English
English version Daocheng (Bodhimanda). Here, he expounded the Four Peaceful Practices. Zhiyi (Buddhist monk) cultivated the Lotus Samadhi on this mountain. After just three nights, while reciting the 'Medicine King' chapter, he reached the state of 'This is true diligence, this is called true Dharma offering to the Tathagata.' His body and mind became clear, and he entered samadhi (meditative state) in stillness, illuminating the true meaning of the Lotus Sutra and understanding the true nature of all dharmas. In the first year of the Guangda era of the Chen dynasty, Zhiyi first came to Jinling (present-day Nanjing), resided in Waguan Temple, and began to promote Chan (Zen) Buddhism. In the seventh year of the Taijian era, he went to Mount Tiantai in Linhai, built a hermitage on the North Peak, and resided there. Soon after, he was summoned to Jinling by imperial decree. After the fall of the Chen dynasty, he left Jinling and went to Mount Lu, and then traveled around Jingzhou and Yangzhou. In the fourteenth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, he returned to Mount Tiantai. He built thirty-six temples, created eight hundred thousand Buddha statues, and personally ordained fourteen thousand monks. He redeemed more than sixty fish weirs in Yuxi Creek, built release ponds, and submitted a memorial to the court, strictly prohibiting fishing. Dragons and deities paid their respects, and both Daoists and laypeople turned to him for guidance. The Dharma teachings flourished greatly as a result. Prince Guang of Jin (Emperor Yang of Sui) received the Bodhisattva precepts from him and honored him with the name 'Zhi Zhe' (Wise One). He once wrote the 'Ten Doubts about Pure Land' and the 'Commentary on the Visualization Sutra.' Zhiyi's karmic connections for teaching were complete, and he went to Shicheng Temple in eastern Shan County, saying to his disciples, 'I will pass away here.' He ordered that his bed be placed against the east wall, facing west, and single-mindedly recited the names of Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) Bodhisattva, and Prajna (wisdom). He also ordered that incense and candles be lit abundantly, and that the 'Infinite Life Sutra' and the title of the 'Visualization Sutra' be chanted. His disciples asked, 'We do not know what level the master has attained, and where will you be reborn?' Zhiyi said, 'I have not led the masses, and I will surely purify the six senses. Although I have harmed myself to benefit others, I have only attained the fifth grade. My teachers and friends are now following Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, and they have all come to welcome me.' After saying this, he sat upright and passed away, as if entering samadhi. He was sixty-seven years old, on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era. The Dharma Wisdom Zhi Zhe (Wise One), named Zhili, styled Yueyan, was the son of the Jin family of Mingzhou. His parents prayed to the Buddha for a son and dreamed of a divine monk carrying a child, telling them, 'This is the Buddha's son Rahula (Buddha's son).' Soon after, Zhili was born. When he was seven years old, his mother passed away, and he cried incessantly, begging his father to allow him to leave home. So he went to Taiping Xingguo Temple and relied on Hongxuan (monk). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
师得度。稍长。依宝云寺。义通法师。学教观。圆顿之旨。一受即了。淳化中。通既归寂。受请主乾符寺。寻徙保恩院。敷扬教观。学徒踵至。明州旱。礼与慈云式公。修光明忏。约三日不雨。当自焚一手。如期。果大雨。大中祥符三年。重建保恩。赐名。曰延庆。六年。建念佛施戒会。亲为疏文。以劝念佛。结万人以为一社。心心系念。日日要期。每岁仲春。同集一处。同修供养。同听法音。会彼万心。以为一志。俾成净业。誓取往生。自此二月望日。每岁举会以为常。尝集十僧。修法华忏三年。期以忏毕焚身。供养妙经。求生净土。后为众沮不果。复集十僧。修大悲忏三年。然三指供佛。天禧四年。驸马李遵勖。奏礼高行。赐号法智大师。敕令住世演教。礼以从上诸祖。阐扬净土。多谈事相。罕示观门。暂被时机。未穷圆顿。因取天台观无量寿经疏。研极理奥。曲畅元风。成妙宗钞。数万余言。其余撰述。多指归净土。妙宗最切。时方诏天下立放生池。礼岁遇佛生日。结放生会。集众作法。天圣六年。正月元日。将示寂。建光明忏七日。至五日。结跏趺坐。召大众说法毕。骤称阿弥陀佛数百声。奄然而逝。年六十九。露龛二七日。爪发加长。阇维时。舌根不坏。若莲花然。上能归所归竟。下能请所请。我今皈命礼 他（指法智大师）获得了度牒。长大后，依止宝云寺的义通法师学习天台宗的教观，尤其是圆顿止观的宗旨，一听就完全领悟。淳化年间，义通法师圆寂后，他应邀住持乾符寺，不久又迁到保恩院，弘扬教观，前来学习的人络绎不绝。明州发生旱灾，他与慈云式的和尚一起，修持光明忏法，约定三天内不下雨，就自焚一只手。如期，果然下起了大雨。大中祥符三年，重建保恩院，皇帝赐名为延庆院。六年，他发起念佛施戒会，亲自撰写疏文，劝人念佛，聚集一万人组成一个社团，大家一心一意地系念阿弥陀佛，每天都有固定的时间。每年仲春时节，大家聚集在一起，共同修习供养，共同听闻佛法，汇集万人的心念，成为一个共同的志向，以此成就净业，发誓往生西方极乐世界。从此，每年二月十五日，都举行法会，成为惯例。他曾经召集十位僧人，修持《法华忏》三年，希望在忏法结束时焚身，供养《妙法莲华经》，求生净土，后来被众人劝阻没有成功。他又召集十位僧人，修持《大悲忏》三年，并燃三指供佛。天禧四年，驸马李遵勖上奏他的高尚品行，皇帝赐号‘法智大师’，敕令他留在世间弘扬佛法。法智大师认为，以往的祖师大德，阐扬净土法门，大多谈论事相，很少开示观想的方法，只能暂时适应时机，未能穷尽圆顿止观的奥妙。因此，他取用天台宗的《观无量寿经疏》，深入研究其中的精深义理，详尽地阐发圆顿止观的精髓，写成了《妙宗钞》，有数万字之多。他的其他著作，大多都指向净土法门，而《妙宗钞》最为精要。当时朝廷下诏在天下各地设立放生池，法智大师每年遇到佛诞日，都举办放生法会，聚集众人一起做法。天圣六年，正月一日，他将要示寂，举行光明忏法七天，到第五天，他结跏趺坐，召集大众说法完毕，然后高声念诵阿弥陀佛数百声，安详地去世了，享年六十九岁。他的遗体在露天放置十四天，指甲和头发都长长了。火化时，舌根没有烧坏，像莲花一样。他上能回归到最终的归宿，下能感应所祈求的事物。我现在皈依顶礼。
English
He (referring to Master Fazhi) obtained his ordination certificate. Growing up, he relied on Dharma Master Yitong at Baoyun Temple to study the Tiantai teachings, especially the principles of perfect and sudden cessation and contemplation (yuan dun zhi guan), understanding them completely upon hearing them once. During the Chunhua era, after Dharma Master Yitong passed away, he was invited to preside over Qianfu Temple, and soon after moved to Bao'en Monastery, propagating the teachings of cessation and contemplation. Students came in droves. During a drought in Mingzhou, he and Monk Ciyun Shi together performed the Bright Light Repentance (Guangming Chan), vowing to burn off one hand if it did not rain within three days. As scheduled, it indeed rained heavily. In the third year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era, Bao'en Monastery was rebuilt, and the emperor bestowed the name Yanqing Monastery. In the sixth year, he established the Mindfulness of Buddha and Precepts Observance Assembly, personally composing a memorial to encourage mindfulness of Buddha, gathering ten thousand people into a community, with everyone single-mindedly focusing on mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha, with fixed times every day. Every year in mid-spring, everyone gathered together, jointly practicing offerings, jointly listening to the Dharma, uniting the minds of ten thousand people into one common aspiration, thereby accomplishing pure karma, vowing to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. From then on, every year on the fifteenth day of the second month, assemblies were held regularly. He once gathered ten monks to practice the Lotus Sutra Repentance (Fahua Chan) for three years, hoping to burn his body as an offering to the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra (Miaofa Lianhua Jing) upon completion of the repentance, seeking rebirth in the Pure Land, but was later dissuaded by the crowd and did not succeed. He then gathered ten monks to practice the Great Compassion Repentance (Dabei Chan) for three years, and burned three fingers as an offering to the Buddha. In the fourth year of the Tianxi era, Imperial Son-in-Law Li Zunxu reported his noble conduct, and the emperor bestowed the title 'Master Fazhi' (Dharma Wisdom Master), ordering him to remain in the world to propagate the Dharma. Master Fazhi believed that the previous patriarchs and virtuous masters, in propagating the Pure Land Dharma, mostly talked about phenomena (shi xiang), rarely revealing the methods of contemplation (guan men), only temporarily adapting to the times, and not fully exploring the mysteries of perfect and sudden cessation and contemplation. Therefore, he took the Tiantai school's Commentary on the Sutra of Contemplation on Immeasurable Life (Guan Wuliangshou Jing Shu), deeply researched its profound meanings, and thoroughly expounded the essence of perfect and sudden cessation and contemplation, writing the Miaozong Chao (Notes on the Wondrous Sect), which was tens of thousands of words long. His other writings mostly pointed to the Pure Land Dharma, with the Miaozong Chao being the most essential. At that time, the imperial court issued an edict to establish release ponds throughout the country. Master Fazhi held release ceremonies every year on the Buddha's birthday, gathering everyone to perform the rituals together. In the sixth year of the Tiansheng era, on the first day of the first month, he was about to pass away, holding the Bright Light Repentance for seven days. On the fifth day, he sat in full lotus posture, summoned the assembly to finish speaking the Dharma, and then loudly recited Amitabha Buddha hundreds of times, passing away peacefully at the age of sixty-nine. His body was placed in the open air for fourteen days, and his nails and hair grew longer. During cremation, his tongue root did not burn, resembling a lotus flower. Above, he was able to return to the ultimate destination; below, he was able to respond to what was requested. I now take refuge and prostrate in reverence. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
三宝者。能请也。求乞冥加发神识。所请也。能请具四感。所请具四应。感应四句。释在后文。此中感为显感。冥加。乃法身冥应也。发神识者。求乞三宝加其智慧也。皈命请加竟。 ○二造论成益。 敬采经论秘密旨 阐明净土生无生 普使将来悟此门 断疑生信阶不退 上二句。明造论。下二句。乃成益也。秘密旨者。三德密藏之旨。三德者。法身。般若。解脱。名为三。皆具常乐我净。名为德。此三不纵横。不并别。不可思议。故曰秘密。涅槃云。安置诸子秘密藏中。我亦不久自住其中。故知自他初心。无不皆修。自他后心。无不皆入。即下文一念心性圆三谛理。以圆三观而证入。所谓常寂光土也。阐明者。发明也。净土生无生者。谓因缘所生法。全体即中道无生也。普使将来悟此门。断疑生信阶不退者。疑虽无量。大略有三。一者邪疑。但信缘影之虚妄。不信佛土之唯心。二者偏疑。但信偏空之真。不知妙有之俗。三者渐疑。但信修德之渐。不知性德之横。今悟此门。则断邪疑生正信。断偏疑生圆信。断渐疑生顿信。不退有三。一位不退。入圣流不堕凡地。二行不退。恒度生不堕二乘地。三念不退。心心流入萨婆若海。今入此门。念念中圆断三疑。圆生三信。圆证三不退也。第二请加 现代汉语译本： ‘三宝’（Buddha, Dharma, Sangha）是指能祈请的对象。‘求乞冥加发神识’是指所祈请的内容，即祈求三宝在冥冥之中给予加持，开启智慧。‘能请具四感，所请具四应’，‘感应四句’的解释在后面的文章中。这里所说的‘感’是显感，‘冥加’则是法身的冥应。‘发神识者’，是祈求三宝加持智慧的意思。皈依祈请加持完毕。 ○二 造论成益 ‘敬采经论秘密旨，阐明净土生无生，普使将来悟此门，断疑生信阶不退。’ 上面两句说明造论的目的，下面两句说明所成就的利益。‘秘密旨’是指三德密藏的宗旨。‘三德’是指法身、般若、解脱，合称为三，都具备常、乐、我、净的功德，合称为德。这三者不纵横交错，不并列分离，不可思议，所以称为‘秘密’。《涅槃经》说：‘安置诸子秘密藏中，我亦不久自住其中。’由此可知，无论是自还是他，最初发心时，无不修习；无论是自还是他，最终都会进入这个境界，也就是下文所说的一念心性圆满三谛之理，以圆满的三观而证入，也就是常寂光土。‘阐明’是阐述明白的意思。‘净土生无生’是指因缘所生的法，其全体就是中道无生。‘普使将来悟此门，断疑生信阶不退’，疑惑虽然无量无边，但大致有三种：一是邪疑，只相信缘影的虚妄，不相信佛土的唯心；二是偏疑，只相信偏空的真谛，不知道妙有的俗谛；三是渐疑，只相信修德的渐进，不知道性德的横遍。现在如果领悟了这个法门，就能断除邪疑，生起正信；断除偏疑，生起圆信；断除渐疑，生起顿信。‘不退’有三种：一是位不退，进入圣人的行列，不堕落到凡夫的地位；二是行不退，恒常地度化众生，不堕落到二乘的地位；三是念不退，心念念念流入萨婆若海。现在进入这个法门，念念之中圆满断除三种疑惑，圆满生起三种信心，圆满证得三种不退。第二是祈请加持。