大明高僧傳 7.14

7.14

釋普交郡之萬齡畢氏子也。幼頴異卓倫不泥塵滓。惡喧嗜潔儼似納僧。未冠得度。五夏無虧。首謁南明聽習台教。偶為檀信修事懺摩。有人問曰。師所懺罪為自懺耶為他懺耶。若言自懺罪性何來。若為他懺他既非汝烏能為懺。交罔不能對。大慚易服逕投泐潭。足纔踵門潭即呵斥。交擬申問。潭即拽杖逐之。一日忽呼交至丈室曰。我有古人公案。要與爾商量。交擬進語。潭便喝。交豁然頓悟顧乃大笑。潭下繩床執其手曰。汝會佛法耶。交便喝拓開。潭亦大笑。於是名聞四達學者宗之。後歸桑梓居天童。掩關却掃者八年。寺偶虛席。郡僚命開法。恐其遯去遣吏候于道。故不得辭。上堂曰。咄哉黃面老。佛法付王臣。林下無情客。官差逼殺人。莫有知心底為我免得者。麼若無不免將錯就錯去也。凡見僧來必叱曰。汝楖栗子未擔時。我已為汝說了也。且道說箇甚麼。招手洗鉢拈扇張弓。趙州栢樹子靈源見桃花且擲放一邊。山僧無恁麼閒脣吻與爾打葛藤。何不休去歇去。忽拈拄杖逐散。宣和六年三月二十日沐浴陞座說偈曰。寶杖敲空觸處春。箇中消息特彌綸。昨宵風動寒巖冷。驚起泥牛耕白雲。說畢脫然而寂。壽七十七。臘五十八。塔于本山。

Shi Pujiao was a son of the Bi family of Wanling in the prefecture. From childhood he was exceptionally clever and stood out from his peers, untouched by worldly impurities. Disliking noise and delighting in cleanliness, he was just like a patch-robed monk. Before reaching adulthood he was ordained; for five summer retreats he was without flaw. He first visited Nanming to listen to and study Tiantai teachings. Once, he performed a repentance ritual for a donor. Someone asked, “Is the transgression the master is repenting a repentance for yourself or a repentance for another? If you say it is repenting for yourself, whence comes the nature of transgression? If it is repenting for another, since the other is not you, how can you perform repentance for them?” Pujiao was at a loss and could not answer. Deeply ashamed, he changed his clothes and went directly to Letan. Barely had his feet crossed the threshold when Letan scolded and shouted at him. When Pujiao intended to submit a question, Letan dragged his staff to drive him away. One day, Letan suddenly summoned Pujiao to the abbot’s quarters and said, “I have an ancient gongan that I wish to deliberate with you.” Pujiao intended to speak, but Letan gave a shout. Pujiao had a sudden breakthrough of awakening, looked around, and laughed aloud. Letan stepped down from his rope chair, took his hand, and said, “Do you understand the Buddhadharma?” Pujiao gave a shout and pushed him away. Letan also laughed aloud. From then on, his fame spread in all directions, and students took him as their model. Later, he returned to his native place and dwelt at Tiantong, shutting his gates and sweeping away tracks for eight years. The monastery happened to have a vacant seat, and the prefectural officials ordered him to open the Dharma. Fearing he would flee, they sent officers to wait on the road, so he could not refuse. Ascending the hall, he said, “Bah! Yellow-faced old one, you entrusted the Buddhadharma to kings and ministers! A dispassionate traveler beneath the forest is hounded to death by official duty! Is there anyone with an understanding mind who can exempt me from this? If not, I cannot avoid making the best of a bad job.” Whenever he saw a monk approach, he would certainly scold, “Before you even shouldered your staff, I had already spoken for you! And tell me, what did I say? Beckoning with the hand, washing the bowl, picking up the fan, drawing the bow. Zhaozhou’s cypress tree and Lingyuan seeing the peach blossoms—set them aside for a moment! This mountain monk has no such idle lips to entangle in vines with you. Why don’t you just cease and desist?” Suddenly, he took up his staff and drove them away. On the twentieth day of the third month of the sixth year of the Xuanhe era, he bathed, ascended the seat, and spoke a verse:

“The precious staff strikes empty space, spring everywhere;
The message therein especially completes and knits together.
Last night the wind stirred, the cold cliff chilly;
Startling the mud ox to plow the white clouds.”

Having spoken, he passed away peacefully and entered quiescence. His worldly age was seventy-seven, and his dharma age was fifty-eight. A stupa was built on his mountain.