續高僧傳 16.26

16.26

釋僧副。姓王氏。太原祁縣人也。弱而不弄。鑒徹絕群。年過小學識成景行。鄉黨稱奇。不仁者遠矣。而性愛定靜。遊無遠近。裹糧尋師訪所不逮。有達摩禪師。善明觀行。循擾巖穴言問深博。遂從而出家。義無再問一貫懷抱。尋端極緒為定學宗焉。後乃周歷講座備甞經論。並知學唯為己聖人無言。齊建武年南遊楊輦。止於鍾山定林下寺。副美其林藪。得栖心之勝壤也。行逾氷霜言而有信。三衣六物外無盈長。應時入里道俗式瞻。加以王侯請道頹然不作。咫尺宮闈未嘗謁覲。既行為物覽。道俗攸屬。梁高素仰清風。雅為嗟貴。乃命匠人考其室宇於開善寺以待之。恐有山林之思故也。副每逍遙於門。負杖而歎曰。環堵之室蓬戶甕牖。匡坐其間尚足為樂。寧貴廣廈而賤茅茨乎。且安而能遷。古人所尚何必滯此。用賞耳目之好耶。乃有心岷嶺觀彼峨眉。會西昌侯蕭淵藻。出鎮蜀部。於即拂衣附之爰至井絡。雖途經九折無忘三念。又以少好經籍。執卷緘默動移晨晷。遂使庸蜀禪法自此大行。久之還返金陵。復住開善。先是胡翼之山有神人現。以慧印三昧授與野人何規曰。可以此經與南平王觀為病行齋三七日也。若不曉此法。問之於副。時以訪之。果是其曾所行法。南平遂行齋祀。疾便康復。豈非內因外構更相起予。不久卒於開善寺。春秋六十有一。即普通五年也。窆於下定林之都門外。天子哀焉。下勅流贈。初疾殛之時。有勸脩福者。副力疾而起厲聲曰。貨財延命去道遠矣。房中什物並施招提僧。身死之後但棄山谷。飽於鳥獸不亦善乎。勿營棺隴以乖我意。門徒涕淚不忍從之。將為勒碑旌德。而永興公主素有歸信。進啟東宮請著其文。有令遣湘東王繹為之。樹碑寺所。

Shi Sengfu was surnamed Wang, a native of Qi County in Taiyuan. In youth he did not engage in trivial play, and his discerning penetration surpassed his peers. Past the age of elementary schooling, his knowledge grew into admirable conduct; his villagers called him extraordinary, and unvirtuous people kept their distance. He naturally loved meditative tranquility and traveled far and wide, packing provisions to seek out teachers and inquire into what he had not yet attained. There was Meditation Master Damo, who was skilled at illuminating contemplative practices, living in seclusion amidst crags and caverns, whose discourses were profound and broad. [Sengfu] thereupon followed him and took monastic ordination (pravrajyā). Regarding doctrines, he never asked a second time, fully grasping them at once; tracing things to their source and ultimate limits, he became a foremost authority in the study of samādhi. Later, he visited various lecture seats and thoroughly studied the sūtras and treatises, realizing that learning is merely for oneself, while sages leave no words. In the Jianwu era of the Qi, he traveled south to the capital Yang[zhou] and stayed at the Lower Dinglin Monastery on Mount Zhong. Sengfu admired its groves and thickets as an excellent place to settle the mind. His conduct was purer than ice and frost, and he was trustworthy in speech. Apart from the three robes and six requisites, he kept no surplus property. When he entered the settlements at proper times, monastics and laypeople looked up to him as a model. Furthermore, when princes and marquises requested instruction in the Way, he remained aloof and did not visit them; though only footsteps away from the palace precincts, he never went to pay court. Since his conduct was observed by all, both monastics and laypeople placed their hopes in him. Emperor Gaozu of the Liang had long admired his pure reputation and deeply esteemed him. He thus ordered artisans to construct a residence for him at Kaishan Monastery in readiness, fearing he might have thoughts of returning to the mountains and forests. Sengfu would often stroll at the gate, lean on his staff, and sigh, saying: 'In a room of mere circumscribed walls, with a tumbleweed door and jar-bottom windows, sitting upright within is still sufficient joy. Why should one value a vast mansion and despise a thatch hut? Moreover, to settle where one is and yet be able to move was esteemed by the ancients; why must one linger here just to gratify the eyes and ears?' He then set his mind on the Min range and wished to view Mount Emei. It happened that Xiao Yuanzao, the Marquis of Xichang, was sent out to garrison the Shu region; [Sengfu] immediately brushed off his robes and accompanied him, reaching the Jing-Luo celestial fields. Though his route crossed the Jiu-zhe [Nine Twists] road, he never forgot the three contemplations. Furthermore, having loved the scriptural books from his youth, when he held a roll in silence, the morning sunbeams would shift before he moved. He thereby caused the meditation methods to flourish greatly in Yong and Shu from this time onward. After a long while, he returned to Jinling and again resided at Kaishan. Prior to this, a divine being appeared on Mount Huyi, who bestowed the Wisdom-Seal Samādhi upon a rustic named He Gui, saying: 'You may give this sūtra to Prince Nanping to observe and undertake a twenty-one-day retreat for his illness. If he does not understand this method, ask Sengfu about it.' When they subsequently consulted him, it was indeed a practice he had previously cultivated. Nanping then conducted the retreat and offerings, and his illness was immediately cured. Was this not an instance of internal causes and external conditions mutually awakening each other? Soon after, he passed away at Kaishan Monastery at the age of sixty-one, in the fifth year of the Putong era [524 CE]. He was buried outside the main gate of Lower Dinglin. The Emperor grieved for him and issued an edict bestowing generous posthumous gifts. When his illness first grew grave, someone urged him to cultivate merits. Sengfu struggled to rise despite his illness and said sternly: 'Prolonging life through wealth and goods is far from the Way! Let all the implements in my room be given to the monks of the cāturdiśa monastery. After my death, merely cast my body into the mountain valley; will it not be good to satisfy the birds and beasts? Do not construct a coffin or tomb mounds contrary to my wishes.' His disciples wept and could not bear to comply. When they were about to erect a stele to commend his virtue, Princess Yongxing, who had long held faith in him, memorialized the Heir Apparent to request a text for it. An order was given directing Xiao Yi, the Prince of Xiangdong, to compose it, and the stele was erected at the monastery.