高僧傳 6.68

6.68

釋僧叡，魏郡長樂人也。少樂出家，至年十八，始獲從志，依投僧賢法師為弟子。謙虛內敏，學與時競。至年二十二，博通經論。嘗聽僧朗法師講《放光經》，屢有機難。朗與賢有濠上之契，謂賢曰：「叡比格難，吾累思不能通，可謂賢賢弟子也。」至年二十四，遊歷名邦，處處講說，知音之士，負袠成群，常歎曰：「經法雖少，足識因果，禪法未傳，厝心無地。」什後至關，因請出《禪法要》三卷，始是鳩摩羅陀所製，末是馬鳴所說，中間是外國諸聖共造，亦稱「菩薩禪」。叡既獲之，日夜修習，遂精鍊五門，善入六淨，偽司徒公姚嵩深相禮貴。姚興問嵩：「叡公何如？」嵩答：「實鄴衛之松栢。」興勅見之，公卿皆集欲觀其才器。叡風韻霔流，含吐彬蔚。興大賞悅，即勅給俸䘏吏力人輿。興後謂嵩曰：「乃四海標領，何獨鄴衛之松栢。」於是美聲遐布，遠近歸德。

Shi Sengrui was a native of Changle in Weijun. In his youth he delighted in leaving household life, but only at eighteen was he able to fulfill his aspiration, taking refuge as a disciple of Dharma Master Sengxian. Humble and inwardly sharp, his learning competed with his contemporaries. By age twenty-two, he was broadly versed in the sūtras and treatises. Once, while listening to Dharma Master Senglang lecture on the Fangguang jing, he repeatedly raised probing objections. Senglang had a close bond of mutual understanding with Sengxian and said to him, "Rui recently raised challenging points; I pondered them repeatedly and could not resolve them. He can truly be called a worthy disciple of the worthy!" At age twenty-four, he traveled through famous regions, lecturing everywhere, and men of understanding gathered in groups carrying their book-cases. He often lamented, "Though the sūtras and Dharma are few, they suffice to recognize cause and effect; yet dhyāna methods have not been transmitted, and my mind has nowhere to rest." Later, when Kumārajīva arrived in Guanzhong, Sengrui requested him to produce the Essentials of Dhyāna Methods in three fascicles; the first part was composed by Kumāralāta, the end was expounded by Aśvaghoṣa, and the middle was co-authored by various holy ones of foreign lands, also called the 'Bodhisattva Dhyāna'. Having obtained it, Sengrui cultivated it day and night, thoroughly mastering the five gates and entering smoothly into the six purities. Yao Song, the false Minister of Education, held him in deep esteem and honor. Yao Xing asked Song, "What kind of man is Master Rui?" Song replied, "He is truly a pine and cypress of Ye and Wei." Xing summoned him for an audience, and the dukes and ministers all assembled wishing to observe his talent and capability. Rui's deportment flowed like rain, and his discourse was cultured and radiant. Xing was greatly delighted and immediately ordered that he be provided with an official stipend, staff, and a carriage. Xing later said to Song, "He is a foremost leader of the four seas; why merely a pine and cypress of Ye and Wei?" Thereupon his fine reputation spread afar, and people from near and far turned to his virtue.