宋高僧傳 30.24

30.24

釋無作，字不用，姓司馬氏，姑蘇人也。父陳宛丘縣尉。母戴氏始妊時，夢異沙門稱姓徐，住持流水寺，欲寄此安居，言訖跏趺而坐。其父同夜夢於盤中書一字，甚稱心，自言可以進上天子。至明，各說所夢，母曰：「意其腹中必沙門也。」矢之曰：「如生兒，放於流水寺出家。」及生，果岐嶷可愛，且惡葷羶之氣。年迨四歲，母自教誦習，利金易礪，記憶無遺。厥父欲其應童子舉業，漸見風範和潤，且恒有出塵之意。俄爾父偷窺姚氏之女且美容儀，酷欲取之。母切忌之，因曰：「或捨是子出家，寬汝所取。」父乃許之，送入流水寺中。纔及月餘，姚氏仳離，時謂此女是善知識，為作之出家增上緣矣。年二十，受具足法。相次講通刪補律鈔、法華、上生等經、百法論。一性五性宗教，勵精尋究。孔、老書篇，無不獵涉。後參其玄學於雪峯存禪師，深入堂奧。至廬陵三顧山，檀越造云亭院，豫章創南平院，請作住持，皆拂衣而去。前進士唐稟作藏經碑，述作公避請之由。居洪井十載，且未識洪師鍾氏之面。乃遊會稽四明，因有終焉之志。吳越武肅王錢氏仰重，召略出四明，因便歸山，蓋謝病也。有詩杼意呈王，王亦不留。詩云：「雲鶴性孤單，爭堪名利關？銜恩雖入國，辭病却歸山。」時奉化樂安孫郃退居嘯傲，不交緇伍，唯接作，交談終日。進士楊弇亦慕為林下之遊。以梁開平中卒于四明，春秋五十六。初作善草隷，筆迹酋健，人多摹寫成法。述諸色禮懺文數十本，注道安六時禮佛文一卷，并詩歌，並行于代。作不入尼寺，不謁公門，不修名刺，不趨時利，自號逍遙子焉。

Śramaṇa Wuzuo, courtesy name Buyong, was surnamed Sima and was a native of Gusu. His father was the county defender of Wanqiu in Chen. When his mother, Lady Dai, first conceived, she dreamed of an extraordinary śramaṇa who claimed his surname was Xu and that he resided at Liushui Temple, wishing to stay here for the retreat; having spoken, he sat cross-legged. That same night, his father dreamed of writing a character in a tray, which was so pleasing to his mind that he said to himself it could be presented to the Emperor. At dawn, each recounted their dream, and the mother said: "I think what is in my womb must be a śramaṇa." She vowed, saying: "If I give birth to a boy, I will allow him to leave the world at Liushui Temple." When he was born, he was indeed exceptionally bright and lovable, and he detested the smell of meat and grease. When he reached the age of four, his mother taught him to chant and recite; like sharp metal easily polished, he retained everything in his memory without loss. His father wanted him to prepare for the examinations for prodigies, but gradually seeing his refined, gentle manner and his constant intention to leave the worldly dust, the father hesitated. Soon after, his father secretly caught sight of a daughter of the Yao family who had a beautiful face and deportment, and he intensely wished to take her [as a concubine]. The mother was exceedingly jealous, so she said: "If you give up this boy to leave the world, I will let you take what you desire." The father then consented and sent him into Liushui Temple. Barely a month later, the Yao woman departed; at the time, people said this woman was a good spiritual friend who served as a predominant condition for Zuo's renunciation. At the age of twenty, he received the full precepts. Successively, he lectured and thoroughly mastered the *Lüchao* (vinaya commentary) with its eliminations and supplements, the *Lotus Sūtra*, sūtras on rebirth in Tuṣita, and the *Baifa lun* (*Śatadharma-vidyāmukha-śāstra*). Regarding the doctrines of one nature or five natures, he investigated them with utmost diligence. As for the works of Confucius and Laozi, there were none he did not browse through. Later, he sought the esoteric teachings under Chan Master Xuefeng Yicun and penetrated deeply into their inner chamber. When he arrived at Mount Sangu in Luling, a donor built the Yunting Cloister for him; in Yuzhang, the Nanping Cloister was founded, and both invited Zuo to become abbot, but he shook his sleeves and departed from both. The former Jinshi scholar Tang Bing composed a stele inscription for the Tripiṭaka, recounting the reasons why Master Zuo avoided these invitations. He resided in Hongjing for ten years without ever meeting Master Hong of the Zhong clan face-to-face. He then traveled to Siming in Kuaiji, where he developed the resolve to end his days. King Wusu of Wuyue, Qian [Liu], held him in high esteem and summoned him to step out briefly from Siming, but he immediately returned to the mountain, declining on grounds of illness. He presented a poem expressing his sentiments to the king, and the king did not detain him. The poem went: "The nature of a cloud-dwelling crane is solitary and aloof; / How can it bear the gates of fame and profit? / Though I entered the capital to acknowledge your grace, / Pleading illness, I return once more to the mountains." At that time, Sun He of Le'an, residing in Fenghua, had retired from public life and chanted leisurely; he did not associate with the clergy, but only received Zuo, conversing with him all day long. The Jinshi scholar Yang Yan also admired his hermit lifestyle and visited him. During the Kaiping era of the Liang dynasty, he passed away at Siming at the age of fifty-six. Earlier, Zuo was skilled in cursive and clerical scripts, his brushstrokes vigorous and strong, and many people copied them as models. He composed several tens of volumes of varied repentance liturgies, annotated Dao'an's one-volume *Six-Interval Buddha-Worship Text*, which along with his poems and songs all circulate in the world. Zuo never entered nunneries, never visited official yamens, never exchanged visiting cards, and never chased contemporary gain, styling himself the "Carefree Master" (Xiaoyaozi).