弘贊法華傳 5.13

5.13

釋大志。姓顧氏。會稽山陰人。發蒙出家。師事天台智者。顗覩其形神灑落。高放物表。因名為大志。禪誦為業。苦節自專。四方名所。無遠必造。而言氣清穆。儀相真嚴。故見者眐睞。知非凡器。開皇十年。來遊廬岳。住峯頂寺。不隸公名。不預僧伍。誦法花經。索然閑雅。絕能清囀。使諸聽者忘疲。後於華山甘露峯南。建靜觀道場。頭陀為業。介爾一身。不避虓虎。聞有惡獸。軌往投之。皆避而不噉。山粒本絕。終日忘餐。或以餅果繼命而已。外覩不堪其惱。而志安之。容色如故。經于七歲。載禪業無斷。晚住比山福林寺。會大業屏除。流從隱逸。慨法陵遲。一至於此。乃變服毀形。頭擐孝經。麁布為衣。在佛堂中。高聲慟哭。三日三夕。初不斷絕。寺僧慰喻。志曰。余歎惡業。乃如此耶。要盡此形骸。申明正教耳。遂往東都。上表曰。願陛下興顯三寶。當燃一臂於崇岳。用報國恩。帝許之。勅設大齋。七眾通集。志不食三日。登大棚上。燒鐵赫然。用烙其臂。並令焦黑。以刀截斷。肉裂骨現。又烙其骨。令焦黑已。布裹蠟灌。下火燃之。光耀巖岫。于時。大眾見其行苦。皆痛心貫髓。不安其足。而志雖加燒烙。詞色不變。言笑如初。時誦法句。或歎佛德。為眾說法。聲聲不絕。臂燒既盡。如先下棚。七日入定。跏坐而卒。時年四十有三。初志出家至終。結操松竹。冬夏一服。無禦縑纊。布艾麁素。自此為常。形極鮮白。脣如丹盡。裙垂半脛。足躡蒲屣。言氣爽朗。調逸風雲。人或不識。怪所從來者。便皺眉告曰。余。九江廬山福林寺小道人大志耳。又善屬文藻。編詞明切。撰願誓文。七十餘紙。意在共諸眾生為善知識也。僧為強禦難奉信者。有見此誓。無不掩淚。今廬山峯頂。每至暮年。諸寺見僧宿集一夜。讀其遺誓。用曉道俗。令眾皆酸結矣。

Shi Dazhi, surnamed Gu, was a native of Shanyin in Kuaiji. He left household life at an early age and served Zhizhe of Tiantai as his master. Zhiyi, observing that his bodily form and spirit were uninhibited and soaring beyond material things, accordingly named him Dazhi. He took meditation and recitation as his vocation, wholly devoting himself to ascetic discipline. Wherever there were famous places in the four directions, no matter how distant, he surely reached them. His tone of speech was serene and harmonious, and his demeanor genuinely solemn, so that those who saw him opened their eyes wide in wonder, knowing he was no ordinary vessel. In the tenth year of the Kaihuang era, he came to travel to Mount Lu and resided at the Peak Monastery, not enrolling on official registers and not joining the ranks of ordinary monks. He recited the Lotus Sūtra with an untroubled and refined manner, and was exceptionally skilled in clear melodic chanting, causing all listeners to forget their fatigue. Later, south of Ganlu Peak on Mount Hua, he established the Jingguan Bodhimaṇḍa and took dhūta asceticism as his vocation. Alone by himself, he did not avoid roaring tigers; whenever he heard there were fierce beasts, he deliberately went and threw himself before them, but they all turned away and did not devour him. Grains were originally absent on the mountain, and all day he forgot food, sometimes merely sustaining his life with cakes and fruits. From the outside, others saw this as unbearable torment, but Zhi was at peace with it, his complexion remaining unchanged. Seven years passed, throughout which his meditation practice was unbroken. In his later years, he dwelt at Fulin Monastery on a nearby mountain. When the Daye reign era's purges occurred, he followed the path of reclusion. Lameting that the Dharma had declined to such an extent, he altered his garments and disfigured his appearance, placed the Classic of Filial Piety upon his head, wore rough hemp cloth as clothing, and in the Buddha hall wailed loudly in grief for three days and three nights without any break from the start. The monastery monks consoled him. Zhi said: "I sigh that evil karma has come to such a pass! I must exhaust this physical body to make clear the correct teaching." He thereupon went to the Eastern Capital and submitted a memorial, saying: "May Your Majesty revive and make manifest the Three Jewels. I shall burn an arm on the high mountain to repay the nation's kindness." The emperor granted it and decreed the hosting of a great vegetarian feast, where the sevenfold assembly gathered together. Zhi fasted for three days, climbed onto a high scaffold, and with glowing hot irons branded his arm, burning it completely black, then severed it with a blade, so that the flesh tore open and the bone appeared. He then branded the bone, burning it black as well; wrapped it in cloth and poured wax over it, and lit it with fire below. The light illuminated the mountain crags and valleys. At that time, seeing his painful practice, the great assembly all felt sorrow piercing their marrow, unable to stand still. Yet although Zhi endured the burning and branding, his words and expression did not change, and he spoke and smiled as before. From time to time he recited verses of the Dharma or praised the Buddha's virtues, preaching the Dharma for the assembly, his voice resounding without cease. When the arm had completely burned away, he climbed down the scaffold as before, entered samādhi for seven days, and passed away seated cross-legged. He was forty-three years of age at the time. From when Zhi first left household life until the end, his integrity was resolute like the pine and bamboo. He wore one set of clothing throughout winter and summer, never wearing fine silk or floss, using rough hemp and coarse cloth as his norm. His complexion was exceptionally fair, his lips red like cinnabar, his skirt hung halfway down his shins, and he wore rush sandals. His voice was bright and clear, his poise elevated above the clouds. When people did not recognize him and wondered where he came from, he would knit his brows and tell them: "I am merely Dazhi, a minor monk of Fulin Monastery on Mount Lu in Jiujiang." Moreover, he was skilled in literary composition, his writing clear and incisive. He composed an aspiration and vow text of more than seventy sheets of paper, intending to form good spiritual friendships with all living beings. When monks who were stubborn and hard to inspire with faith saw this vow, none failed to cover their faces and weep. Nowadays on the peak of Mount Lu, whenever the end of the year arrives, the monks of the various monasteries gather together for the night and read his posthumous vows to instruct monastics and laypeople, causing the assembly to weep in heartfelt grief.