神僧傳 2.26

2.26

佛陀耶舍。此云覺名。罽賓人。婆羅門種。世事外道。有一沙門從其家乞食。其父怒使人打之。父遂手脚攣躄不能行止。乃問於巫師。對曰。坐犯賢人鬼神使然也。即請此沙門竭誠懺悔。數日便瘳。因令耶舍出家為其弟子。時年十三。常隨師遠行。於曠野逢虎。師欲走避。耶舍曰。此虎已飽必不侵人。俄而虎去。前行果見餘㱴。師密異之。至年十五誦經日記二三萬言。所住寺常於外分衛廢於誦習。有一羅漢重其聰敏。恒乞食供之。至年十九誦大小乘經數百萬言。年二十七方受具戒。後至沙勒國。時國王不豫。請僧齋會。太子見而悅之請留宮內供養。羅什後至。復從舍受學。甚相尊敬。後羅什往龜茲。為呂光所執。舍停十餘年。乃東適龜茲法化甚盛。時什在姑臧。遣使要之。欲去國人留之停歲許。後語弟子云。吾欲尋羅什。可密裝衣發勿使人知。弟子曰。恐明日追至不免復還耳。耶舍乃取清水一鉢以藥投中。呪數十言。與弟子洗足。即便夜發。比至旦行數百里。問弟子曰。何所覺耶。答曰。唯聞疾風之響。眼中淚出耳。耶舍又與呪水洗足住息。明旦國人追之。已差數百里不及。行達姑臧。而什已入長安。聞姚興逼以妾媵勸為非法。乃歎曰。羅什如好綿何可使入棘林中。什聞其至姑臧勸姚興迎之。興未納。頃之興命什譯出經藏。什曰。夫弘宣法教宜令文義圓通。貧道雖誦其文未善其理。唯佛陀耶舍深達幽致。今在姑臧願詔徵之。一言三詳。然後著筆。使微言不墜取信千載也。興從之。即遣使招迎。厚加贈遺悉不受。乃笑曰。明旨既降便應載馳。檀越待士既厚。脫如羅什見處。則未敢聞命。使還具說之。興歎其慎重。至長安興自出候問。別立新省於逍遙園中。四事供養。並不受。時至分衛一食而已。耶舍先誦曇無德律。偽司隸校尉姚爽請令出之。乃試耶舍。令誦羌籍藥方可五萬言。經一日執文覆之不誤一字。眾服其強記。即以弘始十二年譯出四分律。凡四十四卷。并出長阿含等。涼州沙門竺佛念譯為秦言。道含筆受。至十五年解座。興䞋耶舍布絹萬匹。悉不受。道含佛念布絹各千匹。名德沙門五百人。皆重䞋施。耶舍後辭還外國。至罽賓得虛空藏經一卷。寄賈客傳與涼州諸僧。後不知所終。

Buddhayaśas—translated here as "Juming" (Renowned for Awakening)—was a native of Kapiśa, of brāhmaṇa lineage. For generations his family had served non-Buddhist traditions. Once, a śramaṇa came to his house begging for food, and his father, in anger, ordered someone to beat him. The father's hands and feet consequently became crippled and lame so that he could not walk. He then questioned a spirit-medium, who replied, "This was caused by spirits because you offended a worthy man." He immediately invited this śramaṇa and made wholehearted repentance, and in a few days he recovered. He then had Yaśas renounce household life to become the śramaṇa's disciple, being thirteen years old at the time. He frequently accompanied his master on distant travels. In an open wilderness they encountered a tiger; his master wished to flee, but Yaśas said, "This tiger is already sated and will surely not harm anyone." Shortly after, the tiger left, and upon walking forward they indeed saw the remnants of its prey; his master secretly marveled at him. By the age of fifteen, he recited two to thirty thousand words of sūtras every day. Because the monastery where he stayed always required piṇḍapāta outside, his recitation and study were disrupted. An arhat, respecting his intelligence and keenness, constantly begged food to provide for him. By the age of nineteen, he recited several million words of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras. Only at the age of twenty-seven did he receive full ordination. Later, he arrived in the kingdom of Kashgar (Shāle). At that time, the king of the country was unwell and invited the monks for a feast; the crown prince saw him, was delighted with him, and asked him to remain in the palace to receive offerings. When Kumārajīva arrived later, he in turn studied under Yaśas and revered him greatly. Later, Kumārajīva went to Kucha and was captured by Lü Guang. Yaśas remained for over ten years, and then went east to Kucha, where his Dharma transformation flourished greatly. At that time, Kumārajīva was in Guzang and sent an envoy to invite him. When he wished to leave, the people of the country detained him for about a year. Later, he said to a disciple, "I wish to seek out Kumārajīva; you may secretly pack our clothes and set out without letting anyone know." The disciple said, "I fear that if they pursue us tomorrow, we will inevitably be brought back." Yaśas then took a bowl of pure water, cast medicine into it, chanted several tens of words of incantation over it, and washed his and his disciple's feet with it. They then set out by night, and by dawn they had traveled several hundred li. He asked the disciple, "What did you feel?" The disciple answered, "I only heard the sound of rushing wind, and tears flowed from my eyes." Yaśas again gave him incanted water to wash his feet and rest. Next morning, when the people of the country pursued them, they were already several hundred li off and could not catch up. Traveling on, he reached Guzang, but Kumārajīva had already entered Chang'an. Having heard that Yao Xing coerced Kumārajīva with concubines and urged him to uncanonical conduct, Yaśas sighed, "Kumārajīva is like fine silk—how could he be cast into a bramble thicket?" Hearing that he had reached Guzang, Kumārajīva urged Yao Xing to welcome him, but Xing did not heed it at first. Shortly after, Xing ordered Kumārajīva to translate the scriptural canon. Kumārajīva said, "To propagate and declare the Dharma teachings, one should ensure that text and meaning are completely harmonious. Although this poor monk can recite the text, he has not mastered its subtle principles. Only Buddhayaśas deeply penetrates the profound purport; he is now in Guzang, and I pray you issue an edict to summon him. We should deliberate three times over every single word before setting brush to paper, so that the subtle words are not lost and will command trust for a thousand ages." Xing complied, and immediately sent an envoy to invite him, presenting lavish gifts, but Yaśas declined them all. Smiling, he said, "Since the enlightened decree has descended, I ought to ride forth at once. Yet if the dānapati treats scholars generously only to place me in the same situation as Kumārajīva, I dare not obey the command." The envoy returned and reported this in full. Xing marveled at his prudence. When he arrived in Chang'an, Xing went out in person to greet and inquire after him, building a separate new chamber for him in the Xiaoyao Garden and providing the four requirements of offerings; but he accepted none of them, merely engaging in piṇḍapāta for a single daily meal when the hour arrived. Yaśas had previously recited the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya from memory. The usurping Director of Retainers, Yao Shuang, requested that he produce it. He first tested Yaśas by having him recite Qiang medical prescriptions and registers, amounting to roughly fifty thousand words. After one day, holding the text to check against his recitation, not a single word was mistaken. The multitude submitted to his powerful memory. Thus, in the twelfth year of the Hongshi era, he translated the Four-Part Vinaya in forty-four fascicles, and also translated the Dīrgha Āgama and other texts. The monk Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou translated them into the Qin language, and Daohan wrote them down. In the fifteenth year, the translation assembly concluded. Xing offered Yaśas ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk, all of which he declined; Daohan and Fonian each received a thousand bolts of cloth and silk, and five hundred monks of renowned virtue were all richly presented with offerings. Later, Yaśas took his leave to return to foreign lands. Upon reaching Kapiśa, he obtained one fascicle of the Ākāśagarbha Sūtra, which he sent with traveling merchants to transmit to the monks of Liangzhou. Later, his whereabouts remained unknown.