[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [神僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064) › 9.37 # 神僧傳 9.37 神僧傳 9.37 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [9.37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.9.37) 釋法本。不知何許人也。循良守法行止庠序。言多詭激。天福中至襄州禪院。與一僧同過夏。朝昏共處。心地相於法本甞言曰。貧道於相州西山中住持竹林寺。寺前有一石柱。他日有暇必請相訪。其僧追念此言。因往彼尋訪洎至山下村中投一蘭若寄宿。問其村僧曰。此去竹林寺近遠。僧乃遙指孤峯之側曰。彼處是也。古老相傳昔聖賢所居之地。今則但有名存耳。故無院舍。僧疑之。詰朝而往。既至竹叢。叢中果有石柱。罔然不知其涯涘。當法本臨別云。但扣其柱即見其人。其僧乃以小枝擊柱數聲。乃風雲四起咫尺莫窺。俄然耳目豁開樓臺對聳。身在三門之下逡巡。法本自內而出。見之甚喜問南中舊事。乃引其僧度重門升祕殿參其尊宿。尊宿問其故。法本云。早年襄州同過夏期此相訪。故及山門也。尊宿曰。可飯後請出。在此無座位。食畢法本送至三門相別。既而天地昏暗不知所進。頃之宛在竹林中石柱之側。餘並莫覩。即知聖賢之在世隱顯難既。金粟如來獨能化現者乎。 > Śramaṇa Faben—it is not known where he was from. He was upright, observed the Dharma, and was dignified in deportment, though his speech was often bizarre and provoking. During the Tianfu era, he arrived at a Chan cloister in Xiangzhou and spent the summer retreat together with another monk. Cohabiting morning and evening, their minds were intimately attuned. Faben once said, "I am abbot of Zhulin Monastery in the western mountains of Xiangzhou. In front of the monastery is a stone pillar. When you have leisure in the future, you must come visit me." The monk remembered these words and went to look for him. Reaching a village at the foot of the mountain, he stayed overnight at an araṇya and asked a monk of the village, "How far is it from here to Zhulin Monastery?" The monk pointed afar toward the side of a solitary peak, saying, "That is the place. Ancients handed down that it was formerly an abode of holy sages, but today only the name remains; there are no cloister buildings." The monk was doubtful, but went forth the next morning. When he reached the bamboo grove, there was indeed a stone pillar in the grove, boundless and without end. Faben had said when parting, "Just knock on the pillar and you will see me." The monk struck the pillar several times with a small branch; thereupon wind and clouds arose on all four sides, so thick that one could not see an inch. Suddenly his eyes and ears opened wide: multistoried towers rose facing each other, and he found himself standing under the triple gate. In a moment, Faben came out from within. Overjoyed to see him, Faben inquired about old events in the South. He then led the monk through multiple gates and up to a secret hall to pay respects to the elder. The elder asked why he had come, and Faben said, "In earlier years we spent the summer retreat together in Xiangzhou, and agreed to visit each other here; hence he has arrived at our mountain gate." The elder said, "He may be asked to leave after eating. There is no seat for him here." When the meal was finished, Faben escorted him to the triple gate to take leave. Thereupon heaven and earth turned dark, and he did not know where to tread. In a moment, he was as before beside the stone pillar in the bamboo grove; nothing else could be seen. Thus one knows that the hiding and revealing of holy sages in this world can never be fully measured—is it only the Tathāgata Golden Grain who can manifest such transformations? > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 9.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.9.36) - [Next: 9.38](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.9.38) - [Up: 9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.9) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064~en-mt.9.37) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.9.37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.9.37) · Pramāṇa