釋氏稽古略 3.289

3.289

Elder Chen of Muzhou (modern Jiande Circuit of the Western Zhe Circuit) was named Daoming. He was a descendant of the Chen family of the Jiangnan region. In his youth he went forth from the household at Kaiyuan Monastery in his home prefecture; he observed the precepts with meticulous strictness, and his learning encompassed the Tripiṭaka. Traveling on pilgrimage, he chimed with the purport under Huangbo, who invited him to serve as head monk. The assembly invited him to reside at Guanyin Cloister, where there were regularly over a hundred disciples over several decades. From all quarters people turned to him with admiration, all addressing him as 'Elder.' Later he returned to reside in a cell at Kaiyuan Monastery, weaving rushes into sandals to support his mother; hence he was called 'Rush-Sandal Chen.' An imperial commissioner arrived and asked the Master, 'When all three gates are open, through which gate does one enter?' The Master called out, 'Minister!' The commissioner answered, 'Yes?' The Master said, 'Enter through the gate of faith.' While the Master was reading a sutra, Minister Chen Cao asked, 'What sutra is the Venerable reading?' The Master said, 'The Diamond Sutra.' The Minister said, 'Among the translations of the Six Dynasties, which one is this?' The Master held up the sutra and said, 'All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow.' Arriving at the fourth year of Qianfu, he summoned his disciples and said, 'The conditions here have ceased; I must depart.' He then sat in the lotus posture and passed away. The people of the commandery cremated him with fragrant firewood; relics fell like rain. His holy bones were gathered and a statue was molded in the monastery. He lived to ninety-eight, with seventy-six monastic years. He was the dharma heir of Chan Master Huangbo Yun; Yun was the dharma heir of Chan Master Baizhang Hai (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp).