佛祖歷代通載 9.5

9.5

（三　癸未）　武帝詔曰。大士寶誌迹拘塵垢神游冥寂。水火不能燋濡。蛇虎不能侵懼。語其佛理則聲聞以上。談其隱淪則遁仙高者。豈可以俗法常情空相疑忌。自今中外任便宣化。帝一日問誌曰。弟子煩惑未除。何以治之。答曰。十二。帝問。其旨云何。答曰。在書字時節刻漏中。帝益不曉。他日更問國祚有留難否誌指其頸示之。帝曰。朕享國幾何。答曰。元嘉。元嘉。帝喜以為倍宋文之年。時革命之初帝臨政刻急。誌假帝神力。令見先君受極苦於地下。由是䘏刑。甞詔畫工張僧繇寒誌像。僧繇下筆輒不自定。既而以指釐面門分披。出十二面觀音。妙相殊麗或慈或威。僧繇竟不能寫。他日與帝臨江縱望。有物泝流而上。誌以杖引之。隨杖而至。乃紫旃檀也。即以屬供奉官俞紹雕誌像。頃刻而成。神采如生。帝悅以安內庭時法雲雲光二師俱有重望。每講法天輒雨華。帝疑其證聖。夜於便殿焚疏請誌偕光雲三大士齋。翌日誌獨赴。而光雲俱未知。帝由是益異其禮。又甞與帝登鍾山之定林寺。指前獨龍岡阜曰。此為陰宅則永其後。帝曰。誰當得之。曰先行者得之。至十三年。大士示寂。帝憶其言。以金二十萬易其地。建浮圖五級其上。鎮以無價寶珠。勅王筠勒碑。葬日車駕親臨致奠大士忽現於雲間。萬眾歡呼聲震山谷。自是道俗奉祀。奇瑞顯應為天下萬一。凡大士所為祕讖偈句多著南史。為學者述大乘贊十篇科誦十四篇并十二時歌。皆暢道幽致。其旨與宗門冥合。今盛傳于世。

(3. Guiwei) Emperor Wu issued an edict stating: "The Great Being Baozhi keeps his traces confined to dust and defilement, while his spirit roams in profound quietude. Water and fire cannot burn or wet him; snakes and tigers cannot attack or terrify him. If one speaks of his Buddhist principles, they are above the Śrāvaka; if one discusses his reclusion, he is exalted among hidden immortals. How could common ways and ordinary sentiments fruitlessly doubt and suspect him? From now on, let him freely proclaim and convert throughout the court and country." One day the Emperor asked Zhi, "Your disciple's afflictions and confusions have not yet been eliminated. How should they be remedied?" Zhi replied, "Twelve." The Emperor asked, "What does that mean?" Zhi replied, "In the writing of characters and the water clock of the hours and seasons." The Emperor understood even less. On another day, when the Emperor further asked whether there would be difficulties for the state's fortunes, Zhi pointed to his own neck to show him. The Emperor said, "How long shall I enjoy the realm?" Zhi replied, "Yuanjia, Yuanjia." The Emperor rejoiced, thinking it meant twice the years of Emperor Wen of Song. At that time, at the beginning of the dynastic change, the Emperor was harsh and severe in his administration. Zhi, using the Emperor's spiritual power, caused him to see his deceased father suffering extreme torment in the underworld. From then on, the Emperor showed leniency in punishments. He once commanded the painter Zhang Sengyou to paint Zhi's portrait. Whenever Sengyou set his brush to work, he could not fix it. Then Zhi drew his finger across his face, parting it, and revealed the Eleven-faced Avalokiteśvara, wondrously formed and extraordinarily splendid, at times compassionate, at times awe-inspiring. In the end, Sengyou was unable to paint it. On another day, while standing by the river with the Emperor gazing into the distance, there was an object floating upstream against the current. Zhi drew it in with his staff, and it followed the staff to shore; it was purple sandalwood. It was immediately given to the court artist Yu Shao to carve a statue of Zhi. It was finished in an instant, its spirit and appearance as though alive. The Emperor was pleased and installed it in the inner palace. At that time, both Master Fayun and Master Yunguāng had great renown; whenever they expounded the Dharma, flowers would rain down from heaven. The Emperor suspected they had attained sagehood. At night in an informal hall, he burned a memorial inviting the three Great Beings—Zhi, Guang, and Yun—to a vegetarian feast. The next day, Zhi arrived alone, while Guang and Yun were both completely unaware of it. Because of this, the Emperor treated him with even more exceptional reverence. Zhi also once climbed to Dinglin Temple on Mount Zhong with the Emperor, pointed to the knoll of Dulong Ridge in front, and said, "If this is made a tomb, your descendants will endure forever." The Emperor asked, "Who shall have it?" Zhi said, "The first to go shall have it." In the thirteenth year, the Great Being manifested his passing. The Emperor recalled his words, purchased the land for two hundred thousand pieces of gold, erected a five-tiered stūpa upon it, and secured it with a priceless jewel. He ordered Wang Yun to engrave a stele. On the day of the burial, the imperial carriage personally attended to offer libations; suddenly the Great Being appeared amidst the clouds, and the shouts of joy from the ten-thousand-strong crowd shook the mountains and valleys. From then on, monastics and laypeople made offerings to him; his miraculous signs and manifest responses were one in ten thousand under heaven. All the cryptic prophetic verses composed by the Great Being are largely recorded in the History of the Southern Dynasties. For students he composed the 'Ten Hymns on the Mahāyāna', 'Fourteen Sections of Chanted Verses', and the 'Song of the Twelve Hours'. All of them elucidate the profound principles of the Way, and their purport secretly accords with the Chan school. They are widely circulated in the world today.