高僧傳 2.17

2.17

Earlier, the śramaṇa Sengrui was exceptionally brilliant in talent and understanding. He frequently accompanied Kumārajīva to transcribe his words. Kumārajīva often discussed the literary style of the Western Regions with Sengrui, evaluating the similarities and differences, saying: 'The customs of Tianzhu place great weight on literary composition. In their tonal rhythm, what can be set to stringed music is considered good. Whenever one has an audience with a king, one must praise his virtues; in the ritual for seeing the Buddha, singing praises is held in the highest esteem. The gāthās in the sūtras all follow this format. But when changing Sanskrit into Qin, the ornate elegance is lost. Although the general meaning is grasped, it is entirely divorced from the literary style. It is like chewing rice to feed another: not only is the flavor lost, it even induces retching.' Kumārajīva once composed a verse and presented it to the śramaṇa Fahe, saying: 'The mountain of the mind nurtures bright virtue, / shedding fragrance over ten thousand yojanas. / The sorrowful luan bird atop the solitary tong tree, / its pure voice reaches the nine heavens.' He made ten gāthās in all, and their diction and metaphors were all of this kind. Kumārajīva was deeply fond of the Mahāyāna and had resolved to disseminate it widely. He often sighed and said: 'If I were to set brush to paper and compose a Mahāyāna Abhidharma, Kātyāyanīputra would be no match for me. Now, in the land of Qin, those of deep insight are few; with my wings broken here, what is there to discuss?' Thereupon he stopped in sorrow. He only composed the two-fascicle Treatise on the True Mark for Yao Xing, and annotated the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa. His spoken words naturally formed elegant compositions, requiring no deletions or alterations; his diction was gentle and refined, and every word contained profound meaning.