續高僧傳 27.26

27.26

釋道休。未詳氏族。住雍州新豐福緣寺。常以頭陀為業。在寺南驪山幽谷。結草為庵。一坐七日乃出其定。執鉢持錫出山乞食。飯鉢滿已隨處而食。還來菴所。七日為期初無替廢。所以村野有信。剋日至山。路首迎逆。而休歡笑先言。卑詞問訊。行說禁戒誨以慈善。諸俗待其食已。從受歸戒。送入山門。然後乃返。積四十餘載。貞觀三年夏內。依期不出。就庵看之。端拱而卒。眾謂入定。於傍宿守。乃經信宿。迫而察之方知氣盡。加坐不腐。儼若生焉。仍就而掩。扉外加棘刺。恐蟲傷也。四年冬首。余往覲焉。山北人接還村內。為起廟舍。安置厥形。雖皮鞕骨連。而容色不改。加坐如故。乃於其上加漆布焉。然休出家已來。常袒三衣不服繒纊。以傷生也。又所著布衣。積有年稔。塵朽零破。見者寒心。時屬嚴冬忽然呻噤。即合脫三衣露背而坐。冷厲難耐。便取一重披之遂便覺暖。自誡勸曰。汝亦易誑。前後俱冷。俱是一衣。如何易奪。遂覺暖也。汝不可信。當為汝師。或時欲補衣。以布相著。欲加縫綴即便入定。後出之時收而乞食。斯季世以死要生業道者罕有蹤也。余曾參翻譯。親問西域諸僧。皆以布氈而為袈裟都無繒絹者。縱用以為餘衣。不得加受持也。其龜茲于遁諸國。見今養蠶。惟擬取綿亦不殺害。故知休之慈救與衡岳同風。前已廣彰。恐迷重舉。自餘服翫。安可言矣。

Shi Daoxiu's clan origin is unknown. He resided at Fuyuan Temple in Xinfeng, Yongzhou, and constantly took dhūta practice as his vocation. In a secluded valley of Mount Li south of the temple, he tied grass to make a hut. He would sit for seven days before emerging from his absorption. Holding his bowl and staff, he would leave the mountain to beg for food. Once his rice bowl was full, he would eat wherever he was, and then return to his hut. With seven days as the regular interval, it was never interrupted or abandoned. For this reason, the villagers had faith, and on the appointed day they would go to the mountain, welcoming him at the head of the road. Xiu would laugh merrily, speak first, and inquire after them with humble words, preaching the prohibitions and precepts as he walked, instructing them with compassion. The layfolk would wait until he had finished eating, receive the refuges and precepts from him, escort him to the mountain gate, and only then return. This accumulated for over forty years. In the summer of the third year of the Zhenguan era, he did not emerge on schedule. Going to his hut to look, [they found that] he had passed away with his hands folded across his chest. The assembly thought he had entered absorption and kept vigil by his side overnight. After several nights passed, they approached and examined him, only then realizing that his breath was exhausted. He remained sitting cross-legged without rotting, dignified as if alive. They accordingly closed him in there, adding thorns outside the door for fear that beasts might harm him. At the beginning of winter in the fourth year, I went to pay homage to him. People from north of the mountain had received him back into the village and built a shrine for him, placing his form inside. Although the skin had hardened and the bones were connected, his complexion had not changed, and he remained cross-legged as before; thereupon they applied lacquered cloth over him. Since Xiu left the household, he had always bared [one shoulder in] the three robes, and did not wear silk or silk floss, because it harmed life. Furthermore, the cotton clothes he wore had accumulated over years, become dusty, rotten, and torn into tatters, chilling the heart of anyone who saw him. Once, in the severe winter, he suddenly began to groan and shiver; he immediately took off all three robes and sat with his back bared. The piercing cold was hard to endure, so he took one layer and threw it over himself, whereupon he felt warm. He admonished and exhorted himself, saying: "You are also easily deceived! Before and after, it was equally cold, and it is merely a single garment; how could it be switched and suddenly feel warm? You cannot be trusted; I must be your master." Sometimes, wishing to mend his clothes, he would put pieces of cloth together, but as he was about to stitch them, he would immediately enter absorption; later, when he emerged, he would pack them away and beg for food. In this final age, those who seek the path of karma that exchanges death for life have left few traces like his. I once participated in translations and personally asked various monks from the Western Regions; all of them used cotton or felt for their kāṣāyas, and none used patterned or raw silk. Even if used for other clothing, one was not permitted to formally receive and wear them. In countries such as Kucha and Khotan, where silkworms are presently raised, they intend only to collect the silk floss and do not kill them. Thus we know that Xiu's compassionate rescue shared the same style as Mount Heng [Huisi], which has been broadly explained before; fearing confusion, I mention it again. As for the rest of his garments and possessions, how need they be spoken of?