續高僧傳 10.24

10.24

釋慧曠。俗姓曹氏。譙國人也。其後別派。今為襄陽人焉。祖亮宗梁給事黃門侍郎衛尉卿。父藹直閣將軍。曠秀氣標於弱歲。天然孝敬率性高廉。十二出家。事江陵寶光寺澄法師。祗勤儀訓肅奉帷筵。發明幽旨頗超群輩。後辭朋帝渚問道王圻。居律行寺聽彭城講。玄關斯闢大義已通。將事隨方轉相弘教。乃與宗愷准韻諸師。俱值真諦。受攝大乘唯識等論金鼓光明等經。俄而真諦涅槃法朋彫徙。乃共同學僧宗俱栖匡岫。分時敷說法化彌隆。州宰鄱陽長沙二王。俱敦師資之敬。後於湘郢二州累載弘道。雖親覺久忘而地恩待報。以陳至德元年言旋舊邑。即隋開皇之三年也。於遍學道場傳經引化。曠既律行嚴精義門綜博。道俗具瞻。綱維是寄。統掌八載攝是烏迴。後又奉勅移居興國。寺任攸委。絲綸再降。香蘇屢錫。秦孝王帝子之尊。建麾襄沔。聞風佇德親奉歸戒。煬帝纂曆當符尊賢味道。爰降王人近居輦轂。道次江陽辭疾不見。蒙勅丹陽栖霞山寺。以事治養。又素協性松筠輔神泉石。賞狎既并纏痾用弭。於栖霞法堂更敷大論。新聞舊學各談勝解。且歸善禪。房本栖玄精舍。竟陵文宣之餘迹。禪師慧曉之遺風。鏡潭月樹之奇。雲閣山堂之妙。曾事遊處。遂有終焉之志。後携子弟徙而憩之。崖谷泯人世之心。烟霞賞高蹈之域。其有懷真慕義者。復萃於斯矣。以大業九年五月十六日終于寺房。春秋八十。頂煖淹時。手屈二指。斯又上生得道之符也。以其月二十日。窆于寺之西山。弟子等樹碑紀德。常州沙門法宣為文。

Śramaṇa Huikuang, whose secular surname was Cao, was a native of the Qiao commandery. His lineage subsequently branched off, so that his descendants were people of Xiangyang. His grandfather, Liangzong, served the Liang dynasty as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate Attendant-in-ordinary and Chief Minister of the Guards. His father, Ai, was a General of the Palace Gates. Kuang's refined talents were apparent from his tender years; by nature filial and respectful, he was inherently noble and incorruptible. At twelve he went forth from household life and served Dharma Master Cheng of Baoguang Monastery in Jiangling. Diligent in observing ritual precepts, he reverently attended to the instructional screen, illuminating profound tenets so as to far excel his peers. Later he took leave of his fellows on the imperial banks to seek the Way in the royal capital, dwelling at Lvxing Monastery and listening to lectures from Pengcheng. The mystical gate was thus unlocked, and the great doctrines thoroughly mastered. Preparing to adapt to local circumstances and sequentially propagate the teachings, he, together with Master Zongkai, Master Zhuyun, and others, met Paramārtha and received the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, Vijñaptimātratā treatises, the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, and other scriptures. Before long, Paramārtha entered nirvāṇa, and his fellow Dharma companions dispersed. Kuang then dwelt on Mount Kuang alongside his fellow student Sengzong, dividing their time to expound the Dharma, whereby its transformation grew ever more prosperous. The regional governors, the Prince of Poyang and the Prince of Changsha, both observed the courtesies of disciple toward master. Later he propagated the Way in Xiangzhou and Yingzhou for many years; although he had long forgotten personal attachments to kin, the debt of gratitude to his native land awaited repayment. In the first year of the Zhide era of the Chen dynasty—the third year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui—he returned to his former town, transmitting scriptures and guiding people at the Bianxue Bodhimanda. Because Kuang was rigorous and meticulous in his vinaya practice and comprehensive in his doctrinal understanding, he was looked up to by both monastics and laity, who entrusted him with the administration of the community. He presided over it for eight years, gathering together the assembly. Later he received an imperial decree to move to Xingguo Monastery, where monastic duties were entrusted to him; imperial edicts were issued twice, and fragrant curd was repeatedly bestowed. Prince Xiao of Qin, holding the noble rank of an imperial prince, raised his standard over Xiangmian; hearing of Kuang's reputation and yearning for his virtue, he personally received the refuges and precepts from him. When Emperor Yang ascended the throne, it befell him to honor the worthy and taste the Way; hence he dispatched an imperial envoy to have Kuang reside near the imperial carriage. Arriving at Jiangyang on the road, Kuang declined on grounds of illness and did not appear. By imperial decree, he was allowed to nurse his illness at Qixia Mountain Monastery in Danyang. Naturally aligned with the character of pines and bamboos and finding solace for his spirit among springs and rocks, his appreciation and affection were joined, and his entangling illness was banished. In the Dharma hall of Qixia, he again expounded the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra; those with new learning and old veterans alike spoke of superior understandings. Furthermore, he returned to the dhyāna quarters of Shanshan, which was originally the Qixuan hermitage, a surviving trace of Prince Wenxuan of Jingling and the lingering legacy of Dhyāna Master Huixiao. Blessed with the marvel of mirroring ponds and moonlit trees, and the wonder of cloud pavilions and mountain halls, it was a place where he had once wandered, giving rise to his wish to spend his final days there. Later he took his disciples and moved to rest there; the cliffs and valleys wiped away worldly desires, and the mist and clouds offered delight in a realm of lofty transcendence. Those who cherished the true and yearned for righteousness gathered here once again. On the sixteenth day of the fifth month of the ninth year of the Daye era, he passed away in his monastery room, at the age of eighty. Warmth lingered on his crown for a long time, and two fingers of his hand curled; this was another sign of higher birth and attainment of the Way. On the twentieth day of that month, he was interred on the western mountain of the monastery. His disciples erected a stele to record his virtues, for which Śramaṇa Faxuan of Changzhou composed the text.