續傳燈錄 16.6

16.6

潭州石霜琳禪師。初行脚時與夾山齡同行。久依佛日才禪師罷參矣。因與齡同遊黃蘗。見慧南禪師小參。不喻其旨。師遂求入室。齡大怒痛敺一頓而去。師獨留未幾大悟黃龍宗旨。機鋒頴脫名振叢林。在南公坐下與文關西英邵武等齊名。遂開法於石霜。上堂示眾曰。霜華一境極目蕭然。枯木堂前風行草偃。淥水滔滔無盡。白雲合而還開。往來禪客飽足。觀光林下相逢。呵呵大笑。且道笑箇什麼。良久曰。煙村三四月別是一家春。下坐。又曰。或談玄或說妙。德山臨濟拍手笑。更言無說是菩提。多年梁上生芝草咦。僧問。拈槌舉拂拈放一邊請師答話。師曰。高著眼。僧云。作家宗師。師曰。脚下蹉過。僧以坐具畫一畫。師曰。自領出去。又問。法王出世請施號令。師曰一二三四五。僧云。法令施行。師曰。瀟湘船子。問慈雲藹藹慧日輝輝。大眾欣然乞師一接。師曰好。僧云。不言含有象。何處謝無私。師曰。石女溪邊笑點頭。問石霜枯木重生時如何。師曰。海底金龜走。天邊玉兔明。僧云。恁麼則覺花開有地。果熟自然香。師曰。須彌頂上面南行。師說法頗類真淨。然於真淨不相識而心敬之。在石霜時真淨在洞山。師以頌送僧。見之有曰。憧憧四海求禪者。不到新豐也是癡。師於元豐七年三月初八日淨髮沐浴。至夜小參曰。平生行脚方始見人。平生參禪始終得力。成佛作祖不離方寸。鑊湯爐炭只在如今。這箇消息如人飲水冷暖自知。聽吾一頌。大幻一段。光明燦爛。芒惱眾生。早晚分散。夜半端然示寂。闍維得舍利葬于本山。

Chan Master Shishuang Lin of Tanzhou. When he first went on itinerant pilgrimage, he traveled together with Ling of Jiashan. Having long relied on Chan Master Cai of Fori, he had ceased seeking instruction. Then, traveling together with Ling to Huangbo, they attended the informal gathering of Chan Master Huinan. Not understanding his purport, the Master sought to enter the abbot's room. Ling was greatly enraged, gave him a severe beating, and departed. The Master remained alone, and before long experienced a great awakening to the Huanglong lineage tenets. His sharp wit and acumen stood out, and his fame shook the monastic groves. Under Master Nan, he was equally renowned alongside Wen of Guansi, Ying of Shaowu, and others. He then opened the Dharma hall at Shishuang. Ascending the hall, he instructed the assembly, saying: "Frost and mist fill the realm, bleak as far as the eye can see. In front of the Hall of Withered Trees, the wind blows and the grass bends. The clear waters surge endlessly; white clouds gather and part again. Coming and going, the Chan guests are thoroughly satisfied; meeting under the trees to enjoy the scene, they break out in loud laughter. Tell me, what are they laughing at?" After a long pause he said, "In the third and fourth months in misty villages, there is an entirely different spring." He stepped down from the seat. He also said: / "Whether talking of the mystery or speaking of the wondrous, / Deshan and Linji clap their hands and laugh. / If one goes on to say that having nothing to say is bodhi, / then after many years, glossy ganoderma grows on the roof beam—yee!" / A monk asked, "Setting aside taking up the mallet and raising the whisk, please answer my question, Master." The Master said, "Raise your eyes high." The monk said, "An accomplished master!" The Master said, "You have stumbled underfoot." The monk made a stroke with his sitting mat. The Master said, "Take yourself out." He also asked, "When the Dharma King appears in the world, please issue the command." The Master said, "One, two, three, four, five." The monk said, "The Dharma order is put into effect." The Master said, "A boatman on the Xiao and Xiang rivers." A monk asked, "The clouds of compassion are dense, and the sun of wisdom shines brightly. The great assembly rejoices and begs the Master to receive us." The Master said, "Good." The monk said, "Without speaking, it contains all forms; where can we thank its impartiality?" The Master said, "The stone woman smiles and nods by the stream." A monk asked, "How is it when Shishuang's withered tree comes back to life?" The Master said, "At the bottom of the sea, the golden tortoise runs; at the edge of heaven, the jade rabbit shines." The monk said, "If so, then the flower of awakening has a place to bloom, and the fruit naturally smells sweet when ripe." The Master said, "On top of Mount Sumeru, walk toward the south." The Master's Dharma preaching was quite similar to Zhenjing's. Though he was not acquainted with Zhenjing, he respected him in his heart. When the Master was at Shishuang, Zhenjing was at Dongshan. The Master saw a verse Zhenjing had sent off a monk with, which said: / "Restlessly seeking Chan throughout the four seas, / if one does not reach Xinfeng, one is foolish indeed." / On the eighth day of the third month in the seventh year of the Yuanfeng era, the Master shaved his head and bathed. When night came, he held an informal gathering and said: "Throughout my life of itinerant pilgrimage, only now have I truly met a person. In a lifetime of Chan inquiry, I have gained strength from beginning to end. Becoming a Buddha and making a patriarch does not depart from this very mind. The boiling cauldron and charcoal stove exist only in the present moment. This news is like a person drinking water—only they know whether it is cold or warm. Listen to my verse: / A span of great illusion, / radiantly blazing bright. / Troubling and distressing sentient beings, / sooner or later it disperses." / In the middle of the night, he uprightly manifested entering quiescence. After the cremation, relics were obtained and buried at his home mountain.