續高僧傳 15.23

15.23

釋法常。俗姓張氏。南陽白水人也。高祖隆仕魏因移于河北郡焉。少踐儒林頗知梗概。而厭其諠雜情欣出家。奉戒自守不群非類。霜懷標舉為眾所推。年十九。投曇延法師。登蒙剃落既預聽限。大闡宏猷。學不逾歲。即講涅槃。道俗聽者咸奇理趣。自爾專親侍奉曉夕諮謀。每擊幽致。延欣其情理深當。乃摩頂曰。觀子所涉。必住持正法矣。於即研精覃思無釋寸陰。時年二十二。攝論初興。隨聞新法仰其弘義。于時論門初闢。師學多途。封守舊章鮮能迴覺。常乃博聽眾鋒校其銛銳。秦齊趙魏靡不周行。時積五年鑽覈名理。至於成實毘曇華嚴地論。博考同異皆為軌轍。末旋踵上京慨茲異敘。隨講出疏示顯群迷。隋齊王暕。召結時望盛演釋經。登預法座敷陳至理。詞義弘遠罕得其門。僉共美之嘉歎。成俗遂有。胥徒歸湊。相續依承。四時講解以為恒任。大業之始榮唱轉高。爰下勅旨入大禪定。相尋講肆成濟極多。唐運初興遐邇清晏。四遠投造增倍於前。每席傳燈播揚非一。貞觀之譯證義所資。下勅徵召恒知翻任。後造普光宏壯華敞。又召居之。衣服供給四時隨改。又下勅令為皇儲受菩薩戒。禮敬之極眾所傾心。貞觀九年。又奉勅召。入為皇后戒師。因即勅補兼知空觀寺上座。撫接客舊妙識物心。弘導法化長鎮不絕。前後預聽者數千。東蕃西鄙難可勝述。及學成返國皆為法匠。傳通正教于今轉盛。新羅王子金慈藏。輕忽貴位棄俗出家。遠聞虔仰思覩言令。遂架山航海遠造京師。乃於船中夢矚顏色。及覩形狀宛若夢中。悲涕交流欣其會遇。因從受菩薩戒。盡禮事焉。十四年。有僧犯過。下勅普責京寺。大德綱維因集於玄武門。召常上殿。論及僧過。常曰。僧等蒙荷恩惠得預法門。不能躬奉教網。致有上聞天聽。特由常等寡於訓誨。恥愧難陳。遂引涅槃付屬之旨。上然之。因宥大理獄囚百有餘人。又延設供。食訖而退。及李道居先。不勝此位。率僧邀駕隨頓表上。既不蒙遂。因染餘疾。的無痛所右脇而終于住寺。春秋七十有九。即貞觀十九年六月二十六日也。至七月二日。葬於南郊高陽之原。時炎景陵天遊塵翳日。逮至發引之前。夜降微雨。及於明旦。天地清朗雲霧四除。纖塵不飛道路無擁。京寺僧侶門人子弟等。各建脩幢三十餘車。前後威儀四十餘里。信心士女執素幡花列侍左右。乃盈數萬。卿相儐從。僉以榮之。初常涉詣義門妙崇行解。故眾所推。美歸於攝論。而志之所尚慕涅槃。恒欲披講未之欣悟。遂依眾請專弘此論。陶冶理味精貫匈懷。依時赴講全無讀誦。纔有餘暇課業行道。六時自勵片無違缺。有大神王冠服皆素。率其部從隨其旋遶。道俗時見。密以高之。又曾宵夜至佛堂中。壁畫樂天一時起舞。後於中夜又在佛堂。觀音菩薩從外入戶上住空中。身相瓌奇佩服瓔珞。晃發希有良久便滅。後經五年。天將欲曙。又感普賢菩薩從東而來。去地五六丈許。常之專精。徵應為如此也。故立志清峻逾久逾劇。所獲法利多造經像。但務奇妙不言其價。歲建檀會終盡京師。悲敬兩田無遮供養。自所服用麁弊而已。講揚別供一不受之。還布眾中持操無改。著攝論義疏八卷玄章五卷。涅槃維摩勝鬘等。各垂疏記。廣行於世。弟子德遜等。為立碑于普光之門。宗正卿李百藥為文。

Shi Fachang's secular surname was Zhang, and he was a native of Baishui in Nanyang. His great-great-grandfather Long served the Wei dynasty, and on that account the family moved to Hebei Commandery. In his youth, he trod the groves of Confucian learning and grasped their general outlines fairly well. However, disliking their noise and confusion, his mind took joy in leaving the household. He observed the precepts and guarded himself, not mingling with those unlike him. With lofty resolve pure as frost, he was esteemed by the multitude. At the age of nineteen, he went to Master Tanyan and immediately received tonsure. Having been admitted to the ranks of listeners, he broadly propagated the grand path. Before a year of study had passed, he expounded the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. Both monastics and laity among his listeners marvelled at the profound purports. From then on, he attended upon [Tanyan] with exclusive devotion, consulting with him morning and evening. Whenever he struck upon profound purports, Yan rejoiced that his understanding was deep and apt, and so rubbed his crown, saying: 'Observing what you have traversed, you will surely maintain the right Dharma.' Thereupon, he investigated with utmost devotion and deep contemplation, not letting a single inch of time slip by. At that time he was twenty-two. When the Mahāyānasaṃgraha was first emerging, upon hearing the new teachings he revered their expansive meaning. At that time, the gate of that treatise was newly opened, and masters studied along manifold paths, clinging to old conventions so that few could awaken and turn around. Chang then broadly listened to the various viewpoints and tested their sharpness. Through Qin, Qi, Zhao, and Wei, there was nowhere he did not travel. Over a period of five years, he drilled into and verified the principles and terms. As for the Chengshi, Abhidharma, Huayan, and Dilun, he broadly examined their similarities and differences, making them all his guidelines. Finally he turned his steps toward the capital, lamenting these differing accounts; as he lectured, he produced commentaries to illuminate and reveal the way to the confused multitudes. The Sui Prince of Qi, [Yang] Jian, assembled the prominent figures of the time to expound the Buddhist scriptures in grand fashion. [Fachang] ascended the Dharma seat to lay out the ultimate principles. His words and meanings were so expansive and profound that few could enter through his gate. All praised and commended him together, and this became customary. Followers gathered together, relying on and continuing under him one after another. Expounding through the four seasons was made his constant duty. At the beginning of the Daye era, his illustrious renown grew ever higher; an imperial decree was issued ordering him to enter Daxianding [Monastery]. Lecture sessions succeeded one another, bringing benefit to a vast number of people. When the Tang dynasty first arose, near and far were peaceful and calm, and those coming from all quarters doubled compared to before. At each session he transmitted the lamp, propagating it more than once. When the translations of the Zhenguan era were undertaken, he was relied upon for doctrinal verification; an imperial decree summoned him to constantly oversee the task of translation. Later, Puguang [Monastery] was constructed, magnificent, splendid, and spacious, and he was summoned again to dwell there, his clothing and provisions adjusted to the four seasons. An imperial decree was also issued commanding him to confer the bodhisattva precepts upon the Heir Apparent. The utmost reverence and respect were paid to him, and the multitude was devoted to him. In the ninth year of Zhenguan, he received another imperial summons to enter [the palace] as precept master to the Empress. On that occasion, he was appointed by imperial order to concurrently oversee the position of senior elder (sthavira) at Kongguan Monastery. He received guests and regulars with exquisite understanding of people's hearts. Broadly guiding the transformation of the Dharma, his enduring stability was unbroken. Those who attended his lectures numbered in the thousands over time, from the eastern borders to the western frontiers, beyond all counting. When their studies were accomplished and they returned to their home states, they all became masters of the Dharma, propagating the right teaching, which flourishes all the more today. Prince Kim Jajang of Silla made light of his noble station and abandoned secular life to leave the household. Hearing of [Fachang] from afar, he reverently aspired to behold his countenance and hear his commands. He thus traversed mountains and sailed the seas to come to the capital from afar. While aboard ship, he saw his face in a dream, and when he saw his physical appearance, it was just as in the dream. Tears of sorrow and joy streaming down, he rejoiced at their meeting, received the bodhisattva precepts from him, and served him with full ritual propriety. In the fourteenth year, a monk committed an offense, and an imperial decree reprimanded all the monasteries in the capital. The eminent and administrative monks therefore gathered at Xuanwu Gate. Chang was summoned into the palace hall to discuss the monk's offense. Chang said: 'The monks have received imperial favor and been permitted to enter the Dharma gate. Being unable to respectfully uphold the net of teachings ourselves has caused this to reach the Heavenly Hearing. This is solely because we, Chang and the others, have been deficient in instruction; our shame and guilt are difficult to express.' He then cited the intent of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra regarding the entrustment [of the Dharma]. The Emperor affirmed it. On this account, he pardoned more than one hundred prisoners in the Court of Judicial Review. He also invited [Fachang] to an offering banquet, which concluded before he withdrew. When Daoism was placed above [Buddhism], unable to bear this precedence, he led monks to intercept the imperial carriage and presented memorials at each resting stop. Not having his wish granted, he consequently contracted an illness. With no specific site of pain, he passed away lying on his right side in his resident monastery, at the age of seventy-nine, on the twenty-sixth day of the sixth month of the nineteenth year of Zhenguan. On the second day of the seventh month, he was buried on the Gaoyang Plain in the southern suburbs. At that time, the scorching sun blazed in the sky and floating dust obscured the daylight. Prior to the day the funeral procession set forth, a light rain fell at night. Come morning, heaven and earth were clear and bright, clouds and mists completely cleared away, not a speck of dust flew, and the roads were unhindered. The monastics and disciples of the capital monasteries each erected tall banners on more than thirty carts, and the solemn procession stretched for more than forty li. Faithful men and women holding white banners and flowers stood flanking both sides, numbering in the tens of thousands. Ministers and officials accompanied the procession, all counting it an honor. In the beginning, Chang thoroughly penetrated doctrinal portals, sublimely exalting both practice and understanding. Hence, what the multitude praised and esteemed centered upon the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, yet the aspiration he cherished was admiration for the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. He constantly wished to open and expound it, not yet having found joyful fulfillment in [other works]. Acceding to the multitude's entreaty, he exclusively propagated this treatise. He refined its theoretical flavors until they thoroughly penetrated his heart and breast. When going to lecture at the appointed times, he did not rely on reading texts at all. Only when he had spare time did he apply himself to the task of circumambulation, exerting himself during the six periods of the day without the slightest lapse. There was a great spirit king, whose cap and garments were all white, leading his retinue to follow him in circumambulation. Monastics and laity occasionally saw this and secretly held him in high esteem. Once, in the dead of night, he went into the Buddha hall, and the devas of music painted on the wall all rose and danced together. Later, at midnight, he was again in the Buddha hall: Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara entered through the door from outside and stood suspended in midair, his physical form wondrous and extraordinary, adorned with necklaces of jewels, gleaming with rare radiance, which dissolved away after a long while. Five years later, just as dawn was breaking, he again had a visionary resonance of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra coming from the east, some five or six zhang above the ground. Such were the omens and responses of Chang's focused devotion. Therefore, his pure and lofty resolve grew all the more intense the longer it lasted. Most of the Dharma profits he received were used to make scriptures and images, attending only to exquisite craftsmanship without asking the cost. Every year he established almsgiving assemblies throughout the capital, offering unhindered donations to both the fields of compassion and reverence. For his own personal wear and use, he had only coarse and worn goods. When special offerings were made for his lectures, he accepted none of them, distributing them back among the community, keeping his discipline unchanged. He composed an Expository Commentary on the Mahāyānasaṃgraha in eight fascicles and a Xuanzhang in five fascicles. For the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra, Śrīmālādevī Sūtra, and others, he also left commentaries and notes, which circulated widely in the world. His disciple Dexun and others erected a stele for him at the gate of Puguang Monastery, with an inscription written by the Minister of the Court of the Imperial Clan, Li Baiyao.