佛祖統紀 17.37

17.37

Zhao Yansu, styled Zijing, was a native of Yanling. He passed the imperial examination in the Qingyuan Longfei year and was an outstanding figure of the Luo School. He came to visit Beifeng to discuss the general purport of the Buddha Dharma. He once asked the master, 'When the Tathāgata appeared in the world, what Dharma did he preach first?' The master said, 'Manifesting birth in the land of common residence, he first preached the truth of suffering.' He also asked, 'Many Mahāyāna sūtras are extraordinary and astonishing; why is it that when reaching the Lotus Sūtra, it is so plain and easy?' The master said, 'When the capacities of the multitude are not yet mature, they must first be shaken up; when their capacities are mature and converge, what need is there for display and astonishment?' From then on he deeply understood the great purport of the contemporary teachings, and always referred to the master as the flesh-body Great Being of Nanshan. Following him, he received the Edited and Settled Cessation and Contemplation, sighing, 'What turns the divergent views of the world back to ultimate reality is this book!' Earlier, Yansu had loved to disparage the Buddhist teaching and once disputed with a monk, but his reasoning was flawed and his words failed him. When that monk died, he wore mourning garments for him. His disciples found it strange and questioned him; he replied, 'The debt of Dharma exceeds that to one's parents; this is not something you youngsters can comprehend.'