佛祖統紀 26.14

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.