English
English version: The fragrant aroma wafted in. One could only see him sitting upright and solemn. One did not realize that his spirit had already departed. He lived to the age of seventy-eight (Since he wished to be reborn in Tushita Heaven (Tushita Heaven, one of the heavens in the Desire Realm, where Maitreya Bodhisattva resides), why speak of the Nine Grades of Rebirth? Because the excellent realm of Tushita appears before one's eyes, it verifies that the Nine Grades of Rebirth are not false). Zen Master Dacheng Deng Deng was a native of Aizhou. As a child, he followed his parents on a ship to the country of Dvaravati (Dvaravati, an ancient kingdom). It was there that he first became a monk. Later, he followed the Tang envoy Yan Xu into the capital. He received the full precepts from Dharma Master Xuanzang (Xuanzang, a famous monk of the Tang Dynasty). After residing in the capital for several years, he longed to pay homage to the sacred sites. So, carrying Buddha images and scriptures, he went to the country of Simhala (Sri Lanka) to venerate the Buddha's tooth. He experienced all sorts of miraculous events. He passed through Eastern India and the country of Tamralipti (Tamralipti, an ancient kingdom). He stayed for twelve years, learning Sanskrit and diligently cultivating meritorious deeds. He met Dharma Master Yijing (Yijing, a famous monk of the Tang Dynasty) and followed him to Central India. He arrived at Nalanda Monastery (Nalanda Monastery, an ancient Buddhist monastery in India). Next, he went to the country of Vaishali (Vaishali, an ancient kingdom) and arrived at Kushinagar (Kushinagar, the place where the Buddha entered Nirvana). He often lamented, 'My original intention was to propagate the Dharma and return to the Eastern Land (referring to China). Is it that my aspirations cannot be fulfilled? In the blink of an eye, I am already old. Although I cannot fulfill my original wish today, I vow to complete this aspiration in the next life.' He constantly cultivated the deeds for rebirth in Tushita Heaven, and in his dreams, he would meet Maitreya (Maitreya, the Bodhisattva of the Future) Bodhisattva. Every day, he would paint one or two branches of the Dragon Flower (symbolizing the tree that blooms when Maitreya Bodhisattva descends), to express his sincere intention. And so on. Dharma Master Xi Yuan Yuan, whose surname was Zhang, was a native of Gusu (Suzhou). His relatives were wealthy, but he alone renounced his family. As soon as he received the precepts, he traveled to various lecture halls. He did not stay in one place, diligently cultivating the three studies of morality, concentration, and wisdom. He expounded on the scriptures and treatises. Thus, he wrote several volumes of the 'Profound Commentary,' all of which were exquisite in language and thorough in meaning. He constantly urged people to quickly cultivate the karma for rebirth in the upper realms, and said, 'It is not knowing that is difficult, but practicing is difficult. You must strive!' Dharma Master Yuan performed repentance rituals six times a day, never missing a single one. Dharma Master Yuan's practice was to hope to see Maitreya Bodhisattva. One day, while lecturing, he peacefully passed away on the Dharma seat. At that time, the assembly smelled a strange fragrance, and the sound of heavenly music was clear and melodious, sometimes continuous and sometimes intermittent for seven days. This is truly evidence of rebirth in Tushita Heaven. That was the fourth month of the second year of Qianning (895 AD). After cremation, more than seven hundred relics were collected, and they were taken to the country of Silla (Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom) by the people of Siming (Ningbo). Dharma Master Ling Yin Yin, whose surname was Yang, was a native of Wenxiang (Wenxiang), Shan Prefecture. Because he traveled to Changshui (Changshui, place name) in Luonan, he encountered --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
归心檀信。构伽蓝。就中讲演经论三十余载。日别诵维摩上生。以为恒课。执行持心。愿生兜率。以清泰二年乙未岁。终於邑寺。春秋七十一。法腊五十一。荼毗获舍利。学人檀越。共建塔焉(下生经云。若释迦文佛弟子修于梵行。来至我所。或奉持其法。来至我所。乃至若有书写经颂。宣于素上。其有供养者。皆来至我所)。 贞晦法师 晦。姓包氏。吴郡常熟人。长讲法华经。旁读大藏教文。二时行道。精进罔疲。凡世伎术百家之言。黜于议论之外。诫门徒曰。异端之说。汩乱真心。无记不熏。何须习俗。吾止愿为师子吼。不作野干鸣也。但专香烛涂扫。修上生业。以内院为息肩之地。至后唐清泰二年。二月十日。召弟子五十余人。自具香汤澡浴。令唱上生礼佛。罄舍衣资。为非时僧得施。至十一日。望空合掌云。劳其圣众。排空相迎。满百徒侣。尔日皆闻天乐之音。顷刻而卒。俗寿七十三。僧夏五十四腊。经讲计三十七座。览藏经二遍。以其年二月十八日。葬浚郊东寺庄之原。幢幡威仪。缁白弟子。约千余人会送焉(经云。若有精进修诸功德。威仪不缺扫塔涂地。以众名香妙花供养。乃至念佛形像。称弥勒名。发弘誓愿命终如屈伸臂顷。即得往生兜率天。莲花上。贞师即其人也。古人以异学为野干 现代汉语译本：虔诚的信徒捐资建造寺庙，并在其中讲授经论三十余年。每日分别诵读《维摩诘经》和《弥勒上生经》，作为固定的功课。认真修行，发愿往生兜率天（Tushita Heaven，欲界六天之一，弥勒菩萨的居所）。在后晋清泰二年（935年）乙未岁，于寺庙中圆寂，享年七十一岁，僧腊五十一。火化后获得舍利，学人和信徒共同建造佛塔供奉。（《弥勒下生经》说：‘如果释迦文佛的弟子修行梵行，来到我的住所；或者奉持佛法，来到我的住所；乃至有人书写经文偈颂，宣讲于绢素之上，供养他们的人，都将来到我的住所。’） 贞晦法师 贞晦法师，俗姓包氏，是吴郡常熟人。擅长讲解《法华经》，广泛阅读大藏经的经文。早晚两次精进行道，从不懈怠。凡是世俗的技艺和百家的言论，都排除在议论之外。他告诫门徒说：‘异端的学说，扰乱真正的真心。没有记录的（事物）不会被熏染，何必学习世俗的习气？我只愿做狮子吼，不做野干的鸣叫。’只是专心于香烛涂扫，修习往生兜率天的功业，以内院作为休息的地方。到了后唐清泰二年（935年）二月十日，召集弟子五十余人，亲自用香汤沐浴，让他们唱诵《上生经》和礼佛。倾尽所有的衣物和资财，布施给非时而食的僧人。到十一日，朝着天空合掌说：‘感谢圣众，排空迎接。’所有的徒侣都听到了天乐之音。顷刻之间就圆寂了，世俗年龄七十三岁，僧腊五十四年。讲经共计三十七座，阅读大藏经两遍。于当年二月十八日，安葬在浚郊东寺庄的原野上。幢幡威仪，出家和在家的弟子，大约一千余人参加了送葬。（经书上说：‘如果有人精进修行各种功德，威仪没有缺失，扫塔涂地，用各种名贵的香和美妙的花供养，乃至念诵佛的形像，称念弥勒菩萨的名号，发下宏大的誓愿，命终时就像屈伸手臂一样迅速，就能往生到兜率天，在莲花之上。’贞晦法师就是这样的人。古人把异端学说比作野干。）
English
English version: A devout believer donated funds to build a monastery, and within it, he lectured on scriptures and treatises for more than thirty years. Each day, he separately recited the *Vimalakirti Sutra* and the *Maitreya's Descent to Life Sutra* as a fixed practice. Diligently cultivating, he vowed to be reborn in Tushita Heaven (Tushita Heaven, one of the six heavens of the desire realm, the abode of Maitreya Bodhisattva). In the year *yiwei* of the Qingtai era of the Later Jin Dynasty (935 AD), he passed away at the monastery at the age of seventy-one, with fifty-one years of monastic life. After cremation, relics were obtained, and scholars and believers jointly built a pagoda to enshrine them. (The *Maitreya's Descent Sutra* says: 'If disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha cultivate pure conduct and come to my abode; or uphold the Dharma and come to my abode; even if someone writes scriptures and verses, proclaims them on silk, those who make offerings to them will all come to my abode.') Dharma Master Zhenhui Dharma Master Zhenhui, whose secular surname was Bao, was a native of Changshu in Wu Commandery. He excelled at lecturing on the *Lotus Sutra* and extensively read the texts of the Tripitaka. He practiced diligently twice a day, never tiring. All worldly skills and the words of various schools were excluded from discussion. He admonished his disciples, saying: 'Heterodox doctrines disturb the true mind. Unrecorded (things) will not be influenced, why learn worldly habits? I only wish to roar like a lion, not to howl like a jackal.' He focused solely on incense, candles, sweeping, and cultivating the karma for rebirth in Tushita Heaven, taking the inner courtyard as a place of rest. On the tenth day of the second month of the second year of the Qingtai era of the Later Tang Dynasty (935 AD), he summoned more than fifty disciples, personally bathed with fragrant water, and had them chant the *Ascension Sutra* and prostrate to the Buddha. He gave away all his clothing and possessions, donating them to monks who ate at improper times. On the eleventh day, he clasped his hands towards the sky and said: 'Thank you, holy assembly, for welcoming me in the sky.' All the disciples heard the sound of heavenly music. He passed away in an instant, at the secular age of seventy-three, with fifty-four years of monastic life. He lectured on the scriptures a total of thirty-seven times and read the Tripitaka twice. On the eighteenth day of the second month of that year, he was buried in the wilderness of Dongsi Village in Junjiao. Banners and ceremonial objects, monastic and lay disciples, about a thousand people attended the funeral. (The scriptures say: 'If someone diligently cultivates various merits, without lacking in decorum, sweeps pagodas and paints the ground, makes offerings with various precious incense and wonderful flowers, even recites the image of the Buddha, recites the name of Maitreya Bodhisattva, and makes great vows, at the moment of death, as quickly as stretching or bending an arm, they will be reborn in Tushita Heaven, on a lotus flower.' Dharma Master Zhenhui was such a person. The ancients compared heterodox doctrines to jackals.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
鸣。经论亦云。学习外书如刀割泥。自伤其刃。如观日光。自损其目。今人犹恐学之不逮。岂不患其自伤之不深乎)。 恒超法师 超。姓冯氏。范阳人。祖父不仕。世修儒道。而家富巨万。超生而聪慧。童稚不戏弄。年十五。早通六籍。尤善讽骚。辞调新奇。播流人口。忽一日。因阅佛经。洗然开悟。乃叹曰。人生富贵。喻等幻泡。唯有真乘。可登运载。遂投驻跸寺出俗。学大小乘经律论。讲诸经论。二十余年。宣导各三十余遍。节操高迈。缁素见之。无不怯惧。时郡守李君。素重高风。欲飞章举赐紫衣。超闻惊愕。遂命笔为诗云。虚着褐衣老。浮杯道不成。誓传经论死。不染利名生。厌树遮山色。怜牕向月明。他时随范蠡。一棹五湖清。李君复令人劝勉。超确乎不拔。相国瀛王冯道。闻其名。知是乡关宗人。先遗其书。序以归向之意。超曰。贫道闲人。早舍父母。克志修行。本期弥勒知名。不谓浪传于宰衡之耳也。于吾何益。门人敦喻。不得已而答书。具陈出家之人。岂得以虚名薄利。而留心乎。以乾祐二年。仲春三日。微疾数辰。而终于本院。院众咸闻天乐沸空。乃升兜率之明证也。春秋七十三。僧腊三十五。茶毗收舍利二百余颗。分施之外。缄五十颗于本院起塔(其邀名餐利之徒。读斯传者。宜 现代汉语译本： 经书和论著也说，学习外道书籍就像用刀割泥，只会损伤刀刃；又像观看太阳，只会损伤眼睛。现在的人还恐怕学得不够深入，岂不是担心自我伤害不够深刻吗？ 恒超法师 恒超法师，姓冯，是范阳人。他的祖父和父亲都没有做官，世代修习儒家学说，但家产非常富有。恒超生来就聪明，小时候不玩游戏。十五岁时，就精通了六经，尤其擅长写《离骚》。他的文辞新颖奇特，广为流传。有一天，他偶然阅读佛经，突然醒悟，于是感叹道：‘人生的富贵，就像虚幻的泡沫。只有真正的佛法，才能让人登上解脱的道路。’于是，他到驻跸寺出家，学习大小乘的经律论。他讲解各种经论二十多年，每部经论都讲解了三十多遍。他的节操高尚，僧人和俗人见到他，无不敬畏。当时郡守李君，一向敬重他的高风亮节，想上书朝廷赐给他紫衣。恒超听说后非常惊讶，于是提笔写诗说：‘穿着粗布僧衣老去，乘着木杯也无法得道。我发誓要传讲经论直到死去，不为名利而活着。厌恶树木遮蔽山色，喜爱窗户对着明月。将来要像范蠡一样，乘着小船在五湖上自由自在。’李君又派人劝勉他，恒超坚决不改变主意。相国瀛王冯道，听说了他的名字，知道他是同乡宗族的人，先写信给他，表达归依佛法的意思。恒超说：‘贫道是个闲散之人，早就舍弃了父母，立志修行，本来希望弥勒佛知道我的名字，没想到竟然传到了宰相的耳朵里。这对我有什么好处呢？’门人劝说他，他不得已才回信，详细陈述了出家之人，怎么能因为虚名薄利，而放在心上呢？在乾祐二年（949年）仲春三日，他稍微生病了几天，就在本院圆寂了。寺院里的人都听到天乐响彻天空，这是他升到兜率天的明显证据。他享年七十三岁，僧腊三十五年。火化后，收集到二百多颗舍利，分给众人，另外用匣子装了五十颗放在本院建塔。 （那些追求名利的人，读到这篇传记，应该...