集古今佛道論衡 4.14

4.14

In the fifth year of the Xianqing reign period (660 CE), the imperial carriage visited the Eastern Capital. Devoting his mind to Buddhism and Daoism, [the Emperor] esteemed doctrine and principle, [considering that] without conversation and discussion there would be no means of explaining and understanding [them]. An imperial decree was issued summoning the monk Yibao of the Great Ci'en Temple, the monk Huili of Ximing Temple, and others, each with two attendants, to proceed east to Luoyi. Immediately boarding the post-couriers, they proceeded as ordered to the Hebi Palace and were granted an audience. In discoursing on doctrinal principles, [Yibao] did not deviate from scriptural comprehension. An imperial decree ordered them to stay at Jingtu Temple in the Eastern Capital. There, Yibao lectured on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra and the Three Treatises. His fame and prestige rose high, and his glory and esteem grew ever grander. Yibao’s secular surname was Xue, and he was a man of Jinling in Changzhou. He was an heir of Lord Mengchang, chancellor of Qi, and a descendant of the famous ministers Zong and Ying of the Great Wu. His natural disposition was lofty and aloof, and his personal character was pure and bright. In his youth he donned the black robes, and as he grew up he traveled widely to listen and learn. At first, he studied under Master Ming in Suzhou, serving assiduously to master doctrinal principles and fully attaining admirable coolness and clarity; through the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra and Avataṃsaka Sūtra, he brought illumination to rocky hermitages. He then went to Mount Jinyun to study under Master Kuang in Wuzhou, where he spent many years, exhaustively asking questions and probing the profound; comprehending the essence in pristine sincerity, he rose above the ordinary to achieve mysterious profundity. Thereupon, he wandered through the Yu Caverns for more than thirty years, transmitting sūtras and explaining treatises, with companions in study flocking to follow him. He constantly reflected that the supreme teaching of the Mahāyāna had originally been north of the Wei River, yet the pure source had spread and dispersed, eventually flowing into Yang and Yue. He sighed that the lofty track had lost its trace in the Central Plains. Later, he resided at Fachuang Temple on Mount Jinhua in Dongyang, tirelessly promoting the Dao, sitting in forgetfulness all day long, wishing to unite with his inner mind and harboring this aspiration to the end of his years. It coincided that [the abbot of] Ci'en submitted a petition to search for talent throughout the realm, and the eminent men of the capital, moved by his style and looking up to his virtue, submitted his name to the throne. An imperial decree was issued to invite him. Once he arrived in the capital, [his former] hidden anxieties were completely swept away. The Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang harbored no suspicion due to physical separation; together they discussed the grand outlines, making the protection of the Dharma their foremost duty. [Xuanzang] requested him to give ten comprehensive lectures on the sūtras and treatises he had studied, and looking to his disciples, he told them all to go and listen. At that time, when he first expounded the magnificent principles at Ci'en, [affirming that] both existence and emptiness were to be set aside, and both medicine and disease were alike eliminated, the scholars who clung to existence based on the Abhidharma, or preserved emptiness based on the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra—those who divided the river to drink their waters and those of various sects who preached the monastic precepts—became contentious regarding self and other, and were suddenly shocked. They all considered him a non-Buddhist adherent of the view of emptiness, or called him an 'illusion-flower practitioner'. They then raised their indignation to the skies, yet none failed, upon encountering his style, to break their chariots, lose their composure, be struck with terror, and lose their way back. Yibao then instructed them on the fault of slandering the Dharma, showed them the path leading to faith as the foremost virtue, and reproached them with the three passes so that they were flustered and helpless; when he guided them with the five faults, they felt their guilt filling heaven. The eloquence of his mouth cited [authorities] like a rushing torrent, enabling his rejoinders to be peerless. When those assembled like soaring clouds and rain arrived beneath the sun, his illustrious reputation and virtuous renown resounded. The chief ministers throughout the capital and the preeminent in the Dao acclaimed him with praise, [saying], 'The revival of the Great Dharma depends on this man!' Barely a month had passed when he received an imperial summons to the inner palace to clarify the Dao, where the Emperor personally listened to the pure discourse. As briefly recounted above, he did not disappoint his glorious renown. Later, during the imperial tour to Luoyang, he was summoned once again; his fame and glory were exceedingly abundant, surpassing both past and present. Unexpectedly, the pillar of the Dharma suddenly collapsed, and the vessel of benevolence sank: he died of an illness in Luoyi. The unseen and visible realms were shrouded in sorrow; monastics and laypeople were grieved and despondent. An imperial edict was issued to offer condolences and grant mortuary gifts, ordering that he be buried in his native district. As for the rest of his superior attainments in the Dao, their written accounts have not yet been obtained, but they will be compiled as they are found, lest they be lost.