大明高僧傳 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

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Compiled by Śramaṇa Shi Ruxing of Ciyun Chan Temple on Mount Tiantai in the Imperial Ming

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Section Three: Practitioners of Dhyāna, Part Four (Seventeen primary biographies, with six appended)

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Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Desheng of Yunju Temple in Nankang Military Prefecture, One (Huiwen)

Shi Desheng was styled Wan'an. He was a son of the He family of Hanzhou. In his youth, he sank in the worldly mire; as he grew older, he awoke as if from a dream. At twenty, he was ordained and directed his mind to the lecture seats. The three trainings and the four assemblies praised him as a tiger of doctrinal meaning. Suddenly disliking the piecemeal analysis, he completely changed his course. Changing his clothes and putting on a rain-hat, he visited Venerable Wenshu Dao and earnestly begged for the essential point of the Buddhadharma. Dao spoke a verse: / "The Khitans crushed the Persian fortress, / Seized the precious pearl, and sold it in the village. / A poor beggar at the crossroads, / At his waist hangs a stylish pouch." / When Sheng was about to reply, Dao shouted, "Do not make a mistake!" Thereupon he withdrew and investigated for three years before he grasped the earlier meaning. Entering Min, he climbed Gushan to pay respects to Zhu'an, asking, "What is the meaning of the National Preceptor's line about not stepping past the stone gate?" Zhu'an answered immediately, "Idle words." At these words he was suddenly enlightened. Later, a monk asked, "What is the true person of no rank?" Sheng said, "When heard of, rich and noble; after seeing, poor and destitute." Śramaṇa Huiwen was styled Luo'an and was born to the Zheng family of Fuzhou. Together with Sheng, he relied on Zhu'an in the East. Before long, because Zhu'an resigned from his duties, and feeling in his own chest that he was not yet clear, he also visited various senior masters such as Gao'an Wu, Nanhua Bing, and Caotang Qing, all of whom recognized his understanding. It happened that Zhu'an moved to Ganyuan in Min; Wen returned to visit him. Zhu'an said, "When feeling arises, wisdom is blocked; when thought alters, substance differs. There is no need to detain a prisoner to foster intellect; speak a phrase!" Wen was released and awakened, presenting a verse: / "Pushed out, the whole body is a mouth; what harm in cursing the rain and scolding the wind? / Last night in the village ahead, a fierce tiger bit to death the big bug of the southern mountain." / Zhu'an approved him. Later, he resided at Langshan in Tongzhou. Together with Sheng, he raised Zhu'an's red banner and served as a fine guide for the region.

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Biography of Śramaṇa Shi Ziyuan of Yunju Temple in Nankang Military Prefecture, Two (Shanneng)

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Śramaṇa Shi Ziyuan, styled Puyun, was a son of the Yong family of Mianzhou. Having spiritual roots from earlier lives, he was able to sever worldly affection while still young. He cast off the fetters of desire as a fish escapes the net, and entered the garden of the Dharma like a phoenix perching on a parasol tree. At nineteen, he was tested on the scriptures and received his certificate of ordination with a hymn. After dyeing his robes, he first explored the Vinaya school: his [observance of] action, transgression, cessation, and upholding was like white jade and fine gem. He immersed himself in the ocean of teachings for five years, and only afterward went beyond the pass and headed south. As he traveled and trained, the four assemblies all praised him as outstanding. He called upon venerable elders everywhere. Upon first entering Longmen, he happened to walk in the corridor and veranda, and seeing a painting of a foreigner on the wall, he suddenly had an awakening. That evening he reported it to Gao'an. Gao'an brought up Fayan's verse: 'On his head he wears a sable cap; at his waist hangs an awl of ram's horn. His words do not allow people to understand; one must find someone to translate them.' Gao'an then picked up the tongs, held up fire, showed it to him, and said: 'I have translated it for you.' At these words, Yuan had a great awakening and presented a verse: 'The sounds of foreign words cannot be exhausted; / Beneath the Cloud-Arising Pavilion, all at once they are penetrated. / The gate of the mouth is vast and boundless; / It swallows whole the chestnut burs of Yangqi.' Gao'an sent him to attend upon Foyan. Foyan said: 'My Way has gone east.' Shi Shanneng was also a Dharma heir and disciple of Gao'an. His family was from Yanling; his surname is not recorded. One day, Gao'an held a communal labor to pick vegetables. Recognizing that [Shanneng's] conditions were ripe, Gao'an suddenly threw a cat into Neng's embrace. As Neng hesitated, Gao'an struck his chest and stepped on him, knocking him down. Thoroughly and greatly awakened, Neng stood up, only chanting and laughing. Having attended upon him for a long time, his fragrant virtue was heard far and wide. Monastics and laity inclined their hearts to him, and devas and humans ushered him forth. He served as abbot at Zhongji in Fuzhou, vastly propagating the style of the school. The world called it the twin-tree Dharma banner.

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Biography 3: Śramaṇa Shi Yanchong of Jingci Monastery in Lin'an Prefecture

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Śramaṇa Shi Yanchong, styled Kengtang, was a son of the Sheng family of Yuqian in Hangzhou. From childhood his wisdom-nature was bright and clear, and good roots were rooted within him. Born knowing of [the Dharma], he vowed to cast off worldly entanglements. Thereupon he shaved his head under Shi Yikan of the Mingkong Cloister. For five summers he studied the Vinaya, then traveled alone with a single bowl. He went directly to Dayu, Hongzhi, Zhengtang, and Dayuan. Later he heard a monk cite Donglin Yan instructing the assembly, saying: 'Here I have no other profound marvels; there are only wood-shavings soup and iron-nail rice—you are completely left to chew on them.' Chong secretly rejoiced and went straight to call on him and state his understanding. Donglin said to him: 'According to where your view is, you are sitting squarely within reflective awareness.' Chong discarded all that he had attained before all at once, single-mindedly and diligently inquiring and investigating. One day he heard a nearby monk cite Nanquan saying: 'People of today see this single flower like a dream.' He silently realized to himself: 'Beating the grass is only to startle the snake.' The next day he entered the room, and Donglin asked: 'Where was it that Yantou secretly opened his intention?' Chong said: 'Today I have captured this old thief.' Lin said: 'Great Master Bodhidharma's life is in your hands.' As Chong was about to open his mouth, Lin suddenly struck him in the chest with a fist. Immediately he had a great awakening; sweat streamed down his back, and nodding his head, he said: 'Linji said that the Buddhadharma of Huangbo does not have much to it—how could that be empty words!' He presented a verse: 'To help a person, one must help thoroughly; / To kill a person, one must see blood. / Deshan and Yantou— / For ten thousand miles, a single strip of iron.' Lin deeply affirmed it.

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Biography 4: Śramaṇa Shi Zhenci of Zhizhe Monastery in Wuzhou

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Śramaṇa Shi Zhenci, styled Yuan'an, was a son of the Li family of Tongchuan. In his youth with hair tied in tufts, he already yearned for emptiness and quiescence and loved visiting monasteries. He pleaded with his parents to shave his head at the Zhengfa Cloister in Chengdu, and received the full precepts of the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. Pure and solemn as ice and snow, his understanding and wisdom grew daily. Addicted to palm-leaf texts, he traveled everywhere to lecture halls. While listening to the Sūtra of Complete Enlightenment, arriving at: 'The four great elements each separate; now where can this deluded body be? In the end it has no substance and is truly identical to an illusion,' he had an awakening and composed a hymn: 'A single bright pearl / Is right here with me. / Stir it, move it, / It radiates light and shakes the earth.' He presented it to the lecture masters on their seats, but none could understand it. Returning, he related it to his tonsure master. His master questioned him with the phrase 'a dog has no Buddha-nature.' Ci said: 'Hundreds of thousands of gongan do not go beyond this hymn.' The master then shouted him out. Consequently he traveled south to Mount Lu and hung up his staff at Yuantong. At that time, Wan'an served as West Hall and held interviews in the room for the assembly. He brought up the monk asking Yunmen: 'How is it when one clears away the dust to see the Buddha?' Yunmen said: 'The Buddha is also dust.' Hearing this, Ci was thoroughly awakened. Following the sound, he immediately gave a shout, and pointing to his chest with his finger, said: 'The Buddha is also dust.' Again he presented a hymn: 'Clearing away dust to see the Buddha, the Buddha is also dust; / Having asked, having answered, right then turn your body around. / I urge you to drain another cup of wine: / Going west out the Yang Pass, there will be no old friends.' He also composed a hymn on the dust-by-dust samādhi: 'Rice in the bowl, water in the bucket; / A Kunlun who recognizes jewels sits at the bottom of the deep pool. / Atop each and every grain of dust, Mount Sumeru runs; / The clear-eyed Persian laughs and snaps his fingers. / Laughs and snaps his fingers—atop the coral branch, a pure breeze arises.' Wan'an nodded to it. Thereupon his fame spread in the four directions, and his Dao reached across different paths. He went forth to preside over Zhizhe Monastery, instructing and guiding students, being truly a hand that slaughters dragons.

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Biography 5: Śramaṇa Shi Anyong of Mount Gu in Fuzhou (Anfen)

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Śramaṇa Shi Anyong, styled Mu'an, was a son of the Wu family of Min County. Born endowed with the capacity for the Dao, Yong's conduct was solemn. Though his body was caught in the tangles of affection, his mind cherished rising far above. At age twenty he shaved his head, standing high outside worldly things. Hearing of the way of the special transmission, he called upon Chan Master Lan'an at Yunmen. When he entered the room, Lan'an looked at him and asked: 'Not asking about having words, not asking about having no words—the Bhagavat remained silent for a good while. You must not understand it from the place where the Bhagavat remained silent for a good while.' Immediately following this he shouted. Yong suddenly accorded and awakened. [Lan'an said:] 'Those who have not yet obtained an entry must obtain an entry. Once having obtained an entry, you must not forget this old monk.' Yong said: 'Talking like this, how thick is your face? Mu'an, however, is not so: Those who have not yet obtained an entry must obtain an entry. Once having obtained an entry, they must straightaway cast off the entry before it counts.' Whenever he expounded the Dharma, it was concise and clear like this. At that time there was Hermitage Master Anfen. When young, he and Yong had studied together at Anguo. Later, Yong accompanied him to rely on Lan'an, but did not tally [with him]. He took his leave to call upon Dahui at Mount Jing. Walking along the bank of the Qiantang River, he looked up at the palace gates, and suddenly heard the street officer shouting: 'The Vice Minister arrives!' Fen suddenly had a great awakening, and spoke a verse: 'For how many years has this matter hung in my chest? / Having questioned all directions, my eyes did not open. / At this moment, liver and gall both split apart; / With a single shout upon the river, the Vice Minister arrives!' He went straight back to Xichan. Lan'an welcomed him and transmitted the saṅghāṭī robe to him. From then on he had no fixed dwelling. Later he resided in a hermitage at Jianmen, his transformation covering the region beyond the ridges, and students followed him.

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Biography 6: Śramaṇa Shi Danmi of Jingci Monastery in Lin'an Prefecture

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Śramaṇa Shi Danmi, styled Hunyuan, was a son of the Lu family of Tiantai. Born quick-witted and exceptionally gifted, he was no ordinary person. Having lost his father in childhood, he harbored lofty and far-reaching aspirations. At first he relied on Daorong of Zifu in his home county to thoroughly investigate the Indian teachings. At sixteen he received the full precepts and was enrolled among the great monks. His [observance of] the greater and lesser Vinaya divisions was pure and spotless. He thoroughly studied the Tiantai teachings and contemplations, and was as clear on the tenets of sudden, gradual, biased, perfect, innate nature, and rational poison as if pointing to his own palm. One day he sighed, saying: 'The marvel of the vehicles of the teachings cannot be adequately praised. Yet without leaving names and words, in the end it is not seeing one's nature. It would be better to change robes and follow the learning of the special transmission. If there is a glimpse, it will suffice to bring joy to my entire life.' Hearing that Dahui was proclaiming the Dao at Mount Jing, he packed his bags and went to pay respects. He also visited Master Xuechao Yi, Ci'an Yuan, and others, but had no awakening. Thereupon he went from Fujian to Quannan and joined the Venerable Jiaozhong Guang, who appointed him as rector. Hearing Zhong bring up the story of Xiangyan striking the bamboo, he was thoroughly awakened and presented a verse. When Zhong questioned him on Xuansha's words on not having penetrated, he replied without hesitation. Only then did [Zhong] instruct him, saying: 'Only after this may you see Dahui.' Thereupon, receiving his instructions, he took his leave and went to Meiyang, serving diligently for four years. Dahui once ascended the seat [and lauded] him. Later he came into the world, receiving an imperial decree to serve as abbot of Jingci, vastly promoting the way of Jiaozhong. The shoes outside his door were always full. When he manifested quiescence, a stūpa was erected at the northwest corner of the monastery mountain.

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Biography 7: Śramaṇa Shi Xianjie of Tiantong Monastery in Mingzhou

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Śramaṇa Shi Xianjie, styled Mi'an, was a son of the Zheng family of Fuzhou. His mother dreamt of an old monk from Mount Lu entering the house, and thereupon gave birth to the master. From childhood he was exceptionally gifted beyond ordinary people. Reaching adulthood, he shaved his head, received full ordination, and called upon spiritual teachers everywhere. Finally he visited the Venerable Ying'an Hua at Mingguo Hermitage in Quzhou. One day [Hua] asked: 'What is the eye of the true Dharma?' He answered: 'A broken earthen basin.' Ying'an nodded to it and spoke a verse: 'The phrase that accords with the mechanism of great awakening / Fully illuminates and expands the crown of the head. / Accompanying each other now for four years, / Testing and questioning are completely without a trace. / Though robe and bowl have not yet been transmitted, / His spirit swallows heaven and earth. / Yet he takes the eye of the true Dharma / And calls it a broken earthen basin.' Later he went forth to reside at Wuju Hermitage in Quzhou, then moved to Xiangfu, Mount Jiang, and Huazang. Before long, by imperial decree he presided over Mount Jing and Lingyin. Ascending the hall, [he said:] 'Niutou spoke horizontally and spoke vertically, not knowing there is an upward pivot. There is a kind of lacquer-bucket fellow who cannot distinguish east from west or north from south. What is the upward pivot? How is it different from wetting the bed with open eyes? I have a turning phrase: it is neither upward nor downward; the Great Compassionate One with a Thousand Hands cannot grope it. Today this old monk gives it as alms to the great assembly.' After a good while, he said: 'Great Master Bodhidharma has no front teeth.' Ascending the hall, he struck his staff and said: 'When deluded, one is only deluded about this.' Striking it once more, he said: 'When awakened, one is only awakened about this. When delusion and awakening are both forgotten, it is like adding more trash on top of a heap of sweepings. Is there anyone who can utter a single phrase where one surges in the east and submerges in the west, and the total mechanism is uniquely released? If you cannot speak, this old monk will speak it himself.' Throwing down the staff, he said: 'After thirty years, bring it up again.' The Venerable Jinfeng instructed the assembly, saying: 'Twenty years ago, this old monk had a grandmotherly heart; twenty years later, I have no grandmotherly heart.' A monk asked: 'What is the master's having a grandmotherly heart?' Feng said: 'Asked about the ordinary, I answer with the ordinary; asked about the sacred, I answer with the sacred.' The monk also asked: 'What is the master's having no grandmotherly heart?' Feng said: 'Asked about the ordinary, I do not answer with the ordinary; asked about the sacred, I do not answer with the sacred.' The master said: 'If I had seen him speak like that at the time, it would have been fitting to say to him: If you yourself were to glance at it, you naturally would not fall into this rut of the sacred and ordinary.' Again, having brought up the story of the old woman burning the hermitage, the master said: 'This gongan is often brought up and commented upon in the monasteries. Today, this old monk tears off his face and cannot help admitting defeat once before the assembly, firmly wanting all quarters to inspect it clearly.' He then addressed the assembly: 'This old woman's dwelling place was deep and secure, so that not a drop of water could leak through; she particularly scattered flowers on a withered tree and emitted flames in a cold cliff. This monk, solitary and aloof, was accustomed to entering great waves; casually he blocked the towering crest of the tide, yet in the end he himself did not have a single drop. If we examine them closely, knocking on the cangue and breaking the lock is not absent, but if it is said to be the Buddhadharma, neither of the two has even dreamt of it yet. Now that this old monk brings it up like this, where in the end does the meaning return?' After a good while, he said: 'A handful of willow threads cannot be gathered up; / Together with the mist, they lean against the jade balustrade.' Ascending the hall, he struck his staff and said: 'If the whole great earth is called a single phrase, you bear the cangue and wear the locks; if it is not called a single phrase, the karmic consciousness is vast and boundless. When both ends are completely penetrated and released, obtaining a state cleanly stripped and bare and starkly bright, one still must not sweep Bodhidharma's single school entirely away. Therefore Great Master Yunmen said: "Throughout heaven and earth and the great earth, there is not the slightest flaw"—this is still a turning phrase; not seeing a single dharma is only half the presentation; one must further know that there is the full presentation.' The master said: 'The sword has long been gone, / And only now do you notch the boat.' Taking up his staff, he struck it once, and stepped down from the seat.

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Biography 8: Śramaṇa Shi Zuxian of Mount Wolong in Kuizhou (Faxun)

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Śramaṇa Shi Zuxian, styled Po'an, was a son of the Wang family of Guang'an. He went forth from home in his youth and vigorously investigated the patriarchal Way, unable to rest peacefully at night, clad only in a single patched robe. Hearing that Mi'an was greatly promoting the Linji lineage, he packed his baggage and went to call on him. Mi'an recognized him as a vessel of great capacity and pressed him with rigorous drilling. One day, when Mi'an ascended the hall to instruct the assembly, Zuxian suddenly had an awakening. Later, when Mi'an resided at Lingyin, he ordered the Master to share the seat. An itinerant practitioner happened to ask, "What should one do when the monkey cannot be caught?" The Master said, "Why catch it? When the wind blows across water, ripples naturally form." A lecturing master of the Śūraṅgama-sūtra asked for instruction. The Master spoke a gāthā, saying: / "Seeing is still apart from seeing, yet not true seeing; / Though the eight returns are fully returned, there is nothing to return. / Leaves fall into the autumn sky and the mountain's bones are bared; / Who knows whether anyone recognizes old Gautama?" / At that time, Shitian Faxun called upon the Master, who questioned him by raising the case of the Bhagavat holding up a flower and Kāśyapa smiling. Xun replied, "A burnt brick is smashed, cracking the frost right down to the base; / Red eyes collide with the flaming head of firewood." The Master nodded. Later, [Faxun] appeared in the world and became his Dharma heir.

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Biography 9: Śramaṇa Shi Chongyue of Lingyin Monastery in Lin'an Prefecture

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Shi Chongyue, styled Songyuan, was a son of the Wu family of Longquan in Chuzhou. In the second year of Longxing, he was ordained at the Bailian Jingshe by the West Lake in Hangzhou. He traveled to practice for a very long time. Later he called upon Master Mi'an Jie. Hearing [Mi'an] in the room question a monk on the case of "not mind, not Buddha, not a thing," he suddenly attained great awakening and received the mind-seal. When Mi'an returned to Lingyin, he appointed [Chongyue] to occupy the head seat. After a long while, he appeared in the world, first residing at Chengzhao in Pingjiang, then staying at Guangxiao in Jiangyin, Jianfu in Raozhou, and Xiangshan in Mingzhou. In the third year of Qingyuan of Emperor Ningzong, he was imperial summoned to reside at Lingyin; three years passed, and he requested retirement due to age, withdrawing to dwell in the east hermitage of the monastery. On the fourth day of the eighth month in the second year of Jiatai, he personally wrote letters to bid farewell to the high officials. Leaving instructional words to show students, he said, "Why is it that a person of great strength cannot lift his feet?" He also said, "Opening one's mouth does not rely upon the tongue." He bequeathed instructions to his disciples to take propagating the Dharma as their primary duty. He then wrote a gāthā, saying: / "Coming, there is no place to come from; / Going, there is no place to go to. / With a sudden turn at the mysterious pass, / Buddhas and patriarchs are at a loss." / He passed away in the full lotus posture. His worldly age was seventy-one; his dharma age was forty. His whole body was stupaed on the heights of the Northern Peak. Those who attained the Dharma were Guangmu of Xiangshan and Shankai of Yunju.

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Biography 10: Śramaṇa Shi Shifan of Jingshan in Lin'an Prefecture

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Shi Shifan, styled Wuzhun, was a son of the Yong family of Zitong in Shu. At the age of nine, he went forth from home under Master Daoqin of Mount Yinping. When reading books, he memorized them at a glance. In the sixth year of Shaoxi of the Southern Song, he first packed his baggage and traveled to Zhengfa Monastery in Chengdu to request instruction from Master Yao on the practice of seated meditation. Yao said, "What thing is Chan? Who is the one sitting?" The Master thereupon investigated this day and night. One day while going to the latrine, he had an awakening through bringing up the previous words. The following year, he traveled to Guangxi and Zhejiang, calling upon Fozhao at Yuwang. Zhao asked, "Where are you from?" He said, "Jianzhou." Zhao asked again, "Did you bring your sword?" The Master gave a shout. Fozhao laughed and said, "This black-headed fellow also acts recklessly!" Because the Master was poor and lacked the funds to shave his hair, people called him "the black-headed fellow." When Po'an resided at Lingyin, the Master was attending on him. At that time, an itinerant practitioner asked Po'an, "What should one do when the monkey cannot be caught?" Po'an said, "Why catch it? When the wind blows across water, ripples naturally form." The Master attained great awakening at these words. Soon after, he traveled with Venerable Shixi to Tiantai and Yandang. At that time, Master Yun of Xuefeng was residing at Ruiyan and detained the Master to share the seat. That night, [Yun] dreamt of a magnificent man holding a bundle of thatch in his hand and handing it to the Master. The next day, a special envoy from Qingliang Monastery in Mingzhou came to invite the Master. Just as he entered the monastery, he saw that the tablet of the monastery guardian deity was inscribed with the surname Mao (Thatch), and his clothing and cap were no different from what was seen in the dream. After residing there for three years, he moved to Jiaoshan, then to Xuedou, and was ordered by imperial decree to preside over Āyurvaṅga. After a long while, he was appointed to Shuangjing. Before long, he was summoned into the Xiuzheng Hall of the Great Palace to preach the Dharma, which pleased the emperor; he was bestowed a golden brocade robe and granted the title of Chan Master Fojian. When the Master resided at Jingshan, its halls twice suffered fires, and he restored both anew. Moreover, forty li away from the monastery, he constructed an edifice of a hundred bays to receive traveling practitioners, naming it Bannian Zhengxu. Next, several hundred paces to its west, he built a hermitage to be his resting place. He also built a multi-storied pavilion, where the imperial calligraphy bestowed by the court was stored above. The Master's ancestors had resided in Shu; suffering from chaos, their lineage was cut off. He therefore established an ancestral shrine in the mountain to sacrifice to his secular ancestors. When this matter was heard by the court, an inscribed plaque reading "Yuanzhao" was bestowed to demonstrate his filial piety. In the wushen year of the Chunyou reign of the Song, he built a dwelling above Mingyue Pond, placarded with "Tuigeng" (Retired Ploughing). On the first day of the third month of that year, illness arose. He ascended the seat and addressed the assembly, saying, "This mountain monk is both old and ill, lacking the strength to chat east and west with you all. Now I have forced myself to come forth, completely shaking out before you all what could not be said before." He then rose, shook his robe, and said, "How much is it?" and returned to the abbot's quarters. On the fifteenth day, he gathered the assembly and personally wrote several tens of words of a farewell memorial and farewell letter, yet joked and laughed with the guests as usual. At night, he wrote a gāthā, saying: / "Coming, empty and devoid of a thing; / Going, stark naked as well. / If you wish to ask about the reality: / On Tiantai there is a stone bridge." / After a short while he passed away. His casket was kept for two times seven days. When the farewell memorial was submitted to the court, the emperor dispatched an imperial envoy to bring incense and bestow silks. His whole body was stupaed at Yuanzhao.

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Biography 11: Śramaṇa Shi Daowu of Puzhao Monastery in Zhengzhou (with Baiyun Hai appended)

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Shi Daowu, styled Foguang, was a son of the Guan family of Lanzhou in Shaanxi. At birth, his teeth and hair were already long, possessing the marks of a great man. At the age of sixteen, he earnestly sought to go forth from home, but his parents would not allow it; he went on a hunger strike nearly to death, whereupon they yielded and let him enter a local monastery to shave his hair. After two years, he happened to lodge at the Wanzi Inn in Lintao and dreamt of an Indian monk, whose loud cry awakened him; suddenly hearing a horse neigh, he experienced a penetrating great awakening and was overwhelmed with joy. He spoke a gāthā, saying: / "Seen it! Seen it! / Filling empty space, it is only this!" / He then returned and told his mother, "I picked up an object on the road." His mother asked, "What object?" The Master said, "What has been lost since beginningless time." His mother slapped him and said, "What joy is there in that?" He then took his leave, wishing to travel and study. His mother asked, "Where will you go?" He replied, "Water flowing must reach the sea; / The crane emerging flies above the white clouds." Prior to this, on Mount Xiong'er, there was Chan Master Baiyun Hai. Although he resided in an ancient temple, he did not keep a single disciple. Someone asked, "Why does the Master not choose a Dharma heir?" Hai said, "A splendid orchid is flourishing, uniquely emerging from Western Qin." They asked, "When will he arrive?" Hai said, "He has already set out on his pilgrimage." When the Master was about to arrive with his pack, Hai ordered the attendant to strike the bell and assemble the monastic community, saying, "My disciple from Guanxi is coming! Indeed, this monastery was originally built by Guo Ziyi; now he comes in person to serve as abbot. You should welcome him." Just as the Master entered the gate, Hai saw him from afar and said, "My Lord, why have you arrived so late?" The Master stepped forward and said, "Yes." Hai laughed heartily, and at once bestowed the robe and Dharma upon him, ordering him to succeed to the seat, while he himself retired into seclusion beside the monastery. Previously, a band of bandits had entrenched themselves, robbing the common people who suffered harm. Someone had asked Hai to capture them. Hai had said, "This is not something this old monk can do. Soon Duke Guo will arrive and will surely capture them himself." The people did not understand his words. Later, when the Master had resided at the monastery for only three days, he led the assembly to capture them, binding them all. He broke into their den and was about to execute them all. The bandits begged piteously for their lives. The Master calmly said to them, "You rob wealth and harm lives; by right you ought to die. Now you beg for your lives, but do you not think of their lives?" The bandits kowtowed until blood flowed, willing to follow the precepts of the Three Jewels and vowing never to do wrong again. The Master spoke a gāthā for them, shaved their hair, and released them. From then on, for several decades, things dropped on the roads were not picked up. People then began to believe that the Master was truly the rebirth of Duke Guo Linggong. In the twenty-fourth year of Dading of the Jin, Master Hai passed away. Only then did the Master emerge to preside over Puzhao in Zhengzhou, later moving to the Zhuge Hermitage in Sanxiang. Clad in white robes, riding a yellow calf, and playing a short flute, he wandered about Luoyang. He once said, "If you say I am ordinary—I once came from the stage of the noble. If you say I am noble—I again go toward the stage of the ordinary. If you say I am neither ordinary nor noble—yet atop the crown of Vairocana I have another practice!" In the fifth year of Taihe, he spent the summer retreat at Dashishi in Lintao, expounding the Sutra of Perfect Awakening. He said to the assembly, "This session is halfway through; I must depart." On the evening of the twelfth day of the fifth month, at an informal gathering, he spoke of the ultimate truth for the assembly. In the morning he arose, called his attendant monk, and said, "I am ill; go seek medicine." As the attendant was about to go out the door, the Master had already shed his mortal frame. Above, five-colored auspicious clouds coiled like a canopy, and red light like the sun filled the four quarters, not dispersing for three days. His worldly age was fifty-five; his dharma age was thirty-nine. His disciples enshrined his whole body in a stupa.

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The appraisal says: Kāśyapa, hearing King Nala play music three times, danced three times. If not habitual tendencies, what else could it be? Formerly, Guo Binyang was able to punish rebels for the state and rescue the people from dire straits. Now, as Foguang, residing in the monastery for merely three days, he promptly captured the band of bandits. Could this not have been caused by habitual tendencies? Observing him wearing white robes, riding a yellow calf, playing a flute, and wandering Luoyang, claiming that atop the crown of Vairocana he had another practice—this too is inconceivable!

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Biography 12: Śramaṇa Shi Xiaoying of Luohu in Jiangxi

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Shi Xiaoying, styled Zhongwen, was of unknown lineage. He trained in various monasteries and suddenly understood the Great Matter, winning the veneration of the four assemblies. In his later years, he returned to the shores of Luohu, shut his doors, swept away visitors, and did not interact with the worldly. He took only what he had seen and heard throughout his life—the instructional sayings of venerable masters from all quarters, the words of friends discussing the teachings of the sect, and statements related to standard canons obtained from damaged steles and moth-eaten bamboo slips—and compiled them all into a work entitled *Luohu yelu* (Rustic Records of Luohu). What is recorded therein are the pristine beauty of the words and deeds of epoch-making patriarchal masters and worthy literati, the sharpness and swiftness of their dynamic exchanges, the magnificence of their responses, and the vastness of their spirit, which can support the ancestral vehicle, instruct later students, and uplift people to supreme goodness. Therefore, those who read it cannot bear to put it down.

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Biography 13: Śramaṇa Shi Chanhui of Tianning Monastery in Mingshan

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Shi Chanhui was a native of Mingshan. His family had for generations pursued Confucianism. He repeatedly sat for the examinations without passing. During the Yuanfu era, the commandery governor Lü Youcheng, seeing him, teased him with an ordination certificate. Thereupon he abandoned Confucianism and followed the teachings of Śākya. He vigorously investigated the patriarchal Way and attained great enlightenment. When he first appeared in the world to reside at Tianning Monastery in the district, he would always ride a horse or take a sedan chair whenever going out or coming in. Various elders said that the Buddhadharma values ascetic practices and that one certainly should not ride carriages and horses or wear fine silks. The Master replied with a gāthā, saying: / "Mañjuśrī mounts a lion; / Samantabhadra straddles the king of elephants. / For a newly arrived Buddha, / Riding a horse does no harm either." / Whenever he preached the Dharma, his sharp wit was swift. He had a recorded sayings circulating in the world.

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Biography 14: Śramaṇa Shi Xiansong of Xuanmi Cloister in Bachuan (Jingye)

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Shi Xiansong was a son of the Li family of Tongliang, Chongqing, in Western Shu. Thoroughly experienced and weary of travel, he appeared in the world to reside at Xuanmi Cloister in Bachuan. For thirty years, his footsteps never went beyond the threshold. During the Shaoxing era, he gathered the assembly and spoke a gāthā, saying: / "For eighty years, surging and vast, / Opening wide a shop to sell the mani jewel. / There is not a single person to negotiate together; / It is not that this mountain monk closes shop too early." / Having finished speaking, he sat upright and passed away. After jhāpita, the śarīra were countless. At that time there was Master Jingye, a son of the Wen family of Shizhao. In his youth he was a butcher by trade. There was a sheep just giving suck to two lambs; as he was about to slaughter her, the two lambs held his knife in their mouths and knelt down before the door, as if begging for their mother's life. Deeply moved, the Master abandoned his family to become a monk. He vigorously investigated under Chan masters and suddenly had a great awakening, composing a gāthā: / "Yesterday, a rākṣasa's mind; / Today, a bodhisattva's face. / Between rākṣasa and bodhisattva, / Not even a single thread divides."

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Biography 15: Śramaṇa Shi Faquan of Jingji in Pingjiang

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Śramaṇa Shi Faquan, styled Wu'an, was a son of the Chen family of Kunshan. By nature he had an imposing bearing, warm and pure, and was extraordinary. In his youth, he asked his parents [for permission] to become a monk under Chan Master Daochuan. He was diligent in inquiry and study, determined to clarify the Great Matter. One day, while walking in front of the main hall of Jingji Temple, his head happened to bump against a pillar and he suddenly attained great awakening. Bystanders saw his radiant countenance dance with brilliance, though he was not aware of it himself. From then on, he traveled widely to the teaching seats of famous mountains, and his reputation for the Dao grew daily. During the Qiandao era, when he was about to manifest quiescence, the assembly requested a farewell verse. The master stared downward. The assembly requested again; he then took up a brush and wrote the two characters "Nothing, Nothing" (wu wu), sat upright, and passed away. After the jhāpita, five-colored śarīra were obtained. A stūpa was built for him on Jindou Peak.

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Biography Sixteen: Śramaṇa Shi Daochong of Jingshan in Lin'an

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Śramaṇa Shi Daochong, styled Chijue, was a son of the Xun family of Changjiang in Wuxin. He first studied under the preceptor Caoyuan Sheng of Miaoguo [Temple] in Hangzhou and had a great awakening to the profound purport. He appeared in the world [as abbot] at Tianning in Jiahe, then transferred to Xuefeng on Jiangshan. Before long, he received an imperial decree to reside [as abbot] at Tiantong in Siming for three years, and an edict appointed him to fill the vacancy at Lingyin. At that time, the governor of the capital built Fahua Temple and submitted a special memorial requesting the master to be its founding patriarch of the first generation. He consented, but had not yet departed when Emperor Lizong of the Song issued an imperial decree ordering him to preside over Shuangjing in Hangzhou. The master said to the assembly: "If I do not go to Fahua, that would be untrustworthy; if I disobey the decree for Jingshan, that would be irreverent. Having lost both reverence and trustworthiness, how could I serve as a model for later students?" He then casually went to Fahua, opened the hall, and after a month or so, bearing the imperial decree, ascended Mount Jing. Thereupon the whole assembly harmonized in unison, their shouts of joy like thunder. When he approached entering extinction, he wrote an account with his own hand narrating the circumstances of his obtaining the Dharma. He ascended the hall to preach the Dharma, took leave of the assembly, entered the abbot's quarters, and gave instructions regarding future affairs. At midnight, sitting upright, he discussed the Dao with the assembly; after some time, he sloughed off his mortal frame and passed away. It was the fifteenth day of the third month in the third year of [Baoqing of Emperor] Lizong. His worldly age was eighty-two; his dharma age was sixty-one. After the jhāpita, the śarīra were lustrous and clear. His disciples divided them into stūpas at two locations: one at Yuzhi Hermitage in Changputian on his home mountain, and one at Yushan Hermitage in Jinling.

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Biography Seventeen: Śramaṇa Shi Defu of Xingsheng Temple in Baoding

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Śramaṇa Shi Defu was a son of the Xie family of Yixian in Baoding. At the age of seven, he earnestly sought to leave household life. Moved by an auspicious dream, his parents renounced him to enter Xingsheng Temple. Relying on the preceptor Zhenkong, he shaved his hair and received full ordination. He diligently investigated the Great Dharma. One day, while engaged in walking meditation, he suddenly had a great awakening. From then on, his renown spread through the monasteries. At the beginning of the Huangqing era of the Song [recte Yuan], the preceptor Wanshan Shou received an imperial decree to broadly sponsor a Water and Land retreat assembly, and invited the master to open the hall and preach the Dharma. The seven assemblies gathered in full. Just as the master ascended the seat and uttered a verse, a great, bright light suddenly radiated from his seat, illuminating the sky everywhere and manifesting various auspicious signs. Only after a long while did it fade. When this was reported to the imperial court, he was bestowed the title Master of Comprehensive Eloquence (Tongbian Dashi) together with a golden saṅghāṭī robe. Later, when he manifested extinction, a white light emerged from the crown of his head, shining far and wide in all four directions. After the jhāpita, several tens of śarīra were obtained, and a stūpa was built.

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Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Great Ming, Fascicle Eight (End)

Linked texts (1)

大明高僧傳 — Classical Chinese