佛祖統紀 18

English (machine translation) 18

Language: English

18.1

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

18.2

Biographies of the Various Masters, Part 6 of 8 (Sixty-two persons in total under Guangzhi, Shenzhao, and Nanping)

18.3

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Xiu'an Zhou (Seventh generation under Guangzhi)

18.7

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Yuetang Xun

18.8

Dharma Master Yitang Fadeng
Dharma Master Boting Shanyue
Dharma Master Yue'an Jinghui
Dharma Master Yintang Zhengrong
Dharma Master Shizhi Zongxiao
Practitioner Nanhu Shanrong

18.9

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Yi'an Gong

18.10

Dharma Master Zheng'an Duanxin
Dharma Master Shubao Liangyan
Dharma Master Chi'an Chuigong

18.11

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Zhi'an Lian

18.12

Dharma Master Jing'an Jingqian
Dharma Master Qi'an Ruhui
Dharma Master Huan'an Jieshu

18.13

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Huiguang Ne (Seventh generation under Shenzhao)

Dharma Master Deng'an Shiheng
Dharma Master Xu'an Youhong
Dharma Master Fu'an Miaogui
Dharma Master Zhong'an Shi'an
Dharma Master Shangzhu Shijue
Dharma Master Shijian Congjie
Dharma Master Hui'an Huiming
Dharma Master Guitang Rutan

18.15

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Foguang Zhao (Seventh generation under Nanping)

18.16

Dharma Master Ziting Shixun
Dharma Master Dongling Zhiyuan
Dharma Master Bixi Dewen
Dharma Master Juting Xinkeng
Dharma Master Haiweng Shixue
Dharma Master Meijian Taidu
Dharma Master Shaoyu Yucai
Dharma Master Xinggu Wangxin
Dharma Master Dingshan Shiju
Dharma Master Ruozhou Jingquan
Dharma Master Gu'yan Zhengyin
Dharma Master Dugu Miaosheng
Dharma Master Ying'an Fayan
Dharma Master Zishan Sigong
Dharma Master Xishan Wengong
Dharma Master Xuecen Xinghai
Dharma Master Wuji Kedu
Dharma Master Dongping Zhengwu
Dharma Master Shilin Wenren
Dharma Master Dongshan Huiri
Dharma Master Ziweng Ruyuan
Scribe Beishan Zhizai
Guest Prefect Fangxi Wenzhen

18.17

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Tongzhou Tan

18.18

Dharma Master Guyuan Yongqing
Dharma Master Qianshan Wenxiang

18.19

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Shanyuan Xian (Seventh generation under Nanping)

18.20

Dharma Master Yunmeng Yunze

18.21

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Mengquan Yuan

18.22

Dharma Master Lingyuan Yunxian
Dharma Master Tongxi Ruoji
Dharma Master Luoxi Yuanwu

18.23

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Meifeng Kui

18.24

Dharma Master Jucheng Miaoxian
Dharma Master Guyan Ruyue

18.25

Dharma Heirs of Dharma Master Jiantang Yi

18.26

Dharma Master Baichuan Ruhai
Dharma Master Shiting Daosheng
Dharma Master Shifan Zongye
Dharma Master Xing'an Jingyue
Dharma Master Baiyan Wengao
Dharma Master Shengshui Congjue

18.27

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Zong'an Xin

18.28

Dharma Master Gujing Wengao

18.29

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Bi'an Xi

18.30

Dharma Master Haikong Faying

18.31

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Nan'yan Xiong

18.32

Dharma Master Xujing Zuyi

18.33

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Xiu'an Zhou (Seventh generation under Guangzhi)

18.34

Dharma Master Jingwu, styled Jixian, was of the Li family of Leqing in Wen. In his youth, he already knew aversion to worldly life and went to rely on Feiquan Yuanjue of Mount Yandang. At nineteen, he received the full precepts. At first, he called upon Ding'an Tong to study doctrinal teachings and contemplation. At that time, Xiu'an resided at Shouchang and was dedicated to lecturing; Jingwu went to seek instruction. Xiu'an asked what Ding'an instructed people with. The master said: 'He expounds the meaning of seeking the cart.' Xiu'an said: 'Does one seek the cart in the Land of Quiescent Light?' The master did not understand, harboring the doubt in his breast to the point of almost abandoning eating and sleeping. Xiu'an, moved by his sincerity, patted his back and said: 'When the tip of doubt is exposed, the jewel repository is not far away.' Before long, he suddenly had an awakening; from this point on, difficulties in the doctrinal school were resolved like a knife meeting bamboo. Throughout the lecture halls of Wu and Yue, there was nowhere he did not freely observe. His aspiration and spirit were lofty and prominent, rarely granting approval to others. He often admonished himself, saying: 'Cooking rice in a broken cauldron, resting in the midst of the woods, borrowing the mouth of empty space to speak to all phenomena—what shame do I have? As for having insufficient learning, achieving things by relying on others, clinging to a few lines of words on paper, gathering a hundred or ten fledging practitioners, living in grand mansions and spacious halls, and having food piled high over ten square feet—I will not do so.' The master initially revived the buildings at Feiquan. Soon after, he reluctantly complied with the requests of the multitude to go forth and preside over Jingtu in Tiantai; daily he diligently lectured, and all neglected undertakings were fully restored. In his later years, he returned to his old dwelling at Feiquan, taking mindfulness of the Buddha as his daily practice. When struck with illness, he wrote in large characters to show the multitude, saying: 'Seeking doctors and asking for medicine disturbs my transformation. I shall silently observe its change.' The next morning, sitting upright, he cast off the physical body. It was the twenty-sixth day of the ninth month in the dingmao year of Kaixi. On the day of cremation, his ears and teeth remained intact. His disciple Wenhu stupaed him at the western foot of the monastery. Beijian Jujian composed an inscription for him, saying: 'This was Huo'an. Hearing and expounding the dhāraṇī, two kinds of indestructible repositories. What virtue and morality revere, though hidden, is manifest. I know that those of a different age yet of the same mind will shed tears on the south side of Mount Yandang.'

18.35

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Faming Jie

18.36

Dharma Master Zizhen was a native of Yongjia, styled Xianlin. In his youth, he studied under Master Jie; his application of mind was diligent and thorough, completely mastering his way. When encountering doctrinal points that were not yet settled, he would discuss them with various friends all day long. Having grasped the meaning, he would sit within his bed curtain, giving free rein to his words in exposition, or asking and answering himself to investigate and verify. Later, he succeeded to the abbacy of Faming, greatly propagating the enterprise of his predecessor. His eloquence was extraordinary, and veteran scholars submitted to him in awe.

18.37

Dharma Heir of Dharma Master Yuetang Xun

18.38

Dharma Master Fadeng, styled Shengdao and called Yitang, was from the Lin family of Xiepu in Siming. He received his training in Ningbo. At first, as an upāsaka, he studied under Zian. He was naturally endowed with intuitive understanding: he never failed to memorize the essential passages of all texts, nor did he fail to grasp the core doctrines across the scriptures. After receiving full ordination, he entered Nanhu to rely on Yuetang. Considering him to have mastered his studies early from past lives, Yuetang treated him with extraordinary courtesy. After a year, he appointed him as the head of repentance rituals. They once discussed the essential import of cultivation, nature, good, and evil; master and disciple being in profound accord in the Way, their mutual closeness and respect deepened all the more. Steadfast in his resolve, he lived in pure retreat for twenty-two years without wavering. Whenever he pondered the doctrinal principles of the school, he composed writings on them; the world vied to copy and circulate them, calling them the 'Yitang Outlines'. He left seclusion to take charge of Tianfeng in the city and then moved to Zijiao. In his later years, he resided at Qingxiu. Students of the time felt ashamed if they had not attended his lecture seat.

18.39

Dharma Master Shanyue, styled Guangyuan, was from the Fang family of Dinghai in Siming. His father, Wei, was a celebrated Confucian scholar in the district. His mother dreamed that the moon's disk fell into her bosom, and soon afterward became pregnant. On the night of his birth, white light filled the room. When he first learned to speak, he would often press his palms together and say the words 'dharma-realm' (dharmadhātu). Barely a youth, his father compiled the Six Classics to teach him; he recited and studied them in sequence, as though reviewing familiar works from the past. At twelve, he understood the profound purport of the Spring and Autumn Annals. His mother took him to Zhengjue Monastery to make offerings. Circling the pillars of the hall several times, the abbot Daobing said to his mother, 'Last night I dreamed of a white dragon coiling around this pillar; does it presage this child?' Thereupon, his parents finally permitted him to leave household life, naming him Shanyue to match the earlier dream. (Shanyue and Guangyuan are both names of ancient Buddhas.) At fifteen, he received full ordination. Three months later, Master Bing passed away, so he went to Nanhu to rely on Cao'an. He was often wearied by the tedious complexity of categorical outlines, so Cao'an instructed him, 'When you read a family letter in broad daylight, what is difficult to understand?' The master instantly had an awakening. He served the retreat attentively, standing respectfully in the corner day after day with increasing diligence. Cao'an said, 'In future times, the one who proclaims and upholds our school will surely be you!' When Zian lectured on the Way at Yuebo, he went to visit him; hearing the doctrine of the permanent abiding of mundane characteristics, he gained even further awakening. He then returned to Nanhu to see Yuetang and asked about the teaching that the Tathāgata does not sever inherent evil. His body and mind opened up clearly, like throwing open locks and keys to behold a treasury. When he reported what he had awakened to, Yuetang further expounded its meaning for him. The master bowed, received it, and withdrew. When Yuetang showed signs of entering nirvāṇa, the master served as a special envoy to Danghu to invite Zhu'an. The following year, [Zhu'an] ordered the master to share the preaching; his deportment was serene and gentle, and his discourse was elegant and correct. Zhu'an praised him, saying, 'In my head monk, I have truly found the right man; I only regret having no one to succeed him.' In his dwelling stood an ancient cypress that flourished singularly, so he styled himself Boting ('Cypress Courtyard'). In the gengzi year of the Chunxi era, he first presided over Bianli in Donghu, and then moved to Baoyan in Cixi. Before long, Grand Preceptor Shi Zhenyin invited him to reside at Yuebo; when scholars flocked thither, the grain stores were insufficient. Hearing of this with delight, Zhenyin sent an envoy to inform the master: 'You, Master, invite assemblies for the sake of the Way; if you need food, come take it, I shall not be begrudging.' In the second year of the Shaoxing [read: Shaoxi] era, Prefect Lord He Dan, seeing the vacant seat at Nanhu, personally drafted an invitation to urge him. He preached the Way with method and directed the assembly with discipline, not altering his integrity for thirteen years; monastics and laypeople trusted him on this account. In the fourth year of the Jiatai era, he retired to Yanqing Hermitage; resting for ten years, he dreamed of an old man whispering in his ear, 'Sixty-five, seventy-one.' In the sixth year of the Jiading era, Commander Chen Qing, seeing the yearning people felt for him after his departure from Nanhu, prevailed upon him again; [the master] declined, but could not refuse. Rain of flowers was renewed, and old disciples gathered around him once more. Within a month, he was summoned to Shangzhu by an imperial decree. The master considered that hastening thither would resemble pursuing fame, so he remained steadfastly unmoved. But when the assembly said that an imperial command must not be disrespected, he finally relented and went; that year was indeed the fulfillment of the number sixty-five. In the summer of the eighth year, there was a drought; an imperial edict was issued to welcome the Mahāsattva [Avalokiteśvara] at Mingqing. The imperial carriage visited in person to pay homage, ordering the master to pray reverently; rain poured in the morning and drenched the land by evening. The Emperor was exceedingly pleased, specially appointing him Controller of Monks of the Left Street. In the autumn of the twelfth year, he shook out his robes and returned east, taking his rest at the ancestral gate south of the city. That year he was seventy-one, and thus understood how the previous dream had been fulfilled. In the autumn of the following year, the prefecture used Zijiao at Xishan as an easy place for the master to retire in old age. In the spring of the fifth year of the Shaoding era, an imperial decree commanded him to take charge of Shangzhu a second time. Everyone congratulated him using the line by the Immortal Su Shi: 'The master departed and suddenly returns again; birds sing and the mountain’s countenance opens up.' In the third year of the Duanping era, he suffered an eye ailment and requested to retire to Dong'an. One day he manifested illness; sitting on his bed, he appeared to be conversing with someone. His Dharma grandson Xiulin asked what he was doing; he replied, 'I am merely speaking about the ancestral Way face-to-face with the Venerable of Jingxi.' When about to enter nirvāṇa, he looked at his attendants and said, 'What people should fear is having no real virtue to be praised by later generations. If it were merely to promote empty fame, I would have no leisure for it. If, a thousand years from now, people refer to me as the Old Man of Cypress Courtyard, my dry bones will have no cause for shame. Please do not request a posthumous title, which would defile my pristine lifelong vocation.' Having spoken, he crossed his legs and passed away. It was truly on the nineteenth day of the first month in the first year of the Chunyou era. His casket was kept for seven days; his countenance remained fresh and white, and both his heart and the crown of his head were warm. His whole-body stūpa was enshrined to the east of the monastery. His lifespan was ninety-three, and his monastic age was seventy-eight. Prior to this, the head monk Zhijue had submitted a petition to the court, saying, 'The master's Way illuminates the former sages, and the fourfold assembly relies upon him. Having reached the age of ninety, he draws near to returning to the Real. We request to erect a stūpa on the mountain in anticipation of his burial.' The Emperor granted the request; thus, this authorized command was now put into effect. His remaining robes, hair, and commentaries on four scriptures were interred together beside the ancestral stūpa at Nanhu. The master's writings include: The Profound Overview of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Collected Explanations of the Diamond Sūtra, Brief Exposition of the Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra, General Meaning of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, Treatise on Continuities and Changes, Ten Strategies for Discerning the Object, Maxims of the Three Treatises, Meaning and Explanation of the Gold Cleaver, Profound Discourse on the Lineage and Teaching, Subcommentary and Notes to the Benevolent King Sūtra, and Essential Appended Commentary, all of which circulate in the world. His other miscellaneous writings were titled Residue. In the leisure after lecturing, when facing guests, he never touched upon worldly affairs, discussing only the past deeds of ancients and the words of canonical texts. Someone asked how to pacify the mind; he said, 'The mind is originally unmoving.' Asked about the Lotus Sūtra treasury, he said, 'It is fully manifested right here.' His admonitions were all of this kind. Among those who inherited his Way, Xianglin Qinci was the foremost.

18.40

Dharma Master Jinghui, styled Minzhong and called Yue'an, was from the Lu family of Yin. His parents prayed to the Buddha, and he was born. In his youth, he dreamed of ascending a jeweled pavilion where he saw an extraordinary person rubbing the crown of his head; when he awoke, an unusual fragrance filled the room. He spoke of this to Master Jun of Yinxue, who encouraged him to study Buddhism; he subsequently went to Zhengjue in Dinghai to leave household life. After receiving full ordination, he went to see Yuetang. Entering the repentance ritual during the spring period, he had a sudden awakening to the perfect doctrine upon hearing words of guidance; Yuetang prized him on this account. Vinaya Master Du used Dazhi's new commentary to lecture on the Contemplation Sūtra at Huxin; Yuetang sent the master to debate with him. When it came to discussing the purport of contemplating the mind and contemplating the Buddha, he raised objections several times until Du finally yielded. When Zhe of Ze'an presided over Nanhu and first opened his lecture seat, the master closed his book, sat upright, and upon withdrawing pointed out its blemishes; Zhe respected and feared him all the more. When Rong of Yindang resided at Yinxue, he had the master share the seat, and the style of lecturing became widely renowned. He first presided over Fahua in the prefectural city; some considered it minor, but the master said, 'This is the place where Master Fazhi lectured on the scriptures; how could it be looked down upon?' He moved to Zhiping. Whenever he lectured and saw that the commentaries cited Confucian classics, he would stop and not read them, saying to his disciples, 'These are secular books; you should read them on your own.' As the summer was drawing to a close, he proudly said to the assembly, 'This summer’s lectures are unlike any across all quarters. Even if other places touch upon such topics, they merely mix them with secular books.' In his spare time from teaching, he also engaged in stonework, renewing what had been dilapidated for years. Whenever he took part in public elections of abbots, if the candidate was not suitable, he would immediately rebuke the other monasteries to their faces, saying, 'What is called a lecture monastery exists solely for transmitting lectures. Can this person shoulder this responsibility now?' In the end, he would not consent. When living in leisure at Gongxiu Hermitage at the Quankou mouth, scholars brought their provisions and came to follow him. Upon his transfer to Baoyan, his path of transformation flourished day by day. After eight years, a heavenly wind suddenly blew blossoms, and the fragrance of osmanthus filled the courtyard; those of discernment knew this to be an auspicious omen. Before long, as anticipated, the appointment to Nanhu was issued; it was the sixth year of the Jiading era. Since Boting's prolific nurturing of talents, the younger generation had become fond of ornate literary style and novel arguments; if a superior failed slightly to satisfy the assembly's wishes, the crowd would rise up in an uproar and expel him. When the master arrived, he governed all with quiet resolve and established strict regulations; people, struck by his presence, did not dare violate them. Those formerly fond of causing an uproar transformed their habits. While residing in his abbot's room, he never locked the door; even if those seeking instruction came at night, he did not turn them away. Walking along the two corridors, whenever he heard the sound of recitation, he would joyfully approach them and provide pointers based on their practice. During the Lotus repentance period, he would preach once a day, thoroughly penetrating from beginning to end; everyone delighted in listening, deeply moved in their hearts. On the twenty-ninth day of the ninth month in the ninth year of the Jiading era, he assembled the great multitude to recite the Contemplation Sūtra; sitting cross-legged on his bed, he suddenly passed away like a cicada casting off its shell. His whole-body stūpa was erected at Zuguang. His disciples requested an inscription from the Prefectural Commander, Lou Fu. Jing Wuzhu saw it and sighed in admiration, saying, 'Yue'an disliked secular books, yet Meilu [Lou Fu] composed the inscription using entirely phrases from the Wonderful Sūtra; how could this not be secretly guided by an unseen force?' Those who received his Dharma included Chanyue, Liaobin, Dapeng, and Liaoyin, some six or seven people.

18.41

Practitioner Shanrong, styled Xingfu, was from the Zhou family of Xiaoxi in Siming. At first, he studied the teachings and contemplation under Yuetang. Having mastered their import, he entered the contemplation hall to cultivate prolonged repentance and read through the canon of scriptures. In gold calligraphy, he copied the five scriptures: the Lotus Sūtra, Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra, and Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, bestowing them across all quarters. He carved and created statues of Amitābha Buddha, presenting and bestowing them upon various assemblies. He was always skilled in ink wash painting and painted images of the Mahāsattva [Avalokiteśvara] to give to others, which were beyond count. He also transmitted rituals of sound and chanting to people; the scriptures and dhāraṇīs currently used in the city and surrounding shrines all follow the master's standards. The signs of his rebirth at the time of his passing are recorded in the biography of Practitioner Xuan. His disciple Morong Haiyin was revered by both town and countryside for his lofty conduct. (This scroll contains sixty-two individuals; the Basic Annals records only six, omitting fifty-six.)

18.42

Comprehensive Record of the Buddhas and Patriarchs, Scroll 18 (End)

18.43

Dharma Master Zongxiao, styled Daxian, gave himself the appellation Shizhi. He was a son of the Wang family of Siming. At eighteen, he received full ordination. First, he studied under Master Qiang of Ju'an; subsequently, he visited Master Hong of Yun'an, deeply harmonizing with contemplation of principle, whereupon he was granted half the lecture seat. Soon afterward, he presided over Cuiluo in Changguo, and scholars hastened thither. Two years later, he retired to Xishan to make a daily recitation of the Wonderful Sūtra. It happened that Minister Qi hung a plaque on his dwelling reading 'Tranquil and Quiet', and Vice Grand Councilor Lou of Gongkui praised him in verse. He traveled again to various monasteries in Western Zhejiang, and the Vice Grand Councilor spoke a gāthā to see him off on his journey. After three years, he returned; Lord Wang, the Vice Prefectural Administrator, together with his younger brother, the Examiner, appointed him to preside over Shenxiu. After a long time, he declined and took the post of first seat at Yanqing. In the leisure after lecturing, he compiled the Records of the Manifest Responses of the Lotus Sūtra, Categorized Writings on the Land of Bliss, Records of Teaching and Practice, Eulogies on the Arising of the Three Teachings, Praises of the Patriarchs, Collection for Revitalizing the Patriarchs, Elucidation of the Suvarṇaprabhāsa, and Comprehensive Overview of the Distribution of Food. He also compiled the Records of Filial Piety in Confucianism and Buddhism, Records of Sagacious Ministers Upholding Buddhism, and Compilation for Clarifying the Teaching. He annotated essential doctrines, wrote the Lotus Sūtra in his own blood, and copied the Avataṃsaka, Ratnakūṭa, Prajñāpāramitā, and Nirvāṇa sūtras in ink. He also copied the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters with the Imperial Commentary of Emperor Zhenzong for Layman Zhang Zongyi of Zhonglin. He dug a charitable well at Lieshe south of the city called the Lotus Spring to provide drink to travelers, built a pavilion above it, and distributed hot water and tea regardless of whether visitors were monastics or laypeople. He built several rooms of cottages, newly founding a guest house, and obtained the old plaque 'Changle' bestowed by Duke Wei Wenjie. Duke Zhang of Zhonglin painted holy images, built a scriptural revolving repository, cast a bell, erected a bell tower, and expanded the land holdings, making it completely renewed and magnificent; he also drafted an oath to admonish all disciples never to forget the intention behind its establishment. He propagated the teachings and contemplation for over forty years, becoming even more reclusive in his later years. On the twentieth day of the eighth month in the jiaxu year of the Jiading era, he showed illness; demanding paper, he wrote a gāthā: 'The pure is originally unmoving; / The six faculties and four great elements fly in tumult. / Sweep away the clouds, mist, fog, and dew: / A single disk of the autumn moon shines bright.' He was cremated to the south of the monastery; his teeth were indestructible and his relics were exceedingly numerous. When Xunqi of the Revenue Bureau saw this, he composed a text in praise. His stūpa was placed at the Six Superlative Grounds of the Upper Monastery. His monastic age was forty-seven, and his worldly age was sixty-four.

Linked texts (1)

佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese