大明高僧傳 1.25

1.25

釋真淨字如庵。雲間華亭姚氏子也。母朱氏夢月自海昇墮於懷。覺而有娠。及誕時瑞光滿室。有異僧過指謂其母曰。此兒海月法師之再來也。九歲依化城寺明靜志法師。授法華經歷耳成誦。十六得度。博究諸乘夙慧頓發。乃以性學自許。首謁杭之廣福雲夢澤公。聞無極度法師化聲大振。遂造其室盡得其學。元大德間出住海鹽德藏。法嗣無極。其寺方圮。淨竭力扶樹。眾散復聚。田為豪門所奪復歸。不數年翕然成舊式也。至治遷松江超果。泰定乙丑元相脫驩舉住下竺。居七䆊。講席不倦。闢寺前之徑高大其門。書佛國山以揭之。至順辛未上竺湛堂澄公以老告休。舉淨自代。先是淨因疾晝寢。夢白衣大士持金瓶水灌其口曰。汝勿憂非久自愈矣。叩以未來休咎。示云。汝却後二年當避喧大樹之下。覺疾果差。竊疑避喧樹下非入滅之讖耶。及乎澄舉住上竺。至見寢堂西有大樹堂匾曰靜處。始悟夢之所示。由是殫心弘法。學者常數千指。元主慕其道。賜佛心弘辯之號及金紋紫伽黎衣。淨素簡重有古人風。舉止不妄言笑。夙興默課法華經。寒暑不輟。癸酉冬預告終期。乃命舟亟歸於受業。未幾示疾書偈而逝。閱世七十有二。坐五十有六夏。闍維得舌根頂骨不壞舍利五色。

Shi Zhenjing, whose courtesy name was Ru'an, was a son of the Yao family of Huating in Yunjian. His mother, Lady Zhu, dreamt that the moon rose from the ocean and fell into her bosom; upon waking, she was pregnant. When he was born, auspicious light filled the room. A miraculous monk passing by pointed and said to his mother: "This child is the rebirth of Dharma Master Haiyue." At the age of nine, he relied on Dharma Master Ming Jingzhi of Huacheng Monastery; when taught the Lotus Sūtra, it entered his ears and he could recite it by heart. At sixteen he attained ordination. He extensively investigated the various vehicles, and his innate wisdom suddenly blossomed; he then dedicated himself to the study of nature. He first called upon Master Yunmeng Ze of Guangfu in Hangzhou; hearing that the transformative renown of Dharma Master Wuji Du was greatly flourishing, he went straight to his room and fully acquired his learning. During the Dade era of the Yuan (1297–1307), he emerged to reside at Decang in Haiyan, succeeding Wuji as his Dharma heir. That monastery was just then in ruins; Zhenjing exerted all his strength to support and establish it. The dispersed assembly gathered once again, and fields that had been usurped by powerful families were returned; in not many years, it harmoniously returned to its former stature. In the Zhizhi era (1321–1323), he moved to Chaoguo in Songjiang. In the yichou year of the Taiding era (1325), the Yuan Chancellor Toghon recommended him to reside at Xiazhu. He resided there for seven years, lecturing unweariedly. He opened up the path in front of the monastery, enlarged its gate, and inscribed "Buddha-Realm Mountain" to hang upon it. In the xinwei year of the Zhishun era (1331), Master Zhantang Cheng of Shangtianzhu requested retirement due to old age and recommended Zhenjing to take his place. Prior to this, Zhenjing was sleeping during the day due to an illness, and dreamt of the Great Being in White Robes holding a golden vase and pouring water into his mouth, saying: "Do not worry; before long you will naturally recover." When he asked about his future fortune and misfortune, she revealed: "Two years from now, you will avoid clamor beneath a great tree." Upon waking, his illness indeed cleared up; he secretly wondered whether avoiding clamor beneath a tree was an omen of entering extinction. When Cheng recommended him to reside at Shangtianzhu and he arrived to see that west of the sleeping hall was a great tree, with the hall’s plaque reading "Place of Tranquility," he finally realized what the dream had indicated. From then on, he exhausted his mind in propagating the Dharma, and his students regularly numbered several thousand fingers. The Yuan emperor admired his path and bestowed on him the title of Great Master Foxin Hongbian (Buddha Mind of Vast Eloquence) as well as a gold-patterned purple saṅghāṭī robe. Zhenjing was plain, dignified, and possessed the manner of the ancients; his conduct was free of frivolous speech or laughter. Rising early, he silently recited the Lotus Sūtra without break in cold or heat. In the winter of the guiyou year (1333), he foretold the time of his end, then ordered a boat to return swiftly to where he received his vocation. Shortly after, he manifested illness, wrote a verse, and passed away. He had seen seventy-two years of worldly life and spent fifty-six summer retreats. Jhāpita yielded an uncorrupted root of the tongue and parietal bone, and five-colored śarīra.