古今譯經圖紀 2.17

2.17

The śramaṇa Gautama Saṅghadeva, translated as Zhongtian (Multitude of Gods), was a native of Kashmir. His demeanor was exemplary, and his faculties were sharp and evident. He immersed his contemplation in the four dhyānas and applied his mind to the Tripiṭaka. At first, in the nineteenth year of the Jianyuan era of Emperor Fu Jian of the Former Qin (ding-hai) [383 CE], he translated the Abhidharma-aṣṭagrantha in one work (twenty fascicles). Furthermore, in the final year of Jianyuan, he translated the Abhidharma-hṛdaya in one work (sixteen fascicles) and the Vibhāṣā-abhidharma in one work (fourteen fascicles), totaling three works in fifty fascicles. Later, in the sixteenth year of the Taiyuan era of Emperor Xiaowu of the Jin (xin-mao) [391 CE], he traveled to preach south of the Yangtze River. The śramaṇa Huiyuan invited him to enter Mount Lu. In that same year, he translated the Abhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra in one work (four fascicles), the San fadu lun [Tridharmaka-śāstra] (two fascicles), and the Jiaoshou biqiuni fa (one fascicle), totaling three works in seven fascicles. In the spring of the first year of the Long'an era (ding-you) [397 CE], he visited Jiankang. The nobility and celebrated intellectuals of the Jin dynasty all flocked to his seat. In the eleventh month, winter of that year, for Wang Xun, General and Marquis of Dongting, he gathered forty renowned and virtuous śramaṇas of the capital Yangdu, such as Shi Huichi, and re-translated the Madhyama Āgama (sixty fascicles) and the Ekottarika Āgama (fifty fascicles), completing them in the sixth month of the second year [398 CE]. Zhu Daozu served as scribe. In total, he translated eight works in 167 fascicles.