出三藏記集 13.20

13.20

尸梨蜜。西域人也。時人呼之為高座。傳云。國王之子。當承繼世。而以國讓弟。闇軌太伯。既而悟心天啟。遂為沙門。蜜天資高朗風骨邁舉。直爾對之。便自卓出於物。永嘉中始到此土。止建初寺。丞相王導一見而奇之。以為吾之徒也。由是名顯。太尉庾元氷光祿周伯仁太常謝幼璵廷尉桓茂倫。皆一代名士。見之終日累歎。披衿致契。道詣蜜。蜜解帶偃伏。悟言神解。時尚書令卞望之。亦與蜜致善。卞斂衿飾容端坐對之。諸公於是歎其精神灑厲皆得其所。桓廷尉曾欲為蜜作目。久之未得。有云。尸梨蜜可稱卓朗。於是桓乃咨嗟絕嘆。以為標題之極。大將軍王處冲。時在南夏。聞王周諸公器重蜜。疑以為失鑒。既見。乃振欣奔至。一面便盡周顗為僕射。領選臨入過視蜜。乃撫背而歎。若使太平世盡得選此賢輩。真令人無恨。俄而顗遇害。蜜往省其孤。對坐作胡唄三契。梵響淩雲。誦呪數千言。聲高韻暢。顏容不變。既而揮涕抆淚。神氣自若。其哀樂廢興。皆此類也。王公曾謂蜜曰。外國正當有君一人而已耳。蜜笑而答曰。若使我如。諸君今日。豈得在此。當時以為當言。蜜性高簡。不學晉語。諸公與之語言。蜜因傳譯。然而神領意得頓盡言前。莫不歎其自然天拔悟得非常。蜜善持呪術。所向皆驗。初江東未有呪法。蜜傳出孔雀王諸神呪。又授弟子覓歷高聲梵唄。傳響于今。年八十餘。咸康中卒。諸公聞之痛惜流涕。宣武桓公常云。少見高座稱其精神淵著當年出倫。其為名士所歎如此。

Śrīmitra was a man from the Western Regions. People of the time called him "High Seat". Tradition says that he was the son of a king and due to inherit the realm, but he yielded the kingdom to his younger brother, covertly following the model of Taibo. Afterward, his mind awakening through heavenly inspiration, he eventually became a śramaṇa. Mitra's natural endowment was lofty and luminous, his character outstanding and exalted; merely facing him, one felt he naturally transcended ordinary worldly beings. He first arrived in this land during the Yongjia era and stayed at Jianchu Monastery. Chancellor Wang Dao marveled at him upon first meeting him, considering him one of his own kind. From this, his reputation became illustrious. Grand Defender Yu Yuanbing, Guanglu [dapu] Zhou Boren, Grand Chang谢 Youyu, and Tingwei Huan Maolun were all celebrated scholars of the age; seeing him, they repeatedly praised him all day long, opening their hearts to form bonds of fellowship. They would visit Mitra, and Mitra would undo his sash and recline, their converse attaining spiritual accord. At that time, Bian Wangzhi, Prefect of the Masters of Writing, also formed a close friendship with Mitra; Bian would straighten his lapels, adjust his countenance, and sit upright facing him. The noble gentlemen thereupon sighed in admiration that his spirit was brisk and unrestrained, always adapting suitably to each person. Tingwei Huan once wished to compose a character sketch for Mitra, but for a long time could not find the words. Someone said, "Śrīmitra may be described as 'eminent and luminous'." Thereupon Huan sighed in boundless praise, considering this the pinnacle of epithets. General-in-Chief Wang Chuchong was then in the southern regions; hearing that Wang, Zhou, and the other noble gentlemen held Mitra in high esteem, he suspected they were lacking in discernment. Yet upon seeing him, he came hastening forward in delight, fully won over at their first meeting. When Zhou Yi became Vice Director of the Left overseeing the civil appointments, he stopped by to see Mitra just before taking up his post. Patting his back, he sighed: "If only in an era of great peace all such worthy individuals could be selected, one would truly have no regrets." Shortly afterward, Yi met with disaster. Mitra went to visit his orphans. Facing them, he performed a Hu chanting in three verses; the Brahmic sounds soared above the clouds. He recited several thousand words of dhāraṇī with a high and melodious voice, his expression unchanged. Afterward, he brushed away tears and wept, his composure remaining as before. His handling of sorrow and joy, decline and prosperity, was always of this sort. Wang Dao once said to Mitra: "In foreign lands, there is surely only you alone!" Mitra smiled and replied: "If I were like you gentlemen today, how could I be here?" The people of the time considered this an apt remark. By nature Mitra was lofty and laconic, and did not learn the Jin language. When the noble gentlemen conversed with him, Mitra did so through an interpreter. Yet he grasped the meaning through spiritual intuition, completely apprehending it before words were even spoken; none failed to marvel at his innate transcendence and extraordinary insight. Mitra was skilled in maintaining spells, which proved efficacious wherever applied. Previously, the east of the Yangtze River had no dhāraṇī practices; Mitra introduced and translated the spells of the Peacock King and other divine incantations. He also instructed his disciple Mili in chanting high-pitched Brahmic hymns, the echoes of which have been passed down to the present day. He was over eighty years old when he died during the Xiankang era. When the gentlemen heard of it, they grieved deeply and shed tears. Duke Huan of Xuanwu often said that in his youth he had seen High Seat, praising his spirit as profound and prominent, unequaled in his generation. Such was the admiration he received from the celebrated scholars.