宋高僧傳 9.4

9.4

Shi Yifu's secular surname was Jiang, and he was a native of Tongdi in Luzhou. In his youth he yearned for the gate of emptiness and considered worldly affairs as trivial as grains of millet. At first he resided at Huagan Temple in Lantian, staying in a ten-foot-square room for over twenty years without ever stepping beyond his chamber. Later he was registered at Ci'en Temple in the capital; his renown for the Dao rose loftily, swaying the minds of all. In the eleventh year of Kaiyuan, he accompanied the imperial cortege to the Eastern Capital, passing through the two prefectures of Pu and Guo. The governors, officials, men, and women all brought banners and flowers to welcome him; the roads wherever he went were packed, bows and prostrations were incessant, and people never tired of gazing upon him. In the twentieth year he passed away. An imperial decree bestowed the posthumous title 'Chan Master Dazhi' (Great Wisdom), and he was buried north of Yique. Several tens of thousands of people attended his funeral. Yan Tingzhi, Vice Director of the Secretariat, personally observed mourning attire as though he were a disciple, and also composed the stele inscription. Shenxiu was an outstanding figure of the Chan school; though he practiced meditation and was honoured by emperors beyond measure, he never gathered disciples to open a teaching hall. Only when Puji began propagating the teachings in the capital for over twenty years did all the people revere it. Earlier, when Yifu was heading to Eastern Luoyang, he summoned his disciples and warned them of his final hour. Vice Director of the Ministry of War Zhang Jun, Grand Defender Fang Guan, and Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites Wei Zhi, who had always faithfully respected him, all came to attend on that day. Yifu then ascended the hall, expounded to his disciples, and said, 'When the sun declines I shall pass away; we must bid farewell now.' After a long while, Zhang said to Fang, 'In my earlier years I ingested the golden elixir, and I never attend funerals.' Having spoken, Zhang slipped away in secret. Yifu suddenly said to Fang, 'I have associated with Lord Zhang for years. Lord Zhang will face extraordinary calamity, with both his reputation and integrity ruined. If he had remained through the end of this Dharma assembly, it would have sufficed to avert the disaster. What a pity!' He then took Fang by the hand and said, 'You will surely become an illustrious minister of restoration; exert yourself!' Having spoken, he passed away. Later, when Zhang Jun fell into rebel hands, he accepted their bogus office; while Fang supported two reigns and fully maintained great integrity, both just as Yifu had foretold. There was also Shi Xingsi, whose secular surname was Liu, and he was a native of Luling. He enriched his person with virtue, and was upright and faithful by nature. After leaving the dust of the world and receiving the precepts, he broke corners to seek roundness and carved away embellishments to return to simplicity, his aspiration being entirely natural. He went to Shaoyang to see Chan Master Dajian; with a single word, Dajian cleared away his doubts, as if striking away ignorance. Having realised his original mind, earth spirits repeatedly urged his return; he went back to Jizhou to propagate the teachings, and Chan seekers from the four directions crowded his hall. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month in the twenty-eighth year of Kaiyuan, he passed away in his native land. An imperial decree bestowed the posthumous title Grand Master Hongji, and his stupa was called Guizhen. His stupa was destroyed alongside others during the Huichang era, but later Dharma heirs rebuilt it.