續傳燈錄 35.8

35.8

Chan Master Miaofeng Shan of Lingyin in Hangzhou was a son of the Liu family of Wuxing. His ancestors originally lived in Pengcheng and later moved to Wuxing. His great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all attained high official ranks. The Master was born among silken garments, yet his natural disposition was noble and pure. At the age of thirteen, he left his family and shaved his head, undertaking his studies at Qizhengyuan in Deqing. His master taught him the sūtras and treatises, and upon a single glance he thoroughly understood their grand meaning. He then traveled everywhere to visit various eminent elders. At that time, Chan Master Fozhao Guang was expounding the way at Mount Mao. The Master went to pay homage and study with him; through sharp functional encounters directly like an arrow point regarding the dialogue on the wind and banner, he received the seal of approval. [Fozhao] presented him with a verse saying:
'Today I open a line of connection for you;
Cutting through nails and shearing iron, raise up our lineage.'
From then on, his eloquence and wisdom were unobstructed and thoroughly lucid. Yet he was not satisfied with this. He traveled through Heng and Xiang, then returned and entered Mount Lu. He set down his staff below Miaogao Peak and sat wall-gazing for ten years. The students of the time respectfully addressed him as 'Chan Master Miaofeng.' He shared the seat at Nengren on Mount Yandang, and later opened the Dharma hall at various monasteries such as Huiyin, Hongfu, and Wannian. He retired to live at Liu Temple on Gaoting for more than ten years, largely as he had done during his time at Miaofeng. His disciples constantly pressed him [to teach], and he subsequently took charge of Ruiyan in Mingzhou, Wanshou in Suzhou, and Huazang in Changzhou. In his later years he came to Lingyin, which was also not what he desired. Lingyin was intimately close to the imperial traveling palace, with wheels and hooves crowding together. The Master shut his doors as if hearing nothing, never welcoming or seeing anyone off. When dukes, ministers, and nobles visited him, it was merely to exchange pleasantries about the weather. It happened that the abbot's seat at Tiantong became vacant. At that time, Zheng Qingzhi held the reins of state and thought that no one but the Master was suitable to reside there, so he urged the Master to go. The Master replied, 'This old monk is over eighty years old. Shall I still walk by night without rest?' He declined and did not accept. Duke Zheng respected him all the more. The Master ascended the hall and said, 'Responding to things, forms manifest like the moon in water; pick it up at hand, and at once it is disclosed.' Striking the left side of the meditation seat with his whisk, he said, 'Here is the cauldron of boiling water and the coals of the brazier.' Striking the right side, he said, 'Here is the forest of swords and the mountain of knives. In front are Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta; behind are Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. Do you still know where the one move in the middle settles?' Striking it again, he said, 'Vipaśyin Buddha paid attention early on, yet even up to the present day he has not attained its wonder.' He also addressed the assembly, saying, 'Eminent scholars of long study have eyes empty of the four seas and nostrils piercing the sky. What they see, they see intimately; what they say, they say intimately; how they act, they act intimately; how they apply it, they apply it intimately. Yet they still do not recognize this old monk's staff. Why is that? About to complete a nine-fathom mountain, one fails to add the final basket of earth.' Throughout his life he was skilled in guiding his disciples, never raising his voice or showing harshness. Yet once he gave direction, their spirits blended and their minds awakened; they were delighted and sincerely convinced, and all were richly rewarded. When he was about to manifest nirvāṇa, he bathed his body, sat cross-legged, and wrote a verse saying:
'Coming is like this;
Going is also like this.
Coming and going are one suchness;
A pure breeze for ten thousand miles.'
He then passed away. It was indeed the twenty-eighth day of the ninth month in the second year of Duanping (1235). He was eighty-four years of age, with seventy-one years of monastic ordination. From the cremation, countless relics (śarīra) were obtained. A stūpa was erected on the western ridge of Lingyin. Duke Zheng composed the inscription for his stūpa.