續高僧傳 23.10

23.10

釋曇顯。不知何人。元魏季序遊止鄴中。栖泊僧寺的無定所。每有法會必涉其塵。皆通諮了義隱文。自餘長唱散說。便捨而就餘講。及後解至密理。顯便輒已在聽。時以此奇之。而覩其儀服猥濫名相非潔。頻復輕削。故初並不顧錄。惟上統法師深知其遠識也。私惠其財賄以資飲噉之調。或因昏醉臥于道邊。時復清卓整其神器。及文宣受禪齊祚大興。天保年中。釋李二門交競優劣。屬道士陸修靜妄加穿鑿。廣制齋儀縻費極繁。意在王者遵奉。會梁武啟運。天監三年。下勅捨道。帝手制疏文極周盡。修靜不勝其憤。遂與門人及邊境亡命叛入北齊。又傾散金玉贈諸貴遊。託以襟期冀興道法。帝惑之也。乃出勅召諸沙門與道士對挍道術。爾時道士呪諸沙門衣鉢或舉或轉。或呪諸方梁橫竪於地者。沙門曾不學方術默無一對。士女擁閙貴賤移心。並以靜徒為勝也。靜迺高談自伐矜衒道術。唱言曰。神通權設抑挫強侮。沙門現一我當現二。今薄示微術。並辭屈退。事亦可見。帝命上統令與靜捔試。上曰。方術小伎俗儒恥之。況出世也。雖然天命相拒豈得無言。可令最下座僧對之。時顯位居末席。酒醉酣盛扶舉登座。因立而笑。眾皆憚焉。而是上統所遣。不敢有諫。顯語李宗云。向誇現術一之與二者深有致矣。即於座上翹足而立曰。吾已現一矣。卿可現二。各無言對。顯曰。向呪諸衣物飛舉者。試卿術耳。命取稠禪師衣鉢呪之。皆無動搖。帝勅十人舉之。不動如故。乃以衣置諸梁木。帖然無驗。諸道士等相顧無顏。猶以言辯為勝。乃曰。佛家自號為內。內則小也。詺道家為外。外則大也。顯應聲曰。若然則天子處內。定小庶人矣。靜與其眾緘口無言。文宣處座目驗臧否。其徒爾日皆捨邪從正求哀濟度。未發心者勅令染剃。故斬首者非一。自號神仙者。並上三爵臺。令其投身飛逝。悉委尸于地。偽妄斯伏。乃下詔曰。法門不二真宗在一。求之正路寂泊為本。祭酒道者世中假妄。俗人未悟仍有祇崇麴糵是味清虛焉在。瞿晡斯甜。慈悲永隔。上異仁祠下乖祭典。宜皆禁絕不復遵事。頒勒遠近咸使知聞。其道士歸伏者。並付昭玄大統上法師度聽出家廣如別傳所載。于時齊境一心奉佛。國無兩事。迄于隋運方漸開宗。至今東川此𧜟猶少。傳者曰。達化護持融尚馳名秦世。小以致遠。顯公著績高齊。知人難哉上統揣其骨。則千里駿足。異世同駕。以貌取人。失之自古。則徒飾玄黃矣。復何能抗禦之哉顯竟以放達流俗。潛遁人世。不知所之。

Śramaṇa Tanxian: it is not known who he was. In the late years of the Northern Wei, he wandered and resided in Ye, lodging in Buddhist monasteries without a fixed abode. Whenever there was a Dharma gathering, he would certainly be present in the crowd, posing penetrating queries on the definitive teachings and hidden passages. But when it came to long recitations and rambling expositions, he would abandon them and go to other lectures. When the subsequent explanation reached profound and esoteric principles, Tanxian would already be there listening. People at the time marveled at this, yet seeing that his demeanor and clothing were coarse and disorderly, and his appearance unkempt, they repeatedly disparaged and slighted him. Therefore, at first no one paid attention to him; only the Master of the Dharma and Controller-in-Chief [Fashang] deeply recognized his far-reaching perception. Fashang privately granted him wealth and goods to supply his needs for food and drink. Tanxian would sometimes lie drunk by the roadside; at other times he would be clear and outstanding, composing his spirit. When Emperor Wenxuan received the abdication and the Qi fortune flourished greatly, during the Tianbao era, the Buddhist and Daoist gates competed with each other in superiority. It happened that the Daoist Lu Xiujing made reckless fabrications and extensively instituted vegetarian rituals that were extremely extravagant and wasteful, intending for the sovereign to observe and uphold them. Coinciding with the rise of Emperor Wu of Liang, in the third year of the Tianjian era (504 CE), an imperial edict was issued to abandon Daoism, and the Emperor personally wrote an address that was utterly thorough. Lu Xiujing could not contain his indignation, and together with his disciples and fugitives from the frontiers, he rebelled and fled into Northern Qi. Furthermore, he lavished gold and jade upon the nobility, entrusting his aspirations in hopes of reviving the Daoist teachings. The Emperor was deceived by him, and thereupon issued an imperial decree summoning the śramaṇas and Daoists to contest their arts. At that time, the Daoists cast spells on the robes and bowls of the śramaṇas so that they were either lifted up or turned around, or they cast spells on square beams so that they stood erect on the ground. The śramaṇas had never studied magical arts and remained silent without a word in response. Men and women swarmed in a commotion, and people both noble and base shifted their allegiance, all regarding Xiujing's disciples as superior. Xiujing then engaged in high talk to boast of himself, showing off his Daoist arts, and proclaimed aloud: 'Supernormal powers are provisionally established to suppress arrogance and insults. If a śramaṇa manifests one art, I shall manifest two. Now I have briefly shown a slight technique, yet they have all yielded in speech and retreated; the matter is quite evident.' The Emperor commanded Controller-in-Chief Shang to compete with Xiujing. Shang said: 'Magical arts are minor tricks which even worldly Confucians are ashamed of, to say nothing of world-transcending monks. Even so, since the imperial command directs us to contend, how could we remain silent? Let the monk in the lowest seat respond to him.' At that time, Tanxian occupied the very last seat. Fully intoxicated with wine, he was supported and brought up to take the seat, whereupon he stood up and laughed. The multitude were all apprehensive, but because he was dispatched by the Controller-in-Chief, they dared not remonstrate. Tanxian said to the followers of Laozi: 'Your boast just now about manifesting techniques of one against two had great point to it!' Thereupon, standing on the seat on one foot, he said: 'I have already manifested one; you, sir, may now manifest two.' None of them could answer. Tanxian said: 'As for the spells cast just now making the robes and articles fly up, that was merely to test your art.' He ordered that the robe and bowl of Dhyāna Master Chou be brought forward and cast a spell upon; neither moved in the slightest. The Emperor decreed ten men to lift them, but they remained unmoved as before. Then they placed the robe upon the wooden beams, and it sat securely without any paranormal sign. The Daoists looked at one another, completely crestfallen. Still trying to prevail through rhetorical eloquence, they said: 'The Buddhist house calls itself "inner"; inner means small. It calls the Daoist house "outer"; outer means great.' Tanxian replied immediately: 'If that is so, then since the Son of Heaven dwells within the interior, he must certainly be smaller than a commoner!' Xiujing and his assembly held their tongues without a word. Emperor Wenxuan, sitting upon his throne, witnessed their merits and faults with his own eyes. On that day, all of Xiujing's disciples abandoned the heterodox to follow the orthodox, begging with sorrow for salvation. Those who had not yet generated the aspiration were commanded to shave their heads and dye their robes; thus more than one was decapitated. Those who styled themselves divine immortals were all made to ascend the Sanjue Terrace and ordered to cast themselves down in flight; all of their corpses were abandoned on the ground. The fake and deceitful were thereby subdued. Thereupon an imperial edict was issued: 'The Dharma gate is non-dual; the true lineage is one. In seeking it on the correct path, tranquility is the fundamental basis. The libationer Daoists are worldly frauds; worldly people have not awakened and still revere them. Fermented wine is their flavour—where is the pure emptiness in that? Dried ginger is sweet to them; compassion is forever severed. Above, it differs from the halls of benevolence; below, it contradicts the rites of sacrifice. All of them should be prohibited and cut off, and no longer followed or practiced. Let this be proclaimed far and wide, so that all are made aware.' The Daoists who submitted were all handed over to Shang, the Controller-in-Chief of the Zhaoxuan Office, who ordained them and permitted them to leave householder life, as extensively recorded in the separate biography. At that time, the territory of the Qi revered Buddhism single-mindedly, and the state had no divided allegiance. Not until the advent of the Sui dynasty did the other tradition gradually begin to re-emerge. Even down to the present day, such practices are still rare in the eastern region. The biographer says: 'Fathoming transformation and protecting the Dharma, Sengrong and Sengshang gained renowned glory during the Qin dynasty; with small means achieving great results, Master Tanxian made remarkable achievements under the High Qi. Knowing men is truly difficult! Controller-in-Chief Fashang discerned his caliber, seeing him as a swift steed of a thousand li, yoked together with those of different ages. Judging men by appearances has been a pitfall since antiquity; for that would merely be decorating with black and yellow! How could they then have repulsed them?' Tanxian ultimately lived an unfettered and unconventional life, wandering among the common folk, and retreated into obscurity from the human world; no one knew where he went.