神僧傳 1.5

1.5

Shi Mātanga was originally a native of Central Tianzhu. He was fine in bearing and deportment, and understood both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna scriptures. He always took traveling and converting others as his mission. He went to a small vassal state of Tianzhu to lecture on the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra, and it happened that a hostile state invaded its borders. Mātanga reflected: 'The scripture says that whoever can explain this Dharma will be protected by the earth spirits, who will cause their dwelling place to be peaceful and joyful. Now, when the arrowheads and spearheads have just begun to fly, can this indeed be of benefit?' Thereupon, vowing to forget his own life, he went in person to harmonize and persuade them, and so brought the two countries to mutual harmony and joy. On account of this, his fame became illustrious. Coming down to the Yongping era of the Han dynasty, Emperor Ming dreamt at night of a golden person flying through the air and arriving. He then assembled his courtiers in great numbers to divine what he had dreamt. The erudite scholar Fu Yi submitted a memorial, saying: 'Your servant has heard that in the Western Regions there is a divine being whose name is Buddha. Could what Your Majesty dreamt be him?' The emperor took this to be true, and immediately dispatched the Court Gentleman Cai Yin, the Erudite Disciple Qin Jing, and others to Tianzhu to seek out the Buddha's Dharma. Cai Yin and the others encountered Mātanga there and invited him to return to the land of Han. Mātanga, having vowed his resolve to broadly propagate [the Dharma], did not shrink from weariness and hardship; braving the crossing of the flowing sands, he arrived at Luoyi. Emperor Ming received and treated him with great esteem, erecting a vihāra outside the western gate of the city to lodge him. That the land of Han had śramaṇas began with Mātanga. However, as the Great Dharma was newly transmitted and had not yet gained devotion and faith, he held within himself his deep understanding, having nowhere to proclaim or expound it. Later, he died in Luoyang. There is a record stating that Mātanga translated the Sūtra of Forty-two Sections in one fascicle, which was originally stored in the fourteenth room of the Stone Chamber of the Orchid Pavilion. The place where Mātanga resided is the present White Horse Monastery outside the Yong Gate, west of the city of Luoyang. A tradition says: A king of a foreign land once destroyed various monasteries, but only the cāturdiśa monastery had not yet been destroyed. At night, a white horse circled its stūpa, whinnying mournfully. When this was reported to the king, he immediately halted the destruction of the monasteries. He accordingly changed the cāturdiśa [monastery's name] to White Horse. Therefore, when various monasteries are named, many take this as their model.