續傳燈錄 35.43

35.43

明州天童岫禪師字雲外。族昌國某氏。身材眇小精悍有餘。師事直翁舉公剃落。究明曹洞宗旨盡其源底。出世慈溪石門。歷象山智門遷郡之天寧。繼以三宗。四眾推挽升住天童。叢林莫不稽首稱慶。師說法能巧譬傍引。貴欲俯就學者而曲成之。至於奔軼絕塵。雖鶻眼龍睛亦無窺瞰分。上堂。鬧市紅塵裏有鬧市紅塵裏佛法。深山岩崖中有深山岩崖中佛法。山僧昨日出城門。鬧市紅塵裏佛法一時忘却了也。行到二十里松雲。便見深山岩崖中佛法。大眾且道。如何是深山岩崖中佛法。良久云。白雲淡泞出沒太虛之中。青蘿夤緣直上寒松之頂。又謝首座書記藏主上堂。以拂子打圓相云。摩訶衍法離四句絕百非。又打一圓相云。禮之用和為貴。先王之道斯為美。又打一圓相云。摩尼珠人不識。如來藏裏親收得。諸人還見麼。所見不同互有得失。天童這裏母固母必。師不倨傲。不貪積不私食。得施利隨與人。見後生敬之逾謹。二時粥飯必同眾赴堂。既寂無餘資。禪者率錢津送後事塔葬于本山。弟子聘大方昇獨木省愚庵證無印。四人足大其宗。但位不稱德。罕嗣其法者爾。

Chan Master Xiu of Tiantong in Mingzhou was styled Yunwai. He belonged to a certain clan of Changguo. Small of stature, his energetic prowess was more than ample. He served Zhiweng Ju as his master, shaved his head, investigated the Caodong lineage tenets, and exhausted them to their very source and depth. He made his advent in the world at Shimen in Cixi, passed through Zhimeng in Xiangshan, transferred to Tianning in the commandery seat, and subsequently, on the recommendation of the three schools, the fourfold assembly urged him forward to ascend and take up residence at Tiantong. None in the monastic groves failed to bow their heads and rejoice. When preaching the Dharma, the Master was able to use skillful analogies and indirect citations; he valued lowering himself to meet students and guide them to completion. Yet when it came to his transcendent leaps leaving no dust behind, even a falcon's eye or a dragon's gaze could catch no glimpse of him. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Amidst the red dust of the noisy marketplace there is the Buddhadharma of the red dust of the noisy marketplace. Amidst the crags and cliffs of the deep mountains there is the Buddhadharma of the crags and cliffs of the deep mountains. Yesterday, as this mountain monk walked out of the city gate, the Buddhadharma of the red dust of the noisy marketplace was instantly forgotten. Walking for twenty li into the pine clouds, I immediately saw the Buddhadharma of the crags and cliffs of the deep mountains. Tell me, all of you, what is the Buddhadharma of the crags and cliffs of the deep mountains?' After a long pause, he said: 'White clouds, pale and vast, appear and disappear in the great void; green creepers, winding along, climb directly up to the crests of the cold pines.' Again, giving thanks to the head monk, recorder, and director of the canon, he ascended the hall, drew a circular figure with his whisk, and said: 'The Mahāyāna Dharma is free from the four propositions and cuts off the hundred negations.' He drew another circular figure and said: 'In the application of ritual, harmony is to be prized; of the ways of the former kings, this is the most beautiful.' He drew yet another circular figure and said: 'The mani-jewel no one knows, personally obtained from within the Tathāgata-garbha. Do you see it, everyone? What is seen is not the same; each has its gain and loss. Here at Tiantong, I have no preconceptions and no insistence.' The Master was not haughty; he did not hoard wealth, nor did he eat in secret. When he received offerings, he distributed them to others. When he saw younger monks, he respected them with increasing deference. At the two daily meals of porridge and rice, he unfailingly went to the dining hall together with the assembly. When he passed away, he had no remaining wealth; the Chan monks pooled their funds to cover his final affairs, and his stūpa was buried on the local mountain. His disciples Da Fangcheng, Du Musheng, Yu'anzheng, and Wuyin were four men fully capable of magnifying his lineage; yet their positions did not match their virtue, and rarely did anyone inherit his Dharma.