宋高僧傳 9.26

9.26

釋法欽，俗姓朱氏，吳郡崑山人也。門地儒雅，祖、考皆達玄、儒，而傲睨林藪不仕。欽託孕，母管氏，忽夢蓮華生於庭際，因折一房繫於衣裳，既而覺已，便惡葷羶。及迄誕彌歲，在於髻辮，則好為佛事。立性溫柔，雅好高尚，服勤經史，便從鄉舉。年二十有八，俶裝赴京師，路由丹徒，因遇鶴林素禪師。默識玄鑒，知有異操，乃謂之曰：「觀子神府溫粹，幾乎生知。若能出家，必會如來知見。」欽聞，悟識本心，素乃躬為剃髮，謂門人法鑑曰：「此子異日大興吾教，與人為師。」尋登壇納戒，鍊行安禪，領徑直之一言，越周旋之三學。自此辭素南征，素曰：「汝乘流而行，逢『徑』即止。」後到臨安，視東北之高巒，乃天目之分徑，偶問樵子，言是徑山，遂謀挂錫於此。見苫蓋覆罝網，屑近而宴居，介然而坐。時雨雪方霽，旁無煙火，獵者至，將取其物，頗甚驚異歎嗟，皆焚網折弓而知止殺焉。下山募人營小室，請居之。近山居，前臨海令吳貞捨別墅以資之。自茲盛化，參學者眾。代宗睿武皇帝大曆三年戊申歲二月，下詔曰：「朕聞江左有蘊道禪人，德性氷霜，淨行林野，朕虛心瞻企，渴仰懸懸。有感必通，國亦大慶，願和尚遠降中天，盡朕歸向。不違願力，應物見形。今遣內侍黃鳳宣旨，特到詔迎，速副朕心。春暄，師得安否！遣此不多及。」勅令：「本州供送，凡到州縣，開淨院安置，官吏不許謁見，疲師心力。弟子不算多少，聽其隨侍。」帝見，鄭重咨問法要，供施勤至。司徒楊綰篤情道樞，行出人表，一見欽於眾，退而歎曰：「此實方外之高士也，難得而名焉！」帝累賜以縑繒，陳設御饌，皆拒而不受。止布衣蔬食，悉令弟子分衛，唯用陶器行。少欲知足，無以儔比。帝聞之更加仰重，謂南陽忠禪師曰：「欲錫欽一名。」手詔賜號國一焉。德宗貞元五年，遣使齎璽書宣勞，并慶賜豐厚。欽之在京及迴浙，令僕公王節制州邑名賢執弟子禮者，相國崔渙、裴晉公度、第五琦、陳少遊等。自淮而南，婦人禮乞號，皆目之為「功德山」焉。六年，州牧王顏請出州治龍興寺淨院安置，婉避韓滉之廢毀山房也。八年壬申十二月示疾，說法而長逝，報齡七十九，法臘五十。德宗賜諡曰大覺。所度弟子崇惠禪師，次大祿山顏禪師，參學范陽杏山悟禪師，次清陽廣敷禪師。于時奉葬禮者，弟子實相、常覺等，以全身起塔于龍興淨院。初，欽在山，猛獸鷙鳥馴狎。有白兔二跪于杖屨之間。又嘗養一鷄，不食生類，隨之若影，不遊他所。及其入長安，長鳴三日而絕。今鷄塚在山之椒。欽形貌魁岸，身裁七尺，骨法奇異。今塔中塑師之貌，凭几猶生焉。杭之錢氏為國，當天復壬戌中，叛徒許思作亂，兵士雜宣城之卒發此塔，謂其中有寶貨。見二甕上下合，藏肉形全在而髮長覆面。兵士合甕而去。刺史王顏撰碑述德，比部郎中崔元翰、湖州刺史崔玄亮、故相李吉甫、丘丹各有碑碣焉。

Shi Faqin had the secular surname Zhu and was a native of Kunshan in Wujun. His family background was refined and Confucian; his grandfather and father were both versed in the profound [Daoist] and Confucian traditions, yet they looked proudly upon the forests and wilds without serving in officialdom. When Qin was conceived, his mother, Lady Guan, suddenly dreamt that a lotus blossom grew in the courtyard; she then plucked a pod and tied it to her garments, and upon waking, she developed an aversion to pungent and meaty foods. When he reached infancy and still wore his hair braided, he loved performing Buddhist deeds. Mild and gentle by nature, he had an elegant penchant for high pursuits; diligent in the classics and histories, he took part in the local recommendations. At the age of twenty-eight, he packed his baggage to travel to the capital. Journeying through Dantu, he happened to meet Dhyāna Master Su of Helin. Su, possessing inner insight and profound discernment, recognized his extraordinary character and said to him: "Observing that the lodge of your spirit is warm and pure, you are nearly born with innate knowledge. If you can leave home, you will surely accord with the Tathāgata's knowledge and vision." Hearing this, Qin awakened to his fundamental mind. Su personally shaved his head and said to his disciple Fajian, "This young man will greatly flourish our teaching in the future and serve as a master to others." Soon afterward, he mounted the platform to receive the precepts, polished his conduct, settled into dhyāna, grasped the single direct word, and transcended the comprehensive threefold learning. From then on, he took leave of Su to journey south. Su said, "Proceed by following the currents; halt when you encounter 'Jing' (path/Mount Jing)." Later, reaching Lin'an, he looked at the high peaks to the northeast, which were the branch paths of Tianmu; inquiring by chance of a woodcutter, who told him it was Mount Jing, he resolved to hang his staff there. Seeing a thatched covering over hunting nets, he approached without disdain, made his dwelling there, and sat upright. At that time, rain and snow had just cleared, and there was no hearth fire nearby. When hunters arrived to retrieve their gear, they were greatly astonished and marveled at him; they all burned their nets, broke their bows, and learned to cease killing. They went down the mountain to recruit people to build a small lodge and invited him to dwell in it. Living near the mountain, Wu Zhen, former magistrate of Linhai, donated his villa to support him. From then on, his transformation of others flourished, and students of Chan gathered in great numbers. In the second month of the third year of the Dali era (a wushen year) under Emperor Ruiwu (Daizong), an imperial edict was issued saying: "We have heard that in Jiangzuo there is a dhyāna practitioner who embodies the Dao, whose virtuous character is like ice and frost, practicing pure deeds in the forest and wilds. We look up to you with an empty mind and yearn for you with deep longing. Where there is resonance, there must be communion, which is also a great blessing for the realm. We pray that the Venerable One will condescend to travel far to the central capital to fulfill Our devotion. Do not go against the power of your vows; manifest form in response to beings. We now dispatch the palace attendant Huang Feng to proclaim the decree and specially welcome you; swiftly accord with Our wish. The spring is warming; is the Master well? We dispatch this without extensive detail." The decree ordered: "His home prefecture shall provide provisions and escort; wherever he arrives at prefectures and counties, a pure courtyard shall be opened to lodge him. Officials are not permitted to seek audience, lest they exhaust the master's physical and mental strength. His disciples shall not be limited in number, and are permitted to attend him." When the emperor met him, he inquired about the essentials of the Dharma with great reverence, and provided diligent and lavish offerings. Situ Yang Guan, deeply devoted to the pivot of the Dao and distinguished in conduct above ordinary men, saw Qin among the assembly and sighed upon withdrawing: "This is truly a lofty scholar beyond the secular realm; his excellence is difficult to capture in name!" The emperor repeatedly bestowed fine silks upon him and presented imperial meals, but Qin declined them all without accepting. He wore only plain cloth and ate only vegetarian food, directing his disciples to beg for food and using only pottery vessels on his rounds. His few desires and contentment were without peer. When the emperor heard this, his reverence deepened, and he said to Dhyāna Master Zhong of Nanyang, "I wish to bestow a name upon Qin." He issued a handwritten decree bestowing the title "National Master First" (Guoyi). In the fifth year of the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong, an envoy was dispatched carrying an imperial letter to convey greetings and present abundant gifts. During Qin's stay in the capital and upon his return to Zhe, regional governors, princes, dukes, and eminent literati of prefectures and cities who showed discipleship toward him included Chancellor Cui Huan, Duke Pei Du of Jin, Diwu Qi, and Chen Shaoyou. From the Huai River south, women who bowed and requested titles all referred to him as the "Mountain of Merit." In the sixth year, Prefect Wang Yan requested that he move out to be accommodated in the pure courtyard of Longxing Temple at the prefectural seat, thereby tactfully avoiding Han Huang's destruction of mountain chambers. In the twelfth month of the eighth year, a renshen year, he manifested illness, expounded the Dharma, and passed away forever at the age of seventy-nine, with a dharma age of fifty. Dezong bestowed the posthumous title Great Awakening (Dajue). Among the disciples he ordained was Dhyāna Master Chonghui; next was Dhyāna Master Yan of Mount Dalu, Dhyāna Master Wu of Mount Xing in Fanyang who came to study under him, and next Dhyāna Master Guangfu of Qingyang. At that time, those presiding over the funeral rites were disciples such as Shixiang and Changjue, who erected a stupa for his complete body in the pure courtyard of Longxing. Earlier, when Qin lived on the mountain, ferocious beasts and birds of prey became tame and familiar. Two white rabbits knelt beside his staff and sandals. He also once raised a rooster that did not eat living creatures, following him like a shadow and never straying elsewhere. When Qin entered Chang'an, it crowed mournfully for three days and died. The rooster's grave is now on the mountain peak. Qin's appearance was commanding, standing seven feet tall, with extraordinary bone structure. The master's likeness is now sculpted within the stupa, leaning on an armrest as though alive. When the Qian clan of Hangzhou ruled the country, during the Tianfu era (a renxu year), the rebel Xu Si staged an insurrection; soldiers mixed with troops from Xuancheng opened this stupa, believing there were precious treasures inside. They saw two urns joined upper and lower, enclosing the fleshy body completely intact, with hair long enough to cover the face. The soldiers closed the urns and left. Prefect Wang Yan composed a stele commemorating his virtue; Cui Yuanhan, director of the Bureau of Review; Cui Xuanliang, prefect of Huzhou; the late Chancellor Li Jifu; and Qiu Dan each composed stele inscriptions.