高僧傳 4.10

4.10

Fachang also possessed talent and intellectual brilliance, and was skilled in dialogue, having authored the Renwu shiyi lun (Treatise on the Fundamental Meanings of Persons and Things) and other works. Fachang constantly held a deer-tail chowry; whenever he encountered famous guests on his travels, he would engage in pure conversation all day long. Yu Yuangui said to Fachang, "Why is this chowry always in your possession?" Fachang replied, "The honest do not take it, and to the greedy I do not give it; therefore it remains ever in my possession." Mindu was likewise intelligent, discerning, and renowned; he authored the Yijing lu (Catalogue of Translated Scriptures), which circulates in the world today. Although Sengyuan's virtue surpassed that of Fachang and Mindu, he uniquely conducted himself with austere simplicity, always sustaining himself by begging for food, so that people did not yet recognize his worth. Later, while on his alms round (piṇḍapāta), he met Yin Hao of Chen Commandery. Hao first questioned him on the profound and far-reaching principles of Buddhist scriptures, and then debated the meaning of human nature and emotions in mundane books. From daytime until dusk, Hao was unable to overcome him, and on account of this changed his view of him. Wang Maohong of Langye teased him on account of his high nose and deep-set eyes, but Sengyuan said, "The nose is the mountain of the face; the eyes are the pools of the face. If a mountain is not high, it is not spiritual; if a pool is not deep, it is not clear." People of the time considered this an exquisite reply.