佛祖統紀 14.44

14.44

Dharma Master Yingru was of the Hu clan of Pujiang in Wu. He had great erudition with a retentive memory, and was especially skilled in disputation. Coming to study at Shangzhu, Cibian valued his capacity deeply. He once went to Lingshan to visit companions in the Way; setting forth the doctrine of the six capabilities, he repeatedly debated and cross-examined them until the other party's arguments collapsed in defeat. The Master thereupon raised a pole and tied a banner of silk to it, saying to them: "In Western India, when an enemy is defeated, one raises a banner of victory; when subduing Māra at the bodhimaṇḍa, one likewise displays a sign of victory. Now that the Dharma battle is won, a pole should be raised." People feared his fiery demeanor and called him the Tiger Cub. Earlier, Cibian had obtained the purport of Nanping's three contemplations of common characteristics, which he kept secret and did not transmit to others. Yuhui Jue made especially earnest entreaties, and [Cibian] agreed to explain it to him secretly in the middle of the night. The Master found out about this; climbing a ladder and uncovering roof tiles, he prostrated his body and eavesdropped, the drifting snow whirling across the sky so that his back seemed clad in armor. In the morning, he said to Cibian: "I seem to have received an unseen transmission concerning the three contemplations of common characteristics." He then recorded his words and showed them to the entire assembly. Cibian said angrily: "Yingru has stolen the Dharma!" In the early Shaosheng era, he took charge of Yuantong in Yue. Once, after a lecture had dispersed, he said to his attendant: "Today an east wind blows the teachings across to the west of Zhe, allowing those who have ears within their eyes to hear." At the age of thirty, the Master discarded the text; whenever he approached the seat, an attendant simply presented the lecture volume and waited. In the third year of Shaoxing, he moved to Shangzhu. In the aftermath of Wuzhu's burning and pillaging, only the library remained. When someone urged people to raise funds for rebuilding, the Master said: "I simply circulate the great Dharma; on another day, someone will naturally arrive to carry out the building." When the Master passed away, Pujue Weiri indeed succeeded to the seat and undertook the construction work. In the ninth month of the fifth year, the imperial carriage visited the Hall of the Great Being. The Master's memorial response flowed like water, and the Emperor was pleased, granting Mount Wansui Xiang to provide offerings to the Great Being. The Master did not esteem writing texts. He once showed people a verse, saying: / "I transmit Zhiyi's doctrine of the single nature: / The three thousand [realms] of true reality are subtle emptiness, provisionality, and the middle. / In a single thought the Dharma realm is present; sentient beings and Buddhas are of the same essence. / Ordinary and noble are as one; good and evil merge in principle. / The body and land of Vairocana are serene like empty space. / One who penetrates this purport finds every single dharma fully pervasive: / Moving to the left or to the right, its enjoyment is inexhaustible." / The Mountain School spoke of three men who were like tigers: Shenzhao Benru, Siming Daoru, and the Master. One evening, he took leave of the great assembly, returned to his bedchamber, and passed away. A stūpa was built for him in the northwest corner of the monastery. His Dharma heirs, Huaizhi of Chongxian and Huixian of Bailian, were both capable of perpetuating his work. The Master had a work on doctrinal meaning titled Zhilan ji (Collection Pointing Out Difficulties).