大明高僧傳 6
English (machine translation) 6
- Language
- English
6.1
Compiled by Śramaṇa Shi Ruxing of Ciyun Chan Temple on Mount Tiantai under the Imperial Ming
6.2
Section Three: Practicing Chan, Part Two (Seventeen principal biographies, ten secondary mentions appended)
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Biography 1: Śramaṇa Shi Faning of Zhaoqing Temple in Huating
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Shi Faning was styled Mount Mayi because he resided on Mount Mayi in Yizhou. He was a son of the Li family of Ju County in Eastern Mizhou. At first he was ordained under Master Tianning Miaokong Ming of Yizhou. Having attended and served him for a long time, he fully grasped the essentials of Yunmen. Emerging into the world, he resided at Jingju Temple in Yi, greatly propagating the way of Xuedou. During the Shaoxing era, he arrived at Qinglong in Huating. Lady Gao, mother of the military supervisory judge Zhang Gun, dreamt of a deva who told her, "An ancient Buddha is coming." The next day the master arrived. They welcomed him to stay in the Qian family garden, where an hermitage was built. Excavating the ground, they found iron chimes, broken stelae, and Buddha images in resonance with the event. Thereupon the magistrate of Huating, Liu Yue, memorialized to establish the monastery, which was granted the plaque "Jingju". Because he visited Master Ming at Xuedou in Mingzhou, the prefectural governor Mo Jiang invited him to preside over Jixiang. In the Yuanfu era of Emperor Zhezong, there was an hermitage on Mount She called Lingfeng; a ministry warrant changed its name to Zhaoqing Chan Cloister. The Right Vice Director Zhu E invited the master to be its founding patriarch. Before long he was transferred to Guanghui in Mingzhou, and then returned to Zhaoqing. On the eighth day of the first month in the twenty-sixth year of Shaoxing, a bingzi year, he bathed, sat upright, expounded the Dharma, took leave of the assembly, and entered quiescence. His worldly age was seventy-six; his dharma age was fifty-nine. His whole body was stupaed in the eastern corner of the temple.
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Biography 2: Śramaṇa Shi Daoxing of Mount Wuju in Quzhou
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Shi Daoxing was styled Xuetang. He was a son of the Ye family of Chuzhou. At first he was ordained under Puzhao Ying. Traveling out, he consulted Foyan. One day, hearing Foyan cite Xuansha's stubbing his toe, he had a great awakening. He resided at Nanming in the prefecture. Ascending the hall, [he said]: "If you understand, then understand right away: jade is inherently without flaw. If you say you do not understand: flowers bloom from the pestle's tip. May I ask, how does nine years of facing the wall compare to holding up a flower at the great assembly? When Nanming deliberates like this, it too is throwing sand with the wind." Later he was transferred to Wuju. Instructing the assembly, he cited: Master Ji asked a monk, "What is the meaning of Chan?" Though the assembly offered replies, none resonated with his mind. The monks requested further instruction, and Ji said on their behalf, "Slander is its meaning." The master said, "The Buddhas of the three periods are slander. The twenty-eight patriarchs of the Western Heavens are slander. The six patriarchs of the Tang land are slander. The venerable old masters throughout the world are slander. All of you are slander. This mountain monk is slander. Among them, is there still one who does not slander? Speaking of the profound and explaining the wondrous as numerous as the sands of the Ganges—how can it compare to Shuangfeng's intimate slander?" Suddenly he manifested a slight illness. His disciple, Professor Wang Qiaonian, came to inquire after him, and he entrusted him with the funeral affairs. He spoke a gāthā: / "Knowing means knowing one's own fundamental mind; / Seeing means seeing one's own fundamental nature. / To know the fundamental mind and fundamental nature / Is precisely the great illness of our school." / He further annotated it: / "There are thorns in the soft mud; / Do not say that having no doubt is good." / At dawn he bathed, changed robes, sat cross-legged, and passed away. The jhāpita yielded five-colored śarīra; wherever the smoke reached, śarīra appeared in abundance. His teeth and tongue did not decay. A stupa was erected west of the temple.
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Biography 3: Śramaṇa Shi Shouxun of Mount He in Anji Prefecture (Guangjian Ying)
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Shi Shouxun was styled Fodeng. He was a son of the Shi family of that prefecture. At first he consulted Master Guangjian Ying, but did not resonate with him. He then visited Fojian. Following the assembly, he consulted and requested instruction, yet had no entry whatsoever. He then sealed his quilt, saying, "If I do not thoroughly penetrate in this life, I vow not to unroll this." Thereupon, day and night, standing through the dark, he was as if mourning his parents. After more than forty-nine days, Fojian suddenly ascended the hall and said, "All phenomena and the myriad forms are sealed by the single Dharma." Hearing this, Xun was suddenly awakened. Jian said, "Pity that a bright pearl was picked up by this lunatic!" He then questioned him, "Lingyun said, 'Ever since seeing peach blossoms once, right up to the present I have never doubted again.' What was the place where he did not doubt?" Xun said, "Do not say Lingyun had no doubts; even right now, seeking a place of doubt is entirely impossible." Jian said, "Xuansha said, 'Extremely accurate, exceedingly accurate, yet I dare guarantee that this elder brother has not yet thoroughly penetrated.' Where was the place he had not penetrated?" Xun said, "I deeply appreciate your grandmotherly concern, Master." Jian approved. Xun bowed, stood up, and presented a gāthā: / "All day long looking at the sky without raising the head, / Only when peach blossoms bloomed in profusion did I lift my eyes. / Though you may have a net that covers the sky, / Once past the firm barrier, one simply rests." / Jian enjoined him to maintain and protect it. That evening, unrolling his quilt, he said loudly, "This time, Senior Monk Xun will sleep soundly!" Hearing of this, Yuanwu privately doubted that it was so and said, "I must test him myself." He sent someone to summon him. Taking a walk in the mountains with him, they came upon a pool of water. Yuanwu pushed Xun into the water and abruptly asked, "How was it before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?" Xun said, "The pool is deep, fish gather." He asked, "How was it after meeting?" Xun said, "The tree is tall, it catches the wind." He asked, "How was it at the very time of meeting and not meeting?" Xun said, "Extending the foot within the withdrawn foot." Yuanwu praised him greatly. Later he emerged into the world, first presiding over Heshan, next Tiansheng, then moving to Heshan and Tianning. In the jiayin year of Shaoxing, he said to the lay devotee Zheng Ji, "The eighth day of the tenth month is the anniversary of the passing of my late master Fojian; my time has come. I ask to return south of Zhang." On the fourth day of the tenth month, the fellow monk Daoru was sent to inquire after him. Xun said, "You have come just at the right time. Though Fojian and I were born on the same branch, after all we will not die on the same branch. Tomorrow morning, find a small boat for me." Daoru asked, "Do you want a long one or a tall one?" Xun said, "About five feet tall." Three days later, at cockcrow, he sat upright as usual. The attendant requested a gāthā. Xun said, "I have never composed one." Having spoken, he passed away. After the jhāpita, his tongue-root was undamaged.
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Biography 4: Śramaṇa Shi Yuanjue of Mount Xiang'er in Meizhou (Foxing)
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Shi Yuanjue was a son of the Yuan family of that prefecture. He was ordained at Chuandeng Temple. His original name was Yuanjue (Perfect Awakening). When the prefectural governor filled out his ordination certificate, he mistakenly wrote the character Yuan (surname Yuan). Suspecting he might take offence, the governor playfully said to him, "Is it acceptable to name you with a single character?" He replied, "A single character is already one too many." The governor marvelled at him. Thereafter he went to Dagui and relied on Master Foxing. Entering the room, he presented his insight. Foxing said, "You are far too off the mark!" He appointed him to serve in the attendant's office, and then transferred him to manage the guests. Foxing frequently brought up the four characters 'open, display, awaken, enter' from the *Lotus Sūtra* and had him give a turning phrase, adding, "Wait until I nod my head; only then will your principle be correct." Happening to fail in his duties, he was dismissed. With no place to rely on during the retreat, he stayed at the home of a layman. One day, chanting the *Lotus Sūtra*, he came to the phrase: "nor do they know what is fire or what is the house"; he suddenly had an awakening. When the retreat ended, he returned to the temple and reported to Foxing, who gave him his initial approval. Later he arrived at Yunju, saw Yuanwu, and related what he had attained. Yuanwu scolded him, saying, "Why shit on what was originally clean ground?" Thereupon his doubts were suddenly dispelled. In the dingsi year of Shaoxing, the prefectural governor invited him to reside at Xiang'er. His Dharma way greatly flourished. The talented, the elder virtues, and the great scholars from all quarters heard of his renown and came to pay homage, such that his room could not contain them. When he opened the hall, his eloquence poured forth like a river descending or a gorge cascading; the monasteries praised him. The details of his end are unknown.
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Biography 5: Śramaṇa Shi Tanhua of Tiantong in Mingzhou
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Śramaṇa Shi Tanhua, styled Ying'an, was a son of the Wang family of Qizhou. Born extraordinary and heroic, he was unlike ordinary children. At the age of seventeen, he shaved his hair under Dongchan. First he visited Master Sui and slightly tasted the flavor of the Dharma. Thereupon he traveled widely visiting spiritual friends, but found no point of accord or realization. Hearing that Yuanwu was residing at Yunju training students, Tanhua went to pay homage and rely upon him as an attendant. Yuanwu gave him severe pricks with awl and needle. When Yuanwu was returning to Shu, he directed him to see Chan Master Huqiu Long. Attending him for a year, he suddenly became clear about the great matter. Soon after, he visited Ci'an Yuan, who ordered him to share the seat. Thereupon he opened the hall at Miaoyan, and later moved to Guizong. At that time, Dahui was in Meiyang. A monk transmitted Tanhua's instructions to the assembly to him; when Dahui saw them, he praised them to the utmost and sent a gāthā in reply, saying:
'Sitting across the foremost peak of the golden wheel,
A thousand monsters and a hundred freaks all hide their traces.
These years true tidings have been obtained again,
Reporting that the orthodox vein of Yangqi is unobstructed.'
On the anniversary of Huqiu's passing, he offered incense and said: 'In all my life I was unlucky to bump into this old fellow devoid of conceptual thought. Having exhausted every trick without being able to fit in, from then on I laid down shield and spear, wearing robes and eating food as my lot allowed. For twenty years I have sat on the curved-wood chair, hanging up a sheep's head and selling dog meat. Who knows what proof he had? Even so, though the day for burning incense comes once a year, through a thousand ages it makes one's resentment turn even deeper.' The world called Tanhua and [Dahui Zong]gao the two gates of sweet dew. He once admonished the assembly, saying: 'Patch-robed monks wear straw sandals. What business do they have when residing in a monastery, whose mouths are like the foul dens of giant turtles and serpents?' On the thirteenth day of the sixth month of the first year of the Longxing era of the Song, he quietly transformed. His whole body was stupaed on Dongshan.
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Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Deguang of Lingyin Monastery in Ling'an Prefecture, Six (Guanghua Ji, Yue'an Guo, Baizhang Zhen)
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Shi Deguang, bestowed with the title Foyao, was a son of the Peng family of Linjiang Commandery. At the age when his will was set on learning, he shaved his hair and received full ordination under Master Ji of Guanghua Monastery in his native commandery. One day, entering the room, Ji asked him: 'It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not a thing; what is this?' Deguang was at a loss and could not sleep the whole night. The next day he went up to the abbot's quarters again and requested, saying: 'Yesterday I received your compassionate question: since it is not mind, not Buddha, and not a thing, what after all is it? I beg you to compassionately give instruction.' Ji then displayed his awe-inspiring presence, gave a shout, and said: 'Does this novice still want me to write foot-notes for you?' Taking up a stick, he struck him across the back and chased him out. Thereupon he had an awakening. Next, he visited Yue'an Guo, Ying'an Hua, and Baizhang Zhen, but found no entry with any of them. It happened that Dahui was ordered by imperial decree to reside at King Aśoka [Monastery] in Mingzhou. Outstanding talents from the four seas gathered like fish scales. Deguang also went there and entered the room. Dahui raised a bamboo spatula and asked, saying: 'If you call it a bamboo spatula, you touch [the truth]; if you do not call it a bamboo spatula, you turn your back [on it]. You cannot speak a word; you cannot be without words.' Deguang intended to reply, and Dahui immediately struck him with the stick. Deguang was thoroughly and greatly awakened. What he had attained before dissolved like tiles breaking and ice melting at this point. After attending him for a long time, Emperor Xiaozong of the Song admired Deguang's reputation in the Way and issued an imperial decree ordering him to reside at Lingyin. One day he was summoned and questioned; his responses matched the imperial intention, and he was kept overnight in the Neiguan Hall. Later he manifested quiescence. His whole body was stupaed at Dong'an.
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Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Zujue of Zhongyan Monastery in Meizhou, Seven (Huiri Neng, Nantang Jing)
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Shi Zujue was a son of the Yang family of Jiazhou. Intelligent from childhood, he could recite books and histories after glancing at them. He then composed a book rejecting the Buddhists. Suddenly an evil state appeared before him; in great terror, he repented his faults, left home, and relied upon Master Huiri Neng. Before long, an ulcer grew on his knee, which remained unhealed despite five years of medical treatment. Because he copied out the *Huayan helun*, at the end of the night he had a remarkable dream. At dawn, he cast away his staff and walked briskly in his shoes. Just like the day before, he recited up to the 'Manifesting Appearances' chapter, which says:
'The Buddha body has no arising, yet is able to manifest arising.
The Dharma nature is like empty space; the Buddhas dwell within it.
Without dwelling and without going, everywhere one sees the Buddha.'
He thereupon awakened to the essential principle of the *Huayan*, and only then was entered into the monastic register. The prefectural commander invited him to lecture at the Hall of a Thousand Sections, and his broad and unconstrained eloquence was revered by the assembly. It happened that Chan Master Nantang Jing passed by his gate and said to him: 'Observing your lecturing, you stand alone in the Southwest. It is only a pity that you have not yet understood how to depart from the characteristics of words. If you could inquire into the Way beyond convention, you would be today's Zhou Diamond.' Jue gladly stopped lecturing and traveled south to Chan assemblies. He then relied upon Yuanwu at Zhongfu. One day, entering the room, Yuanwu cited: 'Luoshan said: When there are words, crouch on the tiger's head and seize the tiger's tail; under the first phrase, clarify the essential principle. When there are no words, confront and expose the dynamic pivot like a flash of lightning. How do you understand this?' Jue had no reply. Thereupon he investigated it day and night, and suddenly had an awakening. He composed a gāthā and presented it, saying:
'My home is atop an isolated peak;
For years the door has been half-closed.
Sighing to myself that my body is already old,
I entrust the livelihood to my children and grandchildren.'
Yuanwu did not approve. The next day, entering the room, Yuanwu asked: 'How about yesterday's gongan?' Jue intended to reply, but Yuanwu shouted and said: 'The Buddhadharma is not this principle!' Jue stayed for another five years, becoming even more bewildered and stifled. Later, at Xixian on Mount Lu, he read Fushan Yuan's *Xiaozhi lun* (Treatise on Peeling Away Attachments), which said: 'If one says that awakening has closeness and distance, how could foul grass grow within a sandalwood grove?' Only then was he thoroughly and greatly awakened. He then composed a gāthā and sent it to Yuanwu, saying:
'Leaving the grove, I still enter tangled weeds;
The net of heaven is vast, impossible to escape.
Who could believe that karmic conditions offer nowhere to hide?
Returning, I am not afraid of raising my voice high.'
Yuanwu was overjoyed, held it up to show the assembly, and said: 'Jue of the *Huayan* has penetrated through!' From then on, all quarters called him Jue of the *Huayan*. Ascending the hall, a monk asked: 'I wonder, whom did the primordial King of Awesome Sound and the final Rucika Buddha study with?' Jue said: 'Living in the city of Daliang, you further ask for the road to Chang'an.' The monk asked: 'What is a shout like the precious sword of the Vajra King?' Jue said: 'Blood spatters the Brahmā Heaven.' [The monk] asked: 'What is a shout like a crouching lion?' Jue said: 'Frightening wild foxes to death.' [The monk] asked: 'What is a shout like a sounding rod and shadow grass?' Jue said: 'Testing you until your bones show.' [The monk] asked: 'What is a shout that is not used as a shout?' Jue said: 'You must simply recognize the person holding the needle; do not speak of the fine plumage of the mandarin ducks.'
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The appraisal says: After Jue of the *Huayan* had established a reputation on the lecture platform, Nantang merely passed by and gave him a bit of urging and encouragement, and he was able to stop lecturing and travel south. He was truly one who 'moves upon seeing the shadow of the whip.' How could he not be an exceptional steed? When he received an awl to the crown of his head from Yuanwu, although his soul took flight, his life-root was not yet severed. Still relying on conscious view, he presented a gāthā and met with Yuanwu's shout, which left his spirit completely deflated; it was only after five years that he had a great breakthrough. Ah! In ancient times, those who served as teachers to others would only nod their heads when a student's cold ashes sent forth flames, or when they revived after dying completely; they never lightly gave approval to ruin someone's offspring. Nowadays, people, as soon as they see a clever youth, make them manipulate gongans; when they compose a single gāthā, they immediately praise and extol it. Are they not blinding each other? The evil of killing a person is small; the evil of harming a person's [spiritual life] is great. Who could it be? Those who are good at lecturing should take Master Jue as a fine model.
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Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Zihui of Diaoyutai in Taizhou, Eight
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Shi Zihui was styled Shitou. A native of Linhai, his family had been stonemasons for generations. People called him the Shitou Monk. His eyes were like those of a blind turtle, not knowing a single character. His roots of goodness were inwardly aroused, and his aspiration admired the school of emptiness. Begging people to teach him the *Lotus Sūtra* orally, he was able to recite it. Thereupon he abandoned his home, went to Master Dasui, and served by sweeping and sprinkling. In the monastery he was ordered to quarry cliff stones for public use. Without his hands putting down the hammer and chisel, his mouth did not cease reciting the sūtra. Dasui saw him and said to him: 'Clinking and clanking today, clinking and clanking tomorrow; when birth and death arrive, how will you settle the account?' Hui was startled, bowed, and said: 'I wish to hear the ultimate Dharma.' Sui ordered him to stop reciting the sūtra and contemplate the condition of Zhaozhou examining the old woman. Thereupon, he investigated it thought after thought for a long time. One day, as he chiseled a stone, the stone was hard; he struck with all his might with one hammer blow, and sparks burst forth. Suddenly he was thoroughly awakened. He immediately ran to the abbot's quarters, bowed, and presented a gāthā, saying:
'Exhausting all effort, there was utterly no handle;
The sparks bursting and scattering were originally right here.'
Sui was overjoyed and said: 'You have penetrated through!' He further composed a gāthā on examining the old woman, saying:
'The three armies do not move, the flags flicker;
The old woman is truly the feet of the Demon King.
Zhaozhou's handleless iron broom
Sweeps away the smoke and dust into absolute emptiness.'
Sui approved him. Thereupon he shaved his hair, dyed his robes, and conferred the monastic vestments upon him. Emerging into the world, he resided at Diaoyutai. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Participating in Chan and studying the Way is mostly shouting of thirst at the bottom of a well, completely unaware that plugging the ears and eyes cannot avoid it. Furthermore, during the twelve periods of the day, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, moving and acting—what person makes you do this? What place that your eyes see and your ears hear is not the road? If you recognize the road, that is the place of great liberation; only then will you know that this old fellow verifies you, and the mountains, rivers, and great earth verify you. Therefore it is said: "The Bhagavats of the ten directions have one road to the gate of nirvāṇa." Good people, generally, when there is a thing blocking the path, you must see the source of the thing blocking the path; where there is not a single thing, you must see the source of where there is not a single thing. When you see the source, the source has nothing from which it originates. Since what it originates from is nonexistent, where is it not complete? Chan worthies, look: what does this old monk have that excels you? What do you have that is not equal to this old fellow? Do you understand? The thirty-six thousand acres of Lake Tai—the moon is in the heart of the waves, to whom can it be told?'
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The appraisal says: Observing Master Hui, his livelihood was both menial and clumsy, yet his aspiration to study the Buddha was both sharp and diligent. In the beginning, when deluded, his pupils were as if blind; later, when awakened, his entire body was an eye. As for uttering gāthās and discussing Chan, he greatly possessed the style of transcending the present and surpassing antiquity; could it not be [the Master of] Neng rising again? If he had been made to read five cartloads of books at home and thoroughly investigate the Tripiṭaka abroad, how could there have been the phenomenon of sparks bursting forth from a single hammer strike? Generally, the more the world is governed, the more chaos arises; the more learning is vast, the more attachments become entrenched. The ancients denounced it as 'mixed poison entering the mind,' truly with good reason. Alas! The men of splendid minds and embroidered mouths, the monks like literary dragons and doctrinal tigers in the world: if they could be open-minded like Changli and reflect upon themselves like Zhou Diamond, why worry that oil would not come out of the flour, or that the Way would not draw near to oneself? Therefore, those that chase the wind and pursue the sun are not the legs of worn-out nags; how could those who scold the Buddhas and curse the patriarchs be crude and lowly fellows? Those stuck in views and knowledge, or constrained by their inferential cognition, are not even as good as an unpolished rough jade that is easy to carve.
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Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Jujing of Husheng Monastery in Tongchuan, Nine
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Śramaṇa Jūjìng, styled Yúqiū, was a son of the Yáng family of Chéngdū. At age fourteen, he renounced household life under Ānhuì at Báimǎ Monastery. Hearing of the repute in the Way of Chan Master Nántáng, he went to call on him. Nántáng raised Xiāngyán’s gongan of the dragon humming in a withered tree to examine him; Jūjìng attained great awakening under the words. One day, Nántáng asked, “Do not guard the strange grass turning green upon the cold crag; / Sitting upon the white clouds, the lineage is not wondrous. / How do you take it?” Jūjìng said, “One must directly brandish the sword. If one does not brandish the sword, the fisherman perches in a nest.” Nántáng, startled, said, “This little fellow!” Jūjìng said “Take care!” and immediately walked away. Later he appeared in the world and presided at Dōngyán. He used to say to the assembly, “The supreme essential of investigation and study does not go beyond what the late Nántáng said: if one can penetrate through the initial phrase and the final phrase, the affair of one’s lifetime is finished. If perchance that is not yet so, I will further divide it for you into ten gates, each to verify your own mind—whether you have attained firm security or not. First, one must have faith that there is a special transmission outside the teachings. Second, one must know there is a special transmission outside the teachings. Third, one must understand that the inanimate expounding the Dharma and the animate expounding the Dharma are not two. Fourth, one must see into the nature as clearly as viewing an object in the palm of one’s hand—distinct and lucid, each and every ground firmly secured and secret. Fifth, one must possess the eye of dharma selection. Sixth, one must walk the bird’s path and the mysterious track. Seventh, one must combine the literary and the martial. Eighth, one must destroy the heterodox and reveal the orthodox. Ninth, one must possess great capacity and great function. Tenth, one must walk among different kinds. Whoever wishes to continue and exalt the seed of the Dharma must fulfill these cardinal guidelines; only then is one fit to sit on this curved-wood chair, receive the bows of the world’s people, and dare to serve as a teacher to the buddhas and patriarchs. If one does not reach such a stage, it is merely continuous deception; on a future day, Old Man Yama will not let you off.” He also said in verse: / ‘The cardinal guidelines of ten gates are exercised in the palm; / When understood, action naturally follows. / An adept has no need to arrange ranks and orders; / In general, from beginning to end, they are the very ground.’”
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Biography of Śramaṇa Míguāng of Jiàozhōng Monastery in Quánzhōu, Tenth (Huángbò Xiáng)
6.24
Śramaṇa Míguāng, styled Huì’ān, was a son of the Jì family of Mǐnzhōng. By nature he rarely spoke or smiled; hearing monks chant Sanskrit, he was pleased. At age fifteen, he tonsured his head under Chan Master Wénhuì. Not having exhausted the ocean of the Canon, he enjoyed delving into worldly texts. One day he considered, “Shaving the head and dyeing the robes ought to aim at thorough awakening; shall I remain infatuated with mundane scriptures?” Thereupon he first called on Yuánwù, and next studied under Huángbò Xiáng and Gāo’ān Wù; his responses and words matched them all. Because bandits arose in Huái and Chǔ, he returned to call on Fóxīn. Encountering Dàhuì staying in Guǎng[zhōu], he thereupon followed him. Dàhuì said, “Try to bring up one or two things you attained at Fóxīn’s place and let me see.” Míguāng said, “Fóxīn ascended the hall and took up Pǔhuà’s gongan, saying: ‘Fóxīn would not do so. When it does not come about at all like that, how should it be? One strikes right across the back, letting him divide his body across all realms.’ ” Dàhuì said, “What was your thought?” He replied, “I did not approve of his adding a commentary at the rear.” Dàhuì said, “This is precisely using illness to remove the dharma.” Míguāng held firmly and would not accept this. Dàhuì said, “Just deliberate on it and see.” Míguāng consistently held it to be not so. After ten days, recalling Master Hǎiyìn Xìn’s comment, “The sound of thunder is vast and great, but raindrops there are none at all,” Míguāng only then had no obstruction. He rushed to inform Dàhuì. Dàhuì brought up the phrases of the Practitioner seeing Lángyé and of Xuánshā being not yet thorough to interrogate him. After Míguāng replied, Dàhuì laughed and said, “Although you have advanced a step, you simply do not hit the mark. Like a person felling a tree’s root: with one blade the life-root is severed. You chop on the branches—can that sever the life-root? Nowadays, the talk of Chan surging everywhere: their views are all like this. What benefit does it have for the matter? Those with the orthodox transmission of Yǎngqí are merely three or four people.” Míguāng left in displeasure. The next day Dàhuì asked, “Do you still have doubt?” He replied, “There is nothing to doubt.” Dàhuì said, “Take for instance the ancients: when meeting, before waiting for the other to open his mouth, they already knew true or false; or upon hearing his words, they at once recognized shallow or deep. What is this principle?” Míguāng was terrified and broke into a sweat, not knowing where to turn. Dàhuì instructed him to investigate the phrase on being and non-being. Dàhuì passed by Yúnmén Hermitage, and Míguāng accompanied him as an attendant. One day he asked, “I have arrived here but cannot achieve thoroughness. Where does the sickness lie?” Dàhuì said, “Your sickness is most eccentric; worldly doctors fold their hands. Why? Others die and cannot come alive; you now are alive but have never died. To reach the stage of great ease and peace, you must die once, and only then will you get it.” Míguāng’s doubt grew ever deeper. Later he entered the room; Dàhuì asked, “Having eaten the porridge and washed the bowl, cast aside the medicinal taboos and bring forth a phrase!” Míguāng said, “Torn apart!” Dàhuì then shook his might and shouted, “You are talking Chan again!” Míguāng at once attained great awakening. Dàhuì then beat the drum to inform the assembly: / ‘Turtle hair picked up brings laughter and glee; / With a single strike, ten thousand layers of bolt and lock open. / The rejoicing of a lifetime is today; / Who says that traveling a thousand miles misled me here?’ / Míguāng also presented a verse: / ‘One pressing at the crux, an angry thunder roars, / Startling Mount Sumeru into hiding the Northern Dipper. / The great waves are vast and boundless, billows surge to heaven; / Grasping the nostrils, one loses the mouth.’ / From this time, his renown resounded throughout the universe; his Way reached both monks and laypeople. He came forth to reside at Jiàozhōng, offering a stick of incense for Miàoxǐ. Was that not knowing the root?
6.25
An appraisal says: Whoever serves as a teacher of others must possess two kinds of methods to be fit to sit in the curved-wood chair: first, to clarify one’s own eye beforehand; second, to perceive the student’s capacity and the source of their illness. If one is not yet clear in oneself, still dragging a cangue and wearing fetters, how can one untie bonds and remove fetters for others? If one does not recognize the source of illness, one cannot avoid the vulgar disgrace of a clumsy hireling who kills people. Therefore, that some rely on the forge and bellows for a long time yet cannot shed the womb to become a vessel is not the fault of the student. Those who are students must also possess two kinds of methods to be able to test the tongues of the world's good spiritual friends: first, not being self-satisfied; second, reviving after dying. If one is easily satisfied, one will surely take fish eyes for pearls. If one does not revive after dying, the life-root of birth and death will not be severed. Therefore, that some enter the buddha-selection hall for a long time yet cannot empty the mind and pass the examination is not the fault of the lineage master. For this reason, Miàoxǐ was not self-approving throughout his life; in his later years he ascended the room of Chuānqín and stepped straight onto the seventh stage of the Huāyán—was this not so? Now Huì’ān investigated Chan with glib cleverness and had never had a great death once; were it not for Miàoxǐ’s dragon-slaying hand, rare would it be that he did not treasure fish eyes. Thus, meeting with that shout of shaken might, he lost his life right then and there, and was then able to roar like the midge before the assembly. How delightful! Alas, the sharp fellows of the world mostly suffer from Huì’ān’s incurable sickness; like madmen who have lost their minds and cannot be cured, they are many! Having never taken the doctor-father's medicine that revives the dead, they are moreover eager to point out delusion for others—is this not an error?
6.26
Biography of Śramaṇa Dàoyán of Dōnglín Monastery in Jiāngzhōu, Eleventh
6.27
Śramaṇa Dàoyán, styled Wàn’ān, was a son of the Xiānyú family of Tóngchuān. At first he called on Yuánwù; he merely ascended the hall and was not yet able to reach its mysterious profundity. When Yuánwù was about to return to Shǔ, he sent a letter to Dàhuì saying: ‘Yán’s painting is complete; only the dotting of the eyes has not yet been done. His succession on another day will be immeasurable.’ Thereupon Dàoyán queried Dàhuì day and night, and only then attained great, thorough awakening. Thereupon his fame and brilliance spread far and wide, and both monastics and laypeople were transformed by him. A monk asked, ‘What is the Buddha?’ Yán said, ‘Venerable Zhìgōng.’ The monk asked, ‘The student asked about the Buddha; why reply with Zhìgōng?’ Yán said, ‘Zhìgōng was no idle monk.’ The monk asked, ‘What is the Dharma?’ Yán said, ‘Yellow silk, young woman, daughter’s son, pestle for pickled greens.’ The monk said, ‘What phrase is that?’ Yán said, ‘An exquisite and fine composition.’ The monk asked, ‘What is the Saṅgha?’ Yán said, ‘Third Brother Xiè on the fishing boat.’ The monk said, ‘Why not speak directly?’ Yán said, ‘Venerable Xuánshā.’ In all his expositions of the Dharma, Yán was generally simple and straightforward like this.
6.28
Biography of Śramaṇa Dǐngxū of Xīchán Monastery in Fúzhōu, Twelfth
6.29
Śramaṇa Dǐngxū, styled Lǎn’ān, was a son of the Lín family of the prefecture. In youth he studied Confucianism and was presented as a jinshi; his administration of government was reputable. At age twenty-five, upon reading the Testament Sūtra, he suddenly realized, ‘I was almost misled by the Confucian cap!’ He immediately wished to abandon the mundane. His mother made things difficult for him because the wedding date was approaching. Dǐngxū smiled, cut it off, and said, ‘Tender peach and red apricot are all at once entrusted to the spring wind; emerald bamboo and yellow flowers from now on will forever be my companions in the Way.’ Thereupon he relied on Master Lè of Bǎoshòu to become a fully ordained monk, and extensively called on eminent elders. Returning to his home village, he built a hermitage on Qiāng Peak for three years. He often used the phrase ‘This very mind is Buddha’ to question students. At that time Miàoxǐ was staying in a hermitage at Yángyǔ; Huì’ān Guāng attended him and specifically sent a letter inviting Dǐngxū, saying: ‘The hermit master’s method here is different from that of other places; how about coming for a short stay?’ Dǐngxū did not reply. Guāng used a stratagem to invite him over. It happened that Miàoxǐ was giving interviews in his room for the assembly; Dǐngxū wished merely to follow along and rejoice. Miàoxǐ consequently brought up: ‘A monk asked Mǎzǔ, “What is the Buddha?” The Patriarch said, “This very mind is Buddha.” How do you take it?’ Dǐngxū offered a phrase. Miàoxǐ scolded him, saying, ‘Your view is like this, yet you dare to act as a teacher of others recklessly?’ He then beat the drum and denounced it as a heterodox understanding. Dǐngxū’s tears streamed down his cheeks and he dared not look up. He quietly thought to himself: ‘Since I have been rejected by him, can the non-transmitted intention from the West be limited to this?’ He thereupon sought to join the ranks of disciples. One day, Miàoxǐ asked, ‘Not letting out from within, not letting in from without: at just such a time, how is it?’ Dǐngxū intended to open his mouth; Miàoxǐ picked up the bamboo staff and struck him three times continuously across the back. Dǐngxū attained great awakening and said in a stern voice, ‘The Venerable has already done too much!’ Miàoxǐ struck him once more. Dǐngxū bowed. Miàoxǐ laughed and said, ‘Today you finally know that I have not deceived you.’ He certified him with a verse: / ‘At the crown of the head, straight erect stands the eye of Maheśvara; / Behind the elbow, slanted hangs the life-snatching tally. / Blind the eye, discard the tally! / On Zhàozhōu’s eastern wall hangs a gourd.’ / From then on, his renown resounded in the monastic halls, and his Way covered distant regions. Only after this, when he opened the hall, was he called a lineage master possessing the eye.
6.30
Biography of Śramaṇa Dàoqiān of Jiànníng Prefecture, Thirteenth
6.31
Śramaṇa Dàoqiān was a native of his prefecture; his clan is unknown. At first he relied on Fóguǒ without finding entry. When Miàoxǐ resided at Jìngshān by imperial order, Dàoqiān also attended him. He was ordered to go to Chángshā to deliver a letter to Zhāng Zǐyán. Dàoqiān thought to himself: ‘I have investigated Chan for twenty years and still have no place of entry; now having this journey, will it not be wasted?’ He was about to decline, when his companion Zōngyuán rebuked him, saying, ‘You must not! Can one not investigate Chan on the road? If you go, I will go with you.’ One day on the road, Dàoqiān wept and said, ‘All my life I have investigated Chan with no place of strength; now rushing about like this, how can I attain accord?’ Yuán said, ‘You just take all that you have investigated and awakened to in various quarters, together with what Yuánwù and Miàoxǐ told you, and pay no heed to any of it. On the road, whatever I can do for you, I will do entirely for you. There are only five things I cannot do for you; you must take them upon yourself.’ Dàoqiān asked, ‘What are the five things?’ Yuán said, ‘Wearing clothes, eating meals, defecating, urinating, and carrying this corpse walking on the road.’ Dàoqiān attained great breakthrough under these words, unconsciously dancing with hands and feet. Yuán said, ‘This time you can go deliver the letter; I will return first.’ Half a year later he returned to Shuāngjìng. As soon as Miàoxǐ saw him in the pavilion outside the mountain gate, he said, ‘This fellow of Jiànzhōu is completely different this time!’
6.32
Biography of Śramaṇa Qīngdàn of Tánzhōu, Fourteenth
6.33
Śramaṇa Qingdan, styled Huitong, was a son of the Yan family of Pengzhou. When he first took leave of his kin and loved ones, he was fond of the school of emptiness. Hearing that there was a path of special transmission outside the teachings, his mindful focus grew keener day by day. He then slung his bag on his back and departed through the passes, intending to join monastic communities. At that time, Venerable Dawei Tai was dwelling at Deshan. Dan visited him just as Tai ascended the hall and brought up the following: “Zhaozhou said: ‘I have already seen through the old woman of Mount Wutai for you.’ Tell me, what was his meaning?” After a good while, he said: “Bending down to the earth, I rake away the yellow leaves; entering the mountains, I roll out the white clouds.” When Dan heard this, the doubts and obstacles of his life dissolved away. The next day, he entered the room. Tai asked: “Why did the former Baizhang fall into the wild fox by not falling into cause and effect? Why did the latter Baizhang escape the wild fox by not obscuring cause and effect?” Dan said: “A fine thing to bury them together in one pit!” After dwelling [as an abbot], he ascended the hall and said: “A three-legged donkey gallops along, step by step accompanying and not falling down. Startled up from the treetops, two carps are brought forth: one old, one not old. Out of love for the pines and bamboos, he draws the clear breeze; alas, step out the gate, and it is all weeds. Calling on the beloved youth, he recognizes him: great potential and great function are both pushed down. Burning incense to examine and verify, he sees the root source; atop a pile of manure, he picks up a jewel. The monastic community noisily and vainly bargains; I urge you not to slander the former master.” Dan's gate and style were stern and austere, and his turning words were sharp and fierce; therefore, students mostly found it difficult to anchor there.
6.34
Biography of Śramaṇa Xingji of Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai, Fifteen
6.35
Śramaṇa Xingji, self-styled Jiantang, was a son of the Yang family of that commandery. His innate knowledge developed early, and his aspirations were lofty and transcendent. His countenance and demeanor were outstanding and remarkable, and his talent overshadowed the Confucian scholars. In his youth, he abandoned wife and children to diligently study world-transcending [teachings]. He thoroughly investigated the Indian scriptures, and his ease penetrated the three vehicles. Privately wishing to depart from words and seek solely the direct pointing, he therefore admired the reputation of Master Huguo Yuan, carrying his bamboo umbrella to rely on him. At the slight touch of the tongs and hammer, he had a secret accord and realization. Thereupon he resided at Mount Wan, tilling with knives and burning with fire, living alone for seventeen years. He once had a verse that ran: “In the ground-hearth there is no fire, the traveler’s bag is empty; / Snow like willow catkins falls at year’s end. / Picking up broken hemp, I thread my ruined patched robe, / Unaware that my body is amid desolation.” He would often say: “I am not yet secure. How could I make dwelling in the mountains my joy?” One day, he happened to watch a tree being chopped down, hitting the ground with a sound. Suddenly he attained great awakening; the thing that had troubled his chest in the past melted away like ice. Before long, it coincided that an invitation came from Yuantong in Jiangzhou. He then said: “My path shall now be practiced!” and gladly took up his staff to respond to it. Ascending the seat, he spoke, saying: “Yuantong does not open an herbal pharmacy; he only sells dead cats’ heads. I wonder which one without thoughts or calculations will take a bite and have cold sweat pouring over his whole body!” None who heard this failed to roar with laughter. The monastic community praises it to this day.
6.36
Biography of Śramaṇa Yang'an of Lingyan Temple in Lizhou, Sixteen (Appended: Biaoxi)
6.37
Śramaṇa Yang'an—it is not known where he was from. He was extraordinarily talented, surpassing the crowd, and left the secular world at an early age. Once he had rounded his pate, he aspired to the Supreme Vehicle. He was meticulous and cautious with vinaya deportment, and indulged in frequenting lecture halls. After a long time, he abandoned them and thereupon entered the room of Master Foguoyuan Qin. At that time, Dawei Tai was the seat-leader; dawn and dusk, An inquired of him and suddenly grasped the profound purport. Later, Tai served as abbot at Deshan and instructed An to go to Foguo to deliver his letter of dharma succession. Foguo saw him and asked: “Galloping a thousand leagues without disgracing the ancestral style; the gongan is fully present—how do you convey the letter?” An said: “Presented face to face, there is no further mutual avoidance.” Foguo said: “This belongs to Deshan. Which is the elder's?” An said: “How could there be a second person?” Foguo said: “What about the one behind your back?” An immediately advanced the letter. Foguo laughed and praised him as an adept. Next, he arrived in front of the monks' hall, holding the letter to greet the head monk. The head monk said: “Xuansha's blank paper—where does this come from?” An said: “Remaining silent about this essential for a long time, not hurrying to explain it; today I pay respects and present it, hoping you will take a look.” The head monk then gave a shout. An said: “An adept head monk!” The head monk shouted again. An immediately struck him with the letter. The head monk hesitated. An said: “Not having clarified the three, eight, and nine, you cannot avoid brooding over it.” He struck him once more and said: “When it was received, Foguo and Foyan witnessed it together.” Foguo said: “You have beaten my head monk to death!” Foyan said: “Official horses kicking each other—what evidence is there?” An said: “Why speak of official horses kicking each other? It is truly the trampling of dragons and elephants!” Foguo summoned An before him and said: “He is the head monk over my five hundred people. Why did you strike him?” An said: “The Venerable must also take a beating!” Foguo looked at Foyan and stuck out his tongue. Foyan said: “Not yet,” and then asked: “What is the meaning of the saying ‘Empty-handed, holding a hoe’?” An bowed and said: “What I state is all strictly true.” Foyan laughed and said: “So he is indeed a man of our house!” He also went to Mount Wuzu to deliver a letter to Venerable Biaoxi. Xi said: “What does the letter say?” An said: “The ornate design is already manifest.” Xi said: “Ultimately, what does it say?” An said: “Wielding the precious sword facing the sun.” Xi called out: “Come forward! Here I do not recognize a few characters.” An said: “Better not feign defeat!” Xi looked at his attendant and said: “Where is this monk from?” The attendant said: “He was once in the Venerable's assembly.” Xi said: “No wonder he has such a sharp head!” An said: “I was ruined by the Venerable.” Xi held the letter over the incense burner to smoke it, saying: “Namo samanta.” An came forward and snapped his fingers. Xi then opened the letter. From this, his renown spread throughout the four quarters, and he did not bring disgrace to Tai’s mission. Soon afterward, he came forth to preside over Lingyan. Patch-robed monks gathered like spokes at a hub; taking up the mallet and raising the fly-whisk, he had much of the style of the ancients.
6.38
Biography of Śramaṇa Baoyin of Jingshan in Lin'an Prefecture, Seventeen (Appended: Zhice)
6.39
Śramaṇa Baoyin, styled Biefeng, was a son of the Li family of Jiazhou. In his youth, he mastered the Six Classics, and when grown up, he thoroughly studied the Seven Histories. Suddenly weary of the dust of the world, he aspired to the Indian tombs [of scripture]. He then received ordination under Venerable Qingsu of Deshan. He went to listen to the Huayan [sūtra] and the Awakening of Faith, fully grasping their purports. Realizing that the toilsome counting of grains of sand ultimately brought no liberation, he then relied on Chan Master Miyin Min of Zhongfeng. Miyin brought up: “A monk asked Yantou: ‘How is it when arising and ceasing do not stop?’ Yantou shouted: ‘Who is it that arises and ceases?’” Hearing this, the master attained great awakening. It happened that Yuanwu returned to Zhaojue; he sent the master to pay respects. Following the assembly, he entered the room. Yuanwu asked: “With what have the sages from above received people?” The master raised his fist. Yuanwu said: “This is what the old monk uses. What is that which the sages from above used?” The master waved his fist at him. Yuanwu also raised his fist; crossing fists, they stopped with a great laugh. He also visited Dahui at Jingshan. Dahui asked: “Where do you come from?” He said: “Xichuan.” Dahui said: “Before you emerged from the Jianmen Pass, I had already given you thirty blows of the stick.” He said: “It was improper of me to disturb the Venerable.” Dahui was delighted. Later, he went forth and received an imperial edict to dwell at Xuedou. In the autumn of the seventh year of the Chunxi era, the Emperor summoned the master to ask about the Way, granting him a palanquin to enter the Xuande Hall. The Emperor said: “The sages of the three teachings fundamentally share this principle, do they not?” He replied: “It is like empty space, which fundamentally has no difference between east, west, south, and north.” The Emperor said: “It is only that the gates established by the sages are different. For instance, Confucius’s nature instituted his teachings by means of the Doctrine of the Mean.” Yin said: “Without the Mean, how could the world be established? Therefore, the Lotus Sūtra says: ‘The language for governing the world, the industries that sustain life, and so forth, are all uncontradictory with the true aspect.’ The Huayan says: ‘Without destroying the marks of the world, accomplishing the world-transcending Dharma.’” The Emperor said: “Nowadays, among literati and officials who study Confucius, most only excel at written words and language; they do not see the Master’s Way and do not know the Master’s mind. Only the Buddhist Chan school does not teach people with written words, but directly points to the mind-source, causing them to awaken immediately, undisturbed at the juncture of life and death. This is exceedingly wondrous.” Yin said: “It is not only later generations who do not see the Master’s mind. I have observed that in the gate of Confucius, Master Yan was said to have embodied it fully; yet exhausting his lifelong strength, he could only say: ‘Looking up to it before me, suddenly it is behind me’—in the end, he could not grasp it. And yet the Master clearly laid it out wide open, saying to his disciples: ‘Do you two or three disciples think I have hidden anything? I have hidden nothing from you. There is nothing I have done that I have not shared with you two or three disciples; this is who Qiu is.’ Looking at it from this perspective, the Master never avoided his disciples, but the disciples themselves missed it. In the past, Zhang Shangying said: ‘Only after I studied Buddhism was I able to understand Confucianism.’ These words are truly most apt.” The Emperor said: “Our thought is also like this.” The Emperor asked again: “What kind of person was Zhuangzi?” Yin said: “He was merely a person below the small vehicle’s śrāvakas in the Buddhadharma. For the small vehicle loathes the body like fetters and casts off wisdom like mixed poisons, transforming through fire to burn the body and enter the unconditioned realm. This is precisely like what Zhuangzi described: ‘The body can indeed be made like dried wood; the mind can indeed be made like dead ashes.’ If it is a Mahāyāna person, it is not so: only when all sentient beings have crossed over does one verify bodhi. This is just as Yi Yin said: ‘I am one of the heaven-born who first awakened; I shall awaken these people by means of this Way. If there is a single man who does not receive its benefit, it is as if I had pushed and thrown him into a ditch.’ ” The Emperor was greatly pleased and issued an edict for him to dwell at Jingshan. Opening the hall, he said: “The Buddhas of the three periods use one phrase to expound hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of phrases, and gathering hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of phrases rests only in one phrase. Under the gate of the ancestral masters, there is not even half a phrase. Just like this, how many painful blows of the stick should one take? Virtuous ones, tell me, are the Buddhas right, or are the ancestral masters right? If you say the Buddhas are right and the ancestors are not, or the ancestors are right and the Buddhas are not, taking and discarding have not been forgotten. If you say the Buddhas and ancestors are simultaneously both right, or simultaneously both not right, the confusion is not small. And how do you speak a phrase that cuts through the entanglements?” After a good while, he said: “A tiger wearing a paper hat: laughable yet terrifying.” In the second month of the tenth year, the Emperor wrote a commentary on the Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra and bestowed it on the master, commanding him to compose a preface to circulate it. In the eleventh month of the first year of the Shaoxi era, he went to see Chan Master Zhice to bid farewell. Ce asked about the date of his departure. The master said: “When the water arrives, the channel is formed.” He asked for paper and wrote nine characters: “At cockcrow on the night of the seventh of the twelfth month.” Indeed, when the time came, he underwent transformation. His countenance remained bright and moist for seven days; his hair grew and his crown was warm. He was buried with his entire body on the Western Knoll. He was posthumously titled Cibian (Compassionate Eloquence), and his stūpa was named Zhiguang (Wisdom Light).
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- 大明高僧傳 — Classical Chinese