開元釋教錄 4.5.4

4.5.4

[Sūryasoma] consulted and received instruction in the Mahāyāna, whereupon [Kumārajīva] sighed and said: "Formerly, when I studied the Hīnayāna, I was like a person who did not recognize gold and took brass to be exquisite!" Thereupon he broadly sought out the essential meanings, reciting the Madhyamaka-śāstra, Śata-śāstra, and Dvādaśanikāya-śāstra. Shortly thereafter, Kumārajīva's mother took her leave to go to Tianzhu. She said to Bai Chun, King of Kucha: "Your kingdom will soon decline; I am going." Arriving in Tianzhu, she advanced and attained the third fruit [of ananāgāmin]. Before departing, Kumārajīva's mother said to Kumārajīva: "The profound teachings of the Vaipulya should be broadly proclaimed in China. Transmitting them to the Eastern Land relies solely on your efforts. Yet for your own person there will be no benefit; what can be done?" Kumārajīva said: "The path of a great being is to benefit others and sacrifice oneself. If only the great transformation can be made to spread and wash away the ignorance of the worldly, even if my body should suffer the torments of the furnace and cauldron, I shall have no regrets." Thereupon he remained in Kucha, staying at the King's New Monastery, where he obtained the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. When he began to unroll and read it, Māra came and obscured the text, so that he saw only blank tablets. Kumārajīva knew this was Māra's doing, and his vow became ever firmer. When Māra departed, the characters reappeared, and he continued to recite and practice it. Later, while reading Mahāyāna sūtras at the Queli Great Monastery, he suddenly heard a voice in the air say: "You are a man of wisdom; why do you read this?" Kumārajīva said: "You are a minor demon; you should depart at once! My mind is like the earth and cannot be moved." He remained there for two years, extensively reciting Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises and penetrating their secret depths. The King of Kucha made a golden lion throne for him, spread it with Da Qin brocade cushions, and had Kumārajīva ascend it to preach the Dharma. Later, he went to Jibin, where he fully explained the wondrous meaning of the One Vehicle to his teacher Bandhudatta. His teacher was moved to comprehension and was convinced in his heart; he bowed to Kumārajīva as his teacher, saying: "I was the Upādhyāya's Hīnayāna teacher, but the Upādhyāya is my Mahāyāna teacher." The various kingdoms of the Western Regions admired Kumārajīva's divine talent and all revered him together. Whenever he came to preach, the kings would kneel beside the throne and ask Kumārajīva to step on them to mount it. Such was the honor he received. Kumārajīva's way shook the Western Regions, and his fame reached the Eastern Land. In the first month of the thirteenth year of the Jianyuan era of the Fu clan (a dingchou year), the Grand Astrologer memorialized that a star had appeared in the division of foreign lands, indicating that a person of great virtue and wisdom would enter to assist the Central Kingdom. Fu Jian had long heard of Kumārajīva's name and realized: "I have heard that in the Western Regions there is Kumārajīva; could it be him?" In the nineteenth year, Fu Jian dispatched General of Valiant Cavalry Lü Guang and others leading an army of seventy thousand to march west and conquer Kucha and Karasahr. Upon their departure, he told Guang: "I have heard that they have Kumārajīva, who deeply understands the characteristics of dharmas and is well-versed in yin and yang, being the master of their learning. I long for him deeply. If you conquer Kucha, immediately dispatch a post relay to send Kumārajīva." Before Guang's army arrived, Kumārajīva said to King Bai Chun: "The state's fortune is declining; there will be a formidable enemy. Men from beneath the sun will come from the east; you should respectfully submit to them and not oppose their spearhead." Chun did not comply and fought; Guang then defeated Kucha, killed Chun, and captured Kumārajīva. Guang was negligent and haughty by nature, and did not fathom the measure of Kumārajīva's wisdom. Seeing that he was still young, he treated him with the jests of an ordinary man. Kumārajīva was forced to the extreme and thus compromised his discipline. Guang also ordered him to ride cows and vicious horses, intending to make him fall off. Kumārajīva constantly harbored forbearance and never showed any sign of distress. Guang was ashamed and stopped. On Guang's return, half-way on the journey, he encamped the army at the foot of a mountain. When the officers and soldiers were already resting, Kumārajīva said: "We must not stay here; we will certainly meet with disaster. The army should be moved up onto the ridge." Guang did not heed him. When night came, heavy rain indeed fell and a torrent suddenly arose, several fathoms deep, drowning several thousand people. Guang then began to revere him with wonder. Kumārajīva told Guang: "This is an ominous place of doom; you should not linger. Calculating the signs and assessing destiny, you should quickly return. Midway there must be an auspicious land where you can dwell." Guang complied. Upon reaching Liangzhou, he heard that Fu Jian had already died, whereupon he carved out Liang territory and held power over a corner [of the empire]. Kumārajīva remained in Liang for many years. Frequently his predictions seemed unfulfilled at first, but later all proved as he had said. Because Lü Guang and his sons did not promote the Way, his sūtras and teachings remained concealed with nowhere to propagate. Fu Jian had already perished, so in the end they never met. When Yao Chang heard of his high reputation, he humbly invited him; but the Lüs, believing Kumārajīva possessed abundant wisdom and stratagems, feared he would plot for Yao and did not permit him to go east. When Chang died, his son Xing (posthumously titled Emperor Wenzu) succeeded to the throne and repeatedly sent earnest invitations. In the third year of the Hongshi era (a xinchou year), in the third month, trees with entwined branches grew in the ancestral temple courtyard, and the scallions in Xiaoyao Garden turned into angelica. These were considered auspicious omens indicating that a wise man was about to enter. On the twentieth day of the twelfth month of that year, Kumārajīva arrived in Chang'an. Yao Xing treated him with the etiquette due to a National Preceptor and showered him with great favor. When converse resonated between them, they would linger together all day; delving into subtleties and fathoming the profound, whole years passed without weariness. Ever since the Great Dharma was brought east starting under Emperor Ming of the Han, through the Wei and Jin dynasties the sūtras and treatises gradually increased; however, what was produced by Zhi and Zhu mostly clung to the words and used conceptual matching (geyi). When Yao Xing was young, he revered the Three Jewels and was keenly bent on preaching and assembling texts. Once Kumārajīva had arrived, he invited him to the Ximing Pavilion and Xiaoyao Garden to translate various sūtras. Kumārajīva could recite most of them from memory, understanding all thoroughly; translating into the Qin language, his spoken translations were fluent. Having surveyed the older sūtras, he found their meanings full of errors, all caused by earlier translators missing the purport and failing to correspond with the Sanskrit originals. Yao Xing ordered more than eight hundred śramaṇas—including Sengzhao, Sengqie, Sengmiao, and Sengrui—to consult and receive Kumārajīva's explanations, and had the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā re-translated. Kumārajīva held the Sanskrit original while Yao Xing held the older translation to collate and compare them. Where the new text differed from the old, the meaning was in every case fully resolved and coherent. The assembly was thoroughly persuaded and pleased, and none did not rejoice and praise it. Yao Xing, considering the Buddhist Way to be profound and fathomless, its practice exclusively virtuous, and faith to be an excellent ford for escaping suffering and a grand principle for governing the world, therefore lodged his intention in the nine classes of scriptures and roamed his mind in the twelve divisions. He composed the Treatise on Penetrating the Three Times to encourage and demonstrate cause and effect. From the princes and dukes on down, all admired and praised his standard. Of Xing's imperial clan, the Duke of Changshan, Xian, and the Marquis of Ancheng, Song, both had firm faith in conditions and karma, and repeatedly invited Kumārajīva to lecture on the new sūtras at the Great Monastery of Chang'an. From the fourth year (renyin) to the fourteenth year (renzi) of the Hongshi era, Kumārajīva translated seventy-four works in over three hundred and eighty fascicles, including the Large and Small Prajñāpāramitā and the Vajracchedikā. All clearly unfolded the divine source and brought to light the abstruse purport. At that time, śramaṇas studying doctrinal tenets came from the four quarters, not regarding ten thousand li as distant. Those of outstanding fame and virtue—the two masters Daochang and Sengbiao, down to Daohang, Sengbiao, Huirui, Sengdun, Sengbi, Sengzhao, and more than thirty other monks—consulted him and conducted refined investigations, striving to fathom the hidden meanings. Huiyuan of Mount Lu, whose practice of the Way was vast and pure, sent messengers to convey inquiries. Daosheng of Longguang, whose insightful understanding penetrated subtleties, also entered the passes to inquire and receive instruction. This magnificent achievement has endured long and is revered as a model down to the present. Formerly, the śramaṇa Huirui was of lofty intelligence and discernment, and constantly accompanied Kumārajīva to copy the translations. Kumārajīva frequently discussed the literary styles of the Western Regions with Huirui, assessing similarities and differences: "The customs of the kingdom of Tianzhu place great value on literary embellishment. For their tones and rhymes, suitability for stringed instruments is deemed finest. Whenever one has an audience with a king, there must be praises of his virtue; the etiquette for seeing the Buddha takes singing and chanting in praise as most venerable. The verses (gāthās) in the sūtras all follow this form. But changing Sanskrit into Chinese loses [their beauty]."