法華傳記 2.26

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.)