宋高僧傳 29
English (machine translation) 29
- Language
- English
29.1
Composed under Imperial Order by Śramaṇa Zanning, Grand Master Tonghui, Recipient of the Purple, of Tianshou Temple on the Left Street of the Song, and Others
29.2
Tenth Category: Miscellaneous Practices and Vocal Resonance, Part One (twenty-six principal biographies, six appended)
29.3
Biography of Zhiyi of Lingyin Temple in Qiantang of the Southern Song
29.4
Śramaṇa Zhiyi was a man of unknown origin. He lived on the half-peak of Lingyin Temple, strictly maintaining the vinaya precepts, and was adept at long whistling. When finishing his whistle, he would draw out the sound so that it faded into the clouds, like blowing reed leaves or lifting floating gossamer threads—slowly rising and soaring, now mournful, now choked, whistling and plaintive, so that listeners felt mournful and chilled; they called it the 'brahmā sound of the mournful pine.' It greatly aroused good roots in living beings; sometimes he sang praises before the statues, chanting melodiously. By the stream of Ling Mountain he raised a white gibbon, which at times would leap over mountains and cross streams, not returning for a long time. Zhiyi would then purse his lips, open his throat, and make a brahmā call to summon it, and the gibbon would arrive. People of the time called it the 'brahmā summons for the white gibbon.' Master Zhiyi acted as a gibbon father, just like the monkey-keeper of old. Later, packs of monkeys gathered by the stream. Whenever the monks finished their meal, they would collect the leftover food and send it to the Gibbon Terrace; then they would have a mountain boy call out two or three times, and the troop of monkeys would vie to arrive. By the time Emperor Wuzong of the Tang suppressed the teaching, that temple was demolished, reduced to a wasteland of overgrown weeds, and the matter of feeding gibbons at the terrace was entirely obliterated. It is not known where Master Zhiyi ended his days.
29.5
Biography of Huining of Luoyang under the Northern Wei
29.6
Śramaṇa Huining was a man of unknown origin. He resided in Luoyi without extraordinary arts, merely cultivating and disciplining his mind and precepts. Once he fell ill and died suddenly; after seven days he revived, arose, and spoke of the retributions in the underworld and the divisions he had seen, without the slightest discrepancy. What he saw were five śramaṇas. The first was Zhisheng of Baoming Temple, who ascended to heaven through seated dhyāna and ascetic practices. The next was Daopin of Bore Temple, who, by reciting the forty rolls of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, was the same as the previous Zhisheng. The next was Tanmoxui of Rongjue Temple, who was celebrated for lecturing on the Nirvāṇa and Avataṃsaka Sūtras and led a following numbering a thousand. King Yama said: 'Those who lecture on scriptures harbor thoughts of self and other, and treat things with arrogance; among bhikṣus, this is the foremost coarse conduct. Now we only test seated dhyāna and scriptural recitation.' Tanmoxui said: 'Since establishing myself in life, this poor monk has only liked lecturing and guiding, and is unable to practice dhyāna or recitation.' The king said: 'Deliver him to the office.' Thereupon several men dressed in blue encircled and escorted Tanmoxui toward the northwest gate; the houses were all black, appearing to be no good place. The next was Daoheng of Chanlin Temple, who declared: 'I taught and guided the fourfold assembly of dānapatis to produce the entire canon and ten bodily images among humans.' The king said: 'The essence of a śramaṇa is that one must concentrate the mind and guard the Way, setting one's intention on dhyāna and recitation, not interfering in worldly affairs, and not pursuing clamour and proliferation. Although you made scriptures and images, you only sought to obtain the wealth of others; once having obtained their wealth, a greedy mind arose; having fostered greedy deeds, the three poisons blazed fiercely, endowed with all defilements.' He was sent into the black gate along with Tanmoxui. The fifth was Baoming of Lingjue Temple, who claimed that before leaving household life, he had served as Grand Protector of Longxi and built Lingjue Temple. He then abandoned his office to enter the Way; although he did not practice dhyāna or recitation, he never neglected prostrations and homage. The king said: 'In the days when you were regional inspector, you perverted justice and twisted the law, plundered the people's wealth, and falsely built this temple. It was not by your own strength; why bother speaking of this?' He was likewise delivered to those in blue and sent into the black gate. Huining was awakened by this. Earlier, when he saw the king, the subordinate officials checked the registers and found he had been summoned by mistake. At that time, Empress Dowager Hu heard of this and dispatched Gentleman Attendant of the Yellow Gates Xu He to verify the temple plaques and whether the monks' names existed according to Huining's account. He submitted a memorial stating: 'East of the city is Baoming Temple; within the city is Bore Temple; west of the city are three temples—Rongjue, Chanlin, and Lingjue; and Zhisheng, Daopin, Tanmoxui, Daoheng, Baoming, and the others all truly exist.' The Empress Dowager praised it for a long time, and issued an edict inviting one hundred monks who practiced seated dhyāna and scriptural recitation to receive constant offerings in the inner palace. She subsequently issued an edict: 'Bhikṣus are not permitted to hold scriptures or images and beg in the streets and thoroughfares; if they use private wealth to make scriptures or images, they are free to do so.' Huining entered Mount Bailu to live in seclusion and cultivate the Way. From then on, many bhikṣus in the capital city cultivated dhyāna contemplation and chanted large volumes of the Dharma scriptures.
29.7
The commentary says: Tanmoxui entered the black gate because of his lecturing on the Dharma and harboring notions of self and other. If those practicing dhyāna and recitation allow notions of self and other to grow accordingly, one knows they too will not escape. Tanmoxui debated with the Daoist Jiang Bin, and the merit of protecting the Dharma could compensate for his previous faults. One should not claim that all who propagate the Dharma fall into realms of deficit. Empress Hu's partial view remained unbanished—alas!
29.8
Biography of Yuanxiang of Faju Temple in Chengdu Prefecture under the Tang
29.9
Śramaṇa Yuanxiang was a man of Shu. At the age of seven he left household life; he comprehensively mastered both internal and external learnings, was skilled in composition, and was hailed as a prodigy at the time. Internally he cultivated the vinaya standards, and no one could find fault with him. In the first year of the Longshuo reign era, he fell ill and passed away in this temple. When his hands and feet were about to be revealed, inside his chamber a long rainbow like white silk flew up into the sky, and the bell-cords of the temple's stūpa rang by themselves without wind. The paintings on the walls of the grand gate peeled off, and every night there were sounds of drums and horns, ceasing only after more than a hundred days. From then on, birds and sparrows would not roost on its roof. In the fourth year of the Xianheng reign era, sweet dew fell upon the palm trees in front of the lecture hall. When Yuanxiang passed away, his disciples gathered over thirty rolls of his collected writings. For the stone image stele in the temple, Yuanxiang composed the text, which he drafted together with Gong Lingkuang.
29.10
Biography of Sengda of Miaoxi Temple in Yuezhou under the Tang
29.11
Śramaṇa Sengda, surnamed Wang, was a man of Kuaiji. In his youth he was outstanding and extraordinary, not engaging in childish games. He abandoned the secular world at the Miaoxi Bodhimaṇḍa on Mount Gui—this temple was first built in the Southern Liang. Later, he enjoyed wandering abroad. When he met Dhyāna Master Ren of Huangmei, it was like parched sprouts receiving rain; following his guidance he cultivated dhyāna, never slacking. Meeting Dhyāna Master Yinzong, he polished his mind-mirror once again. In Guangzhou he saw Vinaya Master Dao'an and further encouraged himself in vinaya deportment. The fourfold assembly took refuge in him like streams returning to the sea. In the seventh year of the Kaiyuan reign era, he manifested illness and passed away, at the age of eighty-two.
29.12
Biography of Shending of the Capital under the Tang
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Śramaṇa Shending was a man of unknown origin. He was eccentric, uninhibited, yet pure and straightforward, with his hair hanging down to his eyebrows. He constantly held a wooden dipper, strolling through the marketplaces of Chang'an to beg. When he obtained food, he ate it on the spot. If someone offered coarse silk, cloth, brocade, patterned silk, or fine gauze, he would patch and sew them onto his garment and wear them, making no distinctions. He once entered a temple and saw Dharma Master Lizhen lecturing before the seat. After listening attentively for a short while, he asked Lizhen: 'Are the myriad phenomena fixed or not?' Lizhen said: 'Fixed.' Shending said: 'If the ācārya says they are fixed, why do high banks become valleys and deep valleys become hills, why is there birth right after death and death right after birth? The myriad phenomena are intertwined, and beings transmigrate through the six realms—how can they be fixed?' Lizhen said: 'The myriad phenomena are not fixed.' Shending said: 'If they are not fixed, why not point to heaven as earth, call earth heaven, address the stars as the moon, and name the moon the stars? How can they not be fixed?' Lizhen had no reply. The assembly at the time was astonished at his fluent eloquence. Master Lizhen was profoundly learned, yet his sharpness was blunted and he showed considerable shame. Seeing this, Zhang Wencheng sighed in admiration and said to him: 'Observing the Dharma Master's swift eloquence, you are indeed one at the stages of the bodhisattva path.' Shending said: 'A bodhisattva is not joyful when gaining, nor resentful when losing; not angered when beaten, nor indignant when disgraced. Now, when Shending begs and receives, he is joyful; when he does not receive, he is resentful; when beaten, he is angered; when disgraced, he is indignant. Viewed from this, I am far from a bodhisattva.' The assembly was struck with amazement, pressed their palms together, and dispersed.
29.14
The commentary says: In answering another's question, slow cleverness is inferior to clumsy speed. Now, several hundred years later, this biographer takes the liberty of offering a reply. I say: Valleys turning into hills, birth coming and death going, the myriad kinds intertwined, and transmigration through the five realms—this is precisely the Dharma of non-movement; can it not be fixed? The sūtra says: 'The worldly characteristics are constantly abiding,' which means this. Furthermore, it is said: 'Heaven, earth, stars, and moon each occupy their proper order, yet ultimately return to obliteration'; can this not be non-fixed? The sūtra says: 'When the kalpa fire blazes, the great trichiliocosm is destroyed entirely,' which means this. Now, without destroying worldly characteristics one speaks of the true characteristic; can it not be both fixed and non-fixed? Though fixed and non-fixed, are they not both aspects of liberation? Furthermore, it was said that one who has joy and anger is not a bodhisattva; though a bodhisattva has joy and anger, they are not [true] joy and anger—if not a bodhisattva, who else could he be? Now I have merely wiped away Lizhen's melancholy.
29.15
Biography of Master Hong of the Capital under the Tang
29.16
Śramaṇa Master Hong was a man of Qi'an. During the Shenlong reign era he came to travel in the capital. Aloof and composed, he spoke rarely. When he did speak, it was marvelous and extraordinary. He was remarkably adept in the study of geomancy, and in divining and choosing grave sites he was second only to Guo Jingchun and Yixing. He frequented the household of Duke of Yun, Wei Anshi, with whom he became close. One day he said to him: 'This poor monk saw a piece of land on Fengqi Plain, about twenty mu, with the topography of an undulating dragon; whoever is buried here will see his descendants occupy prime ministerial positions for generations.' Wei said: 'This old man has a country villa south of the city. I will wait for a moment of leisure to accompany the National Preceptor to visit the land and inquire about its price. Traveling together amidst woods and springs will also aid high spirits.' On another day, Wei sought to fulfill the previous agreement, and just as he ordered the carriage, Duke Wei's wife said: 'My lord is a high minister of the Son of Heaven, and the National Preceptor is versed in the mantic arts of yin and yang; how can you travel secretly outside the city walls to prepare a living tomb? It is not appropriate.' He then ceased. Wei said: 'My younger brother Tao has a son who died young and has not been buried; show him this land.' Hong said: 'If your worthy brother obtains this land, his descendants will not become generals or prime ministers, but will merely rank among the chief ministers.' Tao bought it and buried the deceased youth; later he served as Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Commissioner of Ritual Ceremonies, and died in office.
29.17
Whenever Hong inspected mountains and plains, he drew diagrams and shapes. He once said from the east of Luoyang to Zhang Yue: 'To the left of the Que Gate road there is a fine mountain ridge; the Chancellor may use it.' Yue said: 'I have already reached the pinnacle of subjecthood; what good fortune could surpass this?' Hong said: 'No one can surpass this.' He then consulted Censor Yuan Qianyao, who said: 'My late father left instructions.' Later Qianyao requested leave to rebury his parents in the eastern capital and returned, after a year had passed. When Hong passed Que Gate again, the ground had already become a grave mound. He asked the local residents, who said: 'These are the pines and cypresses of the Yuan family.' Hong said: 'By unseen destiny it ought to belong to the Yuan family; one can sit and wait for the transformation to unfold.' Within a few years, Qianyao was indeed promoted to high office.
29.18
Hong once cautioned Duke Yan [Zhang Yue], saying: “Do not take earth from the northwest corner of your residence.” Later a pit formed, and hollows were made in two or three places. Hong said in alarm to Duke Yan: “A calamity! Your Lordship's wealth and honor will last only for your own single lifetime. In twenty more years, disaster will reach your worthy sons!” When [Zhang] Jun and [Zhang] Ji accepted illegitimate offices from An Lushan, and Suzong recovered the capital, they were judged to have their sentences commuted from death, but the Retired Emperor [Xuanzong] adamantly insisted on their execution. Everything turned out just as Hong had spoken. Both the courts of Zhongzong and Ruizong revered Hong and titled him National Preceptor. His prognostications and physiognomic readings never erred.
29.19
Biography of Huiri of Wangji Temple in Luoyang under the Tang (Master Zhen)
29.20
Shi Huiri, whose secular surname was Xin, was a native of Donglai. He was ordained under Emperor Zhongzong, and after ascending to the full precepts, he met Tripiṭaka Master Yijing, who had attained the pinnacle of the Single Vehicle and personally journeyed to India. Huiri’s mind constantly yearned [for this], and he vowed to travel to the Western Regions. At first he boarded a ship and crossed the sea. After three years had passed, he had traveled through nearly all the various kingdoms in the southeastern sea—Kunlun, Fo-shi [Śrīvijaya], the Isle of Lions [Siṃhala], and others—and then reached India, where he paid homage to the sacred traces. For thirteen years he sought Sanskrit manuscripts and visited spiritual friends. Having consulted them and received the Dharma’s instructions, he longed to benefit others, so he shook his monk’s staff and set out for his homeland, journeying as a solitary shadow. Through the snowy ranges and barbarian lands, he spent another four years. Having experienced many hardships, he felt a deep revulsion toward Jambudvīpa: In which land, in which direction, is there joy without suffering? Through what Dharma, what practice, can one swiftly see the Buddha? He asked widely among the Tripiṭaka masters and scholars of India, and what they taught all praised the Pure Land, which also accords with the golden mouth [of the Buddha]; for quickness, it is the path of a single lifetime; exhausting this retribution body, one will certainly attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and personally serve Amitābha Buddha. Having heard this, he accepted it atop his head and gradually reached the kingdom of Gandhāra in northern India. Northeast of the royal city there was a great mountain with an image of Avalokiteśvara; when one prayed with sincere resolve, the bodhisattva would often manifest a body. Huiri then kowtowed for seven days and also fasted, making the end of his life his term. On the seventh night, before it had ended, Avalokiteśvara manifested in the sky a purple-gold form over ten feet tall, seated upon a precious lotus flower. Lowering his right hand, he rubbed Huiri’s crown and said: “If you wish to transmit the Dharma to benefit yourself and others, it is the Western Pure Land, the World of Ultimate Bliss, the Buddha-land of Amitābha! Urge people to recite the Buddha’s name and chant sūtras, dedicated and aspiring to rebirth. Having arrived in that land, seeing the Buddha and me, they will attain great benefit. You yourself should know that the Pure Land teaching surpasses all other practices.” Having spoken, he suddenly vanished. Huiri was exhausted from fasting, but upon hearing this he felt invigorated. Crossing the mountain ranges on his eastward return, he calculated that he had traversed more than seventy kingdoms, taking eighteen years in total, and finally reached Chang’an in the seventh year of Kaiyuan. He presented to the Emperor an authentic portrait of the Buddha, Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts, and the like, awakening the Emperor’s heart, and was bestowed the title of Tripiṭaka Master Cimin. Throughout his life he diligently cultivated the practices of the Pure Land, and authored the *Wang sheng jing tu ji* (Collection on Rebirth in the Pure Land), which circulated in the world. His path was of identical transformation in a different era with Shandao and Shaokang. Moreover, because the monastic assembly was largely confused about *hiṅgu* among the five pungent roots—regarding *hiṅgu*, many people spoke differently, some saying it was rape-turnip or coriander, others saying it was asafetida—only in his *Jingtu ji* did he write separately: “Of the five pungent roots, there are only four in this land: first, garlic; second, leek; third, scallion; fourth, Chinese onion; it lacks *hiṅgu*.” The Sanskrit term is slightly distorted; it is properly called *xingju* [hiṅgu], and it is not found in other kingdoms. Only upon returning to Khotan did he manage to see it. Its root is as thick as a slender turnip root and is white, smelling like garlic; the people of that kingdom cultivate it and take the root to eat. When he arrived there during winter, he did not see its branches and leaves. Turnip and coriander are not among the five pungent roots, and eating them incurs no guilt. Did Huiri not verify this with his own eyes? In the seventh year of Tianbao he passed away at his home temple, at the retribution age of sixty-nine. He was buried on Bailuyuan, and a small stūpa was erected.
29.21
Shi Master Zhen of Xiuguang Temple in Yuyao was a native of Jinhua, with the secular surname Wang. In his youth Zhen left his family; enlightened to the Way as a child, he gave rise to great vigor and firmly upheld the ground of the precepts. Within his single clan, several individuals wore the dark robes. In his studies Zhen took the ancients as his teachers, his comprehension matching the former sages; the principles of the eight divisions of scriptures were right in his palm, and the source of the Dharma of the Three Vehicles was entirely within his measure. In the sixth year of Tianbao, Prefect Lord Qin and Vice-Prefect Lord Di recognized the loftiness of his conduct and therefore recommended him by name to preside over Xiuguang Temple. The two lords often remarked to one another: “Master Zhen penetrates the profound and marvelous Dharma and the obscure, unsurpassable principle. Asked about one, he gives three in return; as his words issue, echoes respond. Formerly, Lishi was eloquent and erudite, and Sengrui’s wisdom was comprehensive; to run abreast with him, they could not be mentioned in the same day.” In the eighth year [of Tianbao] he passed away at the temple. The local magistrate Wang Sui recounted his virtues and carved the inscription, and Hong Yuanshen wrote the calligraphy.
29.22
Biography of Shenjiong of Dayu Temple in Yuezhou under the Tang
29.23
Shi Shenjiong; it is not known where he came from. In his youth he entered the stream of the Dharma, bearing himself with solemnity and gravity; his integrity was lofty and his conduct steep, imposing without harshness. In his later years he admired Vinaya Master Dayi of Chengxin Temple, studied the Three Contemplations of the Tiantai school together with him, and received the essential doctrine from Chan Master Zuoxi; this was during the Baoying era. Furthermore, his prose was expansive and rich, with an abundance of rhetorical adornment. He composed the *Eulogy for Master Lang's Portrait* and the *Preface to the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra*, which surpassed those of his time and were prized by the world. It is not known how he ended his life.
29.24
Biography of Chunda of Zhenguo Temple in the Capital Region under the Tang
29.25
Shi Chunda was originally a man of the Western Regions; his Sanskrit name cannot be translated into Chinese. He followed [the monastic life] and traveled in the capital, where he was revered by people. During the Shangyuan era, he reportedly came east across [the sea]. When people saw him, his facial appearance looked like that of a child, yet he stated that he was already six hundred years old. Some said he was eighty. His speech was energetic and his movements showed no decline. Emperor Daizong heard of him, summoned him into [the palace], treated him with extraordinary generosity, and bade him seek the way to retain one's years. Chunda said: “The mind and spirit love tranquility; now that they are roiled by worldly dust, how could one reach deep stillness? If one looks beyond simplicity and tranquility to retain years, it is like climbing a tree to pick lotus flowers—how could that be attained? If Your Majesty wishes for longevity, it comes from keeping the spirit simple, pure, and peaceful. When the spirit is peaceful, life is prolonged; when desires are few, the body is at peace. Arts beyond this, this poor monk knows nothing of.” The Emperor thereupon deeply esteemed him. In the third year of Yongtai, knowing beforehand that he would surely pass away, he sent a disciple carrying his robe and bowl to present them to the throne; the Emperor bestowed a purple robe upon the disciple. Chunda passed away at Zhenguo Temple.
29.26
Biography of Daosui of Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai under the Tang
29.27
Shi Daosui; it is not known where he was from. He had deep insight and far-reaching discernment, held his resolve with constancy, and intuitively understood the true lineage without relying on deviant arts. A later successor to the teaching of Master Zhiyi of the Sui, he was inherently conversant with its subtle depths. At the gate of Jingxi [Zhanran], the depths were difficult to peer into. During the Dali era, Master Zhanran entrusted him with the *Zhiguan fuxing ji* so that he might expound and propagate it, just as a divine steed can cover great distances. At that time, his fellow disciple Yuanhao was thoroughly awed and humbled, unable to compete for precedence. In the twenty-first year of Zhenyuan, the Japanese monk Saichō—who was also a resolute, intelligent, and sharp-witted monk from among the grass-clad people of the Eastern Barbarians—crossed the boundless ocean and reached Jiangdong. Yearning for the Dharma gate of Tiantai, he sought Master Zhiyi’s resolutions on dhyāna. It happened that Daosui was lecturing and instructing; he guided and taught him in detail, and Saichō attained the doctrine. He then made complete copies of the doctrinal teachings of the single lineage to return east. Concerned that people might ask from whom he had heard them and by whom he was sealed—in order to guard against doubts and errors—he approached the prefectural governor for verification. Lu Chun, Prefect of Taizhou at the time, made the judgment: “Although Ācārya Saichō is outwardly from an alien land, his nature is in truth of the same source. Specially endowed with innate knowledge, he reaches abstruse understanding at every contact. Having come from afar to transmit the Tiantai teachings, he also encountered Master Sui, an elephant and dragon, who gathers the ten thousand practices into the single mind and comprehends the disparate paths in the Three Contemplations. Having personally received the esoteric [teachings], the principle transcends names and words. Still concerned that scholars in other lands might not believe and accept them, how could the seal of authorization he requested not be granted as proof?” Saichō sailed across the sea to his homeland, took the teachings, designated a mountain as Tiantai [Hiei], and named a temple Guoqing [Enryaku-ji]; like wind moving and lightning shining, this teaching was widely practiced. The Japanese monks from afar honored Daosui as an ancestral master. Later he passed away at his home temple.
29.28
Biography of Jinping of Mount Xiyin in Huai’an Commandery under the Tang
29.29
Shi Jinping, surnamed Wu, was a native of the Capital Region. He left household life early at Mingfu Cloister on Mount Yong’an; his demeanor was dignified and refined. He investigated all the sūtras and great treatises. Melting down the texts and smelting the commentaries, he made people delight in listening to him. Later he turned his thoughts to chan contemplation, and in Luoyang he met Master [Shen]hui of Heze and attained awakening, remarking: “Extravagant indeed! For those who do not understand it from within, how difficult what is known is!” Later he went to Tangzhou and lived on Mount Xiyin. Prefect Zheng Wenjian invited him to enter the city and propagate the fundamental tenets. At his manifestation of cessation he was eighty-one years old, and was placed in a stūpa in the third month of the fourteenth year of Dali.
29.30
Biography of Daoyin of Ersheng Cloister on Mount Nan in Ningzhou under the Tang
29.31
Shi Daoyin, surnamed Wang, was a native of Pengyuan. His bearing stood loftily, and his disposition was expansive and serene. In his youth he cast off worldly toil and vowed to follow the tranquil void. After following a teacher's model, he wished to travel abroad, and with Master [Shen]hui of Heze he suddenly illuminated the essential mind. When he returned to his home region, his reputation for the Way resounded far and wide; those who admired his Dharma were like people flocking to the market of Huayin. Without being summoned they gathered in full, their donations abundant, and a magnificent monastery was established. On the last day of the third month of the thirteenth year of Dali, he gave his final instructions to the fourfold assembly, and in the middle of the night sat cross-legged and passed away, at the age of seventy-two, with a dharma age of thirty-five. His disciple Bianzhen built a stūpa to inter him. Today, the bodies of both master and disciple remain undecayed. Commentators consider that when one attains the Way truly, their physical vessel is also like this—comparable to a cauldron for smelting elixir: when the medicine is complete, the cauldron also transforms into gold. In the *Avataṃsaka* it is said: “Bodhisattvas accomplish the forbearance like space; they attain a body that does not come, because it does not go; they attain a body that is not born, because it does not perish; they attain a body that does not assemble, because it does not disperse and disintegrate.” Does this not refer to Master Yin!
29.32
Biography of Daowu of Mount Tao in Wenzhou under the Tang
29.33
Shi Daowu; it is not known where he was from. His lofty aspirations were untrammeled, and his capacity was difficult to gauge. In his later years he lived in a hermitage beside Mount Tao in Yongjia, which was where the Hermit [Tao Hongjing] had compiled the *Declarations of the Perfected* (Zhen’gao). During the Dali era, Emperor Daizong established this hermitage for the Perfected Lord Tao; Daowu progressed in cultivation here without indolence, and people looked up to him. One evening he died seated cross-legged, his flesh undecayed as if in samādhi, so it was resolved not to cremate or bury him. Five years later, he suddenly raised his right hand, as if offering incense. The prefectural officials and common people were astonished, and reported the matter to the throne; an imperial decree bestowed a purple kāṣāya and the posthumous title Grand Master Shixiang (True Mark). To this day in his stūpa, the prefectural people pray, and banners and flowers are piled high.
29.34
The appraisal says: Whenever monks enter cessation raising their fingers, it indicates the number of the four śramaṇa fruits they have attained. In the past, Guṇavarman raised two fingers upon cessation, saying that he had realized the second fruit. Next, Fajing, on the verge of cessation, bent three fingers. Huijing held two fingers reversed, and when straightened, they bent back again. Now, is not Wu’s extending of his hand similar to these?
29.35
Biography of Huanxi of the Capital Region under the Tang (Wuce)
29.36
Shi Huanxi; it is not known where he was from. His nature was unconstrained, kind, forbearing, and accommodating; people never saw anger on his face, hence they gave him this name [‘Joy’]. Observing the glory of the realm, he arrived at the capital; when nobles and commoners invited him, he rarely refused. His speech was erratic and his actions difficult to fathom. Emperor Dezong heard of him and esteemed him. In the twelfth year of Zhenyuan, an imperial decree ordered Yongtai Temple to set up an ordination platform to ordain monks; at that time Xi and Baotang Chanzong were given a special decree to receive the precepts, which the monastic ranks considered an honor. On the nineteenth day of the sixth month of that year, he passed away at his home temple.
29.37
There was Shi Wuce of Yunmen Temple in Kuaiji, a foreigner, about whom it is not known whether he was born north or south of the Congling Mountains. Was he Hu or was he Indian? How could one distinguish? During the Jianzhong era he crossed the desert and traveled east, stopping wherever he found satisfaction to pass the winters and summers. Later he lodged at Yunmen Temple by the Yue River to cultivate the Way. Because he was skilled at discerning human thoughts, he was called the Indian Monk of Sharp Wisdom. Tradition had it that he was the later rebirth of Master Kang Baoyue, a fact which must have been verified through real events. Whenever he met with renowned and virtuous masters, he would converse with them through the entire night. Jiaoran of Wuxing wrote on the wall of Wuce's room: / 'Among the ten thousand peaks of Yue, Yunmen stands unsurpassed; / The Western monk of ancient mien is named Yue once again. / In the clear dawn he sweeps the rocks, returning from walking the Way; / Beneath the forest he sleeps in dhyāna, watching the pine snow.' / The description of his lofty and transcendent character is found in Master Zhou's verse.
29.38
The Tang Dynasty Biography of Jiaoran (and Fulin) of Mount Zhu in Huzhou
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Shi Jiaoran, whose secular name was Zhou and whose family name was Xie, was a native of Changcheng and a tenth-generation descendant of the Marquis of Kangle. Endowed with extraordinary talent from his youth, his nature naturally harmonized with the Way. When he first cast off secular bonds, he shaved his head and took monastic robes. He received the precepts at the ordination platform of Lingyin from Vinaya Master Shouzhe, listening to the teaching of the vinaya, to which he paid special attention. In his poetry, he gave voice to his innate sensibilities, reaching what may be called their subtlest refinement. His writings were elegant and handsome, and he was regarded at the time as a great vessel of the Buddhist fold. Later he widely visited famous mountains, rarely failing to attend and listen at any seat of Dharma. Meanwhile, he pursued multiple branches of learning side by side, reaching the peak in each of the masters, the histories, and the canonical scriptures. Wherever he traveled, high ministers in the capital treated him with profound respect, while governors in the commanderies venerated him. In every case, he first used poetic lines to draw them in and encourage them, leading them to enter the Buddha's wisdom; the true purpose of his transformative teaching lay fundamentally in this. In his middle years, he visited various Chan patriarchs and comprehended the mind-ground Dharma-gate. He formed friendships in the Way with Yuanhao of Mount Huqiu and Lingche of Kuaiji, which is why the contemporary proverb went: 'Zhou of the Zha River possesses pure elegance.'
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At the beginning of the Zhenyuan era, he lived in a thatched hut by the Eastern Creek, intending to abandon the craft of poetry, thinking it not the true purpose of a practitioner of dhyāna. Admonishing himself, he said: 'Even if I had the encyclopedic knowledge of Confucius or the wide hearing of Xuchen, spending all day vaunting the Way and elaborating on principles before my eyes would merely suffice to disturb my true nature. How could it compare to facing a solitary pine and a wisp of cloud from a meditation mat—communing with the Way in silence, identical in nature through perfect stillness? I shall enter Mount Zhu and make pine and clouds my companions.' He put aside his work *Shishi* (Poetic Patterns) along with all his other prose and verses, no longer recording them. Glancing at his brush and inkstone, he said: 'I am fatigued by your labor, and you are exhausted by my folly; in several decades, nothing at all has been gained. Moreover, you are external things; how could you burden a person? Since dwelling holds no mind, departing holds no self; I shall release you each back to your original natures, so that things remain things, having nothing to do with me—would that not be joyful?' He then ordered his disciples to discard them. In the fifth month of the fifth year, it happened that the former Vice Censor-in-chief Li Hong, having incurred censure from Hebei, was reassigned as prefect of Huzhou. When they first met, before exchanging a single word, their minds seemed attuned as if by spiritual resonance. Knowing that Li was well versed in Buddhist principles, Jiaoran asked him for instruction. He first inquired about the source of the school and next about the mind-seal; Li smiled and answered. On another day, when their conversation touched upon the *Shishi*, Jiaoran related in full his former resolution. Li said: 'Not so.' He firmly instructed Jiaoran's disciples to retrieve the draft manuscript, and upon perusing it, sighed and said: 'In my early years I read Shen Yue's *Pinzao*, Huixiu's *Hanlin*, and Yu Xin's *Shizhen*; the discussions of these three masters fall far short of this. Why should you adopt the narrow view of the Hīnayāna and use an old vow as an excuse?' He then praised Wu Jide, a man of letters from that district and a descendant of Changshi Wu Jun of the Liang, noting that his prose possessed familial style, and that he valued and respected him. Zhou formed an unreserved friendship with Lu Hongjian (Lu Yu). Chancellor Lord Yu Di and Duke Yan Zhenqing of Lu engaged him to assist in compiling over twenty fascicles of the *Yunhai*. He loved composing five-miscellaneous irregular verses with extraordinary and adventurous conception, truly showing himself not unworthy as a distant descendant of the Xie clan of Jiangnan. Zhou kept his intentions pure and his mind lofty and transcendent; fleeting fame and meager profit could not tempt him. He devoted himself solely to the forests and peaks, roaming with men of the Way, and never showed a slackened countenance throughout his life. He also initiated offerings to the unseen realms, following the precedent of the Burning-Faced Ghost (Yamānīka) to feed ghosts and spirits. When Zhou formerly resided at Xingguo Temple in the prefecture, he initiated the practice by donating his own garments and robes. There was once a military clerk named Shen Zhao, originally from Deqing, who rode on horseback from the prefecture at dusk to Camel Bridge under clear moonlight. He saw several men dressed in formal robes and caps. Shen found it strange and asked them: 'Why have you come here?' They replied: 'Master Ran is performing an offering to the unseen realms at Xingguo Temple east of Xiang Yu's shrine; we are waiting here.' When Shen went to check the next day, they were indeed ghosts. There was also the Changcheng soldier Qian Pei on official duty, who moored his boat south of Mount Lü. He saw dozens or hundreds of people carrying food vessels and bundles of silk, passing by in cheerful conversation. When asked the reason, they said: 'We are coming from Master Ran's feast.' At that time, Duke Yan of Lu was prefect of the commandery; he had early on cultivated friendship with Jiaoran and held him in ever higher esteem. Zhou died at the mountain temple during the Zhenyuan era. He left a collection of ten fascicles, prefaced by Yu Di. In the first month of the eighth year of Zhenyuan, an imperial order commanded that his collected works be copied and placed in the Secret Archives, an honor celebrated throughout the empire. Looking at his writings, they flow tirelessly without causing weariness, matching the poetic meter with freshness and vigor; he was truly a great talent of an entire generation. During his life, Zhou frequently associated with Wei Yingwu, Lu Youping, Wu Jide, Li E, Huangfu Zeng, Liang Su, Cui Zixiang, Xue Feng, Lü Wei, and Yang Kui, whether officials or commoners. Whenever he socialized with them, they would recite aloud and delight in the Way. Only when their ways aligned would Jiaoran establish friendship with them. He therefore composed the *Rushi jiaoyou zhuan* (Biographies of the Interactions between Ruists and Buddhists) and the *Neidian leiju* (Classified Collection of Buddhist Scriptures), totaling forty fascicles, as well as the *Haonaozi* in ten fascicles, which circulated widely and were treasured at the time. In the fourth year of Yuanhe, Prefect Fan Chuanzheng and Shi Lingche of Kuaiji jointly visited his former courtyard; standing before his portrait hall, they mourned him for a long time and left this inscription: / 'Dao'an has already returned to the realm of nowhere, / While Huiyuan comes to visit the old thatched cottage. / I too was among his disciples in those days; / Together we recite fine verses, lighting a single stick of incense.' / His lingering virtue continued to be admired by later worthy men in succession. Furthermore, there was Shi Fulin of Mount Dashi in Huangzhou of the Tang, surnamed Yuan, a native of Jingzhou. His father served as administrative assistant in Xiangyang and had always venerated Buddhism. From his youth Fulin loved the Buddhist path and constantly maintained strict discipline. Knowing early to sever mundane affections, he shaved his head and took monastic robes under Master Qianzhu of Xuanjing Temple. Having received the full ordination, he personally paid homage to the patriarch master of Heze and thereby accorded with the true mind. Later he went to Huangpi, cleared thatch to build a hermitage, which eventually became a great monastery where he gathered and settled Chan companions from all directions. Fulin died at the age of eighty-two; in the fourth month of the second year of Xingyuan, he was entombed in a stupa.
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The Tang Dynasty Biography of Huaikong of Mount Ding'an in Anlu
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Shi Huaikong, whose secular surname was Shang, was a native of Heyang. Born to a wealthy family, he was already grave and dignified in his youth. He took leave of his relatives and went to Guangfu Cloister on Mount Dadu in his native prefecture to enter the monastic life. Chan Master Daming recognized silently that Kong's capacity was extraordinary and taught him to recite the various scriptures. After receiving the precepts, he traveled to the capital to observe. Meeting with Chan Master Shenxiu of the North who was then promulgating the teachings, Huaikong visited him to resolve his doubts. Later he went to Mount Ding'an in Anlu, where he suddenly encountered an old man who urged him: 'Subdue and settle this valley, and I will partake of great benefit.' Huaikong then thatched a hut and stayed there; the old man was none other than the local earth deity. Soon after, because villagers were chasing a tiger into the mountain, they were delighted to see Kong and told him: 'Tigers are rampant here, leaving the village in unrest; we pray that the Venerable Monk teach us a method to avert this calamity.' Kong said: 'A tiger is also a sentient being. If you slaughter and harm it, it will surely retaliate. If you mutually repay vengeance, when will there ever be an end? If this old monk may offer a plan for you all, doing good can avert it.' The villagers said: 'We, simple and ignorant, rely entirely on your instruction.' Kong said: 'Return to your homes, unite your minds to set up a place of practice, and prepare a great assembly.' Kong attended the Dharma banquet. At nightfall, a tiger closed its eyes and prostrated itself on the ground before the hermitage. Kong said: 'Alas, you evil beast! Before one karmic retribution has ended, you incur even more past calamities by devouring mankind. If Heaven does not execute you, you will fall into hell upon death. I pity you!' Having been rebuked, the tiger suddenly hesitated and left. The next day, when the vegetarian feast dispersed and people went up the mountain, the tiger was in front of the hermitage leading its seven cubs. The leftover food from the feast was thrown to them, and they all ate it. He administered repentance on their behalf, and the seven tigers subsequently all died one after another. The common people were overjoyed, saying: 'Ever since the master has dwelt here, our community has suffered no pestilence, and the harvests have been abundant year after year.' They bowed and withdrew. At that time, Grand Master Zhang Liao was the prefect of the commandery; he sent the administrative officer Murong Xing to invite Huaikong to the city, but Kong declined on grounds of illness and did not rise. The officer then led craftsmen to construct a Chan monastery for him. When it was completed, Huaikong manifested illness and died at the age of eighty-three. On the sixteenth day of the third month of the third year of Zhenyuan, he was cremated, and his relics were gathered into a stupa.
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The Tang Dynasty Biography of Huiyan of Lizhou
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Shi Huiyan, whose secular surname was Miao, was a native of Xiangyang. His father was a judicial officer in Dongping. In his youth, Yan entered Kaiyuan Temple, felt joy upon hearing the scriptures, and sought deliverance under Dharma Master Bianzhang. Master Zhang lectured daily on the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra*, and Yan would regularly listen with rapt attention. Once he penetrated the profound meaning, he was also able to lecture on it. One day, he formed a company of companions to travel together to the foot of Mount Hua, wishing to climb Maonü Peak and view the Immortal's Palm. Their route passed through Luoyang, where he visited the patriarch master of Heze and thoroughly attained the great contemplation. He then went to the Southern Peak and subsequently resided in Liyang; many in Jiangnan attained the Way through him. He died in the twelfth year of Zhenyuan at the age of seventy-nine.
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The Tang Dynasty Biography of Xingjue (and Haoyu) of Guochang Temple in Jingzhou
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Shi Xingjue, whose secular surname was Liu, was a native of Julu. Quick-witted in his childhood, steadfast and unchanging in purpose, he resolved to become a monk, and his relatives could not dissuade him. He early joined Yongtai Monastic Compound in his home prefecture, receiving his training and taking the precepts. Later, in the capital of Luoyang, he met Chan Master Hui, who awakened him to the profound principle, leading him to hold fast to his mind and rectify his conduct. Traveling abroad, he saw an ancient temple in Jiangling whose halls and buildings had collapsed, silent and deserted. Jue put down his sack and hung up his staff. The next day, a woodcutter saw him and expressed astonishment, saying: 'This is Guochang Temple, which has been abandoned for three cycles.' Thus one knows that human affairs condition one another and that the Way accords with the meeting of causes: learners arrived, villagers came, and it flourished into a complete temple. At that time, Military Commissioner Minister Cui invited him into the city, but he declined and did not go. Generous donations arrived in succession, and the transformative teaching flourished greatly. In the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan he announced his end at the age of ninety-two. The people of Jingchu erected a stupa for him. There was also Shi Haoyu of the Southern Peak, a son of the Zhao clan and a native of Shangdang. He left secular life at Faqing Temple; later, under the assembly of Heze, he fully comprehended the mind-seal and entered a hermitage on the Southern Peak to nurture the Way. Wang Zhan, the vice-director and prefect of Hengyang, deeply revered him. At his death he was over eighty years old, and was entombed in a stupa during the Xingyuan era.
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The Tang Dynasty Biography of Xuan'yan of Kaiyuan Temple in Ezhou
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Śramaṇa Xuanyan was a native of Jiangxia, whose family name was Li. His grandfather, Li Shan, was widely erudite and learned, annotated the *Wenxuan* (Selections of Refined Literature), and lectured and taught between Liang and Song. His father, Li Yong, was Prefect of Beihai, and has a biography in the *Tang shu* (Book of Tang). In his youthful years, Yan resolved to renounce worldly life. In the early Zhi-de era, having attained high distinction in reciting the scriptures, he had his head shaved under the monk Chongzhen and was assigned to reside at Kaiyuan Temple. In the third year of the Dali era, he received the complete precepts (upasampadā) from the great ācārya Zhenwu and immediately investigated the standards of the vinaya: his eyes never looked upon seductive beauty, and his feet never trod on deviant paths; throughout the four deportments, he did not violate the teachings for even the space of a single meal. His physical appearance was imposing and lofty, with fine and bright eyebrows and eyes, like a lone wild goose or a free crane standing solitary on a distant marsh; gazing upon him from afar inspired deep veneration and naturally conveyed an aura of lofty transcendence. By nature, he maintained strict boundaries: if forced to dwell together with immoral monks, he felt anxious and distraught as if bathing his body in burning khadira-charcoal embers. He did not step beyond his doors and windows, but burned incense, swept the floor, and sat upright throughout the entire day. Others could not endure such hardship, yet Yan lived in it, considering even the bliss of the third dhyāna no match for it. In his youth Yan studied the vinaya, and when grown he studied the *Vajracchedikā* (Diamond Sūtra), understanding emptiness, shattering marks, and penetrating the utmost profound mystery. Yet hearing that the vinaya piṭaka allows for temporary study of non-Buddhist learning, he would occasionally compose a poem; his thought was lofty and exceptional, wandering solitary beyond ordinary realms. Liu Changqing of Pengcheng, whose fame was preeminent in five-character verse, greatly praised and admired him. Because of this, whenever he composed verses on the wind, clouds, plants, and trees, they were always recited and chanted by skilled men of letters. Yan's chamber was situated in the northern corner of the temple and was rather damp and cramped; consequently, contemporary notables joined together to build a thatched hall for him, including Yuan Zi of Chen commandery, Li Ze of Zhao commandery, Lu Laiqing, Yu Wenxuan, and Cai Zhi, who all gave alms and contributed to its construction. Lord He, the Surveillance Commissioner of E'yue, commended his conduct and invited him to dwell in Jin'an, but Yan did not waver in his resolve. At the very beginning of the Jianzhong era, Fu Zai, together with Yang Heng and Li Yan, pledged with Yan to be companions beyond the dust of the world. On the fourteenth day of the ninth month in the sixteenth year of the Zhenyuan era, he showed his demise, at the age of fifty-eight, with a saṅgha age of thirty-four. His stūpa was relocated to the southern plateau of Mount Huanghe.
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Tang: Biography of Chengxin of Mount Nanyue
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Śramaṇa Chengxin, surnamed Zhu, was a native of Donghai. His father served as Magistrate of Jiyuan and was killed during the An-Shi Rebellion in the Tianbao era. In his childhood, Xin accompanied his mother to Henei; in extreme poverty, his mother remarried. Xin was unwilling to follow her into the remarriage. Xin's aspirations were out of the ordinary, so he approached Dharma Master Zhiming of Yingfu Temple, begging for instruction and guidance to shave his hair. After ascending the altar to receive the precepts, he drifted like a cloud and roosted like a bird, making it his urgent task to investigate the profound; under the eminent disciples of Master [Shen]xiu, he understood the essentials of the Dharma. He then toured the famous sites in various regions, and finally settled at Mount Heng. Monks who came to seek instruction rubbed shoulders and walked heel to toe. At that time, Prefect Wu Xianzhong invited Xin to enter the prefectural seat, but he declined and did not go. He was again summoned to reside at Longxing Temple, where his abbot's quarters were always filled with those who came to inquire about the Way. On the eleventh month of the eighteenth year of the Zhenyuan era, the renwu year, he manifested his demise, at the age of seventy-six. On the twenty-seventh day of that month, he was placed in a stūpa.
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- 宋高僧傳 — 贊寧, Classical Chinese