古今譯經圖紀 3.40

3.40

The śramaṇa Guṇabhadra (which means "Virtuous Worthy") was a native of Central India. In his youth, he studied the pañcavidyā and the treatises on the four Vedas. By nature sharp and perceptive, his breadth of mind was comprehensive. Later, encountering the Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya, he could not fathom its limits; only then did he awaken to the loftiness and depth of the Buddha's Dharma, casting aside his hairpin and cutting off his finery. Dedicated in mind and endeavor, he had a broad mastery of the Tripiṭaka. Gentle, harmonious, respectful, and reverent, he served his masters with utmost propriety. Renouncing the Hīnayāna to study the Mahāyāna, he deeply awakened to its subtle principles. In the twelfth year of the Yuanjia era of Emperor Wen of the Song, he came to the capital Yangdu. The emperor respected him deeply and ordered him to reside at Zhihuan Monastery. In the twentieth year of the Yuanjia era of the Song, the year guiwei, he translated at Waguan Monastery in Yangdu: the Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra (fifty fascicles), the Prakaraṇapāda Abhidharma (twelve fascicles), the Laṅkāvatāra Jewel Sūtra (four fascicles), the Aṅgulimāla Sūtra (four fascicles), the Sūtra on Past and Present Causes and Effects (four fascicles), the Sūtra Explaining the Sixty-Two Views (four fascicles), the Mahāvaipulya Jewel Casket Sūtra (two fascicles), the Present Buddhas Sūtra (three fascicles), the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva's Expedient Practice of Supernatural Transformations (three fascicles), the Sūtra of the Samādhi of Pure Deliverance (three fascicles), the Definitive Sūtra of Continuous Liberation (three fascicles), the Mahābherīhāraka Sūtra (two fascicles), the Āraṇyaka Meditation Practice Sūtra (two fascicles), the Śrīmālādevī Lion's Roar One Vehicle Great Expedient Sūtra (one fascicle), the Amitāyus Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra of Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja Preaching the Dharma to King Udayana (one fascicle), the Parinirvāṇa Sūtra (one fascicle), the Eight Auspicious Sūtra (one fascicle), the King Aśoka Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Emerging from Immeasurable Dhāraṇī-Doors (one fascicle), the Three Minor Kalpas Sūtra (one fascicle), the Four Foods Sūtra (one fascicle), the Twelve Wandering Sūtra (one fascicle), the Twelve Dhūtas Sūtra (one fascicle), the Three Conditions Sūtra (one fascicle), the Different Places, Seven Stations, and Three Contemplations Sūtra (one fascicle), the Eleven Contemplations of Mindful Recollection of the Tathāgata Sūtra (one fascicle), the Twelve Chapters on Birth and Death Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on the Ten Retribution Dharmas and Three Summaries (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Karmic Retribution of Sins and Blessings (one fascicle), the Six Fasts and Eight Precepts Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Four Persons Appearing in the World (one fascicle), the Four Chapters of Dharma Studies Sūtra (one fascicle), the *Śindu Origin Sūtra (one fascicle), the Maternal Uncle Sūtra (one fascicle), the Nāgasena Sūtra (one fascicle), the Difficult Sun Sūtra (one fascicle), the Ruler and Minister Sūtra (one fascicle), the *Vimasuk Sūtra (one fascicle), the Parrot Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Becoming an Ox to Repay Debts (one fascicle), the *Vaineya Sūtra (one fascicle), the *Nārāyaṇa Sūtra (one fascicle), the Two Wandering Scholars Sūtra (one fascicle), the Original Story of Mahānāma Sūtra (one fascicle), the Araṇa Sūtra (one fascicle), the Old Mother Sūtra (one fascicle), the Jyotiṣka Sūtra (one fascicle), the *Asutta Sūtra (one fascicle), the Great Intention Sūtra (one fascicle), the Maudgalyāyana Subduing the Dragon King Sūtra (one fascicle), the Ānanda Seeing Music and Weeping over Impermanence Sūtra (one fascicle), the Śāriputra and Other Monks Attaining Bodily Realization Sūtra (one fascicle), the Buddha Visiting to Console Kāśyapa's Illness Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Inviting the Monk Panthaka (one fascicle), the Buddha Ordering Ānanda to Visit the Foremost Elder Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Maudgalyāyana's Brother Giving Alms in Expectation of Reward (one fascicle), the Śāriputra Parinirvāṇa Sūtra (one fascicle), the Mahākāśyapa Liberating the Poor Mother Sūtra (one fascicle), the Aniruddha Seven Mindful Reflections Sūtra (one fascicle), the Miscellaneous Piṭaka Sūtra (one fascicle), the Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva Sūtra (one fascicle), the Bodhisattva Rebuking Desires Sūtra (one fascicle), the Amitābha Sūtra (one fascicle), the Non-Action of All Dharmas Sūtra (one fascicle), the Poor Son Surata Sūtra (one fascicle), the Immeasurable Meanings Sūtra (one fascicle), the Sūtra on Slaying the Dragon to Save a Country (one fascicle), the Boundless Dhāraṇī-Door Sūtra (one fascicle), the Pearl Dropped into the Sea Sūtra (one fascicle), the Future Selection of Evil Realms Sūtra (one fascicle), the Ānandamukha-nirhāra Sūtra (one fascicle), the Buddha Entering the Nectar of Amṛta to Regulate the Correct Mind Sūtra (one fascicle), the Past Practice of Dānapāramitā Sūtra (one fascicle), the Fundamental Practice of the Six Pāramitās Sūtra (one fascicle), and the Abridged Collection of the Five Marks of the Ultimate Truth (one fascicle)—seventy-eight works in total, one hundred and sixty-one fascicles altogether. Huiguan and others served as scribes, and the disciple Fayong conveyed the spoken translation. Liu Yixuan, Prince of Nanjiao and Regional Inspector of Jingzhou, once invited him to lecture on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. Bhadra felt ashamed that he was not yet fluent in the Chinese spoken in the Song, so he bowed in repentance day and night, praying to Avalokiteśvara. Suddenly he dreamed of a person in white clothes carrying a sword and holding up a man's head, who came and said to Bhadra, "Why are you troubled?" Bhadra replied with his thoughts. The person said, "No need to worry so much," and immediately with the sword exchanged Bhadra's head, mounting the new head in its place, asking, "Does it hurt?" He replied, "It does not hurt." Once he awoke, his mind and spirit were joyful. Thereupon he delivered the lecture, his eloquence pouring forth like a flowing stream. Later he returned to the capital Yangdu. It happened to be an imperial banquet, with princes and dukes all assembled. The emperor wished to test his quick-witted eloquence and whether he understood the human mind. Seeing his white hair, the emperor said to him, "Master, today you do not disappoint the purpose of your journey from afar; but aside from that, how is it with you? There is only one [thing] left." Guṇabhadra immediately replied, "Yearning for transformation, I came from afar, and have received the Son of Heaven's favor for nearly thirty years. Today I am seventy-one; only death remains." The emperor was greatly pleased and ordered him to sit close to the imperial presence. Moreover, he was skilled in incantations and expert in the Mahāyāna, so the people of the time dubbed him 'Mahāyāna'."