高僧傳 1.56

1.56

In the first year of the Long'an era, Saṃghadeva traveled to the capital. The princes, nobles, and stylish celebrities of the Jin dynasty all visited his seat to pay their respects. At that time, General of the Guard and Marquis of Dongting, Wang Xun of Langye, possessed deep and magnificent faith; upholding the true Dharma, he established a vihāra and widely invited a gathering of scholars. Once Saṃghadeva arrived, Wang Xun immediately invited him, and Saṃghadeva expounded the *Abhidharma* at his residence, with famous monks gathering completely. As Saṃghadeva's doctrines were refined and his phrasing clear and analytical, giving vitality to the doctrinal principles, the entire assembly was pleased and enlightened. At that time Wang Mi was also listening in the audience, and later gave his own lecture in a separate chamber. Wang Xun asked the Director of the Dharma, the man of the Way: “How much did A-Mi grasp?” He replied: “In broad outline, he got it entirely; it is just slightly lacking in precision.” Saṃghadeva's clarity in exposition was so capable of opening people's minds. That winter, Wang Xun gathered over forty śramaṇas of doctrinal learning from the capital, including Shi Huichi, to request that Saṃghadeva retranslate the *Madhyama-āgama* and other texts. The Kashmiri śramaṇa Saṃgharakṣa held the Sanskrit text, and Saṃghadeva translated it into Chinese, completing it only by the following summer. The various scriptures he produced around the Yangtze and Luoyang totaled more than a million words. Having traveled among both Chinese and barbarians, he was thoroughly familiar with their customs; he was composed, quick-witted, and skilled in witty conversation, and his renown for preaching the Way was heard everywhere. Later, it is not known where he ended his life.