[1016a] Sŏk[184] Sundo’s origin is unknown. He vigorously practiced virtue, towered above others in character,[185] and was compassionate and patient in helping living beings. He made a vow to propagate Buddhism and traveled extensively in China. He constantly moved his abode to meet opportunities and never tired of teaching others. During the sixth month of the summer in the second year (372), imsin 壬申, of the seventeenth king, Haemiryu (or Sosurim 小獸林, 371-384) of Koguryŏ, Fu Chien 苻堅 (338-357-385)[186] of Ch‘in (351-394) dispatched an envoy and the monk Sundo with images of Buddha and scriptures. Thereupon the king and his court welcomed them in front of the palace gate[187] with appropriate ceremony[188] and, grateful for the opportunity to spread the faith, the king [showed] Sundo sincere respect and trust. Immediately afterwards the king sent an envoy with a tribute of local products to express his gratitude.[189] Another story holds that Sundo came from the Eastern Chin (317-420) and [that his visit] was the first time Buddhism was introduced [to Korea]. It is, therefore, unsolved whether he came from Ch‘in or Chin.[190]
When the master came to the foreign country, he transmitted the Compassionate Lamp of the Western Regions and hung up the Wisdom-Sun in Tong‘i 東暆.[191] He demonstrated [the principle of] cause and effect and enticed [the people by predicating] felicity and woe as rewards for their deeds. As if imbued with fragrance and nourished by dew, people gradually became accustomed to his teaching. Unfortunately, however, the society was too simple and the people too unsophisticated to cultivate the faith. Despite the fact that his accumulated wisdom was profound and his explication broad, he did not manage to spread the religion very far. It was then more than 200 years since Kāśyapa Mātanga had come to the Later Han (A.D. 64).
Four years later, the divine monk Ado arrived from Wei,[192] and it was then that the Sŏngmun monastery 省門寺[193] was erected for Sundo. The record states that the monastery was built where the palace gate used to be.[194] It is the present Hŭngguk monastery 興國寺. Later, it was wrongly recorded as Ch‘omun 肖門. In addition, in order to install Ado, the people built the Ibullan monastery 伊弗蘭寺,[195] which, according to the ancient record,[196] was the present Hŭngbok monastery 興福寺. This was the beginning of Buddhism in Korea.
What a waste of the man and his excellences![197] For there should be records on bamboo and silk glorifying his admirable accomplishment. Yet only a [small] number of his writings remain; one wonders why this is so. Only those who are wise are capable of carrying out a mission from the West without falling short of an imperial order.[198] As for going to a foreign country and there initiating a great religion which has hitherto not existed, one could not expect to succeed unless one was endowed with great wisdom and wise counsel[199] and the ability to employ supernatural religious powers at will. Thus we know Sundo must have been an unusual person, a peer of Dharmaratna and Seng-hui.[200]
The eulogy says:[201] In the past the Three Han stood like a tripod, each establishing its realm and proclaiming its king. There were as yet no omens, whether in sound or sight, of the glorious Buddha. When the stimulus and its response met, then a man of superior virtue arrived and, attracted by the potentialities [of our countrymen], tested them.[202] The Book of Changes says: “If the changes are stimulated, they penetrate all situations under Heaven.”[203] Sundo understood this truth.
At first, my ambition was to write down events, having come to understand this as the way to make the country and Buddhism prosper. But I had not the opportunity to do so. Now that I have received the royal order,[204] unworthy as I am, I have begun the Lives with a biography of Sundo.