釋氏稽古略 4.253

4.253

續燈錄　秋八月十五日汴京法雲寺佛國禪師。名惟白。集禪派宗師機緣。為續燈錄三十卷進呈。帝親為製序以賜之。其文曰。昔釋迦如來之出世也受然燈佛記。生淨梵王家。分手指乎天地。而其機也已露。遊門觀於老死。而幻緣也頓寂。及乎唱道雞園騰芳鷲嶺。無邊剎境遂現於一毫之端。大千經卷畢出於微塵之表。西被竺土。東流震旦。編葉而書。則一時聖教。雖傳於慶喜。拈花而笑。則正法眼藏。獨付於飲光。自達磨西來實為初祖。其傳四七二三而至於曹溪。於是雙林之道逾光。一滴之流愈廣。自南嶽青原而下分為五宗。各擅門風。應機酧對雖建立不同。而會歸則一莫不箭鋒相拄鞭影齊施。接物利生啟悟多矣。源派廣迤。枝葉扶疎。而臨濟雲門二宗遂獨盛於天下。朕膺天寶命。紹國大統。恭惟藝祖闢度門於緜寓。太宗闡祕義於敷天。章聖傳燈於景德。永昭廣燈於天聖。皆宏暢真風協助神化。以成無為之治者也。於皇神考尤嚮空宗。元豐三年。詔於大相國寺剏二大禪剎。闢慧林於東序。建智海於西廡。壬戌之歲。以越國大長公主及集慶軍節度觀察留後附馬都尉張敦禮之請復建法雲禪寺於國之南。於是祖席光輝。叢林鼎盛。天下襲方袍慕禪悅者雲集於上都矣。今敦禮。以其寺住持僧佛國禪師惟白探最上乘了第一義。屢入中禁三登高座。宣揚妙旨良愜至懷。昔能仁說法華經。放眉間白毫相。光照東方萬八千世界。而彌勒發問。文殊決疑。以謂日月燈明佛本光瑞如此。持是經者妙光法師。得其證者普明如來。今續燈之名。蓋燈燈相續光光相入義有在於是矣。噫圓證覺海本含裹於十方。生滅空漚遂沈淪於三有。因明立所由塵發智。識妄相仍轉入諸趣。良可悲也。若回光內照發真歸元則是錄也。直指性宗。單傳心印。可得於眉睫。可薦於言前。舉手而擎妙喜世界。彈指而現莊嚴樓閣神。通妙用真不可思議者也。嘉於有眾。締此勝緣。俱離迷津。偕之覺路。斯朕之志也。

The Continued Lamp Record: In autumn, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, Chan Master Foguo of Fayun Monastery in Bianjing, named Weibai, compiled the encounters and teachings of the masters of the Chan lineage into the Continued Lamp Record in thirty fascicles and presented it to the throne. The Emperor personally composed a preface to bestow upon it. The text read: "Anciently, when the Śākyamuni Tathāgata appeared in the world, he received the prophecy from Dīpaṃkara Buddha. Born into the royal house of Śuddhodana, he pointed one hand to heaven and the other to earth, and his dynamic capacity was already disclosed. Strolling through the city gates, he observed old age and death, and the illusory conditions were suddenly stilled. When he proclaimed the Way at the Deer Park and spread fragrance at Vulture Peak, boundless buddha-fields were manifested at the tip of a single hair, and sūtra scrolls of the chiliocosm all emerged from within a single mote of dust. Westward it covered the land of India; eastward it flowed into China. Inscribed upon bound leaves, the holy teachings of a whole period were transmitted by Ānanda; holding up a flower and smiling, the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye was entrusted solely to Mahākāśyapa. Since Bodhidharma came from the west, he was indeed the First Patriarch; its transmission proceeded through four times seven [Indian masters] and two times three [Chinese masters] down to Caoxi. Thereupon, the Way of the Twin Trees grew ever more radiant, and the current of the single drop spread ever wider. From Nanyue and Qingyuan downward, it divided into five lineages, each prevailing in its own style. Responding to capacities and exchanging questions and answers, though their establishments differed, their ultimate return was one; without exception, their arrowheads met point to point and their whip shadows fell simultaneously, transforming beings and benefiting living creatures, inspiring countless awakenings. The streams and lineages spread broadly, and the branches and leaves flourished profusely; thus the two lineages of Linji and Yunmen flourished uniquely throughout the empire. I have received the precious mandate of Heaven and succeeded to the great succession of the realm. Reverently I reflect that the dynastic Founder opened the gate of deliverance throughout the boundless realm; Taizong elucidated the secret meaning across the entire world; Zhenzong compiled the Transmission of the Lamp in the Jingde reign era; and Renzong expanded the Extended Lamp Record in the Tiansheng reign era. All broadly expounded the true tradition and assisted the divine transformation to accomplish the governance of non-action. My august deceased father, Shenzong, especially turned toward the school of Emptiness. In the third year of the Yuanfeng reign era, an imperial decree ordered the founding of two great Chan monasteries at Da Xiangguo Monastery: opening Huilin in the eastern gallery and establishing Zhihai in the western colonnade. In the renxu year, upon the petition of the Grand Princess of Yue and Zhang Dunli, Regional Governor-Observation Commissioner of the Jiqing Army and Imperial Son-in-law Commandant, the Fayun Chan Monastery was additionally established south of the capital. Thereupon, the patriarchal seats shone brilliantly, the monastic groves flourished exceedingly, and those throughout the empire who donned the square robes and longed for the joy of Chan gathered like clouds in the superior capital. Now Dunli, because the abbot of this monastery, Chan Master Foguo Weibai, has investigated the supreme vehicle and fully realized the ultimate truth, has repeatedly entered the inner palace and thrice ascended the high seat, expounding the wondrous purport to the great satisfaction of My ultimate aspirations. In antiquity, when the Capable and Benevolent One preached the Lotus Sūtra, he emitted a light from the white curl between his eyebrows, illuminating eighteen thousand worlds in the east; then Maitreya raised questions and Mañjuśrī resolved doubts, considering that the original auspicious light of the Sun-Moon-Lamp-Brightness Buddha was just like this. The one who upheld this sūtra was Dharma Master Puṇyapradīpa (Miaoguang), and the one who attained its realization was Tathāgata Samantaprabhāsa (Puming). Now, the name 'Continued Lamp' precisely derives its meaning from the lamps succeeding one another and their lights interpenetrating. Alas! The ocean of awakening of perfect realization fundamentally encompasses the ten directions, yet the empty bubbles of arising and ceasing thereupon sink and drown in the three realms of existence. Because of clarity, objects of cognition are posited; from dust, defiled intelligence is engendered; consciousness and delusive appearances perpetuate one another, revolving through the various destinies. This is truly lamentable! If one turns the light inward to illuminate oneself, revealing the true and returning to the source, then this record directly points to the school of nature and solely transmits the mind seal; it can be grasped right before one's brows, and recognized prior to words. Lifting a hand, it holds aloft the world of Abhirati; snapping fingers, it manifests the wondrous towers of ornamentation; its spiritual penetrations and wondrous functions are truly inconceivable. I rejoice in the multitude of beings forging this superior affinity, that all may leave the ford of delusion and together embark upon the road of awakening. This is My aspiration."