宋高僧傳 21.4

21.4

釋神英，罔知姓氏，滄州人也。宿緣悟道，丱歲從師，諷誦精勤，日夜匪懈。年當應法受具，後乃仗錫萍遊，尋訪知識。早通玄話，兼擅論經，相次參神會禪師，謂英曰：「汝於五臺山有緣，速宜往彼瞻禮文殊，兼訪遺跡。」既承指授，以開元四年六月中旬到山瞻禮，於僧厨止泊。一日，食畢遊於西林，忽見一院題曰「法華」，英遂入中，見多寶塔一座，暐曄繁華，如《法華經》說同也。其四門玉石功德，細妙光彩，神工罕測。後面有「護國仁王樓」，上有玉石文殊、普賢之像。前有三門一十三間，內門兩畔，有行宮道場，是文殊、普賢儀仗。三門外狀臺山十寺，杳然物外，觀瞻浩蕩，神情恍𢠵。英試出院，又見眾僧且非恒所見者，而多詭異。疑豫未決，遂出門東行，可三十步，忽聞閉戶鏗然，迴目視之，了無一物。英乃悲泣曰：「此大聖警悟我邪！於此地必有緣矣。」遂於髣髴多寶塔處結庵而止。乃發願曰：「我依化院建置一所住持。」日居月諸，信施如林，歸依者眾。遂召工匠，有高價者，誓不酬之。乃於易州千里取乎玉石，用造功德，細妙光瑩，功侔所見。其壁乃王府友吳道子之跡，六法絕妙，為世所尚。此院前後工畢，因號法華耳。英說法住持，其齊整若剪裁焉。後無疾，召門人囑付而終，春秋七十五。今墳塔存矣。

The śramaṇa Shenying, whose surname is unknown, was a native of Cangzhou. Having awakened to the Way through past affinities, he followed a master from his childhood, reciting scriptures with diligence, unflagging day and night. When he reached the appropriate age according to the Dharma, he received the full precepts, and afterwards he traveled freely with his staff, seeking out spiritual friends. Early on he grasped mystical discourse and was also skilled at expounding the sūtras. Next, he visited Chan Master Shenhui, who told Ying: 'You have karmic affinity with Mount Wutai; you should quickly go there to pay homage to Mañjuśrī and visit the holy sites.' Having received this instruction, he arrived at the mountain to pay homage in the middle of the sixth month of the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era, staying in the monastic kitchen. One day, after finishing his meal, he was walking in the western woods when suddenly he saw a cloister inscribed with 'Fahua' (Lotus). Ying entered it and saw a Prabhutaratna Stupa, resplendent and magnificent, exactly as described in the Lotus Sūtra. The jade-stone carvings at its four gates were exquisitely subtle and brilliant, an accomplishment rare for mortal craft. In the back was the 'Humane Kings Protecting the State Tower,' upon which were jade-stone statues of Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. In the front were three gates with thirteen bays; on both sides within the inner gates were traveling palace sanctuaries featuring the retinues of Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. Outside the three gates were depictions of the ten temples of Mount Tai, secluded far beyond worldly things; the view was vast and boundless, leaving his spirit entranced. When Ying tried to step outside the cloister, he saw many monks who were not ordinary ones, but appeared wondrous and strange. In his hesitation and indecision, he walked east out of the gate for about thirty paces when suddenly he heard the clatter of a door closing; turning his gaze back to look, there was nothing at all. Ying then wept and said: 'Is this the Great Sage warning and awakening me? I must have a karmic bond with this place!' He then built a hut and settled where the Prabhutaratna Stupa had appeared. He made a vow: 'I shall build a residence here based on this manifestation cloister and serve as its abbot.' As the days and months passed, faithful offerings gathered like a forest, and many came to take refuge. He then summoned craftsmen; if any asked for an exorbitant price, he vowed not to pay them. He then traveled a thousand li to Yizhou to obtain jade-stone, using it to craft sculptures that were exquisitely fine and luminous, rivaling what he had seen in his vision. The murals were the work of Wu Daozi, Friend to the Prince's Estate; his six methods of painting were superb, celebrated by the world. When this cloister was completed from front to back, it was consequently named Fahua. As Ying preached the Dharma and presided over the cloister, his order was as neat as if cut with shears. Later, without illness, he summoned his disciples, gave his instructions, and passed away at the age of seventy-five. His stupa tomb still stands today.