[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) › 28.18 # 續高僧傳 28.18 續高僧傳 28.18 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [28.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.28.18) 釋法建者。廣漢雒縣人也。俗姓朱氏。誦經一千卷。仍多閑暇遨遊偶俗。無所異焉。忽復閉門則累日不出。無所食矣。唯聞誦經。然小聲吟諷。音不外徹。有人倚壁竊聽臨響。但聞斖斖細細。似伏流之吐波。時乃一出追從無聞武陵王東下。令弟規守益州。魏遣將軍尉遲逈來伐蜀。規既降欵。城內大有名僧皆被拘禁。至夜忽有光明。逈遣人尋光。乃見諸僧並睡。唯法建端坐誦經。光從口出。逈聞自到建所頂禮坐聽。至旦始休。逈問曰。法師昨夜所誦名作何經。答曰。華嚴經下帙十卷。逈曰。何不從頭誦之。答曰。貧道誦次到此耳。逈曰。法師誦得幾許。答曰。貧道發心欲誦一藏。情多懈怠。今始偍千卷。逈驚疑不信。將欲試之曰。屈總誦一遍。應不勞損耶。建報曰。讀誦經典沙門常事。豈憚勞苦。乃設高座。令諸僧眾並執本逐聽。法建登座為誦。或似急流之注峻壑。其吐納音句呼噏氣息。或類清風之入高松。聰明者纔似聞餘音。情疎意逸者空望塵躅。七日七夜數已滿千。猶故不止。逈起謝曰。弟子兵將不得久停。請從此辭。諸僧因並釋散。逈既出歎息曰。自如來寂滅之後。阿難號為總持。豈能過此。蜀中乃有如此人。所以常保安樂。奇哉奇哉。建年八十終。 > Shi Fajian was a native of Luo County in Guanghan, with the secular surname Zhu. He had recited a thousand fascicles of sūtras. Still having much leisure, he strolled and associated with common folk without appearing different from them. Suddenly, he would shut his doors and not emerge for consecutive days, taking no food. One heard only the recitation of sūtras; however, he hummed and intoned in a low voice, so that the sound did not carry outside. Someone leaned against the wall to eavesdrop, straining to catch the sound, and heard only a fine and steady murmuring, like waves spewed by a hidden current. Occasionally he would go out, and \[then\] he followed the King of Wuling, Xiao Ji, eastward. \[The King\] ordered his younger brother Xiao Gui to guard Yizhou. The Wei dispatched General Yuchi Jiong to invade Shu. When Gui surrendered, the eminent monks of great renown within the city were all detained. At night, there was suddenly a bright light. Jiong sent men to trace the light and found that the other monks were all asleep, and only Fajian sat upright reciting sūtras, with light issuing from his mouth. When Jiong heard of this, he went in person to Jian's place, made prostrations, and sat listening until dawn. Jiong asked, "What sūtra was the Dharma master reciting last night?" He replied, "The lower case of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, ten fascicles." Jiong asked, "Why not recite from the beginning?" He replied, "This poor monk's turn in recitation had simply reached this point." Jiong asked, "How much can the Dharma master recite?" He replied, "This poor monk made a vow to recite the entire canon, but my mind is prone to indolence, and so far I have only memorized a thousand fascicles." Jiong was startled and suspicious, not believing him. Wishing to test him, he said, "I would trouble you to recite the entirety once; it should not cause you great exhaustion, should it?" Jian responded, "Cantillating and reciting the canonical scriptures is a śramaṇa's constant work; how could I shrink from hardship?" Thereupon a high seat was set up, and the monks were all ordered to hold the written texts to follow along and listen. Fajian ascended the seat and recited for them; at times it was like a rapid torrent pouring into a steep gorge, his intake and release of syllables and his breathing at times resembled a pure breeze entering tall pines. Those who were intelligent could barely catch the lingering cadence; those whose minds were distracted and dissipated merely looked in vain at his dust and tracks. For seven days and seven nights, the count already reached a thousand \[fascicles\], yet he still did not stop. Jiong stood up, apologized, and said: "This disciple's troops cannot linger long; please permit us to take our leave here." The monks were consequently all released. When Jiong departed, he sighed and said: "Since the Tathāgata's extinction, Ānanda has been called the foremost in retaining all; could he have surpassed this? That Shu should possess such a person is indeed why it has always remained peaceful and happy. Extraordinary, truly extraordinary!" Jian died at the age of eighty. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 28.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.28.17) - [Next: 28.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.28.19) - [Up: 28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.28) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060~en-mt.28.18) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.28.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.28.18) · Pramāṇa