佛祖歷代通載 9.13

9.13

（九　辛卯）　十年詔法師僧旻。入惠輪殿講勝鬘經。帝臨聽。公卿畢集。有旨於莊嚴寺建八座法輪。妙選奇傑番次主之。時以旻為第一。當講日聽者傾都。堂無容足。名士劉葉甞謂旻曰。法師佛學有餘。何故弘義多伸儒旨。旻曰。昔生公以頓悟通經。次公以毘曇發論。若貧道初不以儒釋限。但據文義所向耳。沙門道超者頻年力學。慕旻公之講。誓欲齊之。夜夢神告之曰。旻公毘婆尸佛時預宣法化。君新發意者何能類之。第自求成名。不必苟齊也。旻性謙冲不恃能矜物。一時公卿道俗咸推仰之。

(9. Xinmao) In the tenth year, an imperial edict summoned Dharma Master Sengmin to enter the Huilun Palace and lecture on the Śrīmālādevī-siṃhanāda-sūtra. The Emperor attended to listen, and the ministers and dukes all assembled. An imperial order directed that eight Dharma-wheel seats be established at Zhuangyan Temple, and exceptional talents were carefully selected to preside over them in turn. At that time, Sengmin was ranked foremost. On the days of his lectures, listeners poured in from all over the capital, so that the hall could not hold another foot. The renowned scholar Liu Xie once said to Sengmin, "Dharma Master, you have Buddhist learning to spare; why is it that in expounding the teachings you so often put forth Confucian principles?" Sengmin said, "In the past, Master Daochuang used sudden enlightenment to penetrate the scriptures, and Master Cicao used the Abhidharma to develop treatise-arguments. As for this poor monk, from the outset I have not drawn boundaries between Confucianism and Buddhism; I merely rely on wherever the meaning and principles lead." The śramaṇa Daochao had studied vigorously year after year, and, admiring the lectures of Master Sengmin, vowed to equal him. At night, a deity told him in a dream, "Master Sengmin already proclaimed the Dharma and transformed beings in the time of Vipaśyin Buddha. You are a beginner; how could you be compared to him? Simply seek your own renown, and do not insist on matching him." Sengmin was by nature modest and unassuming, never relying on his abilities or showing off to others. At that time, ministers, dukes, monastics, and laypeople all looked up to and revered him.