續高僧傳 24.17

24.17

釋法通。龍泉石樓人。初在隰鄉未染正法。眾僧行往不達村閭。如有造者以灰灑面。通雖處俗情厭恒俗。以開皇末年。獨懷異概超出意表。剃二男二女并妻之髮。被以法衣。陟道詣州委僧尼寺。時有問者通便答曰。我捨枷鎖志欲通法。既達州寺如前付囑。便求通化寺明法師度出家。於即遊化稽湖。南自龍門北至勝部。嵐石汾隰無不從化。多置邑義月別建齋。但有沙門皆延村邑。或有住宿明旦解齋。家別一槃。以為通供。此儀不絕至今流行。河右諸州聞風服義。有僧投造直詣堂中。承接顏色譬若親識。故通之率導其德難倫。曾行本邑。縣令逢之。問是何僧。答云山客令乃禁守不許遊從。通即絕粒竭誠遶獄行道。其夜聽事野狐鳴叫。怪相既集通夕不安。及明放遣。通曰。我遶獄行道正得道理。如何見放。經日不食。夜又狐鳴。宮庶以下莫不震懼。苦勸引挽方從其請。爾後巡行無時寧舍。曾投人宿。犬咋其脛。尋被霹死。風聲逾顯。後卒於龍泉。余以貞觀初年。承其素迹遂往尋之。息名僧綱住隰州寺。親說往行高聞可觀。欣其餘論試後披敘。夫以高世之量隨務不倫。統其大歸莫非通道。所以九十六部。兼邪正之津途。一十七群。現機緣之化迹。故能光開佛日。弘導塵蒙。攝迷沒之鄙夫。接戒濁之澆首。並得開智清悟通聖革凡。弘道利生於是乎在。今有不達之者。同世相輕。覩其家業叢雜。閱其形骸塵弊遂則雷同輕毀。曾不大觀。由之自陷。備于成教。故文云。不觀法師種姓形有。但受其法開我精靈。斯言可歸。通有之矣。

Shi Fatong was a native of Shilou in Longquan. Originally, when he lived in Xi County, he had not yet been imbued with the correct Dharma; monks traveling to and fro did not enter the village, and if any did come, people would throw ashes in their faces. Although Tong lived in secular life, his mind loathed worldly customs. In the late years of the Kaihuang era, harboring an extraordinary resolve that exceeded expectations, he shaved the hair of his two sons, two daughters, and his wife, clothed them in Dharma robes, set out on the road to the prefecture, and committed them to monasteries and nunneries. At that time, when someone questioned him, Tong immediately replied, 'I have cast off the cangue and shackles, my aspiration is to open up the Dharma.' Having reached the prefectural monastery, he entrusted them as before, and then requested Master of the Law Ming of Tonghua Monastery to tonsure him into the pravrajyā. He then wandered and converted people in Qihu, south from Longmen and north to Shengbu; across Lan, Shi, Fen, and Xi, none failed to follow his teaching. He established many religious associations and held vegetarian feasts every month. Whenever there were śramaṇas, they were all invited into the villages; sometimes they stayed the night, and the next morning the fast was broken, with each household offering a tray as a shared offering. This ritual has not ceased and remains in practice to this day. The prefectures west of the River, hearing of his reputation, submitted to his righteousness. Whenever a monk came to visit, he would head straight into the hall, and [Tong] would receive him with a countenance like that of a close acquaintance. Thus, in Tong's guidance, his virtue was difficult to match. Once, when traveling through his home county, the county magistrate met him and asked what kind of monk he was. He replied, 'A mountain guest.' The magistrate then detained him and forbade him from wandering. Tong immediately ceased eating and, with utmost sincerity, walked the circumambulation around the prison. That night, wild foxes barked in the magistrate's hall; strange omens gathered, causing unease all night long. When morning came and they released him, Tong said, 'My circumambulation around the prison was completely in accord with the Dharma; why release me?' Having gone without food for days, that night the foxes barked again. From the prefectural officials down, none were not terrified; only after earnestly entreating and pulling him along did he comply with their request. After that, he traveled on rounds without any regular residence. Once he lodged with someone, and a dog bit his shin; soon after, it was struck dead by thunder, and his renown grew even more prominent. Later, he died in Longquan. In the early years of the Zhenguan era, having heard of his former deeds, I went to seek him out. His son, the monastic rectory Senggang, resided at a monastery in Xi Prefecture and personally spoke of his past conduct, an exalted reputation worthy of note. Rejoicing in his remaining teachings, I have attempted to set them forth here. With the capacity of one who transcends the world, responding to circumstances in diverse ways, when one grasps the overarching principle, none fail to communicate the Way. Thus the ninety-six heterodox groups comprise the courses of both the deviant and the correct; the seventeen classes of beings manifest the traces of transformation according to their capacities. Therefore, they are able to shed light on the sun of the Buddha, broadly guide those blinded by defilement, gather in crude men lost in delusion, and receive the base ones of this corrupt age of the precepts. All are able to open wisdom and attain pure enlightenment, penetrate the sagely, and transform the ordinary. The propagation of the Way and the benefiting of beings lie in this! Today, there are undiscerning people who look down on one another just like the worldly: seeing his family's tangled affairs, or inspecting his defiled and decrepit physical form, they thoughtlessly join the crowd in disparaging him, never taking a comprehensive view. Falling into errors of their own making, they are fully instructed by the scriptures. Therefore the text says, 'Do not look upon the caste or physical form of the Dharmabhāṇaka; only receive his Dharma to awaken your own spirit.' These words are dependable, and Tong truly possessed this.