弘贊法華傳 2.23

2.23

The above [was translated by] the śramaṇa Zhiyan, who penetrated the Dharma. He was a man of Western Liangzhou. Having left the household life at the age of twenty, he immediately became renowned for his diligent application. Clad in patched robes, he sat in peaceful meditation and lived on a vegetarian diet all his life. Always desiring to serve renowned masters widely and to search extensively for sūtras and teachings, he traveled through the Western Regions, advancing as far as Jibin (Kashmir), where he entered the Mātandhara monastery and studied the methods of dhyāna under the bhikṣu Buddhasena. Gradually steeped in it for three years, his achievement exceeded that of ten years. Buddhasena, seeing that his meditative thoughts were well ordered, held him in especially high regard as an exceptional vessel. When the monastics and laity there heard of him, they sighed and said, 'In the land of Qin there is indeed a śramaṇa who seeks the Way!' Only then did they cease to look down on the people of Qin and respectfully received people from afar. At that time there was the bhikṣu Buddhabhadra, who was also a master of meditation in that country. Zhiyan then invited him to return east, wishing to transmit the Dharma to the central lands. Buddhabhadra commended his earnest sincerity and traveled east together with him. Thereupon, traversing dangerous sands, they arrived in Guanzhong. He constantly followed Buddhabhadra, staying at the Great Monastery of Chang'an. Soon after, Buddhabhadra was wrongfully expelled by the Qin monks, and Zhiyan also parted ways, resting at a monastery east of the mountains, where he sat in meditation, recited sūtras, and vigorously pursued his cultivation. In the thirteenth year of the Yixi reign, Emperor Wu of the Song campaigned west against Chang'an; having achieved victory and turned his banners home, his route took him east of the mountains. At that time, Wang Hui, Duke of Shixing, accompanied the imperial retinue sightseeing the mountains and rivers, and arrived at Zhiyan's monastery. He saw three monks residing together, each seated upon a corded meditation-chair, their meditative contemplation serene and clear. Long after Hui had arrived, they did not notice him. He then snapped his fingers; the three opened their eyes, but shortly after closed them again without speaking to him. Hui's heart was astonished by their extraordinary manner. Inquiring among the elders, all said, 'These three monks live in seclusion to fulfill their aspirations; they are Dharma masters of lofty purity.' Hui immediately reported this to Emperor Wu of the Song and invited them to return to the capital, but none were willing to go. After he repeatedly urged them with heartfelt earnestness, the other two urged Zhiyan to accompany him. Hui's disposition toward the Way had always been devout, and he served him with great attentiveness. Upon returning to the capital, Zhiyan stayed at Shixing Monastery. Zhiyan was quiet and aloof by nature, with an aspiration to avoid noisy worldly dust. Hui thereupon built another monastery for him on the border of the eastern suburbs, which was the Zhiyuan Monastery. As for the various sūtras Zhiyan had obtained earlier upon returning from the Western Regions, he had not yet had the opportunity to translate and transcribe them; arriving at the fourth year of the Yuanjia reign, he translated the aforementioned sūtra together with the śramaṇa Baoyun. Zhiyan was pure, plain, and of few desires; what he received he immediately gave away. Having traveled widely from his youth, he had no attachments. By nature he was modest and retiring, never putting himself forward; therefore, although he had many admirable deeds, the world could not transmit them all. Formerly, before Zhiyan left the household life, he had once received the five precepts and committed a violation. Later, when he entered the Way and received full ordination, he constantly doubted whether he had truly obtained the precepts and was perpetually apprehensive about it. Though he practiced meditation and contemplation for many years, he could not resolve this within himself. He then took to the sea again, returning once more to India to consult various luminaries. Meeting an arhat bhikṣu, he inquired of the matter in full. The arhat could not decide, so he entered samādhi on Zhiyan's behalf, ascended to Tuṣita Palace, and submitted the inquiry to Maitreya. Maitreya replied, 'He has obtained the precepts.' Zhiyan leaped with great joy. Thereupon he returned on foot; arriving at Jibin, he passed away without illness at the age of seventy-eight. According to the custom of that country, the cremation of ordinary people and noble beings took place in separate locations. Although Zhiyan's observance of the precepts was lofty and clear, his true realization had not yet been verified. When they first moved the corpse toward the cemetery of ordinary monks, the corpse became heavy and could not be lifted; when they redirected it toward the cemetery of the noble beings, it became light and drifted along of itself. Zhiyan's disciples Zhiyu and Zhiyuan deliberately came from the west to report this auspicious sign, and both returned to the foreign country. Judged by this, Zhiyan was truly a person who had attained the Way.