佛祖統紀 12
English (machine translation) 12
- Language
- English
12.1
Compiled by the Śramaṇa Zhipan of East Lake, Siming, during the Jingding era of the Song
12.2
Biographies of the Various Masters, Part Six, Number Two
12.3
Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Fazhi of Siming (First Generation)
12.4
Dharma Master Guangzhi Shangxian
Dharma Master Shenzhao Benru
Dharma Master Nanping Fanzhen
Dharma Master Sanxue Zequan
Dharma Master Fushi Chongju
Dharma Master Guangci Huicai
Dharma Master Guangyan Hanying
Dharma Master Huiyin Zejiao
Dharma Master Yuanzhi Juecong
Dharma Master Chongfa Siduan
Dharma Master Wencan of Siming
Dharma Master Siqian of Danqiu
Dharma Master Yuanbin of Siming
Dharma Master Guangyin Zhihuan
Dharma Master Wenzhi of Xiangfu
Dharma Master Wenbing of Sanqu
Dharma Master Yongqing of Siming
Dharma Master Juyong of Siming
Dharma Master Ziren of Siming
Dharma Master Chongqing Benyuan
Dharma Master Huizhou of Tiantai
Dharma Master Huaixi of Sanqu
Dharma Master Yuanzhi Zhihao
Dharma Master Genshin of Japan
Palace Attendant Yu Yuanqing
Twenty-seven dharma heirs (according to the stūpa inscription)
Four hundred and seventy-eight entering the chamber (according to the Veritable Records)
One thousand ascending the hall (according to the stūpa inscription)
12.5
Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Fazhi
12.6
Dharma Master Shangxian was a native of Siming. He was bestowed the title Guangzhi. Relying on Fazhi, he studied doctrine and contemplation. Hearing an exposition of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, he suddenly awakened to the essential meaning of nature and characteristics. Having served [his teacher] for a long time, he attained the highest seat. In the sixth year of Tiansheng (under Renzong), he succeeded Fazhi as abbot of Yanqing. His teaching and conversion flourished greatly. Chan Master Xuedou Xian heard of his reputation and left the mountain to visit him, putting up notices and boiling tea to offer congratulations, which people passed down as a grand event. Once, entering the repentance hall at dawn, he saw a tiger crouching before a desk; the Master walked straight forward and spread his niṣīdana upon its back, whereupon [the tiger] vanished into nothingness. The Japanese National Master sent Shaoliang and others bearing a golden-lettered Lotus Sūtra as an introductory present, requesting to study under him. After three years of study, having attained completion, they took leave to return to Japan and greatly propagated this path. During the Mingdao era (under Renzong), Jingjue, residing at Lingzhi, sent a letter to the Master debating that the meaning of the 'three thousand' in the Zhiyao jie was merely the dharma of the conventional truth inherent in mind-nature, and not the foundation of the Middle Way, requesting that the Master join him in going against the teacher's transmission. The Master cited Jīngxī's passage stating that the 'three thousand' are identical to emptiness, conventionality, and the Middle, asking why it must be confined solely to conventionality, thereby supporting Siming's doctrine that the 'three thousand' are fully substance and fully function; scholars came to rely upon this (the two exchanged letters both appear in the Guangzhi yibian). His authored Yibian, as well as the Shi Jinbi (lost) and Shi shilei (that is, the oral explanations of the two masters Guangzhi and Fazhi recorded by Master Zhong of Fuzong), rendered meritorious service in supporting the great teaching. The chapter on the essence of the sūtra especially shed light [on the teaching], continuing the posthumous purport of the Miaozong [chao]. He also once composed the Chanyou zhi, using the seven kinds of two truths to explain the Suvarṇaprabhāsa as the king of sūtras (the upright of the four teachings and the side-accommodations of the three). Fazhi approved of his explanation, and when he later composed the Guangming ji, he accordingly adopted it (see the chapter on the essence of the sūtra in the oral explanations).
12.7
The Cao'an lu states that Duke Zeng Lu composed a stupa inscription for Guangzhi, yet it was not transmitted to later generations; it must have been burned together with the monastery during the banditry of the Jianyan era. What a pity!
12.8
Dharma Master Benru was a native of Gouzhang in Siming. He received his training at Guoning in his native commandery. At first he relied on Fazhi, and among a thousand fellows he enjoyed a reputation for youthful excellence. He had a model discipline for historical classics and literary calligraphy, and was beloved by the world. Once, he requested further clarification of the correct meaning of the scriptures. Fazhi said, 'Serve as my rector (zhishi) for three years, and then I will explain it to you.' When his term of duty was completed and he made the request again, Fazhi gave a loud shout and called out, 'Benru!' The Master was suddenly awakened and composed a verse: 'Everywhere I encounter the way back; / In each thing I return to my native village. / It was an already-accomplished matter from the start; / Why must it depend on deliberation?' Fazhi approved him, saying, 'If I had explained it to you before, how could there be today?' In the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu, Ciyun relocated to Lingshan and went in person to Fazhi's assembly to seek someone who could succeed him. Fazhi said, 'You should choose for yourself from among the assembly.' Ciyun surveyed them, and when he came to the Master, he said, 'This man will do.' The Master arrived at Chengtian (the old name of Dongshan Nengren) and greatly invigorated the path of the Dharma. Over thirty years, his followers consistently numbered five or six hundred. He expounded six or seven times on texts such as the Lotus, the Mahāparinirvāṇa, the Suvarṇaprabhāsa, the Guan Wuliangshou, the Guanyin biexing xuan, the Zhiguan, the Jinbi, and the Guanxin lun. He once gathered a hundred monks to practice the year-long extended repentance of the Lotus, and auspicious omens appeared repeatedly. In the seventh month of the second year of Baoli, the Imperial Son-in-law Li Zunxu petitioned the court on his behalf, and he was bestowed the purple robe with the title Dharma Master Shenzhao, as well as four thousand five hundred rolls of Master Zhiyi's doctrinal writings to aid his lectures. Once, at the southwest corner of the monastery, he saw a sleeping tiger and struck it with his staff, saying, 'This is no place for you to sleep!' The tiger bowed its head and left (now the Huxi Pavilion of Bailian Monastery). Later, on the spot where the tiger had lain, he built a hut as a hermitage to retire in leisure. Formerly, there were five spirit-deities with supernatural powers residing here; whenever the Master sat in meditation, they would carry his seat through the air, but the Master never questioned them. One day the five spirits requested, 'Since you have occupied our abode, we beg that you build a shrine and sculpt images on the opposite ridge; we have already prepared mud on the mountain.' The Master went to look at the ridge, and there was a mound of new mud, which was used to sculpt the images with none left over. Admiring the spirit of Mount Lu, the Master formed the White Lotus Society with Chancellor Duke Zhang Xun and various worthies; within six or seven years it became a great monastery. He then set the mountain ridge as a boundary, designating one-third of the forests of Nengren to supply firewood. Emperor Renzong revered his path and bestowed on it the name White Lotus. On the eighteenth day of the fifth month of the third year of Huangyou, suffering a slight illness, he ascended the hall, preached the Dharma, and bade farewell to the assembly. That night, the main beams of the Dharma hall, scripture repository, and abbot's quarters all snapped, and the bells and drums produced no sound when struck. Fishermen on the river saw a monk heading west amidst the clouds. At dawn, resting on his right side, he peacefully passed away. The weather was sweltering at the time, but an extraordinary fragrance arose. In the third month of the following year, his entire body was entombed in a stupa north of the monastery. His disciples opened the lock and observed his revered countenance as if alive, with his nails and hair having grown long, and a great lotus blossom bloomed before the stupa. He was seventy years old and had fifty-three rains retreats. His Dharma successors, such as Chuxian and others, were very numerous. The Master once conferred the precepts upon the assembly in Tiantai county; while holding the karmavācanā, beams of light suddenly shot across from Zhiyi's stupa, Guoqing Monastery, and Mount Chicheng, intersecting above the Dharma seat. Furthermore, when making offerings to a thousand Buddhas and feeding a thousand poor people, flowers were placed beneath their seats; the flowers under the Buddha seats, which should not have withered, withered instead, while the flowers under the poor people's seats, which should have withered, did not. The entire assembly marveled at this. He once composed the Renwang chanyi and drafted the Xingfa jingshu up to the ten kinds of realms before stopping; later, Master Xian continued and completed it.
12.9
The Wen Xuanzi ji says: 'In the spring of the fourth year of Jiading, Jiandang, the abbot of the mountain, considering that the Master's stupa was located behind the abbot's quarters and misled by geomantic theories that it was inappropriate, intended to relocate it. Digging into the earth a few inches, a fragrant aroma struck the senses; a single stalk of lotus grew upon the coffin, radiating brilliant light. When the casket was opened, his compassionate countenance was intact, his beard and hair hung down long, his clothes and quilts were undecayed, and śarīras filled the niche. The whole assembly marveled in awe. Thereupon, they hastily reinterred it.' Jing'an commented on this: 'That the Dharma Master's body of flesh and blood and his garments remained undecayed in the ground for two hundred years—without the power of the samādhi of morality, concentration, and wisdom upholding them, who could achieve such a thing? Some blame Jiandang for rashly unearthing the patriarch's stupa; yet had it not been for opening and viewing it on that day, how could one know the auspicious omen of the Master's primary retribution and immediate dependencies being firm and undecayed? Was not the instigator of this act secretly directed by the patriarch?' (The Guanjing shu regards the contemplation of the lotus seat as the immediate dependency; here, the garments are treated as analogous).
12.10
Dharma Master Fanzhen (originally named Youzhen; Emperor Zhenzong specially changed it) was a native of Qiantang. After receiving full ordination, he went to Siming to inquire about the Way, meeting Fazhi in his very last years. Hearing lectures on the Miaoxuan and Wenju, he was greatly enlightened. Upon returning to his native county, he regretted not receiving the Zhiguan in person, so he burned incense, bowed before an image, and read through it twenty times to manifest his lineage transmission. In the third year of Huangyou, he first resided at Shangzhu. The following year, an imperial decree ordered him to transfer to Jinshan. In the fifth year of Xining, Wu, the Prefect of Hangzhou and Court Reader-in-Waiting, heard of the Master's reputation and invited him to Nanping Xingjiao. Whenever he lectured, he synthesized nominal principles and threaded them through from beginning to end; raising one point of doctrine, all other points fell smoothly into place; exhausting one passage, all other passages harmoniously converged. Those of strong memory at that time accordingly compiled them into categories. The initial compilation of categories arose because Fazhi, in lecturing, cited various passages loosely; the Rector Ren recorded them into five categories. Soon after, Jingjue added two, Master Cong of Kuocang added three, and Master Cai of Fohui reexamined the various texts and condensed them into ten categories; Master Ji of Siming arranged each in orderly sequence according to their works. Seeing this, Guangzhi said: 'The use of compilations by category has equal gains and losses: the gain lies in knowing the essentials, while the loss lies in being blind to their origins and conclusions.' When the Master took the seat at Xingjiao, Taichu of Qunfeng compiled them as 'Gaozuo xuyu', while Huixian of Chaoguo separately established 'Xuanxu xiaowen', expounding the background intention beneath each and every passage and properly explaining mind-contemplation; this was known as the Nanping branch. (Master Shao of Tianzhu said, 'Dismembering the Dharma-body to mislead later students!' Zha'an wrote to Wuxiang Xin, strongly urging him not to transmit it, with the words: 'Clarified butter turns into dregs; the treasury of the Dharma turns into ghost-fire.') Whenever Lord Wu was off duty, he would always go to listen to the Dharma, lowering his sash, holding his tablet straight, and standing outside the threshold; until the Master ascended the seat, he would never enter. Once, when the Master responded to an invitation at night, he saw a woman before him. Asking her, she said, 'I have an earnest plea and invite you, Master, to my home.' The Master followed her to her gate, where he saw several people dragging this woman onto a bed and hacking her into mincemeat with a great knife. After a short while she revived and wept, saying, 'In my previous life, I was skilled at slicing minced meat, and now I suffer this retribution; wishing to seek deliverance, I dared to impose upon you.' The Master conferred the precepts on her, and she was seen no more. Whenever he debated doctrines with Jingjue, he submitted petitions to the authorities, begging to erect a high platform, hoist a red banner, and imitate the holy teachers and non-Buddhists of Western India who contested superior meaning, cutting off the head and tongue of whoever was defeated and hanging them on the banner. Witnessing the sharpness of the Master's Dharma combat, the commandery governor resolved the dispute by declaring: 'In composition and literary production, Zhen does not match Yue; in photographic memory and vast erudition, Yue does not match Zhen.' Though the Master ceased hostilities from then on, all who heard of it shuddered in awe. When Dongpo first came to Hangzhou, he was on closest terms with the Master. Later, when he became prefect, the Master had already passed away; seeing his conduct record, he said, 'Although this writing is skillful, it does not express how far this elder surpassed others. Whenever I spoke with him and forgot something from the classics, histories, or various texts, he would recite it upon the sound of my voice.' During the Chongning era, he was posthumously titled Dharma Master Shixiang.
12.11
Dharma Master Zequan, styled Shuping, belonged to the Shi clan of Siming. He left home relying on Baoguo and immediately went to Fazhi to study doctrine and contemplation. At that time, the Nanhu [assembly] vied to promote the ten great disciples, and the Master was the foremost among them. He was broadly versed in literature and history and especially skilled in writing. Being upright in nature and unyielding in character, he dared to point out others' faults, for which people feared him. He resided at Sanxue for thirty years. The commandery governor Lang Jian respected him all the more, once saying to others: 'Shuping's talent and spirit are inspiringly stern; if he wore the scholar's cap and served as a remonstrator, how would he be inferior to Ji An of the Han, Wei Zheng of the Tang, or Wang Yuanzhi of our own dynasty?' In the summer of the fifth year of Qingli, he took leave of the assembly and died in a seated posture. His disciple Ruoshui erected a stele at Yanqing. People said that the Siming shilu authored by the Master was comparable to Cai Yong composing the stele for Guo Youdao. (In the Later Han, Guo Linzong was recommended for the 'Youdao' [Way-possessing] examination but did not accept. After he died, Cai Yong wrote his stele inscription and said to Lu Zhi: 'I have written many steles, and all had shameful exaggerations; only for Guo Youdao did I feel no blush.')
12.12
The Narrator says: Zhao Qingxian composed a stele for Guangzhi; when [the Master of] Sanxue died, his disciple Master Shui erected a stone tablet for him. These two compositions must have contained much worth recording. Now that both stones no longer survive, the deeds and careers of the two masters cannot be known, and biographies composed by later generations are merely approximations. Alas, what a pity!
12.13
Dharma Master Chongju was a native of Sanqu. He came to study under Fazhi, subtly fathomed the path of teaching and contemplation, and occupied the first seat. Fazhi sat listening to his lectures and remarked: 'My teaching has someone to entrust it to.' At first, he went to Dongchan in Huangyan to lecture. Fazhi sent him a letter of encouragement, saying: 'To establish oneself and practice the Way is the great enterprise of the world. Humility is the handle of virtue; you should hold fast to it. Furthermore, you should broadly investigate the refined speech of the Five Classics, so that in your writing and editing you do not fall into the common and vulgar. You ought to emulate the works of Ācārya Yuan.' Before long, he returned to Sanqu, took charge of lecturing at his home monastery of Jingde at Fushi. The temple administrator, Yuanxun, asked about the doctrine of delusion arising from the real. With a single phrase there was mutual understanding, and [Yuanxun] vowed to convert the Chan residence into an enduring place for transmitting the teachings. The commandery memorialized the court, and an imperial decree granted the request. Thereupon, he greatly opened the refectory to accommodate the assembly of students, expounding the *Śamatha-vipaśyanā* by day and lecturing on the *Suvarṇaprabhāsa* by night, and also leading the assembly in reciting the Buddha's name at one period. Because Fazhi's explanation of fusing mind had not fully exhausted the meaning, [Chongju] widely raised difficult questions. Fazhi then included the three grades [of beings] to avoid contradictions. During the reign of Zhenzong, he traveled on pilgrimage to the capital. The Emperor heard of his fame and summoned him into the inner palace, where he lectured on the *Sūtra of Forty-Two Chapters*, expansively discussing its profound principles. The Emperor was greatly delighted and bestowed upon him a purple square robe, gold coins, incense, and medicine. Soon after, he returned to Tianzhu. The community detained him as the second lecturer. After a long while, he returned once more to his native place. Ciyun handed him an incense burner, a *ruyi* scepter, and an admonition written in his own hand, encouraging him: 'You are going to deliver teachings to your relatives and neighbors. Strive diligently! Wear forbearance as your robe, enter benevolence as your chamber, sit in emptiness as your seat. Keep your body far from vexations, your mouth sparing of speech, and your mind guarded against disdain, teaching others with a mind of compassion. These are called the three rules; these are the four practices, named peaceful and stable preaching.'
12.14
The commentary says: Fushi first studied under Fazhi, and when he went to Dongchan, [Fazhi] bequeathed him a letter. At that time, their relationship as master and disciple had already been settled. Later, when returning from the capital to Tianzhu, Ciyun treated him like a nephew; hence, upon his return to his hometown, [Ciyun] also presented him with written words. This demonstrates that among the Venerables, feelings within the Dharma gate were completely seamless. Yet ancient and modern lineage charts place him under Ciyun—how uncritical that is! Now, following Master Jian's record, I attach him to Siming [Fazhi]. Let those who peruse the charts not be misled.
12.15
Dharma Master Huicai came from the Wang family of Leqing in Yongjia. He studied under Yifang of Mount Baihe. In the Xiangfu era, through imperial favor he was ordained. (When Zhenzong performed the Feng sacrifice on Mount Tai, an edict ordered every temple and monastery to ordain one person.) At the age of thirteen, he advanced to receive the full precepts. He went to study at Siming. His faculties were dull and slow, so he constantly recited the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī, vowing to master the ancestral path. Suddenly in a dream, he saw a foreign monk several tens of feet tall, who took off his kāṣāya, draped it over him, and called out: 'Huicai, remember me for the rest of your life!' The next day, when attending the lecture, he was thoroughly enlightened; all that he had heard before and after was understood in a single instant. Before long, he became the head of the assembly, and the four seats respected and submitted to him. He then visited Ciyun, serving him reverently with diligent morning-and-night devotion without cease. In the beginning of the Zhiping era, Shen Gou, the prefect of Hangzhou, invited him to dwell at the Treasure Pavilion of Fahui. For twenty years, his integrity remained unbroken from beginning to end. Grand Commandant Duke Lu memorialized to grant him the title Guangci ('Broad Compassion'). Fushi came to request him [to teach], and he yielded to the community's wishes. Not long after, he retired to the foot of Leifeng Pagoda. Standing on one foot, he recited the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī one hundred and eight times as his daily practice. Also, standing on one foot for a day and a night, he recited the name of Amitābha. One evening, he dreamed of reaching a jeweled palace and towers, and someone told him: 'The middle grade of the Pure Land is where you shall be born.' In the spring of the first year of Yuanfeng, ten thousand monastics and laypeople sought to receive the great precepts. At the time of the *karmavācanā*, the crown of the Avalokiteśvara statue emitted a radiant light illuminating the lecture hall. Chan Master Shouyi of Jingci composed the 'Record of the Precept Light' for the occasion. On the twenty-first day of the fifth month of the sixth year, he changed his clothes, took his seat, wrote a verse praising the Buddha, and said: 'My rebirth in the Pure Land is certain.' Calmly he passed away. A stupa was erected to the right of the hermitage. He lived to eighty-six, with seventy-three years as a monk. Ten disciples succeeded to his lineage, including Fazong and Jiezhu. The Master had an ancient appearance and a tranquil nature, speaking little and having few desires. At that time, divergent doctrinal debates agitated Jiangnan and Zhejiang, yet the Master alone taught patiently and methodically, never passing judgment. Duke Zhao Qingxian had the closest spiritual friendship with him. When stationed in Yue, he sent him a poem: 'Having obtained leave to return to the homeland, how joyful! / By Leifeng hermitage in quietude you wander to and fro. / Do not say the Zhejiang river separates our letters; / In a single day, the sound of the tide comes twice.'
12.16
Dharma Master Hanying received instruction at Guangyan in Siming. He received the teaching and contemplation of Fazhi, possessing profound attainment. His contemporaries lauded him as a leader of the doctrine. He once copied the *Lotus Sūtra* in silver script, using gold characters whenever he came upon the names of buddhas and bodhisattvas. The world praised it as a supreme treasure of the Dharma gate. During the Jianyan era, when the Jin invaders burned down the monastery halls, this sūtra was recovered from among the rubble and tiles without a single character damaged. During the Chunxi era, he resided at the Lianzhi Hermitage on the mountain. At night, hearing a tumult of ten thousand voices, he arose startled to look, finding that an adjacent room had caught fire. The sūtra was stored atop a pillar gallery. The Master braved the flames to retrieve it, and it remained unscathed. People said that its emerging undamaged twice from blazing fires was remotely due to the meritorious power of the Mahāyāna, and proximately witnessed the sustaining protection of this doctrinal leader's practice and vows.
12.17
Dharma Master Zejiao was a native of Huangyan in Tai Prefecture. He studied under Fazhi and attained his Way. In the second year of Tiansheng, Huiyin of Zhang'an was newly converted into a lecture monastery, and invited the Master to preside over its seat. Fazhi composed words of transmission for him, which stated in brief: 'I now hand you the incense burner and *ruyi* scepter to serve as tools for transmitting the Dharma. I desire that the fragrant aroma of your threefold training pervade yourself, and that the skillful intentions of the four siddhāntas be suited to those beings. Strive earnestly therein; do not wave or wield them recklessly.'
12.18
Dharma Master Juecong received instruction at Yuanzhi in Kuaiji. He relied on Nanhu, and having completed his studies, announced his return. Fazhi sent him a note of encouragement, saying: 'Having studied the Mountain School, you must certainly distinguish yourself from ordinary currents. Cultivate principle and practice together, and benefit both self and others. To be like this is to be a true descendant of the Wise One [Zhiyi].'
12.19
Dharma Master Siduān was a native of Siming. He received instruction at Chongfa, and was long close to Fazhi; the world called him a leader of the doctrine. When Duke Wang Jinggong was magistrate of Yin County, he was a friend beyond worldly confines with the Master. (Jinggong left an inscribed poem at Chongfa, saying: 'A small pavilion faces the water amid slender bamboos, / Dense remnant blossoms carpet the ground with fragrance. / I only wish people of the world contemplating this scene / Would turn all vexations into cool refreshment.' This was omitted from his collected works.)
12.20
Dharma Master Wencan was of the Xue family of Siming. He initially relied on Master Lingxiang of Xingguo. After a long while, [Lingxiang] sent him to enter the chamber of Fazhi. Diligently he pursued teaching and contemplation through many continuous years. In the fourth year of Tiansheng, Master Xiang, feeling that managing the stupas and temple hindered instructing his disciples, entrusted the lecturing to the Master. Fazhi composed words of transmission to encourage him, saying: 'Observing that you are a vessel for transmitting the Dharma, I confer upon you this hand incense burner and *uttarāsaṅga*. I desire that with each wielding and donning, the fragrance of virtue may flourish and silent forbearance be perfected.'
12.21
Dharma Master Siqian early on dwelt beneath the wheel of Fazhi. Because someone raised a challenge asserting that the 'three thousand [realms]' are provisional phenomena, Guangzhi stated at the time: 'The three thousand are not separate from the true aspect. The true aspect is none other than the three truths; therefore, the three truths are all the three thousand.' The Master accepted his explanation. Later, he composed *Rectifying Errors on Cultivation and Nature*, demonstrating first that the three thousand do not pertain exclusively to conventional truth. When Guangzhi replied to Jingjue in a letter, he cited the Master as corroborating evidence.
12.22
Dharma Master Yuanbin was a native of Siming. Relying on Fazhi, he attained the essential import, and had an excellent reputation in proclaiming the Way. When Fazhi neared his end, he left a testament enjoining him to exalt the Dharma.
12.23
Dharma Master Zhihuan studied under Fazhi. When Duke Yang Wengong urged Fazhi to desist from burning his body, he wrote a letter to Ciyun, sending the Master to persuade him to remain in the world. When Fazhi established the Animal Release Society, he requested Bureau Manager Liu Yun to compose an inscription recording it; the Master repeatedly sent letters urging him on, and the text was finally accomplished. (Below this, the Basic Annals omitted four persons.)
12.24
Dharma Master Ziren listened to Fazhi lecture and recorded the famous sayings quoted from various sections into five categories; the rise of categorical compilations originated with the Master. In the summer of the seventh year of Xiangfu, Fazhi posed seven chapters of miscellaneous questions on the teachings and the doctrine of the four teachings and four truths; the Master's answers were superior, and scholars widely circulated them. Later, he was chosen to head the assembly, lecturing without fatigue. Humble and unassuming, he did not pursue worldly fame, and for this, people respected him. (Below this, the Basic Annals omitted one person.)
12.25
Dharma Master Huizhou was a native of Danqiu. After both parents passed away, he renounced the family life to enter the Way. He went to Siming to study for several years, and when his training was complete, he said: 'Fazhi had an instruction: "The Buddha-path is very level, but to practice it is solely difficult." This refers to the four samādhis.' At the beginning of Tiansheng, he joined ten fellow students to practice the Great Compassion ritual for three years, and then joined fourteen persons to practice the Samantabhadra ritual for another three years. When first entering the period, he vowed before an image: 'If this samādhi is accomplished, I shall burn my body to offer it in sacrifice.' When the practice was complete, he returned to his native place to seek confirmation from Shenzhao. Shenzhao, wishing to fulfill his earnest vow, urged monastics and laypeople to contribute fragrant wood to form a great pyre. On the final day of midsummer, Shenzhao instructed him, saying: 'You have been able to cultivate the honorable offering of the *Lotus*; you have been able to comply with the clear and dark [teachings] of the *Brahmajāla*. Only fasten your mind to the Dharma realm: the body is like fire. Then the ashes of this single pyre are the accumulation of samādhi. With the vigor of Sarvasattvapriyadarśana, make the true offering to the Pure and Radiant One. Go forth and practice it!' The Master received the instruction, thanked the fourfold assembly, and sat upright on the pyre of firewood. The flames touched heaven, yet he did not waver at all. Relics shone brilliantly; those who sought them had their wishes fulfilled. They buried his remaining bones to the west of the mountain. Huaixi of Xiangfu in Qu Prefecture was a fellow student of the Master, and is said to have cultivated samādhi together with him. (Below this, the Basic Annals omitted two persons.)
12.26
Dharma Master Genshin was one of the ten great Chan masters of Japan. In the sixth year of Xianping, he dispatched his disciple Jakuchō with twenty-seven questions on doctrinal principles to visit Nanhu and seek resolution. Fazhi answered and explained each one for him. Chō joyfully received them and returned to his country; Shin greatly submitted to his explanations and bowed in gratitude facing west. (Below this, the Basic Annals omitted one person, Genqing.)
12.27
Fozu tongji, Fascicle 12 (End)
Linked texts (1)
- 佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese