佛祖統紀 41.42

41.42

四年。詔惟寬禪師入見問禪要。勅住安國寺。白居易問師曰。既云禪師。何以說法。師曰。無上菩提者。被於身為律。說於口為法。行於心為禪。律即是法。法不離禪○馬郎婦者出陝右。初是此地俗習騎射蔑聞三寶之名。忽一少婦至。謂人曰。有人一夕通普門品者則吾婦之。明旦誦徹者二十輩。復授以般若經。旦通猶十人。乃更授法華經。約三日通徹。獨馬氏子得通。乃具禮迎之。婦至以疾求止他房。客未散而婦死。須臾壞爛遂葬之。數日有紫衣老僧至葬所。以錫撥其屍。挑金鎖骨謂眾曰。此普賢聖者。閔汝輩障重故垂方便。即陵空而去○吳郡齊君佐。勤學貧困欲求食天竺寺。飢不能前。一梵僧顧而笑曰。法師不記講法華於同德寺乎。佐曰。不記。僧即出囊中一棗與食。佐即悟前身是講經僧。僧曰當時五人唯我得度。由汝師子座上廣說異端使學者生疑。戒缺質陋。報應宜然。言已不見。佐即投靈隱出家。更名鑒空。立行高邁。

In the fourth year, an edict summoned Chan Master Weikuan for an audience to ask about the essentials of Chan, and ordered him to reside at Anguo Temple. Bai Juyi asked the Master, 'Since you are called a Chan master, why do you expound the Dharma?' The Master said, 'Unsurpassed Bodhi—when worn on the body, it is the Vinaya; when spoken by the mouth, it is the Dharma; when practiced in the mind, it is Chan. The Vinaya is just the Dharma, and the Dharma is not separate from Chan.' The Wife of Mr. Ma appeared in Shaanxi. Formerly, the customs of this place were practicing riding and archery, and the name of the Three Jewels had never been heard. Suddenly, a young woman arrived and said to the people, 'If someone can master the "Universal Gate Chapter" overnight, I will become his wife.' The next morning, twenty people had memorized it thoroughly. She then gave them the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra; by morning, ten people had mastered it. She then gave them the Lotus Sūtra, setting a limit of three days to master it thoroughly. Only the son of the Ma family was able to master it. Thereupon, he prepared the rituals to welcome her. When the woman arrived, she asked to stay in another room due to illness. Before the guests had dispersed, the woman died. In a moment she decayed and decomposed, so they buried her. A few days later, an old monk in a purple robe came to the burial place, poked her corpse with his staff, and lifted out a golden locked bone, saying to the assembly, 'This is the Holy One Samantabhadra, who manifested expedient means out of pity for the heavy hindrances of you people.' Then he flew into the sky and departed. Qi Junzuo of Wu Commandery, poor and destitute despite his diligent study, went to Tianzhu Temple seeking food; starving, he could not advance. An Indian monk looked at him and smiled, saying, 'Dharma Master, do you not remember lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra at Tongde Temple?' Zuo said, 'I do not remember.' The monk took a date from his bag and gave it to him to eat. Zuo immediately awakened to his previous life as a sūtra-lecturing monk. The monk said, 'Of the five people at that time, only I attained deliverance. Because you expounded deviant heresies from the lion seat, causing students to doubt, your precepts were deficient and your disposition degraded; this retribution is natural.' Having spoken, he disappeared. Zuo immediately went to Lingyin Temple to become a monk, changed his name to Jiankong, and established lofty practice.