淨土往生傳 1.9

1.9

釋慧虔。姓皇甫河朔人也。精持戒律。其志尤固。初居廬山僅十年。道俗有業佛道者。皆慨慕之。虔以遠師在其山足。德業風聞。加又伸明勝法。資發聾聵。美而歎曰。彼人也吾人也。彼其德業。吾不殆之。其於心也。能無愧哉。乃之吳會矚地弘通。及至山陰嘉祥寺。聚徒館眾。大開誘掖。時羅什傳譯新經。有未講者。虔歷講之。然其所講必與眾曰。幸由像季講道遺教。願乘少善。刻奉彌陀。後五年得病。虔知時至乃曰。登金蓮坐玉池。蓮開見佛。即其時矣。所欲祈誠海眾。為法真友。觀音勢至。為己良導過此。以還無復他願。其夕山陰北寺有淨嚴尼者。方其假寐。倏見觀音勢至與百千眾自高而下。幡華幢蓋光映日月。嚴既見之。且禮且瞻。且因前詣而問曰。大士何所之耶。對曰。之嘉祥迎虔公耳。虔於是夕預亦自得勝相。尋告弟子。奄然長逝。

Shi Huiqian, secular surname Huangfu, was a man of Heshuo. He upheld the precepts and vinaya with pure diligence, and his resolve was especially firm. At first he resided at Mount Lu for barely ten years, and both monastics and laymen who practised the Buddha's path all looked up to him with longing. Because Master Huiyuan was at the foot of that mountain, his virtuous deeds were heard on the wind, and moreover he expounded the sublime Dharma to stimulate the deaf and the blind, Qian praised him with a sigh, saying: "He is a man, and I too am a man. If his virtuous deeds are not matched by me, how can my heart be without shame?" He then went to the Wu and Kuaiji regions, examining places to propagate the teaching widely. When he reached Jiaxiang Monastery in Shanyin, he gathered disciples and lodged an assembly, opening wide the gates of guidance. At that time, Kumārajīva was translating new scriptures; of those that had not yet been lectured on, Qian lectured on them all in turn. However, in what he lectured, he always said to the assembly: "Fortunately, through the Semblance Dharma age, I lecture on the path and the bequeathed teachings. I vow that relying on this little good, I may reverently serve Amitābha in due time." Five years later he contracted an illness. Qian knew that his time had arrived, and said: "Ascending the golden lotus, sitting in the jade pond, the lotus opening to see the Buddha—this is precisely the time! What I wish to pray sincerely for is that the ocean-like assembly become my true friends in the Dharma, and Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta become my good guides; beyond this, I have no other vows." That night, at the North Monastery of Shanyin, there was a nun named Jingyan. While she was taking a nap, she suddenly saw Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta descending from on high with hundreds of thousands of beings. Banners, flowers, standards, and canopies shone with light rivalling the sun and moon. When Jingyan saw them, she both bowed and gazed up, and stepped forward to ask: "Where are the Great Beings going?" They replied: "We are going to Jiaxiang Monastery to welcome Master Qian." That night, Qian also obtained auspicious signs beforehand on his own. Soon he informed his disciples, and peacefully passed away.