老子化胡經玄□卷第十
Laozi Converting the Barbarians Sutra, Mysterious □, Chapter 10
我往化胡時。頭載通天威。金紫照虛空。焰焰有光暉。胡王心憊戾。不尊我為師。吾作變通力。要之出神威。麾日使東走。須彌而西頹。足蹋乾神橋。日月左右廻。天地晝闇昏。星辰牙差馳。眾災競地起。良醫絕不知。胡王心怖怕。叉手向吾啼。作大慈悲教。化之漸微微。落簪去一食。右肩不著衣。男曰憂婆塞。女曰憂婆夷。化胡今賓服。遊神於紫微。
When I traveled west to convert the barbarians, upon my head I wore the Heaven-Reaching Awesome Crown. Its gold and purple radiance illuminated the empty sky, blazing with brilliant light. The barbarian king's heart was full of stubbornness and arrogance. He refused to honor me as his teacher. So I displayed my power of transformation, unleashing my divine might. I waved the sun to make it retreat eastward, and made Mount Sumeru crumble toward the west. I stepped upon the bridge of the deity Qian, and the sun and moon revolved around me left and right. Heaven and earth darkened as if by night. The stars raced scattered in disarray. Disasters of every kind arose from the earth, and even the finest physicians were utterly helpless. The barbarian king's heart was seized with terror. With hands clasped together, he wept before me. He embraced the great teaching of compassion, and step by step he was gently transformed. The king let down his hairpin and gave up one meal a day. He bared his right shoulder and wore no fine garments. The men were called Upasaka, and the women were called Upasika. Having converted the barbarians, they now submitted in homage. My spirit roams free in the Purple Micro Palace.
我在舍衛時。約勅瞿曇身。汝共摩訶薩。齎經教東秦。歷落神州界。迫至東海間。廣宣至尊法。教授聾俗人。與子威神法。化道滿千年。年終時當還。慎莫戀中秦。致令天氣怒。太上踏地瞋。寺廟崩倒澌。龍王舐經文。八萬四千弟子。一時受大緣。輪轉五道頭萬無一昇仙。吾在三天上。愍子淚流連。念子出行道。不能却死緣。不能陵虛空。束身入黃泉。天門地戶塞。一去不能還。雖得存禋嗣。使子常塞心。逆天違地理。災考加子身。神能易生死。由子行不真。三十六天道。終卒歸無形。
(While I was in Shravasti, I gave this command to Gautama's disciple: You, together with the great bodhisattvas, shall carry the scriptures and teachings to the Eastern Qin. Passing through the lands of Shenzhou, pressing on to the shores of the Eastern Sea, widely proclaim the Supreme Dharma. Teach the deaf and ordinary people, and with you, the majestic Dharma. Your work of transforming beings through the Path shall last a thousand years. When the years are complete, you must return. Be careful not to cling to the Central Qin, lest you anger the heavenly qi. The Supreme One will stamp the earth in wrath. Temples will collapse and crumble. The Dragon King will lick away the scriptures. The eighty-four thousand disciples will all at once receive great karma. They will revolve through the five paths, and among ten thousand, not one will ascend to immortality. I am in the Heaven of the Three Heavens, pitying you, my tears flowing without end. I think of you setting out to practice the Path, yet unable to repel the causes of death, unable to ascend into empty space. Bound in body, you enter the Yellow Springs. The gates of Heaven and the doors of Earth are sealed. Once gone, you cannot return. Though you may preserve your lineage and heirs, it will constantly weigh on your heart. Going against Heaven and violating the principles of Earth, disasters and examinations will be added to your body. The spirits may change life and death, but it is because your practice is not true. In the thirty-six heavens of the Path, in the end you will return to formlessness.)
我身西化時。登上華岳山。舉目看崑崙。須彌了𠄏懸。矯翼履清虛。倏忽到天西。但見西王母。嚴駕欲東旋。玉女數萬千。姿容甚麗妍。天姿絕端嚴。齊執皇靈書。誦讀仙聖經。養我同時姝。將我入天庭。皇老東向坐。身體曒然明。授我仙聖道。接度天下賢。
When my body was transformed in the West, I climbed Mount Hua and looked out at Kunlun. Mount Sumeru hung clearly in the distance. Spreading my wings, I trod the clear void, and in an instant reached the western heavens. There I saw the Queen Mother of the West, with her grand chariot, about to turn east. Tens of thousands of jade maidens, all of them lovely and fair, their heavenly bearing utterly dignified, together held the imperial spirit scriptures and chanted the sacred texts of the immortals. They nurtured those of my kind from that time, and led me into the heavenly court. The August Elder sat facing east, his body shining bright. He bestowed on me the Path of the immortal sages, to receive and guide the worthy of the world.
我昔西化時。登上華岳山。北向視玄冥。秦川蕩然平。漢少雜類多。不信至真言。吾後千餘年。白骨如丘山。屍骸路草野。流血成洪洪。淵不忍見子。苦故作大秦。吟哀歎二十。頭以示通中。賢見機降時。世不值苦以辛。
When I once traveled west to teach, I climbed Mount Hua. Facing north, I gazed into the dark unknown. The plains of Qin stretched out flat and vast. Han people were few; mixed peoples, many. They did not believe the words of utmost truth. More than a thousand years after I am gone, white bones will pile up like mountains. Corpses will litter the roads and wild grass. Blood will flow in great rivers. I cannot bear to see you, my children, in such suffering— that is why I made this great journey to Qin. I chant twenty verses of sorrow and lament, bowing my head to reveal the way to those who understand. When the worthy see the signs and come down in time, the world will not have to endure such bitterness and hardship.
我昔化胡時。西登太白山。修身巖石里。四向集諸仙。玉女擔漿酪。仙人歌經文。天龍翼從後。白虎口馳斷。玄武負鍾鼓。朱雀持幢幡。化胡成佛道。丈六金剛身。時與決口教。後當存經文。吾昇九天後。剋木作吾身。
Long ago, when I converted the barbarians, I climbed the Taibai Mountain in the west. I cultivated myself among the rocky cliffs, and from all four directions I gathered the immortals. Jade maidens carried broth and milk; the immortals sang the words of the scriptures. Heavenly dragons and nagas followed behind me on wings; the White Tiger raced ahead with jaws wide open. The Dark Warrior bore bells and drums on his back; the Vermilion Bird held banners and pennants aloft. I converted the barbarians and accomplished the Buddha's path, with a golden body twelve feet tall and diamond-like. At that time I gave them the decisive teaching, and afterward the scriptures were to be preserved. After I ascend to the nine heavens, carve wood to make an image of my body.
我昔離周時。西化向罽賓。路由函關去。會見尹喜身。尹喜通窈冥。候天見紫雲。知吾當西過。沐浴齋戒身。日夜立香火。約勅守門人。執簡迎謁請。延我入皇庭。叩搏亦無數。求欲從我身。道取人誠信。三日口不言。吾知喜心至。遺喜五千文。欲得求長生。讀之易精神。將喜入西域。遷喜為真人。
Long ago, when I left Zhou, I traveled west toward Jibin. My route passed through the Hangu Pass, where I met Yin Xi. Yin Xi understood the profound and mysterious. Watching the heavens, he saw purple clouds and knew I was about to pass westward. He bathed and observed the Precepts, standing before incense and fire day and night. He instructed and ordered the gatekeeper, holding the bamboo tablet, to welcome and respectfully request me to enter the imperial court. He bowed and beseeched me countless times, seeking to follow me. The Path to Cessation requires sincerity and trust from a person. For three days he did not speak. I knew Yin Xi’s mind was sincere. I gave Yin Xi five thousand characters, wishing for him to seek long life. Reading it easily refreshes the spirit. I led Yin Xi into the Western Regions, and transformed Yin Xi into a Perfected Immortal.
我昔化胡時。涉天靡不遙。牽天覆六合。艱難身盡嬰。胡人不識法。放火燒我身。身亦不缺損。乃復沈深淵。龍王折水脈。復不復流行。愚人皆哀歎。枉此賢人身。吾作騰波炁。起立上著天。日月頭上曒。光照億萬千。胡王心方悟。知我是聖人。叩頭求悔過。今欲奉侍君。伏願降靈炁。怒活國土人。吾視怨家如赤子。不顧仇以嫌。化命一世士。坐臥誦經文。身無榮華飾。後畢得昇天。吾告時世人。三界里中賢。欲求長生道。莫愛千金身。出身著死地。返更得生緣。火中生蓮花。爾乃是至真。莫有生殺想。得道昇清天。未負即真信。喪子千金身。我昔學道時。登崖歷長松。盤屈幽谷里。求覓仙聖公。食服泥洹散。漸得不死蹤。九重室中。得見不死童。身體絕華麗。二儀中無雙。遺我元氣藥。忽然天聖聰。
When I once converted the barbarians, I crossed the heavens without hindrance. I led the heavens to cover the six directions; every hardship fell upon my body. The barbarians did not recognize the Dharma and set fire to my body, yet my body suffered no injury. Then they sank me in a deep abyss; the Dragon King cut off the water's flow, and again it would not run. Foolish people all lamented, thinking this worthy person's life was wasted. I stirred up surging waves of vapor and rose to stand high in the heavens. Sun and moon shone brightly above my head, illumining millions upon millions. Only then did the barbarian king's mind awaken, knowing I was a sage. He bowed his head and sought to repent, now wishing to serve and attend me. I bow in prayer that the spirit-breath may descend and rouse the people of this land. I look upon enemies as an only child, heedless of grudges and resentment. I transform and guide the people of one generation to sit and lie reciting the scriptures. The body has no ornate adornment, yet afterward one may ascend to heaven. I tell the people of the present age, the worthy ones within the Three Realms: if you seek the Path to long life, do not cling to your wealth of a thousand gold. Leave your body in the place of death, and instead you gain the cause for life. A lotus blossoms within fire—that is indeed the Supreme Truth. Do not hold thoughts of birth and killing, and you shall attain the Path and rise to the clear heavens. If you do not betray this, you will gain true faith, though you lose a child's worth of a thousand gold. When I formerly studied the Path, I climbed cliffs and passed through tall pines, winding through hidden valleys, seeking the immortal sages. I ate and took the Nirvana powder, gradually attaining the trace of deathlessness. In a nine-fold chamber, I saw the deathless youth, his body utterly magnificent, unmatched between heaven and earth. He left me the primal vital elixir, and suddenly I gained heavenly sagely wisdom.