續高僧傳 28.22

28.22

Śramaṇa Huixian was a native of the kingdom of Baekje. He entered the monastic life in his youth, applying his mind with bitter diligence and concentration, making the cantillation of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra his lifelong practice. When he prayed for blessings or made vows, most were fulfilled. Hearing lectures on the Three Treatises, he attended and received them; once the Dharma tinged his spirit, his understanding increased all the more. At first he resided at Xiude Monastery in the northern part of his native country: when there was an assembly he would lecture, and when there was none he would engage in clear cantillation. People from all around heard of his reputation and gathered at the mountain with clamorous bustle. He then departed for Mount Dana in the south. The mountain was exceedingly deep and perilous, with layered precipices and steep crags; even if people sought to visit, the climb was arduous and hazardous. Huixian sat in quietude therein, maintaining his dedicated practice as before. He eventually passed away there. His fellow students carried his corpse and placed it in a stone cave. Tigers devoured his body and bones entirely, leaving only his cranium and tongue. After three weeks, his tongue grew even redder, softer and more supple than usual; only after that did it turn purple and as hard as stone. Monks and laity found it extraordinary and revered it, interring both inside a stone stūpa. He was then fifty-eight years of age, in the first year of the Zhenguan era [627 CE].