續高僧傳 10.20

10.20

釋靖嵩。俗姓張。涿郡固安人。幼抱貞幹在物不群。迫以俗塵期之道務。十五出家。有同學靖融。早達經論。通該小大尤究雜心。每以佛宗深要。曲流委示。嵩神氣俊越聰悟天機。隨覽義門覆疎陶練。重以心計不測。返以問融。融無以對也乃告曰。卿稚齒末學。徹悟若斯。可往京鄴。必成濟器。及登冠受具。南遊漳輦。屬高齊之盛佛教中興。都下大寺略計四千。見住僧尼僅將八萬。講席相距二百有餘。在眾常聽出過一萬。故㝢內英傑咸歸厥邦。有大學寺融智法師。大齊國統法上之神足也。解貫眾師道光二藏。學徒五百負袠摩肩。常講涅槃及地論。嵩聞之乃投誠焉。北面從範。攻研數載。隨聞覆述。每擊奇致。於即學徒舉目相與推師。又以行要肇基必先戒約。乃詣雲暉二律師所。博求明誨。涉問二載薄鏡宗條。唯有小乘未遑詳閱。遂從道猷法誕二大論主。面受成雜兩宗。諮諏幽奧纂習餘烈。數百僧徒各啟龍門。人分鳳翼。及嵩之位席。上經五遍。旁探婆沙迦延舍利弗等。妙通文理屢動恒神。便又博觀眾經師模論道。勢傾八位詞號四飛。獨步河山舟航三藏。憑附參請智光時傑。齊琅耶王深相器重。弘扇風猷。每於肇春廣延學侶。大集鄴都。特開法座。奉嵩為法主。進勵學徒。因爾導悟成津彌逢涼燠。傳芳接武響譽東河。俄屬周武屏除釋門離潰。遂與同學法貴靈侃等三百餘僧。自北徂南達于江左。陳宣帝遠揖德音。承風迎引。令侍中袁憲至京口城禮接登岸。帝又使駙馬蔡凝宣勅云。至人為法以身許道。法師等善明治亂歸寄有敘。可謂懷道正士。深可嘉之。宜於都郭大寺安置所司供給務令周洽。仍令推薦義學長者即弘像教。時建業僧正。令嵩貴二人對弘小論。神理疏暢贍勇當時。學侶相近數過五百。晷漏分業茂績新奇。有天竺三藏厥號親依。齎攝舍二論。遠化邊服。初歸梁季終歷陳朝。二十餘年通傳無地。雖云譯布講授無聞。唯嵩獨拔玄心翫味茲典。纔有講隙便詣沙門法泰諮決疑議。數年之中精融二部。自佛性中邊無相唯識異執等論四十餘部。皆總其綱要。剖會區分。隋高廓清百越文軌大同。開皇十年勅僚庶等。有樂出家者並聽。時新度之僧乃有五十餘萬。爰初沐化未曰知津。嵩與靈侃等二百許僧。聞機乘濟俱還江北。行達徐方盛開講肆。上柱國徐州總管乞符令和。率其所部。同延住前京兆王寺。具狀聞奏。有勅給額為崇聖寺焉。於是常轉法輪。江淮通潤遂使化移河北。相繼趨途望氣相奔俱諮攝論。嵩學資真諦義寔天親。思逸言前韻高傳後。大乘極旨於是乎通。自此領匠九州垂章四海。撰攝論疏六卷雜心疏五卷。又撰九識三藏三聚戒二生死等玄義。並流于世。為時所宗。隋文封禪岱宗鑾駕齊魯。關中義學因從過于徐部。詣嵩法肆伏膺受業。由此門徒推盛。章疏大行。隋煬昔鎮楊越立四道場。教旨載馳。嵩終謝遣。及登紫極又有勅徵。固辭乃止。門人問其故。答曰。王城有限動止嚴難。雖內道場不如物外。沙門名為解脫。如何返以事業累乎。吾曾遊兩都屢逢播蕩。弊此勞役耳。恒每清素自潔私立道場。日加禮誦修諸淨業。講道相續策眾六時。精苦已來垂三十載。然其扣頭手膝按地之所悉成坑跡。狀若人模。其景行徵明為若此也。自有論師多迷行旨。而嵩奉遵法度初不墜倫。常遇天雨澡罐在庭。恐傷地性令淨人知舉。方自從用。同諸學士咸敬憚其知量焉。加以性愛文藻時摛詩頌。重復嘉尚林泉。每登踐陟。子史篆隸摸揩于今。世論劇談頗有承緒。忽以大業十年遘疾卒于本寺。春秋七十有八。光祿大夫彭城道留守順政公董純。與部內道俗殯于神臯之原。益州道基昔預末筵。飡風飲德。悼流魂之安放。悲墳隧之荒侵。為之行狀廣於世矣。

Shi Jingsong’s secular surname was Zhang, and he was a native of Gu'an in Zhuo commandery. From his youth he held firm virtue, standing out from the crowd. Driven by mundane dust, he aspired to the work of the Way, and at fifteen he entered the monastic life (pravrajyā). He had a fellow student, Jingrong, who had mastered the sūtras and treatises early on, encompassing both the Small and Great [Vehicles], and was especially thoroughly versed in the Miśrakābhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra (*Za xin lun). He would always unfold and impart the profound essentials of the Buddhist school in detail. Song was superior in spiritual brilliance and naturally gifted with acute understanding. As he examined the doctrinal categories, he revisited their commentaries and refined his understanding; furthermore, when his thoughts plumbed unfathomable depths, he turned around and questioned Rong, and Rong had no answer. Thereupon Rong told him, “At such a tender age as a junior student, your penetrating awakening is like this. You may proceed to the capital city of Ye; you will surely become a vessel of deliverance.” When he reached adulthood and received full ordination, he traveled south to the imperial metropolis on the Zhang River. This coincided with the zenith of the Northern Qi, a period of Buddhist revival. Within the capital, large monasteries were roughly counted at four thousand, and the resident monks and nuns numbered nearly eighty thousand; lecture seats were spaced more than two hundred apart, and regular attendees in the congregations exceeded ten thousand. Thus the talents and heroes of the realm all gathered in that state. At Daxue Monastery there was Dharma Master Rongzhi, an outstanding disciple of Fashang, the National Controller of Monks (guotong) of the Great Qi. His understanding surpassed the many masters, and his realization of the Way illuminated the two piṭakas. His five hundred students rubbed shoulders as they carried their book bundles. He constantly lectured on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Daśabhūmika-śāstra (*Di lun). When Song heard of this, he devoted his sincerity to him. Facing north as a disciple, he assiduously studied for several years; repeating what he heard, he constantly struck upon marvelous realizations. Thereupon the students looked up to him and collectively deferred to him as a master. Furthermore, considering that the foundation of the essential practices must begin with the restraints of the precepts, he went to the quarters of the two Vinaya Masters Yun and Hui, widely seeking clear instruction. Inquiring for two years, he surveyed the cardinal points and specific rules. There was only the Hīnayāna which he had not yet had the leisure to examine in detail; he then studied under the two great treatise masters Daoyou and Fadan, receiving in person the two traditions of the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra (*Cheng shi lun) and the Miśrakābhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra. He inquired into the deep and obscure, continuing to master what remained. Several hundred monks each opened the dragon gate, dividing like phoenix wings. When it came to Song’s place and turn, he went through the scripture five times; on the side, he explored the Mahāvibhāṣā, Kātyāyana, Śāriputra, and others. Wonderfully discerning the literary principles, he repeatedly stirred enduring spirits. Then he also widely examined the various scriptures, taking them as models to debate the Way. His force overwhelmed the eight positions, and his eloquence was styled “flying in four directions.” He strode alone across rivers and mountains, acting as a vessel for the Three Baskets. Relying upon him and consulting him were the outstanding figures of the time, radiant with wisdom. King of Langye of the Qi held him in high esteem and fostered his elegant style. Every year at the beginning of spring, he widely invited student companions to a great assembly in the capital Ye, specially opening a Dharma seat and honoring Song as the lord of the Dharma to encourage and spur the disciples. Song thereby guided them to awakening, turning it into a ford of crossing; he harmonized cold and heat, transmitting fragrance and following in illustrious footsteps, his renown resounding east of the river. Soon after, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou eradicated the Buddhist community, scattering it in ruin. Song then, along with his fellow students Fagui, Lingkan, and more than three hundred other monks, moved from the north to the south, arriving in Jiangzuo. Emperor Xuan of Chen admired his virtuous fame from afar; following this breeze, he welcomed and invited him. He ordered Sanji Changshi Yuan Xian to go to the fortress of Jingkou to respectfully receive him when he came ashore. The Emperor also sent the imperial son-in-law Cai Ning to proclaim an imperial decree: “The supreme man acts for the Dharma, dedicating his body to the Way. The Dharma masters understand order and disorder well, finding refuge in proper sequence; they may be called upright gentlemen harboring the Way, truly deeply praiseworthy. They should be installed in the great monasteries of the capital district, and the relevant officials must supply them thoroughly and abundantly.” He further ordered the recommendation of senior elders learned in doctrine to propagate the semblance teaching. At that time, the Monastic Rectifier (sengzheng) of Jianye ordered Song and Gui to jointly propagate the minor treatises. His spirit and reason were unhindered and smooth, his resourcefulness and courage foremost of the time; his fellow students living nearby numbered more than five hundred. Dividing their studies by the water clock, his flourishing accomplishments were fresh and remarkable. There was an Indian Tripiṭaka master named Paramārtha (Qin’yi), who brought the Mahāyānasaṃgraha (*She lun) and the Sheshan lun to convert the remote borderlands. He had arrived at the end of the Liang and lived through the Chen dynasty; for more than twenty years, there was no place to propagate them. Though they were translated and spread, no lectures on them were heard. Only Song uniquely cultivated a profound mind, relishing these texts. Whenever there was a break in lecturing, he would visit the śramaṇa Fatai to consult and resolve doubts. Within a few years, he had thoroughly mastered the two works. From the treatises on Buddha-nature, the Middle and Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga), formlessness (Alakṣaṇa), consciousness-only (Vijñaptimātra), diverse views (Samayabhedoparacanacakra), and others—more than forty works in all—he grasped their central outlines and analyzed and harmonized their distinctions. When Emperor Gao of the Sui pacified the Baiyue, scripts and cart-tracks were unified. In the tenth year of Kaihuang (590), an imperial decree granted permission to both officials and commoners: those wishing to leave householder life were all allowed to do so. At that time, the newly ordained monks numbered more than five hundred thousand; newly bathed in conversion, they could not yet be said to know the ford. Song, Lingkan, and about two hundred monks, seeing the opportunity to board the ferry, returned together north of the river. Reaching the region of Xu, they vigorously opened lecture halls. The Supreme Pillar of the State and Area Commander of Xuzhou, Qifu Linghe, led his subordinates to jointly invite him to reside at the former Prince of Jingzhao Monastery. They submitted a detailed memorial to the throne, and an imperial decree granted the temple plaque with the name Songsheng Monastery. From then on, the wheel of the Dharma turned constantly. The regions of the Yangzi and Huai were permeated with moisture, causing the conversion to shift north of the river. One after another, people took to the road, flocking to him in anticipation to consult on the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. Song’s learning was indebted to Paramārtha, and its meaning truly derived from Vasubandhu. His thought went beyond words, his tone was lofty and transmitted to posterity, and the ultimate tenets of the Great Vehicle were thereby made clear. From this time on, he led the masters across the nine provinces, and his writings were handed down throughout the four seas. He authored the She lun shu (Commentary on the Mahāyānasaṃgraha) in six fascicles and the Za xin shu (Commentary on the Miśrakābhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra) in five fascicles; he also composed profound treatises on the nine consciousnesses, the three piṭakas, the three clusters of precepts, and the two forms of birth-and-death, all of which circulated in the world and were revered by contemporaries. When Emperor Wen of Sui performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices at Mount Tai and the imperial carriage visited Qi and Lu, scholars of the Guan region, following along, passed through the district of Xu; they went to Song’s Dharma hall, bowed in admiration, and received instruction. Because of this, his disciples became even more numerous, and his commentaries and subcommentaries circulated widely. Formerly, when Emperor Yang of Sui governed the Yang and Yue regions, he established four sanctuaries, and his teachings and invitations hastened forth; Song, however, declined them all. When the Emperor ascended the imperial throne, an imperial decree summoned him again; he firmly refused, and the summoning ceased. His disciples asked him why, and he replied, “The royal city has boundaries, and conduct is strict and difficult. Although there are interior sanctuaries, they are not as good as being outside mundane affairs. A śramaṇa is called ‘liberated’; why should one conversely burden oneself with official tasks? I once traveled to both capitals and repeatedly encountered upheavals; I am weary of such toil.” He always remained pure and frugal, cultivating personal purity, establishing a private sanctuary where he daily performed reverent recitations and cultivated pure karma. His lectures on the Way continued uninterrupted, spurring the assembly through the six periods of the day. His rigorous asceticism had lasted nearly thirty years; the places where his head, hands, and knees pressed against the ground were all indented into hollows, resembling human molds. The signs of his venerable conduct were clear like this. Naturally, many treatise masters were confused about the intent of practice, yet Song respectfully observed the monastic statutes without ever breaching propriety. Once, when it rained and his washing jug was in the courtyard, fearing that he might harm the nature of the earth, he had a pure person lift it before he would use it. Fellow scholars all revered and stood in awe of his moderation. In addition, by nature he loved literary elegance and occasionally wrote poems and eulogies; furthermore, he delighted in forests and springs, frequently climbing and hiking. His works of history, seal script, and clerical script survive to this day, and in worldly discourses and lively discussions, he left a substantial legacy. Suddenly, in the tenth year of Daye (614), he contracted an illness and died at his monastery at the age of seventy-eight. Dong Chun, Guanglu Daifu, Area Defender of Pengcheng Route, and Duke of Shunzheng, together with the clergy and laity within his jurisdiction, buried him on the plains of Shengao. In the past, Daoji of Yizhou had attended his final gatherings; drinking in his influence and imbibing his virtue, lamenting the resting place of his wandering spirit, and grieving the desolation of his tomb tunnel, he composed his biographical account, which circulated widely in the world.