出三藏記集 8.63

8.63

The biography of Zhimeng says: In the country of Vaiśālī, there were different schools of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. Next to the city of Pāṭaliputra, in the city of Dilicheng, there was a Brahmin of very numerous lineage. By nature he was sharp and perceptive, with a mind devoted to Mahāyāna; he read widely among all scriptures, thoroughly comprehending everything. In his home was a silver stūpa, eight feet wide and thirty feet high, with silver images in four niches over three feet high; he possessed many Mahāyāna sūtras and made various offerings to them. The Brahmin asked Meng, 'Where do you come from?' Meng answered, 'I come from the land of Qin.' He asked again, 'Is there Mahāyāna learning in the land of Qin?' Meng immediately replied, 'It is all Mahāyāna learning.' He was astonished, praised it elegantly, and said, 'Extraordinary! Could it be that bodhisattvas have gone to transform it?' Zhimeng then obtained the Hu original of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] from his home, returned to Liangzhou, and produced twenty fascicles.