神僧傳 2.14

2.14

Shi Huiyuan's original surname was Jia. He was a native of Loufan in Yanmen. From childhood he was fond of books. At the age of thirteen, he accompanied his maternal uncle of the Linghu clan to study in Xuchang and Luoyang, and thus in his youth became a classicist scholar, broadly mastering the Six Classics and being especially adept in Zhuangzi and Laozi. His natural disposition was grand and broad, and his discernment and bearing were clear and outstanding; even veteran scholars and prominent talents all submitted to his profound insight. At the age of twenty-one, wishing to cross east of the Yangtze to join with Fan Xuanzi in study, he met with the death of Shi Hu and the turmoil of bandits in the Central Plains; the southern routes were blocked, and his intention could not be realized. At that time, the śramaṇa Shi Dao'an had established a monastery at Mount Heng in the Taihang range, broadly propagating the semblance Dharma, and his fame was exceedingly prominent. Yuan thereupon went to take refuge with him; at their first meeting he paid utmost reverence, considering him truly to be his teacher. Later, hearing Dao'an lecture on the Prajñā-sūtra, he had an awakening and, together with his younger brother Huichi, cast aside his hairpin, shaved his head, and entrusted his life to receive instruction. Once he had entered the Way, he was austere and stood out from the crowd, always wishing to take charge of the overarching guidelines and making the Great Dharma his personal responsibility. Reflecting deeply and reciting with devotion, he continued through the night into the day. Traveling in poverty without provisions, he was constantly lacking in padded clothing; yet the brothers were respectful and diligent, unflagging from beginning to end. There was a śramaṇa named Tanyi who frequently provided him with the expense for lamps and candles. Master Dao'an, hearing of this, was pleased and said, 'The gentleman of the Way truly knows people.' At the age of twenty-four, he began to give lectures. A guest listening to a lecture once raised an objection concerning the meaning of true reality; they went back and forth for a long time, only increasing doubt and obscurity. Yuan then cited the meaning in the Zhuangzi to make an analogy, and the matter became clear to the perplexed listener. After this, Master Dao'an specially permitted Huiyuan not to abandon secular texts. Dao'an had disciples named Fayu and Tancheng, both of whom possessed brilliant talent and a pure, keen commitment to their pursuits; both admired and deferred to him. Later, he followed Master Dao'an on a journey south to Fan and Mian. In the ninth year of Jianyuan of the illegitimate Qin, the Qin general Fu Ping invaded and annexed Xiangyang. Dao'an was detained by Zhu Xu and could not leave; he therefore dispatched his disciples in various directions according to their destinations, giving instructions to all of them. Yuan alone did not receive a single word. Yuan then knelt and said, 'I alone have received no instruction or encouragement; I fear I am not counted among human beings.' Dao'an said, 'For someone like you, how could I worry?' Yuan thereupon went south to Jingzhou with several tens of disciples and stayed at Shangming Monastery. Later, wishing to go to Mount Luofu, when he reached Xunyang he saw that the peak of Mount Lu was pure and tranquil, sufficient to calm the mind, and first stayed at the Longquan Vihāra. This place was originally far from water, so Yuan struck the ground with his staff and said, 'If this place can be a dwelling, let a spring burst forth from the decaying earth.' When he finished speaking, a clear stream welled up and flowed deep to form a creek. A short time later, Xunyang suffered a severe drought; Yuan went to the side of the pool and read the Sāgara-nāgarāja-sūtra. Suddenly, a giant serpent flew up from the pool into the sky, and in a moment a great rain fell, resulting in an abundant harvest. The vihāra was therefore named Longquan Monastery. When Tao Kan was stationed in Guangzhou, a fisherman saw a divine light in the sea; every evening it shone brightly, growing ever more brilliant over ten days. Wondering at this, he reported it to Kan. Kan went to look closely and found it was an image of King Aśoka; he immediately brought it back and sent it to Hanxi Monastery in Wuchang. The abbot of the monastery, Sengzhen, once went to Xiakou and dreamed at night that the monastery caught fire, yet this image hall alone was surrounded by dragons and spirits. Awakening, Zhen rushed back to the monastery; the monastery had burned down completely, with only the image hall remaining. Later, when Kan moved his command, because the image possessed awe-inspiring spiritual power, he sent an emissary to receive it. Several tens of people carried it to the water, but as soon as it was placed on the boat, the boat capsized; the emissary was terrified, returned it, and in the end could not secure it. When Yuan founded his monastery and it was completed, he prayed with sincere devotion to welcome it, whereupon it became light and buoyant, traveling back and forth without hindrance. Thereupon, he led the assembly in practicing the Way, unceasing day and night. The remaining teaching of Śākyamuni was revived here. From the time Yuan chose to dwell on Mount Lu for more than thirty years, his shadow never left the mountain and his footsteps never entered worldly places. Whenever he saw guests off on their walk, he always took Tiger Creek as the boundary. In the beginning of the eighth month in the twelfth year of Yixi of the Jin dynasty, he died at the age of eighty-three.