神僧傳 1.17

1.17

Jīvaka was a native of Tianzhu. Wandering throughout both Chinese and frontier lands, he had no fixed dwelling. Untrammeled, extraordinary, and following his whims, he disregarded worldly conventions, and his traces and conduct were never constant; people of the time could not fathom him. From his departure from Tianzhu up to Funan, passing along the various sea coasts, he traversed Jiaozhou and Guangzhou, working wonders at every step. Having reached Xiangyang, he wished to take passage across the river. The boatman, seeing the Indian śramaṇa's robes were ragged and lowly, despised him and would not take him aboard. When the boat reached the north bank, Jīvaka had already crossed and was walking ahead. He saw two tigers; the tigers dropped their ears and wagged their tails, and Jīvaka patted their heads with his hand, whereupon the tigers stepped off the road and left. Those on both banks who saw this followed him in crowds. At the end of the reign of Emperor Hui of the Jin, he arrived at Luoyang. Everyone bowed in homage to him, yet Jīvaka knelt in barbarian fashion, impassive and unmoving in countenance. From time to time he would tell people about their previous lives, saying that Zhi Fayuan had come from among sheep, and that Zhu Faju had come from among humans. He also ridiculed the assembly of monks, saying that their fine, resplendent robes were not in keeping with the plain rule. Seeing the palaces and city walls of Luoyang, he said, 'It vaguely resembles the palace of Trāyastriṃśa Heaven; only that between what is natural and what is made by human effort, there is a difference.' Jīvaka said to the śramaṇa Qijiemi, 'The artisan who built this palace came down from Trāyastriṃśa Heaven; once it was completed, he returned to heaven. Beneath the tiles of the roof ridges there ought to be one thousand five hundred construction tools.' At that time, everyone said that long ago they had heard that this artisan indeed placed his tools under the tiles. At that time Teng Yongwen of Nanyang, governor of Hengyang, was staying in Luoyang at Manshui Monastery. Both of his legs were crippled and bent, so that he could not get up and walk. Jīvaka went to see him and said, 'If you wish to be cured of your illness, why not fetch a cup of pure water and a willow branch?' Jīvaka then sprinkled the water with the willow branch, raised his hand toward Yongwen, and chanted incantations. He did this three times, and then grasped Yongwen's knees with his hands to make him stand up. Immediately he stood up and walked as of old. In this monastery there were several dozen withered and dead trees of contemplation. Jīvaka asked Yongwen, 'How long have the trees been dead?' Yongwen said, 'For many years.' Jīvaka then chanted incantations toward the trees just as he had done for Yongwen. The trees soon sprouted shoots, spreading their branches in lush abundance. In the Directorate of Imperial Manufactures, there was a man suffering from an abdominal mass who was on the verge of death. Jīvaka placed a begging bowl upon the patient's belly and covered him completely with a white cloth. He chanted incantations of wishing for several thousand words, whereupon a foul stench permeated the entire room. The sick man said, 'I shall live!' Jīvaka had someone lift the cloth, and inside the begging bowl were several pints of what looked like foul sludge, reeking so badly that one could not approach it. The sick man was thereupon healed. When warfare erupted in Luoyang, he took his leave to return to Tianzhu. Several hundred śramaṇas in Luoyang each invited Jīvaka to a midday meal. Jīvaka agreed to go to all of them. The next morning, there was a Jīvaka at every one of the five hundred houses. At first each thought he had visited them alone, but later, when they compared notes, they realized he had multiplied his body to descend among them. When he departed, the monks escorted him as far as the walls of Henan. Jīvaka walked slowly, yet his pursuers could not catch up. Jīvaka then drew a line on the ground with his staff, saying, 'Here we part.' On that very day, someone arriving from Chang'an saw Jīvaka in a monastery there. Later, a Sogdian merchant named Hushedeng said that toward dusk on that day, he met Jīvaka in the Flowing Sands, a distance estimated at over nine thousand li. After returning to the Western Regions, his end was not known.