佛祖歷代通載 20.94

20.94

（二十七　壬戌）　靈隱松源禪師入寂。名崇岳。生於處州龍泉吳氏。自幼卓犖不凡。處群兒中未甞嬉宕。稍長聞出世法慕向之。年二十三棄家。衣掃塔服受五戒於大明寺。首造靈石妙公。繼見大惠杲禪師於徑山。久之大惠升堂。稱蔣山應庵華公為人徑捷。師聞之不待旦而行。既至入室未契。退愈自奮勵。終夜自舉狗子無佛性話。豁然有得。即以扣應庵。應庵舉。世尊有密語。迦葉不覆藏。師云。鈍置和尚。應庵厲聲一喝。自是朝夕咨請。應庵大喜。以為法器。說偈勸使祝髮棟梁吾道。隆興二年。師始得度於臨安西湖白蓮精舍。自是遍歷江浙諸大老之門。罕當其意。廼浮海入閩。見乾元木庵永公。一日辭木庵。木庵舉。有句無句如藤倚樹。師云。裂破。木庵云。瑯琊道好一堆爛柴。聻。師云。矢上加尖。如是應酬數反。木庵云。吾兄下語老僧不能過。其如未在。他日拂柄在手。為人不得。驗人不得。師云為人者。使博地凡夫一超入聖域。固難矣。驗人者。打向面前過不待開口。已知渠骨髓。何難之有。木庵舉手云。明明向汝道。開口不在舌頭上。後當自知。逾年見密庵於衢州之西山。隨問即答。密庵微笑曰。黃楊禪爾。師切於明道至忘寢食。密庵移蔣山。華藏徑山皆從之。會密庵入室次。問傍僧。不是心。不是佛。不是物。師侍側豁然大悟。乃曰。今日方會木庵道開口不在舌頭上。自是機辨從橫鋒不可觸。密庵又遷靈隱。遂命師為第一座。旋出世於平江澄照。為密庵嗣。徙江陰之光孝。無為之冶父。饒之薦福。明之香山。平江之虎丘。慶元三年。靈隱虛席。被旨補處。居六年法道盛行。得法者眾。而師有棲遯之志。即上章乞罷住持事。上察其誠許之。退居東庵。俄屬微疾。猶不少廢倡道。忽親作書別諸公卿。且垂二則語以驗學者曰。有力量人因甚擡脚不起。開口不在舌頭上。及貽書嗣法香山光睦雲居善開。囑以大法。因書偈曰。來無所來。去無所去。瞥轉玄關。佛祖罔措。跏趺而寂。實嘉泰二年八月四日也。得年七十有一。坐夏四十。奉全身塔于北高峯之原。

(27. Renxu) Chan Master Songyuan of Lingyin entered quiescence. His name was Chongyue. He was born into the Wu clan of Longquan in Chuzhou. From his youth he was outstanding and extraordinary; when among groups of children, he never frolicked playfully. As he grew older, hearing the world-transcending Dharma, he yearned for it. At the age of twenty-three, he abandoned home, donned the robes for sweeping the stupa, and received the five precepts at Daming Temple. He first visited Venerable Miao of Lingshi, and then saw Chan Master Dahui Gao at Jingshan. After a long while, Dahui ascended the hall and praised Venerable Ying'an Hua of Jiangshan for his direct and swift guidance of people. Hearing this, the Master set out without waiting for dawn. Upon arriving and entering his room, their minds did not tally. Retiring, he spurred himself on even more, bringing up for himself the huatou 'a dog has no Buddha-nature' all through the night. Suddenly gaining an insight, he immediately questioned Ying'an about it. Ying'an cited: 'The World-Honoured One had a secret saying; Kāśyapa did not conceal it.' The Master said, 'A blundering master!' Ying'an let out a fierce shout. From then on, he inquired of him morning and evening. Ying'an was delighted, regarding him as a vessel of the Dharma, and spoke a gāthā encouraging him to shave his head and become a pillar of our Way. In the second year of Longxing, the Master was finally ordained at Bailian Hermitage on the West Lake in Lin'an. From then on, he traveled widely to the gates of all the great elders of Jiangnan and Zhejiang, but rarely found what met his mind. He then sailed across the sea into Min, and saw Venerable Mu'an Yong of Ganyuan. One day he took his leave of Mu'an. Mu'an cited: 'Having phrases or having no phrases is like a vine clinging to a tree.' The Master said, 'Ripped apart.' Mu'an said, 'Langye said: "What a fine pile of rotten firewood!" What do you say to that?' The Master said, 'Adding a tip to an arrow.' They exchanged remarks back and forth like this several times. Mu'an said, 'In framing phrases, this old monk cannot surpass you, my brother. But what if you are not there yet? In the future, when the handle of the fly-whisk is in your hand, you will neither be able to guide people nor verify people.' The Master said, 'Guiding people—making an ordinary mortal of common dust leap at once into the holy realm—is indeed difficult. But verifying people—striking as they pass before me, without waiting for them to open their mouths, I already know their marrow—what difficulty is there in that?' Mu'an raised his hand and said, 'I clearly tell you: opening the mouth is not on the tongue. In the future you will naturally know it yourself.' After a year, he saw Mi'an at the Western Mountain in Quzhou. Whatever was asked, he answered immediately. Mi'an smiled and said, 'Merely boxwood Chan!' The Master was so intent on understanding the Way that he forgot to sleep and eat. When Mi'an moved to Jiangshan, Huazang, and Jingshan, he followed him to all of them. It happened that when Mi'an entered the room, he asked an attending monk, 'It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not a thing.' The Master, standing in attendance at his side, was thoroughly awakened. He then said, 'Today at last I understand what Mu'an meant by saying "opening the mouth is not on the tongue".' From then on, his dynamic eloquence was unrestrained, its sharp edge untouched. When Mi'an was further transferred to Lingyin, he appointed the Master as head seat. Soon he appeared in the world at Chengzhao in Pingjiang as Mi'an's successor. He moved to Guangxiao in Jiangyin, Yefu in Wuwei, Jianfu in Raozhou, Xiangshan in Mingzhou, and Tiger Hill in Pingjiang. In the third year of Qingyuan, the seat at Lingyin became vacant, and he was appointed by imperial order to fill it. He dwelt there for six years, and the Dharma flourished greatly, with many attaining the Dharma. But the Master had the aspiration to live in seclusion, so he submitted a memorial begging to resign from his abbacy. The Emperor, perceiving his sincerity, granted it. He retired to the Eastern Hermitage. Soon he fell slightly ill, yet he did not slacken in promoting the Way. Suddenly he personally wrote letters to take leave of various ministers and nobles, and left behind two sayings to test students, saying: 'Why is a person of great strength unable to lift his feet?' and 'Opening the mouth is not on the tongue.' He also sent a letter to his Dharma heirs, Guangmu of Xiangshan and Shan'kai of Yunju, entrusting them with the Great Dharma. He then wrote a gāthā: / 'Coming, there is nowhere to come from; / Going, there is nowhere to go. / In a flash turning the mysterious gate, / Buddhas and Patriarchs are at a loss.' / He sat cross-legged and passed away. It was truly the fourth day of the eighth month of the second year of Jiatai. He lived for seventy-one years, with forty summer retreats. His whole body was entombed in a stupa on the plain of North Peak.