釋鑑稽古略續集 2.17

2.17

虛堂禪師　諱永寧。字一源。通州人。姓朱。母李氏。投廣慧寺。兆如其為宋淮海禪師之再世也。僧錄司給牒剃度。往參太湖山無用。用以多方煆煉。成師美器執侍三年。授以遇龍即住遇池便居。初住廣德大洞之實相寺。與石溪無一全公相望。人稱二甘露門焉。後遷宜興龍池。名符懸記。欣然愜意。作室數十楹。命曰禹門興化菴。與龍神受三歸依戒。帝師降以弘教普濟之號。後於李山禪寺。詔集沙門千七百人。閱大藏經七日。師陞座敷演。天降甘露之祥。主常之天寧萬壽。輪奐鼎新。元順帝賜號本覺妙明真淨禪寺。命補天童景德禪寺大華嚴寺。悉以疾辭。有旨入覲說法於龍光殿。上悅賜金斕法衣兼以玉環。加號佛心了悟。帝師亦有絳袍毳帽之賜。奉旨函香至五臺山。大士為現祥光五道。鎮南王延師入宮。稟受大戒賜白金盂。遣衛護還龍池。募善信萬人。為萬善同歸會。瘞兵後枯骨至無萬數。時大旱。狥鄉民之求。結壇誦唄。大雨如注。歲有登。是年六月示微疾。命制絙衣且曰。吾將逝矣。十七日書偈云。七十八年守拙。明明一場敗闕。泥牛海底翻身。六月炎炎飛雪。側臥而化。荼毘有五色現。齒牙舌根數珠不壞。烟所及處皆成舍利。於紫雲建塔藏焉。

Chan Master Xutang: taboo name Yongning, style name Yiyuan, was a native of Tongzhou surnamed Zhu. His mother was Lady Li. He cast himself into Guanghui Monastery; an omen showed that he was the rebirth of Chan Master Huaihai of the Song. The Central Buddhist Registry issued his certificate and ordained him. He went to call upon Wuyong of Mount Taihu, who tempered and refined him in diverse ways, turning the master into a fine vessel; he served him as attendant for three years, and Wuyong gave him the instruction: "When you meet a dragon, stop; when you meet a pool, abide." At first, he stayed at Shixiang Monastery in Dadong, Guangde, facing Master Shixi Wuyi Quan from afar; people called them the "Two Gates of Sweet Dew." Later, he moved to Longchi (Dragon Pool) in Yixing, matching the prophetic foretelling. Delighted and fully content, he built several dozen bays of rooms and named it the Yumen Xinghua Hermitage. He administered the Three Refuges and precepts to the dragon deity. The Imperial Preceptor conferred upon him the title "Spreader of the Teaching and Universal Benefactor" (Hongjiao Puji). Later, at Lishan Chan Monastery, an edict gathered one thousand seven hundred śramaṇas to inspect the Great Canon for seven days; the master ascended the seat to expound the teaching, and the auspicious omen of sweet dew descended from heaven. He presided over Tianning Wanshou in Changzhou, renovating it magnificently. Emperor Shun of the Yuan bestowed the title "Chan Monastery of Original Awakening, Wondrous Brightness, and True Purity" (Benjue Miaoming Zhenjing Chan Si). He was ordered to fill vacancies at Jingde Chan Monastery on Mount Tiantong and at Da Huayan Monastery, but he declined all of them due to illness. An imperial decree ordered him to enter for an audience to preach the Dharma in the Longguang Hall; the Emperor was pleased and bestowed a golden brocade Dharma robe along with a jade ring, adding the title "Enlightened to the Buddha Mind" (Foxin Liaowu). The Imperial Preceptor also bestowed a crimson robe and felt hat. Receiving an imperial order to bear incense to Mount Wutai, the Great Being manifested five paths of auspicious light for him. The Prince of Zhennan invited the master into his palace to receive the great precepts, bestowed a silver bowl upon him, and sent guards to escort him back to Longchi. He solicited ten thousand faithful patrons to hold an Assembly of Ten Thousand Virtues Converging in Common, burying countless withered bones left behind by war. At that time, there was a great drought; yielding to the entreaties of the villagers, he erected an altar and chanted verses, whereupon torrential rain poured down, bringing an abundant harvest for the year. In the sixth month of this year, he manifested slight illness, ordered mourning cords and hempen garments to be made, and said: "I am about to pass away." On the seventeenth day, he wrote a gāthā: / "For seventy-eight years I have guarded my simplicity; / Clearly it has been a total collapse. / The mud ox turns over at the bottom of the ocean; / In the blazing heat of the sixth month, snow flies." / Lying on his side, he passed away. When cremated, five colors appeared; his teeth, tongue, and prayer beads were not destroyed, and wherever the smoke reached, śarīras formed. A stupa was built at Ziyun to enshrine them.