Compendium of the Five Lamps

...[The Honorable Parsva] arrived in the kingdom of Pataliputra original: 華氏國 (Huashiguo), the capital of the Magadha Empire in ancient India and rested beneath a tree. Pointing his right hand to the ground, he addressed the assembly, saying: "This earth has turned to a golden color. A sage is destined to enter here." As soon as he finished speaking, the ground indeed turned to gold. At that moment, Punyayashas original: 富那夜奢 (Funayeshe), the son of a wealthy elder, came forward and stood with his palms joined in reverence.

The Patriarch asked, "Where have you come from?"
He answered, "My mind does not come from anywhere."
The Patriarch asked, "Where do you dwell?"
He answered, "My mind does not stop anywhere."
The Patriarch asked, "Are you then unstable?"
He replied, "The Buddhas are also thus."
The Patriarch said, "You are not the Buddhas."
He replied, "The Buddhas are also not [fixed]."

The Patriarch then recited a verse:

This ground turns to a golden hue,
Foretelling the arrival of a sage.
You shall sit beneath the Bodhi tree,
Where the flower of awakening has already blossomed.

Punyayashas replied with his own verse:

The Master sits upon this golden ground,
Constantly proclaiming the meaning of reality.
Reflect your light to illuminate me,
And lead me into the state of Samadhi original: 三摩諦 (Sanmodi) — a state of intense meditative concentration and mental clarity.

The Patriarch recognized his potential and immediately ordained him as a monk, granting him the full precepts. He then told him: "The Great Dharma Treasury of the Tathagata term: Tathagata — a title for the Buddha meaning 'One who has thus come' is now entrusted to you. You must protect and cherish it." He then recited this verse of transmission:

The true essence is naturally true;
Because of this truth, we speak of principle.
Having grasped the Dharma of the 'Truth of Truths,'
There is no longer movement, nor is there stopping.

After the Patriarch had transmitted the Dharma, he manifested divine transformations and entered Nirvana original: 涅槃 — the final liberation from the cycle of birth and death, consumed by a fire that arose from within himself. The four groups of followers monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen used their robes to collect the crystalline relics (sarira) and erected stupas relic mounds everywhere to offer worship. This occurred in the twenty-second year of King Zhen of the Zhou Dynasty approx. 447 BCE.

Eleventh Patriarch, the Honorable Punyayashas

The Patriarch was a native of Pataliputra, from the Gautama clan. His father was named Baoshen. After receiving the Dharma from the Honorable Parsva, he traveled to the kingdom of Varanasi. There, the Great Sage Ashvaghosha original: 馬鳴 (Maming) — his name literally means 'Horse-neigh' came out to welcome him and bowed, asking: "I wish to know the Buddha. Which one is he?"
The Patriarch said, "You wish to know the Buddha? The one you do not recognize is he."
Ashvaghosha said, "If I do not recognize the Buddha, how can I know that it is he?"
The Patriarch said, "Since you do not recognize the Buddha, how do you know it is not he?"
Ashvaghosha said, "This is the meaning of words."
The Patriarch said, "That is the meaning of wood."
The Patriarch then asked, "What is the meaning of words?"
Ashvaghosha replied, "It is equal to the Master."
Ashvaghosha then asked in return, "What is the meaning of wood?"
The Patriarch said, "You have been 'split' by my explanation." A pun on 'wood' being split/explained
Ashvaghosha suddenly had a great awakening. He bowed his head in refuge and requested to be ordained.

The Patriarch said to the assembly: "This Great Sage was once the King of Vaishali. In that land, there was a type of person who lived naked like horses. The King used his supernatural powers to divide his body into silkworms so that the people could have clothing. The King was later reborn in Central India. The 'horse-people' were so moved by their memory of him that they neighed mournfully, which is why he is called Ashvaghosha (Horse-neigh). The Buddha once prophesied: 'Six hundred years after my passing, there will be a wise man named Ashvaghosha in Varanasi. He will defeat those of foreign paths, save countless people, and continue my teaching.' Now is that time."

He then told Ashvaghosha: "The Great Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma is now entrusted to you." He recited this verse:

Delusion and awakening are like the hidden and the manifest;
Light and darkness are never separate from each other.
I now entrust to you the Dharma of the hidden and manifest,
Which is neither one, nor is it two.

After the Honorable One had transmitted the Dharma, he manifested divine transformations and entered a state of peaceful cessation. The assembly built a precious stupa to house his entire body. This was the fourteenth year of King An of the Zhou Dynasty approx. 388 BCE.

Twelfth Patriarch, the Great Sage Ashvaghosha

He was a native of Varanasi, also known by the name 'Supreme Merit' original: 功勝 (Gongsheng), because his merits in both the 'active' and 'non-active' realms were most excellent. After receiving the Dharma from the Honorable Punyayashas, he turned the Wheel of the Sublime Dharma in the kingdom of Pataliputra. Suddenly, an old man fell to the ground in front of his seat. The Patriarch said to the assembly: "This is no ordinary person; there will surely be a strange sign." Having finished speaking...