四明尊者教行錄 7.18

7.18

The Great Master Fazhi, named Zhili, style Yueyan, family name Jin, was of a lineage that had lived in Ming[zhou] for generations. His marks of a holy person were extraordinary and magnificent, his nature placid and his capacity broad. Initially, his parents prayed to the Buddha for a son. At night they dreamed of a divine monk holding a boy and handing him over, saying: "This is the Buddha's son, Rāhula." When he was born, they named him after him. At the age of losing his baby teeth he left home, at fifteen he had his head shaved and received the full precepts, and at twenty he followed Master Baoyun (Yitong) of his native commandery to receive the transmission of the Tiantai doctrinal teaching and contemplation. After only three days, the head monk said to him: "The Dharma realm naturally has an order; you should observe and maintain it." The master asked: "What is meant by the Dharma realm?" The monk replied: "It is the great overarching characteristic of dharmas, perfectly interfused and unimpeded." The master said: "If it is already perfectly interfused and unimpeded, how can there be an order?" That monk was speechless. In barely a month, he gave lectures on the *Hṛdaya Sūtra* himself; all people flocked to listen and spread word of him in astonishment, declaring that the doctrinal teaching now had someone to rely upon. Having resided there for three years, he frequently lectured in place of Master Tong, penetrating the text and elucidating the meaning, further making known what he had learned. Later he resided at Chengtian, and subsequently moved to Yanqing. His virtuous renown grew increasingly high, and his practice of the Way flourished immensely. Wherever he went became an assembly of scholars. The National Preceptor of Japan once sent disciples bearing twenty questions to inquire after the essentials of the Dharma; the master answered them, and all reached perfection. Never was the Tiantai teaching more flourishing than at this time. Emperor Zhenzong became aware of his reputation and dispatched a high-ranking palace official to his dwelling, commanding him to perform repentance rituals and bestowing generous gifts. Once, in a year of great drought, the master, together with the two masters Zunshi and Yiwen, jointly cultivated the Golden Light Repentance to pray for rain. When after three days rain had not fallen, they cleared away their mats, prostrated on the ground, and took an oath before Heaven, saying: "In this Buddhist rite, if rain does not fall, each of us shall burn one hand to offer to the Buddha." Before the Buddhist rite had finished, torrential rain poured down everywhere. He once exchanged written inquiries with several persons—Qingyuan of Fengxian in Qiantang, Qingzhao of Fantian, and Zhiyuan of Gushan—debating back and forth; though repeated often, he never yielded. He also sent his disciple, Great Master Shenzhao (Benru), to debate their doctrines with them, and in the end they were able to gain the victory. He composed two commentaries, the *Zhiyao* and *Miaozong*, the *Dabei chanyi biexing shu ji* (Subcommentary to the Independent Ritual of the Great Compassion Repentance), the two commentaries on the *Guangming*, and the like, all of which were subsequently transmitted. He once cultivated the Miaosheng Repentance for three years together with ten monks, making an agreement that when the repentance ended they would burn their bodies together, hoping thereby to stimulate the indolent and arouse vigorous progress. Academician of the Hanlin Academy Lord Yang Yi and Commandery駙馬李遵勗 Li Zunxu, who had previously recommended the master for bestowed monastic robes and titles, held him in the highest esteem and affection. Knowing of his intention to self-immolate, they sent letters urging him to desist, but he would not comply. They also sent a letter to Master Ciyun Shi of Tianzhu, having him come in person from Hangzhou to Mingzhou to dissuade him from his intention, yet he still would not listen. Commandery Governor and Auxiliary in the Institute of History Lord Li (Yiyu) secretly ordered the neighboring communities to watch him constantly, not allowing him to slip away to burn himself. His wish having thus been thwarted, he again assembled ten monks to cultivate the Great Compassion Repentance for three years. Moreover, he took the seven days during the Golden Light Repentance as the period for his passing; on the fifth day, he sat cross-legged and passed away. This was truly on the fifth day of the first month in the sixth year of Tiansheng. His age was sixty-nine, and he had been a monk for fifty-four years. A month after his demise, when his casket was opened to view, his complexion and skin were as if alive, and his nails and hair had grown. After cremation, his tongue root was indestructible, and the relics were beyond count. In all, he presided over three Dharma assemblies, devoted solely to lecturing and repentance for over forty years, his sides never touching the mat. Those who followed and were transformed by him at the time were numbered by the thousands; those who received his teaching and proclaimed the Way in their time occupied more than thirty teaching seats. Figures such as Zequan, Juezong, Benru, Chongju, Shangxian, Renyue, Huicai, and Fanzhen were all famous men of the age. Today, among the flourishing lecture seats in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there are none that do not transmit the master's teaching; his merit in opening people's minds was truly broad. In the tenth month, winter of the third year of Yuanfeng, after I had retired from office for a year, I traveled from Quzhou to Wenzhou. There was the Lecturer Yi of Faming Cloister, whose practice and understanding were both lofty; he had once traveled to Quzhou, where I had contact with him before I passed the examinations. One day, he gathered his robes and stepped forward, saying: "I, Jizhong, am a Dharma grandson of Master Fazhi. Alas, he has been departed for sixty-three years! His attainments were towering and distinct, and his learning served as a model for future generations; the master was truly the wooden clapper of the Buddhist gate! From the past, among high officials and men of letters whose words could be trusted by later generations, none have recorded him. His disciples secretly feel ashamed of this. Having now set down an account of his deeds, they request that you compose a stele inscription to serve as an everlasting transmission." I then sighed and said: "At the beginning of human life, one is empty, unified, and tranquil; originally there is no distinction between ordinary and sagely. When one engages in conflict within the realm of things and events, unable to return, the Buddhas had no choice but to come to the Eastern land, taking the trouble of names and characteristics to transform them—how could this be done casually? They set down Dharma that can be practiced, and showed precepts that must not be transgressed—like a floater in the eye that others cannot see, or a ringing in the ear that others cannot hear—desiring that they subdue their own minds and seek to return to the original ground. Thereafter, guiding teachers arose one after another, giving free rein to their wisdom and eloquence to preach the true, marvelous meaning, enabling people to transcend immediately to the perfect and sudden One Vehicle without leaving their present thought, and manifesting all aspects of liberation without leaving written words. In the final analysis, there is not a single dharma to be preached, not a single word to be given to another. Since Master Fazhi attained this, how could he rely on words to be transmitted? Nevertheless, finding it hard to refuse your earnest request, I looked over what was recorded; all are matters commonly known to the multitude. Therefore, I have gathered the main points and truthfully recorded them, further praising him with words, saying:"