續高僧傳 20.23

20.23

釋曇韻。不詳氏族。高陽人。初厭世出家誦法華經有餘兩卷。時年十九仍投恒岳側蒲吾山。就彼虛靜訖此經部。值栖隱禪師曰誦經非不道緣。常誦未即至道。要在觀心離念。方契正道耳。韻初承此告。謹即受而行之。專精念慧深具舉捨。又聞五臺山者即華嚴經清涼山也。世傳文殊師利常所住處。古來諸僧多入祈請。有感見者具蒙示教。昔元魏孝文。嘗於中臺置大布寺。帝曾遊止具奉聖儀。前種華園地方二頃。夏中發艶狀同鋪錦。光彩昱耀亂人心目。如是嘉聞數發蕩神悅耳。遂舉足栖焉。遍遊臺岳備見靈相。初停北臺木瓜寺二十餘歲。單身弔影處以瓦窯。形覆弊衣地布草蓐。食惟一受味不兼餘。然此山寒厲林生㵎谷。自外峯嶺坦然遐淨。韻夜行晝。坐思略昏情。慶其晚逢也。前所誦經心口不緣三十餘載。會隙歷試一字無遺。乃更誦殘文成其部帙。至仁壽年內有瓚禪師者。結集定學背負繩床。在雁門川中蘭若為業。韻居山日久思展往懷。聞風附道便從瓚眾。一沐清化載仰光猷。隨依善友。所謂全梵行也。屬隋高造寺偏重禪門。延瓚入京。眾失其主。人各其誠散歸林谷。韻遂投于比干山。又遊南部離石龍泉文成等郡。七眾希向夷夏大同。十善聿修緇素匡幸。原此河濱無受戒法。縱有志奉皆往太原。夷夏情乖人皆怯。往致有沙彌三十其歲者。及韻化行即傳斯教。山城兩眾皆蒙具足。唐運伊始兵接定陽。屢逢屯喪本業無毀。以夜係晝攝心乖逸。幽棲積久衣服故弊。蚤虱聚結曾不棄捐。任其𠲿噉寄以調伏。曾以夏坐山饒土蚤。既不屏除氈如血凝。但自咎責願以相酬情無悋結。如此行施四十餘年。歲居耳順忽無蚤虱。韻猶深自責曰。計業不應即盡。當履苦趣受其報耳。又告門人曰。吾見超禪師寄他房住。素有壁虱不噉超公。乃兩道流出向餘房內。又見在蠱家食飯。匙接蠱精置于疊下。而快食如故。又不為患。蠱主懼焉。吾德不及超。何為致此。每年於春秋二時依佛名法。冬夏正業則減食坐禪。甞願寫法華誓須潔淨。數年已來不能可辦。忽感書生無何而至。告云。善解抄經。韻邀以法據。並謂堪能。遂乃安于石室立淨書之。旦入暮出深怪其行。未盈一旬七軸俱了。將以禮䞋目前不見。及遭賊抄藏經巖窟。世靜往收。乃委于林下。箱襆久爛而卷色如初。斯感驗奇異率此類也。又常居別室自勤修業。餘有眾侶難嗣其蹤。每云。吾年事如此何可放捨。若坐昏悶即起禮佛。甞策四儀以道量據。自見勝達尠倫其德。以貞觀十六年端坐終於西河之平遙山。春秋八十餘矣自韻十九入山六十餘載。不希名利不畜侍人。不隷公籍不行己任。凡有所述職。皆推寄於他焉。

Śramaṇa Tanyun, whose family clan is unknown, was a native of Gaoyang. When he first grew weary of the world and underwent pravrajyā, he recited more than two scrolls of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra. At that time he was nineteen years of age; he then went to Mount Puwu beside Mount Heng. Residing in that empty stillness, he completed [reciting] this entire scripture. Encountering Dhyāna Master Qiyin, the master said: 'Reciting scriptures is not without causal connection to the Way, but constant recitation does not immediately reach the Way. What is essential lies in contemplating the mind and leaving conceptual thought behind; only then do you accord with the true Way.' Upon receiving this instruction, Yun reverently accepted and put it into practice, concentrating exclusively on mindfulness and wisdom, thoroughly endowed with lifting up and letting go. Furthermore, he heard that Mount Wutai was indeed the Clear and Cool Mountain (Qingliang Shan) of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, traditionally transmitted in the world as the constant dwelling place of Mañjuśrī. Since antiquity, many monks had entered it to pray; those who obtained spiritual resonance fully received manifest instruction. Formerly, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei once established Dabu Monastery on the Central Terrace; the emperor once traveled and stayed there, reverently beholding the holy presence in full. In front of it, he planted a flower garden spanning an area of two qing. In midsummer it blossomed in resplendence, appearing like laid-out brocade; its dazzling radiance bewitched people's minds and eyes. Hearing of such fine things frequently stirred his spirit and pleased his ears, whereupon he set off to reside there. He traveled everywhere across the terraces and peaks, fully beholding miraculous manifestations. At first, he stayed at Mugua Monastery on the Northern Terrace for more than twenty years, living alone with only his shadow for company in a tile kiln. His body was covered in tattered clothes, and grass mats were spread on the ground. He took only one meal [a day], never partaking of other flavors. However, this mountain was bitingly cold, with trees growing only in ravines and valleys, while the peaks and ridges beyond were level, distant, and pure. Yun walked by night and sat by day, pondering to dispel torpor, rejoicing in what he had encountered late in life. For over thirty years his mind and mouth had not engaged with the scripture he had recited previously. When a spare moment arose, he tested himself on it, and not a single character was missing. Thereupon he recited the remaining text again, completing the entire set of scrolls. During the Renshou reign era, there was Dhyāna Master Zan, who gathered practitioners of meditation, carrying a folding cord-chair on his back, engaging in the practice of an araṇya in Yanmen Valley. Having lived in the mountains for a long time, Yun wished to express his past aspirations; hearing of the master's reputation, he joined his path and followed Zan's congregation. Bathed once in his pure transformation, he admired his radiant model for years. Following and relying on good friends is what is called 'the whole of the brahma-faring.' It happened that Emperor Gao of the Sui built monasteries, showing particular regard for the Dhyāna school, and invited Zan into the capital. The assembly lost its master; each person followed their own sincere devotion, scattering and returning to the forests and valleys. Yun thereupon went to Mount Bigan. He also traveled through southern commanderies such as Lishi, Longquan, and Wencheng. The sevenfold assemblies looked up to him; non-Chinese and Chinese alike became harmonious. The ten wholesome deeds were cultivated, and monastics and laypeople found correct fortune. Originally, there was no rite for receiving the precepts along this riverbank; even if people had the aspiration to uphold them, they all went to Taiyuan. The customs of the non-Chinese and the Chinese differed, and people were all timid about traveling, so that there were novices thirty years of age. When Yun's teaching was implemented, he transmitted these precepts, and both the monastic and lay assemblies received the full precepts. At the beginning of the Tang dynasty's fortune, warfare reached Dingyang; though he repeatedly encountered hardship and mourning, his original practice was never broken. Tying night to day, he gathered his mind to prevent laxity. Having secluded himself for so long, his garments were worn and tattered. Fleas and lice gathered in swarms, yet he never discarded them, letting them gnaw and bite as a means to subdue himself. Once, during a summer retreat, the mountain was full of bedbugs; since he did not remove them, his felt mat was like congealed blood. He merely blamed himself and vowed to repay his karmic debts, harboring no grudging regret. He practiced such giving for more than forty years. When he reached sixty years of age, suddenly there were no more fleas or lice. Yun still reproached himself deeply, saying: 'By all accounts, my karma should not be exhausted so quickly; I must surely tread the miserable destinies to receive its retribution!' He also told his disciples: 'I saw Dhyāna Master Chao staying in another room. There were originally bedbugs, but they did not bite Master Chao; instead, they flowed out in two streams toward the other rooms. I also saw that when he ate rice in the house of a poisoner, he caught the poisonous creature with a spoon and placed it under his plate, then ate heartily as before without coming to any harm. The poisoner was terrified. My virtue is not equal to Chao's; why has it come to this?' Every year in the spring and autumn, he followed the rite of the Buddha-Names; as his primary practice in winter and summer, he reduced his food and sat in meditation. He once vowed to copy the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, resolving that it must be done with utmost purity, but for several years he had been unable to accomplish it. Suddenly he was visited by a scholar who arrived without explanation and said, 'I am skilled at copying scriptures.' Yun tested him according to Dharma standards and deemed him capable. He then settled him in a stone chamber, where the scholar copied it while observing purification rites. He entered at dawn and left at dusk, which made Yun deeply wonder at his conduct. In less than ten days, all seven scrolls were completed. Just as Yun was about to offer him gifts, the scholar vanished before his eyes. Later, when bandits raided, the scripture was hidden in a cliff cave. When the world grew quiet, he went to retrieve it, finding it left under the trees; the box and wrapper had long since rotted, yet the color of the scrolls was as fresh as at first. Such wondrous spiritual resonances were generally of this kind. Furthermore, he always lived in a separate room, diligently cultivating his own practice, so that the other companions could hardly follow his footsteps. He would often say: 'At my age, how could I relax? If I feel dull and sluggish while sitting, I immediately rise to pay homage to the Buddha.' He was accustomed to spurring his four deportments and judging himself against the measures of the Way. Seeing his own superior attainment, few could equal his virtue. In the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, he passed away sitting upright on Mount Pingyao in Xihe, at the age of more than eighty. From when Yun entered the mountains at nineteen for more than sixty years, he did not seek fame or gain, did not keep personal attendants, was not registered in the public registers, and did not act according to his own whims. Whenever he was credited with any office, he always declined and deferred it to others.