續高僧傳 19.19

19.19

釋法應。姓王氏。東越會稽人。生自孩孺性度沈默。隨住緣想幽思難移。弱冠出家。事沙門曇崇。學宗禪業。見于別傳。時值周初定門初闢。奉法履行。亘道相趨。應於門學殊為稱首。後逢周禍避迹終南。飯衣松蘿潛形六載。專修念慧用祛夙罪。精厲所及法門彌淨。心用攸厝妄境斯澄。屢感虎狼蹲踞廬側。或入門內似有相因。應素體生緣。又閑禪病。對猶家犬。為受三歸。自爾馴狎更繁其類。隋開入度。還事崇公。定業既深偏蒙印可。徒眾五百並委維持。教授獎擢允開眾望。開皇十二年。有勅令搜簡三學業長者。海內通化崇於禪府。選得二十五人。其中行解高者。應為其長。勅城內別置五眾。各使一人曉夜教習。應領徒三百。於實際寺相續傳業。四事供養並出有司。聲聞惟遠。下勅賜帛三百段。仍用造經一藏。親躬受持。以武德初年素無所患。云吾今將逝。已有香華見迎。言已卒於清禪寺。春秋八十矣。

Śramaṇa Fa'ying, whose secular surname was Wang, was a native of Kuaiji in Dongyue. From childhood, he was by nature reserved and quiet; wherever he dwelt, his mindful contemplation and profound reflection were hard to shake. Upon reaching his majority (at twenty), he left home and served the śramaṇa Tanchong, taking the cultivation of dhyāna as his foundational learning, which is recorded in [Tanchong's] separate biography. At that time, in the early days of the Zhou dynasty, the gateway of dhyāna was first opening up; those who observed the Dharma and practiced cultivation hastened along the path one after another, and Fa'ying was preeminent among his fellow disciples. Later, when the Zhou persecution occurred, he fled into seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain. For six years he ate pine needles, clothed himself in moss, and concealed his form, single-mindedly cultivating mindfulness and wisdom to eliminate past misdeeds. With his intense diligence, the gateway of the Dharma grew ever purer; wherever his mind was applied, the realm of delusion was cleared away. Tigers and wolves were repeatedly moved to crouch beside his hut, or even entered his room as if having some karmic connection. Fa'ying inherently understood the conditions of living beings and was also skilled in addressing meditation illnesses; confronting them as if they were house dogs, he administered the three refuges to them. From then on they grew tame, and their kind visited in even greater numbers. In the Sui, when ordination was permitted again, he returned to serve Master Chong. As his mastery of dhyāna had deepened, he received special certification, and the five hundred disciples were all entrusted to his charge. In instructing and promoting them, he fully fulfilled the hopes of the congregation. In the twelfth year of Kaihuang (592 CE), an imperial edict ordered a search for and selection of those senior in the cultivation of the three trainings; the transformation throughout the realm was held to begin with the seat of dhyāna, and twenty-five men were selected. Among those high in practice and understanding, Fa'ying was made the head. An imperial decree ordered that five separate assemblies be established within the capital city, each having one man to instruct and train them day and night. Fa'ying led three hundred disciples, continually transmitting the practice at Shiji Monastery. The offerings of the four requisites were all provided by the authorities. His fame spread far and wide; an imperial decree bestowed three hundred bolts of silk, which he then used to produce a complete canon of scriptures and personally upheld it. In the early years of Wude (618–626 CE), without having suffered from any illness, he said: 'I am now about to depart; fragrant flowers have already appeared to welcome me.' Having spoken, he passed away at Qingchan Monastery at the age of eighty.