續高僧傳 22.19

22.19

釋道亮。姓趙氏。趙州欒城人。十五厭於世網。投州界莎坦禪坊備禪師出家焉。備博達洽聞兩河稱德。偏弘大論神見清。遠十六登坐至於八十。聲相動物詞味無變。亮奉敬諮展望預聽徒。乃令往飛龍山誦經為業。山侶三十並是禪蹤。素少淨人惟亮一已。既當下位眾務同臻。日別自課舂五斗粟。將及六載一時不懈。徒跣三年。六時隨眾屢蒙放遣。素心不從積至七年。苦勸方遂。聞并部瓚禪師結徒開化盛宣佛法。行達箕山便進具戒。漸次太原歸依慧瓚。念定為務旁慕律宗。有嚴律師者。德範可歸。便從受業。因居無量壽寺焉。即嚴之所住也。自爾專攻四分無忘日夕。又從嚴往石州聽地持論。經停既久文旨大通。覆述前解增其名實。有員秀才者。居幽綜習儒教有功。從亮學於起信。遂為披折開發慧悟。抱信不移。承龕律師引徒盛講據業呂州。又往從焉聽溫本習。後返住寺依時弘演。唐運初開勅為滿師立義興寺。以亮律行清顯延而止之。因常講說鎮移世續。貞觀之始出至本州。欒城備公猶自在世。欣亮遠覲為建律筵。轉展相扇聲被東夏。聽徒八百請益日隆。爾後頻開律府。計不在數。成講學士四十餘人。并部法興出自此矣。至今貞觀十九年。春秋七十有七。見處義興。當途御法。有學士道胄者。生自上黨。僧貫太原。聽涉有功。偏能持忘。披覽章疏。即就敷揚。今住京寺。時時揚化。

Śramaṇa Daoliang, surnamed Zhao, was a native of Luancheng in Zhaozhou. At the age of fifteen, weary of the worldly net, he went to Dhyāna Master Bei at the Shatan Dhyāna Cloister in the prefecture to leave the household life. Master Bei was broadly accomplished and widely learned, renowned for his virtue between the two rivers. He particularly propagated the Da zhidu lun, and his spiritual insight was clear and far-reaching. Ascending the teaching seat at sixteen until he was eighty, the power of his voice moved beings and the flavour of his words never waned. Liang respectfully sought instruction, longing from afar to be admitted among the listening disciples. Bei then ordered him to go to Mount Feilong to make scripture recitation his practice. His thirty companions on the mountain were all followers of dhyāna; there had always been few pure attendants, and Liang was the only one. Occupying the lowest station, he took on all manner of common duties, assigning himself the daily task of pounding five decalitres of grain. For nearly six years he did not slacken for a single moment. He went barefoot for three years. Following the assembly through the six periods of the day, he was repeatedly urged to be tonsured, but out of his modest mind he would not consent until seven years had passed; only after earnest encouragement did he finally comply. Hearing that Dhyāna Master Zan of the Bingbu region was gathering disciples to convert others and widely proclaim the Buddha-Dharma, he traveled to Mount Ji and there received the full precepts. Proceeding gradually to Taiyuan, he took refuge with Huizan. He devoted himself to mindfulness and concentration while also aspiring to the Vinaya tradition. As Vinaya Master Yan was a model of virtue to whom one could turn, Liang then received instruction from him and consequently resided at Wuliangshou Temple, which was Yan's dwelling. From then on, he focused exclusively on the Fourfold Vinaya, never forgetting it day or night. He also accompanied Yan to Shizhou to hear the Bodhisattvabhūmi-śāstra. Staying for a long time, he thoroughly mastered its texts and doctrines; he restated his former understandings, increasing both his reputation and substance. There was a xiucai named Yuan, living in seclusion, who had studied Confucian teachings with great success. He studied the Awakening of Faith under Liang, who analyzed and unfolded it for him, awakening his wise discernment; Yuan embraced faith unswervingly. Hearing that Vinaya Master Kan was leading disciples, actively lecturing, and establishing his practice in Lüzhou, Liang went there again to follow him and review his previous studies. Later, he returned to his home monastery to propagate the Dharma according to the times. At the beginning of the Tang dynasty, an imperial decree ordered the establishment of Yixing Temple for Master Man; because Liang's Vinaya practice was pure and distinguished, he was invited to reside there. He continuously lectured there, deeply transforming the worldly continuity. In the beginning of the Zhenguan era, he went out to his native prefecture. Master Bei of Luancheng was still alive; rejoicing that Liang had come to visit from afar, he set up a Vinaya platform for him. The teachings spread and stirred the region, his fame reaching the eastern lands. Disciples listening numbered eight hundred, and those seeking instruction increased daily. Thereafter, he frequently opened Vinaya halls, countless in number. More than forty scholars became lecturers under him; Faxing of Bingbu emerged from this lineage. Down to the present, the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, he is seventy-seven years of age. He is currently residing at Yixing, managing the Dharma in that region. There is a scholar named Daozhou, born in Shangdang and registered as a monk in Taiyuan, who has achieved success in his studies. He has a special faculty for retaining what he learns; upon reading commentaries and subcommentaries, he can immediately expound them. He now resides in a capital monastery, regularly spreading the teachings.