法苑珠林 25.27

25.27

晉長安有鳩摩羅什。此云童壽。天竺人也。家世國相。什祖父達多倜儻不群名重於國。父鳩摩羅琰聰明有懿節。將嗣相位乃辭避出家。東度葱嶺。龜茲王聞其棄榮。甚敬慕之。自出郊迎請為國師。王有妹年始二十。才悟明敏過目必能。一聞則誦。且體有赤黶。法生智子。諸國娉之並皆不許。及見琰心欲當之。乃逼以妻焉。既而懷什。什在胎中。其母慧解倍常。聞雀梨大寺名德既多。又有得道之僧。即與王族貴女德行諸尼。彌日設供。請齋聽法。什母忽自通天竺語。難問之辭必窮淵致。眾咸歎之。有羅漢達摩瞿沙曰。此必懷智子。為說舍利弗在胎之證。及什生之後還忘前言。頃之什母樂欲出家。夫未之許。遂更產一男。名弗沙提婆。後因出城游觀。見塚間枯骨異處縱橫。於是深惟苦本定求離俗。誓求落髮不咽飲食。至六日夜氣力綿乏。疑不達旦。夫乃懼而許焉。以未𩮜髮故猶不嘗進。即勅人除髮。乃下飲食。次旦受戒。仍業禪法專精匪懈學得初果。什年七歲亦俱出家。從師受經日誦千偈。偈有三十二字。凡三萬二千言。誦毘曇既過。師授其義。即自通達無幽不暢。時龜茲國人。以其母王女利養甚多。乃携什避之。什年九歲隨母度辛頭河。至罽賓國遇名德法師盤頭達多。即罽賓王之從弟也。淵粹有大量才明博識獨步當時。三藏九部莫不該練。從旦至中手寫千偈。從中至暮亦誦千偈。名播諸國遠近師之。什至即崇以師禮。從受雜藏中長二含凡四百萬言。達多每稱什神俊。遂聲徹於王。王即請入。集外道論師共相攻難。言氣始交。外道輕其年幼。言頗不遜。什乘隙而挫之。外道折伏愧惋無言。王益敬異。日給鵝腊一雙糠麵各三升蘇六升。此外國之上供也。所住寺僧乃差大僧五人沙彌十人。營視掃灑。有若弟子。其見尊崇如此。至年十二。其母携還龜茲。諸國皆𮜷以好爵。什並不顧。時什母將什至月氏北山。有一羅漢見而異之。謂其母曰。常當守護。此沙彌若至三十五不破戒者當。大興佛法度無數人。與優波掘多無異。若戒不全無能為也。止可才明俊乂法師而已。什進到沙勒國。頂戴佛鉢心自念言。鉢形甚大何其輕耶。即重不可勝失聲下之。母問其故。答云。兒心有分別鉢有輕重耳。遂停沙勒一年。其冬誦阿毘曇。於十門修智諸品。無所諮受而受備達其妙。又於六足諸門無所滯礙。沙勒國王有三藏沙門名喜見。謂其王曰。此沙彌不可輕。王宜請令。初開法門凡有二益。一國內沙門恥其不逮必見勉勵。二龜茲王必謂出我國而彼尊之。是尊我也。必來交好。王許焉。即設大會請什昇座說轉法輪經。龜茲王果遣使酬其親好。什以說法之暇。乃尋訪外道經書。善學韋陀舍多論。多明文辭製作問答等事。博覽四韋陀典及五明諸論。陰陽星算莫不畢盡。妙達吉凶言若符契。為性率達。什初學小乘。後專務方等。乃歎曰。吾昔學小乘。如人不識金以鍮石為妙。因廣求義要。受誦中百二論及十二門論等。頃之隨母。進到溫宿國。即龜茲之北界。時溫宿有一道士。神辯英秀振名諸國。手擊王鼓而自誓言。論勝我者斬首謝之。什既至以二義相撿。即迷悶自失稽首歸依。於是聲滿葱左譽宣河外。龜茲王躬往溫宿迎什還國。廣說諸經。四遠學宗莫不能抗。時王女為尼。字阿竭耶末帝。博覽群經特深禪要。云已證二果。聞法喜踊。乃更設大集請問方等經奧。什為析辯諸法皆空無我。分別陰界假名非實。時會聽者莫不悲感。追悼皆恨悟之晚矣。至年二十受戒於王宮。從卑摩羅叉學十誦律。有頃什母辭往天竺。謂龜茲王白純曰。汝國尋衰吾其去矣。行止天竺進登三果。什母臨去謂什曰。方等深教應大闡真丹傳之東土。唯爾之力但於自身無利。其可如何。什曰。大士之道利彼亡軀。若必使大化流傳能曉悟曚俗。雖復身當鑪鑊苦而無恨。於是留住龜茲止乎新寺。後於寺側故宮中初得放光經。始就披讀。魔來蔽之。唯見空牒。什知魔所為誓心逾固。魔去字顯。仍習誦之。復聞空中聲曰。汝是智人何用讀此。什曰。汝是小魔宜時速去。我心如地不可轉也。停住三年。廣誦大乘經論洞其祕奧。龜茲王為造金師子座。以大秦錦褥鋪之。令什昇而說法。什曰。家師猶未悟大乘。欲躬往迎禮不得停此。俄而大師盤頭達多不遠而至。王曰。大師何能顧。達多曰。一聞弟子所悟非常。二聞大王弘贊佛道。故冐涉艱危遠萃神國。什得師至欣遂本懷。為說德女問經。多明因緣空假昔與師俱所不信。故先說也。師謂什曰。汝於大乘見何異相而欲尚之。什曰。大乘深淨明有法皆空。小乘偏局多滯名相。師曰。汝說一切皆空。甚可畏也。安捨有而愛空乎。如昔狂人令績師績縷極令細好。績師加意細若微塵。狂人猶恨其麁。績師大怒。乃指空示曰。此是細縷狂人曰。何以不見。師曰。此縷極細我工之巧。猶且不見。況他人耶。狂人大喜。以付織師。師亦効焉。皆蒙上賞而實無物。汝之空法亦由此也。什乃連類而陳之。往復苦至。經一月餘日方乃信服。師歎曰。師不能達反啟其志驗於今矣。於是禮什為師言。和尚是我大乘師。我是和上小乘師矣。西域諸國咸伏什神俊。每至講說。諸王皆長跪座側令什踐而登焉。其見重如此。什既道流西域名播東川時符堅僭號關中。有外國前部王及龜茲王弟。竝來朝堅。堅引見。二王說堅云。西域多產珍奇。請兵往定以求內附。至堅建元十三年歲次丁丑正月。太史奏云。有星見外國分野。當有大德智人入輔中國。堅曰。朕聞。西域有鳩摩羅什。襄陽有沙門道安。將非此耶。即遣使求之。至十七年二月。鄯部王前部王等。又說堅請兵西伐。十八年九月堅遣驍騎將軍呂光陵江將軍姜飛。將前部王及車師王等。率兵七萬西伐龜茲及烏耆諸國。臨發堅餞光於建章宮。謂光曰。夫帝王應天而治。以子愛蒼生為本。豈貪其地而伐之。正以懷道之人故也。朕聞。西國有鳩摩羅什。深解法相善閑陰陽。為後學之宗。朕甚思之。賢哲者國之大寶。若剋龜茲即馳驛送什。光軍未至。什謂龜茲王白純曰。國運衰矣。當有勍敵。日下人從東方來。宜供承之勿抗其鋒純不從而戰。光遂破龜茲殺純。立純弟震為主。光既獲什。未測其智量。見其年齒尚少。乃凡人戲之。光還中路置軍於山下。將士已休。什曰。不可在此。必見狼狽。宜徙軍隴上。光不納諫。至夜果大雨洪潦暴起。水深數丈。死者數千。光始密而異之。什謂光曰。此凶二之地不宜淹留。推運揆數應速言歸。中路必有福地可居。光從之。至涼州聞符堅已為姚萇所害。光三軍縞素大臨城南。於是竊號關外稱年太安。太安二年正月姑臧大風。什曰。不祥之風當有姦叛。然不勞自定也。後方驗什之言也。什停涼積年。呂光父子既不弘道。故蘊其深解無所宣化。符堅已亡竟不相見。及姚萇僭有關中。亦挹其高名虛心要請。呂以什智計多解。恐為姚謀不許東入及萇卒子興襲位。復遣敦請。興弘始三年三月有樹連理生廟庭。逍遙園葱變為薤。以為美瑞。謂智人應入。至五月興遣隴西公碩德西伐呂隆隆軍大破。至九月隆上表歸降。方得迎什入關。以其年十月二十日至于長安。興待以國師之禮。甚見優寵。語言相對則淹留終日。研微造晝則窮年忘倦。自大法東被始於漢明。涉歷魏晉經論漸多。而支竺所出多滯文格義。興少崇三寶。銳志稱集。什既至止。仍請入西明閣及逍遙園譯出眾經。什既率多諳誦無不究盡。轉能漢言音譯流便。既覽舊經義多紕僻。皆由先度失旨故。不與梵本相應。興使沙門僧䂮僧遷法欽道流道常道標僧叡僧肇等八百餘人。諮受什旨。更令出大品。什持梵本。興執舊經以相讎校。其雜文異舊者。義皆圓通。眾心愜伏莫不欣贊。興以佛道沖邃其行唯善。信為出苦之良津。御世之洪則。故託意九經游心十二。乃著通三世論以勗示因果。王公已下並欽贊厥風。大將軍常山公顯左將軍安城侯嵩。並篤信緣業。屢請什於長安大寺講說新經續出大小乘經論凡有三百九十餘卷。名在別傳。並暢顯神源揮發幽致。于時四方義士萬里必集。盛業久大于今式仰。諸方道俗英賢之徒。如釋慧遠等。學貫群經棟梁遺化。而時去聖久遠疑義莫決。乃封以諮什。凡覲國王必有贊德。見佛之儀以歌歎為貴。經中偈頌皆其式也。但改梵為秦失其藻蔚。雖得大意殊隔文體。有似嚼飯與人。非徒失味。乃令嘔噦也。什甞作頌贈沙門法和云。心山育明德。流熏萬由延。哀鸞孤桐上。清音徹九天。

In Chang'an during the Jin dynasty there was Kumārajīva (translated here as "Youth of Long Life"), a man of India. His family had been state chancellors for generations. Jīva's grandfather, Datta, was chivalrous and preeminent, renowned throughout the land. His father, Kumārāyana, was intelligent and of fine integrity; about to inherit the chancellorship, he declined it and left the household, traveling east across the Congling [Pamir] Mountains. The King of Kucha, hearing that he had abandoned glory, deeply revered and admired him, went out to the suburbs himself to welcome him, and invited him to be the Preceptor of the State. The king had a sister, just twenty years of age, whose talent and perception were brilliant and acute: whatever met her eye she could master; hearing something once, she could recite it; and on her body was a red mole that was an omen she would give birth to a wise son. Although many states sought her in marriage, none were granted permission. But when she saw [Kumārā]yana, she desired him in her heart; [the king] then compelled them to marry. Soon she became pregnant with Jīva. While Jīva was in the womb, his mother's wise comprehension doubled beyond ordinary measure. Hearing that the Great Cīlan Monastery had many eminent and virtuous ones as well as monks who had attained the Way, she and the noble ladies of the royal clan, together with virtuous nuns, set out offerings day after day, held vegetarian feasts, and listened to the Dharma. Jīva's mother suddenly became able to speak an Indic tongue of her own accord; her difficult questions invariably probed the profoundest depths, and the assembly all marveled at her. The arhat Dharmaghoṣa said: "She is surely bearing a wise son," citing the proof of Śāriputra while in the womb. After Jīva was born, she forgot the foreign tongue. Before long, Jīva's mother wished to leave the household, but her husband would not permit it. She then gave birth to another boy, named Puṣyadeva. Later, going out of the city on an excursion, she saw withered bones scattered crosswise in different spots among the graves; thereupon she contemplated deeply the root of suffering and firmly resolved to leave worldly life. She took a vow to shave her head and refused to swallow food or drink. By the night of the sixth day, her breath and strength had dwindled to exhaustion, and it was doubted whether she would survive until morning. Her husband, frightened, then gave his consent. Because her hair had not yet been shaved, she still would not eat; he immediately ordered her hair to be removed, whereupon she took food and drink. The following morning she received the precepts. She then practiced meditation techniques with unflagging dedication and attained the first fruit [srotāpanna]. At age seven, Jīva also left the household alongside her. Following his master, he received the scriptures, chanting a thousand verses a day. Each verse was thirty-two syllables, totaling thirty-two thousand words. After he recited the Abhidharma, his master instructed him in its meaning, and he comprehended it spontaneously, leaving nothing obscure unclarified. At that time, because his mother was a royal princess, the people of Kucha lavished immense material support upon them; so she took Jīva and departed to avoid it. At the age of nine, Jīva accompanied his mother across the Sindhu River, reached the kingdom of Kashmir (Jibin), and met the famous and virtuous Dharma master Bandhudatta, who was the younger cousin of the King of Kashmir. Pure, profound, and of broad capacity, his talent, brilliance, and vast learning were peerless in his day; among the three pitakas and the nine divisions [of the scriptures], there was none he had not mastered thoroughly. From dawn to noon he copied a thousand verses with his own hand; from noon to dusk he also recited a thousand verses. His fame spread through many kingdoms, and those far and near took him as their teacher. Upon arrival, Jīva honored him with the rites due to a master and received from him the Miscellaneous Piṭaka, the Madhyama-āgama, and the Dīrgha-āgama, totaling four million words. Bandhudatta constantly praised Jīva's supernatural talent, and his reputation reached the king. The king immediately invited him in and assembled non-Buddhist debaters to challenge him mutually. When the debate first began, the non-Buddhists belittled his youth, speaking rather insolently. Jīva exploited their openings and crushed them; humiliated and remorseful, the non-Buddhists were left speechless. The king grew all the more amazed and respectful. Daily he provided him with a pair of preserved geese, three sheng each of polished rice and flour, and six sheng of clarified butter—these were the highest offerings of foreign lands. The monks of the temple where he stayed assigned five fully ordained monks and ten novices to attend him and sweep the grounds as though they were his disciples: such was the reverence shown to him. When he was twelve years of age, his mother brought him back toward Kucha. Many states offered him noble ranks, but Jīva paid them no heed. At that time, Jīva's mother brought him to the northern mountains of the Yuezhi. An arhat saw him, marveled at him, and said to his mother: "You must always protect him. If this novice does not break the precepts before he reaches thirty-five, he will greatly propagate the Buddha's Dharma, deliver countless people, and be no different from Upagupta. If his precepts are not kept intact, he will accomplish nothing significant, remaining only a talented, brilliant, and superior Dharma master." Jīva advanced to the kingdom of Kaśgar. Holding the Buddha's bowl above his head, he thought to himself: "The bowl's shape is very large; why is it so light?" Immediately it became too heavy to bear, and he cried out and set it down. His mother asked the reason, and he replied: "My mind made distinctions, so the bowl had lightness and weight." He then remained in Kaśgar for a year. That winter, he chanted the Abhidharma; regarding the chapters on the ten gates and the cultivation of wisdom, he had no need to ask questions of anyone and completely comprehended their subtleties. Moreover, regarding the various gates of the Six Abhidharma Treatises [ṣaṭpādābhidharma], he met with no obstruction. In the kingdom of Kaśgar, there was a Tripiṭaka śramaṇa named Xijian, who said to the king: "This novice must not be underestimated. Your Majesty should invite him to begin opening the Dharma-gate, which will have two benefits: first, the śramaṇas within the country, ashamed that they cannot match him, will certainly be spurred to effort; second, the King of Kucha will surely think: 'He came from my kingdom, yet they honor him; thus they honor me,' and will certainly come to establish friendly relations." The king agreed, immediately arranged a great assembly, and invited Jīva to ascend the seat and preach the *Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra*. The King of Kucha indeed dispatched an envoy to reciprocate friendship. In his leisure from expounding the Dharma, Jīva sought out non-Buddhist texts and scriptures. He mastered the *Veda-śata-śāstra*, which extensively explained rhetorical compositions, questions, answers, and the like. He read widely in the four Veda classics and the treatises of the five sciences (pañcavidyā); of yin-yang and astrology, there was nothing he did not master completely; he subtly comprehended auspicious and inauspicious omens, and his words matched reality like tallies. By nature, he was straightforward and unrestrained. Jīva initially studied the Hīnayāna, but later devoted himself exclusively to the Vaipulya [Mahāyāna] teachings, sighing: "Formerly I studied the Hīnayāna; like a person who does not recognize gold and takes brass to be fine!" He therefore sought out the essential meanings extensively, receiving and reciting the *Madhyamaka-śāstra*, the *Śata-śāstra*, the *Dvādaśamukha-śāstra*, and others. Soon afterward, he followed his mother and proceeded to the kingdom of Wensu [Uch-Turfan], which was the northern border of Kucha. At that time, in Wensu, there was a non-Buddhist master whose divine eloquence and outstanding brilliance were renowned across many kingdoms. Beating the royal drum with his own hands, he took a vow, saying: "If anyone defeats me in debate, I will cut off my head in apology!" When Jīva arrived, he cross-examined him using two propositions; [the debater] became bewildered and at a loss, bowed his head, and took refuge in him. Thereupon Jīva's fame filled the region west of the Congling and his renown spread beyond the River. The King of Kucha personally went to Wensu to welcome Jīva back to the kingdom. He expounded various sūtras widely, and among the masters of learning from the four directions, none could rival him. At that time, the king's daughter had become a nun, named Ajiemodi [Akṣayamati?], who had read widely in the scriptures and was exceptionally deep in the essentials of meditation; she was said to have already attained the second fruit [sakṛdāgāmin]. Hearing the Dharma, she danced with joy and then arranged another great gathering to inquire into the profound secrets of the Vaipulya sūtras. Jīva analyzed and demonstrated for her that all phenomena are empty and non-self, distinguishing that the aggregates and realms are conventional designations and not real. Among those listening in the assembly at that time, none were not moved to tears, grieving in retrospect and regretting that their awakening had come so late. When he reached the age of twenty, he received the full precepts in the royal palace, studying the *Daśādhyāya-vinaya* (Ten Recitations Vinaya) under Vimalākṣa. Shortly thereafter, Jīva's mother bid farewell to go to India, saying to the King of Kucha, Bo Chun: "Your kingdom will soon decline; I shall depart." She traveled to India and advanced to attain the third fruit [anāgāmin]. When Jīva's mother was about to leave, she said to Jīva: "The profound teachings of the Vaipulya should be widely propagated in China and transmitted to the eastern lands. This is solely within your power, yet it will bring no benefit to yourself. What will you do?" Jīva said: "The way of the Great Being (mahāsattva) is to benefit others and forget one's own body. If only the great transformation can be spread to enlighten and awaken the benighted world, even if my body should suffer the torments of the caldron and furnace, I shall have no regret." He then remained in Kucha, residing at the New Monastery. Later, in the old palace beside the monastery, he first obtained the *Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra* (Light-Emitting Sūtra). Just as he opened it to read, Māra came to obscure it, so that he saw only blank paper. Jīva knew it was Māra's doing, and his vow became even firmer. Māra left, the characters reappeared, and he continued reciting it. Again he heard a voice in space saying: "You are a wise man; what need is there to read this?" Jīva said: "You are a petty māra; you should leave at once! My mind is like the earth, immovable." He stayed for three years, chanting Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises extensively and penetrating their secret depths. The King of Kucha made a golden lion throne for him, spread it with Daqin brocade cushions, and had Jīva ascend it to expound the Dharma. Jīva said: "My master has not yet awakened to the Mahāyāna; I wish to go in person to greet and pay respect to him, so I cannot remain here." Soon, the Great Master Bandhudatta arrived from afar. The king said: "Why has the Great Master favored us with a visit?" Bandhudatta replied: "First, I heard that my disciple's awakening is extraordinary; second, I heard that the Great King promotes and praises the Buddha's path; therefore I braved danger and difficulty to come from afar to this divine realm." Having his master arrive, Jīva rejoiced that his original wish was fulfilled, and expounded the *Sūtra of the Inquiries of the Virtuous Woman* for him, which extensively elucidated cause and condition, emptiness, and conventionality—matters that neither he nor his master had believed in the past; hence he expounded it first. The master asked Jīva: "What extraordinary features have you seen in the Mahāyāna that you should esteem it so?" Jīva said: "The Mahāyāna is profound and pure, elucidating that existing phenomena are all empty; the Hīnayāna is partial and narrow, clinging mostly to names and characteristics." The master said: "You say everything is empty—that is terrifying indeed! How can one abandon existence and love emptiness? Like the madman of old who ordered a spinner to spin thread and make it extremely fine and fine: the spinner took great care to make it as fine as fine dust, yet the madman still lamented that it was coarse. The spinner became furious, pointed to the air, and showed him: 'This is the fine thread!' The madman said: 'Why do I not see it?' The spinner said: 'This thread is so extremely fine that even with my skilled craft I cannot see it; how much less could someone else?' The madman was overjoyed and handed it to a weaver; the weaver also followed suit. Both received high rewards, yet in reality there was no object. Your doctrine of emptiness is just like this." Jīva then presented analogical arguments in succession, with earnest, repeated back-and-forth debates; only after more than a month did [Bandhudatta] finally accept and submit. His master sighed: "The master could not attain it, but conversely the disciple awakened his resolve—this is proven today!" Thereupon he bowed to Jīva as his teacher, saying: "The Upādhyāya is my Mahāyāna master, and I am the Upādhyāya's Hīnayāna master." All the kingdoms of the Western Regions submitted to Jīva's supernatural talent. Whenever he preached, the kings would kneel at the side of his seat and have Jīva step upon them to mount it: such was the reverence shown to him. Once Jīva's Way had spread throughout the Western Regions, his fame reached the Eastern Plains. At that time, Fu Jian usurped the title in the Guanzhong region. The king of the Anterior State of the Foreign Regions and the younger brother of the King of Kucha both came to court Fu Jian. Fu Jian granted them an audience. The two kings told Fu Jian: "The Western Regions produce many rare treasures; we request troops to pacify them and submit to your authority." In the first month of the thirteenth year of Fu Jian's Jianyuan era (the dingchou year [377 CE]), the Grand Astrologer memorialized: "A star has appeared in the astrological sector of foreign lands; a person of great virtue and wisdom will surely enter to assist China." Fu Jian said: "I have heard that in the Western Regions there is Kumārajīva, and in Xiangyang there is the śramaṇa Dao'an; could it not be them?" He immediately sent envoys to seek them out. In the second month of the seventeenth year, the King of Shanshan, the King of the Anterior State, and others again urged Fu Jian to dispatch troops to march west. In the ninth month of the eighteenth year, Fu Jian dispatched General of Agile Cavalry Lü Guang and General of Lingjiang Jiang Fei, leading the King of the Anterior State and the King of Jushi, with seventy thousand troops to march west against Kucha, Yanqi, and other states. As they were about to set out, Fu Jian gave a farewell banquet for Lü Guang at the Jianzhang Palace, saying to Lü Guang: "Emperors rule in accordance with Heaven, taking the cherishing of the people as their root; how could they greedily covet their land and attack them? It is solely for the sake of people who possess the Way. I have heard that in the western lands there is Kumārajīva, who deeply understands the characteristics of dharmas and is well-versed in yin-yang, serving as a model for later learners. I think of him deeply. The virtuous and wise are the great treasures of a nation. If you conquer Kucha, immediately send Jīva by fast courier." Before Lü Guang's army arrived, Jīva said to Bo Chun, King of Kucha: "The nation's fortune is in decline; there will be a formidable foe. People from beneath the sun are coming from the east; you should provide for and receive them, and not resist their vanguard." Chun did not comply and gave battle. Lü Guang then defeated Kucha, killed Chun, and enthroned Chun's younger brother Zhen as ruler. Having captured Jīva, Lü Guang did not fathom his capacity of wisdom, and seeing that his age was still young, treated him like an ordinary person with mockery. On the return journey, Lü Guang stationed his army at the foot of a mountain while the officers and soldiers were resting. Jīva said: "You must not remain here; you will surely face distress. You should move the army onto the ridge." Lü Guang did not heed the advice. At night, heavy rain indeed fell and a torrent suddenly surged, with water several fathoms deep, drowning several thousand men. Only then did Lü Guang secretly marvel at him. Jīva said to Lü Guang: "This is an ominous place; you should not linger. Deducing the movements and calculating the numbers, you should quickly speak of returning; on the way there will surely be a blessed land to settle." Lü Guang complied. Arriving in Liangzhou, they heard that Fu Jian had already been killed by Yao Chang. Lü Guang's three armies donned white mourning garments and wailed loudly south of the city. Thereupon he usurped the title beyond the Pass, adopting the era name Tai'an. In the first month of the second year of Tai'an, a great wind blew in Guzang. Jīva said: "An ominous wind: there will be treacherous rebellion, but without labor it will settle of itself." Later Jīva's words were indeed verified. Jīva remained in Liangzhou for many years. Since Lü Guang and his son did not promote the Way, Jīva harbored his deep comprehension without propagating it. Fu Jian had died, so they never met after all. When Yao Chang usurped possession of the Guanzhong region, he also admired Jīva's lofty reputation and humbly invited him; but the Lü family, fearing that Jīva's wisdom and resourcefulness would serve as Yao's strategist, would not permit him to go east. When Yao Chang died and his son Xing succeeded to the throne, he again dispatched earnest invitations. In the third month of the third year of Xing's Hongshi era [401 CE], interlocking trees grew in the ancestral temple courtyard, and scallions in the Xiaoyao Garden turned into shallots; this was regarded as an auspicious omen, indicating that a wise man was about to arrive. In the fifth month, Yao Xing sent the Duke of Longxi, Shuode, to march west against Lü Long; Long's army was thoroughly routed. In the ninth month, Lü Long submitted a memorial offering surrender; only then could Jīva be welcomed into the Pass. On the twentieth day of the tenth month of that year, he arrived in Chang'an. Yao Xing treated him with the rites due to a Preceptor of the State, showing him immense favor. In conversation with each other, they would linger the whole day; researching subtleties until dawn, they would forget weariness year-round. Ever since the Great Dharma spread east beginning under Emperor Ming of the Han, through the Wei and Jin dynasties, sūtras and treatises gradually multiplied; but those produced by Zhi Qian and Dharmarakṣa mostly clung to the wording and matched meanings (geyi). Yao Xing had revered the Three Jewels from his youth and eagerly desired to assemble translations. Once Jīva arrived, he invited him to enter the Ximing Pavilion and the Xiaoyao Garden to translate various sūtras. Since Jīva recited most of them from memory, he probed everything thoroughly; furthermore, he was able to render them into Chinese with fluent and smooth translations. Reviewing the older scriptures, he found their meanings mostly distorted and erroneous, all because earlier translations had lost the original intent and therefore did not correspond with the Sanskrit originals. Yao Xing ordered the śramaṇas Senglüe, Sengqian, Faqin, Daoliu, Daochang, Daobiao, Sengrui, Sengzhao, and others—more than eight hundred men—to receive instructions from Jīva and ordered a new translation of the *Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra* (Large Perfection of Wisdom). Jīva held the Sanskrit text, while Yao Xing held the old translation to collate them. Where the mixed phrasings differed from the old, the meanings were thoroughly harmonized and complete. The minds of the assembly were fully convinced and satisfied, and none did not rejoice and praise it. Considering that the Buddha's path is profound and that its practice consists solely of goodness, truly being the fine ford for escaping suffering and the grand rule for governing the world, Yao Xing therefore committed his intent to the nine classics and let his mind roam through the twelve divisions of the canon; he then composed the *Treatise on Penetrating the Three Times* to encourage and demonstrate cause and effect. From the princes and dukes downward, all revered and praised his style. The Senior General, Duke of Changshan, Xian, and the General of the Left, Marquis of Ancheng, Song, both had firm faith in conditions and karma; they repeatedly invited Jīva to lecture on the new scriptures at the Great Monastery of Chang'an and successively translate Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras and treatises, totaling more than 390 fascicles, the titles of which are listed in separate biographies. They all revealed the divine source and brought to light the profound subtleties. At that time, men of discernment from the four quarters gathered from thousands of miles away; this glorious undertaking has endured for long, admired to this day. Outstanding and virtuous figures among the monks and laity of various regions, such as the monk Huiyuan, had learning encompassing the various scriptures and served as pillars of the transmitted teachings; but being long separated in time from the Sage, when doubtful points could not be resolved, they would seal their questions to consult Jīva. Whenever one visits a king, there must be praise of his virtues; in the etiquette of seeing the Buddha, hymns of praise are esteemed as precious; the verses (gāthā) in the sūtras are all of this form. However, changing Sanskrit into Qin Chinese loses its elegance and splendor: though the general idea is captured, it is completely separated from the literary style—like chewing food for someone else: not only does it lose its flavor, but it causes them to vomit. Jīva once composed a hymn and presented it to the śramaṇa Fahe, saying: "The mountain of the mind nurtures bright virtue, / Sending forth fragrance for ten thousand yojanas. / A sorrowing luan bird upon the solitary paulownia, / Its clear notes penetrate the nine heavens."