景德傳燈錄 2.26

2.26

The twenty-first patriarch, Vasubandhu, was a man from Rājagṛha. His family name was Vaiśākha. His father was Guanggao, and his mother was Yanyi. The family was wealthy but childless, so his parents prayed at a Buddhist stupa to seek an heir. One night, the mother dreamed she swallowed two pearls, one bright and one dark; upon waking, she was pregnant. After seven days, an arhat named Xianzhong arrived at their home. Guanggao bowed to him; Xianzhong sat upright and received it. When Yanyi came out and bowed, Xianzhong vacated his seat and said, "I return the bow to the Mahāsattva of the Dharmakāya." Guanggao could not fathom the reason, so he took a precious pearl, knelt, and offered it to Xianzhong to test his authenticity. Xianzhong received it immediately, with no modest decline at all. Unable to bear this, Guanggao asked, "I am the master of the house, yet you disregarded my bow; what virtue does my wife possess that the venerable one yielded his seat to her?" Xianzhong said, "I accepted your bow and received your pearl solely to bring you blessings. Your wife carries a holy son; when born, he shall be the lamp of the world and the sun of wisdom, which is why I yielded my seat, not because I esteem a woman." Xianzhong further said, "Your wife shall give birth to two sons: one named Vasubandhu, who is the one I revere; the other named Chuni (which means 'magpie'). Formerly, when the Tathāgata was practicing the Path in the Snow Mountains, a magpie nested on the crown of his head. After the Buddha attained the Path, the magpie received retribution and became the king of the kingdom of Nadi. The Buddha predicted: 'In the second five-hundred-year period, you will be born in Rājagṛha in the Vaiśākha family, sharing the womb with a holy one.' Now it is without discrepancy." A month later, she indeed gave birth to the son. When the venerable Vasubandhu reached the age of fifteen, he bowed to the arhat Guangdu and went forth from home, and was moved by Bodhisattva Vibhāvaha, who conferred the precepts upon him. Traveling and converting, he arrived in the kingdom of Nadi. The king there was named Changzizai, who had two sons: the first was named Mahāra, and the second was named Manorhita. The king asked the venerable one: "How do the customs of Rājagṛha differ from here?" The venerable one said, "Three Buddhas have appeared in that land; now in the king's realm, two masters teach and transform." He asked, "Who are the two masters?" The venerable one said, "The Buddha predicted that in the second five-hundred-year period, a Mahāsattva of great spiritual power would go forth from home to succeed the holy one; the king's second son, Manorhita, is one of them. Though my virtue is slight, I dare count as the other." The king said, "Truly, as the venerable one has spoken, I shall give up this son to become a śramaṇa." The venerable one said, "Excellent, Great King, that you can follow the Buddha's command!" He then conferred the full ordination on him and transmitted the Dharma with a verse: