佛祖歷代通載 13.37

13.37

（二十六　庚辰）　長者李通玄唐宗子也。開元二十八年順世。長者以七年至太原盂縣。有高仙奴者。識其為大賢。舘之齋中。每旦唯服棗十顆柏葉餅如七大者一枚。終日濡毫臨紙。未嘗接人事。如是三稔。遷馬氏古佛堂側。築土室以居。盡日危坐而已。閱十年忽囊負經書而去。行二十里。偶一虎當途馴伏。玄撫之曰。吾將著論釋華嚴經。能為擇棲止處不。即以經囊負其背而隨之至神福山原下土龕之前蹲駐玄取其囊置龕中。虎即妥尾而去。其龕瑩潔廣六七肘。圓轉上下稱之。蓋天設以卑有道。非人力所為也。長者著論之夕。心窮玄奧口出白光。以代燈燭。于時忽有二女子。容華絕世皆可笄年。衣布衣俱以白巾幪首。日為長者汲泉炷香奉紙墨。每於卯辰之間。輒具淨饌置長者前。齋畢徹器則引去莫測所之。如是五載。至長者著論畢。遂滅迹不見。長者美髭髯朗眉目。丹唇紫肥。冠樺皮衣麻衣。長裙博袖散腰徒跣而行。放曠人天靡所拘執。嘗一日出山。遇里人高會燕樂。長者就語之曰。汝等好住。吾將歸矣。眾驚其去有送入山者。至龕而謝遣之。即於是夕煙雲凝布嵓谷震蕩。有二白鶴翔空哀唳。其餘飛走悲鳴滿山。翌日里人共往候之。則已端坐示寂于龕中。壽九十有五。華嚴論四十卷決疑論四卷。會釋二卷。十門玄義排科釋略及緣生解迷十明論各一卷。十玄六相普賢行願華嚴緣觀偈贊詩賦等。里人聚於方山逝多蘭若。大曆中沙門超廣始獲之。遂行于世。

(Twenty-sixth year, gengchen) The elder Li Tongxuan was a scion of the Tang imperial house. In the twenty-eighth year of Kaiyuan, he passed away. In the seventh year, the elder arrived in Yu County in Taiyuan. There was a man named Gao Xiannu who recognized that he was a great worthy and lodged him in his studio. Every morning he took only ten jujubes and one cypress-leaf cake the size of seven coins. All day long he dipped his brush and faced the paper, never engaging in human affairs. After three years like this, he moved to the side of the ancient Buddha hall of the Ma family, built an earthen hut to live in, and merely sat upright the whole day. Ten years having passed, he suddenly shouldered his bag of scriptures and departed. After walking twenty li, by chance a tiger lay tamely across his path. Tongxuan stroked it and said, 'I intend to compose a commentary elucidating the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. Can you choose a dwelling place for me?' He then placed the scripture bag on its back and followed it to the base of the plateau of Mount Shenfu, stopping in front of an earthen niche where the tiger crouched. Tongxuan took his bag and placed it in the niche, and the tiger dropped its tail and departed. The niche was pristine and clean, six or seven cubits wide, matching from top to bottom in circumference. It was indeed provided by Heaven for one who possessed the Way, not fashioned by human effort. On the evening when the elder composed his treatise, his mind penetrated the profound subtleties and white light issued from his mouth to serve in place of a lamp. At that time, there suddenly appeared two maidens of peerless beauty, both around the age of fifteen. Wearing cloth robes, both covered their heads with white cloths; daily they drew spring water, burned incense, and presented paper and ink for the elder. Every day between the hours of the hare and the dragon, they would prepare pure food and place it before the elder. When the meal was done, they cleared away the utensils and withdrew, no one knowing where they went. It was like this for five years, until the elder had finished composing the treatise, whereupon they vanished without a trace. The elder had a handsome beard and whiskers, bright eyes and clear brows, vermilion lips and a purplish plump complexion. He wore a birch-bark hat, hemp robes, a long skirt with broad sleeves, an untied waistband, and walked barefoot, carefree between humanity and heaven without attachments. One day he went out of the mountains and came upon the local villagers gathered for a great feast. The elder approached and spoke to them, saying, 'Fare you well; I am about to return.' Startled by his departure, some escorted him into the mountains; arriving at the niche, he thanked and dismissed them. On that very evening, clouds and mist coalesced, and the rocky valleys shook. Two white cranes soared in the sky with mournful cries, and all other birds and beasts filled the mountain with sorrowful calling. The next day, the villagers went together to check on him, and he had already manifested extinction while sitting upright in the niche, at the age of ninety-five. His works include the Huayan lun in forty fascicles, the Jueyi lun in four fascicles, the Huishi in two fascicles, one fascicle each of the Shimen xuanyi paikexi lüe and the Yuansheng jiemi shiming lun, as well as verses, eulogies, and poems on the Ten Mysteries, Six Characteristics, Samantabhadra's vows, and the Avataṃsaka contemplation on conditions. The villagers collected them at the Jeta Āraṇya of Fangshan. During the Dali era, the śramaṇa Chaoguang first obtained them, whereupon they circulated in the world.