宋高僧傳 27.13

27.13

系曰：未聞中華演述佛教，倒傳西域，有諸乎？通曰：「昔梁武世，吐谷渾夸呂可汗使來求佛像及經論十四條，帝與所撰《涅槃》、《般若》、《金光明》等經疏一百三卷付之。原其使者必通華言，既達音字，到後以彼土言譯華成胡，方令通會。彼亦有僧，必展轉傳譯，從青海西達葱嶺北諸國，不久均行五竺，更無疑矣。故車師有《毛詩》、《論語》、《孝經》，置學官弟子，以相教授。雖習讀之，皆為胡語是也。又唐西域求《易》、《道經》，詔僧道譯唐為梵。二教爭『菩提』為『道』，紛拏不已，中輟。設能翻傳到彼，見此方玄賾之典籍，豈不美歟！又夫西域者，佛法之根[榦-木+禾]也；東夏者，傳來之枝葉也。世所知者，知枝葉不知根[榦-木+禾]。而不知枝葉殖土，亦根生[榦-木+禾]長矣，尼拘律陀樹是也。蓋東人之敏利，何以知耶？秦人好略，驗其言少而解多也。西域之人淳朴，何以知乎？天竺好繁，證其言重而後悟也。由是觀之，西域之人利在乎念性，東人利在乎解性也。如無相空教，出乎龍樹，智者演之，令西域之仰慕。如中道教生乎彌勒，慈恩解之，疑西域之罕及。將知以前二宗，殖於智者、慈恩之土中，枝葉也。入土別生根[榦-木+禾]，明矣！善栽接者，見而不識，聞而可愛也。又如合浦之珠，北土之人得之，結步搖而飾冠珮。南海之人見而不識，聞而可愛也。蠶婦之絲，巧匠之家得之，繡衣裳而成黼黻。縿抽之嫗，見而不識，聞而可愛也。懿乎智者、慈恩，西域之師，焉得不宗仰乎！」

The appraisal states: We have not heard of China expounding and writing on the Buddhist teachings and transmitting them in reverse back to the Western Regions; has this really occurred? To resolve this: In the past, in the time of Emperor Wu of the Liang, the envoy of the Tuyuhun Qaghan Kualü came to seek Buddha images and sūtras and treatises in fourteen matters. The emperor gave him one hundred and three rolls of his own commentaries on the Nirvāṇa, Prajñā, and Golden Light sūtras. To trace the matter, the envoy must have been proficient in Chinese; having mastered the sounds and graphs, upon returning he translated the Chinese into the barbarian language using the speech of that land, only then allowing understanding. That land also had monks, who must have progressively translated and transmitted them, reaching the kingdoms north of the Congling Mountains from Qinghai in the west, and before long they were circulating equally in the Five Indias, without any doubt. Therefore, Gushi had the Mao Poetry, the Analects, and the Classic of Filial Piety, establishing official instructors and disciples to teach one another; even though they studied and recited them, these were all in the barbarian tongue—this is an example of it. Furthermore, under the Tang, when the Western Regions requested the Book of Changes and the Daodejing, an imperial decree ordered Buddhist monks and Daoists to translate from Chinese into Sanskrit. The two teachings disputed whether 'bodhi' was 'the Way', wrangling ceaselessly, and the project was abandoned midway. Had they been able to translate and transmit them thither, so that those people could behold the profound and subtle scriptures of this realm, would that not have been beautiful! Moreover, the Western Regions are the roots and trunk of the Buddha Dharma; the Eastern Xia is the branches and leaves transmitted hither. What worldly people know is to recognize the branches and leaves without recognizing the roots and trunk; yet they do not realize that when the branches and leaves are planted in the soil, they too give birth to roots and grow into trunks, just as with the nyagrodha tree. How do we know the sharpness and agility of the people of the East? The people of Qin prefer conciseness, which is verified by their speaking little yet understanding much. How do we know the simple rusticity of the people of the Western Regions? India prefers verbosity, which is proven by their having to repeat words before awakening. Viewed from this perspective, the people of the Western Regions are sharp in their retentive nature, while the people of the East are sharp in their understanding nature. For example, the teaching of formless emptiness originated with Nāgārjuna, yet Zhiyi expounded it in such a way that the Western Regions admired it. The Middle Way teaching arose with Maitreya, yet Cien (Kuiji) explained it to an extent that one doubts the Western Regions could seldom equal. One should know that when the previous two schools were planted in the soil of Zhiyi and Cien, they were branches and leaves; yet once entering the soil, they distinctly gave birth to roots and trunks—this is clear! Those who are skilled in grafting, upon seeing it, do not recognize it, yet upon hearing of it, they find it delightful. Furthermore, it is like the pearls of Hepu: when people of the northern lands obtain them, they fashion hairpins and adorn caps and pendants; when the people of the Southern Sea see them, they do not recognize them, yet upon hearing of them, they find them delightful. When the silkworm women's silk is obtained by the family of a skilled artisan, they embroider garments and produce elegant robes; when the old women who reel the silk see them, they do not recognize them, yet upon hearing of them, they find them delightful. How magnificent are Zhiyi and Cien! How could the masters of the Western Regions fail to revere them!