[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [續高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060) › 24.20 # 續高僧傳 24.20 續高僧傳 24.20 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [24.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.24.20) 釋智勤。俗姓朱。隋仁壽因舍利州別置大興國寺度。少小以匡護為心。每處眾發言。無不允睦。精誠勇猛事皆冥祐。初母患委頓。為念觀音。宅中樹葉之上皆現化佛。合家並見。母疾遂除。又屬隋末荒亂諸賊競起。勤獨守此寺。賊不敢凌。故得寺宇經像一無所損。諸寺湮滅不可目見。又一時權著俗衣。以避兵刃。被賊圍遶而欲殺之。忽聞空中聲告。師可去俗衣。遂除外服。賊見頂禮請將供養。經於數月後投於蜀。聽暠法師講。眾至三千。法師皆委令檢校。遂得安怗。內外無事。一人力也。又至唐初還歸鄧州。講維摩三論十餘遍。後隱於北山。倚立十餘年。所居三所即今見存。恒聞谷中鐘聲。後尋巖嶺。忽見一寺宛麗奇常。入中禮拜。似有人住。如是數度。後更尋覓莫知所在。又居山內糧食將盡。其行道之處土自發起。遂除棄之。明日復爾。如是再三。遂有穀現。因即深掘得粟二十餘碩。其粟粒大色赤稍異凡穀。時鄧州佛法陵遲。合州道俗就山禮請。願出住持。遂感夢而出。其夢不詳子細。後時負像出山。中途忽闇莫知其路。不得前進。俄有異火兩炬。照路極明。因得見道。送至村中火方迴滅。村人並見無不驚異。因出住大興國。前後諸王刺史。並就寺頂禮。請受歸戒。恒以僧尼之事委令檢校。佛法光顯。吳蜀遠聞。又至永徽年初。以見時事繁雜。守房不出。向淹三載。讀一切經兩遍。每讀經時恒見有神來聽。初中後夜常聞彈指謦欬之聲。至顯慶四年。省符召入慈恩。不就。至其年五月欲終之前。所有功德不周之處。曉夜經構使畢。人問何故如此怱速。答曰。無常之法何可保耶。至十五日。寺中樹木枝葉萎枯自然分析。禽鳥悲鳴遍於寺內。僧各驚問莫知所由。至十六日旦。忽見昔聽經神來。禮拜而語云。莫禮傍人無有見者。於是剃髮披衣在繩床內。手執香鑪跏趺而坐。告諸弟子。汝可取大品經讀誦。至往生品訖。遂合掌坐而卒。停經數日顏色如舊。恒有異香聞於寺內。合州道俗悲慟難勝。州縣官人並送至野。春秋七十四矣。 > Śramaṇa Zhiqin, whose secular surname was Zhu, was ordained during the Renshou era of the Sui when Grand Xinguo Monasteries were established in each prefecture to enshrine relics. From his youth, he had a mind to protect and sustain the Dharma. Whenever he spoke in an assembly, all were concordant and harmonious. His sincere devotion was brave and fierce, and his deeds always received unseen assistance. Early on, his mother suffered a debilitating illness; because he recited \[the name of\] Guanyin, transformed Buddhas appeared on the leaves of the trees in his residence. The whole family witnessed it, and his mother's illness was immediately cured. Furthermore, during the turmoil at the end of the Sui dynasty, various bandits arose in competition. Zhiqin guarded this monastery alone, and the bandits dared not invade it; thus the monastery buildings, sūtras, and images were not damaged in the least, whereas other monasteries were ruined beyond recognition. At another time, he temporarily donned secular clothes to avoid weapons, but bandits surrounded him and wished to kill him. Suddenly a voice was heard in the sky calling out: 'Master, you may remove your secular clothes.' He then took off his outer garments. Seeing this, the bandits bowed in homage and invited him to receive their offerings. After several months, he went to Shu and listened to Master Gao's lectures. The assembly reached three thousand people, and the master entrusted him entirely with supervision; thus the assembly was settled and peaceful, and there was no trouble within or without, all through the effort of this one man. In the early Tang dynasty, he returned to Dengzhou and lectured on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra and the Three Treatises more than ten times. Later he lived in seclusion on the Northern Mountain, standing leaning against cliffs for over ten years; the three places where he lived still exist today. He constantly heard the sound of bells in the valley. Later, searching along the cliff ridges, he suddenly saw a monastery of extraordinary beauty and elegance. He went in to pay homage, and it seemed as though someone lived there. This happened several times, but later when he looked for it again, no one knew where it was. Once, while living in the mountains, his provisions were about to be exhausted. At the place where he circumambulated the path (caṅkrama), the earth welled up on its own. He shoveled it away, but the next day it happened again, repeating two or three times. Thereupon grain appeared. Digging deep, he obtained over twenty shi of millet. The grains were large and reddish, somewhat different from ordinary grain. At that time, the Buddhadharma in Dengzhou had fallen into decline. The monastics and laypeople of the entire prefecture went to the mountain to pay homage and invite him, wishing him to come forth and serve as the abbot. Consequently, moved by an auspicious dream, he came forth, though the details of the dream are not known. Later, when carrying an image out of the mountain, it suddenly grew dark along the way, and he did not know the road and could not advance. Presently, there were two unusual torches of fire that illuminated the path with extreme brightness, allowing him to see the way; they escorted him to the village, where the fires turned back and extinguished. The villagers all witnessed this and were greatly amazed. He then took up residence at Grand Xinguo Monastery. Successive princes and prefectural governors went to the monastery to pay homage and request to receive the refuges and precepts. They constantly entrusted him with the supervision of the affairs of monks and nuns. The Buddhadharma shone brightly, and his fame was heard far away in Wu and Shu. In the early Yonghui era, seeing that contemporary affairs were complicated, he remained inside his room and did not go out. For nearly three years, he read the entire canon twice. Whenever he read the scriptures, he always saw spirits coming to listen. In the initial, middle, and final periods of the night, the sounds of snapping fingers and clearing throats were often heard. In the fourth year of Xianqing, an official directive from the Department of State Affairs summoned him to Ci'en Monastery, but he did not accept. In the fifth month of that year, before his death, he worked day and night to complete all the unfinished meritorious projects. When people asked why he was in such haste, he replied, 'The dharma of impermanence—how can it be relied upon?' On the fifteenth day, the branches and leaves of the trees in the monastery withered and split naturally, and birds cried sorrowfully throughout the monastery. The monks were all startled and wondered, not knowing the cause. At dawn on the sixteenth day, he suddenly saw the spirit who had formerly listened to his scripture recitations come to bow. Zhiqin said, 'Do not bow, as the bystanders cannot see you.' Thereupon, having shaved his head and donned his robes, he sat cross-legged on a corded chair holding an incense burner. He said to his disciples, 'You may take the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Large Prajñāpāramitā) and recite it until the chapter on rebirth is completed.' Then, joining his palms, he passed away while sitting. After several days, his facial complexion remained as before, and an extraordinary fragrance was constantly smelled within the monastery. The monastics and laypeople of the whole prefecture were overcome with grief. Officials of the prefecture and county all escorted his remains to the wilderness. He was seventy-four years old. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 24.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.24.19) - [Next: 25.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.25.1) - [Up: 24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.24) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060~en-mt.24.20) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.24.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.24.20) · Pramāṇa