出三藏記集 14

English (machine translation) 14

Language: English

14.1

Compiled by the śramaṇa Shi Sengyou of Jianchu Monastery under the Liang

Biography of Kumārajīva, First
Biography of Buddhayaśas, Second
Biography of Dharmakṣema, Third
Biography of Buddhabhadra, Fourth
Biography of Guṇavarman, Fifth
Biography of Saṅghavarman, Sixth
Biography of Dharmamitra, Seventh
Biography of Guṇabhadra, Eighth
Biography of Juqu, Marquis of Anyang, Ninth
Biography of Guṇavṛddhi, Tenth

14.3

Biography of Kumārajīva, First

14.4

Kumārajīva, translated in Chinese as Tongshou ('Youth of Long Life'), was a native of Tianzhu. His family had for generations served as state chancellors. Jīva's grandfather, Datta, was distinguished and unconventional, his renown great throughout the kingdom. His father, Kumārāyana, possessed bright intelligence and admirable virtue; when he was about to inherit the position of chancellor, he resigned, renounced worldly life, and went east across the Congling mountains. When the King of Kucha heard that he had cast aside glory, he held him in deep veneration and went out in person to the suburbs to welcome him, appointing him Preceptor of the State. The King had a younger sister, just twenty years of age, whose natural discernment was bright and quick: what passed before her eyes she could invariably master, and hearing something once she could recite it; furthermore, she had a red birthmark on her body indicating that according to the portents she would bear a wise son. Although various kingdoms sought her in marriage, none succeeded, but upon seeing [Kumār]āyana her heart wished to wed him. Hearing of this, the King was overjoyed and pressured Āyana into making her his wife; she subsequently gave birth to Jīva. While Jīva was in the womb, his mother's understanding and insight doubled what was ordinary. When she went to the Great Cakaraka Monastery to hear the sūtras, she suddenly was able of her own accord to speak the language of Tianzhu, at which everyone marveled in astonishment. An arhat named Dharmaghoṣa said, 'She must certainly be carrying a wise child,' citing for them the precedent of Śāriputra while in the womb. Soon afterwards she gave birth to Jīva, whose precocious brilliance seemed divine. After Jīva was born, she again forgot that foreign tongue. Shortly afterwards, his mother went forth to cultivate the Way, studying and attaining the first fruit. When Jīva was seven years old, he likewise went forth. Receiving sūtras from his teacher, his oral recitation each day achieved a thousand verses; each verse had thirty-two syllables, making thirty-two thousand words in total. Having completed his recitation of the Abhidharma, when his teacher imparted its meanings he grasped and penetrated them of his own accord, leaving nothing subtle uncomprehended. At that time, because his mother was a king's daughter, the people of the kingdom of Kucha provided exceedingly abundant offerings; she thereupon took Jīva away to avoid this. When Jīva was nine years old, he traveled onward to Kapiśa, where he met the monk Bandhudatta, a master of famed virtue who was the cousin of the King of Kapiśa. Profound, refined, and magnanimous, he comprehended the Tripiṭaka and the nine divisions of scriptures as though threading them on a cord; he too could recite a thousand verses a day, his name spreading among various kingdoms. Having arrived, Jīva served him as his master, reciting the miscellaneous collections, the Madhyama-āgama, and the Dīrgha-āgama, totaling four million words. Whenever Bandhudatta debated with Jīva, he deeply admired and yielded to him. Jīva's reputation reached the King, who promptly invited him into the palace and assembled non-Buddhist debate masters to engage him in mutual disputation. When the exchange of words first began, the non-Buddhists made light of his youth and spoke rather rudely, but Jīva seized upon their flaws and defeated them; the non-Buddhists conceded defeat, ashamed and regretful, left speechless. The King respected and marveled at him all the more, providing him each day with a pair of dried geese, three sheng each of nonglutinous rice and wheat flour, and six sheng of clarified butter—these being the finest offerings of foreign lands. The monks of the monastery where he stayed assigned five fully ordained monks and ten śrāmaṇeras to look after, attend to, and sweep for him, just as though they were disciples; such was the reverence and veneration shown to him. By the time he reached the age of twelve, his mother took him back to Kucha. Arriving at the northern mountains of the Yuezhi, there was an arhat who saw him, marvelled at him, and said to his mother, 'You should constantly guard and protect this śrāmaṇera. If he reaches the age of thirty-five without breaking the precepts, he will greatly propagate the Buddha-Dharma and deliver countless beings, no different from Upagupta. If his precepts are not kept whole, he will be capable of nothing [more], remaining merely a Dharma master of talent, intelligence, and fine skill.' Jīva proceeded onward to the kingdom of Kashgar. Carrying the Buddha's alms-bowl upon his head, he thought to himself, 'The shape of this bowl is exceedingly large; why is it so light?' Thereupon it became overwhelmingly heavy, and crying out in astonishment he set it down. When his mother asked the reason, he answered, 'My mind gave rise to conceptual differentiation; thus the bowl had light and heavy.' In the kingdom of Kashgar, Jīva recited the six sections of the Abhidharma, the various topics, and the Ekottarika-āgama. When he returned to Kucha, his fame covered all the kingdoms. At that time the community of monks in Kucha numbered over ten thousand; suspecting that he was no ordinary man, all of them deferred to and revered him, none daring to take a seat above him; for this reason he did not participate in the regular order for burning incense. He thereupon read widely in the four Vedas, the treatises of the five sciences, and the scriptures, books, yinyang, and astrology of non-Buddhists, examining and thoroughly understanding them all. He possessed an exquisite penetration of good and bad fortune, his prognostications matching like the two halves of a tally. By nature he was candid, uninhibited, and did not discipline himself in minor restraints, on account of which practitioners of cultivation often criticized him. Jīva remained content within his own mind, never slackening in purpose. Later he studied the Daśādhyāya-vinaya under Vimalākṣa, and also inquired into the Mahāyāna under Sūryasoma, exclaiming, 'Formerly when I studied the Hīnayāna, it was like a person who did not recognize gold and took brass to be wondrous!' Thereupon he broadly sought out the essential principles, reciting the Madhyamaka-śāstra and Śata-śāstra. At the New Monastery of King Po Chun of Kucha he obtained the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. When he first opened and read it, Māra came and obscured the text, so that he saw only blank tablets. Recognizing that this was Māra's doing, Jīva's resolve became all the firmer; when Māra departed the characters reappeared, and he continued studying and reciting it. Later, while reading Mahāyāna sūtras at the Great Cakaraka Monastery, he suddenly heard a voice in the sky saying, 'You are a wise man; why do you read these?' Jīva said, 'You are a petty māra; you should depart at once. My mind is like the earth: it cannot be moved.' He stayed there for two years, reciting Mahāyāna sūtras and śāstras extensively, penetrating their esoteric depths. Later he went to Kapiśa, where he expounded the wondrous doctrine of the One Vehicle in full to his teacher Bandhudatta. His master was moved and convinced in his heart, promptly bowing to Jīva as his teacher, saying, 'I was the upādhyāya's Hīnayāna teacher, and the upādhyāya is my Mahāyāna teacher!' The various kingdoms of the Western Regions deferred to Jīva's divine brilliance, looking up to him in veneration. Whenever he lectured, the various kings would kneel long beside the high seat, bidding Jīva to step upon their knees to ascend it. Jīva's Way shook the Western Regions and his reputation reached the eastern lands. In the thirteenth year of the Jianyuan era of the Fu clan [377 CE], being the dingchou year, in the first month, the grand astrologer memorialized that a star had appeared in the astrological field corresponding to foreign lands, signifying that a wise man of great virtue would enter to assist the Central Kingdom. Fu Jian, having long heard of Jīva's renown, was struck with realization and said, 'We have heard that in the Western Regions there is Kumārajīva; could it not be he?' In the nineteenth year [383 CE], he dispatched the General of Agile Cavalry Lü Guang leading an army to attack Kucha, Karasahr, and other kingdoms. Just before setting out, he said to Guang, 'We hear that in that realm is Kumārajīva, who profoundly understands the marks of dharmas and is well-versed in yinyang, serving as the master of learning there. We long for him greatly. If you conquer Kucha, immediately dispatch relay couriers to send Jīva.' Before Guang's army arrived, Jīva said to King Po Chun, 'The state's fortune is waning; there will come a powerful enemy, men from under the sun coming from the east. You should respectfully submit to them; do not oppose their vanguard.' Chun did not heed him and fought; Guang thereupon crushed Kucha, killed Chun, and captured Jīva. By nature Guang was loose and arrogant; not discerning Jīva's intellectual measure and seeing that he was still young, he made sport of him as a common person, forcibly marrying him to the daughter of the King of Kucha. Jīva refused and would not accept, pleading with utmost anguish. Guang said, 'A master of the Way's virtue does not exceed that of his late father; why offer such bitter refusals?' He then gave him pure wine to drink and locked them together in a secret room. Subjected to extreme coercion, Jīva eventually compromised his virtue. At times [Guang] would have him ride an ox or mount an unruly horse in an attempt to make him fall; Jīva constantly maintained forbearance, never displaying an unusual countenance. Ashamed, Guang ceased doing so. On the journey back, Guang encamped his army at the foot of a mountain when the generals and soldiers were already resting. Jīva said, 'You must not do so. If you remain here, you will certainly face disaster; you should move the army atop the ridge.' Guang did not accept his advice. Come nightfall, torrential rain indeed fell and flash floods suddenly rose, with water several fathoms deep, drowning several thousand men. Only then did Guang hold him in respect and wonder. Jīva said to Guang, 'This is a place of ruin and death; you should not linger. Deducing the calculations and assessing destiny, you should quickly resolve to return. Midway along the route there will surely be an auspicious land where you can dwell.' Guang followed his advice. Arriving in Liangzhou, he learned that the Fu clan had already been destroyed, whereupon he carved out territory in the land of Liang and established his authority over that region. In the first month, a great gale struck Guzang. Jīva said, 'An ominous wind: there will surely be treason and rebellion, yet without effort it will subside of itself.' Shortly thereafter Liang Qian and Peng Huang rebelled in succession, but were soon eliminated. In the second year of Guang's Longfei era [397 CE], the Lushui Hu Juqu Jiecheng of Zhangye and his cousin Mengxun rebelled, elevating the governor of Jiankang, Duan Ye, as their leader. Guang dispatched his son Zuan, Duke of Taiyuan, leading a force of fifty thousand to suppress them. Contemporary opinion held that Ye and the others were a ragtag mob, while Zuan had an imposing reputation, so they were certain to achieve total victory. Guang asked Jīva about it, and Jīva said, 'Observing this expedition, I see no benefit.' Afterwards Zuan was defeated, barely escaping with his life. Guang's director of the Secretariat, Zhang Zi, was cultivated and elegant in his writings, and his capacity for understanding was deep and refined; he fell bedridden with severe illness, and Guang broadly sought remedies and medical treatment for him. There was a foreign religious practitioner named Rākṣa who said he could cure Zi's illness, and Guang was delighted, bestowing lavish gifts upon him. Jīva knew that Rākṣa was deceitful and told Zi, 'Rākṣa can provide no benefit; it will merely be futile expense. Although the dark operations of fate are hidden, they can be tested by means of a device.' He then took five-colored silk thread, knotted it into a cord, burned it to ash, and threw it into water: 'If the ash floats out of the water and returns to being a cord, the illness cannot be cured.' In an instant the ash dispersed, floated to the surface, and resumed the original form of the cord. Thereafter Rākṣa's treatment was ineffective, and in a few days Zi died. Shortly after this Lü Guang died, and his son Zuan usurped the throne. In the second year of Xianning [400 CE], a sow gave birth to a piglet with one body and three heads. A dragon emerged from the well of the eastern wing and coiled itself before the hall; by dawn it had vanished. Zuan regarded this as an auspicious omen, naming the grand hall the Dragon Soaring Hall. Shortly thereafter a black dragon ascended at the Nine Palaces Gate facing the sun; Zuan changed the name of the Nine Palaces Gate to the Dragon Rising Gate. Jīva memorialized, 'Recently a hidden dragon emerged to wander, and a monstrous pig manifested an anomaly. Dragons belong to the yin category; their emerging and entering have their proper seasons. To appear repeatedly now indicates a calamity or misfortune. There will certainly be an uprising in which inferiors plot against their superior. You should restrain yourself and cultivate virtue so as to respond to the warnings of Heaven.' Zuan did not heed him. When playing board games with Jīva and taking a piece, he said, 'I chop off the head of the Hu slave.' Jīva immediately answered, 'You cannot chop off the Hu slave's head; the Hu slave will chop off a man's head.' These words held a hidden intent, but Zuan never understood. Later Zuan's cousin Chao, whose childhood name was Hu slave, indeed killed Zuan and cut off his head. Jīva's foreseeing of signs and omens was always of this sort. Staying in Liang for many years, since the Lü father and sons did not promote the Way, Jīva harbored the sūtras and teachings within, with nowhere to propagate and transform others. Fu Jian having already died, they never met after all. Yao Chang, hearing of his high reputation, earnestly invited him, but it was not until the second year of Long'an of the Jin dynasty [398 CE] that Lü Long finally permitted Jīva to go east. When he arrived in Guzang, Chang happened to pass away, and his son Xing ascended the throne, dispatching envoys to welcome Jīva. In the third year of Hongshi [401 CE], trees with interlocking branches grew in the ancestral temple courtyard and the Xiaoyao Garden, and scallions transformed into shallots. On the twentieth day of the twelfth month of that year, Jīva arrived in Chang'an, where he was received with the etiquette of a State Preceptor and treated with exceptional favor. Ever since the great Dharma spread east beginning under Emperor Ming of the Han, passing through the Wei and Jin dynasties, the sūtras and treatises had gradually grown numerous, yet what Zhi Qian and Zhu Fahu had produced mostly clung to the literal text or relied on matching concepts (geyi). Xing had revered the Three Jewels from his youth and was keenly devoted to lectures and assemblies; once Jīva arrived, he invited him to enter the Ximing Pavilion in the Xiaoyao Garden to translate various sūtras. Jīva for the most part recited from memory, thoroughly understanding everything, and was further able to translate fluently into the spoken Chinese language. Having examined the older sūtras and finding many discrepancies and errors, which all stemmed from earlier translators losing the underlying purport and not matching the foreign originals, Xing thereupon ordered more than eight hundred monks, including Sengzhao, Senglüe, and Sengmiao, to consult and receive Jīva's purports, commissioning him to re-translate the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Jīva held the foreign text while Xing held the old sūtra to collate and compare them. Where the new text differed from the old, the meaning was in every case completely coherent, and the multitude was satisfied and convinced, none failing to rejoice and praise it. Members of Xing's royal clan, the Duke of Changshan, Xian, and the Marquis of Ancheng, Song, both had firm faith in karmic causality and repeatedly invited Jīva to lecture on the new sūtras at the Great Monastery of Chang'an. Subsequently he produced the Smaller Prajñāpāramitā, Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā, Daśabhūmika, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Viśeṣacintibrahmaparipṛcchā, Śūraṅgamasamādhi, Hastikakṣyā, Lokadhara, Buddhapiṭaka, Bodhisattvapiṭaka, Bequeathed Teachings, Bodhi-apramāda, Sarvapunyasamuccayasamādhi, Nidāna-dṛṣṭi-ekadeśa, Sukhāvatīvyūha, the new Bhadrakalpika, Sarvadharmāpravṛtti, Dhyāna-sūtra, Essentials of Dhyāna, Commentary on the Essentials of Dhyāna, Maitreyavyākaraṇa, Descent of Maitreya, Praise of the Virtues of the Buddhas, Daśādhyāya-vinaya prātimokṣa, Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, Satyasiddhi-śāstra, Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā, Madhyamaka-śāstra, Śata-śāstra, and Dvādaśanikāya-śāstra—in all, thirty-two works in more than three hundred scrolls. All illuminated and gave vent to the spiritual source and manifested profound purport. At that time, śramaṇas who studied doctrinal meanings in the four directions came without considering ten thousand li too far; eminent and outstanding figures of famous virtue, including Masters Caichang, Daoheng, Sengbiao, Huirui, Sengdun, Sengbi, and Sengzhao, numbering more than three thousand monks, received his teachings, inquired, carefully investigated, and dedicated themselves to exhausting the profound purport. Huiyuan of Mount Lu, whose practice of the Way was vast and refined, dispatched an envoy to convey greetings and questions. Daosheng of Longguang, whose understanding of wisdom penetrated the subtle, also entered the Pass to consult and receive instruction. Among those who transmitted the Dharma lineage, none could rival his brilliance, and his magnificent achievement has been vast and enduring, looked up to as a model even to this day. Earlier, the śramaṇa Huirui had superior talent and discernment, and regularly followed Jīva to transcribe texts. Jīva would frequently discuss with Rui the stylistic forms of Western writing and deliberate on the similarities and differences, saying, 'The customs of Tianzhu place great value on literary refinement; their musical pitch and poetic rhyme are considered good when suited to stringed instruments. Whenever one has an audience with the king of a state, there must be praises of his virtue; the etiquette for beholding the Buddha gives the highest place to verses of praise. The gāthās in the sūtras are all of this form. But when changing Fan into Qin, one loses their lush elegance; though the general meaning is conveyed, it is completely severed from the literary form. It is like chewing rice to feed another: not only is the flavor lost, it even causes one to vomit in disgust.' Jīva often composed verses presented to the śramaṇa Fahe, saying: 'The mind-mountain nurtures the fragrance of virtue, / its scent wafting ten thousand yojanas; / a sorrowful luan bird cries from a solitary tong tree, / its pure sound piercing the nine heavens.' In all he composed ten gāthās, the phrasing and metaphors being all of this kind. Jīva took the Mahāyāna as his supreme standard and set his mind on broadly propagating it; he often sighed and said, 'If I were to take up the brush to compose a Mahāyāna Abhidharma, it would be no match for [mere] Kātyāyana! Now in the land of Qin those with deep understanding are few; with my wings clipped here, what is there to discuss?' He then broke off in sorrow. He only composed the Treatise on the Real Mark (Shixiang lun) in two scrolls for Yao Xing; when he spoke, it immediately formed refined prose without any need for deletion or correction, its words and metaphors gentle and restrained, none failing to be deep and profound. In person Jīva was lucid and bright in spirit, lofty and preeminent among his peers, grasping principles according to circumstance with rarely an equal. Moreover, he was deeply kind and benevolent by nature, taking universal love as his heart, modest and good at guiding others, never tiring all day long. The lord Yao once said to Jīva, 'The Great Master's intelligence and transcendent awakening are without peer under heaven; if one day you pass to another life, how could we let the lineage of Dharma be left without heirs?' Thereupon he forced ten courtesans upon him and compelled him to accept them. From that time on he no longer dwelt in the monastic quarters, but had a separate residence established for him where provisions were abundantly supplied. Whenever he was about to give a lecture, he would always first say of himself, 'It is like a lotus blossom growing out of foul mud: just take the lotus blossom; do not take the foul mud.' Earlier, while Jīva was in Kucha, he received the Vinaya from the Vinaya master Vimalākṣa. When Vimalākṣa later entered Guanzhong, Jīva, hearing of his arrival, rejoiced and served him as master with complete ritual propriety. Not yet knowing of the forced marriage, Vimalākṣa asked Jīva, 'You have encountered great conditions in the Han territory; about how many disciples have received the Dharma from you?' Jīva replied, 'The sūtras and Vinaya were not yet complete in the Han realm; the new sūtras and Vinaya were mostly transmitted by me. Three thousand followers have all received the Dharma from me, but my karmic hindrances are deep, and therefore I could not keep my master's teachings.' Moreover, when the bhikṣu Beidu was in Pengcheng and heard that Jīva was in Chang'an, he sighed and said, 'It has been more than three hundred years since I parted in jest with this fellow; distant and with no set time, I must patiently wait to meet him in a future life.' When Jīva was facing the end of his life, he rallied his strength despite illness to bid farewell to the assembly of monks, saying, 'We have met through the Dharma, yet I have not fully poured out my heart. Now returning to a different world, how can grief describe it? Considering myself benighted and foolish, I falsely filled the post of translator. If what I transmitted is without error, may my tongue not be burned or decayed after my body is cremated.' In the Yixi era of the Jin dynasty, he died in Chang'an. Thereupon, in accordance with the foreign custom, his corpse was cremated with fire in the Xiaoyao Garden; when the firewood was consumed and his form dissolved, only his tongue remained unchanged. Later a foreign śramaṇa arrived and said that what Kumārajīva had mastered did not amount to even one-tenth of what he translated. Formerly, another name of Jīva was Kumārajīva; in foreign naming practices, names are mostly based on those of the parents. Jīva's father was Kumārāyana, and his mother's name was Jīvā; thus his name combined both.

14.5

Biography of Buddhayas̄as, Number Two

14.6

Buddhayaśas—translated into the language of Qi as Jueming ('Awakened Brightness')—was a native of Kapiśa. He was of the brāhmaṇa caste, whose family had served non-Buddhist traditions for generations. Once, a śramaṇa came begging at his house. His father was enraged and had someone beat the monk, whereupon his own hands and feet became crippled and he was unable to walk. He then inquired of a spirit medium, who replied: 'Because you offended a worthy person, spirits and ghosts have caused this.' He immediately invited the śramaṇa back, repented with utmost sincerity, and in a few days was healed. He therefore sent Yaśas to leave home and become the monk's disciple, being then thirteen years of age. He often accompanied his master on long journeys. In an open wilderness they encountered a tiger; his master wished to run and hide, but Yaśas said: 'This tiger has already eaten its fill and will surely not harm anyone.' Shortly after, the tiger left, and walking ahead they indeed saw the leftover meat. His master secretly marvelled at him. By the age of fifteen, he could recite fifty to sixty thousand words of sūtras daily. At the monastery where he resided, going out to beg for alms often disrupted his recitations and studies. An arhat, prizing his sharp intellect, constantly went begging food to support him. At nineteen, he had memorised over two million words of both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras. Yet by nature he was aloof and haughty, placing great store in his own knowledge and views, and believing that few were fit to be his teacher; thus he was not held in high regard by the monks. However, he had graceful deportment and excelled in pleasant conversation, so that whoever met him forgot their deep resentment. When he reached the age for full ordination, no one would preside at the altar for him; thus as he approached the age of thirty he was still a śrāmaṇera. He then studied the treatises on the five sciences from his maternal uncle and became well-versed in many worldly arts and methods. At twenty-seven he finally received full ordination. He made reading and recitation his duty, never letting texts leave his hands. Whenever he sat upright contemplating the meaning, he would not notice that noon had passed without eating; such was his dedicated focus. Later he arrived in the kingdom of Kashgar. At that time, the crown prince Dharmaputra—translated into the language of Qi as Fazi ('Dharma-son')—saw his dignified and elegant appearance and asked where he had come from. Yaśas replied with lucid eloquence; the prince was delighted and invited him into the palace to receive offerings, treating him with lavish generosity. When Kumārajīva arrived later, he studied the Abhidharma and the Daśādhyāya-vinaya under him, and they held each other in great respect. When Kumārajīva returned east with his mother, Yaśas stayed behind. Soon afterward the king died, the crown prince ascended the throne, and the king's grandson became crown prince. At that time Fu Jian sent Lü Guang to attack Kucha. In dire need, the king of Kucha sought aid from the king of Kashgar, who led troops in person to relieve him, having Yaśas remain to assist the crown prince and entrusting him with the affairs of state. Before the relieving army arrived, Kucha was already defeated. When the king returned, he recounted in full how Kumārajīva had been captured by Guang. Yaśas sighed and said: 'Though Kumārajīva and I were together for a long time, we had not fully shared our innermost thoughts. Now he is suddenly taken captive; when will we meet again?' He remained there for more than ten years. When the king died, he went on to Kucha, where his teaching of the Dharma flourished greatly. At that time Kumārajīva was in Guzang and sent a messenger to invite him. Yaśas packed provisions intending to leave, but the people of the country pleaded with him to stay, and he remained for another year and more. He said to his disciple: 'I wish to seek out Kumārajīva; we can pack secretly and depart by night without letting anyone know.' The disciple said: 'I fear that by tomorrow morning pursuers will arrive and we will not escape being brought back.' Yaśas then took a bowl of clear water, cast medicine into it, chanted a dhāraṇī of several tens of words, and washed his and his disciple's feet with it; thereupon they set out by night. By daybreak they had travelled several hundred li. He asked his disciple: 'What did you perceive?' The disciple replied: 'I only heard the sound of rushing wind, and tears flowed from my eyes.' Yaśas again washed their feet with empowered water, and they rested. The next morning, pursuers from the country set out, but they were already several hundred li behind and could not overtake them. Travelling onward, he reached Guzang, but Kumārajīva had already entered Chang'an. Hearing that Yao Xing was pressing Kumārajīva to take concubines and urging him to act contrary to the Dharma, he sighed and said: 'Kumārajīva is like fine silk; how can one throw him into briars?' When Kumārajīva heard that he had reached Guzang, he urged Yao Xing to welcome him, but Xing would not listen. Soon after, Xing ordered Kumārajīva to translate the scriptural canon. Kumārajīva said: 'To propagate the Dharma teachings widely, the phrasing and meaning must be thoroughly harmonised. Although I can manage the phrasing, I have not mastered its principles. Only Buddhayaśas deeply grasps the import of the sūtras. He is now in Guzang; I pray you issue an edict to summon him. After scrutinising each word three times, we can then set brush to paper, so that the subtle words do not fall into ruin and will command trust for a thousand years.' Xing complied, immediately sending an envoy to invite him and bestowing lavish gifts. Yaśas accepted none of them and said with a smile: 'Now that the luminous decree has descended, I ought to ride forth swiftly. The dānapati treats scholars with great munificence, but if I were to meet with the same circumstances as Kumārajīva, I would not dare obey the command.' The envoy returned; Xing admired his keen caution and renewed his trust, persuading him with even greater sincerity, whereupon he finally came to Chang'an. Xing went out in person to greet and inquire after him, built a separate new lodging for him, and provided the four requisites of support in the Xiaoyao Garden; but Yaśas accepted none of them, merely going out to beg for food at the proper time to eat a single meal. At that time Kumārajīva was translating the Daśabhūmika-sūtra; for over a month he was beset by doubts and hesitations and had not yet set brush to paper. Once Yaśas arrived, they verified and resolved the questions together, and only then were the phrasing and principles settled. Over three thousand people, both monastic and lay, all praised his discernment of the essentials. As he had a red beard and was adept in understanding the Vibhāṣā, people of the time called him the 'Red-Bearded Vibhāṣā'. Since he was Kumārajīva's master, he was also called the 'Great Vibhāṣā'. Offerings from the four assemblies of monks, nuns, upāsakas, and upāsikās—robes, bowls, and requisites—filled three rooms, yet none caught his attention. Xing sold them on his behalf and built a saṅghārāma south of the city. Yaśas had earlier memorised the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya, and the Illegitimate Qin's Colonel of the Sili Yao Shuang requested that he translate it. Yao Xing suspected he might make omissions or errors, so he tested Yaśas by having him memorise household registers and medicinal recipes, each running to over forty sheets of paper. After three days, holding the texts to check them against his recitation, not a single character was mistaken. The multitude marveled at his prodigious memory. Thus, in the twelfth year of the Hongshi era, he translated it into forty fascicles, and also translated the Dīrgha-āgama, running to just under one million words. The śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou translated it into the language of Qin, and Daohan acted as scribe. In the fifteenth year, upon the conclusion of the summer retreat, Xing presented Yaśas with ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk, which he did not accept; Fonian and Daohan were given one thousand bolts of cloth and silk each, and five hundred eminent, virtuous śramaṇas all received substantial offerings. Later Yaśas returned to the foreign regions. When he reached Kapiśa, he obtained a single fascicle of the Ākāśagarbha-sūtra and sent it via a merchant to the monks of Liangzhou. Later, his ultimate end was unknown.

14.7

Biography of Dharmakṣema, Number Three

14.8

Dharmakṣema was a native of Central India. When he was six years old, his father died, and he accompanied his mother in hired weaving, making fine woollen rugs for a living. Seeing the śramaṇa Dharmayaśas—translated into the language of Qi as Faming ('Dharma Brightness')—who was revered by both clergy and laity and received bountiful offerings, his mother envied this and thus made Dharmakṣema his disciple. At the age of ten, chanting dhāraṇīs with several fellow students, his sharp intellect stood out from the crowd, and he could recite over ten thousand words of sūtras each day. At first he studied the Hīnayāna while also reading the treatises on the five sciences; when he lectured, his discernment and eloquence were such that no one could match him. Later, he met a white-haired meditation master and debated with him. As their areas of study differed, they contested for a hundred days. Although Dharmakṣema's attacks and challenges arose like sharp spearheads, the meditation master never yielded. Admiring his profound principles, Dharmakṣema said to the meditation master: 'Might there be any scriptures that I could see?' The meditation master immediately handed him a birch-bark manuscript of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra. As Dharmakṣema read it through, he was startled into awakening, and felt deeply ashamed, considering his former knowledge like that of a frog in a well, having long strayed from the great expanse. Thereupon he gathered the assembly to confess his faults, and devoted himself exclusively to the Mahāyāna. At twenty, he had recited over two million words of both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna sūtras. Dharmakṣema's cousin was skilled in training and riding elephants, but he killed the white-eared great elephant ridden by the king. Enraged, the king executed him and issued an order: 'Whoever dares look upon his corpse shall have their three clans wiped out.' None of his relatives dared approach, but Dharmakṣema wept and buried him. Enraged, the king wished to execute Dharmakṣema, but he said: 'Your Majesty executed him according to the law; I buried him out of kinship. Neither violates great righteousness; why should you be angry?' The bystanders were chilled with fear on his behalf, but his countenance was composed. The king marvelled at his resolve and kept him to receive offerings. Dharmakṣema was well versed in dhāraṇī arts, and all his rituals proved efficacious; in the Western Regions he was called the Great Master of Dhāraṇī. Later, accompanying the king into the mountains, the king grew parched and needed water but could find none. Dharmakṣema secretly empowered a stone with incantations to produce water, and praised the king, saying: 'It is the response to Your Great Majesty's beneficent grace that has caused a dry rock to spring forth a stream.' Neighbouring states hearing of this all praised the king's virtue. At that time seasonal rains were harmonious, and the common people sang praises. The king was delighted with his magical arts and treated him with exceptional favour. After a while the king's favour began to wane, and he treated him more coldly. Dharmakṣema was angered and said: 'I shall take a jar of water to the pool, chant incantations to force the dragon into the jar, and cause a great drought throughout the land. The king will surely beg me to chant incantations; only then will I release the dragon to bring rain, and see how he treats me then.' He thereupon took the jar and approached the dragon. Someone secretly informed on him, and the king angrily set out to arrest him. Fearing execution, Dharmakṣema repented and, carrying the twelve fascicles of the first part of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra manuscript along with the Bodhisattva-prātimokṣa-sūtra and the Bodhisattva-śīla text, fled to Kucha. Most in Kucha studied the Hīnayāna and did not believe in the Nirvāṇa[-sūtra]. He therefore went to Guzang and stayed in a courier station. Fearing he might lose the sūtra text, he used it as a pillow while sleeping. Someone pulled him down to the floor; Dharmakṣema woke with a start, thinking it was a thief. After this happened for three nights, he heard a voice in the sky say: 'This is the Tathāgata's treasury of liberation; why do you use it as a pillow?' Dharmakṣema was ashamed and awakened to his error, placing it separately in a high spot. At night a thief came to steal it, but could not lift it; though he tried to lift it multiple times, it would not budge. The next morning Dharmakṣema took the sūtra and walked away without finding it heavy at all. The thief saw this, considered him a holy person, and came to bow and apologise. Juqu Mengxun, King of Hexi, heard of Dharmakṣema's fame and summoned him to meet, receiving him with great generosity. Mengxun had long venerated the Great Dharma and aspired to propagate it; he requested that Dharmakṣema translate the scriptural text. Dharmakṣema, considering that he was not yet versed in the local language and lacked interpreters, feared that the phrasing would clash with the principles, and refused. He then spent three years studying the language, translating it into Chinese, and only then began translation and transcription. At that time, the śramaṇas Huisong and Daolang were peerless in Hexi. Encountering his propagation of the Dharma treasury, they held him in great esteem. Dharmakṣema rendered the Sanskrit text, while Master Song acted as scribe. Monastics and laypeople numbered in the hundreds, posing doubts and difficulties from all sides, but Dharmakṣema resolved the sticking points on the spot without ever being hindered. Song, Lang, and others further requested that he translate other sūtras extensively; he went on to translate the Mahāsaṃnipāta, Mahāmegha, Mahākāśagarbha, Sāgaranāgarāja, Suvarṇaprabhāsa, Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka, Upāsaka-śīla, and Bodhisattvabhūmi-dhāra, together with the previously translated Bodhisattva-prātimokṣa-sūtra and Bodhisattva-śīla text, nearly twenty works in all. As the chapters of the Nirvāṇa-sūtra text were not yet complete, Dharmakṣema returned to his native land to seek them out. Finding that his mother had died, he stayed for over a year. Later he obtained more manuscript chapters in Khotan, returned to Guzang, and translated them, expanding the work to thirty-six fascicles. Dharmakṣema once told Mengxun: 'Ghosts have entered the settlements; there will surely be many calamities and illnesses.' Mengxun did not believe it and wished to see for himself as proof. Dharmakṣema immediately applied his arts to Mengxun, who saw them and was terrified. Dharmakṣema said: 'You should purify your sincerity through fasting and precepts, and expel them with divine dhāraṇīs.' He recited incantations for three days and then told Mengxun: 'The ghosts have departed to the north.' Soon after, beyond the northern borders, those who died of illness numbered in the tens of thousands. Mengxun grew even more fearful and reverent, treating him with even higher respect. It happened that the ruler of the Northern Wei, Tuoba Tao, heard of his magical arts and sent an envoy to invite him, while also warning Mengxun: 'If you do not send Dharmakṣema, we will immediately send our armies.' Mengxun assessed that his own state was weak and could hardly resist the order; moreover, he feared that Dharmakṣema, possessing many arts, might scheme against him on behalf of the Wei. Anxious and undecided between advancing and retreating, he secretly ordered him assassinated. Earlier, when Dharmakṣema translated the Nirvāṇa-sūtra and the number of fascicles was fixed, the foreign śramaṇa Dharmottara had said: 'The chapters of this sūtra are not yet exhausted.' Dharmakṣema was often filled with deep regret and vowed that he would seek them again. Mengxun took advantage of this wish to travel, feigning support for his departure and bestowing lavish gifts of precious treasures. A few days before setting out, Dharmakṣema wept and told the assembly: 'The retributive karmic debt of Dharmakṣema is about to arrive, and all the sages cannot save me. Yet because of my original heartfelt vow, righteousness allows no delay.' After he had travelled forty li, Mengxun secretly sent assassins to murder him, at the age of forty-nine. The assembly all grieved with profound regret. Later, Huiguan of Daochang Monastery wished to seek the remaining chapters again; because the śramaṇa Daopu of Gaochang frequently travelled to foreign regions, was skilled in Hu script, and understood the languages of six countries, during the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, Huiguan petitioned Emperor Wen to fund and dispatch Daopu, leading ten scribes on a journey west to seek the sūtras. When they reached Changguang Commandery, the ship wrecked and injured his foot, and he died of illness. On his deathbed, Pu sighed and said: 'The latter portion of the Nirvāṇa[-sūtra] has no affinity with the land of the Song.'

14.9

Biography of Buddhabhadra, Number Four

14.10

Fotobatuo (Buddhabhadra), rendered in Qi as Foxian ("Buddha-virtue"), was a native of North Tianzhu. He was orphaned at five and went forth from the household at seventeen. When chanting sūtras alongside several fellow students who all took a month, Foxian would finish chanting in a single day. His master sighed in admiration: "Foxian matches thirty men in a single day!" Upon receiving full ordination, he applied himself diligently to his studies, extensively learning the various sūtras and mastering many of them. From his youth he was renowned for his practice of dhyāna and the vinaya. He often traveled to Kapiśa together with his fellow student Saṃghadatta, staying there together for accumulated years. Although Datta admired his talent and brilliance, he had not yet fathomed his real attainment. Later, seeing Foxian manifest divine transformations in the dhyāna chamber, he respectfully questioned him and only then learned that he had attained the fruit of a non-returner (anāgāmin). Foxian always wished to travel widely to spread the teachings and observe different customs. Encountering the śramaṇa Zhiyan who had arrived in the Western Regions, he was invited to journey east with him. Thereupon, leaning on his monk's staff, he trudged on foot for three years, his route passing through the Snowy Mountains and braving the utmost hardships. Later, along the way, he boarded a ship and sailed along the sea. Passing an island, he pointed to a mountain and said, "We may stop here." The master of the ship said, "A traveler values his days; a favorable wind is hard to meet and we cannot pause." After sailing over two hundred li, the wind suddenly veered, and the ship returned toward the island. Only then did the passengers realize his divine insight, and all treated him as their master, taking heed of his decisions to advance or halt. Later, meeting a favorable wind, the other companions all set sail. Foxian said, "The ship must not move!" The master thereupon halted. Soon after, the vessels that had departed first capsized and were lost all at once. Later, in the dark of night, he suddenly ordered all the ships to set sail together, but none were willing to follow. Foxian rose by himself and hauled in the cables, and only his ship set out alone. Presently bandits arrived, and all those who had stayed behind were plundered and slain. Soon afterward he reached Donglai Commandery in Qingzhou. Hearing that Kumārajīva was in Chang'an, he went to join him. Kumārajīva was overjoyed; together they discussed the marks of dharmas, unfolding profound principles with many marvelous insights. Foxian then said to Kumārajīva, "What you explain does not exceed ordinary understanding, yet you have attained great renown—why is that?" Kumārajīva said, "It is merely because I am advanced in years; how could it be that I truly merit such high praise?" Whenever Kumārajīva had doubts on doctrinal points, he invariably consulted Foxian to resolve them. At that time, Yao Xing, the ruler of the illegitimate Qin, devoted his mind to sūtras and the Dharma. He provided offerings to over three thousand monks, who went in and out of the palace halls, busily cultivating worldly affairs. Foxian alone maintained quietude and did not join the throng. Later he said to his disciples, "Yesterday I saw five ships set sail together from my native land." The disciples then passed this news along, and outsiders, including Daoheng and other senior monks of Guanzhong, considered it a display of anomalies to delude the masses. Thereupon, along with three thousand monks, they expelled him. Foxian was driven out; his several hundred disciples were frightened and scattered, and he departed with over forty persons, including his disciple Huiguan. His demeanor remained calm and composed, showing no sign of distress. Those who recognized the truth all sighed with regret, and several thousand monks and laypeople saw him off. Yao Xing soon felt regret and dispatched messengers in pursuit, but Foxian declined and would not return. Prior to this, Shi Huiyuan of Mount Lu had long admired his reputation, so he dispatched messengers to enter the Pass and deliver a letter requesting his presence. Hearing later that he had been expelled, Huiyuan sent a letter to Ruler Yao explaining the circumstances of his expulsion, wishing to welcome him so that he could translate dhyāna methods. Before long, Foxian arrived at Mount Lu. Master Huiyuan met him with delight, treating him warmly like an old friend. From summer until winter, they translated various sūtras on dhyāna and numbers. Foxian's aspiration lay in wandering and converting, never seeking comfort in dwelling. In the eighth year of the Yixi era, he went to Jingzhou. There he encountered foreign shipmasters, and upon inquiring, learned that these were indeed the five Tianzhu ships he had previously foreseen. Gentry and commoners throughout the region vied to come and pay him homage, but he accepted none of the offerings presented to him. Carrying his bowl on almsround, he made no distinction between the noble and the humble. At that time Yuan Bao of Chen Commandery was serving as Chief Clerk to the Grand Commander, Emperor Wu of Song, and was in Jingzhou. Foxian led his disciple Huiguan to Yuan Bao's residence to beg for food. Yuan Bao had never been respectful or devout, and treated them very poorly. Before being sated, Foxian excused himself to withdraw. Yuan Bao said, "It seems you have not had enough; pray stay a little longer." Foxian said, "The dānapati's intention to give was limited, so what was prepared is now already exhausted." Yuan Bao immediately called his attendants to add more rice, but the rice was indeed gone; Yuan Bao was deeply ashamed. Afterwards he asked Huiguan, "What kind of man is this śramaṇa?" Huiguan replied, "His virtue and capacity are exalted and profound, beyond the fathom of ordinary men." Yuan Bao marveled greatly and reported this to the Grand Commander. The Grand Commander requested an audience with him, showed him extreme reverence, and provided all manner of provisions. Shortly thereafter, the Grand Commander returned to the capital and invited Foxian to return with him, settling him at Daochang Monastery. Foxian's deportment was plain and unadorned, differing from Chinese customs, yet his demeanor was pure and far-reaching, possessing a classic and profound elegance. Sengbi, a Dharma Master of the capital, wrote in a letter to the renowned monk of virtue Baolin: "The Dhyāna Master of Daochang has a very great mind; he is truly a [spiritual] king of Tianzhu—what an extraordinary man!" Such was the praise he received. Earlier, Zhi Faling had obtained a Hu manuscript of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra of 36,000 gāthās in Khotan, which had not yet been translated. In the fourteenth year of the Yixi era, Meng Yi, Administrator of Wu Commandery, and Chu Shudu, General of the Right Guards, invited Foxian to translate it. The master held the Fan text in his hands and, together with more than a hundred monks including Huiyan and Huiyi, evaluated and determined the meaning, harmonizing Chinese and foreign expressions, marvelously capturing the essence of the sūtra. Therefore, Daochang Monastery still possesses an Avataṃsaka Hall. The works he translated successively included the six-fascicle Niḥvāṇa, the New Amitāyus, Mahāvaipulya Tathāgatagarbha, the Root Practices of the Ten Abodes of Bodhisattvas, the Access to the Immeasurable Gate of Dhāraṇī, the Pure Six Pāramitās, the New Subtle Dhāraṇī, the Dhyāna-sūtra, and the Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha, totaling eleven works. He died in the sixth year of the Yuanjia era at the age of seventy-one.

14.11

Biography of Guṇavarman, Number Five

14.12

Guṇavarman, rendered in Qi as Gongde'ai ("Armor of Merit"), was an offshoot of the royal house of Kapiśa. At the age of fifteen, Guṇavarman renounced the household to become a śrāmaṇera. The elder monks, seeing his brilliant discernment, all respected and marveled at him. By nature benevolent, compassionate, humble, and respectful, he was thoroughly sincere. Upon receiving full ordination, he recited over a million words of sūtras and understood the vinaya chapters deeply. Having fully mastered the three baskets, he was named after the Tripiṭaka. When he reached thirty years of age, the King of Kapiśa passed away without an heir. Because of his royal lineage, the people deliberated on installing him as king. Fearing that he would be pressed and urged, Guṇavarman traveled far to the Lion Country (Siṃhala) to observe local customs and propagate the teaching. The assembly of those who recognized the truth all stated that he had already attained the first fruit (srotāpanna). Later he arrived at the Shepo (Java) kingdom in the Southern Sea, where he enlightened those steeped in false delusion, extending his transformation beyond the seas. The King of Shepo built a monastery for him and served him with the rites due to a teacher. The mountains harbored many fierce beasts that repeatedly harmed the inhabitants. Guṇavarman requested to move his dwelling there, whereupon the tigers and leopards in the mountains grew tame and their violent attacks ceased. Emperor Wen of Song heard of his reputation from afar and decreed that envoys from Jiaozhou be dispatched to invite him in accordance with the imperial will. Renowned monks of the capital such as Huiyan and Huiguan sent letters to express their devotion, and also sent a letter to the king earnestly requesting him to allow Guṇavarman to propagate the Dharma. Shepo revered him as National Preceptor and for a long time would not let him go. Guṇavarman's intention was to travel to the region south of the Yangtze, and he refused to stay indefinitely. In the first month of the eighth year of the Yuanjia era, he arrived at the capital and stayed at Zhihuan (Jetavana) Monastery. Emperor Wen granted him an audience, inquired after his welfare, and repeatedly offered provisions and gifts. Soon after, he translated various sūtras at Zhihuan Monastery: the Bodhisattvabhūmi, the Dharmaguptaka Karman, the Brief Treatise on the Five Precepts of an Upāsaka, the Threefold Refuge, and the Twenty-Two Precepts of an Upāsaka. Earlier, in the third year of the Yuanjia era, Wang Zhongde, the Regional Inspector of Xuzhou, had invited the foreign śramaṇa Īśvara at Pengcheng to translate the Za xin (Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya), but he stopped before completing the "Chapter on Selection" due to obstructing circumstances. Now Guṇavarman was invited again to re-collate and correct the wording and meaning in the monastery. As he propagated the Way and proclaimed the Dharma, people from near and far turned to him, and nobility and commoners came in succession with carriages to pay their respects. On the twenty-eighth day of the ninth month of that year, after finishing his midday meal, before the recitation of following one's pleasure was performed, he rose first and returned to his chamber. When his disciples arrived shortly after, he had already passed away peacefully at the age of sixty-five. Before his passing, he had composed in advance thirty-six lines of testament verses, recounting his karmic conditions and stating that he had already realized the second fruit (sakṛdāgāmin); he had sealed them under his mat, and no one knew of them until after his death. He was supported in a seated posture on a rope bed; his countenance did not change, appearing as if he were entering samādhi. Over a thousand monks and laypeople gathered, all smelling an extraordinary, fragrant scent. Everyone saw an object shaped like a dragon or snake, about one bolt in length, rise from beside the corpse and shoot straight into the sky, without anyone being able to name it. In front of the ordination platform of Nanlin, they held the cremation rites according to the foreign jhapita (cremation) method, attended by over ten thousand people. Music, banners, and flowers gathered from all four quarters like clouds. A pyre of fragrant firewood was built, and monks and laypeople who arrived stood shoulder to shoulder pouring fragrant oil on it. When ignited, five-colored flames arose. At that time the sky was clear and bright, and monks and laypeople lamented in grief. A white stūpa was subsequently erected at that site.

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Linked texts (1)

出三藏記集 — 僧祐, Classical Chinese