大慧普覺禪師語錄 8.3

8.3

Requested to instruct the assembly by Judicial Administrator Lin, who founded the hermitage, on the occasion of the second anniversary of his father's death: "East of Fucheng there was a great elder, / Residing on the sea island east of Fucheng. / Throughout inconceivable dust-mote kalpas, / He served and made offerings to countless buddhas. / Excellent was the elder, rare in the world, / Appearing once in a while like the uḍumbara blossom. / Awakening a vast and true mind, / He founded an araṇya where there were no buddhas. / Like the wise of old establishing a monastery, / Snapping a blade of grass and thrusting it into the ground, it was accomplished. / This mind is steadfast, equal to Sumeru; / Whether praised or slandered, it is unshaken. / The demon king's hosts were exceedingly numerous; / Seeing this excellence, they were subdued of themselves. / The elder regarded his body as a floating cloud, / Changing and perishing in an instant, not lasting long. / When the season came to be born in the buddha-land, / He let go his hands and walked on without looking back. / He had a son who followed righteousness and raised up his family, / Passing the examinations with both resolve and body and mind. / 'The benevolent live long'—the saying is not false; / You should know that today he has never died. / Coming to reside in this araṇya, / That I did not meet the elder leaves a lingering regret; / Therefore I speak this verse to spread his renown a little, / That we may dwell together in the Tathāgata's ocean of quiescence."