佛祖統紀 29.45

29.45

Dharma Master Daoxuan belonged to the Qian clan of Jingzhao. His mother dreamt of an Indian monk who told her: 'The child whom the benevolent one conceives is the Vinaya Master Sengyou of the Liang.' He remained in the womb for a full twelve months before being born. At the age of nine, he read extensively through all kinds of books. At twelve, he was skilled in literary composition. At fifteen, he took Master Yun of Riyan as his teacher. At sixteen, he recited the Lotus Sūtra, completing it thoroughly in twenty days. At seventeen, he shaved his head. At twenty, he received full ordination under Master Zhishou. His three robes were made solely of hemp cloth, and he constantly engaged in perpetual sitting and ate only one meal [a day]. In the fourth year of Wude, he returned to Master Shou to study the Vinaya. By nature fond of dhyāna, he aspired to cultivate correct samādhi. Yun said: 'Only when the precepts are pure and samādhi is radiant does wisdom find its basis. Having only just begun listening [to the Vinaya] and not yet proficient, how can you know upholding and violating?' In the seventh year, he moved to the Zhuma Hermitage on Mount Zhongnan. There he began compiling the Xingshi chao (Manual of Monastic Conduct). In the fourth year of Zhenguan, he practiced the Prajñā Samādhi at the Qinggong Shrine for ninety days. A dragon transformed into human form to pay homage and listen to the Dharma. A novice monk, seized by lustful desire, cast sidelong glances at the dragon's daughter. The dragon was enraged and wished to kill him, but mindful of the Master's instructions, its evil intent was abruptly stilled. Holding back its poison, it spat it into a well, telling the Master: 'Do not drink this water.' When they went to look at it, the well was bubbling and boiling. He also practiced this samādhi at Yunjisi twenty times in all. He constantly evoked the response of heavenly youths who attended to his needs. In the nineteenth year, he joined Master Xuanzang in translating scriptures at Hongfusi; as the scribe who recorded the text and polished its style, he was regarded as the foremost. In the first year of Yonghui, he returned to reside at Zhuma. Because of mental exhaustion, an illness arose; suddenly the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa bestowed upon him a formula for nourishing the heart (now in the Formulas of the Bureau of Public Health, there is the Heavenly King Heart-Nourishing Pill). He further addressed the Master, saying: 'The time corresponds to the Semblance and Final Dharma [Ages]. If one does not cultivate dhyāna and recitation but only erects saṃghārāmas, I fear this is not the proper occupation of a monk.' Later, while pacing the path deep at night in Ximingsi, his foot slipped on the front steps, and a holy being caught his foot. The Master asked, 'Who are you?' He replied: 'Nezha, son of the Heavenly King of the North. I have received an order to come and guard you.' The Master said: 'Prince, your majesty and power are unfettered. If there is something in Tianzhu that can perform Buddha-work, I pray you bring it.' The prince immediately presented him with the Buddha's tooth, which he held precious. The Master held it while pacing the path at night and hid it in a cave underground by day; only his disciple Wengang knew of it. The Master interacted with heavenly spirits, conversing about the spiritual sites of this land and the sacred traces of the Western Heavens, counting three thousand eight hundred matters, which he recorded as he inquired, making the Gantong zhuan (Account of Spiritual Resonance). Through the merit of his summer retreats, magic fungi grew in his courtyard; at his place of seclusion, white springs gushed forth with water. When he wielded the writing tablet to continue the biographies, eminent scholars paid sincere homage; when he heaped earth to build the ordination platform, Indian monks offered praise. Swift spirits brought strange flowers and wondrous fruits; non-humans offered amṛta and renowned incense. Matters like these cannot be recorded completely. In the spring of the second year of Qianfeng, a deva told the Master: 'The Master's karmic retribution is near its end; you shall be born into Maitreya's inner palace.' On the third day of the tenth month, the assembly saw banners and flowers arranged across the sky, extraordinary incense, and heavenly music; the devas called out in one voice, inviting the Master to return and pay homage to Maitreya. When the Emperor heard of it, he decreed that temples throughout the realm should paint his portrait and venerate him. Emperor Muzong composed a eulogy, saying: 'In every age there is an awakened person who serves as the Tathāgata's emissary; / Dragons and ghosts submit to him, and heavenly spirits serve him. / His voice flies across the Five Indias; his words astonish across ten thousand miles. / As the golden crow sets in the west, the Buddha-sun rises in the east. / I bow my head in refuge to the founding patriarch of the Vinaya School.' In the reign of Emperor Yizong, he was posthumously granted the title 'Chenzhao' (Clear Radiance). The Master composed: the Shanding seng jieben (Redacted Prātimokṣa for Monks, 1 roll, currently prevalent); Shanding biqiuni jieben (Redacted Prātimokṣa for Nuns, 1 roll); Zhu seng jieben (Annotated Prātimokṣa for Monks, 3 rolls); Jieshu (Commentary on the Precepts, 4 rolls); Zhu jiema jing (Annotated Karmavācanā Sūtra, 2 rolls); Jiema shu (Commentary on Karmavācanā, 4 rolls); Xingshi chao (Manual of Monastic Conduct, 3 rolls); Ni jieben (Prātimokṣa for Nuns, 1 roll); Biqiuni chao (Manual for Nuns, 3 rolls); Shi pini yichao (Extracted Manual of the Meaning of the Vinaya, 3 rolls); Wangwu qingzhong yi (Rites for the Hierarchy of Deceased Monks' Property); Zhangfu yi (Rites for Robes and Garments); Guiqing yi (Rites for Taking Refuge and Paying Homage); Zhenghang chanhui yi (Rites for the Correct Practice of Repentance); Xinxue jiaojie yi (Rites of Admonition for New Students) (1 roll each); Fahua yiyuan (Garden of the Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, 30 rolls, text lost); Shijia fangzhi (Regional Gazetteer of Śākyamuni, 2 rolls); Fodao lunheng (Treatise on the Evaluation of Buddhism and Daoism, 4 rolls); Xu gaoseng zhuan (Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks, 30 rolls); Houxu sengzhuan (Later Continued Biographies of Monks, 10 rolls); Guang hongming ji (Expanded Collection on the Propagation of Light, 30 rolls); Sanbao gantong ji (Record of the Resonance of the Three Treasures, 2 rolls); Tianren gantong zhuan (Account of Resonance with Devas and Men, 1 roll); and Da Tang neidian lu (Great Tang Record of Buddhist Scriptures, 10 rolls).