[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059) › 1.22 # 高僧傳 1.22 高僧傳 1.22 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.1.22) 漢獻末亂，避地于吳，孫權聞其才慧，召見悅之，拜為博士，使輔導東宮，與韋曜諸人共盡匡益，但生自外域，故《吳志》不載。謙以大教雖行，而經多梵文，未盡翻譯，已妙善方言，乃收集眾本，譯為漢語。從吳黃武元年至建興中，所出《維摩》、《大般泥洹》、《法句》、《瑞應本起》等四十九經，曲得聖義，辭旨文雅。又依《無量壽》、《中本起》製《菩提連句梵唄》三契，并注《了本生死經》等，皆行於世。時吳地初染大法，風化未全，僧會欲使道振江左，興立圖寺，乃杖錫東遊，以吳赤烏十年，初達建鄴，營立茅茨，設像行道。時吳國以初見沙門，覩形未及其道，疑為矯異。有司奏曰：「有胡人入境，自稱沙門，容服非恒，事應檢察。」權曰：「昔漢明帝夢神，號稱為佛，彼之所事，豈非其遺風耶？」即召會詰問，有何靈驗。會曰：「如來遷迹，忽逾千載，遺骨舍利，神曜無方，昔阿育王起塔，乃八萬四千。夫塔寺之興，以表遺化也。」權以為誇誕，乃謂會曰：「若能得舍利，當為造塔，如其虛妄，國有常刑。」會請期七日。乃謂其屬曰：「法之興廢，在此一舉，今不至誠，後將何及。」乃共潔齋靜室，以銅瓶加几，燒香禮請。七日期畢，寂然無應，求申二七，亦復如之。權曰此寔欺誑，將欲加罪，會更請三七，權又特聽，會謂法屬曰：「宣尼有言曰：『文王既沒，文不在茲乎。』法靈應降，而吾等無感，何假王憲，當以誓死為期耳。」三七日暮，猶無所見，莫不震懼。既入五更，忽聞瓶中鎗然有聲，會自往視，果獲舍利。明旦呈權，舉朝集觀，五色光炎，照耀瓶上。權自手執瓶，瀉于銅盤，舍利所衝，盤即破碎。權大肅然，驚起而曰：「希有之瑞也。」會進而言曰：「舍利威神，豈直光相而已，乃劫燒之火不能焚，金剛之杵不能碎。」權命令試之，會更誓曰：「法雲方被，蒼生仰澤，願更垂神迹，以廣示威靈。」乃置舍利於鐵砧磓上，使力者擊之，於是砧磓俱陷，舍利無損。權大歎服，即為建塔，以始有佛寺，故號「建初寺」，因名其地為「佛陀里」。由是江左大法遂興。 > During the disturbances at the end of the reign of Emperor Xian of the Han, \[Zhi Qian\] fled to the region of Wu to avoid turmoil. Sun Quan heard of his talent and wisdom, summoned him to an audience, and, being delighted with him, appointed him an Academician (bóshì). He tasked him with guiding and instructing the Heir Apparent in the Eastern Palace and, together with Wei Yao and others, with fully providing rectifying counsel. However, because he was born in an alien realm, the \*Wu zhi\* (Record of Wu) does not record him. Seeing that although the great teaching was in circulation, most sūtras were in Indic texts and had not yet been fully translated, Qian, who was already exquisitely skilled in regional languages, collected various manuscripts and translated them into the Chinese language. From the first year of the Huangwu reign era of Wu (222 CE) to the Jianxing era (252–253 CE), he produced forty-nine sūtras, including the \*Vimalakīrti\*, the \*Mahāparinirvāṇa\*, the \*Dharmapada\*, and the \*Ruiying benqi jing\* (\*Sūtra of the Auspicious Origin\*). They subtly captured the sacred meaning, and their diction and thought were elegant and refined. Moreover, based on the \*Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra\* and the \*Zhong benqi jing\*, he composed the three sections of the \*Bodhi rhymed Indic chants\* (Boti lianju fanbai), and also commented on the \*Liaoben shengsi jing\*, all of which circulated in the world. At that time, the Wu region was only newly tinged with the Great Dharma, and its custom and moral transformation were not yet complete. Kang Senghui wished to cause the Way to flourish on the left bank of the Yangtze River and to erect stūpas and monasteries. He therefore took his tin staff and traveled east, arriving in Jianye for the first time in the tenth year of the Chiwu era of Wu (247 CE). He built a thatched hut and set up an image to practice the Way. At that time, the people of the state of Wu had seen a śramaṇa for the first time; having observed his appearance without yet reaching his Way, they suspected him of being bizarre and deceptive. An official submitted a memorial saying, "A barbarian has entered our territory, calling himself a śramaṇa. His appearance and clothing are extraordinary; the matter should be investigated." Sun Quan said, "Formerly, Emperor Ming of the Han dreamed of a deity called the Buddha. Could what he serves not be its enduring influence?" He immediately summoned Senghui and interrogated him as to what miraculous efficacy he possessed. Senghui said, "Since the Tathāgata departed, more than a thousand years have swiftly passed. His relic bones (śarīra) shine with inexhaustible divine radiance. Anciently, King Aśoka erected stūpas to the number of eighty-four thousand. Indeed, the flourishing of stūpas and monasteries serves to manifest his enduring transformation." Quan considered this to be boastful exaggeration, and so said to Senghui, "If you can obtain a relic, I shall build a stūpa for you. If it is empty falsehood, the state has its established punishments." Senghui requested a period of seven days. He then said to his disciples, "The rise or fall of the Dharma rests on this single undertaking. If we are not of utmost sincerity now, how will there be time for it later?" Thereupon, together they observed purificatory fasting in a quiet room, placed a copper vase upon a table, burned incense, and bowed in supplication. When the seven-day limit expired, all was silent without response. He requested an extension of two sevens (fourteen days), but it was likewise. Quan said that this was truly deceit and falsehood, and was about to impose punishment. Senghui once more requested three sevens (twenty-one days), and Quan again specially granted it. Senghui said to his Dharma companions, "Xuanni (Confucius) had a saying: 'King Wen having died, is culture not lodged here \[in me\]?' The divine response of the Dharma ought to descend, yet we have had no sympathetic resonance. Why wait for the king's law? We must make death our vowed deadline!" On the evening of the twenty-first day, still nothing was seen, and everyone was terrified. Once the fifth watch was entered, suddenly a clanging sound was heard within the vase. Senghui went himself to look, and indeed obtained a relic. The next morning he presented it to Quan. The entire court assembled to observe: flames of five-colored light illuminated above the vase. Quan took the vase in his own hands and poured it onto a bronze dish; where the relic struck, the dish was instantly shattered. Quan was deeply awed, leapt up in astonishment, and said, "A rare and marvelous sign!" Senghui stepped forward and said, "As for the awesome divine power of the relic, how could it be only its radiant appearance? Even the fire of the kalpa burning cannot consume it, and a diamond pestle (vajra) cannot crush it." Quan ordered it to be tested. Senghui made a further vow, saying, "The clouds of the Dharma are just now spreading, and the myriad people look up to its moisture. May you once more bestow a divine miracle, so as to display your awesome numinous power far and wide." He then placed the relic on an iron anvil and block, and ordered a strongman to strike it. Thereupon the anvil and block were both dented, while the relic was undamaged. Quan was deeply impressed and convinced, and immediately built a stūpa for it. Because it was the first Buddhist monastery, it was named the Jianchu Monastery ('Monastery of Initial Establishment'), and the place was consequently named Fotuoli ('Buddha Lane'). From this, the Great Dharma finally flourished on the left bank of the Yangtze. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.1.21) - [Next: 1.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.1.23) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059~en-mt.1.22) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (2) - [歷代三寶紀](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2034.5.159) — Classical Chinese - [大唐內典錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.2.10.3) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.1.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2059.1.22) · Pramāṇa