釋門自鏡錄 1.18

1.18

The monk Daoguang was a native of Bingzhou. His secular surname was Zhang. His family was quiet and reclusive, ashamed to hold prestigious official posts. In his youth, Guang transcended the worldly and was long acquainted with the fasts and precepts. At the age of ten, he took leave of his parents to seek the Way everywhere, subsequently shaving his own head and wandering to dwell in Guanzhong. Later he served Vinaya Master Daoxuan, being especially noted for his practice and understanding. Turning his sincerity and dedicating his thoughts, he inquired and received instructions morning and evening; as for his filial nourishment and care in cold and heat, he far surpassed his peers. Because his devotion and propriety were both consummate, Xuan instructed and guided him all the more; after decades of diligent study, he ultimately became a great vessel. However, when the reign of Yonghui succeeded to the throne, imperial attention turned to the Buddhist order, and ordinations were granted frequently; yet Guang missed out each time due to lacking the necessary karmic conditions, perpetually harboring shame, resentment, and dissatisfaction in his heart. Around the Linde era, because of his precept virtue, Xuan was suddenly visited by celestial spirits coming and going, conversing with him over several months about the profound principles; from several past Buddhas down to the present, all their actions, sit-ins, times, and places were detailed completely. Xuan took the opportunity to inquire about the scriptural and Vinaya permissions and prohibitions, and the origins of sacred traces, subsequently composing a Comprehensive Record in one section of ten fascicles. Furthermore, in an hour of leisure, he asked the celestial spirit, saying, "I, Xuan, have a disciple named Daoguang whose filial love is pure and utmost; I do not know what karma could cause this." The spirit said, "Guang and you, Vinaya Master, have been father and son, master and disciple, for over three hundred lifetimes. Because their affectionate intimacy has endured for so long, this is the result; the residual retribution and remaining affinities are not yet exhausted even today." He asked again, "Guang has repeatedly sought ordination to receive the precepts, yet it has never matched his wish; what karma has caused this?" The spirit said, "In the past, during the time of Vipaśyin Buddha, Guang was once a vihārasvāmin. At that time, there was a monk whose observance of the precepts was deficient in many ways. The vihārasvāmin was angered by him and sent him away to return to secular life. Because of this karma, lifetime after lifetime when he enters the Way, he cannot obtain official registration. The lingering calamity of this karma is still not exhausted today." After Xuan died, Guang sought a place to reside in the east and west, eventually settling north of the Yellow River. In the second year of Shangyuan, Emperor Tianhuang, on behalf of Emperor Xiaojing, restored Baima Monastery. The vihārasvāmin Chongyi searched exhaustively; because Guang's reputation had long been evident, he answered this auspicious selection, and his name was submitted to the inner palace. Guang then contracted an illness; by the time the imperial decree descended upon Weizhou, his body had already passed away. This proved the celestial words were true indeed. There was Dhyāna Master Baoliang, who had associated with Guang for several years, repeatedly heard Guang speak of this, and quietly kept it in mind; upon hearing that his registration was achieved just as his life ended, he finally understood that his karmic destiny was indeed so, and recounted it fully to me.