高僧傳 3.36

3.36

In his youth he was fond of traveling, vowing to disseminate the teachings. He traveled through various countries and reached Kucha. One day before his arrival, the king dreamed that a deity told him, "A person of great merit and virtue will enter your country tomorrow; you should make offerings to him." The next morning, the king ordered the external bureaus that if an extraordinary person entered the borders, they must ride to report it immediately. Soon after, Mitra indeed arrived; the king went out to the suburbs in person to welcome him, invited him into the palace, and received the precepts from him, exhausting the courtesies of the four requisites. Mitra was at ease yet able to move on, not bound by gain and offerings. After dwelling there for several years, he secretly had the intention to depart. The deity again sent a dream, saying, "The person of merit and virtue is leaving the king and departing." The king awoke with a start. Although the ruler and ministers tried firmly to retain him, none could stop him. He then crossed the shifting sands and proceeded to Dunhuang, establishing a vihāra in a quiet and spacious place. He planted a thousand apple trees and opened a hundred mu of gardens; the rooms, pavilions, ponds, and marshes were exceedingly magnificent and pure. Shortly afterward, he went to Liangzhou, where he repaired the halls and buildings of an old monastery at the government office. The students were numerous, and the enterprise of dhyāna flourished greatly.