景德傳燈錄 27.14

27.14

Great Master Sengqie of Sizhou was regarded by contemporaries as a manifestation of the Great Being Avalokiteśvara. Tracing the origin, in the past, an asaṃkhyeya of Gaṅgā-sands of kalpas ago, he encountered the Tathāgata Avalokiteśvara, entered the Way through the three gates of wisdom, and performed the Buddha-work by means of sound. Yet because the sentient beings of this land had conditions with him, he was said to be a great master who had come from the Western countries. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang, he arrived in Chang'an and Luoyang, and carried out conversion throughout the Wu and Chu regions. Holding a willow branch in his hand, he mingled among the monastic community. Someone asked the master, "What is your surname?" He immediately replied, "My surname is He." The person asked again, "What country are you from?" The master said, "A man of the country of He." Soon after, on the Si River, he wished to erect a saṅghārāma and lodged there for a night. A resident of the prefecture named Heba offered his dwelling. The master said, "This was originally a Buddhist sanctuary." He ordered the ground to be excavated, and they indeed unearthed an ancient stele that read 'Xiangji Temple', which had been founded by Li Longjian of the Qi. They also uncovered a golden image, which the crowd identified as the Tathāgata Dīpaṃkara. The master said, "It is the Buddha Puguangwang (Universal Light King)." Accordingly, this was made the temple's nameplate. In the second year of Jinglong, Emperor Zhongzong sent an envoy to welcome the Great Master to the capital, treating him with extraordinary courtesy. He was ordered to reside at the Great Jianfu Temple. The emperor and the hundred officials all proclaimed themselves his disciples. He ordained three men: Huiyan, Huian, and Moucha. The emperor wrote the temple nameplate in his own hand ('Puguangwang Temple'). On the third day of the third month of the third year, the Great Master manifested cessation. An imperial decree ordered that his body be lacquered and a stupa erected at Jianfu Temple. Suddenly, a foul stench filled the city. The emperor prayed to escort the master back to Linhuai; as soon as the words were spoken, an extraordinary fragrance wafted up. The emperor asked Wanhui, "What kind of man was Great Master Sengqie?" He replied, "A transformation body of Avalokiteśvara, nothing more." In the Qianfu era, he was posthumously granted the title 'Great Master Zhengsheng' (Witnessing Sage). During the Taiping Xingguo era of our present dynasty, Emperor Taizong rebuilt the stupa, magnificent and surpassing all others.