景德傳燈錄 11.25

11.25

Chan Master Rumin of Lingshu in Shaozhou was a native of Minchuan. The Liu rulers of Guang[zhou] venerated him generation after generation, granting him the title of Great Master Zhisheng. A monk asked, "What is the ultimate principle of the Buddha Dharma?" The Master merely stretched out his hand. [A monk] asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's house style?" The Master said, "A thousand-year field has eight hundred owners." The monk said, "What is a thousand-year field with eight hundred owners?" The Master said, "A dilapidated house that no one repairs." [A monk] asked, "What is the meaning of [the Patriarch's] coming from the West?" The Master said, "Young boy, do not play pranks." The monk said, "I beg the Master's instruction." The Master said, "You came from Qianzhou." [A monk] asked, "What is it that is so hard to understand?" The Master said, "A windmill on the Fire God's head." A nun offered a porcelain bowl to the Master. The Master held it up and asked, "Where was this produced?" The nun said, "It was produced in Dingzhou." (Fadeng commented in place of her: "Not far from here.") The Master then smashed it. The nun had no reply. (Baofu answered in place of her: "He who underestimates the enemy perishes.") Someone asked, "How old is the Upādhyāya?" The Master said, "Born today, dying tomorrow." He also asked, "Where is the Upādhyāya's place of origin?" The Master said, "The sun rises in the east, the moon sets in the west." For more than forty years the Master's teaching reached south of the ranges, with quite a few wondrous traces. When the ruler of Guang was about to raise troops, he personally went to the monastery to ask the Master to judge whether it would be auspicious or not. Having known in advance, the Master serenely passed away in the seated posture. The ruler angrily asked the director of affairs, "When did the Upādhyāya fall ill?" He answered, "The Master was never ill. He just sealed a letter and ordered us to wait for the King's arrival to present it." The ruler opened the letter and found a note inside, which read: "The eye of devas and humans is the head monk in the hall." The ruler comprehended the Master's meaning and immediately stood down the troops. He then summoned the first seat to open the hall and preach the Dharma (this was Upādhyāya Yan of Yunmen, the Dharma heir of Xuefeng). The Master's whole body did not decay. His burial implements, niche, and stūpa were all provided by the ruler of Guang. It is now called the Stūpa of the True Body of Lingshu.