宋高僧傳 29.39

29.39

釋皎然，名晝，姓謝氏，長城人，康樂侯十世孫也。幼負異才，性與道合，初脫羈絆，漸加削染。登戒于靈隱戒壇守直律師邊，聽毘尼道，特所留心。於篇什中，吟詠情性，所謂造其微矣。文章俊麗，當時號為釋門偉器哉。後博訪名山，法席罕不登聽者。然其兼攻並進，子史經書，各臻其極。凡所遊歷，京師則公相敦重，諸郡則邦伯所欽，莫非始以詩句牽勸，令入佛智，行化之意，本在乎茲。及中年，謁諸禪祖，了心地法門，與武丘山元浩、會稽靈澈為道交，故時諺曰：「霅之晝，能清秀。」

Shi Jiaoran, whose secular name was Zhou and whose family name was Xie, was a native of Changcheng and a tenth-generation descendant of the Marquis of Kangle. Endowed with extraordinary talent from his youth, his nature naturally harmonized with the Way. When he first cast off secular bonds, he shaved his head and took monastic robes. He received the precepts at the ordination platform of Lingyin from Vinaya Master Shouzhe, listening to the teaching of the vinaya, to which he paid special attention. In his poetry, he gave voice to his innate sensibilities, reaching what may be called their subtlest refinement. His writings were elegant and handsome, and he was regarded at the time as a great vessel of the Buddhist fold. Later he widely visited famous mountains, rarely failing to attend and listen at any seat of Dharma. Meanwhile, he pursued multiple branches of learning side by side, reaching the peak in each of the masters, the histories, and the canonical scriptures. Wherever he traveled, high ministers in the capital treated him with profound respect, while governors in the commanderies venerated him. In every case, he first used poetic lines to draw them in and encourage them, leading them to enter the Buddha's wisdom; the true purpose of his transformative teaching lay fundamentally in this. In his middle years, he visited various Chan patriarchs and comprehended the mind-ground Dharma-gate. He formed friendships in the Way with Yuanhao of Mount Huqiu and Lingche of Kuaiji, which is why the contemporary proverb went: 'Zhou of the Zha River possesses pure elegance.'