續高僧傳 26.75

26.75

Śramaṇa Sengxin was a native of Shangdang in Luzhou. Devoting himself to the ferry of the Dharma, he broadly listened to both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, and as for the various traditions of dhyāna and vinaya, there were none he did not climb to the heights of. Yearning with his whole body and mind, there was no assembly he did not attend, yet guiding and cautioning both foolish and wise, his assembly encompassed both clamour and quiet. Sengxin remained steadfast in his proper conduct, reverent and cautious with the scriptures across his lap; listening to their expositions, he never forgot them for a moment. At first, seeing him cast down his eyes and speak little, completely cutting off discussion of the Way, the assembly called him the "Blind Old Man". Later, when there were wise men who questioned him about the texts and principles, he expounded all their deep profundities; frivolous words and phrases he did not harbor in his mind at all. When someone asked the reason, he replied: "Do not slight those who are still learning; marvelous virtue is often hidden. Only the Great Awakened One can calmly illuminate all things. If one's abundant virtue is clearly restrained, how could there be minute blemishes? Foolish teachers who set standards for things sometimes have penetrating realisations. One must only look to both sides for clear examples to achieve understanding; one must not encumber others with the Dharma and cause them to transgress respect and observance." When the Zhou dynasty abolished the two teachings, he fled into hiding at Mount Tai. When the Great Sui revived the Dharma, he returned to listen and learn. Traveling to Luoyang, he studied under Master [Hui]yuan, thoroughly investigating the essential tenets of the Daśabhūmika and the Nirvāṇa. Later, he entered the Pass and resided at Xingshan Monastery. His demeanor was lofty and crisp, never yielding to errors or improprieties. From time to time he gave lectures, his eloquence rising swiftly, its modulations well-measured. As for monastic affairs and building projects, his concern was earnest and urgent; he personally led the work, carrying, hauling, and transporting materials. In the middle of the Renshou era, when a stupa was erected at Hufa Monastery in Maozhou, an imperial decree ordered him to convey the relic. When it first arrived at the official residence, there was a śramaṇa named Tanyi, an eminent monk of lofty conduct. Hearing that all the other relics had emitted light, whereas because of his own sinful karma none had appeared, he immediately stripped off his clothing to make repentance, burning his fingers as lamps, and made offerings all night long. The next morning, a light shone forth, reaching both people and things. It also issued from the golden bottle, revolving as it circumambulated: blue, red, and white, the three colors streaming and illuminating. After staying two nights, the light faded. In the early night of the seventh day of the fourth month, a light was emitted: blazing red, it suddenly filled the Buddha hall. In a moment, it went out the doors and flowed over the four eaves. When it was about to be placed into the casket, a red light was emitted again, outshining the day in fierce brilliance. Throughout the night it emitted light again, shining into the casket. On the tenth day of the fourth month, heavenly flowers fell haphazardly from the sky like snow, variegated in five colors, and everyone gathered them. An unusual fragrance was also evoked, a gentle breeze spreading it until it filled the monastery. The casket suddenly turned into blue lapis lazuli, completely transparent inside and out. People covered the casket with several layers of white damask, and further piled bricks and lime-mortar upon it. When they illuminated the mortar, it was still the same color as the casket. Ten flowers were also painted on the lime-mortar and adorned with gold leaf; when completed, only one was golden, while the rest were painted. Before [the casket] was placed beneath the stupa, there was Zhang Shiqian, a pure-believing upāsaka, who constantly observed the eight precepts and lived apart from his wife and children. As he was reciting sūtras in a quiet room, he heard the sound of brahma-praise coming from the place of the carriage. Going out the door to look, he saw a group of monks, each holding incense and flowers, circumambulating and making offerings; when he approached, they vanished. He also saw devas holding various banners, canopies, incense, and flowers, flying from the southeast; over the stupa they turned into a great cloud, circling in the sky for a long time. He also saw over a hundred śramaṇas on the stupa's foundation, holding brooms and wheeling earth to build it higher; by dawn, nothing was to be seen. At that time, during the summer heat, the ground was dry and everyone longed for rain; answering their thought, it fell immediately, some three or four inches, relieving the distress across the plains. Lu Ruyi, a commoner of Shaqiu County, turned his heart to faith in the Buddha. Looking toward the sign of light, though the road was distant, he raised his eyes and saw clearly five monks of the monastery inside the Buddha hall. He also heard the sound of music and praise by the stupa, extremely bright and distant. Heavenly flowers rained down again, filling an area of forty li, with twice as many at the stupa's base. Xin rejoiced at these many auspicious signs, and memorialised them fully to the court. In his later years, he returned to Ziye [Monastery]; the circumstances of his death are unknown.