神僧傳 3.8

3.8

Guṇavarman is translated here as "Armor of Merit" (Gongde'ai). He was originally of the kṣatriya caste. For successive generations, his family had been kings ruling in the kingdom of Kapiśa. At the age of fourteen, his keen perception was sharp and penetrating, and his depth of insight was profound. His benevolence was broad and all-embracing; he exalted virtue and applied himself to good. His mother once required wild meat and ordered Guṇavarman to obtain it. Guṇavarman said, "Among all creatures endowed with life, none does not covet life. Snuffing out the life of another is not the way of a humane person." At the age of twenty, he renounced household life and received the precepts. He thoroughly understood the nine genres of scriptures, was widely versed in the four collections, and could chant over one million words of sūtras. He profoundly mastered the Vinaya sections and subtly entered the essentials of dhyāna. People of the time called him Tripiṭaka Dharma Master. When he reached thirty years of age, the king of Kapiśa died without leaving any heir. All discussed, saying, "Guṇavarman is an offspring of the royal house, and is both talented, wise, and eminent in virtue. We may request him to return to lay life and succeed to the kingdom's throne." Several hundred ministers repeatedly and firmly besought him, but Guṇavarman would not accept. He then took leave of his master, parted from the assembly, dwelled in the forest, drank from the valleys, walked alone through the mountains and wilds, and hid his traces from the human world. Later he reached the kingdom of Javadvīpa. One day before he arrived, the mother of the king of Javadvīpa dreamt at night of a religious master flying in a ship into the country. The next morning, it was indeed Guṇavarman who arrived. The queen mother venerated him with holy rites and received the five precepts from him. The mother then admonished the king, saying, "By past karmic affinity we were able to become mother and son. I have already received the precepts, yet you do not believe. I fear the cause of future lives will be forever severed from the fruit of the present." Pressured by his mother's command, the king obeyed the order and received the precepts. After long immersion, his dedication gradually deepened. Soon after, neighbouring troops invaded the borders. The king said to Guṇavarman, "The foreign bandits rely on their might and wish to invade and insult us. If we fight them, there will surely be much injury and death; if we do not resist, danger and ruin are at hand. Now I take refuge solely in your Venerable Reverence, not knowing what course to take." Guṇavarman said, "When violent bandits attack, it is indeed necessary to defend. But you should only give rise to a mind of loving-kindness and compassion, and not arouse intentions to do harm." The king led the troops in person to face them. As soon as the banners and drums clashed, the bandits dispersed in retreat. The king was struck by a stray arrow and wounded in the foot. Guṇavarman washed it with incanted water, and in two nights he recovered. Later, when building a vihāra for Guṇavarman, the king personally carved timber and injured his toe; Guṇavarman treated it again with incantations, and after a short while he recovered. At that time, eminent śramaṇas of renown and virtue in the capital, such as Huiguan and Huicong, admired his lofty style from afar and longed to visit and receive instructions. In the ninth month of the first year of the Yuanjia era, they petitioned Emperor Wen requesting him to welcome and invite Guṇavarman. The Emperor issued an edict to the inspector of Jiaozhou, ordering him to dispatch a ship to invite and bring him. Guan and the others also dispatched the śramaṇas Fachang, Daochong, Daojun, and others thither to beseech him. Emperor Wen learned that Guṇavarman had already reached the South Sea, whereupon he again ordered the provinces and commanderies to supply provisions and dispatch him down to the capital. Along the way, he passed through Shixing and remained there for about a year. In Shixing was Mount Hushi, whose form towered aloft with peaks high and extraordinary. Guṇavarman considered it reminiscent of Gṛdhrakūṭa, and so renamed it Vulture Peak (Lingjiu). Outside the mountain monastery, he established a separate meditation chamber, several li away from the monastery, where the sound of the stone chime could not be heard. Yet whenever the wooden mallet was struck, Guṇavarman had already arrived. Sometimes he braved the rain without getting wet; sometimes he walked through mud without being soiled. At that time, none among the monastic and lay assembly failed to revere him with heightened respect. The monastery had the Baoyue Hall. On the north wall of the hall, Guṇavarman personally painted an image of Rāhula, as well as the depiction of the youth Megha (Dīpaṃkara's former life) spreading his hair on the ground. After the painting was completed, it emitted light every evening, which only ceased after a long time. Cai Maozhi, the grand administrator of Shixing, held him in deep veneration. Later, when Maozhi was near death, Guṇavarman went in person to see him, expounding the Dharma to comfort him. Afterwards, his family dreamt that Maozhi was in the monastery lecturing on the Dharma with the monastic assembly. This mountain originally had many calamities caused by tigers. Since Guṇavarman came to dwell there, he traveled by day and night; whenever he encountered a tiger, he would press its head with his staff, push it aside, and proceed. Guṇavarman once practiced dhyāna in a separate room and did not emerge for days on end. The monastery's monks dispatched a śrāmaṇera to inquire after him. The śrāmaṇera saw a white lion standing against a pillar, and throughout the room blue lotus blossoms were blooming in abundance. The śrāmaṇera cried out in terror; when he looked again, the lion had completely vanished. Before his passing, he composed beforehand thirty-six lines of testament in verse, recounting his karmic affinities and stating that he had already attained the second fruit (sakṛdāgāmin). He personally sealed it and handed it to his disciple Aśoka (Ashaluo), saying, "After my passing, you may take this text and show it to the monks of Tianzhu, and you may also show it to the monks of this realm." After his passing, he remained seated cross-legged on a corded couch, his facial appearance unchanged, appearing as if he had entered samādhi. More than a thousand monastics and laypeople gathered, all smelling a rich and fragrant scent. Everyone saw an object resembling a dragon or snake, about one bolt in length, rise from beside the corpse and ascend straight into the sky, though none could give it a name. Thereupon, in front of the precept altar of the Nanlin Monastery, they cremated him according to the foreign custom. His years were sixty-five.