佛祖統紀 10.43

10.43

禪師普門。岳陽何氏。父玠為常州儀興尉。因家焉。師幼勤學問。登進士第入仕於朝。一旦悟世虛偽。抽簪去髮居南岳寺。左右唯儒釋典籍。麻衣葛履而已。既而去謁荊溪。學止觀法華之旨深有造詣。善屬文。尚古意。荊溪敬之待以友道。為釋籤輔行兩序。自稱普門子。其辭簡健。歷指習禪者之弊。梁肅稱之曰。東南高僧普門元皓。予甚深之友也（送虛師序）貞元八年季冬六日。示寂於君山之偏室。春秋八十四。傳教門人曇環。集遺文二百篇行於世（儀興縣君山鄉。淨樂寺。荊溪之受業。相去數里。有南岳寺）。

Chan Master Pumen was of the He clan of Yueyang. His father, Jie, served as the Vice Magistrate of Yixing in Changzhou, so they settled their home there. In his youth, the Master was diligent in study, passed the jinshi examination, and entered official service at court. One day, awakening to the vanity and falsity of the world, he removed his hairpin, shaved his hair, and resided at Nanyue Temple. Around him were only Confucian and Buddhist texts, hemp garments, and kudzu sandals. Later, he went to visit Jīngxī, studied the purport of calming and contemplation and the Lotus Sūtra, and attained profound mastery. He was skilled in composition and esteemed ancient style. Jīngxī respected him and treated him as a friend. He composed the two prefaces to the Shiqian and the Fuxing, referring to himself as Pumenzi. His style was concise and vigorous, pointing out one by one the flaws of those who practice Chan. Liang Su praised him, saying, 'The eminent monk of the southeast, Pumen Yuanhao, is a very close friend of mine' (Preface on Sending off Master Xu). On the sixth day of the final winter month of the eighth year of Zhenyuan, he manifested nirvāṇa in a side chamber on Mount Jun, at the age of eighty-four. His teaching-transmitting disciple Tanhuan collected his extant writings into two hundred pieces, which circulate in the world. (In Junshan Township of Yixing County, Jingle Temple was where Jīngxī received his training; several li away is Nanyue Temple.)