廬山記 3.22

3.22

竺道生本姓魏。鉅鹿人也。寓居彭城。家世士族父廣。道生生而頴悟。聰哲若神。其父知非凡器。愛而異之。後從沙門竺法汰出家。遂用竺為氏。既踐法門。俊思奇拔。研味句義。觸類開解。年十五。便登講坐。吐納問答。如貫珠玉年二十。器鑒日深。義熙七年辛亥。初入廬山。幽棲七年。以求其志。常以入道之要。慧解為本。故鑽仰群經。斟酌雜義。萬里隨法。不憚疲苦。乃經長安。羅什受業。關中僧眾咸謂神悟。後還都止青霞寺。校閱真俗。研思因果。乃云。善不受報頓悟成佛。性常有論。法身無色論。有無淨土緣論等。籠罩舊說。妙有淵旨。而守文之徒嫌嫉紛起。又六卷泥洹經。先至京都。說阿闡提人皆得成佛。于時大本未傳。孤明先發獨見忤眾。於是舊學以為邪說。擯而遣之。師乃正容誓曰。若我所說反於經義者。請於見身示以厲疾。若與實相不相違背。願捨識之時。踞師子座。言竟拂衣而去。入吳郡虎丘山。旬日之中。學徒數百人。其年夏。雷震于青園佛殿。龍昇于天。識者默歎曰。龍既去。生必行矣。師果辭眾。復還廬山。銷影巖岫。後涅槃大本至于南京。果稱闡提悉有佛性。與前所說若合符契。師既獲斯經。尋復講說。以宋元嘉十一年甲戌冬十月。於廬山精舍法座講說。大眾悚聽。法席將畢。忽見麈尾紛然而墜。端坐正容。隱几而逝。顏色不異。宛若入定。道俗嗟駭。京師諸師聞者悉皆懺悔信伏。葬于廬山之阜。王微以生比郭林宗。乃為立傳。述其遺德。元宗詔建堂造塔。追諡普濟大師法施之塔。

Zhu Daosheng's original surname was Wei, and he was a native of Julu. He resided in Pengcheng. His family had been gentry for generations, and his father was Guang. From birth Daosheng was exceptionally perceptive, with an intelligence and wisdom like that of a spirit. His father, recognizing that he was no ordinary vessel, cherished him and regarded him as extraordinary. Later, he went forth from household life under the śramaṇa Zhu Fatai, and subsequently took Zhu as his surname. Once he entered the Dharma gate, his brilliant mind stood out remarkably; he scrutinized and savored the meaning of phrases, opening to understanding at every touch. At the age of fifteen, he already mounted the lecture seat; his expounding, questioning, and answering were like a string of gems and jade. At the age of twenty, his discernment and critical acumen deepened day by day. In the seventh year of the Yixi era, the xinhai year, he first entered Lushan, living in secluded retreat for seven years to pursue his aspirations. He always considered insightful understanding to be the foundation and the essential gateway to entering the Path; therefore, he delved into the myriad sūtras and weighed varied doctrines, following the Dharma across ten thousand li without fear of weariness or hardship. He then passed through Chang'an to receive instruction from Kumārajīva; the monastic assembly of Guanzhong all praised his divine awakening. Later he returned to the capital and stayed at Qingxia Temple, collating the ultimate and the conventional and thoroughly investigating cause and effect. He then declared that 'good receives no retribution,' 'sudden awakening brings buddhahood,' and composed treatises such as the Treatise on Nature Being Ever-Existent, the Treatise on the Dharmakāya Being Formless, and the Treatise on the Conditions for the Existence or Nonexistence of the Pure Land, which surpassed earlier views and contained wondrous, profound principles. Yet those who clung to the letter raised jealous opposition on all sides. Furthermore, when the six-fascicle Nirvāṇa Sūtra first arrived in the capital, it taught that icchantikas can all attain buddhahood. At that time, the large version had not yet been transmitted; his solitary illumination shone forth first, and his singular insight conflicted with the crowd. Thereupon, the adherents of the old teachings considered it heterodox and banished and expelled him. The Master then assumed a solemn expression and vowed, 'If what I have spoken goes against the meaning of the scriptures, may I, in this present body, be stricken with a virulent disease. If it does not contradict true reality, I pray that when I relinquish consciousness, I may sit upon the lion seat.' Having spoken, he shook his robes and departed. He entered Mount Huqiu in Wu Commandery; within ten days, his disciples numbered several hundred. In the summer of that year, thunder struck the Buddha hall of Qingyuan, and a dragon ascended to heaven. Those with discernment sighed in secret and said, 'Now that the dragon has departed, [Dao]sheng will surely leave.' The Master indeed took leave of the assembly and returned again to Lushan, concealing his traces among the crags and peaks. Later, when the large version of the Nirvāṇa arrived in Nanjing, it indeed stated that icchantikas all possess the Buddha-nature, matching what he had previously spoken like two halves of a tally. Once the Master obtained this scripture, he soon expounded it again. In the eleventh year of the Yuanjia era of the Song, the jiayin year, in the tenth month of winter, he was lecturing from the Dharma seat at the hermitage on Lushan. The great assembly listened in awe. As the Dharma session was drawing to a close, they suddenly saw his chowry flutter and drop. Sitting upright with a solemn countenance, he rested against the armrest and passed away. His complexion did not change, just as if he had entered samādhi. Monastics and laity gasped in astonishment. When the various masters in the capital heard of it, they all repented and submitted in faith. He was buried on the slope of Lushan. Wang Wei compared Daosheng to Guo Linzong and therefore composed a biography for him recounting his enduring virtues. Yuanzong decreed the construction of a hall and stūpa, posthumously conferring the title Grand Master Puji and naming it the Stūpa of Dharma Giving.