續高僧傳 18.16.2

18.16.2

He obtained the Mahāyānasaṃgraha-śāstra and regarded it as a complete wish-fulfilling jewel. Although he had previously lectured on Vijñaptimātra and had briefly examined and thoroughly studied its school, when it came to conceiving its abstruse subtleties, there remained points where he was impeded. Now this great work was fully penetrated, its textual purport perfectly clear. Wishing to propagate and spread what had not yet been heard to those distant lands and states, and having heard that the ruling virtue of the Zhou dynasty had collapsed while the epoch of the Sui was proclaimed to rise, he thereupon, together with his companions, took leave of Jianye. Clergy and laity, acquaintances and friends, held a farewell gathering at Xinlin; those departing and those remaining were moved with sorrow, each composing verses. Dhyāna Master Xiao ordered a composition and composed a poem, saying: / 'In life we were originally as distant as the Hu and Yue, / Separated at the passes and Wu by different ferries. / Travelling along, our carriages momentarily brushed, / And straightway we became kin within the fortress of Dharma. / Pure conversation dispelled weariness and toil; / Frowning brows only then began to relax. / This morning we abruptly part hands; / Grieved to lose the person before my eyes. / You head toward the route of the Jing River; / Your karmic fruit of wisdom daily shall be renewed. / I dwell beside the Han River; / Destined in the end to become dust beneath the pines. / Floating and sinking, henceforth separated; / There will be no cause to meet again. / This parting is a parting for all eternity; / Gushing tears suddenly moisten my kerchief.' / Other eminent and virtuous masters likewise composed verses, but their texts have long been lost. Each clasped hands and parted sleeves. Ascending the banks of Shitou, they boarded the boat and worked the oars. Suddenly the wind and waves surged violently, and the multitude was at a loss. Tanqian alone kept his right contemplation unmoved; holding the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, he addressed the river spirit, saying: 'I now desire to open those who have not yet awakened by means of the Great Dharma. If the northern lands have no destiny for it, what then can be done about fate? If they are surely meant to hear the Great Teaching, I pray you calm the wind and waves. I trust that the merit of transmitting the Dharma may be invisibly entrusted and fulfilled.' When he finished speaking, in a brief moment it became calm and quiet, and they reached the shore over peaceful currents. Contemporary people thought that since this treatise had been translated in the southern realm, the protective spirit of the realm would not permit it to go to other territories—a situation identical to Kātyāyana's departure from Kashmir being delayed by a rākṣasa. Proceeding forward, he reached Pengcheng. New and old acquaintances gathered together, arriving with joy from far and near. As they swelled into a great assembly, a dānapati gave up his residence to accommodate them. Thereupon they designated the residence as the Musheng Monastery. He first propagated the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, and furthermore lectured on the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, the Awakening of Faith, the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra, and other treatises, one after another without cease. The initial opening of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha in the northern lands began from this. Wan Xu, Duke of Gucheng and Area Commander of Xuzhou, led all his subordinate officials to hold brooms and inquire of him, carrying out the etiquette of disciples to the utmost. As Tanqian propagated and transformed in this land, warm and cold seasons repeatedly turned, and both monastics and laity altered their customs, achieving great accomplishments. Ever since the Zhou destroyed the True Dharma, abandoned bodily relics had filled the wilderness. He thereupon exhorted and encouraged those with karmic affinity to construct numerous halls and pavilions at Musheng Monastery, gathering, adorning, and making offerings wherever relics were found. Heruo Bi, Grand Pillar of State and Duke of Song, and Zhang Tan, the Chief Administrator, went out to garrison Yangzhou. Hearing of his reputation, they wished to pay their respects and establish ties as a fine guide; likewise, all the monastics and laity eagerly awaited his virtuous words. Tan thereupon wrote a letter by his own hand to invite him, and Tanqian, like an empty boat waiting for the wind, travelled afar to Guangling. The entire city came out to welcome and look upon him. Brahma chants arrested the clouds and mist; incense and flowers obscured the sun and moon. For a śramaṇa, this was a height of grandeur none could surpass. The Duke of Song possessed great fame and high rank, and was somewhat arrogant on account of his learning and ability. When Tanqian adapted expediently to confer the Dharma upon him, he unconsciously became deeply enraptured and subdued; he thereupon brought his family to receive the refuge and precepts from him. Initially, he stayed at Kaishan Monastery to establish and propagate the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, with those requesting instruction numbering in the thousands. Soon, the officials and commoners of the Xu region thirsted for his Dharma discourses; no sooner was his work in Jiangdu finished than they welcomed him back to the north again. Magnificently he turned the wheel of the Dharma, his reputation spreading afar. In the autumn of the seventh year of the Kaihuang era, an imperial edict was issued, stating: 'The Emperor respectfully inquires after Dharmabhāṇaka Tanqian of Xuzhou. We have heard that you cultivate and unfold wondrous causes, diligent and refined in the teachings of the Way. Safeguarding and upholding the True Dharma, your benefit is boundless. Truly you are a ridgepole and beam of the Śākya clan, an elephant and dragon among human kind. We profoundly wish to make an imperial tour wherever you are, to receive your reputation and partake of your virtue; but restrained by court affairs, We indeed harbor an unfulfilled longing. You should immediately come to the court to satisfy Our weary longing. Among your disciples, bring ten persons who are well-versed in the characteristics of phenomena and capable of chanting in Brahma tones into the capital together with you. We shall, together with you, Master, erect the True Dharma and emend the scriptural canons. Moreover, the Buddha Dharma is newly flourishing, and its undertakings are in their nascent stages; its broad encouragement and establishment ultimately rely on men of comprehensive penetration. The imperial capital is where those from far and near converge; proclaiming and propagating Dharma affairs will bring exceptionally wide benefit. We envision you shaking your staff and dusting your robes, without declining the fatigue. We look forward to seeing you soon, and shall not elaborate further.' At that time, Huiyuan of Luoyang, Huizang of Weijun, Sengxiu of Qinghe, Baozhen of Jiyin, and Hongzun of Jijun, each receiving the radiant imperial edict, gathered together at the imperial carriage. Tanqian thereupon led his disciples; all provisions for the journey were supplied from the imperial treasury. Together with the five bhadantas, he had an audience with the Emperor at the Daxing Hall, where he was specially received with ritual courtesy and comforted with flattering words. An edict was also issued to the relevant authorities to accommodate and supply them at the Daxingshan Monastery. Princes, dukes, and prime ministers crowded together in an unbroken stream of carriages and robes. Although each master brought ten disciples, śramaṇas who admired righteousness were also extended the invitation by edict; thus they were able to seek their masters from ten thousand miles away, which can well be imagined. At this time, communication throughout the realm was wide open. Scholar-monks of the capital mostly transmitted traditions from remote wildernesses. As the Mahāyānasaṃgraha was newly opened, the multitude devoted their sincerity to make requests; he straightway expounded and propagated it, with those receiving instruction numbering in the thousands. Śramaṇa Huiyuan, a leader of the Dharma gate, personally sat at the head of the assembly, placing the scriptures across his lap to receive the doctrinal meanings. From this point onward, the transmission of the lamp has continued without cease down to the present day in great numbers. Although throughout the realm there have occasionally been divergent heterodox opinions arising from forced interpretations, trace their origins, and none fail to stem from ancestral transmission. Therefore, the biography of Paramārtha says: 'Before long, there will be a person of great faculties in a great realm, neither near nor far, who will be able to propagate this treatise.' Seeking in the present and looking to the past, is it not this very person? In the spring of the tenth year, the Emperor visited Jinyang and ordered Tanqian to accompany the imperial retinue. Having reached the Bing region, another edict ordered the monks to conduct circumambulation in the imperial hall. When night arrived, Tanqian was summoned into the inner palace to share the same couch as the Emperor. The Emperor said: 'Since Our imperial tour arrived here, We have heard that there are a great many mountain monks who took the tonsure privately, seeking official registration. Our wish is to ordain them; what do you think?' Tanqian said: 'Formerly, Emperor Wu of the Zhou held the imperial domain and annihilated the Triratna. The monks either effaced their tracks in secluded crags or fled to foreign borders. Your Majesty reigns over the great epoch and re-opens the Dharma gate; there are none who do not sing praises and return, taking refuge in your sagely virtue. Although recently they have repeatedly received summons for liberation, their arrivals have had precedence and delay, resulting in missed encounters. Furthermore, under Heaven and Earth, whoever is covered and carried is none other than the king's subject; when the Most Venerable draws and guides the myriad directions, how could the blessings be confined to merely a single city?' The Emperor pondered deeply for a short while, and only then assented. He thereupon issued an edict, stating: 'From before the fourth month of the tenth year, all monks and nuns who were privately ordained are permitted to take pravrajyā.' Therefore, throughout the entire realm, those who received ordination numbered several hundreds of thousands—this was through the effort of Tanqian. Soon after, an edict was issued to establish Shengguang Monastery in the capital for the fourth imperial prince, Xiu, Prince of Shu, making the prince its dānapati. An imperial order invited more than sixty of Tanqian's disciples to reside there.