國清百錄 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.2

89. Dharma Names of the Forty-Nine People Ordained by Imperial Decree

Imperial Edict. The Emperor respectfully inquires after Dharma Master Zhiyue and the other monks of Guoqing Monastery in Kuazhou. The monastic envoy Zhizao arrived, and from his letter We fully received your sentiments. The blessed land of Tiantai is truly a superior realm, which is why We respectfully established a monastery for Zhizhe. Since the bond of Dharma is deep and the duty to honor the teacher is profound, We wish to preserve the master's bequeathed model without decline, and to keep the bodhisattva's pure deeds ever renewed with time. However, now long departed from the sages, students have grown lax; they seek gain and support without severing mundane ties, and indulge in rich delicacies, transgressing the monastic discipline. This only increases sinful defilements; how could it be called a field of merit? You masters have renounced conditioned dharmas to seek the unexcelled path, and cast off mundane outflows as reflected in your noble aspirations; you must guide and instruct those who have yet to learn to practice pure conduct, so that companions within the Dharma gate may all dwell in harmony, and the prohibitive precepts of all Buddhas may ultimately be observed. Furthermore, the auspicious signs at this monastery manifest previous spiritual realization, and since its principle is grounded in unseen resonance, it is designated Guoqing Monastery, with offerings presented to express Our rejoicing. In the severe cold of winter, may your religious bodies be well and at ease. In inspecting local customs, We have arrived at Jiangdu; gazing toward the mountains and rivers, We think of you with deep concern, and have specially sent Lu Zhengli, Concurrent Gentleman of the Court for Receiving Strangers, to visit you. That is all for now. The envoy Lu Zhengli arrived at the monastery to proclaim the imperial edict and bestow the monastery's items. First year of Daye, eleventh month, twenty-ninth day. An imperial decree ordained forty-nine persons into the monastic order. Bestowed were two hu of frankincense, the construction of earthen walls surrounding the perimeter, the building of five bays of gateway structures, a feast for one thousand monks, two thousand bolts of material, and one thousand hu of rice. Submitted before the Pillar of State and Director of the Chancellery, Duke of the State of Ju, the subject [name unrecorded]; Area Commander-in-chief and Concurrent Vice Director of the Chancellery, the subject Yu Shiji; and Area Commander-in-chief, Court Gentleman for Free Time, and Concurrent Gentleman of the Chancellery, the subject Zhang Qianwei. When the imperial decree ordaining the forty-nine persons into the monastic life and their shaving was completed, the envoy ordered the sangha to assign their Dharma names. Guanding, receiving the sangha's order, established the names based on six events, and the envoy recorded and memorialized them: Responding thoroughly to auspicious signs, their verification gloriously ascended. The above eight names, based on the auspicious omens of Guoqing, all have the character 'Ling' (Spirit) at their head. Tranquil, authentic, empty, as the trace of the vehicle. The above eight names, based on the affair of renouncing household life, all have the character 'Dao' (Path) at their head. Arising from precepts, concentration, and wisdom, the eye of wisdom opens in awakening. The above eight names, based on the affair of hosting the monastic feast, all have the character 'Jing' (Pure) at their head. Life, strength, eloquence, and joy, peacefully abiding in capable delight. The above eight names, based on the affair of bestowing rice, all have the character 'Hui' (Favor/Wisdom) at their head. The fundamental foundation of the lineage, cause and effect dignified and pure. The above eight names, based on the affair of repair and maintenance, all have the character 'Zheng' (Correct) at their head. Modeling upon Mañjuśrī's vows, honoring Samantabhadra's practices. The above eight names, based on the affair of the imperial admonition, all have the character 'Si' (Private/Reflective) at their head. The very last person was named Jixiang (Auspiciousness).

4.4

Memorial of Gratitude from the Community of Guoqing Monastery, Number Ninety

4.5

Presented by the monk Zhiyue and the whole community of Guoqing Monastery on Mount Tiantai. The Concurrent Gentleman of the Court for Receiving Strangers, Lu Zhengli, arrived and respectfully proclaimed the imperial edict of the tenth month, twenty-ninth day, which stated: Your Heavenly Compassion offers instruction, bestowing upon the monastery its auspicious name, along with offerings of two thousand bolts of material, one thousand hu of rice, two hu of frankincense, a Dharma feast for a thousand monks, the ordination of forty-nine persons into the monastic order, and the repair of the monastery buildings. We immediately gathered the assembly, burned incense, and proclaimed it aloud. We reverently reflect that Your Sage Rule harmonizes in virtue with Heaven and Earth, nurturing the myriad states as your children and pacifying the four seas, aiding the Buddha's teachings and delivering sentient beings; such glorious and great benevolence and admonitions are beyond compare. Although Zhiyue and the others wear the Dharma robes, our practice does not match our appearance; while attending upon our late master, we often went astray from his fundamental standard. Day and night we reprove ourselves, finding no place of refuge. Bowing, we receive the imperial decree and uphold it with our heads. Yet, as ordinary and inferior men, we did not comprehend the bodhisattva's great wisdom. Formerly, in the time of the Chen dynasty, we personally heard our master say: 'When the three states become one, a person of great might will build a monastery for us. If the monastery is established, the realm will become pure; it will surely be Guoqing Monastery.' At that time, tracks of carriages and scripts were not yet unified, and we did not understand what he meant. Since then, we have harbored doubts without comprehending. Now, receiving the imperial edict bestowing the monastery, the name Guoqing accords precisely with that original omen; both the mountain monks and the mountain folk rejoice with great joy. We now understand that bodhisattvas of diverse vows inspire one another, either practicing the five grades or presiding over the myriad affairs of state, illuminating the Three Honored Ones and benefiting the realm. Rejoicing in this, sentient beings are fortunate to hear of this splendid omen; gazing up at the monastery's name plaque is just like attaining awakening. While your compassionate kindness extends everywhere under the sun, the single region of Tiantai has uniquely received your vast bounty: famous robes and superior vestments have successively arrived in splendor, and wonderful goods and nonglutinous rice have descended time and again. Zhiyue and the others have achieved nothing in the three trainings; even a single meal is hard for us to accept. How much more so when rice and goods accumulate in abundance—how could we dare to receive them with reverence? We deeply fear our inadequacy and worry it will incur fault. We hope that relying on your compassionate forbearance, we may exhaust our foolish sincerity in requiting Your Imperial Majesty. Mount Tiantai is remote and distant; from antiquity, practitioners have walked in solitary simplicity. Now, peaceful governance is in motion, Guoqing Monastery is established, and forty-nine persons have renounced household life in a single day; with their hair falling, obstacles are dissolved—truly a rare event! We hope their mental resolve will progress, their learning and practice renew daily, and their merit from thought to thought will assist the imperial realm. Furthermore, at the feast for a thousand monks, ordinary and noble gathered like clouds, the sunlight was bright and clear, and the monastic disciples were filled with joy. Reverently we reflect that our late master's wondrous virtue was inconceivable; his spiritual resonances and powers must surely have looked down and descended. In the afternoon, before the envoy, we opened the sacred reliquary, and rare sacred wonders were witnessed together by the envoy and others, both official and private, monastic and lay. Zhiyue and the others were overcome with mingled sorrow and joy, and respectfully present this memorial to inform you. Respectfully submitted. First year of Daye, eleventh month, twenty-fourth day. Submitted by the monk Zhiyue and others of Guoqing Monastery in Kuazhou.

4.6

Imperial Rescript on the Memorial of Congratulations from the Hundred Officials, with Oral Decrees, Number Ninety-one

4.7

The envoy Lu Zhengli returned and memorialized: 'We opened the former master's niche tomb, but did not see relics.' He also presented one scroll of his biography, and the hundred officials all offered congratulations. An imperial decree said to the lords: 'Zhizhe was my bodhisattva precept master. Formerly he showed many spiritual anomalies, and constantly told me: "If I surely attain the Way, after attaining the Way, I will protect the state and benefit the common people, right up to nirvāṇa." Sitting in the stone grotto, his countenance remained unchanged. In the first year of Renshou, I sent Zhang Qianwei to go and look, and he was dignified as of old. Yesterday, I ordered Lu Zhengli to go again; when he personally opened the door of the niche, it was closed and empty inside, with no one there. Hearing this, his traces were ultimately seen no more; since his spiritual body has already transformed, that he attained the Way is not false, and his words about protecting and benefiting will surely not fail. Now here is one scroll of his biography; let you lords examine it together, and let the evaluation envoys of all prefectures each make a copy to take back to their regions and disseminate.'

4.8

Oral Imperial Decree Bestowing Banners, Number Ninety-two

4.9

On the twenty-seventh day of the second month of the third year, the monk Zhizao was ushered into the palace hall to take leave. An oral decree was issued: 'We bestow one thousand and twenty-five banners.'

4.10

Stele Inscription for Guoqing Monastery Commissioned by Imperial Edict, Number Ninety-three

4.11

Stele Inscription for Dhyāna Master Zhizhe of Guoqing Monastery on Mount Tiantai

4.12

Composed by Imperial Decree by the subject Liu Guyan, Concurrent Director of the Palace Library, In-Waiting at the Chancellery, and Specially Advanced Unequalled in Honor with Open Office of the Sui

4.13

Your servant has heard: In heaven forms are patterned, and the models of constellations and taboos abide there; on earth shapes are brought forth, and the measures of regions and provinces are patterned upon them. The two modes being thus, the three realms of being are luminously distinct. When superior sages inherit the summit of power, enlightened kings thereby disseminate teachings; when the first-awakened bestow the Way, through matching and union one ascends to immortality. For this reason, the chariot was ordered to Kongtong, and light was shed upon Shanjuan; charts and registers spread undertakings, while the Red Pine Master broadened the teaching. Refining their essence among the Nine Palaces and soaring through the emptiness within the six directions—these were all provisional expedients to guide beings and temporarily preserve untrammeled ease; yet in the end they remain obscured by suffering and emptiness, ultimately turning and wandering through birth and death, never having attained that unarising and unceasing, non-going and non-coming, neither real nor unreal, neither identical nor different, constantly blissful, pure and true selfhood, tranquil, peaceful, and inconceivable liberation. Now, our Great Sui Emperor, whose Dharma taboo is Zongchi, has harmoniously combined the sun of the Buddha, with auspicious omens arising in the pure palace, bringing advantageous vision to the Dharma King and answering as sovereign of Jambudvīpa. In fief at Tang, he acceded to inherit the legacy; succeeding Gaoxin, he established sagacity. His virtuous capacity and mandate flourished like Ji Fa's, following what Heaven freely bestowed, embracing great virtue while keeping small things in reverent care; rarely appearing in the world, he answered the appointed time, luminous and cultured within yet gentle and compliant without. Discerning the subtle and the manifest, his mirror exhausted dark contemplation; both martial and cultured, his able undertakings were thus accomplished. Since the loss of the reins in the Yongjia era, the realm within the seas fractured and collapsed; relying on precipitous terrain and asserting dominance by force, each set up their own lords and leaders. Rites and music sank into improper hands, while turtles and jades were ruined in divergent realms; scripts and carriage tracks vied in division for nearly three hundred years, until Heaven was about to regret the calamities, and the ripening of wickedness met its appointed time. The imperial path shed its radiance over Fenyang, and his tracks shone upon the Dai residence; his territory grew exalted while the factions shrank, and spiritual merit was secretly manifest. At that time, Gaozu's spiritual stratagem deeply deliberated universal unification, delegating the punitive expedition and leaning on the battle-axe; the Emperor declared: 'Indeed, it is he! Both as sovereign and as kin, one knows one's minister and knows one's son.' Thereupon, brandishing awe across ten thousand li and executing chastisement through the nine punitive campaigns, with a single move he pacified Jiangzuo, and with a second march he extinguished the remaining embers; from the floating skies tribute was vied for, and overseas regions were brought under order. Although Gao and Xie made up the five ministers and the Duke of Dan in Zhou was among the ten capable officials, the splendid achievements of imperial branches in former days were far inferior; throughout the land, of all profound achievements, none failed to follow this pattern. The three stars aligned with the prime minister, and the nine appointments were proclaimed. He based it upon benevolence and compassion, applied it through voice and instruction, practiced it through the essential Way, and embodied it through non-action. Gushi is vast and distant, yet he still contemplated its profound mysteries; the vast waves are mighty, and he thought of boarding the ferry. Considering that the Capable and Benevolent One, of seed-nature awakening, descended to this Sahā realm; that the entry of Faithful Signs into the Way places pure precepts foremost; that the clear text of the Brahmajāla Sūtra deeply transmits the bodhisattva [path]; and that the National Preceptor and Jewel of the Saṅgha must combine both meditation and wisdom—there was the Great Dhyāna Master of Mount Tiantai in Kuaiji. At his birth, a divine light illuminated the room, and both his eyes had double pupils. The Dhyāna Master's Dharma taboo was Zhiyi. He came from the Chen clan of Yingchuan; the way of Taiqiu was distant, and the style of Jibo was prolonged. Amid the decline and disorder of the Jin dynasty, they migrated to Huarong. His father, Qizu, under the Liang was Envoy with Credentials, Sanqi Changshi, and enfeoffed as the Founding Marquis of Yiyang County. The Dhyāna Master had transcendent poise and awakening; from his childhood teeth he was exceedingly rare, and when he passed the age of early studies, he was already reciting the Lotus Sūtra. When his father sought a marriage for him, he used expedients to pray for it to cease. In the gates of Ru and the halls of history, he achieved clear understanding; under the pillar and upon the Hao River, he grasped their meanings even more deeply. When the palace of Zhugong fell, he immediately turned to simple vegetarian fare. Upon reaching the age of twenty, he went forth from home at Guoyuan Monastery in Changsha. He guarded the precepts like bright pearls and settled his mind like still water. He listened to various sūtras and treatises, and upon hearing them just once, he grasped them in his mind and transmitted them with his mouth. Considering the region of Xiangtan to be narrow and confined, unable to arouse his great capacity, he brushed away his tracks from Hengyang and walked peacefully through Fen and Ru, proceeding to Mount Dasu to request instruction from Dhyāna Master Huisi. When the Dhyāna Master saw him, he sighed and said: 'I remember of old at Gṛdhrakūṭa we together listened to the Lotus Sūtra. Let you enter my Samantabhadra bodhimaṇḍa, and I shall explain the four peaceful practices for you.' After staying for two sevens of days reciting the 'Chapter on the Medicine King,' upon reaching the phrase where all the Buddhas praise together, he tranquilly entered samādhi, and luminous wisdom burst forth. Rising, he reported it to his master. His master said: 'Were it not for you, none could have been thus moved; were it not for me, none could have recognized it. What you have entered is the preliminary expedient of the Lotus Samādhi and the dhāraṇī of retaining what is heard. Even if masters of words and letters in their thousands of groups and billions of classes were to seek to exhaust your wisdom and eloquence, they could never do so; among preachers of the Dharma, you are foremost.' He once drew upon the Kāruṇikarāja, the Yingluo, Nāgārjuna, and Aśvaghoṣa to establish the threefold contemplation and fourfold teachings, expounding his master's fundamental lineage as the pivot of the Great Vehicle. From below he guided within, and great scholars propagated it widely. With wisdom he harbored the past, verifying King Aśoka's establishment of the true teaching; with spirit he knew the future, foreseeing the destruction of the great Dharma by Emperor Wu of Zhou. Thereupon, he stepped high out of the territory of Yu and soared to roost upon Tiantai; traveling through famous mountains, he went to Mount Lu. When Prince Xiao of Qin was garrisoning the Huai-Hai region, he sent a messenger to welcome and invite him. The Master said to the messenger: 'Although I wish to meet, I fear in the end conditions will not align.' Thereupon, for several decades of days, great winds and phantom bandits arose together; water and land were both blocked, and he sat peacefully on Mount Kuang. Soon after, the dragon banners extinguished the calamity, and succeeding Prince Xiao, [the Prince of Jin] arrived in this realm. With pure sincerity he invited him, sailing downstream with the wind behind him; within a few days he quickly arrived. When they met, the relationship of master and disciple was settled, like Shanyi gazing up to Sunetra, or Gaozong obtaining Fu Yue; though the Master firmly declined two and three times, he could not refuse. In the eleventh year of Kaihuang, the year of Xinhai, in the month of the Huangzhong pitch, on the twenty-third day, Xinchou, a Great Feast of Unhinderedness was set at Dating Monastery in Yangzhou, and he reverently received the bodhisattva precept method. Descending from the honor of a shepherd of the provinces, he followed the statutes of a spiritual master. Casting off the dragon robes, he donned the garments of patience; relinquishing the imperial jade tablet, he passed on the precept fragrance. Universally bringing forth the initial resolve, he paid homage to all Buddhas. At that time, heaven and earth were in harmonious conjunction, sun and moon doubled their splendor, the courtyard turned with gentle breezes, the sky cleared with auspicious vapors, the grove was bright with the flowers of the seven limbs of awakening, and the pool was limpid with the waters of the eight purities. His transformation reached within and without, an event equal to the city of Aśoka; his teaching turned the Dharma wheel, its principle matching the cave of Baoming. Civil and military officials alike were sheltered under the cloud of compassion, joyful and numerous, solemn and harmonious. What the sūtras call the precept of embracing moral disciplines, the precept of embracing wholesome dharmas, and the precept of embracing sentient beings—manifesting the three vows and truly fulfilling the ten acceptances, just as all forms entirely enter the realm of space—is it not speaking of this? When the Dharma service was completed, the seven treasures were fully renounced. The Master went out to reside in the grove of dhyāna assemblies outside the city, and the four requisites were offered. Yet the imperial heart still doubted it was not enough, considering that when etiquette toward a master reaches its height, there must be an auspicious name, just as Yi Yin was called Aheng, and Lü Wang was addressed as Shangfu. Checking the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra for the master's title 'Zhizhe' (Wise One), he reverently followed the golden mouth and devoutly expressed the jade grace. Then, choosing an auspicious day, he personally went out and prostrated with head to feet. Though the Lord of Youxiong ascended Mount Juci, or Emperor Wen of Han visited the riverbank, compared to this, it was as nothing. Zhizhe, with inner practice and outer promotion, followed the profound admonitions of the Buddhas; with both real wisdom and expedient means, he combined the mastery of a great being. Since the dānapati of the Indra [realm] embraced faith and understanding, the embrace of the benevolent king could broadly benefit far and wide. Hesitating, he requested leave to return to his old mountain; though the Prince earnestly invited him to stay, he was loath to go against the Master's lofty intent, just as the Four Whiteheads ate atractylodes on the Southern Mountain, or the two Shus dispersed their gold by the Eastern Sea. Shaking his tin staff and leaving the dust of the world, he was truly called world-transcending; when looking back at the Confucian scholars, it was not worthy of honor. I consider that the four-peaked Tiantai, the jade peaks east of Shan, the two ballad cloud cliffs, and the Golden Court south of Yin reach high into heaven, so that looking up one touches the white sun, and coil upon the earth, so that looking down one mirrors the vast sea. Mist, clouds, and morning dew gently brush light lapels; rainbows and phoenixes auspiciously welcome flying slippers. Flowers and fruits burst forth together, forever confusing the four seasons; medicinal herbs are densely arrayed—who can distinguish their hundred million kinds? Daoyou went there and realized the fruit; Xinggong's rhapsody could not express it fully. The monastery's foundation originally belonged to Shifeng, on the peak named Folong. Originally, Dhyāna Master Dingguang, concealing and manifesting transformations, previously resided on this peak. He often told his disciples: 'Before long, there will be a superior good friend who will lead an assembly to gather on this mountain.' Shortly afterwards, Zhizhe crossed the river and sailed the lake, swiftly arriving to gather here. Suddenly, he heard the sound of bells and sounding stones reverberating through the mountain valley, and he asked Master Guang the reason for the sound. He replied: 'This is the sign that the sounding block will assemble monks to dwell here. Do you recall having once raised your hand to guide me?' Zhizhe then realized that when he was fifteen years of age, prostrating to the Buddha in a trance-like dream, he had seen an extremely high mountain overlooking a bend of the vast sea, where there was a monk like Master Guang now, who raised his hand to welcome him up, saying: 'You shall dwell here, and you shall end your days here.' He bowed and spoke in grief and joy, with tears streaming down like rain. Thereupon, to the south of Folong, he searched the monastery grounds and saw five peaks surrounding it like Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, with two streams flanking and rushing down like the ravines of Jinyun. Clearing the brush and opening paths, they thatched it with cogon grass; the forest of merit was constantly perfumed with campaka flowers, and the walls and courtyards of patience required no bars or bolts. The howling of apes and the humming of cicadas mingled with the sounds of springs and breezes; flying and crawling creatures heard the Dharma and were tamed before the verandas. To the southwest, the Yongfeng River branch and the Zhe source divide the ridges and meet eastward in the sea; with tides flowing back and forth for several hundred li, the villagers constantly took fishing as their livelihood. Gradually transformed and guided, they burned their nets and abandoned their weirs, clearing fields and planting fruit trees, which unexpectedly made them rich and prosperous. Those of deep faith and understanding mostly became śramaṇas; where his compassionate transformation reached, they were all of this kind. After Master Guang passed away, [Zhizhe] wished to construct on a grand scale. Suddenly, he saw a monk of the same age as Master Guang, who plainly said to Zhizhe: 'If you wish to build a monastery, now is not the time. When the three kingdoms become one, there will be a person of great power who can build the monastery for you. When the monastery is completed, the country will become pure (qing), and it should be called Guoqing Monastery.' These words were vague and distant—who would believe them? How could one have expected that the matching response and dark tally would be here! When our lord had governed the border for many years, his filial nature was pure and extreme; he entered the capital to pay his respects, and returning swiftly to Jiangdu, he at once ordered boats to welcome [Zhizhe] to his garrison. When the messenger arrived there, [Zhizhe] immediately packed his baggage and said to the great assembly: 'The intention of the one above is heavy; I dare not decline. However, going I shall not return; through this we part forever.' He told his disciples: 'You must complete the lower monastery south of the ridge; its halls, pavilions, and foundations must entirely follow my plans.' His attendant replied: 'If the master is not present, how can it be accomplished?' He repeated to him: 'There will be an imperial crown prince who will build it for me. You shall see it, but I will not.' Traveling over a hundred li, he reached Shicheng Monastery east of Shan. In the monastery, there was a hundred-foot gilded stone statue carved and created by King Yuanxiang of Nanping, the Chancellor of the Liang, which possessed spiritual traces. Because of this, he manifested illness and lay on his right side. Suddenly, the wind and clouds changed color, and the pines and laurels stood tall and erect; as if heavenly music were entering the room, he sat up with folded hands, his countenance joyful and serene, and looking at his attendant said: 'Avalokiteśvara has come to welcome me; before long I should depart.' His disciple Zhilang requested: 'The Buddha permits sage and virtuous ones at the verge of death to speak of their attainments in stage and practice; we beg you to deign to instruct us, so that we may ponder and admire.' He replied: 'I am only at the stage of the disciple of the five ranks.' Examining this, the five ranks are the stage of the preliminary expedients of the Lotus Samādhi, exactly coinciding with Master Si's past words. Thereupon, he ordered a brush to compose a verse, and orally dictated his testamentary letter; its phrasing and principle were earnest and consummate, deeply presenting superior conditions, coming invisibly and departing secretly, vowing to shadow and protect. He had composed a commentary on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa in one part, which was sent along at the same time. Then he asked for his saṅghāṭī robe, put it on with his own hands, turned his body facing west, sat upright, and passed away, at sixty years of age. A feast was established for ten days; sitting cross-legged, he perspired, beads clustering at the hairline and dew glistening upon his chest, intending to show that all dharmas fundamentally do not arise, and now are without cessation. His rope bed was carried back to Folong, floating lightly as if drifting through space. At that time, when the fragrant shrine was opened, it was entirely unchanged from before. When the courier first reported the obituary, it moved the imperial heart; thereupon, he relinquished pure wealth to perform merit accordingly, and with couriers in mutual sight, towers and shrines were newly erected. Although the monastery was on its original site, the old was made new; its jade eaves and dark-blue halls relied on the spiritual power of the state to imitate the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, Gṛdhrakūṭa, and the wolf's tracks, using silence to make a bodhimaṇḍa. Master craftsmen like Gongshu Ban and Chui competed in displaying compass and plumb-line; the common people came like children, completing it in no time. Spiritual deities supported it, suddenly appearing as if springing forth. Backing against the high and leaning toward the low, halls were based upon rocky peaks; gazing up dazzled and looking down steep cliffs, it was truly delicate and surpassed painted adornments. Prabhūtaratna shared his seat, both receiving necklace ornaments; the heavenly crown adorned the pinnacle, as if connecting Brahma banners. Golden cases and jade tablets constantly unfolded in the lecture halls; dhyāna recitation and vinaya conduct never deviated from the master's regulations. This may truly be called the ultimate ground of dhūta practice, the pure realm of Amitābha, ever overflowing with Lake Anavatapta, and eternally solid like Mount Sumeru. When the double brightness inherited the calendar and heaven brought forth peace on earth, in the ninth month of the first year of Daye, the imperial carriage toured the Huai-Hai region; gazing across to Jiangnan, he felt nostalgic about Mount Tiantai, and gathering the famous monks of Yangzhou, he asked them all: 'When Zhizhe established the monastery, he provisionally based it on the mountain's name. You should each express your thoughts, and I will examine and select.' For several days none submitted a memorial. It happened that the monastery monk Zhizao came carrying a petition, detailing Master Guang's former designation of 'Guoqing'. The Grand Historian noted: The era of these words was the beginning of Jiande of the Zhou, when the eight directions were not yet united and the three powers stood like a tripod, over forty years ago today. The sagely verification was a hung tally, an omen fulfilled in an enlightened age. An edict entrusted it to the scribes to record in the left archives, and it was further decreed that Zhou-style seal script be used to inscribe the monastery gate. Thereupon, an attendant gentleman was sent to escort Zao along with imperial gifts for the foundation, arriving for the late master's memorial service on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month. The envoy assembled the monks and knelt to open the stone chamber; they saw only an empty bed and vacant curtain, moss and cobwebs. The Dharma companions wailed aloud, as if he had just passed into extinction; public and private mourners wrung their hands, as if lacking anyone to look to for support. Furthermore, for the thousand monks at the Dharma gathering, there were individual registers; when checking the count for the feast, there was suddenly one person more. When the officials inspected again, it returned to the full thousand; when taking their seats to receive donations, it became a thousand and one once more. The administrators were startled and astounded, unable to discern the appearances and disappearances—how could this not have been the late master's transformation body coming to receive the state offering? When the prince's minister returned with his report, detailing this single matter, facing the screen the emperor's serene countenance deeply perceived the spiritual trace; the hundred officials bowed in congratulation, and fame sped across the four seas. How supreme! The semblance Dharma has not yet sunk, and the Buddha seed is constantly sustained; when the sagely mind is stirred to action, the Great Master responds to transformations, his wondrous power inconceivable! The divine chart is destined to be eternal, and the auspicious foundation blesses the realm; crowded and flourishing, how resplendent is this great prosperity! Formerly, King Suvarṇaprabhāsa praised the Buddha's merit, and Elder Ratnarāśi offered parasols in acclamation; Fan Wuzi's reputation was preserved among the people, and Zang Wenzhong's words were passed down to immortality. How much more so the Bodhi tree, whose excellence originates in the master's gate, and this blessed ground, where a cloud-lofty stele is erected touching the boundary of the adamantine realm, causing the imperial silk decrees to weave and record these words and principles! As for recording words and recording events, these are the completed standards of historians; scattering flowers and stringing flowers, these are the vast expounding of the Dharma treasury. Daring to restate and proclaim them, I now compose the hymn, which says:

4.14

The Dragon Chart delineated the trigrams, but only sprouted the Five Canons;
The golden wheel salvages the drowning, but merely promotes the ten good deeds.
How could they compare to our Emperor, whose achievements are immense and far-reaching?
Returning to the source of original purity, the way back is now made manifest.
Using the ancient sages as a mirror, how shallow were their fish traps and rabbit snares!
When Heaven created the primeval chaos, the sun and moon then arose;
In high mountains and vast seas, shadows cast or waters clarify.
When tigers roar, winds arise; when dragons leap, clouds soar.
The consummate man perceives the subtle springs of action, cultivating uprightness and dutifully complying;
Humble yet venerable, originally abundant, he was chosen and hailed as an exemplar.
Who indeed was truly fitting? One looked up to by all, fully capable of prevailing.
Perfumed with dhyāna, contemplating stillness, he was tranquil and settled as winter;
Subtle meanings surged like springs, like ice melting in spring waters.
We possessed a Master Shi, who followed the plumb-line with rectitude;
We possessed a raft of the vinaya, upon whose oars and rudders we could rely.
Reverently approaching with single-minded devotion, joyfully receiving with vigilance and awe.
Able to support the ten thousand practices, uniting them into the One Vehicle;
The six kinds of quaking shook [the earth], and the ten directions praised and extolled.
Like voices responding in harmony, faithfully fulfilled with proof;
Utmost sincerity moved the spirits, and the Way matched as tally and seal.
How profound was the Master of Wisdom! His ripples and waves knew no bounds.
After watering and nurturing the Imperial Preceptor, he returned to rest at Tiantai.
At the bend of the mountain, by the shores of the river,
The vast ocean is immense and boundless; the peaks and cliffs are lofty and distant.
The sun bathes in the Fusang tree; the moon pierces the clustered osmanthus;
Above, he matched the glory of the Ladle star; alongside, he reached King Yu's designs.
White torrents are whipped by the wind; Mount Chicheng trails rosiness like mist.
The benevolent and wise retired in abundance; the mountains and forests shielded and concealed.
No words remain unanswered, truly matching the echo;
No virtue remains unrequited, equal to the mirror-image.
At first divining a dwelling at the mango grove, full of sincere reliance and yearning;
Illustrious and luminous Master Guang, faithfully committed to distant journeying.
Neither bright nor dark, his mirror-form remained as before;
The monastery was named Guoqing, its sacred doors opening imperceptibly.
Who would have thought our Master would so quickly follow the causes to the Land of Peace?
The Dragon Tower had an early record; the Crane Pass brooked no error.
The imperial dwelling was of old, sorrowfully erecting the Jetavana;
A fine ending matched the beginning, the master revered and the Way honored.
Measuring the sun's shadow to mark the quadrants, watching the stars to correct the dusk;
Setting pegs to elevate the foundations, paring layers of earth to form the walls.
Cliffs parted like lotus petals; springs gushed like the Peach Spring.
Fairy-like windows cool in summer, dhyāna chambers warm in winter.
Tamed panthers on the jade steps; simurghs roosting on the golden spire.
Gentle breezes harbingered precious bells; skyward twirled pearl banners.
The hundred grains ripen in season; for ten thousand miles forests thrive.
Lingzhi mushrooms and the joy of dhyāna; heavenly vases of sweet dew.
When the jade foot pressed the earth, the pure realm startled the soul;
Gold spread to purchase the park; the heavenly palace serenely stands.
The merit of this creation—how could its source ever be exhausted?
Its architecture is magnificent and transparent, fully adorned and arrayed.
Persian casting and smelting; King Udayana's fine carving.
The golden countenance is full as the moon; the jade curl [of white hair] pure as frost.
Translated through elephant-drawn carts; unfurled and perused in the Dragon Palace.
Dharma heirs assembled in abundance, upright in mind, their hindrances annihilated.
The Three Steps are now leveled, the King's Way is now cleared;
Diverse paths lead to the same goal; without anxious thought, what need to strive?
The imperial mind is wise and profound, deeply penetrating and oblivious to worldly passion.
Being is rooted in emptiness and purity; emptiness and constancy exist side by side.
The precepts on the platform are received with repeated vows; samādhi and wisdom are true and pure.
Heaven's survey provides a luminous mirror; distant offerings rely on sincerity.
The great assembly scatters fragrance, paying homage before the shrine columns;
Within the seat of his whole body, securely barred, wrapped in nets.
Like Mahākāśyapa on Mount Kukkuṭapāda, resounding through the Auspicious Kalpa;
The number of monks fed overflowed, an auspicious sign of our grand peace.
Fields of the body are moistened by rain; trees of the mind bloom in glory.
Planted together in the present, to be perfected together in the future.
Like a suspended mirror, reflecting back upon this life;
Like a sundial and jade tablet, never waxing or waning.
With spiritual powers unimpeded, disporting in the City of Fragrance,
Bodhi fully perfected, resplendent and radiant.

4.15

Stele of Yuquan Monastery, Number Ninety-Four

4.16

Composed by Huangfu Pi, Magistrate of Dangyang County

4.17

I have heard that the Qian origin provides the inception, and the three luminaries manifest their forms in Heaven; the Kun way provides nourishment, and the myriad things stir their forms upon Earth. Thereupon august monarchs established states, and sages and worthies bequeathed their writings. They instituted the teaching of names without uniformity, and devised deportment with distinctions. As for delineating the hexagrams and contemplating the lines, they merely took the signs appropriate to the times; gathering the warp and weaving the weft, they brought together words for government. Great ritual shares harmony, and great music shares rhythm, comforting superiors and governing the people, transforming customs and mores—these are merely the bare outlines of affairs in life. What can be said of after death? When questioned, Confucius did not speak of it. Even if crimson snow swirls in the sky and dark frost brushes the trees; even if one ingests the golden elixir through nine transmutations or swallows jade marrow for a thousand years; mounting the clouds, one may ride a nine-colored dark dragon; roaming the Milky Way, one may rein in the white cranes of the Three Mountains; strolling leisurely upon agate terraces or dallying among jade palace gates—yet one has not glimpsed the gate of liberation, and ultimately drifts toward the realm of afflictions and bondages.
Only the Rightly Awakened One is profound and tranquil, the wondrous reality of true suchness: unarising and unceasing, formless and wordless. Responding to dispositions according to conditions, he borrows physical colors to fashion a form; perceiving voices according to kinds, he manifests discourses based on sounds. Therefore, there are bodies of white silver a thousand feet tall, forms of purple-gold sixteen feet high, the texts of the eight divisions of Prajñā, and the meanings of the four types of siddhānta. His spiritual powers are unimpeded, his power of wisdom boundless. Guiding and transforming, he opens, reveals, awakens, and causes entry; those who take refuge all give rise to bodhi, and those who dedicate merit universally ascend to constant bliss. Thus, a monkey building a stūpa was born into Trāyastriṃśa Heaven; a wild goose holding a flower went to the realm of Amitābha. How could it merely be that the Sūryagarbha monk wandered alone upon the correct path, or that Candraprabha Kumāra alone beheld the Tathāgata? The four types of birth are thereby liberated, and the six destinies rely on this to be revived; it is truly the grand carriage from the burning house, the great raft across the murky river.
As for King Zhao's reign in the Zhou house, a shadow surpassed the fixed stars; in Emperor Ming's time under the Han dynasty, a luminous dream was like the sun. Envoys returned from the Western regions, and the transformation gradually spread to the Eastern Capital; an image was placed in the Southern Palace, expressing devotion facing north. From the time Mātaṅga entered Luoyang and Kumārajīva traveled to Qin, the teaching of names was further expanded, and the wind of the Way flourished. Sūtra terraces, image pavilions, precious stūpas, and fragrance mountains—their splendors spilled over mountain recesses, their beauty filled capitals and towns.
Who would have anticipated that in the Zhenjun years of the Later Wei and the Jiande years of the Northern Zhou, sacred shrines were once eradicated and saṅghārāmas twice destroyed? Images and figures were ruined and discarded, writings and texts dispersed and lost; sounds faded from the jade chimes, and notes sank from the precious bells. Senior figures cultivating dhyāna rolled up their tongues and spoke not; former worthies protecting the precepts changed their appearance and hid their traces. The world lacked the path of regulating the mind; the era lacked the way of guiding and saving. There was no ford or bridge to leave the world; the great hopes of the living beings were lost.
Our Emperor of the Great Sui, mounting Heaven and governing the realm, grasping the mirror and unfurling the charts, loves the multitudes as a father and reigns over China as a sovereign. Heaven and Earth share his great virtue, and the sun and moon join his repeating light. He stirs them with thunder and lightning, and moistens them with wind and rain. Ridding of violent disorder, he brought about supreme peace; stretching the four cardinal ropes, he held court for the ten thousand states. When his merits were accomplished, he made music; when governance was settled, he instituted rituals. The correct Way is non-action, and the realm has boundaries. He opened the road to nirvāṇa and unlocked the gate of prajñā; he propagated the twelvefold division of sūtras and disseminated the Dharma of four thousand years. Diligent elders once again abandoned secular life to return to the saṅgha; pure-dwelling novices held their minds and upheld the precepts. Not only did the wheel of the Dharma turn anew and the drum of the Dharma sound again, but within the four seas there were no anxieties, and the myriad millions jointly found reliance. Kingdoms wearing feathers and clad in skins, admiring his transformative wind, came to pay court; the auspicious omens of sacred fowl and felicitous gifts, answering to charts and books, gathered in the imperial park. How majestic—it cannot be measured by ordinary cognition and wisdom! How boundless—how could it ever be exhausted by speech and discourse?
Yuquan Monastery was founded on this mountain; it was the chosen dwelling of Dhyāna Master Zhiyi. By imperial decree, the official name was given and inscribed on the mountain's plaque. The peaks are towering and craggy, rugged and precipitous; some summits seem like tilted umbrellas, and ridges resemble overturned boats. There are forms like the monstrous giant strength of the Qiongqi beast, and shapes perilous and deceitful like vast cliffs. The winding ridges embrace to form a rampart; the swirling waters meander and produce stalactites. Green maples stir their leaves, reflecting distant golden clouds; emerald willows sway their branches, drooping over the jade pond. Apes chant above the white clouds; orioles chirp among the azure trees. The sun and moon are eclipsed and sheltered by them; mist and vapor disperse and gather through them. In front, it looks out upon the river roads; behind, it gazes toward the peaks of Jing; to the left, it is girdled by the mounds of Zhao; to the right, it connects to the gorges of Ba.
The Master's original surname was Chen, and he was a man of Yingchuan. Endowed from youth with innate knowledge, he shaved his head while still a child. He followed his master on the Southern Peak, and accumulated the Way on Tiantai. The resonance of his sagacious wisdom and vast talent was not merely broadcast south of the Yangtze; the renown of his knowledge of springs and subtle debate was certainly heard north of the Yellow River as well. His Majesty's son-in-law, Grand Defender the Prince of Jin, was by nature endowed with filial piety and compassion, his feelings encompassing sympathy and care. Able as an official and able as a son, he rectified the state and stabilized the household. Harboring the wisdom of spiritual insight, he bestowed an all-embracing love; spreading the wind of a gentleman, he bent the grass of the common people. Formerly, when the false Chen dynasty harbored rebels, he received the military commission, led the forces, plotted wonderful directions, and let loose his majestic terror across rivers and seas; thereupon he pacified Jinling and quelled the Bronze Pillars. Over the Three Wu regions, the mists rolled away; across the Hundred Yue, the dust was settled.
The Master, reliant on the Prince, had smooth passage; the Prince, thereupon reliant on the Master, received the precepts. When the Master arrived here, he practiced dhūta; the Prince memorialized the throne and erected this monastery. Thereupon men of talent and passion from foreign domains, admiring his Way, arrived like clouds; monks of refined practice from other lands, relishing his manners, gathered like rain. The Master then spoke with precise words to guide to the principle, exhaustively discoursing on the profound; his speech verified the limbs of dhyāna, his mind opened the root of samādhi. His mysterious tenets and broad meanings were inexhaustible like dipping into the sea; his eloquent phrases and pure expressions poured forth like a cascading river. Although companions residing in fellowship exceeded measure and vied to take refuge, disciples dwelling in solitude never returned from the precipitous cliffs.
Thereupon, faithful dānapatis and men of pervasive knowledge who accumulated goodness all contributed a timber or jointly donated a tile; relying on the power of this assembly, the task seemed like divine workmanship, and without many days of building, its decoration was completed. Constructed over time, it had tiered platforms and distant pavilions, duplicate halls and connected rooms. Winter and summer had different forms; yin and yang had separate layouts. Carved eaves and embroidered brackets vied in height with the precarious crags; chiseled plinths and carved foundations were as solid as rock cliffs. Wind and radiance issued from its doors and windows; clouds and mist arose from its beams and rafters. Flowers dazzled on golden plates; fragrances wafted from jade trees. Artisans painted the primary marks, pure as a golden mountain; craftsmen portrayed the true countenance, settled like the full moon. The hall was raised with three tiers of pillars, suspending a bell that sounded of itself; the chamber opened into a thousand petals of flowers, with lotuses upholding the airborne seat. The lamplight never went out, surpassing brightness even if filled with ocean oil; the flagpole pillars both bowed low, the banners they bore rising by themselves. Auspicious and soft grass grew luxuriantly along the courtyard; incense opposing the wind with harmonious air filled the precinct with rich fragrances.
Slantedly connecting to caves, a congealed spring directly poured down, its color like lapis lazuli, its taste identical to sweet dew. Waves surged into cauldrons and tripods; billows spilled down to the staircases and halls; drinking into the belly dispelled illness, and washing the body cured sickness. The shapes of stone pillars and copper beams cast their shadows into the lotus pond; the flowers of Peach Spring and Chrysanthemum Beach drifted their fragrance into the mango garden. It may be called a mountain akin to Gṛdhrakūṭa, a monastery like that of Revata; appearing as if from a Dragon Palace, or alighting as if flown from the Deer Park.
I humbly reflect that former kings who carved tripods merely discussed their achievements in ordering the state; now we jointly erect this stele to record forever the path of bodhi. Holding office as magistrate of this subordinate town, with the monastery situated in my mountain sector, though my writing expresses the intent, words cannot exhaust all there is to say. The verse says:

4.18

The two modes [of Heaven and Earth] opened wide;
the four vapors blended in fragrance.
Directions gathered according to kind;
things separated into their classes.
Pervading the worthy and pervading the holy,
illustrious rulers and enlightened sovereigns
set up teachings in response to capacities,
observed transformation and handed down writings.
Once musical odes were created,
rites and proper deportment were first regulated,
fixing who was kin and who was distant,
resolving doubts and blockages.
Unrolling charts, they distinguished things;
composing words, they clarified principles.
Yet these only transformed a single lifetime
and did not discuss the three periods of time.
The jade slips of the Dark Capital,
the silver scriptures of the Purple Court,
corpse-liberation leaving behind bones,
drinking fluids and swallowing essences:
riding dragons for ten thousand eras,
guiding cranes for a thousand years—
in the end these are not the real mark [of reality];
they are still passions of the dust.
There is only the Great Hero,
placidly ever-abiding,
neither arising nor ceasing,
neither coming nor going.
The wondrous tenets of a thousand gateways
he expounded and illustrated with a single sound,
delivering sentient beings
at the twin trees of nirvāṇa.
In dreams he connected with Empress Liu;
in resonance he answered the King of the Ji.
The fixed stars hid their radiance;
the full moon clarified its light.
His form was depicted in the eastern realm;
saints were pointed out in the western quarter.
A vast sea of compassionate vows,
a ferry-bridge of the Sugata.
Faxian returned to the Jin;
Kāśyapa Mātanga entered Luoyang.
Flowers scattered across the scripture terraces;
incense flowed through the icon pavilions.
The teaching of the Śākya flourished aloft;
sangha monks arose in abundance.
Dew glistened on pearl banners;
wind hummed through jewelled bells.
In the Zhenjun and Jiande eras,
destiny met with the destruction of the Way:
sinking and losing the four modes of birth,
destroying and eradicating the Three Jewels.
Our August Emperor initiated the sacred [rule];
his virtue equals the azure sky.
The wondrous Dharma was promulgated anew;
true images were remade.
The Chen clan usurped the title;
the Emperor's wrath launched this campaign.
The mists of Gouwu were rolled up;
Min and Yue were cleared and purified.
Thereupon meeting the Wise One (Zhizhe),
[the Prince] invited and received him at the mountain courtyard:
a pearl produced floating on the Han,
jade coming forth from the depths of Jing.
The flower peak towers high and sheer;
the rock cave hangs deep and precipitous.
Fragrant is the chrysanthemum shore;
trickling is the jade spring.
Winding like a valley,
covering ridges resembling a boat,
he arrived and assumed the seat of meditation;
wherever he stepped, all was quiet and serene.
Wondrously discerning the [four] siddhāntas,
deeply plumbing prajñā,
clergy and laity gathered like clouds,
drinking from the torrent of his river.
Some donated timber;
some contributed tiles.
Not days after beginning the work,
it turned into a great mansion.
Again he raised a Dragon Palace;
once more opened the Deer Park.
The mountain connects to the Purple Canopy;
the river embraces the Yellow Ox.
To the west it overlooks the Moon Gorge;
to the east it borders the Zhao Mound.
Sandalwood trees encircle it;
jade and beryl ring it round.
Spring casements and summer windows;
water pavilions and mountain towers.
The seats burst forth like lotuses;
from the shrines hang stone mirrors.
With the fine mark of the white curl (ūrṇā),
his indigo hair shines brightly.
Silver swallows hover about;
brocade-scaled fish swim freely.
The leaping monkey's mind grows still;
the frightened pigeon's shadow is calmed.
Splendid indeed is the wise prince,
appointed by fate as an imperial bulwark!
Endowed with virtue from Heaven,
he upholds both filial piety and sincere devotion.
Neither Dan [of Zhou] nor Shi [of Shao] are his equals;
how could Huo [Guang] or Zhang [Ping] be compared to him?
Abroad, he coordinates harnessed teams;
at home, he harmonizes the cauldrons of state.
Constructing this saṅghārāma
truly relied on his earnest request.
Demonic palaces loom high;
Mount Sumeru stands densely grouped.
In an instant one sees the end of the kalpa;
in a moment one watches it burned away.
How could it compare to the other shore,
where birth and death are both transcended?
Metal and stone do not decay;
Heaven and Earth may come to an end.
Carving and engraving this rock recess,
we hand down forever this magnificent achievement.

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Linked texts (1)

國清百錄 — Classical Chinese