宋高僧傳 6.22

6.22

釋端甫，俗姓趙氏，天水人也。世為秦著姓焉。初，母張夫人夢梵僧謂曰：「當生貴子。」即出囊中舍利使吞之。及誕，所夢僧白晝入其室，摩其頂曰：「必當大興法教。」言訖而滅。既成人，高顙深目，大頤方口，長六尺五寸，其音如鐘。夫將欲荷如來之菩提，鑿生靈之耳目，固必有殊祥奇表歟？始十歲，依崇福寺道悟禪師為沙彌。十七正度為比丘，隷安國寺。受具於西明寺照律師，學毘尼於崇福寺昇律師，傳《唯識》於安國寺素法師，通《涅槃經》於福林寺崟法師。甫又夢梵僧以舍利滿瑠璃器，使吞之，且曰：「三藏大教，盡貯汝腹矣。」自是經、律、論無敵於當時，囊括川注，逢源會委，滔滔然莫能濟其畔岸矣。夫將欲伐株杌於情田，雨甘露於法種者，固必有勇智宏辯歟？無何，謁文殊於清涼，眾聖皆現；演大經於太原，傾都畢會。德宗皇帝聞其名，徵之，一見大悅，常出入禁中，與儒道議論，賜紫方袍。歲時錫施，異於他等。復詔侍皇太子於東朝。順宗皇帝深仰其風，親之若昆弟，相與臥起，恩禮特隆。憲宗皇帝數幸其寺，待之若賓友。常承顧問，注納偏厚。而甫符彩超邁，辭理響捷，迎合上旨，皆契真乘，雖造次應對，未甞不以闡揚為務。繇是天子益知佛為大聖人，其教有大不思議事。當是時朝廷方削平區夏，縛吳斡蜀，瀦蔡蕩鄆，而天子端拱無事。詔甫率緇屬迎真骨於靈山，開法場於祕殿，為人請福，親奉香燈。既而刑不殘，兵不黷，赤子無愁聲，蒼海無驚波，蓋參用真宗以毘大政之明効也。夫將欲顯大不思議之道，輔大有為之君，固必有冥符玄契歟？掌內殿法儀，錄左街僧事，以標表淨眾者凡一十年。講《涅槃》、《唯識》經論，處當仁傳授宗主，以開誘道俗者，凡一百六十座。運三密於瑜伽，契無生於悉地，日持諸部十餘萬遍，指淨土為息肩之地，嚴金經為報法之恩。前後供施數十百萬，悉以崇飾殿宇，窮極雕繪。而方丈單床，靜慮自得。貴臣盛族皆所依慕，豪俠工賈莫不瞻嚮，薦金寶以致誠，仰端嚴而禮足，日有千數，不可殫書。而甫即眾生以觀佛，離四相以修善，心下如地，坦無丘陵，王、公、輿、臺皆以誠接。議者以為成就常不輕行者，唯甫而已矣。夫將欲駕橫海之大航，拯迷途於彼岸者，固必有奇功妙道歟？以開成元年六月一日，西向右脇而滅，當暑而尊容若生，終夕而異香猶欝。其年七月六日，遷於長樂之南原。遺命荼毘，得舍利三百餘粒，方熾而神光月皎，既燼而靈骨珠圓。賜諡曰大達，塔曰玄祕。俗壽六十七，僧臘可數。門弟子僧尼約千餘輩，或講論玄言，或紀綱大寺，修禪秉律，分作人師，五十其徒，皆為達者。會昌中相國裴公休為碑頌德焉。

Śramaṇa Duanfu had the secular surname Zhao and was a native of Tianshui. For generations his family had been a prominent clan in Qin. In the beginning, his mother Lady Zhang dreamed of an Indian monk who said to her: 'You shall give birth to a noble son.' He immediately took a śarīra from his bag and had her swallow it. When he was born, the monk seen in her dream entered his room in broad daylight, rubbed his crown, and said: 'He will surely cause the teachings of the Dharma to flourish greatly.' Having spoken, he vanished. When Duanfu grew up, he had a high forehead and deep-set eyes, large jowls and a square mouth; he stood six feet five inches tall, and his voice was like a bell. Indeed, when one is destined to bear the bodhi of the Tathāgata and open the ears and eyes of living beings, must there not be extraordinary omens and marvelous signs? At the age of ten, he relied on Chan Master Daowu of Chongfu Temple to become a novice (śrāmaṇera). At seventeen he was formally ordained as a monk (bhikṣu) and was assigned to Anguo Temple. He received the upasampadā under Vinaya Master Zhao of Ximing Temple, studied the vinaya under Vinaya Master Sheng of Chongfu Temple, received the transmission of Vijñaptimātra under Dharma Master Su of Anguo Temple, and mastered the Nirvāṇa Sūtra under Dharma Master Yin of Fulin Temple. Duanfu also dreamed of an Indian monk filling a lapis lazuli vessel with śarīras, making him swallow them and saying: 'The great teachings of the Tripiṭaka are now completely stored within your belly.' From then on, he was without rival in his era in sūtras, vinaya, and treatises; encompassing like rivers pouring forth, meeting the sources and joining the confluences, surging onward so that none could fathom his shores. Indeed, when one is destined to cut down the stumps in the field of passions and rain down sweet dew upon the seeds of the Dharma, must there not be courageous wisdom and vast eloquence? Before long, he paid homage to Mañjuśrī at Mount Qingliang, and the multitudes of holy ones all appeared; he expounded the Great Scripture in Taiyuan, and the whole city gathered. Emperor Dezong heard of his renown and summoned him; at a single audience he was greatly pleased, and Duanfu frequently entered the forbidden palace to debate with Confucians and Daoists, receiving the gift of a purple square robe. The seasonal gifts and offerings bestowed upon him were unlike those given to any other. He was further ordered to attend upon the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace. Emperor Shunzong deeply admired his style, treating him affectionately like an elder brother and sleeping and rising alongside him, showing him extraordinarily high favor and courtesy. Emperor Xianzong repeatedly visited his temple, treating him as a guest and friend. Duanfu constantly received imperial inquiries, enjoying exceptionally profound trust and favor. Duanfu's countenance was transcendent, and his diction and reasoning were quick as an echo; adapting to the imperial intent, he always accorded with the True Vehicle, and even in hasty exchanges he never failed to take propagation as his duty. Because of this, the Son of Heaven recognized even more that the Buddha was a great sage and that his teachings possessed great inconceivable matters. At that time, the court was just pacifying the realm, binding Wu and bringing order to Shu, turning Cai into a pool and sweeping away Yun, while the Son of Heaven folded his hands in peace. An edict ordered Duanfu to lead the saṅgha in welcoming the true relic at Mount Lingshan and to establish a Dharma arena in the secret palace, praying for blessings on behalf of the people and personally attending to the incense and lamps. Soon after, punishments were not cruel, weapons were not misused, the common folk uttered no cries of grief, and the azure seas had no startling waves; these were surely the manifest effects of applying the True School to assist in great statecraft. Indeed, when one is destined to reveal the inconceivable Way and assist a ruler of great enterprise, must there not be tacit resonance and profound accord? For a total of ten years he took charge of the liturgical rites in the inner palace and served as the rectifier of saṅgha affairs of the Left Street, setting an exemplary standard for the pure multitude. In lecturing on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and the Vijñaptimātra scriptures and treatises, he stood as the transmission master fulfilling his duties to inspire and guide monastics and laypeople over a total of one hundred and sixty lecturing sessions. Exercising the three mysteries in yoga and according with the unproduced in siddhi, he held the various scriptures daily more than a hundred thousand times, pointing to the Pure Land as his resting place and venerating the golden texts to repay the kindness of the Dharma. Earlier and later, offerings and donations amounted to millions, all of which he used to adorn and embellish temple halls, exhausting every effort in carving and painting. Yet in his abbot's quarters on a single bed, he remained tranquil and self-possessed in meditation. Noble ministers and flourishing clans all relied upon and admired him; gallants, craftsmen, and merchants looked up to him, presenting gold and jewels to show their devotion and revering his dignified deportment to bow at his feet, numbering a thousand a day, impossible to record fully. Yet Duanfu viewed the Buddha through living beings and cultivated good while free from the four marks; his mind was as humble as the earth, level without hills or mounds, treating kings, dukes, palanquin bearers, and menials with equal sincerity. Commentators believed that the one who fulfilled the practice of Sadāparibhūta was Duanfu alone. Indeed, when one is destined to steer a great vessel across the sea and rescue the lost to the other shore, must there not be extraordinary achievement and wondrous Way? On the first day of the sixth month of the first year of the Kaicheng era, he passed away lying on his right side facing west; in the midst of summer his venerable face looked as if alive, and throughout the night an extraordinary fragrance remained thick. On the sixth day of the seventh month of that year, he was moved to the southern plains of Changle. By his testamentary command he was cremated, yielding more than three hundred śarīras; while the fire was blazing, their spiritual light was bright as the moon, and once reduced to ashes, the numinous bones were as round as pearls. He was posthumously granted the title Dada (Great Realization), and his stūpa was named Xuanmi (Profound and Secret). His worldly age was sixty-seven, and his saṅgha age could be counted [proportionately]. His monastic disciples numbered around a thousand; some lectured on profound discourses, some managed great monasteries, practicing dhyāna and upholding the vinaya, taking up roles as teachers of men; fifty among his followers were men of great realization. During the Huichang era, Chief Minister Lord Pei Xiu composed a stele praising his virtues.