續高僧傳 22.44

22.44

Shi Daoxing, surnamed Liu, was originally a resident of Qinzhou. When he was eight or nine years old, he constantly thought of entering the monastic life (pravrajyā). He went in secret to a monastic monastery, refusing to return. His parents feared they would lose him. At the age of nineteen, his resolution was firmly set, and he went to Daguang Monastery to seek ordination. The monastic assembly took pity on him. Because his parents bitterly pleaded with him, he hid away so as not to be caught. The community explained matters to them, and his parents finally allowed his head to be shaved. At that time, the world was in great disorder: bandit insurgents ran rampant, and corpses piled up like mountains. As a śrāmaṇera, Xing said to his fellow disciples, "A human rebirth is difficult to obtain; upholding the precepts is foremost!" His mother was abducted and carried off by bandits, sixty li away from the city. Xing risked his life in pursuit. When he reached her, she had already been wounded, though not yet dead. Seeing him, the bandits said, "This monk is truly supremely filial, following his mother all the way here!" They therefore spared his life. He carried his mother on his back and returned to the city. Everyone in the city was astonished: the bandits' road was fraught with peril—how had he managed to return? Fleeing the upheavals, he headed toward Shu. Arriving in Hechi County, he met the Duke of Zanhuang, receiving solace and comfort from him, and was escorted to Liangzhou. Xing traveled in company with an elderly monk. That monk possessed ten ounces of gold and said to Xing, "I have gold; if you will carry it for me to Shu, we shall share it." Xing said, "This is an object that endangers the body, and moreover the Buddha does not permit it. You must not take it along. If you do not believe me, good and bad will have their retribution!" He thereupon parted ways and traveled alone. That bearer of gold met with bandits at Sanquan County and was killed. Once Xing arrived in the riverlands of Shu, having reached full age, he received the full precepts. He regularly practiced in the araṇya, observed dhūta practices, and begged for food. Vinaya Master Zhishun was then the leading expositor in the bustling thoroughfares. After listening to him five times, Xing was able to rehearse the lectures. Whenever he voiced a distinctive insight, Shun was deeply amazed by him. Later, he went to the capital to explain the great import under Vinaya Master Shou, as cited in another account. Afterward, he returned to Shu, where he listened extensively to sūtras and treatises, never wasting an instant of time. He also received the path of dhyāna under Dhyāna Master Jiang, regarding it as the essential method for scrutinizing the mind. After Shun passed away, Xing succeeded him in establishing the Vinaya platform. Each year his lecture assemblies were conducted with the utmost rigor and delay: only after thirty-two requests had been made would he grant permission to open the doctrinal school. He would often sigh, saying, "The Buddhadharma is gradually waning, and disdain increases day by day. I dare not treat it lightly; it is precisely because I hold the Dharma in high esteem!" He held earnestness and solemnity to be the seeds of wholesome phenomena. If one lacks such seeds, by what means could one encounter it? Therefore, whenever he lectured on the Vinayapiṭaka or aroused the bodhicitta, he used this to inspire the assembly. Those listening wept tears at his gracious instruction. Xing would wait for the assembly's weeping to quiet down, and only after a long while would he order the text to be recited; this was not an isolated occurrence. When monks arrived from far and wide seeking refuge, he made no distinction between guests and hosts. Xing served as the chief karmadāna (dū-karmadāna). At that time, the government authorities were strictly pressing the matter, forbidding traveling monks from staying; no monasteries would harbor them, so they all came to him, and he immediately welcomed and comforted them. The monastery prior said, "According to the government regulations, this is not permitted. How can you harbor them?" Xing said, "The government does not allow room for a needle, but privately there is room for carts and horses. Has the monastery prior not heard this?" The monastery prior flew into a great rage, saying, "Young man, you do not heed my words!" Xing said, "These are members of the Triratna! If you respect them, you will see goodness; if you despise them, you will bring upon yourself evil!" The monastery prior returned to his room in fury. Looking with his eyes at his kāṣāya, it had vanished. He went to a feast at the house of the Wang family at Sanmen, and receiving the food, he claimed that it was food made with blood; people tried to explain it to him, but in the end he would not eat it. He returned to the monastery and repented before Xing, soon afterward passing away. Xing practiced in an araṇya. Once, ghosts came to harass and disturb him. Xing stood up from his rope-chair; the ghosts retreated, whereupon he conferred the three refuges upon them. He then chanted the names of the Buddhas, and the ghosts bowed along with him. During the Zhenguan era, Magistrate Dai of Qingcheng admired him and wished to lodge in the same room with Xing. In the middle of the night, he woke in fright, ran outside the room, and said, "I saw a monk in red robes, holding a staff and beating my back, saying, 'Why are you lodging here?'" Illuminating his back with fire, there was a mark the size of three fingers, swollen and red. He therefore begged to repent of his error. Xing fell gravely ill. Hearing musical sounds within his room, he reflected to himself: "What I seek has always resided in the fruit of Buddhahood; I do not desire rebirth among humans or gods. If my aspiration is not in vain, whatever demonic disturbances there are should naturally vanish!" When he finished speaking, the sounds vanished, and from then on he recovered. He regularly bowed to the Thousand Buddhas, once every day. In the third year of the Yonghui era, Dharma Master Xuanzang sent relics for him to make offerings to. Having received them, Xing established a sanctuary in his room and made a true vow: "If my lifelong transmission of the Dharma and my veneration of the Thousand Buddhas of the Auspicious Eon (bhadrakalpa) accord with the holy mind, may you emit bright light!" As soon as he spoke, the entire room turned golden; the disciples all saw it. On the [gap in date] of the fourth year of the Xianqing era, he passed away at Fusheng Monastery at the age of sixty-seven. By nature, Xing maintained discipline and restraint in his conduct along the path. Day and night he constantly sat, never reclining. He never went to the market, nor did he accept private donations. Except to beg for food, he never stepped outside the monastery gates. He never rode draught animals, nor did he wear illicit clothing. The five elephants of the Yizhou region respected and revered him.