寶雲振祖集(并序)
四明石芝沙門 宗曉 編
所傳莫越乎道能弘必藉乎人不為有人而存不為無人而亡道固常自若也然不得其人而弘之則道奚益於生靈哉惟得人以弘其道不絕則此道昭著若日月嗣照於無窮者也。
The teachings that are passed down never go beyond the Way. To spread it widely, one must rely on people. The Way does not exist because there are people, nor does it vanish because there are none— it remains constant, just as it is. Yet if there is no one to carry it forward, how can the Way benefit living beings? Only when the right person spreads it, ensuring its continuity, does this Way shine brightly like the sun and moon, illuminating endlessly through time.
寶雲(義通)法師本高麗君族樂道厭世從佛薙落首傳華嚴起信眾已悅隨洎壯越滄溟來中國初訪雲居契悟南宗重念台衡教觀經五代離亂僅存一線遂挺志造螺溪寂公之室頓受其傳具體之學聲聞四方已而誓返本國敷揚法化因挈錫附舶四明偶郡守淮海大王錢公(惟治)請問心要辟為戒師自是緇白傾嚮固留演法會漕使顧公(承徽)捨宅創寺命師開山龍象雲會講貫二紀遂以大法付法智禮公是曰四明尊者焉法智主延慶幾四十年此道遂大振於天下茲非所謂得傳弘之人而致然乎(宗曉)比乘夙志編縷四明遺文再惟寶雲鼻祖與吾四明為賢父子表裏像運中興一家若其德業不傳於世則教失宗元後昆奚究因考覈碑實洎諸簡編得師事跡與厥後繼之者凡二十篇別為一帙詺題寶雲振祖集蓋取是院祖堂之扁曰振祖故也覽斯文者當知吾祖遺德之美不可以采摭人微而見棄焉。
Master Baoyun, originally named Yi Tong, was a noble from the Goryeo kingdom. He took delight in the Way and turned away from worldly affairs, following the Buddha and becoming a monk. He first studied the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Awakening of Faith, and his mind was filled with joy. In his prime, he crossed the vast ocean to come to China. Initially, he visited Yunju and gained insight into the Southern School. Deeply mindful of the teachings and contemplative practices of the Tiantai and Faxiang schools, which had survived only by a thread through the chaos of the Five Dynasties, he resolved to seek out Master Luo Xi Ji Gong. There, he received the transmission in full, mastering the complete teachings, and his reputation spread in all directions.
He then vowed to return to his homeland to propagate the Dharma. Carrying his staff, he boarded a ship bound for Siming. By chance, the local governor, Prince Huaihai Qian Gong (Wei Zhi), inquired about the essence of the mind and appointed him as a precept master. From then on, both monastics and laypeople turned to him with reverence, urging him to stay and expound the Dharma. When the transport commissioner, Gu Gong (Cheng Hui), donated his residence to establish a temple, he entrusted Master Baoyun with founding the monastery. Dragons and elephants—eminent practitioners—gathered like clouds, and for twenty-four years he lectured and elucidated the teachings. Eventually, he transmitted the great Dharma to Master Fazhi Li Gong, known as the Venerable Siming.
Master Fazhi presided over Yanqing Temple for nearly forty years, and this path greatly flourished throughout the land. Was this not precisely due to obtaining those who could transmit and propagate it? I, Zong Xiao, following a long-held aspiration, compiled the surviving writings of Siming. I reflect that Master Baoyun, our founding patriarch, and our Siming were like worthy father and son, working in harmony to revive and prosper the school during that era. If their virtuous deeds were not passed down, the teachings would lose their source, and how could later generations investigate them? Therefore, I examined the facts and gathered records, obtaining accounts of the master and those who succeeded him, totaling twenty pieces, compiled into a separate volume titled *The Baoyun Collection Reviving the Ancestors*, named after the plaque "Reviving the Ancestors" in the ancestral hall of this temple.
May those who read these words understand the beauty of our ancestors' enduring virtue and not disregard it due to the humility of the compiler.
嘉泰癸亥仲春清旦比丘(宗曉)敬序