佛祖歷代通載 14.46

14.46

（三十一　辛巳）　南嶽雲峯律師法證示寂。師族郭氏。色厲而仁。行峻而周。道廣而不尤。功高而不有。毅然居山之北峯。以為儀表。世之所謂賢人大臣者。至南方咸用嚴事。由其內者。聞大師之言律儀。莫不震動悼懼如聽誓命。由其外者。聞大師之稱道要。莫不悽欷忻踴如獲肆宥。故時推人師則專其首。詔求教宗則冠其位。凡度學者五萬人。壽七十有八。僧臘五十七。河東柳子厚銘其塔。復為之碑曰。乾元元年某月日。皇帝曰。予欲俾慈仁怡愈洽于生人。惟浮圖道允迪。乃命五嶽求厥元德以儀于下。惟茲嶽上于尚書。其首曰。雲峯大師法證。凡蒞事五十年。貞元十七年乃沒。其徒曰詮。曰遠。曰振。曰巽。曰素。凡三千餘人。其長老咸來言曰。吾師軌行峻特器宇弘大。有來受律者。吾師示以尊嚴整齊。明列義類。而人知其所不為。有來求道者。吾師示以高廣通達一其空有。而人知其所必至。元臣碩老稽首受教。髫童毀齒踴躍執役。故從吾師之命而度者凡五萬人。吾師冬不燠裘飢不豐食。每歲會其類讀群經。俾聖言必出。有以見其大。又率其伍伐木輦土。作佛塔廟洎經典。俾像法益廣。有以見其用。將沒告門人曰。吾自始學至去世。未嘗有作焉。然後知其動無不虛靜無不為。生而知未始來。沒而知未始往也。其道備矣。願刻山石知教之所以大。其詞曰。師之教尊嚴有耀。恭夫子之詔。維大中以告後學是効。師之德簡峻淵默柔惠以直。渙焉而不積。同焉而皆得。茲道惟則。師之功勤勞以庸。維奧祕必通。以興祠宮。遐邇攸從。師之族由號而郭。世德有奕。從佛於釋。師之壽七十有八。惟終始罔闕。丕冐遺烈。厥徒蒸蒸。惟大教是膺。惟憲言是懲。愽愽恢弘。如川之增。如雲之興。如嶽之不崩。終古其承之。

(31. Xinsi [801 CE]) Vinaya Master Fazheng of Yunfeng on Nanyue passed away. The master's clan was the Guo family. In countenance he was stern yet kind; in conduct he was rigorous yet encompassing. His Way was broad without blameworthiness; his merit was great without self-assertion. Resolute, he resided on the mountain's North Peak, serving as a model and exemplar. When those whom the world calls worthy men and great ministers arrived in the south, they all served him with reverence. Those who followed him from within, on hearing the Grand Master's words on the vinaya rules of deportment, were all shaken with awe and trepidation as if hearing a solemn vow. Those who approached him from without, on hearing the Grand Master praise the essentials of the Way, were all moved to tears and leapt for joy as if receiving an amnesty. Thus, when people of that era singled out a teacher of men, he was placed at the very head; when an imperial decree sought a doctrinal patriarch, he was placed at the paramount rank. In all, he ordained fifty thousand students. His lifespan was seventy-eight, and his monastic age was fifty-seven. Liu Zihou of Hedong composed the inscription for his funerary stūpa, and further made a stele for him, which read: "In a certain month and day of the first year of Qianyuan, the Emperor said: 'I wish to extend benevolence and gentle healing broadly among the living people. Only the path of the Buddha faithfully advances this.' Thereupon he ordered the Five Sacred Peaks to seek out supreme virtue to be an exemplar for the world below. From this peak, a memorial was submitted to the Department of State Affairs, and the foremost name was Grand Master Fazheng of Yunfeng. In all, he presided over affairs for fifty years, passing away in the seventeenth year of Zhenyuan. His disciples—including Quan, Yuan, Zhen, Xun, and Su—numbered more than three thousand. Their elders all came and spoke, saying: 'Our teacher's practice was loftily distinct, his character vast and great. When people came to receive the vinaya, our teacher instructed them with solemnity and order, lucidly setting forth the principles and categories so that people knew what not to do. When people came seeking the Way, our teacher showed them lofty, broad, and penetrating insight, unifying emptiness and existence so that people knew where they must reach. Prime ministers and eminent elders bowed their heads to receive his teaching; young boys with shedding teeth eagerly bustled to perform service. Thus, those who took ordination following our teacher's mandate numbered fifty thousand in all. Our teacher wore no warm furs in winter and partook of no opulent feasts when hungry. Each year he gathered his fellows to chant the scriptures, ensuring that the holy words would ring forth—wherein one saw his greatness. He also led his retinue to fell timber and haul earth, constructing Buddhist stūpas, temples, and scriptures, so that the image-law might spread ever wider—wherein one saw his function. When about to pass away, he told his disciples: "From when I first studied until leaving the world, I have never engaged in intentional contrivance." Only then did they know that in his activity nothing was not empty, and in his stillness nothing was not accomplished. Living, he knew he had never begun to come; dying, he knew he had never begun to go. His Way was complete.' They wished to carve the mountain stone so that the greatness of the teaching might be known. Its verse said: / 'The Master's teaching was majestic and radiant; / Respecting the Master's mandate, / He proclaimed the great mean / For later students to emulate. / The Master's virtue was simple, rigorous, deep, and silent, / Gentle, kind, and upright; / Dispersing without accumulation, / Impartially attained by all— / This Way was indeed the norm! / The Master's work was diligent and effective; / Penetrating all that was profound and secret, / To raise up temple sanctuaries, / Followed from far and near. / The Master's clan sprang from a titled lineage to Guo; / Its ancestral virtues were splendid. / He followed the Buddha among the Śākyas. / The Master's lifespan was seventy-eight; / Flawless from start to finish, / He mightily continued the legacy of glorious deeds. / His disciples, flourishing and fervent, / Took upon themselves the Great Teaching, / Using his disciplinary words to restrain themselves; / Expansive and grand, / Like rivers swelling, / Like clouds arising, / Like a sacred peak never crumbling— / They will carry it on for all ages to come!'"