佛祖統紀 14.49

14.49

法師仲閔。三衢人。受業祥符。來依南屏文師。以雄辯見稱義虎。政和初。還鄉主浮石。學者驟至。嘗放言曰。吾座下不五百眾不講大部故一生唯講光明觀音。順寂之日。集眾昇堂。登師子座趺足而坐。忽見銀臺自西至。師曰。吾平生解第一義。誓取金臺。今乃若此。瞑目而化。所著憲章集五卷。其自序曰。釋氏子有所述。必求公卿。為之序其首。跋其尾駕其說俾行於世。且衣冠之士。豈知吾之是。識吾之非。儻是而無序。天能喪乎哉。或非而有序。人能駕乎哉。

Dharma Master Zhongmin was a native of Sanqu. He received his training at Xiangfu, and came to rely on Master Wen of Nanping; through his mighty eloquence, he was praised as the Tiger of Doctrine. In the early Zhenghe era, he returned to his home region to preside over Fushi, and students flocked to him. He once spoke boldly, saying: "Unless there are five hundred people in my assembly, I will not lecture on the great scriptural divisions; thus, throughout my life, I have lectured only on the Suvarṇaprabhāsa and Guanyin [sūtras]." On the day of his peaceful decease, he gathered the assembly and mounted the hall, ascending the lion throne and sitting cross-legged. Suddenly, he saw a silver dais arrive from the west. The Master said: "Throughout my life I have understood the ultimate truth, and I vowed to attain a golden dais; how has it come to this now?" He then closed his eyes and transformed. He authored the Xianzhang ji (Collection of Models) in five scrolls, in the preface of which he wrote: "Whenever a disciple of Śākya composes a work, he invariably seeks out high officials to preface its beginning and postface its end, promoting his doctrines so that they may circulate in the world. Yet how can gentlemen of cap and gown know what in my work is right, or recognize what is wrong? If it is right without a preface, can Heaven destroy it? Or if it is wrong with a preface, can men promote it?"