貞元新定釋教目錄 7.28.2

7.28.2

[... at ...-]xing Monastery, and later rested at the Jetavana Monastery. His reputation for the Way was long celebrated, and the entire capital flocked to pay him homage. From Emperor Wen of Song, Empress Yuan, down to the princes and princesses, none failed to host vegetarian feasts in the Cinnamon Palace or request precepts in the Pepper Chambers; messengers inquiring after his health arrived continually day after day. From the first year of the Yuanjia era, a jiazi year (424 CE), to the eighteenth year, a xinxi year (441 CE), [Dharmamitra] translated twelve works, including the Akāśagarbha Dhāraṇī Sūtra. He constantly instructed students in the Way of meditation; those who sought refuge with him thought nothing of traveling a thousand li. The fourfold assembly near and far all called him the Great Meditation Master. Meng Yi, the Governor of Kuaiji, deeply had faith in the True Truth and took the Three Jewels as his personal responsibility. Having long delighted in the taste of meditation, his reverence was profound and earnest. When he took up office by the Zhe River, he invited him to travel together, whereupon they founded a stūpa and monastery on the mountains of Mou County. The local customs of the eastern regions previously favoured shamans and diviners, but transformed by his wonderful conversion, house after house turned to orthodoxy; from west to east, none failed to submit wholeheartedly. Later he returned to Jianye and stayed at the Lower Dinglin Monastery. By nature tranquil and serene, the meditation master had an innate love for mountains and waters. Considering Mount Zhong to be a guardian peak rivaling Mount Song and Mount Hua, he often lamented that the foundation and structures of the Lower Monastery did not fully capture the scenic splendour. Thereupon, ascending the heights to survey the land and divine the mountain topography, he hewed stone and cleared timber to construct the Upper Monastery. Its halls, chambers, and meditation cells were solemn, deep, and secluded, truly resembling Vulture Peak and mirroring the Jeta Grove. Thereupon, those who calmed their minds gathered from ten thousand li away; their chanting was solemn and harmonious, and those who beheld his presence were transformed. From the Western Regions to the southern lands, wherever his feet trod, none failed to raise charitable gatherings and expound the teachings of the Dharma. When the meditation master initially departed from Kashmīr, the deity Kapila escorted and protected him. Reaching Kucha, [the deity] wished to turn back halfway, and so manifested his form to bid farewell. The meditation master said: “Your divine powers transform at will; in your roamings, would you not follow along with me to the southern regions?” As soon as the words ended, [the deity] withdrew his shadow and disappeared, and then followed from afar all the way to the capital of Yang[zhou]. Therefore, his image was subsequently painted on the wall of the Upper Monastery; down to the present day, there are still efficacious responses of sounds and shadows, and whoever prays for blessings with a pure heart has their wishes fulfilled. On the sixth day of the seventh month in the nineteenth year of the Yuanjia era (442 CE), he passed away at the Upper Monastery at the age of eighty-seven. The fourfold assembly of monastics and laity ran weeping toward each other, and he was buried in front of the Songxi Monastery on Mount Zhong.
Akṣayamati-bodhisattva-sūtra, in 6 fascicles (originally entitled “Chapter Thirty-Two: Inexhaustible Meanings Preached by Akṣayamati in the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra”; also simply called Akṣayamati-sūtra, or named Achamo jing; fourth translation, identical original to Dharmarakṣa's Achamo [jing], etc.; see Li Kuo's catalogue).
Lotus Samādhi Sūtra, in 1 fascicle (an offshoot extract of the Lotus Sūtra; see Changfang's catalogue).
Expansive, Adorned, Pure, Irreversible Wheel Sūtra, in 4 fascicles (third translation; or in 6 fascicles; or simply called Expansive and Adorned Sūtra, or simply Irreversible Dharma Wheel Sūtra; identical original to Dharmarakṣa's Aweiyuezhizhe jing; translated in the fourth year of the Yuanjia era; see the Song-Qi Catalogue and Sengyou's catalogue).
Four Heavenly Kings Sūtra, in 1 fascicle (see Sengyou's catalogue and the Biographies of Eminent Monks).
Lalitavistara (Puyào jing), in 8 fascicles (third translation; or in 6 fascicles, or in 4 fascicles; identical original to the Shu Puyào jing, Zhu Dharmarakṣa's Puyào jing, and the Tang catalogue's Fangguang [da zhuangyan jing], etc.; see the Song-Qi Catalogue, Sengyou's catalogue, Biographies of Eminent Monks, etc.).
Pure Deliverance Samādhi Sūtra, in 1 fascicle (first translation; see Changfang's catalogue).
Bodhisattva Necklace Original Action Sūtra, in 2 fascicles (second translation; see Fang's catalogue).
Jātaka Sūtra, in 5 fascicles (second translation; identical original to the one translated by Dharmarakṣa; Fang states it is found in the Detailed Catalogue).
Bhadraśrī Upāsaka Sūtra, in 1 fascicle (see Changfang's catalogue).
Anāgāmin Sūtra, in 2 fascicles (see Changfang's catalogue).
The ten works above in 31 fascicles (the four works in 12 fascicles above the Four Heavenly Kings Sūtra are extant; the six works in 19 fascicles below the Lalitavistara are missing).
Śramaṇa Shi Zhiyan was a native of Xiliangzhou. Leaving home at capping age, he became renowned for his vigorous diligence. Wearing patched robes, sitting in peaceful meditation, and subsisting on a vegetarian diet for many years, he constantly desired to serve famous teachers broadly and seek sūtras and treatises far and wide. He subsequently traveled throughout the Western Regions and proceeded to Kashmīr. Entering the Matandara Hermitage, he sought and received meditation methods from the monk Buddhasena. Gradually steeped in study for three years, his achievement surpassed ten years of practice. Buddhasena saw that his meditation practice was coherent, his discipline profound, and his capacity extraordinary. When the monastics and laity there heard of it, they sighed in admiration, saying: “The land of Qin indeed has a śramaṇa who seeks the Way!” From then on, they no longer disparaged those of Qin origin and respectfully welcomed people from afar. At that time, there was the monk Buddhabhadra, who was also a meditation master of that country. Zhiyan then invited him to return east, wishing to transmit the Dharma to the central lands. Buddhabhadra appreciated his earnest sincerity and accordingly traveled east with him. After crossing time and seasons, they reached the region inside the passes (Guannei), constantly relying on each other and staying together in Chang'an. Shortly afterwards, Buddhabhadra was unjustly expelled by the monks of Qin. Zhiyan and the followers who had come from the west were all dispersed. Going outside the passes, he stayed at a hermitage in Shandong, sitting in meditation, reciting sūtras, and vigorously cultivating his study. In the thirteenth year of the Yixi era of the Jin dynasty (417 CE), Emperor Wu of the Song campaigned west against Yao Hong. Victorious, he turned his banners back, his route passing through Shandong. At that time, Wang Hui, Duke of Shixing, who accompanied the imperial retinue touring the mountains and rivers, came to Zhiyan's hermitage. He saw Zhiyan and his two like-minded fellow monks, three monks in total, each sitting on a rope-bed in serene meditation. Hui snapped his fingers; the three men opened their eyes, but shortly closed them again without speaking with him. Hui inwardly revered their extraordinary character and inquired of the local elders, who all said: “They have lived in seclusion for years and have never lightly ventured out.” Hui immediately reported to Emperor Wu of the Song, inviting them to return to the capital, but none was willing to go. After repeated requests were made, the three pushed Zhiyan to accompany him. Hui had long held affectionate regard for the Way and treated him with utmost propriety. Returning to the capital, Zhiyan resided at Shixing Monastery. Zhiyan’s nature was tranquil and quiet, his mind bent on avoiding the noise and dust. Hui thereupon built another hermitage on the outskirts of the eastern suburbs, which was the Zhiyuan Monastery. The Indic texts of various sūtras that Zhiyan had previously brought back from the Western Regions had not yet been translated and copied. In the fourth year of the Yuanjia era, a dingmao year (427 CE), he together with the śramaṇa Baoyun translated ten works, including the Akṣayamati-sūtra. At the monastery, Zhiyan did not accept individual invitations, sustaining himself through begging for alms (piṇḍapāta). The reach of his spiritual transformation moved both the unseen and the manifest. Zhiyan was pure, unadorned, and had few desires, giving away whatever he received. From his youth, he had roamed far without clinging to anything. Naturally aloof and unassuming, he did not speak of his own deeds; therefore, although he had many admirable practices, the world was unable to transmit them all. Formerly, before Zhiyan left home, he had once received the five precepts and committed some infraction. Later, entering the Way and receiving the full ordination, he constantly doubted whether he had truly obtained the precepts and was perpetually apprehensive about it. After years of meditation and contemplation, he was unable to resolve the matter himself. He thereupon took to the sea again, traveling to India to consult various clear-sighted authorities. Meeting an arhat monk, he questioned him fully on the matter. The arhat dared not make a judgment, and so entered samādhi on Zhiyan's behalf, journeying to Tuṣita Palace to inquire of Maitreya. Maitreya replied: “He has obtained the precepts.” Zhiyan was overjoyed. Thereupon, he walked back, and when he reached Kashmīr, he passed away without illness at the age of seventy-eight. In that country, ordinary persons and holy sages were cremated in different places. Although Zhiyan’s moral discipline was lofty and luminous, his actual attainment had not been verified. When they first moved the corpse toward the cemetery of ordinary monks, the corpse became heavy and could not be lifted; when they redirected it toward the cemetery of sages, it became light and moved effortlessly. Zhiyan’s disciples Zhiyu and Zhiyuan