貞元新定釋教目錄 16.5.3

16.5.3

The vessel of compassion has repeatedly arrived, expressing thanks." Moreover, on the sixteenth day of the tenth month of that year, the Secretariat-Chancellery sent an official dispatch to Tripiṭaka [Master] Amoghavajra. The dispatch stated: "By imperial decree: within the monasteries of monks and nuns in the capital and throughout the realm, a superior location is to be selected in each to establish a Great Holy Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva Cloister. The chief administrative officials of each respective prefecture and superior prefecture are tasked with managing repairs and supervising the sculpting of Mañjuśrī statues with decorative polychrome painting. When the work is completed, drawings are to be made and submitted with a memorial. No separate construction outside the monasteries is permitted. Upon receipt of this dispatch, act in accordance with the imperial decree. Thus dispatched." On the twenty-seventh day of that month, the Tripiṭaka śramaṇa, Great Wide Wisdom Amoghavajra, submitted a memorial expressing thanks, which stated: "The śramaṇa Amoghavajra states: I humbly have seen the special decree of the sixteenth day of this month, ordering that within the monasteries of monks and nuns in the capital and throughout the realm, a superior location is to be selected in each to establish a Great Holy Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva Cloister, along with sculpting Mañjuśrī statues with decorative polychrome painting. Amoghavajra has heard that only when a sage establishes the law does his virtue move heaven; his moisture nourishes living beings, suspended like the sun and the moon. Amoghavajra is truly joyful, truly grateful, rejoicing and leaping with delight. Humbly I reflect that Your Majesty has inaugurated the profound creation of the Dharma King and opened an extraordinary field of merit, erecting the true likeness of Mañjuśrī so that all under heaven may gaze upon it with reverence. For the monastic assembly, this is an especially deep and splendid blessing. Furthermore, the Holy One Mañjuśrī is the ancestral teacher of all Buddhas; through his great compassionate vow he does not take complete enlightenment, and by guiding beings through the Mahāyāna, his benefits are boundless. Śākyamuni Tathāgata previously made an advance prophecy that the scriptures and teachings of the One Vehicle would flourish in China, and that a most sage emperor would certainly govern the realm through the Mahāyāna. In over eight hundred years, across successive generations of emperors, there have been many sages and worthies, yet truly none have equaled Your Majesty. How fortunate is Amoghavajra to be born to meet this sage court, receiving a share in cultivating the Mahāyāna and serving Mañjuśrī! Constantly reciting this holy one's mantras on behalf of the state, every recitation has received his protective care. The gracious virtue received is exceedingly deep. Day and night I ponder it, with no means to requite it from above. Unexpectedly, heavenly compassion has spread universally, deigning to enrich my long-cherished sincerity. Forgetting sleep and neglecting meals, I am overwhelmed with sorrow and joy. Unable to bear my supreme gratitude, I respectfully present this memorial through the palace messenger Yang Guizhen to offer congratulations and report. Amoghavajra speaks with sincere joy and delight." The Baoying Yuansheng Wenwu Emperor endorsed: "The Great Holy Mañjuśrī has long attained complete enlightenment; he rescues mortals across the three realms and subdues the venomous dragons at the Five Peaks. His path of loving-kindness and compassion is profound, and his work of vast salvation is far-reaching. Therefore We have ordered the followers of Śākya together to take refuge in this. As a grand master from the Indic region, you, Tripiṭaka Master, should be deeply comforted and gratified. Your congratulations are noted." Coming to the eighth day of the first month of the eighth year of Dali, the Secretariat-Chancellery decreed regarding the newly translated Da xukongzang jing (Master Qianzhen, a venerable monk of Xingshan Monastery, requested to lecture on it at Baoshou Monastery; and Master Daoye, a venerable monk of Zisheng Monastery, requested to lecture on it at Ximing Monastery): "The aforementioned Specially Advanced, Probationary Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, Tripiṭaka śramaṇa of the Great Xingshan Monastery, Great Wide Wisdom Amoghavajra, has memorialized: 'The aforementioned scripture was promulgated by imperial decree, yet has not been expounded. If it is not praised, how can the sage's merit be displayed? The aforementioned venerable monks have both completed writing commentaries. We request that in the eastern and western wards, one monastery in each regularly lecture on this scripture, hoping that the river of blessings will flow secretly to support the sage's longevity.' The dispatch decreed: 'Approved as requested.' Upon receipt of this dispatch, act in accordance with the imperial decree. Thus dispatched." Prior to this, in the sixth year, there was an imperial decree requesting the Tripiṭaka Master to translate the Scripture on the Virtues and Adornments of the Buddha-Realm of the Great Holy Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva. According to what is stated in the transmission records, this scripture has undergone three translations from the Jin to the Tang. The first was translated in the gengxu year, the first year of the Taixi era of Emperor Hui of the Western Jin, by Dharmarakṣa, under the title Scripture on Purifying and Adorning the Buddha Land of Mañjuśrī in two rolls, also titled Scripture on Adorning and Purifying the Buddha Land. Its literary style is mostly archaic, its language concise, and its principles abstruse. The second was translated in the gengzi year, the first year of the Jiushi era of Heavenly Empress of the Imperial Tang, by the Khotanese Tripiṭaka [Master] Śikṣānanda (meaning 'Delighting in Study' in Chinese) at Qingchan Monastery in the capital, under the title Scripture of the Prophecy Bestowed on Mañjuśrī in three rolls. Dharma Master Xuanfan served as the scribe, and Dharma Master Fuli polished the style. Its composition resembles the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, and its Indic intent is close to ingenious brevity. The third is that translated in the sixth year of the Dali era under Emperor Daizong Ruiwen Xiaowu. The venerable monks assisting in translation were the same as those for the Ākāśagarbha-sūtra. The Palace Censor Du Mian gave up his fief income to request its translation. In the fifth month of the eighth year, the mounting and copying were just completed. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, it was presented sealed in a jeweled case. Śramaṇa Amoghavajra stated: 'Having humbly received the gracious decree to translate the Scripture on the Virtues and Adornments of the Buddha-Realm of the Great Holy Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, through heavenly power and protection the rolls have been completed. The names of the monastics and laymen who verified meanings and served as scribes, as well as the dates and locations, are all listed at the end of the text. Now, on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, I respectfully present it. Amoghavajra is filled with sincere joy and awe. Amoghavajra has heard that the one who initiates the teaching is the Tathāgata, while the one who propagates it is the sovereign. Who else but a sage ruler could implement Buddha-work? Humbly I reflect that Your Majesty turns the sun and moon along the ecliptic and bestows rain and dew upon the common people. Nourishing the sentiments of all things, the monastic assembly is particularly blessed. Reflecting upon my own station, I know not how to requite this. However, this scripture is the root source of the myriad practices and the sublime designation of the Pure Land; the bodhisattva's great vows, the adornments of merit, samādhis, supernormal powers, and the Tathāgata's seal of Dharma are all fully present within it. Even momentarily hearing it and rejoicing brings boundless merit; how much more so the limitlessness of the merit from reading, chanting, accepting, and upholding it! I hope that these Dharma benefits may requite one ten-thousandth of your grace. We specially hope for heavenly kindness to order that, at large monasteries throughout the realm, seven monks, and at small monasteries, three monks, constantly expound, lecture, read, and recite it for the state in the newly established Mañjuśrī Cloisters. When there are vacancies, they should be continuously filled, ensuring that the sound of the Dharma continues without interruption and the transmission of the lamp never ceases, forever bringing peace to all under heaven and long protecting the sage's person. Unable to bear my sincere aspiration, I respectfully present this memorial to report.' Śramaṇa Amoghavajra speaks with sincere awe. Furthermore, coming to the thirteenth day of the tenth month, the Tripiṭaka śramaṇa, Great Wide Wisdom Amoghavajra, submitted with a formal statement: 'Scripture on the Virtues and Adornments of the Buddha-Realm of the Great Holy Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, one work in three rolls (together with a jewel-inlaid case). The aforementioned Amoghavajra previously received the imperial command to translate this scripture now. Heavenly grace having deigned to attend, it has entirely been accomplished. Collating Chinese and Indic texts, the words and sounds were determined in translation. The dates, locations, and the names of the monastics and laymen who served as scribes and verified meanings are all inscribed in the rolls. The origins and circumstances of Mañjuśrī's deeds, beginning from the initial resolve of the mind up to the attainment of complete enlightenment and the adornment of the Pure Land, are fully recorded in this scripture. The principle and essence of all Buddhas, the practice gates of bodhisattvas, and the unborn true reality of sentient beings in the Dharma realm are clearly revealed. Its merit is vast, rarely matched by other scriptures. We pray that this superior cause will support the sage's throne from above, and humbly beg that it be proclaimed throughout the realm to bring blessings to living beings. We specially hope for heavenly kindness, so that in the newly established Mañjuśrī Cloisters, seven monks in large monasteries and three monks in small monasteries will constantly expound, recite, and practice it for the state within the Mañjuśrī Cloisters. When there are vacancies, they should be continuously filled, thereby causing the lamp of Dharma to shine in unbroken succession. Among spirits, deities, and all kinds of beings, who would not rejoice? Fortunately, meeting the morning of the Wheel-Turning King's birthday, on this day when devas and humans joyfully offer congratulations and rejoice together, we hope these great blessings will augment the mountain of longevity from above, and pray to add the flow of the Dharma into the sage ocean. Respectfully following this formal statement, I present it to