神僧傳

Divine monks are monks possessed of wondrous transformations and spiritual powers, surpassing all ordinary people. Accounts of their lives and deeds are recorded here and there throughout the Great Canon. Yet it is extremely difficult for students wishing to learn about them, for the Tripitaka is vast and cannot be read in its entirety.

Consequently, people have been unable to understand them fully or investigate them thoroughly, and so they came to be called “divine.” While reading through the Canon, I diligently gathered the biographical accounts of these monks and compiled them into a collection of nine fascicles, so that students need only read through it to gain a thorough understanding, without laboring to search for the material themselves—just as one who enters a treasury naturally sees all its precious objects clearly.

For this reason, I have had printing blocks carved so that the work may be printed and circulated, thereby bringing to light the extraordinary deeds of divine monks throughout heaven and earth, and enabling people of the world to know that there is evidence for calling them divine. This is why the book bears the three-character title Biographies of Divine Monks.

The sixth day of the first lunar month, in the fifteenth year of the Yongle era (1417).

BIOGRAPHIES OF DIVINE MONKS

Fascicle 1

MATANGA

The Master was a native of India. His bearing was majestic and dignified, and he had mastered the scriptures of both the Mahayana and the Hinayana. He always regarded teaching and transforming beings as his life’s work.

On one occasion, the Master traveled to a small kingdom in India and expounded the Sutra of Golden Light^[1]. At that time, the kingdom was being ravaged by warfare and disorder. The Master thought to himself: “The sutra states that if this scripture is taught, the earth deities will offer their protection and the people will live in peace and happiness.

Now that war has just begun, this is precisely the time for me to bring benefit!” With this thought, he made a vow to disregard his own life and mediate between the belligerents. Through his efforts, the two kingdoms established peaceful and amicable relations. Thereafter, the Master’s fame resounded far and wide.

Around the Yongping era ⁽⁵⁸⁾ of the Han dynasty, Emperor Ming dreamed one night that a golden man flew down from the sky. The next morning, the emperor summoned his ministers to interpret the dream. Among them was Fu Yi, a man of profound learning, who reported to the emperor:

—Your servant has heard that in the Western Regions there is a divine sage called the Buddha. The person Your Majesty saw in the dream was surely he.

The emperor believed this to be true and therefore dispatched Court Gentleman Cai Yin, Erudite’s Disciple Qin Jing, and others to India in search of the Buddha Dharma. When Cai Yin and his companions arrived there, they met Matanga and invited him to return with them to the land of Han.

The Master had vowed to propagate the Dharma far and wide. Undaunted by hardship, he braved the dangers of crossing the desert and reached Luoyi. Emperor Ming of Han received him with great hospitality and had a monastery built west of the city for him to reside in. The Master was the first sramana in China. At that time, the Buddha Dharma had only just begun to spread, and there were as yet no believers there. Thus, the Master was unable to transmit his knowledge of the Buddha Dharma. He later passed away in Luoyang.

According to one account, the Master translated the Sutra in Forty-two Sections^[2]. It was initially kept in the fourteenth chamber of the Stone Hall at the Orchid Terrace, which served as his residence. That place is now White Horse Monastery^[3], west of the city of Luoyang. Tradition relates that in a foreign kingdom there was once a king who habitually destroyed monasteries, leaving only Zhaoti Monastery undemolished. One night, a white horse ran around the stupa, neighing mournfully. Someone reported this occurrence to the king, and from that time onward he ceased destroying monasteries. Zhaoti Monastery was accordingly renamed White Horse Monastery. Later monasteries followed this precedent in naming themselves.

DHARMARATNA

The Master was a native of India and had thoroughly mastered tens of thousands of sections of sutras and treatises. He was a teacher of scholars in that land. At the time Cai Yin arrived, Dharmaratna and Matanga had already made a shared vow to teach and transform beings, and so they went together to Luoyang.

Before long, the Master had become proficient in Chinese and translated the scriptures that Cai Yin had brought back from the Western Regions. He translated five works: Severing the Bonds in the Ten Stages, Former Lives of the Buddha, Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Original Practices of the Buddha, and the Sutra in Forty-two Sections. When the country fell into turmoil, the other four works were lost; in the region east of the Yangtze, only the Sutra in Forty-two Sections, comprising more than two thousand words, remained.

Of all the scriptures still extant in the land of Han, this was the first to appear.

When Cai Yin traveled to the Western Regions, he obtained a seated image of Sakyamuni Buddha. It was the fourth painted copy of the sandalwood image^[4] that King Udayana had ordered artisans to carve. When Cai Yin brought the image to Luoyang, Emperor Ming of Han ordered artisans to make copies of it, which were enshrined on the Qingliang Terrace and in the Xianjie Mausoleum. The ancient images no longer survive today.

Furthermore, in former times, when Emperor Wu of Han had Kunming Lake excavated, a layer of black ash was found at the bottom. He therefore asked Dongfang Shuo about it. Shuo replied:

—Your Majesty should ask a monk from the Western Regions.

When Dharmaratna arrived in Luoyang, people remembered this incident and asked him about it. The Master replied:

—This is the ash left when the world was consumed by the fire at the end of a kalpa^[5].

This explanation was supported by evidence, and everyone believed it.

The Master later died in Luoyang at over sixty years of age.

AN SHIGAO

The Master’s personal name was An Qing, and he was a son of the king of Parthia. From childhood, he was renowned for his filial conduct, as well as for his intelligence and love of learning. He understood everything from foreign books to the seven luminaries^[6], the five phases^[7], medicine, divinatory arts and calculations, and even the cries of birds and beasts.

Once, while traveling along a road, he saw a flock of swallows flying past and said to his companion:

—The swallows say that someone is bringing food.

A short while later, someone indeed arrived carrying food. Everyone was astonished. The Master’s fame swiftly spread throughout the Western Regions. He later relinquished the throne, left the household life, and devoted himself to study and practice. He mastered the Sutra Pitaka and was especially proficient in the Abhidharma^[8]. He traveled throughout various kingdoms seeking instruction.

In the first year of Emperor Huan’s reign during the Han dynasty, the Master arrived in China. There, he learned Chinese and translated scriptures. He manifested many wondrous signs and related that he had been a monastic in a former life. He had once had a fellow student who was prone to anger. If, while going on almsround, he encountered a donor who displeased him, he would fly into a rage. The Master admonished him many times, but he still refused to change; this continued for twenty years. One day, the Master took leave of his fellow student and said:

—I must go to Guangzhou to repay a debt from a former life. In diligence and mastery of the scriptures, you are in no way inferior to me. Yet because you are prone to anger, after your life ends you will assume an ugly form. If I attain the Way, I will certainly deliver you.

Having said this, the Master went to Guangzhou. At that time, the country was in turmoil. On the road, the Master encountered a young man holding a knife, who said to him:

—At last I have found you!

The Master smiled and said:

—In a former life, I incurred a debt to you. I have now come here to repay it. Your present anger arises precisely from karmic enmity in a former life.

Having spoken, the Master extended his neck to receive the knife stroke without the slightest change of expression. A great crowd witnessed this, and everyone was astonished. The Master’s consciousness was reborn as the crown prince of Parthia. Later, he left the household life and traveled to China teaching and transforming beings.

Toward the end of Emperor Ling’s reign during the Han dynasty, bandits and warfare brought disorder to the region of the Passes and Luoyang. The Master therefore journeyed to Jiangnan and thought to himself: “I must go to Mount Lu to deliver my fellow student from a former life.” The Master traveled to the shrine at Gongting Lake. This shrine had always been highly efficacious.

When merchants made offerings there and prayed, their boats would enjoy favorable winds and sail without obstruction. On one occasion, someone asked the deity for bamboo. When the deity did not grant permission, the person took it without authorization; immediately, his boat sank and the bamboo returned to its original place.

From then on, all who traveled by boat were filled with dread. More than thirty merchant vessels traveling in the same convoy as the Master arrived at the shrine to present offerings and pray for blessings. The deity of the shrine then said:

– Beneath the boat is a śramana. Invite him here.

The merchants were all astonished and invited the master into the temple. The deity then said to him:

– Long ago, in a foreign land, you and I renounced the household life together and studied the Way. I delighted in giving, but my nature was prone to anger, so I have now fallen into the state of a deity in this temple, and all the land within a thousand leagues is under my governance. Because of the merit of giving, I possess abundant jewels and treasures; but because of my anger, I fell into the state of a deity. Now that I have met my old friend again, joy and sorrow truly mingle within me. I do not have long to live, and my body is exceedingly large. If I were to die here, I fear I would defile the rivers and lakes, so I must go to the marsh west of the mountain. After I die, I may fall into hell. I have one thousand bolts of silk and many other precious objects. Please use this wealth on my behalf to build a stupa for the scriptures, so that I may be born in a wholesome realm.

The master said:

– I have come from afar to deliver you. Why do you not reveal your original form?

The temple deity replied:

– My body is extremely hideous. I fear everyone will be terrified.

The master said:

– Appear as you are. No one will be afraid.

Upon hearing this, the temple deity emerged from behind the altar. It was an enormous python. It came and knelt beside the master’s knees, whereupon the master faced it and recited the mantra several times. The python wept as though rain were falling, and after a short while it disappeared. The master then took the silk and other objects and set sail with the merchants. The python stood atop a high mountain and watched them depart. Everyone waved farewell until it vanished from sight.

Before long, the master reached Yuzhang and used the objects from the temple to build the Eastern Monastery. After the master departed, the temple deity also died. That evening, a young man boarded the boat and knelt before the master. When the master had finished invoking blessings for him, the young man disappeared. The master told the merchants:

– That young man was none other than the deity of the temple, who has cast off his hideous body.

From then on, the deity was no more, and the temple ceased to manifest miraculous efficacy. Later, people saw the python’s corpse, several leagues long, lying in the marsh west of the mountain. That place is now Serpent Village in Xunyang Commandery.

Afterward, the master again went to Guangzhou in search of the young man who had killed him in a previous life. At that time, the young man was still there. The master went directly into his house and recounted the repayment of enmity and their karmic affinities from a former life. The master said cheerfully:

– I still have a small debt from a former life. Now I must go to Kuaiji^[9] to repay it in full!

Only then did the young man realize that the master was no ordinary person, and he suddenly understood and regretted his former wrongdoing. He received and made offerings to the master with great generosity, then followed him eastward. When they reached Kuaiji, the master entered the marketplace and suddenly encountered people fighting. They mistakenly struck the master on the head, and he immediately died. The young man then personally witnessed the fulfillment of both karmic retributions. He thereafter practiced diligently and recounted this story to everyone who would listen; all considered it extraordinary.

SENGHUI

The master’s family name was Kang. His ancestors were from the kingdom of Kangju and had lived in India for several generations. Because his father was engaged in trade, he moved to Jiaozhi. When the master was a little over ten years old, both his parents died. After completing the period of mourning, he renounced the household life. He was broad-minded, refined, and courteous, with extensive knowledge. He devoted himself to study and practice, mastered the Tripitaka, possessed broad knowledge of the Six Classics^[10] as well as astronomy and geography, and was also skilled in speech and writing.

At that time, Sun Quan ruled the region east of the Yangtze, but Buddhism had not yet spread there. In the tenth year of the Chiwu era ⁽²⁴⁷⁾, the master came to Jianye, erected a thatched hermitage, enshrined a Buddha image, and practiced there. The people of Wu were then seeing the figure of a śramana^[11] for the first time and knew nothing of the Buddhist path. They regarded him as an eccentric, and someone reported to Sun Quan:

– A man from the Western Regions has entered our country and calls himself a śramana. His appearance is unusual. This matter should be carefully investigated.

Sun Quan said:

– Long ago, Emperor Ming of Han dreamed of a divine being whose title was Buddha. Could the path this man reveres not be a surviving legacy of the Buddha?

He then summoned the master and asked:

– What miraculous efficacy does the Buddhist path possess?

The master replied:

– The Tathagata entered nirvana several thousand years ago, leaving behind relics of immeasurable miraculous power. Long ago, King Ashoka ordered the construction of eighty-four thousand stupas. Monasteries and stupas are built to manifest the teaching and transformation of the sages of former times.

Sun Quan considered this absurd and told the master:

– If you can obtain a relic, I shall build a stupa. But if this is false, you will be punished according to the law of the state.

The master requested a period of seven days, then said to those who followed him:

– Whether the Buddha-Dharma flourishes or declines depends solely upon this occasion. If we do not now exert our utmost sincerity, how could we ever repent in time afterward?

The master and his Dharma companions then observed fasting and the precepts in a purified chamber. He placed a bronze vase upon a table, offered incense and flowers, and bowed with utmost sincerity. The seven-day period ended, but all remained silent, without any response. The master requested another seven days, but the result was the same. Sun Quan said:

– This man is a fraud.

When the master was about to be punished, he requested another seven days, and Sun Quan granted him this special dispensation. The master told his Dharma companions:

– Confucius said, “Now that King Wen is dead, does not culture abide here?” The Dharma clouds ought already to have descended, yet our sincerity has been insufficient. What need is there, then, for the king’s punishment? We should set death as our deadline.

By evening on the seventh and final day, there was still no sign, and everyone became anxious. During the fifth watch, they suddenly heard a ringing sound inside the vase. The master went to look, and indeed there was a relic. At daybreak, Sun Quan came, took the vase containing the relic, and poured it onto a bronze tray. Wherever the relic rolled, the bronze tray shattered. Sun Quan was utterly astonished. Rising to his feet, he said:

– A most rare auspicious sign!

The master came forward and said:

– The spiritual power of a relic is not limited to this radiance alone. Fire cannot burn it, nor can a vajra pestle shatter it.

Sun Quan immediately ordered that it be tested. The master again made a vow:

– May the Dharma clouds spread their canopy, bringing nourishing grace to sentient beings. I pray that a divine sign be manifested to reveal its sacred power.

Sun Quan ordered the relic placed upon an iron anvil and commanded a strongman to strike it with a pestle. The anvil and pestle were both dented, yet the relic remained whole and undamaged. Sun Quan was deeply impressed and immediately ordered a stupa built. Because this was the first monastery constructed there, it was called Jianchu Monastery^[13], the Monastery of the First Establishment, and that area was named Buddha Village. From then onward, the Buddha-Dharma flourished greatly in the region east of the Yangtze.

When Sun Hao came to power, he implemented harsh and tyrannical policies, abolished sacrificial observances, and demolished Buddhist monasteries. On one occasion, he ordered soldiers to make a garden within the inner palace. While digging the earth, they found a golden image several feet tall and presented it to Sun Hao. Hao immediately ordered the image placed in a filthy location and had foul water poured over it. He and his attendants then laughed and jested, making sport of it. In only a short while, his entire body became swollen, and his private parts were seized by agonizing pain, causing him to cry out miserably.

After casting the divination, the Grand Astrologer said:

– Your Majesty has offended a great deity.

Hao then earnestly prayed at the various shrines, yet still found no relief. A palace maid therefore brought the image and enshrined it in the hall for worship, washed it several dozen times with fragrant water, burned incense, and bowed in reverence. Hao bowed his head in worship and repented of the wrongs he had committed.

In a short while, his pain subsided. He immediately sent an envoy to the monastery to invite the Master to come and expound the Dharma. When the Master arrived, Hao asked about the causes of wrongdoing and merit.

The Master then explained them thoroughly in words that were very simple yet essential. Being intelligent, Hao understood very quickly and was filled with joy. He thereupon asked the Master to show him the monastic precepts.

The Master considered the text of the precepts to be a secret prohibition that could not be disclosed carelessly. He therefore took the one hundred and thirty-five vows in the Sutra of Fundamental Practices and divided them into two hundred and fifty articles, making vows for sentient beings while walking, standing, lying down, and sitting. When Hao saw that these compassionate vows were vast and benefited all beings everywhere, he gave rise to wholesome resolve and received and upheld the five precepts under the Master.

Ten days later, he was completely cured. Hao then renovated the Master's pure chamber and ordered the entire imperial household to honor and serve him reverently.

The Master came to the court of Wu to discuss and expound the sutras and Dharma. Hao, however, was by nature violent and shallow and could not fully comprehend their profound meaning. The Master therefore related instances of karmic retribution manifest in the present life in order to open his mind.

In the fourth year of the Tianji era ⁽²⁸⁰⁾, Hao surrendered to the Jin dynasty. In the ninth month, the Master fell ill and entered nirvana, in the first year of the Taikang era ⁽²⁸⁰⁾ of the Jin dynasty.

Around the Xianhe era ⁽³²⁶⁾, during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Jin, Su Jun rebelled and burned down the stupa built by the Master. He Chong, Minister of Works, repaired and rebuilt it. Zhao Yu, General Who Pacifies the West, had for generations not believed in the Buddha-Dharma and disparaged the Three Jewels. He came to the monastery and said to the monks:

– For a long time I have heard the absurd claim that this stupa has repeatedly emitted light. I cannot believe it without seeing it. If I could witness it with my own eyes, there would be nothing more to debate.

As soon as he finished speaking, the stupa suddenly emitted light of five colors, illuminating the entire monastery. Zhao Yu was so astonished that his whole body trembled. Thereafter, he developed reverent faith and erected a small stupa to the east of the monastery.

Around the Yonghui era ⁽⁶⁵⁰⁾, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the Master manifested in the land of Yue, calling himself an itinerant monk. His spiritual bearing was extraordinary, and all who saw him were alarmed, not knowing whether he was a saint or an ordinary being. At that time, the monastery superintendent questioned him harshly, reviled him, and drove him away. Upon reaching the gate, the Master said:

– I am Kang Senghui! If you preserve my true body, it will benefit this monastery.

In an instant, the Master entered nirvana while standing. His eyes were half closed, his radiant vitality undiminished, his hands raised as though in salutation, and one foot stepping forward as though he wished to walk. The people discussed the matter and tried to lay him down so that they could place him in a grave for burial. Yet despite exerting all their strength, they could not move him at all. Seeing this, they conveyed the Master's bodily remains to an auspicious site and established a separate shrine in which to venerate him. The people of Yue thronged to offer flowers, incense, lamps, torches, silks, fruits, nuts, and other articles. Whatever they prayed for was granted according to their wishes.

When troops arrived in the land of Yue, most were initially quartered at Yongxin Monastery. Their wives gave birth there, while the soldiers ate meat and other foul-smelling foods, defiling the monastery^[14], a situation the people could no longer endure. The Master then manifested and said to Li Ruochu, the investigating commissioner of Min: “In the future, when you hold the office of Fandiao^[15] in the land of Yue, I ask you to move the troops elsewhere.” Having spoken, the Master flicked his robe and departed, suddenly vanishing from sight.

Lord Li was both delighted and frightened and kept the Master's words in mind. Later, he was indeed appointed to office there. One day, Lord Li visited the sacred site and recognized that the person who had spoken to him before was the Master himself.

He therefore immediately ordered the troops to withdraw from the monastery and return to their barracks.

That night, a woman was giving birth without any lamp or torch, and there was no other light nearby. Suddenly, a monk carrying a torch entered through the window. The next morning, the husband went to Yongxin Monastery and recognized the Master's countenance as that of the monk who had brought the torch and saved his wife. From then on, a great many people came to pray for sons or daughters. In former times, the Master had often entered the villages to ask for straw sandals. Therefore, even today, many people of Yue offer straw sandals, lamp oil, banners, and streamers. The Master manifested in the homes of all these people, and such occurrences were too numerous to recount. People called him “Chan Master of Transcendent Transformation.”

ZHU SHIXING

The Master was a native of Yingzhou. He left the household life in childhood and devoted himself to the study of the scriptures. He frequently lectured on the Daoxing Sutra and recognized that certain passages and meanings in the text were corrupt and difficult to understand. He therefore vowed to seek the Larger Version^[16]. The Master traveled to the Western Regions and reached the kingdom of Khotan^[17], where he obtained a Sanskrit manuscript of the sutra to bring back to Luoyang. At that time, the community of scholars in that kingdom memorialized the king:

– This Chinese sramana is using the scriptures of the Brahmanical teachings^[18] to disrupt the orthodox canon. If he is not stopped, we fear that he will delude the people of China.

Upon hearing this, the king issued an order forbidding the sutra from being taken away. Deeply grieved, the Master asked the king to have the scripture burned as proof. The king agreed and ordered firewood to be piled before the palace to burn the scripture. Standing beside the great fire, the Master made this vow: “If the Buddha-Dharma is truly destined to spread in the land of China, may this scripture not be burned. If the scripture burns, I shall sacrifice my life.” Having spoken, the Master cast the scripture into the fire. The flames immediately went out, while not a single word of the scripture was scorched. When the people saw this, they all believed and accepted it as a wondrous spiritual response. The Master was permitted to take the scripture to China.

The Master later entered nirvana in Khotan at the age of eighty. During his cremation, although the fire had gone out, his bodily remains were still entirely intact. Everyone was astonished and made this solemn invocation: “If the Master truly attained the Way, may his body break apart.” As soon as they finished speaking, the Master's body broke apart. The people then collected his relics and built a stupa as an offering.

HELUOJIE

His family name and personal name are unknown. It is known only that the Master left the household life in childhood and could recite fluently as many as two million words of scripture. He was quiet by nature, carefully maintained the precepts, and had handsome features and dignified deportment. He devoted himself to the dhutanga practices^[19], dwelling alone amid desolate mountains and empty wilderness.

In the ninth year of the Taikang era ⁽²⁸⁸⁾, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, the Master came to Luoyang. At that time, the people intended to excavate a channel to bring water to him. Seeing this, the Master said:

– You need not trouble yourselves on my account!

The Master then pressed his left foot against the rock wall to the west of his chamber. A deep hole the size of his big toe opened in the rock, and as soon as he raised his foot, water gushed forth. The water was clear and fragrant, cool and sweet, and flowed ceaselessly. All who came to drink it were freed from hunger, thirst, and illness.

In the eighth year of the Yuankang era ⁽²⁹⁹⁾, the Master sat upright, gathered in his spirit, and entered nirvana. His disciples cremated him according to the customs of foreign lands. Although the fire burned for many days, his bodily remains stayed entirely intact. The people respectfully conveyed the Master's body back to his stone chamber.

JIVAKA

The Master was a native of India. He traveled throughout the lands of China and the non-Chinese peoples, never residing permanently in any one place. Wondrous and transcendent, free and untrammeled by worldly conventions, his conduct was extraordinary, and the people of his time could not fathom him.

The master left India for Funan^[20], followed the seacoast, and journeyed with great hardship until he reached Jiaozhou and Guangzhou^[21]. He manifested many extraordinary signs. When he arrived at Xiangyang, he asked for passage aboard a boat. The merchants, seeing that the śramaṇa wore tattered robes, looked down upon him and refused to take him. Yet when the merchant vessel reached the northern bank, the master had already arrived before them. Along the way, he encountered two tigers, which flattened their ears and wagged their tails. The master stroked their heads with his hand, and the tigers yielded the path for him to pass. When the people on both sides of the road saw this, they followed him in great numbers.

Toward the end of the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin (290–306), the master arrived in Luoyang. People vied with one another to come and pay homage, yet the master remained calmly kneeling, without the slightest change in his expression. He often told people about their previous lives, saying, for example, that Zhi Fayuan had been a goat in a former life, while Zhu Fayu had been a human being. He also admonished the Sangha:

“Wearing extravagant clothing is incompatible with the pure conduct of one who has gone forth.”

Upon seeing the palaces, walls, and towers of Luoyang, the master said:

– This place somewhat resembles the palace of the Heaven of the Thirty-three^[22], but its natural scenery and its people are not the same.

The master said to the śramaṇa Gṛdhrakūṭa:

– The craftsman who built this palace descended from the Heaven of the Thirty-three and returned there after completing it. Beneath the tiles on the roof are carvings of one thousand five hundred images of numinous creatures.

At that time, Bi Yongwen of Nanyang, governor of Hengyang, was staying at Manshui Monastery in Luoyang. Both his legs were contracted, and he was unable to walk. Seeing this, the master said:

– Do you wish to be cured of your illness? Why do you not bring me a bowl of clean water and a willow branch?

The master dipped the willow branch into the water, sprinkled it over Yongwen, and recited an incantation of blessing. After doing this three times, he massaged Yongwen’s knees and told him to stand. At that very moment, Yongwen was able to walk normally, just as before.

In this monastery there was a Contemplation Tree that had withered and died. The master asked Yongwen:

– How long has this tree been dead?

Yongwen replied:

– It has been many years!

The master then recited an incantation of blessing over the tree in the same manner as he had done for Yongwen. The Contemplation Tree suddenly put forth shoots and new leaves and grew lush and green.

In the Secretariat there was a man with a malignant abscess who was close to death. The master placed his alms bowl upon the sick man’s abdomen and covered it with a white cloth. He then recited several thousand words of incantation, whereupon a foul odor immediately filled the house. The sick man said:

– I shall live!

The master ordered someone to remove the cloth. They saw several sheng^[23] of fluid resembling filthy mud inside the alms bowl, with a stench beyond description. Through this, the sick man was completely cured.

At that time, Luoyang was engulfed in warfare and turmoil, so the master returned to India. While still in Luoyang, he was invited by hundreds of śramaṇas to receive meals, and he accepted every invitation. Early one morning, the master’s figure appeared in each of five hundred monasteries. At first, everyone thought that the master had come only to their own place, but upon making inquiries, they learned that he had manifested separate bodies and gone everywhere at once. When the master took his leave, the people escorted him as far as the city of Henan. Although he walked only at a leisurely pace, they could not keep up with him even by running. The master drew a line upon the ground with his khakkhara and said:

– Here we shall take leave of one another!

That day, a man arriving from Chang’an encountered the master in a monastery there. Later, a merchant named Hu Shideng also related that, on the afternoon of that same day, he had encountered the master in the Desert of Shifting Sands^[24]. By calculation, the master had traveled more than nine thousand li that day.

After he returned to the Western Regions, no one knew where he entered nirvana.

FALANG

The monk Kang Falang traveled to study at Zhongshan^[25]. During the Yongjia era (307–313), the master and another bhikṣu journeyed westward, crossing more than a thousand li of desert before reaching India.

Along the way, the master saw a ruined Buddhist monastery beside the road. It had no shrine hall, and reeds and grasses grew thickly everywhere. The master and his Dharma companion entered and bowed in homage.

They saw two monks, each occupying a separate room. One was reciting sutras, while the other was suffering from dysentery, with feces and urine filling his room. The monk who recited the sutras did nothing to care for the sick monk.

Moved by compassion, the master and his companion cooked porridge, swept the room, and bathed the sick monk. By the sixth day, his illness had grown even more severe, and his excrement flowed like a spring. That night, the master and his companion tended, treated, and cared for him, thinking that he would not survive until the next day.

Yet when the master came to see him the following morning, the sick monk’s complexion was radiant and joyful, and his former illness had completely vanished. All the filth in the room had turned into fragrant flowers. Only then did the master and his Dharma companion realize that this was an accomplished sage who had come to test people’s hearts.

The monk then said:

– The bhikṣu in the adjoining room is my teacher. He attained the Way long ago. You should go and bow in homage to him.

The master and his companion had previously reproached that śramaṇa for lacking compassion. Now, upon hearing this, they immediately went to bow in homage and repent. The monk told them:

– You are indeed utterly sincere, and therefore both of you will attain the Way. However, Falang’s cultivation and study in his previous life were still shallow, so in this life he will not yet fulfill his aspiration.

He then turned to the master’s companion and said:

– Huìya planted deep and abundant roots of goodness, so in this life he will fulfill his aspiration!

Having said this, the monk invited the master’s companion to remain. The master later returned to Zhongshan, where he became a great Dharma teacher revered by both monastics and laypeople.

FOTUCHENG

The master was a native of the Western Regions, and his family name was Bai. He went forth while still young, observed the precepts with purity, devoted himself to cultivation and study, and could fluently recite several million words of scripture from memory.

In the fourth year of the Yongjia era ⁽³¹⁰⁾, the master arrived in Luoyang with the great aspiration to propagate and transform through the Buddha’s Dharma. He was skilled in incantatory arts and could command ghosts and spirits. When he mixed sesame oil with wax powder and rubbed it upon his palm, events occurring more than a thousand li away appeared there clearly, as though directly before his eyes. He could also enable people who observed fasting and the precepts with purity to see such events. By listening to the sounds of bells, he foretold events that were about to occur, and every prediction proved accurate.

The master wished to establish a monastery in Luoyang, but at that time the rebel Liu Yao was carrying out destructive attacks at Luotai, throwing the capital into disorder. Therefore, the master’s aspiration to establish a monastery could not be fulfilled. He then concealed himself in a desolate place to observe the changing affairs of the age.

At that time, Shi Le stationed his army at Gepei and relied upon slaughter to establish his authority, causing a great many śramaṇas to be killed. The master had compassion for sentient beings and wished to use the teachings to transform Shi Le. He therefore went to Shi Le’s encampment. Knowing that the great general Guo Heilüe had long deeply revered the Buddha’s Dharma, the master went directly to his military camp to teach and transform him. Guo Heilüe asked to become his disciple and undertook the five precepts.

Thereafter, whenever Heilüe accompanied Shi Le on military campaigns, he was always able to foretell victory or defeat. Becoming suspicious, Shi Le asked him:

– I did not know that you possessed such extraordinary wisdom and strategy. How is it that whenever the army marches forth, you are always able to foresee auspicious and inauspicious events?

Guo Heilüe replied:

– General, you are divinely endowed with martial prowess and surpass ordinary men; therefore, the divine spirits render you assistance. There is a śramaṇa of extraordinary spiritual power who has said that you, General, will gain possession of the regions of Qu and Xia^[26], and so I have accepted him as a military adviser. Everything that I have previously reported to you has come from his words.

Shi Le joyfully said:

– Heaven has bestowed him upon me!

He immediately summoned the master and asked:

– What spiritual efficacy does the Buddha’s Way possess?

The master knew that Shi Le could not comprehend profound teachings and that only through incantatory arts could he be transformed. He therefore said:

– Although the path to the Way is distant, it may still be demonstrated through things close at hand.

Having said this, the Master immediately filled a bowl with water, burned incense, and uttered an invocation. In an instant, a blue lotus suddenly blossomed in the bowl, radiating brilliant light. Thereupon, Shi Le placed his faith in the Master. The Master admonished him:

– As a rule, if an emperor knows how to transform the people through virtue and cause its influence to permeate the whole realm, the four numinous creatures^[27] will appear. If the government rules harshly and morality declines, comets will appear. Once auspicious or inauspicious celestial signs manifest, good or ill fortune follows. This has been an enduring principle from antiquity to the present and is also a clear admonition from Heaven!

Hearing this, Shi Le was greatly delighted. From then on, even those deserving death were pardoned; eighty or ninety percent of the people benefited, and the Hu people of the Central Provinces^[28] likewise vowed to venerate the Buddha.

At that time, there was a man suffering from epilepsy whom no physician anywhere could cure. When the Master came to treat him, he was immediately healed. Shi Le returned from Ge Slope to Hebei and spent the night at Fangtou. That night, someone intended to attack the encampment. The Master immediately told Guo Heilüe:

– Bandits will come shortly. You should inform the general beforehand.

Events occurred exactly as the Master had said. Because precautions had been taken, they suffered no defeat. On another occasion, Shi Le wished to test the Master's abilities. At night, he donned his helmet and armor, took up a sword, and sat down. He then sent an envoy to tell the Master, “Since nightfall, no one has known where the great general is!”

The envoy had only just arrived and had not yet spoken when the Master asked:

– This place is peaceful and free of bandits. Why, then, is security so strict at night?

On hearing this, Shi Le revered the Master even more. Later, in a fit of anger, Shi Le intended to harm the monks and cause suffering to the Master. The Master therefore withdrew to Guo Heilüe's house and told him:

– If the general's envoy comes and asks where I am, tell him that you do not know!

The envoy came but could not find the Master, so he returned and reported this to Shi Le. Alarmed, Shi Le said:

– I harbored an evil intention toward the holy man, and so he has abandoned me and gone away!

He could not sleep throughout the night and longed to see the Master. Knowing that Shi Le intended to repent, the Master came early the next morning. Shi Le asked:

– Where did you go last night?

The Master replied:

– The general's heart was filled with anger, so last night I temporarily withdrew from your presence. Now that the general intends to repent, I have dared to come here.

Shi Le laughed heartily and said:

– You have misunderstood!

The water source supplying the moat of Xiangguo lay beneath the Duan Huan shrine, five li from the city, but it suddenly dried up. Shi Le asked the Master:

– How can the water source be restored?

The Master replied:

– We must now issue a command to the dragon (long).

Because Shi Le's courtesy name was Shilong, he thought that the Master was mocking him, and so he said:

– It is precisely because Long cannot obtain water that I ask you this!

The Master immediately replied:

– These words are sincere, not a jest! A divine dragon must dwell at this water source. If we go and command it, the water will certainly return.

The Master, together with disciples such as Fashou and several others, went to the headwaters. The water there had long since dried up, and the ground was cracked like the tracks of cart wheels. Those accompanying the Master grew doubtful, believing that it would be difficult to obtain water. The Master sat upon a seat, burned benzoin incense^[29], and uttered several hundred words of invocation. After three days, water suddenly surged forth in a vast flood and flowed everywhere. A small dragon, five or six inches long, appeared with the current. The monks vied with one another to approach and see it. The Master warned them:

– That dragon is venomous. Do not draw near!

In only a brief moment, the water flowed forth and filled all the moats and channels.

Sitting there, the Master sighed:

– Two days from now, a petty man will disturb this place.

At that time, Xue He of Xiangguo had two sons. Although they were still young, they were arrogant by nature and treated their Xiongnu servant with contempt. Enraged, the servant took a knife and killed the younger brother, then seized the elder brother and took him into a room. Holding the knife, he threatened, “If anyone enters the room, I will strike.” He then said to Xue He:

– If you send me back to my homeland, your son will live; otherwise, I shall die together with him.

Everyone was terrified, and no one dared even look. Shi Le came to observe the situation and told Xue He:

– Sending the servant back to his homeland to preserve your son's life would indeed be a good thing. But if this practice were to become widespread, it would bring calamity in the future. You must understand that the state has its laws.

Having said this, Shi Le ordered men to seize the servant. The servant immediately killed the child and then took his own life.

Duan Bo, a Xiongnu, led troops against Shi Le, and the enemy's forces were exceedingly powerful. Frightened, Shi Le questioned the Master. The Master replied:

– Yesterday, the bell at the monastery rang out, saying, “Tomorrow, at the noon hour, Duan Bo will be captured.”

Shi Le climbed the high city wall to observe and saw Duan Bo's forces arrayed in endless ranks. His countenance changed, and he said:

– The enemy's army shakes the earth as it advances. How could Duan Bo possibly be captured? These words are merely meant to reassure me!

He immediately sent Kui An to inquire. The Master replied:

– Duan Bo has already been captured!

At that very moment, soldiers lying in ambush north of the city charged out, encountered Duan Bo, and captured him alive. The Master advised Shi Le to show clemency and release Duan Bo to return to his homeland. Shi Le followed the Master's counsel, while the captured soldiers were brought back and conscripted into the army.

At that time, Liu Zai had died, and Liu Yao, his younger paternal cousin, usurped the throne and changed the era name to Guangchu. In the eighth year of Guangchu, Liu Yao ordered his cousin, Liu Yue, Prince of Zhongshan, to lead an army against Shi Le. Shi Le ordered Shi Hu to lead infantry and cavalry in resistance. A great battle took place west of Luoyang. Liu Yue was defeated and withdrew to defend Shiliang. Shi Hu surrounded him with all his strength. The Master and his disciples were traveling from Guan Monastery to Zhong Monastery. Just as they entered the monastery gate, the Master sighed:

– Liu Yue is truly pitiable!

His disciple Fazuo asked the reason. The Master said:

– Yue was captured at the hour of the Boar last night!

Events occurred exactly as the Master had said.

In the eleventh year of Guangchu, Liu Yao personally led an army to attack Luoyang. Shi Le wished to lead troops himself against Liu Yao, but all his subordinates remonstrated with him. Shi Le asked the Master about the matter. The Master replied:

– The bell upon the finial wheel^[30] rang out, saying, “Xiu zhi shi li gang, pu gu ju tu dang.” These are words in the language of the Jie people (Xiongnu). “Xiu zhi shi li gang” means “to march forth,” “pu gu” refers to Liu Yao's position, and “ju tu dang” means “to capture.” The meaning is that if you march forth, you will capture Liu Yao.

Upon hearing this, Xu Guang earnestly urged Shi Le to dispatch his troops. Shi Le therefore left his eldest son, Shi Hong, behind with the Master to guard Xiangguo, while he personally led the infantry and cavalry of the central army directly into the city of Luoyang. As soon as the two sides engaged in battle, Liu Yao's army suffered a crushing defeat, and Yao's horse fell into the river. Shi Kan captured Liu Yao alive and delivered him to Shi Le.

The Master rubbed oil into the palm of his hand and, upon looking into it, saw a man surrounded by a crowd, his hands bound with red silk. Thereupon, the Master told Shi Hong:

– At this very moment, Liu Yao has been captured alive.

After pacifying Liu Yao's forces, Shi Le usurped the title Heavenly King of Zhao, adopted the ceremonial laws and rites of an emperor, and changed the era name to Jianping. This was the fifth year of Xianhe ⁽³³⁰⁾ during the reign of Emperor Cheng of the Jin dynasty. After Shi Le ascended the imperial throne, he revered the Master with even greater devotion.

At that time, Shi Cong intended to rebel. That year, the Master cautioned Shi Le:

– This year, there are worms in the scallions, and eating them will cause harm. You should order the people not to eat scallions.

Shi Le issued an edict forbidding the people of the realm to eat scallions. In the eighth month, Shi Tong indeed fled. From this time onward, Shi Le revered the Master even more. Whenever he wished to undertake anything, he would first seek the Master’s counsel and only then put it into practice. He commonly called the Master the Great和尚.

Shi Hu had a son named Bin, whom Shi Le later adopted as his own son and dearly loved. One day, Bin suddenly fell gravely ill and died. Two days later, Shi Le said:

– I have heard that when the Crown Prince of Guo died, the divine physician Bian Que^[31] was able to restore him to life. The Great和尚 is now a divine man of our realm. Go quickly and report this to him; surely we shall receive the blessing of having the Crown Prince restored to life.

Upon arriving, the Master immediately took up a willow branch and recited an invocation. Suddenly, the Crown Prince returned to life, and within a short time he had completely recovered. Thereafter, many of Shi Le’s young children were sent to the monastery to be raised. Every year, on the eighth day of the fourth month, Shi Le personally went to the monastery to bathe the Buddha and pray for his children.

In the fourth month of the fourth year of the Jianping era, the sky was still and there was not the slightest wind, yet the bells on the stupa began to ring. The Master told the assembly:

The sound of the bells announces: “This year, there will be a great mourning in the realm.” Just as he had foretold, Shi Le died in the seventh month of that year.

Crown Prince Shi Hong succeeded to the throne. Before long, Shi Hu usurped the throne, moved the capital to Jianye, and changed the era name to Jianwu. His devotion in serving the Master was even greater than Shi Le’s.

At that time, the Master was staying at Central Monastery in the city of Jianye. He sent his disciple Fachang to Xiangguo. Meanwhile, his disciple Fazuo was returning from Xiangguo. The two met at the city of Liangji and lodged there together. That night, the Dharma brothers conversed about their master. As dawn approached, they parted. As soon as Fazuo returned to Central Monastery, he went in to attend upon the Master. The Master smiled and questioned him closely:

– Last night, did you and Fachang not draw your carriages alongside each other and speak about your Master? A sage of old said: “One who possesses reverence does not change even in a secluded place; one who possesses vigilance does not become heedless even when alone. Seclusion and solitude are the foundations of reverence and vigilance.” Did you not know this?

Fazuo was utterly astonished and, filled with shame, begged to repent. The people of the realm often said to one another: “Do not give rise to evil thoughts, for the和尚 knows what is in your mind.” From then on, wherever the Master stayed, no one dared face that place while relieving themselves.

At that time, Crown Prince Shi Sui had two sons who were staying in Xiangguo. The Master said to Shi Sui:

– Your younger son is ill. You should go and visit him!

Shi Sui immediately mounted his horse and went there. His son was indeed ill, exactly as the Master had said. Imperial Physician Yin Teng and foreign Daoist practitioners declared that they would cure him. The Master said to his disciple Faya:

– Even if a sage were to appear, he could not cure this illness, much less those physicians!

Three days later, the child indeed died, just as the Master had foretold. Shi Sui, addicted to wine and sensual pleasures, plotted rebellion. He said to a eunuch:

– The和尚 possesses spiritual powers. I fear he knows of my design. When he comes tomorrow morning, kill him!

On the full-moon day of that month, as the Master was about to enter the palace for an audience with Shi Hu, he said to his disciple Senghui:

– Last night, a heavenly deity told me: “If you enter the palace tomorrow, do not stop at anyone’s residence.” If I should stop somewhere, remember to restrain me.

Whenever the Master entered court for an audience, he usually stopped at Shi Sui’s residence. Knowing that the Master was coming, Shi Sui waited for a long time. When the Master was about to ascend the Southern Terrace, Senghui tugged at his robe. The Master said:

– Now that matters have come to this point, it cannot be avoided!

The Master had scarcely settled into his seat when he hurriedly rose again. Shi Sui tried to detain him but could not. Thus, his plot failed. Upon returning to the monastery, the Master sighed:

– The Crown Prince is plotting rebellion. The affair is on the verge of coming to fruition, yet it is difficult to speak of it and difficult to endure it in silence.

Using this matter as an occasion, the Master gently admonished Shi Hu, but Shi Hu did not understand. Before long, Shi Sui’s rebellious plot was exposed, and only then did Shi Hu comprehend the Master’s words.

Later, Guo Heilüe led troops in a campaign against the Qiang tribes in the mountains north of Chang’an and was surrounded by the enemy. At that time, the Master was seated in the lecture hall with his disciple Fachang when his expression suddenly changed and he said sorrowfully:

– Lord Guo has fallen into an enemy encirclement!

After speaking, the Master instructed the Sangha to join him in reciting invocations. A short while later, the Master said:

– If he flees toward the southeast, he will live; in any other direction, he will be in peril!

Having said this, the Master continued the invocation. In a moment, he said again:

– He has escaped!

More than a month later, Guo Heilüe returned and recounted:

– When I fell into the Qiang encirclement, I fled toward the southeast. My horse became exhausted, when suddenly one of my subordinates galloped up, handed his horse over to me, and said: “My lord, ride this horse. This humble man will ride yours. Whether we are saved or not depends upon fate.”

Because of this, Guo Heilüe escaped death. On examining the timing, it was precisely when the Master had been reciting the invocation.

Shi Bin, Grand Marshal of Wei and Duke of Yan, had been appointed by Shi Hu to guard Youzhou. There he gathered vicious men around him and committed acts of tyranny. The Master advised Shi Hu:

– Last night, a heavenly deity said to me: “Quickly recall the horses. When autumn arrives, everywhere Qi will suffer a crippling epidemic.”

Shi Hu did not understand the Master’s words, but he nevertheless ordered the horses everywhere to be recalled. In the autumn of that very year, someone reported Shi Bin’s deeds to Shi Hu. Shi Hu summoned Shi Bin, had him flogged three hundred times, and killed his mother, Lady Qi. Afterward, Shi Hu even drew an arrow, bent his bow, and shot Shi Bin. Although he personally supervised Shi Bin’s punishment in this manner, he still considered it too lenient. Shi Hu intended to kill five hundred of Shi Bin’s confederates with his own hands, but the Master immediately remonstrated:

– Your Majesty should not kill so recklessly. Those who have died cannot be brought back to life. According to ritual propriety, a ruler should not personally carry out executions, for doing so impairs his benevolent virtue. What ruler would punish his ministers with his own hands?

On hearing this, Shi Hu finally desisted.

Later, the Jin armies launched an attack, placing the regions of Huai, Si, Long, Bei, and Wucheng in peril. Urgent reports arrived from everywhere, and the people’s minds were thrown into confusion. Shi Hu said angrily:

– I serve the Buddha, yet I still suffer the calamity of foreign invasion. Is the Buddha not efficacious?

Early the next morning, the Master entered the court, and Shi Hu questioned him about the matter. The Master reproached him, saying:

– In a former life, Your Majesty was once a great merchant who frequently made offerings to a monastery in the kingdom of Kashmir^[32]. At a great assembly there were sixty arhats, and I too attended that gathering. At that time, one who had attained the Path said to me: “After this merchant’s life ends, he will fall into the body of a chicken; afterward, he will be reborn as the ruler of the kingdom of Jin.” Now that Your Majesty has become a ruler, is this not already a blessing? Troubles with bandits on the frontiers are commonplace for a nation. Why, then, does Your Majesty resent the Three Jewels and give rise to such malicious thoughts?

Upon hearing this, Shi Hu came to his senses, knelt, and begged to repent. Shi Hu asked the Master:

– The Buddhist path forbids the taking of life. As ruler of all under heaven, if I do not employ punishments, I cannot keep the realm at peace. By acting in this way, I violate the precept against taking life. Even though I serve the Buddha, how could I receive blessings?

The Master replied:

– For an emperor to revere the Buddha means to be respectful in body and faithfully compliant in mind, to propagate the Three Jewels, to commit no acts of tyranny, and not to harm those who are alone and helpless. As for tyrants and scoundrels, if they are not instructed and transformed, they cannot reform. The guilty sometimes cannot be spared death, and the wicked sometimes cannot be spared punishment. Yet only those who deserve death should be put to death, and only those who deserve punishment should be punished. If one acts tyrannically and arbitrarily kills the innocent, then even if one expends all one’s wealth in service of the Buddhadharma, one still cannot escape calamity. I beseech Your Majesty to lessen your desires and extend loving-kindness to all beings. Only then will the Buddhadharma forever flourish, and Your Majesty’s beneficence permeate the ten thousand regions.

Although Shi Hu did not follow all of the master’s counsel, the benefit he gained from the master’s teaching was nevertheless considerable.

Shi Hu’s ministers, such as Zhang Li, Zhang Liang, and others, wholeheartedly revered the Buddhadharma, and each household built a great stupa. Seeing this, the master said:

– The essence of revering the Buddha lies in purity of mind, freedom from craving, and compassion for all beings. Although you donors revere the Buddhadharma, your greed and stinginess have not yet ceased. You hunt without restraint and hoard without end. I fear that you will incur punishment in this very life; how then can you hope to obtain blessed recompense?

Later, Zhang Li and Zhang Liang were both put to death.

At that time, a prolonged drought afflicted the region from the first month through the sixth month. Shi Hu sent the crown prince to the mouth of the Western Prefecture River at Linzhang to pray for rain, but even after a long time the drought persisted. Shi Hu then invited the master to come. At that very moment, a two-headed white dragon suddenly appeared at the shrine. That day, heavy rain fell everywhere, and the harvest that year was abundant. The peoples of Rong and Mo^[33] had initially known nothing of the Buddhadharma, but upon hearing that the master possessed spiritual powers, they paid homage to him from afar. Without uttering a single word, the master nevertheless transformed them.

On one occasion, the master sent a disciple to the Western Regions to purchase incense. Later, he told the other disciples:

– Looking into the palm of my hand, I see that the disciple who went to purchase incense has been seized by bandits at that place and is about to be killed.

From afar, the master immediately burned incense and made an invocation to save the disciple. Afterward, the disciple returned and related:

– On such-and-such a day and month, at that place, the bandits were about to kill me when suddenly a strange fragrance was perceived. For some unknown reason, the bandits cried out in fear, “The rescuing troops have arrived!” Having said this, they fled.

Later, Shi Hu undertook the restoration of the stupa by the river at Linzhang, but lacked a dew-receiving basin. The master then told him:

– Beneath the ancient stupa of King Ashoka in the city of Linzi are a dew-receiving basin and a Buddha image. The vegetation above them grows luxuriantly. Dig there, and you will find them.

The master then drew a map and gave it to the envoy. Following his directions, the envoy dug there and immediately found the dew-receiving basin and the Buddha image.

Shi Hu intended to attack the state of Yan, but the master dissuaded him:

– Yan’s allotted destiny has not yet run its course, so it will be very difficult to defeat.

Shi Hu led armies against Yan several times, but was defeated on every occasion. Only then did he believe the master’s words.

For a long time there had been no soft-shelled turtles in the Yellow River, but now the local people suddenly caught one and presented it to Shi Hu. Seeing it, the master sighed:

– Before long, Huang Wen will enter!

Wen’s courtesy name was Yuanzi^[34]. Later, events indeed occurred exactly as the master had said.

At that time, there was a displaced person^[35] in Wei County whose name and surname were unknown. He habitually wore coarse, tattered clothing and entered the marketplace to beg for food, so people at the time called him Ma Ru^[36]. His words were truly transcendent, but his appearance resembled that of a madman. When he received rice or cooked food, he did not eat it, but scattered it over the road, saying:

– This is to feed the heavenly horses!

Zhao Xing, the grand administrator, had him arrested and taken to Shi Hu. Before this, the master had told Shi Hu:

– On such-and-such a day and month, an extraordinary man will be brought from two hundred li east of the capital. You must not kill him!

At the appointed time, Ma Ru indeed arrived. Shi Hu conversed with him, but their languages differed. Ma Ru merely said:

– In the future, Your Majesty will meet your end beneath the “One-Pillar Hall”!

Shi Hu did not understand these words, so he led Ma Ru to the master.

The master conversed with him throughout the day, yet no one else could understand them. Someone secretly listened and understood only a few words. Upon careful consideration, it seemed that they were discussing events that had occurred several hundred years earlier.

Shi Hu ordered that a carriage and horses be provided to return him to his former abode. Upon leaving the city, Ma Ru declined the conveyance and alighted to proceed on foot. He said:

– I must stop at another place. I sincerely apologize, but I cannot travel with you. Go to Hekou Bridge and wait for me there.

The envoy obeyed and departed. Before he had even reached Hekou Bridge, he saw Ma Ru already standing upon it. By calculation, Ma Ru had traveled as swiftly as though flying.

One night, Shi Hu dreamed of a flock of sheep carrying fish and coming from the northeast. Upon awakening, he immediately went to ask the master about it. The master replied:

– This dream is an inauspicious omen! The Xianbei tribes will occupy the Central Plains!

Indeed, the Murong clan later established its capital there.

On one occasion, while the master and Shi Hu were in the lecture hall, the master suddenly started and said:

– Youzhou is being consumed by fire!

The master immediately sprinkled wine.

After a while, he smiled and said:

– It has been saved!

Shi Hu sent someone to Youzhou to verify the matter. Indeed, on that very day, flames had arisen on all sides. Suddenly, a dark cloud came from the south, and rain fell, extinguishing the fire. The rain carried the scent of wine.

In the seventh month of the fourteenth year of the Jianwu era ⁽³¹⁷⁾, Shi Xuan and Shi Tao plotted to kill one another. Shi Xuan went to the monastery and sat with the master upon the stupa. Suddenly, a bell rang, and the master said to Shi Xuan:

– Do you understand what the bell is saying? The bell says, “Hu zi luo du!”

Shi Xuan’s countenance changed, and he said:

– What do these words mean?

The master immediately diverted the subject, saying:

– This old Hu cultivates the Way, yet cannot dwell in the mountains and does not care for thick cushions or fine robes. Is this not “luo du”?

Shi Tao arrived afterward. The master stared fixedly at him. Troubled, Shi Tao asked the reason, and the master replied:

– Strange! Your blood has a foul odor, and that is why I look at you in this way.

In the eighth month, the master instructed more than ten disciples to go to his private chamber, while he himself had just entered through the eastern gate. Shi Hu and Empress Du came to visit him. The master said:

– There are bandits at your side! Within ten days, there will be bloodshed westward from this stupa and eastward from this hall. Do not go eastward.

Empress Du said:

– The Venerable is advanced in years and may have become confused! How could there be bandits in this place?

The master immediately turned the matter aside, saying:

– The six sense faculties^[37] are all bandits. I know myself that I am old, yet I may still be able to assist those who possess clear understanding!

Thus, the master spoke in metaphors and did not state his purpose plainly. Two days later, just as foretold, Shi Yi sent men to the monastery to kill Shi Tao and intended to take advantage of Shi Hu’s arrival to mourn in order to assassinate him. Because the master had warned him beforehand, Shi Hu escaped the danger. When the plot was exposed, Shi Yi was arrested. The master remonstrated with Shi Hu:

– Since he is Your Majesty’s son, why impose such a severe punishment upon him? If Your Majesty can restrain your anger and extend loving-kindness, you may live to the age of sixty. If Your Majesty kills him, Shi Yi will become a comet that sweeps this palace at Ye^[38] entirely away.

Shi Hu did not listen. He pierced Shi Yi’s jaw with an iron hook, dragged him onto a pile of firewood, and burned him. He also had more than three hundred of Shi Yi’s followers bound to carts and dragged about in every direction, then torn limb from limb and cast into the Zhang River. The master thereupon instructed his disciples to leave his private chamber.

More than a month later, a horse appeared, with scorch marks on both its mane and tail. It ran in through the Zhongyang Gate and out through the Xianyang Gate, then turned eastward and ran into the eastern palace, but could not enter any of them. It then ran toward the northeast and vanished from sight in a moment. Upon hearing this account, the Master sighed:

– Calamity is about to come!

In the eleventh month, Shi Hu held a banquet for his ministers in the Hall of Great Martial Prowess. The Master chanted:

– Hall! Hall! Thorn trees become a forest, tearing people's robes!

Shi Hu immediately ordered men to dig beneath the stone floor of the hall and investigate. Indeed, a thorn tree was growing there.

The Master returned to the monastery, looked at the Buddha image, and said:

– How lamentable that it cannot be adorned!

He then said to himself:

– Can it last three years?

And answered himself:

– It cannot! It cannot!

The Master continued:

– Can it last two years, one year, one hundred days, or one month?

And answered himself:

– It cannot!

The Master then fell silent, returned to his room, and told his disciple Fazuo:

– In the Wushen year, calamity will begin to sprout; in the Jiyou year, the Shi clan will be annihilated. Before the rebels rise in revolt, I shall enter quiescence first!

Afterward, the Master sent someone to bid farewell to Shi Hu, saying: “All things must necessarily change and pass away; bodily life is difficult to preserve. The body that has borne this Dharma has reached the time when it must depart. Having received profound kindness, I therefore respectfully report this to the great king!”

Shi Hu sorrowfully said:

– I have not heard that the Venerable was ill. Why do you now suddenly say that you will enter quiescence?

He immediately went in person to the monastery to inquire after him. The Master said to Shi Hu:

– Coming and going, life and death—these are the ordinary course of things. The length of one's life has been clearly determined and cannot be extended. In general, the importance of the Way lies in perfecting one's conduct, and the nobility of virtue lies in keeping the mind free from negligence. If one preserves the virtue of the precepts without deficiency, then although one dies, it is never lost. But if the contrary is true, I would not wish to have my life prolonged. I now have something I wish to say: For the sake of the nation, you should set your mind upon Buddhist principles, honor and uphold the teachings, harbor no greed or miserliness, and build lofty, spacious, and majestic monasteries and shrines. Through such merit and virtue, you will surely enjoy blessings and happiness. Yet your methods of government are harsh and your punishments cruel, outwardly contradicting the sacred scriptures and inwardly violating the precepts. If you do not examine these faults and correct them, there will be no merit or virtue whatsoever. If you know how to discipline your mind, change your thinking, and bestow kindness upon the myriad people, the nation's destiny will endure, and both monastics and laypeople will receive benefit and happiness. Even if I pass away, I shall have no regret.

Shi Hu wept and choked with grief, knowing for certain that the Master would enter quiescence. He immediately ordered a great stupa-tomb to be built. On the eighth day of the twelfth month, the Master entered quiescence at Yegong Monastery, during the fourth year of the Yonghe era (345–357) under Emperor Mu of the Jin dynasty. Officials and commoners mourned and wailed, shaking the entire country. The Master lived to the age of 117 and was interred in the stupa outside the city, west of the Zhang River, at the very place Shi Hu had constructed.

Before long, Liang Du rebelled, and in the following year Shi Hu died. Ran Min usurped the throne and annihilated the entire Shi clan. In childhood, Min had been styled Jinu, “Thorn Slave,” precisely fulfilling the Master's earlier prediction that “thorns would grow into a forest.”

On the left side of the Master's chest was a hollow, approximately four or five cun wide, that opened down into his abdomen. The Master plugged it with cotton. At night, when he wished to read, he would remove the cotton, whereupon brilliant light illuminated the entire room. On fasting days, the Master would go to the riverbank, take out his intestines, wash them, and then place them back into his abdomen.

The Master was eight chi tall^[39], with a dignified and stately appearance. He was thoroughly versed in the scriptures and also comprehensively understood the various worldly doctrines. Whenever he taught, he clearly set forth the central principle, making his discourse from beginning to end lucid and easy to understand. Moreover, he extended his compassionate heart to nurture all beings and constantly rescued those in danger and distress.

At that time, the two rulers of the Shi clan were cruel, violent, and without the Way. Had it not been for the Master, who could have admonished them? Yet the common people benefited every day without knowing it. Several dozen eminent monks, including Zhu Fotiao and Subhuti, came from India and Kangju. Undeterred by a journey of ten thousand miles, they struggled across the deserts to seek instruction from the Master. Shi Dao'an came from Fanmian, and Zhu Faya came from Zhongshan, crossing perilous mountains and rivers to hear the Master expound the teachings; they all penetrated the profound essential principles. The Master recounted:

– My homeland lies more than ninety thousand li from Jianye. It has been 109 years since I abandoned secular life and entered the Way. Wine has never touched my lips; I do not eat after noon; I commit no act contrary to the precepts; I neither covet nor seek anything. I have ordinarily had several hundred close disciples, and my followers altogether number about ten thousand. In the various provinces and commanderies through which I have passed, I established 893 monasteries. Such flourishing propagation of the Dharma has never before been seen.

Earlier, when Shi Hu placed the Master in his coffin, he put the alms bowl and khakkhara that the Master had used during his lifetime into it. Later, however, when Ran Min usurped the throne, he ordered men to open the coffin. Only the alms bowl and khakkhara remained; the Master's body was nowhere to be seen.

Someone said:

– One month after the Master passed away, someone saw him in the desert.

Suspecting that the Master was still alive, Shi Hu ordered men to excavate the grave and open the coffin. They found only a stone. Shi Hu said:

– Shi, “stone,” means me! The Master has buried me and departed!

Not long afterward, Shi Hu died.

Murong Jun established his capital at Jianye, residing in Shi Hu's palace. One day, he dreamed that a tiger bit his arm, which he took to mean that Shi Hu was causing trouble. Murong immediately ordered men to find Shi Hu's grave. They excavated it at Dongming Lodge and found Shi Hu's body still intact. Murong Jun planted his foot upon Shi Hu's corpse and cursed him:

– You are already dead, yet how dare you threaten the living Son of Heaven? You completed the construction of this palace, yet it was seized through the schemes of your own son—how much more readily could it be taken by someone else!

After cursing him, he lashed the corpse with a whip and cast it into the Zhang River. Shi Hu's body became firmly lodged against the foot of a bridge. Wang Meng, a general of the Qin dynasty, saw it, retrieved it, and gave it burial. This was precisely what Maru had meant when he said, “the single pillar of the hall.”

Later, Fu Jian launched a campaign against Jianye, and Murong Jun's son Wei was captured by Fu Jian's great general Guo Shenhu. Upon examination, this proved to be in exact accord with Murong Jun's earlier dream of the tiger.

FOTIAO

His family name and personal name are unknown; it is known only that the Master was a disciple of Fotudeng. He lived at a monastery on Mount Changshan for many years. His disposition was simple and sincere, and he did not speak in ornate words; therefore, the people of the time held him in great esteem.

At Changshan lived two brothers who greatly revered the Buddha-Dharma. Their home was about one hundred li from the monastery. The elder brother's wife became gravely ill and was brought to a place near the monastery so that she might be close to a physician. The elder brother was the Master's disciple and went to the monastery morning and evening to study and practice. One day, the Master suddenly came to their home. The younger brother asked him about his sister-in-law's illness and the health of his elder brother. The Master said:

– Your sister-in-law's illness has improved slightly, and your elder brother remains well!

After the Master left, the younger brother mounted a horse and followed after him. When he arrived, the brothers exchanged inquiries about each other's well-being. When the younger brother mentioned that the Venerable had visited their home that morning, the elder brother exclaimed in astonishment:

– Early this morning, the Venerable did not leave the monastery. How could you have met him?

The two brothers argued, then went together to question the Master. The Master merely smiled and gave no reply. Seeing this, both brothers regarded it as wondrous.

Once, the master went alone to dwell deep in the mountains. He remained there for a year and a half, although he had brought only a few dou of dried provisions; yet when he returned, some of the provisions still remained. On another occasion, someone followed the master into the mountains. After they had traveled several dozen li, evening had already fallen, and snow descended heavily. The master entered a tiger’s cave to sleep. When the tiger returned, it had no choice but to sleep in front of the cave. Seeing this, the master said:

– I am truly ashamed to have taken your place!

On hearing this, the tiger lowered its ears and went down the mountain. All who witnessed this were greatly astonished.

Later, the master foretold the day of his departure. People from near and far all came to visit him. The master said:

– Even heaven and earth, though enduring for a long time, are still subject to destruction; how much less can human beings hope to abide forever! If you can cleanse away the three defilements^[40] and concentrate your minds upon true purity, then although our destinies may differ, we shall still meet again.

Everyone shed tears and earnestly implored the master to remain. The master said:

– Life and death are determined by destiny; how could they be altered through entreaty?

The master then returned to his room and sat in meditation. Covering his head with his robe, he peacefully entered final repose.

Several years later, eight of the master’s lay disciples went into the western mountains to fell trees. Suddenly, they saw the master standing upon a lofty peak, beautifully robed and with a joyful countenance. Both astonished and delighted, they bowed their heads in reverence and exclaimed:

– Venerable Master, are you still alive?

The master replied:

– Yes! I am still alive! Would you kindly convey my greetings to those whom I knew in former days?

After they had conversed for a long while, the master departed. The eight men all set aside their work, returned home, and related the incident to their fellow practitioners and students. Everyone wished to verify it. Together they opened the master’s grave and coffin. Indeed, they found no body, but only the master’s robes.

DHARMA WISDOM

The master was a native of Guanzhong. Upright in character and disciplined in conduct, he entered Mount Songgao and asked to become a disciple of Venerable Fotumi.

In the first year of the Jianyuan era ⁽³⁴³⁾, during the reign of Emperor Kang of the Jin dynasty, the master went to reside at Yang Shuzi Monastery in Xiangyang. He did not accept private invitations to receive meals but went on almsround each day, carrying a rope seat^[41]. Whenever he came to a deserted road, he would spread it out and sit down. When it rained, the master used his cloak for shelter. Once the rain had ceased, people could see only the rope seat, but the master was nowhere to be found. Before they had finished asking one another about him, the master had already reappeared.

Once, the master said to his disciple Fazhao:

– In a former life, you cut off the legs of chickens. The karmic retribution is now about to arrive!

Not long afterward, someone threw Fazhao down, and both his legs remained crippled for the rest of his life.

Later, the master said to his disciples:

– There is an old man in that field who is about to die. I wish to deliver him!

Having said this, the master went to the edge of the field and indeed saw an old man leading an ox as he plowed. The master followed the old man and asked him for the ox, but the old man refused. The master went ahead, took it upon himself to pierce the ox’s nose, and led it away. Frightened and regarding this as extraordinary, the old man gave the ox to the master. The master led the ox away while reciting an invocation. After walking seven steps, he returned and gave the ox back to the old man. A few days later, the old man passed away.

Later, the General Who Pacifies the West, Yu Zhigong, was stationed at Xiangyang. This man did not believe in the Buddha-Dharma. Hearing of the master’s extraordinary deeds, he became jealous. The master said to his disciples:

– The debt from my former life has now come to find me!

The master encouraged everyone to cultivate blessings and virtue diligently.

Two days later, the master was indeed arrested and executed. He was fifty-eight years old. As his life was about to end, the master instructed everyone:

– Three days after my death, a great rainstorm will fall from the heavens.

When the appointed time arrived, a great rainstorm indeed occurred. The floodwaters at the city gate reached a depth of one zhang, and many people drowned.

-End of Fascicle One-

Notes:

^[1] The Golden Light Sutra 金光明經: (Skt. Suvarṇa-prabhāsottama-sūtra), a scripture in four fascicles translated by Dharmakṣema during the Northern Liang dynasty in China and included in volume 16 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

It consists of nineteen chapters and primarily concerns the protection of the nation by devas and benevolent spirits.

^[2] The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections 四十二章經: a scripture in one fascicle translated by Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna during the Later Han dynasty in China. It is the earliest Buddhist scripture translated in China and is included in volume 17 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

Each section is concise, setting forth the principal points of Buddhist doctrine, the practices and attainments of śramaṇas, wholesome and unwholesome karma, and so forth; it also extensively explains the meaning of leaving the household life to study the Way.

^[3] White Horse Monastery 白馬寺: A monastery east of Luoyang in Henan Province, China, built in the year 75 during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han dynasty.

^[4] Sandalwood image 旃檀像: A sandalwood image of Śākyamuni Buddha. King Udayana invited the deva Viśvakarman to carve it in remembrance of Śākyamuni Buddha during the three months when the Buddha ascended to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven to teach the Dharma to his mother.

^[5] Conflagration at the end of an eon 劫火: Also called the final conflagration of an eon or the eon-consuming fire. It is the calamity of fire that arises during the eon of dissolution. During this fire calamity, seven suns appear in the heavens, and all the celestial realms from the First Dhyāna Heaven downward are consumed by the conflagration.

^[6] Seven luminaries 七曜: The seven celestial bodies: the sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Ordinarily, the seven

^[7] Five phases 五行: The five elements of water, fire, metal, wood, and earth. These five ceaselessly circulate throughout heaven and earth and are the elements through which the myriad things arise and grow.

^[8] Abhidharma 阿毘曇: The Abhidharma Dharma gate, namely the Jñānaprasthāna and the six ancillary treatises. It is a gateway leading to nirvana and is contrasted with the Kunle gate and the gate of emptiness.

^[9] Kuaiji 會稽: The name of a commandery, located in what is now eastern Jiangsu Province and western Zhejiang Province, China.

^[10] Six Classics 六經: Six ancient Chinese books comprising the Classic of Poetry, the Classic of Documents, the Classic of Changes, the Classic of Rites, the Classic of Music, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. When called the Five Classics, the Classic of Music is omitted.

^[11] Śramaṇa 沙門: Skt. śramaṇa; Pāli samaṇa. Chinese phonetic renderings include Shiluomona, Sheluomona, Shimanona, Manona, and Shijiamannang. Also called Shamenna, Shawenna, Shamen, Sangmen, and Zangmen. Chinese translations include diligent labor, meritorious labor, arduous toil, diligent exertion, tranquil aspiration, pure aspiration, cessation, pacification of the mind, cessation of evil, diligent cessation, cultivation of the Way, the poor in the Way, and the destitute in the Way. One who has left the household life, shaved off beard and hair, abandoned all evil, skillfully regulated body and mind, and diligently performed wholesome deeds in the hope of attaining nirvana.

^[12] Śarīra 舍利: A corpse or bodily remains. The term generally refers to the remains of the Buddha, called the Buddha’s bones or the Buddha’s śarīra. Later, it also came to refer to the bones remaining after the cremation of an eminent monk’s physical body.

^[13] Jianchu Monastery 建初寺: Also called Jubao Mountain Monastery or Bao’en Monastery. The monastery stood outside Jubao Gate at Tianzisi in the outer city of Jianye, now Jiangning County in Jiangsu Province, China. It was built around the year 247 by Sun Quan, ruler of the state of Wu.

^[14] Saṅghārāma 伽籃: Also called saṅghārāma, a garden in which the community of monks resides, commonly known as a monastery.

^[15] Fantiao 藩條: The office of regional inspector.

^[16] The Larger Version 大本: Refers to the Infinite Life Sutra.

^[17] Khotan 于闐 (Skt. Ku-stana; also called Xidan): The name of an ancient kingdom in the Western Regions. More than half its territory was desert. Its climate was warm, and its people were modest, courteous, gentle, and devoted to the Buddha-Dharma. Most scriptures transmitted into China passed through this land.

^[18] Brāhmaṇa 婆羅門 (Skt. Brāhmaṇa): The priestly caste, the highest of the four castes in ancient Indian society. The brāhmaṇa caste monopolized all systems of knowledge in India at that time. They regarded themselves as belonging to the noblest lineage.

^[19] Dhutanga 頭陀 (S: dhūta): A practice for relinquishing attachment to clothing, food and drink, dwelling places, and so forth, thereby disciplining body and mind.

^[20] Funan 扶南: That is, Cambodia, situated on the Indochinese Peninsula, bordered by Laos to the north, the Gulf of Thailand to the south, Vietnam to the east, and Thailand to the west. It was originally a country in which Buddhism was the state religion.

^[21] Jiao and Guang: Jiaozhou and Guangzhou.

^[22] Trayastrimsa Heaven 忉利天 (S: trāyastriṃśa): The second of the six heavens in the Desire Realm.

^[23] Sheng: The name of an ancient unit of measure, equal to one-tenth of a dou. In Vietnamese it is commonly read as thưng.

^[24] Drifting Sands: A vast desert region in Mongolia.

^[25] Zhongshan 中山: The name of an ancient state established by the Xiongnu toward the end of the Spring and Autumn period. It is now located in Ding County, Hebei Province.

^[26] Quxia 區夏: The territory of the various Xia states, referring to Huaxia in China.

^[27] The Four Auspicious Creatures 四靈: The dragon, qilin, tortoise, and phoenix.

^[28] Central Province 中州: In ancient times this was Yuzhou. Because it lay at the center of the Nine Provinces, it was called the Central Province.

^[29] Benzoin incense 安息香 (S: Guggula), also called Gandhara tree incense: An aromatic substance formed from the hardened resin of the benzoin tree. This tall deciduous tree grows chiefly in India, Sumatra, Thailand, and Persia. It is more than one meter tall, with smooth, oval leaves; flowers that are reddish brown within and white without; and ash-gray bark. Its resin may be used medicinally and made into incense for burning. It is commonly produced by grinding the tree into powder, mixing it with an adhesive, and allowing the mixture to harden. This incense was first brought into China by merchants from the country of Anxi, and therefore came to be called Anxi incense.

^[30] Harmika rings 相輪 (also called the dew-receiving basin): Flattened circular architectural elements stacked one above another upon the “vase-shaped finial” of a Buddhist stupa. According to tradition, the rings formed part of the complete stupa in the ancient Indian style.

^[31] Bian Que 扁鵲: The name of a renowned physician said to have lived in the time of the Yellow Emperor in ancient China. It was the sobriquet of Qin Yueren, a native of Mo during the Warring States period, who studied medicine under Master Chang Sang and became renowned as a miraculous physician. People of his time bestowed upon him the sobriquet Bian Que.

^[32] Jibin 罽賓: The name of a country in the Western Regions during the Han dynasty, situated north of India. Today this country is called Kashmir.

^[33] Rong and Mo 戎貊: The two peoples known as the Rong and the Mo. Mo was another name for the Northern Di, an ethnic minority in the northwest. The Rong lived in the west and the Di in the north.

^[34] Firstborn son: The eldest son of a feudal lord or the Son of Heaven.

^[35] Displaced people: Persons without a fixed occupation who wander from place to place; people exiled to distant regions.

^[36] Coarse hemp: Refers to garments made of crude, inferior cloth.

^[37] The Six Faculties 六情: The six sense faculties. In the older translations of the scriptures, they were commonly rendered as “the six sentient faculties.” Because the six faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—each possess sensory consciousness, they are called the six sentient faculties.

^[38] Ye Palace 鄴都: Refers to the palace at the capital of Ye, where, toward the end of the Han dynasty, Cao Cao, King of Wei, established his capital.

^[39] Chi: One Chinese chi is equal to one-third of a meter.

^[40] The Three Defilements 三垢: A Buddhist term referring to the three poisons: greed, hatred, and delusion.

^[41] Rope chair: A type of folding chair whose seat and backrest are woven from cord.