出三藏記集 13.26

13.26

僧伽提婆。罽賓人也。姓瞿曇氏。入道修學遠求明師。兼通三藏。多所誦持。尤善阿毘曇心洞其纖旨。常誦三法度晝夜嗟味。以為道之府也。為人俊朗有深鑒。儀止溫恭。務在誨人恂恂不怠。符氏建元中。入關宣流法化。初安公之出婆須蜜經也。提婆與僧伽跋澄。共執梵文。後令曇摩難提出二阿鋡。時有慕容之難。戎世建法倉卒未練。安公先所出阿毘曇廣說三法度等諸經。凡百餘萬言。譯人造次未善詳審。義旨句味往往愆謬。俄而安公棄世。不及改正。後山東清平。提婆乃與冀州沙門法和。俱適洛陽。四五年間研講前經。居華歲積。轉明漢語。方知先所出經多有乖失。法和歎恨未定。重請譯改。乃更出阿毘曇及廣說先出眾經。漸改定焉。頃之姚興王秦法事甚盛。於是法和入關。而提婆度江。先是廬山慧遠法師。翹勤妙典廣集經藏。虛心側席延望遠賓。聞其至止。即請入廬岳。以太元十六年。請譯阿毘曇心及三法度等經。提婆乃於波若臺。手執胡本口宣晉言。去華存實務盡義本。今之所傳。蓋其文也。至隆安元年。遊于京師。晉朝王公及風流名士。莫不造席致敬。時衛軍東亭侯王珣。雅有信慧住持正法。建立精舍廣招學眾。提婆至止珣即迎請。仍於其舍講阿毘曇。名僧畢集。提婆宗致既精。辭旨明析振發義奧。眾咸悅悟。時王珣僧等亦在聽坐。後於別屋自講。珣問法網道人。阿字所得云何。答曰。大略全是小未精覈耳。其敷演之明易啟人心如此。其年冬。珣集京都義學沙門四十餘人。更請提婆於其寺譯出中阿鋡。罽賓沙門僧伽羅叉執胡本。提婆翻為晉言。至來夏方訖。其在關洛江左所出眾經。垂百餘萬言。歷遊華戎備悉風俗。從容機警善於談笑。其道化聲譽莫不聞焉。未詳其卒歲月。提婆或作提和。蓋音訛故不同云。

Saṅghadeva was a man of Kapiśa, of the Gautama clan. Entering the Dao and pursuing study, he sought enlightened teachers from afar. He was thoroughly versed in the tripiṭaka and recited many texts, being particularly skilled in the Abhidharma-hṛdaya and penetrating its subtle points. He constantly recited the Tridharmaka-śāstra day and night, savoring it and considering it the treasury of the Dao. In character he was talented, lucid, and possessed deep discernment; his deportment was warm and courteous, and he dedicated himself to instructing others with tireless gentleness. During the Jianyuan era of the Fu clan, he entered the passes to proclaim and spread the teachings of the Dharma. Earlier, when Master Dao'an produced the Vasumitra-sūtra, Deva and Saṅghabhadra jointly held the Sanskrit text. Later, Dharmanandin was asked to produce the two Āgamas. At that time, there was the turmoil caused by the Murong clan; amidst wartime, the establishment of the Dharma was hasty and unrefined. The Abhidharma-vibhāṣā, Tridharmaka-śāstra, and other scriptures previously translated by Master Dao'an, amounting to over a million words in all, were done in haste by the translators without careful scrutiny, so that the doctrinal meanings and phrasing frequently contained errors. Soon afterward, Master Dao'an passed away, before they could be corrected. Later, when the region east of the mountains became peaceful, Deva and the Jizhou śramaṇa Fahe went together to Luoyang. For four or five years, they investigated and lectured on the previously translated scriptures. Having lived in China for many years, his mastery of the Chinese language grew clearer, and he only then realized that the previously translated scriptures had many discrepancies and errors. Fahe lamented that they remained unfinalized and repeatedly requested a revised translation. They then re-translated the Abhidharma and the Vibhāṣā, gradually revising and finalizing the scriptures produced earlier. Shortly thereafter, Yao Xing ruled Qin and Buddhist activities flourished greatly; thereupon, Fahe entered the passes, while Deva crossed the Yangtze River. Prior to this, Master of the Dharma Huiyuan of Mount Lu had diligently sought marvelous texts, widely assembled the scriptural canon, and with open mind and keen anticipation looked out for guests from afar. Hearing of Deva's arrival, he immediately invited him to Mount Lu. In the sixteenth year of the Taiyuan era, he requested him to translate the Abhidharma-hṛdaya, the Tridharmaka-śāstra, and other texts. Thereupon, at the Prajñā Terrace, Deva held the Hu manuscript in hand and proclaimed it orally in the Jin language, eliminating superfluous ornament while preserving the substance, striving to exhaust the original meaning. What is transmitted today is indeed this text. In the first year of the Long'an era, he traveled to the capital. The princes, dukes, and refined scholars of the Jin court all visited his seat to pay their respects. At that time, the General of the Guard and Marquis of Dongting, Wang Xun, possessed elegant faith and wisdom, upheld the true Dharma, founded a monastery, and widely recruited students. When Deva arrived, Wang Xun immediately welcomed and invited him, and proceeded to have him lecture on the Abhidharma in his residence. Renowned monks gathered completely. Since Deva's doctrinal tenets were refined, and his expressions clear and analytical, elucidating the profoundest meanings, the assembly was filled with joy and understanding. At that time, Wang Xun's monastic dependents were also among the audience; afterward, one of them lectured on it privately in another room. Wang Xun asked the master Fazhi: "How much has he grasped from the Ā[bhidharma]?" He answered: "In broad outlines, he has it entirely; it is only slightly lacking in precise verification." Such was the clarity of Deva's exposition in opening people's minds. In the winter of that year, Wang Xun gathered more than forty doctrinal monks of the capital and again requested Deva to translate the Madhyama-āgama at his monastery. The Kapiśa śramaṇa Saṅgharakṣa held the Hu manuscript, and Deva translated it into the Jin language, concluding only in the following summer. The scriptures he translated in Guanzhong, Luoyang, and Jiangzuo amounted to nearly one million words. Having traveled through both Chinese and foreign lands, he was thoroughly acquainted with their customs; he was composed, alert, and skilled in pleasant conversation. The renown of his moral transformation was heard by all. The date of his death is not known in detail. Deva is sometimes written as Dihe, which is simply due to phonological variation.