宏智禪師廣錄卷第五
Extensive Record of Chan Master Hongzhi, Volume 5
天童覺和尚小參語錄序
Preface to the Recorded Sayings from Small Gatherings of Chan Master Tiantong Jue
天童老人。蚤以英妙發聞漢東。道法寖盛於江淮。大被於吳越。經行所暨都邑為傾。一時名勝之流。爭趨之。如不及也。建炎末。應緣補處太白之麓。海隅斗絕。結屋安禪。會學去來常以千數。師方導眾以寂。兀如拈株。而屨滿戶外。不容終默。故當正座舉揚。或隨叩而酬以法要。或因理而畢其緒言。門人躡音輒為紀錄。歲月未幾。溢于簡編。惟悟本正脈。粗續而僅存。大陽本宗。幾[倖-干+貝]而復起。閱世三四。至是紹隆。迅雷當空。震徹九地。句萌甲拆。自然生榮。而彼元氣洪造。初豈有意哉。方來學徒。讀此書而知谷之應聲。會此旨而同水之傳器。始信。佛及眾生。皆承恩力。豈虛語也哉紹興丁巳歲除日參學憑溫舒序。
The Elder of Tiantong, from his youth, was renowned for his brilliance in the eastern Han region. His teachings on the Dharma gradually flourished along the Jianghuai rivers and spread widely throughout the Wu and Yue lands. Wherever he traveled, cities and towns were moved by his presence. Scholars and luminaries of the time flocked to him, as if fearing they might miss the opportunity.
At the end of the Jianyan era, he responded to the call and settled at the foot of Mount Taibai. In that remote coastal corner, he built a hut and practiced meditation in peace. Yet, the number of students who came and went often reached into the thousands. The master guided the assembly with stillness, sitting as firm as a mountain, yet his doorstep was always filled with visitors, leaving no room for silence. Thus, he would take his seat and expound the teachings, sometimes responding to inquiries with the essence of the Dharma, sometimes completing the threads of reasoning through discourse. His disciples, following his words, diligently recorded them.
In just a few years, these teachings filled the pages of books. The true lineage of awakening, once tenuous, was preserved and continued. The original tradition of the Great Sun, nearly lost, was revived. Through three or four generations, it has now been carried forward and glorified. Like thunder echoing through the sky, shaking the very earth, or like sprouts breaking through the soil, naturally flourishing—such is the power of the original vitality and the great creation, which from the beginning had no deliberate intent.
Future students who read this book will understand it as an echo in a valley, and grasp its meaning as water poured from vessel to vessel. Then they will truly believe that both Buddhas and sentient beings all receive the power of grace—how could these words be empty?
Written by the student Ping Wenshu on the last day of the Shaoxing year, Ding Si.