釋氏稽古略 2.182

2.182

At Fayun Monastery in Jiankang was Dharma Master Yunguang. Whenever he lectured on the sutras, heavenly flowers rained down like snowflakes. In the Hanguang Hall, the emperor burned incense and made a request for Yunguang and Master Zhi to lecture. The next day, at the vegetarian feast, Master Zhi arrived. The emperor decreed: "The Mahāsattva Baozhi's traces are confined by worldly defilements, yet his spirit roams the obscure and serene. Water and fire cannot scorch or drench him; snakes and tigers cannot intimidate or frighten him. Speaking of his Buddhist principles, he is above the voice-hearers (śrāvakas); discussing his reclusion, he ranks high among transcendent hermits. How could we, out of common worldly conventions and ordinary sentiments, vainly harbour doubts and jealousy? From now on, let him be free to preach and transform throughout the court and the provinces." (History of the Southern Dynasties and Shenggan zhuan).