English
English version A quiet dwelling. The Biographies of Bhikshunis, Volume 3 Taisho Tripitaka, Volume 50, No. 2063, The Biographies of Bhikshunis The Biographies of Bhikshunis, Volume 4 (Liang Dynasty) Compiled by Shi Baochang of Dazhuangyan Temple Biography of Bhikshuni Jingxiu of Chanlin Temple, One Biography of Bhikshuni Sengnian of Chanlin Temple, Two Biography of Bhikshuni Tanhui of Chengdu Changle Temple, Three Biography of Bhikshuni Ping of Gaochang Dulangzhong Temple, Four Biography of Bhikshuni Huisheng of Xianju Temple, Five Biography of Bhikshuni Jingxian of Dongqingyuan Temple, Six Biography of Bhikshuni Jingyuan of Zhuyuan Temple, Seven Biography of Bhikshuni Jingxing of Zhuyuan Temple, Eight Biography of Bhikshuni Lingyu of Nanjingling Temple, Nine Biography of Bhikshuni Sengshu of Xianju Temple, Ten Biography of Bhikshuni Miaoyi of Xiqingyuan Temple, Eleven Biography of Bhikshuni Huihui of Le'an Temple, Twelve Biography of Bhikshuni Daogui of Dishan Temple, Thirteen Biography of Bhikshuni Faxuan of Shanyin Zhaoming Temple, Fourteen Biography of Bhikshuni Jingxiu of Chanlin Temple, One Jingxiu's original surname was Liang. She was from Wu County, Anding. Her grandfather, Chou, was the Sima of the Conquering-the-Barbarians Army, and her father, Canzhi, was the Marquis of Duxiang in Longchuan County. Jingxiu was intelligent from a young age and liked to practice compassion and benevolence. At the age of seven, she naturally observed a vegetarian diet. When the family invited monks to recite the 'Nirvana Sutra', upon hearing that one should abstain from fish and meat, she began to eat vegetarian food. She did not dare to let her parents know, and if she obtained salmon or eel, she would secretly discard it. She consulted with and received the Five Precepts (wujie, basic Buddhist precepts including abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicants) from the foreign Shramana (shamen, transliteration of Sanskrit Śrāmaṇa, referring to a renunciate or ascetic) Pulian. She diligently observed them and never violated them. She prostrated, recited scriptures, and did not rest day or night. At the age of twelve, she requested to leave home, but her parents forbade it. When she was able to write, she often copied scriptures herself. All her wealth was used for meritorious deeds, and she did not pursue worldly pleasures. She did not wear brocade or apply makeup. This continued until she was nineteen, when she finally obtained her parents' permission. She became a disciple of the head Bhikshuni of Qingyuan Temple, serving her teacher with utmost sincerity, fearing that she was not doing enough. She diligently cultivated the three karmas (sanye, Buddhist term referring to actions of body, speech, and mind), never slacking day or night. Whenever the Sangha needed to employ the community, she always took the lead. Traversing mountains and rivers, working diligently and arduously, she participated in everything. The good deities (shanshen, benevolent deities in Buddhism) respected and protected her, always staying by her side. At that time, there was a Mr. Ma, whom the world called a divine person. When he saw Jingxiu, he recorded her words. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
。此尼当生兜率。尝三人同于佛殿内坐。忽闻空中声状如牛吼。二人惊怖。唯秀淡然。还房取烛始登阶。复闻空中语曰。诸尼避路秀禅师归。他日又与数人于禅房中坐。一尼鼾眠睡中。见有一人头柱殿。语曰。勿惊秀尼。后时与诸尼同坐。一尼暂起。还见一人。抵掌止之曰。莫挠秀尼。进止俯仰必遵律范。欲请曜法师讲十诵律。但有钱一千忧事不办。夜梦见鸦鹊鸜鹆子各乘轩车大小称形。同声唱言。我当助秀尼讲。及至经营有七十檀越争设妙供。后又请法颖律师重讲十诵。开题之日澡罐中水自然香馥。其日就坐更无余伴。起惧犯独以咨律师。律师答言。不犯。秀观诸尼未尽如法。乃叹曰。洪徽未远灵绪稍隤。自非正己焉能导物。即行摩那埵以自悔首。合众见之悉共相率。退思补过惭愧忏谢。宋元嘉七年外国沙门求那跋摩至都。律范清高。秀更从受戒。而青园徒众悟解不同思立别住。外严法禁内安禅默。庶微称己心。宋南昌公主及黄修仪。以大明七年八月。共施宜知地以立精舍。秀麻衣藿食。躬执泥瓦夙夜尽勤。制龛造像无所不备。同住十余人皆以禅定为业。泰始三年明帝敕以寺从其所集宜名禅林。秀手写众经。别立经台置在于堂内。娑伽罗龙王二兄弟。现迹弥日示其拥护。知识往来无不见者。每奉请圣僧果食之上必有 异迹。又尝七日供养礼忏讫摄心澍想。即见二胡僧举手共语。一称弥呿罗。一称毗佉罗。所著袈裟色如熟桑椹。秀即以泥染衣色令如所见。他日又请阿耨达池五百罗汉。复请罽宾国五百罗汉。又请京邑大德二旬大会。第二日又见一胡僧。合众疑之。因即借问。云从罽宾来至已一年。使守门者密加觇视。多人共见从宋林门出。始行十余步奄忽不见。又曾浴圣僧内外寂静。唯有牺杓之声。其诸瑞异皆类此也。齐文惠帝竟陵文宣王。厚相礼待供施无废。年耆力弱不复能行。梁天监三年敕见听乘舆至内殿。五年六月十七日。苦心闷不复饮食。彭城寺慧令法师六月十九日梦见一柱殿严丽非常。谓是兜率天宫。见净秀在其中。令即嘱之。得生好处勿忘将接。秀曰。法师兄是大丈夫。弘通经教自应居胜地。令闻秀病往看之述梦中事。至七月十三日小间。自梦见幡盖乐器在佛殿西。二十二日请相识僧会别。二十七日告诸弟子。我升兜率天。言绝而卒。年八十九。 禅林寺僧念尼传二 僧念。本姓羊。泰山南城人也。父弥州从事吏。念即招提寺昙睿法师之姑也。圭璋早秀才监明达。立德幼年十岁出家。为法护尼弟子。从师住太后寺。贞节苦心禅思精密。博涉多通文义兼美。蔬食礼忏老而弥笃。诵法华经日夜七遍。宋文孝武二 异迹。又曾经七日供养礼拜忏悔完毕，收摄心神，专注观想。随即看见两位胡僧举手交谈。一位名叫弥呿罗（Miquelo），一位名叫毗佉罗（Piqielo）。他们所穿的袈裟颜色如同熟透的桑葚。净秀就用泥土将衣服染成和他们一样的颜色，以纪念此事。其他日子里，他又曾邀请阿耨达池（Anavatapta，无热恼池）的五百罗汉，又邀请罽宾国（Kashmir）的五百罗汉，还邀请京城的大德们举行了为期二十天的大会。大会的第二天，他又看见一位胡僧，众人对此感到疑惑。于是就向他询问，他说自己从罽宾国来，已经一年了。于是派守门的人秘密地观察他，很多人都看见他从宋林门出去，刚走了十几步就突然消失不见了。他还曾经为圣僧沐浴，内外寂静，只有水瓢的声音。诸如此类的祥瑞奇异之事还有很多。齐文惠帝和竟陵文宣王都以厚礼相待，供养布施从不间断。年老体衰，不能行走。梁天监三年，皇帝下令允许他乘坐御用车辆进入内殿。天监五年六月十七日，他内心苦闷，不再饮食。彭城寺的慧令法师在六月十九日梦见一座殿宇，庄严华丽，非常壮观，认为是兜率天宫（Tushita Heaven，欲界天之一，弥勒菩萨所在）。看见净秀在其中。慧令法师就嘱咐他，得生到好的地方，不要忘记来接引我。净秀说：‘法师兄是大丈夫，弘扬佛法，自然应该居住在殊胜之地。’慧令法师听说了净秀的病情，前去看望他，讲述了梦中的事情。到了七月十三日，净秀稍微好转，自己梦见幡盖乐器在佛殿西边。二十二日，他邀请相识的僧人会面告别。二十七日，他告诉众弟子：‘我将升往兜率天。’说完就去世了，享年八十九岁。 禅林寺僧念尼传二 僧念，本姓羊，是泰山南城人。她的父亲是弥州从事吏。僧念是招提寺昙睿法师的姑姑。她从小就显露出美好的品德和聪明的才智。从小就立志修行，十岁出家，做法护尼的弟子。跟随师父住在太后寺。她贞洁自守，刻苦修行，禅思精微，博学多才，文采斐然。吃素念佛，礼拜忏悔，年纪越大越虔诚。诵读《法华经》，日夜七遍。宋文帝和孝武帝时期。
English
Extraordinary signs. He once performed offerings and repentance for seven days, then concentrated his mind and visualized. He immediately saw two foreign monks raising their hands and talking to each other. One was called Miquelo (弥呿罗), and the other was called Piqielo (毗佉罗). The color of their robes was like ripe mulberries. Jingxiu (净秀) then dyed his clothes with mud to match the color he had seen, as a memorial. On other days, he invited five hundred Arhats (罗汉, enlightened disciples) from Anavatapta Lake (阿耨达池, a mythical lake in the Himalayas), and five hundred Arhats from Kashmir (罽宾国). He also invited eminent monks from the capital to hold a twenty-day assembly. On the second day of the assembly, he saw another foreign monk, which made everyone suspicious. So they asked him, and he said he had come from Kashmir for a year. They secretly ordered the gatekeeper to observe him closely. Many people saw him leaving from Songlin Gate, and after taking only a dozen steps, he suddenly disappeared. He also once bathed the holy monks, and the inside and outside were silent except for the sound of the ladle. All such auspicious and extraordinary events were similar to these. Emperor Wenhui of Qi and Prince Wenxuan of Jingling treated him with great respect and never ceased their offerings and donations. When he became old and weak and could no longer walk, in the third year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty, the emperor ordered that he be allowed to ride in the imperial carriage to the inner palace. On the seventeenth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of the Tianjian era, he was distressed and no longer ate or drank. On the nineteenth day of the sixth month, Dharma Master Huiling of Pengcheng Temple dreamed of a palace with extremely magnificent pillars, believing it to be the Tushita Heaven (兜率天宫, the heaven of contentment, where Maitreya Bodhisattva resides). He saw Jingxiu inside. Huiling then instructed him, 'If you are reborn in a good place, do not forget to come and receive me.' Jingxiu said, 'Dharma Master, you are a great man, and you should reside in a superior place to propagate the teachings.' Huiling heard of Jingxiu's illness and went to visit him, recounting the events of his dream. On the thirteenth day of the seventh month, Jingxiu felt a little better and dreamed of banners, canopies, and musical instruments on the west side of the Buddha hall. On the twenty-second day, he invited the monks he knew to meet and bid farewell. On the twenty-seventh day, he told his disciples, 'I am ascending to Tushita Heaven.' He passed away, at the age of eighty-nine. Biography of Bhikkhuni Sengnian of Chanlin Temple, Part Two Sengnian (僧念), whose original surname was Yang (羊), was from Nancheng in Taishan. Her father was an official in Mizhou. Sengnian was the aunt of Dharma Master Tanrui of Zhaoti Temple. She showed early signs of virtue and intelligence. She aspired to cultivate from a young age and became a nun at the age of ten, becoming a disciple of Bhikkhuni Fahu. She stayed with her teacher at Taihou Temple. She was chaste, diligent, and precise in her meditation. She was learned and versatile, with excellent literary skills. She ate vegetarian food, performed repentance rituals, and became more devout as she grew older. She recited the Lotus Sutra seven times day and night. During the reigns of Emperor Wen of Song and Emperor Xiaowu. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
帝常加资给。齐永明中移住禅林寺。禅范大隆诸学者众。司徒竟陵王四事供养。年九十。梁天监三年卒。葬秣陵县中兴里内。 成都长乐寺昙晖尼传三 昙晖。本姓青阳。名白玉。成都人也。幼乐修道父母不许。元嘉九年有外国禅师疆良耶舍。入蜀大弘禅观。晖年十一。启母求请禅师欲咨禅法。母从之。耶舍一见。叹此人有分令其修习。嘱法育尼使相左右。母已许嫁于晖之姑子。出门有曰。不展余计。育尼密迎还寺。晖深立誓愿。若我道心不遂。遂致逼迫者。当以火自焚耳。刺史甄法崇闻之。遣使迎晖。集诸纲佐及有望之民。请诸僧尼穷相难尽。法崇问曰。汝审能出家不。答曰。微愿久发特乞救济。法崇曰善。遣使语姑。姑即奉教。从法育尼出家。年始十三矣。从昱学修观行。裁得禀受。即于座末便得入定。见东方有二光明。其一如日而白。其一如月而青。即于定中立念云。白者必是菩萨道。青者声闻法。若审然者当令青者销而白光炽。即应此念。青光遂灭。白光炽满。及至起定为昱尼说。昱尼善观道闻而欢喜赞善。时同坐四十余人莫不见叹其希有也。后婿心疑以为奸诈。相率抄取将归其家。昙晖时年十六矣。以婢使营卫不受侵逼。婿无如之何。复以诉州。刺史赏异。问疆良耶舍曰。此人根利慎勿违之。 现代汉语译本： 皇帝经常增加对他的资助供给。齐永明年间，他移居到禅林寺。禅修风范大大兴盛，学者众多。司徒竟陵王用四事供养他。他享年九十岁，梁天监三年去世，安葬在秣陵县中兴里内。 成都长乐寺昙晖尼传三 昙晖，原本姓青阳，名叫白玉，是成都人。年幼时喜欢修行，但父母不允许。元嘉九年，有外国禅师疆良耶舍（Jiangliangyeshe，音译名，意义未知）进入蜀地，大力弘扬禅观。昙晖年仅十一岁，向母亲请求拜见禅师，想请教禅法。母亲同意了。疆良耶舍一见到她，就赞叹此人有修行的缘分，让她修习禅法，并嘱咐法育尼（Fayu Ni，人名）照顾她。母亲已经将昙晖许配给她的姑姑的儿子。出门后，昙晖说：‘我的计划不能实现了。’法育尼偷偷地将她迎回寺庙。昙晖立下深重的誓愿：‘如果我的道心不能实现，以至于受到逼迫，我将以火自焚。’刺史甄法崇（Zhen Fachong，人名）听说了这件事，派人迎接昙晖，召集了各位官员和有声望的百姓，请来各位僧尼，详细地询问情况。甄法崇问道：‘你真的能出家吗？’昙晖回答说：‘我微小的愿望由来已久，特别乞求您的救济。’甄法崇说：‘好。’派人告诉昙晖的姑姑，姑姑立刻听从命令，让昙晖跟随法育尼出家。那时昙晖才十三岁。她跟随昱尼（Yu Ni，人名）学习修习观行。刚刚得到传授，就在座位末尾进入禅定。她看见东方有两道光明，一道像太阳一样是白色的，一道像月亮一样是青色的。她在禅定中立下念头说：‘白色的必定是菩萨道，青色的必定是声闻法。如果确实是这样，就让青色的光芒消失，而白色的光芒炽盛。’立刻应验了这个念头，青色的光芒就消失了，白色的光芒炽盛充满。等到出定后，她将此事告诉昱尼。昱尼善于观察道，听了之后欢喜赞叹。当时同坐的四十余人都看见了，赞叹这件事非常稀有。后来，未婚夫心生怀疑，认为她有奸诈行为，就一起去抄家，想把她带回家。昙晖当时十六岁，用婢女来保护自己，不受侵犯。未婚夫没有办法，又向州里告状。刺史赏识她的奇异之处，问疆良耶舍说：‘这个人根器很好，千万不要违背她的意愿。’