續高僧傳 25.131

25.131

釋德山。姓山氏。莫測何人。忽棄妻子入山修道。鬚髮不暇削。衣食不暇給。唯息緣靜念為得性也。人莫知其觀行。視其相狀如得定者。時遊化竹林龍池。開悟道俗。以清簡為本。每云。煩亂之法道俗同弊。故政煩則國亂。心煩則意亂。水清則魚石可見。神清則想倒可識。學清簡者尚自諠煩。況在亂使焉可道哉。後入馬鞍山。每多毒蛇。噬人必死。然山來往都不為害。諸餘僮侍晨夕所行。一無所懼。曾蹋被嚙。山以水洗之。尋爾還復。後還天勅山夏坐樹下。人來山所逢虎迫逐。便入繩床下。虎蹲床前。山曰。床下佛子肉味可勝貧道耶。即脫衣以施。虎屈起而永去。後其小子於山訪獲。山曰。爾來何為。曰久不奉見。生死不知。故來定省。山曰。汝去各自覓活。更來與杖。去後數年又來。山取杖欲捶之。兒却住曰。闍梨遇兒如他人。他人可受打耶。山大笑曰。吾不打爾者。必更來敗我道意。遂長去。山年九十餘。終於山谷舍。時益州草堂寺旭上者。不知何許人。少居草堂。唯以禪誦為業。餘無所營。蜀土尤尚二月八日四月八日。每至二時四方大集馳騁遊遨。諸僧忙遽無一閑者。而旭端坐竹林泊然寂想。瓶水自溢爐香自然。諸人城西看了相從參之。旭儼然不動等同金石。三日之後方復如常。四眾敬而異之。故覩如朝日之初出。同共目之為旭上也。年九十八。

Shi Deshan, surnamed Shan, was a person of unknown origins. Suddenly abandoning his wife and children, he entered the mountains to cultivate the Way. He had no time to shave his beard and hair, nor leisure to provide for clothes and food; he took only the cessation of conditions and the calming of thoughts as the realization of his nature. No one knew his contemplative practices, but observing his demeanor, he seemed like one who had attained samādhi. From time to time he wandered and taught at Zhulin and Longchi, bringing enlightenment to both clergy and laity, taking purity and simplicity as his foundation. He would often say: 'Vexing and disordered ways are a common affliction of both the clergy and laity. Therefore, when government is vexatious, the state is disordered; when the mind is vexed, thought is disordered. When water is clear, fish and stones can be seen; when the spirit is pure, inverted thoughts can be recognized. Even those who study purity and simplicity are still noisy and vexed; how much more so for those subject to disorder—how could they attain the Way?' Later he entered Ma'an Mountain, where there were many venomous snakes whose bites were always fatal. Yet as Shan came and went, none harmed him. The various young servants, in their daily comings and goings morning and evening, had no fear at all. Once someone stepped on one and was bitten; Shan washed it with water, and before long he recovered. Later he returned to Tianchi Mountain and sat for the summer retreat beneath a tree. A person came to Shan's place pursued by a tiger, and slipped beneath his cord-bed. The tiger crouched before the bed. Shan said: 'Can the flavor of the flesh of this disciple of the Buddha beneath the bed surpass that of this poor monk?' Thereupon he removed his robe to offer it. The tiger bowed, rose, and departed forever. Later his young son sought him out and found him in the mountains. Shan said: 'What have you come here for?' The son said: 'It has been long since I served or saw you, not knowing whether you were alive or dead, so I came to pay my respects.' Shan said: 'Leave and each find your own livelihood. If you come again, I will give you the stick.' Several years after he left, he came again. Shan took a stick and wished to strike him. The son stepped back and stood firm, saying: 'The Master of Ācāra treats his son like a stranger. Can a stranger accept a beating?' Shan laughed heartily and said: 'If I do not beat you, you will surely come again to ruin my aspiration for the Way.' Thereupon he departed for good. Shan was over ninety years old when he passed away in a mountain valley cottage. At that time, there was Master Xu of Caotang Monastery in Yizhou, whose origins were unknown. In his youth he lived at Caotang, taking only meditation and cantillation as his vocation, with no other pursuits. The land of Shu particularly esteemed the eighth day of the second month and the eighth day of the fourth month. Whenever these two occasions arrived, people gathered from the four quarters in great numbers, racing horses and roaming about. The various monks were hurried and busy, with not a single one at leisure, yet Xu sat upright in the bamboo grove, tranquil in silent reflection. The water in his pitcher would overflow on its own, and the incense in his burner ignited of itself. When people had finished watching west of the city, they came together to visit him. Xu was dignified and unmoved, equal to metal or stone. Only after three days did he return to normal. The fourfold assembly revered him and marveled at him; seeing him was like the first rising of the morning sun, so they all called him Master Xu. He was ninety-eight years old.