神僧傳 5.44

5.44

釋惠主。俗姓賈氏。始州永歸縣人。六歲出家為斌法師弟子。於黃安縣造寺七所。梓潼縣造十寺。武連縣造三寺。初年登冠欲受具足。當境無人乃入京選德。於甘露寺受戒。唯聽四分餘義傍通。夢見三日三夜天地闇冥眾生無眼。過此忽明眼還明淨。覺已汗流。一百日後周毀經道。方知徵應。即返故鄉南山藏伏唯食松葉。異類禽獸同集無聲。或有山神送伏苓甘松香來。獲此供養六時行道。禽獸隨行禮佛誦經。似如聽仰。仍為幽顯受菩薩戒。後有獼猴群共治道。主曰。汝性躁擾作此何為。曰時君異也。佛日通也。深怪其言。尋爾更有異祥。龍飛獸集香氣充山。其類眾矣。後有八人採弓材者。甚大驚駭。便慰主曰。聖。君出世時號開皇矣。即將出山以事奏聞蒙預出家。大業中勅還本州香林寺。常弘四分為業。武德之始陵陽公臨益州。素少信心。將百餘馱物行至始州。令於寺內講堂佛殿僧房安置。無敢違者。主從莊還見斯穢雜。即入房中取錫杖三衣出歎曰。死活今日矣。舉杖向驢騾一時倒仆如死。兩手各擎一馱擲棄坑中。州縣官人驚怖執主狀申。陵陽大喜一無所怪。書曰。弟子數病不逢害鬼。蒙得律師破慳貪袋。深為大利。今附沈香十斤細綾十段仰贈。後還京日從受菩薩戒焉。貞觀三年寺有明禪師者。清卓不群。白日獨坐見無半身。向眾述曰。吾與律師建立此寺。兩人同心忽失半身。將不律師先去。不者明其死矣。尋爾午時主便無疾而逝。春秋八十九。

Shi Huizhu, whose lay surname was Jia, was a native of Yonggui County in Shizhou. At the age of six, he renounced household life to become a disciple of Dharma Master Bin. He built seven monasteries in Huang'an County, ten monasteries in Zitong County, and three monasteries in Wulian County. When he first reached the age of twenty and wished to receive full ordination, there was no qualified person in his locale, so he went to the capital to seek out virtuous masters, receiving the precepts at Ganlu Monastery. He only listened to the Four-Part Vinaya (Dharmaguptaka-vinaya), mastering other tenets along the way. In a dream, he saw heaven and earth plunged into darkness for three days and three nights, during which sentient beings had no eyes; after this, brightness suddenly returned, and eyes became bright and clear again. Upon waking, he broke into a sweat. One hundred days later, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou destroyed the Buddhist scriptures and teachings; only then did he recognize the prophetic omen. He immediately returned to his native south mountain to hide, eating solely pine needles. Different kinds of birds and beasts gathered with him in silence. Occasionally, mountain deities brought tuckahoe (fuling) and spikenard incense. Having received these offerings, he practiced the six-period circumambulation and practice, while birds and beasts followed him in bowing to the Buddha and reciting scriptures, seemingly listening with veneration. He further conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon both the unseen spirits and visible beings. Later, a troop of macaques worked together to clear a road. Huizhu asked, 'By nature you are restless and agitated; why are you doing this?' They replied, 'The temporal ruler has changed; the sun of the Buddha shines unimpeded.' He was deeply amazed by their words. Soon after, there were further extraordinary omens: dragons flew, beasts gathered, and fragrant vapors filled the mountain; such occurrences were numerous. Later, eight men gathering bow timber arrived, were exceedingly astonished, and comforted Huizhu, saying, 'A sage ruler has appeared in the world; the era is now called Kaihuang.' They escorted him out of the mountain and memorialized the matter to the throne, whereupon he was granted imperial permission to be [officially] ordained. During the Daye era, an imperial decree ordered him to return to Xianglin Monastery in his native prefecture, where he made the constant propagation of the Four-Part Vinaya his primary vocation. At the start of the Wude era, the Duke of Lingyang presided over Yizhou; by nature he had little faith. Leading more than a hundred pack animals laden with goods, he arrived in Shizhou and ordered them to be lodged inside the monastery's lecture hall, Buddha hall, and monastic quarters; none dared oppose him. Returning from an estate, Huizhu saw this filth and chaos, went into his room to take his khakkhara staff and three robes, emerged, and sighed, 'Life or death is decided today!' Raising his staff toward the donkeys and mules, they collapsed all at once as if dead. With both hands, he picked up a pack from each side and hurled them into a pit. Terrified, the prefectural and county officials arrested Huizhu and submitted a report. The Duke of Lingyang was greatly pleased, bearing no grudge whatsoever, and wrote, 'This disciple has often fallen ill without encountering a harm-dispelling ghost; having been favored by the Vinaya Master tearing open my bag of greed, it is truly a great benefit.' He then presented an offering of ten catties of eaglewood and ten bolts of fine damask silk. Later, on the day [the Duke] returned to the capital, he received the bodhisattva precepts from Huizhu. In the third year of Zhenguan, there was Meditation Master Ming at the monastery, pure, eminent, and extraordinary. Sitting alone in broad daylight, he saw half of his own body missing. He recounted to the assembly, 'The Vinaya Master and I established this monastery with one mind. Now that I have suddenly lost half my body, will the Vinaya Master perhaps depart first? If not, it clearly portends my own death.' Shortly afterward, at the hour of noon, Huizhu passed away without illness. His worldly age was eighty-nine.