續高僧傳 13.28

13.28

釋僧鳳。姓蕭氏。梁高其族祖也。曾祖懿梁侍中宣武王。大父軌梁明威將軍番禺侯。顯考長陳招遠將軍新昌守。鳳以族胄菁華風望高遠。置情恢廓立履標峻。昔在志學聰慧夙成。文翰曾映聲辯超挺。所製雜文百有餘首。冠出儒林識者咸誦。固得早登延譽令逸京臯。開皇之始僧粲法師。名重五都學周八藏。乃委心請道歸宗師傳。粲鑒其精爽美其器略。授以真乘。開十等之差。導以玄辯。疎八勢之位。鳳雅有幽度領覽無遺。勝氣邁於比肩。賦命懷於前達。時倫相顧曰。師逸功倍。聞之昔人。氷涼清厚。驗之今日。會隋煬負圖。歷試黃道。大業中歲駐蹕南郊。文物一盛千年罕及。欲以軍威帝業激動鬼神。乃高飾黃麾盛陳白羽。霜戈曜日武帳彌川。皂素列於朝堂。下勅曰。軍國有容華夷不革。尊主崇上遠存名體。資生通運理數有儀。三大懸於老宗。兩教立於釋府。條格久頒。如何抗禮。黃老士女承聲下拜。惟佛一宗相顧峙立。沙門明贍。率先答詔。具如別傳。然勅頻催。何為不禮。鳳為崇敬寺主。依例被追。乃擺撥直進。援引經論明不敬之理。僉詳贍鳳抗詔之儀。可謂蘭菊各擅其英華。竹栢互陳其貞節。不可削也。獻后云崩禪定斯構。下詔辟召。來萃道場相從講解。迄於暮齒。善綜引安機要。難問失緒顯論攸歸。貞觀中年釋門重闡。青田有穢白首斯興。非夫領括無由弘護。中書舍人杜正倫。下勅監掌統詳管轄奏召。以為普集寺任。尋更右遷定水上座。綏䋙二寺無越六和。妙達眾心欣其仰止。年及從心更新誠致。縶維塵境放曠山林。言晤相諠終事畢矣。有岐州西山龍宮寺。遠來請講深幸素心。承彼北背曾巖南臨清渭石鏡耀日松蘿冒空暢悅幽情。即而依赴。大開法觀導引慧蹤。遂使道俗來蘇聞所未有。既而厚夜悽感。常志前言。悲谷增慨彌隆遐想。以其年暮月二十三日。因疾終於彼寺。春秋七十有七。初以疾極委臥。猶存弘法。精爽不移。乃力疾而起曰。妙法華經。最後言別。終須一釋用通累念。遂對眾開之。下坐怗然。奄爾神逝於岐州陳倉縣之龍宮寺。士俗官庶痛心疾首。喪我所天。悲夫陳迹昭穆安覩。乃遷靈於縣郭之北原。鑿窟處之。仍施白塔。苕然望表。遠近瞻屬無不涕零。有弟子法位。學聲早被。言晤清遠。以終天難補英聲易塵。匪假陳揚於何取則。乃於定水寺為建一碑程器萬古。其文左僕射燕公為製。惟鳳立性矜莊氣厲群伯。吐言爽朗晤涉奔隨。以般若為心田。以涅槃為意得。講法華經百有餘遍。製疏命的亦是一家。餘諸經論待時而舉。初鳳之往西山。便留遺疏述其遠度。累以餘緣。恰達彼寺因而不返。樂天知命何以加之。故其遺文後偈云。

Śramaṇa Sengfeng. His secular surname was Xiao, and Emperor Gao of Liang was his clan ancestor. His great-grandfather was Yi, Palace Attendant and Prince Xuanwu of the Liang. His grandfather was Gui, General of Clarified Prestige and Marquis of Panyu of the Liang. His illustrious father was Chang, General Who Beckons from Afar and Governor of Xinchang of the Chen. Due to his ancestral lineage and elite pedigree, Feng's reputation was elevated and far-reaching; his disposition was open and broad, his conduct lofty and upright. Formerly, when at the age of aspiring to learning, his intelligence was precociously formed; his writings shone brightly, and his resonant eloquence was outstanding. He composed more than a hundred miscellaneous literary pieces, surpassing the Confucian forest, which all knowledgeable people chanted. Thus he early attained an extended reputation, his fine fame soaring over the capital. At the beginning of the Kaihuang era, Dharmabhāṇaka Sengcan was renowned throughout the five capitals, his learning encompassing the eight piṭakas. Feng devoted his mind to entreating the Way, taking refuge in the master’s lineage. Sengcan recognized his sharpness, admired his capacity and strategy, and transmitted the True Vehicle to him, distinguishing the gradations of the ten levels, and guided him with profound eloquence, explaining the positions of the eight powers. Feng possessed an elegant and profound nature, comprehending everything without omission. His superior vigor surpassed his peers, and his endowment rivaled the masters of old. His contemporaries looked at one another and said: "'When the master is untroubled, the result is doubled'—this was heard of the ancients; 'Cold ice is pure and thick'—this is verified today." It happened that Emperor Yang of Sui received the imperial mandate and toured the realm. In the middle of the Daye era, he halted his entourage in the southern suburbs, a gathering of regalia and cultural splendor rarely seen in a thousand years. Desiring to stir the gods and spirits with military might and imperial majesty, he raised high yellow banners and displayed white plumes; frosty halberds shone in the sun, and martial pavilions covered the riverbanks. Monastics and laypeople stood in rows before the court. An imperial decree was issued: "The military and state have their decorum; Chinese and barbarians do not alter it. Venerating the lord and exalting the sovereign maintains names and forms for antiquity. Supporting life and moving fortune, principles and numbers have their rites. The three greats are suspended in the Laozi tradition; the two teachings are established in the Buddhist mansion. The regulations have long been promulgated; how can you resist bowing?" The men and women of Huang-Lao bowed upon hearing the voice, but those of the Buddhist school alone stood facing one another upright. Śramaṇa Mingshan took the lead in replying to the edict, as detailed in his separate biography. Yet imperial messengers repeatedly urged: "Why do you not bow?" As abbot of Chongjing Monastery, Feng was summoned according to custom. He pushed his way straight forward, citing sūtras and treatises to clarify the principle of not paying homage. Everyone who examined the demeanor of Shan and Feng in resisting the edict agreed it could be said: "The orchid and chrysanthemum each display their blossoms; the bamboo and cypress each manifest their constancy"—it could not be diminished. When Empress Xian passed away and Dachanding Monastery was established, an imperial decree summoned monks to assemble at the bodhimanda to expound the teachings alongside one another down to his advanced years. He was skilled in summarizing and presenting essential points; when difficult questions lost their thread, he brought them back to the definitive doctrine. In the middle of the Zhenguan era, the Buddhist order flourished anew; when weeds grew in the blue fields, the white-haired elder arose. Without someone to take charge, there would be no means to promote and protect [the Dharma]. Du Zhenglun, Secretariat drafter, was ordered by imperial decree to supervise, oversee, and report, summoning Feng to take up the post at Puji Monastery. Soon he was transferred to serve as prior of Dingshui Monastery. In soothing and maintaining the two monasteries, he did not stray from the six harmonies; profoundly understanding the minds of the multitude, they rejoiced in looking up to him. When his age reached seventy, his sincere resolve was renewed: breaking free from the dust of worldly ties, he wandered freely in the mountain forests; through spoken exchanges and mutual conversation, he brought his life's affairs to completion. Longgong Monastery in the Western Mountains of Qizhou sent a distant invitation requesting him to lecture, which deeply gratified his longstanding wish. Hearing that it was backed by towering cliffs to the north and faced the clear Wei River to the south, with stone mirrors gleaming in the sun and pines and vines cloaking the sky, delighting his secluded feelings, he immediately went to comply. He broadly opened the Dharma contemplation and guided with traces of wisdom, reviving monastics and laypeople to hear what they had never heard before. Later, sorrowfully moved in the deep night, he recalled his former words; lamenting the valley of life, his yearning for the beyond grew deeper. On the twenty-third day of the last month of that year, he died of illness at that monastery at the age of seventy-seven. When first bedridden by severe illness, he still thought of propagating the Dharma, his mental vigor undiminished. He rose with effort despite his illness and said: "The Sūtra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma will be my final parting words; I must expound it once more to relieve my lingering thoughts." He then expounded it before the assembly. When he stepped down from his seat, he was serene; suddenly his spirit departed at Longgong Monastery in Chencang County, Qizhou. Scholars, laity, officials, and commoners felt deep grief, lamenting: "We have lost our heaven!" How sorrowful, for the traces of the past are clear, yet where can they be seen again? They moved his remains to the northern plain of the county wall, carved a cave to place him, and erected a white stupa. Standing tall as a visible landmark, those near and far who gazed upon it could not help but weep. He had a disciple named Fawei, whose scholarly reputation was established early, with pure and far-reaching discourse. Considering that this loss to heaven could hardly be remedied, and heroic fame easily turns to dust, without setting it forth, where would future generations take standard? Thus at Dingshui Monastery he erected a stele to show his model for ten thousand ages. Its text was composed by Duke Yan, the Right Supervisor of the Department of State Affairs. Feng's character was solemn and dignified, his spirit surpassing all leaders. His speech was clear and bright, and his comprehension swift. He took prajñā as his mind-field and nirvāṇa as his inner attainment. He lectured on the Lotus Sūtra more than a hundred times, and authored commentaries identifying the central tenets, forming an independent school. His lectures on other sūtras and treatises were held according to the occasion. When Feng initially departed for the Western Mountains, he left a farewell testament describing his distant intentions, entrusting his remaining affairs; upon arriving at that monastery, he did not return. What could surpass his rejoicing in Heaven and knowing his destiny? Therefore, the closing verse of his posthumous text reads: