續傳燈錄 25.6

25.6

成都府昭覺寺克勤佛果禪師。彭州駱氏子。世宗儒。師兒時日記千言。偶游妙寂寺見佛書。三復悵然如獲舊物。曰予殆過去沙門也。即去家依自省祝髮。從文照通講說。又從敏行授楞嚴。俄得病瀕死。嘆曰。諸佛涅槃正路不在文句中。吾欲以聲求色見。宜其無以死也。遂棄去至真覺勝禪師之席。勝方刺臂出血指示師曰。此曹溪一滴也。師矍然良久曰。道固如是乎。即徒步出蜀首謁玉泉皓。次依金鑾信大溈哲黃龍心東林度僉指為法器。而晦堂稱他日臨濟一派屬子矣。最後見五祖盡其機用。祖皆不諾。乃謂祖強移換人。出不遜語忿然而去。祖曰。待爾著一頓熱病打時方思量我在。師到金山染傷寒困極。以平日見處試之無得力者。追繹五祖之言。乃自誓曰。我病稍間即歸五祖。病痊尋歸。祖一見而喜令即參堂。便入侍者寮方半月。會部使者解印還蜀詣祖問道。祖曰。提刑少年曾讀小艶詩否。有兩句頗相近。頻呼小玉元無事。秖要檀郎認得聲。提刑應喏喏。祖曰。且子細。師適歸侍立次。問曰。聞和尚舉小艶詩。提刑會否。祖曰。他認得聲。師曰。秖要檀郎認得聲。他既認得聲為甚麼却不是。祖曰。如何是祖師西來意庭前柏樹子聻。師忽有省。遽出見雞飛上闌干鼓翅而嗚。復自謂曰。此豈不是聲。遂袖香入室通所得。呈偈曰。金鴨香銷錦繡幃。笙歌叢裏醉扶歸。少年一段風流事。祇許佳人獨自知。祖曰。佛祖大事非小根劣器所能造詣。吾助汝喜。祖遍謂山中耆舊曰。我侍者參得禪也。由此所至推為上首。崇寧中還里省親四眾迓拜。成都帥翰林郭公知章請開法六祖更昭覺。政和間謝事復出峽南遊。時張無盡寓荊南。以道學自居少見推許。師艤舟謁之。劇談華嚴旨要曰。華嚴現量境界理事全真初無假法。所以即一而萬。了萬為一。一復一萬復萬浩然莫窮。心佛眾生三無差別。卷舒自在無礙圓融。此雖極則終是無風匝匝之波。公於是不覺促榻。師遂問曰。到此與祖師西來意為同為別。公曰。同矣。師曰且得沒交涉。公色為之慍。師曰。不見雲門道。山河大地無絲毫過患猶是轉句。直得不見一色始是半提。更須知有向上全提時節。彼德山臨濟豈非全提乎。公乃首肯。翌日復舉事法界理法界。至理事無礙法界師又問。此可說禪乎。公曰。正好說禪也。師笑曰。不然正是法界量裏在。蓋法界量未滅。若到事事無礙法界法界量滅。始好說禪。如何是佛乾屎橛。如何是佛麻三斤。是故真淨偈曰。事事無礙如意自在。手把猪頭口誦淨戒。趁出婬坊未還酒債。十字街頭解開布袋。公曰。美哉之論。豈易得聞乎。於是以師禮留居碧岩。復徒道林樞密鄧公子常奏賜紫服師號。詔住金陵蔣山。學者無地以容。勅補天寧萬壽。上召見褒寵甚渥。建炎初又遷金山。適駕幸維楊入對賜圓悟禪師改雲居。久之復領昭覺。僧問。雲門道須彌山意旨如何。師曰。推不向前約不退後。曰未審還有過也無。師曰。坐却舌頭問法不孤起仗境方生提坐具曰。這箇是境那箇是法。師曰。却被闍梨奪却鎗問古人道。楖栗橫擔不顧人。直入千峯萬峯去。未審那裏是他住處。師曰。騰蛇纏足路布遶身。曰朝看雲片片。暮聽水潺潺。師曰。却須截斷始得。曰此回不是夢真箇到廬山。師曰。高著眼。問猿抱子歸青嶂後。鳥啣花落碧岩前。此是和尚舊時安身立命處。如何是道林境。師曰。寺門高開洞庭野。殿脚插入赤沙湖。曰如何是境中人。師曰。僧寶人人滄海珠。曰此是杜工部底。作麼生是和尚底。師曰。且莫亂道。曰如何是奪人不奪境。師曰。山僧有眼不曾見。曰如何是奪境不奪人。師曰。闍梨問得自然親。曰如何是。人境俱奪。師曰收。曰如何人境俱不奪。師曰放。問有句無句如藤倚樹如何得透脫。師曰。倚天長劍逼人寒。曰秖如樹倒藤枯。溈山為甚麼呵呵大笑。師曰。愛他底著他底。曰忽被學人掀倒禪床抝折拄杖。又作箇甚麼伎倆。師曰。也是賊過後張弓。問明歷歷露堂堂。因甚麼乾坤收不得。師曰。金剛手裏八稜棒。曰忽然一喚便回還當得活也無。師曰。鶖子目連無奈何。曰不落照不落用如何商量。師曰。放下雲頭。曰忽遇其中人時如何。師曰。騎佛殿出山門。曰萬象不來渠獨語。教誰招手上高峯。師曰。錯下名言。上堂。通身是眼見不及。通身是耳聞不徹。通身是口說不著。通身是心鑒不出。直饒盡大地明得無絲毫透。漏猶在半途據令全提。且道如何是展演。域中日月縱橫挂。一亘晴空萬古春。上堂。山頭鼓浪井底揚塵。眼聽似震雷霆。耳觀如張錦繡。三百六十骨節一一現無邊妙身。八萬四千毛端頭頭彰寶王剎海。不是神通妙用。亦非法爾如然。苟能千眼頓開。直是十方坐斷。且超然獨脫一句作麼生道。試玉須經火求。珠不離泥。上堂。本來無形段。那復有脣嘴。特地廣稱揚。替他說道理。且道他是阿誰。上堂。十五日已前千牛拽不回。十五日已後俊鶻趁不及。正當十五日。天平地平同明同暗。大千沙界不出當處。可以含吐十虛。進一步超越不可說香水海。退一步坐斷千重萬里白雲不進不退莫道闍梨。老僧也無開口處。舉拂子曰。正當恁麼時如何。有時拈在千峯上。劃斷秋雲不放高。上堂。十方同聚會。本來身不昧。箇箇學無為。頂上用鉗鎚。此是選佛場。深廣莫能量。心空及第歸。利劍不如錐。龐居士舌拄梵天口包四海。有時將一莖草作丈六金身。有時將丈六金身作一莖草。甚是奇特。雖然如此。要且不曾動著向上關。且如何是向上關。鑄印築高壇。上堂。有句無句超宗越格。如藤倚樹銀山鐵壁。及至樹倒藤枯。多少人失却鼻孔。直饒收拾得來。已是千里萬里。秖如未有恁麼消息時。如何。還透得麼。風暖鳥聲碎日高花影重。上堂。第一句薦得祖師乞命。第二句薦得人天瞻落。第三句薦得虎口橫身。不是循途守轍。亦非革轍移途。透得則六臂三頭。未透亦人間天上。且三句外一句作麼生道。生涯秖在絲綸上。明月扁舟泛五湖。示眾云。一言截斷千聖消聲。一劍當頭橫屍萬里。所以道。有時句到意不到。有時意到句不到。句能剗意。意能剗句。意句交馳衲僧巴鼻。若能恁麼轉去。青天也須喫棒。且道憑箇甚麼。可憐無限弄潮人。畢竟還落潮中死。示眾云。萬仞崖頭撒手。要須其人。千鈞之弩發機。豈為鼷鼠。雲門睦州當面蹉過。德山臨濟誑謼閭閻。自餘立境立機作窠作窟。故是滅胡種族且獨脫一句作麼生道。萬緣遷變渾閑事。五月山房冷似氷。紹興五年八月己酉示微恙。趺坐書偈遺眾投筆而逝。荼毘舌齒不壞。設利五色無數。塔于昭覺寺之側。諡真覺禪師。

Chan Master Keqin Foguo of Zhaojue Temple in Chengdu Prefecture was a native of Pengzhou, from the Luo clan. For generations, his family had revered Confucianism. As a boy, the Master memorized a thousand words a day. By chance, while visiting Miaoji Temple, he saw Buddhist scriptures. Reading them three times, he felt a longing as though he had recovered old belongings, and said, "I must have been a śramaṇa in a past life!" He immediately left home, relied on Zisheng to have his head shaved, studied the doctrinal expositions under Wenzhao, and received the Śūraṅgama-sūtra from Minxing. Soon after, he fell critically ill and near death. He sighed, saying, "The true path of all Buddhas' nirvāṇa is not found in words and phrases. I wished to seek it through sounds and perceive it through forms; it serves me right that I have nothing with which to face death." He thereupon abandoned his studies and went to the assembly of Chan Master Zhenjue Sheng. Sheng had just pricked his arm to draw blood and pointed it out to the Master, saying, "This is a single drop from Caoxi." The Master was startled for a long time, and said, "Is the Way indeed like this?" Thereupon, he left Shu on foot, first paying respects to Yuquan Hao; next he relied on Jinluan Xin, Dawai Zhe, Huanglong Xin, and Donglin Du, all of whom recognized him as a vessel of the Dharma. Moreover, Huitang remarked, "One day the Linji lineage will belong to this fellow!" In the end, he went to see Wuzu [Fayan], expending all of his dynamic function, but the Patriarch approved none of it. The Master then alleged that the Patriarch was forcibly imposing alterations on people; uttering insolent words, he left in a huff. The Patriarch said, "Wait until you are struck by a bout of burning fever—only then will you remember me." When the Master reached Jinshan, he contracted a severe typhoid fever and was utterly exhausted. Testing his usual understanding, none of it provided any strength. Recalling Wuzu's words, he vowed to himself, "As soon as my illness remits a little, I will return to Wuzu." Having recovered, he sought him out and returned. As soon as the Patriarch saw him, he was delighted and had him immediately join the hall, entering the attendants' quarters for barely half a month. It happened that an imperial inspector relinquished his seal of office, returned to Shu, and visited the Patriarch to inquire about the Way. The Patriarch said, "When you were young, Judicial Commissioner, did you ever read the 'Amorous Poems'? There are two lines quite close [to this]: 'Frequently calling for Xiaoyu, though there is really no matter at all; / Only wanting her young lover to recognize her voice.'" The Judicial Commissioner answered, "Yes, yes." The Patriarch said, "Look more closely." Just then, the Master returned and stood in attendance. He asked, "I heard the Upādhyāya cite the 'Amorous Poems.' Did the Judicial Commissioner understand?" The Patriarch said, "He recognized the voice." The Master said, "'Only wanting her young lover to recognize her voice.' Since he already recognized the voice, why is he still not there?" The Patriarch said, "'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West? The cypress tree in front of the courtyard.' Eh?" The Master suddenly had an awakening. He quickly stepped outside and saw a rooster fly onto the balustrade, flap its wings, and crow. He again said to himself, "Is this not the voice?" He then tucked incense into his sleeve, entered the room, and reported his attainment, presenting a gāthā: / "Incense burns away from the golden duck beside the embroidered screen; / Amidst the crowd of pipes and songs, drunk, one is helped back home. / A youthful affair of romantic passion— / It is only permitted for the lovely maiden alone to know." / The Patriarch said, "The great matter of the Buddhas and Patriarchs is not something those of lesser roots and inferior capacity can attain. I rejoice with you!" The Patriarch told the elders throughout the mountain, "My attendant has investigated Chan and attained it!" From then on, wherever he went, he was regarded as the foremost seat. During the Chongning era, he returned to his home region to visit his parents; the fourfold assembly welcomed and bowed to him. The Military Commissioner of Chengdu, Hanlin Academician Lord Guo Zhizhang, invited him to open the Dharma hall at Liuzu and subsequently at Zhaojue. During the Zhenghe era, he resigned his duties, exited the Gorges again, and traveled south. At that time, Zhang Wujin was staying in Jingnan; regarding himself as an adept in Dao learning, he seldom praised anyone. The Master moored his boat to visit him and engaged in a profound discussion of the essential tenets of the Avataṃsaka, saying, "The realm of direct perception in the Avataṃsaka is entirely real in both principle and phenomena, having no provisional dharmas from the beginning. Therefore, one is identical to the ten thousand, and realizing the ten thousand is identical to the one. One after one, ten thousand after ten thousand, vast and inexhaustible. Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction. Contracting and expanding freely, unobstructed and completely harmonious. Although this is the ultimate principle, it is still the ceaseless rippling of waves without wind." The Lord thereupon unconsciously leaned forward on his seat. The Master then asked, "Reaching this point, is it the same as or different from the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The Lord said, "It is the same." The Master said, "Not at all! There is no connection whatsoever." The Lord's expression became annoyed. The Master said, "Have you not seen Yunmen say, 'That the mountains, rivers, and great earth are without the slightest flaw is still a turning word; only when one directly sees not a single form is it half of the discourse. One must further know that there is a time when the whole discourse is directed upward.' Were not Deshan and Linji precisely offering the whole discourse?" The Lord then gave his assent. The next day, they again discussed the Dharma Realm of Phenomena and the Dharma Realm of Principle; coming to the Dharma Realm of Non-Obstruction between Principle and Phenomena, the Master again asked, "Can this be called Chan?" The Lord said, "It is precisely suitable for talking about Chan." The Master smiled and said, "Not so. This is still within the measure of the Dharma Realm. For the measure of the Dharma Realm is not yet extinguished. Only when one reaches the Dharma Realm of Non-Obstruction between Phenomena and Phenomena, where the measure of the Dharma Realm is extinguished, is it truly proper to talk about Chan. What is Buddha? A dry piece of excrement. What is Buddha? Three pounds of hemp. Therefore, Zhenjing's gāthā says: / 'Phenomena and phenomena are unobstructed, as one wishes and free; / Holding a pig's head in hand, chanting the pure precepts with the mouth. / Driven out of the brothel, yet to pay the wine debt; / At the crossroads, opening wide the cloth sack.'" / The Lord said, "How wonderful is this discourse! How could it be easily heard?" Thereupon, with the courtesy due a master, he detained him to reside at Biyan, and later moved to Daolin. Deng Zichang, the Bureau of Military Affairs Director, memorialized to confer the purple robe and a master's title. An imperial decree ordered him to reside at Mount Jiang in Jinling; students had no room to fit. An imperial decree appointed him to Tianning Wanshou. The Emperor summoned him for an audience, showing him profound favor and esteem. In the beginning of the Jianyan era, he moved again to Jinshan. It happened that the imperial carriage visited Weiyang; he was admitted to an audience, granted the title of Chan Master Yuanwu, and transferred to Yunju. After a long time, he once again took charge of Zhaojue. A monk asked, "What is the meaning of Yunmen saying 'Mount Sumeru'?" The Master said, "Pushing forward does not advance it; restraining it does not make it retreat." The monk asked, "May I ask whether there is still any fault?" The Master said, "It cuts off the tongue." A monk asked, "'Phenomena do not arise in isolation; they are born only relying on conditions.'" Raising his sitting mat, he said, "Which is the condition, and which is the phenomenon?" The Master said, "It seems the ācārya has seized the spear." A monk asked, "An ancient said, 'Carrying a walking staff across the shoulder, paying no heed to anyone, going straight into thousands and myriads of peaks.' I wonder, where is his dwelling place?" The Master said, "Flying serpents entangle the feet; creeping vines wrap the body." The monk said, "In the morning watching clouds drift piece by piece; in the evening listening to water murmuring." The Master said, "It must be cut off completely before it is achieved." The monk said, "This time it is not a dream; I have truly reached Mount Lu." The Master said, "Keep your eyes high." A monk asked, "'The ape cradles its young and returns behind the green cliffs; the bird clutches a flower and drops it before the green rock.' This was your former place of peace and security, Upādhyāya. What is the environment of Daolin?" The Master said, "The monastery gate opens wide to the Dongting wilderness; the hall's footings plunge into Red Sand Lake." The monk asked, "Who is the person within the environment?" The Master said, "Every single jewel of the Sangha is a pearl of the vast sea." The monk said, "This is Du Shaoling's poetry; what is the Upādhyāya's own?" The Master said, "Do not talk wildly." The monk asked, "What is taking away the person but not taking away the environment?" The Master said, "This mountain monk has eyes, yet has never seen." The monk asked, "What is taking away the environment but not taking away the person?" The Master said, "The ācārya asks naturally and intimately." The monk asked, "What is taking away both person and environment?" The Master said, "Gathering in." The monk asked, "What is taking away neither person nor environment?" The Master said, "Letting go." A monk asked, "'Affirmative phrases and negative phrases are like wisteria leaning on a tree.' How can one break through and be free?" The Master said, "A long sword leaning against the heavens chills people with cold." The monk said, "When the tree falls and the wisteria withers, why did Guishan burst into loud laughter?" The Master said, "He loves what is his; he puts on what is his." The monk said, "If a student suddenly overturns the Chan bed and snaps the staff, what trick will you use?" The Master said, "That too is drawing the bow after the thief has fled." A monk asked, "Vividly distinct, brightly revealed—why is it that heaven and earth cannot contain it?" The Master said, "An eight-ridged staff in the hand of Vajrapāṇi." The monk said, "If one suddenly calls and it immediately turns back, can that still bring it to life?" The Master said, "Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana can do nothing about it." The monk asked, "Not falling into illumination and not falling into function—how is it discussed?" The Master said, "Lower the cloud heads." The monk said, "What happens when one suddenly meets the person within it?" The Master said, "Riding the Buddha hall out of the mountain gate." The monk said, "The myriad phenomena do not arrive; he speaks alone. Who is made to beckon on the high peak?" The Master said, "Mistakenly using names and words." Ascending the hall, he said: "The whole body is eyes, yet seeing cannot reach it. The whole body is ears, yet hearing cannot penetrate it. The whole body is a mouth, yet speaking cannot express it. The whole body is a mind, yet reflection cannot discern it. Even if the entire earth is clearly understood without the slightest leakage, one is still halfway. According to the imperative, presenting the whole discourse—tell me, how is it displayed? / The sun and moon of the realm hang traverse; / A stretch of clear sky is eternal spring." / Ascending the hall, he said: "On the mountain peak waves roll; at the bottom of the well dust rises. The eyes listening are like rolling thunder; the ears observing are like spread-out brocade. The three hundred and sixty joints each manifest the boundless wondrous body; the eighty-four thousand hair-tips each reveal the precious King's ocean of lands. This is not miraculous function through supernatural powers, nor is it phenomena just naturally so. If you can suddenly open a thousand eyes, you directly sit severed from the ten directions. But tell me, how do you utter the single phrase that is transcendent and uniquely free? / Testing jade must pass through fire; / Seeking a pearl does not depart from mud." / Ascending the hall, he said: "Originally without form or shape, how could there be lips and mouth? Specially and broadly praising it, explaining the principle on its behalf. Tell me, who is that person?" Ascending the hall, he said: "Before the fifteenth day, a thousand oxen cannot drag it back. After the fifteenth day, a swift falcon cannot catch up. Right on the fifteenth day, heaven is level, earth is level, equally bright and equally dark. The great chiliocosm does not depart from this very place; it can swallow and spit out the ten directions of emptiness. Taking a step forward, one transcends the ineffable oceans of fragrant water; taking a step back, one cuts off thousands of layers and myriads of miles of white clouds. Neither advancing nor retreating—do not say the ācārya [cannot speak]; this old monk also has no place to open his mouth." Raising the whisk, he said: "Right at such a time, what about it? / At times taken up onto a thousand peaks, / Slashing autumn clouds, not allowing them to rise high." / Ascending the hall, he said: / "From the ten directions they gather together, / The original body is never obscured. / Each and every one studies non-action; / Upon their crowns tongs and hammer are applied. / This is the field for choosing Buddhas; / Deep and vast, it cannot be measured. / The mind emptied, they pass the examination and return; / A sharp sword is not as good as an awl. / Upāsaka Pang's tongue propped up the Brahmā Heaven, his mouth enclosed the four seas. At times he took a blade of grass to make a sixteen-foot golden body; at times he took a sixteen-foot golden body to make a blade of grass. Extremely extraordinary! Even so, after all he never touched the upward barrier. And what is the upward barrier? Casting the seal and building a high altar." Ascending the hall, he said: "'Affirmative phrases and negative phrases' transcend the lineage and surpass the norm; 'like wisteria leaning on a tree,' a silver mountain and an iron wall. When the tree falls and the wisteria withers, how many people lose their nostrils! Even if you gather it up, it is already a thousand miles, ten thousand miles away. Just when there is no such news, how is it? Can you still penetrate it? / The wind is warm, the birds' calls broken; / The sun is high, flowers' shadows heavy." / Ascending the hall, he said: "Grasping the first phrase, the Patriarch begs for life. Grasping the second phrase, humans and devas look up and fall. Grasping the third phrase, one flings one's body into the tiger's mouth. This is not following the path and keeping to the rut, nor is it changing the rut and altering the path. If you penetrate it, you have six arms and three heads; if you have not penetrated it, you are still in the human and heavenly realms. But tell me, how do you speak a phrase outside the three phrases? / One's livelihood is only on the silk fishing line; / In the bright moon, a small boat drifts across the Five Lakes." / Instructing the assembly, he said: "A single word cuts off, and a thousand sages fall silent; a single sword overhead leaves corpses strewn for ten thousand miles. Therefore it is said: Sometimes the phrase arrives but the intention does not; sometimes the intention arrives but the phrase does not. The phrase can cut away the intention; the intention can cut away the phrase. When intention and phrase run concurrently, that is the patch-robed monk's nostrils. If you can turn it this way, even the blue sky must receive a blow of the stick. Tell me, what does one rely on? / How pitiable the endless riders of the waves; / In the end, they still fall into the waves and die!" / Instructing the assembly, he said: "Letting go from the cliff of ten thousand fathoms requires the right person. Releasing the trigger of a crossbow of a thousand jun—how could it be for a tiny mouse? Yunmen and Muzhou missed it face-to-face; Deshan and Linji hoodwinked the common alleys. As for the rest who set up environments and set up dynamics, making nests and holes, they truly wipe out the barbarian race! But tell me, how do you utter the single phrase that is uniquely free? / The shifting transformations of myriad conditions are completely trifling matters; / In the fifth month, the mountain room is as cold as ice." / In the fifth year of Shaoxing, in the eighth month, on the jiyou day, he showed signs of a slight illness. Sitting cross-legged, he wrote a gāthā, bequeathed it to the assembly, threw down the brush, and passed away. After cremation, his tongue and teeth were undamaged. Five-colored relics were countless. A stupa was erected beside Zhaojue Temple. He was posthumously named Chan Master Zhenjue.