續高僧傳 25.134

25.134

釋道辯。齊人。住泰山靈巖寺。居無常所。遊行為任。經史洞達偏解數術。以大業年中來遊襄部。年過七十。又與同邑僧神辯。相隨杖策。登臨眺望山水。多所表詣如曾聞見。行至禪居寺南嶺望云。此寺達者所營。極盡山勢。眾侶繁盛清肅有餘。如何後銳於前起閣。寺僧非唯寡少。更增諠諍。相接曾未經涉。恰如其言。於是盤遊諸寺。備陳勝負。莫不幽通前識鑒徹精靈。又至諸墓亦陳休咎。有士俗忘姓名。去者請為圖其墳塋。巡歷峴原示其一所曰。此中安墓足食豐財。入地三尺獲粟一升。又深一丈獲石二片五彩交映。斯曰財緣。依言掘鑿果獲粟石。遂行卜葬。至今殷有。襄州有袁山松者。博覽經誥。時號儒宗。聞辯學廣故來尋造。以楊子太玄王弼易道。用相探瞋。辯曰。楊王道術未足研尋。可賜愚徒無聞智者。松勃然變色。笑辯抑揚。辯曰。公學未周。信其前述。可除我固。當為指歸。便引太玄經云。又於玄象偏所留心。曾不寢臥夜便露視。審宿度之所次。察孛彗之光景。便告人云。吾昔於裕法師所。學觀七曜。告余云。晉朝道安。妙於此術。人雖化往遺文在焉。其所注素女之經。最為要舉。恨失其本。如何得之。時有一僧偶然獲本。請為披決。辯得欣然。即為銷摘。此僧茫味情猶夢海。遂以惠之。辯曰。安目彌天。誠非虛稱。學統彌綸數術窮盡。此雖四紙文綜無遺。要約包富靈臺所盡。于時月臨井宿。便云。事在西楚。可告道俗。宜營水備。不盈兩夕漢江大漲。汛溢襄邑城隍將沒。預見之明其類若此。所得財物並用市金。將事合丹擬延其壽。人告來盜不可行之。便云。盜假遁甲六丁。吾明此術。常以月朔加氣。何得相欺。吾不畏也。以義寧年。與神辯南遊嶺表。不知所往。

Shi Daobian was a native of Qi. He resided at Lingyan Monastery on Mount Tai, but had no fixed abode, taking wandering as his vocation. Thoroughly versed in the classics and histories, he was especially adept in numerology and divination. During the Daye era [605–618], he came traveling to the Xiangyang region, then over seventy years of age. Together with a monk from the same native district, Shenbian, walking stick in hand, they climbed heights and gazed out over the mountains and waters, mostly presenting interpretations as though he had previously heard or seen them. Arriving at the south ridge of Chanju Monastery, he gazed out and said, "This monastery was constructed by an accomplished master; it exhausts the full potential of the mountain contours. The assembly is flourishing, and its purity and solemnity are more than sufficient. Why must they later build a multi-storied pavilion sharp in the back and protruding in the front? The monastery's monks will not only become few, but clamorous disputes will increase further." Those who followed had never visited it before, yet it turned out precisely as he said. Thereupon he wandered through the various monasteries, setting forth in full their merits and drawbacks; in every case, he mysteriously penetrated with foreknowledge, his discernment completely reaching the spiritual realms. He also visited various graves and set forth their good and bad fortunes. There was an upāsaka whose name is forgotten; having lost a kinsman, he asked him to divine the graveyard plot. Daobian traversed the Xian Plateau and pointed to one location, saying, "Placing the grave here will provide sufficient food and abundant wealth. Digging three feet into the ground, you will obtain one sheng of millet; digging another chang deep, you will obtain two pieces of stone, five colors intermingling. This is called 'the condition for wealth'." Digging according to his words, they indeed obtained the millet and stones, whereupon they carried out the divination and burial; up to the present day, they remain affluent. In Xiang Prefecture there was one Yuan Shansong, who was widely read in the classics and canons, and was hailed at the time as a master of Confucianism. Hearing of Daobian's broad learning, he came to visit him, seeking to probe and provoke him by using Master Yang's Taixuan and Wang Bi's interpretation of the Changes. Daobian said, "The techniques of Yang and Wang are not worth deep inquiry; you may bestow them upon foolish pupils, but not on those who have heard the wise." Song bristled and changed color, laughing at Daobian's haughtiness and disparagement. Daobian said, "Your learning is not yet complete, and you merely trust what was handed down before. If you can abandon your stubbornness, I shall point out the true compass for you." He then cited the Taixuan Jing. Moreover, he paid special attention to celestial phenomena; he never lay down to sleep, but at night exposed himself to gaze upon them, scrutinizing the orderly succession of the lunar lodges and observing the rays and signs of comets. He told people, "Formerly, at the dwelling of Master Yu, I studied the observation of the seven luminaries. He told me, 'Dao'an of the Jin dynasty was wondrously skilled in this technique. Though he has passed away, his remaining texts are still extant. His commentary on the Scripture of the Sunü is the most essential, but I lament the loss of its original text. How might one obtain it?'" At the time, a monk happened by chance to obtain the original and asked him to expound it. Daobian was delighted to obtain it and immediately analyzed and selected key passages. This monk's understanding was dim, his mind as if lost in a dream-sea, so he gave it to Daobian. Daobian said, "To designate Dao'an as 'filling the whole heavens' was truly not an empty title! His learning encompassed all, and his mastery of divination techniques was thoroughly exhaustive. Though this text covers merely four sheets of paper, its syntheses leave nothing out; its concise points encompass riches, exhausting the secrets of the celestial observatory." At that time, the moon approached the well constellation (Dongjing); he then said, "The event lies in Western Chu; monks and layfolk should be warned to prepare against flood." In less than two nights, the Han River surged dramatically, flooding Xiangyang, and the city walls and moats were about to be submerged; the clarity of his foreknowledge was of this sort. The wealth and goods he acquired were all used to purchase gold, intending to compound an elixir to prolong his life. Someone warned him that thieves would come and he should not proceed with it. He said, "The thieves rely on the Six Ding spirits of Dunjia; I understand this technique. I always augment the qi on the new moon—how could they deceive me? I do not fear them." In the Yining era [617–618], he traveled south past the ridges with Shenbian, and his ultimate destination is unknown.