法苑珠林 39.22

39.22

東晉初天台山寺者。昔有沙門帛道猷。或云竺道猷。統涉山水窮括奇異。承天台石梁終古無度。乃慷慨曰。彼何人斯獨無貞操。故使聖寺密爾。對面千里。遂揭錫獨往往趣石梁。周瞰崖隒。久之方獲其山。石梁非一聖寺亦多。將欲直度不惜形命。且虹梁亘谷。下望萬尋。上闊尺許。莓苔斜側。東邊似通。西礙大石。攀登路絕。猷乃別思冀投。夜宿梁東。便聞西寺磬聲經唄唱薩。勇意相續通夕不安。又聞聲曰。却後十年當來此住。何須苦求雖爾不息。晨夕惋恨結草為庵。彌年禪觀。後試造梁乃見橫石洞開梁道平正。因即得度。遂見棟宇宏壯圖塔瓌奇。神僧敘接宛同素識。中食既訖將陳住意。僧曰。却後十年自當至此。何勞早住。相送度梁橫石已塞。至晉太元年終於山所。形似紅色端坐如生。王羲之聞之造焉。望崖仰挹。今有往者雲迷其道。

As for the Tiantai Mountain Temple in the early Eastern Jin: in the past, there was a monk named Bo Daoyou, also called Zhu Daoyou, who traversed mountains and rivers to exhaustively seek out the wondrous and strange. Hearing that the Stone Bridge of Mount Tiantai had never been crossed since ancient times, he sighed with deep feeling and said: 'What sort of man is he who alone lacks steadfast conduct, thereby causing the sacred temple to be concealed near at hand, yet separated by a thousand leagues though facing each other?' Thereupon, holding up his monk's staff, he went alone towards the Stone Bridge. He looked around the cliffs and crags, and only after a long time did he reach that mountain. The stone bridges were not one, and the sacred temples were likewise many. Wishing to cross straight over, he did not spare his physical life. Moreover, a rainbow-like bridge spanned the valley: looking down, it was ten thousand fathoms deep; across the top, it was merely about a foot wide, covered in moss and slanting. The eastern side appeared passable, but the western side was blocked by a large boulder, cutting off any path for climbing. Daoyou then thought differently, hoping to find lodgings. Sleeping for the night to the east of the bridge, he heard from the western temple the sound of chimes, the chanting of sūtras, and the singing of gāthās, and his courageous resolve continued unabated, leaving him restless throughout the entire night. He also heard a voice saying: 'Ten years from now, you shall come to dwell here; why bitterly seek it now?' Even though this was so, he did not cease. Morning and evening, lamenting with regret, he tied grass together to make a hermitage, engaging in meditation and contemplation for full years. Later, when he made a trial approach to the bridge, he saw that the transverse boulder was wide open and the bridge path was level and straight; thus he was able to cross. Thereupon he saw halls and buildings of grand magnificence and stupas of rare wonder. The divine monks received and conversed with him just as with an old acquaintance. After the midday meal was over, when he was about to state his wish to remain, a monk said: 'Ten years from now, you will naturally arrive here; why trouble yourself to dwell here early?' They escorted him across the bridge, and the transverse boulder was already blocked. In the Taiyuan era of the Jin, he passed away at his mountain dwelling; his physical form was reddish, sitting upright as if alive. Wang Xizhi heard of this and visited it; looking up at the cliff, he admired it with veneration. Nowadays, if anyone goes there, clouds obscure their path.