大乘起信論義記 1.35

1.35

Ninth, regarding the era of translation, the Record of Translated Sūtras says: 'The Śramaṇa Paramārtha, translated here as Zhindi; also called Guṇarata, translated here as Qin-yi, was a native of the country of Ujjayinī in western India. His admirable conduct was lucid and pure, his deportment serene and austere, his refined spirit upright and outstanding, leisurely and far-reaching. Across the broad sections of the various piṭakas, there was none into which he did not set his mind; in arts and distinct interpretations, he was especially familiar. He traveled through various countries, benefiting and appearing in accordance with capacities. In the second year of Taiqing of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, with the year-star in wuchen, he met the emperor at the Baoyun Hall. The emperor ordered him to translate sūtras, and from the second year of Taiqing to the third year of Chengsheng, with the year-star in jiaxu, at Zhengxian Monastery and other places, he translated the Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra, Maitreyavyākaraṇasūtra, Mahāyānaśraddhotpādaśāstra, and others, totaling eleven works in twenty fascicles. This treatise was translated on the tenth day of the ninth month of that year at Jianxing Monastery in Hengzhou, together with the capital's eminent worthies Huixian, Zhikai, Tanzhen, Huimin, and others, along with Xiao Bo, Senior Grand Tutor and Grand General of the Yellow Battle-axe. Śramaṇa Zhikai served as scribe, Upasūna and others translated the spoken words, and they also translated the profound text of the treatise's meaning in twenty fascicles. Meeting with the rebellion of Hou Jing, he went to Yuzhang, Shixing, Nankang, and other places; although displaced, his translation work never ceased. Then, boarding a ship to return west, the wind of karma determined his fate, and he was blown back to Guangzhou. It happened that Ouyang Wei, Duke of the State of Mu and Inspector of Guangzhou, invited him to stay at Zhizhi Monastery, requesting him to translate sūtras and treatises. From the first year of Yongding of the Chen dynasty, with the year-star in bingzi, to the end of the first year of Taijian, the year yichou, he further translated Buddhist abhidharma sūtras and treatises, as well as the Kośa, the Saṃgraha, and others. Across the two dynasties of Chen and Liang, he was ordered to translate sūtras and treatises totaling forty-four works in one hundred forty-one fascicles. Furthermore, Paramārtha would sometimes spread his sitting-cloth and sit cross-legged upon the water, as if riding a boat to cross to the shore to meet officials and rulers, while the sitting-cloth remained unsoiled; or he would ride upon lotus leaves over the water to cross. Miraculous feats like this were very numerous.'