續高僧傳 25.60

25.60

釋法安。姓彭。安定鶉孤人。少出家。在太白山九隴精舍。慕禪為業。麁食弊衣卒于終老。開皇中。來至江都令通晉王。時以其形質矬陋言笑輕舉。並不為通。日別門首。喻遣不去。試為通之。王聞召入相見如舊。便住慧日。王所遊履必齎隨從。及駕幸泰山。時遇渴乏。四顧惟巖無由致水。安以刀刺石。引水崩注。用給帝王。時大嗟之。問何力耶。答王力也。及從王入磧。達于泥海。中應遭變皆預避之得無損敗。後往泰山。神通寺僧來請檀越。安為達之。王乃手書寺壁為弘護也。初與王入谷。安見一僧著弊衣乘白驢而來。王問何人。安曰。斯朗公也。即創造神通。故來迎引。及至寺中又見一神狀甚偉大。在講堂上。手憑鴟吻下觀人眾。王又問之。答曰。此太白山神。從王者也。爾後諸奇不可廣錄。大業之始。帝彌重之。威轢王公見皆屈膝。常侍三衛奉之若神。又往名山召諸隱逸。郭智辯釋誌公證公杯度。一時總萃慧日。道藝二千餘人。四事供給資安而立。又於東都為立寶楊道場。惟安一眾居中樹業。至十一年奏。四方多難。無疾而終所住。春秋九十八矣。初將終前。告帝後事。安其亡後百日火起出於內宮。彌須慎之。及至寒食油沸上焚。夜中門閉。三院宮人一時火死。帝時不以為怪。送柩太白。資俸官給。然安德潛於內。外同諸侶。惟眠不施枕頸無委曲。延頸床邊口流涎溜。每至升許為異。時有釋法濟者。通微知異僧也。發迹陳世。及隋二主皆宿禁中。妃后雜住精進寡慾。人罕登者。文帝。長安為造香臺寺。後至東都造龍天道場。帝給白馬。常乘在宮。如有疹患。呪水飲之。無不必愈。又能見鬼物。預覩未然。大業四年。忽辭上曰。天命不常復須後世。惟願弘護荷負含生。便爾坐卒。剃髮將殮。須臾髮生長半寸許。帝曰。禪師滅定何得理之。索大鍾打之一月餘日。既不出定身相如生。天子廢朝百官素服。勅送于蔣州。吏力官給行到設齋。物出所在。東都王公以下。為造大幡四十萬口。日齋百僧。至于七七。人別日䞋二十五段。通計十餘萬匹。斯並荷其福力故。各傾散家珍云。

Shi Fa'an was surnamed Peng, a native of Chungu in Anding. He left home in his youth and lived in the Jiulong Hermitage on Mount Taibai, where he took longing for dhyāna as his vocation. Eating coarse food and wearing tattered clothes, he grew old until his final years. During the Kaihuang era, he came to Jiangdu and asked to be announced to the Prince of Jin. At the time, because of his dwarfish and homely appearance and his frivolous manner of speech and laughter, they would not announce him. Each day he waited at the gate, and though they tried to persuade him to leave, he would not go. They then tested the matter by announcing him. Hearing of it, the Prince summoned him in, and upon meeting it was as though they were old friends; he then stayed at Huiri Monastery. Wherever the Prince traveled, he would invariably take him along. Once when the imperial entourage went to Mount Tai, they encountered parching thirst; looking around on all four sides there were only crags, with no way to obtain water. Fa'an stabbed the rock with a knife, causing water to gush forth in a torrent to supply the emperor. At that time all marveled greatly and asked, "By what power is this?" He replied, "It is the Prince's power." When he followed the Prince into the desert, reaching the Muddy Sea, whenever they were due to encounter calamity along the way, he foresaw and avoided it, so they suffered no loss or injury. Later he went to Mount Tai, and the monks of Shentong Monastery came to request an almsgiver (dānapati). Fa'an relayed this for them, and the Prince thereupon personally wrote on the monastery wall to patronize and protect it. Earlier, when entering the valley with the Prince, Fa'an saw a monk wearing tattered clothes and riding a white donkey approaching. The Prince asked who it was, and Fa'an said, "This is Master Lang. He originally founded Shentong Monastery, and therefore came to welcome us." When they arrived at the monastery, he also saw a spirit of immense stature standing on the lecture hall, resting his hands on the chiwen ridge-ornament and looking down at the crowd. The Prince asked about him again, and he replied, "This is the spirit of Mount Taibai, who follows Your Highness." After this, his various marvels were too numerous to record fully. At the beginning of the Daye era, the Emperor esteemed him even more; his awe-inspiring presence outshone princes and dukes, and whoever saw him bent their knees. The Imperial Attendants of the Three Guard Units served him like a god. He also traveled to famous mountains to summon various recluses: Guo Zhibian, Shi Zhigong, Zhenggong, and Beidu, all gathering at Huiri at the same time. There were more than two thousand men of learning and artistry, and the provision of the four requisites depended entirely on Fa'an to be established. Furthermore, the Baoyang Daocheng was founded for him in the Eastern Capital, with only Fa'an's assembly dwelling within and cultivating the vocation. In the eleventh year, he submitted a memorial stating that calamities were rife in the four quarters, and without illness he passed away where he resided, at the age of ninety-eight. Earlier, before his demise, he forewarned the Emperor about future events: "One hundred days after my death, a fire will break out from the inner palace; you must be especially cautious." When the Hanshi Festival arrived, boiling oil caught fire upward; in the middle of the night the gates were barred, and the palace women of the Three Courts all perished in the fire at once. The Emperor at that time was not surprised. His coffin was escorted to Mount Taibai, the expenses being provided by the state. Yet Fa'an's virtue was concealed within; outwardly he appeared just like his peers. Only when sleeping did he never use a pillow, his neck remaining stiff and unbent; extending his neck over the edge of the bed, saliva flowed in a stream, often amounting to about a sheng, which was unusual. At that time there was also Shi Faji, a monk who comprehended subtle secrets and possessed extraordinary knowledge. He first came to prominence during the Chen dynasty, and under the two Sui emperors he always lodged within the imperial palace. Dwelling among consorts and empresses, he was diligent in practice and had few desires, reaching a level few people could attain. Emperor Wen built Xiangtai Monastery for him in Chang'an, and later in the Eastern Capital built the Longtian Bodhimanda. The Emperor gave him a white horse, which he regularly rode within the palace. If anyone had an illness, he chanted spells over water and gave it to them to drink, and they never failed to recover. He could also see ghosts and spirits and foresee what had not yet happened. In the fourth year of the Daye era, he suddenly bade farewell to the Emperor, saying: "The heavenly mandate is not constant, and I must now move on to the next life. My only wish is that you propagate and protect [the Dharma] and bear the burden of sentient beings." He then passed away while sitting. When they shaved his head to prepare him for encoffining, in a brief moment his hair grew out about half an inch. The Emperor said, "The Dhyāna Master has entered the samādhi of cessation; how can we bury him?" He ordered a large bell to be struck for over a month; but as he did not emerge from samādhi and his physical appearance remained as if alive, the Son of Heaven suspended court and the hundred officials wore plain white mourning dress. An imperial decree was issued to escort him to Jiangzhou, with laborers and provisions supplied by the state, and wherever the cortege arrived, vegetarian feasts were set up with provisions supplied locally. From the princes and dukes of the Eastern Capital down, forty thousand large banners were made for him, and a hundred monks were provided with a vegetarian feast each day up to the forty-ninth day. Each person received a daily donation of twenty-five lengths of silk, totaling more than a hundred thousand bolts. All of this was done out of gratitude for the power of his merit, each household thus pouring out its family treasures.