往生集 1.141

1.141

錢氏吳越延壽。杭州餘杭人。依四明翠岩禪師出家。參天台韶國師。發明心要。甞行法華懺。中夜見普賢。蓮花忽然在手。因思宿願未決。登智者岩。作二鬮。一曰。一心禪定。一曰。萬行修淨土。冥心精禱。七拈皆得淨土。於是一意專修。後住永明。日課一百八事。夜往別峯行道念佛。旁人時聞螺貝天樂之音。忠懿王嘆曰。自古求西方。未有如此之專切者也。乃立西方香嚴殿。以成其志。在永明十五年。弟子千七百人。常與眾授菩薩戒。施鬼神食。放諸生命。皆悉迴向莊嚴淨土。時號慈氏下生。開寶八年二月二十六日。晨起焚香告眾。趺坐而化。後有僧來自臨川。經年遶其塔。人問故曰。我病入冥。見殿左供一僧像。王勤致禮敬。密詢其人則曰。此杭州永明壽禪師也。凡死者皆經冥府。此師已徑生西方上上品矣。王重其德。故禮敬耳。

Yanshou of the Qian family's Wuyue kingdom was a native of Yuhang in Hangzhou. He went forth into the religious life under Chan Master Cuiyan of Siming. He studied with National Preceptor Shao of Tiantai, illuminating the essentials of the mind. He once performed the Lotus Repentance; in the middle of the night, he saw Samantabhadra, and a lotus flower suddenly appeared in his hand. Consequently, reflecting that his past vows remained unsettled, he ascended Master Zhiyi's cliff and made two lots: one read 'Single-minded dhyāna-concentration,' and the other read 'Cultivating the Pure Land through myriad practices.' Quieting his mind and praying sincerely, he drew lots seven times, and every time he obtained the Pure Land. Thereupon, he devoted his mind exclusively to this practice. Later, he resided at Yongming, undertaking one hundred and eight daily tasks. At night, he went to another peak to practice the path and engage in buddhamanasikāra. Bystanders frequently heard the sounds of conch shells and celestial music. King Zhongyi sighed in admiration: 'Since ancient times, among those seeking the Western Direction, there has never been one so dedicated and earnest!' He then erected the Hall of Western Incense and Adornment to fulfill his aspiration. During his fifteen years at Yongming, he had one thousand seven hundred disciples. He constantly conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon the assembly, distributed food to ghosts and spirits, and released various living creatures, dedicating all the merit to adorning the Pure Land. At that time, he was called an earthly descent of Maitreya. On the twenty-sixth day of the second month of the eighth year of the Kaibao era, he rose at dawn, burned incense, addressed the assembly, and passed away seated cross-legged. Later, a monk came from Linchuan and circumambulated his stupa for an entire year. When people asked the reason, he replied: 'When I was ill, I entered the underworld and saw the portrait of a monk enshrined to the left of the palace hall. The King [of the Underworld] diligently paid reverence to it. When I discreetly asked who he was, they said: "This is Chan Master Yanshou of Yongming in Hangzhou. All who die must pass through the underworld courts, but this master has already been reborn directly into the highest grade of the highest level of the Western Direction. The King esteems his virtue, and therefore pays him homage."'