宋高僧傳 15
English (machine translation) 15
- Language
- English
15.1
Compiled under Imperial Order by Śramaṇa Zanning and others, Grand Master Tonghui and Recipient of the Purple Robe, of Tianchou Temple on the Left Street of the Song
15.2
Section Four: Elucidation of the Vinaya, Part Two (Nineteen main biographies, three accompanying)
15.3
Tang Dynasty: Biography of Lingyi of Yifeng Temple in Yuhang
15.4
Shi Lingyi was surnamed Wu and was a native of Guangling. His spirit was limpid and his disposition harmonious; his mind was empty and vast, harmonizing in its purity with the primordial essence of the Great Harmony. When he reached nine years of age, he developed an aversion to the decaying house [of worldly existence] and resolved to enter the Buddhist monastery, joining the ranks of those who cease worldly attachments and cultivate compassion, and observing the rules for renouncing household life. When he reached his twentieth year, he received the full precepts; he studied without weariness and cultivated the vinaya discipline. He displayed pleasant banter when he wished to clarify liberation, and showed people literary arts in order to guide worldly wisdom. From the beginning, he never considered there to be a self within the body, or a body within the self. His virtue perfected and the Way accomplished, when his conditions ceased his physical form dissolved; on the sixteenth day of the tenth month in winter of the first year of Baoying, he passed into quiescence at Longxing Temple in Hangzhou, at the age of thirty-five, having completed fifteen summer retreats. Facing his end, he turned to his disciples and instructed them to carry out the rite of cremation (jhāpeti) and erect a small stūpa. At that time, Li Shu, Officer of the Guard of the Left Guards; Li Tang, Magistrate of Jiaxing County; and Dugu Ji, Officer of the Left Jinwu Guard, together mourned the collapse of this roof beam [of Dharma] and, concerned that hills and valleys might shift with time and that later generations, when venerating the arhat's stūpa, would be ignorant of the arhat's virtuous conduct, inscribed a stone on the sunny side of the eastern peak of Mount Wulin. Lingyi's family had been wealthy through commerce; after shaving his head, he gave away property worth a thousand pieces of gold entirely yielding it to his orphaned siblings, taking for himself only a patchwork robe and a tin staff. From then on, he studied under Master Fashen of Weiyang, learning the Xiangbu vinaya, reaching its subtleties and attaining its peak. Those who were good friends with him were Huining, Mingyou, Lingyou, Tanyi of Kuaiji, and Yixuan of Jinling; they were fellow disciples who offered mutual benefit—seven notable figures in all. Lingyi spat upon the dust of the world; he practiced walking meditation day after day, and whenever he sat in quiet meditation, he always chose the top of a mountain beneath a tree. At first, he stayed at Xuanliu Temple on the southern side of Mount Kuaiji, associating with the dhyāna practitioners Yinkong, Qian, and Jing to discuss the ultimate truth. He also traveled to Qingyun Temple, and further resided at Yifeng Temple in Yuhang. The temple bordered green hills and its gates faced beautiful scenery; solitary and bright, he went his own way. 'Though a violent wind may uproot the mountains, the correct wisdom does not move; though giant waves may wash over the sun, the floating bag does not drift.' Thereupon, he composed the *Treatise on the Nature of Phenomena* (Faxing lun) to plumb the ultimate truth; these were Lingyi's fully realized words. Whenever he had leisure from dhyāna and recitation, he would compose poems on current affairs; his thoughts entered into the unimpeded, and his inspirations possessed vibrant movement. The remaining rhymes of Pan Yue and Ruan Ji, the missing verses of Jiang Yan and Xie Lingyun—he was surely able to weave them together, feeling no shame before the ancients. Patiently and skillfully guiding others, his disciples received instruction like good fields absorbing rich rain. Lingyi never set foot inside the gates of aristocratic families, but made friends beyond the mundane dust with the Daoist Pan Zhiqing of Tiantai, Zhu Fang of Xiangyang, Zhang Ji of Nanyang, Huangfu Zeng of Anding, Zhang Nanshi of Fanyang, Lu Xun of Wujun, Xu Yi of Donghai, and Lu Hongjian of Jingling; they discussed virtue and savored the Way, reciting verses clearly all day long. When completing an essay, he always broadened it with culture and restrained it with practice, measuring the capacities of their faculties to administer medicine accordingly. Lingyi lived in a high corner of the temple where originally there was neither well nor spring; one day, water burst open and gushed forth, spraying golden-sand currents to the left and right of the courtyard; dipping from it, it grew clearer, and ladling it, it was never exhausted: this was truly the response moved by his utmost sincerity. His poems circulated throughout the world, and the best of them were selected for inclusion in the *Jianqi ji*.
15.5
Tang: A Biography of Qihan of East Huqiu Temple in Wujun
15.6
Shi Qihan, courtesy name Dengzhi, was a son of the Shen family of Wuxing. His great-great-grandfather was the Chancellor of the National University under the Chen dynasty; his great-grandfather was an administrative aide of Weizhou under the Sui; his grandfather and father did not serve in office for two generations. When Qihan was a child, he accompanied his father to a mountain temple; treading upon elevated and pure traces untainted by dust, he had an intuitive recollection of past lives, and firmly requested to renounce household life. On the fifth day of the eighth month in the eighth year of Tianbao, in accordance with the imperial decree for ordination, his name was registered at Yongding Temple. In the tenth month of the ninth year, he ascended the five-part ordination platform to take the full precepts for both form and conduct, and his registration was moved to Kaiyuan Temple. During the Dali era, he was transferred to Huqiu Temple, both moves being made at the request of the monastics and laity of the two prefectures, whose wishes he obeyed. Qihan's nature for the Way was profound and silent, and outwardly he was serene. His steps did not approach fame, his person was not involved in worldly affairs, and he remained constantly in a single room, as quiet as if no one were there; how could he be compared to those worldly gentlemen who flock in droves playing bamboo reeds? He specialized in the commentaries and sub-commentaries of the Xiangbu [tradition], possessing sharp intelligence that was rarely matched. He was illumined in the *Lotus Sūtra* and presided over the ordination platforms in Suzhou and Huzhou; whenever requested to be the leader, he served as what is now called the 'platform master'. In the tenth year of the Dali era, he entered the Liushui Nianfo sanctuary; that night, the Western Paradise manifested suddenly in his mindfulness, which was truly brought about by his pure sincerity. In that same year, he passed away in his own cloister, at the age of sixty-eight, with a dharma age of twenty-six. On the day Qihan fell ill, he said to his disciples: 'There is a crane flying down from the sky, circling before me; do you see it? At the destined time of demise, even lesser sages fall ill; how could I avoid it?' Among his disciples who received instruction were Ruyin, and Xuandui of the ordination platform. He forged a spiritual fraternity with Jiaoran of Wuxing; both were lofty and pure, and difficult to emulate casually.
15.7
Tang: A Biography of Langran of Zhaoyin Temple in Runzhou
15.8
Shi Langran, whose secular surname was Wei, belonged to a family of hereditary official rank; his ancestors had crossed the river south following the Eastern Jin, and so they became people of Nanxu. During the Kaiyuan era he entered the Way, receiving instruction under Master Qi of Kaiyuan Temple in Danyang. In the early Tianbao era, he received the full precepts under Vinaya Master Guang of Huayan Temple in Hangzhou. Later, he moved to Lingyin Temple, relying on Vinaya Master Yuan, mastered the *Four-Part Vinaya Commentary* (Sifenlü chao), and once more received instructions under Vinaya Master Tanyi of Yuezhou, meticulously examining the vinaya texts and lecturing to guide students, receiving responses from far and wide. In the second year of the Zhide era under Emperor Suzong, by imperial order upon recommendation for transfer, his registration was assigned to Cihe Temple. During the Shangyuan era, the Prefect Wei Xuan again invited him to be the Grand Virtuous Leader of Zhaoyin Temple. In that same year, in the leisure from his lecturing, he composed the ten-fascicle *Decisions on the Ancient and Modern* (Gujin jue), explaining several hundred thousand words of the *Four-Part Vinaya Commentary*; its complicated interpretations and precedents were clarified with great order, and it circulated widely in the world. Observing that he first set out the views of the ancients and, wherever there was something unsatisfactory, rendered a judgment on it, it was therefore named 'Decisions'. In his own preface to the *Decisions*, he wrote that he first studied relying on Vinaya Master Wei of Tianzhu, and further followed the two masters Yuan and [Tan]yi. In total, he ascended the ordination platform twenty-six times, serving each time as the master of the platform assembly. He lectured on the *Vinaya Commentary* a total of twenty-eight times. Whenever gifts were offered, whether abundant or meager, he accepted and redirected them as donations to the two fields of compassion and faith. Regarding the doctrinal teachings, whenever he opened texts and investigated their meanings, he always attributed his ability to the power of past habits. He upheld the restraints of the precepts without violating them for an instant. In winter, on the guimao day of the twelfth year of Dali, he sat cross-legged as usual and peacefully passed away, aged fifty-four, with a saṅgha age of thirty-five. In the following thirteenth year, in spring on the xinyou day, a stūpa was erected on the western plain of the mountain; those wearing mourning garments of hemp who wept tears of blood were numbered by the thousands. His disciples of noble conduct included Qinghao and Zeyan. Disciples who sought his guidance included Wei Xuan, Censor-in-chief and Surveillance Commissioner of Hongfu; Li Hua, Supernumerary of the Ministry of Personnel; Han Ben, Prefect of Runzhou; Wei Sun, Prefect of Huzhou; Liu Xian, Grand Censor-in-chief; and Fan Mian, Prefect of Runzhou; all took refuge in him and had faith in him. Liu Shi, Supernumerary of the Bureau of Agricultural Colonies, composed the stela inscription and eulogy for him.
15.9
Tang: A Biography of Dayi of Chengxin Temple in Yuezhou
15.10
Shi Dayi, courtesy name Yuanzhen, had the secular surname Xu, and was a native of Xiaoshan in Kuaiji. On the fifth day of the fifth month in the second year of Tianzhou, endowed with an extraordinary nature, he was born intelligent and bright. At seven years of age, his father instructed him in the classics, and he could recite several thousand words each day. At twelve years of age, he requested to go to Lingyin Temple in Shanyin to seek a master; there he studied the internal teachings of Buddhism, thoroughly understanding every scroll he opened, and everyone marveled at him. During the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong, when imperial ordinations were granted, Area Commander Hu Yuanli tested candidates on scripture and doctrine, and Dayi placed first in the examination. Having shaved his head and dyed his robes, he was assigned to Zhaoxuan Temple. From then on, he listened to lectures and studied, broadening his knowledge into both Daoist metaphysics and Confucianism. In the early Kaiyuan era, he received the full precepts under Vinaya Master Yuan of Wujun. He further relied on Vinaya Master Shen of Kaiyuan Temple in his home prefecture, studying the directives and instructions of the *Four-Part Vinaya*. Dayi then traveled to Chang'an. Master Shen had already passed away, so he tucked up his robes and studied under Vinaya Master Xuan'yan of Fahua Temple; his outstanding brilliance was peerless. Xuan'yan said, 'As for transmitting the Dharma today, who is there if not you?' Then Vinaya Master Chao of his home temple, Chengxin Temple, invited him to take up a temple post. During the Kaiyuan era, when he lost his parents, he vowed to enter the Folong cloister on Mount Tiantai to turn the Tripiṭaka scriptures, repaying his debt for their toil. During the Tianbao era, he then built a chamber at Beiwu, which was the former land of Zhi Dun in Wozhou. Early on, he dreamed of two Indian monks saying, 'You shall reside here for twenty days.' At the beginning of the Baoying era, he dreamed again: 'The original period of twenty days is now complete. Demonic rebels are about to arrive; it is not fitting to remain here any longer.' Shortly thereafter, the coastal rebel Yuan Chao illegally occupied Shan County and reached Danqiu. Dayi thereupon went together with Vinaya Master Jiong of Dayu Temple to the place of Dhyāna Master Lang of Zuoxi, studying shamatha and vipashyana (calm-abiding and insight), and attained great mastery of them. Those among the court dignitaries who took refuge in him over time included Chancellor Du Hongjian, Minister Xue Jianxun, and Censor Dugu Jun. Xu Qiao, Prefect of Mingzhou, and later Xu Hao, were both from his clan. In the fifth month of the jiwei year of Dali, he passed away in his own cloister, at the age of eighty-nine, with a saṅgha age of sixty-three. He was encoffined at his former dwelling in Beiwu of the temple, and a stūpa was subsequently erected there. In total, Dayi ascended the ordination platform twenty-seven times, and the disciples who received the precepts from him numbered over thirty thousand. At the time of his death, heavenly music was heard in his room, verifying that his lifelong recitation of the *Lotus Sūtra*, the *Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra*, and the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna prātimokṣas served as verbal karma and virtuous practice, ensuring that if he did not return to Tuṣita, he would go to the Pure Land, so his place of rebirth is beyond question.
15.11
Tang: A Biography of Yixuan of Xingning Temple in Changzhou
15.12
Shi Yixuan was a native of Jinling. Having planted sharp faculties in past lives, he detachedly left the mundane world; without troubling his teachers' instructions, he disciplined his own mind. After receiving the precepts, he was untiring in the study of the vinaya, never letting time pass in vain. Broadly integrating Daoist metaphysics and Confucianism, he was accomplished in poetry and prose, answering unexpected queries with prompt eloquence. Furthermore, he possessed the modest and deferential manner of Yanling, truly grasping the essence of the vinaya. Earlier, Fashen of Yangzhou had transmitted the ancient models, and was esteemed throughout the Huai region as an eminent master. In the early Tianbao era, Xuan tidied his garments and gathered his robes to inquire of him over a long period, and his peers all submitted to him in admiration. Fashen praised him with admiration, saying, 'He is truly awe-inspiring!' Xuan lectured on the *Record of Affairs* (Shichao) of Mount Zhongnan and sought instruction in the courtyard of Vinaya Master Zhou; examining and verifying it with extraordinary precision, he composed the six-fascicle *Record of Compromise* (Zhezhong ji) to explain it. This was because he was dissatisfied with the errors made by masters such as Rongji, Yan, and Sheng. He allowed right and wrong to each be fully apportioned, enabling people to avoid relying blindly on their own schools and taking sides; from this, it gained its title. Piling produced many monks of renowned scholar status, among whom were the 'Three Xuans': Huixuan, Dexuan, and Yixuan. At that time, when studying in Jiangdu, he was friends and fellow disciples with Tanyi of Kuaiji, Huaiyi of Minchuan, and Lingyi of Qingyun. Since Jinling had the 'Three Xuans', Fashen's school likewise produced the 'Three Yis'. The region south of the Yangtze cherished this as a fine topic of conversation. At the end of the Tianbao era, Xuan's transformative guidance flourished widely, and his end was not known.
15.13
The appraisal states: Names are established to determine meanings, and their forms are inexhaustible. Why, then, would disciples follow in their teachers' footsteps yet infringe upon the taboo name of the founder of the teaching? I answer: "In the Spring and Autumn Annals, the noble and the lowly did not avoid sharing the same title." Some might say: "Teng and Qi were not peers, yet both were recorded as 'Marquis'; thus it is said 'they did not avoid sharing the same title.' How can a title and a personal name be treated as an equivalent precedent?" I answer: "If even a great thing like a title is not avoided, why should a small thing like a personal name be avoided? Moreover, when Yixuan was first given his name, how could he have known that as a disciple he would achieve accomplishments within the school of Nanshan? Furthermore, for those who have left household life, there is certainly no hindrance. First, their surname has already followed the Sanskrit pattern rather than the Chinese, and all are called the Śākya clan. Second, the Western Regions have no name taboos, and here we should conform to that. In addition, name taboos were used by the people of Zhou to serve ghosts and spirits; the Xia and Shang clearly had no name taboos. What is more, Master [Dao]xuan has already been born in Tuṣita, at least as a heavenly being and at most as a bodhisattva—how could it be proper to serve him like a ghost or spirit? This has caused eminent and superior men of the early Tang often to retain only a single-character name, precisely because the taboo was observed to an extreme. Now, when compiling [their biographies], it results in missing text. Thus we know that in the ultimate truth there are no taboos; it is only the conventional truth that takes fright when hearing something similar." Some might say: "Now that śramaṇas have taken Śākya as their surname and do not observe name taboos, claiming that they do not follow the conventional truth, why then do they address the sovereign as 'your subject' (chen)? Does this exist in the Western Regions, or not?" I answer: "For names not to be used before kings is how memorial petitions from subjects and concubines ought to be. Formerly, Emperor [Gao] of the Qi questioned Wang Jian and thereupon commanded that when appearing before the throne one should declare one's personal name, which continued from the Han through to the Tang. It was only during the reign of Emperor Suzong that addressing oneself as 'your subject' began to appear, and from this it has been perpetuated without reform. Truly, it is because the virtue of śramaṇas has grown thin and daily declines, having once departed never to return. Furthermore, the Dharma has been entrusted to state rulers, and it is truly difficult to change things. What the king deems right is fixed as the standard and cannot be altered. Thus the Buddha said: 'Though it was not instituted by me, if it is pure in various regions, one cannot but put it into practice.'"
15.14
Biography of Bianxiu of Kaiyuan Temple in Suzhou under the Tang
15.15
Shi Bianxiu's secular surname was Liu, and he was a thirty-first generation descendant of Liu Jiao, King of Chu under the Han. Bianxiu was orphaned at a young age, and his paternal uncles raised him with compassion; his observance of ritual was established as taught, and his filial piety arose from his natural disposition. As his past roots were deep, the field of his mind was ready to ripen; he therefore petitioned his eldest uncle to leave household life forever, and his uncle compassionately yielded to his request. Serving a certain dhyāna master of Lingyin [Temple], he was already able to seek guidance, aspiring to enter the Way. What he heard by way of instruction was like a cool breeze entering his bosom, bringing clear and sober awakening. In the fourth year of Tianbao, he received the upasampadā from Grand Master Jianzhen of the Eastern Sea, and received the vinaya from Tanyi of Kuaiji. During the Zhide era, he was recommended for his lofty conduct and registered at Kaiyuan Temple in Wu Commandery. During the Qianyuan era, an edict ordered twenty-five temples throughout the realm to each appoint seven bhadantas to expound the vinaya continuously; Bianxiu was among their number. In recent years he devoted himself to the single gate of the Pure Land, never faltering in mindfulness. He once said to others: "Formerly I heard that practice directed toward the Western [Paradise] is Mahāyāna with characteristics, and that this represents a tangled mind lacking straightforwardness, not the discourse of penetrating insight. Why so? Uttered words are themselves [Buddha-]nature, arising thoughts are all suchness, and a single color or scent is nothing other than the Middle Way—how much more so our right mindfulness!" Bianxiu presided over sixteen platforms, uniquely ordaining people; holding firmly to the vinaya's pivot, the monastic order regulated itself, and both south and north of the lakes looked up to him as a master. On the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the first year of Jianzhong, he fell ill and passed away at the age of sixty-seven, with a dharma age of thirty-five. On the day of his passing, there was a tree in the courtyard with luxuriant branches and leaves; its morning blossoms, just in full bloom, suddenly withered. On the fifth day of the seventh month of that year, his sacred coffin was moved to the right of the pine gate of the Western Temple on Mount Huqiu. His disciples Daoliang, Daogai, and Qinghui together circumambulated the fragrant candana tree. The former Surveillance Commissioners Wei Yuanfu and Li Xiyun, Prefect of Guozhou Li Shu, and Palace Censor Li Daochang all admired his past virtue and were also his friends outside worldly affairs. Jiaozhou wrote a stele inscription and eulogy for him.
15.16
Biography of Rujing of Anguo Temple in the Capital under the Tang
15.17
Shi Rujing: it is unknown where he was from. Just after attaining the rank of the Dharma, when he undertook the vows of the vinaya, he mastered the vinaya and tempered his reputation and integrity. He lectured and exhorted constantly, and his followers gathered like clouds. He excelled in both literary phrasing and brushwork, and was broadly versed in the Confucian classics. Prior to this, Vinaya Master Zhishou's Fourfold Vinaya Commentary circulated in Guanzhong, while Vinaya Master Fali of Weijun composed a Commentary that circulated separately. At that time, the capital region and Hebei each rivaled for their lineages, slightly resembling the stars Shen and Chen. In the late Sui and early Tang, Vinaya Master Daoxuan used Zhishou's Great Commentary as a basis to compose the three-volume Edition and Supplement to the Vinaya Commentary, which served as a concise summary suited to practice and responsive to capacity. Since the Zhenguan era, it had been widely recited and transmitted across the three capital commanderies, the Jiang and Huai rivers, and Min and Shu. Later, Tripiṭaka Master [Xuan]zang's disciple Huaisu, who had earlier practiced the Commentary tradition, subsequently discarded the learning of Daoxuan and Fali, and in the Xianheng era independently composed the Record of the Fourfold Vinaya, later known as the "New Chapter." By the Dali era of Emperor Daizong, the New Chapter and the Old Commentary had mutual merits and demerits. In the thirteenth year, an imperial edict summoned vinaya masters of the three traditions to re-determine the relative weight of the two schools; at that time Rujing was elevated as lineage head, an account of which is found in the "Biography of Yuanzhao." In the second year of Jianzhong, a memorial was submitted allowing both commentaries to circulate side by side, which was achieved through Rujing's efforts. Because Chief Minister Lord Yuan Zai deeply esteemed Master Huaisu and exalted his vinaya teachings, he commanded Rujing to write a biography for the master of the New Commentary.
15.18
Biography of Jianyuan (Huiguan) of Kaizhao Temple in Hanzhou under the Tang
15.19
Shi Jianyuan: it is unknown where he was from. He was of clear and upright conduct, modeling himself after the path of the vinaya, serving as an exemplar for bhikṣus—none failed to follow him. Later he expounded the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, which was renowned as an exceptional gathering. Each day porridge and meals were provided for a thousand people, yet the rice and millet in his granaries and baskets amounted to only a few hundred hu; taken without end, through summer and autumn, they never ran out—such was his unseen resonance. His mountain temple had exceedingly numerous miraculous signs: Dhyāna Master Huiguan saw more than three hundred monks holding lotus lamps, soaring through the sky and moving distinctly like shooting stars. During the Kaiyuan era, Duke of Ji Cui Ning, suspecting this to be deceitful sorcery, personally entered the mountain to spend the night, having pre-emptively banned firelight for thirty li around in all four directions. By the third night, more than a hundred lamps appeared, accompanied by red light extending over a thousand feet. Duke Cui bowed down in veneration with a start, sighing at what had never been seen before. At that time, a golden hand appeared amidst the pines, about seven feet long, and there were two bodhisattvas shimmering in yellow and white gold. Furthermore, upon a cypress tree before the courtyard, a single lamp appeared by day, its brightness like the sun, horizontally spreading like crystal. On the mountain about three li away, there was a precious jewel ten feet in circumference, glittering and delightful. Over the mountain gate of the western ridge hung a great rainbow bridge, upon which Sanskrit monks, old men, and boys appeared intermittently, and two torches blazed in the void, appearing to welcome and send off each other as they crossed. Below stood four bodhisattvas in pairs, emitting light that enveloped their whole bodies, about sixty to seventy feet high. Then behind the great pine forest an architrave plaque of a temple suddenly appeared, inscribed in seal script with the words "Sanxue" (Three Learnings). Moreover, beneath the lamps hung two embroidered ribbons. Amidst the eastern forest, a golden mountain appeared by night. When the moon was at the zenith, lamps of both gold and silver hues lined up beside the grave of Master Zhixuan. Wei Gao, Prince of Nankang, went to the temple every three months to host a great vegetarian feast for three hundred bodhisattvas; the bodhisattvas manifested their forms holding lamps, while monks held incense and lamps to welcome them, and the censers stood at the temple gate. Secretariat Director Bai Minzhong, seeing these auspicious omens, established this temple. In the eighth year of Dazhong, the plaque was altered to read "Kaizhao." Vinaya Master Jianyuan's moral transformation of the Way was truly as numinous as the place itself! His disciples transmitted and expounded his teachings, which became the standard for Eastern Sichuan.
15.20
Biography of Zhihong of Shuanglin Temple in Wu Commandery under the Tang
15.21
Shi Zhihong's secular surname was Qian, and he was a native of Xiaruo in Changcheng, Huzhou. His original name was Yan, and Zhihong was his courtesy name. In his youth he left household life at a township temple in Shimen, which was the Jinglin Temple of the Liang dynasty. After having his hair shaved and receiving the upasampadā, he went to Maoyuan to attend the grand assembly of Master Daocheng, meticulously investigating subtle points. At that time, Tanqing and Shenggong polished their studies alongside him, ultimately completing a great legacy. However, he felt dissatisfied that past virtuous masters, when commenting on Nanshan's Commentary, made uneven assessments, having no fixed standard for praise and blame, catching the cicada while forgetting what was behind, or mending the ceremonial robe incompletely. He encapsulated the profundities of the notes and commentaries of over forty masters, beginning with Daci and Ling'e, compiling them into twenty volumes titled the Record of Searching the Profound. During the Dali era, Chengguan, the author of the Commentary on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, perused it and placed a preface at its beginning. Although his explanations and analyses were not without merits, his overly intricate divisions of headings were his shortcoming. He lived to the age of one hundred and eight, and was granted by imperial decree the title Grand Master Changshou. In recent times, only his courtesy name has circulated. Now Shuanglin Temple has repeatedly suffered warfare and flood, so the stele inscriptions have been lost, concealing his words and deeds. Alas! Master Yan's ancestry and birth must have been identical to those of Vinaya Master [Dao]xuan of Nanshan, which is also an admirable thing.
15.22
Biography of Chengru of Anguo Temple in the Capital under the Tang
15.23
Shi Chengru: his clan is unknown. He meticulously investigated the vinaya texts and was quite skilled at lecturing and expounding, regulating the dark-robed assembly such that none failed to follow the rules. During the reign of Emperor Daizong, he took part in the translation of scriptures. Responding to calls from both the Left and Right Streets, he presided at the altar to ordain people, with disciples numbering in the thousands. Prior to this, when members of the five assemblies passed away, their robes, supplies, and utensils all went into the government storehouses; through successive reigns, how could this be rectified? Chengru thereupon cited various vinayas: when an ordained bhikṣu is alive, acquisitions follow him; upon his death, acquisitions revert to the saṅgha—meaning that coming and going, there are fundamentally no possessions. If bhikṣus covetously hoard, their falling away from here stems precisely from this. Now, if [their belongings] revert to the state, it equates them with confiscated property. Past legacies lacked anyone to raise and redress them. Belonging now to an enlightened age, he begged that the vinaya rules be followed, distinguishing between light and heavy property. On the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month of the second year of Dali, an imperial edict was issued: henceforth, when monks die, their belongings shall accordingly revert to the saṅgha, and this was promulgated in a dispatch from the Secretariat-Chancellery, to be obeyed throughout the realm. As a vinaya master, Chengru not only instructed the two assemblies, but also upheld the neglected matters of the monastic community. Accomplishing immortal merit—Master Chengru was truly such a man! He ended his days as the sthavira (senior monk) of both Ximing and Anguo temples. He had a Collected Works in three volumes, which was gathered and circulated by Yuanzhao.
15.24
Biography of Qingjiang of Bianjue Temple in Xiangzhou under the Tang
15.25
Shi Qingjiang was a man from Kuaiji; his family name is unknown. From youth he realized that all is illusory foam. Constrained by the reins of worldly ties, when he once entered a monastery, he immediately longed for the gate of emptiness. Though his parents discouraged and remonstrated with him, his resolve was firmly established and hard to uproot. He paid homage to the Vinaya Master Tanyi as his preceptor (upādhyāya). When reciting scriptural texts, he mastered them all at a glance. Elders appraised him, saying: 'He is a thousand-li steed of the Śākya gate.' Seeking the Dharma at the Tianzhu Ordination Platform in Zheyang, he and his fellow student Qingyuan became disciples under the Upādhyāya Shouzhi. Returning, he attended lectures on Master Yi's Xiangshu (Commentary on the Forms) and the Nanshan Lüchao (Vinaya Commentary of Mount Nan). After a year, his grasp of subtle principles reached the spirit-like; he thoroughly mastered them all. He was also skilled in literary compositions: his Confucian writings possessed an elevated style and refined diction, dominating the beauty of a single region, with few equals in his time. Yet his impatient and irascible temper was unlike other men. Once over a slight matter with Master Yi he was dissatisfied, which incurred criticism for abandoning his upādhyāya. Thereupon he traveled through various regions and served diligently, never failing to attend any gathering on the Vinaya. He reproached himself, saying: 'I have traveled through half the realm, yet few match my original master.' He returned to Kuaiji when Master Yi was already old. When the saṅgha held a great assembly, Qingjiang struck the wooden clapper and called out: 'So-and-so returns to submit to the Upādhyāya for acceptance.' At that time Master Yi scolded and reviled him, but Jiang wept like rain, repented, and said: 'My previous thought was ignorant; my later mind has realized. I pray that the Upādhyāya, out of great compassion, will grant me joy. If you do not deign to receive me, it is merely that the man of Yue cannot force the sale of a Zhangfu cap.' Master Yi took pity on his repeated pleas for mercy, and said: 'For your sake I swallow my grievance.' They thus became master and disciple as before. Jiang also studied dhyāna contemplation. In the eighth year of Dali, he met National Teacher Zhong by the banks of the Ru River. Because a disciple said on Zhong's behalf, 'This Vinaya master is the Upādhyāya's fellow countryman,' they met with delight. Soon Jiang went to Nanyang, where he once again had an audience with the National Teacher and was secretly transmitted the essentials of mind.
15.26
The appraisal says: Jiang once composed the 'Poem on the Seventh Night', which some called one of the four rejections. In reply it is said: 'When poets compose, their intent is not uniform. Huixiu's 'Lament of Separation', Lu Ji's 'Altair', and Qu Yuan's 'Lady of the Xiang'—were these really on account of lust? They were merely parables and allegorical analogies of the time. If it were otherwise, then speaking of fire would burn the mouth, and speaking of food would satisfy hunger. Jiang's abandonment of his master was followed by his extolling the master's excellence; this was a reversal of expedient means to accord with the Dao. He truly composed this poem to alert the world to impermanence and to guide people into the Buddha's wisdom. What is the reason for this? Upon scrutiny, when Jiang met National Teacher Zhong, he profoundly illuminated mysterious principles; one should not constrain him with the Hīnayāna Dharma of the mundane realm!'
15.27
Biography of Lingche of Yunmen Temple in Kuaiji under the Tang
15.28
Shi Lingche: it is unknown from where he came. By nature he was pure and upright, maintaining his integrity without alteration, and his talent was especially evident in chanting and expressing his sentiments through verse. Residing at Yunmen Temple by the Yue stream, by the year he came of age his renown for literature had spread far and wide. He lectured and instructed without weariness, and students gathered like crowds in a marketplace. The former Editorial Director Yan Wei, Prefect of Suizhou Liu Changqing, and former Palace Attendant Censor Huangfu Zeng saw his face and spoke from the heart, adhering together like glue and lacquer, chiming and answering one another in verse, their fame dispersing to the four corners. Che traveled to Wuxing, where he met Master Jiao of Mount Zhu; they bonded on a single meeting as companions of the woods and streams, clicking their tongues in mutual praise. Jiao sent a letter to Censor Bao Ji, prominently selecting and highlighting his most valued stirring verses: 'In his 'Composed upon Returning South of the Xiang', there are the lines: "By mountain edge and water's brim, waiting for the moon to shine, / For a moment toward the human realm, I borrow a path to walk; / Now returning toward the mountain edge once more, / There is only lake water, and no path to walk." All the works of this monk are marvelous, but this single piece in particular made this old monk want to discard his brush and inkstone upon seeing it. I humbly hope the Censor, with your lofty discernment and deep measure, will advance him or leave him be. Just now the realm faces troubles, and great worthies exert themselves for the monarch; that I should abruptly present an unurgent matter to importune your ears and eyes also reveals this foolish old monk's failure to understand the times. Yet Master Che holds fast to his mind and establishes his integrity; he is truly rare to find. His practice of the Dao and wisdom of emptiness would not bring shame before Daoan and Huiyuan. Furthermore, he composed the Luzong yinyuan (Tracing the Source of the Vinaya School) in twenty-one rolls, to which the dark-robed stream turned. As for profound discourse and guiding principles, he responded without obstruction; amidst wind and moon, he was also fully able to aid a gentleman's lofty mood.' Such was the high regard in which he was held by his peers. Jiao also gave poems to Che to take to visit Bao Ji, who treated him with no light courtesy. Furthermore, when Quan Deyu heard of Che's renown, he wrote to Master Jiao inquiring about him, and Jiao replied with the utmost praise of his brush. From the Jianzhong and Zhenyuan eras onward, a proverb in the Jiangbiao region went: 'Che of Yue is penetrating like ice and snow.' He may be called an eminent gentleman of an age, forming a tripod together with Biao of Hangzhou and Jiao of Zha. His end is not known.
15.29
Biography of Shenggong of Huizhao Temple in Yangzhou under the Tang
15.30
Shi Shenggong was a native of Tonglu in Muzhou. As a child he possessed a formidable memory; when elders spoke to him, they marvelled at his grand ambition and elevated speech. He constantly detested the worldly cage. Suddenly he went to Shengde Temple, aspiring to the Dao to follow a master, and was ordained through imperial favor. His spiritual nature was endowed by heaven; in the path of the vinaya, his learning was like reviewing what he already knew. Choosing an eminent master once more, he obtained Master Daoheng of Kaiyuan Temple in Gusu. Heng said: 'How marvelous! Since I obtained Gong, my disciples grow closer day by day.' When he probed the deep and subtle, the further he investigated, the further he reached. When contemporaries debated and accused each other of delusion, they would surely ask to see Gong so he could resolve it, settling right and wrong where he sat. A proverb went: 'All meaning is exhausted in Shenggong,' meaning that once one reached Gong, all meaning was fully plumbed. Such was his broad mastery of the Vinaya vehicle and his defense of his master's school. Heng said: 'Since I had Gong, I have heard no harsh words.' Gong left his seat, joined his hands, and replied: 'I lack eloquence; I revere my master's Way like gathering mulberry leaves from Fusang to feed silkworms. My only worry is being unable to spin dense silk to repay my master.' Heng said: 'Seeing the five-colored silk you spit like the gardener, it is fit to provide material for embroidered vestments. You speak too modestly.' In his later years he answered a summons to Weiyang, where he extensively instructed disciples. Yet he boldly corrected and appraised the merits and flaws of interpretations ancient and modern. The brightest disciples each recorded them. All were polished and compiled into ten rolls entitled Shunzheng ji (Record of According with Rectitude), which was circulated. He also composed the Fen qingzhong wu yi (Protocols for Differentiating Light and Heavy Objects), which circulated separately; following the Shisanzhang men tiaoli (Regulations of the Thirteen Chapters), he added the weights and values of objects present in recent times, which proved quite essential and practical. Gong also esteemed Confucian learning, composing numerous stelae and eulogies. Because he had once taught at Hangou, he was called the Master of the Huainan Record, and styled himself the Śramaṇa of Mount Qingleng.
15.31
Biography of Shenghao of Baoshan in Wujun under the Tang (Weiliang)
15.32
Shi Shenghao, courtesy name Hengdu, was surnamed Xu. His ancestor eight generations earlier was Chi, an academician of the Western Mansion of Prince Jingling under the Qi. Chi's son Ling was Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs under the Liang, whose literary fame equaled that of Yu Zishan; when the Chen dynasty fell, because he assisted in the district of Wu, his family settled in Gusu. Hao was thus a man of Wujun. By nature he was pure and resolute, with a bright and lofty manner. From youth he possessed an air of world-transcendence, and soon went to Master Yi of the Longquan Bodhimaṇḍa in Qiantang to renounce household life. In the sixth year of Tianbao, an imperial decree was issued to select carefully those of genuine practice, permitting each prefecture to ordain only three persons. Hao stood at the head of those recommended, and his saṅgha registration was accordingly assigned to the Fuyuan Bodhimaṇḍa on Baoshan. He first received full ordination under Grand Master Xing, and next mastered the Vinaya Commentary under Tanyi. Afterwards, he lectured on the Vinaya Commentary ten times and ascended the ordination platform five times. He then took a boat back to Baoshan, having an old rustic cut the thatch and a mountain lad sweep the stones, living in leisurely retreat. Soon he expanded the buildings. In the first year of Qianyuan, a decree ordered twenty-seven temples throughout the realm each to submit names of seven venerable ones to lecture continuously on the vinaya. He was thus invited to reside at Kaiyuan Temple. Though wishing to fulfill his vow, he was also apprehensive of the official order, and so reluctantly complied. Lay disciples who upheld the precepts included Prefect of Kaizhou Lu Xiang and former Supervising Secretary Yan Cui; disciples who followed the Way included Vice Minister of Rites Liu Taizhen and former Case Reviewer of the Court of Judicial Review Zhang Xiang; and the disciple who admired his style, former Vice Censor-in-Chief and Surveillance Commissioner Li Qiyun, invited him to take charge of the coastal quarter. The monastic ranks of the whole district underwent a threefold transformation to attain the Way. In his later years he focused on the Perfect School, establishing a separate 'Western Dharma Society' and reciting the Lotus Sūtra over nine thousand times. In the tenth month of the sixth year of Zhenyuan, he fell ill at Kaiyuan Temple. By the twelfth month, he instructed his disciple Weiliang: 'After I leave the world, you may return to our old mountain in Dongting to erect a stūpa.' He passed away while expounding the Dharma. That night the sky turned the color of lapis lazuli, stars fell like rain, and portents of the Western direction were secretly manifested before them. His age was seventy-five; his saṅgha age was forty-three. His disciple Weiliang possessed both literary talent and realization of the Way, standing peerless in his time; while observing mourning for his master, he did not abandon teaching on account of personal realization. Disciples who transmitted his Dharma included Daochao, Lingjun, Daojun, Daoleng, Weirang, and Weicheng, all outstanding men of their era. Jiao of Zha composed a stūpa inscription eulogizing his virtues.
15.33
Biography of Cangyong of Anguo Temple in the Capital under the Tang
15.34
Shi Cangyong: it is unknown from where he came. Transcending the mundane, he relied on Master Kong of Mount Song as his preceptor. When he reached the age prescribed by the Dharma, he received the superior corporeal precepts from Vinaya Master Ju at Fenchuan. Ascending to Luoyang, he attended the lectures of Master Ye, scrutinizing the vinaya texts and probing their subtleties, reaching every depth. Upon hearing of the practice of dhyāna contemplation, he climbed Mount Lu and ascended Mount Huo, traversed the Han River and sailed the Xiang, gazing toward the monastic groves of Shuangfeng. Returning, he opened the Dharma in the capital. His realization being pure and essence-like, and his instruction evenly spread, he was widely admired as a model for beings, revered by all who turned to his style. In the middle of the Jianzhong era, he had already completed some thirty saṅgha years. Soon, responding to imperial decree, he served as the chief of the ordination platform, successively ordaining a great number of disciples. Later he resided at the Huata in the eastern quarter of the city, which had formerly been the residence of Emperor Daizong; he was chosen to serve as its abbot. From bhikṣus down to novices, all revered and loved him. Spreading a bearskin mat to welcome guests and waving his chowry to begin discourse, he would point to the stones of Mount Heng to reveal past lives, and transmit the bowl of Caoxi to know future destinies. Thus elders' carriages crowded his gates, and tallies for saving beings filled his room; he benefited creatures most profoundly, seated presiding over both the elegant and the vulgar. During the Zhenyuan era, Director of the Left Bureau Wang Juan and Censor of the South Tribunal Cui Jiao composed verses in harmony. Several such gentlemen planned to formulate a commemorative title, Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs Cheng Hao wrote the general preface, and Director of the Bureau of Operations and Drafter of Edicts Wu Tongwei inscribed it; this was the fourth year, the wuchen year. Master Yong was outstanding in the study of the vinaya, strictly upholding and maintaining it. He was a paragon of the Upper Capital.
15.35
Biography of Zhencheng of Bashengdao Temple in Huzhou under the Tang
15.36
Shi Zhencheng, surnamed Shen, was a native of Deqing. His father, Xuanwang, was nominated as a Filial and Incorrupt candidate and appointed Vice Magistrate of Yanzhou. When his mother was pregnant with Cheng, there were auspicious omens of divine light and extraordinary vapors. Discerning observers said, "The Shen family will surely enhance its eminent lineage." When he was born, he was remarkably imposing. As he grew up among the children of his clan, he stood out like a precious jade tree among common grasses. After he reached childhood, the Vice Magistrate instructed him in literary studies, directing him to pursue an official career, yet Zhencheng showed a sorrowful expression as though doing so against his will. In his daily play, he would arrange Buddha images in rows. His father observed his past inclinations and in the end requested that he leave secular life. It happened that Duke Yan of Lu permitted ordinands to take the scripture examination for ordination; at that time Zhencheng had already memorized five hundred sheets. When ordered to recite them aloud, he made not a single error and was greatly praised as extraordinary. His hair was shaved, and he was assigned to reside at Bashengdao Temple. After receiving the precepts, he studied the vinaya comprehensively under Master Changjin at Tongxuan Temple. Master Jin, seeing his outstanding preeminence, admonished his fellow disciples, saying, "Although Cheng is young, you must not rank him merely by seniority." Later, he went west up to Yunhua Temple in the capital, where he studied the Lotus Sūtra and the Tiantai commentaries, gaining immense renown. Moreover, the monks of Zhangxin Temple invited him to lecture and expound: those who had been drunk for a thousand days sobered up upon hearing him once, and those deluded their entire lives attained everlasting awakening upon listening for a brief moment. He lectured concurrently on doctrinal principles and the fundamentals of the vinaya without defect, his fame flourishing in monastic circles and blazing brightly through the capital. In the eleventh year of the Zhenyuan era, Liang, the Commissioner of Good Works, noted that Emperor Dezong frequently visited Anguo Temple, so he memorialized to have Cheng reassigned there to handle court responses and be included among the imperial attendent bhadantas. At that time, his original teacher Wuzhi had also received imperial favor for his religious practice, and he memorialized recommending Cheng to pray for blessings for the state. Wuzhi suddenly dreamed that Cheng departed for the south holding a single white lotus blossom. Before long, Cheng indeed fell ill and petitioned to return to his home village, which was granted by imperial decree. After returning to his hometown, the local prefect Li Qi, Prefect Tian Dun, and military leader of Zhedong Xue Jie either came in person to encourage him to ascend the Dharma seat, or dispatched letters inviting him to preside over the ordination platform. Constrained by Dharma ties, Cheng obliged in all these matters; consequently, he served eight times as master of the vinaya lecture seat and four times as a primary officiant of the ordination platform. Whenever he instructed and delivered people, or when people sought to establish a karmic bond by offering sashes and shoes, he accepted nothing at all. He made a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai to venerate the sacred likeness of Mañjuśrī; the auspicious signs he witnessed were too numerous to recount. Later, at Huguo Temple, he performed the repentance liturgy of the Scripture of the Buddha's Names for one hundred cycles. In the intervals of these repentance practices, he composed the Ten Scrolls of Notes on the Commentary and Exegesis of the Lotus Sūtra. In the tenth month, during the winter of the fifteenth year of the Yuanhe era, he manifested illness and passed away at his own temple. Cheng was refined in vinaya rules and excelled at expounding the teachings. On the thirteenth day of the tenth month in the second year of the Changqing era, his body was cremated at the western corner of Shao Village, in accordance with his testamentary instructions. Wang Zhen, the Defender of Wannian County, composed an inscription recounting his virtues.
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Linked texts (1)
- 宋高僧傳 — 贊寧, Classical Chinese