佛祖歷代通載 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.1

Compiled by Nianchang of Huating, abbot of Dazhong Xiangfu Chan Monastery in Jiaxing Route

4.2

(Wu-yin) Han, Wei, Zhao. Master Lei says (Wei, Zhao, Han, Qi, Yan, Chu, and Qin: these were the Seven Powers).

4.3

Han Wuzi (His ancestors shared the surname with the Zhou. Later he served Jin and was enfiefed in Han. From Wuzi to King An, there were twelve rulers spanning one hundred ninety-six years).

Wei Wuzi (Descendant of Bi Gong Gao. He shared the surname with the Zhou. When King Wu conquered the Yin, he enfiefed him in Bi. ○ At that time, the King of Qin once wished to attack Wei. Someone said, "Marquis Wen took Tian Zifang as his teacher and received the classics from Zixia; when the righteous guest Duan Ganmu passed his gate, the ruler paid respect to him. He treats people as worthy, and the people of the state praise his benevolence. Superiors and subordinates are in harmony; he cannot be plotted against." There were worthy men such as Meng Ke, Zou Yan, Chunyu Kun, and their kind. ○ In the time of King Hui, a woman transformed into a man. ○ His ancestor Bi Wan served Jin. Duke Xian of Jin enfiefed him in Wei, in Hedong commandery. By Duke Dao's time they were at Jiangyang. Wen and Wu restored Wei. From Bi Wan to King Jia, there were nine generations, totaling one hundred years, until Qin Shi Huang extinguished it).

4.5

Zhao Wuzi (His ancestors shared a lineage with Qin. Fei Lian of the Yin had two sons: E Lai and Ji Sheng. Ji Sheng was the ancestor of Zhao. Later, Zao Fu drove the chariot for King Mu and was enfiefed in the city of Zhao, hence taking the surname Zhao. By Marquis Jing's time, they capitaled at Handan. From then until Grand King Jia, he was captured by the Qin general Wang Ben. In all, there were eleven generations, spanning one hundred eighty-seven years. Qi, Yan, Chu, and Qin are noted above).

4.6

(Geng-chen) King An, [named] Jiao (also named Long; son of King Weilie), reigned for twenty-six years.

4.7

(Xin-si) The second year. Jin was divided into the Three Jins: Zhao, Wei, and Han conspired together to destroy Jin and divide its territory into three.

4.8

(Bing-shen) ○ (Qi was extinguished).

4.9

(Wu-xu) The Eleventh Patriarch was Puṇyayaśas, a native of Pāṭaliputra of the Gautama clan; his father was Baoshen. Having received the Dharma from the Venerable Pārśva, he soon went to Vārāṇasī. The Mahāsattva Aśvaghoṣa welcomed him and paid homage, asking, "I wish to know the Buddha. What is it?" The Patriarch said, "You wish to know the Buddha: that which does not know is it." [Aśvaghoṣa] said, "Since the Buddha is not known, how can one know it is it?" The Patriarch said, "Since one does not know the Buddha, how can one know it is not?" [Aśvaghoṣa] said, "This is the meaning of a saw." The Patriarch said, "That is the meaning of wood." He further asked, "What is the meaning of a saw?" [The Patriarch] said, "Coming out level with the master." He further asked, "What is the meaning of wood?" The Patriarch said, "You have been sawed apart by me." Aśvaghoṣa was suddenly awakened, bowed his head in refuge, and asked for tonsure. The Patriarch told the assembly: "This Mahāsattva was formerly the king of Vaiśālī. In that kingdom, there was a class of people who went naked like horses; the king exercised his spiritual powers to divide his body into silkworms so that they obtained clothing. The king was later reborn in Central India. The horse-people felt affection and longing, neighing mournfully, hence he was named Aśvaghoṣa ('Horse Neigh'). The Tathāgata prophesied: 'Six hundred years after my parinirvāṇa, there shall be a worthy one named Aśvaghoṣa who, in the kingdom of Vārāṇasī, will subdue heterodox paths, save countless people, and continue my transmission and transformation.' Now is precisely that time." He then told him, "The Tathāgata's treasury of the eye of the correct Dharma is now entrusted to you." He then spoke a verse: / "Delusion and awakening are like hidden and manifest; / Brightness and darkness are not separate from each other. / Now I entrust to you the hidden and manifest Dharma: / It is neither one nor two." Having entrusted the Dharma, he manifested spiritual transformations and entered peaceful parinirvāṇa. The assembly raised a precious stūpa to enshrine his whole body. This was the nineteenth year of King An, the year Wu-xu.

4.10

(Bing-wu) King Lie, [named] Xi (son of King An; during the King's time, it rained golden cinnabar at Yueyang), reigned for seven years. In this year there was a solar eclipse.

4.11

(Gui-chou) King Xian, [named] Bian (son of King Lie), reigned for forty-eight years (at that time Su Qin persuaded the Six States).

4.12

(Jia-yin) The second year. King Hui of Qin first declared himself king.

4.13

(Jia-zi; 39) The twelfth year of the King.

4.14

(Xin-wei) Six hundred years had passed since the Bhagavān manifested parinirvāṇa.

4.15

(Jia-wu) The Twelfth Patriarch was the Mahāsattva Aśvaghoṣa. He was a native of Vārāṇasī, also named Gongcheng ("Merit Supreme"); because his produced and unproduced merits were supreme above all, he was so named. Having received the Dharma from the Venerable Yaśas, he later turned the wondrous wheel of Dharma in Pāṭaliputra. Suddenly, an old man fell to the ground before his seat. The master said to the assembly, "This is no ordinary fellow; there will surely be an unusual manifestation." As soon as he finished speaking, the man vanished. Soon, a golden person leaped out from the ground, transformed again into a woman, pointed her right hand at the master, and spoke a verse: / "I bow my head to the elder, the venerable one, / Destined to receive the Tathāgata's prophecy, / Who now upon this ground / Proclaims the supreme meaning." Having spoken the verse, she suddenly vanished. The master said, "A māra is about to come to vie in power with me." Soon, wind and rain broke out fiercely, and heaven and earth became dark. The master said, "The arrival of the māra is verified; I must eliminate it." Pointing into the air, he manifested a great golden dragon, which unleashed its awe-inspiring power, shaking the mountain cliffs. The master remained dignified in his seat, and the works of māra were straightaway extinguished. After seven days, a tiny insect as small as a midge hid beneath his seat. The master took it up with his hand, showed it to the assembly, and said, "This is what the māra transformed into, merely to eavesdrop on my Dharma." He then released it to let it go, but the māra was unable to move. The master told him, "If you only take refuge in the Three Jewels, you will immediately obtain supernatural powers." It then reverted to its original form, made prostrations, and repented. The master asked, "What is your name? How many followers do you have?" He said, "My name is Kapimala, and I have three thousand followers." The master said, "If you exhaust your spiritual power, what transformations can you make?" He said, "Transforming a vast ocean is an utterly minor matter for me." The master said, "Can you transform the ocean of nature?" He said, "What is called the ocean of nature? I have never known it." The master then expounded the ocean of nature for him, saying: "The mountains, rivers, and the great earth are all established relying upon it; samādhi and the six supernatural knowledges manifest from this." Kapimala, hearing these words, conceived faith and, together with all three thousand of his disciples, requested tonsure. The master then summoned five hundred arhats to confer the full precepts upon them. He then told him, "The Tathāgata's treasury of the eye of the correct Dharma should now be entrusted to you. Listen to the verse: / Hidden and manifest are just the original Dharma; / Brightness and darkness are originally not two. / Now I entrust to you the Dharma of awakening and comprehension: / It is neither grasping nor renouncing." Having entrusted the Dharma, he entered the Dragon-Stride Samādhi, thrusting his body into the air like the disk of the sun, and thereafter manifested parinirvāṇa. The fourfold assembly enshrined his true body in a dragon shrine. This was the forty-second year of King Xian, the year Jia-wu.

4.16

(Xin-chou) King Shenjing, [named] Ding (son of King Xian), reigned for six years (in the King's time, the Six States all styled themselves kings).

4.17

(Ding-wei) King Nan, [named] Yan (son of King Shenjing), reigned for fifty-nine years (Eastern and Western Zhou ruled separately and were encroached upon by the feudal lords; the King was no different from an ordinary resident; the King moved the capital to Taizi, ruled by Shu).

4.18

(Jia-zi; 40) The eighteenth year.

4.19

(Bing-zi) The thirtieth year. Song was extinguished.

4.20

(Ren-chen) The Thirteenth Patriarch was Kapimala, a native of Pāṭaliputra. Originally an outsider with three thousand disciples, he was versed in various heterodox treatises. Later he obtained the Dharma under the Venerable Aśvaghoṣa, and led his disciples to Western India. There was a crown prince there named Yunzizai (Meghasvara) who, admiring the Venerable's name, invited him to receive offerings in the palace. The Patriarch said, "The Tathāgata has instructed that śramaṇas must not associate with kings, ministers, and powerful families." The crown prince said, "Now to the north of our royal city there is a great mountain, in which there is a stone cave. Could the master engage in meditation in solitude here?" The Patriarch agreed. He then entered that mountain; after walking several li, he encountered a great python. The Patriarch proceeded straight without glancing back, and it then coiled around the Patriarch's body. The Patriarch then conferred upon it the Three Refuges. Having heard them, the python departed. When the Patriarch was about to reach the stone cave, an old man in plain clothes came out, joined his palms, and inquired after him. The Patriarch said, "Where do you dwell?" He replied, "Formerly I was a bhikṣu who greatly delighted in tranquility. Beginning bhikṣus frequently came to request instruction, but I grew weary of answering them and gave rise to anger; when my life ended, I fell into a python's body, dwelling in this cave, where a thousand years have now passed. Having just met the Venerable and obtained hearing of the preceptual Dharma, I have come to express my gratitude." The Patriarch asked, "Who else resides in this mountain?" He said, "Ten li to the north there is the shade of a great tree covering five hundred great dragons. The king of that tree is named Nāgārjuna, who constantly preaches the Dharma to the dragon assembly; I also listen and receive it." The Venerable then went with his disciples to that Nāgārjuna, who came out to welcome the Venerable, saying, "Deep mountains are solitary and tranquil, the dwelling place of dragons and pythons. Why has the most venerable one of great virtue bent his divine steps?" The Patriarch said, "I am not the most venerable one; I have come to visit a worthy one." Nāgārjuna secretly reflected, "Has this master obtained the definitive nature and clarified the eye of the Way? Is he a great sage continuing the true vehicle?" The Patriarch said, "Although you spoke in your mind, I knew it through my intent. Just attend to your monastic renunciation; why worry whether I am a sage or not?" Having heard this, Nāgārjuna repented and apologized. The Venerable immediately delivered him, and along with the five hundred dragon members he received the full precepts. He then told Nāgārjuna, "Now I entrust to you the Tathāgata's treasury of the eye of the correct Dharma. Listen attentively to the verse: / The Dharma neither hidden nor manifest / Is declared to be the true reality. / Awakening to this hidden and manifest Dharma, / One is neither foolish nor knowing." Having entrusted the Dharma, he manifested spiritual transformations and transformed into fire to incinerate his body. Nāgārjuna gathered five-colored relics and built a stūpa to bury them. This was the forty-sixth year of King Nan, the year Ren-chen.

4.21

(Yisi) ○ (The King and six states attacked Qin. King Zhaoxiang in anger attacked West Zhou. The King in fear surrendered to Qin, yielding all his cities. This year, Qin sent General Jiu to attack it, seizing the nine bronze tripods and treasure vessels. The King died in shame. Over the course of the 867 years above, 325 were recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals. Zhou was destroyed).

4.22

The above Zhou comprised thirty-seven rulers and 867 years.

4.23

Qin: Mr. Lei states (Zhaoxiang, Xiaowen, Zhuangxiang, the First Emperor, Huhai, and Ziying—the Qin dynasty had six rulers and lasted forty-nine years).

4.24

(Bingwu) King Zhaoxiang, Ji (son of King Huiwen), of the Ying clan. He ruled through the virtue of water. He had his capital at Xianyang (the present Jingzhao). He ruled for five years; up until the time of the First Emperor, the first month was established in the hai month. His hegemony lasted fifty-one years.

4.25

(Xinhai) Seven hundred years had passed since the Bhagavān manifested extinction.

4.26

King Xiaowen, Wu (son of King Zhao). In his first year, he honored the meritorious ministers of the former king, generously treated relatives, bestowed parks and gardens, and lifted mourning. He was on the throne for three months, with an allotted reign-span of one year.

4.27

(Renzi) King Zhuangxiang, Chu (son of King Xiaowen; he took Lü Buwei as his chancellor). He ruled for three years. ○ The following year (guichou), there was a solar eclipse.

4.28

(Yimao) The First Emperor, Zheng (son of Zhuangxiang. He was born in Handan on the morning of New Year's Day in the forty-eighth year of Zhao. In that year he was thirteen. Zhuangxiang passed away, and he took his place as King of Qin. He gave himself the title First Emperor, intending it to last for ten thousand generations, and referred to himself uniquely as "Zhen". He changed the new year and court audiences to begin from the first day of the tenth month. Clothing and banners all favored black. He established commandery governors, military commanders, and imperial inspectors, and built the Great Wall. He named the common people the "Black Heads". He employed Lü Buwei, Zhao Gao, and Li Si as chancellors, and Meng Tian, Bai Qi, and Wang Jian as generals. He annexed the six states, unified all under heaven, and divided it into thirty-six commanderies. Thereafter, being arrogant and unrestrained, he toured all under heaven, proceeding through Guji and Langya, and returning as far as Shaqiu, where he suddenly fell ill. On the bingshen day of the seventh month, he passed away at Pingtai). He ruled for thirty-seven years (and lived to the age of fifty).

4.29

(Jiazi, 41) An order was issued to expel foreign guests from the feudal lords, but Li Si remonstrated and it was halted.

4.30

(Xinwei) He destroyed Han.

4.31

(Guiyou) He destroyed Zhao.

4.32

(Bingzi) He destroyed Wei.

4.33

(Wuyin) He destroyed Chu.

4.34

(Yimao) He captured King Xi of Yan.

4.35

(Gengchen) He destroyed Qi.

4.36

(Renwu) Twenty-eighth year. He made an inspection tour east through the commanderies and counties, climbed Mount Zouyi, ascended Langya, and carved stones extolling his virtues. Furthermore, he climbed Mount Tai, erected a stone, and performed the feng sacrifice. Encountering wind and rain beneath a pine tree, he enfeoffed it as a Grand Officer of the Fifth Rank. He also dispatched Xu Fu to search for immortals.

4.37

(8. Guiwei) The śramaṇa Śrībandhu and others, eighteen in all, came from the Western Regions. The Emperor despised their strange customs and had them cast into prison. Presently, a Vajra deity smashed the prison gates and brought them out. The Emperor was terrified, and immediately sent them away with generous gifts. At that time, state affairs were in turmoil, and he was unable to revere and honor [the Dharma].

4.38

(Dinghai) The Great Wall was built.

4.39

(Wuzi) The books were burned.

4.40

(Jichou) The scholars were buried alive, and the Epang Palace was built.

4.41

(9) The fourteenth patriarch, the Venerable Nāgārjuna, was a native of West India, also named Longsheng. He initially received the Dharma from the Venerable Kāpimala, and later went to South India. The people of that country mostly believed in meritorious actions. Hearing the Venerable explain the wonderful Dharma, they said to one another, "For human beings, meritorious deeds are foremost in the world. Merely speaking of Buddha-nature—who can see it?" The Venerable said, "If you wish to see Buddha-nature, you must first eliminate self-conceit." Those people asked, "How large or small is Buddha-nature?" The Venerable said, "It is neither large nor small, neither broad nor narrow; it has neither merit nor retribution, neither dying nor being born." Hearing this supreme principle, they all turned their initial minds around. The Venerable then manifested on his seat an unobstructed body resembling the full moon disk. The whole assembly only heard the sound of Dharma and did not see the master's physical form. In that assembly was an elder's son named Kāṇadeva, who said to the assembly, "Do you recognize this sign?" The assembly said, "Our eyes have never seen it; how could we discern or recognize it?" Deva said, "This is the Venerable manifesting the substance and sign of Buddha-nature to show it to us. How do we know this? Because the formless samādhi has a shape like the full moon, and the meaning of Buddha-nature is vast, empty, and bright." When he finished speaking, the sign of the moon disk disappeared, and [Nāgārjuna] sat once more in his original seat and spoke a verse: / "My body manifests the form of the round moon, / To represent the substance of all Buddhas. / Expounding the Dharma has no material form, / Used to make clear that it is neither sound nor form." / Hearing the verse, the assembly all wished to go forth into the homeless life to seek liberation. The Venerable then shaved their hair and had the holy ones bestow the full precepts. In that country, there had previously been non-Buddhists—more than five thousand—who practiced great illusionary arts, and everyone revered them. The Venerable converted them all, causing them to take refuge in the Three Jewels. Furthermore, he composed the Dàzhìdù lùn, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, and the Dvādaśanikāya Śāstra, transmitting them to the world. Later he said to his foremost disciple, Kāṇadeva: "The Tathāgata's treasury of the eye of the Great Dharma is now entrusted to you. Listen to my verse: / 'In order to clarify the obscured and manifest Dharma, / One only then explains the principle of liberation. / Toward the Dharma, the mind realizes nothing; / There is neither anger nor joy.'" / Having completed the transmission of the Dharma, he entered the moon-disk samādhi, manifested extensive spiritual transformations, and then returned to his seat in calm meditative absorption. Kāṇadeva and the fourfold assembly together built a jeweled stūpa to bury him. This was the thirty-fifth year of Qin Shi Huang, the jichou year.

4.42

(Renchen) The Second Emperor, Huhai (youngest son of the First Emperor. When the Emperor passed away, Li Si concealed it; only Zhao Gao and Huhai knew of it. Gao then forged an edict, killed Fusu, and enthroned Huhai as Emperor. He ascended the throne at age twenty-one and ruled for three years).

4.43

(Guisi) ○ (Liu Ji rose up in Pei. Xiang Yu rose up in Jiangdong, leading the feudal lords to attack Qin. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up, and all under heaven fell into great chaos).

4.44

(Jiawu) ○ (He was killed by Zhao Gao in the Wangyi Palace).

4.45

(Third Emperor Ziying [son of Fusu. ○ Earlier, Zhao Gao sent his son-in-law Yan Le to kill the Second Emperor, and then took the imperial seal to wear it. None of the hundred officials would follow him. When he was about to ascend the hall, the hall nearly collapsed three times. Gao knew that Heaven's mandate was not with him, and so he enthroned Ziying. The Third Emperor killed Zhao Gao in the Qi Palace and exterminated his clan to the third degree. ○ Later, when the Duke of Pei entered the Pass, Ziying tied a cord around his neck, rode in an unadorned chariot drawn by white horses, and offered up the imperial seal in surrender at Zhidao. He was King of Qin for forty-six days. ○ After the Duke of Pei entered Xianyang, he sealed the palaces, treasuries, and storehouses, and returned his army to Bashang. ○ When Xiang Yu later entered the Pass, he killed Ziying, and Qin was subsequently extinguished]).

4.46

The above Qin (from the twenty-sixth year of the First Emperor, when he first unified all under heaven, he occupied the imperial throne for a total of fifteen years, and then the Han destroyed it).

4.47

(10) Western Han: Mr. Lei states (Gaozu, Hui, Empress Lü, Wen, Jing, Wu, Zhao, the King of Changyi, Xuan, Yuan, Cheng, Ai, Ping, and Ruzi—fourteen rulers, 214 years).

4.48

(Yiwei) Gaozu, Bang (courtesy name Ji, of the Liu clan. He ruled through the virtue of fire and reigned for twelve years. Initially he used the Qin calendar; in the first year of Taichu, he changed to the Xia calendar. His capital was at Chang'an, the present Jingzhao. He was a native of Zhongyang Village in Fengpei, with a high nose and dragon countenance, and seventy-two dark moles on his left thigh. At first he was the precinct chief of Sishang. Master Lü of Shanfu gave him his daughter in marriage. Because of transporting convicts to Mount Li, when he reached the marshlands west of Feng, he released them. Ten brave men among the convicts were willing to follow him. When he first marched through the mountains and marshes, he cut down a white serpent blocking the road. Later people saw an old woman weeping, who said, "My son was the son of the White Emperor, and has been cut down by the son of the Red Emperor." In the first year of the Second Emperor of Qin, he rose in commoner's clothing from Pei and destroyed Qin to establish the Han. With Xiao He as chancellor, Han Xin as general, and Zhang Liang as strategist, they were the three heroes of Han. Together they destroyed Xiang Yu at the Wu River. He was born in the forty-sixth year of Qin Zhao, lived to the age of sixty-two, and broadly pacified all under heaven. In the fourth month of summer in the dingwei year, he passed away in Changle Palace and was buried in Changling).

4.49

Hegemon-King of Western Chu, Xiang Yu (named Ji, a native of Xiasheng; grandson of the Chu general Xiang Yan. He was eight feet tall, had double pupils in his eyes, had might capable of uprooting mountains and strength that could lift a bronze tripod. The youths of Wu all feared him. In the first year of the Second Emperor of Qin, he followed his paternal uncle Xiang Liang to rise in Jiangdong; by the third year he destroyed Qin, called himself Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and made his capital at Pengcheng. He reigned for five years. Han gathered the feudal lords at Gaixia, completely routing and shattering him. They pursued him to the Wu River, where he cut his own throat and died).

4.50

(Bingshen) Second year, winter, tenth month: the five planets gathered in the Dongjing constellation. In the eleventh month, he summoned the elders of the various counties and agreed upon a three-clause law: murderers shall die; those who injure others and commit burglary shall be punished; the rest of the Qin laws were discarded. Xiang Yu sent Ying Bu to kill Emperor Yi at Chen.

4.51

(Dingyou) In this year, he destroyed the three states of Han, Zhao, and Wei.

4.52

(Wuxu) He destroyed Qi.

4.53

(Jihai) He destroyed Yan. He agreed with Xiang Yu on the Hong Canal as the boundary to divide all under heaven.

4.54

(Gengzi) He assembled the generals and surrounded Xiang Yu at Gaixia. Consort Yu cut her throat.

4.55

(Xinchou) Xianyang was renamed Chang'an.

4.56

(Dingwei) Xiaohui, Ying (courtesy name Riman, son of Gaozu; mother was of the Lü clan. He ascended the throne at seventeen. Seeing his mother's cruelty, he sent someone to say to the Empress Dowager, "I can never govern all under heaven!" and thereupon indulged in wine, women, and licentious pleasures. In the eighth month of the jiayin year, he passed away in the Weiyang Palace and was buried in Anling at the age of twenty-four).

4.57

In the seventh year of his reign, flutes were first introduced (made by Qiu Zhong during the Emperor's time. A flute [di] means to cleanse [di]: to cleanse away vile filth and introduce elegance and correctness. The dragon flute has seven holes, the bamboo flute five holes, and the Qiang flute three holes).

4.58

(Guichou) He erected the Western Market of Chang'an and built grain granaries.

4.59

(Jiayin) Empress Gao, Zhi (of the Lü clan, daughter of Master Lü of Shanfu. Because the young emperor was a minor, the Empress Dowager presided over the court and issued decrees. She enfeoffed the members of the Lü clan as kings and plotted to seize all under heaven, nearly endangering the Liu clan. Liu Zhang and Zhou Bo exterminated the Lüs). She ruled for eight years (and lived to the age of seventy-one).

4.60

(Yimao) ○ An earthquake. ○ On the last day of the sixth month, there was a solar eclipse. ○ Eight-zhu coins were circulated.

4.61

(Bingchen) ○ In autumn, stars were visible in daylight.

4.62

(Wuwu) Fifth year: The King of Nanyue proclaimed himself Martial Emperor.

4.63

(Jiwei) ○ In spring, stars were visible in daylight. ○ Five-fen coins were circulated.

4.64

(Gengshen) In the first month, there was a solar eclipse.

4.65

(Renxu) Emperor Wen, Heng (second son of Gaozu; his mother was Lady Bo. Earlier, Empress Lü had enfeoffed the members of the Lü clan as kings; Chen Ping, Zhou Bo, and Liu Zhang together executed three thousand people of the Lü clan to establish Emperor Wen. His nature and endowment were lenient, kind, gentle, pure, prudent, and clean. His garments were without ornate decoration, and the common people were prosperous and happy. From his accession to the throne, he issued a total of twenty-seven edicts to benefit the people and maintain peace. In the jiashen year he passed away in the Weiyang Palace and was buried in Baling at the age of forty-six). He ruled for twenty-three years.

4.66

(Jiazi, 42) The third year of Emperor Wen.

4.67

(11. Gengchen) The fifteenth patriarch, Kāṇadeva, was a native of South India, surnamed Vaiśālī. At first he sought karmic merit and enjoyed debate. Later he visited the Mahāsattva Nāgārjuna. When he was about to reach the gate, Nāgārjuna knew he was a wise man, and first sent an attendant to place a bowl filled with water before his seat. When Deva saw it, he immediately dropped a needle into it and advanced. They harmoniously accorded with each other. Nāgārjuna then expounded the Dharma for him; without rising from his seat, he manifested the form of a lunar disc. One only heard his voice and did not see his form. The Master told the assembly, saying: 'Now this auspicious sign is the Master manifesting the Buddha-nature, signifying that expounding the Dharma is neither sound nor form.' After the Master received the Dharma, he went to the country of Kapilavastu. In that place there was an elder named Brahmavimalapuṇya. One day, a tree in his garden produced a large ear[-like fungus] resembling a mushroom, which tasted extremely delicious. Only the elder and his second son, Rāhulata, picked and ate it. As soon as it was picked, it grew back; when finished, it grew again. None of the other relatives could even see it. At that time, the Venerable One knew its past causes, and thereupon went to his home. The elder asked him about the reason. The Venerable One said: 'In the past, your household once made offerings to a bhikṣu. However, this bhikṣu's Dharma-eye was not yet clarified. Because he falsely received the offerings of the faithful, he received the retribution of becoming this mushroom. Only you and your son made offerings with absolute sincerity, so you are able to enjoy it; the others are not.' He also asked: 'How old is the elder?' He replied: 'Seventy-nine.' The Venerable One then recited a gāthā, saying: / 'Entering the Way without comprehending principle, / One returns the offerings of the faithful in one's own body. / When you reach the age of eighty-one, / This tree will no longer grow this fungus.' / When the elder heard the gāthā, he was filled with even deeper admiration and submission, and said: 'Your disciple is decrepit and old, unable to serve the Master. I wish to give up my second son to follow the Master and leave home.' The Venerable One said: 'Formerly, the Tathāgata prophesied that this boy would be a great leader of the teaching in the second five-hundred-year period. Our meeting today indeed matches past causes.' He then shaved his head and took him as an attendant. Arriving at the city of Pāṭaliputra, he heard that various non-Buddhists had long been scheming to obstruct the Buddha-Dharma. The Venerable One then held a long banner and entered into their midst. They asked the Patriarch, saying: 'Why do you not advance?' The Patriarch said: 'Why do you not retreat?' They also said: 'You resemble a base person.' The Patriarch said: 'You resemble a good person.' They also said: 'What dharma do you understand?' The Patriarch said: 'You do not understand a single one of a hundred.' They also said: 'I wish to attain Buddhahood.' The Patriarch said: 'I have clearly attained Buddhahood.' They also said: 'You should not attain it.' The Patriarch said: 'Originally you said I attained it; you truly have not attained it.' They also said: 'Since you have not attained it, why do you say you have attained it?' The Patriarch said: 'Because you possess a self, you do not attain it. Because I am without self and selfhood, I naturally ought to attain it.' Their words were defeated, and so they asked the Patriarch, saying: 'What is your name?' The Patriarch said: 'My name is Kāṇadeva.' Having long heard of the Patriarch's name, they repented of their fault and offered apologies. At that time, mutual questions and objections still arose in the assembly; the Venerable One refuted them with unhindered eloquence, and through this they submitted. He then addressed his chief disciple Rāhulata and transmitted the Dharma-eye to him. The gāthā said: / 'Originally facing the one who transmits the Dharma, / I expound the principle of liberation for him. / In the Dharma there is truly nothing to realize; / It has no end and no beginning.' / Having spoken the gāthā, he entered the Lion's Sprint Samādhi, his body emitted eight rays of light, and he returned to quiescent extinction. The assembly of disciples erected a stūpa and made offerings to it. This was the nineteenth year, gengchen, of Emperor Wen of the Former Han.

4.68

(Yiyou) Emperor Jing, Qi (son of Emperor Wen; mother Lady Dou; ascended the throne at age thirty-two; fond of the two masters Huang and Lao, he ordered all palace attendants to recite them; consequently, 'writings' were renamed 'classics'; in the gengzi year he died in Weiyang Palace; buried at Yangling; lived forty-eight years), reigned sixteen years.

4.69

(Dinghai) [Third year: using Chao Cuo's strategy, the Seven Kingdoms all rebelled. Zhou Yafu was dispatched leading thirty-six generals to attack them. Again adopting Yuan Ang's strategy, they executed Cuo to apologize to the Seven Kingdoms. The realm was greatly pacified.]

4.70

(Xinhai) Eight hundred years since the Bhagavān manifested extinction.

4.71

(Wuxu) [The Emperor abolished the flogging laws and fixed the bastinado ordinances. Suspecting Zhou Yafu's merits were too great, he wished to imprison him; he subsequently vomited blood and died.]

4.72

(12. Xinchou) Emperor Wu, Che, changed the era name to Jianyuan (middle son of Jing; mother Lady Wang; once obtained a divination text saying: 'Twenty-seven reversed sticks'; indeed he died at age seventy-two in Wuzuo Hall; buried at Maoling; ascended the throne at seventeen).

4.73

Reigned fifty-four years (according to the Yunli tu, Jianyuan began in xinchou; Dongfang Shuo served as Grand Astrologer).

4.74

(Yisi) [The Emperor was fond of the arts of immortality, and revered the masters of methods Wencheng, Wuli, and others. Cast the Ban Liang coins. Greedy for territory and fond of killing. Ordered Sima Qian and others to create the Han Taizu calendar, taking the first month as the beginning of the year, esteeming the color yellow, and using the number five. Founded the Imperial Academy, cultivated suburban sacrifices, established musical pitches, composed poetry and music, established the Feng and Shan sacrifices to worship the hundred deities, and continued after the Zhou. His decrees and literary writings were brilliant and worthy of narration.]

4.75

(Dingwei) Changed the era name to Yuanguang.

4.76

(Guichou) Changed the era name to Yuanshuo.

4.77

(Jiwei) Changed the era name to Yuanshou. [King An of Huainan and King Ci of Hengshan were executed for plotting rebellion; those in their cliques numbered several tens of thousands.]

4.78

(Gengshen) Appointed Sun Kuan as Chancellor; Wei Qing and Huo Qubing as generals; campaigned north against the Xiongnu, opening up the Heshuo region. Also pacified the King of Southern Yue. To the east destroyed Chaoxian to make commanderies and counties. To the west traversed five countries, captured King Kunye, and took King Xiutu. Later he dispatched Zhang Qian west to the country of Shendu to seek the religion of the Buddha, and he indeed obtained it.

4.79

(Jiazi 43) In the fourth month, official imperial mandates (gao) were first formulated; officials having gao began with this.

4.80

(Yichou) Changed the era name to Yuanding.

4.81

(13. Wuchen) The sixteenth patriarch, Rāhulata, was a native of the country of Kapilavastu. Traveling and converting, he reached the city of Śrāvastī. There was a river named Golden Water, whose taste was exceptionally sweet and pure. In midstream, the reflections of five Buddhas also appeared. The Patriarch told the assembly, saying: 'The source of this river is a full five hundred li away; a holy one named Saṃghanandi dwells in that place. The Buddha prophesied that after one thousand years he would succeed to the holy rank.' Having spoken, he led the disciples upstream against the current. Arriving there, they saw Saṃghanandi sitting peacefully in samādhi. The Patriarch and the assembly waited for him; only after three times seven days had passed did he arise from samādhi. The Patriarch asked, saying: 'Is your body in samādhi, or is your mind in samādhi?' He replied: 'Body and mind are both in samādhi.' The Patriarch said: 'If body and mind are both in samādhi, how can there be entering and exiting?' He replied: 'Although there is entering and exiting, it does not lose the mark of samādhi, just as when gold is in a well, the essence of gold is eternally tranquil.' The Patriarch said: 'Whether gold is in the well or gold comes out of the well, gold has no movement or stillness; what thing enters and exits?' He replied: 'Speaking of gold's movement and stillness, what thing enters and exits? If you grant that gold enters and exits, gold is not movement or stillness.' The Patriarch said: 'If gold is in the well, what gold is it that comes out? If gold comes out of the well, what thing is it that remains?' He replied: 'If gold comes out of the well, that which remains is not gold. If gold is in the well, that which comes out is not a thing.' The Patriarch said: 'This meaning is not so.' He replied: 'That principle does not adhere.' The Patriarch said: 'This meaning should collapse.' He replied: 'That meaning is not established.' The Patriarch said: 'That meaning is not established, so my meaning is established.' He replied: 'Although my meaning is established, dharmas are not myself.' The Patriarch said: 'My meaning is already established, because I am without self.' He replied: 'Because you are without self, what meaning is further established?' The Patriarch said: 'Because I am without self, therefore your meaning is established.' He said: 'From which holy one did the benevolent one learn to attain this selflessness?' The Patriarch said: 'My master, Kāṇadeva, realized this selflessness.' He said: 'I bow my head to Master Deva, and follow the benevolent one. Because the benevolent one is selfless, I wish to take the benevolent one as my master.' The Patriarch said: 'Because I am already without self, you must see my self. If you take me as your master, you must know that my self is not self.' Nandi's mind was opened wide, and he immediately sought deliverance. The Venerable One said: 'Your mind is inherently free; it is not bound by me.' Having spoken, he raised a golden alms bowl with his right hand up to the Brahmā palace, took their fragrant rice, and was about to feed the great assembly, but the great assembly suddenly gave rise to thoughts of revulsion. The Venerable One said: 'This is not my fault, but your own karma.' He then instructed Saṃghanandi to share the seat and eat together with him. The assembly was surprised again. The Patriarch said: 'That you could not eat is entirely due to this cause. You should know that the one sharing the seat with me is none other than the past Tathāgata Sālarājarāja. Out of pity for living beings, he manifested his traces. You people had also reached the third fruit in the Glorious Kalpa, but had not yet realized the undefiled state.' The assembly said: 'Our master's spiritual power is indeed trustworthy; but as for his being a past Buddha, we secretly doubt it.' Rāhulata, knowing the pride of the assembly, then said: 'When the Bhagavān was in the world, the world was level and upright, without hills, mounds, rivers, or ditches; the water was all sweet, and the vegetation flourished luxuriantly; the realm was abundant, without the eight sufferings, and practiced the ten virtues. Since the extinction under the twin trees more than eight hundred years ago, the world has become ruins and mounds, vegetation has withered, people lack sincere faith, right mindfulness is slight and weak, and they do not believe in tathatā, loving only spiritual powers.' Having spoken, he gradually extended his right hand into the earth, reached the rim of the Vajra Wheel, took amṛta water, and brought it to the gathering in a lapis lazuli vessel. When the great assembly saw it, they immediately admired it, repented of their faults, and made obeisance. Thereupon the Venerable One instructed Saṃghanandi and transmitted the Dharma-eye to him. The gāthā said: / 'In the Dharma there is truly nothing to realize; / One neither grasps nor separates. / The Dharma is neither marked by existence nor non-existence; / How could internal and external arise?' / Having transmitted the Dharma, he sat peacefully and returned to quiescence. The fourfold assembly built a stūpa; this was the twenty-eighth year, wuchen, of Emperor Wu of the Former Han.

4.82

(Xinwei) Changed the era name to Yuanfeng.

4.83

(Dingchou) Changed the era name to Taichu.

4.84

(Xinxi) Changed the era name to Tianhan.

4.85

(Yiyou) Changed the era name to Taishi.

4.86

(Jichou) Changed the era name to Zhenghe.

4.87

(Gengyin) [Sorcery and witchcraft arose. Jiang Chong and others planted wooden effigies in the Crown Prince's palace. The Crown Prince conspired with the Empress to execute Chong, and fought a great battle in Chang'an against Chancellor Liu Quli. The dead numbered no less than several tens of thousands.]

4.88

(14. Yiwei) Emperor Zhao, Fu (son of Wu; mother Lady Zhao, the Jieyu; ascended the throne at age nine; Huo Guang received the testamentary edict, assisting the government like the Duke of Zhou; in the fourth month of the wushen year he died in Weiyang Palace; buried at Pingling; lived twenty-two years), reigned thirteen years; changed the era name to Shiyuan.

4.89

(Xinchou) Changed the era name to Yuanfeng (Shangguan Jie's son An struggled for power with Huo Guang; the Emperor ultimately recognized Huo Guang's loyalty and valor).

4.90

(Dingwei) Changed the era name to Yuanping.

4.91

[15] The seventeenth patriarch, Saṃghanandi, was the son of King Ratnavyūha of the city of Śrāvastī. He was able to speak from birth and constantly praised the Buddha's deeds. At seven years of age he already abhorred worldly pleasures, and addressed his parents in verse, saying: / 'I bow my head to my most compassionate father; / I make obeisance to my mother of flesh and blood. / I now wish to leave household life (pravrajyā); / I pray you will take pity on me.' / His parents firmly forbade him, whereupon he did not eat for the entire day. They then permitted him to leave household life at home, naming him Saṃghanandi, and further commanded the śramaṇa Chanlituo to be his master. For nineteen years accumulated, he never grew weary or backslid. The Venerable often reflected to himself, saying: 'How can staying in the royal palace be considered leaving the household life?' One evening a celestial light descended, under which he saw an even and level road; without realizing it he walked slowly along it for about ten li, arriving in front of a great cliff where there was a stone cave, and within it he took up peaceful solitude. Having lost his son, his father banished Chanlituo from the country and searched for his son, but did not know his whereabouts. Ten years passed; after the Venerable had attained the Dharma and received transmission, he traveled about teaching until he reached the kingdom of Mada. Suddenly a cool breeze struck the assembly, making their bodies and minds extraordinarily pleased and comfortable, yet they did not know why. The patriarch said: 'This is the wind of virtue and the Way. Must there not be a sage appearing in the world to succeed to the lamp of the patriarchs?' Having spoken, by his spiritual power he gathered the great assembly to travel through mountain valleys. In the space of a meal they arrived beneath a peak, and he said to the assembly: 'At the crest of this peak is a purple cloud like a canopy; a sage dwells here.' Thereupon he lingered with the great assembly for a long time. They saw a boy from a mountain cottage holding a round mirror who came directly before the Venerable. The patriarch asked: 'How old are you?' He replied: 'A hundred years old.' The patriarch said: 'You are still young; why do you say a hundred years old?' He replied: 'I do not comprehend the principle—I am just a hundred years old.' The patriarch said: 'Are you skilled in [understanding] capacity?' He replied: 'The Buddha said: "If a person lives for a hundred years without comprehending the capacity of the Buddhas, it is not as good as living for a single day and attaining clear decisive realization of it."' The patriarch said: 'What does that in your hand signify?' He replied: 'The great round mirror of the Buddhas: / without and within, it has neither flaw nor veil. / Two people together obtain its sight; / both in mind and eye they are alike.' When his parents heard their son's words, they at once gave him up to let him leave the household life. The patriarch led him back to his own place, and after he had received the full precepts (upasampadā), named him Gayāśata. At another time, hearing the wind blowing the sound of the hall's bronze bells, the patriarch asked: 'Is it the bell that sounds, or the wind that sounds?' Śata replied: 'It is neither the wind nor the bell; it is my mind that sounds.' The patriarch said: 'And who is the mind?' He replied: 'Because both are silent.' The Venerable said: 'Excellent, excellent! Who else could succeed to my Way but you?' He then transmitted the Dharma, with the verse: / 'The ground of mind is originally unarisen; / from the ground of cause it arises dependent on conditions. / Conditions and seed do not obstruct one another; / flower and fruit are likewise thus.' / Having transmitted the Dharma, he held onto a tree with his right hand and passed away. The assembly deliberated, saying: 'The Venerable entered quiescence beneath a tree; does he not shed shade upon his descendants?' When they were about to convey his whole body to an elevated plateau to erect a stūpa, the collective strength of the assembly could not lift it. So they erected the stūpa right beneath the tree. This corresponded to the thirteenth year of Emperor Zhao of the Former Han, the dingwei year.

4.92

(Wushen) The Prince of Changyi (named He; son of Prince Ai Bo and grandson of Emperor Wu. He was on the throne for twenty-seven days, behaving wildly, licentiously, and playfully without measure, committing one thousand one hundred and twenty-seven infractions. Huo Guang and Tian Yannian addressed the Empress Dowager, recovered the imperial seal, and sent him away. Changyi was demoted to Marquis of Haihun. Over two hundred of Changyi's ministers who were unable to guide him on the proper path were executed; only Wang Ji and Gong Sui were spared on account of their frequent remonstrances).

4.93

[16] Emperor Xuan, [named] Xun, changed the era to Benshi (great-grandson of Emperor Wu and grandson of Crown Prince Li. When he was born there was hair beneath his feet. Originally named Bingyi. When the Crown Prince was caught in the witchcraft affair, he was already in swaddling clothes. He relied on Bing Ji, who rescued and raised him in the inner palace. Huo Guang, from the maternal family, deposed Changyi, submitted a memorial to the Empress Dowager, and welcomed him from among the common folk to ascend the throne. Distant lands came to court; he was called the Sovereign of Restoration. In the twelfth month of the renshen year he died in the Weiyang Palace at the age of forty-three, and was buried in Duling).

4.94

He reigned for twenty-four years (at that time one dan of grain cost five coins).

4.95

(Renzi) The era was changed to Dijie.

4.96

(Bingchen) The era was changed to Yuankang.

4.97

(Gengshen) The era was changed to Shenjue.

4.98

(Jiazi, 44) The era was changed to Wufeng.

4.99

(Wuchen) The era was changed to Ganlu.

4.100

(Xinwei) ○ (The Emperor arose from among the common folk and understood the sufferings of the people. Wei Xiang and Bing Ji served as chancellors; Huang Ba and Gong Sui served as grand commandery administrators. He followed Geng Shouchang's memorial and established the Ever-Normal Granaries to benefit the people).

4.101

It was nine hundred years since the Bhagavān manifested extinction.

4.102

[17] At that time, in the kingdom of Puruṣapura in North India, there was a great master of treatise named Kauśika. His three sons were all named Vasubandhu, which translates here as Tianqin ('Kin of the Gods'). The eldest was named Asaṅga, which translates here as Wuzhuo ('Free of Attachment'); he was the first to promote the Mahāyāna, and in the great lecture hall of the kingdom of Ayodhyā, he requested the holy Maitreya to expound the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, broadly elucidating the meanings of the five divisions and seventeen stages (bhūmi). The second was called Vasubandhu, which translates here as Shiqin ('World-Kin'); he initially studied the Hīnayāna and composed the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, but later was transformed by his elder brother and expounded the true school, composing treatises such as the Vijñaptimātratā to exhaustively probe the profound principles. The youngest was called Viriñcivatsa, which translates here as Shizijue ('Lion-Awakened'); he composed an exposition on the Abhidharma-samuccaya with profound investigation. How extraordinary! The three widely promoted the Middle Way and were equally renowned throughout the five regions of India. How could a wondrous sandalwood forest harbor thorns? All sought Tuṣita and returned to the real according with the time. Their governance of the world and discourse on the mystery can hardly be detailed.

4.103

(Renshen) The era was changed to Huanglong.

4.104

(Guiyou) Emperor Yuan, [named] Shi, changed the era to Chuyuan (son of Emperor Xuan. Ascended the throne at twenty-seven years of age. In the fifth month of the wuzi year he died in the Weiyang Palace and was buried in Weiling at the age of forty-three. He employed Ruists). He reigned for sixteen years.

4.105

(Wuyin) The era was changed to Yongguang.

4.106

(Guiwei) The era was changed to Jianzhao.

4.107

(Wuzi) The era was changed to Jingning.

4.108

[18] (Jichou) Emperor Cheng, [named] Ao, changed the era to Jianshi (courtesy name Taisun; son of Emperor Yuan. Ascended the throne at twenty. He enfeoffed his maternal uncles Wang Feng and others as full marquises, and they alternately served as chancellors. The five marquises monopolized government affairs, and worthy ministers were dismissed. In the third month of the jiayin year he died in the Weiyang Palace).

4.109

He was on the throne for twenty-six years (died at forty-five and was buried in Yanling).

4.110

(Guisi) The era was changed to Heping.

4.111

(Dingyou) The era was changed to Yangshuo.

4.112

(Xinchou) The era was changed to Hongjia. ○ (The biography of Grand Master for Splendid Happiness Liu Xiang notes that in comparing and examining records and books, he frequently came across Buddhist scriptures).

4.113

(Yisi) The era was changed to Yongshi.

4.114

[19] (Wushen) The eighteenth patriarch, Gayāśata, was a man of the kingdom of Mada. His surname was Udra. His father was Tiangai and his mother was Fangsheng. She once dreamt of a great deity holding a mirror, whereupon she became pregnant. After seven days she gave birth. His body was lustrous like vaiḍūrya; without ever having been washed or bathed, it was naturally fragrant and pure. In his youth he was fond of tranquility, and his speech was unlike that of ordinary children. Holding a mirror, he went out on an excursion, encountered the Venerable Nandi, and obtained deliverance. Leading his disciples, he arrived in the kingdom of the Da Yuezhi, where he saw an unusual aura over a Brahman's house. As the patriarch was about to enter that house, the master of the house, Kumāralāta, asked, saying: 'What group of disciples are you?' He replied: 'Disciples of the Buddha.' Hearing the name of the Buddha, his mind and spirit shuddered with awe, and he immediately closed the door. After a long while, the patriarch knocked on his gate himself. Lāta said: 'There is no one in this house.' The patriarch said: 'Who is the one answering "there is no one"?' Hearing these words, Lāta knew he was an extraordinary man, and hastily opened the gate to welcome him. The Venerable said: 'Formerly the Bhagavān prophesied, saying: "One thousand years after my extinction, a Mahāsattva will appear in the kingdom of the Yuezhi to carry forward and magnify the mysterious transformation." Now you have met me, which accords with this auspicious turn of events.' Thereupon Kumāralāta brought forth knowledge of past lives, surrendered his devotion, left household life, and having received the full precepts, was transmitted the Dharma. The verse said: / 'There is the seed and there is the ground of mind; / conditions are able to make it sprout. / When conditions do not obstruct one another, / the arising to take place is unarisen.' / Having transmitted the Dharma, he leapt into the air and manifested eighteen transformations, burning his own body by the fire-radiance samādhi. The assembly erected a stūpa with his relics (śarīra). This corresponded to the twentieth year of Emperor Cheng of the Former Han, the wushen year.

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佛祖歷代通載 — Classical Chinese