宋高僧傳 26.19

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.