○杭州靈隱妙峰之善禪師
劉氏子。世居彭城。後徙吳興。高曾大父父皆登膴仕。師生紈綺中。姿性高潔。年十三即辭家祝髮。受業德清齊政院。其師教以經論。一覧輙了大意。乃徧參諸大老。時佛照唱道鄮山。師往參禮。以風幡話悟旨。蒙印可。贈以偈曰。今日與君通一線。斬釘截鐵起吾宗。自是辯慧泉涌。然不以此自足。入康廬妙高峰下面壁坐十年。身隱而名彌彰。學者尊之曰妙峰禪師。出世於台之慧因鴻福萬年諸剎。退皋(與臯同)亭劉寺者又十餘年。大略如在妙峰時。其徒推迫不已。復領明之瑞巖蘇之萬壽常之華藏。晚至靈隱亦非所樂。露隱密邇于闕。輪蹄湊集。師掩戶若不聞一無所將迎。公卿貴人或見之寒溫而已。會天童虗席。時鄭清之秉鈞軸謂非師莫宜居。因勉師行。師答曰。老僧年踰耄矣。尚夜行不休乎。鄭公高之。僧問如何是不入眾流句。師曰烏龜鑽破壁。僧云如何是妙體無私句。師曰百疋馬中一頭驢。僧云如何是瞬目揚眉句。師曰花雨巖前石點頭。僧問如何是奇特事。師云紫薇花下紫薇郎。僧云學人不會。師云三十年後。上堂。以拂子擊禪床左邊云。這裏是鑊湯爐炭。擊右邊云。這裏是劒樹刀山。前面是觀音勢至。後面是文殊普賢。中間一著還知落處麼。又擊云。毗婆尸佛早留心。直至如今不得妙。上堂。久參高士。眼空四海。鼻孔遼天。見也見得親。說也說得親。行也行得親。用也用得親。只是未識老僧拄杖子在。何故。將成九仞之山。不進一簣之土。上堂。談玄說妙事如麻。添得時人眼裏花。赤骨律窮挨得人。潑浪潑賴是生涯。懸羊頭。賣狗肉。喫私酒。臥官街。笑倒籬根破草鞋。上堂。舉雲門普請般柴次。乃拋下柴片云。一大藏教只說者箇。師拈云。雲門只見錐頭利。不見鑿頭方。師喜誘其徒未甞厲聲色。然一經指授輙心融神化。充然皆有得。將示寂。澡身趺坐書偈云。來也如是。去也如是。來去一如。清風萬里。遂逝。實端平二年九月二十八日。壽八十四。臘七十一。塔靈隱之西岡。鄭公銘其塔。
Master Liu's family had lived in Pengcheng for generations before later relocating to Wuxing. His ancestors, from great-grandfather to father, all held prominent official positions. Although born into wealth and luxury, his natural disposition was noble and refined. At thirteen, he left home to become a monk, studying under the Qizheng Temple in Deqing. When his teacher instructed him in the sutras, he grasped their essence at a glance. He then visited many great masters. At that time, the renowned master Fozhao was teaching at Maoshan, and the young monk went to pay his respects. Through the famous "wind and flag" koan, he awakened to the truth and received his teacher's approval. Fozhao presented him with a verse: "Today I open a single thread with you—cut through nails and sever iron to revive our school." From then on, his wisdom flowed like a spring, yet he remained unsatisfied. He retreated to the Miaogaofeng peak in Kanglu, where he sat in meditation facing a wall for ten years. Although he lived in seclusion, his reputation only grew, and students respectfully called him "Meditation Master Miaofeng" (Wonderful Peak).
He first taught at Huien Temple, Hongfu Temple, and Wannian Temple in Tai Prefecture. He then withdrew to the Gaoting Liu Temple, where he remained for over ten years, living much as he had at Miaogaofeng. When his disciples pressed him to take on new responsibilities, he successively led Ruian Temple in Ming Prefecture, Wanshou Temple in Su Prefecture, and Huazang Temple in Chang Prefecture. In his later years, he went to Lingyin Temple, though it was not to his liking. That temple was close to the capital, with horses and carriages constantly passing by. The master would close his door and act as if he heard nothing, never going out to greet anyone. When nobles and officials visited, he would merely exchange pleasantries.
When Tiantong Temple fell vacant, Zheng Qingzhi, who held the reins of government, felt that no one was more suitable to fill the position than the master. He urged master to go, but the master replied, "An old monk like me is over eighty. Must I still walk through the night without rest?" Zheng greatly admired his response.
A monk asked, "What is the saying that does not flow with the crowd?" The master replied, "A turtle drills through a wall."
The monk asked, "What is the saying about the wonder body being without selfishness?" The master replied, "One donkey among a hundred horses."
The monk asked, "What is the saying about the flashing eye and raised brow?" The master replied, "Before Huayu Rock, a stone nods its head."
A monk asked, "What is a truly extraordinary matter?" The master said, "Under the crape myrtle flower stands the crape myrtle gentleman." The monk said, "I do not understand." The master said, "Thirty years from now."
At a sermon, the master struck the left side of his meditation seat with a whisk and said, "Here is the boiling cauldron and blazing furnace." Striking the right side, he said, "Here are the forest of swords and mountain of blades. Before us are Guanyin and Shizhi; behind us are Manjushri and Samantabhadra. In the middle, do you know where it falls?" He struck again and said, "Vipasyin Buddha took heed long ago, yet even until now no wondrous achievement."
At another sermon, he said: "Veteran practitioners of long experience view the four seas with lofty eyes and nostrils turned toward the sky—in seeing, they see clearly; in speaking, they speak clearly; in acting, they act clearly; in using, they use clearly. Yet they still do not recognize this old monk's staff. Why is that? It is like raising a nine-ren mountain, yet failing to add that one final basket of earth."
At another sermon, he said: "Discussions of mystery and wonder are like tangled hemp—adding more only puts thorns in people's eyes. One who leans on stark poverty and emptiness, living a ragged, shameless life—this is the livelihood. Hanging a sheep's head while selling dog meat, drinking privately brewed wine while sleeping in the official street—this makes the broken straw sandals by the hedge laugh themselves to the ground."
At another sermon, while citing Yunmen's carrying firewood for chores, the master picked up a piece of firewood and said, "The entire Buddhist canon only speaks of this." Then he added, "Yunmen only saw the sharpness of the awl, but not the squareness of the chisel."
The master loved to guide his students and never used harsh words or expressions. Yet when he offered instruction, their minds would open and transform, filling them with realization.
When about to pass away, he bathed, sat upright in meditation, and wrote a verse: "Coming is thus, going is thus. Coming and going are one. The clear wind blows for ten thousand miles." With that, he passed away. It was the twenty-eighth day of the ninth month in the second year of Duanping era (1235). He was eighty-four years old in age and seventy-one years in the monastic life. His stupa was erected on the western ridge of Lingyin Temple, and Minister Zheng wrote the inscription.