續高僧傳 7.18

7.18

Śramaṇa Anlin was surnamed Qin, a seventh-generation descendant of Jing, Palace Secretariat of the Jin. He resided in Licheng County, Jiangyin. His late father had subtle thoughts that flowed into the profound, and his tranquil mind attained quietude; he authored the Rusheshen shu in one piece and the Dongli in three fascicles, and in the way of geomancy, none failed to transmit his renown. Lin was clever and bright from his youth, attaining understanding independently and standing out from the crowd. At the age of thirteen, he suffered the loss of a parent; his filial piety was known far and wide. Fasting from water, he was reduced to bone, so that those who heard of it wept. As the ancients said, “None knows the son like the father.” [His father] had trained him with the classical teachings, so that his learning became widely versed. Moreover, by nature he was fond of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and early on mastered the classics and histories; he was also skilled in the art of the Taiyi and understood the methods of Sunzi and Wuzi. Therefore, his talents and arts were accomplished, and his reputation in both civil and military spheres spread clear and wide. He still wished to push through the brambles to seek seclusion within a bramble door and round-walled burrow, yet with an open mind, his capacity was stirred, and he intuitively realized the real and the provisional. At the age of twenty-five, he petitioned the court by decree to leave the household life. He then traveled in all directions seeking the Way, going north to the state of Wei. At Guangrong Monastery in Sizhou, under the Venerable Rong, he gathered and studied sūtras and treatises. Rong's vinaya admonitions were stern and solemn, strictly shaping him into an instrument of salvation. He also listened to the Daśabhūmika under the Venerable Guang of Shaolin Monastery on Mount Songgao; upon hearing it once, he grasped it, exhausting what lay before the words in an instant, deeply relishing names and forms and entirely completing their inner meaning. He also received the methods of dhyāna, thoroughly investigating the profound gates. Those who requested instruction from him repeatedly unfolded great benefit. In Wei for twelve years, he lectured on the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya nearly twenty times; Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises also followed in succession. In the first year of the Taiqing era of the Liang, he set out from Peng and Pei; surrounded and followed by his disciples, he returned to the capital Yang[du]. Emperor Wu welcomed and made offerings to him in succession, commanding him by decree to reside at Tian'an [Monastery] and lecture on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. He set forth its grand framework, its subtle purports according with opportune moments. When the destiny of the Liang reached its end, the wheel of the Dharma ceased to turn. When the Great Chen came to rule the realm, in the spring of the first year of the Yongding era, he was invited into the inner palace, where [the Emperor] handed him incense and fire with his own hands, touched his feet in complete devotion, and long adhered to his precept-standards. A decree ordered him to reside at Qidu Monastery, providing for continuous lecturing. As this matched his original wish, he was delighted to remain there long. Emperor Wen also invited him into the Zhaode Hall to begin lecturing on the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra; his joyful eloquence was inexhaustible, unmatched by repeated assemblies. During the reign of Xiaoxuan, he received the Way facing north within the Hualin Garden. Due to the toils of propagating the transformation, he contracted an illness. In the month of Jianying of the first year of the Zhide era, he passed away in his chamber. The Emperor's heart was grieved and mourned him, bestowing generous funerary gifts. In that very month, he was buried on the western mountain of Kaishan, at the age of seventy-seven. His disciples grieved for his resting place, and gentry and commoners lost their refuge.