廬山記 3.22

3.22

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.