佛祖歷代通載 19.50

19.50

（三十二　己丑）　東都法雲大通禪師善本示寂。生董氏。漢仲舒之後也。其先家太康仲舒村。太父琪父溫皆官于頴。遂為頴人。初母無子。禱于佛前。誓曰。得子必以事佛。即蔬食乃娠。生而骨相秀異。方晬而孤。母育於叔祖玠之家。既長博學操履清修。母亡哀毀過禮。無仕官意辟穀學道隱於筆工。然氣剛不屈沈默白眼公卿。嘉祐八年與弟善思俱至京。籍名顯聖地藏院試所習為大僧。其師圓成律師惠楫者。謂人曰。本他日當有海內名。乃生我法中乎。使聽習毘尼隨喜雜華。夜夢見童子。如世所畫善財。合掌導而南。既覺曰。諸佛菩薩加被我矣。其欲我南詢諸友乎。時圓照道振吳中。本逕造姑胥謁瑞光圓照。坐定特顧之。本默契宗旨服勤五年。盡得其整頓提撕之綱研練差別之智。縱橫舒卷度越前規。一時輩流無出其右。圓照倚之以大其家。以季父事圓通秀公。秀住廬山棲賢。出入臥內。如寂子之於東寺焉。出世婺之雙林。遷杭之淨慈。繼圓照之後。食堂千餘口。仰給於檀施供養。莊嚴之盛。游者疑在諸天。時號大小本也。哲宗聞其名。詔住上都法雲。賜號大通。又繼圓通之後。玉立孤峻儼臨清眾。如萬山環天柱讓其高寒。然精粗與眾共。未甞以言徇物以色假人。王公貴人施日填門。住八年。請於朝願歸老於西湖之上。詔可。遂東還庵龍山。崇德杜門。却掃與世相忘又十年。天下願見而不可得。臨眾三十年。未甞笑及閒居時抵掌笑。或問其故。曰不莊敬何以率眾。吾昔為叢林故強行之。非性實然也。所至見畫佛菩薩行立之像。不敢坐。伊蒲塞饌似魚胾名者不食。其真誠敬事防心離過。類如此。大觀三年十二月甲子。屈三指謂左右曰。止有三日而已。果沒。有異禽翔鳴于庭而去。塔全身于上方。閱世七十有五。坐四十有五夏。

(32. Ji-chou [1109]) Chan Master Shanben Datong of Fayun in the Eastern Capital manifested his passing into cessation. He was born into the Dong family, descendants of Han Dynasty Dong Zhongshu. His ancestors were from Zhongshu Village in Taikang. His grandfather Qi and his father Wen both served as officials in Ying, so they became people of Ying. At first, his mother had no sons and prayed before the Buddha, vowing, "If I obtain a son, I will certainly have him serve the Buddha." Thereupon she ate a vegetarian diet and became pregnant. When he was born, his bone structure was refined and extraordinary. He was orphaned when just one year old. His mother raised him in the home of his granduncle Jie. When he grew up, he was widely learned, and his conduct was pure. When his mother died, his grief and emaciation exceeded the rites. Having no intention of official service, he practiced inedia, studied the Way, and hid himself as a brushmaker. Yet his spirit was firm and unyielding; he remained silent and looked down upon the high officials. In the eighth year of Jiayou, he went to the capital together with his younger brother Shansi. They registered at the Xiansheng Dizang Cloister and were tested on their studies to become fully ordained monks. His preceptor, Vinaya Master Huiji of Yuancheng, said to people, "Ben will one day have nationwide renown; how could he have been born into my teaching?" He had him listen to and study the Vinaya and rejoice in the *Avataṃsaka*. In the night he dreamed of seeing a youth, just like the painted Sudhana seen in the world, joining his palms and guiding him south. Upon waking, he said, "The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have blessed me! Do they wish for me to inquire of various companions in the south?" At that time, Yuanzhao's Way shook the Wu region. Ben went straight to Guxu to pay homage to Yuanzhao of Ruiguang. As soon as he was seated, Yuanzhao looked upon him with special favor. Ben silently accorded with the ancestral principle and served him diligently for five years, completely mastering the principles of rectification and awakening as well as the discerning wisdom of distinctions. In movement and stillness, opening and folding, he surpassed earlier standards; among his contemporaries, none surpassed him. Yuanzhao relied on him to magnify his lineage. He served Venerable Xiu of Yuantong as a junior uncle. When Xiu resided at Qixian on Mount Lu, Ben came and went in his bedchamber, like Jizi in relation to Dongsi. He made his appearance in the world at Shuanglin in Wu, and moved to Jingci in Hangzhou, succeeding Yuanzhao. The refectory fed more than a thousand mouths, relying on alms and offerings for provision. The magnificence of the monastery was so splendid that visitors wondered if they were among the heavens. At that time they were called the Elder and Younger Ben. Emperor Zhezong heard of his fame and decreed that he reside at Fayun in the Supreme Capital, bestowing the title Datong. He also succeeded Yuantong. Standing solitary and steep like jade, he gravely presided over the pure assembly, as ten thousand mountains encircle the Heavenly Pillar, yielding to its loftiness and cold. Yet he shared both fine and coarse with the assembly; he never yielded to things with words nor flattered others with his countenance. Offerings from princes, dukes, and nobles filled his gate daily. After residing there for eight years, he petitioned the court wishing to retire in his old age beside the West Lake. An imperial decree granted it. He then returned east to hermitage on Mount Long. At Chongde, he shut his gate, swept away dust, and forgot the world for another ten years. Everyone under heaven wished to see him but could not. In presiding over assemblies for thirty years, he had never smiled, yet in his leisure he clapped his hands and laughed. When someone asked the reason, he said, "If one is not grave and reverent, how can one lead the assembly? Formerly, for the sake of the monastery, I forced myself to do so; it was not my actual nature." Wherever he went, if he saw a painted image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva walking or standing, he dared not sit. If an upāsaka meal had a name resembling fish or meat, he would not eat it. His sincere and reverent service and his guarding of the mind against faults were all like this. On the jiazi day of the twelfth month in the third year of Daguan, he bent three fingers and said to his attendants, "There are only three days left." He indeed passed away. A wondrous bird soared and cried in the courtyard and then flew off. His whole body was stupaed at Shangfang. He passed seventy-five years in the world and sat forty-five retreats.