宋高僧傳 13.7

13.7

Śramaṇa Zhixian was a native of Qingzhou. His stature was seven feet tall; he was broadly learned with a strong memory, possessing talent and strategy. His relatives and clansmen observed his character and said to him: 'If you apply yourself to study, you will later become a fine vessel to assist the times.' Soon after, he took leave of his family and left secular life. Afterward, his aspiration for the Dharma was firm, and he traveled south to pay homage at the great assembly of Chan Master Dayuan of Mount Guishan, where everyone regarded Xian as brilliant and sharp. One day, Guishan called him for an interview, and he was at a complete loss. He consigned all the essential sayings of various masters to the ashes at once, saying: 'Painted rice-cakes cannot satisfy hunger!' He then looked toward the vestige of National Preceptor Zhong of Nanyang and took up residence there. Once, while clearing weeds and trees, a shard struck a piece of tile; he burst out laughing, secretly having an awakening. He composed a verse and sang it, and from this his teaching flourished greatly. After his passing, an imperial decree conferred the posthumous title Grand Master Xideng, and his pagoda was named Yanfu. Next is Śramaṇa Datong of Mount Touzi in Tongcheng, Shuzhou, whose secular surname was Liu and who was a native of Huaining in Shuzhou. In his youth, his nature was upright, and he had a mature bearing. He left secular life under Chan Master Baotang Man in Luoyang. He initially practiced the contemplation of ānāpāna, and when his practice was nearly complete, he sought the nature-ocean of the Avataṃsaka. Again shouldering his staff, he paid respects at the Dharma assembly of Mount Cuiwei; together with Yuantong of Funiu, he was stimulated and sought instruction, thereby greatly clarifying the patriarchal intent. From this, he wandered freely all over, and returning to his native land, hid at Mount Touzi, building a thatched hut where he dwelled to pursue his aspiration. During the Zhonghe era, the rebel Huang Chao overturned the metropolitan region, and the world was in turmoil. Some bandits carrying blades asked Tong: 'Why do you live here?' He answered them with the Buddhadharma. The chieftain, upon hearing it, prostrated in reverence, stripped off his clothing to offer it to him, and went down the mountain. On the sixth day of the fourth month in the fourth year of Qianhua under the Later Liang, the jiaxu year, he sat cross-legged and passed away at the age of ninety-six, with a dharma age of forty-six. In all, he resided on and transformed this mountain for over thirty years.