四明尊者教行錄 5.87

5.87

法智既結社焚身誓生安養。內翰楊公大年聞其風，累申勸請，仍勤致數問。有問淨土是何人境界者，有問《法華》、《梵網》皆魔王所說者，此楊公以理奪事而問之也。法智乃以即理之事而答之，則曰：即此見聞更無道理。又曰：佛之與魔相去幾何？後楊公啟謝所答，問曰：恭聞了義，尤滌昏蒙。蓋龍像之劇談，續雲雷之雄韻。其終幅則曰：有疑必爭，罔關於人我；敵面相示，其達於本源。至曰：惟少室之宗風，本露山之笑視。以至黃蘗痛杖於臨濟，船子揮揖於夾山者，此楊公以禪奪教也。然法智復啟，殊不領略其說，蓋昔禪教互相為謀，至是則不然，則知大宗師手段當自有體。

After Fazhi formed the society and vowed to immolate his body for rebirth in the Land of Peace and Sustenance, Academician Duke Yang Danian heard of his reputation and repeatedly extended exhortations and requests, also diligently posing several questions. There were questions asking, 'Whose realm is the Pure Land?', and questions asking, 'Are the *Lotus Sūtra* and *Brahmajāla Sūtra* all spoken by the demon king?' These were Duke Yang's questions using principle to negate concrete phenomena. Fazhi answered him with concrete phenomena identical to principle, saying, 'This very seeing and hearing contains no other principle.' He also said, 'How much difference is there between Buddha and demon?' Later, Duke Yang sent a letter thanking him for the answers, asking: 'Humbly hearing the definitive meaning, it especially purged my dark ignorance. Truly it was the robust discourse of dragons and elephants, continuing the heroic resonance of clouds and thunder.' At the end of his scroll he said: 'Where there is doubt there must be contention, having no bearing on self and other; pointing face to face, one reaches the fundamental source.' He even said: 'The ancestral style of Shaoshi was originally regarded with a smile from Mount Lu.' As for Huangbo's severe blows to Linji, and the Ferryman's brandishing of the oar at Jiashan, this was Duke Yang using Chan to negate doctrinal teaching. Yet in his reply, Fazhi did not endorse his claims at all. Formerly, Chan and the doctrinal teachings took counsel with one another, but by this point it was no longer so; thus one knows that the methods of a great ancestral master must naturally have their own substance.