宋高僧傳 16.6

16.6

Shi Daocheng was surnamed Liang and was a native of Jingzhao. His father, Liang She, was a Secretariat Drafter. Born with extraordinary features, he always abhorred meat dishes. He entered monastic life as if returning home, without lingering attachments. Suddenly he encountered a dhyāna monk, who rubbed his head and gave him the name Daocheng. Water bottle and tin staff constantly accompanied him, and he silently conformed to the norms of the vinaya, so that he was called 'the Vinaya Śrāmaṇera.' After receiving the full precepts, he studied and listened to the *Nanshan Vinaya* at various training places, free of any flaw or defect. However, his nature was generally informal and casual, and he did not reside permanently in one temple; he stayed at Feng'en, Zhuangyan, and Caotang temples, dwelling wherever he arrived, making the protection of living beings his utmost priority. In the second year of the Jianzhong era, while spending the summer retreat at Mount Yunyang, a tiger roaring entered his door. Daocheng spoke to it gently; the tiger wagged its tail, folded its ears, and retreated. He moved to reside at Zhangxin Temple; when someone asked the reason, Daocheng said: 'Can one who has left home remain stuck in one place? In the Western Regions, rooms are reassigned across the three seasons so that there is no greedy attachment, and the "gate of contemplation" is easily established. Otherwise, how could one achieve universal breadth and vast magnanimity?' On the eighth day of the second month of the second year of the Zhenyuan era, the Emperor received the bodhisattva precepts at the temple; the metropolitan region looked up to him in reverence, and imperial gifts were abundantly bestowed, which he received and redirected as donations to the two fields [of merit]. In the fifth year, the Emperor visited his temple and inquired of Daocheng regarding the Dharma-gate for cultivating the mind. He was also imperial commanded to confer the bodhisattva precepts on the consorts, princesses, and imperial ladies. In the fourth month of the sixteenth year, an imperial decree conferred on him the title 'Dayuan' (Great Perfection). On the eighteenth day of the ninth month of the nineteenth year, he passed away at this temple.