佛祖統紀 27.140

27.140

晞顏字聖徒。四明人。一生不肯住山。晚年居桃源厲氏菴。專心念佛十餘年。嘗扁小軒曰憶佛。作偈有云。隨波逐浪去翩翩。彈指聲中七十年。豈不向來知憶佛。欲從老去更加鞭。自憐憶佛暮年深。除佛無能寫我心。誰道萬金。為客好。終非一飯在家林。臨終沐浴更衣。端坐念佛而化。

Xiyan, styled Shengtu, was a native of Siming. Throughout his life he refused to dwell in a mountain monastery. In his later years, he resided at the Li clan hermitage in Taoyuan, exclusively focusing on mindfulness of the Buddha for more than ten years. He once inscribed on his small porch "Remembering the Buddha". A verse he composed said: "Following the waves and chasing the billows, passing away lightly, / Within the snap of a finger, seventy years have gone. / How could I not have known all along to remember the Buddha? / As old age comes on, I wish to spur myself even more. / Pitying myself that remembering the Buddha runs deep in my twilight years, / Besides the Buddha, nothing can express my mind. / Who says ten thousand pieces of gold make travel pleasant? / In the end, it is not like a single meal at home." Facing the end, he bathed, changed his clothes, sat upright chanting the Buddha's name, and passed away.