北山錄 3.2.4

3.2.4

what [Sengcheng] declared invariably proved true.) When Shi Le died, [Shi] Hu usurped the illicit title. Intending to discipline the disrespectful customs, his holy reverence increased day by day. (Jin means strict. After Hu succeeded to the throne, wishing to make strict the disrespectful and insulting customs, he consequently added his own earnest respect towards Fotudeng.) He issued an edict saying: “The Upādhyāya is the great treasure of the state. He does not accept honorable ranks; he does not receive high stipends. Since rank and stipend are not what he esteems, how can his virtue be made manifest? From this time forward, he should be clothed in fine damask and silks, and ride in an engraved carriage. On the days of imperial assemblies, when the Upādhyāya ascends the hall, all attendants from the regular palace attendants down shall lift his carriage, and the crown prince and dukes shall support him. As he ascends, the master of ceremonies shall announce ‘The Great Upādhyāya!’, and all present shall rise, thereby demonstrating his reverence.” He also ordered Minister of Works Li Nong to personally inquire after him morning and evening, and the crown prince and the various princes to pay court to him once every five days, to express Our respect. When the Jin army advanced to the Huai and Fei Rivers (the Huai River emerges from Mount Tongbai; the Fei River is in Lujiang. At that time Jin had its capital at Jinling, while Shi Hu had his capital at Luoyang), Hu secretly became enraged and said: “I devoted my heart to venerating the Buddha, yet this has provoked foreign invaders instead. The Buddha has no spiritual efficacy!” Fotudeng knew of this, and going by night to visit Hu, said: “In a past life, your majesty was a great merchant chief who constantly made offerings in a temple in Jibin. In a great gathering, there were sixty arhats, and this humble body of mine also took part in that gathering. At that time, a person who had attained the Way told me: ‘When the life of this host ends, he will be reborn as a chicken, and later will be a king in the land of Jin.’ Now you have become a king; is this not due to that blessing? Frontier military invasions (jiangchang means the border lands) are merely the ordinary affairs of a state. Why harbor resentment and slanders against the Three Jewels and give rise to venomous thoughts by night?” Hu was startled, humbled, and apologized. Once, sitting with Hu, Fotudeng suddenly rose (zuo means to rise up) and said: “A strange disaster has struck Youzhou!” He hurried to call for wine and cast it from afar. Hu sent men to investigate that day; a fire had broken out from all four gates, and black clouds had come from the southwest, meeting a sudden shower of rain that extinguished it, and the rain smelled distinctly of wine. When Fotudeng was about to pass away, he told Hu: “Entering and exiting birth and death is the ordinary course of the Way. Long and short life spans are fixed by lot and cannot be extended. The heavenly Way emphasizes practice; perfecting virtue values being free of laxity. (Virtue cannot be attained through deficiency or negligence.) If one's conduct and integrity have no deficiency, though one dies, it is as though one lives. To transgress and obtain extension is not what one desires. What remains unfulfilled in my thoughts is that the state has harbored the Buddhist principles in heart and served the Dharma without flaw, raising monasteries and temples that are lofty, magnificent, and splendid; fulfilling this sentiment, you ought to enjoy auspicious blessings. Yet governance is executed with ferocity, and excessive punishments are harsh and uncontrolled. You visibly violate the sacred scriptures and darkly contravene the Dharma's precepts. If you do not admonish and reform yourself, in the end there will be no blessings and protection. (Cheng means to admonish; ge means to reform. Even if one builds monasteries and strictly reveres the Buddhist Dharma, if penal laws are harsh and uncontrolled, there will ultimately be no benefit.) If you lower your heart and alter your thoughts to bestow favor on the lower people, then the state's mandate will endure, and both monks and laity will rejoice and rely upon it. When I finish my span and approach my end, I shall pass away without remaining regret.” The noble men considered Fotudeng's words to truly be loyalty to the altars of soil and grain, and the compassion of the Universal Gate. How could rulers of states not take note of it? (The “noble men” refers to the noble men of that era. Some say they are true words that praise his virtue.) The Classic of Poetry says: “When the people perish, the state is devastated and exhausted.” (This is from the “Zhan'yang” chapter of the Daya in the Classic of Poetry. Tian means to destroy; cui means to fall ill. It means that when the ruler is unvirtuous, the worthy men of the court flee, and the states throughout the realm will all be afflicted.) And after Fotudeng died, that host of barbarians had their corpses left to Ran Min. (The Shishuo says: When Fotudeng passed away, Shi Hu opened the coffin and found no corpse, only his kāṣāya remained. Ran Min was Shi Hu's adopted grandson, peerless in stratagem and valor. He killed Shi Jian and established himself. His banners, bells, and drums stretched continuously for a hundred li. He engaged purely in slaughter, and was captured and killed by Murong Lin. Within seven li to the left and right, all grasses and trees withered.) Now, one who possesses extraordinary nature inevitably possesses extraordinary wisdom; possessing extraordinary wisdom, one inevitably possesses extraordinary deeds; possessing extraordinary deeds, one inevitably possesses extraordinary words; and their words become standard guidelines. In ancient times, there were those with scaly skin, ox heads, tiger noses, and bird beaks (Fuxi had dragon scales and a large, prominent nose; Shennong had an ox head; Nüwa had a serpent body; Huangdi had a dragon face; Diku had double rows of teeth; Yao's eyebrows had eight colors; Shun's eyes had double pupils; Gaoyao had a bird beak; King Wu had sheep-like eyes; and the Duke of Zhou was hunchbacked); all were endowed with unfathomable spiritual qi and harbored inexhaustible holy virtue. As for Sengcheng, beside his left breast he had an opening four or five inches around that penetrated into his belly. At times, light would emerge from within it, and he would plug it with silk floss (kuang means silk floss). At night, he might pull out the floss, and it would illuminate the entire room. On fast days, he would go to the water's edge (hu means the edge of water) and pull out his intestines to wash them. This was truly the manifestation of the utmost extraordinary! (All of this comes from the ancient Gaoseng zhuan.) During the disaster of Yongjia, the Jin imperial house moved to the east. (Since Jin Emperor Hui took the throne, the imperial court became chaotic and kin turned against kin. Zhao King Lun caused turmoil at the beginning of Yongkang, down to Yongjia and Jiangdu when rebellions broke out, and Former Zhao, Later Zhao, and Later Shu arose in competition. Emperor Yuan of Jin garrisoned Yangzhou and subsequently moved to Jinling, known as the Eastern Jin.) Zhu Faqian (an eminent monk of the Jin, whose secular surname was Wang, personal name Qian, and style name Fashen; he enjoyed renown in his day) was the younger brother of Wang Dun. He previously served Liu Yuanzhen of Zhongzhou, esteemed virtue, and applied himself to learning, with his fame filling the Western Court. (Liu Yuanzhen had early on earned renown for his talent, and was deeply valued by Sun Chuo.) Both Chancellor Wang Maohong and Grand Defender Yu Yuangui under Emperors Yuan and Ming (namely Wang Dao and Yu Liang) befriended and respected him. During the Jianwu and Taining eras, Faqian would always wear clogs into the palace; at that time, he was regarded as a gentleman beyond worldly bounds because of the weight of his virtue. Later, he secluded himself in the Shan Mountains; those who came to ask for instruction were steeped in both the inner and outer [teachings] of the Vaipulya scriptures, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. (He taught and guided them using both the inner and outer scriptures.) Emperor Ai summoned him to the imperial table to deliver lectures. (Emperor Ai of Jin was the son of Emperor Cheng, named Pi, with the style name Qianling. When Emperor Mu died without an heir, he was enthroned.) Minister of Works He Cidao took him as his master. Later, he submitted a memorial requesting to return to the Shan Mountains. After he passed away, Xiaowu issued an edict saying: “Master of the Dharma Qian had an understanding of principle that was profound and far-reaching, and his discernment of character was pure and noble. He abandoned the glory of a chancellor to don the plain dyed robes. Residing in the mountains beyond worldly affairs, he was earnest and diligent without remiss. Just when we relied on him to propagate the Way to rescue the multitude of people, he suddenly passed away, which brings grief to Our heart. He may be conferred a funeral gift of one hundred thousand cash.” (A gift sent on death is called fu. Xiaowu was named Yao, with the style name Changming; he was the third son of the Prince of Haixi. Huan Wen assisted in governance; the emperor was clever and discerning from childhood, ascending the throne at the age of ten.) During the reign of Emperor Mu (Emperor Mu of Jin.