大明高僧傳 1.23

1.23

釋蒙潤字玉岡。嘉禾之海鹽人。姓顧。父敏隱君子也。母孫氏實古源清法師之甥女。母娠及誕俱感異夢。潤年十四依古源於郡之白蓮。方禮伽藍神土偶皆仆。一眾驚異。古源授經輒成誦。遂命從祥公祝髮進具。古源見其銳敏授以天台止觀金剛錍十不二門諸書。即能了大意。會古源歸寂乃事竹堂傳法師以卒其業。因苦學嬰奇疾。修請觀音懺七七日。既獲靈應疾愈。而心倍明利。遂得分座於南竺演福。湛堂澄公來蒞其席。潤居第一座。無何出世主海鹽之當湖德藏。夏講法華。眾甞千指屠酤。為之易業。瑞應之迹不可勝紀。遷演福宗風益振。六年退院事。高臥於龍井風篁嶺之白蓮庵。專修念佛三昧。依者日眾。宣政院以下竺法席強起之。寺方災。惟普賢殿巋然荊棘瓦礫中。因慨然謂眾曰。茲寺成於慈雲。今殿尚存則祖師之願力有在矣。乃為次第葺治而新之。昕夕演說無倦率眾修法華三昧。感普賢放光現諸瑞相。居三䆊。一日呼門弟子實法明策等示止觀安心之旨。已而告曰。吾生緣殆盡茲惟其時驟稱佛號數百聲。泊然而化。潤生平力修晝夜無怠。甞修常行三昧。以九十日為期者七。修法華金光明大悲淨土。以七七日者不可以期數。故其潛德密行密證者有未易淺窺之也。

Shi Mengrun, whose courtesy name was Yugang, was a native of Haiyan in Jiahe. His surname was Gu. His father Min was a reclusive gentleman. His mother, Lady Sun, was actually a niece of Dharma Master Guyuan Qing. Both during her pregnancy and at his birth, she experienced miraculous dreams. At the age of fourteen, Mengrun relied on Guyuan at Bailian in the commandery. Just as he was paying homage to the saṅghārāma guardian deity, the clay figures all fell prone; the entire assembly was astonished. When Guyuan taught him scriptures, he would immediately recite them by heart; Guyuan then ordered him to follow Master Xiang to shave his hair and advance to full ordination. Seeing his sharp acumen, Guyuan taught him the Tiantai Mohe Zhiguan, the Diamond Cleaver, the Ten Non-Dual Gateways, and other texts; he was immediately able to comprehend their great essentials. When Guyuan passed away into quiescence, he served Dharma Master Zhutang Chuan to complete his training. Because of his diligent study, he was afflicted with a strange disease; he cultivated the Repentance of Invoking Avalokiteśvara for seven times seven days. Having attained a spiritual response, his disease was cured, and his mind became doubly clear and keen. He was then able to share the seat at Yanfu in Nantianzhu. Master Zhantang Cheng came to preside over the assembly, and Mengrun occupied the head seat. Before long, he emerged into the world to preside over Decang at Danghu in Haiyan. In the summer he lectured on the Lotus Sūtra; the assembly once reached a thousand people, and butchers and vintners changed their occupations because of him. The traces of auspicious responses could not be fully recorded. When he moved to Yanfu, the ancestral style was all the more invigorated. After six years he retired from monastic duties and reclined loftily in the Bailian Hermitage on Fenghuang Ridge at Longjing, dedicating himself to the cultivation of the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi; those who relied on him grew more numerous by the day. The Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs insisted that he take up the Dharma seat at Xiazhu. The monastery had just suffered a fire, and only the Samantabhadra Hall stood prominently amid brambles, tiles, and rubble. He therefore sighed with deep feeling and addressed the assembly, saying: "This monastery was established by Ciyun; now that this hall still survives, our ancestral master’s power of vow resides here!" He then repaired and renewed it in sequence. Morning and evening he expounded the Dharma untiringly, leading the assembly to cultivate the Lotus Samādhi; they moved Samantabhadra to radiate light and manifest various auspicious signs. He resided there for three years. One day he called his disciples Shifa, Mingce, and others, revealing the essentials of calming and contemplation to pacify the mind. Soon after, he informed them, saying: "My worldly conditions are nearly exhausted; now is the time." He abruptly recited the Buddha's name several hundred times, and peacefully passed away. Throughout his life, Mengrun exerted himself in cultivation day and night without indolence; he once cultivated the Constantly Walking Samādhi, taking ninety days as a period, for seven times. In cultivating the Lotus, Golden Light, Great Compassion, and Pure Land repentances for seven times seven days, the number of periods was beyond counting. Therefore, his hidden virtue, secret practice, and secret realizations could not easily be glimpsed superficially.