續高僧傳 9.29

9.29

釋法論。姓孟氏。南郡人。初住荊州天皇寺。博通內外。詞理鋒挺。隱淪青溪之覆舟山。味重成實研洞文采。談敘之暇命筆題篇梁明帝重其雅素厚禮徵召。而性在虛閑不流世供。葛屨蒲服用卒生年。隋煬在蕃遠聞令德。召入道場晨夕賞對。王有新文頌集。皆共詢謀。處俗傳揚亟移歲序。後入京輦住日嚴寺。文帝時幸仁壽。論往謁見特蒙接對。躬事展禮。帝美其清悟。為設淨饌於大寶殿。登即在坐。上詩敘談帝德宮觀宏麗今古。高祖重加歎賞。及晉王之處春坊。優禮彌厚。中使慰沃啟疏相尋。大業元年將移東闕。下勅賜千秋樹皮袈裟十領帛五百段氈四十領。皇后賜狐掖皮坐褥及法服等物。故其道望帝后咸供之隆重為類此也。因隨駕至洛。不久而終。時年七十八矣。皇上哀悼賻贈有加。仍勅所在。傳送葬于荊楚。自論爰初蒞法。崇尚文府。雖外涉玄儒。而內弘佛教。所以綴採篇什。皆敘釋風。當即纘敘名僧。將成卷帙。未就而卒。本遂不行。顧惟高德有墜者眾矣。有別集八卷行世。

Shi Falun was surnamed Meng, a native of Nanjun. At first, he resided at Tianhuang Temple in Jingzhou. He was widely versed in both inner and outer learning, and the thrust of his reasoning and expression was sharp. He lived in seclusion at Mount Fuzhou in Qingxi, attaching great value to the Satyasiddhi and deeply examining literary style. In his leisure from discussion, he took up the brush to compose writings. Emperor Ming of the Liang valued his elegance and plainness, summoning him with generous rites; yet his nature leaned toward emptiness and leisure, and he did not drift with worldly offerings. Wearing kudzu sandals and rushes, he lived out his remaining years. When Sui Emperor Yang was in the feudatory, he heard from afar of his fine virtue and summoned him to his bodhimaṇḍa, engaging with him morning and evening in mutual appreciation. Whenever the Prince had new compositions, eulogies, or collections, he consulted Falun on them. Remaining among the secular, Falun propagated [the Dharma] as years swiftly passed. Later, he entered the capital and resided at Riyan Temple. When Emperor Wen visited Renshou, Falun went to have audience and was granted a special reception, where the Emperor personally extended courtesies. The Emperor praised his pure understanding and arranged a vegetarian meal for him in the Dabao Hall, where he immediately took a seat. Falun presented poems discussing the imperial virtue and the magnificence of the palaces past and present; Gaozu praised and admired them greatly. When the Prince of Jin was installed in the Eastern Palace, his courteous treatment became even more generous; palace envoys arrived with consoling inquiries and petitions in unbroken succession. In the first year of the Daye era, as the capital was about to move to the Eastern Court, an imperial edict bestowed on him ten Qianqiu bark kāṣāyas, five hundred bolts of silk, and forty felt cloaks; the Empress bestowed a fox-flank fur cushion, Dharma robes, and other articles. Thus his renown in the Way was honored by both Emperor and Empress with such grandeur. He subsequently followed the imperial entourage to Luoyang, where he passed away shortly thereafter at the age of seventy-eight. The Emperor mourned and increased the posthumous gifts, then ordered the local authorities to convey his remains for burial in Jingchu. From the time Falun first entered the Dharma, he held literary compilations in high esteem; although he outwardly engaged with abstruse and Confucian thought, he inwardly propagated the Buddhist teachings. Thus, whenever he composed and compiled stanzas, they all depicted the Buddhist tradition. He thereupon began compiling [a work on] eminent monks, intending to form full rolls, but died before it was completed, so the original draft was not circulated. When we reflect upon virtuous masters of the past, those whose works have fallen into oblivion are indeed numerous. He had an independent collection of eight rolls that circulated in the world.