歷代三寶紀 8.166

8.166

右九十七部合有四百二十五卷。晉安帝世。天竺國三藏法師鳩摩羅什婆。秦言童壽。弘始三年冬到常安。秦王姚興厚加禮遇。乃延請入西明閣及逍遙園別館安置。勅令僧䂮集諸沙門八百餘人。諮受什旨。更出大品。使什持梵本。興自執舊經以相讎校。新文異舊義悉圓通。眾心愜伏。故二秦錄稱。什所定者為新大品。即知有舊明矣。諸如此例有二十餘部。並標新字在於題首。後人年遠多省新字。今蓋悉無。然興之世大盛宣譯。卑萬乘之心尊三寶之教。興既虛襟崇仰佛法。恒於大寺草堂之中供三千僧。與什參定新舊諸經。莫不精究洞其深旨。時有僧叡法師。甚為興知。什所譯經叡並參正。昔竺法護出正法華。受決品云。天見人人見天。什譯經至此乃言曰。此語與西域義乃同。但在言過質。叡應聲曰。將非人天交接兩得相見乎。什大喜曰。實然而叡與什共相開發。皆此類也。什又為興著實相論及注維摩。什雅好大乘志存敷演。嘗歎曰。吾操筆著摩訶衍阿毘曇。非迦旃延子比也。今此秦地深識者寡。折翮於此將何所論。嘗聽秦僧道融講新法。華乃歎曰佛法之興融其人也。俄而師子國有一婆羅門。聰辯多學。西土俗書罕不披誦。而為彼國外道之宗。聞什在關大行佛法。乃即慨然謂其徒曰。寧可偏使釋氏之風獨傳震旦。而今吾等正化之典。不洽東國。因遂乘駝負書遠涉來入常安。姚興見其口眼便僻頗亦惑之。而婆羅門乃啟興曰。至道無方各尊其事。今故遠來。請與秦僧捔其辯力。隨其優者即傳其化。興即許焉。於時關中四方僧眾。相視缺然莫敢當者。什謂融曰。此之外道聰明殊人。捔言必勝。豈可得使無上大道在於吾徒為彼而屈。良可悲哉。若使外道肆情得志。則是我等法輪摧軸。豈可然乎。如吾所覩在君一人。道融自顧才力不減。而彼西域外道經書未盡披讀。乃密令人寫婆羅門所讀經目。一披即誦。其後剋日將就論義。姚興自出公卿皆會。關中僧眾近遠必集。爾時道融與婆羅門擬相詶抗。鋒辯飛玄彼所不逮。時婆羅門雖自覺知辭理已屈。然意猶以廣讀為𡘆。道融乃列其所讀書。并更通論秦地經史。名目卷部。三倍多之。什仍乘勢因嘲之曰。君可不聞。大秦廣學。那忽輕爾辛苦遠來。婆羅門心慚愧悔伏頂禮融足。旬日之中無何而去。像運再興鳩摩羅什道融力焉。融後還彭城常講說相續。聞道至者千有餘人。依隨門徒數盈三百。性不狎諠。常登樓披翫。慇懃善誘。畢命弘法。後卒於彭城。春秋七十四矣。

The above ninety-seven works in a total of four hundred twenty-five fascicles. During the reign of Emperor An of the Jin, the Tripiṭaka Master Kumārajīvapō of Tianzhu—rendered in Qin as Tongshou ("Youth-Lifespan")—arrived in Chang'an in the winter of the third year of Hongshi. Yao Xing, King of Qin, treated him with lavish courtesy and invited him to reside in the Ximing Pavilion and the detached quarters of the Xiaoyao Garden. An imperial order directed Senglüe to assemble more than eight hundred śramaṇas to receive instructions from Kumārajīva and retranslate the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. Kumārajīva held the Sanskrit manuscript, while Yao Xing himself held the old translation for collation. The new phrasing differed from the old, and the meanings were entirely thoroughly grasped, satisfying and convincing the assembly. Therefore, the Er Qin lu referred to the text revised by Kumārajīva as the New Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā, which clearly indicates there was an old one. There were more than twenty works of this kind, all originally prefixed with the character "New" in their titles; over the long years, later generations mostly omitted the character "New," so that nowadays none have it. Now, in the reign of Yao Xing, translation flourished immensely; humbling his heart of a ruler of ten thousand chariots, he venerated the teachings of the Triratna. Having thus emptied his heart to revere the Buddhadharma, Yao Xing consistently provided offerings for three thousand monks in the Caotang Monastery of the Great Monastery, collating and deciding upon various new and old scriptures together with Kumārajīva, thoroughly investigating and penetrating their profound meanings without exception. At that time there was Dharma Master Sengrui, who was deeply recognized by Yao Xing; all the scriptures translated by Kumārajīva were examined and rectified by Sengrui. Formerly, when Dharmarakṣa translated the Zheng fahua jing, the "Chapter on Receiving Predictions" said, "Gods see humans, and humans see gods." When Kumārajīva reached this point in translating the scripture, he said: "This phrasing is indeed identical in meaning to the Western Regions original, but the language is too unhewn." Sengrui immediately replied: "Might it not be rendered as, 'Mortals and devas commune, both beholding one another'?" Kumārajīva was delighted and said: "Indeed it is!" Sengrui and Kumārajīva enlightened each other in all cases like this. Kumārajīva also composed the Shixiang lun and a commentary on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa for Yao Xing. Kumārajīva had an elegant fondness for the Mahāyāna, with his heart set on propagating it. He once sighed: "Were I to wield the brush and compose an Abhidharma of the Mahāyāna, Kātyāyanīputra could be no match for it. But now, in this land of Qin, those with profound discernment are few; with my wings clipped here, what is there to discuss?" Once, hearing the Qin monk Daorong lecture on the newly translated Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, he sighed: "The one who will cause the Buddhadharma to flourish is Daorong!" Shortly afterward, there was a brāhmaṇa from Siṃhala who was brilliant in debate and widely learned, having read and recited virtually all the secular books of the Western Regions, and was the leader of the non-Buddhists of that land. Hearing that Kumārajīva was widely propagating the Buddhadharma in Guanzhong, he sighed with deep feeling and said to his disciples: "How can we allow the tradition of the Śākya clan alone to spread exclusively in Cīnasthāna, while our canonical scriptures of orthodox transformation do not reach the Eastern Country?" Thereupon, riding camels laden with books, he journeyed far and arrived in Chang'an. When Yao Xing saw his sharp eloquence and quick wit, he was considerably taken with him. The brāhmaṇa then petitioned Yao Xing, saying: "The ultimate Way is non-exclusive; each venerates his own practice. I have now come from afar specifically to request a contest of debating skill with the monks of Qin; whoever excels shall propagate his teachings." Yao Xing readily granted this. At that time, the monastic community from all quarters in Guanzhong looked at one another with apprehension, none daring to accept the challenge. Kumārajīva said to Daorong: "This non-Buddhist possesses intelligence far beyond ordinary men; in a contest of words, he is certain to triumph. How could we allow the unsurpassed Great Way to suffer defeat at his hands through our company? This would be truly lamentable! If we let this non-Buddhist have his way and fulfill his ambitions, the axle of our Dharma wheel would be shattered. How could this be permitted? As I see it, everything rests on you alone." Daorong considered that his own talents and power were not inferior, but he had not yet thoroughly read the scriptures and books of the non-Buddhists of the Western Regions. So he secretly sent someone to copy the catalogue of scriptures read by the brāhmaṇa; at a single glance, he memorized them. Later, on the appointed day for the debate, Yao Xing personally attended along with all the dukes and ministers, and the monastics of Guanzhong gathered from near and far. Then Daorong stood face-to-face with the brāhmaṇa to contest him; the razor-sharp eloquence and profound metaphysics he displayed were beyond the other's reach. Although the brāhmaṇa already realized his arguments and principles were defeated, he still prided himself on his extensive reading. Daorong then enumerated the books the brāhmaṇa had read, and further engaged in a comprehensive discussion of the canonical scriptures and histories of the land of Qin, exceeding the titles and fascicles of the brāhmaṇa's readings by threefold. Kumārajīva, seizing the opportunity, mocked him, saying: "Have you not heard of the vast learning of Great Qin? How could you have acted so rashly, taking the trouble to travel from so far?" The brāhmaṇa felt ashamed and repentant; he prostrated himself, bowing his head to Daorong's feet, and left after some ten days without accomplishing anything. That the period of the Semblance Dharma flourished anew was due to the efforts of Kumārajīva and Daorong. Daorong later returned to Pengcheng, where he continually lectured without interruption. More than a thousand people came after hearing of the Way, and his accompanying disciples numbered over three hundred. By nature he disliked clamor and would frequently climb into an upper chamber to study and ponder. Diligently and skillfully guiding others, he dedicated his whole life to propagating the Dharma. He later died in Pengcheng at the age of seventy-four.