宋高僧傳 23.58

23.58

今之錄也，藏則當乎炎暑，裸餧蚊虻；壽則試其浮圖，坐中圓寂。定蘭感天王而還眼，鴻休拒大盜以償冤。明飼獸而破慳，超然燈而燼指。加其舌根不壞，身溺不沈，入薪塔而自焚，露赤軀而受咋，以前諸德也。念業異熟，為所依趣。知身是幻，幻體何憑？悟質如漚，漚形暫起。幻從心造，假偽相尋。漚散水澄，浮沈互有。是故大聖幾生所計，小乘潤生盡期。貴息苦依，思除我倒。非謂視同糠粃，觀若塵炱。譬之寄習學於茅廬，附彎弧於土𣐟；為選登雲之路，為求出塞之功。然後賜宅一區，門羅八戟，方云貴土，始利封侯。以其乳哺之囊，轉得那羅之器，亦復如是。

In the present records: Cang exposed his naked body to feed mosquitoes and gadflies in the scorching summer; Shou tested his stūpa and passed away sitting in its midst; Dinglan moved the Heavenly King to restore his eyes; Hongxiu resisted great bandits to repay a debt of vengeance; Ming fed beasts to shatter stinginess; Chao lit a lamp to incinerate his fingers. In addition, there were those whose root of the tongue did not decay, whose bodies did not sink when drowning, who entered a wood stūpa to burn themselves, or who bared their naked bodies to be bitten—these were the earlier virtuous ones. They contemplated the maturation of karma as the foundation for their destination. Knowing the body to be an illusion, what could an illusory form rely upon? Realizing their constitution was like a bubble, the bubble-form arose only temporarily. Illusions are created from the mind, with falsities following one after another. When bubbles disperse, the water is clear; floating and sinking alternate with each other. Therefore, while the Great Sage planned over many lifetimes, the Hīnayāna ends with the exhaustion of the rebirths fostered by defilements. What is valued is quenching the basis of suffering and resolving to eliminate the delusion of the self. It is not that they simply regarded it as chaff or viewed it as soot and dust. It is like lodging one's study in a thatched hut or practicing archery against an earthen butt; it is to seek the path of ascending the clouds, to pursue the merit of crossing the border fortress. Only after being granted a mansion and having eight halberds lined up at the gate is one called an eminent noble, and does it become profitable to be enfeoffed as a marquis. Transforming the sack of infantile nursing into the vessel of Nārāyaṇa is likewise just like this.