[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [續高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060) › 25.36 # 續高僧傳 25.36 續高僧傳 25.36 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [25.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25.36) 勒那漫提。天竺僧也。住元魏洛京永寧寺。善五明工道術。時信州刺史綦母懷文。巧思多知。天情博識。每國家營宮室器械。無所不關。利益公私。一時之最。又勅令修理永寧寺。見提有異術。常送餉祇承冀有聞見。而提視之平平初無敘接。文心恨之。時洛南玄武館有一蠕蠕客。曾與提西域舊交。乘馬衣皮。時來造寺。二人相得言笑抵掌。彌日不懈。文旁見夷言。不曉往復。乃謂提曰。弟子好事人也。比來供承望師降意。而全不賜一言。此北狄耳。獸心人面殺生血食。何足可尚。不期對面遂成彼此。提曰。爾勿輕他。縱使讀萬卷書。用未必相過也。懷文曰。此所知當與捔技賭馬。提曰。爾有何耶。曰算術之能。無問望山臨水。懸測高深。圍圌蹋窖不舛升合。提笑而言曰。此小兒戲耳。庭前有一棗樹極大。子實繁滿。時七月初悉已成就。提仰視樹曰。爾知其上可有幾許子乎。文怪而笑曰。算者所知。必依鉤股標准。則天文地理亦可推測。草木繁耗有何形兆。計斯寔漫言也。提指蠕蠕曰。此即知之。文憤氣不信。即立契賭馬。寺僧老宿咸來同看。具立旁證。提具告蠕蠕。彼笑而承之。文復要云。必能知者幾許成核。幾許菸死無核。斷許既了。蠕蠕腰間皮袋裏出一物。似今秤衡。穿五色線。線別貫白珠。以此約樹。或上或下。或旁或側。抽線䀹眼。周迴良久。向提撼頭而笑述其數焉。乃遣人撲子實下盡。一一看閱。疑者文自剖看校量子數成不。卒無欠䞉。因獲馬而歸。提每見洛下人遠向嵩高少室取薪者。自云。百姓如許地。擔負辛苦。我欲暫牽取二山枕洛水頭待人伐足。乃還放去。不以為難。此但數術耳。但無知者誣我為聖。所以不敢。提臨欲終語弟子曰。我更停五三日往一處行。汝等念修正道勿懷眷戀。便寢疾閉戶臥。弟子竊於門隙視之。見提身不著床在虛仰臥相告同視。一僧忽欬。提還床如舊。遙謂曰。門外是誰何不來入。我以床熱故取涼。爾勿怪也。是後數日便捨命矣。 > Lenamanti was an Indian monk who dwelt at Yongning Monastery in Luoyang, the capital of the Northern Wei. He was skilled in the five sciences and adept in occult arts. At that time, Qimu Huaiwen, the regional inspector of Xinzhou, was ingenious and knowledgeable, endowed with a broad and perceptive natural intelligence. Whenever the state constructed palace quarters or military implements, he was involved in all of them; the benefits he brought to both public and private affairs were supreme in his day. He was also ordered by imperial decree to repair Yongning Monastery. Seeing that Manti possessed extraordinary arts, he frequently sent provisions and treated him with deference, hoping to gain some instruction and insight. Yet Manti regarded him with indifference and never welcomed or engaged him in conversation from the start. Huaiwen resented him in his heart. > > At that time, there was a Rouran guest at the Xuanwu Hostel south of the Luo River who had previously been an old acquaintance of Manti in the Western Regions. Riding a horse and dressed in furs, he frequently came to visit the monastery. The two got along well, talking, laughing, and clapping hands together, never tiring throughout the day. Standing by, Huaiwen saw them conversing in a barbarian tongue and could not understand their back-and-forth exchange. He then said to Manti, "I am a man of diverse interests. Lately I have provided offerings and served you, hoping that you, Master, would condescend to speak with me, yet you did not grant me a single word. This man is merely a northern barbarian, with the heart of a beast and the face of a human, slaughtering living beings and feeding on blood—what is there worthy of esteem in him? I did not expect that when facing one another, you would make such distinctions between him and me!" > > Manti replied, "Do not look down upon him. Even if you have read ten thousand scrolls of books, in practical application you might not necessarily surpass him." Huaiwen said, "With the knowledge I possess, I should compete in skill against him and wager a horse!" Manti asked, "What skill do you have?" Huaiwen said, "The ability of mathematical calculation. Whether gazing at mountains or overlooking waters, I can fathom their heights and depths from afar; whether pacing grain bins or treading cellars, I do not err by even a pint or a peck." Manti laughed and said, "This is mere child's play. In front of the courtyard is a jujube tree that is exceedingly large, and its fruits are plentiful and full. As it is now early in the seventh month, all have ripened. Do you know how many fruits there might be upon it?" > > Huaiwen was astonished, laughed, and said, "What a calculator knows must rely on the right-angled triangle theorem and benchmarks; through them, astronomy and geography can both be inferred. But what outward signs do the proliferation or thinning of grass and trees possess? Calculating this is truly empty talk!" Manti pointed to the Rouran guest and said, "This man knows it at once." Filled with indignation and disbelief, Huaiwen immediately drew up a contract and wagered a horse. The elder, venerable monks of the monastery all came to watch together and acted as witnesses. Manti explained everything to the Rouran guest, who smiled and accepted the challenge. Huaiwen further stipulated, "If you can truly know it, you must tell how many have developed seeds and how many have withered and died without seeds." Once the terms were settled, the Rouran drew an object from a leather pouch at his waist. It resembled a modern steelyard, strung with five-colored threads, each strand strung with white pearls. With this, he measured the tree—moving up and down, flanking it from side to side, drawing out the threads and winking his eyes. Circling it for a long while, he shook his head toward Manti with a smile and reported the numbers. Men were then dispatched to knock down all the fruits completely, and they inspected them one by one. In cases of doubt, Huaiwen himself cracked them open to verify whether the count of seeds had developed or not. In the end, there was neither deficit nor surplus. He thus won the horse and returned. > > Whenever Manti saw the people of Luoyang traveling far to Mount Song and Mount Shaoshi to gather firewood, he would say to himself, "The common people labor so hard carrying loads across such distances! I would like to temporarily drag these two mountains to lie at the head of the Luo River, and once the people have cut enough wood, release them back; I would not consider this difficult. This is merely an art of calculation. However, the ignorant would falsely accuse me of being a sage, and therefore I dare not do it." When Manti was near the end of his life, he said to his disciples, "I will remain for another three to five days, and then go on a journey to a certain place. You should mindfully cultivate the correct path and do not harbor fond attachments." He then took to his bed with an illness, closed the door, and lay down. The disciples peeked through a crack in the door and saw that Manti's body was not touching the bed; he was lying on his back suspended in the empty air. They called one another to look together. One monk suddenly coughed, and Manti returned to the bed as before. Calling out to them from afar, he said, "Who is outside the door? Why do you not come in? Because the bed was hot, I sought some coolness; do not be surprised at it." A few days after this, he cast off his life. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 25.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25.35) - [Next: 25.37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25.37) - [Up: 25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060~en-mt.25.36) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25.36) · Pramāṇa