續高僧傳 16.40

16.40

Śramaṇa Faren was a native of Jiangling. He first entered Tianhuang Temple to leave home. After receiving full ordination, he upheld and recited the Lotus Sūtra and Vimalakīrti[-nirdeśa] twice daily. As assemblies were noisy and caused distress and withering to arise, he went west to Mount Fuzhou to practice dhūta beneath the crags, quieting himself and contemplating reality. For over thirty years, he ate wild fruit, wore hempen robes, and had only a tattered cassock. Content with the secluded forest, he sought no external patronage. If his grain ran out, he sustained himself with wild fruits, never rushing out to seek [food]. Sometimes, taking one meal in seven days, he sat cross-legged to pursue his aim. He once consumed only three pecks of rice over an entire summer retreat, and even when reaching the Pravāraṇā, five pints still remained. Although dwelling alone does not enter the categories of the vinaya, he practiced strict frugality in a secluded corner. The cave shrine where he stayed barely had room for his knees; in the height of summer and the depths of winter, he did not step outside the doorway. Therefore, in the cold he added no padding, and in the heat he shed no garments, serenely preserving the Way in effortless action alone. Suddenly an elephant came to the cave without apparent reason, remaining for several days. Faren then manifested illness and passed away on his right side in the northern cave of the temple, at the age of sixty-seven. His robes and bowl were dusty and decayed, and none among the assembly took part [in claiming them]. Evaluating their worth, it was said not to reach ten [coins].