大慧普覺禪師宗門武庫 1.17

1.17

Disheveled-hair Xian was a native of Jiangzhou, an outstanding figure within the assembly of Reverend Zhenru of Guishan. His insight was lucid, and his sharp wits stood out with distinction; he produced work that surpassed his master, yet his conduct was not scrupulous, and the entire assembly looked down upon him. Zhenru built a hut behind the abbot's quarters and had Xian dwell there alone, with only a small path passing in front of the abbot's quarters leading to it, and he did not permit his brethren to come and go. Two years later, [Zhenru] recommended him to lead the community; he established him as a monk to take up the whisk, and in expounding the Dharma, he greatly surpassed others, so that the whole assembly changed their view of him from then on. Later he went to Xingyang in Yingzhou; after several years, the Way was widely practiced there. When he showed entering stillness, his physical body did not decay. Reverend Yuanwu witnessed this matter with his own eyes at Guishan, and when Miaoxi traveled to Xingyang, he was still in time to see his physical body.