續高僧傳 2.11.2

2.11.2

Regarding the models of teachers in Central India, Indic sounds serve as the basis. Cong therefore devoted himself exclusively to investigating the doctrinal scriptures, reciting ten thousand words each day. Thus, for the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, the Laṅkāvatāra, the Mahāyānasaṃgraha-śāstra, the Daśabhūmika, and so on, he personally transmitted the Indic texts, receiving, upholding, chanting, and reading them. Each day he stopped only after reviewing them by heart to completion. In the early years of the Renshou era, an imperial edict ordered him to escort relics to Jingzhou. At that time, Yang Liang, the Prince of Han, had built a monastery partitioned off within his seat of government and erected a precious stupa there; this is what is now known as Kaiyi Monastery. When Cong first arrived at the site of the stupa, clouds and mists had gathered dark and overcast for days. When the morning came for depositing [the relics], exactly at noon, the clouds parted, the sun shone brightly, and heaven and earth became clear and luminous. They then deposited the relics and interred them. Furthermore, auspicious clouds flanking the sun in alternating five colors were spiritually moved to appear. In the final year of the Renshou era, an imperial edict again ordered him to escort relics to Fangle Monastery in Fuzhou; it is now called Longgai Monastery. Its original foundation had fallen into ruin; it was first erected in the Southern Qi, fell into disuse and collapsed in the Zhou, leaving only remnants of its site. Yet the grounds were open and spacious, suitable for establishing a sacred stupa. When he ordered men to clear and trim the grounds, he suddenly felt an itching and stuffiness on his head. Upon inspecting his hair, he obtained a relic, shaped like a millet grain, with fresh and radiant color and light. They tested it with two axes, striking from above and below; both axe heads were dented, but the relic was undamaged. When it was struck repeatedly, its luster and light grew even more brilliant. Digging seven feet deep, they uncovered a brick vault. Various boxes of bronze and silver, along with fragrant paste, remained intact. They saw only clear water filling the boxes; on the bottom were traces as if relics had been there, but upon searching none could be found. Only then did they realize that what had been found in his hair had originally been contained in the silver box. They also sought stone to make a casket, but searching everywhere they could find none. Thereupon, within the borders of Jingling County, a stone was spiritually obtained through resonance. After it was ground and polished, it suddenly transformed into jade; with five-colored luster and translucence, it shone through clearly to reflect the people beside it. Within the stone, images of various colors also appeared. As they drew the stone toward the stupa, a goose was also moved to fly to where the casket was. It was naturally tame and familiar, following the movements of the stone without ever leaving it. Though it saw others of its flock, it did not glance at them at all. Even when chased away it returned, remaining constantly by the palanquin from beginning to end for ten days. When someone carried it off to another place, it immediately called out, flew up, soared over the courtyard walls, and came inside. When the burial was completed, it alone guarded the stupa, merely circumambulating it. Moreover, the various fish and turtles in the pond in front of the stupa site were moved to poke their heads out of the water, looking north toward the relics. Cong then preached the Dharma to them, and only after the whole day passed did they submerge. Furthermore, the well water at the stupa site was moved to bubble up and overflow naturally for fifteen days, ceasing only after the interment. On the eighth day of the fourth month, clouds filled the sky above. Exactly at noon, when the relics were about to be deposited, the clouds withdrew and completely dispersed, leaving only a circular formation directly above the stupa like a parasol, with alternating five colors illuminating the solar disk. When the relics were interred, the clouds dispersed. Cong joyfully reported these fine omens in a memorial to the throne. The Emperor was greatly delighted, recorded them as a chronicle, and stored them in the secret archives. In the second year of the Renshou era, an imperial edict ordered him to compile another catalogue of the various scriptures. He divided it into five categories: single translations, re-translations, extracted translations, doubtful texts, and spurious texts, each assigned a place according to its fascicles. It circulated widely during that reign. Soon an imperial decree was issued ordering him to compile the Records of the Western Regions. Cong was intimately familiar with the material, which was surveyed completely as if before his very eyes; his distinctions of discrepancies and errors were thoroughly supported by evidence and citation. Therefore, renowned scholars of the capital often consulted it for rectification. There was a śramaṇa from Rājagṛha who came from afar to have an audience with the Emperor. His affairs are as recorded in a later biography; as he was about to return to his native country, he requested the illustrated scripture of the relic omens and the state's register of auspicious omens. The Emperor again decreed that Cong translate them from Sui [Chinese] into Indic, compiling them into ten fascicles to bestow upon the Western Regions. Because of his broad learning, extensive erudition, and habitual dedication, his literary compositions soared, winning high esteem in the capital. For all newly translated scriptures, as well as when expounding the Mahāprajñāpāramitōpadeśa and other texts, he composed prefaces and introductions. He also wrote the Shamen mingyi lun in a separate collection of five fascicles. Their diction and reasoning were clear and concise, revered as a model by later scholars. In the second year of the Daye era, when the Eastern Capital was newly established, Cong went to the imperial court with various śramaṇas to offer congratulations. He was specially summoned into the inner palace, where over several nights he recounted past affairs, discussed statecraft, and presented literary compositions and hymns. Such was the high regard and recognition he received from the contemporary sovereign. An imperial edict was immediately issued to establish a translation bureau in the Shanglin Garden of Luoyang to accommodate him, with provisions far richer than those in the capital region. The Buddhist scriptures acquired from the newly subjugated Lin-yi totaled 564 bundles, over 1,350 texts, all in Kunlun script on birch-bark leaves. An imperial decree ordered them sent to the bureau, entrusted to Cong to read, compile into a descriptive catalogue, and translate gradually in sequence. He compiled it into five fascicles, divided into seven categories, namely scriptures, vinaya, eulogies, treatises, medical treatises, lexicographical works, and miscellaneous writings. If translated entirely into the language of the Sui, they would amount to over 2,200 fascicles. The Emperor also ordered Pei Ju to join Cong in compiling the Records of Tianzhu; its literary style and meanings were detailed and comprehensive, structured with clear organization. In total, all the scriptures he translated over time amounted to 23 texts in some 100 fascicles; he composed prefaces recounting their transmission at the head of each text. He had long suffered from deficiency and cold, which brought on unseasonable dysentery, and consequently died in the bureau at the age of fifty-four, on the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month in the sixth year of the Daye era. His secular relatives mourned him and took his remains back for burial in Bairen. In the morning of his terminal decline, though his body was frail, his spirit was clear. He asked his disciples, 'Has the mealtime arrived yet?' They replied, 'Not yet.' He closed his eyes and lay down again, doing so several times. He then turned his body, stretched his neck toward the door, looked at the sun, and said, 'The mealtime has arrived; I shall depart.' He called for water to wash his hands, burned incense, welcomed a painted image of Maitreya, joined his palms, and gazed intently at it. Opening and closing his eyes three or four times, as if entering dhyāna concentration, he suddenly passed away. Only when they held silk floss to his nose did they realize his breath had ceased. Furthermore, Cong's spiritual wisdom was accomplished early, manifesting in his childhood; his devotion and faith were steadfast and pure, with an aspiration as firm as pine and catalpa. His original master was the śramaṇa Daozui of Mount Wutai, who was also illustrious in demeanor and presence, so that Cong did not diminish his master's lineage. In all his studies and pursuits, he remained tranquil and solitary; even when crossed by worldly matters, he never spoke of them. When the Dao was suppressed and he was forced to adopt secular dress, he was assigned by imperial decree to the Academy of Literature; though repeatedly meeting with high honors and favor, how could his heart have been attached to them? Thus he established his discipline upon the school of emptiness, his mind roving beyond measure. He continued lecturing and reciting without ever relinquishing them. He once dreamed that he entered hell and witnessed much suffering; through reciting the names of sūtras and Buddhas, he obtained liberation and was conveyed up to a mountain tower. Soon he surveyed the various hells and saw renowned monks who had lectured alongside him afflicted with the five torments. He described their conditions in detail, expounded the ten virtues for them, and only after a long while awoke. Several years later, he had another dream of the same event; through calling on the names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, he was again granted release.