續傳燈錄 11.28

11.28

明州大梅祖鏡法英禪師姓張氏。本州鄞縣人。初住襄陽白馬。開堂問答罷乃曰。至道無在豈無在也。至言無窮豈有窮也。得之則皎若目前。失之則毫釐有隔。是故雖一大藏教不為多言。一默毘耶豈曰無語。須知佛祖人天殊非本有。好惡長短亦非本無。直下薦得猶在半途。這箇事須遇明眼證據。貧道今日功不浪旋。將此舉揚上祝皇風。情與無情得無生忍。次居大梅。判宗留後仲爰一見道契。奏賜師名。上堂曰。祖師不會禪。諸佛不會道。學道與學禪。諸方鬧浩浩。或以玉為塵。或以石為寶。參得一肚皮。特地生煩惱。不煩惱解會。何如入荒草。寄語參禪學道人。頭邊白髮年年新。何如來與大梅老。相共開田博飯喫。一生參學事畢。珍重。又曰。三十六旬之始。七十二候之初。末後句則且置。秖如當頭一句又作麼生道。拈拄杖曰。歲朝把筆萬事大吉。急急如律令。大眾山僧恁麼提唱。且道還有祖師意也無。良久曰。記得東村黑李四。年年親寫在門前。卓拄杖下座。又曰。春山笋蕨正蒙茸。好把黃粱徹曉舂。莫謂西來無此意。祖師渾在鉢盂中。參。

Chan Master Zujing Faying of Damei in Mingzhou was surnamed Zhang, a native of Yin County in that prefecture. He first resided at Baima in Xiangyang. After the question-and-answer session at the opening of the hall, he said, "The ultimate Way is nowhere—how could it be nowhere? The ultimate word is inexhaustible—how could it be exhaustible? Attain it, and it is as clear as what is before your eyes; miss it, and there is a hairline separation. Therefore, even the entire great canon of teachings is not excessive talk; the single silence of Vaiśālī—how could it be called wordless? You must know that Buddhas, patriarchs, humans, and devas are by no means inherently existent; good and bad, long and short are also by no means inherently non-existent. Even if you understand directly, you are still halfway along the road. This matter requires confirmation from one with clear eyes. Today this poor monk's efforts are not spent in vain; holding this up, I offer it to bless the imperial way, so that both the sentient and the insentient attain the forbearance of the non-arising of phenomena." Next he resided at Damei. Zhong Yuan, the administrative commissioner and vice military governor, had a spiritual accord upon meeting him and petitioned to bestow a Master's name upon him. Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "The ancestral teachers did not understand Chan; the Buddhas did not understand the Way. Studying the Way and studying Chan—the various regions are in a tumultuous uproar! Some take jade for dust; some take stone for a jewel. Having investigated until one has a bellyful, it only creates vexations. Rather than understanding without vexation, how about entering the overgrown weeds? A message for those who investigate Chan and study the Way: / The white hair beside your temples is new year after year. / How about coming to join old Damei / To clear the fields together and earn food to eat? / The business of a lifetime's investigation and study is finished. Take care." He also said, "At the beginning of the thirty-six decades, at the start of the seventy-two pentads: setting aside the final phrase for now, what do you say about the phrase right at the head?" Picking up his staff, he said, "Holding the brush on New Year's morning, all matters are greatly auspicious. Hastily, hastily, as decreed by the statutes and ordinances! Assembly, this mountain monk provides such an instructional discourse; tell me, is there still the ancestral teachers' meaning or not?" After a long pause, he said, "I remember Black Li the Fourth in the eastern village writing it himself before his gate year after year." Striking with his staff, he stepped down from the seat. He also said, "Spring mountain bamboo shoots and ferns are just now flourishing; / Best to hull the yellow millet through the night until dawn. / Do not say the coming from the West lacked this meaning: / The ancestral teacher is entirely inside the alms bowl. / Attend!"