宋高僧傳 15.38

15.38

釋道標，富陽人也。俗姓秦氏，其遠祖與羸同姓，世為汧隴大族。及晉東渡衣冠隨之，後為杭人也。其高、曾至王父，皆沿以儒素，不甘為吏，故州里尊奉之。標生則孤明，長而深趣，老而堅固，蓋良善之因有自來矣。年七歲時，神清氣茂，不雜凡童。倏有大沙門手摩其頂曰：「此孺子目秀如青蓮，得非我釋氏之威鳳乎？苟能捨家，必有善稱。不然乘雲霓，薄天漢，吾不可得而知也。」父允其請，遂為靈隱山白雲峯海和尚弟子。妙高之上，唯日月是麗；娑竭之宮，固雲雷斯蓄。至德二年，詔「白衣通佛經七百紙者，命為比丘」。標首中其選，即日得度，蒙配天竺寺焉。永泰初受具品於靈光寺顗律師。登以護戒嚴謹，為時所推。毘奈多羅之言，罔不該貫。凡度人戒計六壇，為眾紏繩經一十二載。置田畝歲收萬斛，置無盡財，與眾共之。貞元中以寺務克豐，我宜宴息，乃擇高爽，得西嶺之下，葺茅為堂，不干人事，用養浩氣焉。標經行之外，尤練詩章，辭體古健，比之潘、劉。當時吳興有晝，會稽有靈澈，相與詶唱，遞作笙簧。故人諺云：「霅之晝，能清秀；越之澈，洞氷雪；杭之標，摩雲霄。」每飛章寓韻，竹夕華時，彼三上人當四面之敵。所以辭林樂府常采其聲詩。由是右庶子姑臧李公益書云：「重名之下果有斯文。西還京師，有以誇耀。」又景陵子陸羽云：「夫日月雲霞為天標，山川草木為地標，推能歸美為德標，居閑趣寂為道標。」名實兩全，品藻斯當。爾後聲價軼於公卿間，故與之深者有相國李公吉甫、大司空嚴公綬、右僕射韓公臯、禮部侍郎呂公渭、滑亳節制盧公群、襄陽節制孟公簡、同州刺史李公敷、鳳翔尹孫公璹、浙東廉使賈公全、中書舍人白公居易、隋州刺史劉公長卿、戶部侍郎丘公丹、外郎裴樞、祕閣嚴維、小諫朱放、越廉問薛戎、夕拜盧元輔、常州釋元浩、潤州釋南容、金華釋乾輔、吳門釋光嚴、上都釋智崇等，並心交塵外，分契林中。萬境在空，驅之為射御；五峯滿眼，立之為疆埸。文雄而再鼓不衰，神王而一戰自勝者也。以長慶三年示有微疾，六月七日歸滅于所居蘭若。至冬十月三日，葬于舊山，春秋八十有四，法臘五十八。弟子如玢、如𧦬、行儉、省言、常儉、智猷、日超等，皆得師之法，倣仰不遑。空圍遶於栴檀，恨滿盈於石室，至今杭民謂之西嶺和尚矣。開成五年中鄭素卿錄德行刊碑頌，立于天竺山之東墟存焉。

Shi Daobiao was a native of Fuyang. His secular surname was Qin; his distant ancestors shared the same ancestral name as the house of Ying and were for generations a prominent clan of the Qian and Long regions. When the Jin dynasty crossed to the east, the gentry followed, and they later became residents of Hangzhou. From his great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather down to his grandfather, they all maintained Confucian simplicity and were unwilling to serve as petty officials, for which reason the prefecture and villages revered them. From birth, Biao was solitary and bright; as he grew, he took deep interest [in the Dharma]; and in old age, he was firm and steadfast—truly his wholesome causes had a deep origin. When he was seven years of age, his spirit was clear and his vigor luxuriant, not mingling with ordinary boys. Suddenly, a great śramaṇa stroked his head and said, "This lad's eyes are as elegant as blue lotuses; could he not be an awe-inspiring phoenix of our Śākya lineage? If he can leave the household, he will surely attain a good name. If not, riding the clouds and mists and soaring close to the Heavenly River, I cannot fathom how high he might go." His father consented to the request, and Biao consequently became a disciple of Master Hai of Baiyun Peak on Mount Lingyin. Above Mount Meru, only the sun and moon shine forth; within the palace of Sāgara, clouds and thunder are gathered. In the second year of the Zhide era, an imperial decree declared: "Any commoner versed in seven hundred sheets of Buddhist scriptures shall be ordained as a monk." Biao was the first to pass the selection; he was ordained that very day and assigned to Tianzhu Temple. In the beginning of the Yongtai era, he received full upasampadā from Vinaya Master Yi at Lingguang Temple. He was soon esteemed by his contemporaries for his strict adherence to the precepts. He thoroughly mastered every word of the vinaya. In total, he presided over six platforms for conferring the precepts to deliver people, and for twelve years he maintained discipline among the assembly. He established fields yielding ten thousand bushels annually, set up an inexhaustible treasury, and shared it with the community. In the Zhenyuan era, considering that the temple affairs had prospered and that it was time for him to rest, he chose a high and breezy spot, obtained a plot below the West Ridge, and built a thatched hall to disengage from human affairs and nurture his vast spirit. Beyond walking meditation, Biao was particularly accomplished in poetic composition, his diction being archaic and robust, comparable to Pan Yue and Liu Kun. At that time, Wuxing had Jiaoran and Kuaiji had Lingche; they exchanged verses with one another, chiming harmoniously like reed pipes. Thus a popular saying of the time went: "Jiao of the Zha River is pure and elegant; Che of Yue is crystalline as ice and snow; Biao of Hangzhou reaches the soaring clouds." Whenever they wrote poetry and rhymed together on bamboo evenings or in seasons of flowers, those three venerable ones could hold their ground against opponents from all four quarters. For this reason, the Forest of Letters and the Music Bureau frequently collected his poems. Because of this, Li Gongyi, the Right Assistant of the Heir Apparent from Guzang, wrote to him: "Under such great fame there is indeed such writing. When I return west to the capital, I shall have something to boast of." Moreover, Lu Yu, the Master of Jingling, remarked: "The sun, moon, clouds, and mists are the marks of heaven; mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees are the marks of earth; putting forward capability and attributing excellence is the mark of virtue; dwelling in leisure and turning toward stillness is the mark of the Way (Daobiao)." Both his name and his reality were complete, and this appraisal was truly fitting. Thereafter, his renown surpassed that among the ministers and nobles. Hence, those who had deep friendships with him included Chancellor Li Jifu, Grand Minister of Works Yan Shou, Right Servant of the Crown Han Gao, Vice Minister of Rites Lü Wei, Military Commissioner of Hua and Bo Lu Qun, Military Commissioner of Xiangyang Meng Jian, Prefect of Tongzhou Li Fu, Mayor of Fengxiang Sun Shu, Surveillance Commissioner of Zhedong Jia Quan, Secretariat Drafter Bai Juyi, Prefect of Suizhou Liu Changqing, Vice Minister of Revenue Qiu Dan, Vice Director Pei Shu, Secretarial Official Yan Wei, Junior Admonisher Zhu Fang, Surveillance Commissioner of Yue Xue Rong, Grand Master of Remonstrance Lu Yuanfu, Shi Yuanhao of Changzhou, Shi Nanrong of Runzhou, Shi Qianfu of Jinhua, Shi Guangyan of Wumen, and Shi Zhichong of the Upper Capital; all of them were soulmates beyond the mundane dust and shared covenants in the monastic groves. Regarding the myriad phenomena as empty, he marshaled them as in archery and charioteering; with the five peaks filling his gaze, he established them as his battleground. His literary power was heroic, never flagging with a second drumbeat; his spirit was so vibrant that he triumphed in a single battle. In the third year of the Changqing era, he manifested slight illness, and on the seventh day of the sixth month, he passed into extinction at the hermitage where he resided. On the third day of the tenth month in the winter, he was buried in his old mountain, having lived eighty-four years with a dharma age of fifty-eight. His disciples Rubin, Rubian, Xingjian, Shengyan, Changjian, Zhiyou, Richao, and others, all attained their master's teachings and could not keep up in emulating and looking up to him. In vain they circled his sandalwood pyre, grief overflowing their stone chamber; to this day, the people of Hangzhou call him the Venerable Master of the West Ridge. In the fifth year of the Kaicheng era, Zheng Suqing recorded his virtuous deeds and engraved an inscription and eulogy, which stands on the eastern mound of Mount Tianzhu.