宋高僧傳 16.27

16.27

釋允文，字執經，姓朱氏，今秀州嘉禾人也。權輿九歲，厥父云亡，然理命捨文奉佛。師授《維摩》、《法華》二經，敏速之性，再稔皆通，高達之士謂之重理耳。或戲問文曰：「爾出家之後，擬營何事業乎？」率然對曰：「當陟蓮華臺而作師子吼。」或訶誚之曰：「耆宿前敢爾？」或曰：「志欲得大，此子將來未易測也。」至十六歲，削頂周羅，披安陀會。相次裹足西上，投嵩山臨壇大德遠和尚邊，獲無作法，時年二十三矣。是夏即就中京攻相部律宗并《中觀論》，補衣分衛，寒燠四周。既扣義門，必入師室，玄樞律範，尤見精微。大和五年，為思定省，忽歎歸歟。既返故鄉，淹時寢疾，未遑講唱。後聞錢塘天竺寺講《大涅槃經》，蔚為勝集，文往學焉。星歲未周，鋒芒且露。開成元年，因遊台嶠，止息越之嘉祥寺，眾藉清芬，甄命敷其經律。文戢約聽徒，頗為嚴毅，常訓之曰：「夫苾芻行非家法，具足別解脫，律儀眾同分，是其自性於其形色精進故、怖畏故、防守故。如是，方疾得道果矣！不然，則弟子既墮，師道徒施。」聞其警策，有涕泗交橫，悛心革行，思過半矣。會昌三年，移居靜林寺，專以《涅槃》宣導。屬乎武宗澄汰，例被搜揚。晝披縫掖之衣，夜著縵條之服，罔虧僧行，唯逭俗譏。大中伊始，復振空門，重整法儀，乃隷名開元寺三十人數。七年，寺之耆舊命講律乘。乾符三年丙申秋，罷講，覽藏經。以中和二年壬寅六月二十九日微疾作而長逝，享齡七十有八，法臘五十五。其年七月十二日葬于石奇山之陽。遺言不許封樹也。初文講演升座，學徒畏憚，喑嗚之際，人皆披靡，乃戒威德之若是。於嘉祥、靜林、今大善三寺，講相疏二十七座，大經二十五座。其為人也：貌古而脩長，銳頂而䵟黑，執持密緻，振鷺在庭，未足方其潔也。然亦獵涉儒、墨，慕白傅自作誌，預著《方墳銘》，藏于篋笥。門人懷益，因尋閱文籍，見而悲咽，遂從先師之志，建小塔焉。後門人懷肅、思寂命名德虛受增加後序。贊寧登會稽，曾禮文真相，見法孫可翔，苦節進修，叶杜多之行。故熟其事迹也。

Śramaṇa Yunwen, courtesy name Zhijing, was surnamed Zhu and was a native of Jiahe in present-day Xiuzhou. When he was nine years old, his father died, but on his deathbed he instructed that Yunwen be given over to serve the Buddha. His teacher instructed him in the two sūtras, the Vimalakīrti and the Lotus Sūtra. Being of a quick and agile nature, in only two years he had mastered both; men of exalted understanding called it profound discernment. Someone once teased Wen, asking, "After you leave household life, what undertaking do you intend to pursue?" He replied without hesitation, "I shall ascend the lotus throne and roar the lion's roar!" Some scolded him, saying, "How dare you speak thus before your elders?" Others said, "His aspirations are grand; this boy's future will not be easy to fathom." When he reached the age of sixteen, he shaved his crown and donned the antarvāsa. Soon after, he packed his bags and journeyed west, submitting himself to the altar-officiating bhadanta Preceptor Yuan at Mount Song, where he obtained the unmanifest dharma; he was then twenty-three years of age. That summer he went directly to the central capital to study the Xiangbu Vinaya school as well as the Madhyamaka-śāstra, mending his robes and begging for food through four cycles of winter and summer. Having knocked at the gate of doctrine, he necessarily entered the master's chamber; in the abstruse pivot of vinaya models, he proved exceptionally discerning of subtle refinements. In the fifth year of the Dahe reign era, thinking of paying his respects to his parents, he suddenly sighed and decided to return home. Having returned to his native land, he lay sick in bed for a long time and had no leisure to lecture or preach. Later, hearing that the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra was being lectured upon at Tianzhu Temple in Qiantang—a gathering that was flourishing and magnificent—Wen went there to study. Before a full year had passed, his sharp talents were already evident. In the first year of the Kaicheng reign era, on the occasion of traveling to the peaks of Tiantai, he stayed at Jiaxiang Temple in Yuezhou. Relying on his pristine reputation, the assembly selected and requested him to expound the sūtras and vinaya. Wen restrained and disciplined his audience of students with considerable strictness and sternness, frequently admonishing them: "Now, the bhikṣu's practice is not the dharma of householders. Possessing the prātimokṣa and the homogeneous class of monastic codes is his very nature—because of diligence, because of dread, and because of guarding against transgression regarding forms and colors. Only in this way may one swiftly attain the fruits of the Way! Otherwise, if the disciple falls, the teacher's guidance is expended in vain." Hearing his exhortations, some wept profusely, repenting their minds and reforming their conduct, more than half of their faults resolved in thought. In the third year of the Huichang reign era, he moved to Jinglin Temple, dedicating himself exclusively to preaching the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. When Emperor Wuzong's purge occurred, he was rounded up and inspected along with the rest. By day he wore the wide-sleeved robes of the scholars, and by night he donned the uncut garments of the monks, never remiss in monastic conduct, merely avoiding vulgar reproach. At the start of the Dazhong reign era, the Gateless School was revived, and monastic protocol was reorganized; he was enrolled among the thirty monks of Kaiyuan Temple. In the seventh year, the elders of the temple requested him to lecture on the Vinaya vehicle. In the autumn of the third year of the Qianfu reign era, a bingshen year, he ceased lecturing and read through the Tripiṭaka. On the twenty-ninth day of the sixth month of the second year of the Zhonghe reign era, a renyin year, he suffered a slight illness and passed away. He lived to the age of seventy-eight, with a dharma age of fifty-five. On the twelfth day of the seventh month of that year, he was buried on the south side of Mount Shiqi. His dying words forbade raising a mound or planting trees. Earlier, whenever Wen ascended the seat to lecture, the students held him in awe; when he cleared his throat or raised his voice, all were swept before him—such were the majesty and virtue of his precepts. At the three temples of Jiaxiang, Jinglin, and the present Dashan, he gave twenty-seven series of lectures on the commentaries and twenty-five series on the great sūtra. As for his character: his appearance was archaic and tall, with a peaked crown and dark skin; his observance was rigorous and meticulous, so that "white egrets flocking in the courtyard" could not match his purity. Yet he also dipped into Confucian and Mohist texts; admiring Bo Juyi's self-composed epitaph, he wrote his own "Square Tomb Inscription" in advance and stored it in a wicker hamper. His disciple Huaiyi, when browsing through the writings, found it and wept with grief; he then complied with his late master's wish and built a small stupa. Later, his disciples Huaisu and Siji commissioned the eminent and virtuous Xushou to add an afterword. When Zanning visited Kuaiji, he paid reverence to Wen's true portrait and saw his dharma grandson Kexiang, who was practicing austerity and progressing in cultivation, matching the dhūta practices. Thus, I am well acquainted with his deeds.