高僧傳 14.2

14.2

原夫至道沖漠，假蹄筌而後彰；玄致幽凝，藉師保以成用。是由聖迹迭興，賢能異託。辯忠烈孝慈，以定君敬之道；明詩書禮樂，以成風俗之訓。或忘功遺事，尚彼虛沖；或體任榮枯，重茲達命。而皆教但域中，功存近益。斯蓋漸染之方，未奧盡其神性。至若能仁之為訓也，考業果幽微，則循復三世；言至理高妙，則貫絕百靈。若夫啟《十地》以辯慧宗，顯二諦以詮智府。窮神盡性之旨，管一樞極之致。餘教方之，猶群流之歸巨壑，眾星之共北辰，悠哉邈矣。信難得以言尚。至迺教滿三千，形遍六道。皆所以接引幽昏，為大利益。而以淨穢異聞，昇墜殊見。故秋方先音形之本，東國後見聞之益。雲龍表於夜明，風虎彰乎宵夢。鴻風既扇，大化斯融。自爾西域名僧往往而至，或傳度經法，或教授禪道，或以異迹化人，或以神力救物。自漢之梁，紀曆彌遠。世涉六代，年將五百。此土桑門，含章秀起，群英間出，迭有其人。眾家記錄，敘載各異。沙門法濟，偏敘高逸一迹。沙門法安，但列志節一行。沙門僧寶，止命遊方一科。沙門法進，迺通撰傳論。而辭事闕略，並皆互有繁簡，出沒成異。考之行事，未見其歸。宋臨川康王義慶《宣驗記》及《幽明錄》、太原王琰《冥祥記》、彭城劉悛《益部寺記》、沙門曇宗《京師寺記》、太原王延秀《感應傳》、朱君台《徵應傳》、陶淵明《搜神錄》，並傍出諸僧，敘其風素，而皆是附見，亟多疎闕。齊竟陵文宣王《三寶記傳》，或稱佛史，或號僧錄，既三寶共敘，辭旨相關，混濫難求，更為蕪昧。瑯瑘王巾所撰《僧史》意似該綜，而文體未足。沙門僧祐撰《三藏記》。止有三十餘僧，所無甚眾。中書郎郄景興《東山僧傳》、治中張孝秀《廬山僧傳》、中書陸明霞《沙門傳》，各競舉一方，不通今古；務存一善，不及餘行。逮乎即時，亦繼有作者。然或褒贊之下，過相揄揚；或敘事之中，空列辭費。求之實理，無的可稱。或復嫌以繁廣，刪減其事，而抗迹之奇，多所遺削，謂出家之士，處國賓王，不應勵然自遠，高蹈獨絕。尋辭榮棄愛，本以異俗為賢。若此而不論，竟何所紀。嘗以暇日，遇覽群作。輒搜撿雜錄數十餘家，及晉、宋、齊、梁、春秋書史，秦、趙、燕、涼、荒朝偽曆，地理雜篇，孤文片記。并博諮古老，廣訪先達，校其有無，取其同異。始于漢明帝永平十年，終至梁天監十八年，凡四百五十三載，二百五十七人，又傍出附見者二百餘人。開其德業，大為十例：一曰譯經，二曰義解，三曰神異，四曰習禪，五曰明律，六曰遺身，七曰誦經，八曰興福，九曰經師，十曰唱導。然法流東土，蓋由傳譯之勳。或踰越沙險，或泛漾洪波，皆忘形殉道，委命弘法。震旦開明，一焉是賴。茲德可崇，故列之篇首。至若慧解開神，則道兼萬億；通感適化，則彊暴以綏；靖念安禪，則功德森茂；弘贊毘尼，則禁行清潔；忘形遺體，則矜吝革心；歌誦法言，則幽顯含慶；樹興福善，則遺像可傳。凡此八科，並以軌迹不同，化洽殊異。而皆德効四依，功在三業，故為群經之所稱美，眾聖之所褒述。及夫討覈源流，商搉取捨，皆列諸贊論，備之後文。而論所著辭，微異恒體，始標大意，類猶前序。未辯時人，事同後議。若間施前後，如謂煩雜。故總布一科之末，通稱為論。其轉讀宣唱，雖源出非遠，然而應機悟俗，實有偏功。故齊、宋雜記，咸條列秀者。今之所取，必其製用超絕。及有一分通感，迺編之傳末。如或異者，非所存焉。凡十科所敘，皆散在眾記。今止刪聚一處，故述而無作。俾夫披覽於一本之內，可兼諸要。其有繁辭虛贊，或德不及稱者，一皆省略。故述六代賢異，止為十三卷，并序錄合十四軸，號曰《高僧傳》。自前代所撰，多曰名僧。然名者，本實之賓也。若實行潛光，則高而不名。寡德適時。則名而不高。名而不高本非所紀；高而不名，則備今錄。故省名音，代以高字。其間草創，或有遺逸。今此一十四卷，備贊論者，意以為定。如未隱括，覽者詳焉。

Now, the Ultimate Way is silent and empty, yet made manifest through figurative traps and snares; the profound truth is deep and congealed, yet brought into application relying on guides and teachers. Thus, holy traces arose alternately, and worthy and capable persons relied on different [means]. They clarified loyalty, bravery, filial piety, and kindness to determine the way of honoring the sovereign; they illuminated the Odes, Documents, rites, and music to establish instructions for customs and manners. Some forgot achievement and cast aside affairs, prizing vacuity and stillness; others adapted themselves to glory and decline, attaching importance to resigning themselves to fate. Yet their teachings were confined solely to the mundane realm, their efficacy aimed only at immediate benefit. These were merely gradual and imperceptible methods, never penetrating deeply into spiritual nature to its ultimate end. As for the teachings of the Munificent Sage (Śākyamuni), when examining the subtle profundities of karmic fruits, they trace and cycle through the three periods of time; when speaking of the lofty subtlety of the ultimate truth, they transcend and surpass all spiritual beings. He expounded the Ten Stages to elucidate the essence of wisdom, and revealed the two truths to explain the storehouse of cognition. His principles plumb spiritual nature to the utmost, grasping the single pivotal culmination. If other teachings are compared to it, they are like the many streams returning to the great abyss, or the host of stars paying homage to the Northern Celestial Pole—how vast and distant it is! Truly it cannot be adequately praised in words. As for his teachings filling the trichiliocosm, and his physical manifestations pervading the six realms, all were means to guide the dim and benighted, bringing them great benefit. Yet because the pure and impure perceive differently, and the ascending and falling hold distinct views, the western regions first received the foundational presence of his voice and form, while the eastern lands only later received the benefits of hearing and seeing. The cloud and dragon manifested in the night's illumination; the wind and tiger became apparent in the midnight dream. Once the great gale blew forth, the immense transformation dissolved boundaries. From then on, renowned monks from the Western Regions arrived one after another, either transmitting and translating sūtras and teachings, instructing in dhyāna practice, transforming people through extraordinary deeds, or rescuing living beings with spiritual powers. From the Han to the Liang, the course of annals has been long indeed. Spanning six dynasties, the years approach five hundred. The śramaṇas of this land have brought forth their splendid brilliance, and a succession of outstanding talents has repeatedly emerged. The records of various authors recount and transmit them differently: the śramaṇa Faji exclusively narrated the single trace of the lofty and untrammeled; the śramaṇa Fa'an listed only the single conduct of determination and integrity; the śramaṇa Sengbao restricted himself to designating the single category of itinerant wandering; the śramaṇa Fajin composed comprehensive biographies and treatises. Yet in both literary style and recorded events there were omissions, displaying varying degrees of verbosity and concision, and discrepancies in inclusion and omission. When examining the deeds, one fails to see their definitive aim. The Prince of Kang of Linchuan under the Song, Yiqing's Record of Manifestations and Record of the Hidden and Manifest Worlds; Wang Yan of Taiyuan's Records of Signs from the Unseen Realm; Liu Quan of Pengcheng's Records of the Monasteries in Yibu; the śramaṇa Tancheng's Records of Monasteries in the Capital; Wang Yanxiu of Taiyuan's Biographies of Resonance and Response; Zhu Juntai's Biographies of Manifest Signs; and Tao Yuanming's Records of Searching for the Spirits—all included monks as secondary figures and described their demeanour and simplicity, yet these were all peripheral notices, excessively fraught with neglect and deficiencies. The Record and Biographies of the Three Jewels by Prince Wenxuan of Jingling under the Qi was alternately called the Buddhist History or the Monastic Catalog; since the Three Jewels were narrated together and their words and intents overlapped, it became confounded and hard to navigate, growing all the more cluttered and obscure. The Monastic History composed by Wang Jin of Langye seemed comprehensive in conception, yet deficient in literary style. The Record of the Tripiṭaka compiled by the śramaṇa Sengyou contains only thirty-odd monks, leaving out very many. The Eastern Mountain Biographies of Monks by the Secretariat drafter Xi Jingxing, the Mount Lu Biographies of Monks by the Attendant Officer Zhang Xiaoxiu, and the Biographies of Śramaṇas by the Secretariat drafter Lu Mingxia each vied to highlight a single region without connecting past and present, aiming to preserve a single virtue while neglecting other deeds. Down to the present, there have also been successive authors. However, in their praises, they exaggerated excessively in acclaim; or in their narratives, they made empty displays of wasteful verbiage. When seeking the actual truth, there was nothing worthy of commendation. Or again, disliking broad prolixity, they abridged the events, whereby much of the marvel of their aloof conduct was left out and deleted, claiming that renouncers of household life, dwelling in a realm as guests of the king, ought not to hold themselves aloof and independently transcendent. But looking into their renunciation of glory and abandonment of affection, they were considered worthy precisely because they differed from the secular world. If this is not discussed, what is there left to record? During my leisure days, I happened to read through these diverse works. Thereupon, I searched and gathered through several dozen miscellaneous records, as well as the spring-and-autumn annals and histories of the Jin, Song, Qi, and Liang, the irregular chronicles and false annals of Qin, Zhao, Yan, and Liang, miscellaneous geographical treatises, and fragmentary documents and brief notices. I also widely consulted the elders of old, extensively interviewed senior luminaries, collated what was present and absent, and extracted their agreements and differences. Beginning with the tenth year of the Yongping era of Emperor Ming of the Han, and ending in the eighteenth year of the Tianjian era of the Liang, covering altogether 453 years, there are 257 principal figures, plus over two hundred persons who appear peripherally as secondary notices. Setting forth their virtues and achievements, they are broadly divided into ten categories: first, Translators of Sūtras; second, Exegetes; third, Wonder-workers; fourth, Practitioners of Dhyāna; fifth, Masters of the Vinaya; sixth, Self-immolators; seventh, Cantors of Sūtras; eighth, Promoters of Merit; ninth, Sūtra Lectors; and tenth, Changers of Intonation (Hymnodists). Now, the flow of the Dharma into the Eastern Land was truly due to the merit of transmission and translation. Whether crossing the perils of deserts or drifting across vast waves, they all forgot their bodies and sacrificed their lives for the Way, dedicating their lives to propagating the Dharma. The enlightenment of China relied entirely upon this. This virtue is venerable, and is therefore placed at the head of the chapters. As for when insightful understanding opens the spirit, the Way embraces ten thousand myriad [phenomena]; when communion and spiritual response adapt to bring transformation, the violent and tyrannical are pacified; when calming thoughts and resting in dhyāna, merits flourish luxuriously; when broadly extolling the Vinaya, disciplinary conduct remains pure and unblemished; when forgetting the physical frame and abandoning the body, the arrogant and stingy transform their minds; when chanting and reciting Dharma words, both the unseen and visible realms partake in joy; when establishing and promoting blessed goodness, surviving images can be handed down. These eight categories all follow distinct tracks, and their transformative influences permeate differently. Yet all their virtues correspond to the Four Reliances, and their achievements reside in the three modes of action (thought, word, deed); hence they are praised by the various sūtras and extolled by the holy ones. As for examining their origins and developments, and weighing what to select and what to discard, these are all laid out in the appraisals and treatises, provided in the subsequent text. The phrasing adopted in these treatises differs slightly from the conventional style: initially indicating the overarching meaning, it resembles a preceding preface; but at the end, discussing contemporary figures, the matter is like a concluding deliberation. If inserted between the beginning and the end, it would seem confusing and disorganized. Therefore, they are uniformly placed at the end of each category, collectively termed treatises. As for chanting, reading, and preaching, although their origins are not ancient, their adaptation to capacity and enlightenment of the vulgar truly possessed a distinct efficacy. Hence, the miscellaneous records of Qi and Song all listed the outstanding figures. Those selected now must have excelled beyond compare in composition and execution, and have possessed a degree of divine communion, before being compiled at the end of the biographies. If they differed, they were not retained. What is narrated across all ten categories was originally scattered throughout various records. Now, I have merely excised and gathered them in one place, thus 'transmitting without inventing'. This is to enable those who peruse this single work to hold all essentials together. Where there were verbose words, empty eulogies, or virtue insufficient to be commended, all have been omitted. Thus, narrating the worthy and extraordinary of the six dynasties, it comprises only thirteen fascicles, which together with the preface and table of contents make fourteen rolls in total, entitled Biographies of Eminent Monks. In the writings of previous eras, they were mostly titled 'Renowned Monks'. But fame is merely the guest of reality. If real practice conceals its light, then one is eminent without being renowned. If meager in virtue but adapting to the times, one is renowned without being eminent. The renowned but not eminent were originally not fit to be recorded; the eminent but not renowned are fully included in the present catalog. Therefore, I have removed the word 'renowned' and substituted it with the word 'eminent'. In the course of drafting, there may have been omissions. These fourteen scrolls, complete with appraisals and treatises, represent my intended definitive form. If there are things not yet refined or corrected, let the readers examine them with care.