弘贊法華傳 4
English (machine translation) 4
- Language
- English
4.1
Compiled by the śramaṇa Huixiang of Langu
4.2
Cultivating Contemplation, Chapter 4
4.3
Dhyāna Master Huisi of Southern Sacred Mountain, Chen
Shi Zhiyi of Mount Tiantai, Sui
Shi Zhizao of Mount Tiantai, Tang
4.4
Shi Huisi, whose secular surname was Li, was a native of Wujin. In his youth, he was known throughout his village for his kindness and forbearance. He once repeatedly dreamed of an Indian monk urging him to renounce secular life; startled into awakening by this auspicious sign, he took leave of his parents and entered the Way. The monastery to which he first committed himself was not a place of refined cultivation, but he was moved by a divine monk who instructed him to keep the fasts and precepts. Upholding them, he maintained purity and simplicity, eating only one meal a day and never accepting individual invitations; socializing, receiving, and seeing off [guests] were all entirely cut off. At the age of thirty, he stayed in a desolate marsh, resolved to recite the Lotus Sūtra. When his recitation was only half completed, a hidden torrent suddenly swelled, inundating everywhere, submerging his meditation couch. When the water reached half his body, his entire body suddenly became swollen, making him unable to move. Thereupon he made a vow, saying, "If I have a destined affinity with this sūtra, the water should subside, and my illness should also be cured; if I have no destined affinity, let the water increase further." That very night, the water subsided, and the illness of his body was also cured. He then stayed in this place for ten years. When he recited the sūtra with his eyes closed, he would see Śākyamuni and Maitreya coming to preach the Dharma for him. At that time, looking out toward the near and far hills and ridges, all was flat, without heights or depths. When he collected his thoughts and recited the sūtra, the lines, verses, characters, and meanings of all the chapters of its seven scrolls appeared distinctly before his eyes. Later he moved to Mount Taoqiu. In front of the mountain, where he recited the sūtra, there were very many trees; whenever secular people encroached and felled them, they immediately contracted leprosy, and only upon entreaty and prayer were they cured again. Furthermore, during one summer retreat, he practiced the Lotus Repentance: he only walked and sat, his ribs never touching the couch. When the summer retreat ended, he sighed, saying, "I have toiled bitterly for a whole summer retreat, yet gained nothing in vain." Just as he was about to relax his body and lean against the rope-couch, he was suddenly opened and illuminated, his mind becoming luminous and clear, and he realized and entered into the Dharma gate. Not yet daring to trust himself, he tried reading the first scroll of the Da zhidu lun; his mind was immediately enlightened, not forgetting a single point, and also discerning the intent behind the words. In this manner he read through all one hundred scrolls, being able to recite and memorize them, and clearly understanding their meanings and flavours. Thereafter, during his leisure from recitation and contemplation, he mostly lectured on the treatise (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa*) and the Lotus Sūtra. Knowing that the Qi dynasty's calendar had come to an end, Huisi entrusted himself to the state of Chen. He then entered Mount Heng beneath Huagai Peak, where he established a monastery and practiced the Way. At first he saw a bird-catcher digging the earth to set a snare, so he went and told him, "Dig shallowly, dig shallowly; do not damage my skull." Before [the man] had dug deep into the ground, a set of white bones was indeed found. The catcher was astonished and questioned him earnestly. Huisi replied, saying, "I have already lived beneath this peak for two lifetimes, reciting the Lotus Sūtra and relinquishing my body here. The skeletal remains of my earlier life have all perished and dissolved; what is seen in this present life is only my second body." When the hut where he stayed was burned down by local people, they subsequently manifested a severe pestilence; they came with sincere devotion to repent, and after he accepted a grass hut, he upheld the sūtra as before, and the people soon recovered from their afflictions. He also dreamed of several hundred Indian monks of extraordinary appearance and attire. The senior monk among them commanded him, saying, "The precepts you received before, their disciplinary rules were not supreme. Now that you have encountered a pure assembly, you should overturn the ordination platform and supplicate once more." Thirty-two master-monks performed the karmavācanā rite, fully accomplishing it. Later he suddenly awoke with a start, only then realizing he had received them in a dream. From then on, his diligent endeavors grew even deeper. Because of these austerities, he was able to see the events of the Way he had practiced in three lifetimes. He also dreamed of Maitreya and Amitābha preaching the Dharma to open and awaken him; therefore he made two images, enshrining and venerating them side by side. He also dreamed that he followed Maitreya together with his retinue, gathering together at the Dragon Flower Tree. In his heart he reflected, "In the Latter Day of Śākyamuni's Dharma, I uphold the Lotus; now I meet the Merciful Honored One!" Moved to tears of grief and joy, he was suddenly awakened, and became all the more vigorous. Furthermore, using merit offerings from both monastics and laity, he had the Lotus Sūtra produced in gold characters, with a lapis lazuli jewel case, adorned and dazzlingly radiant, a peerless meritorious deed, greatly inspiring the minds of the multitude. He also lectured on this sūtra, producing writings according to the text, none of which were not profound traces. Later he commanded the scholar Zhiyi to lecture on the golden sūtra on his behalf. When Zhiyi reached the place where "one mind is endowed with ten thousand practices," he had a doubt. Huisi explained it to him, saying, "What you just doubted is merely the sequential meaning of the Great Prajñāpāramitā; it is not yet the round and sudden principle of the Lotus. Formerly, during a summer retreat, I contemplated this with bitter discipline; late at night, in a single thought, all phenomena suddenly erupted. Since I have personally verified this myself, there is no need for you to harbor doubts." Zhiyi then consulted him and received the ritual practice of the Lotus. The realms of the three-seven [twenty-one days] are difficult to narrate fully. Every year, the sovereign of Chen would send three letters to inquire after his welfare, and offerings were piled up in abundance, with glory and prosperity unsurpassed. His preaching of the Dharma redoubled beyond the ordinary, and his divine anomalies were difficult to fathom: sometimes he manifested his form as small or large; sometimes he silently concealed his body; sometimes unusual fragrances and wondrous colors, auspicious omens arose in profusion. When he was about to approach his end, he descended from the mountain summit to the bodhimaṇḍa halfway down the mountain, convened a great assembly of disciples, and for consecutive days preached the Dharma, bitterly and piercingly rebuking them so that those who heard were chilled to the heart. He announced to the assembly, "If there are ten persons who do not begrudge their bodies or lives, who constantly cultivate the Lotus Samādhi and the Vaipulya Repentance, and who constantly sit and constantly walk, then whatever they require, I myself will provide for them; they must attain benefit. If there are no such persons, I shall depart far away." The matter of austerity was difficult, and in the end no one responded. He therefore dismissed the assembly, gathered his thoughts, and in a moment his life came to an end. All smelled an extraordinary fragrance filling the room; smoke rose from the crown of his head, his body was light, and his facial complexion was as normal. This was on the twenty-second day of the sixth month in the ninth year of the Taijian era of the Chen (577 CE), at the age of sixty-four. His physical appearance had been remarkably prominent, able to hold itself up with ease, neither leaning nor slanting; he walked like an ox and gazed like an elephant, had an uṣṇīṣa on the crown of his head, and was adorned with extraordinary marks. Those who saw him converted their hearts and involuntarily submitted to him. He was also skilled at knowing people's minds; his insight illuminated their hidden inner faults while he was slow to speak of their errors, guiding them by expedient means, practicing great compassion, and upholding the bodhisattva precepts. As for silk, floss, and leather, which mostly result from taking life, his disciples' clothing was uniformly made of cloth; in cold weather, they wore mugwort-padded robes to withstand wind and frost. Since the eastward transmission of the Buddha's Dharma, nearly six hundred years had passed, and only this compassionate practice of Mount Nanyue is truly worthy of refuge. His works include the Forty-Two Character Gate in two scrolls, the Non-Contention Practice Gate in two scrolls, the Xuan of the Expository Treatise, Following One's Own Will, Sequenced Essentials of Dhyāna for Peaceful and Joyful Practice, the Three Wisdom Contemplations, etc., five works each in one scroll, all circulating in the world.
4.5
Shi Zhiyi, whose courtesy name was De'an, was of the Chen clan and a native of Yingchuan. When the Jin moved its capital, his family settled in Huarong of Jingzhou. He was the second son of Qizu, Duke of Yiyang and Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary under the Liang. His mother, Lady Xu, dreamed of fragrant smoke in five colours swirling into her bosom. When she wished to brush it away, she heard someone say, 'A karmic condition from past lives entrusts the propagation of the Dharma; blessings and virtue come naturally—why cast it off?' She also dreamed of swallowing a white mouse, and this occurred repeatedly. Finding it strange, she divined it, and the diviner said, 'It is an omen of a white dragon.' On the night he was born, the chamber was brilliantly illuminated; only after two nights did the light cease. Within the family and without, all were overjoyed, and they set out abundant cauldrons and butchering boards. However, the fires were extinguished, the boiling water grew cold, and the preparations could not be completed. Suddenly two monks knocked at the door and said, 'Excellent! Perfumed by the child's virtue, he will surely renounce worldly life.' Having spoken, they vanished, leaving the guests astonished. Furthermore, whenever he lay down, he would join his palms, and whenever he sat, he always faced west. As he grew older, he did not crave food; whenever he saw an image he would bow, and whenever he met a monk he always showed respect. At the age of seven, he delighted in going to saṅghārāmas. The monks marveled at his aspiration and orally taught him the Universal Gateway Chapter; at the very first attempt, he mastered it in a single reading. At the age of eighteen, he turned to the śramaṇa Faxu of Guoyuan Temple in Xiangzhou and renounced worldly life. Thereupon he secluded himself on Mount Daxian, reciting the Lotus Sūtra as well as the Immeasurable Meanings Sūtra and the Sūtra of the Contemplation of Samantabhadra; within less than twenty days, he thoroughly mastered all three texts. He then went to Mount Dasu in Guangzhou to attend Chan Master Huisi and receive instruction in cessation and contemplation (śamatha-vipaśyanā). Huisi had followed the Way under Master Jiu, and Jiu had received the Dharma from Master Zui; the spiritual stages of these three men were all unfathomable. Huisi would often sigh and say, 'Formerly on Vulture Peak, we listened together to the Lotus. Pursued by past conditions, you have now come again!' He immediately showed him the Samantabhadra ritual site and expounded for him the four comfortable practices. Zhiyi then practiced the Lotus Samādhi on this mountain. After only three nights had passed, while reciting to the Bhaiṣajyarāja Chapter, his mind focused on ascetic practice, and reaching the phrase 'This is true vigor,' understanding and awakening burst forth. He saw himself together with Master Huisi in the seven-jeweled pure land on Gṛdhrakūṭa, listening to the Buddha preach the Dharma. Therefore Huisi said, 'None but you could have such an induction; none but I could recognise it. This is the preliminary expedient of the Lotus Samādhi.' Later he entered Mount Baisha in Danzhou and entered contemplation as before. Whenever he had doubts about the scripture, he would see Huisi arrive invisibly to explain and resolve them. From then on, Huisi often had him lecture in his stead, and all who heard him submitted with respect. Zhiyi then went to Tiantai, dwelling in solitary quiet and dhūta practice on Huading Peak north of the monastery. Suddenly a great wind uprooted trees, and thunder roared and shook; thousands of packs of demons appeared, each form with a hundred faces, shouting in great voices, so frightening that it was hard to describe. He curbed his mind and practiced patient endurance, resting serene and selfless. He then suffered anguish and pain in body and mind, as though being burned by fire. He also saw his deceased parents resting their heads on his knees, weeping of their suffering and begging for mercy. Zhiyi again relied on the forbearance of phenomena, remaining motionless as a mountain. Thus both the harsh and soft conditions induced were immediately extinguished. Suddenly a divine monk from the Western Regions appeared and told him, 'Subduing enemies and conquering adversaries—this alone may be called courage.' The account is long and not fully recorded here. From then on, his dhyāna and wisdom flowed widely, and students gathered like a forest. Renowned masters of the time submitted to him in great numbers. The emperors, empresses, and consorts of both the Chen and Sui dynasties all received the refuges and precepts from him, and their offerings accumulated abundantly. Later he went to Shicheng Temple. Before the Buddha, on the verge of meeting his future retribution, he arranged his couch by the eastern wall, faced westward, and invoked Amitābha Buddha, Prajñā, and Avalokiteśvara. At that time, someone wished to offer medicine, but he replied, 'Can medicine banish illness so as to retain one's remaining years? Illness is not joined with the body; what can medicine banish? Years are not joined with the mind; what can medicine retain? What did Zhixi hear in the past? What was stated in the Treatise on Contemplating the Mind? Complicated medicines only burden and trouble others. In life, I labored in a vessel of poison; in death, I delight in resting and returning home. Such are worldly marks; they do not warrant much sighing.' He then ordered that the title of the Lotus Sūtra be chanted, and Zhiyi praised it, saying, 'It is the father and mother of the Dharma gates, from which wisdom and understanding arise. Its origin and traces are vast and great, subtle and hard to fathom. The axe is laid down and the strings are severed today!' He also requested fragrant water to rinse his mouth, and expounded the ten suchnesses, the four unproduced, the ten dharma-realms, the three contemplations, the four teachings, the four immeasurables, the six perfections, and so forth. Someone asked about his attainment, and he replied, 'You are lazy in planting good roots, yet you inquire into the merits of others, like a blind man asking about the sun or a cripple inquiring about the road […] Had I not led the assembly, I would surely have purified the six sense faculties. By diminishing myself for the sake of others, I remain only at the inner rank of the five stages.' He also instructed the karmadāna, 'When a person's life is about to end, hearing the sound of bells and chimes enhances their right mindfulness; it should continue until their breath has long ceased. Why strike the chimes only after the body has already turned cold? Weeping and wearing mourning clothes in worldly fashion must not be done. Let everyone remain silent; I am about to depart.' Having spoken, he sat upright as if entering absorption and passed away before the Great Stone Statue on Mount Tiantai at the age of sixty-seven, on the twenty-second day of the eleventh month in the seventeenth year of Kaihuang. After his passing, he was encoffined in accordance with his bequeathed teachings. Before the end of the Renshou era, he suddenly shook his monk's staff and donned his robes just as in the past, appearing a total of seven times. He descended again to the mountain monastery and once returned to the Buddha Ridge, saying to his disciples, 'I am inspecting our former undertakings. Is everyone peaceful and secure?' The entire assembly saw him, wept, bowed, and inquired after him; after a long while, he vanished. He authored commentaries on the Lotus Sūtra, manuals of cessation and contemplation, methods of cultivating dhyāna, and so forth, each comprising tens of fascicles. Zhiyi set a model in the east and west, his transformative teaching reaching ten thousand li. He founded thirty-five great monasteries, personally ordained more than four thousand monks, produced fifteen sets of the tripiṭaka, and made some one hundred thousand gilded, sandalwood, and painted statues. The monastics and laypeople in more than fifty prefectures who received the bodhisattva precepts were beyond count. There were thirty-two scholars who transmitted his teachings, and scholars who practiced dhyāna spread across the Changjiang and Han River basins in limitless numbers. The śramaṇa Guanding served him for many years, recording his illustrious conduct over some twenty-odd sheets of paper.
4.6
Shi Zhizao, secular surname Zhang, was a native of Qinghe. When the Jin royal house was driven south, his family resided in Linhai. His grandfather Yuanxiu was Vice Director of the Ministry of Granaries under the Liang and served as Internal Scribe of Linhai. His father Wenhuai was Central Armed Corps General under the Chen. In the years when Zhizao received the scriptures, not a single word was spoken in vain and his deeds were without shame before others; his kin and neighbours deeply revered and loved him. When he reached the age of seventeen, both of his parents passed away, whereupon he went to Master Huiping of Anning Temple and became his disciple. Hearing from afar that Zhizhe's conduct and practice surpassed the crowd and made him an excellent guide for the world, he sailed by boat along the abundant current, heading directly for the peaks of Tiantai, and submitted with heart and soul to receive the Way. Zhiyi sent him to practice the Lotus repentance. On the first night of the second seven-day period, when the repentance concluded, he returned to his meditation seat. Just as he was about to sit at ease, he saw a nine-headed dragon gush forth from the earth and ascend into empty space. The next morning he inquired of Zhiyi, who said, 'This signifies that sentient beings of the nine paths, upon hearing the Lotus Sūtra, will in future ages break through the earth of fundamental ignorance and enter the emptiness of dharma-nature.' Furthermore, in the fourth year of Zhide under the Chen, Bozhit, King of Yongyang, served as shepherd of Xiandu and invited Zhizhe to his garrison post. Zhizao accompanied his master upon accepting the invitation, traveling together to Mount Kuaiji. When the ninety-day retreat concluded, he took leave of the king and went to Baolin Mountain Temple to practice the Lotus Samādhi. On the first day during the first night watch, it was as if someone came and shook the door leaves. Zhizao immediately asked, 'Who are you, shaking the door by night?' A voice replied in a drawn-out tone, 'I have only come to look at the lamps.' This occurred repeatedly several times, with the questions and answers being the same as before. Within the monastery, there was previously a venerable elder, Chan Master Huicheng, who heard it all during the night and said to his disciples, 'Inside that hall, there has always been a great evil demon. Hearing this sound now, it must surely be the demon coming to take someone.' As dawn was about to break, Master Cheng knocked on the door and called out. Before Zhizao had leisure to respond, Cheng circled the hall shouting, 'How bitter! How bitter! The man is finished!' Zhizao opened the door and asked what he meant, and Cheng replied, 'Are you still alive? I thought the demon had killed you last night, which is why I lamented!' Master Cheng reported the matter to the king, who sent several dozen men bearing weapons to guard him. Zhizao said to the guards, 'Life depends on karma; how could guarding help? May you benevolent ones take your troop back to the city and inform the king accordingly.' After the guards departed, on the night of the second day, a demon entered the hall, pounding the walls and striking the pillars, all around the east and west. There were six lamps inside the hall; Zhizao extinguished five and kept one, circumambulating, sitting in meditation, and reciting the scripture, completely calm and fearless. Throughout the three seven-day periods, it remained constantly like this. As the practice was about to conclude, he saw a youth in blue clothes praising him, saying, 'Excellent!' Having spoken, he vanished. Although he met with these two conditions, his mind harboured neither sorrow nor joy. In the first year of Daye under the Sui, the imperial carriage visited Jiangdu. Zhizao, bearing the monastic community's mandate, went out to pay audience, and was led into the inner palace. The emperor, seeing Zhizao from afar, stepped off his mat, ordered him to take a seat, and inquired after him in various ways. He then sent the Palace Receptionist Lu Zhengfang to escort Zhizao back to the mountain, host a vegetarian feast for one thousand monks for Zhizhe's sake, ordain forty-nine persons into the monastic life, and donate two thousand bolts of goods, three thousand piculs of rice, as well as incense and clarified butter to the monastery. In total, Zhizao had audience with the Son of Heaven on eight occasions, all meeting with imperial pleasure and bountiful provisions. In the twelfth year of Zhenguan, he passed away at the monastery at the age of eighty-three.
4.7
Accounts in Praise of the Lotus Sūtra, Fascicle 4
Linked texts (1)
- 弘贊法華傳 — Classical Chinese