緇門警訓 6.23

6.23

Qianming Monastery is located one hundred li from the commandery; in ancient times it was called Shimen, but it was changed by imperial decree. With high mountains and deep valleys where tigers and leopards lurk, rugged paths and distant isolation from human habitation, unless one is resolved upon the Way, none can settle their mind there. Men wandering in officialdom are bound by profit and fame; though viewing its supreme beauty, they rarely ascend to its realm. While governing the commandery, Dao knew there was a scholar of the Dharma named Shourong, who had traveled and sought [the Dharma] here since the fifth year of the Yongxi era. Later, the hall for peaceful meditation became cramped, dilapidated, and ruined, whereupon he resolved to rebuild it. Firmly maintaining his aspiration, he sought alms in the settlements over many years. He summoned skilled artisans, purchased fine timber, and at last brought it to completion in the third year of the Jingde era, measuring five bays and eleven rafters. In spring, his disciple Huiguo came carrying his staff to the capital to ask me to write a record of it, to be carved on stone. Thereupon I wrote: Since the Buddha's Dharma spread widely and Bodhidharma came from the west, those possessing roots of faith sought to realize the original source, living like stars in the wilderness, sheltering their bodies among grasses and trees, their clothing not warding off the cold and their food not filling their bellies. As the true Dharma gradually waned and humans and teachings declined into laxity, Chan Master Baizhang constructed buildings to provide peace for the aged and sick. Recently, Chan monasteries have competed to construct grand and magnificent buildings, where young beginners lie at ease, wholly unaware that the fundraisers labor their bodies and weary their bones, and the donors seek blessings and repent sins. Those who understand cause and effect feel as if lying on an iron bed or facing mortal enemies; unless morning and night they intimately nurture the sage embryo, then at least, by drawing close to good spiritual friends and aspiring for liberation, they may temporarily accommodate their physical forms and be protected by dragons and spirits. But if their minds are submerged by coverings and fetters, and their bodies take pleasure in warmth, failing to examine their ignorance and not knowing their lives are shrinking, merely memorizing words and considering themselves ultimate, then when their youth is exhausted and they pass away, they will fall into evil destinies. Can an energetic, courageous man remain unmoved in heart? Master Rong was born in Guo town of Fengxiang, and left household life at the Jingju Chan Cloister on Mount Baiyun in Hu County of Yongzhou. Recorded on the eighth day of the fourth month of the second year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era.