高僧傳 2.33

2.33

Upon reaching Guzang, [Kumāra]jīva had already entered Chang'an. Hearing that Yao Xing had forced him to take concubines and urged him to unseemly conduct, Yaśas sighed and said: “Kumārajīva is like fine silk; how could one let him enter a thicket of thorns?” When [Kumāra]jīva heard that he had reached Guzang, he urged Yao Xing to welcome him, but [Yao] Xing did not accept. Shortly after, Xing ordered [Kumāra]jīva to translate the sūtrapiṭaka. [Kumāra]jīva said: “Now, to propagate the teachings of the Dharma, the text and meaning should be made thoroughly cohesive. Although I, an impoverished monk, have memorised the text, I am not proficient in its underlying principles. Only Buddhayaśas deeply penetrates their subtle depths. He is now in Guzang. I pray that you issue an edict to summon him, so that each word may be thrice examined before committing it to writing, ensuring that the subtle words do not fall into decline and that trust may be won for a thousand years.” Xing complied, immediately dispatching an envoy to invite him and bestowing lavish gifts upon him, none of which he accepted. He laughed and said: “Since the enlightened decree has descended, I should indeed ride forth; but the dānapati treats men of worth so lavishly that if I were to be treated like Kumārajīva, I would not dare obey the command.” When the envoy returned and reported this in full, Xing admired his prudence and sent further letters of earnest persuasion, whereupon he finally came to Chang'an. Xing went out in person to greet and inquire after him, establishing a separate new lodge for him in Xiaoyao Garden. He offered him the four requisites, none of which Yaśas accepted; when the time came, he simply went on piṇḍapāta, taking only a single meal. At that time, Kumārajīva was translating the Daśabhūmika-sūtra; for over a month he harboured doubts and hesitations, not yet setting brush to paper. Once Yaśas arrived, they verified and resolved them together, and only then were the wording and principles settled. The three thousand or so monastics and laypeople all praised their accuracy. Yaśas had a red beard and was adept at explaining the Vibhāṣā; people of the time called him the “Red-bearded Vibhāṣā.” Because he was Kumārajīva's teacher, he was also called the “Great Vibhāṣā.” The four requisites offered to him—robes, bowls, and bedding—filled three rooms, but he paid no heed to them; Yao Xing sold them off to build a monastery south of the city. Yaśas had previously memorised the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya, and the acting Director of Retainers, Yao Shuang, requested that he translate it. Xing suspected he might omit or err in it, so he invited Yaśas and had him recite a Qiang registry of medicinal recipes of about fifty thousand words. After two days, they checked it against the written text, and not a single character was mistaken; the assembly marveled at his powerful memory. Thus in the twelfth year of Hongshi, he translated the Cāturvargīya-vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya) in forty-four fascicles, as well as the Dīrghāgama and other texts. The śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou translated it into the language of Qin, and Daohan recorded it with the brush. When the assembly concluded in the fifteenth year, Xing bestowed ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk upon Yaśas, none of which he accepted; Daohan and Fonian each received a thousand bolts of cloth and silk, and five hundred monks of eminent virtue were all heavily presented with gifts.