華嚴經傳記 2.5

2.5

Guṇabhadra—here translated as "Virtue-Auspicious"—was a native of Central India. Because of his study of the Mahāyāna, the world called him Mahāyāna. He was originally of Brahmin lineage. At first he studied the treatises of the five sciences, and in celestial texts, arithmetic, medical prescriptions, and incantations, there was nothing he did not master widely. Later, happening upon the Abhidharma-saṃyuktatattva[-hṛdaya-śāstra], he read it and was startled into awakening, coming to revere the Buddha-Dharma deeply; he then cast away his hairpin, removed his ornaments, and devoted himself with single-minded diligence to study. Upon receiving full ordination, he became broadly versed in the Tripiṭaka. After a while, taking leave of his Hīnayāna master, he went to study under a Mahāyāna master. The Mahāyāna master tested him by having him draw a sūtra box at random, and he drew the Avataṃsaka. The master rejoiced and praised him, saying, "You have profound affinities with the Mahāyāna!" Thereupon he chanted and expounded it, and none could match or challenge him. Advancing further, he received the bodhisattva precepts. Soon, having karmic connections with the East, he boarded a ship and sailed the ocean. Encountering peril halfway, he vigorously recollected the Buddhas of the ten directions and recited Avalokiteśvara's name; the entire ship was saved. Such was his sincere resonance. In the twelfth year of the Yuanjia reign, he arrived in Guangzhou. The regional inspector Che Lang presented a memorial to the throne, and Emperor Taizu of the Song dispatched messengers to welcome him. Once he arrived in the capital, the emperor ordered the eminent monks Huiyan and Huiguan to hold a reception in the suburbs at Xinting. Seeing that his spiritual bearing was bright and penetrating, there was none who did not venerate him. Although they communicated through translation, they were as joyful as old friends meeting by chance. At first he resided at Jetavana Monastery (Qihuansi). Soon Taizu invited him and treated him with profound esteem. Yan Yanzhi of Langya, a man of versatile genius and vast learning, adjusted his sash and came to his gate. Thereupon, from near and far in the capital, carriage caps looked upon one another in procession. The General-in-Chief, King Yikang of Pengcheng, and the Prime Minister, King Yixuan of Nanjiao, both served him as their master. After a while, the assembly of monks jointly requested him to produce sūtras. At Jetavana Monastery, Dong'ansi, Danyang Commandery, and other places, more than seven hundred śramaṇas of doctrinal study were assembled; what was produced before and after totaled over one hundred fascicles. King Jiao wished to invite him to lecture on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, but Bhadra reflected that his Chinese was not yet skilled, harboring shame and regret. Thus, morning and evening he performed repentances, prayed to Avalokiteśvara, and pleaded for a hidden response. Then he dreamed of a man dressed in white carrying a sword and holding a person's head, who came before him and said, "Why do you worry?" Bhadra replied by detailing the matter, and [the man] said, "No need to worry so much." He immediately exchanged heads using the sword and mounted a new head, telling him to turn it around and asking, "Does it hurt?" He replied, "It does not hurt." He suddenly woke up with a joyful mind, and had fully mastered the Chinese language. Thereupon, monastics and laypeople far and wide submitted to his spiritual resonance and requested him to give lectures; he subsequently lectured on the Avataṃsaka dozens of times. At the end of the Yuanjia era, King Jiao repeatedly had frightening and strange dreams. Bhadra answered, "There will soon be turmoil in the capital." In less than a year, the prime malefactor plotted rebellion. As for the Prime Minister's secret plot, [Bhadra] presented in advance the outline of three remonstrances. When Shizu gazed from afar, [Bhadra] foreknew the talk of a single strange portent. Planting his staff in the river, a divine boy suddenly arrived; burning incense beneath the tower, the mountain ghost departed of itself. Ascending the imperial seat, he was treated with equal honor; staying at the fishing terrace, he rescued living beings. Such moving virtues cannot be recounted in detail here. From his youth onward, he constantly held an incense burner, never letting it leave his hand. At every meal he set aside a portion to feed flying birds, and the birds became so tame that they would gather on his hand to feed. Coming to the first month of the fourth year of the Taishi reign, feeling unwell in his body, he bid farewell to Taizong, the ministers, and lords. On the day of his passing, he stood waiting and gazed afar, saying he saw heavenly flowers and holy images. At midday he passed away. His age was seventy-five. Taizong deeply grieved and conferred lavish posthumous gifts. The lords and ministers gathered for the funeral, with all labor and mourning fully paid.