高僧傳 8.28

8.28

When Yuan was thirty-one years old, he first faced south to deliver lectures at Suntai Temple in Qingzhou. His discourse was clear and fluent, and his deportment elegant and dignified; of the more than four hundred seated listeners, none failed to be delighted and convinced. Wang Sengda of Langye, possessed of noble talent in that era, took notice of Yuan's pure fame and invited him to reside at Zhongzao Temple. Yuan gave relief to the poor and aided the destitute, keeping no wealth for himself. There was a monk named Xuanshao who constantly gave him gold and cowries, but Yuan declined and would not accept them. Once, when walking through Qingyuan, he heard that someone in the neighborhood had contracted a seasonal epidemic, and out of pity went to visit him. Seeing several persons lying dead together alongside the sick, whom no one dared approach, Yuan felt deep grief and pity, and remained there unable to bear leaving. He thereupon solicited alms on their behalf, burying the dead and caring for the living, bestowing kindness exceeding that of kin. When Prince Xiaojing of Xin'an, Liu Ziluan of the Song, built Xin'an Temple for his deceased birth mother, Noble Consort Yin, an imperial edict ordered three provinces to select and summon eminent and wise monks. Yuan, along with Fayao of Xiaoshan and Xianliang of Nanjian, were all summoned, and all recommended Yuan as the foremost among the initial candidates.