Lives of the nuns biographies of Chinese Buddhist nuns from the fourth to sixth centuries : a translation of the Pi-ch'iu-ni chuan |
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NOTES
Introduction
The translation of the Lives is based on the Japanese edition of the Chinese
Buddhist canon, the Taishō-shinshū-daizōkyō. The Lives is no. 2063 in
vol. 50. All further references to the Taishō edition will be abbreviated T.
Shih Pao-ch'ang, biography in Hsü kao seng chuan (Further lives of eminent
monks), T. 50, no. 2060, 426.b.13-427.c.20. For more about Shih Pao-ch'ang,
see Wright, "Biography and Hagiography."
Buddhism separated into two main branches about three to four hundred
years after its founding, the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, or Small Vehicle and
Great Vehicle. The adherents of the Great Vehicle assigned the title Hīnayāna
to their opponents. We prefer to use the term Disciples' Vehicle rather than
Hīnayāna. The adherents of the Disciples' Vehicle ignored their opponents.
The only remaining school of the Disciples' Vehicle is the Theravāda school
found mostly in Southeast Asia. See Robinson and Johnson, Buddhist Religion,
pp. 65-69; Ch'en, Buddhism in China, pp. 11-16. (See also chap. 1 n.
50, below.)
See Tsai, "Chinese Buddhist Monastic Order," pp. 2-3, for a much more
detailed discussion of this problem. Also see Paul, Women in Buddhism,
which has a different approach and understanding.
Cullavagga, X, 1.4, 6; and among others in the Chinese Buddhist canon
the Ssu fen pi-ch'iu-ni chieh mo fa (Dharmaguptaka nuns' rites and rule book)
T. 22, no. 1434, 1066.c.18-19; and also Ssu fen pi-ch'iu-ni chieh pen (Dharmaguptaka
nuns' rule book), T. 22, no. 1431, 1037.c.20-21.
Taoism was never a single set of practices or beliefs. That Buddhism
superficially resembled Taoism in so many aspects contributed in some measure
to the initial spread of Buddhism. Recently much scholarly work has been
done in the study of Taoism. Two good introductory books are Welch, Taoism:
The Parting of the Way; and Kaltenmark, Lao Tzu and Taoism. Two
important collections of articles are Facets of Taoism in Chinese Religion, ed.
Holmes Welch and Anna Seidel; Symposium on Taoism, in History of Religions.
A very important article, a combination of a bibliography and an encyclopedic
entry, is Seidel's, "Chronicle of Taoist Studies." This issue of Cahiers
fifteenth ed., has excellent articles on both Taoism and Buddhism.
The decision to translate the Buddhist texts into Chinese was of monumental
importance for the history of Buddhism in China. It is not an automatic
assumption that sacred scriptures should be translated. Other religions
often keep their holy books in ancient and original tongues. The texts most
popular in China were usually the ones most similar to the taste of literate
Chinese.
Ch'en, Buddhism in China, pp. 48-53; Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest,
pp. 26-27; Link, "Taoist Antecedents of Tao-an's Ontology," pp. 181-215.
The story is from Yün chi ch'i ch'ien (Seven tallies in a cloud satchel),
chüan 115-116, p. 1614. This is a Sung-dynasty collection of about a.d.
1025 of major Taoist writings.
Tao-an (312-385), biography in Kao seng chuan (Lives of eminent
monks), T. 50, 351.c.3ff; Ch'u san-tsang chi chi (Collected notes on the translation
of the Buddhist scriptures into Chinese), T. 55, 43.c., 44.b-46.b;
108.a-109.c; Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, pp. 187-189; biography translated
by Link, "Biography of Shih Tao-an."
Hui-yüan (344-416), biography in Kao seng chuan, T. 50, 357.c.23ff;
and in Ch'u san-tsang chi chi, T. 55, 110.b.ff. Ch'en, Buddhism in China, pp.
76-77; Robinson, Early Mādhyamika in India and China, pp. 96-114. Biography
translated in Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, pp. 240-253.
Lo-yang ch'ieh-lan chi (A record of monasteries and convents in
Lo-yang), T. 51, no. 2092, 1004.c.15-16, 1005.c.16-17, 21; and reprinted
by Shih-chieh Publishing, 1962, map insert between pp. 8-9.
See, for example, Ssu fen lü (Dharmaguptaka-vinaya), T. 22, no. 1428,
924.c.17-18; Ssu fen pi-ch'iu-ni chieh pen (Dharmaguptaka nuns' rule book),
T. 22, no. 1427, 557.b.12.
One may learn the causes and conditions of why modern women
become Buddhist nuns and teachers in Friedman, Meetings with Remarkable
Women, especially the story of Karuna Dharma, pp. 193-211.
Gernet, "Les suicides," pp. 537, 548; also Le lie-sien tchouan, pp. 36
n. 1, 54 n. 2, 81, passim.
The collection of Buddhist texts, compared to, for example, the Bible of
the Christians, or the Koran of the Muslims, is vast. Of the major collections
of Buddhist texts, which are classified by language, the Chinese collecton is
the largest. The Chinese Buddhist canon, the Ta tsang ching (Great storehouse
of scriptures), consists of fifty-five volumes of texts, plus a forty-five-volume
supplement. Each volume has about one thousand pages, and each page has
about one thousand characters.
The monk Seng-chao, in his commentary to the Vimalakīrti, the Chu
wei-mo-chieh ching, T. 38, no. 1775, 344.c.lff.
In the "Medicine King" chapter in Miao fa lien hua ching, 53.b-54.a;
Cheng fa hua ching, 125.b-126.a. See Flower of the Law Scripture in Bibliography.
Demiéville, "Momies," pp. 148-149. He suggests that mummification
was rare in Taoism; Needham, in Science and Civilisation, 5, no. 2:300,
believes it was more common.
Shih Pao-ch'ang's Preface to Lives of the Nuns
Literally, "The man who longs to emulate Yen will be the same kind of
person as Yen." Yen Hui was a disciple of Confucius. The full quotation is
found in Chin shu, chap. 82, biography of Yü P'u. Shih Pao-ch'ang has
reversed the two phrases.
Sages, of whom the most famous is Lao-tzu in Lao-tzu tao teh ching,
chap. 56: "Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know."
Another sage is Chuang-tzu, in chap. 22: "Perfect speech is giving up speech."
("Perfect speech is the abandonment of speech," Burton Watson, Complete
Works of Chuang Tzu, p. 247.)
The Three Ages are the periods of the first age of the True Dharma (Law)
lasting five hundred or one thousand years; the second age, the counterfeit
age, lasting five hundred or one thousand years; the third age is the decay of
depending on the length of ages the Chinese used to determine the birth date
of the Buddha (Ch'en, Buddhism in China, pp. 297-298).
1. The Chin Dynasty
The early Buddhist missionaries from India and central Asia were given
surnames in China that indicated the country of their origin: Chu for India,
An for Parthia, K'ang for Sogdia, and Chih for Scythia. For several centuries
their Chinese disciples took religious surnames from their masters until the
custom arose of using the first character of the Buddha's own name, Shā-kyamuni—or
Shih-chia-mou-ni in Chinese transcription—thus giving rise to
the practice of all monks and nuns taking the religious surname of Shih.
P'eng-ch'eng was in the present-day region of northwest Chiangsu Province
and southern Shantung Province. P'eng-ch'eng was a very early and
important center of Buddhism in China, with evidence for Buddhist practice,
of a sort, dating to mid-first century a.d. It remained a flourishing center
lying as it did in a pivotal section of a trade route that connected the Silk
Road, with P'eng-ch'eng lying at the extreme eastern end, and southern
China, the areas of Kuei-chi and modern-day Nanjing, the capital, under different
names, of the succession of Southern dynasties beginning with the Eastern
Chin dynasty (a.d. 317). See Maspero, "Les Origins," pp. 87-92.
Lo-yang served as the capital of the Chin dynasty until the fall of Western
Chin in 317. See map.
This means only that the nuns have more rules than the monks. The
number of rules for nuns in the various schools: Dharmaguptaka, 348; Mahīshāsaka,
373; Sarvāstivāda, 354; Mahāsāmghika, 290; Pali canon, 311;
Tibetan canon, 364; Mūlasarvāstivāda, 309. See Mochizuki, Bukkyō-daijiten
5:4292.
These are the ten basic rules that the novice in training is to observe—
namely, to refrain from (1) harming living beings; (2) stealing; (3) wrong sexual
conduct; (4) false speech; (5) intoxicating substances; (6) wearing perfumes
or garlands; (7) participating in entertainments or going to observe
them; (8) using a high or wide bed; (9) eating at improper times; and (10) carrying
or using silver, gold, or other precious objects (which prohibits the use
of money).
Chih-shan from Kashmir: The table of contents to the Ming seng chuan
(Lives of famous monks) (of which only fragments remain) lists in chap. 19 a
Chih-shan in the category of foreign meditation masters. Because he is listed
whether he is the same as Ching-chien's instructor. The book Lives of Famous
Monks was also compiled by Pao-ch'ang. See appendix A.
This is the most likely date because it refers to the chien-wu reign period
of Chin (317), rather than to the chien-wu reign period of the Latter Chao
(335). The biographies are dated according to the reign periods of the Southern
dynasties. This means he left the same year that the Chinese dynasty of
Chin had to flee south from the non-Chinese invaders.
According to the records Chu Fo-t'u-teng lived from the year 232 to the
year 348. He has a biography not only in the Buddhist collection of biographies,
Kao seng chuan, vol. 50, chap. 9:383.b-387.a, but also in the official
history of the dynasty, the Chin shu, chap. 95. His biography from Kao seng
chuan has been translated by Wright, "Fo-t'u-teng." Fo-t'u-teng, a central
Asian of Indian ancestry and hence surnamed Chu, carried out his missionary
work in northern China, arriving from Kucha in a.d. 310 in time for the
calamitous loss of north China to invading non-Chinese tribes. He remained
in north China using his considerable magical powers to ameliorate the harsh
rule of the barbarian emperors. His Chinese disciples, in particular the monk
Shih Tao-an (whose biography appears in Kao seng chuan, 5:351.c-354.a,
and has been translated into English by Link, "Biography of Shih Tao-an"),
established the intellectual and institutional foundations not merely of Buddhism
in China but also of Chinese Buddhism.
The allusion is to Mencius, book 3, part A: "The virtue of the gentleman
is like the wind. The virtue of the common man is like the grass. When
the wind blows the grass will surely bend." See also the translation by Lau in
Mencius.
In the year a.d. 317 barbarians took control of north China, forcing the
imperial court to flee south where it set up another capital city at Chien-k'ang
(present-day Nanjing), on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Many refugees,
especially among the upper classes, fled south at the same time. Ching-chien,
however, was not among them, remaining instead in or near Lo-yang.
The city of Lo-yang had been sacked in a.d. 311 (Ch'en, Buddhism in China,
p. 57; Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, pp. 59, 84).
Land of the Scythians, lit. Yüeh-chih people, in present-day Kashmir,
Afghanistan, and Pamir. The Yüeh-chih are known in the west as Scythians.
The Yüeh-chih Buddhist missionaries were very active in bringing Buddhism
to China, and colonies of Yüeh-chih lived in the northwest section of China,
e.g., Kansu and the Tun-huang region. The translator monk Dharmaraksha,
the "bodhisattva from Tun-huang," for example, was of Yüeh-chih ancestry.
The importance of central Asians of several groups such as the Kucheans,
Khotanese, and Sogdians in transmitting the Buddha's law from India to
China cannot be overemphasized.
We have used the variant reading as it appears in the Sung, Yüan, and
Ming editions of the Buddhist canon. This makes our interpretation somewhat
different from others. For example, Tsukamoto Zenryū, Chūgokubukkyō-tsūshi,
p. 438, states, "The foreign monk T'an-mo-chieh-to set up an
ordination platform in Lo-yang using the Mahāsānghika Ritual and Rule
book brought back from Yüeh-chih by Seng-ching." In Mochizuki, Bukkyō
daijiten, p. 4292b., we read, "In the hsien-k'ang period of Latter Chin, Seng-ching
got the Mahāsānghika Ritual and Rule book, and in the first year, second
month of the sheng-p'ing period requested T'an-mo-chieh-to to set up a
bhiksunī ordination platform." We do not see any way to reconcile these differing
versions, and we have chosen our interpretation for the reason that the
date of the completion of the translation is given.
The eighth day of the second month (or, according to some sources, the
fifteenth day of the month) was celebrated as the Buddha's nirvana day; i.e.,
the day he passed into final nirvana. See, e.g., Fa yüan chu lin [Forest of pearls
in the garden of the law] T. 53, 371.c.-372.c.; and Nirvāna Scripture, T. 12,
365.c.8-9.
The Chinese text for the phrase "scriptures on the origins of monastic
rules" could also be interpreted as the title of a specific book. There is such a
book, the Origin of Monastic Rules Scripture, translated in the northern capital
of Ch'ang-an (see map) between 379 and 385. This date, however, places
the translation too late for use by the monk Shih Tao-ch'ang because the nun
Ching-chien died no later than 361. It is always possible that an earlier, but
now-lost, translation that used the same title could have been available. A text
called Pi-nai-yeh (i.e., Vinaya) in ten chüan was translated by Chu Fo-nien of
the Yao Ch'in. He went to Ch'ang-an in the chien-yüan reign period (365384)
and was part of the translation team headed by Tao-an who had been
taken by force to Ch'ang-an in 379. The text was translated between 379 and
385. See Hirakawa Akira, Ritsuzō-no-kenkyū, pp. 155-160, for a discussion
of the date of translation. This date means that the text was translated some
years after Ching-ch'ien's full ordination and therefore could not be the one
specified in the biography. It is possible that the words chieh yin-yüan ching
refer to Vinaya texts in general because in the body of these texts the circumstances
that lead to the creation of a new rule are referred to as yin-yüan. See,
e.g., T. 22, no. 1425, 522.a.10, 522.c.17. Waley, in Buddhist Texts through
the Ages, p. 292 n.3, suggests that it is referring to the Ta-ai-tao pi-ch'iu-ni
ching (The scripture of Mahāprajāpatī's Vinaya). But the date of translation
of this text is approximately 412-439, thus being too late. See Répertoire,
p. 126. Another possibility is that it is the title for a text now lost.
This sentence is admittedly difficult to interpret. Tsukamoto Zenryū in
his book Chūgoku bukkyō tsūshi, p. 438, says that Ching-chien and her companions
received the precepts on an ordination platform on the boat.
at times, the circumstances in this instance seem not to warrant that interpretation.
The Ssu River was not located conveniently near Lo-yang. Waley, in
Buddhist Texts through the Ages, p. 242, says that the foreign monk went
south on the river. Regardless of who went south, the goal of such a trip might
well have been P'eng-ch'eng, a thriving center of Buddhism since at least the
first century (see Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, pp. 26-28), or even Chien-k'ang.
The lower reaches of the Ssu River were "stolen" when the Yellow River
changed course in the late twelfth century and flowed into the Yellow Sea
south of the Shantung peninsula until the mid-nineteenth century when the
Yellow River once again changed course to flow north of the Shantung peninsula.
The Ssu River was not restored.
Rising bodily to the sky is a Taoist way of death. See Le Lie-sien
tchouan, p. 112; Yün chi ch'i ch'ien (Seven tallies in a cloud satchel), e.g., pp.
1619-1620.
Thus she was in her late twenties when she received the ten precepts and
in her late sixties when she finally received full admission to the Assembly
of Nuns.
The traditional conception of a woman's duty was to obey first her
father or elder brother, then her husband, and finally her son. See Wright,
"Biography of An Ling-shou," p. 195, where he quotes James Legge's translation
of the Li Chi: ". . . In her youth, she follows her father and elder brother,
when married, she follows her husband; when her husband is dead, she follows
her son." This describes an ideal situation. An Ling-shou was obeying a
higher authority that included her duty to her parents.
Buddhist monastic life ran counter to traditional values and was the
biggest obstacle to Chinese acceptance of Buddhism. This is standard Buddhist
apology. The theme is central to Dudbridge, The Legend of Miao-shan,
pp. 89-91.
Kucha was an oasis city kingdom of central Asia along the Silk Road
some distance from northwest China.
See biography 1. In reading his reply to Chung, one must keep in mind
that he was a magician as well as a monk and used this very successful expedient
means to influence the rulers in north China at the time, Shih Lo and Shih
Hu. Evidence indicates that he ameliorated some of the very harsh aspects of
the rule of these two. See Wright, "Fo-t'u-teng."
See Wright, "Fo-t'u-teng," pp. 337-338. Fo-t'u-teng could also hear
prophesies from the sound of bells and could interpret dreams. The early Buddhist
missionaries to China often were wonder workers and healers.
Traditionally a garment made from rags collected from the dustheap
and patched together. The Chinese passage could also be interpreted to mean
that the vestment and the robe were the same garment.
There is also a vestment tie known as a hsiang-pi (elephant trunk),
which would make the sentence read "elephant-trunk tie, and a water ewer."
The interpretation in the translation was chosen because of the structure of
the sentence.
The Latter Chao, 319-350, was one of many non-Chinese dynasties
that rose and fell in the north after the legitimate Chinese dynasty was forced
to flee south in a.d. 317. This dynasty, under Shih Lo, and especially under
his nephew Shih Hu, (who killed Shih Lo's son) has been described as a reign of
terror and Shih Hu in particular as a psychopath. Their capital sites were
Hsiang-kuo and Yeh in north China. See Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, pp.
85, 181.
Ching-sheh was not originally a Buddhist term. It derived from Han
times and was used by both Confucianists and Taoists. There are several alternate
combinations of characters. See Stein, "Remarques," p. 38.
It should be noticed that in the biographies Confucianism as such is
never the subject of polemics. Huang-Lao Taoism evolved during the Han
dynasty and concerned obtaining long life and immortality. It is possible that
the administrator of the commandery was a consciously practicing Huang-Lao
devotee, but he was more likely to be a Confucian.
See Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest 2:414 n. 27, where he lists five
instances of the investigation of the assemblies of the monks and nuns, one of
which is mentioned here.
In 357. His uncle Fu Chien (different character) (r. 351-355) declared
himself emperor in 351, founding the Former Ch'in dynasty, one of the Sixteen
Kingdoms of non-Chinese rulership in north China, 304-463. Former
Ch'in (351-394) united north China during Fu Chien's reign (357-385). He
was strangled to death in 385. The seat of the Former Ch'in government was
at Ch'ang-an within the province of Ssu-li, and this is probably the Sus Province
given as the location of Chih-hsien's convent home. She presumably
moved from her hometown in Hopei to the capital, or the biography is giving
her ancestral home, a common practice in Chinese Buddhist biographical
writing. She is thus located in Ch'ang-an during approximately the same time
as Ching-chien (biography 1). On Fu Chien, see Rogers, Chronicle of Fu
Chien; Chin shu, chap. 113-114; Wei shu, chap. 95.
The Chinese title indicates that Chih-hsien used the translation by
Dharmaraksha (Chu Fa-hu), done in the year a.d. 286 in Ch'ang-an in northwest
China. T. 9, no. 263. See Répertoire, p. 36.
This is a tour de force in terms of the length of the text. It would require
chanting about fifty words per minute nonstop for a twenty-four-hour period.
If she took any rest, she would have to have chanted much faster.
Concourse with animals is frequently the indication of a holy person of
whatever tradition. See Eliade, Shamanism, p. 99, passim. One is reminded of
St. Francis of Assisi, who preached to the animals, and St. Seraphim of Sarov,
who associated with the bear and other animals.
Ritualized walking, ching hsing, a Buddhist term referring to a ritualized
walking exercise often used as a break to punctuate the hours of sitting in
meditation. See Oda, Bukkyō-daijiten, p. 249.c.
Hung-nung in north China. Probably the town located on the Yellow
River to the west of Lo-yang, halfway between Lo-yang and the north bend of
the Yellow River. See map.
Chang Mao, otherwise unknown. He is not likely to be one of the four
persons whose names appear in the dynastic histories because the locations do
not conform to the biography. Chin shu, chaps. 30, 78, 86, 107, refer to the
four different individuals, and there is no evidence identifying any of them as
Miao-hsiang's father.
Grand secretariat of the right. See des Rotours, Traité, p. 595. "Les
quatre secrétaires du grand secrétariat de droit de l'héritier du trone (T'ai-tseucho-jen)
etaiant mandarins du sixiéme degré, primiére classe."
Confucian propriety, i.e., observing all the rules and rites associated
with the death of a parent. A clear explanation is given in Waley, Analects of
Confucius, pp. 62-64; Thompson, Chinese Religion, pp. 51-52.
This refers to Mahāyāna, or Great Vehicle, Buddhism, the type of Buddhism
prevalent in East Asia. Great Vehicle Buddhism teaches that the religious
ideal is the bodhisattva, or Buddha to be, who helps living beings attain
final nirvana ahead of them by accumulating vast stores of spiritual merit and
donating that merit to any and all who ask. The followers of the Great Vehicle
contrast this ideal with that of the Small Vehicle, which holds that the religious
ideal is the arhat or enlightened individual who, after death, will be
reborn no more, having attained final nirvana, and who is not, according to
the teachings of the Small Vehicle, able to grant spiritual merit to another.
These two main branches of Buddhism are distinguished by many other features,
an important one of which is the collections of scriptures. Great Vehicle
Buddhism has vast numbers of texts claiming to be the word of the Buddha as
compared to the relatively modest number of texts belonging to the Small
enough do not consider their Buddhism to be a lesser teaching at all, and the
Great Vehicle is something that, traditionally, they simply ignored. The one
remaining Disciples' Vehicle school, the Theravāda (Way of the Elders), is
prevalent in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. See, e.g., Robinson and Johnson,
Buddhist Religion, pp. 65ff.
These five are refraining from harming any living beings, from lying,
from wrong sexual conduct, from stealing, and from intoxicating substances.
Robinson and Johnson, Buddhist Religion, pp. 59-60. Also, e.g., Tseng i
a-han ching (Ekottarāgama), T. 2, no. 125, pp. 576-577.
This scripture is chap. 25 of Kumārajīva's translation of the Lotus
Flower of the Wonderful Law (Saddharma-pundarīka-sūtra) (Miao fa lien-hua
ching), T. 9, no. 262; and chap. 23 of Chu Fa-hu (Dharmaraksha), Cheng fa
hua ching (Flower of the true law scripture), T. 9, no. 263. It is also known as
the Universal Gate chapter (P'u men p'in), and it enjoyed wide circulation and
popularity as a separate text. Chu Fa-hu's version is the one she would have
had as Kumārajīva's was not translated until about half a century later. See
Bibliography, Flower of the Law Scripture.
This date cannot be reconciled with the dates of Ho Ch'ung. In the
biography of Hui-chan (biography 7), the date given for the nuns crossing the
Yangtze River is 344.
Ho Ch'ung (292-346) (Chin shu, chap. 77). Ho Ch'ung was an upper-class
influential man who promoted Buddhist interests, and he was likely a
Buddhist himself. See Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, p. 86, passim, especially
pp. 96-97.
"For the first time" probably means that this is the first time since the
flight of the Chinese court to the south in a.d. 317 that there were nuns in the
south. Ming-kan's arrival in the south is at least a decade before Ching-chien
(biography 1) was fully admitted to the assembly in 357 in Lo-yang. Ming-kan
is treated as one who has received all the rules for a member of the Assembly
of Nuns.
Dharma is a Sanskrit word that means law, or pattern, that must be followed.
The Way of Buddhism, for example, is called the Buddha's Dharma.
The Chinese translated the word by their word fa, but they also often transliterated
it as T'an-mo. When the transliterated form was used as part of a
name, as in the case of T'an-pei, the second syllable was usually dropped.
City of Chien-k'ang, the capital of Eastern Chin; located in present-day
Chiangsu Province at Nanjing. See map. This is the first biography of a nun
native to the south.
Niece of Ho Ch'ung (see n. 55 above; biography 5). Empress Chang,
age of sixty-six in a.d. 402 or 404, having survived her husband by forty-four
years. She was in her early twenties when the emperor died.
Shākyamuni Buddha, who was born in India in the sixth century b.c.,
was the most recent in a very long series of Buddhas. Soper, Literary Evidence,
p. 13, believes that such halls were intended for the seven Buddhas of the past
who are Vipashyin, Shikhin, Vishvabhū, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kāshyapa,
and Shākyamuni. Oda, Bukkyō-daijiten, 739.c-740.a.
The part of the sentence beginning "as proof" and ending "in times of
distress" does not appear in the Chinese text. Nevertheless, this exact circumstance,
i.e., one who is about to be harmed by a robber wielding a knife or
staff calls on the name of the bodhisattva Kuan-yin and is kept safe from harm
because the robber cannot then raise up his hands, is described in the Flower
of the Law Scripture, the earlier translation by Chu Fa-hu (d. 310+) of the
Western Chin dynasty (T. 9, no. 263, 129.a.11ff). The other translation of
this scripture (T. 9, no. 262), that by Kumārajīva (d. 409 or 413), does not
include the detail that the robber would be unable to raise up his hands against
his victim (T. 9, no. 262, 56.c.16ff).
Chien-yüan reign period (344) is a more likely date than 348 given in
biography 5 because Ho Ch'ung died in 346. See n. 55, above.
Sangha: Seng is the first syllable of the Chinese transliteration, Seng-chia
(in ancient times Seng-ka), for the Sanskrit Sangha, which means the
assemblies of monks and nuns. The character seng may also mean the individual
Buddhist cleric as well as the assembly as a whole.
She was probably older. If she were only sixty-eight when she died, then
she would have been fourteen years old when the consort built the convent for
her, and this is not likely because the biography states specifically that she was
already twenty-one when she became a nun.
The word way translates the Chinese tao. Although it is used frequently
in these biographies to mean Buddhism, it is not always so used. Whenever the
word is used, the translation will make it clear as to which particular way is
meant.
Flower of the Law. Because she was in the north, she could possibly
have used Kumārajīva's translation.
Vimalakīrti. There are at least two versions she may have used: (1) T.
did his translation work from a.d. 220-252 in Nanjing. See Zürcher, Buddhist
Conquest, pp. 48-50. (2) T. 14, no. 475, by Kumārajīva, a native of
Kucha who worked on translating scriptures in the northwest of China during
the years 385-409/413. See Répertoire, p. 267. The Vimalakīrti is about the
householder bodhisattva who bests in argument all the great bodhisattvas and
disciples of the Buddha. It is very congenial to Chinese literary taste. The climax
of this book is silence, the method of the sage's communication.
Pure Talk was a type of discussion or argument both witty and arcane
that was cultivated among the educated elite. More popular and more widespread
than Pure Talk was the Way of the Yellow Emperor and Lao-tzu, a system
of physical and mental techniques for the prolongation of life and health
with the hope of attaining immortality.
Smaller Perfection of Wisdom (Ashtasāhashrikā-prajñā-pāramitāsūtra).
It is not clear exactly which text is meant. If the nun Tao-hsing died
during the t'ai-ho reign period (366-371), the name cannot refer to Kumārajīva's
translation done in 408 (T. 8, no. 227). The Ch'u san-tsang chi chi (Collected
notes), a sixth-century catalogue (see appendix A) lists a translation by
Chu Shih-hsing, the Fang kuang ching, done in 291. Seng-yu (compiler of the
Collected Notes) appends a notice that says, "It had ninety chapters (p'in) and
was once called the `Old Smaller Prajñā-pāramitā.' It is now lost." (See the
Collected Notes, 7.b.7.) The Collected Notes also lists another text, Keng
ch'u hsiao p'in, now lost with no date of translation (Collected Notes, 8.c.13).
Again the Collected Notes lists a Hsiao p'in and the appended note says that
the scripture was translated by both Kumārajīva and Dharmaraksha (Chu Fa-hu)
who was in Ch'ang-an in 265-313 (Collected Notes, 15.a.22.) Dharmaraksha's
Kuang tsan ching is extant (T. 8, no. 222). Prajña-pāramitā means
perfection of wisdom and designates a cluster of texts exploring the concept of
emptiness. Its tricky logic appealed to many of the Chinese Buddhist literati.
A method for lengthening life. See, e.g., "Les procédés de nourrir le
principe vital," pp. 470-496 in Maspero, Le Taoïsm, esp. p. 485. See also
Ngo, Divination, p. 205.
Because Chien-wen, youngest son of Emperor Yüan (276-322-323),
was never a crown prince, he is referred to merely as the future emperor. At
the death of his predecessor he was chosen by a group of officials to be the
emperor. Even when he was young, he was especially beloved of his father,
one of whose officials had said that Chien-wen was a man capable of restoring
the fortunes of the Chin dynasty. His third son and successor, Hsiao-wu,
shu, chap. 9; Wei shu, chap. 96).
The text is ambiguous as to whether Pure Water is a place-name, for
there is such a place, or is a type of Taoist practice. "Pure water" (Ch'ing shui)
can also refer to saliva. See Maspero, Le Taoïsme, p. 527, n.2.
Ch'ü An-yüan. See Kao seng chuan 5:356.c.19-20; and Chin shu,
chap. 76, where he is described as a wonder worker (pu shu chih jen).
A common list of the eight is the five precepts described above (in n.
52), plus the sixth, refraining from applying perfume to the body, wearing
adornments, watching entertainments or listening to singing; the seventh,
refraining from sitting or lying on a high and wide bed; and the eighth,
refraining from eating at proscribed times, i.e., after noon.
A Taoist way of death is to disappear and leave behind a sandal or a
robe. See Maspero, Le Taoïsme, p. 335.
Universal Gate chapter is also known as the Bodhisattva Kuan-shih-yin
chapter, found in the Flower of the Law Scripture.
Province of Chi, in the present-day Hopei and Shansi provinces and
Honan north to the Yellow River. See map.
Meng Ford, a crossing of the Yellow River, is a good distance west of
her home and suggests that she returned by a very circuitous route. See map.
The white deer is an auspicious omen, often associated with Taoists.
Lao-tzu is said to have ridden a white deer. (T'ai-p'ing yü lan, chüan 906, p.
5). The interaction between animals and people indicates the holiness of the
person, or his own immortality. Tigers also often help people who are holy
and sincere.
As on dry land. This, too, is in response to her faith and can be attributed,
at least in part, to the bodhisattva Kuan-shih-yin. (See T. 9, no. 263,
128.c.29-129.a.l.)
The text does not specifically say Amita, but he is implied because as
the Buddha of Infinite Light, Amitābha, or Infinite Life, Amitāyus, he presides
over the Western Paradise, a place from which it is impossible to fall again
into rebirth. One who achieves birth in this paradise waits there, seated in a
lotus blossom, for his final nirvana, but in the popular mind, the Western Paradise
is in itself the final goal. No women come to birth in the Western Paradise
have attained enough merit to be born there in a male body.
One of the several picturesque expressions used in the Chinese Buddhist
biographies to say that a person died. This expression is also Taoist, the character
ch'ien having as one of its components the flapping of wings like a bird,
and one who gets wings and can fly is an immortal. In the early Han dynasty
an immortal is one who becomes a bird. See Kaltenmark's preface to his translation
of Le Lie-sien tchouan, p. 10.
Wang Ch'en (d. 392). See Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, p. 199; Chin
shu, chaps. 5, 75; Liu, Shih-shuo hsin-yü, pp. 583-584.
Wang Kung (d. 398). See Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, p. 151; Chin
shu, chap. 84; Liu, Shih-shuo hsin-yü, p. 590.
The province of Ching included the territory of the ancient kingdoms
of Ching and Ch'u—hence, Miao-yin's use of the two names.
This intrigue is corroborated in the dynastic histories. Factionalism
among the powerful families of the Eastern Chin dynasty eventually destroyed
the dynasty and led to the establishment of the Sung dynasty in a.d. 420. The
nun Miao-yin, one of the very few nuns mentioned in official dynastic histories,
obviously played a crucial role in some of the intrigues because of her
access to the ears of those both within and without court circles. That a nun
who meddled in worldly politics—and very sordid politics at that—was
included in a collection of exemplary women seems at first glance ironic, but
it merely reflects the editor's bias in favor of the famous and influential. See
Liu I-ch'ing, Shih-shuo hsin-yü (translated by Richard Mather in A New Account
of Tales of the World), and E. Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, for clear
expositions of these intrigues and their consequences. The grand tutor, Ssu-ma
Tao-tzu, was a scheming profligate who, together with his faction,
terrorized the court and others. Wang Kung's faction was in opposition to
the grand tutor. The emperor, in consulting with Miao-yin, was attempting
to arrange for help from Wang Kung's faction, but even within that faction
there were rivalries, with Huan Hsüan fearing Wang Kung and wanting
to keep his power and influence in check. Huan Hsüan therefore
had asked Miao-yin to use her influence to select the new governor of
Ching.
Within and without Buddhist circles. Miao-yin is one of the very few
Chin shu, chaps. 64, 75.
This famous nephew of the nun Tao-i was born in a.d. 334 and died
in a.d. 416 (some records give the variants 415 and 417). His biography
appears in the Chinese collection of biographies of Buddhist monks, Kao seng
chuan 6:357.c-361.b, and has been translated by E. Zürcher in Buddhist
Conquest, pp. 240-253. Hui-yüan contributed to the intellectual development
of Buddhism in China, defended the monastic system against anticlerical
officials, and is popularly credited with founding the Pure Land school of Chinese
Buddhism because he led monks and laymen in making a vow to be
reborn in the Western Paradise of the Buddha Amitābha. Although in fact he
did not found that school, he did do much to promote the growth of the Amitābha
cult in China. He was acquainted with the persons involved in the
intrigue described in biography 12. Hui-yüan had a younger brother who also
became a monk and who took the name of Hui-ch'ih and whose biography is
also in Kao seng chuan 6:361.b. In Hui-ch'ih's biography we learn that it was
he who brought his aunt to the capital from Chiang-hsia that lay along the
western reaches of the Yangtze River.
Flower of the Law Scripture. It cannot be determined with any certainty
which translation was used. Chu Fa-hu worked in north China as did
Kumārajīva.
Vimalakīrti. Again it cannot be determined which translation the nun
would have used. Kumārajīva worked in the north and Chih Ch'ien in the
south.
Smaller Perfection of Wisdom (Hsiao p'in). The abbreviation of the
title to Hsiao p'in points to Kumārajīva's translation. T. 8, no. 227.
Without having to rely on teachers. This is possibly a divine revelation
of texts. See Tsai, "Chinese Buddhist Monastic Order," p. 16 n. 51. Divine
revelations of texts occurs among both the Buddhists and the Taoists. Seng-yu's
Ch'u san-tsang chi chi, p. 40.b, gives notice that a nun of Green Garden
Convent (home to several of the nuns in the Lives) chanted "revealed" texts.
These are listed in the section for "suspect" texts.
Empress Ho Convent, the same convent as Everlasting Peace Convent
in biography 6. See also Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, p. 210, and the biography
of Hui-ch'ih, Hui-yüan's younger brother in Kao seng chuan 6:361.b.21ff.
Begging bowl and staff: early Buddhism required monks and nuns to
rely on the goodwill of alms givers because in the very early days of Buddhism,
the monks and nuns lived a truly homeless life. The Chinese nuns lived a settled
life.
2. The Sung Dynasty
Buddhist monks and nuns are not allowed to wear silk because its manufacture
involves the killing of silkworms.
T'an-tsung, contemporary with Pao-ch'ang and living in the same monastery
with him. See Kao seng chuan 7:373.b.6.
Gunavarman, biography in Kao seng chuan 3:340.a.15; and in Ch'u
san-tsang chi chi (Collected notes on the translation of the Buddhist scriptures
into Chinese), T. 55, 104.b, which says essentially the same thing, and in Fa
yüan chu lin (Forest of pearls in the garden of the law), T. 53, 616.c., which
quotes from Ming hsiang chi (Records of mysterious omens), and Fo tsu t'ung
chi (Thorough record of the Buddha's lineage), T. 49, 344.c. Gunavarman
was a member of the royal family of the central Asian kingdom of Kashmir.
He came to the southern capital of China in 431 and died there the same year.
Much additional material is added to this biography to clarify the discussion
between Hui-kuo and Gunavarman.
Mountains create a barrier. See Fa yüan chu lin (Forest of pearls in the
garden of the law), T. 53, 944.c.9-945.b.1.
Sanghavarman, biographies in Kao seng chuan 3:342.b, and in Ch'u
san-tsang chi chi, 104.c. He arrived in the southern capital in 433 and
returned to the west, presumably to his homeland of India, in 442. The date
of his arrival and the date of the nuns' reception of the full monastic obligation
in 432 obviously do not match. Biography 27 says that this event took place in
the year 433. Biography 34 says 434. All agree that the monk Sanghavarman
performed the ceremony. In Fo tsu t'ung chi (Thorough record of the Buddha's
lineage) by Chih-p'an (1258-1269), T. 49, no. 2035, 344.c.11-12 is a reference
to Sanghavarman readministering the full obligation to the nuns on a raft
or a boat in the tenth year of the yüan-chia (433) reign period. This statement
is repeated (T. 49, no. 2035, 462.c.14-15).
Western Paradise, the abode of Amita Buddha. There is also the Eastern
Paradise of Buddha Akshobhya.
Tathāgata is the Sanskrit word that the Chinese translated as ju-lai
(thus come) as the former Buddhas had come. It is an epithet of the Buddha.
This sentence has been expanded in the translation to include the names of the
Buddha and the two bodhisattvas who attend him. After Amita Buddha enters
final nirvana, Kuan-shih-yin (Avalokiteshvara) will become the next Amita
Buddha, and after his entry into final nirvana, Ta-shih-chih (Mahāsthamaprāpta)
will become Amita Buddha. The devotional Buddhism that eventually
flowered into the Pure Land school has its roots in these early years. See Infinite
Life Scripture (Wu liang shou ching) (Sukhāvatīvyūha) T. 12, no. 360,
273.a.-274.bff.
Flower of the Law Scripture; see n. 63 on the translation, "as proof of
the power," in chapter 1, biography 7: Hui-chan.
Shūrangama[-samādi-]Scripture (Shou-leng-yen san-mei ching) T. 15,
no. 642, translated by Kumārajīva.
The six prohibitions are against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct,
false speech, intoxication, and pointing out the faults of anyone in the four
groups: monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
The empress during 376-396, the reign of Emperor Hsiao-wu of Chin.
One empress died in 380 at age 21. The empress dowager died in 402, after
the death of Emperor Hsiao-wu of Chin in 396. We do not know to which
empress the biography is referring.
In Great Vehicle Buddhism, with its doctrine of bodhisattvas who
work to save all beings, the idea of transferable merit arose. The bodhisattvas
can give merit to devotees. Devotees can gain merit for themselves as well, but
it is more meritorious to gain merit for all living creatures. In this case, the
empress is gaining merit for herself probably so that she might be reborn into a
better life, or into one of the heavens or paradises.
The four monasteries or convents were all located in the capital. The
Pottery Office Monstery was very prominent, having been founded by
Emperor Ai of Chin (see Fa yüan chu lin [Forest of pearls in the garden of the
law], T. 49, no. 2035, p. 463.c.1.). Establishing Blessings Convent was the
home of six of the nuns in the Lives.
This mark, a tuft of white hair curled clockwise that frequently emits a
light, is one of the thirty-two marks of a great, holy man such as the Buddha.
That the statue, too, emitted such a light was indeed cause for amazement
and joy.
This convent is named after the Jeta Grove given to the Buddha by a
wealthy devotee to use as the site of a monastery.
Chanted the Flower of the Law three thousand times. Kumārajīva's version
in the Taishō edition has sixty-two pages, and Chu Fa-hu's seventy. Considering
the length of the text, it could have taken her eight years, nonstop,
one second per word to chant the Flower of the Law three thousand times.
Lu An-hsün. A textual note within the biography adds that the book
Hsüan yen chi (Records of encompassing examination) says, "This is An
Hsün." Lu Hsün in Ku hsiao-shuo kou ch'en (A study of ancient fiction)
2:436, also records this tale in which it is An-hsün himself who is cured,
rather than his daughter. The best evidence that it is the story of a nun is (1)
that it appears in the Lives; (2) that the same convent is home to another nun
(biography 29) in the Lives; and (3) that Lu Hsün himself, in an appended
note, refers to the textual note in the Lives. The book Hsüan yen chi is now
lost.
See introduction. It is interesting to note the eclectic nature of Buddhist
worship at this time.
Tushita Heaven, presided over by Maitreya, the next Buddha, is a
temporary location for those born there because they are subject to rebirth on
earth as soon as their stock of good merit has been exhausted. The hope is to
be reborn on earth from that heaven at the same time that Maitreya is born on
earth as the Buddha.
Literally, "It is not known where she went." This is frequently the Taoist
description of death.
See n. 2 above. In the Confucian tradition one of the indications of a
peaceful and well-ordered country is that the aged have meat to eat and silk to
wear. See Mencius, chapter 1, sections 3 and 7 (pp. 52, 57).
Hui-chih, not known in the Kao seng chuan, but whose name is found
in the table of contents of the Ming seng chuan (Lives of famous monks)
(about which see appendix A).
Meng I, prefect of Mou-hsien in present-day Chechiang (Sung shu,
chap. 66; Nan shih, chap. 19; Chin shu, chap. 96; Kao seng chuan,
13:410.a.5).
During the time that Buddhism was being introduced into China this
method of disposing of a corpse was totally repugnant to Chinese sensibilities
and contrary to all tradition.
Flower of the Law Scripture. By this time it is possible that Kumārajīva's
translation was available.
At the rate of three scrolls a day. Another example of rapid chanting as
a mark of spiritual eminence.
The theme of dying and reviving is a classical theme as well as a Buddhist
one. It is also pre-Taoist. See de Groot, Religious Systems 1:241-245.
Larger Perfection of Wisdom: this scripture is called the Ta-p'in in the
Lives. Therefore it is possible Kumārajīva'a translation, the Mo-ho-pan-jo polo-mi
ching or Mahā-prajãāpāramitā-sūtra, also known as the Ta-p'in. See
Répertoire, p. 33.
This scripture, too, was read with amazing speed. She would have had
to recite twenty thousand words per day, or approximately 833 per hour.
This implies that she transgressed the rule of not eating meat. The alternate
biography (22a), however, says that she transgressed the rule of not eating
after noon.
The Dharmaguptaka sect was one of four Disciples' Vehicle sects whose
books of monastic rules were being translated into Chinese at this time. The
texts of monastic rules were not translated so quickly as the scriptures, or
Buddha word, and, as a result, sound organizational foundation for the
of Buddhism in China.
Dharmaguptaka Monastic Rules in Four Divisions; and Rituals for
Entering Monastic Life. The exact text of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya used by
the nuns cannot be pinpointed with certainty. See Répertoire, p. 122; Ssu fen
pi-ch'iu-ni chieh pen, trans. Buddhayashas, T. 22, no. 1431; and Ssu fen pich'iu-ni
chieh-mo fa, trans. Gunavarman, T. 22, no. 1434.
Ming hsiang chi (Records of mysterious omens). Collected fragments
are found in Lu Hsün, Ku hsiao-shuo kou ch'en (A study of ancient fiction),
taken from the book Ming hsiang chi (Records of mysterious omens), by
Wang Yen, late fifth century, now lost except for the fragments.
"Origins are unknown." We have added this phrase from the Sung,
Yüan, and Ming editions without eliminating the original reading.
The implication here is that they are preparing to offer her honor and
worship because she is soon to become either a bodhisattva or a Buddha.
Great Nirvāna Scripture, T. 12, probably one of the three listed as
no. 374, trans. T'an-wu-ch'an; no. 375, trans. Hui-yen; or no. 376 trans.
Fa-hsien. See Répertoire, p. 47.
Assuming that she chants twenty-four hours per day, she is chanting at
the rate of 7.5 words per second.
His biography, Kao seng chuan 9:399.a, says that Fa-ch'eng himself
gave up eating the five grains and instead lived on a diet of pine resin.
Here we have followed the Sung, Yüan, and Ming editions. The main
edition reads, "eighteenth day."
First fruit: srotāpanna-phala, entering the stream toward bodhisattva-and
Buddhahood, therefore no longer reborn in the lower destinies of hell,
hungry ghosts, or animals.
As lifeless as dry wood: this type of meditation in which one is insensible
tradition who said that it was the "trance of cessation" of the Disciples' Vehicle,
but Pao-ch'ang seems to have approved of it. See Seng-chao's Chu weimo-chieh
ching (Commentary to the Vimalakīrti scripture) T. 38:344.c.
Nan-t'i, the Sri Lankan boat captain also mentioned in the biography of
Gunavarman in Kao seng chuan.
This paragraph is here attributed to the nuns from Sri Lanka. There is
nothing in the text itself, however, to indicate a change of speaker at this
point, and it is not impossible that the quotation should be continued as part
of Seng-kuo's previous speech. From the biography of the nun Hui-kuo (biography
14), we know that the Chinese nuns had a general understanding of the
problem, so one may imagine that Seng-kuo herself also understood the problem
and is restating it. The following sentence beginning "Although Seng-kuo
agreed . . ." is sufficiently ambiguous that one may not use it to make a categorical
decision about the identity of the speaker of the previous paragraph. It
is also possible that the long quotation here attributed to the nuns from Sri
Lanka should be broken off from Seng-kuo's first speech at some other point
that the one chosen here.
Eight special prohibitions: First, a nun, even if she has one hundred
years' seniority, must pay respects and offer a seat to a monk, even if he is
newly received into the monastic life. Second, a nun is never to curse or slander
a monk. Third, a nun is never to speak of a monk's transgressions, but a
monk may speak of hers. Fourth, a novice, after having trained in the six precepts
of a novice, must receive all the monastic precepts from the monks.
Fifth, if a nun has transgressed any of the monastic rules, she must make her
confession at the semimonthly confession ceremony in front of both assemblies,
i.e., of monks and of nuns. Sixth, a nun must seek out an instructor in
the precepts from among the monks every half month. Seventh, a nun must
not spend the summer retreat in the same location as the monks. Eighth, after
the summer retreat a nun must find a confessor from among the monks
(Horner, Women, pp. 119-120; Cullavagga, X, I, 4, no. 6).
The Buddha himself said that, if women had not entered the homeless life,
the True Law would have lasted a thousand years, but because they had, the
True Law would last only five hundred years. The Buddhists say that there are
three ages of Buddhism, that of the True Law lasting five hundred years, the
Counterfeit Law lasting five hundred or a thousand years (depending on the
sources), and the age of decay and dissolution lasting ten thousand years. Buddhist
tradition holds Ānanda, a cousin and disciple of the Buddha, responsible
for persuading the Buddha to allow women to enter the homeless life.
Ānanda, a very likable figure, was held responsible for many of the internal
problems or quarrels that beset Buddhism from the first. Another of Ānanda's
supposed failures is that, when the Buddha told him that he, the Buddha,
not request him to do so. Therefore, the Buddha died. Yet another of Ānanda's
faults is that after the death of the Buddha, Ānanda showed the Buddha's
concealed penis to women. (One of the thirty-two marks of a great holy man
is that his penis is concealed within a sheath like that of a horse.) Ānanda
defended his action saying that he did it in the hope that the women would
therefore be ashamed of their own female body and would aspire to attain a
masculine body in a future rebirth. Because Ānanda is often contrasted unfavorably
with another of the Buddha's disciples, one must suspect sectarian
rivalries among followers of the Buddha. (Ta chih tu lun [Great perfection of
wisdom commentary]) T. 25, no. 1059, and the French translation by
Lamotte, Traité 1:96-97.)
Gunavarman, lit. San-tsang (three baskets) of Buddhism: doctrine,
commentary, and monastic rules. San-tsang is used as an address of honor.
Gunavarman arrived in the southern capital in 431 and died there the same
year. See Répertoire, p. 252. Biography in Kao seng chuan 3:340.a.ff; and
Ch'u san-tsang chi chi (Collected notes on the translation of the Buddhist
scriptures into Chinese), 104.b.11ff.
This is a tentative reading for the Chinese transcription T'ieh-sa-lo.
Another possible choice is Dewasara.
Sanghavarman arrived in the southern capital in 433 (or 423) and
worked until 442 when he returned to the west. See Répertoire, p. 281. Biography
in Kao seng chuan 3:342.b; and in Ch'u san-tsang chi chi (Collected
notes), 104.c.5.
This type of meditation in which one is insensible to the world was criticized
as inferior by others in the Chinese Buddhist tradition who said that it
was the trance of cessation of the Disciples' Vehicle, but Pao-ch'ang seems to
have approved of it. See Seng-chao's Chu wei-mo-chieh ching (Commentary
to the Vimalakīrti scripture), T. 38:344.c. See Biographies 27, 29, and 31.
This type of trance was approved by the Taoists. See Watson, Complete
Works of Chuang Tzu, pp. 36 (ch.2), 116 (ch.11), and 237 (ch.22).
See Lun yü, chap. 14; and Confucius, The Analects, p. 124; and The
Analects of Confucius, p. 180.
Fuh clan, spelled Fuh to distinguish from the Fu of Fu Chien. They are
two different characters.
Fu Chien lost an important battle in 383 when he tried to invade the
territory of Eastern Chin. He was strangled to death in 385 by a rival (Rogers,
Chronicle of Fu Chien, p. 190; Chin shu, chaps. 113-114; Wei shu,
chap. 95).
Wang T'an-chih (330-375), an important lay Buddhist during the
Southern dynasties (biography in Chin shu, chap. 7). Wang Ching-shen was
perhaps a distant relative or descendent of Wang T'an-chih.
Such as onions and garlic, prohibited by the monastic rules. For example,
the Mi-sha-se pu ho hsi wu fen lü (Mahīshāsaka-vinaya), T. 22, no. 1421,
86.c.7ff and 176.a.11ff.
Kālayashas (biography in Kao seng chuan 3:343.c). He was known
for his prowess in meditation because every time he sat down in contemplation
he remained there for a week.
Ch'ao-pien (biography in Kao seng chuan 12:408.b). The second
character of the name is supplied by the Sung, Yüan, and Ming editions.
The six perfections are the six practices that are to be perfected by the
individual aspiring to supreme, perfect enlightenment. They are (1) charity or
donation; (2) morality; (3) patience or forbearance; (4) vigor, energy, or diligence;
(5) concentration or meditation; and (6) wisdom or insight. The six are
supposed to be cultivated simultaneously. See Robinson and Johnson, Buddhist
Religion, pp. 77-78.
Appointed court scholar of Sung, Liu Ch'iu: Liu Ch'iu was appointed
court scholar in the year 495, during the Ch'i dynasty but did not serve and
died later that year. He was twenty-five years old when Tao-tsang died. It is
possible that he composed his verse in her praise many years after her death.
He withdrew from society and quit eating cereals; he fed himself on hemp and
sesame alone. He also revered the Buddhist Way and wrote a commentary to
the Flower of the Law Scripture (biography in Nan ch'i shu, chap. 54; and
Nan shih, chap. 50).
Chiang-hsia prince, I-kung (413-465), fifth son of Emperor Wu
(biography in Sung shu, chap. 61; and Nan shih, chap. 13).
Mourning period. The woman was carrying out the Chinese mourning
such as giving up cereals and eating only arrowroot and taro, a
practice that indicates Taoist influence. See Thompson, Chinese Religion,
pp. 51-52, quoting the I Li (Ceremonial and ritual), and Lun yü (Analects).
Emperor Wen, third son of the founder of the dynasty, Emperor Wu
(biography in Sung shu, chap. 5; and Nan shih, chap. 2).
Emperor Ming, eleventh son of Emperor Wen (biography in Sung shu,
chap. 8; and Nan shih, chap. 3).
The office of the rector of the assembly originated in China during the
Yao Ch'in dynasty (384-417) for the purpose of controlling the monastic
assemblies that had by then grown to considerable size. Pao-hsien would have
been in charge of the Assembly of Nuns only. See Ta sung seng shih lüeh
(Great Sung dynasty compact history of the Buddhist assemblies), T. 54, no.
2126, 242.c.14-243.a.12-18.
Fa-ying, reversing the characters lü and ying in the text. Fa-ying has a
biography in Kao seng chuan 11:402.a. After he had come to the Sung capital
from the far northwest he became so well known for his expertise in monastic
rules and organization that he was named the rector of the assembly of the
capital by the Emperor Hsiao-wu, a position that he later resigned. He is
recorded as having edited the text of monastic rules about which he gave the
lecture mentioned above.
Sarvāstivāda Monastic Rules in Ten Recitations. The Sarvāstivāda is
one of the Disciples' Vehicle sects whose texts of monastic rules were being
translated into Chinese during the fifth century. See Répertoire, pp. 123-124;
and T. 23.
The director of conventual affairs or precentor was in charge of the
routines of the convent. Only the Assembly of Nuns was under Fa-ching's authority.
Liu Liang, governor of I Province in western China, the territory of
Shu, died in 472 after eating Taoist medicines of immortality and was afterward
seen riding a white horse going off to the west. In other words, he
became a Taoist immortal (Sung shu, chap. 5; Nan shih, chap. 2).
The Lantern Festival is a Buddhist festival of Chinese origin. According
Taoists and other worshippers who offered sacrifices to local gods. The scriptures
of the Buddhists and Taoists were placed on two separate altars and the
offerings to the spirits placed on a third. All were set on fire, but only the Buddhist
scriptures were not consumed. The date for this trial was the fifteenth
day of the first month, and every year afterward the people would light lamps
to honor the light of the Buddha's teaching. See Fo tsu t'ung chi, p. 318.c.2529;
Ta sung seng shih lüeh, p. 254.b-c (which gives the Han fa nei pen chuan
as its source); Kuang hung ming chi, 98.c.-99.b; and others. It would not be
surprising that the Han fa nei pen chuan were the source of all subsequent versions.
For a description of this festival during T'ang times, see Ennin's Diary,
pp. 71-73.
This contest reminds one of the contest between the prophet Elijah and the
priests of Baal (I Kings 18:31-39).
Sharīra are little pellets thought to be found in the ashes of holy persons
who have been cremated. The holier the person, the more sharīra will be
found. Most Chinese Buddhists, however, were not cremated. Relics of the
Buddha himself are found throughout the Buddhist world, similar to the widespread
distribution of the relics of the True Cross throughout the Christian
world.
3. The Ch'i Dynasty
Emperor Wen-hui (of Ch'i) (biography in Nan ch'i shu, chap. 21; and
Nan shih, chaps. 5, 44); and Prince of Ching-ling, Wen-hsüan Wang (biography
in Nan Ch'i shu, chap. 40; and Nan shih, chaps. 5, 44).
Northeast of the capital, the present city of Nanjing. It was a famous
and thriving center of Buddhism and the site of many temples.
Although an inscription written by Shen Yüeh in honor of this nun is
not found in her biography, one is found in another collection, the Ku chin t'u
shu chi ch'eng (Complete collection of records ancient and modern), vol. 506.
It reads,
in standards of affection and wonderful enlightenment.
She dismissed thought to rely upon emptiness,
and trained her mind to complete her study.
Days, endless days;
years, faraway years;
The wind shifts, the lightning flickers,
but the principle of change does not waver.
In spirit she reached a distinguished goal;
in form she died the same as all.
At the time of her death we joined in bitter mourning,
in sorrow that the light is gone.
And among the stately pines, whirlwinds overturn parasols;
among the majestic mountains storms fling aside cloaks.
I inscribe a record of her chaste rule, seeking to make
known this remarkable nun.
If her age at death and the date of death are correct, then she was fifteen
when she left home to become a nun.
Chang Tai (413-483), made governor of I Province (present-day Ssuch'uan
Province) about 475, held the post for four years, and served in other
offices afterward (biography in Nan Ch'i shu, chap. 32; and Nan shih,
chap. 31).
The dwelling place of the immortals is one of the names referring to
Deer Park where the Buddha first turned the Wheel of the Law. See Mochizuki,
Bukkyō-daijiten 5:5079.a.
Concourse with animals is not unique to Buddhism but is a characteristic
of shamans and holy men of all traditions.
Chinese Buddhist writings often use the term great conversion to refer
to the teachings of the Buddha.
This is the teaching that the external world consists only of dharma
marks or the defining characteristics of dharmas, the elements of the universe.
Shrīmālā-devī-simhanāda-sūtra (Sheng-man shih-tzu hou i sheng ta
fang pien fang kuang ching), or The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā, T. 12, no.
Also see bibliography for reference to translation into English.
The text literally says "the four classes of society." These are, in
descending order of importance in the traditional view, the gentry, including
officials and scholars; peasants; artisans; and merchants.
Great Final Nirvāna Scripture (Ta pan nieh-p'an ching) (Mahāparinirvāna-sūtra),
T. 12, nos. 374, 375, 376. See Répertoire, p. 47. The nun could
have used any one of these three versions. A fourth version is a much later
translation. The Nirvāna Scripture is not a short text.
Seng-tsung (438-496) (biography in Kao seng chuan 8:379.c); and
T'an-pin (d. 473/477) (biography in Kao seng chuan 8:373.a-b); Hsüan-ch'ü
(subbiography in Kao seng chuan 8:375.c).
In the developed doctrine of the Great Vehicle, there are ten fundamental
bodhisattva precepts: abstention from killing or harming living beings;
from theft or taking what is not given; from engaging in illicit sensual pleasures;
from telling lies; from slander and gossip; from harsh speech; from frivolous
and senseless talk; from covetousness; from ill will and malice; and from
wrong views or heretical opinions. Four of the ten concern misuse of speech.
Brought forth a response to her holiness, see introduction, about devotion
to Kuan-yin or other Buddhist deities.
According to Buddhist tradition, Pindola, one of the Buddha's disciples,
exhibited his supernatural powers, acquired as a result of meditation, in front
of non-Buddhists. It is an offense against the discipline to exhibit one's supernatural
powers, and as a punishment the Buddha ordered him to refrain from
entering nirvana so that he could provide a field of merit for those who would
live during the last degenerate age of Buddhism. The cult of Pindola flourished
in China, and in some instances is associated with the cult of Maitreya, the
next Buddha, and his heaven, Tushita. See Lévi and Chavannes, "Les seize
arhat," pp. 250ff, 267-268ff; Fa yüan chu lin (Forest of pearls in the garden
of the law), pp. 609.c.6-611.a.14, 610.b.17; Ching pin-t'ou-lu fa ching
(Method for inviting Pindola) T. 32, no. 1689, 784.c.7-8; T'ang, Han wei
liang-chin nan-pei-ch'ao fo-chiao shih, p. 219.
This was either a supernatural manifestation or a very old, white scar
freshly burned character for Buddha on his chest appears in Prip-Møller, Chinese
Buddhist Monasteries, p. 322.
The phrase "as the Classic of History says" does not specifically appear
in the text. Chinese writings are full of allusions to the classics whose contents
became a stock source for phrases and sentences, much as the King James Version
of the Bible and the works of Shakespeare are now stock sources for the
English language. The reference has been added in the translation simply to
point out a little more explicitly to the English-speaking reader that the indigenous
tradition underlies much of this Buddhist material. The quotation comes
from the Classic of History, part 5, The Books of Chou, book 1, "The Great
Declaration," part 2, where the complete quotation is "I have heard that for
the good man doing good, one day is not enough; and for the wicked man
doing evil, one day is also not enough."
Fa-yin and Seng-shen. Fa-yin has no separate biography but is mentioned
in the table of contents to Kao seng chuan as appearing in the biography
of Seng-shen, whose biography is in Kao seng chuan 9:399.c. In fact, Fa-yin's
name does not appear in Seng-shen's biography and perhaps has
accidently been dropped out at some point in the transmission of the text.
Both monks appear in the table of contents to the Meisōden-shō (Ming seng
chuan ch'ao) of Pao-ch'ang but are not extant.
Seng-tsung and Fa-yüan. See biography 42 for Seng-tsung. The text
does not supply the full name of the monks. Although this is common practice,
it nevertheless sometimes creates ambiguity, and this is true in the case of
the monk Yüan who is tentatively identified as Fa-yüan whose biography
appears in Kao seng chuan 8:376.c.
Samantabhadra (universal sage) is the name of a great bodhisattva who
appears in the Flower of the Law Scripture and who is depicted as riding on a
six-tusked white elephant.
T'an-ch'i and Fa-yüan. The title masters of exegesis does not appear in
the biography. The two monks are classed in that category in Kao seng chuan.
Fa-yüan is the same monk as mentioned in biography 44. T'an-chi is mentioned
briefly in the biography of T'an-pin in Kao seng chuan 7:373.b.6; and
also has a partially extant biography in Pao-ch'ang's Meisōden-shō (Ming
seng chuan ch'ao).
The text says eighteenth night, but this is most likely an error because
the woman who is the subject of biography 47 also burned herself alive at the
same time as T'an-chien, and her biography says the eighth night, and also
because the numinous or spiritually propitious night for the act would be the
eighth and not the eighteenth. See introduction.
Reading Sheng in conformity with the Sung, Yüan, and Ming editions.
These are the ways of (1) the arhat or hearer, who gains enlightenment after
hearing the Buddhist teaching preached; (2) the solitary Buddha who becomes
a Buddha through his own efforts without hearing the teaching from others;
and (3) the bodhisattva who follows the bodhisattva path and use his accomplishments
to teach and to help others.
Visualizing the Buddha in one's presence: literally reads pan-chou (san-mei
ching), or Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra (The practice of constant meditation
scripture), T. 13, no. 418. It describes a ninety-day ceaseless practice. See
also T. 13, nos. 417, 419. The summer of austerities of mind and body could
refer to this ninety-day practice. The text had been translated at a very early
date, sometime between a.d. 167 and 186. See Oda, Bukkyō-daijiten, p. 1435
and Mochizuki, Bukkyō-daijiten, pp. 2569, 4215.
Provinces of Ching and Shan, included the general region of Hupei,
Honan, and the central portion of Shensi.
Master of Meditation Hsüan-ch'ang. His biography is in Kao seng
chuan 8:377.a. No dates for his birth or death are recorded. He was a soothsayer
and magician, among other things.
Spells, or dhāranī, were not to harm or help someone but were for
developing, within the practice of meditation, a supernatural power for
retaining the good effects of the practice, such as never forgetting any of the
Buddhist teachings that were once learned.
Despite the same last name, there is no reason to assume that the nun
and the scholar were related.
The five classics are the Book of Changes, Book of Odes, Book of History,
Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals.
Hui-chi (biography in Kao seng chuan 8:379.a). When he was a young
man just freshly received into the monastic community, he became a peripatetic
scholar, traveling around to inquire of various masters the meanings of
the many Buddhist scriptures. Later, he was famous in his own right for his
knowledge of the scriptures.
Chinese Buddhists traditionally accepted either the eighth or the fifteenth
day of the second month as the day of the Buddha's final nirvana. Also
see introduction.
Yü Province, covered the present-day territory of Anhui Province, western
section, and the eastern section of Honan Province.
I-k'ang. The prince was not named as the grand general until the sixteenth
year of yüan-chia (439), but in traditional Chinese biographical writing
the usual practice was to refer to individuals by their latest or highest titles,
regardless of anachronisms (Sung shu, chap. 68; Nan shih, chap. 13).
Kingdom Convent, read kuo in place of yüan from the Sung, Yüan, and
Ming editions and in conformity with the reading in Sung shu, chap. 69.
The nuns T'an-lan and Fa-ching were involved in a political intrigue.
Fa-ching is mentioned in Sung shu, chap. 69, because of the intrigues.
K'ung Hsi-hsien, son of K'ung Mo-chih. K'ung Hsi-hsien, his fellow
conspirators, and many members of his family were executed in the twenty-second
year of the yüan-chia (445). The punishment of a criminal usually
meant punishment of the whole family (Sung shu, chaps. 69, 93; Nan shih,
chap. 33).
A textual variant reads Prospering of Ch'i Convent, but from biography
65 we know that the name of the convent was Brightness of Ch'i.
4. The Liang Dynasty
Pao-ch'ang excerpted this biography from a much longer original written
by the scholar Shen Yüeh (441-513) and found in the Chinese Buddhist canon
in Kuang hung ming chi (The extended collection making known the illustrious).
Some details have been added to the present translation from the longer
biography found in T. 52, no. 2103, chap. 23, 270.b.7. The longer version is
reproduced with slight variations in Ku chin t'u shu chi ch'eng (Complete collection
of books and records ancient and modern), vol. 506, chap. 203, the
section on nuns.
Nirvāna Scripture, T. 12, no. 374, 11:432.c.13ff. See biography 42,
chap. 3 n. 30, and bibliography, Great Final Nirvāna Scripture.
The five fundamental precepts: abstention from harming living beings,
from wrong or false speech, from wrong sexual actions, from theft, and from
intoxicating substances.
Twenty-nine years old: the basic text reads nineteen; the Sung, Yüan,
and Ming editions, and Shen Yüeh's version in Kuang hung ming chi (The
extended collection making known the illustrious) read twenty-nine.
Master of the Law Yao, otherwise unknown. Two monks with the second
syllable Yao as part of their names are noted in the table of contents to
Pao-ch'ang, Ming seng chuan (Lives of famous monks), 14:5, Hui-yao of
Sung, and Hui-yao of Ch'i. Their biographies are no longer extant.
Master of the Law Yao could have lectured on any of these three texts,
but the first is most likely: Sarvāstivāda Monastic Rules in Ten Recitations, T.
23, no. 1435, Shih sung lü (Sarvāstivāda-vinaya), translated by Punyatara,
Dharmaruci, and Kumārajīva; T. 23, no. 1436, Shih sung pi-ch'iu po-lo-t'imo-ch'a
chieh pen (Sarvāstivāda-prātimoksha-sūtra), translated by Kumārajīva;
T. 23, no. 1437, Shih sung pi-ch'iu-ni po-lo-t'i-mo-ch'a chieh pen (Sarvāstivāda-bhikshunī-prātimoksha-sūtra),
translated by Fa-hsien. T. 23, no.
1437 gives the rules and regulations for nuns. See Répertoire, p. 123.
Fa-ying: biography in Kao seng chuan 11:402.a.6, where it states specifically
that he edited the monastic texts on which he lectured to Ching-hsiu.
The metaphor is changed for the translation. In the text the Buddha is a
rope, and his teachings are the strands or skeins emanating from it and gradually
fraying and coming to an end.
The Dragon Kings, one of the eight classes of spirits found in Indian
cosmology, were often benevolent toward those who practice Buddhism, protecting
them against malevolent spirits or supporting and encouraging them in
their efforts as we see in the case of Ching-hsiu.
The term Holy Monk can also be translated as arhat, about which see
biography 47, chap. 3 n. 58, on "three types of Buddhist paths." For Pindola,
see below, and notes to biography 42, chap. 3 n. 38.
According to Shen Yüeh's biography of Ching-hsiu in Kuang hung ming
chi (The extended collection making known the illustrious), all the other
monks and nuns imitated this change of color, thus establishing what became
the traditional color for monastic robes in China.
In the Chinese Buddhist canon there is a scripture, Ch'ing pin-t'ou-lu fa
(Method for inviting Pindola), that is a brief treatise on the proper way to
invite the presence of the Holy Monk Pindola, in T. 32, no. 1689. Also see
biography 42, chap. 3 n. 38.
Ch'i heir apparent Wen-hui and prince of Ching-ling Wen-hsüan. See
biography 34, chap. 2 nn. 119, 120.
Flower of the Law Scripture chanted seven times comes to a total of
approximately 500,000 words at a minimum. To chant the text seven times in
a day and a night would require chanting approximately 20,800 words per
hour, or 347 words per minute, or 5.7 words per second. See introduction.
I Province. This does not appear in the text, but it was in the territory of
Shu Province, the present-day Ssuch'uan Province.
A hearer is a follower of the Disciples' Vehicle and therefore naturally
exhibits a darker ray from the point of view of the Great Vehicle.
Revelation of doctrine is a sign of holiness. Presumably she would have
great amounts of revealed scriptures. See Needham, Science and Civilisation
2:157-158; Strickmann, "On the Alchemy," in Facets of Taoism, p.187; Ch'u
san-tsang chi chi (Collected notes), chap. 5, 40.b, gives notice that from 499
to 505 a young girl living in Green Garden Convent chanted texts as they were
revealed to her in a trance. These texts are listed in the section of i, or "suspect"
texts.
Southern Ch'u, which cannot be placed with certainty. It probably
refers to somewhere in the Huai River valley, between that river and the
Yangtze River, especially Hupei Province.
A pagoda and a temple. On the origin of this phrase see Kuang hung
ming chi (The extended collection making known the illustrious), T. 52,
no. 2103, chüan II.101.c.1-4. This indicates the building built to house the
Buddha's relics where one could offer flowers and respect.
Chang Chün's father, Chang Tai (413-483), was the better known of
the two. He was the governor of I Province between 473 and 477 (Nan ch'i
shu, chap. 32; Nan shih, chap. 31).
Prince of Hsüan-wu of Liang, (d. 500). This prince was Hsiao I, elder
brother of Emperor Wu (464-502-549), founder of the Liang dynasty. He
met death by treachery in the year 500 and was given his offices and titles posthumously,
that of prince of Hsüan-wu being bestowed in 502 (Liang shu,
chap. 23; Nan shih, chap. 51).
The purpose of this episode is to demonstrate T'an-hui's ability to rise
to meet impossible demands. The text in this section, beginning "he sent a
maidservant" and ending "without additional help," not only has alternate
readings from different editions but also omits any subjects, leaving only verbs
and objects. Therefore, although the most logical progression of events has
been conjectured, any translation must be tentative.
This phrase is taken from the Vimalakīrti's Preaching Scripture, a scripture
extremely popular in China, and refers to the bodhisattva's inexhaustible
store of merit, but in this biography we see the term linked to economic
resources. Emperor Wu of Liang established the economic institution of the
Inexhaustible Treasury to handle the goods and money donated by the faithful
to religious institutions. Such great surpluses were built up that the treasuries
became major centers of capital accumulation that in turn could be used to
finance further religious activities and also be used to make loans. These inexhaustible
treasuries became very large and important in the T'ang dynasty
Preaching Scripture, T. 14, no. 475, chap. two, 550.b.10. For their development,
see Gernet, Aspects économiques, pp. 205-212.
Kao-ch'ang, a central Asian kingdom in present-day Hsinchiang Province,
T'u-lu-fan County. See map.
This practice, together with the burning of an arm or of one's whole
body in honor of the Buddha, was inspired by the Flower of the Law Scripture,
a Buddhist scripture immensely popular in China (see bibliography
under Flower of the Law Scripture for Miao fa lien hua ching, 53.b-54.a; and
Cheng fa hua ching, 125.b-126.a). A photograph of this type of mutilation in
honor of the Buddha appears in Prip-Møller, Chinese Buddhist Monasteries,
p. 322. The origins of the sacrifice by fire are difficult to trace. It is not originally
a Buddhist phenomenon. One theory about its appearance in the Flower
of the Law Scripture is that that part of the scripture was composed to exhort
greater faith in the face of troubles. Another is that it is a vivid way to describe
the yogic experience of heat and ecstasy. See, e.g., Eliade Myths, Dreams, and
Mysteries, pp. 146-149. Also in the biography of the monk Fa-hsien in Kao
seng Fa Hsien chuan (T. 51, no. 2085, 862.a.13-20) we read of the death of
Ānanda whose body was spontaneously consumed by fire while he was in the
"fire-ray" samādhi. Afterward he divided the remains into two parts and distributed
them. Also see A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, pp. 75-77. The
possibility of influence of Middle Eastern fire cults cannot be overlooked.
This is another example of the remarkable speed with which some of
the nuns were able to chant scriptures.
A partial biography of Fa-hui appears in Pao-ch'ang's Meisōden-shō
(Lives of famous monks). In that biography we learn that Fa-hui, in his youth,
enjoyed hunting, archery, drinking, and singing and that he was married, his
wife being the most beautiful woman in the country. But he got into an
unpleasant scrape and fled to the country of Kucha. Once there, he was apparently
converted and wanted to become a Buddhist monk, but he had no
money to buy monastic robes. A foreigner had died, and Fa-hui followed the
family to the graveyard. After they had left, he wanted to take the dead man's
clothing, which was of excellent quality, but first had to struggle with the
ghost. He overcame the ghost, stole the clothing, sold it, and used the money
to buy monastic robes. He progressed well in the monastic life and eventually
returned to Kao-ch'ang, where he earned much respect and became the chaplain
of the nuns. The account of his trip back to Kucha to see the monk Chih-yüeh
is essentially the same as in Nun Feng's biography, with this addition:
been living a pure life for a long time, a reference of course to his profligate
youth that he had left behind. Fa-hui's own biography finishes up by saying
that after his return to Kao-ch'ang he was very influential in the whole region,
spreading the Buddhist religion very successfully, and that everyone looked up
to him (Meisōden-shō, chap. 25).
Chih-yüeh, known only in this biography and in the biography of
Fa-hui in Pao-ch'ang's Meisōden-shō (Lives of famous monks).
The third fruit (anāgāmin) is that of never again being reborn on earth,
but rather in a heaven from whence one can reach final enlightenment.
This story has the flavor of the later masters of the Ch'an, or Zen, sect,
with their unorthodox teaching methods that included, at times, deliberately
breaking one or more of the precepts. The actual verbal exchange between
Chih-yüeh and Fa-hui is also full of the flavor of Ch'an. When Chih-yüeh
asks, "Have you got it?" Fa-hui does not have to ask what it is he is supposed
to have.
A textual variant gives the reading "five gates of meditation," which
could also be the title of a text, the Five Gates of Meditation Scripture,
translated by Buddhamitra and Dharmamitra in the capital during the early
Sung dynasty (420-479) (T. 15, no. 619). The five gates in the scripture are
watching one's breath, observing the impurity of all things, cultivating compassion
for all living beings, contemplating the causes of dependent arising,
and keeping in mind, or calling upon, the Buddha. Another list of five, from
the Vimalakīrti's Preaching Scripture, is meditating on impermanence, suffering,
emptiness, non-ego, and the calm cessation of nirvana (T. 14, no. 475,
chap. 1, 541.a.15-16).
According to a textual variant, the first named (Hui-yin) could also be
Ssu-yin. Fa-ying is not the same Fa-ying whose biography appears in Kao seng
chuan 11:402.a.6.
Flower of the Law Scripture. See biography 5, chap. 1 n. 53; and biography
7, chap. 1 n. 63; and bibliography.
These activities carried out by the little girl are described in the Flower
of the Law Scripture, which says that, even if a child piles up sand to make little
Buddhist pagodas, that child has already attained to the Buddhist path, or
merit, he has attained the Buddhist path. See Flower of the Law Scripture
(Miao fa lien hua ching), pp. 8.c.23-25, 9.a.5-8.
Ch'i heir apparent, Wen-hui. The text says literally Emperor Wen of
Ch'i, but it was a title bestowed on him posthumously (Nan ch'i shu, chap.
21; Nan shih, chap. 4).
The four necessities are food, clothing, medicine, and bedding; or food,
clothing, medicine, and shelter.
Discourse on the Completion of Reality (Ch'eng shih lun) (Satyasiddhi-shāstra?),
trans. Kumārajīva, T. 32, no. 1646; Discourse on the Abhidharma
(P'i-t'an). In T. there are three volumes of Abhidharma texts, vols. 27, 28, 29.
Great Final Nirvāna Scripture (see biography 42, chap. 3 n. 30); and the
Flower Garland Scripture (Hua-yen ching) (Avatamsaka-sūtra), in T. 9, no.
278; and T. 10. These texts are difficult philosophical and doctrinal texts, and
the nun Ching-hsing, able to discourse on them, reveals her own intelligence
and education. Her grasping the essential when first hearing the topic echoes
Confucius (Lun yü, book 7, maxim 8): "If I hold up one corner and a man
cannot come up with the other three, I do not continue the lesson" (trans.
Waley in The Analects of Confucius, p. 124).
Hsiao Tzu-liang, Ch'i Ching-ling Wen Hsüan Wang (Nan ch'i shu,
chap. 40; Nan shih, chaps. 5, 44). See also biography 39, chap. 3 n. 10.
Seng-tsung and Pao-liang. Their biographies are in Kao seng chuan
8:379.c., 381.c., respectively. They are classified among the "monks who
explicate the meaning of the scriptures."
This is probably the meaning. There is a slight possibility, however,
that it means he was selecting a suitable candidate for the position of seng-lu
(recorder of the assembly) an administrative office of Chinese origin designed
to keep track of the assemblies and their activities within a certain region. This
office was established during the Yao Ch'in dynasty (384-417) by imperial
decree. See Mochizuki, Bukkyō-daijiten, 3124.a.
The five sectarian divisions most likely refers to the schools of the Dharmaguptaka,
Sarvāstivāda, Mahīshāsaka, Kāshyapīya or Mahāsāmghika, and
Vātsīputrīya. These divisions of the Disciples' Vehicle Buddhism provided the
books of monastic rules on which early Chinese Buddhist monasticism was
based. Buddhism in China was Mahāyāna or Great Vehicle Buddhism, but,
although doctrinally Mahāyāna, depended at this time on the monastic codes
of the Disciples' Vehicle. The approach was eclectic. Thus Ling-yü would
study all texts of monastic codes available to her. By about a.d. 500, the
universally available.
This emperor is Hou-fei, posthumously degraded to the title prince of
Ts'ang-wu, who died in 477 at the age of fifteen, stabbed to death by a group
of men fed up with his decadence and cruelty that had terrorized all within his
reach. This peculiar way of referring to him may indicate the original biographer's
repugnance for the emperor's despicable, degenerate character (Nan
shih, chap. 3).
This is the first mention of the complete title of the translation done by
Kumārajīva (350-409) in Ch'ang-an in north China.
Shrīmālā Scripture, see biography 41, chap. 3 n. 25, and bibliography,
Shrīmālā-devī-simhanāda-sūtra; Vimalakīrti Scripture, see biography 9, chap.
1 n. 73, and bibliography, Vimalakīrti's Preaching Scripture.
Fa-yin and Seng-shen, in Kao seng chuan 11:399.c.; 14:421.b.15. Fa-yin
is listed in the table of contents of Kao seng chuan as a subbiography
attached to Seng-shen's, but the text itself does not mention him.
Lady Chang was the wife of the prince of Ch'ang-sha, Tao-lien (368422),
a younger brother of Emperor Wu (367-422) of Sung. The prince of
Lin-ch'uan, Liu I-ch'ing (403-444), was the second son of the prince of
Ch'ang-sha and was adopted as heir by the prince of Lin-ch'uan, Tao-kuei
(370-412), another younger brother of Emperor Wu. Lady Chang would
have been quite elderly at the time she wanted to give up her residence. Liu I-ch'ing
is traditionally ascribed the authorship of a work known as Shih-shuo
hsin-yü (A new account of tales of the world), described in the bibliography
(Sung shu, chap. 51; Nan shih, chap. 13).
It must be remembered that Shih Pao-ch'ang, the biographer, compiled
the biographies at the request of Emperor Wu, founder of the Liang dynasty.
Great Final Nirvāna Scripture; see biography 42, chap. 3 n. 30. Flower
of the Law Scripture; see biography 5, chap. 1 n. 53; Ten-Stages Scripture
(Shih ti ching) (Dashabhūmika-sūtra); there are several texts in the Buddhist
canon, in T. 10, and the only one using the title Shih ti ching was not translated
until much later. The extant texts of the time of the nuns are called Shih
chu ching. The biography clearly says Shih ti. Shih ti could also refer to chap.
22 of the Flower Garland Scripture (Ta fang kuang hua yen ching). See Répertoire,
pp. 37-38.
Mother of Monasticism Scripture, T. 24, no. 1463, reading mu instead
of hai in conformity with the Sung, Yüan, and Ming editions; and Répertoire,
p. 125.
Great Final Nirvāna Scripture (see biography 42, chap. 3 n. 30); Flower
of the Law Scripture (see biography 5, chap. 1 n. 53).
Discourse on the Completion of Reality (Ch'eng shih lun) (Satyasiddhishāstra),
T. 32, no. 1646; Great Final Nirvāna Scripture (see n. 84 above).
All except T'an-chi have biographies in Kao seng chuan. A partial biography
of T'an-chi appears in Pao-ch'ang's Meisōden-shō (Lives of famous
monks) in which the only specific date given is that in the year 458 the
emperor requested him to live in the capital. The biography also states that he
is the author of a work titled A Treatise on the Seven Schools. T'an-pin (biography
in Kao seng chuan 7:373.a), and Hui-tz'u (biography in Kao seng chuan
8:379.b), are both specifically credited with expertise in one or more of the
scriptures mentioned above. Seng-jou (biography in Kao seng chuan 8:378.c),
although not so credited with a specific scripture, is listed among the monks
known for their skill in explaining the scriptures.
T'an-pin (biography in Kao seng chuan 7:373.a.16); T'an-chi is probably
the same one who appears as a subbiography in T'an-pin's biography. His
is one of the few extant biographies in Pao-ch'ang's Meisōden-shō (Lives of
famous monks), chap. 16; Seng-jou (431-494) (biography in Kao seng chuan
7:378.c.4); Hui-tz'u (434-490) (biography in Kao seng chuan 8:397.b.23).
Infinite Life Scripture (Wu liang shou ching) (Sukhāvatīvyūha), T. 12,
no. 360, attributed to Sanghavarman. The biography gives the exact title of
the Sanghavarman translation. There are other related texts. See Répertoire,
p. 46.
The name of the convent is uncertain because in all major editions it has
been given two different names.
Cassia Park is tentatively identified as the Cassia Park founded in the
time of Emperor Ta of the Wu dynasty (222-252) and located on the south
face of the Falling Star Mountain in the capital district.
Omitting the four in conformity with the Sung, Yüan, and Ming editions.
Twenty is a common age for taking up the life of a nun.
Reading Hui-chi instead of Hui-ch'i in conformity with the Sung, Yüan,
and Ming editions. His biography is in Kao seng chuan 8:379.a.3.
Hui-hsi appears in the table of contents to Pao-ch'ang's Meisōden-shō
(Lives of famous monks) (Ming seng chuan ch'ao), chap. 17.
Chou Ying, in addition to his literary efforts, was also a very devout
and pious Buddhist layman. He had built his own retreat on Bell Mountain,
living like a monk even though he had a wife. He wrote a Treatise on the
Three Schools (San tsung lun), and Rhyme Tables of the Four Tones (Nan ch'i
shu, chap. 41; Nan shih, chap. 34).
Hsiao Chao-chou was the son of the prince of Ching-ling, Hsiao Tzu-liang
(460-494), who was the second son of Emperor Wu (440-483-493) of
the Ch'i dynasty (Nan ch'i shu, chap. 40; Nan shih, chap. 44).
Hsiao Yüan-chien was the son of Ch'ang, the fourth younger brother
of Emperor Wu (464-502-549) of the Liang dynasty. Yüan-chien was the
administrator of Kuei-chi some time between 504 and 514, and he died in 519
(Liang shu, chap. 23).
Appendix A
Kao seng chuan (Lives of eminent monks), by Hui-chiao (497-554), T.
50, no. 2059. See Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, p. 10; Wright, "Biography
and Hagiography."
Biography in Kao seng chuan 402.c. See Link, "Shih Seng-yu and His
Writings," for a detailed study of the book and its author.
Biography in Hsü kao seng chuan (Further lives of eminent monks), by
Tao-hsüan (596-667), T. 50, no. 2060, chüan I.426.b, and especially
427.b.28; See Wright, "Biography and Hagiography," for a comparison
between Pao-ch'ang and Hui-chiao as biographers. Pao-ch'ang is partial to the
famous, Hui-chiao to the eminent.
Wright, "Biography and Hagiography," p. 410, n. 3. The extracts from
the Meisōden-shō are preserved in Kasuga Reichi, "Jōdokyō-shiryō to shite no
meisōden shishishō meisōden-yōbun chō narabi ni mirokunyorai kannōshō
dai shi shoin no meisōden ni tsuite," Shūgaku Kenkyū 12 (1936): 53-118;
also in Zoku-zōkyō, Tokyo, 1905-1922, ser. 2, part 2z, case 7, vol. 1;
reprinted, Taipei: Shin Wen Feng, 1977, vol. 134.
Li tai san pao chi (Records of the three treasures through the ages), by Fei
the years in which Pao-ch'ang and others were ordered by Emperor Wu of
Liang to write various works such as Pao-ch'ang's Chung ching mu lu (A catalogue
of all Buddhist works), which was originally the work of another monk,
Seng Shao, whose catalogue was unsatisfactory to the emperor. Pao-ch'ang's
biography in Hsü kao seng chuan (Further lives of eminent monks) says
(426.c.21ff) that the emperor ordered Pao-ch'ang to complete the catalogue,
which he did in four Chüan. See Tsai, Review of Biographies of Buddhist
Nuns, p. 89; Li tai san pao chi, (99.b.3ff) says that Seng-shao had selected
from Seng-yu's catalogue, the Ch'u san-tsang chi chi, (T. 55, no. 2145), but
see also Fa yüan chu lin, (1021.b.23-25); and Li tai san pao chi (99.b.1-3).
K'ai-yüan shih chiao lu lüeh ch'u, T. 55, no. 2155, 746.b.6. These two
catalogues were both compiled by the monk Chih-sheng (biography in Sung
kao seng chuan [Sung dynasty biographies of eminent monks]), T. 50,
733.c.26, in the eighteenth year of the k'ai-yüan reign period (730) of
Emperor Hsüan Tsang (r. 712-756) of the T'ang dynasty.
Ibid., p. 1021.b.26-c.7. "The emperor commanded that the nine titles
in 122 chüan be compiled by Pao-ch'ang and others."
E.g., K'ai-yüan shih chiao lu, T. 55, no. 2154, p. 536.c.28; and K'ai-yüan
shih chiao lu lüeh ch'u, T. 55, no. 2155, pp. 746.b.6.
Wright, "Biography and Hagiography," p. 418; T'ang Yung-t'ung, Han
wei liang-chin nan-pei-ch'ao fo-chiao shih (History of Buddhism in the Wei,
Chin, and Southern and Northern dynasties), p. 579, says it was compiled at
the beginning of the chien-yüan reign period (479-482) of the Ch'i dynasty
(479-502). These fragments have been brought together by Lu Hsün in Ku
hsiao-shuo kou ch'en (A study of ancient fiction).
(1) Lives 936.b.11; (2) Ming hsiang chi as quoted in Fa yüan chu lin,
616.b.5; (3) Chin nan-ching ssu chi as quoted in Fa yüan chu lin, 526.b.17;
(4) Fo tsu t'ung chi (Thorough record of the Buddha's lineage) 340.b.29ff.
(1) Lives 937.c.24; (2) Ming hsiang chi as quoted in Fa yüan chu lin,
407.b.15; (3) Chi shen chou san pao kan t'ung lu, T. 52, 418.b.7-12.
(1) Lives 945.a.7; (2) Kuang hung ming chi, 270.b.7; and (3) Ku chin
t'u shu chi ch'eng, vol. 506, pp. 10b-11a.
Shen Yüeh (441-513) styled Hsiu-wen, poet and author of a Chin shu
(History of the Chin dynasty), now lost; Sung shu (History of the [Liu] Sung
dynasty), and other secular works. He also wrote essays on Buddhist topics,
many collected in the KHMC. He served in official positions during the Sung
(420-479) and Ch'i (479-502) dynasties.
Tao-hsüan (596-667) worked in the north. His biography is found in
Sung kao seng chuan (The Sung dynasty biographies of eminent monks),
T. 50, no. 2061, 790.b.
In Han shu i wen chih (Bibliography in the history of the Former Han
dynasty), chap. 30, it is listed as Liu Hsiang's work.
She associates with rulers of countries and meddles in politics. See
Mahāprajāpatī, T. 24, 947.c.20ff.
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