必有非常之智識，而后能具非常之眼力；必有非常之根器，而后能任非常之事業；必有非常之造就，而后能立非常之格言。是固，鍾一方山川之間氣，為一代人物之英豪；展一生問學之底蘊，作一教人天之眼目。其氣清、其鑒明、其力勇、其行決、其得真，故其發於言也，得古人不傳之旨、擴古人未發之蘊，而足以為後人之公案、之指歸、之梯航者，吾於大巍禪師所著《竹室集》見之矣。師名淨倫，號大巍，本滇南昆明康氏。父諱泰，母何氏，宣德丁未誕生。師幼即超卓不凡，正統庚申出家，禮太華無極泰和尚受禪學。天順癸未得法於浮山古庭和尚，為臨濟下廿四世孫，蒲團工夫及盡玄旨。成化乙酉卓錫都城東隅，開創萬福禪剎，宗風大著，緇白來者迨無虛日。師本好寂靜，歲久厭於酬應，至戊戌遂謝事退居西軒，種竹自怡，號曰竹室，偃息於中。癸卯登五臺訪文殊師利聖跡，丙午歸飯僧米麥之需，遠近輻輳不假勸募。弘治庚戌復遊五臺，蓋顯通寺旺覺義，敦請撫眾脩淨業也。壬子復歸竹室，閱大藏經典。師不但為宗門山斗，而又旁通儒學，所著上堂示眾、拈古、頌古，與夫賡酬、獨唱之作，士林君子見之莫不起敬、起慕。其徒道宗、道義二上人，恐其久而失遺，相與掇拾成帙，名曰《竹室集》，鋟梓欲傳，然尚亦有失。拾者多謂余與師有方外契持，以過余請序首簡，余授而展玩至再，雖未究其精義，然觀其間亦有吻合於吾儒者，不能無所感焉。其曰：百城煙水不出一毛，十世古今匪移當念，豈非吾儒一貫之體用動靜乎？其曰：如是孜孜不捨生死，坐臥與之，根定行到，用力不得處，忽然大悟，橫豎左右，得大受用。天真明妙，圓湛虛活，拈來用去，不期而然，初無容心於其間。又非吾儒之深造自得，居安資深，左右逢原者乎。至若豎拂子以示色，擊卓子以示聲，與夫絕照篇云：未若打破鏡、撲滅燈來與汝相見，看是甚麼面孔？又豈非吾儒之德輶如毛，毛猶有倫，上天之載，無聲無臭之旨乎。其餘吟詠雖皆時應物而發，然理致之言混然天成、機杼自別，非升堂入室者，未易窺其端際，吾何能贊一辭邪？由是有以見其鑒之明、行之力、得之真，故於繼往開來有不得辭其任者矣。由是有以見其鍾滇雲之秀氣，闡象教之幽微，延禪宗之命脈，故於提撕警覺有不得已於言者矣。由是有以見其大智識、大根器，得最上一乘造就，故能具大方之眼力，成無為之事業，立方便之格言，雖不待傳而自不容於不傳者矣。閱是集者，苟能因言會意，於一話頭反覆玩味，忽爾築著磕著，偶一覺悟從而入之，脫脫灑灑、圓圓陀陀，得大自在，則所謂世界中心、西來祖意、無縫塔、鹽官鼓悉在個中矣。否則業識茫茫甘受輪轉，雖古佛與居，不能化而入矣，尚何怪其有宗門寂寞之嘆也哉。然則師自謂其言如虛空鳥跡，而吾又復為之序，寧不剩矣哉。要知筌本在魚，得魚斯忘筌矣；蹄本在兔，得兔斯忘蹄矣；言本在意，得意斯忘言矣。噫！安得夫忘言之人而與之同言哉。因其請書以塞白云。

Only with extraordinary wisdom can one possess extraordinary insight; only with exceptional capacity can one undertake exceptional endeavors; only with profound achievement can one establish timeless principles. Thus, one who gathers the unique energy of a region becomes the hero of an era; who unfolds a lifetime of learning to guide both humans and celestial beings. Their spirit is pure, their vision clear, their courage strong, their resolve firm, their realization true. When such a one speaks, they capture truths long lost to the ancients and expand insights never before expressed, providing the future with koans, guidance, and ladders to awakening. This I find in Master Dawei's *Bamboo Chamber Collection*.

Master Dawei, whose ordained name was Jinglun, was himself from Kunming, Yunnan, born to the Kang family in 1427. His father’s given name was Tai, his mother’s family name He. From childhood he showed extraordinary brilliance. In 1440, he left home, becoming a monk under Master Wuji Tai at Taihua Monastery to study Chan. In 1463, he received the Dharma transmission from Master Guting of Fushan, becoming the twenty-fourth generation of the Linji lineage, penetrating all subtle principles through meditation. In 1465, he settled at the eastern edge of the capital, establishing Wanfu Chan Monastery, where his teachings flourished, attracting endless crowds day and night.

Master Dawei loved solitude. As years passed, he grew weary of social demands, so in 1478 he retired to a western hut, planted bamboo for joy, and called it the Bamboo Chamber, resting there. In 1483, he visited Mount Wutai to seek the sacred traces of Manjushri. Returning in 1486, he provided rice and wheat for monks and laypeople alike, with donations flowing naturally without solicitation. In 1490, he traveled again to Wutai at the invitation of Master Wang Jueyi of Xiantong Temple to lead the community in Pure Land practice. Returning to the Bamboo Chamber in 1492, he studied the entire Buddhist canon.

Master Dawei was not only a towering figure in Chan but also thoroughly versed in Confucian learning. His sermons, admonitions, gongan commentaries, verse commentaries, and poetic exchanges earned the respect and admiration of all scholars. His disciples Daozong and Daoyi, fearing loss over time, compiled his works into *The Bamboo Chamber Collection* for publication, though some pieces were inevitably lost.

Many consider me the master’s close spiritual friend and asked me to write this preface. After reading carefully, though I cannot claim full mastery of its profundity, I find passages that resonate with Confucian thought. He writes: "The smoke and waters of a hundred cities do not leave a single hair; ten thousand ages and present moments do not shift this very thought." Is this not the unity of essence and function, movement and stillness, in Confucian teaching? He says: "Thus, tirelessly clinging to life and death, sitting and lying with it, rooted in determination, when you reach the point of exhaustion, suddenly great awakening—vertical, horizontal, left, right—you gain great freedom. The natural clarity, the perfect stillness, the living emptiness—use it as it comes, without planning, without deliberate mind." Is this not the Confucian ideal of deep practice leading to spontaneous mastery, dwelling securely in virtue, and finding the source everywhere?

When he raises the whisk to show form, strikes the table to show sound, or writes in the *Verses on Cessation of Light*: "Better to smash the mirror, put out the lamp, and then meet you—see what face that is?" Is this not the Confucian truth that "virtue is as light as a feather, yet even the feather has substance; the workings of Heaven are silent and odorless"?

His other verses, though arising from circumstances, express profound principles so naturally that only those who have entered the inner chamber can glimpse their essence—I can add nothing. Thus we see his clear vision, powerful practice, and genuine realization, making him duty-bound to continue the past and open the future. Thus we see that he embodied Yunnan's pure energy, illuminated Buddhism's subtle truths, and sustained Chan's vital lineage, unable to remain silent in teaching and awakening. Thus we see that with great wisdom, great capacity, and highest achievement, he possessed broad insight, accomplished the effortless work, and established skillful teachings. Though he never sought transmission, it was inevitable.

Those who read this collection should seek meaning through words, savoring each phrase repeatedly. If suddenly you strike or touch upon it, awakening and entering, free and unfettered, perfectly rounded, gaining great liberation, then the center of the world, the ancestral meaning from the West, the seamless pagoda, the Salt Officer's drum—all are here. Otherwise, lost in karmic consciousness, willingly revolving in samsara, even living with a Buddha cannot transform you. Why then lament the loneliness of the Chan school?

Master Dawei calls his words "bird tracks in empty space," and I now write this preface—am I not being redundant? Yet know: the trap is for fish; catching the fish, we forget the trap. The snare is for rabbits; catching the rabbit, we forget the snare. Words are for meaning; grasping the meaning, we forget the words. Alas! Where can I find one who has forgotten words, to speak with them? Thus, I write this in response to their request, to fill the pages.

Dawei Chan Master's Bamboo Chamber Collection (大巍禪師竹室集)

Dawei Chan Master's Bamboo Chamber Collection (大巍禪師竹室集)