續傳燈錄 2.56

2.56

廬山開先善暹禪師臨江軍人。操行清苦智識明達。遠禪師在德山。師往依之。一日遠陞堂顧視大眾云。師子頻呻象王回顧。師忽有省。入室陳解。遠云。子作麼生會。師回顧曰。後園驢喫草。遠然之。自此機辯迅捷。禪林目曰海上橫行暹道者。又參雪竇顯。顯愛其後逸留坐下數年。欲舉住明州金鵝。師聞之書二偈於壁而去。不是無心繼祖燈。道慚未廁嶺南能。三更月下離巖竇。眷眷無言戀碧層。三十餘年四海間。尋師擇友未嘗閑。今朝得到無心地。却被無心趁出山。後住開先嗣德山遠禪師。却通雪竇書。山前婆子見專使來問云。暹首座出世為誰燒香。專使云。德山遠和尚。婆子遂罵云。雪竇抖擻屎腸說禪為汝。得恁麼辜負恩德。開堂日上首白槌罷。師曰。千聖出來也秖是稽首讚歎。諸代祖師提挈不起。是故始從迦葉迄至山僧。二千餘年。月燭慧燈星排道樹。人天普照凡聖齊榮。且道承什麼人恩力。老胡也秖道。明星出現時我與大地有情同時成道。如是則彼既丈夫我亦爾。孰為不可。良由諸人不肯承當自生退屈。所以便推排一箇半箇。先達出來遞相開發。也秖是與諸人作箇證明。今日人天會上莫有久遊赤水夙在荊山懷袖有珍頂門有眼到處踐踏覺場底衲僧麼。却請為新出世長老作箇證明。還有麼。時有僧出。師曰。象駕崢嶸謾進途。誰信螳蜋能拒轍。問靈山一會何異今日。師曰。莫妄想。僧云。作家宗師。師曰。三十年後自有人知。問說佛說祖雪上加霜。如何是默默之機。師曰。口邊喫棒。僧擬議。師便喝。問一棒一喝猶是葛藤。瞬目揚眉拕泥帶水。如何是直截根源。師曰速。僧云。恁麼則祖師正宗和尚把定。師曰。野渡無人舟自橫。問如何是祖師西來意。師曰。洛陽城古。僧云。學人不會。師曰。少室山高。問達磨未來時如何。師曰。清貧長樂。僧云來後如何。師曰。濁富多憂。問如何是露地白牛。師曰瞎。問妙峯頂上即不問。半山相見事如何。師曰。把手過江來。僧云。高步出長安。師曰。脚下一句作麼生道。僧便喝。師曰。山腰裏走。問一雨所潤為什麼萬木不同。師曰。羊羹雖美眾口難調。問年窮歲盡時如何。師曰。依舊孟春猶寒。僧云。更深夜靜時如何。師曰。老鼠入燈籠。問瞥嗔瞥喜時如何。師曰。適來菩薩面。如今夜叉頭。師乃曰。選佛選祖今正是時。莫秖恁麼懷疑終日。如斯見解已過平生。幸逢勝集對眾決擇。然則此事亦非在爭鋒唇舌。所以道。併却咽喉唇物道將來。如此則便可以忘懷。自得取定方寸。自然常光現前。各各孤運其間。山河大地不礙見聞。萬象森羅尋常顯發。還有於此承當得底麼。既然各自孤運更教阿誰承當。草衣輸野客。木食屬山人。珍重。又上堂曰。一若是二即非東西南北人不知。休話指天兼指地。青山白雲徒爾為。以拄杖擊香臺一下。師住開先凡十八年。後示滅于本山。

Chan Master Shanxian of Kaixian Monastery on Mount Lu was a native of Linjiang military prefecture. His conduct was pure and ascetic, and his wisdom and discernment were bright and penetrating. When Chan Master Yuan was at Deshan, the Master went and relied on him. One day, Yuan ascended the hall, looked around at the assembly, and said, 'The lion roars and stretches; the elephant king turns to look back.' The Master suddenly had an awakening. He entered the abbot's room and presented his understanding. Yuan said, 'How do you understand it?' The Master looked back and said, 'In the back garden, the donkey eats grass.' Yuan approved him. From this time on, his active wit was swift and sharp, and the Chan forests called him 'Daoist Xian Who Strides Broadly across the Seas.' Later he also called upon Xuedou Xian. Xian loved his remarkable brilliance and kept him in his seat for several years, wishing to recommend him to become abbot of Jin'e in Mingzhou. Hearing of this, the Master wrote two gāthās on the wall and departed:

'It is not that I have no heart to succeed to the ancestral lamp,
In the Way, I am ashamed not yet to rank with Neng of Lingnan.
Under the midnight moon I depart from the rock hollow,
With lingering affection, wordless, longing for the azure peaks.'

'For over thirty years across the four seas,
Seeking teachers and choosing companions, I was never at leisure.
Today, having reached the place of no-mind,
I am instead driven out of the mountain by no-mind.'

Later, when he resided at Kaixian as the Dharma heir of Chan Master Deshan Yuan, he nonetheless sent a letter to Xuedou. An old woman before the mountain saw the special envoy arrive and asked, 'For whom did Head Monk Xian burn incense upon coming into the world [as abbot]?' The special envoy said, 'Upādhyāya Deshan Yuan.' The old woman then cursed, saying, 'Xuedou shook out his bowels of shit to speak Chan for you—how could you betray such kindness and virtue!' On the day he opened the hall, after the senior monk finished striking the mallet, the Master said: 'Even if a thousand sages appeared, they would only bow their heads and offer praise; the patriarchs of all generations could not lift it up. Therefore, from Kāśyapa down to this mountain monk, for over two thousand years, the lamp of wisdom has shone like the moon and the trees of the Way have been arrayed like stars; humans and devas are universally illumined, and commoners and sages equally flourish. But tell me: through whose favor and strength is this received? The Old Barbarian merely said, "When the bright star appeared, together with the sentient beings of the great earth, I accomplished the Way at the same time." If it is like this, then since he was a great hero, so too am I—who says it cannot be so? It is truly because you people are unwilling to undertake it yourselves and spontaneously retreat in defeat that you push forward one or two predecessors to come forth and open it up for one another; yet they merely serve as verification for you people. Today in this assembly of humans and devas, isn't there any patch-robed monk who has roamed the Red Waters for long, has dwelt of old on Mount Jing, conceals a jewel in his sleeve, has an eye on the top of his head, and tramples over bodhimaṇḍas everywhere? Step forward, please, and provide verification for this elder who has newly come into the world. Is there anyone?' Then a monk came forward. The Master said, 'The elephant carriage moves toweringly, idly advancing on the road; who would believe that a praying mantis could block the wheel-rut?' The monk asked, 'How does the assembly on Gṛdhrakūṭa differ from today's?' The Master said, 'Do not harbor false thoughts.' The monk said, 'An adept lineage teacher!' The Master said, 'Thirty years later, someone will naturally know.' The monk asked, 'To speak of buddhas and speak of patriarchs is adding frost upon snow. What is the functioning of silence?' The Master said, 'Your mouth will receive the stick.' As the monk hesitated, the Master then gave a shout. The monk asked, 'A blow of the stick and a shout are still tangled vines; a blink of the eye and a raised eyebrow are dragging through mud and water. What is cutting directly to the root source?' The Master said, 'Quick!' The monk said, 'If so, then the upādhyāya holds fast the authentic lineage of the patriarchs.' The Master said, 'At the deserted ferry, with no one there, the boat drifts athwart.' The monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'The ancient city of Luoyang.' The monk said, 'I do not understand.' The Master said, 'High is Mount Shaoshi.' The monk asked, 'How was it before Bodhidharma came?' The Master said, 'Pure poverty, lasting joy.' The monk said, 'How was it after he came?' The Master said, 'Turgid wealth, much worry.' The monk asked, 'What is the white ox on the open ground?' The Master said, 'Blind.' The monk asked, 'I do not ask about the summit of the Wondrous Peak; how is it when meeting halfway up the mountain?' The Master said, 'Cross the river hand in hand.' The monk said, 'Taking high strides, depart from Chang'an.' The Master said, 'What do you say about the phrase under your feet?' The monk gave a shout. The Master said, 'Running along the mountainside.' The monk asked, 'Why are ten thousand trees not the same when moistened by a single rain?' The Master said, 'Though mutton soup is delicious, it is hard to suit every palate.' The monk asked, 'How is it when the year is depleted and the days are exhausted?' The Master said, 'As before, the first month of spring is still cold.' The monk said, 'How is it in the depth of night when all is quiet?' The Master said, 'An old rat enters the lantern.' The monk asked, 'How is it when one suddenly angers and suddenly rejoices?' The Master said, 'Just now the face of a bodhisattva; now the head of a yakṣa.' The Master then said: 'To choose a buddha or choose a patriarch, right now is the time. Do not just harbor doubt all day long like this. With such views, your whole life will have passed. Fortunately meeting this excellent gathering, resolve it before the assembly. Yet, this matter is not found in the clashing of lips and tongues. Therefore it is said: "Cast aside throat, lips, and mouth, and speak!" If you can be like this, you can forget all concerns, attain certainty in your own mind, and naturally the constant light will appear before you. Each of you operates in solitary fashion within it; the mountains, rivers, and the great earth do not obstruct seeing and hearing; the ten thousand forms and myriad phenomena are constantly revealed. Is there anyone here who can undertake it? Since each operates in solitary fashion, whom else would you have undertake it? The grass robe is yielded to the rustic guest; the wood diet belongs to the mountain hermit. Take care.' He also ascended the hall and said, 'If one is right, two is wrong; people of the east, west, south, and north do not know. Cease speaking of pointing to heaven and pointing to earth; green mountains and white clouds do so in vain.' He struck the incense stand once with his staff. The Master resided at Kaixian for eighteen years in all, and later manifested extinction on his own mountain.