---
title: "嘉泰普燈錄 · 四祖道信大士"
description: "嘉泰普灯录由南宋高僧正受编撰于嘉泰年间，是继五灯会元后重要的禅宗灯录体史书。全书三十卷，收录历代禅师机缘语录、行实传记及偈颂，涵盖临济、云门等宗派，以普照禅法、嘉惠学人为宗旨。它系统传承了禅宗法脉与思想，是研究宋代禅宗历史与思想的重要文献，在佛教史上具有承前启后的地位，与五灯会元并称为禅宗灯录双璧。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmcy6amtq0giwl404uecu288p"
---

### 四祖道信大士

> Fourth Patriarch Daoxin

族司馬氏。世居河內。後徙蘄之廣濟。生而超異。於解脫法。契如夙昔。自續祖位。脅不至席者。殆六十年。隋大業中。領徒抵廬陵。值羣盜圍城。七旬乃解。唐武德甲申歲。歸住破頭山。禪侶雲集。一日。至黃梅。路逢小兒。骨相奇偉。遂問曰。子何姓。云。姓即有。不是常姓。曰。是何姓。云。是佛性。曰。汝無性耶。云。性空故。祖默識之。俾侍僧至其舍。誘出家。母亦知其宿緣。殊無難色。祖以衣法付之。永徽辛亥閏月四日。誡門人曰。一切諸法悉皆解脫。汝等各自護念。流化未來。言訖。安坐而逝。壽七十有二。奉真身于本山。至今塔戶不開。儀相如生。代宗諡大毉禪師。塔曰慈雲。

> The ancestor belonged to the Sima clan of He, in the region of Henei. Later, his family moved to Guangji in Qi. From birth, he was extraordinary; he understood liberation as if he had known it in a past life. After succeeding to the patriarchal lineage, he did not let his ribs touch the bed mat for nearly sixty years. In the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty, he led his followers to Luling, where thieves surrounded the city for seventy days before it was relieved. In the first year of the Wude era of the Tang Dynasty, he returned to live at Potou Mountain, where many practitioners gathered. One day, he traveled to Huangmei and met a young boy with an unusually noble appearance. He asked, "What is your family name?" The boy said, "I have a name, but it is not an ordinary name." He asked, "What name is that?" The boy said, "The Buddha-Nature." The ancestor asked, "Then you have no nature?" The boy said, "Nature is empty." Understanding his depth, the ancestor sent a monk to the boy's home to encourage him to become a monk. The mother recognized their past connection and did not object. The ancestor entrusted him with the Dharma and robe. In the sixth month of the first year of the Yonghui era, on the fourth day, he instructed his disciples, "All dharmas are completely liberated. Each of you should guard this and transmit it in the future." After speaking, he sat peacefully and passed away, at the age of seventy-two. His body was enshrined on the mountain, its features still lifelike; the tower door remains unopened. The Dai-zong Emperor posthumously named him Great-Healer Chan Master, and the tower is called Compassion-Cloud.