法流震旦
《法本內傳》(史官傅毅撰)
東漢明帝，永平三年庚申四月八日，帝寢南宮，夢金人長丈六，項佩日光，胸題卍字，飛至殿前，去來無礙。旦問群臣，時太史傅毅進曰：「臣聞西域有神，其名曰佛，陛下所夢，將必是乎！」國子博士王遵對曰：「臣按《周書異記》云『周昭王，甲寅四月八日，有聖人生西方。』今陛下所夢是也。」帝乃遣將軍蔡愔，中郎將秦景，博士王遵等，十八人，使西域訪求。六年癸亥，愔等於天竺鄰境月支國，遇摩騰、竺法蘭二法師，得白疊像，并梵本經六十萬言，載以白馬，相與東還。八年乙丑，達洛陽，法師入闕，獻經像，帝大悅，館於鴻臚寺。十年丁卯，敕於洛陽城西，立白馬寺以居之，以白馬馱經，遂名白馬寺。(震旦佛寺始此。)
In the year 60 CE (Yongping 3, Gengshen year) during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han, on the eighth day of the fourth month, the emperor was resting in the Southern Palace. He dreamed of a golden figure, sixteen feet tall, with a radiant halo and a swastika on his chest. The figure flew to the palace hall, moving freely without obstruction.
The next morning, the emperor asked his courtiers about the dream. The Grand Historian Fu Yi stepped forward and said: "I have heard that in the western regions there is a divine being called the Buddha. The figure Your Majesty dreamed of must surely be him!"
Doctor of the Imperial Academy Wang Zun added: "I have consulted the 'Strange Records of the Book of Zhou,' which states: 'In the year 58 BCE, on the eighth day of the fourth month, a sage was born in the west.' Your Majesty's dream corresponds to this."
Emperor Ming then sent General Cai Yin, Palace Attendant Qin Jing, Doctor Wang Zun, and fifteen others—eighteen envoys in total—to the western regions to seek the truth.
Six years later (in 63 CE, Guihai year), Cai Yin and his team encountered the two Dharma masters, Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna, in the Yuezhi kingdom, neighboring India. They obtained a white-draped image of the Buddha and Sanskrit scriptures totaling 600,000 words. Loading these onto a white horse, they journeyed back east.
Two years later (in 65 CE, Yichou year), they arrived in Luoyang. The Dharma masters entered the imperial palace and presented the scriptures and image. The emperor was overjoyed and housed them at the Court of State Ceremonial.
Four years after that (in 67 CE, Dingmao year), the emperor decreed the construction of the White Horse Temple west of Luoyang city to accommodate them. It was named after the white horse that had carried the scriptures.
(This marks the beginning of Buddhist temples in China.)
是年，騰、蘭譯出《四十二章經》。十一年戊辰，帝幸寺，騰進曰：「寺東何館？」帝曰：「昔有阜，夷之復起，夜有異光，民呼聖冢。」騰曰：「按天竺金藏詮所誌，昔阿育王藏佛舍利於天下，凡有八萬四千所，震旦之境，有十九處，此其一也。」帝與俱往禮拜，忽有圓光現冢上，光中有三佛，帝大悅曰：「不遇二大士，安知大聖遺祐哉！」詔塔其上，九層，高二百尺。明年，光又現，有金色手出塔頂，帝幸禮拜，光隨步武旋繞，自午及申而滅。十二年，詔以佛像奉安顯節陵、清涼臺二處供養。帝問騰曰：「法王出世，何以化不及此？」答曰：「迦毘羅國，三千大千世界，百億日月之中心也，三世諸佛，皆在彼生，乃至天龍鬼神，有願行者，皆生於彼，受佛正化，咸得悟道，餘處眾生，無緣感佛，佛不往也。佛雖不往，光明及處，或五百年，或一千年，皆有聖人傳佛聲教而化導之。」廣說教義，文廣故略之。十四年正月一日，朝正之次，五嶽并諸山道士，七百餘人，自相命曰：「天子棄我道法，遠求胡教，今可以表抗之。」其表略曰：「五嶽十八山觀，泰山三洞弟子，褚善信等，死罪上言：臣聞太上，無形無名，無極無上，虛無自然，大道出於造化之前，上古同遵，百王不易。今陛下道邁羲皇，德高堯舜，竊承陛下，棄本追末，求教西域，所事乃是胡神，所說不參華夏，願陛下恕臣等罪，聽與試驗。臣等諸道士，多有徹視遠聽，博通經典，從元皇已來，太上群籙，太虛符咒，無不綜練，達其涯極，或策使鬼神，吞霞飲氣；或入火不燒，或履水不溺；或白日昇天，或隱形不測，至於方術，無所不能，願得與其比校，一則聖上意安，二則得辨真偽，三則大道有歸，四則不亂華俗。臣等若比對不如，任聽重決；如其有勝，乞除虛妄。」敕遣尚書令宋庠，引入長樂宮，以今月十五日，可集白馬寺。道士等便置三壇，壇別開二十四門，褚善信等，各齎靈寶真文，太上玉訣，三元符籙等，五百九卷，置於西壇；茅成子、許成子、黃子、老子等二十七家子書，三百三十五卷，置於中壇；饌食奠祀百神，置於東壇；帝御行殿，在寺南門；佛舍利經像，置於道西。十五日齋訖，道士等，以柴荻和檀沉香為炬，遶經泣曰：「臣等上啟太極大道、元始天尊，眾仙百靈，今胡神亂夏，人主信邪，正教失蹤，玄風墜緒，臣等敢置經於壇上，以火取驗，欲使開示蒙心，得辯真偽。」便縱火焚經，經從火化，悉成灰燼。道士等相顧失色，大生怖懼，將欲昇天隱形者，無力可能，禁效鬼神者，呼策不應，各懷愧恧，南嶽道士費叔才，褚善信，二人，自撼而死。太傅張衍語褚信曰：「卿等所試無驗，即是虛妄，宜就西來真法。」褚信曰：「茅成子云：『太上者，靈寶天尊是也，造化之作，謂之太素。』斯豈虛妄乎？」衍曰：「太素有貴德之名，無言教之稱，今子說有言教，即為妄也。」信默然，次將梵本佛經火然之，赫奕宛如鼎新，更增光潔。時佛舍利光明五色，直上虛空，旋環如蓋，遍覆大眾，映蔽日光。摩騰法師，踴身高飛，坐臥空中，廣現神變。於時天雨寶花，在佛僧上，又聞天樂，感動人情，大眾咸悅，歎未曾有，皆遶法蘭，聽說法要，并吐梵音，歎佛功德，亦令大眾稱揚三寶，說諸法相不一，又說出家功德最高，帝於是彌加崇敬。時司空陽城侯劉峻，與諸官人士庶等千餘人出家，四嶽諸山道士呂惠通等六百二十人出家，陰夫人、王婕妤等，與宮人婦女二百三十人出家，帝立十所寺，七所城外安僧，三所城內安尼，自斯已後廣矣。傳有五卷，略不備載也。騰卒，蘭自譯《十地》、《斷結》、《佛本生》、《法藏海》、《佛本行》等五經。
That year, Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Zhu Falan translated the *Sūtra of Forty-Two Sections*. In the eleventh year of Yongping (68 CE), the Emperor visited the temple. Mātaṅga asked, "What is the building to the east of the temple?" The Emperor replied, "There was once a mound, which, after being leveled, rose again. At night, it emitted a strange light, and the people called it the 'Holy Tomb'." Mātaṅga said, "According to the records of the Indian Golden Treasury, King Aśoka once distributed the Buddha's relics throughout the world, setting up 84,000 stūpas. Within the borders of China, there are nineteen such sites, and this is one of them." The Emperor and Mātaṅga went together to pay homage. Suddenly, a circular halo appeared above the tomb. In the midst of the halo, three Buddhas were visible. The Emperor was overjoyed and said, "If I had not met the two great masters, how would I have known of the holy legacy left by the great Sage!" He decreed that a pagoda be built on the site, nine stories high and two hundred feet tall. The following year, the light appeared again, and a golden hand emerged from the top of the pagoda. The Emperor went to pay homage, and the light followed his steps, circling around him, from noon until late afternoon before vanishing. In the twelfth year (69 CE), the Emperor decreed that Buddha statues be enshrined and worshipped at the Xianjie Tomb and Qingliang Terrace.
The Emperor asked Mātaṅga, "Since the Dharma King appeared in the world, why has his teaching not spread to this region?" Mātaṅga replied, "Kapilavastu is the center of the three-thousand great-thousand worlds, the center of a hundred billion suns and moons. All Buddhas of the three time periods are born there. Even devas, dragons, ghosts, and spirits who make vows to practice are born there. They receive the Buddha's direct teaching and all attain enlightenment. Beings in other regions do not have the karmic conditions to encounter the Buddha directly, so the Buddha does not go there. Although the Buddha does not go, wherever his light reaches, for five hundred or a thousand years, there will be sages who transmit the Buddha's teachings and guide beings." He then expounded extensively on the doctrines, but the texts are voluminous, so I will omit them here.
On the first day of the first month of the fourteenth year (71 CE), during the New Year's audience, over seven hundred Daoists from the Five Sacred Mountains and other mountain temples conferred among themselves, saying: "The Son of Heaven has abandoned our Way and sought a foreign teaching from afar. Now we can present a petition to oppose him." Their petition read in summary: "We, disciples of the Three Caverns from the Five Mountains and Eighteen Mountain Temples, including Chu Shouxin and others, in mortal trepidation, present this statement: We have heard that the Supreme Lord is formless and nameless, limitless and supreme, empty and natural. The Great Way arose before creation and has been honored by antiquity, unchanged by a hundred kings. Now Your Majesty's path surpasses that of Fuxi and Shennong, and your virtue exceeds that of Yao and Shun. We have heard that Your Majesty has abandoned the root to pursue the branches, seeking teachings from the Western Regions. That which you honor are barbarian spirits, and what you speak does not align with Chinese principles. We beg Your Majesty to forgive our offense and allow us a test. We Daoist priests possess many abilities: penetrating vision, supernormal hearing, extensive knowledge of the classics, command of the celestial registers since the Primordial Lord, and proficiency in the talismans and incantations of the Great Void. We can command ghosts and spirits, consume the mists and drink the air, enter fire without being burned, walk on water without drowning, ascend to heaven in broad daylight, or become invisible and unfathomable. As for esoteric arts, there is nothing we cannot do. We wish to compare our abilities with theirs. First, the Emperor's mind will be at ease; second, truth will be distinguished from falsehood; third, the Great Way will have a definitive home; fourth, Chinese customs will not be disrupted. If we are inferior in the comparison, we will accept any severe punishment. But if we prevail, we request that the false [Buddhist] teachings be abolished." The Emperor ordered Song Xiang, the Minister of Works, to lead them into Changle Palace, and decreed that on the fifteenth day of that month, they could gather at White Horse Temple. The Daoists then set up three altars, each with twenty-four gates. Chu Shouxin and others brought with them the True Writs of the Numinous Treasure, the Jade Secrets of the Supreme Lord, the Talismanic Registers of the Three Primes, and other texts totaling five hundred and nine scrolls, which were placed on the western altar. Works by Mao Chengzi, Xu Chengzi, Huangzi, Laozi, and twenty-three other masters—three hundred and thirty-five scrolls in total—were placed on the central altar. Offerings of food to a hundred spirits were placed on the eastern altar. The Emperor sat in his temporary palace at the south gate of the temple. The Buddha's relics, scriptures, and images were placed to the west of the road. On the fifteenth day, after a purification meal, the Daoists made torches from reeds, thorns, sandalwood, and aloeswood. Circling the scriptures, they wept and said, "We pray to the Great Way of the Supreme Ultimate, the Primordial Celestial Worthy, and all the immortals and a hundred spirits: now a barbarian spirit has thrown China into chaos, and the ruler believes in heresy. The true teaching has lost its way, and the refined path has collapsed. We dare to place the scriptures on the altar and test them by fire, hoping to open the minds of the deluded and distinguish truth from falsehood." They then set fire to the scriptures. The scriptures were consumed by fire and turned completely to ashes. The Daoists looked at each other in dismay, overwhelmed with fear. Those who claimed they could ascend to heaven or become invisible found themselves powerless. Those who could command ghosts and spirits called out but received no response. Each felt ashamed. Fei Shucai of the Southern Mountain and Chu Shouxin, two Daoists, died by striking themselves. The Grand Tutor, Zhang Yan, said to Chu Shouxin, "Your test has shown no efficacy, which means it is false. You should take refuge in the true Dharma from the West." Chu Shouxin replied, "Mao Chengzi said, 'The Supreme Lord is the Numinous Treasure Celestial Worthy. The beginning of creation is called the Great Simplicity.' Is that false?" Zhang Yan said, "The Great Simplicity has the name of esteemed virtue, but it has no teachings. Now you claim it has teachings, which is false." Chu Shouxin fell silent. Next, the Buddhist scriptures in Sanskrit were thrown into the fire. They blazed magnificently, as if newly made, becoming even more radiant and pure. At that moment, the Buddha's relics emitted a five-colored light that shot straight up into the void, circling like a canopy, covering the entire assembly and eclipsing the sunlight. The Master Mātaṅga soared high into the air, sitting and lying down in space, manifesting numerous supernatural transformations. At that time, a rain of heavenly flowers fell upon the Buddha and the monks. Celestial music was heard, stirring people's hearts. The entire assembly was overjoyed and exclaimed that this had never been seen before. They all gathered around Zhu Falan, listening to his discourse on the essential Dharma. He spoke in Sanskrit, praising the Buddha's virtues, and also had the assembly praise the Triple Gem. He expounded that the characteristics of all phenomena are not singular and spoke of the supreme merit of leaving home to become a monk. The Emperor then became even more reverent. At that time, Sikong Liu Jun, Marquis of Yangcheng, along with over a thousand officials, scholars, and commoners, became monks. Six hundred and twenty Daoists from the Four Mountains and various temples, led by Lü Huitong, also became monks. Consort Yin, Lady Wang Jieyu, and two hundred and thirty palace women and laywomen became nuns. The Emperor established ten temples: seven outside the city for monks and three inside the city for nuns. From then on, the Dharma spread widely. The complete account runs to five volumes, but I have summarized it briefly here. After Mātaṅga passed away, Falan alone translated five scriptures: the *Ten Stages Sūtra*, the *Sūtra on the Eradication of Bonds*, the *Jātaka Sūtra* (Buddha's previous lives), the *Ocean of Dharma Treasures*, and the *Sūtra on the Buddha's Past Conduct*.
費長房《三寶記》并《義楚六帖》云：「西漢光祿大夫劉向校書天祿閣，往往見有佛經。」《白馬寺記》云：「秦始皇三十年甲申，西域沙門室利防等，十八人齎梵本經至咸陽，有司以聞，帝以其異俗，囚之。利防等念摩訶般若波羅蜜，光明照耀，瑞氣盤旋，滿於囹圄，有金神長丈六，持杵揚威，擊碎其獄，出之。帝驚悔，即厚禮之而去。」〈魏略〉及〈西域傳〉云：「臨猊國有神人，名曰沙律，年老髮白，常教人為浮圖，有殃禍及無子者，勸行浮圖齋戒，令捨財贖愆。猊王久無太子，其妃莫耶因祀浮圖而生太子，遂名其子為浮圖焉。前漢哀帝時，景憲使月氏國，王令太子口授經於景，所以浮圖經教，前漢早行，六十三年之後，明帝方感瑞夢也。」
如來涅槃已，王臣以香積成樓，安金棺於樓上，焚七日夜，天帝釋，持寶瓶，瀉乳息火，開金棺，得舍利八斛四斗，天帝取佛右邊大牙，歸忉利天歡喜園中建塔。時八大國王，分舍利回本國建塔，龍王取一塔舍利歸宮供養。過百年後，有鐵輪王出世，名阿育，統南贍部洲，役鬼神，一日造八萬四千寶塔，遍於南贍部洲。此東震旦十九所，今現見者，惟五六處。寧波府鄮山阿育王寺，塔高尺餘，非木非香，又非土石，而甚輕，四面玲瓏，皆菩薩，及護法神像，記云，是鬼神鍊七寶末作者(云云)。