佛祖統紀 29.41

29.41

法師一行。張公謹之孫也。初從普寂落髮。盧鴻一見奇之。謂寂曰。此子非君所能模範。當從其東請南詢可也。師所至倒屣迎之。凡西竺貝葉陰陽緯讖。靡不窮究。傳密教於金剛無畏。結集毘盧遮那經疏登壇灌頂受瑜伽五部法。至國清學歷於老僧。初至僧布算謂侍者曰。當有弟子求吾算法。除一算曰。門前溪水西流乃至。師突入稽首受訣畢。水復東注。自是算法卓詭。開元三年詔入見。咨出世法及安國撫民之道。時號天師。帝以國祚為問。答曰。鑾輿有萬里行。社稷終吉。以金合進曰。至萬里即開視。乃當歸少許耳。祿山之亂上幸成都。至萬里橋悟當歸之讖洗然忘憂。終吉者。至昭宗而絕。昭曾封吉王也。里媼王氏子坐罪當死。求救於師。令捕七穉㹠。日藏其一於甕。封以六一泥。呪之七日北斗盡沒。太史奏有大變。師勸帝大赦。媼子遂得免。乃日出一㹠。七日而魁杓盡復。師未解奕。於燕公座。觀王積薪一局遂為敵手。謂燕公曰。此爭先法耳。若誦貧道四句乘除語。則人人為國手。邢和璞謂尹愔曰。洛下閎。造歷時云。八百年差一日。當有聖人定之。大衍歷出。閎言皆驗。十五年陪駕幸新豐。道病。詔京師十大德結壇祈福。十月八日示寂於華嚴寺。停龕三七日顏貌如生。塔銅人原。諡大慧禪師。所著易論大衍歷。其目在唐書藝文志。

Dharma Master Yixing was a grandson of Zhang Gongjin. He first shaved his head under Pujī. When Lu Hong saw him, he marvelled at him and said to Jī: 'This child is not one whom you can model and mold; you should allow him to make enquiries in the east and seek instruction in the south.' Wherever the Master went, people welcomed him with their shoes turned backward. From Sanskrit palm-leaves of the West to yin-yang and apocryphal texts, there was nothing he did not investigate thoroughly. He received the esoteric teachings from Vajrabodhi and Śubhakarasiṃha, compiled the commentary on the *Vairocana-sūtra*, ascended the altar for abhiṣeka, and received the five divisions of Yoga. He went to Guoqing Temple to study calendar calculation from an old monk. When he first arrived, the monk was laying out counting rods and said to his attendant: 'A disciple will come to seek my computational methods.' Removing one rod, he said: 'When the stream before the gate flows westward, he will arrive.' The Master burst in, bowed his head, and finished receiving the oral instructions; the water then flowed east again. From then on, his computational methods were extraordinary. In the third year of Kaiyuan, an edict summoned him for an audience to consult him on supramundane dharmas and the way to pacify the state and cherish the people; he was known at the time as the Heavenly Master. The Emperor asked about the destiny of the state, and he replied: 'The imperial carriage will make a journey of ten thousand li; the altars of soil and grain will ultimately be auspicious.' Presenting a golden box, he said: 'Open and inspect it only when you reach ten thousand li.' Inside was merely a small amount of angelica (*danggui*). During the An Lushan rebellion, when the Emperor fled to Chengdu, he reached the Ten-Thousand-Li Bridge (*Wanli Qiao*), understood the omen of *danggui* ('ought to return'), and was relieved of his worries. 'Ultimately auspicious' (*zhongji*) meant that the dynasty would end with Emperor Zhaozong, who had previously been enfeoffed as Prince of Ji (*Ji Wang*). A son of an old neighbourhood woman named Wang committed a capital offense and was condemned to die; she sought rescue from the Master. He ordered the capture of seven young piglets, placed one into a jar each day, sealed it with six-one mud, and incanted over it: after seven days, the Northern Dipper completely disappeared. The Grand Astrologer memorialised that a great anomaly had occurred, and the Master urged the Emperor to declare a general amnesty, whereupon the woman's son was spared. He then released one piglet each day, and after seven days, the stars of the Dipper were all restored. The Master did not originally understand weiqi; while at the seat of Duke Yan, he watched a game played by Wang Jixin and immediately became his rival. He said to Duke Yan: 'This is merely the method of seizing the initiative; if one recites my poor monk's four-line verses on multiplication and division, everyone can become a national master.' Xing Hepu said to Yin Yin: 'When Luoxia Hong made the calendar, he said: "In eight hundred years there will be an error of one day, and a sage will arise to fix it." Now that the Dayan Calendar has appeared, Hong's words have all been verified.' In the fifteenth year, he accompanied the imperial entourage to Xinfeng, fell ill along the way, and an edict ordered ten Great Virtues of the capital to establish an altar to pray for blessings. On the eighth day of the tenth month, he manifested nirvana at Huayan Temple; his coffin was kept for twenty-one days, his countenance looking just as in life. A stupa was built at Tongren Plain, and he was given the posthumous title Chán Master of Great Wisdom. His authored works, the *Yi lun* (Treatise on Changes) and the *Dayan Calendar*, are catalogued in the bibliographical treatises of the *Tang Books*.