高僧傳 2.39

2.39

Shortly afterwards, he arrived at Donglai Commandery in Qingzhou. Hearing that Kumārajīva was in Chang'an, he went at once to join him. Kumārajīva was greatly delighted. They discussed the characteristics of phenomena, uncovering the subtle and profound, and gained much realization and benefit. [Buddhabhadra] thereupon said to Kumārajīva, "Your explanations do not exceed common understanding, yet why have you attained such high renown?" Kumārajīva replied, "It is merely because I am old; why must it be that I am worthy of such fine praise?" Whenever Kumārajīva had doubtful points, he would always consult and resolve them with him. At that time, the Qin crown prince Yao Hong wished to hear [Buddhabhadra] preach the Dharma, so he invited the host of monks to assemble and debate in the Eastern Palace. Kumārajīva and [Buddhabhadra] engaged in several exchanges. Kumārajīva asked, "How are dharmas empty?" [Buddhabhadra] replied, "Aggregations of subtle particles form matter. Matter has no intrinsic nature; therefore, though it is matter, it is ever empty." [Kumārajīva] asked again, "Since matter is reduced to emptiness by means of infinitesimal particles, how then do you break down the particles?" He replied, "Various masters may break down and analyze a single particle, but my view is not so." [Kumārajīva] asked again, "Is the particle eternal?" He replied, "Because of one particle, the many particles are empty; because of many particles, the one particle is empty." At that time, Baoyun translated these words, but did not understand their meaning, so both clergy and laity all claimed that [Buddhabhadra] maintained that subtle dust particles are eternal. On another day, the scholar-monks of Chang'an again requested a further explanation. [Buddhabhadra] said, "Dharmas do not arise of themselves; they arise through the conjunction of conditions. Conditioned by one particle, there are many particles; since particles have no intrinsic nature, they are empty. How could one say that without breaking down a single particle, it is eternal and not empty?" Such was the main drift of their question and answer. Yao Xing, the ruler of Qin, was devoted to the Buddhadharma and supported more than three thousand monks, all of whom frequented the palace halls and engaged actively in secular affairs. Only [Buddhabhadra] preserved stillness and did not join the crowd. Later he said to his disciples, "Yesterday I saw five ships depart together from my homeland." The disciples then relayed this to outsiders, and the senior monks of Guanzhong all considered it a display of abnormalities to delude the masses.