佛祖統紀 49.24

49.24

法智大師。名知禮。字約言。金姓。世為明人。梵相奇偉性恬而器閎。初是父母禱佛求息。夜夢神僧携一童遺之曰。此佛子羅睺羅也。既生以名焉。毀齒出家。十五落髮受具戒。二十從本郡寶雲通法師傳天台教觀。始三日首座謂曰。法界次第若當受持。師曰。何謂法界。座曰。大總相法門圓融無礙是也。師曰。既圓融無礙。何得有次第耶。座無語。幾一月自講心經。人皆屬聽而驚。謂教法之有賴矣。居三年。常代通師講。入文銷義益闡所學。出住承天。繼遷延慶。道法大熾學徒如林。日本國師遣徒持二十問來詢法要。師答之咸臻其妙。真宗皇帝久知師名。遣中使者至寺命修懺法。厚有賜予。歲大旱。師與遵式異聞二法師。同修金光明懺以為禱。三日雨未降。徹席伏地自誓以告曰。茲會佛事儻未應禱。當各然一手以供佛。已而雨大洽。嘗與奉先清源梵天慶昭孤山智圓。為書設問往復辨析。又遣門人神照大師本如。與之講論。卒能取勝。其所製指要妙宗二鈔。觀音品別行。金光明諸記。大悲懺儀。悉傳於世。嘗偕十僧修法華懺三年。約共焚身。以起精進。翰林學士楊億。駙馬都尉李遵勗。薦以紫服師號。心尤敬仰。知欲自焚致書勸止。復委天竺式師。自杭至明面沮之。皆不聽。郡守李夷庚。密戒隣社常察之。師願既莫遂。乃復集十僧修大悲懺。三年後於歲旦結光明懺七日。為順寂之期。方五日趺坐而逝。實天聖六年正月五日也。享年六十有九。僧夏五十有四。其亡經月發龕以視。顏膚如生。爪𩬊俱長。既就荼毘舌根不壞。舍利不可勝數。三主法席。專事講懺。四十餘年。脇不至席。授教唱道者。則全覺琮尚賢本如崇矩仁岳慧才梵臻之徒。三十餘人。當時從化以千計。今江浙之間。講席盛者靡不傳師之道。其於開人之功亦既博矣。元豐三年冬十月。余謝事多暇。自衢抵溫。法明院忠法師者。頃嘗遊衢。余未第時曾與之接。忽斂裓而前曰。四明法智大師。釋門之木鐸也。繼忠實為其孫其示寂六十三年矣。達宦之士。言可信於世者乃無述焉。吾徒竊自羞之。既而狀其行請碑於余。余乃歎曰。人生之初虛一而靜。本無凡聖之別。逮交戰於事物之境。而莫之能返。此佛祖不得已而來震旦。繁其名相以化之。豈苟而已哉。設之以法而可行。示之以戒而不可犯。如目之有華他人莫得見。耳之有磬他人莫得聞。欲其自降乃心而求復初本也。其後導師繼繼而興。騁智慧之辯談真實之理。不離當念以超最上乘。不離文字以示解脫相。其究竟則無一法之可說。無一字以與人。法智師已達乎此。則何假於人言而後傳者哉。姑閱其所紀。眾所共聞者為之實錄。將以答忠師之勤懇也。復讚之以文曰。

Master Fazhi's name was Zhili, and his style was Yueyan. His surname was Jin, and for generations his family were people of Mingzhou. His Indian-like features were extraordinary and impressive, his disposition was calm, and his capacity was vast. At first, his parents prayed to the Buddha seeking a son. In a night dream, a divine monk brought a boy and gave him to them, saying, 'This is the Buddha's son, Rāhula.' When he was born, he was accordingly named after him. He left home when he lost his baby teeth, shaved his head and received the full precepts at fifteen, and at twenty followed Dharma Master Tong of Baoyun in his home commandery to transmit the Tiantai teachings and contemplation. After just three days, the head monk said to him, 'You should receive and uphold the *Fajie cidi* (Gradual Stages of the Dharma Realm).' The Master asked, 'What is meant by the Dharma realm?' The head monk replied, 'It is the grand universal-characteristic Dharma-gate, perfectly integrated and unobstructed.' The Master said, 'If it is already perfectly integrated and unobstructed, how could there be gradual stages?' The head monk was speechless. After nearly a month, [the Master] lectured on the *Heart Sūtra* on his own. All who listened were amazed, declaring that the doctrinal teachings indeed had someone to rely on. He stayed for three years, regularly lecturing on Master Tong's behalf; delving into the texts to elucidate their meaning, he further clarified what he had learned. Later he went out to reside at Chengtian, and subsequently moved to Yanqing. His transmission of the Dharma flourished greatly, and his students were like a forest. The National Preceptor of Japan dispatched disciples bearing twenty questions to inquire about the essentials of the Dharma; the Master answered them, and all of them reached their sublime meaning. Emperor Zhenzong had long known of the Master's name, and sent palace emissaries to the monastery ordering the performance of repentance rituals, bestowing lavish gifts. In a year of great drought, the Master and the two Dharma masters Zunshi and Yiwen jointly performed the Golden Light Repentance to pray [for rain]. After three days, no rain had fallen. Clearing the mats and prostrating on the ground, they took an oath and proclaimed: 'If this assembly of Buddhist rites does not receive an answer to its prayer, we shall each burn one hand as an offering to the Buddha.' Soon after, a great, soaking rain fell. He once engaged in written inquiries, exchanges, and analyses with Qingyuan of Fengxian, Qingzhao of Fantian, and Zhiyuan of Gushan. He also dispatched his disciple Great Master Shenzhao Benru to debate with them, and in the end they prevailed. His compositions—the two subcommentaries *Zhiyao* and *Miaozong*, the *Guanyin pin biexing*, various records on the *Suvarṇaprabhāsa*, and the *Dabei chan yi* (Great Compassion Repentance Ritual)—were all transmitted to the world. He once joined ten monks in cultivating the Lotus Repentance for three years, agreeing to burn their bodies together to arouse vigorous effort. Yang Yi, Hanlin Academician, and Li Zunxu, Commandant-驸马, recommended him for a purple robe and a master's title, revering him with special devotion. Learning that he wished to burn himself, they sent letters urging him to stop, and further commissioned Master Shi of Tianzhu to travel from Hangzhou to Mingzhou to dissuade him face to face; but he would not listen to any of them. The commandery governor, Li Yigeng, secretly cautioned the neighboring associations to keep watch over him at all times. His vow unable to be fulfilled, the Master again assembled ten monks to cultivate the Great Compassion Repentance. Three years later, on New Year's Day, they formed a seven-day Golden Light Repentance as the period for passing into tranquility. On just the fifth day, he passed away sitting cross-legged; it was indeed the fifth day of the first month of the sixth year of Tiansheng. He lived to sixty-nine, with fifty-four monastic rains-retreats. A month after his demise, they opened the niche to look upon him: his complexion and skin were as if alive, and his nails and hair had grown. When he was brought to cremation, the root of his tongue remained uncorrupted, and his relics were beyond counting. Three times he presided over the Dharma seat, dedicated solely to lecturing and repentance. For more than forty years, his sides never touched the mat. Those who taught and proclaimed the doctrine were more than thirty men, disciples such as Quanjue Cong, Shangxian, Benru, Chongju, Renyue, Huicai, and Fanzhen. At that time, those who followed his transforming guidance numbered in the thousands. Today, among Jiangsu and Zhejiang, wherever lecturing assemblies flourish, none fail to transmit the Master's way. His achievement in opening and guiding people was truly vast. In the tenth month, the winter of the third year of Yuanfeng, I had retired from official service with ample leisure, and went from Quzhou to Wenzhou. Dharma Master Zhong of Faming Cloister had once traveled to Quzhou, and before I had passed the examinations I had met him. Suddenly drawing his robes together and stepping forward, he said: 'Great Master Fazhi of Siming was the wooden bell of the Buddhist school. I, Jizhong, am truly his grandson-disciple, and it has been sixty-three years since he demonstrated quiescence. Yet none among the eminent officials whose words are trusted by the world has recorded his deeds. We disciples secretly feel ashamed of this.' Thereupon he presented an account of his conduct and requested an inscription from me. I then sighed and said: 'At the beginning of human life, it is empty, unified, and quiet, originally without any distinction between ordinary and sage. When it comes to engaging in battle with the realm of things and affairs, none can return. It was out of necessity that the Buddhas and Patriarchs came to Cīnasthāna, multiplying names and marks to transform them—how could this have been done casually? They instituted the Dharma so that it could be practiced; they demonstrated the precepts so that they could not be transgressed. It is like flowers before the eyes, which others cannot see, or a chime in the ears, which others cannot hear. They wished people to subdue their own minds and seek to return to their original nature. Thereafter, guiding teachers arose one after another, wielding the eloquence of wisdom to discuss the true principle, not departing from the immediate thought to transcend to the Supreme Vehicle, not departing from written words to reveal the marks of liberation. In the final analysis, there is not a single dharma that can be spoken, nor a single word to give to others. Master Fazhi had already attained to this, so what need did he have to rely on human words to be transmitted later? For now, I have read what was recorded, and taken what is commonly heard by the multitude to make a true account, so as to answer Master Zhong's earnest sincerity.' I further praised him in verse, saying: