宋高僧傳 23.6

23.6

釋正壽者，不知何許人也。風儀峻整，節概高強，肩錫曳囊，宗師皆謁。然以因緣相扣，附麗有歸，於南塔慥禪師門，決開疑網，密修資益。後壽杜默于隨部山寺，人皆不識。時譙王重福者——中宗次子也——，神龍初韋庶人譖云「與張易之兄弟構成重潤之罪。」遷均州刺史——密加防守，不聽視事。韋后臨朝，添兵士捍衛。及韋氏被誅，睿宗即位，轉集州刺史。未行，然忽忽不樂，而歸心於慥禪師，為其造生藏塔，舉高七十尺，極為宏壯。于時慥師疾已危篤，譙王使問師「後孰繼高躅？」慥曰：「貧道有正壽在。」王問諸僧：「誰為正壽？」或曰：「和尚有弟子在山光，迹韜晦。」王遣使召到，壽白慥師曰：「喜王為檀越，其塔已成，某欲為先試，得否？」慥曰：「善，為吾試。」是時壽攝衣合掌入塔，斂容瞑目，結加趺坐，便即滅度，全身不散，時號為試塔和尚。譙王聞已，歎嗟終日曰：「弟子猶爾！」乃別議改圖，為慥禪師營構焉。

Shi Zhengshou was a man of unknown origins. His demeanor was imposing and orderly, and his moral integrity was lofty and unyielding. Carrying his tin staff on his shoulder and dragging his traveling sack, he visited all the ancestral masters. Because his karmic affinities aligned and he found a true place of reliance, he resolved his web of doubts under Chan Master Zao of the South Pagoda, secretly cultivating and gaining benefit. Later, Shou lived in quiet seclusion at a mountain temple in Sui Prefecture, unknown to all. At that time, Prince Chongfu of Qiao—the second son of Emperor Zhongzong—was slandered at the beginning of the Shenlong era by the Deposed Empress Wei, who claimed that "he colluded with the brothers Zhang Yizhi and [Zhang Yizhi's brother] to frame Chongrun." He was demoted to Prefect of Junzhou, where he was closely guarded and not permitted to attend to official business. When Empress Wei took over the court, she added soldiers to guard him. When the Wei clan was executed and Emperor Ruizong ascended the throne, he was transferred to become Prefect of Jizhou. Before departing, feeling melancholy and joyless, he turned his heart toward Chan Master Zao and built a living-burial pagoda for him, seventy feet high and exceedingly magnificent. At that time, Master Zao was critically ill. The Prince of Qiao sent an emissary to ask the master, "Who will succeed your lofty footsteps hereafter?" Zao said, "I have Zhengshou." The prince asked the monks, "Who is Zhengshou?" Someone said, "The venerable master has a disciple at Shanguang who conceals his traces." The prince sent an emissary to summon him. Upon arrival, Shou addressed Master Zao, saying, "I rejoice that the prince has acted as dānapati and that the pagoda is completed. I wish to test it first for you; may I?" Zao said, "Very well, test it for me." At that moment, Shou gathered his robes, joined his palms, entered the pagoda, composed his expression, closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and immediately entered extinction. His whole body did not decay. At the time, he was called the 'Pagoda-Testing Venerable'. Hearing of this, the Prince of Qiao sighed all day, saying, "Even the disciple is like this!" Thereupon he made alternative plans and constructed another pagoda for Chan Master Zao.