法苑珠林 85.33

85.33

唐京師會昌寺釋空藏。姓王氏。先祖晉陽。今在雍州之新豐縣。母初孕之日。自然不食酒肉。葷辛不嘗。以同身子密加異之。既誕之後靈鑒日陳。情用高遠。讀誦經論。思存拔濟。聰勤無比。日誦萬言。至年長大。總誦經論三百餘卷。鈔摘眾經大乘要句。十有餘卷。流行於世。賢劫千佛日禮一遍。春夏方等。常坐不臥。翹勤難加。寸陰不虧。以貞觀十六年五月十二日。終於會昌。春秋七十有四。遺身於龍池寺側。收骨起塔。其髏骨兩耳相通。頂有雙孔眼𭥰合竅。各有三焉。弟子等追惟永往。樹碑會昌寺。左僕射燕國公于志寧為文。又有釋遺裕。常誦法華。千有餘遍。以貞觀初因疾將終。遺囑友人慧廓曰。比雖誦經意望靈驗。身死之後不須露骸。埋之十載屈為發出舌根爛不。審若不壞為起一塔。以示經感。言訖而終。依囑而埋。至貞觀十一年。廓與知友就墓開之。身肉都盡。唯舌不朽。一縣士女咸覩敬仰。以函盛舌。於陽陸北性谷南岸為建塔銘。識者尊嚴發信誦經。又有京城西豐谷鄉南福水南史村史呵誓。少懷善念。常誦法華。臨終之時感有異香。氛氳滿村。埋後十年妻亡開墓同殯。見舌鮮明異常紅赤。又蕭僕射宋國公兄太府寺大卿。榮位高貴。國史具傳。欣懷道業。無棄寸陰。暗誦法華萬有餘遍。兄弟各造千部法華。書生潔淨勘校無謬。莊飾函盛。散付流通。請受人名各錄一通。躬自禮敬日夜一遍。宋公自撰經疏十有餘卷。廣集諸家向有半世。採掇菁華糅以胸臆。四時無事。昇座常講。至於開題之首。每召京城名德朝野宰貴。躬臨座席以申賓主。兄卿情好讀誦。所寫法華千部。躬自勘校。每日朝參。必使侍人執經在前。至於公事。伺有閑隙。便自勘讀。日誦一遍。以為常式。靈祥徵迹頗難記錄。家門高遠不好傳述（右此四驗出唐高僧傳）。

In the Tang, there was Shi Kongzang of Huichang Temple in the capital. His family name was Wang. His ancestors were from Jinyang, and they now lived in Xinfeng County, Yongzhou. When his mother first conceived him, she naturally refrained from wine and meat, and did not taste pungent roots. Considering him comparable to Śāriputra, she secretly marvelled at it. After his birth, his spiritual insight showed itself day by day, and his temperament and purpose were lofty and far-reaching. Chanting the scriptures and treatises, he held in mind the salvation [of beings]. In intelligence and diligence he was peerless, chanting ten thousand words a day. When he grew up, he had memorized in total more than three hundred scrolls of scriptures and treatises. He compiled the essential Mahāyāna passages of various sūtras into more than ten scrolls, which circulated throughout the world. Daily he bowed once through the thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa. In spring and summer he practiced the Vaipulya [repentance], always sitting without lying down; his vigorous diligence was hard to surpass, not wasting an inch of time. On the twelfth day of the fifth month in the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, he passed away at Huichang [Temple], at the age of seventy-four. His body was deposited by the side of Longchi Temple, where his bones were gathered and a stupa erected. The bones of his cranium were open between the two ears; there were twin apertures at the crown, and the eye sockets joined in apertures, three on each side. His disciples, recalling him after his departure forever, erected a stele at Huichang Temple; Yu Zhining, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Duke of the State of Yan, composed the inscription. There was also Shi Yiyu, who constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra more than a thousand times. At the beginning of the Zhenguan era, when he was nearing his end due to illness, he left instructions to his friend Huikuo, saying: 'Lately, although I have recited the scripture, my wish was to behold a spiritual verification. After my body dies, do not expose my corpse; bury it for ten years, and then please dig it up to see whether the organ of my tongue has rotted. If indeed it is not decayed, build a stupa for it to demonstrate the efficacy of the scripture.' Having finished speaking, he died. He was buried according to his instructions. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Huikuo and close friends went to the grave and opened it. The flesh of the body was entirely gone; only the tongue had not decayed. The men and women of the whole county all looked upon it with reverence. Enshrining the tongue in a casket, they erected a stupa and inscription for it on the southern bank of the Xinggu River north of Yanglu. Those who understood held it in reverence, gave rise to faith, and recited the sūtras. There was also Shi Hexhi of Shenan Village, south of the Fushui River in Fenggu Township, west of the capital. In his youth he cherished virtuous thoughts and constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra. At the time of his death, by sympathetic resonance there was an extraordinary fragrance, hovering densely throughout the whole village. Ten years after his burial, when his wife died, they opened the grave to bury them together; they saw that his tongue was fresh and bright, extraordinarily red. Moreover, the elder brother of Xiao, Vice Director and Duke of the State of Song, was the Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Treasury. His honor and rank were lofty and noble, and the national history records his biography in full. Gladly cherishing the work of the Way, he wasted not an inch of time, having recited the Lotus Sūtra from memory more than ten thousand times. The two brothers each produced a thousand sets of the Lotus Sūtra, having scholars transcribe them with purity and collation free of errors. Decorating them and enclosing them in caskets, they distributed them for circulation. They recorded a copy of the names of the persons who requested and received them, personally bowing in reverence once each day and night. The Duke of Song himself compiled a sūtra commentary in more than ten scrolls, extensively collecting from various masters over nearly half a lifetime, gathering their quintessence and blending it with his own reflections. When free from duties throughout the four seasons, he would ascend the seat and constantly lecture. Whenever he began expounding the title, he would always invite the celebrated and virtuous as well as court and regional dignitaries of the capital, attending the seats in person to fulfill the duties of host and guest. His elder brother, the Chief Minister, was fond of chanting and reciting. He personally collated the thousand sets of the Lotus Sūtra he had copied. Every day at morning audience, he would certainly have his attendants hold the scripture before him; whenever there was leisure amidst official duties, he would collate and read it himself, reciting it once a day as his constant practice. The spiritual auguries and signs are quite difficult to record; his lineage was exalted and lofty, and did not like having such matters transmitted. (These four verifications above are from the Tang Biographies of Eminent Monks.)