大明高僧傳 3.31

3.31

釋祖住字幻依麓亭其號也。丹徒人。姓楊氏。母朱氏夢。梵比丘入其室。覺而誕師。少沈密不貪世緣。喜作佛事。年十三父母捨入龍蟠山。依朝陽和尚受法華華嚴諸大部經。十七薙染十九受具。通曉諸經大義。自謂。覺識所依非關真際。遂擔簦游少室。依大章和尚五載復至伏牛依高安十二夏。先後所得二師印可。次游都下謁松秀二法師。盡得清涼宗旨。淮安胡給事延住鉢池山。造大藏經作水陸無遮會。至南京訪無極法師居第二座。犍槌之暇即入眾作務。事竣往京口萬壽寺演華嚴大鈔。至入法界品地震天雨甘露寶華。時無極率徒與焉。妙峯承印二禪衲亦居座下。自是道價欝跂叢林傾挹。師智崇禮卑如常不輕。提獎唱誘孜孜不倦。所至皆成寶坊。師演四十八願時。有異人頂白冠。冠有蛇。四足來聽說法。人怪問之。對曰。吾乃法冠而乃境觀。忽不見。萬曆甲申憩錫蘇之蓮華峯下。建精舍居之。丁亥九月忽示疾。語眾曰。二十二日不作離散。便可再展華嚴。但老僧不得曲狥人情。至日晨起沐浴。跏趺說偈曰。虛空無面目。無位強安排。話頭不話頭。處處是如來。又曰。今年六十六。不知做甚麼。咦諸人著眼。看這箇消息。佛祖到來也。用他不著。言訖而逝。異香積時不散。奉全身三日。顏色自若生。荼毘斂遺骨塔於蓮華峯之陰。壽六十有六臘五十有四。王世貞作銘。

Shi Zuzhu, styled Huanyi, took Luting as his sobriquet. He was a native of Dantu, surnamed Yang. His mother, Lady Zhu, dreamt that an Indian bhikṣu entered her room, and upon waking she gave birth to the Master. From youth he was reserved and did not crave worldly conditions, delighting in performing Buddhist services. At age thirteen, his parents gave him up to enter Mount Longpan, where he relied upon Venerable Chaoyang to receive the great scriptures such as the *Lotus Sūtra* and *Avataṃsaka Sūtra*. At seventeen he underwent tonsure and dyeing of robes, and at nineteen he received full ordination, thoroughly understanding the profound significance of the various scriptures. He said to himself, "That on which waking consciousness relies does not pertain to the true limit." Thereupon, carrying his umbrella on his shoulder, he traveled to Shaoshi. He relied upon Venerable Dazhang for five years, and further went to Funiu to rely upon Gao'an for twelve summers. Both masters successively conferred mind-seals upon him. Next, he traveled to the capital to call upon Dharma Masters Song and Xiu, fully obtaining the essential purport of Qingliang. Supervising Secretary Hu of Huai'an invited him to reside at Mount Bochi, where he produced a Tripiṭaka and held an unhindered Water and Land retreat. He went to Nanjing to visit Dharma Master Wuji and occupied the second seat; whenever free from the striking of the mallet, he joined the assembly to perform manual tasks. When the duties were completed, he went to Wanshou Temple in Jingkou to expound the *Great Commentary on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra*. When he reached the "Chapter on Entering the Dharma Realm," the earth shook, and from the sky rained down sweet dew and precious flowers. At that time Wuji led his disciples to participate; the two Chan monks Miaofeng and Chengyin also sat among the assembly. From then on, his reputation for the Dao rose high, and the monastic community leaned toward him in admiration. The Master's wisdom was lofty while his comportment was humble, like Sadāparibhūta; he encouraged, promoted, chanted, and guided without ever tiring. Wherever he went, it became a precious sanctuary. When the Master expounded the Forty-Eight Vows, there was an extraordinary person wearing a white cap on which was a four-legged snake who came to hear the Dharma expounded. People were astonished and questioned him; he replied, "I am a Dharma cap, and it is a contemplation of realms," and suddenly vanished. In the jiashen year of Wanli, he rested his staff below Lotus Peak in Suzhou, built a pure abode, and dwelt there. In the ninth month of the dinghai year, he suddenly manifested illness and told the assembly, "If we do not part on the twenty-second day, we may unfold the *Avataṃsaka* once again; but this old monk cannot bend to comply with human sentiments." When the day arrived, he arose early in the morning, bathed, sat cross-legged, and spoke a gāthā: "Empty space has no face or eyes; / With no position, it is forcefully arranged. / Huatou or no huatou— / Everywhere is the Tathāgata." He also said: "This year sixty-six, / Not knowing what is being done. / Hey! Everyone, fix your eyes / And look at this message! / Even if the Buddhas and Patriarchs come, / There is no use for them." Having finished speaking, he passed away. An extraordinary fragrance did not dissipate for a long period. His whole body was venerated for three days, his countenance looking just as if he were alive. Following jhāpita, his relic bones were collected and encoffined in a stupa on the north side of Lotus Peak. His worldly age was sixty-six; his dharma age, fifty-four. Wang Shizhen composed his inscription.