No. 1490-A舍利靈應序
Preface on the Spiritual Response of the Relics
天地之理。與聖賢之道。有可測者。有不可測者。可測者。古今智愚之所共知。不可測者。雖學窺聖域。才貫百家。亦不能明其萬一。予於戊戌之春。偶過福國精舍。訪濟生禪師因晤。聲碧和尚。聽其言詞。殆禪門高尚士乎。濟公與聲和尚。為同學友。濟公唱道邦江。聲和尚則屏迹天台。刺血書華嚴。精誠之至。忽於筆端。現一舍利。和尚動容。為予告焉。予方抱微疴。治以符水殊驗。予問之曰。筆端之所現者。果舍利乎。聲和尚曰。當日現於筆端者。乃真舍利也。且舍利未甞不可見於今日也。三日後當至矣。予曰。唯唯否否。越三日後。聲和尚問曰。昨見舍利乎。予曰。秋高氣清。彩雲繚繞。此日之所見。以云舍利則未也。和尚曰。此即所謂舍利耳。請細陳其說。夫舍利者梵語也。唐言身骨。如來入滅。將四千載。金色之體。已不可覩。舍利宛然存焉。金塔所供者。計八萬四千。今四明育王所供。僅見其一。即吳之康僧。來自西域。其求舍利。亦以三七成功。迄今韞於浮屠不可復覩。若其現相之奇。種種非一。或起赤色。或發碧光。或現貫珠。或顯聖像。誠亦不可枚舉。昨所覩彩雲。非舍利而何。夫前於筆端一見之。今於秋旻一見之奇矣。予曰。有可測者。有不可測者。所謂舍利洵非予之所能測。而前之見於筆端者。其舍利耶。今之見於秋旻者。其舍利耶。予因和尚之請。而即以其問答者。詳以述之。
The principles of heaven and earth, and the way of the sages and worthies—some can be fathomed, and some cannot. What can be fathomed is known to the wise and the foolish alike, in ancient times and now. What cannot be fathomed—though one study until one glimpses the sage's domain, and possess talent that runs through the hundred schools—still one cannot understand the least part of it.
In the spring of the wuxu year, I happened to pass by the Fujing Monastery and visited Chan Master Jisheng. There I met Elder Shengbi and heard his words—he was surely a man of lofty character within the Chan gate. Master Ji and Elder Sheng were fellow students. Master Ji was proclaiming the Way on the Zhejiang, while Elder Sheng had hidden himself away at Tiantai, pricking his finger to write the Avatamsaka Sutra in blood. His sincerity was so complete that suddenly, from the tip of his brush, a relic appeared. The elder was deeply moved and told me of it.
At the time I was nursing a slight illness, and treating it with talisman water proved remarkably effective. I asked him, "What appeared at the tip of your brush—was it truly a relic?" Elder Sheng said, "What appeared at the tip of my brush that day was a true relic. Moreover, relics are not something that cannot be seen even today. In three days, one will arrive."
I said, "Yes, yes—no, no." After three days had passed, Elder Sheng asked me, "Did you see the relic yesterday?" I said, "The autumn sky was high and the air clear, with colored clouds curling around. That is what I saw that day—but to call it a relic, I cannot." The elder said, "That is precisely what is called a relic. Please let me explain in detail.
The word 'relic' is Sanskrit; in Chinese it means 'body-bone.' Since the Tathāgata entered Cessation of Suffering, nearly four thousand years have passed. His golden-hued body can no longer be seen, yet relics remain clearly preserved. Those enshrined in golden stupas number eighty-four thousand. Of those now enshrined at King Ashoka's [monastery] in Siming, only one is to be seen. Even Kang Senghui of Wu, who came from the Western Regions and sought relics, succeeded only after twenty-one days. To this day they are sealed within the stupa and can no longer be seen.
As for the marvel of the forms in which they manifest—they are many and various. Sometimes a crimson color arises, sometimes a blue-green light shines forth, sometimes they appear as strings of beads, sometimes they reveal a sacred image. Truly they cannot be counted one by one. Yesterday's colored clouds—if not a relic, then what? That it was seen once before at the tip of the brush, and now once again in the autumn sky—this is marvelous indeed."
I said, "There are things that can be fathomed and things that cannot. This so-called relic is truly beyond my fathoming. But was what appeared before at the tip of the brush a relic? And is what appeared in the autumn sky a relic?" At the elder's request, I have set down in detail this very question and answer of ours.
旹大清康熙歲次戊戌中秋前三日勞山李照拜手書
On the third day before the Mid-Autumn Festival in the wuxu year of the Kangxi reign of the Great Qing, Li Zhao of Laoshan respectfully wrote this with bowed head.