華嚴經傳記 2.13

2.13

釋靈幹。姓李氏。金城狄道人。祖相封於上黨。遂隨封而遷焉。年十歲志樂聞法。情欣背俗。親弗違之。十四投鄴京大莊嚴寺衍法師為弟子。晝夜遵奉。無怠寸陰。而每入講堂。想處天宮無異也。十八覆講華嚴十地。初開宗本。僉共美之。周武滅法。居家奉戒。隋開佛日。則當高選。幹每講此經。亟延涼燠。四方進結。塵接相望。開皇七年。勅令住興善寺。為譯經證義沙門。至十七年。遇疾悶絕。唯心不冷。未敢藏殯。後醒云。我往兜率天。見休遠二法師。竝坐華臺。光暉絕世。謂幹曰。汝與我諸弟子。後皆生此矣。因爾覺悟。重增故業。端然觀行。絕交人物。及大業三年。置大禪定。有勅擢為道場上座。僧徒一盛。匡救有功。至八年正月卒於寺。春秋七十有八。乃火葬於終南之陰。初幹志奉華嚴。常依經本。作蓮華藏世界海觀及彌勒天宮觀。至于疾甚。目精上視。不與人對。久乃如常。沙門童真問疾在側。幹謂真曰。向見青衣童子引至兜率天宮。而天樂非久。終墜輪迴。蓮華藏是所圖也。不久氣絕。須臾復通。真問。何所見耶。幹曰。見大水遍滿。華如車輪。幹坐其上。所願足矣。尋爾便卒。

Shi Linggan, whose secular surname was Li, was a native of Didao in Jincheng. His grandfather was enfeoffed in Shangdang as a minister, and [the family] subsequently relocated following the fief. At the age of ten, his aspiration was to hear the Dharma and his mind rejoiced in leaving secular life behind; his parents did not oppose him. At fourteen, he went to Da Zhuangyan Monastery in the capital of Ye to become a disciple of Dharma Master Yan. Day and night he respectfully served him without wasting an inch of time, and whenever he entered the lecture hall, he imagined himself dwelling in a heavenly palace, no different. At eighteen, he repeated the lectures on the Avataṃsaka and the Ten Grounds. When he first opened the fundamental teachings, everyone praised him in unison. When Emperor Wu of the Zhou suppressed the Dharma, he remained at home upholding the precepts. When the Sui dynasty revived the sun of the Buddha, he was among the distinguished choices. Whenever Linggan lectured on this sūtra, he would often extend through the cold and heat; people gathered and formed bonds from all four directions, following one after another in a continuous stream of dust. In the seventh year of Kaihuang, by imperial decree he was ordered to reside at Xingshansi as a śramaṇa who certified the meanings for translation of sūtras. In the seventeenth year, he fell ill and fell unconscious, but his heart alone remained warm, so they did not yet dare to inter him. Later he awoke and said: 'I went to Tuṣita Heaven and saw the two Dharma Masters Xiu and Yuan, sitting together on lotus pedestals, their radiant light surpassing the world. They said to me: "You and all my disciples will later all be reborn here."' On this account he was awakened and further redoubled his past practice. Uprightly engaging in contemplative practice, he severed interactions with worldly people. In the third year of Daye, the Da Chanding [Monastery] was established, and by imperial decree he was promoted to be the sthavira (senior monk) of the bodhimaṇḍa. The assembly of monks flourished for a time, and his work in guiding and delivering them was meritorious. In the first month of the eighth year, he passed away at the monastery at the age of seventy-eight. He was cremated on the northern slopes of Mount Zhongnan. Initially, Linggan had resolved to uphold the Avataṃsaka, always relying on the text of the sūtra to perform the contemplation of the Padmagarbha-alaṃkāra-lokadhātusamudra and the contemplation of Maitreya's heavenly palace. When his illness became severe, his pupils turned upward and he did not respond to people. After a long while he returned to normal. Śramaṇa Tongzhen was inquiring about his illness by his side. Linggan said to Zhen: 'Just now I saw a boy in blue robes leading me to Tuṣita heavenly palace. But heavenly pleasures do not last long; in the end one falls back into saṃsāra. The Padmagarbha is what I aspire to.' Soon after, his breath ceased. In a moment it returned again. Zhen asked, 'What did you see?' Linggan said, 'I saw great waters filling everywhere, and a flower like a chariot wheel. I sat upon it; my wish has been fulfilled.' Immediately thereafter, he passed away.