法苑珠林 55.39

55.39

吳書云。孫權赤烏四年有康居國沙門名僧會姓康。來到吳國。遂感舍利。五色光曜天地。鎚之逾堅。燒之不然。光明出火作大蓮華照曜宮殿。臣主驚嗟歎希有瑞。為立塔寺度人出家。又以教法初興名為建初寺。勅下問尚書令闞澤曰。漢明已來凡有幾年。佛教入漢既久。何緣始至江東。澤曰。自漢明永平十年佛法初來。至今赤烏四年。則一百七十年矣。初永平十四年。五岳道士與摩騰捔力之時。道士不如。南岳道士褚善信費叔才等。在會自憾而死。門徒弟子歸葬南岳不預出家。無人流布。後遭漢政凌遲兵戎不息。經今多載始得興行。

The History of Wu says: In the fourth year of the Chiwu reign of Sun Quan, there was a śramaṇa from Kangju named Senghui, whose surname was Kang. He came to the state of Wu, and subsequently elicited relics. Their five-coloured light illuminated heaven and earth; struck with a hammer, they grew only harder; burned in fire, they would not ignite. From the radiant light emerged fire that formed a great lotus flower illuminating the palace halls. Ruler and ministers marveled in astonishment, praising the rare and auspicious sign. For him they established a stūpa and monastery, and ordained people into the monastic life. Moreover, because the teaching was first arising, it was named Jianchu Temple. An imperial decree was issued asking the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Kan Ze, 'How many years has it been since Emperor Ming of the Han? Buddhism entered the Han long ago; for what reason has it only now reached Jiangdong?' Ze said, 'From the initial arrival of the Buddha-Dharma in the tenth year of Yongping under Emperor Ming of the Han until the present fourth year of Chiwu, it has been 170 years. Earlier, in the fourteenth year of Yongping, when the Daoists of the Five Marchmounts contested their powers with Mātaṅga, the Daoists were inferior. The Southern Marchmount Daoists Chu Shanxin, Fei Shucai, and others died of remorse at the assembly. Their disciples returned to bury them at the Southern Marchmount and did not take part in leaving the household life. With no one to disseminate it, and later meeting with the decline of the Han governance and ceaseless warfare, it has taken many years until now for it to begin to flourish and spread.'