---
title: "山鐸真在禪師語錄 · 行狀"
description: "山铎真在禅师语录是清代禅僧山铎真在的言行记录，由弟子机云和智旭等人编录。本书成书于清初，反映了当时禅宗在明末清初的传承与发展状况。内容主要包括真在禅师的示众、小参、机缘问答、法语及偈颂等，生动呈现其直指人心、剿绝情识的峻烈禅风。作为临济宗三峰派的重要文献，该语录不仅展现了真在禅师深邃的禅悟境界与教学手段，也为研究明清之际禅宗思想演变提供了珍贵的一手资料，在佛教禅宗史上具有重要的研究价值。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmgn43gqs0l4kk104jdk223ky"
---

### 行狀

> Biography

師諱真在，號山鐸，別字筠庵，江州德化縣桑落李氏子也。生於大江之洲滸，上世有功於國，襲軍藉有顯者。父母早亡，師輕財重義，任俠不羈。會闖、獻蹂躪中原，國家東南俱倚左方二寧。南朝廷設七省經略，宣春袁公繼咸開府於九江，招募天下勇健，乃授師為千人長。未幾，以小將軍杜姓者三人犯法，斬之。師凜然心動，有出塵之志，遂以征賊入山，相機宵遁。遍謁匡廬，無敢剃落，東林耆宿自真為之染薙。師既為僧，俾之執爨數月，朝夕柴水為務，而神通玅用略現於此矣。崇禎甲申，渡江北，住梅川之半雲庵。予住黃牛院之竹塢，相隔不三里許，始與予家伯叔兄弟交，師年二十有四也。丁亥，神鼎雲外澤禪師住蘄州大潛山，師與之俱。冬，遂納具足戒。一日，閱高峰錄，疑拖死屍句，請益澤公，每有機緣，未臻其極。澤曰：「子緣未熟，且宣靜養，時節若至，其理自彰。」師自此寢食無安。己丑春，與予同造黃山，省先君山雲未嘯和尚。冬，參天寧恒證尊宿，雖有塗毒之惠，終不自肯。辛卯，度夏天台，過篛嶺，途中踏翻牛跡，礙胸之物豁然冰釋，有「悟得雪山原是水，相逢先是別離機」之句。甲午、乙未，同予伯兄小康暨楊介子輩，請佛日開法五峰。迄申、酉兩年，法席大成，劍峰師勷力居多，峰乃師之法姪也。庚子，予同禮曹溪六祖。冬，歸請霜松再住五峰。辛丑，師歸東林，登雲居，顯公留居堂中，詰以德山托缽因緣，有老參大徹之語、大慧再見之譽。壬寅，遷黃梅四祖，師總院事，顯每期省發多人，書名以榜法堂，間以臨濟宗旨穿鑿新奇詭譎之詞，以聳世聽。師喟然嘆曰：「從上諸祖建門庭、立宗旨，原為啟迪後昆，以續佛慧命，似此則達磨一宗掃土矣。」遂破夏南參。隨後四五年，參尋遍江楚，而蹤跡隱顯南浙矣。所見知識十有五員，咸指為法器，惟善權百愚一見稱賞，則曰：「臨濟一宗當出汝邊。」古南牧雲和尚閱師頌臨濟三頓棒，大有過人處，恨其不能挽也。聞金明介老人有古人風，特造其室，一見如有夙契，遂折節焉。介一日問：「不是心、不是佛、不是物，是個甚麼？」師曰：「露。」介曰：「昨日有人與麼道，三十棒趁出了也。」師曰：「要打便打，說甚昨日？」隨聲便掌，介扭住曰：「者瞎驢亂作那！」師擬進語，介便打，師復擬進語，介又打，師豁然契證，曰：「賺吾來！賺吾來！」介曰：「且莫亂統，今日事作麼生？」師震聲一喝，介拈拄杖，師便出。次早，入室禮拜次，介曰：「昨日公案未圓，子試圓看。」師打露柱一掌，曰：「痴椿椿的作麼？」介曰：「怎奈目前何？」師曰：「者一掌合是某甲吃。」介喝，師亦喝，介曰：「三喝、四喝後又作麼生？」師連喝兩喝，介曰：「識此一喝，恩大難酬。」師珍重，禮三拜，介遂出從上源流付之，遂為入室真子。其付法偈曰：「獅子窟中事，善哮吼者得，今得本無得，無得得亦得。」甲辰春，歸住東林，於無量殿縛草為床、支磚作釜，接待雲水，與吏部文鐙巖先生橋梓交最厚。是年池蓮忽開，文先生有「何事東林得得來，恰逢白社報新開」之句，以紀其異。乙巳春，赴陽和曹秋嶽先生之行，道經浠川華桂，為緇素所迎，遂開法於茲寺，乃旻德了元道場也。世以山靈有待，一時巨儒碩士、參學玄徒，比肩接跡，目親玄奧，在昔之旻、了二公，誠千秋一日矣。戊申冬，西陵眾紳衿景師道風，請開法龍興。時雙臺古椿柩祖之毒，累興嫉謗，有南北宗之勢不兩立也。師喟然歎曰：「昔彼祖作《嚴統》，亦猶是也。故金明本師有《指迷二說》，彼復假刺士以盡吾師。幸佛祖有靈，將入室而彼機已露，此實賴主峰法兄之力也。今無怪乎彼也，但此抑不足與論也。」遂著《息諍篇》以誡學者，聽彼魔風自息。闔邑鄉紳以此感發，贈其額曰「慈宇傳燈」，而師之道蓋繇是而大振，江楚衲子蟻赴，即新邑縉紳諸公無不嚮道而師事焉。康熙辛亥九月十五日，以微疾上堂，預知時至，其略曰：「與我記取明年今日日。」一眾駭異。有僧問：「和尚尊意如何？」師屈指示之曰：「三百八十四。」明年又七月初句，謂徒眾曰：「吾欲歸里，宣速備之。」眾以師為嘗往，遂買驢以代步，師顧而笑曰：「吾行非驢所堪。」自此諄諄誨導，誡眾修潔。九月初八日，入城辭眾長者及諸耆宿，師曰：「吾七日內當與諸公長別矣。」眾留瞻禮二日，至初十日方歸。十二日，力疾陞座，策眾猛省。十三日，作聯芳序。十四日，命集眾開導，并寫遺囑，立三禁：一、身後不許舉哀開孝，效世俗所為及化錢等事；一、身後不許造塔，須將骸骨拋棄江海利生；一、身後不許安靈，做七誦經、禮懺、動響器等。故違者非吾弟子。凡封龕、起龕、舉火等偈，皆師自作。囑令侍者臨期單念。封龕：「天地為龕，何鎖何封？超群拔萃，豈在其中？」起龕：「只此取足，無真無假，前村煙浪，難描難寫。」舉火：「五十二年住世，二十八載為僧，五蘊流雲遮不得，靈光獨耀沒古今。」十五日辰刻，沐浴焚香，端坐書偈曰：「從無量劫來，與眾生為侮，將此皮骨送入江河，喂魚鱉蝦蟹，濟眾生饑苦，免占檀那地土。浩浩長波，是吾歸所。」擲筆大喝一聲而逝。闍維起骨，精白如玉，牙齒不壞，數珠木分心如故。新安道俗競禮泣下，如喪考妣焉夫。憶昔己酉元日，予繭足二百里，入華桂相訪，而師亦欲來作辭。寒家兄弟謂龍興遠陪華桂也，遂與予同遊斗方、三角諸山。歸聚寒家十餘日，家仲兄漸鴻送別詩有「禪客來過慰別顏，喜得相從十日閒」之句。嗚呼！豈知龍興果從此遠矣。師性敏捷，量寬容，有大度，持身正大，而律己處眾，凡叢林事無大小，師必先之。學者以師約法嚴規，非精潔行力者，則望崖而退。師少未讀書，而古今史籍成敗，一過輒了。晉唐八法諸書，極力摹做，不求其似。二十年來，長坐不臥。為人簡略世務，衣履蕭然，常肘露踵決，于貴人前略無介意。機括如迅雷電，不可測視。詩文迅筆疾書，不求合古今。生平喜讀書，予家與南康周長孺藏書悉讀遍。即《楞嚴經》，予見其手錄十餘本，蓋其有得力于是書也。唐人詩及明崆同諸集，亦見其手錄各本。當其單丁初住東林也，古殿千餘間，面闃無一人，門前兵馬絡繹，青燐白骨之鄉，師一處之。其住石照之上堂菴也，影不出戶，而樵叟牧童為之飯供，厲鬼揚沙，而中夜一喝震左右，鄰人以為雷鳴，師不為意。其住黃牛院之日菴也，衾解送人，而聚草龕坐，燒竹讀書，門壁未成，而虎狼時過，餐冰臥雪，百有餘日，師不為嫌。其急人之難，救人之危，不憚千萬里水火赴之。送新安汪氏子歸，而父母為之造庵留住，卒以之取東林常住之田。與嘉興吳佩遠交，而患難不捨。而與予家伯叔兄弟交，二十有九載，猶如一日。其輔弼叢席，捐頂踵，任怨謗，而不以為嫌。其隻身行腳，犯霜雪，耽饑餓，而不以為苦。其出世利生也，與眾共甘苦，無寢室，無別饌。余在華桂，見其同眾安單禪堂，囊不蓄一錢，身不存長物，灑灑落落，獨步大方，此師生平五十年之為人也。惜其不得上壽，其痛悼嗟嘆者又不止予交情為然。師九住蘭若，說法三處，其法語、機緣、勘辨、拈頌、詩偈、文集若干卷。得法弟子十三人，優婆塞一人。師生天啟辛酉年十一月十九日，告寂于康熙壬子年九月十五日，世壽五十二，僧臘二十八。門人建塔于東林。

> The Master's monastic name was Zhenzai, with the style name Shanduo and the courtesy name Jun'an. He was born into the Li family of Sangluo, Dehua County, Jiangzhou. He was born on the banks of the great river, and his ancestors had rendered meritorious service to the state, holding military positions of some prominence. His parents died early, and the Master valued generosity over wealth, championing righteousness with a free-spirited and unrestrained nature. At the time when the rebel leaders Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were ravaging the Central Plains, the southeastern regions of the state all relied on the two Ning commanderies. The Southern Court established a seven-province military command, and Yuan Jixian of Yichun, bearing the title of Xuanchen, established his headquarters in Jiujiang, recruiting brave warriors from across the realm. He appointed the Master as a commander of a thousand men. Before long, three officers surnamed Du, holding the rank of minor general, violated military law and were executed. The Master was deeply shaken and conceived a resolve to leave the secular world. Taking advantage of a campaign against the rebels, he entered the mountains and seized an opportunity to slip away under cover of night. He visited all the monasteries of Mount Kuanglu, but none dared to shave his head and ordain him. Finally, the elder Zizhen of Donglin Temple performed the ordination. After becoming a monk, the Master was assigned to kitchen duties for several months, occupied day and night with firewood and water—yet even here, his spiritual powers and subtle abilities began to show. In the year Jiashen of Chongzhen (1644), he crossed the Yangtze River northward and took up residence at the Half Cloud Hermitage in Meichuan. At that time, I was living at the Bamboo Hollow of Huangniu Monastery, no more than three li away, and it was then that he first became acquainted with my uncles and brothers. The Master was twenty-four years old. In the year Dinghai (1647), the Chan Master Yunwai Ze of Shending resided at Daqian Mountain in Qizhou, and the Master joined him. That winter, he received the complete precepts. One day, while reading the records of Master Gaofeng, he became puzzled by the phrase "dragging a corpse" and sought clarification from Master Ze. Though they engaged in spiritual exchanges, he had not yet reached the pinnacle. Master Ze said, "Your conditions are not yet ripe. Rest and nurture yourself quietly. When the time comes, the truth will reveal itself naturally." From then on, the Master could neither sleep nor eat in peace. In the spring of Jichou (1649), together with me, he visited Huangshan to pay respects to my late father, the monk Shanyun Weixiao. That winter, he called upon the venerable elder Hengzheng of Tianning Temple. Though he received the profound teaching, he could not yet affirm his own attainment. In the year Xinmao (1651), he spent the summer at Tiantai. While crossing the Lue Ridge, he stumbled over a buffalo track on the path, and the obstruction in his chest suddenly melted away like ice. He composed the verse: "Realizing that snowy mountains are originally water, encountering is first the opportunity for parting." In the years Jiawu and Yiwei (1654–1655), together with my elder brother Xiaokang and Yang Jiezi and others, he invited Master Furi to open the Dharma at Wufeng. Through the following two years, the Dharma seat flourished greatly, with Master Jianfeng contributing the most effort—Jianfeng being his Dharma nephew. In the year Gengzi (1660), together with me, he paid respects to the Sixth Patriarch at Caoxi. That winter, he returned and invited Master Shuangsong to reside again at Wufeng. In the year Xinchou (1661), the Master returned to Donglin, then ascended to Yunjü. Master Xian kept him in the hall and questioned him on the kōan of Deshan holding up his bowl. The Master received praise as a "veteran practitioner of great awakening" and was honored with the reputation of "Dahui reborn." In the year Renyin (1662), he moved to the Fourth Patriarch Temple in Huangmei, where the Master managed the monastery's affairs. Master Xian would regularly announce many awakenings, posting names on the Dharma hall board, and would sometimes embellish the Linji teachings with novel, bizarre, and sensational language to impress the public. The Master sighed deeply and said, "The ancestral masters of old established their traditions and doctrines precisely to awaken later generations and continue the Buddha's wisdom-life. If this is how it's done, then the entire lineage of Bodhidharma will be swept away." He then broke his summer retreat and went south to seek further instruction. Over the following four or five years, he searched throughout Jiangxi and Hubei, his whereabouts shifting between concealment and visibility in southern Zhejiang. He called upon fifteen knowledgeable teachers in all, and all recognized him as a vessel of the Dharma. Only Baiyu of Shanquan praised him upon first meeting, saying, "The Linji lineage will emerge from your side." The Venerable Mun of Guna, after reading the Master's verse commentary on Linji's three blows, found it greatly surpassing ordinary work and regretted that he could not retain him. Hearing that the elder Jieren of Jinming possessed the manner of the ancients, the Master made a special visit to his chamber. Upon meeting, it seemed they had a karmic bond from the past, and he humbled himself as a student. One day, Jieren asked, "Not mind, not Buddha, not a thing—what is this?" The Master replied, "Exposed." Jieren said, "Someone said the same thing yesterday and was driven out with thirty blows." The Master said, "If you want to strike, strike. Why speak of yesterday?" And with the words, he delivered a slap. Jieren grabbed him and said, "This blind donkey is causing chaos!" The Master tried to speak further, and Jieren struck him. The Master tried again, and Jieren struck again. Suddenly, the Master was thoroughly awakened and cried out, "You've deceived me! You've deceived me!" Jieren said, "Don't be reckless. What about today's matter?" The Master let out a thunderous shout. Jieren picked up his staff, and the Master promptly left. The next morning, during formal entry to the room, after bowing, Jieren said, "Yesterday's case is not yet complete. Try to complete it." The Master struck the pillar a slap and said, "What are you, a dull wooden post?" Jieren said, "What about what's right before your eyes?" The Master said, "This slap should have been mine to receive." Jieren shouted, and the Master also shouted. Jieren said, "After three shouts, four shouts—what then?" The Master shouted twice more. Jieren said, "Understanding this one shout, the kindness is too great to repay." The Master made a gesture of reverence, bowed three times, and Jieren then transmitted to him the entire lineage from its origins, making him a true disciple of the inner chamber. His verse of Dharma transmission read: "In the lion's den, Only those who can roar well attain it. Now attaining is originally non-attainment, In non-attainment, attainment is also attained." In the spring of Jiachen (1664), he returned to reside at Donglin. In the Hall of Immeasurable, he bound grass for a bed and propped bricks for a cooking pot, receiving wandering monastics. He formed the closest friendship with Mr. Wen Dengyan, a Ministry official, and his son. That year, the lotus flowers in the pond suddenly bloomed, and Mr. Wen composed the verse: "Why has he come to Donglin so deliberately? Just in time for the White Society to announce new blossoms," recording the extraordinary event. In the spring of Yisi (1665), he set out to answer the invitation of Mr. Cao Qiuyue of Yanghe. Passing through Huagui in Xichuan, he was welcomed by both monastics and laypeople, and thus opened the Dharma at this monastery—the former seat of the masters Min and Deyuan. The world regarded it as the mountain's spirit having awaited the right time. For a time, great scholars and serious practitioners of Zen stood shoulder to shoulder, personally witnessing the profound mysteries. Truly, the ancients Min and Liao were but a thousand years away, yet now it seemed but a single day. In the winter of Wushen (1668), the gentry of Xiling, admiring the Master's Dharma style, invited him to open the Dharma at Longxing Temple. At that time, the lingering poison of the late Master Guchun of Shuangtai stirred up jealousy and slander, with factions claiming the Northern and Southern schools could not coexist. The Master sighed and said, "In the past, that patriarch wrote the 'Yan Tong' (Strict Lineage), and it was the same. Thus, my teacher Jieren of Jinming wrote the 'Two Discourses on Dispelling Confusion,' and they in turn hired a hired critic to attack my teacher. Fortunately, the Buddhas and patriarchs were protective—just as he was about to enter my chamber, his schemes were exposed. This was truly due to the efforts of my Dharma brother, Master Zhufeng. Now there is no need to be surprised at them, but neither is there any need to debate with them." He then wrote the "Essay on Quelling Disputes" to caution his students, letting the demonic winds subside on their own. The local gentry, moved by this, presented him with a plaque reading "Lamp of Compassion Transmitted" (Ci Yu Chuan Deng), and the Master's influence greatly expanded from this point. Monastics from Jiangxi and Hubei flocked to him like ants, and even the officials and scholars of the new county all turned toward the Dharma and served him as their teacher. On the fifteenth day of the ninth month in the year Xinhai of Kangxi (1671), he ascended the hall with a slight illness, knowing in advance the time of his passing. He said, in part, "Remember this for me: this day next year." The assembly was astonished. A monk asked, "Venerable Sir, what is your intention?" The Master bent his fingers and showed: "Three hundred and eighty-four." The following year, in the early part of the seventh month, he told his disciples, "I wish to return home. Prepare quickly." The disciples assumed he meant his native place and bought a donkey for travel. The Master looked at it and laughed, saying, "My journey is not one a donkey can bear." From then on, he earnestly instructed and admonished his disciples to maintain purity and discipline. On the eighth day of the ninth month, he entered the city to take leave of the elders and senior monastics, saying, "Within seven days, I shall take a long leave of you all." The people begged him to stay for two more days of veneration, and he only returned on the tenth. On the twelfth, despite his illness, he ascended the seat and urged the assembly to awaken with great urgency. On the thirteenth, he composed the "Preface to the Successive Lineage." On the fourteenth, he summoned the assembly for final instruction and wrote his last will, establishing three prohibitions: First: After his death, no mourning rites or filial observances were to be performed, nor any worldly customs or burning of paper money. Second: After his death, no stupa was to be built. His bones were to be cast into rivers or seas to benefit living beings. Third: After his death, no spirit tablet was to be installed, no seven-day memorial services, scripture recitations, repentance rituals, or ringing of instruments. Those who violated these were not his disciples. All the verses for sealing the shrine, raising the shrine, and lighting the cremation fire were composed by the Master himself, with instructions that his attendant simply recite them at the appropriate times. Sealing the shrine: "Earth and sky are the shrine— What is there to lock or seal? Transcending the crowd, standing apart— How could one be contained within?" Raising the shrine: "Simply take this as sufficient— Neither true nor false. The misty waves of the front village— Hard to depict, hard to describe." Lighting the fire: "Fifty-two years in the world, Twenty-eight years as a monk. The five aggregates, like drifting clouds, cannot obscure— The solitary spiritual light shines alone, beyond past and present." On the fifteenth, at the hour of Chen (7–9 AM), he bathed, burned incense, and sat upright to write his final verse: "From countless eons past, I have been a companion to all beings. This skin and bone I now cast into rivers and seas, To feed fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs, To relieve the hunger and suffering of beings, And to spare the land of benefactors. The vast rolling waves— That is my homecoming." He threw down the brush, gave a great shout, and passed away. When his body was cremated, his bones were found pure white like jade, his teeth remained intact, and the wooden prayer beads remained whole, their core unchanged. Monastics and laypeople of Xinan vied to pay their respects, weeping as if they had lost their own parents. I recall on New Year's Day of Jiyou (1669), I walked two hundred li on blistered feet to visit him at Huagui, and he had also been wanting to come bid me farewell. My brothers at home remarked that Longxing was far from Huagui, and so we traveled together to Mount Doufang and Mount Sanjiao. Returning, we gathered at my home for over ten days. My second elder brother Jianhong wrote in a farewell poem: "A Zen guest came to comfort my parting face, glad to have ten days of leisure together." Alas! Who would have known that Longxing would indeed be so far away from that point on? The Master's nature was quick and keen, his capacity broad and tolerant, with great magnanimity. He conducted himself with uprightness and integrity, and in governing himself and leading others, no matter how large or small the affairs of the monastery, the Master always took the lead. Students who found his rules too strict and rigorous would retreat at the sight of the cliff's edge, unable to meet his standards. The Master had little formal education in his youth, yet the historical records of ancient and modern times, their successes and failures, he grasped at a single reading. He devoted great effort to imitating the calligraphy styles of the Jin and Tang dynasties, yet never sought mere resemblance. For twenty years, he sat in meditation continuously without lying down to sleep. He was simple and unconcerned with worldly affairs, his robes and shoes worn thin, often with elbows showing through sleeves and heels through socks, yet he showed not the slightest concern even before nobles and high officials. His spiritual acumen was like lightning and thunder—unfathomable and unpredictable. His poetry and prose flowed swiftly from his brush, never seeking to conform to ancient or modern standards. Throughout his life, he loved reading. He read through the entire collections of my family and of Zhou Changru of Nankang. As for the Surangama Sutra, I saw him hand-copy it more than ten times—indeed, he drew great strength from this text. He also hand-copied the poetry of the Tang dynasty and the collected works of the Ming dynasty's Kongtong school. When he first took up residence at Donglin alone, the ancient hall complex comprised over a thousand rooms, utterly empty without a single person. Before the gates, soldiers and horsemen passed in endless streams—a land of ghost fires and white bones—yet the Master dwelt there undisturbed. When he resided at the Shangtang Hermitage on Stone Illumination Mountain, he never left his room, yet woodcutters and cowherds brought him food offerings. When fierce ghosts raised sandstorms, his single shout in the middle of the night shook the surroundings—neighbors thought it was thunder—yet the Master paid it no mind. When he lived at the Ri Hermitage of Huangniu Monastery, he gave away his own blanket to a visitor and sat among piled grass for a bed, burning bamboo for light to read by. The walls and door were not yet complete, and tigers and wolves passed by frequently. He ate ice and slept on snow for over a hundred days, yet the Master never complained. In times of others' difficulty, he rushed to their aid without hesitation, braving thousands of miles through fire and water. When he escorted a young man of the Wang family back to Xinan, the parents built a hermitage to keep him there, and in the end, he acquired the fields of Donglin's permanent estate. He befriended Wu Peiyuan of Jiaxing and never abandoned him in times of trouble. With my uncles and brothers, his friendship spanned twenty-nine years, constant as a single day. In supporting the Dharma assemblies, he gave of himself completely, enduring resentment and slander without complaint. Traveling alone on foot, he braved frost and snow, endured hunger, and never considered it hardship. In his teaching and benefiting of beings, he shared all hardships with the community—no private quarters, no special meals. When I was at Huagui, I saw him living in the meditation hall with the others, not a single coin in his pouch, no extra possessions, free and unencumbered, striding alone through the great world. Such was the Master's character through fifty years of life. It is a pity he did not attain great longevity. My grief and lamentation go far beyond mere friendship. The Master resided at nine monasteries and expounded the Dharma in three places. His recorded sayings, spiritual exchanges, examinations, verses, poems, and collected writings amount to several volumes. He had thirteen Dharma heirs and one lay disciple. The Master was born on the nineteenth day of the eleventh month in the year Xinyou of Tianqi (1621) and passed into stillness on the fifteenth day of the ninth month in the year Renzhi of Kangxi (1672), at the age of fifty-two, with twenty-eight years of monastic life. His disciples built a stupa for him at Donglin.

康熙二十年歲在辛酉孟冬月楚黃廣濟受菩薩戒沖山學人常照舒遂吉禾成頓首拜撰

> In the winter of the 20th year of Kangxi's reign, during the first month of winter, a disciple of the Bodhisattva Precepts from Chu-Huang Guangji, Chang Zhao, also known as Shu Suiji, respectfully composed this text.