萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 1.9

1.9

昔予在京師時。禪伯甚多。唯聖安澄公和尚。神氣嚴明。言辭磊落。予獨重之。故嘗訪以祖道。屢以古昔尊宿語緣中所得者叩之。澄公間有許可者。予亦自以為得。及遭憂患以來。功名之心。束之高閣。求祖道愈亟。遂再以前事。訪諸聖安。聖安翻案不然所見。予甚惑焉。聖安從容謂予曰。昔公位居要地。又儒者多不諦信佛書。惟搜摘語緣。以資談柄。故予不敢苦加鉆鎚耳。今揣君之心。果為本分事以問予。予豈得猶襲前愆不為苦口乎。予老矣。素不通儒。不能教子。有萬松老人者。儒釋兼備。宗說精通。辯才無礙。君可見之。予既謁萬松。杜絕人迹。屏斥家務。雖祁寒大暑。無日不參。焚膏繼晷。廢寢忘餐者。幾三年。誤被法恩。謬膺子印。以湛然居士從源目之。其參學之際。機鋒罔測。變化無窮。巍巍然若萬仞峯莫可攀仰。滔滔然若萬頃波莫能涯際。瞻之在前忽焉在後。迴視平昔所學。皆塊礫耳。噫登東山而小魯。登泰山而小天下者。豈虛語哉。其未入閫域者。聞是語必謂。予忘本好異也。唯屏山閑閑。其相照乎。爾後奉命赴行在。扈從西征。與師相隔。不知其幾千里也。師平昔法語偈頌。皆法兄隆公所收。今不復得其[葶-丁+呆]。吾宗有天童者頌古百篇。號為絕唱。予堅請萬松評唱是頌開發後學。前後九書。間關七年。方蒙見寄。予西域伶仃數載。忽受是書。如醉而醒。如死而甦。踴躍歡呼。東望稽顙。再四披繹。撫卷而歎曰。萬松來西域矣。其片言隻字。咸有指歸。結欵出眼。高冠今古。足為萬世之模楷。非師範人天權衡造化者。孰能與於此哉。予與行宮數友。旦夕游泳於是書。如登大寶山入華藏海。互珍奇物廣大悉備。左逢而右遇。目富而心飫。豈可以世間語言。形容其萬一耶。予不敢獨擅其美。思與天下共之。京城唯法弟從祥者。與僕為忘年交。謹致書。請刊行于世以貽來者。迺序之曰。佛祖諸師。埋根千丈。機緣百則見世生苗。天童不合抽枝。萬松那堪引蔓。湛然向枝蔓上。更添芒索。穿過尋香逐氣者鼻孔。絆倒行玄體妙底脚跟向去。若要脚跟點地鼻孔撩天。却須向這葛藤裏穿過始得。甲申中元日。漆水移剌楚才晉卿。敘於西域阿里馬城。

Formerly, when I was in the capital, there were very many Zen elders, but only Venerable Master Cheng of Sheng'an had an awe-inspiring, clear spirit and an open, dignified manner in his words; I alone esteemed him. Therefore I once visited him regarding the Way of the Patriarchs and repeatedly questioned him using what I had attained from the encounters and sayings of ancient venerable elders. Master Cheng occasionally granted approval, and I also considered myself to have attained it. When I later met with sorrow and hardship, my ambition for official rank and fame was shelved high away, and my seeking of the Way of the Patriarchs became ever more urgent. Thereupon, taking up those previous matters again, I visited Master Cheng of Sheng'an. Sheng'an overturned his previous verdict and did not approve my view. I was greatly perplexed. Sheng'an leisurely said to me: 'Formerly, you held an important official position, and moreover, Confucians mostly do not firmly believe in Buddhist scriptures, but merely gather sayings and encounter-stories to furnish conversation; therefore I did not dare to apply the awl and hammer severely. Now I gauge your heart: you are indeed asking me for the sake of the fundamental affair. How could I still follow my past mistake and not speak bitter words? I am old; I have never been versed in Confucianism and cannot instruct you. There is Old Man Wansong, who is fully equipped in both Confucianism and Buddhism, thoroughly versed in doctrine and realization, and unhindered in eloquence. You may go see him.' After I had an audience with Wansong, I cut off all human callers and cast aside household affairs. Even in severe cold and great heat, there was no day I did not practice. Burning the lamp to continue through the night, forgetting sleep and food, for nearly three years, I mistakenly received the Dharma grace and erroneously obtained his seal of succession. He named me Layman Zhanran Congyuan. In the course of studying with him, his sharp dynamic was unfathomable and his transformations were limitless: towering like a ten-thousand-fathom peak that cannot be climbed or gazed up to, billowing like a ten-thousand-acre wave that cannot be bounded. Look at it before you, and suddenly it is behind. Looking back at what I had studied in the past, it was all merely broken clods and gravel. Ah! When one ascends the Eastern Mountain, Lu appears small; when one ascends Mount Tai, the empire appears small—how could this be empty talk? Those who have not entered the inner threshold, hearing these words, will surely say that I have forgotten the root and am fond of the strange. Only Pingshan Xianxian can reflect with me! Thereafter, by imperial order, I attended the traveling camp and accompanied the Western Expedition, separated from the Master by I know not how many thousands of miles. The Master's usual Dharma words, verses, and hymns were all collected by my Dharma brother Master Long; now I could no longer obtain their outlines. In our lineage, there is Tiantong, whose one hundred verses on old cases are hailed as supreme masterpieces. I firmly requested Wansong to provide commentary and appraisal on these verses to inspire later students. Back and forth through nine letters, across the obstacles of seven years, I was finally favored with his sending them. While stranded solitary in the Western Regions for several years, I suddenly received this book; it was like waking from drunkenness, like reviving from death. Leaping and cheering, I faced east and bowed my head to the ground. Opening and reading it again and again, I caressed the volume and sighed, saying: 'Wansong has come to the Western Regions!' Every single word and single character points to the ultimate aim; he draws the verdict and brings forth the eye, surpassing antiquity and the present, fully serving as a model for ten thousand generations. If not one who is a teacher and model to humans and gods and balances creation, who could take part in this? Together with several friends in the traveling palace, I swam and roamed in this book day and night, as if climbing the Great Treasure Mountain or entering the Ocean of the Flower-Treasury: rare and precious objects mutually arranged in vast and complete supply. Meeting them left and right, the eyes were enriched and the heart satisfied. How could worldly language describe even one ten-thousandth of it? Not daring to monopolize its beauty, I thought to share it with all under Heaven. In the capital, only my Dharma brother Congxiang has a friendship with me that forgets age. I respectfully sent a letter, requesting that it be printed and circulated in the world to bequeath to future generations. Thereupon I preface it, saying: The Buddha-patriarchs and various masters buried their roots a thousand fathoms deep; their hundred cases of encounter appear in the world and sprout shoots. Tiantong should not have sprouted branches; how could Wansong bear to extend the vines? Zhanran has added a hemp cord on top of the branches and vines, piercing through the nostrils of those who chase scents and pursue wind, tripping up the heels of those who walk the mystery and embody subtlety. If you wish to set your heels firmly on the ground and raise your nostrils to the heavens, you must first pass right through these entangling vines before you can succeed. Written on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the jiashen year, by Yila Chucai Jinqing of Qishui, in the city of Alima in the Western Regions.