高僧傳 2.7

2.7

至年十二，其母携還龜茲，諸國皆聘以重爵，什並不顧。時什母將什至月氏。北山，有一羅漢見而異之，謂其母曰：「常當守護此沙彌，若至三十五不破戒者，當大興佛法，度無數人，與優波掘多無異。若戒不全，無能為也，正可才明携詣法師而已。」什進到沙勒國，頂戴佛鉢，心自念言：「鉢形甚大，何其輕耶？」即重不可勝，失聲下之。母問其故，答云：「兒心有分別，故鉢有輕重耳。」遂停沙勒一年。其冬誦《阿毘曇》。於〈十門〉、〈修智〉諸品，無所諮受，而備達其妙，又於〈六足〉諸問，無所滯礙。沙勒國有三藏沙門名喜見，謂其王曰：「此沙彌不可輕，王宜請令初開法門，凡有二益：一國內沙門恥其不逮，必見勉強；二龜茲王必謂什出我國，而彼尊之是尊我也，必來交好。」王許焉，即設大會，請什升座，說《轉法輪經》，龜茲王果遣重使酬其親好。什以說法之暇，乃尋訪外道經書，善學《圍陀含多論》。多明文辭製作問答等事，又博覽《四圍陀》典及五明諸論。陰陽星算，莫不必盡，妙達吉凶，言若符契。為性率達，不厲小檢，修行者頗共疑之，然什自得於心，未嘗介意。

By the age of twelve, his mother took him back toward Kucha. The various kingdoms all invited him with high official ranks, but Jīva paid no heed to any of them. At that time, Jīva's mother brought him to the northern mountains of the Yuezhi. An arhat saw him, marveled at him, and said to his mother: "You must constantly guard this novice. If he does not break the precepts by the age of thirty-five, he will greatly cause the Buddhadharma to flourish, delivering countless people, no different from Upagupta. If his precepts are not kept whole, he will achieve nothing great and will merely be a Dharma master of talent and brilliance." Jīva proceeded to the kingdom of Kashgar. Holding the Buddha's alms-bowl on his head, he thought to himself: "The bowl's shape is quite large, so why is it so light?" Immediately it became too heavy to bear, and crying out, he set it down. When his mother asked why, he answered: "My mind formed a distinction, and therefore the bowl became heavy or light." He then stayed in Kashgar for a year. That winter he recited the Abhidharma. For chapters such as "Ten Gates" and "Cultivating Wisdom," he required no instruction yet completely mastered their subtleties; furthermore, regarding the questions of the "Six Pādas," he encountered no obstructions. In Kashgar there was a Tripiṭaka śramaṇa named Xijian (Priyadarśana), who said to the king: "This novice is not to be slighted. Your Majesty should invite him to open the Dharma gates for the first time, which will bring two benefits: first, the śramaṇas of our country, ashamed of their inferiority to him, will certainly exert themselves; second, the king of Kucha will certainly consider that Jīva came from his country, and that your honoring him is an honor to Kucha, and he will surely come to seek friendly relations." The king agreed and arranged a great assembly, inviting Jīva to ascend the seat and preach the *Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra*. The king of Kucha indeed dispatched an important envoy to return the goodwill. In his leisure from preaching the Dharma, Jīva sought out non-Buddhist scriptures and became skilled in the study of the *Vedas* and treatises. He mastered their composition of literary works, disputations, and so forth; he also read extensively in the texts of the *Four Vedas* and treatises on the five sciences. In yin-yang and astrology, there was nothing he did not master; he had a subtle understanding of good and ill fortune, and his words matched reality like two halves of a tally. By nature he was frank and easygoing, not disciplining himself in minor formalities, so practitioners often doubted him; yet Jīva was self-assured in his own mind and never paid them any heed.