傳法正宗定祖圖 1.23

1.23

The Tenth Patriarch, the Venerable Pārśva, was a man of Central India. He remained in the womb for a full sixteen years before being born, and was therefore named "Difficult Birth" (Duṣprasaha). He had many extraordinary traces. When Buddhanandi arrived in his country, his father Gandhahastin took him to visit, seeking for him to be received. When he became a monk, his cultivation was pure, energetic, and austere; day and night his ribs never touched the mat, hence he was called the Venerable Pārśva (Ribs). Traveling and transforming, he reached the country of Pāṭaliputra, where he first manifested auspicious omens, and subsequently obtained Puṇyayaśas, who left home to become his disciple. When he was about to pass away, he transmitted the Dharma to him, speaking a verse, saying: