天童遺落錄序
Preface to Tiantong's Lost Records
夫佛祖道實際理地。本離言語相。然佛事門中為物垂慈。則雖非有為又非無語。洞山五位臨濟三玄。共是垂慈心。聲止啼黃葉。若就語中生實解者。求馬於唐肆待兔於枯株也。璨無文之無文印第五卷天地雪屋韶禪師塔銘序中云。嘉定間淨禪師。倡足菴之道于天童。懼洞宗玄學或為語言勝。以惡拳痛棒。陶冶學者。肆口縱談。擺落枝葉。無華滋旨味。如蒼松架壑風雨盤空。曹洞正宗為之一變。所謂懼洞宗玄學或為語言勝。等實得淨公意。抓著其癢處。永平正法眼藏中。有言云。有一般野猫兒。言洞山高祖有偏正五位。只須知洞山高祖有正法眼藏。是亦會淨公意。懼為語言勝也。但所謂曹洞正宗。為之一變者不爾。其似變者唯語言跡。而如正宗。冥合洞山本旨。莫過於淨公。譬如言能學柳下惠者不師其跡也。淨公有六會語錄二卷。所謂建康府清涼。台州瑞巖。臨安府淨慈。明州瑞巖。再住淨慈。寧波府天童之六會。而侍者文素妙宗唯敬如玉智湖祖日等所編次。桐柏吏呂瀟作序。靈隱高原泉天衣嘯巖蔚共作跋。淨公小師廣宗。以理宗紹定二年乙丑夏。所募刻。而永平廣錄第一卷。有天童和尚語錄到上堂云。箇是天童打𨁝跳。蹈翻東海龍魚驚。乃此二卷錄也。延寶八年庚申之秋。(予)在東武王子峯。挍讎鏤梓至今三十五年。而偶得見丹州德雲室中所祕。梵清和尚真筆瑞巖遠公所編天童如淨禪師語錄一卷。但是天童上堂法語二十則而已矣。於其卷末。高祖元和尚。記淨公法嗣六人機緣淨公略傳了云。日本仁治二年歲。次辛丑二月中旬。瑞巖遠公遙送此錄付吾。蓋仁治二年者。廣宗募刻後十三年也。而其六會中之天童錄者。祖日侍者所編。而其編中遺落二十則瑞巖搜出編集。寄元和尚者分明也。而今德雲寺主了山師。南陽寺主大鏡師。捨衣資圖災木。甚是好心可以嘉矣。(予)乃考其顛末。令其附前刻。併為三卷。前刻有跋云。昔瑞巖遠公。拔取永平廣錄為一卷。作之跋云。得百千之十一。抑此亦天童之十一歟。想必有廣錄在。只願後賢勤搜羅之。而今二師附此一卷。則實後賢搜羅之一數也。好事不乏。天必錫類。則正好摩眼待附之附矣。
The fundamental principle of the Buddha and the Patriarchs is that ultimate reality is inherently beyond words. Yet, in guiding sentient beings, they compassionately employ means that, while not mundane actions, are not without speech. The Five Ranks of Caodong and the Three Mysteries of Linji all spring from this compassionate intent—like a yellow leaf used to stop a child's cry, or a sound to halt a babbling. Those who take words as the truth are like seeking a horse in a market stall, or waiting for a rabbit by a dead tree stump.
In the fifth volume of Can’s *Seal of the Wordless*, the preface to the stupa inscription for Master Tianxue Wuyu of Caodong says: “During the Jiading era, Master Jing revitalized the teachings of Master Fuyan at Tiantong. Fearing that the profound study of the Caodong school might be overshadowed by mere words, he tempered his students with harsh blows and fierce shouts, freely speaking and stripping away all extraneous branches. His teaching had no flowery embellishment, like a rugged pine battling wind and rain in an empty sky—the authentic Caodong tradition was thus transformed.”
The phrase “fearing that the profound study of the Caodong school might be overshadowed by mere words” truly captures Master Jing’s intent, hitting the mark precisely. In Eihei’s *Shōbōgenzō*, it is said: “There are some wild cats who claim the Caodong founder had the Five Ranks of partial and full. What you must understand is that the Caodong founder possessed the Eye of the True Dharma.” This also resonates with Master Jing’s concern—his fear of being dominated by words.
However, the statement that “the authentic Caodong tradition was thus transformed” is not accurate. What changed were only the traces of language. No one embodied the true essence of Caodong more closely than Master Jing. For example, it is said one can learn from Liuxia Hui without imitating his outward manner.
Master Jing left two volumes of recorded sayings from six dharma assemblies: Qingliang in Jiankang, Ruiyan in Taizhou, Jingci in Lin’an, Ruiyan in Mingzhou, a second term at Jingci, and Tiantong in Ningbo. These were compiled by his attendants Wen Su, Miao Zong, Wei Jing, Ru Yu, Zhi Hu, and Zu Ri. The preface was written by Lü Xiao, a clerk from Tongbai, and postscripts were added by Lingyin Gaoyuanquan and Tianyi Xiaoyanwei. Master Jing’s junior disciple, Guangzong, had these printed in the summer of 1225, the second year of the Lizong reign. The first volume of Eihei’s extensive record includes a passage: “The Tiantong Master performed a lively leap, overturning the Eastern Sea and startling the dragon fish.” This refers to these two volumes.
In the autumn of 1680, while at Prince Peak in Eastern Wu, I collated and carved the blocks—this was thirty-five years ago. Recently, I chanced upon a manuscript hidden in the Tokushu chamber in Danshu. It was a single volume of Master Ruiyan Yuan’s compilation, *The Recorded Sayings of Tiantong Rujing*, written in the true hand of Master Fanqing. It contains only twenty dharma talks given by Tiantong in the abbot’s hall. At the end of the volume, Ancestor Yuan of the monastery recorded the karmic connections of Master Jing’s six Dharma heirs and a brief biography. It states: “In the second year of Ninji (1242), in the middle of the second month, Master Ruiyan Yuan sent this record to me from afar.”
Ninji’s second year came thirteen years after Guangzong’s printing. Among the six assemblies’ texts, the Tiantong record was compiled by attendant Zu Ri. These twenty missing talks were probably gathered and compiled by Ruiyan Yuan and sent to Ancestor Yuan. Now, Abbot Liaoshan of Tokushu Temple and Abbot Dajing of Nanyang Temple have donated funds to print this work—a truly kind and commendable act.
I have investigated the sequence of events and attached this volume to the previous edition, making three volumes in total. A postscript to the earlier edition says: “In the past, Master Ruiyan Yuan extracted one volume from Eihei’s extensive record and wrote a colophon saying, ‘I have obtained merely eleven out of a hundred thousand.’ Perhaps this, too, is only eleven out of a hundred thousand from Tiantong? There must be a fuller record awaiting discovery. I only hope later sages will diligently search for it.”
Now, with these two masters appending this volume, it truly exemplifies that “later sages diligently searching” has come to pass. Those with a passion for such matters are never lacking—Heaven will certainly bestow more. So let us rub our eyes and wait eagerly for further additions.
旹
At that time,
正德五年龍舍乙未春二月吉旦
The auspicious morning of the second month in the spring of the fifth year of Zhengde, a Year of the Wood Sheep (1515 CE).
永平遠孫卍山白嗣祖比丘稽首拜書
Yongping’s distant descendant, Venerable Bai, who continues the ancestral lineage, bows his head and writes this with reverence.
天童山景德寺如淨禪師續語錄
Tiantong Mountain Jingde Monastery: Supplementary Sayings of Zen Master Rujing
住瑞巖嗣法小師義遠編
Compiled by the Dharma Heir Yiyuan of Ruiyan