續高僧傳 21.30

21.30

釋慧主。俗姓賈氏。始州永歸縣人。六歲出家。為斌法師弟子。後令誦遺教一夕便度。以經驗師多有乖越。便捨之而往姜律師所。誦法華經。寺東房中講於俗律。試聽一遍性若曾聞。乃問十關無能解者。刺史以下合州白黑。皆往諮問莫不歸伏。始州一部祖宗道眾。即為州內律主受菩薩戒。既爾約束以佛為師。尚不敬天況禮神道。於是佛法方得開弘。於黃安縣造寺七所。梓潼縣造十寺。武連縣造三寺。從彼至今方將盛矣。初主登冠。欲受具足。當境無人。乃入京選德於甘露寺受戒。惟聽四分餘義旁通。夢見三日三夜天地闇冥眾生無眼。過此忽明眼還明淨。覺已汗流。一百日後周毀經道。方知徵應。即返故鄉。南山藏伏惟食松葉。異類禽獸同集無聲。或有山神送茯苓甘松香來。獲此供養六時行道。禽獸隨行。禮佛誦經似如聽者。仍為幽顯受菩薩戒。後有獼猴群共治道。主曰。汝性躁擾作此何為。曰時君異也。佛日通也。深怪此言。尋爾更有異祥。龍飛獸集香氣充山。其類眾矣。後有八人採弓材者。甚大驚駭。便慰主曰。聖君出世。時號開皇矣。即將出山。以事奏聞。蒙預出家。大業中。勅還本州香林寺。常弘四分為業。武德之始。陵陽公。臨益州。素少信心。將百餘馱物行至始州。令於寺內講堂佛殿僧房安置。無敢違者。主從莊還見斯穢雜。即入房中取錫杖三衣出歎曰。死活今日矣。舉杖向諸驢騾。一時倒仆如死。兩手各擎一馱擲棄坑中。州縣官人驚怖執主。狀申陵陽。大笑一無所怪。書曰。弟子數病不逢害鬼。蒙得律師破慳貪袋。深為大利。今附沈香十斤紬綾十段仰贈。後還京日從受菩薩戒焉。貞觀三年。寺有明禪師者。清卓不群。白日獨坐見無半身。向眾述曰。吾與律師建立此寺。兩人同心忽失半身。將不律師先去。不者明其死矣。明日食時俗人驚云。寺家設會耶。見有四路客僧數千人入寺。今何所在。尋爾午時主便無疾而逝。春秋八十九矣。

Shi Huizhu's lay surname was Jia. He was a native of Yonggui County in Shizhou. At the age of six, he underwent pravrajyā and became a disciple of the dharmabhāṇaka Bin. Later, when instructed to recite the Bequeathed Teachings Sūtra, he mastered it in a single night. Because his examining master had many transgressions, he abandoned him and went to Vinaya Master Jiang, reciting the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra. In the eastern chamber of the monastery, secular law was being expounded; upon listening to it once as a trial, it was as if he had heard it by natural disposition before. When he posed questions on ten difficult points, none could resolve them. From the regional inspector on down, all the monastics and laity throughout the prefecture went to consult him, and none did not submit in homage. He became the foremost ancestor of the Sangha in the entire region of Shizhou, and thus, as the Vinaya master of the prefecture, he conferred the bodhisattva precepts. Under these regulations, taking the Buddha as teacher, they would not even revere heaven, much less pay homage to spirit ways. Thereupon, the Buddha-Dharma was first able to be widely propagated. In Huang'an County he built seven monasteries, in Zitong County ten monasteries, and in Wulian County three monasteries; from then until now, it has grown increasingly flourishing. When Huizhu first reached the capping age, he wished to receive full ordination, but as there was no qualified person in his territory, he went to the capital, selected virtuous teachers, and received the precepts at Ganlu Monastery. He listened only to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, and broadly penetrated the other doctrines. In a dream, he saw that for three days and three nights heaven and earth were pitch-black, and sentient beings were without eyes; after this, it suddenly became bright, and their eyes were once again clear and pure. Upon awakening, he was drenched in sweat. A hundred days later, the Northern Zhou destroyed the scriptures and the teachings, and only then did he know that this was an omen. He immediately returned to his native land and concealed himself in the southern mountains, eating only pine needles. Different kinds of birds and beasts gathered together without making a sound. Sometimes mountain spirits came to offer him fuling and nardostachys incense. Having received these offerings, he performed circumambulation at the six times of day, and the birds and beasts walked along with him; when he paid homage to the Buddha and recited scriptures, they seemed to be listening. He then conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon both the unseen spirits and visible beings. Later, a troop of macaques cleared and repaired the road together. Huizhu said, 'Your nature is restless and agitated; why do you do this?' They said, 'The ruler of the era has changed, and the sun of the Buddha shines through.' He was deeply astonished by these words. Soon after, there were further extraordinary omens: dragons flew, beasts gathered, and fragrance filled the mountains; their signs were manifold. Later, eight men collecting bow-timber were greatly alarmed and astonished, and comforted Huizhu, saying, 'A sage ruler has appeared in the world, and the era is styled Kaihuang.' They escorted him out of the mountains, memorialized the matter, and he was permitted to resume his pravrajyā. In the Daye era, an imperial edict ordered him back to Xianglin Monastery in his native prefecture, where he made the constant propagation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya his primary task. At the beginning of the Wude era, the Duke of Lingyang presided over Yizhou. He had always had little faith, and leading more than a hundred packloads of goods, he arrived in Shizhou and ordered that they be placed in the monastery's lecture hall, Buddha hall, and monastics' cells; none dared to defy him. When Huizhu returned from the monastic manor and saw this filthy clutter, he went into his cell, took his khakkhara staff and three robes, came out, and sighed, 'It is life or death today!' Raising his staff toward the donkeys and mules, they all fell down at once as if dead. With each hand, he lifted one packload and hurled it into a pit. The officials of the prefecture and county seized Huizhu in terror and reported the situation to the Duke of Lingyang. The Duke laughed heartily without blaming him in the least, and wrote: 'Your disciple has often fallen ill without encountering an evil ghost; but through receiving the Vinaya master’s shattering of the sack of greed and stinginess, I have gained great benefit. I now present ten catties of agarwood and ten bolts of patterned silk in reverent offering.' Later, on the day of his return to the capital, he received the bodhisattva precepts from Huizhu. In the third year of the Zhenguan era, there was a Dhyāna Master Ming in the monastery who was pure, lofty, and peerless. While sitting alone during the day, he saw that half of his body was missing. He explained to the assembly: 'The Vinaya master and I established this monastery. As the two of us were of one mind, my sudden loss of half my body must mean that the Vinaya master is to depart first; if not, it means I shall die.' The next day at mealtime, the laypeople said in astonishment: 'Is the monastery holding a vegetarian feast? We saw thousands of visiting monks entering the monastery from the four roads; where are they now?' Soon after, at midday, Huizhu passed away without illness, at the age of eighty-nine.