釋氏稽古略 4.238

4.238

Chan Master Lingyuan Weiqing studied under Chan Master Huitang Xin at Huanglong. Qing's name as an attendant was widely known throughout the monasteries. Coming to this point in the seventh year of the Yuanyou era, Lord Zhang Wujin, serving as transport commissioner in Jiangxi, admired him. He issued orders to the magistrate of Fenning to join the various monasteries in urging him to assume the abbacy at Guanyin in Longxing. The command was extremely strict. At that time Qing was residing at Xinghua; having no other choice, he personally came forth and submitted a gāthā to decline, saying: "Without ground and without an awl, I am poor to the very bone; / Greatly ashamed to lack surplus gems to benefit living beings. / In the midst of the marketplace the gate of great giving is hard to open; / I beg to be granted the green mountains to nurse my sickly body." Imperial Historian Huang Luzhi, residing in his home district during mourning, wrote a personal note to Old Hai of Xinghua, saying: "I understand that Guanyin has a vacant seat, and the superiors are very keen on Brother Qing. If Brother Qing is determined not to go, that is also very fine. The flat peach ripens once in three thousand years; do not pick it like an apricot that has just dropped its blossoms. In this matter, Huanglong and Xinghua should also serve as conditions aiding the Way and lend a hand together; do not send someone up a tree and then pull away the ladder." (Linjian lu). Ying Zhongwen's Luohu lu praised: "The Buddhist Dharma in Jiangxi flourished during the Yuanyou era, largely because those who oversaw the monasteries had high discernment. How much more so when the courtesy shown in selecting masters was so exceptional! Lingyuan declined forcefully with a gāthā, and the Imperial Historian praised him with a note—could it be that they were speaking out of some inner agitation?"