高僧傳 8.69

8.69

釋智秀，本姓裘，京兆人，寓居建業。幼而頴悟，早有出家之心。二親愛而不許，密為求婚。將剋娶日，秀乃間行避走。投蔣山靈耀寺，剃髮出家。及年滿具戒，業操逾堅。稟訪眾師，搜檢新異。於是大、小兼明，數論精熟，尤善大、小《涅槃》、《淨名》、《波若》。及講筵一建，輒王侯接駕，負帙肩隨。為人神彩細密，思入玄微。其文句幽隱，並見披釋。以天監之初，卒于治城寺，春秋六十有三。會葬之日，黑白奔赴，街巷填闉，士庶含酸。榮哀以備。

Shi Zhixiu, originally surnamed Qiu, was a native of Jingzhao who resided in Jianye. From childhood he was perceptive and intelligent, and early on harboured the wish to go forth from household life. His parents loved him and would not permit it, secretly arranging a marriage for him. When the wedding day drew near, Xiu fled secretly by taking side roads. He went to Lingyao Temple on Mount Jiang, shaved his hair, and went forth. When he reached the age to receive the full precepts, his commitment and discipline grew even firmer. He consulted and studied under various teachers, searching out novel and distinctive insights. Thereupon he mastered both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, became thoroughly conversant with Abhidharma treatises, and was particularly skilled in both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna Nirvāṇa-sūtras, the Vimalakīrti-sūtra, and the Prajñāpāramitā. Whenever he mounted the lecturer's platform, princes and nobles would arrive in carriages bumper-to-bumper, and followers carrying book scrolls shoulder-to-shoulder would attend. By nature, his intellect was meticulous, and his thought penetrated the dark and subtle. Wherever passages were obscure and hidden, he unfolded and explained them all. In the beginning of the Tianjian reign period, he passed away at Zhicheng Temple at the age of sixty-three. On the day of his funeral, monastics and laypeople flocked there; the streets and lanes were jammed, and gentry and commoners grieved in sorrow. Honor and mourning were complete.