續傳燈錄 18.20

18.20

成都府昭覺純白禪師。梓州飛烏人姓支氏。父謙聞法於松山道者。以死生為戲。白衣梵行緇俗無出其右者。嘗云。吾根鈍不得入圓頓。願有子續佛慧命足矣。師少聞父誨。諦聽沈思有如夙習。一日躍過溪忽有省不覺失笑。送往依峨眉山華嚴寺落髮受具。父子相與遍歷成都講肆。通性相宗經論。去之南遊首謁澧州太平俊禪師。俊大奇之。謂真吾法子也。付以十三條說法大衣。師遜却之。後詣黃蘗山禮真覺勝禪師親近歲餘。未始一顧師奉事益勤。勝一日忽擡眸視之。師咄曰。這老漢把不定作麼。勝大笑乃為印證心地。元豐末宗室南康郡王。自黃蘗邀勝詣輦下。師侍行。未幾會太學生上書訟博士者。語連勝有旨放歸蜀。門人星散。獨師負巾鉢以從。會成都府帥奏改昭覺為十方。問真覺誰可住持。真覺以師應請。師既領院遵南方規範一變律居。上堂示眾有曰。不超性海是理事縛。不透聲輪是語言縛。於是蜀之淨侶靡然向風。經肆講席為之一空。朝散郎馮敢。奉議郎段玘。天台山隱者宋放。唐安文士相里昱。皆摳衣執弟子禮。元祐末峨眉白水僧正闕。丞相蔡京時帥成都。命師住。師不樂遂併昭覺辭之。蔡察其誠復請歸舊剎。益建立綱宗孤硬峭整。大為同輩所嫉謗讟盈路。師不䘏也久而自定。師示疾以頌付小師宗顯曰。風高月冷。水遠天長。出門無影。四面八方。怡然而寂。俗壽五十九。坐三十四夏。小師得法出世者曰宗顯宗化。嗣法者曰劍州元封常照邛州鐵像子嵩。師於昭覺為第一代。塔至今存焉。

Chan Master Chunbai of Zhaojue in Chengdu Prefecture was a native of Feiwu in Zizhou, surnamed Zhi. His father, Qian, heard the Dharma under the Daoist Practitioner of Mount Song and treated life and death as child's play. In white robes and with pure conduct, no one among the monastic or secular surpassed him. He once said, "My faculties are dull, unable to enter the complete and sudden [teaching]; if only I have a son to continue the Buddha's life of wisdom, that will be enough." In his youth, the Master heard his father's instructions, listening carefully and contemplating deeply, as if it were a habit from past lives. One day, leaping across a stream, he suddenly had an awakening and unwittingly burst into laughter. He was sent to rely upon Huayan Temple on Mount Emei, where his hair was shaved and he received full ordination. Father and son together visited lecture halls throughout Chengdu, mastering the scriptures and treatises of both the nature and characteristics schools. Leaving them, he journeyed south, first calling upon Chan Master Jun of Taiping in Lizhou. Jun was greatly amazed by him and said, "He is truly a son of our Dharma!" and offered him a thirteen-strip Dharma robe, but the Master declined it. Later, he went to Mount Huangbo to pay respects to Chan Master Zhenjue Sheng and attended on him closely for more than a year. Sheng never once looked at him, yet the Master served him with ever greater diligence. One day, Sheng suddenly raised his eyes and looked at him. The Master scolded, "Why can this old fellow not keep his composure?" Sheng laughed heartily and thereupon gave the seal of approval to his mind ground. At the end of the Yuanfeng era, an imperial clan member, the Prince of Nankang Commandery, invited Sheng from Huangbo to the capital. The Master accompanied him in attendance. Soon after, it happened that Imperial Academy students submitted a memorial accusing an erudite; their words implicated Sheng, and an imperial decree released him to return to Shu. His disciples scattered like stars; only the Master carried his towel and bowl to follow him. It happened that the Governor of Chengdu Prefecture memorialized to convert Zhaojue into a ten-directions [public monastery] and asked Zhenjue who could serve as abbot. Zhenjue put forward the Master in response to the request. After the Master took charge of the monastery, he adhered to the southern standards and completely transformed the Vinaya residence. Ascending the hall to instruct the assembly, he had a saying: "Not transcending the ocean of nature is bondage by principle and phenomena; not penetrating the wheel of sound is bondage by speech and language." Thereupon, the pure companions of Shu flocked to his style, and the lecture halls of the scriptures were emptied because of it. Gentleman for Court Audiences Feng Gan, Gentleman for Court Discussion Duan Qi, Song Fang the hermit of Mount Tiantai, and Xiangli Yu the scholar of Tang'an all gathered their robes and performed the etiquette of disciples. At the end of the Yuanyou era, the office of Buddhist monk-rectifier at Baishui on Mount Emei became vacant. Prime Minister Cai Jing, who was then governing Chengdu, ordered the Master to take the post. The Master was displeased, so he resigned from Zhaojue as well. Cai perceived his sincerity and again invited him to return to his former monastery. He increasingly established the essentials of the lineage, solitary, stern, steep, and rigorous. He was greatly envied by his peers, and slanderous talk filled the roads. The Master paid no heed to it, and after a long time it naturally settled. When the Master showed illness, he handed a verse to his disciple Zongxian, saying: "The wind is high and the moon is cold; / the waters are far and the sky is long. / Going out the door, there is no shadow / in all directions." Joyfully, he passed into quiescence. His secular age was fifty-nine, and he had sat for thirty-four summer retreats. The disciples who attained the Dharma and appeared in the world were Zongxian and Zonghua; his Dharma heirs were Changzhao of Yuanfeng in Jianzhou and Zisong of Tiexiang in Qiongzhou. The Master was the first generation at Zhaojue; his stūpa exists to this day.