廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4.45

4.45

The master was a native of Xiandu in Jinyun. His mother, Lady Luo, visited Dinghu Peak and was given a blue lotus flower handed to her by a jade maiden, who said, "This flower is auspicious; I confer it upon you, and you shall give birth to an honorable son." When Shaokang was born, blue light filled the chamber and a fragrance was like that of a lotus. At fifteen, he recited five sūtras, including the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka and the Śūraṅgama. Soon after, he traveled to Yue, where he thoroughly investigated the vinaya and listened to various treatises on the Avataṃsaka and Yogācāra. In the early Zhenyuan era, he arrived at Baima Temple in Luoyang and saw that texts in the hall repeatedly emitted radiance. Shaokang could not fathom it, so he reached out and took them; they were Shan-dao's past texts for transforming people toward the Western Direction. Shaokang said, "If I have an affinity with the Pure Land, let this text emit radiance once more." Before this vow was ended, it indeed flared again. Shaokang said, "The kalpa-stone may be moved, but my vow shall never change." He then went to Shan-dao's portrait hall in Chang'an and laid out vast offerings. Suddenly he saw Shan-dao appear in midair and say to Shaokang, "If you rely on my teaching to benefit and gladden sentient beings, your merit shall ensure your rebirth in Sukhāvatī." Hearing this, Shaokang felt as if he had attained realization. Traveling south to Guoyuan Temple in Jiangling, he met a monk on the road who said, "If you wish to convert people to practice buddhānusmṛti, you should go to Xinding." Having spoken, the monk vanished. Upon arriving in Muzhou, the people were not yet converted, so Shaokang begged for coins and enticed young children, saying, "If you can recite the name of Amitābha Buddha once, I will give you one coin." The children strove to obtain the coins, and those practicing buddhānusmṛti became numerous. The master then said, "Only if you recite the Buddha's name ten times will I give you one coin." In this way, after one year, whether old or young, noble or base, whenever they saw Shaokang they said, "Amitābha Buddha." Thereupon, people reciting the Buddha's name overflowed the roads. In the tenth year of Zhenyuan, Shaokang established a Pure Land site of practice on Mount Wulong, building a three-tiered altar to assemble the people. At midnight, as they circumambulated and entered the site of practice, Shaokang himself ascended the seat and ordered the male and female disciples to face west and recite Amitābha Buddha in a loud voice. The assembly saw that each time the master recited the Buddha's name once, a buddha emerged from his mouth; when he recited ten times consecutively, they were like a string of pearls. Shaokang said, "Do you see the buddhas or not? If you see the buddhas, you will definitely be reborn in the Pure Land." Among those paying homage to the Buddha, there were also some who did not see the buddhas. On the third day of the tenth month in the twenty-first year of Zhenyuan, he gave his final instructions to the monastics and laity: "You must arouse a mind of progress toward Sukhāvatī and generate thoughts of revulsion and renunciation toward Jambudvīpa. If you see the Buddha at this time, you are truly my disciples." Having spoken, he emitted several rays of extraordinary light and passed away peacefully. His stūpa was erected at Taiziyan. Chan Master Tianzong Deshao later renovated it; people of later times often referred to his stūpa as that of Shan-dao.