Seng You (僧祐) was born into a fine family in the peaceful state of Southern Sung (南宋, 420-479). One day he went with his parents to Chienchu Temple (建初寺) in Nanjing. The young boy refused to go home and insisted on becoming a monk, so his parents gave in to his request.

Chienchu Temple was the oldest temple in the area. There was a fascinating story about its founding. It is said that a monk named Kang Seng Hui (康僧會) came from central Asia to Nanjing in 247 and planned to set up a temple to teach Buddhism to the public. He went to visit the king, Sun Chuan (孫權, 182-252), and told him that obtaining a relic of the Buddha could help propagate Buddhism. Sun sneered at him and proclaimed that if the monk could get a relic within seven days, he would order the construction of a pagoda to house it.

Seng Hui set up an altar and placed a vase on it. He and his followers prayed that the Buddha would support him by granting him a relic. However, seven days passed and there was no sign of a relic. The monk asked Sun to give him another seven days and the ruler agreed. Again seven days passed and there was no sign of any relic. Sun said with a smile, "Well, I'll grant you another seven days since I don't want other people to say that I am unreasonable. But if there is no relic this time, you can tell your disciples to bring me your head!"

Seven days almost passed and there was still no sign of a relic. Everyone, including Seng Hui himself, prepared for the worst. However, on the night of the last day, a sound suddenly echoed from the vase. When the monk looked inside, he saw what he had been praying for: a relic of the Buddha!

Everyone there prostrated themselves before the relic and the news quickly spread. Even the king's mouth gaped in astonishment. Chienchu Temple was thus built and a pagoda was built inside the temple compound to house the relic. Seng Hui and his disciples moved into the temple and Buddhism began to spread in Nanjing.

The beginning

When Seng You was four years old, he became a novice under his mentor, Seng Fan (僧範), an old monk in Chienchu Temple. Seng Fan was very good at commenting on Buddhist teachings with his bright, vibrant voice, quick wit, eloquence, and his in-depth knowledge of Buddhism.

Years passed and Seng You grew and absorbed much knowledge. When he was 14 years old, Seng Fan told him that he had nothing more to teach him, and that he had to seek further instruction from a monk named Fa Ta (法達) at Tinglin Temple (定林寺), which was also located in Nanjing. Seng You bid farewell to his mentor and the temple where he had lived for so many years and left for Ting Lin Temple.

New learning

Seng You meditated with Master Fa Ta every morning. Then he went to morning prayers, and afterwards he did his daily duties like the other monks. After the evening prayers, he could ask Fa Ta or other senior monks any questions he had.

Seng You once asked Fa Ta, "Master, I ran into a monk who told me that our own heart is a buddha, so meditation and reading sutras were a waste of time. I didn't know how to respond to that, so could you please tell me how I should reply?"

Fa Ta sighed. "Many monks and laypeople nowadays simply ignore the importance of reading the sutras to help them carry out spiritual cultivation. Those who meditate claim that meditation alone is enough to help them attain enlightenment; similarly, those in the Pure Land sect ignore everything else but chanting the Amitabha Buddha's name. However, these are not right. People can't just carry out their spiritual cultivation without studying the sutras, because they won't know what they are doing or whether what they are learning is in accordance with the proper doctrine. The sutras are our guides; and without their guidance people can follow the wrong path without realizing it. That is quite dangerous! People have to read sutras for their cultivation; if they don't, they run the risk of straying down evil paths."

Fa Ta continued: "You have studied many sutras with Master Seng Fan, and that was why I allowed you to become my pupil. You practice meditation, and you must also continue your studies in the sutras so you can combine both together in your cultivation."

In 465, Seng You was 20 years old, and that meant he was old enough to receive the full precepts and become a monk. To prepare for this important occasion, Fa Ta told Seng You that they would stop their daily meditation. Seng You had to spend the following 36 days in a precept room to read sutras, repent his past mistakes, learn about the precepts, and finally be ordained as a monk.

After the ceremony, Fa Ta again wanted to send Seng You out to another mentor since the young monk now had to find out which aspect of Buddhism he wanted to study. Fa Ta took Seng You to visit Fa Hsien (法獻, 423-497), another great monk in the temple. Fa Hsien asked Fa Ta, "Master Fa Ta, he's your disciple, so why are you asking me what he should study?"

Fa Ta smiled and replied, "We are asking for your advice with utmost sincerity. I have taught many disciples, but Seng You has true talent. If he continues learning, he'll one day become a great pillar of Buddhism, so we should help him."

Fa Hsien said to Fa Ta, "I surmise that you already have a plan for him. You just want me to verify it?"

Fa Ta and Fa Hsien both felt that Seng You could learn much from Master Fa Ying (法穎, 416-482), an expert in the Buddhist precepts, so Seng You was sent to study with Fa Ying in Chunghsing Temple (中興寺), in a suburb of Nanjing.

A few days after Seng You came to Chunghsing Temple, Fa Ying summoned the young monk to his room and asked him why Buddhist monks should study the precepts. Seng You pondered for awhile and replied, "When the Buddha was dying, he mentioned that the precepts are the basis of learning Buddhism..."

"You're right," Fa Ying said. "The precepts are the foundation of learning Buddhism. They can help people follow the right path without making any mistakes and thus help them to attain buddhahood. Following the precepts is not like confinement; it's rather a way to liberate people from the suffering of rebirth and the bad consequences of their sins. The precepts also assist practitioners to do good deeds. Moreover, the precepts help to regulate the lives and behavior of every monk and nun so that every member of the congregation can live in harmony. If there were no precepts, the Buddhist order would be filled with problems and wouldn't be accepted by society!"

The master was referring to the troubled state of Buddhism in China at that time. Even though the number of monks was on the rise, many of them chose to become monks so they could get free meals or for other selfish purposes.

Fa Ying handed the Shih Sung Lu (十誦律), a book on the Buddhist precepts, to Seng You and said seriously, "The Buddhist precepts have a very long history. The Buddha stipulated rules for the monks and nuns to follow. After he reached nirvana, his disciples took time to recite the precepts so all of them could remember them. However, as time passed by, memories faded and people had different views on the precepts. Finally the precepts were divided into five parts, one of which is recorded in the Shih Sung Lu. I want you to read it and promote the precepts to every temple."

Seng You held the book in his hands and said sincerely, "I'll read it, abide by it and promote it for the rest of my life."

Fa Ying continued, "No matter which Buddhist sect people belong to, they all have to abide by the precepts. We monks cultivate our morality, meditation and wisdom to reach nirvana. Wisdom comes from meditation and meditation comes from the practice of the precepts, so the precepts are the foundation of Buddhism. Without them, no one can attain true nirvana."

A new era

In 479, Southern Sung was overturned and a new kingdom took its place: the state of Chi (齊, 479-502). The new royal court appointed Fa Hsien as the superintendent of all monks south of the Yangtze River.

Fa Hsien immediately ordered Seng You to return to Tinglin Temple to lecture on the Buddhist precepts. Of course all the temples in the country needed someone like Seng You to lecture them about the Buddhist precepts. Chaotic times tend to attract many people to the temples, but at this time some temples even became hideouts for criminals. Therefore, Seng You shouldered the mission of housecleaning.

He lectured on the Shih Sung Lu to all the monks in Tinglin Temple every day. During the lectures, Seng You also admonished them to stop their misconduct and informed them that if he caught anyone, he would inform Fa Hsien and punish the wrongdoer according to the precepts.

Unfortunately, such warnings didn't always go over well with some people. Seng You came out of his room one day and stepped on something stinky in front of his room. He looked down and was stunned to find some human waste on the floor.

Seng You shook his head because he had never thought that a famous temple like Tinglin would have such terrible monks. No wonder Fa Hsien wanted him to come back to clean it up! It also meant that other temples in the country could be facing similar problems. Seng You suddenly felt a heavy load on his shoulders.

Stone sculptures on She Mountain

Ming Seng Shao (明僧紹) was a hermit on She Mountain, 14 miles northeast of Nanjing. His first hut was so crude that his brother had to build a proper house for him. Seng Shao and his friend, Master Fa Tu (法度, 437-500), were talking one night when they suddenly saw light shining outside the house. They discovered the image of Amitabha Buddha shining on a mountain wall nearby. They were greatly moved and vowed to build a stone statue there to honor the Buddha. After Seng Shao died, his son and Fa Tu started working on the project. They asked Seng You if he could sketch pictures of Amitabha Buddha and his retinue to be carved on the mountain wall.

Seng You had become quite an expert in Buddhist painting. However, he had never sketched for such large sculptures, so it was quite a challenge. Still, he took up the task and traveled back and forth between the mountain and Tinglin Temple every day to oversee the sculpturing.

Six years later in 490, the stone statues were completed. The unveiling ceremony was a major event in Nanjing and thousands of people gathered to celebrate. Everyone was awed by the magnificence of the statues. The Amitabha Buddha itself was 10.8 meters tall (35 feet), and its lotus seat was almost another three meters. The statues of two other bodhisattvas were each 11 meters tall (36 feet). The three statues were the first of their kind in southern China, so they received much attention from the general public. Seng Shao's house became the famous Chihsia Temple (棲霞寺).

Seng You was also appointed to give lectures on the Buddhist precepts in the Hsiti (西邸) and Sanwu (三吳) areas. Hsiti, located on the outskirts of Nanjing, was the residence of Prince Ching Ling (竟陵王). Being a devout Buddhist and the prime minister of the state, the prince was saddened to see monks involved in criminal activities. Some government ministers denounced Buddhism and even demanded that it be banned. The prince wanted Seng You to present the Buddhist precepts in Hsiti so that more people could understand them.

After the establishment of the state of Chi, many of the new king's hangers-on built houses in the Sanwu area, south of Nanjing. These people used their connections to enjoy special privileges, such as exemption from taxes and military duty, and the local residents resented them. Many locals falsified their family backgrounds or bribed district officials to grant themselves similar privileges.

The central government cracked down, but the people found another way to receive privileges: by becoming monks. Monks at that time were also exempt from taxes and military duty, so local people in Sanwu established their own temples by shaving their heads, gathering a few followers, putting a statue of the Buddha on the altar, and voila!--they were considered to be monks, even though they knew nothing about the Buddha's teachings.

Real Buddhist monks in the area were quite concerned about all this, and they raised the problem to Fa Hsien many times. Finally Seng You found a solution. He gathered these bogus monks at two local temples and lectured to them on the Buddhist precepts, hoping to transform them into real monks. He also wrote to Fa Hsien and asked him to send money to renovate temples in Sanwu. Touched by Seng You's sincere desire to improve the conditions of Buddhism in the area, the public helped enforce law and order in the temples and forced those insincere monks to behave themselves. One month later, the situation in Sanwu drastically improved.

A great work

For many years, Seng You and his disciples compiled a new bibliography of Buddhist sutras. The last one had been completed by Tao An [道安; please read his story in the Summer 2002 issue of our magazine] at least 200 years before. Many years had passed and new translations of Buddhist sutras had appeared. It thus became necessary for Seng You to continue Tao An's work.

This bibliography, Chu San Tsang Chi Chi (出三藏記集), is a very important treasure in the history of Buddhism. It includes 2,162 sutras, about 1,500 more than Tao An's bibliography, and contains four major chapters. The first chapter details the development of the Buddhist canon--the sutras, precepts and commentaries. It talks about the problems faced in translation and the different views of translators. It also lists the different translations of the same nouns.

The second chapter lists all the titles of the Buddhist sutras, including the numbers of volumes of each sutra, the translators, and the dates when translations were completed. It furthermore details the sutras that Seng You considered strange or faked.

The third chapter is a collection of prefaces and postscripts of every sutra listed in the bibliography. It gives detailed descriptions of the people, the time, the background information, and the processes involved in the translation of each sutra. It allows the readers to know what was happening at the time.

The last chapter includes the biographies of 32 translators, including Seng You himself, and is the earliest example of biographies of Chinese monks. In short, Seng You's bibliography gives lots of information on the sutras and the people involved in translating these sutras.

Another new state

Chi was overthrown in 502 by Hsiao Yen (蕭衍, 502-549), who established the state of Liang (梁, 502-557) and became the famous Emperor Wu. A devout Buddhist, he built 2,846 temples, followed the Buddhist precepts, and became a vegetarian. He even gave up his throne four times to become a monk.

In 511, the emperor issued a decree that no monks or nuns were allowed to eat meat. He even proclaimed that if he himself drank alcohol, lied to others, or committed any crime, he wanted to be condemned and sent to hell. A few years later, he outlawed the use of animals in temple sacrifices. All kinds of temples, including ancestral and Taoist ones, had to use vegetarian products as offerings in temples.

Seng You was recommended to become the abbot of Chienchu Temple, the one he had first joined as a child. Before taking over the new position, Seng You presented his new bibliography to Fa Yun, the country's new superintendent of monks, and asked him to present it to the new emperor.

A few days later, Seng You and Fa Yun had an audience with Emperor Wu. The emperor was extremely pleased to meet Seng You. He said, "Master Seng You, do you know that I have spent the last few days and nights reading through your great book? This is really wonderful! Buddhism is so great, but I just don't have time to read all the sutras. Now you are the abbot of Chienchu Temple, so I can visit you often and ask you questions."

Seng You was very happy to hear this, because it showed that the emperor was a devoted Buddhist and that the light of Buddhism would shine forth again in the new kingdom.

Water Land Ceremony

One night, Emperor Wu dreamed that a monk told him, "Beings in the Six Realms [heaven, humans, animals, asuras, hungry ghosts, and hell] are suffering from their bad karma. You should perform the Water Land Ceremony to raise them from their torments."

On the following day, the emperor asked his ministers, but no one knew what the dream was about. The emperor asked Pao Chih (寶誌, 418-514), a famous monk at that time, and the monk replied, "Your Majesty, what the monk wanted you to do is to hold a special ceremony that will help to end the torments of all living beings in the universe."

Therefore, Emperor Wu read through the sutras every day, copied down necessary parts, and compiled them into a book three years later. The emperor then ordered a Buddhist hall to be set up inside the palace. He personally held the document and prayed before the Buddha's statue, "Holy Buddha, if this new document is in accordance with Buddhist doctrines, may the lamps lighted up by themselves; if not, may the lamps stay dark!"

When the emperor made his first prostration before the statue, the lamps suddenly lighted up, and all those present were awed. After his second prostration, the earth suddenly shook; and after the third prostration, flowers dropped down from the sky. Encouraged by all this, Emperor Wu ordered Seng You to preside over the ceremony. The ceremony was held for seven days and more than 100 monks were involved in leading the public. People later referred to this new ceremony as the "Water Land Ceremony."

A new sculpture

Around 486, a monk named Seng Hu (僧護) became the abbot of Yinyueh Temple (隱岳寺) in Shihchengshan (石城山) in today's Zhejiang Province. He saw light shining from a mountain wall and he heard wonderful music. In the light, he saw an image of Maitreya Bodhisattva. He thought he was dreaming, so he rubbed his eyes. Again he saw the image, so he vowed to chisel a stone sculpture of the bodhisattva on the wall.

It was not an easy job because the rock was extremely hard. But still Seng Hu invited lots of people to work on the project. When he died in 498, the outline of the sculpture wasn't yet complete. A few years later, another monk, Seng Shu, came to the mountain and continued the project. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to raise enough money to keep the project going.

In 513, Seng You came to the temple at the invitation of Prince Chien An (建安王), one of Emperor Wu's brothers, to continue the sculpture. Seng You made a blueprint and started the project again with hundreds of people working day and night. Three years later, the sculpture was completed. The statue was more than 20 meters tall (68 feet), including its lotus seat. It was another great achievement.

Seng You also wrote a book, Hung Ming Collection (弘明集), a collection of articles, essays, letters, and royal decrees by different people on Buddhism. There are 185 articles by 124 people. Each article includes a preface and a comment by Seng You. This book clearly explains the confrontation between Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism in this era and Seng You's views and reactions to each of the issues relevant to Buddhism.

After completing the collection in 518, he asked one of his disciples to deliver it to the emperor. Then he lay down on his bed on his right side with his right arm supporting his head and passed away quietly at the age of 74. During his lifetime, Seng You contributed greatly to the development of Mahayana Buddhism in China.