高僧傳 7.18

7.18

When the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra first arrived in the Song territory, its textual phrasing was very good, but the number of chapters was sparse and brief, so that beginners found it difficult to grasp. Yan thereupon, together with Huiguan, Xie Lingyun, and others, added chapter headings based on the Niyuan (Nirvāṇa) text. Where the phrasing was overly unadorned, they also revised and polished it considerably, and several editions began to circulate. Yan then dreamed of a man of immense stature, who sternly said to Yan: "The venerable scripture of Nirvāṇa—how could you lightly tamper with it!" Upon waking, Yan was terrified, and immediately assembled the monks, wishing to withdraw the earlier edition. At that time, discerning people all said: "This was probably meant to admonish and caution later generations; if it were truly impermissible, how could the dream only have occurred now?" Yan agreed with this. Shortly afterwards, he again dreamed of a divine person who told him: "By the power of propagating the scripture, you will surely see the Buddha."