貞元新定釋教目錄 9.34.3

9.34.3

Treatise on the Mahāyāna Ratnakūṭa[-sūtra], four fascicles (the first translation, of the same text as that produced by Bao[yi], but a different translation; the single-fascicle Ratnakūṭa-sūtra is the fortieth assembly, the Prabhasa Bodhisattva Assembly);
Treatise on the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, three fascicles (composed by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu; produced in the second year of Yongping at the residence of Prime Minister Hu, transcribed by Senglai; the first translation, of the same text as the Tri-sāhasraka-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra Treatise produced in the Tang by Yijing);
Treatise on the Sūtra of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva's Inquiry into Bodhi, two fascicles (also called Treatise on the Gayāśīrṣa Peak; composed by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu; produced in the second year of Tianping at Yintong Monastery in the city of Ye, transcribed by Sengbian and Daokan);
Treatise on the Lotus Sūtra, two fascicles (entitled Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Upadeśa; or in one fascicle; transcribed by Tanlin, who also composed the preface; the second translation, of the same text as that earlier produced by Baoyi; that which begins with the verses of refuge is this one; see the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks);
Treatise on the Sūtra of the Inquiries of the Brahma Viśeṣacintī, four fascicles (or in three fascicles; produced in the first year of Putai in Luoyang at the residence of Yuan Taoyang, transcribed by Sengbian and Senglang; a catalogue states it is in ten fascicles, which must be an error; see the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks);
Treatise on the Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra, one fascicle (entitled Sukhāvatī Upadeśa with Verses on Aspiration for Rebirth; composed by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu; produced in the second year of Yong'an at Yongning Monastery in Luoyang, transcribed by Sengbian);
Treatise on the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, one fascicle (composed by Bodhisattva Śuddhamati);
Treatise of One Hundred Verses (Śataśāstra), one fascicle (composed by Bodhisattva Deva);
Treatise Refuting the Four Heterodox and Hīnayāna Tenets, one fascicle (composed by Bodhisattva Deva);
Treatise Refuting the Heterodox and Hīnayāna Nirvāṇa, one fascicle (composed by Bodhisattva Deva);
Treatise on the Jewel Nature (Ratnagotravibhāga), four fascicles (or in five fascicles; the first translation, of the same text as that produced by Baoyi; the above are all extant; recorded in the Changfang Catalogue and the Neidian Catalogue).
The preceding thirty works, comprising 101 fascicles (the first twenty-nine works are extant; the latter single work, the Ratnagotravibhāga, is a lost text).
Śramaṇa Bodhiruci, translated in the Wei as Daoxi ('Aspirant for the Way'), was a native of northern India. He was completely versed in the Tripiṭaka, profoundly entered into dhāraṇīs, and had his will set on propagating the Dharma and broadly extending its hearing. He thereupon set forth on a lofty journey, bearing the Way, and arrived far to the east of the Congling Mountains. In the Yongping era of the Wei dynasty, he arrived at the Eastern Capital. Emperor Xuanwu issued an edict with earnest hospitality and honour to console him. Later, he was lodged at the great Yongning Monastery, where provisions and treatment were exceptionally abundant. Seven hundred Indian monks were all likewise fully supported. An imperial decree appointed Bodhiruci as the principal master for the translation of sūtras. This monastery was originally founded in the first year of Xiping by Empress Dowager Hu (Lingtaihou) of Emperor Xiaoming. It was situated to the east of the Imperial Highway south of the Changhe Gate in front of the palace. Within it was a nine-tiered stūpa constructed over water, rising to a height of over ninety zhang. Above it was a golden finial (chattra-daṇḍa) another ten zhang high. Projecting a thousand chi from the ground, it could already be seen from afar one hundred li away from the terrace. When the foundations were first excavated down to the yellow springs, thirty-two golden statues were unearthed. The Empress Dowager regarded this as an auspicious sign of venerating the faith in the Dharma. Consequently, its decorative structures were extraordinarily magnificent, exhausting worldly splendour. On the exterior of the finial was placed a golden treasure-vase with a capacity of twenty-five hu. There were eleven tiers of dew-catching golden plates, with iron chains extending to the corners. On both the plates and chains were golden bells the size of a stone-measure jug. Large bells hung from all the corners of the nine storeys, totalling 130 bells from top to bottom. The stūpa had four faces with nine bays, six windows, and three doors; their leaves were all lacquered in vermilion, and hung with golden bells, numbered at 5,400 bells per tier. In addition, golden monster-mask knockers with ring-bells were installed. The Buddhist fixtures were exquisitely wrought, exhausting the craft of masonry and woodwork. Embroidered columns and golden fittings startled the mind and eye. When strong winds blew on long nights, the bells and chimes harmonised in song, their ringing sounds audible for more than ten li. To the north stood the main hall, modelled after the Hall of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji Dian). Inside, the various statues and images were adorned with gold, jade, pearls, and embroidery, their craftsmanship and elegance crowning the contemporary age. The monks' quarters connected all around, numbering over a thousand bays. Terraces and lookouts were spread like stars, intermingled and varied, carved and decorated in vermilion and purple, painted with cinnabar and azure. Cypress, arborvitae, boxwood, and pine mingled with exotic grasses. The eaves and tiles surrounded all the courtyard terraces. The three southern gates opened onto three portals in three storeys, more than two hundred chi above the ground, resembling the Gates of Heaven in majestic brilliance. Flanking the gates were arranged four mighty warriors (herculean guardians) and four lions, adorned with gold and jade, radiant and gleaming. The east and west gates were likewise in this manner; the only difference was that their gatehouses had two storeys. The north gate was positioned so as to let the passageway accommodate the road. Outside its four gates, green scholar trees were planted, with clear waters stretching around. Travellers in the capital often found shelter beneath them. The roads blocked flying dust without needing the moisture of lingering clouds; the cool breeze brought freshness, so there was no reliance on the bloom of silk-trees. Thereupon an imperial edict commanded Palace Attendant Chang Jing to compose an inscription on the monastery's stele; hence it was said: 'Neither the jewel-hall of Sumeru nor the pure palace of Tuṣita could surpass this,' which refers to this. The scriptures and statues presented from foreign lands were all housed in this monastery. When the monastery was first completed, Emperor Ming and the Empress Dowager ascended the stūpa together and looked upon the inner palace as if in the palm of their hand; looking down upon the clouds and rain, the heavens above were bright and clear. Because the affairs within the palace could be seen from there, they subsequently prohibited people from ascending it. At that time, there was a Western Regions śramaṇa named Bodhidharma, a native of the country of Persia. Crossing from the Western Regions, he came to travel in Luoyang. Seeing the golden plates dazzling in the sunlight, shining beyond the clouds, and the jewelled bells catching the wind, ringing out beyond the skies, he sang praise and sighed in admiration, suspecting it to be divine craftsmanship. He said of himself that he was 150 years old and had traversed various lands everywhere without omission; yet a monastery and hermitage like this did not exist anywhere in Jambudvīpa, nor was there any comparable to it in the realms of the Buddhas. Singing 'Namo' with joined palms, he did so for consecutive days. In the second year of Xiaochang, a great storm tore off roofs and uprooted trees; the treasure-vase atop the finial fell with the wind, sinking more than a zhang into the ground. Craftsmen were again ordered to replace it with a new one. In the second month of the third year of Yongxi, it was struck by lightning from heaven. The Emperor ascended the Lingyun Terrace to watch the fire, and dispatched Nanyang Wang Baoyu and Senior Clerk of the Department of State Affairs Sun Zhi leading a thousand Feathered Forest imperial guards to rescue it. At that time, thunder and rain darkened the sky, and sleet and snow fell together. At dawn, a fire broke out in the eighth tier; two men of the Way, unable to bear seeing it reduced to ashes, threw themselves into the fire and died. The flames continued for more than three months. The finial's post where it sank into the ground still gave off smoke even after a whole year. In the fifth month of that year, someone arrived from Donglai Commandery and reported seeing the stūpa out at sea, its radiant light majestic and intact, witnessed by many. Presently, clouds and mist rose tumultuously, and its location was lost. In the seventh month, Pingyang Wang was coerced by Attendant-in-ordinary Husi Chun to flee west to Chang'an. In the tenth month, the capital at Luoyang was relocated to the Zhang River in Ye. Prior to this, Bodhiruci received an imperial edict to begin translating the Daśabhūmika-sūtra Treatise. At the beginning of the composition, Emperor Xuanwu personally served as scribe, and only later handed it over to śramaṇa Sengbian and others to complete the entirety of the treatise text. The Buddha's Dharma flourished, its outstanding talents blooming, learning from one another with unflagging diligence. Tripiṭaka Bodhiruci, from the first year of Yongping of Emperor Xuanwu in Luoyang (a wuzi year) until the second year of Tianping of Emperor Xiaojing in the capital of Ye (a yimao year), for nearly thirty years continuously translated texts, producing thirty works in total including sūtras such as the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā and treatises such as the Daśabhūmika. The Emperor also decreed