宋高僧傳 18.16

18.16

釋僧伽者，葱嶺北何國人也。自言俗姓何氏，亦猶僧會本康居國人，便命為康僧會也。然合有胡、梵姓名，名既梵音，姓涉華語。詳其何國，在碎葉國東北，是碎葉附庸耳。伽在本土，少而出家。為僧之後，誓志遊方。始至西涼府，次歷江淮，當龍朔初年也。登即隷名於山陽龍興寺，自此始露神異。初將弟子慧儼同至臨淮，就信義坊居人乞地，下標誌之，言決於此處建立伽藍。遂穴土獲古碑，乃齊國香積寺也。得金像衣葉，刻「普照王佛」字，居人歎異云：「天眼先見，吾曹安得不捨乎？」其碑像由貞元、長慶中兩遭災火，因亡蹤矣。嘗臥賀跋氏家，身忽長其床榻各三尺許，莫不驚怪。次現十一面觀音形，其家舉族欣慶，倍加信重，遂捨宅焉。其香積寺基，即今寺是也。由此奇異之蹤，旋萌不止。中宗孝和帝景龍二年，遣使詔赴內道場，帝御法筵，言談造膝，占對休咎，契若合符。仍褒飾其寺曰普光王。四年庚戌，示疾，勅自內中往薦福寺安置。三月二日，儼然坐亡，神彩猶生，止瞑目耳。俗齡八十三，法臘罔知。在本國三十年，化唐土五十三載。帝慘悼黯然。于時穢氣充塞，而形體宛如，多現靈迹。勅有司給絹三百疋，俾歸葬淮上，令群官祖送，士庶填𨶮。五月五日，抵于今所。帝以仰慕不忘，因問萬迴師曰：「彼僧伽者何人也？」對曰：「觀音菩薩化身也。經可不云乎？應以比丘身得度者，故現之沙門相也。」初伽化行江表，止嘉禾靈光寺。彼澤國也，民家漁梁、矰弋交午。伽苦敦喻：其諸殺業陷墮於人，宜疾別圖生計。時有裂網折竿者多矣。伽閑而宴息，見神告曰：「天方亢陽，百姓苗死身胡藏？其懶龍耶！」伽曰：「為之奈何？」神曰：「若今夕但小指出窓隙外，其如人何？」伽依之，其夜霆擊異常，質明視指，微有紅線脈焉。伽曰：「吾與此壤無緣。」乃行抵晉陵，見國祥寺荒廢，乃留衣於殿梁而去，後人聞異香芬馥。伽嘗記之曰：「伊寺有『人王』重興。」去三十年後，果有僧俗姓全，為檀那矣。通天萬歲中於山陽眾中懸知嫌鄙伽者，乃昌言曰：「吾有五十萬錢奉助功德，勿生橫議。」伽於淮岸招呼一船曰：「汝有財施吾，可寬刑獄。汝所載者，剽略得耳。」盜依言盡捨，佛殿由是立成。無幾，盜敗，拘於揚子縣獄。伽乘雲下，慰喻言：無苦。不日，果赦文至，免死矣。昔在長安，駙馬都尉武攸暨有疾，伽以澡罐水噀之而愈，聲振天邑。後有疾者告之，或以柳枝拂者，或令洗石師子而瘳，或擲水缾，或令謝過。驗非虛設，功不唐捐。却彼身災，則求馬也；警其風厄，則索扇歟。或認盜夫之錢，或咋黑繩之頸，或尋羅漢之井，或悟裴氏之溺，或預知大雪，或救旱飛雨。神變無方，測非恒度。中宗勅恩度弟子三人——慧岸、慧儼、木叉——各賜衣盂，令嗣香火。洎乎已滅，多歷年所，甞現形往漢南市漆器。及商人李善信船至寺，覓買齋器僧。忽見塔中形像，凝然而指曰：「正唯此僧來求買矣！」遠近嗟歎。又甞於洪井化易材木，結筏而至焉。大曆中，州將勒寺知十驛，俾出財供乘傳者。至十五年七月甲夜，現形于內殿，乞免郵亭之役。代宗勅中官馬奉誠宣放，仍齎捨絹三百疋、雜綵千段、金澡罐、皇太子衣一襲，令寫貌入內供養。又乾元中，州牧李（亡名），有推步者云：「為土宿加臨，災當惡弱。」伽忽現形，撫李背曰：「吾來福至，汗出災銷。」後無他咎。甞於燕師求氈罽，稱是泗州寺僧。燕使齎所求物到，認塔中形，信矣！遂圖貌而歸。自燕、薊展轉傳寫，無不遍焉。長慶元年夜半，於州牧蘇公寢室前歌曰：「淮南、淮北，自此福焉。自東自西，無不熟矣。」其年獨臨淮境內有年耳。二年寺塔皆焚，唯伽遺形儼若無損。咸通中，龐勛者——本徐州戍卒——，擅離桂管，沿路劫掠而攻泗州，圍逼其城。伽於塔頂現形，外寇皆睡，城中偶出擊之，驚竄而陷宿州。以事奏聞，仍錫號證聖大師也。文德元年，外寇侵軼，州將嬰城拒敵。伽現形於城西北隅。寇見，知堅壘難下，駭而宵遁。大順中彭門帥時溥令張諫攻于北城，除勦戮外，有五百餘人拘鞠場中，諫凭桉恍惚間見僧衣紫，誨之曰：「此輩平人，何可殺耶？不如捨之。」言畢不見。諫遂縱之而逸。乾寧元年，太守臺蒙夢伽云：「寒東南少備。」蒙不喻旨，以綿衾法服施之。十二月晦夜半，有兵士踰壘而入，蒙初不知。復夢一僧以錫杖置于心上，冷徹心骨，驚起。蒙令動鼓角，賊驚奔，獲首領姓韓，至是方曉矣。由此多於塔頂現小僧狀，傾州瞻望。然有吉凶表兆，于時乞風者分風，求子者得子。今聞有躬禮者，往往有全不見伽形相者。或見笑容者吉，不然則凶，其不可爰度者如此。洎乎周世宗有事于江南，先攻取泗上，伽寄夢於州民，言不宜輕敵。如是達于州牧，皆未之信。自爾家家夢同，告之，遂降，全一郡生民，賴伽之庇矣。天下凡造精廬，必立伽真相，牓曰大聖僧伽和尚。有所乞願，多遂人心。李北海邕、胡著作浩各為碑頌德。今上御宇也，留心于此，其年三月有尼遊五臺山迴，因見伽於塔頂，作孾孩相，遂登剎柱，捨身命供養。太平興國七年，勅高品白承睿重蓋其塔，務從高敞，加其累層。八年，遣使別送舍利寶貨，同葬于下基焉。其日有僧懷德預搆柴樓，自持蠟炬，焚身供養。災燎之中，經聲不絕。又將欲建浮圖，有巨木三根，沿淮而下，至近浮橋且止，收為塔心柱焉。續勅殿頭高品李庭訓主之。先是此寺因竁中金像刻其佛曰「普照王」，乃以為寺額。後避天后御名，以「光」字代之。近宣索《僧伽實錄》，上覽已，勅還其題額曰普照王寺矣。弟子木叉者，以西域言為名，華言解脫也。自幼從伽為剃䰂弟子，然則多顯靈異。中和四年，刺史劉讓，厥父中丞忽夜夢一紫衣僧云：「吾有弟子木叉葬寺之西，為日久矣！君能出之？」仍示其葬所。初夢都不介意，再夢如初，中丞得夢中所示之處，欲施斸之，見有一姓占居，於是饒錢市焉。開穴可三尺許，乃獲坐函，遂啟之，於骨上有舍利放光。命焚之，收舍利八百餘顆，表進上僖宗皇帝，勅以其焚之灰塑像，仍賜諡曰真相大師。于今侍立于左，若配饗焉。弟子慧儼，未詳氏姓、生所，恒隨師僧伽，執侍缾錫，從楚州發至淮陰，同勸東海裴司馬——妻悋白金沙羅而墮水。抵盱眙，開羅漢井、宿賀跋玄濟家，儼侍十一面觀音菩薩旁。自爾詔僧伽上京師。中宗別勅度儼并慧岸、木叉三人，各別賜衣鉢焉。

Śramaṇa Sengqie was a native of the He kingdom north of the Congling Mountains. He said of himself that his secular surname was He, just as Senghui, originally from the state of Kangju, was named Kang Senghui. He must have had both a Hu and a Sanskrit name; his given name was Sanskrit in sound, while his surname approached Chinese. Examining the He kingdom, it lay to the northeast of Suyāb and was a dependency of Suyāb. In his homeland, Sengqie went forth from the household life in his youth. After becoming a monk, he vowed to wander far and wide. He first arrived in Xiliang Prefecture, and next passed through the Jiang and Huai regions, during the early years of Longshuo. Thereupon he registered his name at Longxing Temple in Shanyang, and from this time his divine marvels first began to appear. Initially, accompanied by his disciple Huiyan, he arrived at Linhuai, sought land from the residents of Xinyi Ward, set down markers, and declared that he was resolved to build a monastery there. They dug into the ground and unearthed an ancient stele, which showed it to have been Xiangji Temple of the Qi dynasty. They obtained a leaf from the robe of a gold statue inscribed with the characters 'Puzhao Wang Fo' (Buddha King of Universal Illumination). The residents marvelled and exclaimed, 'He foresaw this with his divine eye; how could we fail to give it up?' During the Zhenyuan and Changqing eras, the stele and statue twice met with destructive fires and were lost without a trace. Once, while lying down in the home of the Heba family, his body suddenly grew longer than the couch by about three feet each way, so that everyone was astonished. Next, he manifested the form of Eleven-Faced Avalokiteśvara; the entire family rejoiced, redoubled their faith and reverence, and donated their residence. The foundation of Xiangji Temple was the present-day temple. From this, miraculous traces sprang up continuously. In the second year of Jinglong under Emperor Zhongzong (Xiaohuadi), an envoy was dispatched to summon him to the inner palace bodhimanda. The Emperor presided at the Dharma banquet, conversing closely with him knee to knee, and his divinations of fortune and misfortune matched like two halves of a tally. He also bestowed the honorary name Puguangwang on his temple. In the fourth year, gengxu, he manifested illness, and an imperial decree directed him from within the palace to Jianfu Temple to recuperate. On the second day of the third month, he passed away sitting upright, his spiritual countenance still as if alive, merely closing his eyes. His secular age was eighty-three; his dharma age is unknown. He spent thirty years in his native land, and transformed the Tang land for fifty-three years. The Emperor was plunged into deep grief. At that time, a foul odor filled the air, yet his body remained intact, displaying many miraculous signs. An imperial decree ordered the authorities to supply three hundred bolts of silk for his return and burial beside the Huai, and commanded the officials to see him off, with soldiers and commoners crowding the roads. On the fifth day of the fifth month, he arrived at his present resting place. Longing for him and unable to forget, the Emperor asked Master Wanhui, 'Who was that Sengqie?' Wanhui replied, 'He was an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Does the sūtra not say: "To those who should be saved by the body of a bhikṣu, he appears in the form of a śramaṇa"?' Earlier, when Sengqie's teaching was active south of the river, he stayed at Lingguang Temple in Jiahe. That was a marshland, where the people's fish-weirs, bird-arrows, and cords crisscrossed. Sengqie earnestly admonished them: 'These various killing deeds plunge people into ruin; you should quickly devise other means of livelihood.' At that time, many people tore their nets and broke their rods. Once, while Sengqie was resting in leisure, a spirit appeared and informed him, 'The sky is parched and hot; the sprouts of the common people are withering; why does your body hide away? Are you a lazy dragon?' Sengqie asked, 'What can be done about it?' The spirit said, 'If you merely stick your little finger outside through the window gap this evening, what will the people lack?' Sengqie complied. That night, there was an extraordinary clap of thunder; at daybreak, looking at his finger, a faint red thread-like vein was visible on it. Sengqie said, 'I have no affinity with this land.' He then went on to Jinling. Seeing Guoxiang Temple in ruins, he left his robe on a hall beam and departed; later, people smelled a wonderful fragrance. Sengqie once prophesied of it, 'This temple will be restored by a "King of Men" (Renwang).' Thirty years later, there was indeed a monk whose secular surname was Quan (composed of 'ren' and 'wang') who became its dānapati. During the Tongtian and Wansui eras, while among the assembly in Shanyang, knowing beforehand that some held him in contempt, he declared loudly, 'I have five hundred thousand cash to support the merit; do not raise improper objections.' On the bank of the Huai, Sengqie hailed a boat and said, 'If you offer your wealth to me, your punishment in prison can be mitigated. What you are carrying was merely gained by plunder.' The bandits complied with his words and gave up everything, and because of this the Buddha hall was quickly completed. Soon after, the bandits were defeated and detained in the prison of Yangzi County. Sengqie descended on a cloud and consoled them, saying, 'Do not worry.' Within days, an imperial pardon indeed arrived, and they were spared from death. Formerly, when he was in Chang'an, the Commandant of the Escort Wu Youji fell ill; Sengqie sprayed water from his water-pot onto him and he was cured, and his fame resounded throughout the imperial capital. Later, when sick people reported to him, he would sometimes brush them with a willow branch, sometimes have them wash a stone lion to be healed, sometimes hurl a water jar, or sometimes tell them to confess their faults. The verifications were not in vain, and the benefit was never lost. Averting bodily calamity for someone, he asked for a horse; warning against a wind disaster, he sought a fan. Sometimes he identified a thief's money, bit the neck of a black rope, sought out the arhat's well, awakened Madame Pei from drowning, predicted a great snowstorm, or saved against drought with falling rain. His divine transformations were boundless, unfathomable by ordinary measures. Emperor Zhongzong bestowed imperial favor by ordaining three of his disciples—Huian, Huiyan, and Mocha—granting each of them robes and bowls, and commanding them to carry on his incense and fire. Long after he had passed away, over many years, he once manifested his form and went south of the Han to buy lacquerware. When the merchant Li Shanxin's boat arrived at the temple looking for the monk who had bought the fasting vessels, he suddenly saw the image in the pagoda, paused motionless, pointed to it, and said, 'It was precisely this monk who came to buy them!' People far and wide sighed in admiration. He also once took material wood by transformation at Hongjing, bound it into rafts, and arrived with it. During the Dali era, the regional military commissioner compelled the temple to take charge of ten relay stations and ordered it to provide funds for those riding post-horses. In the fifteenth year, during the first watch of the night in the seventh month, he manifested his form in the inner palace, begging to be exempted from the relay-post service. Emperor Daizong ordered the palace eunuch Ma Fengcheng to proclaim the exemption, and additionally bestowed three hundred bolts of silk, a thousand lengths of mixed-colored fabrics, a golden water-pot, and a set of robes belonging to the Crown Prince, ordering his portrait to be painted and brought into the palace for worship. Again, during the Qianyuan era, when Li [whose given name is lost] was the prefect, an astrologer said, 'Because Saturn is pressing upon you, a calamity of evil and debility will strike.' Sengqie suddenly manifested his form, patted Li's back, and said, 'I have come, so good fortune arrives; sweat will pour out and the calamity will dissolve.' Afterward, there was no harm. Once, he sought felt rugs from the army of Yan, claiming to be a monk of the temple in Sizhou. When the Yan envoy arrived bearing the requested items, he recognized the image in the pagoda and believed! Thereupon he made a portrait of his likeness and returned. From Yan and Ji it was copied and transmitted everywhere, leaving nowhere untouched. In the middle of the night in the first year of Changqing, he sang in front of the bedroom of the prefect Lord Su: 'Huainan and Huaibei, from this point forward, will have good fortune. From east to west, all crops will ripen.' That year, only the region of Linhuai enjoyed an abundant harvest. In the second year, the temple and pagoda were all burned down, yet Sengqie's bodily remains stood dignified without harm. During the Xiantong era, Pang Xun—originally a garrison soldier from Xuzhou—left Guiguan without authorization, plundered along the route, attacked Sizhou, and besieged its city. Sengqie manifested his form on top of the pagoda, and the foreign bandits all fell asleep; the troops inside the city happened to venture out to strike them, and they fled in terror to capture Su Prefecture. When the matter was reported to the throne, he was bestowed the title Grand Master Zhengsheng (Attaining Sageliness). In the first year of Wende, when foreign bandits invaded, the prefectural commander barricaded the city to resist the enemy. Sengqie manifested his form at the northwest corner of the city. Seeing it, the bandits knew the stronghold was difficult to conquer, and fled in panic by night. During the Dashun era, the commander of Pengmen, Shi Pu, ordered Zhang Jian to attack the northern city; apart from those slain, more than five hundred people were detained in the polo grounds. As Jian leaned on his desk in a daze, he saw a monk dressed in purple, who instructed him, 'These people are ordinary folk; how can they be killed? It is better to release them.' Having finished speaking, he disappeared. Jian thereupon let them go, and they escaped. In the first year of Qianning, the governor Tai Meng dreamt of Sengqie, who said, 'The southeast in winter has little preparation.' Meng did not understand the meaning, and offered him a cotton quilt and Dharma robes. At midnight on the last day of the twelfth month, soldiers scaled the ramparts and entered, of which Meng was initially unaware. He again dreamt of a monk placing a tin staff upon his heart; it chilled him to the bone, and he leaped up in alarm. Meng ordered the drums and horns to sound; the bandits fled in panic, and their leader, surnamed Han, was captured. Only then did he understand. Because of this, he often manifested the appearance of a young monk on top of the pagoda, and the whole prefecture gazed upon him. Whenever there were signs of good or ill fortune: at that time, those who prayed for wind received wind, and those who sought sons obtained sons. Nowadays, it is heard that among those who pay homage in person, some do not see Sengqie's form at all. If one sees a smiling face, it is auspicious; otherwise, it is inauspicious. Such was his unfathomability. When Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou conducted military operations in Jiangnan, he first attacked and took Sizhou. Sengqie sent a dream to the people of the prefecture, saying that they should not underestimate the enemy. When this was reported to the prefect, he did not believe it. Thereafter, every family had the same dream, and when they reported it to him, he surrendered, so that the lives of the entire commandery were preserved, relying on Sengqie's protection. Whenever monasteries were built under heaven, Sengqie's true image had to be erected, inscribed 'Great Sage Sengqie Heshang' (Venerable Master Sengqie). Whenever people made prayers, their wishes were mostly fulfilled. Li Yong of Beihai and Gentleman of the Editorial Service Hu Hao each composed steles praising his virtue. When the present Emperor ascended the throne, he turned his mind to this matter. In the third month of that year, a nun who had returned from touring Mount Wutai saw Sengqie on top of the pagoda in the form of an infant, whereupon she climbed the spire pole and sacrificed her life as an offering. In the seventh year of Taiping Xingguo, an imperial decree ordered the palace dignitary Bai Chengrui to rebuild his pagoda, making it lofty and spacious, and adding multiple storeys. In the eighth year, an envoy was dispatched to bring separate śarīras and precious treasures to be interred together beneath the foundation. On that day, the monk Huaide, having prepared a wooden tower in advance, held a wax torch himself and burned his body as an offering. Amid the blaze, the sound of sūtra recitation never ceased. Furthermore, when they were about to erect the pagoda, three huge logs floated down along the Huai, stopping as they drew near the pontoon bridge, and were collected to serve as the pagoda's central pillar. Subsequently, the palace attendant Li Tingxun was decreed to oversee the work. Formerly, because the gold statue in the crypt was inscribed 'Buddha King of Universal Illumination' (Puzhao Wang), this had been used as the temple plaque. Later, to avoid the taboo of the Empress Wu's personal name [Zhao], it was replaced with the character 'Guang'. Recently, the Veritable Records of Sengqie was requisitioned by imperial decree; after the Emperor examined it, he decreed that the plaque be restored to Puzhao Wang Temple. His disciple Mocha bore a name derived from the Western regions, which means 'liberation' (vimokṣa) in Chinese. From his youth, he followed Sengqie as his tonsured disciple, and manifested many divine marvels. In the fourth year of Zhonghe, the father of the regional inspector Liu Rang, who was an assistant censor, suddenly dreamed at night of a monk in purple who said, 'My disciple Mocha has been buried to the west of the temple for a long time! Can you unearth him?' He also indicated the burial place. At the first dream, he paid no attention; when the dream occurred a second time just as before, the assistant censor found the place shown in the dream and wished to dig it up. Seeing that a certain family occupied and resided on it, he purchased it with ample money. Digging a pit of about three feet, they found a sitting-coffin, and when they opened it, there were śarīras emitting light above the bones. He ordered it to be cremated, and gathered more than eight hundred śarīras, presenting a memorial to submit them to Emperor Xizong. The Emperor decreed that the ashes from the cremation be shaped into a statue, and conferred the posthumous title Grand Master Zhenxiang (True Image). To this day, he stands in attendance on the left, as if sharing in the offerings. As for his disciple Huiyan, his surname and birthplace are unknown; he constantly followed his master Sengqie, serving him with the water jar and tin staff. Setting out from Chuzhou and arriving at Huaiyin, they jointly exhorted Vice Prefect Pei of Donghai—whose wife was stingy with a silver dish, which fell into the water. Reaching Xuyi, they opened the Arhat's Well and stayed at the home of Heba Xuanji, where Huiyan attended at the side of the Eleven-Faced Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. From that point on, Sengqie was summoned to the capital. Emperor Zhongzong issued a separate decree ordaining Huiyan, along with Huian and Mocha, and separately bestowed robes and bowls upon each of the three.