佛祖歷代通載 18
English (machine translation) 18
- Language
- English
18.1
Compiled by Nianchang of Huating, Abbot of Dazhong Xiangfu Chan Temple in Jiaxing Circuit.
18.2
Song: Master Lei says: (The Song dynasty ancestors [Taizu and Taizong], Zhen[zong], Ren[zong], Ying[zong], Shen[zong], Zhe[zong], Hui[zong], and Shao[zong], in all one hundred sixty-six [years]. With Jingkang, they moved north).
18.3
([Year] 1: gengshen) Taizu, Xuanlang (surnamed Zhao; ruled by the virtue of Fire; had his capital at Bian; his original name was Guangyin; second son of Xuanzu; born in Luoyang; heroic and martial, upright and sincere, with an open-minded intellect and magnanimity. Zhou Taizu made him head of the East and West Squads. Shizu ordered him to take charge of the personal troops and promoted him to Palace Chief Inspector. Emperor Gong ordered him to chastise Hedong. Late at night, stationed at Chenqiao Post, the army's sentiments suddenly changed; the multitude supported and established him. On the fourth day of the first month, he accepted the abdication. In the tenth month of bingzi, he passed away in Wansui Palace and was buried in the Yongchang Mausoleum, at the age of fifty), changed [the reign era] to Jianlong. ○ The tenth year of Yingli of Liao.
18.4
([Year] 2) In the twelfth month of this year, an imperial decree ordered that at the battlefield below the walls of Yangzhou, a temple be built, bestowed the name Jianlong, and granted four qing of land; the monk Daohui was ordered to preside over it. Earlier, Zhou had abolished 30,300 Buddhist temples and melted down the Great Compassion image of Zhenzhou to cast coins. Shizong had personally wielded a battle-axe and pierced its breast; in less than four years, an ulcer ruptured on his breast. The Emperor [Song Taizu], together with Taizong, witnessed this event in person; therefore he asked the divine monk Mayi: "When will the realm be settled?" Mayi said: "Only in the jiazi year will it be greatly settled." He further replied with the disasters of the three Wu [emperors] who abolished the teaching. The Emperor deeply agreed with this. When he ascended the throne, he repeatedly built Buddhist temples and ordained eight thousand monks each year. (Taken from the commentary of Ouyang's Outer Biography).
18.5
(xinyou) An imperial decree ordered that on the Sacred Birthday Festival, monks in the capital and throughout the empire be ordered to ascend the high seat to offer prayers for longevity as standard.
18.6
(renxu) An imperial decree ordered that each year postulants who master the seven fascicles of the Lotus Sūtra through examination be granted ordinations certificates from the Ministry of Sacrifices to shave their hair.
18.7
Gao Jichong of Jing (courtesy name Chenghe, son of Rong; reigned for one year and surrendered to Song). ○ Li Yu of the Southern Tang ascended the throne.
18.8
(guihai) [The reign era] was changed to Qiande. ○ Murong Yanzhao campaigned against Jing, which surrendered; Chong was enfeoffed as Military Commissioner of the Wuning Army.
18.9
(jiazi: [cycle] 61) An imperial decree ordered Wang Quanbin and others to campaign against Shu. In yichou, it surrendered to Song.
18.10
(bingyin) Ji'en of Eastern Han (his father Xue Zhao was cherished for his virtue by Liu Min, who gave him his daughter in marriage; she gave birth to En. After Zhao died, she remarried into the He family and gave birth to Yuan. When the He couple died and Chengjun had no son, Min ordered Jun to adopt the two sons. When King Ding Jun died, En succeeded to the throne; in the ninth month, he was killed by Hou Barong).
18.11
Jiyuan (surnamed He; also an adopted son of Chengjun and the younger maternal brother of En; Guo Wuwei and Hou Barong welcomed and established him. He changed the reign era to Guangyun; [reigned for] thirteen years).
18.12
(dingmao) In the third month, the five planets gathered in Kuixiu. ○ It had been nine hundred years since the Great Teaching spread east.
18.13
(wuchen) [The reign era] was changed to Kaibao. ○ Emperor Jingzong of Liao, taboo name Mingji, ascended the throne (changed his name to Xian; son of Shizong; from the year Baoning, ruled for fifteen years).
18.14
(jisi) On the sixteenth day of the second month, the Changchun Festival, an imperial decree [commanded]: (Monks from the four seas submit memorials to enter the palace courtyard to be tested on over ten items in the three learnings. Those who are thoroughly proficient are granted purple robes and titled 'Monks of the Hand-Memorial'. The Prime Minister, imperial princes, supervisory commissioners, and prefects each recommend their acquaintances; only those recommended by the Western Street entered the inner palace on that day. The diploma of the Chancellery was called the 'Master Title before the Screen', and they were likewise granted purple robes).
18.15
(xinwei) An imperial decree ordered Chengdu to produce one Tripiṭaka each written in gold and silver characters (initially, on the twenty-seventh day of the ninth month of wuchen, Liu Xigu, Vice Minister of War, was ordered to supervise the production. On the eleventh day of the sixth month of this year, an imperial decree ordered the further production of one Tripiṭaka in gold characters).
18.16
(renshen) An imperial decree ordered the carving [of printing blocks for] a Tripiṭaka (totaling 130,000 blocks. ○ Enfeoffed the ruler of Southern Han as the Marquis of Silver Grace and Pardon. ○ Also dispatched Tao Gu to subjugate Song Qiqiu).
18.17
(Year three) National Preceptor Deshao of Mount Tiantai entered quiescence. The Master was of the Chen clan of Longquan in Chuzhou. His mother dreamt at night that a white light touched her body, whereupon she became pregnant. When he was born, there were many marvelous portents. At the age of fifteen, an Indian monk urged him to enter the monastic life. At seventeen, he had his head shaved at Longgui Monastery in his home prefecture. At eighteen, he received the precepts at Kaiyuan [Monastery] in Xinzhou. During the Kaiping era of the Later Liang, he went on pilgrimage. He arrived at Mount Touzi and met Chan Master Datong; this was the beginning of his aspiration [for awakening]. Next, he called upon Longya and Shushan, encountering circumstances suited to him at each, yet after going through fifty-four spiritual friends, none brought realization. Later, he went to Linchuan and called upon Master Jinghui [Wen]yi, who at first sight regarded him as a vessel of great potential. Because the Master had traveled and studied extensively, he merely followed along with the assembly. Wenyi ascended the hall. A monk asked, "What is the single drop of water from the Cao stream?" Wenyi said, "It is the single drop of water from the Cao stream." By the side of the seat, the Master had a breakthrough and experienced great awakening; all the doubts and hindrances of his life dissolved like melting ice. He then presented his awakening to Wenyi. Wenyi said, "In the future, you will become the preceptor to kings and cause the ancestral way to flourish greatly. I am not your equal." From then on, as for the differing teachings of the various quarters and the profound keys of past and present, he resolved them without leaving the slightest trace. Soon after, he traveled to Tiantai; looking upon the traces left by Chan Master Zhizhe Zhiyi, they seemed as familiar as of old. Furthermore, he shared the same surname as Zhizhe, so people at that time called him Zhizhe's later embodiment. At first, he stayed at Baisha. King Zhongyi of Wuyue, governing Taizhou as a prince of the state, admired the Master's reputation and invited him to inquire about the Way. The Master said to him, "When you become a sovereign lord in days to come, do not forget the grace of the Buddha." In the first year of the Qianyou era of the Later Han, when the King succeeded to the throne, he dispatched an envoy to welcome him and offered the etiquette of a disciple. There was a certain Yiji who transmitted the Tiantai teachings, who repeatedly pleaded earnestly with the Master, saying, "The teachings of Zhizhe have receded into the distance over the years, and it is feared that many have been scattered and lost. At present, the texts are exceptionally complete in the kingdom of Silla. Were it not for your compassionate power, Upādhyāya, who could bring them back?" The Master thereupon reported this to King Zhongyi. The King dispatched envoys carrying the Master's letter to travel there, copy the texts fully, and return with them. To this day, they circulate widely south of the Yangtze. The Master opened a hall to preach the Dharma at Bore [Monastery]; the records of his twelve assemblies are fully recorded in the *Transmission of the Lamp*. He once instructed the assembly with a verse: / "The summit of Tongxuan Peak is not of the human realm; / Outside the mind there are no phenomena—the green mountains fill the eyes." / In the xinwei year of the Kaibao era, the four peaks of Huading suddenly collapsed with a sound shaking like thunder. The Master said, "I shall not remain long." In the sixth month of the following year, a great star fell upon the summit of the peak, and the trees of the forest turned white. The Master then manifested his quiescence at Lianhua Peak; students had come to question him as usual. On the twenty-eighth day, he gathered the assembly to bid farewell, and passed away sitting cross-legged. His worldly age was eighty-two, and his monastic age was sixty-five.
18.18
(Guiyou) Emperor Gong of the Later Zhou, [Chai] Chongxun, died.
18.19
(Year four) Chan Master Fengxue of Ruzhou entered quiescence. His taboo name was Yanzhao. In the twelfth month of the third year of the Qianning era of the false Tang, he was born into the Liu clan of Yuhang. In his youth he was imposing and spirited, reading every kind of book; yet he had no interest in worldly management. His father and elder brothers pressed him to take office, but no sooner had he arrived at the capital than he returned east. Under Vinaya Master Zhigong of Kaiyuan Monastery, he shaved his head and received the full precepts. He frequented the lecture halls, relishing the *Profound Meaning of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka* and cultivating the concentration and wisdom of śamatha-vipaśyanā, so that senior masters vied to defer to him. Leaving this behind, he wandered famous mountains and called upon Chan Master Jingqing Fu of Yuezhou, but their encounter of words did not tally. Traveling north through Xiangyang and the Mian River region, he lodged at Huayan [Monastery]. At that time, a monk named Shoukuo had arrived from Master [Baoying] Yong of Nanyuan. Huayan ascended the seat and said, "If you are descendants under Linji, Deshan, Gaoting, Dayu, Niaoke, or Chuanzi, there is no need for 'how' or 'why'—please go straight in with a single blade!" Kuo came out from the assembly and immediately gave a shout. Huayan also shouted. Kuo shouted again. Huayan shouted again. Kuo bowed, rose, pointed at him, turned to the assembly, and said, "This old fellow has suffered a complete defeat!" He gave a shout and returned to the assembly. Fengxue marveled at this in his heart, and thus formed a friendship with him. He then silently awakened to the essential import of the three mysteries, sighing, "Is Linji's active functioning indeed like this?" Kuo urged him to go further and see Nanyuan. Fengxue asked, "Entering the gate, one must distinguish the host; / I truly ask the Master to determine it." Nanyuan slapped his left knee. Fengxue immediately shouted. Nanyuan slapped his right knee. Fengxue also shouted. Nanyuan said, "Setting aside for a moment the slap on the left side, what about the slap on the right side?" Fengxue said, "Blind!" Nanyuan turned to pick up his staff. Fengxue laughed and said, "A cangue-bearing, blind stick—wrenching it away, I'll go beat the Upādhyāya!" Nanyuan leaned on his staff and said, "Today I have been clumsily bested by a yellow-faced fellow from Zhejiang." Fengxue said, "You are much like one who fails to get anything in his alms bowl and falsely claims not to be hungry." Nanyuan said, "Have you arrived at this place?" Fengxue said, "What kind of talk is that?" Nanyuan said, "I was right to question you." Fengxue said, "Nor can you be let off," and promptly bowed. Delighted, Nanyuan granted him a seat and asked with whom he had traveled. Fengxue replied, "In Xiangzhou I spent the summer retreat with Attendant Kuo." Nanyuan said, "You have met an authentic master in person!" Fengxue thereupon humbled himself to join the ranks of disciples, calmly receiving instruction and daily hearing of wisdom and realization. Nanyuan said, "That you have come by the power of vows to shoulder the Great Dharma is no mere accident." He asked, "Have you heard the words Linji spoke when he was about to pass away?" Fengxue said, "I have." Nanyuan said, "Linji said, 'Who knew that my True Dharma Eye Treasury would be extinguished at the hands of this blind donkey?' In his life he was like a lion: seeing [someone], he would kill them. When he was about to die, why did he bend his knees and drop his tail like this?" Fengxue replied, "When the secret transmission is about to end, the complete master is extinguished." Nanyuan asked again, "Why was Sansheng also silent?" Fengxue said, "One who has personally entered the room is a true son, unlike casual visitors outside the gate." Nanyuan nodded in agreement. He asked again, "What dharma do the statements of the four evaluations evaluate?" Fengxue replied, "Whenever speech does not linger in ordinary sentiment, it falls into holy understanding. This is a great illness for students; out of pity, the ancient sages provided skillful means, like knocking out a wedge with another wedge." Nanyuan said, "What is taking away the person but not taking away the environment?" Fengxue said, / "Fresh from the red furnace, the golden Chan monk / Shatters the ācārya's iron face." / Nanyuan asked again, "What is taking away the environment but not taking away the person?" Fengxue said, / "The fodder is suddenly parted, the head splits open; / The scattered clouds just disperse, yet the shadow still remains." / Nanyuan asked again, "What is taking away both person and environment?" Fengxue said, / "Stepping forward, one must hasten; / Urging the whip on the breast harness, do not delay." / Nanyuan asked again, "What is taking away neither person nor environment?" Fengxue said, / "I constantly recall the third month south of the Yangtze: / Where the partridges cry, the hundred flowers are fragrant." / Nanyuan asked again, "Linji had three phrases. On that day someone asked, 'What is the first phrase?' Linji said, 'When the seal of the three essentials is imprinted, the vermilion dot is narrow; before hesitation is allowed, host and guest are established.'" Fengxue immediately shouted along with the words. Nanyuan said again, "What is the second phrase? Linji said, 'How could wondrous understanding permit the questioning of Asanga? How could skillful means rush into the mechanism of cutting off the flow?'" Fengxue said, "Even before asking, an error is made." Nanyuan asked again, "What is the third phrase? Linji said, 'Just watch the puppets operated on the stage; their pulling and tugging relies entirely on the person inside.'" Fengxue said, "Once made plain, it becomes unbearable." Thereupon Nanyuan deemed that he could sustain Linji's line, fortunately not betraying the purpose of the transmission entrusted by his late master Xinghua. Fengxue attended him for six years before taking his leave. In the second year of the Changxing era of the Later Tang, he arrived at the Ru River and saw a few thatch-roofed rooms clinging to the mountain, like an abandoned house. He asked a farmer what place it was. The farmer said, "It is the ancient Fengxue Monastery. Generations of Vinaya monks dwelt here, but the monks passed away, and in a year of famine the community abandoned it and left. Only the Buddha statues, drum, and bell remain." Fengxue said, "May I live here?" The farmer said, "You may." Fengxue entered and stayed, begging daily in the villages and burning pine resin by night. He remained alone for seven years, until faithful donors renovated it into a monastery. In the second year of the Tianfu era of the false Jin, the prefect heard of his reputation and invited him with full courtesy. On the Lantern Festival, he opened the Dharma hall as heir to Nanyuan. In the second year of the Qianyou era of the false Han, the prefect relocated his administrative seat to Yingzhou; Fengxue also fled bandits and went to rely on him. The prefect lodged him in the commandery residence. When the bandits were pacified, Grand Preceptor Song of Ruzhou donated his mansion as a precious monastery, called Xin Temple, and welcomed Fengxue to dwell there. His Dharma assembly surpassed all under heaven, and students arrived from afar. Ascending the seat, he said: "My late master said, 'If you wish to obtain intimacy, do not bring a question to ask.' Do you understand? The question is in the answer, and the answer is in the question. Even though this is so, there are times when the question is not in the answer and the answer is not in the question. If you hesitate, this old monk is right under your heels! In general, as the eyes of study and practice, the great functioning must directly appear before you in response to the moment; do not bind yourselves with minor details. Even if you attain it before speech, you are still trapped in shells and deluded by wrappings; even if you are thoroughly versed beneath phrases, you will not avoid wild views when encountering situations. Everything you have relied upon until now to form interpretations—both bright and dark, both forks of the road—I sweep away entirely for you, causing every single one of you to be like a lion cub rearing up and snapping, giving proof before the assembly, roaring with a single roar like a cliff standing ten thousand cubits high! Who dares to look directly at it? If you look, your eyes will be blinded!" He also said, "If a single speck of dust is established, the house and state flourish, while the old countryman knits his brows. If not a single speck of dust is established, the house and state perish, while the old countryman rests in peace. If you understand here, you ācāryas have no share in it, and it is entirely this old monk; if you do not understand here, this old monk is just you ācāryas, and there is no difference between you and this old monk. I can awaken the people of the world, and I can also blind the people of the world. Do you wish to know the ācāryas?" He slapped his left knee and said, "Here it is!" "Do you wish to know this old monk?" He slapped his right knee and said, "Here it is!" At that time, none could match his dynamic functioning. In the first year of the Guangshun era of the false Zhou, the monastery was bestowed the name Guanghui. After twenty-two years, on the first day of the eighth month of the guiyou year, the sixth year of the Kaibao era of the Song, he ascended the seat and spoke a verse: / "When the Way accords with the times, it must aid beings; / Those who come from afar in admiration surge like billows. / In future years there will be an old man of similar sentiment: / Day after day fragrant smoke, night after night a lamp." / When the fifteenth day arrived, he passed away sitting cross-legged. The day before, he had written a letter with his own hand bidding farewell to his patrons. He had seen seventy-eight years of worldly life and fifty-nine summer retreats. The foremost disciple who obtained his Dharma was Chan Master Nian, who resided at Mount Shou in Ruzhou.
18.20
(Jiaxu) Cao Bin and others were ordered by imperial decree to launch a punitive expedition against the Southern Tang. The Liao changed its reign era to Qianheng.
18.21
(Yihai) Cao Bin captured Li Yu, ruler of the Southern Tang, and returned. [Li Yu] was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Disobeyed Orders. His state was abolished.
18.22
(5) Chan Master Zhijue, [named] Yanshou of Huiri and Yongming in Hangzhou, passed into quiescence. His taboo name was Yanshou, a native of Yuhang surnamed Wang. In his youth he turned his mind to the Buddha Vehicle. After coming of age, he did not eat meat, ate only one meal a day, and recited the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, reading seven lines at a glance; within just sixty days he was able to recite the whole of it from memory, moving a flock of sheep to kneel and listen. At the age of twenty-eight, he served as garrison commander of Huating. At that time, Great Master Yongming of Cuiyan moved to Longce Monastery, where he vastly promulgated the profound transformation. King Wenmu of Wu-Yue, knowing that the Master yearned for the Way, acceded to his aspiration and allowed him to enter pravrajyā. He paid homage to Cuiyan as his master. He performed menial labor to provide for the assembly, completely forgetting all regard for himself. He wore no silk garments and ate no rich foods, subsisting morning and evening on wild vegetables and robes dyed with bark. Soon he went to Tianzhu Peak on Mount Tiantai, where he practiced absorption for ninety days; birds like sparrows nested in the folds of his robe. When he later had an audience with State Preceptor Dechao of Deshan [Tianji], [Dechao] recognized him as a vessel of great capacity at first sight and secretly transmitted the profound purport to him, further telling the Master: "You have an affinity with the commander-in-chief; in days to come you will vastly revive Buddhist monasteries." He first resided at Mount Xuedou in Mingzhou, where students gathered like clouds. The Master entered the hall and said: "Here at Xuedou, a swift waterfall of a thousand fathoms does not pause for a speck of grain, and wondrous crags of ten thousand cubits offer no place to set foot. Where can you people take a step forward?" A monk then asked: "How does one tread the single path of Xuedou?" The Master said: "At every step, cold flowers freeze; at every word, ice to the very bottom." In the first year of the Jianlong era, King Zhongyi invited him to reside as the first generation [abbot] at the new monastery on Mount Lingyin. The following year, [the king] again invited him to reside as the second generation [abbot] at the great bodhimanda of Yongming, where the assembly grew to over two thousand. A monk asked: "What is the essential purport of Yongming?" The Master said: "Add more incense." [The monk] said: "Thank you, Master, for the instruction." The Master said: "Fortunately, it has nothing to do with it." The Master had a verse that went: "If you wish to know the purport of Yongming, / Look at the lake of water before the gate: / When the sun shines, radiance appears; / When the wind comes, waves arise." He lived at Yongming for fifteen years and ordained one thousand seven hundred disciples. In the seventh year of the Kaibao era, he entered Mount Tiantai and administered the precepts to more than ten thousand people. He regularly conferred the bodhisattva precepts upon the seven assemblies, fed ghosts and spirits at night, released living creatures in the morning, and during the six periods of the day scattered flowers and circumambulated, reciting in his spare time thirteen thousand copies of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka. He composed the Zongjing lu in one hundred fascicles, and his poems, gāthās, rhapsodies, and verses totaled some ten million words. When the King of Goryeo read the Master's teachings, he dispatched an envoy bearing a letter to declare himself a disciple, offering a gold-threaded kāṣāya, a rosary of purple crystal, a golden water-pitcher, and other gifts. Thirty-six monks from that kingdom personally received the seal of transmission from him, returned home, and each transformed a region. On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month of the eighth year of Kaibao, the yihai year, during the chen hour, he burned incense, informed the assembly, sat cross-legged, and passed away. His age was seventy-two; his monastic seniority was forty-two. The following year, a stūpa was built on Mount Daci. Emperor Taizong of the Song bestowed a plaque [on the monastery] reading Shouning Chan Cloister.
18.23
(6) Qian Chu, Grand Commander-in-Chief of All under Heaven and King of the State of Wu-Yue, wrote a preface to the Zongjing lu, which reads: "Considering the teachings within the realm, there are three: rectifying ruler and minister, fostering affection between father and son, and enriching human relations—Confucianism is our teacher in this. Silent and empty, beyond sight and hearing, ascending from the subtle to the vacuous, and culminating in riding the wind and steering the light; when a ruler attains it, he establishes [virtue] firmly and unshakably; when the people attain it, their blessings are prolonged without end—Daoism is the teacher of Confucianism. The Four Noble Truths and the twelve links of dependent origination, the three knowledges and the eight liberations; practiced constantly without forgetting and cultivated daily to achieve them, once one ascends the ground of fruition, one eternally reaches the true and eternal—Buddhism is the ultimate source of Daoism. Yet these three teachings all cultivate from the mind. The Record of the Mirror of the Mind is composed by Chan Master Zhijue. Spanning a hundred fascicles, it encompasses all subtle words; what was spoken from the golden mouth of our Buddha fills the ocean treasury. It is surely meant to guide later students: with the Master's wisdom and eloquence, he expounded the myriad phenomena and clarified the one mind, swimming across the boundaries of Chan like a river, spreading clouds among blessings. Were one to enumerate and extol its greatness, no record could exhaust it. I compose this brief preface merely to praise its promulgation."
18.24
(7) Yang Jie, Court Gentleman for Summoning to the Left, Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites, and Commandant of the Army under the Song, composed a postface to the Zongjing lu, which states: "The true words of all Buddhas take the mind as their ultimate source; sentient beings' faith in the Way takes that ultimate source as their mirror. The realm of sentient beings is itself the realm of all Buddhas: through delusion they become sentient beings. The mind of all Buddhas is the mind of sentient beings: through awakening they become all Buddhas. The mind is like a bright mirror in which the myriad images appear distinct; the Buddhas and sentient beings are like reflections. Nirvāṇa and saṃsāra are both arbitrary designations. The substance of the mirror is tranquil yet constantly reflects; the light of the mirror reflects yet is constantly tranquil. Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction. At the beginning of the dynasty, Chan Master Zhijue Yanshou of Yongming in Wu-Yue realized the supreme vehicle and understood the primary truth. He thoroughly investigated the scriptural canon and deeply penetrated the Chan school; observing the vinaya rules, he widely practiced beneficence. Because he read the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra which states: 'The Buddha's words take the mind as their ultimate source,' he composed this record. Raising doubts where there was no doubt, posing questions where none had been asked, he was an uninvited friend, a truly great guide. He cast forth the jewels of the dragon palace, bestowing them equally on all beings; he broke through the barrier of the ancestral gate, universally admitting those who came. Raising their eyes to look, whatever desire they had was fulfilled; reaching out their hands to pick, whatever illness they had was healed. Sweeping away heterodox views, he pointed back to the wondrous source: this is what is meant by taking the one mind as the ultimate source and illuminating the myriad phenomena as a mirror. If one takes the Buddha as a mirror, one understands that morality, absorption, and wisdom are the ultimate source of all goods, and that humans, gods, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Tathāgatas all proceed from this, and all who are good believe and accept it. If one takes sentient beings as a mirror, one understands that greed, anger, and ignorance are the ultimate source of all evils, and that asuras, animals, hells, and hungry ghosts all proceed from this, and all who are evil dread and fear it. Though good and evil differ, their ultimate source is the same. Turning back to mirror one's own mind, one knows that its spiritual radiance is serene and tranquil, vast and thoroughly pervasive, asaṃskṛta, without abode, without cultivation, without realization, with no dust that can defile it, and no grime that can be polished away: it is the ultimate source of all phenomena. Originally, King Zhongyi of Wu-Yue had it transcribed and kept secret in the scriptural repository. By the Yuanfeng era, the Emperor's younger brother, King Duanxian of Wei, carved printing blocks and distributed copies to renowned monasteries, yet scholars across the four quarters still rarely encountered a copy. In the summer of the sixth year of the Yuanyou era, while traveling to the Fayun Bodhimaṇḍa in the Eastern Capital, I first saw the new Qiantang edition, which was especially refined and thorough. It came about because Xu Sigong of Wu invited Chan Master Fayong, together with the venerable Fazhen of Yongle and several other elders, to collect all copies, and using the scriptures of the triyāna and the teachings of the sages and worthies, collate and complete it to circulate it widely, bringing immense benefit. Knowing that I took delight in reading this record, Fayong requested me to write a preface."
18.25
(8. Bingzi) Emperor Taizong, Jiong (originally named Kuangyi, the third son of Xuanzu. At the Chenqiao mutiny under Taizu, he had admonished his elder brother to command the army not to plunder or take captives, thereby keeping the people safe; he passed away in the Wansui Hall in the third month of the third year of Zhidao, and was buried in the Yongxi Mausoleum at the age of fifty-nine), changed the reign era to Taiping-xingguo. (It was decreed that the scriptural examination for monks and nuns be reinstated.)
18.26
King Zhongyi of Wu-Yue, Qian Chu, submitted his kingdom as a vassal to the Song. (In the eleventh month of this year, there was a total solar eclipse.)
18.27
(9. Wuyin) The Emperor composed the 'Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Newly Translated Tripiṭaka' and bestowed it upon the Indian Tripiṭaka Master Tianxizai; the text reads: "How magnificent is the teaching of our Buddha! It guides and transforms the deluded masses and expounds the essential nature; vast and eloquently argued, the eminent and talented cannot fathom its purport; subtly and wondrously spoken, how could the mediocre and foolish measure its source? Its principles are profound and mysterious, its true emptiness unfathomable; encompassing myriad forms, its analogies are limitless. It gathers the guidelines of the Dharma web and unfolds the boundless correct teaching; it plucks beings from the sea of suffering of the four modes of birth and translates the secret words of the Tripiṭaka. Heaven and Earth transform through yin and yang; the sun and moon wax and wane through cold and heat. On a grand scale, it speaks of good and evil; in fine detail, it compares them to the sands of the Ganges. The manifold kinds of sentient beings cannot be exhaustively described. If one looks into the Semblance Dharma, it is like a shadow following the form; transcending the six passions, it endures forever; passing through a thousand kalpas, it can last long. Mount Sumeru is stored within a mustard seed; the Tathāgata walks at ease through the boundless. Bodhidharma came from the west to transmit the Dharma to the eastern land, propagating the wondrous principle and guiding [beings] toward the ultimate goal. The other shore of bodhi; the arising and ceasing of the river of desire: its practice operates in the evil realms of the five defilements, rescuing the drowning from the paths of the three karmas. Its scriptures are handed down to the world without end; its Way is impartial and perpetually tranquil. The palm leaves of the Snow Mountains gleam like silver terraces dazzling the eye; the mist and vines of the passing years arise far from the fragrant realm. Lofty, it is hard to fathom; distant and deep, it is difficult to name. Thus its Way assists the ten stages of sages, and its virtue covers the three grades of worthies. The ultimate Way opens from the Qian primordial; the myriad wonders arise from the Great Change. Sorting through the multitude of forms and chiseling through murky ignorance, it cuts off right and wrong and enlightens this dull blindness. There are western masters such as Tianxizai who constantly maintain the four patiences and have early awakened to the three voids; translating the true teachings on palm leaves, they continue the holy teachings of gods and humans. The fragrant precedents are reopened, meeting with the times; they enrich the five musical tones in literature and harmonize the four seasons in poetic meters. Imposing in deportment, majestic in splendor, after long kalpas of darkness and sinking, the light shines anew; the profound gate is made manifest, establishing standards to broadly illuminate the wondrous Dharma, and pure tones soar in the pure realm. Benefiting sentient beings, all ascend the shore of awakening; unobstructed, they rescue the weary and weak. Unseen, their compassion extends far beyond mundane things; softening the obstinate and greedy, they enlighten the dull and foolish. When expounding the Hīnayāna, the śrāvakas conform to their decorum; when discussing the Mahāyāna, the truly awakened establish its nature. Sentient beings awaken and receive blessings; the missing parts of the scriptural basket are revived. Though the illusions of the path of delusion and the deep metaphor of the burning house are set forth in these teachings, those who do not understand are many. When wholesome thoughts arise, the measure of blessings silently arrives; when evil karma flares up, excellent conditions all fall away. Taming the four assemblies and accumulating practices throughout the ten directions, they shower rains of flowers upon the golden wheel and protect the Ganges River within the jade palace. The wind of the Highest Heaven cannot destroy it; the water of the boundless cannot sweep it away. Serene and tranquil, with wisdom completely luminous, pure, and clean; empty of nature and undefiled, it is the cause and condition for liberation into the true mark. Through it, afflictions can be removed from the field of the mind; through it, cool tranquility can be attained across the universe. We, regrettably, are not broadly learned and are only slightly familiar with Buddhist scriptures; how can We be fit to write a preface to show to future generations? It is like a firefly's light or a tiny torch unable to compare with the bright sun, or using a tiny ladle to measure the ocean—how could it plumb the deep abyss?"
18.28
(Jimao) Northern Han surrendered; [its ruler] was enfeoffed as Duke of Pengcheng. (The examinations for monks were suspended.)
18.29
(10) The śramaṇa Zanning accompanied King Qian in submitting to the Song. His family name was Gao, and his ancestors were people of Bohai. During the Tianyou era of the Tang, he was born at the Jin'e Villa in Deqing, Wuxing. He entered pravrajyā at Xiangfu in Hangzhou, studied the Nanshan Vinaya, and wrote works on the vinaya; people of the time called him the 'Tiger of the Vinaya'. His literary talent flourished day by day, and his reputation grew increasingly prominent. The sons and clan members of King Wusu all admired and esteemed him, appointing him as Controller of Monks for the Two Zhe Circuits and bestowing on him the title Mingyi Zongwen. In the third year of the Taiping-xingguo era, Emperor Taizong heard of his name, summoned him for an audience in the Zifu Hall, and engaged him in prolonged questioning for days, changing his bestowed title to Tonghui. [The Emperor] decreed that he compile the thirty fascicles of the Great Song Biographies of Eminent Monks, and ordered him to write the one hundred fascicles of the Deeds of the Sages and Worthies of the Three Teachings. At first, he was appointed Rector for Expounding Scriptures of the Left Street and oversaw Buddhist affairs of the Western Capital. In the beginning of the Xianping era, he was promoted to Registrar of Monks of the Right Street. He also authored the Neidian ji in one hundred and fifty fascicles and the Waixue ji in forty-nine fascicles. Hanlin Academician Wang Yucheng composed a preface to his collected works, praising him to the utmost. In the second year of Zhidao, he passed into quiescence and was buried in the Longjing Valley.
18.30
(11. Renwu [982 CE]) Ke E of Shuzhou encountered an extraordinary monk at Wansui Shan, who pointed with his staff at the roots of a pine tree and bade E dig there. He obtained an auspicious stone with seal script, which prophesied that the sacred dynasty's fortune would be boundless. E presented the stone to the capital, and an imperial decree ordered it stored in the secret storehouse. On another day, the Great Being Baozhi manifested within the forbidden palace. The Emperor personally heard his parting words, sent sacrifices to Zhongshan, and bestowed upon him the title Bodhisattva Daolin Zhenjue. In this year, an imperial decree established the Institute for the Translation of Sutras and the Propagation of the Dharma in the Eastern Capital, following the precedent of the Tang dynasty. Grand Councillors served as polishers of the translation texts. Offices were established and duties distributed: Tianxizai (Devaśāntika), Fatian (Dharmadeva), and Shihu (Dānapāla) of Milin Temple in the Jālandhara kingdom of Central India in the West translated sutras. The Emperor composed the imperial preface. An imperial decree ordered a general ordination of postulants throughout the empire as monks, not restricted by the standard quotas of the authorities. From his accession to this time, in total over 170,000 people were ordained.
18.31
(12 [982 CE]) In the fifth month of this year, Prince Tingmei of Qin was banished, demoted to Duke of Fuling County, and settled in Fangzhou. The Emperor had once consulted Zhao Pu regarding the transmission of the realm. Pu said, 'Taizu was already mistaken; how could Your Majesty permit another mistake?' The reason Tingmei met with blame was entirely Pu's doing. Lu Duoxun held power at court and constantly disparaged Zhao Pu. Pu resented him, so he arrived at court to observe developments, memorialising that Duoxun said that after Your Majesty's ten thousand years [of life], the realm should go to the Prince of Wei, and the Prince of Wei should return it to the Prince of Qin; Your Majesty ought not establish a Crown Prince. Both were indicted for high treason; Duoxun was spared death and dismissed to the countryside, which everyone considered an injustice. The Prince of [Wei was actually Taizu's younger son Defang]. The Emperor subsequently moved the two princes south, and soon killed them. Suddenly one day, Zhao Pu saw a ball of fire in the air, with a lamb rolling atop it. He bowed and said, 'It is Pu's crime.' In an instant the light vanished, and he fell ill. He ordered an occult master to pray for his illness, who saw in the smoke and flames a red plaque written with gold characters: 'Prince Ting[mei of Qin and Prince] of Wei.' Pu apologized and said, 'Pu speaks, but it was not his fault.' Someone answered him: 'Empress Dowager Du left testamentary instructions, and the Prime Minister wrote the oath-text, storing it in the golden coffer in the stone chamber. Yet you were the first to initiate Duoxun's trial, causing the Sovereign to kill a brother and a nephew. How can it be said you are blameless?' Shortly thereafter, Pu died.
18.32
(Guiwei [983 CE]) Emperor Shengzong of Liao, named Longxu, ascended the throne and changed the reign title to Tonghe.
18.33
(Jiashen [984 CE]) The reign title was changed to Yongxi. An imperial order was issued to repair the Pagoda of Sizhou. (In the tenth month, the hermit Chen Tuan was summoned by imperial decree and bestowed the title Master Xiyi. Soon after, he requested permission to return to Huashan.)
18.34
(Yiyou [985 CE]) In the second month, an imperial decree forbade the further establishment of Buddhist and Daoist temples.
18.35
(13. Dinghai [987 CE]) Chan Master Chengyuan of Xianglin Monastery in Qingcheng, Yizhou, manifested nirvāṇa. The master was born to the Shangguan clan of Mianzhu County, Hanzhou, Xichuan. He was a Dharma heir of Chan Master Yunmen Wenyan. Initially he resided at Tianwang Cloister of Yingxiang Temple in Daojiang County, Xichuan, which was known at the time as the Crystal Palace. A monk asked, 'Why does delicious ghee turn into poison?' He replied, 'Daojiang paper.' He asked, 'What is it like when, seeing form, one immediately sees mind?' He replied, 'Where have you just been?' He asked, 'What is it like when both mind and mirror are forgotten?' He replied, 'Sleeping sitting up with open eyes.' The master again resided at Xianglin. A monk asked, 'What is the intended meaning of hiding one's body within the Northern Dipper?' He replied, 'The moon is like a curved bow; little rain and much wind.' He asked, 'What is the single lamp within the chamber?' He replied, 'Three people confirming a tortoise to be a softshell turtle.' He asked, 'What is the matter under the patch-robe?' He replied, 'In the twelfth month, fire burns the mountain.' He asked, 'The great assembly has gathered like clouds; please, Master, make a demonstration.' He replied, 'Three does not wait for two.' He asked, 'What is the student's ongoing business?' He replied, 'Precisely so.' He asked, 'What is the mysterious?' He replied, 'Coming today, going tomorrow.' He asked, 'What is the mystery within the mystery?' He replied, 'On the long continuous platform.' (The rest is as in the Chuandeng lu.)
18.36
(Wuzi [988 CE]) The reign title was changed to Duangong. (Li Jifeng of Western Xia was granted the surname and name Zhao Baozhong, and made Commissioner of the Five Prefectures of Yin, Xia, Sui, You, and Mi.)
18.37
(Gengyin [990 CE]) The reign title was changed to Chunhua. (An imperial decree ordered the compilation of the Deeds of the Sages and Worthies of the Three Teachings. Participant in Political Affairs Su Yijian edited it, while Sangha Director Zanning and the Daoist Han Dechun participated.)
18.38
(14. Xinmao [991 CE]) The Venerable of Nan'an Cliff manifested nirvāṇa. The master's taboo name was Ziyan; he was born into the Zheng family, a native of Tong'an in Quanzhou. At the age of eleven he renounced the family, relying on the monk Qiyuan of Woxiang Temple in Jianxing as a postulant. At seventeen he became a fully ordained monk. Traveling on pilgrimage, he reached Luling and visited the senior elder Yunhuo of Xifeng. Huo was an eminent disciple of Chan Master Qingliang Zhiming and a true grandson in the lineage of Yunmen. Taizong once summoned him by decree to the court, lodging him in the northern imperial garden lodges, where he practiced meditation for a long time; [Taizong] earnestly besought him to return to the mountain. The master relied on him for five years and intimately tallied with the mind-Dharma. Taking his leave, he crossed the Huairen River. There was a flood dragon that frequently caused harm to travelers; the master spoke a verse to admonish it, and the flood dragon promptly left. Passing the Huangyang Gorge, he was thirsty and wished to drink. It happened that the stream had run dry; the master struck it with his staff and obtained water. The village elders gathered to watch, joining their palms in reverence, regarding him as divine; the master slipped away. At Huangshi Cliff in Wuping there were many snakes and tigers; the master stayed there, and the snakes and tigers could be commanded by him. People far and wide heard of this and were greatly astonished, vying to serve him reverently. When the people prayed for rain or clear skies, sons or daughters, they obtained them according to their desires as soon as the thought arose. Every household painted his image and inevitably offered sacrifices before eating and drinking. A monk from a neighboring temple died, and the master, not knowing that by law he should notify the authorities, simply cremated him himself. The officials pursued and arrested him. Sitting in the hall, they questioned him about the circumstances; he did not reply, but asked for paper and composed a verse: 'A rustic monk beyond the clouds has died, / A rustic monk beyond the clouds has burned. / The two phenomena do not conflict; / The path to bodhi is not far.' The calligraphy was vigorous and steep, like large seal characters. The officials were furious, considering him mad and insolent towards them; they took away his saṃghāṭī and exposed him to the sun. Once released, he covered his head with a cloth cap and dressed in white garments. Regarding the Dharma the master expounded based on roots, half the listeners doubted and half believed; consequently, he did not speak for six years. The cliff temple was required to pay a cloth tax, but the people substituted for it annually. The master could not bear this, broke a slip of paper, and deposited the cloth with the officials, praying for exemption. The officials Zhang Ye and Ouyang Cheng looked at each other in great fury, pursued him, and interrogated him; he did not reply. Thinking that his cap was made radiant by demonic fire, he again asked for paper and composed a verse: 'All powers of compassion and forbearance / Are born entirely from my mind. / If royal officials constrain them, / The Buddha-Dharma will not circulate.' From then on, he spoke occasionally. He left to travel to Pangu Shan in Nankang. Previously, the Venerable Polipo (Vajrabodhi?) from the Western Heavens had surveyed the site and prophesied, 'Afterwards, a white-robed bodhisattva will come to make this mountain flourish.' The master lived there for three years and completed the monastery. His extraordinary deeds were extremely renowned, as recorded in his principal biography. A report was submitted to the throne; an imperial decree praised him. Grand Councilor Wang Qinruo, Participant in Political Affairs Zhao Anren, and those below all presented poems. The master never looked at them, merely placing them on the ceiling rafters. On the sixth day of the first month of Chunhua, xinmao [991 CE], he gathered the assembly and said, 'I was born on this day; now is the very time.' Thereupon, he lay down on his right side and transformed. He lived through eighty-two years and had sat sixty-five summers. He was posthumously named Chan Master Dingguang Yuanying.
18.39
(15 [991 CE]) Chan Master Nian of Shoushan was a native of Laizhou, born to the Di clan. In his youth he renounced the family and was ordained at Nanchan Temple. In character he was concise and grave, possessing refined discernment; he practiced dhūta austerities and daily recited the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka. The monastery feared and respected him, calling him 'Nian of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka.' Arriving at Fengxue, he followed the assembly in working and resting without interrogating or inquiring. However, he always harboured a doubt that there was a separate transmission outside the teachings, though he did not speak of it. Fengxue constantly recalled Dayang's prophecy: 'The Linji school will cease at Feng.' Fearing that it would fall upon him, he carefully observed those seated below who could bear the Dharma-way, and found none like Nian. One day Fengxue ascended the hall and said, 'The Bhagavān looked upon Kāśyapa with blue lotus eyes. Right at that very moment, tell me, what was said? If you say he spoke without speaking, this again buries the ancient sage.' Before he finished speaking, Nian immediately stepped down. The attendant stepped forward and said, 'Nian of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka left without saying anything—why?' Fengxue said, 'He understands.' The next day Nian and Senior Monk Zhen both went to the Abbot's quarters. Fengxue asked Zhen, 'What is the Bhagavān speaking without speaking?' Zhen said, 'A wood pigeon cries atop the tree.' Fengxue said, 'What is the use of creating so much foolish merit?' He then turned to Nian and said, 'How about you?' The master said, 'Moving one's demeanor manifests the ancient path; / One does not fall into steep mechanics.' Fengxue said to Zhen, 'Why do you not look at his words?' Another day, [Fengxue] ascended the hall and looked at the assembly; Nian immediately stepped down, and Fengxue returned to the Abbot's quarters. From then on, his reputation was esteemed across the various regions. Shoushan was in a desolate and remote place outside the city of Ruzhou, and Nian dwelled there for the rest of his life. Those who entered his gate were all refined and experienced patch-robed monks of the monastery; Nian would certainly test them, and those who remained were merely twenty or so. When the world praised the pinnacle of Dharma seats, it inevitably pointed to Shoushan. He once asked a monk, 'Try saying something about the matter that is not received through another's recommendation.' The monk immediately shouted. Nian said, 'I ask you courteously; why this outburst of anger?' The monk shouted again. Nian said, 'Today, letting you off will not do.' The monk hesitated; Nian shouted at him. He once said to the assembly: 'The Buddha-Dharma does not have much to it; it is simply that you people have insufficient faith in yourselves. If you can have faith in yourselves, even if a thousand sages were to appear, they could do nothing to you. Why? Because before your faces, there is no place to open the mouth. It is merely because you have insufficient faith in yourselves and run outside seeking, that you have arrived here. Even if Śākyamuni Buddha were here, he too would give you thirty blows of the staff. Even so, what principle do beginners and later learners rely upon? Let me ask you all: have you attained such a state yet?' After a long pause, he said, 'Only when you have attained such a state can it be called having settled the matter.' He once composed a verse on the essentials of the lineage: 'Alas, clumsy young master! / His ingenuity is known to none. / Breaking through the Fenglin Pass, / He puts on boots and stands upon the water. / Alas, clever maid! / Casting the shuttle, she knows not how to weave. / Look at those cockfighters— / They do not even recognise a water buffalo.' On the fourth day of the twelfth month of the third year of Chunhua [992 CE], he detained the monks to spend the end of the year, composing a verse: 'This year I am aged sixty-seven; / Old age and illness companion each other as I pass the days. / Today, note down next year's affairs; / Next year, remember today's date.' Arriving at the fourth day of the twelfth month of the following year, he ascended the hall, took leave of the assembly, and said: 'All of you vainly rush around; / Crossing how many Ganges? / Guanyin points to Maitreya; / Mañjuśrī can do nothing.' After a long pause, he said: 'A world of white silver, a body of golden colour; / Sentient and insentient share the single reality. / When light and dark are exhausted, neither shines; / After noon, the sun wheel reveals the entire body.' After noon, he serenely passed away. A stupa was erected at Shoushan. His direct heir was Chan Master Zhao of Fenyang. (The rest is as in his principal biography.)
First 39 of 98 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 佛祖歷代通載 — Classical Chinese