佛祖歷代通載 8.45

8.45

(19) The twenty-seventh patriarch, Prajñātāra, was a man of Eastern India. After obtaining the Dharma, he travelled and taught in Southern India. The king there was named Sugandha; he revered the Buddha Vehicle, honouring and making offerings that surpassed all others, and also bestowed a priceless precious jewel. At that time the king had three sons, the youngest of whom was a Bodhisattva (mahāsattva). The Venerable One, wishing to test his attainment, asked the three princes with the bestowed jewel: "This jewel is round and bright; can anything equal this?" The first son, Candrapuṇyatāra, and the second son, Puṇyatāra, both said: "This jewel is supreme among the seven treasures; truly none can surpass it. Were it not for the Venerable One's power of the Way, who could receive it?" The third son, Bodhitāra, said: "This is a worldly treasure, not yet sufficient to be supreme; among all treasures, the Dharma treasure is supreme. This is worldly light, not yet sufficient to be supreme; among all lights, the light of wisdom is supreme. This is worldly brightness, not yet sufficient to be supreme; among all brightness, the brightness of the mind is supreme. This jewel's radiance cannot illuminate itself; it must depend on the light of wisdom to discern this. Once this is discerned, one knows it is a jewel; once one knows it is a jewel, one understands its treasure. If one understands its treasure, the treasure is not a treasure of itself; if one discerns its jewel, the jewel is not a jewel of itself. One must depend on the jewel of wisdom to discern the worldly jewel; that a treasure is not a treasure of itself means one must depend on the treasure of wisdom to understand the Dharma treasure. Thus, if a master has the Way, his treasure appears; if sentient beings have the Way, the mind-jewel is likewise so." The Venerable One marvelled at his discerning wisdom and further asked: "Among all things, what thing is formless?" He replied: "Among all things, unarising is formless." He asked again: "Among all things, what thing is highest?" He replied: "Among all things, the self is highest." He asked again: "Among all things, what thing is greatest?" He replied: "Among all things, the Dharma-nature is greatest." The Venerable One knew he was the Dharma heir; but because the time had not yet come, he remained silent and mingled with him. When King Sugandha passed away, the multitude all wailed in grief, but the third son, Bodhitāra, entered into samādhi before the coffin, emerging after seven days, and then sought pravrajyā. Having received the upasampadā precepts, the Venerable One told him: "The Tathāgata entrusted the Right Dharma Eye to Mahākāśyapa; thus it was passed on in turn down to me. I now entrust it to you. Listen to my verse: / The mind-ground gives birth to the various seeds; / Because of phenomena, principle is again produced. / When the fruit is complete, bodhi is perfected; / When the flower blooms, the worlds arise." After the Venerable One entrusted the Dharma, he stood up from his seat, stretched out his left and right hands, and each emitted twenty-seven rays of five-coloured light. He leaped into the air to the height of seven tāla trees and transformed into fire, incinerating himself. Śarīra fell from the sky like rain; they were collected to erect a stūpa. This was in the jiawu year, the first year of the Xiaojian era of Emperor Xiaowu of the Song. (The Zhengzong ji states: "It was the era of Emperor Xiaowu of the Song." A note says: "Calculating by Bodhidharma's sixty-seven years, it should be the first year of Xiaojian of Emperor Xiaowu of the Song. The Chuandeng lu gives dingyou, which is incorrect.")