高僧傳 1.22

1.22

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.