宋高僧傳 26

English (machine translation) 26

Language: English

26.1

Compiled under imperial decree by the purple-robed śramaṇa Zanning and others, Grand Master Tonghui of Tianshou Temple on the Left Street of the Song

26.2

Section 9: Cultivating Blessings, Part 1 (Fourteen main biographies, two appended)

26.3

Biography of Facheng of the Capital under the Zhou

Shi Facheng's original surname was Wang, and his personal name was Shoushen; his official post reached that of Investigating Censor. When the Heavenly Empress harbored suspicions and trusted the trumped-up charges of cruel officials, he evaded the judicial office and begged to leave household life as a monk. He was austere and diligent in transforming and guiding others; his voice brought immediate resonance, and his conduct was lofty and upright. During the Chang'an era, he dug a large pit in the West Market of Jingzhao, naming it "Ocean Pool"—channeling branches of the Yong'an Canal to fill it, making it a place for releasing living beings. The Buddha halls and scripture towers beside the pool were all built by Cheng. When excavating the pool, an ancient stone was unearthed with an inscription saying: "For a hundred years a market, and afterwards a pool." From the Sui dynasty establishing the capital and setting up the market until that time was precisely one hundred years. In the second year of Yifeng, an omen-seer said: "There is an extraordinary aura in this ward." An imperial order commanded excavation, and a stone casket was found containing more than ten thousand grains of Buddha relics, radiant and hard. An imperial order was issued to construct Guangzhai Temple on this site, and forty-nine grains of relics each were distributed to capital temples, prefectures, and commanderies. Empress Wu first erected the Seven Treasures Terrace here, subsequently changing the temple placard, and Master Cheng took up residence there. In carrying out his exhortation, he largely made the veneration of blessings his personal duty.

26.5

Biography of Yefang of Zhaoguo Temple on Mount Wutai under the Tang

26.6

Shi Yefang was the Dharma-grandson of Dhyāna Master Jietuo. He was seven chi and five cun tall, with a noble and archaic countenance, arms hanging past his knees, eyebrows several inches long, and double pupils in his eyes, so that people looked upon him with awe. He untiringly bowed in worship and chanted, continuing Master Tuo's lofty footsteps. His movements accorded with the formless, yet without abandoning the benefiting of sentient beings, he rebuilt the monastery. At that time, a gentlewoman of Taiyuan Prefecture had a statue of Mañjuśrī made and was about to send it into the mountains. When she arrived at the bank of the Huchi River, the floodwaters were surging and swelling. Yefang then burned incense across the river and made an earnest supplication; the river's flow decreased, and after the statue of Mañjuśrī had crossed, the water surged full again. When he later died, a stūpa was erected one li northwest of the monastery. His whole-body relic still remains, and many miracles occurred.

26.7

Biography of Guangyi of Qinglong Temple in the Superior Capital under the Tang

26.8

Shi Guangyi, surnamed Li, was originally a member of the Tang imperial house. His father, the Prince of Langye, raised troops with the Prince of Yue intending to restore the dynastic house and bring about a dynastic revival of the imperial Way. Failing in this, the Heavenly Empress had the clan exterminated, leaving no survivors. Guangyi was then an infant in swaddling clothes; his wet nurse carried him on her back and fled. Several years later, Zetian learned through covert channels that the Prince of Langye had a son among the common people, and the search for him grew increasingly urgent. The wet nurse was about to arrive within the borders of Fufeng, sustaining themselves by selling needlework. When Guangyi was eight years old, his appearance was extraordinary, and his spiritual understanding surpassed all others. The wet nurse feared he might be detected through his looks and come to ruin, and she was intensely worried and suspicious. Thereupon she made a cloth jacket, placed coins around his waist and abdomen, and under a mulberry grove, told him to depart: "The imperial search is not lax. I fear we will both die, which would be of no benefit. You are intelligent and will surely be able to stand on your own. If you should one day attain wealth and nobility, do not forget this old woman." When she had spoken, they wept facing each other. Guangyi was overcome with grief, and the wet nurse departed from then on. In a daze, Guangyi walked to an inn and played with a group of children. The wife of a commandery governor was traveling to her husband’s station; pausing to rest, she saw Guangyi gathered with the children, and noting his handsome and spirited appearance, took pity on him. Calling him over, she said, "Young master, where is your home, and why have you come here alone?" Guangyi deceived her, saying, "My family manor is adjacent to this place; I am merely playing at my leisure." The lady fed him and gave him money, and he unfastened his garment to tuck the money inside. At dusk, he followed a path away, intending to seek shelter at a village manor. He met an old monk, who called out, "You, little boy! You are all alone now, your family has been destroyed, and where will you go?" Guangyi stood startled in astonishment. The old monk added, "The life of a monastic is serene and vast, free from sorrow and fear; would you care for it, little boy?" Guangyi said, "It has long been my wish." The old monk then took his hand and led him beneath the shade of a great tree, bidding him pay homage to the Buddhas of the ten directions and take refuge in the ever-abiding Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. He then shaved his hair. He also brought out a kāṣāya to clothe him with, and its size fit his body well. The way he held and adjusted the robes was like that of a monk of many summer retreats. The old monk rejoiced and said, "This is brought about by habitual practice; you will uphold the saṅgha's conduct well." He then pointed to the northeast and said, "A few li from here is a monastery. Go straight there, call upon the abbot, and say, 'I have sent you to be his disciple.'" When he had finished speaking, the old monk vanished in an instant, and Guangyi only then knew he was a holy monk. Following his words, Guangyi hurried there. The abbot was astonished by his words and consequently retained him. After ten years or so, Guangyi had thoroughly mastered the scriptures and vinaya and was skilled in his dhyāna contemplation. When Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne and the Tang house was restored, an imperial decree sought the descendants of the Prince of Langye, and only then did Guangyi speak of it to the monks of the temple. The assembly was greatly astonished. He then went out to call upon Envoy Li of Fufeng—who was Guangyi’s paternal uncle. Seeing him with mixed sorrow and joy, the envoy lodged him in his home and was about to submit a memorial when Guangyi adamantly declined. The envoy had a daughter of comparable age who, upon seeing Guangyi, was delighted in heart and wished to express her affections. Guangyi was frightened and avoided her. On another day during a gathering, the envoy's wife brought out her daughter, adorned in fine makeup and beautiful clothes, with a large retinue of attendants, coming forward to press herself upon him. Guangyi adamantly refused in a hundred ways, utterly unwilling to comply, and deceived her, saying, "My body is impure; please allow me to bathe and await your command." The girl agreed and had bath water prepared; when she stepped out, he bolted the door. When the girl returned and pushed at the door, she could not enter; peeping through the window, she saw him holding a razor, looking back and saying, "It is because I have this organ that I am pressed by desire. Now if I remove it, what will there be to press?" Terrified, the girl tried to stop him, but could not; he then severed his genitals and cast them to the ground. Guangyi fell unconscious, and the door remained locked. Presently, the envoy and his wife both arrived; the girl told them the true circumstances, and they broke down the door to look upon him. As he gradually revived, they ordered physicians to carry him to a heated confinement room. They burned the ground with fire, soaked it with bitter wine, seated him upon it, and applied ointments. After more than a month, his wounds healed. The envoy submitted a memorial stating that Guangyi was the son of the Prince of Langye. An imperial decree ordered that post-horses convey him to the capital, where he was granted an audience, consoled, and given lavish gifts, along with an edict to inherit his father's noble title. Guangyi earnestly declined, vowing that he wished only to be a monk, remaining resolute and unyielding. Emperor Zhongzong issued an edict permitting him to lead disciples, establish hermitage-āraṇyas at will, and freely propagate the teachings wherever he went. Guangyi by nature was fond of Mount Zhongnan, so he resided at Faxing Temple. At various valley mouths, he built huts and hermitage-āraṇyas in several tens of places, all because his reputation for the Way spread far and his discourses moved people. At times, when he traveled ten li through the mountains, monastics and lay attendants regularly numbered in the thousands or hundreds, greeting and waiting upon him even more than upon powerful ministers or state chancellors. Guangyi constantly dwelt in tranquil absorption; when he spoke of future events to determine good or bad fortune, he was never mistaken, and people turned to him all the more. On the twenty-third day of the sixth month of the twenty-third year of the Kaiyuan era, he first gave his final injunction to his disciples: "You should guard your body and speech carefully and do not engage in clamour. The intention of the ancestral masters holds no other matter: when still, the true Dharma appears before you. Any preaching beyond this is done out of necessity." His words were extremely earnest and impassioned. He then lay down with his head to the north, resting his head on his arm and lying on his right side, and passed away against his mat—this was an omen of the Great Parinirvāṇa. In his final instructions, he ordered that he be buried south of Shaoling Plain, so they excavated the plain to form a burial chamber and sealed it. When the bier set out, a rare fragrance was intensely sweet, and his appearance was as if alive. As the funeral carriage departed the city, several hundred white cranes cried out in the sky, and variegated clouds gathered softly, hovering over the carriage for several tens of li. Monastics and layfolk wept aloud, many wearing mourning garments. At the place where he was buried, Tianbao Temple was subsequently built, and his disciples all remained to guard it.

26.9

Biography of Zijue of Dabeisi in Zhenzhou under the Tang

26.10

Shi Zijue was a native of Wangdu in Boling. In his childhood, he grew weary of worldly manners, and presently reported to his elderly parents, saying, "Your son delights in following the Buddha to seek deliverance from the world." His parents were astonished, scolded him, and told him to go away. Yet without any shame or hesitation, he bowed twice to request their command, and was thus allowed to pay homage reluctantly to Zhiqin of Kaiyuan Temple in his home commandery. Qin observed that his determination and spirit were extraordinary, and conferred upon him the style Zijue ("Self-Enlightened"). Admonishing him, he said, "Contemplate the meaning as you hear your name." Zijue replied, "The seed of Buddhahood arises from conditions; I shall solely obey your luminous instruction." Afterward, he chanted scriptures, passed the qualifying examination, and received ordination. In the second year of the Zhide era, having reached the required age, he received the full precepts in Zhenzhou. He then proceeded to Chanfa Temple in Lingshou County to study the vinaya, sūtras, and treatises; through nine years of arduous toil, he penetrated their subtleties. He then said, "I ought to enter the Taihang Mountains, build a thatched hut of three mu upon a flat boulder, and take a small stream as my āraṇya—would that not be delightful!" On the final day of the ninth month of the first year of the Dali era, he went to the border of Pingshan County and found the retreat at Mount Zhonglin; it indeed fulfilled his wish, and he lived in seclusion for his own joy. In the fifth month of the second year, there was a drought; Jue then practiced walking meditation barefoot, and in winter bared his right shoulder. In those dense groves and mountain valleys, tigers and wolves left repeated tracks. He gathered only fruits and plucked vegetables, eating once a day at the hour of the rabbit. At that time, Military Commissioner Zhang of Hengyang was distressed by the searing drought; hearing of Jue’s rigorous austerities, he went into the mountain in person to invite him to pray for rain. Zhang spoke to him, saying, "I lack administrative skill, which has caused the common folk to suffer three years of severe drought; even if I should take the blame upon myself through suffering, it would truly be of no help. Some say the dragon kings mostly attend upon you, Master, to listen to the Dharma, and so forget to dispense rain. May the Master extend a vow to relieve the drought, clear as white water! If you care for the people, please suspend your dhyāna absorption and briefly enter the military headquarters." Jue thereupon devoutly and reverently made supplication to the dragon spirits; before the sun's shadow had shifted, heavy rain poured from the heavens, and within two double-hours it was deemed sufficient. Commissioner Zhang turned to him with deep reverence, like a filial son serving his parents. Ever since Jue first entered the Dharma, he had emulated the vows made by the Buddhas in their causal stages, their number also being forty-nine. His first vow was: "May my body constantly follow Great Compassion Bodhisattva (Mahākāruṇika Avalokiteśvara)." His next vow was: "To cast and construct an image and temple of the Great Compassionate One." When he gave voice to this, responses echoed: donations and alms arrived in great numbers, and casting was carried out using red bronze. When completed, it stood forty-nine chi tall, with an upright and solemn Indian countenance, complete with eyes and arms. As years passed, the temple was completed alongside it; this is the Great Temple of the Western Mountains outside the city today. He then chanted before the altar; at the third watch of the night, two rays of divine light arose, golden within. In the luminous radiance, he saw Amitābha Buddha, flanked on the left and right by Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. The Buddha lowered his golden arm, called Zijue's name, descended gradually upon clouds, and stroked the crown of his head, saying: "Keep your vow and do not falter; do not become remiss, and let the benefiting of beings come first. Where you go, I shall follow; act as you wish." When he finished speaking, the clouds gathered back, leaving not a trace behind. Jue, having fulfilled the vows in his heart, returned among the mountains and forests to choose the place for his final rest. On the night of the full moon in the second month of the eleventh year of the Zhenyuan era, a divine being manifested the upper half of his body, appearing like Vaiśravaṇa, and said to him: "Master, you will enter extinction this year." Raising his hands, he thanked the divine being, saying: "The coming and going are fixed allotments; I have received your command." On the fourteenth day of the sixth month of that year, he suddenly passed into extinction. His disciples wished to escort his shrine back to the mountain temple, but the people of the prefecture and commandery earnestly pleaded for him to stay, and a stūpa was finally relocated south of Dabei Temple. This was on the eighth day of the fourth month of the thirteenth year. The Great Compassionate One was a miraculous wonder of Hengyang, its responses secretly penetrating. At the beginning of the Xiande era of the Later Zhou, an imperial decree ordered the casting of nine-office coinage, and copper statues throughout the realm were uniformly destroyed. At that time, the people of the prefecture joined together to offer money to redeem this statue, but this was refused, and it was forthwith placed into the furnace and bellows for smelting. The people of Zhending were all filled with grief. At that time, the charcoal flared with flying smoke, and before long, as the molten bronze was collected from head to chest, the craftsman suddenly dropped dead, whereupon work was halted. When Emperor Shende, Taizu of the Song, came to power, he ordered it recast and restored to completion, atoning on behalf of the past events.

26.11

Biography of Huiyun of Xiangguo Temple in the Present Eastern Capital under the Tang

26.12

Śramaṇa Huiyun, whose secular surname was Yao, was a native of Huxiang. By nature and intelligence he was keen and perceptive, and his bearing was unconstrained and clear. In the first year of the Linde reign era of Emperor Gaozong—when he was just ten years old—he distantly cherished the aspiration to transcend the dust of the world, though his parents repeatedly opposed and discouraged him. Yet his mind was not a woven mat that could be rolled up; his father, pitying his devotion, permitted him to attend upon the initial ancestral meditation master of Mount Nanyue to receive his compassionate instruction. Huiyun was clever and wise, took deep pleasure in the teachings of the scriptures, and was quiet and composed. When he reached twenty years of age, he received the complete ordination at the temple on Mount Nanyue. He personally devoted himself to guarding the precepts and was skilled in the vinaya. Soon he ceased lecturing and specialized in cultivating blessed deeds. Whenever he spoke, people responded like echoes; transforming the common folk, they followed him like the wind. In undertaking affairs he was free from selfishness, so scholars and commoners bowed in reverence. He then departed the Lakes region and traveled through Jing and Ying; vibrating his khakkhara south of the Yangtze and carrying his bag along the banks of the Zhe, his sole aim was to exhort people to abandon the affliction of stinginess. Wherever he went he engaged in construction, renovating over twenty monasteries, yet taking no personal credit when the tasks were done. In the first year of the Jiushi reign era of Empress Wu, he went north of the Yangtze to convert others, but the conditions had not yet ripened. In the first year of the Chang'an reign era, he came to view Liangyuan. Passing the night at Fantai, he gazed toward the north bank of the Sui River and saw an extraordinary vapor reaching into the sky. At dawn he entered the city to seek it out, and found it was a pond in the northwest garden of the residence of the Sima of Shezhou. Huiyun walked over to the bank and saw in the ripples the reflection of a heavenly palace, with tiered towers and pavilions, clustered pearls and necklaces, painted doors and windows, and the winding ceremonial images of nine tiers in a thousand forms—he directly recognized it to be the palace compound of Tuṣita. Seeing this extraordinary phenomenon, joy pierced Huiyun's heart: 'I have heard that the Scripture of Ornamenting Wisdom says, "The reflection of palaces appears on the lapis lazuli ground." This is an inconceivable realm. I am determined to erect a Buddhist palace here to respond to this auspicious sign.' He then lodged at Anye Temple. In the second year of Shenlong, a bingwu year, he went to Baocheng Temple in a subordinate county of Puzhou, where he made a vow to cast a statue of Maitreya eighteen feet high for the sake of the state, soliciting people to donate pure copper. At that time, donors poured in their offerings, which in moments mounted like hills and mounds. He then worked the bellows and tested skilled craftsmen; with a single casting it was successfully completed, its marks and characteristics uniquely marvelous. In the sixth month of the fourth year of Jinglong, a gengxu year, when King Wen yielded the throne to offer it to Emperor Ruizong—his uncle—in the first year of Jingyun, Huiyun began building a separate hall in the southern corner of the eastern corridor of the temple to enshrine the holy image. Just as they were preparing timber and planning the rammed earthwork, the lay donors were divided in their opinions, and the project could not be accomplished. In the second year, a xinhai year, north of the scripture workshop of Fuhui Temple, he purchased the residence of Zheng Jing, the Dianwu of Xin'an. Just as the work began, an ancient stele was unearthed, revealing that Jianguo Temple had been established in the sixth year of Tianbao under the Northern Qi, an yihai year, by Emperor Wenxuan, the heir of Gao Huan. All who saw it marveled, sharing Śāriputra's sorrow over the anthill. The surveillance commissioner praised this wonder again and again; following this record, he changed the name of Fuhui Temple to Jianguo Temple, and they welcomed the holy image and building timber from Anye to the temple. On the thirteenth day of the fifth month of the first year of Taiji, the reign era was changed to Yanhe. In that year, Wang Zhixin, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, serving as surveillance commissioner, arrived in the suburbs of Junyi to proclaim an imperial edict: 'All temples lacking official name plaques are to be dismantled and destroyed, and all bronze and iron Buddha images are to be collected into nearby temples.' When Huiyun moved the cast image and built the halls and corridors, the colorful paintings were still incomplete. Encountering the new decree, the work was halted. Before the Maitreya image, Huiyun wept, burned incense, and repeatedly prostrated and prayed, saying: 'If there are karmic conditions with this place, may an extraordinary sign appear to awaken the minds of the multitude.' Moments later, a golden light radiated from the head of the image, illuminating heaven and earth, and the scholars and commoners of the entire city all marveled at this rarity. At that time, those who slandered it immediately lost both eyes, and there were also those whose tongues swelled to about a foot. As reports spread far and wide, people vied to come and pay reverence, offering donations like mountains, so the grand monastery was completed in all its magnificence. The image sat with pendent feet, and people prostrated upon seeing it. For those who had suffered evil retributions, Huiyun faced the image and repented on their behalf; in an instant, the blind regained their sight and those with curled tongues could speak. All wished to become servants of the temple, striking the bell and sweeping the ground. The surveillance commissioners Wang Zhixin and Helan Wu submitted a memorial detailing these auspicious omens. It matched a dream of Emperor Ruizong, so an imperial edict was issued changing the plaque from 'Jianguo' to 'Xiangguo'—taking the name from the fact that the Emperor had ascended the throne as the Prince of Xiang. The edict also commanded the venerable Minggan of Foshouji Temple to jointly oversee the merit, so that the prefecture and county administrations would not cause disturbance. Drafting Official of the Secretariat Jia Zeng, Vice Minister Cui Zhao, Supervising Censor Lu Yi, and Vice Minister of the Secretariat and Chancellor Cen Xi all donated their official salaries to co-found the karmic conditions—some initiating the original resolve, others providing external protection. During the Xiantian reign era, when a transmission of spirit portraits occurred at the Lu Mansion and Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the Retired Emperor personally wrote the temple plaque. An imperial decree ordered the venerable Paramārtha, together with two disciples and an official of ranked status, to bring the imperially bestowed banners, flowers, and the temple plaque to be received and hung. Huiyun transformed Liangyuan through the Dharma, his life enriched by the tree of blessings. A lifespan of a hundred years is limited, and the four phases continuously shift; he passed away in a detached compound of the temple. He was buried in the eastern suburbs of the current capital, where the stupa and pavilion of the temple manor still remain! At that time he was called the Patriarch of Temple Construction. After Huiyun passed away, a great pavilion named Paiyun was built in the fourth year of Tianbao. In the Zhide reign era of Emperor Suzong, the eastern pagoda named Puman was begun, and it was completed in the tenth year of Dali under Emperor Daizong. Some say the monk who built the pagoda could manifest multiple bodies to convert beings, his spiritual rank being hard to fathom. The images of Mañjuśrī and Vimalakīrti were modeled and painted by Wu Daozi, Friend of the Prince's Court. Moreover, in the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan, when Emperor Xuanzong returned from the eastern feng sacrifice, he ordered Che Zhengdao to go to the Kingdom of Khotan to copy the models of the Heavenly Kings, which were then painted on the temple walls. The monk Zhiyan raised funds from the multitude to paint the 'Stages of Entering the Path in the Three Vehicles' on the north wall of the western treasury, which was praised as marvelous and peerless. The present halls and pavilions were all rebuilt after the fire in the Dashun reign era and further repaired by Emperor Taizu of the Song. The wall paintings by Gao Yi, Hanlin Painter-in-Waiting, were praised in his time as wonders of the brush and ink.

26.13

Biography of Xuanlan of Huayan Temple in Hangzhou under the Tang (Huichang, Shouru)

26.14

Śramaṇa Xuanlan, whose secular surname was Chu, had ancestors from Henan. His family received sustenance in Qiantang and consequently settled there. Xuanlan was endowed with illustrious virtue, possessed spontaneous understanding from birth, and profoundly penetrated the true mark of phenomena so as to venerate the root of goodness. From his first thought of leaving home until he departed householder life, he took Huichang as his master. Master Chang's virtue was completely fulfilled and his abilities were fully sufficient; advanced in years and honored in conduct, he had long served as a model for others. When he saw that Xuanlan did not depart from benevolence for even a single breath, he told his disciples: 'The unsurpassed path takes purity as its basis. If someone can apply his mind for a single thought-moment, I have yet to see his learning fall short. It has been long since Jiangbiao had a true monk; might this boy become the Dharma drum, making it heard far and wide?' Such was the extraordinary discernment granted him in advance by an accomplished master. In his home county there was the old Huayan Temple; because this plot of mulberry trees was close to the ancestral grave of Master Xuanli, and under the decline of the Sui house the Dharma sanctuary had deteriorated, its name on the verge of vanishing into valleys and its traces constantly falling into disuse. At the beginning of the Tang, Xuanlan solicited faithful people to rebuild it. In the Wenming year, an imperial edict permitted the restoration of its former plaque, while the measurements and scale were expanded and its site was relocated. Backed by mountains and facing water, its terrain was splendid in both directions. Xuanlan first relied on Tianzhu Temple upon receiving the full precepts, then resided in Yixianju as a saṅgha rectifier, and later presided over Huayan Temple as a senior of eminent virtue. The three temples successively led to the same Path; the Path is present everywhere, changing in accordance with teaching. Xuanlan always took compassionate salvation of living beings as his personal duty, and thus proposed turning the open waters of the flat lake in front of the temple into a life-release pond. At that time, Prefect Yuan Congli was encouraged by this, deeply entered the gate of compassion, and prohibited fishing for six li. Sima Yang Minyan was inspired by a dream and extended it to ten li. As a result, fishes with raising fins and swishing tails, breathing at the surface and sinking, feared no harm and were able to fulfill their living nature. Xuanlan also considered scriptures and images paramount: before the hall he had four images painted, with Maitreya as the chief; he had three hundred and fifty bronze images cast, with Amitābha as the chief; and he had over two thousand scrolls of scriptures transcribed, with the gold-lettered Nirvāṇa Sūtra as the chief. For such merit, he received corresponding visible retribution in the present—his deceased father Zong was posthumously promoted to Prefect of Hezhou; his elder brother Wuliang was Right Policy Advisor and Duke of the State of Shu. During the days when Wuliang was pursuing his studies, a dragon appeared in Linping Lake, and everyone went out to look, but the Duke of Shu remained serene without leaving his desk; such was his caliber. In the early years of Emperor Xuanzong, the Duke of Shu served as an attendant lecturer, and the Emperor praised him. When he returned to visit his mother, who was already a centenarian, all the brothers had gray hair; in their morning and evening gatherings, they spoke of nothing but the Dharma. In the twenty-second year of Kaiyuan, Xuanlan manifested illness and passed away at the temple he built in Linping, at the age of eighty-four. The monks Mingliao, Dajue, Puxian, Shenman, and Huaixun, all participating in the lineage of the Dharma, bore his ritual implements and entombed them beneath the Xili Cave. Xu Anzhen, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, composed a stele inscription praising his virtue. Also, Śramaṇa Shouru of Aitong Temple in Minzhong frequently exhorted and guided people, and the folk of Yue gathered to him like crowds in a marketplace. He erected quiet abodes to aid the multitude, urgently prioritizing the benefit of others. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, he constructed a bathhouse at the temple; distressed that the terrain was steep and high while the clear spring was far below, so that shadoofs were useless and fetching water from a distance was an enduring hardship, his thoughts could find no way to alter the design. Suddenly one night, the lower stream ran dry, and more than twenty paces from where the bathhouse was being built, a clear spring gushed forth; people at the time said spiritual power had operated invisibly to move this spring. None of the people of the Seven Min failed to embrace the faith. He passed away in a side room of the bathhouse.

26.15

Biography of Xuanlang of Qingtai Temple in Dongyang under the Tang

26.16

Śramaṇa Xuanlang, styled Huiming, was surnamed Fu. His ancestors were of Puyang commandery, descendants of Duke Zheng, Governor of Jiangxia. During the Cao-Wei period, they took refuge in the region east of the Yangtze; he was thus the sixth-generation descendant of the Great Being Xi of the Liang dynasty, and became a native of Wushang. When his mother, Lady Ge, first conceived, she dreamed that she rode a sheep-cart flying through the sky and stepping on empty space, and upon waking felt a heaviness in her body. From then on, she abhorred the smell of meat and blood. When she was on the verge of giving birth, it was just as if she were in an initial slumber. After waking, her mind was light and her body at ease; the newborn did not cry, but smiled serenely. At the age of nine, he renounced the household life. When his master taught him the scriptures, he exceeded seven sheets a day. On the nineteenth day of the intercalary fifth month of the first year of the Ruyi era (692), he was ordained by imperial order and assigned to Qingtai Temple. At the age of twenty, he traveled far in search of Vinaya Master An of Guangzhou and received full ordination. Soon afterward, he studied the models of the vinaya. He also read extensively in the sūtras and treatises, searching out agreements and differences, taking the Nirvāṇa Sūtra to be of utmost importance. He often lamented that although earlier scholars had composed commentaries, their judgments were not completely fair and balanced. Formerly, while at Miaoxi Temple in Guiji, he discussed the esoteric essentials with Chan Master Yinzong; though they praised and endorsed each other, their grasp of the overarching purport was not yet complete. Hearing that the single lineage of Tiantai could clear away all attachments and guide one toward the one principle, he went to visit Dharma Master Huiwei at Tiangong Temple in Dongyang. Wei had received the transmission from Zhiwei of Kuozhou—at that time Zhiwei was rumored to be the rebirth of Xu Ling, and was the eminent disciple of Master Guanding. Lang attached himself to him in person, unmindful of poverty and hardship. He attained a thorough grasp of the Lotus Sūtra, the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra, the Dàzhìdù lùn, the Zhǐguān, the Chánmén, and other texts; in every respect concerning the teaching traces of this single tradition, he investigated with supreme precision. Later, relying on Chan Master Gong, he renewed his cultivation of the contemplation methods. He was widely versed in Confucian books and equally skilled in Daoist traditions, reading through them without omission. Although he mastered various viewpoints, he solely took "cessation and contemplation" (zhǐguān) as his path of entry into the Way and as his realm of settling the mind. Although he kept all the holy beings continually in mind, he took the compassion and wisdom of Avalokiteśvara as the excellent ford for practical cultivation. He let his mind wander through the ten vehicles, quietly harmonized with the three contemplations, benefited sentient beings with the four methods of instruction (siddhānta), and pervaded the essence of the six identifications. Although his mind reached beyond worldly things, his body grew weary of the human world; in feeling he abandoned his old home, and his intention settled in forest and ravine. Keeping only the eighteen articles of personal property and observing the twelve ascetic practices (dhūtaguṇa), he secluded himself on the crags of Zuoxi, from which he took his sobriquet. Sitting alone in a single room for over thirty years, he wore hemp and ramie, and ate coarse greens to satisfy his hunger. Having a vow to be reborn in Tuṣita Heaven, for which merit must be accumulated, he erected walls for a hall and painted images of Avalokiteśvara and Piṇḍola. Then he burned incense and concentrated his mindfulness, whereupon he elicited a miraculous light of five colors; both monastic and lay gazed upon it and praised it as unprecedented. After this, sometimes monkeys and apes would come to hold his almsbowl, or flying birds would alight to listen to the scriptures. At that time, a blind dog arrived at the mountain gate, howling continuously and rolling on the ground. Lang took pity on it, burned incense with sincere heart, and performed repentance on the dog's behalf; before ten days had passed, both of its eyes opened with clear sight. In the sixteenth year of the Kaiyuan era (728), Regional Inspector Wang Shangke prevailed upon Lang to leave the mountain and reside temporarily below the city walls. Lang excused himself on account of illness and returned to his original dwelling. Thereafter, he taught others tirelessly, delivering lectures without waiting for an audience to gather. He wore a single uttarāsaṅga for over forty years, and never changed his single niṣīdana throughout his life. His meals never had two flavors at once, and his lodging was always under a lean-to. Unless to consult the scriptures, he would not light a single candle; unless to gaze upon the holy images, he would not take a single step. His meticulous conduct and cultivation of the mind conformed entirely to the regulations of the vinaya, so that śramaṇas from distant regions and elders from neighboring territories crowded his chamber and filled his doorway, like the sun in winter or shade in summer, coming of their own accord without being summoned. Since the buildings of his monastery were dilapidated, he gave instructions to the monk Lingbing to construct halls, make images, and pile up two brick pagodas. In the painting work, no ox glue was used; all was mixed with fragrant juices. That the Tiantai teachings flourished so vigorously—how could it not be due to this? One day, he looked around and said to his disciples, "My tasks among the multitude are done; my years have reached their dawn and twilight!" On the nineteenth day of the ninth month of the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era (754), he passed away after a slight illness, at the age of eighty-two, with sixty-one saṅgha years. A stupa was erected at the crag. During his life, he composed the Two-Fascicle Sectional Analysis of the Lotus Sūtra. His dharma-transmission disciples included Daobin of Longqiu Temple in Quzhou, Huicong of Jing'an Temple, Fayuan and Shenyong of Fahua Temple in Yuezhou, Shouzhen of Fuye Temple in Changzhou, Daozun of Bao'en Temple in Suzhou, Daoyuan of Dabao Temple in Mingzhou, and Qingbian of Kaiyuan Temple in Wuzhou. "In tender childhood he yearned for the Way, his resolution seeking a teacher; before three years had passed, his understanding surpassed the halfway mark! Those who practiced his way called him Zuoxi! When counting his transmission of the Dharma, he was called the Fifth Patriarch!" Śramaṇa Shenjiong of Mount Yu composed his portrait eulogy.

26.17

The appraisal states: Looking back at the Tang dynasty and before, those seeking ordination could choose a person of renown and virtue to be their master. In recent times, official ordination arranges candidates by registration ranks and establishes offices to govern them, so it is no longer up to oneself. Was not Lang's seeking of ordination just like that [of earlier times]? In this way, master and disciple tempered each other, giving rise to benevolence and righteousness; but if one merely makes an application when the occasion arises, it is like chasing wild horses.

26.18

Tang Biography of Huiming of Fochuan Temple in Huzhou

26.19

Śramaṇa Huiming, whose lay surname was Chen, was a descendant of Chen Shi, Chief of Taiqiu in the Han dynasty; his lineage had resided in Yingchuan for generations. When the court fled south during the Yongjia period, his ancestor served as an assistant to the Minister over the Masses, and his great-grandfather Zhongwen assisted the founding of the Chen dynasty, being enfeoffed as Duke of Danyang. His grandfather served as Magistrate of Shuangxi and Gushu counties. His father was Chief of Lanling; thus, he became a native of Lanling. On the day his mother first conceived him, she behaved as though observing the Buddhist precepts: her feet loathed walking in gardens of pungent herbs, and her mouth never tasted vessels that had touched fish. In vague, spiritual dreams, she seemed to hear the sound of the Dharma. Soon after, he was born. When his age reached youth, he only then begged to leave the secular world, and his parents both consented. By the time he received full ordination, it was the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era (719). He studied the Vinayapiṭaka, and once said to others: "In ancient times, when excessive punishments first arose, Master Bocheng went into hiding. Although I do not abandon the vinaya codes, I loathe turbulent disputations. How supreme indeed is the method of mind sealing mind!" Thereupon, he traveled west to Fangyan and suddenly opened up his mind-ground. During the Tianbao era, he had a vow [to make a pilgrimage] to Mount Qingliang; because soldiers blocked the Huai and Bian rivers, Ming at once turned his staff back. Meeting with Chan companions, he traveled together with them to Wanling and founded three hermitages at Upper Shimen. A large tiger came to disturb them, but he stroked it as if caressing a dog. At that time, there was frequent famine; whenever bandits were about to arrive, he would certainly cry out and announce it beforehand, which repeatedly came true. Previously, this area was fond of hunting; Ming transformed them, and they all burned their hunting nets and weapons. In the fifth year of the Tianbao era (746), he went to stay at the Yupi Bodhimaṇḍa. There was a Venerable Yu—of the same sort as Shizong of Baidi—whose traces were approachable and conduct subtle, whom the world did not recognize. When they first met, Yu said, "Bodhisattva who transmits the teachings of the Southern Patriarch, why have you come so late?" Another day, when they climbed together to the summit of Yupi Peak and saw a mountain to the southeast standing out solitary and azure, Ming said to Venerable Yu: "I have had a past connection with this mountain." In the eighth year of the Tianbao era (749), an imperial decree was issued to ordain people. Regional Commander Wei Nanjin recommended him for his eminent conduct; monastics and laymen petitioned in writing to register his name at the Ninghua Bodhimaṇḍa in the prefecture. Ming firmly declined and had his registration transferred to Fochuan—namely, the peak he had gazed upon that day from Yupi, the former residence of Wu Jun of the Liang dynasty. The Local Gazetteers say: "South of Qingshan, two ancient Buddha statues were dug up, their era unknown. At the place where the images were unearthed, a spiritual spring gushed forth, hence it was named 'Fochuan' (Buddha Stream)." Beside the spring was an ancient shrine to the King of Wu, where local custom performed excessive sacrifices, indiscriminately using animal victims. Thereupon, Ming stayed overnight in the shrine; thunder and rain came repeatedly, trees were smashed, and roof tiles flew. After a short while, the rain ceased and the moon appeared, and he saw a gentleman whose retinue was very grand. Ming said, "Layman, in life you were a worthy person, and in death you are an illustrious spirit; why do you cause living beings to constantly make bloody food offerings to you? Do you not know that this brings calamity upon your karmic retribution?" The spirit said, "This was not my original wish; people did it of their own accord." He bowed and repented repeatedly, whereupon Ming conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon him. The spirit said joyfully, "If the Master wishes to move the temple here, your disciple is willing to abandon this place and forever offer it to the Chan monastery." Later, the temple was indeed moved to the side of the shrine, and on the bottom of a bronze platter an inscription in seal script was obtained, bearing the two characters 'Hui Ming'. In the first month of the first year of the Jianzhong era (780), he showed signs of illness. On that day, the waters of the courtyard took on spring colors, mountain rain darkened the daylight, and a fierce tiger circled the walls, roaring mournfully before departing. On the twelfth day, he passed away peacefully, at the age of eighty-four, with fifty-one saṅgha years. On the twelfth day of the second month, a stupa was built on the western mountain of the temple. There were three disciples who received the Dharma transmission: Huijie, Huimin, and Ruzhi—peers comparable to Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. His bodhisattva-precept disciples included Regional Inspectors Lu Youping, Yan Zhenqing, Dugu Wensu, Du Wei, and Pei Qing, all deeply steeped in the flavor of Chan. They commissioned Venerable Zhou to compose the stupa inscription.

26.20

Tang Biography of Ziyu of Dayun Temple in Huzhou

26.21

Śramaṇa Ziyu, styled Zhenying, was surnamed Shen and was a native of Deqing in Wuxing. His ancestors were from the extinguished State of Shen and took it as their surname, being descendants of the Master of Shen in the Spring and Autumn period. Yu was naturally bright and intelligent from birth, not requiring instruction from a teacher. Before reaching the age of bound hair, he took leave of his parents to renounce the household life. During the Ruyi era, an imperial amnesty was granted to ordain people; donning dyed robes and shaving his hair, he regarded worldly affairs as soot and ashes, and received ordination at Dafuxiang Temple in the eastern capital of Luoyang. He prayed diligently without resting or sleeping. On the evening of the third day, he saw a divine being solemn before his eyes, coming and going suddenly, appearing the same or different—was this not the result of supreme sincerity? Thereupon, he kindled the lamp of the Tathāgata and donned the seal of the Bodhisattva. During the Zhengsheng era (695), he returned to the Dayun Bodhimaṇḍa; firmly grasping the handle of the vinaya, he organized and elevated the monastic regulations—was this not fitting? Yu's conduct was pure and solid, free from blame or praise. If gentlemen of the realm were non-Buddhists or icchantikas—their minds like swirling winds, their words like gushing springs, disturbing our holy teachings and barring our wondrous gates—Yu would instruct them with composure and guide them with skillful means, so that none failed to bow their heads, humble their expressions, and obey his instructions. He regularly bowed to the fifteen thousand Buddha names and performed the Compassion Repentance, completing a cycle every day and night, or one cycle every two or three days. At night, nine holy monks descended to the place of his repentance ritual, circumambulated the Way together with him, and departed snapping their fingers. Sometimes when there was no lamp or candle at night, as he recited in his mind and mouth, a circular light illuminated the chamber, as if he were sitting in the moonlight. Events like this happened frequently. Yu lamented that throughout the entire county of Deqing there was no stupa or monastery, so he enthusiastically resolved to build them. With one call all joined in harmony, and an exquisite sanctuary was accomplished. Across his life, he copied the Tripiṭaka, in all sixteen thousand fascicles. In the beginning of the Tianbao era, Dharma Master Zu of Lin'an died; after three nights, just as he was about to enter hell, he saw Yu in the netherworld leading him to the king's presence, saying to the king, "This man can lecture on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra; the king should pardon him." The king said, "I have only heard that Master Yanlun can lecture on it, but I have not heard this master's name; why is that?" This exchange was repeated two or three times; the king could not overcome him, and consequently pardoned Zu. Previously, a villager donated a barren cow—one that naturally could not conceive—which thereupon produced milk; such was his supernatural resonance. In the autumn of the eleventh year (752), he passed away in meditative sitting. In the spring of the twelfth year, when they were about to open the sacred coffin to cremate him, his facial complexion had not changed, appearing just like when he was alive; even if Shaolin grew a beard or Qichun sprouted hair, why should only they be praised? Yao Dan, Reviewing Officer of the Court of Judicial Review and Acting Investigating Censor; Yao Ji, Director of the Reception Bureau; and Yang Huicai, the Regional Inspector, all came to place their faith in him.

26.22

Tang Biography of Weishi of Xiangshan Temple in Cixi, Mingzhou

26.23

Shi Weishi, surnamed Tang, was a native of Fuyang. As a person, his practice was that of dhūta, and his mind was engaged in dhyāna contemplation; he dwelt serenely in quietude, sitting continuously without sleep. At first his mother checked his aspiration, refusing to allow him to tonsure his hair. Before long, like a cage opening and the bird taking flight, or a cliff cave yielding a gushing spring, he studied the pervasive inquiries of Sudhana and matched the purified conduct of Kāśyapa. During the Tianbao era, he went to Mount Ruoyu in Mingzhou, where at night he heard an unseen voice announce: "Dapeng is a celebrated mountain of sacred traces; it is suitable!" The next day he ascended the mountain: its caverns were deep and secluded, its stone cliffs sheared straight, and its many extraordinary marvels made it truly a sacred realm. There were footprints of the Great Buddha; when he questioned an old man of the mountain, the elder replied, "That auspicious sign first manifested during the Kaiyuan era." He thereupon vowed to lodge there, intending it to be the place of his end. At that time, the pirate Yuan Chao and his gang gathered like bees and ants, splitting up to plunder, pillage, and slaughter the innocent. When they reached Xiangshan, the multitude all fled in scatter. Shi sat upon his couch with eyes closed, having first blocked the cave entrance with a large stone. The bandits, numbering some two or three hundred, brought another giant stone more than twenty feet wide to weigh down the cave opening. Shi arose with a mighty cry, lifted it with his palm, and the horde of robbers bowed down in rows to apologize and departed. The townsfolk esteemed him, and subsequently built a monastery, completing it in less than two years. It was the eighth year of the Dali era; the prefect Pei Jing memorialized requesting an inscribed plaque naming it Xiangshan, and an imperial decree ordained seven monks to be registered there. In the winter of the second year of the Zhenyuan era he showed signs of illness, and passed away at the monastery, dying while seated cross-legged. He was sixty-two years of age, and had a dharma age of thirty-one.

26.24

Tang Dynasty: Biography of Zengren of Longxing Temple in Lingwu, Shuofang

26.25

Shi Zengren, whose secular surname was Shi, was a native of Chenliu in Peiguo. At the age when he could attend school, he enrolled in the local academy. Scanning the bamboo slips of the hundred schools, he grasped their spirit. He was also skilled in literature, and accompanied the evaluation officers, but repeatedly took the examinations without passing. At the beginning of the Huichang era, he journeyed lightly to the northern frontier; seeking out ancient remains in the Helan Mountains, he obtained pure land in the Baicao Valley. He aroused the bodhicitta, abruptly hung up his Confucian cap, and went straight to the Śākyan fold. Thereupon he cut the grass and knotted thatch to make a hut, redoubling his diligent vigor. The Qiang and Hu tribes vied to arrive and offer him ghee and curd. By the fifth year, the military commissioner Li Yanzuo praised his moral integrity, and constructed a separate courtyard at Longxing Temple, naming it Baicao—deriving the name from the original ground of his first cultivation of the Way. Ren pricked his flesh to write various scriptures in blood. In the seventh year of the Dazhong era, Lord Li, concerned over his emaciation, personally went to urge him gently, saying: "Why should the Master cultivate only himself and practice the Hīnayāna? Why not preserve your vital nature and uphold the teaching of the Dharma? Its benefit would be vast!" Ren remained steadfastly set in his intent, and thereupon composed the *San jiao huishang lun* (Discourse on Injury in the Three Teachings) to show his aspiration. The commissioner read it and revered him even more. In the ninth year, on reading the *Dabei jing*, as he investigated the forty-two arms down to the "fearless hand," he was filled with doubt and erected an altar; after praying for a full ten days, its correct mudrā manifested in empty space, both fists clearly visible. He then commanded a painter to portray this arm. When some mocked and slandered it, Ren again prayed with purified sincerity, and as the painter washed his brushes in a bronze bowl, they suddenly brought about a miraculous flower of precious nature, its stem, calyx, tendrils, and leaves all vividly bright, so that all who saw it marvelled in admiration. On the tenth day of the seventh month of the twelfth year of the Xiantong era, he showed his extinction at Baicao Courtyard, at the age of fifty-nine. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month, his spirit was interred south of the Shuiguan, and a stūpa was erected. Earlier, Ren had pricked his blood to write scriptures totaling two hundred and eighty-three scrolls. He painted a Vairocana with a pavilion thirty-five feet high and a doorway sixteen feet high. He drafted the designs to paint three scrolls of *The Merit of Great Compassion*, and himself composed the *Dabei lun* in six scrolls, all of which were stored in chests. Later, the military commissioner Tang Hengfu, revering his surviving traces, memorialized requesting imperial commendation; an imperial decree bestowed on the master the posthumous title Guanghui, and the stūpa was named Nianding. His disciple Wuzhe was also a senior disciple capable of going far; carrying two scrolls of the blood-written scriptures and one auspicious flower bowl, he proceeded to the palace to present them, and an imperial decree bestowed the purple robe upon him. He died during the Tianfu era. Then, at the beginning of the Qianhua era of the Liang, Han Xun, the Director of the Chancellery and Prince of Xiping, recorded the remaining traces and memorialized them; Taizu decreed that the posthumous title Fakong be conferred, and separately bestowed a square purple robe, which brought honor to the frontier. In the Tongguang era of the Later Tang, the retainer Xue Zhaoji composed a stele for him.

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宋高僧傳 — 贊寧, Classical Chinese