弘贊法華傳 6.18

6.18

Shi Fahui was originally surnamed Xiahou. From his youth he maintained an austere aspiration, his observance of the Vinaya as pure as ice. At the end of the Daming era of the Song, he traveled east to the Cave of Yu and lived in seclusion at Tianzhushan Monastery. He recited one complete copy of the Lotus Sūtra, ate vegetarian food, and wore plain cloth garments. His aspiration was absorbed beyond the worldly realm, and he did not descend from his upper story for more than thirty years. When kings and princes stopped their carriages, they only bowed toward his room and returned. Only Zhou Yong of Runan, possessing both deep faith and understanding, was specially received by him. When there were those who admired his virtue and hoped to pay homage, they would occasionally see him through Yong's mediation. In the second year of the Jianwu era of the Qi, he died at the mountain monastery at the age of eighty-five.