高僧傳 2.10

2.10

有頃，什母辭往天竺，謂龜茲王白純曰：「汝國尋衰，吾其去矣。」行至天竺，進登三果。什母臨去謂什曰：「《方等》深教，應大闡真丹，傳之東土，唯爾之力。但於自身無利，其可如何。」什曰：「大士之道，利彼忘軀。若必使大化流傳，能洗悟矇俗，雖復身當爐鑊，苦而無恨。」於是留住龜茲，止于新寺。後於寺側故宮中，初得《放光經》。始就披讀，魔來蔽文，唯見空牒，什知魔所為，誓心逾固，魔去字顯，仍習誦之。復聞空中聲曰：「汝是智人，何用讀此。」什曰：「汝是小魔，宜時速去，我心如地，不可轉也。」停住二年，廣誦大乘經論，洞其祕奧。龜茲王為造金師子座，以大秦錦褥鋪之，令什升而說法。什曰：「家師猶未悟大乘，欲躬往仰化，不得停此。」俄而大師盤頭達多不遠而至，王曰：「大師何能遠顧？」達多曰：「一聞弟子所悟非常，二聞大王弘贊佛道，故冒涉艱危，遠奔神國。」什得師至，欣遂本懷，為說《德女問經》，多明因緣空假，昔與師俱所不信，故先說也。師謂什曰：「汝於大乘見何異相，而欲尚之？」什曰：「大乘深淨，明『有法皆空』，小乘偏局，多諸漏失。」師曰：「汝說一切皆空，甚可畏也，安捨有法而愛空乎？如昔狂人，令績師績線，極令細好，績師加意，細若微塵，狂人猶恨其麁，績師大怒，乃指空示曰：『此是細縷。』狂人曰：『何以不見。』師曰：『此縷極細，我工之良匠，猶且不見，況他人耶？』狂人大喜，以付織師。師亦効焉，皆蒙上賞，而實無物。汝之空法，亦由此也。」什乃連類而陳之，往復苦至，經一月餘日，方乃信服。師歎曰：「師不能達，反啟其志，驗於今矣。」於是禮什為師，言：「和上是我大乘師，我是和上小乘師矣。」西域諸國，咸伏什神俊，每至講說，諸王皆長跪座側，令什踐而登焉，其見重如此。

Shortly afterwards, Kumārajīva's mother took her leave to go to Tianzhu, saying to Bai Chun, King of Kucha, "Your state will soon decline; I must depart." Traveling to Tianzhu, she advanced to attain the third fruit. When about to depart, Kumārajīva's mother said to him, "The profound teachings of the vaipulya are destined to be widely propagated in Cīnasthāna; to transmit them to the eastern land depends solely on your strength. Yet there will be no benefit to your own person—what shall you do?" Kumārajīva said, "The way of the Great Being is to benefit others and forget one's own body. If only the Great Transformation can be made to spread, washing clean and awakening the benighted common folk, even if my body should face cauldrons and furnaces, I shall suffer without regret." He then remained in Kucha, dwelling in the Xin Temple. Later, in an old palace beside the temple, he first obtained the *Fangguang jing* [Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra]. Just as he opened and read it, Māra came to obscure the text, so that he saw only empty pages. Kumārajīva knew it was the work of Māra, and his resolve grew even firmer; Māra departed, the characters reappeared, and he continued to study and recite it. Furthermore, he heard a voice in the air saying, "You are a wise man; why read this?" Kumārajīva said, "You are a petty māra; you should leave at once! My mind is like the earth, immovable." He remained there for two years, extensively reciting Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises and thoroughly penetrating their secret depths. The King of Kucha had a golden lion throne constructed for him, spreading it with Da Qin brocade cushions, and commanded Kumārajīva to ascend it and expound the Dharma. Kumārajīva said, "My teacher has not yet awakened to the Mahāyāna; I wish to go in person to instruct him and cannot stay here." Soon, his grand master Bandhudatta arrived from not far away. The King said, "Why has the Grand Master come from so far?" Bandhudatta said, "First, I heard that my disciple's awakening is extraordinary; second, I heard that the Great King promotes and praises the Buddha Way. Therefore, braving hardship and danger, I have rushed from afar to this divine realm." Kumārajīva, having his teacher arrive, rejoiced that his original wish was fulfilled. He expounded the *Sūtra of the Questions of the Virtuous Maiden* (*Vimala-dārikā-paripṛcchā*) for him, largely clarifying that cause and conditions are empty and provisional—which he and his master had formerly both disbelieved, and therefore he expounded it first. His master said to Kumārajīva, "What distinctive marks do you see in the Mahāyāna that you wish to esteem it?" Kumārajīva said, "The Mahāyāna is profound and pure, clarifying that all existent phenomena are empty; the Hīnayāna is one-sided and narrow, with many outflows and defects." His master said, "Your preaching that all is empty is truly fearful! How can you abandon existent phenomena to love emptiness? Like the madman of old who ordered a spinner to spin thread, insisting that it be extremely fine and beautiful: the spinner took great care, making it as fine as fine dust, yet the madman still lamented its coarseness. The spinner grew furious, pointed to the empty air, and showed him: 'This is the fine thread.' The madman said, 'Why can I not see it?' The spinner said, 'This thread is extremely fine; even I, a skilled master of the craft, cannot see it—how much less could others?' The madman rejoiced greatly and gave it to the weaver. The weaver also imitated him; both received high rewards, yet in truth there was nothing. Your doctrine of emptiness is just like this." Kumārajīva then cited analogous cases to explain it, exchanging arguments with utmost earnestness; only after more than a month did his teacher submit in faith. His master sighed, saying, "The teacher could not comprehend, yet [the disciple] has in turn opened his mind—this is proven today." Thereupon, he bowed to Kumārajīva as his master, saying, "The upādhyāya is my Mahāyāna master, and I am the upādhyāya's Hīnayāna master." The states of the Western Regions all submitted to Kumārajīva's divine brilliance. Whenever he gave lectures, the kings would all kneel beside the seat and have Kumārajīva step upon them to ascend; such was the reverence shown to him.