佛祖歷代通載 9
English (machine translation) 9
- Language
- English
9.1
Compiled by Nianchang of Huating, Abbot of Dazhong Xiangfu Chan Monastery in Jiaxing Circuit
9.2
(1) Liang (surname Xiao; four rulers; capital at Jiankang) ○ Master Lei states: (Emperor Gao, Emperor Taizong, Emperor Shizu, and Emperor Jingzong; the Liang dynasty had four rulers for fifty-seven years).
9.3
(Renwu) Emperor Wu, the High Ancestor, Xiao Yan, changed [the era name] to Tianjian. (Courtesy name Shuda; native of Duli in Nanlanling. Descended from the same lineage as the Qi; also a twenty-fourth-generation descendant of the Han chancellor Xiao He. His father, Shunzhi, was Governor of Danyang; his mother was Lady Zhang. When the Emperor was born, his appearance was extraordinary and imposing, with the 'sun horn' [forehead] and dragon countenance; there was a halo around his neck, and his body cast no shadow in the sun. After receiving the abdication of Qi, he was passionately fond of the Buddhadharma. The surrendered general Hou Jing rebelled, raised troops, and besieged the Emperor at Taicheng. He ceased eating and died in the Jingju Hall at the age of eighty-six, having reigned for forty-eight years. ○ Someone asked: "Emperor Wu of Liang reverenced the Buddha throughout his life, yet died trapped and starved at Taicheng. Where was the efficacy of the Buddhadharma?" To this it is answered: "Does such a doubt exist? Does such a reproach exist? Now, man's life and destiny are determined by the nature of karma. If past karma has converged, how could the good of this life change it? Therefore Wenzhongzi said: 'That his fasts and precepts were cultivated while the Liang state fell into danger was not the fault of Śākyamuni.' Because he committed the fault of deposing the ruler of Qi, he met the distress of Hou Jing at Taicheng. Once the principle of karma is clear, doubts and confusion are dispelled.")
9.4
(2) The Daoist Taiqing jing and the Rites for Various Jiao Offerings in ten fascicles were falsely fabricated during the Liang by Tao Hongjing (derived from the Zhulin).
9.5
(3. Guiwei) Emperor Wu issued an edict stating: "The Great Being Baozhi keeps his traces confined to dust and defilement, while his spirit roams in profound quietude. Water and fire cannot burn or wet him; snakes and tigers cannot attack or terrify him. If one speaks of his Buddhist principles, they are above the Śrāvaka; if one discusses his reclusion, he is exalted among hidden immortals. How could common ways and ordinary sentiments fruitlessly doubt and suspect him? From now on, let him freely proclaim and convert throughout the court and country." One day the Emperor asked Zhi, "Your disciple's afflictions and confusions have not yet been eliminated. How should they be remedied?" Zhi replied, "Twelve." The Emperor asked, "What does that mean?" Zhi replied, "In the writing of characters and the water clock of the hours and seasons." The Emperor understood even less. On another day, when the Emperor further asked whether there would be difficulties for the state's fortunes, Zhi pointed to his own neck to show him. The Emperor said, "How long shall I enjoy the realm?" Zhi replied, "Yuanjia, Yuanjia." The Emperor rejoiced, thinking it meant twice the years of Emperor Wen of Song. At that time, at the beginning of the dynastic change, the Emperor was harsh and severe in his administration. Zhi, using the Emperor's spiritual power, caused him to see his deceased father suffering extreme torment in the underworld. From then on, the Emperor showed leniency in punishments. He once commanded the painter Zhang Sengyou to paint Zhi's portrait. Whenever Sengyou set his brush to work, he could not fix it. Then Zhi drew his finger across his face, parting it, and revealed the Eleven-faced Avalokiteśvara, wondrously formed and extraordinarily splendid, at times compassionate, at times awe-inspiring. In the end, Sengyou was unable to paint it. On another day, while standing by the river with the Emperor gazing into the distance, there was an object floating upstream against the current. Zhi drew it in with his staff, and it followed the staff to shore; it was purple sandalwood. It was immediately given to the court artist Yu Shao to carve a statue of Zhi. It was finished in an instant, its spirit and appearance as though alive. The Emperor was pleased and installed it in the inner palace. At that time, both Master Fayun and Master Yunguāng had great renown; whenever they expounded the Dharma, flowers would rain down from heaven. The Emperor suspected they had attained sagehood. At night in an informal hall, he burned a memorial inviting the three Great Beings—Zhi, Guang, and Yun—to a vegetarian feast. The next day, Zhi arrived alone, while Guang and Yun were both completely unaware of it. Because of this, the Emperor treated him with even more exceptional reverence. Zhi also once climbed to Dinglin Temple on Mount Zhong with the Emperor, pointed to the knoll of Dulong Ridge in front, and said, "If this is made a tomb, your descendants will endure forever." The Emperor asked, "Who shall have it?" Zhi said, "The first to go shall have it." In the thirteenth year, the Great Being manifested his passing. The Emperor recalled his words, purchased the land for two hundred thousand pieces of gold, erected a five-tiered stūpa upon it, and secured it with a priceless jewel. He ordered Wang Yun to engrave a stele. On the day of the burial, the imperial carriage personally attended to offer libations; suddenly the Great Being appeared amidst the clouds, and the shouts of joy from the ten-thousand-strong crowd shook the mountains and valleys. From then on, monastics and laypeople made offerings to him; his miraculous signs and manifest responses were one in ten thousand under heaven. All the cryptic prophetic verses composed by the Great Being are largely recorded in the History of the Southern Dynasties. For students he composed the 'Ten Hymns on the Mahāyāna', 'Fourteen Sections of Chanted Verses', and the 'Song of the Twelve Hours'. All of them elucidate the profound principles of the Way, and their purport secretly accords with the Chan school. They are widely circulated in the world today.
9.6
(4) In this year, regarding the Emperor's consort, Lady Chi: when she was first born, a red light shone through the room, making all the utensils bright. When she grew up, she was bright and wise, skilled in clerical script, well-read in the histories and biographies, and proficient in all women's crafts. During the Song and Qi dynasties, various princes sought her hand in marriage, but her father, Ye, refused them all. Later she was married to the Emperor and gave birth to three daughters. While the Emperor was Regional Inspector of Yongzhou, the consort died. Her nature was intensely jealous. At this time, she transformed into a giant python, entered the rear palace, and appeared to the Emperor in a dream. Whenever the Emperor's body was about to become unwell, the python would stir the water into a surge, or manifest a dragon form with blazing brilliance. Therefore, above an open well, a hall was built for her where clothing was heaped up, and a silver pulley and a golden vase pouring the hundred delicacies were installed to make offerings to her. Throughout his life, the Emperor never again considered establishing an empress.
9.7
(5. Jiashan) On the eighth day of the fourth month in the third year of Tianjian, the Emperor led more than twenty thousand monastics and laypeople up to the Chongyun Hall, where he personally composed a text to make vows, begging to rely on the power of the Buddha to abandon Daoism forever and no longer venerate it. It said in brief: "The sūtras state that to arouse the bodhicitta is none other than the mind of the Buddha; all scattered good deeds cannot serve as an analogy. Your disciple Xiao Yan has recently fallen into neglect and error, indulging in serving the Old Master (Laozi); across successive generations, we have inherited and plunged deeply into this deviant teaching. Now I abandon old habits and take refuge in the correct cause, vowing that in future lifetimes I will leave household life as a youth, broadly propagate the teachings of the sūtras, convert and deliver sentient beings, and together realize bodhi. I would rather sink long into evil paths within the true Dharma than delight in taking refuge in Laozi to attain fleeting immortality. Advancing in the Mahāyāna mind, I forever depart from deviant views. I pray that all Buddhas bear witness and that bodhisattvas take me under their protection. Your disciple Xiao Yan bows with reverence."
9.8
On the eleventh day, he issued an edict to the Chancellery, saying: "It is taught in the Great Sūtra that among the ninety-six varieties [of non-Buddhist paths], only the single Buddha-path is the correct path; the rest are all deviant. I have abandoned Daoism in order to serve the correct, inner path of all the Buddhas. Let all the dukes and ministers who are able to enter into this vow each arouse bodhicitta. Although Laozi, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, and others were disciples of the Tathāgata, their transforming traces were already deviant; they are merely worldly goodness and cannot transform the ordinary into the sagely." (This is recorded in full in the Hongming ji).
9.9
(6) In this year, an imperial edict summoned the recluse He Dian. Dian entered for an audience with the Emperor wearing a cloth cap and coarse clothes. The Emperor bestowed wine upon him and specially appointed him Attendant Gentleman (Shizhong). Dian moved forward on his mat, grasped the Emperor's beard, and said, "Do you really wish to make a minister out of the Old Master?" He firmly declined and did not accept. The Emperor again summoned He Yin. Yin said to the messenger, "I am fifty-seven years of age; every month I cannot even finish four dou of rice. How could I still have any ambition for officialdom?" The Emperor, knowing he could not be brought to court, issued an edict to grant him the stipend of a Director (Shangshu) in white robes. Yin strenuously declined. Later in life, he entered the Western Temple on Tiger Hill to lecture on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra. When his end approached, he dreamed of more than sixty heavenly maidens arrayed before him; when he awoke, he still saw them as before. Thereupon he bathed completely, put on his cap and robes with dignity, and passed away shortly thereafter. From Sikong He Chong of the Jin dynasty down to Sikong He Shangzhi of the Song, the He family both established great righteousness and illuminated the Buddhadharma; this was upheld through successive generations down to Yin's nephew, the Attendant Gentleman He Jingrong, whereafter it ceased.
9.10
(7. Bingxu) In the fifth year, the Emperor wrote a commentary on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. The ministers and officials requested Master Fayun to lecture on it. Fayun declined on grounds of illness and did not attend. The Emperor sent an envoy to press him to rise, saying, "Desiring that it circulate, without one of lofty virtue there is none to rely upon." Only then did Yun comply. Yun enjoyed the highest renown in his generation and was deeply respected by Crown Prince Zhaoming. Excelling in both Confucianism and Buddhism, he was foremost under heaven.
9.11
(Wuzi) The Northern Wei changed [its era name] to Yongping.
9.12
(8. Jichou) In the eighth year, the ruler of Wei lectured on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra for all the monks and court officials in the Shiqian Hall. At that time, the Wei court exclusively venerated the Śākya clan and did not attend to the classical canons. The Vice Director of the Secretariat, Pei Yanjun, presented a memorial, arguing that although Emperor Guangwu of Han and Emperor Wu of Wei were in the midst of military affairs, they never set aside books; when the late Emperor campaigned and returned to the capital, his hand never put down a scroll. Truly, it was because learning brings many benefits and cannot be abandoned. "Your Majesty ascends the Dharma seat to personally lecture on the Great Awakened One; all who gaze and listen have their dust and defilement opened away. Yet the Five Classics are the model for governing the world, the priority for handling practical affairs. I humbly pray that both the sūtras and the classics be consulted, and that both Confucius and Śākya be preserved together; then the inner and the outer will both be complete, and the ultimate and the worldly will both be unimpeded." At that time, aside from Chinese monks in Luoyang, there were more than three thousand who had come from the Western Regions. The ruler of Wei separately established the Yongming Temple with more than a thousand bays to house them. Near and far, influenced by this trend, there was no one who did not serve the Buddha. By the Yanchang era, there were a total of more than thirteen thousand temples in the prefectures and commanderies, and the monks numbered up to two million.
9.13
(9. Xinmao) In the tenth year, an imperial edict summoned Dharma Master Sengmin to enter the Huilun Palace and lecture on the Śrīmālādevī-siṃhanāda-sūtra. The Emperor attended to listen, and the ministers and dukes all assembled. An imperial order directed that eight Dharma-wheel seats be established at Zhuangyan Temple, and exceptional talents were carefully selected to preside over them in turn. At that time, Sengmin was ranked foremost. On the days of his lectures, listeners poured in from all over the capital, so that the hall could not hold another foot. The renowned scholar Liu Xie once said to Sengmin, "Dharma Master, you have Buddhist learning to spare; why is it that in expounding the teachings you so often put forth Confucian principles?" Sengmin said, "In the past, Master Daochuang used sudden enlightenment to penetrate the scriptures, and Master Cicao used the Abhidharma to develop treatise-arguments. As for this poor monk, from the outset I have not drawn boundaries between Confucianism and Buddhism; I merely rely on wherever the meaning and principles lead." The śramaṇa Daochao had studied vigorously year after year, and, admiring the lectures of Master Sengmin, vowed to equal him. At night, a deity told him in a dream, "Master Sengmin already proclaimed the Dharma and transformed beings in the time of Vipaśyin Buddha. You are a beginner; how could you be compared to him? Simply seek your own renown, and do not insist on matching him." Sengmin was by nature modest and unassuming, never relying on his abilities or showing off to others. At that time, ministers, dukes, monastics, and laypeople all looked up to and revered him.
9.14
(Renchan) The Northern Wei changed its reign era to Yanchang.
9.15
(10) In the eleventh year, an imperial order commanded Dharma Master Baoliang to compile a commentary on the meaning of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra. The Emperor wrote a preface for it, which stated in brief: "Setting forth teachings apart from words and letters, one avoids mental characteristics to penetrate the Way. Seeking to let jade and common stone differ in value, and Jing and Wei flow in separate streams, he subdued the six teachers and rectified the four inversions, turned back the eight heterodoxies and returned to the single taste. Then the Dharma rain fell and scorched seeds flourished; the sun of wisdom rose and the long night met the dawn. Giving voice to the anxious longing of Kāśyapa, he uttered true and sincere words. Although the three types of giving were first made equal, and the five great [elements] were subsequently set forth, the thirty-four inquiries varied in their distinct arguments, and as expedient exhortations, were answered according to each intention. In summarizing the scripture, it does not go beyond two paths: the buddha-nature reveals the source that has an ultimate root, and nirvāṇa clarifies the purport of the ultimate return. It is neither cause nor effect, neither arising nor acting; its principle surpasses the myriad virtues, and its actuality cuts off the hundred negations. Empty of emptiness, one cannot fathom its true limit; mysterious of mysteries, one cannot exhaust its wondrous gate. Were it not that one's virtue matches impartiality and one's mind accords with non-arising, how could the golden walls and jade chambers be easily entered?"
9.16
(11. Guisi) An imperial edict was issued saying: "Those who sacrifice animals in the ancestral temples shall practice the Buddhist precepts, eating vegetables and abstaining from meat, diminishing greed and cutting off desire. Throughout the realm, hunting and fishing on land and water are forbidden." He further ordered the imperial physicians not to use animal ingredients in medicine, and that the official weaving bureau discontinue the production of figured silks [using animal fibers]. He also composed the 'Essay on Abstaining from Alcohol and Meat' and wrote the 'Rhapsody on Pure Karma.'
9.17
(Jiawu) In the thirteenth year of Tianjian, the Venerable Zhigong manifested entering quiescence.
9.18
(12) In this year, Specially Advanced Shen Yue died. Yue's courtesy name was Xiuwen; he was a native of Dongyang in Wuzhou. His left eye had double pupils, and his waist bore a purple mark. In his youth he was a scholar whose fame resounded throughout his day. He was celebrated for his elegant taste, yet his physique was slender and frail, so people of the time called him 'the slender Master Shen.' He was deeply valued by Emperor Wu. His official career is fully recorded in the History of the Southern Dynasties. He once innovatively formulated tonal prosody to revolutionize ancient poetry; later generations took it as a model and called it the 'four tones.' Yue was extremely refined in Buddhist principles and wrote the 'Treatise on Midday Meals,' whose doctrine and purport are profoundly elevated. Its outline states: 'The reason people fail to attain the Way is that the mind and spirit are muddled and bewildered. The reason the mind and spirit are muddled and bewildered is that external things disturb them. The greatest among these disturbances are three: first, worldly influence, profit, and illustrious fame; second, seductive charms and alluring pleasures; third, delectable delicacies and rich flavors. Illustrious fame is hard to apply to the mind every day, but essentially it carries no burden of the moment. Seductive charms and alluring pleasures are already deeper by comparison; delectable delicacies and rich flavors impose an acutely heavy burden. The myriad confusing affairs are merely the branches and leaves of these three. The sages, knowing that without cutting off these three things one can in no way attain the Way, established methods for them that are simple and easy to follow. If one were simply to say, "These three things are the roots of delusion and must all be prohibited and cut off," yet these three things are what human feelings are most deluded by and what thoughts find hardest to dispel, then though there be the intent to prohibit them, it would be difficult to comply right away. For instance, when crossing a river on a raft, who would not wish to go straight to the opposite bank? But the river current is turbulent, and there is certainly no principle of direct crossing; one cannot help but follow the current, taking time before finally arriving. It is not that one does not wish for speed, but that circumstances make it difficult. In prohibiting these three things, the undertaking should have a starting point. Why is this? As for eating, humans cannot abruptly cease it, yet regarding emotional nature, none of the three burdens is heavier than this. Therefore, pushing this evening meal aside, combine it before midday; from midday onward, one remains pure, empty, and free of concerns. Because of this lack of concern, thoughts can become simple. In the beginning one is not yet devoted, but over time it naturally becomes habitual. Thereupon, binding oneself with the eight limbs [of observance] and girding oneself with the prohibitive precepts, seductive desires have no way to advance, and the myriad burdens of illustrious fame are gradually dispelled along with affairs. Thus it is said: The past Buddhas did not eat past midday. This is truly the fish trap for dispelling burdens and the shortcut to reaching the Way. Yet the deluded all think it consists merely in not eating; this is being lost regarding direction and ignorant of the path.' He also once wrote 'Establishing Assemblies,' in which he thought: 'When the Tathāgata was in the world, the assembly resided in the saṅghārāma and did not store utensils for food. When the time arrived, they went on alms rounds carrying bowls to bring blessings to sentient beings. Today's monastic disciples have completely violated and abandoned this. Not only do they fail to observe midday meals, but in worse cases they enjoy succulent kitchen fare and abundant delicacies. When they happen to be invited and receive vegetarian provisions, they invariably frown, regarding it as unpalatable. How can this be having one's mind set on the Way?' The treatise states in brief: 'The livelihood of those who leave home was originally based on begging for alms; the vinaya precepts are clear and luminous that one is not permitted to establish kitchen provisions or keep pure persons (kappiya-kāraka). Now, having obtained sufficiency in official monasteries, the practice of begging for alms has been abandoned. When someone occasionally carries a bowl to households, people immediately call it a vulgar affair of monastics. Having become an object of scorn and shame to the multitude, they no longer beg for alms. Among the careless latecomers, those who seek principle are few; they will think that the practice of begging for food can no longer be carried out. If the prince of Śuddhodana, with the nobility of a wheel-turning monarch, carried a bowl to beg for alms to bless donors, how could he not equal ordinary, vulgar monks a thousand years later who personally order servants and attend to their own palates? Begging for alms and accepting invitations are no different as two practices. Now, neither begging for alms nor going to invitations, the method of begging for alms is hereby extinguished forever. Once this method is extinguished, monks are no longer the seed of the Buddha; once the seed of the Buddha is separated, the Three Jewels fall to the ground.' Yue had a collected work in over a hundred fascicles, which circulated in the world.
9.19
(13. Yiwei) In this year, Empress Dowager Hu of the Northern Wei built the two temples of Yongning and Shiku, taking the beauty of woodwork and masonry to the extreme, with Yongning being especially magnificent. There was a golden statue eighteen feet tall, as well as ten statues the size of ordinary humans. A nine-story pagoda was constructed, with foundations dug down to the yellow springs, rising ninety zhang high, and a finial erected above it that was another ten zhang high. In the quiet of every night, the sound of its bells could be heard for over ten li. The Buddha hall was like the Taiji Palace, the three gates were like the Duan Gate, and the monks' quarters numbered a thousand bays; jade, pearls, and embroidered silks dazzled the hearts and eyes of people. Soon after, thunder, lightning, and fire burned the pagoda; people far and near all saw a pagoda ascending into the sky amidst the smoke and flames, and then disappearing. More than a month later, someone arriving from the eastern provinces said: 'On that day, I saw a pagoda flying through the sky over the sea,' and those looking out to sea also saw it at times.
9.20
(Bingshen) Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei, [named] Xu. (The second son of Emperor Xuanwu. He ascended the throne at the age of six, and Empress Dowager Hu oversaw the court. He reigned for twelve years, died at the age of nineteen, and was buried in Dingling. The era was changed to Xiping.)
9.21
(Wuxu) The Northern Wei changed its reign era to Shengui.
9.22
(14. Jihai) The śramaṇa Huijiao of Kuaiji, considering that the Biographies of Famous Monks compiled by Baochang was rather superficial and unfocused, accordingly composed the Biographies of Eminent Monks in fourteen fascicles. It began in the tenth year of Yongping of the Later Han and ended in this year, spanning a total of 453 years, covering 257 principal figures and more than 200 appended figures. He outlined their virtues and accomplishments into ten broad categories. His self-preface stated: 'Compilations of antiquity mostly spoke of "famous monks." Yet fame is merely the guest of reality. If real practice conceals its light, one is eminent without being famous; if meager virtue accords with the times, one is famous without being eminent. Why record such as these? Those who are eminent without being famous are fully included in the present record.' Contemporary opinion regarded this as a definitive judgment.
9.23
(15) The monk Senglang constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra; his manner was calm and aloof, and his eating and drinking were irregular. Whenever he went out, a dog and a monkey followed him. Every day he went about begging, and upon receiving food and drink, he placed it in a wooden bowl; when he finished eating, he took the remainder to feed the monkey and the dog. He was skilled in the 'tortoise concealment': at times his hands, feet, head, and neck all shrank away and could not be seen. He also once boarded a boat without using any punting pole; Lang sat in the center with the monkey and dog tamely at his side, and the boat sailed upstream against the current on its own. Dharma Master Daoying initially lived in seclusion meditating on Mount Taihang, where tree branches intertwined like a canopy over him. After staying there for a long time, he abandoned it and left. Walking through the marsh of Longtai, he watched the swimming fish and took delight in them; he immediately took off his robes, entered the water, and sat in meditation in the deep abyss for seven days before coming out. He also once observed severe ice in the depths of winter and loved its crystalline clarity; he lay down upon it, staying for two nights before getting up. In his later years, he resided at Puji Temple in Puzhou. One day while lecturing on the Awakening of Faith, when he reached the Gate of Suchness, he suddenly ceased breathing. The assembly thought he had passed away. A head lecturer recognized it and said to the assembly: 'He has merely entered the cessation of perception and feeling.' After three days, he revived.
9.24
(Gengzi) The Liang changed its reign era to Putong. Northern Wei changed its reign era to Zhengguang.
9.25
(16) In the first year of Putong, the Emperor constructed a circular altar within the forbidden palace, intending to receive the refuges and precepts, and selected one of outstanding virtue to serve as his master. Court deliberation regarded Dharma Master Huiyue as having high renown. An imperial edict arrived, but Yue courteously declined, which was not permitted. In the fourth month of summer, on the ding-si day, the Emperor performed the ceremony of inquiring about the Way and took Yue as his master to receive the full monastic precepts. Just as the karmavācanā was taking place, sweet dew fell in the courtyard, and a three-legged crow and two peacocks walked up the steps and tamely submitted. The Emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon Yue the special title 'Wise One' (Zhizhe). From then on, whenever he entered court, a special couch was inevitably set out for him to sit upon, while the Emperor sat at his side. In all, 48,000 people—including the Crown Prince, princes, ministers, dukes, monastics, and laypeople—received precepts from Yue. Even śramaṇas of advanced age received them anew. Only Master Fayun said, 'Since I already have the precepts, how can I turn the Buddha's Dharma into worldly human relations?' Thereupon, those who discussed it held him in high esteem.
9.26
(17) At that time, there was a Chan Master Da who had attained the water-visualization samādhi. Whenever he entered this concentration, anyone who peeked in saw only clear water standing still and filling the entire room. The śramaṇa Daoxian studied with Da and attained the fire-light samādhi; the room in which he stayed shone brightly in the dead of night.
9.27
(18) The Emperor applied his mind to the Dharma doors. At that time, Buddhist disciples were mostly unrestrained, and the monastic elders were weak and unable to regulate them. The Emperor was troubled by this and wished to personally use the vinaya to oversee the monastic affairs of the Buddhist administration. An edict was issued to the great virtues of the capital, and none dared to raise objections. Only Dharma Master Cang considered that the Buddha's Dharma is vast and profound, and cannot be exhausted by a single person; he stood firm and would not comply with the edict. The Emperor was surprised by this and summoned him to Guanghua Hall to question him about the matter. Cang presented the fundamental principles in person, holding his ground with firm basis; the Emperor could not sway him and ultimately complied with his view. Cang withdrew and said to the monks: 'His Majesty takes the Buddha's Dharma as his personal responsibility, which indeed deserves deference and compliance. However, even among ten sons of a noble family, not all can satisfy their father's wishes. If we now take a mixed assembly from the five regions and regulate them based on one person's likes and dislikes, the vinaya will be abandoned. Why do you gentlemen not consider this?' Master Fayun sighed and said: 'In the deep subtleties of doctrinal principles, I do not fall far behind, but in this day's action, I truly submit in shame.'
9.28
(19) The Emperor himself received the upasampadā. His living quarters were much like those of a śramaṇa. Although in the imperial palace, he would always allow monks to wander and sightsee at will, forbidding only the imperial throne. One day Master Zang ascended the hall and stepped onto it. The attendants shouted at him to stop. Zang said, "This poor monk is a scion of Dīpaṃkara and the Golden Wheel; why should I be ashamed of this seat? If I am put to death, I have no fear of lacking a place to be reborn." When the Emperor heard this, he let it go and did not punish him. When Zang was young, he met a physiognomist who said, "The Dharma Master's lifespan will not exceed thirty-one." Zang, terrified at the end of the year, daily recited the Diamond Prajñā. When the time came, he dreamt that the same person returned to tell him, "Because of the power of prajñā, the Dharma Master's lifespan is doubled for monks." He also once dreamt that Vimalakīrti descended into his room and spoke with him, and upon departing gave him a white chowry and left. From this time on, Zang's abstruse eloquence became fresher by the day.
9.29
(20) In the first year of the Zhengguang reign of the Northern Wei, Emperor Xiaoming performed the capping ceremony. He ordered śramaṇas and Daoist masters to discourse on the Dao in the palace. At that time, the Daoist master Jiang Bin and the śramaṇa Tanmoxui engaged in debate. The Emperor asked, "Were the Buddha and Laozi contemporaneous or not?" Jiang Bin said, "According to the Kaitian jing, Laozi traveled west to convert the barbarians, and the Buddha served as his attendant. Clearly, they were contemporaneous." Tanmoxui asked, "In what year of the Zhou dynasty was Laozi born?" Bin said, "He was born in the third year of King Ding, entered service under the Zhou in the fourth year of King Jian, and in the fourth year of King Jing, at the age of eighty-five, went west to convert the barbarians." Xui said, "Our Buddha was born in the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of the Zhou and attained parinirvāṇa in the fifty-second year of King Mu. From the parinirvāṇa of the Bhagavān to the third year of King Ding was altogether three hundred and forty-five years before Laozi was born. By the first year of King Jing, when Laozi journeyed west, the Bhagavān had already manifested nirvāṇa four hundred and twenty-five years before. Based on this, they are vastly distant from one another; to claim that he converted the barbarians, is that not completely false?" Bin said, "The Buddha was born in the era of King Zhao of Zhou—what written record is there of this?" Xui said, "The Zhoushu yiji and the Han faben neichuan both contain clear texts." Bin said, "When Confucius established norms, why is there no written record whatever concerning the Buddha?" Xui said, "Confucius had the three provisions and ten classics, referring to Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Buddha's texts and sayings appear in the Middle Provision." Bin said, "Since Confucius was a sage, why would he make use of ten?" Xui said, "The Buddha is the King of all Sages; he comprehends the past and future limits of all sentient beings. Good fortune and bad, beginning and end, do not depend on divination for him. The other lesser sages, even if they understand what has not yet occurred, must rely on yarrow stalks and tortoise shells before comprehending good and bad fortune." At that time, the palace attendant Liu Teng proclaimed an imperial decree, saying: "Jiang Bin's arguments lack any fundamental principle; he should withdraw from the assembly." He also asked: "Where was the Kaitian jing obtained, and by whom was it spoken? Bring it forth at once." When the scripture was brought, the Emperor ordered his ministers to examine and determine its authenticity. At that time, Grand Defender Xiao Zong, Grand Tutor Li Shi, and more than one hundred and sixty civil and military officials, after reading it, submitted an impeachment memorial saying: "Laozi composed only the five-thousand-character text and said nothing else. What Jiang Bin now relies upon is vulgar in diction and perverse in its core principles. It both defiles the former master and deceives the imperial court; his crime warrants punishment for deluding the masses." The Emperor sanctioned this. As they were about to execute the sentence, Tripiṭaka Master Bodhiruci petitioned for his pardon, and Bin was specially exiled to Mayi. Tanmoxui was adept in both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna and had strict vinaya practice. Early on, while expounding the vinaya in Handan, he moved more than sixty unusual bhikṣus to descend from the assembly to listen to the precepts. Whenever Bodhiruci saw him, he referred to him as the "Great Being of the East."
9.30
(21) The "Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism" in the Book of Wei states: The origin of the Daoist school stems from Laozi. As he himself said, he was born before Heaven and Earth to nourish the myriad kinds. Above, he resides in the Jade Capital as the ancestor of divine kings; below, he dwells in the Purple Tenuity as the master of flying immortals. With thousands of transformations, possessing virtue or non-virtue, he responds to things according to capacity, his traces ever unpredictable. He instructed Xuanyuan on Mount Emei, taught Emperor Ku at Mode, Great Yu received from him the secret of longevity, and Yin Xi received the principles of the Dao and its virtue. As for scriptures of cinnabar writings, purple characters, ascending to the abstruse, and flying strides, and discourses on the five stones, golden radiance, wondrous being, and numinous caves, they cannot be fully recorded. As for its teachings: they all remove defiling burdens and cleanse the spirit, accumulate practices, establish merit, gather virtue, and increase goodness, even unto ascending to heaven in broad daylight and living long in the world. For this reason, the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han were insatiably devoted, exhausting their hearts and minds, seeking it everywhere, yet in the end never attained it, regretting it thereafter; hence there were the executions of Luan Da and the Xu clan. Yet that Dao deluded people, and those who imitated it were many. Emperor Ling placed a canopy at Zhuolong and set up an altar to perform rituals. When Zhang Ling received the Dao at Heming, he transmitted one thousand two hundred petitions to the celestial palace; disciples transmitted them to one another, and their practices spread widely. Purifications, offerings, kneelings, and prostrations each had their established methods. Thereupon the Three Primes, Nine Offices, and One Hundred and Twenty Palaces, and all the gods were governed by them. They also spoke of kalpa numbers, stealing quite a bit from Buddhist scriptures, claiming that when a kalpa ends, heaven and earth are both destroyed. Their books contain many esoteric prohibitions; those who are not their followers may not view them arbitrarily. As for transforming into gold, smelting jade, executing talismans, commanding water, and wondrous methods and arcane arts of thousands of sorts: the highest claim transformation into feathered beings flying to heaven, and the lesser claim the dispelling of disasters and reduction of calamities. Thus those fond of the strange frequently venerated and served it. Early on, when Emperor Wendi surrendered to the Jin, his attendants said he had ascended as an immortal at Yique. Emperor Taizu was fond of the sayings of Laozi and recited them untiringly. During the Tianxing reign, the Director of Ceremonies Dong Mi presented several dozen scrolls of immortal scriptures on ingestion; thereupon erudites of immortals were established, workshops for immortals were set up to boil and refine the hundred medicines, and the Western Mountains were sequestered to supply firewood, while convicts under death sentences were made to ingest them. Most died with no efficacy. After a long time, Taizu's interest waned somewhat, and it was halted.
9.31
(Renyin [522 CE]) The Northern Wei adopted the Zhengguang calendar.
9.32
(Guimao [523 CE]) Iron coins were minted. Many commoners illicitly minted them, and prices soared.
9.33
(Yisi [525 CE]) Northern Wei changed its reign era to Xiaochang.
9.34
(Dingwei [527 CE]) The reign era was changed to Datong. The Emperor visited Tongtai Temple and renounced his body.
9.35
(22) The First Patriarch, Great Master Bodhidharma, was the third son of King Xiangzhi of South India in Tianzhu. After the king passed away, the Master went forth from household life. Meeting the twenty-seventh patriarch Prajñātāra, he was entrusted with the Great Dharma. He then asked, "Now that I have attained the Dharma, which land should I convert?" Prajñātāra said, "After you receive the Dharma, wait sixty-odd years after my parinirvāṇa, then you should go to the land of Cīnasthāna to propagate and convert." He asked, "Are there Dharma vessels there capable of continuing our lineage? After a thousand years, will there be hindrances?" Prajñātāra said, "In the region you convert, those who attain bodhi will be countless. After my parinirvāṇa, that land will suffer calamities; in water, the patterned cloth—subdue it well. When you arrive, you must not stay long in the south. Listen to my gāthā: / 'Traveling the path across water, you will meet a sheep again; / Alone and melancholy, you secretly cross the river. / Under the sun, how pitiable the pair of elephant and horse! / Two shoots of tender cassia will flourish long.' / He further expounded eight gāthās, all serving as foretelling prophecies. When Prajñātāra showed nirvāṇa, the Master spread the teachings in his native land. It happened that his nephew, King Yijian, disparaged and slandered the Three Jewels. The Master dispatched his disciple Bodhi to slightly manifest supernatural powers to guide and convert him back to correctness. Seeing that the conditions in Cīnasthāna were ripe, the Master took leave of his assembly. King Yijian came in person to see the Master, who addressed him, saying: "You should diligently cultivate meritorious practices and protect the Three Jewels. My departure will not be long; in ninety-nine days I shall return." The king wept and said, "Since my uncle has conditions there, it is not for me to detain you. I only wish that you do not forget the land of your parents. When your task is done, return early." He then equipped a large ship, loaded it with myriad treasures, and the king personally led his ministers to see him off at the seashore. The Master sailed with merchants and reached the Southern Sea. Xiao Ang, the regional inspector of Guangzhou, accommodated him and reported the matter to the throne in a memorial. An imperial decree summoned him for an audience. The Master entered the court. The Emperor asked, "Since ascending the throne, we have built temples, transcribed scriptures, and ordained monks beyond number. What merit is there?" The Master said, "No merit whatsoever." The Emperor asked, "Why is there none?" The Master said, "These are small fruits of humans and devas, causes with outflows. Though they exist, they are not real." The Emperor asked, "What is true merit?" The Master said, "Pure wisdom, wondrous and bright, its essence fundamentally empty and quiescent. Such merit cannot be sought through the world." The Emperor asked, "What is the primary meaning of the holy truths?" He said, "Vast and void, with nothing holy." The Emperor asked, "Who faces us?" He said, "I do not know." The Emperor did not comprehend the abstruse purport. The Master lingered for a few days, then crossed the Yangtze River into Wei and stayed at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, spending the whole day in wall contemplation and nothing else. There was a monk named Shengguang who, inspired by a spirit, came to see the Master. The Master sat upright without looking back. It happened to snow heavily; Shengguang stood in the snow until it piled past his knees. Pitying him, the Master asked, "You have stood in the snow for a long time; what matter do you seek?" Guang said, "I only wish that out of Great Compassion you open the gate of nectar and broadly deliver all beings." The Master said, "The unsurpassed, wondrous path of all Buddhas is difficult to encounter in vast kalpas. How could one of minor virtue and minor wisdom, with a light and haughty mind, hope for the True Vehicle? It will merely be labor in vain." Hearing this admonition, Guang was overjoyed. He immediately took a sharp knife, severed his own left arm, and placed it before the Master. The Master said, "When all Buddhas first sought the path, they valued the Dharma and forgot their bodies. Now that you have severed your arm before me, your seeking may indeed be accepted." Receiving these words, Guang changed his name to Huike. He then asked, "May I hear the Dharma-seal of all Buddhas?" The Master said, "The Dharma-seal of all Buddhas is not obtained from others." He said, "My mind is not at peace; please, Master, pacify it." The Master said, "Bring your mind here, and I will pacify it for you." Ke said, "I have searched for my mind, but it is completely unobtainable." The Master said, "I have pacified your mind for you." Later, he briefly distinguished for Huike and others the Four Practices for entering the Path of the Great Vehicle. His words were:
9.36
Now, there are many ways of entering the Way, but to state what is essential, they do not go beyond two kinds: the first is entrance through principle, and the second is entrance through practice. Entrance through principle means awakening to the fundamental truth relying on the teaching, and deeply believing that all sentient beings share the identical true nature, which cannot be revealed merely because it is veiled by adventitious dust and false thoughts. If one abandons the false and returns to the true, abiding steadily in wall-contemplation, where there is neither self nor other and ordinary beings and sages are equal and one, firmly dwelling without moving and no longer following textual teachings, then one will secretly tally with principle. Free of discrimination, tranquil and asaṃskṛta—this is called entrance through principle. Entrance through practice has four [aspects]: first, the practice of requiting enmity; second, the practice of according with conditions; third, the practice of seeking nothing; and fourth, the practice of according with the Dharma. As for the practice of requiting enmity: whenever a practitioner of the Way encounters suffering, they should reflect, 'Through countless kalpas in the past, I have abandoned the fundamental and pursued the trivial, wandering through various realms of existence, giving rise to much enmity and hatred, doing limitless injury and harm. Though I commit no fault today, this is the ripening of the fruit of evil karma and former misfortunes, which is not something given to me by gods or humans. I will willingly accept and endure it entirely without grievance or resentment.' When one forms this contemplation, it accords with principle; by comprehending enmity, one advances on the Way. Hence it is called the practice of requiting enmity. The practice of according with conditions means that sentient beings have no self and are entirely turned by conditions and karma; suffering and joy are received together, all arising from conditions. If one obtains superior recompense, honor, and the like, these are all brought about by past causes; when conditions are exhausted, they return to nothingness, so what is there to rejoice over? Gain and loss depend on conditions, while the mind undergoes neither increase nor decrease; unmoved by the wind of joy, one secretly accords with the Way. This is called the practice of according with conditions. The practice of seeking nothing means that worldly people are perpetually deluded, everywhere greedily attached. The wise awaken to the true and set their minds at ease in the asaṃskṛta; all existing things are empty, with nothing to be hoped for or desired. Long dwelling in the three realms is like a burning house; wherever there is a body, there is suffering—who can find peace? Clearly understanding this, one ceases thoughts and seeks nothing. Thus the sūtra says, 'Where there is seeking, all is suffering; where there is no seeking, there is joy.' Therefore, seeking nothing is truly the practice of the Way. Hence it is called the practice of seeking nothing. The practice of according with the Dharma means that the principle of intrinsic purity is regarded as the Dharma. In this principle, all characteristics are empty; there is neither defilement nor attachment, neither this nor that. The sūtra says, 'The Dharma has no self, because it is free from the defilement of self.' When the wise believe and understand this principle, they should act in accordance with the Dharma. The substance of the Dharma has no stinginess; regarding body, life, and wealth, one practices the dāna of giving without stinginess or regret in one's mind. Comprehending the three emptinesses, one relies on nothing and clings to nothing; solely for the sake of eliminating defilements, one transforms sentient beings in accord [with the Dharma] without grasping at marks. This constitutes self-cultivation, and it also benefits others, adorning the path to bodhi. Just as it is with dāna, so it is with the other five [pāramitās]. To eliminate false thoughts, one practices the six perfections while having nothing that is practiced. This is called the practice of according with the Dharma.
9.37
In the tenth month of the first year of Datong, the Master was about to manifest nirvāṇa. Daofu, the nun Zongchi, Daoyu, Huike, and others were attending at his side. He said, 'The time is approaching. Why do you not each state what you have attained?' Then Daofu said, 'According to my view, neither grasping at words nor departing from words, one acts for the functioning of the Way.' The Master said, 'You have attained my flesh.' The nun Zongchi said, 'What I see now is like Ānanda seeing the land of Akṣobhya Buddha: once seen, it is never seen again.' The Master said, 'You have attained my skin.' Chan master Daoyu said, 'The four elements are fundamentally empty, and the five skandhas do not exist; from where I see, there is not a single dharma to be attained.' The Master said, 'You have attained my bones.' The Great Master Huike then made three prostrations and returned to his place, standing [silently]. The Master said, 'You have attained my marrow.' Then, looking at Huike, he said, 'The Bhagavān entrusted the treasury of the eye of the correct Dharma to Mahākāśyapa, and it was transmitted successively down to me. I now entrust it to you; you must protect and uphold it. I also confer upon you the kāṣāya to serve as a token of faith in the Dharma.' Huike knelt and received the robe, wishing to hear instructions. The Master said, 'Inwardly I transmit the Dharma-seal to tally with the true mind; outwardly I bestow the Dharma robe to determine the ancestral tenet. In later generations, morals will decline and doubts and suspicions will arise competitively, saying, "I came from the Western Land, and you are from this region; on what basis did you attain the Dharma, and what serves as proof?" Should you encounter adverse conditions, simply bring forth this robe to manifest trust, and your teaching will be unhindered. Over two hundred years after my passing, the robe will cease to be transmitted, and the Dharma will spread throughout worlds as numerous as sand grains; those who silently accord and secretly tally with it will number more than tens of thousands. You must expound and transform, never looking down upon the unawakened. With a single thought turning back the capacity [of the mind], one is identical with what was originally possessed. Listen to my gāthā: / "I originally came to this land / To transmit the Dharma and save deluded beings. / A single flower opens into five petals, / And the bearing of fruit naturally matures."' He also said, 'I have the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra in four fascicles, which I also bestow upon you; it is the essential gateway to the mind-ground of the Tathāgatas. Since leaving Southern India to come to this eastern land, I saw that the Red County of the Divine Continent had the atmosphere of the Mahāyāna, and so I crossed oceans and deserts to seek people for the sake of the Dharma. When conditions were not yet harmonious, I was like someone foolish or inarticulate. Now that I have attained you to transmit it to, my intention is complete.' He then went with his disciples to Qiansheng Monastery at Yumen. Yang Xuanzhi, governor of Qicheng, asked, 'In the Five Indies of the Western Heaven, masters are succeeded as patriarchs. What is their Way like?' The Master said, 'One who clarifies the Buddha-mind school, whose practice and understanding correspond, is called a patriarch.' Xuanzhi said, 'Your disciple has long revered the Three Jewels, but my wisdom is dim and obscure. I pray the Master will compassionately disclose the essential tenet.' The Master answered him with a gāthā: / 'Not seeing evil and giving rise to aversion, / Not observing good and striving to establish it; / Not abandoning wisdom to draw near to folly, / Not throwing away delusion to approach awakening; / Comprehending the Great Way beyond all measure, / Clarifying the Buddha-mind beyond limitation; / Not tangled with the ordinary or the sacred, transcendent— / This is called a patriarch.' Hearing the gāthā, Xuanzhi bowed with his head to the ground and said, 'I pray the Master will, in his compassion and forbearance, dwell long in the world.' The Master said, 'My affinity for transforming is finished, and the transmission of the Dharma has found its person. I shall soon pass away.' On that day, sitting upright, he entered nirvāṇa. His disciples enshrined his whole body and buried it at Dinglin Monastery on Mount Xiong'er. The next year, the Wei envoy Song Yun returned from the Western Regions and met the Master at the Congling Mountains, carrying a single shoe in his hand, striding along alone with an airy grace. Yun asked, 'Where is the Master going now?' He replied, 'Going to the Western Heaven.' When Yun returned to court and recounted the affair in full, the disciples opened the crypt, and there were only the empty coffin and a single shoe remaining. Emperor Wu of Liang heard about the full circumstances of the Master’s manifestations and personally composed an inscription, carving it into stone on Mount Zhong.
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Linked texts (1)
- 佛祖歷代通載 — Classical Chinese