四明尊者教行錄 1.7

1.7

Fourth year, bingyin. At that time he was seven years old. The stupa inscription says: 'When the Master was seven years old, he suffered the loss of his mother; remarking that parental toil is not easily repaid, he wailed and wept without cease. From this he grew weary of the secular world and was eager to leave home. His father marvelled at this and thus did not thwart his resolve.' He then first placed himself under the monk (Hongxuan) of Taiping Xingguo Monastery as a disciple. In Tianzhu's preface to the Master's Zhiyao chao, it says: 'When the Master was a boy receiving the sūtras, he was already able to ponder their meaning; his natural talent was exceptionally revealed—is he not indeed of the superior nature born with knowledge?'