維摩經略疏垂裕記 1.59

1.59

二、說略嘉號。初說人、次略人。「天台」，即大師所居之山。陶隱居《真誥》曰「山高一萬八千丈，周迴八百里。山有八重，四面如一，當斗牛之分，上應台星，故曰天台也。」「智者」二字，即大師嘉號也。神邕《天台記》曰「煬帝居蕃邸為晉王。開皇九年平陳已後，請大師授菩薩戒。王既稟戒，乃依《地持經》號師為智者也。」「大師」者，溫故知新曰師。《法言》曰「師者，人之模範也。」孫卿子曰「師術有四：尊嚴而憚可以為師，耆芥而信可以為師，誦說不陵可以為師，知微而論可以為師。」「大」者，蓋褒美之稱耳。「說」者，《文心雕龍》曰「說者悅也。」兌為口舌，故言資悅悅。次、略者號。「沙門」，此云勤息，謂勤行眾善、止息諸惡故也。息界內惡者，藏通沙門；次第息界內外惡者，別教沙門；一心中遍息內外諸惡者，圓融沙門。「荊溪」，即其人也，諱湛然，姓戚氏。世居晉陵之荊溪，則常州人也。人尊其教，因以荊溪為號。二十餘受經於左溪，以處士從道，學者悅隨。天寶初年方登僧籍，時年三十七也。遂稟律於會稽曇一律師，始居吳群晉陵，中詣五臺，後居天台，皆敷行《止觀》。天寶末大曆初，詔書連徵，並辭疾不就。以唐建中三年二月五日云滅於佛隴道場，春秋七十二，法臘三十四。平日輯纂教法明決前疑、開發後滯，一家所傳咸祖述之，凡百餘卷盛行于世。故皇朝《高僧傳》云「詳其始天寶、終建中，以自證之心，說未聞之法。經不云乎『於少時間大作佛事』，然師有焉。」「略」者，翦其繁辭、存其要義也。

Second, the auspicious designations of the expounder and the abridger. First is the expounder, next the abridger. "Tiantai" is the mountain where the Great Master resided. Tao Yinju's Zhengao states: "The mountain is eighteen thousand zhang high and eight hundred li in circumference. The mountain has eight tiers, identical on all four sides; facing the sector of the Dipper and Ox constellations, it corresponds above to the Santai stars, hence it is called Tiantai." The two characters "Zhizhe" are the auspicious designation of the Great Master. Shenyong's Tiantai ji states: "When Emperor Yang resided in his feudatory mansion as the Prince of Jin, after subjugating the Chen in the ninth year of the Kaihuang era, he requested the Great Master to confer the bodhisattva precepts upon him. Having received the precepts, the prince then relied on the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra (Dichi jing) to bestow upon the master the title of Zhizhe." As for "Great Master" (dashi): one who reviews the old to know the new is called a master (shi). The Fayan states: "A teacher is a model for human beings." Master Sun (Xunzi) says: "There are four methods for being a master: being venerable and awe-inspiring, one can be a master; being aged and trustworthy, one can be a master; reciting and expounding without transgression, one can be a master; knowing the subtle and discussing it, one can be a master." "Great" is merely an epithet of praise. As for "expounded" (shuo): the Wenxin diaolong states: "'Expounding' (shuo) means 'pleasing' (yue)." The Dui trigram represents the mouth and tongue, thus words assist in pleasing. Next is the designation of the abridger. "Śramaṇa" is translated here as "diligent cessation," meaning diligently practicing all virtues and putting an end to all evils. One who puts an end to evils within the threefold realm is a śramaṇa of the Tripiṭaka and Common Teachings; one who sequentially puts an end to evils both within and beyond the realm is a śramaṇa of the Separate Teaching; one who universally puts an end to all internal and external evils within a single thought-moment is a śramaṇa of the Perfect and Harmonious Teaching. "Jingxi" refers to the person: his taboo name was Zhanran, and his secular surname was Qi. His family resided for generations in Jingxi of Jinling, so he was a native of Changzhou. People revered his teachings and consequently used Jingxi as his appellation. In his twenties, he received the scriptures under Zuoxi; as a retired scholar he followed the Way, and students gladly followed him. Only in the early years of the Tianbao era did he enter the monastic registry, being thirty-seven years of age at that time. He then received the Vinaya from Vinaya Master Danyi of Kuaiji. He initially resided in the Wu commandery of Jinling, later visited Mount Wutai, and afterwards resided on Mount Tiantai, spreading and practicing Cessation and Contemplation (Zhiguan) in all these places. At the end of the Tianbao era and the beginning of the Dali era, imperial edicts summoned him repeatedly, but he declined them all on grounds of illness. On the fifth day of the second month in the third year of the Jianzhong era of the Tang, he passed away at the Folong Bodhimaṇḍa, at seventy-two years of age and thirty-four years of monastic standing. In ordinary times, he compiled and organized the doctrines, clarifying and resolving past doubts and opening up subsequent impasses; what was transmitted by this one lineage was entirely inherited and elaborated by him, circulating widely in the world in over a hundred fascicles. Therefore, the Dynastic Biographies of Eminent Monks states: "Examining his course from its beginning in the Tianbao era to its end in the Jianzhong era, with a mind of self-realization he expounded teachings unheard before. Does not the sūtra say: 'In a brief time performing great Buddha-work'? Truly, the master possessed this." As for "abridged" (lve): it means trimming redundant phrasing and preserving the essential meaning.