貞元新定釋教目錄 6.10.5

6.10.5

Graceful and concise, none failed to be profound. Kumārajīva's natural disposition was lucid and penetrating; aloft and preeminent, he grasped principles in response to occasions, and few were his match. Moreover, by nature he was deeply humane and generous, holding universal love in his heart; emptying himself, he was good at guiding others, tirelessly throughout the day. At that time there was the śramaṇa Sengrui, who rejoiced in this exceedingly. In the scriptures translated by Kumārajīva, Sengrui assisted in editing and rectifying them all. Formerly, when Zhu Fahu produced the *Zheng fahua* (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka), the chapter on Receiving Predictions stated: 'Gods see humans; humans see gods.' When Kumārajīva reached this point while translating the scripture, he remarked: 'This phrasing has the same meaning as the Indic text, but the wording is overly plain.' Sengrui responded immediately: 'Would it not rather be: "Humans and gods interact, and both are able to see each other"?' Kumārajīva was delighted and said: 'Indeed it is so!' Sengrui and Kumārajīva enlightened each other throughout in just this manner. Kumārajīva once listened to the Qin monk Daorong lecturing on the *Lotus Sūtra*, and Kumārajīva sighed: 'The flourishing of the Buddha's Dharma rests on Rong!' Shortly thereafter, in the Lion Kingdom (Siṃhala), there was a brāhmaṇa, intelligent, eloquent, and erudite; of the worldly books of the Western Lands, there were few he had not read. As a patriarch of the non-Buddhists of that land, hearing that Kumārajīva was broadly propagating the Buddha's Dharma in Guanzhong, he indignantly said to his disciples: 'How can we let the ways of the Śākya clan alone spread to China, while the scriptures of our own orthodox transformation do not reach the Eastern Lands?' Thereupon, riding a camel and bearing books, he traveled from afar and entered Chang'an. Yao Xing, seeing his glibness and quick wit, was also somewhat misled by him. The brāhmaṇa then petitioned Yao Xing: 'The supreme Way has no single direction; each reveres their own cause. Having now come from afar, I request to compete in debating prowess with the Qin monks. Whichever side proves superior, their teachings shall be propagated.' Yao Xing assented. At that time, the monastic assembly of Guanzhong and the four quarters looked at one another in dismay, and none dared confront him. Kumārajīva said to Daorong: 'This non-Buddhist is exceptionally intelligent and will surely win in debate. How can the unsurpassed Great Way be made to yield to him on account of our fellows? This would truly be lamentable! If this non-Buddhist is allowed to give free rein to his desires and succeed, then the axle of our Wheel of the Dharma will be broken. How can this be permitted? As I see it, the matter rests on you alone.' Daorong reflected that his own abilities were not deficient, but he had not thoroughly read the scriptures and books of the non-Buddhists of the Western Regions. So he secretly had someone copy the titles and contents of the scriptures read by the brāhmaṇa, and upon reading them once, he memorized them immediately. Later, on the appointed day, they were to debate the doctrines. Yao Xing attended in person, the dukes and ministers all assembled, and the monastic community of Guanzhong and the four quarters gathered without fail. At that time, Daorong engaged the brāhmaṇa in mutual opposition. His sharp eloquence soared into the profound, beyond the other's reach. Although the brāhmaṇa himself realized that his words and reasoning were refuted, he still took pride in his extensive reading. Daorong then enumerated the books the brāhmaṇa possessed, and further discussed the names and scroll counts of the classics and histories of the land of Qin, exceeding the brāhmaṇa's by threefold. Kumārajīva took advantage of the momentum to mock him: 'Have you not heard of the extensive learning of the Great Qin? Why did you come so lightly from afar?' The brāhmaṇa felt ashamed and submitted in his heart, prostrating himself at Daorong's feet. Within ten days, he departed without further incident. That the turning of the semblance [Dharma] shone forth again was due to the efforts of Kumārajīva and Daorong. Furthermore, Bhikṣu Beidu, upon hearing in Pengcheng that Kumārajīva was in Chang'an, sighed: 'It has been more than three hundred years since I playfully parted with this boy. Vast and distant with no fixed meeting, we can only hope to meet in a future life.' When Kumārajīva was on the verge of death, he gathered his strength despite his illness and bid farewell to the monastic assembly, saying: 'Having met by virtue of the Dharma, our hearts' wishes are far from fulfilled. When we are separated by different lifetimes, what sorrow can words convey? Considering myself ignorant, I mistakenly filled the office of translator. If what I transmitted is without error, then after my body is burned, my tongue will not be scorched or decayed.' On the thirteenth day of the fourth month of the fifteenth year of the Hongshi era, he died at the Great Monastery at the age of seventy. In the Xiaoyao Garden, his corpse was cremated according to foreign methods. The firewood was consumed and his form dissolved, but his tongue alone remained unchanged. This is truly proof of his propagation of the Dharma! (The various records regarding the time of Master Kumārajīva's death are inconsistent. The *Gaoseng zhuan* states that he died in Chang'an on the twentieth day of the eighth month of the eleventh year of Hongshi, and some say at age seventy, while others say eighty; that biography took the eleventh year to be correct. This is not so. According to the afterword of the *Chengshi lun*, on the eighth day of the ninth month in the thirteenth year of Hongshi of the Great Qin, year-star in Shiwei, Minister of the Secretariat Yao Xian requested the translation of the treatise, which was completed on the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the following year. According to this, at the end of the fourteenth year Kumārajīva had still not died. Furthermore, according to Sengzhao's memorial presenting the *Niepan wuming lun* to Yao Xing, Lord of Qin, Sengzhao had been Kumārajīva's disciple for more than ten years. If Kumārajīva produced scriptures in the fourth year and died in the eleventh year, that would only be eight years, not yet ten full years; how then could he say 'more than ten years'? Now, according to the eulogy for Kumārajīva, he died on the thirteenth day of the fourth month in the year Guichou; that Guichou year is indeed the fifteenth year of Hongshi.) However, the various accounts of the scriptures, treatises, and scroll counts produced by Kumārajīva differ somewhat. In the *Changfang lu*, their number is even broader. Now, upon careful examination and verification, most are separate extracts, multiple titles for a single text, or erroneous entries. They are fully listed as follows, and are now entirely deleted: The *Sarvāstivāda-vinaya* (Shi song lü) in 61 scrolls (Sengyou's catalogue says it was translated by Kumārajīva. Now, because 58 scrolls were orally translated by Kumārajīva and not his regular translation, and the remaining 3 scrolls were later produced in succession by Vimalākṣa and placed after them, this has already been revised in other catalogues and is not retained here). The *Fangguang bore boluomi jing* (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra) in 20 scrolls (second translation; appears in the Detailed Catalogue. Now, because the Indic text of the *Fangguang* is identical to the *Dapin*, when translating the *Dapin*, Yao Xing held the old scripture while Kumārajīva produced the new text. If one says that Kumārajīva translated the *Fangguang*, which one was the old scripture? Therefore, we know that the *Dapin* is the new and the *Fangguang* is the old; to record two texts repeatedly is a grave mistake). The *Bore jing lun ji* (Collection of Prajñā Sūtras and Treatises) in 20 scrolls (Changfang says it appears in the Wu Catalogue. Now, regarding this collection, Dharma Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu, finding the sentences of the *Da zhidu lun* cumbersome and difficult for beginners to study, abridged the redundancies and trimmed the disarray so that substance and style were balanced, compiling it into 20 scrolls; it is also called *Da zhi lun yaolüe* and *Shilun yaochao*. This was Master Huiyuan's condensation of the previous treatise, not a separate translation by Kumārajīva). The *Chan fayao* (Essentials of the Methods of Meditation) in 3 scrolls (the second text says it was translated earlier and re-collated in the ninth year of Hongshi, with a preface written by Sengrui. Since it is called an earlier translation re-collated, keeping two titles is improper; according to Sengrui's preface, this is indeed the *Zuochan sanmei jing*). The *Alanruo xichan fa jing* (Sūtra on the Method of Practicing Meditation in an Āraṇya) in 2 scrolls (Changfang says it appears in the Detailed Catalogue, or lacks the word 'jing', and is a different translation of the same text as the *Zuochan*. Now I say this is not so: this is simply an alternative title of the *Zuochan sanmei jing*. Examining its sentences, the beginning and end are textually identical; this is the first-translated text, not the collated and corrected one). The *Le yingluo zhuangyan jing* in 1 scroll (Changfang says it appears in Li Kuo's catalogue. Now, according to the afterword of the sūtra, it was translated by Dharmayaśas, not Kumārajīva; it is now transferred and appended to his catalogue). The *Baoxiang lun* in 1 scroll (the *Gaoseng zhuan* says 2 scrolls, translated by Kumārajīva for Yao Xing. Since it is not an Indic text transmission, it is omitted here). The *Wanggu xinghe foguo yuanxing fadian jing* (also written *Shenghe*; extracted from the *Wenshushi li fotu yanjing jing*). The *Fo qingke che shifang jing*; the *Fo qihua chu pusa jing*; the *Moye jing*; the *Guoqu wubian guangjing fotu jing*; the *Xukongzang pusa wenchi jing*.