續高僧傳 3.8.1

3.8.1

釋慧淨。 俗姓房氏。 常山真定人也。 家世儒宗。 鄉邦稱美。 淨即隋朝國子博士徽遠之猶子也。 生知天挺雅懷篇什。 風格標峻器宇沖邈。 年在弱歲早習丘墳。 便曉文頌榮冠閭里。 十四出家。 志業弘遠。 日頌八千餘言。 總持詞義罕有其比。 遊聽講肆諮質碩疑。 徵究幽微每臻玄極。 聽大智度及餘經部。 神釆孤拔見聞驚異。 有志念論師。 馳名東夏。 時號窮小乘之巖穴也。 乃從聽習雜心婆沙。 學周兩遍大義精通。 根葉搜求務括清致。 由是嘉聲遠布。 學徒欽屬。 開皇之末來儀帝城。 屢折重關更馳名譽。 大業初歲。 因尋古迹至於槐里。 遇始平令楊宏集諸道。 俗於智藏寺欲令道士先開道經。 于時法侶雖殷。 無敢抗者。 淨聞而謂曰。 明府盛結四部銓衡兩教。 竊有未喻。 請諮所疑。 何者賓主之禮自有常倫。 其猶冠屨不可顛倒。 豈於佛寺而令道士先為主乎。 明府教義有序。 請不墜績。 令曰有旨哉。 幾誤諸後即令僧居先坐。 得無辱矣。 有道士于永通。 頗挾時譽。 令懷所重。 次立義曰。 有物混成先天地生。 吾不知其名。 字之曰道。 令即命言申論。 仍曰。 法師必須詞理切對。 不得犯平頭上尾。 于時令冠平帽。 淨因戲曰。 貧道既不冠帽。 寧犯平頭。 令曰。 若不犯平頭。 當犯上尾。 淨曰。 貧道脫屣昇床。 自可上而無尾。 明府解巾冠帽。 可謂平而無頭。 令有靦容。 淨因問通曰有物混成。 為體一故混。 為體異故混。 若體一故混。 正混之時已自成一。 則一非道生。 若體異故混。 未混之時已自成二。 則二非一起先生道冠餘列。 請為稽疑。 於是通遂茫然。 忸怩無對。 淨曰。 先生既能開關延敵。 正當鼓怒餘勇。 安得事如桃李更生荊棘。 仍顧令曰。 明府既為道助。 何以救之。 令遂𧹞然。 爾後頻有援救。 皆應機偃仆。 罔非覆軌。 自爾大小雙玩研味逾深。 注述之餘尋繹無暇。 却掃閑室統略舊宗。 纘述雜心玄文。 為三十卷。 包括群典籠罩古今。 四遠英猷皆參沈隱。 末又以俱舍所譯詞旨宏富雖有陳迹未盡研求。 乃無師獨悟思擇名理。 為之文疏三十餘卷。 遂使經部妙義接紐明時。 罽賓正宗傳芳季緒。 學士頴川庾初孫。 請註金剛般若。 乃為釋文舉義。 欝為盛作。 窮真俗之教原。 盡大乘之祕要。 遐邇流布書寫誦持。 文學詞林傳諸心口聲績相美接肩恒聞。 太常博士褚亮。 英藻清拔名譽早聞。 欽此芳猷為之序引。 其詞曰。 若夫大塊均形。 役智從物。 情因習改。 性與慮遷。 然則達鑒窮覽。 皎乎先覺。 炳慧炬以出重昏。 拔愛河而昇彼岸。 與夫輪轉萬劫蓋染六塵。 流遁以徇無涯。 踳駮而趨捷逕。 不同日而言也。 頴川庾初孫。 早弘篤信。 以為般若所明歸於正道。 顯大乘之名相。 標不住之宗極。 出乎心慮之表。 絕於言像之外。 是以結髮受持多歷年所。 雖妙音演說成誦不虧。 而靈源邃湛或有未悟。 嗟迷方之弗遠。 睠砥途而太息。 屬有慧淨法師。 博通奧義。 辯同炙輠理究連環。 庾生入室研幾。 伏膺善誘。 乘此誓願仍求註述。 法師懸鏡忘疲。 衢罇自滿。 上憑神應之道。 傍盡心機之用。 敷暢微言宣揚至理。 曩日舊疑渙焉氷釋。 今茲妙義朗若霞開。 為像法之梁棟。 變群生之耳目。 辭峯秀上。 映鷲岳而相高。 言泉激壯。 赴龍宮而競遠。 且夫釋教西興。 道源東注。 世閱賢智才兼優洽。 精該叡旨罕見其人。 今則沙門重闡。 藉甚當世。 想此玄宗欝為稱首。 歲惟閹茂始創懷油。 月躔仲呂爰茲絕筆。 緇俗攸仰軒蓋成陰。 扣鍾隨其大小。 鳴劍發其光釆。 一時學侶專門受業。 同涉波瀾遞相傳授。 方且顧蔑林遠。 俯視安生。 獨步高衢對揚正法。 遼東真本。

Śramaṇa Huijing, whose secular surname was Fang, was a native of Zhending in Changshan. His family had for generations been Confucian masters, celebrated with praise in their home commandery. Jing was the nephew of Huiyuan, who was Erudite of the National University during the Sui dynasty. Born with innate knowledge and naturally gifted, he had an elegant penchant for literature. His manner and bearing were lofty and steep, his capacity and temperament profound and distant. In his youth, he early studied the ancient classics; he soon understood literature and hymns, excelling as the crowning glory of his neighborhood. At fourteen he entered the monastic life, his aspirations vast and far-reaching. Daily he recited more than eight thousand words; in retaining the text and its meaning, few were his match. He visited lecture halls to inquire into major perplexities, probing the obscure and subtle, invariably reaching the profoundest depths. Hearing the Mahāprajñāpāramitōpadeśa and other scriptural divisions, his singular talent stood out, surprising all who saw and heard him. At that time, Master of Treatises Zhinian was famed throughout the Eastern Realm, reputed in his day to have plumbed the depths of the Hīnayāna cave. Jing then followed him to study the Samyuktābhidharmahṛdaya and the Mahāvibhāṣā; completing two full cycles of study, he thoroughly mastered the essential principles. Searching from roots to leaves, he made it his business to encompass their purest import. Because of this, his fine reputation spread far and wide, and students looked up to him with admiration. At the end of the Kaihuang reign, he arrived in the imperial capital; repeatedly breaking through difficult barriers, his fame spread even further. In the early years of Daye, following ancient traces, he reached Huaili. It happened that Yang Hong, the Magistrate of Shiping, assembled the religious and lay communities at Zhizang Monastery, wishing to have a Daoist initiate first open the Daoist scriptures. At that time, though the Buddhist assembly was populous, none dared to oppose him. Jing, hearing of this, said: 'The Magistrate has grandly brought together the four assemblies to weigh the two teachings. In secret I have something not yet understood, and beg to ask about my doubts. How so? The etiquette of host and guest naturally has its regular order; it is like cap and shoes, which must not be inverted. How can one, in a Buddhist monastery, let a Daoist initiate first act as host? May the Magistrate maintain order in doctrinal propriety, and please not allow the standard to fall.' The Magistrate said: 'There is indeed principle in this! I was almost misled by those after,' and thereupon ordered the monks to occupy the leading seats, so that they were not humiliated. There was a Daoist initiate named Yu Yongtong who had considerable contemporary acclaim and was held in high regard by the Magistrate. He next set forth a proposition, saying: 'There is a thing confusedly formed, born before Heaven and Earth. I do not know its name; I style it the Dao.' The Magistrate immediately ordered a debate, further saying: 'The Dharma Master must match words and principles strictly, and must not violate the faults of "flat head" or "raised tail".' At that time, the Magistrate wore a flat cap. Jing consequently joked: 'Since this poor monk wears no cap, how could I violate "flat head"?' The Magistrate said: 'If you do not violate flat head, you must violate "raised tail".' Jing replied: 'This poor monk takes off his shoes and ascends the couch; naturally, rising above, there is no tail. The Magistrate unties his kerchief and puts on a flat cap; one could say it is flat without a head.' The Magistrate looked abashed. Jing then asked Tong: '"There is a thing confusedly formed"—is it confused because its substance is one, or is it confused because its substance is different? If it is confused because its substance is one, then at the very moment it is confused it has already formed unity; thus unity is not born of the Dao. If it is confused because its substance is different, then before it was confused it had already formed duality; thus duality is not born of the one. Sir, as you crown the rest in the ranks of the Dao, please resolve this doubt.' Thereupon Tong was utterly bewildered, ashamed and without reply. Jing said: 'Sir, since you were able to open the pass and invite the enemy, you should right now muster your remaining courage. How can it be that, beginning like peaches and plums, it turns into brambles and thorns?' He then looked back at the Magistrate and said: 'Since the Magistrate was aiding the Dao, how will you rescue him?' The Magistrate then looked mortified. Thereafter, whenever rescues were repeatedly attempted, they were all felled according to the occasion, without exception overturning their chariots. From then on, Jing took dual pleasure in both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, his appreciation growing ever deeper. Outside of his commentaries and writings, he had no leisure from tracing and unraveling doctrines. Sweeping clean a quiet room, he summarized the old traditions and compiled an exposition of the Samyuktābhidharmahṛdaya in thirty fascicles, which embraced the various scriptures and encompassed ancient and modern times; the eminent masters from all directions all drew upon its profound subtleties. Later, considering that the translation of the Abhidharmakośa had rich phrasing and import, yet though an established text existed its study had not been exhausted, he attained insight on his own without a teacher, discerning terms and principles, and composed a commentary in over thirty fascicles for it. Thus he caused the marvelous doctrines of the Sautrāntika school to be linked anew in this enlightened age, and the orthodox lineage of Kaśmīra to transmit its fragrance into subsequent generations. The scholar Yu Chusun of Yingchuan requested a commentary on the Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, whereupon Jing explained the text and raised its principles, flourishing into a magnificent work that exhausted the doctrinal source of the ultimate and conventional truths, and fully expounded the esoteric essentials of the Mahāyāna. Spread near and far, it was copied, recited, and upheld; across literary circles it was transmitted by heart and mouth, its renown and merit celebrated together, constantly heard shoulder to shoulder. Chu Liang, Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, whose elegant talent was clear and outstanding and whose fame had long been heard, admired this fragrant model and wrote a preface for it, which read: 'Now, the Great Clod shapes bodies equally, while wisdom is enslaved by external things. Feelings change because of habit; nature shifts along with thoughts. Yet penetrating discernment and comprehensive vision shine brightly in the early-awakened: blazing the torch of wisdom to emerge from thick darkness, pulling people from the river of craving to ascend to the other shore. Compared with revolving through myriad kalpas, covered and stained by the six dusts, wandering off to follow the boundless, and stumbling while rushing along shortcuts, they cannot be spoken of in the same day. Yu Chusun of Yingchuan early promoted sincere faith, believing that what the Prajñā illuminates ultimately returns to the correct Path, revealing the characteristics of the Mahāyāna, marking the ultimate principle of non-abiding, emerging beyond thoughts and deliberations, and transcending words and images. For this reason, since tying up his hair in youth he has accepted and upheld it for many years; although the wondrous voice expounds it and his recitation is complete and unfailing, in its deep and clear spiritual source there were still things not understood. Sighing that the strayed path was not far, he gazed upon the smooth road and sighed deeply. It happened that there was Dharma Master Huijing, who comprehensively understood the profound principles, his eloquence like a grease-pot on an axle, his reasoning exhausting the interlocked rings. Master Yu entered his chamber to study the subtleties and submitted with reverence to his skillful guidance; taking advantage of this vow, he then requested a commentary. The Dharma Master, holding up a mirror, forgot fatigue, like a crossroad flagon naturally filled. Above, relying on the path of spiritual resonance; to the side, exhausting the functions of mental ingenuity—he unfolded the subtle words and proclaimed the ultimate principles. Former doubts melted away like thawing ice; today's marvelous principles shone bright as parting clouds. Becoming the ridgepole of the Semblance Dharma, transforming the ears and eyes of all living beings, the peak of his words rose loftily, rivaling Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in height; the spring of his speech gushed powerfully, racing far toward the Dragon Palace. Furthermore, the Buddhist teaching arose in the west, and the source of the Way flowed east. Across generations traversing the worthy and wise whose talents were both superior and abundant, those who exhaustively grasped the sagely import were rarely seen. Now, this śramaṇa has proclaimed it anew, renowned in his contemporary age; I imagine that in this profound tradition, he stands vigorously as the foremost. In the year of Yanmao, he first took up ink; when the moon reached Zhonglü, he laid down his brush. Clergy and laity looked up to him, their carriages forming shade. Striking the bell according to its size, brandishing the sword to reveal its brilliance. Contemporaneous fellows of study specialized under his school to receive instruction, wading together through the waves and transmitting it one to another. Soon he looked down upon Huiyuan of Mount Lu and surveyed Dao'an from above, walking alone along the high avenue to uphold the true Dharma. Truly an authentic text from Liaodong.'