宋高僧傳 19.49

19.49

釋惠秀，俗姓李氏，今東京陳留人也。出離塵垢，慕尚逍遙。初以戒律飾躬，後以禪定為務。於荊郢之地，參問祖師既了，安然迴依洛邑天宮寺也。屬則天頻幸神都，而秀道聲聞于后聽，屢詔入禮重，其於懸記未然事，合同符契。長安中往資聖寺，唱道化人，翕然歸向。忽誡禪院弟子，令滅燈燭。有白秀曰：「長明燈可留？」亦令滅之。因說火災難測，不可不備，云甞有寺家，不備火燭佛殿被焚，又有一寺鐘樓遭爇，又有一寺經藏煨燼，殊可痛惜。時眾不喻其旨。至夜遺火，佛殿、鐘樓、經藏三所悉成灰炭。方知秀預知垂警。又玄宗在潞邸時，曾與諸王俱詣問法從容，留施一笛。玄宗出去，秀召弟子曰：「謹掌此笛，後有要時，當獻上也。」及受睿宗傳禪，弟子達磨等方悟其言，取笛以進。帝悅先知，迴賜豐厚。秀偶示微疾，告誡門人，奄然歸寂。享年一百歲。燕國公張說素所歸心，送瘞龍門山。道俗數千人奔會悲悼焉。

Shi Huixiu, whose secular surname was Li, was a native of present-day Dongjing's Chenliu. Leaving behind the defilements of the dust, he longed for carefree transcendence. At first he adorned himself with the vinaya rules, and later made dhyāna concentration his primary task. In the Jing and Ying regions, after visiting the ancestral masters and completing his studies, he peacefully returned to rely upon Tiangong Temple in Luoyi. During the time when Empress Zetian frequently visited the Divine Capital, Xiu’s reputation for the Way reached the Empress’s ears, and she repeatedly summoned him into the palace, treating him with great honor. His prophecies of matters that had not yet occurred matched their outcomes like tally and token. During the Chang'an era, he went to Zisheng Temple to guide and convert people, and the crowds gathered and turned to him in devotion. Suddenly, he cautioned the disciples of the dhyāna cloister, ordering them to extinguish the lamps and candles. Someone said to Xiu: “May the everlasting lamp be kept?” He ordered that it too be extinguished. He then said that fires were unpredictable and must be guarded against, saying that there was once a temple that failed to guard against fire and candles, so that its Buddha hall was burned down; another temple whose bell tower was consumed by fire; and yet another temple whose scripture canon was reduced to ashes, which was extremely lamentable. At the time, the assembly did not understand his meaning. That night, an accidental fire broke out, and all three places—the Buddha hall, the bell tower, and the scripture canon—were reduced to ashes and charcoal. Only then did they realize that Xiu had foreknown it and given warning. Also, when Xuanzong was still at his residence as Prince of Lu, he once went with the various princes to inquire about the Dharma at leisure and left a flute as an offering. When Xuanzong departed, Xiu called his disciples and said: “Guard this flute with care; later, when it is needed, you must present it.” When [Xuanzong] received the abdication of the throne from Ruizong, the disciple Damo and the others only then understood his words, and they took the flute to present it to him. The Emperor was pleased by his foreknowledge and rewarded him generously. Xiu later showed slight illness, gave admonitions to his disciples, and quietly entered stillness. He lived to the age of one hundred. Duke Zhang Yue of the State of Yan, who had long turned his heart toward him in devotion, escorted his remains to be interred on Mount Longmen. Several thousand clergy and laity hurried to assemble and mourn him.