神僧傳 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

Śramaṇa Fashun, surname Du, was a man of Wannian County in Yongzhou. By nature gentle and harmonious, at the age of eighteen he abandoned the worldly life and renounced household life, serving Chan Master Zhen of Yinsheng Monastery to receive and uphold the practice of meditation. Once, while proselytizing in Qingzhou, he urged the people to establish an offering assembly limited to five hundred people. When it came time for the midday meal, twice as many people arrived. The host of the offering became terrified. Shun said: 'There is nothing to fear; just distribute it all around without asking where the offerings come from.' All one thousand people were satisfied. There was a man named Zhang Hongchang of Hejiang who kept cattle and horses at home that were vicious by nature. Everyone suffered from them, and when he tried to sell them, no one would take them. Shun gave them gentle and compassionate words, and it was as if they listened and obeyed; thereafter they never butted or bit again. Once, leading a assembly to dwell quietly for the summer on Mount Li, the ground had many insects and ants, so there was no way to plant vegetables. Shun, fearing that they would be harmed, approached the ground and gestured to them, ordering the insects to relocate. Soon after, when they went to look, just within his designated boundary there were no insects at all. At that time, Shun suffered from a swelling that ulcerated and discharged pus. There were those who out of reverence licked it, and those who wiped it with silk; both immediately recovered [from their ailments]. The remaining pus emitted a fragrance whose diffused scent was beyond compare, and the wiping silk still retained the fragrance without dispersing. Tian Satuo, a commoner of Sanyuan, had been deaf from birth, and Zhang Su had also been mute from birth. Shun, hearing of them, summoned them and spoke and conversed with them, whereupon they were completely cured forever, just like ordinary people. A monk of Wugong County was bewitched by a venomous dragon; the community brought him to Shun. Shun sat facing him with hands folded upright. The dragon then possessed the sick monk and said: 'Since the Chan master has arrived, principle dictates that I cannot remain long; I have troubled you greatly.' Immediately [the monk] was relieved. Thus, whenever those near and far were afflicted by pestilential vapors or perverse afflictions, none failed to come to him. Shun did not use any other arts; he merely sat facing them, and none failed to recover. Once, traveling through the southern wilderness, he was about to cross the Huang Canal. The water had overflowed, and wading across was treacherous, as the banks were steep and slippery. Though they climbed, they fell back down. Suddenly, the water ceased flowing, and they crossed along dry land. As soon as Shun reached the bank, the water resumed flowing. His disciples, witnessing this, could not fathom how it was so. In the fourteenth year of the Zhenguan era, without any sickness or suffering, he gave parting instructions to his disciples, transmitting the Dharma he had practiced throughout his life for them to receive and apply. Having spoken, he entered meditative stability while sitting upright as usual, and passed away at the Yishan Monastery in the southern suburbs.

6.3

Zhikuan

6.4

Śramaṇa Zhikuan, surname Yao, was a man of Hedong in Puzhou. He read through various sūtras, taking the Nirvāṇa and the Daśabhūmikā Treatise as his essential core. In the room where he dwelt, every night there would inevitably be the clatter of shaking armor. Those who secretly peeked all saw an extraordinary divine person circumambulating the room. At that time, tigers were violent in the rivers and valleys, cutting off the passage of travelers, gathering in packs of several hundreds, passing through villages and towns, and harming people and livestock. Among them was a king of beasts whose head was the largest, possessing all five colors, inspiring awe and subduing all beasts. Zhang Xun, Area Commander of Suizhou, hearing from afar of his compassionate virtue, sent someone to welcome him. Kuan then ordered the prefectures and counties to establish fasts, practice circumambulation, and each receive the eight precepts. That very night, the disaster of the tigers vanished, and no one knew where they had gone. The people of the time were moved and revered him as a divine sage. At the beginning of the Zhenguan era, he returned to Pu and Jin. At that time, the commandery suffered a drought, and various prayers were unsuccessful. The officials and people thereupon went to invite him. Kuan established a maṇḍala altar for them and took an oath upon his own body, saying that if rain did not fall, he would not dwell inside a hall or room. He exposed his body for two days. Dense clouds hung down, and after three days, torrential rain poured over the entire region, and the people relied upon it for a bountiful harvest. Before his end, he lay on his right side, pillowed on his right arm, and said to his disciples: 'Samsāra is long and vast; all who have conditioned existence are like this. You need only contemplate your own bodies as illusory, and you will not be self-entangled by the fetters of attachment. My life is now ending. You should take two rafters and a reed mat to wrap and bind me, and carry me off. Do not follow worldly customs in creating confusion and doing unbeneficial things.' Having spoken, he died.

6.5

Shiyu

6.6

Shi Shiyu, whose lay surname was Chen, lived in Taizhou. In the twelfth year of the Daye era, he went to Mianzhou to renounce household life under Dharma Master Lun at Zhenxiang Monastery. Following the dhūta practice of one meal a day (ekāsanika), his diligent austerities were unceasing. He then went to Lizhou to register and dwell in a monastery. Later, he entered Mount Xiangying in Mianzhu County, Yizhou, living in solitude for many years. Four apes supplied him with food such as mountain fruits. There was a faithful layman, born of his mother’s clan, who carried provisions to offer him, marveling that frankincense, agarwood, and other fragrances were continually burned in the deep mountains. On his way back down the mountain, at midway, he met two people of extraordinarily azure hue and uncommon appearance, each carrying lotus flowers, sugar cane, and taro up the mountain, saying: “We are going to provide offerings for the Dhyāna Master.” During his three years dwelling in the mountains, [Shiyu] consumed only one hectoliter and seven liters of rice. Performing the six-period circumambulation and practice, he took apes and birds as his companions. At first there was only a single spring, but later three springs flowed out below. In the first year of the Zhenguan era, he dreamt that four dragons entered his heart and eyes; upon awakening, he had a great awakening to the essential tenets of the Three Treatises. He then went to the lectures of Dharma Master Lingrui, and what he heard of the phrasing and principles seemed just like an old familiarity. He then went to Mianzhou to dwell at Dashi Monastery. On the eighth day of the fourth month of the nineteenth year, he went to Chongle Monastery and spoke of intending to wander afar. Someone advised him: “This very monastery is [the same as] all directions.” He therefore returned to his original room at Dashi [Monastery], and a wondrous fragrance filled the chamber. From the ground where he sat, three gold coins welled up. The assembly, tracing the fragrance, found it came from Yu's room, where they saw him sitting cross-legged, still holding an incense burner in his hand, having quietly passed away. His age was sixty-three.

6.7

Xuanzang

6.8

Shi Xuanzang, whose original personal name was Yi and whose lay surname was Chen, was a native of Goushi in Luozhou. Having suffered hardship and deprivation in his youth, he followed his elder brother, Dharma Master Changjie, to dwell at Jingtu Monastery, where [Changjie] instructed him in subtle principles and alongside them adept dialectics. At the age of eleven, he could recite the Vimalakīrti and Lotus Sūtras. When a regular ordination of monks took place in the Eastern Capital, he was admitted among them. From then on he was eminent, upright, and uncompromising, longing for the Great Dharma. Later, he reached Chang'an and dwelt at Zhuangyan Monastery, yet this was not his original aspiration. Crossing west over the Jian Pass and arriving in the capital of Shu, he received the various sūtras and treatises, never forgetting what he heard even once. In the fifth year of the Wude era, at the age of twenty-one, he expounded the Abhidharmahṛdaya (Heart of Abhidharma) for the foremost śramaṇas of the academy; without looking at the text, his recitation and exposition flowed boundlessly. The people of the time called him a divine man. Afterward, he traveled extensively throughout Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and other prefectures visiting colleagues in the Way. Returning again to the capital, he sought out foreigners from various tributary states, learning their written and spoken languages in their entirety, receiving instruction while walking and sitting; in several days he had gained broad mastery, merely awaiting an opportunity. In the third year of the Zhenguan era, when an imperial edict was issued for clergy and laity to disperse in all directions to follow the harvest, he was able by this means to depart for the Western Regions to retrieve the sūtras and images. Arriving in Kapiśa, the road was treacherous with tigers and leopards, impassable. Xuanzang did not know what plan to devise, so he locked the door of his room and sat. Toward evening, he opened the door and saw an old monk, whose head and face were covered with sores and whose body ran with pus and blood, sitting alone upon a bed, of unknown origin. Xuanzang bowed to him and earnestly made requests. The monk orally transmitted a single fascicle of the Heart Sūtra, having Xuanzang recite it. Consequently, the mountains and streams became level and easy, the roads opened, the tigers and leopards hid, and the demons and ghosts concealed their traces. He finally reached the Buddha-land and obtained more than six hundred works of sūtras. In the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan era, he returned to the capital. An imperial edict commanded him to dwell at Yuhua [Palace] to translate the repository of sūtras. Throughout his life, Xuanzang had always vowed to be reborn with Maitreya; when traveling through the Western Regions, he had heard that the brothers Asaṅga had both been born in that heaven, and his frequent prayers all yielded clear evidence. Later, having arrived at Yuhua, whenever he had a spare moment he never failed to make this vow. In the first year of the Linde era, he announced to the translating monks and disciples: “Conditioned dharmas must inevitably return to annihilation. How could the physical form of bubble and shadow remain long? Having reached sixty-five years of age, I will certainly pass away at Yuhua. Those who have doubts regarding the sūtras and treatises should quickly ask them now.” Those who heard this were astonished. The Master said: “This matter I know of myself.” He then went to take leave of the Buddha and the monastic assembly. Having fallen ill in bed, he constantly saw a great, immaculate white lotus approaching, and also beheld the form of the Buddha. He instructed a monk to read aloud the catalog of the sūtras and treatises he had translated, which totaled seventy-three works in 1,330 fascicles, feeling deep joy in his heart. He summoned all his disciples and those with whom he had karmic affinities together, saying: “Impermanence is about to arrive; come quickly to see me.” In the Jiashou Hall, he erected a bodhi statue of fragrant wood. Having bidden farewell to the monastery monks and completed his final memorial to the throne, he silently mindfully recollected Maitreya, lay on his right side with feet resting on each other, propped his head with his right hand, and placed his left hand on his thigh. Unmoving and firm, his breath ceased and his spirit departed. For two months his appearance remained as normal. He was buried on the Bailu Plain. Earlier, when Xuanzang was about to set out for the Western Regions, he saw a pine tree at Lingyan Monastery. Standing in the courtyard, Xuanzang stroked its branches and said: “I am going west to seek the teachings of the Buddha; you may grow toward the west. When I return, then bend back toward the east, so that my disciples will know it.” When he left, its branches pointed west year after year, growing several tens of feet. One year, they suddenly turned east. The disciples and followers said: “The Master of the Teaching is returning!” They went west to welcome him, and Xuanzang indeed returned. To this day, the assembly calls this pine the 'Head-Stroked Pine' (Mōdǐng Sōng).

6.9

Famin

6.10

Shi Famin, whose lay surname was Sun, was a native of Danyang. At eight years old, he renounced household life, becoming a disciple of Dhyāna Master Ying. He entered Mount Mao, listening to Dharma Master Ming's Three Treatises and awakening to their essential tenets. In the first year of the Zhenguan era, he went forth and returned to Danyang, expounding the Avataṃsaka and Nirvāṇa [Sūtras]. In the second year, Commander-in-Chief Tian of Yuezhou invited him to return to Yiyin Monastery to continue [turning] the Wheel of Dharma. At that time, a great crowd gathered: over eight hundred śramaṇas of doctrinal study from more than seventy prefectures, one thousand two hundred local monks, three hundred nuns, while the assembly of gentry and laity could not even be recorded. By the nineteenth year, the gentry and laity of Kuaiji invited him to dwell at Jinglin to expound the Avataṃsaka-sūtra. At the end of the sixth month, right in the midst of his lecturing, there was a snake with half its body suspended over Min’s neck, some seven feet in length, golden in color, emitting five-colored light, which concealed itself only when the lecture concluded. When the summer ended, he returned to Yiyin Monastery. At night, two men in crimson garments bowed to Min and said: “Dharma Master, the merits of expounding the four great sūtras are beyond measure; you must go to other realms to teach and transform. Therefore we have come from the east to welcome the Dharma Master.” Several tens of disciples all saw this sign. By the seventeenth day of the eighth month, for three days and three nights prior, there had been uncaused darkness. Exactly on the twenty-third day, when he was about to pass away, a great light suddenly emanated, illuminating the night like the sun. Thereupon he transformed. His age was sixty-seven, and his height was seven feet six inches. His body lay in state for seven days; light emanated from the surface of his stupa, the earth shook, and an extraordinary fragrance did not disperse. None failed to marvel and sigh. Monks and laity made solemn preparations and sent him off to Mount Long'an.

6.11

Huixuan

6.12

Shi Huixuan, whose lay surname was Dong, renounced household life at a young age in Xiangchuan. After the Zhou persecution of Buddhism, he went south to the Chen dynasty and entered Mount Mao to hear the Three Treatises from Master Ming. He also entered Qixia to hear the Four Treatises, Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (Large Perfection of Wisdom), and Nirvāṇa Sūtra from Dharma Master Xuanbu. Later in life, he went to Dalin Monastery in Anzhou to listen to Master Yuan's commentary on the Treatises. Wherever his blade moved, he penetrated the profound depths. Returning to his home district, he dwelt at Guangfu Monastery on a mountain summit. Since drawing water was laborious, he was about to move to another monastery. At night, he saw a divine man ten feet tall, clad in purple robes, who made prostrations to Xuan and said: “I entreat you to stay here and constantly expound the Mahāyāna; do not worry about the Hīnayāna. The Hīnayāna is like a high mountain without water, unable to benefit people; the Mahāyāna sūtras are like a great ocean. Many Buddhas appear in the world on this mountain. If one person reads, recites, expounds, and teaches the Mahāyāna, it can cause their dwelling place to have bright jewels, flourishing retinues, and abundant food and drink. If there were Hīnayāna, the former benefits would all be lost. I only wish you would propagate and uphold it, not disappointing our hopes. As for water, Dharma Master, this is easily obtained. On the eighth day of next month, you shall certainly obtain it. I will personally go to the Great Spring of Mount Cimu in Jiannan to invite a dragon king.” Having spoken, he disappeared. Exactly at nightfall on the seventh day of the next month, a fierce wind suddenly arose from the southwest, accompanied by thunder and pouring rain, about a hundred paces behind the Buddha hall below the Han Emperor Gao Temple north of the monastery. It continued through the night and stopped only at dawn. There appeared only a clear spring, fragrant and delicious, to the joy of the entire assembly. When [Xuan later] ceased [his lectures], the dragon spring gradually dried up. In the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era, while he was expounding the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, on the night of the eighth day of the fourth month, the mountain deity told him: “Dharma Master, quickly build rooms and buildings; you will soon be born in the Western Realm.” On the fourteenth day of the seventh month, having finished expounding the Ullambana-sūtra, he folded his hands and said: “The offerings made in faith throughout my life must now be distributed entirely: anything above a single hair is to be given to the sangha of the ten directions, to the destitute and solitary beggars, and to various heterodox followers.” Having spoken, he passed away upon the Dharma seat. His age was seventy-nine.

6.13

Fenggan

6.14

Shi Fenggan originally dwelt at Guoqing Monastery on Mount Tiantai. His hair was trimmed even with his eyebrows, and he wore a cloth robe over his body. His height was over seven feet. When someone asked him a question, he replied only with the two words: “Follow the time.” He spoke no other words. He delighted in pounding grain alone, laboring like a convict, and assisting with cooking for meals. He once rode a tiger straight through the Pine Gate, leaving the monks frightened, while he sang songs of chanting the Way. He got along exceedingly well with Shide and the hermit Hanshan. Fenggan went out wandering like clouds. It happened that Lüqiu Yin was departing to take up office as governor of Taizhou. Suddenly he was afflicted with severe migraines, and celebrated doctors summoned could not cure it. Fenggan happened to arrive at his house, declaring that he was skilled at treating this illness. When Lüqiu heard this, he received him. The Master took pure water and spat it upon him; in a moment, the illness was eliminated. Because of this, [Lüqiu] respected him greatly. He asked where he had come from, and [Fenggan] replied: “Guoqing on Tiantai.” He asked: “Are there worthy and eminent men there?” [Fenggan] replied: “Hanshan is Mañjuśrī; Shide is Samantabhadra. You should go and see them.” Three days after Lüqiu arrived at his post, he went to the monastery. He asked: “Has this monastery ever had a Dhyāna Master Fenggan?” They replied: “Yes.” “Where is his courtyard? And who are Hanshan and Shide?” Then monk Daoqiao replied: “Fenggan's former courtyard is right behind the scripture library. Now it is deserted and empty, with only tigers and leopards occasionally coming to roar here. Hanshan and Shide are currently performing menial tasks in the monastic kitchen.” Lüqiu entered Fenggan's room and saw only tiger tracks crisscrossing the floor. He further asked what deeds Fenggan had performed here. They replied: “He only engaged in pounding grain to provide gruel and food for the monks; at night he sang songs and chanted without ceasing.” Lüqiu sighed in admiration repeatedly. He then entered the kitchen, saw the two men, and bowed to them. The two men jumped up and ran, saying: “Fenggan has a wagging tongue! If you do not recognize Amitābha, why bow to us?” Hand in hand, they exited the Pine Gate and never entered the monastery again. Where Fenggan finally went was never known.

6.15

The Hermit Hanshan

6.16

Hanshanzi (the Master of Cold Mountain) was regarded by the world as a poor wretch and a madman who could not be judged by ordinary standards. He lived in seclusion seventy li west of Shifeng County in Tiantai, at a place called the Two Caves of Cold and Dark. He constantly dwelled in a secluded cave at Cold Rock, making it his fixed abode. He would occasionally come to Guoqing Monastery, where there was Shide. The monastery monks had placed Shide in charge of the dining hall, and he regularly gathered the leftover food and vegetable scraps of the monks, cut large bamboos into tubes, and stored them inside. Whenever Hanshanzi came, he would shoulder them and leave. Sometimes he walked slowly under the veranda, sometimes he shouted and harassed people, or sometimes he gazed into the void and shouted abuse. When the monastery monks could not endure him and drove him away with sticks, he would turn round, clap his hands, laugh heartily, and amble off. Yet his hempen jacket was ragged, his face gaunt and withered; he wore a cap of birch bark and dragged along large wooden clogs. At times, the words he uttered were entirely pertinent, turning back to Buddhist principles. Earlier, when Lüqiu entered the monastery and inquired about Hanshan, the śramaṇa Daoqiao replied: "This man has a madness. He originally lived among the Cold Rocks and is fond of chanting verses and gāthās, but his words are unpredictable—whether good or bad can never be determined. He is friends with the temple laborer Shide, and their conversation when together cannot be fully understood." When the monastery monks saw the prefect bow to them, they said in astonishment: "Why does a high official pay homage to madmen?" Arm in arm, the two laughed arrogantly and left the monastery. Lüqiu went again to Cold Rock to pay his respects and sent garments and medicines. But [Hanshan] shouted aloud, saying: "Thieves, my thieves, retreat!" and shrank back into a fissure in the rock. He said again: "I report to you all: make efforts, each of you!" The fissure in the rock closed up seamlessly, leaving no trace behind. [Lüqiu] then ordered the monk Daoqiao to search for his remaining works. Only in the woods, where poems and eulogies had been written on leaves, and from copies taken down from the walls of houses in village hamlets, did he obtain over two hundred pieces. These were compiled into a collection, which many people chant, including the verse: "What is there in the courtyard? / White clouds embrace the secluded stone."

6.17

Shide

6.18

As for Shide, Chan Master Fenggan once walked in the mountains beside the road of Chicheng and heard a child crying. He searched and found a boy of about several years old. At first, he thought he was a cowherd boy, but upon detailed questioning about his origins, [the boy] said he had no home and was an orphan abandoned here. Fenggan brought him to Guoqing Monastery and handed him over to the monk who served as rector, saying: "If someone comes to claim him, you may return him." Later, the śramaṇa Lingyi took him under his care and ordered him to oversee the incense, lamps, and dining hall. One day, [Lingyi] suddenly saw him ascend the seat, sit facing the statue at the table, and eat. He further called out to Kauṇḍinya: "Voice-hearer of small fruition!" and, behaving as if no one else were present, held his chopsticks and laughed aloud. The monks then drove him away. Lingyi consulted the elders and dismissed him from his duties in the hall, instead having him wash utensils in the kitchen. As soon as washing was done, he filtered out the food scraps and kept them in bamboo tubes; whenever Hanshan came, he would certainly carry them away. Moreover, the food offered daily by the monks' kitchen to the shrine of the monastery's guardian deity was repeatedly plundered in disarray by crows and birds. Shide struck the clay idol two or three times with a stick and scolded it: "You cannot even protect your own food; how can you protect the saṅghārāma?" That night, the deity appeared in a dream to all the monks of the monastery, saying: "Shide beat me." The next day, when the monks related their dreams, they all tallied. The entire monastery was stirred, and they only then realized he was no ordinary person. At that time, a report was sent to the prefecture and county, and the commandery issued an official reply: "A worthy living in seclusion, an accommodated body of a bodhisattva; he should be honored." Thus they called Shide a "Worthy". Furthermore, when he pastured oxen on the monastery estate, he would sing and call out to Heaven. When the monastery monks were holding the poṣadha, Shide drove the oxen before the hall where the monks were assembled, leaned against the door, clapped his hands, and laughed aloud: "Those aimless fellows are gathering their heads!" At that time, the senior seat who held the Vinaya snapped: "Why does a madman noisily disrupt the recitation of the precepts?" Shide said: "I am not herding cattle; this herd of cattle is mostly those who managed affairs for the monks in this monastery." Shide called out the Dharma-names of the deceased monks one by one, and the oxen each passed by in response to their names. The entire assembly was stunned and bewildered, and all thought of reforming their past and cultivating the future, moved by the bodhisattva who manifested his traces to deliver them. At that time, when Daoqiao was compiling and recording Hanshan's verses and words, he saw Shide's gāthās on the wall of the monastery's earth-god shrine and appended them to the Hanshan collection.

6.19

Fachong

6.20

Śramaṇa Fachong, whose courtesy name was Xiaodun, had the surname Li and was a native of Chengji in Longxi. When young, he was exceptional and proud, rising above contemporary customs. At the age of twenty-four, he gave rise to the aspiration to renounce household life. He listened to the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra more than thirty times. He then went to Anzhou under Master Gao to listen to the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, the Three Treatises, and the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, whereupon he entered Mount Wudu to cultivate his practice. At the age of thirty, he traveled to Jizhou. In the early years of the Zhenguan era, an edict was issued declaring that those who secretly underwent ordination would suffer the ultimate penalty. Chong vowed to sacrifice his life and immediately shaved his head. At that time, many monks had fled to Mount Yiyang to evade the crisis, and their provisions were exhausted. He then went to see the prefectural governor, saying: "If there is a matter of capital punishment, I, Chong, will bear it myself. Only provide provisions for the Way, and you will ultimately obtain blessing and protection." The governors and magistrates admired his ardent brilliance and, bending the law, provided relief. They divided the monks into two locations, establishing a granary of about ten hu of grain at each. At one location, there were more than forty disciples who exclusively studied the Mahāyāna and cultivated the practice of Chan; after a year, the grain remained as originally provided, without diminishing. At the other location, there were fifty-six people; after barely two days, their grain was exhausted, because they did not cultivate Chan and concurrently pursued non-Buddhist studies. Chong said: "This is not surprising; the ability to practice the Way is simply the benevolence of the white curl [of the Buddha]." At that time, more refugees arrived, and there was nowhere to stay. The mountain had a tiger's cave; Chong went there and announced: "A destitute guest comes to rely on you; can you accommodate me?" The tigers then took each other and left. When the crisis was resolved, Chong propagated the Dharma wherever he went. Although Chong extensively propagated the sūtras and arts, he specialized in the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra as his specialty. Secretariat Director Du Zhenglun regularly consulted and received instruction from him. At that time, the Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang did not allow the lecture on previously translated sūtras. Chong said: "You renounced household life relying on the old sūtras. If you do not permit the propagation of the old sūtras, please return to lay life first and then rely on the newly translated sūtras again; only then will I permit this intention of yours." When Xuanzang heard this, he desisted. The Master also was one who propagated the sūtras and protected the Dharma throughout his generation, an unyielding and resolute man whom none could equal. Vice Director of the Left Yu Zhining said: "This Dharma Master is indeed a dhūta monk of the dharmadhātu; he cannot be bound by name or reality."

6.21

Tongda

6.22

Śramaṇa Tongda was a native of Yongzhou. He renounced household life at the age of thirty, and had no fixed abode. He constantly drank water and ate wild greens, roaming about following his whims. Or he would pluck and break mugwort and bean leaves, eating them whether raw or dead. When it came to peaches, apricots, melons, and fruits, he would inevitably swallow them raw, skins and pits included. When people asked the reason, he said: "Gifts given in faith are hard to discard." From the Zhenguan era onward, he gradually revealed divine anomalies. When he went to people's homes, if he rejoiced and laughed, it was auspicious; if he was gloomy and distressed, it was inauspicious. Sometimes he demanded wealth, and sometimes he demanded labor; whatever amount he ordered, it had to be delivered accordingly. If someone disobeyed his words, the later loss would exceed the former. There was a man riding a donkey who went through monasteries sightseeing; Da went up to him to beg, but the man was stingy and did not give, whereupon his mount died shortly after. The noble and the base in the capital all revered and served him; misfortune and good fortune depended on his single word. In expounding and guiding, he preserved only freedom from attachment. The wealth and profit he obtained were all used to build monasteries. When General-in-Chief Xue Wanjun first heard of his extraordinary conduct, he welcomed him into his residence to make offerings, and for more than a hundred days [Tongda] did not deviate from the correct norm. Suddenly, one night, he demanded food and wished to eat. At first they did not give it to him, but he begged incessantly; when they tested him by giving it, he ate it. From then on, he gradually altered his former ways and exclusively displayed transformative manifestations, his conduct being mostly eccentric. When he wanted to go inside [the women's quarters] to lodge, the general's brothers were furious and beat him nearly to death. He looked up and said to them: "You have already beaten me, and the flesh of my body is ruined. My blood is polluted and impure; you may prepare boiling water to wash it." When it was boiling vigorously, he undressed and entered the cauldron as if it were cold water. Those around him were terrified, yet he still demanded that more fire be added. The entire household was astonished, venerated him, and allowed him to lodge wherever he wished. He had once owed someone more than a hundred strings of cash; later, having acquired it, there was no one to deliver it. He then took the money to the monastery gate and waited for a passerby, ordering them to repay the debt in the West Market according to whatever amount was owed to Da. Everyone tried to stop him, but Da could not be prevented from handing it over. When they went to check on the repayment, not a single coin was missing. At a time when grain was expensive, he wished to host a great vegetarian feast, so he ordered the monastery administrators to send out numerous invitations. When the next morning arrived, several thousand came, but the provisions were entirely absent, with no one knowing what was planned. The great assembly blamed him, but Da said: "Others promised to deliver the offerings; it is certainly not a lie." When the time for the feast drew near and the monastic assembly was about to disperse, they suddenly saw cooked foods and delicious delicacies arriving in continuous carts and carriages filling the road. They immediately used them for the offering; there was a huge surplus, which was all supplied to the monastic storehouse, and no one knew where it came from. As soon as the meal ended, the people and carts vanished. Later, no one knew how he ended.

6.23

Ācārya Cen

6.24

Ācārya Cen of Chanju Monastery in Xiangzhou: it is not known where he was from. He resided at the monastery, taking Chan contemplation as his occupation, and possessed prescience. Because the monastery was located in a mountainous wilderness, provisions were habitually scarce and grain food did not suffice. Every day, Cen would take an earthen pot into the outer city to beg for wine to drink; he would also beg until the pot was filled with about three dou, and on his way back he would drink as he walked, so that when he reached the monastery the pot was also empty. The next day it was the same again. At the monastery's noon meal, he would carry the large earthen pot to the kitchen to ask for three sheng of gruel, which he then hung on the branch of a tree. Entering the assembly, he struck the monks' heads with a stick, striking each person individually from the highest seat down to the lowest; he did this every single day. People considered him extraordinary and eminent, or suspected that once struck their calamities would be dispersed, so they accepted it without demur. Cen would take the gruel into his room. He had long kept a dark-brown dog, and inside the monastery there were several thousand rats; every morning they gathered, and dog and rats ate together, filling the courtyard to the brim, with both monastics and laity looking on. Once, a single rat went missing; Cen was grief-stricken and distressed, [saying] that the dog must have killed it, and so he scolded the dog. The dog then brought it in its mouth. When Cen saw it, he was filled with sorrow, beat the dog with a stick, and after burying the rat, wept with bitter lamentation. When the monastery monks had their robes and boxes gnawed by rats, they reported it to Cen. Cen summoned all the rats and ordered them each to vouch for one another. One rat had no guarantor. Cen said: "Why did you gnaw people's robes?" and beat it with a stick; the rat did not dare move. Because the monastery was poor, Cen inscribed designations in the pool below White Horse Spring to the east of the lecture hall: "Such-and-such a place shall be the kitchen storehouse; such-and-such a place shall be the granary." Everyone laughed at him. After a night, the water receded and the land emerged just as he had spoken; they built accordingly, bringing about abundance. He also prophesied from afar, saying: "Sixty years from now, a foolish person will erect a multi-storied pavilion to the south of the monastery. Though the monastery's foundation will not be impaired, disputes and lawsuits will make it uninhabitable." During the Yonghui era, someone indeed erected a multi-storied pavilion, and because of this lawsuits ensued, just as he had spoken.

6.25

Huiwu

6.26

Śramaṇa Huiwu: his clan origin is unknown. He lived in seclusion in Mount Taibai, holding and chanting the Avataṃsaka-sūtra and ingesting pine nuts and atractylodes. Suddenly, at one time, he saw a lay devotee arrive, who said he was inviting him. The lay devotee leaped into the air and had Wu sit inside his sash, carrying him along in flight to a bodhimaṇḍa. He saw five hundred extraordinary monks arriving in flight through the air. Wu hurriedly went to take a seat in the lowest row. The lay devotee spoke to him, saying: "Master, you uphold the Avataṃsaka, which is the realm of the Buddha; how can you sit below minor sages?" He then led him to sit above the five hundred people. When the meal was finished, the lay devotee said: "The original intention of this vegetarian feast was solely for you, Master; though five hundred arhats came to eat, they were all temporarily invited for the occasion." He then sent him back to his original place, like awakening from a dream. This occurred during the Yonghui era of Emperor Gaozong.

6.27

Farong

6.28

Śramaṇa Farong had the secular surname Wei and was a native of Yanling in Runzhou. At the age of nineteen, he entered Maoshan, where he relied upon Master of Dharma Jiong, had his head shaved, served diligently, and requested instruction in the Way. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, he established a separate thatched meditation hut below the northern cliff of Youqi Monastery on Mount Niutou. Day and night he contemplated and discerned without wasting an inch of shadow. On the mountain was a stone chamber about ten paces deep; Farong sat within it. Suddenly a divine serpent more than a zhang in length appeared, with eyes like sparks of starlight, raising its head and flaunting its might. It spent the night at the entrance of the chamber, but seeing that Farong remained unmoved, it went away. He thereupon dwelt there for a hundred days. The mountain had always had many tigers, and firewood gatherers had ceased to go there; after Farong entered, people came and went without hindrance. Furthermore, herds of deer were moved to rely on his chamber, listening submissively without ever showing an expression of fear. Two large deer came directly inside, listening to the Dharma with the community of monks for three years before departing. The foundation of the kitchen where he lived bordered a great gorge; as for surging water, none could ascend the steps. He then paced back and forth, pointed to the eastern ridge, and said: "Anciently, Master Yuan leaned his tin staff, causing the rotten steps to stir a spring. If this place can be dwelt in, a clear spring will surely overflow of itself." After one night, a cascading spring suddenly welled up on the eastern ridge, clear, pure, sweet, and delicious, warm in winter and cold in summer; he thereupon channeled and guided it up the peak, leading it to the cauldrons and through the corridors. Furthermore, in the eleventh month of the twenty-first year, he lectured on the Lotus Sūtra beneath the cliff. At that time, white snow filled the steps, yet the flow of Dharma never ceased. From within the frozen ice, he obtained two stalks of flowers resembling lotuses, radiant like golden color; after seven days, they suddenly disappeared. In the third year of Yonghui, the county magistrate invited him to come out to Jianchu to expound the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra. A monastic assembly of a thousand gathered; when he reached the chapter on Settling Disputes, Farong gave free rein to his natural eloquence, evaluating the principles and meanings. Suddenly the earth shook violently, and the listening assembly was thrown into a surge of alarm. The bells, chiming stones, and incense-tables all swayed and shook, while monastics and laypeople outside the monastery remained calm and unaware. In the first year of Xianqing, Administrator of Public Works Xiao Yuanshan repeatedly invited him to stay at Jianchu. Farong said to the monks: "Once I depart now, there will be no time for me to tread here again. The way of parting and meeting is merely the common rule." He declined, but was not excused, and so went out through the monastery gate. The birds and beasts wailed sorrowfully without ceasing for over a month. The mountain streams and spring pools beat upon stones and welled with sand, suddenly filled to the brim. The four large paulownia trees in front of his chamber, luxuriant in the fifth month, withered completely in a single morning. On the twenty-third day of the intercalary first month in the second year, he died at Jianchu. His worldly age was sixty-four.

6.29

Zhiqin

6.30

Śramaṇa Zhiqin had the secular surname Zhu. In the Renshou era of the Sui, because of [the distribution of] relics, Daxingguo Monastery was established in each prefecture. From his youth, Qin took safeguarding [the Dharma] as his purpose; whenever he dwelt in an assembly and spoke, all was in harmony and concord. In sincere and heroic effort, everything received unseen assistance. Initially, when his mother was seriously ill and exhausted, he recited [the name of] Avalokiteśvara on her behalf; upon the tree leaves in the house, transformed Buddhas appeared, and the whole family saw them together. His mother's illness was thereupon eliminated. Furthermore, when the late Sui fell into famine and disorder and various bandits arose in competition, Qin alone guarded this monastery, and the bandits dared not encroach upon it; thus the monastery buildings, scriptures, and images suffered no damage at all, whereas other monasteries were annihilated beyond recognition. In addition, once he temporarily put on secular clothes to avoid weapons; surrounded by bandits who wished to kill him, he suddenly heard a voice in the air say: "Master, you may remove your secular clothes." He thereupon took off the outer garments. Seeing this, the bandits made prostrations, invited him, and made offerings to him for several months. Later he went to Shu to listen to Master of Dharma Hao's lectures. The assembly reached three thousand; the Master of Dharma entrusted everything to him for inspection and regulation, so that inner and outer affairs became peaceful and free of disturbance through the effort of this single man. Furthermore, at the beginning of the Tang, he returned to Dengzhou and lectured on the Vimalakīrti and Three Treatises more than ten times. Later he went into seclusion at the northern mountain, standing leaning for more than ten years; the three sites where he dwelt still exist today. He constantly heard the sound of a bell in the valley; later, seeking along the cliffs and ridges, he suddenly saw a monastery, wonderfully beautiful and extraordinarily rare. Entering within, he paid homage; it seemed as though someone lived there. This happened several times; when he later searched for it again, no one knew where it was. Furthermore, while dwelling in the mountain, when his provisions were about to be exhausted, the earth where he practiced circumambulation naturally welled up; he removed and discarded it, but the next day it was so again. After this happened repeatedly, grain appeared; digging deep, he obtained more than twenty dan of millet. The grains of this millet were large and red in color, slightly different from ordinary grain. At that time, the Buddhadharma in Dengzhou had declined; monastics and laypeople of the whole prefecture went to the mountain to pay homage and invite him, wishing for him to come out and serve as abbot. Thereupon, moved by a dream, he came out; the details of the dream are not known. Later, when he carried an image out of the mountain, it suddenly grew dark along the way; not knowing the path, he could not advance. Presently, two torches of extraordinary fire illuminated the path with extreme brightness, enabling him to see the road; after escorting him into the village, the fire turned back and was extinguished. The villagers all saw it and were without exception amazed. In the early Yonghui era, seeing that worldly affairs were complicated and disordered, he kept to his room and did not come out. For nearly three years he read the entire canon twice; whenever he read the scriptures, he constantly saw a spirit come to listen, and in the first, middle, and late watches of the night he often heard the sounds of snapping fingers and clearing of throats. In the fifth month of the fourth year of Xianqing, before he was about to pass away, he worked day and night to complete all places where meritorious deeds were not yet finished. When people asked why he was so hasty, he answered: "How can the law of impermanence be guaranteed?" On the fifteenth day, the branches and leaves of the trees in the monastery withered and naturally split apart; birds wailed sorrowfully throughout the monastery, and the monks each asked in alarm, not knowing the cause. At dawn on the sixteenth day, he suddenly saw the spirit who had formerly listened to the scriptures come to pay homage; he said: "Do not pay homage," though the people beside him saw nothing. He then shaved his hair, put on his robes, sat on a rope bed holding an incense burner, and sat cross-legged. He told his disciples: "You may take the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra and chant it." When they reached the end of the chapter on Rebirth, he joined his palms, sat, and passed away. After several days, his facial color was as before, and an extraordinary fragrance was constantly smelled in the monastery. His worldly age was seventy-four.

6.31

Daoxuan

6.32

Śramaṇa Daoxuan had the secular surname Qian and was a native of Dantu. Initially, when his mother was pregnant, she dreamed that the moon penetrated her bosom; she further dreamed of an Indian monk who said to her: "The child you carry is Vinaya Master Sengyou of the Liang dynasty; You was Sengfu of Yinyue Monastery in Shanxi during the Southern Qi. He ought to renounce household life." When he came of age, he vigorously upheld the precepts with focused mind and concentrated thought, moving relics to appear in a jeweled casket. He then concealed his traces in the Zhanggu Valley of Zhongnan. A divine person pointed out the water where he resided; after digging the earth for a little more than a foot, a spring burst forth, which was then called Baiquan Monastery. Fierce beasts were tamed and submissive, constantly relying on him; renowned flowers were fragrant, and rare grasses spread out. At the end of the Sui, he moved to Fengde Monastery. Once, while sitting alone, a Dharma-protecting spirit told him: "The former Jingye Monastery in that Qingguan Village possesses a precious topography where the Way can be practiced and achieved." Hearing this, he divined it. Burning meritorious incense, he practiced the samādhi of the boat of prajñā. At that time, a group of dragons came to pay homage; whether male or female, they transformed into human shapes. A śrāmaṇera, with a distracted mind, glanced about and looked sideways; the dragons flared in rage and were about to seize him. Soon, regretting it, they spat poison into the well, explained the matter fully, and left. Xuan then had it sealed; when someone secretly opened it, smoke would often rise. Examining their divine transformations, they sometimes presented a case of extraordinary flowers, shaped like date blossoms and large as elm seeds, their fragrance dense and billowing, lasting fresh for several years. They also offered rare fruits—plums, apricots, pears, and crabapples—yet their taste was sweet and their color pure, not to be encountered among mortals. When his disciples wished to bring up secret matters, they were already secretly understood beforehand; by means of samādhi he observed their faculties and administered medicine according to their sicknesses, all being of this kind. Xuan once built an altar. Presently, a long-eyebrowed monk appeared and spoke of the Way; furthermore, an Indian monk of the third fruit paid homage to the altar and praised him, saying: "Since the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, while the Semblance Dharma abides in the world, you alone, Master, have brought about this revitalization." In the spring of the second year of Qianfeng, he secretly moved a heavenly being to come and discuss the aspects of the Vinaya, saying that errors in the distinctions between grave and light matters in the commentaries and manuals were all the faults of translators and not the Master's guilt, requesting that the Master correct them; therefore, most of the writings circulating today are the revised editions. There was also a heavenly being who said that [Daoxuan] had formerly composed the Illustrated Scripture of Jetavana, amounting to around a hundred rolls of human paper and silk. During the Zhenguan era, he had retired into seclusion on Mount Yunshi in Qinbu; people saw heavenly boys serving him at his side. While walking in the night at Ximing Monastery, his foot slipped on the front steps; something supported him so that he trod upon empty space unharmed. Looking closely at it, it was a youth. Xuan hurriedly asked who was there in the middle of the night. The youth said: "I am no ordinary person; I am Nata, the son of the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa. For the sake of protecting the Dharma, I have long guarded the Venerable." Xuan said: "This poor monk's practice has no reason to trouble the Prince. The Prince's majestic divine power is unobstructed; if there is any Buddhist work in the Western Regions that can be done, I pray you bring it about." The prince said: "I have a Buddha's tooth, which has long been treasured, yet I would renounce even head and eyes; how would I dare not offer it?" Presently he gave it to Xuan, who kept it safely and made offerings to it. Next, a heavenly being came to the courtyard to pay homage and said to Xuan: "The Vinaya Master is to be born in the Tuṣita Heaven palace." Holding a packet of things, he said it was the incense of the thorn grove. Ten decades thereafter, he sat peacefully and transformed, on the third day of the tenth month in the second year of Qianfeng. His worldly age was seventy-two, and his monastic age was fifty-two.

6.33

Master Ying

6.34

Dhyāna Master Ying resided at Fahai Monastery in the Western Capital. An extraordinary person came to visit him and said: "This disciple knows that there is the Water and Land Ritual, which can benefit the living and the dead. Since Emperor Wu of Liang passed away, it has been neglected and not performed. Now at Dajue Monastery there is a monk from Wu named Yiji who preserves this liturgical text. We pray that the Master will go and seek it, and on the fifteenth of next month perform and arrange it according to the Dharma at Shanbei Monastery. If we are released from prison, how could we dare not repay you?" Master Ying soon went to Yiji, obtained the liturgical text, and returned; on the appointed date, he performed and arranged it at Shanbei Monastery. The next day at dusk, the former extraordinary person, together with over a dozen companions, came to thank him, saying: "This disciple is King Zhuangxiang of Qin." He then pointed to his companions and said: "These are Fan Ju, the Marquis of Rang, Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Zhang Yi, and Chen Zhen; all were ministers of Qin. All, because of their own crimes, were confined in the underworld; in the dark, long night, none could rescue or protect them. Formerly, when Emperor Wu of Liang arranged this feast at Jinshan Monastery, the ministers of King Zhou of the preceding era were all freed from their suffering. This disciple at that time also briefly rested from suffering, but because the case in the prison was not yet resolved, I could not attain release. Now, receiving our Master's arrangement of the feast, this disciple together with these companions, as well as the multitude of feudal lords of various states, will all mount this good power and be born among humans. Fearing that eras and states will differ, we have come here to express our thanks." Having finished speaking, they suddenly vanished. From then on, the liturgical text was disseminated throughout the realm, producing great benefit.

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神僧傳 — Classical Chinese