法苑珠林 24.60

24.60

Under the Song dynasty, there was Zhu Daosheng of Longguang Temple in Chang'an. His original surname was Wei, and he was a native of Julu. Leaving home as a young child, he was perceptive, keen, and endowed with divine anomaly. While still in his youth, he mounted the Dharma seat, producing speech resonant as the pentatonic scale; clergy and laity alike bowed in deep submission. By the time he reached the age of full ordination, his capacity and discernment deepened day by day. His temperament was alert, and his spirit was serene and august. At first he entered Mount Lu, residing in seclusion for seven years to pursue his aspiration. Always regarding wise understanding as the foundation and essential gate for entering the Way, he delved into the scriptures and weighed the treatises, following the Dharma across ten thousand li without dreading weariness or hardship. Later he traveled together with Hui-rui and Huiyan to Chang'an, receiving instruction under Kumārajīva; the Saṃgha in the Guanzhong region all considered him divinely awakened. Later he returned to the capital and stayed at Qingyuan Temple. Emperor Wen, Taizu of the Song, held him in the highest admiration and esteem. Afterward, Taizu hosted a feast; the Emperor personally joined the assembly, seated on mats upon the ground. The food having been served for quite some time, the assembly all suspected that noon had passed. The Emperor said, 'It is just noon.' Daosheng said, 'The bright sun hangs in the sky, and Heaven says it is just noon; how could it not be noon?' He then took his bowl and ate, whereupon the entire assembly followed suit; none failed to praise how his opportune tact hit the mark. Later, collating the ultimate and the conventional, and pondering causes and effects, he established that good deeds receive no retribution, and that one attains Buddhahood through sudden enlightenment. He also composed the *Treatise on the Two Truths*, the *Treatise on the Buddha-nature Being Inherent*, the *Treatise on the Dharmakāya Being Formless*, the *Treatise on the Buddha Having No Pure Land*, and the *Treatise on the Responsive Body Having Conditions*, encompassing past teachings with profound and sublime tenets. Yet those bound to the letter of texts mostly grew resentful and jealous, and voices of criticism and contention arose in clamour. Furthermore, when the six-fascicle *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* first arrived at the capital, Daosheng analyzed its principles, penetrating its profound depths, and declared that even icchantikas can all attain Buddhahood. At that time, the expanded version had not yet arrived; his solitary insight came forth first, and his singular view ran counter to the multitude. Thereupon the old scholars regarded it as heterodox teaching, their indignation growing ever fiercer, and they ultimately banished him openly from the Great Assembly. Daosheng, maintaining a solemn countenance before the Great Assembly, swore an oath: 'If what I have spoken runs contrary to the scriptural meaning, may I manifest leprosy in this very body; but if it does not deviate from dharmatā, I vow that at the time I cast off this life, I shall occupy the lion seat.' Having spoken, he shook his robes and departed. He initially headed to Tiger Hill in Wu, where within ten days disciples numbered several hundred. That summer, thunder roared; from the Buddha hall of Qingyuan Temple a dragon ascended into the sky, casting light on the west wall. Hence the temple was renamed Longguang. People of the time sighed and said, 'Now that the dragon has gone, Daosheng will surely depart.' Soon he made his way to Mount Lu, vanishing among the crags and cliffs; the monks in the mountain all revered and submitted to him. Later, when the expanded version of the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* arrived in Nanjing, it indeed stated that icchantikas all possess Buddha-nature, matching what he had previously spoken like the two halves of a tally. Having obtained this sūtra, Daosheng immediately lectured on it. In the eleventh year of the Yuanjia era of the Song, in winter, on the gengzi day of the eleventh month, he ascended the Dharma seat in the Mount Lu monastery. His spirit was radiant, and his virtuous voice flowed deep. He debated several rounds, exhausting the subtleties of principle; among the audience, none failed to be awakened and delighted. As the Dharma session was drawing to a close, suddenly his deer-tail whisk dropped down. Sitting upright with a composed countenance, he leaned against the armrest and passed away. His facial complexion was unchanged, appearing as though he had entered samādhi. Clergy and laity sighed in awe, and those near and far wept in grief. Thereupon the monks of the capital were inwardly ashamed of their past resentment, and followed after him in faithful submission. His divine discernment was so supreme, and its auspicious omens were like this; he was then buried on a mound of Mount Lu. Earlier, Master Rui and Yan Guan were fellow students of equal renown; hence people of the time assessed them, saying: 'Sheng and Rui draw forth the heavenly true; Yan and Guan obtain the flowing downpour. Huiyi advances vigorously; Kouyuan is silently blocked.' Daosheng and Master Rui alone were marked with the designation of the heavenly true, standing out preeminently among all scholars. Earlier, Sengzhao in Guanzhong had first annotated the *Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa*, which the world all savoured; Daosheng then brought forth even deeper tenets, elucidating new and rare insights, and his commentaries on various sūtras were all treasured by the world. Wang Wei compared Daosheng to Guo Linzong, composing a biography for him to illustrate his remaining virtue. People of the time held that Daosheng's deduction of icchantikas attaining Buddhahood had scriptural basis, and his teachings of sudden enlightenment and good deeds receiving no retribution were also emulated in that age. Song Taizu once expounded Daosheng's doctrine of sudden enlightenment, and monks such as Sengbi posed immense challenges. The Emperor said, 'If the departed could be brought back, could he ever be subdued by you gentlemen?' Longguang Temple also had the śramaṇa Baolin, who had originally studied in Chang'an and later continued the various doctrines of Master Daosheng; people of the time called him Shixuan. Daosheng composed the *Record of the Nirvāṇa*, an annotation of the *Samayabhedoparacanacakra*, and a proclamation denouncing Māra. Baolin's disciple Fabao was also versed in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist learning, and composed the *Treatise on the Final Mind of the Vajra*, likewise carrying forward Daosheng's doctrines. In recent times, there was also Shi Huisheng, who likewise resided at Longguang Temple; he observed a vegetarian diet, was skilled in numerous sūtras, and was also proficient in cursive and clerical script. Because they succeeded one another in the same temple, people called them the Elder and Younger Sheng. (This single verification is extracted from the Liang *Biographies of Eminent Monks*.)