景德傳燈錄 3.9

3.9

宗勝聞偈欣然。即於巖間宴坐。時異見王復問波羅提曰。仁者智辯當師何人。答曰。我所出家。即娑羅寺烏沙婆三藏為授業師。其出世師者即大王叔菩提達磨是也。王聞師名驚駭久之。曰。鄙薄忝嗣王位。而趣邪背正忘我尊叔。遽勅近臣特加迎請。師即隨使而至。為王懺悔往非。王聞規誡泣謝于師。又詔宗勝歸國。大臣奏曰。宗勝被謫投崖。今已亡矣。王告師曰。宗勝之死皆自於吾。如何大慈令免斯罪。師曰。宗勝今在巖間宴息。但遣使召當即至矣。王即遣使入山果見宗勝端居禪寂。宗勝蒙召乃曰。深媿王意。貧道誓處巖泉。且王國賢德如林。達磨是王之叔。六眾所師。波羅提法中龍象。願王崇仰二聖以福皇基。使者復命。未至師謂王曰。知取得宗勝否。王曰。未知。師曰。一請未至。再命必來。良久使還果如師語。師遂辭王曰。當善修德不久疾作。吾且去矣。經七日王乃得疾。國醫診治有加無瘳。貴戚近臣憶師前記。急發使告師曰。王疾殆至彌留。願叔慈悲遠來軫救。師即至王所慰問其疾。時宗勝再承王召。即別巖間。波羅提久受王恩亦來問疾。波羅提曰。當何施為令王免苦。師即令太子為王宥罪施恩崇奉僧寶。復為王懺悔云。願罪消滅。如是者三。王疾有間。師心念。震旦緣熟行化時至。乃先辭祖塔。次別同學。然至王所慰而勉之曰。當勤修白業護持三寶。吾去非晚一九即迴。王聞師言涕淚交集。曰此國何罪彼土何祥。叔既有緣非吾所止。唯願不忘父母之國。事畢早回。王即具大舟實以眾寶。躬率臣寮送至海壖。師汎重溟凡三周寒暑達于南海。實梁普通八年丁未歲九月二十一日也。廣州刺史蕭昂具主禮迎接。表聞武帝。帝覽奏遣使齎詔迎請。十月一日至金陵（嵩禪師以梁僧寶唱續法記為據作正宗記言。達磨以梁武普通元年庚子歲至此土。其年乃後魏明帝正光元年也。若如此則與後入滅啟壙等年皆相合。若據此稱。普通八年丁未歲九月二十一日至南海。十月一日至金陵則甚誤也。蓋普通八年三月已改為大通元年。則九月不應尚稱普通八年也。南海者今廣州也。去金陵數千里。刺史奏聞而武帝詔迎。豈可十日之間便至金陵耶。又按南史蕭昂本傳。不言昂為廣州刺史。但王茂傳末有廣州長史蕭昂。然不知何年在任。今止可云○達于南海實梁普通元年。廣州刺史具主禮迎接。表聞武帝。帝覽奏遣使齎詔迎請。十月一日至金陵）。帝問曰。朕即位已來。造寺寫經度僧不可勝紀。有何功德。師曰。並無功德。帝曰。何以無功德。師曰。此但人天小果有漏之因。如影隨形雖有非實。帝曰。如何是真功德。答曰。淨智妙圓體自空寂。如是功德不以世求。帝又問。如何是聖諦第一義。師曰。廓然無聖。帝曰。對朕者誰。師曰。不識。帝不領悟。師知機不契。是月十九日潛迴（廣燈迴作過字）江北。十一月二十三日屆于洛陽當後魏孝明太和十年也（當云後魏孝明正光元年也。若據太和十年乃後魏文帝時是年即南齊武帝永明四年丙寅歲也）。寓止于嵩山少林寺。面壁而坐終日默然。人莫之測。謂之壁觀婆羅門。時有僧神光者。曠達之士也。久居伊洛。博覽群書善談玄理。每歎曰。孔老之教禮術風規。莊易之書未盡妙理。近聞。達磨大士住止少林。至人不遙。當造玄境。乃往彼晨夕參承。師常端坐面牆。莫聞誨勵。光自惟曰。昔人求道。敲骨取髓。刺血濟饑。布髮掩泥。投崖飼虎。古尚若此。我又何人。其年十二月九日夜天大雨雪。光堅立不動。遲明積雪過膝。師憫而問曰。汝久立雪中。當求何事。光悲淚曰。惟願和尚慈悲。開甘露門廣度群品。師曰。諸佛無上妙道。曠劫精勤。難行能行非忍而忍。豈以小德小智輕心慢心。欲冀真乘徒勞勤苦。光聞師誨勵。潛取利刀自斷左臂。置于師前。師知是法器。乃曰。諸佛最初求道為法忘形。汝今斷臂吾前。求亦可在。師遂因與易名曰慧可。光曰。諸佛法印可得聞乎。師曰諸佛法印匪從人得。光曰。我心未寧。乞師與安。師曰。將心來與汝安。曰覓心了不可得。師曰。我與汝安心竟。後孝明帝聞師異跡。遣使齎詔徵前後三至。師不下少林。帝彌加欽尚。就賜摩衲袈裟二領。金鉢銀水瓶繒帛等。師牢讓三返。帝意彌堅。師乃受之。自爾緇白之眾倍加信向。迄九年已欲西返天竺。乃命門人曰。時將至矣。汝等蓋各言所得乎。時門人道副對曰。如我所見。不執文字不離文字而為道用。師曰。汝得吾皮。尼總持曰。我今所解如慶喜見阿閦佛國。一見更不再見。師曰。汝得吾肉。道育曰。四大本空五陰非有。而我見處無一法可得。師曰。汝得吾骨。最後慧可禮拜後依位而立。師曰。汝得吾髓。乃顧慧可而告之曰。昔如來以正法眼付迦葉大士。展轉囑累而至於我。我今付汝。汝當護持。并授汝袈裟以為法信。各有所表宜可知矣。可曰。請師指陳。師曰。內傳法印以契證心。外付袈裟以定宗旨。後代澆薄疑慮競生。云吾西天之人。言汝此方之子。憑何得法以何證之。汝今受此衣法。却後難生但出此衣并吾法偈。用以表明其化無礙。至吾滅後二百年。衣止不傳法周沙界。明道者多。行道者少。說理者多。通理者少。潛符密證千萬有餘。汝當闡揚勿輕未悟。一念迴機便同本得。聽吾偈曰。

Zongsheng rejoiced upon hearing the verse. Thereupon he sat in peaceful meditation among the crags. At that time, King Yijian asked Prajñātāra again, "Whom does your wisdom and eloquence take as teacher?" He replied, "When I left home, the Tripiṭaka Master Uṣabha of Sāla Monastery was my instructing master. My master of world-transcendence is none other than the Great King's uncle, Bodhidharma." Hearing the master's name, the king was astonished for a long time. He said, "Unworthy as I am, I inherited the royal throne, yet I pursued heterodoxy, turned my back on the correct [teaching], and forgot my revered uncle." He hastily ordered close ministers to make a special point of welcoming and inviting him. The master then arrived with the envoys and repented of past wrongs on behalf of the king. Hearing his admonitions, the king wept and thanked the master. He also issued an edict summoning Zongsheng back to the realm. The great ministers memorialized, "Zongsheng was banished and threw himself off a cliff; he has already died." The king said to the master, "Zongsheng's death was entirely caused by me. By what great compassion can I be freed from this sin?" The master said, "Zongsheng is now resting peacefully among the crags. If you merely dispatch an envoy to summon him, he will arrive at once." The king then dispatched an envoy into the mountains, who indeed saw Zongsheng sitting upright in tranquil dhyāna. Receiving the summons, Zongsheng said, "I am deeply ashamed before the king's intention. This poor monk vows to dwell among the crags and springs. Furthermore, the king's realm has a forest of worthy and virtuous men: Bodhidharma is the king's uncle, the teacher of the six assemblies; Prajñātāra is a dragon and elephant within the Dharma. May the king venerate these two sages to bring fortune upon the imperial foundation." The envoy reported back. Before he had arrived, the master said to the king, "Do you know whether Zongsheng will be brought back?" The king said, "I do not know yet." The master said, "He will not come at the first invitation, but with a second order he will surely come." After a long while, the envoy returned, and it was indeed as the master had spoken. The master then took leave of the king, saying, "You should cultivate virtue well; before long an illness will arise. I am taking my leave for now." After seven days, the king fell ill. The court physicians treated him, but the illness grew worse without improvement. The royal relatives and close ministers recalled the master's prior prediction and hurriedly dispatched an envoy to inform the master, saying, "The king's illness has almost reached its end. We pray that his uncle, with compassion, will come from afar to show concern and save him." The master immediately went to the king's side to console him in his illness. At that time, Zongsheng, having received the king's summons a second time, departed from the crags. Prajñātāra, having long received the king's favor, also came to inquire after his illness. Prajñātāra said, "What should be done to free the king from suffering?" The master immediately had the crown prince pardon crimes, bestow favors, and venerate the Saṃgha jewel on behalf of the king. He also repented on behalf of the king, saying, "May the sins be extinguished." This was done three times, and the king's illness showed remission. The master thought to himself, "The conditions in China have ripened; the time to travel and transform has arrived." He first took leave of his ancestral stūpa, and next bade farewell to his fellow students. Then, going to the king's presence, he consoled and exhorted him, saying, "You must diligently cultivate white deeds and protect and uphold the Three Jewels. I shall depart not for long; after nine years I will return." Hearing the master's words, the king wept with mixed tears and said, "What crime has this realm committed, and what auspiciousness does that land possess? Since you have a karmic bond, uncle, it is not for me to stop you. I only pray that you will not forget the land of your father and mother, and return early when your work is finished." The king then prepared a great ship, filled it with myriad treasures, and personally led his ministers to see him off at the seashore. The master sailed across the great ocean for three cold and warm seasons in all, arriving at the Southern Sea. It was the twenty-first day of the ninth month in the dingwei year, the eighth year of the Putong reign era of the Liang dynasty. Xiao Ang, the governor of Guangzhou, welcomed him with full host's etiquette and submitted a memorial to Emperor Wu. Having read the memorial, the Emperor dispatched an envoy carrying an imperial edict to welcome and invite him. On the first day of the tenth month, he arrived in Jinling. (Chan Master Song, basing himself on the Xu faji by Baoxiang of the Liang, wrote the Zhengtong ji, stating that Bodhidharma arrived in this land in the gengzi year, the first year of Putong of Emperor Wu of the Liang, which was the first year of Zhengguang of Emperor Ming of the Later Wei. If this is so, it agrees with the subsequent years of his entry into nirvāṇa and the opening of the tomb. If we follow this claim that he arrived at the Southern Sea on the twenty-first day of the ninth month in the dingwei year, the eighth year of Putong, and arrived in Jinling on the first day of the tenth month, it is an egregious error. For in the third month of the eighth year of Putong, the era had already changed to the first year of Datong, so in the ninth month it should not still be called the eighth year of Putong. The Southern Sea is modern Guangzhou, several thousand li from Jinling. If the governor memorialized the court and Emperor Wu issued an edict to invite him, how could he have reached Jinling in just ten days? Furthermore, consulting Xiao Ang's biography in the Nan shi, it does not state that Ang was the governor of Guangzhou, but only mentions Xiao Ang as the chief administrator of Guangzhou at the end of Wang Mao's biography; yet it is not known in what year he held the post. Now one can only say: "...arrived at the Southern Sea; it was the first year of the Putong era of the Liang. The governor of Guangzhou welcomed him with full host's etiquette and submitted a memorial to Emperor Wu. Having read the memorial, the Emperor dispatched an envoy carrying an imperial edict to welcome and invite him. On the first day of the tenth month, he arrived in Jinling.") The Emperor asked, saying, "Since ascending the throne, I have built temples, transcribed scriptures, and ordained monks beyond count. What merit and virtue do I possess?" The master said, "None whatsoever." The Emperor said, "Why is there no merit and virtue?" The master said, "These are merely the lesser fruits of humans and devas, causes bound to outflows. Like a shadow following a form, though they exist, they are not real." The Emperor said, "What is true merit and virtue?" He answered, "Pure wisdom is wondrous and complete; its essence is intrinsically empty and tranquil. Such merit and virtue cannot be sought by worldly means." The Emperor asked again, "What is the highest truth of the sacred truths?" The master said, "Vast emptiness, nothing sacred." The Emperor said, "Who is facing Us?" The master said, "I do not know." The Emperor did not grasp it. The master knew that the spiritual capacity did not tally; on the nineteenth day of that month, he secretly crossed to the north of the river. On the twenty-third day of the eleventh month, he arrived at Luoyang; this was the tenth year of the Taihe era of Emperor Xiaoming of the Later Wei (it should say the first year of Zhengguang of Emperor Xiaoming of the Later Wei; the tenth year of Taihe was during the reign of Emperor Wendi of the Later Wei, which was the bingyin year, the fourth year of the Yongming era of Emperor Wu of the Southern Qi). He lodged at Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song, where he sat facing the wall in silence throughout the day. People could not fathom him and called him the 'Wall-Contemplating Brahmin.' At that time, there was a monk named Shenguang, a man of broad and open mind. Having long resided in the Yi and Luo region, he had read widely among the many books and was skilled in discoursing on the profound principle. He often sighed, saying, "The teachings of Confucius and Laozi are the models of ritual and conduct; the texts of Zhuangzi and the Book of Changes do not exhaust the wondrous principle. Recently I heard that the Great Being Bodhidharma dwells at Shaolin. The ultimate person is not far; I should attain that profound realm." He then went there to attend upon him morning and evening. The master constantly sat upright facing the wall, and Shenguang heard no instruction or encouragement. Guang thought to himself, "In ancient times, those who sought the Way broke their bones to extract marrow, pierced their blood to relieve the hungry, spread their hair to cover the mud, or threw themselves off cliffs to feed tigers. If even the ancients were like this, what kind of person am I?" On the night of the ninth day of the twelfth month of that year, it snowed heavily. Guang stood firm without moving; by dawn, the accumulated snow had reached past his knees. Pitying him, the master asked, "Standing so long in the snow, what do you seek?" Guang said with tears of sorrow, "I only pray that the upādhyāya, out of compassion, will open the gate of sweet dew and broadly deliver all living beings." The master said, "The unexcelled, wondrous Way of all Buddhas requires diligent perseverance through vast kalpas, practicing what is difficult to practice and enduring what cannot be endured. How could one, with small virtue and small wisdom, with a light and haughty mind, expect to hope for the True Vehicle in vain toil and bitter effort?" Hearing the master's reprimand and encouragement, Guang secretly took a sharp knife, cut off his own left arm, and placed it before the master. Knowing he was a vessel of the Dharma, the master said, "When all Buddhas first sought the Way, they forgot their bodies for the Dharma. Now you have cut off your arm before me; your seeking may indeed be accepted." Thereupon, the master changed his name to Huike. Guang said, "May I hear the Dharma-seal of all Buddhas?" The master said, "The Dharma-seal of all Buddhas is not obtained from another person." Guang said, "My mind is not yet at peace; I beg the master to pacify it." The master said, "Bring your mind here, and I will pacify it for you." Guang said, "I have searched for the mind, but it is completely unobtainable." The master said, "I have finished pacifying your mind for you." Later, Emperor Xiaoming heard of the master's extraordinary traces and sent envoys bearing an edict to summon him three times in all, but the master did not come down from Shaolin. The Emperor revered and admired him all the more, and accordingly bestowed upon him two robes of monk's wool (māna) kaṣāyas, a golden bowl, a silver water pitcher, silken fabrics, and the like. The master firmly declined three times, but the Emperor's intention was all the firmer, so the master accepted them. From then on, both monastics and laity had double faith and devotion toward him. After nine years had elapsed, wishing to return west to India, he instructed his disciples, saying, "The time is about to arrive. Why do you not each state what you have attained?" At that time, the disciple Daofu answered, "As I see it, neither clinging to words nor parting from words serves as the function of the Way." The master said, "You have obtained my skin." The nun Zongchi said, "What I now understand is like Qingxi seeing the realm of Akṣobhya Buddha: once seen, it is never seen again." The master said, "You have obtained my flesh." Daoyu said, "The four great elements are fundamentally empty, and the five aggregates are non-existent; where my vision reaches, not a single dharma can be obtained." The master said, "You have obtained my bones." Finally, Huike bowed, then stood back in his place. The master said, "You have obtained my marrow." Then, looking at Huike, he addressed him, saying, "Formerly, the Tathāgata entrusted the correct Dharma eye to the Great Being Kāśyapa, and it was transmitted and entrusted successively until it reached me. I now entrust it to you; you should protect and uphold it. I also bestow upon you the kaṣāya as the token of faith in the Dharma. Each signifies something; you should understand this." Ke said, "Please point it out and explain, Master." The master said, "Internally, the Dharma-seal is transmitted to tally with and verify the mind; externally, the kaṣāya is bestowed to determine the tradition of the school. In future generations of decline and superficiality, doubts and suspicions will arise in competition, saying, 'I am a man of the Western Heavens, and you are a child of this land. On what basis did you attain the Dharma? By what do you verify it?' If you now receive this robe and Dharma, when difficulties arise later, simply display this robe and my Dharma verse to make it clear, and your teaching will be without hindrance. Two hundred years after my passing, the robe will cease to be transmitted, but the Dharma will pervade the realms as numerous as the sands. Those who understand the Way will be many, while those who practice the Way will be few; those who speak of the principle will be many, while those who penetrate the principle will be few. Those who secretly tally and covertly verify will be more than tens of millions. You should elucidate and propagate it; do not disdain those who have not yet awakened. A single thought turning the pivot is immediately the same as original attainment. Listen to my verse:"