English
English version: The four walls were carved with exquisite designs, some in the shape of connected pearls, others like celestial beings. Golden and bronze precious vases were placed on top. To the east, it was connected to a multi-storied pavilion, with eaves rising three layers high. The rafters, pillars, beams, doors, and windows were adorned with gold and silver carvings, and embellished with pearls and jade. The innermost chambers and secluded rooms had three layers of doors. On either side of the outer door were niches, with statues of Avalokiteśvara (观自在菩萨，Bodhisattva of Compassion) on the left and Maitreya (慈氏菩萨，the future Buddha) on the right, both cast in silver and over ten feet tall. The original site of the monastery was where King Ashoka (无忧王) had first built a small monastery. Later, a Brahmin expanded it further. Initially, there was a Brahmin who did not believe in the Buddha's teachings but worshipped Maheśvara (大自在天，another name for Shiva, a major Hindu deity). He heard that the deity resided in the snowy mountains, so he and his brother went to seek blessings. The deity said, 'All wishes can only be fulfilled with merit; it is not something you can simply pray for, nor is it something I can grant.' The Brahmin asked, 'What kind of merit should I cultivate to fulfill my desires?' The deity said, 'If you wish to plant good seeds and seek a superior field of merit, the Bodhi Tree (菩提树，the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment) is the place where one attains Buddhahood. You should quickly return and build a large monastery near the Bodhi Tree, dig a large pond, and make various offerings. Then your wishes will be fulfilled.' The Brahmin accepted the deity's command, developed great faith, and returned with his brother. The elder brother built the monastery, and the younger brother dug the pond. Thus, they extensively made offerings and diligently sought their desires, which were later fulfilled, and they became ministers of the king. Whatever salaries and rewards they received, they used for charitable donations. After the monastery was completed, they recruited artisans to paint an image of the Tathagata (如来，another name for the Buddha) at the moment of his enlightenment. After many years, no one was able to accomplish it. After a long time, a Brahmin came and told everyone, 'I am skilled at painting the wonderful form of the Tathagata.' The people asked, 'Now that we are creating the image, what do you need?' He said, 'Only fragrant mud. It should be placed inside the monastery, along with a lamp to illuminate it. After I enter, the door must be tightly closed, and it can only be opened after six months.' At that time, all the monks followed his instructions. With four months remaining before the six months were up, everyone was astonished and opened the door to look. They saw inside the monastery a Buddha image sitting perfectly in the lotus position, with the right foot on top, the left hand collected, and the right hand lowered, facing east, solemn and dignified, as if truly present. The seat of the Buddha image was four feet and two inches high and twelve feet wide. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
尺五寸。像高丈一尺五寸。两膝相去八尺八寸。两肩六尺二寸。相好具足。慈颜若真。惟右乳上。涂莹未周。既不见人。方验神鉴。众咸悲叹。殷勤请知。有一沙门。宿心淳质。乃感梦见昔婆罗门。而告曰。我是慈氏菩萨。恐工人之思。不测圣容。故我躬来图绘佛像。垂右手者。昔如来之将证佛果。天魔来娆。地神告至。其一先出。助佛降魔。如来告曰。汝勿忧怖。吾以忍力。降彼必矣。魔王曰。谁为明证。如来乃垂手指地言。此有证。是时第二地神踊出作证。故今像手仿昔下垂。众知灵鉴。莫不悲感。于是乳上未周。填厕众宝。珠璎宝冠。奇珍交饰。设赏迦王。不信三宝。伐菩提树已。欲毁此像。既睹慈颜。心不安忍。回驾将返命宰臣曰。宜除此佛像。置大自在天形。宰臣受旨。惧而叹曰。毁佛像。则历劫招殃。违王命。乃丧身灭族。进退若此。何所宜行。乃召信心。以为役使。遂于像前横。叠砖壁。心惭冥闇。又置明灯。砖壁之前。画自在天。功成报命。王闻心惧。举身生疱。肌肤攫裂。居未久之。便丧没矣。宰臣驰返。毁除障壁。时经多日。灯物不灭。像今尚在。神功不亏。云云(无忧王。即阿育王。婆罗门。此云梵志。天竺四姓之一也)。 闻二百亿阿罗汉 南天竺恭达那补罗国。宫城侧。大伽 现代汉语译本 一尺五寸（约49厘米）。佛像高一丈一尺五寸（约3.8米）。两膝之间的距离是八尺八寸（约2.9米）。两肩之间的距离是六尺二寸（约2.1米）。佛像的各种相好都具备，慈祥的面容宛如真人。只有右乳上方，涂抹的颜料尚未完成。因为没有人看见过，才验证了这是神力的显现。众人为此悲伤感叹，殷切地请求得知原因。有一位沙门（出家修道的人），心地淳朴善良，于是梦见过去的婆罗门（古印度祭司），婆罗门告诉他：‘我是慈氏菩萨（弥勒菩萨）。因为担心工匠的思虑，不能完全领会佛的圣容，所以我亲自来描绘佛像。佛像垂下右手，是因为过去如来（佛陀）将要证得佛果时，天魔（扰乱修行的恶魔）前来扰乱，地神（土地神）前来告知。其中一位地神首先出来，帮助佛陀降伏魔障。如来告诉地神说：你不要忧愁恐惧，我凭借忍辱的力量，必定能够降伏他们。’魔王说：‘谁能为我证明？’如来于是垂手指地说道：‘这里有证明。’当时第二位地神踊跃而出，作为证明。所以现在的佛像的手，模仿过去下垂的样子。’众人得知这是神力的显现，没有不悲伤感动的。于是将乳上未完成的部分，用众多的宝物填补，用珠宝璎珞和宝冠，以及各种奇珍异宝来装饰。设赏迦王（戒日王之前的统治者），不相信三宝（佛、法、僧），砍伐菩提树之后，想要毁坏这座佛像。但当他看到佛像慈祥的面容，心中感到不安，不忍心下手。于是调转车驾准备返回，命令宰臣说：‘应该除去这座佛像，换上大自在天（湿婆神）的形象。’宰臣接受命令，感到恐惧而叹息说：‘毁坏佛像，就会历经劫难招致灾殃；违背国王的命令，就会丧身灭族。进退两难，应该怎么办呢？’于是召集有信心的人，作为役使。于是在佛像前横向堆砌砖墙，心中惭愧于黑暗。又在砖墙之前，点燃明灯，在砖墙上画上自在天。工程完成后，回报国王。国王听后心中恐惧，全身生出疱疮，肌肤抓挠破裂。没过多久，就丧命了。宰臣飞奔返回，拆除障碍的砖墙。当时已经过了很多天，灯火仍然没有熄灭。佛像现在仍然存在，神力没有减损。’云云（无忧王，即阿育王（孔雀王朝国王，约公元前304年-公元前232年）。婆罗门，此云梵志（印度教僧侣），天竺四姓之一也）。 听闻二百亿阿罗汉（断句不完整，推测为下文的开头） 南天竺恭达那补罗国（南印度城市）。宫城旁边，大伽
English
English version It is one foot and five inches (approximately 49 cm). The height of the statue is one zhang, one foot and five inches (approximately 3.8 meters). The distance between the two knees is eight chi and eight cun (approximately 2.9 meters). The distance between the two shoulders is six chi and two cun (approximately 2.1 meters). All the auspicious marks are complete, and the compassionate face is like a real person. Only the upper part of the right breast is not completely painted. Because no one has seen it before, it is verified as a manifestation of divine power. The crowd was saddened and sighed, earnestly requesting to know the reason. There was a Shramana (a monk), with a pure and kind heart, who dreamed of the former Brahmin (ancient Indian priest), who told him: 'I am Maitreya Bodhisattva (the future Buddha). Because I am worried that the artisans' thoughts cannot fully comprehend the holy appearance of the Buddha, I have come in person to depict the Buddha image. The Buddha image with the right hand hanging down is because when the Tathagata (Buddha) was about to attain Buddhahood, the Mara (demon who disturbs practice) came to disturb, and the earth deity (local god) came to inform. One of the earth deities came out first to help the Buddha subdue the demons. The Tathagata told the earth deity: 'Do not worry or fear, I will surely subdue them with the power of patience.' The Mara said: 'Who can testify for me?' The Tathagata then pointed to the ground and said: 'There is proof here.' At that time, the second earth deity jumped out to testify. Therefore, the hand of the current Buddha image imitates the appearance of hanging down in the past.' When the crowd learned that this was a manifestation of divine power, they were all saddened and moved. Therefore, they filled the unfinished part of the breast with many treasures, and decorated it with jeweled necklaces and crowns, and various rare treasures. King Shashanka (ruler before Harsha), did not believe in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), and after cutting down the Bodhi tree, wanted to destroy this Buddha image. But when he saw the compassionate face of the Buddha image, he felt uneasy in his heart and could not bear to do it. So he turned his chariot around and prepared to return, and ordered his chief minister: 'You should remove this Buddha image and replace it with the image of Mahadeva (Shiva).' The chief minister accepted the order and sighed in fear, saying: 'Destroying the Buddha image will bring disaster through countless kalpas; disobeying the king's order will lead to the loss of life and the extermination of the clan. It is difficult to advance or retreat, what should I do?' So he summoned people of faith to serve as laborers. Then he horizontally piled up brick walls in front of the Buddha image, feeling ashamed of the darkness in his heart. He also lit bright lamps in front of the brick walls, and painted Mahadeva on the brick walls. After the project was completed, he reported to the king. The king was frightened when he heard this, and his whole body developed sores, and his skin was scratched and torn. Before long, he died. The chief minister rushed back and demolished the obstructing brick walls. At that time, many days had passed, but the lamps were still burning. The Buddha image still exists today, and its divine power has not diminished.' So on (King Ashoka (Mauryan Dynasty king, c. 304 BCE – 232 BCE). Brahmin, also called Brahmana (Hindu priest), one of the four castes of India). Hearing of two hundred billion Arhats (sentence incomplete, presumed to be the beginning of the following text) In the country of Konkanapura in South India. Next to the palace city, the great Sangha --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
蓝中。有精舍高五十余尺中有刻旃檀慈氏菩萨像。高十余尺。或至斋日。神光照烛。是闻二百亿罗汉之所造也。 末田地尊者(是鞠多尊者弟子) 北天竺瞢揭厘城东北。逾山越谷。逆上信度河。途路危险。山谷杳冥。或履絙索。或牵铁锁。栈道虚临。飞梁危构。㭬栈蹑隥。行千余里。至达丽罗川。即乌仗那国旧都也。多出黄金。及郁金香。达丽罗川中。大伽蓝侧有刻木慈氏菩萨像。金色晃昱。灵鉴潜通。高百余尺。末田底迦(旧云。末田地讹)阿罗汉之所造也。罗汉以神通力。携引匠人升睹史多天。亲观妙相。三返之后。功乃毕焉。自有此像。法流东派。又中天竺战主国。大城西北。伽蓝中窣堵波。无忧王之所建也。中有如来舍利一升。昔者世尊。当于此处。七日之中。为天人众类说妙法。其侧则有过去三佛座。及经行遗迹之处。邻此复有慈氏菩萨像。形量虽小。威神嶷然。灵鉴潜通。奇迹间起。 引正王 中天竺。憍萨罗国。西南三百余里。至黑峰山。岌然特起。峰岩峭险。既无崖谷。宛如全石。引正王为龙猛菩萨凿此山中。建立伽蓝。去山十数里。凿孔道。当其山下。仰凿疏石。其中则长廊步檐。崇台重阁。阁有五层。层有四院。并建精舍。各铸金像。量等佛身。妙穷工思。自余庄严 现代汉语译本 蓝中：有一座精舍高五十余尺，里面刻有一尊旃檀慈氏菩萨（Maitreya Bodhisattva）像，高十余尺。每逢斋戒之日，神光照耀。据说这是二百亿罗汉所造。 末田地尊者（Madhyāntika）（是鞠多尊者（Gupta）的弟子）： 在北天竺瞢揭厘城（Mangalapura）东北，翻山越岭，逆着信度河（Indus River）而上。途路危险，山谷幽深。有时需要踩着绳索，有时需要拉着铁链。栈道悬空，飞梁危耸。攀援栈道，登上高处，行走一千余里，到达达丽罗川（Daradistan），也就是乌仗那国（Udyana）的旧都。这里盛产黄金和郁金香。在达丽罗川中，大伽蓝旁边有一尊刻木的慈氏菩萨像，金光闪耀，灵验无比。高一百余尺，是末田底迦（Madhyāntika）（旧译为末田地，是讹误）阿罗汉所造。罗汉以神通力，带领工匠升到睹史多天（Tushita Heaven），亲自观看慈氏菩萨的妙相。往返三次之后，才最终完成。自从有了这尊像，佛法就向东流传。另外，在中天竺战主国（？），大城西北的伽蓝中，有一座窣堵波（Stupa），是阿育王（无忧王）（约公元前304年-公元前232年）所建。里面藏有如来舍利一升。过去世尊曾在此处，用七天的时间，为天人和众生宣说妙法。旁边有过去三佛的座位，以及经行遗迹之处。附近还有一尊慈氏菩萨像，形体虽小，但威严神圣，灵验无比，奇迹时有发生。 引正王： 中天竺憍萨罗国（Kosala）西南三百余里，到达黑峰山。山峰高耸挺拔，峰岩陡峭险峻，没有山崖和山谷，宛如一块完整的石头。引正王为龙猛菩萨（Nāgārjuna）在此山中开凿，建立伽蓝。距离山十余里，开凿孔道，直通山下。向上开凿疏石，其中有长廊步檐，高台重阁。阁有五层，每层有四个院落，都建有精舍，各铸造金像，大小与佛身相等，精妙绝伦。其余的装饰也十分庄严。