宋高僧傳 19

English (machine translation) 19

Language: English

19.1

Compiled under Imperial Order by Grand Master Tonghui, the purple-robe-bestowed Śramaṇa Zanning and others of Tianbing Temple on the Left Street of the Song

19.2

Section Six: Supernatural Resonance, Part Two (Twenty-one principal biographies, eight appended)

Shi Pozaoduo's place of origin is unknown. In the era of the Heavenly Empress, he attended upon Chan Master An of Mount Song—known as Lao'an. Thoroughly penetrating the methods of Chan, he was free and unfettered; seeking him by ordinary principles, one could not see what came before him, and taking another path, none could pursue what came after him. He once met a shaman who could perform sacrifices to the stove and exorcise calamities for people, similar to Li Shaojun in the time of Emperor Wu of Han, who held that sacrificing to the stove could summon material wealth. Whenever he performed his petitions, forms and omens of ghosts were often seen; the neighborhoods feared them by turns, word spread among the multitude, and those who slaughtered lesser victims to sacrifice to it crossed paths continually. Esteeming the Lord of the Stove, they shielded it with banners and canopies, keeping it secret and rarely seen—was this not what Yangzi meant by "the awe of a spiritual precinct is suited to the night"? At that time Duo visited it; first he admonished the shaman, and finally preached the Dharma for the spirit, who announced: "Having heard the Master's teaching, I will definitely be born in heaven." Thereupon it revealed its form, bowed to take leave, and said: "Receiving the Master's earnest instruction, I have obtained exceedingly deep benefit and attained birth in an exquisite heaven." Having spoken, it vanished; the stove, which was the shrine of the spirit, immediately fell apart tile by tile and naturally collapsed, not through human effort. Far and near were shocked and astonished. This master ordinarily did not state his name; from this event he took another moniker entirely, being called Pozaoduo ('Broken-Stove Duo').

19.5

Biography of Yuangui of Xianju Temple on Mount Song under the Tang

19.6

Shi Yuangui, whose secular surname was Li, was a native of Yique. Endowed with a heroic and extraordinary spirit, he was magnanimous, leisure-loving, and elegant. In accordance with his predispositions from past lives, he vowed to enter the monastic life, and in the second year of the Yongchun reign era he received the full precepts, subsequently having his name registered at Xianju Temple. In his practice of the vinaya, although diligent without negligence, his adherence to the precepts was steadfast. Later, he awakened to the Chan lineage of Shaolin Temple, greatly penetrated the essential mind, and deeply entered the profound and subtle, whereupon he chose a dwelling in Pangwu within the Sacred Marchmount. He said to his disciple Rensu: 'I first resided on the temple's eastern ridge. When I pass away, you must entomb my remains here.' Gui rested contentedly by the rocky cliffs. At that time, a being with a high cap and military tunic and trousers, accompanied by a vast retinue of attendants, arrived with light and slow steps, announcing a visit to the Great Master. Observing his grand appearance and unequalled refined radiance, Gui said to him: 'Welcome, benevolent one, why have you come?' The being said: 'Does the Master recognize me?' Gui said: 'I view the Buddha and sentient beings as equal; I see them with one look—how could I distinguish and recognize [you]?' He replied: 'I am the spirit of this Marchmount. I have power over the benefit, harm, life, and death of men; how can the Master look upon me as ordinary?' Gui said: 'You can bring life and death to men, but I am fundamentally unborn; how could you cause me to die? I regard my body as equal to emptiness, and I regard myself as equal to you; can you destroy emptiness and yourself? If you can destroy emptiness and destroy yourself, then I am without birth and without death. You cannot even do this; how then could you bring life or death to me?' The spirit of the Marchmount bowed his head and made two prostrations, saying: 'I am indeed clear-sighted and upright compared to other spirits, yet how could I have known that the Master possesses such vast wisdom and eloquence? I wish to receive the orthodox precepts so that I may be delivered from the world and enhance my awe-inspiring fortune.' Gui said: 'Since the spirit has asked for the precepts, you are already preceptee. Why is this? Outside of precepts there are no precepts; what precepts are there to take?' The spirit said: 'I am obscure regarding this principle, and only ask the Master to administer the precepts to my person, making me your disciple.' Gui could not decline; he immediately set up a seat, burned incense, held the censer, adjusted the small table, and said: 'I confer upon you the five precepts. If you can uphold them, then reply "I can"; if not, then reply "No."' The spirit said: 'I wash my ears and listen attentively, opening my mind to receive the teaching.' Gui said: 'Can you abstain from lust?' The spirit said: 'I also take a wife.' Gui said: 'I do not mean this; I mean not having an ensnaring desire.' The spirit said: 'I can.' Gui said: 'Can you abstain from stealing?' The spirit said: 'What do I lack, that I should steal?' Gui said: 'I do not mean this; I mean receiving offerings yet blessing excess, or harming the good when no offering is made.' The spirit said: 'I can.' Gui said: 'Can you abstain from killing?' The spirit said: 'The authority of governance resides in my person; how can it be said I do not kill?' Gui said: 'I do not mean this; I mean indiscriminate, mistaken, mixed, or doubtful killing.' The spirit said: 'I can.' Gui said: 'Can you abstain from lying?' The spirit said: 'I am fundamentally upright; how could I lie?' Gui said: 'I do not mean this; I mean your actions before and after not according with the will of Heaven.' The spirit said: 'I can.' Gui said: 'Can you avoid being corrupted by liquor?' The spirit said: 'I have the power to do so.' Gui said: 'The above are the precepts of the Buddha.' He further said: 'Uphold them with a mindful heart, yet remain without a clinging mind; act for beings with a mindful heart, yet have no mind conceptualizing the body. If you can be like this, then being born before Heaven and Earth will not count as primeval essence, dying after Heaven and Earth will not count as old age, transforming throughout the entire day will not count as movement, and remaining utterly still and silent will not count as resting. Awakening to this, though you take a wife, she is not a spouse; though you receive offerings, it is not taking; though you hold authority, it is not worldly power; though you act, it is not intentional; though you are drunk, you are not confused. If you can be mindless regarding the myriad phenomena, then ensnaring desire is not lust, blessing excess and harming the good is not theft, indiscriminate, mistaken, mixed, and doubtful acts are not killing, being out of accord with Heaven before and after is not lying, and bewildered confusion is not drunkenness. This is called mindlessness. With mindlessness, there are no precepts; with no precepts, there is no mind; there is neither Buddha nor sentient beings, neither you nor me. With no self and no you, who can take precepts?' The spirit said: 'My supernatural powers are second only to the Buddha.' Gui said: 'Of ten statements concerning your supernatural powers, five you can do and five you cannot. For the Buddha, of ten statements, seven he can do and three he cannot.' The spirit shrank back, stepped aside from his seat, knelt reverently, and said: 'May I hear of them?' Gui said: 'Can you rival the Sovereign on High, making the celestial sphere travel east and the seven luminaries move west?' He said: 'I cannot.' Gui further said: 'Can you usurp the Earth Deity, dissolve the Five Marchmounts, and unite the Four Seas?' He said: 'I cannot.' Gui said: 'These are the five things you cannot do.' He further said: 'The Buddha can empty all characteristics and accomplish the wisdom of the myriad dharmas, yet he cannot instantly extinguish fixed karma. The Buddha can know the nature of all existences and penetrate the events of billions of kalpas, yet he cannot transform and guide those without karmic affinity. The Buddha can deliver immeasurable sentient beings, yet he cannot exhaust the realm of sentient beings. These are the three things he cannot do. Yet fixed karma is also not permanent and lasting, lack of affinity is also only for a single period, and the realm of sentient beings fundamentally neither increases nor decreases. Throughout all time, not a single person can govern the existents. Existents have no master; this is called no-dharma. Without dharma and without master, this is called no-mind. As I understand the Buddha, he also has no supernatural powers; he is merely able, with no-mind, to thoroughly penetrate all dharmas. His functions appear subtly before sentient beings. If one has mind and intentional action, one's function will certainly not be all-pervading.' The spirit of the Marchmount said: 'I am truly shallow and dim, having never heard the meaning of emptiness. I beseech the Master to confer the precepts upon me; I shall uphold and practice them. What karmic causes could still bind me to the dust realm? I wish to requite your compassionate virtue and exert my abilities in service!' Gui said: 'I regard the body as non-existent; I contemplate impermanence; the Dharma cavern is solitary and still—what further desires could I have?' The spirit said: 'The Master must command me to perform a worldly task to display my small supernatural powers, so that the five kinds of people—those who have already aroused the resolve, those who have newly aroused it, those who have not yet aroused it, those who lack faith, and those who are bound to have faith—may witness the traces of my spirit, knowing that there are Buddhas and spirits, the capable and the incapable, the natural and the non-natural.' Gui said: 'Do not do this; do not do this.' The spirit said: 'The Buddha also commanded spirits to protect the Dharma; would the Master defy the Buddha? Please grant your instruction as you wish.' Having no choice, Gui said: 'The eastern cliff is a screen for the temple, yet it is barren and devoid of trees. The northern peak has them, yet its back offers no shelter. Can you move the northern trees to the eastern ridge?' The spirit said: 'I have heard your command.' He further declared: 'In the deep night there will certainly be wind and thunder, shaking and vibrating; I pray the Master will not be alarmed.' He then respectfully made obeisance and departed. Gui saw him off at the gate and watched him: he saw the ceremonial vanguard meandering like the procession of a king. Furthermore, green mists and red clouds, purple vapors and bright white auras mingled and dispersed in all directions, with banners, canopies, jingling pendants, and dense spears and halberds ascending high and traversing the sky, before fading into the vast distance and disappearing. That night there was indeed a violent wind and roaring thunder, rushing clouds and lightning; the grand beams and sturdy buildings tottered and were on the verge of collapse; the meditating monks looked on in agitation, and the roosting birds shrieked wildly, crashing against one another, with nothing at peace. Gui said to the monks: 'Do not fear, do not fear, the spirit has an agreement with me.' At dawn it cleared and became peaceful, and the pines and junipers of the northern cliff had all been moved to the eastern ridge, planted densely in neat rows. Gui then said to his disciples: 'After I pass away, do not let outsiders know of this; if it becomes material for gossip, people will deem me uncanny.' In the fourth year of the Kaiyuan reign era, a bingchen year, he gave his final instructions to his disciples and passed away like a cicada shedding its shell, at the age of seventy-three. Thereupon, a stūpa was erected on the eastern ridge of the Marchmount, and a portrait hall was preserved in his home compound. Twelve years later, Xu Chou, Defender of Gaocheng County, recorded Gui's virtue in an inscription.

19.7

Tang Dynasty Biography of Huifu of Tianzhu Temple on Mount Qian in Lujiang

19.8

Shi Huifu, whose secular surname was Qi, was a native of Zhuji in Yuezhou. Upon coming of age, his courage surpassed that of ordinary men; in trials of strength and chariot racing, none could equal him. Yet, acting as a gallant knight-errant, he grew weary of secular life, and suddenly went to Xiangyan Temple, correcting his conduct and softening his mind, his natural purity changing all at once. After receiving the Dharma, his disciplined practice stood out conspicuously. Every night, along the mountains, he would sit on a grass mat, dwelling in dhyāna without moving. Furthermore, he investigated the sūtras and treatises, and saw that Mount Huo in Qian County—where Emperor Wu of the Han had once moved the sacrificial rites of the Southern Marchmount—was an exceedingly scenic place. Tianzhu Temple within it was suitable for settling the spirit, so he built a hut and resided there. Before long, a giant snake appeared with open mouth, spitting blazing poisonous fire. Fu spoke to it slowly: 'If you are seeking past debts, you may devour me. Otherwise, cleanse your body and settle your mind; if the movement of your karma opens the way, come and receive the precepts.' In a moment, it ceased its threatening posture, wriggled away, and indeed transformed into human form, coming to ask to enter the monastic life. Fu shaved his head and robed him; after receiving the ordination, he bowed, took leave, and departed. Later, Fu was accused of private ordination without official authorization, and he answered and defended himself entirely with the truth. Fu said: 'If private ordination is an offense, I will willingly accept the punishment.' The officials recognized that he was extraordinary and dismissed the charges. Whenever Fu saw sores or boils with pus flowing, he would chant incantations over them, and they would heal. In the eighteenth year of the Kaiyuan reign era, he passed away without illness. He was subsequently cremated, and his bones were seen to be interred with the joints still interconnected.

19.9

Tang Dynasty Biography of Hui'an of Ximing Temple in Chang'an

19.10

Śramaṇa Huian was a man of unknown origin. During the Shenlong era (705–707) he traveled in the capital region, possessing great foreknowledge. At that time, Tang Xiujing had already achieved military distinction on the frontiers, and his nobility and power were beyond compare. An went to visit him and said, "My Lord, extreme fortune must be accompanied by extreme misfortune. A great calamity is coming, and it will be in only a few months; yet it can be averted." Xiujing had long known of An's ability in apotropaic arts, so he agreed and bowed to him. An said, "I have no other art, but offer only a single strategy—is it not true that the nominations and selections of official posts proceed from your furnace of appointments? Please select a man of talent and dispatch him to Caozhou." Thereupon they found Lord Zhang, originally a metropolitan official, promoted him that very day to Palace Accompanier, and soon appointed him Governor of Dingtao, charging him to find two dogs, several feet tall and of spirited and extraordinary appearance. Lord Zhang arrived at his post, diligently and earnestly sought them out, and having obtained two dogs matching the requirements, presented them. Xiujing was greatly pleased, summoned An to inspect them, and An said, "Excellently done." After ten days or so, An returned and said, "The matter falls on this very night. May my Lord maintain a strict guard." He then stayed the night with An. That night Xiujing sat in the front porch of his hall and ordered over a dozen attendants to hold bows and arrows, standing at the corners of the couch. Xiujing and An shared the single couch. When midnight arrived, An smiled and said, "My Lord's calamity has been averted! You may retire to sleep." Xiujing joyfully thanked him, dismissed the attendants, and both went to sleep. At daybreak, An called out that Xiujing could arise. Xiujing asked An, "What were the two dogs used for?" They then traced their footprints into the garden, where they saw a man fallen dead on the ground. Inspecting his neck, there was blood, for he had evidently been bitten by something. Furthermore, they saw the two dogs beneath a large tree, looking up at it; up above, a man had stripped to his waist and concealed himself. Xiujing was astonished and interrogated him. The man wept and pointed at the dead man, saying, "He and I were both bandits. Last night we came together, intending to harm the Minister, but we ran into these two dogs, who encircled us and barked. He was bitten by them and died. I had nowhere to hide, was ensnared in Heaven's net, and was kept trapped here by the dogs crouched in vigil. Now I willingly accept ten thousand deaths." Xiujing had him bound, but the man said, "This crime truly deserves death, yet it was not my intention; I was merely under the command of another." So Xiujing released him, and the bandit bowed with tears and left. Xiujing bowed in gratitude to An, saying, "Were it not for you, Master, I would have died at the hands of those two men." An said, "This was the Minister's own good fortune; what could I have done?" Furthermore, Xiujing's maternal cousin Lu Zhen was at Jingmen, and a diviner told him, "You are soon to suffer a disaster; you should seek one skilled in warding it off, and perhaps you can avoid it." Zhen knew of An's marvelous arts and pure conduct, which were esteemed in that age, so he sent a letter to Xiujing. An immediately provided a letter, saying, "The matter lies within!" When the letter reached Jiangling, Zhen had already passed away. His family opened the letter, and it was merely a sheet of blank paper with not a single word. Xiujing esteemed An all the more. Several years later An vanished, and no one knew where he went.

19.11

Tang: A Biography of Anjing of the Western Regions (Master Xu Guo)

19.12

Śramaṇa Anjing was originally a man of the Western Regions. In the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era (727), he shook his khakkhara staff and traveled eastward, arriving at Dingtao. He directly inquired, "Where is Upāsaka Ding?" The locals informed him, "He passed away three years ago and was buried in the outskirts." They also said, "This man was a lay bodhisattva who diligently practiced brahma-conduct. He once paid homage to and served Dhyāna Master Puji of Mount Song, and was said to have attained the profound Dharma. When he was about to die, he sat cross-legged with joined palms and solemnly expired. In the various monasteries and cloisters of the city of Cao, the bells and lithophones sounded on their own without being struck." Jing went to the burial site and personally excavated it. At that moment, five-colored clouds billowed forth and shot upwards. He then retrieved the bones—all golden in color, interlocking like a chain, about fifty feet in extent—which clattered with a clear, resonant sound. Hanging them on the tip of his staff, he walked away. He erected a separate stūpa to rebury them, at which the multitude was awed and marvelled. Shortly thereafter, Jing vanished in the blink of an eye.

19.13

The appraisal says: The skeletal remains of sentient beings are the residual fruition produced by past causes. In the body of an ordinary mortal, the joints do not connect to one another; the bone joints of a bodhisattva of the ten grounds are interlocked like coiling dragons; while the Buddha possesses a whole-body śarīra. Now, the bones of Upāsaka Ding formed the shape of an interlocking chain; thus he transcended ordinary mortals, yet had not mounted the ten abodes. Might this be the bodily joints of an eight-armed Nārāyaṇa interlocking with one another? This proves the Upāsaka's spiritual power had reached such a stage. It is like the sand from which gold is produced being called an unworked mass, which cannot be called mere sand; or the stone that contains jade being called an uncarved gem, which cannot be called mere stone.

19.14

Next, at Dayun Temple in Chengdu Prefecture, there was Master Xu Guo, who mingled with the mundane world and hid his brilliance, so that few people could fathom him. At times he entered samādhi without violating the vinaya rules. At other times he manifested madness, yet his predictions of affairs were mostly accurate. Earlier there was Wei Yuansong, who was a man difficult to fathom; in the southwest, people often referred to him as Master Xu Guo. "Xu" was his surname, "Guo" his given name, and "Master" a general appellation. He, too, was of the same class as Qianglian and Master Baozhi. His end is unknown.

19.15

Tang: A Biography of Ruyi of Mount Zhong in Fuzhou

19.16

Śramaṇa Ruyi was a man of unknown origin. At the end of the Kaiyuan era (713–741) he became a monk and was in charge of bedding and seats. Suddenly, a monk covered all over with sores and scabs, clad in tattered garments, came circumambulating the monastery. When the assembly saw him, none failed to feel disgust. Only Ruyi felt compassion upon seeing him, invited him into a separate hall of the permanent monastery, and settled him there to pass the summer retreat. At the end of the summer, the guest monk bid farewell to leave. Ruyi asked, "Where are you going?" He replied, "Returning to my hermitage." Ruyi asked again, "Where is the hermitage?" He said, "Just east of Dacheng Temple." Ruyi said, "I came from there just the other day, and saw no trace of any hermitage." The monk said, "If you do not believe it, simply come visit me." Ruyi said, "I will come specifically in two days." Ruyi then went, and indeed found the former monk awaiting him at the mouth of a cliff. Taking him by the hand, they entered a monastery where multistoried pavilions loomed high and halls and chambers intersected, not at all a scenery of the human realm. After three days, the monk sent Ruyi down the mountain—when Ruyi looked back, everything was merely bare cliff and rock, and only then did he realize it was a monastery of holy beings. From this, Ruyi redoubled his efforts in spiritual cultivation, aspiring to join the holy ranks.

19.17

Tang: A Biography of the Anonymous Monk of the Western Regions

19.18

Śramaṇa Anonymous of India was a native of India, though of which region is unknown. His appearance was ugly and repulsive; he wrapped himself in a red-brown plain robe, wore leather sandals, trailed an iron staff, and practiced alms-begging in the imperial capital. When Wei Gao, Prince of Nankang, had been born for only three days, his family invited monks for a vegetarian feast. This monk arrived uninvited—on that day monks were supposed to be invited only by circulating a list of names through the monasteries—and the domestic servants of the Wei family were troubled that there was one extra monk, were very angry with him, and seated him on a tattered mat in the courtyard. When the feast ended, the Wei family ordered the wet nurse to carry out the infant, intending to invite the assembly of monks to make prayers and blessings. The Indian monk was the first to rise from his seat, gathered his robes, ascended the steps, and looking at the baby, said, "Have you been well since we parted so long ago?" The infant appeared to show a joyful expression as if recognizing him. The entire crowd was amazed. Lord Wei said, "This child was born merely three days ago; why do you say 'parted so long ago,' Master?" The Indian monk said, "This is not something that the dānapati can know." When Lord Wei pressed him with questions, the Indian monk said, "This child is the rebirth of Zhuge Liang. When Marquis Wu balanced the realm, he served as Chancellor of Shu, as you well know. Because the people of Shu received his beneficence for a long time, he is now born into the world to become the military commander of Shu, and will certainly bring blessings to the people of the southwest. In the past, at Jianmen, I was a good friend to him. Learning that he was born into your household, I came from afar. This child will serve as Military Commissioner of Jiannan for twenty years, reaching the pinnacle of official rank as Director of the Chancellery and Grand Commandant. Beyond this is not known to me." The father agreed, and accordingly gave him the courtesy name Wuzi, and also the single character Wu. Later, when Zhang Yi was posted out as Military Commissioner of Fengxiang and Liangzhou, he memorialized to appoint Gao as acting prefect of Liangzhou. When Yi was slain by Li Chulin, Niu Yunguang invited Gao to become commander. Zhu Ci, left with no choice, appointed Gao commander of Fengxiang. Emperor Dezong bestowed the banner of the Fengyi Army to honor him, and subsequently promoted him to Minister of the Ministry of Rites. During the Xingyuan era (784), when the imperial carriage returned to the capital, Gao was summoned as General of the Left Chin-wu Guards. In the first year of the Zhenyuan era (785), he became Mayor of Chengdu, replacing Zhang Yanshang. Upon taking office, he pacified the southern barbarians and achieved military merits, and was enfeoffed as Prince of the Commandery of Nankang. When Emperor Shunzong ascended the throne, he was promoted to Grand Commandant. Nankang remained in office for twenty-one years. In his later years, he greatly revered the Buddhist teachings—constantly holding prayer beads and reciting the Buddha's name. He trained a parrot he kept to recite scriptures. When it died and was cremated, there were relics. Gao also turned his mind toward the Chan teachings of the Southern School, studying the mind-dharma under Dhyāna Master Shenhui of Jingzhong Temple. In Shu, his wealth and honor became excessive, and he imposed heavy levies, which was criticized by the opinion of the times; yet this coincided with the Indian monk's prophecy.

19.19

Tang: A Biography of Baoyu of the Capital Region

19.20

Śramaṇa Baoyu's conduct and practice were lofty and extraordinary, and he seldom interacted with worldly affairs. Whenever he spoke of future events, it was as if he had witnessed them with his own eyes. Seeing the Buddhist monk Daguang, he instructed him, "When you chant scriptures, you should raise your Dharma voice high, reaching the devas to make them listen attentively, and you will surely obtain the assistance of divine beings." Later, all came to pass according to his prediction. Those in the capital who took refuge in him were numbered in the thousands. Every night he dwelt alone in a single room, shutting the door and putting out the candle. Once a monk peeped through a crack in the door to see what he was doing, and saw an auspicious cloud emerge from Baoyu's mouth, with charming and lovely variegated colors. Later he passed away around the age of ninety. At the time of his passing, it was the height of summer heat, yet his corpse did not decompose. Chancellor Diwu Qi was on good terms with Baoyu; upon his demise, Qi mourned him with great sorrow. Qi poured fragrant milk into his mouth, whereupon an auspicious light immediately issued from his mouth, shining brightly in all directions. Qi marveled at him all the more. In the tenth month of the second year of the Qianyuan era (759), Qi was demoted to Prefect of Zhongzhou. At the beginning of the Baoying era (762), he was summoned to enter the court as Guest of the Crown Prince, reaching the position of Metropolitan Governor; Baoyu had foretold that his promotions, honors, adversities, and stumbling blocks would be equal in measure, and all came to pass as he had spoken, so Qi sincerely took refuge in him.

19.21

Tang: A Biography of Master Azu of Wenxiang in Guozhou

19.22

Regarding Master Shi Azu, his origins are unknown. His physical appearance was dull and coarse, and his spirit seemed muddled, yet whenever he uttered words, he was never without foreknowledge. Although he had no fixed dwelling, he mostly resided in Wenxiang. Because he followed in the footsteps of Master Fayun, crowds came and went, vying with one another to pay him homage; his alms accumulated like mountains, yet he never once cast a glance at them. Whenever someone harboured hidden distress or was beset by afflictions, if they obtained his guidance, its efficacy was miraculously swift. At that time, there was an elder of a wealthy household in Shanzhou named Zhang Zhen, who had vast estates and an abundance of wealth and goods. Lacking sons, Zhen was constantly anxious that after his death there would be no heir to his money and silk. Later, a son was born to him, but he was both foolish and stupid, with contracted hands and feet and stammering, labored speech. He was fond of nothing but food and drink, hardly resembling an ordinary person—his mouth was like an abyss, insatiable all day long. When he was around seventeen years old, his parents doted on him dearly and indulged whatever he demanded, inviting physicians and seeking medicines without considering a thousand leagues too far. After several decades, the family estate was completely exhausted. Someone said to Zhen: "Master Azu is in truth of the caliber of Baozhi. Why not pour out your heart to him and seek deliverance from this affliction?" Thereupon husband and wife went to Wenxiang, kowtowed, wiped away their tears, and begged for his rescue. Azu closed his eyes for a long time and said to Zhen: "Your karmic enmity is not yet dispelled; it would still require several years. Pitying your earnest devotion, I shall remove it for you." He immediately ordered that an auspicious day be chosen to hold a vegetarian feast by the river, widely summoning a great assembly to watch the deliverance together. He also had the son led to the place of practice. At that time, the multitude knew that Azu was extraordinary, and the onlookers formed a human wall. After a short while, he directed and called out to three or four robust men, shouting at them to drag the son and throw him into the river, where he was swept away by the swift current. Zhen was both grieving and terrified, unable to fathom the reason. Azu said to Zhen: "I have finished eliminating your calamity." After a long while, the son suddenly raised his body above the surface of the water several tens of paces away down the current, pointed his fingers like halberds, and cursed his parents, saying: "The karmic enmity between you and me was due to deeds from previous lifetimes; thanks to meeting the holy one, this entanglement has been swiftly untied. Had it not been for this, there would have been no foreseeable end!" He stood tall, shouted loudly, and spoke with clear reasoning, showing no sign of foolishness or coarseness at all. In an instant he sank into the water, and nothing more was known of him. From this, Azu's renown spread, and those who placed their faith in him flocked to him like people going to a market. His transformative teachings were all of this sort, roughly during the Dali and Jianzhong eras. Around the twelfth year of the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong, a bingzi year, an imperial decree posthumously bestowed upon him the title "Dhyāna Master Dayuan." Even down to the present, between Shan and Guo, he is still revered and venerated.

19.23

Biography of Master Fenggan of Mount Tiantai under the Tang (along with Master Muhe, Hanshanzi, and Shide)

19.24

Master Shi Fenggan originally lived at Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai. His hair was cut level with his eyebrows, his body was wrapped in a coarse cloth robe, and his stature was over seven feet tall. If anyone asked him a question, he only replied with the two words "as the time requires," and said nothing else. He took pleasure in pounding grain alone, his labor resembling that of a wall-building convict, and he supplied the provisions for the vegetarian meals. Once, he rode a tiger straight into the pine gate—all the monks were terrified—and sang the "Song of Chanting the Way," after which the community came to revere and honour him. After his demise, he taught in the capital during the Xiantian era; his demeanor was not the ordinary conduct of common men, and among scholars and commoners who saw him, none failed to bow in reverence. Because he followed in the footsteps of Master Wanhui, he was somewhat similar to him, though in aspects of crazy behaviour he surpassed him, while his predictions were mostly fulfilled. Earlier, in the kitchen of Guoqing Temple, there were two ascetic practitioners, one named Hanshanzi and the other named Shide. They often tended the fires in the monastic kitchen; when the cooking was done, the two would converse together, but those who secretly listened mostly could not comprehend them. They were also exceedingly crazy and erratic, yet bonded in close companionship, like drawing to like. At that time, Lüqiu Yin was appointed governor of Danqiu. Just as he was preparing his carriage, he suffered intensely from a severe headache, and physicians had had little effect. By chance, Fenggan arrived and said: "I have come from Tiantai to pay my respects to the envoy." When told of the ailment, Fenggan said: "Why should you worry, sir?" He immediately asked for a clean vessel, sucked up some water, and sprayed it over him; in an instant, Lüqiu felt greatly relieved in body. Lüqiu marveled at this and asked Fenggan for a word to determine the fortune of his journey. Fenggan said: "When you arrive at your post, remember to pay homage to Mañjuśrī." Lüqiu asked: "Where is this bodhisattva?" He replied: "He is the one tending the fires and washing vessels in the kitchen of Guoqing Temple." When Lüqiu entered the mountain temple, he asked: "Did this temple ever have a Dhyāna Master Fenggan?" They replied: "Yes." "Where is his courtyard? And who are Hanshan and Shide?" At that time, the monk Daoqiao replied: "Fenggan's former courtyard is right behind the scripture repository; now it is deserted and empty, with only tigers and leopards occasionally coming to roar there. The two men, Hanshan and Shide, are currently performing manual labor in the monastic kitchen." Lüqiu entered Fenggan's room and saw only tiger tracks crisscrossing the floor. He further asked: "What practices and conduct did Fenggan have while here?" Daoqiao said: "He only engaged in pounding grain to supply the monks' congee and meals, and at night he would sing songs and intone verses without ceasing." Lüqiu sighed in admiration repeatedly. He then entered the kitchen, where he saw the two men burning firewood, appearing as if gathered around a hearth. Lüqiu bowed to them, whereupon the two men shouted and rebuked him repeatedly; afterward, they took Lüqiu's hand and toyed with him as if he were an infant, laughing heartily without stopping. As they walked away, they said: "Fenggan was too talkative!" From then on, the two held hands and walked out of the pine gate, never returning to the temple again. Fenggan had also once gone on pilgrimage to Mount Wutai, where he met an old man and asked: "Could you be Mañjuśrī?" The old man said: "Can there possibly be two Mañjuśrīs?" Before Fenggan could rise from his prostration, the old man suddenly vanished.

19.25

Next was Master Muhe, who mostly wandered about the markets and wards of the capital. He was also similar to Fenggan, and people could not easily fathom him. The two characters "Feng" (封) and "Feng" (豐) appeared inconsistently in records: the official historian Wei Shu used the "Feng" of "fengjiang" (封疆, border territories), while Lüqiu's preface on the Three Worthies used the "Feng" of "fengren" (豐稔, abundant harvest); it is not known which is correct.

19.26

As for Hanshanzi, the world regarded him as a poor, mad fellow, who could not be measured by ordinary standards. He lived in seclusion seventy leagues west of Shifeng County in Tiantai, at a place called the Two Cliffs of Cold and Dark; he always resided in a secluded cavern in the Cold Cliff, taking it as his fixed dwelling. He occasionally came to Guoqing Temple. There was one named Shide, whom the temple monks assigned to manage the refectory. Shide constantly gathered the leftover food and vegetable scraps of the monks, hollowed out a large bamboo into a tube, and threw them inside to store them. When Hanshanzi came, he would carry it away on his back. Sometimes he walked slowly along the corridors, sometimes he shouted and harassed people, and sometimes he looked into the void and cursed incessantly. The temple monks, unable to bear it, drove him away with sticks; he would turn around, clap his hands, laugh loudly, and slowly retreat. His cloth jacket was ragged and torn, his face was withered and emaciated, he wore a cap made of birch bark, and he dragged along large wooden clogs. Yet whenever he uttered words, they always seemed to return to something profound, returning to Buddhist principles. At first, when Lüqiu entered the temple to inquire about Hanshan, the śramaṇa Daoqiao replied: "This man suffers from madness. He originally lived among the Cold Cliffs and is fond of reciting verses and gāthās. His words are unpredictable—whether praising or blaming, one can never tell. He is friends with the temple postulant Shide; when they gather and converse, it cannot be understood in detail." Seeing the prefect bow to them, the temple monks said in shock: "Why should a high official pay homage to madmen?" The two linked arms, laughing proudly, and left the temple. Lüqiu went again to Cold Cliff to pay his respects and sent clothing and medicines. Hanshan loudly proclaimed: "Thief! You are my thief!" Stepping back, he shrank his body into a crevice in the cliff rock and added: "I declare to all of you: strive diligently, each and every one!" The crevice in the rock closed seamlessly, leaving no trace behind. Lüqiu then ordered the monk Daoqiao to search for his remaining works. Daoqiao only collected what was written on leaves strung together in the woods and inscribed on the walls of village houses, obtaining over two hundred poems, which are now compiled into a single collection and recited by many. Later, Dhyāna Master Caoshan Ji wrote a commentary on it, calling it "Verses on Hanshanzi's Poetry"—because he had no clan or surname, the people of Yue merely called him Hanshanzi. As in the lines: "What is there in the courtyard? / White clouds embrace the secluded stone"—it is clearly in an elegant style. Today beneath the cliff stands an erect rock, which is called the "Secluded Stone."

19.27

As for Shide, Dhyāna Master Fenggan had earlier been walking in the mountains near the roadside of Chicheng, when he heard a child crying. Following the sound, he found a boy of a few years old, whom he at first thought was a cowherd. Inquiring into his background, the boy said: "I have no home and was abandoned here alone." Fenggan carried him back to Guoqing Temple and handed him over to the cellarer monk, saying that if anyone came to claim him, he must be returned. Later, the śramaṇa Lingyi took him in and placed him in charge of the incense and lamps in the refectory. Suddenly one day, he was seen mounting the seat, facing the statues to share their food from the trays. He further called out to Kauṇḍinya, saying: "Small-fruited śrāvaka!" Behaving as if no one were there, he held his chopsticks and laughed heartily, whereupon the monks drove him away. Lingyi consulted the elders, relieved him of his duties in the hall, and assigned him to wash vessels in the kitchen. As soon as the washing was done, he would strain the leftover food and put it into a tube. Whenever Hanshan came, he would certainly carry it away on his back. Furthermore, at the shrine of the monastery-protecting deity, whenever food was served in the monastic kitchen each day, it was messily snatched by crows and birds. Shide struck the clay idol two or three times with a stick and scolded it: "You cannot even protect your own food; how can you protect the saṅghārāma?" That night, the deity possessed the dreams of all the monks in the temple, saying: "Shide beat me." The next day, when the monks related their dreams, they all coincided, causing an uproar throughout the temple, and only then did they realize he was no ordinary man. At that time, a report was sent to the prefecture and county, and the commandery issued an official directive: "A worthy living in seclusion, a responsive manifestation of a bodhisattva; he should be commended." They referred to Shide as the "Worthy." Furthermore, when herding cattle at the temple's estate, he would sing and call out to Heaven. Once, while the monks of the temple were holding their upoṣadha, Shide drove the cattle to the front of the hall where the monks were gathered, leaned against the door, clapped his hands, and laughed heartily, saying: "The idlers are gathering their heads!" At that time, the vinaya-holding rector scolded him: "Why does a madman noisily disrupt the recitation of the precepts?" Shide said: "I am not herding cattle; this herd of cattle mostly consists of former officers who managed saṅgha affairs in this temple!" Shide then called out the Dharma names of each deceased monk, and the cattle passed by one by one in response to the names. The entire assembly was astonished, and all resolved to reform the past and cultivate the future, moved by the bodhisattva's traces shown for their deliverance. At that time, Daoqiao compiled Hanshan's writings on the wall of the temple's Earth God shrine, and seeing Shide's verses, he appended them to the "Hanshan Collection."

19.28

The appraisal says: According to the records, Fenggan wandered in the capital during the Xiantian era, so we know that Lüqiu, Hanshan, and Shide were all men of Emperor Ruizong's reign. Why then, in Master Daoxuan's Gaoseng zhuan... Lüqiu was a military official of the early Tang. Lüqiu's preface recording the three men does not state their dates, which causes confusion. Moreover, the bestowal of the purple robe with crimson ribbons is a civil qualification. If this is so, there must have been two men named Lüqiu with identical names. Furthermore, the Venerable Dahui You met Hanshanzi during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, who directed him to Letan, and he also encountered Shide at Guoqing; thus we know that these three men were still living in the late Tang. As for Fenggan, he passed away at Tiantai only to appear in the capital; as for Hanshan and Shide, they were present in Xiantian and yet encountered in Yuanhe. Was their lifespan extraordinarily long, or were their appearances and disappearances beyond the ordinary? In the hexagram images of the Book of Changes, it says: "The little fox has almost crossed"; does it not refer to this!

19.29

Biography of Wuxiang of Jingzhong Temple in Chengdu under the Tang (along with Dhyāna Master Zhixian)

19.30

Shi Wuxiang was originally a native of Silla, the third son of that realm's king. He was born in the first month of his home country's calendar, and had his head shaved and took the precepts at Gunnam Temple. In the sixteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, he sailed across the Eastern Sea to the Central Realm, arriving at the capital. Emperor Xuanzong summoned him for an audience and assigned him to Chanding Temple. Later he entered Zizhong in Shu and called upon Chan Master Zhisen. There was a certain Chuji—an extraordinary man—whom Empress Wu Zetian had once summoned into the palace and bestowed with a nine-strip patchwork robe; he inevitably possessed advance knowledge of affairs without the slightest error. Before Wuxiang arrived, Chuji said: "A guest from abroad will be seen tomorrow. You should sweep and sprinkle to await him." On the alternate day he indeed arrived, and Master Chuji gave him the name Wuxiang. At midnight, he transmitted the patchwork robe to him. Thereupon [Wuxiang] went into deep ravines and sat in meditation beneath crags. There were two black calves that interlocked their horns and sprawled at the foot of his seat; pressing close to his body in great haste, a hairy hand reached into his sleeve, cold as ice, feeling up to his belly, yet Wuxiang did not waver in the least. Whenever he entered samādhi, it was mostly with a measure of five days. Suddenly heavy snow fell, and two ferocious beasts came. Wuxiang washed and wiped himself, lay naked before them, and wished to offer his body as their food. The two beasts sniffed him from head to foot and went away. Often at night he sat beneath his bed and twitched the tigers' whiskers and fur. After dwelling in the mountains for some time, his robe tattered and his hair long, hunters suspected he was a strange beast and were about to shoot him, but then stopped. Later he entered cities and towns, staying in graveyards by day and sitting beneath trees by night. This was truly practicing the dhūta austerities. People gradually came to revere him, and constructed an aranya for him before a desolate graveyard. Administrative Assistant Zhangqiu Jianqiong came to pay homage to him. When Emperor Xuanzong took refuge from the turmoil and entered Shu, he welcomed Wuxiang into the inner palace. At the time of the offering ceremonies, the Magistrate of Chengdu County, Yang Yi, suspected him of witchcraft and deception, so he issued an order to arrest him, commanding over twenty underlings to drag him in. As the underlings drew near to Wuxiang's body, all of them trembled, losing their senses entirely. In a moment a great gale suddenly arose; sand and stones flew through the air, blowing straight into the hall, fluttering the blinds and rolling up the curtains. Yang Yi knocked his head on the ground and prostrated himself, panting and not daring to speak. When he finished his repentance, the wind ceased, and [Wuxiang] was escorted back to his former place. Because of this, he subsequently exhorted donors to build the Jingzhong, Daci, Puti, and Ningguo temples. The hermitages, bells, and pagodas in outlying districts were beyond counting. He first resided in the original cloister of Jingzhong, which was later named Songxi, was it not? When Wuxiang arrived in Chengdu, there suddenly was a stalwart laborer who claimed to offer his strength to chop firewood for the saṅgha's kitchen. Wuxiang's younger brother had newly become king in his home country; fearing that [Wuxiang] might return and that his throne would be endangered, he was about to dispatch assassins to slaughter him, which Wuxiang had already dimly known. One day, the worthy man who supplied firewood briefly came and said to him: "There will be guests tonight." [Wuxiang] said: "Undoubtedly so." He further said: "Do not harm the Son of the Buddha." When night fell, the woodcutter held a blade, clutched a mat, and sat beside the meditation seat. After a while, he sensed something coming down along the wall; he immediately leaped up, swung his sword, and a giant Hu barbarian lay on the ground with body and head severed. Behind the gate there had always been a huge pit, so he dragged him away and buried him, then threw earth to obliterate the tracks and left. At daybreak, Wuxiang ordered the woodcutter to be summoned to thank him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He once pointed to the cypress in front of his stūpa and said: "When this tree reaches equal height with the pagoda, the monastery will be destroyed." When the destruction occurred in the Huichang era, the tree was indeed level with the pagoda. He also said of the two small ponds in front of the monastery—broth on the left and rice on the right—that whenever vegetarian offerings were scarce, he would order them to be dredged and cleaned, and indeed offerings would come. His marvelous wonders were mostly of this sort. On the nineteenth day of the fifth month in the first year of the Zhide era, he manifested cessation without illness, at the age of seventy-seven. When he was on the verge of death, someone asked him: "Who can succeed you as abbot?" He then asked for a brush and wrote over a hundred characters, all obscure and incomprehensible, yet rhyming in harmony. It predicted eighty to ninety years ahead, and the verification of events occurred without error. Earlier, when Emperor Wuzong abolished the teachings, Chengdu retained only the single monastery of Daci, and Jingzhong was systematically destroyed. The huge bell of that monastery was then moved into Daci. When Emperor Xuanzong (r. 846–859) revived the Buddhist teachings, the bell was returned to Jingzhong; because the bell was large and separated by a river, it was calculated that two days' labor would be required for it to arrive. The next day, just as they were about to hold a vegetarian feast, they set out at the chen hour to fetch it, and by the si hour it had already arrived; the momentum of pulling and hauling it was literally as if it flew. All marvelled at its divine speed, which could not have been achieved by human effort. When they examined Wuxiang's relics and the statues of his true form, sweat poured from all their faces that day; his senior disciple, the monk Li, wiped them with a cloth, and those who touched it found the sweat quite salty, thereby knowing that Wuxiang's supernatural power had dragged the bell himself. Miraculous manifestations were like this—how magnificent indeed! Later, his stūpa was named the Stūpa of Grand Master Donghai. In the third year of the Qianyuan era, Han Hong, Prefect of Zizhou, composed a stele inscription, and in the Kaicheng era Li Shangyin composed the "Stele of the Hall of the Four Testimonies in Zizhou," citing Wuxiang as one of the testimonies.

19.31

The Biography of Huaixin of the Xiling Pagoda Temple in Yangzhou under the Tang

19.32

Shi Huaixin resided in Guangling and showed no other extraordinary signs. In the third year of the Huichang era, a guihai year, Emperor Wuzong was led by Zhao Guizhen to reject and destroy the Buddhist community, wishing to wipe out the teachings. There was a Huainan man of letters named Liu Yinzhi who travelled lightly to Siming. On a night of his travels, he seemed in a dream to be sailing upon the sea. Looking back, he saw a pagoda crossing eastward, and saw that it was the pagoda of Xiling Temple in Huainan. The pagoda rose steeply, its design only slightly smaller than Empress Dowager Hu's Yongning Pagoda. On the third storey of the pagoda, he saw Huaixin leaning against the railing and conversing with Yinzhi, saying: "I am temporarily escorting the pagoda across the Eastern Sea, and will return in ten days." A few days later, Yinzhi returned to Yangzhou and immediately went to visit Huaixin. Huaixin said: "Do you remember when we met on the sea?" Yinzhi was clearly enlightened. A few days later, heavenly fire burned the pagoda completely—while torrential white rain poured down, a thatched cottage beside it was not damaged in the least. Viewed from this, that the people of the Eastern Sea saw the Yongning Pagoda was indeed no falsehood.

First 32 of 54 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

宋高僧傳 — 贊寧, Classical Chinese