貞元新定釋教目錄 17.4.6

17.4.6

"I humbly received the gracious imperial decree commanding me, together with the capital's Venerable Lingsui and others, to translate the Indic manuscript of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra presented by the King of the kingdom of Uḍra in South India. It has now been translated into forty fascicles forming one complete work. The profound principles have been clarified, and the refined meanings vastly propagated. Monks gathered like clouds, and scholars and commoners clustered like stars. Recollections fill the thoroughfares, and praises are hard to chronicle. Śramaṇa Prajñā is truly overjoyed and celebrated. I humbly reflect that Your Imperial Majesty possesses natural heavenly endowment from within and holy teachings that gently embrace distant lands. Heterogeneous barbarians and exotic customs together return to the source of transformation. The supreme teachings circulate widely, and dark virtue shines forth. Thereupon, the King of Uḍra personally inscribed the Indic manuscript and reverently presented it to the Central Court. Were it not that sagacious resonance arose from the supreme principle, how could the unification of cart-tracks and writing reach beyond the blue seas and drifting sands? From the Eastern Jin onward, nothing has equaled our present Sage Tang. How beautiful! How magnificent! Even Emperor Ming of the Han seeking scriptures from the Yuezhi is not fit to be compared. That which has been translated thoroughly exhausts the meaning of the 'Entry into the Dharmadhātu Chapter' of the nine assemblies in the old Avataṃsaka-sūtra. Its wording is subtle and its import profound; gathering the essential principles, it opens the secret gate and fully plumbs the storehouse of liberation. This humble monk's religious practice is deficient and feeble, making it hard to investigate the source of the Way. What ability do I have to translate the teachings? I am merely ashamed before the Emperor's power. I humbly reflect that the prosperous fortune of non-action pities delusion and error, and is about to propagate Maitreya's true scriptures to rescue all beings at the ford. My sincere joy humbly increases my apprehension. I respectfully convey this memorial of congratulation through Ho Xianming, Palace Commission of the Army of Inspired Strategy and Commissioner of Merit and Virtue for the Right Street. Śramaṇa Prajñā, truly apprehensive and truly fearful, speaks with respect." The Emperor endorsed: "The Indic import is profound and mysterious, thus relying on translation. The Dharma Master, having leisurely inherited the tradition of learning, possesses refined knowledge penetrating the dark. You understand the subtle words of the palm-leaves and broaden the pure precepts of the lotus flower. Harmonizing the true teachings, it fully matches our intentions. We note your congratulations. Having presented the scripture, you have received the order allowing your return." On the twenty-sixth day, an imperial commissioner from the inner palace, High-ranking Cheng Zhongliang, again proclaimed an imperial order: "By decree to the Tripiṭaka Master and the venerable elders: Having long been at the bodhimaṇḍa, you have toiled in translation. We now bestow on the masters monastic robes, silk, and tea, which you should receive as they arrive. The spring warmth is here; may each of you be well and peaceful." Bestowed upon Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā: one set of purple lined and unlined official coarse-silk and twill robes consisting of six items, twenty strings of tea, and one hundred bolts of silk. To Monk Yuanzhao: one set of purple lined and unlined official coarse-silk and twill robes also consisting of six items. To the remaining nine individuals: each one set of brown lined and unlined official coarse-silk and twill robes, each consisting of six items. To the ten individuals: each ten strings of tea and fifty bolts of silk. The monks submitted a memorial to express their thanks. Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Prajñā and others stated: "We humbly received what was proclaimed on the twenty-sixth day of this month by High-ranking Cheng Zhongliang, administrative assistant to Ho Xianming, Commissioner of Merit and Virtue for the Right Street: the bestowed endorsed edict along with the monastic robes, tea, silk, and other items. The celestial realm sent down extraordinary beneficence, and the gracious light specially descended, spreading once more the clouds of Yao and bringing renaissance to the Śākya clan. All within the monastic order humbly leap with profound joy. I humbly reflect that Your Imperial Majesty is born with sage virtue and elegantly esteems non-action. Wandering your mind through sagacious designs, you forget fatigue even as the sun declines. The bells and drums sound at the imperial pinnacle across the realm. Indic scriptures have thus arrived, and civil culture knows where to turn. Prajñā and the others possess knowledge unequal to Sengcheng and Sengjiu, and our understanding falls short of Daosheng and Sengrong. We have specially bathed in gracious personal favor to mistakenly perform this translation. Sage virtue has subtly assisted, and the fascicles and cases are now finished. Your Majesty's gifts are extraordinarily generous, meant to encourage and reward. Leaping for joy without ground to stand on, holding them up with awe, we respectfully convey our memorial of thanks through Ho Xianming, Commissioner of Merit and Virtue for the Right Street. Śramaṇa Prajñā and others, truly apprehensive, truly fearful, truly joyful, and truly awestruck, speak with respect." On that day, the memorial of thanks was submitted. The monks retired, rejoicing in the propagation of the great teaching. How supreme! How beautiful! According to the decree of the eighth day of the ninth month of the fifteenth year, it was entered into the Zhenyuan New Catalogue of Buddhist Teachings.

Fo shuo shili jing (Sūtra on the Ten Powers Spoken by the Buddha), in one fascicle.
The above, one work in one fascicle, was translated at Lianhua Monastery west of the city of Anxi by Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Wutitixiyu (in Tang speech, Lotus Vigour) of Kucha.

Fo shuo huixianglun jing (Sūtra on the Wheel of Dedication Spoken by the Buddha), in one fascicle; three and a half sheets.
Fo shuo shidi jing (Daśabhūmika-sūtra Spoken by the Buddha), in nine fascicles; one hundred and twenty-one sheets.
The above two works in ten fascicles were translated from the Indic text into Chinese by Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Śīladharma (in Tang speech, Moral Precept Dharma) of Khotan at Longxing Monastery in Beiting Prefecture.
The above three works, totaling eleven fascicles, are extant texts.
The above newly translated Daśabhūmika-sūtra, Sūtra on the Wheel of Dedication, Sūtra on the Ten Powers, and others were obtained in Central India when Śramaṇa Wukong (originally named Fajie) of Zhangjing Monastery in the Upper Capital went on an envoy mission to Kashmīr. In the xinmao year, the tenth year of Tianbao under the reign of Xuanzong, the master was sent as an envoy to Kashmīr. In the guisi year, he finally reached that country. On the day of his return from the mission, he contracted an illness that would not heal. Later, he resolved to leave the household and receive the precepts. He went on pilgrimage to the eight stūpas and arrived in Central India. After many years had passed, he made a vow to return to his homeland. From Tripiṭaka Master Śāliverma, he received the Indic texts of the Daśabhūmika and other sūtras, and upon returning to Anxi, resided at Lianhua Monastery. There was Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Wutitixiyu, whom he requested to translate the Sūtra on the Ten Powers in one fascicle. Furthermore, having arrived in Beiting, he was invited by Yang Xigu, Military Commissioner and Censor-in-Chief, together with Śramaṇa Dazhen of Longxing Monastery and others, to ask the Khotanese Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Śīladharma to translate the Sūtra on the Wheel of Dedication in one fascicle and the Daśabhūmika-sūtra in nine fascicles. In the second month of the sixth year of Zhenyuan, he arrived at the Upper Capital. Dou Wenchang, Commissioner of Merit and Virtue for the Left Street, copied them and presented them to the throne. The texts are extant. According to the decree of the twenty-third day of the tenth month of the fifteenth year, they were entered into the Zhenyuan New Catalogue of Buddhist Teachings.

The above spans nineteen dynasties from the Later Han down to the August Dynasty. The Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras, vinayas, and śāstras, along with anthologies and biographies of sages and saints produced, amount to a total of 2,415 works, totaling 7,388 fascicles. Among these, 1,261 works, totaling 5,390 fascicles, are currently circulating and entered into the canon. (The Mañjuśrī-prajñā-sūtra translated by Mandrasena of the Liang was already included in the Prajñā section and was also entered into the Ratnakūṭa section; thus this single sūtra is recorded twice in the catalogue.) According to their actual number, there are only 1,285 works, 5,420 fascicles, which is the count of extant works. (Among the anthologies and biographies, there are 77 works in 458 fascicles, all of which were composed in this land and not translated from Indic texts.) 1,155 works, 2,030 fascicles, is the count of missing texts. Combining both extant and missing, there are a total of 2,415 works, 7,308 fascicles. (The difference of lacking seven works and nineteen fascicles from the earlier total count is because the Vinaya Preface translated by Wugouyan of the Jin should be incorporated into the Recitation; the one-fascicle 'Devadatta Chapter' translated by Xiao Fayi of the Qi and the one-fascicle 'Re-sung Verses of the Samantamukha Chapter' translated by Zhide under Emperor Wu of the Zhou should be incorporated into the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka;