神僧傳 5.42

5.42

釋智晞。俗姓陳氏。潁川人。年二十始獲從願。一得奉值即定師資。律儀具足稟受禪訣。加修寂定。常居佛隴修禪道場。樂三昧者咸共歸仰。宴坐之暇。時復指撝創造伽藍殿堂房舍悉皆嚴整。唯經臺未構。始欲僦工。有香爐峯。山巖峻嶮林木秀異。然彼神祇巨有靈驗。自古已來無敢視其峯崖。況有登踐而採伐者。時眾議曰。今既營經臺供養法寶。唯尚精華豈可率爾而已。其香爐峯檉柏木中精勝可共取之以充供養。論詳既訖。往諮於晞。具陳上事。良久答云。山神護惜不可造次。無敢重言各還所在。爾夜夢人送疏云。香爐峯檉柏樹盡皆捨給經臺。時有僧法雲。欲往香爐峯頭陀。晞諫曰。彼山神剛強。卿道力微弱。向彼必不得安。慎勿往也。雲不納旨。遂往到山。不盈二宿。神即現形驅雲令還。自陳其事。方憶前旨。深生敬仰。有弟子道亘在房誦經。自往喚云。今晚當有僧。來言竟仍向門下。即見一僧純著納衣執錫持鉢。形神爽俊有異常人。從外而來。相去二十餘步。纔入路東隱而不現。俄頃之間即聞東山有鍾鼓聲大音震谷。便云。噫喚吾也。未終數日語弟子云。吾命無幾。可作香湯洗浴。適竟山中鳥獸異色殊形。常所不見者並皆來集房側。履地騰空悲鳴喚呼。經日方散。以貞觀元年十二月十八日午時。結跏安坐端直儼然。氣息綿微如入禪定。因而不返。時虛空中有絃管聲。合眾皆聞。良久乃息。經停數日方入石龕顏色敷悅手足柔軟不異生平。春秋七十有二。

Shi Zhixi, whose lay surname was Chen, was a native of Yingchuan. Only at age twenty was he able to fulfill his aspiration [to renounce household life]. Once he met his master, the teacher-disciple bond was firmly established. Complete in the monastic regulations and deportment, he received instructions on meditation, further cultivating tranquil absorption. He constantly resided at the Folong Meditation Bodhimaṇḍa, and those who delighted in samādhi all took refuge in and looked up to him. In the leisure hours between meditative sittings, he would occasionally direct construction: the monastery’s halls, pavilions, and living quarters were all made solemn and orderly. Only the Scripture Terrace was not yet built, and he had just begun seeking to hire laborers. There was Xianglu Peak (Incense Burner Peak), whose mountain crags were steep and rugged, with rare and wondrous forest trees. However, its local deity possessed tremendous numinous power; from antiquity to the present, none dared even gaze upon its peaks and cliffs, much less climb and fell timber there. At the time, the assembly deliberated, saying, 'Now that we are building a Scripture Terrace to make offerings to the Dharma-jewel, we should prioritize the most exquisite quality; how could we act casually? The tamarisk and cypress of Xianglu Peak are the finest and most superior among timber; we might harvest them together to supply the offering.' After their discussion concluded, they went to consult Zhixi and related the whole matter. After a long while, he replied, 'The mountain deity protects and treasures them; one must not act rashly.' None dared speak again, and each returned to his quarters. That night, [Zhixi] dreamed of a person delivering a written pledge that read, 'The tamarisk and cypress trees of Xianglu Peak are entirely relinquished and given to the Scripture Terrace.' At that time, there was a monk named Fayun who wished to go to Xianglu Peak to practice dhūta austerities. Zhixi admonished him, saying, 'The deity of that mountain is unyielding and fierce, while your spiritual power is frail. If you go there, you will surely find no peace. Be careful not to go.' Fayun did not heed his counsel and proceeded to the mountain. Before two nights had passed, the deity manifested in form and drove Fayun to return. Fayun confessed his experience, only then recalling the earlier admonition, and gave rise to deep reverence. Zhixi had a disciple named Daoxuan who was reciting scriptures in his room. Zhixi went personally to call him, saying, 'This evening, a monk shall arrive.' Just as he finished speaking, he headed toward the gate, where he immediately saw a monk wearing pure patched robes, holding a staff and carrying a bowl, his spirit and appearance bright and noble, surpassing ordinary men. Coming from outside, when about twenty paces away, he had barely entered the eastern side of the path when he vanished from sight. In an instant, the sound of bells and drums was heard from the eastern mountain, their loud reverberations shaking the valley. Zhixi then remarked, 'Ah, they are summoning me!' A few days before his passing, he said to his disciples, 'My life has not much left. You may prepare scented water for me to bathe.' Just as he finished, mountain birds and beasts of extraordinary colors and unique shapes, such as were never ordinarily seen, gathered beside his room. Walking the ground and soaring through the sky, they cried out mournfully, dispersing only after a full day. On the eighteenth day of the twelfth month in the first year of Zhenguan, at the hour of noon, he sat cross-legged, upright and solemn, his breath subtle and continuous as if entering meditative absorption, and thereupon did not return. At that time, the sound of stringed and wind instruments echoed in the void, heard by the entire congregation; only after a long time did it cease. After several days, he was placed into a stone niche; his complexion was blooming and joyful, and his hands and feet were soft and pliable, no different from life. His worldly age was seventy-two.