▲明州奉化縣布袋和尚
▲Cloth-Bag Monk of Fenghua County, Mingzhou
未詳氏族。自稱名契此。形裁腲脮。蹙額皤腹。出語無定。寢臥隨地。常以杖荷一布囊。凡供身之具。盡貯囊中。入廛肆聚落。見物則乞。醯[醢-右+(乞-乙+口)]魚葅才接入口。分少許囊中。時號長汀子。布袋師也。甞雪中臥。雪不沾身。人以此奇之。或就人乞。其貨則售。示人吉凶。必應期無忒。天將雨。即著濕草履。途中驟行。遇亢陽。即曳高齒木屐。市橋上竪膝而眠。民以此驗之 有一僧在師前行。師乃拊僧背一下。僧回頭。師曰。乞我一文錢。曰道得即與你一文。師放下布袋叉手而立 白鹿和尚問。如何是布袋。師便放下布袋。問如何是布袋下事。師便負之而去。
His clan and surname are unknown. He called himself Qici. His body was short and stout, with a wrinkled brow and a broad belly. His words were unpredictable, and he slept wherever he happened to be. He always carried a cloth sack on a staff, and whatever he needed to sustain himself he stored entirely in that sack. When he entered marketplaces and villages, he would beg for whatever he saw. Whenever pickled fish or salted vegetables happened to reach his mouth, he would set aside a small portion in his sack. People of the time called him Changtingzi, or Master Cloth Sack.
Once he lay down in the snow, and the snow did not cling to his body. People considered this extraordinary. When he begged from someone, that person's goods would sell well. When he showed people good or bad fortune, it always came true at the expected time without fail. When rain was about to come, he would put on wet straw sandals and walk quickly along the road. When a drought was coming, he would drag on high-toothed wooden clogs and, on the bridge in the market, draw up his knees and sleep. The people used these signs to test his predictions.
Once a monk was walking ahead of the Master. The Master tapped the monk on the back. The monk turned around. The Master said, "Give me one coin." The monk said, "If you can say something, I will give you one coin." The Master set down his cloth sack and stood with his hands clasped before him.
The monk Bai Lu asked, "What is the cloth sack?" The Master immediately set down the cloth sack. Then he asked, "What is the matter beneath the cloth sack?" The Master picked it up and walked away.
先保福和尚問。如何是佛法大意。師放下布袋义手。保福曰。為只如此。還更有向上事。師負之而去。
Master Baofu asked first, "What is the essential meaning of the Buddha's teaching?" The Master set down his cloth bag and stood with his hands folded. Baofu said, "Is that all, or is there something further beyond this?" The Master picked up his bag and walked away.
師在街衢立。有僧問。和尚在這裏作甚麼。師曰。等個人。曰來也來也。(歸宗柔和尚別云。歸去來)師云。汝不是這個人。曰如何是這個人。師曰。乞我一文錢 師有歌曰。只個心心心是佛。十方世界最靈物。縱橫妙用可憐生。一切不如心真實。騰騰自在無所為。閑閑究竟出家兒。若覩目前真大道。不見纖毫也大奇。萬法何殊心何異。何勞更用尋經義。心王本自絕多知。智者祇明無學地。非聖非凡復若何。不強分別聖情孤。無價心珠本圓淨。凡名異相妄空呼。人能弘道道分明。無量清高稱道情。携錫若登故國路。莫愁諸處不聞聲 又有偈曰。是非憎愛世偏多。仔細思量奈我何。寬却肚膓須忍辱。豁開心地任從他。若逢知己須依分。縱遇冤家也共和。若能了此心頭事。自然證得六波羅。(此應是一偈。下章應別是一偈。燈錄并作一偈。恐非)我有一布袋。虗空無罣礙。展開徧十方。入時觀自在。吾有三寶堂。裏空無色相。不高亦不低。無遮亦無障。學者體不如。來者難得樣。智慧解安排。千中無一匠。四門四果生。十方盡供養。吾有一軀佛。世人皆不識。不塑亦不裝。不雕亦不刻。無一滴灰泥。無一點彩色。人畵畵不成。賊偷偷不得。體相本自然。清淨非拂拭。雖然是一軀。分身千百億又偈曰。一鉢千家飯。孤身萬里遊。青目覩人少。問路白雲頭 梁貞明三年丙子三月。師將示滅。於岳林寺東廊下。端坐磐石。而說偈曰。彌勒真彌勒。分身千百億。時時示時人。時人自不識。偈畢安然而化。其後復現於他州。亦負布袋。四眾競圖其像。
The Master was standing in the street when a monk asked him, "Master, what are you doing here?" The Master said, "Waiting for someone." The monk said, "Here I am, here I am." (Rou, the monk of Guizong, offered an alternative saying: "Going back, going back.") The Master said, "You are not that person." The monk asked, "What is that person like?" The Master said, "Give me a penny."
The Master had a song: "This very mind, mind, mind—it is the Buddha. In the ten directions' worlds, the most wondrous thing. Its miraculous workings in every direction—how endearing. Nothing compares to the mind's reality. Unhurried and free, with nothing to do, At ease and at peace, the home-leaver who has reached the ultimate. If you could see the true great Path before your eyes, That you see not the slightest trace would be truly wondrous. The ten thousand dharmas—how do they differ? The mind—how is it different? Why bother seeking the meaning of scriptures? The mind-king is itself beyond much knowing. The wise one simply understands the ground of no-more-learning. Neither sage nor ordinary being—what then? Not forcing distinctions, the sage's state stands alone. The priceless mind-pearl is originally perfect and pure. 'Ordinary being' and 'different marks'—vain, empty labels. If a person can uphold the Path, the Path becomes clear. Immeasurable, pure, and lofty—this is called the heart of the Path. Should you carry your staff up the road to your homeland, Do not worry that nowhere will hear your voice."
He also had a verse: "Right and wrong, hatred and love—the world is full of them. Think carefully—what can they do to me? Broaden your belly and practice patience; Open up your mind and let others be. When you meet a kindred spirit, follow the proper measure; Even when you meet an enemy, still be at peace. If you can settle the matter of your own mind, You will naturally realize the Six Pāramitās." (This should be one verse; the following chapter should be a separate verse. The Lamp Record treats them as one verse, which is probably incorrect.)
"I have a cloth bag, Empty and without hindrance. Unfolded, it fills the ten directions; When entered, one sees Avalokiteśvara. I have a hall of the Three Jewels, Empty within, without form or mark. Neither high nor low, Without covering or obstruction. Students find it hard to embody; Those who come seldom find its likeness. Only wisdom can arrange it— Not one craftsman in a thousand. The four gates bring forth the four fruits; In all ten directions, offerings are made.
I have a body of Buddha, Which the people of the world do not recognize. Not molded, not adorned, Not carved, not engraved. Not a drop of plaster or mud, Not a speck of color. Painters paint it and fail; Thieves try to steal it and cannot. Its very form is natural, Pure—not something wiped clean. Though it is but one body, It manifests in a hundred thousand million forms."
He also had a verse: "One bowl, a thousand families' food; A lone body wandering ten thousand miles. Few are the blue eyes that see a person; Asking the way—the white clouds above."
In the third month of the third year of Zhenming of the Liang dynasty, the cyclical year Bingzi, when the Master was about to pass into cessation, he sat upright on a flat rock beneath the eastern corridor of Yuelin Temple and spoke a verse:
"Maitreya, true Maitreya, Manifesting in a hundred thousand million forms. From time to time appearing to people of the time, Who of themselves do not recognize him."
When the verse was finished, he passed away peacefully. Afterward, he appeared again in another province, still carrying his cloth bag. The four assemblies vied to paint his image.