神僧傳 2.30

2.30

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.