佛祖歷代通載 18.58

18.58

（二十四　戊辰）　四明延慶法智卒。後於元豐三年冬。其法孫繼忠狀其行。請文於宋清獻公趙抃撰行業碑。其略曰。師名知禮。字約言。金姓。世為明州人。梵相奇偉性恬而器閎。初父母禱佛求息。夢神僧携一童遺曰。此佛子羅睺羅也。既生以名焉毀齒出家。十五落髮受具。二十從本郡寶雲通師。傳天台教觀。始三日。首座謂曰。法界次第若當奉持。禮曰。何謂法界。座曰。大總相法門圓融無礙者是也。曰既圓融無碍。何得有次第耶。座無語。幾一月自講心經。人皆屬聽而驚。謂教法之有賴矣。居三年代通講。銷義益闡所學。出住承天繼遷延慶。道法大熾學徒如林。日本國師遺徒持二十問來詢法要。禮答之咸臻其妙真宗久聞師名。遣中使至寺。命修懺法。厚有賜予。歲大旱。師焉遵式等修光明為禱。而雨大洽。所製指要妙宗二鈔觀音品別行金光明諸記大悲懺儀。行于世。翰林學士楊億駙馬李遵勗。薦以紫衣師號。後於歲旦結光明懺。七日為順寂之期至五日趺坐而逝。實天聖六年正月五日也。享壽六十有九。僧夏五十有四（云云）。

(24. Wuchen) Fazhi of Yanqing in Siming died. Later, in the winter of the third year of Yuanfeng, his Dharma grandson Jizhong compiled an account of his conduct and requested an inscription from Zhao Bian, Duke Qingxian of Song, who composed the stele of his conduct and lineage. In brief, it said: The Master's name was Zhili, styled Yueyan, of the Jin family, their lineage being natives of Mingzhou for generations. His monastic visage was extraordinary; his nature was tranquil and his capacity broad. Initially, his parents prayed to the Buddha for an heir, dreaming that a divine monk brought a child and presented him, saying, "This is the Buddha's son, Rāhula." When born, he was named after him. At the age when children lose their milk teeth, he went forth from home; at fifteen, his hair was shorn and he received the full precepts. At twenty, he followed Master Tong of Baoyun in his home commandery to receive the Tiantai teachings and contemplation. After merely three days, the head seat said to him, "You ought to uphold the Gradual Sequence of the Dharmadhātu." Li said, "What is meant by 'dharmadhātu'?" The head seat said, "It is the Dharma gate of the great general characteristic, perfectly integrated and unimpeded." Li said, "If it is already perfectly integrated and unimpeded, how can there be a gradual sequence?" The head seat had no words. After nearly a month, he lectured on the Heart Sūtra by himself; all who listened were astonished and said that the doctrinal teachings now had someone to rely on. After three years, he lectured on behalf of Tong, explaining meanings and further expounding what he had studied. He left to reside at Chengtian and subsequently moved to Yanqing. The way of the Dharma flourished greatly, and his students were as numerous as a forest. A Japanese National Preceptor sent disciples bearing twenty questions to inquire about the essentials of the Dharma; Li answered them, all attaining subtlety. Emperor Zhenzong had long heard of the Master's reputation and dispatched an imperial envoy to the monastery, ordering him to cultivate repentance rituals and bestowing generous gifts upon him. In a year of great drought, the Master, Zunshi, and others cultivated the Golden Light Repentance to pray, and copious rain fell. The Essential Pointer and the Wonderful Lineage, his two subcommentaries, along with various records on the Chapter on Avalokiteśvara and on the Suvarṇaprabhāsa, and the Great Compassion Repentance Ritual that he composed, were circulated throughout the world. Hanlin Academician Yang Yi and Imperial Son-in-law Li Zunxu recommended that he receive a purple robe and a master's title. Later, on New Year's Day, he engaged in the Golden Light Repentance, setting seven days as the period for his peaceful passing; on the fifth day, he sat cross-legged and passed away. It was indeed the fifth day of the first month in the sixth year of Tiansheng. He enjoyed an age of sixty-nine, with fifty-four monastic summers (and so forth).