高僧傳 4.39

4.39

Yu Daosui was a native of Dunhuang. Losing his father at a young age, he was raised by his paternal uncle; Sui served him with the utmost filial devotion and sincerity, as though attending his own mother. At the age of sixteen, he left home and served Master Lan as his disciple. His learning was exalted and brilliant, thoroughly encompassing internal and external teachings; he was adept in medicines and prescriptions, possessed fine calligraphy, thoroughly understood foreign customs, and was especially skilled in conversation and debate. Master Hu [Dharmarakṣa] often praised Sui as being lofty, simple, and elegant, having the demeanor of the ancients, and said that if he did not lack life [ahead], he would become a pillar and beam of the Great Dharma. Later, he crossed the Yangtze along with Master Jian, and Xie Qingxu greatly esteemed him. By nature, he loved mountains and marshes, and while in the east, he frequently visited famous mountains. In character, he was indifferent to praise or blame, and never let worldly affairs enter his mind. Later, he followed Lan toward the Western Regions; he fell ill in Jiaozhi and died at the age of thirty-one. Xi Chao painted his portrait, and Zhi Dun composed an inscribed eulogy, saying: 'Splendid and preeminent master, his understanding was penetrating and his reason clear. Pure in substance as gleaming jade, his virtuous renown fragrant as the orchid.' Sun Chuo compared Sui to Ruan Xian; someone said: 'Xian incurred the reproach of having a burdened steed, whereas Sui had the reputation of purity and coolness; how can they be matched?' Sun Chuo said: 'Although their visible traces had troughs and peaks, their lofty style was one.' The 'Treatise on Explaining the Way' (Yudao lun) says: 'Recently in Luoyang there was Zhu Faxing, whom conversationalists equated with Director Yue; south of the Yangtze there was Yu Daosui, whom discerning men paired with the preeminent elite.' These were both what the people of that time saw and heard together, not the private praise of fellow partisans.