東晉沙門支法領
Translated by the Eastern Jin monk Zhi Faling
志樂大乘。捐軀求法。聞于闐東南二千餘里。有拘遮盤國。國君相傳。敬禮大乘。王宮內有華嚴摩訶般若大集等經。並十萬偈。王躬受持。莊嚴供養。於是裹糧抗䇿。備歷艱途。至拘盤國。竭誠請禱。遂得華嚴前分三萬六千偈。賷還。即東晉朝所譯經也。此華嚴入東土之始。
He aspired to the Great Vehicle, willing to give up his very life in search of the Dharma. He heard that some two thousand miles southeast of Khotan lay the kingdom of Kucha, where the rulers, generation after generation, revered the Great Vehicle. Within the royal palace were scriptures such as the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Mahaprajnaparamita, and the Great Assembly Sutra, each consisting of a hundred thousand verses. The king himself upheld these texts, honoring them with lavish offerings. Thus, carrying provisions and staff in hand, he braved every hardship along the treacherous journey to Kucha. There, with utmost sincerity, he prayed and entreated, and was granted the first section of the Avatamsaka Sutra in thirty-six thousand verses. He brought it back with him—this became the scripture translated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. This marked the very beginning of the Avatamsaka Sutra's introduction into China.