---
title: "天王水鑑海和尚住金粟語錄 · 行狀"
description: "天王水鑑海和尚住金粟語錄是清代禪宗高僧慧海所說，由弟子原澂、原上等人編錄的語錄集成。該書成於清初，反映了當時臨濟宗的禪風與修行實踐，內容包括慧海和尚在金粟寺期間的法語、開示、機鋒問答及詩偈，生動體現了禪宗直指人心、見性成佛的宗旨。作為臨濟宗的重要文獻，此語錄不僅傳承了禪門心法，對研究清代佛教史與禪學思想也具有珍貴價值，為後世學人提供了修行與參究的重要依據。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmgn1ie5x43jfl404xolx6pg6"
---

## 天王水鑑海和尚住金粟語錄卷二

> Volume 2 of the Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Shuijian Hai of Tianwang, Residing at Jinli Temple

嗣法門人原哲、原璨等編

> Disciples Inheriting the Dharma, Yuan Zhe, Yuan Can, et al., compiled

### 行狀

> Conduct and Deeds

金粟費隱容和尚行狀

> \*\*Record of the Life of Venerable Jin Su Fei Yin Rong\*\* The Venerable One's family name was Fe

師諱通容，號費隱，閩之福清何氏子。生而挺異，舉止不凡。六歲入鄉校，授讀魯論諸書，輒自口中喃喃，儼若偈語梵聲，識者知其為出世之器也。十四歲，二親繼器，師哀悼無已，遂詣三寶寺，禮慧山祝髮，躬親眾務，無間晷刻，如是者三年。十六歲，與青林友人共住，朝暮盤桓此事。偶登鼓山喝水嵒，口占曰：「嵒上艸色肥，嵒下水流急，策杖上嵒顛，山空人獨立。」頻伽在㲉，音自不同，虎生三日，氣已吞牛矣。十九歲，每與青林對機，曾無話墮，林對眾曰：「此公譬如畫龍，若一點睛，便當飛去。」是時師乃起參方之志。首謁壽昌無明禪師，舉所參無字請決，明曰：「任汝恁麼看。」於是力參無字。旬餘，值明陞座，見一僧出眾對機，愈益奮勵，不遑寢食。忽一日，身世俱空，話頭脫落，排闥入方丈，曰：「今日看破和尚家風了也。」明曰：「你有甚見處？」師即喝，明曰：「是事不恁麼。」師繞一匝，明曰：「祇如世尊拈華，意旨如何？」師拂袖出。次參博山無異禪師，取道天龍，適異亦寓天龍，師見即問：「步來？車來？」異曰：「你管我作麼？」師曰：「不涉途路，要和尚道。」異不理，師又問：「至道無難，唯嫌揀擇，是如何？」異曰：「我行路辛苦，不能為汝道。」師曰：「和尚今日被蕅絲牽倒了也。」茶次，又問：「師唱誰家曲？宗風嗣阿誰？」異曰：「汝那裏學者虛頭來？」師將異連座一推，幾乎倒地。異徵師所自，師述見壽昌因緣，異曰：「一箇棺材，兩箇死漢。」師乞指決，異教參話頭，隨至博山。未幾，謁湛然禪師於雲門。湛問：「汝那裏來？」師豎扇。湛曰：「德山因甚不會末後句？」師一喝。湛曰：「莫掠虛好。」師曰：「今日親見和尚。」至匡廬，見憨山大師。問：「古人道：『離心意識參，絕凡聖路學。』意旨如何？」山曰：「待汝離卻心意識，向汝道。」師一喝。山曰：「者箇後生弄觜。」師曰：「要且無人證明。」便出。二十五歲，作偈見志曰：「吾年二十五，氣海吞佛祖。不過古人關，豈蹋今時路。」有閩僧定林，于眾前稱師推倒無異，喝散憨山。師應聲曰：「天下衲僧做一擔擔。」眾皆譁然稱善。十餘年，雖遊歷洞下諸老之門，咸蒙賞識。但自覺本分上不甚相應，每趺坐自傷，不覺泣下。偶慧輪僧持密雲悟和尚龍池語錄至，師展閱，歎曰：「者老漢有大過人處，必能為我了事。」一日，聞悟赴天台，憩吼山。師冒雨往見。問：「覿面相提事如何？」悟以番菩提珠劈頭便打。師曰：「錯。」悟又打。師盡力一喝。悟祇打。師祇喝。至第七打，師頭顱幾裂。所有伎倆知解，泮然冰釋。乃對悟曰：「我識汝是臨濟兒孫，請坐。」悟坐定，師翻身將悟拄杖打悟三下，曰：「汝佛法元來如此。」持拄杖便行。悟曰：「且來，且來。」師不顧。悟隨步奪回拄杖，打師一下。師曰：「看破了也。」是年乃熹廟天啟二年，師三十歲也。次年，掩關于姚江陳賢嶺。自是日用知見，如布袋盛錐子，一一露出。感悟和尚法乳之恩，乃修通法嗣書上通玄。悟手復嚴正，師資氣分水乳之合。師出關往見，悟問：「熏風自南來，殿閣生微涼，汝作麼生會？」師曰：「水向石邊流出冷，風從華裏過來香。」悟曰：「離此又作麼生？」師曰：「放和尚三十棒。」悟曰：「除卻棒又作麼生？」師即喝，悟曰：「喝後聻？」師曰：「更要重說偈言？」悟休去。師歸閩，上博山禪師書曰：「夫人出世主張宗門，須是超方眼目、具嚴大手段，始不負達摩西來單傳直指之風，亦不昧此道堂皇闊略不是邊隅，故撥火明道、開田說法，乃至亂艸邊、钁頭下皆有舉揚此道者，豈例授以死工夫為然哉？竊為單傳之道貴在直指，宋元以還幾死繩墨，不是河南提唱公案，便是江西死看話頭，而臨時指點、當機契證竟無聞焉。」師在菩提珠下翻身，悟得祖師活意，眼目精明、機用超卓，反觀從前所遊爐𩍁咸成死法，故無論是聖是凡、是長是幼，當頭一拶令伊別有生機。三十三歲至茶洋山構菴棲止，山最幽僻，時聞山魈虎狼之聲，一住三載。時悟和尚住金粟，湖海畢集，以書召師激勵學者，且云：「亦可了彼此未完公案耳。」師復曰：「大丈夫兒豈因一幅紙波波挈挈不自休息乎？」是年，迻鼓山編茅曰別峰，復住三載。悟再召師至金粟，立為西堂，師辭。一晚，索熏風自南來頌，師呈曰：「匝匝熏風正令機，通身觸著冷無依，分明一句離情謂，教我如何舉似伊？咄！須著眼，莫遲疑，好看當人額下眉。」悟曰：「描也被汝描成，畫也被汝畫就，祇如描也描不成，畫也畫不就，汝又作麼生？」師便出。明年歸閩，福清緇白請悟住黃檗，懇師介紹，復至金粟，始就西堂職。又明年，隨赴黃檗，悟上堂曰：「隻葉片舟泛海中，乘風來到福城東，洪波浩浩無餘事，只作拋綸擿釣翁。還有衝浪金鱗麼？出來相見。」師以坐具覆頂曰：「會麼？」悟打曰：「一釣便上。」師一喝歸眾。是秋七月望日，悟陞座，特以源流衣拂付師焉。壬申，悟赴育王，召師主金粟，師辭，以居山為念。癸酉，福清士紳以黃檗萬福禪寺起師開法，師就之入院。上堂，禪衲雲臻，始一香拈出以供悟和尚。時悟以師為傑出臨濟，而師亦以法門為大任矣。當陽直指，不開岐路，截斷廉纖，離去情謂，唯以衲僧性命舉揚弘法，從此起住三載，遠邇欽風。丙子，遷建寧之蓮峰。丁丑，省覲悟和尚于天童，悟撾鼓陞堂，舉師首眾，且曰：「大似降尊就卑。」以師開法日久故云。秋，赴溫之法通，如邵金門、周應宗、陳三有諸薦紳，盤桓禪道，殆無虛日。戊寅，嘉禾郡守鄭瑄、鹽官邑侯朱應熊，及杭、嘉兩郡縉紳，請師補金粟廣慧禪寺。寺乃康居會公開山，刱始于吳赤烏之年，歲久浸廢，其基址半屬民業。悟和尚購贖回寺，大建禪林，為說法初祖。嗣應天童，命石車乘禪師主席，緝其未備，而師之來尚有未完者，師住十年，乃大成之。所以金粟奉塔者唯三，祠象者亦唯三，蓋以三和尚所成之席，後雖有數代住持，不過繕壞補偏，現成說法。至若瓊樓、玉殿、金田、香園，則三和尚已悉備之，號曰全盛道場，洵不誣矣。師弘法暢懷在金粟，得人俊傑在金粟，整清規、礪方來在金粟。師十坐道場，打鳳羅龍，碎骨取髓，至於日與超宗異目，鐵額銅頭，縱橫殺活，廓顯全機者，則金粟勝之矣。一日，見朝宗忍禪師，以世諦聰明，著書議論佛祖公案，師作《闢謬》諭之，深錐痛拶，不啻師資明訓，終不以謬見而棄之。蓋師婆心救世，不使一人一錯永錯，必多方援引究明而後已，故復有《判說》、《勘語》諸書，以駁諸方。師嘗曰：「吾豈好辯哉？蓋持正法門不得已耳。」壬午秋，悟和尚訃至，師挂真舉哀，如器所生。復率孝廉王谷上通玄治喪，當眾燒遺拂、磨圖章，以杜代付之弊，舉林埜奇禪師繼席通玄。冬，悟和尚龕至天童，師詣修供。明年春，復上天童，送悟和尚靈龕入塔，陽羨諸紳請師繼席龍池，師舉萬如微禪師應之。乙酉，武林徐道真建禪院于皋亭之黃鶴峰，請師退居，師顏其院曰直指。蓋值國變，烽煙四起，師蒲團地坐，攝心行道，以祈國寧，而世謂師將無心領眾，更有僧天空請師退居于天目者。丙戌，四明韋郡伯，慈谿、定海兩令公，同郡之薦紳，請師住天童景德禪寺。時明州亢旱日久，迨師至，甘霖大沛，入院之辰，朗霽如初，俱謂師道力所致。即日陞座，龍象圍繞，食堂幾盈萬指。於是縣悟和尚象于法堂，每晨率眾敬禮，三年無間，孝思悽愴，飲水知源。遂鼎新悟和尚塔，幢樹塔銘、道行二碑，墓木既植，香火嵷󱎠。小天童諸祖之塔，歲入剝盡，鞠為茂艸，護塔之廬、贍僧之田，久被侵沒。師不勝其憂，乃感督臺張公驅馬親視，毅然恢復。師遂將諸祖之塔次第修營，并廣緝叢林未備，大復本山故產。今說法天童，食堂受享者，大半師之力焉。師不獨道開人天眼目，且功布太白者多矣。維今住祖席者，謂廣聚眾，多刻書，以此取勝，視興修祖庭，力復產業，為唱道外事。殊不知東土學道之士，不似西乾習禪比丘，望煙消而捧缽，乞食千門；待晷迻而縣榻，樹下一宿。然安清眾接方來，而雲堂法產可視為外事，亦可少也哉！此師為弘道根本也。己丑，拂衣出山，抵武林，直指明州。當事與諸紳敦延還山，師力辭之。時語谿檀護請師住福嚴，雲間當道又延師開法超果，兩地交迎。師先應超果之期，登堂說法，萬眾圍繞。況雲間古稱樂善好道，鄉先生日與郡之官僚入室請益，師大開武庫，隨求與焉。人與非人，歡喜取足，一期告滿，楖栗橫肩。韜明宗公迎至龍華，上海高令公延入內署，為少子薙髮摩頂。復至虎丘，埽隆祖塔。時申公青門、姜公如農、周公子佩，皆追隨問道。暮春，入福嚴院。福嚴乃真歇了公道場，而琳宮貝殿，幾鄰瓦礫，山林有待師來復興。未幾，蘇杭當事與諸縉紳請師住禹航之徑山萬壽禪寺。時徑山法席久虛，僧規彫弊，老屋敗椽難以擊目。師高登猊座，浩歸湖海，植德鐫頑，叢林改觀。室中垂五問：水既無筋，因甚長流不斷？佛祖公案猶空中紙鷂，向何處收取線索？鵬摶峰與晏坐峰相交，且道說箇甚麼？風扇大野，畢竟作何形色？望江亭上垂機，誰是知音？酬語紛紛，契機寥寥。師念茲山為列祖道場，無堂祠奉，乃于大雄殿之右闢址建堂曰列祖，以祠本山說法八十一代之祖；又于殿之左建堂曰名宿，以奉諸方流寓觀光者；又于不動軒後建方丈五楹。師住五年，百廢具舉，每見諸方有乖法門者，痛與彈斥，不避怨嫌。先是，洞宗有僧遠門者，集《五燈續略》，私心自用，變換祖燈，將已定在前之南嶽抑之于後，復將在後之青原抬之于前，馬祖之天王、石頭之天皇，不本皇藏碑文，仍復矯亂，更乃私撰人名，假設機緣，以續其宗，誠子虛大人、烏有先生。師直筆，偽者削之，錯者正之，間有崛起遙嗣者，列之未詳，乃成書曰《五燈嚴統》。嚴者，嚴其承虛接響；統者，統歸本宗正脈。洞下因而失恃，群然吠起。師喟然曰：「我以清理祖燈撥亂反正，其知我罪我，我乃何辭焉？」且黃檗琦公應扶桑君請，君見《嚴統》，不勝欣然，乃命刊刻以布諸國。於乎！慧命斯寄，祖燈賴傳，人天眼正，應自不昧。自此天上人間、龍宮海藏展轉流通，何有盡日？況法道濫觴之際、亂統滿地之時，天不生師，一出隻手以整頓之，則傳燈錯亂、人天眼瞎，又奚止萬古如長夜哉？壬辰，師六十大誕，僧俗祝慶者幾三千人，雲間曹侍郎峨雪作文同眾紳稱壽，毘陵楊殿元「靜山有五峰，今日高天下，萬指都教拜下風」為賀。秋，往龍池埽傳祖塔，孤雲鑑公請過溧陽，馬總戎迎于萬古寺，上堂。四眾雲來，法座幾陷，東嘉林內翰可任到山參謁不遇，有日本為參承雙徑山，機緣恰兆乳峰間。蓋林公後雖嗣雪竇，視此亦有懷感于師者。頻年以來，法門混亂，可勝為言？冒之者既久假而不歸，旁觀者亦從流而同醉，自《嚴統》之書一出，皆相顧瞻喪至無措足地。若果能擔當法道，具丈夫剛骨者，自必面稟有師，況無根瑞艸，智者不貴；威音以後無師者，盡屬天然外道，而拈華一脈、正宗嫡派何有乎？是以師亟亟提持，著書救正，使知宗門珍重、源流靡假、師承有據、僭竊無從，師一段苦心而不避怨嫌者如此矣。昔者禹抑洪水，天下蒼生安；孔子作《春秋》，亂臣賊子懼。師述《嚴統》，清禪海以無淆、正人心而不死，千古耿光，魔外恐懼，師配二聖，不亦可乎？甲午，師曳杖辭五峰，至金閶，琴川諸紳請退居虞山之維摩。上堂，舉給事馮濟川三不得話著語，時織方嚴子張在座下有省，呈偈通所得，師不許，再加徵詰，乃許之。丙申，鹽城賈邑宰迎赴永寧，淮之人士勤懇問道至無虛日。吳門沈太史子美、華亭沈太史繹堂暨諸紳削牘走淮，延師主堯峰興福禪院，繇是返棹過秦郵、昭陽間，叩道瞻依者接踵，師應之未暇。淨慧木陳忞禪師遣職遠迎，及抵邗關，木親候于道左，遂假僧舍少憩敘闊，木堅請過淨慧，師謝，乃解維還虞嶺。秋，入堯峰，薦紳顧松交、姚文初、趙明遠、沈匡來等送師入院，帆影交映，緇素喧闐，水陸之路為之不通。師拈棒陞座，如意指揮，百萬人天，靈山未散。冬，起禪期，五堂安眾，舉東西二堂首座秉拂說法，獅子窟中獅子哮吼，師老而愈健，鉗錘衲子朝夕更勤，法席之盛冠于今昔。丁酉，語水使符請再住福嚴，師允之。時徑山僧眾齎撫臺啟迎師還山，然師自出雙徑後，請還山者三，師俱堅辭不赴，乃入福嚴購木以興叢席。福嚴自唐宋來以壯麗著稱，明熹宗時遭舞馬之變，迄師應請後，而飛樓涌殿萬礎千楹，不四歲而厥功告成，師于此寺誠有夙緣矣。辛丑，師為法求人，精勤不倦，唯以提宗接物為任，禪侶日親，縉紳參請無虛日。三月，示微疾，門人勸進藥餌，師笑卻之。題悟和尚象贊并自題真贊，畣括蒼周太守問道書。諸門人以問疾至，師款接甚歡，命侍者出道具散眾。二十九日，晨起，諭頭首職事曰：「今日內外諸務不必白我。」午，呼門人行觀等至榻前，手書遺囑，顧視微笑而逝。闍維，於天中山北，煙光所及，舍利如雨，頂骨齒牙俱不壞，五色燦然，光燿奪目。合山禪人虔禱，獲舍利無算。門弟子思所善後，開覺將來，無傷先志，各請建塔。蓋師遺囑有曰：「老僧死後，不可出訃音、受諸方弔奠，即從火化，火滅灰飛，吾之後事完矣。亦不得造塔，免占人間地，免累世間財。行狀不須修，塔銘不須請，更不可喧動人耳目。故曰：生如寄，死如歸，喧動何益乎？」此師末後所說法要也。雖師埽除名相，揭空諸有，而光明照燿，何處遮蓋？世或以為造塔請銘，相違師意，殊不知師在高高峰頂立，我輩在深深海底行，諸見圓融，何往不是？如是，則舍利分煇，塔幢各建，閩之有黃檗，楚之有興陽，語谿之有福嚴，鹽官之有金粟，四山窣堵，千載瞻依。夫舍利之繇來者，起自西乾釋迦舍利，動至八斛四斗；東土馬祖舍利，乃至千萬，永明壽身如鱗砌。隆慶閒，四十里內，焰所至處，舍利如雨。先聖既往，後聖罕聞。蓋舍利者，道德之所在，一真寂滅之所藏，匪獨堅剛而不壞，尤且神化以無方。是秋，棲賢敬和尚執喪而回，哀禮火場，復于灰土中涌起舍利一十四顆，持歸立塔興陽。豈謂曰精血之凝，有若如此之靈耶？況師生平以法為任，稍見詭道，隨筆辯之，辯之不已，旋乃闢之，是是非非，苟或議論不當，三寸舌根幾同灰燼，又曷能有此五色燦然照燿，堅固不朽哉？是則師為釋迦、馬祖諸師一出，異身說法，此一明驗矣。師生萬曆癸巳五月二十四日，寂于順治辛丑三月二十九日，春秋六十九，夏臘五十六。開法自黃檗、蓮峰、法通、金粟、天童、超果、徑山、維摩、堯峰、福嚴十坐道場，說法二十九年，宗風洋溢，海宇欽崇。付法弟子隱元琦等六十四人，嗣法孫唱師道，各占山頭，以及曾玄繩振，未易數也。至於親承爐𩍁，得旨而歸，齎函請益，聊闚鞭影，王臣國士，宿衲名流，亦未之或知。師鉗錘玅密，陟其門者，無不虛往實歸。師為人坦率，日用施設，無不平常。故師之子隱元琦，扶桑國王迎往，稽首稱師，虔懇問道，直尊為彼國初祖。師之孫憨璞聰，　本朝首膺明覺禪師之號，召入大內，賜紫說法。師聞而一笑，無介于懷。雖法眼照空，寵辱不驚，不足為子孫榮。然非師之道德所鍾，而能臻此者歟？師浮雲世事，弊屣行蹤，天童故產。既復法席重興，芒鞋挂壁，撩起即行，不作蚖蛇戀穴態，亦不為子孫計，真如應菴祖之為人也。師說法數萬言，不假雕琢，自然錦繡，排山倒海，波浪千層，真如佛果祖之嘉錄也。師直心無偽，直行真實，無論親疏，當頭生按。是則極慈悲，又極惡辣，眼光炯炯，爍破天下，舌底津津，埽蕩邪宗。大矣哉！臨濟功臣，天童真子，一切群生之依怙也。師自頭顱裂碎，法眼豁開，萬別千差，如日處晝。故礙膺既去，親切拈來，十坐道場，一棒指出，學者臨機，無不脫穎。慧海謁師于雙徑，師問：「汝那裏來？」海即喝，師曰：「放汝三十棒。」海又喝，遂起名受具。繼而幾番相見，劈面火蛇，毛骨俱寒，他可知矣。師趨寂後，有雲石僧者，從天台來，遇師于中途與孤雲鑑公冉冉同行。僧問：「何往？」師曰：「天台去。」僧曰：「何無相從？」師曰：「有孤雲在。」僧不忍遽別，隨師二十餘步，師推開曰：「汝自去。」僧乃拜別。及扺杭，知師于三月廿九長逝矣，又知孤公五月八日化去矣。於乎！雲石者，何異宋雲遇少林于蔥嶺也？唯師雷霆一世，號令諸祖，明明聖真降蹟，事豈偶然哉？至於赤心扶祖道，厚德澤天人，豐功光泉石，懿行著叢林，又烏能備述？維是金粟舍利塔上一十七年無銘，寧無慨焉？茲海忝繼其席，實難辭責，僅以夏蟲之見，狀師之行，以請明眼筆下生光，放出師之面目，昭映斯山，為萬世寂滅光明之幢，是一切眾生之大幸也。謹狀。

> The Master, whose priestly name was Tongrong and courtesy name Feiyin, was a son of the He family of Fuqing, Fujian. From birth, he was exceptional and behaved in an extraordinary manner. At age six, he entered a village school. When taught the \*Analects of Confucius\* and other classical texts, he would constantly murmur under his breath, as if reciting gathas and Sanskrit chants. Those who knew recognized him as one destined to leave the mundane world. At fourteen, both his parents passed away. The Master grieved without end. He then went to Sanbao Temple, paid homage to Huishan, and had his head shaved. He personally took on all monastery tasks, without rest at any hour. This continued for three years. At sixteen, he lived with a friend from Qinglin, spending mornings and evenings absorbed in this matter of Dharma. Happening to climb Mount Gu and arrive at the "Drink-Water Cliff," he spontaneously recited: > \*Fat with grass the cliff-top green,\* > \*Swift the stream below is seen.\* > \*Staff in hand, the peak I gain,\* > \*Lone amid the mountain's reign.\* Like a \*kalavinka\* bird still in its shell, his sound was already distinct. A tiger, but three days old, already has the spirit to devour an ox. At nineteen, whenever he exchanged Dharma words with Qinglin, he never slipped in his replies. Qinglin said to the assembly, "This man is like painting a dragon. Once the eyes are dotted in, it will surely fly away." At this time, the Master awakened his resolve to travel to various teachers. First, he visited the Chan Master Wuming of Shouchang. Raising the \*wu\* (nothingness) \*huatou\* he was cultivating, he asked for a decisive answer. Wuming said, "Just watch it as you like." So with all his effort, he investigated the \*wu\* \*huatou\*. After about ten days, while Wuming was giving a Dharma talk, the Master saw a monk step forward and engage in Dharma combat. This spurred him on even more. He had no time for sleep or food. Then one day, his own body and the entire world became empty. The \*huatou\* fell away. Bursting into the abbot's quarters, he said, "Today I have seen through the master's family style!" Wuming asked, "What realization do you have?" The Master immediately shouted. Wuming said, "This matter is not like that." The Master walked a full circle. Wuming said, "But what about the World-Honored One holding up a flower? What is the meaning?" The Master flicked his sleeves and left. Next, he visited the Chan Master Wuyi of Boshan, passing through Tianlong. Wuyi also happened to be lodging at Tianlong. Upon seeing him, the Master asked, "Did you come by walking or by carriage?" Wuyi said, "What business is it of yours to mind me?" The Master said, "Without involving the path, I ask the master to speak." Wuyi ignored him. The Master again asked, "The supreme Way is not difficult, only avoid picking and choosing. What does this mean?" Wuyi said, "I am tired from the road and cannot speak for you." The Master said, "Today, the master has been tripped by a lotus root strand." During tea, he again asked, "Whose song does the master sing? Who is the successor of your house's style?" Wuyi said, "From whom did you learn such hollow words?" The Master pushed Wuyi and his seat, almost making him fall. Wuyi pressed the Master for his origins. The Master recounted his encounter with Shouchang. Wuyi said, "One coffin, two dead men." The Master begged for a decisive pointer. Wuyi taught him to investigate a \*huatou\*. The Master accompanied him to Boshan. Soon after, he paid a visit to Chan Master Zhanran at Yunmen. Zhanran asked, "Where do you come from?" The Master held up a fan. Zhanran said, "Why did Deshan not understand the final word?" The Master gave a shout. Zhanran said, "Don't be a hollow pretender." The Master said, "Today I have personally met the master." Arriving at Mount Lu, he saw the Great Master Hanshan. He asked, "The ancients said, 'Investigate apart from the mind, intellect, and consciousness. Learn beyond the paths of ordinary and sage.' What is the meaning?" Hanshan said, "Wait until you have left mind, intellect, and consciousness behind, then I will tell you." The Master shouted. Hanshan said, "This youngster is just a mouthy fellow." The Master said, "But the trouble is, there is no one to bear witness." And he left. At twenty-five, he composed a verse expressing his resolve: > \*I am twenty-five years old,\* > \*My spirit swallows the Buddhas and Patriarchs:\* > \*If I cannot pass the ancients' barrier,\* > \*How could I walk today's path?\* A certain monk from Fujian, Dinglin, declared before the assembly that the Master had pushed over Wuyi and scattered Hanshan with a shout. The Master responded, "Let the monks of the whole world be carried on one shoulder." The assembly was all abuzz with praise. For over ten years, although he traveled to the gates of many elders of the various lineages, he received their appreciation. Yet he felt that he had not truly touched his own fundamental nature. Often, while sitting in meditation, he would grieve over this and unknowingly weep. By chance, a monk, Huilun, came carrying the recorded teachings of the Buddhist master Miyun, whose nickname was Yuanwu of Longchi. When the Master opened and read them, he sighed, "This old fellow has greatness beyond others. He can surely settle my affairs." One day, he heard that Yuanwu was heading to Tiantai and resting at Houshan. The Master went in the rain to see him. He asked, "What about a direct meeting face-to-face?" Yuanwu immediately struck him on the head with his Bodhi seed prayer beads. The Master said, "Wrong!" Yuanwu struck him again. The Master shouted with all his might. Yuanwu just kept striking. The Master just kept shouting. By the seventh blow, the Master's skull almost split open. All his tricks, knowledge, and understanding melted away like ice. He said to Yuanwu, "I recognize you as a descendant of Linji. Please sit." Once Yuanwu was seated, the Master turned around, took Yuanwu's staff, and struck him three times, saying, "So this is what your buddhadharma is!" He then took the staff and started to walk away. Yuanwu said, "Come here, come here." The Master paid no attention. Yuanwu followed, snatched back his staff, and struck the Master once. The Master said, "I have seen right through you!" This was the second year of the Tianqi era of the Xizong Emperor (1622). The Master was thirty years old. The following year, he entered a sealed retreat on Chenxian Ridge in Yaojiang. From then on, his daily knowledge and views, like a sack of awls, each one poked through. With gratitude for the milk-of-Dharma grace of his master Yuanwu, he wrote a letter of transmission to Tongxuan \[where Yuanwu resided\]. Yuanwu's reply was stern and proper. The spiritual energy between teacher and disciple was like water mixed with milk. The Master emerged from retreat and went to see him. Yuanwu asked, "When the scented breeze comes from the south, a slight coolness arises in the palace halls. How do you understand this?" The Master said, "Water flows out from the rocks, being cold; the wind comes over the flowers, being fragrant." Yuanwu said, "Apart from this, then what?" The Master said, "I grant the master thirty blows." Yuanwu said, "Apart from blows, then what?" The Master immediately shouted. Yuanwu said, "And after the shout?" The Master said, "Must a verse be spoken again?" Yuanwu gave up. The Master returned to Fujian and sent a letter to Zen master Boshan. It read: > "When a person appears in the world to uphold the tradition of the Zen school, they must have a transcendent perspective and possess great and strict methods. Only then will they not betray the style of Bodhidharma's direct pointing from the West, nor be ignorant of the fact that this Way is grand, broad, and not a border region. Therefore, poking the fire to awaken to the Way, opening the fields to teach the Dharma—even at the edge of the weeds or under the hoe—all have been methods to proclaim this Way. How can it be that only the teaching of a dead, mechanical practice is considered correct? > "I privately believe that the single direct transmission values direct pointing. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, it has nearly died under the weight of rules and regulations. Not only was it the promotion of old cases in Henan, it was the rigid investigation of \*huatou\* in Jiangxi. As for direct pointing at the right moment and settling realization upon contact with the opportunity—such things were completely unheard of." The Master, having turned over under the Bodhi-seed blows, realized the living intention of the patriarchs. His eye became clear and capable, his functioning transcendent and excellent. Looking back, all his previous forges and furnaces had become dead methods. Thus, regardless of whether beings were sages or ordinary people, old or young, he would directly pressure them, forcing them to find a new life. At thirty-three, he went to Chayang Mountain, built a hut, and lived there. The mountain was extremely remote and quiet. From time to time, he heard the sounds of mountain spirits, tigers, and wolves. He stayed there for three years. At that time, Zen Master Yuanwu was residing at Jinsu Monastery, and monastics from all over gathered there. He sent a letter summoning the Master to spur the students onward, and also said, "This way we can also finish the unresolved case between us." The Master replied, "Could a true man ever be endlessly busy and haggard just because of a single piece of paper?" That year, he moved to Gushan, built a thatched hut called Biefeng (Separate Peak), and stayed there for another three years. Yuanwu summoned the Master again to Jinsu. He appointed the Master as Xitang (Western Hall Teacher). The Master declined. One evening, he asked for a verse on "when the scented breeze comes from the south..." The Master presented: > \*The all-pervading scented breeze, the very imperative decree,\* > \*When it touches your whole body, there is a coldness you cannot hold.\* > \*Distinctly, this one phrase leaves feelings and habits behind:\* > \*How can I raise it and show it to you?\* > \*Hey! You must open your eyes—do not hesitate!\* > \*Look well at a person's brow and the eyebrow beneath!\* Yuanwu said, "You've painted it, you've drawn it. But what about when it can't be painted and can't be drawn—what then?" The Master immediately left. The next year, he returned to Fujian. The lay and ordained community of Fuqing invited Yuanwu to stay at Huangbo Monastery. They earnestly asked the Master to be their intermediary. He went again to Jinsu and this time accepted the Xitang position. The following year, he accompanied Yuanwu to Huangbo. Yuanwu ascended the hall and said: > \*A single-leafed boat drifts on the sea,\* > \*Riding the wind, it comes to the east of Fu Town.\* > \*The vast waves have no other business,\* > \*Only that the old fisherman casts his line.\* > \*Are there any golden-scaled fish who can leap the waves? Come out and meet me!\* The Master covered his own head with his sitting mat (zagu) and asked, "Do you understand?" Yuanwu struck him and said, "One cast and you're caught!" The Master gave a shout and returned to the assembly. On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month of that autumn, Yuanwu ascended the hall and specially entrusted the robe, bowl, and the lineage transmission to the Master. In 1632, Yuanwu went to King Aśoka Monastery and summoned the Master to be the head of Jinsu Monastery. The Master declined, having the thought of simply dwelling in the mountains as his chief wish. In 1633, the scholars and officials of Fuqing invited the Master to begin his teaching at Huangbo's Ten Thousand Blessings Chan Monastery. He accepted and entered the monastery. He ascended the hall. Chan monks gathered like clouds. He first burned a stick of incense in offering to his master, Yuanwu. At that time, Yuanwu considered the Master an outstanding exponent of the Linji school, and the Master likewise took the Dharma door as his great responsibility. He faced the source directly, opened no branching paths, cut off all entanglements, removed feelings and concepts. Only by taking up the very life of a monk did he expand and spread the Dharma. He presided in this way for three years. Far and near, all bowed to his spiritual influence. In 1636, he moved to Mount Lianfeng in Jianning. In 1637, he went to pay his respects to Master Yuanwu at Tiantong Monastery. Yuanwu beat the drum, ascended the hall, and appointed the Master as chief of the assembly, saying, "This is like high status condescending to lowly rank." He said this because the Master had long been an established teacher of the Dharma. In the autumn, he went to the Fatong Monastery in Wenzhou. Followers like Shao Jinmen, Zhou Yingzong, and Chen Sanyou constantly accompanied him, discussing Chan day and night. In 1638, Prefect Zheng Xuan of Jiaxing, Magistrate Zhu Yingxiong of Yanguan, along with the gentry of the Hangzhou and Jiaxing districts, begged the Master to take up the abbacy of the Guanghui Chan Monastery at Jinsu. This monastery was originally founded by Monk Kang Senghui (Kang Juhui). It was first built during the Chiwu era of the Wu Kingdom. Over time it had decayed, and much of its land had become private property. Master Yuanwu had bought it back and had built a grand Chan monastery, becoming its first abbot. He then passed it on to the Master of Tiantong, and ordered Monk Shicheng of Stone Carriage (Shi Che Cheng) to act as abbot and complete the monastery's unfinished parts. But when the Master came, it still had many shortcomings. The Master stayed for ten years and brought the monastery to great completion. For this reason, at Jinsu, only three pagodas were venerated, and portraits of only three monks were placed in the shrine. This is because only the work of these three abbots (Yuanwu, Shicheng, and Feiyin) completed Jinsu Monastery. Although later abbots for many generations followed, they only repaired broken things or filled gaps, teaching the existing Dharma. But the exquisite towers, jade halls, gold fields, and fragrant gardens—these were all completely prepared by these three. It was called a perfect and fully flourishing monastery—and indeed, it was. The Master found his greatest joy in spreading the Dharma at Jinsu. He found his greatest talents there. He rectified the pure rules and sharpened those who came. He gave ten Dharma talks. He beat the phoenix and captured the dragon; he broke their bones and took out their marrow. Every day was spent in combat with those of exceptional ability and differing views, those with iron foreheads and bronze heads. He wove and killed at will, expanding the full function of the fundamental point. In all this, Jinsu Monastery was unsurpassed. One day, he saw Chan Master Chaozong Ren, who used his worldly cleverness to write books and debate the \*gōng'àn\* (kōans) of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. The Master composed \*Refuting Errors\* to admonish him. It was a warning of extreme profundity, not unlike the clear instructions of a master. In the end, he would not discard a person merely because of their erroneous views. Such was the Master's grandmotherly kindness in saving the world—he never let a person make one mistake that would cause them to be wrong forever. Instead, he would use every means to guide them and bring them to thorough understanding. Thus, he also composed books such as \*Critical Discernment\* and \*Records of Investigation\* to refute the errors of others. The Master once said, "Do I simply delight in debate? It is only because I must uphold the true Dharma that I do so, helplessly." In the autumn of 1642 (the year Rénwǔ of Chongzhen), the news of Master Yuanwu's death arrived. The Master hung his portrait, wailed in grief, and mourned him as if he had lost his own parents. He then led the filial son Wang Gu up to Tongxuan Monastery to manage the funeral rites. In front of the assembly, he burned Yuanwu's fly-whisk and ground his seals into dust, to put an end to the evil practice of false transmissions. He established Chan master Lin Yeqi as the next abbot of Tongxuan. In winter, Yuanwu's coffin was taken to Tiantong Monastery. The Master went there to perform offerings. The next spring, he again went to Tiantong to accompany Yuanwu's reliquary into the stūpa. The gentry of Yixing then invited the Master to become the next abbot of Longchi, but he instead recommended Chan master Wan Ruzheng to fill the post. In 1645 (the year Yǐyǒu), Xu Daozhen of Wulin built a Chan cloister on Yellow Crane Peak of Gaoting Mountain. He invited the Master to retire there. The Master named the cloister "Zhizhi" (Direct Pointing). At that time, due to dynastic change \[the fall of the Ming\], the flames of war rose in all directions. The Master sat silently on his round cushion, collected his mind, and practiced the Way, praying for the nation's peace. Some said that the Master had no desire to lead the assembly. Moreover, a monk \[named Tiankong\] entreated the Master to retire to Tianmu Mountain. In 1646 (the year Bǐngxū), the Governor Wei of Siming, the two District Magistrates of Cixi and Dinghai, and the gentry of the region, all begged the Master to reside at the Jingde Chan Monastery of Tiantong. At that time, Mingzhou (Ningbo) had suffered a prolonged drought. When the Master arrived, a sweet rain fell abundantly. On the day he entered the monastery, the skies became brilliantly clear. Everyone said this was the result of the Master's spiritual power. That very day, he ascended the hall. Monks and laymen, like dragons and elephants, gathered around him, nearly ten thousand filling the dining hall. He then hung a portrait of Master Yuanwu in the Dharma Hall. Every morning, he led the assembly in honoring it. For three years there was no break. His filial thoughts were sorrowful; he knew his source when he drank the water. He then renovated Yuanwu's stūpa, erected a stūpa memorial, and two stone tablets recording his practices and virtues. The trees around the former cemetery were planted. The incense fires blazed. The stūpas of the patriarchs of "Lesser Tiantong" had been completely plundered over the course of years, having become overgrown with thick weeds. The buildings that protected these stūpas and the land that supported the monks had long since been stolen. The Master was deeply distressed. He inspired Governor Zhang \[an important official\] to personally inspect the site and resolutely reclaim it. The Master then repaired the stūpas of the patriarchs one by one, broadly supplied what the monastery lacked, and fully recovered the original property of the mountain. Those who now eat in the dining hall of Tiantong can do so largely due to the Master's efforts. The Master not only opened the eyes of gods and men, he also bestowed many blessings upon Mount Taibai. Nowadays, those who sit in the patriarch's seat think that simply assembling a large