---
title: "湛然圓澄禪師語錄 · No. 1444-D 會稽雲門湛然澄禪師行狀"
description: "湛然圆澄禅师语录由明代禅宗高僧湛然圆澄所述，其门人明凡记录，丁元公与祁骏佳编撰。该书成书于明末佛教复兴时期，收录圆澄禅师的开示、法语、公案及书信，集中体现其禅学思想与修行指导，倡导直指人心、见性成佛的曹洞宗风。作为明代禅宗重要文献，该语录不仅传承了临济与曹洞宗的精髓，对后世禅修者具有深远影响，是研究明清佛教禅宗思想与实践的重要典籍。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmcxr5xsu00ooi904ygaj91g6"
---

### No. 1444-D會稽雲門湛然澄禪師行狀

> Biography of Master Zhanran Cheng, Zen Master of Yunmen, Kuaiji (No. 1444, Section D)

師名圓澄。字湛然。別號散木道人。會稽夏氏子也。父名世瑞。號鏡軒。母顧氏。宋英公竦之裔。南渡有安奇駙馬者。所自祖也。母夢僧而娠。十有四月生。七日啼不止。有僧過之囑云。自誓不昧。止宿於此。啼作麼。遂不復啼。長而大目昂鼻。哆脣露齒。直腸信口。年十七喪父。十九喪母。窶甚充郵卒。因錯投公牒。被攝懼辱自投于江。漂流數里。漁者救行。澤中遇一僧。目之云。是能出家。有大用。師即求度出世。往臥僧寮中。有多鬼撼其牀𠏉。屢囑之。不肯去。師謂山鬼伎倆止此。竟鼾睡旦去投玉峰師。充圊頭。始習文義。一日入方丈求授經。玉叱曰。丁字不識。不作苦行。求甚麼經。師曰。尚求參悟大事。何況區區文字。玉異之。付法華經曰。此諸佛骨髓。珍重熟讀。自有得。隨訪隱峰師。隱器之對眾云。此子可參禪。師遂求示。隱曰。行住坐臥。但參念佛的是誰。三日夜有省。知法不假他求。趨似隱。隱曰。似則也似。是則未是。且一切處疑嘿著。時年二十矣。壬午。往天荒山。妙峰和尚處剃染。懇求要訣。峰唯指念佛。冬無複裩。而通宵參究。未甞就枕。三年充圊頭。行難行苦行。乙酉。葉家山聞二僧論傅大士法身偈。便能記持經書。解一切道理。往北塔寺不納。遜居荒廟中。五日不粒。坐參不倦。詣雲棲。求蓮池大師授具。還訪南宗師。入門便問曰。海底泥牛啣月走。是甚麼意。宗一喝。師不能答。遂憤然曰。不悟不休。即於天妃宮。掩關三年。不發一語。偶閱語錄。至雪竇與僧論柏樹子話。有行者頌曰。一免橫身當古路。蒼鷹才見便生擒。後來獵犬無靈性。空向枯樁舊處尋。師便能轉機著語。又因燈滅。隔窓取火有省。隨頌一首。令呈南。南曰。我道他是個人。猶作如是去就耶。師聞復令請益。南曰。不思善。不思惡。正恁麼參。師於此漸入。一日憶乾峰和尚舉一不得舉二話。遂豁然無疑。頌曰。舉一舉二別端倪。個裏元無是與非。雪曲調高人會少。獨許韶陽和得齊。二老何曾動舌。諸方浪自攢眉。擬議󳬧過新羅。刻舟求劒元迷。又頌雲門十五日話曰。日日犯土黃。日日是好日。鐵蒺藜兮無孔笛。分付禪和莫近前。擬議須教性命失。從此于海底泥牛話。及諸誵訛公案。一切了了。出語皆脫窠臼。不存軌則矣。啟關參錦堂和尚。錦大賞曰。宗門寥落極矣。再振之者。非子而誰。時戊子歲也。又二年。一夜靜坐凝寂。忽若虗空霹𮦷。聲震大地。須臾而甦。遍體汗釋。如脫重擔。此庚寅七月二十一日也。時師年已三十矣。性根洞朗。言語契機。於諸佛事。不思議應。於諸經旨。玄會徹微。詣雲棲蓮池大師。一日舉高峰海底泥牛話。師推出傍僧曰。大眾證明。大師頷之。又火浴僧回。大師問。亡僧遷化後。向甚麼處去。眾著語皆不契。師出云。謝和尚罣念。大師休去。既還越。日乞食。暮宿塔山金剛神脚下。時大學士金庭朱公。太史石簣陶公。太學𤀹元張公。同游應天塔下寶林寺。至天王殿。聞鼾󳶓聲。使覺之。問曰何人。師曰。無事僧也。諸公與酬問數語。相謂曰。語淡而味永。高人也。揖師問依止何所。師曰。饑則化飯喫。倦則此地打眠耳。諸公共葺靜室以居。師一日靜坐。忽如冷水潑身。詩偈如泉涌。自念曰。此聰明境耳。時己丑春也。自此囊錐漸露。賢士大夫爭重之。萬曆十九年辛卯。慈舟和尚謁普陀回。至紹興憩大善寺。幻休和尚子。洞宗嫡嗣也。黃兩高居士。請於止風塗說法。師趨座呈所見求證。舟問曰。止風塗向青山近。越王城畔滄海遙時如何。師曰。月穿潭底破。波斯不轉眉。舟又問洞上宗旨。師呈偈曰。五位君臣切要知。個中何必待思惟。石女慣弄無鍼線。木偶能提化外機。井底紅塵騰靄靄。山頭白浪滾飛飛。誕生本是無功用。不覺天然得帝基。舟曰。語句綿密。不落終始。真當家種草也。遂召入室印證。復曰。汝後鼓兩片唇皮。截斷天下人舌頭有分在。即付法偈曰。曹源一滴水。佛祖相分付。吾今授受時。大地為甘露。咄。五乳峰前無鏃箭。射得南方半個兒。師始匡徒說法。稱人天師也。師生而頴悟。具大辯才。觸事了了。性不覊滯。雖人所苦難賤簡事。率躬親無所諱憚。生平所為。一不覆藏。遇人無貴賤親故。皆以本色語相鉗錘。中年以來。病患耳根幾斷。而應機迅捷。受命如響。壬寅入京。值達觀大師應劫。禪林有嚴色。師以平易簡亮。推重一時。黃袁陶諸公卿。皆及門請教。冠葢傾都市。而師絕不以為意。一日達觀大師同月川法師。陶石簣黃慎軒兩太史。左心源曾仲水米友石諸公。嘉熈寺翫月次。慎軒臥問。馬祖翫月因緣。師曰。汝臥我立。不得為汝說法。慎軒亟起謝過。月師云。內翰錯過了也。達師云。我下語不及此公。又僧鶴林參達觀大師。大師曰。你信得及麼。林曰。信得及。大師云。既信得及。可將法華經拋在尿桶內得麼。林如所言。諸方疑駭。後師特往問林。林云。實有此事。師曰。你當時見何道理。便恁麼來。林曰。我忽憶善財參勝熱婆羅門因緣。便乃如此。師云。如今還有疑否。林曰。此是地獄之因。豈得無疑。師曰。我今問你。你須實答。汝信得及否。林曰。信得及。師曰。汝真信得及否。林曰。真信得及。師曰。真信得及。割取頭來。林不知所措。師便喝。尋還越。請開法者日益盛。己未山東德王。刺血寫書。請師至府。殷勤修敬問道受戒。師至杭州。聞谷師慧聞師等數員知識法師。及諸縉紳護法。各命侍者。持柬迎師。慧聞法師柬內云。今日大眾要與和尚作家相見。和尚若來。已墮情識。和尚不來。猶缺慈悲。師閱畢。即將眾柬一齊扯碎。正色厲聲云。這些客作漢。敢於老僧處納敗闕耶。師至即陞堂正立。慧云。和尚莫要般門弄斧。師與一掌云。速道速道。慧無語。師曰。死漢。聞谷師遂率眾作禮。丙寅臘月。於顯聖寺。呼大眾前作付囑語。初四日至天華寺上堂。明智出眾禮師。白往九華。師曰。汝去。老僧即今起程。語畢。復為眾語。至夜分丑時。右脇示寂。門人迎全身。至顯聖寺。龕三年。丁卯。塔於寺南鉢盂山之陰。師生於嘉靖辛酉歲八月五日寅時。住世六十有六。臘四十有三。上堂開法會六。初壽興寺。次雲門廣孝寺。次徑山觀音殿。即古千僧閣。次嘉興東塔寺。次雲門顯聖寺。次紹興天華寺。講演經論會四十餘。初周海門居士請於剡谿明心寺。次顯聖寺。次張太學宅中。次山陰壽聖寺。次梅墅彌陀庵。次上虞百官陽草偃。次下心壩。次寶林寺。次秀水石佛寺。次海鹽天寧寺。次嘉興東塔寺。次顯聖寺。次蕭山關王廟。次顯聖寺。次紹興大善寺。次顯聖寺。次顯聖寺。次南京圓覺禪院。次延壽寺。次崑山一宿庵。次紹興天華寺。次湖州道場山。次紹興華嚴寺等處。師頌五位偏正曰。正中偏。啞子喫苦向誰言。開口已招人貶笑。祇應肚裏哭蒼天。偏中正。物物頭頭行正令。信手拈來用得親。擬欲求玄俱是病。正中來。云何石女也懷胎。天明生個白頭子。九月楊花遍地開。偏中至。狹路相逢不須避。線去鍼來本自然。目擊道存兩會意。兼中到。動靜不分真個妙。著衣喫飯本尋常。却似大蟲裹紙帽。又三玄三要頌曰。老儂不識字。錯讀己已巳。去問大大人。答我渠似你。師甞歎末世佛法。大乘旨趣無聞。著楞嚴臆說。法華意語。金剛三昧經注。涅槃會疏。思益梵天所問經解。陶太史請注。又宗門或問。慨古錄等。語錄八卷。行世。付法弟子。指南明徹。麥浪明懷。石雨明方。三宜明盂。爾密明澓。曇茂李黃葉。具足明有。瑞白明雪。無學能幻。居士雁田柳湞。參學如天倪明聞。香幢明海。柱石明梁等。其餘印心者。林下水邊。繼起未艾。洞上逆流。汪洋無既。復有久依法席。去而嗣臨濟。稱雄彼宗者。亦皆受法乳恩知所報者也。師于一切利益之事。無不具行。若築石塘。自西興抵曹娥二百餘里。若剡谿南下。至濠而勢逼。流沙停漲。水勢日西。齧會稽日受築塘之苦。師白當事者令剷去沙洲。水乃漸伏。若修阿育王殿。市木閩還。航海遇𡨥。聞師名即懺罪。且授號矢護送。若越城戒珠寺鐵鑄佛像。葺前殿。若徑山造彌陀佛。若山陰修柯橋融光寺。并佛菩薩像。若修東關大石佛殿。若長慶寺造羅漢像。若錢塘江湄建茶亭。并渡船。若𦦨口施食。水陸放救生命。又若為夏氏置饗祀田等。不可悉紀。不肖丁元公奉教有年。備聞行事。敢述斯錄。冀名達手。銘筆傳馨。謹狀。

> The Master was named Yuancheng, with the style name Zhanran and the sobriquet "The Wood-Scattered Daoist." He was a native of Kuaiji and a descendant of the Xia family. His father was named Shirui, with the courtesy name Jingxuan, and his mother was nee Gu. She was a descendant of Duke Ying, Song Yinggong. During the Southern Song retreat, an ancestor served as the Imperial Consort Anqi. His mother dreamed of a monk and became pregnant, carrying him for fourteen months before giving birth. For seven days after birth, he cried incessantly. A passing monk advised, "If you resolve not to be deluded, you will stay here. Why cry?" He then stopped crying. Growing up, he had large eyes, a prominent nose, thick lips, and exposed teeth. He was straightforward and outspoken. At seventeen, he lost his father, and at nineteen, his mother. Reduced to poverty, he worked as a postal courier. Due to a mistake in delivering an official document, he was apprehended and, fearing disgrace, jumped into a river. He drifted for several miles before being rescued by a fisherman. On the road, he met a monk who looked at him and said, "This one can become a monk and will be of great use." The Master immediately sought ordination and left worldly life. He stayed in a monk's dormitory, where many ghosts shook his bed and door frames. They repeatedly tried to disturb him but refused to leave. The Master said, "Mountain ghosts have only such tricks," and snored loudly until dawn, when they left. He then went to Master Yufeng and served as a lavatory attendant, beginning his study of scriptures and doctrine. One day, he entered the abbot's quarters to request a sutra. Yufeng scolded him, "You don't even recognize the character 'ding,' and you refuse to perform hard labor. What sutra do you seek?" The Master replied, "I still seek to awaken to the great matter; why fuss over mere words?" Yufeng, surprised, gave him the Lotus Sutra, saying, "This is the marrow of all Buddhas. Treasure it, recite it diligently, and you will naturally attain realization." The Master later visited Master Yinfeng, who recognized his potential and said to the assembly, "This one is fit for Chan practice." The Master requested instruction. Yinfeng said, "In walking, standing, sitting, and lying, just investigate: 'Who is reciting the Buddha's name?'" After three days and nights, he had an insight, realizing that the Dharma is not sought from outside. He reported this to Yinfeng, who said, "It resembles it, but it is not yet it. Be still and doubt at all places." He was then twenty years old. In 1582, he went to Tianhuang Mountain and received tonsure under Master Miaofeng. When he earnestly sought the essential method, Miaofeng only pointed to reciting the Buddha's name. Through the winter, without padded trousers, he practiced all night, never lying down to sleep. For three years, he served as a lavatory attendant, practicing the most difficult and painful ascetic practices. In 1585, at Ye Family Mountain, hearing two monks discuss Fudaishi's verse on the Dharma Body, he was able to memorize scriptures and understand all doctrines. He went to North Pagoda Temple but was not accepted. Staying in a dilapidated shrine for five days without food, he sat in meditation without tiring. He then visited Yunqi to receive the complete precepts from Master Lianchi. Returning, he visited Master Nanzong. Entering the gate, he immediately asked, "What is the meaning of 'An ox at the bottom of the sea runs after the moon'?" Nanzong shouted, and the Master could not respond. He then vowed angrily, "If I don't awaken, I won't stop." He retreated to Tianfei Palace, sealing himself in a room for three years without speaking. By chance, he read a record of Xuedou's debate with a monk about the cypress tree story. An attendant's verse read: "A rabbit lying across the ancient path; The gray falcon sees it and seizes it. Later hunting dogs, lacking intelligence, Empty seek in the old stump's place." The Master then understood the point of the turning word. Later, when the lamp went out, he took fire through the window, gaining insight. He composed a verse and sent it to Nanzong. Nanzong said, "I thought he was a man of substance, and yet he acts this way?" The Master heard this and again sought instruction. Nanzong said, "Think not of good; think not of evil. At that very moment, investigate." With this, the Master gradually entered realization. One day, recalling Master Qianfeng's words about "not raising one, not raising two," he became thoroughly enlightened without doubt. He composed a verse: "Raising one, raising two—truly distinct; In this, there is originally no right or wrong. High tunes of snow songs, few understand; Only Shaoyang can harmonize completely. The two elders never moved their tongues; All quarters vainly furrow their brows. If you deliberate, you fall into another birth; Seeking the sword engraved on a boat—fundamentally deluded." He also composed a verse on Yunmen's "Fifteenth Day" talk: "Daily, the star is obscured; Yet every day is a good day. Iron brambles, a bamboo flute with no holes. I instruct Chan practitioners not to approach; If you deliberate, you will lose your life." From then on, all the obscure koans, including the "ox at the bottom of the sea," were completely clear to him. His words left all conventional patterns and were free of any rule. When he emerged from retreat to visit Master Jintang, Jintang praised him greatly, saying, "The Chan school has reached its lowest ebb. Who else but you can revive it?" This was in 1588. Two years later, on the night of July 21, 1590, while sitting in deep stillness, he suddenly felt a thunderclap within the void, shaking the earth. In a moment, he revived, sweating all over, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. The Master was then thirty years old. His innate nature was perfectly bright, his words unimpeded, and he responded inconceivably in all Buddha activities. He intimately penetrated the subtle meaning of all sutras. Visiting Master Lianchi at Yunqi, one day Lianchi raised Gaofeng's "ox at the bottom of the sea" story. The Master pushed forward a fellow monk and said, "Great assembly, bear witness." The Master nodded. When a monk cremated, Lianchi asked, "Where does a deceased monk go after transformation?" The assembly's responses did not hit the mark. The Master came forward and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master." Lianchi remained silent. Returning to Yue, he begged for food by day and slept at night under the feet of the Golden-Blue Deva at Pagoda Mountain. At that time, Grand Secretary Zhu Jiaging, Grand Historian Tao Shigui, and Zhang Xiaoji of the Imperial Academy visited Baolin Temple under Yingtian Pagoda. At the Heavenly King Hall, they heard snoring. They roused him and asked, "Who are you?" The Master replied, "A wandering monk." They exchanged a few words and remarked, "His words are plain but deep; a true master." Bowing, they asked where he stayed. The Master said, "When hungry, I beg food; when tired, I sleep here." Together, they renovated a quiet chamber for him to live in. One day in spring 1589, while sitting quietly, he suddenly felt cold water pour over his body, and poetic verses gushed forth like a spring. He thought to himself, "This is merely the realm of intellectual understanding." From then on, his talent gradually became known, and virtuous officials and scholars competed to honor him. In 1591, Master Cizhou, the true successor of the Dong lineage, visited Putuo and returned to Shaoxing, resting at Dashan Temple. Layman Huang Lianggao requested a Dharma talk at Zhifengtu. The Master took his seat and presented his insight for verification. Cizhou asked, "Zhifengtu is close to the green mountains; and at the King of Yue's city wall, the blue sea is distant. What about this?" The Master replied, "The moon pierces the depths of the pond, breaking it; the Persian does not turn his brows." Cizhou again asked about the core teaching of the Dong lineage. The Master presented a verse: "The five positions of host and guest must be known; Why rely on thought? The stone woman constantly handles an unwoven thread; The wooden puppet can grasp the principle beyond transformation. Red dust billows at the bottom of the well; White waves roll atop the mountain. Inherent birth is without function; Unconsciously, one gains the foundation of the sovereign." Cizhou said, "Your words are meticulous, not falling into beginning or end. Truly a seed for the household." He summoned the Master into the room to verify him and added, "In the future, you will flap two lips and cut off the tongues of the world's people by half." He then transmitted the Dharma verse: "A single drop of water from the Cao Stream, Buddhas and patriarchs hand it down. Now, when I receive and transmit, the great earth becomes ambrosia. Heh! The arrow without a head before Five Nipple Peak shoots down half a child of the South." The Master then began to lead the assembly and teach, becoming a teacher of gods and humans. In a later story, two Grand Historians, Tao Shigui and Huang Shenxuan, along with others, were enjoying the moon at Jiaxi Temple. When Huang Shenxuan lay down to ask about a story concerning Mazu viewing the moon, the Master scolded him, "You lie down while I stand; I will not speak Dharma for you." Shenxuan quickly stood up and apologized. Another time, a monk named Helin visited Daguan, who asked, "Have you found faith?" Helin said, "Yes." Daguan said, "If so, can you throw the Lotus Sutra into a urine bucket?" Helin did so, causing widespread confusion. Later, the Master visited Helin and asked, "What principle did you see at that time to act so?" Helin said, "I suddenly recalled the story of Sudhana visiting the Brahmin Shengre." The Master asked, "Do you have any doubt now?" Helin said, "That is the cause of hell—how could there be no doubt?" The Master said, "Now I ask you truthfully: Have you found faith?" Helin said, "Yes." The Master said, "Have you truly found faith?" Helin said, "Yes." The Master said, "Then cut off your head." Helin was at a loss, and the Master shouted. The Master continued to teach widely, with increasing numbers of students. He eventually passed away on the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1626 at Tianhua Temple, lying on his right side in the hour of Chou. His disciples enshrined his body in a stupa south of the temple at Boyu Mountain. The Master lived for sixty-six years, with forty-three years of monastic life. He participated in six formal Dharma assemblies and gave over forty lectures on sutras and shastras. He left behind numerous writings, including commentaries on the Shurangama Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and others, as well as an eight-volume recorded sayings. His disciples in the Dharma transmission included many notable teachers, and his lineage flourished like an endless stream. He engaged in countless beneficial works: building stone dikes, repairing temples, casting Buddha statues, and establishing charities such as tea pavilions, ferry boats, and food offerings. His compassion extended to all beings. This brief record of his life and deeds is submitted with reverence.