南明禪師語錄序
Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Nanming: Preface
昔彙雲門先師稿，有無趣、無幻二大師語錄序，其中稱趣為仰山再來，稱幻為臨濟直下兒孫、無趣克家之子，乃知南明大師為幻之嫡傳也。余初參雲門，即入龍居禪席，值南師領眾，重蒙提挈。一日，遽問曰：「一念緣起無生，超彼三乘權學等見，阿誰緣起有生耶？」師與一喝，余時茫然。夜坐單後，過數炷香，如彈指頃，始知有做工夫事，南師之力也。時同席有玄微兄者，又為南師嫡嗣。及師遷化，余在山水中，每遇玄兄聚舊，即以大事為問，玄兄以病自謙，遯名匿影。余住雪峰日，常一接書問，再接偈言，知己住持普明矣。迨余遊汀洲，遣禮招至，欲行古道，遜余上堂，余復邀眾檀護迎請陞座，堅執不允，故勉為結制，竟成賓主焉。話次，復及大事，即頹然示疾，余曰：「斷橋一脈至兄止耶？」曰：「不然，脫有可兄意者，能指出以相示乎？」余唯唯，即索南師源流并斷橋倫歷代付法偈及語錄一卷，莊讀行狀，益知居常孤潔，不肯輕展鎗旗，竟以退託終其身，故余不得不憑贓揭出，使人知斷橋猶在也。
In the old collected drafts of my late teacher Yunmen, there were prefaces to the recorded sayings of the two great masters Wugu and Wuhuan. In them, Qu was called a reincarnation of Yangshan, and Huan was called a direct heir of Linji and a true son of Wugu's household—from this I knew that Master Nanming was Huan's legitimate successor. When I first studied under Yunmen, I entered the Longju meditation hall just as Master Nan was leading the assembly, and I received his guidance and support. One day he suddenly asked me: "A single thought of Dependent Origination is unborn, transcending the provisional views of the Three Vehicles—so who is it that has Dependent Origination and birth?" The Master gave a shout, and at that moment I was completely lost. That night, sitting in meditation, several sticks of incense passed, and in what seemed like the snap of a finger, I first understood that there is such a thing as applying effort in practice—this was Master Nan's doing. At that time, there was a fellow practitioner named Xuanwei, who was also Master Nan's legitimate heir. When the Master passed away, I was wandering among mountains and waters, and whenever I met Brother Xuan gathering with old friends, I would ask him about the great matter. Brother Xuan humbly pleaded illness and hid his name and shadow. During the days I resided at Xuefeng, I occasionally exchanged letters and verses with him, and learned he was already abbot of Puming. Later, when I traveled to Tingzhou, I sent gifts and invited him to come, wishing to carry on the ancient way. He deferred to me to ascend the hall, and I in turn invited the lay patrons to request him to take the seat, but he firmly refused. So I reluctantly conducted the summer retreat, and it ended up that he was guest and I was host. During our conversations, when the great matter came up again, he suddenly fell ill. I said: "Does the line of Duanqiao end with you, brother?" He said: "Not so. If there is anyone who can carry on your brother's intention, can you point them out to me?" I assented. He then asked for Master Nan's lineage transmission, along with the successive Dharma-transmission verses of Duanqiao Lun and the generations, and a volume of recorded sayings. Reading them with reverence alongside his conduct record, I came to know all the more that in daily life he was solitary and pure, unwilling to lightly unfurl his spear and banner, and so he ended his life in retreat and deferral. Therefore I could not help but expose him by these very traces, so that people might know that Duanqiao is still present.
崇禎辛巳仲冬日，傳曹洞正宗後學雲門明方拜撰。
On an auspicious day in the middle month of winter in the xinsi year of the Chongzhen reign, the Caodong lineage successor and humble student Yunmen Mingfang respectfully composed this.