法華傳記 5.48

5.48

隋并州人高守節。家代信奉。而守節尤為精到。年十六七時。曾遊化郡。道遇沙彌。年可五六十。自稱海雲。與之談敘。因謂曰。兒能誦經不。答曰。識其本心。雲即將向五臺。至一處見三草屋。纔得容身。乃於中止。教誦法華經誦間在外乞求給其衣食。節屢見胡僧來至與師言笑。終日而歸去。後雲輒問曰。識向胡僧不。曰不識。雲懇似戲言曰。是文殊師利菩薩。節雖頻承此告。未悟其旨。後使節下山就村取物。仍誡曰。夫女人者惡之本。壞菩提道。破涅槃城。汝向人間宜其深慎。節敬諾受教上山。中路乃見一女人。年十四。衣服鮮幸姿容雅麗。乘一白馬。直趣其前。扣頭向節曰。身有急患。要須下下。乘馬好跳躍。制不自由。希君狀慺濟此微命。節遂念師言竟不迴顧。女亦追尋數里。苦切其辭。節執志如初。俄而到失。既還本處。具陳其事。師曰。汝真丈夫矣。雖然此其文殊師利菩薩。節尚不悟。猶謂戲言。然於此誦經。凡歷三載。法華一部。甚得精淳。後聞長安度人。心希剃落。就汝必欲去。當辭好師。此之一別。難量相見。汝京內可於禪定道場依止臥倫禪師。節入京求度。不遂其心。乃往倫所。倫曰。汝從何來。答從五臺山來。和上遺與師為弟子。倫曰。和上名誰。答曰。名海雲。倫大驚歎曰。五臺山者文殊師利。海雲比丘。即是華嚴經中善財童子第三大善知識。汝何以棄此聖人。千劫萬劫無由一遇。何其誤耶。節乃始悟由來。恨不碎其身。當首而愚情眷二。猶希再覩。遂辭倫返迹。日夜奔馳。乃至故處。都無所見。

Gao Shoujie of Bingzhou under the Sui came from a family that had believed and revered [the Dharma] for generations, and Shoujie was especially meticulous and devoted. When he was sixteen or seventeen years old, he once traveled through the commanderies. On the road he met a novice monk, about fifty or sixty years of age, who called himself Haiyun. Conversing with him, [Haiyun] asked, "Son, can you chant the scriptures?" He replied, "I understand my original mind." Yun then took him to Mount Wutai. Reaching a place, they saw three thatched huts, just barely enough to contain their bodies, and they stayed therein. [Haiyun] taught him to chant the Lotus Sūtra; while chanting, he went outside to beg for alms to supply him with food and clothing. Jie frequently saw a foreign monk come to converse and laugh with the master, returning at the end of the day. Later, Yun asked him, "Do you recognize that foreign monk from before?" He replied, "I do not." Yun earnestly, as if joking, said, "That is the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī." Although Jie repeatedly received this notification, he did not realize its significance. Later, [Haiyun] sent Jie down the mountain to a village to fetch goods, warning him, "Women are the root of evil; they ruin the path of bodhi and shatter the city of nirvāṇa. When you go into the human world, you should be exceedingly cautious." Jie respectfully agreed, received the instruction, and went down the mountain. Halfway along the road, he saw a woman of fourteen years, her clothes fresh and gorgeous, her appearance graceful and beautiful. Riding a white horse, she came straight toward him, kowtowing to Jie and saying, "My body has an urgent distress; I desperately need to dismount. The horse I ride likes to leap, and I cannot control it. I hope you will take pity and save this humble life!" Jie then remembered his master's words and never looked back. The woman pursued him for several li, her pleas urgent and earnest, but Jie held his resolve as before. In a short while, she vanished. Having returned to his former place, he related the incident in full. The master said, "You are truly a great man! Even so, that was the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī." Jie still did not realize it, still thinking it was a joke. However, he chanted the scripture there for three years in all, and became exceedingly refined and pure in the entire Lotus Sūtra. Later, hearing that ordinations were being granted in Chang'an, his heart aspired to be tonsured. [The master said,] "If you must go, you should take leave of your good teacher properly. Once parted, it will be hard to fathom when we shall meet again. In the capital, you may rely on Chan Master Wolun at the Dhyāna Training Ground." Jie went to the capital seeking ordination, but did not attain his wish. He then went to Master Lun's place. Lun said, "Where do you come from?" He replied, "I come from Mount Wutai. My master sent me to be your disciple." Lun asked, "What is your master's name?" He replied, "His name is Haiyun." Lun was greatly astonished and sighed, "Mount Wutai is where Mañjuśrī dwells. The monk Haiyun is none other than the third great spiritual friend of the youth Sudhana in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra! Why did you abandon this sage? In a thousand kalpas or ten thousand kalpas, there is no way to encounter him again. How mistaken you are!" Jie only then realized what had transpired. Regretting that he could not crush his own body, he took blame upon himself; yet his foolish mind still longed for him, hoping to see him once more. He thereupon took leave of Lun and retraced his steps, galloping day and night. When he reached the former place, there was nothing to be seen.