傳法正宗記 5.41

5.41

宗勝聞神之偈。乃自責益欲精修。誓終世不復出山。是時王問波羅提曰。尊者辯慧如是。果師何人。波羅提曰。我所師出家者。即娑羅寺烏沙娑三藏是也。其得法出世師者。即王叔菩提達磨是也。王聞稱達磨遽大駭曰。吾叔存耶。嘻我不克荷負。妄抑聖教。累吾尊叔。詔即迎之。尊者與使者尋至王宮。王泣拜不能起。尊者即為其說法悔過。王因遣使馳詔宗勝。使者奏曰。宗勝恥擯投崖死已久矣。王愈憂之。以問尊者曰。宗勝之死。蓋余之咎。尊叔何方為我免罪。尊者曰。宗勝非死。適在巖石宴坐耳。汝但往取。必得之來。使去果見道王已迎達磨之意。宗勝辭不奉命。尊者知之謂王曰。此未可起。必再命乃至。尊者辭王却返其所居曰。王益宜興福。非久恐有疾作。尊者去方七日。王果感重疾。國醫不能治。宗戚近臣以達磨所記有驗。意其必能救。王即遣使懇請。尊者復來。時宗勝被詔已至。波羅提以王之疾亦來問之。二沙門因請於尊者曰。王疾已篤。生耶死乎。大師有何方便為其救之。尊者即離座。以手探王之體。謂二沙門曰。死則必陷惡趣。二沙門曰。此何以驗之。曰吾適以候五蘊法見之耳。二沙門曰。大師道力勝異。可為其興何福業得免斯苦。尊者即使太子與其權臣大赦囚徒廣放生靈。尊者復命炷香。為懺其罪。少頃王疾果損。稍辨人事。謂左右曰。我適夢一大蟒極長。初吐火逼灼我體。尋被一長人以左手持之投於曠地。我即清涼。遂得起馳出一鐵門。於是遽醒。王疾既平益得其叔。當是達磨化導其國已六十餘載。思遵其師之教謀欲東征。即以神力往辭般若多羅塔廟。復至宮掖告別。其王尋知六眾之徒思欲來別。尊者即各就其眾之所。化坐寶蓮皆為說法以慰安之。後謂王曰。我於震旦其緣已稔。今東去矣。善將汝躬保爾家國。王涕之曰。余天何不祐。使我尊叔去之。王不能留。即為其治裝。載以大舶。翼日王躬帥親戚臣屬。送於海壖。國人觀之者皆泣下。

Hearing the spirit’s verse, Zongsheng reproached himself, resolved all the more to cultivate vigorously, and vowed never to leave the mountains for the rest of his life. At that time, the king asked Prajñātāra: "The Venerable One possesses such eloquence and wisdom; who, indeed, was your teacher?" Prajñātāra said: "The master under whom I left home was the Tripiṭaka Master Wu-sha-suo of the Śāla Monastery. The teacher from whom I received the Dharma and went forth into the world was the king’s uncle, Bodhidharma." Hearing Bodhidharma named, the king was greatly astonished and said: "My uncle is still alive? Alas, I was unequal to my burden, wrongly suppressed the sacred teachings, and brought trouble upon my venerable uncle!" He at once issued an edict to welcome him. The Venerable One and the envoy soon arrived at the royal palace. The king wept, bowed, and could not rise. The Venerable One immediately expounded the Dharma for him to repent his faults. The king then dispatched an envoy with an imperial decree for Zongsheng. The envoy reported: "Zongsheng was shamed by his exile, threw himself from a cliff, and has long been dead." The king grew even more grieved and asked the Venerable One: "Zongsheng’s death was indeed my fault. By what means can my venerable uncle absolve me of this sin?" The Venerable One said: "Zongsheng is not dead; he is merely sitting in quiet meditation upon a crag. You need only go fetch him, and you will surely bring him back." The envoy went, and indeed saw him and conveyed the king's intention of having already welcomed Bodhidharma. Zongsheng declined and would not comply with the order. Knowing this, the Venerable One said to the king: "He cannot yet be raised up; he will come only if commanded a second time." Taking his leave of the king, the Venerable One returned to his dwelling and said: "The king should cultivate even more merit; before long, I fear an illness will arise." Just seven days after the Venerable One left, the king indeed contracted a grave illness that the state physicians could not cure. The royal kinsmen and close ministers, seeing that what Bodhidharma had predicted had come to pass, believed he could surely save him. The king immediately sent an envoy to earnestly entreat him, and the Venerable One came again. By that time, Zongsheng had already arrived in response to the decree. Prajñātāra also came to inquire after the king on account of his illness. The two śramaṇas then petitioned the Venerable One: "The king’s illness is already critical. Will he live or die? What expedient means does the Great Master have to save him?" The Venerable One then left his seat, examined the king’s body with his hand, and said to the two śramaṇas: "If he dies, he will certainly fall into the evil destinies." The two śramaṇas said: "How is this verified?" He said: "I have just perceived it by examining the states of the five aggregates." The two śramaṇas said: "The Great Master’s power in the Way is extraordinary; what meritorious deeds can be generated for him so that he may be spared this suffering?" The Venerable One then had the crown prince and powerful ministers declare a general amnesty for prisoners and release living creatures on a wide scale. The Venerable One also ordered incense to be burned to repent his transgressions. Shortly thereafter, the king’s illness indeed abated, and he gradually regained awareness of worldly affairs. He said to his attendants: "I just dreamed of a giant python, extraordinarily long. At first it spewed fire that pressed close and scorched my body. Soon a tall man caught it with his left hand and threw it into an open wilderness. I immediately felt cool and refreshed, whereupon I was able to rise, gallop, and rush out of an iron gate. With that, I suddenly awoke." With the king’s illness pacified, he was even more devoted to his uncle. At this time, Bodhidharma had been transforming and guiding that country for over sixty years. Thinking to follow his master’s instructions, he planned to journey east. He immediately went by supernatural power to take his leave of Prajñātāra’s stūpa and shrine, and then returned to the royal palace to bid farewell. The king soon learned that the disciples of the six sects also wished to come and take their leave. The Venerable One then went to the residence of each group, manifested himself seated upon a jeweled lotus, and expounded the Dharma to all of them to comfort and settle them. Afterward, he said to the king: "My karmic affinity with the Land of Cīna has now ripened; I am now going east. Take good care of your person and safeguard your family and country." The king wept and said: "Why did heaven not protect me, causing my venerable uncle to depart?" Unable to detain him, the king prepared his provisions and loaded them onto a large ship. On the following day, the king personally led his relatives and ministers to see him off at the seashore. The people of the realm who watched all wept.