佛祖統紀 11.20

11.20

法師元淨。字無象。徐氏。杭州於潛人。客有過其舍者曰。嘉氣上騰當生奇男。既生左肩肉起如袈裟絛。八十一日乃沒。伯祖異之曰。宿世沙門必使事佛。八十一者。殆其算歟。及師之終果符其數。十歲出家。每見講座輒曰。吾願登此說法度人。十八就學於慈雲。不數年而齒高第。後聞明智講止觀方便五緣曰。淨名所謂。以一食施一切。供養諸佛及諸賢聖。然後可食。此一方便也。師悟曰。今乃知色香味觸本具第一義諦。因泣下如雨。自是遇物無非法界。代講十五年。杭守呂臻請住大悲閣。嚴設戒律。其徒畏愛。臻為請錫紫衣辯才之號。七年。翰林沈遘撫杭（仁宗嘉祐）謂上竺本觀音道場。以音聲為佛事者。非禪那居。乃請師居之。鑿山增室廣聚學徒。教苑之盛冠於二浙。神宗熙寧三年。杭守祖無擇。坐獄於檇李（檇音醉地名今秀州）師以鑄鍾。例被追辨。幸而得釋。寓止真如蘭若。擬金錍設問答述圓事理說。發明祖意之妙。元豐元年。有利山門施資之厚者。倚權以奪之。眾亦隨散。逾年其人以敗聞朝廷復卑師。眾復大集清獻趙公與師為世外友。為之贊曰。師去天竺山空鬼哭。天竺師歸道場重輝（東坡寄詩云。道人出山去。山色如死灰。白雲不解笑。青松有餘哀。忽聞道人歸。鳥語山容開。云云）三年復謝去。居南山之龍井。士庶爭為築室。遂成藍宇。六年。太守鄧伯溫請居南屏。越明年。復歸龍井。時靈山虛席。師以慈雲師祖道場俯就眾請。及月餘於禪定中見金甲神。跪前曰。法師於此舊無緣不宜久住。既奉冥告遂還龍井。元祐四年。蘇軾治杭。嘗問師曰。北山如師道行者幾人。師曰。沙門多密行。非可盡識。坡子迨生四歲不能行。請師落髮摩頂。數日即善步（坡詩云。師來為摩頂。起走趁奔鹿）將示寂。乃入方圓庵（秦觀記米芾書）宴坐謝賓客。止言語飲食。招參寥告之曰（參寥道潛）吾淨業將成。若七日無障。吾願遂矣。至七日出偈告眾。即右脇吉祥臥。奄然順寂。時元祐六年九月晦日也。塔成。弟子懷楚。詣汝陰請誌於東坡。坡命子由為之銘。師講說不間晝夜。嘗曰。鬼神威德不具者。晝不得至。夜中人靜庶幾能聽。焚指供佛左三右二。有欲效之者。師止之曰。如我乃可修西方淨業。未嘗須臾廢。或禱大士求放光。光即隨現。沙門熙仲對食。視師眉間有光。遽起攬之得舍利數粒。後人常於臥處得之。嘉興令陶彖有子得魅疾。祝之即愈。諸暨陳氏。久患心疾漫不知人。警以微言醒然而悟。布衣李生。久習禪觀辯而無行。欲從師出家。東坡為之請。未言其名。力拒不許。若先知然。秀州狂僧號回頭。以左道惑眾。宣言欲建大塔為吳人植福。施者雲委。以師不可欺憚於入杭。先遣使願以錢十萬供僧。師答曰。承以建塔淨財欲飯僧。教有明文不許互用。狂人大慚而止（坡公遣祭文略云。我初適杭。尚見五公。講有辯臻。禪有璉嵩。後二十年。獨餘此翁。今又去矣。後生誰宗）。

Dharma Master Yuanjing, styled Wuxiang, was of the Xu family and a native of Yuqian in Hangzhou. A traveler passing by his house said, 'An auspicious vapor rises up; an extraordinary boy will be born.' After his birth, the flesh on his left shoulder rose like the cord of a kāṣāya, disappearing only after eighty-one days. His granduncle marveled at this and said, 'He was a śramaṇa in a previous life and must be made to serve the Buddha. Eighty-one must be his lifespan!' When the Master passed away, it indeed corresponded to this number. At age ten he went forth from home; whenever he saw a lecture seat he would say, 'I wish to ascend this and expound the Dharma to deliver people.' At eighteen he studied under Ciyun, and within a few years was ranked among the highest disciples. Later, hearing Mingzhi lecture on the five expedient conditions of Calming and Contemplation, which say, 'As the Vimalakīrti states: "Giving a single meal to all beings, offering it to the Buddhas, sages, and worthies, only then may one eat." This is one expedient,' the Master had an awakening and said, 'Only now do I know that forms, fragrances, tastes, and tangibles inherently possess the supreme ultimate truth!' Tears fell like rain. From then on, whatever he encountered was nothing other than the Dharma realm. He lectured on others' behalf for fifteen years. Lü Zhen, the Prefect of Hangzhou, invited him to reside at the Great Compassion Pavilion. He strictly maintained the monastic precepts, and his disciples held him in awe and love. Zhen requested for him the gift of a purple robe and the title Biancai. In the seventh year [of Jiayou of Emperor Renzong], the Hanlin academician Shen Gou pacified Hangzhou; considering that Upper Tianzhu was originally a bodhimaṇḍa of Guanyin where sounds were used for Buddhist works and was not a residence for dhyāna, he invited the Master to reside there. He cut through the mountain, added rooms, and broadly gathered students; the flourishing of the garden of teachings was foremost in the Two Zhe circuits. In the third year of Xining of Emperor Shenzong, the Prefect of Hangzhou, Zu Wuze, was imprisoned in Zuili (pronounced Zui; a place name, now Xiuzhou). Because he had cast a bell, the Master was also summoned for interrogation, but fortunately was released. He stayed at the Zhenru Hermitage, where, modeled on the Golden Probe, he set up questions and answers to write the Treatise on the Integration of Phenomenon and Principle, clarifying the wonders of the Patriarch's intent. In the first year of Yuanfeng, someone who coveted the abundant donations of the monastery relied on authority to seize it; the assembly also scattered. After a year, that person's downfall was reported to the court, which again placed the Master in charge, and the assembly gathered greatly once more. Lord Zhao Qingxian was a friend beyond the world to the Master and composed a eulogy for him saying, 'When the Master left Tianzhu, the mountain was desolate and the ghosts wept; / When the Master returned to Tianzhu, the bodhimaṇḍa regained its radiance.' (Dongpo sent a poem saying, 'The man of the Way went forth from the mountain; the mountain colors were like dead ashes. / The white clouds did not know how to smile; the green pines had lingering grief. / Suddenly hearing of the man of the Way's return, the birds sang and the mountain face opened up,' etc.) In the third year, he again resigned and departed, residing at Longjing on the Southern Mountain. Gentry and commoners vied to build rooms for him, and it became a monastery. In the sixth year, Prefect Deng Bowen invited him to reside at Nanping. The following year, he returned again to Longjing. At that time the seat at Lingshan was vacant; because it was the bodhimaṇḍa of his ancestral master Ciyun, the Master yielded to the assembly's request. After more than a month, he saw in dhyāna-concentration a deity in golden armor who knelt before him and said, 'Dharma Master, you have no past affinity here; you should not stay long.' Having received this unseen announcement, he returned to Longjing. In the fourth year of Yuanyou, when Su Shi governed Hangzhou, he once asked the Master, 'How many people on the Northern Mountain possess practice like yours, Master?' The Master said, 'Śramaṇas mostly possess hidden practice; they cannot all be known.' When Dongpo's son Dai was four years old, he could not walk; he asked the Master to shave his head and rub his crown, and within a few days he could walk well. (Dongpo's poem says, 'The Master came and rubbed his crown; / He rose and ran, overtaking a fleeing deer.') When about to show his passing, he entered the Fangyuan Hermitage (recorded by Qin Guan, inscribed by Mi Fu), sat peacefully, turned away guests, and stopped speaking and eating. He summoned Canliao and told him (Canliao was Daoqian), 'My pure karma is about to be completed. If there are no obstacles for seven days, my wish will be fulfilled.' On the seventh day he produced a verse to announce to the assembly, lay down on his right side in the auspicious posture, and peacefully entered quiescence. It was the last day of the ninth month of the sixth year of Yuanyou. When the stupa was completed, his disciple Huaichu went to Ruyin to request an inscription from Dongpo; Dongpo instructed Ziyou to compose the inscription for it. The Master lectured without distinction of day or night. He once said, 'Ghosts and spirits who lack majesty and virtue cannot come by day; in the quiet of the night, perhaps they can hear.' He burned his fingers as an offering to the Buddha, three on the left and two on the right. When someone wished to imitate him, the Master stopped him, saying, 'Only one like me may do so.' He cultivated the pure karma of the Western Land without ceasing for an instant. Sometimes he prayed to the Great Being asking for a display of light, and light would appear accordingly. When the śramaṇa Xizhong was eating across from him, he saw light between the Master's eyebrows; he immediately got up, gathered it, and obtained several grains of relics. Later people often found them in his sleeping quarters. Tao Tuan, the magistrate of Jiaxing, had a son who suffered from demonic affliction; the Master prayed for him and he was immediately healed. Lady Chen of Zhuji had long suffered from mental illness and was oblivious to people; the Master alerted her with subtle words, and she awoke with awareness. The commoner Scholar Li had long practiced dhyāna contemplation and was eloquent but lacked practice; he wished to go forth under the Master. Dongpo interceded for him, but before he spoke his name, the Master firmly refused and did not grant it, as if possessing foreknowledge. A wild monk from Xiuzhou called 'Turnhead' deluded the crowds with heterodox ways, proclaiming that he wished to build a great pagoda to plant blessings for the people of Wu; donors gathered like clouds. Because the Master could not be deceived, he was afraid to enter Hangzhou. He first sent an envoy wishing to donate one hundred thousand coins to provide a meal for the monks. The Master replied, 'I understand that pure wealth intended for building a pagoda is being used to feed monks. The teachings contain explicit texts forbidding interchangeable use.' The wild man was deeply ashamed and ceased. (Dongpo's condolence essay said in brief: 'When I first came to Hangzhou, I still saw the five masters. In lecturing there were Bian and Zhen; in Chan there were Lian and Song. Twenty years later, only this old man remained. Now he too has gone; whom will the youth revere?')