[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [續高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060) › 27.21 # 續高僧傳 27.21 續高僧傳 27.21 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [27.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.27.21) 釋智命。俗姓鄭。名頲。滎陽人。族望清勝文華曜世。詞鋒所指罕有當之。初仕隋為羽騎尉。班位斯薄。逃官流俗。備歷講會餐寢法奧。就耕于寧州。大業初年。僕射楊素因事往彼。乃通名謁見。與語終日。素曰。觀卿風韻。殊非鄙俗所懷。乃廊廟偉器耳。且權抑忍辱。尋當徵召。及元德作貳。搜訪賢能。素遂拔之。對晤宣傳應變不一。有令試以三百對語。一遍授之覆無遺漏。致大重敬。遷為中舍人官至五品。及元德云薨。不仕於世。遊聽三論法華。研味積年逾深信篤。皇泰之初越王即位。歷官至御史大夫。偽鄭開明連任不改。深謀廣略有國惟寄。于斯時也。今上任總天策。御兵西苑。李密鴟張蟻結咆休洛汭。世充獨固一都。內外煎迫上下同懼。頲弊斯紛梗情慕出家。頻請鄭主為國修道。既不遂志。惟思剪剃不累形科。夜則潛讀方等諸經。晝則緝理公政斯須不替。經四十日誦得法華。暢滿胸襟決心出俗。又勸婦氏歸宗釋教。言既切至即依從之更互剃髮。頲語妻曰。吾願滿矣。不死而生。當啟鄭主不宜爾也。便法服擎錫。徑至宮門云。鄭頲輒已出家。故來奉謁。世充不勝憤怒。下勅斬之。頲聞喜曰。吾願又滿矣。欣笑泰然。行至洛濱。時惟旭旦未合行決。頲曰。若為善知識者。願早見過度。不爾尋應被放。不滿本懷。于時道俗圍遶勸引至暮。而頲厲色昌言不許。因即斬之。尋有勅放。既所不救。舉朝怨恨。即偽鄭開明之初年也。初頲從吉藏法師聽講。有僧告曰。觀卿頭顱額頷有富貴相。但以眄睞後顧。恐不得其終。頲曰。豈非傷死耶。必如所相乃是本願。嘗見諸死者。疾甚危弱心不自安。紛擾不定便就後世。生死終一期也。定不能免。何如發正願緣勝境心力堅明不有馳散。刀落命終。神爽自在豈不善乎。故頲之臨刑。遍禮十方。口詠般若。索筆題詩曰。幻生還幻滅。大幻莫過身。安心自有處。求人無有人。與諸知故別已合眼。少時曰。可下刀矣。尋聲斬之。面貌熙怡有逾恒日。妻為比丘尼。見住洛州寺也。 > Śramaṇa Zhiming, whose secular surname was Zheng and given name Ting, was a native of Xingyang. His lineage was distinguished and pure, and his literary talents shone through his generation, with few able to match the edge of his eloquence. He initially served the Sui dynasty as a Cavalry Commandant (Yuqiwei), but holding this minor post in disdain, he fled official service into ordinary life, attending doctrinal lectures and partaking in the profound mysteries of the Dharma. He engaged in farming in Ningzhou. In the early years of the Daye reign, Chief Servant Yang Su went there on official business; Ting submitted his name for an audience and conversed with him all day. Su remarked: 'Observing your refined air, it is entirely beyond what an ordinary worldly mind possesses—you are indeed a magnificent talent for the imperial court! Bear with humility and restraint for a while, and you shall soon be summoned.' When Crown Prince Yuande took position and sought out men of worth and talent, Su promoted him. In audiences and communications, he responded to changing situations with great versatility. Once, he was tested with three hundred matched couplets; given only a single reading, he recited them back without omitting a single word, eliciting immense esteem. He was promoted to Palace Assistant (Zhong Sheren), reaching the fifth official rank. When Prince Yuande passed away, he ceased serving in worldly office, instead traveling to hear lectures on the Three Treatises and the Lotus Sūtra; with years of contemplation, his faith grew ever deeper and firmer. At the beginning of Huangtai, when the Prince of Yue took the throne, he rose through the ranks to Censor-in-Chief (Yushi Dafu). Under the bogus Zheng dynasty's Kaiming era, he continued to hold office; its deep stratagems and extensive plans depended entirely upon him. At that time, our present Emperor was in general command of the Heavenly Strategies and commanding armies in the Western Park, while Li Mi spread his banners like an eagle and swarmed like ants roaring along the bends of the Luo River. Wang Shichong alone held fast to the single capital; pressured from within and without, superiors and subordinates alike lived in terror. Ting was exhausted by these chaotic tribulations and yearned to renounce secular life, repeatedly petitioning the Zheng ruler to cultivate the Way for the sake of the state. Having failed to achieve his wish, he only contemplated shaving his head and not letting worldly laws entangle his physical body. At night, he secretly read various Vaipulya sūtras, while by day he administered public affairs without a moment's neglect. After forty days, having committed the Lotus Sūtra to memory, his heart was full and expansive, and his resolve to abandon secular life became settled. He also persuaded his wife to take refuge in Śākyamuni's teaching; with words so earnest, she followed his advice, and they shaved each other's heads. Ting said to his wife: 'My wish is fulfilled! Since I live rather than die, I must notify the Zheng ruler; it would not be proper otherwise.' Clad in Dharma robes and holding a khakkhara, he went directly to the palace gates and declared: 'Zheng Ting has dared to renounce secular life and has come for an audience.' Shichong could not contain his fury and decreed that he be beheaded. Hearing this, Ting rejoiced: 'My wish is fulfilled once more!' Smiling cheerfully and untroubled, he walked toward the banks of the Luo River. Because it was dawn, the time was not yet fitting for execution. Ting said: 'If you are good spiritual friends, please cross me over soon; otherwise, an order of release might arrive, frustrating my original resolve.' Monks and laity surrounded him, urging delay until the evening, but Ting, with a stern countenance, spoke out firmly against it. Thereupon they beheaded him. Soon after, an imperial pardon arrived, but it was already too late to save him, leaving the whole court in grief and indignation; this was in the first year of the bogus Zheng's Kaiming era. Earlier, when Ting was attending lectures by Master Jizang, a monk told him: 'Looking at your forehead and chin, you possess the signs of wealth and honor; but because you glance about and look behind, I fear you will not meet a natural end.' Ting said: 'Could it be a violent death? If it is as you divine, that is indeed my original wish. I have often seen those who die: afflicted by severe illness and helplessness, their minds are uneasy, and in turmoil and agitation they pass into the next life. In saṃsāra, a lifetime must come to an end; death cannot be avoided. How could that compare to generating the correct aspiration, leaning upon superior realms, with mental fortitude unwavering and undistracted, so that when the blade falls and life ends, the spirit remains at ease—is that not wonderful?' Therefore, when Ting faced execution, he bowed to the ten directions, chanted Prajñā verses, and asked for a brush to write a poem: 'Phantom birth returns to phantom cessation; / No great phantom surpasses the physical body. / Settling the mind has its own dwelling place; / Seeking a person, no person is found.' After parting from acquaintances, he closed his eyes, and after a brief moment said: 'You may bring down the blade.' They struck him down immediately at his word. His countenance was serene and joyous, surpassing ordinary days. His wife became a bhikṣuṇī and now resides in a monastery in Luozhou. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 27.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.27.20) - [Next: 27.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.27.22) - [Up: 27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.27) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060~en-mt.27.21) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.27.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.27.21) · Pramāṇa