高僧傳 13.71

13.71

釋慧芬，姓李，豫州人。幼有殊操，十二出家，住穀熟縣常山寺。學業優深，苦行精峻。每赴齋會，常為大眾說法。梁楚之間，悉奉其化。及魏虜毀滅佛法，乃南歸京師。至烏江，追騎將及而渚次無航，芬一心念佛，俄見流船忽至，乘之獲免。至都，止白馬寺。時御史中丞袁愍孫常謂道人偏執，未足與議，乃命左右，令候覓沙門，試欲語之。會得芬至，袁先問三乘四諦之理，却辯老莊儒墨之要。芬既素善經書，又音吐流便。自旦之夕，袁不能窮。於是敬以為師，令子弟悉從受戒。

Shi Huifen, whose secular surname was Li, was a native of Yuzhou. From childhood he possessed exceptional conduct. At twelve he left household life and lived at the Changshan Temple in Gushu County. His scholarship was superior and profound, and his ascetic practices were rigorous and strict. Whenever he attended a fasting assembly, he would expound the Dharma for the great gathering. Between the regions of Liang and Chu, all revered his transformation. When the Wei caitiffs destroyed the Buddhadharma, he returned south to the capital. Reaching the Wujiang River, the pursuing cavalry were about to overtake him, but there was no boat at the shore. Huifen single-mindedly recollected the Buddha; suddenly, he saw a drifting boat arrive out of nowhere, and boarding it, he escaped. Arriving at the capital, he stayed at the Baima Temple. At that time, the Censor-in-chief Yuan Minsun often thought that monks were obstinate and unworthy of discussion. He commanded his attendants to watch for and find a śramaṇa, wishing to test him in conversation. By chance, Huifen arrived. Yuan first asked about the principles of the Three Vehicles and the Four Noble Truths, and then debated the essentials of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Confucianism, and Mohism. Since Huifen was inherently well versed in the classics and his speech flowed smoothly, Yuan could not exhaust him from morning until evening. Thereupon he venerated him as his master and had his sons and younger brothers all receive the precepts from him.