[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [佛祖歷代通載](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036) › 7.11 # 佛祖歷代通載 7.11 佛祖歷代通載 7.11 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [7.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.11) （二）　太元九年。法師惠遠以秦亂來歸于晉。遠出雁門賈氏。少為儒生。博極群書。尤邃周易莊老。甞與弟惠持造安法師席下。聞出世法而悅之。歎曰。九流特粃糠耳。遂出家。安門徒數千。遠居第一座。及關中擾亂。安散其徒。皆諄諄規誨而遣之。遠別獨不與一言。遠怪問。安曰。若汝吾何言哉。遂自荊州將之羅浮。抵潯陽見匡山。愛之廬於山陰。大守桓伊為剏精舍。一昔風雷拔樹鼓沙石。蕩平基致木于土。時以為神運焉。初太尉陶侃鎮廣州。有漁于海。得文殊像。送寒溪寺。寺甞經火而像屋無恙。其後侃鎮武昌。使人迎之。十輩不能舉。既而叢力致之舟。舟輒沒。遂失其像。時謠曰。侃唯劍雄。像以神標。可以誠致。難以力招。及遠剏寺。心祈之。於是像冷然自至。時晉室微而天下奇才多隱居不仕。若彭城劉遺民豫章雷次宗雁門周續之新蔡畢頴之南陽宗炳張士民李碩等。從遠遊。并沙門千餘人結白蓮社。於無量壽像前建齋立誓期生淨土。及聞羅什法師入關。遠望風欽敬。遺書通好。詞曰。去歲得姚右軍書。且承德聞。仁者曩日殊域。越自外境。于時音譯未交。聞風而悅。頃承懷寶來游。則一日九馳。徒情欣雅味而無由造盡。寓目望途增其勞佇。夫旃檀移植則異物同薰。摩尼吐曜則眾珍自積。且滿願不專美於絕代。龍樹豈獨善於前踪。今往比量衣裁。願登高座為著之。什答曰。既未言面。又文詞殊隔。導心之路不通。得意之緣圮絕。傳譯來貺粗述德風。比何如必備聞一途可以蔽百。經言。末後東方當有護法菩薩。勗哉仁者善弘其事。夫才有五備。福戒博聞辯才深智。兼之者道隆。未具者凝滯。仁者備之矣。所以寄言通好。因譯傳心。豈其能盡粗酬來意耳。損所致比量衣裁。欲令登法座時著。當如來意。但人不稱物。以為媿耳。今往常所用鍮石雙口澡灌。可以備法物數也。并遺偈一章曰。既已捨染樂。心得善攝否。若得不馳散。深入實相否。畢竟空相中。其心無所樂。若悅禪智惠。是法性無照。虛誑等無實。亦非停心處。仁者所得法。幸願示其要。遠復答以偈曰。本端竟何從。起滅有無際。一微涉動境。成此頹山勢。惑想更相乘。觸理自生滯。因緣雖無主。開塗非一世。時無悟宗匠。誰將握玄契。來問尚悠悠。相與期暮歲。初中國未有涅槃常住之說。但云。壽命長劫。遠曰。佛是至極。至極則無變。無變之理豈有窮哉。乃著法性論。略曰。至極以不變為性。得性以體極為宗。羅什見論歎曰。遠未及見經。暗與理會。豈不妙哉。秦王姚興致書餉遠龜茲細縷雜變像。以伸欵敬。安城侯姚嵩獻珠像并釋論。曰。大智論新記。龍猛所作。法師當冠以敘文以昭示萬世。此邦道人同所欽聞也。遠以大論文廣。謙讓不諾。乃抄其要為二十卷。而別敘之。桓玄輔政。勸安帝沙汰僧尼詔曰。沙門有能伸述經牒演說義理。律行修整可宣寄大化者。聽依所習。不者悉令罷道。唯匡山道德所居。不在搜簡。遠以書抵玄。陽縱而陰奪之。遂停其詔遠甞稽考禪宗別傳之旨源流所自。及祖師達磨之來。遂皆符合云。陶淵明隱居柴桑。從遠問道。深相敬仰。謝靈運投名入社。遠拒之不內。及宗炳著明佛論。顏延之析達性論。周顒駁夷夏論。鄭道子著神不滅論。皆稟遠是正焉。至隆安中桓玄重申庾氷之義。欲沙門盡敬王者。朝廷承風旨多與玄合。因以問遠曰。此一代大事。不可使朝廷失體也。得八座書。今以似君。君其件件詳論不敬之意以釋其疑。便當行之。遠答其書。并著沙門不敬王者論五篇劇陳所以不拜之意。玄始意堅。及得遠論即緩其事。未幾篡位。乃下書曰。佛法弘大所不能測。推奉主之情欲興其敬。今事既在己。宜體謙冲應諸道人。勿復致禮也。安帝避玄還次潯陽。詔遠見于行在。輔國何無忌勸遠一出。遠固辭以疾。帝再詔問勞。勅九江太守歲時送米資奉。卜居三十年。影不出山迹不入俗。送客以虎溪為限。弟惠持亦有高行。蓮社眾數千。持居第一座。太尉王珣甞問豫章刺史范寗。遠公與持孰愈。寗曰。賢弟兄也。珣曰。但令如弟所未易有。況復賢耶。遠臨終其徒進蜜漿者。遠懼違律。令左右檢律。未終卷遂合掌西面而逝。年八十有三。有匡山集三十卷。行于世。 > (2) In the ninth year of Taiyuan, Dharma Master Huiyuan, fleeing the turmoil of the Qin, came south to the Jin. Yuan hailed from the Jia family of Yanmen. In his youth, he was a Confucian scholar, extensively well-versed in the classics and particularly profound in the Book of Changes, Zhuangzi, and Laozi. He once attended the teachings of Dharma Master Dao'an together with his younger brother Huichi; hearing the transmundane Dharma, he rejoiced and sighed, "The Nine Schools of thought are merely chaff!" Thereupon he went forth from household life. Dao'an had several thousand disciples, and Yuan occupied the first seat. When the Guanzhong region fell into turmoil, Dao'an dispersed his followers, giving earnest counsel and guidance to each as he sent them away; yet to Yuan alone he did not speak a single word upon parting. Yuan found this strange and questioned him, to which Dao'an replied, "With someone like you, what need have I to say anything?" Thereupon, traveling from Jingzhou intending to go to Mount Luofu, he reached Xunyang and saw Mount Kuang. Charmed by it, he built a hut on the northern side of the mountain. Huan Yi, the Commandery Governor, founded a vihāra for him. One night, wind and thunder uprooted trees and whipped up sand and stones, flattening the foundations and bringing timber onto the ground; people at the time considered it to have been transported by spirits. Earlier, when Grand Defender Tao Kan garrisoned Guangzhou, a fisherman caught an image of Mañjuśrī in the sea and brought it to Hanxi Monastery. The monastery once suffered a fire, yet the building housing the image remained unharmed. Later, when Kan was garrisoning Wuchang, he sent men to fetch it, but ten teams of men could not lift it; then, gathering all their strength, they brought it to a boat, but the boat kept sinking, and they consequently lost the image. A popular ditty at the time said: "Kan is merely a hero of the sword, while the image displays spiritual marvel; it can be summoned by sincerity, but is hard to obtain by force." When Yuan founded the monastery, he prayed in his heart, whereupon the image arrived of its own accord in serene lightness. At that time, the Jin court was declining, and many exceptional talents across the realm lived in seclusion without taking office. Such men as Liu Yimin of Pengcheng, Lei Cizong of Yuzhang, Zhou Xuzhi of Yanmen, Bi Yingzhi of Xincai, Zong Bing of Nanyang, Zhang Shimin, and Li Shuo followed Yuan in his travels. Together with over a thousand monks, they founded the White Lotus Society, setting up a fast and making vows before the image of Amitāyus, aspiring to be reborn in the Pure Land. When he heard that Dharma Master Kumārajīva had entered Guanzhong, Yuan looked toward him with admiration and respect, and sent a letter to initiate friendly relations, stating: "Last year I received a letter from General Yao of the Right, and heard of your virtuous reputation. In former days, Good Sir, you resided in a remote territory beyond the outer borders; at that time, before translations were exchanged, I heard of your renown and rejoiced. Recently I learned that, harboring the treasure, you have come to visit; in a single day, my thoughts raced toward you nine times. In vain my feelings relish your refined savour, yet I have no way to meet you in full. Casting my gaze along the distant road only deepens my wearisome yearning. Indeed, when sandalwood is transplanted, different things are perfumed alike; when a maṇi jewel emits radiance, various treasures naturally accumulate. Moreover, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra did not monopolize beauty throughout peerless ages; how could Nāgārjuna have walked the prior path alone? Now I send the dimensions and cloth for a monastic robe, hoping you will ascend the high seat wearing it." Kumārajīva replied: "We have not yet conversed face to face, and our writings are separated by great distance; the paths guiding our minds are obstructed, and the conditions for sharing thought are broken. The envoy translating your gift has roughly described your virtuous air. How could this not be sufficient to hear the whole from a single aspect, so that one road covers a hundred? A sūtra says: 'At the end of days, in the eastern direction there will be a bodhisattva protecting the Dharma.' Exert yourself, Good Sir, and skillfully propagate this task! Human ability possesses five proficiencies: merit, precepts, wide learning, eloquence, and profound wisdom. One who combines them all will have an exalted path; one who lacks them will be hindered. You, Good Sir, are complete in them! Therefore I send words to establish friendship and convey my heart through translation; how could this exhaustively express my feelings? It merely roughly answers your intention. You diminished yourself to send the dimensions and cloth for a robe, wishing me to wear it when ascending the Dharma seat; I shall follow your intention. Yet my person does not match the object, which makes me feel ashamed. I now send the brass two-spouted washing vessel that I regularly use, so that it may be added to your ritual utensils." He also sent a verse, saying: "Having already relinquished defiled pleasures, / has your mind attained good restraint? / Having attained freedom from distraction, / have you deeply entered the true mark? / In the mark of ultimate emptiness, / the mind finds nothing to take pleasure in. / If you delight in dhyāna, prajñā, and wisdom, / this Dharma-nature is without illumination; / unreal and deceptive, it lacks reality, / nor is it a place to rest the mind. / In the Dharma that you, Good Sir, have attained, / please be kind enough to reveal the essentials." Yuan answered with a verse, saying: "From where does the primordial origin come? / Arising and ceasing have no bounds. / A single speck entering the sphere of movement / brings about this falling mountain's momentum. / Deluded thoughts ride upon one another; / encountering principle, obstruction naturally arises. / Though causes and conditions have no master, / the opening of the path spans more than a single lifetime. / In an age without a master who has awakened to the lineage, / who will grasp the profound bond? / The question you send is still vast and far; / let us look forward together to our declining years." Previously, the doctrine that nirvāṇa is eternally abiding had not yet arrived in the Central Plains; they merely spoke of lifespan lasting many kalpas. Yuan said, "The Buddha is the ultimate; what is ultimate is changeless. How could the principle of changelessness have an end?" He then composed the Treatise on Dharma Nature, stating in brief: "The ultimate takes changelessness as its nature; attaining the nature takes realizing the ultimate as its source." When Kumārajīva saw the treatise, he sighed, "Yuan has not yet seen the scripture, yet he tacitly accords with the principle. Is this not wonderful!" Yao Xing, King of Qin, sent a letter and presented Yuan with an image intricately embroidered in Kucha with varied transformations, to express his earnest respect. Yao Song, Marquis of Ancheng, presented a pearl image and a commentary, saying, "The new commentary on the Great Prajñāpāramitā Treatise was composed by Nāgārjuna. You, Dharma Master, should grace it with a preface to illuminate it for ten thousand generations, as this is what all the monastics of this realm reverently look forward to." Considering the Treatise to be vast in scope, Yuan modestly declined; instead, he excerpted its essentials into twenty fascicles and composed a separate preface for it. When Huan Xuan assisted in governance, he urged Emperor An to purge the Buddhist monks and nuns, and a decree was issued stating: "Of the monks, those who are able to expound the scriptural texts, explain principles, and maintain disciplined vinaya practices such that they can proclaim and advance the great transformation may remain according to their practices. Those who cannot shall all be defrocked. Only Mount Kuang, being the dwelling of virtue, is exempt from examination." Yuan sent a letter to Xuan, openly giving way while subtly resisting, whereupon Xuan suspended the decree. Yuan once investigated the origin of the special transmission of the Chan school; when the ancestral master Bodhidharma later arrived, it completely tallied with his findings. Tao Yuanming lived in seclusion at Chaisang and visited Yuan to inquire about the Dao, holding him in deep reverence. Xie Lingyun submitted his name to join the society, but Yuan turned him away and would not admit him. When Zong Bing wrote the Treatise Clarifying Buddhism, Yan Yanzhi analyzed the Treatise on Penetrating Nature, Zhou Yong refuted the Treatise on Barbarians and Chinese, and Zheng Daozi composed the Treatise on the Indestructibility of the Spirit, they all received Yuan's corrections. In the Long'an era, Huan Xuan revived Yu Bing's stance, wishing to make monks render full homage to kings. The court followed his lead and mostly agreed with Xuan. Xuan therefore questioned Yuan, saying, "This is a major matter of an era, and the imperial court must not lose its dignity. I have obtained letters from the Eight Ministers and now show them to you. Please discuss in detail each point regarding the reasoning for not paying homage to resolve their doubts; then it shall be put into practice." Yuan replied to his letter and wrote five chapters of the Treatise on Monks Not Paying Homage to Kings, vigorously setting forth the reasons for not prostrating. Xuan's intention was firm at first, but upon receiving Yuan's treatise, he slowed the matter. Before long, he usurped the throne and issued a decree, saying: "The Buddha-Dharma is vast and immeasurable. When I previously promoted the feelings of honoring the lord, it was to foster reverence. Now that the affair rests with myself, I should embody humility and modest restraint; all monastics need no longer offer formal salutations." When Emperor An fled Xuan and halted at Xunyang, he decreed Yuan to meet him at his travelling palace. He Wuji, General Supporting the State, advised Yuan to go out just once, but Yuan firmly declined on account of illness. The Emperor decreed again to express his solicitous regards, and ordered the Governor of Jiujiang to supply him with grain and provisions throughout the year. Yuan dwelled there for thirty years; his shadow never left the mountain, nor did his footsteps enter the secular world. When seeing off guests, he made Tiger Creek the boundary. His younger brother Huichi also possessed lofty conduct. Among the thousands of members in the Lotus Society, Chi occupied the first seat. Grand Defender Wang Xun once asked Fan Ning, Regional Inspector of Yuzhang, "Who is superior, Master Yuan or Chi?" Ning replied, "They are both worthy brothers!" Xun said, "Just to find someone like the younger brother is already not easy; how much more so the elder worthy!" When Yuan was on the verge of death, his disciples offered him honey water. Yuan feared violating the vinaya and ordered his attendants to check the vinaya text; before they reached the end of the fascicle, he joined his palms facing west and passed away. He was eighty-three years old. There is the Mount Kuang Collection in thirty fascicles, which circulates in the world. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 7.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.10) - [Next: 7.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.12) - [Up: 7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036~en-mt.7.11) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (3) - [歷代三寶紀](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2034.7.210) — Classical Chinese - [高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.6.12) — 慧皎, Classical Chinese - [大唐內典錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.3.7.4) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.11) · Pramāṇa