景德傳燈錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Preface to the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp Compiled in the Jingde Era

Composed by your subject Yang Yi, Hanlin Academician, Court Gentleman for Consultation, Acting Left Policy Adviser, Drafter, Co-compiler of the National History, Administrator of the Academy of Historiography, Pillar of State, Founding Marquis of Nanyang Commandery with a Fief of One Thousand One Hundred Households, and Recipient of the Purple and Gold Fish Bag.

1.3

Formerly, Śākyamuni, having received the ancient prediction from Dīpaṃkara and being appointed as the next [Buddha] in the Bhadrakalpa, descended in spirit and manifested the teaching for forty-nine years. He opened the gates of the provisional and ultimate, the sudden and gradual, and bequeathed the teachings of the half-word and full-word, the partial and complete. Following people's capacities to awaken them to the principle, there thus arose the distinction of the three vehicles; receiving living beings to benefit sentient creatures, he thereupon ferried across limitless multitudes. His compassionate deliverance was vast indeed! His models and standards were complete and fully prepared! Yet when he entered extinction in the twin grove, he turned his gaze solely toward Kāśyapa; transmitted down through successive generations, it began first from Bodhidharma: not establishing words and letters, directly pointing to the source of the mind; not treading on steps and ladders, straightaway ascending to the Buddha ground. When it reached the five leaves, it began to flourish; dividing into a thousand lamps, it became ever more abundant. Those who reached the treasure place were exceedingly many; those who turned the wheel of the Dharma were not just one. This is indeed the intended import of the Great Hero's entrustment, the way by which the correct Dharma eye circulates, a separate transmission outside the teachings that is inconceivable.

1.4

When our Sacred Song initiated its destiny, spiritual beings gave obscure assistance.

1.5

Taizu subdued rebellion with divine martial prowess, and revered pure monasteries and opened the gates of salvation.

1.6

Taizong governed debates with reverent brilliance, and set forth the secret expositions and proclaimed the ultimate truth.

1.7

His August Majesty, wise and cultured, succeeded to their aspirations, prefacing the holy teachings and unraveling the tradition of the school. He caused cloud-like compositions to shine in the sky of meaning, and sounded golden tones in the garden of enlightenment. His words secretly accorded with the Lotus Treasury, and the lineage from India flourished greatly. Those who planted myriad goods grew ever more numerous; those who transmitted the definitive meaning appeared from time to time. The transformation of the complete and sudden teaching flowed throughout the realm. There was a monk of Eastern Wu named Daoyuan, who absorbed his mind in the joy of meditation and sought the hidden mysteries of the emptiness school. Unrolling the ancestral charts of successive generations, he gathered the recorded sayings of all quarters. He arranged their sources and branches in order, and organized their words and phrases. From the seven Buddhas down to the heirs of the Great Fayan, there were fifty-two generations and one thousand seven hundred and one persons in total, forming thirty fascicles, entitled the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp Compiled in the Jingde Era. He went to the palace gate and presented it, hoping for its wide circulation.

1.8

His August Majesty, serving as the external protector of the Buddha Dharma, commended the monk's diligent labor. Harboring deep prudence and thinking to make it endure for long, he thereupon decreed that your subject Yang Yi, Hanlin Academician, Left Policy Adviser, and Drafter; your subject Li Wei, Vice Director in the Ministry of War and Drafter; your subject Wang Shu, Assistant Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; and others should jointly edit and prune it, causing it to be decided and established. We, your subjects, are ignorant of the tenets of the three trainings, confused about the directions of the five natures, lack the translating ability of Linchuan, and are unacquainted with the essentials of speech and silence in Vaiśālī. Having respectfully received the stern command, we dared not obstinately decline. Secretly applying ourselves to investigation, we had no leisure to rest. Examining the intention of his compilation, it takes true emptiness as its foundation, intending to narrate the causes of ancient sages entering the Way and to mark the teachings of past figures that accorded with the principle. The encounter of faculties and conditions struck mutually, like arrow-points meeting; the treasury of wisdom emitted light, like horses spurred by the shadow of the whip. It guides later students and widely proclaims the profound path. Yet where it was gathered and cited, much dregs remained, though the silk manuscripts could be investigated. When great beings gave instruction to disciples, expounding with a single voice, all sentient beings listened in awe, attested to by a thousand sages; being useful for general illustration, taking a small portion is sufficient. If one were to add further embellishment, the original aim would be lost: it would not be the distinct languages of China and India, but rather close to faulty engraving that ruins the gem. Such matters were all kept as they originally were. Furthermore, when matters call for factual recording, it must depend on skillful narration; for words to travel far, they cannot be without literary grace. Where circumstances were recorded with thread-like, detailed traces, or where phrases were tangled and messy, or expressions vulgar and crude, they were all edited and pruned to weave them together. As for the dialogues of Confucian ministers and laymen, and the clarification of their noble ranks and family names, where years and eras showed discrepancies or differed from historical records, they were all deleted to ensure reliability. Unless they opened the profound interest of dropping the needle, dashed with the swift faculty of flashing lightning, revealed the wondrously bright true mind, or ancestral teachings on the deep principle of suffering and emptiness, how could they accord with the metaphor of transmitting the lamp and apply the efficacy of scraping away cataracts? If one merely relates the omens of resonances and exclusively narrates the tracks of pilgrimage travels, these have already been noted in monastic histories, so what use are they for Chan expositions? We merely preserved the names of lineages, hoping to record the spontaneity of master-disciple transmission. However, in what the old record contained, coarse things were sometimes gathered while the refined were omitted; since separate collections survive, we should seek the texts to supply what is missing. We gathered them generally and appended additions accordingly. As for prefaces and treatises that were perhaps not compositions of the ancient worthies, or inserted in the compilation merely to add padding (the two characters xuan-niang come from the collected works of Duke Zhang of Yan in the Tang, meaning redundant and verbose), we also discriminated and rejected many of them. Only now, after a full year, have we brought this work to completion. In our dispositions and knowledge, we, your subjects, feel ashamed before profound and complex matters; in our learning, we are humbled by our superficial browsing. Our natural capacity is inherently shallow, and our literary strength has nothing to spare. The wondrous Way lies in persons: though we have hollowed our hearts for long, the profound words transcend the world, and facing the wall was naturally our predominant state. Improperly receiving this personal selection, we have achieved no effect of elucidating the teaching. Having succeeded in completing the compilation, we now respectfully present it for your leisure hours. We cannot match the imperial mind, and only vainly soil your sage perusal. Respectfully presented.

1.9

Memorial on the Recarving of the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp Compiled in the Jingde Era

1.10

Elder monk Xiwei of the Husheng Wanrui Chan Monastery on Mount Daochang in Huzhou Route, a native of Changguo Prefecture in Qingyuan Route with the secular surname Dong, went in his youth to pay respects to Upādhyāya Juezhao of Guanyin Chan Monastery within the city of the same route as his master. Having received his Dharma name, he went to pay respects to Upādhyāya Longyuan of Kaishou Puguang Chan Monastery in Cixi County to shave his head and become a monk. He further paid respects to Upādhyāya Xueya of the Vinaya Monastery on Mount Wutai to receive the full precepts. Carrying his book satchel, he traveled westward and set down his bag at Lingyin. Later, when his former master Upādhyāya Longyuan moved to reside on this mountain, he followed the master to study and inquire, which has now been several years. Constantly mindful that the master's benevolence had not yet been repaid, he humbly observed that the thirty fascicles of the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp Compiled in the Jingde Era of the Buddhas and patriarchs from above—from the seven Buddhas to the heirs of Fayan, fifty-two generations in all—from the Jingde era to the bingchen year of Yanyou, have totaled three hundred and seventeen years. The old printing blocks have decayed and vanished, and later students admire it without being able to reach it. For this reason he made a vow to recarve it. Suddenly he obtained the ancient volumes from Wen'an of Mount Lu, preserved by Upādhyāya Songlu of Tiansheng Chan Monastery in this route. It was the finest edition, truly satisfying his longtime wish. Thereupon, on the tenth day of the first month of the bingchen year, he auctioned his robes and bowl, obtaining more than twelve thousand strings of Tongxing cash. On that day he ordered craftsmen to carve and publish it for the world to circulate the patriarchal way. This record contains a total of 367,917 characters. By the first day of the twelfth month of that year, the work was finished. He immediately printed and distributed three hundred copies to the Liangzhe region to house them in the famous mountains: one copy each for the abbot's quarters, the Meng Hall, and the common dormitories, to facilitate the study and investigation of patch-robed Chan monks practicing the Way from throughout the land. May this accumulated good benefit serve to repay the four benevolences and assist the three realms of existence.

1.11

First day of the twelfth month of the third year of Yanyou of the Great Yuan

1.12

Respectfully submitted by the elder monk Xiwei.

1.13

Junior bhikṣu Wenya supervised the work.

1.14

Patriarch-inheriting bhikṣu Shixun, Abbot of this mountain, managed the project.

1.15

Chronology of the Coming from the West

1.16

The Seven Buddhas and the Indian Patriarchs

1.17

The Seven Buddhas:
Vipaśyin Buddha
Śikhin Buddha
Viśvabhū Buddha
Krakucchanda Buddha
Kanakamuni Buddha
Kāśyapa Buddha
Śākyamuni Buddha

1.18

The Fifteen Indian Patriarchs (one patriarch is a collateral branch with no separate record):
First Patriarch: Mahākāśyapa
Second Patriarch: Ānanda (collateral branch: Madhyāntika)
Third Patriarch: Śāṇavāsa
Fourth Patriarch: Upagupta
Fifth Patriarch: Dhītika
Sixth Patriarch: Miccaka
Seventh Patriarch: Vasumitra
Eighth Patriarch: Buddhanandi
Ninth Patriarch: Buddhamitra
Tenth Patriarch: Venerable Pārśva
Eleventh Patriarch: Puṇyayaśas
Twelfth Patriarch: Mahāsattva Aśvaghoṣa
Thirteenth Patriarch: Kapimala
Fourteenth Patriarch: Mahāsattva Nāgārjuna

1.19

Preface on the Seven Buddhas

1.20

Ancient Buddhas appeared in the world across boundless spans of time; they cannot be completely known or fully enumerated. Therefore, recent discussions of the Bhadrakalpa hold that there are one thousand Tathāgatas, but down to Śākyamuni, only seven Buddhas are recorded. According to the Dīrghāgama Sūtra, it says: 'By the vigor of the seven Buddhas, / They emit light and extinguish darkness. / Each seated under various trees, / Therein they achieved right enlightenment.' Furthermore, Mañjuśrī is the ancestral teacher of the seven Buddhas. When the Great Being Shanhui of Jinhua climbed the summit of Mount Song to practice the Way, he moved the seven Buddhas to lead before him and Vimalakīrti to follow behind. The present compilation begins definitively with the seven Buddhas and continues downward.

1.21

Vipaśyin Buddha (the 998th Honored One of the past Alamkārakalpa); his verse says:

1.22

The body receives birth from within formlessness, / Just like all images produced by illusion. / The mind and consciousness of an illusory person are originally nonexistent; / Sins and blessings are both empty, having nowhere to abide.

1.23

The Dīrghāgama Sūtra says: When the human lifespan was eighty thousand years, this Buddha appeared in the world. His caste was Kṣatriya; his family name was Kauṇḍinya. His father was Bandhumat; his mother was Bandhumatī. He resided in the city of Bandhumatī. Sitting beneath a pāṭalī tree, he expounded the Dharma in three assemblies, delivering three hundred and forty-eight thousand people. He had two foremost disciples endowed with supernormal powers: one named Khaṇḍa and the second named Tiṣya. His attendant was Aśoka; his son was Supravartin.

1.24

Śikhin Buddha (the 999th Honored One of the Alamkārakalpa); his verse says:

1.25

The arising of all wholesome dharmas is fundamentally an illusion; / The creation of all evil karmas is also an illusion. / The body is like a mass of foam, the mind like the wind; / Arising as illusion, they have no root and no real nature.

1.26

The Dīrghāgama Sūtra says: When the human lifespan was seventy thousand years, this Buddha appeared in the world. His caste was Kṣatriya; his family name was Kauṇḍinya. His father was Aruṇa; his mother was Prabhāvatī. He resided in the city of Aruṇavatī. Sitting beneath a puṇḍarīka tree, he expounded the Dharma in three assemblies, delivering two hundred and fifty thousand people. He had two foremost disciples endowed with supernormal powers: one named Abhibhū and the second named Saṃbhava. His attendant was Kṣemamkara; his son was Atula.

1.27

Viśvabhū Buddha (the 1,000th Honored One of the Alamkārakalpa); his verse says:

1.28

Borrowing the four great elements to form the body, / The mind is fundamentally unborn, existing because of objects. / If the preceding objects do not exist, the mind also does not exist; / Sins and blessings are like an illusion, arising and perishing.

1.29

The Dīrghāgama Sūtra says: When the human lifespan was sixty thousand years, this Buddha appeared in the world. His caste was Kṣatriya; his family name was Kauṇḍinya. His father was Supratīta; his mother was Yaśovatī. He resided in the city of Anupama. Sitting beneath a sāla tree, he expounded the Dharma in two assemblies, delivering one hundred and thirty thousand people. He had two foremost disciples endowed with supernormal powers: one named Soṇa and the second named Uttara. His attendant was Upasanta; his son was Suprabuddha.

1.30

Krakucchanda Buddha (the first Honored One of the present Bhadrakalpa); his verse says:

1.31

Seeing that the body has no reality is the Buddha's body; / Comprehending that the mind is like an illusion is the Buddha's illusion. / Having comprehended that body and mind are fundamentally empty by nature, / How does this person differ from the Buddha?

1.32

The Dīrghāgama Sūtra says: When the human lifespan was forty thousand years, this Buddha appeared in the world. His caste was Brāhmaṇa; his family name was Kāśyapa. His father was Agnidatta; his mother was Viśākhā. He resided in the city of Kṣemavatī. Sitting beneath a śirīṣa tree, he expounded the Dharma in one assembly, delivering forty thousand people. He had two foremost disciples endowed with supernormal powers: one named Sañjīva and the second named Vidhura. His attendant was Buddhi; his son was Uttara.

1.33

Kanakamuni Buddha (the second Honored One of the Bhadrakalpa); his verse says:

1.34

The Buddha does not see a body, and knows it is the Buddha; / If there were truly a knower, there would be no other Buddha. / The wise person can know that the nature of sins is empty, / And is calm and unperturbed, without fear of birth and death.

1.35

The Dīrghāgama Sūtra says: When the human lifespan was thirty thousand years, this Buddha appeared in the world. His caste was Brāhmaṇa; his family name was Kāśyapa. His father was Brahmadatta; his mother was Uttarā. He resided in the city of Śobhavatī. Sitting beneath an udumbara tree, he expounded the Dharma in one assembly, delivering thirty thousand people. He had two foremost disciples endowed with supernormal powers: one named Śibhi and the second named Uttara. His attendant was Kṣema; his son was Sārthavāha.

1.36

Kāśyapa Buddha (the third Honored One of the Bhadrakalpa); his verse says:

1.37

The nature of all sentient beings is pure; / Fundamentally it has no birth and nothing to be destroyed. / This very body and mind are born of illusion; / Within illusory transformations, there are neither sins nor blessings.

1.38

The Dīrghāgama-sūtra states: When human lifespan was twenty thousand years, this Buddha appeared in the world. He was of Brahmin caste, his clan name was Kāśyapa. His father was Brahmadatta, his mother was Dhanavatī. He resided in the city of Vārāṇasī. Sitting beneath a nyagrodha tree, he preached the Dharma in one assembly, delivering twenty thousand people. He had two foremost disciples endowed with supernormal powers: the first was Tiṣya, the second was Bhāradvāja. His attendant was Śamita, and his son was Vijitasena.

1.39

Śākyamuni Buddha (the fourth Honoured One of the Bhadrakalpa) was of the Kṣatriya caste. His father was King Śuddhodana, his mother was Māyā. Having attained the stage of succeeding to Buddhahood, he was born in Tuṣita Heaven, where he was named the Supremely Virtuous Deva, and also named the Great Being Prabhāpāla. He delivered the hosts of devas, expounding the practices of succession to Buddhahood, and also manifested bodies throughout the realms of the ten directions to preach the Dharma. The Lalitavistara-sūtra states: When the Buddha was first born into the royal Kṣatriya family, he emitted the light of great wisdom, illuminating the worlds of the ten directions. Golden lotus flowers welled up from the earth, naturally holding up both his feet. He walked seven steps in each direction—east, west, south, and north. Pointing with his hands to heaven and earth, he made the lion's roar: 'Above, below, and in the four cardinal directions, none can surpass me.' This was on the eighth day of the fourth month in the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of the Zhou, a jiayin year. By the forty-second year, on the eighth day of the second month, when he was nineteen years old, he wished to leave home. He thought to himself: 'What shall I encounter next?' Then, going on an excursion through the four gates, he saw the four kinds of occurrences. With both sorrow and joy in his heart, he reflected: 'This old age, sickness, and death are ultimately to be reviled and abandoned.' At the midnight hour of that night, a deva named Śuddhāvāsa clasped his hands through the window and said to the crown prince: 'The time to leave home has arrived; you may go.' Having heard this, the prince was filled with joy. He immediately leaped over the city wall and departed. He cultivated the Way in Mount Daṇḍaka. He began under Ārāḍa Kālāma, studying for three years the samādhi of nothingness; knowing it was not the truth, he abandoned it. He then went to Udraka Rāmaputra, studying for three years the samādhi of neither perception nor non-perception; knowing it was also not the truth, he abandoned it as well. He then went to Mount Gayāśīrṣa together with various non-Buddhists, eating one hemp seed and one grain of wheat a day for six years. Thus the sūtra says: 'By having no mental intention and no received practice, he completely subdued all non-Buddhists.' He had first tested the heterodox teachings to demonstrate skillful means and evoke diverse views, leading them to bodhi. Thus the Samuccaya-sūtra states: On the eighth day of the second month, when the morning star appeared, the Bodhisattva attained Buddhahood and was called the Teacher of Gods and Humans. He was then thirty years old; this was the third year of King Mu, a guiwei year. Thereafter, in the Deer Park, he turned the Dharma wheel of the Four Noble Truths for Kaundinya and the other five men, discussing the fruits of the path. He preached the Dharma and remained in the world for forty-nine years. Later, he addressed his disciple Mahākāśyapa: 'I now entrust to you the pure Dharma eye, the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, the subtle and wondrous correct Dharma of the signless true mark. You must protect and uphold it, and also instruct Ānanda to assist as deputy in transmitting and transforming, so that it may never be cut off.' And he spoke this verse:

1.40

The Dharma fundamentally is a Dharma of no-dharma;
A Dharma of no-dharma is also a Dharma.
Now, when no-dharma is entrusted,
How has the Dharma of dharmas ever been a Dharma?

1.41

At that time, after the World-Honoured One had spoken this verse, he again addressed Kāśyapa: 'I now transmit and entrust to you the golden-thread saṅghāṭī robe, to be handed down in turn to the one who succeeds to Buddhahood, until Maitreya Buddha appears in the world; do not let it decay.' Having heard the verse, Kāśyapa touched his head and face to [the Buddha's] feet in reverence, saying: 'Excellent, excellent! I shall obey your command, reverently following the Buddha.' At that time the World-Honoured One went to the city of Kuśinagara and addressed the great assembly: 'My back now aches; I wish to enter nirvāṇa.' He then proceeded to the twin śāla trees beside the river Hiraṇyavatī. Lying on his right side with one foot over the other, he serenely passed into peaceful extinction. He again arose from the coffin to preach the Dharma for his mother, specially revealed his two feet to convert Vāgīśa, and spoke the verse on impermanence, saying:

1.42

All conditioned things are impermanent;
This is the law of arising and ceasing.
When arising and ceasing have ceased,
Tranquil extinction is bliss.

1.43

Then the disciples competed to cremate him with fragrant firewood. After the fire burned out, the golden coffin remained as before. At that time, before the Buddha, the great assembly praised him with a verse, saying:

1.44

How could the blazing fury of worldly fires
Succeed in burning him?
We beseech the Honoured One's samādhi fire
To cremate his golden body.

1.45

At that time, the golden coffin rose from its resting place to the height of seven tāla trees, moved back and forth in the air, and transformed into the samādhi of fire; in an instant, ashes were produced. They obtained eight hu and four dou of relics. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month in the fifty-second year of King Mu, a renshen year. One thousand and seventeen years after the World-Honoured One's nirvāṇa, the teaching reached China; this was the tenth year of the Yongping era of the Later Han, a wuchen year.

1.46

The first patriarch, Mahākāśyapa, was a native of Magadha. His caste was Brahmin. His father was Nyagrodha-prasādha, and his mother was Candrabālā. Formerly, he had been a goldsmith, well understanding the nature of gold and how to make it malleable. The Fu fazang zhuan states: Long kalpas ago, after Vipaśyin Buddha entered nirvāṇa, the fourfold assembly erected a stūpa. In the stūpa, the golden surface of the statue's face was slightly damaged. At that time, a poor woman brought gold and a jewel to the goldsmith, asking him to adorn the Buddha's face. Thereupon they jointly made a vow: 'May the two of us become husband and wife without worldly marriage.' Due to this cause and condition, their bodies were golden in color for ninety-one kalpas. Later he was born in the Brahma Heaven. When his celestial lifespan ended, he was born into a Brahmin household in Magadha in central India, and named Kāśyapa, which means 'Radiance-Drinking Honoured One,' named so because of his golden color. Thereupon he aspired to leave home, hoping to deliver all sentient beings. The Buddha said: 'Welcome, bhikṣu!' His hair and beard fell away naturally, and the kāṣāya clung to his body. Among the assembly, he was always praised as foremost. [The Buddha] further said: 'I now entrust to you the pure Dharma eye; you must disseminate it so that it is never cut off.' The Nirvāṇa-sūtra states: At that time, when the World-Honoured One was about to enter nirvāṇa, Kāśyapa was not present in the assembly. The Buddha told his great disciples: 'When Kāśyapa arrives, you should have him proclaim the treasury of the correct Dharma eye.' At that time, Kāśyapa was in the Pippala Cave on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. Seeing a wondrous light, he entered samādhi. With the pure divine eye, he saw the World-Honoured One enter parinirvāṇa beside the river Hiraṇyavatī. He then said to his followers: 'The Tathāgata has entered nirvāṇa! How swift it was!' He immediately went to the twin trees, weeping in grief and longing. The Buddha revealed his two feet from within the golden coffin. At that time, Kāśyapa told the bhikṣus: 'The Buddha has been cremated. The adamantine relics are not our affair; we should compile the Dharma eye so that it will not be cut off.' And he spoke this verse:

1.47

Disciples of the Tathāgata,
Do not yet enter nirvāṇa!
Those who have attained supernormal powers
Should attend the compilation.

1.48

Thereupon, those who had attained supernormal powers all gathered at the Pippala Cave on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha. At that time, because his outflows were not yet exhausted, Ānanda was not permitted to enter the assembly. Later he realized the fruit of an arhat, and on this account was admitted. Kāśyapa then addressed the assembly: 'This bhikṣu Ānanda has heard much, possesses dhāraṇī, and has great wisdom. Constantly following the Tathāgata, his pure conduct is undefiled. The Buddha-Dharma he heard is like water poured from one vessel into another, without any left behind. Praised by the Buddha as foremost in intelligence, we should invite him to compile the Sūtra-piṭaka.' The assembly remained silent. Kāśyapa addressed Ānanda, saying: 'You should now proclaim the Dharma eye.' Hearing these words, Ānanda accepted them in faith, observed the minds of the assembly, and recited a verse, saying:

1.49

All the bhikṣu retinues,
Separated from the Buddha, lack adornment,
Just as in empty space,
The myriad stars have no moon.

1.50

Having spoken this verse, he bowed to the feet of the assembled saṅgha, ascended the Dharma seat, and said: 'Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was staying at such-and-such a place, preaching such-and-such a sūtra teaching...' up to 'gods, humans, and the rest paid homage and practiced accordingly.' At that time, Kāśyapa asked the bhikṣus: 'Was what Ānanda said not without error?' They all said: 'It was no different from what the World-Honoured One said.' Kāśyapa then said to Ānanda: 'I am advanced in years and will not stay much longer. Now I entrust the correct Dharma to you; guard it well. Listen to my verse:'

1.51

The Dharma of dharmas is originally Dharma;
There is neither no-dharma nor non-dharma.
How, within the single Dharma,
Could there be Dharma and not-Dharma?

1.52

Having spoken this verse, holding the saṅghāṭī robe, he entered Mount Kukkuṭapāda to await the descent and birth of Maitreya. This was in the fifth year of King Xiao of the Zhou, a bingchen year (the fifth year should be the fourth year; from here down to the thirteenth patriarch Kapimala, the number of years was mistaken and is here emended according to the sexagenary cycle in the Shiji chronologies).

1.53

The second patriarch, Ānanda, was a native of Rājagṛha. His caste was Kṣatriya. His father was King Droṇodana; in truth, he was the Buddha's paternal cousin. In Sanskrit, Ānanda means 'Joy' or 'Delight.' He was born on the night the Tathāgata attained the Way, hence his name. Erudite and far-reaching in knowledge, with unhindered wisdom, the World-Honoured One regarded him as foremost in retention of teachings and frequently praised him. In addition, having great merit from past lives, he retained the Dharma treasury like water poured from one vessel into another. The Buddha then appointed him as attendant. Later, King Ajātaśatru said to him: 'Virtuous One, both of the two supreme masters, the Tathāgata and Kāśyapa, have already entered nirvāṇa, and due to many affairs I was unable to see either of them. When you, Virtuous One, enter parinirvāṇa, I pray you deign to bid me farewell.' Ānanda consented. Later, he thought to himself: 'My body is frail and fragile, like a heap of foam. How much more so being decrepit and old—how could it last long?' He also remembered: 'King Ajātaśatru has an agreement with me.' He then went to the royal palace and said to them: 'I wish to enter nirvāṇa and have come only to say farewell.' The doorkeeper said: 'The king is asleep and cannot be disturbed.' Ānanda said: 'When the king awakens, inform him for me.' At that time, King Ajātaśatru saw in a dream a precious canopy adorned with the seven treasures, surrounded and looked up to by tens of millions of people. Suddenly, a violent wind and rain blew and snapped its handle, and the rare jewels and necklaces all fell to the ground. In his heart he was greatly shocked. When he woke up, the doorkeeper fully reported what had happened. Upon hearing these words, the king cried out in loud wailing, his sorrow moving heaven and earth. He immediately went to the city of Vaiśālī, where he saw Ānanda seated cross-legged in the middle of the Gaṅgā River. The king then paid homage and spoke a verse, saying:

1.54

I bow my head to the Honoured One of the Three Realms,
Who has forsaken me and come here.
Rely for a moment on the power of your compassionate vow,
And do not yet enter parinirvāṇa!

1.55

At that time, the King of Vaiśālī was also on the riverbank, and spoke another verse, saying:

1.56

How hasty the Venerable One is
To return to the place of tranquil extinction!
We pray you remain for a brief moment
To receive our offerings.

1.57

At that time, seeing both kings coming to entreat him, Ānanda spoke a verse, saying:

1.58

May the two kings remain well established;
Do not grieve or yearn in bitter sorrow.
Nirvāṇa is true purity,
Because it is free from all realms of existence.

1.59

Ānanda further reflected: 'If I favor one country and enter parinirvāṇa there, the kingdoms will fight; this would not be right. I should deliver sentient beings equally.' Thereupon, in the middle of the Gaṅgā River, he was about to enter tranquil extinction. At that moment, the mountains, rivers, and great earth shook in six ways. In the snowy mountains there were five hundred ṛṣis who, seeing this auspicious omen, flew through the air and arrived. Bowing at Ānanda's feet, they knelt on their right knees and said: 'Through the Elder, we are destined to realize the Buddha-Dharma. We pray you extend great compassion to deliver us.' Ānanda silently accepted their request. He immediately transformed the river Gaṅgā into golden ground and expounded the great Dharma for the host of ṛṣis. Ānanda further thought: 'The disciples I previously delivered ought to assemble.' In an instant, five hundred arhats descended from the sky and conferred ordination and full precepts upon the ṛṣis. Among the host of ṛṣis were two arhats: one named Śāṇavāsa, and the second named Madhyāntika. Knowing they were vessels of the Dharma, Ānanda addressed them: 'Formerly the Tathāgata entrusted the great Dharma eye to Mahākāśyapa; Kāśyapa entered samādhi and entrusted it to me. Now that I am about to pass into extinction, I pass it on to you. You who receive my teaching must listen to my verse:'

1.60

Originally, something was entrusted as Dharma;
Having entrusted it, it is said there is no Dharma.
Each must awaken for oneself;
Having awakened, there is no no-dharma.

1.61

Having finished entrusting the treasury of the Dharma eye, Ānanda leaped into the sky and performed the eighteen transformations. Entering the wind-swift samādhi, he divided his body into four parts: one part was offered to Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, one part was offered to the dragon palace of Sāgara, one part was offered to the King of Vaiśālī, and one part was offered to King Ajātaśatru. Each built a precious stūpa to make offerings to it. This was in the twelfth year of King Li, a guisi year (it should be the tenth year).

1.62

The third patriarch was Śāṇavāsa (The *Zhengzong ji* states: 'In Sanskrit, Śāṇaka, translated here as "natural garments," because he had garments on his body from birth.' The *Zhilin* of Hong Juefan states: 'It refers to the saṅghāṭī robe, being the same as Yunyan's. Yet the *Transmission of the Lamp* says "natural garments," namely the name of an auspicious nine-branched grass in the Western Regions, which is unclear.') He was a native of Mathurā. He was also named Śāṇavāsa, and his surname was Vaiśya. His father was Lin Sheng; his mother was Jiao Sheye. He was born after six years in the womb. In Sanskrit, he is called Śāṇaka; translated here, it means 'natural garments', which is the name of an auspicious nine-branched grass of the Western Regions. When an arhat or holy person descends to be born, this grass grows in clean and pure ground. When Śāṇavāsa was born, this auspicious grass appeared in response. Formerly, when the Tathāgata was traveling and converting beings, he arrived in Mathurā. Seeing a lush green grove with dense branches and leaves, he said to Ānanda: 'The name of this grove's ground is Urumuṇḍa. One hundred years after my extinction, there will be a bhikṣu named Śāṇavāsa who will turn the wondrous wheel of Dharma on this ground.' After one hundred years, he was indeed born. Śāṇavāsa went forth from home, realized the Path, and received the Dharma Eye from the Venerable Qingxi (Ānanda). He converted and guided sentient beings, and stopped at this grove, where he subdued two fire dragons, causing them to submit to the Buddhist teachings. The dragons then donated their land to erect a pure monastery. After teaching for a long time, the Venerable thought of transmitting the correct Dharma. Soon, in the country of Ca-li, he obtained Upagupta to be his attendant. He then asked Upagupta: 'How old are you?' He answered: 'I am seventeen.' The master asked: 'Is your body seventeen, or is your nature seventeen?' He answered: 'Master, your hair is already white. Is your hair white, or is your mind white?' The master said: 'Only my hair is white, not my mind.' Upagupta said: 'My body is seventeen, not my nature.' Śāṇavāsa knew that he was a vessel for the Dharma. Three years later, he shaved his head and gave him full ordination. He then told him: 'Formerly, the Tathāgata entrusted the unsurpassed Treasury of the Correct Dharma Eye to Kāśyapa, and it was transmitted successively down to me. I now entrust it to you; do not let it be severed. Receive my teaching and listen to my gāthā.'

1.63

It is neither Dharma nor mind,
(An older edition has: 'It is neither Dharma nor Dharma.' Now, following the *Baolin zhuan* and the *Zhengzong ji*, it is corrected to: 'It is neither Dharma nor mind.')
There is neither mind nor Dharma.
When speaking of this mind-Dharma,
This Dharma is not the mind's Dharma.

1.64

Having spoken this gāthā, he immediately secluded himself in the Southern Elephant-White Mountain in Kaśmīra. Later, in samādhi, he saw that his disciple Upagupta had five hundred disciples who were often indolent and arrogant. The Venerable then went there, manifesting the Dragon's Swift Samādhi to subdue them, and spoke a gāthā, saying:

1.65

Thorough penetration is neither this nor that;
The supreme sage has no long or short.
Cast away your arrogant thoughts,
And swiftly attain the state of an arhat.

1.66

Having heard the gāthā, the five hundred bhikṣus practiced according to the teaching and all attained the undefiled state. The Venerable then performed eighteen transformations and entered the Fire-Radiance Samādhi to incinerate his body. Upagupta collected the relics and buried them on Mount Brahmakāra. The five hundred bhikṣus, each holding a banner, led the way to that place, where they erected a stūpa to make offerings to them. It was the twenty-third year of King Xuan, an *yiwei* year (it should be the twenty-second year).

1.67

The fourth patriarch was Upagupta. He was a native of Ca-li. He was also named Youbajuoduo, and also named Wubojuoduo. His surname was Śūdra, and his father was Śāntamati. At seventeen he went forth from home, and at twenty he realized the fruit [of the Path]. Traveling and transforming beings according to circumstances, he reached Mathurā. Those who attained liberation were exceedingly numerous. Because of this, the palace of Māra shook; Pāpīyān was distressed and terrified, and exerted all his demonic powers to harm the correct Dharma. The Venerable immediately entered samādhi to observe the cause. Pāpīyān again waited for an opportunity and secretly took a necklace and fastened it around his neck. When the Venerable emerged from concentration, he took the three corpses of a human, a dog, and a snake, transformed them into a garland of flowers, and gently consoled Pāpīyān, saying: 'The necklace you gave me is exceedingly precious and wondrous. I have a garland of flowers to offer in return.' Māra was overjoyed, stretched out his neck, and received it. It immediately changed into three kinds of foul, worm-ridden, decaying corpses. Māra was disgusted and deeply distressed; exerting all his spiritual power, he could not move them. He then ascended to the heavens of the six desire realms to tell the heavenly kings, and also went to the Brahmā King seeking release from them. Each of them told him: 'This is a spiritual transformation wrought by a disciple of the Ten-Powered One. How could ordinary, base beings such as us remove it?' Pāpīyān said: 'If so, what can be done?' The Brahmā King said: 'If you take refuge in the Venerable, you will be able to remove it.' He then spoke a gāthā for him, bidding him to dedicate himself:

1.68

If you fall because of the ground,
You must rise again because of the ground.
To seek to rise apart from the ground,
Has no logic to it whatsoever.

1.69

Having received this instruction, Pāpīyān descended from the heavenly palace, bowed at the Venerable's feet, and tearfully repented. Upagupta said to him: 'From now on, will you cease causing harm to the Tathāgata's correct Dharma?' Pāpīyān said: 'I vow to turn toward the Buddha Path and forever end all that is unwholesome.' Upagupta said: 'If so, you may personally proclaim with your mouth your refuge in the Three Jewels.' The Demon King joined his palms and proclaimed it three times. The garland was completely removed, whereupon he leaped for joy, made obeisance to the Venerable, and spoke a gāthā:

1.70

I bow my head to the master of samādhi,
The holy disciple of the Ten-Powered One.
I now vow to dedicate myself;
May I never become weak and inferior.

1.71

While the Venerable was in the world, those he taught and guided to realize the fruit were exceedingly numerous. Each time he delivered one person, he placed a tally in a stone chamber. That chamber was eighteen cubits long and twelve cubits wide, and it became completely filled. Finally, there was the son of an elder named Gandhakuṭi (Xiangzhong), who came to bow before the Venerable, aspiring to go forth from home. The Venerable asked: 'Do you go forth from home in body, or do you go forth from home in mind?' He answered: 'My coming to go forth from home is not for the sake of body or mind.' The Venerable said: 'If not for body or mind, who else goes forth from home?' He answered: 'He who goes forth from home has no self and no mine. Because of no self and no mine, the mind neither arises nor ceases. The mind neither arising nor ceasing is itself the eternal Path. The Buddhas are also eternal. The mind has no shape or characteristics, and its essence is also like this.' The Venerable said: 'You shall have a great awakening, and your mind will naturally penetrate [the truth]. You should rely on the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha to continue and exalt the holy lineage.' He then shaved his head and gave him the full precepts, and further told him: 'Your father once dreamed of a golden sun when you were born; you may be named Dhītika.' He also said to him: 'The Tathāgata transmitted the Great Treasury of the Dharma Eye in succession down to me. I now entrust it to you. Listen to my gāthā.'

1.72

The mind is naturally the original mind;
The original mind possesses no phenomena.
Where phenomena exist, there is the original mind;
It is not the mind, nor is it original phenomena.

1.73

Having entrusted the Dharma, he leaped into empty space and displayed eighteen transformations. Then, returning to his original seat, he passed away in the lotus posture. Dhītika used the tallies in the chamber to cremate his body, collected the relics, and erected a stūpa to make offerings to them. It was the thirty-first year of King Ping, a *gengzi* year (it should be the thirtieth year).

1.74

The fifth patriarch was Dhītika. He was a native of Magadha. When he was first born, his father dreamed of a golden sun coming out from the house, illuminating heaven and earth. In front of it was a great mountain adorned with various gems, and from the peak of the mountain a spring surged, pouring forth in four directions. Later he met the Venerable Upagupta, who interpreted it for him, saying: 'The jeweled mountain is my body. The surging spring is the inexhaustible Dharma. The sun emerging from the house is the auspicious sign of your entering the Path now. Illuminating heaven and earth is your surpassing wisdom.' The Venerable's original name was Gandhakuṭi (Xiangzhong); the master changed it to his present name because of this. In Sanskrit, he is called Dhītika; translated here, it means 'penetrating the measure of reality'. Having heard the master's explanation, Dhītika leaped for joy and chanted a gāthā:

1.75

Lofty and towering is the mountain of seven jewels,
Constantly producing the spring of wisdom.
Transforming into the flavor of the true Dharma,
It can liberate all who have conditions.

1.76

The Venerable Upagupta also spoke a gāthā, saying:

1.77

My Dharma is transmitted to you;
You shall manifest great wisdom.
A golden sun comes out from the house,
Illuminating heaven and earth.

1.78

Having heard his master's wondrous gāthā, Dhītika bowed and upheld it. Later he went to Central India. In that country there were eight thousand great ṛṣis, with Miccaka as their leader. Hearing that the Venerable had arrived, he led the assembly to pay homage, saying to the Venerable: 'Formerly, I was born with you, Master, in the Brahmā heaven. I met the ṛṣi Asita, who taught me the ṛṣi arts; you, Master, met a disciple of the Ten-Powered One and practiced dhyāna. From that point our retributions took different paths, and six kalpas have already passed.' The Venerable said: 'Scattered across successive kalpas—this is truly not false. Now you can abandon the heterodox, return to the correct, and enter the Buddha vehicle.' Miccaka said: 'Formerly the ṛṣi Asita gave me a prediction, saying: "Six kalpas later, you shall meet your fellow student and attain the undefiled fruit." Meeting today, is this not due to past conditions? May the Master have compassion and grant me liberation.' The Venerable then ordained him, and commanded holy monks to administer the precepts. The remaining ṛṣis initially gave rise to conceit. The Venerable manifested great supernatural powers, whereupon they all gave rise to the mind of bodhi and went forth from home at the same time. He then told Miccaka: 'Formerly, the Tathāgata secretly entrusted the Great Treasury of the Dharma Eye to Kāśyapa, and it was transmitted successively down to me. I now entrust it to you; you should protect and be mindful of it.' He then spoke a gāthā, saying:

1.79

Penetrating the mind of original phenomena,
There is neither phenomena nor non-phenomena.
Awakened, one is identical to the unawakened;
There is neither mind nor phenomena.

1.80

Having spoken this gāthā, he leaped into empty space, performed eighteen transformations, and incinerated his body in the Fire-Radiance Samādhi. Miccaka, together with the eight thousand bhikṣus, collected the relics and erected a stūpa on Mount Pañca to make offerings to them. It was the seventh year of King Zhuang, a *jichou* year (it should be the fifth year).

1.81

The sixth patriarch was Miccaka. He was a native of Central India. Having received the transmission of the Dharma, he traveled and taught until he reached Northern India. Seeing golden auspicious clouds above the battlements of the city wall, he sighed and said: 'This is the air of a person of the Way. There must surely be a great being who will be my Dharma heir.' He then entered the city. In the marketplace, there was a man holding a wine vessel in his hand, who approached and asked: 'From where has the Master come, and where do you wish to go?' The Master said: 'I come from my own mind, and wish to go to no-place.' The man said: 'Do you recognize the object in my hand?' The Master said: 'This is an impure vessel that holds what is pure.' The man said: 'Does the Master still recognize me?' The Master said: 'I do not recognize; that which recognizes is not I.' He further said to him: 'Try naming your surname and personal name, and I will later reveal your original cause.' That man answered in verse: 'From immeasurable kalpas / down to my birth in this land, / my original surname is Bhāradvāja, / and my personal name is Vasumitra.' The Master said: 'My teacher Dhītika said that formerly, when the World-Honoured One was traveling in Northern India, he said to Ānanda: "Three hundred years after my extinction, there will be a holy person in this land whose surname will be Bhāradvāja and whose name will be Vasumitra, and among the Zen patriarchs he shall be the seventh." The World-Honoured One predicted you; you should go forth from home.' The man then set down the vessel, bowed to the Master, stood to the side, and said: 'Reflecting on past kalpas, I once acted as a dānapati, offering a jeweled seat to a Tathāgata. That Buddha gave me a prediction, saying: "In the Bhadrakalpa, within the Dharma of Śākyamuni, you shall propagate the supreme teaching." Now it tallies with the Master's words. I pray that you will liberate me.' The Master immediately shaved his head and conferred the full precepts, and then told him: 'The Treasury of the Correct Dharma Eye is now entrusted to you; do not let it be severed.' He then spoke a gāthā, saying:

1.82

There is no mind, nor anything to be attained;
What is spoken of as attained is not named Dharma.
If one understands that the mind is no-mind,
Only then does one understand the Dharma of mind after mind.

1.83

After the Master spoke the gāthā, he entered the Lion's Swift Samādhi, leaped into empty space to the height of seven tāla trees, and then, returning to his original seat, transformed into fire and incinerated himself. Vasumitra collected the sacred bones, placed them in a casket of the seven jewels, and erected a stūpa, placing them on the upper tier. It was the seventeenth year of King Xiang, a *jiashen* year (it should be the fifteenth year).

1.84

The Seventh Patriarch, Vasumitra, was a native of northern India, surnamed Bhāradvāja. He always wore clean garments and carried a wine vessel, wandering through villages and alleys, sometimes chanting, sometimes whistling, so that people called him mad. When he met the Venerable Miccaka, who proclaimed the Tathāgata's past prediction, he awakened to his former affinities, threw away the vessel, and left home. After receiving the Dharma, he travelled to teach, arriving in the kingdom of Kāmarūpa, where he broadly promoted Buddhist activities. Before his Dharma seat there suddenly appeared a wise man who announced himself, saying, “My name is Buddhanandi, and I have come now to debate doctrines with the Master.” The Master said, “Kind sir, debate is not the doctrine, and the doctrine is not debated. If one attempts to debate doctrine, in the end it is not doctrinal debate.” Buddhanandi realised the Master's doctrine was superior; his mind immediately submitted with reverence, and he said, “I wish to seek the Way and be moistened with the taste of amṛta.” The Venerable One thereupon shaved his head and conferred full ordination upon him. He further told him, “The Tathāgata's treasury of the eye of the correct Dharma I now entrust to you; you must protect and uphold it.” He then spoke a verse:

1.85

“The mind is identical to the realm of empty space, / Showing the Dharma equal to empty space. / When one realises empty space, / There is neither right nor wrong.”

1.86

The Venerable One then entered the samādhi of loving-kindness. At that time, King Brahmā, Śakra, and the hosts of devas all came together, made obeisance, and spoke a verse:

1.87

“Among the holy patriarchs of the Auspicious Kalpa, / You hold the seventh position. / May the Venerable One take pity on us, / And please proclaim the Buddha-ground for us.”

1.88

The Venerable One arose from samādhi and instructed the assembly, saying, “The Dharma I have attained is because it is not existent. If you would know the Buddha-ground, it is because it is free from existence and non-existence.” Having spoken these words, he re-entered samādhi and displayed the sign of nirvāṇa. Buddhanandi then built a seven-jeweled stūpa at his original seat to inter his whole body. This was in the nineteenth year of King Ding, the year xinhai (should be the seventeenth year).

1.89

The Eighth Patriarch, Buddhanandi, was a native of the kingdom of Kāmarūpa, of the Gautama clan. On his crown was a fleshy uṣṇīṣa, and his eloquence was unimpeded. First encountering the Venerable Vasumitra, he left home and received instruction. Afterwards, leading his disciples on teaching tours, he arrived in the city of the kingdom of Diga at the house of the Vaiśāla family. Seeing white light surging upward above the house, he said to his disciples, “In this house there must be a holy person. His mouth utters no words—a true vessel of the Mahāyāna. He does not walk the crossroads, knowing and avoiding defilement.” When he finished speaking, the elder came out, paid respects, and asked what he required. The Venerable One said, “I seek an attendant.” The elder said, “I have a son named Buddhamitra. He is already fifty years old; his mouth has never spoken, and his feet have never walked.” The Venerable One said, “As you have said, he is truly my disciple.” When the Venerable One saw him, the son suddenly arose, made obeisance, and spoke a verse:

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景德傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese