法華傳記 2.42

2.42

Shi Jizang, whose secular surname was An, was originally a native of Parthia. His ancestors, fleeing an enemy, relocated to Nanhai, and subsequently made their home between Jiaozhou and Guangzhou. Later they moved to Jinling, where Zang was born. While he was still a child, his father led him to see Paramārtha and requested that he name him. Paramārtha asked about the circumstances of his conception and said that he could be named Jizang ("Auspicious Treasury"); he was named accordingly. For generations his family had revered the Buddha, their household devoted to nothing else. His father later went forth from the household and took the name Daoliang; diligent in freeing himself [from defilement], his ascetic discipline had few equals. He made begging for food and listening to the Dharma his constant vocation. Liang always took Zang along to listen to the lectures of Dharma Master Daolang at Xinghuang Monastery; Zang understood whatever he heard, with an awakening that seemed natural and innate. At the age of seven, he took refuge under Lang and went forth from the household. As he explored the profound mysteries, his insights renewed day by day, and in all that he inquired about, he subtly penetrated the ultimate purport, magnanimous and full of wonder. By the age of nineteen, he reiterated the lectures before the assembly; the sharp edge of his precise debates moved freely, and he received the luminaries of the day with more than ample grace. His fame grew, bringing glory to the capital of Yang; after receiving the full precepts, his renown rose even higher. King Guiyang of the Chen admired his manner and bearing. Expressing and receiving profound meanings, he eventually traveled east to Qinwang and stayed at Jiaxiang. As was his custom, he expounded and cited teachings; Yu's Cave became as bustling as a marketplace, with over a thousand seekers of the Way. Aspiring to transmit the lamp, the wheel of Dharma turned continuously. Later, in the early years of the Daye era, he copied two thousand copies of the Lotus Sūtra and opened lecture platforms more than three hundred times, authoring profound commentaries that circulated widely in the world. When his final day approached, he composed the Treatise on Not Fearing Death; as he laid down his brush, he passed away. (Drawn from the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks.)