法華傳記 4.42

4.42

釋慧超。姓汎氏。丹陽建元人。稟懷溫裕立性懷仁。[苟*苟]齡厭俗自出家。後誦法華經。聞光州大蘇山慧思禪師。獨悟一乘善明三觀。與天台智者仙城命公。篤志幽尋。積年請業。行優智遠。德冠時賢。思對眾命曰。超之神府得忍人也。及遊衡嶺。復與同途。留誦經停函移歲序。自隋初廓定。北入嵩高。餌藥坐禪。冀言終老。隋太子勇召集名德。總會帝城。以超業行不群。特留供養。而恭慎凝攝。不顧世華。及勇廢免。一無所涉。晚移定水。高振德音。道俗歸宗。仰其戒範。會淨業法師。卜居藍田谷之悟真寺。欽超有道。躬事邀迎。共隱八年。倍勤之三慧及大乘。承運禪定初基。爰發詔書。延入行道屢辭砭。疾後許還山。德感物情。頗存汲引四川。貴望一縣官民。莫不委質。投誠請傳香德。并為經始伽藍。繼綜羞粒。大唐伊始。榮重於前。京邑名僧慧因保恭等。情慕隱淪。咸就栖止。蔭松偃石。論詳道義。皆曰。斯誠出要樂也。後外疾。少時弟子跪問。答曰。吾之常也。長生不欣。夕死不慼。乃面西正坐云。第一義空清淨智觀言如入定奄。遂長往。春秋七十有七。即武德五年十二月六日也。露骸松石一月餘日。顏色不變。天策上將聞稱希有。遣人就視。端拱如生。自超九歲入道。即誦法華五十餘年。萬有餘遍。感靈獲瑞不可勝言。弟子法成等。為建白塔于寺之北峯焉。

Shi Huichao, whose secular surname was Fan, was a native of Jianyuan in Danyang. By nature gentle, generous, and benevolent, at a tender age he wearied of the mundane and left home on his own accord. Later, he recited the Lotus Sūtra. Hearing that Dhyāna Master Huisi of Mount Dasu in Guangzhou had uniquely awakened to the One Vehicle and clearly illuminated the three contemplations, he, together with Master Zhiyi of Tiantai and Master Ming of Xiancheng, resolved to seek him out in seclusion. For years he requested instruction; his practice was superior, his wisdom far-reaching, and his virtue crowned the worthies of his day. Huisi said to the assembly: 'The spiritual seat of Chao is that of a person who has attained forbearance.' When [Huisi] traveled to the peaks of Mount Heng, [Huichao] accompanied him along the way, remaining to recite the sūtra and keep its cases through the passing of the seasons. Once peace was broadly established at the beginning of the Sui, he went north to Mount Gaocheng, consuming medicinal herbs and practicing sitting meditation, hoping to end his days there. The Sui Crown Prince Yang Yong summoned illustrious and virtuous monks together to the imperial capital; because Chao’s practice was exceptional, he was specially retained and offered support. Yet he was reverent, cautious, collected, and took no regard of worldly glory. When Yong was deposed, he was entirely uninvolved. Later he moved to Dingshui, widely making his virtuous reputation known. Monastics and laypeople took refuge in his tradition and looked up to his model of precepts. It happened that Master Jingye had chosen to dwell at Wuzhen Monastery in Lantian Valley; revering Chao as a man of the Dao, he personally went to invite him. Together they lived in seclusion for eight years, doubly striving in the three kinds of wisdom and the Mahāyāna. In succession, at the founding of the Chanding [Monasteries], an imperial decree was issued inviting him to enter to practice the Way; he repeatedly declined on grounds of illness, and later was permitted to return to the mountain. His virtue moved worldly feelings, and he was quite devoted to guiding others. In Sichuan, the eminent families and the officials and commoners of the entire county all presented themselves, devotedly requesting him to transmit the fragrance of virtue, and together they founded a saṅghārāma and continuously provided grain offerings. At the beginning of the Great Tang, his honors were even greater than before. Famous monks of the capital such as Huiyin and Baogong, yearning in their hearts for seclusion, all came to stay with him. Sheltered by pines and reclining on rocks, they discussed and examined the principles of the Way, all saying, 'This is truly the joy of the essential path to transcendence!' Later he suffered an illness. Shortly before [his passing], his disciples knelt and asked about him; he replied, 'This is my normal condition. I do not rejoice in long life, nor do I grieve at death in the evening.' Then, sitting upright facing the west, he said, 'The pure intellectual contemplation of the emptiness of the supreme truth—' as if entering samādhi, he suddenly departed forever. His age was seventy-seven, on the sixth day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Wude era (622 CE). His exposed remains lay on the pine rocks for more than a month, and his complexion did not change. The Supreme General of the Tiance heard of this, declared it extraordinary, and sent someone to view it; [Huichao] was sitting upright with folded hands as if alive. From the age of nine, when Chao entered the Way, he recited the Lotus Sūtra for more than fifty years, totaling more than ten thousand times. His spiritual inspirations and auspicious portents cannot be recounted in full. His disciples Facheng and others built a white stūpa for him on the northern peak of the monastery.