神僧傳 5.52

5.52

The monk Dazhi was a son of the Gu clan of Kuaiji. While still a youth, he renounced household life and served Zhiyi of Tiantai as his master. Zhiyi, seeing that his form and spirit were unrestrained and elevated far above worldly matters, gave him the name Dazhi ('Great Aspiration'). He recited the Lotus Sūtra in detached serenity; the sound of his voice was so clear and melodious that listeners forgot their weariness. Later, he practiced dhūta austerities at Ganlu on Mount Lu. At times he cast himself before ferocious beasts, but they all avoided him and went away. When his provisions of grain were exhausted, he merely sustained his life on cakes and fruits. Like this, his meditation and recitation were ceaseless for seven years. Later in life, he presided over Fulin Monastery. It happened that during the Daye era Buddhism was suppressed. Lamenting the decline of the Great Dharma, he put on mourning clothes and wept bitterly in the Buddha hall for three days, vowing to sacrifice his body to clarify the true teaching. He immediately went to the Eastern Capital and submitted a memorial saying: 'May Your Majesty cause the Three Jewels to flourish. This poor monk will surely burn an arm on Mount Song to repay the imperial kindness.' The emperor granted permission. Thereupon, a great vegetarian feast was set, and the seven assemblies gathered together. The master abstained from food for three days and climbed onto a large scaffold. Wrapping his arm in cloth and pouring wax over it, he ignited it like a torch. The light illuminated the cliffs and peaks, dazzling with great brilliance. The crowd, seeing this ascetic practice, felt the pain penetrate to their heart and marrow, yet Dazhi's expression did not change. At times he recited sūtra passages, at times praised the Buddha's virtues, and at times expounded the Dharma for the multitude, voice after voice without interruption. Having burned it, he descended from the scaffold, sat cross-legged, entered samādhi, and passed away after seven days.