虛堂和尚語錄 10.178

10.178

The Master's taboo name was Zhiyu; he was a son of the Chen family of Xiangshan in Siming. 'Xutang' was his appellation. His home was near the Puming Monastery of the county, about a li away, where there was a mountain. His grandfather wished to divine a burial site, and a geomancer said: 'If this ground is high, it will shelter descendants with wealth and flourishing; if low, an extraordinary monk will emerge.' The grandfather said: 'I wish to have a monk to fulfill my aspiration of venerating the Buddha.' Within a few years after the grandfather was buried, his mother, née Zheng, dreamed of an old monk, tall and lean, making a deep bow and begging for food, and she consequently became pregnant. On the night of his birth, the mother dreamed as before. At the age of twelve, his parents brought the Master to pay respects at the ancestral grave; when they spoke of that matter, the Master seemed to recall something. By sixteen, he had no intention of engaging in worldly affairs. His parents saw his extraordinary marks—his tongue could reach the tip of his nose—and permitted him to leave home under the monk Shiyun of Puming Monastery. One day, hearing a recitation of Du Fu's poem 'The Heavenly River'—'Always left to manifest or hide, / When autumn comes it is distinctly clear; / Even if obscured by light clouds, / In the end it can be clear the entire night'—he suddenly experienced an awakening. He bade farewell to his parents, left his hometown, and first relied on Venerable Huan of Xuedou and Venerable Jiao of Zhong'an at Jingci. Outside of official duties, he only sat in meditation; the two elders cherished him and constantly kept him by their sides. Passing by Jinshan, Venerable Yanshi regarded him as a great vessel upon their first meeting, talking with him through the night without fatigue. At that time, Patriarch Master Yun'an had retired from his duties and was living in Tianning at Zhenzhou; meeting by chance and conversing, he saw that the Master's air and disposition were uncommon. Soon after, he went to lead a training center and brought the Master across to Zhashang to shave his head and dye his robes, making him an attendant without administrative duties. Whenever he entered the room, Yun'an constantly brought up the case of 'the ancient sail is not yet hoisted,' not permitting any word to be spoken. Reflecting upon it, what was so difficult to understand about the case of 'the ancient sail is not yet hoisted'? In truth, it was merely the matter before a single bubble arose—why would he not let someone speak a word? He approached the abbot's quarters, and before the sound of reporting his view had ceased, Yun'an said: 'Why don't you close your dog mouth and go secretly embody it in a quiet place?' Returning to the dormitory, he felt an unconscious restlessness, and suddenly understood the phrase 'the ancient sail is not yet hoisted' and the phrase 'the pure practitioner does not enter nirvāṇa.' The next day he entered the room, and Yun'an instead asked: 'How about Nanquan cutting the cat?' The Master said: 'The great earth cannot bear it.' Yun'an lowered his head and smiled faintly. From then on he traveled widely through the gates of various great elders, forming an alliance with Uncle Yan of Shifan, roaming through Jianghuai, Xiang, and Han, making pilgrimages to patriarchal pagodas, and spending the summer retreat at Yuquan in Jingmen. Reflecting on Inspector Yu's awakening through the case of Shushan's stupa, he diligently investigated it. He then passed Mount Lu; heavy snow lasted for a full month, and in the overnight hall of Donglin, while sitting at night with no mind, he understood the occasion when the ancient buddha of Daling emitted light. From then on, his blockages melted away. At that time, Venerable Wuer Yue was abbot of Fuyan, where dragons and elephants gathered; the Master went to rely on him, and was immediately appointed librarian. There was Chief Seat Xiu, a veteran of vast learning who had retired to Nanyue and never let his shadow leave the mountain, rarely approving of anyone from any direction; the Master discussed ancient and modern with him, extensively and concisely, and they deeply agreed with each other. There was Venerable Li of Beichan, whose dynamic sharpness was swift and precipitous, such that few patch-robed monks could enter his gate. One day the Master visited him and called out loudly: 'The newcomer comes to pay respects!' Li said: 'The elder is not here.' The Master said: 'I have already received good news of the true person.' Li came out, called an attendant, and said: 'Where is the newly arrived monk?' The Master pointed to the exposed pillar and said: 'The upādhyāya asks, why do you not answer?' Li said: 'Where did you come from?' The Master said: 'Fuyan.' Li said: 'Where is your luggage?' The Master said: 'In the overnight hall.' Li said: 'I am not asking about that luggage of yours.' The Master said: 'If it were that luggage, Beichan's gate could not contain it; I pour it out and cannot bear to leave it.' Thereupon he returned to Zhe and arrived at Jingci. Meeting Venerable Jing, Jing asked: 'Do you know that the parents who bore you have their whole bodies red and ulcerated in the briar patch?' The Master said: 'Good things are not done in a hurry.' Jing followed with a punch; the Master spread his two hands and said: 'Just take it easy.' At that time Venerable Xiaoweng was residing at Lingyin; because of the Master's former post at Huqiu, he commanded the Master to manage the canon once again, and recommended him to reside at Guangjue in Hangzhou. He firmly declined, but Duke Shi Weiwang of Zhongxian held the reins of power; Biepu of Tianning in Jiahe brought the Master's name to his attention, and he appeared in the world at Xingsheng—this was truly the second year of the Shaoding era [1229]. He was then transferred to Bao'en. Grand Preceptor Zhao Cungeng, on account of Xianxiao in Mingzhou, earnestly invited him to be the founding abbot. He then moved to Ruiyan; after two years he begged to retire, shut his doors at Qixia, and compiled verses on ancient cases and alternate verses. The seat at Yanfu becoming vacant, Vice Minister Duke Huang firmly requested him to lead it; subsequently he was transferred to Baolin in Wu. In his fifth year, he encountered the calamity of violent bandits, and returned beneath the pagoda of Songyuan. Venerable Donggu was abbot of Lengquan, and wished to recommend him as front-seat monk; fearing he would not comply, the patch-robed monks repeatedly bowed and requested him, and the Master consented. Opening his room to give general discourses, he put forward three turning words, yet none could approach them. In the wuwu year of the Baoyou era [1258], the seat of Yuwang became vacant; the Chan monks resolutely submitted a petition, and Minister Chen Jizhai of the authorities, praising their fair deliberation, specially submitted a memorial to the throne. In the fourth month of that year, the Master took charge of temple affairs. After three years, Military Commissioner Wu believed slander and harbored resentment, insulting the Master in a desire to damage his virtue. The Master was calm and composed, resisting from beginning to end, his countenance completely unchanged. An imperial edict declared his release, and he composed a verse to offer thanks: 'When I left, morning dew dispelled the stifling heat; / On the day of return, autumn sounds fill the setting sun. / How can I repay such heavy grace and favor? / Gazing where there are no clouds, I pray for the longevity of Heaven.' Minister Yu Guyu, who governed the local commandery, specially invited him with an engraved text; pressed by his advanced years, the Master retired to rest beneath the pagoda of Mingjue, planning to make it his final place. In the jiazi year of the Jingding era [1264], an edict was issued commanding him to reside at Jingci. Patch-robed monks rushed to gather; the hall registers could not accommodate them, and half lived outside the hall. This reached the Emperor's ears, and he bestowed one hundred bolts of silk to make canopies, five hundred piculs of rice, and one hundred thousand strings of paper money. In the autumn of that year, he was also granted more than three thousand mu of land, which is the present Tianci Estate. In the tenth month, the Emperor passed away; the Master was summoned to the palace to give a general discourse before the imperial spirit, and the two palaces bestowed abundant gifts. In the autumn of the dingmao year [1267], he moved to Jingshan. In the tenth month of winter, the court sent incense and dispatched an emissary to pray for snow, asking the Master when it would respond; the Master said: 'Tonight.' Indeed, it arrived at the time without fail. Reporting back to the court, he was granted twenty ordination certificates, silver certificates, and so forth. He completely renewed the monks' hall, the bathhouse, and the practitioners' hall; even amidst minor construction labors, he still urged the assembly never to be idle. The Master was deeply moved by the imperial favor of two reigns; using the bestowed treasury silks, he built a small hermitage east of the Wangyun Pavilion, plaque-named 'Tianze,' and constructed a pagoda beside it as his burial place. Throughout his life, the Master's nature was uncompromising, and he had few agreements with the worldly trends; when facing matters he made no allowances, yet as soon as words left his mouth, he was at ease and without separation; therefore students feared and looked up to him. For twenty years, he constantly brought up Lingyun's two points of no answer, examining patch-robed monks, but few ever matched his intent. On the fifth day of the tenth month of the yisi year [1269], after offering incense on the patriarchal memorial day, he suddenly felt a slight illness. After two days, he wrote a verse, bathed, sat upright, and passed away. His spring and autumn were eighty-five; his monastic age was fifty-three. More than ten men inherited his Dharma. His recorded sayings in two fascicles already circulate in the world. His disciples took his whole body and entombed it in the pagoda. On the eleventh day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the Xianchun era [1274], under the newly issued official appointment.