Lou-men-t’o-lo-ni-king (Chat moukhi dhârani).”
He had ministered to the wants of upwards of twenty thousand persons among
the faithful and heretical; he had kindled a hundred thousand lamps, and
purchased thousands upon thousands (ocean) of creatures.
When Kia-chang had finished this long catalogue of good works, he was ordered
to read it aloud. After hearing it, the religious crossed their hands and loaded the
Master with congratulations. Then he said to them:—“The moment of my death
approaches; already my mind grows feeble and seems to be on the point of
quitting me. Distribute at once in alms my clothes and goods; let statues be
fabricated; and order the religious to recite some prayers.”
On the twenty-third day, a meal was given to the poor, at which alms were
distributed. On the same day, he ordered a moulder named Song-kia-tchi, to
raise, in the Kia-cheou-tien palace, a statue of the Intelligence (Buddha); after
which he invited the population of the convent, the translators, and his disciples,
to bid “a joyous farewell to that impure and contemptible body of Hiouen-
thsang, who, having finished his work, merited no longer existence. I desire,” he
added, “to see poured back upon other men the merits which I have acquired by
any good works; to be born with them in the heaven of the Touchitas; to be
admitted into the family of Mi-le (Mâitrêya); and to serve the Buddha, full of
tenderness and affection. When I shall return to earth to pass through other
existences, I desire, at each new birth, to discharge with boundless zeal my
duties towards the Buddha, and finally to arrive at the Transcendent Intelligence
(Anouttara samyak sambôdhi).”
After having made these adieux, he was silent, and engaged in meditation; then
with his dying tongue he faltered forth his bitter regret that he did not enjoy
more of the “world of the eyes” (the faculty of seeing), of the “world of the
thought” (the faculty of thinking), of “the world of the knowledge which springs
from observation” (the knowledge of sensible objects); of the “world of the
knowledge which springs from the mind”—l’esprit (the perception of spiritual
things); and that he did not possess the fulness of the Intelligence. Finally, he
pronounced two gubhas, which he caused to be repeated to the persons near him:
—
“Adoration to Maitrêya Tathagata, gifted with a sublime intelligence! I desire,
with all men, to see your affectionate visage.
“Adoration to Maitrêya Tathagata! I desire, when I quit this life, to be born