二祖龍樹尊者，龍樹乃西土十四祖，西天竺國人也，申明《起信》，亦名龍勝。始於毘羅尊者得法，後至南印度。彼國之人多信福業，聞尊者為說妙法，遞相謂曰：「人有福樂，世間第一。徒言佛性，誰能睹之？」尊者曰：「汝欲見佛性，先須除我慢。」彼人曰：「佛性大小？」尊者曰：「非大非小、非廣非狹、無福無報、不死不生。」彼聞理勝，悉回初心。尊者復於座上現自在身如滿月輪，一切眾唯聞法音不睹師相。彼眾中有長者子名迦那提婆，謂眾曰：「識此相否？」眾曰：「目所未睹，安能辯識？」提婆曰：「此是尊者現佛性體相以示我等。何以知之？蓋以無相三昧形如滿月，佛性之義廓然虛明。」言訖，輪相即隱，復居本座而說偈言：「身現圓月相，以表諸佛體。說法無其形，用辯非聲色。」彼眾聞偈，咸願出家以求解脫。尊者即為剃髮，命諸聖授具。其國先有外道五千餘人，作大幻術，眾皆宗仰。尊者悉為化之，令歸三寶。復造《大智度論》、《中論》、《十二門論》垂之於世。後告上首弟子迦那提婆曰：「如來大法眼藏今當付汝。聽吾偈言：『為明隱顯法，方說解脫理。於法心不證，無瞋亦無喜。』」付法訖，入月輪三昧廣現神變，復就本座凝然禪寂。迦那提婆與諸四眾共建寶塔以葬焉。即秦始皇三十五年己丑歲也。是為二祖。
The Second Patriarch, the Venerable Nāgārjuna, was the fourteenth patriarch in the Western Lands, a native of Western India. He clarified the *Awakening of Faith*, and was also known as Nāgasena. He first received the Dharma from the Venerable Vira, and later traveled to Southern India.
The people of that region largely believed in the cultivation of merit. Hearing the Venerable One expound the wondrous Dharma, they said to one another: "To have fortune and happiness is the foremost thing in the world. Who has ever seen this 'Buddha-nature' we merely speak of?" The Venerable One said: "If you wish to see the Buddha-nature, you must first eliminate your arrogance." They asked: "How large or small is the Buddha-nature?" The Venerable One replied: "It is neither large nor small, neither broad nor narrow. It is without fortune or retribution, without death or birth."
Hearing this profound principle, they all turned back to their initial sincere intent. The Venerable One then manifested a body of perfect freedom upon his seat, appearing like a full moon disc. The entire assembly could only hear the sound of the Dharma but could not see the master's form. Among the crowd was a youth from a noble family named Kāṇadeva, who asked the assembly: "Do you recognize this appearance?" The assembly said: "Our eyes have never beheld it; how could we recognize it?" Kāṇadeva said: "This is the Venerable One manifesting the essence and appearance of the Buddha-nature to show us. How do I know? Because the formless samādhi takes the shape of a full moon; the meaning of Buddha-nature is vast, empty, and luminous."
As soon as he finished speaking, the moon-disc appearance vanished, and the Venerable One returned to his original seat and spoke a verse:
"My body manifests the form of a full moon, To represent the essence of all Buddhas. Expounding the Dharma without a fixed form, Using discernment that is not sound or form."
Hearing this verse, the entire assembly wished to leave home, seeking liberation. The Venerable One immediately shaved their heads and had the holy assembly confer the full precepts upon them.
Previously, in that country, there were over five thousand followers of non-Buddhist paths who practiced great illusory arts, revered by the masses. The Venerable One converted them all, leading them to take refuge in the Three Jewels. He also composed the *Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom*, the *Middle Treatise*, and the *Twelve Gates Treatise*, leaving them for the world.
Later, he addressed his foremost disciple, Kāṇadeva, saying: "The great Dharma-eye treasury of the Tathāgata I now entrust to you. Hear my verse:
'To clarify the Dharma of hidden and manifest, One speaks the principle of liberation. Toward the Dharma, the mind does not grasp, Without anger and without joy.'"
After transmitting the Dharma, he entered the Moon-Disc Samādhi, extensively displaying spiritual transformations, then settled upon his original seat in serene meditative stillness. Kāṇadeva, together with the fourfold assembly, built a precious stupa to inter him. This was in the thirty-fifth year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the year of Jichou. He is recognized as the Second Patriarch.