釋鑑稽古略續集 2.15

2.15

無盡禪師　諱祖燈。字無盡。族王氏。四明人。父好謙甞書華嚴。五色設利見於筆端。師年方幼乃曰。般若之驗一至於斯乎。出家郡之天寧。依僧良偉事住持東白明公。受戒於開元奎公。參日溪泳公。發明大事。復參中峯方山無見斗巖諸公。印其所證。後至天台上雲峯勝地。卓錫其中至終身焉。師與其徒以苦行自持。冬一裘夏一葛。朝夕飯一盂。影不出山。人多化之。荊棘之區變為寶坊。上雲之境為諸禪林之最。師天性孝謹。迎母董氏養膳以終。師是年示疾。二月八日祈眾曰。色身無常早求證悟。時至吾將行焉。侍者乞偈乃書曰。生滅與去來。本是如來藏。拶破五須彌。廓然無背向。端坐而逝。壽七十八。臘五十七。荼毘舍利無數。塔於雲峯之左。

Chan Master Wujin: taboo name Zudeng, style name Wujin, of the Wang lineage, was a native of Siming. His father, Haoqian, once copied the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra*, and five-colored śarīras appeared at the tip of his brush. When the master was still young, he said: "Has the verification of prajñā reached such a point as this?" He left home at Tianning in his home commandery, relying on the monk Liangwei and serving the abbot Master Dongbai Ming. He received the precepts under Master Kui of Kaiyuan. He called upon Master Rixi Yong, clarifying the great matter. He further visited masters such as Zhongfeng, Fangshan, Wujian, and Douyan, who all sealed what he had realized. Later, he arrived at the scenic spot of Shangyun Peak on Mount Tiantai and planted his staff there, remaining for the rest of his life. The master and his disciples maintained themselves through ascetic practices: one fur coat in winter, one hemp garment in summer; one bowl of meal morning and evening; his shadow never left the mountain. Many people were transformed by him. The land of brambles was turned into a precious monastery; the domain of Shangyun became foremost among the various Chan monasteries. The master was filial and prudent by nature, welcoming his mother, Lady Dong, and providing her with nourishment until her end. In this year, the master manifested illness. On the eighth day of the second month, he exhorted the assembly: "The physical body is impermanent; seek realization early. When the time comes, I shall depart." When the attendant requested a gāthā, he wrote: / "Arising and ceasing, departing and coming, / Are fundamentally the Tathāgatagarbha. / Crushing the five Mount Sumerus, / Vast and open, with neither front nor back." / He sat upright and passed away. His age was seventy-eight, and his monastic age was fifty-seven. Cremation yielded countless śarīras. A stupa was built to the left of Yun Peak.