續高僧傳 7.20

7.20

釋亡名。俗姓宗氏。南郡人。本名闕殆。世襲衣冠稱為望族。弱齡遁世永絕妻孥。吟嘯丘壑任懷遊處。凡所憑准必映美阮嗣宗之為人也。長富才華鄉人馳舉。事梁元帝深見禮待。有製新文帝多稱述。而恭慎慈敬謙靜為心。每從容御筵賜問優異。及梁曆不緒。潛志玄門遠寄汶蜀脫落塵累。初投兌禪師。兌亦定慧澄明聲流關鄴。名乃三業依憑四儀恭仰。彫純假於禪誦興慮著於篇什。預有學徒問道無倦。會周氏跨有井絡。少保蜀國公宇文俊鎮之。性愛賢才重其德素。禮供殊倫聲聞臺省。後齊王續部伏敬日增。任滿還雍遂勒歸謁。帝勞遺既深。處為夏州三藏。朝省以名文翰可觀元非玄侶而冥德沒世。將徵拔之。測其器宇有經國之量。朝省總議。或以威恩加之。或以情異轉之。然名雅亮卓然曾無易節。天和二年五月。大冢宰宇文護遺書曰。言念欽屬未敘企積。道體休豫無虧慮耶。蓋能仁處世志存匡救。非先輪迴獨尚茲善。既道亞生知才高七步。豈虛緇染沈流當塗。但靈廓妙理三業同臻。冀思莫二。皂白非感耳。怖解偏執讚我時朝。匪惟真俗俱抽。亦是彼我一貫。故令往白。念報雅懷。名答云。辱告深具懷抱。寒暑異域苦樂殊心。輒略常談且陳事實。貧道稟質醜陋。恒嬰疾惱因傴成恭。惟道是務不曾棲息。五十二年。自捨俗緣十有五載。萬人歸國皆停都邑。羸病一僧獨流荒裔。無罪可罰無能可使。百慮九思是所未喻。文多不載。又列六不可十嘆息。援據事敘綸貫始終。書略。結云。沙門持戒心口相應。所列六條若有一誑。生則蒼天厭之。死則鐵鉗拔之。洋銅灌之。仰戴三光行年六十。不欺闇室況乃明世。且鄉國殄喪宗戚衰亡。貧道何人獨堪長久。誠得收迹巖中攝心塵外支養殘命敦修慧業。此本志也。寄骸精舍乞食王城。任力行道隨緣化物。斯次願也。如其不爾獨處丘壑。安能憒憒久住閻浮地乎。護得書體其難拔。乃與書迎還云。法師秉心彌固栖遊世表。玄圭啟運。不屈伯夷之節。蒼精御曆。豈捐嘉遁之志。今遣往迎名達咸陽。貴遊奉謁。隆禮厚味彌增常限。以稱謂廣流藏景難伏。誓當栖玄後德。便閑放無累。乃著寶人銘曰。余十五而尚屬文。三十而重勢位。值京都喪亂冠冕淪沒海內知識零落殆盡。乃喟然嘆曰。夫以迴天倒日之力。一旦早凋。岱山磐石之固。忽焉燼滅。定知世相無常浮生虛偽。譬如朝露其停幾何。大丈夫生當降魔死當飼虎。如其不爾。修禪足以養志。讀經足以自娛。富貴名譽徒勞人耳。乃棄其簪弁剃其鬚髮。衣納杖錫聽講談玄。戰國未寧安身無地。自厭形骸甚於桎梏。思絕苦本莫知其津。大乘經曰。如說行者乃名是聖。不但口之所言。小乘偈曰。能行說為正。不行何所說。若說不能行。不名為智者。至於顏回好學勤改前非季路未修懼聞後語。功勞智擾役神傷命。為道日損何用多知。誓欲枯木其形死灰其慮降此患累以求虛寂。乃作絕學箴文。名息心贊。擬夫周廟。其銘曰。法界有如意寶人焉。九緘其身銘其膺曰。古之攝心人也。誡之哉誡之哉。無多慮無多知。多智多事不如息意。多慮多失不如守一。慮多志散知多心亂。心亂生惱志散妨道。勿謂何傷其苦悠長。勿言何畏其禍鼎沸。滴水不停四海將盈。纖塵不拂五岳將成。防末在本雖小不輕。關爾七竅閉爾六情。莫視於色莫聽於聲。聞聲者聾。見色者盲。一文一藝空中小蚋。一技一能日下孤燈。英賢才藝是為愚弊。捨棄淳樸耽溺淫麗。識馬易奔心猨難制。神既勞役形必損斃。邪逕終迷修塗永泥。莫貴才能是曰惛懵。洿拙羨巧其德不弘。名厚行薄其高速崩。隆舒污卷其用不恒。內懷憍伐外致怨憎。或談於口或書於手。邀人令譽亦孔之醜。凡謂之吉聖以之咎。賞悅暫時悲憂長久。畏影畏迹逾走逾劇。端坐樹陰迹滅影沈。厭生患老隨思隨造。心想若滅生死長絕。不死不生無相無名。一道虛寂萬物齊平。何勝何劣何重何輕。何賤何辱何貴何榮。澄天愧淨皦日慚明。安夫岱嶺固彼金城。敬詒賢哲斯道利貞。又著至道論淳德論遣執論去是非論影喻論修空論不殺論等。並文多清素語恒勸善。存質去華不存粉墨。有集十卷盛重於世。不知所終。有弟子僧琨性沈審善音調。為隋二十五眾讀經法主搜括群籍採摭賢聖。所撰諸論集為一部。稱曰論場。有三十卷。披帙一閱俱覽百家。亦新學之宗匠者矣。後於曲池。造靜覺寺。每臨水映竹。體物賦詩。有篇什云。

Śramaṇa Wangming. His secular surname was Zong, and he was a native of Nanjun. His original name has almost been forgotten. His lineage wore the robes and caps [of office] for generations, being known as a prominent clan. In his youth he fled the worldly realm, forever cutting off wife and child. Humming and whistling amidst hills and ravines, he indulged his temperament in roaming at ease. Everything he relied on and measured himself by was a vivid reflection of the character of Ruan Sizong. Growing older, rich in literary talent, the men of his hometown vied to recommend him. He served Emperor Yuan of Liang, who treated him with profound courtesy. Whenever he composed new writings, the emperor mostly praised and commended them. Yet he took reverence, circumspection, benevolence, and humble tranquility as his heart's core. Whenever he leisurely attended the imperial banquets, he was bestowed extraordinary questions. When the Liang dynastic line fell into disarray, he secretly set his will on the profound gate, journeying far to lodge in Wen and Shu, shedding dust-bound encumbrances. He first turned to Dhyāna Master Dui. Dui's samādhi and prajñā were clear and bright, and his fame spread across Guan and Ye. Wangming relied upon him in the three karmas and respectfully looked up to him through the four deportments. His cultivation of the unembellished depended on meditation and recitation; the stirring of his thoughts was manifested in verse. When any students came asking of the Way, he never tired of guiding them. It happened that the Zhou clan came to hold sway over the Jing and Luo constellations, and Junior Protector and Duke of the State of Shu, Yuwen Jun, was garrisoned there. Naturally fond of worthy talents and valuing Wangming's pure virtue, he presented offerings and courtesies surpassing ordinary bounds, and Wangming's renown reached the ministerial bureaus. Later, when Prince of Qi took over the command, his veneration grew day by day. When his term of office ended, he returned to Yong and consequently compelled Wangming to return and pay audience. The Emperor's consolations and gifts were deep; Wangming was appointed Tripiṭaka Master of Xiazhou. The court officials, seeing that his literary works were remarkable and that he was originally no cloistered monk but rather someone whose hidden virtues had remained obscured from the world, intended to summon and promote him, discerning that his character possessed the capacity for statecraft. The court held a general consultation: some thought to apply authority and favor, while others thought to move him with exceptional affection. Yet Wangming was refined, upright, and eminent, and never altered his integrity. In the fifth month of the second year of Tianhe, Grand Preceptor Yuwen Hu sent him a letter saying: 'Thinking of you with deep admiration, I have long yearned for our meeting without having an opportunity to express it. Is your reverent person tranquil and well, free from worries? Verily, when the Benevolent One dwells in the world, his intention is to rescue and reform; it is not that he prioritizes rebirth or solely values such solitary goodness. Since your path is second only to innate knowledge and your talent exceeds that of seven paces, how could you have falsely donned the black robes to sink into obscurity away from worldly affairs? Yet in the vastness of the wondrous principle, the three karmas arrive at the same destination; we hope you will contemplate non-duality, for black and white are not truly opposed. Release your biased clingings and assist our current dynasty! Not only will the true and the mundane both be drawn forth, but other and self will also be unified as one. Hence I send this to inform you, hoping you will respond to my refined thoughts.' Wangming replied: 'Humbly receiving your message, I deeply comprehend your sentiments. Cold and heat differ across territories; suffering and joy are separate in their minds. I shall omit conventional pleasantries and plainly lay out the facts. This poor monk is endowed with an ugly physique, constantly plagued by sickness and troubles, bent by a hunchback into natural deference. Devoted only to the Way, I have never known rest. For fifty-two years of life, and fifteen years since relinquishing secular ties, ten thousand people have returned to the state, all lodged in the capital; yet one emaciated and sick monk is uniquely exiled to the barren borders. I have committed no crime that merits punishment, nor possess any talent that can be employed. The hundred thoughts and nine reflections remain completely incomprehensible to me.' (The text is extensive and is not recorded in full.) He also enumerated 'Six Impossibilities' and 'Ten Sighs', citing evidence and recounting events, woven consistently from beginning to end. (The letter is abridged here.) At the conclusion it states: 'A śramaṇa holds the precepts; mind and mouth must correspond. If there is a single falsehood among the six articles listed, may Heaven above abhor me while I live, and when dead, may iron pincers tear out my tongue and molten copper pour into my mouth! Bearing the three luminaries overhead, having reached sixty years of age, I do not deceive in the dark room, much less in an enlightened age! Moreover, my homeland is ruined and destroyed, my clan and kin declined and deceased. Who am I, this poor monk, to alone endure for long? If truly I may withdraw my steps into the crags, collect my mind beyond the dust, sustain my remaining life, and earnestly cultivate the karmic fruit of wisdom, this is my original aspiration. Lodging my bones in a monastery, begging food in the royal city, practicing the Way according to my strength, and converting beings according to conditions—this is my secondary wish. If not even this be granted, living solitary in hills and ravines, how could I linger long in muddled distraction in Jambudvīpa?' When Hu received the letter, realizing he was hard to sway, he sent a letter welcoming him back, saying: 'Dharma Master, your steadfast mind is ever firmer, roaming beyond the worldly bounds. When the dark tablet opened good fortune, you did not bend the integrity of Boyi; when the blue essence ruled the era, how could you cast aside your aspiration for worthy seclusion? Now I dispatch an envoy to welcome you.' When Wangming arrived in Xianyang, nobles and elites came to call upon him, offering grand courtesies and rich delicacies far exceeding the usual limits. Because his renown spread widely, making it difficult to conceal his light, he resolved to dwell in quietude behind worthy predecessors, completely carefree and unburdened. Thereupon he composed the 'Inscription of the Precious Man', which reads: 'At fifteen I favored composition; at thirty I valued power and status. Encountering the chaos and ruin of the capital, official caps and robes were submerged and vanished, and friends within the realm were nearly all scattered and gone. I then sighed and lamented: “Even with power to turn heaven and overthrow the sun, in a single morning one withers away early. Even with the solidity of Mount Tai and firm bedrock, in an instant they are reduced to ashes. One truly knows that worldly forms are impermanent, and floating life is illusory. Like the morning dew, how long can it stay? When a great man is born, he should conquer Māra; when he dies, he should feed the tiger. If one cannot do so, cultivating dhyāna is enough to nourish one’s intent, and reciting sūtras is enough to entertain oneself. Wealth, honor, fame, and praise merely weary a person in vain.” Thereupon, casting off his hairpins and caps, shaving his beard and hair, wearing patched robes and carrying a tin staff, he listened to lectures and discussed the profound. The warring states were not yet at peace, and there was no place to rest his body. Loathing his physical frame more than shackles, he longed to sever the root of suffering, yet knew not the ford. A Mahāyāna sūtra says: “One who practices as taught is called an arya; it is not merely what is spoken by mouth.” A Hīnayāna verse says: “To be able to practice and then preach is correct; if not practicing, what is there to preach? If one preaches but cannot practice, one is not called wise.” As for Yan Hui loving learning and striving to rectify previous faults, or Jilu, before putting things into practice, fearing to hear further words—their toil troubled their wisdom, wearying the spirit and harming life. For the Way, one diminishes daily; what use is abundant knowledge? Vowing to make his body like dried wood and his thoughts like dead ashes, subjugating these troubles and burdens to seek empty tranquility, he then composed an admonition on relinquishing study, titled “Praise on Pacifying the Mind”, modeled after the Zhou temple.' Its inscription reads: 'In the Dharma realm there is a Wish-Fulfilling Precious Man. Nine times he muzzles his body, and an inscription on his chest reads: “A person of ancient times who collected his mind! Beware, beware! Do not brood much; do not know much. Abundant wisdom and abundant affairs are not as good as putting thoughts to rest. Abundant thoughts and abundant errors are not as good as guarding the One. When thoughts abound, the will is scattered; when knowledge abounds, the mind is confused. A confused mind breeds vexation; a scattered will obstructs the Way. Do not say, ‘What harm is there?’—its suffering is long and enduring. Do not say, ‘What is there to fear?’—its disaster boils like a cauldron. If drops of water do not cease, the four seas will fill; if fine dust is not swept away, the Five Sacred Peaks will form. Guard against the branch by remaining at the root; though small, do not treat it lightly. Shut your seven apertures, close your six emotional faculties. Do not gaze upon forms; do not listen to sounds. Those who hear sounds become deaf; those who see forms become blind. A single literary art is a tiny midge in the sky; a single skill or ability is a lone lamp under the sun. Talents and skills of the heroic and worthy are merely foolish afflictions, discarding purity and simplicity to indulge in decadent elegance. The horse of consciousness easily gallops; the monkey of the mind is hard to subdue. Once the spirit is wearied, the body is sure to be damaged and perish. On deviant paths one is eternally lost; on muddy roads one remains stuck forever. Do not prize talent and ability—this is called dark ignorance. If the filthy and clumsy envy the clever, their virtue will not be broad. When fame is heavy and practice is meager, one's lofty height quickly collapses. Expanding when flourishing and rolling up when abased—such conduct is not constant. Internally harboring conceit, externally courting resentment and hatred. Speaking with the mouth, or writing with the hand, soliciting praise from others is utterly ugly! What the ordinary call auspicious, the sages deem a fault. Joy and delight last but a moment; grief and sorrow endure for long. Fearing shadows and fearing footprints, the more one runs, the worse it gets. Sit upright in the shade of a tree: footprints vanish and shadows sink. Hating life and dreading old age, as thoughts arise, karmic deeds are made. If conceptual thoughts are extinguished, birth and death are cut off forever. Neither dying nor being born, without form and without name: the single Way is empty and serene, the ten thousand things are equalized. What is superior, what is inferior? What is heavy, what is light? What is base, what is shameful? What is noble, what is glorious? The clear sky feels ashamed of its purity; the bright sun is abashed before its brightness. Settle upon Mount Dai, fortify that city of metal. Reverently bestow this upon the worthy and wise: this path brings advantageous perseverance.” He also composed the Treatise on the Ultimate Way, Treatise on Pure Virtue, Treatise on Relinquishing Attachments, Treatise on Dispelling Right and Wrong, Treatise on the Simile of Shadows, Treatise on Cultivating Emptiness, Treatise on Non-Killing, and others. Their writings were mostly clear and unadorned, and their words always encouraged goodness, preserving substance and casting off florid ornamentation, free from makeup and cosmetic embellishment. His collected works in ten fascicles were widely esteemed in the world. It is not known where he ended his life. He had a disciple, Sengkun, who was quiet and discerning by nature, and skilled in melodic intonation. Serving as the scripture-reading master among the Sui dynasty's Twenty-Five Assemblies, he gathered various texts, collecting excerpts from sages and worthies, and compiled various treatises into one work titled Arena of Treatises, in thirty fascicles. Unrolling and reading it once, one surveyed all the hundred schools; he was indeed a master artisan for new students. Later, at Quchi, he built Jingjue Monastery. Whenever facing the water and reflecting upon the bamboo, he observed things and composed poems, leaving several verses behind.