佛祖統紀 10
English (machine translation) 10
- Language
- English
10.1
Composed by Śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu in Siming under the Song dynasty, Jingding era.
10.2
Collateral Hereditary Houses of Zhang'an (Part Two of Collateral Branches)
10.3
(Second Generation)
Dhyāna Master Hongjing of Longxing
Dhyāna Master Dahui of Nanyue
Dhyāna Master Jizang of Jiaxiang
Dhyāna Master Mingkuang of Tiantai
Dhyāna Master Daosu of Yuquan
(Third Generation)
Dhyāna Master Zhiba of Qidu (heir to Master Jizang)
10.4
Collateral Hereditary House of Tiangong
10.5
(Second Generation)
Dhyāna Master Zhenjue of Yongjia
10.6
Collateral Hereditary House of Zuoxi
10.7
(Second Generation)
Dhyāna Master Shenyong of Jiaoshan
Dhyāna Master Daozun of Zhixing
Dhyāna Master Dayi of Folong
Dhyāna Master Yuanzong of Zijin
Dhyāna Master Daoyuan of Siming
Dhyāna Master Qingbian of Wunü
Dhyāna Master Xingxuan of Wunü
Dhyāna Master Yuanjing of Wunü
Dhyāna Master Fakai of Wunü
Dhyāna Master Daobin of Sanqu
Dhyāna Master Huicong of Sanqu
Dhyāna Master Shouzhen of Piling
Dhyāna Master Fadeng of Qiantang
Dhyāna Master Fazhen of Qiantang
Dhyāna Master Fayuan of Kuaiji
Dhyāna Master Farong of Silla (the following three appear in the Zuoxi Annals)
Dhyāna Master I-eung of Silla
Dhyāna Master Sun-yeong of Silla
Layman Fu Li
Layman Wang Yuanfu
(Third Generation)
Dhyāna Master Zhi'ang of Jiaoshan (the following four are heirs to Master Shenyong)
Dhyāna Master Lingche of Jiaoshan
Dhyāna Master Jinming of Jiaoshan
Dhyāna Master Huizhao of Jiaoshan
Dhyāna Master Lingshu of Zhixing (the following four are heirs to Master Daozun)
Dhyāna Master Fasheng of Zhixing
Dhyāna Master Daoxin of Zhixing
Dhyāna Master Lingyuan of Zhixing
10.8
Collateral Hereditary House of Jingxi
10.9
(Second Generation)
Dhyāna Master Pumen of Nanyue
Dhyāna Master Yuanhao of Longxing
Dhyāna Master Xingman of Huading
Dhyāna Master Zhidu of Tiantai
Dhyāna Master Fayong of Jian'an
Dhyāna Master Fazheng of Yunfeng
Dharma Master Fajian of Wuxing
Hanlin Academician Liang Su
Director of the Bureau of Personnel Li Hua
Sanqi Changshi Cui Gong (the following four appear in the biography of Master Yuanhao)
Remonstrance Official Tian Jiao
Altogether thirty-nine persons (Treatise on the Great Master's Biography)
(Third Generation)
Dhyāna Master Tanhuan (heir to Master Pumen)
Dhyāna Master Zhijing (the following five are heirs to Master Yuanhao)
Dhyāna Master Zhongyi
Dhyāna Master Ziyu
Dhyāna Master Daoru
Dhyāna Master Zhongliang
Dharma Master Chongxun of Longxing
(Fourth Generation)
Vice Censor-in-Chief Liu Gongchuo
Prefect Liu Zongyuan
Imperial Secretariat Drafter Zheng Kun
Prefect Meng Jian
10.10
Collateral Hereditary House of Xingdao
10.11
Dhyāna Master Shousu of Xingshan
Dhyāna Master Saichō of Japan
10.12
Collateral Hereditary House of Zhixing
10.13
Dhyāna Master Liangxu of Tiantai (the following two appear in the Zhixing Annals)
Dharma Master Jingwen of Tiantai
Dharma Master Guangshao of Tiantai
Dharma Master Weijuan of Tiantai
Prefect of Tiantai Wei Heng (Zhixing Basic Annals)
10.14
Collateral Hereditary House of Zhengding
10.15
(Second Generation)
Dharma Master Jingxiu of Tiantai
Dharma Master Huining of Tiantai
(Third Generation)
Dharma Master Chuyuan of Tiantai (heir to Master Huining)
(Fourth Generation)
Dharma Master Xuanguang of Tiantai
10.16
Collateral Hereditary House of Miaoshuo
10.17
(Second Generation)
Dharma Master Changcao of Guoning
(Third Generation)
Dharma Master Yicong of Guoning
(Fourth Generation)
Dharma Master Dechou of Guoning (heir to Master Yicong)
(Fifth Generation)
Dharma Master Huiyun of Dingshui (in Siming; the following two are heirs to Master Dechou)
Dharma Master Xiuya of Faxing (in Kuaiji)
10.18
Collateral Hereditary House of Gaolun
10.19
(Second Generation)
Dharma Master Zhiyin of Ciguang
Dharma Master Juemi of Yanjiao (in Longxing, Qiantang)
(Third Generation)
Dharma Master Wu'en of Ciguang (the following four are heirs to Master Zhiyin)
Dharma Master Kerong of Yongxi (in Gusu)
Dharma Master Huaizhi of Hainan
Dharma Master Yiqing of Qiantang
(Fourth Generation)
Dharma Master Yuanqing of Fengxian
Dharma Master Hongmin of Lingguang
Dharma Master Keyan of Ciguang
Dharma Master Wenbei of Ciguang
(Fifth Generation)
Dharma Master Qingzhao of Fantian (the following four are heirs to Master Yuanqing)
Dharma Master Zhiyuan of Gushan
Dharma Master Qingluan of Chongfu (in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Decong of Kaiyuan (in Kuaiji)
Dharma Master Yunchang of Guanghui (in Qiantang; heir to Master Keyan)
(Sixth Generation)
Dharma Master Xianrun of Yongfu (the following three are heirs to Master Qingzhao)
Dharma Master Zhiren of Bao'en (in Kuaiji)
Dharma Master Jiqi of Yongjia
Dharma Master Weiya of Gushan (heir to Master Zhiyuan)
(Seventh Generation)
Dharma Master Shanpeng of Yongfu (in Kuaiji; heir to Master Xianrun)
10.20
Collateral Hereditary House of Jingguang
10.21
(Third Generation)
Dharma Master Zongyu of Huiguang (in Guoqing)
Dharma Master Chengyu of Guangjiao (in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Baoxiang of Guangjiao (in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Xingjing of Shibi (in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Xingshao of Shibi
Dharma Master Ruixian of Shengguang (in Tiantai)
Dharma Master Zhilian of Tongjian
Dharma Master Yuanqi of Chongfa
Dharma Master Chegwan of Goryeo
King Zhongyi (Qian Chu) of Wuyue
Dharma Master Qineng of Changning (in Wen[zhou]; the following ten masters are heirs to Master Zongyu)
Dharma Master Jueming of Tongzhao (in Qianqing, Qiantang)
Dharma Master Zhizhen of Anguo (this and the following are in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Huaiqing of Baoshan
Dharma Master Xiaocheng of Mingjiao
Dharma Master Wuzhen of Baozang
Dharma Master Huaizhi of Dingshan (in Gusu)
Dharma Master Zhilun of Lingjiu (this and the following are in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Suxian of Anguo
Dharma Master Qingwen of Cihui (in Kuaiji)
10.22
Collateral Hereditary House of Baoyun
10.23
(Second Generation)
Dharma Master Zunshi of Tianzhu
Dharma Master Yiwen of Yanqing
Dharma Master Youji of Xingguo (in Siming)
Dharma Master Tiyuan of Guanghui (in Siming; letter with Master Ju)
Dharma Master Qingxiao of Chengtian (in Qiantang)
Dharma Master Shanxin of Qiantang (Siming Basic Annals)
10.24
Collateral Hereditary House of Zhang'an
10.25
Dhyāna Master Hongjing was from the Wen clan of Fuyang. In the twenty-second year of Zhenguan, he was ordained by imperial order at Yuquan [Monastery]. Relying on Zhang'an, he received the teachings on Cessation and Contemplation (śamatha-vipaśyanā). He constantly chanted the Lotus Sūtra and was favored with Samantabhadra manifesting his form to bear witness, while divine boys waited upon him on both sides. Later, ten li south of the monastery, he separately established a hermitage called Longxing. In the first year of the Zhengsheng era of the Heavenly Empress, an imperial decree summoned him to translate the Avataṃsaka Sūtra together with Śikṣānanda and others. From the Heavenly Empress through Emperor Zhongzong, he received imperial summonses three times in all, entering the palace to receive offerings and serve as ordination master. Later he begged to return to the mountains. The Emperor decreed that at Linguang Palace, together with twenty eminent monks from throughout the realm, blessings be cultivated and a vegetarian feast held. The Emperor personally composed a poem, ordering Secretariat Director Li Qiao and others to compose matching verses as parting gifts. The Master received the poems, bowed deeply with hands clasped, shook his khakkhara, and departed. The whole empire held him in honor.
10.26
Chan Master Jizang was a native of Jinling. At the age of seven, he went forth from the household under Dharma Master Lang of Xinghuang Temple and inquired into the essential meanings. Later, he traveled to Guiji and resided at Jiaxiang Temple, lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra and writing commentaries himself. When Zhiyi returned to Tiantai for the second time, the Master, together with a community of over one hundred Chan monks, presented a letter requesting him to preach the Lotus Sūtra, but Zhiyi did not come. When Zhāng'ān was propagating the Dharma at Chengxin, [Jizang] sought the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. Opening the scroll and glancing through it once, he immediately had an awakening. He thereupon burned and discarded his old commentaries, deeply regretting his earlier works. He came to Zhāng'ān to consult and receive the methods of contemplation. During the reign of Emperor Yang [of Sui], an imperial decree ordered him to reside at Riyan Temple in the capital, where he expounded the sublime sūtra, and followers of the four assemblies gathered like clouds. Emperor Gaozu of Tang issued an imperial edict for him to reside at Yanxing Temple. One morning, he rose, bathed, burned incense, recited the Buddha's name, sat peacefully, and passed away. In his lifetime, he had two thousand copies of the sublime sūtra made, lectured on the Lotus Sūtra three hundred times, and lectured on the Great Prajñāpāramitā, Avataṃsaka, Vimalakīrti, and the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa several dozen times each, all of which had commentaries composed by him circulated in the world. On the day of his death, he composed the Treatise on Not Fearing Death, dropped his brush, and passed away.
10.27
Chan Master Mingkuang was a native of Tiantai. He relied on Zhāng'ān to receive the teachings and contemplation, broadly transformed the fourfold assembly, and devoted himself to reciting the Lotus Sūtra. When Zhāng'ān composed the General Outline of the Eight Teachings, the Master was the first to record and receive it at Santong Temple. Throughout his life, his writings were very numerous; today, only his Commentary on the Heart Sūtra survives.
10.28
Chan Master Dahui was granted this title by Emperor Taizong of Tang, but his personal name has been forgotten. When he first heard Zhāng'ān explain the calming and contemplation, he immediately attained profound awakening. He lived in seclusion at Nanyue, devoting himself solely to cultivating Chan. Birds and beasts grew tame at the corner of his seat, and people were won over by his compassionate transformation.
10.29
Chan Master Zhiba, of the Zhang clan of Xiangyang, went forth from the household at Changji Temple at the age of six. Daily he recited five sheets of the Lotus Sūtra and grasped a general outline of its principles and meanings. He often said, 'This sūtra is the great matter of all Buddhas appearing in the world. One person and one path—unless it is broadly propagated, it will not be understood.' Having completed his study, he entered the capital and encountered Chan Master Jizang, who commanded him to repeat [the teachings]. The Master said, 'The One Vehicle serves as a cloud and is thereupon divided into three; can the One Vehicle also serve as rain and be divided into three?' The assembly could not answer. Master Jizang said, 'The Venerable Ba's question deeply grasps the purport of the sūtra,' and thereupon entrusted him with the Great Dharma. Later, he resided at the temple on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, often lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra five times a year. In the ninth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, after finishing his exposition on the title of the Lotus Sūtra at the home of the faithful layman Zhang Ying, he bade farewell to the assembly, crossed his legs on the seat, and passed away.
10.30
Collateral Hereditary House of Tiangong
10.31
Chan Master Xuanjue, of the Dai clan of Yongjia, went forth from the household and thoroughly investigated the Tripiṭaka, mastering the Tiantai calming and contemplation and its consummate, sublime Dharma doors. In all four postures of comportment, he was constantly immersed in Chan contemplation. Because Lang of Zuoxi urged him on, he went with Chan Master Ce of Dongyang to Caoxi to see the Sixth Patriarch. Shaking his ringed staff and carrying his water bottle, he circled the Patriarch three times. The Patriarch said, 'A śramaṇa is endowed with the three thousand deportments and eighty thousand fine actions. From where has the Great Worthy arrived to give rise to such great arrogance?' The Master said, 'The matter of birth and death is great; impermanence is swift.' The Patriarch said, 'Why not embody the unborn and realize the absence of swiftness?' The Master said, 'The embodiment is itself unborn; realization originally has no swiftness.' The Patriarch said, 'It is so, it is so.' At that time, the great assembly was entirely astonished. Only then did the Master adopt proper deportment, pay homage, and shortly thereafter bid farewell. The Patriarch said, 'Are you returning too quickly?' The Master said, 'Originally there is no movement; how could there be quickness?' The Patriarch said, 'Who knows it is non-moving?' The Master said, 'The Benevolent One himself produces discrimination.' The Patriarch said, 'You have deeply attained the meaning of the unborn.' The Master said, 'How can the unborn have any meaning?' The Patriarch said, 'Without meaning, who makes the discrimination?' The Master said, 'Discrimination is also not meaning.' The Patriarch said, 'Excellent, excellent! Stay for a single night.' People at the time called him 'the One-Night-Awakened One.' The next day, he descended the mountain and returned to Wenjiang. Students gathered around him like spokes at a hub, and he was styled Great Master Zhenjue. In the first year of Xiantian of Emperor Ruizong, he sat peacefully, manifested extinction, and had a stūpa erected at Xishan. He was posthumously granted the title Great Master Wuxiang, and his stūpa was named Jingguang. Wei Jing, the governor of Qingzhou, collected his writings into ten fascicles, styled the Yongjia Collection.
10.32
Master Caocao commented: 'Wei Jing collected the extant writings, compiling ten pieces into one collection; even letters answering friends were included in it. Why, then, did he not collect the Song of Realizing the Way? There is indeed an explanation for this. It is titled the Song of Realizing the Way, yet the methods of cultivation and realization established by the Tathāgata's teachings do not go beyond the Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct, and Consummate teachings. Is what is now called the "Way" the cultivation and realization of the Tripiṭaka and Shared teachings, or the cultivation and realization of the Distinct and Consummate teachings? If, setting these aside, there were another cultivation and realization, would it not be what Yongming called "those who do not rely on the stages, namely heavenly māras and non-Buddhists"? Master Shenzhi said: "Searching through commentaries and sūtras to discriminate names and characteristics results from one's own lack of penetration, not the fault of the sūtras and treatises." One does not know whose commentaries he meant. If he meant the commentaries of Cien and the like, that would be acceptable. But the Tiantai commentaries all have definitive standards: they absorb phenomena into the mind, and contemplation harmonizes with the sūtras; this is not merely counting others' treasures. How could it be called mere discrimination of names and characteristics?'
10.33
Hong Juefan said: 'The Indian monk Juecheng said that the Western Regions regard this song as a Great Vehicle sūtra of the Eastern Land. If we judge it by the example of Uicheon's colophon to the Biezhuan, this song merely had the fortune not to encounter a discerning person who would have burned it.'
10.34
The appraisal says: The basic annals of Zuoxi state that Zhenjue was a fellow student and friend. In the biography of Zhenjue, it states that Zuoxi urged him to visit Caoxi, and it also says that he was master of the Tiantai path of calming and contemplation. From this, we know beyond doubt that they studied together under Tiangong. Furthermore, the Yongjia Collection exclusively employs the principle of calming and contemplation through concealment and illumination; this should make it even more credible. Thus, it is appropriate to attach his entry to Tiangong, thereby demonstrating the meaning of master and disciple transmission. However, the Song of Realizing the Way transmitted in the world is perverse in expression and purport; earlier generations considered it not to be his genuine work. Could this not be true?
10.35
Collateral Hereditary House of Zuoxi
10.36
Chan Master Shenyong, styled Daogong, was a descendant of Cai Mo, Grand Commandant of the Jin dynasty. For generations his family resided in Zhuji of Yue. While in swaddling clothes, whenever he heard the chanting of sūtras, he would concentrate his mind and listen in stillness. At the age of thirteen, he entered the Way, relying on Master Jun of Fahua. In the twenty-sixth year of Kaiyuan, he was ordained by imperial decree. He studied the Four-Part Vinaya under Master Yan, who said, 'This boy will surely be a guiding compass for scholars.' Soon after, he went to rely on Zuoxi, studying the calming and contemplation and the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. For five summer retreats, he expounded them, and the listeners were pleased and convinced. During the Tianbao era, he traveled to Chang'an and resided at Anguo Temple; nobles and officials came in continuous carriages to ask about the Way. Just as the An Lushan-Shi Siming rebellions arose one after another, he shook his ringed staff and returned to the east. Passing through the Xiang and Han regions, there was the Editorial Director Wei Zichun, of vast learning and unyielding spirit, who engaged in debate with him. Zichun suffered defeat, and the entire assembly was astonished and convinced. Fan Xian, Secretariat Drafter, sighed and said, 'The Master can be called a jewel beyond the dust (meaning like a lustrous gem untainted by dust) and a lion among disputants (meaning his exposition is like a lion's roar).' After returning to his hometown, he resided at Fahua Temple. From the Zhide to the Dali era, he was frequently invited by assemblies to ascend the platform to administer precepts. From south of Danyang to north of Jinhua, he was praised as an Acclaiming Master. He built a monastery at Jiao Mountain, which was granted an official name plaque. Early in the Dali era, the Daoist Wu Yun of the Central Sacred Peak wrote a treatise slandering Buddhism. The Surveillance Commissioner Chen Shaoyou requested [the Master] to settle the matter. The Master arranged a face-to-face debate with Wu Yun on orthodoxy and heterodoxy; no sooner had the banners and drums met than Wu was defeated. Thereupon, he composed the Treatise on Overturning Heterodoxy in three fascicles to refute the remaining faction. His disciples Zhi'ang, Lingche, Jinming, Huizhao, and others relied on him for many years; they all understood Chan and wisdom and were noted men of their time.
10.37
Chan Master Daozun, styled Zongda, was of the Zhang clan of Wuxing. At the age of twenty, he received full ordination and studied the Vinaya. He then visited Zuoxi to practice calming and contemplation as well as the Lotus Samādhi. He once said calmly to his disciples, 'The people under Yao and Shun were not righteous solely by themselves; it was because instruction reached them thoroughly. If instruction does not reach them, how can the people be blamed?' He then widely copied the Lotus Sūtra and established a sūtra academy at Mount Zhixing in Gusu, recommending fourteen monks of lofty conduct to constantly hold the Lotus Sūtra, continuing through night with candles, to propagate the compassionate voice of the Great Hero. In the first year of the Dali era, the Commandery Prefect Wei Yuanfu, Minister Liu Yan, and others, revering and admiring the Great Vehicle, submitted a joint memorial, and it was granted the name Lotus Bodhimaṇḍa. Thereupon, east of the Yangtze River, seventeen sūtra academies were established, all modeling themselves after the Master. On the mountain, the Master cast statues, copied sūtras, expounded the sublime Dharma, and ascended the platform to ordain people, without letting a day pass in vain. In the first year of Tianbao, while practicing the Lotus Samādhi at the Lingyan Bodhimaṇḍa, he suddenly saw a great light shining upward to the sky, with his body in the midst of the light. He asked Jīngxī about it, and Jīngxī explained, 'The light of wisdom flows forth from the mind, and it is about to reveal the heaven of the supreme truth.' He also once saw this body sitting in empty space; earlier masters said this was a sign of defilements exhausted, principle bright, and penetrating unobstructed. On the last day of the seventh month of the first year of Xingyuan, he announced his end without illness. The community of the temple simultaneously dreamt that the main hall suddenly collapsed, and all knew it was an omen that the master of the Dharma was about to pass away. His disciples who transmitted the teaching—Lingshu, Fasheng, Daoxin, and Lingyuan—were all said to skillfully propagate the Chan Dharma.
10.38
Chan Master Dayi was of the Xu clan of Xiaoshan. At the age of seven, he was taught the canonical scriptures and commentaries, reciting several thousand words a day. At the age of twelve, he entered the Way at Lingyin Temple in Shanyin. When Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, he extended broad grace to ordain people; [Dayi] took the test reciting the Lotus Sūtra and ranked first among the selected. During the Kaiyuan era, because of mourning his parents, he went to Folong to read the Great Canon to increase their posthumous retribution. He then visited Zuoxi, received the calming and contemplation, and had a great awakening to the profound purport. He constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, and the greater and lesser precept codes, taking this as his regular practice. On the day of his death, the assembly heard the sounds of strings and pipes; commentators said it was the sign of the Lord of Devas welcoming him to recite sūtras.
10.39
Chan Master Yuanzong was of the Wu clan of Yongjia. Traveling for study, he reached Jiangling, visited Zuoxi, and received the essentials of Chan. Later, he devoted himself to cultivating Chan contemplation at Mount Zijin. Originally, there were many tigers in this mountain, but from the time the Master selected his dwelling, their traces were completely unseen. One day, when his students had gathered in great numbers, an old man suddenly hurried to bow before his seat and said of himself, 'Your disciple is a tiger. Here I have eaten many people. Because the Master enlightened and transformed me, I have gained release from this body of karma; now I am about to be born in heaven and have come especially to express my gratitude.' Having spoken, he disappeared. In the second year of the Dali era, [the Master] sat upright and manifested extinction.
10.40
Chan Master Daoyuan was a native of Siming. He received his training at Dabao Temple (now Yongming in Cixi). For a long time, he relied on Zuoxi to consult and receive the methods of calming and contemplation, penetrating deeply into their profound purport, and the community of students submitted to him in mind. (Li Hua's Zuoxi Stele says: 'Daoyuan of Mingzhou was sated with the flavor of Zuoxi's Way.')
10.41
Chan Master Fayuan received his training at Fahua in Yue. He studied under Zuoxi and attained his Way. (Yan Zhenqing's Record of the Precept Platform at Baoying Temple in Fuzhou states that he invited Calming and Contemplation Masters Fayuan and Faquan to reside together for training; this was in the sixth year of the Dali era.)
10.42
Collateral Hereditary House of Jīngxī
10.43
Chan Master Pumen was of the He clan of Yueyang. His father, Jie, served as the Vice Magistrate of Yixing in Changzhou, so they settled their home there. In his youth, the Master was diligent in study, passed the jinshi examination, and entered official service at court. One day, awakening to the vanity and falsity of the world, he removed his hairpin, shaved his hair, and resided at Nanyue Temple. Around him were only Confucian and Buddhist texts, hemp garments, and kudzu sandals. Later, he went to visit Jīngxī, studied the purport of calming and contemplation and the Lotus Sūtra, and attained profound mastery. He was skilled in composition and esteemed ancient style. Jīngxī respected him and treated him as a friend. He composed the two prefaces to the Shiqian and the Fuxing, referring to himself as Pumenzi. His style was concise and vigorous, pointing out one by one the flaws of those who practice Chan. Liang Su praised him, saying, 'The eminent monk of the southeast, Pumen Yuanhao, is a very close friend of mine' (Preface on Sending off Master Xu). On the sixth day of the final winter month of the eighth year of Zhenyuan, he manifested nirvāṇa in a side chamber on Mount Jun, at the age of eighty-four. His teaching-transmitting disciple Tanhuan collected his extant writings into two hundred pieces, which circulate in the world. (In Junshan Township of Yixing County, Jingle Temple was where Jīngxī received his training; several li away is Nanyue Temple.)
10.44
Chan Master Yuanhao, courtesy name Guangcheng, was of the Qin family of Wumen. Initially, at Longxing Temple, he received the teaching of the Lotus and the Calm-and-Insight from Jingxi. He secluded himself in the mountain forests, dwelling his mind in samādhi. Later, he resided at Kaiyuan Temple. The two gentlemen Liang and Tian encouraged him to compose writings, and he consequently annotated the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], recording his own realizations in the preface. At the time he composed the commentary, he moved extraordinary flowers to grow on the courtyard steps, which no one in the world could recognize, and spiritual birds of five colors flew back and forth. In the mid-winter of the twelfth year of the Yuanhe era, he manifested quiescent passing, and a stūpa was erected on the southern plain of Huqiu. Among the master's classmates, more than a hundred were well known; those not counted among the monks included the Hanlin academician Liang Su, the remonstrance official Tian Dun, and the attendant officer Cui Gong—these three men. Among his disciples who inherited his teachings and became famous in their time were Zhi Jing, Zhongyi, Ziyu, Daoru, Zhongliang, and their peers.
10.45
Chan Master Xingman was a native of Nanpu in Wanzhou. First he went to Shishuang to study Chan teachings. Later he resided at Tiantai, listening to Jingxi expound the wonderful principles of Calm-and-Insight, and sudden realization. He then took up residence at the Zhiyi Cloister beneath Huading Peak, serving as the tea attendant. At night he slept on an earthen bed, burning sweepings and dung to warm it from below. When he took off his clothes and lay in bed, swarms of fleas and lice bit him, but when one felt for them in his clothes, there was utter emptiness. Outside the railing of his residence, there was a small parasitic tree growing upon a large pine tree; whenever the master went out to sit, it would gently bow low. People at that time said that this tree was bowing to the tea attendant. Over the course of forty years, the master never once urinated or defecated; some said he was a great bodhisattva manifested in the flesh who received food without truly eating, and thus it was so. During the Kaibao era, he told people in advance: "I am about to depart." He then requested the assembly to chant the name of Mañjuśrī, and serenely transformed [passed away] at the age of eighty-eight. He once composed a commentary on the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]. Chan Master Fayong constructed a Calm-and-Insight Hall at Jian'an Temple in Piling and invited Jingxi to lecture therein; Liang Su composed the "Record of the Calm-and-Insight Hall" for him.
10.46
Liang Su, courtesy name Jingzhi, was a native of Anding. During the Dali and Zhenyuan eras, many literati esteemed ancient learning, but Su was renowned as the most profound and obscure. Liu Zihou, in his record of departed friends, also praised him as the most skillful in prose. He once studied the Tiantai way under Jingxi, deeply grasping the essentials of the mind, and observed the etiquette of a disciple with great reverence. Deeming the text and meaning of Calm-and-Insight to be broad and extensive, costing readers many days, he abridged and established it in six fascicles (Ciyun stated: "Although the text is concise and essential, the aspects of cultivation are lacking and omitted"). He also composed the "General Principles" to append to the end, stating that Calm-and-Insight was a work for saving the world and illuminating the Way. Furthermore, he composed the "Treatise on the Master's Biography," fully recounting the great lineage of transmitting the teachings. The world regarded his writing as powerful, profound, elegant, and vigorous, and its principles as clear, penetrating, and thorough. The imperial censor Cui Gong praised him, saying: "Knowing the essentials of the Dharma and recognizing the provisional and the real, he composed the stele for the Tiantai Chanlin Temple; reaching the source of the teachings and applying the object and wisdom, he composed the stele for Great Master Jingxi." (See Cui Gong's preface to the Liang Collection.) He also said: "The imperial court esteemed virtue, and therefore appointed you as the Crown Prince's Reader-in-Waiting; the state esteemed veritable records, and therefore appointed you as an Historiographical Compiler; issuing orders and displaying royal policies, it therefore made you a Hanlin Academician. When three offices are held concurrently, one cannot say you were unsuccessful in official service at court. You passed the age of forty, and the literati turned to you in reverence, comparing you to Yanzi and Huang Shudu; one cannot say you lacked longevity. As for those mediocre individuals who grow old in the ministries, having white heads in the mortal world, what benefit do they bring?"
10.47
Li Hua, courtesy name Xiashu, was a native of Zanhuang in Zhaozhou. He repeatedly passed the jinshi and the Grand Rhetoric examinations. In the eleventh year of the Tianbao era, he was transferred to be Right Exhorter. During the rebellion of An Lushan, he lived in seclusion south of the Yangtze River. Li Xian petitioned to place him on his staff, and he was promoted to be a Vice-Director in the Ministry of Personnel; then, afflicted with paralysis, he left office and sojourned in Shanyang, urging his children to engage in agriculture and finding contentment in poverty and withered obscurity. In his late years, he served the Buddhist Dharma and did not write much, only occasionally acceding when literati brought gold and silk to request family biographies, tomb tablets, and prefectural and county stelae and eulogies. He once received Calm-and-Insight from Jingxi and composed an essay on its general essentials. In the early Dali era, he died at home.
10.48
Hereditary Houses of the Collateral Branches of Xingdao
10.49
Dharma Master Shousu initially received the contemplation of the mind from Master Sui. Having realized the profound principle, he entered the capital and dwelt at Daxingshan Temple; his feet did not cross the threshold, and he perpetually recited the Lotus [Sūtra], reaching more than 37,000 recitations. At night, tigers and wolves attended his seat to listen to the sūtra; at mealtime, crows and magpies came to his palms to take grains. The śramaṇa Youxuan presented him with a poem: "Thirty thousand Lotus Sūtras in thirty springs, / For half a life not treading upon the dust of the cloister gate." At that time, it was considered a veritable record.
10.50
Hereditary Houses of the Collateral Branches of Gaolun
10.51
Dharma Master Wu'en, courtesy name Xiuji, was from the Lu clan of Changshu. At the age of thirteen, hearing the recitation of the Amitābha Sūtra, he was moved in his mind, and subsequently went to Poshan Xingfu Temple to seek ordination. Initially studying the vinaya, when he heard of the Tiantai three contemplations and six stages of identity, they deeply resonated with his thought. In the early Kaiyun era of the Jin dynasty, he went to the quarters of Master Yin at Ciguang in Qiantang; during lectures, his recapitulations and analyses of subtleties led him to be hailed at the time as the "Tiger of Meaning." When he succeeded to expound the Dharma, the fame of his teaching spread far and wide. Originally, the scriptural texts of this school had been destroyed and dispersed since the Huichang suppression, leaving the texts and meanings fragmented and incomplete. The master explored the ten wonders and examined the fivefold mysteries, lecturing on the great treatises more than twenty times; that the general meaning of the Lotus became clearly renowned in the world was due to the master's efforts. When speaking with others, regardless of whether they were wise or foolish, he showed them all the complete meaning of the One Vehicle. When some doubted that this did not adapt to beings' capacities, the master said: "It is simply to create an affinity like the poisoned drum." Ordinarily, he ate one meal a day, did not part from his robe and bowl, and kept no wealth or property; when sleeping, he always lay on his right side, and when sitting, he always cross-legged. At morning gruel, he personally observed the dawn light. Every poṣadha (which means "pure dwelling"), when the great assembly gathered like clouds, he would weep silently, reflecting on the Mahāsaṃnipāta's words about there being no precepts filling Jambudvīpa. He consistently instructed people with pure karma, and those who attained rebirth mostly had auspicious signs. On the first day of the eighth month in the third year of the Yongxi era, a white light emerged from the well at midnight. He said to his disciples: "My karmic conditions of retribution are exhausted." Thereupon, he stopped eating, kept silence, and single-mindedly recollected the Buddha. He suddenly dreamed of a patched-robed śramaṇa holding a golden censer and burning incense, circumambulating his room three times, who introduced himself as Guanding: "I have already been born in the Pure Land. Commending your cultivation, I have come to welcome you." When he awoke, he told his disciples, and an extraordinary fragrance was still smelled. On the twenty-fifth day, he expounded the Directives of Calm-and-Insight and the Great Meaning of Contemplating the Mind to the assembly, then sat upright facing west and passed away. Wenyan of the temple assembly heard the sounds of stringed and wind instruments, bells, and chimes in the sky, which lingered and gradually faded away. From the cremation, countless relics were obtained. Thirty-one years later, his Dharma grandson Zhiyuan obtained his remaining bones from the disciples, carved a stone stūpa, and buried them at Manaopo.
10.52
Dharma Master Wenbei, courtesy name Zhaoben, was of the Zheng clan of Houguan in Fuzhou. He recited the Lotus, Vimalakīrti, Perfect Enlightenment, Sixteen Contemplations, Small Prajñā, and others, thoroughly mastered them, and never forgot them. During the Tianfu era of the Jin, he arrived in Kuaiji to transmit the Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas; hearing that the Tiantai three contemplations were a guide for scholars, he went to visit Master Yin, inquiring into his mind day and night. Regarding all the commentaries, phrases, and texts of the Lotus, Vimalakīrti, Golden Light, and Calm-and-Insight, he thoroughly penetrated their principles. Whenever he recapitulated the methods of contemplation with his fellow student Master En, they were in perfect accord. En said to others: "Although Bei is a junior, he has already galloped side by side with me on the path of theoretical understanding." After Master Yin passed away, [Wenbei] turned north to serve En to complete his studies. The master's demeanor was deeply quiet; all day long he seemed simple. When someone advised him to instruct others, the master said: "Lecturing and teaching fill the doors, and the ancestral tradition has not fallen; standing apart and dwelling in seclusion follows my own preference." Thereupon, he nurtured his spirit in the wonderful contemplation and sat in oblivion in a single room for more than thirty years. In the eighth month of the second year of the Yongxi era, suffering from a slight illness, he leaned on an armrest, drew a circle three times, and said to his attendants: "This is what I have seen of the Pure Land." Having finished speaking, he crossed his feet and passed away.
10.53
Dharma Master Qingzhao, courtesy name Ziwen, was of the Hu clan of Qiantang. In his youth, he left household life at the Kaihua Cloister, and at thirteen, he received the full precepts. He studied the Tiantai way, expending effort for seventeen years under Master Qing of Fengxian. When Fengxian passed away, the assembly invited the master to succeed him in lecturing, completely displaying the demeanor of his master. Before long, he moved to Shibing; belonging to the Fantian [Temple] south of the city, he met Mingshe, who gave up his residence as a lecture hall. Acceding to the request, the master came to reside there, and the atmosphere of lecturing flourished greatly. In the fourth month of the first year of the Tianxi era, he passed away without illness. In his lifetime, he lectured on the Lotus, Calm-and-Insight, and other divisions over a hundred cycles. His disciples who transmitted the teachings numbered ninety-seven, beginning with Xianrun. Prior to this, the Profound Meaning of the Golden Light existed in both an expanded and an abridged version. Master En composed the Elucidation Record to explain the abridged version; his disciples, the two masters Qing and Min, joined in establishing refutations to support and complete their master's interpretation. Thereupon, Great Master Fazhi wrote the Support of the School and Resolving Objections, striving to save the ten kinds of mind-contemplation of the expanded version. The master and Gushan also wrote the Distinguishing Errors to save the theory of the Elucidation. Fazhi then again cited earlier and later texts comprehensively to discuss it in detail, calling it the Book of Ten Meanings. The scholars of Siming then began to point to the teachings of En, Qing, Zhao, and Yuan, naming them the "Outside-the-Mountain"; this was indeed a term of disparagement.
10.54
Dharma Master Zhiyuan, styled Wuwai, styled himself Master Zhongyong, or alternatively Master Qianfu. He was from the Xu family of Qiantang. As soon as he learned to speak, he understood filial piety and fraternal respect. When he grew a bit older, he would often split pieces of wood, dip them in water, and write characters on stones. He arranged flowers and grasses as if setting out markers (read like "zu" and "yue"; in the *Hanshu*, Shusun Tong regulated court ritual by setting out boundary markers in the countryside to practice it; the commentary says that "markers" means bound bundles of thatch marking positions), playfully acting out the postures of lecturing and instructing. His parents marvelled at this and let him enter the Buddhist order. At the age of eight, he received the full precepts. At twenty-one, hearing that Master Qing of Fengxian was transmitting the way of Tiantai's Threefold Contemplation, he carried his book-box and visited him. Gathering his robes, he questioned and debated with him. After just two years, Qing passed away. Thereupon, he went to dwell on Gu Mountain by the West Lake. Students gathered like a marketplace. He closed his gates and delighted in the Way, becoming a neighbour and friend to the recluse Lin Bu. When Wang Qinruo came out to govern Qiantang, Ciyun dispatched an envoy to invite the Master to join him in greeting him. The Master smiled and said to the messenger, "Within the borders of Qiantang, let at least one monk remain behind." The Master had early on suffered from goitre and tuberculosis, so he also styled himself "the Sickly Man." Yet in lecturing on the Way and chanting poetry, he never showed the slightest weariness. In advance, he admonished his disciples, saying: "After my death, do not give me a lavish burial to burden me with blame. Do not erect a pagoda to bring false praise upon me. Do not visit those in high office to seek an epitaph to glorify me with hollow words. You need only join two earthenware vessels together to bury me, and set up a stone marking merely my name and the date." When he died, his disciples followed his injunctions, encoffined him in earthenware vessels, and buried them by cutting into the cliff of his dwelling place, erecting a simple altar instead of a building. It was the second month of the first year of the Qianxing era [1022 CE]. He lived to the age of forty-seven. Fifteen years later, after prolonged rains caused the mountain to collapse, his disciples opened and inspected the earthenware vessels: his physical body was undamaged, his nails and hair had grown, and his lips were slightly parted, showing teeth like jade conch shells. Thereupon, they dressed him anew in fresh robes, scattered various powdered perfumes over him, and reburied him (the character *zhong* is read in the falling tone, meaning "again"). In the third year of the Chongning era [1104 CE], he was posthumously granted the title Master Fahui. Among his writings were the *Commentary on the Mañjuśrī-prajñā-sūtra* and the *Commentary on the Bequeathed Teaching Sūtra*, each in two fascicles (Jingjue composed the *Record Assisting Propagation* [for them]); the *Commentary on the Heart of the Prajñā Sūtra*, the *Commentary on the Auspicious Response Sūtra*, the *Annotation on the Sūtra of Forty-Two Chapters*, the *Commentary on the Sūtra of the Inconceivable Dharma-Door*, the *Commentary on the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings* (Yuhuijue composed the *Record of Assorted Pearls* [for it]), the *Commentary on the Sūtra on the Method of Practicing the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra's Contemplation*, and the *Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra*, each in one fascicle; and the *Commentary on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra* in ten fascicles. The world called him the "Master of Ten Commentaries." He also composed the *Sub-commentary Elucidating the Meaning* in three fascicles (explaining the *Commentary on the Sūtra on Invoking Guanyin*); the *Record Seeking the Hidden* in four fascicles (explaining the *Phrases of the Golden Light Sūtra*); the *Record of Rectifications* in two fascicles (explaining the *Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra*); the *Record Displaying the Subtle* in one fascicle (explaining the *Profound Meaning of the Golden Light Sūtra*); the *Record Transmitting Abundance* in ten fascicles (explaining the *Abridged Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra*); the *Record of the Essential Pivots Originating from the Source* in two fascicles (explaining the *Profound Meaning of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra*); the *Sub-commentary on the Hundred Negations* in one fascicle (explaining the meaning of the hundred negations in the Diamond Body Chapter of the *Commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra*); the *Refuge of the Three Virtues* in twenty fascicles (explaining the *Commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra*); the *Record Manifesting Nature* in four fascicles (explaining the *Gold Shovel*); the *Sub-commentary Gathering Blossoms* in two fascicles (explaining Guifeng's *Commentary on the Ullambana Sūtra*); the *Sub-commentary on Western Provision* in one fascicle (explaining his own *Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra*); the *Sub-commentary Bequeathing Counsel* in one fascicle (explaining his own *Commentary on the Heart Sūtra*); the *Sub-commentary on the Valley Echo* in five fascicles (explaining his own *Commentary on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra*); the *Sub-commentary Dissecting the Weighty* in one fascicle (explaining his own *Commentary on the Mañjuśrī-prajñā-sūtra*; the *Great Treatise* says: "dissecting the weighty to make it light"); the *Correct Meaning* in one fascicle (explaining the *Ten Non-dual Doors*); and the *Anthology of Leisurely Dwelling* in fifty-one fascicles (miscellaneous poetry and prose). All these used the Way to accord with genuine feeling, acting as auxiliary endorsements to transform beings through the Dharma. He once stated that the single *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* profoundly discusses the permanently abiding true mind and precisely demonstrates the practice and verification of the One Vehicle, serving as the ultimate canonical model handed down for posterity. A disciple requested him to compose a commentary, saying: "Those who have explained this sūtra are already two or three houses, yet students are not settled with their explanations. Why, Master, do you not draw upon the Threefold Contemplation and the Four Teachings to examine the text and unfold its meaning so as to guide future generations?" The Master complied with this, thoroughly investigating its essential tenets and judging that Master Zhiyi's doctrine of the Threefold Cessation coincided seamlessly with the sūtra. Jingjue remarked that his profound grasp of the sūtra was beyond what other masters could match. (The *Record from the Forest Grove* states: Tiantai heard that in the Western Heavens there was the *Śūraṅgama Sūtra*, but because the earthly ruler kept it secretly guarded and was unwilling to disseminate it, Tiantai often bowed toward the distance, praying that it would soon arrive in this land. Furthermore, Qingliang said: "I shall not live to see this sūtra. There will surely be an official-bodhisattva who translates the Buddha's words with literary style. After several more centuries, there will surely be a living bhikṣu who uses our teaching to explain this sūtra.") His commentary on the *Sūtra of Forty-Two Chapters* states: "When Buddhism spread eastward, it formed a triad together with the teachings of Confucius and Laozi. Yet when the instructions of Confucius and Laozi discuss nature and destiny, they do not reach the culmination of mind-only; when they speak of retribution, they do not arrive at the three times. As for ordering the world and pacifying the state, however, they cannot be dispensed with for a single day. But as for the teaching of Śākya, it points out that the entire realm of empty space is nothing but one's own mind, not merely stating that the Great Ultimate generates the Two Modes, or that the mysterious female is the root of heaven and earth. When it examines the retribution of good and evil, they are all one's own karma, not merely stating that the High God is not constant, or that the net of heaven is vast. From this, one can see that although Confucius and Laozi are expansive and all-encompassing, in aligning with the divine brilliance and probing the ultimate principle, they merely indicate the direction. The one who fully articulates its wonders—does this not reside in the teaching of the Śākya clan?" He also stated: "In returning to one's nature, there are depths and shallows; in speaking of affairs, there are distances and proximities: they cannot but differ. But as for moving toward goodness and shunning evil, conquering ruthlessness and getting rid of killing: they cannot but be the same."
10.55
Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Zhao of Fantian
10.56
Dharma Master Xianrun, styled Juyuan, was from the Zheng family of Shangyu in Yue. At seven, he served Ziming of Dengci. Progressing to receive the full precepts, he investigated the vinaya with precision. Subsequently entering Tiantai, he had an awakening upon reading Zhiyi's writings on the Threefold Contemplation. He then went to Kaihua in Qiantang to study under Master Zhao. He attained wide penetration into the tenets of the *Lotus*, the *Vimalakīrti*, the *Nirvāṇa*, and the *Śūraṅgama*. Master Zhao respected his precocious accomplishment and had him share the lecture seat. When Master Zhao went to Fantian, he again appointed him to act as his proxy. In the fourth year of the Jingde era [1007 CE], the magistrate of Shangyu, Pei Huan, together with the clergy and laity of the local district, welcomed him back to Dengci to expound the Great Teaching. In the beginning of the Tianxi era, he moved to lecture at Longjiao in the prefecture. He composed the *Resolving Doubts on the Sub-commentary*, interpreting the threefold vanquishing entirely according to the Perfect Teaching, which was refuted by Jingjue. When Master Zhao manifested entering quiescence, he again bestowed upon him the incense burner and fly-whisk, and Xianrun succeeded him to reside at Fantian, lecturing every single day without fail. In the third year of the Tiansheng era [1025 CE], he moved to dwell at Yongfu in Kuaiji, gathering five hundred disciples; every day he dispatched the assembly to practice begging to provide for the two daily meals. He once made an image of Samantabhadra and led the assembly in practicing the Way, whereupon the Great Being emitted light as verification. People of the time revered him, calling him the Repentance Master, deeming him second only to Ciyun. A disciple recounted his virtues, saying: "The Master sat upon the lion's seat and waved the chowrie for nearly three cycles of twelve years; he gave a hundred lecture series across five monasteries, his achievements fulfilled and his reputation established, without shame before the ancients." They then requested Li Shu to compose the *Record of the Inscriptions of the Names of the Dharma-Transmitting Disciples*, with Shanpeng heading the list.
10.57
Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Yuan of Gushan
10.58
Dharma Master Weiya long attended Gushan and fully mastered his tenets. When Gushan composed the *Sub-commentary on Western Provision* to explain the *Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra*, he leaned on a table while ill and orally dictated the text, having Master Ya write it down. He first dipped his brush after noon on the first day, and by early night of the following day, the writing was completed.
10.59
Jing'an says: Gushan, with talents soaring above the world and a brush that filled the heavens, composed ten commentaries to elucidate sūtras and authored various sub-commentaries to explain commentaries; in assisting and supporting the doctrinal school, his merit was truly abundant! Yet, as for the Dharma teachings he transmitted and expounded: in discussing object and contemplation, he took the true mind as the object; in debating the general and the particular, he took principle-nature as the general; in judging the two contemplations of phenomena and Dharma, he did not permit practice and verification; he discarded the expanded version of the *Golden Light* and did not employ contemplation of mind; and he argued solely that mind possesses and mind creates, not permitting that form possesses and form creates. Doctrines such as these were spread across bamboo and silk. Consequently, whenever scholars of doctrine studied his explanations, the world inevitably identified them as the views of the Outside-the-Mountain masters. How lamentable! Indeed, one who is called a patriarch must possess Three Eyes: the first is the Doctrinal Eye, clearly discerning the teachings of expedient and real, Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna; the second is the Path Eye, personally traversing the portals of cultivating and realizing the myriad practices; the third is the Patriarchal Eye, deeply probing the purport of the perfect and sudden inherent integration. Often the Outside-the-Mountain masters lacked clarity in their Patriarchal Eye, and therefore what they saw did not reach the perfect culmination. The spiritual powers and wisdom of a bodhisattva of the Separate Teaching—how could they be conceivable? Yet because they have not realized the stage of the Perfect Teaching, they are censured as expedient. Furthermore, a bodhisattva of the First Ground does not know the lifting and lowering of the feet of a bodhisattva of the Second Ground: all sages and worthies are distinguished by the unconditioned Dharma. If this is so, then let those who critique the Outside-the-Mountain school show forbearance with this understanding.
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- 佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese