撫州曹山本寂禪師語錄 1.13

1.13

The Master's taboo name was Benji; he was a son of the Huang clan of Putian in Quanzhou. In his youth he pursued Confucian studies. At nineteen, he went to Lingshi in Fuzhou to leave home, and at twenty-five he took the precepts. Soon after, he visited Dongshan. Dongshan asked, 'What is your name, ācārya?' The Master said, 'Benji.' Dongshan said, 'Speak further of the matter of transcendence.' The Master said, 'I will not speak of it.' Dongshan said, 'Why do you not speak of it?' The Master said, 'It is not named Benji.' Dongshan regarded him highly as a vessel of the Dharma. (In the Sengbao zhuan the Master's name is Danzhang; here we follow what is recorded in the Denglu.) From then on he entered the abbot's room, lingered for several years, and then took his leave. Dongshan then secretly transmitted the essential lineage of the Dong school to him and asked again, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'To the unalterable place.' Dongshan said, 'In the unalterable place, how can there be any going?' The Master said, 'Going is also unalterable.' Thereupon he went to Caoxi and paid reverence at the Ancestor's stupa. Returning to Jishui, the assembly looked up to the Master's reputation and invited him to inaugurate the Dharma. The Master's aspiration was to admire the Sixth Ancestor, so he named the mountain Cao. Soon he encountered bandit disturbances and went to Yihuang. There was a faithful layman named Wang Ruoyi who donated the Hewang Abbey and invited the Master to serve as abbot. The Master changed 'Hewang' to 'Heyu'. From then on his Dharma assembly flourished greatly, and students gathered like clouds. The lineage of Dongshan became magnificent with the Master.