鐔津文集 19

English (machine translation) 19

Language: English

Formerly, in the Avataṃsaka assembly, the Bodhisattva Bhadramukha answered the Great Being Mañjuśrī in verse, praising how bodhisattvas can manifest similarity to the mundane world, saying: "Refined thoughts and profound talent make them kings among writers; / In song, dance, discourse, and preaching, they are delighted in by the multitude." Truly, writing is capable of illuminating the Way and aiding living beings! How could this be so only today? From ancient times, in other worlds, and in the eras of past Buddhas, it has never been otherwise. When I was young, I travelled to the monasteries of the four directions in search of teachers and friends, devoted to the Way and dedicated to learning, having the ambition of ancient eminent monks of transcendent virtue who sought masters ten thousand li away. Among the dense crowds, I silently spurred on my inner resolve, like a grand general bearing the intent to establish a state, advancing against a hostile realm, fighting as he marches, with no leisure to eat or rest. Hearing of the noble writings, outstanding conduct, transcendent Way, and far-reaching vision of Chan Master Mingjiao of Dongshan, whenever I obtained any of his writings or paintings, I never failed to copy, record, and secretly treasure them. Then, at Mount Lingyin in Qiantang, I obtained the stone inscription of the Master’s record of conduct composed by Chen Lingju of Jiahe. At the end it stated that what the Master wrote from the Dingzu tu onward was called the Zhiping ji, and there was also the Jiayou ji, totalling over six hundred thousand words, which his nephew, the śramaṇa Facheng, was able to preserve and treasure to inspire trust in later generations. Later, I heard that apart from the Chuanfa zhengzong ji and Fujiao pian which had already entered the canon, the remainder of his expanded collection was treasured in various monks' quarters on Mount Wu in Gusu. I repeatedly sent people to visit the monks' dwellings on that mountain to inquire extensively, but it was completely quiet and no one knew their whereabouts. It was often because the entrusted individuals were not the right persons and failed to protect and store them, so meddlesome people secretly moved them elsewhere. In the beginning of the Daguan era, while staying in the Cihang Chamber of Changlu in Yizhen, among the great assembly I met a monk from Hunan, the Venerable Jingchun. One day he entered my chamber and cast a large collection onto the mat, saying: "This is the complete collection of Old Song; I have kept it secret for a long time. Hearing of your eager yearning for his remaining writings, I wish to present it to you." When I received it, I was both surprised and joyful, thinking: could Heaven have aided me and bestowed this upon me? It was as if I had obtained the most precious treasure. From Huangji and Zhongyong onward, there were over fifty treatises in total, as well as letters, petitions, prefaces, records, debates, accounts, inscriptions, eulogies, the Wulin shan zhi, and various miscellaneous writings, amounting to some one hundred and sixty thousand words, all of which I had formerly heard of by name but had not yet seen. Although the literary style contained some errors, I collated, selected, polished, and arranged them, and it almost became a collection that could be read. I wished further for a better edition to collate in more detail, but had no way of obtaining one. Later I met Zhou Gefei when he went out to govern Qianzhou; on his return I obtained his Fei Han writings in thirty essays of over thirty thousand words, but due to wartime fires they were lost, and so I was unable to complete the collection. Recently I again obtained an edition from Venerable Lan'yan of Dongxi in Yuxi. Comparing it with another edition I had previously obtained on Mount Kuang, the text also had many gaps and errors. I therefore used the flow of Han Yu's prose to correct it. However, many of the Master’s writings failed to be transmitted and were scattered. For instance, the detailed record of the conduct of Dharma Master Ciyun of Tianzhu, the stele inscriptions of the two masters Xian and Qin of Changshui, the account of the relics from his practice of the Way, the stele of Practitioner Xian of Mount Kuang, and the preface to the Dingzu tu were all stone inscriptions I obtained myself and made rubbings to transmit. Now, taking together the Chuanfa zhengzong ji and Dingzu tu that entered the canon, along with this present collection of writings, they barely amount to over three hundred thousand words; the rest have vanished without trace. As Lingju recorded over six hundred thousand words, half of them are now lost. Alas, how lamentable! Now I place the record of conduct composed by Lingju at the head of the volume, valuing the fact that it shows the Master's lineage, succession to the patriarchs, traces of his public life and retirement, his extraordinary integrity, great conduct, high talent, supreme virtue, and world-surpassing spirit. I then take the upper, middle, and lower parts of the Fujiao pian as the first three fascicles, because the writings composed by the Master were intended to harmonize Confucianism and Buddhism to guide scholar-officials, reflect the original nature and recognize the mind, exhaust principle and see one’s nature, and silence the sounds of envy, slander, right, and wrong. Furthermore, I append the Zhendi wusheng lun after the Tanjing zan within the Fujiao pian to show that the Master’s intent lay in widely praising the supreme, wondrous, profound, and vast Way of our Buddha, the Great Sage, which does not abide in written words or spoken language; the meaning of what is called the special transmission outside the teachings can almost be seen in these works. Therefore, at the end of his eulogy, he says: "Manifesting that the Dharma is not words, / The lineage of the utmost man values silent transmission." He also says: "The sage is like spring, flourishing and bringing forth; / The utmost man is like autumn, clear and bringing to completion." This means ultimately returning to quietude and silence. Therefore, the Zhendi wusheng lun concludes: "The awareness of ordinary beings and sages is merely the shadow of the ultimate truth, the clinging of the deluded mind." Now, if students who aspire to that which lies beyond words examine these two discourses, how could they not be somewhat alerted within? Because previous woodblocks of the Fujiao ji had been recarved repeatedly, although it was widely circulated in the world, omissions and errors in meaning numbered around sixty places. I have now collated and corrected all of them against the scriptures; readers may consult old editions to read them, and the discrepancies will become evident. Now, from Lun yuan downward to the eulogies, I have condensed them into twelve fascicles, which, following the preceding, makes fifteen fascicles; this is what was formerly entitled Jiayou ji. His Fei Han writings were formerly divided into thirty chapters; I have now condensed them into three fascicles, which, following the preceding, makes eighteen fascicles. I also obtained ancient-style and regulated verses, as well as matching poems from mountain excursions, totalling one hundred and twenty-four poems, which I divided into two fascicles, making twenty fascicles in all. I entitled it the Tanjin wenji to show that he did not forget his roots. However, the Master once said of himself: "In human life in the world, leisure comes first." Because he found joy in leisure itself, although the poems he composed were not overly lush or ornate, their style was lofty, archaic, refined, and serene; when expressing his intent and voicing his feelings, they had a spirit that surpassed the world and soared above the clouds, from which the man himself can also be imagined. Observing the Master's letter to Yue Gonghui, he himself said: "My intent lies in the Yuanjiao, and my conduct abides in the Xiaolun." When I carefully examine his writings, his achievement lay in the Yuanjiao and Fei Han; his conduct lay in the letter on monks (that is, "monks are...") and the Xiaolun; his virtue lay in emulating Master Huiyuan, as seen in his inscription for his portrait hall; his Way lay in the Tanjing zan and the Zhendi wusheng lun; and his writings' lofty superiority and matchless excellence, surpassing both ancient and modern times, are seen in the Wulin shan zhi. Therefore, in his postface he stated that, due to the scenic excellence of the local customs, mountains, and rivers, he wished to pour out his literary talent to capture their vistas; thus he composed the Wulin shan zhi. Yet to find those in the world who understand his words and discern his tone—is it not difficult to find such persons? From the time the Master carried his books to petition the Emperor and the Prime Minister downward, whenever he had an audience, he presented only the Zhengzong ji and Fujiao pian; as for Duke Wenzhong, he specially presented him with the newly composed Wulin shan zhi. Alas! Duke Wenzhong said that literary writings are like fine gold and beautiful jade, having a fixed price in the market, not something that people can arbitrarily devalue or praise with their tongues. In his poem "Re-reading the Cuolai Collection," he wrote: / "Wait for the flames of their slander to be extinguished, / And this radiance will hang suspended. / In a person’s lifetime, / Long or short, it does not reach a hundred years. / The boundless lies after it, / Ten thousand generations lie before it. / How much more does a long life gain? / A short life is hardly to be pitied. / Only that which cannot decay— / Reputation, writing, and conduct—remains so. / Slander and false accusations need no dispute; / They too cease within a hundred years. / For those who come after a hundred years, / Hatred and love will have no connection; / Only then will public opinion emerge, / And beauty and ugliness will naturally be seen." / Therefore, during the Qingli era, the Master first made his Way resound throughout the realm through his writing. Yet at that time, among those who strictly upheld Confucianism and were bound to doctrine, the barbs of right and wrong and the flames of slander and abuse flared up in confusion; yet the Master ultimately brought forth and manifested this Way, composing lofty writings and supreme treatises, which dispersed them like riding the wind, reducing them to nothing. Thus, among later students, those who hear of his style, dedicate themselves to his Way, and behold his writings are like those emerging from darkness looking up at the North Star and gazing at the radiant Milky Way. Yet these are merely instances of the Master’s statecraft writings broadly promoting and assisting the Way and teachings of our Tathāgata, the Supreme Sage, as he engaged with the human world. As for what he personally practiced, accumulated, and maintained, it was as luminous as the lustre of pearls and the color of jade, or the essence of the sun and the radiance of the moon, which are insufficient to match his gentle richness, lofty purity, and clear brightness. Therefore, Lingju wrote in his record of conduct: "That which the Master attained for himself and took joy in within was not involved in these matters." Although he encountered difficulties in protecting the Dharma, what is called the lustre of pearls, the color of jade, the essence of the sun, and the radiance of the moon—though the world saw them suffer the hazards of smoke, clouds, water, fire, burning, drowning, obscuration, and eclipse—their brightness and essence remained inherently luminous. Therefore, after the Master carried his writings westward to present them to the Emperor and the matter was accomplished, he was about to return eastward to the mountain forests; Chan Master Dajue Lian composed the "Song of the White Clouds" to see off the Master's departure, saying: / "The white clouds come into the human world, / Unstained by the color of flying dust. / From afar they glitter with the sun’s brightness; / How boundless are their myriad manifestations and emotions! / Alas for the youths who wear light furs and ride fat horses, / Comparing themselves to wings that drape the sky! / Journeying to the south indeed requires the proper moment; / They must wait for the six-month wind to depart. / How could they know the misty colors / Follow no mind, drifting wherever they please? / How vast the vault of heaven! / Rolling out and curling up, they leave no trace." / Thus, from this, the Master’s demeanor, voice, countenance, and manner of taking office and retiring can definitely be seen! Written on the day after the Double Ninth Festival in the fourth year, jiayin, of the Shaoxing era, in the north veranda of the thatched hut in the eastern outskirts of Yuxi.

19.5

Another Preface

19.6

Ever since the Master came east, he had at first no fixed dwelling. In his later years he resided at Mount Fori in Yuhang, and retired in old age to the Yong'an Vihāra at Lingfeng. Observing his traces in silence, although his public emergence and withdrawal were not constant, nevertheless the path he walked was lofty, subtle, profound, and far-reaching, while students of the degenerate era had shallow capacities and were incapable of understanding it. Yet the Master in the end was likewise unwilling to lower his tone in the least to accommodate their capacities, and thus sighed, saying: 'How could I round my chisel to fit a square handle? I have heard the sages and worthies say: "If one attains one's ambition, one practices one's Way; if not, one merely puts into practice one's words." If one's words are put into practice, they are still sufficient to serve as a model for ten thousand generations. If they enable students of the world and future generations to cultivate clear discernment, keep far from false views, and roam the correct path, why must one transmit it in person face to face and call it originating from oneself?' Thereupon he closed his gate and composed books to examine and rectify the traces of the patriarchs' lineage as they had come down, making twelve fascicles, along with the Fujiao pian in three fascicles, and also arranged a Dingzu tu on one sheet. When the books were completed, he carried them to the capital, and through Hanlin Academician Wang Su presented them to Emperor Renzong, also composing a letter in advance. When the Emperor read his letter and reached the line, 'Your subject indeed acts for the sake of the Way and not for fame, for the sake of the Dharma and not for his own person,' he sighed in admiration for a long time, conferred upon him the title 'Master Mingjiao,' and bestowed the imperial command that his books be entered into the Canon. After the books were submitted to the Secretariat, Duke Han Qi, the Duke of Wei, perused them and showed them to Ouyang Xiu, Duke Wenzhong. Duke Xiu took literature as his personal mission and served as an exemplar to the realm; moreover, because he defended the Confucian lineage, he did not look favorably upon our teaching. But when he saw the Master's writings, he said to the Duke of Wei: 'I did not expect there to be such an outstanding figure among the monks! At daybreak I must make his acquaintance.' When the Master heard this, he went to visit him. Duke Wenzhong conversed with him all day, and thereupon greatly praised his vast learning and luminous understanding of the Way. From this, the Master's reputation and virtue resonated even more throughout the realm. When his affairs were finished, he hired a boat, traveled down east, and lived out his old age among the mountains and forests. Although there were no books, ancient or modern, internal or external, that the Master had not read, when it came to his own writings, he broadly elucidated the outside teachings—the way of the Great Ultimate and the Doctrine of the Mean, the strategies for security and danger, order and chaos, and the provisional authority of kingly ways, hegemonic rule, penal laws, rewards and punishments—yet in the end he guided them back to the Way of non-action and silent stillness. Among the prominent figures of his day, few were seen to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Yet he strictly disciplined himself with the internal teachings, uprightly taking frugal simplicity and sincere virtue as his resting place, admiring the character of Huiyue of Liang. The ultimate Way contained within him was profound and secret, yet when one compares his learning with his deeds, not the slightest discrepancy is to be seen. In his writings, observing that the literati of his time disregarded reality and name, affirming themselves and denying others (meaning that they used Confucianism to envy and attack Buddhism), he therefore composed the Fujiao pian. Seeing that students lacked filial piety, turned their backs on righteousness, and indulged their own desires, he therefore composed the Xiaolun. Seeing that they prized ornate rhetoric and knew not the root of the Way, he therefore composed the Tanjing zan. Seeing that they compromised in base conformity, belittled themselves, and did not exalt themselves through virtue, he therefore inscribed the composition for Master Yuan's memorial portrait hall, recording what he admired in order to reform the extravagance and vanity of the final age. Seeing that people, on account of the scenic splendor of custom and mountains and rivers, wished to squander their talents and energies merely to capture their outward charm, he therefore composed the Wulin shan zhi. As for his clarifying the junctures of the sages' and worthies' public emergence and retirement, and the source of human nature, destiny, morality, and virtue, it is elegant, comprehensive, and correct, vast and boundless, and exceedingly broad; he collectively entitled them Lun yuan. As for his poems, letters, prefaces, praises, records, biographies, memorials, communications, inscriptions, epitaphs, colophons, treatises, criticisms, and debates—judging what is right and wrong—they are merely a hair's breadth of Mount Tai. Later, when he passed away by the lake and mountains and was cremated, there were six items that did not perish. When the realm heard of his character, there was none who did not turn their heads eastward with enduring longing. Alas, the Master moved like clouds and flew like birds between heaven and earth; looking upon the majesty of the lord of ten thousand chariots, the disparity in status was as vast as sky and earth; regarding princes and nobles, the difference was as clouds and mud. Yet one morning, presenting the books he had written to the Son of Heaven, he moved his countenance, causing the whole world to follow his sway like grass bending in the wind, and made the unsurpassable wondrous Way of his lineage and ancestors, of our Buddha, manifest for ten thousand generations, at last fulfilling his aspiration to embrace the Way and support the teaching. Is this not the efficacy of his self-confidence and cultivated sincerity? When students of later times read his books, there will surely be those who close the scroll and sigh three times! Alas!

19.7

Since the Master's renown in the Way and virtuous fame were so surpassing, students of later generations, as well as those in office at the time who assisted the sovereign in the Way and served as exemplars to the realm and posterity, all looked up to him and admired him as clouds in heaven and the sun and stars. Therefore, some sought his lingering style, longed for his distant traces, and gazed upon and praised him without end. Such works include, as recorded previously, Chan Master Jingyin Dajue Lian's 'Song of the White Clouds' sending off the Master; Hong Juefan of Jiangxi's poem paying homage to the Master's bone pagoda; Duan Jieran of Mount Laṅkā in the South Seas' ancient-style poem of a full hundred rhymes mourning the Master; Chan Master Jing, who resided at Mount Tianzhu in Longshu of Western Shu's poem of distant admiration together with its preface and encomium; and Chan Master Lingyuan Weiqing's colophon poem on two letters offering his praise. All are now recorded here, some in detail and some abridged, to provide for study and perusal, and to inspire the aspirations and conduct of those who study the Buddha in the final age. The 'Song of the White Clouds' by Chan Master Jingyin Dajue Lian sending off the Master has already appeared in the preceding postface, so it is not redundantly recorded here.

19.8

(Now, having used the record written by Chen Lingju as the former preface, an old preface was previously obtained which did not give the author's name, so it is not known who wrote it. Some say that judging from its beautiful literary adornment, Ying Daowen might be close to it, and others of his cohort could not have composed it. However, in the middle it narrates the reasons for his writing in a way that is not very consistent; thus it could not be avoided to make slight repairs and corrections to it, and it is still appended at the end of the collection as before.)

19.9

Poem Paying Homage to Chan Master Song's Pagoda (Thirty Rhymes)

19.10

Composed by Shi Huihong of Shimen

19.11

Comparing our Way to Confucius / Is like comparing an open palm to a fist: / Extending and grasping are naturally different, / But in essence it is the same hand. / In the late age, it suffered decline; / Expositions and practice lost the profound source. / Look at those who commit their traces: / Crowding in confusion, they are like madmen. / Master Han also wore Confucian robes, / Stubbornly called a worthy of his era; / Presumptuously he uttered abusive words, / Unto death not relenting in the least. / Later generations of Han's disciples / Are verbose and truly pitiable; / Chasing fame without self-confidence, / Drifting along, striving for clever phrasing. / Clamorous in the early Huangyou era, / Flying rumors raised a tumultuous din; / Those in monastic robes moved in droves, / Angrily bearing galls hanging in vain; / Shrinking their necks without time to catch their breath, / Sitting motionlessly like crouching apes. / Stately was the Duke of Dongshan! / His talent was great, his virtue also complete; / Wind and thunder issued from his teeth; / The ranks of his brush bristled with pikes and spears. / Towering over the lakes and seas, / Like the Morning Star spanning the dawn sky. / Composing writings, he gave rein to heroic ferocity; / Sweeping through, none dared face him. / Though the youngsters showed outward respect, / Their subjective views were no longer focused. / When his books were done, he visited the Son of Heaven; / In one day, ten thousand mouths spread his fame; / Straightway he made the scholars of the realm / Lament that they lacked the fortune to see him. / With merit accomplished, he returned to the mountains, / Laughing and chatting, answering the clouds and mist. / I arrived too late to see him; / The mountains and waters remain clear and fresh. / Entering the gate, all is silent without a sound; / Tall bamboos in vain fill the veranda. / Forever I cherish his untrammeled presence: / His bones and eyes towered, pure and firm. / How could the servant boys know of this? / Yet they have lived here for full many years. / They pointed out to me the stone pagoda, / Amidst grass and brambles atop the northern peak. / Bowing twice, I could not bear to leave, / Listening to the spring circling the ravine. / Alas! In the midst of this final age, / How could there ever be such a man again? / Literary writings are after all petty matters; / Pure asceticism is not an easy practice; / I only love what the Duke maintained, / From afar clapping the shoulders of the patriarchs. / Slowly and deliberately I chant the Duke's poems; / The setting sun fills the clear river. / I wish to take a broken-legged cauldron, / And build a thatched hut beside the western ravine; / Through the seasons walking the pines and junipers, / Coming here to sweep the crumbling bricks.

19.12

Poem Mourning Chan Master Song (with Preface)

19.13

Narrated by Shouduan of Mount Laṅkā in the South Seas

19.14

On the day after the full moon in the eleventh month of winter, the xinsi year, the first year of the Jianzhong Jingguo era, carrying Master Yuan's collected writings, I came east from Mount Lu, planning to carve them on printing blocks in Qiantang and circulate them throughout the realm. Thereupon, I made a special visit behind the Master's former residence, the Yong'an Vihāra. Covered in snow and frost at the ridge's peak, parting the brambles and underbrush, before the small stone pagoda containing the five kinds of indestructible śarīra from his cremation, I reverently prepared incense, delicacies, tea, candles, and the like, and prostrated in offering. Then I drew forth my humble thoughts into an ancient-style poem in five-character meter, consisting of a full one hundred rhymes. Kneeling upright with focused contemplation, with all my heart's sincerity, it was as bright as if facing him directly. Thereupon I chanted it in the southern accent, bowing down to recite it, hoping not to forget his root and briefly expressing my sincerity of longing and mourning. The Chan Master during his lifetime had a poem that said: 'The customs of a foreign land are not unpleasant to the guest; / I only wish for southern sounds to reach my ears.' My prefecture, Lianzhou, borders Tengzhou on the east and west, being exceedingly close. The Chan Master's passing occurred in the summer of the fifth year of the Xining era; I was then only eight years old. In truth, I am unworthy as a younger generation from the Master's native village; what I composed in southern sounds could not be otherwise. Provided it does not deviate from right concentration (samādhi), I hope he might deign to select from it.

19.15

The city of enlightenment fell into decline and ruins; / The sun of wisdom was eclipsed at noon. / If not for an enlightened and wise master, / How could the tilted and fallen be rescued? / Thinking back upon the Master of Dongshan, / A spiritual descent born of heavenly virtue: / Did Shen and Fu surpass him? / He exerted himself, as if crawling on hands and knees. / Our Dharma leaned precariously without order; / In the sudden turmoil, none could gauge the depths. / Swarming droves rejected the Buddhist followers; / Towering ministers stood beside the ruler. / Those who then wielded the scales of power / Concurrently directed the official brush and letters. / Following their whims, they took to passing judgments, / Hoping to mold all forms into their own clay. / Participating in the compilation of the Tang history, / They universally magnified and embellished Han [Yu]’s words. / Secretly likening himself to Master Meng Ke, / He rejected us even more fiercely than Yang and Mo. / Pity that though they recorded supreme words, / They failed to comprehend the Supreme Ultimate! / Abolishing the Way merely because of persons, / They gave free rein to attacking faults with all their might. / The pits and burnings were bound to return; / How could their pruning and cleaving brook even a moment’s delay? / The ignorant masses at first were easily deceived, / But the sagely ruler in the end was hard to delude. / At that time, among the ranks of Chan and doctrinal exegetes, / They numbered hundreds of thousands and tens of millions; / Yet who alone dared to resist? / They shrank their hands back, awaiting the binding cords! / Only the Master arose with heroic spirit, / Indignation and anguish showing upon his countenance. / With a single word he would smear his brains and liver; / Ten thousand scrolls were arrayed in his breast. / Human nobility he cast aside like spit; / How could the wild swan of the dark void be caged? / Sighing over the foolish people of the East, / Slowly he took leave of the Southern lands. / Passing through Chu and galloping on to Wu, / Over a hundred cities he sought out good spiritual friends. / A dragon of doctrine ascending into the sky of clouds; / A tiger of Chan endowed with horns and wings. / He cut the thatch to the west of Lingfeng; / He inscribed slips of bamboo to the north of Xianyuan. / Writing treatises, he modeled himself on Nāgārjuna; / Defending the Dharma, he held the office of the Director of Rectitude. / In the True Lineage (*Zhengzong [ji]*), he ordered the generations; / In Clarifying the Teachings (*Yuanjiao*), he discerned parting and uniting / (referring to how Confucianism and Buddhism, though different, both support one another to transform beings). / The peaks of his brush soared high and steep; / The sea of his words surged vast and deep. / Blossoming resplendently as scattering brilliance, / Grand and magnificent, yet esteeming classical reality. / Like the artisan Nüwa, he mended the vault of heaven; / Emulating Yu, he dredged the channels and ditches. / Often filling several hundred fascicles, / Setting the standard for ordering the world. / This writing is heroic for a thousand ages; / This doctrine is peerless among ten thousand men. / Relying on principle wherever he campaigned, / Wherever he fought, he never failed to conquer! / Our Emperor met with Tang and Yu; / Our Minister encountered Yu and Ji. / Embracing his books, he went west to present them; / Seizing the moment, he opened up what was blocked and dire. / Delighted, they were perused in the Hall of Bright Light; / With tender remembrance, sigh upon sigh was uttered. / Praising his transcendent talent, / Which flourished as a model for the entire realm. / It was said that having long hunted the outstanding and preeminent, / Suddenly here was one who had slipped the arrows of the bow! / Yielding slightly to the rank of the Three Excellencies, / He leaned aloft upon the chariot of the Four Reliances. / The sun of wisdom, once obscured, shone bright again; / The thread of the Chan scriptures, once entangled, was rewoven. / The forest of wisdom had long flourished; / The field of merit required broad planting. / Great trustworthiness exceeding even pigs and fish; / Supreme benevolence encompassing flora and fauna. / They could well be promulgated in the Tripiṭaka, / And soon was obeyed what was decreed. / (Five rhymes omitted here.) / Flying memorials swept forth like rolling mats; / Wayward disputations were wiped clean like mirrors. / How could a pestle in the throat supply fuel for cooking? / Stems of mouths were shut fast in silence. / Only then was it known that the Old Man of Mengling / (the name of the Master’s hometown; because there were many hunters and Mengling men there) / In his divination had left behind no fault. / The righteousness of golden ramparts and boiling moats ever endured; / The clarity of the Jing and Wei rivers remained pure. / (Two rhymes omitted here.) / Soon he spoke of returning to the east; / In dreams he recalled the lakes and mountains. / Across the doorways, the verdure could dye [cloth]; / Facing the windows, the elegance could be woven. / His demeanor was purely untrammeled; / His monastic years pressed on like a white colt. / Who values roving while holding a candle? / Striking an earthen jar, leaning toward the sun of Wu. / Huiyuan’s forest vied to follow after him; / Zong Bing and Lei Cizong were bitterly sorrowful. / In intervals between Chan and recitation, / Poetic inspiration still pressed swiftly. / His religious practice grew ever more lofty and eminent; / The sound of his virtue shone with redoubled brilliance. / (Seven rhymes omitted here.) / Sitting in serenity, you entered into nothingness; / The verse left behind revealed solemn dignity: / 'The sound of Damei’s flying squirrel / Was not my blessing of imprisoning marks.' / (The Master’s death verse said: 'Not like old Damei / Greedily following the sound of the flying squirrel.') / Suddenly he departed for the long journey; / Auspicious portents are hard to record in full. / At dawn beneath the Vulture Peak, / The fire of the jhāpita had just died down: / The five aspects remained firm and unconsumed, / Soft and fresh, shining with radiant light! / Brilliant as gold emerging from the crucible, / Gleaming as jade distinct from inferior stone. / Signifying that he had never committed transgressions, / Upholding the Dharma, resolute and firm. / The assembly of Vulture Peak all beheld it; / Gazing at the forest, their thirst and longing deepened. / Surpassing previous records in exceptional wonder, / Admiration stirred distant realms. / Princes and dukes vied in marvel and awe; / Scholars and commoners deepened their sincerity. / (Two rhymes omitted here.) / Together they gathered the bones of the Crane Forest, / Jointly burying them in the flank of Vulture Peak. / (Three rhymes omitted here.) / The ravine apes cried in vain; / Whom would the bookworms consume? / The monastic histories were halved by fifteen measures; / The masterly songs fulfilled all nine nets. / (Six rhymes omitted here.) / This brought me from Wu and Chu, / Admiring the Master since my childhood days. / Having obtained the record of the excursion to Laṅkā, / Chanting and savoring it surpassed meat and fish / (the Master composed a record of his excursion to my Yanjia Pavilion at Huangchuan, and the record of the temple on Mount Laṅkā). / Now that the wise man has passed away, / The Supreme Way too is about to fall. / Already thirty years have elapsed; / Coming to mourn is in vain and deeply painful. / The wondrous peak is lofty as a stūpa; / The Brahmā Heaven is expansive as a realm / (realm is also written as wonder). / All myriad things prepare offerings of seasonal sacrifice; / The five clouds vie to assist and support. / Heaven and earth may at times pause; / The sea and mountain will someday wear away. / Yet the Master’s Way and his fame / Shall rise aloft, forever towering high!

19.16

(I was commanded to examine and savor his poem. Although its poetic tone and spiritual vigor are high-minded, crisp, and robust, the allusions and rhymes employed throughout are overly convoluted and obscure. Now I have selected only the concise, elegant, and transcendent lines, arranging them into seventy-three rhymes, which also demonstrate the utmost sincerity of his talent and aspiration in admiring [the Master]).

19.17

Eulogy for Master Mingjiao (with Preface)

19.18

Composed by Xiujing of Mount Tianzhu in Longshu

19.19

When I first read Chan Master Song's *Fujiao bian*, I loved the unconventional and magnificent spirit of his prose, and how he was able to expound the Way of Śākya to instruct those famous Confucians and Buddhist disciples of his time who did not understand the roots of the teachings, causing them to comprehend the mysteries of nature and destiny, and see the mind with which sages and worthies bestow teachings and spread transformation, rather than drowning in a battleground of right and wrong. (Here, the convoluted parts of the preface are all omitted.) As for gathering the lineage into its main source and plumbing the deep and subtle, I still feared that scholars of the two schools might not easily understand its boundaries, much less fathom his Way and perceive it in full! After he manifested passing into quiescence, he was cremated (*jhāpita*), and five items were not reduced to ash. Yet although these were merely the Master's chaff, it was only after his death that he came to be trusted by his followers; thus much of the exquisite, essential, and wondrous qualities he harbored within remained unrecognized by men. Alas, is the Way so difficult to transmit as this? I grieve deeply over it. Although his Way could transform the famous Confucians of the day, it could not completely transform his own followers. Therefore, after the Master's death, his authentic style and superior conduct were not remarkably celebrated and resplendent in the world. Perhaps this rare talent and bell-like tone were not suited to the ears of the common village? How petty the vessels! As a junior student of late times, I had no leisure to sweep his courtyards or catch a glimpse of his lingering light; facing the wind and wiping my tears, I can only sigh, 'Why did he not live for ten thousand years?' Now, gathering his lingering fragrance, I bow my head in long contemplation, appending this eulogy:

19.20

East of Mount Teng, / Purple clouds float in the void. / Here was a dragon among monks, / Whose name was paired with the towering Mount Song. / From the time he cast off swaddling clothes, / He abode in benevolence and followed filial piety. / Pure as ice and snow in person, / He took the Vinaya rules as his model. / Looking far and soaring high, / He traveled through Wu and Liang. / His Way inherited that of the Buddhas and patriarchs; / The more he wished to hide, the more he shone. / Just when Jetavana encountered / The flames of slander rising from all sides, / Giving free rein to his brush, he composed books— / Which was truly out of necessity. / After [the flames] were extinguished, / The Uḍumbara blossom flourished anew. / During the Jiayou era, / His heroic fame soared alone. / Imperial favor was repeatedly bestowed; / Dukes and ministers bowed in respect. / Alas, those among our own flock / Instead gave free rein to slanderous tongues! / Thereupon he recited 'Let Us Return!', / Finding contentment like an overturned basin. / Shaolin's ingestion of poison: / Different tracks, yet the same path. / Petty intellects deeming themselves worthy / Fill the markets everywhere. / Standing tall, who was his match? / It was in principle naturally so. / The Tai'e sword drawn from its scabbard / Slices sea monsters and slays dragons; / Were it used to mend shoes, / It would not even equal an awl. / Silently he departed; / His traces cannot be continued. / Awe-inspiring is the authentic style, / Dispelling foul mists forever. / Alas for this petty student, / Unable to serve him with respect! / Whenever the thought arises, / Grief fills my breast. / In the end, what can I accomplish? / It only adds to my shame. / I briefly write down this pure fragrance, / To instruct future students.

19.21

Colophon on the Autograph Letter of Chan Master Mingjiao (Two Pieces)

19.22

The Old Man of Lingyuan

19.23

The Great Dharma of our Buddha is the fundamental source of the virtue, nature, and destiny of the thousand sages and myriad spirits, both mundane and supramundane. The source is deep and the root is wondrous, beyond the reach of conceptual thought. In responding to conditions to promulgate transformation, it must certainly rely on the power of great beings (*bodhisattva*) and royal ministers to inspire beings' faith and defend against external demons. When a great being appears, it depends on whether the fortune of the Dharma is flourishing or obstructed, definitely bringing benefit to the world; it never happens fortuitously. Was not Venerable Song, Master Mingjiao of Tengzhou, such a person? Wondrously penetrating the profound school and vastly mastering worldly learning, he emerged between the Huangyou and Zhihe eras. Seeing that external factions were inflicting sores and warts upon our Dharma, he said: 'I covertly assume the authority of a bodhisattva to serve as an envoy of the Tathāgata, debating and clarifying it to deliver them from delusion and guide them back to the right path—this is truly my assigned office.' Thereupon, he composed books and presented them to the throne, receiving

19.24

Emperor Renzong's praise and reward, with an imperial decree ordering their entry into the Tripiṭaka and distribution throughout the realm. Thereupon the clouds of Māra cleared away and the Buddha sun shone brightly. After the Venerable Master established merit in the gate of teaching, his heroic fame and flourishing achievements splendidly adorned his companions, and anyone with a modicum of wisdom knew to revere and admire him. Yet in recent years, the Dharma has fallen into decline, and human capacities have become coarse and base. Taking advantage of the convenience of tonsure and dyeing robes, they vie to alter their appearance and attire, illicitly entering our house. Entangled with worldly dust, those who fraudulently mingle among the ranks of monks are everywhere; their views, knowledge, thoughts, and deliberations never cast off vulgarity. How could they discuss or admire lofty virtue and supreme meaning? At this time, the Superior Baoyin Zeyan was able to be stirred by what he heard and to cherish what he admired; his superiority over those who fraudulently mingle among the ranks is therefore truly praiseworthy. Although he has long roved through the Chan forests and practiced the patriarchal way, toward the Great Being who propagated the teachings he knew how to open his ears and eyes, giving rise to the aspiration to emulate him. Therefore, while in the capital, hearing of a Vinaya monk whose predecessors had been close friends with Mingjiao, he visited him. That monk spoke of past events and brought out this letter to show him. Zeyan earnestly pleaded to obtain it, and treasuring it, brought it south to show me as if it were an extraordinary treasure. I therefore told him: 'In looking up to that person and valuing his relic, do you do so for his name or for his reality? If for his name, it is external to him, only providing material for conversation, bringing no benefit to yourself. If for his reality, Mingjiao’s supreme treatises can be examined, and those which uncover delusion and reach far are very numerous. You should seek them out and investigate them, and contemplate his lofty demeanor to encourage and spur yourself on; then in the end there will be benefit.' Year, month, day.

19.25

Another Letter

19.26

Master Mingjiao, the Venerable Song, called himself a śramaṇa of Dongshan in Tengzhou. Borne along by his past vows of compassion, he appeared under our imperial dynasty. Initially, because the gentry and scholars of the realm had not yet investigated the source of the great Dao of our Dharma, but remained confined to what they had learned, treating Buddhism as a teaching of the barbarians and looking down on it with disdain, even going so far as to destroy it, claiming that it must not be permitted to mix with and harm the Way of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius in China; the Venerable Song lamented that they followed the branches while neglecting the root, and turned their backs on the source while pursuing the streams. Not only could they be said to be blind to this [Buddhist truth], but as for their study of the Way of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, could they truly be said to bring forth their clarity, carry their sincerity to the utmost, and thereby fully realize their Way, so as to establish the great foundation and universal justice of all under Heaven, embracing all without exterior in pure, complete, and wondrous spirituality? It was because they did not know themselves that they did not know others. The Venerable Song thoroughly plumbed the source of the teachings and ways of both Confucianism and Buddhism, ancient and modern, and harmonized the traces of discourse on principle and phenomena by sages and worthies. It was just like shaking the mainline to spread the net, or lifting the collar to take up the fur coat: the meshes parted and the fur gathered together, so that all who saw it understood. The meanings were coherent, the principles harmonized, and feelings met in the spiritual storehouse; thereupon one realized that the methods brought forth and words indicated by all sages were merely the traces of their teachings. He caused those of bright discernment to turn back through this to that which gave rise to the traces and words, so that in inner reflection they became spiritually vast, with neither inner nor outer, neither this nor that—how could there be any dispute between Chinese and barbarian, Confucian and Buddhist? Thereupon he composed a book entitled Fujiao bian to enlighten and instruct the scholars and gentry, and presented it to the Son of Heaven. His Majesty praised it with admiration and decreed that it be promulgated. Renowned ministers and great scholars, such as Duke Ouyang Wenzhong and other eminent figures, upon reading his book, all sighed in admiration, respected, and honoured it. Furthermore, because shallow-minded expositors defamed his ancestral school, he composed the Chuanfa zhengzong ji and Dingzu tu to dispute their assertions, which were also presented to the throne and circulated. Afterward, he returned to Eastern Wu and manifested his passing into extinction. His miraculous traces were exceedingly extraordinary, fully recorded in his biographies. In buttressing the gate of Dharma and opening the path of faith, even the greatest among the eminent monks of antiquity did not surpass him. The Chan practitioner Baozhi obtained his surviving missive and asked for an afterword; therefore I took up the brush without hesitation, ashamed that I cannot express even one ten-thousandth of it. Written by the Old Man of Lingyuan.

19.27

The utmost words of the utmost sage / restore the biased and establish the correct. / The August Heaven and August Awakening / resolve the shallow and penetrate the profound. / Great indeed! Excellent indeed! / Blessing and moistening those who come after. / The memorial for the reprinting / continues as follows.

19.28

Memorial on the Reprinting of the Tanjin ji

19.29

Master Mingjiao was indeed a Mahāyāna bodhisattva. Knowing that the Buddha-Dharma was in peril, he rode upon the wheel of his great vow to be reborn into the world and write books to support the teaching. In the past, the great scholars and gentry of the Song dynasty once appraised his writings, saying: 'Not only does he penetrate the Emptiness school, but the standard of his prose is also exalted.' These words were true indeed. Master Ouyang said: 'I did not expect that there could be such a fellow among the monks!' At that time, the mind bent on rejecting Buddhism was completely extinguished without remainder. Many have been the monks ancient and modern who wrote literature, but there has never been anyone who surpassed him; he was truly the only man south of the Northern Dipper. Since the military upheavals of the past, the printing blocks have been worn away and lost, and later scholars have had nothing to see or hear of them, which is deeply lamentable. Now we wish to recarve them in the region of Wu, but the expenses are considerable. Thereupon I have composed this memorial, respectfully approaching the assembly of worthies and like-minded scholars: beholding this excellent endeavor, could you fail to generously offer your support?

19.30

Appearing in the world due to causes and conditions, / all take Vulture Peak as their ancestral source; / adorning the noble truth with literary brilliance, / we esteem only Tanjin. / Deeply exhausting the source of the ten thousand dharmas, / together entering the treasury of the three vehicles: / reading it can open the eyes of humans and devas; / synthesizing it can sweep away the boundaries between Confucians and Buddhists. / To love books yet not love this book—who could call that a love of learning? / To understand the Way yet not understand this Way—how could that be called understanding the mind? / We desire to recarve it in Yunjian to spread it more widely throughout the world. / It brought about Yongshu's dawning realization, / his renown carrying great weight for an era; / it met with Emperor Renzong's divinely endowed gifts, / his merit extending down through myriad ages. / Now that the assembly of worthies has gathered, / this excellent undertaking shall surely be accomplished.

19.31

Composed in the spring of the jiazi year of the Hongwu era by the śramaṇa Yuanxu of the Songyuzhai at Tiantai.

19.32

The above memorial was composed by the old Venerable Songyu for the Head Monk Qi to reprint the collected writings of Master Mingjiao of the Song dynasty in Yunjian. Through solicitation, more than twenty blocks had already been carved. Just then, Master Qi fell ill and was unable to complete the task. Now, the Head Monk Tianquan Rui, lamenting that heterodox teachings were flourishing, gave rise to a resolute aspiration to carry on his fragrant legacy. One day, carrying this scroll, he visited my Jianmi Hermitage and asked me to write an inscription at the end. Although I am not clever, beholding this excellent cause, I could not help but leap with joy. This collection has long been sunken into oblivion. If we exert all our efforts to bring it to completion and circulate it widely in the world, it will be precisely what is called raising the sun of wisdom in the midday sky and illuminating the dark crossroads in a degenerate age. May Tianquan strive toward this!

19.33

Written in the winter of the third year of the Yongle era by Hongzong of Tianning, Metropolitan Monk Rector of the Monk Registry Office of Jiaxing Prefecture.

19.34

Postface to the Recarved Tanjin wenji

19.35

Learning possesses the efficacy of benefiting beings; writing is the vessel that conveys the Way. If learning cannot benefit beings, it is mere learning in vain. If writing cannot unfold the Way, it is empty prose. As for extending that Way and expressing it in literature, and employing his learning to rescue these people—was not Chan Master Song, Mingjiao of the Song dynasty, such a person? Alas! The teaching-dharma and mind-dharma of our Buddha are inherently possessed in common by all sentient beings. Yet, obscured by delusion, they cannot manifest; drowning in the four modes of birth and sinking in the six destinies, how could this ever come to an end? But our Buddha took pity on them, and using this mind-dharma, instructed them according to their capacities, enabling each to attain what they originally possessed. Yet some, instead of looking up to his grace and cherishing his virtue, gave rise to mockery and slander. In this, they slander their own minds; they do not merely slander his teaching-dharma. In the teachings, this is what is called 'worldly wisdom and clever eloquence,' one of the eight difficulties. Moreover, to disbelieve and slander is not merely being obscured by delusion. If one were merely obscured by delusion, one might still realize that delusion is itself truth; but when one disbelieves and slanders, one blinds one's own mind. Blinding one's own mind is like a spoiled seed or a scorched sprout: it will never have a day of sprouting again. Could this not be all the more pitiable? Yet Mingjiao was endowed by nature with innate knowledge and was able to embody the Buddha's intent. In his learning, he always sought to rescue the world; it was not learning in vain. In his writing, he always aimed to illuminate the Way; it was not empty prose. What is more, at that time the scholars of the empire followed Han [Yu] in rejecting us; hence writings such as the exhortations and the Yuanjiao had to be written. Scholars brought them all together under the title Tanjin wenji. The circulation of this text in the world is truly an essential technique for saving the world and illuminating the Way. Could we be without it for a single day? When the old printing blocks were lost, everyone lamented it with sorrow. Master Tianquan Xian, Head Monk of Tianning in Jiahe, is a disciple of Chan Master Huiyan Hongbian of Donghai; he donated his robes and funds to recarve and circulate it. Was this not also the mind of Mingjiao? When the blocks were completed, he asked me to write an afterword. Born late and ignorant, when I read his collected writings, I lamented that I could not hold a brush and follow in his footsteps. Now that I have the privilege of appending my name at the end, is this not exceedingly fortunate? Is this not exceedingly fortunate?

First 35 of 39 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

鐔津文集 — Classical Chinese