雲門匡真禪師廣錄 3.197

3.197

師諱文偃，姓張氏，世為蘇州嘉興人，寔晉王冏東曹參軍翰十三代孫也。師夙負靈姿，為物應世，故纔自髫齓，志尚率己厭俗，遂依空王寺志澄律師，出家為弟子。以其敏質生知、慧辯天縱，凡誦諸典無煩再閱，澄深器美之。及長，落䰂稟具於毘陵壇，後還澄左右侍講數年，賾窮《四分》旨。既毘尼嚴淨，悟器淵發，乃辭澄謁睦州道蹤禪師，蹤黃檗之裔也。知道不偶世，引己自處，潛居古伽藍，雖揖世高蹈，而為世所慕，凡應接來者，機辯峭捷無容佇思。師初往參，三扣其戶，蹤纔啟關，師擬入，蹤托之云：「秦時𨍏轢鑽。」因是釋然朗悟，既而諮參數載，深入淵到。蹤知其神器充廓，覺轅可任，因語之曰：「吾非汝師。今雪峯義存禪師，可往參承之，無復留此。」師依旨入嶺造雪峯，溫研積稔，道與存契，遂密以宗印付師，由是回稟存焉。師參罷出嶺，遍謁諸方，覈窮殊軌，鋒辯險絕，世所盛聞。後抵靈樹知聖禪師道場，知聖夙已憶其來，忽鳴鼓告眾，請往接首座，時師果至。先是知聖住靈樹凡數十年，堂虛首席，眾屢請命上座，知聖不許，甞曰：「首座纔遊方矣。」及師至，始命首眾焉。洎知聖將示滅，欲師踵其席，乃潛書祕函中，謂門弟子曰：「吾滅後，上或幸此，請以遺。」上果會駕幸山，知聖預測上至，乃升堂加趺而終，及帝至已滅矣。帝詢師遺示，門人出函奉之，上啟函得書，云「人天眼目，堂中上座。」帝乃勅刺史何希範，具禮命師，以襲法會。上於是欽美之，累召至闕，每所顧問，酬答響應，帝愈揖服，遂賜紫袍師名。後徙居雲門山，鼎革廢址大新棟宇，師自衡踞祖域凡二紀有半，風流四表大弘法化，禪徒湊集，登門入室者莫可勝紀，今白雲山實性大師，乃其甲也。師以乾和七年己酉四月十日順寂，夙具表以辭帝，兼述遺誡，然後加趺而逝。尋奉勅賜塔額，以師遺旨令置全軀於方丈中，或上賜塔額，秖懸於方丈，勿別營作，門人乃依教，瘞師於丈室，以為塔焉。師先付法于弟子實性，俾紹覺場，僉議為實性已傳道育徒，乃革命在會門人法球，以繼師席。嗚呼世導云滅矣，擿植冥行者，何所從適哉！岳幸參目師之餘化，知師所為之大略，敢不書之以貽方來。時己酉歲，孟夏月二十有五日，雷岳錄。

The Master's taboo name was Wenyan, and his surname was Zhang. His family had resided for generations in Jiaxing, Suzhou; he was in fact a thirteenth-generation descendant of Han, Administrative Assistant of the Eastern Section under King Jiong of Jin. From an early age, the Master was endowed with extraordinary spiritual gifts, destined to respond to the world for the sake of living beings. Thus, barely past childhood, his aspirations led him to abandon worldly life, and he accordingly took Vinaya Master Zhicheng of Kongwang Temple as his teacher, leaving home to become his disciple. Because of his keen innate capacity, natural knowing, and naturally endowed eloquence of wisdom, whenever he chanted any scriptures, there was no need for him to read them a second time; Cheng deeply valued and praised him. Upon reaching adulthood, he shaved his head and received the full precepts on the ordination platform at Piling. Later, he returned to Cheng's side to serve him during lectures for several years, thoroughly exhausting the subtleties of the Four-Part Vinaya. Having maintained the discipline strictly and purely, his vessel of awakening deepened and blossomed. He then took leave of Cheng to visit Chan Master Daozong of Muzhou. Zong was a lineage successor of Huangbo. Knowing that the Way was out of tune with the times, he kept to himself in seclusion, living quietly in an ancient monastery; though he lived aloof from the world, he was admired by it, and in receiving those who came, his sharp and swift dynamics left no room for hesitation. When the Master first went to consult him, he knocked on his door three times; Zong had just opened the gate, and as the Master was about to enter, Zong pushed him back, saying, 'A linchpin drill of the Qin dynasty!' At this, the Master attained sudden and luminous awakening. Thereafter, he consulted and studied with him for several years, penetrating deeply to the utmost depths. Zong, knowing that his spiritual vessel was fully rounded and that he could bear the vehicle of awakening, told him, 'I am not your teacher. Nowadays, there is Chan Master Yicun of Xuefeng; you may go consult and inherit from him, and do not linger here any longer.' Following these instructions, the Master crossed the ridges to visit Xuefeng. Having studied and cultivated diligently for many years, his realization accordantly joined with Cun's, who then secretly transmitted the ancestral seal to the Master; from this time forth, he deferred to Cun. After completing his training, the Master left the ridges and traveled to consult throughout all directions, thoroughly examining various tracks. His sharp and perilous eloquence became widely renowned throughout the contemporary world. Later, he arrived at the bodhimaṇḍa of Chan Master Zhisheng of Lingshu. Zhisheng had already anticipated his arrival; suddenly sounding the drums to announce it to the assembly, he requested them to go and welcome the head monk. At that moment, the Master indeed arrived. Prior to this, Zhisheng had resided at Lingshu for several decades, leaving the first seat in the hall vacant; the assembly had repeatedly requested him to appoint a senior monk, but Zhisheng would not permit it, often saying, 'The head monk has only just set out on pilgrimage.' Only when the Master arrived did he appoint him to lead the assembly. When Zhisheng was about to manifest nirvana, wishing the Master to succeed to his seat, he secretly wrote a message in a sealed letter and told his disciples, 'After my death, if the Emperor should grace this place with a visit, please present this to him.' The Emperor indeed happened to tour the mountain with his retinue. Zhisheng, having foreknown the Emperor's arrival, ascended the hall, sat cross-legged, and passed away; when the Emperor arrived, he had already entered nirvana. The Emperor inquired about the Master's posthumous instructions, and the disciples brought out the letter and presented it. The Emperor opened the letter and found the words: 'The eye of humans and gods is the senior monk in the hall.' The Emperor then decreed that Regional Inspector He Xifan should prepare the ritual protocols to appoint the Master to succeed the Dharma assembly. The Emperor thereupon deeply admired him, repeatedly summoning him to the palace. To every question asked, his responses were like echoes; the Emperor revered him all the more and bestowed upon him a purple robe and an honorific Master's name. Later, he moved his residence to Mount Yunmen, where he renovated the abandoned site and extensively constructed new buildings. The Master personally presided over this ancestral realm for two and a half decades; his influence spread to the four quarters, greatly propagating the Dharma transformation. Chan practitioners gathered like clouds, and those who entered his gate and attained the inner chamber were beyond count. Today, Master Shixing of Mount Baiyun is the foremost among them. On the tenth day of the fourth month in the jiyou year, the seventh year of Qianhe, the Master passed away in peace. He had previously prepared a memorial to take leave of the Emperor, which also set forth his final instructions, and then he sat cross-legged and departed. Soon after, an imperial decree granted a plaque for his stūpa. In accordance with the Master's posthumous instruction that his whole body be placed in the abbot's quarters, or that if the Emperor granted a stūpa plaque, it should merely be hung in the abbot's quarters without undertaking any separate construction, the disciples followed these instructions and entombed the Master in the abbot's quarters to serve as his stūpa. The Master had earlier transmitted the Dharma to his disciple Shixing so that he might continue the place of awakening; however, the consensus was that Shixing had already been transmitting the Way and nurturing disciples elsewhere, so they instead appointed the disciple Faqiu, who was present in the assembly, to succeed to the Master's seat. Alas, the guide of the world has passed away; where shall those who fumble along blindly now turn? I, Yue, have had the fortune to witness the Master's remaining influence and know the general outlines of his deeds; how could I dare not record them to pass down to future generations? Recorded by Lei Yue on the twenty-fifth day of the first month of summer in the jiyou year.