廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4.51

4.51

The master's name was Yanshou, his courtesy name Chongxuan, his sobriquet Baoyizi, a native of Danyang, of the Wang family. From birth he was precocious: whenever his parents argued, he would cast himself down from the high couch to the ground, and both parents would cease arguing. Grown up, he became a Confucian scholar; at sixteen, he presented the "Rhapsody on Equaling Heaven" to the King of Wuyue, and the multitude praised him as a talent appearing once in an age. Desiring to leave home, his parents refused permission, so he pricked his heart's blood to moisten his writing brush and abstained from meat, ultimately hoping his wish would be fulfilled. At thirty-four, he went to Great Master Yongming at Longce Temple to shave his head and receive full ordination. In the morning he served the assembly, and at night he practiced dhyāna. Because he read the Dazhidu lun, which says: "In the Buddha's time, an old man sought to leave home, but Śāriputra would not permit it. The Buddha observed that in a past kalpa, this man had been gathering firewood, was cornered up a tree by a tiger, and involuntarily cried out, 'Namo Buddha!' Because of this slight root of goodness, he met the Buddha, attained deliverance, and achieved the fruit of arhatship." The master reflected that worldly sentient beings bound by karma could not obtain liberation, and only buddhānusmṛti could entice and transform them. He therefore printed four hundred thousand copies of the Amitābha Stūpa, exhorting people to pay homage and recite. One day, while circumambulating in the repentance hall, suddenly a lotus flower appeared before the statue of Samantabhadra and rested in his hand. Pondering whether to advance or retreat regarding his past vows and remaining undecided, he made two paper lots: one read "Single-minded Chan concentration," and the other read "Ten thousand goods giving rise to rebirth in the Pure Land." At midnight, focusing his mind, he set a condition for himself: "Whichever of these two paths' practices is to be accomplished, I must draw it out seven times." He drew the lot for "ten thousand goods giving rise to rebirth in the Pure Land" every time without exception. Thereupon, every day he chanted sūtras and paid homage to buddhas, recited the Buddha's name and explained the precepts, and gave food and released living beings, performing one hundred and eight beneficial acts a day without a moment's negligence. The King of Yue founded Jingci Temple and appointed him abbot, conferring the title Chan Master Zhijue. Gathering the virtuous masters of the three lineages, he composed the Zongjing lu in one hundred fascicles. His Wanshan tonggui ji, Shenqi anyang fu, and other works, totaling ninety-seven fascicles, circulated widely in the world. The master's sincerity was deep and solemn; he exclusively exhorted people with buddhānusmṛti to be reborn together in the Pure Land, praised by the world as the standard of the Chan school and the foremost exemplar of pure karma. When approaching the end, he knew the time in advance; extraordinary signs were numerous, and after cremation, relics were layered like scales upon his body. A monk once died and entered the netherworld, where he saw a painted portrait of a monk enshrined to the left of King Yama's hall, receiving diligent and respectful homage. It was said: "This is Chan Master Yanshou of Yongming. Because this person attained rebirth in the highest grade of the Western Direction, he is paid homage and revered."