釋氏稽古略 4.170

4.170

Chan Master Junu of Yuantong Chan Monastery on Mount Lu, Jiangzhou Circuit, in the Hudong Circuit of Jiangxi, was a native of Dongchuan in Zizhou from the Jian family. Born extraordinary and heroic, he could recite texts after a single reading. At age eleven, he left home. At seventeen, he passed the examination on the Lotus Sūtra, was ordained, and accomplished his training in the lecture halls. Encountering a Chan follower traveling south who urged him to consult masters, he traveled extensively throughout Jing and Chu, yet ultimately attained nothing. Arriving at the place of Chan Master Rong of Xiangzhou, he secretly accorded with the mind-essential. He remained for ten years, then traveled to Mount Lu, his reputation in the Way growing daily. Cheng Shimeng, Governor of Nankang, invited him to reside at Guizong and then transfer to Yuantong. At this point, though summoned by imperial decree to Jingyin, he did not rise, recommending Huailian to take his place. The world praised Nu for being a judge of men. When elderly, he retired to live at Baoji Cliff. On the eighth day of the second month in the fourth year of the Xining era of Emperor Shenzong, he passed away sitting upright without illness, at the age of sixty-two, having been a monk for forty-five years. A stūpa was built for him in the cliff basin. When the master sat in meditation, his hands were at first crossed naturally; toward midnight, they would gradually rise to his chest. His attendant monks would always watch for this to know the approach of dawn. The master was the dharma heir of Chan Master Zirong of Xiangzhou; Rong was the heir of Zhimenzhu; Zhu was the heir of Xianglin Yuan; Yuan was the heir of Chan Master Yunmen Yan (Sengbao zhuan).