續高僧傳 25.47

25.47

釋僧照。未詳氏族。住泰山丹嶺寺。性虛放喜追奇。每聞靈迹譎詭。無不登踐。承瀑布之下多諸洞穴仙聖攸止。以魏普泰年行至榮山。見飛流下有穴。因穴隨入。行可五六里。便出穴外。逐微逕東北上數里。得石渠闊兩三步。水西流清而且徹。帶渠藥草延蔓委地。渠北有瓦舍三口。形甚古陋。庭前穀穗縱橫。鳥雀殘食。東頭屋裏有數架黃帙。中間有鐵臼兩具。亦有釜器。並附遊塵。都無炊爨之迹。西頭屋內有一沙門。端坐儼然飛塵沒膝。四望惟見茂林懸㵎。非復人居。須臾逢一神僧。年可六十。眉長丈餘槃掛耳上。相見欣然如舊。問所從來。自云。我同學三人來此避世。一人外行未返。一人死來極久。似入滅定。今在西屋內汝見之未。今日何姓為主。答是魏家。僧云。魏家享國已久不姓曹耶。照云姓元。僧曰。我不知。遂取穀穗擣之作粥。又往林中葉下取梨棗與之令噉。僧云。汝但食。我不噉此。又問誦何經。照云。誦法華。神僧頷頭曰。大好精進業。今東屋格上如許經。並自誦之。欲得聞不。照合掌曰。惟敢聞命。彼遂部別誦之。聲氣朗徹。乃至通夜。照苦睡。僧曰。但睡。我自恒業耳。達日不眠。更為造食。照謝曰。幸得奉謁。今且暫歸尋來接事。僧亦不留。但言。我同學行去。汝若值者大有開悟。恨不見之。既言須歸好去。照尋路得還。結侶重往。瀑布與穴莫測其處。今終南諸山亦有斯事。既多餘涉。不無其理云。

Śramaṇa Sengzhao, whose clan origin is unknown, lived at Danling Temple on Mount Tai. By nature he was unrestrained and fond of seeking out marvels; whenever he heard of strange spiritual traces, he never failed to climb up and explore them. Having heard that beneath waterfalls there were many caves where immortals and sages dwelt, he traveled during the Putai era of the Northern Wei to Rongshan, where he saw a cave beneath a cascade of flowing water. Entering through the cave, he walked for about five or six li before emerging outside it. Following a faint path toward the northeast and ascending several li, he came upon a stone canal two or three paces wide; its water flowed westward, clear and transparent, with medicinal herbs bordering the canal, their vines trailing over the ground. To the north of the canal were three tile-roofed huts, very ancient and crude in appearance. In front of the courtyard, ears of grain lay strewn about, half-eaten by birds and sparrows. Inside the eastern hut were several shelves of yellow scrolls; in the middle were two iron mortars, as well as cooking pots and vessels, all covered with floating dust, showing no signs of cooking at all. Inside the western hut sat a śramaṇa, upright and solemn, with dust burying his knees. Looking in all four directions, one saw only dense forests and overhanging ravines; it was no longer a dwelling of mortals. Presently he encountered a divine monk, about sixty years of age, whose eyebrows were more than a zhang long and hung coiled over his ears. Seeing him, the monk was delighted, as if meeting an old friend, and asked where he had come from. He himself said, "Three of us fellow-students came here to escape the world. One has gone out and has not yet returned; one has been dead for a very long time, as if entered into the concentration of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti); he is now inside the western hut—have you seen him? What surname rules as master today?" [Sengzhao] answered that it was the Wei house. The monk said, "The Wei house has possessed the realm for a long time; is their surname not Cao?" Sengzhao said, "Their surname is Yuan." The monk said, "I did not know." Thereupon he took ears of grain, pounded them into gruel, and went into the forest to fetch pears and jujubes from beneath the leaves, giving them to him to eat. The monk said, "Just eat; I do not eat this." He further asked what sūtra he recited. Sengzhao said, "I recite the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra." The divine monk nodded and said, "An exceedingly fine work of vigorous progress! All those many sūtras on the shelves in the eastern room are recited by me. Would you care to hear them?" Sengzhao joined his palms and said, "I dare only obey your command." The monk then recited them section by section, his voice clear and penetrating, lasting throughout the entire night. Sengzhao struggled with sleepiness. The monk said, "Just sleep; this is merely my constant practice." Throughout the daylight he did not sleep, and prepared food for him again. Sengzhao thanked him, saying, "I have been fortunate to meet you. Now I will temporarily return and soon come back to serve you." The monk did not detain him either, but only said, "My fellow-student has gone traveling; if you were to encounter him, you would attain great awakening. It is a pity you did not see him." Having said that he must return, he bade him farewell. Sengzhao retraced his path and was able to return. He gathered companions to go again, but the waterfall and cave could no longer be found. In present times, such occurrences also happen in the various peaks of Mount Zhongnan; as there are many further travels, it is not without reason.