景德傳燈錄 11.6

11.6

鄧州香嚴智閑禪師青州人也。厭俗辭親觀方慕道。依溈山禪會。祐和尚知其法器。欲激發智光。一日謂之曰。吾不問汝平生學解及經卷冊子上記得者。汝未出胞胎未辨東西時。本分事試道一句來。吾要記汝。師懵然無對。沈吟久之。進數語陳其所解。祐皆不許。師曰。却請和尚為說。祐曰。吾說得是吾之見解。於汝眼目何有益乎。師遂歸堂。遍檢所集諸方語句無一言可將酬對。乃自歎曰。畫餅不可充飢。於是盡焚之曰。此生不學佛法也。且作箇長行粥飯僧免役心神。遂泣辭溈山而去。抵南陽覩忠國師遺迹遂憩止焉。一日因山中芟除草木。以瓦礫擊竹作聲。俄失笑間廓然惺悟。遽歸沐浴焚香遙禮溈山。贊云。和尚大悲恩逾父母。當時若為我說却。何有今日事也。仍述一偈云。

Chan Master Xiangyan Zhixian of Dengzhou was a native of Qingzhou. Weary of secular life, he took leave of his parents, observed the world, and yearned for the Way. He attached himself to the Chan assembly at Mount Gui. Upādhyāya You recognized him as a vessel of the Dharma and wished to spark his light of wisdom. One day, he said to him: "I do not ask you about your life's studies and understandings, or what you remember from scriptures and volumes. When you had not yet emerged from the womb and could not distinguish east from west, try to say a phrase about the fundamental matter! I want to give you a prediction." The master was bewildered and had no reply. After pondering for a long time, he offered several phrases setting forth his understanding, but You rejected all of them. The master said, "Then I invite the upādhyāya to explain it for me." You said, "What I could say is my own understanding; what benefit would it have for your eyes?" The master then returned to the hall and thoroughly examined all the phrases from various regions he had collected, but not a single word could be used to reply. Thereupon he sighed to himself, "A painted rice cake cannot satisfy hunger." With that, he burned them all, saying, "In this life, I will not study the Buddha Dharma. Let me just be an ordinary meal-seeking monk on regular duty to avoid toiling my mind." Then, weeping, he took leave of Mount Gui and departed. Reaching Nanyang, he beheld the vestige of National Teacher Zhong and rested there. One day, while clearing grasses and trees in the mountains, a piece of tile struck a bamboo, making a sound. Suddenly, amidst a burst of laughter, he was completely awakened. Hurrying back, he bathed, burned incense, and bowed toward Mount Gui from afar, praising, "The upādhyāya's great compassion surpasses that of parents! If you had explained it to me back then, how could today's event have occurred?" He then composed a verse, saying: