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Biographies of Eminent Monks Volume I Draft – Do Not Cite Or Print! Imre Galambos

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Biographies of Eminent Monks Volume I Draft – Do not cite or print! Imre Galambos Written by the Liang 梁 dynasty śramaṇa Shi Huijiao 釋慧皎 of the Jiaxiang temple 嘉祥寺 in Kuaiji 會稽 Sūtra translators I 1. Kāśyapa Mātaṅga1 Kāśyapa Mātaṅga 攝摩騰 was originally a native of Central India. He had an elegant and graceful appearance, understood the sūtras of both the Great and Small Vehicles, and travelled around teaching as his main task. Formerly he had journeyed to a small state which was a dependency of India and preached the Sūtra of Golden Light there. Just at this time an enemy state invaded and Mātaṅga proclaimed: “The sūtra says, ‘he who can explicate the dharma contained in this sūtra is protected by the gods of the land who ensure that he lives in peace and happiness.’2 Now that swords and arrows have begun to be used, is it going to be of any help?” With this he vowed to disregard his own safety and go in person to advocate peace. Later on, the two states restored friendly relations, and as a result Mātaṅga gained prominence. During the Yongping 永平 reign (AD 58–75) of the Han dynasty, Emperor Ming 明 (r. 57–75) dreamt at night that a golden man flew over to him from across the sky. Thus he assembled all his ministers to divine the dream. The learned Fu Yi 傅毅 offerred the following answer: “I have heard that in the Western Regions there is a deity called the Buddha, and Your Majesty must have dreamt about him.” The emperor thought that this was indeed the case and he despatched gentleman-of-the-interior (langzhong) Cai Yin 蔡愔, erudite disciple (boshi dizi) Qin Jing 秦景 and others to India in search of the Buddhist dharma. Over there, Cai Yin and the others met Mātaṅga and invited him to come back with them to the land of the Han.3 Mātaṅga resolved to spread [the dharma] throughout the realm and, taking no notice of hardship and fatigue, crossed the Shifting Sands and reached the city of Luoyang 雒陽. Emperor Ming welcomed him with admiration and generosity, and established a pure abode for his sake outside the Western Gates. This was the first time a śramaṇa came to the land the Han. But at this first instance of the spread of the Great Dharma, there were no believers yet. Thus Mātaṅga possessed a profound understanding [of the dharma] but had no one to hand it down to. A little later he died in Luoyang. 1 The Chinese edition has section titles but the Taisho does not seem to. ??? 2 These words do not seem to be a direct quote from the Sūtra of Golden Light, at least not from the canonical Chinese version. But do they match any other version? 3 In later years Han became a common designation for China and its people but at this time it might specifically refer to the Han dynasty. A record says:4 “Mātaṅga translated the Sishi’er zhang jing 四十二章經 in one scroll. Initially, it was kept in the fourteenth chamber of the Orchid Terrace (Lantai 蘭臺) cave. Today, there is the White Horse (Baima 白馬) temple outside the Yong Gates 雍門 on the western side of the city wall of Luoyang, and this is where Mātaṅga lived.”5 There is a legend which retells the story how once a king of a foreign state began destroying all the monasteries and the Zhaoti monastery 招提寺 was the only one not yet destroyed. During the night a white horse circled around the monastery’s stūpa, neighing sorrowfully. This made the king come to a realization and he at once stopped the destruction of monasteries. On this account, they changed the name of the monastery from Zhaoti to White Horse. This is the reason why when choosing a name for a monastery, they often name it such. 2. Dharmaratna (Dobharana6) Dharmaratna (Zhu falan 竺法蘭) was also a native of Central India. He claimed that he could recite tens of thousands of sections from the sūtras and śāstras, and that he was the teacher of Indian scholars. When Cai Yin had arrived in his country, Dharmaratna and Kāśyapa Mātaṅga agreed that they would travel together to convert people. Thus they were to come one after the other. This was the time when Dharmaratna’s students were becoming an impediment for him so he took the the opportunity to leave.7 Arriving at Luoyang, he stayed together with Mātaṅga. Soon he was able to to speak good Chinese and translated five sūtras from among those brought back from the Western Regions by [Cai] Yin, namely, the Shidi duanjie 十地斷結, Fo bensheng 佛本生, Fahai zang 法海藏, Fo benxing 佛本行, and Sishi’er zhang 四十二章. When the capital was moved and there were rebellions and disorder, four of these texts were lost and their transmission ended. Today only the Sishi’er zhang jing survives in the Jiangzuo 江左 region, amounting to two thousand some characters. Among the sūtras preserved in the land of the Han, this is the only one from those initially translated. Cai Yin had also obtained a wonderful painted image of Śākyamuni from the Western Regions, which was the fourth masterpiece of the sandalwood sculptor master of King Udayana.8 When the image arrived in Luoyang, Emperor Ming ordered his painters to paint copies of it, one of which he placed in the Cool and Refreshing Terrace (Qingliang tai 清涼臺) and the other, above the Xianjieling 顯節陵 mausoleum. The original image is no longer extant today. Also, in the past when Emperor Wu 武 (r. 141–87 BC) had the Kunming Lake 昆明池 dug out, at the bottom they found black ash. They asked Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 about this but he said he had no knowledge of this and they should ask someone from the Western Regions.9 Later on, when Dharmaratna arrived, there were many people asking him about this, and he said: “These ashes are what remains when the world comes to an end and the conflagration burns it down 4 This record was probably an inscription on a stele, or something of similar nature. ??? 5 Cf. Luoyang jielan ji, juan 4. What does it say? 6 The Iwanami dictionary gives Dharmaratna and Lancaster's Catalogue Dharmarakṣa for this name. Ermakov also translates the name as Dharmaratna, although adding a question mark at the first instance to indicate uncertainty. So which one is correct? 7 This is translated differently by Ermakov. What about the French version? 8 This is a bit chaotic. Was it King Udayana who was the master and he made it, or did he have a master who made it for him? Cf. also Faxian, which talks about this. 9 Dongfang Shuo xxxxxx. completely.”10 Dongfang Shuo’s words were thus verified and there were a great many people who believed this. Dharmaratna later died in Luoyang at the age of sixty some years. 3. An Qing 安清 (An Shigao 安世高) An Qing 安清 had the cognomen Shigao 世高. He was the crown prince of the king of Parthia 安息, born from the main queen. In his youth, he was acclaimed for his filial conduct towards his parents. In addition, he was intelligent in purpose and conduct, focussed and fond of studying.11 He was equally knowledgeable about foreign scriptures, the special arts 異術 of the Seven Luminaries, the five elements and medical prescriptions, and even the sounds of birds and beasts. Once he had seen a flock of swallows and told his companions: “The swallows say that someone is about to bring them food.” And behold, in a little while someone arrived there [with food]. Everyone around him was astonished and therefore news of his exceptional talent spread early throughout the Western Regions. Even though Shigao lived at home, he strictly observed the precepts. When the king passed away, he succeded him on the throne. Thereupon he deeply contemplated the futility of suffering and the escape from the physical world. Having finished morning his father, he ceded the country to his uncle and he himself became a monk to cultivate the Way. He became exceedingly knowledgeable in the collection of scriptures, and was especially learned with regards to the study of Abhidharma. He could recite the Chanjing 禪經 [Dhyāna sutra] and fully understood its mysteries.12 Later on, he went travelling to spread the teaching. He has traversed many countries and in the beginning of the reign of Emperor Huan 桓 (r. 147–167) of the Han for the first time he arrived in China. He was quick-witted and could comprehend anything after just one hearing. Not too long after his arrival, he had completely mastered Chinese language and thus expounded the translation 宣譯 of several scriptures, translating those from hu language to Chinese (Han 漢).13 He completed the Anban shouyi 安般守意, the Yinchiru 陰持入, the Great and Small Shi’er men 大小十二門, and the Bailiushi pin 百六十品 scriptures. Initially, the foreign Tripiṭaka Master Zhonghu 眾護 (Sangharaksha?) had compiled a synopsis of various sutras in twenty-seven chapters, and Shigao dissected seven chapters from Zhonghu’s collection and translated those 10 This story appears in a number of sources, some of which are earlier than the Gaosengzhuan. Ermakov’s translation seems to be amiss here. Dong is simply an adverb which means “completely, thoroughly”. 11 We see a very similar way of describing the youth of two other monks in the Gaoseng zhuan. The first one is Zhufachong 竺法崇, of whom we learn that “in his youth he entered the Way (bcame a monk?) and was acclaimed for his simplicity; when he grew older, he was also intelligent and was fond of studying.” The other Sengsheng 僧盛, whose biography says that “in his youth he had an expression full of intelligence; when he grew older, he set his mind on learning and optimistic(?)/diligent(?) 翹勤.” This shows that Huijiao in some cases made use of formulaic structures that may not have come from external sources.
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