天台九祖傳 1.9

1.9

The Sixth Patriarch, the Venerable Fahua. His taboo name was Zhiwei, and his surname was Jiang. He was a man of Jinyun. Transcending worldly dust, his mind roamed beyond material things. In his youth, he served a master at the Alchemical Furnace Mountain of the Xuanyuan clan. Hearing that the Tiantai tradition was flourishing, he carried his book-chest to Shicheng Temple on Mount Tianzhu (Mount Wozhou), drew close to Meditation Master Zhang'an, and requested the essentials of the mind. Soon he attained the unitary integration of the Way, embodying the two truths to establish his doctrine, with calm abiding and special insight balanced, and stillness and illumination sharing equal halves. Though it is said he attained self-liberation, his urgent focus lay in benefiting others. Endowed by nature with versatile talent, he was rich in rhetoric. He composed the stele of Taoyan Temple, which in spirit matched the Stele of the Dhūta Temple. Later he transmitted the Dharma-eye to Little Wei. At that time, it was said that Wei was the rebirth of Xu Ling; his sharp intellect and heroic talent can certainly be known from this.