神僧傳 3.16

3.16

求那跋陀羅。此云功德賢。中天竺人。以大乘學故世號摩訶衍。本婆羅門種幼。學五明諸論。後遇見阿毘曇雜心。尋讀驚悟。乃深崇佛法。其家世事外道禁絕沙門。乃捨家潛遁遠求師範。即投簪落䰂（音采）專精志學。及受具戒博通三藏。到師子諸國皆傳送資供。既有緣東方。隨舶泛海中途風止。淡水復竭舉舶憂惶。跋陀曰。可同心并力念十方佛稱觀世音。何往不感乃密誦呪經懇到禮懺。俄而信風暴至密雲降雨。一舶蒙濟。宋丞相南譙王義宣鎮荊州。創房殿請講華嚴等經。而跋陀自忖未善華言有懷愧歎。即旦夕禮懺請觀世音乞求冥應。遂夢有人白服持劍擎一人首。來至其前曰。何故憂耶。跋陀具以事對。答曰。無所多憂。即以劍易首更安新頭。語令迴轉曰。得無痛耶。答曰。不痛。豁然便覺心神喜悅。旦起語義皆通備領華言。於是就講。元嘉末譙王屢有怪夢。跋陀答云。京都將有禍亂。未及一年元兇構逆。及孝建之初譙王陰謀逆節。跋陀顏容憂傪未及發言。譙王問其故。跋陀諫諍懇切。乃流涕而出曰。必無所冀。貧道不容扈從。譙王以其物情所信。乃逼與俱下。梁山之敗火艦轉迫。去岸懸遠判無全濟。唯一心稱觀世音。手捉笻竹杖投身江中。水齊至膝。以杖刺水。水流深駃。見一童子尋後而至以手牽之。顧謂童子。汝小兒何能度我。恍惚之間覺行十餘步。仍得上岸。即脫納衣欲償童子。顧覓不見。舉身毛竪。時王玄謨督軍梁山。世祖勅軍中得摩訶衍。善加料理驛信送臺。俄而尋得。令舸送都。世祖即時引見顧問委曲。曰企望日久。今始相遇。跋陀曰。既染釁戾分當灰粉。今得接見重荷生造。勅問並准為賊。答曰。出家之人不預戎事。然張暢宋靈秀等並是驅迫貧道。所明但不圖宿緣乃逢此事。帝曰。無所懼也。是日勅住後堂供施衣物。給以人乘。及中興寺成勅令移住。後於秣陵界鳳凰樓西起寺每至夜半輒有推戶而喚。視不見人。眾屢厭夢。跋陀燒香呪願曰。汝宿緣在此我今起寺。行道禮懺常為汝等。若住者為護寺善神。若不能住各隨所安。既而道俗十餘人。同夕夢見鬼神千數皆荷擔移去。寺眾遂安。大明六年天下亢旱。禱祈山川累月無驗。世祖請令祈雨必使有感。如其無獲不須相見。跋陀曰。仰憑三寶。陛下天威冀必降澤。如其不獲不復重見。即往北湖釣臺燒香祈請。不復飲食默而誦經。密加祕呪。明日晡時西北雲起。初如車蓋。日在桑榆風震雲合連日降雨。尋常執持香爐未嘗輟手。每食飛鳥乃集手取食。至太宗之世禮供隆到。大始四年正月覺體不愈。便與太宗及公卿等告別。臨終三日延佇而望云。見天華聖像。隅中遂卒。春秋七十有五。

Guṇabhadra means 'Virtuous in Merit'. He was a man of Central Tianzhu. Because he studied the Mahāyāna, the world called him 'Mahāyāna'. He was originally of the brahman caste. In his youth, he studied the Five Sciences and various treatises. Later, he encountered the Abhidharma-saṃyuktahṛdaya-śāstra; upon perusing it, he had an awakened realization and subsequently deeply venerated the Buddha-Dharma. His family had served non-Buddhist traditions for generations and banned śramaṇas; he then abandoned his family, fled in secret, and sought a master far away. Thereupon he discarded his hairpins, shaved his hair, and devoted himself with single-minded resolve to study. When he received the full precepts, he became broadly versed in the Tripiṭaka. When he arrived in Siṃhala and other kingdoms, they all relayed provisions and offerings for him. Since he had karmic affinities with the East, he boarded a ship and sailed the ocean. Midway, the wind ceased and the fresh water was exhausted; the entire ship was filled with anxiety and dread. Guṇabhadra said, 'You may unite your minds and join your efforts to be mindful of the Buddhas of the ten directions and call upon Avalokiteśvara; where would there not be a response?' He then recited dhāraṇī sūtras in secret and performed reverent repentance with utmost sincerity. In a short while, a favorable wind blew up violently, dense clouds sent down rain, and the entire ship was saved. Prince of Nanqiao, Liu Yixuan, the Chancellor of the Song, garrisoned Jingzhou; he founded halls and chambers and invited him to lecture on the Avataṃsaka and other sūtras. But Guṇabhadra considered that his mastery of the Chinese language was not yet skilled, harboring shame and lament in his heart. Thereupon, morning and evening he performed repentance and prayed to Avalokiteśvara, begging for a dark response. He then dreamed of a person wearing white clothes holding a sword and carrying a human head, who came before him and said, 'Why are you grieved?' Guṇabhadra answered by detailing the matter. The person replied, 'There is nothing to worry about.' He immediately used the sword to exchange the head, affixing a new head, and told him to turn it around, saying, 'Does it hurt?' He replied, 'It does not hurt.' With sudden clarity, he woke up, his mind joyful. Rising in the morning, he understood the meanings of words completely and possessed a full grasp of Chinese. Thereupon he undertook the lecture. At the end of the Yuanjia era, Prince Qiao repeatedly had strange dreams. Guṇabhadra answered, 'There will be disaster and rebellion in the capital.' In less than a year, the Yuanxiong (Liu Shao) plotted treason. When it came to the beginning of the Xiaojian era, Prince Qiao secretly plotted rebellious betrayal. Guṇabhadra's expression was sorrowful and grim, and before he could speak, Prince Qiao asked him the reason. Guṇabhadra remonstrated urgently and earnestly, and then, weeping, walked out, saying, 'There is surely no hope; this poor monk cannot accompany you.' Prince Qiao, because Guṇabhadra was trusted by the sentiments of the people, forced him to go down the river together with him. After the defeat at Liangshan, the fire ships pressed ever closer; they were far from the bank, and there was certainly no hope of rescue. He only single-mindedly called upon Avalokiteśvara, holding a bamboo cane, and threw himself into the river. The water came up to his knees; he prodded the water with the cane, and the current was deep and swift. He saw a boy following behind who approached and took his hand. Turning back, he said to the boy, 'How can you, a small child, ferry me across?' In a daze, he felt himself walk ten or more steps, and still managed to reach the riverbank. He immediately took off his patched robe wishing to reward the boy, but looking around, he could not see him; his body's hairs stood on end. At that time, Wang Xuanmo was supervising the army at Liangshan; Shizu (Emperor Xiaowu) ordered that if they caught 'Mahāyāna' in the army, they must treat him well and send him to the palace by postal relay. Soon after, they found him and ordered boats to convey him to the capital. Shizu granted an audience at once, inquiring after him in detail and saying, 'I have looked forward to meeting you for a long time; today we finally meet.' Guṇabhadra said, 'Having been stained by guilt and offense, my lot should have been to be ground to dust; now that I am received in audience, I am deeply indebted for this gift of life.' The Emperor asked if he had been treated on par with the rebels. He replied, 'A renunciant does not participate in military matters. However, Zhang Chang, Song Lingxiu, and others all coerced this poor monk; what is clear is that I never expected my past karma would lead me to encounter this matter.' The Emperor said, 'There is nothing to fear.' That day, he ordered him to reside in the Rear Hall, providing him with robes and items, and giving him attendants and vehicles. When Zhongxing Monastery was completed, he was ordered to move and reside there. Later, he built a monastery to the west of the Phoenix Tower within the borders of Moling; every night at midnight, there was someone pushing the doors and calling out, but looking around, no person was seen; the assembly repeatedly suffered from nightmares. Guṇabhadra burned incense and made a prayer of vow, saying, 'Your past karma is here, and I have now built a monastery; practicing the Path, paying homage, and repenting are always done on your behalf. If you wish to stay, become good protective deities of the monastery; if you cannot stay, let each follow what is peaceful for them.' Soon after, more than ten monastics and laypeople dreamt on the same night that thousands of ghosts and spirits, all carrying loads on shoulder poles, moved away. The monastery assembly thereupon found peace. In the sixth year of the Daming era (462 CE), the empire suffered an extreme drought; prayers to mountains and rivers for successive months yielded no verification. Shizu asked him to pray for rain, requiring that there must be a response: 'If there is no result, there is no need to see me again.' Guṇabhadra said, 'Relying upon the Three Jewels and Your Majesty's heavenly majesty, I hope that rain will surely fall; if it is not obtained, I shall not see you again.' He immediately went to the Fishing Terrace on the North Lake, burned incense, and prayed; he ate no more food, silently recited sūtras, and secretly added esoteric dhāraṇīs. The next day at the申 hour (late afternoon), clouds arose in the northwest; at first like a chariot canopy, while the sun was in the mulberries and elms, the wind shook, the clouds joined, and rain fell for consecutive days. Ordinarily, he held an incense burner in his hand without ever setting it down; whenever he ate, flying birds would gather on his hand to take food. In the era of Taizong (Emperor Ming), ritual offerings to him were magnificent and abundant. In the first month of the fourth year of the Taishi era (468 CE), feeling his body unwell, he bid farewell to Taizong, the ministers, and others. For three days before his death, he stretched his neck and gazed into the distance, saying that he saw heavenly flowers and holy images. At midday, he passed away at the age of seventy-five.