傳法正宗記 2.46

2.46

When the Venerable One heard this, he understood his karmic conditions and said to Vasumitra, "My master Dhītika once said that when the Tathāgata was travelling in Northern India in the past, he said to Ānanda: 'More than three hundred years after my nirvāṇa, in this country there will be a noble person with the family name Bharadvāja and the personal name Vasumitra. He will come forth to be a Chan patriarch, being the seventh generation.' This is the Tathāgata's prophecy concerning you; you ought to leave the household life." That person then set down the vessel, bowed to the Venerable One, stood to the side, and said, "I reflect on past kalpas: I was once a donor who offered a jewelled seat to a Tathāgata. That Tathāgata prophesied to me, saying: 'In the Fortunate Kalpa you will attain the Buddha's Dharma and become the seventh patriarch.' Today's meeting is indeed that condition. May the Venerable One in his great compassion grant me liberation." The Venerable One immediately shaved his head and ordained him, perfecting his preceptive virtue. Soon he instructed him, saying, "I am now old and about to enter parinirvāṇa. The Tathāgata's treasury of the eye of the true Dharma is now entrusted to you. You must transmit it and never let it be severed. Listen to my verse:"