四明尊者教行錄 7.26

7.26

The Grand Master's taboo name was Zhili, his courtesy name was Yueyan, and his secular surname was Jin. He was a descendant of Jin Midi of the Former Han, and his later descendants were residents of Mingzhou for generations. His father was Jing, and his mother was of the Li clan. At the age of seven he lost his father; to repay the nurturing he had received, he was eager to renounce household life. He thereupon became a disciple under the monk Hongxuan of Taiping Xingguo Monastery in his native village. At fifteen he shaved his head and took full ordination. At twenty he followed Dharma Master Tong of Baoyun to study the doctrinal teaching and contemplation of Tiantai. Scarcely two years had passed when his father chanced to dream that the Master was kneeling before Tong, and Tong held a vase of water and poured it into his mouth. From then on, once the purport of the perfect and sudden was received, he immediately comprehended it, and accordingly lectured on his [master's] behalf. A few years later, around the time Tong passed away, Zhili also dreamt that he pierced his master's head, hung it on his left arm, and walked along. He immediately interpreted it to himself, saying: 'Does not the first symbolize receiving, practicing, and propagating [the teaching], and the second symbolize holding fast to the head of sarvākārajñatā and moving about to transform the world?' In the xinhai year of Chunhua [991], he accepted an invitation to Qianfu Monastery (midway through Qianfu it was renamed Chengtian, and now it is Nengren), where he remained for four years. The disciples happily followed him, but the halls and lodgings were cramped and mean, so he moved to Bao'en Cloister (now Yanqing). From the second year of Xianping [999] onward, the Master dedicated himself exclusively to lecturing and repentance rituals; he constantly sat without lying down, his feet never ventured outside, and he turned away all formal visits. In all, he lectured on the Fahua xuanyi seven times, the Fahua wenju eight times, the Mohe zhiguan eight times, the Da banniepanshing shu once, the Jingming jing shu twice, the Jinguangming jing xuanshu ten times, the Guanyin biexing xuanshu seven times, the Guan Wuliangshou fo jing shu seven times, and on the Jingang pi, Zhiguan yili, Zhiguan dayi, and the Shi bu'er men shizhong xinyao countless times. He composed the Guangming xuan xuyi ji in three fascicles, the Jinguangming wenju ji in six fascicles, the Guanjing miaozong chao in three fascicles, the Guanyin xuanshu ji in four fascicles in total, the Shi bu'er men zhiyao chao in two fascicles, the Guanjing rongxin jie in one fascicle, the Fuxing chuan hongjue tixia zhuwen in one fascicle, the Yili jingguan huzhao in one fascicle, the Tiantai jiao yu qixin lun ronghui zhang in one fascicle, the Bieli suiyuan ershi wen in one fascicle, the Shi Qing Guanyin shu xiaofu sanyong in one fascicle, the Dui chanyi chao bian sanyong shijiu wen in one fascicle, the Guangming xuan dangti zhang wenda ji in one fascicle, the Shi nan fu zong ji in two fascicles, the Guanxin erbai wen in one fascicle, the Shi yi shu in three fascicles, the JiebDirectory bang shu in three fascicles, the Da Ribenguo Genshin Wenshi ershiqi wen in one fascicle, the Da Yang Wengong san wen bing shu in one fascicle, the Jiangwei sanshi wenda in one fascicle, the Kaiwei shiwen sishier zhang, the Jinguangming sanmei yi in one fascicle, the Qianshouyan dabeixin zhou xingfa in one fascicle, the Shou pusa jie yi in one fascicle, the Fangsheng wen in one fascicle, the Wei Yu diantou zuo xiu chan yaozhi in one fascicle, and the Wei sifa Zhu Tan zuo fayuan wen in one fascicle. He practiced the Lotus Repentance for thirty days and nights five times, the Golden Light Repentance for ten days and nights twenty times, the Amitābha Repentance for one period of seven days and nights fifty times, the Invocation of Avalokiteśvara Repentance for forty-nine days and nights eight times, and the Great Compassion Repentance for three periods of seven days and nights ten times. When he reached the age of fifty-seven, he formed an agreement with ten companions who shared his aspirations, vowing to practice the Lotus Repentance and, on the day the three-year period was fulfilled, burn their bodies together as an offering to the wondrous sūtra and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. When the practice was nearing completion, unexpectedly the famed court official and Hanlin Academician, Duke Yang Yi, wrote successive letters entreating him to remain in the world. Furthermore, the commandery prefect and Collator of the Bureau of Historiography Li Yigeng, together with the vice-prefect and all the officials, repeatedly and earnestly urged him, all begging him to remain in the world, preach the Dharma, and benefit sentient beings. Because of this, his aspiration could not be carried out. Together with the ten monks, he then performed the Great Compassion Buddhist service for three years to solidify their resolve and practice. From his thirty-second year when he came forth into the world to serve as abbot, he single-mindedly lectured and conducted repentance rituals for thirty-eight years. He once burned three fingers as an offering to the Buddha, constructed a monastery complex of three hundred bays, large and small, and made a total of twelve sacred images of Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, one image of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, one image of Great Compassion Bodhisattva, and six images of Tiantai patriarchs; he also transcribed nearly ten thousand scrolls of the Tiantai doctrinal vehicle. In the first year of Tianxi [1017], the Hanlin [Academician] Yang Yi submitted a memorial, and an imperial edict bestowed the purple robe upon him. In the fourth year of Tianxi [1020], the imperial son-in-law Li Zunxu respectfully submitted an earnest memorial requesting a master's title, and Emperor Zhenzong specially bestowed the title 'Grand Master Fazhi'. In the winter of the fifth year of Tiansheng [1027], he lay sick, and although he received rudimentary medical treatment, he never ceased preaching the Dharma. On the fifth day of the first month of the sixth year [1028], during the xu hour, he sat cross-legged, summoned the assembly, and preached the Dharma, uttering as his final words: 'I have exhausted my strength and mind to establish this bodhimaṇḍa, vowing to circulate the Tiantai doctrinal teaching and contemplation. You must bear this burden well on your shoulders; do not become the ones who ultimately sever the seed of the Buddhas. Consider well this ultimate instruction of our patriarchs! That birth must have death is like dawn following dusk; nonetheless, if you strive vigorously to practice the Path without interruption, we shall surely meet again life after life.' When he finished speaking, he suddenly invoked the venerable name of Amitābha and passed away peacefully. His body was displayed in an open casket; after two periods of seven days, his nails and hair had grown, and his countenance looked as if he were still alive. After another seven days had passed, he was moved to the outskirts of the southern gate to be cremated; before [the fire], an extraordinary, rich fragrance was smelt. When the fire died down and the smoke cleared, his tongue remained uncorrupted, and the five-colored relics were beyond counting, most of which were obtained by court officials, scholars, and commoners. Five years later, on the twenty-ninth day of the seventh month in the guiyou year of Mingdao [1033], his disciples reverently took his sacred bones, interred them to the left of the Chongfa Cloister, and erected a pagoda to mark the spot. His age was sixty-nine; his monastic age was fifty-four. Those who received the Dharma and led assemblies were over thirty people, namely Zequan, Juecong, Benru, Chongju, Shangxian, Fanzhen, Renyue, Huicai, and others. Those who passed his threshold and entered his chamber numbered 478, while others who devoted themselves to study and came from all directions were beyond reckoning. The disciples he personally ordained were seventy people, including Licheng and Youxuan. Every year in mid-spring he established an assembly for the Bodhisattva Precepts, and those who received his transformation constantly filled the assembly to five thousand; as for his other secret practices and hidden virtues, they can scarcely be fully observed. What has been recorded above is entirely what is known and heard by the multitude, in the hope that later worthies will all revere his supreme virtue. Respectfully recorded on the eighteenth day of the late autumn of Mingdao by his disciple Zequan.