辯正論 3.56

3.56

Great Master Fu of Shuanglin Monastery in Wuyang County, Dongyang Commandery, under the Liang, constantly turned the wheel of the Dharma and exalted the noble station, multiplying his forms throughout the worlds to liberate all living beings. Sometimes between his breast and belly a golden color would suddenly appear; within his clenched fist an extraordinary fragrance would at times emanate. Or he would manifest a body over ten feet tall, his arms reaching past his knees, his feet two feet long, his toes five inches long, his two eyes distinct with double pupils shining brightly, and his countenance dignified, possessing the marks of a Great Man. He sent an emissary bearing a letter to present to Emperor Wu of the Liang, saying: 'Shan Hui, the Great Master of Future Liberation beneath the Twin Trees, speaks to the Lord of the State, the Bodhisattva Saving the World. I now set forth the superior, middling, and inferior goods, hoping that you will be able to receive and uphold them. The superior good takes an open mind as its basis, non-attachment as its essence, forgetting signs as its cause, and nirvāṇa as its fruition. The middling good takes cultivating oneself as its basis, governing the state as its essence, bringing the peaceful and joyful fruition of heavenly and human realms. The inferior good takes protecting and nourishing sentient beings as its basis.' Emperor Wu invited him, and he took up residence below Mount Zhong at Dinglin Monastery, sitting shaded by tall pines and reclining against massive boulders. Within the four directions of the monastery sweet dew was constantly poured down, and within sixty days heavenly flowers frequently rained. When Emperor Wu opened the exposition of the Prajñā title in the Chongyun Hall of Hualin Garden, a single couch was separately arranged for him to converse with the Emperor. When the jade carriage ascended the hall, [Fu] sat peacefully with legs splayed out. When the censors inquired and reproved him, he merely said: 'If the Dharma earth is disturbed, then all things will be uneasy.' Moreover, knowing that the destiny of the Liang was coming to an end and taking pity on the calamities of war, he burned his arms as lamps, hoping to avert the coming disaster. In the summer of the first year of the Taijian era, lying on his right side, he suddenly entered nirvāṇa. At that time, though the midsummer heat was blazing, his warmth was no different [from in life], his countenance was joyful and composed, his radiance was fresh and pure, fragrance filled the space, and his limbs could be bent and stretched as normal. Those who looked on generated the aspiration [for awakening] and sighed that it was unprecedented.