開元釋教錄 5.5.8

5.5.8

[When the King of Qiao] plotted treason, Bhadra looked sorrowful and distressed, but before he could speak, the King asked him the reason. Bhadra remonstrated with him earnestly, weeping as he withdrew, saying, "There is surely no hope of success. This poor monk cannot accompany you." The King of Qiao, knowing that the people trusted Bhadra, forced him to go down[river] together with him. When they were defeated at Liangshan, the flaming fire-ships drew ever closer. They were far from the shore, and by all reason there was no way of escape. Single-mindedly reciting Avalokiteśvara['s name], holding a bamboo staff in his hand, [Bhadra] threw himself into the river. The water came up only to his knees. Poking the water with his staff, he found it deep and the current swift. He saw a young boy following behind him who took him by the hand. Looking back, he said to the boy, "You are just a child; how can you deliver me?" In a daze, he felt himself walk more than ten paces and immediately reached the shore. He took off his patchwork robe intending to reward the boy, but looking around he could not find him; his hair stood on end over his entire body, and only then did he realize it was divine power. At that time, Wang Xuanmo commanded the army at Liangshan. Emperor Xiaowu, Liu Jun, had issued an imperial order to the army: "If you capture Mahāyāna, treat him well and send him by courier post to the palace." Soon after, he was found and placed on a boat to be sent to the capital. Xiaowu granted him an audience at once, inquiring kindly into all details, saying, "I have looked forward [to meeting you] for a long time; only today do we meet." Bhadra replied, "Having been entangled in treason, I should have been ground to dust. That I am now granted an audience means I am deeply indebted to your saving grace." An imperial order asked, "Together with the King of Qiao you were rebels?" He replied, "A person who has left home does not participate in military matters. However, Zhang Chang, Zong Lingxiu, and others were all forced and coerced; this poor monk understands that. I simply did not imagine that due to past karma I would encounter such an event." Xiaowu said, "There is nothing to fear." That day, an imperial order installed him in the rear hall, providing him with robes, goods, servants, and carriages. Previously, while Bhadra was in Jingzhou for ten years, every letter he exchanged with the King of Qiao was recorded; when the army was defeated and an examination was made, not a single word touched on military affairs. Xiaowu clearly understood his pure integrity and treated him with even greater courtesy. Later, in casual conversation, [the Emperor] jokingly asked him, "Do you miss the Prime Minister?" He replied, "Having received his offerings for ten years, how could I forget his kindness? Now I beg of Your Majesty: grant my wish to burn incense for the Prime Minister for three years." The Emperor was sorrowfully moved, considered his conduct righteous, and granted it. When Zhongxing Temple was completed, an imperial order directed him to move there, setting aside three rooms for him. Later, at a banquet in the Eastern Headquarters where princes and dukes were gathered, an imperial order summoned Bhadra to appear. At that time, he had not yet had time to shave his hair, which was completely white. Xiaowu, looking at him from afar, turned to Minister of Personnel Xie Zhuang and said, "Mahāyāna is intelligent and quick-witted; but I reflect that his old age has arrived. Let me test him; he will certainly understand what one means." As Bhadra climbed the steps, [the Emperor] went to meet him and said to him, "Mahāyāna has not disappointed my intention in having you come from afar; however, one [thing] remains!" [Bhadra] immediately replied, "This poor monk returned from afar to the imperial capital nearly thirty years ago. The Emperor's favor and kindness fill me with boundless gratitude and shame. But at seventy, old and sick, only death remains." The Emperor praised his quick wit and ordered that he sit near the imperial presence. The whole court gazed upon him in admiration. Later, in the Moling area west of Fenghuang Tower, he founded a temple. Every midnight, someone would push the door and call out, but when looking, no person was to be seen; the monks repeatedly suffered night terrors. Bhadra burned incense and made a prayer-incantation, saying, "Due to past karma, you dwell here. Now I have established a temple to practice the Way and perform repentance, constantly for your sake. If you stay, be the good spirits protecting the temple; if you cannot dwell here, go wherever you may be at peace." Thereupon, more than ten clergy and laity on the same night dreamed of thousands of ghosts and deities carrying loads and moving away. The temple community was then at peace. In the seventh year of Daming (463 CE), there was a severe drought across the realm; prayers to the mountains and rivers for successive months yielded no response. The Emperor then requested him to pray for rain, requiring that it be effective: "If there is no result, there is no need for us to meet again." Bhadra replied, "Relying on the Three Jewels and Your Majesty's heavenly majesty, I hope it will surely rain. If there is no success, I shall not see you again." He then went to the fishing pavilion at North Lake, burned incense, and prayed, abstaining from food and drink; silently reciting sūtras, he secretly added secret dhāraṇīs. The next day at the申 hour (3–5 p.m.), clouds arose in the northwest corner, at first like a carriage canopy. When the sun was in the mulberries and elms (at dusk), wind shook and clouds gathered, and rain fell for consecutive days. The following morning, ministers entered to offer congratulations; an imperial order granted an audience to comfort him, and donations continued unabated. From his youth, Bhadra was a vegetarian throughout his life; he constantly held an incense burner without ever letting it go from his hand. At every meal, he would share food with flying birds, which would gather on his hand to take it. By the reign of Emperor Ming, the courtesies and offerings [extended to him] grew even more abundant. In the first month of the fourth year of Taishi (468 CE), he felt unwell in body and bid farewell in advance to Emperor Ming, the ministers, and others. On the day of his demise, he stood waiting and looking into the distance, saying that he saw heavenly flowers and holy images. At mid-morning, he passed away. His age was seventy-five. Emperor Ming grieved bitterly and provided lavish funeral gifts; the ministers gathered for the burial, and both honor and mourning were fully rendered. Ban ni huan jing (Parinirvāṇa-sūtra), one fascicle (sometimes without "ban"; translated at Xin Temple in the first year of Xiaojian; recorded in Daohui's Song and Qi catalogues. Now examining this single-fascicle Nirvāṇa, the phrasing throughout is not translated by Bhadra, but seems to be a translation by [Zhi] Qian, [Dharma]rakṣa, and others. Now that a two-fascicle version has been found, this one is provisionally attached to the Eastern Jin catalogue). Shi mo nan ben jing, one fascicle (translated by Zhi Qian of Wu). Sanzang fashi zishu yu (Tripiṭaka Master's Personal Account of Metaphors), one fascicle (not originating from a Sanskrit text, hence also deleted). Danglai xuanze zhu e shijie jing. Guoqu xing tan boluomi jing. (The above two sūtras are both extracted from the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka-sūtra.) Sha long ji yiguo jing (extracted from the Saṭpāramitā-sūtra). San yinyuan jing (extracted from the Dīrghāgama). San xiaojie jing (extracted from the Lou tan jing). Fo ru ganlu men zhengyi jing (extracted from the Da shi'er men jing). Alan'na jing (extracted from the Madhyamāgama). Shelifu deng biqiu de shen zuozheng jing (extracted from the Saṃyuktāgama). Nalai jing. Duozhu zhuo haizhong jing. Jiuxu jing. Shelifu ban nihuan jing. Fu zhai wei niu jing. Junchen jing. (The above six sūtras are all extracted from the Jātaka-sūtra [Sheng jing].) Sishi jing (miscellaneous excerpts from the Hīnayāna). Anan jian ji yue tikui wuchang jing. Fo wang wei Jiaye bing jing. Fo ming Anan yi Zuisheng zhangzhe jing. Er qiaoshi jing. Murlian di bushi wang ji bao jing. (The above five sūtras are all extracted from the Udānavarga [Chuyao jing].) The above twenty-three works, in twenty-three fascicles, including the Ban ni huan jing and others, are either extracted texts and digest sūtras, or not produced by Bhadra. In the present authentic catalogue, they are all deleted. Guanshiyin pusa shouji jing, one fascicle (also named Guanshiyin shoujue jing; third translation, being the same text as those produced by Dharmarakṣa and Daozhen of the Western Jin; recorded in the catalogues of Wang Zong, Sengyou, Li Kuo, Fashang, and others, and the Gaoseng zhuan). The above one work, in one fascicle, is extant. Śramaṇa Shi Fayong, Sanskrit name Dharmodgata, originally surnamed Li, was a native of Huanglong in Youzhou. When he was a novice in his youth, he practiced austerities; keeping the precepts and chanting sūtras, he was considered remarkable by his master. Having once heard that monks such as Faxian and Baoyun had personally walked in the Buddha-land, he sighed with feeling and made a pledge to forget himself. Then, in the first year of the Yongchu era of the Song (420 CE), he gathered like-minded companions, including the śramaṇas Sengmeng and Tanlang, numbering twenty-five people, and carrying banners and canopies for offering,