續高僧傳 28.19

28.19

釋慧恭者。益州成都人也。俗姓周氏。周末廢佛法之時。與同寺慧遠結契勤學。遠直詣長安聽採。恭長往荊楊訪道。遠於京師聽得阿毘曇論迦延拘舍地持成實毘婆沙攝大乘。並皆精熟。還益州講授。卓爾絕群。道俗欽重。䞋施盈積。恭後從江表來還。二人相遇欣歡。共敘離別三十餘年。同宿數夜語說言談。遠如泉涌。恭竟無所道。問恭曰。離別多時今得相見。慶此歡會伊何可論。但覺仁者無所說。將不得無所得耶。恭對曰。為性闇劣都無所解。遠曰。大無所解。可不誦一部經乎。恭答曰。唯誦得觀世音經一卷。遠厲色曰。觀世音經。小兒童子皆能誦之。何煩大汝許人乎。且仁者童子出家。與遠立誓望證道果。豈復三十餘年唯誦一卷經如指許大。是非闇鈍懶墮所為。請與斷交。願法師早去。無增遠之煩惱也。恭曰。經卷雖小佛口所說。遵敬者得無量福。輕慢者得無量罪。仰願暫息瞋心。當為法師誦一遍。即與長別。遠大笑曰。觀世音經。是法華經普門品。遠已講之數過百遍。如何始欲閙人耳乎。恭曰。外書云。人能弘道非道弘人。但至心聽佛語。豈得以人棄法。乃於庭前結壇。壇中安高座。繞壇數匝。頂禮昇高座。遠不得已。於是下據胡床坐聽。恭始發聲唱經題。異香氛氳遍滿房宇。及入文。天上作樂雨四種花。樂則寥亮振空。花則雰霏滿地。經訖下座。自為解座梵。訖花樂方歇。慧遠接足頂禮淚下交連。謝曰。慧遠臭穢死屍。敢行天日之下。乞暫留賜見教誨。恭曰。非恭所能。諸佛力耳。即日拂衣長揖沿流而去。爾後訪問。竟不知其所之。其寺久已湮滅。

Shi Huigong was a native of Chengdu in Yizhou, with the secular surname Zhou. During the abolition of the Buddha's Dharma at the end of the Zhou dynasty, he made a pact with Huiyuan of the same monastery to study diligently. Yuan went straight to Chang'an to listen and gather knowledge, while Gong went far off to Jing and Yang to seek the Way. In the capital, Yuan studied and mastered the Abhidharma treatises, Katyāyana, the Kośa, the Bodhisattvabhūmi, the Satyasiddhi, the Vibhāṣā, and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, becoming thoroughly proficient in all of them. He returned to Yizhou to lecture, standing out far above the crowd; both monastics and laypeople revered him, and donation gifts accumulated in abundance. Later, Gong returned from the regions south of the Yangtze River. The two were delighted to meet again and recounted their separation of more than thirty years. Spending several nights together talking and conversing, Yuan's words gushed like a spring, while Gong spoke not a word in the end. [Yuan] asked Gong: "Having been separated for so long, we can meet now today; what words can describe the joy of this reunion? Yet I only feel that you, benevolent one, have nothing to say; could it be that you have attained nothing?" Gong replied, "Being dull and inferior by nature, I understand nothing at all." Yuan said, "If you understand nothing at all, could you not have recited even a single scripture?" Gong replied, "I can recite only the one fascicle of the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra." Yuan said with a stern countenance: "The Avalokiteśvara Sūtra can be recited even by young children; why trouble a great man like you? Moreover, you, benevolent one, left household life as a child and established a vow with Yuan, hoping to realize the fruits of the Way. How could it be that for more than thirty years you have recited only one fascicle of a scripture as thin as a finger? Is this not the doing of dullness and indolence? I request to break off our friendship; may you, Dharma master, leave quickly, and do not add to Yuan's vexation." Gong said, "Although the scripture scroll is small, it was spoken by the Buddha's mouth. Those who revere it obtain limitless merit; those who treat it with contempt obtain limitless guilt. I humbly pray you pause your anger for a moment; I shall recite it once for you, Dharma master, and then part with you forever." Yuan laughed heartily and said: "The Avalokiteśvara Sūtra is the 'Universal Gate Chapter' of the Lotus Sūtra; Yuan has already lectured on it more than a hundred times. How can you now intend to trouble my ears?" Gong said, "The secular texts say: 'Man can broaden the Way; it is not the Way that broadens man.' Simply listen to the Buddha's words with utmost sincerity; how could you reject the Dharma on account of the person?" He then established an altar in front of the courtyard, set up a high seat in the center of the altar, circumambulated the altar several times, made prostrations, and ascended the high seat. Having no alternative, Yuan sat down on a barbarian stool below to listen. As soon as Gong raised his voice to intone the title of the scripture, an extraordinary fragrance wafted and filled the room. When he entered the main text, music was made in the heavens and four kinds of flowers rained down; the music was clear and resonant, vibrating through the sky, and the flowers drifted down, filling the ground. When the scripture was finished, he descended from the seat and performed the dispersal-of-the-seat chant on his own; only when it concluded did the flowers and music cease. Huiyuan touched his feet in prostration, tears streaming down together, and apologized, saying: "Huiyuan is a foul, filthy dead corpse; how dare I walk beneath the sun of heaven? I beg you to stay briefly and grant me your instruction." Gong said, "This is not what Gong can do; it is merely the power of all the Buddhas." That very day, he dusted his robes, made a long bow, and departed along the current. When people later inquired after him, no one ever knew where he had gone. The monastery has long since fallen into oblivion.