弘贊法華傳 8.5

8.5

Shi Huichao, whose secular surname was Fan, was a native of Jianyuan in Danyang. In his youth he had broad capacity, was gentle, refined, bright, and discerning, and had the untrammeled aspiration to transcend the worldly dust. Thereupon he thoroughly investigated the secret treasuries to fulfill his vow. He took reciting the Lotus Sūtra as his constant practice. At that time, Chan Master Huisi of Mount Dasu in Guangzhou had awakened to the wondrous meaning of the One Vehicle and illuminated the profound purport of the three contemplations. Hearing of this, Huichao, together with Zhizhe of Tiantai and Huiming of Xiancheng, formed wholesome connections and visited him for several years. The Chan master would often say to the assembly: "Venerable Chao is a man who has attained forbearance." Dharma Master Jingye of Kuaiji, settling in Langu, admired Huichao's virtue and personally invited him to live together in seclusion for eight years, constantly diligent in the six perfections. Furthermore, when the laws were harsh and śramaṇas were prohibited and suppressed, Huichao concealed himself in a brick kiln for thirty-six years. Later, when the troubles cleared, he shook his robes and prepared to leave. He told the owner of the kiln: "I have recited the Lotus Sūtra here over a thousand times. You may sweep, sprinkle, and make offerings here; do not use it again." The man did not believe him and still proceeded as before to fire bricks; the bricks then turned into the shapes of lotus flowers, covering the four walls all around. Those near and far who saw them all gasped in wonder. Once, when he was reciting the sūtra in a temple, a fierce beast came to listen to Huichao's recitation and also to receive the precepts from him. He stroked it with his hand, much like a domestic dog, and said: "Danapati, go in peace." It then turned and went back as instructed. His spiritual resonance reached the unseen and seen worlds, difficult to record in full. Later, when he fell ill and lay in bed, his disciples wept and knelt to ask after him. He answered: "This is normal for me. I do not rejoice in long life, nor do I grieve at dying in the evening." He then sat facing west, said: "Emptiness of ultimate truth, pure contemplation of wisdom," and suddenly passed away. He was seventy-seven years old, on the sixth day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Wude era. From the age of nine, when Huichao entered the path, he recited the Lotus Sūtra for more than fifty years, totaling nearly twenty thousand times.