續高僧傳 5.21

5.21

釋僧遷。姓樂氏。襄陽杜人。幼出家。進忠退儉早協州鄉。晚遊都邑住靈根寺。却掃一房淨若仙觀。潔整衣服塵水不染。從靈味寺寶亮諮學經論。文理通達籍甚知名。性方稜不撓高自崇遇。若非意得罕所賓接。武帝以家僧引之。吳平侯蕭昺。亦遇之以禮。天監十六年夏。帝嘗夜見沙門慧詡。他日因計法會。遷問詡曰。御前夜何所道。詡曰。卿何忽問此。而言氣甚厲。遷抗聲曰。我與卿同出西州俱為沙門。卿一時邀逢天接。便欲陵駕儕黨。我惟事佛。視卿輩蔑如也。眾人滿坐詡有慚忒。其為梗正皆類此也。以普通四年卒。春秋五十九矣。

Shi Sengqian's secular surname was Yue, and he was a native of Duxian in Xiangyang. In his youth he went forth from home; advancing with loyalty and retiring with modesty, he was praised by his provincial compatriots early on. In his later years he traveled to the capital and resided at Lingen Temple. He swept out a single chamber, making it as pure as a dwelling of the immortals; his clothing was kept clean and neat, untouched by dust or water. He sought instruction in the scriptures and treatises under Baoliang of Lingwei Temple, attaining complete mastery of their literature and principles, which brought him widespread renown. By nature unyielding, upright, and uncompromising, he held himself in high esteem; unless someone met with his approval, he rarely received them as a guest. Emperor Wu received him as an imperial court monk; Xiao Bing, Marquis of Wuping, also treated him with courteous respect. In the summer of the sixteenth year of Tianjian, the Emperor once granted a nighttime audience to the śramaṇa Huixu. On another day during a Buddhist gathering, Qian asked Xu: "What was discussed before the Emperor the other night?" Xu said: "Why do you suddenly ask this?" speaking in a very harsh tone. Qian raised his voice and said: "You and I both came forth from the Western Region and are equally śramaṇas. Because you enjoyed a momentary chance encounter with His Majesty, you now wish to lord it over your peers! I serve only the Buddha; as for people like you, I regard you as nothing at all!" The assembly filled the room, and Xu was filled with shame and confusion. Qian's uncompromising uprightness was always of this sort. He passed away in the fourth year of Putong at the age of fifty-nine.