Tang, this scripture underwent a total of five translations. First, Śramaṇa Shengjian—also called Fajian, or Jian Gong—of the Western Qin made the initial translation in one text entitled Fangdeng zhu xukongzang jing (Mahāvaipulya Master Ākāśagarbha Sūtra), also called Suowen jing (The Sūtra of the Questions), or Quanfa pusa zhuangyan puti jing (Sūtra on Exhorting the Arousal of Bodhisattvas' Adornment of Bodhi). Second, Tripiṭaka Master Dharmakṣema of the Northern Liang also translated the Mahāvaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra in sixty fascicles; its contents agree with those produced by Lokakṣema of the Han and Kumārajīva of the Yao Qin. This text is precisely one portion of the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra. In older catalogues it was incorporated into the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra; now, because its principles and meaning are deep and subtle, it was translated again separately.

Then, on the nineteenth day of the twelfth month of the fourth year of Dali, Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra and the Senior Virtuous of the capital submitted a joint memorial. Soon an imperial decree was issued concerning the Great Holy Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. The Senior Virtuous of the Right Sector of the capital, the Specially Advanced, Probationary Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, the Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa of Daxingshan Monastery, Great Master of Vast Wisdom Amoghavajra, and others memorialized: "Humbly dwelling within the monastic gates, we have long cultivated pure conduct, studying and translating the sacred canons and penetrating deeply into the esoteric gates. The Great Holy Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī is he through whom the Mahāyāna esoteric teachings are all disseminated. Now enshrined on Mount Wutai, his blessings nourish the myriad commoners. Humbly we reflect that Your Majesty, the Divine Sage Emperor of Baoying, has virtue harmonizing with heaven and earth and brightness matching the sun and moon, your boundless fortune bringing well-being to our living people. We humbly request that from now on, throughout all dining halls in the empire, an image of Mañjuśrī be specially placed above that of Piṇḍola to serve as the seat of honor. The sacred scriptures fully contain clear evidence for this: even the Tathāgata of the Saṃghika received his instructions, and whoever has left household life should certainly lift his hem [in reverence]; Samantabhadra and Avalokiteśvara still hold whisks and act as attendants; Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas also hold brooms and stand behind. This is the case throughout the five regions of India, and is not merely our humble opinion. We further request that this be established permanently as an immutable rule." The Department of the Chancellery and Secretariat issued a directive to the Bureau of Sacrifices: "By imperial decree: The Great Holy Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, son of the Dharma King, is uniquely honored in awe-inspiring virtue and serves as a guide for all Buddhas. Cleansing the minds and eyes of the multitude and bringing peace to our myriad people, his virtue is boundless. Without honoring and revering him, toward whom should people look up? Now that the Senior Virtuous of the capital have submitted this earnest and compassionate memorial, which accords elegantly with the sacred scriptures, what is requested should be granted. When this directive arrives, let it be in accordance with the decree. Issued accordingly."

This Sūtra of the Questions of the Bodhisattva Gaganagañja is precisely the fifth translation, made during the Dali era of Emperor Daizong Ruiwen Xiaowu. The Specially Advanced, Probationary Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa of Daxingshan Monastery, the Great Master of Vast Wisdom Amoghavajra, proclaimed and translated the Indic text. We humbly consider that the Tripiṭaka Upādhyāya's learning and arts were lofty and profound, his spiritual bearing distinguished and transcendent. In the three mysteries of Yoga, he walked alone across South India; dedicated exclusively to the One Vehicle, he was unanimously praised throughout the Eastern Realm. He was enlightened in the secular treatises of the two regions, and particularly adept in linguistic science (śabda-vidyā); he mastered the mantras of the five divisions and wondrously exhausted the Dharma seals. Commissioned by imperial decree to translate, he skillfully captured the authentic meaning. Yet although this scripture is Mahāyāna of the Dharma-nature, with its textual logic clearly illuminated, and though translated long ago, it had not been received and upheld in the world—like a bright pearl tied inside one's garment, or gold and jewels hidden within a chamber. Who else but this Great Master could bring it to light? The former Defence Commissioner of Fufang and concurrently Vice Censor-in-Chief, Duke of the State of Zheng, Du Mian, served his lord with loyalty and brought peace to his parents with filial piety; prizing righteousness and despising wealth, he donated his fief revenue and requested the translation. He also requested that Senior Virtuous masters of the threefold training in the capital jointly venerate the Dharma assembly: the Senior Virtuous lecturer and Superior (sthavira) Śramaṇa Zifu of Da'anguo Monastery served as amanuensis; the Superior Śramaṇa Qianzhen of Daxingshan Monastery polished the text; the Senior Virtuous Platform Master and Superior Śramaṇa Chengru of Ximing Monastery verified the meaning; the Senior Virtuous lecturer and Superior Śramaṇa Fengguo of Zhangjing Monastery, the Senior Virtuous Platform Master and Śramaṇa Feixi of Qianfu Monastery, the Senior Virtuous lecturer and Śramaṇa Shenxiao of Shengguang [Monastery], the Abbot (vihārasvāmin) Śramaṇa Daoye of Ximing Monastery, the Rector (karmadāna) Śramaṇa Guixing of Ximing Monastery, the Senior Virtuous Platform Master and Śramaṇa Rujing of Dajianfu Monastery, and the Abbot Śramaṇa Yuanjing of Daxingshan Monastery, all jointly verified the meaning. The Senior Virtuous translator of the spoken language, Śramaṇa Fachong of Qianfu Monastery, verified the Indic text. In addition, the Mahāgaganagañja Bodhisattva Recitation Method in one fascicle was translated. They examined and collated it repeatedly, trimming away superfluities; the cases and wrappers were adorned so brilliantly as to dazzle the human eye.

On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the sixth year of Dali, the Specially Advanced, Probationary Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa, Great Master of Vast Wisdom Amoghavajra, respectfully presented it along with a memorial on the occasion of Emperor Daizong's birthday. Śramaṇa Amoghavajra stated: "From my early youth, Amoghavajra served my late master, the Great Dharma-Propagating Tripiṭaka Upādhyāya [Vajrabodhi], receiving and upholding the Yoga Dharma gates for twenty-four years. Later, I traveled through the five regions of India, searching for what I had not yet received, and relearning and restudying various sūtras and śāstras. In total, I obtained more than five hundred Indic texts of Yoga and mantra sūtras and treatises. I respectfully translate the sacred words for the sake of the state, broadly venerating blessings and protection. In the fifth year of Tianbao, I returned to the Supreme Capital and received the grace of Emperor Xuanzong—"