宋高僧傳 25.52

25.52

原夫經傳震旦，夾譯漢庭，北則竺蘭始直聲而宣剖，南惟僧會揚曲韻以諷通。蘭乃月氏之生，會則康居之族。兩家左右，二見否臧，無為氷上之狐，免問堠傍之路。通曰：「西竺僧持部類，行事不同：或執親從佛聞，更難釐革；或稱我宗自許，多決派流；或直調而質乎；或歌聲而巧矣。致令傳授各競師資，此是彼非，我真他謬，終年矛盾，未有罷期。故有若美一期之唄𠽋，誦三契之伽陀，感車馬而不行，動人天之共聽，此曲折聲之効也。若乃盤特少句，薄拘短章——止憂忘以鼓脣，胡暇巧而揚舌——，猶登中聖，或致感徵，此直置聲之驗也。今以一言蔽之，但有感動龍神能生物善者，為讀誦之正音也。」

Looking to the origin of the sūtras being transmitted to the Eastern Land and translated in the Han courts: in the north Zhu Falan first proclaimed and dissected them in straight tones, while in the south only Kang Senghui raised winding melodies to chant and convey them. Lan was born in the Yuezhi, while Hui was of the lineage of Kangju. The two schools diverged to left and right, their two perspectives differing in merit. Let us not be like the fox on the ice, and avoid asking the road beside the mile-markers. Master Tong says: "The monks of Western India uphold different divisions [of scriptures], and their ritual actions differ: some insist they heard it directly from the Buddha, making it even harder to adjust and reform; some claim the authority of their own lineage, vigorously deciding the divergent streams; some are straightforward in melody and plain; some are melodious in song and intricate. This led the transmissions each to vie between teachers and disciples, affirming their own side and negating the other, claiming 'mine is true and the other's is false,' contending back and forth throughout the years without end. Therefore, there are those whose hymn of a single occasion is beautiful and whose chant of three sections of gāthās halts carts and horses and stirs humans and devas alike to listen together; this is the efficacy of intricate sounds. As for Cūḍapanthaka of few phrases, or Vakkula of short stanzas—they merely worried about forgetting and moved their lips, where would they have leisure to be artful and raise their tongues?—yet they ascended to the intermediate sages and could bring forth supernatural signs; this is the proof of straightforward sounds. If I may summarize it in one sentence: as long as it moves dragon spirits and can give rise to goodness in living beings, it is the correct tone of intoning and reciting."