宋高僧傳 5.19

5.19

釋良賁，姓郭氏，河中虞鄉人也。世襲冠裳，法門之流，不標祖禰，故闕如也。賁識鑒淵曠，風表峻越，外通墳典，內善經論，義解之性，人罕加焉。永泰中，不空盛行傳譯，實難其人，賁預其翻度。代宗請為菩薩戒師。因新出《仁王護國經》，勅令撰疏解判，曲盡經意，以所住寺為疏目，曰《青龍》也。原夫是經已當三譯，一晉太始三年法護譯一卷，名《仁王般若》；次秦羅什出，名《仁王護國般若波羅蜜》；次梁承聖三年真諦於洪州寶因寺譯，名《仁王般若》，并疏六卷。然則晉本初翻，方言尚隔。梁朝所譯，隱而不行。偽秦之經，傳流宇內。奈何止言「波羅蜜」而闕「多」字！則是虧其到義。是以肅宗皇帝齋心沐德，請不空重譯。及肅皇晏駕，代宗成先聖之願言，詔興譯務，勅軍容使魚朝恩監護於南桃園，起乎告朔，終乎望日，帝御承明殿灌頂道場躬執舊經，對譯新本，而復為序，冠于經首，仍勅賁造疏通經。賁上表曰：「學孤先哲，有玷清流，叨接翻傳，謬膺筆受。幸揚天闕，親奉德音，令於大明宮南桃園修疏贊演，宸光曲照，不容避席。窮玄珠於貝葉，但益慚惶；捧白璧於丹墀，寧勝報斆。仰酬皇澤，俯課忠勤，既竭愚誠，庶昭玄造。」賁勤勤筆削，三卷克成，奏乞流行。復上牋疏：「今年二月二十一日恩命令在內園修撰經疏，微僧寡學，懼不稱旨。洗心滌慮，扣寂求音，發明起自於天言，加被仰憑於佛力，咸約經論，演暢真宗，亦猶集群玉於崑山，納大川於溟海。火生於木，與兩曜而俱明；識轉於如，體一相而等照。成道者，法也；載法者，經也；釋經者，疏也。廣度群有，同於大通，是菩提心，如陛下意。所撰經疏，繕寫畢功，文過萬言，部有三卷。施行竊慚於愚見，裁成冀答於聖恩。并《念誦儀軌》一卷，《承明殿講密嚴經對御記》一卷同進上。輕塵玄覽，祇畏無任。」答詔云：「法師智炬高明，辭峯逈秀，親憑梵夾，宣闡微言，幽賾真宗，演成章疏。開如來之祕藏，示群有之迷津，貫玉聯珠，鉤深致遠。再三披閱，頗謂精詳。傳之招提，永為法寶也。」皇命褒揚，釋門翕盛。又屬章信寺初成，執疏服膺者常數百眾，雖紙貴如玉，無以加焉。其在安國寺講筵，官供不匱。數年之內，歸學如林。大歷七年正月，不空奏請入《目錄》，勅依。賁於六年徙居集州，教授傳經，不遑寧處。至十二年三月十日，無疾枕肱，終于符陽，春秋六十一，夏臘二十九。宕渠、嘉川之人，哀悼法梁摧折，闍維收灰中舍利百餘粒。遺表中進《念誦儀》、《對御記》二卷，以其先進者遂留在內中之故，令門弟子齎之重進。後於上都城東置墳塔焉，即大曆十三年也。賁累朝供奉應制，辭辯富贍，學問高深。末塗淪躓，同利涉之徙移，若神會之流外，吁哉！

Shi Liangben, surnamed Guo, was a native of Yuxiang in Hezhong. His family had worn the robes and caps of high office for generations; however, as one belonging to the lineage of the Dharma gate, he did not record his ancestry, so it is omitted here. Liangben's discernment was profound and vast, and his demeanor lofty and surpassing. On the outside, he was thoroughly versed in the ancient classics, while within he was skilled in the sūtras and treatises; in the gift for exegetical understanding, few could match him. During the Yongtai era, when Amoghavajra's translation work was in full flourish, suitable collaborators were truly difficult to find, and Liangben took part in the translation. Emperor Daizong invited him to serve as a bodhisattva precept master. Because the new translation of the Humane King Protecting the State Sūtra was newly completed, an imperial decree ordered him to compose a commentary to explain and analyze it. He exhaustively brought out the meaning of the sūtra; titling the commentary after the temple where he resided, it was called the Qinglong. Now, as for this sūtra, it had already undergone three translations: first, Dharmarakṣa translated one roll in the third year of the Taishi era of the Jin dynasty, titled Renwang bore (Humane King Prajñā); next, Kumārajīva of the Qin produced one, titled Renwang huguo bore boluomi (Humane King Protecting the State Prajñāpāramitā); and next, Paramārtha translated it at Baoyin Temple in Hongzhou in the third year of the Chengsheng era of the Liang dynasty, titled Renwang bore, along with a commentary in six rolls. However, in the Jin version, as an early translation, the vernacular language was still an impediment. The translation of the Liang dynasty fell into obscurity and did not circulate. The sūtra of the illegitimate Qin circulated throughout the realm. Yet why did it merely say 'boluomi' (pārami) while lacking the character 'duo' (tā)? This indeed diminished its sense of 'having reached [the other shore]'. On this account, Emperor Suzong purified his mind and bathed in virtue, requesting Amoghavajra to retranslate it. When Emperor Suzong passed away, Daizong fulfilled the former sage's expressed wish, decreeing the resumption of the translation project. He commissioned Palace Commissioner for Disciplinary Inspection Yu Chaoen to supervise it at the Southern Peach Garden, beginning on the first day of the month and concluding on the full moon. The Emperor went in person to the consecration (abhiṣeka) sanctuary in the Chenggming Hall, where he personally held the old sūtra while collating and translating the new version. He further composed a preface, placing it at the head of the sūtra, and additionally commanded Liangben to compose a commentary to elucidate the scripture. Liangben submitted a memorial stating: 'My learning falls far short of former sages, and I blemish the pure stream. Having been unworthy of assisting in the translation and improperly entrusted with receiving the text from the brush, I was fortunate to have my name raised to the heavenly palace and personally received the gracious command, ordering me to compose a commentary and assist in expounding it at the Southern Peach Garden of Daming Palace. As the imperial light shone upon me, I could not excuse myself. Searching out the dark pearl among the palm leaves, I only feel an increasing shame and trepidation; holding the white jade tablet before the cinnabar steps, how could I ever repay your instruction? Looking up, I repay the imperial favor; looking down, I hold myself to loyal diligence. Having exhausted my foolish sincerity, I hope to manifest the mysterious creation.' Liangben diligently applied his brush to write and revise, successfully completing three rolls, and submitted a memorial begging for their circulation. He further submitted an explanatory petition: 'On the twenty-first day of the second month of this year, an imperial order commanded me to compose a commentary on the sūtra in the inner garden. A lowly monk of little learning, I feared not measuring up to the imperial will. Washing my mind and cleansing my thoughts, I knocked on silence to seek sound; the illumination began from the celestial words, and the empowerment looked up to and relied upon the Buddha's power. All based on the sūtras and treatises, I broadly expounded the true tenets, just as gathering all jades at Mount Kunlun or channeling the great rivers into the dark ocean. Fire is born of wood, shining together with the two luminaries; consciousness turns into Suchness, its substance of a single mark shining equally. That which achieves the Way is the Dharma; that which conveys the Dharma is the sūtra; that which explains the sūtra is the commentary. Universally crossing over the multitude of beings and joining together in great penetration is the bodhicitta, matching Your Majesty's intention. The composed commentary has been completely transcribed, its text exceeding ten thousand words in three rolls. As to its promulgation, I am secretly ashamed of my foolish views; its completion hopes to answer the sacred grace. Together with one roll of Recitation Ritual Manual and one roll of Record of Expounding the Ghanavyūha Sūtra before the Emperor at the Chengming Hall, I submit them together. In presuming to cloud your imperial gaze, I am awestruck beyond measure.' The rescript in reply said: 'The Dharma Master's torch of wisdom burns high and bright; his peak of eloquence is uniquely eminent. Directly relying upon the Sanskrit pothi, he has proclaimed the subtle words, fathoming the profound, mysterious true tenets and expounding them into a commentary. Opening the secret treasury of the Tathāgata and showing the deluded ford to the multitude of beings, he has strung together jades and linked pearls, probing the deep and reaching the far. Reading through it repeatedly, I deem it truly refined and detailed. Let it be transmitted to the monasteries, to serve forever as a Dharma treasure.' With imperial praise, the Buddhist order flourished greatly. Moreover, at that time Zhangxin Temple had just been completed; those who held the commentary and kept it in their hearts regularly numbered several hundred, so that even had paper been as precious as jade, nothing could have added to its value. During his lectures at Anguo Temple, the official provisions never ran out. Within a few years, those who returned to study under him were like a forest. In the first month of the seventh year of the Dali era, Amoghavajra submitted a petition requesting its entry into the Catalogue, and an imperial decree approved it. In the sixth year, Liangben had relocated to Jizhou, teaching and transmitting the sūtras without a moment of leisure. On the tenth day of the third month of the twelfth year, without illness, he pillowed his head on his arm and passed away in Fuyang, at the age of sixty-one, with a saṅgha age of twenty-nine. The people of Dangqu and Jiachuan mourned the collapse of the pillar of Dharma; after the cremation (jhāpita), they collected over a hundred grains of relics (śarīra) from the ashes. In his deathbed memorial, he submitted the two rolls of the Recitation Ritual Manual and Record before the Emperor; because the copies submitted earlier had remained inside the palace, he commanded his disciples to carry them and present them again. Later, a funerary stūpa was established east of the capital city, in the thirteenth year of the Dali era. Liangben served through successive reigns attending to imperial commands; his eloquence was rich and abundant, his scholarship lofty and profound. Yet in his later years, he suffered setbacks and fell into obscurity, like the displacement of Lishe, or like Shenhui's exile beyond the pale. Alas!