景德傳燈錄 4.34

4.34

杭州招賢寺會通禪師本郡人也。姓吳氏。本名元卿。形相端嚴幼而聰敏。唐德宗時為六宮使。王族咸美之。春時見昭陽宮華卉敷榮。翫而久之。倏聞空中有聲曰。虛幻之相開謝不停能壞善根。仁者安可嗜之。師省念稚齒崇善極生厭患。帝一日遊宮問曰。卿何不樂。對曰。臣幼不食葷羶志願從釋。曰朕視卿若昆仲。但富貴欲出于人表者不違卿。唯出家不可。既浹旬帝覩其容顇。詔王賓相之。奏曰。此人當紹隆三寶。帝謂師曰。如卿願任選日遠近奏來。師荷德致謝。尋得鄉信言母患乞歸寧省。帝厚其所賜。勅有司津遣師。至家未幾。會韜光法師勉之。謁鳥窠為檀越。與結庵創寺寺成。啟曰。弟子七歲蔬食。十一受五戒。今年二十有二為出家故休官。願和尚授與僧相。曰今時為僧鮮。有精苦者行多浮濫。師曰。本淨非琢磨。元明不隨照。曰汝若了淨智妙圓體自空寂。即真出家何假外相。汝當為在家菩薩戒施俱修如謝靈運之儔也。師曰然。理雖如此於事何益。儻垂攝受則誓遵師教。如是三請皆不諾。時韜光堅白鳥窠曰。宮使未嘗娶。亦不畜侍女。禪師若不拯接。誰其度之。鳥窠即與披剃具戒。師常卯齋晝夜精進。誦大乘經而習安般三昧。尋固辭遊方。鳥窠以布毛示之悟旨。時謂布毛侍者（鳥窠章敘訖）暨鳥窠歸寂垂二十載。武宗廢其寺。師與眾僧禮辭靈塔而邁。莫知其終。

Chan Master Huitong of Zhaoxian Monastery in Hangzhou was a native of the same prefecture surnamed Wu. His original name was Yuanqing. His appearance was dignified, and from childhood he was intelligent and sharp. During the reign of Emperor Dezong of the Tang, he served as Commissioner of the Six Palaces, and the royal clan all praised him. In springtime, seeing the flowers and plants blooming luxuriantly at Zhaoyang Palace, he gazed at them for a long time. Suddenly he heard a voice in the sky say, "Illusory forms blossom and fade without ceasing, capable of destroying roots of goodness. How can a benevolent person indulge in them?" The Master reflected that from his youthful years he had revered goodness, and he gave rise to extreme revulsion [toward worldly life]. One day the Emperor toured the palace and asked, "Why are you unhappy, minister?" He replied, "Your minister from youth has not eaten meat or pungent vegetables, and my vow is to follow Śākya." The Emperor said, "I regard you like a brother; as long as your wealth and honors surpass others, I will not cross your wishes, but leaving household life alone is not permitted." After ten days had elapsed, the Emperor saw his countenance was haggard, and summoned Wang Bin to read his physiognomy. [Wang Bin] memorialized, "This person is destined to carry on and magnify the Three Jewels." The Emperor said to the Master, "As you wish; choose any date near or far and memorialize it." The Master expressed his gratitude for the favor. Soon after, he received a letter from his hometown saying that his mother was ill, and he begged to return to pay his respects. The Emperor bestowed generous gifts upon him and ordered the authorities to provide transit. Not long after arriving home, he met Dharma Master Taoguang, who encouraged him. He went to visit Niaoke as a patron, and built a hermitage and founded a monastery together. When the monastery was completed, he petitioned, "This disciple has eaten vegetarian food since age seven, received the five precepts at eleven, and now at twenty-two has resigned from office to leave household life. I pray that the Upādhyāya bestow upon me the monastic appearance." [Niaoke] said, "Nowadays those who become monks are rarely diligent and ascetic; their conduct is mostly superficial and lax." The Master said, "The fundamentally pure does not depend on polishing; original clarity does not follow illumination." [Niaoke] said, "If you realize that pure wisdom is wondrously complete and its essence is inherently empty and tranquil, that is true leaving of household life; why rely on external appearances? You should be a lay bodhisattva cultivating both precepts and giving, like Xie Lingyun and his kind." The Master said, "It is so. Although the principle is like this, what benefit does it have in practice? If you deign to accept me, I vow to follow the master's teachings." Having petitioned thus three times, [Niaoke] still did not consent. At that time Taoguang firmly addressed Niaoke, saying, "The Palace Commissioner has never married, nor has he kept serving maidens. If the Chan Master does not rescue and receive him, who will deliver him?" Niaoke then shaved his head and gave him the full precepts. The Master regularly took his meal at the hour of the hare (early morning) and exerted diligence day and night, reciting Mahāyāna sūtras and practicing the ānāpāna samādhi. Soon after, he firmly took leave to wander the regions. Niaoke showed him the cloth thread, and he awakened to the profound meaning; at that time he was called Attendant Cloth Thread. (This concludes the account in the Niaoke section.) Nearly twenty years after Niaoke returned to stillness, Emperor Wuzong abolished his monastery. The Master and the community of monks bowed and took leave of the sacred stūpa and departed; no one knows where he ended his days.