續高僧傳 25.62

25.62

釋轉明。俗姓鹿氏。未詳何許人。形服僧儀貌非弘偉。容止淡然色無喜慍。以隋大業八年。無何而來居住雒邑。告有賊起。及至覆檢。宗緒莫從。帝時惑之。未能加罪。權令收禁。初不測其然也。至明年六月。果逢梟感作逆。驅逼凶醜充。斥東都。誅戮極甚。方委其言有據。下勅放之。而明雖被拘散。情計如常。與諸言議曾無所及會帝往江都行達偃師。時獄中死囚數有五十。剋時斬決。明日吾當放此死厄。即往獄所假為餉遺面見諸囚告曰。明日車駕當從此過。爾等一時大呼云有賊至。若問所由云吾所委。當免死矣及至期會便如所告。勅乃總放諸囚。收明入禁。便大笑而受之。都無憂懼。于斯時也四方草竊人不聊生。如明語矣。大業末歲猶被拘縶。越王踐祚方蒙釋放。雖往還自在。而恒居乾陽門內。別院供擬恐其潛逸。密遣三衛私防護之。及皇泰建議軍國謀猷。恒預帷幄籌計利害。偽鄭世充。倍加信奉。守衛嚴設又兼恒度。至開明二年。即唐武德三年也。明從洛宮安然而出。周圍五重初不見迹。審偽都之將敗也西達京師。太武皇帝夙奉音問深知神異。隆禮敬之。勅住化度寺。數引禁中。具陳徵應。及後事會咸同合契。以其年八月忽然不見。衣資什物儼在房中。尋下追徵合國周訪了無所獲。尋明在道行涉冥祥。有問學者。乃云。常以平等一法。志而奉之。顧其遊步四朝。貴賤通屬。以明道冠幽極。皆往師之。而情一榮枯寔遵平等。而言調譎詭不倫和韻。或云。某法師者見謗大乘生報無擇。某法師者從羊中來。如此授記其例不一。行至總持顧僧眾曰。不久此等當流血矣。宜共慎之。時以為卓異。共怪輕誕。及遭法該等事尋被簿錄戮之都市。方悔前失。隋末有鮑子明者。未詳何人。煬帝遠召藝僧遂霑慧日。而歷遊寺院不止房堂。隨夜即宿略無定所。既請官供曾不臨赴。不著三衣而服裙帔。或驚叫漫走言無准度。大業九年。以緋裹額唱賊而走。時人以為徵兆也。及梟起逆。諸軍並著屯項袹額。如其相焉。咸圍東都。召問通塞。遂惡罵曰。賊害天下何有國乎。帝時在涿郡。聞之大悅。召而勞遣。明又以箕盛土。當風揚之後覆。梟感逆黨。並被誅剪長夏門外。日別幾千。遠應斯舉。大業十年。無故卒于雒邑。

Shi Zhuanming was of the secular surname Lu, and it is not known where he was from. His appearance, dress, and monastic deportment were by no means grand or imposing; his demeanor was tranquil, his expression showing neither joy nor anger. In the eighth year of the Daye era of the Sui, he arrived from nowhere to live in the city of Luoyi, where he announced that rebels were about to rise up. When officials investigated, there were no traces or connections to be found. The Emperor was perplexed, but could not yet punish him; he provisionally ordered him detained in custody, not at first discerning the truth. In the sixth month of the following year, they indeed met with Xiao Gan staging a rebellion, driving and coercing his wicked hordes to fill the Eastern Capital, resulting in extreme slaughter. Only then did they realize his words were well-founded; an imperial decree was issued to release him. Although Ming had been detained, his disposition was just as usual; he had never raised the matter in his conversations with others. It happened that the Emperor traveled to Jiangdu and reached Yanshi. At that time, there were fifty condemned prisoners in the jail who were appointed to be executed at a fixed hour. [Ming said,] "Tomorrow I shall deliver them from this fatal distress." He immediately went to the prison under the pretense of delivering provisions, met with the prisoners face to face, and told them: "Tomorrow the imperial carriage will pass by here. You must all shout out at once, 'The rebels have arrived!' If asked why, say that I instructed you; you will then escape death." When the appointed time arrived, everything happened just as he had instructed. The decree thereupon pardoned all the prisoners and took Ming into custody. He accepted it with great laughter, with no anxiety or fear at all. At that time, brigands roamed the four quarters and people could not make a living, exactly as Ming had spoken. In the late years of the Daye era he was still kept in confinement; it was only when the Prince of Yue ascended the throne that he received his release. Although he came and went freely, he always resided within the Qianyang Gate. A separate courtyard provided his needs, for they feared he might slip away, secretly dispatching the Three Guard Units to keep private watch over him. When the Huangtai regime debated affairs and formulated military and state strategies, he was constantly involved in the inner councils, calculating advantages and disadvantages. The bogus Zheng regime of Wang Shichong showed him even greater faith and reverence, setting up strict guards that exceeded the normal measure. In the second year of the Kaiming era, which was the third year of Wude of the Tang, Ming walked out peacefully from the palace in Luoyang; passing through five concentric walls, not a trace of him was ever seen. Discerning that the bogus capital was about to fall, he went west to the capital. Emperor Taiwu had long heard of him and was well aware of his spiritual marvels, treating him with great courtesy and reverence. By imperial decree he was housed at Huadu Monastery and frequently summoned into the inner palace to expound on omens and portents; later events all fully matched his words. In the eighth month of that year, he suddenly disappeared. His robes and personal effects remained neatly in his room. Officers were promptly sent down to pursue and search for him, seeking everywhere throughout the whole country, but found nothing at all. If we examine Ming's conduct in the Way, it touched upon unseen auspicious signs. When someone asked about his learning, he said, "I constantly take the single Dharma of equality to mind and revere it." Looking back on his travels through four reigns, the noble and the base alike were attached to him; because Ming's Way surpassed the hidden extremes, all went to take him as their master. Yet his mind regarded flourish and decay as one, truly conforming to equality. His speech was deceptive, bizarre, and out of tune with harmony. At times he said, "Such-and-such a Dharma Master slanders the Mahāyāna and will receive retribution in this life without reprieve; such-and-such a Dharma Master has come from among the sheep." Prophetic remarks like these were many and varied. Once, walking to Zongchi Monastery, he looked at the assembly of monks and said, "Before long, your blood will flow; you should all take heed together!" At the time they thought it eccentric and marveled at his wild levity. When the affair of Fagao and the others arose, they were promptly registered on the registers and executed in the marketplace, only then regretting their earlier fault. At the end of the Sui, there was Bao Ziming, though it is unknown who he was. Emperor Yang summoned monks of artistic skill from afar, and he thus partook of Huiri Monastery. Yet he wandered through various monasteries without staying in a regular room or hall, sleeping wherever the night found him without any fixed place. Though imperial provisions were offered, he never went to receive them. He did not wear the three robes, but wore a skirt and cape; at times he would shout out in fright and run wildly, his words having no standard. In the ninth year of the Daye era, he wrapped his forehead in crimson, crying out "Rebels!" as he ran. People of the time considered it an omen. When Xiao Gan rose in rebellion, the various armies all wore headbands covering their necks and wrapped their foreheads, just like his appearance. When they besieged the Eastern Capital, they summoned him to ask whether the ways were open or blocked; he then cursed them fiercely, saying, "You bandits harm the world; how can there be a state for you?" The Emperor was in Zhuojun at the time; hearing of this, he was overjoyed, and summoned him to comfort and reward him. Ming also filled a winnowing basket with soil and winnowed it against the wind, afterwards scattering it over. Xiao Gan's rebel party was completely exterminated outside the Changxia Gate, several thousands each day, matching this act from afar. In the tenth year of the Daye era, he died in Luoyi without apparent cause.