佛祖統紀 10.29

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.