續高僧傳 8.25

8.25

釋慧善。幼出家。善法勝毘曇。住楊都栖玄寺。徵擊論道四座驚神。會有梁末序。逃難江陵。承聖季年因俘秦壤。住長安崇華寺。義學之美。為周冢宰見知。別修供養敷導終老。以天和年卒於長安。時年六十。善以大智度論每引小乘相證成義。故依文次第散釋精理。譬諸星月助朗太陽。猶如眾花繽紛而散亂。故著斯文名為散花論也。其序略云。著述之體。貴言約而理豐。余頗悉諸作。而今[覶-(ㄙ/又)+土]縷者正由斯轍。罕人諳練。是以觸義慇懃逢文指掌。有詳覽者想鑒茲焉。文多不盡。

Śramaṇa Huishan entered the monastic life in his youth and excelled in the *Abhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra* of Dharmaśrī. He lived at Qixuan Monastery in the capital of Yangdu. Whenever he engaged in questioning and debating on the principles of the doctrine, the entire assembly was struck with awe. During the disorder at the end of the Liang, he fled from danger to Jiangling. In the final years of the Chengsheng era, he was taken captive into the Qin territory and resided at Chonghua Monastery in Chang'an. The excellence of his doctrinal learning was recognized by the Grand Preceptor of Zhou, who arranged special offerings to support him as he expounded and guided others until his old age. He passed away in Chang'an during the Tianhe era at the age of sixty. Shan observed that the *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* frequently cites the Small Vehicle to mutually verify and establish principles; he therefore followed the sequence of the text to expound the subtle meanings in separate parts, like the stars and moon helping to brighten the sun, or like scattered, variegated blossoms falling in profusion. For this reason, he composed this work and titled it *Treatise of Scattered Blossoms* (*Sanhua lun*). Its preface states in brief: "In the nature of composition, conciseness of expression combined with abundance of principle is valued. I am quite familiar with diverse works, and the reason I now treat matters in fine detail stems precisely from this approach. Few are thoroughly practiced in it; hence, wherever principle is touched upon I am earnest, and wherever text is encountered I make it as clear as pointing to the palm of one's hand. Those who examine it closely will, I trust, perceive this here." The text is long and cannot be cited in full.