續高僧傳 20.18

20.18

釋道哲。姓唐。齊郡臨邑人。初投潁川明及法師。學十地地持。為同聽者所揖。具戒已後正奉行門。又從魏郡希律師稟承四分。希亦指南一時盱衡五眾。受教博曉將經六載。輕重筌宗究其文體。但為戒慧雖通未懷定業。有河內詢禪師。眾推不測匠首當今。嘉哲至誠傾襟為說。一悟真諦霍然大通。禪侶相謝解齊登室。聞京邑道盛。乃步從焉。初至住仁覺寺。沙門曇遷有知人之譽。敬備師禮從受攝論。研味至理曉悟其文。標擬有方豈惟聲教。遂厭辭人世。潛于終南之駱谷也。山粒難接授受須淨。既闕使人。遂虛腹累宵。欣茲味定。有清信士張暉。陪從多年請益供奉。因暫下山忽逢重雪。懸路既擁七日方到。哲以雖對食具為無人授。守死正念。暉披雪至菴。彈指覺悟方從定起。斯寔謹慎資持為此例矣。京師大莊嚴寺以哲素有道聲。延住華館。初從眾意退居小室。一食分衛不受僧利。眾益重之。盩厔縣民。昔以隱居駱谷。得信者多。相率迎請。乃往赴焉。營構禪宇立徒策業。山俗道侶相從屯赴。教以正法訓以律儀。野逸是憑聞諸京輔。忽一旦謂門人曰。無常及矣。大眾難見。冥目既至長恨何言。遂東歸莊嚴。訊問名德。奄然卒於故房。春秋七十二矣。即貞觀九年正月也。葬于京之西郊。長城故人慕仰聲範。遂發塚迎柩還歸盩厔。行道設齋以從火葬。收其餘燼為起塔於城西二里端正樹側龍岸鄉中。列植楊柏行往揖拜。然哲逈發天才學不師古。撰百識觀門十卷智照自體論六卷大乘聞思論等行世。弟子靜安道誠。並承習厥宗。匡務有敘。安掩迹林泉念定存業。誠行感玄解謙穆自修。包括律部講道時接。初住大莊嚴寺。以傳業高今徵入瑤臺匡化於彼。餘波潛被盛績京師。

Shi Daozhe, surnamed Tang, was a native of Linyi in Qi Commandery. At first, he went to Dharmabhāṇaka Mingji of Yingchuan to study the Daśabhūmika and the Bodhisattvabhūmi, being admired by his fellow listeners. After receiving full ordination, he directly adhered to the path of practice. He also received the Four-Part [Vinaya] from Vinayadhara Xi of Wei Commandery. Xi was also a guide of the age, held in high regard by the five groups. Daozhe received instruction and gained broad understanding over nearly six years, investigating the phrasing and essentials of minor and major offenses to the bottom of their textual structure. Yet, though he was versed in morality and wisdom, he had not yet harbored the practice of concentration. There was Chan Master Xun of Henan, whom the assembly esteemed as unfathomable, the foremost master of the present age. Pleased with Daozhe's utmost sincerity, he poured out his heart to preach for him. With a single awakening to the ultimate truth, he suddenly attained broad comprehension. The assembly of chan practitioners deferred to him, for his understanding equalled those who entered the chamber. Hearing that the Way flourished in the capital, he followed on foot. Upon first arriving, he stayed at Renjue Monastery. The śramaṇa Tanqian had a reputation for discerning people; observing full decorum toward a teacher, he received the Mahāyānasaṃgraha from him. Savoring the ultimate principle, he understood the text; he had a method for his goals and standards, not merely relying on verbal instructions. He then grew weary of and withdrew from the human world, secluding himself in Luo Valley of the Zhongnan Mountains. Mountain provisions were difficult to sustain, and offering and receiving had to be pure. Lacking an attendant, he went on an empty stomach for multiple nights, rejoicing in this flavor of concentration. There was a pure believer named Zhang Hui who had attended him for many years, asking for instruction and providing offerings. Once, having gone down the mountain briefly, he suddenly encountered heavy snow. The precipitous paths being blocked, he arrived only after seven days. Because there was no one to hand over the food, though Daozhe faced the food vessels, he held fast to right mindfulness even unto death. Hui pushed through the snow to reach the hermitage, and snapping his fingers to awaken him, Daozhe only then arose from concentration. Such was indeed his prudence in sustaining himself. Because Daozhe had long possessed a reputation for the Way, the Great Da Zhuangyan Monastery in the capital invited him to reside in its splendid halls. At first, he complied with the wishes of the assembly, but later retired to a small room. Eating once a day from alms-begging, he did not accept monastic wealth, and the assembly respected him all the more. The people of Zhouzhi County, because he had previously lived in seclusion in Luo Valley, had many who placed faith in him; they joined together to welcome and invite him, and so he went there. He constructed a chan sanctuary, established disciples, and urged them to their tasks. Mountain folk and companions of the Way gathered in crowds to follow him. He instructed them in the true Dharma and trained them in the rules of discipline. Relying on this rustic recluse, his fame reached the metropolitan region. Suddenly one day he said to his disciples: 'Impermanence has arrived! The great assembly will be hard to see again. When closing the eyes comes, what words can express the lasting sorrow?' He then returned east to Da Zhuangyan Monastery. Having inquired after eminent virtues, he passed away peacefully in his former room at the age of seventy-two, in the first month of the ninth year of Zhenguan. He was buried in the western suburbs of the capital. His old acquaintances in the old district of Changcheng admired his renown and exemplary conduct; they excavated the tomb, received his coffin, and brought it back to Zhouzhi. They performed circumambulations and offered a vegetarian feast to accompany the cremation. Gathering his remaining ashes, they erected a stūpa for him two li west of the city wall, beside the Duanzheng tree in Long'an Township. Rows of poplars and cypresses were planted, and passersby would bow in veneration. Daozhe was exceptionally endowed with natural genius, not merely learning by imitating the past. He composed the Ten-Fascicle Contemplation Gate of the Hundred Conscious States, the Six-Fascicle Treatise on the Wisdom-Illumination of One's Own Nature, and the Mahāyāna Treatise on Hearing and Contemplation, which circulate in the world. His disciples Jing'an and Daocheng both inherited and practiced his lineage, managing affairs in proper order. An concealed his traces among the forests and springs, keeping his mind in concentration to preserve the work. Cheng's conduct moved the mysterious realm; he was modest and cultivated himself, embracing the Vinaya section and frequently holding lectures on the Way. At first he resided at Great Da Zhuangyan Monastery; because of his lofty inherited work, he has now been summoned to enter Yaotai to guide and transform beings there. The remaining waves secretly spread, achieving magnificent success in the capital.