高僧傳 8.37

8.37

釋僧柔，姓陶，丹陽人。少而耿潔，便有出塵之操。年九歲，隨叔遊學。家世貧過，藜藿不充，而篤志彌堅，履窮無改。後出家為弘稱弟子。稱姓呂，洛陽臨渭人，學通經論，聲譽早彰。柔伏膺已後，便精勤戒品，委曲禪慧。方等眾經，大小諸部，皆徹鑒玄源，洞盡宗要。年過弱冠，便登講席。一代名賓，並投身北面。後東遊禹穴，值慧基法師，招停城傍，一夏講論。後入剡白山靈鷲寺。未至之夜，沙門僧緒夢見神人，朱旗素甲，滿山而出。緒問其故：「答云。法師當入，故出奉迎。」明旦待人，果是柔至。既而掃飾山門，有終焉之志。敷經遵學，有士如林。

Shi Sengrou's secular surname was Tao, and he was a native of Danyang. Pure and upright from youth, he already possessed the deportment of one who transcends the world. At the age of nine, he traveled for study following his uncle. His family had been impoverished for generations, not even having enough coarse greens and beans to eat; yet his resolve grew ever firmer, and his adherence to principle remained unchanged despite his poverty. Later, he went forth from home to become a disciple of Hongcheng. Cheng's secular surname was Lü, and he was a native of Linwei in Luoyang; his learning mastered both sūtras and treatises, and his fame had become manifest early on. After submitting himself [to Cheng], Rou diligently observed the precepts and thoroughly practiced dhyāna and wisdom (prajñā). Across the Fangdeng (vaipulya) scriptures and the various works of both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, he completely penetrated their abstruse origins and profoundly grasped their essential doctrines. As soon as he passed the age of twenty, he mounted the lecture seat. The renowned guests of an entire generation all bowed facing north to study under him. Later, he traveled east to the Cave of Yu, where he met Dharma Master Huiji, who invited him to stay beside the city walls to lecture and discuss for one summer. Subsequently, he entered the Lingjiu Temple on Mount Bai in Shan. On the night before his arrival, the śramaṇa Sengxu dreamt that he saw spirit beings, clad in white armor and holding red banners, emerging across the mountain. Xu asked the reason, and they replied: 'A Dharma master is about to enter; therefore, we have come out to welcome him.' The next morning they waited for the person, and it was indeed Rou who arrived. Soon he swept and adorned the mountain gate, intending to live out his days there. He expounded the sūtras and pursued learning, and scholars gathered like a forest.