佛祖統紀 6.19.1

6.19.1

The Fourth Patriarch, Great Master Tiantai Zhizhe, Zhiyi, courtesy name De'an, was surnamed Chen. His family had lived in Yingchuan for generations. During the Jin dynasty, they fled disorders and settled in Huarong of Jingzhou (present-day Gong'an County of Jiangling Prefecture). His father, Qizu, served as an attendant gentleman in ordinary attendance during the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Liang, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yiyang. His mother, Lady Xu, dreamed of incense smoke of five colors twirling around and entering her bosom. She also once dreamed of swallowing a white rat, whereupon she felt a heaviness in her body. A diviner said: 'The white rat is a dragon in transformation.' On the night of his miraculous birth (the wuwu year, the fourth year of the Datong era of Emperor Wu of the Liang), divine light illuminated the house. The neighbors saw it from afar and took it for a fire; upon arriving, they knew that a son was born. All were amazed. Relatives from near and far were overjoyed and wished to set out tripods and platters for a celebration feast, but the fire extinguished and the soup grew cold, so that the affair could not be accomplished. At dawn, two monks knocked at the door and said: 'This boy is the repository of virtue; he will surely leave the household.' Having spoken, they vanished. The Master had eyebrows of eight colors (the Annals of Emperors and Kings records: 'Yao was born after fourteen months, and his eyebrows had eight colors') and eyes with double pupils (the Hanshu's appraisal of Xiang Yu states: 'Shun had double pupils'; [the characters] tong and tong are the same), bearing the auspicious signs of ancient emperors. His parents always hid and protected him, not letting others see him. While swaddled in infant blankets, whenever he lay down he joined his palms, and whenever he sat he always faced west. At the age of seven, he delighted in going to monasteries. Receiving oral instruction from a monk on the 'Universal Gateway' Chapter, he was able to recite it after a single hearing. At the age of seventeen, he met with the fall of Jiangling under Emperor Yuan (Emperor Yuan was originally enfeoffed as the Prince of Xiangdong, the seventh son of Emperor Wu. When Emperor Jianwen was harmed by Hou Jing, the Prince thereupon ascended the throne. He made Jiangling his capital for three years, and in the ninth month it was sacked by Western Wei. Calculating by historical calendars, he should have been seventeen years old. The Separate Biography's statement of fifteen is mistaken). His relatives were dispersed and displaced. Before the Buddha image at Changsha [Monastery], the Master vowed to become a śramaṇa (During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Jin, a five-colored light appeared north of the city of Jiangling. The śramaṇa Tanyi found the golden body and radiant marks of a Buddha at that spot, bearing an inscription in Brāhmī characters that read: 'Fashioned by King Aśoka.' He then welcomed it and enshrined it at Changsha Monastery; this is what is now called the Changsha Buddha image. The monastery is north of the city of Jiangling; the old view that it was in Changsha of Tānzhōu is mistaken. The Record of the Divine Resonance of Devas and Humans states: 'Changsha Monastery is on the north bank of Jingzhou,' which agrees with this statement). At night, he dreamed that an auspicious image extended a golden hand through the window and stroked his crown three times. From this, he deeply loathed the prison of the household life and longed to leave the home. His parents loved him dearly and did not grant him permission. He then carved sandalwood to produce images, and opened the canon to seek out sūtras. While bowing to the Buddha, he felt dazed as if in a dream, and saw a tall mountain overlooking the sea. On the mountain peak, a monk raised his hand to beckon him. In an instant, the monk extended his arm down to the foot of the mountain and received him into a monastery, where he saw the images he had carved. Weeping with sorrow, he stated his own vow: 'I pray to master the Dharma of the Buddhas of the three periods, and to preach it without impediment before thousands of treatise masters, so as to repay the four debts of kindness.' The monk again pointed to the images and told him: 'You shall dwell here, and you shall end your days here.' In that year, his parents passed away one after the other (According to the Jingzhou Stele: When the Master wished to travel about, his mother said: 'How will delicious foods be provided for your parents?' The Master aroused a compassionate mind and pointed to their thatch, which turned into rice, and water, which turned into oil. Even today, the Thatch-Ear Village and the Oil River still retain their names. According to this, the two accounts differ; this must have occurred previously when he sought to leave the household and his parents had not yet permitted him. It is now appended here). At the age of eighteen, he took leave of his elder brother and sought to depart (the first year of the Shaotai era of Emperor Jing of the Liang; the elder brother was Chen Zhen, the adjutant of central weapons). At that time, Wang Lin held Xiang (Hengzhou), and he went to follow him. Because of his past acquaintance with Marquis Chen, Lin provided him with Dharma implements. He left the household under his maternal uncle Faxu at Guoyuan Monastery in his native commandery (the Fuxing says: 'He went to his uncle at Guoyuan Monastery to leave the household'). At twenty, he proceeded to receive the full precepts (the second year of the Taiping era of the Liang; in the ninth month of this year, the throne was abdicated to Emperor Wu of the Chen). Initially, he studied the Vinaya under Huikuang and also mastered the Vaipulya teachings. He then proceeded to Mount Daxian (in the southern region of Hengzhou) to recite the Lotus, the Immeasurable Meanings, and the Samantabhadra Contemplation. Traversing two periods of seven days, he completely memorized the three texts and advanced to practice the Vaipulya [penance]. Excellent signs appeared before him: he saw the bodhimaṇḍa vast and adorned, while various sūtras and images were scattered about in disarray (this symbolizes the disorder among the various divisions of texts). His body was situated upon a high seat, his feet stepping on a corded chair; with his mouth he recited the Lotus, and with his hands he straightened the sūtras and images (this symbolizes using the purports of the Lotus to distinguish the pure from the mixed, bringing them to unity in orthodoxy). Having already mastered the Vinaya Piṭaka and constantly delighting in the joy of dhyāna, he felt dissatisfied with Xiangdong (Hengzhou), finding no one worthy of inquiry. In the first year of the Tianjia era of Emperor Wen of the Chen (the Fuxing's reading of Qianming is mistaken; he was twenty-three years old at the time), when Dhyāna Master Si was dwelling on Mount Dasu in Guangzhou, he went straight to prostrate to him. Master Si said: 'In the past on Vulture Peak we listened to the Lotus together. Chased by past conditions, you have come again now!' He immediately showed him the Samantabhadra bodhimaṇḍa and expounded the four peaceful and joyful practices for him (Nanyue composed the Meaning of the Peaceful and Joyful Practices, but its manuscript had long been lost. Xingjiao of Siming traveled about and reached Nanyue, where he obtained it from an ancient repository. He returned and showed it to Yuanbian; later, Beifeng and Xiaoshizhi were the first to carve the printing blocks and circulate it in the world). From dusk to dawn, he painstakingly investigated the mind as instructed. He cut cypress to replace incense; when the cypress was exhausted, he followed it with chestnut. He rolled up the bamboo screen to let in the moon; when the moon sank, he burned pine torches. After two periods of seven days, while reciting the sūtra, he reached the passage: 'This is true vigor; this is called the true Dharma offering to the Tathāgata.' His body and mind opened up clearly and entered into quiescent samādhi. Dhāraṇī arose from tranquility (The Miaole says: 'The samādhi and the dhāraṇī of the perfect gate are identical in essence and different in name: samādhi pertains to concentration, and dhāraṇī pertains to wisdom. Tranquility is concentration, namely, the preliminary expedients of the Lotus. Dhāraṇī is the emptiness-holding, the initial revolving dhāraṇī'). He illuminated the Lotus Sūtra as the bright noon sun shines down into a secluded valley (the sun at midday), and he penetrated the characteristics of all dharmas as a long wind roams across the great void. When he was about to report his realization to his master, Nanyue further unfolded and expounded it for him. All that had been awakened in his own mind and received in inquiry from his master advanced over four nights with an efficacy surpassing a hundred years. Nanyue sighed: 'Were it not for you, it would not have been realized; were it not for me, it could not have been recognized. The samādhi you have entered is the preliminary expedient of the Lotus Samādhi; the dhāraṇī you have brought forth is the initial revolving dhāraṇī (Entering the stages of the abodes is true cultivation; the ten faiths are the expedients. The word "preliminary" here refers precisely to the five grades of practice. The initial revolving dhāraṇī revolves provisionality into emptiness; the dhāraṇī of hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis revolves emptiness into provisionality; the expedient dhāraṇī of Dharma sounds is...)'