續高僧傳 17.15

17.15

釋慧思。俗姓李氏。武津人也。少以弘恕慈育知名。閭里稱言頌逸恒問。嘗夢梵僧勸令出俗。駭悟斯瑞辭親入道。所投之寺非是練若。數感神僧訓令齋戒。奉持守素梵行清慎。及稟具足道志彌隆。逈栖幽靜常坐綜業。日惟一食不受別供。周旋迎送都皆杜絕。誦法華等經三十餘卷。數年之間千遍便滿。所止菴舍野人所焚。遂顯厲疾求誠乞懺。仍即許焉。既受草室持經如故。其人不久所患平復。又夢梵僧數百形服瓌異。上坐命曰。汝先受戒律儀非勝。安能開發於正道也。既遇清眾。宜更翻壇祈請師僧三十二人。加羯磨法具足成就。後忽驚寤方知夢受。自斯已後勤務更深。剋念翹專無棄昏曉。坐誦相尋用為恒業。由此苦行得見三生所行道事。又夢彌勒彌陀說法開悟。故造二像並同供養。又夢隨從彌勒與諸眷屬同會龍華。心自惟曰。我於釋迦末法受持法華。今值慈尊感傷悲泣豁然覺悟。轉復精進靈瑞重沓。瓶水常滿供事嚴備。若有天童侍衛之者。因讀妙勝定經。歎禪功德。便爾發心修尋定友。時禪師慧文。聚徒數百。眾法清肅道俗高尚。乃往歸依從受正法。性樂苦節營僧為業。冬夏供養不憚勞苦。晝夜攝心理事籌度。訖此兩時未有所證。又於來夏束身長坐繫念在前。始三七日發少靜觀。見一生來善惡業相。因此驚嗟倍復勇猛。遂動八觸發本初禪自此禪障忽起。四肢緩弱不勝行步。身不隨心。即自觀察。我今病者皆從業生。業由心起。本無外境。反見心源業非可得。身如雲影相有體空。如是觀已。顛倒想滅。心性清淨。所苦消除。又發空定心境廓然。夏竟受歲慨無所獲自傷昏沈。生為空過深懷慚愧。放身倚壁。背未至間霍爾開悟。法華三昧大乘法門一念明達。十六特勝背捨除入。便自通徹不由他悟。後往鑒最等師。述己所證。皆蒙隨喜。研練逾久前觀轉增。名行遠聞四方欽德。學徒日盛機悟寔繁。乃以大小乘中定慧等法。敷揚引喻用攝自他。眾雜精麁是非由起。怨嫉鴆毒毒所不傷。異道興謀謀不為害。乃顧徒屬曰。大聖在世不免流言。況吾無德豈逃此責。責是宿作。時來須受。此私事也。然我佛法不久應滅。當往何方以避此難。時冥空有聲曰。若欲修定。可往武當南岳。此入道山也。以齊武平之初。背此嵩陽。領徒南逝高騖前賢。以希栖隱。初至光州。值梁孝元傾覆國亂前路梗塞。權止大蘇山。數年之間歸從如市。其地陳齊邊境。兵刃所衝。佛法云崩五眾離潰。其中英挺者。皆輕其生重其法。忽夕死慶朝聞。相從跨險而到者。填聚山林。思供以事資。誨以理味。又以道俗福施。造金字般若二十七卷金字法華。琉璃寶函莊嚴炫曜。功德傑異大發眾心。又請講二經。即而敘構。隨文造盡莫非幽賾。後命學士江陵智顗。代講金經。至一心具萬行處。顗有疑焉。思為釋曰。汝向所疑。此乃大品次第意耳。未是法華圓頓旨也。吾昔夏中苦節思此。後夜一念頓發諸法。吾既身證不勞致疑。顗即諮受法華行法。三七境界難卒載敘。又諮。師位即是十地。思曰非也。吾是十信鐵輪位耳。時以事驗。解行高明根識清淨。相同初依能知密藏。又如仁王。十善發心長別苦海。然其謙退言難見實故本迹叵詳。後在大蘇。弊於烽警。山侶栖遑不安其地。又將四十餘僧經趣南岳。即陳光大年六月二十二日也。既至告曰。吾寄此山正當十載。過此已後必事遠遊。又曰。吾前世時曾履此處。巡至衡陽值一佳所。林泉竦淨見者悅心。思曰。此古寺也。吾昔曾住。依言掘之。果獲之房殿基墌僧用器皿。又往巖下。吾此坐禪。賊斬吾首。由此命終。有全身也。僉共尋覓。乃得枯骸一聚。又下細尋便獲髏骨。思得而頂之。為起勝塔。報昔恩也。故其往往傳事驗如合契。其類非一。自陳世心學莫不歸宗。大乘經論鎮長講悟。故使山門告集日積高名。致有異道懷嫉密告陳主。誣思北僧受齊國募掘破南岳。勅使至山。見兩虎咆憤。驚駭而退。數日更進。乃有小蜂來螫思額。尋有大蜂喫殺小者。銜首思前飛揚而去。陳主具聞。不以誡意。不久謀罔一人暴死。二為猘狗嚙死。蜂相所徵。於是驗矣。勅承靈應。乃迎下都止栖玄寺。嘗往瓦官。遇雨不濕履泥不污。僧正慧暠與諸學徒。相逢於路。曰此神異人。如何至此。舉朝屬目道俗傾仰。大都督吳明徹。敬重之至奉以犀枕。別將夏侯孝威。往寺禮覲。在道念言。吳儀同所奉枕者。如何可見。比至思所將行致敬。便語威曰。欲見犀枕可往視之。又於一日忽有聲告。洒掃庭宇。聖人尋至。即如其語。須臾思到。威懷仰之言於道俗。故貴賤皁素不敢延留。人船供給送別江渚。思云。寄於南岳止十年耳。年滿當移不識其旨。及還山舍。每年陳主三信參勞。供填眾積。榮盛莫加。說法倍常神異難測。或現形小大。或寂爾藏身。或異香奇色祥瑞亂舉。臨將終時。從山頂下半山道場。大集門學連日說法。苦切呵責聞者寒心。告眾人曰。若有十人不惜身命常修法華般舟念佛三昧方等懺悔常坐苦行者。隨有所須吾自供給必相利益。如無此人吾當遠去。苦行事難竟無答者。因屏眾斂念。泯然命終。小僧雲辯。見氣乃絕號吼大叫。思便開目曰。汝是惡魔。我將欲去。眾聖畟然相迎極多。論受生處。何意驚動妨亂吾耶。癡人出去。因更攝心諦坐至盡。咸聞異香滿於室內。頂煗身軟顏色如常。即陳太建九年六月二十二日也。取驗十年宛同符矣。春秋六十有四。自江東佛法弘重義門。至於禪法。蓋蔑如也。而思慨斯南服。定慧雙開。晝談理義夜便思擇。故所發言無非致遠便驗因定發慧。此旨不虛。南北禪宗罕不承緒。然而身相挺特。能自勝持。不倚不斜。牛行象視。頂有肉髻異相莊嚴。見者迴心不覺傾伏。又善識人心鑒照冥伏。訥於言過方便誨引。行大慈悲奉菩薩戒。至如繒纊皮革。多由損生。故其徒屬服章。率加以布。寒則艾納用犯風霜。自佛法東流。幾六百載。惟斯南岳慈行可歸。余嘗參傳譯屢覩梵經。討問所被法衣。至今都無蠶服。縱加受法不云得成。故知若乞若得蠶綿作衣。准律結科斬捨定矣。約情貪附何由縱之。思所獨斷高遵聖檢。凡所著作口授成章。無所刪改。造四十二字門兩卷。無諍行門兩卷。釋論玄。隨自意。安樂行。次第禪要。三智觀門等五部各一卷。並行於世。

Shi Huisi had the secular surname Li and was a native of Wujin. From youth he was known for his broad leniency, kindness, and nurturance; his hamlet and neighborhood praised him, continually extolling and inquiring after him. He once dreamed of an Indian monk who exhorted him to leave secular life; startled into awakening by this auspicious omen, he took leave of his parents and entered the path. The monastery he went to was not an araṇya; he was repeatedly influenced by a spiritual monk who instructed him to observe the precepts and fasts. He upheld them and maintained plain simplicity, pure and circumspect in his brahma-conduct. When he received full ordination, his aspiration for the path grew ever greater. Dwelling far off in seclusion and quiet, he constantly sat in meditation to integrate his practice, eating only one meal a day and never accepting special offerings; he completely severed all coming and going, welcoming and seeing off. He recited more than thirty fascicles of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra and other scriptures, completing a thousand recitations within a few years. The thatched hut where he stayed was burned down by an uncivilized person, who thereupon manifested a severe disease and pleaded with sincere heart, begging for repentance, which [Huisi] immediately granted. After [Huisi] received a grass hut, he upheld the sūtras as before, and before long the person's illness recovered. He also dreamed of several hundred Indian monks whose appearance and clothing were extraordinary. The senior monk bade him, saying, 'The precepts and moral rules you previously received were not superior; how could they reveal the right path? Now that you have met a pure assembly, you should renew the ordination platform, supplicate thirty-two master monks, and perform the karmavācanā rituals to achieve full completion.' Later he suddenly awoke with a start and only then realized it was an ordination received in a dream. From this time onward, his diligent practice grew even deeper: overcoming distracting thoughts and focusing with single-minded devotion, never letting dawn or dusk pass in vain, sitting and reciting following one after the other as his constant pursuit. Because of these ascetic practices, he was able to see the deeds of the path he had practiced in three past lives. He also dreamed of Maitreya and Amitābha expounding the Dharma and awakening him, and therefore he made images of both and made offerings to them together. He further dreamed of following Maitreya and his retinue, gathering together at the Dragon Flower Tree. He reflected in his heart, 'I receive and uphold the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra in the age of Śākyamuni's maddharma-vipralopa; now meeting the Compassionate Honoured One, I am moved to sorrowful weeping,' and suddenly he awakened. He became still more energetic, and miraculous omens occurred repeatedly: his water bottle was constantly full and the articles for offerings were fully prepared, as if celestial youths were attending and guarding him. Because he read the Scripture on the Wonderfully Superior Samādhi, he praised the merit of dhyāna, whereupon he resolved his mind and set out to seek a companion in samādhi. At that time, Dhyāna Master Huiwen had gathered several hundred disciples; the rules of his assembly were pure and solemn, and both monastics and laity held him in high esteem. [Huisi] went to take refuge with him and received the correct Dharma from him. By nature fond of ascetic self-discipline, he took managing affairs for the saṅgha as his duty; he made offerings in winter and summer without fearing toil or hardship. Day and night he gathered his mind, deliberating on principle and phenomena; yet through both seasons, he had not attained realization. In the coming summer, he bound his body in prolonged sitting, binding his mindfulness before him. After only three weeks, a slight tranquil contemplation arose, and he saw the signs of wholesome and unwholesome karma of his entire life; startled and sighing over this, his vigor redoubled. Thereupon the eight sensations were stirred and the original first dhyāna arose. From this time on, meditation obstacles suddenly arose: his four limbs became weak and frail, unable to bear walking, his body not obeying his mind. He immediately observed himself: 'My present illness is entirely generated from karma; karma arises from the mind; originally there is no external realm; turning back to see the source of the mind, karma cannot be obtained. The body is like a cloud's shadow: its marks exist, but its substance is empty.' Having contemplated thus, inverted thoughts were extinguished, the nature of his mind became pure, and his suffering was eliminated. Moreover, the samādhi of emptiness arose, and the state of mind became vast and clear. When the summer ended and he received the monastic age, he lamented having attained nothing; grieved over his torpor, feeling that his life had passed in vain, he felt profound shame. Relaxing his body and leaning against the wall, before his back even touched it, he suddenly had an awakening: in a single thought, he clearly penetrated the Lotus samādhi and the Mahāyāna dharma-doors, and became naturally conversant with the sixteen superior practices, the rejections, and the eradication-entrances, without depending on another's awakening. Later he went to masters such as Jian and Zui and recounted what he had realized; all of them rejoiced in agreement. The longer he trained and refined himself, the more his previous contemplation increased; his name and conduct were heard afar, and people from all directions revered his virtue. His students grew more numerous daily, and those who attained awakening were truly abundant. Thereupon, using the balanced methods of samādhi and wisdom from both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, he proclaimed and illustrated them with parables to gather in both himself and others. The assembly was a mix of the refined and the crude, from which right and wrong arose. From malice and jealousy came aconite and poison, but the poison could not harm him; heterodox paths hatched schemes, but the schemes could not injure him. He then looked at his disciples and said, 'When the Great Sage was in the world, he could not escape rumors; how much less can I, who have no virtue, escape this retribution? Retribution is past action; when the time comes, it must be received—this is a private matter. Yet my Buddha-Dharma will soon be extinguished; where should I go to avoid this disaster?' At that time, a voice from the invisible sky said, 'If you wish to cultivate samādhi, you may go to Wudang and Nanyue; these are mountains for entering the path.' In the beginning of the Wuping era of Northern Qi, he turned his back on Songyang and led his disciples south, aspiring to the ancient worthies in hopes of secluded dwelling. When he first reached Guangzhou, it coincided with the downfall of Emperor Xiaoyuan of Liang; the state was in turmoil and the road ahead was blocked, so he temporarily stayed at Mount Dasu. Within a few years, those who came to follow him were as numerous as a marketplace. That land lay on the border between Chen and Qi, struck by weapons of war; the Buddha-Dharma was collapsing like clouds, and the five groups of disciples were scattered and broken. Those among them who were outstanding and eminent made light of their lives and prized the Dharma; regarding dying in the evening as a small matter, they rejoiced at hearing [the Dharma] in the morning. Those who followed one another across perils to arrive there filled the mountain forests. Huisi provided them with material support and instructed them with the savor of principle. Furthermore, using the merit donations of monastics and laity, he produced the Prajñāpāramitā in gold letters in twenty-seven fascicles, and the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra in gold letters, with lapis lazuli jewel caskets that were adorned and resplendent; this extraordinary merit greatly inspired the hearts of the assembly. He was also invited to lecture on the two sūtras; he immediately set forth the composition, exhausting every nuance along with the text, none of it not profound and subtle. Later he ordered the scholar Zhiyi of Jiangling to lecture on the golden scripture in his stead; when he reached the passage where 'one mind is endowed with ten thousand practices,' Zhiyi had doubts. Huisi explained it for him, saying, 'What you just doubted is merely the sequential meaning of the Great Prajñā; it is not yet the round and sudden import of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka. When I formerly practiced ascetic self-discipline during the summer and pondered this, in a single thought in the late night all dharmas suddenly arose. Since I have realized it in my own person, do not labor over doubts.' Zhiyi then consulted and received the practice of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka; his experiences over three weeks can hardly be related in full. He also asked, 'Is the Master's stage that of the ten grounds?' Huisi said, 'No. I am only at the stage of the iron wheel of the ten faiths.' Tested by events at that time, his understanding and practice were lofty and brilliant, his sense faculties and consciousness pure, his characteristics corresponding to the first reliance, able to understand the secret storehouse; and like the Benevolent King [Sūtra], generating the mind of the ten virtues, he was forever parted from the ocean of suffering. Yet he was humble and yielding, so his words make it hard to see the reality, and thus his fundamental and trace [manifestations] cannot be known in detail. Later, at Dasu, troubled by beacon warnings, the mountain assembly was restless and felt unsafe in that place; so he led over forty monks directly toward Nanyue, on the twenty-second day of the sixth month in the Guangda era of Chen. Having arrived, he announced, 'I shall lodge on this mountain for precisely ten years; after this, I must undertake a distant journey.' He also said, 'In my previous life, I once walked this place.' Patrolling to Hengyang, he came upon a fine spot where the forests and springs were tall and pure, bringing joy to whoever saw them. Huisi said, 'This is an ancient monastery; I once lived here.' Digging according to his words, they indeed obtained the foundations of rooms and halls, as well as utensils used by monks. Again going beneath a crag, [he said,] 'I sat in meditation here, and bandits severed my head, by which my life ended; my whole body is here.' Together they searched and found a pile of dried bones; searching carefully further down, they immediately obtained the cranium. Huisi received it and placed it atop his head, erecting a superior stūpa for it to repay past kindness. Thus, the events transmitted from time to time were verified like matching tallies, and instances of this kind were not singular. From the Chen era onward, all who studied the mind took him as their ancestral master; Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises were constantly lectured on and understood, so that announcements and assemblies at his mountain gate daily accumulated lofty renown. Consequently, heterodox practitioners harbored jealousy and secretly reported to the Chen ruler, falsely accusing Huisi of being a northern monk recruited by the Qi state to excavate and destroy Nanyue. When imperial envoys arrived at the mountain, they saw two tigers roaring in fury, and retreated in terror. Advancing again several days later, a small bee came to sting Huisi's forehead; soon a large bee ate and killed the small one, held its head in its mouth before Huisi, and flew off. When the Chen ruler heard all of this, he did not take it as a cause for admonition. Before long, one of the schemers died suddenly, and two were bitten to death by rabid dogs; what the omen of the bees portended was thus verified. Acknowledging this spiritual response by imperial decree, [the ruler] welcomed him down to the capital to reside at Qixuan Monastery. Once, when he went to Waguan Monastery, he met rain without getting wet, and walked on mud without getting soiled. The Monastic Controller Huigao and various students met him on the road and said, 'This is an extraordinary person; how did he come here?' The entire court looked upon him, and monastics and laity inclined toward him in veneration. Grand Commander Wu Mingche respected him to the utmost and presented him with a rhinoceros-horn pillow. Detached Commander Xiahou Xiaowei went to the monastery to pay homage, thinking to himself on the road, 'The pillow presented by Wu Yitong—how might I see it?' When he arrived at Huisi's place and was about to pay respects, [Huisi] at once said to Xiaowei, 'If you wish to see the rhinoceros-horn pillow, you may go look at it.' On another day, there was suddenly a voice announcing, 'Sweep and sprinkle the courtyard; the sage will arrive shortly.' It was just as the voice said: in a short while Huisi arrived. Xiaowei revered and admired him, speaking of it to monastics and laity; therefore, whether noble or base, ordained or lay, none dared detain him, and providing men and boats, they saw him off at the riverbank. Huisi said, 'I lodge at Nanyue for only ten years; when the years are full, I shall depart'—people did not understand his meaning. When he returned to his mountain dwelling, each year the Chen ruler sent three letters of inquiry; offerings filled and piled up in the assembly, and his glory and flourishing could not be surpassed. His preaching was beyond ordinary, his spiritual anomalies difficult to fathom: sometimes manifesting a small or large body, sometimes quietly concealing his form, or unusual fragrances and extraordinary colors and auspicious omens arose in abundance. When he was about to pass away, he descended from the mountain summit to the bodhimaṇḍa halfway down the mountain, gathered his disciples in large numbers, and preached the Dharma for days on end, reproaching them with bitter earnestness so that those who heard him were chilled to the heart. He told the assembly, 'If there are ten people who do not begrudge their bodies and lives, and constantly cultivate the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, the pratyutpanna Buddha-mindfulness samādhi, the vaipulya repentance, and the ascetic practice of constant sitting, I shall personally provide whatever they need and will certainly benefit them. If there are no such persons, I shall depart far away.' Ascetic practice being difficult, in the end no one answered. Thereupon he dismissed the assembly, collected his thoughts, and silently passed away. The novice monk Yunbian, seeing his breath cease, wailed and cried out loudly. Huisi then opened his eyes and said, 'You are an evil māra. I was about to depart, and the multitude of sages were arriving in great crowds to welcome me and discuss the place of rebirth. Why did you startle and disturb me? Foolish man, leave!' Thereupon he collected his mind again, sat upright and attentive until the end. Everyone smelled an extraordinary fragrance filling the room; the crown of his head was warm, his body soft, and his facial complexion as usual. It was precisely the twenty-second day of the sixth month of the ninth year of the Taijian era of Chen; tested against the ten years, it matched like a tally. His age was sixty-four. Since the Dharma spread in the region east of the Yangtze, doctrinal matters were deeply valued, but when it came to the practice of dhyāna, it was practically disregarded. Yet Huisi, lamenting this southern realm, opened both samādhi and wisdom: discussing principle and meaning by day, and reflecting and discerning by night. Therefore, none of the words he spoke failed to reach far, proving that wisdom arises from samādhi—this purport is not false. In both northern and southern Chan traditions, few do not inherit his lineage. Furthermore, his bodily marks were outstanding and extraordinary, able to sustain themselves without leaning or tilting; he walked like an ox and gazed like an elephant, and atop his head was a fleshy uṣṇīṣa, adorned with extraordinary marks. Those who saw him had their minds transformed and unconsciously bowed in submission. He was also skilled at knowing people's minds, clearly perceiving what was hidden. He was slow to speak of faults, using skillful means to instruct and guide. Practicing great compassion, he upheld the bodhisattva precepts: as for silk, floss, and leather, because they mostly result from harming life, the garments of his disciples were generally made of cloth; in cold, they used mugwort wool to brave the wind and frost. Since the eastward transmission of the Buddha-Dharma for nearly six hundred years, only this compassionate practice of Nanyue can truly be taken as a refuge. When I participated in translation work, I repeatedly saw Indic manuscripts; inquiring into the Dharma robes worn there, to this day none are made of silkworm silk. Even if one underwent ordination wearing them, it is not said to be accomplished. Thus we know that whether begged or received, making robes of silk and floss is definitively classified as an offense of cutting and abandonment according to the Vinaya rules. Restricting the passions and clinging to desire, how could one indulge it? What Huisi decided alone loftily conformed to the sages' standard. Whatever he composed, he dictated orally into chapters without any deletion or revision. He composed the Forty-Two Syllable Gate in two fascicles, the Gate of Non-Contention Practice in two fascicles, and one fascicle each of five works: the Profound Meaning of the Expository Treatise, Following One's Own Will, Pleasant Practice, Sequential Essentials of Dhyāna, and Contemplation Gate of the Threefold Wisdom; all of these circulate in the world.