佛祖歷代通載 20.53

20.53

（十二）　是年徑山杲禪師入寂。諱宗杲。宣州寧國奚氏子。幼警敏有英氣。年十三始入鄉校。一日與同窓戲謔。以硯投之。誤中先生帽。償金而去。乃曰。讀世書曷若究出世法乎。即詣東山惠雲院出家。先是元豐戊午院塑釋迦像。有異人丁生者。語寺僧曰。立像一紀當生一導師。大興宗教。若像有難。是人方來。像毀則是人亦有難。崇寧甲申有盜穴像腹取其所藏。師以是歲適至。事惠齊為師。明年落髮受具。繇是智辯自將凌跨流輩。閱古雲門錄。恍若舊習。聞老宿紹珵久依天衣懷公。亟往上謁與聞雪竇奧旨。趨寶峯湛堂準禪師。見師風神爽邁。特加器重。使之執侍。指以入道捷徑。師橫機無所讓。準訶之曰。汝未曾悟。病在意識。領解則為所知障。時李彭商老參道於準。師適有語曰。道須神悟。妙在心空。體之不假於聰明。得之頓超於聞見。李歎賞曰。何必讀四庫書然後為學哉。因此為方外交。準將入滅。師問孰可依從。準以圓悟勤公語之。已而重趼荊渚。謁無盡居士張公請銘準塔。公道望傾天下。師登其門承顏接辭。綽有餘裕。公稱譽之。為名庵曰妙喜。字以曇晦。歸寶峯訖其事。復見無盡從容問曰。居士謂我禪何如。公曰。子禪逸格矣。師曰。宗杲實未自肯在。公曰。行見川勤可也。於是佩服其言放浪襄漢。會大陽微禪師。密授曹洞宗旨。尋游東都。宣和六年圓悟禪師被旨都下天寧。師自慶曰。天賜我。得見此老。不孤湛堂張公指南之意。遂造天寧。及聆其陞堂法要。逈異平日所聞。即傾心依附。閱四旬圓悟舉。僧問雲門。如何是諸佛出身處。門云。東山水上行。若有人問天寧只向。道薰風自南。來殿閣生微。涼師於言下豁然頓。悟圓悟大。喜遷師擇木堂。以古今差別因緣密加妍練。一日圓悟飯超然居士趙公。師預坐。忽忘舉筯。圓悟顧師而語超然曰。是子參得黃楊木禪也。師既為所激乘間扣曰。聞和上甞問五祖話不。知記其答否。圜悟曰。向問有句無句如藤倚樹作麼生。五祖云。描也描不成。畫也畫不就。又問樹倒藤枯時如何。五祖云。相隨來也。師廓然脫去。知見玄妙。圜悟深可之。使掌記室著臨濟正宗記卑焉。分座令接納。繇是以竹篦應機施設電閃星飛。不容擬議叢林浩然歸重。右丞呂公舜徒奏。錫佛日之號。虜人犯順。欲名僧十數北去。師為所挾。會天竺密三藏。日與論義。密尤敬服。尋得自便趨吳門虎丘。聞圓悟遷雲居。欲往省覲。道金陵。待制韓公子蒼與語喜之。以書聞樞密徐公師川曰。頃見妙喜辯惠出流輩。又能道諸公之事業。袞袞不勌。實僧中祀梓也。抵雲居為眾第一座。譏訶佛祖辯搏無礙。圜悟亦讓其雄。會世擾攘。入雲居之西結庵于古雲門寺基。因以為名。閱二十年辟地湖湘轉仰山。邂逅竹庵珪禪師。相與還雲門。著頌古百餘篇。久之游七閩。居海上洋嶼。師閔諸方學者困於默照。作辯邪正說以救其弊。泉南給事江公創庵小溪延請師居。緇素篤於道者畢集。未半年發明大事者數十人。鼎需思岳彌光道謙遵璞悟本等。皆在焉。一日參政李公漢老。聞舉庭柏話有省。師可之及公疾革。作偈寄彌光。有深將法力荷雲門之句。師平居絕無應世意。圜悟在蜀聞之。囑丞相張公德遠曰。杲首座不出。無可支臨濟法道者。公尋還朝。適徑山虛席。必欲致師。師幡然起赴。開法于臨安府治。唱圜悟之道。說法竟。侍郎馮公濟川問曰。師甞言不作這蟲豸。今日為什麼敗闕。師曰。盡大地是箇杲上座爾作麼生見。公無語。及居徑山。四方佳衲子靡然坌集。至一千七百。師無他約束。容其自律發明已見率常有之。上堂問答（具在本錄）時惠雲院忘丁生之讖。毀釋迦故像而新之。實紹興辛酉。夏五月也。師於是月。坐與張厚善。著逢掖編置衡州廖通直李繹。為結茅圃中。師既拘文不與眾俱。率令散處花藥開福伊山。時容其受道。門庭益峻。乃褒先德機緣間與拈提。離為三帙。目曰正法眼藏。前參政李公大發。時居鐔津。翰林汪公彥章稅駕零陵。數通書問道。當軸者滋不悅。移師梅州。其地荒僻瘴癘。藥物不具。學徒百餘。羸糧從之。閱六稔斃者過半。師以道處之怡然。由是居民向化至繪師像。飲食必祀焉者有之。

(12) In this year, Chan Master Gao of Jingshan entered quiescence. His taboo name was Zonggao; he was a son of the Xi family of Ningguo in Xuanzhou. From childhood he was alert, discerning, and exceptionally spirited. At the age of thirteen, he first entered the local school. One day, while jesting with a fellow student, he threw an inkstone at him, which accidentally struck their teacher's cap. He compensated him with money and left, saying: "How can studying worldly books compare to investigating the world-transcending Dharma?" He then went to Dongshan Huiyun Cloister to undergo pravrajyā. Prior to this, in the wuwu year of Yuanfeng, the cloister had sculpted an image of Śākyamuni. A remarkable man named Ding said to the cloister's monks: "One cycle of twelve years after this image is erected, a guiding teacher will be born who will greatly promote the teachings of the school. If the image meets with misfortune, this person will just then arrive; if the image is destroyed, this person will also encounter misfortune." In the jiashen year of Chongning, thieves dug a hole in the image's belly to take what was stored within it. In that very year, the Master happened to arrive. He served Huici as his master. The following year, his head was shaved and he received upasampadā. From then on, his wisdom and eloquence carried him forward, surpassing all his peers. When he read the ancient recorded sayings of Yunmen, it was as if he were reviewing past practices. Hearing that the venerable elder Shaozheng had long relied on Master Huai of Tianyi, he hurried to pay his respects and was permitted to hear the profound purport of Xuedou. He proceeded to Chan Master Zhan-tang Zhun of Baofeng. Zhun, observing the Master's brisk and extraordinary spirit, held him in particular regard, had him serve as his attendant, and pointed out the direct path to entering the Way. The Master exercised his dynamic capacity without deference. Zhun reproved him, saying: "You have not yet attained awakening; your affliction lies in your conscious mind. What you grasp and comprehend becomes an obstacle of the knowable." At that time, Li Peng, [styled] Shanglao, was inquiring into the Way under Zhun. The Master happened to say: "The Way requires spiritual awakening; its wondrousness lies in the emptiness of mind. Embodying it does not rely on cleverness; realizing it immediately transcends what is heard and seen." Li sighed in admiration, saying: "Why must one read the books of the Four Repositories before undertaking study?" Through this, they formed a friendship that transcended worldly bounds. When Zhun was about to enter extinction, the Master asked whom he should rely on. Zhun pointed him toward Yuanwu Keqin. Afterwards, the Master journeyed with calloused feet across Jingzhu and visited Layman Wujin, Lord Zhang, to request an inscription for Zhun's stupa. Lord Zhang's renown in the Way was admired by the whole realm. When the Master entered his gates, he received his countenance and exchanged words with grace and ease. Lord Zhang praised him, named his hermitage Miaoxi, and gave him the style-name Tan晦 (Tanhui). The Master returned to Baofeng to conclude the affairs. He visited Wujin again, asking leisurely: "What does the layman make of my Chan?" Lord Zhang said: "Your Chan is of a transcendent order." The Master said: "Zonggao has in truth not yet personally affirmed it." Lord Zhang said: "If you go and see Chuanqin, that will do." Thereupon, heeding his words, he roamed freely along the Xiang and Han rivers. Meeting Chan Master Taiyang Wei, he was secretly transmitted the foundational purport of the Caodong school. Soon after, he traveled to the Eastern Capital. In the sixth year of Xuanhe, Chan Master Yuanwu was summoned by imperial decree to Tianning in the capital. The Master rejoiced to himself, saying: "Heaven has granted me the chance to meet this venerable elder, not failing the guiding intentions of Zhan-tang and Lord Zhang." He then went to Tianning. When he listened to Yuanwu ascending the hall and preaching the essentials of the Dharma, it was vastly different from what he had heard in the past, so he wholeheartedly placed his trust in him. After forty days had passed, Yuanwu cited: "A monk asked Yunmen, 'What is the place from which all Buddhas arise?' Yunmen said, 'The East Mountain walks upon the water.' If anyone were to ask Tianning, I would only say to him: 'A fragrant breeze comes from the south, / And brings a gentle coolness to the palace halls.'" At these words, the Master had an instantaneous, thorough awakening. Yuanwu was overjoyed and moved the Master to the Zemu Hall, secretly training and refining him through ancient and contemporary discriminating conditions. One day, Yuanwu hosted a meal for Layman Chaoran, Lord Zhao. The Master was seated among them. Suddenly, he forgot to raise his chopsticks. Yuanwu looked back at the Master and said to Chaoran: "This fellow has practiced the boxwood Chan." The Master, having been thus provoked, seized the opportunity to inquire: "I have heard that the venerable elder once questioned Wuzu; do you still remember his answer?" Yuanwu said: "I asked him earlier, '"With words or without words, like a vine clinging to a tree"—what is this like?' Wuzu said, 'You cannot trace it, nor can you paint it.' I further asked, 'What happens when the tree falls and the vine withers?' Wuzu said, 'They follow along together.'" The Master was completely released from his views of the profound and wondrous. Yuanwu deeply approved of him, appointed him to oversee the secretariat, and had him write the Record of the Orthodox Heritage of Linji to clarify it. He assigned him a separate seat to receive students. From then on, the Master used a bamboo whisk to respond dynamically, striking like lightning and flying stars, allowing no room for hesitation. The monastic community turned to him in great numbers. Right Vice Director Lü Shuntu petitioned to bestow on him the title "Fo Ri" (Sun of the Buddha). When northern invaders breached obedience, they intended to take more than ten renowned monks to the north, and the Master was detained among them. He encountered Tripiṭaka Master Mi of Tianzhu and debated doctrine with him daily; Mi was deeply reverent and convinced. Soon after, regaining his freedom, he proceeded to Tiger Hill in Wumen. Hearing that Yuanwu had moved to Yunju, he wished to pay his respects. Passing through Jinling, Han Zicang, Auxiliary Academician, conversed with him and was delighted, sending a letter to Privy Councillor Xu Shichuan that said: "Recently I met Miaoxi; his eloquence and wisdom surpass his peers, and he can speak untiringly of the achievements of various lords; he is truly a pillar of catalpa among the monks." Reaching Yunju, he became the first seat of the assembly, reprimanding the Buddhas and Patriarchs with unhindered debate; even Yuanwu deferred to his boldness. Meeting with turbulent times, he went west of Yunju and built a hermitage on the site of ancient Yunmen Temple, naming it after it. After twenty years, escaping the unrest, he went to Huxiang and moved to Yangshan. Encountering Chan Master Zhuan Gui, they returned together to Yunmen, where he composed more than one hundred verses on ancient precedents. After a long while, he traveled through the seven prefectures of Min, residing on the offshore island of Yangyu. Pitying that practitioners across various places were trapped in Silent Illumination, he wrote the Treatise on Distinguishing the Heterodox and the Orthodox to remedy this shortcoming. Attendant Gentleman Jiang of Quannan built a hermitage at Xiaoxi and invited the Master to reside there; clergy and laity devoted to the Way all gathered. Within half a year, several tens of individuals had realized the Great Matter, including Dingshu, Siyue, Miguang, Daoqian, Zunpu, and Wuben. One day, Vice Grand Councilor Li Hanlao had an awakening upon hearing the story of the cypress tree in the courtyard. The Master approved him. When Lord Li became gravely ill, he composed a verse and sent it to Miguang containing the line, "deeply using the power of the Dharma to carry the burden of Yunmen." In his daily life, the Master had no intention of dealing with worldly affairs. Yuanwu, hearing of this in Shu, instructed Grand Councilor Zhang Dewu, saying: "If Head Monk Gao does not come forth, there will be no one to uphold the Dharma path of Linji." Lord Zhang soon returned to court. Just then, the seat at Jingshan became vacant, and he was determined to bring the Master there. The Master readily arose and went, opening the Dharma at the seat of Lin'an Prefecture and proclaiming the way of Yuanwu. After he finished expounding the Dharma, Vice Minister Feng Jichuan asked: "You once said you would not act like these bugs; why have you disgraced yourself today?" The Master said: "The whole earth is this Upper Monk Gao; how do you see it?" The minister was speechless. When he resided at Jingshan, fine patch-robed monks from all directions flocked to him like a gathering crowd, reaching one thousand seven hundred. The Master imposed no extraneous constraints, allowing them to regulate themselves; discoveries of their own insight were frequent. His ascending the hall to answer questions is recorded in full in his personal record. At that time, Huiyun Cloister forgot the prophecy of Ding and destroyed the old image of Śākyamuni to make a new one; this was in fact in the fifth month of summer in the xinyou year of Shaoxing. In that month, because of his close friendship with Zhang, the Master was dressed in scholar's garb and exiled to Hengzhou. Duty Clerk Liao and Li Yi built a thatched hut for him in a garden. Since the Master was restricted by official orders and could not gather with a community, he generally directed them to disperse and stay at Huayao, Kaifu, and Yishan, occasionally allowing them to receive instructions in the Way; his gates became even more severe. He then selected cases of past worthies and occasionally brought them up for commentary, dividing them into three fascicles entitled the Zhengfayan zang (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye). Former Vice Grand Councilor Li Dafa was then residing in Tanjin, and Hanlin Academician Wang Yanzhang stopped his carriage in Lingling; they frequently sent letters inquiring into the Way. Those in power grew even more displeased and transferred the Master to Meizhou. That place was remote and malarial, lacking medicinal supplies. Over a hundred disciples carried meager provisions and followed him; over six years, more than half perished. The Master abided in it through the Way, remaining serene. From then on, the local residents turned toward transformation, to the extent that some painted the Master's likeness and unfailingly offered sacrifices to it before eating.