景德傳燈錄 4.52

4.52

洛京福先寺仁儉禪師。自嵩山罷問放曠郊𮠔。時謂之騰騰和尚。唐天冊萬歲中。天后詔入殿前。仰視天后良久曰。會麼。后曰不會。師曰。老僧持不語戒。言訖而出。翌日進短歌一十九首。天后覽而嘉之厚加賜賚。師皆不受。又令寫歌辭傳布天下。其辭並敷演真理。以警時俗唯了元歌一首盛行於世。

Chan Master Renjian of Fuxian Temple in the capital of Luoyang, having given up questioning on Mount Song, roamed freely about the outskirts and lanes. People at the time called him Upādhyāya Tengteng. During the Tiance Wansui reign of the Tang, the Empress Dowager [Wu Zetian] summoned him before the palace hall. He looked up at the Empress for a long while and said, 'Do you understand?' The Empress said, 'I do not understand.' The Master said, 'This old monk observes the precept of silence.' Having spoken, he walked out. The next day he presented nineteen short songs. The Empress read and praised them, bestowing generous rewards, but the Master accepted none of them. She also ordered the lyrics to be transcribed and distributed throughout the realm. Their verses all expounded the true principle to warn the world of worldly conventions; only the song 'Liaoyuan Ge' ('Song on Understanding the Source') circulated widely in the world.