佛祖統紀 16

English (machine translation) 16

Language: English

16.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu in Siming during the Jingding era of the Song

16.3

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Xi'an Yuan (Fifth Generation under Guangzhi)

16.4

Dharma Master Jingshe Chulian
Dharma Master Yuanbian Daochen

16.5

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Zhiyong Ran (Fifth Generation under Shenzhao)

Dharma Master Jueyun Zhilian
Dharma Master Zeshan Yuxian
Dharma Master Chicheng Zhongyi
Dharma Master Bailian Zhiyuan
Dharma Master Shantang Yuanxing
Dharma Master Bailian Miaolin
Dharma Master Bailian Qingwu
Dharma Master Bailian Zimou
Dharma Master Xutang Benkong

16.7

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Zhenjiao Xian

16.8

Dharma Master Zhengwu Yuanzhi

16.9

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Chaoguo Dao

16.10

Dharma Master Dezang Congjin

16.11

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Tongzhao Ming

16.12

Dharma Master Baoci Yunyao

16.13

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Zhu'an Guan (Fifth Generation under Nanping)

16.14

Dharma Master Beifeng Zongyin
Dharma Master Zhixing Shoumin
Dharma Master Shenbian Qingyi

16.15

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Mu'an Peng

16.16

Dharma Master Xian'an Fachang
Dharma Master Yuexi Fahui
Dharma Master Yinxue Tairan
Dharma Master Fushi Zihui
Dharma Master Yongfu Zhixiang
Dharma Master Tianwang Daoyong
Dharma Master Nengren Hubaor

16.17

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Xiangfu Xin

16.18

Dharma Master Wukong Shanrong

16.19

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Qingxiu Jiu

16.20

Dharma Master Cishi Miaoyun
Head Monk Xuexi Xiyan

16.21

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Chengjue Huan

16.22

Dharma Master Jue'an Jianyan

16.23

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Jiaming Zhan

16.24

Dharma Master Chexi Zhiqin

16.25

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Fazhao Jiao

16.26

Dharma Master Ze'an Mingzhe
Dharma Master Nengren Daoshan
Dharma Master Liquan Xinghuan
Dharma Master Bujin Juexian

16.27

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Yuanzhao Guang

16.28

Dharma Master Chaoguo Zongzhao

16.29

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Dongling Qin

16.30

Dharma Master Yangjian Liyuan

16.31

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Xi'an Yuan (Fifth Generation under Guangzhi)

16.32

Dharma Master Daochen was from the Peng family of Leqing in Wenzhou. He was granted the title Yuanbian. His mother dreamed that purple mist coiled around her body, and then gave birth to him. At age eighteen he took full ordination. He initially studied the Vinaya rules. Soon after, he went to follow Xi'an at Faming; hearing the subtle words and wondrous purports, he comprehended them at once. Later he went to Nanhu to rely on Yuanzhao. After returning home, he came forth to preside over Guangji. In the twelfth year he moved to Guangci. In the third year of Jianyan, the imperial carriage arrived at Yongjia. An edict ordered that the former residence of Lin Lingsu be made the Zifu Cloister; Prime Minister Lü Yihao nominated the Master to respond to the imperial order. He once pawned his saṃghāṭī robe for rice in the marketplace; at night streaming light shone brilliantly from it, and at dawn [the merchant] held it up and returned it to the mountain. Distressed by the lack of water, he instructed workmen to dig a well; they found an ancient brick inscribed with the characters 'Tiankang' (a reign era of Emperor Wen of the southern Chen dynasty), and spring water gushed forth beneath it. The embankment of the Leqing River was continually troubled by collapses; all said it was caused by baleful spirits. Officials and commoners requested him to confer the precepts [on them]; the deity delivered thanks through mediumship. His disciple Qingshun dreamed that the patriarchs of Yanqing came to visit, with attendants holding a lineage chart beside them, but the eighth position was vacant. Shun pointed and asked about it, and they replied, 'Your master will fill that place.' When he later dwelt at Nanhu, he was indeed the eighth generation. He once exclusively cultivated the mindfulness of the Buddha samādhi, and suddenly awoke to understanding, saying, 'The mind-only Pure Land is simply one! It is truly because Amitābha realizes the precious realm of my own mind, and my own mind contains the Land of Bliss of Amitābha. Though distant, it is near, not exceeding a single thought; though near, it is far, surpassing a hundred thousand koṭis [of lands]. It is like the clear moon in the blue sky casting its reflection upon ten thousand waters; the water does not ascend, and the moon does not descend. Water and moon form a single limit, naturally illuminating each other.' One day while in meditative absorption, he saw an elder master seated on a meditation bench, who turned and said to the Master, 'I am Siming.' Startled and delighted, the Master made obeisance and asked, 'Daochen has not yet thoroughly penetrated our school's habit-energies and dharmalakṣaṇa; I beg you to deign to instruct me.' The Venerable nodded in assent. Upon waking, his mind ground was completely clear and unobstructed. From then on, whenever the Mountain School discussed teaching and contemplation, all took the Master as their authority. In the twelfth year of Shaoxing, Yuanzhao pleaded old age and recommended the Master to take his place. After the monastery had been burned and ravaged by the barbarian invaders, the Master's sincere mind moved people so that donors naturally flocked to him. Within months and years, the halls and buildings were fully restored. Because he practiced the Lotus Samādhi, he moved Samantabhadra to emit light, and his wisdom and eloquence increased still further. When the prefecture suffered a great drought, he was requested to pray for rain; because the prefectural administration was harsh and fierce, the Master remonstrated with the prefect, who was moved to realization and released several hundred prisoners. That night it rained heavily. When there were those who were chronically ill, he preached the Dharma and gave food to them, and many were healed. When Chan Master Chen of Yuwang fell ill, he went to visit him. Returning, he said to the assembly, 'Big words with no substance ultimately yield no strength.' Thereupon on the twenty-third day of the month, he established a Pure Land continuous mindfulness assembly, and monastics and laity reached ten thousand. He was a companion in the Way with Chan Master Dayuan of Xuedou. [Dayuan] once asked him to explain the meaning of the Six Identities; hearing it, he sighed and said, 'For the Master to speak like this, you must have experienced awakening?' He replied, 'If not for awakening, how would I dare speak to the Old Master?' One day, having lectured up to the meaning of the Six Arhats, students asked him to expound on it; he rebuked them, saying, 'What benefit is there in explaining the dharmalakṣaṇa of the Hīnayāna? I shall expound for you the meaning of the King of Sūtras.' It continued in rapid succession for three days without repeating a single word. On the sixteenth day of the twelfth month of the twenty-third year of Shaoxing, he assembled the community to chant the *Contemplation Sūtra* day and night without ceasing. The community smelled an extraordinary fragrance filling the room. The Master said, 'The Buddha has come to receive me.' He then bathed, changed clothes, and wrote a verse: 'The mind-only Pure Land fundamentally has no delusion or awakening; / When not a single thought arises, one immediately enters the First Abode.' He ordered them to chant the 'Practices of Ease and Bliss'. Before they had finished, he calmly passed away seated. His niche was retained for a full month, and his complexion and body appeared as if alive. His whole body was buried beside the ancestral stūpa of Chongfa.

16.33

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Zhiyong Ran (Fifth Generation under Shenzhao)

16.34

Dharma Master Zhilian, whose courtesy name was Wenxiu and who was granted the title Jueyun, was from the Du family of Yin county in Siming. He underwent his training at Qixin and Chongshou, and received full ordination at the age of eighteen. With an antique countenance and tall frame, he had the bearing of a lofty pine and a wild crane. When Mingzhi saw him, he remarked, “He is a fledgling phoenix among the monks.” Initially he studied under Yuanzhao at Nanhu; later in life he relied upon Zhiyong of Bailian and abruptly awakened to the perfect purport. Upon returning home, he acted as deputy lecturer at Yanqing. After the Jianyan era, he successively resided as abbot of five monasteries, all of which were left in the ruins of war; he transformed rubble into gold and jade in the twinkling of an eye. At that time Yuanbian was reconstructing Yanqing, but died before it was completed. The master happened to visit Hongzhi, and they ascended the Thousand Buddha Pavilion together. Hongzhi said, “I hear that Siming speaks of form within emptiness; is that so?” The master said, “It is.” Hongzhi pointed with his finger and said, “In absolute space there is fundamentally not a single thing.” The master pointed to the mountains, rivers, towers, and pavilions, saying, “What, then, are these various phenomena?” Hongzhi was greatly won over by his words and sighed, saying, “Who else but you, Master, could assume the charge of Nanhu?” He thereupon recommended him to the commandery to take charge of affairs. For ten years, not a day passed without lectures, and all the buildings were completely finished. Grand Preceptor Shi Zhenyin, living in retired leisure in his native place, often visited to inquire into the essentials of the Dharma. Zhenyin said, “Do you, Master, also have a thorough understanding of Chan and the Vinaya?” The master said, “When ice thaws and snow melts, it is truly just one water.” He further asked, “Do the Huayan and Prajñā teachings not seem too fragmented and disjointed?” The master said, “Disjointedness is precisely how it achieves simplicity and ease.” (Yangzi asked, “Why are the classics disjointed?” The answer was: “Having been simplified and made easy, how can they be disjointed?”) Zhenyin was solemnly convinced. The commandery master, Grand Councilor Lord Shen, pressed him to occupy a monastic administrative post; the master declined due to old age and illness. The lord personally wrote a letter urging him, saying, “Your pure cultivation of practice and steadfast bearing of the school and teachings should naturally serve as a standard for this entire region and regulate the monasteries. Pray do not decline so firmly, merely keeping your own resolve pure.” The master then accepted the mandate. All quarters submitted to his purity and orderliness. One day he fell ill and said to his attendants, “All unhindered people / transcend birth and death by a single path.” (A verse from the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.) He then clapped his hands and laughed heartily, saying, “I count myself fortunate to have reached this point; when the bell sounds, I shall pass away.” It was then the eighteenth day of the twelfth month in the first year of the Longxing era. Upon his cremation, relics were obtained, and his bones were interred beside the ancestral pagoda at Chongfa. The foremost of those who attained his Dharma was Yuebo Zeyue.

16.35

Grand Preceptor Layman Zhenyin eulogized him: “Gazing upon Master Lian, / his demeanor was pure and gentle. / Propriety and righteousness he practiced; / the Book of Odes and the Book of Documents he cultivated with care. / Though proficient in cessation and contemplation, / he was truly rooted in the Confucian fold. / Like a crane flying into the vast void, / or a cicada molting from the worldly dust, / he caused those who listened / to cast off fetters and resolve perplexities. / Residing in five great monasteries, / his fame spread far and wide. / In his later years he dwelled at Yanqing, / where his Dao became ever more revered. / Ah, the Tiantai teaching / leaves abundance to posterity! / Before there was Fazhi, / and after came Jueyun. / May this phantom shadow / endure forever with the Dharma!” (The stone inscription is on Mount Yuebo.)

16.36

The appraisal says: The traces of holy and virtuous ones responding to the world cannot be fathomed by worldly sentiments. Now, Jueyun was a master who illuminated the teachings for a generation. On the day of his passing, he seemed to know where he was bound, entering birth and departing death, which surely cannot be compared to ordinary people. Yet, having taken form in a family of Confucian ministers, he held the ministerial office for twenty-seven examinations, with internal and external affairs peaceful and secure; his meritorious achievements were grand indeed! Furthermore, he was able to greatly protect the Buddha-Dharma and revere the Saṅgha Jewel; this was indeed the doing of one who wielded great expedient means to transform beings and manifested as a high official. In Śākyamuni’s former lifetimes, he was at times a leader among the Confucian scholars, or occupied the seat of a wheel-turning king. The novice of Sheng Temple became Emperor Wenxuan of the Qi; the monk of Huixiang Temple became Emperor Minghuang of the Tang. In recent times, Master Jie of Wuzu became Su Wenzhong; the monk holding the Tripiṭaka at Mount Langye became Zhang Wending Yong. How could one know whether the turning of capacity and shifting of status might not be a Buddha or a patriarch? Liangzhu, having clapped his hands and laughed to himself, should have attained where he was bound; yet he returned to this realm and reached the pinnacle of human ministers. Those who harbor doubt over this have simply not examined the matter well in this way.

16.37

Dharma Master Yuxian, whose courtesy name was Xuzhong, was of the Zhang family of Huangyan; he was granted the title Mingzu. His mother dreamt that the late Master Hui of Bailian gave her yellow tangerines to eat; upon waking, her teeth and cheeks were still fragrant. At the age of seven, he left home at Xiangji. He first went to pay respects to Zhiyong, who marveled at him and said, “A patriarch has returned!” Having completed his studies, he occupied the first seat in his prime of youth. When Yong passed away, Zhengwu succeeded him; soon after, Wu relocated to Shangzhu and recommended the master to take his place. As the disciples gathered in great numbers, a severe famine occurred. When he went to beg for alms in the Wu region, donors vied with one another to give, fearing only to be left behind. Wang Menggong of Beiwei asked about the meaning of the sixteen contemplations. The master said, “The Buddha-land lies beyond a hundred thousand billion realms, yet its domain does not exceed a single square inch [of the mind]. If you can truly follow the path of contemplation, going there is not far.” Lord Zheng, the Consultant, asked about the eight returns of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. The master said, “When the mind is confused into believing it is the objective realm, the eight phenomena become dark and chaotic. One who reaches the great contemplation turns back upon oneself in a single thought.” Both lords were inspired to awakening and sent offerings year after year. (Mao is pronounced mao, meaning dimness of the eyes.) When the commandery prefect entered the mountain and saw red lotuses in the pond, he asked, “Since this is White Lotus [Monastery], why do red flowers bloom instead?” The master said, “In these mountains we are so delighted by your lordship’s arrival that even insentient things have changed their countenance.” He further pointed to an arhat reading a sūtra and said, “Since he is an adept beyond study, why does he read sūtras?” The master patted the arhat’s back and said, “Why do you not reply?” Weary of social engagements, the master returned to spend his leisure at his home monastery. Just then Master Yi of Chicheng passed away, and the commandery invited him to take charge. Chan Master Yi of Wannian visited him and saw a small notebook on the bed recording the repurchase of communal property without omitting a single coin; he sighed and said, “I have no shame regarding the Way, but my conduct does not match that of the master.” He once bestowed the precepts at Falun Temple; when they invoked the holy teachers, the assembly beheld a precious light shining downward, with an Indian monk standing in the open sky. Beyond his quietude in meditation, he often chanted the chapter on emptiness; when he came to ‘original nature is empty and tranquil’, he would enter samādhi for several days; when he reached ‘birth and death are boundless’, he would weep bitterly without cease. Such was his genuine and penetrating realization of the Dharma. In the fifth month of the first year of the Longxing era, he bid farewell to the assembly, sat upright chanting the Buddha’s name, and passed away. His shrine was interred on the eastern ridge of the monastery. In the summer of the third year of the Qiandao era, he was cremated; countless five-colored relics were obtained. He authored three scrolls of Commentary on the Bodhisattva Precepts, one scroll of Resolving Doubts on the Diamond Sūtra, two scrolls of Restoring the Lineage, and one scroll of Essentials of the Lotus Sūtra. He was always proficient in the Book of Changes, synthesizing various interpretations; because his own name Xian was originally taken from the hexagram Xian, he styled himself Old Man of the Lake and Mountain.

16.38

Dharma Master Zhongyi drew close to Zhiyong in his early years. Profound in contemplation of objects and rich in eloquence, he was revered and admired by people for this reason. He presided over Dengci in Shangyu and then moved to Chicheng. Beyond lecturing and studying, he entered into meditation and repentance, continuing day and night without the slightest respite. He recorded Zhiyong’s doctrinal teachings under the title Collection of Tiger Stream.

16.39

Dharma Master Yuanxing styled himself Shangtang. He received the essentials of doctrinal teachings and contemplation from Zhiyong. While residing at Bailian, during his lecture on the meaning of Tianzhu, a newly arrived scholar composed a treatise to refute it. Someone took the treatise and reported to the master, “This is the perverse view of a novice; pray expel him.” The master smiled and said, “As long as you learn how he composes treatises, I can accommodate them all.” He authored the Shangtang Collection in five scrolls and Outlines of the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra in ten scrolls.

16.40

Dharma Master Zimou was of the Lu family of Ninghai and was styled Yuanjing. Having studied long under Zhiyong, he enjoyed great renown in his time. In his later years he presided over Bailian, where disciples crowded like a marketplace. Because provisions were frequently lacking, he intended to dike the sea into fields. He returned home to inform his mother, and his mother gave him a chest of silver, saying, “In undertaking work for the saṅgha, the Buddha will surely take note.” His mother had feared he would not succeed. In the end he completed the labor, obtaining a thousand mu of fields upon which the community relied for sustenance.

16.41

Dharma Master Benkong was a native of Fenghua in Siming, styling himself Xutang. His father, surnamed Xu, was a farmer. Whenever an eminent monk passed by his gate, he would warmly receive him with extra courtesy. His mother saw a divine light encircling the room at night and thereupon became pregnant. As a child, he was extraordinary compared to his peers; eating vegetarian food and reciting sūtras, his ambition was to leave the household life. At the age of fourteen, he shaved his head under Facun of Zunsheng. He initially received the doctrinal teachings and contemplation from Zhiyong. From Bailian, where he had been head monk, he stepped forward to preside over Yongming in Mingzhou, and later moved to Zhiping. At the beginning of the Chunxi era, the Imperial Prince, King of Wei, governed Siming; revering his Way, he composed an invitation requesting him to preside over Zijiao. In the middle of summer, the head seat monk was about to expound the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. The master stopped him, saying, “Since lectures began, the old masters established the rule that the duty of a head seat monk who has not yet appeared in the world [as an abbot] is only to lecture on minor texts. Only if one has appeared in the world and already lectured on minor texts may one expound major texts; this practice preserves modesty and is the old standard. As for the karmadāna, he only punctuates and reads works like the Categorized Collection of the Four Teachings. One advances by degrees without vaunting oneself.” Later he moved to Bailian, where he greatly propagated the school and teachings. After a long while, he returned to spend his leisure at his home monastery, daily taking rebirth [in the Pure Land] as his right mindfulness. On the third day of the third month of the third year of the Shaoxing era, he bid farewell to the assembly, took his seat, wrote a verse, and passed away. Disciples from Dongye came to welcome his whole body; the monastics and laity of Fenghua submitted petitions to stop them. They thereupon cut his beard and hair to share in a pagoda on the East Mountain, and buried his whole body at Zunsheng. In walking, the master did not look back; in sitting, he did not lean against objects; in the height of summer, he held no fan; in bitter winter, he did not approach a fire. Chanting and lecturing from the high seat, his analysis was subtle and precise, enabling both the sharp and the dull to find entrance. People revered and admired him for this.

16.42

Dharma heirs of Dharma Master Zhenjiao Xian

16.43

Dharma Master Yuanzhi was of the Lin family of Huangyan. His mother gave birth to him after dreaming that an elderly Confucian scholar sought lodging. As a youth, he was intelligent and had no fondness for frivolous play; whatever writings, histories, or classics met his eyes he could fully elucidate, and there was nothing in medical prescriptions or divination that he did not thoroughly investigate. He once visited a neighboring temple and heard a lecture on the Contemplation Sūtra; sighing, he said, "The land where the sun sets is my native home. Hearing this today is like receiving a letter from home." When he left home and received the precepts, he immediately relied upon Zhenjiao at Bailian, becoming thoroughly versed in the doctrinal teachings and contemplation. He once asked about the meaning of inherent inclusion and dynamic manifestation. Zhenjiao pointed to a lantern and said, "A lantern such as this is detached from self-nature and cut off from error, inherently empty and tranquil—thus the principle is inherently included. What the six ordinary and four noble kinds of beings see differs—thus dynamic manifestation is present therein." (Kai'an says: "Inherent inclusion is like a jewel containing treasures, which is the inherent inclusion of the three thousand realms in principle. Dynamic manifestation is like a jewel raining treasures, which is the phenomenal production of the three thousand realms. This principle differs slightly from Zhenjiao's.") The Master did not tally [with this]. Later, while sweeping the ground, he recited the Lotus Sūtra, and upon reaching the line, "Knowing that phenomena are ever without a nature / The Buddha-seeds arise from conditions," he had a sudden awakening. He reported this to Zhenjiao, who said, "For the Lotus Sūtra and the Great Calming and Contemplation, this is the very throat and collar. Now that you have awakened to it, the great matter is completed." From then on, he let his mind roam in the marvels of the Way, sleeping only once every five days. When someone invited him to take a stroll, he would say, "My roaming is different from this: before a bright window and at a clean desk, opening and closing the book satchels, visiting the five Buddhas and traversing the three cycles; and when reading the Great Calming and Contemplation, the ten objects and ten vehicles allow me to behold the Patriarch beyond dust-motes of kalpas." He resided at Dongshan for fourteen years; the thousand monastics of the two monasteries deferred to him as their foremost. Constantly troubled that students were trapped in names and characteristics, he exhorted his peers, saying, "This true vigorous effort is itself the mechanism for upward advancement." Every half-month he unfailingly performed the poṣadha. Someone said, "For the Perfect and Sudden school, what need is there for this?" The Master replied, "In the Perfect school, phenomena and principle are fully complete in a single thought-moment. How could what is called 'Perfect and Sudden' dismiss phenomena to seek principle? At all times I have never failed to take the prātimokṣa as my teacher; supporting the vinaya while expounding the permanent is precisely for this day." The commandery invited him to preside over Xiangfu. Academician Liu asked, "How should a single phrase within the teachings be brought forth?" The Master said, "Directly phenomenological, yet true." Liu grasped his meaning and personally composed an invitation requesting him to preside over Hongyou. The scholar-officials wished him to be closer to the city and invited him to dwell at Rishan. He subsequently moved through Bailian, Chicheng, and Qingshan, his transformative teaching growing daily. In the twenty-third year of Shaoxing, he was ordered by imperial decree to preside over Shangzhu. In the wake of a devastating fire, only the Great Being's Hall remained. There was an attendant in plain robes who built the gates and corridors for it. An astrologer said that the presiding star was unpropitious. The Master said, "The Buddha and the celestial stars share the same creative transformation. If the precious cloister is grand and beautiful, what regret would I have if I die?" Before long, he indeed suffered a slight illness; he dreamed that an immortal gave him celestial liquid to drink, and his ailment was instantly cured, his vitality far exceeding what it had been before. In the summer of the twenty-seventh year there was a drought; an imperial decree ordered him to lecture on the sūtras at Mingqing, and as the assembly dispersed, soaking rain fell. He once arrived at a temple manor and heard that animal sacrifices were being offered; he said, "How can one violate the Buddha's prohibition?" He immediately expounded the precepts for the deity and replaced the offerings with vegetarian food. In the twenty-eighth year, he supervised the construction work very swiftly; by winter, all the halls were complete. On the twelfth day of the twelfth month, he manifested illness, wrote letters in advance to bid farewell to monastics and laypeople, wrote a verse, and passed away while sitting. A stūpa was erected for him to the east of the temple. Earlier, during the final year of Pujue's abbotship, Pujue dreamed that an arhat came from Tiantai and sat in the abbot's seat; shortly after, the Master arrived. During the Master's stay at Wuxiang, he dreamed that Piṇḍola came to visit and gave him a vessel of camellia; people thus knew that the Master was one among the Five Hundred [Arhats]. Yīng of Tongjiang, relying on his own intellectual understanding, criticized Jingxi's clarifications as far-fetched interpretations whenever he encountered points where Jingxi took pains to explain, going so far as to say that Miaole could be refuted; he posed ten difficulties, and students dared not contend with him. The Master composed the Gongying ji (Collection Refuting Ying) to demolish his arguments in succession. Readers were delighted, regretting only that the two masters had not lived at the same time.

16.44

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Chaoguo Dao

16.45

Dharma Master Congjin was clever and eloquent in his youth, completing his studies early. He relied upon Chaoguo for a long time and fully attained his Way. He went forth to preside over Dezan, where his lecturing and instruction followed proper methods, and students flocked to him. He composed many explanations of the doctrinal teachings, clarifying what he had realized; his commentary on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was especially praised as sublime. On the day of his passing, his casket was kept for more than a month, yet his facial complexion did not change. When it was consigned to the flames, his tongue was undamaged, resembling a red lotus flower.

16.46

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Zhu'an Guan (Fifth Generation under Nanping)

16.47

Dharma Master Zongyin, courtesy name Yuanshi, of the Chen family of Yanguan, was styled Beifeng. The Master was neighboring in wisdom and virtue. At age fifteen he received the full precepts, and first visited Zhu'an of Danghu, obtaining the essential principles of the teachings and contemplation. Whatever standard sayings of the patriarchs he encountered, he unfailingly recited them a full thousand times. He entered Nanhu to cultivate the extended repentance. The Zhou family invited him to dwell in a hermitage; he admonished them to reform their unlawful rent measurements, reducing them by five hundred bushels a year. He went to visit Yan of Xiangtian (Yuanwu) and in turn questioned him on the meaning of [Bodhidharma's] coming from the West. The Master replied, "Suffering an injustice with nowhere to cry out." Yan approved of him. On the anniversary of Zhiyi's passing, he burned incense at night in the hall brazier and wept aloud; Yan was moved by his devotion and sent him back to Nanhu with generous gifts. He once reflected on the meaning of the Land of Quiescent Light possessing form; he heard a voice in the void say, "The substance of the Land of Quiescent Light is like the moon in the water." Xu Tang of Zijiao invited him to occupy the seat of head monk. Tang composed the Zongji lun (Treatise on the Ultimate Tenet) upholding Zhiyong's view that phenomena and principle each establish a distinct nature. The Master posed nine objections, and the Zongji lun was conceptually defeated. Controller-general Su Pin contemplated the Entrance to Non-Duality, but because the text was concise, he remained obscure about its explanation; the Master highlighted its pivotal essentials, and Pin immediately understood. Pin reported this to the Master's teacher, requesting that he reside at Zhengjue. A hurricane raged (the character ju is pronounced like ju; violent winds are frequent in coastal commanderies, meaning winds from all four quarters; Dongpo has a Rhapsody on the Hurricane), and only the Tripitaka Hall survived; the Master stood fast even unto death without leaving, and the wind ceased for him. When someone asked him to administer the precepts to a shrine deity to eliminate blood sacrifices, he was first moved by a dream to go to another shrine's medium; the deity spoke, requesting that the sacrifices be changed, in over a dozen shrines. He was transferred to preside over Yinxue; not long after, Pin was also recalled and urged the Master to accompany him, saying, "Why not return west and propagate [the teachings] together?" Having dwelt in the east for twenty-seven years, he now returned to Western Zhejiang. He served as assistant at Shangzhu, lecturing on the Great Calming and Contemplation, deeply lancing the students' ailment of dissecting names and characteristics. As students surrounded his seat holding books, the abbot became jealous of his winning people over, so he departed to live in seclusion at the Mao family hermitage on Leifeng. Those inquiring after the Way arrived in swarms. The Du family built the Puguang quarter and welcomed him with full ritual decorum. Meditation and lecturing proceeded together, and the path of the Dharma flourished all the more. Just then, an invitation came from Dezan; the Master said, "This is the place where I pursued my studies; I have long wished to repay it." He successively transferred to Chaoguo, Yuantong, and Beichan. His reputation for virtue and the Way having already spread, the achievements of his building projects were also accomplished. Haikong Ying took leave of Lingshan and recommended the Master to succeed him; an imperial decree approved it. Five hundred disciples were all won over by his Way, and long-standing abuses and old habits were completely reformed. Emperor Ningzong had long heard the Master's fame and summoned him for an audience in an informal palace hall, asking about the main tenets of the Buddhadharma; his words were concise and his reasoning clear. The Emperor was greatly reverent and pleased, bestowing very generous gifts and granting him the title Dharma Master Huixing. In the sixth year of Jiading, in order to construct a contemplation chamber, he traveled to convert people in the Wu region. When he reached the hermitage of his disciple Xingyi in Songjiang, he said to his followers, "My transformative affinity ends here," and then peacefully passed away lying on his right side; it was the eighth day of the twelfth month. His casket was entombed beside the Ciyun Stūpa. The Master kept the three robes in accordance with the vinaya and strictly refrained from the five pungent roots; his power in the Way was purely realized, moving both the unseen and the visible realms. He corrected evil, delivered the stagnant, eradicated consumptive illnesses, and quelled pestilence; whenever a prayer was offered, none failed to be cured. He often said that a lecturer must possess three dharmas: maintaining dignified deportment to face the great assembly; presenting the main outline to exhaust the meaning of the text; and possessing the ancestral eye to reveal object and contemplation. Only when possessing these three might one vaguely presume to lecture. He authored the Jin'gang xinjie (New Commentary on the Diamond Sūtra), explaining Maitreya's verses and concisely indicating the agreements and differences between Vasubandhu and Kumārajīva; his textual verification of the various editions of this sūtra, particularly regarding the words "jí" (即) and "zé" (則), was exceptionally well grounded. He composed over a hundred chapters on doctrinal meanings, which were especially transcribed and circulated by students. Among those who inherited his Dharma and attained renown were Guiyun Yuancui and more than ten others. As for those who transmitted the teachings to Japan, there was Shunjō alone. Among officials and Confucian scholars who received his Way, there were three or four. Only Foguang Fazhao succeeded him with great prosperity across generations, shedding luster upon the Way of the patriarchs.

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Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Mu'an Peng

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Dharma Master Fahui, courtesy name Mingsou, styled Yuexi, was of the Xu family of Linhai in Taizhou. He had his head shaved under Master Zhenwu Chen of the West Tea Cloister at Duofu. He followed Mu'an at Nengren, becoming thoroughly versed in the doctrinal teachings and contemplation. When Mu'an moved to Nanhu, he appointed him as the internal guest-prefect; with an impartial mind, he assisted him, bringing harmony to both internal and external affairs. He was a like-minded companion to Yin Yuanbao, Deng Shengdao, and Yue Guangyuan, daily inquiring and debating with them on this Way. Upon returning to Nengren, he became the head monk. In the early Chunxi era, he went forth to preside over Xiangji in Fujiang, and soon moved to Chicheng. In the second year of Shaoxi, he moved to Shengshui. During the Jiading era, Chicheng longed for his return, so the Master reluctantly complied. After some time, Shengshui came again to welcome him, and the Master did not refuse. In the autumn of the jimao year of Jiading, he passed away without illness; a stūpa was erected for him in the western recess. In chanting and lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra, the Master deeply accorded with the ancestral intention; in clarifying the orthodox meaning, he bore a striking resemblance to Mu'an. Xie Kejia and Qian Xiangzu, two chief councilors from his native place, had always revered him, yet the Master maintained a humble and tranquil mind and never permitted them access; people held him in high esteem for this.

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Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Xiangfu Xin

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Dharma Master Shanrong was of the Pan family of Wucheng; he was granted the title Wukong. When his mother first became pregnant, she immediately abstained from meat and blood. On the night she was about to give birth, two rays of light descended from heaven and illuminated their house; she subsequently gave birth to twin boys. After a year or so, both fell ill and one died. A physiognomist said to his mother, "If he does not leave home, I fear he may not be preserved either." Thereupon she gave him up to enter Faren Temple. At age seven he received the precepts, and studied the teachings under Master Qingbian Xin. At the end of the Shaoxing era, he departed from his position as head of the assembly at Xiangfu to preside over Baolin at Lake Tai. He successively moved to Huitong and Chexi, where his propagation of the Way spread widely. In the guimao year of Chunxi, Assistant Administrator Li, the military commissioner of Yue, invited him to preside over Yuantong, personally composing an invitation that said: "Buddhas and bodhisattvas are inherently without a mind, responding wherever there is an affinity. Why should scholar-officials harbor aversion toward a different teaching? One should only follow the Way." Everyone delighted in reciting these words. One day he fell slightly ill, cut off personal affairs, and sat upon his couch; when asked about his illness or offered medicine, he gave no answer. After seven days, he bathed his body, changed his clothes, sat cross-legged in the abbot's quarters, and silently passed away. At the time of the cremation, those who sought relics unfailingly obtained them according to their wish. He authored the Dabu jueyi ji (Collection of Decisions on Doubts in the Great Treatises) in four fascicles, which circulated in the world. While at Chexi, he entered the vegetable garden and saw countless tiny insects on the vegetable leaves; sighing, he said, "How lamentable! How many lives are killed for a single meal?" Thereupon, for the entire summer, he took his rice only with plain hot water. His Dharma heir was Fazhi of Zijin.

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Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Qingxiu Jiu

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Dharma Master Miaoyun was surnamed Yang, from Siming, and styled himself Cishi. He inquired widely at lecture seats, and when he developed subtle understanding, he followed Jiu Wuwei. He went to Yuji to call upon Dahui, where he attained further awakening. When Wuwei presided over Qingsxiu, the Master, along with Yitang and other worthy colleagues, sought further instruction morning and evening, together receiving the purport of the threefold contemplation with common characteristics. In the nineteenth year of the Shaoxing reign era, Wuwei passed away, and the assembly invited the Master to succeed him. At the beginning of the Chunxi reign era, he moved to Yongming in Cixi. Using the insights he had attained, he composed the *Direct Commentary on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment*. Its preface stated: 'Great scholars and elder monks, upon reading this, will certainly say: Since it is called a direct commentary, why use such winding sub-sections?' Those who heard this were moved to smile. Once, when dwelling in leisure at Erling on Donghu, he composed a poem to send out to beg in the village market: 'Mountains encircle the lake waters, waters encircle the mountains; / A short skiff and white gulls between the window and desk. / Let supplies further arrive from beyond the wilds, / And ten monks, having deeply meditated to their fill, can rest in ease.' People of the time recited it as a faithful account. The prefecture invited him to reside at Nanhu; daily he was engaged in lecturing and expounding, and students gathered like a market. After dwelling there for two years, he resigned due to illness. He resided at the Wu Family Hermitage at Xikou. One day he went to bid farewell to Gentleman Wu. Three days after returning, he bathed his body, changed his clothes, sat cross-legged in his room, and said to his attendant: 'I have a petal of incense, kept for thirty years, which I intended to offer to the Buddha at the verge of death to reverently repay his great benevolence. Now is the time; I am about to depart.' When the incense smoke was burning brightly, he rose, addressed the Buddha, and expressed his wish to return to the Land of Peaceful Nourishment. Returning to his seat, he joined his palms and passed away. In his learning, the Master attained the essential purport and was particularly adept at delivering expositions. His poems, verses, and calligraphic ink-work were exquisitely peerless in his time. Because the Master's tenure in the seat was brief, the Ancestral Hall at Nanhu did not erect a statue of him. The venerable elders deliberated on it, saying: 'In the past, Master Zhu'an and Master Mu'an each resided here for only two years; yet deliberators considered their Dao grand and their renown momentous, and could not but erect statues for them. Today, in what way is Cishi inferior to these two elders?' Thereupon, they erected a seat and statue for him as well. Those who succeeded to his Dharma included Guanshou Zhengjiao (whose memorial day is the eighth day of the ninth month) and Head Monk Xiyan, whose courtesy name was Shengtu, styling himself Xuexi, a native of Fenghua in Siming. Having passed an examination on the scriptures in his youth, he received tonsure. There was no school of teaching or Chan hall he did not consult; there was no part of the Three Teachings or Hundred Schools he did not master. He once studied directly under Jiu Wuwei, receiving contemplation methods, and considered himself to have reached his master’s inner gate. When Wuwei died, he composed an inscription to convey the intention of having obtained his Dharma. The Master’s spirit was upright and steadfast, inspiring awe and respect in the masses; his literary elegance was lofty and exquisite, commanding the admiration of junior scholars. Thereupon, the name of Shengtu became renowned throughout the realm. Before the age of forty, wherever he stayed he always served as recorder; after the age of fifty, wherever he arrived he was seated at the head of the assembly. The various quarters repeatedly nominated him to assume a chief abbacy, but he steadfastly declined and did not accept. Once, walking along the vegetable plots, he saw maggots gathered like a ball in dung; because of the great killing of living creatures [involved in farming], he ceased eating vegetables. He only purchased three hundred and sixty catties of dried seaweed, taking one each day to supply his gruel and rice. In his later years he reflected upon himself, considering that residual habits of literary compositions brought no benefit to the Dao. He then took up residence at the Li Family Hermitage in Taoyuan, devoting his mind exclusively to reciting the Buddha's name. In one continuous retreat of ten years, his energetic progress never flagged. He said to Zhang Hanqing of Yinfan: 'In the Dao of the Pure Land, is there even a single phenomenon to be attained? The jeweled terraces, the gemmed nets, and the kalaviṅkas—these are merely the skillful methods used by our Buddha to attract and guide us. If only within one's cultivation one perceives not a single phenomenon, then the highest grade of the Land of Quiescent Light is attained without attainment.' Hanqing said: 'I have already believed and understood this; I only feel ashamed that I have not been able to advance courageously.' He gave the small porch where he resided the plaque 'Recollecting the Buddha' and composed a poem to express his intent, which went: 'Drifting with the waves and chasing the billows, lightly fluttering away, / Seventy years have passed in the snap of a finger. / How could I not have known all along to recollect the Buddha? / Only now, as old age sets in, do I wish to apply the whip even harder.' Approaching death, he bid farewell to his relatives and friends in advance, bathed, changed his clothes, faced west in contemplation, and suddenly exclaimed that the Buddha had arrived, joined his palms, and passed away. During the days of the Master's seclusion, when officials pursued Cishi for the adult male poll tax, the Master reproached them, saying: 'Where under heaven does someone read ten thousand scrolls of books to conduct himself as a lofty scholar, and yet you still wish to hold him liable for the poll tax?' The chief official praised his words, and he was exempted from inquiry.

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Dharma Successors of Dharma Master Chengjue Huan

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Dharma Master Jianyan styled himself Jue'an. He relied upon Chengjue to study and thoroughly comprehend his purport. Being well-read and with a formidable memory, he was uniquely preeminent in his day. Once, when lecturing on the *Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra*, he ascended the seat and folded his hands aloft, silently recalling the primary text without missing a single section. He comprehensively expounded the wondrous Dharma and broadly spread the doctrinal classifications; phenomena and principle, provisional and real, were all brilliantly elucidated. He once said to new students: 'People suffer from a lack of learning. If one deeply passes through years and months thoroughly perusing the scriptures and canonical records, naturally one will find sources at every turn and fully comprehend the ancestral intentions, without being blocked or deluded by a single text or a single meaning; only then can one engage in the practice of lecturing and expounding.' Those who heard this were transformed in their minds.

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Dharma Successors of Dharma Master Fazhao Jiao

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Dharma Master Mingzhe was surnamed Zhou, from Yin County of Siming, and styled himself Ze'an. He was born after his mother dreamt of swallowing a precious pearl. At eighteen, he received full ordination and immediately traveled to study in various quarters. Relying on Fazhao of Nengren, he received teaching and contemplation. At that time, among those of the same name in the assembly, ten were called the 'Ten Sages,' and the Master was the most prominent. He also called upon Chan monasteries everywhere, meeting Hongzhi of Tiantong, Dahui of Ayuwang, and Yugu of Guoqing; all anticipated that he would become a great vessel of the Dharma. He once said: 'What the Chan monasteries call "directly pointing to the human mind, seeing one's nature and attaining Buddhahood" is none other than our school's "a single moment of mind inherently endowed with the three thousand realms."' Hongzhi heard this and said: 'Observing your subtle understanding, you should return to propagate the doctrinal teachings.' He initially presided over Chaoguo in Changguo, then moved to Juehai, Yinxue, and Yongming. He was devoted to lecturing and instructing without a single day of leisure. Students dared not ask for leave. The prefectural military commissioner Fan Chengda invited him to preside over Nanhu. At that time, his audience consisted entirely of outstanding talents from the four quarters; newcomers feared only falling behind, and all said to one another: 'Ascending the Dragon Gate is indeed today!' Daily the Master recited the *Shorter Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*; if it was touched in the slightest by human words, he would immediately recite it again, saying that mundane words should not be mixed with sacred scriptures (his memorial day is the sixteenth day of the sixth month).

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Dharma Successors of Dharma Master Yuanzhao Guang

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Dharma Master Zongzhao was a native of Siming. Initially he went to Nanhu to see Mingzhi, and later entered the chamber of Yuanzhao, who appointed him assistant lecturer. He went forth to preside over Xingjiao and then moved to Shousheng. Having suffered the devastation of the Jianyan era, only the main hall remained, with a few hundred rafters of thatched roofs and a dozen or so surviving monks. He remained completely at ease. He often said: 'The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas conduct Buddha-work throughout the entire Dharma realm; yet in this tiny, foot-wide land of Yunxi, we cannot accomplish anything—this too is merely because our conditions and strength are insufficient. Even if I could accomplish it, how would it be worth speaking of? What Jeta and Anāthapiṇḍada donated was immeasurable, counted in hundreds of millions; yet in this tiny, foot-wide land of Yunxi, nothing has been accomplished—this too is merely because conditions and strength are insufficient. Even if I could accomplish it, how would it be considered much? One should only know to diligently engage in lecturing and guiding, and devotedly cultivate progress, in order to repay the Buddha's benevolence, and that is all.' Soon after, students arrived in increasing numbers day by day, and almsgivers came daily; the buildings were completely renovated because of him.

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Dharma Successors of Dharma Master Dongling Qin

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Dharma Master Liyuan was thoroughly versed in the Tripiṭaka and broadly conversant with the Five Classics; his learning was profound and his realization lofty, so the world called him 'Yuan the Canon of Teachings.' Early on, he transmitted the Dao of Dongling, propagating the Dharma at Yangjian. He gathered a multitude of three hundred and daily engaged in lecturing and expounding; his mastery of the sūtras and treatises was beyond fathomable measure. From this, later students mostly came to value wide-ranging dialectics. (In this fascicle, of the thirty-five persons, the basic records of seventeen persons are lost.)

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Comprehensive Record of the Buddhas and Patriarchs, Fascicle 16 (End)

Linked texts (1)

佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese