續高僧傳 16.26

16.26

Shi Sengfu was surnamed Wang, a native of Qi County in Taiyuan. In youth he did not engage in trivial play, and his discerning penetration surpassed his peers. Past the age of elementary schooling, his knowledge grew into admirable conduct; his villagers called him extraordinary, and unvirtuous people kept their distance. He naturally loved meditative tranquility and traveled far and wide, packing provisions to seek out teachers and inquire into what he had not yet attained. There was Meditation Master Damo, who was skilled at illuminating contemplative practices, living in seclusion amidst crags and caverns, whose discourses were profound and broad. [Sengfu] thereupon followed him and took monastic ordination (pravrajyā). Regarding doctrines, he never asked a second time, fully grasping them at once; tracing things to their source and ultimate limits, he became a foremost authority in the study of samādhi. Later, he visited various lecture seats and thoroughly studied the sūtras and treatises, realizing that learning is merely for oneself, while sages leave no words. In the Jianwu era of the Qi, he traveled south to the capital Yang[zhou] and stayed at the Lower Dinglin Monastery on Mount Zhong. Sengfu admired its groves and thickets as an excellent place to settle the mind. His conduct was purer than ice and frost, and he was trustworthy in speech. Apart from the three robes and six requisites, he kept no surplus property. When he entered the settlements at proper times, monastics and laypeople looked up to him as a model. Furthermore, when princes and marquises requested instruction in the Way, he remained aloof and did not visit them; though only footsteps away from the palace precincts, he never went to pay court. Since his conduct was observed by all, both monastics and laypeople placed their hopes in him. Emperor Gaozu of the Liang had long admired his pure reputation and deeply esteemed him. He thus ordered artisans to construct a residence for him at Kaishan Monastery in readiness, fearing he might have thoughts of returning to the mountains and forests. Sengfu would often stroll at the gate, lean on his staff, and sigh, saying: 'In a room of mere circumscribed walls, with a tumbleweed door and jar-bottom windows, sitting upright within is still sufficient joy. Why should one value a vast mansion and despise a thatch hut? Moreover, to settle where one is and yet be able to move was esteemed by the ancients; why must one linger here just to gratify the eyes and ears?' He then set his mind on the Min range and wished to view Mount Emei. It happened that Xiao Yuanzao, the Marquis of Xichang, was sent out to garrison the Shu region; [Sengfu] immediately brushed off his robes and accompanied him, reaching the Jing-Luo celestial fields. Though his route crossed the Jiu-zhe [Nine Twists] road, he never forgot the three contemplations. Furthermore, having loved the scriptural books from his youth, when he held a roll in silence, the morning sunbeams would shift before he moved. He thereby caused the meditation methods to flourish greatly in Yong and Shu from this time onward. After a long while, he returned to Jinling and again resided at Kaishan. Prior to this, a divine being appeared on Mount Huyi, who bestowed the Wisdom-Seal Samādhi upon a rustic named He Gui, saying: 'You may give this sūtra to Prince Nanping to observe and undertake a twenty-one-day retreat for his illness. If he does not understand this method, ask Sengfu about it.' When they subsequently consulted him, it was indeed a practice he had previously cultivated. Nanping then conducted the retreat and offerings, and his illness was immediately cured. Was this not an instance of internal causes and external conditions mutually awakening each other? Soon after, he passed away at Kaishan Monastery at the age of sixty-one, in the fifth year of the Putong era [524 CE]. He was buried outside the main gate of Lower Dinglin. The Emperor grieved for him and issued an edict bestowing generous posthumous gifts. When his illness first grew grave, someone urged him to cultivate merits. Sengfu struggled to rise despite his illness and said sternly: 'Prolonging life through wealth and goods is far from the Way! Let all the implements in my room be given to the monks of the cāturdiśa monastery. After my death, merely cast my body into the mountain valley; will it not be good to satisfy the birds and beasts? Do not construct a coffin or tomb mounds contrary to my wishes.' His disciples wept and could not bear to comply. When they were about to erect a stele to commend his virtue, Princess Yongxing, who had long held faith in him, memorialized the Heir Apparent to request a text for it. An order was given directing Xiao Yi, the Prince of Xiangdong, to compose it, and the stele was erected at the monastery.