萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 1.11

1.11

In our lineage we have Xuedou and Tiantong, just as the school of Confucius had Ziyou and Zixia. The two masters' verses on old cases are like Li Bai and Du Fu in the poetic arena. The world says that Xuedou had the talent of an Academician of the Hanlin, picking our flowers without gathering our fruit. It is also said: 'If you have not traveled ten thousand leagues and read ten thousand volumes, do not read the poems of the Ministry of Works Director [Du Fu],' speaking of his breadth and abundance. Comparing this to Old Master Tiantong's verses on old cases: every single word and single character flows forth from the deep source of the Buddha-patriarchs; students cannot fathom them. The Collection of the Great Hermit of Baishan brings out the historical incidents, among which there are occasionally loose and unfitting matters; as for raising the case, he was merely brief and relied solely on the text. In the past, Wansong once provided commentary and appraisal, but since the time of warfare and turmoil, the ancestral manuscripts were lost. Recently, having retired to Ba'en in Yanjing, I quickly built a snail-shell cottage, naming it the Hermitage of Equanimity, and planned to complete the old project. Just at that time, Layman Zhanran urged and requested me to complete it. My old eyes are dim and blurred; most of it was dictated orally and written down by my disciples. In between, historical incidents of the encounters are profusely recorded: first, to display the billowing waves of Tiantong's ocean of learning and his skillful adaptability; second, to save students the labor of searching and investigating; third, to reveal that Wansong transmits and does not fabricate, and that it is not arbitrary judgment. Secretly compared to Foguo's Blue Cliff Record, it is complete in that every case has an instruction to the assembly. Secretly compared to the Record of the Ocean of Awakening of Yuantong, it is whole in that every phrase is never fragmented. As for attaching remarks, bringing forth the eye, and editing, I also do not yield when confronting the dynamic. At the end of the renwu year, Layman Zhanran's letter arrived, firmly demanding that I bring it forth; I could not avoid exposing our domestic disgrace, burdening me and burdening you. Sent by Old Man Wansong with the wind on the Shangsi festival in the guiwei year. Not fully said.