續高僧傳 18.28

18.28

釋洪林。未詳氏族。太原人也。少履釋門稟受清化。率志都雅言晤精穆。住并州大興國寺。履操栖靜退屏人物。而住房連匝與眾比居。整畟貞嚴希言寡涉。高眾盛德皆敬而奉之。遊至林房。莫不捻履潛步𭍠然趣越也。其為世重如此。獨居一室積五十年。賓客送迎足不踰閾。至於僧法制度道俗二食。身先座首勵力行奉。不以道德用虧時眾。餘則端坐房中儼然卓立。瓶衣什物周正方所。故登其門者不覺毛竪。有問其故則從容談論。詞義審當。而不測其心造也。故興國大寺百有餘僧。敬異崇仰有如天岸。以武德年中終于所住。春秋八十餘矣。

Śramaṇa Honglin, whose clan name is unknown, was a native of Taiyuan. In his youth he walked the Buddhist path, receiving the pure transforming teaching. His disposition was graceful and refined, and his conversation was subtle and serene. He lived at the Daxingguo Monastery in Bingzhou, where his conduct was quiet and secluded, shunning people and worldly matters. Although his quarters were adjacent to and surrounded by the dwellings of the assembly, he was upright, solemn, sparse in speech, and seldom engaged in worldly affairs. The eminent monks and virtuous elders of the assembly all revered and served him. When passing by Lin’s room, everyone would lift their shoes, walk softly, and swiftly hurry past. Such was the esteem in which the world held him. He lived alone in one room for fifty years; in welcoming and seeing off guests, his feet never crossed the threshold. As for the monastic regulations and the two meals for clergy and laity, he took the lead at the head of the seats, exerting his strength to perform and uphold them, never compromising the assembly on account of his own virtue. At other times he sat upright in his room, towering and dignified. His water bottle, robes, and utensils were kept perfectly aligned and orderly. Thus, those who entered his door unconsciously felt their hairs stand on end. If anyone asked him about matters, he would converse with ease, his words and meanings being exact and appropriate, though none could fathom the depths of his mind. Therefore, the more than one hundred monks of the great Xingguo Monastery revered and admired him as if looking up to the shore of heaven. During the Wude era, he passed away at his residence, at the age of over eighty.