大明高僧傳 7.8

7.8

Shi Yingduan was a son of the Xu family of Nanchang. From birth his brow was expansive and his demeanor dignified and solemn. In youth he loathed worldly defilements and early on entered the gate of emptiness. Relying on Shanyue of Huadu Monastery in the prefecture, he was ordained as a full monk. He visited Zhenjing Wen, but their dynamic did not harmonize. At that time, Lingyuan was sharing the seat at Yunju, so Yingduan went to consult him. Lingyuan applied a sharp prodding. Yingduan was proud of his own understanding; having penetratingly entered the sūtras and treatises, he cited the encounter dialogue of Mazu and Baizhang and the principles of the Huayan Sūtra to respond in match. Lingyuan laughed and said, “That you cite Mazu and Baizhang is certainly a mistake, but the essential tenets of Huayan have happily nothing to do with this matter.” Yingduan was incensed and wished to leave. As he took his leave and lifted the screen, he suddenly had a great awakening, and sweat soaked his back. Lingyuan saw this, rejoiced, and said, “Only now do you know good and bad! Mazu, Baizhang, Mañjuśrī, and Samantabhadra were almost your burden.” From then on, his reputation spread in all directions, and the seven assemblies revered his path. Toward the end of the Zhenghe era, Grand Preceptor Zhang Sicheng left Baizhang vacant and firmly commanded him to open the hall. Yingduan raised the topic of the monk asking Dasui about whether 'this one' is destroyed or not when the fire at the end of the kalpa blazes through. He then said:

“The six directions overturn, rushing head-on;
Temporarily donning hemp and coarse cloth to mingle in the dust.
Blowing a fire with the wind is entirely a casual matter,
Yet it entices the wanderer to refuse to return.
Destroyed or not destroyed? Following or not following?
In vain do you take what is heard and seen to forcibly pierce like an awl.
Across Lake Tai's thirty-six thousand qing,
The moon is in the heart of the waves—to whom can it be told?”