大明高僧傳 3.10

3.10

Śramaṇa Shi Huiri, titled Dongming, was a son of the Jia family of Tiantai. He was a grandson of Jia Sidao, the Prime Minister of the Song. When Sidao was demoted and exiled, the Master was still young; he resolved to seek ordination and relied upon Upādhyāya Pingshan of Guangyan Temple in that county. After a few years, he tonsured his hair and received full ordination. At the age of twenty-two, hearing that Baiziting was expounding the Tiantai teachings at Chicheng, the Master went to his seat. Before long, he was able to grasp the great essentials. Ziting sighed with admiration, saying, 'Rolling a pellet down a steep slope is insufficient to describe the swiftness of his capacity! Through you, shall our Way flourish greatly?' From then on, the Master’s learning became profound and consummate, and his renown weighed heavily in his day. Once he took a brief nap and seemed to see bamboo lying across the ground, upon which congealed white congee shone brightly. The Master lay upon the ground and ate it. When he awoke, he recounted it to Ziting. Ziting interpreted it for him, saying, 'Bamboo (zhu) and congee (zhou) share the same sound. That you ate it by going down to the ground—is your connection not destined for Upper and Lower Tianzhu?' Thereupon he crossed the Qiantang River and called upon Dharma Master Zhuwu Jing at Upper Tianzhu. The room where he resided was quite low and damp, so he composed a poem to gently hint at it. Seeing the poem, Zhuwu said to the assembly, 'This fellow is extraordinary. In the future he will preside over this mountain; one must not look down on him on account of his youth.' He therefore treated him like a honored guest and friend. Before long, he was ordered to oversee the guest hall and soon after to manage the register of monks. When Zhuwu transformed and passed away, Zhandang Cheng succeeded to his seat; he esteemed the Master’s capacity and invited him to dwell in the rear hall. After a year or so, he went out to preside over Shengshui on Mount Wu. In the fourth year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan (1344), he took up residence at Jianfu. After three years, Lower Tianzhu was destroyed by fire; the Yuan minister Gaonalin requested the Master to renovate it. When the temple buildings were completed, Wang Jin wrote an inscription for it. In the fourth year [thereafter], he was transferred to Upper Tianzhu. The Master, knowing that his karmic connection lay there, was unflagging night and day. Every single rule and system in the temple was newly repaired and organized. Emperor Shundi of the Yuan, hearing of this, specially bestowed upon him the title 'Compassionate Light, Wondrous Response, Universal Salvation' (Ciguang Miaoying Puji), accompanied by a gold-woven robe as an emblem of honor. In the sixteenth year (1356), he retired into the crags and valleys of Kuaiji, where no one recognized him. The Yuan Prime Minister Daši-Temür sent an emissary, who searched for and found him, vigorously requesting him to return to the mountain. In total, he presided over Upper Tianzhu twice for twenty-five years. When it came to the second year of Hongwu of our Great Ming under Emperor Taizu (1369), an imperial edict summoned him to attend the Buddhist gathering at Mount Jiang, and the Ministry of Rites was ordered to provide him meals. The next day, he was granted an audience in the Fengtian Hall. The hundred officials were all assembled, and the monks stood like a string of fish. The Master alone had the highest dharma age, with a ruddy countenance and white eyebrows, ranking at the head of the row. His Majesty personally asked him about the way of uplifting and saving those submerged in the underworld. The Master gave a full report that pleased the imperial mind. Taizu turned and said to the assembly of monks, 'Recently, those who study Buddhism merely eat their fill and roam at leisure, letting the years slip into obscurity. Are not texts such as the Diamond, the Laṅkāvatāra, and the Heart Sūtra the essentials for gathering the mind? Why do you not investigate their meaning thoroughly? Now, whoever does not understand them should consult the White-Eyebrow Dharma Master.' From then on, when he was summoned for audiences, Taizu only addressed him as 'White-Eyebrows' without using his personal name. Once, together with Dharma Master Tong of Biefeng and Chan Master Jin Bifeng, he was granted food in the inner palace. On that occasion, he memorialized that the Waguan Temple was the place where Great Master Zhiyi of the Sui had expounded the Lotus Sūtra and should not be abandoned. Taizu ordered that separate quarters be built at Tianjie to preserve its traces, and decreed that he immediately open the mountain and preach the Dharma. In the early spring of the fifth year (1372), a great Water and Land retreat was held again at Mount Zhong; the Master was ordered to expound the Vinaya precepts, and Taizu personally led the hundred officials to attend and listen. When the matter was completed, he took his leave to return to Upper Tianzhu. He relinquished the monastery affairs and daily cultivated the Amitābha repentance to attain pure karma. One evening in the autumn, the seventh month of the twelfth year (1379), he dreamt that a blue lotus flower bloomed in a square pond with fragrance assailing his senses. Upon waking, he told the assembly, 'The auspicious sign of my rebirth in the Pure Land has appeared. My departure from the human world must not be far.' Four days later, he sat cross-legged, joined his palms, and manifested quiescence. His worldly age was eighty-nine; his dharma age was seventy-three. Ten days later, his whole body was enshrined in the Miaoying Stūpa Cloister on the temple's Western Peak. In life, the Master's stature was tall and imposing, his eyebrows were over an inch long, and his pupils flashed brightly and piercingly. Whenever the Master entered the city, everyone, young and old, would shout, 'Our White-Eyebrow Upādhyāya is coming!' and vie with one another holding incense and flowers to scatter upon him. The Master's face was stern and aloof, and he never uttered words thoughtlessly. When facing princes, dukes, and high ministers, he never produced a single flattering word. As for guiding junior students, his speech and countenance were as warm as spring sunshine; therefore, many delighted in following him to study. His dharma heirs included Siji, Xingxhu, Yunjian, Yunchong, Liangjin, Puzhi, Wenhui, Yuanxiu, Jingfan, and several others.