大明高僧傳 2.9

2.9

Shi Benwu was styled Wo'an, a native of Huangyan in Taizhou. In his youth, he followed Chan Master Bao of Fangshan at Ruiyan to tonsure his hair, and later received full ordination. Next, he relied on Chan Master Jizhao at Central Tianzhu, who ordered him to take charge of correspondence and documents. Jizhao deeply applied the needle and gouge [of instruction] to him at every turn, bringing him to awakening. Later, his maternal uncle, who originally practiced the Tiantai teaching, urged him to change his robes [and study the doctrinal school]. He met Zhandang Cheng at Yanfu and meticulously investigated the doctrinal canon. Jizhao regretted his departure and sent him a verse saying: / 'From the teachings into Chan has existed in past and present; / From Chan into the teachings has never been in past or present. / Though the gates of the one mind and the three contemplations are distinct, / When waters fill a thousand rivers, the moon remains solitary.' / When the Master later appeared in the world, having already become the dharma heir of Venerable Cheng, he still burned incense to repay Jizhao. For he did not divide his heart simply because their outward paths differed. When Jizhao was about to enter extinction, the Master was then abbot of Yanqing; Jizhao left him a testament enjoining him to strive to propagate the two traditions of Dasu and Shaolin, saying nothing else. When the Master made offerings to Jizhao, he raised incense and said: / 'Miaoxi's five transmissions are the most incandescent; / Jizhao in his generation was the gate of sweet dew. / Merely brushing against it splits liver and gall; / Ice and snow suddenly turn to the warmth of spring. / When I recall the day my nostrils were struck away, / What breath from then still survives today? / The heavenly wind blows from the north as the year draws to a close; / In a flash of lightning, what trace in the void can be found?' / In his later years, the Master relocated to Upper Tianzhu in Hangzhou, remaining there the longest. One day, without illness, he sat upright and cast off the body in Baiyun Hall. He was given the posthumous title Great Master Fohu Xuanjue Xianci Kuangdao.