高僧傳 5.19

5.19

Shi Fahe was a native of Xingyang. In his youth he studied together with Master Dao'an, and was known for his humility and courtesy. He was skilled at illuminating the main outlines of treatises and resolving doubts and impasses. On account of the turmoil of the Shi clan, he led his disciples into Shu, where scholars of the Ba and Han regions admired his virtue and gathered like crowds. Hearing that Xiangyang had fallen, he entered the passes from Shu and resided at Yangping Temple. Later, when a gathering was held at Jinyu Valley, he climbed the mountain ridge with Master Dao'an and gazed out in all directions as far as the eye could see; presently he said with sorrow: "This mountain is towering and steep, and many come to roam and gaze from it. Once one passes away from this life, who can truly fathom where one will go?" Dao'an said: "Dharma Master, as long as you keep your mind steadfast, what fear should you have of future lives? It is only if the mind of wisdom fails to sprout that one ought to grieve." Later, he joined Master Dao'an in carefully settling the new scriptures and correcting the wording and meanings. Soon after, Yao Xu, the illegitimate King of Jin, invited him to reside in Puban to preach and expound. A short time later, he instructed his disciples: "The afflictions of the secular realm bring endless suffering and entanglement." He then straightened his robes, circumambulated the Buddha, paid homage, returned to his seat, covered his head with his robe, and suddenly passed away, at the age of eighty.