續高僧傳 9.26

9.26

Shi Zhituo, whose lay surname was Cai, had ancestors originally from Kaocheng in Jiyang. Later, due to wandering official posts, his family became residents of Jiangdu Commandery. His grandfather, Pingqi, was Governor of Xinchang; his father, Yuanzhen, was an Aide in Northern Yanzhou under the Liang. On the evening when Zhituo was born, a spiritual light illuminated the room. Within ten days, a dried-up spring welled forth on its own. This was an omen that the torch of wisdom was about to shine and the flow of Dharma was about to be guided. From his youth, his demeanor was outstanding and elegant, and his temperament pure and lofty. At seven years of age he left home, becoming a disciple of Master Ying of Ye. Master Ying's Dharma companions were like geese and swans, the dragons and elephants among the sons of Śākya; his mastery of the Avataṃsaka and Daśabhūmika was unmatched along the Zhang River. Zhituo focused on the scriptures and requested instruction in the Way, wasting not an instant of time; he found the gate to every high mansion wall. Later, he also studied under Master Qiang, learning the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra (*Chengshi lun) and the Abhidharma treatises; he exhausted their disparate currents and tracing each back to its source, handling complex knots with blade moving effortlessly. Immediately before the great assembly he engaged in reviewing the lectures, the water poured between vessels and the pearls strung on a thread being proved right there. Clerics and laity sighed in submission, all praising his spiritual strategy. At that time, Master Hui of Zhuangyan Monastery in Danyang enjoyed a surging reputation and reality for his excellence in the Chengshi lun, being venerated from near and far and walking without equal east of the Yangtze River. Zhituo took the lower seat in deference to righteousness and longed to taste the Dharma's flavor. After arriving in Jinling, he investigated the subtle and obscure tenets; with an exquisite mastery of phrasing and principle, his fame galloped through both capitals. Whenever Master Hui took leisure and left his seat, he would invite him to discuss the profound treatises; Master Hui deeply appreciated and praised him, calling him an important vessel. When the high seat passed away, the three thousand disciples were all present; thereupon he instructed his followers to entrust [the lineage] to Zhituo. Zhituo continued to spread out the seats of doctrine and constantly turned the wheel of the Dharma; the lineage of Zhuangyan Monastery flourished through this. People both admired the treatise master's ability to recognize talent and praised the vast propagation of the lamp's transmission. Thus his chiseling and polishing of his companions never ceased at that time; among over a hundred companions, all talents of an era, those who were shaped into accomplished vessels numbered about ninety. Judging by such merits of expounding and propagating, few in past or present can compare. During the Zhide era of the Chen dynasty, the Emperor invited him into the palace; his lecturing and unfolding of enlightenment repeatedly stirred the imperial mind. From Prince of Poyang Bai Shan and his brothers, to Vice Director Wang Ke, Secretariat Drafter Wang Gu, and others, all looked up to him with the deepest reverence, facing north in submission. When the founder of the Sui dynasty turned his mind to the Dharma treasure and propagated the supreme teaching, he held a vegetarian feast and initiated lectures at the Qiyang Palace. An imperial edict commanded Zhituo to ascend the jeweled seat first. The Palace Attendant Cui Junde was sent to proclaim the decree: 'In the past, walking alone in one region was not worthy of high esteem; today, becoming the treatise master of the four seas, your outstanding talent is truly seen,' and so on. Zhituo immediately spoke, debating vigorously and cutting through issues like flowing water; there was none who did not shut his mouth, curl his tongue, and turn his chariot back. The emperor under his beaded crown cleared his ears and repeatedly showed a radiant countenance; the court officials beamed with joy, forgetting fatigue as the sun declined. When Emperor Yang governed Hanjiang, he first established the Huidi Monastery, extensively gathering extraordinary talents; sea and mountains were searched. Zhituo, having transcendent understanding in the study of wisdom, was included from the beginning. Being placed alongside peers of equal rank, he doubled his efforts in his studies; day and night consecutively, he surveyed the various sections. In his peerless valor, his words formed complete treatises; stimulating the branching streams, he deeply harmonized with the fundamental principles. Thus the eminent and virtuous of the bodhimandala and the schools of study looked up to him with veneration, and Zhituo was naturally celebrated by the assembly as a master of treatises. Later, he followed the Emperor into the capital, dwelling at Riyang Monastery. The scholar Zhuge Ying was dispatched with an imperial letter to request him to lecture. Thereupon, obeying the decree, he accomplished the transformation and proclaimed his renown at the imperial court. Previously, all those expounding the Chengshi lun south of the Yangtze River only composed doctrinal essays, never paying regard to the treatises themselves. Indignant with these predecessors, Zhituo first raised questions regarding the treatise, took up his brush, and composed a commentary, analyzing and resolving issues with great renown. This caused his virtue to overflow further and renewed its excellence. When the Emperor resided at the Wangyuan Palace and extensively gathered profound teachings, because Zhituo's reputation moved the sentiments of all, an imperial order was issued commanding him to compose a treatise commentary. He had already organized the headings and threads, and the fascicles were nearly complete, so he compiled them into forty fascicles and soon submitted them to the throne. After Empress Xian passed away, when auspicious services were grandly conducted, some fifty eminent figures of Riyang were summoned to continuously circumambulate in the Chengming Inner Palace. Soon, an order was issued to lecture on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra; the Crown Prince attended in person, making it a grand gathering. The śramaṇa Jizang was chosen to open the discourse from the primary seat; the sharpness of his words burst forth, overshadowing the dark learning and Confucianism, and monastics and laity all bowed their heads in admiration. Zhituo, out of deference to a fellow Dharma practitioner, had not yet spoken fully. Jizang, displaying his virtues with pride, subtly criticized him. When the text reached the Three Gates of Liberation, Zhituo asked, 'With what arrow does one shoot the Three Gates of Liberation?' Jizang replied, 'If one does not yet know how to bend the bow, why talk of releasing an arrow?' Zhituo then cited evidence and conducted a critical examination that was singularly transcendent and novel, leaving Jizang with no way to offer an explanation, sitting in his place in silence. The Crown Prince then divided the chapters, weighed their virtues, and had them expounded according to their rank. Once Zhituo took the head of the seat, he spoke his mind completely. He was further ordered to ascend the high seat alternately with Master Daozhuang to discuss profound principles together; guest and host never ran dry, and the noble and eminent were all delighted. The heir apparent repeatedly savored the discourse, expressing his feelings in speech. He frequently sent his Cadet Zhang Heng to earnestly state: 'The Dharma Master's talent and learning probe the depths, rare in past and present. Looking up to your discourse, it matches reality without falsehood. Reading the treatise commentary you composed, its brilliance overflows the mind and eyes. You should further compose a commentary on the Vimalakīrti and [treatises on] the terminology of the Greater and Lesser Vehicles.' Scribes were then provided to record and compile them, completing four fascicles on the Terminology of the Two Vehicles and ten fascicles of the Commentary on the Vimalakīrti, which the Crown Prince personally read and enjoyed constantly. Furthermore, painters were sent to depict his portrait on a jeweled platform for offerings; whenever the carved palanquin arrived, the Crown Prince never failed to bow and show reverence, gazing upon his legacy as if facing him in person. Earlier, Master Yan of the Liang dynasty had composed the Mysterious Meaning of the Chengshi lun in seventeen fascicles; its language was dense and elaborate, making it difficult to peruse, and successive scholars dared not abridge or correct it. Zhituo investigated and grasped its essentials, expounding them afresh; the principle lay in forgetting the trap, and the deep meaning achieved double the effect. The scrolls followed the old division while the central tenets remained identical; it circulated widely in that age, with everyone rejoicing. This can truly be called: a suspended mirror becomes brighter when dusted; a precious jewel gains luster when polished. In the late Renshou era, at the start of the dragon's ascent to the throne, because Zhituo had long been honest and held a deep place in the imperial heart, he was bestowed four hundred bolts of silk to elevate his virtue. In the first year of Daye, he followed the imperial retinue to Luoyi. In the late winter of the second year, seeing that his body was ill, he strove without rest and still attended to the Dharma assemblies. On the ninth day of the first month of the third year, while his disciples Zhixiang and Zhicun were attending to his illness, a wondrous fragrance suddenly filled the room and a red light illuminated the window. That very night, he washed and rinsed with fragrant water, fully completed his farewell instructions, and sat upright in proper mindfulness until impermanence came, at the age of sixty-seven. The Emperor was shocked and grieved, generously presenting condolences: by imperial decree, three hundred bolts of goods were bestowed, and all funeral necessities were provided as needed. The Yellow Gate Vice Director Zhang Heng was also ordered to oversee the arrangements. From the time Zhituo began transmitting the Way, his vocal eloquence was pure and penetrating, and the crowd never caused disturbance. In presenting the tenets and adducing citations, everything was harmoniously categorized. Although the commentaries were ancient, his expositions were like new; whenever he came to synthesize and evaluate, he repeatedly investigated and scrutinized. Those who attended his lecture halls were forever rid of obscurity and confusion; seeking the text and examining the meaning, their efforts were never wasted on the seat. Among those who, seeing his grand guidance, achieved pure models, few have succeeded to his footsteps. Earlier, whenever Zhituo began a lecture title, he always dreamed that he stood side by side with the auspicious King Udayana statue; was this not because their function in maintaining the Triratna was equal? Moreover, whenever there were doubtful meanings he had previously not understood, he would see an Indian monk appear and explain them according to the context. Before he died, he dreamed of a youth holding a lotus flower in his hand, saying, 'The Heavenly King Śakra sends me to invite you to lecture.' On the day of his death, he saw this sign again. Observing his penetrating sagacious thoughts, his lofty name within the realm, and his wondrous spiritual resonances, how could it all have been in vain? In total, he lectured on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā, Nirvāṇa, Vimalakīrti, and Viśeṣacintibrahmaparipṛcchā about thirty times each, and on the Chengshi lun and its Mysterious Meaning fifty times each. His transmitting disciples, Huiquan and Daoguan, both carried on his work: Quan's reputation and virtue both soared, while Guan established an unbending integrity; each succeeded him in expounding and propagating, being renowned in their era. Furthermore, on the twenty-fifth day of the second month of that year, a square tomb was built according to the rites on the North Mang Mountain in the Jingu Ward of Luoyang County, and a stele was erected beside it. Its text was composed by Yu Shinan, Gentleman of the Palace Secretariat of the Sui from Kuaiji. (In the middle of the Daye era, after Zhituo's death, since he had not been personally close to Master Jizang in the past, he manifested his form through the sick monk Huice, fully recounting their former affinity. Jizang heard of it and visited him, engaging in discussion with him; pouring out his heart and paying complete respect, he wished to renew their former acquaintance. Thus across the dark and light worlds, their connection was not severed.)