釋門自鏡錄 2.21

2.21

Shi Yuantong: his family and lineage are unknown. In his youth he entered the renunciant life, studying and chanting the textual purport of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. In the summer of the fourth year of Jiande, among the listeners below his lecture platform was a guest monk who suddenly came to lodge. His body was afflicted with severe illness, with a fetid odor steaming heavily, so that none of the monks deigned to associate with him. Yuantong led him into his room and arranged decoctions and medicines for him; though there was filth and uncleanness, he was not in the least dismissive or fearful. Once at midnight, he held a cup of spring wine and said: 'Sir, for your lodging illness, taking this would be best.' For a long while, the guest, wincing his brows, drank a single gulp and then stopped. When summer ended and the illness was cured, he took leave of Yuantong and departed. On the verge of parting, he grasped Yuantong's hand and admonished him: 'In cultivating the Way, do not deceive even the dark chamber; how much more so with wine, which is the root of all unwholesome evils! Earlier, the Dharma Master bestowed it, and I feared hurting your kind intention. From this day forward, please sever this practice. This petty monk resides in an inferior small temple just five li north of the Rock Cave Monastery on Mount Gushan. You must circle round the ravines and marshes to come; that is the Zhulin (Bamboo Grove) Monastery. If conditions permit, keep it in mind and visit me.' Yuantong heard that Zhulin was where worthies and sages resided; he reverently apologized for the previous admonition and resolved that he would surely go to visit. When the next year arrived, he went to the Rock Cave for the summer retreat. He then brought incense and flowers with several people, following the path forward. Arriving at the mountain valley five li north of the monastery, he went out eastward and ascended a mountain knoll. He saw an old man, with a kerchief wrapped around his forehead, holding a mattock, opening more than twenty mu of wasteland. Seeing the monks grazing a horse, he cursed: 'Last year the official monastery let loose a horse to eat my standing crops. My son guarded them and was beaten almost to death. Do you now bring your faces here again?' Dragging his mattock, he came in pursuit. The monks fled back, but he did not pursue Yuantong alone, saying: 'It is your strength that let it loose to feed a hungry tiger.' Yuantong went east searching a small ravine, and heard the sound of chanting upon the mountain ridge. Yuantong asked where Zhulin was, and a voice answered: 'Could it not be Dharma Master Tong?' Yuantong answered, and it was indeed the former monk. Parting the woods and scaling the steep cliffs, he approached Yuantong to converse joyfully. Thereupon they invited each other to advance several li, when suddenly they saw twin gate-towers, high gates, long galleries, covered walkways, and tall bamboos touching the clouds, with green pines blocking the sun. He stood Yuantong to the left of the gate, saying: 'I must first consult the Upādhyāya.' In a moment, he was led to the gallery of the western pavilion of the lecture hall. The Upādhyāya sat on a high seat, with fifty or sixty attendants. The Upādhyāya appeared about seventy years old, resembling an Indian monk. Yuantong paid homage and stood back, whereat [the Upādhyāya] ordered him accommodated. As he was led around to pay obeisance, he saw monks in two rooms each seated in jeweled curtains, with interwoven ornaments dazzling the sunlight. They said to the guiding monk: 'What wine guest is that who dares come here?' and waving their hands, dismissed him. Yuantong looked ashamed. The monk then led him into his own room and arranged the midday meal. Yuantong therefore expressed his wish to remain here always to sweep and sprinkle together with them. The monk said: 'I must consult the Upādhyāya.' The Upādhyāya firmly dismissed him, and he was escorted out the main gate. Yuantong looked back with yearning and wept, grieving over his former offense, grasped the monk's hand, and parted. Walking west a hundred paces, looking back he still saw the gate-towers solemn and stately. Looking back step by step for another four li or so, he suddenly saw steep peaks and crags, no longer a monastery. Walking to the land being cleared, there were no traces whatsoever, only hazel groves. Those with understanding say: When the old man said 'Last year the official monastery let loose a horse,' the monks are like horses, only minding water and grass without seeking the holy Way. 'Eating my standing crops' means Yuantong's urging wine upon the guest monk harmed his sprouts of the Way. 'My son guarded them' means the guest originally protected the precepts and was unwilling to drink. 'Beaten almost to death' means that being urged to drink a single gulp almost destroyed his holy Way. Pursuing the monks means only the one with karmic affinities could advance. Yuantong did not awaken to these words and did not return to apply diligent repentance; is it not fitting that he was driven out?