續高僧傳 26.85

26.85

Śramaṇa Jingning was a native of Bianzhou. He was a disciple of Dhyāna Master Qian. In his early years, hearing and receiving instruction, he became thoroughly versed in the orthodox and the deviant; the scriptures, vinaya, and the Daśabhūmika were what he inquired into. Later he studied the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, tasting all its obscure and manifest points. Always taking pleasure in śamatha-vipaśyanā, he closed his doors in contemplation and discernment; whenever conditions arose, he would lecture, his preaching roaring like thunder, but when the matter was over he withdrew into quietude like a foolish old man. Worldly affairs were almost never mentioned by him; those who did not know him considered him mediocre and inept, and only after living with him for a long time did they realize he possessed the Way. Moreover, in his conduct he did not involve himself in dubious matters, and his mouth never uttered congratulations or condolences; sitting solitary and upright like a lump of earth, he seemed unable to speak. In the sixth year of the Kaihuang era, he followed Qian into Yongzhou to reside at Xingshan Temple. In the second year of the Renshou era, an imperial decree ordered him to escort relics to Qizhou. When he first arrived, it repeatedly emitted white light, shaped like a bright moon, flowing and shining everywhere. On the day the relics were lowered into the stupa, white birds circled in the air above the foundation, flying far away only after the internment was complete. There were further signs, but Ning kept them concealed, showing only one or two so that people would know of the great sage's pervading auspiciousness; the rest he hid and did not write down. When he returned to the capital, he was again reprimanded, but he employed skillful means to secure his release, and not long after, he died.