宋高僧傳 14.14

14.14

釋道岸，姓唐氏，世居頴川，是為大族，漢尚書令琳、司空珍、吳尚書僕射固、雍州刺史彬、涼鎮北將軍瑤之後也。永嘉南度，遷於光州，衣冠人物，暉映今古。岸生而不群，少而奇概，爰在髫齓，有若老成。齒胄膠庠，侚齊墳典，猶恐聞見未博，藝業有遺。遂浮江淮，達洙泗，探禹穴，升孔堂，多歷年所矣。操翰林之鼓吹，游學海之波瀾，討論百家，商攉三教。乃歎曰：「學古入官，紆金拾紫，儒教也。餐松餌栢，駕鶴乘龍，道教也。不出輪迴之中，俱非栰喻之義，豈若三乘妙旨，六度宏功，錙銖世間，掌握沙界哉！」遂落髮出家，洗心訪道，一音克舉，四句精通。堅修律儀，深入禪慧。夜夢迦葉來為導師，朝閱真經，宛契冥牒。由是聲名籍甚，遠近吹噓，為出世之津梁，固經行之領袖。十方龍象，罔不師範焉；萬國鵷鸞，無敢詶對者。向若迴茲妙識，適彼殊途，議才必總於四科，濟世雅符於三傑。有若越中初法師者，祕藏精微，罔不明練，道高寰宇，德重丘山。岸聞善若驚，同聲相應，乘杯去楚，杖錫遊吳。雲霧一披，鐘鼓齊振，期牙合契，澄什聯芳。由是常居會稽龍興寺焉。揚越黎庶，江淮釋子，輻輳烏合，巷少居人，罕登元禮之門，且覩公超之市。岸身遺纏蓋，心等虛空，不擇賢愚，無論貴賤，溫顏接待，善誘克勤，明鑑莫疲，洪鍾必應。皆窺天挹海，虛往實歸，其利博哉，無得稱也！時號為大和尚。登無畏座，講木叉律，容止端嚴，辭辯清暢，連環氷釋，理窟毫分，瞻仰者皆悉由衷，聽受者得未曾有。於是高僧大士，心醉神傾，捐棄舊聞，佩服新義，江介一變，其道大行。孝和皇帝精貫白業，遊藝玄樞，聞而異焉。遣使徵召，前後數介。然始入朝，與大德數人同居內殿，帝因朝暇，躬閱清言。雖天睠屢迴，而聖威難犯，凡厥目對，靡不魂驚。皆向日趨風，滅聽收視。岸人望雖重，僧臘未高，猶淪居下筵，累隔先輩。惜帝有輪王之位，不起承迎；以吾為舍那之後，晏然方坐。皇帝覩其高尚，伏以尊嚴，偏賜衣鉢，特彰榮寵。因請如來法味，屈為菩薩戒師。親率六宮，圍繞供養，仍圖畫於林光宮。御製〈畫讚〉，辭曰：「戒珠皎潔，慧流清淨，身局五篇，心融八定。學綜真典，觀通實性，維持法務，綱統僧政。律藏冀兮傳芳，象教因乎光盛。」比夫靈臺影像，麟閣丹青，功德義殊，師臣禮異。銓擇網管，統帥僧徒者，有司之任也。以岸盛德廣大，至行高邈，思遍雨露，特變章程。所歷都白馬、中興、莊嚴、薦福、罔極等寺，綱維總務，皆承勅命，深契物心，天下以為榮，古今所未有。中宗有懷罔極，追福因心，先於長安造薦福寺。事不時就，作者煩勞，勅岸與工部尚書張錫同典其任。廣開方便，博施慈悲，人或子來，役無留務，費約功倍。帝甚嘉之，頻邀賞錫，何間昏曉。既荷天澤，言酬恩地，遂還光州，度人置寺。於是祇陀苑囿，欝起僧坊，拘隣比丘，便為人寶，能事斯畢，夫何恨哉！江海一辭，星霜二紀，每懷成道之所，更迫鐘漏之期。遂去上京，還至本處。將申顧命，精擇門人，僧行超、玄儼者，是稱上足也。克傳珠髻之寶，俾賜金口之言，右脇而臥，示其泡幻也。以開元五年歲次丁巳八月十日滅度於會稽龍興道場。時年六十有四。海竭何依？山崩安仰？天人感慟，道俗哀號，執紼衣縗，動盈萬計。弟子龍興寺慧武、寺主義海、都維那道融、大禹寺懷則、大善寺道超、齊明寺思一、雲明寺慧周、洪邑寺懷瑩、香嚴寺懷彥、平原寺道綱、湖州大雲寺子瑀、興國寺慧纂等，秀稟珪璋，器承磨琢，荷導蒙之力，懷栝羽之恩，思播芳塵，必題貞石，乃請禮部侍郎姚奕為碑紀德。初，岸本文綱律師高足也，及孝和所重，其道克昌。以江表多行《十誦律》，東南僧堅執，罔知《四分》，岸請帝墨勅執行南山律宗。伊宗盛于江淮間者，岸之力也。

Śramaṇa Dao'an was surnamed Tang, and his family had dwelt in Yingchuan for generations, forming a prominent clan. He was a descendant of Lin, Director of the Imperial Secretariat under the Han; Zhen, Minister of Works; Gu, Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat of the Wu; Bin, Regional Inspector of Yongzhou; and Yao, General Who Pacifies the North of the Liang. During the southern migration in the Yongjia period, the clan relocated to Guangzhou; its eminent and cultured figures shone brightly through past and present. From birth, Dao'an was exceptional, and from an early age he possessed a rare bearing; while still a young child, he seemed like a mature man. When he studied alongside the sons of the nobility in the schools, he avidly pursued the ancient classics, yet he feared that his learning was not broad enough and that some arts and accomplishments might be neglected. He thereupon traveled along the Changjiang and Huai Rivers, reached the Zhu and Si Rivers, explored the Cave of Yu, and ascended the Hall of Confucius, passing many years in this way. Grasping the grand prose of the literary elite and roaming the waves of the sea of learning, he discussed the hundred schools of thought and appraised the three teachings. He then sighed and said: 'Studying the ancients to enter officialdom and donning gold and purple cords is the teaching of Confucianism. Feeding on pine and cypress and riding cranes and soaring on dragons is the teaching of Daoism. Neither departs from the cycle of rebirth, and neither accords with the meaning of the raft parable. How could they compare with the sublime purport of the three vehicles, the vast efficacy of the six pāramitās, weighing this mundane world like a mere grain of sand while grasping the sand-realms in the palm of one's hand!' He thereupon shaved his head and entered monastic life, cleansed his mind to seek the Path, and once the sound was raised, he thoroughly mastered the four lines. He rigorously cultivated the vinaya rules and entered deeply into dhyāna and wisdom. At night he dreamed that Kāśyapa came to be his guide, and in the morning, when he read the true scriptures, they matched the dark registers precisely. Because of this, his renown was exceedingly great, praised far and wide; he was a bridge for leaving the world and truly a leader of walking meditation. The dragons and elephants of the ten directions all took him as an exemplar; among the phoenixes of the myriad states, none dared match wits with him. Had he turned this sublime discernment to worldly pursuits, his talent would surely have embraced all four disciplines and his service to the world would have matched that of the three heroes. There was a Master Chu in Yue, who was thoroughly versed in the most subtle intricacies of the secret treasury, his virtue towering throughout the realm and weighing like the hills and mountains. When Dao'an heard of his goodness, he was deeply stirred; answering the call like sound to echo, he set off from Chu in a bowl and traveled through Wu leaning on his staff. Once the clouds and mist were cleared away, the bells and drums sounded together; like Boya and Ziqi they were in accord, their brilliance rivaling that of Sengcheng and Kumārajīva. Consequently, he took up permanent residence at Longxing Temple in Kuaiji. The common folk of Yang and Yue, and the sons of Śākya from the Changjiang and Huai regions, gathered together in crowds like wheel spokes or flocks of crows; few residents remained in the alleys, as if seldom gaining entrance to the gate of Li Yuanli, but gazing upon the bustling market of Cheng Gongchao. Dao'an's body was free of bondages and hindrances, and his mind was equal to empty space; without distinguishing between the wise and the foolish, or regardless of whether someone was noble or lowly, he received them with a warm countenance, skillfully guided them with tireless effort, his bright mirror never wearying, and responding unfailingly like a great bell. All peered up at heaven and scooped from the sea, coming empty and returning full; so vast were his benefits that they cannot be fully praised! People of the time called him the Great Upādhyāya. When he mounted the fearless seat to expound the prātimokṣa vinaya, his demeanor was dignified and solemn, and his eloquence was clear and fluent; tangled doubts melted away like ice, and the subtleties of doctrinal reason were parsed to the finest hair. Those who looked upon him were moved from the bottom of their hearts, and those who listened to his instruction obtained what they had never experienced before. Thereupon, eminent monks and great beings were enraptured and captivated; casting aside what they had previously heard, they accepted his new tenets. In the region of the Changjiang, customs were transformed, and his teaching flourished on a grand scale. Emperor Xiaohuai was thoroughly versed in pure deeds and roamed freely in the mystical pivot; hearing of him, he marveled. He dispatched envoys to summon him, several messengers arriving in succession. Only then did Dao'an enter the court, dwelling in the inner palace together with several Virtuous Ones. During intervals in court affairs, the emperor personally engaged in pure conversation with them. Although the celestial countenance repeatedly softened, the imperial majesty was intimidating; all who faced him were struck with terror, turning toward the sun and bending with the wind, dulling their hearing and averting their gaze. Although Dao'an enjoyed great public esteem, his saṅgha age was not yet advanced, so he was seated among the lower ranks, separated by predecessors. Regretting that the emperor, though holding the position of a wheel-turning king, did not rise to greet him, Dao'an, deeming himself a successor of Vairocana, sat calmly and squarely. The emperor, observing his lofty aloofness, was subdued by his solemn dignity; he bestowed upon him a personal gift of robes and bowls to show special favor and esteem. Thereupon he requested the taste of the Tathāgata's Dharma and bowed to make him his master for the bodhisattva precepts. Personally leading the six palaces, he circumambulated Dao'an and made offerings, and he commissioned a portrait of him painted in the Linguang Palace. The imperial eulogy for the painting read: 'The jewel of precepts is pure and bright, / The stream of wisdom is clear and clean; / His body is bound by the five divisions, / His mind is immersed in the eight absorptions. / His learning encompasses the true texts, / His insight penetrates the real nature; / Preserving the affairs of the Dharma, / Regulating saṅgha administration. / May the Vinaya Piṭaka transmit its fragrance, / May the seminal teaching flourish through him.' Compared to the portraits at the Spirit Platform or the paintings in the Unicorn Pavilion, the significance of his merits was far different, and the protocol between master and subject was unique. Selecting and appointing supervisors to lead the saṅgha is ordinarily the duty of the relevant official bureaus. Yet, because Dao'an's vast virtue was immense and his supreme practice exalted, the imperial grace extended everywhere, specially altering established regulations. At all the metropolitan temples through which he passed—such as Baima, Zhongxing, Zhuangyan, Jianfu, and Wangji—he assumed overall administrative responsibility by imperial order; deeply satisfying people's hearts, this was acclaimed as an honor across the realm, something unprecedented in past or present. Emperor Zhongzong harbored boundless devotion to his deceased parents; with a heart aspiring to cultivate posthumous blessings, he had earlier founded Jianfu Temple in Chang'an. Because the work was not completed on time and the laborers were weary, he decreed that Dao'an and Zhang Xi, the Minister of Works, jointly oversee the project. Dao'an widely unfolded skillful means and broadly bestowed loving-kindness; people came like devoted children to work, no task was left delayed, expenses were reduced, and results were doubled. The emperor was greatly pleased and frequently invited him to receive awards and gifts, day and night alike. Having received the imperial favor, Dao'an spoke of repaying the debt of gratitude; he thereupon returned to Guangzhou to ordain people and establish a monastery. Thereupon, like Jetavana's park, monastic quarters rose majestically, and the monks like Kauṇḍinya became treasures among humans. With this task accomplished, what regret could there be? Having parted from the river and sea for twenty-four years, he constantly longed for the place where he had attained the Path, yet was pressed by the dripping of the clepsydra indicating his time. He then left the capital and returned to his original place. Preparing to declare his final testament, he carefully selected among his disciples; the monks Xingchao and Xuanyan were called his top disciples. Capable of receiving the jewel from the topknot, he imparted to them the golden words from his mouth, and lying on his right side, he demonstrated the illusory nature of life. On the tenth day of the eighth month in the fifth year of the Kaiyuan era (the year ding-si), he passed into extinction at the Longxing bodhimaṇḍa in Kuaiji. His age at the time was sixty-four. When the sea dries up, where can one turn? When the mountain crumbles, to whom can one look up? Devas and humans were moved to sorrow, and monastics and laypeople wailed in grief; those who held the funeral ropes and wore mourning clothes numbered over ten thousand. His disciples—Huiwu of Longxing Temple, the temple abbot Yihai, the head rectifying karmadāna Daorong, Huaize of Dayu Temple, Daochao of Dashan Temple, Siyi of Qiming Temple, Huizhou of Yunming Temple, Huaiying of Hongyi Temple, Huaiyan of Xiangyan Temple, Daogang of Pingyuan Temple, Ziyu of Dayun Temple in Huzhou, and Huizuan of Xingguo Temple—each richly endowed with pure, jade-like integrity and refined through disciplined cultivation, felt deep gratitude for his guiding hand and embraced the benevolence that had smoothed their feathers. Desiring to spread his fragrant memory, they felt it imperative to engrave it on durable stone, and thereupon petitioned Yao Yi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to compose a stele inscription commemorating his virtue. Originally, Dao'an was an eminent disciple of Vinaya Master Wengang; once he was venerated by Emperor Xiaohuai, his teaching flourished greatly. Because the Ten Recitations Vinaya was mostly practiced in the region south of the Changjiang, and the monks of the southeast stubbornly adhered to it without knowing the Four-Part Vinaya, Dao'an petitioned the emperor for an imperial brush-written edict to enforce the Nanshan Vinaya School. That this school came to flourish between the Changjiang and Huai Rivers was entirely due to Dao'an's efforts.