續高僧傳 26.53

26.53

Śramaṇa Huizhong, whose secular surname was Guo, was a native of Yongzhou. Resolute in will and imposing in presence, he was undaunted by demonic hindrances. In groves or abodes where ghosts and spirits were said to reside, there were none he did not subdue wherever he went. Purely observing the foundation of the precepts, he possessed a clear understanding of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha; treading among renowned doctrines, he was exceptionally aloof and beyond the ordinary. Residing at Daxingshan Monastery, he commanded the crucial essentials of administration, receiving honour and recognition. His discourses and statements were articulate, and his transcriptions and dispatches followed proper standards. When the Renshou stūpas were established, an imperial decree summoned him to convey relics to Daiyue Monastery on Mount Tai. When he first arrived, light radiated forth, and continuously flowed and shone until the relics entered the stūpa. Three streams of white vapor flowed down from the mountain peak to the foundation site. The gates of the Mountain God's shrine opened on their own without cause, happening three times in this manner; those who understood considered it to be the spiritual deities taking refuge and paying homage. In the fourth year [604], when stūpas were constructed, he was sent again to convey relics to Chanjil Monastery in Longzhou. When he first arrived and a vegetarian feast was held, a wild deer suddenly came down from the southern mountain, crossed the Jialing River, and went straight to the stūpa site. When people stroked it with their hands, it naturally snuggled close; only after the enshrinement was completed did the deer depart. At night, a great light beamed above the Buddha hall, with flames several zhang high flowing and gathering in azure and red, seen by the multitude together. On the third day, the stūpa pole was erected, and the whole prefecture joyfully made donations. Purple clouds covered the stūpa, and golden and silver flowers rained throughout the city; those collected by people were engraved with five colours. Five relics were also obtained atop heavenly flowers, floating, rotating, uniting, and dispersing as one wished. Xiufan Monastery within the prefecture had earlier built a stūpa for Emperor Wen and had a portion of relics which they wished to place in the foundation on the same day as the present stūpa. That night, both stūpas emitted radiance simultaneously, brightly illuminating both the hidden and manifest realms until dawn before fading. The people who witnessed this auspicious sign together were numbered in the thousands. On the morning of the internment, silver flowers rained down again, transforming in multiple ways. Huizhong returned to the capital, reformed his former practices, and devoted himself exclusively to meditation and repentance. Through the twelve periods of the day and night, he paid homage to the fifty-three Buddhas; at other times, he sat cross-legged in right mindfulness, fulfilling his religious path to the end of his life.