貞元新定釋教目錄 2.3.2

2.3.2

place. From then on, boatmen held him in awe and fear; none did not tremble even at his shadow. Travelling in company with more than thirty boats, [An] Shigao offered sacrificial victims and prayed for good fortune. The deity then descended and, speaking through a medium, said: 'There is a śramaṇa on board; you may call him up.' The passengers were all astonished and invited Shigao to enter the shrine. The deity said to Shigao: 'In the past, in a foreign land, I left home together with you to study the Way. I was fond of practicing giving, but by nature I was prone to anger. Now I am the deity of the Gongting shrine. A circuit of a thousand li is all within my jurisdiction. Because of giving, precious curiosities are abundant; because of anger, I fell into this divine retribution. Now, seeing my fellow student, how can I express my sorrow and joy? My lifespan will end morning or evening, and my hideous form is long and large; if I cast off my life here, it will pollute the rivers and lakes. I ought to cross to the marsh west of the mountain. After this body perishes, I fear falling into hell. I have a thousand bolts of silk along with various treasures. You may establish the Dharma and construct a stupa for me, so that I may be reborn in a good place.'

Shigao said: 'I came expressly to deliver you. Why do you not show your form?' The deity said: 'My form is extremely hideous and strange; the assembly will surely be frightened.' Shigao said: 'Just come forth; the assembly will not find it strange.' The deity brought forth its head from behind the couch—it was a great python, the length of whose tail was unknown. It reached beside Shigao's knees. Shigao spoke to it several times in a foreign tongue and chanted verses of praise several times. The python wept tears like rain, and after a moment concealed itself again. Shigao immediately took the silk and goods, bid farewell, and departed.

When the boat company hoisted their sails, the python emerged again, climbed the mountain, and gazed out; only after the assembly raised their hands in greeting did it vanish. In an instant they reached Yuzhang, where he immediately used the shrine's goods to build the Eastern Monastery. After Shigao's departure, the deity passed away. At dusk, a youth boarded the boat, knelt before Shigao for a long time, received his blessing, and suddenly disappeared. Shigao said to the boatmen: 'The youth just now was the deity of the Gongting shrine; he has gained release from his evil form.' Thereupon, the shrine deity ceased and vanished, possessing spiritual efficacy no more. Later, in the marsh west of the mountain, people saw a dead python several li from head to tail. The present-day Snake Village of Xunyang Commandery is the place.

Later, Shigao returned to Guangzhou and sought out the youth who had slain him in his previous life, who was still alive. Shigao went straight to his house, related the previous repayment, and recounted their karmic affinities from past lives. Joyfully facing each other, [Shigao] said: 'I still have a remnant of retribution; now I must go to Kuaiji to complete the settlement.' The man of Guangzhou realized that Shigao was no ordinary person, suddenly understood, and regretted his former offense. Providing him generously with supplies, he accompanied Shigao on his travels, and they eventually reached Kuaiji. As soon as they entered the marketplace, it happened that there was a riot in the marketplace; those fighting each other mistakenly struck Shigao on the head, and he lost his life on the spot. The man of Guangzhou, having repeatedly witnessed these two retributions, subsequently became diligent in the Buddha's teaching and recounted the circumstances in full. Near and far, whoever heard of it grieved and sighed, clarifying that the three times do indeed have verification.

From the second year of Jianhe, wuzi, of Emperor Huan [148 CE], to the third year of Jianning, gengxu, of Emperor Ling [170 CE], over more than twenty years, Shigao translated ninety-five texts of sūtras on the essential wisdom of the Mahāyāna and other topics. Their principles are clearly analyzed, their wording is proper and precise, eloquent without being florid, plain without being crude. All readers apply themselves untiringly. Since Shigao was originally of royal lineage and his fame was renowned in foreign lands, guests and travelers from the Western Regions still refer to him as the 'Marquis An' down to the present day. India itself calls its writing 'heavenly writing' and its speech 'heavenly speech'; their phonetics and definitions are intricate and divergent, entirely different from Chinese. In successive translations, many errors and discrepancies were introduced; only what Shigao produced stands at the head of all translations. Master Dao'an considered him hard to match, [noting that] receiving instruction face to face [from him] was no different from seeing a sage; prominent and virtuous figures through successive generations have all praised and admired him.

Shi Dao'an's catalogue, Sengyou's Chu sanzang ji [ji], and Huijiao's Gaoseng zhuan all state that Shigao translated thirty-nine texts. Fei Changfang's catalogue records one hundred and seventy-six texts. Now, since what is recorded in Changfang's catalogue mostly consists of offshoot extracts emerging from larger works, they cannot be taken as the standard count of translations. I now delete them in sequence, as described below:

*Qingli youzui jing* (Changfang says: 'A note of the time lists it as doubtful; it is now also placed in the catalogue of doubtful and apocryphal works.')
*Baguang jing* [Eightfold Radiance Sūtra]
*Shelifo wen bao nü jing* [Sūtra of Śāriputra's Questions to the Precious Maiden]
*Shelifo tan bao nü shuo busiyiyi jing* [Sūtra of Śāriputra's Praise of the Inconceivable Teaching Expounded by the Precious Maiden] (also simply called *Tan bao nü jing*)
*Shenyue zhangzhe huiguo gongfo jing* [Sūtra of the Elder Shenyue's Repentance and Offering to the Buddha] (also called *Youqi zhangzhe huiguo jing*; it is not yet clear whether Shenyue or Youqi is correct; the four sūtras starting with the *Baguang jing* are all extracted from the *Mahāsaṃnipāta*)
*Sibai sanmei jing* [Four Hundred Samādhis Sūtra] (extracted from the *Mahāmegha-sūtra*)
*Moheyan jingjindu zhong zuibao pin* [Chapter on Karmic Retribution in the Perfection of Diligence of the Mahāyāna] (extracted from the *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa*)
*Da Jiashe yu niqianzi jing* [Sūtra of Mahākāśyapa Encountering Nirgrantha] (extracted from the *Dīrghāgama*)
*Anan huo jing* [Sūtra of Ānanda's Confusion] (extracted from the *Ren ben yu sheng jing*)
*Di-yi simen jing* [First Four Gates Sūtra]
*Di-er men jing* [Second Gate Sūtra]
*Di-san simen jing* [Third Four Gates Sūtra]
*Ganlu zhengyi* [Right Thought of Amṛta] (also called *Fo ru ganlu tiaoyi jing*; the *Di-yi simen jing* and others are from Sengyou's catalogue of lost translators and also from Baochang's catalogue; all are from a single text, the *Da shi'ermen jing*, which later people divided into chapters and copied out, thereby producing four fascicles)
*Zunzhe Boluoluo jing* [Venerable Bakkula Sūtra] (or simply called *Boluoluo jing*, or called *Boluoluo da yixuemen jing*)
*Poluomen xing jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman's Conduct]
*Zhangzhe xiongdi yi Fo jing* [Sūtra of the Elder Brothers Going to the Buddha] (also called *Zhangzhe Lishidatuo xiongdi er ren wang Fo suo jing*; the three sūtras including *Boluoluo* are extracted from the *Madhyamāgama*)
*Wu zhandouren jing* [Sūtra of Five Fighting Warriors]
*Shijian qiangdao bushi jing* [Sūtra of Worldly Robbers Practicing Giving]
*Fantianwang yi poluomen jiangtang jing* [Sūtra of the Brahma King Going to the Lecture Hall of the Brahmans]
*Yujia jushi jian Fo wenfa xingwu jing* [Sūtra of the Householder Ugga Awakening upon Seeing the Buddha and Hearing the Dharma] (also called *Xiujiatuo jushi Fo wei fadexing wu jing*)
*Shui yu jing* [Water Simile Sūtra] (the five sūtras including the *Wu zhandouren* are all extracted from the *Ekottarāgama*)
*Fo wei poluomen shuo sifa jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha Expounding the Four Dharmas for a Brahman]
*Fo wei shihuo poluomen shuo wudao jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha Expounding Awakening to the Way for a Fire-Worshipping Brahman]
*Fo wei poluomen shuo gengtian jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha Expounding Plowing the Field for a Brahman] (sometimes without the word *tian*)
*Fo wei jiaoman poluomen shuo ji jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha Expounding Verses for an Arrogant Brahman]
*Fo wei Pindou poluomen xiang jia jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha [Comparing] the Cheeks of the Brahman Piṇḍa]
*Fo wei Azhiluojia shuo zita zuoku jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha Expounding Suffering Caused by Self and Others for Acailaka]
*Moulian jian zhongsheng shenmao ru jian jing* [Sūtra of Maudgalyāyana Seeing Sentient Beings Whose Body Hairs Are Like Arrows]
*Analu sizi Moulian shenli jing* [Sūtra of Aniruddha Contemplating Maudgalyāyana's Supernatural Powers]
*Wuwei Liche bai Anan jing* [Sūtra of the Fearless Licchavi Addressing Ānanda]
*Shangren tuo zei jing* [Sūtra of Merchants Escaping Bandits]
*Shijian yan meise jing* [Sūtra on the Worldly Praise of Beautiful Form]
*Chuntuo shami jing* [Sūtra of the Śrāmaṇera Cunda] (or with 'śramaṇa', or with the character *chun* [淳])
*Shangren zi zuo foshi jing* [Sūtra of the Merchant's Son Performing Buddha-Work]
*Poluomen tongda jinglun jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman Who Penetrated Sūtras and Śāstras]
*Waidao chujia jing* [Sūtra of the Heterodox Ascetic Leaving Home]
*Poluomen fubai jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman Wearing White]
*Jingqin sinianchu jing* [Sūtra of Diligently Cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness]
*Poluomen xuwei jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman's Falsehood]
*Fo wei tiaoma juluozhu shuofa jing* [Sūtra of the Buddha Expounding the Dharma for the Horse-Trainer Village Headman]
*Yiqie xing buheng anzhu jing* [Sūtra on All Formations Not Abiding Permanently]
*Poluomen wen Shizun jianglai you ji fo jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman Asking the World-Honoured One How Many Buddhas There Will Be in the Future]
*Poluomen wen Fo bushi defu jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman Asking the Buddha About Gaining Merit from Giving]
*Douzhe poluomen lunyi chujia jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman Toḍeyya Leaving Home After Debate]
*Huahuo yu* (or *Daxing*) *poluomen chujia jing* [Sūtra of the Transformed Fire Giving (or Greatly Flourishing) to the Brahman Leaving Home]
*Fumu piyu jing* [Sūtra on the Simile of the Floating Log] (also named *Hengshui liushu jing*, or with *shu* [澍])
*Sizha poluomen chujia dedao jing* [Sūtra of the Four Brahmans Leaving Home and Attaining the Way]
*Guoqu tanqin ren jing* [Sūtra of the Lute Player of the Past]
*Poluomen jiezhi zhongshu jing* [Sūtra of the Brahman Who Understood All Arts]
*Dufu zhangzhe jing* [Sūtra of the Singularly Wealthy Elder] (also called *Dufu zhangzhe caiwu wufu jing*, or *Zhangzhe mingzhong wuzi [jing]*)