淨土往生傳 3.11

3.11

釋知玄。字後覺。俗姓陳眉州洪雅人。母魏氏。夢月入懷。因而載誕。乳哺之間。見佛輒喜。五歲祖令詠華。應聲而就。七歲遇泰法師在寧夷寺講涅槃經。玄入講肆若覩前。因是夕夢佛手案其頂。遂出家焉。十一落髮。詣唐興西安寺。傳大經四十二卷遠公義疏𧦬師圓旨一百二十五萬言。指擿緇徒。動露老成。時丞相杜元潁作鎮西蜀。聞玄之名。命講于大慈寺普賢閣下。黑白之眾。日合萬數。注聽傾心。駭歎無已。其後蜀人。不敢指認其名。乃本俗姓。號陳菩薩焉。玄於淨眾寺。聽毘尼通俱舍。復從其師。下三峽歷荊襄。抵于神京資聖寺。此寺四海三學之人會要之地。玄敷演經論。僧俗仰觀。堂外之屨。日其多矣。文宗皇帝聞之。宣入顧問。甚愜皇情。後學唯識論於安國信法師。至若外典經籍。百家諸子莫不該總。每恨卿音不變。不堪講貫。乃於象耳山。誦大悲呪。一夕玄夢。神僧截舌換之。明日俄變秦音。時楊刑部汝士高左丞元裕長安楊魯士。咸造其門。擬結蓮社。武宗御宇。初欽釋氏。後納浮議祀蓬萊。築風臺以祈羽化。雖諫官抗疏。終不迴意。因德陽節緇黃。會麟德殿論義。帝手付老氏理大國。若烹小鮮義。玄因大陳帝王理道教化根本。亦言。神仙羽化乃山林匹夫。獨善之事。非帝王所宜尚之。辭河下傾辯海橫注凡數萬言。大忤上旨。左護軍仇士良內樞密楊欽義。惜其才辯。恐承斥逐乃諷玄。貢祝堯詩。玄立成五篇。其末篇云。生天本自生天業。未必求仙便得仙。鶴背傾危龍背滑。君王且住一千年。帝覽詩微解。及帝簡汰僧門。玄歸巴岷舊山。例施巾櫛。存其戒檢愈更甄明。續入湖湘。時楊給事漢公廉問湖湘。延止于開元寺。宣宗龍飛楊公自內樞統左禁軍以冊定功。請復佛教。仍乞訪玄聲迹。於是玄復為僧止寶應寺。屬壽昌節講讚署。為三教首座。帝以舊時籓邸。造法乾寺。詔令居之。大中三年。宣宗誕節詔。諫議李貽孫給事楊漢公。與玄鼎立論議。玄奏天下廢寺宜再興。復大興梵剎。玄有力焉。帝以玄有才識。特深顧矚。命工圖形。置于禁中。時相國裴公休。與玄友善。亦相激揚。中興教法。廣明二年。僖宗違難。西蜀遣郭遵泰。齎璽舊詔玄。肩輿以赴行。在玄至乘機辯對。頗解上意。左軍容田令孜。與諸達官。皆欽玄德。問道勤至不捨晨夕。帝欲旌表其美。詔諸學士。撰玄師號。皆不稱旨。帝曰。朕以開示悟入法華之深旨。悟者覺也明也。悟佛大道。明佛知見。又曰。所以悟者。悟其自性。了然成佛。今賜悟達國師。雖曰強名用表朕意。後一年乞歸九隴舊廬。以繼淨業。詔從之。明年正月二十一日。玄於臥中。見生平曾遊之境。歷然在前。因起焚香。西向曰。雖他境象。皆非其志。如得一見淨土。志願滿矣。言已空中有聲應曰。汝之行業決生安養。奚為願不滿也。玄聞之喜躍自慰。遂召弟子慈燈上遺表。仍謂燈曰。吾有淨土之修有年矣。今日之聞。如我昔願已。乃右脇著席。噓噓而卒。卒年七十三。

Shi Zhixuan, whose courtesy name was Houjue, had the secular surname Chen and was a native of Hongya in Meizhou. His mother, Lady Wei, dreamt that the moon entered her bosom, and subsequently gave birth to him. While being nursed in infancy, whenever he saw the Buddha he was overjoyed. At five years of age, his grandfather had him chant a poem on flowers, and he composed it upon the sounding of his voice. At seven years of age, he encountered Dharma Master Tai lecturing on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra at Ningyi Monastery. Xuan entered the lecture hall as if viewing former [lives]. That night he dreamt that a Buddha's hand pressed upon his crown; he subsequently went forth from the household. At eleven, he had his hair shaved, and went to Xi'an Monastery in Tangxing, where he was transmitted forty-two fascicles of the Great Sūtra, Master [Hui]yuan's commentary, and Master Bian's complete tenets, amounting to 1.25 million words. In pointing out teachings to the black-robed monks, his manner already revealed maturity. At that time, Prime Minister Du Yuanying was governing western Shu. Hearing of Xuan's renown, he ordered him to lecture beneath the Samantabhadra Pavilion of Daci Monastery. Monastic and lay followers gathered by the myriad daily, listening attentively with all their hearts in endless astonishment and admiration. Thereafter, the people of Shu dared not address him by his name, but based on his secular surname called him 'Chen Bodhisattva'. At Jingzhong Monastery, Xuan listened to the Vinaya and thoroughly understood the Abhidharmakośa. He then followed his master down the Three Gorges, traveling through Jing and Xiang, arriving at Zisheng Monastery in the divine capital [Chang'an]. This monastery was a gathering place of great importance for practitioners of the three trainings from the four seas. As Xuan expounded sūtras and treatises, monastics and laypeople gazed up at him with veneration, and the shoes outside the hall grew more numerous day by day. Emperor Wenzong heard of him, summoned him into [the court] for consultation, and was greatly pleased with his spirit. Later he studied the Cheng weishi lun under Dharma Master Xin of Anguo [Monastery]. As for non-Buddhist scriptures and texts and the various masters of the Hundred Schools, there was none he did not master comprehensively. He always regretted that his Sichuan accent had not changed, making him unsuitable for continuous lecturing; he then chanted the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī at Elephant Ear Mountain. One night Xuan dreamt that a divine monk cut out his tongue and replaced it; the next day it abruptly turned into the sound of Qin. At that time, Minister of Punishments Yang Rushi, Vice Director of the Left Gao Yuanyu, and Yang Lushi of Chang'an all arrived at his door, intending to form a Lotus Society. When Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, he initially respected the Buddhist teachings, but later accepted superficial discussions, offering sacrifices to Penglai and building a wind terrace to pray for Daoist feather-immortality. Although remonstrance officials submitted memorials in opposition, he ultimately did not change his mind. On the occasion of the Deyang Festival, monastics and Daoists gathered at Linde Hall to debate doctrines. The Emperor personally presented the Laozi's doctrine, 'Governing a large state is like cooking a small fish.' Xuan, relying on this, broadly expounded that the governing principles and transformative teachings of rulers are the root; he also stated that divine immortals and feather-ascension are affairs of lone recluses in mountain forests cultivating themselves alone, not what an emperor should esteem. His words poured down like a river and his eloquence spread horizontally like an ocean, totaling tens of thousands of words; he greatly defied the imperial intention. Left Army Commander Chou Shiliang and Palace Secretarial Commissioner Yang Qinyi cherished his talent and eloquence, and fearing he would face banishment, they tactfully advised Xuan to present poems congratulating Emperor Yao. Xuan immediately composed five pieces. The final poem ran: 'Rebirth in heaven fundamentally comes from heaven-birth karma; / One does not necessarily attain immortality simply by seeking it. / The crane's back is precipitous and the dragon's back slippery; / Let the sovereign ruler stay for another thousand years.' The Emperor read the poem and was slightly mollified. When the Emperor purged the sangha, Xuan returned to his old mountains in Ba and Min, donning cloth cap and comb according to the mandate; preserving his moral restraint, his discipline grew even brighter. Subsequently he entered Hu and Xiang. At that time, Supervising Secretary Yang Han-gong was conducting inspection tours in Hu and Xiang, and invited him to dwell at Kaiyuan Monastery. When Emperor Xuanzong ascended the dragon throne, Lord Yang, having coordinated the Left Imperial Guard from the inner privy chamber to secure the enthronement merit, requested the restoration of Buddhism, and further begged to seek Xuan's whereabouts. Thereupon Xuan became a monk once again and stayed at Baoying Monastery. Belonging to the Shouchang Festival lecture and praise bureau, he was made the Head of the Three Teachings. Using his old princely mansion, the Emperor built Fagan Monastery and issued an edict commanding him to dwell there. In the third year of Dazhong, on the occasion of Emperor Xuanzong's birthday festival, an edict ordered Remonstrance Official Li Yisun, Supervising Secretary Yang Han-gong, and Xuan to stand like a tripod in debate. Xuan memorialized that the empire's abolished monasteries should be revived again; in the widespread reconstruction of Buddhist monasteries, Xuan possessed great merit. Because Xuan had talent and discernment, the Emperor especially held him in deep regard, ordering artisans to paint his portrait and place it in the forbidden palace. At that time, Chancellor Pei Xiu was on good terms with Xuan, and they also encouraged and spurred each other in reviving the teachings. In the second year of Guangming, when Emperor Xizong fled from turmoil to western Shu, he sent Guo Zuntai carrying an imperial seal to summon Xuan, providing a sedan chair for him to arrive at the temporary palace. When Xuan arrived, he responded eloquently according to the circumstances, greatly resolving the Emperor's anxieties. Left Military Commander Tian Lingzi and various prominent officials all revered Xuan's virtue, inquiring about the Dao earnestly without neglecting morning or evening. The Emperor wished to honor and commend his excellence, and decreed the various academicians to compose an honorific master-title for Xuan, but none matched the imperial desire. The Emperor said: 'I rely on the deep import of opening, displaying, awakening to, and entering the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka: "awakening" means awareness and illumination—awakening to the Great Dao of the Buddha, illuminating the Buddha's vision and knowledge.' He further said: 'That which awakens is awakening to one's own nature, clearly becoming a Buddha. Now I bestow [upon him the title of] State Master Wuda. Although it is said to be a forced name, it is used to express my intention.' One year later, [Xuan] begged to return to his old lodge in Jiulong to continue his pure karma; the Emperor granted it by edict. On the twenty-first day of the first month of the following year, while lying down, Xuan saw places he had traversed in his life distinctly appear before him. He then arose, burned incense, and facing the west, said: 'Although these are other states and realms, none are my aspiration. If I may obtain one sight of the Pure Land, my wish will be fulfilled.' As he finished speaking, a voice in the sky responded: 'By your practice and deeds, you are resolved to be reborn in Anyang; why should your wish not be fulfilled?' Xuan heard this, leaped with joy, and comforted himself. He then summoned his disciple Cideng to submit his final memorial, and further said to Deng: 'I have engaged in Pure Land cultivation for many years. What I heard today fulfills my past vow.' Thereupon, resting his right side against the mat, he gently breathed his last. He died at seventy-three years of age.