佛祖統紀 45.69

45.69

八年。詔嗣天師張乾曜赴闕。賜號澄素先生。上問以飛昇之道。對曰。此山林志士之所為。非可以輔政教也。上嘉之。詔自今一代與一先生號免租徭。○上聞藍元道有道術召見之。館于芳林園。賜號養素先生。未幾去居南岳。所居夜有赤光。及聞對談者翌日侍者以問曰。吾師劉道君海蟾子行雨過此耳。有劉中明者。南遊衡山。謁養素受其術。後於伽藍屍解。邑令拜其窆。聞其中言曰。止暴殄息求營。勿冐財勿柱刑。令愕而去。鄉人簡有從復見於東都。問曰。與先生同里閉。獨不念之乎。中明曰。人年五十已如敗屋。能志於道僅可延年。子今年七十矣。平生好法律佐人諍訟。尚何所言。遂不顧而去。

In the eighth year, the succeeding Celestial Master Zhang Qianyao was summoned by imperial decree to the palace and granted the title 'Master of Pure Simplicity'. The Emperor asked him about the way of soaring transcendence. He replied, 'This is the pursuit of dedicated scholars in mountains and forests; it cannot assist in governing and teaching.' The Emperor praised him, and decreed that from now on each generation would be granted a 'Master' title and exempted from taxes and corvée. ○ The Emperor heard that Lan Yuandao possessed Daoist arts and summoned him for an audience, lodging him in the Fanglin Garden and granting him the title 'Master of Cultivating Simplicity'. Before long, he left to reside on the Southern Marchmount. In the place where he lived, there was a red light at night, and voices were heard conversing. The next day, an attendant asked about it, and he replied, 'My teacher, Daoist Lord Liu Haichanzi, was passing by here bringing rain.' There was a certain Liu Zhongming who travelled south to Mount Heng, visited Yuandao, and received his arts. Later, he underwent corpse deliverance at a saṅghārāma. The county magistrate went to bow at his burial vault and heard a voice from within saying, 'Stop violent waste; cease striving and scheming. Do not covet wealth; do not be rigid with punishments.' The magistrate was startled and departed. A fellow townsman, Jian Youcong, saw him again in the Eastern Capital and asked, 'You and I were from the same village; do you not even think of it?' Zhongming said, 'When a man reaches fifty, he is already like a ruined house. If one can set his mind on the Way, he can barely extend his years. You are seventy this year; throughout your life you have been fond of laws and assisting people in litigation. What more is there to say?' Thereupon, without looking back, he went away.