佛祖歷代通載 22.215

22.215

（三十一）　大都妙善寺比丘尼舍藍藍八哈石卒。師諱舍藍藍。高昌人。其地隷北庭。其地好佛。故為苾芻者多。太祖皇帝龍飛漠北。其王率所部以從。帝嘉其義。處之諸國君長之上。待以子壻之禮。海都之叛國人南徙。師始八歲。從其親至京師。入侍中宮真懿順聖皇后。愛其明敏恩顧尤厚。成宗之世。事皇太后於西宮。以侍從既久勤勞之多。詔禮帝師迦羅斯巴斡即兒為師。薙染為尼。服用之物皆取給於官。又胝宮官例繼以既廩。武宗繼統。仁宗以太弟監國。師朝夕於太后之側入而侍出而從。所言必聽。所諫必從。睠寵之隆。猶子姪焉。內而妃主外而王公。皆敬以師禮。稱曰八哈石。北人之稱八哈石。猶漢人之稱師也。仁宗之世。師以桑榆晚景。自謂出入宮掖數十餘年。凡歷四朝事三后。寵榮兼至。志願足矣。數請靜退居於宮外。求至道以酬罔極。太后弗聽。力辭弗已。詔居。妙善寺。以時入見。賜予之物不可勝紀。師以其物。剏寺於京師。曰妙善。又建寺於臺山。曰普明。各置佛經一藏。恒業有差。又以黃金繕寫番字藏經般若八千頌五護陀羅尼十餘部及漢字華嚴楞嚴畏元字法華金光明等經二部。又於西山重修龍泉寺。建層閣於蓮池。於吐蕃五大寺高昌國旃檀佛寺京師萬安等。皆貯鈔幣。以給然燈續明之費。又製僧伽黎文數百。施番漢諸國之僧。其書寫佛經。凡用金數萬兩。剏寺施捨所用幣數以萬計。其積而能散。施予不吝。期積福於來生。必至於佛地者。皆人所不能也。英宗之明。以其有靜退之高眷遇尤至。每稱之賢以為知幾。文宗即位今皇太后居中宮以皇妣魯國太長公主。愛重於師有兄弟之。義尤加敬焉。至順三年二月廿一日歿。年六十四。葬南城之陽。賜號真淨妙惠大師。

[31] The bhikṣuṇī Šilam-lam baqsi of Miaoshan Monastery in Dadu passed away. Her taboo name was Šilam-lam, and she was a native of Gaochang. That land was subject to Beiting; its people were fond of Buddhism, so many became bhikṣus. When Emperor Taizu arose like a dragon in the northern desert, their king led his tribe to submit to him. The Emperor praised his loyalty, placed him above the rulers of various nations, and treated him with the honors of a son-in-law. During Qaidu's rebellion, the people of the country migrated southward. When the master was only eight years old, she accompanied her parents to the capital and entered the inner palace to serve Empress Zhenyi Shunsheng. The Empress loved her brightness and granted her exceptionally generous favor. During the reign of Chengzong, she served the Grand Empress Dowager in the Western Palace. Because of her long-standing attendance and diligent service, an edict ordered her to take Imperial Preceptor Karaspa-odzer as her teacher, shave her head, and become a nun. Her clothing and daily necessities were all provided by the government, and following the regulations for palace officials, she was continuously granted stipends. When Wuzong succeeded to the throne, Renzong oversaw the state as the Crown Prince. The master was at the Empress Dowager's side morning and evening, waiting on her within and attending her without; whatever she spoke was heeded, and whatever she advised was followed. The depth of her favor was like that shown to a niece. Royal consorts and princesses within, and kings and dukes without, all honored her with the rites due to a teacher, calling her 'baqsi'—the northern people's calling someone 'baqsi' is like the Han people calling someone 'master.' During the reign of Renzong, the master, regarding her twilight years, considered that having entered and exited the palace for several decades, across four reigns and serving three empresses, and having attained both favor and glory, her wishes were fulfilled. She repeatedly requested permission to retire into seclusion outside the palace to seek the supreme Path and requite the boundless kindness shown to her. The Empress Dowager did not grant permission, but she declined persistently. An edict then permitted her to reside at Miaoshan Monastery and enter the palace for audiences at designated times, and the gifts bestowed upon her were beyond count. Using these goods, the master founded Miaoshan Monastery in the capital and Puming Monastery on Mount Wutai, furnishing each with a set of the Buddhist Tripiṭaka and permanent endowments. She also used gold to copy a Tibetan Tripiṭaka, the Eight-Thousand-Line Prajñāpāramitā, more than ten volumes of the Five Protective Dhāraṇīs, as well as two sets of Chinese scriptures, including the Avataṃsaka and Śūraṅgama, and Uighur script scriptures such as the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka and Suvarṇaprabhāsa. She also restored Longquan Monastery in the Western Hills, built a multi-storied pavilion at the lotus pond, and stored paper currency at the five great monasteries of Tibet, the Sandalwood Buddha Monastery of the Gaochang Kingdom, and Wan'an Monastery in the capital to fund the lighting and maintenance of lamps. She also made several hundred saṃghāṭī robes to distribute to monks of Tibetan and Han nations. For copying Buddhist scriptures, she used tens of thousands of ounces of gold in all; for founding monasteries and giving alms, the currency spent was counted in tens of thousands. To amass and yet be able to disperse, to give without begrudging, hoping to accumulate merit for future lives and assuredly attain the stage of buddhahood—all this was beyond what ordinary people could achieve. Emperor Yingzong in his wisdom, seeing her noble resolve to retire in quietude, favored her with even greater regard, always praising her as worthy and knowing the right moment. When Wenzong ascended the throne, the current Empress Dowager resided in the central palace; because her late mother, the Grand Princess of the State of Lu, had loved and esteemed the master with the affection of sisters, she honored the master with even greater respect. On the twenty-first day of the second month in the third year of the Zhizhi reign period, she passed away at the age of sixty-four. She was buried south of the southern city wall, and was granted the posthumous title Grand Master Zhenjing Miaohui.