The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One

七佛

The Seven Buddhas

古佛應世。緜歷無窮。不可以周知而悉數也。近故譚賢劫有千如來。暨於釋迦。但紀七佛。按長阿含經云。七佛精進力。放光滅闇冥。各各坐樹下。於中成正覺。又曼殊室利為七佛祖師。金華善慧大士登松山頂行道。感七佛引前。維摩接後。今之撰述。斷自七佛而下。

Since ancient times, Buddhas have appeared in the world in an unbroken succession, through ages without end; no one can know them all or count them one by one. In recent times, people have spoken only of the present Auspicious Kalpa, the great aeon in which a thousand Buddhas are to appear, and have recorded seven Buddhas up to Shakyamuni. The Long Agama Sutra says: “The seven Buddhas, through the strength of their vigorous practice, sent forth light and dispelled the darkness. Each sat beneath a tree and there attained perfect awakening.” It also says that Manjushri—the Bodhisattva of wisdom, whose name is shortened from “Bodhisattva,” a being who seeks awakening and guides others to it—was the ancestral teacher of the seven Buddhas. The Great Scholar Shanhui of Jinhua went to the summit of Mount Song to practice; in response, he saw the seven Buddhas guiding him from ahead, with Vimalakirti following behind. This compilation now begins its account from the seven Buddhas onward.

毗婆尸佛(過去莊嚴劫。第九百九十八尊)

Vipashyin Buddha (the nine hundred and ninety-eighth Buddha of the Adornment Kalpa)

偈曰。身從無相中受生。猶如幻出諸形象。幻人心識本來無。罪福皆空無所住。長阿含經云。人壽八萬歲時。此佛出世。種剎利。姓拘利若。父槃頭。母槃頭婆提。居般頭婆提城。坐波波羅樹下。說法三會。度人三十四萬八千。神足二。一名騫茶。二名提舍。侍者無憂子方膺。

The verse says: “The body receives birth from a place without form, like an illusionist conjuring up many forms. The mind of the phantom has no true existence; both sin and merit are empty, with nowhere to abide.” The Long Agama Sutra says: This Buddha appeared when the human life span was eighty thousand years. He was of the Kshatriya caste and the Kaundinya clan. His father was named Pan-tou, and his mother Pan-tou-po-ti. He lived in Pan-tou-po-ti City and sat beneath a pippala tree. He preached three assemblies and liberated 348,000 people. His two chief disciples renowned for spiritual powers were Qiancha and Tishe. His attendant was named Wuyou, and his son Fangying.

屍棄佛(莊嚴劫。第九百九十九尊)

Shikhin Buddha (the nine hundred and ninety-ninth Buddha of the Adornment Kalpa)

偈曰。起諸善法本是幻。造諸惡業亦是幻。身如聚沫心如風。幻出無根無實性。長阿含經云。人壽七萬歲時。此佛出世。種剎利。姓拘利若。父明相。母光耀。居光相城。坐分陀利樹下。說法三會。度人二十五萬。神足二。一名阿毗浮。二名婆婆。侍者忍行子無量。

The verse says: “All kinds of wholesome things that arise are illusions; all kinds of evil deeds that are done are illusions too. The body is like gathered foam, the mind like wind; what is conjured has no root and no real nature.” The Long Agama Sutra says: This Buddha appeared when the human life span was seventy thousand years. He was of the Kshatriya caste and the Kaundinya clan. His father was named Mingxiang, and his mother Guangyao. He lived in Guangxiang City and sat beneath a pundarika tree. He preached three assemblies and liberated 250,000 people. His two chief disciples renowned for spiritual powers were Abifu and Popo. His attendant was named Renxing, and his son Wuliang.

毗舍浮佛(莊嚴劫。第一千尊)

Vishvabhu Buddha (the thousandth Buddha of the Adornment Kalpa)

偈曰。假借四大以為身。心本無生因境有。前境若無心亦無。罪福如幻起亦滅。長阿含經云。人壽六萬歲時。此佛出世。種剎利。姓拘利若。父善燈。母稱戒。居無喻城。坐婆羅樹下。說法二會。度人一十三萬。神足二。一扶遊。二鬱多摩。侍者寂滅子妙覺。

The verse says: “The four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—are borrowed to make a body. Mind is unborn in itself and appears only because of its objects; when those objects are gone, mind too is gone. Sin and merit are like illusions: they arise and then cease.” The Long Agama Sutra says: This Buddha appeared when the human life span was sixty thousand years. He was of the Kshatriya caste and the Kaundinya clan. His father was named Shandeng, and his mother Chengjie. He lived in Wuyu City and sat beneath a sala tree. He preached two assemblies and liberated 130,000 people. His two chief disciples renowned for spiritual powers were Fuyou and Youtama. His attendant was named Jimi, and his son Miaojue.

拘留孫佛(見在賢劫。第一尊)

Krakucchanda Buddha (the first Buddha of the present Auspicious Kalpa)

偈曰。見身無實是佛身。了心如幻是佛幻。了得身心本性空。斯人與佛何殊別。長阿含經云。人壽四萬歲時。此佛出世。種婆羅門。姓迦葉。父禮得。母善枝。居安和城。坐尸利沙樹下。說法一會。度人四萬。神足二。一薩尼。二毗樓。侍者善覺子上勝。

The verse says: “To see that the body has no substance is to see the Buddha-body; to understand that mind is like an illusion is to understand the Buddha’s illusion. When one realizes that body and mind are empty by nature, what difference is there between that person and a Buddha?” The Long Agama Sutra says: This Buddha appeared when the human life span was forty thousand years. He was of the Brahmin caste and the Kashyapa clan. His father was named Lide, and his mother Shan-zhi. He lived in Anhe City and sat beneath a shirisha tree. He preached one assembly and liberated forty thousand people. His two chief disciples renowned for spiritual powers were Sani and Vilou. His attendant was named Shanjue, and his son Shangsheng.

拘那含牟尼佛(賢劫。第二尊)

Kanakamuni Buddha (the second Buddha of the Auspicious Kalpa)

偈曰。佛不見身知是佛。若實有知別無佛。智者能知罪性空。坦然不怖於生死。長阿含經云。人壽三萬歲時。此佛出世。種婆羅門。姓迦葉。父大德。母善勝。居清淨城。坐烏暫婆羅門樹下。說法一會。度人三萬。神足二。一舒槃那。二鬱多樓。侍者安和子導師。

The verse says: “The Buddha does not see a body and thereby know that this is the Buddha. If there truly were something that could know, then apart from it there would be no Buddha. The wise know that the nature of sin is empty, and so they face birth and death with ease and fearlessness.” The Long Agama Sutra says: This Buddha appeared when the human life span was thirty thousand years. He was of the Brahmin caste and the Kashyapa clan. His father was named Dade, and his mother Shansheng. He lived in Qingjing City and sat beneath an udumbara tree. He preached one assembly and liberated thirty thousand people. His two chief disciples renowned for spiritual powers were Shupanna and Youtoulou. His attendant was named Anhe, and his son Daoshi.

迦葉佛(賢劫。第三尊)

Kashyapa Buddha (the third Buddha of the Auspicious Kalpa)

偈曰。一切眾生性清淨。從本無生無可滅。即此身心是幻生。幻化之中無罪福。長阿含經云。人壽二萬歲時。此佛出世。種婆羅門。姓迦葉。父梵德。母財主。居波羅奈城。坐尼拘律樹下。說法一會。度人二萬。神足二。一提舍。二婆羅婆。侍者善友子集軍。

The verse says: “The nature of all sentient beings is originally pure. From the beginning there has been neither birth nor extinction. This body and mind are themselves born as an illusion; within illusion there is neither sin nor merit.” The Long Agama Sutra says: This Buddha appeared when the human life span was twenty thousand years. He was of the Brahmin caste and the Kashyapa clan. His father was named Fande, and his mother Caizhu. He lived in Varanasi and sat beneath a banyan tree. He preached one assembly and liberated twenty thousand people. His two chief disciples renowned for spiritual powers were Tishe and Poluopo. His attendant was named Shanyou, and his son Jijun.

釋迦牟尼佛(賢劫。第四尊)

Shakyamuni Buddha (the fourth Buddha of the Auspicious Kalpa)

姓剎利。父淨飯天。母大清淨妙位。登補處。生兜率天上。名曰勝善天人。亦名護明大士。度諸天眾。說補處行。於十方界中。現身說法。普曜經云。佛初生剎利王家。放大智光明。照十方世界。地湧金蓮華。自然捧雙足。東西及南北。各行於七步。分手指天地。作師子吼聲。上下及四維。無能尊我者。即周昭王二十四年甲寅歲四月八日也。至四十二年二月八日。年十九。欲求出家而自念言。當復何遇。即於四門遊觀。見四等事。心有悲喜而作思惟。此老．病．死。終可厭離。於是夜子時。有一天人名曰淨居。於窻牖中叉手白言。出家時至。可去矣。太子聞已。心生歡喜。即逾城而去。於檀特山中修道。始於阿藍迦藍處三年。學不用處定。知非便捨。復至鬱頭藍弗處三年。學非非想定。知非亦捨。又至象頭山。同諸外道日食麻麥。經於六年。故經云。以無心意．無受行。而悉摧伏諸外道。先歷試邪法。示諸方便。發諸異見。令至菩提。故普集經云。菩薩於二月八日。明星出時成道。號天人師。時年三十矣。即穆王三年癸未歲也。既而於鹿野苑中為憍陳如等五人轉四諦法輪而證道果。說法住世四十九年。後告弟子摩訶迦葉。吾以清淨法眼．涅槃妙心．實相無相．微妙正法。將付於汝。汝當護持。並勑阿難。副貳傳化。無令斷絕。而說偈曰。法本法無法。無法法亦法。今付無法時。法法何曾法。爾時世尊說此偈已。復告迦葉。吾將金縷僧伽梨衣傳付於汝。轉授補處。至慈氏佛出世。勿令朽壞。迦葉聞偈。頭面禮足曰。善哉。善哉。我當依勑。恭順佛故。爾時世尊至拘屍那城。告諸大眾。吾今背痛。欲入涅槃。即往熈連河側。娑羅雙樹下。右脇累足。泊然宴寂。復從棺起。為母說法。特示雙足化婆耆。並說無常偈曰。諸行無常。是生滅法。生滅滅已。寂滅為樂。時諸弟子即以香薪競茶毗之。燼後金棺如故。

He was of the Kshatriya caste. His father was King Shuddhodana, and his mother was named Great Pure and Wondrous. He advanced to the rank of a bodhisattva who would become a Buddha in his next life. He was born in Tushita Heaven, where he was called the Deva Shansheng, also known as the Great Being Huming. He guided the heavenly multitudes and taught the practices of one nearing Buddhahood, appearing to preach throughout the worlds of the ten directions. The punctuation in the base text reads “his mother, Great Pure and Wondrous rank; advanced to the next-to-last stage”; here it is read as “his mother was Great Pure and Wondrous; he advanced to the next-to-last stage.” The Puy yao jing says: When the Buddha was first born into a Kshatriya royal house, a great light of wisdom shone through the worlds of the ten directions. Golden lotuses sprang up from the earth and naturally supported his feet. He took seven steps in each of the four directions—east, west, south, and north—then pointed one hand to the sky and one to the ground and roared like a lion: “Above and below heaven, I alone am supreme.” This was the eighth day of the fourth month in the jia-yin year, the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou. In the second month of the forty-second year of King Zhao, at age nineteen, he wished to leave home and seek the Way. He wondered what else he might encounter, so he went out to observe life at the four gates. There he saw old age, sickness, death, and other such sights; sorrow and joy arose in him together, and he reflected that old age, sickness, and death were things one should ultimately renounce. At midnight, a deva named Jingju joined his palms and reported through the window: “The time to leave home has come. You may depart.” The prince rejoiced, climbed over the city wall, and left. He practiced the Way in the Dantak Mountain. For three years he studied with Alara Kalama, learning the meditation of the sphere of nothingness. Knowing it was not ultimate, he left. He then spent three years with Uddaka Ramaputta, learning the meditation of neither perception nor non-perception; knowing that too was not the Way, he left again. At Elephant Head Mountain he lived as the non-Buddhists did, eating only sesame and wheat each day, for six years. Thus the sutra says: “Through practices without thought or sensation, he completely subdued the non-Buddhist teachers.” He first tried each mistaken teaching and explained various expedient means, bringing forth diverse views so that people might reach bodhi, awakening. For this reason the Pujijing says: The bodhisattva attained the Way at dawn on the eighth day of the second month, when the morning star appeared. He was called Teacher of Gods and Humans, and was then thirty years old. This was the guiyou year, the third year of King Mu of Zhou. He then turned the Wheel of the Four Noble Truths—suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path—in the Deer Park for Kaundinya and four others, who thereby attained the Way. He taught in the world for forty-nine years. Later he told his disciple Mahakashyapa: “I am entrusting to you the pure Dharma-eye, the wondrous mind of nirvana—the cessation of afflictions and the end of rebirth—and the subtle true Dharma of formless reality. You must protect and uphold it.” He instructed Ananda to serve as his assistant in transmitting the teaching and not let it perish. Then he spoke this verse: “The root of Dharma is that there is no thing called Dharma. When there is no Dharma, Dharma is still Dharma. Now that I entrust this ‘no-Dharma,’ how could any of the many dharmas ever be Dharma?” After speaking, the World-Honored One told Kashyapa: “I will pass on to you the golden-threaded sanghati robe, the Buddha’s great robe. Pass it on in turn to the bodhisattva who is next to Buddhahood, until Maitreya Buddha appears. Do not let it decay.” Kashyapa heard the verse, bowed with his head at the Buddha’s feet, and said: “Excellent, excellent. I will follow your instruction, out of reverence for the Buddha.” The World-Honored One then went to Kushinagara and told the assembly: “My back aches; I am now entering nirvana.” He went to the bank of the Hiranyavati River, lay on his right side beneath the twin sala trees, placed one foot atop the other, and quietly entered final repose. He then rose from the coffin to teach his mother and specially showed his feet to guide Vaji. He also spoke this verse on impermanence: “All conditioned things are impermanent; this is the law of arising and ceasing. When arising and ceasing have both ceased, stillness is bliss.” His disciples then competed to cremate him with fragrant wood. When the fire had burned out, the golden coffin remained just as it had been.

爾時大眾即於佛前。以偈讚曰。凡俗諸猛熾。何能致火爇。請尊三昧火。闍維金色身。爾時金棺從座而舉。高七多羅樹。往反空中。化火三昧。須臾灰生。得舍利八斛四斗。即穆王五十二年壬申歲二月十五日也。自世尊滅後一千一十七年。教至中夏。即後漢永平十年戊辰歲也。世尊才生下。乃一手指天。一手指地。周行七步。目顧四方曰。天上天下。唯吾獨尊。世尊一日陞座。大眾集定。文殊白椎曰。諦觀法王法。法王法如是。世尊便下座。世尊一日陞座。默然而坐。阿難白椎曰。請世尊說法。世尊雲。會中有二比丘犯律行。我故不說法。阿難以他心通觀是比丘。遂乃遣出。世尊還復默然。阿難又白。適來為二比丘犯律。是二比丘已遣出。世尊何不說法。世尊曰。吾誓不為二乘聲聞人說法。便下座。世尊一日陞座。大眾集定。迦葉白椎曰。世尊說法竟。世尊便下座。世尊九十日在忉利天。為母說法。及辭天界而下。時四眾八部。俱往空界奉迎。有蓮花色比丘尼作念雲。我是尼身。必居大僧後見佛。不如用神力變作轉輪聖王。千子圍繞。最初見佛。果滿其願。世尊才見。乃訶雲。蓮花色比丘尼。汝何得越大僧見吾。汝雖見吾色身。且不見吾法身。須菩提巖中宴坐。卻見吾法身。世尊昔因文殊至諸佛集處。值諸佛各還本處。唯有一女人近彼佛坐。入於三昧。文殊乃白佛雲。何此人得近佛坐。而我不得。佛告文殊。汝但覺此女令從三昧起。汝自問之。文殊遶女人三帀。鳴指一下。乃托至梵天。盡其神力而不能出。世尊曰。假使百千文殊。亦出此女人定不得。下方過四十二恆河沙國土。有罔明菩薩能出此女人定。須臾。罔明大士從地湧出。作禮世尊。世尊勑罔明出。罔明卻至女子前。鳴指一下。女子於是從定而出。世尊因波斯匿王問。勝義諦中有世俗諦否。若言無。智不應二。若言有。智不應一。一二之義。

Then the assembly praised the Buddha in verse: “How could the fierce fires of the ordinary world burn him? We beseech the Venerable One to use the fire of samadhi, meditative concentration, to cremate this golden body.” The golden coffin rose from its seat to a height of seven tala trees, moved back and forth in the air, and manifested the samadhi of blazing fire. In a short while only ashes remained (the base text uses a rare character here, read as “ashes”), and eight dou and four sheng of relics were obtained. This was the fifteenth day of the second month in the ren-shen year, the fifty-second year of King Mu of Zhou. One thousand and seventeen years after the World-Honored One’s nirvana, his teaching reached the Central Lands: the wu-chen year, the tenth year of Yongping under the Later Han. As soon as the World-Honored One was born, he pointed one hand to the sky and one to the ground, took seven steps, looked in all four directions, and said: “Above and below heaven, I alone am honored.” One day the World-Honored One ascended the seat. After the assembly had settled, Manjushri struck the mallet and said: “Look carefully at the Dharma of the Dharma King. The Dharma of the Dharma King is just so.” The World-Honored One then descended. Another day the World-Honored One ascended the seat and sat silently. Ananda struck the mallet and said: “May the World-Honored One teach the Dharma.” The World-Honored One said: “Two monks in this assembly have broken the precepts; therefore I will not teach.” Ananda used his knowledge of others’ minds to find the two monks and sent them away. The World-Honored One remained silent. Ananda reported again: “The two monks who broke the precepts have now been sent away. Why does the World-Honored One still not teach?” The World-Honored One said: “I have vowed not to teach the hearers of the two vehicles, those who seek liberation only for themselves.” Then he descended. Another day the World-Honored One ascended the seat. After the assembly had settled, Kashyapa struck the mallet and said: “The World-Honored One’s teaching is complete.” The World-Honored One then descended. For ninety days the World-Honored One taught his mother in Trayastrimsha Heaven. When he took leave of heaven and descended, the fourfold assembly and the eight classes of beings all came through the air to welcome him. The nun Lotus Color thought: “As a nun, I must stand behind the great monks before I can see the Buddha. I may as well use my spiritual power to transform into a Wheel-Turning Sage King, surrounded by a thousand sons, so I can see him first.” Her wish was fulfilled. When the World-Honored One saw her, he rebuked her: “Nun Lotus Color, how can you pass the monastic assembly to come see me? Though you have seen my physical body, you have not seen my Dharma-body. Subhuti, sitting in meditation within a rock, has instead seen my Dharma-body.” In the past, when Manjushri went to the gathering place of the Buddhas, the Buddhas were just returning to their own abodes. Only one woman sat close beside a Buddha, absorbed in samadhi. Manjushri asked the Buddha: “Why can she sit close beside you, while I cannot?” The Buddha told Manjushri: “You need only rouse this woman from samadhi and ask her yourself.” Manjushri circled the woman three times, snapped his fingers, and even used all his spiritual power to lift her up to the Brahma Heaven, yet he could not draw her out of concentration. The World-Honored One said: “Even a hundred thousand Manjushris could not bring this woman out of samadhi. Below, beyond forty-two Ganges-sand Buddha-lands, there is a Bodhisattva named Wangming who can.” In a moment, the Great Being Wangming emerged from the earth and paid homage to the World-Honored One. The Buddha instructed him to bring the woman out. Wangming simply went up to her and snapped his fingers; she immediately emerged from samadhi. When King Prasenajit asked whether, in the ultimate truth, conventional truth exists, the World-Honored One replied: “If you say it does not, wisdom should not be two; if you say it does, wisdom should not be one.” The meaning of one and two—

其義云何。佛言。大王。汝於過去龍光佛法中曾問此義。我今無說。汝今無聽。無說無聽。是名為一義二義。世尊一日見文殊在門外立。乃曰。文殊。文殊。何不入門來。文殊曰。我不見一法在門外。何以教我入門。世尊一日坐次。見二人舁豬過。乃問。這箇是甚麼。曰。佛具一切智。豬子也不識。世尊曰。也須問過。世尊因有異學問。諸法是常邪。世尊不對。又問。諸法是無常邪。亦不對。異學曰。世尊具一切智。何不對我。世尊曰。汝之所問。皆為戲論。世尊一日示隨色摩尼珠。問五方天王。此珠而作何色。時五方天王互說異色。世尊復藏珠入袖。卻擡手曰。此珠作何色。天王曰。佛手中無珠。何處有色。世尊嘆曰。汝何迷倒之甚。吾將世珠示之。便各彊說有青．黃．赤．白色。吾將真珠示之。便總不知。時五方天王悉皆悟道。世尊因乾闥婆王獻樂。其時山河大地盡作琴聲。迦葉起作舞。王問。迦葉豈不是阿羅漢。諸漏已盡。何更有餘習。佛曰。實無餘習。莫謗法也。王又撫琴三徧。迦葉亦三度作舞。王曰。迦葉作舞。豈不是。佛曰。實不曾作舞。王曰。世尊何得妄語。佛曰。不妄語。汝撫琴。山河大地木石盡作琴聲。豈不是。王曰。是。佛曰。迦葉亦復如是。所以實不曾作舞。王乃信受。世尊因外道問。昨日說何法。曰。說定法。外道曰。今日說何法。曰。不定法。外道曰。昨日說定法。今日何說不定法。世尊曰。昨日定。今日不定。世尊因五通仙人問。世尊有六通。我有五通。如何是那一通。佛召五通仙人。五通應諾。佛曰。那一通。你問我。世尊因普眼菩薩欲見普賢。不可得見。乃至三度入定。徧觀三千大千世界。覔普賢不可得見。而來白佛。佛曰。汝但於靜三昧中起一念。便見普賢。普眼於是才起一念。便見普賢。向空中乘六牙白象。世尊因自恣日文殊三處過夏。迦葉欲白椎擯出。才拈椎。

(King Prasenajit continued:) “What, then, is the point?” The Buddha said: “Great King, in the past, in the teaching of Dragon-Light Buddha, you asked about this. Now I have not spoken, and you have not listened. This not-speaking and not-listening is what is called the meaning of one and the meaning of two.” One day the World-Honored One saw Manjushri standing outside the gate and said: “Manjushri, Manjushri, why do you not come in?” Manjushri replied: “I see no dharma outside the gate. On what grounds do you tell me to enter?” One day the World-Honored One was sitting when he saw two people carrying a pig past. He asked: “What is that?” They replied: “The Buddha possesses perfect omniscience, yet does not even recognize a pig.” The World-Honored One said: “Still, one should ask.” When a non-Buddhist asked the World-Honored One, “Are all things permanent?” he did not answer. The questioner then asked, “Are all things impermanent?” Again he did not answer. The non-Buddhist said: “The World-Honored One possesses perfect omniscience. Why will he not answer me?” The World-Honored One said: “Everything you ask is idle speculation.” One day the World-Honored One displayed a wish-fulfilling jewel that changed color and asked the kings of the five directions: “What color is this jewel?” Each of the five kings named a different color. The World-Honored One then hid the jewel in his sleeve, raised his hand, and asked: “What color is this jewel?” The kings replied: “There is no jewel in the Buddha’s hand. How could it have a color?” The World-Honored One sighed: “How deeply deluded you are! When I showed you an ordinary jewel, each of you insisted it was blue, yellow, red, or white. When I showed you the true jewel, none of you knew it.” At that, the five kings all awakened to the Way. When the Gandharva King offered music, the mountains, rivers, and earth all turned into music, and Kashyapa rose and danced. The king asked: “Is Kashyapa not an arhat, one who has ended all afflictions and will not be reborn? Why does he still have habitual tendencies?” The Buddha said: “He truly has no remaining tendencies. Do not slander the Dharma.” The king played his lute three more times, and Kashyapa danced three more times. The king said: “Kashyapa danced, did he not?” The Buddha said: “He truly did not dance.” The king asked: “How can the World-Honored One speak falsely?” The Buddha said: “It is not false speech. When you played, did the mountains, rivers, earth, trees, and stones not all become music?” The king said: “They did.” The Buddha said: “Kashyapa was the same; therefore he truly did not dance.” The king then accepted the teaching. A non-Buddhist once asked: “What Dharma did you teach yesterday?” The World-Honored One replied: “A fixed Dharma.” The questioner said: “What Dharma are you teaching today?” He replied: “An unfixed Dharma.” The questioner said: “Why was it fixed yesterday but unfixed today?” The World-Honored One said: “Yesterday was fixed; today is unfixed.” A sage with five spiritual powers asked: “The World-Honored One has six powers, while I have five. What is the one power I lack?” The Buddha called to the sage, and the sage answered. The Buddha said: “Ask me about that one power.” The Bodhisattva Universal Vision wished to see Samantabhadra but could not. Even after entering samadhi three times and searching throughout the three-thousandfold great-thousand world system, he still could not find Samantabhadra, so he reported this to the Buddha. The Buddha said: “If, while in tranquil samadhi, you give rise to a single thought, you will see Samantabhadra.” Universal Vision had only to give rise to one thought, and he saw Samantabhadra riding through the air on a white elephant with six tusks. On the day of the annual confession, Manjushri spent the summer retreat in three places. Kashyapa was about to strike the mallet and expel him; just as he picked up the mallet,

乃見百千萬億文殊。迦葉盡其神力。椎不能舉。世尊遂問迦葉。汝擬擯那箇文殊。迦葉無對。世尊因長爪梵志索論義。預約曰。我義若墮。我自斬首。世尊曰。汝義以何為宗。志曰。我以一切不受為宗。世尊曰。是見受否。志拂袖而去。行至中路。乃省。謂弟子曰。我當回去。斬首以謝世尊。弟子曰。人天眾前。幸當得勝。何以斬首。志曰。我寧於有智人前斬首。不於無智人前得勝。乃歎曰。我義兩處負墮。是見若受。負門處麤。是見不受。負門處細。一切人天二乘。皆不知我義墮處。唯有世尊諸大菩薩知我義墮。回至世尊前曰。我義兩處負墮。故當斬首以謝。世尊曰。我法中無如是事。汝當迴心向道。於是同五百徒眾一時投佛出家。證阿羅漢。世尊昔欲將諸聖眾。往第六天說大集經。勑他方此土．人間天上．一切獰惡鬼神。悉皆輯會。受佛付囑。擁護正法。設有不赴者。四天門王飛熱鐵輪追之令集。既集會已。無有不順佛勑者。各發弘誓。擁護正法。唯有一魔王謂世尊曰。瞿曇。我待一切眾生成佛盡。眾生界空。無有眾生名字。我乃發菩提心。世尊甞與阿難行次。見一古佛塔。世尊便作禮。阿難曰。此是甚麼人塔。世尊曰。此是過去諸佛塔。阿難曰。過去諸佛是甚麼人弟子。世尊曰。是吾弟子。阿難曰。應當如是。世尊因有外道問。不問有言。不問無言。世尊良久。外道讚歎曰。世尊大慈大悲。開我迷雲。令我得入。乃作禮而去。阿難白佛。外道得何道理。稱讚而去。世尊曰。如世良馬。見鞭影而行。世尊一日勑阿難。食時將至。汝當入城持缽。阿難應諾。世尊曰。汝既持缽。須依過去七佛儀式。阿難便問。如何是過去七佛儀式。世尊召阿難。阿難應諾。世尊曰。持缽去。世尊因有比丘問。我於世尊法中見處即有。證處未是。世尊當何所示。世尊曰。比丘某甲。當何所示。是汝此問。世尊成道後。

Then he saw hundreds of millions of Manjushris. Kashyapa used all his strength, but could not lift the mallet. The World-Honored One asked him: “Which Manjushri do you intend to expel?” Kashyapa had no answer. When the long-nailed Brahmin ascetic came to debate, he had agreed in advance: “If my argument is refuted, I will cut off my own head.” The World-Honored One asked: “What is the principle of your doctrine?” The ascetic replied: “I hold that nothing is to be accepted.” The World-Honored One asked: “Do you accept this view?” The ascetic flicked his sleeve and walked away. Halfway home he came to his senses and told his disciples: “I should go back and apologize to the World-Honored One by cutting off my head.” They said: “Before the great assembly of gods and humans, you seemed to have won. Why cut off your head?” He replied: “I would rather lose my head before a wise person than win before fools.” He sighed: “My argument has failed on both sides. If I accept this view, the failure is obvious; if I do not accept it, the failure is subtle. Neither ordinary people nor the gods, nor even followers of the two vehicles, know where my argument failed. Only the World-Honored One and the great Bodhisattvas know.” He returned to the World-Honored One and said: “My argument has failed on both sides, so I should cut off my head in apology.” The World-Honored One said: “There is no such thing in my Dharma. Turn your mind toward the Way.” The ascetic and his five hundred followers then left home together under the Buddha and attained arhatship. In the past, the World-Honored One intended to lead the assembly of sages to the Sixth Heaven to preach the Great Assembly Sutra. He ordered all fierce and evil spirits, both from other lands and this one, in the human and heavenly realms, to gather and receive the Buddha’s charge to protect the true Dharma. If anyone failed to attend, the Four Heavenly Kings were to pursue him with flying wheels of hot iron. Once the assembly had gathered, all obeyed the Buddha’s command and each made a great vow to uphold the true Dharma. Only one demon king said to the World-Honored One: “Gautama, when every sentient being has become a Buddha, when the realm of beings is empty and even the words ‘sentient beings’ no longer exist, only then will I give rise to the aspiration for awakening.” One day the World-Honored One was walking with Ananda and saw an ancient Buddha stupa. He bowed to it. Ananda asked: “Whose stupa is this?” The World-Honored One replied: “It is a stupa of the Buddhas of the past.” Ananda asked: “Whose disciples were those Buddhas?” He replied: “They were my disciples.” Ananda said: “That is as it should be.” A non-Buddhist once said to the World-Honored One: “I will ask neither about what can be spoken nor about what cannot be spoken.” The World-Honored One remained silent for a long time. The non-Buddhist praised him: “Through your great compassion, World-Honored One, you have cleared away the clouds of my delusion and let me enter the Way.” He bowed and left. Ananda asked the Buddha: “What principle did that non-Buddhist understand that made him praise you as he left?” The World-Honored One said: “He was like a fine horse in this world: at the sight of the whip’s shadow, he sets off.” One day the World-Honored One told Ananda: “It is time to eat. You should go into the city with your bowl.” Ananda agreed. The World-Honored One said: “Since you are going with your bowl, follow the custom of the seven Buddhas of the past.” Ananda asked: “What is the custom of the seven Buddhas?” The World-Honored One called to him, and Ananda answered. The World-Honored One said: “Take your bowl and go.” A monk once asked: “Within the World-Honored One’s Dharma, I have seen the place of insight, but not yet the place of realization. What should the World-Honored One point out to me?” The World-Honored One replied: “Monk so-and-so, what should be pointed out is precisely this question you have just asked.” After the World-Honored One attained the Way,

在逝多林中一樹下跏趺而坐。有二商人以五百乘車經過林畔。有二車牛不肯前進。商人乃訝。見之山神。報言。林中有聖人成道。經逾四十九日未食。汝當供養。商人入林。果見一人端然不動。乃問曰。為是梵王邪。帝釋邪。山神邪。河神邪。世尊微笑。舉袈裟角示之。商人頂禮。遂陳供養。世尊因耆婆善別音響。至一塚間。見五髑髏。乃敲一髑髏問耆婆。此生何處。曰。此生人道。世尊又敲一曰。此生何處。曰。此生天道。世尊又別敲一問。此生何處。耆婆罔知生處。世尊因黑氏梵志運神力。以左右手擎合歡．梧桐花兩株。來供養佛。佛召仙人。梵志應諾。佛曰。放下著。梵志遂放下左手一株華。佛又召仙人。放下著。梵志又放下右手一株華。佛又召仙人。放下著。梵志曰。世尊。我今兩手皆空。更教放下箇甚麼。佛曰。吾非教汝放捨其華。汝當放捨外六塵．內六根．中六識。一時捨卻。無可捨處。是汝免生死處。梵志於言下悟無生忍。世尊因靈山會上五百比丘得四禪定。具五神通。未得法忍。以宿命智通。各各自見過去殺父害母。及諸重罪。於自心內各各懷疑。於甚深法不能證入。於是文殊承佛神力。遂手握利劒。持逼如來。世尊乃謂文殊曰。住。住。不應作逆。勿得害吾。吾必被害。為善被害。文殊師利。爾從本已來無有我人。但以內心見有我人。內心起時。我必被害。即名為害。於是五百比丘自悟本心。如夢如幻。於夢幻中無有我人。乃至能生所生父母。於是五百比丘同讚嘆曰。文殊大智士。深達法源底。自手握利劒。持逼如來身。如劒佛亦爾。一相無有二。無相無所生。是中雲何殺。世尊因地布髮掩泥。獻華於然燈。然燈見布髮處。遂約退眾。乃指地曰。此一方地。宜建一梵剎。時眾中有一賢於長者。持標於指處插曰。建梵剎竟。時諸天散華。讚曰。庶子有大智矣。世尊因七賢女遊屍陀林。

he sat cross-legged beneath a tree in Jeta Grove. Two merchants passed by the edge of the grove with five hundred carts; the oxen pulling two of them refused to move. The merchants were astonished. A mountain spirit told them: “A sage has attained the Way in the grove. He has gone forty-nine days without food. You should make an offering.” The merchants entered the grove and indeed saw a man sitting motionless. They asked: “Is he Brahma? Is he Indra? Is he a mountain god or a river god?” The World-Honored One smiled and lifted one corner of his robe to show them. The merchants bowed and presented their offerings. Jivaka was skilled at distinguishing sounds. One day he came to a charnel ground, saw five skulls, and struck one. The World-Honored One asked him: “Where was this person reborn?” Jivaka replied: “This person was reborn among humans.” The World-Honored One struck another skull and asked: “Where was this person reborn?” Jivaka said: “This person was reborn in heaven.” The World-Honored One struck a third skull and asked again. Jivaka did not know where that person had been reborn. A Brahmin ascetic named Heishi once used his spiritual power to carry, one in each hand, two branches of flowers—one from a coral tree and one from a parasol tree—as an offering to the Buddha. The Buddha called to the ascetic, and he answered. The Buddha said: “Put it down.” The ascetic put down the flower branch in his left hand. The Buddha again called: “Put it down.” The ascetic put down the branch in his right hand. The Buddha called a third time: “Put it down.” The ascetic said: “World-Honored One, both my hands are empty now. What else do you want me to put down?” The Buddha replied: “I did not tell you to put down those flowers. You should let go all at once of the six outer objects—forms, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and mental objects; the six inner faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; and the six kinds of consciousness in between. When there is nothing left to let go, you will be free from birth and death.” At these words the ascetic awakened to acceptance of the unborn. At Vulture Peak, five hundred monks had attained the four meditative absorptions and the five spiritual powers, but had not yet attained forbearance of the Dharma. Through their knowledge of past lives, each saw that he had once killed his father and mother and committed other grave crimes. They became suspicious in their own minds and could not realize the profound Dharma. By the Buddha’s spiritual power, Manjushri took a sharp sword in his hand and threatened the Tathagata. The World-Honored One said to Manjushri: “Stop, stop! Do not commit this heinous act; do not harm me. I must be harmed, and this harm is for the good. Manjushri, from the beginning there has been no self or person in you. It is only because your mind inwardly perceives a self and a person. When the mind arises, I must be harmed; this is what is called killing.” The five hundred monks then awakened for themselves to their original minds: all was like a dream, like an illusion. In a dream or illusion there is no self or person, nor even parents who give birth or are born. The five hundred monks together praised Manjushri: “Manjushri is a person of great wisdom, who has thoroughly penetrated the source of Dharma. He holds a sword in his own hand and threatens the body of the Tathagata. The sword is like this, and so is the Buddha: one mark, not two; without marks and without birth—how could there be killing here?” In a former life, the World-Honored One spread his hair over muddy ground and offered flowers to Dipankara Buddha. Seeing the place covered by his hair, Dipankara told everyone to stand back and pointed to the ground: “A Brahma monastery should be built on this spot.” A virtuous elder in the assembly took a measuring pole, planted it where the Buddha had pointed, and said: “The monastery is complete.” The gods scattered flowers and praised him: “This person truly has great wisdom!” Once, seven virtuous women were wandering in a charnel ground,

一女指屍曰。屍在這裡。人向甚處去。一女曰。作麼。作麼。諸姊諦觀。各各契悟。感帝釋散華曰。惟願聖姊有何所須。我當終身供給。女曰。我家四事七珍。悉皆具足。唯要三般物。一要無根樹子一株。二要無陰陽地一片。三要呌不響山谷一所。帝釋曰。一切所須。我悉有之。若三般物。我實無得。女曰。汝若無此。爭解濟人。帝釋罔措。遂同往白佛。佛言。憍屍迦。我諸弟子大阿羅漢不解此義。唯有諸大菩薩乃解此義。世尊因調達謗佛。生身入地獄。遂令阿難問。你在地獄中安否。曰。我雖在地獄。如三禪天樂。佛又令問。你還求出否。曰。我待世尊來便出。阿難曰。佛是三界大師。豈有入地獄分。曰。佛既無入地獄分。我豈有出地獄分。世尊因文殊忽起佛見．法見。被世尊威神攝向二鐵圍山。城東有一老母。與佛同生而不欲見佛。每見佛來。即便迴避。雖然如此。回顧東西。總皆是佛。遂以手掩面。於十指掌中亦總是佛。殃崛摩羅因持缽至一長者門。其家婦人正值產難。子母未分。長者曰。瞿曇弟子。汝為至聖。當有何法能免產難。殃崛語長者曰。我乍入道。未知此法。待我回問世尊。卻來相報。及返。具事白佛。佛告殃崛。汝速去報。言我自從賢聖法來。未曾殺生。殃崛奉佛語疾往告之。其婦得聞。當時分免。世尊甞在尼俱律樹下坐次。因二商人問。世尊還見車過否。曰。不見。商人曰。還聞否。曰。不聞。商人曰。莫禪定否。曰。不禪定。曰。莫睡眠否。曰。不睡眠。商人乃嘆曰。善哉。善哉。世尊覺而不見。遂獻白㲲兩段。世尊在靈山會上。拈華示眾。是時眾皆默然。唯迦葉尊者破顏微笑。世尊曰。吾有正法眼藏。涅槃妙心。實相無相。微妙法門。不立文字。教外別傳。付囑摩訶迦葉。世尊至多子塔前。命摩訶迦葉分座令坐。以僧伽梨圍之。遂告曰。吾以正法眼藏密付於汝。汝當護持。

and one woman pointed at a corpse and said: “The corpse is here. Where has the person gone?” Another woman said: “What are you doing? What are you doing? Sisters, look carefully.” Each of them awakened in accord with the truth. In response, Indra scattered flowers and said: “May I know what the holy sisters need; I will provide it for the rest of my life.” The woman replied: “The four necessities of clothing, food, bedding, and medicine, and the seven kinds of treasure, are already complete in our home. We need only three things: first, a tree with no roots; second, a piece of land with no yin or yang; third, a valley that makes no sound when called.” Indra said: “I have everything else you need, but I truly do not have these three things.” The woman said: “If you do not have them, how can you understand how to help people?” Indra had no reply, so they went together to report this to the Buddha. The Buddha said: “Kausika, even the great arhats among my disciples do not understand this meaning. Only the great Bodhisattvas do.” Devadatta once slandered the Buddha and his body fell into hell. The World-Honored One had Ananda ask him: “Are you at ease in hell?” He replied: “Though I am in hell, it is as joyful as the Third Dhyana Heaven.” The Buddha then asked: “Do you still seek to leave?” Devadatta replied: “I will leave when the World-Honored One comes.” Ananda said: “The Buddha is the master of the three realms. How could he have any reason to enter hell?” Devadatta replied: “If the Buddha has no reason to enter hell, then I have no reason to leave it.” Manjushri once suddenly gave rise to views of Buddha and Dharma, and the World-Honored One’s spiritual power confined him between two iron-ring mountains. In the eastern part of the city lived an old woman who had been born on the very same day as the Buddha, yet did not wish to see him. Whenever she saw the Buddha coming, she turned away. Even so, when she looked back in every direction, she saw Buddhas everywhere. She covered her face with her hands, but Buddhas appeared in the palms of all ten fingers. Angulimala once went with his bowl to a wealthy elder’s house. The woman there was in difficult labor, and the child had not yet been delivered. The elder said: “You are a disciple of Gautama, a supreme holy one. Surely you know a teaching that can relieve difficult childbirth?” Angulimala replied: “I have only just entered the Way and do not know such a teaching. I will go ask the World-Honored One and return with an answer.” He reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha told him: “Go quickly and say: ‘Since I began to follow the noble Dharma, I have never taken a life.’” Angulimala hurried back and delivered the Buddha’s words. The woman gave birth at once. The World-Honored One was once seated beneath a banyan tree when two merchants asked: “World-Honored One, did you see a cart pass by?” He said: “I did not see it.” They asked: “Did you hear it?” He said: “I did not hear it.” They asked: “Were you in meditation?” He said: “No.” “Were you asleep?” “No.” The merchants praised him: “Excellent! The World-Honored One was awake, yet did not see.” They offered him two lengths of white cloth. At Vulture Peak, the World-Honored One held up a flower before the assembly. Everyone was silent, except Venerable Kashyapa, whose face opened into a smile. The World-Honored One said: “I possess the treasury of the true Dharma-eye, the wondrous mind of nirvana, formless reality, and the subtle Dharma-gate: not established through written words, a special transmission outside the teaching. I entrust it to Mahakashyapa.” The World-Honored One came to the stupa of Many Sons, asked Mahakashyapa to share his seat, and wrapped him in the sanghati robe. Then he said: “I secretly entrust the treasury of the true Dharma-eye to you. You must protect and uphold it,

傳付將來。世尊臨入涅槃。文殊大士請佛再轉法輪。世尊咄曰。文殊。吾四十九年住世。未曾說一字。汝請吾再轉法輪。是吾曾轉法輪邪。世尊於涅槃會上。以手摩胸。告眾曰。汝等善觀吾紫磨金色之身。瞻仰取足。勿令後悔。若謂吾滅度。非吾弟子。若謂吾不滅度。亦非吾弟子。時百萬億眾。悉皆契悟。

(The World-Honored One continued:) and transmit it in the future.” As the World-Honored One was about to enter nirvana, the Great Being Manjushri asked the Buddha to turn the Wheel of Dharma once more. The World-Honored One rebuked him: “Manjushri, I have lived in the world for forty-nine years and have not spoken a single word. You ask me to turn the Wheel of Dharma again—does that mean I have turned it before?” At the assembly held as the Buddha entered nirvana, the World-Honored One rubbed his chest with his hand and told the crowd: “Look carefully upon this body of mine, golden in hue and refined as purple gold. Gaze upon it to your fill; do not regret it afterward. If you say I have entered nirvana, you are not my disciple; if you say I have not entered nirvana, you are not my disciple either.” At that moment, a hundred million members of the assembly awakened in accord with the truth.

西天祖師

Patriarchs of the Western Heavens (India)

一祖摩訶迦葉尊者

The First Patriarch: Venerable Mahakashyapa

摩竭陀國人也。姓婆羅門。父飲澤。母香志。昔為鍛金師。善明金性。使其柔伏。付法傳云。甞於久遠劫中。毗婆尸佛入涅槃後。四眾起塔。塔中像面金色有缺壞。時有貧女。將金珠往金師所。請飾佛面。既而因共發願。願我二人為無姻夫妻。由是因緣。九十一劫身皆金色。後生梵天。天壽盡。生中天摩竭陀國婆羅門家。名曰迦葉波。此雲飲光勝尊。葢以金色為號也。繇是志求出家。冀度諸有。佛言。善來。比丘。鬚髮自除。袈裟著體。常於眾中稱歎第一。復言。吾以清淨法眼。將付於汝。汝可流佈。無令斷絕。涅槃經云。爾時世尊欲涅槃時。迦葉不在眾會。佛告諸大弟子。迦葉來時。可令宣揚正法眼藏。爾時迦葉在耆闍崛山畢缽羅窟覩勝光明。即入三昧。以淨天眼。觀見世尊於熈連河側。入般涅槃。乃告其徒曰。如來涅槃也。何其駛哉。即至雙樹間。悲戀號泣。佛於金棺出示雙足。爾時迦葉告諸比丘。佛已茶毗。金剛舍利。非我等事。我等宜當結集法眼。無令斷絕。乃說偈曰。如來弟子。且莫涅槃。得神通者。當赴結集。於是得神通者悉集王舍耆闍崛山畢缽羅窟。時阿難為漏未盡。不得入會。後證阿羅漢果。由是得入。迦葉乃白眾言。此阿難比丘多聞總持。有大智慧。常隨如來。梵行清淨。所聞佛法。如水傳器。無有遺餘。佛所讚歎。聰敏第一。宜可請彼集修多羅藏。大眾默然。迦葉告阿難曰。汝今宜宣法眼。阿難聞語信受。觀察眾心而宣偈言。比丘諸眷屬。離佛不莊嚴。猶如虗空中。眾星之無月。說是偈已。禮眾僧足。升法座而宣是言。如是我聞。一時佛住某處說某經教。乃至人天等作禮奉行。時迦葉問諸比丘。阿難所言。不錯謬乎。皆曰。不異世尊所說。迦葉乃告阿難言。我今年不久留。今將正法付囑於汝。汝善守護。聽吾偈言。法法本來法。無法無非法。何於一法中。有法有不法。說偈已。

He was from Magadha and belonged to the Brahmin caste. His father was named Yinze and his mother Xiangzhi. In a former life he was a goldsmith, skilled at understanding the nature of gold and making it pliant. The Record of the Transmission of the Dharma says: Long ago, after Vipashyin Buddha entered nirvana, the fourfold assembly built a stupa. The golden color on the face of the Buddha image inside had become damaged. A poor woman brought a gold bead to a goldsmith and asked him to repair the Buddha’s face. The two then made a vow together: may we become husband and wife, though we have no marriage bond. Because of this cause and condition, for ninety-one kalpas their bodies were golden in color. Later he was born in the Brahma Heaven; when his heavenly life ended, he was born into a Brahmin family in central Magadha, named Kashyapa. The name was translated in this land as “Venerable Radiant One,” because of his golden color. He resolved to leave home, hoping to be liberated from all forms of existence. The Buddha said: “Welcome, monk.” His hair fell away by itself, and a robe appeared on his body. In the assembly he was often praised as foremost. The Buddha also said: “I am about to entrust the pure Dharma-eye to you. You may spread it; do not let it perish.” The Nirvana Sutra says: As the World-Honored One was about to enter nirvana, Kashyapa was not in the assembly. The Buddha told the great disciples: “When Kashyapa arrives, have him proclaim the treasury of the true Dharma-eye.” At that time Kashyapa was in the Pippala Cave on Mount Gridhrakuta. He saw a wondrous light, entered samadhi, and with his pure divine eye saw the World-Honored One enter complete nirvana beside the Hiranyavati River. He told his followers: “The Tathagata has entered nirvana—how swiftly it has come!” He hurried to the twin sala trees, grieving and wailing. The Buddha extended his feet from the golden coffin. Kashyapa then told the monks: “The Buddha has been cremated. The adamantine relics are not our concern. We should compile the treasury of the Dharma-eye and not let it perish.” He spoke this verse: “Disciples of the Tathagata, do not yet enter nirvana. Those who have attained spiritual powers should hasten to the gathering.” Thus all who had attained spiritual powers gathered at Pippala Cave on Mount Gridhrakuta near Rajagriha. Ananda was initially not admitted because his outflows had not yet ended. Later he attained arhatship and was then allowed to enter. Kashyapa said to the assembly: “This monk Ananda is learned and retains all he has heard; he has great wisdom, has long accompanied the Tathagata, and has kept the pure conduct. The Dharma he heard from the Buddha was passed on as water is poured from one vessel into another, without loss. The Buddha praised him as foremost in intelligence. We should ask him to compile the Sutra Pitaka.” The assembly remained silent. Kashyapa told Ananda: “You should now proclaim the true Dharma-eye.” Hearing this, Ananda accepted. He observed the minds of the assembly and recited a verse: “The monks and their companions are no adornment once the Buddha has departed, like stars in the empty sky without the moon.” Having spoken the verse, he bowed at the monks’ feet, ascended the Dharma seat, and declared: “Thus have I heard: At one time the Buddha dwelt in such-and-such a place and taught such-and-such a sutra…” He continued through the words, “Then the humans and gods bowed and practiced accordingly.” Kashyapa asked the monks: “Was anything Ananda said mistaken?” They replied: “It was no different from what the World-Honored One said.” Kashyapa then told Ananda: “My years among people are nearly over. I now entrust the true Dharma to you. Guard it well. Hear my verse: ‘Each dharma is originally just Dharma; there is neither Dharma nor non-Dharma. Why, within one Dharma, are there both Dharma and non-Dharma?’” Having finished the verse,

乃持僧伽梨衣入雞足山。俟慈氏下生。即周孝王五年丙辰歲也。尊者因外道問。如何是我我。者曰。覔我者是汝我。外道曰。這箇是我我。師我何在。者曰。汝問我覔。尊者一日踏泥次。有一沙彌見。乃問尊者。何得自為。者曰。我若不為。誰為我為。

he took the sanghati robe and entered Mount Kukkuṭapada, where he would await the descent of Maitreya. This was the bingchen year, the fifth year of King Xiao of Zhou. A non-Buddhist once asked the Venerable One: “What is the ‘I, I’?” The Venerable One replied: “The one who is searching for ‘I’ is your ‘I.’” The non-Buddhist asked: “That is my ‘I’; where is the master’s ‘I’?” The Venerable One said: “You ask me, and I will search for it.” One day the Venerable One was treading mud. A novice saw him and asked: “Why are you doing this yourself?” The Venerable One replied: “If I do not do it, who will do it for me?”

二祖阿難尊者

The Second Patriarch: Venerable Ananda

王舍城人也。姓剎利帝。父斛飯王。實佛之從弟也。梵語阿難陀。此雲慶喜。亦云歡喜。如來成道夜生。因為之名。多聞博達。智慧無礙。世尊以為總持第一。甞所讚歎。加以宿世有大功德。受持法藏。如水傳器。佛乃命為侍者。尊者一日白佛言。今日入城。見一奇特事。佛曰。見何奇特事。者曰。入城時見一攢樂人作舞。出城總見無常。佛曰。我昨日入城。亦見一奇特事。者曰。未審見何奇特事。佛曰。我入城時見一攢樂人作舞。出城時亦見樂人作舞。一日問迦葉曰。師兄。世尊傳金襴袈裟外。別傳箇甚麼。迦葉召阿難。阿難應諾。迦葉曰。倒卻門前剎竿著。後阿闍世王白言。仁者。如來．迦葉尊勝二師。皆已涅槃。而我多故。悉不能覩。尊者般涅槃時。願垂告別。尊者許之。後自念言。我身危脆。猶如聚沫。況復衰老。豈堪久長。阿闍世王與吾有約。乃詣王宮。告之曰。吾欲入涅槃。來辭耳。門者曰。王寢。不可以聞。者曰。俟王覺時。當為我說。時阿闍世王夢中見一寶葢。七寶嚴飾。千萬億眾圍繞瞻仰。俄而風雨暴至。吹折其柄。珍寶瓔珞。悉墜於地。心甚驚異。既寤。門者具白上事。王聞。失聲號慟。哀感天地。即至毗舍離城。見尊者在恆河中流。跏趺而坐。王乃作禮。而說偈曰。稽首三界尊。棄我而至此。暫憑悲願力。且莫般涅槃。時毗舍離王亦在河側。說偈言。尊者一何速。而歸寂滅場。願住須臾間。而受於供養。尊者見二國王鹹來勸請。乃說偈言。二王善嚴住。勿為苦悲戀。涅槃當我淨。而無諸有故。尊者復念。我若偏向一國。諸國爭競。無有是處。應以平等度諸有情。遂以恆河中流。將入寂滅。是時山河大地。六種震動。雪山有五百仙人。覩茲瑞應。飛空而至。禮尊者足。胡跪白言。我於長老。當證佛法。願垂大慈。度脫我等。尊者默然受請。即變殑伽河悉為金地。為其仙眾說諸大法。

He was from Rajagriha and belonged to the Kshatriya caste. His father was King Dronodana; he was in fact the Buddha’s cousin. The Sanskrit name Ananda was translated here as “Celebration” or “Joy.” He was born on the night the Tathagata attained the Way, and so received his name. He was learned and far-reaching in knowledge, with unobstructed wisdom. The World-Honored One regarded him as foremost in retaining all teachings and praised him for it. Because of great merit from past lives, he received and upheld the Dharma treasury as water is poured from one vessel into another. The Buddha therefore appointed him attendant. One day the Venerable One said to the Buddha: “Today, when I entered the city, I saw something extraordinary.” The Buddha asked: “What extraordinary thing did you see?” Ananda said: “When I entered the city, I saw a troupe of musicians dancing. When I left, I saw impermanence everywhere.” The Buddha said: “Yesterday, when I entered the city, I too saw something extraordinary.” Ananda asked: “What extraordinary thing did you see?” The Buddha replied: “When I entered, I saw a troupe of musicians dancing; when I left, I saw the musicians still dancing.” One day Ananda asked Kashyapa: “Besides the golden-threaded robe that the World-Honored One transmitted, what else did he transmit?” Kashyapa called to Ananda, and Ananda answered. Kashyapa said: “Knock down the banner pole before the gate.” Later King Ajatashatru reported: “Venerable One, the Tathagata and Kashyapa, both supreme teachers of great virtue, have entered nirvana, and because of my many duties I could not see them. When you, Venerable One, enter nirvana, please let me know so I may take my leave.” The Venerable One agreed. Later he reflected: “This body of mine is fragile, like gathered foam, and I am old besides. How can it last long?” He had made an appointment with King Ajatashatru, so he went to the palace and announced: “I am about to enter nirvana and have come to say farewell.” The gatekeeper said: “The king is asleep; I cannot report this.” The Venerable One said: “When the king wakes, tell him for me.” At that time King Ajatashatru dreamed that a jeweled canopy adorned with the seven treasures, surrounded by countless millions of people, was being admired. Suddenly wind and rain came, broke its shaft, and scattered the jeweled ornaments on the ground. He was deeply troubled. When he awoke, the gatekeeper reported everything. The king heard this, cried out in grief, and lamented so deeply that heaven and earth seemed moved. He immediately hurried to Vaishali and saw the Venerable One seated cross-legged in the middle of the Ganges. The king bowed and recited a verse: “I bow to the honored one of the three realms, who leaves me and comes here. For now, by the power of compassion, please do not yet enter nirvana.” The king of Vaishali was also by the river and recited: “Venerable One, how swiftly you go to the place of quiescence. Please stay a little longer and accept our offerings.” Seeing both kings entreat him, the Venerable One recited: “Two kings, dwell in peace; do not grieve and cling to me. Nirvana is my purity, free from the causes of all forms of existence.” The Venerable One then thought: “If I favor one kingdom, the kingdoms will contend; that cannot be right. I should liberate sentient beings equally.” In the middle of the Ganges, as he was about to enter quiescence, the mountains, rivers, and earth shook in six ways. Five hundred sages on Snow Mountain saw these auspicious signs, flew through the air, came to the Venerable One, bowed at his feet, and knelt with joined palms: “We should attain the Buddha-Dharma through the elder. We pray that, in great compassion, you will liberate us.” The Venerable One silently accepted their request and transformed the entire Ganges into a golden land. He then expounded many profound teachings for the sages.

尊者復念。先所度脫弟子應當來集。須臾。五百羅漢從空而下。為諸仙人出家授具。其仙眾中有二羅漢。一名商那和修。二名末田底迦。尊者知是法器。乃告之曰。昔如來以大法眼付大迦葉。迦葉入定而付於我。我今將滅。用傳於汝。汝受吾教。當聽偈言。本來付有法。付了言無法。各各須自悟。悟了無無法。尊者付法眼藏竟。踴身虗空。現十八變入風奮迅三昧。分身四分。一分奉忉利天。一分奉娑竭羅龍宮。一分奉毗舍離王。一分奉阿闍世王。各造寶塔而供養之。乃厲王十二年癸巳歲也。

The Venerable One then thought: “The disciples I previously liberated should gather here.” In a moment, five hundred arhats descended through the air and ordained the sages, giving them full monastic precepts. Among the sages were two arhats: the first was Shanavasa, the second Madhyantika. The Venerable One recognized them as vessels of the Dharma and told them: “Long ago the Tathagata entrusted the great Dharma-eye to Mahakashyapa; Kashyapa entered samadhi and entrusted it to me. I am now about to pass away, so I transmit it to you. Receive my teaching and hear this verse: What was originally transmitted was something called Dharma; once transmitted, it is said to be no Dharma. Each of you must awaken for yourselves; when awakened, there is no ‘no-Dharma.’” Having entrusted the treasury of the Dharma-eye, the Venerable One rose bodily into the air, displayed eighteen transformations, and entered the samadhi of swift wind. He divided his body into four parts: one was offered to Trayastrimsha Heaven, one to the Dragon Palace of Sagara, one to the King of Vaishali, and one to King Ajatashatru. Each built a jeweled stupa to honor it. This was the guisi year, the twelfth year of King Li of Zhou.

三祖商那和修尊者

The Third Patriarch: Venerable Shanavasa

摩突羅國人也。亦名舍那婆斯。姓毗舍多。父林勝。母憍奢耶。在胎六年而生。梵語商諾迦。此雲自然服。即西域九枝秀草名也。若聖人降生。則此草生於淨潔之地。和修生時。瑞草斯應。昔如來行化至摩突羅國。見一青林。枝葉茂盛。語阿難曰。此林地名優留茶。吾滅度後一百年。有比丘商那和修。於此轉妙法輪。後百歲。果誕和修。出家證道。受慶喜尊者法眼。化導有情。及止此林。降二火龍。歸順佛教。龍因施其地。以建梵宮。尊者化緣既久。思付正法。尋於吒利國。得優波毱多以為給侍。因問毱多曰。汝年幾邪。答曰。我年十七。者曰。汝身十七。性十七邪。答曰。師髮已白。為髮白邪。心白邪。者曰。我但髮白。非心白耳。毱多曰。我身十七。非性十七也。尊者知是法器。後三載。遂為落髮授具。乃告曰。昔如來以無上法眼付囑迦葉。展轉相授。而至於我。我今付汝。勿令斷絕。汝受吾教。聽吾偈言。非法亦非心。無心亦無法。說是心法時。是法非心法。說偈已。即隱於罽賓國南象白山中。後於三昧中。見弟子毱多有五百徒眾。常多懈慢。尊者乃往彼。現龍奮迅三昧以調伏之。而說偈曰。通達非彼此。至聖無長短。汝除輕慢意。疾得阿羅漢。五百比丘聞偈已。依教奉行。皆獲無漏。尊者乃現十八變火光三昧。用焚其身。毱多收舍利。葬於梵迦羅山。五百比丘各持一幡。迎導至彼。建塔供養。乃宣王二十三年乙未歲也。

He was from Mathura and was also called Shanavasa. His clan name was Vishnudas. His father was Linsheng and his mother Kaosheye. He was born only after six years in the womb. The Sanskrit word shanaka was translated here as “naturally born robe”; it was also the name of a nine-branched, beautiful grass of the Western Regions. Whenever a sage was born, this grass grew on clean ground. At Shanavasa’s birth, the auspicious grass appeared in response. Long ago, when the Tathagata traveled to Mathura to teach, he saw a green grove with luxuriant branches and leaves. He said to Ananda: “This place is called Youliucha. One hundred years after I enter nirvana, the monk Shanavasa will turn the wondrous Wheel of Dharma here.” A hundred years later, Shanavasa was indeed born. He left home, realized the Way, received the Dharma-eye from Venerable Ananda, guided sentient beings, and lived in that grove. There he subdued two fire dragons and brought them into the Buddhist teaching. The dragons then gave the land for a Brahma monastery to be built. After the Venerable One had taught for a long time, he wished to entrust the true Dharma. In the kingdom of Zhali he found Upagupta to serve him. He asked Guptā: “How old are you?” “Seventeen,” he replied. The Venerable One said: “Is your body seventeen, or is your nature seventeen?” Guptā asked: “The master’s hair is white. Is it the hair that is white, or the mind?” The Venerable One said: “Only my hair is white, not my mind.” Guptā said: “I am seventeen in body, not seventeen in nature.” The Venerable One recognized him as a vessel of the Dharma. Three years later he shaved his head and gave him the full precepts. He then said: “Long ago the Tathagata entrusted the unsurpassed Dharma-eye to Kashyapa, who passed it on in succession until it reached me. I now entrust it to you. Do not let it perish. Receive my teaching and hear this verse: ‘It is neither Dharma nor mind; there is neither mind nor Dharma. When this mind-Dharma is spoken of, this Dharma is not mind-Dharma.’” After speaking the verse, he withdrew to Elephant-White Mountain south of Kashmir. Later, in samadhi, he saw that his disciple Gupta had five hundred followers who were often lax and disrespectful. The Venerable One went there, displayed the samadhi of the dragon’s swift movement to discipline them, and recited a verse: “Penetration is neither this nor that; the most holy has neither length nor shortness. Cast off your contemptuous thoughts, and you will soon attain arhatship.” The five hundred monks heard the verse, followed its teaching, and all attained freedom from outflows. The Venerable One then displayed eighteen transformations and burned his body in the samadhi of blazing fire. Gupta gathered the relics and buried them on Mount Fan-jialuo. The five hundred monks each carried a banner and escorted them there, where they built a stupa and made offerings. This was the yiwei year, the twenty-third year of King Xuan of Zhou.

四祖優波毱多尊者

The Fourth Patriarch: Venerable Upagupta

吒利國人也。亦名優波崛多。又名鄔波毱多。姓首陀。父善意。十七出家。二十證果。隨方行化。至摩突羅國。得度者甚眾。由是魔宮震動。波旬愁怖。遂竭其魔力。以害正法。尊者即入三昧。觀其所由。波旬復伺便。密持瓔珞縻之於頸。及尊者出定。乃取人狗蛇三屍。化為華鬘。䎡言慰諭波旬曰。汝與我瓔珞。甚是珍妙。吾有華鬘。以相酬奉。波旬大喜。引頸受之。即變為三種臭屍。蟲蛆壞爛。波旬厭惡。大生憂惱。盡己神力。不能移動。乃升六慾天。告諸天主。又詣梵王。求其解免。彼各告言。十力弟子。所作神變。我輩凡陋。何能去之。波旬曰。然則柰何。梵王曰。汝可歸心尊者。即能除斷。乃為說偈。令其迴向曰。若因地倒。還因地起。離地求起。終無其理。波旬受教已。即下天宮。禮尊者足。哀露懺悔。尊者告曰。汝自今去。於如來正法。更不作嬈害否。波旬曰。我誓迴向佛道。永斷不善。尊者曰。若然者。汝可口自唱言。皈依三寶。魔王合掌三唱。華鬘悉除。乃歡喜踴躍。作禮尊者而說偈曰。稽首三昧尊。十力聖弟子。我今願迴向。勿令有劣弱。尊者在世化導。證果最多。每度一人。以一籌置於石室。其室縱十八肘。廣十二肘。充滿其間。最後有一長者子。名曰香眾。來禮尊者。志求出家。尊者問曰。汝身出家。心出家。答曰。我來出家。非為身心。尊者曰。不為身心。復誰出家。答曰。夫出家者。無我我故。無我我故。即心不生滅。心不生滅。即是常道。諸佛亦常心無形相。其體亦然。尊者曰。汝當大悟。心自通達。宜依佛法僧。紹隆聖種。即為剃度。授具足戒。仍告之曰。汝父甞夢金日而生汝。可名提多迦。復謂曰。如來以大法眼藏。次第傳授。以至於我。今復付汝。聽吾偈言。心自本來心。本心非有法。有法有本心。非心非本法。付法已。乃踴身虗空。呈十八變。卻復本座。跏趺而逝。

He was from the kingdom of Zhali. He was also called Upagupta or Upagupta. His clan name was Shudra. His father was named Shanyi. He left home at seventeen and attained the fruit at twenty. He traveled from place to place teaching and transforming beings. When he reached Mathura, many people were liberated. The demon palace was shaken, and Mara became fearful and distressed. Mara exhausted his demonic powers to harm the true Dharma. The Venerable One entered samadhi to examine the cause. Mara waited for an opportunity and secretly hung a jeweled necklace around his neck. When the Venerable One emerged from samadhi, he took the corpses of a person, a dog, and a snake, transformed them into a flower garland, and gently comforted Mara: “The necklace you gave me is very precious. I have a flower garland to give you in return.” Mara was delighted, stretched out his neck to receive it, and it immediately became three foul corpses, decaying with worms and maggots. Mara was disgusted and greatly distressed; even after exhausting his divine power, he could not remove it. He ascended to the six desire heavens and told their lords, then went to Brahma and begged him to undo it. Each replied: “We are lowly and ordinary; how could we undo the spiritual transformation wrought by a disciple of the Ten-Powered One?” Mara asked: “Then what should I do?” Brahma said: “Turn your heart toward the Venerable One, and it can be removed.” He then taught Mara this verse to guide him back: “If you fall because of the earth, you must also rise by the earth; to leave the earth and seek to rise is, in the end, impossible.” Having received the teaching, Mara descended to the heavenly palace, bowed at the Venerable One’s feet, and sincerely confessed his remorse. The Venerable One told him: “From now on, will you continue to obstruct the Tathagata’s true Dharma?” Mara said: “I vow to turn toward the Buddha’s Way and forever end all unwholesome conduct.” The Venerable One said: “If so, say aloud: ‘I take refuge in the Three Treasures.’” The demon king joined his palms and recited it three times. The garland disappeared completely. He rejoiced, bowed to the Venerable One, and recited this verse: “I bow to the honored one of samadhi, the holy disciple of the Ten-Powered One. I now wish to turn toward the Way; do not let me remain inferior and weak.” During the Venerable One’s lifetime of teaching, more people attained realization under him than under anyone else. Each time he liberated someone, he placed a tally stick in a stone chamber. The chamber was eighteen cubits long and twelve cubits wide, and it was filled with tally sticks. At last a young elder named Xiangzhong came to pay homage and resolved to leave home. The Venerable One asked: “Are you leaving home in body or in mind?” He replied: “I have come to leave home neither for the sake of body nor mind.” The Venerable One said: “If not for body or mind, then who leaves home?” He replied: “One speaks of leaving home because there is no ‘I’ and no ‘mine.’ Without ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ mind does not arise or perish. A mind that neither arises nor perishes is the constant Way. The Buddhas are also constant; mind has no form, and its essence is the same.” The Venerable One said: “You will surely awaken greatly; your mind will understand for itself. Rely on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and continue the lineage of the sages.” He shaved the young man’s head and gave him the full precepts, then said: “Your father dreamed of a golden sun and you were born; you may be named Ditaka.” He continued: “The Tathagata’s treasury of the great Dharma-eye has been passed down in succession until it reached me. I now entrust it to you. Hear this verse: ‘Mind is itself originally mind; the original mind is not some thing called Dharma. Only when there is Dharma is there an original mind; it is neither mind nor the original Dharma.’” Having transmitted the Dharma, he rose into the air, displayed eighteen transformations, returned to his seat, sat cross-legged, and passed away.

提多迦以室內籌用焚師軀。收舍利。建塔供養。即平王三十一年庚子歲也。

Ditaka used tally sticks from the chamber to cremate his teacher’s body. He gathered the relics and built a stupa to honor them. This was the gengzi year, the thirty-first year of King Ping of Zhou.

五祖提多迦尊者

The Fifth Patriarch: Venerable Ditaka

摩伽陀國人也。梵語提多迦。此雲通真量。初生之時。父夢金日自屋而出。照耀天地。前有大山。諸寶嚴飾。山頂泉湧。滂沱四流。後遇毱多尊者。為解之曰。寶山者。吾身也。泉湧者。法無盡也。日從屋出者。汝今入道之相也。照耀天地者。汝智慧超越也。尊者聞師說已。歡喜踴躍。而唱偈言。巍巍七寶山。常出智慧泉。回為真法味。能度諸有緣。毱多尊者亦說偈曰。我法傳於汝。當現大智慧。金日從屋出。照耀於天地。提多迦聞師妙偈。設禮奉持。後至中印度。彼國有八千大仙。彌遮迦為首。聞尊者至。率眾瞻禮。謂尊者曰。昔與師同生梵天。我遇阿私陀仙授我仙法。師逢十力弟子。修習禪那。自此報分殊途。已經六劫。者曰。支離累劫。誠哉不虗。今可捨邪歸正。以入佛乘。彌遮迦曰。昔阿私陀仙人授我記雲。汝卻後六劫。當遇同學。獲無漏果。今也相遇。非宿緣邪。願師慈悲。令我解脫。者即度出家。命諸聖授戒。其餘仙眾。始生我慢。尊者示大神通。於是俱發菩提心。一時出家。者乃告彌遮迦曰。昔如來以大法眼藏密付迦葉。展轉相授。而至於我。我今付汝。當護念之。乃說偈曰。通達本法心。無法無非法。悟了同未悟。無心亦無法。說偈已。踴身虗空作十八變。火光三昧。自焚其軀。彌遮迦與八千比丘同收舍利。於班茶山中起塔供養。即莊王七年己丑歲也。

He was from Magadha. Ditaka is Sanskrit, translated here as “One Who Understands True Reality.” At his birth, his father dreamed of a golden sun emerging from the house, illuminating heaven and earth. Before it stood a great mountain adorned with jewels; a spring gushed from its summit and flowed in torrents in all four directions. Later, when he met Venerable Upagupta, the latter explained: “The jeweled mountain is my body; the spring gushing forth is the inexhaustibility of the Dharma; the sun emerging from the house is a sign that you are now entering the Way; its illumination of heaven and earth means your wisdom will surpass others.” Hearing his teacher’s explanation, the Venerable One rejoiced and recited: “Lofty is the mountain of seven treasures; a spring of wisdom flows there without cease. It turns into the true flavor of Dharma and can ferry across all who have a karmic affinity.” Venerable Upagupta also recited: “My Dharma is transmitted to you; you will surely manifest great wisdom. The golden sun emerges from the house and illumines heaven and earth.” Ditaka heard his teacher’s wondrous verse, bowed, and received it faithfully. Later he went to central India. In that kingdom lived eight thousand great sages, led by Mizhijia. Hearing the Venerable One had arrived, Mizhijia led the others to pay homage and said: “In the past I was born in the Brahma Heaven together with my teacher. I met the sage Asita, who transmitted the arts of immortals to me, while my teacher encountered a disciple of the Ten-Powered One and practiced meditation. From then on our karmic results followed different paths; six kalpas have passed.” The Venerable One said: “Your separation through successive kalpas is indeed as you say. Now you may abandon the false and return to the true, entering the Buddha Vehicle.” Mizhijia said: “In the past, the sage Asita predicted: ‘After six kalpas, you will surely meet a fellow practitioner and attain the fruit free from outflows.’ Now we have met; could this not be a karmic bond from long ago? I beg my teacher’s compassion to liberate me.” The Venerable One ordained him and instructed the sages to confer the precepts. The other sages at first became arrogant. The Venerable One displayed great spiritual powers, and they all gave rise to the aspiration for awakening and left home together. The Venerable One then told Mizhijia: “Long ago the Tathagata secretly entrusted the treasury of the great Dharma-eye to Kashyapa; it was passed on in succession until it reached me. I now entrust it to you. Guard and remember it.” He recited this verse: “The mind that penetrates the original Dharma is neither Dharma nor non-Dharma; awakened and unawakened are alike, neither mind nor Dharma.” After the verse, he rose into the air, displayed eighteen transformations, and burned his body in the samadhi of blazing fire. Mizhijia and eight thousand monks gathered his relics and built a stupa on Mount Banda to honor them. This was the jichou year, the seventh year of King Zhuang of Zhou.