四明尊者教行錄 5.37

5.37

Emperor Zhenzong, saying: 'Your subject requested Yang Yi to compose a spirit-path stele for my late father, but he refused the writing fee. Moreover, for a court drafter to accept such gifts is the common custom of the world; I beg that an imperial decree be issued ordering him to accept it.' The Emperor summoned Danian to question him, and (Yi) directly memorialized the matter of Siming's abandoning the body. Hearing this, the Emperor deeply praised and admired him, and repeatedly instructed Danian, saying: 'Simply convey our intention, requesting him to remain in the world. As for a master's title, we shall bestow it. Regarding the writing fee, you, minister, should not decline.' Thereupon, the title Great Master Fazhi was specially bestowed. The master remained in the world because of this, and entered extinction only several years later. One day, I reached the southern city and paid reverent homage to the master's stūpa. Fearing that what I had heard and seen in the past might be completely lost to the world, I availed myself of the brush to record it. Respectfully inscribed in mid-winter of the bingzi year of Jingyou [1036 CE] by Qian (Xibai).