續高僧傳 20.57

20.57

釋惠寬。姓楊氏。益州綿竹孝水人父名瑋。元是三洞先生五經博士。崇信道法無敦釋教。所以綿梓益三州諸俗。每歲率送租米投於瑋。令保一年安吉。皆與章符而去。而車馬擁門如市。初時瑋妻懷孕。心性改異辛鯹惡厭。乃生一女名為信相。性好閒靜無緣嗜慾。後又懷姙。身極安隱恒有異相。及其生也母都不覺。忽然自出都無惡露。然有異香。又不啼叫。乃至有識未曾糞穢淋席。父母抱持方乃便利。即寬身也。而臂垂過膝。性恒香潔不近腥臊。年五六歲與姊信相於靜處坐禪。二親怪問。答曰。佛來為說般若聖智界入等法門。共姊評論法相。父是異道不解其言。附口錄得二百餘紙。有龍懷寺會師。聞有奇相至其所父以示之。會曰。並合佛經無所參錯。有異禪師不知何來。於淨慧寺入火光三昧。召彼女來。及至不入。云是火聚。禪師曰。何不以水滅之。女即作水觀。滅火而入。禪師驗知深入諸定。勸令出家。父母受娉。及婿家不許。諸道俗官人為出財贖之。因有度次姊與寬身俱時出家。時隨蜀王秀在益。請入城內。妃為造精舍。鎮恒供養。嘗出於路。人有疑者。尼召來曰。莫於三寶所生異心。自受罪苦。彼人悔過。有造功德須物者。燒香祈請掘地獲金無不充足。斯事非一。至於食飲欲食便食。不食乃經歲序。時人目之聖尼。即今本寺猶號聖尼寺也。寬年十三常樂獨坐。面無怒相言常謙下。依空慧寺胤禪師龍懷寺會闍梨所。隨聞經律。一覽無遺。未聞之經曾不知義。有難問者皆為通之。初造龍懷寺。會有徒屬二百餘人。並令在役。唯放於寬。有怨及者。會曰。斯人是吾本師。何得使作。昔周滅法。依相禪師隱于南山。及隋興教辭師還蜀。嘗受囑云。汝還蜀土大有徒眾。有名惠寬。可將攝也。我憶此事。計師死日當寬受生。無得致怪。自爾在山依閑業定。年三十還綿竹教化四遠。聞名見形並捨邪歸正。其俗信道。父母皆道歸佛。捨宅為寺。于今見在。綿竹諸村皆為立寺。堂殿院宇百有餘所。修營至今。年常大齋道俗咸會。正月令節。成都寺七十縣。競迎供待。有大功德須得經營。但請寬至施物山積。貞觀中有僧名策。持呪有驗。於洛縣忽死見閻王。曰比獄中罪人多。應為誦呪。并請寬師講地獄經。從此得穌。經月不作。復更悶絕。閻王大怒。命牛頭使打鐘子百下。我令誦呪講經。為眾生故何不作。策穌已即從洛縣往綿竹三十里。未至疲臥。忽有異旋風。吹起須臾至寬所。正集轉經。告策曰。昨所住處大為勞苦。為眾生者不得辭苦。即令策登坐誦呪。大眾聞皆流汗。寬仍集眾講地獄經。貞觀二十年。綿竹宋尉云。我不信佛。唯信周孔。然我兩度得佛力。一為人在門側小便。置佛便止。一為冬月落水。燒木佛自炙。寬聞之致書曉喻。宋曰。此道人徵異者。當試有靈不。取書名處用拭大便。當即糞門裂脚起不得。自唱我死。即召寬來。雖悔過造經像。盈月便卒。什邡縣陳家捨邪信佛。以竹園為寺。寬指授分齊。爾許可為僧院。中間一分堪立佛堂。即斷一竹上竪標云。此分齊處欲造佛寺。當時生竹自乾。佛堂斷竹泉水上涌。尋掘數尺獲大石。石下金瓶舍利七粒。寬禮拜更請。遂放光乃盛滿合。四遠又集寺今見在。永徽四年夏六月二十五日。春秋七十卒於淨慧寺。未終一月。有五百神人長丈餘服天衣。持華香及紫金華臺。從西方來迎。寬辭不堪。發遣令去。又於終日。放羊從市向房悲數十聲。至夜索水沐浴新衣跏坐執爐已。命打無常鐘。聲遍郭聞。合郭咸集。曰闍黎涅槃去。空中哭聲。寺內光明莫測其來。道士等謂言燒守。驚走來寺。乃知其非。自此入定。氣盡乃知永逝。寺內三橋。一當寬房堂。夜梁折聲震寺內。明旦官人道士咸來慟哭。寺中蓮池。池水忽乾。紅蓮變白。寺中大豫樟樹三四人圍。忽自流血。血流入㵎。㵎水皆赤。月餘方息。又十七級塼浮圖高數十丈。裂開數寸。又有雙鵝不知何來。向靈鳴叫伏地不去。葬時隨送出郭失之。往無為山。去寺二十里。黑雲團空隨行注雨。草木隨靡至山方散。葬後縣內道俗。七歲已上著服泣臨。如是三年。爾後至今凡設會家。皆設兩座。一擬聖僧。一擬寬也。今猶獲供送本寺。靈相在山端坐如在。自初至今竟無蟲血污穢朽腐之相。斯則豈非不退菩薩身無萬戶蟲耶不然何以若此。

Śramaṇa Huikuan. His secular surname was Yang, and he was a native of Xiaoshui in Mianzhu, Yizhou. His father, named Wei, was originally an Adept of the Three Caverns and an Erudite of the Five Classics, who venerated Daoist arts and did not hold the Buddhist teachings in esteem. For this reason, the common people of the three prefectures of Mian, Zi, and Yi would annually deliver grain taxes to Wei, asking him to secure a year's auspicious safety; they all received talismans and departed, such that carriages and horses crowded his gates like a marketplace. Earlier, when Wei's wife became pregnant, her temperament altered: she felt a loathing for pungent and fishy foods. She then gave birth to a daughter named Xinxiang, whose nature was fond of quietude and free from appetites and desires. Later, she became pregnant again; her body was extremely tranquil and constantly showed extraordinary signs. When giving birth, the mother felt nothing at all; [the child] suddenly came forth of himself, entirely without lochia, yet with a rare fragrance. Moreover, he did not cry or wail; right up until he reached an age of awareness, he never soiled or wetted his bedding, relieving himself only when his parents held him up. This was Kuan himself. His arms hung past his knees; his nature was always fragrant and clean, keeping distant from the pungent and gamey. At five or six years of age, he and his elder sister Xinxiang sat in meditation in a secluded place. When the two parents wondered and questioned them, [Huikuan] replied: "The Buddha came to preach the holy wisdom of prajñā, the dhātus and āyatanas, and other Dharma-gates." He would discuss Dharma-characteristics together with his sister. His father, being of an alien path, did not understand their words, but by following their oral delivery recorded over two hundred sheets of paper. There was Master Hui of Longhuai Monastery; hearing of his wondrous signs, he went to their abode, and the father showed them to him. Hui said: "They entirely accord with the Buddhist scriptures without any error." There was an extraordinary dhyāna master of unknown origin who entered the fire-radiance samādhi at Jinghui Monastery. He summoned that girl to come; when she arrived, she would not enter, saying it was a mass of fire. The dhyāna master said: "Why not extinguish it with water?" The girl thereupon performed the water contemplation, extinguished the fire, and entered. The dhyāna master, verifying that she had entered deeply into various samādhis, urged her to leave household life. The parents had already accepted betrothal gifts, and the betrothed family refused. Various monastics, laymen, and officials provided funds to redeem her. Since an opportunity for ordination was then available, the elder sister and Kuan himself left household life at the same time. At that time, following Prince Xiu of Shu while he was in Yi, she was invited into the city. The Prince's consort built an ārāma for her and offered constant support. Once, while out on the road, someone doubted her; the bhikṣuṇī summoned him and said: "Do not give rise to deviant thoughts toward the Triratna, bringing suffering and retribution upon yourself." That person repented of his error. Whenever there were those constructing meritorious works who needed materials, upon burning incense and making vows, gold was obtained by digging the earth, never failing to be sufficient; such occurrences were not just one. As for food and drink, if she wished to eat, she ate; if she did not eat, it would span entire years. People of the time regarded her as a holy bhikṣuṇī; even now, her home monastery is still called the Holy Bhikṣuṇī Monastery. At the age of thirteen, Kuan always delighted in sitting alone; his face never showed an expression of anger, and his speech was ever modest and deferential. Relying upon Dhyāna Master Yin of Konghui Monastery and Ācārya Hui of Longhuai Monastery, whenever he heard the sūtras and vinaya, he absorbed them completely at a single viewing; yet for scriptures he had not heard, he previously did not know their meaning, but whenever questioners posed difficulties, he resolved them all. When Longhuai Monastery was first built, Hui had more than two hundred disciples and ordered them all to perform labor, excusing only Kuan. When some complained about this, Hui said: "This person was my root master; how could I employ him in labor? In the past, when the Zhou proscribed the Dharma, I relied upon Dhyāna Master Xiang and hid on the Southern Mountain. When the Sui revived the teachings, I took leave of the master to return to Shu, and once received his instruction: 'When you return to the land of Shu, you will have a great assembly of followers; there will be one named Huikuan whom you must look after.' Remembering this matter, I calculate that the day of my master's death corresponds to the time of Kuan's birth. Do not think it strange." From then on, he resided in the mountains, relying upon secluded leisure to practice dhyāna. At the age of thirty, he returned to Mianzhu to convert those far and wide; those who heard his name or saw his form all abandoned the heterodox and returned to the correct. As the local custom was to believe in Daoism, his parents both abandoned Daoism and took refuge in the Buddha, renouncing their residence to make it a monastery, which still exists today. For every village in Mianzhu, temples were established, totaling more than one hundred halls, pavilions, and courtyards, built and maintained down to the present day. Every year, a great vegetarian feast is regularly held, where monastics and laypeople all gather. In the auspicious season of the first lunar month, seventy county monasteries of Chengdu vie to welcome and entertain him. Whenever a great meritorious project needed undertaking, one only had to invite Kuan to arrive, and offerings of goods would pile up like mountains. During the Zhenguan era, there was a monk named Ce who was efficacious in upholding dhāraṇīs. In Luo County, he suddenly died and saw King Yama, who said: "Lately there are many sinners in the prisons; you should recite dhāraṇīs for them, and also invite Master Kuan to expound the Hell Sūtra." From this he was revived. A month passed without him doing so, and he again fell unconscious. King Yama was furious and ordered the Ox-Headed messenger to strike the small bell a hundred times: "I commanded you to recite dhāraṇīs and expound sūtras for the sake of sentient beings; why did you not do so?" After Ce revived, he immediately set off thirty li from Luo County toward Mianzhu. Before arriving, exhausted, he lay down to rest. Suddenly an extraordinary whirlwind blew up and in an instant carried him to Kuan's place, where an assembly was currently chanting scriptures. Kuan said to Ce: "Where you were yesterday was fraught with great hardship; one acting for sentient beings must not decline hardship." He immediately had Ce ascend the seat to recite the dhāraṇī; the assembly, hearing it, all broke out in sweat. Kuan then assembled the crowd to expound the Hell Sūtra. In the twentieth year of the Zhenguan era, Commandant Song of Mianzhu said: "I do not believe in the Buddha; I only believe in the Duke of Zhou and Confucius. Yet I have twice obtained the Buddha's power: once, when someone urinated beside my gate, placing a Buddha there made him stop; another time, when I fell into the water in a winter month, I burnt a wooden Buddha to warm myself." When Kuan heard this, he sent a letter of remonstrance. Song said: "This śramaṇa is supposed to be extraordinary; I will test whether he has spiritual efficacy or not." Taking the place where his name was written on the letter, he used it to wipe away his feces. At once his anus ruptured, his legs were unable to rise, and he cried out, "I am dying!" He immediately summoned Kuan to come. Although he repented his transgression and made scriptures and images, after a full month he died. The Chen family of Shifang County abandoned heterodoxy and had faith in the Buddha, giving their bamboo grove for a monastery. Kuan designated the boundaries, saying that such an area could be the monastic quarters and the central portion was suitable for erecting a Buddha hall. He then cut a stalk of bamboo, planted it as a marker, and said: "Within these boundaries, we wish to build a Buddhist monastery." At that time, the living bamboo withered of itself, and where the bamboo was cut for the Buddha hall, spring water gushed upward. Upon digging several feet down, a large stone was found, under which were a gold flask and seven grains of relics. When Kuan bowed in worship and petitioned further, they emitted radiance and filled the entire container. Those from the four directions gathered again, and the monastery still exists today. On the twenty-fifth day of the sixth lunar month in the summer of the fourth year of the Yonghui era, he died at Jinghui Monastery at the age of seventy. One month before his demise, there were five hundred spiritual beings over a zhang tall, dressed in heavenly garments, holding flowers, incense, and a purple-gold flower dais, who came from the west to welcome him. Kuan declined, saying he was unworthy, and sent them away. Furthermore, on the day of his demise, a sheep was let loose, running from the market toward his room and crying out piteously dozens of times. When night came, he requested water, bathed, put on fresh robes, sat cross-legged, and held an incense burner. He then ordered the bell of impermanence to be struck; the sound was heard throughout the outer city wall, and the entire city gathered, saying: "The ācārya has passed into nirvāṇa." Crying was heard in the air, and within the monastery an illumination appeared whose source could not be fathomed. The Daoist priests and others, thinking there was a fire, rushed in alarm to the monastery, only to discover it was not so. From then on he entered samādhi, and only when his breath ceased was it known that he had departed forever. Within the monastery were three bridges; one faced Kuan's residential hall, and that night its beam broke with a noise that shook the interior of the monastery. The next morning, officials and Daoist priests all came weeping bitterly. The lotus pond in the monastery suddenly ran dry, and the red lotuses turned white. A large camphor tree in the monastery, measuring three or four arm-spans around, suddenly bled of itself; the blood flowed into the ravine, turning the ravine water entirely red, ceasing only after more than a month. Moreover, a seventeen-story brick stūpa, dozens of zhang in height, split open several inches. There were also a pair of geese of unknown origin that called out facing the spirit-seat and crouched on the ground without leaving; when the funeral procession escorted him outside the city walls, they disappeared. They proceeded to Mount Wuwei, twenty li from the monastery; dark clouds clustered in the sky, following the procession and pouring down rain, and the grass and trees bent low, scattering only when they reached the mountain. After the burial, monastics and laymen of the county aged seven and above wore mourning garments and wept at the grave, continuing thus for three years. From then until the present day, whenever families hold a gathering, they always prepare two seats: one designated for the holy monk, and one designated for Kuan. Even now he receives offerings sent to his home monastery; his spiritual countenance sits upright on the mountain as if he were still present. From the very beginning until now, there has never been any sign of insect infestation, bloody defilement, decay, or rot. Is this not an irreversible bodhisattva whose body is devoid of the myriad families of worms? Otherwise, how could it be like this?