大明高僧傳 2.21

2.21

Shi Miaowen was a son of the Sun clan of Yuzhou. He left home at age nine and received full ordination at eighteen. Thereafter, he traveled to study throughout the regions of Yun, Shuo, Yan, and Zhao. At twenty-one, he reached the Capital, relying on Venerable Dade Ming to study the perfect and sudden teaching. He then submerged himself among the assembly for eleven years. The assembly requested him to appear in the world; only then did he don the red robe and ascend the lion throne, displaying unhindered eloquence like an overflowing gorge or rushing river. Yet in his leisure, he was concise and quiet, never uttering rash words. His cultivation was modest and restrained, devoid of haste or impetuous advance; he was largely of this manner. At forty-eight, he resided at Yunquan in Ji, where he was diligent, frugal, and economical with resources. The elderly cherished his virtue, and the young respected his teachings; therefore, the assembly was harmonious and the monastery well-ordered. The granaries had surplus grain to relieve the starving, and the people of Ji praised him. Emperor Shizu granted him an audience and turned to his attendants, saying: 'This is a monk of blessed virtue,' and decreed that he reside at Baoji. From then on, the doctrinal seats grew even more prosperous; nature and characteristics were pursued side by side, delivering both monastics and laity. At that time, lecture halls across the country were confused and divided, rigidly clinging to nominal characteristics and stagnating in different paths; Wen alone broadly propagated the Vaipulya teachings and revived the perfect tradition, enabling those who clung stubbornly to conventional views to become thoroughly harmonised beyond quietude and silence. Dragon-elephants trampled forward, competing to ride the One Vehicle. Past the age of eighty, he devoted himself to cultivating the mindfulness-of-Buddha samādhi. In the sixth year of Yanyou [1319], knowing the time in advance, he admonished his disciples, chanted Amitābha Buddha's name in a loud voice, sat cross-legged facing west, formed the samādhi seal with his hands, and peacefully shed the physical form. A stūpa was erected outside Pingze Gate.