宋高僧傳 28.6

28.6

Śramaṇa Guangsi was surnamed Li and was a native of Wenshui in Taiyuan. In his youth he was solitary and quiet, rarely mingling with children. Believing in and esteeming Mount Wutai, he became a foremost disciple of Haowei of Zhenrong Cloister. After receiving the precepts, his capacity was vast, and with a heart rooted in steadfastness, he went out to seek Chan teachings. Over the years, his learning in both inner and outer texts became superior, and his ocean of eloquence surged so that it was difficult to match. Thereupon he resolved to cross the multiple lakes and ascend the mountains of Min, extensively speaking on the world of Mañjuśrī, so that his listeners were stirred with awe. King Zhongyi of the Wang clan made great offerings of incense and tea, sending an envoy to dispatch them to the mountain temple! In the gui-you year, he arrived in Liangzhe to have an audience with King Wusu of the Qian clan, who treated him with generous courtesy and deference, donating offerings of incense, tea, and ten thousand sets of bowls for the holy assembly of Mañjuśrī. The governors and magistrates across the prefectures of Wu and Yue all docked their stipends to contribute. He then sailed by sea to Cangzhou and transported the goods into the mountain. At that time, Grand Master Xianglong commanded and restrained the assembly, and the monks held him in awe; he distributed the supplies equally among the various temples and hermits, balancing the larger and smaller groups. At that time, the followers earnestly requested Si to preside over the cloister, and the court proclaimed his appointment as a saṅgha official governing the cloisters of the various terraces, calling him Rector, with the master's title Chaohua. He resided above the saṅgha like a kun fish or a phoenix leading the fish and fowl! For fifteen years, he erected Buddhist temples and provided meals for monks and nuns beyond measure. In the first year of Tianfu, he contracted an illness, and on the fifth day of the ninth month he passed away. His disciples built a stūpa to enshrine his sacred bones and relics, which still exist today.