[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) › [弘贊法華傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067) › 3.9 # 弘贊法華傳 3.9 弘贊法華傳 3.9 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [3.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067.3.9) 釋智拔。姓張。襄陽人。幼年清悟。雅好佛法。六歲出家。初為閏師弟子。閏顧有濟器。乃携付哲法師。哲亦襄川僧望。具之別傳。初誦法花。日通五紙。經中妙理。略有規度。惟日期經諸佛出世之大意也。一人一道非弘不通。擔畢依持。開悟蒙俗。承帝京上德吉藏法師。四海標領。三乘明匠。尋詣奉旨。欣擊素心。首尾兩遍。命令覆述。英俊鼓言。無非亂轍。藏親臨坐。拔問眾言。一乘為雲。遂分為三。亦可一乘為雨。分為三雨。眾無敢答。藏曰。拔公此問。深得旨矣。乃屬累大法。使必當遺寄。於是。振錫還襄。住耆闍寺。恒在常濟。講法花經。年別五遍。貞觀十四年九月十七日。於清信士張公英家。宿集竪義。開法花題訖。云今與鄉里大德檀越等別。時不測其言也。遂斂容端默。眾疑入定。迫而察之。已遷化矣。合境緇素。嗟惋特深。顏狀如生。卓然加坐。蔣王。躬臨禮拜。燒香供養。贈物百餘段。墓所設五千人齋。春秋六十八矣。 > Shi Zhiba, surnamed Zhang, was a native of Xiangyang. In his youth he was clear-minded and perceptive, and he had an elegant fondness for the Buddha-Dharma. At the age of six, he went forth from the household life, initially becoming a disciple of Master Run. Observing that he had the capacity to be of great service, Run brought him and entrusted him to Dharma Master Zhe. Zhe was likewise a monk of high renown in Xiangchuan, as detailed in his separate biography. When \[Zhiba\] first recited the Lotus Sūtra, he could master five sheets a day. He gained a general understanding of the subtle principles in the scripture, considering only that the day-to-day sūtra was the great intent behind the appearance of all Buddhas in the world: 'If the One Person and the One Path are not propagated, they will not penetrate. I must carry this burden to the end and uphold it, awakening the unenlightened worldly folk.' Hearing of Dharma Master Jizang in the imperial capital, a man of eminent virtue who was the foremost leader across the four seas and an illustrious master of the Three Vehicles, \[Zhiba\] promptly went to receive his instructions, joyfully striking accord with his original aspiration. After \[hearing the scripture\] twice from beginning to end, \[Jizang\] commanded \[the students\] to repeat it. Though the talented vied to speak, none failed to lose the track. Jizang in person presided over the seat. Ba questioned the assembly, saying, 'If the One Vehicle is the cloud, it is then divided into three; could it also be that the One Vehicle is the rain, divided into three rains?' None in the assembly dared to answer. Jizang said, 'This question of Master Ba's has deeply grasped the import.' He then entrusted the Great Dharma to him, enjoining him to be the one to inherit it. Thereupon, brandishing his monk's staff, he returned to Xiang\[yang\] and dwelt at Qidu Temple, constantly engaged in regular salvation work and lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra five times every year. On the seventeenth day of the ninth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, in the home of the pure-faith layman Lord Zhang Ying, \[the assembly\] gathered overnight to establish doctrines. When he finished opening the title of the Lotus Sūtra, he said, 'Now I part with the venerable elders and dānapatis of my hometown.' At that time, they did not fathom his words. He then composed his countenance and sat upright in silence. The assembly suspected he had entered samādhi, but pressing close to inspect him, \[they found\] he had already passed away. The monastics and laity of the entire region lamented with extraordinary depth. His facial appearance was as if alive, seated upright and tall. Prince Jiang in person came to bow, burned incense, made offerings, and donated over a hundred bolts of cloth, holding a vegetarian feast for five thousand people at his tomb. His age was sixty-eight. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 3.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067.3.8) - [Next: 3.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067.3.10) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067.3) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067~en-mt.3.9) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [續高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2060.14.27) — 道宣, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067.3.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2067.3.9) · Pramāṇa