釋鑑稽古略續集 2.23

2.23

Chan Master Baiyun, whose taboo name was Zhidu and sobriquet was Baiyun, was a native of Lishui of the Wu clan. His mother was Lady Ye. At the age of fifteen, he went to the venerable Kongzhong Jia at Chanzhi Monastery, where he shaved his head, donned the robes, and received the full precepts. He practiced chan-meditation deeply, going without sleep until dawn for three years. On Mount Baiyun, he built the Old Fulin Cloister to dwell in. He perused the two sūtras, the Śūraṅgama and the Complete Awakening. He met the venerable Zhi of Lingyan, the venerable Yi of Duanya, and the venerable Du of Wujian, deeply grasping the profound purport of the Chan school. He also met the venerable Pu of Wufang and the venerable Da of Xiaoyin, and his karmic aptitude perfectly coincided with theirs; thereupon he returned to Fulin. He and the venerable Tan of Duzhong and the venerable Qin of Chengshan encouraged each other, fearing only that they might fall short. In the second year of Hongwu, an imperial decree summoned renowned monks across the realm, and the master was among them; he returned to reside at Hupao and then proceeded again to Huading. In the second month of that year, feeling slightly indisposed, he returned to Fulin. On a day in the third month, he bathed, changed his robes, and wrote a verse: "There is no world to take leave of, no assembly to part from; / In the vastness of empty space, why must one drive a stake?" Throwing down his brush, he passed away. His age was sixty-seven; his monastic seniority was fifty-two. The relics after his cremation were of five colors, and his teeth and prayer beads were said not to have been destroyed.