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| 0285 |
Ancient Khotan : vol.1 |
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Hsüan-tsang but also by Sung Yün, the *Pei shih*, and other historical texts, as well as by the
'Annals of Li-yul'.
According to the account uniformly told in the *Hsi-yü-chi* as well as in the 'Life' there
stood to the south of the royal city at a distance of 10 li a large convent built by an ancient
king in honour of the Arhat Vairocana (P'i-lu-chê-na), to whom was attributed the introduction
of Buddhism into Khotan ³⁴. In old days, when the law of Buddha had not yet reached the
country, the Arhat came to this spot from Kashmir, and in a wood practised meditation. When
the king, informed of his strange appearance and dress, came to see him the Arhat discoursed
to him of the boons of Tathāgata's doctrine, and exhorted him to follow the Law. The king
offered to believe in Buddha if he could see his appearance; and Vairocana promised fulfilment
of his desire after the building of a convent. The convent was accordingly built, and a great
assembly of monks had gathered, but as yet there was no *ghaṇṭā* to call together the congre-
gation. When the king then inquired for the promised appearance there suddenly descended
from heaven an image of Buddha presenting a *ghaṇṭā*. Thereupon the king became confirmed
in the faith and eager for its propagation. Hsüan-tsang's biographer, on concluding the story,
specially notes that this convent was thus the first built in the kingdom.
Sung Yün has left us a record of the same shrine, which in several respects is of special Sung Yün's
interest ³⁵. The king of Khotan, so we are told, was not a believer in the law of Buddha when version of
a merchant brought a Bhikṣu called Vairocana (P'i-lu-chan) to a spot under an apricot tree south legend.
of the city. When he announced to the king that he had brought a Śramaṇa from abroad
the prince became very angry, and proceeded at once to see Vairocana. The latter thereupon
announced that he had been sent by Tathāgata to exhort the king to build a Stūpa of
the turned-up *pātra* [shape], and thus to gain religious blessings. The king promised to obey
if he were allowed to see Buddha. Thereupon Vairocana sounded a bell, and Buddha sent
Rāhula, who appeared to the king in the form of Buddha himself. The king prostrated himself
at the sight, and built at the foot of the apricot tree a structure to serve as a temple, with
a representation of Rāhula, but this structure suddenly disappeared of itself. Thereupon the
king built a new Vihāra to shelter the image, in such a way that the image, though placed
under the turned-up *pātra*, appeared constantly outside—a miracle which greatly benefited the
spiritual state of all beholders. Near this place the shoes of a Pratyekabuddha (Pi-chih-fo)
were seen, miraculously preserved without any alteration, of neither leather nor silk, but of an
unknown substance.
The learned comments of M. Chavannes have removed the obscurities which beset Sung Stūpa of the
Yün's account of this shrine in earlier versions. At the same time M. Foucher, by a convincing 'turned-up
reference, already quoted in a preceding chapter, to a passage of the *Hsi-yü-chi* ³⁶, has made it *pātra*.'
clear that by the 'turned-up-*pātra*' is meant a Stūpa dome of the orthodox shape, originally
hemispherical. The miracle, which appears to have made the sacred image enclosed in the
Stūpa dome visible to the eyes of pious visitors on frequent occasions, is also capable of
explanation in view of certain structural features which have been noted elsewhere in extant Stūpa
ruins or in descriptions by the Chinese pilgrims ³⁷. Thus Sung Yün's notice, besides confirming
Hsüan-tsang's account of the origin of Vairocana's shrine, supplements it by some interesting
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724
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