續高僧傳 26.80

26.80

Śramaṇa Baoyan was a native of Youzhou. He set his aim upon the Daśabhūmika, then mastered the Abhidharma, and had not yet fully penetrated the Satyasiddhi; thus his explorations across the treatises of the various schools were extensive. He opened the doors to profound scriptures, clarifying their fundamental trunks and branches, and was praised at the time for his vast erudition; yet by nature he was exceptionally detached from worldly affairs and took no pleasure in preaching. Only after earnest entreaties would he unpack the teachings and expound their subtle principles. He resided at Renjue Temple in the capital, entertaining himself by keeping to the Way and having no worldly intimacies. During the Renshou era, an imperial decree summoned him to escort relics to Hongye Temple in his native prefecture. This was the monastery founded by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei, formerly named Guanglin; leaning against peaks and bordered by ravines, its situation was elevated and open. It often harboured extraordinary omens, and its affairs conformed to pure solemnity, so that those with deviant conduct were always stricken with awe. Because of this, improper persons rarely set foot among this assembly. Toward the close of the Kaihuang era, before the relics arrived, the mountain had continually tilted and trembled without pause; but as soon as the installation in the stupa was completed, the mountain tremors ceased of themselves. Furthermore, in the first year of the Renshou era, the heavens sent down thirty-three razors; they were extremely sharp, yet of an extraordinary shape and make. Monks today still frequently use them for shaving. Again, when they first fashioned the stone reliquary casket, it was bright as a water mirror, its patterns resembled agate, and its lustre was like lapis lazuli; it was translucent inside and out, and a purple flame-like radiance arose from it. On the outside of the casket patterns appeared like figures of bodhisattvas, as well as hosts of immortals, birds and beasts, lions, and forest trees—manifold and diverse images. On the night of the third day of the fourth month, it emitted a great radiance that illuminated heaven and earth, seen by everyone with eyes. When the matter was finished, Yan returned; the circumstances of his death are unknown.