佛祖統紀 5.23

5.23

十六祖僧佉難提尊者。室羅筏城寶莊嚴王太子。生而能言常讀佛法。七歲厭俗。父王每止之。九歲羅睺至金水河指之曰。此去五百里。有聖者名難提。佛記一千年後當紹聖位。即領眾往見之。正值入定。三七日方出。即求出家得道付法。羅睺一日手擎金鉢舉至梵天。取飯以餉大眾。眾忽厭惡。羅睺曰。非我之咎乃汝自業。即命難提分座同食。眾復訝之。羅睺曰。此難提即過去娑羅王如來。愍物降迹。汝等亦莊嚴劫中已至三果。但未證無漏耳。眾曰。我師神力斯則可信。彼過去佛竊有疑焉。難提曰。如來在日地平水美。滅八百年人無至信。不信真如唯愛神力。言訖手持琉璃瓶。漸展入地至金剛輪際。取甘露水持至眾前。眾方悔謝。有阿羅漢具諸功德。難提以一偈試之云。轉輪王種生。非佛非羅漢。不受後世有。亦非辟支佛。羅漢不解。升天以問彌勒。彌勒曰。世以泥團置輪成瓦。豈同諸聖至後世乎。羅漢還以語之。難提曰。此必彌勒為汝說耳。化緣將畢。以右手攀樹而入滅度。弟子欲移其屍堅不可動。大象負之亦不能移。乃積香木為樓。就樹闍維。火焚身盡樹更蓊欝。眾取舍利建塔供養（付法藏經）。

The sixteenth patriarch, the Venerable Saṃghanandin, was the crown prince of King Ratnavyūha of the city of Śrāvastī. He could speak from birth and constantly chanted the Buddha's Dharma. At the age of seven, he grew weary of secular life, but his royal father repeatedly stopped him. When he was nine, Rāhulata arrived at the Jinshui River, pointed to him, and said, 'Five hundred leagues from here, there is a holy man named Nandin. The Buddha prophesied that after one thousand years he would succeed to the holy rank.' He then led the assembly to go and see him. They arrived just as he had entered absorption; only after three times seven days did he emerge. He immediately sought to leave the household life, attained the Way, and was entrusted with the Dharma. One day, Rāhulata held up a golden bowl in his hand, raised it all the way to the Brahmā heaven, and took food to feed the great assembly. The assembly suddenly felt disgust. Rāhulata said, 'This is not my fault, but your own karma.' He then ordered Nandin to share his seat and eat together. The assembly was surprised again. Rāhulata said, 'This Nandin is none other than the Tathāgata Śālarāja of the past, who descended in manifestation out of pity for living beings. You also reached the third fruit in the Kalpa of Adornment, but you have not yet realized non-outflow.' The assembly said, 'We can believe our master's spiritual power, but we secretly harbor doubts about him being a Buddha of the past.' Nandin said, 'While the Tathāgata was in the world, the earth was flat and the water sweet. Eight hundred years after his extinction, people lack supreme faith; they do not believe in suchness, but only cherish spiritual power.' Having spoken, he held a lapis lazuli vase in his hand, gradually extended it into the earth down to the edge of the adamantine wheel, and drew amṛta water to bring before the assembly. Only then did the assembly repent and apologize. There was an arhat endowed with all merits; Nandin tested him with a verse, saying: 'Born of the lineage of a wheel-turning king, / He is neither a Buddha nor an arhat, / Nor does he receive future existence, / Nor is he a pratyekabuddha.' The arhat did not understand; he ascended to heaven to ask Maitreya. Maitreya said, 'In the world, placing a lump of clay on a wheel forms tiles; how could that be like the sages reaching future lives?' The arhat returned and repeated this to him. Nandin said, 'This was surely spoken to you by Maitreya.' When his conditions for conversion were about to conclude, he grasped a tree with his right hand and entered extinction. His disciples wished to move his body, but it was solid and could not be moved; even when a great elephant carried it, it still could not be moved. Thereupon, they piled up fragrant wood into a pavilion and held the jhāpita right beside the tree. When the fire consumed his body entirely, the tree became even more luxuriant. The assembly gathered his relics, built a stupa, and made offerings to them (Fu fazang jing).