續高僧傳 26.82

26.82

Śramaṇa Daosheng was a native of Puzhou. Sengtong Tantong was his teacher. As the son of a renowned house following in the footsteps of his master, though his refined bearing was not yet fully the equal of his master's, his power of thought was far-reaching. Benevolent and upright in intention, he was untainted by sounds and sights; upholding the precepts and their protections, he immersed himself in chanting scriptural texts. Having lightly imbibed the teachings of the four-division vinaya, his lectures and instructions were often voiced, and his capacity for the Dharma was hard to match. Residing at Xingshan Temple, he was eminent and distinct; he never looked askance, and his deportment was composed, so that the assembly revered and held him in awe. In the second year of the Renshou era, an imperial decree summoned him to escort relics to Chuzhou. When he first halted at the official lodge, an extraordinary wild deer was moved to enter straight through the city gate. The guards led it to the place of the relics, where it naturally knelt and bowed, tame, gentle, and peaceful. Sheng said: 'If you came for the relics, you may mount the steps; if you came for any other reason, depart as you wish.' Hearing these words, the deer immediately mounted the steps, entering and exiting before the curtains without hindrance. Sheng then expounded the refuges and precepts for it; the deer tapped its head upon the incense table as if listening and receiving them. When they tied a silk cord to it, it licked human hands. At night it slept beside the carriage, or went to Sheng's chamber to stay for two nights, before departing naturally back to the wilderness. When the day of the enshrinement arrived, two pairs of white cranes wheeled in flight above the stupa, departing only after the burial was complete. Sheng observed these auspicious portents and, together with the officials, submitted a detailed memorial to report them, and inscribed the event at the site of the stupa. After he returned to the capital, the circumstances of his end were unknown.