佛祖歷代通載 16.14

16.14

（七）　是歲丹霞天然禪師將終。命左右具浴。浴畢乃頂笠策杖受履垂一足。未及地而化。春秋八十有六。師本儒生。行應舉。偶一禪者。問仁今何往。曰選官去。禪者曰。選官何如選佛。曰選佛當何所詣。禪者曰。江西馬祖出世。即選佛之場也。師遂見馬祖。以手㧌幞頭額。祖顧視良久曰。南嶽石頭是汝之師。師抵南嶽。亦以前意投之。石頭曰。著槽廠去。乃禮謝入行者堂執務。後因普請鏟草次。師獨沐頭跪於石頭之前。石頭欣然與之落髮。尋為說戒。即掩耳而去。便返江西再見馬祖。未參禮便入僧堂。騎聖僧頸而坐。眾驚異以白馬祖。祖入堂見之曰。我子天然。師即下地禮拜曰。謝師賜與法名。久之遍歷諸方。後於天津橋橫臥。留守鄭公出呵之不起。吏問故。曰無事僧。鄭奇之。日給米麪。洛下翕然敬向。居鄧州丹霞。至數百眾。嘗示眾曰。阿爾渾家切須保護一靈之物。此不是爾造作名邈得。更說什麼薦不薦。吾往日見石頭和上。亦只教保護此事。不是爾譚話得。阿爾渾家各有一坐具地。更疑什麼禪。可是爾解得底物。豈有佛可成。佛之一字永不喜聞。阿爾自看。善巧方便慈悲喜捨。不從外得。不著方寸。善巧是文殊。方便是普賢。爾更擬趁逐什麼物。不用經不落空去。今時學者紛紛擾擾。皆是參禪問道。吾此間無道可修。無法可證。一飲一啄各自有分。不用疑慮。在在處處有恁麼底。若識得釋迦即是凡夫。阿爾須自看取。一盲引眾盲。相將入火坑。夜暗裏雙陸賽彩若為生。無事珍重。師嘗著玩珠吟二篇。其一曰。識得衣中寶無明醉自醒。百骸俱潰散。一物鎮長靈。智境渾非體。神珠不定形。悟則三身佛。迷疑萬卷經。在心心可測。歷耳耳難聽。罔象先天地。玄泉出杳冥。本剛非鍛鍊。元淨莫澄渟。槃礴輪朝日。玲瓏映曉星。瑞光流不滅。真氣觸還生。鑒照崆峒寂。羅籠法界明。剉凡功不減。超聖果非盈。龍女心親獻。闍王口自呈。護鵝人却活。黃雀意猶輕。解語非關舌。能言不是聲。絕邊彌汗漫。無際等空平。演教非為說。聞名忽認名。兩邊俱莫立。中道不須行。見月休觀指。還家罷問程。識心心即佛。何佛更堪成。

(7) In this year, Chan Master Tianran of Danxia was about to pass away. He ordered his attendants to prepare a bath. After bathing, he donned a bamboo hat, grasped his staff, took his shoes, and hung down one foot; before it touched the ground, he transformed [and died], at the age of eighty-six. The Master was originally a Confucian scholar traveling to take the civil service examinations. By chance, he met a Chan practitioner, who asked, 'Where is the benevolent one going now?' He replied, 'I am going to be chosen as an official.' The Chan practitioner said, 'How can being chosen as an official compare to being chosen as a Buddha?' He asked, 'To be chosen as a Buddha, where should I go?' The Chan practitioner said, 'Mazu has appeared in Jiangxi; that is the arena where Buddhas are chosen.' The Master then went to see Mazu. Using his hand, he pushed back his headcloth from his forehead. Mazu gazed at him for a long time and said, 'Shitou of Nanyue is your teacher.' The Master arrived at Nanyue and approached [Shitou] with the same intention. Shitou said, 'Go to the stable.' He bowed in thanks and entered the postulants' hall to perform duties. Later, when the community was summoned to weed grass, the Master alone washed his head and knelt before Shitou. Shitou gladly shaved his head. Soon after, when [Shitou] was about to expound the precepts for him, he covered his ears and walked away. He then returned to Jiangxi to see Mazu again. Without paying respects, he went directly into the saṃgha hall, straddled the neck of the Holy Monk [statue], and sat there. The assembly was astonished and reported this to Mazu. Mazu entered the hall, saw him, and said, 'My son Tianran (Natural).' The Master immediately stepped down to the ground, bowed, and said, 'I thank the Master for bestowing my Dharma name.' After a long time, he traveled extensively through various regions. Later, he lay down horizontally on Tianjin Bridge. When Governor Zheng came out, he shouted at him, but he did not get up. When an official asked the reason, he replied, 'A monk of no affairs.' Zheng marvelled at him and daily provided him with rice and flour. The people of Luoyang unanimously turned to him in reverence. He resided at Danxia in Dengzhou, where his followers numbered several hundred. He once instructed the assembly, saying: 'All of you must urgently protect this single spiritual thing! This is not something you can fabricate or depict with names. What more is there to say about apprehending or not apprehending it? When I formerly saw the Venerable Shitou, he also only taught me to protect this matter; it is not something for your talk and chatter. Each of you has ground for a sitting mat—what Chan do you still doubt? Is this something you can understand? How could there be a Buddha to attain? The single word "Buddha" is something I never wish to hear! Look for yourselves: skillful means, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity do not come from outside; they do not attach to the square-inch [heart]. Skillfulness is Mañjuśrī; means is Samantabhadra. What else do you intend to chase after? There is no need to pass through things or fall into emptiness. Students of today are in an uproar, all practicing Chan and inquiring into the Way. Here with me, there is no Way to cultivate and no Dharma to realize. A single drink and a single peck each have their share; there is no need for doubts or worries. Everywhere and in every place, it is just like this. If you recognize Śākya, he is just an ordinary man. You must see for yourselves! One blind man leads a crowd of blind men, together falling into a pit of fire. In the dark of night, how can dice throw a winning score? Farewell, be of no affairs.' The Master once composed two poems titled 'Chant on Playing with the Pearl.' The first says: 'Recognizing the jewel within the garment, the drunken stupor of ignorance naturally wakes. / When the hundred bones are all shattered and dissolved, / One thing remains ever spiritual. / The realm of wisdom is entirely without body; / The divine pearl has no fixed form. / Awakened, it is the three bodies of the Buddha; / Deluded, one doubts the myriad scrolls of scriptures. / Within the mind, the mind can fathom it; / Passing into the ear, the ear finds it hard to hear. / Indistinct, it precedes Heaven and Earth; / The mysterious spring emerges from the dark and deep. / Originally rigid, it is not forged; / Primordially pure, it is not clarified. / Broad and vast, it turns the morning sun; / Translucent and bright, it reflects the dawn stars. / Its auspicious light flows without extinguishing; / When the true vital energy is touched, it arises anew. / Mirroring and illuminating, Kongtong is still; / Encompassing all, the Dharma realm is luminous. / Diminishing the ordinary, its merit does not decrease; / Transcending the noble, its fruition does not overflow. / The dragon maiden personally offered it from her mind; / King Ajātaśatru presented it from his own mouth. / The one who protected the goose was saved alive; / The yellow sparrow’s intent was yet light. / Understanding speech does not concern the tongue; / Being able to speak is not sound. / Beyond boundaries, it fills the vast expanse; / Boundless, it equals empty space. / Expounding the teachings is not speaking; / Hearing the name, one suddenly recognizes the name. / Do not establish either of the two extremes; / There is no need to walk the Middle Way. / Seeing the moon, stop looking at the finger; / Having returned home, cease inquiring about the road. / Recognizing the mind, the mind is itself the Buddha; / What other Buddha remains to be achieved?'