宋高僧傳 11.20

11.20

釋明覺俗姓猷，河內人也。祖為官嶺南，後徙居為建陽人也。覺儒家之子，風流蘊藉，好問求知，曾無倦懈。宿懷道性，聞道一禪師於佛跡嶺行禪法，往造焉，遂依投剃染。由此即願觀方衡嶽、天台、四明，遍嘗法味。復於徑山留心請決數夏，負薪，面䵟手胝。下山至杭州大雲寺，禁足院門。續移止湖畔青山頂，結庵而止。屬范陽盧中丞嚮風躬謁，召歸州治大雲寺住持。元和十五年避嫌遠囂，隱天目山。是山也特秀，基墟跨涉四郡。有上、下龍潭，深不可測，怪物往往出於中。有白鹿，毛質詭異，土人謂為山神也。覺遁是中，檀信為禪宇。長慶三年春及冬至明年二月大旱，野火蔓延，欲燒院，僧惶懅，覺曰：「吾與此山有緣，火當速滅。」少選，雷雨驟作，其火都滅，遠近驚歎。以太和五年七月十九日示疾而亡。

Śramaṇa Mingjue, secular surname You, was a native of Henai. His grandfather had served as an official in Lingnan and later relocated to become a resident of Jianyang. Jue was a son of a Confucian family, cultured and refined, fond of questioning and seeking knowledge without ever slacking. Having harbored an inclination toward the Way from past lives, when he heard that Chan Master Daoyi was practicing the Chan method at Fojiling, he went there to call upon him, and thereupon took refuge and was tonsured. From then on, he vowed to observe the quarters at Mount Heng, Tiantai, and Siming, tasting the Dharma flavor in full. He further turned his attention to seeking resolution at Mount Jingshan for several summer retreats, carrying firewood until his face grew sallow and his hands calloused. Descending the mountain, he reached Dayun Temple in Hangzhou, where he restricted his steps to the cloister gate. Next, he moved to stay at the summit of Qingshan by the lake, building a hermitage to reside in. It happened that Vice Censor-in-Chief Lu of Fanyang, admiring his demeanor, personally visited him and summoned him to return to Dayun Temple at the prefectural seat to serve as abbot. In the fifteenth year of the Yuanhe era, wishing to avoid suspicion and stay far from clamor, he retired to Mount Tianmu. This mountain was exceptionally magnificent, its base spanning across four commanderies. It had upper and lower Dragon Pools that were fathomlessly deep, where strange creatures frequently emerged. There was a white deer with an extraordinary coat, which the locals called the mountain spirit. Jue took refuge within it, and donors built a Chan dwelling for him. In the spring and winter of the third year of the Changqing era until the second month of the following year, there was a great drought; a wildfire spread, threatening to burn down the cloister, and the monks were terrified. Jue said, "I have karmic affinity with this mountain; the fire will soon be extinguished." Before long, a sudden thunderstorm arose, and the fire was entirely quenched, causing those near and far to marvel in awe. On the nineteenth day of the seventh month in the fifth year of the Taihe era, he manifested illness and passed away.