佛祖歷代通載 3.33

3.33

(10. Bingchen) The First Patriarch, Mahākāśyapa, was a native of Magadha. He belonged to the brāhmaṇa clan; his father was Yize ('Drinker of Moisture') and his mother was Xiangzhi ('Fragrant Aspiration'). Formerly he had been a goldsmith, skilled at understanding the nature of gold and rendering it supple. The *Record of the Transmission of the Dharma* states: Once, in an immensely long kalpa past, after Vipaśyin Buddha entered nirvāṇa, the fourfold assembly erected a stūpa. In the stūpa, the golden surface on the face of the image was slightly damaged. At that time, a poor woman brought a gold bead to the goldsmith's shop and asked him to adorn the Buddha's face. Subsequently, they made a joint vow: 'May the two of us become husband and wife without worldly marriage.' Due to this cause and condition, for ninety-one kalpas their bodies were all golden. Later he was born in the Brahmā Heaven. When his celestial life ended, he was born into a brāhmaṇa family in Magadha in Central India and was named Kāśyapa, which means 'Radiance-Drinking Superior One', named indeed on account of his golden color. From this he aspired to leave the household life, hoping to deliver all forms of existence. The Buddha said: 'Welcome, bhikṣu!' and his beard and hair fell away of themselves, and the kāṣāya clothed his body. The Buddha regularly praised him in the assembly as foremost. He further said: 'I am to entrust the pure Dharma eye to you; you must spread it abroad and not let it be cut off.' The *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* states that when the Bhagavān was about to enter nirvāṇa, Kāśyapa was not in the assembly. (Chan Master Song evaluated this in the *Zhengzong ji*, saying: 'Formerly, at the beginning of the Nirvāṇa assembly, the Tathāgata addressed the bhikṣus: "You should not speak such words. All the unsurpassed true Dharma that I now possess has been fully entrusted to Mahākāśyapa. This Kāśyapa will serve as your great refuge." However, the transmission of the orthodox lineage is secretly bestowed between sages; its place and time cannot be definitely known. Estimating from the sūtras, the *Saddharmapuṇḍarīka* came first and the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* came later. When the *Saddharmapuṇḍarīka* was preached, Kāśyapa was present; when it came to the Nirvāṇa, he was not in the assembly. I maintain that the time of entrusting the Dharma must have been between the two sūtras. Some say it was holding up the flower at Vulture Peak, and others say the Dharma was entrusted in front of the Bahuputraka Stūpa. Yet neither has a verified source. Although I have adopted it somewhat, I still do not dare take it as fully confirmed.') The Buddha told the great disciples: 'When Kāśyapa arrives, you may have him proclaim the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.' At that time, Kāśyapa was in the Pippala Cave on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. Beholding an extraordinary light, he entered samādhi and, with the pure divine eye, saw that the Bhagavān had entered parinirvāṇa beside the Hiraṇyavatī River. He then told his disciples: 'The Tathāgata has entered nirvāṇa! How swift it was!' He immediately went between the twin trees, weeping and wailing with grief and longing. The Buddha revealed both his feet from within the golden coffin. Thereupon Kāśyapa addressed the bhikṣus: 'The Buddha has already been cremated. The adamantine relics are not our affair; we ought to compile the Dharma eye so that it will not be cut off.' He then spoke a verse: / 'Let the Tathāgata's disciples not enter nirvāṇa yet; / Those who have obtained spiritual powers must attend the council.' / Thereupon, all who had obtained spiritual powers gathered at the Pippala Cave on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha. At that time, because Ānanda's outflows were not yet exhausted, he was not permitted to enter the assembly. Later he attained the fruit of arhatship, and from this he gained entrance. Kāśyapa then addressed the assembly: 'This bhikṣu Ānanda has heard much, possesses dhāraṇī, and has great wisdom. Constantly following the Tathāgata, his pure practice is spotless. The Buddha-Dharma he heard is like water poured from one vessel to another without anything left behind. He was praised by the Buddha as foremost in intelligence. We should invite him to compile the Sūtra Piṭaka.' The great assembly remained silent. Kāśyapa said to Ānanda: 'You should now proclaim the Dharma eye.' Ānanda, hearing these words, accepted them with faith; observing the minds of the assembly, he proclaimed a verse: / 'The retinue of bhikṣus, / Without the Buddha, lacks adornment, / Just as in the empty sky, / The host of stars lacks a moon.' / Having spoken this verse, he bowed to the feet of the saṃgha, mounted the Dharma seat, and spoke these words: 'Thus have I heard: at one time the Buddha was dwelling at such-and-such place and preached such-and-such sūtra teaching...' down to humans and devas bowing and upholding it. Then Kāśyapa asked the bhikṣus: 'Is what Ānanda said without error?' All said: 'It is not different from what the Bhagavān preached.' Kāśyapa then addressed Ānanda: 'My years will not keep me here much longer. I now entrust the true Dharma to you; guard it well. Listen to my verse: / 'The Dharma of dharmas is fundamentally Dharma; / There is neither no-dharma nor non-Dharma. / Why within the single Dharma / Should there be Dharma and not-Dharma?' / Having spoken this verse, he took the saṃghāṭī