廣弘明集 23.21

23.21

元嘉十一年冬十月庚子。道生法師卒於廬山。嗚呼哀哉。善人告盡。追酸者無淺。含理亡滅。如惜者又深。法師本姓魏。彭城人也。父廣戚縣令。幼而奇之。携就法汰法師。改服從業。天資聰懋思悟夙挺。志學之年便登講座。于時望道才僧著名之士。莫不窮辭挫慮服其精致。魯連之屈田巴。項託之抗孔叟。殆不過矣。加以性靜而剛烈。氣諧而易遵。喜捨以接誘。故物益重焉。中年遊學廣搜異聞。自楊徂秦登廬躡霍。羅什大乘之趣。提婆小道之要。咸暢斯旨究舉其奧。所聞日優所見踰賾。既而悟曰。象者理之所假。執象則迷理。教者化之所因。束教則愚化。是以徵名責實。惑於虛誕。求心應事。芒昧格言。自胡相傳中華承學。未有能出斯域者矣。乃收迷獨運存履遺跡。於是眾經雲披群疑氷釋。釋迦之旨淡然可尋。珍怪之辭皆成通論。聃周之申名教。秀弼之領玄心。於此為易矣。物忌光頴人疵貞越。怨結同服好折群遊。遂垂翼斂趾。銷影巖穴遵晦至道。投跡愚公登舟之迹。有往無歸命盡山麓。悲興寰畿。嗚呼哀哉。

In the tenth month, winter, on the gengzi day, in the eleventh year of the Yuanjia reign era, Dharma Master Daosheng died at Mount Lu. Alas, how grievous!
When a good person reaches their end, the following sorrow is not shallow; when one who embodies the principle passes away, the regret felt is all the deeper. The Dharma Master was originally surnamed Wei, a native of Pengcheng. His father was the magistrate of Guangqi County, who marveled at him in his youth. He took him to Dharma Master Fatai, whereupon he changed his attire and pursued the vocation. Endowed by Heaven with sharp intellect and diligence, his understanding and enlightenment were remarkably precocious. At the age when one sets their will on learning, he already mounted the lecture seat. At that time, renowned monks who hoped for the Way and men of eminent fame—none failed to exhaust their words, blunt their thoughts, and submit to his exquisite subtlety. Lu Lian refuting Tian Ba, or Xiang Tuo withstanding the old man Confucius, could scarcely have surpassed him.
Moreover, his nature was calm yet unbending and fierce; his disposition was harmonious and easily followed. Welcoming and guiding with joyous giving, others esteemed him all the more. In middle age, he traveled to study, extensively seeking unusual teachings. From Yang to Qin, he ascended Lu and climbed Huo. The purports of Kumārajīva's Mahāyāna and the essentials of Devadharma's Hīnayāna—he thoroughly mastered their tenets and investigated their depths. What he heard grew superior by the day; what he saw surpassed the abstruse. Thereupon he was enlightened and said: “Images are what convey principles; if one clings to images, one strays from principle. Teachings are that by which transformation occurs; if one is bound to teachings, one is blind to transformation. Therefore, to scrutinize names and demand realities leads to confusion over falsehood; to seek the mind through external affairs leaves one blind to profound sayings. From its transmission among the Western lands to its reception in China, no one has yet been able to transcend these boundaries.”
Thereupon, gathering what was obscured and exercising his mind alone, he contemplated and trod the ancient vestiges. Upon this, the myriad scriptures scattered like clouds, and all doubts melted like ice. Śākyamuni's purpose could be calmly discerned, and marvelous, rare expressions all became coherent doctrines. Laozi and Zhuangzi expounding the nominal teachings, or Wang Bi and Xiang Xiu grasping the mysterious mind—compared to this, that was easy!
Creatures envy radiant talent, and people censure upright transcendence. Resentment arose among his fellow monks, who took pleasure in breaking apart from the assembly. He then drooped his wings, drew back his feet, withdrew his shadow into crags and caves, and followed the darkest depths of the supreme Way. Casting his steps in the manner of the Foolish Old Man boarding a boat, he went forward with no return, ending his life at the foot of the mountain. Grief arose throughout the realm. Alas, how grievous!