北山錄 3.2.6

3.2.6

七歲讀書。 再覽能誦。 十二出家。 貌陋下為師之所重。 執勞作役。 曾無怨色。 數歲之後。 方啟求經。 與辯意經一卷可五千言。 齎經入田。 暮還已誦。 復與成具光明經一卷咸萬言。 如初亦誦。 師執經覆之不差一宇矣）秦克燕與涼（前燕即慕容暐據鄴都。 為堅所破。 前涼張天錫據涼州。 為堅所滅也）降其君為臣。 渤海流沙恢為國壤（渤海盡東。 流沙盡西）足食足兵。 威振海內。 常患不得纘禹舊服。 登會稽而望滄海。 朝萬國以號令天下（禹於塗山會。 萬國諸侯執玉帛而朝貢。 塗山在越州會稽也）累問安伐晉之計。 安亟曰。 晉德雖微。 天命未改難可圖也。 君子亦以為私護援本朝而實得禮也。 故一言而兼致焉。 符以獨夫之見（書云。 獨夫紂也）爰舉百萬之眾。 符融治前軍。 晉之詐之末鼓未成列。 秦師大崩潰（符堅學長安之兵騎八十七萬。 前後千里旗鼓相望。 東西萬里水陸並進。 符融為將。 晉謝玄等以水軍七萬拒之。 王道子以鼓吹求助於鍾山神。 堅至壽春。 登城而望見。 八公山上草木皆人狀引軍陣於淝水。 晉師不得渡。 遣使謂融曰。 君懸軍深入逼水為陣。 此乃持久之計。 豈欲戰乎。 若小退師令將士周旋。 僕與群公緩轡而觀之。 不亦善乎。 融揮軍却陣。 軍遂奔退。 制之不可。 融馳騎掠陣馬倒為軍所殺）自後燕復於燕（堅敗後。 慕容冲起兵攻長安。 慕容垂歸鄴城而稱後燕也）涼復于涼（李暠本張軌將。 後稱西涼於燉煌也。 呂光稱後凉於姑臧）秦據于秦矣（姚長遣將圍堅於五將山。 執而縊之于新平佛寺。 自立為後秦）先是釋公亡（釋公即道安）堅臨慟（哀過曰慟）曰。 吾其未濟也。 安公捨我而去矣。 於其言寧謬哉。 安初謂王子年曰。 世途若此盍行乎（盍何不也）年曰。 公可前往。 須吾償後債耳。 年後得害於姚萇（王嘉。 字子年。 洛陽人。 形貌鄙陋似若不足。 好滑稽不食五穀。 有問善惡。 應答狀如戲調。 事過多驗。 答道安云。 小債未了。 不得俱去。 及姚萇得長安。 與符登相持甚久。 萇問之。 朕當得否。 答曰。 略得。 萇曰。 當言得。 何略之有。 因斬之。 萇死後。 子興方殺登。 興字子略。 即嘉所謂略得之意也）法汰如于荊謁桓溫。 溫恃威名重不速於賓接。 汰患其躊躇。 忽告謁者曰。 吾有疾遽退。 他曰汰至溫。 不俟履屨而前之也（法汰東莧人。 少與道安同學。 才辯雖不及安。 而姿貌過之也）安既俘于秦。 門人各馳散。 慧遠初將屆羅浮（山近南海）至潯陽（江州也）卜廬山而棲息。 既獲朽壤抽泉故不求去。 慧永（並道安門人）邀止西林（廬山之西林寺也）後刺史桓伊（東晉臣也）別立東林寺。 先是陶偘鎮廣州（陶偘。 字士衡。 初好學延接賔侶。 客至家貧。 母截髮賣之以供待。 後為八洲都督）得育王像（即阿育王所造之像也）送武昌寒溪寺（武昌鄂州也）遠寺成遙請像。 乃凌虛而來。 當時搢紳儒林傲世考盤其若宗炳雷次宗劉遺民周續之張季碩之輩（南陽宗炳張菜民張季碩。 彭城劉遺民。 預章雷次宗。 雁門周續之。 新蔡畢頴之。 僧惠持惠永共為蓮社也）凡百大名君子咸與胥附（胥相也）遠少與惠持偕為諸生精六經學。 禮樂名教特為朝野法度。 王恂與范寗書（王恂為桓溫主簿范寗注穀梁傳）曰。 遠公持公孰愈（孰誰也愈勝也）范公復云。 誠為賢兄弟也（持與遠實親俗兄弟也）王重曰。 但令如兄弟誠未易有。 況復賢耶。 姚興初譯智論訖（智論。 或稱智度論。 龍樹菩薩造）篤所聘請遠製序。 其見重殊絕如此。 桓玄征殷仲堪（桓玄。 字敬道。 大司馬溫之子。 為江州刺史。 元與二年篡晉安帝劉裕舉兵。 桓玄乃征仲堪也）要遠出虎溪。 遠稱疾。 玄自入山。 左右曰。 昔殷仲堪禮遠。

At seven years of age he could read texts, and after two readings was able to recite them by heart. At twelve he went forth from household life. His appearance was coarse and lowly, yet he was esteemed by his master. He bore hardships and performed manual labor, never showing any resentment on his countenance. After several years, he finally requested to be taught the scriptures. He was given a volume of the Scripture on the Discrimination of Meaning (Bianyi jing), roughly five thousand words; he carried the scripture into the fields, and upon returning at dusk had already committed it to memory. He was further given a volume of the Scripture of Complete Illumination (Chengju guangming jing), totaling ten thousand words; as before, he recited it by heart. His master held the scripture to check him, and not a single character was amiss.) Qin conquered Yan and Liang (Former Yan was Murong Wei holding the capital of Ye, overthrown by Fu Jian. Former Liang was Zhang Tianxi occupying Liangzhou, destroyed by Fu Jian), reducing their rulers to vassals. From the Bohai Sea to Liusha, he expanded his realm (the Bohai Sea is the easternmost limit; Liusha is the westernmost limit). With ample provisions and soldiers, his might shook all within the seas. Yet he was constantly distressed that he could not inherit Yu's ancient territories, climb Kuaiji to gaze out at the azure ocean, and receive the court of the myriad states to issue commands to all under heaven (Yu assembled at Mount Tu, where the lords of the myriad states held jades and silks to pay tribute; Mount Tu is at Kuaiji in Yuezhou). Repeatedly he asked Dao'an for a strategy to attack Jin. An firmly answered: "Though Jin's virtue is slight, the mandate of heaven has not yet changed; it is difficult to plot against." Noble gentlemen also took this to mean that while privately protecting and aiding his native court, in truth he attained ritual propriety; thus in a single statement both ends were achieved. Fu [Jian], holding the view of a solitary tyrant (the Book of Documents says: "The solitary tyrant, Zhou"), thereupon raised a host of a million. Fu Rong commanded the vanguard. Before the Jin forces had ceased their maneuvers, before their drums had sounded and before they had even formed their ranks, the Qin army collapsed in great disarray (Fu Jian marshaled eighty-seven thousand cavalry and infantry from Chang'an; from front to rear they spanned a thousand li with banners and drums in sight of one another, advancing ten thousand li from east to west by water and land together. Fu Rong was the general. The Jin general Xie Xuan and others resisted them with seventy thousand naval troops. Wang Daozi sought aid from the spirit of Mount Zhong through wind and percussion music. When Jian reached Shouchun, he climbed the city walls and looked out, seeing that the grasses and trees on Mount Bagong all had the appearance of men; he drew up his army along the Fei River. The Jin army was unable to cross. They sent an emissary to Rong, saying: "You have advanced your isolated forces deep and formed a battle line pressed against the water; this is a strategy for enduring delay—do you really wish to fight? If you retreat slightly to let our soldiers maneuver, I and the gentlemen may loosen our reins to watch the spectacle; would that not be splendid?" Rong waved his troops back to reposition the line, whereupon the army fled in retreat and could not be controlled; Rong galloped his horse along the ranks, his steed fell, and he was slain by the troops). Thereafter, Yan revived as Yan (after Jian's defeat, Murong Chong raised troops and attacked Chang'an; Murong Chui returned to the city of Ye and proclaimed Later Yan); Liang revived as Liang (Li Gao was originally a general under Zhang Gui, and later declared Western Liang in Dunhuang; Lü Guang declared Later Liang in Guzang); and Qin seized Qin (Yao Chang sent a general to surround Jian at Mount Wujiang, captured and strangled him at a Buddhist temple in Xinping, and established himself as Later Qin). Prior to this, Master Shi passed away (Master Shi was Dao'an). Jian wept in deep lamentation (excessive sorrow is called lamentation) and said: "I have not yet crossed over, yet Master An has abandoned me and departed!" How could his words have been mistaken? Earlier, An had said to Wang Zinian: "The affairs of the world are like this; why not depart?" (He means "why not"). Nian said: "You, venerable sir, may proceed; I must settle my final debts." Later, Nian was murdered by Yao Chang (Wang Jia, styled Zinian, was a man of Luoyang. His appearance was coarse and unsightly as though deficient; he was fond of jesting and did not eat the five grains. When questioned about good and bad fortune, his replies were playful in form, yet when the events passed, they proved largely accurate. He answered Dao'an: "My small debts are not yet settled; we cannot go together." When Yao Chang captured Chang'an, he was deadlocked with Fu Deng for a long time. Chang asked him: "Will I succeed?" He answered: "You will barely succeed [lve-de]." Chang said: "You should say I will succeed! What do you mean by 'barely'?" Thereupon he had him beheaded. After Chang died, his son Xing finally killed Deng; Xing's courtesy name was Zilve, which was what Jia meant by 'lve-de'). Fatai went to Jingzhou to call upon Huan Wen. Relying on his imposing prestige, Wen was not quick to receive guests. Troubled by his hesitation, Tai suddenly said to the usher: "I have fallen ill," and abruptly withdrew. On another day when Tai arrived, Wen rushed forward to greet him without even waiting to put on his shoes (Fatai was a man of Dongwan. In his youth he studied together with Dao'an; though his talent and eloquence did not equal An's, his physical appearance surpassed his). After An was taken captive by the Qin, his disciples dispersed in all directions. Huiyuan was originally about to go to Luofu (a mountain near the Southern Sea); upon reaching Xunyang (which is Jiangzhou), he divined a dwelling on Mount Lu and settled there. Having found that drilling into the earth produced a spring, he did not seek to leave. Huiyong (both disciples of Dao'an) invited him to lodge at the Xilin Monastery (the Xilin Monastery of Mount Lu). Later, Inspector Huan Yi (a minister of Eastern Jin) specially established Donglin Monastery. Prior to this, Tao Kan governed Guangzhou (Tao Kan was styled Shiheng; at first he loved study and welcomed guests and companions, but when guests arrived his family was poor, so his mother cut her hair and sold it to provide for them; later he became commander-in-chief of the eight provinces). He obtained a statue of King Aśoka (that is, an image made by King Aśoka) and sent it to Hanxi Monastery in Wuchang (Wuchang is Ezhou). When Yuan's monastery was completed, he made a request for the statue from afar, and it soared through the air to arrive. At that time, eminent scholars and literati who disdained the world and dwelled in retirement—such as Zong Bing, Lei Cizong, Liu Yimin, Zhou Xuzhi, and Zhang Jishuo (Zong Bing and Zhang Jishuo of Nanyang, Liu Yimin of Pengcheng, Lei Cizong of Yuzhang, Zhou Xuzhi of Yanmen, Bi Yingzhi of Xincai, and the monks Huichi and Huiyong together formed the Lotus Society)—in all, a hundred celebrated gentlemen, associated themselves with him (xu means "mutually"). In his youth, Yuan together with Huichi was a student who thoroughly mastered the study of the Six Classics; their knowledge of ritual, music, and moral propriety especially served as standards for court and countryside. Wang Xun sent a letter to Fan Ning (Wang Xun was registrar under Huan Wen; Fan Ning annotated the Guliang zhuan), asking: "Between Master Yuan and Master Chi, who is superior?" (Shu means "who"; yu means "superior"). Master Fan replied: "They are truly a worthy pair of brothers!" (Chi and Yuan were in fact biological brothers in secular life). Wang reiterated: "Merely to be like true brothers is indeed not easy to find; how much more so when both are worthy sages!" When Yao Xing finished the initial translation of the Treatise on Great Wisdom (the Zhilun, also called the Dazhidu lun, composed by Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna), he earnestly sent an invitation asking Yuan to compose the preface; he was uniquely held in such high esteem. When Huan Xuan campaigned against Yin Zhongkan (Huan Xuan was styled Jingdao; son of Grand Marshal Wen, he was inspector of Jiangzhou. In the second year of Yuanxing he usurped the Jin emperor Andi; when Liu Yu raised troops, Huan Xuan then campaigned against Zhongkan), he invited Yuan to come out to Tiger Brook. Yuan pleaded illness. Xuan entered the mountain in person. His attendants said: "In the past, Yin Zhongkan paid homage to Yuan."