續高僧傳 6.39

6.39

釋法貞。不測氏族。渤海東光人。九歲出家。俊秀之聲不齊凡類。住魏洛下之居廣德寺。為沙門道記弟子。年十一通誦法華。意所不解隨迷造問。記謂曰。後來總持者。其在爾乎。及至年長善成實論深得其趣。備講之業卓犖標奇。在於伊洛無所推下。與僧建齊名。時人目建為文句無前。目貞為入微獨步。貞乃與建為義會之友。道俗斯附聽眾千人。隨得嚫施造像千軀分布供養。魏清河王元懌。汝南王元悅。並折腰頂禮諮奉戒訓。會魏德衰陵女人居上。毀論日興猜忌逾積。嫉德過常難免今世。貞謂建曰。大梁正朝禮義之國。又有菩薩應行風教宣流道法。相與去乎。今年過六十。朝聞夕死吾無恨矣。建曰。時不可失。亦先有此懷。以梁普通二年相率南邁。貞為追騎所及禍滅其身。春秋六十一矣。僧建清河人。沙彌之時慧俊出類。及長成人好談名理。與慧聰道寂法貞等。同師道記。少長相携窮研數論。遂明五聚解冠一方。常日講眾恒溢千人。碩學通方悅其新致。造筵談賞以繼晝夜。雖乃志誨成人。而入里施化。魏高陽王元邕。亟相延請累宵言散。用祛鄙悋。或清晨嘉會一無逮者。輒云深恨不同其敘。故聞風傾渴者。遙服法味矣。後南遊帝室。達于江陰住何園寺。武帝好論義旨勅集學僧。於樂受殿以次立義。每於寺講。成濟後業有逾於前。慧聰立心閑豫解行遠聞。道寂博習多通雅傳師業。並終于魏土。

Shi Fazhen, whose clan name is untraced, was a native of Dongguang in Bohai. At the age of nine he renounced household life, his reputation for brilliance surpassing ordinary fellows. He resided at the Guangde Temple in the Northern Wei capital of Luoyang as a disciple of the śramaṇa Daoji. At the age of eleven he had completely memorized the *Lotus Sūtra*; whenever he met points he did not understand, he immediately sought instruction on his doubts. Ji said to him: 'One who grasps the totality of teachings in the future—will it not be you?' When grown up, he became adept in the *Tattvasiddhi-śāstra*, deeply grasping its purports. His accomplishments in lecturing on it were preeminent and extraordinary; along the Yi and Luo rivers, he yielded to none. He was equally famous with Sengjian: people of the time regarded Jian as peerless in text and phrasing, and Zhen as walking alone in entering subtleties. Zhen thereupon became an intellectual companion of Jian. Both monastics and laity adhered to them, and their audiences numbered in the thousands. With the donations they received, they made a thousand Buddha images and distributed them for veneration. Prince Yuan Yi of Qinghe and Prince Yuan Yue of Runan of the Northern Wei both bowed deeply and prostrated themselves, consulting them on precepts and instructions. It coincided with the decline of Northern Wei's virtue, when women held supremacy; slanders arose day by day, and suspicions mounted. Envy toward virtue exceeded the ordinary, and it was hard to avoid calamity in that age. Zhen said to Jian: 'The Great Liang is an upright court, a realm of propriety and righteousness; moreover, it has a bodhisattva whose conduct transforms through moral wind and spreads the Dharma of the Way. Shall we depart together? Today I am over sixty; if I hear the Way in the morning and die in the evening, I shall have no regrets.' Jian said: 'The time must not be lost; I too have long harbored this thought.' In the second year of the Putong reign of the Liang, they set off together to the south. Zhen was overtaken by pursuing cavalry and lost his life, aged sixty-one. Sengjian was a native of Qinghe. As a novice monk, his wisdom and brilliance were extraordinary; when grown, he loved discussing names and principles. Together with Huicong, Daoji, Fazhen, and others, he had Daoji as his master. Old and young, they helped each other in thoroughly studying the *Abhidharma* and *Treatises*, subsequently clarifying the five divisions of the Vinaya, his comprehension crowning the entire region. The assembly at his daily lectures constantly exceeded a thousand people; scholars of great learning and wide travel rejoiced in his novel insights, sitting through the lectures and discussions day and night. Although his aspiration was to instruct and mature others, he also entered villages to bestow teachings. Prince Yuan Yong of Gaoyang of the Northern Wei frequently invited him, spending successive nights in conversation to dispel worldly vulgarity. Whenever there was an auspicious gathering in the early morning where no one could match [Jian], the Prince would say he deeply regretted that Jian was not present in the gathering; therefore, those who heard of his fame and thirsted for him tasted the flavor of the Dharma from afar. Later he traveled south to the imperial court, reached Jiangyin, and dwelt at Heyuan Temple. Emperor Wu was fond of debating doctrinal principles, and decreed that scholarly monks gather at the Leshou Hall to establish their theses in succession. Whenever [Jian] lectured at the temple, his achievements in nurturing successors surpassed earlier times. Huicong's mind was leisurely and composed, and his understanding and practice were known far and wide. Daoji studied extensively, was widely versed, and elegantly transmitted his master's heritage. Both ended their lives in the Wei territory.