釋鑑稽古略續集 3.22

3.22

Chan Master Taichu: Taboo name Qiyuan, styled Taichu, was a native of Japan. At age nine, he was ordained under Chan Master Wuwai. At age nineteen, he and eighteen companions, including Zongyou, traveled to the superior country to study. In the bingwu year, in the second month, he entered the capital and met Chan Master Jitan; later he met forty-five great spiritual benefactors, including Liaotang, Tiantong, Wuzhuo, and Lanmu. Finally, he entered the inner chamber under Master Jiefeng, who bestowed upon him a portrait, the great robe, a whisk, and Dharma verses. Later he resided at Sanfeng Monastery in Luoyang and at Longhu Chan Cloister in Shanjiao, leaving behind recorded sayings from three assemblies. In the third month of this year, on the first day at noon, he uttered a gāthā: "In life, an iron face; / In death, an iron face. / One strike breaks it into a hundred pieces; / In bright daylight, circling the Iron Surround." He tossed aside his brush and passed away sitting upright at the age of seventy-five, having taught for over forty years. His stūpa was erected to the south of the cloister.