University of Virginia Library

Shih Pao-ch'ang's Preface to
Lives of the Nuns

Is it not fundamental, as regards pure mind, lofty purpose, unusual
virtue, and extraordinary integrity, that these qualities do not come
simply through natural means but are encouraged by respect for noble
character? Therefore, it is said, "The man who emulates a paragon
will become a paragon himself," and "The horse who emulates a thoroughbred
is a thoroughbred as well."[1] These nuns then, whom I
hereby offer as models, are women of excellent reputation, paragons
of ardent morals, whose virtues are a stream of fragrance that flows
without end.

That is why I take up my ink brush and cleave to my stylus to
record the women's biographies to hand on to later chroniclers, that
they in turn might use the material I provide to encourage and admonish
generations to come. Therefore, although I might wish to teach
wordlessly [as the sages do], in this case I cannot refrain from using
words.[2]

In the past, when the Great Awakened One came to birth in the
town of Kapilavastu, the Buddha sun appeared in India. The three
realms [of the desire, form, and formless worlds] took refuge [in the
spiritual power of the Three Treasures—the Buddha, his teaching,
and the monastic assemblies]; and those beings of the four types of
birth [—from egg, womb, moisture, and metamorphosis—] offered
obeisance [to the Three Treasures].

The first Buddhist nun in the world was Mahāprajāpatī, [the Buddha's
own stepmother]. [From the time of Mahāprajāpatī] nuns
throughout the succeeding generations have ascended the stages of the
Buddhist path and realized the fruits of spiritual practice. These illustrious
examples of the religious life are like the sun passing through
the sky, shedding light and warmth on all.

Since [the Buddha] lay down between two [shāla] trees in the village
of Kushinagara [and there entered final nirvana], the passing years
have brought degeneracy and chaos, and men of our times confound
faith and falsehood; they confuse what to preserve and what to discard,

not knowing where the truth may be. That the Profound Word
wastes away is because the wicked confuse it; that the True Religion
flourishes again is because the wise support it.

When, during the second age of the Buddhist religion [which began
five hundred years after the death of the Buddha], the faith spread east
to China, the nun Chu Ching-chien (no. 1) became the first [Chinese
Buddhist nun], and for several hundred years nuns of great virtue
appeared in China one after another.[3] Of these nuns, Shan-miao (no.
26) and Ching-kuei (no. 47) achieved the epitome of the ascetic life;
Fa-pien (no. 31) and Seng-kuo (no. 27) consummately excelled in
meditation and contemplation. Individuals such as Seng-tuan (no. 24)
and Seng-chi (no. 8), who were steadfast in their resolution to maintain
chastity, and Miao-hsiang (no. 4) and Fa-ch'üan (no. 44), who
were teachers of great influence, appeared very frequently. Such virtue
as theirs is like the deep ocean or the lofty peak—like the harmonious
music of bronze and jade bells. Indeed, they are models of virtue in an
autumnal age, reliable guides in a decadent time.

Even though as the years go by the pure monastic rules are gradually
forsaken, nevertheless the nuns' excellent tradition will be a pattern
for a millenium.

I frequently deplored that a record of their achievements had not
been made, and therefore, for a long time, I have been examining epitaphs
and eulogies and searching in collections of writings. Sometimes
I inquired among the well informed; sometimes I interviewed the aged.
Putting this material in order from beginning to end I compiled the
biographies of the nuns. Starting with the sheng-p'ing reign period
(357-361) of the Eastern Chin dynasty and ending with the t'ien-chien
reign period (502-519) of the Liang dynasty, there are altogether
sixty-five women.

I did not embellish the material; rather, I worked to preserve the
essentials, hoping that those who seek freedom from the world of suffering
will emulate the nuns' virtue. And yet, because my researches
are limited and perhaps incomplete, I ask my discerning readers to
advise me of any deficiencies.