高僧傳 2.8

2.8

At that time there were two brothers, princes of Yarkand and generals, who relinquished their kingdom to follow him and become śramaṇas. The elder was named Sūryabhadra, and the younger was named Sūryasoma. Sūryasoma's talents and abilities were extraordinary, and he dedicated himself exclusively to teaching the Mahāyāna; his elder brother and various scholars all took him as their master. Jīva also revered and followed him, and their friendship grew exceedingly close. Sūryasoma later explained the *Anavatapta-sūtra* to Jīva. When Jīva heard that the aggregates, realms, and sense-bases are all empty and signless, he was astonished and asked: "What further meaning does this sūtra have, that it demolishes all phenomena?" Sūryasoma replied: "The eye and other phenomena do not exist in reality." Since Jīva held that the visual faculty exists, while Sūryasoma maintained that it lacks real existence because it is causally conditioned, they debated the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna back and forth for a long time. Jīva only then understood where the true principle lay and came to devote himself entirely to the Mahāyāna scriptures. He sighed and said: "My past study of the Hīnayāna was like a person who does not recognize gold and regards brass as wondrous!" Thereupon he broadly sought out the essential doctrines and received and recited the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā*, *Śata-śāstra*, and *Dvādaśamukha-śāstra*.