University of Virginia Library

3. The Ch'i Dynasty
(479-502)

37. Fa-yüan

[OMITTED]

The nun Fa-yüan (Affinity with the Law) (424/426-479/482) of
Tseng-ch'eng in Tung-kuan [in south China]

Fa-yüan's secular surname was Lun. She was from Tseng-ch'eng [in
Tung-kuan in south China].[1]

In the ninth year of the yüan-chia reign period (432) of the Sung
dynasty, Fa-yüan was ten years old, and her sister Fa-ts'ai was nine. At
that time they knew nothing of the teachings or scriptures of Buddhism.
In that year, the eighth day of the second month [the day commemorating
the Buddha's final nirvana], both sisters disappeared.
Three days later they reappeared saying that they had reached the
heavenly palace of the Pure Land and had seen the Buddha, who had
converted them.

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month [the full-moon day], they
disappeared again for ten days before returning.[2] After that sojourn
they were able to speak and write a foreign language as well as chant
Buddhist scriptures. When they chanced to see anyone from the foreign
lands to the west of China, they bantered with them, communicating
with them fluently.

In the tenth year (433), on the fifteenth day of the first month [the
day of the Lantern Festival], they vanished once again.[3] People working
in the fields saw the two girls blown whirling by a wind up to the
sky. Their parents, worried and afraid, petitioned the spirits with sacrifice
for the happy fortune of the sisters' return, but it was a month
before they came back.

When the two sisters returned, they had already embraced the

monastic life, signified by their wearing monastic robes and carrying
their cut-off hair. They reported that they had seen the Buddha and
also a nun who had said, "Because of affinities established between us
in a previous life, you should become my disciples." She rubbed their
heads with her hands, and their hair fell out of its own accord. The
nun bestowed religious names on them, calling the elder sister Fa-yüan
and the younger Fa-ts'ai. On the point of sending them back, the nun
said, "You should build a monastic dwelling, and I shall give you
scriptures."

When Fa-yüan and her sister returned home, they demolished the
altar to the spirits and in its place built a monastic dwelling where they
discussed and chanted scriptures day and night. Every evening multicolored
lights, as though from lanterns or candles, played over the
mountain peaks. From this time forward the sisters' demeanor was
elegant and their speech correct and clear. The chanting in the capital
itself could not surpass theirs.

The provincial governors Wei Lang and K'ung Mo both humbly
made offerings, and, when they heard the two sisters' speech, they
even more deeply honored the nuns' unusual quality. Because of this
all the people in the region served the True Law of the Buddha.

Fa-yüan died at the age of fifty-six in the chien-yüan reign period
(479-482).

38. T'an-ch'e

[OMITTED]

The nun T'an-ch'e (Discerning the Dharma) (422-484) of
Southern Eternal Peace Convent

T'an-ch'e's origins are unknown. When still a child she became a disciple
of the nun P'u-yao and lived together with her in Southern Eternal
Peace Convent. P'u-yao, whose practice of religion was pure and
learning excellent, was well known to her contemporaries.

T'an-ch'e maintained her principles without pride and practiced her
vocation without neglect. She determined to grasp fully the profound
meaning of the Buddhist teaching, and, before she became a full-fledged
nun, she had become learned in the scriptures and their commentaries.
After accepting the complete obligation of the monastic life
she became thoroughly versed in the precepts of the monastic texts.

T'an-ch'e had the talent to handle important affairs, and she was
particularly capable in exposition. She distinguished fine points and
resolved impasses, probing deeply into the abstruse and hidden. All
the other nuns, irrespective of rank, requested to be her subordinates.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, a multitude of students flocked
to her. From women of noble rank on down there was no one who did
not revere her.

In the second year of the yung-ming reign period (484) of the Ch'i
dynasty T'an-ch'e died at the age of sixty-three.

39. Seng-ching

[OMITTED]

The nun Seng-ching (Respect in the Sangha) (402-486) of
Exalted Sanctity Convent

Seng-ching's secular surname was Li. Her family was originally from
Kuei-chi [some distance to the southeast of the capital].[4] They resided,
however [in the immediate vicinity of the capital] at Mo-ling.

When Seng-ching was still in her mother's womb, the family
arranged a meeting, requesting the monk Seng-chao from Pottery
Office Monastery and the nun T'an-chih from Western Convent each
to point at the mother's belly and address the unborn baby as a disciple.
The mother, on behalf of her unborn child, addressed the two
monastics as teacher, thereby agreeing that the child, whether boy or
girl, would be committed to the religious life.

On the day when she was about the give birth, the mother dreamed
of a supernatural being who said to her, "You may sponsor a ceremony
of taking the eight precepts of the householder."[5] She forthwith
gave orders to begin the preparations, but, before the monks and the
statues had been gathered together, Seng-ching was born. A voice out
of nowhere said, "You may give her as a disciple to the nun Pai of
Establishing Peace Convent." The mother complied.

Seng-ching, by the age of five or six, was able to repeat from memory
scriptures that she had heard others chant. She read several hundred
scrolls of scripture, and her marvellous understanding of them
increased daily. Practicing sacrificial vegetarianism her pure manner
became more and more manifest.

In the yüan-chia reign period (424-453) [of the Sung dynasty],

when K'ung Mo went out as an officer to keep order in Kuang Province
[in south China], he took Seng-ching along in his retinue. Seng-ching
happened to meet the foreign nun Tessara and the others who
were on their way to the Sung capital. They were all of highly exceptional
conduct and appearance, and [Seng-ching, in order to accord
fully with the monastic regulations and tradition that required that she
receive the monastic obligation from both the Assembly of Monks and
Assembly of Nuns] went through a second ceremony [of receiving the
complete monastic obligation, accepting the rules from the foreign
nuns as well as from the monks].

Seng-ching, deeply awakened to the truth of impermanence,
wanted to embark on a pilgrimage across the ocean to seek out the
holy traces of the Buddha's life on earth. The monastics and householders
prevented her, however, and she remained in the Ling-nan
region in south China for more than thirty years.[6] Her manner gradually
changed the hearts of the barbarian peoples of the south among
whom she lived. A total of thirteen families donated land and went
together to build a convent for her at Ch'ao-t'ing, calling it Built by the
Multitude.[7]

Emperor Ming (439-465-472) of the Sung dynasty heard about
Seng-ching and issued an invitation all that distance to her, to welcome
her to his presence.[8] The monastics and householders of P'an-yü
[the region in south China where she lived] grieved at the thought of
losing her.

When Seng-ching returned to the capital, she lived by imperial
decree in Exalted Sanctity Convent, where monastics and householders
alike submitted to her instruction. A certain Yüeh Tsun of
Tan-yang donated land and built a convent for her to which she later
moved.[9]

The Ch'i heir apparent, Wen-hui (458-493) [who was the first son
of Emperor Wu], and the prince of Ching-ling, Wen-hsüan (460-494)
[who was the second son of Emperor Wu], both admiring her virtuous
practice, personally made donations without fail.[10]

Seng-ching died on the third day of the second month of the fourth
year of the yung-ming reign period (486) at the age of eighty-four and
was buried on the south side of Bell Mountain.[11] Her disciples erected
a memorial stone for which the vice president of the department of the
imperial grand secretariat, Shen Yüeh of Wu-hsing County,[12] wrote
the inscription.[13]

40. Seng-meng

[OMITTED]

The nun Seng-meng (Courageous in the Sangha) (418-489) of
Brightness of Ch'i Convent of Yen-kuan County

Seng-meng's secular surname was Ts'en. Her family was originally
from Nan-yang [near the old northern capital of Lo-yang],[14] but they
had removed to Yen-kuan County [on the seacoast some distance
southeast of the Ch'i dynastic capital of Chien-k'ang] and, by the time
Seng-meng was born, had lived there for five generations.[15] Her great-grandfather
Ts'en Shuai, in the Eastern Chin dynasty (317-420), was
the secretary to the head of the subprefectural personnel and magistrate
of Yü-hang [which lay to the west of Yen-kuan].[16]

For generations the family had followed the Taoist religion of the
Yellow Emperor and Lao-tzu and had also believed in and worshipped
demonic spirits. Nevertheless, Seng-meng, even as a child, resolutely
determined to uproot these vulgar practices.

When she was twelve, her father died. Weeping bitterly until she
vomited blood, she died and then revived.[17] After the three-year
mourning period was completed, she demonstrated her unquenchable
spirit by taking leave of her mother and going forth into the homeless
life.[18]

Seng-meng's conduct was already pure, and she respectfully served
her teacher. Her food of plain vegetables and coarse rice was sufficient
just to preserve life and limb. In practicing the ritual of confession she
was never weary nor remiss, and, when she was repenting her former
sins, her tears flowed in utmost sincerity. She was able to do what others
could not do.

When the governor of I Province, Chang Tai (413-483) of Wu
Commandery, heard of her good reputation, he highly honored her
and requested her to become his family teacher.[19]

In the first year of the yüan-hui reign period (473) of the Sung
dynasty the nun Ching-tu entered the region of Wu and took Seng-meng
to the capital city of Chien-k'ang to live in Establishing Blessings
Convent. Seng-meng read through many scriptures day and night;
when she followed lectures her mind was never weary; she learned
much and remembered well, always able to recall whatever she had
heard. Thus she studied and comprehended all the scriptures and

books of monastic discipline, and with pure desires she sat quietly in
meditation, immeasurably tranquil.

In the fourth year of the chien-yüan reign period (482) of the Ch'i
dynasty when her mother became ill, Seng-meng returned east to her
home in Yen-kuan County and made the house there into a convent
that she called Brightness of Ch'i. She built shrine rooms and halls and
planted rows of bamboo. Tranquil both within and without, it looked
like the dwelling place of the immortals.[20] She gave her food to the
hungry and her clothes to those suffering from the cold.

Once a hunter approached the convent from the south. The flying
birds and running beasts rushed to Seng-meng for refuge with the pursuing
falcons and dogs very close behind.[21] Seng-meng blocked them
with her body and arms, and, although she was pecked and bitten, the
creatures who had fled to her escaped from harm.

Several dozen persons lived together with her for more than thirty
years without once seeing her angry. She was seventy-two years old
when she died in the seventh year of the yung-ming reign period (489)
of the Ch'i dynasty.

At that time there was also the nun Seng-yüan who was the daughter
of Seng-meng's cousin on her father's side. Seng-yüan was also
known for her filial behavior. Her conduct was exalted and her wisdom
deep.

41. Miao-chih

[OMITTED]

The nun Miao-chih (Marvellous Sagacity) (432-495) of Flower
Garland Convent

Miao-chih's secular surname was Ts'ao, and her family was originally
from Ho-nei [north of the Yellow River and the old northern capital of
Lo-yang].

Of gentle and intelligent disposition, she formed her mind in accordance
with the Great Conversion of Buddhism.[22] She kept the monastic
rules as carefully as though she were guarding bright pearls.
Untiring in patience, she displayed no irritability with regard to
worldly matters. Although faced with vexations, she never had other
than a pleasant countenance. Withdrawn from the world for a lifetime
of study, she was nevertheless happy the whole day. She thoroughly

penetrated the Buddhist teaching about the characteristics of existence,
and the world honored her.[23]

When the meditation hall was first built, Emperor Wu (440-483493)[24]
of the Ch'i dynasty by imperial order requested Miao-chih to
lecture on the Shrīmālā[25] and the Vimalakīrti.[26] As she began and carried
out the lectures, several times the emperor personally attended,
asking questions without limit. Miao-chih made connections and distinctions,
from the first neither losing a point nor being stumped. The
emperor praised her again and again, and the four groups [monks,
nuns, laymen, and laywomen] very respectfully acknowledged her
learning.

Wen-hsüan (460-494), the Ch'i prince of Ching-ling [and second
son of Emperor Wu], marked off some land on Bell Mountain as a
cemetery in which to bury those of renowned virtue.[27]

Miao-chih died at the age of sixty-four in the second year of the
chien-wu reign period (495) and was buried on the south side of Grove
of Concentration Monastery on Bell Mountain. Madame Chiang,
wife of Palace Attendant Wang Lun (d. 494-498) of Lang-yeh, composed
the eulogy that was inscribed on the stone tablet set up on the
left side of the grave mound.[28]

42. Chih-sheng

[OMITTED]

The nun Chih-sheng (Victorious Sagacity) (427-492) of
Establishing Blessings Convent

Chih-sheng's secular surname was Hsü. Her family was originally
from [the northern city of] Ch'ang-an, but had lived [in the south] in
Kuei-chi, for three generations.

When she was six, Chih-sheng went along with her grandmother to
the capital to visit Pottery Office Monastery. When she saw the magnificence
of the monastery, the precious decorations, and adornment,
she wept copiously and begged leave from her grandmother to cut off
her hair and cast aside secular garments to become a nun. Her grandmother
questioned her in detail, and Chih-sheng fully explained her
intention, but her grandmother said she was too young and did not
permit it.

During the Sung dynasty many hardships caused people in all

classes of society to lose their livelihood.[29] The times were very confused,
and the years went by, so that Chih-sheng was close to twenty
before she was able to leave the secular life and take up residence in
Establishing Blessings Convent.

Walking alone without peer, her practice of the Buddhist monastic
life was inimitable. She listened to a recitation of the Great Final Nirvāna
Scripture, and, hearing it once, was able to hold it in mind.[30]
Later, when she was studying the books of monastic discipline, she
mastered them thoroughly without having to be taught twice. The
fame of her memory in all respects increased. She herself wrote several
tens of scrolls of commentaries in which the phrasing was concise and
the meaning far-reaching; her interpretations were recondite and her
reasoning subtle.[31]

Encountering filth she was not soiled; meeting with adversities she
was not worn down. In the ta-ming reign period (457-464) there was
a fellow who used deceit to meet with her, to try to embrace her in a
lascivious way, hoping she would not keep to her rules. But Chih-sheng
with deep-seated purpose upheld her purity and stood firm as a
wall. With grave countenance she reported everything to the Assembly
of Nuns, who recorded what had happened and reported it to the civil
authorities. Chih-sheng maintained the pure precepts of the monastic
life as though she were guarding bright pearls.

At one time the monks Seng-tsung (438-496) and Hsüan-ch'ü, disciples
of the master of the law T'an-pin of Splendidly Adorned Monastery,
together were on duty in the Buddha Hall, but, because they were
careless in storing things, they invited a theft in which the bodhisattva
necklace and the seven-jeweled water bowl were stolen.[32] T'an-pin's
own room, except for his robe and begging bowl, was as bare as a
hanging gong, and therefore he had nothing with which to replace
what had been taken. Distressed and sad, he suspended his lectures
and remained in his own quarters for three days. When Chih-sheng
made this known to the four groups of monks, nuns, laymen, and lay-women,
everything was provided within ten days. The response to her
virtue and influence was always like this.

The Ch'i heir apparent, Wen-hui (458-493) [the eldest son of
Emperor Wu], hearing of her reputation, often summoned her to his
presence.[33] Whenever she was invited to the imperial palace to give
lectures on the various Buddhist scriptures, the minister of education,

the prince of Ching-ling, Wen-hsüan (460-494) [the second son of
Emperor Wu,] respected her even more.[34]

Chih-sheng's sense of purpose was as durable as southern gold, and
her heart as pristine as northern snow. Because she was indeed highly
respected for the discerning moral advice she gave her Assembly of
Nuns, the empress dowager ordered that she serve as abbess of the
convent. The whole community loved and respected her as though
they were serving their elders.

Chih-sheng made the vows of one aspiring to be a bodhisattva[35]
from Master of the Law Seng-yüan (ca. 430-ca. 490) of [Upper]
Grove of Concentration Monastery on Bell Mountain.[36] A censer was
always placed beside the seat, and Chih-sheng picked up some incense
to put in it, but Seng-yüan tried to stop her, saying, "The censer has
not been lit for the past three days." But when clouds of smoke arose
from the incense that she had dropped into the censer, everyone marveled
at her awesome devotion that brought forth such a response.[37]

During the yung-ming reign period (483-493), while she was holding
a vegetarian religious feast in honor of the Holy Monk [Pindola],
she concentrated her mind in earnest supplication.[38] When she unexpectedly
heard fingers snapping in the air, she brought her palms
together in a gesture of reverence and bowed her head to listen.

Because Chih-sheng lived in the convent for thirty years without
attending the vegetarian meals given outside the convent and without
roaming about visiting either nobles or commoners, and because she
dwelt in quiet seclusion and remained in contemplation, the fragrance
of her reputation was not widespread.

The heir apparent, Wen-hui, especially made offerings to her, and
as time went by they were so abundant that she built more buildings
and that the entire convent was splendidly beautiful.

Chih-sheng sacrificed her own religious robes and begging bowl,
selling them to raise money to make stone images at Sheh Mountain
Monastery for the sake of seven emperors of the Sung and Ch'i
dynasties.

In the tenth year of the yung-ming reign period (492), when she was
confined to bed with an illness, she unexpectedly saw golden chariots
with jade canopies all coming to welcome her. On the fifth day of the
fourth month she told all her disciples, "I am now going to leave." The
disciples wept. She then pulled aside her robe to expose her chest on

which there appeared, written in the highly cursive style, the character
Fo (Buddha), clear and white in form and color.[39] At noon on the
eighth day [the day of the Buddha's birthday], she died at the age of
sixty-six. She was buried on Bell Mountain. The heir apparent, Wen-hui,
had supplied her medicines, and imperial officials provided everything
needed for the funeral.

43. Seng-kai

[OMITTED]

The nun Seng-kai (Canopy of the Sangha) (430-493) of
Foundation for Meditation Convent

Seng-kai's secular surname was T'ien, and her family was originally
from Chün-jen in the Chao region [north of the Yellow River]. Her
father, T'ien Hung-liang, was administrator of T'ien-shui in [northwest
China].

Seng-kai was still a child when she left secular life to become a disciple
of the nun Seng-chih in Flower Grove Convent [of the northeastern
city] of P'eng-ch'eng, where she forgot about gaining personal advantage
and ignored slander or praise.

In the first year of the yüan-hui reign period (473), when the northern
barbarians invaded the province, she, together with her fellow student
Fa-chin, went south to the capital [Chien-k'ang], and took up residence
in Wonderful Appearance Convent.[40] Seng-kai listened
extensively to the scriptures and to the texts of monastic discipline,
inquiring deeply into their meanings. She especially cultivated the
practice of meditation and [as the Classic of History says], "A single
day was not enough."[41] In cold weather or hot she did not change the
amount of clothing she wore, and throughout the four seasons she did
not vary her food or drink but sustained herself with only one dish of
vegetables at the noon meal.

[Seng-kai received] instruction from the two masters of meditation
Fa-yin and Seng-shen (416-490), both of whom marveled at her easy
awakening.[42] During the yung-ming reign period (483-493) of the
Ch'i dynasty she moved to Foundation for Meditation Convent, where
she wanted to propagate the way of contemplation, but monastics and
laity alike came to consult her, greatly increasing the hubbub. Thereupon,
on the left side of the convent she built a separate meditation

hall wherein she remained in quietude. When she went out from the
meditation hall, then she was apt in giving instructions and exhortation
without growing weary.

Hsiao Tzu-liang, the prince of Ching-ling, Wen-hsüan (460-494)
[second son of Emperor Wu], provided for her material needs
throughout the year.[43]

Although Seng-kai was already old, her determination had not
weakened, for she was dispassionate throughout the day and alert
throughout the night. In the eleventh year of the yung-ming reign
period (493), she died at the age of sixty-four.

Also at that time in the same convent was the nun Fa-yen whose secular
name was Hsü and whose family had come from Kao-yang [in
north China]. Her vigorous practice produced results, and she, too
[like Seng-kai], was known for her accomplishments in meditation.

44. Fa-ch'üan

[OMITTED]

The nun Fa-ch'üan (Complete Law) (412-494) of Eastern Green
Garden Convent

Fa-ch'üan, whose secular surname was Tai, was from Tan-yang [near
the capital]. Of excellent conduct and fond of quietude, she persisted
in her efforts to practice meditation and to acquire wisdom. At first
under the direction of Seng-tsung (438-496) and Fa-yüan (409-489)
she broadly inquired into the various scriptures,[44] and afterward she
widely traversed the methods of meditation and contemplation under
the instruction of the masters of meditation Seng-shen (416-490) and
Fa-yin.[45] During the day she delved into the profundity of texts, and
during the night she passed through the subtle realms of contemplation
so that she could elucidate all the difficult writings of the Great
Vehicle of Buddhism and exercise the skills of a master craftsman in
the secret methods of gaining meditative tranquility.

Fa-ch'üan ate only vegetarian food and wore only what was necessary
to conceal the body. She instructed and guided those who had not
yet heard the Buddhist teachings, and she encouraged her own students
to greater efforts. Those who heeded her words realized many
benefits from their practice.

Because the [Green Garden] convent had become very large and

managing it was therefore difficult, in the third year of the t'ai-shih
reign period (467), the community discussed dividing it into two convents.
At that time the nun Pao-ying sought to establish a meditation
hall and a pagoda on the east side of the convent, and thereupon Eastern
Green Garden Convent was founded. In the second year of the
sheng-ming reign period (478), Pao-ying died, but, because the community
in Eastern Green Garden Convent was newly established, and
because there was no one in the new community capable of succeeding
to the position, they chose Fa-ch'üan from Green Garden Convent to
be the abbess of the new convent. Everyone was delighted with the
choice, and she treated everyone fairly without any bias.

In the first year of the lung-ch'ang reign period (494), she died at the
age of eighty-three.

At that time there were also in the same convent the nuns Ching-lien,
Seng-lü, and Hui-hsing who were all well known for their
learning.

45. Ching-hui

[OMITTED]

The nun Ching-hui (Pure Radiance) (421-492) of
Samantabhadra Convent[46]

Ching-hui's secular surname was Yang. Her family was from Chien-k'ang
[the capital of the Ch'i dynasty]. Her determination in the way
of Buddhism was utterly sincere, and her joy in the teachings of the
religion was exceptionally earnest. When she had first accepted all the
monastic precepts for women, she received instruction from the masters
of exegesis T'an-chi and Fa-yüan.[47] She single-mindedly investigated
the difficult subtleties of the Great Vehicle of Buddhism, and
after ten years she was then herself a distinguished master.

The Ch'i heir apparent, Wen-hui (458-493) [eldest son of Emperor
Wu], and the prince of Ching-ling, Wen-hsüan (460-494) [second son
of the emperor], both treasured her.[48] In the eighth year of the yung-ming
reign period (490), the prince of Ching-ling invited her to his residence
to give a lecture on the Vimalakīrti Scripture.[49]

Later Ching-hui became the abbess of the convent, and young and
old alike respectfully served her as though serving their parents. Those
who followed her as disciples numbered over four hundred persons. In

the tenth year of the yung-ming reign period (492), she died at the age
of seventy-two.

At that time in the convent were the nuns Seng-yao and Kuang-ching,
who were also known for their study and practice of Buddhism.

46. T'an-chien

[OMITTED]

The nun T'an-chien (Simplicity of the Dharma) of Voice of the
Teaching Convent

T'an-chien's secular surname was Chang, and her family originally
was from Ch'ing-ho [in northern China].[50] She was a disciple of the
nun Fa-ching.[51] She traveled throughout the valley of the Huai River
[north of the Yangtze River], to study with various teachers, so that
she might widely proclaim the True Law of the Buddha.[52] Putting others
first and herself last, her ambition was to help all living beings.

In the fourth year of the chien-yüan reign period (482) of Ch'i, she
built Voice of the Teaching Convent, where she practiced the quiet of
meditation and achieved [the highest concentrative state known as]
samādhi. She was widely known for her virtue, and her meritorious
influence spread daily. Both religious and laity respected her and made
plentiful offerings.

At that time there was a master of the law Hui-ming who deeply
appreciated silence and quietude.[53] Originally he lived in Grove of the
Way Monastery, which had been refurbished and adorned by the heir
apparent, Wen-hui (458-493) [eldest son of the emperor], and the
prince of Ching-ling, Wen-hsüan (460-494) [second son of the
emperor], during the yung-ming reign period (483-493) of Ch'i.[54]
Many of the monks there were students of doctrine and were constantly
debating topics in the scriptures and explanatory treatises.
Because of the hustle and bustle of all the coming and going, Hui-ming
wanted to get away. T'an-chien made a gift to him of her convent, and
she herself moved to White Mountain, where she built a grass shelter
to protect her from wind and rain.[55] At the appropriate times she went
out begging and was sustained by the alms she received.

She often gathered firewood, saying that she was going to carry out
a meritorious act, and [on the day celebrating the Buddha's final nirvana],
the eighth night of the second month in the first year of the

chien-wu reign period (494), she mounted this pile of firewood and
kindled a fire, immolating herself, thereby abandoning her body of
birth and death as an offering to the Three Treasures.[56] When the people
in the neighboring village saw the fire, they raced to rescue her,
but, when they arrived, T'an-chien had already died. Religious and
laity alike lamented, their cries reverberating through the mountains
and valleys. They then built a tomb to bury her remains, which they
had gathered up.

47. Ching-kuei

[OMITTED]

The nun Ching-kuei (Pure Symbol) (d. 494) of Voice of the
Teaching Convent

Ching-kuei's secular surname was Chou. Her family was originally
from Chin-ling [to the southeast of the capital, Chien-k'ang], but they
had lived in the Chien-k'ang district for three generations by the time
she was born.[57]

As a child Ching-kuei was very intelligent and often needed to hear
something only once to understand it. By natural inclination she did
not associate with worldly people and very early on wished to leave
the household life. Her parents, sympathizing with her, did not
oppose her resolve, and she took up residence in Voice of the Teaching
Convent as a disciple of the nun Fa-ching.

She was pure in conduct, broadly versed in both the scriptures and
the monastic rules, and well accomplished in all the meditative secrets
of the three types of Buddhist paths.[58] In short, Ching-kuei's spiritual
capacity was so vast that no one could fathom it; on the other hand
she neglected her body and forgot the taste of food to the point that
she was always emaciated. Her vigor and memory were models for the
world, and her teaching and guidance greatly benefited everyone of
that time who turned to her.

Ching-kuei lived together with the nun T'an-chien in Voice of the
Teaching Convent, and she [too] eventually moved to White Mountain,
where she dwelt beneath the trees, her meritorious influence
spreading far.

In the first year of the chien-wu reign period (494), on the night of
the eighth day of the second month [traditionally thought to be the

day of the Buddha's complete and final entry into nirvana], Ching-kuei
burned her body at the same time as the nun T'an-chien (no. 46).
Religious and laity, all grieving and weeping, collected her relics and
buried them in a tomb.

48. Hui-hsü

[OMITTED]

The nun Hui-hsü (Wisdom's Thread) (431-499) of Collected
Goodness Convent

Hui-hsü's secular surname was Chou. Her family was originally from
the city of Kao-p'ing in the Lü-ch'iu district [quite far north of the Ch'i
capital].[59]

High-minded and distant in character, in physical appearance she
looked like a man rather than a woman. Her statements and opinions
were extremely straightforward without the slightest circumlocution.

By the time she was seven years old, Hui-hsü ate vegetarian food,
observed the fasts, and was resolute in her determination to maintain
her chastity. At the age of eighteen she left the secular household life to
take up residence in Three-Story Convent of Ching Province [along
the Yangtze River, an important center of Buddhism, far to the west of
the capital].[60] Religious and laity alike admired her complete practice
of the monastic rules.

At that time in Chiang-ling [the provincial capital of Ching Province],
there was an eremitic nun who had a reputation for virtue in
those western regions.[61] When she saw Hui-hsü, she regarded her as
extraordinary, and therefore, forgetting any difference in age, they
together followed the Way of Buddhism. Once they lived together for
a summer to practice [the meditation of visualizing the Buddha in
one's presence], during which time they carried out austerities of mind
and body both day and night without rest.[62]

When Shen Yu-chih (d. 478) was governor of the province he sifted
and weeded the monastic communities, at which time Hui-hsü, to
avoid the difficulty, fled to the capital.[63] She returned to the west only
after the defeat of Shen [during the struggles between the Sung and the
eventually victorious Ch'i]. The Ch'i grand general of the army and
grand marshal, the prince of Yü-chang, Hsiao I (444-492) [second
son of Emperor Kao, first emperor of Ch'i], at the end of the sheng-ming

reign period (477-479) of the Sung dynasty,[64] went out as a
commander of the garrison for the provinces of Ching and Shan.[65]
Knowing of her religious practice, he requested her presence at his residence
where he provided her with the four essentials of a monastic.[66]

At that time the master of meditation Hsüan-ch'ang came to Ching
from the [far western] province of Shu.[67] He taught methods of meditation
to Hui-hsü, who investigated to the utmost their subtle mysteries,
causing Hsüan-ch'ang often to praise her depth of mind inherited
from experience gained in previous lives. Hui-hsü thus became proficient
in meditation as well as continued to maintain her vegetarianism
and strict observance of the moral precepts.

The wife of the prince of Yü-chang and other ladies of the royal
family were greatly devoted to her and from her received instruction in
meditation. Whenever she received donations, she dispersed them to
others, never having any intention of keeping them for herself. Hui-hsü,
far above such matters, had no concern for her material livelihood.

The prince requested her to return with him to the capital, where,
east of the eastern fields of his family's estate, he built for her Field of
Blessings Convent. She was frequently invited to the prince's residence
to carry out various religious practices.

In the ninth year of the yung-ming reign period (491), Hui-hsü
announced that she had suddenly taken very ill, but it was not a genuine
disease; it was only that she was no longer willing to eat. When she
had become quite haggard and emaciated, she earnestly begged to be
able to return to her convent, and as soon as she returned she immediately
improved. Ten days later, however, she was again summoned to
the prince's residence, and, having once arrived, her illness reappeared
as before. No one knew the reason why, but suddenly the prince died
(492), and one calamity after another befell his family. Because the
eastern estate was in a distant suburb, Emperor Wu (440-483-493)
[the prince's elder brother and second emperor of Ch'i], built Collected
Goodness Convent and moved all the nuns to this new convent
while using Field of Blessings Convent to house the foreign monk
ārya.[68] The monk, who received support from the royal family, was
good at chanting Buddhist magical spells.[69]

After Hui-hsü herself had moved to Collected Goodness Convent,
she did not again set foot in the palace for several years. During that
time everyone, both within and without the palace, greatly respected

the nun and often urged her to return for short visits to the women's
apartments of the palace. Lady Chu wished to hold a religious vegetarian
feast and sent a message to invite Hui-hsü to consult with her
ahead of time about the affair.

The nun said, "This is very good. Because I am now old, I truly
want at this time to visit the palace once more to bid farewell to all the
ladies." Thus she attended the vegetarian feast and, when it was over,
she asked for paper and brush and wrote a poem:

(I, Pao-ch'ang, the compiler, note here that there were ten more words
in this poem of farewell, but they have been lost.) After she finished
the poem, she talked and laughed with the people there and comported
herself in no way different from her usual dignity.

She then took her leave, saying, "This time when I go out to the
convent, it will be farewell forever. Because I am old, I shall not again
be able to enter the palace." She was healthy at that time, but a little
over a month after she had gone back to the convent she said she was
sick, and, even though she seemed no different from before, she died a
few days later on the twentieth day of the eleventh month of the first
year of the yung-yüan reign period (499). She was sixty-nine years old.
The scholar Chou Sheh (469-524) wrote a statement in praise
of her.[70]

The nun Te-sheng was a companion in the Way [of Buddhism], the
same in virtue and will, and received Hui-hsü's instruction in religious
practice and contemplation.

49. Ch'ao-ming

[OMITTED]

The nun Ch'ao-ming (Superior Clarity) (ca. 438-498) of
Brightness of Ch'i Convent in Ch'ien-t'ang

Ch'ao-ming's secular surname was Fan. Her family was from Ch'ien-t'ang
[southeast of the capital], and her father, Fan Hsien, as a young

man had been a student at the imperial academy.[71] The family had
been Buddhist for a long time.

When a young girl, Ch'ao-ming had been very intelligent and had
exalted ambitions. She studied the five Confucian classics and was
well versed in literature.[72] Her polite and proper deportment drew the
respect of everyone both within and without her family.

When she was twenty-one, her husband died, leaving her a widow.
A neighbor sought to marry her, but she vowed not to allow it. Therefore
she left the secular life and took up residence in Venerating Seclusion
Convent. Of brilliant intellect, she well apprehended the body of
[Buddhist] knowledge, and, when she heard that Master of the Law
T'an-cheng of North Chang Monastery in Wu County [northeast of
Ch'ien-t'ang], was vigorously ascetic in his practice, she received from
him the full obligation to observe the monastic rules. Afterward she
went to Mud Mountain [a short distance southeast of Ch'ien-t'ang][73]
to receive instruction from the well-known master of the law Hui-chi
(412-496).[74] When he lectured on the various scriptures she comprehended
the meaning, and whatever she heard once she always remembered.
Everyone in the surrounding region, whether religious or lay,
held her in great esteem.

Ch'ao-ming subsequently returned to Ch'ien-t'ang to Brightness of
Ch'i Convent where she died in the fifth year of the chien-wu reign
period (498) at the age of sixty-some years.

There was also at that time the nun Fa-tsang, who was [like Ch'ao-ming]
well known for her learning and practice.

50. T'an-yung

[OMITTED]

The nun T'an-yung (Courageous in the Dharma) (d. 501) of
Voice of the Teaching Convent

T'an-yung was the elder sister of the nun T'an-chien (no. 46). By
nature she was firm in her principles, unswayed by any outside circumstance.
Always considering the practice of meditation and the
strict observance of the monastic rules as her duty, she never thought
of food and clothing as matters for her concern. She lived in Voice of
the Teaching Convent, where she deeply comprehended the Buddhist

teaching of impermanence and highly venerated the joy of cessation in
nirvana.

In the first year of the chien-wu reign period (494), she moved to
White Mountain together with T'an-chien, and, on the night of the fifteenth
day of the second month of the third year of the yung-yüan
reign period (501), she piled up firewood and burned up her body as
an offering to the Buddha.[75] Those who saw and heard her at that
time all aspired to attain Buddhist enlightenment, and together they
built a tomb to bury her remains that they had gathered up.

51. Teh-leh

[OMITTED]

The nun Teh-leh (Joy in Virtue) (421-501) of Brightness of Ch'i
Convent

Teh-leh's secular surname was Sun. Her family was from P'i-ling [to
the southeast of the capital].[76] Her great-great-grandfather, Sun Yü,[77]
during the Chin dynasty, was the governor of Yü Province [which lay
west of the capital on the north bank of the Yangtze River].[78]

Teh-leh was born with two teeth in her mouth and, as she grew up,
was often able to see clearly in a dark room without using either lamp
or candle. She wished to leave the secular life, and her parents, who
loved and cherished her, did nothing to stand in her way. When she
reached the age of eight they gave permission for Teh-leh and her sister
to enter the religious life together and become the disciples of the nun
Kuang of Chin-ling.[79]

After they had received the obligation to observe all the precepts of
the monastic life, they both went to the capital [to pursue their study
of Buddhism] and lived in Southern Eternal Peace Convent. Teh-leh,
of steadfast determination, diligently labored at her studies day and
night, thoroughly investigating both the scriptures and monastic rules,
conversing about them in an elegant and refined way that gained the
approval of Emperor Wen (407-424-453) of the Sung dynasty.[80]

In the seventh year of the yüan-chia reign period (430), the foreign
monk Gunavarman arrived in the capital.[81] The grand general of the
Sung [I-k'ang, prince of P'eng-ch'eng] (409-451),[82] built Kingdom
Convent (I, Pao-ch'ang, the complier, note that it was located north of

Hedge Garden Monastery) and invited Teh-leh and other nuns to live
there.[83] In the eleventh year (434), more than ten nuns from Sri Lanka
arrived and thus the Chinese nuns were able to receive from the foreign
monk Sanghavarman the obligation to keep all the monastic precepts
[in the proper form].[84]

In the twenty-first year (444), the nuns Fa-ching and T'an-lan of
that same convent,[85] because of their involvement in K'ung Hsi-hsien's
(d. 445) plots and intrigue against the government, brought about
great harm to the Way [of Buddhism] and the destruction of their own
convent, forcing all the nuns there to disperse.[86] Teh-leh moved to
Eastern Green Garden Convent, where she delved deeply into the
practice of meditation, thoroughly investigating that marvellous
realm.

After Emperor Wen died (453), she left the capital and traveled east
toward Kuei-chi and took up residence in Reflecting Brightness Convent
on White Mountain in the Yen region [to the southeast of Kuei-chi].[87]
She taught easily and without fuss the students who gathered
around her like clouds, causing [the Buddhist] religion to flourish in
the southeast.

In the fifth year of the yung-ming reign period (487) of Ch'i, the
devout [Buddhist] layman Yüan Chien, originally from Ch'en-liu
[west of the capital],[88] donated his own residence to set up Brightness
of Ch'i Convent.[89] The nuns, young and old alike, happily submitted
to Teh-leh's leadership while those near and far, admiring her character,
all wished to rely on her as their teacher, with the result that her
disciples numbered over two hundred persons. She did not keep the
donations made to her but rather, making no distinctions, distributed
them equally to both monks and nuns who came to participate in the
great gathering for lectures and preaching that she convened every
year.

Teh-leh died in the third year of the yung-yüan reign period (501) at
the age of eighty-one.

In the region of Yen there was also the nun Seng-mao, whose secular
surname was Wang and whose family was originally from P'eng-ch'eng
[in northeast China]. She kept a strict vegetarian diet and vigorously
cultivated asceticism. Whatever was given to her she bequeathed
to Bamboo Garden Convent.