高僧傳 6.64

6.64

Soon after, there was a brāhmaṇa from Siṃhala who was clever, eloquent, and learned, having perused almost all secular texts of the Western lands, and was the foremost leader of the non-Buddhists in that country. Hearing that Kumārajīva was broadly propagating the Buddhadharma in Guanzhong, he said to his followers, "How can the teachings of the Śākya clan alone be transmitted to China while our orthodox transformation does not reach the eastern realm?" He then rode a camel loaded with books and arrived in Chang'an. Yao Xing, seeing his glib speech and shifty eyes, was quite intrigued by him. The brāhmaṇa then addressed Yao Xing, saying, "The ultimate Way is non-exclusive; each respects his own practice. Now I request to contend in eloquence with the Qin monks; whichever proves superior, his teaching shall be propagated." Yao Xing granted this. At that time, the monastic community in Guanzhong looked at one another in dismay, none daring to face him. Kumārajīva said to Daorong, "This non-Buddhist is extraordinarily clever, and in a contest of words he is certain to win. If the unsurpassed Great Way were to be humbled through our disciples, it would be truly lamentable. If the non-Buddhist achieves his aim, the axle of the Dharma wheel will be broken; how could we allow this? As I see it, the task rests upon you alone." Daorong considered his own talent to be no less, yet he had not fully perused the non-Buddhist texts. He secretly had someone copy down the catalogue of scriptures read by the brāhmaṇa, and memorized them at a single glance. Later, on the appointed day for debating the doctrine, Yao Xing attended in person, and the ministers and dukes all assembled before the palace; the monks of Guanzhong and from all four directions gathered in full force. Daorong engaged the brāhmaṇa in debate, his sharp eloquence soaring into the profound, reaching heights the other could not match. The brāhmaṇa, knowing his arguments were defeated, still boasted of his extensive reading. Daorong then listed the books the brāhmaṇa had read, along with titles and fascicle counts of scriptures and histories of Qin, exceeding his by threefold. Kumārajīva teased him, saying, "Have you not heard of the extensive learning in Great Qin? Why did you come from afar so heedlessly?" The brāhmaṇa felt ashamed and submitted in defeat, prostrated at Daorong's feet, and left after a few days without achieving anything. In the revival of the semblance Dharma, Daorong played a great part.