佛祖歷代通載 7.52

7.52

(11) In this year, Master of the Dharma [Kumāra]jīva passed away. Kumārajīva—translated here as Tongshou ('Youth-Longevity')—was a native of Tianzhu. His family had been distinguished for generations. His father, Kumārāyana, was a man of noble virtue who declined the position of prime minister and went forth from the household life (pravrajyā). When the king of Kucha heard of him, he invited him to become the state preceptor, gave him his younger sister in marriage, and she subsequently gave birth to [Kumāra]jīva. [Kumāra]jīva could recite a thousand verses, over thirty thousand words, each day. There were no teachings of the Great or Small Vehicles that he did not master thoroughly. In the thirteenth year of the Jianyuan era of Fu Qin, a star of virtue appeared. Fu Jian sent Lü Guang on a western expedition. When Lü heard of Fu Jian's defeat, he occupied Guzang and proclaimed himself king of Liang, so [Fu Jian] never met the master. In the third month of the third year of the Hongshi era of the Yao Qin, trees in the courtyard entwined their branches, and in the Xiaoyao Garden, green onions transformed into sweet flag, presaging that a wise man was about to enter the Central Lands. In the ninth month, Lü Long surrendered. On the twentieth day of the twelfth month, the master was welcomed to dwell in the Xiaoyao Garden. [Yao] Xing treated him with the courtesy due to a state preceptor, according him extraordinary favor and honor. He was ordered to translate over three hundred fascicles of sūtras and treatises. Among his three thousand disciples, eight stood out as preeminent: Daosheng, Sengzhao, Daorong, Sengrui, Daoheng, Sengying, Huiguan, Huiyan, and others. Each composed works, and their biographies are clearly known. It may indeed be called an era of flourishing and a millennium of glory. Furthermore, Sengqie was elevated to the post of sanghapradhāna (director of monks) to administer monastic affairs. The śramaṇa Huirui, whose sincere devotion reached far, assisted [Kumāra]jīva in transcribing and copying. [Kumāra]jīva often said to Rui: 'The stylistic forms of the Western regions place great weight on literary meter; having their tones and rhymes fit the winds and strings is considered excellent. Whenever one has an audience with a king, one must praise his virtues; the sūtra verses are all in this style.' He once sighed and said: 'Were I to write a Mahāyāna Abhidharma, it would be no match for Kātyāyana's.' Finding no one at the time with deep discernment, he grieved and ceased. He alone composed the two-fascicle Treatise on the True Mark (Shixiang lun) for the king of Qin. In the intervals of governing, the king of Qin personally sat opposite [Kumāra]jīva during translations. Upon examining the older sūtras, he found many errors and corruptions, which [Kumāra]jīva corrected. Once, when he expounded the sūtras at Caotang Monastery, thousands of court officials and śramaṇas gathered, observing and listening with reverent bearing. One day the king said to [Kumāra]jīva: 'The Dharma Master's brilliant intellect and transcendent awakening are unequaled within the realm; how could we let your Dharma seed lack posterity?' Thereupon, he forced him to accept ten palace maidens. [Kumāra]jīva himself remarked: 'Whenever I expound the teachings, I see two small boys climbing upon my shoulders, seeking to obstruct me.' From then on, he no longer dwelt in the monastic quarters, but had a separate residence built for him. Some monks sought to emulate him, so [Kumāra]jīva filled a bowl with needles and told them: 'Only if you can emulate me and eat these may you maintain a household.' He took them up and swallowed the needles like ordinary food, whereupon the monks were shamed into stopping. Earlier, while in Kucha, whenever the kings of neighboring states assembled and invited [Kumāra]jīva to preach the Dharma, they would kneel and bow down before his seat, asking [Kumāra]jīva to step on their shoulders to ascend the throne. He once visited the Venerable of the Northern Mountains in the Great Yuezhi kingdom with his mother. The Northern Mountain [Venerable] told his mother: 'Guard this novice well. If by age thirty-five his vinaya remains intact, he will deliver people like Upagupta; otherwise, he will be merely a clever Dharma master.' When Beidu was in Pengcheng and heard that [Kumāra]jīva had entered the Pass, he sighed: 'It has been three hundred years since I parted in jest with this child! A meeting is now remote and without a set time; we must wait for a future life.' Whenever [Kumāra]jīva ascended the seat, he would always say: 'It is like a lotus flower growing out of foul mud: take only the flower, do not take the foul mud.' After living in Qin for only nine years, he fell ill. He uttered three divine mantras and had foreign disciples recite them to save himself, but before their efforts could take effect, he felt his condition turning perilous. Thereupon, struggling through his illness, he gathered the assembly to take his leave, saying: 'We met through the Dharma, yet my intentions were far from fully realized. Now I go to the next life—how can words express my sorrow! Regarding myself as dim-witted and superficial, I presumptuously took up the role of translation. Among the sūtras and treatises translated, only the Sarvāstivāda-vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya) could not be pruned of redundancies in time. If my interpretations accord with the Buddha's mind, then on the day my body is cremated, my tongue will not be scorched or destroyed.' Having spoken these words, he passed away. On the day of his cremation (jhāpita), his tongue indeed resembled the color of a red lotus and was undamaged.