佛祖統紀 10.73

10.73

Dharma Master Zunshi, courtesy name Zhibai, was of the Ye clan and a native of Ninghai in Tiantai. His mother, Lady Wang, prayed to Guanyin for a son and dreamed of a beautiful woman offering her a bright pearl, which she swallowed. Seven months after his birth, he was able to invoke Guanyin's name along with his mother (born in the first year of the Qiande era of Emperor Taizu, a guihai year [963 CE]). As he grew older, he took no pleasure in following his elder brother into commerce. He secretly went to Dongshan to rely on Master Yiquan and renounce household life. Quan had previously dreamed of a young boy sitting cross-legged atop the head of a Buddha image; shortly afterward, the Master arrived. At the age of twenty (the seventh year of the Taiping [Xingguo] era of Emperor Taizong, a guiwei year [983 CE]), he went to Shanlin to receive the full precepts. The following year, he studied the Vinaya under Master Shouchu. Next, he entered Guoqing [Monastery], where before an image of Samantabhadra he burned off a finger, vowing to transmit the Tiantai teachings. In the first year of the Yongxi era, he came to study at Siming (at the age of twenty-two). On the road, he dreamed of an old monk who said to him, “I am Preceptor Mañjuśrī.” When he met Baoyun, it was precisely the monk from his dream, so facing north, he received instruction from him. Before long, his understanding and wisdom became extraordinarily preeminent. On the anniversary of Zhizhe's death, he burned the crown of his head throughout the morning, vowing to vigorously practice the four kinds of samādhi. In the first year of the Duangong era, Baoyun entered extinction, and the Master subsequently returned to Tiantai. Due to his arduous study, he fell ill to the point of vomiting blood. Resolutely entering the Great Compassion Buddha Hall, he employed the method of the Incantation for Subduing [Poisonous Afflictions]. He vowed to himself, “If the flourishing of the Four Teachings depends on me, then my illness will be cured; if not, I shall end my life here.” On the twenty-first day, he heard a voice in the room calling out, “Zunshi will die before long!” The Master became even more unflagging. On the thirty-fifth day, he saw dead corpses fill the room; when the Master stepped on them to walk, the corpses immediately vanished. When the full forty-ninth day arrived, a voice in the room said, “The Buddhas of the ten directions have increased your blessings and lifespan!” In a dream that night, he saw a giant holding a vajra pestle pointing it at his mouth. He also once personally saw Guanyin lower a hand into the Master's mouth, pull out several worms, and then extend fingers to pour amṛta into his mouth. His body and mind became cool and pure, and his chronic illness was instantly cured. Thereafter, the crown of his head rose more than an inch high, his arms hung past his knees, his voice was like a great bell, and his flesh was like white jade. In the first year of the Chunhua era (at the age of twenty-eight), the assembly invited him to reside at Baoyun, where he lectured on the Lotus, Vimalakīrti, Nirvāṇa, and Golden Light sutras without pause. There was a pregnant donkey belonging to a certain Shi family that would lie down beneath his seat daily as if listening to the Dharma; this continued for forty days, and after giving birth it never came again. He once went to visit Fazhi. Hearing coughing outside the door, [Fazhi] called to his attendant, saying, “Just now I heard a voice outside; it sounded like a sage!” The attendant hurried out to look and returned to report, “Ciyun has arrived.” Fazhi said in great astonishment, “My brother has transformed his karmic retribution!” In the second year of the Zhidao era, he gathered monastics and laypeople to cultivate pure karma exclusively, composing the Record of Vowing to be Reborn in the Western Pure Land. Moreover, considering himself blessed with Guanyin's unseen assistance, he commissioned an artisan to carve an image of sandalwood along with a likeness of himself carrying it upon his head, composing fourteen vows that were placed inside its abdomen. The artisan accidentally broke the willow branch that the image held; the Master was greatly alarmed and immediately took it into his own hands (this image is now in the Repentance Hall of Tianzhu), and it rejoined without glue or lacquer. In the third year of the Xianping era (under Zhenzong), a great drought struck Siming, and the prefectural citizens requested prayers for rain. The Master, together with Fazhi and Master Yiwen, led the assembly in practicing the Invoking Guanyin Samādhi, secretly pledging that if it did not rain in three days, they would burn their bodies. As scheduled, heavy rain arrived. Prefect Su Wei erected a stele to recount the miraculous event. In the fourth year, he stayed at Mount Dalei in Cixi, where he revised and fixed the Repentance Ritual for Invoking Guanyin to Subdue Toxic Harm. In the fifth year (the Master was forty years old; from the gengyin year of Chunhua [990] to the xinchou year of the fourth year of Xianping [1001], he lived in Siming for twelve years in all), he returned to Tiantai to preside over Dongye. Because his disciples were numerous, he built an additional monastery in the western corner, leading the assembly to cultivate the Mindfulness of the Buddha Samādhi. There was a White Crane Shrine that local residents held in great veneration; the Master conferred precepts on the deity, changing animal sacrifices into vegetarian offerings, and the deity and the residents obeyed his commands. He then composed the Record of the Rustic Shrine to admonish them. In the fourth year of the Xiangfu era, Duke Zhang of Xun (Dexiang) was in charge of the prefecture's affairs; at the beginning of the summer retreat, he invited the Master to Jingde [Monastery] to lecture on the Great Calming and Contemplation. As the lecture drew to a close, three monks wearing patch-robes arrived and requested to attend the lecture session on the Ullambana; when he bowed to offer them seats, they suddenly vanished. Passing through Huangyan along the way, a pig ran out and prostrated before him; inquiring where it came from, it turned out to have escaped from a slaughterhouse. He paid its price and had it raised at Miaoxi Temple, naming it “Encountering Goodness, the Pig.” Red Mountain Temple was elevated and bordered the sea. The Master abruptly said to the people, “A pagoda should be built here.” Prior to this, an extraordinary light had appeared at the mountaintop, within which was the shape of a seven-story stupa; the light illuminated the sea for forty li around, shining over the fishermen’s weirs. Someone informed the Master, who was pleased that there had been an omen, and so he built a pagoda there. Thereupon, the local inhabitants were transformed and no longer engaged in fishing. At that time, a repentance gathering was held at Dongshan, and there was a severe drought. The Master planted his staff in a rock crevice, and a spring gushed forth immediately (now known as the Stone Eye Spring). In the seventh year, Qi-yi of Zhaoking in Hangzhou led the assembly in extending an invitation. Initially, Hangzhou people had repeatedly invited him to cross over to the west, but he had not agreed; only then did he comply. The Master had once dreamed that he stayed in his mother’s womb for twelve years; when he left Tiantai and entered Hangzhou, it indeed matched that number. When the Master arrived at Zhaoking, he broadly propagated teachings. The Hangzhou custom favored using wine and meat dishes for funeral feasts; the Master explained the superiority of Buddhist rites to them, ultimately changing meat banquets to vegetarian feasts. Because of this, he wrote the Compassionate and Wise Dharma Gate of Refraining from Alcohol and Meat. He once distributed food offerings by the water’s edge at night. A fisherman overheard ghosts saying, “Tonight the snow is heavy; the Master will not come.” One ghost said, “The Master is a person of great compassion; he will certainly not shun us.” In an instant, the Master arrived carrying a lantern and treading through the snow. In the eighth year, the people of Suzhou used a prefectural directive to welcome the Master to Kaiyuan [Monastery] to establish lectures. Monastics and laypeople gathered completely; those who refrained from meat and drink emptied the markets and towns, so that butchers and vintners could make no sales, and officials complained about the loss of tax revenues. The Master took leave of his disciples, saying, “In Zhizhe’s letter to the Prince of Jin, he mentioned six regrets, one of which was that gathering assemblies with the Dharma disturbed the multitude, hindered the government, and invited jealousy. My virtue is thin today; how can I stay long?” He then abruptly returned to Hangzhou. (Zhizhe’s testamentary letter stated: “At Jingxi, when the Dharma gathering reached a thousand people and three hundred studied meditation, the prefectural officials grew anxious, saying it contravened state regulations. How could a crowd be gathered to trouble officials? Therefore, they gathered like clouds in the morning and dispersed like rain in the evening, so that even if good sprouts arose, they could not grow. This is the fifth regret.”) Prefect Xue Yan first ordered the Master to reside at Lingshan, which was Tianzhu Monastery founded by Master Zhenguan of the Sui dynasty. To the west of the temple, there was a cypress planted during the Chen dynasty; burned down by bandits during the Chaocheng disturbances, only a withered stump remained. In the winter of that year, its branches and leaves grew again, so it was named the “Twice-Prospering Cypress.” He composed a poem and carved it on stone as an auspicious sign presaging the reconstruction of the bodhimaṇḍa. He revised and fixed the Repentance Ritual for Rebirth in the Pure Land. In the ninth year, the Tiantai Monastic Controller Huisi went to the capital, where he profusely praised the Master’s teachings, and the Master was first bestowed a purple robe. In the third month, the people of Tiantai prefecture, using a prefectural directive, invited him to Shiliang Shouchang to lecture on the Lotus Sutra. In the eighth month, he passed through Dongye, and in the tenth month, he returned to Tianzhu. In the first year of the Tianxi era, Vice-Minister Ma Liang governed Qiantang; having a refined esteem for pure karma, he visited the Master to inquire about the Way. For him, the Master composed the Dharma Gate of Pure Land Practices and Vows and the Brief Biographies of the Pure Land. Director of the Bureau of Operations Cui Yucai asked about the method of bestowing food, and the Master composed a piece on contemplation for him (found in the Jinyuan Collection). In the third year, Grand Councilor Duke Wang Wenmu (named Qinruo, minister to Zhenzong) governed Hangzhou, and he first led his subordinates into the mountains to visit the Master, inviting him to lecture on the Lotus Sutra and the doctrine that the three phenomena of mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are identical. His eloquence was clear and brilliant, and all the officials fixed their gaze upon him. The Duke sighed in admiration before the assembly, saying, “Such a teaching has never before been heard; such a man has never before been seen!” (The lecture topics are found in the Separate Collection.) The Master fully explained the origin and development of the Tiantai school to the Duke. In the fourth year, the Duke submitted a memorial to restore its old name of Tianzhu and return the monastery to the doctrinal school, personally writing its plaque. Furthermore, together with the Lady of the State of Qin, he donated six million cash to construct a great hall. The Duke sent a letter inquiring about Tiantai's establishment of doctrine and interpretation of scriptural meanings, and whether ancient or contemporary interpretations were superior. The Master first answered with the broad tenets of the establishment of doctrine; next, he brought out the passage on the children asking for carriages, recording one or two ancient interpretations and Ci’en’s refutation of Tiantai’s doctrines, contrasting them with Zhizhe’s correct exegesis and resolving right and wrong, holding that among the ancient and modern masters, not a single one was acceptable. The Duke examined the text, understood its principles, and grew even more faithful and joyful (the text is seen in the Separate Collection). The Master informed the Duke about Zhizhe’s former protection of living beings on the Tiantai river. Thereupon, [the Duke] memorialized to request that West Lake be made a pond for releasing living beings to pray for the sovereign's longevity. Later, when Wenmu served as Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, he dreamed of meeting the Master while suffering from a slight illness, and his illness was immediately cured; he then sent a letter recounting the incident. When he was transferred to govern Jiangning (Shengyong), he welcomed the Master for a prefecture gathering, asking about the Dharma day and night, detaining him for three months. For him, the Master composed the Contemplation of the Mind within the Ten Dharma Realms and the Verses on the Essentials of the Mind from Nanyue. When Qianyuangong brought his teaching to the attention of the sovereign, he was granted the title “Ciyun” (Cloud of Compassion). In the first year of the Qianxing era, Empress Dowager Zhangyi (the biological mother of Renzong, née Li, a native of Qiantang, whose father was Rende), on account of the Master's seasoned practice and diligence, dispatched an envoy carrying one hundred liang of silver, ordering him to perform repentances in the mountains for the state. The Master composed the Golden Light State-Protecting Bodhimaṇḍa Ritual and respectfully presented it. He then memorialized to request that Tiantai doctrinal texts be included in the Tripiṭaka, but before the matter was implemented, Duke [Wang] passed away. In the first year of the Tiansheng era (under Renzong), the palace attendant Yang Huaigu came into the mountains bearing incense; revering the Master’s virtue, he again memorialized regarding it. The following year, an imperial decree was finally obtained to include them in the Canon; one hundred liang of silver was granted, and a vegetarian feast for a thousand monks was held in celebration. The Master then compiled the Follow-the-Casket Catalogue of the Doctrinal Canon, briefly recounting the texts and meanings of the various sections. He stated: “The Profound Meaning comprehensively clarifies the Five Periods and broadly distinguishes the Eight Teachings, containing within it the great purpose of appearing in the world. The Words and Phrases divides the sutra text into clauses and chapters; Jingxi provided sub-commentaries for each, just as the Five Classics have their Correct Meaning (Kong Yingda of the Tang composed the Correct Meaning for the Five Classics). The Great Calming and Contemplation represents the union of concentration and wisdom, being the practical approach of the Lotus itself. The preceding Profound Meaning and Words and Phrases both clarify the events of those endowed with faculties gaining benefit during the Buddha’s lifetime; the sutras contain passages using events to attach Dharma and contemplate the mind, but these are not the primary meaning of the work. The present Calming and Contemplation is precisely the Dharma gate practiced in Zhizhe’s own mind, wherein his own causes and fruits as well as the transforming of others are fully present.” In addition, he supplemented the Universal Gate Chapter with an alternate translation of the reiterated verses, which both monastics and laypeople chanted and followed. In the fourth year of Tiansheng, Remonstrator Hu Ze governed the prefecture; he repeatedly entered the mountains to inquire about the Way, joyfully grasping the Dharma essentials, and donated gold to construct the mountain gate and corridors. On the evening of the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the fifth year, osmanthus seeds fell into the palace courtyard; the Master took the seeds and sowed them under the woods, composing the Poem on Osmanthus Seeds. In the first month of the sixth year, he sent students to Siming to conduct sacrificial offerings for Fazhi, composing a sacrificial text and poems of mourning. He first built the Sun Contemplation Hermitage to the east of the monastery, projecting thoughts toward the West as the practice for rebirth. In the ninth year, while lecturing on the Vimalakīrti Sutra, he suddenly said to his disciples, “Formerly at Dongye, when I lectured on this sutra, I dreamed that Jingxi handed me a scroll of the sutra; when I stepped out of the room, I saw the sun had already set. Is this lecture of mine now about to conclude?” He then took leave of the assembly, saying, “I have lived in the two monasteries of Tiantai and Hangzhou for nearly forty years, always intending them for the ten directions. Now that I entrust the lecture seat, you should follow my intent.” He instructed his disciple Zuyun, saying, “You must succeed to my bodhimaṇḍa and hold this censer and fly-whisk; do not become the last person to sever the Buddha’s lineage.” He then composed the Poem of Relinquishing the Three Affinities, which meant bidding farewell to disciples, cutting off visitors and friends, and burning his writing brush and inkstone. In the eighth month of that year, he moved to reside in a thatched hut on the eastern ridge. On the eighth day of the tenth month in the first year of the Mingdao era, he manifested illness. Declining medicine, he only spoke Dharma to encourage his disciples. On the tenth day, he ordered that an image of Amitābha be invited to witness his end. His disciples still wished to pray, but because Guanyin arrived, the Master burned incense, looked up at the image, and prayed: “I contemplate Avalokiteśvara: the prior limit does not arrive, and the subsequent limit does not depart; the Buddhas of the ten directions dwell together in the true limit. May you, dwelling in this true limit, accept my single stick of incense.” When someone asked where he was returning, he answered, “To the Pure Land of Quiescent Light.” When night came, he peacefully passed away in a seated posture. The Master had once composed a niche inscription titled ‘Far-Off Couch’. When he was encoffined, after seven days his appearance was as if alive. He was sixty-nine years old, with fifty monastic summers. On the night of his death, people in the mountains saw a great star fall on Vulture Peak with a brilliant red light. Those who received his Dharma numbered twenty-five, including Wenchang; students who came to his door were counted by the thousands; and disciples he ordained, like Ruoxu and others, approached a hundred. On the fourth day of the second month of the following year, his Far-Off Couch was conveyed and buried beneath Osmanthus Peak to the east of the monastery, making him a neighbor to Dharma Master Guan of the Sui. As a youth, the Master was skilled in literature, possessing the air of a poet. His poetry collections were called Gathering the Lost and Forest of the Spirit; his miscellaneous writings were called Golden Garden and Tianzhu Separate Collection, all circulating widely. A high official had annotated the Śūraṅgama Sutra and sought the Master’s approval. The Master stoked a blazing fire and said to him, “That your Excellency has applied your mind to the Buddhadharma is truly rare. Now I will first present three questions. If your answers accord with principle, I shall circulate it; if they do not agree, it shall be consigned to this fire.” The official consented. The Master said: “The truly pure, wondrous, fundamental nature of the pure, bright mind—I do not know how you annotate it. Three fours and four threes turn into twelve, unfolding in three tiers into one, ten, one hundred, and one thousand—what does this mean? (An earlier master who commented on it said: First, transforming one into ten, through the three periods and four directions mutually making twelve; next, transforming ten into a hundred, the three periods and four directions mutually make one hundred and twenty; third, transforming a hundred into a thousand, the three periods and four directions mutually make one thousand two hundred. This is the number of merits for a single faculty; totaling the six faculties makes seven thousand two hundred. Subtracting the four hundred deficient in each of the three faculties of eye, nose, and body leaves a true total of six thousand as the merits of the six faculties. 'One' produces ten, a hundred, and a thousand in three tiers, weaving the number in three turns.) Since the complete penetrations realized by the twenty-five sages are truly said to have no superiority or inferiority, why did Mañjuśrī select only Guanyin?” The man was at a loss, and the Master immediately tossed the work into the fire. Thereupon, the Three Checkpoints of the Śūraṅgama originated from this. When Emperor Renzong read the Golden Light State-Protecting Ritual presented by the Master and reached the passage, “The sacred emperor and benevolent king lovingly look down without limit,” he patted the table and sighed, “If I had this man, it would suffice to bring about good order!” He promptly ordered a summons for him, but the Master had already entered extinction. When the Master first renounced household life, the students of the prefectural school, admiring his talent, urged him to return to Confucianism. He composed a poem in reply to Lu Ji, containing the lines: “True emptiness is the examination hall; great enlightenment is official rank.” Many people chanted it. He frequently practiced samādhi, taking ninety days as a period. At the four corners of his circumambulation path, he placed braziers with burning charcoal; when he felt weary, he dipped his hands into the braziers, so that of his ten fingers only three remained. When constructing the Golden Light Repentance Hall, for every rafter set up and every brick laid, he would chant the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī seven times to indicate that, protected by the holy Dharma, it could not be destroyed. Therefore, during the Jianyan era when northern invaders piled up firewood to burn it, the building remained intact. Even during the rebellions of Fang La and Chen Tong, when it passed through rebel fires three times, it could not be heated. To this day it is transmitted in foreign countries and regarded as the “Monastery That Cannot Be Burned.” How does this merely display the miraculous traces of our doctrinal school? It truly serves to illustrate that the state possesses the Way! In the third year of the Chongning era, he was granted the title Master Fabao (Dharma Treasure); in the thirtieth year of the Shaoxing era, he was posthumously granted the title Repentance Master Dharma Master Chanhui (Dhyāna Wisdom), and his stupa was named Ruiguang (Auspicious Light). (Drawn from the Detailed Record of Deeds, the Record of Practicing Samādhi, Tiansheng Various Collections, and the Record of the Origin of the Tradition.)