佛祖統紀 26

English (machine translation) 26

Language: English

26.1

Compiled by the śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu in Siming during the Xianchun era of the Song.

26.2

Treatise on the Establishment of the Pure Land Teaching, the Twelfth: Part One.

26.3

The Seven Patriarchs of the Lotus Society:

First Patriarch: Dharma Master Bianjue Zhengjue Yuanwu of Mount Lu (Huiyuan; his teacher was Dharma Master Dao'an). Second Patriarch: Dharma Master Guangming of Chang'an (Shandao; said to be a transformation body of Amitābha). Third Patriarch: Dharma Master Pratyutpanna of Nanyue (Chengyuan). Fourth Patriarch: Dharma Master of the Five Assemblies of Chang'an (Fazhao; the later manifestation of Shandao; his teacher was Master Chengyuan). Fifth Patriarch: Dharma Master Taiyan of Xinding (Shaokang). Sixth Patriarch: Dharma Master Zhijue of Yongming (Yanshou). Seventh Patriarch: Dharma Master Yuanjing of Zhaoging (Shengchang).

26.5

(Dharma Master Shizhi Xiao of Siming selected those from different generations who jointly cultivated pure karma with lofty and flourishing merit, establishing them as the Seven Patriarchs. We now follow this, taking them as a model for the Pure Land teaching.)

26.6

Remaining an ordinary person replete with afflictions, one can nevertheless use the wisdom of the threefold contemplation to manifest the Buddha of original nature. As Master Siming said: "Because mind and object cannot be apprehended, defilement can be contemplated as purity. Because dependent origination is not obstructed, when thought is accomplished, the marks arise. Because [all] is merely form and merely mind, it manifests right where one is." This is the correct secret key to the samādhi of contemplating the Buddha; only those who understand the school and attain its meaning can practice it. As for reciting the auspicious name, gazing upon and venerating the honored countenance, reciting Mahāyāna scriptures, and holding fast to pure precepts, these are all proper causes of pure karma and auxiliary practices for correct contemplation. Furthermore, by merely practicing the ten wholesome deeds and being benevolent and compassionate, one can also accomplish the merits of dedication and adornment. Thus, whether concentrated or distracted, whether wise or foolish, not a single capacity is left out. Although ascending the dais entails differences between gold and silver, and entering the grades has upper and lower ranks, when it comes to proceeding toward the unproduced and ascending to non-retrogression, all are alike. In this distant final age, those who ascend to Sukhāvatī by relying on vows and practices, recorded as having attained rebirth since Mount Lu, number barely three hundred persons. If one considers those in distant regions and foreign lands who could not be known, how could they not be as numerous as the sands of the Ganges? From this we know that among those in this realm who study the Buddha Way, capacities are sparse and obstacles are heavy, so one rarely hears of success; yet solely through the method of mindfulness of the Buddha, regardless of whether monastic or lay, all are sufficient to obtain realization in a single lifetime. Truly believable is this! Thus is composed the Treatise on the Establishment of the Pure Land Teaching.

26.7

Dharma Master Huiyuan, surnamed Jia, was a native of Loufan in Yanmen. From his youth he was fond of learning; at the age of thirteen, he accompanied his maternal uncle, of the Linghu clan, to study in Xuchang and Luoyang. He comprehensively integrated the Six Classics and was especially proficient in the Laozi and Zhuangzi; senior scholars and elders all deferred to the profundity of his understanding. At twenty-one, wishing to cross the Yangzi to study under Fan Ning, he was blocked by the southern roads being cut off following the sudden death of Shi Hu, so his ambition went unfulfilled. At that time, the śramaṇa Shi Dao'an was founding monasteries in Changshan in the Taihang Mountains. Once Huiyuan met him, he showed complete reverence, taking Dao'an as his true teacher. When he first heard Master Dao'an lecture on the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, he experienced an abrupt awakening and sighed: 'The varied doctrines of the nine schools of thought are all mere chaff!' He then discarded his official hairpin together with his younger brother Huiqi, received ordination, and devoted himself to study, reflecting deeply and chanting day and night without interruption. Desiring to serve the monastery, the śramaṇa Tanyi (a northerner, not one of the members of the White Lotus Society on Mount Lu) frequently provided him with money for lamps and candles. Hearing of this, Master Dao'an remarked: 'The gentleman truly knows men.' Huiyuan's intellect was brilliant and extraordinary, his mind attuned to Principle. By twenty-four, he was exceptionally adept at lecturing and expounding. A visitor, having heard him explain the meaning of true reality, raised repeated objections, only becoming more perplexed; the Master then cited the words of Zhuangzi for comparison, whereupon the questioner's doubts dissolved. Dao'an consequently granted him permission not to abandon secular texts, and often sighed before the assembly: 'If the Way is to flow into the Eastern Realm, will it not rest on Huiyuan?' Later he accompanied Master Dao'an south to Xiangyang. When the Qin general Fu Pi launched an invasion, Dao'an divided his disciples to let each go where they would. As the elder monks faced parting, all received parting instruction and benefit, but the Master alone did not hear a word. Kneeling, he pleaded: 'Am I alone given no admonition? I fear I am not counted among human beings.' Master Dao'an said: 'With someone like you, what is there to worry about?' Huiyuan then went south with several dozen disciples to Jingzhou, staying at Shangming Temple. Recalling his old pact with his fellow disciple Huiyong to build dwellings on Mount Luofu, he reached Xunyang in the sixth year of Taiyuan (under Emperor Xiaowu of Jin). Seeing Mount Lu secluded and vast, ideal for settling the mind, he established a hermitage. Because it was far from water, he raised his staff, tapped the ground, and said: 'If this place can be dwelled in, let fresh water gush from the crumbling earth.' As soon as he finished speaking, a clear stream welled up. Later, Xunyang suffered a severe drought; the Master went beside the pool and read the Ocean Dragon King Sūtra (Sāgara-nāgarāja-paripṛcchā). Suddenly, a divine serpent emerged from the pool, and in a moment heavy rain fell, resulting in a bountiful autumn harvest. Hence it was named Longquan Hermitage (Dragon Spring Hermitage). Huiyong had earlier dwelt at Xilin on Mount Lu and wished to invite Huiyuan to stay together with him, but the Master's followers were becoming numerous. Yong then said to the regional inspector Huan Yi: 'The venerable Yuan is about to propagate the Way, but my humble dwelling is cramped and cannot accommodate him.' At that time, the Master dreamt that the mountain deity told him: 'This mountain is ample to shelter your spirit; please do not go elsewhere.' That night there were heavy rains and thunder; by dawn, the forested foothills were widely cleared, covered with white sand, and large timber like camphor and catalpa lay strewn over the ground, though none knew whence it came. Deeply moved with reverence, Huan Yi built a monastery for him, naming the hall 'Shenyun' (Divinely Transported). Because it stood east of Huiyong's quarters, it was called Donglin (Eastern Grove). This was the eleventh year of the Taiyuan era. This mountain has nine tiered ridges, soaring precipitously into the sky, and its dwelling enjoys the utmost beauty of woods and ravines: leaning against Furnace Peak, flanked by waterfalls, clear streams encircling the steps, and white clouds rising from the rafters. (The Lu Shan ji states: Master Kuang Yu, at the turn of Yin and Zhou, received the Way from an immortal and turned the cliff into a dwelling, which people called the Hermitage of the Immortals; hence it was named Mount Lu. The Xunyang ji states: The mountain is 3,360 zhang high and 250 li in circumference; it has nine tiers and nine branching rivers. The Junguo zhi states: Nine layers of craggy barriers enclose immortal traces.) Separately, he built meditation cells in the quietest, deepest recesses; whoever visited felt mental clarity and solemn awe. Hearing that the Buddha's shadow in India was an auspicious trace left when the Buddha formerly converted a poisonous dragon, the Master felt joyous reverence. Later, when the Vinaya Master Yaśas described its radiant features, Huiyuan backed against the mountain facing the stream and built a grotto shrine, applying pale colors to paint the likeness so that it appeared like mist. He also composed five inscriptions carved on stone. The Grand Protector of Jiangzhou, Meng Huaiyu; Vice Governor Wang Qiaozhi; Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhang Ye; Grand Protector of Jin'an, Yin Yin; Yellow Gate Attendant Mao Xiuzhi; Recorder Yin Wei; Adjutant Wang Muye; Filial and Incorrupt Nominee Fan Yuezhi; Recluse Zong Bing, and others all composed inscriptions and eulogies (see the Mount Lu Collection). Earlier, when Tao Kan of Xunyang was regional inspector of Guangzhou, a fisherman saw a divine light in the sea; casting his net, he obtained a golden image of Mañjuśrī, whose inscription said it was made by King Aśoka. Later, a merchant found a circular halo east of the sea and brought it to fit onto the statue, which joined as if perfectly matched. Kan sent it to Hanxi in Wuchang. The abbot, monk Sengzhen, once went to Xiakou; at night he dreamt the temple was on fire, but this image room was guarded by a spirit. He galloped back, and the temple was indeed burned, while the image room alone survived. When Kan was transferred to govern Jiangzhou, he went to welcome the image to take it with him, but on reaching the boat it sank into the water. The folk of Jing and Chu made a song about it: 'Tao relies only on martial prowess, while the image displays divine wonder. Flying among clouds, lodging in mud—how far away and unreachable! It may be brought by sincerity, but can hardly be summoned by force.' When the temple was completed, the Master went to the river to offer sincere prayers; the image suddenly floated up, whereupon it was received into the Shenyun Hall and a two-story pavilion was built to enshrine it. He then composed a eulogy on the auspicious image of Mañjuśrī. Huiyuan once stated that among the samādhis of the various teachings, although their names are many, mindfulness of the Buddha takes precedence as being high in efficacy and easy of progress. Soon, those who observed the discipline to still their minds, and pure laymen detached from dust, arrived unsummoned: Huiyong (who shared the same teacher Dao'an and lived at Xilin), Huiqi (Yuan's brother by the same mother), Daosheng and Tanshun (both disciples of Kumārajīva), Sengrui, Tanhang, Daobing, Tanxun, and Daojing (all disciples of Huiyuan), Buddhayasás (called Jueming in Chinese, from Jibin), Buddhabhadra (called Juexian in Chinese, from Kapilavastu), renowned scholars Liu Chengzhi (styled Yimin), Zhang Ye, Zhou Xuzhi, Zhang Quan, Zong Bing, Lei Cizong, and others. They formed a society for Buddha-mindfulness, known to the world as the Eighteen Sages. Furthermore, leading a congregation of 123 persons, they jointly cultivated the Pure Land practice, fashioned images of the Three Sages of the West, established vegetarian feasts, and swore vows, commissioning Liu Yimin to compose the text of the vow, while Wang Qiaozhi and others composed poems on the Buddha-mindfulness Samādhi to express their aspiration. The Master's appearance was solemn and awe-inspiring; those who gazed upon him trembled in heart. Once, a śramaṇa holding a ruyi scepter came to present it, but dared not speak, quietly leaving it in a corner of the seat before departing. Dharma Master Huiyi was unyielding and seldom impressed; he said to Huiyuan's disciple Huibao: 'You gentlemen are shallow, which is why you submit to Master Yuan's reputation from afar.' Once he went to the mountain just as the Master was lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra; intending to raise difficult questions, he immediately trembled inside and broke into sweat, remarking to Huibao: 'This master's speech and demeanor are truly worthy of reverent submission.' When Yin Zhongkan was governor of Jingzhou, he entered the mountain to pay respects; accompanied by the Master beside the northern ravine beneath the pines, they conversed on the Book of Changes all day without fatigue. Zhongkan sighed: 'The Master's wisdom and insight are profound and bright; it is truly difficult to approach him.' The Master also said: 'Your eloquence is like this flowing spring.' (Later people named the place Congming Spring, 'Spring of Intelligence'.) Minister over the Masses Wang Mi and Army Protector Wang Mo both admired his virtuous character and sent homage from afar (Wang Mi exchanged letters with him). When Lu Xun held Jiangzhou, he entered the mountain to visit the Master. In his youth, the Master had been a fellow student with Xun's father, Xia; on seeing Xun, he cheerfully spoke of old times. His disciples remonstrated: 'Xun is an enemy of the state; will this not cause suspicion?' The Master replied: 'In our Buddha-Dharma, the mind has no grasping or rejection; those with discernment will perceive this of themselves. What is there to fear?' When Emperor Wu of Song advanced to subdue Lu Xun, Xun set up camp at Sangwei. The emperor's attendants said: 'Master Yuan has long held high standing on Mount Lu and is on close terms with Lu Xun.' Emperor Wu of Song said: 'Master Yuan is a man beyond this world; how could he be suspected?' He then dispatched a messenger with a letter and gifts of money and silk. A practitioner came to attend on the Master who was skilled at expelling snakes, and the snakes completely disappeared; thus he was called the Snake-Expelling Practitioner. There was also a tiger that came and went, its tracks often seen, but it never harmed anyone; people called it the Mountain-Roaming Tiger. Whenever the Master and his community strolled to rest on the upper peak, they were troubled by its distance from water; later, a tiger knelt at a boulder and water sprang forth from it, which was consequently named Hupao Spring (Tiger Crouching Spring). On another peak, he composed a commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, hence named Zhibi Peak (Pen-Casting Peak). Initially, when the Great Teaching spread east of the Yangzi, sūtra texts were incomplete, meditation methods unheard of, and the Vinaya Piṭaka largely lacking. The Master sent his disciples Fajing, Faling, and others across the Congling Mountains; after many years they returned, having obtained Sanskrit texts. Formerly, when Master Dao'an was in Guanzhong, he had requested Dharmānandi to produce the Abhidharmahṛdaya, but as the translator was not proficient in Chinese, many doubts remained. Later, when Saṃghadeva arrived, Huiyuan requested him to retranslate it as well as the Tridharmakakhaṇḍa-śāstra; from this, the two treatises flourished, and the Master composed prefaces to impart them to learners. Hearing that Kumārajīva had entered Guanzhong, he sent a letter to establish ties. Kumārajīva replied: 'Having received your letter via transmission, I have learned of your virtuous manner. The sūtra says: 'In the latter age, there is a bodhisattva protecting the Dharma in the East.' How admirable! O benevolent one, propagate this Way well.' When Dharmaruci entered Qin, the Master sent his disciple Tanyong to request him to produce the Sarvāstivāda-vinaya in Guanzhong to circulate it in the Jin state. Monks from the Western regions all said that the land of Han had a Mahāyāna great being, and they frequently bowed eastwards and sent their devotion to Mount Lu. When Buddhabhadra arrived, the Master requested him to translate various sūtras on meditation and doctrinal enumeration. Thereupon, sūtras on meditation and precepts emerged from Mount Lu amounting to nearly a hundred fascicles. Previously, this land had no teaching on the permanence of nirvāṇa, speaking only of longevity. The Master said: 'The Buddha is the ultimate; being the ultimate, he undergoes no change. Can the principle of changelessness have an end?' He then composed the Treatise on Dharma-Nature in fourteen chapters. When Kumārajīva saw it, he praised it: 'Though in a distant land without having seen the sūtras, his understanding darkly harmonizes with Principle.' The Qin ruler, admiring Huiyuan's reputation and having recently translated the Da zhidu lun (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa), sent a letter asking for a preface. Deeming its text extensive and verbose, the Master extracted its essentials into twenty fascicles and composed a preface for it (Kumārajīva's translation of the Treatise was originally one hundred fascicles). When Huan Xuan went to campaign against Yin Zhongkan, he invited the Master to come out across Tiger Creek, but Huiyuan pleaded illness and did not go. When Xuan was about to enter the mountain, his attendants said: 'Formerly Yin Zhongkan paid homage to Huiyuan; we request that you not humble yourself.' Xuan said: 'Zhongkan was a dead man.' Yet upon seeing the Master, Xuan unwittingly bent his knees, and the difficult questions he had harbored he dared not utter. When Xuan mentioned his military campaigns, the Master did not answer. Later, wielding his power that intimidated the ruler, Xuan urged him to accept official post, but the Master replied with righteous words, so Xuan could not force him. Soon Xuan wished to purge the monastic community, issuing an order to his subordinates: 'Only those śramaṇas capable of explaining the scriptures and maintaining disciplined practice may be entrusted with promoting the great transformation; all who violate this shall be defrocked. Mount Lu alone, as the dwelling of virtue, is excluded from scrutiny.' The Master thereupon sent a letter comprehensively laying down regulatory codes, all of which Xuan accepted. Earlier, when Yu Bing governed, he held that śramaṇas ought to pay homage to the ruler, while He Chong submitted a memorial stating they should not. When Huan Xuan resided in Gushu, he revived Bing's argument. The Master sent a reply saying: 'The kāṣāya is not court attire; the alms-bowl is not a vessel for imperial halls. Those of appearance beyond the dust should not pay homage to a ruler.' He then authored the Treatise on Śramaṇas Not Paying Homage to Rulers in five sections: First, clarifying that householders possess natural familial affection and the ritual duty of serving a sovereign. Second, clarifying that home-leavers transform custom to attain the Way in pursuit of their aspiration; how could they share the same rituals of homage with worldly codes? Third, clarifying that seeking the ultimate goal does not conform to mundane transformation: the ultimate goal means unalterable nirvāṇa, taking the cessation of changes as one's abode (nirvāṇa is translated as non-arising and non-ceasing). Not conforming to transformation means that physical birth can be extinguished and the spirit can merge into quietude; merging the spirit and transcending objects is called nirvāṇa, not following along with the ceaseless, flowing realms of birth and change. This is why they do not serve kings and lords, holding their enterprise noble; how could they offer ritual homage? Fourth, clarifying that those who embody the ultimate do not respond simultaneously to all realms: successive sovereigns, as masters who embody the ultimate, only manage worldly matters within the realm, but cannot govern affairs beyond it; hence it is said they do not respond to both simultaneously. The way of Heaven and Earth exhausts its merit in rotation and transformation; the virtue of rulers reaches its ultimate in smooth order. Compared to the peerless teaching and unaltering principle, the difference in superiority is clear. As for the Way of the Tathāgata, there is nothing to which it does not respond. Fifth, clarifying that when form is exhausted, the spirit is not extinguished: just as fire transfers from one piece of firewood to another, so does the spirit transfer from one form to another. Fire transferring to different firewood is like the spirit transferring to different bodies; arising and dying, coming and going without end. Only those who awaken return to the origin, while those confused by principle chase after things. Shortly thereafter, Xuan usurped the throne and issued a decree: 'The Buddha-Dharma is vast and profound, beyond my comprehension. Formerly, emphasizing loyalty to the ruler, I ordered homage to be paid. Now that affairs rest with me, I ought to exhibit modesty and radiance; let none of the monks pay homage any longer.' When Huan Xuan fled west, Emperor An returned to the capital from Jiangling. General Supporting the State He Wuji urged the Master to go and welcome the emperor, but the Master pleaded illness and did not go. The emperor sent an envoy with comforting greetings; the Master submitted a memorial declining on account of illness, and the emperor issued an imperial decree in consoling reply. The Master once lectured on the Mourning Dress Sūtra (likely the Xiaoji, Daji, Sishi, and other chapters of the Book of Rites); Lei Cizong and Zong Bing held the texts and received his instructions. Later, when Cizong authored a commentary, he entitled it at the head with 'Master Lei'. Zong Bing sent him a letter rebuking him: 'Formerly you and I received oral instruction directly from the Buddhist master; how can you now call it Master Lei's?' (Lu Deming's Maoshi Yinyi states: 'Zhou Xuzhi and Lei Cizong both received the meaning of the Odes from Master Huiyuan', which is of this sort.) The monk Huiyao, troubled by the lack of a clepsydra in the mountain, floated a twelve-petaled lotus upon the water; turning with the ripples, it determined day and night to set intervals for walking the Way, which was called the Lotus Clepsydra. The monk Sengche was skilled in literature; once he went south of the mountain, climbed a pine tree, and whistled, whereupon a gentle breeze gathered and birds sang dolefully, giving him a transcendent sense of contentment. Returning, he asked the Master: 'The Vinaya forbids musical strings and dance; can one hum and smile?' The Master said: 'Whatever distracts the mind is unwholesome.' Che agreed and ceased. The Master lived in the mountain for thirty years, his footsteps never entering secular society; he applied himself diligently only to Buddha-mindfulness for the Pure Land. In the first eleven years, clearing his mind and focusing his thoughts, he three times beheld holy visions, but kept them quietly to himself. Later, on the last evening of the seventh month in the nineteenth year, having just arisen from meditation in the eastern shrine of the Prajñā Platform, he saw the body of Amitābha Buddha filling empty space; within the circular halo were various transformation Buddhas, with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta flanking him on either side. He also saw light-bearing streams of water dividing into fourteen currents flowing up and down, expounding the sounds of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. The Buddha spoke to him, saying: 'By the power of my fundamental vow, I have come to comfort you; seven days hence, you shall be born in my land.' He also saw Buddhayasás, Huiqi (who had passed away earlier in the eighth year of Yixi), Huiyong (who had passed away earlier in the tenth year of Yixi), and Liu Yimin (who had passed away earlier in the sixth year of Yixi) beside the Buddha; they stepped forward, bowed to the Master, and said: 'Master, your vow was made earlier; why do you arrive so late?' The Master told Fajing and Huibao: 'In the first eleven years of my dwelling here, I saw the Buddha's form three times. Now seeing it again, my rebirth in the Pure Land is certain.' He also said: 'The seven-day term is approaching.' Falling ill, he composed a final admonition: 'Formerly, at the age of knowing my destiny (fifty), I committed myself to this mountain. Judging that my time must come to an end, I wished to sever external ties to pursue my aspiration. Yet because my nature was weak in severing bonds, companions drew me along and worthy contemporaries showed excessive affection; emotions were stirred by kind, and unawares my body decayed with time. Now I am already eighty-three years old. Looking up, I remember the instructions from which I have departed; looking down, I lament my self-reproach, having vainly let this life pass, grieving deeply for past faults. Now that the time has arrived, let my bones be exposed beneath the pine forest, the ridge itself serving as my grave, blending with earth and trees; this was the ritual of ancients, so do not disobey. If the spiritual principle is not obscured, may my sincerity reach it; the Great Compassionate World-Honored One will surely assist me with the Way.' The disciples wailed as if mourning their parents. Because worldly sentiment is hard to sever, the Master permitted seven days to express grief, passing away only when the time arrived: the sixth day of the eighth month in the twelfth year of Yixi. Disciples, unable to bear leaving his body exposed, joined with Grand Protector Ruan Kan of Xunyang to bury his whole body on the Western Ridge, heaping stones to make a stūpa. Xie Lingyun erected a stele inscribing his bequeathed virtue; Zhang Ye wrote the preface, calling himself a disciple; and Zong Bing also erected a stele at the temple gate to display his virtuous deeds. When the Master was near his end, elders requested that fermented bean wine be used to treat his illness; the Master said: 'The Vinaya contains no permissive text.' They asked him to drink rice water; the Master said: 'The sun has passed noon.' They then asked him to drink honey mixed with water; he ordered them to unroll the Vinaya to find a passage, but before the scroll was half-read, he passed away. His prefaces, inscriptions, eulogies, poems, and records on various sūtras and treatises totaled ten fascicles, called the Mount Lu Collection (printed on woodblocks in Yue Prefecture). From Fotudeng, Master Dao'an, Master Yuan, Tanshun, to Sengrui, five generations were revered as National Preceptors. In the second year of Dazhong under Xuanzong of the Tang, he was posthumously granted the title 'Great Master Bianjue'; in the third year of Shengyuan, he was posthumously granted 'Zhengjue' (the reign era of the First Ruler Li of the Southern Tang, which corresponds to the fourth year of Tianfu under Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin); in the third year of Taiping Xingguo under Emperor Taizong of the Great Song, he was posthumously granted the title 'Great Master Yuanwu' and his stūpa named 'Tower of Congealed Tranquility'.

26.8

Dharma Master Shandao: it is not known where he was from. During the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, he saw Chan Master Daochuo of Xihe holding a nine-grade bodhimaṇḍa, expounding and reciting the Visualization Sūtra. Overjoyed, he said, 'This is truly the crucial ford for entering Buddhahood. Cultivating other practices is circuitous, obstructed, and hard to complete; only this gate of contemplation swiftly transcends birth and death.' Thereupon, with diligent devotion, he engaged in ascetic practice, bowing and reciting day and night. He then went to the capital, inspiring and rousing the four assemblies. Whenever he entered his chamber, he would kneel on both knees to recite the Buddha's name, not stopping until his strength was exhausted; even in freezing winter, he would inevitably sweat profusely. When he emerged, he would expound the Pure Land Dharma-gate for others. For more than thirty years, he never lay down to sleep even for a moment. He practiced the pratyutpanna-samādhi circumambulations and the Fangdeng repentance; he protected and maintained the precepts without the slightest breach. The fine food he was given he sent to the kitchen, sustaining himself on coarse and plain fare; curds and clarified butter never passed his lips. Whatever donations and offerings he received, he used to copy one hundred thousand rolls of the Amitābha Sūtra and paint three hundred walls of Pure Land transformations. Wherever he went, he repaired ruined monasteries and abandoned pagodas; he kept lamps burning continuously year in, year out. He never had others carry his three robes, water bottle, or alms-bowl. When walking, he did not join the crowd, lest worldly affairs be discussed. Countless were the monastics and laity in Chang'an who received the Pure Land Dharma-gate from him. Among those converted by him, some recited the Amitābha Sūtra from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand times, and some made a daily practice of reciting the Buddha's name ten thousand to one hundred thousand times; some attained the Buddha-recitation samādhi, and those who attained rebirth in the Pure Land were beyond recording. Someone asked, 'Does reciting the Buddha's name indeed bring rebirth in the Pure Land?' The master replied, 'As you recite, so will your vow be fulfilled.' He then recited [the name] himself once, and a beam of light issued from his mouth; reciting ten to a hundred times, the lights were also like this. His verse of exhortation says: / 'Gradually the skin turns to chicken skin and hair turns crane-white; / Look and see how tottering the gait becomes. / Even if gold and jade fill the hall, / How can one escape debility, decay, old age, and sickness? / Though there be a thousand kinds of pleasure, / Impermanence will in the end arrive. / There is only the shortcut of cultivation: / Merely recite Amitābha Buddha!' / Later, he suddenly said to people, 'This body is loathsome; I am going to return to the West.' He then climbed a willow tree, faced the west, and made this vow: 'May the Buddha receive me and the bodhisattvas assist me, so that I do not lose right mindfulness and obtain rebirth in Anyang!' Having spoken, he cast himself down and ended his life. When Emperor Gaozong learned that light had issued from his mouth as he recited the Buddha's name and of the utmost sincerity with which he gave up his life, he bestowed upon his monastery the name Guangming (Radiance).

26.9

The Ciyun jingtu lüezhuan (Brief Biographies of the Pure Land by Ciyun) states: He was an emanation of Amitābha Buddha. When he arrived in Chang'an and heard the sound of the Chan River, he said, 'People can be taught to recite the Buddha's name.' In three years, the entire city of Chang'an was reciting the Buddha's name. Later there was Dharma Master Fazhao, who was indeed the Upādhyāya Shandao.

26.10

Dharma Master Chengyuan: he first studied under Venerable Tang in Chengdu, and when he reached Jingzhou, he advanced his studies under Venerable Zhen of Yuquan. Venerable Zhen conferred Mount Heng upon the master, making him a leader of the teachings; those who followed and were transformed by him numbered in the tens of thousands. He had a disciple named Fazhao, who initially lived on Mount Lu. Entering the stage of right determination, he went to the Land of Peace and Bliss, where he saw someone in tattered clothes attending upon the Buddha. The Buddha said, 'This is Chengyuan of Mount Heng.' When he came out [of samādhi], he sought him out and found him to be an exact match; he then followed and studied under him, propagating the teachings throughout the realm. During the reign of Emperor Daizong, when Fazhao was National Preceptor, he spoke of his teacher's extraordinary virtue. The Son of Heaven faced south and bowed toward him; deeming that his Way could not be summoned, he named his dwelling the Pratyutpanna Bodhimaṇḍa in order to honor his status. The master originally lived beneath the crags southwest of the mountain. If people gave him food, he ate; if not, he ate earth and mud and grazed on grass and trees. The way he obtained clothing was similar. From the distant ends of the Southern Seas to Youdu in the north, people came to seek his Way. Some met him in the ravines: emaciated, with a grime-stained face, personally carrying firewood, looking like a servant; they treated him disrespectfully, only to discover he was the master. Whenever he converted people, he established them in the Middle Way and instructed them, using expedient means to allow them to arrive swiftly; thus he taught exclusive mindfulness. He inscribed it on streets and alleys, carved it in valleys and streams, writing grand exhortations to guide and assist those below. Without his seeking, the Way was complete; without his speaking, things were accomplished. People all carried cloth and silk, felled timber and quarried stone, and left them at his rock cave; he neither refused nor solicited them. Once the temple buildings were complete, by the reign of Emperor Dezong, an imperial edict was issued in commendation, establishing it as Mituo Monastery (Amitābha Monastery). On the nineteenth day of the seventh month in the eighteenth year of the Zhenyuan era, he passed away at the monastery at the age of ninety-one. Liu Zongyuan composed a stele inscription for him, which was carved at the monastery gate.

26.11

National Preceptor Fazhao: In the second year of the Dali era of the Tang dynasty, he resided at Yunfeng Monastery in Hengzhou; his compassion, forbearance, discipline, and concentration were revered in his time. He once saw in his eating bowl in the saṅgha hall five-colored clouds, within which was an Indian monastery; in the northeast, there was a mountain stream and a stone gate, and there was another monastery with its title inscribed in gold: 'Great Holy Bamboo Grove Monastery.' On another day, he again saw in his bowl several monasteries amid the clouds, with ponds, terraces, and multi-storied pavilions, among which ten thousand bodhisattvas were mingled. The master questioned spiritual friends about what he had seen. Two monks, Jiayan and Tanrui, said, 'The transformations of holy spirits cannot be fathomed by sentiment; but judging by the configuration of the mountains and streams, it is none other than Mount Wutai.' In the fourth year, at Hudong Monastery in the prefecture, the master initiated the Five-Assembly Buddha-Recitation (this must mean that five days made one assembly). This elicited an auspicious cloud that covered everything, with pavilions in the clouds; he beheld Amitābha Buddha and two bodhisattvas filling the empty space, and several Indian monks holding锡-staffs (khakkharas) circumambulating the path. He also saw an old man who said to him, 'You previously made a vow to go to the Golden Realm and pay homage to the Great Sangha; why have you now stopped?' The master thereupon went with like-minded companions far off to Mount Wutai. He saw light south of the monastery, and following it, arrived at Foguang Monastery, just as he had seen in his bowl. Five li to the northeast, there was indeed a great mountain; the mountain had a ravine, and beside the stone gate north of the ravine were two youths dressed in blue, one calling himself Shancai (Sudhana) and the other Nanda. They led the master into the gate; walking north, he saw golden gates and multi-storied pavilions, with a golden plaque inscribed: 'Great Holy Bamboo Grove Monastery.' The monastery was twenty li square with one hundred courtyards, all having golden ground, jeweled pagodas, flowered terraces, and jade trees. Entering the lecture hall, he saw Mañjuśrī in the west and Samantabhadra in the east, seated on lion thrones preaching the Dharma to the assembly, surrounded by tens of thousands of bodhisattvas. The master bowed before the two bodhisattvas and asked, 'For ordinary beings of the end-age, I do not know which Dharma-gate they should cultivate?' Mañjuśrī told him, 'Among all gates of practice, none surpasses reciting the Buddha's name. The power of Amitābha Buddha's vow is inconceivable; you should fasten your thoughts on it and decisively attain rebirth.' Then both Great Beings stretched out their golden arms and rubbed his crown, giving him this prediction: 'By the power of reciting the Buddha's name, you will ultimately realize unexcelled awakening.' Mañjuśrī further said, 'You may go to the courtyards of the various bodhisattvas to make a pilgrimage and receive instructions.' The master made requests for instruction everywhere until he reached the Seven-Treasure Garden; he then returned before the Great Holy Ones, bowed, and took his leave. The two blue-clad youths escorted him outside the gate; when the master bowed again and raised his head, everything had vanished. Later, he went with fifty monks to the Diamond Cave, which was where Wuzhuo (Asaṅga) saw the Great Holy One; suddenly he saw many-jeweled palaces, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, ten thousand bodhisattvas, and Buddhapāli. Just as the master bowed and raised his head, it vanished. At night at Huayan Courtyard, he saw five branch-like lamps in the crags and ravines east of the monastery. The master said, 'May it divide into a hundred lamps!' Soon it was as he wished. He said again, 'May it divide into a thousand lamps!' and the number was also like this, its light filling the mountains and valleys. He went forward again to the Diamond Cave, and at midnight he saw Buddhapāli lead him into a monastery. Later, again at Huayan Courtyard, he recalled that the two Great Beings had predicted his rebirth, so he recited the Buddha's name single-mindedly. Suddenly he saw Buddhapāli, who said to him, 'Your flower terrace has already been born; in three years the flower will bloom. You have seen the various monasteries of the Bamboo Grove; why do you not let all living beings know of them?' The master therefore ordered craftsmen to engrave the stone to make a depiction, and founded Bamboo Grove Monastery at the place of his vision. When it was finished, he said to the assembly, 'My task is ended.' A few days later, he took leave of the assembly and passed away while sitting. Calculating from Buddhapāli's words, it was indeed three years (this should be the seventh year of the Dali era). The master propagated the Five Assemblies in Bingzhou, converting people to recite the Buddha's name. In his palace at Chang'an, Emperor Daizong frequently heard the sound of Buddha-recitation to the northeast; he dispatched an envoy to trace it to Taiyuan, where he found the flourishing of the master's exhortations and conversions. He therefore welcomed him into the inner palace and had him teach the palace women to recite the Buddha's name, also using the Five Assemblies (Liu Zihou's collected works, in the South Mountain Stele, says: During the time of Emperor Daizong, Fazhao was the National Preceptor).

26.12

Dharma Master Shaokang was from the Zhou clan of Jinyun. His mother, née Luo, dreamed that she wandered on the peak of Dinghu, where a jade maiden handed her a blue lotus flower, saying, 'This flower is auspicious; you will give birth to a noble son.' When he was born, blue light filled the room, giving off the fragrance of lotuses. At seven years old, he had not yet spoken, and physiognomists were amazed by him. His mother took him to Lingshan Monastery, and pointing to the Buddha in the hall, said to him, 'Do you revere the Buddha, or not yet?' He replied, 'He is our Buddha Śākya; who would not revere him?' His parents revered his wondrousness even more, and thereupon let him leave household life. At the age of fifteen, he had memorized and mastered five texts, including the Lotus and Śūraṅgama sūtras. Soon he went to Jiaxiang in Kuaiji to thoroughly study the Vinaya division. Later he went to Longxing in Shangyuan to listen to various treatises of the Avataṃsaka and Yogācāra. In the beginning of the Zhenyuan era of the Tang dynasty, at Baima Monastery in Luoyang, he saw the texts in the hall emitting light. Reaching for them, they turned out to be Upādhyāya Shandao's Western Guidance Writings. The master said, 'If I have affinity with the Pure Land, let them emit light again.' Having spoken, the light flickered once more. The master said, 'An eon-stone may be worn away, but my vow will not change!' He then went to Upādhyāya Shandao's portrait hall at Guangming Monastery in Chang'an, where he made grand offerings. Suddenly he saw the memorial portrait rise into the air, and it said to him, 'Rely on my teaching to broadly convert sentient beings; when your merit is completed in the future, you will certainly be born in Anyang.' Hearing the Buddha's voice, the master felt as though he had attained realization. He then went south to Jiangling. On the road he met a monk who said, 'If you wish to convert people, you should go to Xinding' (this is present-day Yanzhou). Having spoken, he disappeared. Once the master entered the prefecture, no one recognized him. He then begged for coins and enticed small children, saying, 'Amitābha Buddha is your guide; recite the Buddha's name once and I will give you one coin.' The children, seeking coins, recited along with his voice. After more than a month, many children were reciting the Buddha's name in search of coins. The master then said, 'Those who can recite the Buddha's name ten times will be given one coin.' After a year like this, whether young or old, noble or lowly, everyone who saw the master called upon Amitābha Buddha; the sound of reciting the Buddha's name filled the roads. In the tenth year, he established a Pure Land bodhimaṇḍa on Mount Wulong, building a three-tiered terrace and gathering the assembly to circumambulate and practice. Whenever the master ascended the seat and chanted the Buddha's name in a loud voice, the assembly saw a Buddha issue from his mouth; if he chanted ten times in succession, they saw ten Buddhas. The master said, 'Those of you who see the Buddha will decisively attain rebirth.' At that time, among the several thousand people in the assembly, some did not see it; lamenting and reproaching themselves, they became even more vigorous. On the third day of the tenth month in the twenty-first year, he gave his final charge to the monastic community: 'You should give rise to a mind of joyful longing for the Pure Land, and give rise to a mind of loathing and renunciation toward Jambudvīpa. If you can see light at this time, you are truly my disciples.' He then emitted several beams of extraordinary light and passed away. The people of the prefecture built a pagoda for him at Taiyan. In the third year of the Qianyou era of the Later Han, National Preceptor Shao of Tiantai urged people to rebuild his pagoda. Later people mostly referred to the master as the Latter Shandao.

26.13

Dharma Master Yanshou, courtesy name Chongxuan, recited the Lotus Sūtra when his hair was still bound in tufts; he could read five columns at once, and finished it in sixty days. During the time of the Qian clan of Wuyue, he served as a tax commissioner. He used public funds to purchase fish and shrimp to release them. When the matter came to light, he was condemned to execution in the marketplace. The King of Wuyue sent someone to observe him, saying, 'If his countenance changes, behead him; if it does not change, release him.' When the time came, his countenance did not change, and his life was spared. He thereupon went to Chan Master Cuiyan of Siming to leave home. For clothing, he wore neither silk nor floss; for food, he took no multi-course meals. He then went to call upon State Preceptor Shao, who illuminated the essentials of mind for him, and once said to him, 'You have an affinity with Master Yuan. In the future, you will perform great Buddha-works. Alas, I will not live to see it!' At first he went to Master Zhizhe's Cliff on Mount Tiantai. For ninety days he practiced dhyāna, and birds nested in the folds of his robe. Later, at Guoqing Temple, he performed the Lotus Repentance. At night, he saw a spirit person holding a halberd enter. The Master rebuked him, saying, 'How dare you enter without leave?' [The spirit] replied, 'Only having long accumulated pure karma have I arrived here.' In the middle of the night, as he circumambulated the image, he saw a lotus flower in his hands before Samantabhadra. He thereupon went up to Zhizhe's Cliff and made two lots: one was 'A lifetime of dhyāna meditation'; the second was 'Reciting sūtras and performing the myriad good deeds to adorn the Pure Land.' Setting his mind in deep and focused prayer, he drew the lot for reciting sūtras and the myriad goods deeds—as many as seven times. Thereupon, with single-minded devotion, he cultivated pure karma. He shook his staff at Tianzhu Peak in Jinhua, reciting sūtras for three years. In meditative contemplation, he saw Avalokiteśvara pouring amṛta into his mouth, whereupon he acquired eloquence. He first expounded the Dharma at Xuedou. In the first year of the Jianlong era (the year the Taizu of our current dynasty received the abdication), King Zhongyi invited him to reside at Lingyin. In the second year, he moved to Yongming (now Jingci). He performed one hundred and eight daily practices, never setting them aside even for a moment. When students came to consult him, he pointed to the mind as the essential principle, taking awakening as the norm. At dusk, he would go to another peak to practice the path and recite the Buddha's name; bystanders heard the sounds of conch shells and heavenly music. King Zhongyi sighed and said, 'Since ancient times, among those who have sought the Western Direction, none has been so devoted and earnest as this!' He then built the Xiangyan Hall of the Western Direction for him to fulfill his aspiration. He resided at Yongming for fifteen years, with one thousand seven hundred disciples. He constantly conferred the Bodhisattva Precepts upon the assembly, taught them to give food to ghosts and spirits, and released living beings by day, dedicating all [merit] to the adornment of the Pure Land. People of the time called him an incarnation of Maitreya. On the twenty-sixth day of the second month of the eighth year of the Kaibao era, he arose in the morning, burned incense, took leave of the assembly, sat cross-legged, and transformed. He was bestowed the posthumous title 'Chan Master Zhijue'. The Master's teachings spread overseas; the King of Goryeo sent letters and offerings, observing the etiquette of a disciple. Because the three traditions of Tiantai, Xianshou, and Cien had mutual similarities and differences, the Master lodged those of his disciples who understood the Dharma, broadly perusing the ocean of doctrine and mutually interrogating difficult points. The Master weighed and balanced them using the scales of the Mind Tradition. Furthermore, he collected sixty works of Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises and the words of three hundred masters among the sages of both lands (India and China) to substantiate the tenet of consciousness-only, composing a work in one hundred scrolls titled the Zongjing [lu]. He also wrote the Wanshan tonggui ji (Treatise on the Common End of the Myriad Good Deeds), which points to the Pure Land and captures its essentials most profoundly. After the Master passed away, a stūpa was erected for him in the mountains. A monk came from Linchuan, saying, 'While ill, I entered the underworld. When I was released to return, I saw an image of a monk in a palace chamber. King Yama came in person to bow his head in reverence. I asked whose image this was, and the attendant official said: "It is Chan Master Shou of Hangzhou. Having heard that he has already been reborn in the highest grade of the Western Direction, the King reveres him and therefore pays homage to him here."' During the Chongning era, he was posthumously granted the posthumous title Chan Master Zongzhao. (See his main biography, the Longshu texts, and the Lin'an gazetteer).

26.14

Dharma Master Xingchang, courtesy name Zaowei, was of the Yan clan and a native of Qiantang. At the age of seven, he grew weary of the worldly life; at seventeen, he received full ordination. During the Chunhua era of the Song, he resided at Nanzhao. Admiring the spirit of Mount Lu, he planned to establish a Lotus Society. Because the West Lake was the foremost scenic place under Heaven, he delighted in fine reclusion. Because the Buddha of Immeasurable Life is the object of reverence for rebirth, he carved his image. Because the 'Chapter on Pure Conduct' of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra is the essential principle for attaining sagehood, he pricked his blood to write it out. Thereupon, he changed the name of the Lotus Society to the 'Pure Conduct Society'. The scholar-officials who joined the assembly all called themselves 'Disciples of the Pure Conduct Society', and Lord Wang Wenzheng served as the head of the society. For more than thirty years, the dukes, ministers, grandees, and governors of the time who joined this society numbered one hundred and twenty-three; such was his transforming influence. The monk comrades further numbered a great assembly of a thousand; from this one can see that West Lake's comparison to Mount Lu had nothing to be ashamed of. (Gushan composed the stele for the leader of the White Lotus Society to record this glorious achievement; Song Bai, Hanlin Academician Recipient of Edicts, composed the inscription for the Lotus Society; and the transport commissioner Sun He wrote a record for it.) On the twelfth day of the first month of the fourth year of the Tianxi era, he sat upright and recited the Buddha's name. After a short while, he called out in a loud voice, saying, 'The Buddha has arrived!' He then serenely transformed. The assembly saw the ground turn completely golden, which faded only after some time. His lifespan was sixty-two. His disciples enshrined his whole body in a stūpa beside the tomb of Chan Master Niaoke.

26.15

The Eighteen Worthies of the Lotus Society

26.16

Dharma Master Huiyuan of Donglin (disciple of Dharma Master An); Dharma Master Huiyong of Xilin (disciple of Dharma Master An); Dharma Master Huichi (younger brother of Master Yuan, disciple of Dharma Master An); Dharma Master Daosheng (disciple of Kumārajīva); Dharma Master Tanshun (disciple of Kumārajīva); Dharma Master Sengrui (the following five were all disciples of Master Yuan); Dharma Master Tanheng; Dharma Master Daobing; Dharma Master Tanxi; Dharma Master Daojing; Dharma Master Jueming (the Indian monk Buddhayaśas); Dharma Master Juexian (the Indian monk Buddhabhadra); Liu Chengzhi (the following six were all disciples of Master Yuan); Zhang Ye; Zhou Xuzhi; Zhang Quan; Zong Bing; Lei Cizong.

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Linked texts (1)

佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese