釋氏稽古略 4.133

4.133

Chan Master Shanzhao of the Taizi Monastery in Fenyang was the fifth generation under Linji. He was a son of the Yu family of Taiyuan. He shaved his hair and received full ordination, and holding his staff, he wandered widely. Wherever he arrived, he lingered little, probing and inspiring according to circumstances. He visited seventy-one spiritual friends in succession. Later, he saw Chan Master Nian of Shoushan, and attained an accord with the abstruse purport. He traveled through the Heng and Xiang regions, and between the Xiang and Mian rivers. Frequently, prefectural governors sought to invite him to famous monasteries; through a total of eight invitations, the master did not go to any. When Shoushan passed away, the monastics and laity of Xihe dispatched the monk Qicong to welcome and invite him to take up the abbacy. The master closed his gate and lay down in repose. Qicong pushed open the door and entered, rebuking him: 'The Buddha Dharma is a great matter; calm withdrawal is a minor scruple. Our late teacher has departed this world—what time is it now that you wish to sleep peacefully?' The master said: 'Had it not been for you, I would not have heard these words.' He then accepted the invitation. Arriving at the second year of Tiansheng, Marquis Li, the Prefect of Longde Superior Prefecture, invited the master to reside at Chengtian Monastery. The messenger went back and forth three times, but the master did not arise. When the messenger arrived again to present the letter, the master said: 'Being old and ill, I already do not leave the mountain. If I am to go, we must go one before the other.' The messenger said: 'It is entirely for the master to choose.' The master ordered food prepared, and speeding his packing, he said: 'I shall go first!' He laid down his chopsticks and was transformed. They cremated him, collected his relics, and built a stupa. The master was a Dharma heir of Chan Master Nian of Shoushan. The teaching called 'The Ten Wisdoms Identical with the Real' consists of the master's words (from his primary biography).