高僧傳 7.44

7.44

Shi Senghan: it is not known where he was from. In his youth he was fond of learning, dedicating his mind to the classics and histories, as well as astronomy and mathematics. When grown, he understood the Buddhist meanings and was well versed in both the Abhidharma and treatises, excelling especially in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, which he expounded constantly without pause. In the seventh year of the Yuanjia era, Tao Zhongzu, the Grand Administrator of Xinxing, established the Lingwei Temple. Admiring Senghan's demeanor and standards, he invited him to reside there. Senghan exhorted the assembly to be pure and cautious, so that their three karmic actions were without flaw. Later, he traveled west to Liyang to propagate and praise the correct Dharma; monastics and laity on the east of the Yangtze River flocked to him like a forest. At that time, Peng Cheng of Rencheng wrote the Treatise on the Non-existence of the Three Periods of Time (Wu sanshi lun); Senghan then composed the Treatise on the Imperishability of the Spirit (Shen bumie lun) to counter it, causing those who saw or heard it not to fall away, but to rise up again. He also wrote the Treatise on the Perfect Mirror of Sagely Wisdom (Shengzhi yuanjian lun), the Treatise on Non-arising (Wusheng lun), the Treatise on the Dharmakāya (Fashen lun), the Treatise on Karmic Retribution (Yebao lun), and the Treatise on the Essential Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra (Fahua zong lun), all of which circulated in the world. Shortly thereafter, he traveled south to Jiujiang, where he extensively elucidated the sūtras and teachings. Yan Jun of Langya, who was then serving as Adjutant in the Memorial Office of the General of the Household for the South, stationed in Xunyang, deeply respected Senghan and would spend whole days visiting him. Senghan once secretly told Jun, "If prophetic texts and apocrypha are not false, there will soon be disasters and rebellion in the capital. The True Man who accords with the tally of mandate belongs to His Highness; dānapati, keep this well under seal." Soon after, the Crown Prince (Liu Shao) staged a rebellion and Shizu (Emperor Xiaowu) ascended the throne, exactly as he had foretold. Later, while in peace and health without illness, he suddenly announced his departure to the assembly. By the next morning, he had quietly passed away; people of the time said he knew his destiny.