隋天台智者大師別傳 1.2.4

1.2.4

Together with everyone's contributions, a fishing weir was purchased to be made permanently into a pond for releasing living beings. At that time, the commandery governor Ji Xu invited him to expound the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra. In saving beings he was impartial, so the precious and hidden emerged from their lairs. Cultivating his body with benevolence, those who saw him rejoiced; cultivating his speech with benevolence, those who heard his voice gave rise to the aspiration [for awakening]. Skilfully and earnestly guiding them, he made them comprehend cause and effect. The fishermen throughout the entire territory reformed from evil and followed the good, loving life and renouncing killing. The swift tides extended for more than three hundred li; the fishing weirs and dams in the rivers and streams totaled sixty-three locations. All were simultaneously and permanently abandoned, together becoming Dharma ponds. Those saved in a single day numbered in the tens of billions—how could it be limited to merely ten thousand? Riding abreast in boats on the river, he expounded the Jalavāhana Chapter; he also scattered non-glutinous rice, making the twofold gift of material goods and Dharma. As the boats emerged from the mouth of the sea, they looked toward Mount Furong: towering steep and clustered high, it was like a red lotus just blooming; a solitary rock hung horizontally, resembling a withered blossom about to fall. The Master said, "A former dream of wandering by the seashore was just like this." The śramaṇa Huicheng and the commandery governor Qian Xuanzhi both wrote compositions of praise, but as the texts are voluminous they are not recorded here. Later, Xu returned to the capital, where he was implicated in another matter and consequently entangled with the Minister of Justice. When he was about to undergo punishment, he thought from afar of the late Master, wishing that he would extend a hand to save him. That night he dreamed of countless myriads of fish, beyond reckoning, all spitting foam to moisten Xu. The next morning an imperial edict was issued specially pardoning Xu's crime. At midday, auspicious clouds suddenly arose, yellow, purple, red, and white, shaped like a lunar halo; they congealed in the empty sky, covering the roof of the temple from afar. Furthermore, a flock of yellow sparrows flew about, fluttering and chirping noisily; perching and gathering along the eaves and buildings, they departed only after half a day. The Master said, "The river fish have transformed into yellow sparrows and come here to give thanks." The Master dispatched his disciple Huiba to the capital, Jinling, to present a memorial. Emperor Xuan of Chen issued an edict stating: "Hunting and fishing are strictly prohibited; let it permanently be a pond for releasing living beings." The Chen Crown Prince asked Xu Ling, "Who shall compose the stele for the Tiantai meritorious deeds?" He replied, "I hope for the divine brush and jade writing [of the Emperor]." It happened that Emperor Xuan passed away, so it could not be completed; an edict was then issued ordering the Libationer of the Directorate of Education, Xu Xiaoke, to erect a tall stele. The stele is now on the mountain; those who read it shed tears. King Yongyang, son of Emperor Wen of Chen, went out to pacify Ouyue. Repeated letters arrived with deep sincerity, whereupon [the Master] went to the Yu Cave and personally practiced the vaipulya [confession]. The king's retinue all received the pure precepts together. By day they partook of lectures, and by night they practiced seated meditation. The late Master said to his disciple Zhiyue, "I wish to encourage the king to cultivate blessings to avert calamity; may I?" Yue replied, "None of the palace officials are old acquaintances; they will surely speak of hot and cold (idle gossip)." The Master said, "Putting an end to worldly ridicule and suspicion is also good." Later, the king went out riding and fell from his horse, nearly dying. Yue then felt remorse, sorrow, and shame, as though wounding the late Master, and personally led the assembly to perform the Avalokiteśvara confession ritual. Composing their minds with single-minded focus, the king felt slightly awake and sat leaning on an armrest. The king saw an Indian monk holding an incense burner walk straight forward, and asked the king, "How is the severity of your illness?" The king sweated profusely and did not answer. The monk then circled the king once; the fragrance lingered as he turned to the right. Immediately [the king] felt relaxed, and his painful afflictions were completely relieved. Precepts and wisdom had first imbued his mind, and the efficacious response next delighted his eyes; even had he not wished to give rise to faith, how could he have helped it? His vow text said: "We look up with reverence to the Ācārya of Tiantai: his virtue equals Dao'an and Huiyuan; his Dao surpasses Dao’guang and Daoyou. Near and far turn their hearts to him. Shaking his tin staff, clouds gather; he inherits the Semblance Dharma that was on the verge of falling, in order to rescue the dark and benighted; he reveals the double brilliance of the sun of wisdom, so as to deliver the decadent world. Furthermore, he roams the gates of the Dharma and penetrates the orchards of dhyāna. The knots of conditioned existence are already cast off; the forbearance of the unproduced is manifest before him. I, your disciple, am tossed by the winds of karma and submerged in the waters of attachment. Though I partake of the joy of the Dharma, I have not dispelled my benighted mind; in vain do I revere the delight of dhyāna, while in the end harboring thoughts of distraction. The solar orb gallops along, and Xihe's reins do not halt; the lunar mirror turns its carriage, and Chang'e's reflection is hard to detain. There is parting and there is meeting—what words can express my sighs? Loving the Dharma and revering the Dharma, my feelings flow ceaselessly like a stream. I vow that life after life, world after world, I may encounter the Ācārya of Tiantai and constantly practice offerings to him, just as Jñānaprabha served the Tathāgata Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū, or as Bhaiṣajyarāja had audience with the Perfectly Awakened Meghadundubhisvararāja. May Sukhāvatī and Tuṣita both be subsumed under the One Vehicle." Although the late Master harbored treasures in the deep gorges, his fame shook the capital cities; though he hid his form in dark ravines, his virtue and wisdom were manifest and bright. The Young Master of the Chen asked the assembled ministers, "Who is celebrated and preeminent within the Śākya gate?" Xu Ling replied, "The Dhyāna Master of Waguan: his virtue surpasses wind and frost; his mirror of dhyāna is as deep as the ocean. Formerly, when he journeyed afar to the capital, he was revered by all the worthies; now he strides loftily on Tiantai, while the Dharma clouds mist over the east. King Yongyang faced north to serve him personally. We pray that Your Majesty summon him to return to the capital to propagate the Dharma, so that both monastics and laity may receive the benefit." The Chen ruler first sent the Imperial Attendant Zhao Junqing; second, he sent the Chief Secretary Zhu Lei; a third imperial decree was dispatched; and fourth, he sent the man of the Dao, Fasheng. All carried letters written by the Emperor's own hand. [The Master] pleaded illness in all cases and would not comply. Thereupon, relying on the three envoys, the Chen ruler further ordered the prefecture to urge and invite him earnestly. King Yongyang admonished, "His Majesty has humbled himself, and the court contemplates reverence; if there is one word of benefit, the four classes of living beings will rely upon it. If you yield loftily in the deep mountains, compassion will be obstructed. Though I, your disciple, am insignificant, you still deigned to bend your steps; if you do not comply with the court's decree, how can you remain at ease?" He replied, "Examining myself, I lack virtue whether retiring or appearing in public; moreover, if there is hidden fault, my own person must bear it—how could I allow it to unjustly entangle others? Karmic conditions are like water: the elevated drains and the sunken remains; one's intentions cannot always be fulfilled; I simply leave it to conditions." Thereupon he set out for Jinling. On the road he met two envoys: first sent was the Imperial Commission Attendant Huang Jibao; next sent was the Chief Secretary Chen Jianzong. He was invited into the East Hall, provided with the four requisites, and received with earnest courtesy. An assembly of dhyāna practitioners was established at Lingyao, and an exposition of the Śāstra was begun at Taiji. He also lectured on the Humane Kings Prajñā for a hundred seats. The five ranks [of nobility] sat on the left, and on the right the Chen ruler personally took his seat to listen to the Dharma. The Rectifier of Monks Huixuan, the Overseer of Monks Huikuang, and Chang'gan Huibian, all having received the imperial command, raised difficult challenges. Like high winter ice freezing together, the solutions, like the blazing summer sun, were able to melt them. The Son of Heaven rejoiced, and all the officials showed complete reverence. When the lecture ended, Huixuan held up an incense burner to congratulate the assembly, saying, "In the state for more than ten years, I have personally presided over four lecture series. Dividing the passages and analyzing the principles, I thought I had attained the entrance. Today the sun has risen and the stars have withdrawn; seeing the masterly, I know my own crudeness. From of old, contention has never ceased, but around this seat there is solemnity and to spare. Seven nights of tranquility, and a thousand branches of flowers gleaming—this is all the power of the Dharmarāja." In the Parade Hall, the Chen ruler expressed his gratitude, saying, "Not only is the Buddha-Dharma entrusted to you, but we also wish you to point out whatever is improperly established." When the Chen dynasty investigated unregistered monks and nuns, tens of thousands of people were to be unfrocked if their examination on the sūtras failed to meet the standard at court deliberations. The late Master admonished, "Devadatta daily recited ten thousand words, yet could not escape hell; Śuddhipanthaka recited a single verse of gāthā and attained the fruit of an arhat. In true assessment, it is only the Dao that matters; how could it depend on much recitation?" The Chen ruler was greatly delighted, and immediately halted the investigation and purging.