宋高僧傳 27.47

27.47

釋願誠，姓宋氏。望本西河，家襲素風，濬流遠派，不揚胄緒，祖考不書。母陰氏夜夢庭樹對發千華，餘華尋謝，獨結一果。乃覺有孕。母啟願心，得娠男子足矣。十月臨蓐，果如其望，立字曰願誠。後志存小字，不訓法名者，遵慈母之意也。誠少慕空門，雖為官學生，已有息塵之志。迨棲金地，禮行嚴為師。嚴即儒宗珪璋，釋氏師子也。一旦謂誠曰：「汝神情朗秀，宜於山中，精勤效節，可不務乎！」大和三年落髮，五年具戒。先誦諸經，悉皆精練，行人屬耳，道望日隆。無何，會昌中隨例停留，唯誠志不動搖。及大中再崇釋氏，選定僧員，誠獨為首矣。遂乃重尋佛光寺。已從荒頓，發心次第新成。美聲洋洋，聞於帝聽，飈馳聖旨，雲降紫衣。後李氏奄有并門，遐奉文殊，躬遊聖地。覩其令範，撫手愜懷，表聞唐天子相繼，乃賜大師號圓相也，就加山門都檢校。光啟三載，羞饌命僧捨衣投施。鐘聲引眾，悉至齋堂，右脇曲肱，寂然長往。建塔樹碑寺之西北一里也。

Śramaṇa Yuancheng was surnamed Song. His ancestry was originally from Xihe. His family inherited a simple style, their distant stream coursing from afar, yet they did not boast of their lineage, and his ancestors are not recorded. His mother, Lady Yin, dreamed one night that the tree in her courtyard burst forth with a thousand blossoms together; the remaining blossoms soon withered, and only a single fruit formed. She then realized she was pregnant. His mother had formed a wish in her heart, saying that to conceive a boy would be sufficient. When the ten months came and she took to the mat, it was indeed as she had hoped. She gave him the courtesy name Yuancheng ["Fulfilled Sincerity"]. Later, his resolve preserved this childhood name and did not change to a Dharma name, out of compliance with his affectionate mother's intention. Cheng longed for the gate of emptiness from his youth; though he was a student in the government academy, he already possessed the resolve to cease dusty worldly pursuits. When he went to lodge in the golden land [of Mount Wutai], he paid homage to Xingyan as his master. Yan was a jade token of the Confucian school and a lion of the Śākya clan. One day he said to Cheng: "Your spirit and demeanor are bright and outstanding; you should reside in the mountains, exerting diligent devotion. How could you not apply yourself!" In the third year of Dahe, his hair was shorn; in the fifth year, he took full ordination. He first intoned various sūtras, all of which he mastered thoroughly. Travelers turned their ears to him, and his reputation for the Way grew loftier by the day. Soon after, during the Huichang era, he was forced to abide by the common decree, yet Cheng's resolve alone remained unshaken. When the Dazhong era restored reverence for the Śākya clan and selected monks to fill the quotas, Cheng alone stood at the head. Thereupon he sought out Foguang Temple again. It had already fallen into ruin, but he resolved to renew it stage by stage. His glorious reputation spread far and wide and was heard by the emperor; swift as a gale came the imperial decree, descending like clouds with a purple robe. Later, the Li clan took possession of Bingzhou; looking from afar in reverence to Mañjuśrī, they personally traveled to the sacred site. Beholding his excellent conduct, they clapped their hands in gratification. Successive reports were memorialized to the Tang Son of Heaven, who thereupon bestowed the grand master title Yuangxiang, adding concurrent appointment as the Mountain Superintendent. In the third year of Guangqi, he arranged delicacies, summoned the monks, and abandoned his robes to distribute them in alms. As the sound of the bell led the assembly, all arrived at the refectory. Leaning on his right side with arm bent, he silently departed forever. A stūpa was built and a stele erected one li northwest of the temple.