景德傳燈錄 4.44

4.44

袁州蒙山道明禪師者鄱陽人。陳宣帝之裔孫也。國亡落於民間。以其王孫甞受署。因有將軍之號。少於永昌寺出家慕道頗切。往依五祖法會極意研尋。初無解悟。及聞五祖密付衣法與盧行者。即率同意數十人。躡迹追逐至大庾嶺。師最先見餘輩未及。盧行者見師奔至。即擲衣鉢於盤石曰。此衣表信可力爭耶。任君將去。師遂舉之如山不動。踟躇悚慄乃曰。我來求法非為衣也。願行者。開示於我。祖曰。不思善不思惡正恁麼時。阿那箇是明上坐本來面目。師當下大悟遍體汗流。泣禮數拜。問曰。上來密語密意外。還更別有意旨否。祖曰。我今與汝說者。即非密也。汝若返照自己面目。密却在汝邊。師曰。某甲雖在黃梅隨眾。實未省自己面目。今蒙指授入處。如人飲水冷暖自知。今行者即是某甲師也。祖曰。汝若如是。則是吾與汝同師。黃梅善自護持。師又問。某甲向後宜往何所。祖曰。逢袁可止。遇蒙即居。師禮謝遽迴至嶺下。謂眾人曰。向陟崔嵬遠望杳無蹤迹。當別道尋之。皆以為然。師既迴。遂獨往廬山布水臺經三載。後始往袁州蒙山大唱玄化。初名慧明。以避師上字故名道明。弟子等盡遣過嶺南參禮六祖。

Chan Master Daoming of Mount Meng in Yuanzhou was a native of Poyang and a descendant of Emperor Xuan of the Chen. When the state fell, he dropped into common life; because he had previously received an appointment as a royal scion, he held the title of General. In his youth, he left home at Yongchang Temple, yearning very earnestly for the Way. He went to rely on the Fifth Patriarch's Dharma assembly, investigating and inquiring with the utmost effort, but at first had no awakening. When he heard that the Fifth Patriarch had secretly transmitted the robe and Dharma to Postulant Lu, he led several tens of men of like mind to follow the tracks in pursuit, reaching the Dayu Ridge. The Master saw him first, while the others had not yet caught up. Seeing the Master rushing up, Postulant Lu cast the robe and bowl onto a boulder, saying, "This robe represents faith; can it be contended for by force? Take it as you please." The Master then tried to lift it, but it was unmoving like a mountain. Hesitating and trembling in fear, he said, "I have come seeking the Dharma, not for the sake of the robe. I pray that the postulant will open and reveal it to me." The Patriarch said, "Not thinking of good, not thinking of evil—at this very moment, what is Superior Ming's original face?" The Master was immediately greatly awakened; sweat poured across his whole body. Weeping, he bowed several times and asked, "Beyond the secret words and secret meaning spoken just now, is there still any other essential purport?" The Patriarch said, "What I have spoken to you now is not secret. If you reflect back upon your own face, the secret is instead on your side." The Master said, "Although I was at Huangmei following the assembly, I truly had not realized my own face. Now that I have received your instruction on the place of entry, it is like a person drinking water: he knows for himself whether it is cold or warm. Now, Postulant, you are my master." The Patriarch said, "If you are like this, then you and I have the same master, Huangmei; guard and maintain it well." The Master asked further, "Where should I go in the future?" The Patriarch said, "When you encounter Yuan, you may halt; when you meet Meng, dwell there." The Master bowed in thanks and hurried back down to the foot of the ridge, saying to the crowd, "I just climbed the precipitous heights, looking far and wide, but there was not a trace; we should search along another path." They all agreed. Having returned, the Master went alone to the Bushuitai on Mount Lu for three years, and only later went to Mount Meng in Yuanzhou to broadly proclaim the profound transformation. He was originally named Huiming, but to avoid the upper character of his master's name, he was called Daoming. He sent all of his disciples across the southern ridges to pay homage to the Sixth Patriarch.