Jingde Chuandeng Lu (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp), Fascicle 1

隨流認得性無喜復無憂

following the flow and recognizing nature, there is no joy and no sorrow.

時鶴眾聞偈飛鳴而去。尊者跏趺寂然奄化。鶴勒那與寶印王起塔。當後漢桓帝十九年乙巳歲也。

At that time the crane assembly, hearing the verse, flew away crying. The Venerable One sat in the lotus posture and quietly passed away. Haklenayasas and King Baoyin built a stupa. This was the yisi year, the nineteenth year of Emperor Huan of the Later Han.

第二十三祖鶴勒那者(勒那梵語。鶴即華言。以尊者出世常感群鶴戀慕故名)月氏國人也。姓婆羅門。父千勝。母金光。以無子故禱於七佛。金幢即夢須彌山頂一神童持金環雲我來也。覺而有孕。年七歲遊行聚落。覩民間淫祀乃入廟叱之曰。汝妄興禍福幻惑於人。歲費牲牢傷害斯甚。言訖。廟貌忽然而壞。由是鄉黨謂之聖子。年二十二出家。三十遇摩拏羅尊者付法眼藏。行化至中印度。彼國王名無畏海。崇信佛道。尊者為說正法。次王忽見二人緋素服拜尊者。王問曰。此何人也。師曰。此是日月天子。吾昔曾為說法故來禮耳。良久不見唯聞異香。王曰。日月國土總有多少。尊者曰。千釋迦佛所化世界。各有百億迷盧日月。我若廣說即不能盡。王聞忻然。時尊者演無上道度有緣眾。以上足龍子早夭。有兄師子。博通彊記事婆羅門。厥師既逝。弟復雲亡。乃歸依於尊者。而問曰。我欲求道當何用心。尊者曰。汝欲求道無所用心。曰既無用心誰作佛事。尊者曰。汝若有用即非功德。汝若無作即是佛事。經云。我所作功德而無我所故。師子聞是言已即入佛慧。時尊者忽指東北問雲。是何氣象。師子曰。我見氣如白虹貫乎天地。復有黑氣五道橫亙其中。尊者曰。其兆云何。曰莫可知矣。尊者曰。吾滅後五十年。北天竺國當有難起。嬰在汝身。吾將滅矣。今以法眼付囑於汝善自護持。乃說偈曰。

The Twenty-third Patriarch, Haklenayasas ("Lena" is Sanskrit and "He" is Chinese for crane; because when the Venerable One came into the world he was often met by flocks of cranes who adored him, he was given this name), was a native of the country of the Yuezhi. His surname was Brahmin. His father was named Qiansheng (Thousand Victories) and his mother Jinguang (Golden Light). Because they had no son, they prayed to the seven Buddhas. Jinchuang dreamed that on the summit of Mount Sumeru a divine child holding a golden ring said: I have come. Upon waking she was pregnant. At seven he was walking among villages and saw the people's excessive sacrifices to spirits, and went into the temple and scolded them: You wrongly stir up calamity and fortune, delude people, and every year waste sacrificial animals; the harm is far too great. When he finished speaking, the temple suddenly collapsed. Because of this the villagers called him the holy son. At twenty-two he left home, and at thirty he met the Venerable Manorhita, who entrusted him with the treasury of the Dharma eye. He went teaching in Central India. The king there was named Wuwei Hai (Ocean of Fearlessness) and revered the Buddha's Way. The Venerable One expounded the true Dharma to him. Afterward the king suddenly saw two people, one in crimson and one in plain white, bowing to the Venerable One. The king asked: Who are these? The master said: These are the sun and moon deities. I once preached the Dharma to them, so they have come to pay respects. After a long time they were no longer visible, and only an unusual fragrance was smelled. The king said: How many realms of sun and moon are there altogether? The Venerable One said: In the worlds transformed by a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas, each has a hundred billion Mount Meru suns and moons. If I explained at length, I could not finish. The king was delighted to hear it. At that time the Venerable One was expounding the supreme Way and ordaining those with affinity. Since his foremost disciple Longzi had died young, he had an elder brother, Aryasimha, who was widely learned and had a strong memory and served the brahmins; when his teacher had already passed away and his younger brother had died, he took refuge with the Venerable One and asked: I wish to seek the Way; how should I apply my mind? The Venerable One said: If you wish to seek the Way, there is nothing to apply the mind to. He asked: If there is nothing to apply the mind to, who does the Buddha's work? The Venerable One said: If you have anything to do, it is not merit; if you have no doing, it is the Buddha's work. The sutra says: The merit I make, and yet there is no what-belongs-to-me. Hearing these words, Simha entered the Buddha's wisdom. At that time the Venerable One suddenly pointed to the northeast and asked: What sign is this? Simha said: I see a vapor like a white rainbow piercing heaven and earth, and five black vapors lying across it. The Venerable One said: What does the omen mean? He said: I cannot know. The Venerable One said: Fifty years after my extinction, calamity will arise in the country of North India and fall upon you. I am about to pass away. Now I entrust the Dharma eye to you; protect it well yourself. He then spoke a verse:

認得心性時可說不思議

When one recognizes mind-nature, it can be called inconceivable;

了了無可得得時不說知

clearly there is nothing to be attained; when attained, one does not say "know."

師子比丘聞偈欣愜。然未曉將罹何難。尊者乃密示之。言訖。現十八變而歸寂。闍維畢分舍利各欲興塔。尊者復現空中。而說偈曰。

The bhiksu Simha, hearing the verse, was glad and satisfied, but still did not understand what calamity he would suffer. The Venerable One then secretly instructed him. When he finished speaking, he displayed eighteen transformations and entered stillness. After cremation was done, they wished to divide the relics and each build a stupa. The Venerable One appeared again in the air and spoke a verse:

一法一切法一切一法攝

One Dharma is all dharmas, and all are contained in one Dharma;

吾身非有無何分一切塔

my body is neither existent nor non-existent; why divide it into every stupa?

大眾聞偈遂不復分。就馱都之場而建塔焉。即後漢獻帝二十年己丑歲也。

The assembly, hearing the verse, no longer divided them and built a stupa in the field of cremation (Dhatu). This was the jichou year, the twentieth year of Emperor Xian of the Later Han.

第二十四祖師子比丘者。中印度人也。姓婆羅門。得法遊方至罽賓國。有波利迦者。本習禪觀。故有禪定知見執相捨相不語之五眾。尊者詰而化之。四眾皆默然心服。唯禪定師達磨達者。聞四眾被責憤悱而來。尊者曰。仁者習定何當來此。既至於此胡云習定。曰我雖來此心亦不亂。定隨人習豈在處所。尊者曰。仁者既來其習亦至。既無處所豈在人習。曰定習人故非人習定。我雖來此其定常。習尊者曰。人非習定定習人故。當自來時其定誰習。彼曰。如淨明珠內外無翳。定若通達必當如此。師曰。定若通達一似明珠。今見仁者非珠之徒。彼曰。其珠明徹內外悉定。我心不亂猶若此淨。師曰。其珠無內外。仁者何能定穢物非動搖。此定不是淨。達磨達蒙尊者開悟心地朗然。尊者既攝五眾名聞遐邇。方求法嗣。遇一長者。引其子問尊者曰。此子名斯多。當生便拳左手。今既長矣。而終未能舒。願尊者。示其宿因。尊者覩之。即以手接曰。可還我珠。童子遽開手奉珠。眾皆驚異。尊者曰。吾前報為僧。有童子名婆舍。吾嘗赴西海齋受䞋珠付之。今還吾珠理固然矣。長者遂捨其子出家。尊者即與受具。以前緣故名婆舍斯多。尊者即謂之曰。吾師密有懸記。罹難非久。如來正法眼藏今轉付汝汝應保護普潤來際。偈曰。

The Twenty-fourth Patriarch, the Bhikshu Aryasimha (Simha), was a man of central India, of the Brahmin caste. Having gained the Dharma, he traveled about and came to the country of Kashmir (Jibin). There was a certain Palijia who had originally practiced meditation, and so there were five groups: those of meditative concentration, of knowing and seeing, of clinging to form, of abandoning form, and of silence. The Venerable questioned and taught them, and four groups fell silent and submitted in their hearts. Only the meditation master Dharmadhara (Damoda), hearing that the four groups had been rebuked, came in anger and frustration. The Venerable said: "You, sir, practice concentration; why must you come here? Since you have come here, how can you say you practice concentration?" He said: "Although I have come here, my mind is not disturbed. Concentration follows the person who practices it; how could it depend on place?" The Venerable said: "Since you have come, what you practice has come too. Since there is no place, how could it depend on the person who practices?" He said: "Because concentration practices the person, it is not that the person practices concentration. Although I have come here, concentration is constantly practicing." The Venerable said: "The person does not practice concentration; it is because concentration practices the person. When you yourself came, who was practicing that concentration?" He said: "It is like a pure bright pearl, with no obscuration inside or out. If concentration is penetrating, it must be like this." The master said: "If concentration is penetrating, it is just like a bright pearl. Now looking at you, sir, you are not of the pearl's kind." He said: "That pearl is clear through and through, and inside and outside are both settled. My mind is not disturbed, and is as pure as that." The master said: "That pearl has no inside or outside; how can you be settled, sir? Filth does not move, so this concentration is not pure." Dharmadhara, having been awakened by the Venerable, felt his mind become bright and clear. The Venerable, having taken in the five groups and with his fame spreading far and wide, then sought a Dharma heir. He met an elder who led his son and asked the Venerable: "This boy is named Sita; he was born clenching his left hand, and now that he has grown, he has never been able to open it. We hope the Venerable will reveal his past cause." The Venerable saw him and received his hand, saying: "You may return my pearl to me." The boy at once opened his hand and offered up a pearl. Everyone was astonished. The Venerable said: "In a former life I was a monk, and there was a boy named Vasa; I once went to a vegetarian feast by the Western Sea and entrusted the alms pearl to him. Now that he returns my pearl, it is only natural." The elder then gave up his son to leave home. The Venerable at once conferred the full precepts on him. Because of the earlier cause, he was named Vasasita. The Venerable then said to him: "My teacher secretly foretold that I will meet with calamity before long. The treasury of the true Dharma eye of the Tathagata is now transmitted to you; you should protect it and moisten the future ages universally." The verse says:

正說知見時知見俱是心

At the very moment of speaking of knowing and seeing, knowing and seeing are all mind;

當心即知見知見即於今

this mind itself is knowing and seeing, and knowing and seeing are right here and now.

尊者說偈已。以僧伽梨衣密付斯多。俾之他國隨機演化。斯多受教直抵南天。尊者以難不可苟免獨留罽賓。時本國有外道二人。一名摩目多。二名都落遮。學諸幻法欲共謀亂。乃盜為釋子形象。潛入王宮。且曰。不成即罪歸佛子。妖既自作禍亦旋踵。事既敗。王果怒曰。吾素歸心三寶。何乃搆害一至於斯。即命破毀伽藍祛除釋眾。又自秉劍至尊者所。問曰。師得蘊空否。尊者曰。已得蘊空。曰離生死否。尊者曰。已離生死。曰既離生死可施我頭。尊者曰。身非我有何悋於頭。王即揮刃斷尊者首。湧白乳高數尺。王之右臂旋亦墮地。七日而終。太子光首歎曰。我父何故自取其禍。時有象白山仙人者。深明因果。即為光首廣宣宿因解其疑網(事具聖胄集及寶林傳)遂以師子尊者報體而建塔焉。當魏齊王二十年己卯歲也(當作高貴鄉公六年。蓋齊王芳立十五年而廢矣。正宗記雲。寶林傳誤作己卯。當是齊王芳丁卯歲也。然則乃是八年也)。師子尊者付婆舍斯多心法信衣為正嗣。外傍出達磨達四世二十二師。

When the Venerable had finished the verse, he secretly entrusted the sanghati robe to Sita and sent him to other countries to teach as the occasion allowed. Sita received the instruction and went straight to the southern region of India. The Venerable, because calamity could not be evaded, stayed alone in Kashmir. At that time there were two non-Buddhists in the country: one named Mumuduo and the other Duluozhe, who had studied various magical arts and wished to conspire to make trouble together. So they secretly disguised themselves as followers of Shakya, slipped into the royal palace, and said: "If it fails, the blame will go to the Buddha's disciples." Since the demons made it themselves, calamity followed soon after. When the matter was exposed, the king flew into a rage and said: "I have always taken refuge in the Three Jewels; how could they scheme to harm me to such an extent!" He at once ordered the monasteries destroyed and the monastic community expelled. He then took a sword himself to the Venerable's residence and asked: "Master, have you realized the emptiness of the aggregates?" The Venerable said: "I have realized the emptiness of the aggregates." He asked: "Have you left birth and death?" The Venerable said: "I have left birth and death." He asked: "Since you have left birth and death, you can give me your head." The Venerable said: "The body is not mine; what is there to begrudge about a head?" The king at once swung his blade and cut off the Venerable's head, and white milk gushed up several feet high. The king's right arm at once also fell to the ground, and he died within seven days. Crown Prince Guangshou sighed and said: "Why did my father bring this calamity upon himself?" At that time the immortal of Elephant White Mountain, who understood cause and effect deeply, widely explained the past cause to Guangshou and resolved his doubts (the story is detailed in the Shengzhou Ji and the Baolin Zhuan), and a stupa was built using the Venerable Simha's physical remains. This was in the twentieth year of King Qi of Wei, the jimao year (it should be the sixth year of Duke Gaogui Xiang, because King Fang of Qi was deposed after fifteen years on the throne. The Zhengzong Ji says: the Baolin Zhuan mistakenly gives jimao; it should be the dingmao year of King Fang of Qi, which would be the eighth year). The Venerable Simha entrusted the mind Dharma and the robe of faith to Vasasita as the proper heir, and separately branching off were twenty-two masters in four generations from Dharmadhara.

第二十五祖婆舍斯多者。罽賓國人也。姓婆羅門。父寂行。母常安樂。初母夢得神劍。因而有孕。既誕拳左手遇師子尊者。顯發宿因密受心印。後適南天至中印度。彼國王名迦勝。設禮供養。時有外道號無我尊。先為王禮重。嫉祖之至欲與論義。幸而勝之以固其事。乃於王前謂祖曰。我解默論不假言說。祖曰。孰知勝負。曰不爭勝負但取其義。祖曰。汝以何為義。曰無心為義。祖曰。汝既無心安得義乎。曰我說無心當名非義。祖曰。汝說無心當名非義。我說非心當義非名。曰當義非名誰能辨義。祖曰。汝名非義此名何名。曰為辨非義是名無名。祖曰。名既非名義亦非義。辨者是誰。當辨何物。如是往返五十九翻。外道杜口信伏。於時祖忽然面北合掌長籲曰。我師師子尊者。今日遇難斯可傷焉。即辭王南邁達於南天潛隱山谷。時彼國王名天德。迎請供養。王有二子。一兇暴而色力充盛。一柔和而長嬰疾苦。祖乃為陳因果。王即頓釋所疑。又有呪術師忌祖之道。乃潛置毒藥於飲食中。祖知而食之。彼返受禍。遂投祖出家。祖即與受具。後六十載太子得勝即位。復信外道致難於祖。太子不如密多以進諫被囚。王遽問祖曰。予國素絕妖訛。師所傳者當是何宗。祖曰。王國昔來實無邪法。我所得者即是佛宗。王曰。佛滅已千二百載。師從誰得耶。祖曰。飲光大士親受佛印。展轉至二十四世師子尊者。我從彼得。王曰。予聞。師子比丘不能免於刑戮。何能傳法後人。祖曰。我師難未起時。密授我信衣法偈以顯師承。王曰。其衣何在。祖即於囊中出衣示王。王命焚之。五色相鮮薪盡如故。王即追悔致禮師子。真嗣既明乃赦太子。太子遂求出家。祖問太子曰。汝欲出家當為何事。曰我若出家不為其事。祖曰。不為何事。曰不為俗事祖曰。當為何事。曰當為佛事。祖曰。太子智慧天至必諸聖降跡。即許出家。六年侍奉。

The Twenty-fifth Patriarch, Vasasita, was a man of Kashmir, of the Brahmin caste. His father was named Jixing and his mother Changanle. At first his mother dreamed of obtaining a divine sword, and so conceived. After he was born, he clenched his left hand; he met the Venerable Simha, who revealed his past cause, and he secretly received the mind seal. Later he went to southern India and came to central India. The king there, named Jiasheng, set up rites and made offerings. At that time there was a non-Buddhist called the Venerable of No-Self, who had been honored by the king beforehand, and who was jealous of the Patriarch's arrival and wished to debate the meaning with him, hoping that by winning he would secure his own position. In front of the king he said to the Patriarch: "I understand silent debate, without relying on speech." The Patriarch said: "Who knows who wins and who loses?" He said: "I do not contend over winning and losing, but take only its meaning." The Patriarch said: "What do you take as the meaning?" He said: "No-mind is the meaning." The Patriarch said: "Since you have no mind, how can you obtain meaning?" He said: "What I call no-mind should be called non-meaning." The Patriarch said: "What you call no-mind should be called non-meaning; what I call non-mind should be meaning without name." He said: "If it is meaning without name, who can discern the meaning?" The Patriarch said: "You call it non-meaning; what name is this name?" He said: "In order to discern non-meaning, this name is no-name." The Patriarch said: "Since a name is not a name, a meaning is not a meaning. Who is it that discerns? What thing should be discerned?" After going back and forth in this way fifty-nine times, the non-Buddhist fell silent and submitted. At that moment the Patriarch suddenly faced north, joined his palms, and sighed deeply, saying: "My teacher, the Venerable Simha, meets calamity today; how sad." He at once took leave of the king and went south, arrived in southern India, and hid in a mountain valley. At that time the king there, named Tiande, welcomed him and made offerings. The king had two sons: one was violent but full of vigor and strength, and the other was gentle but long afflicted with illness and pain. The Patriarch therefore explained cause and effect to him, and the king at once resolved his doubts in an instant. There was also a sorcerer who was jealous of the Patriarch's Way and secretly put poison in his food and drink. The Patriarch knew it and ate anyway; the man himself suffered the misfortune, and so he took refuge with the Patriarch and left home. The Patriarch at once conferred the full precepts on him. Sixty years later, the crown prince Desheng took the throne and again believed in non-Buddhists, and raised objections to the Patriarch. The prince Bu Rumiduo was imprisoned for remonstrating. The king suddenly asked the Patriarch: "My state has always cut off false teachings; what tradition does the master transmit?" The Patriarch said: "The king's state has in truth never had any false dharma. What I have attained is the Buddha's tradition." The king said: "The Buddha entered nirvana twelve hundred years ago; from whom did you receive it?" The Patriarch said: "The great being Kashyapa received the Buddha's seal in person, and it was handed down through to the twenty-fourth generation, the Venerable Simha. I received it from him." The king said: "I have heard that the Bhikshu Simha could not escape execution; how could he transmit the Dharma to a later person?" The Patriarch said: "Before my teacher's calamity arose, he secretly gave me the robe of faith and the Dharma verse to make clear the transmission." The king said: "Where is the robe?" The Patriarch took the robe out of his bag and showed it to the king. The king ordered it burned; the five colors were vivid, and when the firewood was gone the robe was still as it was. The king at once regretted it and paid homage to Simha. Since the true heir was now clear, he pardoned the crown prince. The prince then asked to leave home. The Patriarch asked the prince: "You wish to leave home; for what purpose should it be?" He said: "If I leave home, it is not for those purposes." The Patriarch said: "Not for those purposes." He said: "Not for worldly matters." The Patriarch said: "For what matter, then?" He said: "For the Buddha's work." The Patriarch said: "The prince's wisdom is heaven-born; he must be a manifestation of the sages." He at once permitted him to leave home. He served him for six years.

後於王宮受具羯磨之際。大地震動頗多靈異。祖乃命之曰。吾已衰朽安可久留。汝當善護正法眼藏普濟群有。聽吾偈曰。

Later he received the full precepts in the royal palace, and during the karma recitation the earth shook and there were many marvels. The Patriarch then instructed him: "I am already old and failing; how can I stay long? You should well protect the treasury of the true Dharma eye and universally deliver all beings. Listen to my verse:"

聖人說知見當境無是非

The sage speaks of knowing and seeing; facing objects there is no right or wrong;

我今悟真性無道亦無理

I now awaken to true nature, with no Way and no principle.

不如密多聞偈再啟祖曰。法衣宜可傳授。祖曰。此衣為難故假以證明。汝身無難何假其衣。化被十方人自信向。不如密多聞語作禮而退。祖現於神變化三昧火自焚。平地舍利可高一尺。得勝王創浮圖而秘之。當東晉明帝太寧三年乙酉歲也。

Bu Rumiduo, having heard the verse, further requested of the Patriarch: "Should the Dharma robe be transmitted?" The Patriarch said: "This robe was borrowed to give proof because of calamity. Your body has no calamity; why borrow this robe? Teaching will spread across the ten directions, and people will naturally believe and turn to it." Bu Rumiduo, hearing these words, made obeisance and withdrew. The Patriarch manifested a miraculous transformation, producing samadhi fire and burning himself. On level ground the relics were about one foot high. King Desheng built a stupa to store them secretly. This was in the yiyou year, the third year of the Taining era of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Jin.

第二十六祖不如密多者。南印度得勝王之太子也。既受度得法至東印度。彼王名堅固。奉外道師長爪梵志。暨尊者將至。王與梵志同覩白氣貫於上下。王曰。斯何瑞也。梵志預知尊者入境。恐王遷善乃曰。此是魔來之兆耳。何瑞之有。即鳩諸徒眾議曰。不如蜜多將入都城。誰能挫之。弟子曰。我等各有呪術。可以動天地入水火。何患哉。尊者至先見宮牆有黑氣。乃曰。小難耳。直詣王所。王曰。師來何為。尊者曰。將度眾生。曰以何法度。尊者曰。各以其類度之。時梵志聞言不勝其怒。即以幻法化大山於尊者頂上。尊者指之忽在彼眾頭上。梵志等怖懼投尊者。尊者愍其愚惑。再指之化山隨滅。乃為王演說法要俾趣真乘。又謂王曰此國當有聖人而繼於我。是時有婆羅門子。年二十許。幼失父母。不知名氏。或自言瓔珞。故人謂之瓔珞童子遊行閭裡匃求度日。若常不輕之類。人問汝何行急。即答雲。汝何行慢。或問何姓。乃曰。與汝同姓。莫知其故。後王與尊者同車而出。見瓔珞童子稽首於前。尊者曰。汝憶往事否。曰我念遠劫中與師同居。師演摩訶般若。我轉甚深修多羅。今日之事蓋契昔因。尊者又謂王曰。此童子非他。即大勢至菩薩是也。此聖之後復出二人。一人化南印度。一人緣在震旦。四五年內卻返此方。遂以昔因故名般若多羅付法眼藏。偈曰。

The Twenty-sixth Patriarch, Bu Rumiduo (Punyamitra), was the crown prince of King Desheng of southern India. Having been ordained and attained the Dharma, he went to eastern India. The king there, named Jiangu, venerated the non-Buddhist teacher Changzhao Fanzhi (Long-Nails Brahmin). When the Venerable was about to arrive, the king and the Brahmin together saw a white vapor running through from top to bottom. The king said: "What auspicious sign is this?" The Brahmin knew in advance that the Venerable was entering the territory, and fearing the king would turn to the good, said: "This is just a sign of demons coming; what auspicious sign is it?" He then gathered his followers to discuss: "Bu Rumiduo is about to enter the capital; who can defeat him?" The disciples said: "We each have spells that can move heaven and earth and enter water and fire; what is there to worry about?" When the Venerable arrived, he first saw black vapor above the palace wall and said: "Only a small difficulty." He walked straight to the king. The king said: "What has the master come to do?" The Venerable said: "To deliver sentient beings." He asked: "By what method?" The Venerable said: "Each according to their kind." At that time the Brahmin, hearing these words, was filled with rage and used illusory arts to conjure a great mountain over the Venerable's head. The Venerable pointed once, and suddenly it was over the heads of those people. The Brahmin and his followers were terrified and cast themselves down before the Venerable. The Venerable, pitying their ignorance and delusion, pointed again, and the conjured mountain vanished. He then expounded the essentials of the Dharma for the king, directing him toward the true vehicle. He also said to the king: "In this country there will be a sage to succeed me." At this time there was a young Brahmin of about twenty, who had lost his parents in childhood and did not know his name; he sometimes called himself Yingluo, so people called him the boy Yingluo, and he roamed the lanes and begged for a living, like one of the Never-Disparaging kind. When people asked: "Why do you walk so quickly?" he would answer: "Why do you walk so slowly?" When someone asked his surname, he would say: "The same as yours." No one knew the reason. Later the king rode out in the same carriage with the Venerable and saw the boy Yingluo bowing his head ahead of them. The Venerable said: "Do you remember past matters?" He said: "I recall that in a distant kalpa I lived with my teacher; the master expounded the Mahaprajna, and I turned the profound sutras. Today's events accord exactly with the former cause." The Venerable then said to the king: "This boy is none other than the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. After this sage, two more will appear: one will teach southern India, and one will have his affinity in Zhendan (China). Within four or five years he will return to this place." So, because of the former cause, he was named Prajnatara, and the treasury of the Dharma eye was entrusted to him. The verse says:

真性心地藏無頭亦無尾

True nature is the storehouse of the mind-ground, without head and without tail,

應緣而化物方便呼為智

responding to conditions it transforms beings; skillful means is called wisdom.

尊者付法已。即辭王曰。吾化緣已終當歸寂滅。願王於最上乘無忘外護。即還本坐跏趺而逝。化火自焚。王收舍利塔而瘞之。當東晉孝武帝太元十三年戊子歲也。

When the Venerable had finished entrusting the Dharma, he took leave of the king and said: "My conditions for teaching have come to an end, and I shall return to stillness. I hope the king will not forget to be an outer protector of the supreme vehicle." He then returned to his seat, sat in full lotus posture and passed away, burning himself with transformed fire. The king gathered the relics and built a stupa to bury them. This was in the wuzi year, the thirteenth year of the Taiyuan era of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin.

第二十七祖般若多羅者。東印度人也。既得法已。行化至南印度。彼王名香至。崇奉佛乘尊重供養度越倫等。又施無價寶珠。時王有三子。其季開士也。尊者欲試其所得。乃以所施珠問三王子曰。此珠圓明有能及此否。第一子目淨多羅。第二子功德多羅。皆曰。此珠七寶中尊固無踰也。非尊者道力孰能受之。第三子菩提多羅曰。此是世寶未足為上。於諸寶中法寶為上。此是世光未足為上。於諸光中智光為上。此是世明未足為上。於諸明中心明為上。此珠光明不能自照。要假智光光辯於此。既辯此已即知是珠。既知是珠即明其寶。若明其寶寶不自寶。若辯其珠珠不自珠。珠不自珠者。要假智珠而辯世珠。寶不自寶者。要假智寶以明法寶。然則師有其道其寶即現。眾生有道心寶亦然。尊者歎其辯慧。乃復問曰。於諸物中何物無相。曰。於諸物中不起無相。又問。於諸物中何物最高。曰於諸物中人我最高。又問。於諸物中何物最大。曰於諸物中法性最大。尊者知是法嗣。以時尚未至且默而混之。及香至王厭世眾皆號絕。唯第三子菩提多羅。於柩前入定。經七日而出。乃求出家。既受具戒。尊者告曰。如來以正法眼付大迦葉。如是展轉乃至於我。我今囑汝。聽吾偈曰。

The Twenty-seventh Patriarch, Prajnatara, was a man of eastern India. Having gained the Dharma, he traveled teaching to southern India. The king there, named Xiangzhi, revered the Buddha vehicle and made offerings with great respect, surpassing his peers, and also donated a priceless precious pearl. At that time the king had three sons, the youngest of whom was a bodhisattva-like scholar. The Venerable wished to test what they had attained, and so took the pearl that had been donated and asked the three princes: "This pearl is round and bright; is there anything that can match it?" The first son, Mujingduoluo, and the second son, Gongdeduoluo, both said: "This pearl is the most honored among the seven treasures, and certainly nothing surpasses it. Without the Venerable's power of the Way, who could receive it?" The third son, Bodhidhara (Bodhitara), said: "This is a worldly treasure and not worth calling supreme; among treasures, the Dharma treasure is supreme. This is worldly light and not worth calling supreme; among lights, the light of wisdom is supreme. This is worldly brightness and not worth calling supreme; among brightnesses, the brightness of the mind is supreme. The light of this pearl cannot illuminate itself; it requires the light of wisdom to discern it. Having discerned it, one knows it is a pearl. Having known it is a pearl, one understands that treasure. If one understands that treasure, the treasure is not a treasure by itself. If one discerns that pearl, the pearl is not a pearl by itself. Since the pearl is not a pearl by itself, one needs the pearl of wisdom to discern the worldly pearl. Since the treasure is not a treasure by itself, one needs the treasure of wisdom to illuminate the Dharma treasure. Then when the master has that Way, that treasure appears. Sentient beings have the Way, and the treasure of the mind is likewise." The Venerable praised his eloquence and wisdom, and asked further: "Among all things, what thing has no characteristic?" He said: "Among all things, non-arising has no characteristic." He asked again: "Among all things, what thing is highest?" He said: "Among all things, the self of persons is highest." He asked again: "Among all things, what thing is greatest?" He said: "Among all things, the nature of dharmas is greatest." The Venerable knew he was the Dharma heir, but since the time had not yet come, he kept silent for the time being. When King Xiangzhi died, everyone wailed until breathless; only the third son, Bodhidhara, entered concentration before the coffin, and after seven days came out, and then asked to leave home. After he had received the full precepts, the Venerable told him: "The Tathagata entrusted the true Dharma eye to Mahakashyapa, and it was handed down in this way until it reached me. Now I entrust it to you. Listen to my verse:"

心地生諸種因事復生理

From the mind-ground the various seeds arise, and through events principle arises again;

果滿菩提圓華開世界起

when the fruit is full, bodhi is complete; when the flower opens, the world arises.

尊者付法已。即於坐上起立。舒左右手各放光明。二十七道五色光耀。又踴身虛空。高七多羅樹。化火自焚空中舍利如雨收以建塔。當宋孝武帝大明元年丁酉歲也(正宗記雲。宋孝武之世也。又注云。以達磨六十七年算之。當在宋孝武建元元年甲午也)。

When the Venerable had finished entrusting the Dharma, he rose from his seat, stretched out his left and right hands, and each emitted light, twenty-seven rays of five colors shining. He then leapt into the sky to the height of seven tala trees and burned himself with transformed fire. Relics rained down from the sky and were gathered to build a stupa. This was in the dingyou year, the first year of the Daming era of Emperor Xiaowu of the Song (the Zhengzong Ji says it was in the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Song. A note also says: reckoning by the sixty-seven years of Bodhidharma, it should be the jiawu year, the first year of the Jianyuan era of Emperor Xiaowu of Song).