隋天台智者大師別傳 1.2.5

1.2.5

However, living at Lingyao was exceedingly cramped and narrow. Seeking further for a tranquil place to establish an assembly and practise dhyāna in peace, he suddenly dreamt of a person whose entourage was orderly and solemn, who declared his name to be Guanda and invited him to dwell at Sanqiao. The Master said, "Guanda was the Dharma name of Emperor Wu of the Liang. Does 'Sanqiao' not refer to Guangzhai [Temple]?" He thereupon moved there. In the fourth month of that year, the ruler of Chen visited the temple, renounced his person, and made great donations. The Master also gave lectures on the Benevolent King's Prajñā[-pāramitā Sūtra]. Just as his explanation of the sūtra concluded, the ruler of Chen rose from the assembly and made three prostrations, bowing and rising with earnest devotion to manifest his veneration. From the Crown Prince on down, all placed their reliance upon his ferryboat, and all revered his moral standards. Regarding him as an exalted guide, the late Master emptied himself, had no thought of gain, and was able to remain at peace through favour and disgrace, being completely tranquil without shock or joy. The Crown Prince's petition requesting the precepts read: "Yuan makes obeisance. With deep respect, I reflect that your transformation and guidance are boundless, saving beings according to their capacities; you protect the realm, guide humans and devas, shine with radiant brilliance, and entrust your traces to teachers and friends. The image of an ordained monk entering a dream to serve as a tally has long made manifest the Upādhyāya's virtue in gracing the high seat; holding firmly to this, I look forward with yearning to the ten stages and long for the four reliances. For the two vehicles, Great and Small, and the two teachings, inner and outer, venerating teachers and honouring the Dao has long been esteemed. I humbly hope that you will condescend to grant this petition and forge a karmic bond across life after life, fulfilling my original vow so that it may increase day and night. Today, on the fifth day of the second month, a Dharma assembly for one thousand monks has been established in the Chongzheng Hall, reverently inviting you to be the preceptor of the bodhisattva precepts. I respectfully dispatch Liu Xuan, Master of Documents, to welcome you (and so forth)." At that time, holding the incense in his hand, tears fell down his cheeks. He had the style name Shanmeng; yet taking the phonetic reversal of the characters, it meant "late". Only after the Great Sui annexed Chen was the former import understood. Once Jinling fell, he leaned on his staff and made his way through Jing and Xiang. Halting along the way at Bencheng, he suddenly dreamt of an old monk who said, "I respectfully entreat you to guard and protect Tao Kan's auspicious image." Thereupon he went to rest at Mount Kuang and saw the portrait of Huiyuan; this proved to be the spiritual numen of the Dharma Master of Yanmen. Shortly afterwards, Xunyang rebelled and the temples were incinerated; this mountain alone was entirely unmolested. The merit of protecting the image surely lay herein! King Xiao of Qin heard of his renown and invited him. The late Master told the emissary, "Though we wish to meet, I fear our conditions will ultimately diverge." Yet the prince's emissaries urged him on relentlessly, leaving him no way to decline. Just as he was about to cast off the moorings, he encountered fierce winds lasting for several decades of days; rebellious bandits suddenly arose, cutting off both land and water routes, so the journey was not made. In the past, when His Sovereign Majesty governed the Huai and the sea across ten thousand li, having pacified the region, he admired righteousness, venerated worthies, and took refuge in him as if in a shelter. He dispatched messengers to invite him, and he packed his bowl to keep the appointment. The Master said, "I have a profound karmic affinity with the Great King. Going with the current and having the wind at our backs, we shall arrive in no time." Thereupon he received from him the bodhisattva vinaya. The late Master first pleaded his lack of virtue, then deferred to renowned monks, and next recommended fellow practitioners, but three refusals failed to excuse him. He then made four requests: "First, although I am fond of learning dhyāna, my practice does not accord with the Dharma. Having reached the evening of my years, keeping from afar to the rope bed, I examine my heart and find it merely a nominal designation. Praising and exalting belongs to others, but I abhor hearing of virtue exceeding reality. I ask that you do not deceive yourself regarding my dhyāna teachings. Second, I was born in the frontier regions and grew up amidst chaos and war. My person is untutored in etiquette, my speech clumsy at greetings and small talk. Matters of the transcendental and abstruse have long been beyond my capacity, and my restraint in worldly affairs has nothing commendable. Although I wish to conduct myself with care, I fear my straightforward nature will ultimately offend others. I ask that you do not demand conformity to regulations. Third, I have a slight wish to transmit the lamp in order to repay the kindness of the Dharma. If my person is to serve as a model for the precepts, taking office and departing should be weighed heavily; if taking office and departing are weighed heavily, then transmitting the lamp will be neglected. If they are taken lightly, criticism and reproach will arise. To avoid blame and keep one's person safe is not as good as propagating the Dharma; I ask that you permit me to act for the Dharma, without faulting me for matters being taken lightly or heavily. Fourth, for more than thirty years I have lived among water and rocks, so that it has become my nature. Now that the royal realm is unified and the Buddha's Dharma is revived once more, having inappropriately benefited from people's hospitality and bathed in this gracious transformation, I shall exhaust my failing strength within to repay the external protection from above. If thoughts of hills and valleys arise, I ask to be released to drink and peck so as to live out the remainder of my days." Only after these four desires were granted did he accede to the gracious decree. As the Great King then yearned for the pure precepts, he readily consented to these splendid wishes. The petition requesting the precepts read: "This disciple's foundation inherits accumulated goodness; I was born into the imperial house. Early on, I was instructed in the domestic courtyard, and early was I steeped in the regular teachings. When good fortune arrives, the wondrous opportunity must be realized. Ashamed to tread unevenly upon the lesser path, I long to wander freely in the Great Vehicle. Laughing at resting in the Conjured City, I vow to sail a boat to the other shore. Among the myriad practices of the great beings, pure precepts come first; among the ten receipts of a bodhisattva, dedicated observance is supreme. As with building palaces and halls, one must first lay the foundations; to build vainly in the empty sky can never succeed. Confucians, Daoists, and Buddhists alike draw upon their mouldings; without rules and models, upon whom could one rely? Truly, though the Benevolent One was originally the Upādhyāya and Mañjuśrī secretly acted as the Ācārya, one must still rely upon a human teacher to visibly transmit the sacred bestowal, moving from near to far, and through resonance achieve penetration. Sadāprarudita gave his very marrow to Dharmodgata; Sudhana forgot his person for the Dharmadhātu. These are explicitly recorded in the scriptures, not spoken from personal whim. With deep faith in the Buddha's words, I am fortunate to follow a luminous guide. The dhyāna master is a dragon and elephant of the Buddha's Dharma; the jewel of his precepts is round and pure, the water of his samādhi deep and limpid. Arising from tranquility, he brings forth wisdom and dwells securely in unobstructed eloquence, placing others before himself, his modesty and restraint forming a standard. His name is heard afar, renowned to all as a good friend. Therefore, this disciple pours out his devotion from afar, sending boats over great distances to invite you, always fearing that conditions might diverge and meet with hindrances. Yet now that you have arrived, the path of my heart is open and clear; parting the clouds and mist, my afflictions are dispelled at once. On this twenty-third day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Kaihuang, in the Jincheng Hall of the governor-general, I have established a thousand-monk assembly, reverently entreating you to confer the bodhisattva precepts. The precept is called Filial Piety; it is also called Restraint. It takes expedient means and wisdom as its fundamental guide, revering the ultimate. With this supreme blessing, I offer support to His Sovereign Majesty and the Empress to create great ornamentation, sharing the Tathāgata's compassion and extending the universal love of all Buddhas, regarding the four kinds of born beings equally, just as an only son." The Master said: "The Great King condescends to follow the sacred prohibitions; let your name be called Zongchi (Dhāraṇī)." The King said: "The Great Master transmits the lamp of the Buddha's Dharma; let him be called Zhizhe (Wise One)." The sixty kinds of alms received were all redistributed at once to both the field of compassion and the field of reverence, causing merit and virtue to increase and multiply, so as to support the incense and lamps of the state and realm. With matters completed, he sailed his boat toward Heng and the Gorges. The Great King rode in procession to Guizhou, overlooking the river, to see him off; the provisions supplied were twice as lavish as before. Encountering a favourable wind, he departed in the morning and returned in the evening, while the monastics and laity of Zhugong craned their necks in longing expectation, supporting the aged and leading the young as they hurried toward the precept platform. Dark hair and white hair gathered like clouds; over fifty people attended the lectures. Returning to one's native place to repay the land was unprecedented in Jing and Xiang. Since the sun of wisdom was already bright, the field of blessings was to be established. He founded a vihāra at Mount Yuquan in Dangyang County; he received an imperial bestowed plaque naming it Yiyin, which was later changed to Yuquan. That place had originally been wild and perilous, with violent spirit-beasts and serpents; the proverb said, "It is a swamp of the three poisons; those who tread here freeze with fear." Yet when he founded the temple there, he was entirely free of anxiety. In the spring and summer of that year there was a drought, and the common folk all said the spirits were angered. Therefore Zhizhe went in person to the spring's source to eradicate this false view.