曆代法寶記 1.13.3

1.13.3

[Reverend Jin] ordered his disciples: "Bring me fresh, clean robes. I will bathe now." At the midnight hour, he solemnly underwent sitting transformation. When Minister Du, Vice Field Marshal and Palace Attendant, first arrived at Chengdu Prefecture, he had heard that Reverend Jin was inconceivable. Since the upādhyāya had passed away, there should have been a disciple to succeed him. He then went to Jingquan Temple and Hengshan Ningguo Temple to view the traces left by Reverend Jin during his lifetime. The minister inquired of the younger disciples: "Should there not be a disciple monk who succeeded him and received the robe and bowl?" The younger disciples replied: "No one succeeded him either. While the upādhyāya was alive, he had two kāṣāyas: one is at Hengshan Ningguo Temple, and one was left at Jingquan Temple for offerings." The minister did not believe them. He further questioned the vinaya masters: "I, Hongjian, have long heard that Reverend Jin was a kalyāṇamitra, and that from the predecessors downward, the robe and bowl were transmitted and entrusted from master to master. Now that Reverend Jin has passed away, where is the succeeding disciple?" The vinaya masters replied to the minister: "Chan Master Jin was a foreigner, a barbarian, and had no Buddhadharma. While alive, he did not speak much dharma, and his speech was imprecise. Though offerings and alms were abundant during his lifetime, he had only empty merit and virtue; his disciples also do not understand the Buddhadharma." With his discerning insight, the minister immediately knew these were all jealous words. He then returned to his residence and asked his trusted attendant clerical officers Ma Liang, Kang Ran, and others: "Do you know if there is a monk of lofty conduct, a bhadanta, in Jiannan?" Ma Liang replied: "In the courtyard, I often hear the regional military commanders say that in Mount Baiya, west of Can'ya Pass, there is Chan Master Wuzhu. He obtained Reverend Jin's robe and bowl and is the succeeding disciple. This Chan Master has deep and profound attainment in the practice, and has never left the mountain." Hearing this, the minister said to Ma Liang and the others: "I, Hongjian, have long heard that Reverend Jin was a great kalyāṇamitra. Yesterday I personally went to Hengshan Ningguo Temple and Jingquan Temple to ask Reverend Jin's personal disciples; they all said there was no succeeding disciple who obtained the robe and bowl. I also questioned the vinaya masters, and all of them spoke slander. Judging from these circumstances, Chan Master Wuzhu of Mount Baiya must indeed be a man of the Dao." Then, on the day of the grand court assembly, he asked the military commanders: "Do you know of any famous monks or bhadantas within this jurisdiction?" Deputy Military Commissioners Niu Wangxian, Li Lingying, Prince Guicheng, Dong Jiahui, Zhang Wen, Yin Qia, Zhang Yuguang, Zhang Zhen, Wei Luan, Qin Ti, and others advised the minister: "In Mount Baiya there is Chan Master Wuzhu. Reverend Jin's robe and bowl are in that Chan Master's possession; he is inconceivable." The minister asked Niu Wangxian and the others: "How do you know this?" They replied: "Wangxian was dispatched by Grand Master Gao to serve as Commissioner of the Shibei Camp. Because the bodhimanda was not far away, I frequently went to pay homage and thus know he is inconceivable." The minister asked again: "You just said the robe and bowl are there; who has verified the truth of this?" Qin Ti and Zhang Huang advised: "Ti and the others served as inspectors of the Left and Right Patrols. When Reverend Jin first entered extinction, the personal disciples of the two temples clamored and urged the Palace Attendant to speak to Grand Master Gao, saying: 'The exact truth of Reverend Jin's robe of verification is unknown, and they refuse to cremate it.' Grand Master Gao issued an order directing the Left and Right Patrol inspectors to investigate, establish the truth, and take custody of it. At that time, we only obtained two kāṣāyas, one for each of the two temples. We did not know where to search for the robe of verification. At that time, we did not know that in Mount Baiya, west of Can'ya Pass, there was Chan Master Wuzhu. Later, we were dispatched as company commanders leading cavalry to march into the western mountains to attack Danggo Castle. Before advancing the army, we camped at Shibei Camp, quartered near the bodhimanda. Ti and the military commanders brought offerings there. We saw that this Chan Master had the very same appearance as Reverend Jin. When Ti and the others first saw him, we thought he was Reverend Jin's transformation body. We made inquiries and tarried there, learning that Reverend Jin's robe and bowl had previously been sent by a messenger, but were concealed for two years and not delivered, and instead sold to a monk. On the night the monk obtained them, a spirit told him to return them to the original owner: 'If you do not return them, your life will surely be harmed.' The buyers told one another of this, and later, unable to sell them, they returned them to that Chan Master's place. When Ti and the others first investigated, we did not know where the kāṣāya was; now that it is here, we asked to pay homage to it, and he made no difficulty, immediately lifting the kāṣāya and bringing it out to display to the military commanders and brave officers. That is how we know it is there." Hearing this, the minister said: "Marvelous! Marvelous! Monks conceal the Buddhadharma worse than laypeople!" Deputy Military Commissioners Li Lingying, Zhang Wen, Niu Wangxian, Prince Guicheng, Xun Jiahui, Wei Luan, Qin Ti, and others then jointly signed a petition to invite the upādhyāya. The minister said to the military commanders: "Knowing of Chan Master Wuzhu, I myself intend to invite him." The minister dispatched Murong Ding of the Guanglu Office as a special envoy, immediately ordering official credentials to be issued. Along the route, prefectures and counties were to strictly prepare banners, flowers, monks, Daoists, elders, and music, and a county official with a hundred attendants was dispatched to go to the mountain to join in the invitation. Before the credentials were sent out, Little Master Jin and Great Master Zhang of the two temples, Jingquan and Ningguo, heard of the invitation to Reverend Wuzhu. Panicked and at a loss for measures, they conspired with the vinaya masters, plotting to commit demonic deeds. Previously, during Minister Yan's time, disciple Vinaya Master Xiao and others had entrusted the Grand Mistress to seize Reverend Jin's Chan cloister to make it a vinaya cloister, and Reverend Jin's Chan hall to make it a vinaya hall. Little Master Jin compromised to secure his safety, and Vinaya Master Xiao and others colluded together to make it a vinaya cloister, erecting a stele with text composed by Du Ang. Vinaya Master Zhang Zhiyu, Wang Yingyao, Little Master Jin, and Great Master Zhang urged Vice Director Du Ang; Vinaya Master Wang Yingyao and Attendant Wang Jian shared the same surname and recognized each other as brothers; they made requests through Grand Councillor Cui's wife, Lady Ren. After hosting a vegetarian feast, Little Master Jin lifted the kāṣāya donated by Grand Councillor Pei and presented it to the Grand Councillor and his lady. Little Master Jin wept and said: "This is the robe of verification handed down from above." The Grand Councillor said: "I have never known about this matter. The invitation to Chan Master Wuzhu is the minister's earnest wish; it has nothing to do with me." Du Ang and Wang Jian, out of factional prejudice, feared losing the vinaya cloister; turning back, they asked the vinaya masters: "What religious practice or attainment does this mountain monk Chan Master Wuzhu possess?" Vinaya Master Yingyao and others replied: "If you invite this Chan Master Wuzhu, he has no understanding whatsoever. Inviting this monk would be deeply disadvantageous." The monastics asked the Minister: "Why would it be disadvantageous?" The monastics replied: "There was a man who carved meritorious images in Wenzhou, and [made] a Pingde kāṣāya valued at twenty thousand cash. That Chan Master seized it and did not return the artisan's clothing!"