法苑珠林 16.69

16.69

At Wuji Temple in Chang'an during the Jin, there was Shi Dao'an, of the Wei family, a native of Fuliu in Changshan. Although his physical appearance was inferior to others, his intelligence and talent were rarely matched. At seven he read books, and after looking at them twice, he could recite them. At the age of thirteen he went forth from home; daily he recited ten thousand words without a single mistake. His teacher held him in awe and wonder, had him receive full ordination, and permitted him to travel for study. Reaching Ye, he entered Zhong Temple and met Fotudeng. Deng saw him, sighed in marvel, and spoke with him the entire day. Thereupon he served Deng as teacher. When Deng lectured, Dao'an repeated the lectures; sharp objections and doubts arose, but Dao'an blunted their points and resolved the knots, with surplus ability to spare. People at the time said: 'The lacquer monk astounds the four neighbours.' Later, Dao'an avoided regional unrest and went south to Xiangyang, crossing the river with over four hundred disciples including Shi Huiyuan. Traveling at night, they encountered thunder and rain, advancing by the light of lightning. Proceeding forward, they were able to enter a household, where they saw a horse trough inside the gate, in the middle of which hung a horse nosebag that could hold one hu. Dao'an called out, 'Lin Bosheng!' The master of the house came out in astonishment, and his surname was indeed Lin and his given name Bosheng. Taking Dao'an for a divine being, he received him generously. Later, the disciples asked how he knew the surname and name. Dao'an said: 'Two trees (mu) make Lin; a bag holds a hundred sheng.' After he arrived in Xiangyang, there was a foreign bronze image with an ancient and extraordinary design; the assembly at the time did not revere it very deeply. Dao'an said: 'The shape and marks of the image are exceptionally fine, but the form of the topknot is not well matched.' He ordered his disciples to melt and re-cast the topknot. Thereupon, radiant flames shone brightly, filling the whole hall. Looking closely into the topknot, they saw a śarīra. The crowd was all ashamed and convinced. Dao'an said: 'Since the image is divinely extraordinary, there is no need to melt it again,' and stopped. The discerning all said that Dao'an knew there was a śarīra and brought it forth to show the assembly. At that time, Xi Zuochi of Xiangyang possessed an eloquence that soared into the heavens, overshadowing his contemporaries. Having long heard of Dao'an's lofty reputation, he had previously sent letters to cultivate good relations: 'I have heard that you respond to the true and tread in rectitude, with bright understanding harmonized within; your compassionate instructions shine everywhere, shading monastics and laypeople alike. Since the Great Teaching flowed eastward for over four hundred years, although border kings and lay devotees have occasionally revered it, the ancient instructions of Cīnasthāna were practiced in prior eras. The fortunes of the Dharma change with time, and worldly people have not yet all awakened. Of late, the flourishing of your practice of the Dharma is peerless. As it is said, when the Moonlight youth is about to appear, the divine bowl should descend. The Master bears the great norm, and your transformation reaches everywhere without obscurity. The monks of this land all long for you. If the dust of your spirit moves eastward and your maṇi jewel turns its radiance, once you step upon the seven-jeweled seat and temporarily display the lamp of wisdom, raining sweet dew upon the luxuriant grass and planting sandalwood on the riverbanks, then the teaching of the Tathāgata will be exalted again in our day, and the profound waves will surge and cleanse the age anew.' Much of the text is not recorded in full. When Xi heard that Dao'an had arrived, he immediately went to call on him. Once seated, he declared: 'Xi Zuochi of the Four Seas.' Dao'an replied: 'Shi Dao'an of the Vast Sky.' People of the time considered it a celebrated rejoinder. Dao'an often wrote commentaries on the scriptures, fearing they might not accord with reason. He made a vow: 'If what I have explained is not too far from the truth, may I see an auspicious sign.' He then dreamed of an Indian monk with white hair and long eyebrows, who spoke to Dao'an, saying: 'The sūtras you have annotated accord remarkably with reason. I cannot enter Nirvāṇa and remain in the Western Regions; I shall help you propagate them. You may set out food for me from time to time.' Later, when the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya arrived, Master Huiyuan realized that what the preceptor had dreamed of was Piṇḍola. Thereupon they set up a seat and offered food to him, which became a universal rule everywhere. As Dao'an's virtue was honoured by all and his learning encompassed the Tripiṭaka, he established regulations for monks and nuns and statutes for the Buddha Dharma, divided into three categories: first, the ritual of presenting incense, determining seats, and reciting and lecturing on sūtras; second, the ritual of practicing the path, eating, and announcing the hours during the six intervals of the ordinary day; third, the ritual of the poṣadha, assigning tasks, and repentance. Monasteries throughout the world followed and complied with them. Dao'an, together with his disciple Fayu and others, regularly made vows before the image of Maitreya, aspiring to be born in Tuṣita. Later, on the twenty-seventh day of the first month in the twenty-first year of Jianyuan of the Qin, an extraordinary monk of very crude and lowly appearance suddenly came to lodge at the temple. As the temple rooms were cramped, he was accommodated in the lecture hall. At that time, the karmadāna was on duty in the hall and saw this monk entering and exiting through the window crevices at night. He hurried to report this to Dao'an. Dao'an rose in shock, made reverent inquiries, and asked his purpose in coming. He answered, 'I have come for your sake.' Dao'an said, 'Considering how deep my sins are, how can I be delivered?' He answered, 'You can certainly be delivered! However, if you bathe the holy monks for a short while, your heartfelt wish will surely be fulfilled.' He showed the bathing method in detail. Dao'an asked about the place where he would be born in his next life. He then brushed the northwest of the sky with an empty hand, whereupon the clouds parted, and they fully beheld the wondrous, supreme retribution of Tuṣita. That night, several tens of people in the great assembly all saw it together. Later, when Dao'an prepared the bathing implements, he saw several tens of extraordinary children come into the temple to play and shortly take baths. It was indeed a holy response. On the eighth day of the second month of that year, he suddenly announced to the assembly: 'I must depart.' That day, after concluding the midday meal, he passed away without illness. He was buried in Wuji Temple inside the city. This was the tenth year of Taiyuan of the Jin; he was seventy-two years old. Before Dao'an's passing, whenever he previously heard of Kumārajīva in the Western Regions, he longed to analyze and discuss texts together with him, and constantly urged Fu Jian to bring him. Kumārajīva also heard of Dao'an's renown from afar, regarded him as a sage of the East, and constantly bowed to him from a distance. Originally, when Dao'an was born, on his left arm was a piece of skin about an inch wide attached along the arm; it could be moved up and down, but could not be slipped off the hand. People at the time called him the Seal-Hand Bodhisattva. Sixteen years after Dao'an passed away, Master Kumārajīva finally arrived; he lamented that they had not met, mourning with boundless regret. As Dao'an was deeply fond of the scriptures and set his mind on propagating the Dharma, he invited foreign śramaṇas such as Saṃghadeva, Dharmanandin, and Saṃghabhūti to translate various scriptures amounting to over a million words. He constantly settled sounds and characters and scrutinized textual meanings together with Śramaṇa Fahe; thus newly translated scriptures were rectified. Sun Chuo wrote the Treatise on Renowned and Virtuous Śramaṇas, appraising him: 'Shi Dao'an was erudite and broadly conversant; his talent encompassed the principles of the scriptures.' He also composed a eulogy for him, saying: