[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [大宋僧史略](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126) › 3.35 # 大宋僧史略 3.35 大宋僧史略 3.35 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [3.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126.3.35) 問曰。竺乾化境證果人多。何以法被中華窈無蹤迹。答曰。我教以信解修證為階。若信佛言則解佛意。當修聖行必登果證也。又以教理行果四種撿之。則時有正法。像法去聖如近。四種猶全。望聖纔遙。四種多缺矣。或曰。服食素治己病。病損連服必至長生。長生不已則白日上升。豈非目擊。何釋門罕聞此驗耶。答曰。譬猶下種。秋成各殊。彼以尸解上升為極。我則斷障出纏。由賢入聖。然後游戲神通而作佛事。為化利有情之故。豈同其自了自遷而為極事也。如其要知。略陳梗概。案漢法本內傳。摩騰角法既勝。踊身虛空說偈等。此現通驗果證之始也。又安清度䢼亭湖蛇。了三世殘業。次則天台飛錫。瓜步浮杯。真諦敷坐具而涉江。圖澄開腹腸而洗淨。道開石子而充食。乞僧羊酒而却存。法進足離地而行。跋摩蹈席華而潔。法雲公日行萬里。僧伽師身現泗濱。如此諸師還得果不。我宗中重生故名生論一中。本待生故而獲大果也。他宗重往故名生生身。乘剛躡桷。何為究盡。無以白日上升。少許修鍊而比於無漏業。資現神逞變之作也。何云罕見聞耶。自聵其耳。非雷霆之吝聲也。 > Question: 'In the converted realm of India, there are many who realize the fruits. Why is it that when the Dharma reached China, there are no traces of this at all?' Answer: 'Our teaching takes faith, understanding, practice, and realization as its steps. If one has faith in the Buddha's words, then one understands the Buddha's intent; when one undertakes sacred practice, one will surely attain the fruits and realization. Furthermore, if examined by means of the four factors of teaching, principle, practice, and fruit: during the era of the True Dharma and when the Semblance Dharma was close to the Sage, the four factors were still complete; but as distance from the Sage has just grown remote, the four factors are mostly deficient.' Some might say: 'Ingesting herbs inherently cures one's illnesses; when the illness is relieved, continued ingestion will certainly lead to longevity, and when longevity does not cease, one ascends \[to heaven\] in broad daylight. Is this not seen with one's own eyes? Why is such efficacy rarely heard of within the gate of Śākya?' Answer: 'It is like sowing seeds: the autumn harvest differs in each case. They take corpse deliverance (shijie) and ascending above as the ultimate, whereas we sever hindrances and escape fetters, proceeding from worthiness into sagehood, and only then playfully exercise spiritual penetrations to perform the Buddha's work for the sake of transforming and benefiting sentient beings. How could this be the same as their self-completion and self-translocation taken as the ultimate affair? If you wish to know, I shall briefly state the outline. According to the Internal Chronicle of the Han Origins of the Dharma, after Kāśyapa Mātaṅga proved superior in contesting the teachings, he leapt into the empty sky and spoke verses—this was the beginning of manifesting supernormal powers to verify the realization of the fruits. Furthermore, An Qing \[An Shigao\] delivered the serpent of Lake Gongting, settling the residual karma of three lifetimes. Next, there was Tiantai \[Zhiyi\]'s flying staff, and floating a cup at Guabu; Paramārtha spreading his sitting mat to cross the river; Fotudeng opening his belly and intestines to wash them clean; Daokai using pebbles to satisfy his hunger; the mendicant monk consuming mutton and wine yet having them live again; Fajin walking with his feet off the ground; Guṇavarman stepping on floral mats while keeping them pristine; Master Fayun walking ten thousand li in a single day; and Master Saṅgha manifesting his body at the shores of the Si River. Did masters such as these attain the fruit or not? In our tradition, we value rebirth, hence the title "Treatise on Rebirth" (Shenglun); being in the midst of the One, originally awaiting birth, one thereby obtains the great fruit. Other traditions value departure, hence they speak of producing the physical body (shengshen); mounting the rigid and treading the rafters, how can this be considered ultimate? Do not compare ascending in broad daylight from a little cultivation to the undefiled karma that empowers the manifestation of spiritual deeds and transformations! How can you say it is rarely seen or heard? You have deafened your own ears; it is not that the thunderclaps have begrudged their sound.' > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 3.34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126.3.34) - [Next: 3.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126.3.36) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126.3) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126~en-mt.3.35) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126.3.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2126.3.35) · Pramāṇa