禪林寶訓 4.57

4.57

In the fourth month of the fifth year of the Chunxi reign era, Jiantang set out again from Jingxing Rock in Tiantai to go to Yinjing. Supervising Secretary Master Wu (Fei), who had retired in old age at Xiuxiu Hall, harmonized with thirteen of Tao Yuanming's poems to see him off. The first says: / 'Since I returned beneath the forest, / I have long grown distant from the world. / Relying on the presence of a kalyāṇamitra, / Who could at times visit my cottage, / To accompany me in speaking words of the Way, / And cherish me as I read Buddhist scriptures. / Now that you are going up to the rocks, / I too shall grease my cart's axles. / I would like to spread my alms-bowl, / And follow the Master in sharing vegetable meals, / Shedding these burdens of the dusty world, / To dwell forever with the crags and boulders. / This rock is indeed high, / Standing pre-eminent beyond any map of mountains and seas. / Yet if compared to my Master's height, / Even this rock is still not its equal.' / (2) 'I was born within a mountain cavern; / On all four sides are jagged peaks. / There is a rock called Jingxing; / How many years have I wished to reach it? / Only now do I believe in its wondrous marvel: / At a single glance, the host of mountains looks small. / Furthermore, having the Master as its host, / The two splendors cannot easily be expressed.' / (3) 'My home is upon lakes and mountains; / Everywhere the eye meets are woods and hills. / Yet if compared to the elegance of this mountain, / Low mounds are indeed hard to match. / Cloud-veiled mountains can be seen for a thousand li; / Stone springs flow through all four seasons. / Having just arrived for the first time, / It already surpasses wandering through the Five Lakes.' / (4) 'I am seventy-five years old; / The setting sun hangs upon the treetops. / Even though my body has not yet departed, / How could it last for long? / I still hope to dwell amidst the forest, / To share with the Master our remaining radiance. / A solitary cloud suddenly emerges for a while, / Startling near and far into flurry and haste.' / (5) 'My love for the mountains is truly deep-rooted, / Yet being bound by worldly ways is also pitiable. / Yesterday I governed the commandery of Dangtu, / But did not know Mount Yinjing. / I admire the Master who comes and goes again; / Ashamed, what more can I say? / I only hope you will not stay there long, / But return to see me through my remaining years.' / (6) 'The Master's mind is like dead ashes, / His form is also like withered wood. / Why do monks turn to him, / Like an echo answering an empty valley? / Looking upon my body of dust and defilement, / I am just awaiting the bath of clarified butter. / I wish further that you raise the lamp of the Buddha, / To serve as a bright candle in my stead.' / (7) 'Branching and spreading, the trees upon the rock / All form shade upon entering summer. / What for years was a tract of thorns and brambles / In a single day has become a monastic grove. / Just as I, along with the monks, / Am listening together to the sound of the ocean tide, / In human life there are many gatherings and partings— / This farewell suddenly startles the heart.' / (8) 'Though the months and years of my association with the Master / Have not yet been long, / Looking upon each other we have become two old men, / Whose refined spirit is also extraordinary. / The Master sits in quiet meditation upon the rock, / While I am just gathering provisions for him. / If the Master can return early, / This joy will not yet come to an end.' / (9) 'The bustling students of Chan / Compete in rushing about with their bags at their waists. / No sooner can they utter some entangling words / Than their foolish minds become arrogant and self-satisfied. / To seek one whose Way and virtue are revered / Like the Master is rare indeed! / May you transmit it to one of the Supreme Vehicle, / To illuminate forever the lineage of Linji.' / (10) 'In my county there are many monks, / Vast and surging like a sea of clouds. / Daji has long since passed away; / Fortunately, Xiaoji remains. / Furthermore, there is Yicen; / Both are pure, complete, and without regret. / Dignified and grand, the two old Chan masters / Are jointly looked up to by all within the seas.' / (11) 'In ancient times there was no such thing as being an abbot; / They only transmitted the Dharma's intent. / If one can awaken to form and emptiness, / One can immediately transcend saṃsāra. / Mediocre monks are blind to what is original; / How could they know the shoe that returned to the west? / Purchasing certificates to sit on Chan platforms, / What will the Buddha's Dharma rely upon?' / (12) 'Among monks there are eminent monks; / Among scholars there are also eminent scholars. / Although I do not consider myself eminent, / My coarse mind can know where to stop. / The Master is a man within this realm; / My only concern is that you might not remain so. / What good fortune that the Master and I / Are both sons of neighboring households!' / (13) 'The Master is originally an impoverished monk, / And I too am an impoverished scholar. / Enduring poverty, we have both gone through it thoroughly; / In old age, how could we be unwilling to return? / Though the Master now parts [from me] for a while, / Let the springs and rocks not be suspicious. / Responding to conditions, it is merely like this for a time; / How could the Master have any deliberate intent?' (Rock Inscription of Jingxing).