佛祖統紀 35

English (machine translation) 35

Language: English

35.1

Compiled by the śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu, Siming, during the Xianchun era of the Song.

35.2

Treatise on the Prosperity and Decline of the Dharma, Part Seventeen, Section Two.

35.4

Emperor Wu (the fourth generation since Emperor Gaozu received the mandate).

In the second year of Yuanguang, the Thirteenth Patriarch, Nāgārjuna, in Southern India, entrusted the treasury of the Dharma to Kāṇadeva. He entered the moon-disc samādhi and shed his mortal shell, passing away at the age of three hundred years.

35.6

In the first year of Yuanshou, previously, Marquis of Bowang Zhang Qian returned from the Yuezhi (a state in the Western Regions) and stated: 'When your servant was in Daxia (name of a state), I saw bamboo canes from Qiong and cloth from Shu. I asked how they obtained these. The people of that state said: "Our merchants bought them in Shendu (which is Tianzhu)." Shendu lies several thousand li southeast of Daxia. This cannot be far from Shu.' Thereupon, [the Emperor] ordered Qian, by way of Qianwei in Shu (present-day Jiazhou), to dispatch secret envoys such as Wang Ranyu to head for Shendu (meaning undercover reconnaissance; also, envoys were sent in alternate years, accounts vary). For over four years, all were blocked by the Kunming and none could pass through (blocked by the Kunyi).

35.7

In the fourth year, General of Agile Cavalry Huo Qubing campaigned against the Xiongnu and passed more than a thousand li beyond Mount Yanqi, capturing the golden statue used by King Xiutu to sacrifice to Heaven (Xiutu was a noble king among the Xiongnu tribes). ○ Huo Qubing captured a golden statue over ten feet tall. The Emperor considered it a great spirit and displayed it in the Ganquan Palace, burning incense and revering it (Weishu, Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism).

35.8

Emperor Cheng (named Ao, son of Emperor Yuan).

35.9

In the first year of Jianshi, the Fourteenth Patriarch, Kāṇadeva, went to the kingdom of Kapila and entrusted the treasury of the Dharma to Rāhulata.

35.10

In the third year of Heping, Envoy of Reception Chen Nong was dispatched to seek lost books throughout the empire.

35.11

In the second year of Hongjia, Grand Master for Splendid Happiness Liu Xiang collated books in the Tianlu Pavilion and frequently saw Buddhist scriptures. Xiang wrote in his Biographies of Immortals: 'I searched through the collection of books and investigated the Grand Astrologer's composition of the Illustrations of Immortals. From the Yellow Emperor down to the present, more than seven hundred people attained the way of immortality. Verifying the true and false, I obtained one hundred forty-six persons. Seventy-four of them have already appeared in the Buddhist scriptures.'

35.12

The commentary states: Hong Xingzu remarked: "When Liang Xiaobiao annotated the Shishuo xinyu, he quoted the preface to the Liexian zhuan as saying, 'Seventy-four of them are already found in Buddhist sūtras.' What is printed by contemporary booksellers now reads, 'Seventy-four of them are already in the Immortals' scriptures.' This must be an unauthorised alteration made by the Daoists. Thus, the statement that there were Buddhist sūtras in the Tianlu Pavilion is verified by this."

35.13

Emperor Ai (Xin, grandson of Emperor Xuan).

35.14

In the first year of the Yuanshou era, Jing Xian was sent as an envoy to the Da Yuezhi, and returned having received an oral transmission of the Futu jing (Buddhist sūtra) from their king. At that time, there were already a few who received and observed precepts (The "Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism" in the Book of Wei states: "'Futu' is also 'Fotuo'; here translated as 'the Awakened One'").

35.15

The commentary states: Su You replied to King Zhao; Hu Duo replied to King Mu; Confucius answered the Grand Chancellor of Shang: they all spoke of a 'Sage in the West' without explicitly calling him the Buddha. When Huo Qubing obtained the golden human statue, he also did not know it was the Buddha. The transformed man urged King Mu to make an image of Kāśyapa Buddha. You Yu, answering Duke Mu of Qin, called him the 'Spirit of the Buddha'. Śrībandhu carried Buddhist scriptures to convert the First Emperor of Qin. Liu Xiang catalogued books in the Tianlu Pavilion and saw Buddhist scriptures there. Jing Xian went on an embassy to the Yuezhi and obtained the Futu jing. These already named the Buddha, yet his teachings were not yet practiced; all occurred before Emperor Ming of the Han was moved by his dream to seek the Buddha. When the gods answered Nanshan [Daoxuan], they said that Su You, Hu Duo, and Fu Yi were all sent by the Buddha. As for the statement that Liu Xiang saw Buddhist sūtras, it is likely that when Zhang Qian went on an embassy to Daxia, and Huo Qubing obtained the golden human statue, Buddhist sūtras must have arrived along with them; it was merely that the people of the time did not practice them, and the national histories did not record them. Otherwise, those books should not have been present in the Tianlu Pavilion.

35.16

Eastern Han (the capital was Luoyang).

35.17

Emperor Ming (Zhuang, son of Emperor Guangwu).

35.18

In the first year of the Yongping era, the fifteenth patriarch, [Kāṇa]deva, went to the city of Śrāvastī and transmitted the Dharma treasury to Saṃghanandi. He appeared one thousand years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa.

35.19

In the seventh year, the Emperor dreamed of a sixteen-foot golden man with the halo of the sun around the nape of his neck, flying through the palace courtyard. At dawn he questioned his ministers, but none could reply. The Grand Astrologer Fu Yi stepped forward and said: "Your subject has heard that in the time of King Zhao of the Zhou, a sage appeared in the West whose name was the Buddha." The Emperor thereupon dispatched the Palace Gentleman蔡愔 Cai Yin, Qin Jing, the Erudite Wang Zun, and others, eighteen men in all, as envoys to the Western Regions to seek out the way of the Buddha.

35.20

In the tenth year, Cai Yin and the others met Kāśyapa Mātanga and Dharmaratna in the Da Yuezhi of Central India. They obtained a standing image of the Buddha and Sanskrit scriptures consisting of six hundred thousand words (yi means standing). Carrying them on a white horse, they arrived at Luoyang (because of reigning by the virtue of fire, Luo 洛 was changed to Luo 雒). Mātanga and Dharmaratna had an audience in śramaṇa robes and were lodged at the Court of State Ceremonial (Honglu Si) (Hu Guang explained: "Hong means sound; lu means to transmit; hence it means transmitting the voice to announce and guide the nine classes of guests. In the Tang it was changed to the Sibin Si").

35.21

In the eleventh year, an imperial edict ordered the erection of the Baima Temple outside Yong Gate to the west of Luoyang city. Mātanga began translating the Sūtra of Forty-Two Chapters (The Record of the Painting of Translated Sūtras states: "This sūtra originally came from a large work; because the Great Dharma was just being transmitted, essential meanings were gathered and extracted to guide the customs of the time"). The Sanskrit text was stored in the stone chamber of the Orchid Terrace. Images of the Buddha were painted on the Xiyang city gate and atop the Xiejie Mausoleum (the tomb prepared during Emperor Ming's lifetime). The Emperor asked Mātanga: "After the Buddha appeared in the world, why did his conversion not reach here?" Mātanga replied: "The country of Kapilavastu in Tianzhu is at the centre of the three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world and its tens of millions of suns and moons. All Buddhas of the three periods appear there. Devas, humans, nāgas, and spirits who possess the power of vows are all born there to receive conversion and awaken to the Way. Although the Buddha does not travel to other places, wherever his radiant signs reach, after a thousand or five hundred years, there are sages who transmit the Buddha's voice and teachings to go and convert them." The Emperor was greatly delighted.

35.22

On the eleventh day of the first month of the fourteenth year, six hundred and ninety Daoists of the Five Peaks and Eight Mountains, including Chu Shanxin, submitted a memorial requesting a contest of superiority with the Buddhist way of the Western Regions. An imperial edict ordered the Director of the Department of State Affairs, Song Xiang, to hold a grand assembly at the Baima Temple on the fifteenth day. The Emperor established a temporary palace at the south gate of the temple and erected three altars. The Daoists placed their classics, philosophical treatises, talismans, and registers on the eastern altar. Mātanga placed an altar on the west of the path, arranging sūtras, images, and relics. On the central altar were offered foods and libations to sacrifice to the hundred deities. The Daoists circled their altar weeping and saying: "The Sovereign believes in heresy, and the mysterious wind has lost its continuity. We dare to present the sacred scriptures upon the altar to test them by fire!" Thereupon they set fire to burn the scriptures, and all were reduced to ashes. The Daoists looked at one another in shame and embarrassment; the incantations and techniques they attempted—entering fire and walking on water—none could be performed. When it came to burning the Buddhist sūtras, a five-coloured radiance penetrated upward to the realm of the heavens. When the blazing fire subsided, the scriptures and images remained completely intact. Mātanga leapt into the air and manifested various miraculous transformations. Dharmaratna uttered a great Brahmā-sound, proclaiming and clarifying the Buddha's Dharma. The heavens rained down precious flowers, and the great assembly was filled with joy. The Grand Tutor Zhang Yan addressed the Daoists, saying: "You have had no verification; you ought to follow the Buddhist teachings." The Daoist Fei Shucai died of self-reproach. The Minister of Works Liu Jun and two hundred and sixty others, the capital's gentry and commoners Zhang Zishang and three hundred and ninety others, Lady Yin of the inner palace, the Handsome Lady Wang, and other palace women numbering one hundred and ninety, and the Daoists of the Five Peaks, Lü Huitong and six hundred and twenty others, all sought to leave household life. The Emperor granted it. He decreed the founding of ten temples in Luoyang: seven temples outside the city to lodge monks, and three temples inside the city to lodge nuns, all supplied with offerings. Once the Emperor visited Baima Temple. Mātanga stepped forward and asked: "What building is that to the east of the temple?" The Emperor said: "Formerly there was a mound; when leveled it rose again, and there were strange lights. The people call it the Holy Tomb." Mātanga said: "Formerly King Aśoka enshrined the Buddha's relics in eighty-four thousand pagodas; there are nineteen sites in the territory of Cīnasthāna, and this is one of them" (Cīnasthāna: also Zhendan, also Zhina; here translated as 'the land of the Han', the eastern country of culture and letters). The Emperor was greatly astonished and immediately went with him to pay homage. He saw a circular halo surging above the mound, within which were three Buddhas. The attendants cheered, all shouting "Ten thousand years!" The Emperor was greatly delighted, saying: "Were it not for these two Great Beings, how could we have known of the Great Sage's bequeathed blessings?" Thereupon he ordered a pagoda built above it, nine storeys and two hundred feet high. In the following year, a light appeared on the pagoda, and a golden hand emerged from its top, with heavenly fragrance pervading. The Emperor traveled there in his carriage to gaze and pay homage, and the light followed his footsteps (Faben neichuan: thūpa [stūpa]; here translated as 'high and prominent place', or 'square tumulus').

35.23

I observe that the Fanyi mingyi [ji] states: The Tang Daoist Yin Wencao claimed that the Faben neichuan was fabricated by Kumārajīva's disciples, wishing to suggest that the accounts of Emperor Ming of Han dreaming of the golden man and the Daoists burning scriptures were entirely false. He utterly failed to consider that Emperor Ming's dream comes from the Book of the Han, and Kan Ze, answering the Lord of Wu, also spoke of the Buddhists and Daoists burning scriptures in a contest and Fei Shucai dying of self-reproach, which is seen in the Records of Wu. Deducing from this, the Neichuan is truly from the Han era, not a fabrication of Jin people. Wencao's absurd argument collapses. This is of the same deceitful nature as the interpolation of the phrase "converting the barbarians" into the Liexian zhuan; was that also added by Wencao?

35.24

After Mātanga passed away, Dharmaratna translated five works including the Fo benxing jing (All the above are from old records).

35.25

The commentary states: Some raise doubts, saying that the Neichuan lacks the name of an author. Looking at this biography now, it fully records the contest of dharmas between Mātanga, Dharmaratna, and the Daoists; how could people of later generations have known of this? It must have been recorded by the various disciples when Dharmaratna translated the sūtras.

35.26

Liu Ying, Prince of Chu, presented yellow and white silks to the Chancellor of State, saying: "Entrusted with the role of a feudatory border defender, I have accumulated faults and misdeeds; I present these plain and fine silks to redeem my transgressions." The Chancellor of State reported this to the throne. The edict replied: "The Prince of Chu recites the subtle words of Huang-Lao and honours the benevolent sacrifices of the Futu. What dislike or suspicion could there be, that he should have remorse? Let his redemption be returned to help provide the sumptuous meals of the upāsakas and śramaṇas" (In Sanskrit, yipuse is upāsaka; here translated as 'pure-faith layman', those who now receive the five precepts and are called sēngtóng; sangmen is śramaṇa; here translated as 'quieting the mind', those who now receive the full precepts and are called sēng. Unlearned people of the world pass on errors, pointing to yipu as meaning an offering of food; their ignorance of the meaning is erroneous like this).

35.27

Earlier, the Emperor heard that there was a spirit in the Western Regions whose name was the Buddha. He thereupon sent envoys to Tianzhu to seek his way, obtaining his books and bringing back śramaṇas. His books generally take emptiness and non-being as their principle and value compassion and not killing. They hold that when a person dies the spirit is not annihilated, but subsequently assumes another physical form; the good and evil deeds performed during life all have their retribution. Therefore, what they value is cultivating and refining the spirit to become a Buddha. They excel at grand, broad, and magnanimous words to persuade and guide the ignorant masses. Those skilled in this way are called śramaṇas. Thereupon this teaching began to be transmitted and his image painted in China; among kings, dukes, and nobles, Liu Ying, Prince of Chu, was the very first to take pleasure in it (The Zizhi tongjian cites the "Treatise on the Western Regions" and the note to the "Biography of Liu Ying, Prince of Chu"). Fan Ye's commentary in the "Treatise on the Western Regions" states: "The spiritual transformation of the Buddhist way arose in Shendu, yet the geographical records of the Western Han did not mention it (The Book of Rites says: 'The governance of King Wen and King Wu is laid out on the wooden tablets and bamboo slips'; the commentary says that fāng means wooden tablets, cè means bamboo slips. In the Han, Zhang Cang was an Imperial Censor, in charge of the fāng-writings beneath the pillars; it also says: 'respectfully attach the matter to the left fāng'; both are wood, hence now called fāngzhì, recorded upon wooden tablets). Zhang Qian only noted that the land was humid and hot, and that they rode elephants into battle; Ban Chao only listed their honoring the Futu and not killing, yet the efficacy of their refined writings and good Dharma in guiding people to happiness was not transmitted. What I have heard later describes that country as more prosperous than the Central Lands, where the harmonious qi of the jade balance causes divine spirits to descend and congregate, and where the worthy and fine are born. Its miraculous traces are strange and extraordinary, so their principle transcends the human realm; its resonant verifications are clear and manifest, so their affairs emerge beyond heaven. Yet Qian and Chao had heard nothing of them—was it not that the Way was closed in past eras, and destiny unfolded only in later times?" (and so forth).

35.28

Yuan Hong's Hou Han ji states: "In Tianzhu of the Western Regions, there is the Buddhist way. 'Fo' in the language of Han means 'Awakened', meaning to awaken all living beings. Its teaching takes the cultivation of goodness and a compassionate mind as primary, devoting itself purely to purity. Those who are adept are called śramaṇas, which in the language of Han means 'quieting the mind', namely, quieting desires, casting away cravings, and returning to non-action (wuwei). Furthermore, they believe that when a person dies the spirit is not annihilated, but subsequently assumes another form; the good and evil deeds performed during life all have their retribution. Therefore, they value doing good and cultivating the Way to refine the spirit, ultimately to become a Buddha. The Buddha's body is sixteen feet tall, golden-yellow in colour, with the halo of the sun around the nape of his neck; his transformations penetrate everywhere without obstruction, so he can transform and pervade the myriad things, greatly rescuing all living beings. Emperor Ming was moved by a dream, and thereupon dispatched envoys to Tianzhu to inquire about the Way, returning with paintings of his image. There are scriptures in thousands of scrolls taking emptiness and non-being as their principle, encompassing the fine and the coarse, leaving nothing unintegrated. They excel at grand, broad, and far-reaching words. What they seek is within one's own body; what they illuminate is beyond seeing and hearing. Worldly people sometimes take it as empty falsehood, yet it ultimately returns to the mysterious, subtle, profound, and far-reaching, difficult to fathom. Therefore, when kings, dukes, and great men observe the occasion of life, death, and karmic retribution, none fails to be startled and lose their self-composure" (jue is pronounced jue-fu-fan, meaning startled and hurried).

35.29

The commentary states: Yuan's Hou Han ji says that in Tianzhu there is the Buddhist way; the Buddha's body is sixteen feet tall, golden-coloured with the halo of the sun, transforming and pervading the myriad things and greatly rescuing all living beings; Emperor Ming was moved by a dream, dispatched envoys to inquire about the Way, and obtained his scriptures and images. This was the time when the Buddha's Dharma came to the East, matching the Faben neichuan inside and out. Su Zizhan wrote a colophon for it, saying: "This was probably when China first came to know there was a Buddha; though the words are simple and close at hand, the general outline is fully complete."

35.30

Emperor An (You, grandson of Emperor Zhang).

35.31

In the first year of the Yongchu era, the sixteenth patriarch, [Saṃgha]nandi, went to the country of Madra and transmitted the Dharma treasury to Saṃghayaśas.

35.32

Emperor Shun (Bao, son of Emperor An).

35.33

In the first year of the Yonghe era, the seventeenth patriarch, [Saṃgha]yaśas, went to the country of the Yuezhi and transmitted the Dharma treasury to Kumāralāta. The Buddha predicted that he would appear one thousand years after his parinirvāṇa.

35.34

Emperor Huan (Zhi, great-grandson of Emperor Zhang).

35.35

In the first year of the Jianhe era, the śramaṇa Lokakṣema from the country of the Yuezhi arrived in Luoyang and translated twenty-one texts, including the Pratyutpanna-samādhi Sūtra and the Akṣobhyabuddha Sūtra.

35.36

In the second year, the śramaṇa An Shigao from the country of Parthia (Anxi) arrived in Luoyang and translated one hundred and seventy-six works, including the Wushi jiaoji jing.

35.37

In the third year, the eighteenth patriarch Sanghanandi went to northern Tianzhu and entrusted the Dharma treasury to Gayāśata.

35.38

In the ninth year: since the Yongping reign, although among the subjects and commoners there were those who practiced Buddhism, the Son of Heaven had not yet favored it. Only with this emperor did an earnest fondness begin. Within the forbidden precinct, he cast golden statues of the Buddha and Laozi (a Buddha statue and a Laozi statue). In person, he set up a canopy-adorned seat at the Zhuolong Palace and used music from the suburban sacrifices to Heaven.

35.39

Emperor Ling (Hong, great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang)

35.40

In the third year, the Parthian monk An Shigao had a fellow student who died and became the deity of Lake Gongting (Gong is pronounced like gong [恭]; it is Lake Pengli, belonging to Nankang). He could cause passing boats to have the wind divided for ascending and descending [the lake]. When Shigao reached the shrine, the deity said to him, 'My home governs this lake for a thousand li. Because of past generosity, I now have abundant treasures; but because of excessive anger, I have now received the body of a python. Please take my silks and treasures to build a stupa for me, praying for birth in a good realm.' Shigao thereupon established a monastery and built a stupa in Yuzhang. Later, the python died in the mountains, its head and tail spanning several li (now Da'an Monastery).

35.41

In the first year of the Xiping reign, the nineteenth patriarch Gayāśata went to the city of Rājagṛha and entrusted the Dharma treasury to Vasubandhu.

35.42

In the third year of the Guanghe reign, the Western Indian monk Zhu Foshuo reached Luoyang and translated the Daoxing banruo jing (Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra). In the fifth year of the Zhongping reign, the pure-faith lay devotee Yan Fodiao translated the ancient Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra and others.

35.43

In the sixth year, the eunuch Zhang Rang falsely issued an edict from the Empress Dowager to summon the General-in-Chief He Jin and beheaded him. The Colonel of the Central Army Yuan Shao led troops to arrest all the eunuchs, killing two thousand people. Zhang Rang threw himself into the river and died.

35.44

A commentary says: Crises for Confucian learning have occurred from time to time. They began with Li Si of the Qin. Si buried seven hundred scholars who served as court gentlemen. The Han eunuchs imprisoned and proscribed two hundred men, including Li Shi and Fan Pang, slaying the worthy Confucians of the realm. Court chancellors and aides, including Chen Fan, Dou Wu, Li Ying, and their faction members, perished to the number of over a hundred, while seven hundred were degraded, exiled, or barred from office. When, through a forged edict, the great minister He Jin was beheaded, Yuan Shao took advantage of the grievance to slay two thousand eunuchs. Although this was momentarily gratifying, noble men and petty men died alike; jade and stone were both consumed in the blaze. How could this be counted good fortune for the Confucian school? In general, Heaven has decreed destinies, and fortune has its prosperity and decline; when a crisis meets its time, it cannot be avoided. Under the Tang, Zhu Wen slaughtered thirty worthy ministers of the court and cast their corpses into the river; this was also such a crisis. How lamentable! The crises of the Buddhist order under the three emperors with the temple name Wu all belong to this same kind.

35.45

Emperor Xian (Xie, middle son of Emperor Ling)

35.46

In the first year of the Chuping reign, the twentieth patriarch [Vasu]bandhu went to the country of Nadī and entrusted the Dharma treasury to Manorhita.

35.47

In the second year, the Confucian scholar Mouzi of Cangwu, seeing the world in disorder, had no desire to take office and focused his resolve intently on the Buddhist way. Yet the world mostly criticized him. Thereupon, he composed the Treatise Dispelling Doubts (Lihuo lun) as an admonition. His words state: 'The Buddha is the awakened one, just like the divine nature of the Three Sovereigns and the sagehood of the Five Emperors' (the text is found in the Tripitaka's Hongming ji).

35.48

A commentary says: Mouzi's given name is unknown. In a time when the Buddhist way had not yet flourished widely, he was nonetheless able to compose this treatise, adducing the deeds and teachings of the three schools to compare their merits, thereby dispelling worldly confusion and warding off external insults. This was truly a manifestation of a great bodhisattva, an envoy of the Tathāgata.

35.49

In the second year of the Xingping reign, Ze Rong (ze pronounced as [ce-ge]), Chancellor of Xiapi, erected a Buddhist shrine. He tasked people with reciting scriptures, bathing the Buddha, and setting out vegetarian feasts; at the time, more than five thousand people assembled.

35.50

A commentary says: In the Han era, the building of Buddhist shrines and the practice of Buddhist rites among the common people began with this Master Ze. I once read this passage together with an elderly Confucian scholar, who laughed and said, 'For a gentleman-scholar to have later generations record that he studied Buddhism—is that not disgraceful?' I, Zhipan, replied, 'Is not one who studies Buddhism a person who does good? If a gentleman-scholar causes historians to designate him as treacherous, flattering, rapacious, cruel, or even disloyal and unfilial—that indeed should be considered disgraceful! What disgrace can there be in studying Buddhism and doing good?' The elderly Confucian smiled and nodded in agreement.

35.51

In the first year of the Jian'an reign, the twenty-first patriarch Manorhita went to the country of the Yuezhi and entrusted the Dharma treasury to Haklenayaśas.

35.52

In the fourteenth year, the twenty-second patriarch Haklenayaśas, in the country of the Yuezhi, entrusted the Dharma treasury to Āryasiṃha. Prior to this, Haklenayaśas's disciple Zhu Dali and others had come to Luoyang, where he and Kang Meng together translated the Xingqi benxing jing. Suddenly, in their quarters, a white light was seen. Dali solemnized his expression, and after a while said, 'This is a sign that my master has entered parinirvāṇa.' Dali, Kang Meng, Zhi Yao, Kang Ju, and others were all skilled in regional dialects; through the end of the Han era, they translated more than three hundred scriptures.

35.53

Wei (capital at Luoyang; at that time the realm was divided into the Three Kingdoms: Wei, Wu, and Shu)

35.54

Emperor Wen (Pi, son of Taizu; received the abdication of the Han)

35.55

In the first year of the Huangchu reign, Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, founded the Changle Monastery in Wuchang.

35.56

In the fifth year, the Yuezhi upāsaka Zhi Qian came to Luoyang. Qian had received instruction from Zhi Liang, and Liang had received instruction from Lokakṣema (Zhi Chen). People of the time said that for broad learning under heaven, none surpassed the Three Zhis. Qian was tall, slender, dark, and lean, with yellow pupils in his eyes. People of the time had a saying: 'Master Zhi has yellow in his eyes; though his frame is slender, he is a bag of wisdom.' Later, avoiding trouble, he retreated to Wu, where he was appointed an Erudite (boshi).
Also, the Western Indian monk Vighna came to Wu together with Zhu Luyan and translated five scriptures.

35.57

In the sixth year, Prince Si of Chen, Cao Zhi (Emperor Wen's younger brother, courtesy name Zijian), whenever he read Buddhist scriptures, would always linger over them in admiration and pleasure, regarding them as the ultimate consummation of the Supreme Way. Once, while roaming Mount Yu, he heard the sounds of the Brahma-heavens in the air; he then imitated their tones and cadences and recorded them as Sanskrit chanting (fanbai; 'bai' is pronounced like bai [敗], and means 'praise'). He composed the texts and arranged the tunes, totaling six stanzas (the Jingyin yi states this is like a section), which were handed down as a model for later generations.

35.58

Emperor Ming (Rui, son of Emperor Wen)

35.59

In the third year of the Taihe reign, Lady Pan of Wu built the Huibao Monastery in Wuchang.

35.60

Prince of Qi (Fang, adopted son of Emperor Ming)

35.61

In the second year of the Zhengshi reign, which was the fourth year of the Chiwu reign of Wu, the Sogdian monk Kang Senghui came to the state of Wu. When people first saw him, they were all astonished and marveled at him. The Lord of Wu said, 'Is this a remnant trace of the divine spirit of the Buddha dreamed of by Emperor Ming of the Han?' He thereupon summoned and questioned him. Senghui said, 'More than a thousand years have passed since the Tathāgata entered transformation, yet his numinous bones and relics work wondrous responses without limit.' The Lord of Wu said, 'If relics can be obtained, I shall erect a stupa for them; if there is no proof, the state has its established punishments.' Senghui said to his disciples, 'The decline or flourishing of the Great Dharma hinges upon this single act. We must observe pure fasting to make an earnest quest.' After seven days without a sign, the period was extended to three times seven days; the assembly was growing fearful. Suddenly, there was a resonant clang. Looking into the vase, there were five-colored relics. The Lord of Wu himself took the vase and poured them onto a bronze platter, which immediately cracked and broke; neither burning with fire nor striking with a hammer damaged them in the least. Thereupon, he erected a stupa and established the Jianchu Monastery, naming the area the Buddha Quarter (Fotuo-li).

35.62

In the third year, Kan Ze, Prefect of the Masters of Writing of Wu, donated his residence to make the Derun Monastery (located in Cixi County of Siming; now named Puji; Ze's courtesy name was Derun, hence the name). The Lord of Wu asked him, 'Confucius educated the common world, while Laozi and Zhuangzi were free and unconstrained in mountains and forests. What need is there to serve the Buddha?' Ze replied, 'Confucius and Laozi modeled themselves on Heaven and instituted practices, not daring to contravene Heaven; all the heavens revere and practice the Buddha's teaching, not daring to contravene the Buddha. Speaking from this perspective, there is truly no comparison.' The Lord of Wu said, 'When Buddhism entered China, why did it not reach the eastern regions?' Ze said, 'In the fourteenth year of the Yongming [error for Yongping] reign, the Daoists of the Five Sacred Peaks, Chu Shanxin, Fei Shucai, and others, competed in arts with the Western monks; Fei Shucai died of self-induced despair. From then until now it has been a hundred and seventy years; only after long years of war and disorder has it now arrived here.'

35.63

A commentary says: During the Three Kingdoms period, each state was occupied with warfare and defense, and none was able to promote this Way. Nevertheless, among the rulers and ministers of Wu, there were those who had some understanding; thus their building of monasteries, translating of scriptures, revering of relics, and discussing of Buddhism are clearly visible in the historical record. In the territory of Wei, only Prince Si of Chen was able to understand it; in Shu, there is nothing heard of it at all. It must be that the distant obstruction of warring states prevented its immediate arrival there.

35.64

In the second year of the Jiaping reign, the Central Indian Tripiṭaka master Dharmakāla came to Luoyang and translated the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (Sengqi jie). He instituted the karman ordination for fully ordained monks. Before this, when bhikṣus renounced household life, they merely cut their hair, without having vinaya etiquette; in all fasting, repentance, and ritual services, they resembled ancestral sacrifices. When Dharmakāla arrived, he first produced a prātimokṣa code, which then came into daily use.

35.65

In the fourth year, the Central Indian monk Saṅghavarman came to Luoyang and translated the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Wuliangshou jing).

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Duke of Gaogui District (Mao, grandson of Emperor Wen)

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In the first year of the Zhengyuan reign: since the Han and Wei, the two assemblies [of monks and nuns] had only received the Three Refuges, and there was no distinction between fully ordained monks and novice monks. Dharmakāla thereupon submitted a memorial requesting permission to implement the ordination ritual. Together with the Parthian monk Dharmasatya in Luoyang, he produced the Four-Part Vinaya Prātimokṣa of the Dharmaguptaka school and the karman rite for ordination by ten people. The monk Zhu Shixing was the first to receive ordination under it. (Kāla here translates as 'Dharmatime' [Fashi]; Dharmaguptaka here translates as 'Dharmaupright' [Fazheng]. The present Zichi Vinaya school uses Fazheng as the head of the Dharmaguptaka lineage, venerating him as the founding patriarch; Fashi came to this land and transmitted the Dharmaguptaka to conduct the ordination rite by ten people, becoming the second patriarch; down to Nanshan [Daoxuan], who wrote extensive commentaries and subcommentaries that circulated in the world, who is the ninth patriarch.)

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In the first year of the Ganlu reign, the Indian monk Bai Yan arrived in Luoyang and translated six scriptures, including the Wuliang qingjing pingdengjue jing. The Tripiṭaka master Wuwei arrived in Jiaozhou and translated the Lotus Samādhi Sūtra.
Sun Hao, Lord of Wu, did not revere the Buddha's teaching and destroyed monasteries. He challenged Kang Senghui, saying, 'The Buddha speaks of retribution for good and evil; can this be heard?' Senghui said, 'When an enlightened ruler governs the realm with filial piety, red crows soar and the Old Man Star appears (the Book of Han says: when the Old Man Star of the South Pole appears, there is order and peace); when he nurtures all things with benevolence and virtue, sweet springs well forth and auspicious grain grows. Since good has its omens, evil is likewise.' Later, palace guards tending the gardens discovered a golden statue. Hao had it placed in a latrine and poured filth over it. Soon after, he contracted a swelling disease. A diviner said, 'You suffer because of offending a great spirit.' Hao realized [his error], retrieved the statue to venerate it, and invited Senghui to preach the Dharma, prostrating in repentance. He received the five precepts, his ailment was cured, and he honored Senghui as his master, once again establishing stupas and monasteries.

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In the fourth year, the twenty-third patriarch, Āryasiṃha, wandered and taught until he arrived in the country of Jibin (Kaśmīra). There was a non-Buddhist who falsely assumed the guise of a monk, using illusionist arts to enter the royal palace and violate the royal consorts. The king said in anger, 'I faithfully serve the Three Jewels, yet why do the monks insult me so?' He immediately destroyed monasteries and harmed monks. Grasping his sword, he went in person to the Venerable One and beheaded the master. White milk gushed upward several feet. The king's arm immediately fell off, and seven days later he died suddenly. (The detailed deeds from the first patriarch Kāśyapa down to Siṃha are fully recorded above in the record of the Twenty-Four Patriarchs of the West.)

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In the fifth year, Zhu Shixing of Yingchuan (who still retained his secular surname) lectured on the Daoxing banruo jing (the beginning of lecturing on scriptures). Always lamenting that the translated meanings were incomplete, he set out from Chang'an and reached the kingdom of Khotan (the beginning of monks journeying to the West). He obtained the Sanskrit text of the Prajñā[pāramitā]. The kingdom forbade its transmission to the eastern lands; Shixing requested that it be tested by fire without harm. The king believed this marvel and permitted its transmission. Shixing then sent the scripture back east, and it was therefore named the Fangguang banruo.

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Fozu tongji, Fascicle Thirty-Five (End)

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King Ding (Yu, son of King Kuang)

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In the third year, on the fourteenth day of the ninth month, Laozi was born in Quren Hamlet, Li Village, Ku County, Chen Commandery, in Chu (Ku is pronounced ku; Li is pronounced lai). His surname was Li, his given name was Er, his courtesy name was Boyang, and his posthumous title was Dan (pronounced ta-gan; because his ears were broad and lacked rims, he was called Dan). He remained in his mother's womb for eighty-one years, and was born when her left flank split open. At birth his hair was already white, so he was called Laozi (the Old Child). He was born beneath a plum (li) tree, hence his surname was Li. He had a yellow complexion, fine eyebrows, long ears, large eyes, a nose with double ridges, and ears with three apertures (from the Shiji and the Shenxian zhuan). The Laozi neizhuan states: 'Laozi was born prior to Heaven. In the time of Fuxi, he was named Yuhuazi; in the time of Xuanyuan [the Yellow Emperor], he was named Guangchengzi. Down to Kings Wen and Wu of the Zhou, he served as the preceptor to twelve emperors in all.' Liu Xiang's Liexian zhuan of the Han and Huangfu Mi's Gaoshi zhuan of the Jin both record that he was born at the end of the Shang. Yin Wencao's Shengji of the Tang states: 'Laozi, descending from the Realm of Grand Purity, took conception in the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden. He remained in his mother's womb for eighty-one years, and descended to be born in the ninth year of the Shang emperor Gaozong. In the forty-third year, he mounted a white stag, ascended the courtyard cypress, and flew away into the heavens (the cypress is currently at the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou). In the twenty-first year of King Zhou of Shang, he descended onto Mount Qi.' The Shiben states: 'Under the Shang, he was the Keeper of the Archives; under the Zhou, he was the Scribe beneath the Pillar.' (King Wen of Zhou was the Western Earl and still served the Shang, so when he was the Keeper of the Archives, the dynasty was not yet called Zhou.) In the twenty-third year of King Zhao, Laozi drove a thin-planked chariot drawn by a blue ox and crossed Hangu Pass to the west, where he transmitted the Daode jing to the Gatekeeper Yinxi. In the twenty-fifth year, he again descended into the household of Li Taiguan in Shu. In the twenty-seventh year, he met Yinxi at the Blue Sheep Market in Chengdu. He went to the Western Regions to convert the barbarians, and having completed this, he ascended to heaven in Khotan. (The various descents and births cited in the esoteric biographies do not agree; they are appended here for reference.)

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King Jian (Yi, son of King Ding)

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In the fourth year, Laozi became the Keeper of the Archives for the Zhou (the texts of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were stored in a treasury chamber [cang], hence it was called the archives).

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In the thirteenth year, Laozi became the Scribe beneath the Pillar for the Zhou (the scribe beneath the pillar stood by the pillar, recording words and events constantly in the sovereign's presence).

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Prince Qiao was Crown Prince Jin of King Ling. He was fond of playing the mouth organ (sheng) to imitate the call of the phoenix. The Daoist Fuqiu Gong took him up Mount Song for thirty years. He said to Huan Liang: 'Inform my family to wait for me at Mount Goushi on the seventh day of the seventh month.' As expected, he mounted a white crane, raised his hands to bid farewell to the people of his day, and departed.

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In the twenty-first year, in the tenth month on the gengzi day (the twenty-second year of Duke Xiang of Lu), Confucius was born in Zou Hamlet in Lu. His father was Shuliang He (he pronounced he-mo) and his mother was of the Yan clan. He was born after they prayed at Mount Niqiu. Because the top of his head was concave at the crown, he was named Qiu (Niqiu is the name of a mountain in Lu; yu is pronounced wu, meaning low in the centre and high on the four sides). His courtesy name was Zhongni. He was nine cubits and six inches tall (Shiji).

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The Shiji ('Hereditary House of Confucius') states: 'Weizi, the son of the Shang emperor Di Yi, was first enfiefed in Song. In the thirteenth generation, Kong Fangshu migrated and settled in Lu. Fangshu's son was Boxia; Boxia's son was Shuliang He, who was the father of Confucius.' The Queli ji says: 'On the eve of his birth, two dragons encircled the chamber, and the Five Elders descended into the courtyard. In the chamber of the Yan mother, the music of the Central Heavens was heard. His forehead had the crescent horn, his nose the sun-like straightness, his eyes were like rivers and his mouth like the sea. His eyebrows had twelve colours, and his eyes had sixty-four distinct patterns.'

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King Jing (Gui, son of King Ling)

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In the tenth year, Confucius visited the Zhou court (he was seventeen years old at the time). He questioned Laozi about the rites and inquired about music from Chang Hong, then returned from Zhou to Lu (pronounced Chang; he was a grand master of Zhou).

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Critical Examination: The holy traces of Laozi emerge from being and enter non-being; it is indeed difficult to unify them into a single account based on the esoteric biographies and authentic records. However, Confucius questioning Lao Dan about the rites and Laozi's son Zong becoming a general of Wei are recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji, which can especially serve as proof of their being contemporaries. There is no need to seek far back into ancient times for his numerous descents and births.

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King Jing (Gai, son of King Dao)

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In the first year, Laozi entered Hangu Pass heading west. Yin Xi, the magistrate of the pass, saw purple clouds moving westward and knew that an enlightened person was due to pass through. He welcomed him and presented offerings of courtesy. For Yin Xi, Laozi composed the Daode jing in five thousand words. Going west to the flowing sands, it is not known where he ended. Yin Xi composed a book in nine chapters entitled Guanlingzi.

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Critical Examination: The commentary to the biography of Laozi in the Shiji cites the Shenxian zhuan, stating: 'Laozi and Yin Xi together went to the flowing sands.' The currently printed editions of the Liexian zhuan, however, say: 'They together went to the flowing sands to convert the barbarians.' This was merely the Daoists privately adding the two words 'convert the barbarians', intending thereby to produce evidence that he converted the barbarians and became the Buddha. How erroneous!

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In the nineteenth year, Confucius served as magistrate of Zhongdu. He instituted regulations for nourishing the living and sending off the dead; the old and the young ate different foods, and the strong and the weak had different responsibilities. In one year, the feudal lords of the four quarters took him as a model. Duke Ding said: 'What would it be like to govern Lu by this method?' The Master replied: 'Even the whole realm could be governed thus.'

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In the twenty-first year, Confucius served as Minister of Works (Sikong). He established the properties of the five types of soil so that all things obtained what was suitable for their growth.

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In the twenty-second year, Duke Ding met with Duke Jing of Qi at Jiagu. Confucius served as master of ceremonies. Qi returned the seized lands of Yun, Wenyang, and Guiyin to apologize for its misconduct. Confucius served as Minister of Justice (Da Sikou). In seven days, he executed Shaozheng Mao (a grand master who threw the government into disorder). He dismantled the walls of the three cities (Hou, Fei, and Cheng), strengthened the ducal house and weakened the private families, and exalted the sovereign while humbling the ministers. The transformative influence of his government flourished. In three months there was great order: those who sold lambs and piglets did not artificially inflate their prices (zhou is the same as yu, 'to sell'; jia is the same as jia, 'price'); men and women walked on separate sides of the road; lost articles were not picked up on the streets; and travellers from the four quarters arriving at the cities did not need to petition the authorities. Duke Ding accepted the female musicians sent from Qi and did not attend to affairs of state for three days, nor did he send the sacrificial meat from the suburban sacrifice to the ministers. Confucius thereupon departed and went to Wei.

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In the twenty-third year, Confucius went from Wei to Chen and passed through Kuang. The people of Kuang, because Confucius' appearance resembled that of Yang Hu, detained and interrogated him. Going to Song, he practised the rites with his disciples beneath a large tree. Huan Tui, the Minister of War (Sima), wished to kill him and uprooted the tree.

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In the thirty-second year, Confucius arrived in Chen.

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In the thirty-fifth year, Chu attacked Chen. Confucius ran out of provisions in Chen, and his followers fell ill so that none could rise. He again left Chen and returned to Wei.

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In the thirty-sixth year, Confucius returned from Wei to Lu. Only then was music properly ordered, and the Ya and the Song odes each found their proper place. He then edited the Book of Odes, finalized the Book of Documents, appended the commentaries to the Zhou Changes, and composed the Spring and Autumn Annals. The group of his seventy disciples assembled the Master's sayings to make the Analects.

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In the thirty-ninth year (the fourteenth year of Duke Ai), Duke Ai of Lu hunted in the west and captured a lin (a benevolent beast with a single horn). Confucius grieved that the lin had appeared out of its proper time, and thereupon laid down his brush on the Spring and Autumn Annals.

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In the forty-first year, in the fourth month on the jichou day (the sixteenth year of Duke Ai), Confucius passed away. Confucius had risen early, and with his hands behind his back and dragging his staff, he strolled leisurely by the gate, singing: 'Is Mount Tai about to collapse? Is the roof-beam about to break? Is the wise man about to wither away?' Zigong heard it and said: 'The Master is probably about to fall ill,' and hurried inside. The Master said: 'Last night I dreamt that I was seated with funerary offerings between the two pillars. An enlightened sovereign does not arise, and who in the realm can honour me as an authority? I am probably about to die.' He took to his bed with illness for seven days and passed away at the age of seventy-two. He was buried north of the city of Lu, above the Si River. His disciples all observed mourning for three years. When the three years of heartfelt mourning were completed, they took leave of one another and departed. Only Zigong built a hut by the grave and stayed for six years. Of the disciples and the people of Lu who went to settle their households by the grave, there were more than a hundred families; hence it was named Kong Village. Confucius taught about three thousand disciples using the Odes, Documents, Rites, and Music; seventy-two of them personally mastered the Six Arts. Confucius said: 'For virtuous conduct: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, and Zhonggong. For speech: Zai Wo and Zigong. For governance: Ran You and Ji Lu. For culture and learning: Ziyou and Zixia.' (These are the Four Subjects and Ten Wise Men of the Confucian school.) Confucius married into the Shangguan clan and fathered Li (Boyu). Li fathered Ji (Zisi). Zisi studied under Zengzi, was once in distress in Song, and composed the Doctrine of the Mean.

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The author remarks: The discourse of Zhiyi and Jingxi says: 'If sentient beings' faculties and natures are weak and flimsy and they cannot endure deep transformation, we provide only worldly medicine—just as the Duke of Zhou and Confucius instituted rites and created music, and the five virtues were practiced in the world. Since the capacities of peripheral lands could not prompt the Buddha's arising, I sent three sages to transform that Cīnasthāna; rites and music served as the vanguard, and the true path was subsequently revealed.' The Scripture on the Pure Practice of the Dharma says: 'Bodhisattva Candraprabha is called Yan Hui there (another edition citing the Scripture on the Practice of the Dharma names him Bodhisattva Prabhāviśuddha); Bodhisattva Prabhāviśuddha is called Confucius there (another edition calls him the Youth Mānavaka); Bodhisattva Kāśyapa is called Laozi there (another edition says: Kāśyapa responded by taking birth in Cīnasthāna, manifesting under the name Laozi, establishing teachings without external bounds to govern the state, and adopting the techniques of divine immortals to cultivate the body).' These are proofs from two places in the Zhiguan fuxing. Furthermore, according to the edition of the Scripture on the Causes and Conditions of Tombs preserved in the canon, it says: 'Within the realm of Jambudvīpa there is the country of Cīnasthāna. I have dispatched three sages to dwell within it and guide the people so that benevolence, compassion, ritual propriety, and righteousness are fully realized' (this is the original text). Hence we know that the earlier and later teachings bestowed by the sages and worthies of this land were all commissioned by our Buddha. Yet the ignorant are incapable of recognizing this. Having examined these two scriptures, how could one not increase in faith? How wonderful! Li Shangyin's (of the Tang dynasty) praise of the Buddha states: 'The teacher of our Confucians is called Zhongni of Lu; / Zhongni took Dan as teacher, who like a dragon is beyond our ken / (the Shiji records that Confucius told his disciples: 'As for the dragon, I know not how it rides the winds and clouds to ascend to heaven; today I have seen Laozi, and he is just like a dragon!'). / Dan took as teacher the Indian who excelled at entering the unconditioned / (Yinxi's Xisheng jing quotes Laozi as saying: 'I have heard that in India there is the Ancient Celestial Sovereign, who neither arises nor perishes and excels at entering the unconditioned'; it also says: 'The Ancient Master is my teacher; he once transformed India.' Also, the Fuzi states: 'The teacher of Master Lao was named Śākyamuni'). / I bow my head to the Great Awakened One, the teacher of my teacher's teacher!' / (The 'three teachers' means: my teacher was Zhongni, Zhongni's teacher was Laozi, and Laozi's teacher was Śākyamuni.)

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佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese