Liáng-dynasty visionary lay Buddhist (DILA: 否, “not a monk”); the most famous lay-Mahāyāna figure of the southern Six Dynasties. Personal name Fù Hóng 傅弘 (DILA primary; later often written Fù Xī 傅翕 to avoid Táng-era bìhuì of Lǐ Shìmín’s Hóng 弘); standard sobriquets Dàshì 大士 (“Great Being”), Shuānglín Dàshì 雙林大士 (from his Twin-Ǎn Mountain residence), Shànhuì Dàshì 善慧大士 (“Wise-and-Compassionate Great Being”), Yúxíng Dàshì 魚行大士 (“Fish-Selling Great Being,” from his early occupation), Dōngyáng Dàshì 東陽大士.
Born 497-06-24 (天監 / 永泰 era of southern Qí, just before Liáng); died 569 (Chén dynasty, age 73). Native of Wù-zhōu Yì-wū 婺州義烏 (Zhèjiāng). Married Liú Miào-guāng 劉妙光 at sixteen, with two sons (Pǔ-jiàn 普建, Pǔ-chéng 普成); converted at twenty-four through a meeting with Sēng-sōng Tóu-tuó 僧嵩頭陀 (“the Skull-Cap Ascetic Sēng-sōng”); withdrew to a hermitage under twin trees (the eponymous Shuāng-lín 雙林) for seven years’ austerities, attaining mastery of the Śūraṅgama-sūtra. Summoned by Liáng Wǔ-dì 梁武帝 to lecture in Chóng-yún-diàn 重云殿 in Dà-tóng 1 = 535. Reverenced alongside the Tiān-tāi-shān master Bǎo-zhì 寶誌 (志公, c. 418–514) as the Two Great Beings of the Liáng 梁代二大士.
Known compositions: the Xīnwáng míng 心王銘 (“Inscription on the King-of-the-Mind”); the Yǔlù 語錄 in 4 juan; the Huányuán shī 還源詩 (“Returning to the Source Poems”); and the famous *49 gāthā on the Vajracchedikā (Liángcháo Fù Dàshì sòng Jīngāngjīng 梁朝傅大士頌金剛經, KR6c0104, T85 no. 2732). The Vajracchedikā gāthā are the earliest surviving Chinese verse-summary of the sūtra, became canonical paratext of Vajracchedikā commentary (cited by all later commentators incl. KR6c0056 Yǒnglè 17-house compendium), and the locus of the famous LíngshānLóngyán anecdote of Liáng Wǔdì failing to recognize Maitreya’s fēnshēn 分身 (transformation-body) when he stood before him.
Sources: Tàng gāosēng zhuàn j. 25 (Sēngyún biography); Fózǔ tǒngjì j. 37; Shànhuì dàshì lù (X69 n1335). DILA A006833.