續高僧傳 20.24

20.24

釋慧思。姓郭氏。汾州介休人也。少學儒史宗尚虛玄。文章書隷有聲鄉曲。年二十五在并傳授。初不知佛乘之深奧也。會沙門道曄。德盛當鋒。處宗講揚攝大乘論。試往潛聽冥漠難追。累日詳受薄知希向。因求度脫。傳聞出家德業勿高禪定。即而習焉。三十許載師承靡絕。又聞念慧相須譬諸輪翅。遂周尋聖教備嘗弘旨。冬夏業定春秋博採。單衣節食見者發心。道志之倫往往屯赴。因而結眾於箕山之陰。晝則斂容默念。中夜昏塞為眾說法。六時篤課不墜清猷時說死觀各言其志。有云省約有志泰甚。思曰。出家之人生已從緣死當自任。豈勞人事送此枯骸。余必一期當自運耳。時以為未經疾苦。故得虛置其言。後覺不悆。財經兩日尋告眾曰。余其死矣。便起躡履案行空窟除屏殘屍。入中加坐發遣徒侶累以正命。處既森竦世號寒林。眾不忍離經夜旁守。至明往觀端拱如故。就觸其身方知已卒。春秋五十有五。即貞觀十六年五月矣。因即而殮焉。

Śramaṇa Huisi, surnamed Guo, was a native of Jiexiu in Fenzhou. In his youth, he studied Confucianism and history, and esteemed the profound and abstruse. His writings and clerical script were renowned in his home region. At the age of twenty-five, he was teaching in Bingzhou, initially knowing nothing of the profundity of the Buddha Vehicle. It happened that Śramaṇa Daoye, whose virtue was at its peak and who commanded prominent esteem, was lecturing on and propagating the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. Huisi tried going secretly to listen, but found it obscure and difficult to follow; after receiving instruction in detail for several days, he gained a faint understanding and aspiration. Thereupon, seeking liberation, he heard it transmitted that among the virtues and practices of one who undergoes pravrajyā, none is higher than dhyāna contemplation. He immediately undertook its practice, and for some thirty years his succession of masters never ceased. Furthermore, hearing that mindfulness and wisdom rely on each other like wheels or wings, he searched thoroughly through the holy teachings, fully tasting their vast import. In winter and summer he practiced meditation; in spring and autumn he gathered teachings widely. Wearing a single layer of clothing and eating sparingly, those who saw him gave rise to the aspiration for enlightenment. Like-minded seekers often flocked to him in numbers. Consequently, he gathered an assembly on the northern slope of Mount Ji. By day he composed his appearance and practiced silent mindfulness; in the dead of night, to dispel darkness and obstruction, he expounded the Dharma for the assembly. In the six periods of the day, his earnest recitation never let the pure model lapse. He often spoke of the contemplation of death, and people each voiced their wishes: some spoke of simplicity, while some had overly grand aspirations. Huisi said: 'A person who has undergone pravrajyā is born following conditions, and when dying should follow their own course. Why trouble human affairs to send off this withered corpse? When my time comes, I shall surely move it myself.' At the time, people thought that because he had not experienced the suffering of illness, he could make such empty remarks. Later, he felt unwell; after only two days had passed, he immediately told the assembly: 'I am about to die.' He then got up, put on his shoes, inspected empty caves, and cleared away the remaining corpses. Entering within, he sat cross-legged, sent away his disciples, and charged them to maintain a proper livelihood. The place was desolate and terrifying, known in the world as a 'charnel ground' (śītavana). The assembly could not bear to leave him, keeping watch beside him through the night. At dawn, when they went to look, he remained sitting upright with folded hands as before; only when they touched his body did they realize he had already passed away. His age was fifty-five, in the fifth month of the sixteenth year of Zhenguan. Thereupon, they encoffined him right there.