宋高僧傳 19.26

19.26

As for Hanshanzi, the world regarded him as a poor, mad fellow, who could not be measured by ordinary standards. He lived in seclusion seventy leagues west of Shifeng County in Tiantai, at a place called the Two Cliffs of Cold and Dark; he always resided in a secluded cavern in the Cold Cliff, taking it as his fixed dwelling. He occasionally came to Guoqing Temple. There was one named Shide, whom the temple monks assigned to manage the refectory. Shide constantly gathered the leftover food and vegetable scraps of the monks, hollowed out a large bamboo into a tube, and threw them inside to store them. When Hanshanzi came, he would carry it away on his back. Sometimes he walked slowly along the corridors, sometimes he shouted and harassed people, and sometimes he looked into the void and cursed incessantly. The temple monks, unable to bear it, drove him away with sticks; he would turn around, clap his hands, laugh loudly, and slowly retreat. His cloth jacket was ragged and torn, his face was withered and emaciated, he wore a cap made of birch bark, and he dragged along large wooden clogs. Yet whenever he uttered words, they always seemed to return to something profound, returning to Buddhist principles. At first, when Lüqiu entered the temple to inquire about Hanshan, the śramaṇa Daoqiao replied: "This man suffers from madness. He originally lived among the Cold Cliffs and is fond of reciting verses and gāthās. His words are unpredictable—whether praising or blaming, one can never tell. He is friends with the temple postulant Shide; when they gather and converse, it cannot be understood in detail." Seeing the prefect bow to them, the temple monks said in shock: "Why should a high official pay homage to madmen?" The two linked arms, laughing proudly, and left the temple. Lüqiu went again to Cold Cliff to pay his respects and sent clothing and medicines. Hanshan loudly proclaimed: "Thief! You are my thief!" Stepping back, he shrank his body into a crevice in the cliff rock and added: "I declare to all of you: strive diligently, each and every one!" The crevice in the rock closed seamlessly, leaving no trace behind. Lüqiu then ordered the monk Daoqiao to search for his remaining works. Daoqiao only collected what was written on leaves strung together in the woods and inscribed on the walls of village houses, obtaining over two hundred poems, which are now compiled into a single collection and recited by many. Later, Dhyāna Master Caoshan Ji wrote a commentary on it, calling it "Verses on Hanshanzi's Poetry"—because he had no clan or surname, the people of Yue merely called him Hanshanzi. As in the lines: "What is there in the courtyard? / White clouds embrace the secluded stone"—it is clearly in an elegant style. Today beneath the cliff stands an erect rock, which is called the "Secluded Stone."