大明高僧傳 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.1

Compiled by Śramaṇa Shi Ruxing of Ciyun Chan Temple on Mount Tiantai of the Imperial Ming

4.2

Section Two: Explication of Meaning, Part Four (Four main biographies, six appended)

4.3

Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Minglong of Xiufeng Hermitage on Mount Yang in Northern Zhili (Daguang) (1)

Shi Minglong was a son of the Yao family of Suqian in Huainan. His secular taboo name was Dongyang. He had previously been appointed as a student of the county school. In daily life he loved cultivation and was fond of inner scriptures, not inquiring into his family's property for twenty years. He was refined in associating with good spiritual friends. In the first year of Longqing, he remained unattached as a lay devotee and explored the famous sights and great monasteries in the north to visit virtuous elders endowed with the Dao. He lodged in Qingyuan for three winters and summers. He ascended Fahua Temple on Mount Yin, where he shaved his hair and received the full ordination under Venerable Daguang. Soon after, he resided at Xiufeng Hermitage on Mount Yang; his renown and virtue daily rose. Wearing a single tattered patch-robe, he wore neither inner garments, nor padded jackets, nor shoes to the imperial tombs. Nobles and eunuchs offered many alms, but he paid no regard to them. He provided settlement for seventy-two followers for a period of one thousand days, personally expounding the Dharma for them to elucidate the essential purports of the Three Teachings. At that time, Vice Minister of War Wang Daokun of Xiuning, having received

4.5

an imperial edict to inspect the borders, passed by the imperial tombs along his route and planned to meet the Governor at Fahua Temple. Hearing of the Master's lofty virtue, he hastened to visit him. A novice monk came out to welcome them; they saw the Master's tattered patch-robe could not even cover his shoulders, yet severe cold could not afflict him. Wang and the Governor stepped aside from their seats and bowed to him, led him into a cave, sat on a stone bed, and conversed with him. The Master briefly presented the meaning of the [Patriarch's] coming from the West, and the Governor was cheerfully convinced and placed his trust in him. Wang asked, "When the one thousand days are completed, can you establish a permanent residence?" He replied, "There is neither impermanence nor abiding." The next day, they took their leave and returned. After fifteen days, at the Beginning of Spring, Mount Yang emitted five-colored light. After another seven days, on New Year's Eve, he gathered the assembly and announced, "On the first day of the first year, I shall depart. Those of you who are literate, use your ears to listen to the scriptures; those who are illiterate, use your minds to recite the Buddha's name. Apply yourselves to meditative concentration and wisdom; apply yourselves to benefiting beings with a universal mind. This very [mind] is the Buddha; take care not to seek elsewhere! Strive on, all of you!" In the middle of New Year's Eve, he instructed a disciple to observe the transit of the meridian star, asking, "Is it midnight?" The disciple said, "It is midnight." The Master said, "Not yet. At noon I shall depart." On New Year's Day, Mount Yang again emitted five-colored light as before. When midday arrived, the Master bade farewell to the assembly and passed away while sitting. After seven days, during the jhāpita, it again emitted light as before. The great assembly and various eunuchs gazed upon the light, stood before the Master, prostrated in rows, and exclaimed, "A Buddha! A Buddha! May this light universally illuminate the world below!" Soon after, śarīras were abundantly gathered. The Governor erected a stupa to enshrine them, and Lord Wang composed his inscription. This was in the first month of the first year of Wanli.

4.6

Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Zhenjie of Qixia Temple in Yingtian (2)

4.7

Shi Zhenjie was styled Su'an. He was a native of Xiangyang. In his youth he was a student of the commandery school. Suddenly his past wholesome roots sprouted within, and he at once took leave of his beloved kin, bowing to Venerable Mingxiu to shave his hair. Afterwards, he traveled north to the capital, visiting lecture seats everywhere. Sitting under Dharma Master Xiu, he fully tasted the joy of the Dharma and profoundly attained the seal of Xianshou. The Master's learning was abundant in both the inner and outer teachings; all quarters consistently praised him as an elephant and dragon among men. After a long while, carrying his staff, he returned south to Jinling, coming forth to preside over Qixia on Mount She. His assembly exceeded three hundred, and his teachings encompassed the five vehicles. For more than thirty years he occupied the lion seat and struck the great Dharma drum. With the surplus of donations, he expanded the land to build lodgings. At that time, Minister of Rites Yin obtained an image of the Great Being of Langya, and Lord Lu of Wutai also cast a golden image; all were entrusted to the Master to be venerated. Vice Commissioner Luo inscribed the plaque as "Yuantong Hermitage." Academician Li Shilu of Gouqu pledged an exceptional friendship beyond worldly conventions with him. The Master expounded the great Dharma without setting time limits. Once, when lecturing on the *Lotus Sūtra* up to the "Chapter on the Many Treasures Stupa," a jeweled stupa suddenly appeared in the void before his seat, exactly as described in the scripture. The fourfold assembly gazed up in reverence, joyful at this rare sight. Palace Envoy Zhang, having arrived under the order of Empress Dowager Cisheng, witnessed this holy auspicious sign together with them. He then brought out a suit of imperial gold-threaded saṅghāṭī robe, proclaimed the benevolent decree, and bestowed it upon him. Right to the west of the lecture hall, a pagoda was constructed to bear witness to the divine transformation. Wang Daokun recorded this event.

4.8

Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Mingde of Dongchan Temple in Jiaxing (Baichuan Hai, Miaofeng Jue) (3)

4.9

Śramaṇa Mingde was styled Yueting. Because he continued the Dharma lineage of Chan Master Wansong Lin, he was also styled Qiansong. He was a son of the Zhou family of Wucheng in Huzhou. From birth, the master was extraordinarily gifted, distinct and remarkable. In his childhood, he accompanied his father into the Xizi Bodhimaṇḍa. He then pointed to a painting of an arhat on the wall and asked his father, "Is that a monk or a layman?" His father replied, "A monk." The master sighed with emotion and said, "I wish to become that!" Thereupon, he vigorously pleaded to leave home, but his parents would not allow it. Only at the age of thirteen did he go to Qingshan Hermitage in Shuanglin in his prefecture, where he studied the Yoga teachings under the monk Zhenxiang. After four years, he had his hair shaved. Hearing that there was the matter of the supreme [vehicle], he first went to consult Master Baichuan Hai, but found no rapport. Consequently, wearing only a single robe and straw sandals, he traveled all over to monasteries, prostrating, entreating, and enduring every hardship. Thinking to himself that his connection with prajñā was meager, he intended to head to Tianzhu to plead mournfully before Bodhisattva Guanyin, praying to meet an enlightened teacher. Passing through Zhongzhu along the way, he heard Master Wansong preaching the Dharma and entered first to pay his respects. Wansong asked, "Virtuous One, where have you come from, and what do you seek?" He replied, "I wish to knock at the Universal Gate to seek a good guide." Wansong raised a single finger and said, "First go pay homage to the Great Being, then come back to see me." The master, weeping, bowed again and begged for a resolution of the great matter of birth and death. Wansong said, "If you wish to be freed from birth and death, you must realize that birth and death have no resting place before you can attain it." The master was at a loss upon hearing this. He took refuge and received the full ordination. From then on, attending the morning meetings and knocking [for instruction] in the evening, for a long time he made no entry. Left with no other choice, Wansong taught him the essential tenets of the Śūraṅgama. Thereupon, he investigated it with deep concentration. When he reached the passage, "Originally pure and naturally so, how could the mountains, rivers, and great earth suddenly arise?", he was enlightened, like clouds dispersing across the vast sky and the cold moon shining brightly alone. He then composed a verse and presented it: "Within the Śūraṅgama Sūtra there is fundamentally no sūtra; / Face to face, what need to ask the name? / The blazing heavens of the sixth month are scorching like fire; / The twelfth month of deep winter is cold as ice." Wansong nodded in approval and instructed him: "Since you have awakened to the teachings, in future days no one in the lecture halls of Jiangnan will surpass you. Through this, the supreme great matter can be clarified." When Wansong resided at Jingshan, the master carried rice and gathered firewood for the assembly, shrinking from no toil. Once, as he walked among the forested foothills, a tiger crouched in the path. The master planted his staff and stepped forward; the tiger fled. While reading Zaobo's Combined Commentary [on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra] and reaching the Chapter on the Ten Grounds, he sat leaning on his table at midnight. He dreamed of traveling to the world of cotton-soft clouds, where he ascended the seat and expounded the profound tenets of the Avataṃsaka. When concluding the assembly, he spoke a verse: "From the very beginning, it never was; / Today, how could it ever be? / Appearing upon the tip of a single hair, / Empty space opens its mouth and laughs. / Du!" With a shout of reprimand, he stepped down from the seat. Awakening, he reported it to Wansong. Wansong patted him and said, "This is the unseen protection of holy power. Not only will my path flourish, but the Qingliang school will also experience a great revival." Soon after, Wansong passed away. The master hung his cauldron and guarded the stūpa for three years. Hearing of the flourishing lectures of Dharma Master Zhiyuan of Fohui, he put on his bamboo hat and went thither. Zhiyuan also silently recognized and esteemed him. His disciple Shaquan was rather arrogant and did not rely on the master's reputation. The master then hung his staff at Baoxian Temple. Baoxian was just a short distance from Fohui; thus, in the morning he held his alms bowl, at noon he listened to the lectures, and in the evening he expounded their doctrinal significance with over ten fellow practitioners. Thereupon, the assembly grew daily, and the provisions from the Fragrant Accumulation kitchen could not keep pace. The master secretly prayed to the sanghārāma guardian deity, saying, "If I have a connection with the holy teaching, may the deity not grudge protection." After a short while, a follower of another path came from Yunjian and donated one hundred dan of rice. From this time, the prosperity of Baoxian surpassed that of Fohui. On the day he opened the hall, Zhiyuan instructed his attendant monks to present him with robes and a fly-whisk, but the master politely declined and returned them; he brought out a pinch of incense for Wansong. Later, alone, he returned to Lingxiao Peak on Jingshan. Because an obstruction in his chest remained unbroken, he applied himself in practice for another three years. One evening during the first watch of the night, while sitting cross-legged, his mind and its objects suddenly merged in obscurity, and his doubts and obstacles melted away like ice. Leaping up with joy, he spoke a verse: "A thousand years of emerald bamboo, ten thousand years of pine; / Every leaf and branch is the ancestral style. / In the secluded dwelling of the high mountain peak among cloudy ranges, / The silent bright sun shines equally upon all." He hurried to pay homage at Wansong's stūpa, saying, "The old man did not deceive me!" From then on, his reputation for the Dao grew ever more exalted, and students gathered like spokes at a hub. Invitations arrived continuously from all four quarters, without a single idle day in the year. He opened the hall at Lingyin. His monastic standards were rigorous and strict. Rogue monks such as Chekong and Tianran looked askance and dared not approach. In the end, they falsely accused the master of an unexpected offense. Within a single day, the truth was cleared; Tianran was convicted of slander and fled, while twenty of the remaining accomplices were beaten to death. The master traveled south to Chicheng, and the non-Buddhists who converted were too numerous to record. The spreading of the doctrinal teachings in the Taizhou commandery truly began with the master. He expounded the profound discourse at Dazhong Hermitage. On the third day, a fire broke out at the hermitage; only the master's abbot's room stood towering and unharmed. When he lectured on the Commentary and Subcommentary on the Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra at Fahai, white lotus flowers grew from the ground, and purple ganoderma sprouted by the privy. The layman of Wutai thereupon inscribed a plaque for the hall reading "Surging Lotuses." While residing at Dongchan, the master dreamed at night that Mañjuśrī rode forth on a lion, then left the lion behind and ascended into space. The lion suddenly transformed into a young boy. The master intentionally asked, "You were just a lion; are you now a boy? Open your mouth and let me see." The boy opened his cheeks, his mouth red as cinnabar. The master stroked his back and said, "You are still a lion." The boy asked, "What is the Master's mouth like?" The master opened his mouth to show him. The boy leapt into his throat. The master woke with a start, sweating, and rejoiced, saying, "Mañjuśrī's great wisdom is within my belly!" Within a few months, Lord Lu of Wutai led an assembly to request him to lecture on the Great Commentary on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. The assembly frequently numbered a thousand monks. Dharma Master Miaofeng Jue was an entered-the-room disciple. Paying distant homage to Siming, he propagated the teachings and contemplation of the Tiantai school. Because the master expounded the Xianshou school and was not versed in Tiantai-Hengshan, Jue questioned him on the meaning of the dung beetle in the six identities. The master said, "Tiantai's six identities are merely distinctions based on the practitioner's delusion or awakening. If I am in the identity of verbal understanding, the ten realms are all verbal understanding. If I realize ultimate identity, the ten realms are all ultimate identity. If I am a dung beetle, the ten realms are all dung beetles; it is not that there are six identities existing separately apart from the dung beetle." Jue said, "Not so. Tiantai's six identities do not distinguish between the worldly and transmundane, sentient and insentient. Every single thing is endowed with them; whatever single dharma you bring up, the six identities are present within it. Why must one view their superiority or inferiority through one's own delusion or awakening?" The master said, "The sages established the teaching truly to guide those who have lost their way. If you say that whatever single dharma you bring up has the six identities present within it, this is merely discussing conventional truth and descends into frivolous discourse. What benefit does the student gain? Setting aside the first five identities for a moment: as for what is called ultimate identity, once one is ultimate, all are ultimate, like gold emerging from ore, like jade freed from rough stone. Therefore, when the Tathāgata first attained right awakening and contemplated the nine realms, all sentient beings simultaneously became Buddhas. Not only are the direct retributions of the nine realms the complete body of Vairocana, but the dependent retributions of the nine realms are also none other than quiescent light. Therefore he sighed, 'How wondrous! Sentient beings possess all the wisdom, virtues, and marks of the Tathāgata, yet because of false thinking they do not realize it themselves.' Is this not viewing all as having become Buddhas because I have become a Buddha? If it were indeed as you say, an ultimate dung beetle would never have a day of becoming a Buddha, and among all sentient beings not a single person would produce the bodhi-mind. The so-called ten dharma realms would all become a band of iron hammers without holes! If you say that an ultimate dung beetle might eventually become a Buddha, then on what day would the Tathāgata become deluded again and turn into a sentient being, with gold turning back into ore? Which of these faults would be greater?" Jue said, "The 'ultimate dung beetle' does not mean that. Because its mind-essence is fundamentally endowed [with Buddhahood], it is called the identity in principle. Only when its physical form is already complete is it called ultimate. Since one realm is like this, all realms are likewise. Discussing it within its own realm, the six identities are naturally complete in themselves. Why must you challenge it with whether it becomes a Buddha or not?" The master smiled and said, "Go on, sir, and be an ultimate dung beetle!" None who heard this failed to extol his argument. In the customs of Wu, people favored the worship of Xuanwu, and there were even bhikṣus who donned saṅghāṭī robes to pay homage to him. Seeing this, the master deliberately stepped in front of one and asked, "Why have you come?" The monk replied, "To pay homage to the Patriarch." The master scolded him, saying, "Your body is a bhikṣu, but your mind is truly that of an outsider. That Xuanwu is merely a water deity of the north; in our teachings, he is what is called Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa. Using his spiritual power, he serves as an external protector of the Buddha. To call him a patriarch and put on the robes of the seven Buddhas to bow to him—is this not utterly absurd and inverted?" He then destroyed the statue and replaced it with an image of Bodhidharma, telling the monk, "This is your Patriarch." Wherever he passed, if any famous monastery or hermitage worshipped Xuanwu or the Three Officials, he removed them all, causing students to concentrate their minds on the correct path. Such was his defense of the Dharma. The master was tall and aloof in stature, and resolute in character. Taking the transmission of the Dharma as his personal responsibility, he did not shy away from disaster, nor did joy or grief show upon his countenance. When he ascended the seat, a cloud of compassion spread misty, and none among the seven assemblies failed to receive his copious moisture. When he struck the mallet, the three thousand [worlds] shone brightly and the eighty thousand [teachings] stood dignified. Although he did not wield blows and shouts at will in his chamber, those whose minds died upon hearing his poison drum were numerous. In the autumn of the dinghai year of Wanli, he addressed the assembly, saying, "I have turned the wheel of the Dharma of the Śūraṅgama for you as my final instruction; I will not turn it again for you." In winter, he manifested illness, yet still earnestly exhorted them regarding the matters of the teachings. Two days after the full moon of the first month of the following year, he passed away auspiciously. His worldly age was fifty-eight; his dharma age was forty-six. He was cremated, and his stūpa was erected on Jingshan.

4.10

Biography 4: Śramaṇa Shi Zhenqing of Ciyun Temple on Mount Tiantai (Baozhu, Jingshan, Yuexi)

4.11

Śramaṇa Zhenqing, styled Xiangxian, was a son of the Luo family of Xiangtan in Changsha. From birth he was extraordinarily talented, standing tall like jade, with a dignified and austere bearing, never indulging in idle chatter or frivolous laughter. Daily he memorized several thousand words of the scriptures and histories, never forgetting a single character for the rest of his life. His father served as magistrate of Henan County and often spoke of him to guests and friends as having the makings of a great vessel. At age fifteen he was appointed as a county student. Once, an unusual monk passed by, looked at him intently, and said, "This is a fine steed of the Dharma gate." At age nineteen, due to a family misfortune, he went to Mt. Nanyue's Fuhu Cliff and relied on Master Baozhu to receive tonsure and full ordination. The master had him contemplate the "Wu" keyword. From then on, he investigated it single-mindedly, never ceasing through cold winter or hot summer. At twenty-five, he accompanied Baozhu on travels to Jinling and explored Yu's Cave. Hearing the sound when the boat struck the riverbank, he was suddenly enlightened. Baozhu was overjoyed and said, "Fortunately, the great matter is already clear to you; protect it well!" Because of his advanced age, Baozhu moved from Putuo to reside in seclusion at Lower Tianzhu. At that time, the palace attendant Lord Zhang Yong admired Baozhu's spiritual practice and secretly petitioned Empress Dowager Zhang to bestow a purple saṅghāṭī robe in recognition of his virtue. One day Baozhu suddenly instructed the master, saying, "I wish to contemplate transformation. Let no one enter. When you hear the sound of me striking the sounding-stone, you may open the door." For several days no motion or stillness was heard. The master peeked secretly through a chink in the window and saw that Baozhu's nose was touching the ground. One day later, he heard the sounding-stone; just as the master pushed open the door and entered, Baozhu had already quietly passed away. After Baozhu had transformed, the master visited the ancient sites of Yanguan and stayed at Juehuang. Soon he suffered from a back ailment. Moved by Guan Yunchang appearing in a dream and giving him medicine, he recovered from the illness. At that time, Dharma Master Yuexi of Fohui Temple was lecturing on the Awakening of Faith at Jixiang. Charmed by him, he led the assembly to invite him to proclaim the Linji lineage's tenets. The assembly knocked at the master's room. The master calmly told them, "The perfect lineage has no marks, and the complete teaching is difficult to fathom. If I had a lineage to preach, not only would the grass grow ten feet deep before the Dharma hall, but even true emptiness would become a place of conditioned thoughts. If you had a Dharma to hear, not only would that be adding a head on top of a head, but ultimate reality would instead become a realm of fame and reputation. The Buddhas of the three periods and the ancestral masters through the generations have done nothing more than knock out a wedge with a wedge, dispelling delusion according to delusion. Therefore, for those who grasp the import, mountains and peaks are easily moved; for those who run counter to the lineage, not even the slightest hair can enter. How much more so when the import of the Awakening of Faith thoroughly penetrates the vehicle of the lineage! Why bother with further sorrow and labor to urge them on?" The assembly all bowed their heads and withdrew. The master then traveled south to Tiantai, thoroughly searching out supreme landscapes. Cherishing the noble character of Wujian Du, he thatched a hut before his stupa for three years. Dharma Master Jingshan attended the assembly at Shiliang and joined the master in going to Yongqing in Piling, where they investigated the Śūraṅgama-sūtra together. Jingshan sighed and said, "Though what I lecture on in the scriptures is subtly attuned to the Buddha's words, hearing what the master discusses is truly drawing forth the scroll from within the dust!" The master wished to return to his original lay clothes, but Lord Tang Jingchuan of the Ministry of Rites detained him to complete a thousand-day retreat. Afterward, he returned to the ancient Pingtian Temple on Mt. Tiantai. Minister of Justice Wang Jingsuo of Linhai entered the mountain to seek the Way and formed an otherworldly friendship with him. He then relocated to Tianzhu Peak at Huading, where he practiced the Great and Small Amitābha Repentances for six years. In his leisure, he expounded the ten vehicles and clarified the three contemplations. Thus scholars from all directions, pulling themselves up by the vines, came in such numbers that the shoes outside his door were always filled. One night he dreamed of splendid jade palaces and staggered jewel-trees, and saw the three Amitābha sages. Just as the master bowed in prostration, a novice monk beside them handed him a plaque inscribed: "Incense of the Precepts Cultivation." Awakening, he knew this was a sign of rebirth in the middle grade. This was because the master daily practiced the five repentances with diligence and secretly maintained the "Mind Ground" chapter of the Brahma Net Sūtra and the Sixteen Contemplations Sūtra as his daily regimen, which had moved the holy through his sincerity. He once instructed the assembly, saying, "The eighty thousand [practices] of the Mahāyāna and the three thousand of the Hīnayāna are truly the model for regulating the six harmonies, the ladder and ferry to transcend the three realms. Eminent people of today despise the vinaya and rely solely on intellectual understanding, thereby causing later students to disregard the Buddha's regulations and frequently violate the rules. Originally free of transgression, they mistakenly commit grave offenses. Even if their talent surpasses seven paces and their eloquence flows like a suspended river, they will not escape their consciousness falling into the iron city, remaining unliberated after all. You must exert yourselves!" In the eighth month of the dinghai year of the Wanli era, he received an imperial decree sent by Empress Dowager Cisheng Xuanwen Mingsu praising and honoring him, bestowing a purple square robe with golden patterns to grace him. In the tenth month, the lay practitioner Wang Taichu, due to mourning for his mother, invited the master to the Yongming Meditation Room to expound the Miaozong chao, set for a period of one hundred days. At that time, Judge Xing of Taizhou personally climbed the cloudy peaks to offer provisions. In the wuzi year, there was a famine, and bandits arose like swarms of bees, but they warned one another never to dare enter the master's room. Lay practitioner Lu Guangzu (Wutai) of Xiuli left the abbot's seat at Furong vacant and invited him, but he declined and did not go. Suddenly he said to the assembly, "Ciyun of Taoyuan was actually founded by the fourth-generation descendant of Lanrong. During the Tianbao era of the Tang, it was granted the plaque 'Cloud-Dwelling Mountain An'guo Temple.' National Preceptor Deshao of the Five Dynasties restored it as his second place of practice, and it was the place where Chan Master Yongming Shou shaved his head. The stone where he sat in meditation and the old site of Yongming Hermitage are still there. Master Shao often led five hundred disciples to preach the Dharma in this place. Formerly, Dharma Master Luoxi Ji requested the restoration of the Tiantai teachings, and Diguan also personally bowed at his feet here; all took place at this monastery. Now it has been seized by powerful gentry, who intend to use it as a burial ground. I secretly ponder: when the incense offerings of the imperial court for over a thousand years suddenly become a commoner's graveyard, whose fault is it?" He then emptied his bowls and robes to redeem it and intended to rebuild it. Soon Lu Pingquan, Minister of Rites of Yunjian, invited him to preach the Dharma at Benyi Cloister, and Administration Vice-Commissioner Li Chonghan invited him to lecture at Tongchuan. Having completed both, he sailed back to Longyuan in Jiahe. Suddenly falling ill, he told his disciples, "Last night a spiritual being informed me that I would become a son of the Prince of Wei's estate. Such wealth and honor are not my aspiration." He then handed over his robe and bowl, leaving testamentary instructions to his disciples: "Jhāpita according to the Dharma; distribute all my surplus goods to provide vegetarian feasts for monks at five places: Wutai, Yunqi, and Xixing." Some urged him to take medicine, but the master declined, saying, "Can medicine ward off life and death? My karmic affinities with the Pure Land have ripened, and the sacred realm has secretly manifested; this human realm will certainly not last long." On the seventh day of the first month of that year, he ceased eating grains, drinking only sandalwood water. He set the twenty-ninth day as the end. Although not even rice gruel entered his mouth each day, he spoke the Dharma of non-arising to the assembly, admonishing and guiding their cultivation without wearying. When evening arrived, he arose to bid farewell to the assembly, saying, "I am departing soon; do not burden me with worldly affairs." The assembly inquired, "When the Venerable is reborn in the Pure Land, in which of the nine grades will you dwell?" He replied, "Rebirth in the middle grade of the middle rank." The assembly said, "Why not rebirth in the highest grade?" He replied, "Perfumed by my incense of the precepts, my station is limited to the middle grade." Having spoken, he serenely passed away. For five days his complexion remained ruddy as if alive, his hands and feet warm and soft, his serene expression captivating. Among the mourners, none dared to prostrate. On the day of the jhāpita, the sky was clear and bright, without a speck of haze. As the fire was ignited, suddenly a wisp of cloud, like a canopy, gathered over it and sprinkled a few drops of light rain. When the smoke and flames rose, an extraordinary fragrance filled the air. From the halls and monastic quarters inside to the passersby and boatmen outside, the various scents perceived differed according to each person's capacity. After the fire, the bones were of three colors and clinked with sound: the red were like peaches, the white like jade, and the green as lustrous as fine green jade, still emitting an abundant fragrance. The master was born on the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month of the dingyou year of the Jiajing era and manifested quiescence on the twenty-ninth day of the first month of the guisi year of the Wanli era, with a worldly age of fifty-seven and a dharma age of thirty-eight. Ruxing cradled his bones and first built a stupa on the southern mound of Ciyun. In the renyin year, it was moved to the west of the temple, on the right side of Luoshi Mountain above Xiuwen Creek. Lay practitioner Yuan Huang (Liaofan) of Wutang composed the inscription.

4.12

Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Ming, Fascicle Four

Linked texts (1)

大明高僧傳 — Classical Chinese