---
title: "禪林僧寶傳 · 天台韶國師"
description: "禅林僧宝传由北宋高僧惠洪撰写，是宋代重要的佛教史传著作。全书收录自唐至宋初共八十一位禅宗高僧的传记，详述其生平、悟道因缘及弘法事迹。该书不仅保存了珍贵的禅门史料，更以文学笔法生动呈现了禅僧的风范与智慧。在佛教史上具有承前启后的地位，是研究唐宋禅宗发展、宗门传承及高僧行谊的核心典籍，对后世禅林传记的撰写影响深远。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmczn86dd1km9jj04jzhay5j6"
---

## 禪林僧寶傳卷第七

> Volume 7 of the Zen Forest Monastic Treasure

宋明白庵居沙門　惠洪　撰

> Written by Chan Monk Huihong of Baian Hermitage, Song and Ming Dynasties

### 天台韶國師

> Master Tiantai Shao

天台國師名德韶。處州龍泉人。生陳氏。母葉。夢白光觸體。覺而娠。生而傑異。年十五。有梵僧見之。拊其背曰。汝當出家。塵中無置汝所也。乃往依龍歸寺剃髮。十八詣信州開元寺受滿分戒。後唐同光中。謁舒州投子庵主不契。造龍牙遯禪師問。雄雄之尊。因什麼親近不得。遯曰。如火與火。曰忽遇水來。又作麼生。遯曰。汝不會我語。又問。天不蓋。地不載。此理如何。遯曰。合如是。韶惘然。固要為說。遯曰。道者汝向後自會去。時疎山有矮師叔者。精峭號能齧鏃機。韶問。百帀千重是何人境界。矮曰。左搓芒繩縛鬼子。曰不落古今請師說。矮曰不說。曰為什麼不說。矮曰。箇中不辨有無。韶曰師今善說。矮駭之。久而辭去。所至少留。見知識五十四人。括磨搜剝。窮極隱秘。不知端倪。心志俱疲。至曹山。但隨眾而已。無所咨參。有僧問。法眼禪師曰。十二時中。如何得頓息萬緣去。法眼曰。空與汝為緣耶。色與汝為緣耶。言空為緣。則空本無緣。言色為緣則色心不二。日用果何物為汝緣乎。韶聞悚然異之。又有問者曰。如何是曹源一滴水。法眼曰。是曹源一滴水。於是韶大悟於座下。平生凝滯。渙若氷釋。感涕沾衣。法眼曰。汝當大宏吾宗。行矣。無自滯於是。游天台。觀智顗禪師遺蹤。如故居。睠然有終焉之心。初寓止白沙時。吳越忠懿王。以國子刺台州。雅聞韶名。遣使迎之。申弟子之禮。日夕問道。韶曰。他日為覇主。無忘佛恩。漢乾祐元年戊申。王嗣國位。遣使迎至尊。事之以為國師焉。韶說法簡而要。撥去枝葉。曰古聖方便。猶如河沙。六祖曰。非風幡動。仁者心動。是為無上心印。至妙法門。我輩稱祖師門下士。何以解之。若言風幡不動。汝心妄動。若言不撥風幡。就風幡處通取。若言風幡動處。是什麼。若言附物明心不須認物。若言色即是空。若言非風幡動。應須妙會。與祖師意旨了沒交涉。既非種種解會。合如何知悉。若真見去。何法門不明。雖百千諸佛方便。一時洞了。或問如何是古佛心。答曰此問不弱。又問亡僧遷化。向何處去。曰終不向汝道。曰為什麼不道。曰恐汝不會。問那吒太子。析肉還母。析骨還父。然後化生於蓮花之上。為父母說法。未審如何是太子身。曰大家見。上座問。故每曰。大凡言句。應須絕滲漏乃可。僧隨問。如何是絕滲漏句。曰汝口似鼻孔。又曰。眼中無色識。色中無眼識。眼識二俱空。何能令見色。是眼則不能自見其己體。若不能自見。云何見餘物。古聖方便。皆為說破。若於此明得寂靜法。不寂靜法也収盡。明得遠離法。不遠離法亦收盡。未來現在。亦無遺餘。名一法界。何有遮障。各自信取。僧義寂者。謂韶曰。智者之教。年祀寖遠。必多散失。唯新羅國有善本。願藉禪師慈力。致之使再開。東土人天眼目。於是韶以聞忠懿王。遣使航海。傳寫以還。而韶適與智者同姓。疑其後身也。開寶四年辛未。華頂西峯忽摧。聲震山谷。六月有星。隕于峯頂。林木皆白。二十八日集眾告別而化。閱世八十有二坐六十有五夏。

> National Master Tiantai, whose Dharma name was Deshao, was born in Longquan, Chuzhou. His secular surname was Chen, and his mother was nee Ye. She dreamed that a white light touched her body, and when she awoke, she became pregnant. Deshao was exceptionally gifted at birth. At age fifteen, an Indian monk saw him and patted him on the back, saying, "You should become a monk; there is no place for you in the mundane world." So he went to Longgui Temple to take refuge and shave his head. At eighteen, he went to Kaiyuan Temple in Xinzhou to receive the full precepts. In the Tongguang era of the Later Tang dynasty, he visited the hermit of Touzi in Shuzhou but found no resonance. He then went to Chan master Longya Dun and asked, "Why is the Honorable One so hard to approach?" Dun replied, "It is like fire meeting fire." Deshao asked, "What if water comes?" Dun said, "You don't understand my words." Deshao also asked, "When Heaven does not cover and Earth does not support, what is the principle?" Dun said, "It should be so." Deshao was bewildered and pressed for an explanation. Dun said, "Practitioner, you will understand on your own later." At that time, there was a short master at Shushan, who was sharp and known for his "arrow-biting" wit. Deshao asked him, "What is the state of a thousand layers and ten thousand entanglements?" The short master said, "Twist the rope of coarse grass to bind a demon." Deshao said, "Please, Master, speak of what is beyond past and present." The short master said, "I will not speak." Deshao asked, "Why not?" The master replied, "In this, there is no distinguishing existence or non-existence." Deshao said, "Master, you have spoken well." The master was startled. After a long time, Deshao took his leave. He stayed briefly in many places, meeting fifty-four teachers. He thoroughly examined and refined his understanding, delving into the most hidden depths, yet found no clear direction. His mind and spirit were exhausted. At Caoshan, he simply followed the assembly without asking further questions. Once, a monk asked Fayan Chan master, "In the twelve periods of the day, how can one suddenly cease all conditioned things?" Fayan said, "Is emptiness your condition? Is form your condition? If you say emptiness is your condition, then emptiness has no conditions. If you say form is your condition, then form and mind are not two. In daily life, what thing actually serves as your condition?" Deshao heard this and was deeply moved and amazed. Another monk asked, "What is the single drop of water from Caoyuan?" Fayan replied, "It is the single drop of water from Caoyuan." At that moment, Deshao experienced great awakening under his seat. All his lifelong doubts melted away like ice, and tears of gratitude soaked his robes. Fayan said, "You are to greatly propagate our lineage. Go now; do not linger here." Deshao traveled to Tiantai Mountain to see the traces of Chan master Zhiyi, and it felt like a familiar home. He cherished the wish to end his days there. Initially, he stayed at Baisha, where King Zhongyi of Wuyue, then a prince stationed in Taizhou, had long heard of his fame. The king sent an envoy to invite him, performing the rites of a disciple, and sought the teaching day and night. Deshao said, "When you become a ruler in the future, do not forget the Buddha's grace." In the first year of the Qianyou era of the Later Han dynasty (948 CE), the king ascended the throne and sent an envoy to welcome Deshao as his national teacher. Deshao’s teaching was simple and to the point, cutting away all superfluities. He said, "The expedient means of the ancient sages are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The Sixth Patriarch said, 'It is not the wind or the flag that moves; it is your mind that moves.' This is the supreme mind-seal, the most wonderful Dharma gate. We who call ourselves disciples of the Patriarchs—how do we understand it? If you say the wind and flag do not move but your mind falsely moves, if you say you should not dismiss the wind and flag but understand them directly, if you ask what it is that moves at the wind and flag, if you say to illuminate the mind through objects without clinging to objects, if you say form is emptiness, if you say it is not the wind or flag that moves and you must subtly realize it—all these interpretations have nothing to do with the Patriarch's intent. Since you cannot grasp it through all these interpretations, how then should you truly know it? If you see it directly, what Dharma gate would not be clear? Even the expedient means of a hundred thousand Buddhas would be thoroughly understood in one instant." Someone asked, "What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?" Deshao replied, "This is no weak question." Another asked, "Where does a deceased monk go after his transformation?" Deshao said, "I will never tell you." "Why not?" "Because I fear you won't understand." A monk asked, "Prince Nata returned his flesh to his mother and his bones to his father, then was reborn on a lotus to teach his parents. What is the prince's body?" Deshao said, "Everyone sees it. Venerable, you ask about it." He often said, "In all speech and words, one must ensure there are no leaks." A monk asked, "What is a phrase without leaks?" Deshao replied, "Your mouth resembles a nose." He also said, "In the eye, there is no form-consciousness; in form, there is no eye-consciousness. Both eye-consciousness and form-consciousness are empty. How can they enable seeing form? The eye cannot see its own body. If it cannot see itself, how can it see other things? The ancient sages' expedient means all speak to this point. If you understand this, you will encompass both the still Dharma and the not-still Dharma. You will encompass both the Dharma of separation and the Dharma of non-separation. The past, present, and future will have no remainder. This is called the One Dharma Realm. What obstacles could there be? Each of you, have faith in yourself." A monk named Yiji said to Deshao, "The teachings of the sage Zhiyi have become distant with time; many scriptures must be lost. Only Silla still has reliable copies. May I ask the Master to use his spiritual power to bring them here, so that the eyes and insight of the people in the Eastern Land may be reopened." Deshao then reported this to King Zhongyi, who sent envoys across the sea to copy and bring back the texts. Deshao happened to share the same surname with Zhiyi, and it was suspected that he was his reincarnation. In the fourth year of the Kaibao era (971 CE), the western peak of Huading suddenly collapsed, shaking the valley. In June, a star fell on the peak, turning the forest white. On the twenty-eighth of that month, Deshao gathered the assembly, took leave, and passed away. He lived for eighty-two years and sat in meditation for sixty-five summers.

贊曰。聞僧問法眼。如何是曹源一滴水。而法眼但曰。是曹源一滴水。韶乃開悟。夫問詞答語。無所增損。所謂悟者。何自而發之。及觀韶所對問者。如問古佛心。對曰此問不弱。如問如何是太子身。對曰大家見上座問。則問答之間。不令意根椿立。蓋甞曰。大凡言句。須絕滲漏。而學者方爭趨微妙之域。欲見祖師之心。譬如趨越而首燕也歟。

> In praise, it is said: A monk once asked Fayan, "What is the single drop of water from Cao Creek?" Fayan simply replied, "It is the single drop of water from Cao Creek." Upon hearing this, Hanshao was awakened. The question and answer neither added nor subtracted anything. So how did this awakening arise from it? When we look at how Hanshao responded to questions—for instance, when asked "What is the heart of the ancient Buddha?" he replied, "This is not a weak question." When asked "What is the body of the crown prince?" he replied, "Everyone here sees the venerable one asking." His responses never allowed the mind to become fixed. He once said, "In all speech and expression, one must avoid any leakage." Yet scholars still rush towards realms of subtlety, wanting to see the mind of the patriarch—this is like heading north when you intend to go south, isn't it?