集古今佛道論衡 2.29

2.29

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.