釋鑑稽古略續集 3.88

3.88

曉菴禪師　諱善啟。字東白。別號曉菴。長洲人。楊姓。甫能言。即通釋典。如舊熟投入永茂院。薙染受具。屏跡龍山。研窮大藏。百氏諸子無不精究。永樂戊子出世郡之延慶寺。明年應召纂修永樂大典。并校大藏經。賜金僧伽黎。一時名士皆為方外交。或辯儒釋之異。師曰。無論聖人理同。且各為其教。又曰。東魯乘道西竺見性。皆莫先於厚本。故吾儕雖離父母。而養生送死率皆從厚。正統癸亥示寂。

Chan Master Xiao'an, whose taboo name was Shanqi, courtesy name was Dongbai, and alternative sobriquet was Xiao'an, was a native of Changzhou with the secular surname Yang. As soon as he was able to speak, he understood the Buddhist scriptures as if they were familiar from the past. He entered the Yongmaoyuan Monastery, had his head shaved, and received full ordination. Retiring to Longshan, he thoroughly investigated the Great Canon; there were none of the hundred philosophical masters whose writings he did not master. In the wuzi year of Yongle, he assumed the abbacy of Yanqing Monastery in his prefecture. The following year, answering an imperial summons, he participated in compiling the *Yongle Dadian* and collating the Great Canon, and was bestowed a golden saṅghāṭī robe. Eminent scholars of the day all formed worldly-transcending friendships with him. Someone once debated the differences between Confucianism and Buddhism, and the Master said, "Not to mention that the sages share the same principle, each simply promotes its own teaching." He also said, "The Eastern Lu follows the Dao; the Western India sees the nature; neither places anything before cultivating a solid foundation. Therefore, though we have left our parents, we conduct the nourishment of life and mourning of death with utmost generosity." In the guihai year of Zhengtong, he manifested passing into quiescence.