續高僧傳 13.21

13.21

釋慧暠。安陸人。幼入道門。即懷遠量收覽經義弘導居心。初跨染玄綱希崇大品。博聞略究而情阻未申。承苞山明法師興皇遺屬世稱郢匠通國瞻仰。因往從之。諮奉無倦。備清遐道遂得廣流。部帙恢裕興焉。年方登立即昇法座。談撝一指眾侶諠譁。受業傳燈分風徙化。然以法流楚服成濟已聞。岷絡三巴尚昏時網。便以法弘導遠化未聞。隋大業年泝流江硤。雖遭風浪厲志無前。既達成都大弘法務。或就綿梓隨方開訓。自玉壘僧侶因此開明。衝煙總萃傾味正法而成惠䘏焉。無憚遊涉故使來晚去思詠歌滿路。又以眾斯殷雜枯折由生。暠據法徵治情無猜隱。時或不可其懷者。計奏及之云。結徒日盛道俗屯擁。非是異術何能動世。武德初年下勅窮討。事本不實。誣者罪之。暠惟道在人弘。義須知返。乃旋途南指道出荊門。隨學之賓又倍於前。既達故鄉亟仍前業重張領牒更敘關鍵。神望彌高眾聚彌結。弊其諠競。避地西山之陰。屏退尋閑陶練中觀。經逾五載四眾思之。又造山迎接處邑傳化。暠隨宜利益意引行藏。還返安州方等寺講說相續。以貞觀七年卒于所住。春秋八十有七。自暠一位僧伍。精勵在先日止一餐。七十餘載隨得便噉無待營求。不限朝中趣得便止。所以蜀部豐都芬羞兼列。每旦填供常充寺門。暠並命入僧。自無一受。旦講若下食惟一椀。自餘餅菜還送入僧。有學士導勤。見其羸弱恐法事稽留。為告外眾。令辦厚供。暠怪異常。推問食所由。即令勤出眾。永不相襲。告曰。邪命之食不可御也。汝聞吾言而不解教意。其守節稟法也如此。

Shi Huigao was a native of Anlu. Entering the monastic order in his youth, he already cherished lofty aspirations, gathering and examining scriptural principles and taking the propagation and guidance of others as his goal. When he first entered the dark guidelines, he aspired to revere the Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra; though he heard widely and examined it in brief, his feelings were blocked and not yet fully expressed. Hearing that Master Ming of Mount Bao was the successor of the Xinghuang tradition, renowned in the world as an exquisite master and looked up to by the whole country, Gao went to follow him. Inquiring and serving without tire, he fully mastered the pure and sublime path, and his fame spread far and wide. Broadly equipped with collections of scriptures, he flourished. Just as he reached the age of full adulthood, he mounted the Dharma seat; with a single wave of his hand and a single pointing, the assembly murmured in admiration. Transmitting the lamp to his students, his influence dispersed and converted others. However, considering that the flow of the Dharma had already brought salvation to the land of Chu, while the Min River and the Three Ba regions were still obscured by the worldly net, he resolved to guide them with the Dharma and convert those who had not yet heard it. In the Daye era of the Sui, he sailed upstream through the Yangtze Gorges. Although he encountered winds and waves, his resolute determination pushed ahead. Once he reached Chengdu, he greatly promoted the work of the Dharma, or visited Mianzhou and Zizhou to give instruction according to the region. From that time on, the monks of Yulei became enlightened through him; gathering through the mists, they eagerly inclined toward the true Dharma and received his beneficent aid. He had no fear of travels, so that songs and praises lingered on the roads where he arrived late and departed. Moreover, because the assemblies were large and mixed, discord arose from this. Gao governed and corrected them according to the Vinaya, with no hesitation or secret partiality. At times, those who were displeased submitted a memorial saying: "His gathered followers grow daily, and clergy and laity crowd around him; if not by extraordinary arts, how could he move the world?" In the early years of the Wude era, an imperial edict was issued to conduct a thorough investigation. The accusation was fundamentally false, and the slanderer was punished. Gao considered: "The Way depends on humans to propagate it; in righteousness one must know when to retreat." He therefore turned his journey southward and went out through Jingmen. The guests following him to study were twice as many as before. Having arrived at his native land, he promptly resumed his former activities, reopening the registers of ordination and expounding the essential keys again. His spiritual prestige rose ever higher, and the assembly gathered ever more tightly. Fatigued by their clamor, he withdrew to the northern slopes of the Western Mountains, secluded himself in search of leisure, and refined his practice of the Madhyamaka contemplation. After more than five years, the fourfold assembly yearned for him, and they went to the mountains to welcome him, bringing him to towns to preach. Gao brought benefit according to circumstances, his mind adjusting to retirement or emergence. He returned to Fangdeng Monastery in Anzhou, where his lectures continued uninterrupted. In the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, he passed away at his dwelling place at the age of eighty-seven. Ever since Gao entered the ranks of the Sangha, he exerted himself assiduously; in the matter of food, he ate only one meal a day. For over seventy years, he ate whatever he received, never awaiting preparation or seeking after it; not limited to noon, as soon as he obtained it he would stop. Therefore, in the opulent cities of the Shu region, fragrant delicacies were arranged together, and every morning offerings crowded the monastery gates; Gao ordered them all to be given to the community of monks, never accepting any for himself. When he came down from lecturing in the morning, his meal consisted of only one bowl; all remaining bread and vegetables were sent back to the Sangha. There was a student named Daoqin who, seeing his emaciation and fearing that the Dharma affairs would be delayed, told the outside laypeople to prepare rich offerings. Gao found it extraordinary and investigated the origin of the food; he immediately ordered Qin to leave the assembly and never to inherit his teaching. He rebuked him: "Food from wrong livelihood cannot be consumed! You heard my words but failed to understand the intent of the teaching." His maintenance of integrity and adherence to the Dharma were like this.