續高僧傳 24.9

24.9

釋慧乘。俗姓劉氏。徐州彭城人也。其先炎漢之緒。祖欣梁真前將軍瑯瑘太守。父雅陳兵部郎中。叔祖智強。少出家。陳任廣陵大僧正。善閑成論及大涅槃。乘年十二。發心入道。仍事強為師。服膺論席備探精理。十六啟強曰。離家千里。猶名在家沙門也。請廣遊都郡疏諸耳目。強從之。便下楊都。聽莊嚴寺智㬭法師成實。爰始具戒。即預陳武帝仁王齋席。對御論義詞辯絕倫。數千人中獨迴天睠。至四月八日。陳主於莊嚴寺總令義集乘。當時竪佛果出二諦外義。有一法師英俠自居擅名江左。舊住開泰後入祇洹。乃問曰。為佛果出二諦外。二諦出佛果外。乘質云。為法師出開泰。為開泰出法師。彼曰。如鴛鴦鳥不住圊廁。乘應聲曰。釋提桓因不與鬼住。彼曰。鳩翅羅鳥不栖枯樹。乘折云。譬如大海不宿死屍。于時㬭公處座嘆曰。辯才無礙其鋒難當者也。躬於帝前賞天柱納袈裟。由是令響通振隣國斯傳。陳桂陽王尚書毛喜僕射江總等。並申久敬咸慕德音。屬陳季道離隋風遠扇。太尉晉王於江都建慧日道場。遍詢碩德。乘奉旨延住。仍號家僧。後從王入朝頻蒙內見。時淨影慧遠。道聲揚播。由來不面。因過值講即申言論。義高詞麗聲駭聽徒。遠顧曰。何處吳僧脣舌陵人。復豈逾此。王聞之彌敬其詞辯。時慧日創立搜楊一化。並號龍象咸問義門。既爰初盛集法輪肇駕。王乃請乘盡心。言論不有見尊致結。既承資蓄縱辯無前。折關陳欵皆傾巢穴。甚稱王望。別賞帛百段。暨高祖東巡岱宗鑾駕伊洛。勅遣江南吳僧與關東大德昇殿竪義。乘應旨首登。命章對論。巧問勃興切並紛集。縱橫駱驛罔弗喪律亡圖。高祖目屬稱揚。群英嘆異。開皇十七年。於楊州永福寺。建香臺一所。莊飾金玉絕世罕儔。及晉王即位。彌相崇重。隨駕行幸無處不經。大業六年。有勅郡別簡三大德入東都。於四方舘仁王行道。別勅乘為大講主。三日三夜興諸論道。皆為折暢靡不冷然。從駕張掖。蕃王畢至。奉勅為高昌王麴氏講金光明。吐言清奇聞者嘆咽。麴布髮於地。屈乘踐焉。至八年帝在東都。於西京奉為二皇雙建兩塔七層木浮圖。又勅乘送舍利瘞于塔所時四方道俗百辟諸侯各出名珍。於興善寺北天門道南。樹列勝場三十餘所。高幢華蓋接影浮空。寶樹香煙望同雲霧。迎延靈骨至于禪定。僉共請乘開仁王經。華俗士庶正道日登。咸嘉賞讚。十二年於東都圖寫龜茲國檀像。舉高丈六。即是後秦羅什所負來者。屢感禎瑞故用傳持。今在洛州淨土寺。會隋室分崩唐皇御曆。武德四年掃定東夏。有勅偽亂地僧是非難識。州別一寺留三十僧。餘者從俗。上以洛陽大集名望者多。奏請二百許僧住同華寺。乘等五人勅住京室。于時乘從偽鄭詞被牽連。主上素承風問。偏所顧屬。特蒙慰撫命住勝光。秦國功德咸歸此寺。武德八年。歲居協洽。駕幸國學將行釋奠。堂置三坐擬敘三宗。眾復樂推乘為導首。時五都才學三教通人。星布義筵雲羅綺席。天子下詔曰。老教孔教此土先宗。釋教後興宜崇客禮。令老先次孔末後釋宗。當爾之時相顧無色。乘雖登坐情慮莫安。今上時為秦王。躬臨位席。直視乘面目未曾迴。頻降中使十數教云。但述佛宗光敷帝德。一無所慮。既最末陳唱諦徹前通。乃命宗云。上天下地榮貴所資。緣業有由必宗佛聖。今將敘大致理具禮儀。並合掌虔跪。使師資有據。聲告纔竟。皇儲以下爰逮群僚。各下席䠒跪竚聆逸辯。乘前宣帝德云。陛下巍巍堂堂。若星中之月云云。次述釋宗。後以二難雙徵兩教。玄梯廣布義網高張。莫不躡嚮風馳應機雲涌。既而天子迴光敬美其道。群公拜手請從弘業。黃巾李仲卿。結舌無報。博士祭酒等。束體轅門。慧日更明法雲還布。當又下詔問乘曰。道士潘誕奏。悉達太子不能得佛。六年求道方得成佛。是則道能生佛。佛由道成。道是佛之父師。佛乃道之子弟。故佛經云。求於無上正真之道。又云體解大道發無上意。外國語云阿耨菩提。晉音翻之無上大道。若以此驗。道大佛小。於事可知。乘報略云。震旦之與天竺。猶環海之比麟洲。聃乃周末始興。佛是周初前出。計其相去二十許王。論其所經三百餘載。豈有昭王世佛而退求敬王時道乎勾虛驗實足可知也。仲卿向敘。道者有太上大道。先天地生。欝勃洞虛之中。煒燁玉清之上。是佛之師。不言周時之老聃也。且五帝之前未聞有道。三王之季始有聃名。漢景已來方興道學。窮今討古道者為誰。案七藉九流。經國之典。宗師周易。五運相生。既闢兩儀。陰陽是判。故曰一陰一陽之謂道。陰陽不測謂之神。天地於事可明。陰陽在生有驗。此理數然也。不云有道先天地生。道既莫測從何能生佛。故車胤云。在己為德及物為道。殷仲文云。德者得也。道者由也。言得孝在心由之而成也。論衡云。立身之謂德。成名之謂道。道德也者為若此矣。卿所言道寧異是乎。若異斯者不足歸信。豈有頭戴金冠身被黃褐。鬢垂素髮手把玉璋。別號天尊居大羅之上。獨名大道治玉京之中。山海之所未詳。經史之所不載。大羅既焉有之說。玉京本亡是之談。言畢下座。舉朝屬目。此時獨據詞宗。餘術無為而退。一席楊扇萬代舟航。可尚可師立功立事。近假叨幸之力。遠庇護念之恩也。貞觀元年。乘以銜荷特命義須崇善。奉為聖上於勝光寺起舍利寶塔。像設莊嚴備諸神變。并建方等道場。日夜六時行坐三業。以貞觀四年十月二十日。終于舊房。春秋七十有六。門人道璋先奉遺旨。於南山谷口焚之。私斂餘灰還於勝光起塔。沙門法琳為製碑文。見于別集。惟乘釋蒙據道護法為心。撫物䘏窮彌留情曲。而詞辯無滯文義俱揚。寫送若流有逾宿誦。此之一術歿後絕蹤。而身歷三朝政移六帝。頻昇中殿面對天顏。神氣消散映徹牆仞。自見英德莫不推焉。又卿士王公妃嬪庶族。皆稟塗香申明供禮。所講涅槃般若金鼓維摩地持成實等。各數十遍。璋即乘之猶子也。少所恭奉。立性誠慤偏能唄讚。清囀婉約有勢於時。每為都講亦隷倫則。京邑後附多嚮其塵云。

Shi Huicheng, whose secular surname was Liu, was a man of Pengcheng in Xuzhou. His ancestors were of the lineage of the fiery Han dynasty. His grandfather, Xin, had been General of the Real Front and Grand Protector of Langya under the Liang. His father, Ya, had been an aristocratic secretary in the Ministry of War under the Chen. His great-uncle, Zhiqiang, had renounced the world in his youth and served as the Great Saṅghapradhāna of Guangling under the Chen, excelling in mastery of the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra (*Chéngshí lùn) and the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra. At the age of twelve, Cheng resolved to enter the Path, subsequently serving Qiang as his teacher. Submitting to his master at the seat of doctrinal debate, he fully explored its profound principles. At sixteen, he said to Qiang, "Remaining a thousand li from home, one is still called a home-dwelling śramaṇa. I ask to travel extensively throughout the capitals and commanderies to expand my hearing and seeing." Qiang agreed. He then went down to the capital of Yangdu and listened to Dharmabhāṇaka Zhizhao of Zhuangyan Monastery lecture on the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra. Immediately upon receiving full ordination, he attended the Benevolent Kings (*Kāruṇikarāja) vegetarian feast of Emperor Wu of Chen. Debating doctrine before the imperial presence, his eloquence was peerless; among several thousand people, the imperial favor alone turned to him. On the eighth day of the fourth month, the Chen ruler ordered a general gathering for doctrinal debate at Zhuangyan Monastery. Cheng at that time established the thesis that "the fruit of Buddhahood transcends the two truths." There was a dharmabhāṇaka who regarded himself as a heroic master and commanded fame east of the river; he had previously resided at Kaitai and later entered Jetavana Monastery. He asked, "Does the fruit of Buddhahood transcend the two truths, or do the two truths transcend the fruit of Buddhahood?" Cheng replied with a counter-question, "Does the dharmabhāṇaka leave Kaitai, or does Kaitai leave the dharmabhāṇaka?" The other said, "Just as a mandarin duck does not stay in a privy." Cheng responded in an instant, "Śakra Devānām Indra does not dwell with ghosts." The other said, "The kokila bird does not perch on a withered tree." Cheng retorted, "Just as the great ocean does not harbor a corpse." At that time, Master Zhao, sitting in his seat, sighed and said, "His unhindered eloquence has a sharp edge that is difficult to withstand!" In person before the emperor, he rewarded him with a Tianzhu patch-robed kāṣāya. Because of this, his renown echoed through and spread to neighboring states. Prince Guiyang of Chen, Assistant Director Mao Xi, Vice Director of the Left Jiang Zong, and others all expressed enduring reverence and admired his virtuous renown. At the end of the Chen dynasty, as its way fell into decay and the customs of the Sui swept widely from afar, the Grand Defender, Prince of Jin, established the Huidi Bodhimaṇḍa in Jiangdu and extensively sought out eminent virtues. Cheng received imperial orders inviting him to reside there, and was thereupon called a "family monk." Later, accompanying the Prince to court, he was repeatedly granted private audiences. At that time, Huiyuan of Jingying was widely celebrated for his renown in the Way, but they had never met. Passing by on an occasion when he was lecturing, Cheng entered into discussion; his doctrine was lofty, his phrasing elegant, and his voice startled the audience. Yuan looked over and said, "From where comes this Wu monk whose tongue intimidates others? Who could surpass this?" Hearing this, the Prince respected his eloquence all the more. When Huidi was first established, scholars from throughout the realm were recruited; all were acclaimed as "dragons and elephants" and questioned on doctrinal matters. At the initial grand assembly, when the wheel of Dharma was first set in motion, the Prince asked Cheng to do his utmost in debate without being constrained by seeing others as venerable. Cheng, having received his encouragement, gave free rein to peerless eloquence; breaching barriers and laying bare intentions, he overturned all their bastions. This greatly answered the Prince's expectations, and he specially rewarded him with a hundred bolts of silk. When Gaozu made an imperial progress east to Mount Tai and the imperial carriage stayed in Yiluo, he decreed that the monks of Wu from south of the river and the bhadantas from east of the pass ascend the hall to establish doctrinal propositions. Cheng was the first to ascend in response to the decree. Given the topic to debate, clever questions burst forth and pointed retorts pressed closely together; back and forth they came continuously, yet none failed to lose their footing and collapse. Gaozu fixed his gaze upon him in praise, and the assembled talents marveled at him. In the seventeenth year of Kaihuang, he built an incense tower at Yongfu Monastery in Yangzhou, adorned with gold and jade of rare match in the world. When the Prince of Jin acceded to the throne, he honored him all the more, and wherever the imperial carriage traveled, there was nowhere Cheng did not accompany it. In the sixth year of Daye, an imperial decree selected three bhadantas from each commandery to enter the Eastern Capital and perform the circumambulation of the Benevolent Kings Sūtra at the Four Quarters Hall. A special decree appointed Cheng as the Grand Lecturer. For three days and three nights, various discussions on the Way were raised; all were lucidly resolved, and none failed to be refreshed. Accompanying the imperial carriage to Zhangye, foreign kings all gathered. He was commanded by decree to lecture on the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra for King Qu of Gaochang. The words he uttered were pure and extraordinary, moving listeners to sigh and choke back tears. Qu spread his hair on the ground and bent down for Cheng to tread upon it. By the eighth year, when the emperor was at the Eastern Capital, two seven-story wooden stupas were jointly built for the two former emperors at the Western Capital. An imperial decree also directed Cheng to escort the relics to be interred at the stupa site. At that time, monastics and laymen from the four directions, the hundred ministers, and the feudal lords each presented precious treasures. South of the Northern Heavenly Gate road of Xingshan Monastery, more than thirty extraordinary sites were arranged; lofty banners and flower-decked canopies cast shadows rising into the sky, and jeweled trees and incense smoke looked like clouds and mist. Escorting the spiritual bones to Zhanding Monastery, all jointly requested Cheng to expound the Benevolent Kings Sūtra. For both Chinese and foreign, officials and commoners, the correct path advanced day by day, and all praised and extolled it. In the twelfth year, at the Eastern Capital, he made a sandalwood image of the state of Kucha, sixteen feet high, which was the very image that Kumārajīva had carried from the Later Qin. Because it repeatedly evoked auspicious signs, it was handed down and preserved; it is now at Pure Land Monastery in Luozhou. It coincided with the collapse of the Sui dynasty and the Tang emperor assuming the imperial register. In the fourth year of Wude, after the eastern regions were pacified, an imperial decree stated that regarding the monks in the rebel territories, truth and falsehood were hard to discern; only one monastery per prefecture was to retain thirty monks, and the rest were to return to lay life. The Emperor, seeing that many celebrated figures had gathered in Luoyang, submitted a memorial requesting about two hundred monks to dwell at Tonghua Monastery. Cheng and four others were decreed to reside in the capital. At that time, Cheng had been implicated in the affairs of the puppet Zheng regime. The Sovereign had long heard of his renown and paid special regard to him; he was granted exceptional solace and commanded to reside at Shengguang Monastery. The merit of the Prince of Qin was entirely dedicated to this monastery. In the eighth year of Wude, when the year was in Xieqia, the imperial carriage visited the National University to perform the Śākya-libation; three seats were set in the hall intending to expound the Three Teachings. The assembly again gladly put forward Cheng as the leading head. At that time, the talents and scholars of the five capitals and masters versed in the Three Teachings were arrayed like stars across the doctrinal hall and gathered like clouds at the ornate feast. The Son of Heaven issued an edict saying, "The teachings of Laozi and Confucius are the indigenous traditions of this land. The teaching of the Śākya arose later, so it is appropriate to treat it with the etiquette due a guest." He ordered Laozi first, Confucius next, and the Śākya tradition last. At that time, they looked at one another, their faces drained of color. Although Cheng took his seat, his mind was uneasy. The present emperor, then the Prince of Qin, attended the assembly in person; he looked straight into Cheng's face without ever turning his gaze, and repeatedly dispatched court envoys more than ten times with the instruction: "Simply expound the Buddhist tradition and make glorious the imperial virtue; do not worry about anything." Being the last to present his discourse, his penetrative comprehension reached clearly throughout. He then proclaimed the premise: "What is relied upon for noble honor between heaven and earth has its karmic causes, and must take the Buddhist Sage as its ancestor. Now that we are about to set forth the great principles, proper etiquette and propriety must be observed. All join your palms and devoutly kneel, so that teacher and student may be properly distinguished." No sooner had his voice ceased than from the Crown Prince on down to the ministers, all stepped down from their seats and knelt on both knees, waiting to listen to his exceptional debate. Cheng first proclaimed the imperial virtue, saying, "Your Majesty is majestic and magnificent, like the moon among the stars," and so forth. Next he set forth the Śākya tradition, and finally presented two challenges that simultaneously interrogated both [other] teachings. The profound ladder was widely extended, and the net of principles was held aloft; none failed to respond like wind following a sound, rising up like clouds to meet the occasion. Thereupon the Son of Heaven turned his favorable attention, revering and praising his Way, and the public ministers bowed and requested to follow the great endeavor. The Yellow Turban Li Zhongqing tied his tongue and had no reply; the academicians and libationers lowered their bodies at the camp gates. The Sun of Wisdom shone more brightly, and the Dharma Cloud spread anew. At that time, another decree was issued questioning Cheng, saying: "The Daoist Pan Dan has memorialized that Prince Siddhārtha could not attain Buddhahood, and only after seeking the Dao for six years did he succeed in becoming a Buddha. Thus the Dao can generate the Buddha, and the Buddha is accomplished through the Dao. The Dao is the father and teacher of the Buddha, and the Buddha is the son and disciple of the Dao. Therefore the Buddhist sūtras say, 'Seeking the unsurpassed, correct, and true Dao,' and also say, 'Experiencing and understanding the Great Dao, one gives rise to the unsurpassed aspiration.' In foreign languages, it is called Anuttara-bodhi, which in the Jin language is translated as 'the unsurpassed Great Dao.' If examined through this, the Dao is great and the Buddha is small; this can be known from the facts." Cheng replied in summary, saying: "Zhendan compared to Tianzhu is like the surrounding sea compared to Linzhou. Lao Dan only arose at the end of the Zhou, while the Buddha appeared prior to the beginning of the Zhou. Calculating their separation, it spans about twenty kings; discussing the time elapsed, it exceeds three hundred years. How could the Buddha of King Zhao's era retreat to seek the Dao of King Jing's time? By examining the hollow and verifying the real, this is sufficient to know. What Zhongqing previously described regarding the Dao—that there is a Grand Supreme Great Dao born before Heaven and Earth, surging within the profound void, resplendent atop the Jade Clarity, being the master of the Buddha—did not refer to Lao Dan of the Zhou. Moreover, before the Five Emperors, no Dao was heard of; only at the end of the Three Kings did the name Dan first appear. Only since Emperor Jing of Han has Daoist learning flourished. Searching present and probing antiquity, who is this Dao? Examining the Seven Classics and the Nine Schools, the canons for governing the state take the Zhouyi as the ancestral master: the Five Phases generate each other, and once the Two Modes are opened, Yin and Yang are divided. Thus it is said, 'One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao,' and 'The unfathomableness of Yin and Yang is called the divine.' Heaven and Earth are clear in their workings, and Yin and Yang have proof in living things; this is the natural order of principle. It is never said that there is a Dao born before Heaven and Earth. Since the Dao is unfathomable, how could it generate the Buddha? Thus Che Yin said, 'In oneself it is virtue; extended to things it is the Dao.' Yin Zhongwen said, 'Virtue is obtaining (de); the Dao is that by which one proceeds (you).' This means obtaining filial piety in the heart, and proceeding by it to accomplishment. The Lunheng says, 'Establishing oneself is called virtue; achieving fame is called the Dao.' Virtue and the Dao are like this. Could the Dao spoken of by your lordship differ from this? If it differs from this, it is not worthy of belief. How could there be one wearing a golden crown on his head, draped in a yellow hemp robe, with white hair hanging at his temples and holding a jade tablet in his hand, separately named Celestial Worthy dwelling atop Daluo, solely named the Great Dao ruling in the midst of the Jade Capital? The Classic of Mountains and Seas does not detail it, and the classics and histories do not record it. Daluo is merely a fabricated tale, and the Jade Capital is fundamentally a fictitious story." When his speech finished, he descended from the seat. The entire court fixed their gaze upon him. At this time, he alone held the authority of debate, while the other arts retreated into insignificance. Swaying his fan in a single gathering, he became a boat and rudder for ten thousand generations; worthy of admiration and worthy of a master, establishing merit and establishing deeds. In the short term he relied on the power of royal favor, and from afar he was protected by the grace of mindfulness. In the first year of Zhenguan, Cheng, having received this special mandate and duty to exalt the good, built a jeweled relic stupa at Shengguang Monastery on behalf of His Majesty; its image design was magnificent, fully equipped with spiritual transformations, and he also established a vaipulya bodhimaṇḍa, practicing and sitting in the three actions during the six periods of the day and night. On the twentieth day of the tenth month of the fourth year of Zhenguan, he passed away in his old chamber at the age of seventy-six. His disciple Daozhang, having previously received his bequeathed instructions, cremated him at the mouth of the valley in the South Mountains, privately collected the remaining ashes, and returned to Shengguang to build a stupa. Śramaṇa Falin composed an inscription for him, which appears in a separate collection. Cheng explained ignorance and relied on the Dao, taking the defense of the Dharma as his mind. Comforting creatures and pitying the destitute, his feelings and care were profound. His eloquence was unhindered, with both phrasing and doctrine shining forth; his written delivery flowed like a stream, surpassing rote recitation. After his passing, this singular mastery vanished without a trace. In his life he spanned three dynasties and the shifting reigns of six emperors; repeatedly ascending the inner palace halls, he came face to face with the Heavenly Countenance. His spiritual vigor was pure and luminous, shining through the ten-foot walls; those who saw his heroic virtue all deferred to him. Furthermore, high officials, prince dukes, consorts, concubines, and ordinary clans all received his perfumed anointing and expressed the rites of offering. He lectured on the Nirvāṇa, Prajñā, Golden Drum (Suvarṇaprabhāsa), Vimalakīrti, Bodhisattvabhūmi, and Tattvasiddhi several tens of times each. Zhang was Cheng's nephew. From his youth he had served him reverently; by nature honest and sincere, he was especially adept at bhāṇā chanting. His clear modulations were delicate and graceful, holding prestige at the time. Whenever he acted as the primary interrogator, he followed standard rules; later followers in the capital mostly strove to match his renown.