續高僧傳 26.51

26.51

釋明誕。姓史。衛州汲人。律儀行務履顧前賢。通十地地持。赴機講解。攝大乘論彌見弘演。後入京住勝光寺。溫柔敦厚性無迫暴。有勅召送舍利于襄州上鳳林寺基趾。梁代雕飾隋初顯敞。高林跨谷連院。松竹交映泉石相喧。邑屋相望索然閑舉。有遊覽者皆忘返焉。文帝龍潛之日。因往禮拜乞願弘護。及踐寶位追惟往福。歲常就寺廣設供養。仍又改為大興國寺。及誕之至彼安厝塔基。寺之東院鑿地數尺獲琉璃瓶。內有舍利八枚。聚散呈祥形質不定。或現全碎顯發神奇。即與今送同處起塔。又下穿掘得石。銘云。大同卅六年已後。開仁壽之化。依檢梁歷有號大同。至今歲紀髣髴符會。誕欣感嘉瑞。乃表奏聞。寺有金像一軀。舉高丈六。面部圓滿相儀充備峙于堂內。眾鳥無敢踐足。庭前樹碑。庾信文蕭雲書。世稱冠絕。誕歷覽徽猷。講授相接。終于本寺。

Śramaṇa Mingdan, whose secular surname was Shi, was a native of Ji in Weizhou. In his vinaya deportment and religious practices, he followed the footsteps of earlier sages. He was versed in the Daśabhūmika and the Bodhisattvabhūmi, expounding them according to the listeners' capacities, and his dissemination of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha was even more expansive. Later, he entered the capital and resided at Shengguang Monastery. He was gentle, sincere, and magnanimous, with a temperament free from harshness or impetuosity. An imperial decree summoned him to convey relics to the base of Shangfenglin Monastery in Xiangzhou. Decorated with carvings under the Liang dynasty, it had become bright and spacious at the beginning of the Sui. Lofty groves spanned the valleys and connected the courtyards; pines and bamboos cast mutual reflections, while springs and rocks murmured together. The towns and houses could be seen in the distance, isolated and tranquil; visitors would all forget to return. In the days before Emperor Wen ascended the throne, he visited to pay homage and made vows seeking broad protection. When he ascended the precious throne, remembering this past blessing, he regularly held grand offerings at the monastery year after year, and renamed it Daxingguo Monastery. When Mingdan arrived there to inter [the relics] in the stūpa foundation, they dug several feet into the ground in the eastern courtyard of the monastery and unearthed a lapis lazuli vial. Inside were eight relics, which aggregated and dispersed to show auspicious signs, their form and substance unfixed; sometimes appearing whole, sometimes in fragments, they manifested miraculous marvels. Thereupon, a stūpa was erected at the same site together with those brought on this occasion. Digging further down, they found a stone with an inscription saying: 'Thirty-six years after the Datong era, the transformation of the Renshou era shall commence.' Checking the Liang calendar, there was an era titled Datong; counting down to the present year, it matched almost exactly. Mingdan was filled with joyful wonder at this auspicious omen and submitted a memorial to inform the throne. The monastery possessed a golden statue sixteen feet tall, with a round, full face and all the marks and characteristics complete, standing within the hall; no birds dared to tread upon it. A stele was erected in front of the courtyard, with text by Yu Xin and calligraphy by Xiao Yun, acclaimed by contemporaries as without peer. Mingdan observed these fine traditions and continuously lectured and taught, ending his life at this monastery.