弘贊法華傳 3.17

3.17

釋智儼。俗姓嚴。同州人也。弱而好道。清真蓋俗。率行方堅。動成軌則。年至十二三。忽遇梵僧。令其剃落。儼即鞠躬受誨。因此出家。住朝邑縣戒業寺。於是。遍近眾師。廣祈玄教。至於攝論唯識般若維摩。及法花經等。並貫其幽旨。窮其了義。加之傍習世典。善談老易。雅論玄情。出自天骨。未盈數載。遂當法將。每以講說之餘。棲心妙觀。常坐不臥。用此為恒。房內唯有一床。更無什物。實所謂高潔法師。言行兼至者也。顯慶三年。太州仙掌縣道俗。請儼於靈仙寺。講法花經。儼於寺僧還香房內。居止閤舍。初夜取法花經。舒披案上。方欲尋讀。于時。還香并侍者三人。並在其處。儼焚香未訖。忽見經上佛字中。出三舍利。五色光明。散滿經上。行流不住。還香等。遍告寺僧。俱來禮拜。欲共收取舍利。舍利還流入於佛字。僧等禮拜悲泣。燃香發願更覩真容。舍利還從佛字中出。流行不住。少選之間。別於他佛字中。相從隱沒。儼所講法華數十餘遍。感靈獲瑞。難以具言。然妙行高蹤。超駕倫輩。甞與諸僧。行於池側。諸僧取水洗瀨。儼止之曰。若物屬他。不與不取。他池水。寧得非盜。又夏中正食。蠅來器上。儼一一以指徐引到致壁。人或問之。答曰。學修無畏施耳。自儼往來講導。涉履數州。每拱默徒行。執持衣鉢。雖有香花幡蓋。鼓樂絃歌。車馬振天地。人物隘城郭。儼但疑然不顧。邈爾居後。其所感惠利。動盈億萬。一無希取。並隨處施之。受具三衣。至終不替。不汁不破。但唯少故耳。斯乃穢累將除。業行堅固之先候也。將終數日。處處巡行。法朋舊識。人人共別。忽一日。灑掃庭院。端坐入禪。所有門徒。皆令念佛。遂因在定。於是而終。時年六十餘矣。道俗悲慟。若喪所天。素服而從弟子禮者。萬餘人矣。於是。忽有異香。氛氳滿院。經餘七日。送畢方消。亡後數年。其舌不懷。鬢髮加長二寸。容色如舊。識者。以為得道之流也。

Shi Zhiyan, whose secular surname was Yan, was a native of Tongzhou. From his youth he was fond of the Way, his purity and truth surpassing worldly standards. His conduct was upright and firm, his movements naturally forming a model. When he was twelve or thirteen years old, he suddenly met an Indian monk who instructed him to shave his head. Zhiyan bowed and received his instructions, and left home on this account, residing at Jieye Temple in Chaoyi County. Thereupon, he approached many teachers far and wide, broadly seeking the profound teachings. As for the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, Vijñaptimātratā, Prajñā, Vimalakīrti, and Lotus Sūtras and others, he penetrated all their hidden purports and exhausted their definitive meanings. In addition, he studied secular classics on the side, was skilled in discussing the Laozi and the Yijing, and his elegant discourse on profound principles was innate to his natural character. Before many years had passed, he became a general of the Dharma. Whenever he had leisure from lecturing and expounding, he rested his mind in marvelous contemplation, constantly sitting without lying down, making this his constant practice. In his room there was only a single couch and no other furnishings; he was truly what is called a pure and lofty Dharma master whose words and deeds were both consummate. In the third year of Xianqing, the monastics and laity of Xianzhang County in Taizhou invited Zhiyan to lecture on the Lotus Sūtra at Lingxian Temple. Zhiyan resided in a side room within the quarters of the temple monk Huanxiang. At the beginning of the night, he took the Lotus Sūtra and spread it out on the desk, just about to peruse it. At that time, Huanxiang and three attendants were all in the room. Before Zhiyan had finished burning incense, he suddenly saw three śarīras emerge from the character "Buddha" (fo) in the sūtra. Five-colored radiance spread over the sūtra, flowing and moving without stopping. Huanxiang and the others went about informing the temple monks, who all came to pay homage, wishing to collect the śarīras together, but the śarīras flowed back into the character "Buddha". The monks paid homage, wept, burned incense, and made vows wishing to behold their true form again. The śarīras again emerged from the character "Buddha", flowing and moving without stopping. In a short while, they followed one another and vanished into another character "Buddha". The times Zhiyan lectured on the Lotus amounted to several tens, and the spiritual responses and auspicious omens he obtained were difficult to recount in full. Moreover, his marvelous deeds and lofty traces surpassed his peers. He once walked along a pond with several monks. When the monks took water to rinse their mouths, Zhiyan stopped them, saying, "If a thing belongs to another, one does not take what is not given. How can another's pond water not be considered theft?" Also, during summer while he was eating, flies came onto his bowl. Zhiyan gently led them one by one with his finger until they reached the wall. When someone asked him about it, he replied, "I am merely practicing and cultivating the gift of fearlessness." From the time Zhiyan traveled around to lecture and guide, traversing several prefectures, he always walked on foot with folded hands in silence, holding his robe and bowl. Even though there were fragrant flowers, banners, and canopies, drums, music, strings, and songs, with carriages and horses shaking heaven and earth, and crowds packing the city walls, Zhiyan simply remained composed without glancing at them, distantly walking behind. The benefits and offerings he inspired frequently amounted to millions, yet he sought nothing, distributing them everywhere according to the place. The three robes he received upon full ordination were never replaced until the end of his life; they were not soiled or torn, only slightly worn. These were prior signs that his defiling burdens were about to be eliminated and his karmic practice was steadfast. A few days before his death, he went about everywhere, saying farewell to every Dharma companion and old acquaintance. Suddenly one day, he sprinkled and swept the courtyard, sat upright, and entered dhyāna, instructing all his disciples to practice mindfulness of the Buddha. He then passed away while in meditative absorption, at the age of over sixty. The monastics and laity grieved bitterly as if they had lost their own parents; more than ten thousand people donned plain garments and followed the rites of disciples. Thereupon, an extraordinary fragrance suddenly filled the courtyard with dense vapors, lasting for over seven days and dispersing only after the funeral was completed. Several years after his passing, his tongue had not decomposed, his sideburns and hair had grown two inches, and his facial complexion was as before. Those with discernment regarded him as one of those who had attained the Way.