神僧傳 3.2

3.2

Dharmakṣema, also called Tanmoxian, was a native of Central Tianzhu. At the age of six, he suffered the loss of his father and lived alone with his mother. Seeing the śramaṇa Dharmayaśas, he took Dharmakṣema as his disciple to study the Hīnayāna. Later, he encountered a white-haired meditation master and thereupon pursued the Mahāyāna as his vocation. By the age of twenty, he could recite over two million words of both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna scriptures. Dharmakṣema's cousin was skilled at training elephants; while riding, he accidentally killed a great white-eared elephant ridden by the king. Enraged, the king had him executed and issued an order saying, 'Whoever dares to look upon him shall have their three clans exterminated!' None of the relatives dared to go, but Dharmakṣema wept and buried him. Enraged, the king wished to execute Dharmakṣema. Dharmakṣema said, 'Your Majesty killed him on account of the law; I buried him on account of kinship. Neither violates great righteousness. Why be angry with me?' The bystanders shivered in fear for him, but his composure was serene and self-possessed. Marveling at his resolve and courage, the king retained him and made offerings to him. Dharmakṣema was brilliantly versed in incantations; wherever he turned, they were efficacious. The Western Regions called him the Great Master of Incantations. Later, he accompanied the king into the mountains. The king was thirsty and needed water but could not find any. Dharmakṣema secretly chanted an incantation over a stone to make water flow out, and then praised him saying, 'It is the resonance of the Great King's benevolent favor that has caused dry stone to bring forth a spring.' Those in neighboring countries who heard of this all sighed in admiration at the king's virtue. At that time, the rainfall was very timely, and the common people sang his praises. The king was delighted with his arts of the Way and showered him with generous favor. After a short while, the king's affection waned slightly and he treated him with gradual coldness. Feeling that his prolonged stay had bred weariness, Dharmakṣema took his leave and went to Kapiśa. Wishing to expound the Mahāyāna, he found that it did not suit that country, so he went east to Kucha (pronounced Qiuci). After a short while, he advanced further to Guzang and stayed in a postal relay station. Fearing the loss of his scripture manuscripts, he slept using them as a pillow. Someone pulled him down to the ground. Dharmakṣema woke up with a start, thinking it was a thief. This happened for three nights. He heard a voice in the sky say, 'This is the Tathāgata's treasury of liberation; why use it as a pillow?' Dharmakṣema awakened in shame and placed them separately in a high position. At night, thieves tried to steal them; repeatedly attempting to lift them, they could not move them at all. The next morning, Dharmakṣema carried the scriptures away without considering them heavy. The thieves saw this, considered him a holy person, and all came to bow and apologize. At that time, Juqu Mengxun, King of Hexi, illegitimately occupied the Liang territory. Dharmakṣema once told Mengxun, 'There are ghosts entering the settlements; there will surely be many disasters and epidemics.' Mengxun did not believe it and wished to see it for himself as proof. Dharmakṣema immediately applied his arts to Mengxun; Mengxun saw them and was terrified. Dharmakṣema said, 'You should purify your sincerity, observe the fast and precepts, and drive them away with divine incantations.' He then recited incantations for three days and said to Mengxun, 'The ghosts have departed.' At that time, someone at the border who could see ghosts said that he saw several hundred epidemic ghosts fleeing in haste. The entire domain was brought to peace. At that time, the Wei barbarian Tuoba Tao heard that Dharmakṣema possessed arts of the Way and sent envoys to welcome him. As Mengxun had served Dharmakṣema for a long time, he could not bear to let him go. Later, [Tuoba Tao] sent another comforting message to summon him. Mengxun begrudged letting Dharmakṣema go, yet felt pressured by the might of the Wei. In the third month of the third year of Mengxun's Yihe era, Dharmakṣema asked to travel west to seek the latter portion of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]. Resentful that he wished to leave, Mengxun secretly plotted to harm Dharmakṣema. Feigning to dispatch him with provisions, he lavishly gifted him with precious goods. On the day of his departure, Dharmakṣema wept and told the assembly, 'My karmic retribution is about to arrive; all the sages cannot rescue me. Yet because of my original heartfelt vow, righteousness does not permit me to halt.' Shortly after he set out, Mengxun indeed sent assassins who killed him on the road, at the age of forty-nine. This was the tenth year of the Yuanjia era of the Song. Far and near, all grieved together. Subsequently, Mengxun's attendants frequently saw ghosts and spirits striking Mengxun with swords in broad daylight. In the fourth month, Mengxun fell ill in bed and died.