歷代三寶紀 8.166

8.166

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.