續高僧傳 12.22

12.22

釋淨業。俗姓史氏。漢東隨人也。年登小學即霑緇服。閭里嘉之號稱賢者。專經之歲割愛出家。淨養威儀霜厲氷潔。受戒以後遊刃河內。精研律部博綜異聞。時有論師慧遠。樹德漳河傳芳伊洛。一遇清耳。便伸北面。學涅槃等經。皆品酌其致弘宣大旨。而恨文廣功略章句未離。及遠膺詔入關。業亦負帙陪從。首尾餐承盡其幽理。晚就曇遷禪師。學於攝論。遷器宇崇廓牆仞重深。遂舉知人。同揚樂說。嘉業鑽仰誠至。乃傾襟導引。隨聞頂受緘勒寸心。開皇中年。高步於藍田之覆車山。班荊採薇。有終焉之志。諸清信士。敬揖戒舟為築山房。竭誠奉養。架險乘懸。製通山美。今之悟真寺是也。業確乎內湛令響外馳。仁壽二年。被舉送舍利于安州之景藏寺。初通行諸基。欲於十力寺置之。行至景藏。忽感異香滿院。眾共嗟怪。因而樹立。將下舍利。赤光挺出照于人物。寺重閣上聞眾人行聲。及往掩捕扃閉如初。一人不見。塔北有池。沙門淨範為諸道俗受菩薩戒。乃有群魚游躍首皆南向似受歸相。範即乘舟入水為魚授法。魚皆迴頭遶船如有聽受都無有懼業慶其所遇。乃以舍利置於佛堂。先有塐菩薩一軀。不可移轉。至明乃見迴身面於舍利。狀類天然一無損處。屢興別瑞。傳言不盡。大業四年。召入鴻臚館。教授蕃僧。九年復召住禪定寺。聯翩荏苒微壅清曠後欲返於幽谷。告同學曰。此段一行便為不返。而別未淹旬。已聞殂化。春秋五十有三。達生知命斯亦至哉。即大業十二年二月十八日也。露骸松下。初業神岸溫審儀止雍容。敦仁尚德有古賢才調。篤愛方術。却粒練形。氷玉雲珠。資神養氣。而卒非其所治。徒載聲芳。潔己清貞差為傳德矣。

Śramaṇa Jingye, lay surname Shi, was a native of Sui in Handong. Reaching the age of primary schooling, he put on monastic robes; the neighborhood praised him, naming him a worthy. In his years of specializing in the scriptures, he severed emotional ties to leave household life. Purely cultivating decorum, he was as severe as frost and pure as ice. After receiving the precepts, he practiced with mastery in Henan, meticulously investigating the Vinayapiṭaka and broadly synthesizing diverse traditions. At that time, treatise master Huiyuan established virtue by the Zhang River and spread his fragrance along the Yi and Luo. As soon as Jingye listened to him, he took the seat of a disciple. In studying scriptures such as the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, he weighed their principles and broadly propagated their great themes, yet he regretted that the extensive texts and brief summaries had not transcended literal phrasing. When Huiyuan answered the imperial summons to enter the passes, Jingye also carried his book satchel to accompany him, from beginning to end receiving and exhausting their profound principles. Later, he went to Dhyāna Master Tanqian to study the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. Tanqian's capacity was lofty and vast, his walls many fathoms deep; he thereupon recommended that he recognized talent, and together they raised pleasant discourse. Praising Jingye's sincere diligence in inquiry, Tanqian poured out his heart to guide him; Jingye received with reverence whatever he heard, imprinting it upon his heart. In the middle of the Kaihuang era, he walked high on Fuche Mountain in Lantian, resting on the grass and gathering ferns, harboring the aspiration to live out his days there. Various pure-minded laymen respectfully saluted the vessel of the precepts, building a mountain retreat for him and serving him with utmost sincerity. Spanning precipices and mounting heights, the construction captured the beauty of the whole mountain; this is the present-day Wuzhen Temple. Jingye remained steadfast within and pure, his renowned voice spreading abroad. In the second year of Renshou, he was recommended to escort relics to Jingzang Temple in Anzhou. Initially, inspecting several sites, they intended to place them at Shili Temple. Arriving at Jingzang, they suddenly perceived an extraordinary fragrance filling the courtyard, and the assembly all marvelled in wonder; hence they erected it there. As they were about to deposit the relics, a red light leaped forth, illuminating people and objects. Above in the multi-storied pavilion of the temple, the sound of footsteps of many people was heard, yet when they went to catch them, the doors were locked as before, and not a single person was seen. North of the pagoda was a pool. When Śramaṇa Jingfan conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon the monks and laypeople, a shoal of fish leapt and swam with their heads all turned to the south as if taking refuge. Jingfan then boarded a boat and entered the water to confer the Dharma upon the fish; the fish all turned their heads to circle the boat as if listening and receiving it, showing no fear at all. Jingye rejoiced in what he encountered, and placed the relics in the Buddha hall. There had previously been a clay bodhisattva image that could not be moved; by morning, they found it had turned its body to face the relics, looking completely natural without any damage. Many other auspicious signs repeatedly arose, more than words could convey. In the fourth year of Daye, he was summoned to the Honglu Institute to instruct foreign monks. In the ninth year, he was summoned again to reside at Chanding Temple. Lingering on and on, this somewhat hindered his serene detachment. Later, wishing to return to his secluded ravine, he told his fellow students: "This single journey shall be one of no return." Within less than ten days of parting, news came of his passing, at the age of fifty-three. To understand life and comprehend destiny—how truly he attained this! It was on the eighteenth day of the second month in the twelfth year of Daye. His remains were left exposed under the pines. Initially, Jingye's demeanor was gentle and circumspect, his deportment gracious, possessing the talent and style of ancient worthies. He had a deep passion for esoteric arts: abstaining from grains to refine the body, and using crystal, jade, and cloud-pearls to nourish his spirit and temper his qi. Yet ultimately this was not his proper cultivation; it merely brought him fame. Keeping himself pure and chaste is truly worthy of transmitting as virtue.