淨土往生傳 2.4

2.4

Shi Zhiyi. His secular surname was Chen, and his ancestors were people of Yingchuan. When the Jin moved its capital, they took up residence in Huarong of Jingzhou. His mother, Lady Xu, repeatedly experienced miraculous dreams while pregnant with Zhiyi. When he was born, the room was brightly illuminated; only after a full day had passed did it cease. While still in swaddling clothes, whenever he lay down he joined his palms, and whenever he sat he faced the west. When he reached childhood, he delighted in visiting monasteries. A monk marveled at his aspiration and orally taught him the 'Universal Gate Chapter' of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka; after only a single hearing, he could recite it thoroughly. At the age when his mind was set on learning, he crossed northward into Xiazhou, relying on his maternal uncle for study. At eighteen, he met Dharma Master Xu of Guoyuan Monastery in Xiangzhou and thereupon had his head shaved. Xu conferred the ten precepts upon him and bade him go to Vinaya Master Huikuang, facing north with his scriptures horizontally laid. Afterward, he secluded himself on Mount Daxian, reciting the Amitārtha Sūtra, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, and the Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra; before two decads had elapsed, he had finished reciting all three texts. Next, he placed his reliance on Dhyāna Master Si on Mount Dasu in Guangzhou. When Si saw Zhiyi, he said: 'Formerly on Vulture Peak, we listened together to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka. Aided by that supreme condition, we now meet again here.' He first showed him the Samantabhadra bodhimaṇḍa and explained the four pleasant practices. Zhiyi stayed on Mount Su and practiced the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka samādhi. Beginning on the third night, when he reached the phrase 'This is true vigor' in the 'Bhaiṣajyarāja Chapter', his understanding opened up and was awakened, and he saw himself together with Si on Vulture Peak listening to the Buddha preach the Dharma. The next day, he reported this to Si. Si said: 'Were it not for you, it could not have been sensed; were it not for me, it could not have been known. This is the preliminary expedient of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka samādhi.' Not long after, he entered Mount Baisha in Xizhou, entering into contemplation as before. Whenever he had doubts about a scripture, he would see Si come and mysteriously explicate it for him. Later, Si had him lecture in his stead, and all who heard him submitted in admiration. Zhiyi only consulted him regarding the cognitive application of the three samādhis and three contemplations; as for the rest, he clearly understood it on his own. Si sat below the seat observing and listening, and said to his students: 'This is my son of the Dharma! I only regret that his meditative power is still slight.' Thereupon, monastics and laypeople looked upon him with new respect, and his renown spread far and wide. Soon after, he took leave of Si. Si said: 'You have karmic ties with the state of Chen; if you go, it will surely bring immense benefit.' Zhiyi then traveled leisurely to Jinling, where he broadly propagated the Dhyāna methods at Waguan Monastery. Left Vice Director Xu Ling and the prominent nobles of the time all came to inquire of him. Yet Zhiyi was by nature tranquil and serene, finding no joy in bustle and turmoil; whether taking office or retiring, whether moving or at rest, his thoughts were always with the forests and marshes. During the Guangda era of Chen, he once dreamed of a thousand-fathom cliff where clouds and sun hung halfway, and ten thousand leagues of vast ocean stretched boundlessly without shore. In the distance, he saw a monk atop the cliff, waving his hand and extending his arm all the way down to the foot of the bifurcated peak, pulling Zhiyi upward. In the morning, he described the dream in detail, and someone said to him: 'This must surely be Mount Tiantai in Kuaiji. Since the Jin and Song dynasties, the likes of Sengguang, Daoyou, Falan, and Tanmi have all dwelled there.' Zhiyi rejoiced at his words, and together with Huibian and more than twenty monks, he journeyed south toward that mountain. Formerly, a monk named Dingguang had already lived there for forty years. Two years before Zhiyi arrived, Guang had told people: 'A good friend will come. You should prepare tasks to attend to his needs.' When Zhiyi arrived, Guang joyfully received him and asked him: 'Good friend, do you remember when I waved my hand and extended my arm in earlier years to pull you up?' Zhiyi was startled and awed, knowing that his earlier dream had been spiritual. Soon, the sound of a bell was heard echoing throughout the mountain valley. Because there was no temple in the valley, Zhiyi found it quite strange. Guang said: 'The bell is summoning those with karmic affinity; it is because you are able to dwell here. Why be surprised?' When they were about to build a monastery, Guang said: 'You may settle down according to what is appropriate for now. When the country is pure and peaceful, there will surely be a person of noble rank to erect a monastery for you.' Two years later, Emperor Xuan, hearing of Zhiyi's conduct in the Way, indeed decreed the construction of a monastery; furthermore, knowing that monks and followers everywhere were gathering around him like shadows, he specially set aside the revenue and taxes of Shifeng County to supply them. Zhiyi resided at that monastery, and whenever he undertook the summer retreat, he lectured on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra. One day during the lectures, he suddenly saw three jeweled stairways descend from heaven; moreover, several Indian monks descended the stairs, holding incense burners in their hands, circumambulating Zhiyi three times, and after a long while they vanished. Those who knew regarded them as the holy assembly of the Stone Bridge, clearly bestowing confirmation to strengthen his mind. Prince Bai Zhi of Yongyang served Zhiyi as his master, and when he went out to govern the Wu and Kuaiji regions, his entire family came to the mountain to request the precept transmission. Emperor Xuan also once asked: 'Who among the Buddhist sangha today is eminent and celebrated?' His close courtier Chen Xuan replied: 'The Dhyāna Master of Waguan is truly eminent and celebrated. Formerly in the capital, he was the model for the worthy; now he has retired to Tiantai, and the people have lost their reliance. I hope Your Majesty will summon him back to instruct monastics and laypeople.' The emperor thereupon repeatedly issued imperial decrees to summon him. When Zhiyi arrived at the capital, the emperor ordered his officials to welcome him into the Eastern Hall of Taiji Palace to lecture on the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa. He also decreed that a child driving a sheep-drawn carriage lead the way in front, and commanded the Palace Cadets of the Secretariat to follow in attendance behind. At that time, throughout the empire there was an investigation of monks and nuns, and those without official registries were numbered in the tens of thousands. The court deliberated on thoroughly searching out and weeding out those deficient in scriptural learning. Zhiyi admonished: 'Devadatta recited sixty thousand elephant-loads of scriptures, yet could not escape hell; Panthaka chanted only a single verse on the Dharma, yet attained the holy fruit. A profound discussion of the Way—how could it consist of much recitation?' Emperor Xuan was greatly pleased and thereupon halted the search and purge. Soon afterward, Zhiyi dreamed of a man whose retinue was strict and imposing, who came forward and told him: 'I am Guanda. I request that you reside at Sanqiao.' Zhiyi said: 'Guanda was the Dharma name of Emperor Wu of Liang. Does Sanqiao not refer to Guangzhai Monastery?' He then moved to reside there. In the fourth month, summer of that year, the ruler of Chen visited the monastery and requested a lecture on the Benevolent Kings Sūtra. The emperor bowed earnestly among the assembly, and the crown prince and imperial consorts all revered the standards of the precepts. He further drew up a text, saying: 'Only the Master's transforming guidance is boundless, rescuing beings according to their capacities, safeguarding the realm, and guiding gods and humans.' He also stated: 'Now I wish to fulfill my original vow, asking you to be my master for the bodhisattva precepts, hoping that you will bestow your kind forbearance in accordance with my wish.' Zhiyi ascended the high seat, and the emperor observed the etiquette of a disciple below the seat. When Jinling fell and affairs returned to the Yang clan, the Prince of Jin was then in Yangzhou, and likewise wished to consult and receive the precept transmission. He personally composed a text, saying: 'This disciple has inherited the dynastic foundation through accumulated virtue, born into the imperial house; early on I hastened to heed the family instructions, and long have I been gradually steeped in ancestral teachings.' He also stated: 'The Upādhyāya's renown is heard from afar, known to all; therefore, in reverent admiration, I dispatch oarsmen to welcome you from afar.' When Zhiyi arrived in Yangzhou, the Prince arranged a Dharma assembly of a thousand monks to receive them. After receiving them, Zhiyi told the Prince: 'For a great being to cross over [the world], comprehensive maintenance comes first; a name corresponds to reality, the same now as in antiquity. Your Highness may take the Dharma name Zongchi to manifest this reality.' The Prince received it atop his head. Among the assembly, the Prince also told Zhiyi: 'The Dhyāna Master's wisdom and virtue are inwardly fused with kind forbearance, outwardly manifesting the subjugation of gods and humans and the suppression of māras and non-Buddhists. We desire to title you Master of Wisdom, to fulfill the wishes of all below.' Thereupon, he offered more than sixty unusual items. Zhiyi took these items and used them all for the relief of the impoverished. Later, he returned to his old mountain, his single-minded focus set on meditation. One day, rising from dhyāna, he told his disciple Zhiyue: 'My illusory form will vanish morning or evening. Prepare fragrant flowers at Shicheng and await me to cast off this retribution body.' When Zhiyi arrived there, a couch was laid out facing west, and he meditated on Amitābha Buddha and the two bodhisattvas, as well as the transformation buddhas and transformation bodhisattvas of the Pure Land coming to protect him. He also instructed his disciples to burn abundant incense and candles, and he drew near to his body the three robes, bowl, and staff. When someone wished to offer the pure meal, the Master said: 'To be free of grasping is the true pure meal.' He then asked for fragrant water to rinse his tongue clean, and expounded such teachings as the ten suchnesses, the four non-arisings, the ten realms of reality, the three contemplations, the four wisdoms, the four immeasurables, and the six pāramitās. A monk asked what he had realized, and he replied: 'Had I not led the assembly, my six sense faculties would certainly have been purified. Damaging myself for the sake of others, I have retreated to the inner stage of the five grades.' He further said: 'When a person's life is about to end, hearing the sound of bells and chimes increases their right mindfulness. You should sound the chimes to increase my mindfulness.' He then sat cross-legged and passed away before the image of Amitābha.