續傳燈錄 5.40

5.40

南康軍雲居山了元佛印禪師。饒州浮梁林氏子。誕生之時祥光上燭。鬚髮爪齒宛然具體。風骨爽拔孩孺異常。發言成章語合經史。閭里先生稱曰神童。年將頂角博覽典墳。卷不再舒洞明今古。才思俊邁風韻飄然。志慕空宗投師出家。試經圓具感悟夙習。即遍參尋投機。於開先法席。出為宗匠。九坐道場。四眾傾向名動朝野。神宗賜高麗磨衲金鉢以旌師德。上堂。寒寒風撼竹聲乾。水凍魚行澁。林疎鳥宿難。早是嚴霜威重。那堪行客衣單。休思紫陌山千朵。且擁紅爐火一攢。放下茱萸空中竹橛。倒却迦葉門前剎竿。直下更云。不會算來也太無端。參。師一日與學徒入室次。適東坡居士到面前。師曰。此間無坐榻。居士來此作甚麼。士曰。暫借佛印四大為坐榻。師曰。山僧有一問。居士若道得即請坐。道不得即輸腰下玉帶子。士欣然曰。便請。師曰。居士適來道。暫借山僧四大為坐榻。秖如山僧四大本空五陰非有。居士向甚麼處坐。士不能答。遂留玉帶。師却贈以雲山衲衣。士乃作偈曰。百千燈作一燈光。盡是恒沙妙法王。是故東坡不敢惜。借君四大作禪床。病骨難堪玉帶圍。鈍根仍落箭鋒機。會當乞食歌姬院。奪得雲山舊衲衣。此帶閱人如傳舍。流傳到我亦悠哉。錦袍錯落猶相稱。乞與佯狂老萬回。

Chan Master Liaoyuan Foyin of Mount Yunju in Nankang Commandery was a son of the Lin family of Fuliang in Raozhou. At the time of his birth, an auspicious light shone upward, and his beard, hair, nails, and teeth were complete and clearly formed. His spirit and frame were striking and extraordinary, surpassing ordinary children. His utterances formed literary compositions, his words according with the classics and histories. The village elders called him a child prodigy. Approaching the age when his hair was tied in horn-tufts, he read widely in the ancient canons; having unrolled a scroll once, he did not need to unroll it again, penetratingly understanding past and present. His talent and thought were brilliant and outstanding, his grace free and unconstrained. Setting his heart on the School of Emptiness, he took refuge with a master and left household life. Having passed the scriptural examination and received the full ordination, he was awakened to his past practice. He then traveled everywhere seeking instruction, and met with accord at the Dharma assembly of Kaixian. Emerging as a lineage master, he occupied the seat of a bodhimaṇḍa nine times. The four assemblies looked up to him, and his fame moved the court and the countryside. Emperor Shenzong bestowed upon him a Korean polished-cloth robe and a gold bowl to honour the Master's virtue. Ascending the hall: 'Cold, cold! The wind shakes the bamboo with a dry sound; / The water freezes and the fish swim sluggishly; / The woods are sparse, and birds find it hard to roost. / Already the severe frost is heavy with harsh power, / How much worse for the traveler whose robes are thin! / Stop longing for the thousand clusters of mountains along the purple pathways; / Come crowd round the red brazier with its heap of fire! / Put down the cornel dogwood and the bamboo peg in empty space; / Topple the monastery flagpole before Kāśyapa's gate. / If directly beneath this you still say you do not understand, / Taken all together, that too would be utterly unjustified.' He gave a shout. One day, while the Master was entering the room with his students, it happened that Layman Dongpo arrived before him. The Master said, 'There is no seat or couch here. What has the Layman come here to do?' The Layman said, 'I temporarily borrow Foyin's four great elements as a seat and couch.' The Master said, 'This mountain monk has a question. If the Layman can answer, please take a seat; if you cannot answer, you must forfeit the jade belt at your waist.' The Layman gladly said, 'Please proceed.' The Master said, 'The Layman just said that you temporarily borrow this mountain monk's four great elements as a seat and couch. Since this mountain monk's four great elements are originally empty and the five aggregates do not exist, where will the Layman sit?' The Layman could not answer, and thereupon left behind his jade belt. The Master in return presented him with a patched robe of cloud and mountain. The Layman then composed a verse: 'A hundred thousand lamps make the light of a single lamp; / All are wondrous Dharma kings like the sands of the Ganges. / Therefore Dongpo does not dare to be begrudging, / Borrowing your four great elements to make a meditation couch. / Sickness-worn bones can hardly bear the waist of a jade belt; / Dull faculties nevertheless fall into the pivot of an arrow point. / Sometime I shall beg for food at the courtesans' quarters, / Having seized the old patched robe of cloud and mountain. / This belt has seen people like an inn for travelers; / That it passed down to me is also a leisurely fate. / With my brocade robe's patchy elegance it is still well-matched, / Yet I beg to give it to the feigned-mad old Wanhui.'