集古今佛道論衡 2.29

2.29

案隋著作王邵述隋祖起居注云。帝以後魏大統七年六月十三日。生于同州般若尼寺。于時赤光照室流溢戶外。紫氣滿庭狀如樓閣。色染人衣。內外驚異。帝母以時炎熱就而扇之。寒甚幾絕困不能啼。有神尼者。名曰智仙。河東劉氏女也。少出家有戒行和上失之恐墮井乃在佛屋儼然坐定。時年七歲。遂以禪觀為業。及帝誕日無因而至。語太祖曰。兒天佛所祐勿憂也。尼遂名帝為那羅延。言如金剛不可壞也。又曰。兒來處異倫俗家穢雜。自為養之。太祖乃割宅為寺以兒委尼。不敢召問。後皇妣來抱。忽化為龍。驚遑墮地。尼曰。何因妄觸我兒。遂令晚得天下。及年七歲。告帝曰。兒當大貴從東國來。佛法當滅由兒興之。尼沈靜寡言。時道吉凶莫不符驗。初在寺養。帝年至十三。方始還家。及周滅二教尼隱皇家。帝後果自山東入為天子。重興佛法皆如尼言。及登位後每顧群臣追念阿闍梨以為口實。又云。我興由佛法。而好食麻豆。前身似從道人中來。由小時在寺。至今樂聞鍾聲。乃命史官為尼作傳。帝昔龍潛所經四十五州。及登極後。皆悉同時起大興國寺。仁壽元年帝及后宮同感舍利並放光明。砧槌試之宛然無損。遂前後置塔諸州百有餘所。皆置銘勒隱于地府。咸發神瑞充仞目前。具如王邵所撰感應傳。所以周祖竊忌黑衣當王。便摧滅佛法。莫識隋祖元養佛家。王者不死何由可識。事過方委知聖詐狂。自古皆爾。備諸聞見。然帝信重佛宗情注無已。每日登殿。坐列七僧轉經問法。乃至大漸至於道觀羈縻而已。崇建功德佛門隆盛。時既非遙故略其敘。于時曇延法師。是稱僧傑。昇於正殿而授帝菩薩戒焉。事如別顯。及大業嗣曆彌隆前政。昔居晉府盛集英髦。慧日法雲道場興號。玉清金洞玄壇著名。四海搜揚總歸晉邸。四事供給三業依憑。禮以家僧不屬州省。迄于終曆徵訪莫窮。而情慕佛宗崇奉誡約。天台智顗。定門幽祕神用罕加。請為國師尊加智者。言令所及無不允從。及其即世廢朝追感。就山造寺廣度眾僧。下書憂問慇懃委曲。遺錫糧粒并諸法衣。欲使徒眾行道如師在日。故每至忌晨必預先設供。門人歲至面敘昔緣。情款莫二。自有帝王於師珍敬無以加也。至於李老符錄曾無預懷。致使交論興言絕於徵召。故無所編次云。

According to the Diary of Activity and Repose of the Sui Founder written by Wang Shao, Editorial Director of the Sui: On the thirteenth day of the sixth month in the seventh year of the Datong era of the Later Wei, the Emperor was born in Prajñā Nunnery in Tongzhou. At that time, red light illuminated the room and spilled out past the door; purple vapors filled the courtyard like multistoried pavilions, their color tinting people's clothes. Those inside and outside were alarmed and amazed. Because the weather was scorching hot, the Emperor's mother approached to fan him, but he felt so intensely cold that he nearly expired and was too distressed to cry. There was an extraordinary nun named Zhixian, a daughter of the Liu family of Hedong. Having left home at an early age, she possessed pure moral discipline. When her preceptor lost track of her, fearing she had fallen into a well, she was found sitting upright in meditative absorption in the Buddha hall; she was seven years old at the time. Thereupon, she took meditation practice as her vocation. When the Emperor was born, she arrived without being summoned and said to Taizu: "The child is protected by the gods and Buddhas; do not worry." The nun then gave the Emperor the name Nārāyaṇa, saying he was like a vajra, indestructible. She also said: "The place this child comes from is of an extraordinary order; worldly homes are defiled and mixed. I will raise him myself." Taizu then partitioned his residence to make a temple and entrusted the child to the nun, not daring to summon or question her. Later, when the Empress Dowager came to embrace him, he suddenly transformed into a dragon; in alarm, she dropped him to the ground. The nun said: "Why did you rashly touch my child? You have caused him to attain the empire late." When he reached the age of seven, she told the Emperor: "You, child, will become immensely noble, coming from the eastern state. When the Buddha's Dharma is about to be extinguished, it will be revived by you." The nun was quiet and of few words, but whenever she spoke of fortune and misfortune, all proved accurate. Initially raised in the temple, the Emperor only returned home when he reached the age of thirteen. When the Northern Zhou destroyed the two teachings, the nun hid in the imperial household. The Emperor later indeed entered from east of the mountains to become the Son of Heaven, and the revival of the Buddha's Dharma occurred entirely according to the nun's words. After ascending the throne, whenever he looked upon his ministers, he recalled his ācārya, making it a constant topic of conversation. He also said: "My rise was due to the Buddha's Dharma, and I am fond of eating hemp and beans; my former life seems to have come from among the men of the Dao. Because I was in a temple in my youth, even now I delight in hearing the sound of bells." He then ordered the court historians to compose a biography for the nun. In the forty-five prefectures through which the Emperor had passed during his days as a hidden dragon, after he ascended the throne, Daxingguo Temples were simultaneously erected in all of them. In the first year of the Renshou reign era, the Emperor and the imperial harem together obtained śarīra relics, all of which emitted light. When tested with an anvil and hammer, they remained perfectly undamaged. Thereupon, stupas were erected in succession in over one hundred prefectures, with inscriptions engraved and hidden in underground vaults; all manifested divine omens that filled the sight of those present, fully detailed in the Biographies of Numinous Responses compiled by Wang Shao. Thus, when the Ancestor of Zhou secretly feared that one clad in black would become king, he immediately dismantled and extinguished the Buddha's Dharma, completely unaware that the Founder of the Sui was originally raised in a Buddhist household. Since the destined ruler does not die, how could he have been recognized? Only after events passed was it understood, revealing the sage's feigned madness; it has always been so from ancient times, fully known from what has been heard and seen. The Emperor's faith and reverence for the Buddhist tradition were deep, and his devotion was boundless. Every day upon ascending the hall, seven monks were seated in a row to recite sūtras and be questioned on the Dharma, continuing even until his final illness. As for Daoist abbeys, he merely treated them with loose restraint. In establishing merit and virtue, the Buddhist gate flourished immensely. Since that time is not distant, this account is brief. At that time, Dharma Master Tanyan was acclaimed as an outstanding monk; ascending the main hall, he conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon the Emperor. The details are shown elsewhere. When the Daye era succeeded to the calendar, the former governance was made even more splendid. While formerly residing in the Jin mansion, he had gathered an abundance of eminent talents. The Dao-places of Huariri and Fayun had their titles established, while the Daoist altars of Yuqing and Jindong became renowned. Those sought out from the four seas were all gathered at the Jin mansion; the four requisites were provided, and the three karmas were relied upon. Treated with the etiquette of household monks, they were not subject to prefectural or provincial control. Up to the end of his reign, his inquiries and visits were endless. In his heart he yearned for the Buddhist tradition, reverently upholding its precepts and injunctions. Zhiyi of Tiantai, whose portals of meditation were profound and secret, possessed divine efficacy that was rarely equaled. He was invited to become the National Preceptor, honored with the title of Wise One; whatever his words and commands touched upon, none were not complied with. When he passed away, the Emperor suspended court to mourn him, built a monastery on the mountain, and broadly ordained many monks. He issued decrees inquiring with solicitous care and meticulous concern, bestowing staves, grain, and various Dharma robes, wishing that the disciples would practice the Dao just as when their master was alive. Therefore, whenever the anniversary of his passing arrived, offerings were invariably prepared in advance; when his disciples arrived each year, they met face to face to recount their former ties, with undivided affection. Never has an emperor's treasured respect for a master surpassed this. As for the talismans and registers of Lao Li, he never harbored any regard for them. Consequently, the raising of mutual debates ceased to be summoned; thus, there is nothing compiled here.