[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法華傳記](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068) › 10.6 # 法華傳記 10.6 法華傳記 10.6 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [10.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.10.6) 釋慧益廣陵人也。少出家。隨師止壽春。宋孝建中。出都憩竹林寺。精懃苦行。誦通法華。每至藥王品。流淚歎曰。人身難受。佛教難遇。得好欲燒身。眾人聞者。毀讚交語。大明四年始斷粒唯餌麻麥。到六年更斷麥等。但食蘇油。又絕蘇油。唯服香丸。雖四大綿微。而神情警正孝武深加敬異致問。慇懃遣太宰江夏王義恭。詣寺諫益。益誓志無改。至大明七年四月八日。將就焚燒。廼於鍾山之南置鑊辦油。其日朝乘牛車。而以人牽自寺之山。以帝王是兆民所憑。又三寶所寄。乃自力入臺。至雲龍門。不能步下。令人啟聞。慧益道人。今捨身詣門奉辭。深以佛法仰累。帝聞改容。即躬出雲龍門。益既見帝。重以佛法憑囑。於是辭去。帝亦續至。諸王妃后道俗士庶。填滿山谷。投衣棄寶。不可勝計。益入鑊據一小床。以衣具自纏。上加一長帽。以油灌之。將就著火。帝令太宰至鑊所。請諭曰。道行多方。何必殞命。幸願三思。更就異途。益雅志確然。曾無悔念。廼答曰。微軀賤命。何足上留天心。聖慈罔已者。願度二十人。出家降勅即許。益廼手自執燭以燃帽。帽燃廼棄燭。合掌誦藥王品。火至眉。誦聲猶分明。及眼乃昧。貴賤哀嗟響振幽谷。莫不彈指稱佛。惆悵淚下。火至明旦廼盡。帝於時聞空中笳管。異香芬苾。帝盡日方還官。夜夢見益。振錫而至。更囑以佛法。明日帝為設會度人。令齋主唱白。具序徵祥。燒身之處。謂藥王寺。以擬本事也。 > Śramaṇa Huiyi was a native of Guangling. He left household life while young and accompanied his master to reside in Shouchun. During the Xiaojian era of the Song dynasty, he traveled to the capital and rested at Zhulin Monastery. Diligent in his ascetic practices, he recited and mastered the Lotus Sūtra. Whenever he reached the 'Bhaiṣajyarāja Chapter', he would weep and sigh, saying: 'A human body is difficult to obtain, and the Buddha's teaching is difficult to encounter. Having attained \[human life\], I wish to burn my body.' When the multitude heard this, their words alternated between blame and praise. In the fourth year of Daming, he first severed grains, consuming only hemp and wheat. By the sixth year, he further ceased wheat and the like, eating only ghee and oil. He then discontinued ghee and oil, consuming only incense pills. Although his four great elements grew faint and feeble, his spirit and consciousness remained sharp and upright. Emperor Xiaowu deeply revered and marveled at him, sending inquiries, and earnestly dispatched the Grand Preceptor, Prince Yigong of Jiangxia, to visit the monastery to admonish Yi. Yi's sworn aspiration remained unaltered. On the eighth day of the fourth month in the seventh year of Daming, when he was about to submit to the flames, a cauldron was set up to the south of Mount Zhong and oil was prepared. On the morning of that day, he rode in an ox cart drawn by men from the monastery to the mountain. Considering that the emperor is the one upon whom the myriad people rely and the one to whom the Three Jewels are entrusted, he mustered his strength to enter the palace. Reaching the Yunlong Gate, he was unable to walk down and had someone convey word: 'The man of the Way Huiyi now relinquishes his body, arriving at the gate to offer his farewell, deeply entrusting the Buddhadharma \[to your care\].' Hearing this, the Emperor changed his countenance and immediately came out in person to the Yunlong Gate. When Yi saw the Emperor, he repeatedly entrusted the Buddhadharma to him, and then took his leave. The Emperor also followed and arrived. Princes, consorts, empresses, monastics, and lay commoners filled the valleys, casting off clothes and discarding treasures beyond count. Yi entered the cauldron, sat upon a small bench, wrapped himself in robes, placed a tall cap on his head, and poured oil over himself. As he was about to set it ablaze, the Emperor commanded the Grand Preceptor to go to the cauldron to urge him, saying: 'There are many paths to practicing the Way; why must you forfeit your life? We hope you will think thrice and take another route.' Yi's noble resolve was steadfast, without the slightest regret. He then replied: 'How could this humble body and lowly life be worthy of occupying the Heavenly Mind? If Your Sage Compassion is boundless, I pray that you permit twenty people to leave household life.' An imperial edict was issued immediately granting this. Yi then took the torch in his own hand to light the cap. Once the cap caught fire, he discarded the torch, joined his palms, and recited the 'Bhaiṣajyarāja Chapter'. When the fire reached his eyebrows, the sound of his recitation was still distinct; only when it reached his eyes did it fade away. High and low lamented and sighed, their sounds shaking the secluded valley; all snapped their fingers, called upon the Buddha, and wept sorrowfully. The fire was extinguished only by the next morning. At that time, the Emperor heard reed pipes in the air and smelled an extraordinary, fragrant perfume. Only at the end of the day did the Emperor return to the palace. That night, he dreamed that he saw Yi coming, shaking his tin staff, and again entrusting him with the Buddhadharma. The next day, the Emperor held an assembly to ordain monks on his behalf, ordering the patron of the feast to make an announcement detailing the portents. The place where he burned his body was named Bhaiṣajyarāja Monastery to emulate the ancient deeds. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 10.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.10.5) - [Next: 10.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.10.7) - [Up: 10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.10) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068~en-mt.10.6) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.96.22) — 道世, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.10.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.10.6) · Pramāṇa