北山錄 4.2.2

4.2.2

When he first translated the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra (Zheng fahua jing), once the glosses and commentary were settled, he instructed Kang Nalu to lecture on it. Those who chanted and recited it unanimously praised its excellence. When it came to the time of Kumārajīva, it was retranslated as the Lotus Sutra (Miaofa lianhua jing), and the translation of Dharmarakṣa gradually paled in its brilliance (Kumārajīva retranslated it during the Hongshi era in the Xiaoyao Garden; it circulated widely in the world, and the Zheng fahua jing gradually fell out of use, though it is still extant in the canon today). This was because those who behold a grand carriage do not value a solid-wheeled cart (The Wenxuan says: "The solid-wheeled cart was the beginning of the grand carriage, yet how could the grand carriage retain the rustic quality of a solid-wheeled cart? Accumulated ice is formed from gathered water, yet gathered water falls far short of the chill of accumulated ice." A solid-wheeled cart is an ancient unembellished wagon; a grand carriage is a jade carriage. This expresses the idea of gaining the flower and forgetting the simple wood). Fancheng of Dharmarakṣa's school (Zhu Fancheng became a śrāmaṇera under Dharmarakṣa; from childhood his spiritual awakening and profound discernment surpassed that of others. Someone fraudulently came to Dharmarakṣa urgently begging for two hundred thousand coins; Dharmarakṣa had not yet answered when Fancheng, aged thirteen and standing by his master's side, immediately said, "The Upādhyāya has already granted it to you." The man was indeed not seeking wealth, but had come to observe Dharmarakṣa's virtue and character) possessed outstanding talent and wisdom. Sun Chuo compared him to Wang Junchong, because both had keen discernment and comprehension at a tender age (Wang Rong, whose courtesy name was Junchong, was a native of Taiyuan and the son of Wang Hun. He was friends with Ruan Ji, though twenty years his junior, and they got along like contemporaries; whenever Ruan came to his house, he would go to Rong's room and say to his father, "Junchong's pure eminence is not matched by his fellow villagers; speaking with you is not as good as speaking with A-Rong"). Zhu Faya (a native of Hejian, who had high aspirations; as a youth he was well-versed in secular learning, and as he grew up he mastered Buddhist scriptures; his talent and thought were outstanding and abundant, admired by the worthy of the time, and he was also skilled at writing) and Kang Falang (a native of Zhongshan, proficient in moral discipline, who returned after traveling west through various kingdoms) compared the categories of meaning in the scriptures to Confucian books to establish examples for generating understanding; they called this "matching meanings" (geyi) to instruct disciples. They once discussed various scriptures with Dao'an and Fa-tai, thoroughly capturing the subtleties of their essentials in every case. Falang's disciple Lingshao would, whenever he entered samādhi, not rise for several days; when Lang died, he carved a wooden statue of him and served it with the rites due to the living. Bo Fazu had an outstanding elegance of spirit. Towards Wang Dao he showed simplicity and unpretentiousness, yet looked up to from below, he possessed a solemn dignity, displaying the noble demeanor of princes and dukes; Bian Ling [Hu] said this was because of his adherence to rules and standards in sizing up things (Bo Yuan, whose courtesy name was Fazu, had the original surname of Wan and was a native of Henei; his talent and intellect were sharp, penetrating, perceptive, and peerless, and he could recite ten thousand words a day; during the turmoil of the Jin dynasty he intended to flee west of Long, but Zhang Fu, Regional Inspector of Qinzhou, held him in high esteem and wanted him to return to lay life; when he refused, Fu killed him; both foreigners and Han mourned him; Sun Chuo's Daoxian lun compared him to Ji Kang). Fazu's younger brother Fazuo possessed modest and genuine virtue, truly matching his elder brother (Fazuo also enjoyed an early reputation and was summoned to be an Erudite, but did not accept; at age twenty-five he left home, thoroughly illuminating Buddhist principles; Zhang Guang, Regional Inspector of Liangzhou, killed him because, when his elder brother refused to revert to lay life and was killed by Zhang Fu, Guang also coerced Fazuo, who remained steadfast in his will and would not comply, so he too was harmed by Guang). Bo the High Seat was a preeminent figure of remarkable brilliance (Bo Śrīmitra, who was of Jiaozhi; his countrymen at the time called him "the High Seat" because he was skilled at preaching the Dharma; he was originally the prince of his country, who relinquished the throne to leave the household, and translated scriptures such as the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sūtra during the Eastern Jin). Wang Dao said to him, "In foreign lands, there is only you as a remarkable gentleman." Śrīmitra smiled and said, "If this poor monk were merely like you, the patron, today, how could I have traveled here?" (He died during the Xiankang era of the Jin at the age of over eighty, and was buried at Shizigang; the mound was in Wu, where a temple was later built). Zhi Dun often sent someone to Zhu Qian to purchase the small ridge of Wozhou beside Mount Shan (Zhi Dun, whose courtesy name was Daolin and whose surname was Guan, was a native of Chenliu; in his youth he possessed extraordinary brilliance and penetrating intelligence; Wang Meng valued him greatly; later he established a monastery at the small ridge of Wozhou, and in his later years went to Shanyin to lecture on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, with Xu Xun serving as lead respondent). Qian said, "If you wish to come, I will simply give it to you; when has one ever heard of Chao [Fu] or Xu [You] buying a mountain to become recluses?" (Zhu Qian, whose courtesy name was Fashen and whose surname was Wang, was the younger brother of Dun, General-in-Chief of the Jin; he served Liu Yuanzhen of Zhongzhou as his master; Yuanzhen possessed talent and reputation; Qian later retired to Mount Shan, where contemporaries followed in his footsteps to inquire about the Way). Dun later wrote in a letter to a Korean monk: "The Senior Monk Zhu Fashen, disciple of Master Liu of Zhongzhou, is upright and towering in nature, weaving together the sacred and secular realms. Formerly in the capital, he maintained the net of the Dharma, and was revered by both those within and without [the fold], a master who propagated the Way. Recently, considering that his cultivation of the Way was tranquil and accomplished, and unable to endure worldly dust, he built a dwelling among mountains and marshes to cultivate virtue and retire to leisure. Now at Mount Shan in this county, he gathers companions to roam together, discussing the Way and discoursing on its meanings, perching loftily in vast detachment, celebrated far and wide." Sun Chuo compared Qian to Liu Bolun [Liu Ling], considering their grand and spacious nature to be identical. At that time, Zhu Fayou of Mount Shan received the Abhidharma (in one hundred fascicles) from him; after only one night he could recite it. Shen said, "Reciting something after once laying eyes on it was praised in men of old. If the Capable Benevolent One (Śākyamuni) were to arise again in the Great Jin, he would surely take you as one of the Five Hundred!" (Fayou, at the age of twenty-four, was already capable of lecturing; he later established the Nantai Temple south of the city of Shan County). During the reign of Emperor Cheng of the Jin, Kang Sengyuan, Kang Fachang, and Zhi Mindu all crossed the Yangtze River (Sengyuan was originally from the Western Regions and was born in Chang'an, where he became a monk; he always sustained himself by begging for food, and his virtue exceeded that of Chang and Du; he held debates with Yin Hao on the inner and outer scriptures, and Hao was at a loss for words, unable to reply). Chang always carried a chowry while traveling; whenever he met famous guests, they would engage in pure talk for the entire day. Yu Yuangui [Yu Liang] asked, "Why is this chowry always in your possession?" Chang said, "The upright do not seek it, and the greedy are not given it; hence it is always in my possession." He wrote the Treatise on the Original Meaning of Figures and Things (Zhi Mindu composed the Catalog of Translated Scriptures, which currently circulates in the world). When Zhi Dun first arrived in the capital, Wang Meng held him in great esteem and said to others, "His subtle and profound achievement is no less than that of Fu Si (Wang Bi)." When Yin Rong associated with Wei Jie, he considered that Jie's spirit and intelligence were so extraordinarily sharp that none among the younger generation could succeed him; but upon seeing Dun, he sighed and considered that he had seen such a person once again (such a person refers to someone of this caliber, meaning Wei Jie). In his lectures, Dun was always good at presenting the overarching principles, while occasionally leaving out phrases and clauses; at the time, those who adhered strictly to literal phrasing looked down on him. Xie An heard of this and said, "This is Jiufang Gao appraising horses—overlooking the black and yellow, and seizing upon the swift and free" (Zhuangzi says Jiufang Yin was a master appraiser; the Huainanzi says Duke Mu of Qin summoned Bo Le to seek a horse; after three months he returned and said:).