宋高僧傳 8.12

8.12

釋慧明，姓陳氏，鄱陽人也，本陳宣帝之孫，國亡散為編甿矣。明少出家于永昌寺，懷道頗切，扣雙峯之法。高宗之世，依忍禪師法席，極意研尋，初無證悟，若喪家之犬焉。忽聞五祖密付衣鉢與盧居士，率同意數十許人躡迹急追，至大庾嶺，明最先見，餘輩未及。能祖見已，便擲袈裟，明曰：「我來為法，非望衣鉢也。」時能祖便於嶺首一向指訂，明皆洞達，悲喜交至，問能曰：「某宜何往？」能記之曰：「遇蒙當居，逢袁可止。」明再拜而去，便更其名，以舊云道明也。下嶺，紿諸僧曰：「向陟崔嵬，遠望杳無蹤跡。」僧即退轉。一說，居士擲衣鉢於磐石曰：「此衣為信，豈可力爭耶？任君拈去。」明遂手掀，如負鈞石，而無舉分，拱立捨旃，則咸亨四年也。以明未捨家曾署諸衛，故有「將軍」之號矣。宜春太守秦琢奏諡號焉。

Shi Huiming, surnamed Chen, was a native of Poyang. He was originally a grandson of Emperor Xuan of the Chen dynasty; after the fall of the state, he was dispersed among the common folk. In his youth, Huiming went forth from the household at Yongchang Temple; longing deeply for the Path, he sought the Dharma of Mount Shuangfeng. During the reign of Gaozong, he attended Chan Master Hongren's Dharma assembly, investigating and inquiring with the utmost effort, yet at first had no awakening, resembling a stray dog without a home. Suddenly hearing that the Fifth Patriarch had secretly conferred the robe and bowl upon Layman Lu [Huineng], he led several tens of like-minded men to follow the trail in hot pursuit. Reaching the Dayu Ridge, Ming was the first to spot him, while the others had not yet caught up. Seeing him, Patriarch Huineng cast down the kāṣāya. Ming said, 'I have come for the Dharma, not out of hope for the robe and bowl.' Thereupon, at the crest of the ridge, Patriarch Huineng immediately gave him instruction and verification. Ming penetrated it entirely. With grief and joy welling up together, he asked Huineng, 'Where should I go?' Huineng predicted to him, 'When you meet Meng, you should abide; when you encounter Yuan, you may halt.' Ming bowed twice and departed; he then changed his name, as he had formerly been called Daoming. Descending the ridge, he deceived the other monks, saying, 'I just climbed the precipitous heights, but looking into the distance, there was no trace of him.' The monks then turned back. Another account says: The layman cast down the robe and bowl upon a boulder, saying, 'This robe is a token of faith; how could it be contended for by force? You may pick it up at will.' Ming then lifted it with his hands, but it felt as heavy as thirty thousand catties, and he could not budge it at all. Folding his hands and standing respectfully, he let it go. This was in the fourth year of Xianheng. Because Ming had served in various imperial guards before renouncing the household, he was called 'General.' Qin Zhuo, the Prefect of Yichun, memorialized requesting a posthumous title for him.