止觀輔行傳弘決 1.44

1.44

「智者觀心論」去，引證文師所承異也。言「高祖」者，若以智者所指，應以南岳為父師，慧文為祖師，龍樹為曾祖師。故《爾雅．釋親》云「父之考為王父，加王者尊也。王父之考為曾祖王父，加曾者重也。曾祖王父之考為高祖王父，加高者最上也。」是則章安望於龍樹方為高祖耳。若直以尊上為高則可通用，如漢、齊、隋等並指始祖以為高祖。謂禪立建功，德無過上，諡為高耳。今家亦以龍樹為始，是故智者指為高祖。

From "The Great Master's Guaxin lun" onwards, [the text] cites evidence that what Master [Hui]wen received was extraordinary. Regarding the term "great-great-grandfather" (gaozu): if referring to what Master Zhi[zhe] indicated, one should take Nanyue as the father-master, Huiwen as the grandfather-master, and Nāgārjuna as the great-grandfather-master. Thus the Erya, "Explaining Kinship," says: "The father's deceased father is the royal father (wangfu)—the addition of 'royal' denotes veneration. The deceased father of a royal father is the great-grandfather royal father (zengzu wangfu)—the addition of 'great' (zeng) denotes layering. The deceased father of a great-grandfather royal father is the great-great-grandfather royal father (gaozu wangfu)—the addition of 'great-great' (gao) denotes the highest." Thus, only from the perspective of Zhang'an towards Nāgārjuna would he be a great-great-grandfather. However, if one simply uses "gao" to mean "venerated and supreme," it may be used generally, just as the Han, Qi, and Sui dynasties all designated their founding ancestors as "Gaozu." This means that they established merit through lineage succession and had no virtue surpassing them, hence the posthumous title "Gao." Our school likewise takes Nāgārjuna as the founder; therefore Great Master Zhizhe designates him as the "great-great-grandfather" (gaozu).