汾陽無德禪師語錄 1.13

1.13

The elder of Taizi Chan Cloister at Dazhong Monastery in Fenzhou, the monk Shanzhao, was originally a man of Taiyuan. Cultivating practice through repeated learning and perfuming, he was solitary, upright, and aloof from worldly dust. From the time he cast off ornamentation and received full ordination, he took his staff and traveled through regions, staying only briefly wherever he arrived, responding to spiritual capacities to stimulate and inspire them. He visited seventy-one spiritual friends in succession, and finally received the seal from Shengnian of Nanyuan in Ruzhou, thus becoming the Dharma heir of Nian. Nian came from Zhao of Fengxue; Zhao succeeded the former Nanyuan Yong; Yong succeeded Jiang of Xinghua; Jiang succeeded Xuan of Linji; Xuan succeeded Yun of Huangbo; Yun succeeded Hai of Baizhang; Hai came from Mazu; the Patriarch [Mazu] came from Rang of Nanyue; and Rang was the嫡 direct son of Caoxi. From Caoxi to the Master, there were eleven generations in all. After the Master dropped the needle at Linru and shared the lamp from Magadha, the jewel in his robe shone internally, while the tide-sound remained concealed. He traveled through the Xiang and Chu regions, dwelling in the wooded groves; clergy and laity turned to him in admiration, and his renown spread everywhere. Zhang Maozong, the Governor of Changsha, offered the Master four great monasteries, instructing him to choose one to dwell in. Heading north to Xiang and Mian, he stopped at Mount Baima. Liu Changyan, the prefectural governor, went in person to prostrate before him and invite him to take up residence in an araṇya; eight successive invitations were all declined. In the fourth year of the Chunhua era [993], more than a thousand clergy and laity of Xihe, united in mind, drafted a petition and sent the śramaṇa Qicong to Mount Baima to welcome him to their commandery. Thereupon he stayed and rested there, gathering his saṅghāṭī and ascending the seat, waving his rhinoceros-horn whisk to discourse on emptiness. Just as Vimalakīrti of Vaiśālī sat in quiet meditation without leaving his empty room, and Huiyuan of Mount Lu escorted guests without crossing the Tiger Stream, pure assemblies gathered together, and the resonance of the Dharma shook mightily. Furthermore, the Master's vows were heroic and fierce, and his scholarly understanding vast and profound. Wandering through the lakes and mountain ridges, he explored the fish-traps and hare-snares, emulating the universal visits of Sudhana and matching the extensive hearing of Ānanda. As for the teaching of Jiangxi that 'mind itself [is Buddha],' he reduced it to nothingness; the phrase of Shitou's total presentation, he termed the true roar; Nanquan's opening and shutting naturally drew forth superior capacities; Zhaozhou's giving and taking had the power to crush divergent views; Dongshan's establishment of the five ranks was manifest through mutual interplay; Yangshan's setting forth of the various forms was playful and unobstructed; Xuefeng's eye of encounter pecked and tapped simultaneously; Yunmen's provocative words were bitter medicines to the mouth. He mastered all their essentials and raised all their main threads. As for great function manifesting before one, not a single speck of dust is established, all phenomena are obliterated, and the four propositions are far transcended; he indeed possessed the swift capacity of Huangbo and the marvelous lineage of Linji. The three mysteries and three essentials were deployed within his grasp; the two hosts and two guests—how are they any different to the blind and benighted? This is the correct path, directly leading to the Supreme Vehicle. What the Master realized surpasses all measure; unless one's shoulders were equal to the Buddha's wisdom, how could one dip one's fingers into the flavor of Chan! Having long exhausted my mind and contracted illnesses without recovery, I quieted my thoughts in dark silence, though worldly conditions remained entangled. While governing the commandery in northern Chu, I conscientiously attended to my official duties. The Master sent pure companions from afar, personally composing a letter, saying that the compiled records of the Imperial Library included the Master's words, already participating in the editorial work, and that the questions and answers from Ru Prefecture were accompanied by the Master's Dharma associates, thereby linking the school's lineage; sharing the same wind across a thousand miles, he promptly bestowed a volume of the book. The two venerable masters Faxing and Zhishen were truly diligent with their flying staffs and extremely deferential at my seat, expressing the wishes of the local people and desiring to perpetuate the purport of the Southern School; intending to carve the printing blocks, they sought a preface from afar. Appreciating each other's melody, their calluses multiplied as they forgot fatigue. Fortunately my troubled breast was slightly relieved, so I moistened my brush to fulfill the request.