高僧傳 2.33

2.33

行達姑臧，而什已入長安，聞姚興逼以妾媵，勸為非法，乃歎曰：「羅什如好綿，何可使入棘林中。」什聞其至姑臧，勸姚興迎之，興未納。頃之，興命什譯出經藏，什曰：「夫弘宣法教，宜令文義圓通，貧道雖誦其文，未善其理，唯佛陀耶舍深達幽致，今在姑臧，願下詔徵之，一言三詳，然後著筆，使微言不墜，取信千載也。」興從之，即遣使招迎，厚加贈遺，悉不受，乃笑曰：「明旨既降，便應載馳，檀越待士既厚，脫如羅什見處，則未敢聞命。」使還具說之，興歎其幾慎，重信敦喻，方至長安。興自出候問，別立新省於逍遙園中，四事供養，並不受，時至分衛，一食而已。于時羅什出《十住經》。一月餘日，疑難猶豫，尚未操筆。耶舍既至，共相徵決，辭理方定，道俗三千餘人，皆歎其當要。舍為人赤髭，善解《毘婆沙》，時人號曰「赤髭毘婆沙」。既為羅什之師，亦稱大毘婆沙。四事供養，衣鉢臥具，滿三間屋，不以關心，姚興為貨之，於城南造寺。耶舍先誦《曇無德律》，偽司隸校尉姚爽請令出之，興疑其遺謬，乃請耶舍，令誦羌籍藥方可五萬言，經二日，乃執文覆之，不誤一字，眾服其強記。即以弘始十二年譯出《四分律》，凡四十四卷，并《長阿含》等。涼州沙門竺佛念譯為秦言，道含筆受。至十五年解座，興䞋耶舍布絹萬匹，悉不受，道含、佛念布絹各千匹，名德沙門五百人，皆重䞋施。

Upon reaching Guzang, [Kumāra]jīva had already entered Chang'an. Hearing that Yao Xing had forced him to take concubines and urged him to unseemly conduct, Yaśas sighed and said: “Kumārajīva is like fine silk; how could one let him enter a thicket of thorns?” When [Kumāra]jīva heard that he had reached Guzang, he urged Yao Xing to welcome him, but [Yao] Xing did not accept. Shortly after, Xing ordered [Kumāra]jīva to translate the sūtrapiṭaka. [Kumāra]jīva said: “Now, to propagate the teachings of the Dharma, the text and meaning should be made thoroughly cohesive. Although I, an impoverished monk, have memorised the text, I am not proficient in its underlying principles. Only Buddhayaśas deeply penetrates their subtle depths. He is now in Guzang. I pray that you issue an edict to summon him, so that each word may be thrice examined before committing it to writing, ensuring that the subtle words do not fall into decline and that trust may be won for a thousand years.” Xing complied, immediately dispatching an envoy to invite him and bestowing lavish gifts upon him, none of which he accepted. He laughed and said: “Since the enlightened decree has descended, I should indeed ride forth; but the dānapati treats men of worth so lavishly that if I were to be treated like Kumārajīva, I would not dare obey the command.” When the envoy returned and reported this in full, Xing admired his prudence and sent further letters of earnest persuasion, whereupon he finally came to Chang'an. Xing went out in person to greet and inquire after him, establishing a separate new lodge for him in Xiaoyao Garden. He offered him the four requisites, none of which Yaśas accepted; when the time came, he simply went on piṇḍapāta, taking only a single meal. At that time, Kumārajīva was translating the Daśabhūmika-sūtra; for over a month he harboured doubts and hesitations, not yet setting brush to paper. Once Yaśas arrived, they verified and resolved them together, and only then were the wording and principles settled. The three thousand or so monastics and laypeople all praised their accuracy. Yaśas had a red beard and was adept at explaining the Vibhāṣā; people of the time called him the “Red-bearded Vibhāṣā.” Because he was Kumārajīva's teacher, he was also called the “Great Vibhāṣā.” The four requisites offered to him—robes, bowls, and bedding—filled three rooms, but he paid no heed to them; Yao Xing sold them off to build a monastery south of the city. Yaśas had previously memorised the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya, and the acting Director of Retainers, Yao Shuang, requested that he translate it. Xing suspected he might omit or err in it, so he invited Yaśas and had him recite a Qiang registry of medicinal recipes of about fifty thousand words. After two days, they checked it against the written text, and not a single character was mistaken; the assembly marveled at his powerful memory. Thus in the twelfth year of Hongshi, he translated the Cāturvargīya-vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya) in forty-four fascicles, as well as the Dīrghāgama and other texts. The śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou translated it into the language of Qin, and Daohan recorded it with the brush. When the assembly concluded in the fifteenth year, Xing bestowed ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk upon Yaśas, none of which he accepted; Daohan and Fonian each received a thousand bolts of cloth and silk, and five hundred monks of eminent virtue were all heavily presented with gifts.