續高僧傳 1.15

1.15

拘那羅陀。陳言親依。或云波羅末陀。譯云真諦。並梵文之名字也。本西天竺優禪尼國人焉。景行澄明器宇清肅。風神爽拔悠然自遠。群藏廣部罔不厝懷。藝術異能偏素諳練。雖遵融佛理。而以通道知名。遠涉艱關無憚夷險。歷遊諸國。隨機利見。梁武皇帝。德加四域盛唱三寶。大同中。勅直後張氾等。送扶南獻使返國。仍請名德三藏大乘諸論雜華經等。真諦遠聞行化儀軌聖賢。搜選名匠惠益民品。彼國乃屈真諦并齎經論。恭膺帝旨。既素蓄在心渙然聞命。以大同十二年八月十五日。達于南海。沿路所經。乃停兩載。以太清二年閏八月。始屆京邑。武皇面申頂禮。於寶雲殿竭誠供養。諦欲傳翻經教不羨秦時。更出新文有逾齊日。屬道銷梁季寇羯憑陵。法為時崩不果宣述。乃步入東土。又往富春令陸元哲。創奉問津將事傳譯。招延英秀沙門寶瓊等二十餘人。翻十七地論。適得五卷。而國難未靜。側附通傳。至天保三年。為侯景請。還在臺供養。于斯時也。兵饑相接。法幾頹焉。會元帝啟祚承聖清夷。乃止于金陵正觀寺。與願禪師等二十餘人。翻金光明經。三年二月。還返豫章。又往新吳始興。後隋蕭太保。度嶺至于南康。並隨方翻譯。栖遑靡託。逮陳武永定二年七月。還返豫章。又止臨川晉安諸郡。真諦雖傳經論。道缺情離本意不申。更觀機壤。遂欲汎舶往楞伽修國。道俗虔請結誓留之。不免物議遂停南越。便與前梁舊齒。重覆所翻。其有文旨乖競者。皆鎔冶成範始末倫通。至文帝天嘉四年。揚都建元寺沙門僧宗法准僧忍律師等。並建業標領。欽聞新教。故使遠浮江表親承勞問。諦欣其來意。乃為翻攝大乘等論。首尾兩載覆疎宗旨。而飄寓投委無心寧寄。又汎小舶至梁安郡。更裝大舶欲返西國。學徒追逐相續留連。太守王方奢。述眾元情重申邀請。諦又且修人事。權止海隅。伺旅束裝未思安堵。至三年九月。發自梁安汎舶西引。業風賦命飄還廣州。十二月中上南海岸。刺史歐陽穆公頠。延住制旨寺。請翻新文。諦顧此業緣。西還無措乃對沙門慧愷等。翻廣義法門經及唯識論等。後穆公薨沒。世子紇重為檀越。開傳經論。時又許焉。而神思幽通量非情測。甞居別所四絕水洲。紇往造之。嶺峻濤涌未敢淩犯。諦乃鋪舒坐具。在於水上加坐其內如乘舟焉。浮波達岸。既登接對而坐具不濕。依常敷置。有時或以荷葉。搨水乘之而度。如斯神異其例甚眾。至光太二年六月。諦厭世浮雜情弊形骸。未若佩理資神早生勝壤。遂入南海北山將捐身命。時智愷正講俱舍。聞告馳往。道俗奔赴相繼山川。刺史又遣使人。伺衛防遏。躬自稽顙致留三日。方紆本情。因爾迎還止于王園寺。時宗愷諸僧。欲延還建業。會楊輦碩望。恐奪時榮乃奏曰。嶺表所譯眾部。多明無塵唯識。言乖治術有蔽國風。不隷諸華可流荒服。帝然之。故南海新文有藏陳世。以太建元年遘疾。少時遺訣。嚴正勗示因果。書傳累紙。其文付弟子智休。至正月十一日午時遷化。時年七十有一。明日於潮亭焚身起塔。十三日僧宗法准等。各齎經論還返匡山。自諦來東夏。雖廣出眾經。偏宗攝論。故討尋教旨者。通覽所譯。則彼此相發綺繢鋪顯。故隨處翻傳親注疏解。依心勝相。後疏並是僧宗所陳。躬對本師重為釋旨。增減或異大義無虧。宗公別著行狀。廣行於世。且諦之梁時逢喪亂。感竭運終道津靜濟。流離弘化隨方卷行。至於部帙或分譯人時別。今總歷二代共通數之。故始梁武之末。至陳宣即位。凡二十三載。所出經論記傳。六十四部。合二百七十八卷。微附華飾盛顯隋唐。見曹毘別歷及唐貞觀內典錄。餘有未譯梵本書並多羅樹葉。凡有二百四十甲。若依陳紙翻之。則列二萬餘卷。今見譯訖。止是數甲之文。並在廣州制旨王園兩寺。是知法寶弘博。定在中天。識量玼瑣。誠歸東夏。何以明之。見譯藏經減三千卷。生便棄擲習學全希。用此量情情可知矣。初諦傳度攝論。宗愷歸心。窮括教源銓題義旨。遊心既久懷敞相承。諦又面對闡揚情理無伏。一日氣屬嚴冬。衣服單疎。忍噤通霄門人側席。愷等終夜靜立奉侍。諮詢言久情諠有時眠寐。愷密以衣被覆之。諦潛覺知。便曳之于地。其節儉知足如此。愷如先奉侍。逾久逾親。諦以他日便喟然憤氣衝口者三。愷問其故。答曰。君等款誠正法實副參傳。但恨弘法非時。有阻來意耳。愷聞之如噎。良久聲淚俱發。跪而啟曰。大法絕塵遠通赤縣。群生無感可遂埋耶。諦以手指西北曰。此方有大國。非近非遠。吾等沒後當盛弘之。但不覩其興。以為太息耳。即驗往隔。今統敷揚有宗。傳者以為神用不同。妄生異執。惟識不識其識不無慨然。時有中天竺優禪尼國王子月婆首那。陳言高空。遊化東魏。生知俊朗體悟幽微。專學佛經尤精義理。洞曉音韻兼善方言。譯僧伽吒經等三部七卷。以魏元象年中。於鄴城司徒公孫騰第出。沙門僧昉筆受。屬齊受魏禪。蕃客任情。那請還鄉。事流博觀。承金陵弘法道聲遠肅。以梁武大同年辭齊南度。既達彼國仍被留住。因譯大乘頂王經一部。有勅令那總監外國往還使命。至太清二年。忽遇于闐僧求那跋陀。陳言德賢。齎勝天王般若梵本。那因期請乞願弘通。嘉其雅操豁然授與。那得保持用為希遇。屬侯景作亂。未暇翻傳。携負東西諷持供養。至陳天嘉乙酉之歲。始於江州興業寺譯之。沙門智昕筆受陳文。凡六十日。覆疎陶練勘閱俱了。江州刺史黃法𣰰為檀越。僧正釋惠恭等監掌。具經後序。那後不知所終。時又有扶南國僧須菩提。陳言善吉。於揚都城內至敬寺。為陳主譯大乘寶雲經八卷。與梁世曼陀羅所出七卷者同。少有差耳。並見隋代三寶錄。

Guṇarata means "Intimate Reliance" in the language of Chen. It is also given as Paramārtha, which translates as "Ultimate Truth"; both are names in Sanskrit. He was originally a native of the kingdom of Ujjayinī in Western India. His pure conduct was limpid and clear, his capacity and demeanor serene and dignified. His spiritual bearing was exceptionally elevated, detached and naturally aloof. Among the vast divisions of the various piṭakas, there was none he did not keep in mind, and he was especially well-versed in the various secular arts and exceptional skills. Although he respected and integrated Buddhist principles, he was known for comprehending secular learning as well. He traversed difficult frontiers from afar without fearing smooth paths or dangers, traveling extensively through various kingdoms and manifesting benefit according to circumstance. Emperor Wu of the Liang extended his virtue to the four quarters and vigorously promoted the triratna. During the Datong era, he decreed that the Zhihou Zhang Fan and others escort the tribute envoys from Funan back to their country, and request eminent and virtuous Tripiṭaka [masters], Mahāyāna treatises, the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, and others. Paramārtha had heard from afar of the emperor's transforming practice and sacred norms; searching for and selecting famous masters to benefit the ranks of the people, that kingdom persuaded Paramārtha to take along scriptures and treatises and respectfully respond to the imperial decree. Having already harbored this in his heart, he readily obeyed the order. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the twelfth year of Datong, he arrived in Nanhai. The journey along the way took two years. In the leap eighth month of the second year of Taiqing, he finally reached the capital. Emperor Wu personally offered prostrations and provided offerings with utter sincerity in the Baoyun Hall. Paramārtha wished to translate and transmit scriptural teachings in a manner not inferior to the Qin era, producing new texts that would surpass the Qi period. However, it coincided with the decline of the Liang dynasty and the encroachment of barbarian rebels. The Dharma collapsed with the times, and his declarations and expositions bore no fruit. He then walked into the eastern lands, proceeding to Fuchun, where Magistrate Lu Yuanzhe took the initiative to ask for guidance and set about translating. He invited over twenty outstanding śramaṇas, including Baoqiong, to translate the *Saptadaśabhūmi-śāstra*, completing only five scrolls. Yet the national crisis had not subsided, so the transmission was carried on under precarious conditions. In the third year of Tianbao, requested by Hou Jing, he was brought back to court and supported. At that time, warfare and famine followed one upon the other, and the Dharma had almost fallen into ruin. It happened that Emperor Yuan acceded to the throne and restored peace during the Chengsheng era; Paramārtha then stayed at Zhengguan Temple in Jinling, where together with Dhyāna Master Yuan and more than twenty others, he translated the *Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra*. In the second month of the third year, he returned to Yuzhang, and then went on to Xinqu and Shixing. Later, following Grand Protection Xiao, he crossed the mountains to Nankang, translating wherever he went, wandering without a stable base. By the seventh month of the second year of the Yongding era under Emperor Wu of the Chen, he returned to Yuzhang, and also stayed in the commanderies of Linchuan and Jin'an. Although Paramārtha transmitted scriptures and treatises, the Dao was interrupted and people's hearts were alienated; his original intention remained unfulfilled. Considering the circumstances and lands anew, he eventually wished to board a ship to the kingdom of Laṅkāśuka. Monastics and laypeople devoutly pleaded and bound themselves by vows to retain him; unable to disregard public opinion, he remained in Nanyue. He then re-examined what had been translated together with the senior monks from the former Liang. Wherever the phrasing or principles were contradictory or disputed, he refined them into a standard, making them coherent from beginning to end. By the fourth year of the Tianjia era of Emperor Wen, the śramaṇas Sengzong, Fazhun, Vinaya Master Sengren, and others from Jianyuan Temple in the capital of Yangdu—all leading figures of Jianye who reverently admired the new teachings—caused a mission to be sent floating far across the river to convey personal greetings and inquire after his well-being. Paramārtha rejoiced at their intentions and translated the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha* and other treatises for them. Over the course of two years, he thoroughly explained the tenets. Yet, drifting and dependent, he had no mind to settle down. He then boarded a small boat to Liang'an Commandery to outfit a large vessel, intending to return to the western regions. His disciples pursued him and repeatedly pleaded with him to stay. The commandery governor, Wang Fangshe, conveyed the fundamental sentiment of the assembly and reiterated the invitation. Paramārtha again attended to human affairs, temporarily lodging on the seashore, preparing his baggage while watching the travelers, with no thought of settling down. In the ninth month of the third year, he departed from Liang'an, sailing westward on a large vessel; however, the wind of karma determined his fate, blowing him back to Guangzhou. In the middle of the twelfth month, he landed on the southern coast. The regional inspector, Duke Mu Ouyang Wei, invited him to stay at Zhizhi Temple and requested that he translate new texts. Viewing this karmic condition, Paramārtha found no way to return west; hence, together with the śramaṇa Huikai and others, he translated the *Guangyi famen jing*, the *Vijñaptimātratā-śāstra*, and other texts. Later, after Duke Mu passed away, his heir He became the dānapati and opened the way for the transmission of scriptures and treatises, to which Paramārtha then assented. His spiritual insight was profoundly penetrating, beyond the measure of human comprehension. He once stayed at a retreat completely surrounded by water. When He went to visit him, the mountain was steep and the waves surged, so that he did not dare attempt the crossing. Paramārtha then spread out his sitting mat on top of the water, sat cross-legged upon it as if boarding a boat, and floated across the waves to reach the shore. When he came ashore and met him, his mat was not wet, and he laid it out as usual. Sometimes he would step on a lotus leaf, riding it across the water. Divine wonders such as this were exceedingly numerous. In the sixth month of the second year of Guangda, Paramārtha grew weary of the frivolous mundane world and lamented the distress of the physical body, feeling that it could not compare to embracing truth, nourishing the spirit, and being reborn early in a superior land. He then entered the northern mountains of Nanhai intending to give up his life. At that time, Zhikai was lecturing on the *Abhidharmakośa*; upon hearing the news, he hurried there, and monastics and laypeople rushed along one after another across the mountains and rivers. The regional inspector also sent officers to guard and prevent him, personally prostrating and begging him to stay for three days until he relented from his original purpose. Consequently, he was welcomed back to stay at Wangyuan Temple. At that time, Zong, Kai, and other monks wished to invite him back to Jianye. But it happened that prominent figures at court in Yangdu, fearing that he would usurp their contemporary prestige, memorialized: "The numerous works translated in the southern region mostly expound 'dustless consciousness-only' (nirābhāsa-vijñapti); their words run contrary to the methods of statecraft and obscure national customs. They should not be subordinate to the central domains, but may circulate in the wild border regions." The emperor agreed. Therefore, the new texts from Nanhai were stored away during the Chen dynasty. In the first year of Taijian, he fell ill. A short while later, he left his final instructions, sternly exhorting regarding cause and effect in writings spanning multiple sheets of paper. The text was entrusted to his disciple Zhixiu. On the eleventh day of the first month, at noon, he passed away at the age of seventy-one. The next day, his body was cremated at Chaoting and a stupa was erected. On the thirteenth day, Sengzong, Fazhun, and others each took scriptures and treatises and returned to Mount Kuang. From the time Paramārtha came to the Eastern Land, although he produced numerous scriptures extensively, he focused primarily on the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha*. Thus, those who investigate the doctrinal tenets will find that a comprehensive examination of his translations reveals their mutual illumination, elegantly structured and clearly displayed. Hence, wherever he translated and transmitted, he personally annotated and commented upon them according to the superior marks of the mind. The later commentaries were all delivered by Sengzong, who personally faced his original master to explain the tenets once more; though there were variations in additions and omissions, the essential meaning was not compromised. Master Zong separately composed an account of conduct, which circulated widely in the world. Moreover, during the Liang dynasty, Paramārtha encountered upheaval; his karmic efficacy was exhausted and his fortunes ran out, yet on the ferry of the Dao he crossed over in tranquility. Wandering and disseminating, he rolled up his scrolls and traveled according to circumstance. As for the fascicles and works, they were sometimes divided, and the translators differed over time. Now, calculating comprehensively across the two dynasties: from the end of Emperor Wu of the Liang to the accession of Emperor Xuan of the Chen, over a total of twenty-three years, he produced sixty-four works in two hundred and seventy-eight scrolls of scriptures, treatises, records, and biographies. Slightly embellished with rhetorical elegance, they flourished and became prominent under the Sui and Tang. They are recorded in Cao Pi's *Bielie* and the Tang *Zhenguan neidain lu*. There were also untranslated Indic manuscripts on palm leaves totaling two hundred and forty bundles. If translated according to Chen paper, they would amount to more than twenty thousand scrolls. What we see completed today is merely the texts of a few bundles, all stored in the two temples of Zhizhi and Wangyuan in Guangzhou. From this it is known that the vastness of the Dharma treasure is certainly located in Central India, while petty capacity truly belongs to the Eastern Land. How is this demonstrated? The translated canon currently seen is fewer than three thousand scrolls; people abandon them as soon as they are born, and study is completely rare. Using this to measure minds, their nature can truly be known. Initially, when Paramārtha transmitted the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha*, Zong and Kai dedicated their hearts to it, exhausting the source of the teachings and assessing the doctrinal tenets. Having exercised their minds for a long time, they received it with open hearts. Paramārtha also explained it to them face to face, leaving no doubt in their minds. One day, the weather was severely cold; his garments were thin and sparse, yet he endured shivering throughout the night while his disciples sat nearby. Kai and the others stood quietly throughout the night attending to him. They inquired for a long time, their emotions fervent, until at times he fell asleep. Kai secretly covered him with robes and blankets. Paramārtha intuitively became aware of it and immediately dragged it to the ground. Such was his frugality and contentment. Kai served him as before, growing ever closer as time went on. On another day, Paramārtha sighed deeply, exhaling three breaths of distress. Kai asked the reason, and he replied: "The sincerity you gentlemen have for the true Dharma indeed qualifies you to take part in its transmission. I only regret that the propagation of the Dharma does not meet its proper time, obstructing the purpose for which I came." When Kai heard this, he choked with emotion; after a long while, weeping with tears and a choked voice, he knelt and said: "The great Dharma, free of dust, has reached the Red County from afar. If sentient beings have no spiritual resonance, could it truly end up buried?" Paramārtha pointed his finger to the northwest and said: "In this direction there is a great kingdom, neither near nor far. After we pass away, it will propagate it with great vigor. It is only that I will not see its flourishing, and that is why I sigh." This has indeed been verified across past separation. Today, the lineage that expounds the School of Existence maintains that his spiritual functioning was different, errantly generating divergent attachments. In grasping vijñapti without understanding consciousness itself, one cannot help but feel lamentation. At that time, there was Prince Upasūnya of the kingdom of Ujjayinī in Central India, rendered in Chen as Gaokong. He traveled and transformed in the Eastern Wei. Naturally endowed with brilliance, he penetrated subtle depths, devoted himself to studying Buddhist scriptures, and was exceptionally proficient in doctrinal principles. He thoroughly understood phonetics and was adept in regional languages. He translated three works in seven scrolls, including the *Saṅghāṭa Sūtra*. During the Yuanxiang era of the Wei, he produced them at the residence of Grand Commander Sun Teng in the city of Ye, with the śramaṇa Sengfang taking down the translation. When the Qi received the abdication of the Wei, foreign guests were allowed to follow their own wishes; Sūnya requested to return to his homeland, an affair that afforded broad observation. Having heard that the monastic prestige of propagating the Dharma in Jinling was far-reaching and reverent, he took leave of Qi during the Datong era of Emperor Wu of the Liang and crossed to the south. Having reached that kingdom, he was retained, whereupon he translated one work, the *Mahāyānaratnacūḍa Sūtra*. An imperial decree ordered Sūnya to oversee the coming and going of foreign envoys. In the second year of Taiqing, he suddenly encountered the Khotanese monk Guṇabhadra, rendered in Chen as Dexian, who brought the Indic manuscript of the *Suvikrāntavikrāmiparipṛcchā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*. Sūnya repeatedly requested and pleaded for it, vowing to propagate it. Admiring his refined conduct, [Guṇabhadra] readily bestowed it upon him. Sūnya preserved and held it, regarding it as a rare encounter. Encountering the rebellion of Hou Jing, he had no leisure to translate and transmit it; carrying it on his back wherever he went, he recited, upheld, and made offerings to it. In the yiyou year of the Tianjia era of the Chen, he began to translate it at Xingye Temple in Jiangzhou. The śramaṇa Zhixin took down the text into Chen; over a period of sixty days, the commentary, polishing, and collating were all completed. The regional inspector of Jiangzhou, Huang Faming, served as the dānapati, and the Sengzheng Shi Huigong and others supervised the work, as detailed in the afterword to the sūtra. Afterwards, it is not known where Sūnya met his end. At that time, there was also the Funan monk Subhūti, rendered in Chen as Shanji, who translated the *Mahāyāna Ratnamegha Sūtra* in eight scrolls for the Chen sovereign at Zhijing Temple inside the capital of Yangdu. It was the same as the seven-scroll version produced by Mandra in the Liang era, with only minor differences. All these are found in the *Sanbao lu* of the Sui dynasty.