高僧傳 8.72

8.72

Shi Sengsheng, originally surnamed He, was a native of Jianye. In his youth his disposition was sharp and intelligent, and in addition his aspiration for learning was zealous and diligent; he consequently gained great mastery over the Abhidharma treatises and was concurrently proficient in various scriptures, becoming a foremost master of lecturing in his day. He was also particularly well versed in non-Buddhist texts, being feared by Confucian scholars. For this reason, students at the academies would often use Master Sheng's name to intimidate one another. During the Tianjian reign period, he passed away at Lingyao Temple at the age of over fifty.