高僧傳 1.45

1.45

Śrīmitra was skilled in keeping incantations, and whenever he applied them, they proved effective. Formerly, there were no ritual methods for incantations east of the Yangtze River; Śrīmitra translated the Peacock King Sūtra (*Mayūrī-rāja-sūtra*), clarifying the various divine incantations. He also instructed his disciple Mili in loud chanting of Sanskrit stotras, the resonance of which has been transmitted to this day. He died during the Xiankang era of the Jin dynasty, at the age of over eighty. When the various noble lords heard of this, they grieved, shed tears, and lamented the loss. Huan Xuanwu often remarked that he had seen the High Seat [Śrīmitra] in his youth, praising his spiritual energy as surpassing all in those years. Wang Min of Langye served Śrīmitra as his teacher, and wrote a preface for him, saying: “In the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, the rulers of Wu and Chu were merely called *zi* (viscount); commentators held that this placed the Central States first and the four barbarian tribes behind. Was this not because, though descendants of the Three Dynasties, they practiced the customs of alien manners, and because the Rong and Di barbarians were covetous and lacking in humaneness and yielding disposition? Nevertheless, outstanding talents of the age are at times born there, and preeminent figures may equal those here. Thus we know that heaven-bestowed heroism does not depend on whether one is Chinese or barbarian. Since then, the Han dynasty only had Jin Midi. Yet Midi's worthiness went no further than humaneness, filial piety, loyalty, and sincerity, his virtue and fidelity being pure and consummate, not something that could be discussed in terms of brilliant discernment. The High Seat's mind attained the ultimate peak; his intercourse with the talented was spiritual, and his style and bearing were clear and surpassing, far exceeding him.”