六祖大師法寶壇經 1.164

1.164

“child” hour] (i.e., midnight) of the eighth day of the second month of the thirty-fifth year in the hexagenary calendar, the twelfth year of the Zhenguan (“Proper Exemplification”) [period, 638] of the Tang [dynasty]. At the time a white light leaped to the sky from between [the baby’s] eyebrows, and a fragrant pneuma wafted through the air.

At dawn two monks came to see him. They said to the father, “We have divined the name for the baby who was born last night. It should be ‘Hui’ above and ‘neng’ below.”

The father said, “Why should he be named Huineng?”

The monks said, “‘Hui’ (“to enrich”) is because he will enrich sentient beings with the Dharma. ‘Neng’ (“capable”) is because he is capable of performing the task of the buddhas.” Saying this, they left. It is not known where they went.

The master did not drink mother’s milk but was anointed with sweet dew by the gods at night.When he was three, his father died and was buried next to the house. [Huineng’s] mother maintained her will (i.e., did not remarry) and brought up [their son,] who cut firewood to support his mother as he grew older.

At age twenty-four, [Huineng] heard the [Diamond] Sutra and had a [moment of ] understanding. He went to Huangmei to consult with and do obeisance to the Fifth Patriarch, who appreciated his abilities, transmitted the robe and Dharma to him, and had him receive the position of patriarch. The time was the fifty-eighth hexagenary year, the first year of the Longshuo (“Dragon Fiat”) [period, 661].

Returning south, [Huineng] hid himself until the eighth day of the first month of the thirteenth hexagenary year, the first year of the Yifeng (“Phoenix of Righteousness”) [period, 676],150 when he met Dharma Master Yinzong. After discoursing upon the profound mystery, Yinzong became enlightened to the master’s doctrine. On the fifteenth day of the month, there was a great meeting of the fourfold congregation, and [Yinzong] gave the master tonsure. On the eighth day of the second month, various famous worthies were assembled for the bequest of the full precepts. Vinaya Master Zhiguang of the western capital [Changan] was the preceptor, Vinaya Master Huijing of Suzhou was the officiant, Vinaya Master Tongying of Jingzhou was the instructor, Vinaya Master Jitāra of Central India was the explicant, and Tripiṭaka Master Mida (?) of the Western Country was the validator.

The ordination platform had a stele erected by Tripiṭaka Master Guṇabhadra of the Song, which said “In the future a bodhisattva in human form will receive the precepts here.” Also, in the first year of the Tianjian (“Heavenly Oversight”) [period, 502], Tripiṭaka Master Prajñācandra came from Western India by boat and planted a cutting of the bodhi tree from India next to the platform. He also predicted, “One hundred seventy years from now, a bodhisattva in human form will open forth the superior vehicle under this tree and save innumerable beings. He will be the Dharma-chief of the seal of the truly transmitted mind of the Buddha.” When the master came here and offered up his hair [in tonsure], received the precepts, and opened forth the doctrine of the direct transmission to the fourfold congregation, it was all as had been prophesied before. (It is one hundred seventy-five years from the nineteenth hexagenary year, the first year of the Tianjian [period, or 502] of the Liang until the thirteenth [hexagenary year], the first year of the Yifeng [period, or 676] of the Tang.)

In the spring of the following year, the master left the assembly [at Faxingsi in Guangzhou] and returned to Baolin[si]. Yinzong and over a thousand

people, both monks and laypeople, saw him off. He went directly to Caoqi. At the time, Vinaya Master Tongying of Jingzhou and several hundred students remained [in Guangzhou, practicing] according to the master’s [teachings].

When the master arrived at Baolin[si] in Caoqi, he saw that the buildings were small and unable to accommodate his congregation. Wanting to enlarge [the monastery], he visited the local figure Chen Yaxian and said, “This old monk would like to receive from you enough room for my sitting mat. May I?”

Yaxian said, “How big is Your Reverence’s sitting mat?”

Huineng showed him the sitting mat, and Yaxian agreed. Huineng then spread out his mat so that it completely covered all of Caoqi. The four heav-