續高僧傳 12.18

12.18

釋慧隆。俗姓何氏。丹陽句容人也。祖翦梁武陵王長史。父嶷梁散騎常侍。隆十一出家。師於宣武寺僧都沙門慧舒。舒道業遐暢風標清舉。學堪物軌德允人師。烏迴當職秉持攸寄。隆恭撝恪慎備盡師資。年屆十三志存聽學。纔欲聞道即感靈瑞。有人自稱姓蔣名規。授法華一部便曰。將來佛法寔用相寄。發言適竟莫知所之。以義推之。若非四依齊位九師均德。豈能當斯負荷剋感聖言。遂聽法雲寺礭法師成論。一遍未周已究深隱。習業數載獨稱標拔。及登具戒更采毘尼。故得五㲲一河殊製異飲。備皆斷覈洞盡銓衡。及梁運蕩覆避世順時。雖屬彫荒學功靡棄。彭城寺內引化如流。陳氏御曆重闡玄蹤。僧正暅公道門德望。於茲寺內結肆開筵。義侶玄徒四方雲萃。隆當入室獨冠群英。既解慧超挺。命令敷述。及暅將化遺旨在斯。法筵是繼誠當嘉旨。然其識用淹華言辯清富。每至商攉玄理。頓徙遲疑。雖復談柄屢撝言鋒時礪。而碩難自撤簡綽澄遠。隋氏馭宇九有同朝。上德高人咸紆延請。隆志存栖晦。以老疾致辭。居舊敷弘。仍以卒歲。仁壽元年十一月十六日臥疾。二十日遷化。爾時冬至告節氣序祁寒。雲布彌天雪飛遍野。及中宵之泥曰也。天色開霽星漢澄明。豈非神靈哀罔天龍感悼之明瑞矣。然隆慈濟成性不尚華飾。柔順知足無貪為寶。凡講成論三十遍。涅槃大品各十餘遍。餘則有差故不具敘。未終前領弟子於高座寺南山頂聚土築壇語曰。我若捨形不煩棺槨。可於此處以施禽蟲。壇竟便遷。誠哉知命。後依遺命。仍樹高碑寺。沙門法宣為文。

Shi Huilong had the secular surname He and was a native of Jurong in Danyang. His grandfather Jian was Senior Clerk to the Liang Prince of Wuling, and his father Ni was Sanqi Changshi (Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary) of the Liang. Long left home at the age of eleven, taking as his master the śramaṇa Sengdu Huishu of Xuanwu Monastery. Shu's cultivation in the Dao was renowned far and wide, and his demeanor was pure and lofty; his learning served as a model for all things, and his virtue was fitting for a guide of men. While in office, he commanded profound reliance. Long was modest, respectful, and scrupulously cautious, completely fulfilling his duties as a disciple. At the age of thirteen, he resolved to attend lectures. As soon as he wished to hear the Dao, he experienced a miraculous resonance: there was a person who called himself Jiang Gui, who presented him with a copy of the Lotus Sūtra and said, "The future Buddhadharma shall indeed rely on you." As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared without a trace. Deducing its significance: if not equal in status to the four reliances and matching the virtue of the nine masters, how could he have shouldered such a weighty charge and realized an encounter with sacred words? Thereupon, he listened to Master Que of Fayun Monastery lecturing on the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra. Before completing even one cycle, he had already plumbed its profound obscurities. Having practiced for several years, he was uniquely acclaimed as preeminent. When he mounted the platform for full ordination, he further examined the Vinaya; thus, discerning the five pieces of cloth and the distinct waters of the single river with their differing regulations and rules, he thoroughly investigated and completely weighed them all. When the Liang fortunes collapsed, he withdrew from the world to accord with the times; though enduring decline and desolation, he never abandoned the merits of study. At Pengcheng Monastery, his teaching and converting flowed like a stream. When the Chen dynasty ruled the calendar and re-illuminated the mysterious traces, the Sengzheng, the venerable Geng, was an esteemed pillar of virtue in the Buddhist fold; he set up seats and opened banquets [of the Dharma] within this monastery, where doctrinal companions and mysterious disciples gathered like clouds from the four directions. When Long entered the inner chamber, he alone stood first among the eminent scholars. As his understanding and wisdom were exceptionally lofty, he was instructed to expound and narrate. When Geng was about to pass away, he left his testament to this effect; succeeding to the Dharma seat truly answered that fine intention. Now, his intellect was vast and splendid, and his eloquence was lucid and abundant. Whenever he came to debating the abstruse principles, hesitations were immediately cleared away. Even as he repeatedly wielded the discussion staff and occasionally sharpened the edge of his words, great difficulties resolved themselves, and his speech was succinct, composed, clear, and far-reaching. When the Sui dynasty ruled the realm and the nine provinces were united under one court, all eminent men of superior virtue were extended invitations; Long, however, resolved to live in seclusion, declining on the grounds of old age and sickness, and continued to dwell in his old abode, expounding the teachings until his final days. On the sixteenth day of the eleventh month in the first year of the Renshou era (601 CE), he fell ill in bed, and on the twentieth day, he passed away. At that time, the Winter Solstice marked the season and the weather was bitterly cold; clouds covered the entire sky and snow flew across the wild plains. But at the midnight hour of his nirvāṇa, the heavens cleared up, and the Milky Way shone limpid and bright. Was this not a clear miraculous omen of the spiritual powers mourning in sorrow and the heavenly dragons being moved with grief? Now, Long's nature was rooted in compassion and deliverance; he did not value ostentation, being gentle, content, and holding freedom from greed as his treasure. In all, he lectured on the Tattvasiddhi thirty times, and on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra each more than ten times; other texts varied, so they are not detailed here. Before his demise, he led his disciples to the southern mountain summit of Gaozuo Monastery, gathered earth to construct an altar, and said, "If I discard this form, do not trouble yourselves with inner and outer coffins; you may leave it here to bestow upon birds and insects." As soon as the altar was finished, he passed away; how true it was that he knew his destiny! Later, in accordance with his last wishes, a high stele was erected at the monastery, with an inscription composed by the śramaṇa Faxuan.