汾陽無德禪師語錄 1.2

1.2

昔風穴和尚謂首山曰：「不幸臨濟之道，至吾將墜于地矣。觀此一眾，雖敏者多，見性者少，吾雖望子之久，猶恐耽著此經不能放捨。」風穴高提祖印，向千聖頂𩕳上下者一著，不妨嶮峻；其奈首山言前領旨、格外明宗，直下承當，不存毫髮。洎風穴上堂，舉世尊以青蓮目顧視大眾，而首山宏機捷出拂袖便行，如淵之深、岳之聳，所謂唱愈高而和愈峻也。汾陽禪師，出首山之門，弄西河師子、奮出窟爪牙，哮吼一聲，群魔屏迹，梵僧請法，即為敷揚，戞玉鏗金，超聞離見，六人大器，具在典章，耀古騰今，叢林標格，家法來從，有目正音，其可無傳？在昔雖已刊行，歲久遂成湮沒，天台子聰首座，靈機夙契、宗匠親承，慨祖室之長冥、惜真風之不振，握驪珠擬澂滄海、執慧斧欲伐邪林，募緣重刊，垂惠後學。余嘉其志，故發緒言，希聞見而樂從，庶有光于祖道者也。

Formerly, Master Fengxue said to Shoushan: 'Unfortunately, the way of Linji will fall to the ground when it reaches me. Looking at this assembly, though the clever are many, those who have seen into their nature are few. Although I have long placed my hopes in you, I still fear that, indulging your attachment to this scripture, you cannot let it go.' Fengxue held high the patriarchal seal, striking a move directly upon the crowns of the thousand sages; it was indeed steep and towering. Yet Shoushan grasped the purport before words were spoken and illumined the source beyond ordinary forms, taking it upon himself right on the spot without leaving the slightest hairbreadth. Later, when Fengxue ascended the hall and brought up the World-Honored One gazing around at the great assembly with his blue-lotus eyes, Shoushan's magnificent capacity darted forth, and flicking his sleeves he walked out—deep as an abyss and towering as a peak; as it is said, 'The higher the melody is sung, the steeper the harmony.' Chan Master Fenyang came from the gate of Shoushan: he handled the Lion of Xihe, brandishing the claws and fangs emerging from the cave; with a single roar, the hordes of Māra fled. When an Indian monk requested the Dharma, he expounded it immediately, striking jade and sounding gold, transcending hearing and departing from views. The great vessels among the six persons are fully recorded in the canonical writings, shining upon antiquity and soaring through the present, a standard for the Chan groves. With the ancestral heritage thus transmitted, the correct tune has its discerning listeners—how could it be left untransmitted? In the past it had already been printed, but over the years it fell into oblivion. Head Monk Zicong of Tiantai, having long accorded with the marvelous functioning and personally received transmission from the master of the lineage, lamented the lasting darkness of the patriarchal house and deplored the decline of the true style. Grasping the black dragon's pearl, he intended to clarify the vast ocean; holding the axe of wisdom, he sought to cut down the forest of heresy. He solicited donations to reprint it, bestowing grace upon future students. Commending his aspiration, I have composed these opening remarks, hoping that those who hear and see it will gladly follow along, so that there may be glory brought to the patriarchal way.