續高僧傳 28.21

28.21

釋慧超。姓汎氏。丹陽建元人。稟懷溫裕立性懷仁。弱齡厭俗。自出家後。誦法華經聞光州大蘇山慧思禪師獨悟一乘善明三觀。與天台智者仙城命公。篤志幽尋積年請業。行優智遠德冠時賢。思對眾命曰。超之神府。得忍人也。及遊衡嶺。復與同途留誦經。停亟移歲序。自隋初廓定。北入嵩高。餌藥坐禪冀言終老。隋太子勇。召集名德總會帝城。以超業行不群。特留供養。而恭慎凝攝不顧世華。及勇廢免一無所涉。晚移定水高振德音。道俗歸宗仰其戒範。會淨業法師卜居藍田谷之悟真寺。欽超有道躬事邀迎。共隱八年倍勤三惠。及大業承運。禪定初基。爰發詔書延入行道。屢辭砭疾。後許還山。德感物情頗存汲引。四川貴望一縣官民。莫不委質投誠請傳香德。并為經始伽藍。繼綜羞粒。大唐伊始榮重於前。京邑名僧慧因保恭等。情慕隱淪咸就栖止。蔭松偃石論詳道義。皆曰。斯誠出要樂也。後臥疾少時。弟子跪問。答曰。吾之常也。長生不欣夕死不慼。乃面西正坐云。第一義空清淨智觀。言如入定奄遂長往。春秋七十有七。即武德五年十二月六日也。露骸松石一月餘日。顏色不變。天策上將聞稱希有。遣人就視。端拱如生。自超九歲入道。即誦法華五十餘年萬有餘遍。感靈獲瑞不可勝言。弟子法成等。為建白塔于寺之北峯焉。

Śramaṇa Huichao, whose secular surname was Fan, was a native of Jianyuan in Danyang. By nature warm and magnanimous, he harbored benevolence in his disposition. From an early age he felt weary of worldly life. After entering the monastic life, he chanted the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra. Hearing that Dhyāna Master Huisi of Mount Dasu in Guangzhou had uniquely awakened to the One Vehicle and clearly understood the three contemplations, he—together with Zhizhe of Tiantai and Master Ming of Xiancheng—resolutely sought him in secluded regions, requesting his instruction for years. His conduct was superior and his wisdom profound, excelling the virtuous contemporaries of his day. Huisi said to the assembly: 'Huichao's mind-store is that of one who has attained forbearance.' When [Huisi] traveled to the peaks of Hengshan, [Huichao] again traveled with him and stayed to chant the sūtras, residing there while many years elapsed. After the Sui pacified and unified the realm at its inception, he went north to Mount Songgao, taking medicinal herbs and practicing dhyāna sitting, hoping to live out his old age there. Yang Yong, the Sui Crown Prince, summoned renowned and virtuous monks to assemble in the imperial capital. Because Huichao's practice and conduct were exceptional, he was specially retained and provided for. Yet he remained reverent, prudent, focused, and composed, heedless of worldly splendor. When Yong was deposed, he was not implicated in the slightest. Later he moved to Dingshui [Monastery], where his virtuous reputation resonated loftily. Monks and laity took refuge in him and looked up to his disciplinary standards. It happened that Dharmabhāṇaka Jingye chose to dwell at Wuzhen Monastery in Lantian Valley; admiring Huichao's virtue, he went in person to invite him. Together they lived in seclusion for eight years, redoubling their diligence in the three wisdoms. When the Daye era began its reign and the Chanding Monastery was newly founded, an imperial edict was issued inviting him to enter and practice circumambulation. He repeatedly declined on grounds of illness, and was later permitted to return to the mountains. His virtue moved people's hearts, and he greatly guided and aided them. The noble lineages and all the officials and commoners of the county without exception bowed and offered their utmost sincerity, asking him to transmit fragrant virtue, and together they began the construction of a saṅghārāma and provided a continuous supply of grains. At the inception of the Great Tang, he was honored and respected even more than before. Renowned monks of the capital such as Huiyin and Baogong, admiring his secluded life, all went to stay with him. Resting beneath pines and reclining on rocks, they discussed and analyzed the principles of the Way. All said: 'This is truly the joy of the essential path of release.' Later he lay ill for a brief while. When his disciples knelt and inquired, he replied: 'This is my normal state. I do not rejoice in long life, nor do I grieve over death at dusk.' He then sat upright facing west and said: 'The pure, wise contemplation of the emptiness of the supreme truth.' Speaking thus as if entering samādhi, he suddenly passed away. His age was seventy-seven, on the sixth day of the twelfth month in the fifth year of the Wude era [622 CE]. His remains were exposed upon the pine rocks for more than a month, yet his complexion did not change. The Supreme General of the Tiance heard of this, proclaimed it extraordinary, and sent someone to inspect it; he sat upright with hands clasped as if still alive. From the age of nine when Huichao entered the Way, he chanted the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra for more than fifty years, over ten thousand times. His spiritual resonances and miraculous portents were beyond recount. His disciple Facheng and others built a white stūpa for him on the northern peak of the monastery.