弘贊法華傳 5.13

5.13

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.