續高僧傳 25.55

25.55

Śramaṇa Huiyun was a native of Fanyang. He went forth at twelve, taking wandering and listening to teachings as his pursuit. At the age of eighteen, riding a donkey, he stayed at his uncle's house. Seeing that his donkey was swift, the uncle plotted to harm him. Just as he went with a knife, he saw a yellow-robed man beneath the eastern wall raising his fist and shouting: 'This man of the Way is about to become a great being who penetrates the Dharma! How dare you harm him?' The uncle, frightened, told his wife. His wife said: 'You lack fortitude; it was merely your eyes playing tricks on you.' After hearing this he went again, and once more saw the yellow-robed man beneath the western wall saying: 'Do not kill the man of the Way; if you kill him, great calamity will immediately overtake you.' Terrified, the uncle stopped. The next morning, when [Huiyun] took his leave to go to his elder sister's house, the uncle accompanied him with a knife, telling Huiyun: 'This path is remote and treacherous, so I accompany you to get through the danger.' Huiyun walked ahead, and while in a deep and obstructed spot, the uncle was behind him and brandished the knife to strike. Suddenly he saw the brother-in-law beside them, and ultimately refrained from doing harm. Huiyun was completely unaware of this. During the Kaihuang era, he traveled widely to absorb teachings, thoroughly studying the sūtras and treatises; his name was lofty in the eastern land, crowning the era with glory. Later, leading five hundred disciples, he came to visit his uncle. As [the uncle] saw him expounding the transformation in the thoroughfare, he deeply reflected on his past transgression, offered ten bolts of silk, and husband and wife confessed. Only then did Huiyun learn of it; he preached the Dharma for them to resolve it, remaining calm without resentment. He frequently admonished his disciples with this matter, saying: 'If in the past I had not ridden a fine mount, how would I have brought trouble to others? Since you belong to the ranks of disciples, you must have no extravagant adornments; just sustain your bodies and commit [the scriptures] to memory.' Later, his end was unknown. During the time of Emperor Xuan of the Chen, the Great Being Fu Hong of Shuanglin in Wushang County of Dongyang Commandery embodied skillful means to respond to the Way, following in the footsteps of Vimalakīrti. At times he took the manifestation of multiple bodies to cross beings over as his task. Relying on Shuanglin, he guided both the monastic and the lay. Sometimes golden color appeared on his chest, or rare fragrance flowed within his palms; sometimes he was seen over ten feet tall, his arms reaching past his knees, his feet two feet long, his toes six inches long, his eyes bright with double pupils shining outward, and his appearance dignified and upright, possessing the marks of a great man. Emperor Gao of the Liang cleared away chaos and promoted the Way, inclining his mind especially to the Buddhist gate; his pure mind moved and invited worthy and holy ones to arrive. Śramaṇa Baozhi arose in Jinling, while this Master Fu manifested the Way at Shuanglin. The worldly people of the time spoke of him, but none knew his stage. He then sent an envoy carrying a letter to present to Emperor Wu of the Liang, saying: 'The future liberated Great Being of Good Wisdom beneath the Shuanglin trees respectfully addresses the Lord of the State, the Bodhisattva Savior of the World. I now present the superior, middling, and inferior goods, hoping you can receive and uphold them. The superior good takes an open heart as the root, non-attachment as the principle, absence of marks as the cause, and nirvāṇa as the fruit. The middling good takes guarding the body as the root and governing the state as the principle, with peaceful and happy retribution in heavens and among humans. The inferior good takes protecting and nourishing sentient beings [as its core].' When the Emperor heard this, he invited him to stay in Jianye, whereupon he resided at Dinglin Temple beneath Mount Zhong. Sitting in the shade of tall pines and resting against flat rocks, for four days and sixty days heavenly flowers and sweet dew constantly flowed upon the ground. Later, in the Chongyun Hall of the Hualin Garden, the Emperor opened the exposition of the Prajñā title and arranged a single couch, intending to converse directly with the sovereign's intention. When the jade carriage ascended the hall, the master sat casually with legs splayed. When the disciplinary officials rebuked him, he only said: 'The ground of the Dharma does not move; if it moves, all will be unsettled.' Furthermore, knowing that the Liang's destiny was nearing its end and pitying the calamity of warfare, he burned his arm as a torch, hoping to ward off coming misfortunes. In the middle of summer in the first year of Taijian of the Chen, he lay on his right side in his home prefecture and suddenly ascended to the beyond. At that time, though the summer heat was blazing, his body remained warm, his complexion joyful, his luster fresh and clean, and his fragrance filled the air, his limbs bending and extending as normal. None among the onlookers who aroused their faith failed to sigh in wonder. He was then interred inside a crag. For several tens of days, fragrant flowers were scattered in heaps. Later, his remains were suddenly lost; those who went and could not see them felt ever deeper lament and longing, their sounds of sorrowful yearning choking the mountain valley with grief. (Chen Vice Director Xu Ling composed an epigraph, seen in the anthology.)