法華傳記 2
English (machine translation) 2
- Language
- English
2.1
6. Collection of Prefaces by Various Masters; 7. First Part of Sympathetic Resonances in Expounding and Explaining
2.2
Preface by Master Guan (1)
Afterword by Master Rui (2)
Preface by Master Yuan (3)
Colophon on the Translation of the Scripture (4)
Preface to the Added Chapters Edition (5)
Preface to the Amitārtha-sūtra (6)
Record of the Zheng fahua jing (7)
2.3
Preface to the Essentials of the Lotus Sūtra (1)
2.4
Composed by Shi Huiguan
2.5
Now, when the primordial origin is profound and tranquil, the spiritual root is concentrated and unified; when it engages with movement and departs from simplicity, subtle and coarse are differently arrayed. Thereupon, the reins of the mind compete in urging onward, and defiled thoughts vie in racing ahead. As obscurations vary in depth, the dim and the bright mirror things differently. For this reason, from the first attainment of buddhahood down to this scripture, [the Buddha] initially adapted to beings by opening the ford; hence the three vehicles flowed forth separately. Because they are not the ultimate truth, in the end they must converge; because in converging they necessarily share the same source, the vehicle is only one. Because it is uniquely peerless, it is called the Wonderful Dharma. The verse says: "This vehicle is subtle, pure, supreme, / throughout all worlds having no superior." Now, the wonderful cannot be made clear on its own; it must be likened to an image. Among beautiful images, the lotus is supreme; among the finest of lotuses, the puṇḍarīka is the utmost. Expressing the wonder of the Dharma, it is therefore likened to the puṇḍarīka. This scripture illuminates this clearly. Dispelling delusion cannot be done by speaking of the ultimate directly; thus he explained the origins of provisional responses. Guiding beings to the end cannot be done by keeping the profound concealed; thus he revealed the real to manifest the ultimate principle. Once the provisional response was made manifest, narrow minds were spontaneously aroused; once the ultimate principle was revealed, true awakening spontaneously arose. Thus it can make the ten thousand streams flow together and cause the three vehicles to advance in unison. The three advancing in unison converging to become one is the beginning of the vehicle; the fulfillment of awakening wisdom is the flourishing of the vehicle; the extinguishing of traces and clarifying of the spirit is the culmination of the vehicle. Although the myriad dharmas constitute the vehicle, they are governed by a single master; if one holds up its essential principle, wisdom subsumes its name. Therefore the scripture takes true wisdom as its substance and the wonderful unity as its designation. Thus, when Śākyamuni's profound voice first sounded, he praised the Buddha's wisdom as extremely profound; Prabhūtaratna exclaimed "Excellent!" and lauded the great wisdom of equality. The verse says: "It is to preach the Buddha's wisdom / that the Buddhas appear in the world. / Only this one matter is real; / the other two are not true." If so, then the Buddha's wisdom is the exact reality of the One, the completion of the vehicle's substance, the ultimate fulfillment of the wonderful, and the blossoming splendor of the lotus. Although relying on the lotus to proclaim the subtle, the Dao is profound beyond forms; called wonderful, its essence transcends the fine and the coarse. The verse says: "This Dharma cannot be shown; / the marks of words are extinguished." This is where the two vehicles halt their thoughts, and the bodhisattvas of the stage of one more birth sever defilement. Only a Buddha together with a Buddha can fathom it completely. Therefore the Tathāgatas, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, gathered like clouds in response to the rare voice; the sages already passed away shook their remaining spirits to manifest proof. That this scripture is truly the profound sanctuary of the Buddha's Dharma, the wonderful realm of spiritual exhaustion, does it not refer to this? In my youth I studied the words on returning to the One, and as I grew I savored the essential principle of harmonization and comprehension. Yet the more diligently I contemplated, the more concealed the obscure import became. Never did I fail to look toward Gṛdhrakūṭa with longing, or approach its sentences and phrases with deepening emotion. Truly this was because offshoot expositions diverged from the root, and erroneous texts departed from the correct. There was the foreign Dharma Master Kumārajīva, extraordinarily eminent and heroic, of extraordinary insight endowed by Heaven. His capacity was deep as the ocean; his eloquence flowed like scattering jade. Following in Śākyamuni's footsteps to inherit his model, holding the divine torch to illuminate brightly, he restored the fallen net when it was about to break, and saved those drifting and drowning when already submerged. Blazing forth this lamp of wisdom, he came to illuminate this land. In the summer of the eighth year of Hongshi under the Qin, at the Great Monastery in Chang'an, he assembled more than three thousand doctrinal monks from the four directions to bring forth this scripture anew and investigate it thoroughly with the assembly. Kumārajīva personally held the foreign text and orally translated it into the language of Qin, accommodating the local idioms without diverging from the original intent; the benefit gained from the text itself was already more than half. Even if high clouds disperse their veils and the sunlight shines forth together, it would not suffice as an analogy. Kumārajīva still remarked: "The words are evident while the principle is deep; the events are immediate while the import is far-reaching." He further explained the hidden meaning beyond words to meet the search of those probing the depths. Though the obscure doors have not yet opened, one has indeed already found the gateway. Now, superior goodness moistens equally, and the spiritual liquid is ever impartial. Therefore, looking upward I am moved by the entrustment, and looking downward I lament those who have not yet heard it. Thus I have gathered and stated the essentials, circulating them among those who have not heard, hoping that the wheel of Dharma will roll afar, reaching where it has not reached before, so that beings throughout the ten directions may awaken together and fully express the One Vehicle. Therefore I have composed this preface (from Fascicle 8 of the Chu sanzang ji ji).
2.6
Afterword to the Lotus Sūtra
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Composed by Dharma Master Sengrui
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The Lotus Sūtra is the secret treasury of all Buddhas and the real essence of all sūtras. It takes 'lotus' (hua) for its title to illuminate its root; it is called puṇḍarīka to praise its full bloom. As that which it promotes is profound, its purports are exquisitely subtle; unless communicated by those of penetrating discernment, rare are those who can enter its gate. The blossoming of the hundred herbs and medicinal plants is the root of the treasures of the myriad things; the eighty-four thousand dharma-treasuries are the source of the fruits of the Way. Therefore it is used as a metaphor. Among all flowers, the lotus is the most supreme flower. When unopened, it is called kumuda; when opened and about to fall, it is called kamala; when in its prime bloom, it is called puṇḍarīka. Unopened, it illustrates the two paths; about to fall, it compares to nirvāṇa; its solitary sufficiency in glorious splendour illustrates this scripture. Coming to scriptures such as the Prajñāpāramitā, their depth is consummate, so those of the Way return to them; their greatness encompasses all, so those of the vehicles cross over by them. Yet their general outlines primarily serve to adapt to beings' capacities as an expedient approach to meet contingencies; they could not but employ skillful means. When skillful means serve to convert, though awakening beings is broad, it is deficient regarding the real essence; that they all belong to the Lotus is indeed fitting. Examining its subtle purport: it is expansive and profound, and what it covers is exceedingly far-reaching. How could it merely be an exposition of reality returning to the root, definitively resolving divergent paths, and nothing more? Indeed it greatly illuminates the principle of awakening and encompasses past and present, saying: the Buddha's lifespan is immeasurable—eternal eons are insufficient to clarify its duration; his emanation bodies are countless—myriad forms are insufficient to differentiate their essence. Thus the 'Duration of the Lifespan' establishes that it is not of numbers; the emanation bodies clarify that they have no substantial reality; Samantabhadra reveals that it has no emergence; Prabhūtaratna illuminates that it does not perish. Transcending the remote antiquity to anticipate the present, ten thousand generations are as a single day; directly realizing the profound through the hundred transformations, a thousand paths have no different tracks. Being thus, saṃsāric rebirths are insufficient to determine his presence, and eternal quiescence cannot be said to be his extinction. If one pursues the subtle principle to terminate movement, one loses effect in original non-being; if one holds the reins of the mind in samādhi, one forgets aspiration in the two grounds. Although the transmission of this scripture to this land has approached nearly a hundred years, the translators were blind to its profound course, and the wondrous gateway was never opened. The discussants deviated from its standard principles, and its subtle traces were rarely trodden. In vain they researched until their heads turned white, none yet having peered into its gate. Yao Song, Marquis of Ancheng, Director of Works, Colonel, and General of the Left under the Qin, harmonized his spirit with the profound gateway and lodged his mind beyond the world. Pouring his sincerity into this scripture, his faith reached the utmost. Whenever he contemplated its text, he profoundly recognized the defects of the translators. Having met Master Kumārajīva, he requested him to translate and copy it, casting aside [divergences] to return to the truth, like parting the layered clouds to stride aloft, or ascending the Kunlun Mountains to gaze downward. At that time, more than eight hundred monks received and comprehended it, all being the flower of various regions, the heroes of the age. This year was the eighth year of the Hongshi era, the cyclical year chunhuo (the same as before).
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Preface to the Lotus Sūtra, Three
2.10
Composed by the monk Huiyuan
2.11
I once examined the scriptural canon. The sixth fascicle of the Catalog of Scriptural Texts compiled by Fajing of the Sui says: 'Preface to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra, one fascicle, by the monk Huiyuan.' Fascicle twelve of the Chu sanzang ji ji says: 'Preface to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra, by the monk Huiyuan,' and so forth, yet it did not record the text of the preface. Perhaps Master Xiang relied on this?
2.12
Postscript on Translating the Lotus Sūtra, Four
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Recorded by the monk Sengzhao
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In the summer of the eighth year of the Hongshi era, the Indian śramaṇa and Tripiṭaka master Jīva Kumārajīva (in the Qin tongue called Tongshou), together with Sengrui, Sengzhao, Daorong, Sengrui, and others, over eight hundred people, and more than two thousand eminent scholars of doctrine from all quarters, retranslated this scripture together in the Thatched Hut of the Great Monastery in Chang'an, examining and investigating it with the assembly. Kumārajīva personally held the Sanskrit text and orally translated it into the Qin language; Yao Xing personally held the old scripture to collate and determine the new text. Both text and meaning were fully lucid, and the wondrous principle once more hit the mark. Xing consulted Kumārajīva, saying: 'As you view the twenty-eight chapters now translated, their text and meaning are fine and clear, and the central principle reveals itself. Looking at Dharmarakṣa's scripture, the "Introductory Chapter" is named "Radiant Omens Chapter"; at the end of the "Parable of the Medicinal Herbs Chapter" he adds half a chapter; the "Parable of the Transformed City Chapter" is titled "Ancient Times Chapter"; at the beginnings of the "Pūrṇa" and "Dharma Teacher" [chapters], several sheets of text are added; the verses of the "Universal Gateway Chapter" are missing; and the "Entrustment" concludes at the very end. Not comprehending the intent, how does this matter stand?' Kumārajīva said: 'Excellent, enlightened sovereign! You prolong the flame of the Dharma lamp, dispelling the bewildered shadows of the dark night. Were it not for your raising doubts, who could clarify the profound purport? Checking the ancient Sanskrit texts, it is just like this. Formerly, when I was in the land of India, I traveled extensively across the five Indias inquiring into the Mahāyāna. From Master Sūryasoma I received the flavor of the principle. He earnestly entrusted the Sanskrit text to me, saying: "The sun of the Buddha has set in the west, and its remaining radiance will reach the northeast. This scripture has an affinity with the northeast; you must carefully transmit and propagate it. Formerly, the treatise master Vasubandhu composed an upadeśa on it; that is its authoritative text. Do not add or delete its phrases and verses, nor alter its authentic text." I hastily had the honor of receiving it, carried my book chests, and arrived here. What has now been transmitted truly has good reason. The settled purport does not follow divergent paths. Previously I feared the holy intention [might have been misunderstood], waiting for unseen approval or disapproval; in a dream I received Samantabhadra's affirmation that it deeply accords with the Buddha's intent, and fully explained its meaning. The sovereign Xing's mind was opened, and the scholars of doctrine submitted in their hearts, casting aside the old text to enjoy the new text, checking it repeatedly and transmitting it. Now, at the seat of the lectures, I briefly record its origin, hoping that future worthies of comprehensive understanding will not fault its differences. Wherever it circulates, there will surely be sympathetic resonance.'
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Preface to the Supplemented Lotus Sūtra, Five
2.16
The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra is the ultimate intent of breaking the two to illuminate the one. Descending his spirit into the five defilements, [the Buddha] promoted the path of the three vehicles. His skillful wisdom is inconceivable, his great compassion difficult to measure. First he established the trace of the conjured city; later he revealed the fundamental jewel tied [in the garment]. Although the carts differ, the two are in truth without disparity. Conferring prophecies with the title of Right Awakening, he granted them the station of true sons. Entering together into the Dharma-nature, they return here. Formerly, the Dunhuang śramaṇa Zhu Dharmarakṣa translated the Zheng fahua jing during the Jin dynasty under Emperor Wu. Later, Yao Xing of the Later Qin further invited Kumārajīva to translate the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra. Examining the two translations, they definitely were not based on a single text: Dharmarakṣa's resembles a palm leaf [manuscript], while Kumārajīva's resembles a Kuchean text. When I inspected the scriptural canon, I examined both texts thoroughly: the palm leaf corresponds with the Zheng fahua, while the Kuchean accords with the Miaofa. If Dharmarakṣa's palm leaves still had omissions, how could Kumārajīva's text have no gaps? What Dharmarakṣa lacked were the verses of the 'Universal Gateway Chapter'; what Kumārajīva lacked was half of the 'Parable of the Medicinal Herbs Chapter', the beginnings of the two chapters 'Pūrṇa' and 'Dharma Teacher', the 'Devadatta Chapter', and the verses of the 'Universal Gateway Chapter'. Moreover, Kumārajīva moved the 'Entrustment' to before the 'Bhaiṣajyarāja', and in both texts the 'Dhāraṇī' was placed after the 'Universal Gateway'. The differences and agreements between them cannot be fully recounted. I note that the 'Devadatta' and the verses of the 'Universal Gateway Chapter' were subsequently brought forth by earlier worthies to supply the omissions and circulate them. Looking up with admiration to their remaining influence, taking them as a model and standard, in the xinyou year, the first year of the Renshou era of the great Sui, at the request of the śramaṇa Shangxing of Puyao Monastery, I together with the two Tripiṭaka masters Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta re-examined the Indian palm-leaf texts at Daxingshan Monastery. The beginnings of the two chapters 'Pūrṇa' and 'Dharma Teacher' were still missing in the collated text; the 'Parable of the Medicinal Herbs Chapter' was augmented by its half; the 'Devadatta' was incorporated into the 'Jeweled Stūpa Chapter'; the 'Dhāraṇī' was placed after 'Transcendental Powers'; and the 'Entrustment' again concluded at the very end. Where words and phrases differed, they were also corrected considerably. Should anyone open and examine it, may they not harbor doubts. Although the wondrous meanings of thousands of myriads of eons are difficult to exhaust, the authentic text of the twenty-seven chapters is now complete. May the Sanskrit expressions endowed with the four analytical knowledges spread across the realm of the Divine Continent, and may the secret teaching of the One Vehicle awaken the capacities of the semblance age. I have briefly recorded this translation and prefaced it thus.
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Preface to the Amitārtha-sūtra
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Composed by the recluse Liu Qiu of Jingzhou
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As for the Amitārtha-sūtra, taking the one markless Dharma, it broadly generates numerous teachings containing unreckonable meanings; hence it is called 'Amitārtha' (Immeasurable Meanings). Now, the multitude of living beings in the three realms turn in accordance with their meanings, while the single, ultimate Perfect Enlightenment penetrates according to capacities. Those who transmigrate, arising and ceasing, are inevitably in suffering and hope for joy: this is the resonance that appeals to the Sage. He who manifests in accord with the Way bestows compassion and applies loving-kindness: this is the response that saves the world. As capacities differ and teachings vary, their gradations form seven [stages]. First, for Bhallika and others, he taught the five precepts, which is the first: the wholesome roots of humans and devas. Next, for Kauṇḍinya and others, he turned [the wheel of] the four truths, which is the second: conferring the śrāvaka-yāna. Next, for those of middling faculties, he expounded the twelvefold dependent origination, which is the third: conferring the pratyekabuddha-yāna. Next, for those of superior faculties, he brought forth the six pāramitās, which is the fourth: conferring the Mahāyāna. The various teachings ought to blend, and the doubts of the multitude must be guided. Next, he preached the Amitārtha-sūtra. Having already stated the graded differences in attaining the Way, he further declared that the true reality had not yet been revealed, causing the subtle capacity of seeking reality to be aroused, thereby opening the beginning of the single ultimate, which is the fifth. Therefore, the Lotus Sūtra continued the proclamation to reveal the One and eliminate the three, complying with their hearts seeking reality and casting off the designation of having set forth expedients here, which is the sixth. Although the expedients were opened and the real manifested, the correct principle of eternal presence was still veiled; between the twin trees and overlooking the cliff, he then voiced the profound sound of purity and self, which is the seventh. Beyond this, though the Dharma doors are many, gathering their overarching convergence, their count is exhausted in these [seven stages]. It is just as myriad sounds do not go beyond the five tones, and the hundred schools are all contained within the six philosophies. As for this Amitārtha-sūtra, although the Lotus Sūtra records its title at the head, in China its text had not yet been seen. Whenever I attended the lecture seats, I never failed to set aside discussions to sigh and wish to see this text. Suddenly there was Bhikṣu Huibiao of Mount Wudang. Born of a prominent clan, he was a nephew of the illegitimate emperor Yao Lue. On the day the state fell, he was captured by He Danzhi of the Jin army. Being several years old, clever and intelligent, Danzhi gave him the style-name Mingling and reared him as an adopted son. Shortly afterward, he allowed him to go forth into the monastic life, and [Huibiao] then diligently sought the Way. Wandering and searching north and south, he did not avoid ease or danger. In the third year of the Jianyuan era of the Qi dynasty, he again sought out unusual texts and searched for esoteric works, going far to the south of the Nanling Mountains. At Chaoting Monastery in Guangzhou, he encountered the monk Dharmagatayaśas from Central India, who could write clerical script with his hand and understood the language of Qi with his mouth. [Dharmagatayaśas] wished to transmit this sūtra, but did not know to whom to bestow it. Biao then earnestly made his request, arriving with utmost devotion in mind and body. After the passing of months and moons, he obtained merely a single copy. He then returned north of the ridges carrying it, and entered Mount Wudang. On the eighteenth day of the ninth month of the current third year of the Yongming era, carrying it on his head, he came out of the mountains and presented it to be propagated. Receiving and viewing the true text, joy and reverence were mingled with sincerity; singing praises was not enough, and dancing with hands could not express it. Thereupon, devoutly inquiring into previous understandings and drawing out to polish away mediocre thoughts, I respectfully composed this preface, which states: Ever since the ultimate teaching responded to the world, it differed from the mundane; the divine way saves beings, forming distinctions according to sympathetic resonances. East of the Xuanpu Garden it is called the Great One; west of Jibin it is named the Perfect Enlightened One. The eastern country clarifies calamity and blessing within a hundred years; the western regions discern misfortune and fortune across the three existences. Aspiring to nonbeing and cultivating emptiness have the same principle. If one has desire for nonbeing, one already lacks the share to attain nonbeing; if one applies the mind to emptiness, how could one have the illumination of entering emptiness? Yet those who lecture on and seek the Buddhist teachings either say that merging with the principle can be gradual, or say that entering emptiness must be sudden. Let me attempt to speak of this to provide a trap [for the hare] for these deep considerations. Those who advocate the gradual hold that in the completion of the myriad things, none lacks a gradual progression: solid ice is based on treading frost; a nine-tiered [terrace] is built from piled earth. When a practitioner enters emptiness, though not yet fully aligned, it is like felling wood: remove an inch, and an inch is gone; remove a foot, and a foot is gone. Gradually climbing the three emptinesses, how is this not gradual? Those who advocate the sudden hold that the efficacy of aspiring to goodness does not surpass contemplating dharmatā. Dharmatā arises from conditions and is neither existent nor non-existent; forgetting deliberation regarding neither existence nor non-existence, when the illumination of principle is this one, then it is called understanding emptiness. If one preserves the mind on neither existence nor non-existence, object and wisdom remain two, and one is not yet freed from existence. Suppressing the fetters within existence is not non-existence, as evidenced by daily diminution; discussing the mind on the basis of emptiness has not yet attained the efficacy of entering the principle. And to say that one admits an arhat upon a single hearing, or determines anutpāda in a single morning—these are words of accommodation and guidance, not statements that fit reality. Sublime attainment is not gradual; the principle is firmly inevitable. Since the two discourses part ways and the two opinions contend for paths, rejecting one and adopting the other, none could correct it. Investigating the masters who attained the import, it began with Zhi Daozhi and Dao'an's discourses on anutpāda, taking the seventh dwelling as the wisdom of the Way and implicitly affirming the tenth dwelling, so that the various realms share the ability in traces. Although their words differ, their illumination is one. Master An's distinction of differences regarded those who contemplate the three vehicles as the day of the first basket of earth, and praised those of samādhi and wisdom as the reality of ultimate accomplishment. Recording this refers to the beginning; seeking may follow capacities, but when the three enter understanding, their wisdom is non-dual. The parables are also removed: once the great hardship is leveled, there are no longer three; once the perilous road is pacified, the conjured city vanishes. This means calling one 'three'; that there are not three awakenings is clear! Master Zhu Daosheng said: 'The aids to the Way can lead to nirvāṇa, but this is not the designation of an arhat; the six perfections can reach buddhahood, but this is not the name of the king of trees.' In the parable of cutting wood, because the wood remains, feet and inches can be gradual; in the realization of anutpāda, because rebirth is exhausted, its illumination must be sudden. Examining the doctrinal teachings of the three vehicles, all take the exhaustion of rebirth and the cessation of illumination, casting off existence and entering emptiness, to be the Way; one must not take metaphors from tangible vessels. Now, the Amitārtha[-sūtra] also takes marklessness as its foundation. If what is realized were truly different, how could it be called markless? If the entering illumination must be identical, how could one say there is the gradual? To speak of the gradual where there is no gradual is merely the empty teaching of an esoteric fish trap. The Tathāgata also said: 'With an empty fist one deceives a small child, and by this means one delivers living beings.' Subtle texts accommodate the coarse, and gradual preachings may allow forgetting the image to grasp the meaning; the doctrine of suddenness is superior. I merely raise the general outline; let those who discuss it choose. (From the Chu Sanzang Jiji, fascicle nine.)
2.20
Record of the Zheng fahua jing
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Postscript to the Translation of the Sūtra
2.22
On the tenth day of the eighth month in the seventh year of the Taikang era, the Yuezhi Bodhisattva of Dunhuang [Dharmarakṣa] exhausted his intelligence to dwell his mind [therein]. Yet the function of receiving and retaining is easy to maintain, while the labor of remembering and deliberating is difficult to control. Were it not for prajñā shining forth, hearing and wisdom possessing dhāraṇī, and engraving them in the treasury of thoughts, how could one cause the encounter with opportunities to remain unforgotten and the spiritual union to be undimmed? Therefore, with paper and ink we record the words beyond the text, relying on the assembly's hearing to assemble the account of accomplished events. Being detailed rather than concise is to avoid omitting the events; being plain rather than ornate is to give weight to the meaning. Its purport is subtle and graceful, its eloquence broad yet obscure; had it not been written down by brush, how could it be endured? Therefore, right in the sequence of lectures, we drafted this as a record, hoping that worthy persons of thorough discernment will not fault its detail and lack of conciseness.
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Chapter 7: Sympathetic Resonances of Expounding and Explaining, Part One
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1. Shi Sengrui of the Jin
2. Shi Daosheng of the capital, Jin
3. Shi Tandi of the Song
4. Shi Sengdao of the Song
5. Shi Sengyin of the Qi
6. Shi Fayun of the Liang
7. Shi Sengman of the Liang
8. Shi Zhiyi of the Sui
9. Shi Jizang of the Tang
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1. Shi Sengrui of Chang'an under the Jin
2.26
Shi Sengrui was a native of Changyue in Wei Commandery. At the age of eighteen, he first took refuge under Dharma Master Sengxian as his disciple. At twenty-two he was broadly versed in sūtras and treatises. When he was twenty-four, he traveled through various states, lecturing and expounding everywhere. He often sighed, saying: 'Although the teachings of the sūtras are scarce, they are sufficient to discern cause and effect; but the methods of dhyāna have not been transmitted, and there is no ground on which to rest the mind.' Later, when Kumārajīva arrived in the Guanzhong region, [Sengrui] therefore requested him to translate the Essentials of Dhyāna Methods in three fascicles. Day and night he cultivated and practiced it, thoroughly mastering the five gates. Thereupon his fine reputation spread far, and those far and near took refuge in his virtue. In all the sūtras translated by Kumārajīva, Rui participated in the collation. Formerly, when Dharmarakṣa translated the Zheng fahua jing, the Chapter on Receiving Predictions said: 'Devas see humans, and humans see devas.' When Kumārajīva was translating the sūtra and reached this point, he remarked: 'These words differ from the Western regions, yet the meaning is identical; only the phrasing is overly unadorned.' Rui said: 'Might it not be: "Humans and devas interact, both able to see one another"?' Kumārajīva rejoiced, saying: 'It is truly so!' His comprehension and excellence were all of this kind. Kumārajīva sighed, saying: 'In my transmission and translation of sūtras and treatises, to have met with you leaves truly nothing to regret.' He immediately instructed him to lecture on the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sūtra, which he divided into nine tracks: First, the track of the unenlightened and the sage appealing to one another: the Introductory Chapter is it. Second, the track of entering the teaching to return to the real: this is for those of superior faculties. Third, the track of raising categories to implicitly reveal: this is for those of middling faculties. Fourth, the track of stating destitution and penetrating the past: the understanding of the four great disciples is it. Fifth, the track of manifesting causes to advance awakening: the parables of the conjured city and bestowal of prediction for those of lower faculties are it. Sixth, the track of praising practice: namely, the Teacher of the Dharma Chapter. Seventh, the track of the trace and origin being without birth: the Prabhūtaratna Chapter; meaning that Prabhūtaratna is the origin and Śākyamuni is the trace—the ancient Buddha manifests his complete body, and the present Buddha shows his past causes; since the origin is not extinguished, how could the trace have birth? Although origin and trace are different, they are inconceivably one. Eighth, the track of presenting causes to verify fruits: 'Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth', 'Lifespan', and so forth. Ninth, the track of praising far-reaching deliverance: from 'Joyful Acceptance' down to the end of the sūtra is it. Having opened the nine tracks, he thereupon ascended the high seat to lecture. Flowers rained down like cloud-mother mica, moving heaven and earth. Kumārajīva praised him, saying: 'The sun of the Buddha has reached its zenith once more, and the clouds of heterodoxy have rolled away.' The multitude all referred to Rui as the 'Dharma Master of the Nine Tracks.' (Extracted from the Guanzhong bielu and the Biographies.)
2.27
2. Shi Daosheng of Longguang Monastery in the Capital under the Jin
2.28
Zhu Daosheng, whose original surname was Wei, was a native of Julu who resided in Pengcheng. His family had been officials for generations; his father was the magistrate of Guangqi, and was called a good man in his hometown. From childhood, Daosheng was exceptionally intelligent, perceptive, and sagacious like a spirit. His father, knowing he was no ordinary vessel, loved and marveled at him. Later, he met Zhu Fatai and studied under him. At the age when his will was set on learning, he mounted the lecture seat; his questions, arguments, and speech were clear as pearls and jade. Later he studied under Master Kumārajīva. The monastic community of Guanzhong all regarded him as having spiritual awakening. He devoted his aspiration to lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra and composed a commentary in two fascicles. Whenever he laid out the mats to lecture, extraordinary fragrances perfumed the courtyard steps, and auspicious signs were indeed numerous. (Extracted from the Gaoseng zhuan and the colophon to the commentary.)
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3. Shi Tandi of Huqiu in Wu under the Song
2.30
Shi Tandi's surname was Kang, and his ancestors were people of Sogdiana (Kangju). During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han dynasty, they moved and affiliated themselves with the Central Kingdom. During the disturbances at the end of Emperor Xian's reign, they moved to reside in Wuxing. His mother, Lady Huang, was taking a midday nap and dreamed of a monk who called Lady Huang 'Mother' and entrusted to her a deer-tail chowry and two carved iron paperweights. Upon waking from sleep, she saw both objects completely present, and thereupon became pregnant and gave birth to Tandi. At the age of ten, Tandi went forth into the monastic life; his learning was not from a teacher, for his awakening arose from Heaven. Later, when lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra for Yao Chang, this poor monk served as the chief interlocutor (dujiang). Later in life, he entered Huqiu Monastery in Wu, lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra fifteen times. He passed away at the end of the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, at the age of sixty-odd years. (Extracted from the Liang Gaoseng zhuan, fascicle seven.)
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4. Shi Sengdao of Mingyan Monastery in Shouchun under the Song
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Shi Sengdao was a native of the Capital Region (Jingzhao). At the age of ten, he went forth into the monastic life and studied under a master. His master handed him the Guanshiyin Sūtra. Having finished reading it, he consulted his master: 'How many fascicles are in the sūtra before this?' His master, wishing to test him, then said: 'There is only this.' Dao said: 'At the beginning it says, "At that time, Inexhaustible Mind..."; therefore I know there must already have been matters before this.' His master was greatly pleased, and conferred upon him the complete Lotus Sūtra. Thereupon, day and night he examined and investigated it, roughly understanding the text and meaning. Being poor without oil or candles, he would constantly gather firewood to illuminate his reading. By the age of eighteen, he had read widely and often served as chief interlocutor (dujiang), making the lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra his sole pursuit. (Extracted from the Lecture Records; the current biography does not state that lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra was his sole pursuit.)
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5. Shi Sengyin of Zhongxing Monastery in the Capital under the Qi
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Shi Sengyin, whose secular surname was Zhu, was a native of Shouchun. He went forward to Mount Lu and consulted and received the Lotus Sūtra from Huilong. Long was also famous in his day, renowned for the core teachings of the Lotus Sūtra. Yin applied his efforts with singular devotion, penetrating deeply to uniquely express fresh insights. Thereupon he traveled east to the capital and resided at Zhongxing Monastery. During the Daming era of the Song, he was summoned to dwell [there]. He Dian convened a great gathering of monks and invited Yin to be the master of Dharma. There were over seven hundred listeners. Although his studies encompassed numerous scriptures, he was particularly renowned for the Lotus Sūtra. He lectured on the Lotus Sūtra a total of two hundred and fifty-two times. He passed away in the first year of the Yongyuan era of the Qi, at the age of sixty-five. (Drawn from the Liang Biographies of Eminent Monks, fascicle eight, and separate biographies, etc.)
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Shi Fayun of Guangzhai Monastery in the Yang Capital under the Liang, six
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Shi Fayun, whose secular surname was Zhou, was a native of Yangxian in Yixing. At the time of his birth upon the grass, clouds and vapors were seen filling the room; hence he was named Yun ("Cloud"). Also, a turtle suddenly appeared bearing three scrolls of text inscribed: "This Yun will lecture on the commentary on the meaning of the Lotus Sūtra preached by Vipaśyin Buddha, which is now entrusted to Yun," and so on. At the age of seven, he went forth from the household and changed his name to Fayun. Following his master, he resided at Zhuangyan Monastery. At thirteen he first undertook study. When he reached the age of thirty, at the beginning of summer in the fourth year of the Jianwu era, he expounded the prefaces to the two sūtras, the Lotus Sūtra and the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra, at Miaoyin Monastery. The marvel of his lectures on the scriptures was without peer in that era. He once went into a secluded ravine and lectured on this scripture in solitude, setting up stones as listeners and using pine needles as a chowrie whisk, chanting and guiding on his own, thoroughly penetrating what was difficult to comprehend. For this reason his fame was handed down through the Liang dynasty, and his genuine achievements were renowned. Yet his commentaries and subcommentaries were dense and layered, the preceding and following sections richly echoing one another; relying on them for chanting and reciting posed obstacles to steady practice. He once brought a lecture on this scripture to a close at a monastery, when heavenly flowers suddenly manifested in response, resembling flying snow, descending like mica filling the sky; extending into the hall, they soared in the air without falling, departing only when the lecture concluded. There was the divine monk Baozhi, whose transcendent ways surpassed the worldly realm; few could fathom his inner state. He and Yun held mutual respect and affection for each other, and [Baozhi] called him "Dharma Master of the Great Forest." Whenever he came to Yun's quarters, he would stay for a couple of nights. He once said, "I wish to understand the Lion's Roar; please, Dharma Master, expound it for me." [Yun] thereupon analyzed and explained it for him, and Zhi snapped his fingers in praise, saying, "Excellent! Sublime, sublime!" Yuan Ang, Specially Advanced with the Dignity of the Three Officers, of the Chen Commandery, recounted: There was a monk who regularly provided offerings and studied Yun's Lotus Sūtra, making vows day and night in hopes of attaining an equivalent understanding of wisdom. He suddenly dreamed of an extraordinary monk who said, "Master Yun had already lectured on this scripture in the time of the Buddha Dīpaṃkara; how could he be matched so quickly?" Furthermore, when Emperor Wu wished to pray for rain, Master Zhi said, "Yun can bring about rain; you must invite Master Yun." Master [Yun] opened a lecture session; when he reached the chapter on the "Medicinal Herbs," rain fell equally across all four quarters, falling in response to his preaching. Moreover, during one of his lectures, there was a man delivering iron who dreamed that Mañjuśrī was on the high seat lecturing on the scripture; upon waking, he sought it out and found it was Master Yun's lecture platform. The details are recorded in the written accounts. (Drawn from separate records.)
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Dharma Master Man under the Liang, seven
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Shi Sengman was a person of the Liang dynasty. Intelligent from childhood, he ate vegetarian food, practiced austere discipline, and was thoroughly versed in the sūtras and treatises, yet he set his aspiration upon the Lotus Sūtra. He lectured on the scripture one hundred times. Those who heard him wept tears of devotion. Whenever he reached the chapter on the "Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja," he would sigh and say: "The cycle of birth and death turns without end; who would begrudge their body for the sake of the Dharma?" He then made a vow in Changsha Commandery to burn his body as an offering to the scripture. Heaven sent down a fine rain, and lotus flowers grew forth from the ashes, not withering or falling for three days. Those who saw and heard of it felt both grief and joy.
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Shi Zhiyi of Guoqing Monastery on Mount Tiantai, National Preceptor under the Sui, [known as] Master of Wisdom, eight
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Shi Zhiyi, whose secular surname was Chen, was a native of Yingchuan. His mother, Lady Xu, dreamed of incense smoke in five colors swirling into her embrace; when she tried to brush it away, she heard someone say: "A past karmic connection has been entrusted [to you]." On the night of his birth, there were multiple spiritual omens. At the age of seven, he recited the "Universal Gate Chapter"; the rest he comprehended on his own without a teacher. At eighteen, he went forth from the household, and at twenty, he received the full precepts. He secluded himself on Mount Daxian, reciting the Lotus Sūtra, the Amitārtha-sūtra, and the Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra; before two ten-day periods had passed, he had completely mastered the three texts. He then went to Chan Master Si on Mount Dasu in Guangzhou to undertake his training. Si would often sigh and say, "In the past on Gṛdhrakūṭa we listened together to the Lotus Sūtra; pursued by past karmic affinities, you have now come once again." Thereupon he showed him the Samantabhadra practice and expounded the four peaceful and joyful practices. On this mountain, Yi practiced the Lotus Samādhi. After only three nights had passed, while reciting the chapter on the "Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja" and fixing his mind on the ascetic practices, when he reached the phrase "This is true vigor," awakening burst forth. He saw himself together with Master Si at the seven-jeweled pure land on Gṛdhrakūṭa, where eighty thousand bodhisattvas and twelve thousand śrāvakas were listening together to the Buddha preaching the Dharma. Therefore Si said, "Had it not been for you, it could not have been sensed; had it not been for me, it could not have been discerned." This was the preliminary expedience of the Lotus Samādhi. (Vinaya Master Xuan asked a deity, saying: "Chan Master Si of the Chen state and Master Yi of the Sui state had spiritual virtue surpassing their peers. In the past on Gṛdhrakūṭa, they listened together to the Lotus Sūtra. I wonder, who were they in the past? Did their lectures on the scripture also accord with the Buddha's intent?" The deity answered, "Both were great beings who roam the directions, originally ancient buddhas. Si was Avalokiteśvara, whose benefits are preached in the single 'Universal Gate Chapter.' Yi was Bhaiṣajyarāja; when Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue appeared in the world, he renounced his entire body in offering to the Dharma. Śākyamuni of Gṛdhrakūṭa entrusted this to the Sublime Dharma, and the chapter on Bhaiṣajyarāja preaches his practice. Not only do they propagate the scripture today, but in the distant past after the parinirvāṇa of the real Buddha, they lectured on the Lotus Sūtra; when the thousand buddhas of the past appeared in the world, and when the three buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa appeared, they likewise profoundly matched the Buddha's intent as they do today.") Whenever he entered contemplation and harbored doubts regarding the scripture, he would invariably see Si come and invisibly elucidate and interpret it for him. Si also said, "You have karmic ties with the state of Chen; going there will certainly bring benefit." Once Si traveled to the Southern Peak, Yi went to Jinling. He resided at Waguan for eight years, lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra. Eminent figures of the Liang and Chen all came to seek his instruction, and princes and nobles suspended court affairs to assemble there. When he first opened the introductory chapter and reached the conclusion of Mañjuśrī's reply to the questions, the entire assembly of Gṛdhrakūṭa manifested in midair; a few individuals suddenly beheld it. Heaven rained down wondrous flowers, fresh white in color, with over thirty petals; the petals remained suspended in midair one after another without falling, each more than a foot long and resembling lotus petals. When he reached the "Apparition of the Jeweled Stūpa Chapter," among the listeners some dreamed that Waguan was the thrice-transformed pure land, with the emanation bodies in the eight directions; others saw the sign of Samantabhadra approaching from afar. Those who received benefits from his speech and silence were so numerous as to be beyond recording. Furthermore, Yi personally copied scriptures with his own blood and lectured on them, which are preserved in the Hall of the True Body at Guoqing Monastery. The vegetation in the four surrounding quarters bows and droops down toward the hall. Later, before the Maitreya image at Shicheng Monastery, he made his vows and passed away. After his decease, Guanding dreamed that his master was in the Inner Court of Tuṣita. (Drawn from separate records.)
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Shi Jizang of Yanxing Monastery in the Tang Capital, nine
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Shi Jizang, whose secular surname was An, was originally a native of Parthia. His ancestors, fleeing an enemy, relocated to Nanhai, and subsequently made their home between Jiaozhou and Guangzhou. Later they moved to Jinling, where Zang was born. While he was still a child, his father led him to see Paramārtha and requested that he name him. Paramārtha asked about the circumstances of his conception and said that he could be named Jizang ("Auspicious Treasury"); he was named accordingly. For generations his family had revered the Buddha, their household devoted to nothing else. His father later went forth from the household and took the name Daoliang; diligent in freeing himself [from defilement], his ascetic discipline had few equals. He made begging for food and listening to the Dharma his constant vocation. Liang always took Zang along to listen to the lectures of Dharma Master Daolang at Xinghuang Monastery; Zang understood whatever he heard, with an awakening that seemed natural and innate. At the age of seven, he took refuge under Lang and went forth from the household. As he explored the profound mysteries, his insights renewed day by day, and in all that he inquired about, he subtly penetrated the ultimate purport, magnanimous and full of wonder. By the age of nineteen, he reiterated the lectures before the assembly; the sharp edge of his precise debates moved freely, and he received the luminaries of the day with more than ample grace. His fame grew, bringing glory to the capital of Yang; after receiving the full precepts, his renown rose even higher. King Guiyang of the Chen admired his manner and bearing. Expressing and receiving profound meanings, he eventually traveled east to Qinwang and stayed at Jiaxiang. As was his custom, he expounded and cited teachings; Yu's Cave became as bustling as a marketplace, with over a thousand seekers of the Way. Aspiring to transmit the lamp, the wheel of Dharma turned continuously. Later, in the early years of the Daye era, he copied two thousand copies of the Lotus Sūtra and opened lecture platforms more than three hundred times, authoring profound commentaries that circulated widely in the world. When his final day approached, he composed the Treatise on Not Fearing Death; as he laid down his brush, he passed away. (Drawn from the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks.)
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Records of the Lotus Sūtra, Fascicle Two
Linked texts (1)
- 法華傳記 — Classical Chinese