佛祖歷代通載 15.17

15.17

（十三　壬辰）　永州司馬柳宗元。製南嶽彌陀和尚碑。其詞曰。在代宗時。有僧法照為國師。乃言。其師南嶽大長老有異德。天子南嚮而禮焉。度其道不可徵。乃名其居曰般舟道場。用尊其位。公始居山西南岩石之下。人遺之食則食。不遺則食土泥茹草木。其取衣類是。南極海裔此自幽都。來求厥道。或值之崖谷。羸形垢面躬負薪槱。以為僕役。而媟之乃公也。凡化人立中道而教之權。俾得以疾至。故示專念。書塗巷刻谿谷。丕勤誘掖以援于下。不求而道備。不言而物成。皆負布帛斬木石委之岩戶。不拒不營祠宇既具。以洎于德宗申詔褒立。是為彌陀寺。施之餘則施與餓疾者。不尸其功。公始學成都唐公。次資川詵公。詵公學於東山忍公。皆有道。至荊州進學玉泉真公。真公授公以衡山。俾為教魁。人從而化者以萬計。初法照居廬山。由正定趣安樂國。見蒙惡衣侍佛者。佛告曰。此衡山承遠也。出而求教肖焉。乃從而學。傳之天下由公之訓。公為僧凡五十六年。其壽九十一。貞元十八年七月十九日終于寺。葬于寺之南岡。刻石于寺大門之右。銘曰。一氣回薄范無窮。其上無初下無終。離而為合蔽為通。始末或異今焉同。虛無混冥道乃融。聖人無迹示教功。公之率眾峻以容。公之立誠放其中。服庇草木蔽穹窿。仰攀俯取食以充。形游無極交大雄。天子稽首師順風。四方奔趨雲之從。經始尋尺成靈宮。始自蜀道至臨洪。咨謀往復窮真宗。弟子傳教國師公。化流萬億代所崇。奉公寓形于南岡。幼曰弘願惟孝恭。立之茲石書玄蹤。

(13: Renchin [792 CE]) Liu Zongyuan, the Marshal of Yongzhou, composed a stele for Upādhyāya Mituo of Nanyue. The inscription reads: In the time of Emperor Daizong, there was the monk Fazhao who served as National Preceptor. He declared that his master, the Great Elder of Nanyue, possessed extraordinary virtue, and the Son of Heaven turned south and bowed in homage to him. Estimating that his Way could not be summoned, he named his dwelling the Pratyutpanna Bodhimanḍa to honor his station. The Master initially dwelt beneath the crags and boulders southwest of the mountain. If people gave him food, he ate; if not, he ate earth and mud and consumed grass and wood. The clothes he obtained were like this too. From the furthest south of the oceanic fringes to Youdu here, people came to seek his Way. Some encountered him in cliffs and valleys, emaciated in form and with dirt on his face, personally carrying firewood; thinking him a servant, they treated him lightly, yet it was the Master. In converting people, he established the Middle Way and taught them through expedient means so that they might arrive swiftly. Therefore, he demonstrated exclusive mindfulness, writing on paths and alleys and carving into valleys, exerting great diligence in guiding and leading to rescue those below. Without seeking, his Way was complete; without speaking, things were accomplished. All carried cloth and cut timber and stone, laying them at the threshold of his crag. Without refusing and without managing, the shrine halls were fully prepared, extending down to Emperor Dezong who issued an edict praising and establishing it; this is the Mituo Monastery. Surplus offerings were given to the hungry and sick, and he took no credit for his achievements. The Master first studied under Master Tang of Chengdu, next under Master Shen of Zichuan; Master Shen had studied under Master Ren of Dongshan, all of whom possessed the Way. Arriving in Jingzhou, he further studied under Master Zhen of Yuquan. Master Zhen conferred Mount Heng upon the Master, making him the foremost teacher. Those who followed and were transformed by him were numbered in the tens of thousands. Formerly, when Fazhao dwelt on Mount Lu, he proceeded from right samādhi to the Land of Peace and Joy, where he saw one in coarse clothing attending the Buddha. The Buddha told him, “This is Chengyuan of Mount Heng.” Emerging, he sought this teacher, found his likeness, and followed him to study. That his teaching spread throughout the realm was due to the Master's instruction. The Master was a monk for fifty-six years in all, and lived to the age of ninety-one. On the nineteenth day of the seventh month in the eighteenth year of Zhenyuan [802 CE], he passed away at the monastery. He was buried on the southern ridge of the monastery, and stone was carved to the right of the monastery’s main gate. The inscription reads: / The single breath swirls and bounds, boundless in pattern; / Above it has no beginning, below it has no end. / What was separated unites; what was obstructed becomes patent. / Beginnings and endings may differ, but now they are the same. / In vacuity and obscurity, the Way is merged. / The sage leaves no trace, yet demonstrates teaching and merit. / The Master’s leadership of the assembly was strict yet accommodating; / The Master’s establishment of sincerity was released in the center. / Garbed in the protection of grass and wood, sheltered beneath the vault of heaven, / Reaching up to gather and looking down to pick, finding sustenance to be full. / His physical form roamed the limitless, communing with the Great Hero; / The Son of Heaven bowed his head, his master following the wind of virtue. / From the four quarters people hurried like following clouds; / Begun from a mere foot and fathom, the spiritual palace was completed. / Originating on the Shu roads and reaching Linhong, / Inquiring and conferring back and forth, exhausting the true lineage. / The disciple who transmitted his teaching was the Lord National Preceptor; / Its transformative influence flowed to millions, revered through generations. / They bear the Master's lingering form upon the southern ridge; / The young call him Hongyuan, possessing only filial reverence. / Setting up this stone, they record his profound traces.