神僧傳 3.20

3.20

Ratnamati was a monk from Tianzhu. He lived at Yongning Monastery in Luoyang, capital of the Yuan Wei. He was skilled in the five sciences and proficient in magical arts. At that time, Qimu Huaiwen, the Regional Inspector of Xinzhou, possessed ingenious ideas, was knowledgeable, and was gifted with innate talents in a wide variety of arts. Whenever the state constructed palace buildings or military equipment, he was involved in all of it, benefiting both public and private affairs more than anyone else of his day. An imperial decree also commanded him to repair Yongning Monastery. Seeing that [Ratna]mati possessed extraordinary arts, he frequently sent gifts and waited on him, hoping to learn something. Yet [Ratna]mati regarded him indifferently and from the start showed no willingness to converse or receive him; Huaiwen harbored resentment in his heart. At that time, in the Xuanwu Hostel south of the Luo River, there was a Rouran guest who was an old acquaintance of [Ratna]mati from the Western Regions. He rode a horse and wore furs. He often came to visit the monastery; the two got along well, talking, laughing, and clapping their hands together all day without tiring. Huaiwen watched from the side; not understanding the barbarian tongue spoken back and forth, he then said to [Ratna]mati: "This disciple is a man who loves accomplishments. Recently I have made offerings and served you, hoping the Master would deign to grant me favor, yet you have not bestowed a single word on me. This is merely a northern barbarian, with a beast's heart and a human face, who kills living beings and eats blood—what is there worthy of esteem in him? I did not expect that when facing one another, you would make such distinctions between him and me." [Ratna]mati said: "Do not slight him. Even if you were to read ten thousand scrolls of books, in practical utility you might not surpass him." Huaiwen said: "If he possesses any knowledge, let him compete with me in skills and wager a horse." [Ratna]mati said: "What [skill] do you have?" He replied: "The ability of mathematical calculation: be it gazing at mountains or looking over waters, I can calculate their height and depth from afar; measuring grain bins or pacing underground cellars, I do not err by a single pint or peck." [Ratna]mati smiled and said: "This is mere child's play. In front of the courtyard is a jujube tree, extremely large, with lush fruit in abundance. It is now the beginning of the seventh month, and they are all fully ripe." [Ratna]mati looked up at the tree and said: "Do you know approximately how many fruits are upon it?" Huaiwen was surprised and laughed, saying: "What a calculator knows must rely on the right-triangle method and gnomons; then even astronomy and geography can be deduced. But as for the flourishing and withering of plants, what outward omen could there be to calculate? These are truly deceptive words." [Ratna]mati pointed to the Rouran and said: "He knows it." Huaiwen was filled with anger and disbelief. He immediately drew up a contract and wagered a horse. The senior monks of the monastery all came together to watch, fully establishing witnesses. [Ratna]mati told everything to the Rouran, who smiled and accepted. Huaiwen further demanded: "If you can truly know it, [tell] how many have formed pits and how many have withered away without pits." Once the agreement was settled, the Rouran produced an object from the leather bag at his waist, resembling a modern steelyard weight, strung with five-colored threads, each thread strung with white pearls. Using this, he measured the tree: up and down, sideways and askew. Drawing out the thread, he blinked his eyes and went around for a good while, then nodded toward [Ratna]mati, smiled, and stated their number. They then sent men to shake down all the fruits completely. Examining them one by one, whenever in doubt, [Huai]wen personally cut them open to see and verify the count of fruits with pits and without. In the end, there was neither deficit nor surplus. He thus won the horse and returned. Whenever [Ratna]mati saw people from Luoyang travel far to Mount Song and Mount Shaoshi to gather firewood, he would say to himself: "The common people labor so bitterly carrying burdens across such distances. I wish to briefly pull those two mountains over to rest at the head of the Luo River; once people have cut enough [wood], they would be returned to their original places. I would not consider it difficult; this is merely an art of calculation. However, the ignorant would falsely accuse me of being a sage, which is why I dare not." Near the end of his life, [Ratna]mati told his disciples: "I will stay for another three or five days, then go on a journey to a certain place. You should keep your minds on cultivating the correct path and do not harbor longing." Then he lay sick and rested with his limbs rigid. A disciple secretly peeked through a crack in the door and saw that [Ratna]mati's body did not touch the bed, lying supine in mid-air. When they called each other to look together, one monk suddenly coughed. [Ratna]mati returned to the bed as before, and called out from afar: "Who is outside the door? Why do you not come in? It was only because the bed was hot that I sought coolness. Do not find it strange." A few days after this, he gave up his life.