華嚴經傳記 4.7

4.7

釋辨才。未詳其氏。幼而出家。師事裕法師。諮承教義。以華嚴至典眾稱玄極。馳精挹翫。莫得其涯。慨障累縈纏。將加啟懺。乃別護淨。造香函盛經頂戴。旋遶歷于三載。遂夢。普賢菩薩。指授幽深。因忽誦得其文。始終如鏡。才既感茲聖助。厲自其常。於是義理兼通。時開導利。後不知所終。又有僧。失其氏諱。見才嘉瑞。爰發深衷。因習頂戴。承文殊師利庇景清涼。心祈聖力。時遊禮謁。來往周旋。經初不捨。每慕輒以三椅杖。置經于上。燒香頂拜。跏坐其下。思擇希微。以為恒務。凡一十七年。所感同前。函今見在。其時汾州抱腹巖。有沙彌名慧求。亦於塔中。頂戴此經。三載之後。文義俱曉時則號此塔。為華嚴也。

Monk Biancai: His clan is not detailed. He went forth from the household life when young, serving Dharma Master Yu as his teacher to inquire about and receive doctrines. Because the Avataṃsaka is the supreme scripture and universally praised as the profound ultimate, he exerted his energy to absorb and savor it, yet could not fathom its shores. Lamenting the entanglement of his karmic hindrances and burdens, he was about to undertake rituals of confession. He then separately maintained cleanliness, fashioned a fragrant casket to contain the sūtra, and carried it atop his head, circumambulating for three years. Then he dreamt that Bodhisattva Samantabhadra instructed him in its subtle depths; thereupon he suddenly could recite its text from memory, clear from beginning to end as in a mirror. Having received this sacred aid, Biancai applied himself even beyond his normal standard. From then on, he thoroughly mastered both its principles and teachings, and at times expounded them to guide and benefit others. Later, his end was unknown. There was also a monk whose family name and given name are lost. Seeing Biancai's auspicious sign, he gave rise to deep sincerity. He then adopted carrying [the scripture] on his head, receiving the protective light of Mañjuśrī on Qingliang [Mountain], his mind praying for sacred power. From time to time he travelled to pay homage, coming and going, circumambulating, never forsaking the scripture from the beginning. Whenever longing [stirred in him], he would place the scripture atop three canes, burn incense, bow with his head to the ground, and sit cross-legged beneath it, pondering its subtle depths as his constant practice. Altogether for seventeen years, what he experienced was just as before. The casket is still extant today. At that time, at Baofu Cliff in Fenzhou, there was a novice named Huiri who also carried this sūtra on his head inside a pagoda; after three years, both the text and its meaning were fully understood by him. At the time, this pagoda was called the "Avataṃsaka [Pagoda]".