歷代三寶紀 8.171

8.171

右四部合六十九卷。晉安帝世。罽賓三藏法師佛馱耶舍。秦言覺名。耶舍本雖婆羅門種。而其祖宗世事外道。事外道家則不信佛。有一沙門從其家乞。其父瞋怒使人打之。其父手脚因遂攣躄不能行動。內情遑遽問於筮師。師乃筮之。坐犯賢人使之然也。意方覺悟。乃即請此所打沙門竭誠懺悔。數日便瘳。因令耶舍剃落出家為其弟子。時年十三。曾於一時隨師遠行。忽於曠野遇逢一虎。師欲走避。耶舍諫曰。此虎已飽必不侵人。俄而虎去。前行未幾果見餘殘。師密異之。至年十五誦經日得二三萬言。而所住寺。恒常於外分衛乞食。廢於習誦。有一羅漢重其聰敏。恒為乞食用以供之。至年十九受持諷誦大小乘經數百萬言。然其性度頗以簡傲知見自處。謂言天下少堪己師。為是不為諸僧所重。但美儀止善能談笑。遇對矚者忘其深恨。年及進戒莫為臨壇。所以向立猶為沙彌。乃從其舅學五明論。世間法術多所練習。至二十七方受具戒。恒以讀誦披尋為務。昏曉勤劬手不釋牒。每至端坐即思惟義。尚云不覺虛過良時。然其精專例皆如是。至沙勒國。國王疾不愈。請三千僧入宮設會。而耶舍身預其一焉。時王太子達摩弗多。秦言法子。觀見耶舍容服端雅問所從來。耶舍詶對言辭清巧。太子悅之。仍即請留宮內供養。待遇隆厚。羅什後至。復從耶舍受學經律。甚相尊敬。什既隨母還反龜茲。耶舍留止。頃之王薨太子即位。於時符堅正遣呂光西伐龜茲。龜茲王急求救沙勒。沙勒王身自率兵救龜茲國。難留於耶舍。使輔太子委以後事。救軍未至龜茲已敗。王迴具說鳩摩羅什為光所執。舍乃歎曰。我與羅什相遇雖久未盡懷抱。其忽羈虜相見何期。停十餘年。耶舍乃復東適龜茲法化甚盛。於時羅什止在姑臧。遣信要之。裹糧欲去。國人留之。復停歲許。後語弟子云吾今欲尋於羅什。可密裝束。夜中進發勿使人知。弟子諫曰。脫當明日前去不達。復被追還其事云何。耶舍乃取清水一鉢以藥投中。呪數十言以與弟子。使令洗足。即便夜發。比及將旦行數百里。問弟子曰。何所覺耶。答曰。耳中唯聞疾風之響眼中淚出。耶舍又與呪水洗足。因停住息。及旦追人已差數百。弘始八年行達姑臧。而什久已入於常安。又聞姚興逼什別室使為非法。乃傷歎曰鳩摩羅什如好綿纊。何可使入棘林中乎。什先經曾伏膺耶舍。聞至姑臧大生歡喜。即勸姚興令使迎逆。興未然許之。頃興命羅什出經。而什又曰。夫欲宣通無上法教宜令文義理趣圓通。貧道雖復讀誦其文未善其理。唯有耶舍深達經致。今在姑臧願詔徵之。一言三詳然後著筆。使微言不墜取信千載也。興從之。即遣使厚加贈遺不受。笑曰。明旨既降便應載馳。檀越待士既厚。脫如羅什見處則未敢聞命。興歎其幾慎。重使敦喻方至常安。興自出候別立新省於逍遙園。四事供養竝無所受。時至分衛一食而已。耶舍為人赤髭。善毘婆沙。人號之為赤髭毘婆沙。什既師之。亦稱之為大毘婆沙。四事供養衣鉢臥具。滿三間屋不以關心。興為貨之造立寺舍。而耶舍先嘗誦四分律。時請出之。疑其遺謬乃試令誦。羌籍藥方可五萬言。經二日覆不誤一字。眾咸揖伏以弘始十二年譯四分律等。至十五年解座。興施耶舍布絹萬匹。悉皆不受。沙門道含竺佛念等二人筆受。各施千匹。已外名德五百沙門皆重䞋施。舍後還西不知所終。

The above four works comprise a total of sixty-nine fascicles. In the reign of Emperor An of the Jin, there was the Tripiṭaka Dharma master Buddhayaśas from Kashmir (in the language of the Qin: Jieming [Awakened Renown]). Although Yaśas was originally of Brahmin lineage, his clan had served non-Buddhist traditions for generations. Households that serve non-Buddhist traditions do not believe in the Buddha. A śramaṇa came begging at his house; his father grew angry and ordered someone to beat him. Consequently, his father's hands and feet became crippled and contracted so that he could not walk. Anxiously distressed in heart, he inquired of a diviner. The diviner performed a divination and said: "Because you offended a worthy person, you were caused to become thus." Only then did his mind awaken [to his fault], and he at once invited the beaten śramaṇa to offer wholehearted repentance. Within a few days he was cured. He thereupon had Yaśas shave his head and leave home to become that śramaṇa's disciple, being then thirteen years of age. Once he accompanied his master on a distant journey and suddenly encountered a tiger in the wilderness. The master wished to flee, but Yaśas admonished him, saying: "This tiger is already full; it will surely not harm anyone." Soon after, the tiger left. Walking forward not far, they indeed saw the remnants of its prey. His master privately marveled at him. By the age of fifteen, his daily recitation of sūtras reached twenty to thirty thousand words. However, at the monastery where he stayed, he constantly had to go outside for piṇḍapāta begging food, which interrupted his recitation and study. An arhat valued his intelligence and constantly begged food for him so as to provide for him. By the age of nineteen, he had received, upheld, and recited several million words of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras. Yet his disposition was somewhat aloof and haughty, dwelling on his own knowledge and views, and he claimed that few in the realm were worthy to be his master. For this reason he was not esteemed by the monks. Nevertheless, he possessed an admirable demeanor and was skilled in joking and conversation; those who met and gazed upon him forgot their deep resentment. When he reached the age to receive the precepts, none would preside over the ordination platform for him; thus, though approaching adulthood, he was still a novice. He then studied the treatises on the five sciences from his maternal uncle, and practiced many worldly arts and techniques. Only at the age of twenty-seven did he receive the full precepts. He always took reading, reciting, and research as his business, toiling diligently from dawn till dusk without letting scrolls slip from his hands. Whenever he sat upright, he reflected on the meanings [of teachings], yet still remarked that he unconsciously let precious time pass in vain. His dedication and focus were all universally like this. He arrived in the kingdom of Kaśgar. The king was suffering from an uncured illness and invited three thousand monks into the palace to hold a feast; Yaśas was among them. At that time the king's crown prince, Dharmaputra (in the language of the Qin: Fazi [Dharma Son]), saw Yaśas's dignified bearing and robes and asked where he came from. Yaśas replied with clear and clever words, and the prince was delighted with him. He then invited him to remain in the palace for offerings, treating him with great generosity. Kumārajīva arrived later and also received teachings on the sūtras and vinaya from Yaśas, respecting him greatly. After Kumārajīva followed his mother back to Kucha, Yaśas remained behind. Shortly thereafter, the king died and the crown prince ascended the throne. At that time, Fu Jian was dispatching Lü Guang to campaign west against Kucha. The king of Kucha urgently sought rescue from Kaśgar. The king of Kaśgar personally led troops to rescue the kingdom of Kucha; with difficulty he took leave of Yaśas, charging him to assist the crown prince and entrusting subsequent matters to him. Before the rescue army arrived, Kucha had already fallen. The king returned and fully recounted how Kumārajīva had been captured by Lü Guang. Yaśas then sighed, saying: "Though Kumārajīva and I were together for a long time, we had not yet fully expressed our inner hearts. Now that he has suddenly become a captive, when can we ever meet again?" After staying for over ten years, Yaśas then traveled east to Kucha, where his Dharma transformation was exceedingly flourishing. At that time, Kumārajīva was residing in Guzang and sent a letter inviting him. Yaśas packed provisions intending to leave, but the people of the state detained him; he remained for another year or so. Later he told his disciples: "I now wish to seek Kumārajīva. You may secretly pack your belongings; we will set out in the middle of the night without letting anyone know." A disciple admonished him, saying: "If tomorrow comes and we have gone forward but not arrived, and are then pursued and brought back, what shall we do?" Yaśas then took a bowl of clear water, put medicine into it, chanted an incantation of several tens of words over it, gave it to the disciple, and had him wash his feet. They then set out at night. By dawn, they had traveled several hundred li. He asked the disciple, "What do you feel?" The disciple answered, "In my ears I only hear the sound of rushing wind, and tears pour from my eyes." Yaśas again gave him incanted water to wash his feet, and they then stopped to rest. By dawn, the pursuers were already several hundred li behind. In the eighth year of the Hongshi era, he reached Guzang, but Kumārajīva had long since entered Chang'an. Hearing furthermore that Yao Xing had forced Kumārajīva into a separate chamber to commit improper acts, he lamented, saying: "Kumārajīva is like fine silk floss; how could one cause him to enter a forest of thorns?" Kumārajīva had previously submitted his heart to Yaśas; hearing that he had arrived in Guzang, he was overjoyed and immediately urged Yao Xing to send an envoy to welcome him, but Xing did not yet agree. Shortly thereafter, Xing ordered Kumārajīva to translate sūtras, but Kumārajīva said: "If one wishes to propagate the unsurpassable Dharma teachings, the phrasing, meaning, and principles should be made thorough and penetrating. Although I, this impoverished monk, recite their texts, I am not proficient in their principles. Only Yaśas profoundly penetrates the tenets of the sūtras. He is now in Guzang; I request that an edict summon him, so that after every single word has been examined three times, the brush is put to paper, ensuring that the subtle words do not fall into ruin and win trust for a thousand ages." Xing complied. He at once sent an envoy with lavish gifts, but Yaśas would not accept them, smiling and saying: "Since the enlightened edict has descended, I should naturally ride forth swiftly. The dānapati treats scholars generously, but if things were to be as Kumārajīva experienced, I would not dare accept your command." Xing admired his discernment and caution; after sending another envoy to earnestly persuade him, Yaśas finally reached Chang'an. Xing personally went out to welcome him and set up a separate new quarters for him in the Xiaoyao Garden. Of the four requisites of support, Yaśas accepted none; when the time came, he simply took one meal by piṇḍapāta. By appearance Yaśas had a red beard and was adept in the Vibhāṣā; people dubbed him the "Red-bearded Vibhāṣā." Because Kumārajīva took him as a teacher, he also referred to him as the "Great Vibhāṣā." The four requisites of support—robes, bowls, and bedding—filled three rooms, yet he paid no heed to them; Xing sold them on his behalf to build monastery quarters. Now, Yaśas had previously recited the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya; at this time he was requested to translate it. Suspecting that he might have omissions or errors, they tested him by having him recite Qiang censuses and medicinal prescriptions totaling about fifty thousand words. After two days, when checked, not a single word was mistaken. The assembly all bowed in submission. In the twelfth year of Hongshi, he translated the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and other works, finishing the sessions in the fifteenth year. Xing offered Yaśas ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk, but he accepted none. The śramaṇas Daohan, Zhu Fonian, and others—two men in total—acted as scribes, and each was offered one thousand bolts. Aside from them, five hundred renowned and virtuous śramaṇas were all given substantial donations. Yaśas later returned to the west, and his end is unknown.