佛祖歷代通載 19.8

19.8

（五）　法師惠辯。字訥翁。華亭傅氏。號海月。受業普照。初遊學天竺明智一見奇之。即盡心學教觀。智將老。命居第一座。以代講。後八年明智。韶公俾繼主席。翰林沈遘治杭任威。見者多惶懼失據。辯從容如平生。遘異之。任以都僧正。東坡時為通守。作序以贈之曰。錢唐佛僧之盛。蓋甲天下。道德才智之士與妄庸巧偽之人。雜處其間。號為難齊。故僧正副之外。別補都僧正一員。簿書案牒奔走將迎之勞。專責副正以下。而都師總領要略。實以解行表眾而已。師既莅職。凡管內寺院虛席者。即涓日會諸剎及座下英俊。開問義科場。設棘圍糊名考校。十問五中者為中選。不及三者為降等。然後隨院等差以次補名。由是諸山仰之。咸以為則。講授二十五年。學者當及千人。晚年倦于勤。歸隱草堂。熙寧六年七月十七日。旦起盥濯。告眾就別。合掌跏趺而化。初辨遺言。須東坡至方闔龕。四日坡至。見跏趺如生。其頂尚溫。坡盡敬而去。

(5) Dharma Master Huibian, courtesy name Ne'ong, of the Fu clan of Huating, was styled Haiyue. He studied under Puzhao. When he first traveled to study at Tianzhu, Mingzhi was amazed by him at first sight, and he immediately devoted his mind to studying the doctrinal teachings and contemplation. When Zhi grew old, he ordered him to take the first seat to lecture on his behalf. Eight years later, Mingzhi and Master Shao had him succeed to the abbot's seat. Shen Gou, Hanlin Academician, governed Hangzhou relying on sheer awe and sternness; those who saw him mostly panicked and lost their composure, but Bian was relaxed and self-possessed as always. Gou marveled at him and appointed him Metropolitan Buddhist Controller (Du sengzheng). At that time, Dongpo was the vice-prefect and composed a preface to present to him, saying: 'The flourishing of Buddhist monks in Qiantang is indeed the foremost under heaven. Men of virtue, talent, and wisdom dwell mingled with the foolish, mediocre, cunning, and deceitful, and it is known to be difficult to bring order among them. Therefore, beyond the rector and vice-rector, an additional Metropolitan Controller has been appointed. The labor of running about, receiving and seeing off visitors, and handling registers and dossiers is placed solely upon the vice-controllers and below, while the Metropolitan Master exercises overall supervision of the essential matters, using understanding and practice to set an example for the assembly. Once the master took office, whenever a seat was vacant in the monasteries under his jurisdiction, he selected a date, gathered the prominent talents from all the monasteries and his own seat, and opened an examination ground for inquiring into doctrinal meanings. He set up thorn fences, sealed names, and tested them. Those who answered five out of ten questions correctly passed the selection; those with fewer than three correct were demoted. Then, according to the ranks of the monasteries, their names were filled in order. From this, all the mountains looked up to him and took him as their model.' He lectured for twenty-five years, and his students must have reached a thousand. In his late years, weary of strenuous labor, he retired to the Caotang [Hermitage]. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month of the sixth year of Xining, he rose at dawn, washed, announced his farewell to the assembly, joined his palms, and passed away while sitting cross-legged. At first, Bian had left word that the niche should only be closed once Dongpo arrived. On the fourth day, Dongpo arrived and saw him sitting cross-legged as if alive, the crown of his head still warm. Dongpo paid his deepest respects and departed.