宋高僧傳 15.6

15.6

釋齊翰，字等至，吳興沈氏之子。高祖陳國子祭酒，曾祖隋魏州司馬，祖、考三世不仕。翰綺歲從父至山寺，蹈高靜無塵之躅，惻然有宿命之知，固請捨家。至天寶八載八月五日奉制度，配名永定寺。九載十月，躋五分壇納形俱戒，移名開元。大曆中轉隷武丘，皆兩州道俗所請從命也。翰道性淵默，外則淡然。迹不近名，身不關事，長在一室，寂如無人，豈比夫駢行鼓簧之士哉？顓門相部義疏，精敏罕儔。明《法華經》，主蘇湖戒壇，每當請首，則今時所謂「壇長」也。大曆十年入流水念佛道場，是夜西方念中頓現，蓋純誠之所致也。即以其年終於本院，春秋六十八，法臘二十六。翰遇疾之日，謂門弟子曰：「有鶴從空飛下，迴翔我前，爾曹見乎？必謝之期，小聖猶病，安能免哉？」受業門人如隱、戒壇宣兌等。與吳興皎然結法門昆弟之交，俱高潔，難可輕慕焉。

Shi Qihan, courtesy name Dengzhi, was a son of the Shen family of Wuxing. His great-great-grandfather was the Chancellor of the National University under the Chen dynasty; his great-grandfather was an administrative aide of Weizhou under the Sui; his grandfather and father did not serve in office for two generations. When Qihan was a child, he accompanied his father to a mountain temple; treading upon elevated and pure traces untainted by dust, he had an intuitive recollection of past lives, and firmly requested to renounce household life. On the fifth day of the eighth month in the eighth year of Tianbao, in accordance with the imperial decree for ordination, his name was registered at Yongding Temple. In the tenth month of the ninth year, he ascended the five-part ordination platform to take the full precepts for both form and conduct, and his registration was moved to Kaiyuan Temple. During the Dali era, he was transferred to Huqiu Temple, both moves being made at the request of the monastics and laity of the two prefectures, whose wishes he obeyed. Qihan's nature for the Way was profound and silent, and outwardly he was serene. His steps did not approach fame, his person was not involved in worldly affairs, and he remained constantly in a single room, as quiet as if no one were there; how could he be compared to those worldly gentlemen who flock in droves playing bamboo reeds? He specialized in the commentaries and sub-commentaries of the Xiangbu [tradition], possessing sharp intelligence that was rarely matched. He was illumined in the *Lotus Sūtra* and presided over the ordination platforms in Suzhou and Huzhou; whenever requested to be the leader, he served as what is now called the 'platform master'. In the tenth year of the Dali era, he entered the Liushui Nianfo sanctuary; that night, the Western Paradise manifested suddenly in his mindfulness, which was truly brought about by his pure sincerity. In that same year, he passed away in his own cloister, at the age of sixty-eight, with a dharma age of twenty-six. On the day Qihan fell ill, he said to his disciples: 'There is a crane flying down from the sky, circling before me; do you see it? At the destined time of demise, even lesser sages fall ill; how could I avoid it?' Among his disciples who received instruction were Ruyin, and Xuandui of the ordination platform. He forged a spiritual fraternity with Jiaoran of Wuxing; both were lofty and pure, and difficult to emulate casually.