Sŏk Hyŏnyu 釋玄遊[577] was a native of Koguryŏ. He was by nature other-worldly and harmonious,[578] affable and elegant. Determined to pursue the Dual Benefits, he had the ambition of searching for the truth. He could sail against the current in a cup or build a house in a dark ravine. When he went to T‘ang and studied under the Dhyāna master Seng-che 僧哲,[579] he would lift up the hem of his robe whenever he received instructions.[580] Desiring to observe and admire the sacred traces, he sailed to the Western Regions, adapted his teaching to the new circumstances, and made extensive pilgrimages. He finally returned to eastern India, where he constantly learned from eminent monks and lived near them. Early in life he showed a marked propensity for Prajñā and Dhyāna,[581] He probed the depths and fulfilled the measure of the doctrine. He went forth empty-handed but returned heavily laden. Indeed, he was a pillar of the Buddhist school and a leader of the fellowship of monks.
Later, he regretted the fact that even as a boat hidden in the valley can disappear,[582] so also do mountains and valleys perpetually undergo change.[583] He also regretted the fact that there is no constancy in human life, that time flies by.[584] When the wood is consumed and the fire dies out, where can one obtain what is already spent? The master of the Tripitaka I-ching admired the unswerving loyalty to the Law [Hyŏnyu had displayed] from childhood. [Hyŏn]yu first demonstrated his piety in East China and later further sought the Law in India. He was delayed, because of other matters, in his return to China 神洲.[585] Propagating the ten practices of the Law,[586] he spread the Law. He can live a thousand years and yet not die.[587] Although he died on foreign soil and could not return to the capital, his contribution was indeed great. It must be recorded in history and shown to posterity. [I-ching therefore] wrote the Ch‘iu-fa kao-seng chuan. By chance I read the scriptures and came upon this paragraph. Deeply moved by his determination, I have made a selection [from his biography] and recorded it here.