華嚴經傳記 5.8

5.8

唐定州中山禪師釋修德者。不知氏族。苦節成性。守道山林。依華嚴經及起信論。安心結業。攝念修禪。於永徽四年。蹄誠方廣。因發大心。至精抄寫。故別於淨院。植楮樹凡歷三年。兼之華藥。灌以香水。潔淨造紙。復別築淨臺。於上起屋。召善書人媯州王恭。別院齋戒洗。浴淨衣。焚香布華。懸諸幡蓋。禮經懺悔。方昇座焉。下筆含香。舉筆吐氣。每日恒然精勤無怠。禪師躬自入淨。運想燒香。筆翰之間。并專心目。因修若是。迄于終始。每寫一卷。施縑十匹。迄成一部。總施六百餘段。恭因發心。并皆不受。勞誠竭慮。筋力都盡。寫經纔畢。俄從永化。德以經成。設齋慶集。大眾同請。希心禮見。禪師於眾前。燒香散華。嚴發弘誓願。纔開經藏。放大光明。周七十餘里。照定州城。城中士女。并皆同見。中山齋眾。既覩希奇。得未曾有。投身宛轉。悲嘷懺悔。禪師又勒石。寫涅槃法華經各一部。初移入龕之際。石涅槃法華。并放光明。滿十餘里。舉眾咸覩。感悟無涯。

Dhyāna Master Śramaṇa Xiude of Zhongshan in Dingzhou of the Tang: his clan is unknown. Bitter austerity was his innate nature, and he kept the Way in mountain forests. Relying on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and the Awakening of Faith, he settled his mind and bound his practice, collecting his thoughts to cultivate dhyāna. In the fourth year of Yonghui, presenting his sincerity to the Great Vaipulya scriptures, he aroused the Great Aspiration to copy it with ultimate devotion. Therefore, he set up a separate pure cloister and planted paper-mulberry trees for a full three years, interspersing them with flowering medicinal plants and watering them with fragrant water, cleanly producing paper. He further raised a separate pure platform and built a chamber upon it, summoning a man skilled in calligraphy, Wang Gong of Guizhou. In a separate cloister, Wang fasted, bathed, put on clean garments, burned incense, scattered flowers, hung up banners and canopies, and made prostrations before the scripture and repented before mounting the seat. Lowering his brush, he held fragrance in his mouth; raising his brush, he exhaled scented breath. Every day it was constantly like this, diligent and without slackening. The Dhyāna Master personally entered into purity, focusing his mind and burning incense; while the brush and ink moved, his heart and eyes were wholly concentrated. Having cultivated it like this from beginning to end, for every fascicle copied he offered ten bolts of fine silk; by the time the entire set was finished, he had offered more than six hundred bolts in total. Gong, having aroused the bodhi-mind, refused to accept any of it. Straining his sincerity and exhausting his thoughts, his sinews and physical strength were completely spent. As soon as the copying of the scripture was finished, he suddenly passed away forever. Because the scripture was completed, Xiude hosted a vegetarian feast to celebrate the gathering. The great assembly jointly requested and yearned to pay homage and view it. Before the assembly, the Dhyāna Master burned incense, scattered flowers, and solemnly made grand vows. As soon as he opened the scripture treasury, it emitted a great bright light, spreading for more than seventy li and shining upon the city of Dingzhou. The gentlemen and women in the city all saw it together. When the vegetarian assembly of Zhongshan beheld this rare marvel, gaining what they had never had before, they threw their bodies down rolling on the ground, weeping bitterly and repenting. The Dhyāna Master also had stones carved with one copy each of the Nirvāṇa and Lotus Sūtras. When they were first moved into the niche, both the stone Nirvāṇa and Lotus emitted bright light filling more than ten li, beheld by the entire assembly, moving them to boundless awakening.