淨土往生傳 3.10

3.10

釋少康。俗姓周縉雲仙都人。母羅氏。初懷之。夢遊鼎湖峯。得玉女捧青蓮華授之。且曰此華吉祥。授之於汝。當生貴子。及生康日。青光滿室。香似芙蕖。襁褓之間。眼碧脣朱。與群兒異。又復生來絕然不語。相者曰。此子之奇不可量也。但其不語吾不知矣。七歲母入本郡靈山寺。陞之殿上。因指殿佛戲之曰。汝敬佛否。康遽對曰。我佛釋迦其誰不敬。聞者怪之。以其生來未甞言也。父母由是捨其出家。年十有五。誦法華楞嚴等經五部。尋於越州嘉祥寺。學究毘尼。後之上元龍興寺。聽華嚴及瑜伽諸論。真元初至洛下白馬寺。見殿內文字累放光明。康不能測。前而探取之。乃善導昔為西方化導文也。康曰。若於淨土有緣。當使此文光明再發。所願未已。果重閃爍。康曰。劫石可移。而我之願無易矣。遂之長安善導影堂。大陳薦獻。方薦獻時。倏見善導遺像。昇於空中。謂康曰。汝依吾事利樂有情。則汝之功同生安養。康聞其語如有所證。南適江陵果願寺。路逢一僧。謂曰。汝欲化人。當往新定。言訖而隱。洎到睦郡。睦人尚無識者。未從其化。康乃丐錢。誘掖小兒與之。約曰。阿彌陀佛實汝良導。能念一聲與汝一錢。小兒務其得錢也。隨亦念之。後經月餘。孩孺念佛俟錢者比比。而是康以俟錢者眾又曰。可念十聲乃購錢。爾市廛小兒。亦如其約。如是一年。男女無長少貴賤。凡見康者。則曰阿彌陀佛。以故睦城之人。相與念佛盈道路焉。真元十年。康於烏龍山。建淨土道場。築壇三級。聚人午夜行道。每道場時。康自登座。令男女望康面門。賡聲高唱阿彌陀佛已。又賡聲和之。至康唱時。眾見一佛從其口出。連唱十聲則有十佛。若聯珠狀。康曰。汝見佛否。如見佛者。決生淨土。其禮佛人數千。亦有竟不見者。真元二十一年十月三日。囑累道俗。當於安養起增進心。於閻浮提生厭離心。又曰。汝曹此時能見光明。真我弟子。遂放異光數道棄世焉。其為墳塔。附于州東臺子巖。漢乾祐三年。天台德韶禪師重新之。今之人多指其塔。為後善導焉。

Shi Shaokang had the secular surname Zhou and was a native of Xiandu in Jinyun. When his mother, of the Luo clan, first conceived him, she dreamed that she was wandering on Dinghu Peak and was approached by a jade maiden holding a blue lotus blossom, who presented it to her and said, “This blossom is auspicious; I bestow it upon you, and you shall give birth to an illustrious son.” When the day came for Kang to be born, a blue radiance filled the chamber, and its fragrance was like that of a lotus. In swaddling clothes, he had green eyes and vermilion lips, different from other children. Moreover, from birth he did not speak at all. A physiognomist said, “The extraordinary nature of this child cannot be measured; only, I do not understand why he does not speak.” At seven years of age, his mother entered Lingshan Monastery in their home commandery and brought him up to the hall. Pointing to the Buddha in the hall, she teased him, saying, “Do you revere the Buddha?” Kang immediately answered, “He is our Buddha, Śākya[muni]; who would not revere him?” Those who heard this were astonished, because he had never spoken since birth. His parents therefore allowed him to leave the household life. At the age of fifteen, he had memorized five collections of scriptures, including the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka and the Śūraṅgama-sūtras. Soon after, at Jiaxiang Monastery in Yuezhou, he thoroughly studied the vinaya. Later, he went to Longxing Monastery in Shangyuan to listen to lectures on the Avataṃsaka and various Yogācāra treatises. Early in the Zhenyuan era, he arrived at Baima Monastery in Luoyang, where he saw writings in the hall repeatedly radiating light. Kang could not fathom it, so he stepped forward and reached out to take them; they were texts on transforming and guiding beings to the Western Pure Land, formerly written by Shandao. Kang said, “If I have an affinity with the Pure Land, let this text radiate light again.” Before his wish was even finished, it indeed flashed anew. Kang said, “A kalpa-stone may be moved, but my vow shall never change.” He then went to Shandao's portrait hall in Chang'an and laid out vast offerings. Just as the offerings were laid out, he suddenly saw Shandao's remaining portrait rise into the air, saying to Kang: “If you rely upon my work to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings, then through your merit you will be born together [with me] in Anyang.” When Kang heard these words, it was as if he had experienced a realization. He went south to Guoyuan Monastery in Jiangling, where he met a monk along the road who told him: “If you wish to transform people, you should go to Xinding.” Having spoken, he disappeared. When Kang arrived in the commandery of Mu, no one among the people of Mu knew him yet, nor did they follow his teachings. Kang then begged for coins, using them to entice and guide small children, making an agreement with them: “Amitābha is truly your good guide. If you can recite his name once, I will give you one coin.” The children, striving to get the coins, recited it accordingly. After a month or so, children waiting for coins by reciting the Buddha's name were everywhere. Seeing that so many were waiting for coins, Kang said again, “You must recite ten times before you receive a coin.” The market children followed his agreement as well. After one year like this, whether male or female, young or old, noble or lowly, whenever anyone saw Kang, they would say, “Amitābha.” For this reason, the people of the city of Mu reciting the Buddha's name filled the roads. In the tenth year of the Zhenyuan era, Kang established a Pure Land practice center on Mount Wulong, building a three-tiered platform and gathering the people to practice the path at midnight. Every time the practice center was held, Kang would ascend the seat himself, having the men and women look at his mouth and take turns loudly chanting Amitābha's name, after which he would chant along in harmony with them. When Kang chanted, the assembly saw a Buddha emerge from his mouth; if he chanted ten times continuously, ten Buddhas appeared, resembling a string of pearls. Kang said, “Do you see the Buddhas? If you see the Buddhas, you will surely be born in the Pure Land.” Among the several thousand people paying homage to the Buddha, there were also those who never saw them at all. On the third day of the tenth month in the twenty-first year of the Zhenyuan era, he gave his final admonition to clerics and layfolk: “You should give rise to an aspiring mind toward Anyang, and give rise to a mind of revulsion and renunciation toward Jambudvīpa.” He also said, “If you can see light at this time, you are truly my disciples.” He then emitted several rays of extraordinary light and departed this life. A stupa for his grave was placed by Taizi Rock to the east of the prefecture. In the third year of the Qianyou era of the Later Han, Chan Master Deshao of Tiantai rebuilt it. People today often refer to his stupa as that of the “Latter Shandao.”