English
English version Scholars valued him for his knowledge. At the time, people called him 'Bianchao'. Later, he passed away in this temple. Dharma Master Hongchu (Hóngchǔ Fǎshī) Hongchu (Hóngchǔ), styled Fangwai, surnamed Tang, was a native of Yongjia. The Empress Dowager of Liang bestowed upon him a purple robe and a title, which he firmly declined, never wearing it. He lectured on the *Lotus Sutra* in over fifty sessions. He once wrote a commentary on the *Sutra of Maitreya's Upper Birth*. One day, in Hongchu's lecture hall, a lotus flower suddenly grew, with multiple calyxes and layers of petals, emitting a fragrant aroma. Besides lecturing, Hongchu also practiced and recited scriptures late into the night. On the evening of his passing, the lamplight suddenly dimmed, and the sound of scripture recitation became faint. He told his disciples, 'Thank you for your service, I am about to depart.' He passed away without illness on the fifth day of the sixth month of the third year of Changxing (932 AD). Vinaya Master Zhenbiao (Zhēnbiǎo Lǜshī) Zhenbiao (Zhēnbiǎo) was a native of Baekje, whose family lived in Jinshan and made a living by hunting for generations. Zhenbiao was agile and skilled with bows and arrows. During the Kaiyuan era (713-741 AD), while resting in a field after chasing game, he broke willow branches and strung frogs together, placing them in the water, intending to use them for seasoning. He then went into the mountains to hunt with nets. While chasing a deer, he returned home from the north of the mountain, completely forgetting to retrieve the string of frogs. The following spring, while hunting, he heard frogs croaking and went to the water, where he saw that the thirty or so frogs he had strung up the previous year were still alive. Zhenbiao sighed with regret and reproached himself, saying, 'How painful! For the sake of satisfying my appetite, I have caused them to suffer for a year.' He then untied the willow branches and gently released them. He then resolved to become a monk. He thought to himself, 'If I bid farewell to my parents at home and try to sever my attachments in my room, it will be difficult to escape the sea of desire. I should rather expose this cage of ignorance.' Therefore, he laboriously entered the deep mountains, cut off his hair with a knife, and earnestly repented, prostrating himself on the ground, determined to seek the precepts, vowing that Maitreya Bodhisattva (Mílè Púsà) would bestow the precepts upon him. He doubled his efforts at night, circumambulating and prostrating, with uninterrupted mindfulness and diligent devotion. After seven days and nights, at dawn, he saw Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Dìzàng Púsà), shaking a golden staff, shaving Zhenbiao's head, and teaching him the causes and conditions for receiving the precepts, as a preliminary step to receiving them. Sensing this auspicious response, joy filled his body, and he became even more courageous than before. After fourteen days, a great demon appeared with a terrifying appearance and pushed Zhenbiao off a cliff, but he was unharmed. He crawled up to the stone altar and further --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
魔相百端千绪。至第三七日。质明。有吉祥鸟鸣曰。菩萨来也。乃见白云若浸粉然。更无高下。山川平满。成银色世界。兜率天主。逶迤自在。仪卫陆离。围绕石坛。香风花雨。且非凡世之景物焉。尔时慈氏徐步而行。至于坛所。垂手摩表顶曰。善哉大丈夫。求戒如是。至于再三。苏迷卢可手攘却。尔心终不退。乃为授法。表身心和悦。如第三禅。意识与乐。根相应也。四万二千福河常流。一切功德寻发慈氏。躬授三法衣。瓦钵。复赐名曰。真表。又于膝下出二物。非牙非玉。乃签检之制也。一题曰九者。一题曰八者。各二字。付度表云。若人求戒。当先悔罪。罪福则持犯性也。更加一百八签。签上署百八烦恼名目。如来戒人。或九十日。或四十日。或三七日行忏。苦到精进。期满限终。将九八二签。参合百八者。佛前望空而掷。其签堕地。以验罪灭。不灭之相。若百八签。飞迸四畔。唯八九二签。卓然坛心而立者。即得上上品戒焉。若众签虽远。或一二来触八九签。拈观是何烦恼名。抑令前人重复忏悔已。正将重悔烦恼签。和八九者掷。其烦恼去者。名中品戒焉。若众签埋覆八九者。则罪不灭。不得戒也。设加忏悔。过九十日。得下品戒焉。慈氏重告诲云。八者新熏也。九者本有焉。嘱累已。天仗既回。山川云霁。 现代汉语译本 魔相变化万端，千头万绪。到了第三十七天，黎明时分，有吉祥鸟鸣叫说：‘菩萨来了。’于是看见白云像浸染了粉末一样，没有高低之分，山川平坦充满，成为银色的世界。兜率天主（欲界天中的第四天，弥勒菩萨所住之处）悠然自在，仪仗队伍繁多华丽，围绕着石坛。香风阵阵，花雨纷纷，实在不是凡间的景象啊。 这时，慈氏（弥勒菩萨的别名）缓缓行走，来到坛前，垂下手来摩着度表（受戒者的代表）的头顶说：‘好啊，大丈夫，求戒像这样。’说了再三，即使苏迷卢山（须弥山，佛教宇宙观中的世界中心）可以用手推开，你的心也终究不会退转。于是为他传授戒法，度表的身心和悦，如同进入了第三禅（色界天的第三禅定），意识与快乐的根源相应。四万二千条福德之河流淌不息，一切功德都追随着慈氏而生发。慈氏亲自授予三法衣和瓦钵，又赐名叫做真表。又从膝下拿出两件东西，不是牙，也不是玉，而是签检的制度。一个签上写着‘九者’两个字，一个签上写着‘八者’两个字，交给度表说：‘如果有人求戒，应当先忏悔罪过，罪与福就是持戒与犯戒的性质。’再加上一百零八支签，签上写着一百零八种烦恼的名称。如来教人忏悔，或者九十天，或者四十天，或者二十一天，努力精进，期限满了之后，将九者和八者两支签，与一百零八支签混合在一起，在佛前向空中抛掷，看签掉落在地的情况，来验证罪是否灭除。罪不灭的相状是：如果一百零八支签，飞散到四面八方，只有八者和九者两支签，稳稳地立在坛的中心，就能够得到上品戒。 如果众签虽然飞得很远，但有一两支签碰到八者和九者两支签，就拿起签来看是什么烦恼的名称，让求戒的人再次忏悔之后，再将重新忏悔的烦恼签，和八者、九者两支签一起抛掷，如果烦恼签被去除，就叫做中品戒。如果众签埋没覆盖了八者和九者两支签，那么罪就没有灭除，不能得到戒。如果再加忏悔，超过九十天，可以得到下品戒。’ 慈氏再次告诫说：‘八者代表新熏染的，九者代表本来就有的。’嘱咐完毕，天上的仪仗队伍返回，山川放晴，云雾消散。
English
English version The forms of illusion are myriad and complex. On the thirty-seventh day, at dawn, auspicious birds sang, saying, 'The Bodhisattva is coming.' Then, white clouds were seen as if soaked in powder, without any high or low places, the mountains and rivers were flat and full, forming a silver world. The Lord of Tushita Heaven (the fourth heaven in the desire realm, where Maitreya Bodhisattva resides) was leisurely and at ease, with a magnificent entourage, surrounding the stone altar. Fragrant winds and flower rains were present, truly not scenes of the ordinary world. At this time, Maitreya (another name for Maitreya Bodhisattva) walked slowly and arrived at the altar, lowered his hand and stroked the crown of the head of the representative (of the one seeking precepts), saying, 'Good, great man, seeking precepts like this.' He said it again and again, even if Mount Sumeru (the central mountain in Buddhist cosmology) could be pushed away by hand, your heart would never retreat. Then, he transmitted the Dharma of precepts, the representative's body and mind were harmonious and joyful, as if entering the third dhyana (the third meditation of the form realm), consciousness corresponding with the root of joy. Forty-two thousand rivers of merit flowed constantly, all merits followed Maitreya and arose. Maitreya personally bestowed the three Dharma robes and the earthen bowl, and also gave the name 'True Representative.' Then, from under his knees, he took out two objects, neither ivory nor jade, but the system of drawing lots. One lot was inscribed with the two characters 'Nine Aspects,' and the other with the two characters 'Eight Aspects,' and gave them to the representative, saying, 'If someone seeks precepts, they should first repent of their sins, sin and merit being the nature of upholding and violating precepts.' Add one hundred and eight lots, each inscribed with the name of one of the one hundred and eight afflictions. The Tathagata teaches people to repent, either for ninety days, or forty days, or twenty-one days, striving diligently, and when the time limit is up, mix the 'Nine Aspects' and 'Eight Aspects' lots with the one hundred and eight lots, and throw them into the air before the Buddha, observing how the lots fall to the ground to verify whether the sins have been extinguished. The sign of sins not being extinguished is: if the one hundred and eight lots scatter in all directions, and only the 'Eight Aspects' and 'Nine Aspects' lots stand firmly in the center of the altar, then one can obtain the highest grade of precepts. If the many lots fly far away, but one or two lots touch the 'Eight Aspects' and 'Nine Aspects' lots, then pick up the lot to see what the name of the affliction is, and have the person seeking precepts repent again, and then throw the lot of the affliction that has been repented of again, together with the 'Eight Aspects' and 'Nine Aspects' lots, and if the affliction lot is removed, it is called the middle grade of precepts. If the many lots bury and cover the 'Eight Aspects' and 'Nine Aspects' lots, then the sins have not been extinguished, and one cannot obtain the precepts. If one adds repentance, exceeding ninety days, one can obtain the lower grade of precepts.' Maitreya again admonished, saying, 'The 'Eight Aspects' represent newly acquired influences, and the 'Nine Aspects' represent what is inherent.' After the instructions were completed, the heavenly entourage returned, the mountains and rivers cleared, and the clouds dispersed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
于是表持天衣。执天钵。犹如五夏比丘。狥道下山。草木为其低垂覆路。殊无溪谷高下之别。飞禽鸷兽。驯伏步前。又闻空中唱告。村落聚邑言。菩萨出山来。何不迎接。时则人民男女。布发掩泥者。脱衣覆路者。毡罽氍毹承足者。华絪美褥填坑者。表咸曲副人情。一一迪践。有女子提半端白㲲。覆于途中。表似惊忙之色。回避别行。女子怪其不平等。表曰。吾非无慈不均也。适观㲲缕间。皆是狶子。吾恐伤生。避其误犯耳。原其女子。本屠家贩买。得此布也。自尔常有二虎。左右随行。表语之曰。吾不入郛郭。汝可导引至可修行处。则乃缓涉而行。三十里来。就一山坡。蹲跽于前。时则挂锡树枝。敷草端坐。四望信士。不劝自来。同造伽蓝。号金山寺焉。后人求戒。年年忏罪者绝多。今影堂中道具存焉(苏迷卢。即须弥山)。 兜率龟镜集卷上 音释 艳 (盐字去声。同艳。好而美也) 梼 (音陶。刚木亦音稠。一名梼着) 逶迤 (上音威。下音驼) 㭬栈 (上音诸。下音残上声。棚也。所谓栈道也) 帑 (音倘。金帛藏也) 覃 (音昙。及也。布也。深广也。长延也) 茶毗 (亦云阇维。此 现代汉语译本 于是，表持着天衣，拿着天钵，就像是已经过了五年的比丘一样，顺着道路下山。草木都为他低垂，覆盖道路，完全没有溪谷高低的分别。飞禽猛兽，驯服地走在他的前面。又听到空中传来声音宣告村落和聚邑：‘菩萨出山来了，为什么不去迎接？’当时，人民男女，有的铺开头发遮盖泥土，有的脱下衣服覆盖道路，有的用毡毯和精美褥垫承托他的脚，有的用华丽的褥垫填平坑洼，都竭尽诚意顺应人情，让他一一踩过。有一女子提着半匹白色的粗布，覆盖在途中，表现出惊慌忙乱的样子，回避到别处行走。表觉得她这样做不公平，说道：‘我并非没有慈悲心而不平等对待。刚才我看到粗布的丝缕之间，全都是小猪，我恐怕伤害它们的生命，所以避开，避免误犯杀生之罪。’追溯那女子，原本是屠户家贩卖猪肉的，才得到这块粗布。从此以后，常常有两只老虎，左右跟随表行走。表对它们说：‘我不进入城郭，你们可以引导我到可以修行的地方。’于是老虎缓缓地行走，走了三十里路，到了一处山坡，蹲伏跪拜在他的前面。当时，表把锡杖挂在树枝上，铺开草地端坐。四面八方的信士，不用劝说自己就来了，共同建造伽蓝（寺庙），号为金山寺。后来，来这里求戒，年年忏悔罪过的人非常多。现在影堂中的道具还存在。（苏迷卢（Sūmeru），即须弥山（Mount Sumeru）。） 《兜率龟镜集》卷上 音释 艳 （读音为盐字去声，与‘艳’字相同。美好之意） 梼 （读音为陶，刚硬的木头，也读作稠，又名梼杌） 逶迤 （上字读音为威，下字读音为驼） 㭬栈 （上字读音为诸，下字读音为残，上声。指棚子，也就是所谓的栈道） 帑 （读音为倘，指收藏金银财物的地方） 覃 （读音为昙，指达到，布施，深广，长久延续） 茶毗 （也写作阇维（jhāpita），意为焚烧）