法苑珠林 33.76

33.76

隋天台山瀑布寺釋慧達。姓王氏。襄陽人。幼年出家繕修成務。或登山臨水。或遊履聚落。但據形勝之處。皆措心營造。安處寺宇為僧眾行道。至仁壽年中。於楊州白塔寺建七層木浮圖。材石既充付後營立。乃渡江西上至鄱陽豫章諸郡觀撿功德。願與眾生同此福緣。故至所到村邑。見有坊寺禪宇靈塔神儀。無問金木土石。並皆率化成造。其數非一。晚為沙門慧雲邀請。遂上廬岳造西林寺。重閣七間。欒櫨重疊。光耀鮮華。初造之日誓用黃楠。闔境推求了無一樹。皆欲改用餘木。達曰。誠心在此。豈更餘求。必其有徵。松變為楠。若也無感閣成無日。眾懼其言四出追求。乃於境內下巢山。感得一谷。並是黃楠。而在窮㵎幽深無由可出。達尋行崖壁。忽見一處晃有光明窺見其中可得通道。唯有五尺餘。並天崖。遂牽曳木石至於江首。中途灘澓𥱼筏並壞。及至廬阜不失一根。閣遂得成宏冠前搆。後忽偏斜向南三尺。工匠設計取正無方。有石門㵎當于閣南。忽有猛風北吹還正。于今尚存。達形服麁弊殆不可覩。傍觀沈伏似不能言。而指揮應附立有成遂。斯即變繁不嬈固其人也。大業六年七月晦日。舊疾忽增七日倚臥。異香入室旋繞如雲。閣中尊像並汗流地。眾見此瑞審達當終。官人撿驗具以聞奏。達神志如常累以餘業。奄爾長逝。年八十七矣。

Shi Huida of Pubu Temple on Mount Tiantai in the Sui was surnamed Wang, a native of Xiangyang. He left the household in his youth, making repairs and construction his calling. Whether climbing mountains or approaching waters, or traveling through settlements, whenever he found a place of scenic excellence, he would set his mind on building, establishing temples and monasteries for the monastic assembly to practice the Way. In the Renshou era, he built a seven-storied wooden stūpa at Baita Temple in Yangzhou. The timber and stone being sufficient, he entrusted it to others for construction, then crossed the river and traveled west to various commanderies like Poyang and Yuzhang to inspect meritorious deeds, wishing to share these karmic affinities of merit with sentient beings. Thus, wherever he reached villages and towns and saw monasteries, meditation halls, efficacious stūpas, or divine images—regardless of whether they were of metal, wood, clay, or stone—he would lead and transform people to complete their construction, and their number was more than one. In his later years, invited by the śramaṇa Huiyun, he went up Mount Lu to build Xilin Temple, with a two-storied hall of seven bays, its brackets stacked and its radiance fresh and lustrous. On the initial day of construction, he vowed to use yellow nanmu wood. Searching through the entire territory, not a single tree was found, and everyone wished to switch to other wood instead. Huida said, 'My sincere mind is here; how could we seek anything else? If there is an omen, pine will turn into nanmu; if there is no response, the hall will never be finished.' The assembly, fearing his words, went out in all directions to search, and within the territory at Mount Xiachao, by sympathetic resonance they found a valley full of yellow nanmu. However, it was located in an inaccessible, deep ravine with no route to bring it out. Huida walked along the cliff walls and suddenly saw a place shining with bright light; peeking inside, he saw a path could be opened, only a bit over five feet wide, abutting a sheer cliff. They then hauled and dragged the timber and stone to the head of the river. En route, rapids overturned them, and the bamboo rafts were all destroyed, but by the time they reached Mount Lu, not a single log was lost. The hall was thus completed, magnificent and surpassing former structures. Later, it suddenly tilted three feet toward the south, and the artisans could devise no method to straighten it. There was the Stone Gate Ravine facing south of the hall; suddenly a fierce wind blew from the north and restored it to straightness, which remains preserved to this day. Huida’s appearance and clothing were coarse and tattered, barely presentable; to onlookers he seemed quiet and restrained, as if unable to speak, yet when directing workers, they complied and tasks were promptly achieved. He was precisely the kind of person who remains undisturbed amid complexities. On the final day of the seventh month of the sixth year of Daye, his old ailment suddenly worsened, and he leaned and lay down for seven days. An extraordinary fragrance entered the room, swirling like clouds. The honored statues in the hall all sweated, flowing onto the floor. Seeing these auspicious signs, the assembly knew Huida was about to pass away. Officials inspected the evidence and reported it fully to the court. Huida's mind was as normal, and having entrusted his remaining affairs, he suddenly passed away at the age of eighty-seven.