佛祖統紀 5.15

5.15

八祖佛陀密多尊者。提伽國人。德力深固善化群生。初難提行化至其國。見一家有白光。謂其徒曰。此有聖人。有口不言。有足不履。及至其舍。長者問其何來。難提即曰。來求弟子。長者曰。我有一子。年五十歲。不言不履。安能給侍。難提曰。真吾弟子。密多遽起禮拜。行七步已口說偈曰。父母非我親。誰是最親者。諸佛非我道。誰是最道者。難提曰。汝言與心親。父母非可比。汝行與道合。諸佛心即是。外道有相佛。與汝不相似。欲識汝本心。非合亦非離。又謂之曰。此子昔曾值佛悲願廣大。慮父母愛情難捨故不履不言。長者遽捨出家即證道果流布正法。時有國王宗事異學輕毀三寶。密多將欲調伏。躬持赤旛於十二年在王前行。王後問曰。斯是何人。答曰。我是智人善能談論。王即宣令於正勝殿集諸婆羅門長者居士。與一沙門共相議論。密多升座建無方論。淺智之人一言即屈。其聰辨者再便辭盡。王乃躬與密多以起言端。尋亦摧服。王即回心為佛弟子。時國中有尼乾毀謗正法。善知算數（尼乾此云自餓外道）密多往化。就受數述。尼乾常出惡聲罵辱於佛。密多謂曰。汝今造罪必墮地獄。若不見信可算知之。尼乾推算知墮地獄。白尊者言。我當云何得免斯咎。密多告曰。如因地倒還從地起。汝若歸佛此罪可滅。時尼乾即以五百偈。讚歎如來改悔先罪。密多復告之曰。汝此善業必生天上。若不見信可算知之。尼乾下算。自見己身罪滅生天。便大歡喜。遂與五百人俱共出家。密多化緣將畢遂入涅槃。弟子為奉全身起塔供養（付法藏經）。

The Eighth Patriarch, the Venerable Buddhamitra, was a man of the country of Tikā. His virtuous power was deep and firm, and he was skilled at transforming living beings. Earlier, when Nandi was traveling and teaching in that country, he saw a white light over a certain house. He said to his disciples, 'There is a sage here who has a mouth but does not speak, and has feet but does not walk.' When they arrived at his house, the elder asked why he had come. Nandi said, 'I have come seeking a disciple.' The elder said, 'I have a son who is fifty years old; he does not speak and does not walk. How could he attend upon you?' Nandi said, 'He is truly my disciple.' Mitra suddenly stood up, bowed in reverence, and after walking seven paces, uttered a verse from his mouth: / 'My father and mother are not my kin; / Who is the closest kin? / The Buddhas are not my way; / Who is the supreme Way?' / Nandi said: / 'Your words are kin to your mind; / Father and mother cannot compare. / Your practice accords with the Way; / The mind of the Buddhas is precisely this. / The non-Buddhists have a Buddha with marks, / But he does not resemble you. / If you wish to know your original mind, / It is neither united nor separate.' / He further said to [the elder], 'In the past, this child encountered a Buddha and made vast compassionate vows. Fearing that his parents' emotional love would be hard to abandon, he did not walk and did not speak.' The elder readily renounced him to leave home; he immediately realized the fruit of the Way and disseminated the true Dharma. At that time, there was a king who revered heterodox teachings and slighted and disparaged the Three Jewels. Wishing to subdue him, Mitra personally held a red banner and walked before the king for twelve years. Later the king asked, 'Who is this person?' He replied, 'I am a man of wisdom, skilled in debate.' The king then issued an order to assemble all the brāhmaṇas, elders, and lay devotees in the Hall of Righteous Victory to debate together with this single śramaṇa. Mitra ascended the seat and established an unassailable thesis: those of shallow wisdom yielded at a single word, while those of sharp eloquence exhausted their words at the second exchange. The king then personally initiated debate with Mitra, but was soon also defeated and subdued. The king then turned his mind to become a disciple of the Buddha. At that time, there was a Nirgrantha in the country who reviled the true Dharma and was adept at calculation (Nirgrantha means here 'the non-Buddhist of self-starvation'). Mitra went to transform him, approaching him to learn calculation. The Nirgrantha constantly uttered evil words to revile the Buddha. Mitra said to him, 'The offenses you are now creating will certainly cause you to fall into hell. If you do not believe me, you may calculate it to find out.' The Nirgrantha calculated and knew he would fall into hell. He said to the Venerable One, 'How can I avoid this fault?' Mitra told him, 'Just as one who falls due to the ground rises back up from the ground, if you take refuge in the Buddha, this offense can be eradicated.' The Nirgrantha then used five hundred verses to praise the Tathāgata and repent his former offenses. Mitra further said to him, 'Because of this good karma of yours, you will certainly be born in heaven. If you do not believe me, you may calculate it to find out.' The Nirgrantha laid out his calculations and saw for himself that his offenses were eradicated and he would be born in heaven, whereupon he rejoiced greatly. He then left home together with five hundred people. When Mitra's karmic conditions for transforming beings were nearing their end, he entered nirvāṇa. His disciples enshrined his whole body and erected a stupa to make offerings to it (from the *Fu fazang jing*).