出三藏記集 15.10

15.10

Zhu Daosheng was a native of Pengcheng. His family had been scholar-officials for generations; his father was the magistrate of Guangqi and was acclaimed by the local community as a virtuous man. From his youth, Daosheng was brilliant, understanding and insightful as if by divine aid. His father, knowing he was no ordinary vessel, loved him and recognized his exceptional nature. At that time, the śramaṇa Fatai possessed vast and admirable virtue and achievements, and so took him back under his care. Daosheng then took the tonsure and received instruction. Once he entered the Dharma gate, his intellectual brilliance was preeminent. In perusing the scriptural texts, he could recite them after a single glance; tasting the phrasing and meaning, he could immediately interpret them on his own. Thus, at the age of embarking on learning, he already mounted the lecturer's seat. He probed the profound and sought out the hidden, his thinking penetrating to the deep springs. In phrasing questions and debates, his diction was pure as pearls and jade. Even venerated and learned monks and famous scholars of the day suffered defeat in their thoughts and exhaustion in their words, none able to rival him. Even the young Yang [Xiong] participating in profound texts or Lu Lian subduing Tian Ba could not surpass him. When he reached the age for the full precepts, his capacity and discernment advanced by the day. The fame of his lecturing spread throughout the realm. Princes, dukes, and noble elites all heard of his renown and came to his seat; aspiring scholars all ordered their carriages from a thousand li away. Daosheng was elegant and composed, skilled at engaging and guiding others. His nature was ardent yet gentle; his demeanor was pure and solemn. Therefore, whoever participated in conversation with him would invariably open their heart to him. Initially he resided at Longguang Temple, lowering his curtains and devoting himself exclusively to study. During the Long'an era, he moved to the vihāra at Mount Lu, where he secluded himself for seven years to pursue his aspirations. He always considered that the essential key to entering the Way took insightful understanding as its foundation; thus, he drilled into and looked up to the various sūtras, and weighed and deliberated the miscellaneous śāstras. Following the Dharma for ten thousand li, he did not shrink from perilous distances. Thereupon, together with Huirui of Shixing, Huiyan of Dong'an, and Huiguan of Daochang, he traveled to Chang'an to receive instruction from Kumārajīva. The monastic assembly in the Guanzhong region all praised his exceptional understanding. In the fifth year of the Yixi era, he returned to the capital and stayed there. Having traveled and studied for many years, he had completely mastered the sūtras and śāstras. He marvelously penetrated the fountainhead of Nāgārjuna's Mahāyāna, and concurrently comprehended the essentials of Āryadeva's lesser path. Broadening his knowledge through diverse traditions, he summarized them into a unified principle. Then he sighed and said: 'Symbols are used to exhaust meaning; when the meaning is grasped, the symbols are forgotten. Words are used to convey principle; when principle is penetrated, words cease. Since the scriptures flowed east, the translators have faced manifold impediments; most clung to rigid phrasings, rarely revealing the intended meaning. If one can forget the fish-trap and take the fish, then one may discuss the Way with them.' Thereupon, scrutinizing emptiness and existence, and examining cause and effect, he established the doctrines that good deeds do not incur retribution and of sudden enlightenment. Encompassing the old interpretations, his ideas contained subtle and profound principles. Yet those who clung to the literal text mostly harbored resentment and jealousy; voices of approval and condemnation arose in confusion. Furthermore, the six-fascicle Niḥsaraṇa [Da banniepan jing] was the first to arrive in the capital. Daosheng analyzed the buddha-nature and deeply penetrated its subtle profundities, whereupon he stated that even icchantikas can all attain buddhahood. At that time, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra had not yet reached this land. His solitary brilliance shone forth first, and his independent insight went against the multitude. Thereupon, the faction of traditionalist monks considered this a heterodox doctrine contrary to the scriptures, their mocking and anger growing exceedingly severe. They eventually brought it before the great assembly and expelled him. Amidst the fourfold assembly, Daosheng composed his countenance and took an oath, saying: 'If what I have taught contradicts the meaning of the scriptures, may I manifest a malignant disease in this present body; but if it is not contrary to the true mark of reality, may I occupy the lion throne when I give up my life.' Having spoken, he shook his robes and departed. Traveling by night, he took a boat, and in the seventh year of the Yuanjia era, he retired to Mount Lu, concealing his presence among the rocky crags, serene and self-contented. The monks in the mountain all revered and submitted to him. Soon afterward, the [complete] Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra reached the capital, and it indeed stated that icchantikas all possess buddha-nature, matching his earlier statement like two halves of a tally. Having obtained this sūtra, Daosheng immediately set up a lecture. In the eleventh year of the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, in the winter, the tenth month, on the gengzi day, he mounted the Dharma seat in the vihāra of Mount Lu. His countenance was bright and radiant, and his virtuous voice burst forth vigorously. After debating several rounds, he exhausted the principle to its utmost subtlety; not one among the audience failed to be enlightened and delighted. As the Dharma session was drawing to a close, they suddenly saw his fly-whisk drop to the ground. Sitting upright with a composed countenance, he leaned against the armrest and passed away. His complexion did not change, appearing as though he had entered samādhi. Monastics and laypeople marveled in sorrow, and near and far were overcome with grief. Thereupon, the monks of the capital felt inner shame and remorse, and posthumously believed and submitted to him. The supreme manifestation of his spiritual discernment was marked by portents like this. He was subsequently buried on a knoll of Mount Lu. Formerly, Daosheng shared equal fame with Master Rui, as well as Yan and Guan, with whom he had studied together. Therefore, people of the time commented: 'Sheng and Rui burst forth from natural endowment; Yan and Guan attained through deep reservoirs. Huiyi pressed forward forcefully; Kouyuan remained silently unyielding.' That Daosheng and Master Rui were uniquely marked with the title of 'natural endowment' was because they were already preeminent among the multitude of scholars. Earlier, the śramaṇa Faxian had obtained an Indic manuscript of the Mahiśāsaka-vinaya in the Lion Country (Siṃhala), but died before he could translate it. In the eleventh month of the first year of the Jingping era of the Song dynasty, Daosheng invited the Kapiśa vinaya master Buddhajīva to hold the Indic text at Longguang Temple, while the Khotanese śramaṇa Zhisheng translated it. The illumination of this vinaya was indeed Daosheng's achievement. The Guanzhong śramaṇa Sengzhao had earlier annotated the Vimalakīrti[-nirdeśa], which the world unanimously savored; when Daosheng further uncovered its profound import, he made clear and prominent fresh and exceptional insights. Masters of lecturing and scholarship all took his writings as their standard. His commentaries on various scriptures such as the Vimalakīrti, the Lotus Sūtra, the Nirvāṇa, and the Aṣṭasāhasrikā are all treasured by the world.