弘贊法華傳 6.33

6.33

庾詵。字彥寶。新野人也。其先周大夫。後六世祖陷。晉散騎常侍遂昌縣侯。祖纂之。字道及。安西參軍。父叔。宋道茂。丞相參軍。詵幼勤學藝。長而精熟。緯候經史。書基算射。機巧畫繪。莫不該通。深愛泉石。造次不忘。有宅十畆。山池居半。弟子城等。多為邦邑。每有真舉。一為此用。不治產業。衣食蔬弊。甞遇火。止出書數簣。坐於池上。有為火來者。答云。唯恐損竹。詵從沮中田舍還。載米百五十斛。有人寄載三十斛。既至州。彼人云。君有三十斛。我有百五十斛。詵默然良久。竟無一言。隨其所取。口不復說。有疑其隣善人為盜者。遂相據劾。事事欵伏。詵矜之。以書質錢二萬。令門生偽為偷。親戚請代備之。其人辜釋。謝詵。詵曰。吾矜天下無辜。本不期爾報謝。平生無所遊狎。河東柳惲。琅瑘王秀。蘭陵蕭頴曹。並相欽尚。欲與之交。詵不顧也。嘯咏風雲。研竅空有。以此自足。梁普通十年。湘東王在蕃。授記室參軍。不就。宅內立道場。旋遶禮懺。六時不輟。誦法華經。日夕一遍。三十餘年後。數夜之中。必有道人。自稱願公。容止非凡。聽誦讚歎。呼詵為上行先生。授香而去。中大通四年三月十一日。中時臥。驚覺曰。願公復至。當不得停。會無痛惱。顏色不變。言終而卒。年七十八。捨園宅為寺。即若上行。甞謂帝王世紀乘繁省之中。更撰帝歷二十卷。續郭璞周易新林二十卷。江陵記一卷。

Yu Shen, courtesy name Yanbao, was a native of Xinye. His ancestors were grand masters of the Zhou; his sixth-generation ancestor, Xian, was Cavalier Attendant-in-ordinary and Marquis of Suichang County under the Jin. His grandfather Zuanzhi, courtesy name Daoji, was an adjutant to the Pacifier of the West. His father Shu, [known in the] Song as Daomao, was an adjutant to the Chancellor. In his youth, Shen diligently studied arts and literature, and as he grew up, he mastered them thoroughly. The apocrypha, astronomical prognostications, the classics and histories, calligraphy, board games, arithmetic, archery, mechanics, painting, and drawing—there was nothing he did not thoroughly master. He deeply loved springs and rocks, never forgetting them even in haste. He possessed an estate of ten mu, half of which consisted of hills and ponds. His disciples and townsfolk were mostly of the local commandery. Whenever there was a genuine levy, he would attend to it singly; he did not manage productive property, and his clothing and food were coarse and worn. He once met with a fire, but only brought out several hampers of books and sat beside the pond. When someone came because of the fire, he replied, "I was only afraid that the bamboo would be damaged." Shen was returning from his farmstead in Juzhong carrying one hundred and fifty hu of rice. Someone had entrusted thirty hu to his boat. Upon arriving at the provincial seat, that person said, "You have thirty hu, and I have one hundred and fifty hu." Shen remained silent for a long time without saying a single word; he let the man take what he wished and never spoke of it again. There was someone who suspected a good person among his neighbors of being a thief and subsequently pursued accusations and brought charges against him; [the accused] confessed to every matter. Shen pitied him, pawned books for twenty thousand cash, and ordered a disciple to pretend to be the thief's relative and ask to make compensation on his behalf. The man was released from guilt and came to thank Shen. Shen said, "I pity the innocent in the world; I never expected repayment or thanks from you." Throughout his life he never fraternized [with the powerful]. Liu Yun of Hedong, Wang Xiu of Langye, and Xiao Yingcao of Lanling all admired and esteemed him, wishing to associate with him, but Shen paid them no heed. He whistled and chanted amidst the wind and clouds, delving deeply into emptiness and existence, finding self-sufficiency in this. In the tenth year of the Putong era of the Liang, when the Prince of Xiangdong was in his fief, he appointed [Shen] as Adjutant in the Memorial Office, but [Shen] did not accept. Inside his residence he established a sanctuary, circumambulating, bowing in repentance, and never resting through the six periods [of the day and night]. He recited the Lotus Sūtra once day and night. After more than thirty years, over the course of several nights, there was invariably a man of the Way who called himself Master Yuan, whose bearing was extraordinary; he would listen to the recitation, offer praise, address Shen as "Master Viśiṣṭacāritra," give him incense, and depart. On the eleventh day of the third month of the fourth year of the Zhongdatong era, as he was lying down at midday, he suddenly awoke with a start and said, "Master Yuan has arrived again; I must not linger." At the end, he was free from pain and distress, his facial complexion did not change, and having finished speaking, he passed away at the age of seventy-eight. He relinquished his garden residence to become a monastery, which was named Ruoshangxing. He once considered the Diwang shiji excessively verbose, and so he recompiled the Di li in twenty fascicles, continued Guo Pu's Zhouyi xinlin in twenty fascicles, and composed the Jiangling ji in one fascicle.