宋高僧傳 28.23

28.23

釋常覺，姓李氏，陳留人也。肇為鞠子，氣調絕奇，入鄉校中諷讀經籍，群童咸出其下。洎登弱冠，往廬山遊二林，陟五老，乃禮歸宗寺禪師，充苦行焉！梁乾化二年，蒙去飾披緇矣。明年，於東林甘露戒壇納解脫木叉。厥後修身踐言，雖三藏俱留於意表，而以心學為究盡之務。復入五臺山，禮妙吉靈跡。迨後唐天成三載，始於東京麗景門之右樹小禪坊，勅額為普淨焉！而逐月三八日設闔京僧浴。其或香湯汲注，樵蒸失供，覺必令撤小屋，抽榱桷而助爨焉！有公王仰重，表薦紫衣，堅拒弗受，汲汲以利行濟物為己任耳！開寶四年十二月三日遘疾，輕安無撓。十一日告眾，右脇而化。享年七十六，僧臘五十六。茶毘收舍利，五色磊落無算。甞居京邑，屢登斯院，覽北海陶尚書穀《為湘東張仲荀序詩贈覺》而云：「起後唐天成至漢乾祐，每黑白月三取八日，浴京大眾，累歲費錢可一百三十六萬數，計緡千萬矣。雖檀施共成，實覺公化導之力也。嘻！大火之下，陳留古封，周秦已來，戰伐之國，人物眾而土風尚利，舟車會而貨殖惟錯。昔梁惠王賢諸侯也，甞謂孟軻曰：『何以利吾國？』是知禮讓之化，不勝於好利之心，明矣！且梁去魯千里而近，道猶不同，矧十萬八千里乎？梁王、孟子，同世之人也，心或有異，況瞿曇上人乎？彼孟氏屬斯文未喪，不能揚素王之道；今上人當去聖逾遠，卒能行法王之教，苟非三業內淨，六塵外清，以至公之行化於人，孰以至公之心受於化也！」陶重敘曰：「自靈山覆簣，法海堙流，玉毫晦而微言絕，金杖折而異端作。惟上人也色空等觀，物我都亡。麻麥一齋，自同禪悅；炎涼一納，僅蔽枯形。前後王臣欲上章乞以大師為號，請以紫染方袍者，皆確而拒之」云云。張仲荀贈覺鉢盂拄杖草屨，各用五言為章，刊于小碣。其為名流碩學，旌別有如此者。

Śramaṇa Changjue, whose surname was Li, was a native of Chenliu. Even in infancy, his bearing was extraordinary. When he entered the village school to chant and read the scriptures, all the children were beneath him. Upon reaching the age of twenty, he went to Mount Lu, touring the two forests and scaling the Five Old Men Peaks; there he paid homage to the Chan Master of Guizong Temple and performed ascetic practices. In the second year of Qianhua of the Liang, he was permitted to shed his worldly attire and don monastic robes. The following year, he received the prātimokṣa of liberation upon the Sweet Dew Ordination Platform of Donglin Temple. Thereafter, he cultivated himself and practiced his words; though the Tripiṭaka remained beyond his concerns, he took the study of mind as his ultimate task. He again went to Mount Wutai to pay homage to the sacred traces of Mañjuśrī. In the third year of Tiancheng of the Later Tang, he first erected a small meditation cloister to the right of Lijing Gate in Dongjing, and an imperial placard designated it Pujing. On the third and eighth days of each month, he provided baths for all the monks of the capital. If the fragrant water was poured and the firewood failed to be supplied, Jue would always order small buildings torn down and rafters and beams extracted to fuel the fire. Princes and nobles held him in high esteem and petitioned to present him with a purple robe, but he resolutely refused to accept it, solely dedicating himself to benefiting beings and aiding people. On the third day of the twelfth month of the fourth year of Kaibao, he fell ill, remaining calm and untroubled. On the eleventh day, he addressed the assembly and passed away lying on his right side. He lived to the age of seventy-six, with a saṅgha age of fifty-six. Following cremation, his śarīra were gathered, five-colored, luminous, and countless. While residing in the capital, I frequently visited this cloister and read the preface and poems presented to Jue by Minister of Personnel Tao Gu of Beihai for Zhang Zhongxun of Xiangdong, which said: 'From the Tiancheng era of the Later Tang to the Qianyou era of the Han, on every third and eighth day of the dark and bright fortnights, the great assembly of the capital was bathed; over many years, the cost was approximately 1.36 million coins, amounting to thousands of strings of cash. Although completed through common patronage, it was truly the power of Master Jue's conversion. Alas! Under the Great Fire constellation lies the ancient fief of Chenliu; since the Zhou and Qin, it has been a realm of war and strife. Its population is dense, its local customs favor profit; boats and carts assemble and merchandise is intermingled. Anciently, King Hui of Liang was a worthy among feudal lords, yet he once said to Mencius, "How will you profit my state?" From this one knows that the transformation of ritual and deference cannot overcome the heart that desires profit—how clear this is! Moreover, Liang was barely a thousand li from Lu, yet their paths were still not identical; how much more so across a hundred and eight thousand li? King Hui of Liang and Mencius were men of the same era, yet their minds differed; how much more so with the Venerable Gautama? Mencius lived when the culture had not yet perished, yet he could not glorify the Way of the Uncrowned King; now this Venerable One, living ever further from the sage, was ultimately able to practice the teachings of the Dharma King. If he had not purified the three karmas within and cleansed the six dusts without, transforming people with a conduct of utmost selflessness, who would have received transformation with a mind of utmost selflessness?' Tao reiterated: 'Since the basket of earth was emptied on Vulture Peak and the ocean of the Dharma was blocked, the jade urna has dimmed, subtle words have ceased, the golden staff has broken, and heterodox paths have arisen. Only this Venerable One viewed form and emptiness as equal, and self and other both vanished. A single meal of hemp and wheat was naturally akin to the joy of meditation; a single patched robe against heat and cold barely covered his withered frame. Repeatedly, princes and ministers wished to memorialize the throne requesting the title of Grand Master for him and offering robes dyed purple, but he firmly refused them all.' Zhang Zhongxun presented Jue with an almsbowl, staff, and straw sandals, composing five-character poems for each, carved upon a small stone tablet. Such was the honor and distinction accorded him by famous luminaries and eminent scholars.