宋高僧傳 25.60

25.60

「《梁傳》目此為〈經師〉，宣師不沿而革，號為〈讀誦〉。今采諸師從唐至宋，取其多善，宗歸乎高。則有感神宿廟，度苦因經；法智往生，感金光之照野；明慧行道，占虹氣之貫天；或受請居羅漢之前，或持明救城陽之疾；得御詩之餞送，見勢至之來迎；使者攝而不能，妖狐媚而自變；猗歟元皎，致李樹之叢生；焯爾楚金，感帝王之入夢；圓光在頂，三昧現前；遇誦《華嚴》，放金光於口角；後遊地獄，乘寶座於西方；三刀斷勢，傷於竹筒；千福經聲，入於帝耳；燈返不飡於薏苡，康聲無斷於連珠；或添齡於三十許年，或差蠱於數十莖髮，或經音遍於燕壘，或本足在於鐘離，或樂象龜茲，或口開菡萏，或鬼神避呪，或陸地生蓮，或夢華胥而悉解梵音，或坐佛座而便歸圓寂。如斯上德，若此法師，殖璧隨方，貫華有次。身為金鼓，擊之成懺悔之音；口若玉簫，吹之出神仙之曲。因依相授，徙倚獨宣，可謂皮裹《法華》，足行經藏。俾法音之不斷，善付三乘；皆成佛之無餘，還宣八辯者也。《詩》曰：『伐柯伐柯，其則不遠。』望吾曹無忘取則於此焉。」

"The Liang Biographies titled this [section] 'Scripture Masters,' while Master Xuan did not follow it but changed it, calling it 'Intoning and Reciting.' Now gathering the various masters from the Tang to the Song, selecting their abundant goodness, the principle returns to what is lofty. Thus there were those who moved spirits while lodging at shrines, saving them from suffering by means of scriptures; Fazhi passing away, evoking golden light that illuminated the wilds; Minghui walking the Way, divining the rainbow vapor piercing the sky; some received invitations to sit before arhats; some held vidyās to cure the illness of Chengyang; some received imperial poems in farewell; some saw Mahāsthāmaprāpta coming to welcome them; emissaries attempting to seize them could not do so; seductive spirit foxes transformed themselves; glorious was Yuangjiao, causing plum trees to grow in clusters; brilliant was Chujin, evoking emperors and kings into his dreams; round nimbi appeared atop heads; samādhi manifested before them; upon reciting the Avataṃsaka, golden light shone from the corners of their mouths; later wandering through hells, they rode jeweled seats to the West; three knives cutting off manhood injured a bamboo tube; the sound of the Qianfu sūtra entered the Emperor's ears; Dengfan refrained from eating Job's tears; Kang's voice was unbroken like connected pearls; some extended their lifespans by some thirty years; some cured gu poisoning with several dozen strands of hair; some had scripture sounds pervading swallow nests; some had their original feet at Zhongli; some had music resembling Qiuci; some opened lotus blooms from their mouths; some made ghosts and spirits flee mantras; some made lotuses grow on dry land; some dreamed of Huaxu and fully understood Sanskrit sounds; or some sat on the Buddha's seat and directly entered complete extinction. Such superior virtue, such Dharma masters: like planting jade disks according to the directions, or stringing flowers in neat order. Their bodies were golden drums, struck to produce the sound of repentance; their mouths were jade flutes, blown to emit the songs of immortals. Following and transmitting to one another, pacing and proclaiming alone, they could be called having skins wrapped in the Lotus Sūtra and feet walking the Tripiṭaka. Causing the Dharma sound to be unbroken, they skillfully entrusted it to the Three Vehicles; bringing all to complete Buddhahood without remainder, they proclaimed the eight eloquence forms. The Book of Songs says: 'In hewing an axe-handle, in hewing an axe-handle, the model is not far off.' May our contemporaries never forget to take our model from this!"