續高僧傳 6.27

6.27

釋慧韶。姓陳氏。本頴川太丘之後。避亂居于丹陽之田里焉。性恬虛寡嗜慾。沈毅少言。童幼早孤依兄而長。悌友之至聞於閭閻。十二厭世出家。具戒便遊京楊。聽莊嚴旻公講釋成論。纔得兩遍記注略盡。謂同學慧峯曰。吾沐道日少便知旨趣。斯何故耶。將非所聞義淺。為是善教使然乎。乃試聽開善藏法師講。遂覺理與言玄。便盡心鑽仰。當夕感夢。往開善寺採得李子數斛。撮欲噉之先得枝葉。覺而悟曰。吾正應從學必踐深極矣。尋爾藏公遷化。有龍光寺綽公繼踵傳業。便迴聽焉。既闕論本制不許住。惟有一帔又屬嚴冬。便撤之用充寫論。忍寒連噤。方得預聽文義。兼善獨見之明卓高眾表。辯滅諦為本有。用麁細而折心。時以為穿鑿有神思也。梁武陵王出鎮庸蜀。聞彼多參義學。必須碩解弘望。方可開宣。眾議薦舉皆不合意。王曰。憶往年法集有傖僧韶法師者。乃堪此選耳。若得同行。想能振起邊服。便邀之至蜀。於諸寺講論開道如川流。當於龍淵寺披講將訖。靜坐房中感見一神。青衣帢服致敬曰。願法師常在此弘法。當相擁衛。言訖而隱。遂接席數遍。清悟繁結。昔在楊都嘗苦氣疾。綴慮恒動。及至蜀講眾病皆除。識者以為寺神之所護矣。于時成都法席恒並置三四。法鼓齊振競敞玄門。而韶聽徒濟濟莫斯為盛。又率諸聽侶。諷誦涅槃大品。人各一卷合而成部。年恒數集倫次誦之。如有謬忘及講聽眠失者。皆代受罰。對眾謝曰。斯則訓導不明耳。故身令獎物。其勤至若此。武陵布政於蜀。每述大乘及三藏等論。沙門寶彖保該智空等。並後進峯岫。參預撰集。勒卷既成。王賜錢十萬。即於龍淵寺分贍學徒頻教令掌僧都。苦辭不受。性不乘騎。雖貴勝請講逢值泥雨。輒自策杖戴笠。履芒屩而赴會焉。少而齋潔不涉珍羞。後遇時患藥雜䐗脂。拒而不服。非時漿飲故絕生常。候病者仰觀。顏色怡悅禮誦不替。當似微差。乃告曰。吾今無處不痛。如壞車行路常欲摧折。但自強耳。恨所營尊像未就。吾將去矣。遺屬道俗憑為莊嚴。便洗浴剃髮剪爪禮拜嗽口。坐于龍淵寺摩訶堂中。奄然而卒。春秋五十有四。即天監七年七月三日也。時成都民應始豐者。因病氣絕而心上溫。五日方醒云。被攝至閻王所。聞處分云。迎韶法師。須臾便至。王下殿合掌頂禮更無言說。惟畫文書作大政之字。韶便出外。坐於曠路樹下。見一少童以漆柳箕擎生袈裟令韶著之。有數十僧來迎。豐惟識智慈二禪師。幡花列道騰飛而去。又當終夕有安浦寺尼。久病悶絕。及後醒云。送韶法師及五百僧。登七寶梯。到天宮殿講堂中。其地如水精。床席華整。亦有麈尾几案。蓮華滿地。韶就座談說。少時便起。送別者。令歸。其生滅冥祥感見類此。

Shi Huishao was surnamed Chen; his ancestors were originally descendants of Taiqiu of Yingchuan. Fleeing disorder, he resided in the rural hamlets of Danyang. By nature quiet, vacant, and of few desires, he was resolute and spoke little. Bereaved of his father in childhood, he was raised by his elder brother, and his utmost fraternal affection was renowned in the village. At the age of twelve, weary of the world, he renounced household life (pravrajyā). Having received full ordination, he traveled to the capital, Yangzhou. He listened to Master Min of Zhuangyan Monastery lecture and explain the Satyasiddhi-śāstra. After hearing it only twice, his notes were nearly complete. He said to his fellow student Huifeng, 'I have been bathed in the Dao for only a short time, yet I already understand its tenets. Why is this? Is it not that the doctrines I heard were shallow, or was it brought about by good instruction?' He then tried attending the lectures of Dharma Master Zang of Kaishan Monastery, whereupon he felt that the principles were as profound as the words. He then exerted all his mind in delving into and looking up to them. That night he had a dream in which he went to Kaishan Monastery and gathered several bushels of plums; eager to eat them, he first grasped the branches and leaves. Upon awakening, he understood and said, 'I should indeed learn from him; I will certainly tread the deepest ultimate.' Soon afterward Master Zang passed away, and Master Chao of Longguang Monastery followed in his footsteps to transmit the tradition. Huishao turned to listen to him. Since he lacked a copy of the treatise, the rules did not permit him to stay. He had only a single cape, and it was severe winter; he took it off and used it to pay for copying the treatise. Enduring the cold with chattering teeth, he was only then able to participate in hearing the text and meaning. In addition, he was gifted with independent insight, excelling far above the assembly. He argued that the truth of cessation (nirodha-satya) is fundamentally existent, and used gross and subtle aspects to analyze the mind. At the time, people considered his deep analysis to possess divine insight. When the King of Wuling under the Liang went out to govern Yong and Shu, hearing that many there engaged in doctrinal studies, he deemed that only someone of grand understanding and immense prestige could explain and proclaim the teachings. The candidates recommended by the assembly's deliberations were not to his liking. The King said, 'I recall in past years at a Dharma assembly there was a northern monk, Dharma Master Shao, who alone is suited for this choice. If we could obtain him to go with us, I expect he will be able to stimulate the frontier region.' He thereupon invited him to Shu. In various monasteries, his lectures, debates, and spiritual guidance flowed like a river. When his exposition at Longyuan Monastery was nearly finished, as he sat quietly in his room, he had a vision of a deity wearing blue clothes and a small cloth cap, who paid respects and said, 'May the Dharma Master always propagate the Dharma here; I will protect you.' Having spoken, the deity vanished. Thereupon he gave successive lecture sessions, clarifying and resolving complex and tangled knots. Formerly in the capital of Yangzhou, he had often suffered from a qi illness, his anxious thoughts constantly stirring. But after arriving in Shu to lecture, all his ailments vanished. Those who knew regarded this as the protection of the monastery's deity. At that time, three or four Dharma assemblies were always held simultaneously in Chengdu, the Dharma drums beating together in rivalry to throw open the abstruse gates. Yet Shao's audience was so magnificent that none surpassed it. Moreover, he led the assembly of listeners to chant the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, each person chanting one fascicle to make up a complete set; several times each year they gathered to chant them in order. If there were errors or lapses of memory, or if someone fell asleep during the lecture and missed something, he would take the punishment upon himself in their stead. Apologizing to the assembly, he said, 'This is because my instruction was not clear.' Thus he used his own person to exhort others; his diligence reached this degree. When the King of Wuling administered Shu, whenever he composed treatises on the Mahāyāna and the Tripiṭaka, śramaṇas such as Baotuan, Baogai, and Zhikong—all peaks among the younger generation—participated in the compilation. When the fascicles were completed, the King rewarded them with a hundred thousand cash. Shao immediately distributed it at Longyuan Monastery to provide for the students. The King repeatedly instructed him to take charge as the Chief of Monks (Sengdu), but he firmly declined and would not accept. By nature he did not ride horses. Even when eminent nobles invited him to lecture and he encountered mud and rain, he would always lean on a staff, wear a bamboo hat, tread on straw sandals, and proceed to the assembly. From his youth he ate purely and did not touch rare delicacies. Later, when he contracted a seasonal illness, a medicine was compounded with pig fat; he refused and would not take it. At improper times, liquids and drinks were entirely cut off from his daily routine. Those inquiring after his illness looked up to see that his expression was cheerful and delighted, and his prostrations and recitations never ceased. Thinking he had slightly recovered, they were told by him, 'Now there is no place in me that does not ache, like a broken cart traveling on the road, always on the verge of collapsing. I am merely forcing myself to endure. I only regret that the venerable image I was constructing is not yet finished; I am about to depart.' He entrusted both monastics and laity to adorn and complete it on his behalf. Then he bathed, shaved his head, trimmed his nails, bowed in worship, and rinsed his mouth. Sitting in the Mahā Hall of Longyuan Monastery, he suddenly passed away at the age of fifty-four, on the third day of the seventh month in the seventh year of the Tianjian era. At that time, a resident of Chengdu named Ying Shifeng ceased breathing on account of illness, yet his chest remained warm. After five days he finally awoke, saying that he had been summoned to King Yama's place. He heard an order issued: 'Welcome Dharma Master Shao!' In an instant the Master arrived. The King descended from the dais, joined his palms, and made prostrations without saying a word, only drawing on a document the words 'Great Governance.' Shao then went outside and sat under a tree along an open road. He saw a youth holding a fresh kaṣāya in a lacquered willow winnowing basket, asking Shao to wear it. Several tens of monks came to welcome him; Feng recognized only the two Dhyāna Masters Zhi and Ci. With banners and flowers lining the path, they soared away into the air. Furthermore, on the night of his demise, a nun from Anpu Monastery, who had long been unconscious from illness, woke up later and said that she had escorted Dharma Master Shao and five hundred monks as they climbed a seven-jewel ladder to the lecture hall in the heavenly palace. Its ground was like crystal, the couches and mats splendidly arranged; there were also chowries and small tables, and lotus blossoms covered the floor. Shao took his seat and preached; after a short while he rose, sending those who had escorted him away and bidding them return. The dark signs and visionary perceptions attending his life and death were of this kind.