The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One
六祖彌遮迦尊者
The Sixth Patriarch: Venerable Mizhijia
中印度人也。既傳法已。遊化至北天竺國。見雉堞之上有金色祥雲。歎曰。斯道人氣也。必有大士為吾嗣。乃入城。於闤闠間有一人手持酒器。逆而問曰。師何方來。欲往何所。祖曰。從自心來。欲往無處。曰。識我手中物否。祖曰。此是觸器而負淨者。曰。師識我否。祖曰。我即不識。識即非我。復謂之曰。汝試自稱名氏。吾當後示本因。彼說偈答曰。我從無量劫。至於生此國。本姓頗羅墮。名字婆須密。祖曰。我師提多迦說。世尊昔遊北印度。語阿難言。此國中吾滅度後三百年。有一聖人姓頗羅墮。名婆須蜜。而於禪祖。當獲第七。世尊記汝。汝應出家。彼乃置器禮師。側立而言曰。我思往劫。甞作檀那。獻一如來寶座。彼佛記我曰。汝於賢劫釋迦法中。宣傳至教。今符師說。願加度脫。祖即與披剃。復圓戒相。乃告之曰。正法眼藏。今付於汝。勿令斷絕。乃說偈曰。無心無可得。說得不名法。若了心非心。始解心心法。祖說偈已。入師子奮迅三昧。踴身虗空。高七多羅樹。卻復本座。化火自焚。婆須蜜收靈骨。貯七寶函。建浮圖寘於上級。即襄王十七年甲申歲也。
He was from central India. After receiving the Dharma, he traveled and taught in the kingdom of Northern India. He saw golden clouds above the city walls and exclaimed: “These are signs of a practitioner. Surely a great being will become my successor.” He entered the city. In the marketplace a man carrying a wine vessel came to meet him and asked: “Master, where have you come from, and where are you going?” The patriarch replied: “I come from my own mind and go to a place without location.” The man asked: “Do you recognize what I hold in my hand?” The patriarch said: “It is a defiled vessel, yet it carries a pure person.” The man asked: “Do you recognize me?” The patriarch replied: “I do not know you; if I knew you, I would not be myself.” He then said: “Try telling me your name, and I will reveal your original cause.” The man replied in verse: “Through measureless kalpas I have come, until I was born in this land. My clan name is Bharadvaja; my personal name is Vasumitra.” The patriarch said: “My teacher Ditaka once said: ‘Long ago, when the World-Honored One traveled in Northern India, he told Ananda: Three hundred years after I enter nirvana, in this land there will be a sage named Vasumitra, of the Bharadvaja clan. Among the meditation patriarchs, he will surely be the seventh.’ The World-Honored One predicted your coming. You should leave home.” The man set down his wine vessel, bowed to the teacher, and stood to one side, saying: “I recall that in a past kalpa I was a donor and offered a jeweled seat to a Tathagata. That Buddha predicted: ‘Under Shakyamuni’s teaching in the Auspicious Kalpa, you will proclaim the supreme teaching.’ Now this accords exactly with what you have said. I beg you to liberate me.” The patriarch shaved his head, gave him the robes, and completed his precepts. He then said: “I now entrust the treasury of the true Dharma-eye to you. Do not let it perish.” He recited this verse: “There is no mind and nothing to attain; what can be spoken is not called Dharma. When you understand that mind is not mind, you will understand the Dharma of mind after mind.” After speaking the verse, the patriarch entered the samadhi of a lion’s swift advance, rose into the air to a height of seven tala trees, returned to his seat, and transformed his body into fire, burning himself. Vasumitra collected his sacred bones, stored them in a jeweled casket, and built a stupa on a high place. This was the jiashen year, the seventeenth year of King Xiang of Zhou.
七祖婆須蜜尊者
The Seventh Patriarch: Venerable Vasumitra
北天竺國人也。姓頗羅墮。常服淨衣。執酒器。遊行裡閈。或吟或嘯。人謂之狂。及遇彌遮迦尊者。宣如來往誌。自省前緣。投器出家。受法行化。至迦摩羅國。廣興佛事。於法座前。忽有智者自稱。我名佛陀難提。今與師論義。祖曰。仁者論即不義。義即不論。若擬論義。終非義論。難提知師義勝。心即欽服。曰。我願求道。霑甘露味。祖遂與剃度。而授具戒。復告之曰。如來正法眼藏。我今付汝。汝當護持。乃說偈曰。心同虗空界。示等虗空法。證得虗空時。無是無非法。即入慈心三昧。時梵王帝釋及諸天眾俱來作禮。而說偈言。賢劫眾聖祖。而當第七位。尊者哀念我。請為宣佛地。尊者從三昧起。示眾曰。我所得法。而非有故。若識佛地。離有無故。語已。還入三昧。示涅槃相。難提即於本座起七寶塔。以塟全身。即定王十九年辛未歲也。
He was from Northern India and belonged to the Bharadvaja clan. He often wore clean clothes and carried a wine vessel as he wandered through the lanes, sometimes chanting and sometimes whistling; people called him mad. When he met Venerable Mizhijia, who proclaimed the Tathagata’s prediction from the past, he reflected on his former causes and conditions, set down the wine vessel, left home, received the Dharma, and taught and transformed beings. He went to the kingdom of Kamala and widely advanced the Buddha’s work. Before the Dharma seat, a wise man suddenly came forward and introduced himself: “My name is Buddhanandi. I have come to debate with the master.” The patriarch said: “Good sir, debate is not the meaning, and the meaning is not debate. If you intend to debate the meaning, it is ultimately no debate of meaning.” Nandi knew that the master’s meaning surpassed his own and was inwardly convinced. He said: “I wish to seek the Way and taste the nectar.” The patriarch shaved his head and gave him the full precepts, then said: “I now entrust to you the Tathagata’s treasury of the true Dharma-eye. You must protect it.” He recited this verse: “Mind is like the realm of empty space; I reveal a Dharma equal to empty space. When you realize empty space, there is neither right nor non-Dharma.” He then entered the samadhi of loving-kindness. Brahma, Indra, and the hosts of gods came to bow and recited: “Patriarch of the sages of the Auspicious Kalpa, you now stand in the seventh place. Venerable One, take pity on us and explain the Buddha-ground.” The Venerable One emerged from samadhi and taught the assembly: “The Dharma I realized is not a thing that exists. If you wish to know the Buddha-ground, you must leave behind both existence and nonexistence.” Having spoken, he entered samadhi again and manifested the appearance of nirvana. Nandi built a seven-jeweled stupa at that very seat and enshrined the Venerable One’s whole body. This was the xinwei year, the nineteenth year of King Ding of Zhou.
八祖佛陀難提尊者
The Eighth Patriarch: Venerable Buddhanandi
迦摩羅國人也。姓瞿曇氏。頂有肉髻。辯捷無礙。初遇婆須蜜。出家受教。既而領徒行化。至提伽國毗舍羅家。見舍上有白光上騰。謂其徒曰。此家有聖人。口無言說。真大乘器。不行四衢。知觸穢耳。言訖。長者出致禮。問。何所須。祖曰。我求侍者。長者曰。我有一子。名伏馱蜜多。年已五十。口未曾言。足未曾履。祖曰。如汝所說。真吾弟子。伏䭾聞之。遽起禮拜。而說偈曰。父母非我親。誰是最親者。諸佛非我道。誰為最道者。祖以偈答曰。汝言與心親。父母非可比。汝行與道合。諸佛心即是。外求有相佛。與汝不相似。欲識汝本心。非合亦非離。伏䭾聞偈已。便行七步。祖曰。此子昔曾值佛。悲願廣大。慮父母愛情難捨。故不言不履耳。長者遂捨令出家。祖尋授具戒。復告之曰。我今以如來正法眼藏付囑於汝。勿令斷絕。乃說偈曰。虗空無內外。心法亦如此。若了虗空故。是達真如理。伏䭾承師付囑。以偈讚曰。我師禪祖中。當得為第八。法化眾無量。悉獲阿羅漢。爾時佛陀難提即現神變。卻復本座。儼然寂滅。眾興寶塔。塟其全身。即景王十二年丙寅歲也。
He was from the kingdom of Kamala and belonged to the Gautama clan. He had a fleshy protuberance on his crown and quick, unobstructed eloquence. He first met Vasumitra, left home, and received instruction. Later, leading his followers in their travels, he reached the house of Vishara in the kingdom of Tiga. He saw white light rising above the roof and told his followers: “There is a sage in this house. He does not speak, yet is truly a vessel of the Mahayana Dharma. He does not take the broad road that leads in all four directions, for he knows that impurity lies along every path.” After he spoke, the elder came out, bowed, and asked: “What do you need?” The patriarch said: “I seek an attendant.” The elder replied: “I have a son named Fudamituo, already fifty years old. He has never spoken and has never walked.” The patriarch said: “As you describe him, he is truly my disciple.” Hearing this, Fudamituo immediately rose, bowed, and recited a verse: “My parents are not my kin; who, then, is truly my kin? The Buddhas are not my Way; what, then, is truly the Way?” The patriarch answered in verse: “Your words are close to your mind; your parents cannot compare. Your conduct accords with the Way; the Buddhas’ minds are just this. A Buddha with outward marks that you seek is not like you. To know your original mind, it is neither joined nor separate.” After hearing the verse, Fudamituo walked seven steps. The patriarch said: “In a former life this child met a Buddha and made a vast compassionate vow. He feared that the love between parents and child would be hard to relinquish, so he neither spoke nor walked.” The elder then let him leave home. The patriarch gave him the full precepts and said: “I now entrust the Tathagata’s treasury of the true Dharma-eye to you. Do not let it perish.” He recited this verse: “Empty space has neither inside nor outside; the Dharma of mind is also thus. If you understand empty space, you will penetrate the principle of true suchness.” Fudamituo received his teacher’s entrustment and praised him in verse: “My teacher among the meditation patriarchs will surely be the eighth. His Dharma-transforming disciples are without number; all attain arhatship.” Buddhanandi then manifested spiritual transformations, returned to his seat, and passed away in solemn stillness. The assembly built a jeweled stupa and enshrined his whole body. This was the bingyin year, the twelfth year of King Jing of Zhou.
九祖伏䭾蜜多尊者
The Ninth Patriarch: Venerable Fudamituo
提伽國人也。姓毗舍羅。既受八祖付囑。後至中印度行化。時有長者香葢。𢹂一子而來。瞻禮祖曰。此子處胎六十歲。因號難生。甞會一仙者。謂此兒非凡。當為法器。今遇尊者。可令出家。祖即與落髮授戒。羯磨之際。祥光燭座。仍感舍利三七粒現前。自此精進忘疲。既而祖告之曰。如來大法眼藏。今付於汝。汝護念之。乃說偈曰。真理本無名。因名顯真理。受得真實法。非真亦非偽。祖付法已。即入滅盡三昧而般涅槃。眾以香油旃檀闍維。收舍利。建塔於那爛陀寺。即敬王三十五年甲寅歲也。
He was from the kingdom of Tiga and belonged to the Vishara clan. After receiving the Eighth Patriarch’s entrustment, he later traveled through central India to teach. At that time the elder Xiangai brought his son to pay homage and said to the patriarch: “This child remained in the womb for sixty years, so he was called Hard to Birth. An immortal once met him and said he was extraordinary and would surely become a vessel of the Dharma. Now that we have met the Venerable One, may he leave home.” The patriarch shaved his head and gave him the precepts. During the ordination ceremony, auspicious light illuminated the seat, and twenty-one groups of relics appeared in response. From then on the child practiced diligently, forgetting fatigue. The patriarch then told him: “I now entrust to you the Tathagata’s great treasury of the Dharma-eye. Guard and remember it.” He recited this verse: “Truth originally has no name; through a name, truth is revealed. What you receive is the true Dharma, neither true nor false.” Having transmitted the Dharma, the patriarch entered the samadhi of cessation and passed into complete nirvana. The assembly cremated him with fragrant oil and sandalwood, gathered the relics, and built a stupa at Nalanda Monastery. This was the jiayin year, the thirty-fifth year of King Jing of Zhou.
十祖脇尊者
The Tenth Patriarch: Venerable Pakkudha
中印度人也。本名難生。初將誕時。父夢一白象。背有寶座。座上安一明珠。從門而入。光照四眾。既覺遂生。後值九祖。執侍左右。未甞睡眠。謂其脇不至席。遂號脇尊者焉。初至華氏國。憩一樹下。右手指地而告眾曰。此地變金色。當有聖人入會。言訖。即變金色。時有長者子富那夜奢。合掌前立。祖問曰。汝從何來。答曰。我心非往。祖曰。汝何處住。答曰。我心非止。祖曰。汝不定邪。曰。諸佛亦然。祖曰。汝非諸佛。曰。諸佛亦非。祖因說偈曰。此地變金色。預知有聖至。當坐菩提樹。覺華而成已。夜奢復說偈曰。師坐金色地。常說真實義。回光而照我。令入三摩諦。祖知其意。即度出家。復具戒品。乃告之曰。如來大法藏。今付於汝。汝護念之。乃說偈曰。真體自然真。因真說有理。領得真真法。無行亦無止。祖付法已。即現神變而入涅槃。化火自焚。四眾各以衣裓盛舍利。隨處興塔而供養之。即貞王二十二年己亥歲也。
He was from central India. His original name was Hard to Birth. Shortly before he was born, his father dreamed that a white elephant entered through the gate, carrying a jeweled seat on its back, with a bright pearl resting on the seat. Its light illuminated the fourfold assembly. He awoke, and the child was born. Later he met the Ninth Patriarch and served at his side, never sleeping. Because his flank never touched the seat, he came to be called the Venerable One of the Flank. When he first reached the kingdom of Huashi, he rested beneath a tree, pointed at the ground with his right hand, and told the assembly: “This ground will turn golden; surely a sage will enter the assembly.” As soon as he spoke, the ground turned gold. An elder’s son, Punayasha, stood before him with joined palms. The patriarch asked: “Where have you come from?” He answered: “My mind has not gone anywhere.” The patriarch asked: “Where do you dwell?” He answered: “My mind does not abide.” The patriarch asked: “Are you not fixed?” He replied: “The Buddhas are also like this.” The patriarch said: “You are not a Buddha.” He replied: “The Buddhas are not either.” The patriarch then recited: “The ground turns golden, foreknowing the sage’s arrival. He will surely sit beneath the Bodhi tree, where the flowers of awakening bloom.” Yasha also recited: “My teacher sits on golden ground and always speaks the true meaning. Turn your light back upon me and let me enter samadhi.” The patriarch understood his meaning, ordained him, gave him the full precepts, and said: “I now entrust to you the Tathagata’s great treasury of Dharma. Guard and remember it.” He recited this verse: “The true essence is naturally true; because of truth, principle is spoken of. Having received this truly true Dharma, there is neither practice nor cessation.” After transmitting the Dharma, the patriarch manifested spiritual transformations and entered nirvana, burning himself in fire. The fourfold assembly each gathered relics in the hems of their robes and built stupas wherever they went to honor them. This was the jihai year, the twenty-second year of King Zhen of Zhou.
十一祖富那夜奢尊者
The Eleventh Patriarch: Venerable Punyayashas
華氏國人也。姓瞿曇氏。父寶身。既得法於脇尊者。尋詣波羅柰國。有馬鳴大士迎而作禮。問曰。我欲識佛。何者即是。祖曰。汝欲識佛。不識者是。曰。佛既不識。焉知是乎。祖曰。既不識佛。焉知不是。曰。此是鋸義。祖曰。彼是木義。祖問。鋸義者何。曰。與師平出。馬鳴卻問。木義者何。祖曰。汝被我解。馬鳴豁然省悟。稽首皈依。遂求剃度。祖謂眾曰。此大士者。昔為毗舍利國王。其國。有一類人如馬裸露。王運神力分身為蠶。彼乃得衣。王後復生中印度。馬人感戀悲鳴。因號馬鳴焉。如來記雲。吾滅度後六百年。當有賢者馬鳴於波羅柰國。摧伏異道。度人無量。繼吾傳化。今正是時。即告之曰。如來大法眼藏。今付於汝。即說偈曰。迷悟如隱顯。明暗不相離。今付隱顯法。非一亦非二。尊者付法已。即現神變。湛然圓寂。眾興寶塔。以閟全身。即安王十四年戊戌歲也。
He was from the kingdom of Huashi and belonged to the Gautama clan. His father was named Baoshen. After receiving the Dharma from the Venerable One of the Flank, he went at once to Varanasi. The Great Being Ashvaghosha came forward, bowed, and asked: “I wish to recognize the Buddha. Which one is the Buddha?” The patriarch said: “If you wish to recognize the Buddha, the one who does not recognize is the Buddha.” Ashvaghosha asked: “If the Buddha does not recognize, how can you know that it is he?” The patriarch replied: “If you do not recognize the Buddha, how can you know that it is not he?” Ashvaghosha said: “That is the meaning of a saw.” The patriarch replied: “That is the meaning of wood.” The patriarch asked: “What is the meaning of a saw?” Ashvaghosha said: “It comes out level with the master.” Ashvaghosha then asked: “What is the meaning of wood?” The patriarch replied: “You have been released by me.” Ashvaghosha suddenly awakened, bowed, took refuge, and asked to leave home and be ordained. The patriarch told the assembly: “This Great Being was once the king of Vaishali. In that country there was a people who went naked like horses. The king used his spiritual power to transform himself into a silkworm, and only then did those people obtain clothing. In a later life the king was born in central India. The horse-people remembered him and cried mournfully, so he was called Ashvaghosha, ‘Horse-Cry.’ The Tathagata once said: ‘Six hundred years after I enter nirvana, the worthy Ashvaghosha will surely subdue heterodox paths in Varanasi, liberate immeasurable people, and continue my work of teaching and transforming beings.’ The time has now come.” He then told Ashvaghosha: “I now entrust the Tathagata’s great treasury of the Dharma-eye to you.” He recited this verse: “Delusion and awakening are like concealment and disclosure; light and darkness are not separate. I now transmit this Dharma of concealment and disclosure: it is neither one nor two.” Having transmitted the Dharma, the Venerable One manifested spiritual transformations and passed away in serene stillness. The assembly built a stupa and enshrined his whole body. This was the wuxu year, the fourteenth year of King An of Zhou.
十二祖馬鳴大士者
The Twelfth Patriarch: Great Being Ashvaghosha
波羅柰國人也。亦名功勝。以有作無作諸功德最為殊勝。故名焉。既受法於夜奢尊者。後於華氏國轉妙法輪。忽有老人。座前仆地。祖謂眾曰。此非庸流。當有異相。言訖不見。俄從地湧出一金色人。復化為女子。右手指祖而說偈曰。稽首長老尊。當受如來記。今於此地上。宣通第一義。說偈已。瞥然不見。祖曰。將有魔來。與吾較(音角)力。有頃。風雨暴至。天地晦冥。祖曰。魔之來信矣。吾當除之。即指空中。現一大金龍。奮發威神。震動山嶽。祖儼然於座。魔事隨滅。經七日。有一小蟲。大若蟭螟。潛形座下。祖以手取之。示眾曰。斯乃魔之所變。盜聽吾法耳。乃放之令去。魔不能動。祖告之曰。汝但歸依三寶。即得神通。遂復本形。作禮懺悔。祖問曰。汝名誰邪。眷屬多少。曰。我名迦毗摩羅。有三千眷屬。祖曰。盡汝神力。變化若何。曰。我化巨海極為小事。祖曰。汝化性海得否。曰。何謂性海。我未甞知。祖即為說性海曰。山河大地。皆依建立。三昧六通。由茲發現。迦毗摩羅聞言。遂發信心。與徒眾三千。俱求剃度。祖乃召五百羅漢。與授具戒。復告之曰。如來大法眼藏。今當付汝。汝聽偈言。隱顯即本法。明暗元不二。今付悟了法。非取亦非離。付囑已。即入龍奮迅三昧。挺身空中。如日輪相。然後示滅。四眾以真體藏之龍龕。即顯王三十七年甲午歲也。
He was from Varanasi and was also called Gongsheng, “Merit-Supreme,” because his many merits, both active and inactive, were the most excellent. After receiving the Dharma from Venerable Yasha, he later turned the wondrous Wheel of Dharma in the kingdom of Huashi. Suddenly an old man fell down before the assembly. The patriarch said: “This is no ordinary person; surely something unusual will appear.” As soon as he spoke, the old man vanished. In a moment, a golden-colored man emerged from the ground, transformed into a woman, and pointed at the patriarch with her right hand as she recited: “I bow to the venerable elder, who will surely receive the Tathagata’s prediction. Now, here on this ground, proclaim and spread the highest truth.” As soon as she finished, she vanished in a blink. The patriarch said: “A demon is coming to challenge me.” A little later, a violent storm broke out; heaven and earth grew dark. The patriarch said: “The demon has truly come. I should subdue it.” He pointed into the sky, where a great golden dragon appeared, displaying its spiritual might and shaking the mountains. The patriarch sat solemnly unmoved, and the demonic disturbance immediately ceased. Seven days later, a tiny insect no larger than a minute gnat was hiding beneath the seat. The patriarch picked it up and showed it to the assembly: “This is a demon’s transformation, come to eavesdrop on my Dharma.” He released it, but the demon could not move. The patriarch told it: “If you take refuge in the Three Treasures, you can obtain spiritual powers.” It then returned to its original form, bowed, and repented. The patriarch asked: “What is your name, and how many followers do you have?” It replied: “My name is Kapimala, and I have three thousand followers.” The patriarch asked: “To what extent can you transform things using all your spiritual powers?” Kapimala said: “Transforming into a vast ocean is a very small matter.” The patriarch asked: “Can you transform the ocean of your own nature?” Kapimala said: “What is the ocean of one’s nature? I have never heard of it.” The patriarch explained: “Mountains, rivers, and the earth are all established in dependence on it; samadhi and the six spiritual powers arise from it.” Hearing this, Kapimala gave rise to faith and, together with all three thousand followers, asked to leave home and be ordained. The patriarch then gathered five hundred arhats to confer the full precepts and told Kapimala: “I now entrust to you the Tathagata’s great treasury of the Dharma-eye. Hear this verse: ‘Concealment and disclosure are the original Dharma; light and darkness have never been two. I now transmit this Dharma of awakening—not grasping, not departing.’” After the entrustment, he entered the samadhi of the dragon’s swift advance, rose straight into the air like the orb of the sun, and then manifested his passing. The fourfold assembly enshrined his true body in a dragon-shaped reliquary. This was the jiawu year, the thirty-seventh year of King Xian of Zhou.
十三祖迦毗摩羅尊者
The Thirteenth Patriarch: Venerable Kapimala
華氏國人也。初為外道。有徒三千。通諸異論。後於馬鳴尊者得法。領徒至西印度。彼有太子。名雲自在。仰尊者名。請於宮中供養。祖曰。如來有教。沙門不得親近國王．大臣權勢之家。太子曰。今我國城之北。有大山焉。山有一石窟。可禪寂於此否。祖曰。諾。即入彼山。行數裡。逢一大蠎。祖直前不顧。盤繞祖身。祖因與授三皈依。蟒聽訖而去。祖將至石窟。復有一老人素服而出。合掌問訊。祖曰。汝何所止。答曰。我昔甞為比丘。多樂寂靜。有初學比丘數來請益。而我煩於應答。起嗔恨想。命終墮為蠎身。住是窟中。今已千載。適遇尊者。獲聞戒法。故來謝爾。祖問曰。此山更有何人居止。曰。此去十里。有大樹蔭覆五百大龍。其樹王名龍樹。常為龍眾說法。我亦聽受耳。祖遂與徒眾詣彼。龍樹出迎曰。深山孤寂。龍蟒所居。大德至尊。何枉神足。祖曰。吾非至尊。來訪賢者。龍樹默唸曰。此師得決定性明道眼否。是大聖繼真乘否。祖曰。汝雖心語。我已意知。但辦出家。何慮吾之不聖。龍樹聞已。悔謝。祖即與度脫。及五百龍眾俱授具戒。復告之曰。今以如來大法眼藏。付囑於汝。諦聽偈言。非隱非顯法。說是真實際。悟此隱顯法。非愚亦非智。付法已。即現神變。化火焚身。龍樹收五色舍利。建塔焉。即赧王四十一年壬辰歲也。
He was from the kingdom of Huashi. At first he followed a non-Buddhist path, with three thousand disciples, and was versed in all kinds of heterodox doctrines. Later he received the Dharma from Venerable Ashvaghosha and led his followers to Western India. There a prince named Yun Zizai admired the patriarch’s reputation and invited him to the palace to receive offerings. The patriarch said: “The Tathagata taught that a shramana must not seek the company of kings, ministers, or powerful households.” The prince said: “There is a great mountain north of our capital, with a stone cave. Could you practice meditation there?” The patriarch said: “Yes.” He entered the mountain. After walking several miles, he encountered a giant serpent. The patriarch kept going without turning back, and the serpent coiled around him. The patriarch gave it the Three Refuges; when it had heard them, it departed. As the patriarch neared the stone cave, an old man in plain white clothing came out, joined his palms, and greeted him. The patriarch asked: “Where do you live?” The old man replied: “In the past I was a monk and loved solitude. A novice repeatedly came to ask me for instruction. I grew annoyed, gave rise to anger, and at death was reborn as a serpent, living in this cave for a thousand years. Just now I met the Venerable One and heard the precepts; I have come to give thanks.” The patriarch asked: “Who else lives in this mountain?” The old man said: “Ten li from here is a great tree that shades five hundred great dragons. Its king is named Nagarjuna. He often teaches the dragon host, and I too have listened.” The patriarch then went with his followers to that place. Nagarjuna came out to welcome him and said: “The deep mountain is secluded and is home to dragons and serpents. Great and most honored one, why trouble yourself to come here?” The patriarch said: “I am not the most honored one; I have come to visit a worthy person.” Nagarjuna silently wondered to himself: “Has this master attained certainty and clarified the Dharma-eye? Is he a great sage who continues the true vehicle?” The patriarch said: “Though you speak inwardly, I already know your thoughts. Just attend to the matter of leaving home; why worry that I am not a sage?” Nagarjuna repented and apologized. The patriarch ordained him and gave the full precepts to him and the five hundred dragons. He then said: “I now entrust to you the Tathagata’s great treasury of the Dharma-eye. Listen carefully to this verse: ‘The Dharma that is neither concealed nor disclosed is what is called true reality. Awaken to this Dharma of concealment and disclosure; it is neither foolishness nor wisdom.’” After transmitting the Dharma, he manifested spiritual transformations and burned his body in fire. Nagarjuna gathered the five-colored relics and built a stupa. This was the renchen year, the forty-first year of King Nan of Zhou.
十四祖龍樹尊者
The Fourteenth Patriarch: Venerable Nagarjuna
西天竺國人也。亦名龍勝。始於摩羅尊者得法。後至南印度。彼國之人。多信福業。祖為說法。𮞏相謂曰。人有福業。世間第一。徒言佛性。誰能覩之。祖曰。汝欲見佛性。先須除我慢。彼人曰。佛性大小。祖曰。非大非小。非廣非狹。無福無報。不死不生。彼聞理勝。悉回初心。祖復於座上。現自在身。如滿月輪。一切眾唯聞法音。不覩祖相。彼眾中有長者子。名迦那提婆。謂眾曰。識此相否。眾曰。目所未覩。安能辨識。提婆曰。此是尊者現佛性體相。以示我等。何以知之。葢以無相三昧。形如滿月。佛性之義。廓然虗明。言訖。輪相即隱。復居本座。而說偈言。身現圓月相。以表諸佛體。說法無其形。用辨非聲色。彼眾聞偈。頓悟無生。鹹願出家。以求解脫。祖即為剃髮。命諸聖授具。其國先有外道五千餘眾。作大幻術。眾皆宗仰。祖悉為化之。令歸三寶。復造大智度論．中論．十二門論。垂之於世。後告上首弟子迦那提婆曰。如來大法眼藏今當付汝。聽吾偈言。為明隱顯法。方說解脫理。於法心不證。無瞋亦無喜。付法訖。入月輪三昧。廣現神變。復就本座。凝然禪寂。迦那提婆與諸四眾。共建寶塔以塟焉。即秦始皇三十五年己丑歲也。
He was from the kingdom of Western India and was also called Longsheng. At first he received the Dharma from Venerable Kapimala and later went to Southern India. Most people in that country believed in karmic merit. When the patriarch taught them, they said to one another: “Merit is the highest thing in the world. Who can see the Buddha-nature that you speak of with empty words?” The patriarch said: “If you wish to see the Buddha-nature, you must first cast off arrogance.” Someone asked: “Is the Buddha-nature great or small?” The patriarch said: “It is neither great nor small, neither broad nor narrow; it has neither merit nor reward, neither death nor birth.” Hearing that this teaching surpassed their own, they all turned back to their original aspiration. The patriarch then manifested his freely acting body on the seat, like a full moon. The whole assembly heard only the sound of the Dharma and could not see his form. An elder’s son in the assembly, named Kanadeva, said to everyone: “Do you recognize this appearance?” They replied: “Our eyes have not seen it. How could we recognize it?” Deva said: “This is the Venerable One manifesting the substance and appearance of the Buddha-nature to instruct us. How do I know? The formless samadhi takes the shape of a full moon; the meaning of Buddha-nature is open, empty, and bright.” As soon as he spoke, the moonlike form disappeared. The patriarch returned to his seat and recited: “The body manifests the appearance of a full moon to indicate the substance of all Buddhas. The Dharma is spoken without form to show that it is not sound or color.” Hearing the verse, the people suddenly awakened to the unborn and all wished to leave home to seek liberation. The patriarch shaved their heads and instructed the sages to give the full precepts. There had originally been more than five thousand non-Buddhist teachers in that country, who performed great illusions and were revered by the people. The patriarch converted them all and led them to take refuge in the Three Treasures. He also composed the Treatise on the Great Wisdom, the Middle Treatise, and the Twelve-Gate Treatise, which circulated in the world. Later he told his senior disciple Kanadeva: “I now entrust to you the Tathagata’s great treasury of the Dharma-eye. Hear this verse: ‘To reveal the Dharma of concealment and disclosure, I speak of the principle of liberation. In the mind there is no realization of Dharma; there is neither anger nor joy.’” Having transmitted the Dharma, he entered the samadhi of the lunar orb, manifested extensive spiritual transformations, returned to his seat, and sat in still meditation. Kanadeva and the fourfold assembly together built a jeweled stupa to enshrine him. This was the jichou year, the thirty-fifth year of the First Emperor of Qin.
十五祖迦那提婆尊者
The Fifteenth Patriarch: Venerable Kanadeva
南天竺國人也。姓毗舍羅。初求福業。兼樂辯論。後謁龍樹大士。將及門。龍樹知是智人。先遣侍者以滿缽水置於座前。尊者覩之。即以一針投之而進。欣然契會。龍樹即為說法。不起於座。現月輪相。唯聞其聲。不見其形。祖語眾曰。今此瑞者。師現佛性。表說法非聲色也。祖既得法。後至迦毗羅國。彼有長者。曰梵摩淨德一日。園樹生耳如菌。味甚美。唯長者與第二子羅睺羅多取而食之。取已隨長。盡而復生。自餘親屬。皆不能見。祖知其宿因。遂至其家。長者廼問其故。祖曰。汝家昔曾供養一比丘。然此比丘道眼未明。以虗霑信施。故報為木菌。唯汝與子精誠供養。得以享之。餘即否矣。又問長者。年多少。答曰。七十有九。祖乃說偈曰。入道不通理。復身還信施。汝年八十一。此樹不生耳。長者聞偈已。彌加歎伏。且曰。弟子衰老。不能事師。願捨次子。隨師出家。祖曰。昔如來記此子。當第二五百年為大教主。今之相遇。葢符宿因。即與剃髮執侍。至巴連弗城。聞諸外道慾障佛法。計之既久。祖乃執長旛入彼眾中。彼問祖曰。汝何不前。祖曰。汝何不後。彼曰。汝似賤人。祖曰。汝似良人。彼曰。汝解何法。祖曰。汝百不解。彼曰。我欲得佛。祖曰。我灼然得佛。彼曰。汝不合得。祖曰。元道我得。汝實不得。彼曰。汝既不得。云何言得。祖曰。汝有我故。所以不得。我無我我。故自當得。彼辭既屈。乃問祖曰。汝名何等。祖曰我名迦那提婆。彼既夙聞祖名。乃悔過致謝。時眾中猶互興問難。祖折以無礙之辯。由是歸伏。乃告上足羅睺羅多而付法眼。偈曰。本對傳法人。為說解脫理。於法實無證。無終亦無始。祖說偈已。入奮迅定。身放八光。而歸寂滅。學眾興塔而供養之。即前漢文帝十九年庚辰歲也。
He was from Southern India and belonged to the Vishara clan. At first he sought karmic merit and enjoyed debate. Later he went to see the Great Being Nagarjuna. When he was about to arrive, Nagarjuna recognized that he was a person of wisdom and first sent an attendant to place a bowl full of water before the seat. The Venerable One saw it, dropped a needle into the bowl, and entered. They rejoiced in their mutual understanding. Nagarjuna then taught him without leaving his seat, manifesting the appearance of a moon. Only the sound of his voice could be heard; his form could not be seen. The patriarch told the assembly: “This auspicious appearance is the master manifesting the Buddha-nature, showing that the Dharma is taught beyond sound and color.” After receiving the Dharma, the patriarch later went to Kapilavastu. There lived an elder named Brahma Jingde. One day, a fungus-like growth appeared on a tree in his garden. It was delicious, and only the elder and his second son, Rahula, could gather and eat it. When it was picked, more grew; when it was used up, it appeared again. None of their other relatives could see it. The patriarch knew its former karmic cause and went to the elder’s house. The elder asked why this was so. The patriarch said: “In the past, your household made offerings to a monk. But that monk had not clarified the Dharma-eye and received offerings on faith for nothing; as a result he was reborn as tree fungus. Only you and your son, who made your offerings with sincere devotion, can enjoy it. The others cannot.” He asked the elder’s age. The elder replied: “Seventy-nine.” The patriarch then recited: “If you enter the Way without penetrating its principle, you will return to repay offerings received on faith. When you are eighty-one, this tree will no longer produce fungus.” The elder was even more impressed and said: “I am old and cannot serve the master. I wish to give my second son to follow you and leave home.” The patriarch said: “The Tathagata once predicted that this child would become a great teacher of the Dharma in the second five-hundred-year period. Our meeting now accords with that former cause.” He shaved the young man’s head and appointed him attendant. When he reached Pataliputra, he heard that non-Buddhists had long been plotting to obstruct the Buddha-Dharma. The patriarch went among them holding a tall banner. They asked him: “Why do you not step forward?” He said: “Why do you not step back?” They said: “You are like a lowly woman.” He said: “You are like a virtuous man.” They said: “What Dharma do you understand?” He replied: “You understand nothing in a hundred ways.” They said: “We wish to attain Buddhahood.” He said: “I have clearly attained Buddhahood.” They said: “You should not attain it.” He said: “Originally you said I attained it, while in truth you did not.” They said: “If you have not attained it, how can you say you have?” The patriarch said: “Because you have an ‘I,’ you cannot attain it. Because I have no ‘I’ or ‘I myself,’ I naturally should attain it.” They were at a loss for words and asked: “What is your name?” He said: “My name is Kanadeva.” They had long heard of his reputation, so they repented and apologized. Debate continued among the assembly, but the patriarch refuted every challenge with unobstructed eloquence, and they submitted. He then entrusted the Dharma-eye to his foremost disciple Rahulata and recited: “Only when facing one to whom Dharma is transmitted is the principle of liberation spoken. In truth there is no realization of Dharma, neither end nor beginning.” After finishing the verse, the patriarch entered the samadhi of swift advance, emitted eight rays of light from his body, and passed into stillness. His students built a stupa to honor him. This was the gengchen year, the nineteenth year of Emperor Wen of the Former Han.
十六祖羅睺羅多尊者
The Sixteenth Patriarch: Venerable Rahulata
迦毗羅國人也。行化至室羅筏城。有河名曰金水。其味殊美。中流復現五佛影。祖告眾曰。此河之源。凡五百里。有聖者僧伽難提居於彼處。佛誌。一千年後。當紹聖位。語已。領諸學眾。泝流而上。至彼。見僧伽難提安坐入定。祖與眾伺之。經三七日。方從定起。祖問曰。汝身定邪。心定邪。提曰。身心俱定。祖曰。身心俱定。何有出入。提曰。雖有出入。不失定相。如金在井。金體常寂。祖曰。若金在井。若金出井。金無動靜。何物出入。提曰。言金動靜。何物出入。言金出入。金非動靜。祖曰。若金在井。出者何金。若金出井。在者何物。提曰。金若出井。在者非金。金若在井。出者非物。祖曰。此義不然。提曰。彼義非著。祖曰。此義當墮。提曰。彼義不成。祖曰。彼義不成。我義成矣。提曰。我義雖成。法非我故。祖曰。我義已成。我無我故。提曰。我無我故。復成何義。祖曰。我無我故。故成汝義。提曰。仁者師誰。得是無我。祖曰。我師迦那提婆。證是無我。難提以偈讚曰。稽首提婆師。而出於仁者。仁者無我故。我欲師仁者。祖以偈答曰。我已無我故。汝須見我我。汝若師我故。知我非我我。難提心意豁然。即求度脫。祖曰。汝心自在。非我所繫。語已。即以右手擎金缽。舉至梵宮。取彼香飯。將齋大眾。而大眾忽生厭惡之心。祖曰。非我之咎。汝等自業。即命難提分座同食。眾復訝之。祖曰。汝不得食。皆由此故。當知與吾分座者。即過去娑羅樹王如來也。愍物降跡。汝輩亦莊嚴劫中已至三果而未證無漏者也。眾曰。我師神力。斯可信矣。彼雲過去佛者。即竊疑焉。難提知眾生慢。乃曰。世尊在日。世界平正。無有丘陵。江河溝洫。水悉甘美。草木滋茂。國土豐盈。無八苦．行十善。自雙樹示滅八百餘年。世界丘墟。樹木枯悴。人無至信。正念輕微。不信真如。唯愛神力。言訖。
He was from Kapilavastu. While teaching, he reached the city of Shravasti. A river there was called Golden Water, and its taste was especially sweet. Five Buddha images also appeared in its middle. The patriarch told the assembly: “The source of this river is about five hundred li from here. The sage Sanghanandi lives there. The Buddha predicted that a thousand years later he would surely continue the rank of the sages.” Having spoken, he led his students upstream. When they arrived, they saw Sanghanandi sitting calmly in meditation. The patriarch and the others waited twenty-one days before he emerged from samadhi. The patriarch asked: “Is it your body that is in samadhi, or your mind?” Nandi replied: “Both body and mind are in samadhi.” The patriarch said: “If both body and mind are in samadhi, why is there still entering and leaving?” Nandi said: “Although there is entering and leaving, the aspect of samadhi is not lost. It is like gold in a well: the essence of gold is always still.” The patriarch asked: “If gold is in a well, or gold comes out of a well, the gold itself does not move. What is it that comes and goes?” Nandi said: “If you speak of gold moving, what comes and goes? If you speak of gold entering and leaving, gold itself is not movement or stillness.” The patriarch asked: “If gold is in the well, what gold comes out? If gold comes out of the well, what thing remains inside?” Nandi replied: “If gold comes out of the well, what remains is not gold; if gold remains in the well, what comes out is not a thing.” The patriarch said: “That meaning is not right.” Nandi replied: “That meaning is not something to cling to.” The patriarch said: “That meaning will surely be defeated.” Nandi replied: “That meaning cannot be established.” The patriarch said: “If your meaning cannot be established, then mine is established.” Nandi said: “Though my meaning is established, Dharma is not mine.” The patriarch said: “My meaning is established because I have no ‘I.’” Nandi asked: “Since you have no ‘I,’ what meaning is established?” The patriarch said: “Because I have no ‘I,’ your meaning is established.” Nandi asked: “Who is your teacher, who attained this no-self?” The patriarch said: “My teacher Kanadeva realized this no-self.” Nandi praised him in verse: “I bow to Deva, the teacher, who appears in you. Since you have no ‘I,’ I wish to take you as my teacher.” The patriarch replied in verse: “Since I have no ‘I,’ you must see the ‘I, I.’ If you take me as your teacher, know that I am not the ‘I, I.’” Nandi’s mind suddenly opened, and he asked to be liberated. The patriarch said: “Your mind is free; I have not bound it.” He then raised a golden bowl in his right hand to Brahma’s Heaven and fetched fragrant rice from there, intending to offer a meal to the assembly. The people suddenly felt disgusted. The patriarch said: “This is not my fault; it is your own karma.” He asked Nandi to share his seat and eat with him. The assembly was again astonished. The patriarch said: “You cannot eat because of this very reason. You should know that the one sharing my seat is the Tathagata Sal Tree King of the past, who took form out of compassion for all things. You too, in the Adornment Kalpa, had already reached the third fruit but had not yet attained freedom from outflows.” They said: “We can believe in our teacher’s spiritual power; but when he says he was a Buddha of the past, we privately doubt it.” Nandi knew the beings were arrogant and said: “When the World-Honored One was alive, the world was level, without hills; the waters of rivers and channels were sweet; plants flourished and the lands were abundant. There were no eight sufferings, and the ten wholesome acts were practiced everywhere. More than eight hundred years have passed since the Buddha entered nirvana between the twin sala trees. The world has become desolate and trees have withered. People lack sincere faith, right mindfulness is weak, they do not believe in true suchness, and they delight only in spiritual powers.” Having spoken,
以右手漸展入地。至金剛輪際。取甘露水。以琉璃器持至會所。大眾見之。即時欽慕。悔過作禮。於是。祖命僧伽難提而付法眼。偈曰。於法實無證。不取亦不離。法非有無相。內外云何起。祖付法已。安坐歸寂。四眾建塔。當前漢武帝二十八年戊辰歲也。
he slowly extended his right hand into the earth, down to the vajra wheel, and brought up nectar water. He carried it in a crystal vessel to the gathering place. Seeing this, the assembly admired him, repented, and bowed. The patriarch then entrusted the Dharma-eye to Sanghanandi and recited: “In truth there is no realization of Dharma; do not grasp or depart. Dharma is neither marked nor unmarked; where could inside or outside arise?” Having transmitted the Dharma, the patriarch sat calmly and passed into stillness. The fourfold assembly built a stupa. This was the wu-chen year, the twenty-eighth year of Emperor Wu of the Former Han.
十七祖僧伽難提尊者
The Seventeenth Patriarch: Venerable Sanghanandi
室羅筏城寶莊嚴王之子也。生而能言。常讚佛事。七歲即厭世樂。以偈告其父母曰。稽首大慈父。和南骨血母。我今欲出家。幸願哀愍故。父母固止之。遂終日不食。乃許其在家出家。號僧伽難提。復命沙門禪利多為之師。積十九載。未嘗退倦。每自念言。身居王宮。胡為出家。一夕。天光下矚。見一路坦平。不覺徐行。約十里許。至大巖前。有石窟焉。乃燕寂於中。父既失子。即擯禪利多出國。訪尋其子。不知所在。經十年。祖得法受記已。行化至摩提國。忽有涼風襲眾。身心悅適非常。而不知其然。祖曰。此道德之風也。當有聖者出世。嗣續祖燈乎。言訖。以神力攝諸大眾。遊歷山谷。食頃。至一峰下。謂眾曰。此峰頂有紫雲如葢。聖人居此矣。即與大眾徘徊久之。見山舍一童子。持圓鑑直造祖前。祖問。汝幾歲邪。曰。百歲。祖曰。汝年尚幼。何言百歲。童曰。我不會理。正百歲耳。祖曰。汝善機邪。童曰。佛言。若人生百歲。不會諸佛機。未若生一日。而得決了之。祖曰。汝手中者。當何所表。童曰。諸佛大圓鑑。內外無瑕翳。兩人同得見。心眼皆相似。彼父母聞子語。即捨令出家。祖擕至本處。授具戒訖。名伽耶舍多。他時聞風吹殿鈴聲。祖問曰。鈴鳴邪。風鳴邪。舍多曰。非風鈴鳴。我心鳴耳。祖曰。心復誰乎。舍多曰。俱寂靜故。祖曰。善哉。善哉。繼吾道者。非子而誰。即付法眼。偈曰。心地本無生。因地從緣起。緣種不相妨。華果亦復爾。祖付法已。右手攀樹而化。大眾議曰。尊者樹下歸寂。其垂蔭後裔乎。將奉全身於高原建塔。眾力不能舉。即就樹下起塔。當前漢昭帝十三年丁未歲也。
He was the son of King Baozhuangyan of Shravasti. From the moment he was born, he could speak and often praised the Buddha’s work. At seven he grew weary of worldly pleasures and told his parents in verse: “I bow to my father of great compassion, and to my mother of shared flesh and blood. I now wish to leave home; I beg you, in your mercy, to let me.” His parents firmly refused, so he fasted all day. Only then did they permit him to become a monk while still at home. He was named Sanghanandi, and the shramana Chanlituo was appointed his teacher. For nineteen years he practiced without ever growing weary. He often thought: “What kind of leaving home is it to live in a royal palace?” One night, heavenly light shone down. He saw a level road and, without realizing it, slowly followed it for about ten li until he came to a great cliff with a stone cave. There he sat in tranquil meditation. Having lost his son, his father expelled Chanlituo from the kingdom and searched everywhere, but could not find the boy. Ten years later, after the patriarch had received the Dharma and a prediction of awakening, he traveled to the kingdom of Mati to teach. Suddenly a cool breeze swept over the assembly, bringing extraordinary ease to body and mind, though no one knew why. The patriarch said: “This is the breeze of virtue. Surely a sage is about to appear and continue the lamp of the patriarchs.” He used his spiritual power to gather the assembly and traveled through the valleys. In the time it takes to eat a meal, they reached the foot of a peak. He told the people: “A purple cloud like a canopy covers the summit; a sage lives there.” They wandered around for a long time and saw a boy in a mountain dwelling, holding a round mirror and walking straight toward the patriarch. The patriarch asked: “How old are you?” The boy replied: “One hundred.” The patriarch said: “You are still a child. Why do you say you are a hundred?” The boy replied: “I do not understand the principle; that is why I am exactly a hundred.” The patriarch asked: “Are you skilled at the Chan teacher’s questions?” The boy said: “The Buddha said: ‘If a person lives one hundred years without understanding the Buddhas’ pivotal teaching, it is better to live one day and decisively understand it.’” The patriarch asked: “What does the thing in your hand represent?” The boy replied: “The great round mirror of all Buddhas has no blemish inside or out. When two people see it together, the mind and eye are alike.” Hearing their son’s words, his parents let him leave home. The patriarch brought him back, gave him the full precepts, and named him Gayasata. Later, hearing the wind ring the palace bells, the patriarch asked: “Is the bell ringing, or is the wind ringing?” Sata said: “Neither the wind nor the bell is ringing; my mind is ringing.” The patriarch asked: “And what is the mind?” Sata replied: “Because all is still.” The patriarch said: “Excellent, excellent! If you are not the one to inherit my Way, who could it be?” He entrusted the Dharma-eye to him and recited: “The ground of mind is originally unborn; from the ground, conditions arise. Conditions and seeds do not hinder one another; flowers and fruits are just the same.” After transmitting the Dharma, the patriarch passed away while grasping a tree with his right hand. The assembly discussed it: “The Venerable One passed away beneath a tree. Does this mean he will shelter his descendants?” They intended to carry his whole body to high ground and build a stupa, but could not lift it despite their efforts, so they built the stupa beneath the tree. This was the dingwei year, the thirteenth year of Emperor Zhao of the Former Han.
十八祖伽耶舍多尊者
The Eighteenth Patriarch: Venerable Gayasata
摩提國人也。姓鬱頭藍。父天葢。母方聖。甞夢大神持鑑。因而有娠。凡七日而誕。肌體瑩如琉璃。未甞洗沐。自然香潔。幼好閑靜。語非常童。持鑑出遊。遇難提尊者。得度後。領徒至大月氏國。見一婆羅門舍有異氣。祖將入彼舍。舍主鳩摩羅多問曰。是何徒眾。祖曰。是佛弟子。彼聞佛號。心神竦然。即時閉戶。祖良久扣其門。羅多曰。此舍無人。祖曰。答無者誰。羅多聞語。知是異人。遽開關延接。祖曰。昔世尊記曰。吾滅後一千年。有大士出現於月氏國。紹隆玄化。今汝值吾。應斯嘉運。於是鳩摩羅多發宿命智。投誠出家。授具訖。付法偈曰。有種有心地。因緣能發萌。於緣不相礙。當生生不生。祖付法已。踴身虗空。現十八種神變。化火光三昧。自焚其身。眾以舍利起塔。當前漢成帝二十年戊申歲也。
He was from the kingdom of Mati and belonged to the Udraka clan. His father was Tiangai and his mother Fangsheng. His mother once dreamed that a great deity held a mirror, and so conceived. He was born after only seven days. His body was clear and luminous like crystal; without bathing, it was naturally fragrant and pure. As a child he loved solitude and spoke unlike ordinary children. Carrying a mirror as he wandered, he met Venerable Nandi and was liberated by him. He then led his followers to the kingdom of Greater Yuezhi and saw an unusual aura above a Brahmin household. As the patriarch was about to enter, the master of the house, Kumaralata, asked: “What sort of group are you?” The patriarch replied: “We are disciples of the Buddha.” Hearing the Buddha’s name, Kumaralata was startled and immediately shut the door. The patriarch knocked for a long time. Kumaralata said: “There is no one in this house.” The patriarch replied: “Who is it that says ‘there is no one’?” Hearing this, Kumaralata knew he was an extraordinary person, quickly opened the door, and welcomed him in. The patriarch said: “Long ago the World-Honored One predicted: ‘One thousand years after I enter nirvana, a great being will appear in the kingdom of Yuezhi and continue the profound teaching.’ You have now met me, just as this auspicious time arrives.” Kumaralata then awakened the knowledge of past lives and sincerely asked to leave home. After receiving the precepts, he received this verse transmitting the Dharma: “With seed and with a ground of mind, conditions can sprout. Conditions do not obstruct one another; that which is born is born, yet is unborn.” After transmitting the Dharma, the patriarch rose into the air, displayed eighteen miraculous transformations, entered the samadhi of blazing fire, and burned his body. The people built a stupa for his relics. This was the wushen year, the twentieth year of Emperor Cheng of the Former Han.
十九祖鳩摩羅多尊者
The Nineteenth Patriarch: Venerable Kumaralata
大月氏國婆羅門之子也。昔為自在天人(欲界第六天)。見菩薩瓔珞。忽起愛心。墮生忉利(欲界第二天)。聞憍屍迦說般若波羅蜜多。以法勝故。升於梵天(色界)。以根利故。善說法要。諸天尊為導師。以繼祖時至。遂降月氏。後至中天竺國。有大士名闍夜多。問曰。我家父母素信三寶。而常縈疾瘵。凡所營作。皆不如意。而我鄰家久為旃陀羅行。而身常勇徤。所作和合。彼何幸。而我何辜。祖曰。何足疑乎。且善惡之報有三時焉。凡人但見仁夭暴壽．逆吉義兇。便謂亡因果．虗罪福。殊不知影響相隨。毫𨤲靡忒。縱經百千萬劫。亦不磨滅。時闍夜多聞是語已。頓釋所疑。祖曰。汝雖已信三業。而未明業從惑生。惑因識有。識依不覺。不覺依心。心本清淨。無生滅。無造作。無報應。無勝負。寂寂然。靈靈然。汝若入此法門。可與諸佛同矣。一切善惡．有為無為。皆如夢幻。闍夜多承言領旨。即發宿慧。懇求出家。既受具。祖告曰。吾今寂滅時至。汝當紹行化跡。乃付法眼。偈曰。性上本無生。為對求人說。於法既無得。何懷決不決。又云。此是妙音如來見性清淨之句。汝宜傳布後學。言訖。即於座上。以指爪剺面。如紅蓮開出。大光明照耀四眾。而入寂滅。闍夜多起塔。當新室十四年壬午歲也。
He was the son of a Brahmin in the kingdom of Greater Yuezhi. In a past life he was a deva in the Heaven of Ease and saw the Bodhisattva’s jeweled necklace. He suddenly gave rise to desire and fell to Trayastrimsha, the second heaven of the desire realm. There he heard Kausika explain the Perfection of Wisdom, “going to the other shore,” crossing from this shore of birth and death to the far shore of liberation. Because the Dharma was sublime, he rose to the Brahma Heaven in the form realm. Because his faculties were keen, he was skilled at explaining the essentials of the Dharma, and the gods honored him as their teacher. When the time came to continue the patriarchal lineage, he was born in Yuezhi. Later, in central India, a Great Being named Jayata asked him: “My parents have always trusted the Three Treasures, yet are constantly beset by illness and nothing they undertake goes well. My neighbor has long worked as a chandala, yet is always strong and healthy, and everything he does succeeds. Why is he so fortunate while I am so blameless?” The patriarch said: “What is there to doubt? The results of good and evil occur at three different times. Ordinary people see only the benevolent die young and the violent live long, the rebellious prosper and the righteous suffer, and then claim that cause and effect do not exist and that sin and merit are empty. They do not know that shadow and echo follow one another without the slightest error. Even after a hundred thousand million kalpas, this is never erased.” Hearing this, Jayata’s doubts immediately vanished. The patriarch continued: “Though you now believe in the three kinds of karma, you have not yet understood that karma arises from delusion, delusion depends on consciousness, consciousness relies on ignorance, and ignorance relies on mind. Mind is originally pure, without arising or ceasing, making or action, reward or retribution, victory or defeat. It is utterly still yet mysteriously aware. If you enter this Dharma-gate, you will be one with the Buddhas. All good and evil, all conditioned and unconditioned things, are like dreams and illusions.” Jayata grasped the teaching, awakened to his former wisdom, and earnestly asked to leave home. After receiving the full precepts, the patriarch told him: “The time has come for my stilling. You should continue the work of teaching and transforming beings.” He then transmitted the Dharma-eye in this verse: “In its nature there is originally no birth; it is spoken only to those who seek. Since nothing is attained in Dharma, why hold on to certainty or uncertainty?” He added: “These are the wondrous words of Tathagata Miaoyin, who sees the purity of nature. You should transmit them to later students.” Having spoken, he used a fingernail to open his face while seated; it opened like a red lotus, and great light illuminated the fourfold assembly as he entered stillness. Jayata built a stupa. This was the renwu year, the fourteenth year of the Xin Dynasty (the short-lived dynasty of Wang Mang).
二十祖闍夜多尊者
The Twentieth Patriarch: Venerable Jayata
北天竺國人也。智慧淵沖。化導無量。後至羅閱城。敷揚頓教。彼有學眾。唯尚辯論。為之首者。名婆修盤頭(此雲徧行)。常一食不臥。六時禮佛。清淨無欲。為眾所歸。祖將欲度之。先問彼眾曰。此徧行頭陀。能修梵行。可得佛道乎。眾曰。我師精進。何故不可。祖曰。汝師與道遠矣。設苦行歷於塵劫。皆虗妄之本也。眾曰。尊者蘊何德行而譏我師。祖曰。我不求道。亦不顛倒。我不禮佛。亦不輕慢。我不長坐。亦不懈怠。我不一食。亦不雜食。我不知足。亦不貪欲。心無所希。名之曰道。時徧行聞已。發無漏智。歡喜讚歎。祖又語彼眾曰。會吾語否。吾所以然者。為其求道心切。夫絃急即斷。故吾不贊。令其住安樂地。入諸佛智。復告徧行曰。吾適對眾。抑挫仁者。得無惱於衷乎。徧行曰。我憶念七劫前。生常安樂國。師與智者月淨。記我非久當證斯陀含果。時有大光明菩薩出世。我以老故。䇿杖禮謁。師叱我曰。重子輕父。一何鄙哉。時我自謂無過。請師示之。師曰。汝禮大光明菩薩。以杖倚壁畫佛面。以此過慢。遂失二果。我責躬悔過以來。聞諸惡言。如風如響。況今獲飲無上甘露。而反生熱惱邪。惟願大慈。以妙道垂誨。祖曰。汝久植眾德。當繼吾宗。聽吾偈曰。言下合無生。同於法界性。若能如是解。通達事理竟。祖付法已。不起於座。奄然歸寂。闍維。收舍利建塔。當後漢明帝十七年甲戌歲也。
He was from Northern India. His wisdom was profound, deep, and empty; his work of teaching and guiding beings was without limit. Later he went to the city of Rajagriha and proclaimed the sudden teaching. The students there valued debate above all. Their leader was Vashubandhu, whose name was translated here as “Universal Practice.” He ate only once a day, never lay down, worshiped the Buddha at all six periods of the day, and was pure and free of desire; everyone turned to him. The patriarch intended to liberate him and first asked the others: “Can this ascetic Universal Practice, who cultivates the pure conduct, attain Buddhahood?” They replied: “Our teacher is diligent. Why could he not?” The patriarch said: “Your teacher is far from the Way. Even if he practiced austerities for dust-like kalpas, they would all be roots of delusion.” They asked: “What virtues have you accumulated, Venerable One, that you criticize our teacher?” The patriarch said: “I do not seek the Way, nor am I deluded. I do not worship the Buddha, nor do I slight him. I do not sit for long periods, nor am I lazy. I do not eat only once, nor do I eat indiscriminately. I am neither content nor greedy. The mind has nothing it longs for; this is called the Way.” Hearing this, Universal Practice gave rise to the wisdom free from outflows and praised him with joy. The patriarch told the others: “Do you understand what I said? I spoke this way because his desire for the Way was too intense. A string pulled too tight will break, so I did not approve of him, hoping he would rest in a place of ease and enter the wisdom of the Buddhas.” He then asked Universal Practice: “I just belittled you before everyone. Are you troubled in your heart?” Universal Practice replied: “I recall that seven kalpas ago I was born in the land of Constant Joy. My teacher, the wise Yuejing, predicted that I would soon attain the fruit of a once-returner. At that time the Great Light Bodhisattva appeared. Because I was old, I leaned on a staff to pay homage. My teacher scolded me: ‘You value the son and slight the father—how base!’ I thought I had done nothing wrong and asked my teacher to explain. He said: ‘When you bowed to the Great Light Bodhisattva, you leaned your staff against the face of a Buddha painted on the wall. Because of that arrogance, you lost the second fruit.’ Ever since I took responsibility and repented, I have heard all manner of harsh words as if they were wind or echoes. How could I now become agitated when I have received the supreme nectar? I only ask the Great Compassionate One to instruct me in the wondrous Way.” The patriarch said: “You have long planted many virtues and will surely inherit my lineage. Hear this verse: ‘At the words, accord with the unborn, identical to the nature of the Dharma-realm. If you understand it this way, your penetration of principle and phenomena is complete.’” After transmitting the Dharma, the patriarch did not leave his seat but passed away quietly. His body was cremated, and the relics were gathered and enshrined in a stupa. This was the jiaxu year, the seventeenth year of Emperor Ming of the Later Han.
二十一祖婆修盤頭尊者
The Twenty-First Patriarch: Venerable Vashubandhu
羅閱城人也。姓毗舍佉。父光葢。母嚴一。家富而無子。父母禱於佛塔而求嗣焉。一夕。母夢吞明暗二珠。覺而有孕。經七日。有一羅漢名賢眾至其家。光葢設禮。賢眾端坐受之。嚴一齣拜。賢眾避席。雲。回禮法身大士。光葢罔測其由。遂取一寶珠跪獻。試其真偽。賢眾即受之。殊無遜謝。光葢不能忍。問曰。我是丈夫。致禮不顧。我妻何德。尊者避之。賢眾曰。我受禮納珠。貴福汝耳。汝婦懷聖子。生當為世燈慧日。故吾避之。非重女人也。賢眾又曰。汝婦當生二子。一名婆修盤頭。則吾所尊者也。二名芻尼(此雲野鵲子)。昔如來在雪山修道。芻尼巢於頂上。佛既成道。芻尼受報為那提國王。佛記雲。汝至第二五百年。生羅閱城毗舍佉家。與聖同胞。今無爽矣。後一月。果產二子。尊者婆修盤頭年至十五。禮光度羅漢出家。感毗婆訶菩薩與之授戒。行化至那提國。彼王名常自在。有二子。一名摩訶羅。次名摩拏羅。王問祖曰。羅閱城土風。與此何異。祖曰。彼土曾三佛出世。今王國有二師化導。王曰。二師者誰。祖曰。佛記第二五百年。有二神力大士出家繼聖。即王之次子摩拏羅。是其一也。吾雖德薄。敢當其一。王曰。誠如尊者所言。當捨此子作沙門。祖曰。善哉。大王能遵佛旨。即與授具。付法。偈曰。泡幻同無礙。如何不了悟。達法在其中。非今亦非古。祖付法已。踴身高半由旬。屹然而住。四眾仰瞻䖍請。復坐跏趺而逝。茶毗得舍利。建塔。當後漢殤帝十二年丁巳歲也。
He was from Rajagriha and belonged to the Vishakha clan. His father was Guangai and his mother Yanyi. Their family was wealthy but had no son, so his parents prayed at a Buddha stupa for an heir. One night his mother dreamed she swallowed two pearls, one bright and one dark; when she awoke, she was pregnant. Seven days later an arhat named Xianzhong came to their home. Guangai bowed, and Xianzhong sat down to receive him. Yanyi came out to bow, but the arhat moved away from his seat and said: “Return the courtesy to the Dharma-body Great Being.” Guangai could not understand why, so he knelt and offered a jewel to test whether the arhat was genuine. Xianzhong accepted it without hesitation or refusal. Guangai could not bear it and asked: “I am the husband, yet you do not look at my bow. What virtue does my wife have that makes you leave your seat for her?” Xianzhong replied: “I accepted your bow and the jewel so that you would gain merit. Your wife is carrying a holy child who, when born, will surely become a lamp for the world and a sun of wisdom. That is why I moved away; it was not because I value women.” Xianzhong continued: “Your wife will surely bear two sons. One is Vashubandhu, whom I revere. The other is called Chuni, translated here as ‘Wild Magpie’s Son.’ Long ago the Tathagata practiced the Way on Snow Mountain, and Chuni built a nest on its summit. After the Buddha attained the Way, Chuni was reborn as the king of Nadi. The Buddha predicted: ‘In the second five-hundred-year period, you will be born into the Vishakha family in Rajagriha, as a twin brother to a sage.’ Now it has come to pass.” One month later, the woman indeed gave birth to two sons. When Vashubandhu was fifteen, he bowed to the arhat Guangdulu and left home. The Bodhisattva Vipoha appeared and gave him the precepts. He traveled to the kingdom of Nadi to teach. Its king was Chang Zizai, who had two sons: the elder Mahara and the younger Manura. The king asked the patriarch: “How do the customs of Rajagriha differ from those here?” The patriarch replied: “Three Buddhas once appeared in that land; now two teachers are guiding beings in your kingdom.” The king asked: “Who are the two teachers?” The patriarch said: “The Buddha predicted that in the second five-hundred-year period two great beings of spiritual power would leave home and continue the sages’ lineage. One is your younger son Manura. Though my virtue is meager, I dare to count myself the other.” The king said: “If it is truly as the Venerable One says, I will give this son to become a shramana.” The patriarch said: “Excellent! Great King, you can follow the Buddha’s instruction.” He gave the prince the full precepts and transmitted the Dharma in this verse: “Bubbles and illusions are alike without obstruction; why do you not awaken? Penetrate the Dharma here; it is neither present nor past.” After transmitting the Dharma, the patriarch rose into the air to a height of half a yojana and remained upright. The fourfold assembly looked up in reverence and pleaded with him; he then sat down, crossed his legs, and passed away. His body was cremated, the relics gathered, and a stupa built. This was the dingsi year, the twelfth year of Emperor Shang of the Later Han.
二十二祖摩拏羅尊者
The Twenty-Second Patriarch: Venerable Manura
那提國常自在王之子也。年三十。遇婆修祖師出家傳法至西印度。彼國王名得度。即瞿曇種族。歸向佛乘。勤行精進。一日。於行道處。現一小塔。欲取供養。眾莫能舉。王即大會梵行．禪觀．呪術等三眾。欲問所疑。時祖亦赴此會。是三眾皆莫能辨。祖即為王廣說塔之所因(塔。阿育王造者。此不繁錄)。今之出現。王福力之所致也。王聞是說。乃曰。至聖難逢。世樂非久。即傳位太子。投祖出家。七日而證四果。祖深加慰誨曰。汝居此國。善自度人。今異域有大法器。吾當往化。得度曰。師應跡十方。動念當至。寧勞往邪。祖曰。然。於是焚香。遙語月氏國鶴勒那比丘曰。汝在彼國。教導鶴眾。道果將證。宜自知之。時鶴勒那為彼國王寶印說修多羅偈。忽覩異香成穗。王曰。是何祥也。曰。此是西印土傳佛心印祖師摩拏羅將至。先降信香耳。曰。此師神力何如。曰。此師遠承佛記。當於此土廣宣玄化。時王與鶴勒那俱遙作禮。祖知已。即辭得度比丘。往月氏國。受王與鶴勒那供養。後鶴勒那問祖曰。我止林間。已經九白(印度以一年為一白)。有弟子龍子者。幼而聰慧。我於三世推窮。莫知其本。祖曰。此子於第五劫中。生妙喜國婆羅門家。曾以旃檀施於佛宇。作槌撞鐘。受報聰敏。為眾欽仰。又問。我有何緣而感鶴眾。祖曰。汝第四劫中。甞為比丘。當赴會龍宮。汝諸弟子鹹欲隨從。汝觀五百眾中。無有一人堪任妙供。時諸弟子曰。師常說法。於食等者。於法亦等。今既不然。何聖之有。汝即令赴會。自汝捨生．趣生．轉化諸國。其五百弟子以福微德薄。生於羽族。今感汝之惠。故為鶴眾相隨。鶴勒那問曰。以何方便。令彼解脫。祖曰。我有無上法寶。汝當聽受。化未來際。而說偈曰。心隨萬境轉。轉處實能幽。隨流認得性。無喜復無憂。時鶴眾聞偈。飛鳴而去。祖跏趺。寂然奄化。
He was the son of King Chang Zizai of Nadi. At the age of thirty he met Patriarch Vashu and left home to receive the Dharma. He traveled to Western India, where the king, Deduo, belonged to the Gautama clan, took refuge in the Buddha Vehicle, and practiced with diligence. One day a small stupa appeared on a path where people practiced circumambulation. The king wished to take it and make offerings, but no one could lift it. The king gathered three groups—Brahmin practitioners, meditators, and mantra masters—to ask about the matter. The patriarch also attended. None of the three groups could explain it, so the patriarch told the king the full story of the stupa (it had been built by King Ashoka, and is not recorded here in detail). Its appearance now was due to the king’s merit. Hearing this, the king said: “A supreme sage is hard to encounter, and worldly pleasures cannot last.” He passed the throne to his crown prince and left home under the patriarch. After seven days he attained the four fruits. The patriarch consoled and instructed him at length: “Stay in this kingdom and liberate people yourself. There is now a great vessel of the Dharma in a distant land; I should go there and liberate him.” Deduo said: “Master, you manifest in the ten directions; with a thought you can arrive. Why travel there in person?” The patriarch said: “So it is.” He then burned incense and spoke from afar to the monk Hekulena in the kingdom of Yuezhi: “You are teaching a flock of cranes in that land. The fruit of the Way is about to be realized; you should know this yourself.” At that moment Hekulena was reciting sutra verses for King Baoyin. Suddenly he saw unusual incense gather into a plume. The king asked: “What is this auspicious sign?” Hekulena replied: “The patriarch Manura, who transmits the Buddha’s mind-seal in Western India, is about to arrive; this is the incense of faith sent ahead.” The king asked: “How great is this master’s spiritual power?” Hekulena said: “This master has inherited the Buddha’s prediction from afar and will surely proclaim the profound teaching widely in this land.” The king and Hekulena both bowed from afar. The patriarch then took leave of the monk Deduo and traveled to Yuezhi, where he received offerings from the king and Hekulena. Later Hekulena asked him: “I have lived in the forest for nine ‘whites’—nine years, as Indians reckon a year. One of my disciples, Longzi, was intelligent from childhood. I have investigated his origin across three lifetimes, yet do not know it.” The patriarch said: “In the fifth kalpa he was born into a Brahmin family in the land of Miaoxi. He once offered sandalwood to a Buddha shrine and struck the bell with its mallet. As a result, he was reborn intelligent and admired by all.” Hekulena asked: “What cause and condition made a flock of cranes gather around me?” The patriarch said: “In the fourth kalpa you were a monk and were invited to a Dharma assembly in the Dragon Palace. All your disciples wanted to follow you. You saw that none of the five hundred could serve at the wondrous offering. The disciples said: ‘Master, you always teach that food should be shared equally, and the Dharma too should be shared equally. Since you do otherwise now, what sort of sage are you?’ So you let them attend. From the time you left one life, took another birth, and traveled through different lands, those five hundred disciples, because their merit was slight and their virtue shallow, were born as birds. They now follow you as cranes in gratitude for your kindness.” Hekulena asked: “What expedient means can free them?” The patriarch said: “I have the unsurpassed treasure of Dharma. You should receive it and teach beings into the future.” He recited this verse: “Mind follows the ten thousand states and turns with them; in the place of turning it is truly profound. Follow the current and recognize your nature; there is neither joy nor sorrow.” Hearing the verse, the cranes cried out and flew away. The patriarch sat cross-legged and passed away in stillness.
鶴勒那與寶印王起塔。當後漢桓帝十九年乙巳歲也。
Hekulena and King Baoyin built a stupa. This was the yisi year, the nineteenth year of Emperor Huan of the Later Han.