五扶風岐山南古塔者。在平原上南下北高。東去武亭川十里。西去岐山縣二十里。南去渭水三十里。北去岐山二十里。一名馬額。山同岐山。斯並在大山之北。南有小山東西而列中間大谷。南與北別。故號岐山。岐即分也。西北二十餘里有鳳泉。泉在岐山之陽極高顯。即周文時。鸑鷟鳴於岐山。斯地是也。飲此泉水故號鳳泉。又南飛至終南之陰。故渭南山下亦有鳳泉。又西南飛越山至于河池。今所謂鳳州古河池郡是也。不可窮鳳之始末。且論置塔之根原。故隋高美其地泉。仍就置塔。俯臨目極誠為虛逈。寺名久廢。僧徒化往。人物全稀塔將頹壞。余往觀焉。榛叢彌滿。雖無黍離之實。深切黍離之悲。今平原上塔。俗諺為阿育王寺。鄉曰柳泉。取其北山之舊號耳。周魏以前寺名育王。僧徒五百。及周滅法廂宇外級唯有兩堂獨存。隋朝置之名成實寺。大業五年僧不滿五十人者廢之。此寺從廢。入京師寶昌寺。其塔故地仍為寺莊。唐運伊始義寧二年。寶昌寺僧普賢。慨寺被廢沒諸草莽。具狀上請。于時特蒙大丞相見識昔曾經往。覽表欣然仍述本由。可名法門寺。自爾至今武德二年。薛舉稱兵將事南。及大宗率師薄伐。初度八十僧。未有住寺。寶昌寺僧惠素掃洒鳳泉以僧未配。遂奏請住法門。蒙勅依奏。便總住焉。年歲既久殂落略盡。寺在孤城之中。問其本起。乃云。大業末年四方賊起。諸鄉在平原之上。無以自安。乃共築此城以防外寇。唐初雜住未得出居。延火焚之一切都盡。二堂餘燼燋黑尚存。貞觀五年。岐州刺史張亮素有信向。來寺禮拜。但見古基曾無上覆奏。
The ancient pagoda to the south of Qishan in Fufeng stands on the plain, sloping downward to the south and rising to the north. It lies ten li east of Wuting River, twenty li west of Qishan County, thirty li north of the Wei River, and twenty li south of Qishan. It is also called Ma'e, and the mountain is the same as Qishan. These all sit to the north of the great mountain, with small hills to the south stretching east and west, and a large valley between them. The south and north are clearly divided, hence the name Qishan—"Qi" meaning division. About twenty-plus li to the northwest is Fengquan, a spring located on the sunny side of Qishan, extremely high and visible. This is the very place where, during the time of King Wen of Zhou, the luanyue (a legendary auspicious bird) sang on Qishan. Those who drank from this spring named it Fengquan, or Phoenix Spring. The bird then flew south to the shaded side of Mount Zhongnan, so a spring below the mountain south of the Wei River is also called Fengquan. It then flew southwest over the mountains to Hechi, which is today's Fengzhou, the ancient Hechi Commandery. We cannot trace the full journey of the phoenix, so let us simply discuss the origin of the pagoda's establishment.
Emperor Wen of Sui admired the beauty of the land and spring here, so he ordered a pagoda to be built on this spot. Looking out from it, the view stretched far and wide, truly open and vast. The temple's name had long fallen into disuse, its monks had all passed away, and the population dwindled until the pagoda itself began to crumble. When I went to see it, brambles and undergrowth filled the area. Though there was no actual crop of millet, the sorrow of desolation was deeply felt—much like the grief of the "Millet Shrine" poem.
The pagoda on the plain is commonly called Ayuwang Temple by local folk. The township is called Liuquan, taking its name from the old designation of the northern mountain. Before the Zhou and Wei dynasties, the temple was known as Yuwang Temple and housed five hundred monks. When the Zhou dynasty suppressed Buddhism, all the surrounding buildings were destroyed, and only two halls remained standing. During the Sui dynasty, it was renamed Chengshi Temple. In the fifth year of Daye reign (609 CE), temples with fewer than fifty monks were ordered to be closed, and this temple was among them. Its monks were transferred to Baochang Temple in the capital. The original pagoda site then became temple farmland.
At the beginning of the Tang dynasty, in the second year of Yining (618 CE), the monk Puxian of Baochang Temple, grieved that the temple had been abandoned to the wilderness, submitted a formal petition. At that time, he received special recognition from the Grand Chancellor, who had visited the place before. Upon reading the petition, the Chancellor was delighted and recounted the temple's history, decreeing that it should be called Famen Temple. From then until the second year of Wude (619 CE), when Xue Ju raised an army and threatened to march south, the emperor led troops to suppress him. At first, eighty monks were ordained, but there was no temple for them to reside in. The monk Huisu of Baochang Temple had been sweeping and cleaning at Fengquan, but as no monks had yet been assigned there, he petitioned to reside at Famen Temple. The imperial decree approved his request, and thus all the monks gathered there.
Years passed, and the monks gradually passed away. The temple stood within a lonely fortress. When asked about its origins, the locals said: In the late Daye period (605–618), bandits rose from all directions. The villages on the plain had no way to protect themselves, so they jointly built this fortress to guard against invaders. In the early Tang, people of all sorts lived together, unable to move out. When a fire broke out, everything was burned to the ground—only the two halls remained, blackened and charred.
In the fifth year of Zhenguan reign (631 CE), Zhang Liang, the governor of Qizhou, who had long held faith in Buddhism, came to the temple to pay homage. He saw only ancient foundations with nothing covering them, and so he submitted a report...
勅望雲宮殿以蓋塔基。下
I asked that the Palace of Gazing at Clouds be used to cover the base of the stupa.
詔許之。因搆塔上尊嚴相顯。古老傳云。此塔一閉經三十年。一示人令生善亮聞之。以貞觀年中請開剖出舍利以示人。恐因聚眾不敢開塔。有勅並許。遂依開發深一丈餘獲二古碑。並周魏之所樹也。文不足觀。故不載錄。光相照燭同諸舍利。既出舍利通現道俗。無數千人一時同觀。有一盲人積年目冥急努眼直視忽然明淨。京邑內外崩騰同赴。屯聚塔所日有數千。舍利高出眾人同見。於方骨上見者不同。或見如玉白光映徹。或見綠色。或不見者問眾人曰。舍利何在。時有一人。以不見故感激懊惱。搥胸而哭。眾人愍之。吊問曰。汝是宿作努力懺悔。何用搥胸。此人見他燒指行供養者。即以麻纏母指燒之。遶塔而走。火盛心急來舍利所。欻然得見。歡喜踊躍跳躑不覺指痛。火滅心歇還復不見。顯慶四年九月。內山僧智琮弘靜見追入內。語及育王塔事。年歲久遠須假弘護。上曰。豈非童子施土之育王耶。若近有之。則八萬四千之一塔矣。琮曰。未詳虛實。古老傳云。名育王寺言不應虛。又傳云。三十年一度出。前貞觀初已曾出現。大有感應。今期已滿。請更出之。上曰。能得舍利深是善因可前至塔所七日行道。祈請有瑞乃可開發。即給錢五千絹五十疋。以充供養。琮與給使王長信等十月五日從京旦發。六日逼夜方到。琮即入塔內專精苦到。行道久之。未有光現。至十日三更。乃臂上安炭就而燒香。懍厲專注曾無異想。忽聞塔內像下振裂之聲。尋聲往觀乃見瑞光流溢霏霏上涌。塔內三像足各放光。赤白綠色纏繞而上。至於衡桶合成帳蓋。琮大喜踊將欲召僧。乃覩塔內畟塞僧徒合掌而立。謂是同寺須臾既久。光蓋漸歇冉冉而下。去地三尺不見群僧。方知聖隱。即召來使同覩瑞相。既至塔所餘光薄地流輝布滿赫奕潤滂。百千種光若有旋轉。久方沒盡。及旦看之。獲舍利一枚。殊大於粒光明鮮潔。更細尋視又獲七枚。總置盤水。一枚獨轉遶餘舍利。各放光明炫燿人目。琮等以所感瑞具狀上聞。勅使常侍王君德等送絹三千疋。令造朕等身阿育王像。餘者修補故塔。仍以像在塔。可即開發出佛舍利以開福慧。僧以舊材多雜朽故。遂總換以柏編石為基。莊嚴輪奐製置殊麗。又下勅僧智琮弘靜鴻臚給名住會昌寺。初開塔日。二十餘人同共下鑿。及獲舍利諸人並見。唯一不見。其人懊惱自拔頭髮。苦心邀請哀哭號呌。聲駭人畜徒自咎責。終不可見。乃置舍利於掌。雖覺其重不見如初。由是諸來謁者恐不見骨。不敢見其光瑞。寺東云龍坊人。勅使未至前數日望寺塔上。有赤色光周照遠近。或見如虹直上至天。或見光照寺城丹赤如晝。且具以聞。寺僧歎訝曰。舍利不久應開此瑞。如貞觀不異。其舍利形狀如小指。初骨長寸二分。內孔正方外楞亦爾。下平上圓內外光淨。余內小指於孔中恰受。便得勝戴以示大眾。至於光相變現不可常准。于時京邑內外道俗連接二百里間往來相慶。皆稱佛德一代光華。京師大慈恩寺僧惠滿。在塔行道。忽見綺井覆海下一雙眼睛光明。殊大通召道俗同視亦然。皆懾然喪瞻。更不敢重視。顯慶五年春三月。下
The emperor granted permission. Then a tower was built with majestic and solemn features. According to ancient tradition, this tower was sealed for thirty years at a time, opening once to reveal its contents to the people and inspire goodness. Upon hearing this, during the Zhenguan era, a request was made to open the tower and take out the relics to show the people. Fearing that gathering a crowd might cause trouble, the tower was not opened. However, an imperial decree granted permission, and so they proceeded to open it. Digging down over ten feet, they found two ancient steles, both erected during the Zhou and Wei dynasties. Their inscriptions were not worth reading, so they are not recorded here. The radiance of the relics illuminated everything just like other relics.
Once the relics were brought out, they were displayed to both monks and laypeople alike. Thousands upon thousands gathered at once to see them. Among the crowd was a blind man who had been sightless for many years. He strained his eyes and stared directly at the relics, and suddenly his vision became clear and bright. Both inside and outside the capital, people rushed frantically to the site. Every day, thousands gathered at the tower. The relics were held high so everyone could see them together. But different people saw different things on the square bone—some saw it as white as jade with radiant clarity, others saw it as green. Those who could not see it asked the crowd, "Where are the relics?" One man, deeply frustrated and distressed by his inability to see them, beat his chest and wept. The crowd took pity on him and asked, "You must have karmic obstacles from past deeds. Strive to repent—why beat your chest?" Seeing others burning their fingers as offerings, this man wrapped his thumb in hemp and set it on fire. He ran around the tower, and as the flames blazed and his mind raced with urgency, he reached the relics. Suddenly, he could see them! He leaped and danced with joy, not even feeling the pain in his finger. But when the fire died down and his excitement subsided, he could no longer see them.
In the ninth month of the fourth year of the Xianqing era, the monks Zhizong and Hongjing from the mountains were summoned to the palace. When the conversation turned to the matter of King Aśoka's tower—how it had been many years and needed protection and revival—the emperor said, "Isn't this the Aśoka who offered dirt as a child? If there is such a tower nearby, it must be one of the 84,000." Zhizong replied, "I cannot confirm its authenticity, but ancient tradition calls it the Aśoka Temple, and tradition should not be false. It is also said that it opens once every thirty years. It was last opened in the early Zhenguan era, and there were great miraculous responses. The time has now come again—please allow us to open it." The emperor said, "To obtain relics would be a profound cause of merit. Go to the tower and practice for seven days. If there are auspicious signs, then you may open it." He provided five thousand coins and fifty bolts of silk for offerings.
On the fifth day of the tenth month, Zhizong set out from the capital at dawn with the envoy Wang Changxin and others. They arrived only at nightfall on the sixth. Zhizong entered the tower and devoted himself with utmost sincerity, practicing for a long time, but no light appeared. At the third watch on the tenth day, he placed burning coals on his arm and burned incense upon them. He remained steadfast and focused, with not a single distracting thought. Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound from beneath the statue inside the tower. Following the sound, he saw auspicious light overflowing and rising in a mist. The feet of the three statues inside the tower each emitted light—red, white, and green—winding upward until they met at the beam above, forming a canopy of light. Zhizong was overjoyed and was about to call the monks when he saw the tower filled with monks standing side by side with palms joined. He thought they were from his own temple, but as time passed, the light canopy gradually faded and descended slowly. When it was three feet from the ground, the monks disappeared, and he realized the saints had concealed themselves. He then called the envoys to witness the auspicious sight. When they arrived at the tower, residual light spread across the ground, radiant and moist, with hundreds and thousands of hues swirling as if spinning. It took a long time before it faded completely.
The next morning, they found one relic, larger than a grain of rice, bright and pure. On closer search, they found seven more. Placing them all in a tray of water, one relic spun around the others, each emitting light that dazzled the eyes. Zhizong and the others reported the miraculous signs to the throne. The emperor sent the attendant Wang Junde and others bearing three thousand bolts of silk to commission statues of King Aśoka in his likeness, and to use the remainder to repair the ancient tower. He also ordered that, with the statues placed in the tower, the Buddha relics should be brought out to spread blessings and wisdom.
Because much of the old timber had rotted, the monks replaced it all with cypress, laid stone foundations, and adorned the tower with magnificent and exquisite craftsmanship. The emperor also issued a decree granting the monks Zhizong and Hongjing positions at Changhui Temple.
On the day the tower was first opened, more than twenty people went down together to chisel. All of them saw the relics except one. That man, overcome with remorse, tore at his own hair and wept bitterly, begging with all his heart. His cries startled both people and animals, but despite his self-reproach, he still could not see them. When the relics were placed in his palm, he could feel their weight, yet he still could not see them, just as before. Because of this, many who came to pay homage were afraid they would not see the bone, and dared not look upon the radiating light.
People from the Yulong neighborhood east of the temple, several days before the imperial envoy arrived, saw a red light circling the tower, illuminating the entire area near and far. Some saw it like a rainbow shooting straight up to the sky; others saw the light shining on the temple and city, crimson and bright as day. They reported this to the monks, who marveled and said, "The relics will soon be opened—these signs are no different from those of the Zhenguan era."
The relic was shaped like a little finger. The original bone was one inch and two tenths long, with a square hole in the center and square edges. It was flat on the bottom, rounded on top, and smooth and radiant both inside and out. I placed my own little finger into the hole, and it fit perfectly, allowing me to hold it aloft to show the crowd. As for its luminous transformations, they could not be captured by any fixed standard. At that time, monks and laypeople from both inside and outside the capital formed a continuous stream for two hundred li, celebrating and congratulating one another, all praising the Buddha's virtue as a magnificent glory of the age.
The monk Huiman from the Great Ci'en Temple in the capital, while practicing at the tower, suddenly saw a pair of eyes beneath the ceiling, large and brilliantly shining. He called monks and laypeople to look, and they all saw the same. All were awestruck and dared not look again.
In the third month of the fifth year of the Xianqing era, an imperial decree was issued...
勅取舍利往東都入內供養。時周又獻佛頂骨至京師。人或見者高五寸闊四寸許黃紫色。將往東都駕所。時又追京師僧七人。往東都入內行道。勅以舍利及頂骨出示行道。僧曰。此佛真身。僧等可頂戴供養。經一宿還收入內。皇后捨所寢衣帳直絹一千疋。為舍利造金棺銀槨。數有九重雕鏤窮奇。以龍朔二年送還本塔。至二月十五日奉。
A decree was issued to bring the relics to the Eastern Capital for veneration within the palace. At that time, the Zhou region also presented the Buddha's crown bone to the capital. Some who saw it described it as about five inches tall and four inches wide, with a yellowish-purple hue. It was to be taken to the emperor's residence in the Eastern Capital. Meanwhile, seven monks from the capital were summoned to the Eastern Capital to conduct prayer services within the palace. The decree ordered that the relics and the crown bone be shown to the monks during these services. The monks were told, "This is the true body of the Buddha. You may respectfully offer your homage by placing it upon your heads." After one night, the relics were returned to the inner palace. The empress donated her personal bedding and curtains, worth a thousand bolts of silk, to create a golden casket and a silver outer shrine for the relics, adorned with intricate carvings of unparalleled craftsmanship. In the second year of the Longshuo era, they were sent back to the original pagoda. On the fifteenth day of the second month, they were respectfully returned.
勅令僧智琮弘靜京師諸僧。與塔寺僧及官人等無數千人。共藏舍利于石室掩之。三十年後非余所知。後有開瑞可續而廣也。
The imperial decree was issued for the monks Zhi Cong and Hong Jing, along with countless monks from the capital's temples and government officials, to join together in placing the relics within a stone chamber and sealing it. After thirty years, its whereabouts would be beyond my knowledge. If later auspicious signs should arise, the relics may be retrieved and the practice continued and expanded.
岐州岐山縣華陽鄉王莊村𠗦玄嗣者。先來麁獷殊不信向。母兄承舍利從東都來。將欲藏掩。嗣不許往。母兄不用其語。至舍利所禮拜訖還家。玄嗣怒曰。此有何功德。若舍利有功德。家中佛像亦有功德。即取像燒之。有何靈驗。母兄救之已燒下半。玄嗣即時忽倒。後醒曰。忽到一處似是地獄。大鳥飛來啄睛噉肉。入大火坑燒烙困苦。以手摩面眉鬢墮落。目看天地全無精光。親屬傍看曰。汝自造罪無可代者。玄嗣神識不與人對。但曰。火燒我心東西馳走。又被打拍之狀摧慟號哭。又稱懺悔懺悔而晝夜唯走不曾得住。至二月十三日。親屬將至塔所。于時京邑大德行虔法師等百餘僧。為眾說法。裴尚官比丘尼等數百俗士五六千人。咸見玄嗣五體投地對舍利前。號哭懺悔不信之罪。又懺犯尼淨行。打罵眾僧盜食僧果。自懺已後眠夢稍安云。其佛頂骨國用珍寶贖之計寶約估評絹直四千疋。遂依其數以蕃練酬之。頂骨今仍在內云。