往生集 1.64

1.64

Zhiyi of the Sui dynasty was styled Great Master Zhizhe, a native of Yingchuan. In his childhood, whenever he saw an image he would bow, and whenever he met a monk he would pay homage. At eighteen he took pravrajyā at Guoyuan Temple, and later paid homage to Dhyāna Master Si of Nanyue. When his conditions for propagating the Dharma came to an end, while at Shicheng Temple east of Shan, on the point of entering extinction, he said to his disciples: "I know my destiny lies here; I will not proceed further. Today the axe is stopped and the string is broken." Having chanted the title of the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra, he said further: "The forty-eight vows adorn the Pure Land; the lotus ponds and jeweled trees are easy to reach, yet no one goes. When the sign of the fire-cart appears, one who repents with a single thought still attains rebirth; how much more so for those who perfume and cultivate discipline and concentration, whose holy practices and spiritual power shall not have labored in vain!" Zhilang asked, "We do not yet know what stage the Great Master has realized, or where he will be born upon passing from here?" The master said: "Had I not led the assembly, I would certainly have purified the six sense faculties. Lessening myself to benefit others, I have only attained the five grades. You ask where I will be born: my teachers and friends, attending Avalokiteśvara, have all come to welcome me." Having spoken, he chanted the names of the Three Jewels and entered as if into samādhi.