付法藏因緣傳 5.4.3

5.4.3

At that time there was an arhat serving as the monastery’s karmadāna. The king said to him, “Now, whenever this wheel of swords hears the sound of the gaṇḍī, it stops at once, and in the meantime my suffering abates a little. I only pray that the venerable one, showing pity and compassion, will prolong the striking of the gaṇḍī whenever it is sounded.” The arhat, feeling pity, struck it for a prolonged time for him. When seven days had passed, his suffering was at an end. Because of that king, the monks of this monastery passed down the practice of striking the gaṇḍī for a long duration, and down to the present day it remains just as it originally was. In this way Aśvaghoṣa expounded the flavor of the nectar of Dharma with great practices and vows, bringing great benefit to King Kaniṣka. Having delivered countless hundreds of millions of people and completed what he had to do, he relinquished his life-faculty. His relics were collected, and a stupa was erected to make offerings to them. When the Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa was about to relinquish his life, he told a monk named Kapimala, “Āyusmat, you should know: the Buddha-Dharma is pure and able to remove the defilements of affliction. You must later disseminate and revere it.” Kapimala replied, “Excellent; I receive your instruction.” From then on, he widely proclaimed the true Dharma, adorning himself with subtle and wondrous merits. Skillful in his speech and deep in wisdom, there were no non-Buddhist heterodox treatises that he did not defeat. In South India he brought great benefit, composing the Treatise on Non-Self (Anātman-śāstra) in a full one hundred verses. Wherever this treatise reached, all were swept away in defeat, just as whatever a diamond strikes is shattered. When Kapimala was about to enter extinction, he entrusted the Dharma-treasury to a great being named Nāgārjuna, and only then relinquished his life. Later, Nāgārjuna widely spread the supreme eye for the sake of sentient beings, adorning himself with marvelous merits. Possessing heavenly intelligence and extraordinary comprehension, he never needed to ask twice about any matter. Erecting the Dharma banner, he subjugated heterodox paths; his merits such as these cannot be fully praised. Now I shall faithfully set forth the circumstances of his life. He was first born in South India into a great, noble, and wealthy family of the brāhmaṇa caste. At the time of his birth, he was beneath an arjuna tree; and because he attained the path through a nāga, he was named Nāgārjuna. From his youth he was intelligent and wise, his talent and learning surpassing the world. When he was still a child in swaddling clothes, he heard the brāhmaṇas reciting the four Vedas; these scriptures were profound and vast, consisting of forty thousand verses, each verse fully having thirty-two syllables, and he immediately illuminated and penetrated their phrases and meanings. Upon coming of age, his fame spread, and he traveled freely through various countries. In astronomy, geography, the constellations and prognostic charts, as well as the other arts and sciences, there was nothing he had not thoroughly mastered. He had three friends, all of extraordinary natural talent. They conferred with one another, saying, “The principles and meanings of the world that awaken the spirit, reveal the hidden purports, and increase wisdom—matters such as these we have completely mastered. By what other means shall we now amuse ourselves?” They said further, “In this world, pursuing beautiful women and giving free rein to extreme desires is the most supreme, marvelous pleasure of a lifetime. However, the position of a brāhmaṇa does not afford unchecked power; without some extraordinary stratagem, this pleasure will be difficult to attain. We should together seek an invisibility elixir; if that succeeds, this wish will surely be fulfilled.” All said, “Excellent! These words bring joy.” Thereupon they went to an occult master to seek the art of invisibility. The master thought to himself, “These four brāhmaṇas have lofty talents and deep wisdom, and they are extremely arrogant, treating all sentient beings like weeds. Now, solely on account of this art, they humble themselves to come to me. Yet these people investigate everything exhaustively and broadly; the only thing they do not know is this lowly art. If I teach them the formula, they will cast me aside forever. I will just give them the medicine without letting them know [the recipe]; when the medicine is exhausted, they will surely come back, and their discipleship will last a long time.” He then gave each of them a blue pill and said to them, “Take this pill, grind it with water, and smear it on your eyelids; your forms will naturally be concealed.” Having received the master's instruction, each ground the medicine. When Nāgārjuna smelled its fragrance, he immediately recognized it, without mistaking a single ounce or grain of the proportions and quantities. He returned to the master and explained the matter in full: “This medicine consists of a full seventy ingredients, and their names and amounts are all in accordance with the formula.” Hearing this, the master was astonished and asked how he knew it. Nāgārjuna answered, “Great master, you should know that all medicines naturally have their distinct odors; through them I knew it—why should it be considered strange?” When the master heard his words, he marveled at what he had never seen before and thought, “Even to hear of a person like this is rare, how much more so when I have met him in person—how could I begrudge this art?” He then transmitted the complete method to the four men. Following the formula, the four men compounded the medicine and concealed their bodies. Roaming about at will, they went together into the king's inner palace, where all the beautiful palace women were violated. After more than a hundred days, many of them were pregnant. They soon went to report it to the king in the hope of avoiding punishment. When the king heard this, he was deeply displeased: “What kind of inauspicious omen is this, that such a bizarre thing should happen?” He summoned all his wise ministers to deliberate on the matter. At that time, a minister said to the king, “This kind of occurrence can only be of two types: first, ghosts and spirits; second, occult arts. Fine soil can be scattered in the doorways, and guards can be posted to cut off those passing to and fro. If it is an occult art, their footprints will naturally appear; if it is ghosts and spirits, they will leave no footprints when entering. Human beings can be removed with weapons, while ghosts should be destroyed by mantras.” The king employed his plan and made full preparations according to the method. They saw four sets of footprints entering through the gate. The guards immediately reported it to the king. The king led several hundred brave warriors, who swung their swords in the air and severed the heads of three men. Within seven feet of the king, the swords did not strike; Nāgārjuna drew in his body and stood leaning close to the king. Thereupon he first realized that desire is the root of suffering, ruining virtue, endangering the body, and defiling pure conduct. He then vowed to himself, “If I can escape and avoid this disaster, I will surely go to a śramaṇa and receive the rules for leaving the household.” Having escaped, he entered the mountains, went to a Buddhist stupa, abandoned desire and affection, and left the household to follow the path. Within ninety days, he recited and fully mastered all the sūtras and treatises in Jambudvīpa. Seeking other scriptures further, he could find none anywhere. He then went toward the Snow Mountains and met a monk, who transmitted the Mahāyāna to him. He read, recited, delighted in, revered, and made offerings to it. Although he penetrated the true meaning, he had not yet obtained realization of the path. With endless eloquence, he was skilled in debate; non-Buddhists of heterodox learning, śramaṇas, and doctrinal masters were all subjugated by him and begged to take him as their teacher. He then thought of himself as an omniscient person, conceiving extreme arrogance and becoming exceedingly boastful. He then wanted to enter through Gautama's gate. At that time, the gate deity told Nāgārjuna, “Now your wisdom is like a mosquito or gnat; compared to the Tathāgata, it cannot be expressed in words. It is no different from a firefly matching its light with the sun and moon, or equating Mount Sumeru with a mustard seed. As I see it, worthy sir, you are not omniscient. Why do you wish to enter through this gate?” Hearing these words, he felt flushed with shame. At that time, a disciple said to Nāgārjuna, “Master, you always called yourself an omniscient person, yet now you humble yourself to become a disciple of the Buddha. The way of a disciple is to receive instruction from his teacher.”