高僧傳 3.9

3.9

Shortly afterwards, he wished to return to the south. The Regional Inspector of Qingzhou asked him to stay to spend the winter, but Faxian said: "I threw myself into lands from which none return, with my mind set on propagation; since what I aspired to has not yet been achieved, I cannot stay long." He then traveled south to the capital, and approached the foreign dhyāna master Buddhabhadra at Daochang Temple to translate the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya, the Fangdeng nihuan jing, and the Za apitan xin, amounting to nearly one million words. After Faxian produced the Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra, it was circulated and transformed people, enabling all to see and hear it. There was a family whose name is lost, residing near the Zhuque Gate, who had for generations revered the correct teachings. They personally copied a set to chant and worship; having no separate sūtra room, they kept it in the same room with miscellaneous secular books. Later, a wind-driven fire suddenly arose and spread to their home, completely consuming their possessions; only the Nirvāṇa Sūtra remained intact and complete, unaffected by the ashes and embers, with the colour of the scrolls unchanged. This was passed around throughout the capital, and all praised it as miraculous. The remainder of his sūtras and vinaya were not yet translated.