宋高僧傳 11.43

11.43

釋恒政，姓周氏，平原人也。未入法前，隨入鄉校，殊不嗜書籍。或見佛經，耽味不捨。後棄俗從師，就本州延和寺詮澄法師下受誦經法。既登戒已，問道於嵩少，決了無壅，遁跡三峯，放蕩自在。無幾，入太一山中，甫行風教，學人螘慕。太和中，文宗皇帝酷嗜蜃蛤，㳂海官吏先時遞進，人亦勞止。一日，御饌中盈柈而進，有擘不張呀者，帝觀其異，即焚香祝之。俄為菩薩形，梵相克全，儀容可愛，遂致於金粟檀香合，以玉綿錦覆之，賜興善寺，令致禮之。始宣問群臣：「斯何瑞也？」相國李公德裕奏曰：「臣不足知，唯知聖德昭應。其諸佛理，聞終南山有恒政禪師，大明佛法，博聞強識。」詔入宣問，政曰：「貧道聞物無虛應，此乃啟沃陛下之信心耳。故契經中應以此身得度者，即現此身而為說法也。」帝曰：「菩薩身已見，未聞說法。」政曰：「陛下覩此為常？非常耶？信？非信耶？」帝曰：「希奇事，朕深信焉。」政曰：「陛下已聞說法了。」皇情悅豫，得未曾有，勅天下寺院各立觀音像，以答殊休。其菩薩，至會昌毀佛舍，乃亡所在。因留政內道場中，累辭入山，宣住聖壽寺，至武宗即位，忽入終南。或問其故，曰：「吾避仇，烏可已乎哉？」後終山舍，年八十七。闍維，收舍利四十九粒，以會昌三年九月四日入塔。後有廢教之勅，政之先見，若合符節焉。

Shi Hengzheng, surnamed Zhou, was a native of Pingyuan. Before entering the Dharma, he attended the local school but had no fondness for secular texts. Whenever he saw Buddhist scriptures, he savored them and would not let them go. Later he abandoned the world to follow a master, receiving the method of reciting scriptures under Dharma Master Quancheng at Yanhe Temple in his home prefecture. After receiving the precepts, he sought the Way at Song and Shaoshi, reaching clear understanding without obstruction, and concealed his traces on the Three Peaks, unhindered and at ease. Before long, he entered the Mount Taiyi range; as soon as he propagated the wind of his teachings, students gathered like ants. During the Taihe era, Emperor Wenzong was exceedingly fond of clams; local officials along the coast forwarded them continuously ahead of time, causing great toil to the people. One day, when a dish filled with them was presented for the imperial meal, there was one that could not be pried open. The Emperor, seeing its peculiarity, burned incense and prayed over it. In a moment, it took the form of a bodhisattva, complete with the marks of an Indian saint and an endearing appearance. He placed it in a box of golden sandalwood, covered it with jade silk brocade, bestowed it upon Xingshan Temple, and ordered that homage be paid to it. He first asked his assembled ministers, "What omen is this?" Prime Minister Duke Li Deyu memorialized, "Your subject lacks the wisdom to know; I only know it is a manifestation of your Sage Virtue. As for the principles of the Buddha, I have heard that on Mount Zhongnan there is Chan Master Hengzheng, who has profound comprehension of the Buddha's Dharma and possesses vast learning and strong memory." An imperial decree summoned him for an audience. Zheng said, "I have heard that things do not respond in vain; this is simply to inspire Your Majesty's faith. Thus, as the scriptures say, 'To those who can be saved by this body, he manifests this body and preaches the Dharma to them.'" The Emperor said, "The body of the bodhisattva has been seen, but I have not heard the preaching of the Dharma." Zheng asked, "When Your Majesty beheld this, did you consider it ordinary or extraordinary? Did you believe or disbelieve?" The Emperor said, "It is a rare marvel; I believe it deeply." Zheng said, "Your Majesty has already heard the preaching of the Dharma." The Emperor's heart was filled with joy at having attained what was unprecedented; he ordered temples throughout the empire to erect statues of Avalokiteśvara in gratitude for this extraordinary blessing. During the destruction of Buddhist monasteries in the Huichang era, the whereabouts of this bodhisattva statue were lost. Zheng was detained in the inner chapel, and despite repeatedly asking to return to the mountains, he was decreed to reside at Shengshou Temple. When Wuzong ascended the throne, Zheng suddenly entered Mount Zhongnan. When someone asked the reason, he said, "I am avoiding an enemy; how could I not do so?" Later he passed away in his mountain hermitage at the age of eighty-seven. Following cremation, forty-nine relics (śarīra) were collected, and on the fourth day of the ninth month in the third year of the Huichang era, they were enshrined in a stupa. Later, the decree suppressing the teachings was issued; Zheng's foresight matched it like the two halves of a tally.