續傳燈錄 25.9

25.9

潭州開福道寧禪師。歙溪汪氏子。壯為道人於崇果寺執浴。一日將濯足。偶誦金剛經至於此章句能生信心以此為實。遂忘所知。忽垂足沸湯中發明已見。後祝髮蔣山依雪竇老良禪師。踰二年遍歷叢林參諸名宿。晚至白蓮聞五祖小參舉忠國師古佛淨瓶趙州狗子無佛性話。頓徹法源。大觀中潭帥席公震請住開福衲子景從。浴佛上堂。未離兜率已降王宮。未出母胎度人已畢。諸禪德。日日日從東畔出。朝朝雞向五更啼。雖然不是桃花洞。春至桃花亦滿溪。又道。毘藍園內右脇降生。七步周行四方目顧。天上天下唯我獨尊。大似貪觀天上月失却手中珠。還知落處麼。若知落處。方為孝子順孫。苟或未然。不免重下註脚。良久曰。天生伎倆能奇怪。未上輸他弄一場。示眾云。秋日耀長空。秋江浸虛碧。傷嗟門外人。處處尋彌勒。驀路忽擡頭。相逢不相識。諸禪德。既是相逢為甚麼却不相識。剪盡霜前竹。臨谿不化龍。上堂。遍界不曾藏。通身無影像。相逢莫訝太愚癡。曠劫至今無伎倆。無伎倆少人知。大抵還他肌骨好。何須臨鏡畫蛾眉。上堂。摩竭正令未免崎嶇。少室垂慈早傷風骨。腰囊挈錫孤負平生。煉行灰心遞相鈍置。爭似春雨晴春山青。白雲三片四片。黃鳥一聲兩聲。千眼大悲看不足。王維雖巧畫難成。直饒便恁麼。猶自涉途程。且不涉途程一句作麼生道。人從汴州來不得東京信。僧問。蓮花未出水時如何。師曰。人天合掌。曰出水後如何。師曰。不礙往來看。問如何是句到意不到。師曰。瑞草本無根信手拈來用。曰如何是意到句不到。師曰。領取鉤頭意莫認定盤星曰如何是意句俱到。師曰。大悲不展手通身是眼睛。曰如何是意句俱不到。師曰。君向瀟湘我向秦政和三年十一月四日淨髮沐浴。次日齋罷小參。勉眾行道辭語誠切。期初七示寂。至日酉時跏趺而逝。闍維獲設利五色。歸藏于塔。

Chan Master Daoning of Kaifu in Tanzhou was a son of the Wang family of Xixi. In his prime, he served as a lay practitioner tending the baths at Chongguo Monastery. One day, as he was about to wash his feet, he happened to recite the Diamond Sūtra, reaching the line: 'Those who can give rise to true faith, taking this as real.' He thereupon forgot his discursive knowledge, and suddenly lowering his feet into the boiling water, his own realization opened up. Later, he shaved his head at Jiangshan and relied on the elder Master Liang of Xuedou. After more than two years, he traveled through the monasteries, studying under various famous elders. In his later years, he arrived at Bailian; hearing Wuzu give an informal discourse citing National Teacher Zhong's ancient Buddha pure vase and Zhaozhou's dog having no Buddha-nature, he abruptly penetrated the Dharma source. During the Daguan era, Governor Xi Zhen of Tanzhou invited him to reside at Kaifu, and patch-robed monks followed him like shadows. On the Buddha's birthday, he ascended the hall: 'Before leaving Tuṣita, he had already descended into the royal palace; before emerging from his mother's womb, he had already finished saving people. Venerable Chan monks! Day after day, the sun rises from the east; / Morning after morning, the rooster crows at the fifth watch. / Though it is not the Peach Blossom Cave, / When spring arrives, peach blossoms also fill the stream.' He also said, 'Born from the right rib in the Lumbinī Grove, / Walking seven steps in all directions, looking in the four directions: / "In heaven and on earth, I alone am supreme!" / This is much like greedily gazing at the moon in the sky and losing the pearl in one's hand. / Do you know where it falls? If you know where it falls, only then are you a filial son and an obedient grandson. If not, it cannot be helped that I must add another footnote.' After a pause, he said, 'Naturally endowed with tricks, capable of extraordinary wonders; / Before going up, one yields to him to put on a show.' Instructing the assembly, he said, 'The autumn sun blazes in the vast sky; / The autumn river steeps in empty azure. / How lamentable are those outside the gate, / Everywhere seeking Maitreya! / Suddenly raising their heads on the road, / Meeting each other, yet not recognizing each other. / Venerable Chan monks, since they meet each other, why do they not recognize each other? / Cutting all the bamboo before the frost; / Facing the creek, it does not turn into a dragon.' Ascending the hall: 'Throughout the realm, it has never been hidden; / The entire body has no image or shadow. / Meeting each other, do not marvel at being too foolish; / From kalpas without beginning until now, there are no clever tricks. / Having no clever tricks, few people know; / In general, one must grant his fair skin and fine bones— / What need to face the mirror and paint moth eyebrows?' Ascending the hall: 'The correct command of Magadha inevitably encounters rough roads; / Shaoshi's extending compassion already injured the style and spirit. / Carrying bags on the waist and lifting the staff, one betrays an entire lifetime; / Refining practice with ashen heart, they mutually dull one another. / How can that compare to the spring rain clearing and the spring mountains turning green? / Three or four patches of white clouds, / One or two chirps of the yellow bird. / The Great Compassionate One of a thousand eyes cannot look enough; / Though Wang Wei was skillful, it is hard to paint. / Even granting it is just like that, / one is still embarking on a journey. / What can be said in a single phrase that does not embark on a journey? / When a man comes from Bianzhou, no letter from the Eastern Capital is received.' A monk asked, 'Before the lotus flower emerges from the water, how is it?' The master said, 'Humans and devas join their palms.' The monk asked, 'After it emerges from the water, how is it?' The master said, 'It does not obstruct coming and going to look.' A monk asked, 'What is it when the phrase arrives but the intention does not arrive?' The master said, 'Auspicious grass originally has no roots; one picks it up at will to use.' The monk asked, 'What is it when the intention arrives but the phrase does not arrive?' The master said, 'Catch the meaning at the hook's tip; do not cling to the zero mark on the steelyard.' The monk asked, 'What is it when both intention and phrase arrive?' The master said, 'The Great Compassionate One does not extend a hand, yet the whole body is eyes.' The monk asked, 'What is it when neither intention nor phrase arrives?' The master said, 'You head toward the Xiao and Xiang rivers; I head toward Qin.' On the fourth day of the eleventh month in the third year of the Zhenghe era, he shaved his hair and bathed. The next day, after the noon meal, he gave an informal discourse, urging the assembly to practice the Dao with sincere and earnest words, predicting his demise on the seventh day. When the day came, at the hour of the rooster (5–7 PM), he sat cross-legged and passed away. The cremation yielded five-colored relics (śarīra), which were returned and enshrined in a stūpa.