高僧傳 7.54

7.54

Later, when Emperor Gaozu of the Song campaigned westward against Chang'an, captured the illegitimate ruler, and pacified Guannei, he already knew of Daodao's reputation. He invited him to an interview and said to Daodao: "I have long looked forward to meeting you. Why have you lingered so long among different customs?" Daodao replied: "Your enlightened Excellency has swept clean the nine provinces, and your carriage bells chime by the Yellow River and the Luo. Is it not wonderful to meet at such an hour?" When Gaozu turned his banners to return eastward, he left behind his son, the Duke of Guiyang, Liu Yizhen, to garrison Guanzhong. At their parting, he said to Daodao: "My son is young to remain in command; I hope the Dharma Master might look after him from time to time." Later, Yizhen was pressed by the western barbarian Helian Bobo and fled south of the passes. Thrown into confusion and defeated on the road, the brutal barbarians pressed forward, and their pursuing cavalry were about to overtake him. Daodao led several hundred disciples to block the middle of the road, saying to the pursuing horsemen: "Lord Liu entrusted this child to me. I, a poor monk, shall escort him even at the cost of my life. You will never take him; do not trouble yourselves to give chase!" The band of raiders was daunted by his commanding presence and turned their blades back. Yizhen fled into the grass, where he met Duan Hong, his commander of the palace guards, and in the end escaped—truly through the power of Daodao. Gaozu was moved by this, and accordingly bade his sons and nephews, within and outside the court, take him as their master. Later, Daodao founded a temple in Shouchun, which was the Dongshan Temple. He continually expounded the sūtras and treatises, and more than a thousand people studied under him. When the northern barbarians briefly abolished the Buddhadharma, several hundred śramaṇas fled from disaster to take refuge with him; he provided food and clothing to them all. For any who had died at the hands of the barbarians, he held memorial services, offered incense, and wept in deep sorrow for them. When Emperor Xiaowu ascended the throne, he dispatched envoys to summon Daodao. Daodao promptly responded to the decree and stayed at Zhongxing Temple in the capital. The imperial chariot paused along its route as the emperor personally came forth to welcome him. Because the Xiaojian era was beginning and the imperial order was being renewed, Daodao, deeply affected by circumstances and moved by nostalgic regret, could not contain his grief. The emperor likewise sobbed for a long while, and immediately decreed that Daodao expound the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa at Waguan Temple. The emperor attended in person, and the ministers and dukes all gathered. Daodao mounted the high seat and said: "Long ago, the Buddha took birth in a royal palace and manifested his extinction between the twin trees. Since then, over a thousand years have passed; the pure spring has departed forever, and the degenerating customs can no longer be checked. Anāthapiṇḍada's park lies in ruins, and the Deer Park is overgrown with weeds. The ninety-five non-Buddhist schools take descent into the lower realms to be ascent to the heights; sentient beings of the triple realm mistake the burning house for a pure land. How could they know of the tears shed by the supreme Sage, or the anxious wandering of the great beings?" He then wept silently, and the fourfold assembly changed countenance before him. He also said to the emperor: "In protecting the Dharma and propagating the Way, none precedes the sovereign. If Your Majesty can exercise the mind of the four immeasurables, pity those in danger, and encourage the good, then this sand, gravel, and broken tile will instantly become the palace of Paranirmitavaśavartin." The emperor praised him at length, and all in attendance were delighted. Later, he took leave and returned to Shouchun, passing away at Shijian at the age of ninety-six.