續高僧傳 8.23

8.23

Śramaṇa Daoshen, surnamed Shi, was a native of Gaoyang. At the age of fourteen he entered the monastic life (pravrajyā), reciting texts and listening to lectures in accordance with his training. After receiving the full precepts, he went to Luoyang and studied the *Daśabhūmika-śāstra* under Master Huiguang. Later, taking instruction from Superintendent Fashang, he set his aspiration upon the *Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra*. By nature he was poised and simple, with an open and accommodating disposition. Taking it as his own duty to guide his disciples and uphold the great Dharma, whenever he attended the recitation of the precepts, he knelt and listened until the end. When expounding to awaken confused minds, his words were never verbose: the wise feared his words were too few, while the foolish were anxious that they were not many. He was cherished and revered by the five assemblies of disciples; hence Emperor Xuan invited him to serve as Metropolitan Superintendent of Monks (guodu), so that he could pacify and foster the bequeathed Dharma without letdown. Meditation masters such as Sengda and debating scholars such as Faling all submitted to his eloquent responses. As for the sweeping currents of fashionable erudition that broadly engaged the worldly customs of the time, Shen stood far above them. Not long after riding in a chariot to escort the emperor, on returning to his home monastery, both shafts of the chariot snapped at once. Within days he passed away at Dingguo Monastery in the city of Ye, at the age of sixty-five.