續高僧傳 9.29

9.29

Shi Falun was surnamed Meng, a native of Nanjun. At first, he resided at Tianhuang Temple in Jingzhou. He was widely versed in both inner and outer learning, and the thrust of his reasoning and expression was sharp. He lived in seclusion at Mount Fuzhou in Qingxi, attaching great value to the Satyasiddhi and deeply examining literary style. In his leisure from discussion, he took up the brush to compose writings. Emperor Ming of the Liang valued his elegance and plainness, summoning him with generous rites; yet his nature leaned toward emptiness and leisure, and he did not drift with worldly offerings. Wearing kudzu sandals and rushes, he lived out his remaining years. When Sui Emperor Yang was in the feudatory, he heard from afar of his fine virtue and summoned him to his bodhimaṇḍa, engaging with him morning and evening in mutual appreciation. Whenever the Prince had new compositions, eulogies, or collections, he consulted Falun on them. Remaining among the secular, Falun propagated [the Dharma] as years swiftly passed. Later, he entered the capital and resided at Riyan Temple. When Emperor Wen visited Renshou, Falun went to have audience and was granted a special reception, where the Emperor personally extended courtesies. The Emperor praised his pure understanding and arranged a vegetarian meal for him in the Dabao Hall, where he immediately took a seat. Falun presented poems discussing the imperial virtue and the magnificence of the palaces past and present; Gaozu praised and admired them greatly. When the Prince of Jin was installed in the Eastern Palace, his courteous treatment became even more generous; palace envoys arrived with consoling inquiries and petitions in unbroken succession. In the first year of the Daye era, as the capital was about to move to the Eastern Court, an imperial edict bestowed on him ten Qianqiu bark kāṣāyas, five hundred bolts of silk, and forty felt cloaks; the Empress bestowed a fox-flank fur cushion, Dharma robes, and other articles. Thus his renown in the Way was honored by both Emperor and Empress with such grandeur. He subsequently followed the imperial entourage to Luoyang, where he passed away shortly thereafter at the age of seventy-eight. The Emperor mourned and increased the posthumous gifts, then ordered the local authorities to convey his remains for burial in Jingchu. From the time Falun first entered the Dharma, he held literary compilations in high esteem; although he outwardly engaged with abstruse and Confucian thought, he inwardly propagated the Buddhist teachings. Thus, whenever he composed and compiled stanzas, they all depicted the Buddhist tradition. He thereupon began compiling [a work on] eminent monks, intending to form full rolls, but died before it was completed, so the original draft was not circulated. When we reflect upon virtuous masters of the past, those whose works have fallen into oblivion are indeed numerous. He had an independent collection of eight rolls that circulated in the world.