正真
True Reality
正真。字達宗。湖廣湘潭縣人。曾參高旻昭月貞公。薦紳延主鷲峰古剎。初至則頺垣老屋。人不堪其憂。而真則晏如也。已而檀施普集。百廢咸新。次第建諸殿閣。復置田數百頃。率眾念佛。凡來求法者。雖臧穫所不忍棄。示以持名法門。維時宰官薦紳。遠近緇素皆服其品。太史姚姬傅。觀察章淮樹。尤為宏護。淮樹一日邀真。相對據榻。出其二妾令受經。真曰。受經之法。須正几中庭。焚香恭敬而後可。不然是慢法也。淮樹如所教。既離榻。則梁墜而榻碎。淮樹異之。率二妾同秉戒法。後舍二妾為尼。精修淨土。未幾。真慨然有隱志。屏絕諸緣。著淨土偈若干首。道光元年正月九日。令嗣法脫凡至寮。劇談安養樂趣。貌和神恬。旋自鳴魚。念佛時許。命凡過堂食粥。及復至。則真已新衣逝矣(染香集)。
Zhengzheng, courtesy name Dazong, was a native of Xiangtan County in Huguang. He once studied under Elder Zhaoyue Zhen of Gaomin Monastery. The local gentry invited him to take charge of the ancient Jiu Feng Monastery. When he first arrived, the walls were crumbling and the buildings were old; others could not have endured the hardship, but Zhen remained completely at ease. Before long, offerings from the faithful poured in, and every neglected structure was renewed. He built the various halls and pavilions one after another and reestablished several hundred acres of farmland. He led the assembly in Buddha Recitation. To all who came seeking the Dharma, even the lowliest — those whom others could not bear to accept — he taught the practice of invoking the Buddha's name. At that time, officials and gentry, monastics and laypeople far and near, all admired his character. The imperial historian Yao Jifu and the surveillance official Zhang Huaishu were especially generous in their support. One day Huaishu invited Zhen to sit with him on a couch and brought out his two concubines to receive the scriptures. Zhen said, "The way to receive the scriptures requires a proper table set in the central courtyard, with incense burned and reverence shown — only then may it be done. Otherwise, it is to treat the Dharma with disrespect." Huaishu followed his instructions. They had just left the couch when a beam fell and smashed it to pieces. Huaishu was astonished and, together with his two concubines, took up the Precepts. Later he released the two concubines to become nuns, and they devoted themselves to cultivating Pure Land practice. Not long after, Zhen, feeling a deep call to retreat, resolved to withdraw from all worldly ties and composed several verses on the Pure Land. On the ninth day of the first month in the first year of the Daoguang era, he summoned his Dharma heir Tuofan to his quarters and spoke at length and with delight about the joys of the Land of Peace and Bliss. His face was serene and his spirit calm. Then he struck the wooden fish himself and recited the Buddha's name for about an hour. He told Fan to go to the refectory and eat his gruel. When Fan returned, Zhen had already passed away in his new robes.(From the Xiangran Collection)