神僧傳 2.30

2.30

佛馱跋陀羅。此云覺賢。本姓釋氏。迦維羅衛人。甘露飯王之苗裔也。幼喪父母從祖鳩婆利。聞其聰敏兼悼其孤露。乃迎還度為沙彌。至年十七。與同學數人俱以習誦為業。眾皆一月賢一日誦畢。其師歎曰。賢一日敵三十夫也。及受具戒修業精懃。博學群經多所通達。少以禪律馳名。常與同學僧迦達多。共遊罽賓同處積載。達多雖服其才明。而未測其人也。後於密室閉戶坐禪。忽見賢來。驚問何來。答云。暫至兜率致敬彌勒。言訖便隱。達多知是聖人。未測深淺。後屢見賢神變。乃敬心祈問。方知得不還果。常欲遊方弘化備觀風俗。會有秦沙門智嚴。西至罽賓覩法眾清淨。乃慨然東顧曰。我諸同輩斯有道志。而不遇真匠發悟莫由。即諮詢國眾孰能流化東土。僉云。佛馱跋陀。其人也。嚴既要請苦至。賢遂愍而許焉。於是捨眾辭師。裹糧東逝。步驟三載綿歷寒暑。既度葱嶺。路經六國。國主矜其遠化。並傾懷資奉。至交阯乃附舶循海而行。經一島下。賢以手指山曰。可止於此。舶主曰。客行惜日調風難遇。不可停也。行二百餘里。忽風轉吹舶還向島下。眾人方悟其神。咸師事之聽其進止。後遇便風同侶皆發。賢曰。不可動。舶主乃止。既而有先發者。一時覆敗。後於闇夜之中忽令眾舶俱發。無肯從者。賢自起收纜。唯一舶獨發。俄爾賊至。留者悉被抄害。頃之至青州東萊郡。聞鳩摩羅什在長安。即往從之。什大忻悅。共論法相振發玄微。多所悟益。時秦主姚興專志佛法。供養三千餘僧。並往來宮闕盛修人事唯賢守靜不與眾同。後語弟子云。我昨見本鄉有五舶俱發。既而弟子傳告外人。關中舊僧咸以為顯異惑眾。僧道恒等謂曰。佛尚不聽說己所得法。先言五舶將至虛而無實。又門徒誑惑互起同異。既於律有違理不同止。宜可時去勿得停留。賢曰。我身若流萍去留甚易。但恨懷抱未伸。以為慨然耳。於是與弟子慧觀等四十餘人。俱發神志。從容初無異色識真之眾咸共歎惜。道俗送者千有餘人。姚興聞去悵怏。乃謂道恒曰。佛賢沙門挾道來遊欲宣遺教。緘言未吐良用深慨。豈可以一言之咎令萬夫無導。因勅令追之。賢謂使曰。誠知恩旨無預聞命。於是率侶宵征。南指廬岳。沙門釋慧遠久服風名。聞至欣喜傾蓋若舊。遠以賢之被擯過由門人。若懸記五舶止說在同意。亦於律無犯。乃遣弟子曇邕致書姚主及關中眾僧解其擯事。遠乃請出禪數諸經。賢志在遊化居無求安。停山歲許。復西適江陵。遇外國舶主。既而訊訪。果是天竺五舶先所見者也。傾境士庶競來禮事。其有奉施悉皆不受。持鉢分衛不問豪賤。時陳郡袁豹為宋武帝太尉長史。宋武南討劉毅。豹隨府屆于江陵。賢將弟子慧觀詣豹乞食。豹素不敬信。待之甚薄。未飽辭退。豹曰。似未足且復少留。賢曰。檀越施心有限。故令所設已罄。豹即呼左右益飯。飯果盡。豹大慚愧。既而問慧觀曰。此沙門何如人。觀曰。德量高遠非凡所測。豹深歎異以啟太尉。太尉請與相見甚崇敬之。資供備至。俄而太尉還都。請與俱歸安止道場寺。以元嘉六年卒。春秋七十有一。

Buddhabhadra, whose name is translated as Juexian (Awakened Virtue), originally had the surname Gautama (Shishi). He was a native of Kapilavastu and a descendant of King Amṛtodana. Having lost his parents in his youth, his great-uncle Jiupolipo (Gopāla), hearing of his cleverness and grieving over his orphaned state, brought him back and ordained him as a śrāmaṇera. When he reached seventeen years of age, he practiced recitation along with several fellow students. While the others took an entire month to master a text, Juexian finished reciting it in a single day. His master sighed in admiration, saying, “Juexian is the match of thirty men in a single day!” When he received the full precepts, he engaged in his studies with meticulous diligence. He read widely across the various sūtras, thoroughly mastering many of them. From his youth, he was renowned for dhyāna and vinaya. He often traveled to Kapiśa with his fellow student Saṃghadatta, where they dwelt together for many years. Although Datta admired his talent and discernment, he could not fathom his depth. Later, while sitting in dhyāna behind closed doors in a secluded chamber, [Datta] suddenly saw Juexian enter. Startled, he asked where he had come from. [Juexian] replied, “I went briefly to Tuṣita to pay respects to Maitreya.” Having spoken, he disappeared. Datta knew he was a holy man, but still could not gauge his depth. Later, seeing Juexian's divine transformations on multiple occasions, he reverently asked, and only then learned that he had attained the fruit of an anāgāmin. [Buddhabhadra] constantly desired to travel and propagate the teachings, observing local customs everywhere. It happened that the Qin śramaṇa Zhiyan arrived west in Kapiśa. Seeing the purity of the sangha, he looked back eastward with a sigh and said, “All of my fellows possess the aspiration for the Way, but having met no true master, they have no means to attain awakening.” Thereupon he inquired among the assembly of that country who could go spread the teachings to the eastern land. They all said, “Buddhabhadra is the man.” Since Zhiyan was earnest in his entreaties, Juexian took pity and consented. Thereupon he parted from the assembly, took leave of his master, packed provisions, and headed east. His trek lasted three years, passing through harsh cold and heat. Having crossed the Pamir Mountains (Congling), he passed through six kingdoms along his route. The kings of these kingdoms, honoring his mission to transform distant lands, devotedly offered him supplies. Arriving in Jiaozhi, he boarded a ship and traveled by sea. Passing below an island, Juexian pointed to the mountain and said, “We should stop here.” The shipmaster said, “Travelers value time, and favorable winds are hard to come by; we cannot stop.” After sailing more than two hundred li, a sudden shift in the wind blew the ship back toward the island. Only then did the passengers realize his divine nature, and they all treated him as a master, following his instructions to advance or halt. Later, meeting a favorable wind, the other ships were all about to depart. Juexian said, “We must not move.” The shipmaster thus stayed behind. Soon afterward, those that had set out first were all capsized and wrecked. Later, in the dead of night, he suddenly ordered all the ships to set sail. None were willing to follow. Juexian himself arose and hauled the ropes, and only his own ship departed alone. Shortly afterward, pirates arrived; those who remained behind were all plundered and killed. Soon he arrived in Donglai Commandery of Qingzhou. Hearing that Kumārajīva was in Chang'an, he went to join him. Kumārajīva was greatly delighted. Together they discussed the characteristics of dharmas and elucidated profound subtleties, bringing about much awakening and benefit. At that time, the Qin ruler Yao Xing was devoted to the Buddhadharma and supported over three thousand monks, who went back and forth to the palace, busily engaged in worldly affairs; only Juexian maintained quietude, refusing to join the crowd. Later, he said to his disciples, “Yesterday I saw five ships setting sail together from my homeland.” The disciples subsequently passed this on to outsiders. The old monks of Guanzhong all considered this a display of the anomalous to delude the masses. The monk Daocheng and others said to him, “The Buddha does not even allow one to speak of the dharmas one has attained. To say beforehand that five ships will arrive is empty and untrue. Moreover, your disciples deceive and delude, stirring up factional strife. Since this violates the vinaya, it is unreasonable for us to live together. You should leave immediately and not remain here.” Juexian said, “My body is like floating duckweed; to go or stay is very easy. I only regret that my aspirations could not be unfolded; that is my only lament.” Thereupon, along with his disciple Huiguan and over forty others, they departed with composure and calm demeanor, without the slightest change in expression. The multitude who recognized the truth all sighed with regret. Over a thousand clerics and laypeople saw him off. When Yao Xing heard he had left, he felt regretful and said to Daocheng, “The śramaṇa Juexian traveled here holding the Way, wishing to propagate the bequeathed teachings. To have his mouth sealed before speaking is truly cause for deep sorrow. How could a fault over a single word leave ten thousand people without a guide?” He then decreed that messengers pursue him. Juexian said to the envoy, “I sincerely acknowledge the imperial kindness, but I cannot obey the command.” Thereupon he led his companions on a night march, heading south toward Mount Lu. The śramaṇa Shi Huiyuan had long admired his reputation; hearing of his arrival, he was overjoyed, treating him like an old friend from the moment their carriages met. Huiyuan considered that Juexian’s expulsion was due to the fault of his disciples: if he foretold five ships, it was only said among like-minded comrades, which does not violate the vinaya. He then dispatched his disciple Tanyong to send a letter to Ruler Yao and the monks of Guanzhong to clear up the matter of the expulsion. Huiyuan then invited him to translate various sūtras on dhyāna and abhidharma. Juexian's intention was to wander and transform others; in living, he sought no settled comfort. After staying on the mountain for about a year, he went west to Jiangling. He met foreign shipmasters, and upon questioning them, they indeed were the five Indian ships he had previously seen. The scholars and commoners of the entire region vied to come and pay him homage, but he refused all offerings made to him. Carrying his bowl for piṇḍapāta, he made no distinction between the noble and the humble. At that time, Yuan Bao of Chen Commandery was the Chief Clerk to the Grand Defender of Emperor Wu of the Song dynasty. When Emperor Wu went south to punish Liu Yi, Yuan Bao accompanied the administration and arrived in Jiangling. Juexian took his disciple Huiguan to Yuan Bao's house to beg for food. Yuan Bao, who had never harbored reverence or faith, treated them very poorly. Before being sated, they took their leave. Yuan Bao said, “You seem not to have had enough; please stay a bit longer.” Juexian said, “The dānapati’s intention to give is limited, so what was prepared has already been exhausted.” Yuan Bao immediately called his attendants to add more rice, but the rice was indeed gone. Yuan Bao was thoroughly ashamed. Afterward, he asked Huiguan, “What kind of man is this śramaṇa?” Huiguan said, “His virtue and capacity are high and profound, beyond the fathom of ordinary people.” Yuan Bao marveled deeply at him and reported this to the Grand Defender. The Grand Defender requested to meet him and revered him greatly, providing him with complete provisions. Soon afterward, the Grand Defender returned to the capital and invited him to return with him, settling him at Daochang Monastery. He passed away in the sixth year of the Yuanjia era at the age of seventy-one.