傳法正宗記 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Compiled and edited by the śramaṇa Shi Qisong of Dongshan in Tengzhou under the Song

Biography of the Mahāsattva Aśvaghoṣa, the Twelfth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Kapimala, the Thirteenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Nāgārjuna, the Fourteenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Kāṇadeva, the Fifteenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Rāhulata, the Sixteenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Saṅghanandi, the Seventeenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Gayāśata, the Eighteenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Kumāralata, the Nineteenth Patriarch of India
Biography of the Mahāsattva Jayata, the Twentieth Patriarch of India

3.3

Biography of the Mahāsattva Aśvaghoṣa, the Twelfth Patriarch of India

3.4

The Mahāsattva Aśvaghoṣa was a native of Vārāṇasī. His family name is unknown. He was also named Puṇyapunya, which was given to him because in past lives he possessed extraordinary merits. Early on, he visited the Venerable Puṇyayaśas; since their dialogue was in accord, he came to admire his path, and thereupon followed him to leave home and receive the precepts. Yaśas subsequently said to him: 'Because in a past life you had an attachment, you fell from the Brahmā Heaven and were born in the country of Vaiśālī. Now, in that country there were three classes of people: the superior had radiant bodies, and their clothing and food appeared spontaneously, obtained according to their thoughts; the middling had bodies without radiance, obtaining clothing and food only by seeking them; the inferior were naked like horses. Pitying this latter class, you once used your spiritual power to divide your body and become silkworms, so that those people were able to use [the silk] for clothing. By virtue of this merit, you have now been reborn here in the Central Region. When you were departing that country, the multitude of horse-like people, moved by love for your virtue, all cried out in sorrow together. You also comforted them with a verse, saying:

3.5

"Formerly I was born in the Brahmā Heaven; / Because of a slight attachment, / I fell into the land of Vaiśālī, / Sharing sorrows and suffering with you. / Seeing that you had no clothing, / A thought of protective goodness arose in my heart: / I manifested transformations in the cocoons, / And you ought to attain all salvations."

3.6

'Having spoken the verse, you were born here, and for this reason you received your present name of Aśvaghoṣa (Horse-Cry). Moreover, you shall turn the wheel of the Dharma and become the twelfth patriarch.' The master soon after entrusted him with the Great Dharma-eye. Thereafter, the Mahāsattva travelled and transformed beings with this Dharma, arriving in the country of Pāṭaliputra. Just as he was greatly promoting the Buddha's work, though practitioners of all three vehicles were able to be delivered, suddenly an old man, pretending to be ill, came before the assembly, sat down, and collapsed to the ground. The Mahāsattva said: 'This is extraordinary; there will be an unusual sign.' The man thereupon vanished. In an instant, emerging from the earth, there appeared a woman whose form was upright, beautiful, and glowing like gold. Raising her finger and pointing at the Mahāsattva, she spoke a verse, saying:

3.7

"I bow my head to the elder, the Venerable One, / Destined to receive the prediction of the Tathāgata, / Who now on this earth / Delivers beings subject to birth and death."

3.8

She then vanished in a flash. The Mahāsattva said: 'This is Māra coming to contend with me.' Shortly after, violent wind and rain indeed arrived, and heaven and earth suddenly turned dark. He said again: 'Māra's harbinger has arrived; I must eliminate it.' He waved his hand in the air, and there appeared a thousand-foot golden dragon, its awesome spiritual might vast and formidable; though mountains and hills shook and trembled, the demonic disturbance ceased. Seven days later, there was another small insect, in shape resembling a gnat, lurking beneath his seat. The Mahāsattva picked it up, showed it to the assembly, and said: 'This is a transformation of Māra, secretly listening to my Dharma.' He soon released it to let it act as it pleased, but it remained terrified and unable to move. Soon he comforted it, saying: 'I will not harm you; just restore your original form.' Māra then revealed his true body, bowed, and repented. The Mahāsattva asked him: 'What is your name, and how many are in your retinue?' Māra said: 'My name is Kapimala, and my retinue numbers three thousand.' He asked: 'Exerting all your spiritual powers, how much can you transform?' Māra said: 'Transforming the great ocean is not a difficult task for me.' He asked: 'Can you transform the ocean of nature?' Māra, bewildered, said: 'These words are beyond my knowledge.' The Mahāsattva then preached the Dharma for him, saying: 'This ocean of nature is that upon which mountains, rivers, and the great earth are established; samādhi and the six spiritual powers are manifested from this.' Hearing the Dharma, Māra gave rise to great faith, and together with his three thousand disciples sought to leave home. The Mahāsattva shaved their heads and ordained them, summoning five hundred arhats to administer the precepts to them, and told him: 'Hastening toward bodhi, you shall immediately attain the holy path.' Kapimala indeed attained the substance of the precepts and emitted radiance, and an extraordinary fragrance pervaded everywhere. Thereupon the Mahāsattva composed treatises on a grand scale. Shortly thereafter, he instructed him: 'I now entrust you with the Tathāgata's Great Dharma-eye Treasury. Transmit it and do not let it be cut off. Listen to my verse:

3.9

"Hidden and manifest are the original Dharma; / Light and dark are fundamentally not two. / Now I entrust the Dharma of awakened realization, / Which is neither grasped nor rejected."

3.10

Having entrusted the Dharma, he entered the Dragon-Exertion Samādhi, rose into the air like the disk of the sun, and soon passed into the Great Quiescence. This occurred during the reign of King Xiansheng of the Zhou dynasty. The fourfold assembly took his true body and enshrined it in a dragon stupa.

3.11

Biography of the Mahāsattva Kapimala, the Thirteenth Patriarch of India

3.12

Kapimala was a native of the kingdom of Pāṭaliputra. His original surname is not known. At first he was an outsider ascetic possessing great illusory arts. When he visited the Great Being Aśvaghoṣa and debated the Dharma with him, he was unsuccessful; consequently, together with his disciples, he sought renunciation. Once he had realised the noble path, Aśvaghoṣa entrusted the great Dharma-eye to him. Afterward, he wandered and converted beings until he reached Western India. It happened that the crown prince of that country, who was named Cloud of Sovereign Ease, felt great gratitude for the Great Being and wished to invite him to stay in his palace and receive offerings. The Great Being declined, saying, "The Buddha ordained that a śramaṇa may not become close to kings, ministers, or powerful families; I dare not comply with your command." The crown prince said, "If that is so, to the north of our city in this country there is a great mountain. On the mountain is a stone cave, pure and secluded from the worldly dust, where you may take dhyāna dwelling. Although it is guarded by monstrous dragons and serpents, with your utmost virtue, Venerable, they will surely be subdued and transformed." The Great Being assented and went along with him. Just as he reached the mountain, there indeed was a great python, about a li in length, glaring with angry eyes. The Great Being went straight forward without looking back, reached the south side of the mountain, and sat down on a flat clearing. The python then coiled around his body, but he still paid no heed to it. In a moment, the python left. When the Great Being looked back at the followers who had accompanied him, all had already scattered and fled; not a single one remained. Thereupon he went on alone, and as he was about to reach the stone cave, suddenly an old man in white garments came out, joined his palms, and paid homage. The Great Being asked, "Where do you dwell?" He replied, "Long ago I was once a monk (bhikṣu). I loved tranquility very much, and became annoyed by the questions of beginners. Because of this, I gave rise to anger; for that reason, upon dying I fell into the body of a python, dwelling in this cave, where it has now been a thousand years. Just now I encountered the Venerable One's noble virtue, and so I have come to pay respect." The Great Being then asked, "Who else dwells on this mountain? Is there anyone striving for the Path? Point him out so that I may know." The old man said, "Ten li north of here there is a gigantic tree, capable of sheltering five hundred great nāgas under its shade. The king of that tree, named Nāgārjuna, constantly preaches the Dharma for the host of nāgas, and I also attend to listen." The Great Being again assembled his disciples and led them forward. When they arrived at the gigantic tree, Nāgārjuna indeed came out to welcome him. Joyfully offering salutations, he asked, "In this deep mountain and lonely seclusion where dragons and serpents dwell, why has the Greatly Virtuous and Utmost Venerable One condescended to come here?" The Great Being said, "I am no utmost venerable one; I have come to visit a worthy." Nāgārjuna then silently calculated to himself, "Has this venerable one attained the definitive nature and clarified the eye of the Path? Is he a great sage carrying on the true lineage?" The Great Being said, "Though you merely conceived this in your mind, I already know it with my thought. If you can only renounce the household life, why worry whether I am a sage or not?" Thereupon Nāgārjuna repented and apologised, and the Great Being immediately conferred ordination on him. Before long, he commanded him, saying, "I now entrust the Tathāgata's great Dharma-eye treasury to you to transmit. Listen to my verse:"

3.13

"Phenomena are neither hidden nor manifest;
To explain them thus is the true reality.
Awakening to this hidden and manifest Dharma,
One is neither foolish nor wise."

3.14

Having entrusted the Dharma, the Great Being suddenly leaped into the great void, manifested his spiritual transformations, and then proceeded to extinction, burning himself with transformative fire. This was during the time of King Nan of Zhou. Nāgārjuna then gathered his five-coloured relics and erected a jewelled stūpa to enshrine them.

3.15

Appraisal: The two works Baolin [zhuan] and Chuandeng [lu] both record the times when the various Indian patriarchs entered extinction, correlating them with the sexagenary calendar years of China's Zhou and Qin dynasties. However, in the Zhou before King Xuan, there was originally no recorded chronology. Moreover, China and India are separated by more than tens of thousands of li, and some of those individuals passed away more than a thousand years apart. These matters are vague, remote, and disconnected; I fear that by cross-checking through multiple translations, it is not easy to attain the truth. Thus I have summarily omitted their year numbers and sexagenary cycles, and merely preserved their imperial reigns. Only regarding the years and sexagenary dates of the passing into extinction from Śākyamuni Buddha and Bodhidharma down to the sixth-generation patriarch in China can they be somewhat deduced and verified, and thus they are fully recorded.

3.16

Biography of the Fourteenth Patriarch of India, the Great Being Nāgārjuna

3.17

The Great Being Nāgārjuna was a native of Western India. His original surname is not known in detail. Some say that he came from a Brahmin family. By nature, he was exceptionally intelligent and quick-witted, with outstanding talent and wisdom, hardly an ordinary vessel. In his youth he could already chant the four Vedic scriptures. As he grew older, he was proficient in astronomy and geography, and thoroughly comprehended the arts and techniques of the hundred schools; what he knew was like that of the divine spirits. Earlier, in his country, there was a mountain named Dragon Victory, which had long been a dwelling place for nāgas. On the mountain stood a gigantic tree that could shelter the host of nāgas under its shade. When the Great Being had an awakening and wished to renounce the household life, he entered the mountain to cultivate the Path and relied on that tree. Moreover, he also thoroughly penetrated the profound meaning of the Tripiṭaka on his own, and was able to preach the Dharma to that host of nāgas; for this reason, he acquired the name Nāgārjuna (Dragon Tree). When the Venerable Kapimala arrived at this mountain, their encounter was exceptionally felicitous. The Great Being, together with the host of nāgas, paid homage to him as their master. Just as his head was being shaved for ordination, the king of that country, along with Indra and Brahmā, all attended the magnificent assembly. Receiving the precepts from the great arhat, he immediately accomplished the noble path and attained the six supernatural powers. Kapimala soon entrusted the great Dharma-eye to him. Afterward, he wandered and converted beings until he reached South India. Prior to this, the people of that country were fond of cultivating karmic merit. When the Great Being arrived and preached the essentials of the correct Dharma, they spoke to one another in turn, saying, "Only promoting merit is the supreme endeavor; how could this talk of Buddha-nature ever be seen?" The Great Being therefore said to them, "If you people wish to see the Buddha-nature, you must eliminate self-pride; only then can you reach it." The people asked, "Is the Buddha-nature large or small?" He replied, "It is neither small nor large, neither broad nor narrow; it has neither merit nor retribution, neither dying nor being born." Since what the Great Being spoke reached the utmost principle, the multitude of people were all delighted and wished to learn his Dharma. Thereupon the Great Being transformed his body on the seat into the likeness of a moon disc. Though the assembly at that time heard the preaching of the Dharma, they could not see his form. It happened that there was an elder's son named Kāṇadeva among the people who looked at it, and he alone was able to resonate and awaken. He hastily said to the assembly, "Do you recognise this mark?" The assembly said, "It is not something we can discern." Deva said, "This is merely the Great Being manifesting it to signify the Buddha-nature, wanting us to examine it closely. The signless samādhi has a shape like the full moon; the meaning of the Buddha-nature is vastly void and luminous." As soon as his words ended, the mark of the disc suddenly disappeared. The Great Being once again sat solemnly on his original seat and spoke a verse, saying:

3.18

"The body manifests the mark of a full moon
To signify the substance of all Buddhas.
Preaching the Dharma without its form
Serves to discern that it is not sound or form."

3.19

Thereupon, those people were all greatly moved and awakened, and immediately sought to take him as their master. The Great Being conferred ordination on all of them. He assembled the host of noble ones to bestow the precepts upon them, with Deva as their leader. It happened that there were five thousand outsiders who had previously promoted great illusory arts in that country; the king and the people of the country all followed them in swept-away fashion, and the Buddha-path was about to be obstructed. At this, the Great Being felt deep regret and indignation; he thereupon changed his deportment, wore white clothes and held a banner, and whenever the king went out, he ran in front of his procession, sometimes hidden, sometimes manifest. This went on for seven years in all. One day, the king found it very strange, and using gentle words summoned him and asked, "Who on earth are you, that you constantly walk in front of me? When pursued you cannot be caught, and when let go you do not depart." The Great Being said, "I am a man of wisdom who knows all things." The king was again startled by his words, and wishing to test him, said, "What are the devas doing right now?" He said, "The devas are right now fighting with the asuras." The king said, "How could affairs of the heavens be easily made clear?" He said, "Just wait a moment, and there will be proof." Before long, halberds and lances, mixed with human hands and feet, suddenly fell down from the sky in profusion. When the king saw this, he believed it, sighed in admiration, and submitted, commanding the host of outsiders to take refuge in and pay homage to the Great Being. The outsiders all sought to rectify their views. The Great Being thereupon composed various treatises, such as the *Prajñāpāramitā-śāstra*, the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā*, and the *Dvādaśamukha-śāstra*, not merely tens of thousands of verses; all of them expediently explained and revealed the correct Dharma to correspond with their capacities. Later, he commanded Kāṇadeva, saying, "The Tathāgata entrusted the great Dharma-eye treasury to Kāśyapa, down to myself. I now entrust it to you. Listen to my verse:"

3.20

"In order to clarify the Dharma of the hidden and manifest,
I now speak of the principle of liberation.
In the Dharma, the mind does not realise anything;
There is neither anger nor joy."

3.21

He further said to Deva, "Transmitting and upholding it well, do not allow it to be cut off. In a future age, you shall greatly promote the Buddha-work." Afterward, he soared into the great void, entered the moon-disc samādhi, displayed great spiritual transformations, and returning to his seat, entered the concentration of extinction. After seven days, the heavens rained down relics, and the Great Being arose again from concentration, pointed his finger to the sky, and said to the assembly, "These relics were brought about by the three vows previously made by the disciple of the ancient Kanakamuni Buddha named the Venerable Mahāka. The first was: 'May it be that when I become a Buddha, if there is a noble person converting beings in the world, whenever the heavens pour down rain upon his body, it will become relics.' The second was: 'May it be that the things produced by heaven and earth are all fit to be medicine to cure the illnesses of sentient beings.' The third was: 'May it be that all those who possess wisdom attain subtlety in what they know, so as to penetrate past lives.'" Having spoken, he remained in serene and great extinction. At that time, it was the era of the First Emperor of Qin. Deva and his fourfold assembly then erected a stūpa to enshrine him.

3.22

Appraisal: The orthodox lineage values brevity and subtlety, so why did the Great Being Nāgārjuna express it with extensive treatises? The answer is: indeed, brevity and subtlety are always difficult to attain. Since people's faculties and capacities vary in depth, if one does not guide them with expedient means, how could those of shallow faith advance toward it? Therefore, the Great Being composed treatises striving to stimulate each particular capacity. Does not the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra* say: "Take care not to speak Dharma words extensively for people of sharp faculties, nor speak Dharma briefly for people of dull faculties"? Now, what is brief and subtle essentially lies in the mind having reached it; one must not judge its appropriateness by whether words are used or not. Therefore, when one has verified brevity and subtlety, the more one speaks, the more one attains it; when one has not verified brevity and subtlety, the more one speaks, the farther away one gets.

3.23

Biography of the Fifteenth Patriarch of India, the Great Being Kāṇadeva

3.24

Kāṇadeva was a native of South India. His surname was Vaiśāla. By nature he was talented and eloquent; in his youth he studied the customs of his country and took pleasure in cultivating karmic merit. When he set out to see the Great Being Nāgārjuna and had just arrived at his gate, Nāgārjuna tested him by sending a bowl filled with water to be placed in front of him first. The Great Being immediately dropped a needle into it, and then went in to meet him, joyfully in accord. When Nāgārjuna manifested the moon disc to signify the Buddha-nature, the assembly was all baffled, and the Great Being alone understood it and explained it to the crowd. Soon he also took Nāgārjuna as his master and renounced the household life, and Deva indeed became his eminent disciple. When the Great Being Nāgārjuna was about to enter nirvāṇa, he transmitted the great Dharma-eye to him. Afterward, the Great Being widely converted other regions with what he had realised. Prior to this, in the kingdom of Kapilavastu, there was a wealthy man named Brahmacāri Śuddhaguṇa, known in that country as an elder. He had two sons: the elder was named Rāhulabhadra, and the second was named Rāhulata. Śuddhaguṇa liked to cultivate gardens and plant fine trees. One morning, without reason, a fungus suddenly grew on a tree in his garden like an ear, larger than a cartwheel, delicious and edible. It remained like this for a whole year, serving only to feed Śuddhaguṇa and his son Rāhulata. Whenever other members of the family wanted to take and eat it, the fungus would disappear. Śuddhaguṇa suspected something of it and said to his son, "This tree's ear is eaten only by you and me; this must be an extraordinary matter. Who can clarify it for us?" Rāhulata then spoke a verse, wishing to inform others with it:

3.25

"This tree has produced a wondrous ear;
When I eat it, I do not wither.
If a wise person explains this cause,
I shall dedicate myself toward the Buddha-path."

3.26

It happened that the Mahāsattva entered the country and arrived at his home. Jingde and his son rejoiced at this fortunate encounter, paid homage, and subsequently questioned him about the matter. The Mahāsattva then explained it to them, saying: 'Formerly, when you were twenty, you once invited a monk to your home to receive offerings. Although that monk possessed a modest degree of vinaya conduct, his Dharma-eye was not yet clear, and his mind did not reach principle; he sat idly receiving your generosity. However, because he was able to practice a little cultivation, he did not fall into the evil destinies; therefore, as retribution, he has become this tree-ear to repay you. When this monk first stayed in your house, your other family members were all displeased with him; only you and your second son were able to treat him with sincerity. Therefore, now only you father and son are able to feast on this ear-fungus.' He then asked Jingde, 'How old are you?' He replied, 'Seventy-nine.' The Mahāsattva then spoke a gāthā, saying:

3.27

Entering the Way without comprehending principle, / One returns in another body to repay the offerings of faith. / When your years reach eighty-one, / This tree too will produce no ears.

3.28

When Jingde heard this exposition, his mind was instantly opened wide. With ever greater diligence, he sighed in admiration and submission, and said: 'I am ashamed of my frailty and old age. Although I wish to leave home, how could I bear serving a master? Now this second son has always delighted in entering the Way; I wish to give him up so that he may serve and attend upon you. May the Venerable One graciously accept him.' The Mahāsattva told him: 'Formerly, the Tathāgata prophesied concerning this son, saying: "In the subsequent five hundred years, there will be a great bodhisattva named Rāhulata, who, on account of a tree-ear, will leave home and realize the Way."' He then asked his son, 'What is your name?' He replied, 'My name is Rāhulata.' The Mahāsattva said: 'This truly matches what the Buddha prophesied. Your leaving home now will certainly achieve the great fruition.' Soon afterward he shaved his head, assembled the holy saṃgha to confer the full precepts upon him, and [Rāhulata] then exclusively followed him on his travels of conversion. One day, the Mahāsattva again arrived at Pāṭaliputra. Suddenly hearing that non-Buddhists were plotting together to suppress the Buddhadharma, he personally carried a long banner and went to stand at their meeting place. A non-Buddhist promptly asked, 'Why do you not advance?' He answered, 'Why do you not step back?' The other said again, 'You seem like a base person.' He answered, 'You seem like a good person.' The other said again, 'What Dharma do you understand?' He answered, 'You do not understand anything at all.' The other said again, 'I desire to attain Buddhahood.' He answered, 'I clearly attain it.' The other said again, 'You ought not to attain it.' He answered, 'It has always been the case that I attain it; you truly do not attain it.' The other said again, 'Since you do not attain it, why do you say you attain it?' He answered, 'Because you have a self, you therefore do not attain it; because I have no self, I naturally attain it.' Thereupon the non-Buddhist fell silent in defeat, and said to his companions, 'This must be a great sage; we ought all to take refuge in him.' He then asked, 'What is your name?' The Mahāsattva said, 'My name is Kāṇadeva.' Because the non-Buddhists had long heard his name, they submitted in heart and repented their faults. As for those who were not transformed immediately, they later raised hundreds of thousands of difficult questions, but the Mahāsattva gave free rein to his unobstructed eloquence and refuted every one of them. Because of this, he broadly composed treatises, such as the Śata-śāstra and its kind. When these glorious accomplishments had reached fulfillment, he ultimately instructed Rāhulata and entrusted the Dharma-eye to him, speaking a gāthā which said:

3.29

Originally facing the person to whom the Dharma is transmitted, / I explain the principle of liberation for his sake. / In phenomena there is truly nothing to be realized, / With neither an end nor a beginning.

3.30

Thereupon he entered the lion-sprint samādhi, his body emitting eight rays of light, and passed into quiescent extinction. That time corresponded to the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Former Han. The fourfold assembly erected a stūpa, and the Brahmā gods assisted in adorning it, offering worship together.

3.31

Biography of the Sixteenth Patriarch of India, the Mahāsattva Rāhulata

3.32

Rāhulata was a native of the country of Kapila. His family name was Brahma. After the cause of his family's tree-ear was clarified, he left home under the Mahāsattva Deva and attended upon him on the way to the city of Pāṭaliputra, where he soon received the entrustment of the true Dharma. Thereafter, the Mahāsattva also led disciples, widely carrying out teachings and conversions. Before long, he reached the south of the city of Śrāvastī and approached the Golden Water River. He promptly said to his disciples: 'Do you know? Just now, the reflections of five Buddhas appeared in the middle of the stream. When I scooped up its water, it had an extraordinary taste. Five hundred li up the source of this river, there must be a consummate person residing. Indeed, the Tathāgata formerly prophesied: "In the subsequent five hundred years, there will be a holy one named Saṃghanandi who will appear in this place and succeed as the seventeenth patriarch." ' He then led the assembly upstream. Upon arriving, he indeed saw Nandi in dhyāna meditation within a stone cave. They waited for him for a total of three weeks. When he emerged from meditation, the Mahāsattva asked him: 'Is your body in meditation, or is your mind in meditation?' Nandi answered, 'Both my body and mind are in meditation.' He asked again, 'If both mind and body are in meditation, how can there be an entering or emerging?' Nandi answered, 'Although there is entering and emerging, the mark of meditation is not lost; just as gold in a well, the essence of the gold is ever quiescent.' He asked again, 'If gold is in the well, or if gold comes out of the well, gold has neither motion nor rest; what thing enters or emerges?' Nandi answered, 'Speaking of gold's motion and rest, what thing enters or emerges? If one allows that gold enters and emerges, gold is neither motion nor rest.' He asked again, 'If gold is in the well, what is it that emerges?' Nandi answered, 'If gold emerges from the well, that which remains is not gold; if gold is in the well, that which emerges is not a thing.' He asked again, 'This thesis is not correct.' Nandi answered, 'That principle is not established.' He asked again, 'This thesis of yours will fall.' Nandi answered, 'That thesis of yours is not established.' He asked again, 'Since that thesis of mine is not established, my thesis is established.' Nandi answered, 'Although my thesis is established, phenomena are not "me".' He asked again, 'My thesis is already established, because I have no self.' Nandi answered, 'Because you have no self, what thesis does it further establish?' He asked again, 'Because I have no self, it therefore establishes your thesis.' Nandi then said, 'Benevolent One, under what sage did you study to attain this selflessness?' The Mahāsattva said, 'My master, the Mahāsattva Kāṇadeva, realized this selflessness.' Nandi said, 'I bow my head to Master Deva and to what has emerged from the Benevolent One. Because the Benevolent One is selfless, I wish to take the Benevolent One as my master.' The Mahāsattva said: 'Since I am already selfless, you must see my "I" as your "I". If you take me as your master, know that my "I" is not an "I".' Nandi's mind was instantly opened wide; he then bowed his head and spoke a gāthā, saying:

3.33

A single bright lamp of the three realms / Turns its light to illuminate me; / The ten directions are all brightly clear, / Like the sun abiding in empty space.

3.34

Having spoken the gāthā, he bowed again and resolutely sought to be ordained. The Mahāsattva said: 'Your mind is self-mastered and not bound to my place; why must you rely on anything to seek liberation?' The Mahāsattva then raised his golden bowl with his right hand up to the Brahmā heaven, fetched heavenly fragrant rice, and told the assembly to eat it together. But the assembly suddenly felt aversion and disgust, and none were able to partake of it. The Mahāsattva said: 'That you decline and cannot eat is not due to my stinginess; it is your karma taking its natural course.' He then directed Nandi to share his seat and eat together with him. The assembly doubted this again, suspecting that master and disciple were confounded without distinction of status. The Mahāsattva, knowing this, said: 'That you could not eat was entirely due to this. He who now shares my seat is none other than the Tathāgata Sālarāja of the past. Responding to beings, he descended in bodily trace and will become the seventeenth patriarchal master. In the Glorious Kalpa, you also once reached toward the three fruitions, but you have not yet achieved pure taintlessness. Although you have just drawn close to me, how could you have greatly perceived your nature? It is truly fitting that you single-mindedly take refuge in this Benevolent One. Furthermore, after my extinction, he will be the leader of the great assembly. Another master will appear, named Gayāśata, which you should also know.' The assembly said, 'We dare not disbelieve the Great Master's spiritual power, but we still harbor some doubt regarding his claim that he was a past Buddha.' Because the minds of the assembly were not yet subdued toward him, Nandi said to Rāhulata: 'When the World-Honoured One was in the world, the earth was flat and even, free from mounds and hills, rivers and trenches; the waters were all sweet and delicious, the vegetation lush, and the lands abundant; people were without the eight sufferings and practiced the ten virtues. Since he manifested extinction in the Twin Trees, nearly a thousand years have now passed; the world has become ruins, the trees withered, people have little utmost faith, and their right mindfulness is slight and weak; they do not apply themselves to wonderful awakening, but only delight in spiritual powers. Although I do not personally do such things, what difficulty would there be in doing so?' He immediately extended his right hand into the earth down to the vajra-wheel boundary, took amṛta water, and, holding it in a lapis lazuli vessel, brought it into the assembly to distribute to everyone. Those who drank it felt their minds become ever more tranquil. Thereupon the assembly all submitted in deferential admiration, made prostrations, and repented their faults. The Mahāsattva later instructed him, saying: 'I am now old and shall not remain long in the world. The great Dharma-eye of the Tathāgata is now entrusted to you. Listen to my gāthā:'

3.35

In phenomena there is truly nothing to be realized, / Neither grasping nor abandoning. / Phenomena are not marks of existence or nonexistence; / How could internal or external arise?

3.36

Having heard the instruction, Nandi respectfully upheld it with utmost diligence, and spoke another gāthā in praise, saying:

3.37

Excellent, O Great Holy One! / The brightness of your mind surpasses the sun and moon. / A single light illuminates the worlds; / There is no dark māra that is not destroyed.

3.38

The Mahāsattva Rāhulata then entered extinction upon his seat. This time corresponded to the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han. The fourfold assembly built a stūpa to enshrine his whole body.

3.39

Biography of the Seventeenth Patriarch of India, the Mahāsattva Saṃghanandi

3.40

Saṃghanandi was a native of the country of Śrāvastī. His family name was Kṣatriya. His father, named Ratnavyūha, was actually the king of that country. As soon as the Mahāsattva was born, he was able to speak, and when talking with his mother, he spoke only of Buddha-affairs. His parents marveled at him, summoned the national preceptor, and questioned him about the reason for their son's behavior. The national preceptor was an extraordinary man who could know past events, and he said to the king: 'This boy is none other than the Buddha Sālarāja of the past; wishing to transform and liberate beings, he manifested birth in the royal household. At the age of seven, he will again enter the Way and leave home to dwell in a stone cave by the Golden River.' His parents loved him and were constantly fearful that it would be as he said. When he reached the age of seven, the Mahāsattva indeed spoke a gāthā to inform his parents, wishing to seek ordination, saying:

3.41

I bow my head to my greatly compassionate father, / And make obeisance to my mother of flesh and blood. / I now wish to leave home; / May you graciously grant it out of pity.

3.42

At first his parents would not consent, but after he pleaded bitterly, he finally attained his wish. The king then ordered the śramaṇa Dhyānalata to shave his head. The master remained in the palace for nine years, and only then did [the king] assemble superior monks to administer the precepts to him. One night the Great Being admonished himself, saying, 'I have already received the full precepts, yet I still abide in a worldly house, and I am now twenty-six years old. How will I ever encounter a sage and hear the Way?' Instantly moved [by this thought], a divine light shone down from above. Suddenly he saw a level road, and ahead was a great mountain. The Great Being immediately hastened toward it. By the time he reached that mountain, the sky was already dawning. Looking at himself, he was already seated within a stone cave. When morning came, the king sought his lost son but could not find him, and thereupon banished Dhyānalata. Meanwhile, the Great Being cultivated dhyāna here; just as ten years had passed, disciples gradually gathered around him. One day, seeing an auspicious vapor, he suddenly said to them, 'A sage will soon come for my sake. Make haste to cleanse the cave ahead and await him.' Before long, Rāhulata indeed arrived. At that time, the Great Being was in meditation; [Rāhulata] waited seven days until he arose. They exchanged questions and answers totaling several hundred words, and Rāhulata's understanding proved superior. Submitting wholeheartedly, the Great Being thereupon sought the Way from him. Rāhulata said, 'The Tathāgata predicted that you would become the seventeenth patriarch.' Soon he instructed him to transmit the great Dharma-eye. One day the Great Being said to his assembly, 'The Great Being Rāhulata once said that in the land of Mātī a sage would appear named Gayāśata, who would succeed me in transmitting the Dharma. Today I shall go with you to seek him out.' When they had walked for some time, an auspicious wind came from the west, purely brushing past everyone. The Great Being said, 'This is the wind of the Way and virtue. Three thousand li to the west, we will surely meet the sage. Yet this wind is unlike the wind of gods, dragons, ghosts, spirits, or asuras: though it blows and stirs, it does not harm the myriad things. When the sick meet it, they are healed; when scholars meet it, they gain thorough penetration; when bad karma meets it, it is eliminated.' Thereupon, gathering the assembly with supernatural powers, in a short while they reached a mountain together. He said to the assembly, 'The peak of this mountain has purple clouds like a canopy; a sage must surely be here.' The assembly looked in all directions, and not far away there was indeed a mountain dwelling. Approaching its gate, they suddenly saw a young boy holding a mirror, hastening forward to greet them. The Great Being immediately asked, 'How old are you?' He replied, 'A hundred years old.' He asked again, 'You are only a young child; why do you say a hundred years old?' He replied, 'If I do not understand the principle, it is just like being a hundred years old.' He asked again, 'Are you skilled in spiritual capacity?' He replied, 'Does not a verse of the Buddha say: If a person lives a hundred years / without understanding the capacity of the Buddhas, / it is not as good as living for a single day / and gaining decisive comprehension of it?' The Great Being asked again, 'Holding a round mirror, what is your intention?' The young boy then replied with a verse, saying:

3.43

The great round mirror of the Buddhas
has no flaw or haze inside or outside.
When two people together can see it,
their minds and eyes are both alike.

3.44

Because his conversation with the Great Being was extraordinary, his parents let him leave home. [Saṅgha]nandi accepted him, took him back to the monastery, assembled the community, and administered the full precepts to him, naming him Gayāśata. On another day, the wind shook the bronze bells of their hall, ringing loudly. He asked Śata again, 'Is the bell ringing, or is the wind ringing?' He answered, 'It is neither the wind nor the bell; it is my mind that rings.' He asked again, 'Who is my mind?' He answered, 'Because both are tranquil and quiet.' The Great Being said, 'Excellent! You wonderfully comprehend the Buddha's principle. You ought to preach the essentials of the Dharma. Who other than you could succeed to my Way?' Soon he entrusted the great Dharma-eye to him, and then spoke a verse, saying:

3.45

The mind-ground is fundamentally unborn;
due to the ground, it arises from conditions.
Conditions and seeds do not impede one another;
flowers and fruits are also just like this.

3.46

After this, he raised his right hand, grasped a tree, and passed away. This was during the time of Emperor Xiaozhao of the Han dynasty. His assembly deliberated, saying, 'The Great Being passed into extinction beneath a luxuriant tree; might he also extend shade to posterity?' Someone wished to move him to a high plateau to cremate him, but though they exerted all their strength to lift him, they could not move him in the end. Thereupon they cremated him right at that spot, collected the relics, and built a stūpa for them there.

3.47

Biography of the Eighteenth Indian Patriarch, the Great Being Gayāśata

3.48

Gayāśata was a native of the country of Mātī. His surname was Uddalaka. His father was named Tiangai, and his mother was named Fangcheng. When Fangcheng first became pregnant, she dreamed of a person holding a jeweled mirror and facing her, saying, 'I have come.' When she awoke, she felt her body was more refreshed than usual. Thereupon an extraordinary fragrance filled her chamber, and auspicious lights appeared several times. In just seven days, she gave birth to the Great Being. His body was sparkling and pure like clear lapis lazuli. At twelve years of age, he was always clean without bathing. He always remained in leisure and stillness; whenever he spoke with others, his words were invariably lofty and superior. His family originally lived on Mount Baoluoja, and when the Great Being was born, purple clouds formed a canopy over it. At first, when Saṅghanandi came to his home to seek him out, the Great Being took him as his teacher and soon received the transmission of the Dharma. He then traveled to convert [beings] in the country of the Yuezhi. Prior to this, there was a brāhmaṇa in that country named Kumāralata. In his household there was a dog that ate and rested exclusively beneath the eaves of his house; even when drenching rains soaked the ground, it never left for a moment. It went on like this for ten years, and although he tried hard to drive it away, it would not go. Lata was suspicious and astonished, and wished to have this resolved. At that time Lata was just thirty years old, high-spirited and vigorous; paying no heed to karmic retribution, he only took pleasure in hearing and following the non-Buddhist doctrine of nature. Soon he asked the brāhmaṇa master whom he followed, 'Why is this dog like this?' The brāhmaṇa said, 'The dog's own heart likes it, that is why; it is not due to causes and conditions.' Lata said further, 'At night I once dreamed of a golden sun whose brilliance shone brightly across heaven and earth, while the brāhmaṇa master and I were in a dark room. The sun's light suddenly came to illuminate it, and my body became like lapis lazuli. Slowly, countless ants swarmed all over and devoured it, whereas the master's body was clean and devoid of anything. Whence did this arise? I hope master will explain it.' The brāhmaṇa also explained it through nature, but none of it proved true. His doubts remaining unresolved, Lata thereupon said, 'This does not satisfy me! Saying everything is nature—how does that differ from speaking of dreams within a dream? If I can meet another wise person who can explain this, I vow to take him as my teacher.' He immediately broke off with the brāhmaṇa and returned. At that moment, the Great Being suddenly saw an extraordinary vapor arise. Seated, he said to his assembly, 'What we see now is the vapor of the Mahāyāna.' He further explained it, saying, 'When the vapor is like a golden ring, the matter will surely be complete; when the vapor is like a jade earring, a bodhisattva is nearby. Now the vapor resembles an earring; beneath it there must surely be a sage. Furthermore, the Buddha also predicted: "Five hundred years after my extinction, a bodhisattva shall appear in the country of the Yuezhi; after that, another Great Being shall appear here in India to succeed the lineage as the twentieth patriarch." Today's auspicious sign must surely correspond to this.' Soon he led the assembly to the location of the vapor. A short while after arriving, there was indeed a brāhmaṇa, looking about thirty years old, who came to ask an attendant, 'What person is this master?' The attendant said, 'This is a disciple of the Buddha.' The brāhmaṇa immediately went back and shut his door. The Great Being said, 'The vapor just now was verified at this house.' He then knocked on the door. From inside came the reply, 'There is no one in this house.' The Great Being said, 'Who is answering that there is no one?' Kumāralata, finding the words outside extraordinary and suspecting he must be a wise man, thought to seek a resolution to the previous matters, and so opened the door to receive him. He deferred to the Great Being to sit on the host's couch and set out abundant offerings. He then asked him about the matter of the dog, saying, 'If what the wise one says resolves my doubts, I will serve you as my teacher.' The Great Being said, 'If what I say is verified, will you truly act in accordance with your words?' He replied, 'I will not speak falsely.' The Great Being then explained it to him, saying, 'This dog is your father. Because of a slight karma, he fell into the realm of animals. Formerly, your father stored a thousand ingots of yellow gold in a vessel and secretly buried it beneath the eaves. When he died, you happened not to be present, so he had no way to entrust it to you. Now he remains attached to it for this reason. If you retrieve it, this dog will surely leave.' Lata ordered laborers to dig it up, and indeed found the gold. The dog immediately departed. Lata believed him, and thus came to admire the Buddha's Dharma. He then recounted his past dream to him. The Great Being also explained it for him, saying, 'The sun you dreamed of is the Buddha-sun. Its illuminating heaven and earth means the salvation of the two assemblies. The two people in a dark room means that your minds were not yet clear. The sunlight illuminating your body means departing the house of ignorance. Your body being like lapis lazuli means the purity of your state. His body having nothing on it means benefiting only his own person and being unable to cross others over. The ants devouring your body means that spiritual friends will converge and partake of your Dharma-flavor.' Lata, having both matters resolved, felt his mind greatly opened and clear, and admired and submitted even more. He thereupon took him as teacher and left home, bearing tasks exclusively to serve him. Because his spiritual power had long been replete, though he ranked him among his disciples, the Great Being uniquely regarded him as an extraordinary vessel; therefore he instructed the holy assembly to administer the full precepts to him, desiring him to quickly realize the fruit. Later, he indeed instructed him, saying, 'Formerly the Tathāgata entrusted the great Dharma-eye to Kāśyapa, down to myself; I now transmit it to you. Receive my teaching and listen to this verse:'

3.49

There are seeds that arise in the mind-ground;
conditions are able to make them sprout.
Where conditions do not obstruct one another,
that which should be born is born unborn.

3.50

Kumāralata respectfully received his command, bowing and accepting it with utmost sincerity. The Great Being immediately vaulted up from his seat, performed the eighteen transformations, and then approached the Great Quiescence. Using the fire of samādhi in mid-air, he cremated himself. Relics rained down in profusion; the fourfold assembly caught them and erected stūpas in various places to make offerings to them. This was during the time of Emperor Xiaocheng of the Han dynasty.

3.51

Biography of the Nineteenth Indian Patriarch, the Great Being Kumāralata

3.52

Kumāralāta was a native of the Yuezhi kingdom, surnamed Brāhmaṇa. In a past life he had once been born in the Brahmā Heaven. Thereafter, because of his covetous attachment to a bodhisattva's necklace, he fell into another heaven of the desire realm. There he expounded the Buddha’s insight to a deva, and because of this that deva attained realization and achieved the first fruit [of stream-entry]. Consequently, the heavenly host revered him as their guide. At that time, a celestial jade maiden happened to come and pay homage at his Dharma assembly. In the assembly there were one thousand two hundred persons who had not yet attained the fruit; suddenly emotional love arose, and thus they became entangled with one another. It was also that the unseen destined count for succeeding to the patriarchate had just arrived, so he manifested his present birth. That celestial maiden also fell, and was born alongside him in this country into the family of a brahmacārin. Initially, the Mahāsattva's household was immensely wealthy, with gold and jewels beyond count, yet his father was covetous and stingy, knowing no bounds. It happened that in that country there was an arhat named Sāgarajaya, who formerly in that heaven had attained his present fruit from the Mahāsattva’s preaching of the Dharma. Coming here, he wished to repay that past virtue; fearing that the Mahāsattva would sink into secular wealth, he begged gold from him, truly desiring to guide him toward renunciation. He arrived at the house just as he saw the Mahāsattva as a youth, and said to him: 'If you can bestow gold upon me as an alms-gift, you shall obtain blessing and benefit.' The Mahāsattva said: 'I am only fifteen and do not control household affairs. Although my father is away, I must ask my mother.' He then told his mother, and his mother consented to the donation. The Mahāsattva thereupon gave him one catty of gold. The arhat immediately prophesied for him, saying: 'In another fifteen years, you shall meet a bodhisattva and realize the sacred path. However, there will be a minor hardship, which will also diminish your great karmic obstacles.' When his father returned, the Mahāsattva reported this to him; his father was furious and gave him one hundred lashes. After his father died, the Mahāsattva was able to have his doubts resolved by Gayāśata, and reverently took him as his master, soon taking part in the transmission of the Dharma. Later, while traveling to teach and transform beings, he reached the kingdom of Central India. He met an intelligent man named Jayata, who was then sojourning there, who came to pay homage to him and asked: 'My parents have always revered the Three Jewels and practiced according to the Dharma, yet they suffer from many illnesses and are entangled in adversity; while our neighbor is violent, kills, and commits evil ever more severely each day, yet his body is healthy and peaceful, and everything he seeks goes as he wishes. Is the retribution of good and evil not an empty claim? I am deeply bewildered by this; I pray the Benevolent One will resolve it for me once and for all.' The Mahāsattva said: 'When the Buddha taught that karma connects the three time periods, it is because good karma created in a past life yields retribution in this life; if in this life one acts unvirtuously, the response will be in a future life. Therefore, among people there are those who, though doing good in this life, do not obtain its blessings, because the retribution of past evil is predominant. Those who in this life commit evil yet suffer no disaster do so because past good is predominant. If because one does not obtain blessed retribution in this life, one further applies oneself to evil, in the future life one will sink further into evil destinies. If because one obtains blessed retribution in this life, one further applies oneself to good, in the future life one will all the more obtain good destinies. Moreover, if in a past life one practiced good and the virtue was only half complete before turning one’s intention to evil, then in this life one will experience blessings first and disaster later. If in this life one commits evil and the deed is only half complete before turning one’s conduct to good, then in a future life one will experience disaster first and blessings later. Just now, regarding your father and your neighbor, the retribution of their good and evil does not arrive according to their current kind because it is brought about by past karma. How could one look for it within a single lifetime?' Hearing this explanation, Jayata's doubts were instantly dispelled. The Mahāsattva further said: 'Although you now believe in the karma of the three times, you do not yet understand that karma arises from delusion, delusion exists on account of consciousness, consciousness relies on non-enlightenment, and non-enlightenment relies on mind. Yet mind is originally pure: without arising or ceasing, without making or doing, without retribution, without victory or defeat, utterly silent and utterly luminous. If you enter this Dharma gate, you can be the same as all buddhas; all good and evil, conditioned and unconditioned, are like dreams and illusions.' Upon hearing these words, Jayata awakened his past wisdom and requested to leave home. The Mahāsattva said: 'Where are you from? Are your parents living? If you truly wish to enter the Way, you may return to your country and inform your parents; once you have obtained their consent, it will not be too late to return.' Jayata said: 'My country is Northern India, more than three thousand li away. How could I go and come back? I pray that the Benevolent One will condescend to go there to receive offerings, and that I may thereby obtain deliverance.' The Mahāsattva said: 'Though the journey is distant, it is not difficult for me; how will you go?' Jayata said: 'I have a minor art, which can also be followed to arrive in a short while.' The Mahāsattva said: 'What art?' He said: 'My elder brother Jāyama was formerly a monk, who once took charge of the stūpa of Kanakamuni Buddha in our country, and obtained the seeds of the mahā tree in front of the stūpa. This is a divine object: smeared on the feet, in an instant one can reach far away; when one wishes to stop, one wipes away the smeared oil with its leaves, and the feet will no longer lift.' The Mahāsattva made use of his method and accompanied him there. They arrived and paid homage to the stūpa, and the Buddha emitted light that shone everywhere upon the assembly. After Jayata informed his parents, he shaved his head and took the precepts before the Buddha’s stūpa in an assembly of holy monks. The Mahāsattva then spoke a verse for him, saying:

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Linked texts (1)

傳法正宗記 — Classical Chinese