佛祖統紀 10.52

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.