釋氏稽古略 4.172

4.172

The Nine Bands of Fushan: Chan Master [whose] taboo name was Fayuan was a native of the Wang family in Zhengzhou. At the age of nineteen he traveled to Bingzhou (Taiyuan, now Jining Circuit) and was tonsured under the Venerable Song of Sanjiao. While serving Song as a novice (śrāmaṇera), he had an awakening. After taking full ordination, he visited Zhao of Fenyang and Sheng of Yexian; both granted him seal of approval. He once traveled through Shu with about seven or eight fellows including Daguan Ying and Xue Datou, and they were nearly caught in unforeseen disaster; the Master escaped it by his wit. Because the assembly found the Master skilled in handling official matters, they called him "Officer Yuan." He resided at Fushan in Shuzhou (now Anqing Circuit in Huaxi) and was titled Chan Master Yuanjian. Lord Ouyang Xiu, hearing of the Master's exceptional unworldliness, visited his quarters, but did not yet find him exceptional. [Ouyang] was playing go with a guest while the Master sat beside him. Master Wenzhong abruptly gathered the pieces and requested that he expound the Dharma by using go. The Master immediately ordered the drum to be beaten and ascended the seat, saying: "If one discusses this matter, it is just like two parties playing go. What does this mean? Worthy adversaries and intimate connoisseurs yield nothing when meeting face-to-face. Only if one strings together five [points], concedes three, and opens up another route, will it work. One sort merely knows how to close the door and make a living, unable to seize corners and break through borders; rigid joints and tiger's mouths are both exposed, and after the board is broken, in vain does one scheme and turn. Therefore it is said: A fat edge is easy to gain, but a thin belly is hard to seek. One thinks to make a move but often loses the follow-through; with a coarse mind, one repeatedly crashes head-on. Do not boast of being a national champion; do not vainly speak of divine immortals. Not asking about winning the board or losing the tally, tell me: when black and white are not yet divided, where does the single move fall?" After a long pause, he said: "Ever through the nineteen lines, / How many people are confused or awakened?" Wenzhong praised and sighed in admiration for a long time, and leisurely said to his colleagues: "Xiu initially suspected Chan words to be vain fabrications. Now, seeing what this elder has attained and reached through encounters with circumstances, if he were not enlightened and clear regarding the mind ground, how could he possess such wondrous purport?" Lord Fan Wenzheng invited the Master to be the founding abbot and dwell at Tianping Temple in Suzhou, Pingjiang Circuit. In his twilight years he retired to Huishengyan. Expounding the profound meaning of the Buddhas and Patriarchs, he composed the *Nine Bands*. He entered quiescence at an age of over seventy, calling himself the rustic of firewood and stone. The Master was the dharma heir of Chan Master Guisheng of Guangjiao Monastery in Yexian, Ruzhou. Sheng was the dharma heir of Nian of Shoushan; Nian was the dharma heir of Zhao of Fengxue; Zhao was the dharma heir of Yong of Nanyuan; Yong was the dharma heir of Jiang of Xinghua; Jiang was the dharma heir of Chan Master Xuan of Linji (the full text of the *Nine Bands* appears in the *Sengbao zhuan* and the stupa inscription).