宋高僧傳 6.30

6.30

釋知玄，字後覺，姓陳氏，眉州洪雅人也。曾祖圖南，任梓州射洪縣令。祖憲，考邈，皆名場不捷。母魏氏夢月入于懷，因而載誕，雖乳哺未能言，見佛像僧形，必含喜色。五歲，祖令詠花，不數步成云：「花開滿樹紅，花落萬枝空，唯餘一朵在，明日定隨風。」祖吟歎不懌曰：「吾育此孫，望其登甲科，雪二代之恥。今見孺子志矣，非貽厥也已，必從空門，乖始望也。」七歲，果遇法泰法師在寧夷寺講《涅槃經》。寺與居隣，玄日就講集所，一聆法語，若覩前因。是夕夢其寺殿，佛手摩其頂。寤啟祖父，乞為勤策，親黨觀其必不可抑奪，故聽之。年十一，遂其削髮。乃隨師詣唐興邑四安寺，授大經四十二卷，遠公《義疏》、辯空師《圓旨》，共一百二十五萬言。皆囊括深奧矣。方年十三，指擿緇徒，露老成之氣。時丞相杜公元頴作鎮西蜀，聞玄名，命升堂。講談于大慈寺普賢閣下。黑白眾日計萬許人，注聽傾心，駭歎無已。自此蜀人弗厈其名，號陳菩薩耳。傳云：「玄前身名知鉉，漢州三學山講《十地經》，感地變瑠璃焉。」玄於淨眾寺辯貞律師所受具戒，纔聽「毘尼」，續通《俱舍》，則長十山固律師之付授焉。復從本師下三峽，歷荊、襄，抵于神京資聖寺。此寺四海三學之人會要之地，玄敷演經論，僧俗仰觀，戶外之屨日其多矣。文宗皇帝聞之，宣入顧問，甚愜皇情。後學《唯識論》於安國信法師。又研習外典，經籍百家之言，無不該綜。玄每恨鄉音不堪講貫，乃於象耳山誦《大悲呪》，夢神僧截舌換之。明日，俄變秦語矣。有楊茂孝者，鴻儒也，就玄尋究內典，直欲效謝康樂注《涅槃經》，多執卷質疑，隨為剖判。致書云：「方今海內龍象，非師而誰？」次揚刑部汝士、高左丞元裕、長安揚魯士咸造門擬結蓮社。甞一日玄宴坐，見茂孝披紫服、戴碧冠，三禮畢，乘空而去。玄令人偵問，茂孝其夕誡其子曰：「吾常欲落髮披緇，汲瓶挈屨，侍玄公，所累者簪冕也。吾蓋棺時，殮以紫袈裟，碧芙蓉冠。」至是方驗先見矣。武宗御宇，初尚欽釋氏，後納蠱惑者議，望祀蓬萊山，築高臺以祈羽化。雖諫官抗疏，宰臣屢言，終不迴上意。因德陽節，緇、黃會麟德殿，獨詔玄與道門敵言，神仙為可學不可學耶？帝叉手付老氏中「理大國若烹小鮮」義，共黃冠往復。玄陳帝王理道，教化根本，言神仙之術，乃山林間匹夫獨擅高尚之事業，而又必資宿因，非王者所宜。辭河下傾，辯海橫注，凡數千言。聞者為之股慄，大忤上旨，左右莫不色沮。左護軍仇士良、內樞密楊欽義惜其才辯，恐將有厈逐之命，乃密諷貢《祝堯詩》。玄立成五篇，末章云：「生天本自生天業，未必求仙便得仙。鶴背傾危龍背滑，君王且住一千年。」帝覽詩微解。帝雖不納忠諫，而嘉其識見口給也。玄即歸巴岷舊山，例施巾櫛，而存戒檢愈更甄明。方扁舟入湖、湘間，時楊給事漢公廉問桂嶺，延止開元佛寺。屬宣宗龍飛，楊公自內樞統左禁軍，以冊定功高，請復興天竺教，奏乞訪玄聲迹。玄復挂壞衣，歸上國寶應寺。屬壽昌節講讚，賜紫袈裟，署為三教首座。帝以舊藩邸造法乾寺，詔玄居寺之玉虛亭。大中三年誕節，詔諫議李貽孫、給事楊漢公，緇黃鼎列論義，大悅帝情。因奏天下廢寺基各勅重建，大興梵剎，玄有力焉。命畫工圖形于禁中，其優重如是。與相國裴公休友善，同激揚中興教法事。八年，上章乞歸故山，大行利濟，受益者多。廣明二年春，僖宗違難西蜀，後遣郭遵泰齎璽書，肩輿詔赴行在。帝接談論，頗解上心。左軍容田令孜與諸達官，問道勤重。帝欲旌其美，令諸學士撰玄師號，皆未愜旨。乃揮御翰云：「朕以開示悟入，《法華》之宗旨也。悟者，覺也，明也，悟達大道，悟佛知見。」又云：「悟者一剎那，不悟河沙劫，所以悟者真乘了然成佛之義。今賜『悟達國師』為號。雖曰強名，用表朕意。」玄陳讓不遂，乃乞歸九隴舊廬。於正月二十一日臥內，見所曾遊歷聖境名跡，皆見在前。二月七日，聞空聲曰：「必生淨土。」乃訊之云：「孰之語耶？」空又應曰：「佛也。」七月中，聞戶外有格鬪之聲，逡巡一菩薩降于庭前，事摩滅矣，漸迫僅玄身，丁寧讚喻：「勿以此苦為累也。」言訖而沒。又於一夕，有一珠自玄左足下流去，苦楚萬端，諦視其珠中明明有「晁錯」二字。乃知玄是袁盎也，曾因七國反，盎奏斬錯，以謝吳、楚諸王，故為嬰撓耳。召弟子慈燈附口上遺表，囑令棄屍，半飼魚腹，半啗鳥獸。吾久與西方淨土有期如斯。諈諉訖，右脇面西而逝，享年七十三，僧臘五十四。玄咸通中曾遊澤州，追問小遠法師，同年亦同終日月焉。玄堅守禁戒，少欲，過中不食蔬果，服唯布褐，臥則蒭秆。而六時行道，夜臥一更，餘則禪坐。等視眾生，無貴賤少長，待之如一。素結情好深者裴相國休。初，裴鎮荊門，玄遊五臺山，路出渚宮，贈遺初無所取。裴知其儉約，密遣人沿路以供之，若蘇秦遣舍人陰資奉張儀也。甞經駱谷真符縣雍氏家枕潭，潭中有大魚，如龍四足，而齒牙纖利，其家日飼以食，已四世矣。或欲網釣之意，則輒雲霧晦冥焉。玄扣船撫其頂，瞪目而鼓躍，即為受歸依。未幾，乃寄夢雍氏曰：「我謝汝累世護念，今受歸依，已生天而永訣矣。」次為導江玉壘山神李氷廟、益昌北郭龍門神，偕受戒法，罷其血食歟。有李商隱者，一代文宗，時無倫輩，常從事河東柳公梓潼幕，久慕玄之道學，後以弟子禮事玄，時居永崇里，玄居興善寺。義山苦眼疾，慮嬰昏瞽，遙望禪宮，冥禱乞願。玄明旦寄《天眼偈》三章，讀終疾愈。迨乎義山臥病，語僧錄僧徹曰：「某志願削染為玄弟子，臨終寄書偈決別。」云。玄生常著《如來藏經會釋疏》二卷，命僧徹撰《法鑑》以照像，若《十翼》焉。《大無量壽經疏》二卷。僧徹著《法燈》，類章指焉。《勝鬘經疏》四卷，僧徹著《法苑》以錯綜，猶緯書焉。又《般若心經》、《金剛經》各有《疏義》。此外秦、蜀之間，作釋氏雜文、外篇、箴論、碑誌、歌詩，錄成二十餘卷，禮懺文六卷，通計三十萬言。後遷塔于茶籠山附聖寺矣。中和二年，弟子左街僧錄淨光大師僧徹述傳，法孫右街僧錄覺輝，輝弟子偽蜀祐聖國師重孫光業僧錄，綿綿瓜瓞，皆名公也。鳳翔府寫玄真，李義山執拂侍立焉。

Śramaṇa Zhixuan, whose courtesy name was Houjue, surnamed Chen, was a native of Hongya in Meizhou. His great-grandfather Tunan served as magistrate of Shehong County in Zizhou. His grandfather Xian and father Miao both failed to succeed in the examinations. His mother, Lady Wei, dreamt of the moon entering her bosom, whereupon she gave birth to him. Even while an infant at the breast unable to speak, whenever he saw Buddhist images or the figures of monks, he would invariably beam with joy. When he was five years old, his grandfather instructed him to compose a poem on flowers; within a few paces he completed it, reciting: / 'The flowers blossom, filling the tree with red; / The flowers fall, leaving ten thousand branches bare. / Only a single bloom remains, / Which tomorrow is sure to follow the wind.' / His grandfather sighed with distress and said: 'I raised this grandson hoping he would place first in the imperial examinations and wipe away the shame of two generations. Now seeing this child's aspirations, this is not carrying on our lineage; he is bound to follow the Gate of Emptiness, contrary to my original hopes.' At age seven, he indeed encountered Dharma Master Fatai lecturing on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra at Ningyi Temple. The temple adjoined their residence, and Xuan went daily to the lecture gathering; as soon as he heard the Dharma discourse, it was as if he recognized causes from his past lives. That night he dreamt that in the temple hall, the Buddha's hand patted the crown of his head. Upon waking, he reported this to his grandfather, begging to become a novice (śrāmaṇera). His relatives saw that his resolve could not be suppressed or diverted, and so they permitted it. At age eleven, his head was finally shaved. He then followed his teacher to Si'an Temple in Tangxing County, where he was transmitted the Great Scripture in forty-two fascicles, Master Huiyuan's Expository Commentary, and Master Biankong's Perfect Purport, totalling 1.25 million words. He comprehensively grasped their profound depths. When he was only thirteen, he debated and pointed out errors among the monastics, displaying the air of a seasoned master. At that time, Chief Minister Lord Du Yuanying was governing western Shu. Hearing of Xuan's fame, he invited him to ascend the hall. He lectured and discussed beneath the Samantabhadra Pavilion of Daci Temple. The monastic and lay assembly numbered some ten thousand daily, listening intently with wholehearted devotion, marveling and praising him without end. From then on, the people of Shu did not utter his personal name, calling him 'Bodhisattva Chen.' A transmission says: 'Xuan's previous incarnation was named Zhixuan, who lectured on the Daśabhūmika-sūtra on Mount Sanxue in Hanzhou, moving the earth to turn into lapis lazuli.' Xuan received the upasampadā under Vinaya Master Bianzhen at Jingzhong Temple. Barely having heard the Vinaya, he immediately mastered the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, which was transmitted to him by Vinaya Master Gushi of Mount Changshi. He then followed his root teacher down the Three Gorges, passed through Jingzhou and Xiangzhou, and arrived at Zisheng Temple in the divine capital. This temple was a central gathering place for people of the three disciplines from all quarters; as Xuan expounded the scriptures and treatises, monastics and laity looked up to him in reverence, and the shoes outside his door grew more numerous by the day. Emperor Wenzong heard of this and summoned him into court to consult him, and was deeply pleased. Later, he studied the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra under Dharma Master Xin of Anguo Temple. He also delved into external classics; among the canonical books and the sayings of the hundred schools, there was none he did not comprehensively master. Xuan always lamented that his regional accent was unsuited for lecturing and chanting, so he recited the Mahākaruṇā Dhāraṇī on Mount Xiang'er, and dreamt of a divine monk cutting off his tongue and replacing it. The next day, his speech suddenly changed to the Qin dialect. There was a great scholar named Yang Maoxiao, who came to Xuan to investigate Buddhist texts; wishing directly to emulate Xie Kangle's commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, he frequently brought scrolls to raise doubts, which Xuan resolved for him accordingly. Yang sent a letter saying: 'Among the dragons and elephants of the realm today, who is there if not you, Master?' Following him, Vice Minister of Justice Yang Rushi, Vice Director of the Left Gao Yuanyu, and Yang Lushi of Chang'an all came to his door intending to form a Lotus Society. Once while Xuan was sitting in tranquil meditation, he saw Maoxiao wearing purple robes and a cyan cap; having made three prostrations, he departed riding through the air. Xuan sent someone to inquire, and that very evening Maoxiao admonished his son, saying: 'I always wished to shave my head and put on monastic robes, carrying water-jugs and sandals to attend upon Lord Xuan; what bound me were only hairpin and cap. When my coffin is closed, shroud me in a purple kāṣāya and a cyan lotus cap.' Only then was Xuan's premonition verified. When Emperor Wuzong ruled the empire, he initially revered the Buddhist teachings, but later accepted the advice of charlatans, looking from afar to offer sacrifices to Mount Penglai and building a high terrace to pray for ascension as an immortal. Although the remonstrators submitted memorials and the grand councillors repeatedly protested, in the end they could not turn back the imperial will. On the occasion of the Deyang Festival, monastics and Daoists gathered in Linde Hall; an imperial decree specially commanded Xuan to debate with the Daoists on whether divine transcendence was learnable or not. The emperor clasped his hands and cited the Laozi's meaning of 'governing a great state is like cooking a small fish,' debating back and forth with the yellow-capped Daoists. Xuan expounded on the way of princely governance and the foundation of moral transformation, stating that the arts of divine transcendence were the solitary, lofty pursuits of recluses in mountain forests, which moreover necessarily depended on past karma and were not fitting for a sovereign ruler. His words poured forth like a cascading river, his eloquence surging like an ocean, numbering several thousand words. Those who heard it trembled with dread; he greatly crossed the imperial will, and none among the attendants failed to lose their composure. Commander of the Left Protective Army Qiu Shiliang and Director of the Inner Bureau Yang Qinyi cherished his talent and eloquence; fearing an order of banishment would follow, they secretly urged him to present 'Poems Wishing Longevity to Emperor Yao.' Xuan completed five stanzas on the spot; the final stanza read: / 'Rebirth in heaven fundamentally comes from heavenly karma; / Seeking immortality does not necessarily mean one becomes an immortal. / A crane's back is perilous, a dragon's back is slick; / May Your Majesty remain for another thousand years.' / The emperor read the poem and slightly relented. Although the emperor did not accept his loyal remonstrance, he praised his discernment and eloquence. Xuan immediately returned to his old mountains in Ba and Min, adopting the ordinary headcloth and comb of a layman, yet maintaining the vinaya precepts with even greater clarity and rigor. Just as he boarded a small boat to travel between the lakes and the Xiang River, Yang Han公, Attendant Gentleman of the Chancellery, was serving as Surveillance Commissioner of the Gui Ridge and invited him to lodge at Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple. When Emperor Xuanzong ascended the dragon throne, Lord Yang commanded the Left Imperial Guard from the Inner Bureau; having achieved great merit in establishing the succession, he requested the revival of the Indian teachings and memorialized asking to seek out Xuan's whereabouts. Xuan again donned the robes of destruction and returned to Baoying Temple in the imperial capital. On the occasion of the Shouchang Festival lectures and praises, he was bestowed a purple kāṣāya and appointed Rectifier of the Three Teachings. The emperor converted his former princely residence into Fagan Temple and decreed that Xuan dwell in the temple's Yuxu Pavilion. On the imperial birthday in the third year of Dazhong, an imperial decree summoned Remonstrance Consultant Li Yisun and Attendant Gentleman Yang Han公, arranging the monastics and Daoists in a tripartite array to debate doctrines, which greatly delighted the emperor. Thereupon, Xuan memorialized that the sites of abolished temples throughout the empire be decreed rebuilt, leading to a great flourishing of Buddhist monasteries, in which Xuan played an instrumental role. The emperor ordered court painters to depict his portrait in the forbidden palace; such was the exceptional esteem he enjoyed. He was on friendly terms with Prime Minister Lord Pei Xiu, and together they promoted and revitalized the teachings of the Dharma. In the eighth year, he submitted a memorial requesting permission to return to his native mountains, where he extensively carried out beneficial work, and many were those who received benefit. In the spring of the second year of Guangming, Emperor Xizong fled the troubles to western Shu; later he sent Guo Zuntai bearing an imperial letter with an imperial seal, summoning Xuan by sedan chair to come to the temporary imperial residence. The emperor conversed with him and was quite relieved in spirit. Tian Lingzi, Commissioner of the Left Army, along with various high-ranking officials, inquired into the Dao with diligence and deep respect. The emperor wished to honor his excellence and ordered the academicians to compose an honorific title for Master Xuan, but none satisfied the imperial will. Thereupon the emperor wielded the imperial brush, writing: 'I consider that opening, revealing, awakening, and entering are the fundamental purport of the Lotus Sūtra.