續傳燈錄 1.6

1.6

汾陽太子院善昭禪師太原俞氏子。器識沈邃。少緣飾有大智。於一切文字不由師訓自然通曉。年十四父母相繼而亡。孤苦厭世俗塵勞。因剃髮受具。杖策遊方所至少留。不喜觀覽。隨機扣發。歷參諸方知識七十一員。最後到首山。一日首山陞座。師出問曰。百丈卷席意旨如何。山曰。龍袖拂開全體現。曰師意如何。山曰。象王行處絕狐踪。師於言下大悟拜起而曰。萬古碧潭空界月。再三撈摝始應知。有問者曰。見何道理便爾自肯。師曰。正是我放身命處。後遊衡湘及襄沔間。每為郡守以名剎力致前後八請。堅臥不答。洎首山歿。西河道俗遣僧契聰迎請住持。師閉關高枕。聰排闥而入讓之曰。佛法大事靖退小節。風穴懼應讖憂宗旨墜滅。幸而有先師。先師已棄世。汝有力荷擔如來大法者。今何時而欲安眠哉。師矍然起握聰手曰。非公不聞此語。趣辦嚴吾行矣。既至燕坐一榻。足不越閫者三十年。道俗同曰汾陽而不敢名。上堂謂眾曰。汾陽門下有西河師子當門踞坐。但有來者即便齩殺。有何方便入得汾陽門見得汾陽人。若見汾陽人者。堪與祖佛為師。不見汾陽人盡是立地死漢。如今還有人入得麼。快須入取免得孤負平生。不是龍門客切忌遭點額。那箇是龍門客一齊點下。舉起拄杖曰。速退速退珍重。又上堂云。凡一句語須具三玄門一玄門須具三要。阿那箇是三玄三要底句。快會取好。各自思量。還得穩當也未。古德已前行脚。聞一箇因緣未明中間。直下飲食無味睡臥不安。火急決擇莫將為小事。所以大覺老人為一大事因緣出現於世。想計他從上來行脚。不為遊山翫水看州府奢華。片衣口食皆為聖心未通。所以驅馳行脚。決擇深奧傳唱敷揚。博問先知親近高德。蓋為續佛心燈紹隆祖代。興崇聖種接引後機。自利利他耳。如今還有商量者麼。有即出來大家商量。僧問。如何是接初機底句。師曰。汝是行脚僧。曰如何是辨衲僧底句。師曰。西方日出卯。曰如何是正令行底句。師曰。于里持來呈舊面。曰如何是立乾坤底句。師曰。北俱盧州長粳米。食者無嗔亦無喜。乃曰。將此四轉語驗天下衲僧。纔見爾出來驗得了也。問如何是學人著力處。師曰。嘉州打大像。曰如何是學人轉身處。師曰。陝府灌銕牛。曰如何是學人親切處。師曰。西河弄師子。乃曰。若人會得此三句已辨三玄。更有三要語在。切須薦取。不是等閒與大眾頌出。三玄三要事難分。得意忘言道易親。一句明明該萬象。重陽九日菊花新。師為并汾苦寒乃罷夜參。有異比丘振錫而至。謂師曰。會中有大士六人。奈何不說法。言訖而去。師密記以偈曰。胡僧金錫光。為法到汾陽。六人成大器。勸請為敷揚。上堂凡一句語須具三玄門。每一玄門須具三要。有照有用。或先照後用。或先用後照。或照用同時。或照用不同時。先照後用。且要共爾商量。先用後照。爾也須是箇人始得。照用同時。爾作麼生當抵。照用不同時。爾又作麼生湊泊。僧問。如何是大道之源。師曰。掘地覓天。曰何得如此。師曰。不識幽玄。問如何是賓中賓。師曰。合掌菴前問世尊。曰如何是賓中主。師曰。對面無儔侶。曰如何是主中賓。師曰。陣雲橫海上。拔劍攪龍門。曰如何是主中主。師曰。三頭六臂擎天地。忿怒那吒撲帝鐘。上堂汾陽有三訣。衲僧難辨別。更擬問如何。拄杖驀頭楔。時有僧問。如何是三訣。師便打。僧禮拜。師曰。與汝一時頌出。第一訣。接引無時節。巧語不能詮。雲綻青天月。第二訣。舒光辨賢哲。問答利生心。拔却眼中楔。第三訣。西國胡人說。濟水過新羅。北地用鑌鐵。復曰。還有人會麼。會底出來通箇消息。要知遠近。莫秖恁麼記言記語。以當平生有甚麼利益不用。久立珍重。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。青絹扇子足風涼。問布鼓。當軒挂。誰是知音者。師曰。停鉏傾麥飯。臥草不擡頭。問如何是道場。師曰。下脚不得。問如何是祖師西來意。師曰。徹骨徹髓。曰此意如何。曰遍天遍地。問真正修道人不見世間過。未審不見箇甚麼過。師曰。雪埋夜月深三尺。陸地行舟萬里程。曰和尚是何心行。師曰。却是爾心行。問如何是和尚家風。師曰。三玄開正道。一句破邪宗。曰如何是和尚活計。師曰。尋常不掌握。供養五湖僧。曰未審喫箇甚麼。師曰。天酥陀飯非珍饌。一味良羹飽即休。上堂謂眾曰。夫說法者須具十智同真。若不具十智同真。邪正不辯緇素不分。不能與人天為眼目決斷是非。如鳥飛空而折翼。如箭射的而斷弦。弦斷故射的不中。翼折故空不可飛。弦壯翼牢空的俱徹。作麼生是十智同真。與諸上座點出。一同一質。二同大事。三總同參。四同真智。五同遍普。六同具足。七同得失。八同生殺。九同音吼。十同得入。又曰。與甚麼人同得入。與阿誰同音吼。作麼生是同生殺。甚麼物同得失。阿那箇同具足。是甚麼同遍普。何人同真智。孰能總同參。那箇同大事。何物同一質。有點得出底麼。點得出者不吝慈悲。點不出來未有參學眼在。切須辨取。要識是非面目見在不可。久立珍重。龍德府尹李侯與師有舊。虛承天寺致之。使三反不赴。使者受罰復至曰。必欲得師俱往。不然有死而已。師笑曰。老病業已不出山。借往當先後之。何必俱邪。使曰。師諾則先後惟所擇。師乃令設饌且俶裝。告眾曰。老僧去也誰人隨得。一僧出云。某甲隨得。師曰。汝日行幾里。僧曰。五十里。師曰。汝隨我不得。又一僧出云。某甲隨得。師曰。汝日行幾里。僧云。七十里。師曰。汝也隨我不得。侍者。出云。某甲隨得。但和尚到處某甲即到。師曰。汝却隨得老僧。言訖謂使者曰。吾先行矣。停箸而逝。侍者即立化闍維。收舍利起塔。

Chan Master Shanzhao of Taizi Monastery in Fenyang was a son of the Yu family of Taiyuan. His capacity and insight were profound. Disdaining outward adornment, he possessed great wisdom. In all matters of literature, without the instruction of teachers, he was naturally conversant and understanding. When he was fourteen, his parents died one after the other. Left an orphan in hardship, he grew weary of worldly dust and toil, and thereupon shaved his head and received full ordination. Bearing a staff, he traveled from place to place, staying nowhere for long. Disliking mere sightseeing, he examined and awakened according to occasion, visiting and studying under seventy-one kalyāṇamitras across all quarters. At last he arrived at Shoushan. One day, Shoushan ascended the seat. The Master stepped forward and asked, "What is the meaning of Baizhang rolling up the mat?" Shoushan said, "When the dragon sleeve is shaken open, the entire body appears." The Master asked, "What is the Master's meaning?" Shoushan said, "Where the elephant king walks, fox tracks are cut off." At these words the Master experienced great awakening. He bowed, stood up, and said, "The moon in the empty sky above the emerald pool of ten thousand kalpas: / Only after fishing repeatedly is it finally recognized." Someone asked, "What principle did you see that led you to affirm yourself like this?" The Master said, "It is precisely where I cast down my body and life." Later, he traveled through the Heng and Xiang rivers, as well as the Xiang and Mian regions. Often the commandery prefects strove to secure him for famous monasteries, inviting him eight times in succession, but he lay firmly in retirement and did not respond. When Shoushan passed away, the monastics and laypeople of Xihe sent the monk Qicong to welcome and invite him to take up the abbotship. The Master barred his gate and rested on high pillows. Qicong pushed open the door, entered, and rebuked him, saying, "The great matter of the Buddha Dharma should not be abandoned for minor matters of seclusion and retirement! Fengxue feared fulfilling the prophecy, worrying that the lineage tenets would fall into ruin. Fortunately there was our late Master; our late Master has now departed the world. You are capable of shouldering the great Dharma of the Tathāgata—what time is it now to seek peaceful sleep?" Startled, the Master rose, grasped Qicong's hand, and said, "Had it not been for you, I would not have heard these words! Quickly prepare: I shall set out." After arriving, he sat peacefully on a single couch, not crossing the threshold for thirty years. Monastics and laypeople alike called him Fenyang, not daring to speak his name. Ascending the hall, he addressed the assembly, saying: "Under the gate of Fenyang sits the lion of Xihe crouching right at the door. If anyone comes, he bites them to death on the spot. What expedient method is there to enter Fenyang's gate and see Fenyang's person? If one sees Fenyang's person, one is fit to be teacher to patriarchs and buddhas; if one does not see Fenyang's person, all are standing dead men. Is there anyone now who can enter? Enter quickly, lest you fail your whole life! If you are not a guest of the Dragon Gate, take care not to be marked on the forehead! Which one is a guest of the Dragon Gate? All marked at once!" Raising his staff, he said: "Withdraw quickly, withdraw quickly! Take care!" Again he ascended the hall and said: "Every single phrase must possess the three mystery gates; each mystery gate must possess the three essentials. Which is the phrase of the three mysteries and three essentials? Understand it quickly! Reflect on this, each of you: have you attained stability yet or not? In former times, when the ancient worthies went on itinerant pilgrimage, if there was a single nidāna they had not yet clarified, food had no flavor for them and their sleep was uneasy. Urgently resolve it like putting out a fire—do not treat it as a small matter! That is why the Old Man of Great Awakening appeared in the world for the sake of the one great causal condition. Reflect upon their going on itinerant pilgrimage from times past: it was not to tour mountains, enjoy the waters, or gaze upon the luxury of prefectural cities. A patch of robe and a mouthful of food were all because the sacred mind was not yet penetrated. Therefore they toiled on itinerant pilgrimage, resolving the profound, transmitting, and proclaiming it, widely inquiring of the early sages, and drawing near to worthies of high virtue. This was all to continue the Buddha's mind lamp, perpetuate the lineage of patriarchs, elevate the sacred lineage, and guide future capacities, benefiting oneself and benefiting others. Is there anyone now who wants to discuss? If so, come forth and let us discuss together!" A monk asked, "What is the phrase for guiding beginners?" The Master said, "You are an itinerant monk." The monk asked, "What is the phrase for discerning a patch-robed monk?" The Master said, "The sun rises in the east in the west." The monk asked, "What is the phrase for executing the authentic command?" The Master said, "Holding it across ten thousand miles, one presents the original face." The monk asked, "What is the phrase for establishing heaven and earth?" The Master said, "In Uttarakuru the non-glutinous rice grows tall; / Those who eat it have neither anger nor joy." Then he said: "Using these four turning words to test patch-robed monks throughout the world—the moment I saw you come forth, the test was complete!" A monk asked, "What is the student's place of exerting effort?" The Master said, "Carving the Great Statue in Jiazhou." The monk asked, "What is the student's turning the body?" The Master said, "Casting the iron ox in Shanfu." The monk asked, "What is the student's most intimate place?" The Master said, "Playing with the lion in Xihe." Then he said: "If someone understands these three phrases, they have already discerned the three mysteries. There are still the words of the three essentials remaining—you must urgently comprehend them! It is not on a whim that I utter this verse for the great assembly: / The three mysteries and three essentials are hard to divide; / Getting the meaning and forgetting the words, the Way is easily approached. / A single phrase clearly encompasses all ten thousand phenomena; / On the ninth day of Double Ninth, the chrysanthemums are fresh." Because the cold in Bing and Fen was bitter, the Master suspended the evening instructions. An extraordinary monk arrived, shaking his staff, and said to the Master, "In your assembly there are six Mahāsattvas; why do you not preach the Dharma?" Having spoken, he left. The Master secretly recorded this in a verse, saying: / "The foreign monk's golden staff gleams; / For the sake of the Dharma he came to Fenyang. / Six men will become great vessels; / He exhorted and requested that I expound it." Ascending the hall: "Every single phrase must possess the three mystery gates, and each mystery gate must possess the three essentials. There is illumination and there is function. Sometimes illumination precedes and function follows; sometimes function precedes and illumination follows; sometimes illumination and function are simultaneous; sometimes illumination and function are not simultaneous. With illumination preceding and function following, I still need to discuss it with you. With function preceding and illumination following, you must be a true person to manage it. When illumination and function are simultaneous, how will you withstand it? When illumination and function are not simultaneous, how will you settle it?" A monk asked, "What is the source of the Great Way?" The Master said, "Digging the earth to seek the sky." The monk said, "How could it be like this?" The Master said, "You do not recognize the abstruse and profound." A monk asked, "What is the guest within the guest?" The Master said, "Joining palms before the hermitage, inquiring of the Bhagavat." The monk asked, "What is the host within the guest?" The Master said, "Facing each other, there is no companion." The monk asked, "What is the guest within the host?" The Master said, "Battle clouds lie across the sea; / Drawing a sword, one stirs the Dragon Gate." The monk asked, "What is the host within the host?" The Master said, "Three heads and six arms upholding heaven and earth; / In wrathful anger, Nata strikes the celestial bell." Ascending the hall: "Fenyang has three directives, / Hard for patch-robed monks to distinguish. / If you intend further to ask what they are, / The staff strikes a wedge into your head!" Then a monk asked, "What are the three directives?" The Master struck him at once. The monk bowed. The Master said, "I shall utter them in verse for you all at once: / The first directive: / Guiding without set seasons. / Clever words cannot explain it; / The clouds split—the moon in the blue sky. / The second directive: / Shedding light to discern the wise and worthy. / Question and answer in the mind to benefit sentient beings; / Pulling out the wedge from within the eyes. / The third directive: / Spoken by the foreigner of the western realm. / Crossing the water to Silla; / In the northern lands, using fine steel." He said again, "Is there anyone who understands? One who understands, come forth and communicate some news! I want to know near and far. Do not simply memorize words and phrases like this—what benefit is there in taking that as your whole life? No need to stand for long. Take care!" A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The Master said, "A fan of green silk brings plenty of cool breeze." A monk asked, "When the cloth drum is hung on the porch, who is the connoisseur?" The Master said, "Stopping the hoe, pouring out the barley rice; / Lying in the grass without raising the head." A monk asked, "What is the bodhimaṇḍa?" The Master said, "No place to set foot." A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The Master said, "Thorough to the bone, thorough to the marrow." The monk said, "What is this meaning?" The Master said, "Pervading heaven, pervading earth." A monk asked, "A true cultivator of the Way does not see the faults of the world. It is not yet clear: what kind of faults does he not see?" The Master said, "Snow buries the night moon three feet deep; / Sailing a boat on dry land for ten thousand miles." The monk said, "What kind of mind-practice does the Upādhyāya have?" The Master said, "It is actually your mind-practice." A monk asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's house style?" The Master said, "The three mysteries open the authentic Way; / A single phrase shatters false lineages." The monk asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's livelihood?" The Master said, "Ordinarily holding nothing in hand, / Making offerings to monks from the five lakes." The monk asked, "I wonder what they eat?" The Master said, "Heavenly sudhā rice is no precious delicacy; / One taste of good broth—once full, that is all." Ascending the hall, he addressed the assembly, saying: "Now, one who speaks the Dharma must possess the ten kinds of wisdom sharing one reality. If one does not possess the ten kinds of wisdom sharing one reality, one cannot distinguish the false from the correct or separate black from white, and cannot serve as the eyes for humans and devas to resolve right and wrong. It is like a bird flying in the sky with broken wings, or an arrow shot at a target with a snapped bowstring. Because the string is snapped, the target is missed; because the wings are broken, the sky cannot be flown through. When the bowstring is strong and the wings are firm, both target and sky are fully penetrated. What are the ten kinds of wisdom sharing one reality? Let me point them out for all of you seniors: first, sharing one substance; second, sharing the great matter; third, altogether sharing study; fourth, sharing true wisdom; fifth, sharing universality; sixth, sharing complete endowment; seventh, sharing gain and loss; eighth, sharing life and killing; ninth, sharing the roaring sound; tenth, sharing attainment of entrance." He also said: "With what kind of person does one share attainment of entrance? With whom does one share the roaring sound? What is sharing life and killing? What thing shares gain and loss? Which one shares complete endowment? What shares universality? Who shares true wisdom? Who can altogether share study? Which one shares the great matter? What thing shares one substance? Is there anyone who can point them out? One who can point them out does not spare compassion; one who cannot point them out does not yet possess the eye of study. You must urgently distinguish them! You must recognize that the face of right and wrong is present right now. You should not stand for long. Take care!" Lord Li, the Prefect of Longde Prefecture, had an old acquaintance with the Master and invited him to head the vacant Chengtian Monastery. The messenger came three times, but the Master would not go. The messenger was punished, and returning, said, "I must have you come along with me, Master; otherwise, there is only death for me." The Master smiled and said, "Being old and ill, I already do not leave the mountain. If I am to go, we should go one before the other. Why must we go together?" The messenger said, "If the Master consents, then whether before or after is entirely your choice." The Master then ordered food to be served and his baggage prepared. He addressed the assembly, saying, "This old monk is going. Who can follow?" A monk stepped forward and said, "I can follow." The Master said, "How many li do you walk in a day?" The monk said, "Fifty li." The Master said, "You cannot follow me." Another monk stepped forward and said, "I can follow." The Master said, "How many li do you walk in a day?" The monk said, "Seventy li." The Master said, "You too cannot follow me." The attendant stepped forward and said, "I can follow. Wherever the Upādhyāya reaches, I will reach." The Master said, "You can indeed follow this old monk." Having spoken, he said to the messenger, "I shall go first!" Setting down his chopsticks, he passed away. The attendant thereupon entered transformation standing up. They were cremated, their relics were gathered, and stupas were erected.