高僧傳 3.39

3.39

Shi Zhimeng was a native of Xinfeng in Jingzhao, Yongzhou. He was upright and discerning by nature, and practiced pure and unblemished conduct. Having donned the Dharma robes in his youth, he devoted himself single-mindedly to his study, chanting texts day and night without interruption. Whenever he heard foreign monks recount that in the realm of India there were the relics of Śākya and the various Vaipulya sūtras, he was deeply moved and sighed with aspiration, his mind racing to those distant realms, believing that ten thousand li were but a step and a thousand years could be retraced. Consequently, in the jiachen year, the sixth year of the Hongshi era of the illegitimate Qin, he gathered fifteen like-minded śramaṇas and set out from Chang'an. Crossing rivers and bridging valleys in thirty-six places, they arrived at the city of Liangzhou. Leaving through the Yang Pass and entering the shifting sands to the west, they braved perils and trod dangers exceeding what had been recorded in previous accounts. They subsequently passed through the kingdoms of Shan-shan, Kucha, and Khotan, observing all their customs. Traveling two thousand li southwest from Khotan, they first ascended the Congling Mountains, where nine men turned back in retreat. Meng and the remaining companions pressed on for one thousand seven hundred li and reached the kingdom of Bolun. His traveling companion Zhu Daosong also passed away, and as they were about to cremate (jhāpeti) his body, the corpse suddenly disappeared. Meng grieved and marveled in sorrow, and thereupon pushed forward with all his might. Together with the remaining four men, he crossed the Snow Mountains, crossed the Indus (Sindhu) River, and reached the kingdom of Jibin. In that kingdom there were five hundred arhats who frequently traveled back and forth to Lake Anavatapta. A venerable arhat, seeing Meng's arrival, was delighted. Meng inquired about the land, and the arhat spoke to him about the affairs of the Four Heavenly Sons, which are fully recounted in Meng's Biography. In the kingdom of Qisha, Meng saw the Buddha's patterned stone spittoon, and in this same kingdom he saw the Buddha's bowl, which had a purplish-blue color and glowed entirely around its four rims. Meng offered fragrant flowers to it, placed it atop his head, and made a vow. The bowl responded accordingly, being capable of becoming light or heavy. Soon it grew so heavy that his strength could no longer bear it, yet when he set it down on the table, he no longer felt its weight; such was the response to his religious devotion. Moving southwest for another one thousand three hundred li, he reached the kingdom of Kapilavastu, where he saw the Buddha's hair, teeth, uṣṇīṣa bone, and shadow footprints, all fully and brightly preserved. He also beheld the Sala Grove of the Nirvāṇa and the Bodhi tree of the subjugation of Māra. Filled with joy, Meng made offerings for a day and covered the image of Māra's subjugation with a jeweled canopy and a monastic robe. Wherever he journeyed, he observed the miraculous manifestations; the accounts of the heavenly stairs and the dragon ponds were beyond count. Later, he arrived at Pāṭaliputra, the ancient capital of King Aśoka. There was a brahmin of great wisdom named Rādha, whose entire clan propagated the Dharma and who was deeply revered by the king; he had built a pure silver stupa thirty feet high. Seeing Meng arrive, he asked, "Are there Mahāyāna studies in the land of Qin?" Meng replied, "All are Mahāyāna studies." Rādha marveled and sighed, saying, "Rare indeed, rare indeed! Could it be that a bodhisattva has gone there to convert them?" In his house, Meng obtained one Sanskrit copy of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, one copy of the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya, and Sanskrit manuscripts of other sūtras. Having vowed to circulate them, he thereupon set off on his return.