續傳燈錄 22.40

22.40

筠州情涼德洪禪師字覺範。郡之新昌喻氏子。年十四父母併月而歿。去依三峯靚禪師為童子。十九試經東都。假天王寺舊藉慧洪名。為大僧依宣祕律師。受唯識論臻其奧。博觀子史有異才。以詩鳴京華縉紳間。久之南歸依歸宗真淨禪師研究心法。隨遷泐潭凡七年得真淨之道。辭之東游歷沅湘。一日閱汾陽語重有發藥。於是胸次洗然辯博無礙。崇寧中顯謨朱世英請出世臨川之北禪。先是寺有古畫應真十六軸。久亡其一。師至以詩嘲之。未淹辰而應真見夢所匿之家。丐歸寺中因得之。世以謂尊者猶畏其嘲而歸焉。越明年以事退游金陵。漕使吳正仲請居清涼。未閱月為狂僧誣以度牒冒名旁連訕謗事。入制獄鍛鍊久之坐冒名。著縫掖走京師。見丞相。張無盡特奏得度改今名。太尉郭天民奏賜椹服。號寶覺圜明。自稱寂音尊者。未幾坐交張廓厚善張罷政事時。左司陳瑩中撰尊堯錄將進御。當軸者嫉之。謂師頗助其筆削。政和元年十月褫僧伽黎配海外。三年春遇赦歸于江西。是冬復證獄于并州。明年得還往來九峯洞山。野服蕭散以文章自娛。將自西安入衡湘。依法屬以老。復為狂道士執以為張懷素黨。下南昌獄治百餘日非是。會赦免歸湘西之南臺。仍治所居榜曰明白庵。自為之銘云云。於是覃思經論。著義疏發揮聖賢之祕奧。及解易。作僧寶傳成。將負之入京。抵襄陽會淵聖登極。大逐宣和用事者。詔贈丞相商英司徒。賜師重剃髮還舊師名。未幾國步多艱退游廬阜。建炎二年夏五月示寂于同安。閱世五十有八。門人建塔鳳棲山。師之才章蓋天稟。然幼覽書籍一過目畢世不忘。落筆萬言了無停思。其造端用意大抵規模。東坡而借潤山谷。至於出入禪教。議論精博其才實高。圜悟禪師以為筆端具大辯才不可及也。與士大夫游議論袞袞。雖稠人廣座至必奪席。初在湘西見山谷。與語終日不容去。因有詩贈之。略曰。不肯低頭拾卿相。又能落筆生雲煙。其後山谷過宜春。見其竹尊者詩咨賞。以為妙入作者之域。頗恨東坡不及見之。著林間錄二卷。僧寶傳三十卷。高僧傳十二卷。智證傳十卷。志林十卷。冷齋夜話十卷。天厨禁臠一卷。石門文字禪三十卷。語錄偈頌一編。法華合論七卷。楞嚴尊頂義十卷。圓覺皆證義二卷。金剛法源論一卷。起信論解義二卷。並行于世。丞相張無盡稱覺範。蓋天下之英物聖宋之異人。然古之高僧以才學名世。殆與覺範並驅者多矣。必以清標懿範相資而後美也。覺範少歸釋氏。長而博極群書。觀其發揮經論。光輔叢林孜孜焉。手不停綴而言滿天下。及陷于難著逢掖出九死而僅生。垂二十年重削髮。無一辭叛佛而改圖。此其為賢者也。然工呵古人而拙於用己。不能全身遠害。峻戒節以自高。數陷無辜之罪。抑其恃才暴耀太過而自取之邪。當自謂識不知微道不勝習者。不獨為洪實錄。亦以見其不自欺焉。惜哉。

Chan Master Dehong of Qingliang in Junzhou, whose courtesy name was Juefan, was a son of the Yu clan in Xinchang of that commandery. When he was fourteen, both his father and mother passed away in the same month. He left to rely on Chan Master Jing of Sanfeng as a postulant. At nineteen, he sat for the examination on the scriptures in the Eastern Capital. Borrowing the name Huihong from an old register at Tianwang Temple, he became a fully ordained monk and studied under Vinaya Master Xuanmi. He received the *Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra* and reached its deepest arcana. He read widely in the masters and histories, possessing extraordinary talent, and became renowned for his poetry among the officials of the capital. After a long while, he returned to the south and relied on Chan Master Zhenjing of Guizong, investigating the mind Dharma. He followed him when he relocated to Letan, and after seven years in all, he attained Zhenjing’s Way. Taking his leave, he traveled eastward through Yuan and Xiang. One day, upon reading Fenyang's words, he underwent another profound breakthrough. Thereupon his mind was clear and washed clean, and his eloquence broad and unimpeded. During the Chongning era, Academician of the Hall of Manifest Models Zhu Shiying invited him to emerge in the world at Beichan in Linchuan. Prior to this, the monastery possessed sixteen ancient painted hanging scrolls of the Arhats, one of which had long been lost. When the master arrived, he mocked it in a poem. Before a day had passed, the Arhat appeared in a dream to the family that had concealed it, begging to return to the monastery, and thus it was recovered. People of the time thought that the Venerable One also feared his mocking verse and so returned. The following year, due to an incident, he retired and traveled to Jinling. Fiscal Commissioner Wu Zhengzhong invited him to reside at Qingliang. Before a month had passed, he was falsely accused by a mad monk regarding the use of an assumed name on his ordination certificate, which was also linked to allegations of slander. He entered the imperial prison and was interrogated for a long time, eventually being convicted of using an assumed name. Donning the broad robes of a scholar, he fled to the capital and saw the Grand Councilor Zhang Wujin, who specially memorialized the throne, obtaining permission for him to be ordained again, and his name was changed to the present one. Grand Defender Guo Tianmin memorialized the throne to bestow upon him purple robes and the title Baojue Huanming (Treasure of Awakening, Perfectly Luminous). He called himself the Venerable Jiyin (Silent Sound). Not long after, because of his close association and deep friendship with Zhang [Shangying], when Zhang was dismissed from his ministerial post, Left Policy Drafter Chen Yingzhong composed the *Zunyao lu* (Record of Honoring Yao) and was about to present it to the emperor. Those in power were jealous of him and alleged that the master had considerably aided him in editing it. In the tenth month of the first year of the Zhenghe era, he was stripped of his saṃghāṭī and exiled across the sea. In the spring of the third year, meeting with an amnesty, he returned to Jiangxi. That winter, he was again subjected to an inquisition at Bingzhou. The following year, he was released and returned, wandering between Jiufeng and Dongshan, dressed in rustic garb, at ease and amusing himself with literary composition. About to travel from Xi'an into Heng and Xiang to grow old among his Dharma relatives, he was again seized by a mad Daoist who accused him of being an accomplice of Zhang Huaisu. He was cast into prison in Nanchang and investigated for more than a hundred days until it was proven false. Meeting an amnesty, he was released and returned to Nantai in Xiangxi. He repaired his residence and put up a plaque reading 'Mingbai An' (Hermitage of Understanding), writing an inscription for it himself. Thereupon he contemplated the sūtras and treatises deeply, composing commentaries that brought to light the secret mysteries of the sages, and wrote an explanation of the *Changes*. He completed the *Sengbao zhuan* (Chronicle of the Saṃgha Treasure), and carried it on his back to the capital. When he arrived in Xiangyang, it coincided with Emperor Yuansheng's accession to the throne, who broadly banished those who had held power in the Xuanhe era. An edict posthumously granted Grand Councilor Shangying the title of Minister of Education, and bestowed upon the master permission to shave his head anew and restored his former clerical name. Soon after, the fortunes of the state ran into severe difficulties, and he retired to travel at Lu Mountain. In the summer, the fifth month of the second year of the Jianyan era, he showed nirvana at Tong'an, having lived in the world for fifty-eight years. His disciples built a stupa at Mount Fengqi. The master's literary talent was endowed by Heaven. When young, whatever books he laid eyes on he never forgot for the rest of his life. When his brush touched paper, he produced ten thousand words without pausing for thought. The beginnings and intentions of his compositions generally took Dongpo as their model and borrowed polish from Shangu. As for his engagement with Chan and the doctrinal teachings, his debates were subtle and extensive; his talent was truly sublime. Chan Master Yuanwu considered the great eloquence at the tip of his brush to be unmatched. When socializing with scholar-officials, his discussions flowed continuously; even in a crowded hall or vast gathering, upon his arrival he invariably swept the floor. At first, when he met Shangu in Xiangxi, they conversed the entire day without Shangu letting him leave, and Shangu presented him with a poem, which roughly said: 'Unwilling to bow his head to pluck high ministerial rank, / yet when his brush touches paper, clouds and mists arise.' Later, when Shangu passed through Yichun, he saw the master's poem on the 'Bamboo Venerable One' and praised it with admiration, considering it to have entered the wondrous realm of great authors, and greatly regretted that Dongpo had not lived to see it. He authored the *Linjian lu* (Record of the Forests) in two fascicles, *Sengbao zhuan* in thirty fascicles, *Gaoseng zhuan* (Biographies of Eminent Monks) in twelve fascicles, *Zhizheng zhuan* (Record of Wisdom and Realization) in ten fascicles, *Zhilin* (Forest of Records) in ten fascicles, *Lengzhai yehua* (Night Talks from the Cold Studio) in ten fascicles, *Tianchu jinluan* (Forbidden Morsels from the Heavenly Kitchen) in one fascicle, *Shimen wenzi chan* (Shimen's Literary Chan) in thirty fascicles, one compilation of recorded sayings and verse, *Fahua helun* (Unified Treatise on the Lotus Sūtra) in seven fascicles, *Lengyan zunding yi* (Meaning of the Uṣṇīṣa of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra) in ten fascicles, *Yuanjue jie zheng yi* (Meaning of Universal Realization in the Perfect Awakening Sūtra) in two fascicles, *Jingang fayuan lun* (Treatise on the Dharma-Source of the Diamond Sūtra) in one fascicle, and *Qixin lun jieyi* (Explanation of the Meaning of the Awakening of Faith) in two fascicles, all of which circulate in the world. Grand Councilor Zhang Wujin praised Juefan as a heroic figure of the world and an extraordinary man of the sacred Song. However, ancient eminent monks famed in the world for their talent and learning who were on par with Juefan are indeed many; one must combine pure standards and admirable conduct for it to be truly beautiful. When young, Juefan joined the house of Śākya, and when grown, he plumbed the depths of all books. Looking at how he elucidated the sūtras and treatises, and with untiring diligence assisted the monasteries—his hand never stopped composing, and his words filled the realm. When he fell into misfortune, donned the scholar's garb, emerged from certain death and barely survived, for nearly twenty years before shaving his head anew, not a single word betrayed the Buddha or changed his purpose: in this he was a worthy! Yet he was adept at rebuking the ancients but clumsy in conducting himself; he could not preserve his person and keep clear of harm. Setting high moral disciplines to elevate himself, he repeatedly fell into unmerited crimes. Or was it perhaps that, relying on his talents, he displayed them too ostentatiously and thus brought it upon himself? When he said of himself that his knowledge did not discern subtleties and his realization of the Way could not overcome past habits, this was not only Huihong’s true record, but also showed that he did not deceive himself. How lamentable!