出三藏記集 13.18

13.18

Zhu Shulan was originally a man of India. His grandfather, Loutuo, was devoted in purpose and fond of learning, pure, simple, and principled. At that time the king of the state was unprincipled and the common people thought of rebellion. A treacherous minister who led troops committed an offense, and fearing execution, he called upon the notables of the state to rebel with him. Loutuo said angrily, 'You arose from lowly status and yet were appointed to an essential post; can you not repay this kindness with virtue, but instead plot treason? I would rather preserve my loyalty and die than rebel and live.' Fearing the plot would leak, the rebel killed him and rose in revolt. Loutuo's son, Damoxiluo (in the language of Qi, Fasou [Dharmaśīla]), had previously been in another country; his wife's two brothers were both śramaṇas. Hearing that his father had been killed and that the country was in great turmoil, he fled to the Jin with the two śramaṇas and lived in Henan, where Shulan was born. Shulan was intelligent and articulate from youth; he studied and received scriptural teachings from his two maternal uncles, awakening upon hearing them once. He was skilled in both Hu and Chinese languages and scripts, and also well versed in diverse literary and historical works. However, he was somewhat reckless and frivolous by nature, indulging in hunting without restraint. He once chased a deer on a single horse, encountered a tiger, fell from his horse, and broke his right arm. Only after a long time did he recover. Afterward, he galloped about without stopping; his mother repeatedly scolded and admonished him, and only when she ceased eating meat and ate vegetables on his behalf did he finally stop. By nature he was fond of wine, feeling relaxed only after drinking five or six sheng, and he would often lie dead drunk by the roadside. He even entered the gate of Henan Commandery shouting and calling, so the clerks recorded and sent him to the Henan jail. At that time Yue Guang, the Intendant of Henan, was drinking with his guests; already drunk, he said to Lan, 'You are an immigrant; why do you learn to drink wine from others?' Zhu Shulan said, 'Du Kang brewed wine for all under heaven to drink; why speak of immigrants or natives?' Guang said again, 'Drinking wine may be fine, but why be wild and disordered?' He replied, 'I, the commoner, may be wild but am not disordered, just as your lordship, though drunk, is not wild.' Guang shouted out and asked the guests present, 'How is it that a foreigner has a white face?' Shulan replied, 'The people of Henan have black faces, yet no one doubts them; what is so strange about my having a white face?' Thereupon host and guests admired his quick wit and released him. Soon afterward, he died suddenly without illness and revived after three days. He related that he entered a vermilion gate where there was a hall made of gold and silver, and saw a man who said he was his grandfather. [The grandfather] said to Shulan, 'I practiced goodness for years and now receive this retribution. You are a sinner; how could you come here?' At that time the gatekeeper drove him out with a staff. Entering a bamboo grove, he saw his hunting companions being pecked and bitten by falcons and hounds, bleeding and crying out to Shulan for help. Shulan ran and fled several tens of paces, where he met an ox-headed man who was about to pierce him with a pitchfork. Shulan said, 'For generations I have been a disciple of the Buddha, constantly making offerings to two śramaṇas. What crime brings this punishment upon me?' The ox-headed man replied, 'This only reaps blessing; it does not concern the sin of hunting.' Soon he saw his two maternal uncles arrive, who said to the ox-headed man, 'The two of us have constantly received his offerings; his evil is little and his good is great, so he may be spared.' He then returned following the clerics, and thereupon revived. Thereupon he altered his conduct, cultivated compassion, and dedicated his mind to the scriptural Dharma. In the first year of Yuankang of the Jin (291 CE), he translated the Fangguang jing and an alternative Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, totaling over one hundred thousand words. Since his learning encompassed both Hu and Chinese, his translated meanings were precise and accurate. Later, his mother died, and after three months he wished to bury her. A neighbour said, 'The months of this year are inauspicious; you may wait until next year.' Shulan said, 'Whatever is born must have a death; the dead do not come back to life. Humans and spirits tread different paths; this is in the nature of things. If my deceased mother's spirit finds a resting place, my filial piety will be fulfilled. If I wait until next year, I fear there will be nowhere to flee—how will there be leisure to attend to this?' He thereupon completed the burial immediately. The next year, Shi Le indeed rose in revolt, and bandits ran rampant. He fled the region to Jingzhou. Later, without illness, he suddenly told his acquaintances, 'I am about to die,' and passed away several days later. Those who understood regarded him as having known his fate.