貞元新定釋教目錄 16.5.4

16.5.4

…[The above request] has been heard. We beseech that imperial grace grant permission and issue an inked imperial edict approving it. Upādhyāya Amoghavajra, the Tripiṭaka Master of Great and Broad Wisdom, had the original taboo name of Zhizang and the style Amoghavajra (in Sanskrit: Amoghavajra). He was originally a native of the Western Regions. In the past, he served the Tripiṭaka Upādhyāya Vajrabodhi of Great Propagation of the Teaching, receiving the mantras from him. For twenty-four years he lifted his robes to seek further instruction. After the Great Master passed away, he returned to the Five Indias, where he thoroughly read through the Indic texts of yoga. He travelled and inspected everywhere, and then returned to the imperial capital, teaching at times in Hexi, residing at times in Lingbiao, staying in the Guanzhong region, or dwelling within the royal palace. In translating the authentic scriptures he found no leisure for sleep or food. Towards the end of the Tianbao era, the barbarian horsemen breached the passes. In the second year of Zhide, the twin capitals [Chang'an and Luoyang] were recovered. The Upādhyāya personally received the sacred decree to act as the consecration master; imperial consorts and princesses descended the steps, and the ladies of the six imperial palaces bowed in rows. Favoured and treated well across three reigns, he constantly established bodhimaṇḍas, closely investigating the profound and subtle, never setting the scrolls from his hand. Those translated within the inner palace were reported to the throne as soon as they were finished; some were already promulgated, while others were retained within the forbidden palace. Those that have already been retrieved are fully recorded as above; those that have not yet been obtained are being sought with a focused mind. The Upādhyāya was diligent and unflagging through many passing years. Coming to the ninth year of Dali, he manifested a slight illness, and an imperial commissioner was sent to convey comforting inquiries. Renowned physicians were dispatched by Heaven, with acupuncture and medications applied continuously day and night. As his ailment showed no sign of abating, the Imperial Presence became unsettled. Heaven’s benevolence graciously extended downward, bestowing an official title and fief upon him. An imperial edict of the eleventh day of the sixth month in the ninth year of Dali stated: 'The practice of the Great Way unites across divergent aspects; the supreme governance of kings entirely returns to the True Dharma. Just as the Parable of the Conjured City leads to the same destination, how could Confucianism and Buddhism follow divergent paths? Thus, there were none among the monarchs of past eras who did not revere the teachings of the Dharma and widely promote them in step with their times. Amoghavajra of Great and Broad Wisdom, Specially Advanced, Acting Chamberlain for the Court of State Ceremonial, Tripiṭaka śramaṇa of Da Xingshan Monastery, is our patriarch and master, a boat and oar unto men. He has transcended to realize the threefold learning, detaching in stillness from attachment to views; he cultivates the myriad practices, constantly manifesting transformation and extinction. Upholding the vinaya, he discards fetters; guarding the precepts, he makes them his demeanor. Continuing the resolve to illuminate the good teachings, he came to accept the invitation of the sovereign of men. Formerly, during the previous reign, We heard the essentials of the Way early on; upon receiving the charge, We have constantly taken refuge in him. Whenever We held the scriptures in the inner palace and he expounded the Dharma before Our seat, leaning on the armrest was like the etiquette of the ancient schools, and yielding with the wind was compared to the inquiry at Kongtong Mountain. His wondrous voice was completely expounded, while secret practices were maintained within. When questions were posed, he responded in accordance with the teachings, and everyone understood according to their capacity. He cleansed delusion and absurdity, and subdued the hordes of Māra. Devas and humans cleansed their minds at the gate of deliverance; dragons and ghosts accepted the imprint of the divine seal. Truly, through this, pestilence and calamities have subsided, and good fortune has brought auspiciousness. Indeed, he has greatly promoted Our cause; how could it be limited merely to benefiting Our person? We previously bestowed ranks and stipends to express exceptional courtesy, and receiving such a master has made the flavor of the Way grow ever deeper. Desiring again to give a conventional name, We thereby clarify Our former intent. Indeed, the wondrous realm has its adorned lands, and the inner ranks possess the distinction of the fruit stage. Rooted in esteeming virtue and respectfully complying with the contemporary statutes, he may be appointed Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the Opening of the Office and Equaling the Three Excellencies, and enfeoffed as the Duke of the State of Su, with an enfeoffment of three thousand households. The rest remains as before.' The Tripiṭaka Upādhyāya once again received imperial grace and favor, with his official ranks and enfeoffment newly added. However, his physical strength was waning, leaving him unable to seek an audience. On the fifteenth day, Amoghavajra of Great and Broad Wisdom, Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the Opening of the Office and Equaling the Three Excellencies, Duke of the State of Su, and Tripiṭaka śramaṇa, prepared a memorial of farewell, which read: 'The śramaṇa Amoghavajra speaks: When Amoghavajra was young, he served his late master for more than two decades, and has early on received heavenly favor for over forty years. Expounding the teaching of Yoga, I have served the gracious mandates of successive sages. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, exceptional benevolence has grown ever deeper, granting yellow-curtained halls for restful residence, and descending from the purple pavilion to inquire about the Way. The accumulated kindness has multiplied day after day. Although I was utmost in sincerity, how could I repay one ten-thousandth? Yet dew and lightning are hard to halt, and reeds and willows easily wither. Ever since I took to my bed, from spring into summer, Your Majesty has looked upon me with deep affection, inquiring after my health time and again. Imperial messengers and renowned doctors looked towards one another along the roads. However, for a terminal illness, even acupuncture and medicine can hardly restore life; how could a physical form subject to arising and ceasing be preserved by lingering attachment? Suddenly, since last night, I acutely felt my strength failing and my body no longer my own. In an instant, darkness descends, and my spirit gradually wanes. Parting from the sacred dynasty, I cannot bear the yearning and affection. As Amoghavajra has passed the middle span of life, it cannot be called an untimely death. However, in former times, crossing the Southern Seas and roaming through the Five Indias, I sought what had not been heard and gathered what had not been understood, obtaining one hundred thousand verses of the Vajraśekhara-yoga, as well as over five hundred thousand verses of various divisions of mantras, sūtras, and treatises. I hoped to translate them all to repay a fraction of the nation's kindness. Why must my lifelong aspiration remain unfulfilled, while my span of life suddenly reaches its end? This is what Amoghavajra deeply regrets. I humbly beseech Your Majesty to bestow the compassionate kindness of all Buddhas and deign to grant the people's wishes. Amoghavajra previously presented the Scripture on the Buddha-field of the Great Sage Mañjuśrī; Your Majesty graciously granted permission to promulgate it within and without. I humbly pray that, taking pity, You remember this one statement at my death, hoping to bring blessings upon the imperial house and augment auspiciousness for ten thousand kalpas; it will truly be the glory and privilege of this monk in life and death. The five-pronged vajra bell and pestle transmitted from my late master, along with a silver platter, bodhi seeds, a crystal rosary, and a box, are all respectfully presented along with this memorial. Facing the paper, my tears flow in sorrowful succession. Bidding eternal farewell to this sacred era, I cannot overcome my utmost yearning. Respectfully entrusted to the Commissioner-Director Li Xiancheng to present this memorial of farewell for Your hearing. The śramaṇa Amoghavajra speaks with true sorrow and longing.' On the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Dali, the memorial was submitted by Amoghavajra of Great and Broad Wisdom, Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the Opening of the Office and Equaling the Three Excellencies, Duke of the State of Su, and Tripiṭaka śramaṇa. The Emperor Baoying Yuansheng Wenwu endorsed it: 'The Upādhyāya’s practice has ascended the ten stages; he arrived from the Five Indias, expounding the Yoga teachings and circulating the palm-leaf manuscripts. Journeying ten thousand miles, he served through three dynasties, illuminating the sacred words and personally receiving the lineage transmission. Meeting the rising fortunes of the imperial line, he carried forward the flame of the torch passed down from before. Broadening the bodhisattva mind, he acts for the sake of sentient beings. When his illness lingered, inquiries were made, and Our grief and mourning deepened. All that has been requested shall be granted.' At that time, the Upādhyāya Amoghavajra of Great and Broad Wisdom, Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the Opening of the Office and Equaling the Three Excellencies, Acting Chamberlain for the Court of State Ceremonial, Duke of the State of Su, and Tripiṭaka śramaṇa, having submitted the memorial to convey his sentiments, imperial tears were shed and the inked decree was swiftly issued. All of his requests were granted according to the Upādhyāya’s feelings and etiquette. Having been permitted to express his single-minded contemplative practice, he lay on his right side with feet folded, and peacefully died. His disciples wailed and stamped their feet without measure. When the imperial commissioner reported this, the Emperor was profoundly grieved and suspended court audience for three days. Thereupon an imperial commissioner was sent to the saṅghārāma to comfort the assembly, and funeral gifts were bestowed: three hundred bolts of thin silk, two hundred bolts of cloth, five cartloads each of white rice and nonglutinous rice, likewise of white flour, ten cartloads of firewood, seven piculs of oil, and three cartloads of charcoal, all announced as in the capital. If anything requested is not ready, submit a memorial and it will be separately dispatched. On the twenty-eighth day of that month, an edict was issued for the Palace Attendant Wei Shouzhong to deliver seven hundred and fifty-two bolts of thin silk to cover the cost of building a stupa for the late master. On the fifth day of the seventh month, he was posthumously conferred the title of Minister of Works (Sikong), with deep imperial regard. An edict bestowing a posthumous title was also issued: 'Quietude and extinction are bliss; this is how one returns to the true. The transmission of the charge has…'