出三藏記集 13.4

13.4

An Qing, courtesy name Shigao, was the crown prince of the primary queen of the king of Parthia (Anxi). From his youth he harbored genuine filial piety, showing utmost sincerity in respecting and nurturing [his parents]. His compassionate benevolence extended even to the crawling creatures, and his every movement, word, and act of conduct were as if conforming to a compass and square. Moreover, in his aspirations and endeavors he was intelligent and quick-witted, earnestly dedicated to learning. Of the foreign texts and records, there were none he did not comprehensively master. The signs of the seven luminaries and five phases, divination by the wind's direction (fengjiao) and cloud formations, the calculations of astronomy, waxing and waning—he thoroughly explored all their permutations. In addition, he was deeply versed in medicine, marvellously adept at acupuncture and pulse diagnosis; looking at a complexion he knew the illness, and when he administered medicine it was certain to cure. He even went so far as to know the minds of birds and beasts upon hearing their calls. Thereupon his fame as an extraordinary talent spread throughout the Western Regions, and neighboring states near and far all revered and extolled him. Although Shigao remained in lay life, he observed the precepts with meticulous austerity, continually delivering discourses and offering the gift of the Dharma. Later, upon the king's demise, he was about to succeed to the throne. He then deeply contemplated suffering and emptiness, becoming weary of fame and high position. Once the mourning observances were completed, he yielded the state to his uncle, left household life to cultivate the Way, broadly synthesized the scriptural canon, and was especially adept in abhidharma studies, chanting and upholding meditation scriptures and thoroughly grasping their subtleties. Thereafter, he traveled abroad to propagate and transform, passing through various countries. At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han, he first arrived in the Central Land. Shigao's natural acumen was discerning and acute: hearing a thing once, he could master it. Not long after his arrival, he attained complete fluency in the Chinese language. Thereupon he translated numerous scriptures, rendering the Hu into Han [Chinese]. He translated the Anban shouyi jing (Ānāpānasmṛti-sūtra), Yinchiru jing (Skandha-dhātv-āyatana-sūtra), the larger and smaller Twelve Gates, and One Hundred and Sixty Chapters, among others. Earlier, the foreign tripiṭaka master Saṅgharakṣa compiled an epitome of scriptures in twenty-seven chapters; Shigao analyzed seven chapters compiled by Saṅgharakṣa and translated them into Chinese, which is the Daodi jing (Yogācārabhūmi). In all, the scriptures he translated earlier and later amounted to forty-five works. Their doctrinal principles are clear and analytical, the wording accurate and correct, eloquent without being florid, plain without being rustic. All who read them do so untiringly and with zeal. Shigao thoroughly investigated principles and exhausted nature, knowing of himself his past karmic connections; he had many supernatural occurrences that the world could not fathom. Shigao initially recounted of himself that in a past life he had already been a Parthian prince and had left household life together with the son of an elder of that country. When begging for alms, if a donor did not give according to [the fellow-student's] wishes, the fellow-student would immediately become enraged. Shigao repeatedly rebuked him; the fellow-student apologized in repentance, yet still did not mend his ways. After more than twenty years like this, Shigao bid farewell to the fellow-student, saying: 'I must go to Guangzhou to settle a retribution from a past life. You are not behind me in understanding scriptures and vigorous progress, yet by nature you are given to wrath; after passing away, you will receive an evil rebirth form. If I attain the Way, I will certainly deliver you.' Thereafter, he went to Guangzhou, where he encountered a great rebellion by bandits. Walking along the road, he met a youth who spat on his hands, drew a sword, and said: 'I have truly caught you!' Shigao smiled and said: 'In a past life I owed you a debt, and therefore I have come from afar to repay it. Your fury is precisely the intention from that former life.' He then stretched out his neck to receive the blade, without any look of fear on his countenance. The bandit then killed him. Those who watched filled the road, and none were not astounded by this extraordinary event. Thereafter, his consciousness returned to become the crown prince of Parthia, which was Shigao's present incarnation. After Shigao had completed his traveling, transforming, and translating scriptures in China, he encountered the turmoil in Guanzhong and Luoyang at the end of Emperor Ling's reign. He then leaned upon his tin staff and headed south of the Yangzi, saying: 'I shall pass by Mount Lu to deliver my former fellow-student.' On his journey, he reached the shrine at Lake Gongting. This shrine had long possessed divine efficacy; when merchant travelers prayed, the wind would split to blow both upstream and downstream, none suffering delay. There was once someone who begged for the deity's bamboo; before permission was granted, he took it, whereupon his boat immediately capsized and the bamboo returned to its original place. From then on, boatmen feared and respected the deity, none failing to tremble before its shadow. Shigao traveled alongside more than thirty boats, and they offered animal sacrifices to pray for blessings. The spirit then descended through the medium, saying: 'There is a śramaṇa on the boats; you may summon him to come up.' The guests were all alarmed and invited Shigao into the shrine. The deity said to Shigao: 'In the past in a foreign land, I left household life together with you to study the Way. I took pleasure in practicing giving, but by nature was prone to anger. Now I am the deity of Lake Gongting, and the surrounding thousand li are all under my control. Because of giving, I have countless treasures and curios; because of anger, I fell into this spirit form. Seeing my fellow-student now, how can my sorrow and joy be told? My lifespan will end any day, yet my ugly form is long and vast. If I cast off my life here, it would pollute the rivers and lakes; I must cross to the empty marsh west of the mountain. Fearing that when this body perishes I may fall into hell, I have a thousand bolts of silk together with various treasures; you may erect a stūpa and conduct Dharma affairs on my behalf, so that I may be born in a good place.' Shigao said: 'I came specifically to deliver you. Why do you not show your form?' The deity said: 'My form is extremely grotesque; the multitude will surely be frightened.' Shigao said: 'Just come out; the crowd will not think it strange.' The spirit put forth its head from behind the couch—it was a great python. Coming beside Shigao's knees, its tears fell like rain; the length of its tail was unknown. Shigao spoke to it in the Hu language, which those beside could not understand. The python then withdrew into hiding. Shigao immediately took the silk and goods, bid farewell, and departed. When the boat travelers hoisted sail, the deity put forth its python body once again, ascended the mountain peak, and gazed toward the multitude; after they raised their hands [in farewell], it vanished. In an instant, they reached Yuzhang, where he immediately used the shrine's goods to establish the Eastern Monastery (Dongsi). After Shigao departed, the spirit expired. In the evening, a youth came aboard the boat, knelt long before Shigao, received his recitation of blessings (cuoyu), and suddenly disappeared. Shigao said to the boatmen: 'The youth just now was the deity of Gongting Shrine; he has succeeded in escaping his evil form.' Thereupon the shrine deity's manifestations ceased and it had no further efficacy. Later, people found a dead python in the marshes of the western mountain, its head and tail several li apart; Snake Village in present-day Xunyang Commandery is that place. Thereupon, [Shigao] went to Guangzhou to search for the youth who had killed him in his previous life. At that time, the youth was still alive, already over sixty years of age. Shigao went straight to his house, spoke with him about what had happened when settling the retribution in the past, and recounted their karmic ties, facing each other with joy. He said: 'I still have a remnant of retribution; now I must go to Kuaiji to settle it.' The guest from Guangzhou deeply realized that Shigao was no ordinary man, had an open awakening of mind, repented his former transgressions, and richly provided him with provisions. He then followed Shigao eastward, eventually arriving in Kuaiji. Upon arrival, he entered the marketplace. Just then, people were brawling in the marketplace; striking wildly in the fray, they mistakenly hit Shigao, and he died on the spot. Having repeatedly witnessed the two retributions, the guest from Guangzhou then vigorously applied himself to the Buddha's Dharma, related the events and circumstances in full detail, and none who heard of it far and wide failed to lament in sorrow, showing clearly that the three times have their proofs. As Shigao was originally of royal lineage and his fame was high in foreign lands, traveling guests from the western regions still called him Marquis An (Anhou), which remains an epithet down to the present. The state of Tianzhu refers to its own writing as divine writing and its speech as divine speech; its pronunciation and syntax are intricate and difficult, vastly different from Han [Chinese]. Translations handed down successively have often led to errors and confusion; only Shigao's scriptural translations stand at the head of all translations. Master Dao'an considered that to have personally received teachings from him would have been no different from seeing a sage. Eminent and virtuous men of successive generations have all praised and longed for him.