釋氏稽古略 3.101

3.101

北宗秀禪師　諱神秀。五祖旁出之嗣。生開封李氏。少業儒。博綜多聞忽思出家。至蘄州雙峯寺遇五祖。乃嘆服而事之。樵汲供役以求其道。祖乃度之。五祖入滅。師住江陵當陽山。太后聞之召至都下。同慧安國師於內道場供養。特加欽禮。命於當陽山置度門寺以旌其德。中宗既立。尤加禮重。大臣張說甞聞法要執弟子禮。師示眾曰。一切佛法自心本有。將心外求捨父逃走。中宗神龍二年二月入滅於東都天宮寺。諡大通禪師。勅葬龍門。葬日給羽儀鹵簿。帝送至便橋。勅中書令張說為製碑文。師生於隋末百有餘歲。僧臘八十。時岐王範及徵君盧鴻一皆勒碑製誄。舊唐書有傳。賜僧諡號自師而始。門人普寂義福等皆嗣襲師位（僧傳）。

Chan Master Xiu of the Northern School: His taboo name was Shenxiu. He was a collateral heir of the Fifth Patriarch. He was born into the Li family of Kaifeng. In his youth he practiced Confucianism, and being extensively learned and well-informed, he suddenly thought of leaving home. Reaching Shuangfeng Monastery in Qizhou, he met the Fifth Patriarch, whereupon he sighed in admiration and served him, gathering firewood and drawing water in hard labor to seek his Way. The Patriarch then ordained him. After the Fifth Patriarch passed away, the master resided on Mount Dangyang in Jiangling. When the Empress Dowager heard of him, she summoned him to the capital, providing offerings for him together with National Preceptor Hui'an in the inner bodhimaṇḍa and showing him extraordinary reverence. She ordered the establishment of Dumen Monastery on Mount Dangyang to commend his virtue. After Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, he treated him with even greater courtesy and esteem. The Grand Councilor Zhang Yue once heard the essentials of the Dharma from him and took the etiquette of a disciple. The master showed the assembly, saying, 'All Buddha-dharmas are originally present in one's own mind. To seek externally with the mind is to abandon one's father and run away.' In the second month of the second year of the Shenlong reign era of Emperor Zhongzong, he passed away at Tiangong Monastery in the Eastern Capital. He was posthumously named Chan Master Datong. By imperial order he was buried at Longmen. On the day of burial, imperial feather insignia and ceremonial regalia were provided. The Emperor escorted him as far as Bian Bridge and decreed that Zhang Yue, the President of the Secretariat, compose an inscription for the stele. The master was born at the end of the Sui and lived over one hundred years, with a monastic seniority of eighty years. At that time, Prince Fan of Qi and the summoned scholar Lu Hongyi both carved steles and composed eulogies. A biography is found in the Old Book of Tang. Bestowing posthumous titles upon monks began with this master. His disciples Puji, Yifu, and others all inherited the master's seat (Gaoseng zhuan).