English
English version He attained the Samadhi (a state of meditative consciousness) of Loving-kindness and Forbearance in meditation. Monkeys and birds often offered flowers and fruits. He then administered precepts and taught them the Dharma before departing. When offering food to ghosts and spirits at night, he would pray: 'Eat my food, receive my Dharma, and together become companions in the Dharma.' He was revered as a teacher by people from all directions when he was over ninety years old. Those who received the Dharma were all newly learning youths. Whenever the teacher read the scriptures, he would light nine incense sticks, respectfully sit cross-legged for a long time, and then open the scriptures. He often instructed his disciples, saying: 'Exploring the teachings of the saints, the intention lies in understanding the essence. If you do not rectify yourself and learn with an open mind, striving for the realm of the Tathagata (another name for Buddha), it is indeed not a small matter, and do not easily become complacent.' (Stele of Sun Zhongyi) Layman Guo was a blacksmith by trade for generations. He often consulted with Zen Master Zhong of Jingde. Zen Master Zhong said: 'You only need to remove what you value, reflect on yourself and contemplate, and there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.' One day, Zen Master Zhong gave a Dharma talk, citing that good and evil are like floating clouds, arising and ceasing without a fixed place. Layman Guo suddenly had a breakthrough upon hearing these words. From then on, his words were extraordinary. When he was about to pass away, he bid farewell to his relatives and friends, sat cross-legged, and said in a verse: 'Sixty-three years of blacksmithing, fanning the bellows day and night without rest. Today I lay down the iron hammer, and the red furnace turns into white snow.' (Classified Sayings) Zen Master Yi'an Quan was the son of the Qi family of Changhua, Lin'an. From a young age, he was dignified and mature, like an adult. He became a monk at the age of fourteen and was well-versed in both internal and external studies. He followed Zen Master Wu'an Quan and worked very hard. In the evening, he would always shed tears and say: 'Today has again been spent in vain, I don't know how tomorrow's efforts will be.' The Zen master did not exchange a single word with anyone in the Sangha (monastic community), and remained steadfastly alone. People could not get close to or alienate him. He once sat in meditation until dawn. When the person distributing porridge came, he forgot to extend his bowl. A neighbor touched him with his hand, and the Zen master was enlightened by this, composing a verse: 'The black lacquer Kunlun (a mythical mountain) holds a fishing rod, the ancient sail is hoisted high, descending the rapid currents. Playing with the bright moon in the shadow of the reed flowers, attracting the blind turtle to climb onto the fishing boat.' Zen Master Wu'an was very happy and thought he was like himself. During the Qiandao period (1165-1173), the Zen master went out to respond to the invitation to be the abbot of Wannian Temple. The senior monks and teachers, seeing his dignified demeanor and hearing his teachings, all bowed in admiration and were intoxicated in their hearts. Inside and outside the temple, everything was in order, as if entering a government office. Wherever the Zen master went, he practiced the Dharma diligently, working with the community. Minister You Gongmao said: 'The abbot should sit and expound the Dharma, why should he bend over and walk?' The Zen master said: 'No' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
然。末法比丘增上骄慢。未得谓得。便欲自恣。我以身帅尚恐不从。况敢自逸乎。近世言禅林标准者。必以师为称首也。(行状) 东山渊禅师。业履端洁闻于丛林。自东山迁至五峰。见火箸与东山所用者无异。遂诘其奴曰。莫是东山方丈物乎。奴曰然。彼此常住无利害故。将至之渊。诫之曰。汝辈无知。安识因果。有互用之罪。急令送还。(怡云录) 别峰印禅师住雪窦日。有小师诉头首之过。峰厉声怒曰。汝是我小师。包含上下则可。反来说人过恶邪。置之左右必败吾事。遂杖逐之。闻者叹曰何其明也。(少云杂记) 淳禅师。剑州人。出世丹霞。宏智为侍者。在寮中与僧徴诘公案。宏智不觉大笑。适丹霞过门。至夜参问云。汝早来大笑何谓。答曰。因诘僧话。渠答太粗生。所以发笑。淳曰。是即是。汝笑者一声。失了多少好事。不见道。暂时不在如同死人。宏智敬拜服膺。后虽在暗室未尝敢忽。(雪牕记) 成都昭觉祖首坐。久参圆悟。因入室问即心是佛。从此有省。圆悟命分坐。一日为众入室问。禅者曰生死到来如何迴避。僧无对。祖掷下拂子奄然而逝。众皆愕眙。亟以闻悟。悟至呼曰。祖首坐。祖复开目。悟曰抖擞精神透关去。祖复点头。竟尔长寝。(东林颜屯庵记其事) 现代汉语译本： 是的。末法时期的比丘会增长骄慢之心，没有证得（真理）却自认为已经证得，便想要放纵自己。我亲自以身作则尚且恐怕他们不听从，更何况敢于自己安逸呢？近来谈论禅林规范的人，必定以师父作为首要的榜样。（行状） 东山渊禅师，他的行为端正纯洁，在丛林中享有盛名。自从东山迁到五峰，看到火箸与东山所用的没有区别，于是责问他的仆人说：‘莫非这是东山方丈的东西吗？’仆人回答说：‘是的。因为彼此常住，没有利益损害的缘故，就拿来了。’渊禅师告诫他说：‘你们这些无知的人，怎么懂得因果？有互相使用的罪过，赶快送回去。’（怡云录） 别峰印禅师住在雪窦寺的时候，有个小沙弥告发首座的过失。别峰禅师厉声怒斥道：‘你是我手下的小沙弥，应该包容上下才可以，反而来说别人的过错恶行吗？把你放在左右必定会败坏我的事情。’于是用棍杖驱赶了他。听到的人感叹说：‘多么英明啊！’（少云杂记） 淳禅师，剑州人。在丹霞寺开法传道，宏智禅师做他的侍者。在寮房中与僧人争论诘问公案，宏智禅师不觉大笑起来。恰好丹霞禅师从门前经过，到了晚上晚参时问道：‘你早晨大笑是什么缘故？’回答说：‘因为与僧人争论话语，他的回答太粗俗，所以发笑。’淳禅师说：‘是这样没错，你这一声笑，失去了多少好事。没听过说吗？暂时不在就如同死人一样。’宏智禅师恭敬地拜谢，铭记在心。后来即使在暗室里也不敢有丝毫懈怠。（雪牕记） 成都昭觉寺的祖首座，长久跟随圆悟禅师参禅。因为入室请教‘即心是佛’，从此有所领悟。圆悟禅师命他分座说法。一天，为大众入室说法时问道：‘禅者，生死到来时如何回避？’僧人没有回答。祖首座放下拂尘，安然而逝。众人都惊愕地注视着。急忙把这件事告诉了圆悟禅师。圆悟禅师赶到后呼唤道：‘祖首座！’祖首座又睁开了眼睛。圆悟禅师说：‘抖擞精神，透脱关隘而去吧！’祖首座又点了点头，最终长眠不起。（东林颜屯庵记其事）
English
English version: Yes. Monks in the Dharma-ending Age will increase in arrogance. Those who have not attained (enlightenment) claim to have attained it, and then they want to indulge themselves. Even if I personally lead by example, I am still afraid they will not follow. How dare I be at ease myself? Recently, those who talk about the standards of the Chan (Zen) forest must take the master as the primary example. (Conduct) Chan Master Yuan of Dongshan, his conduct was upright and pure, and he was well-known in the Sangha. After moving from Dongshan to Wufeng, he saw that the fire tongs were no different from those used in Dongshan, so he questioned his servant, saying, 'Could this be something from the abbot of Dongshan?' The servant replied, 'Yes. Because we are both permanent residences and there is no harm in it, I brought it here.' Chan Master Yuan warned him, saying, 'You ignorant people, how can you understand cause and effect? There is a sin in mutual use. Quickly send it back.' (Yi Yun Lu) When Chan Master Biefeng Yin lived in Xuedou Temple, a young novice complained about the faults of the head monk. Chan Master Feng sternly rebuked him, saying, 'You are my novice, you should be inclusive of those above and below you. Instead, you come to talk about the faults and evils of others? Keeping you around will surely ruin my affairs.' Then he drove him away with a staff. Those who heard it sighed, saying, 'How wise!' (Shaoyun Miscellaneous Records) Chan Master Chun, a native of Jianzhou. He preached the Dharma at Danxia Temple, with Hongzhi (Hongzhi Zhengjue) serving as his attendant. In the dormitory, he argued with a monk about a koan (gongan). Hongzhi Chan Master couldn't help but laugh out loud. It happened that Chan Master Danxia passed by the door, and during the evening meditation he asked, 'What was the reason for your loud laughter this morning?' He replied, 'Because I was arguing with a monk, his answer was too crude, so I laughed.' Chan Master Chun said, 'That's right, but with that one laugh, you lost so many good things. Haven't you heard it said? Being absent for a moment is like being dead.' Hongzhi Chan Master respectfully bowed and took it to heart. Later, even in a dark room, he never dared to be negligent. (Xuechuang Ji) The Chief Seat Zu of Zhaojue Temple in Chengdu had long studied Chan with Chan Master Yuanwu (Keqin). Because he entered the room to ask about 'Mind is Buddha,' he had some understanding from then on. Chan Master Yuanwu ordered him to share the seat and preach the Dharma. One day, when he entered the room to preach to the assembly, he asked, 'Chan practitioners, how do you avoid the arrival of birth and death?' The monk had no answer. Chief Seat Zu put down his whisk and passed away peacefully. Everyone stared in astonishment. They hurriedly told Chan Master Yuanwu about this. Chan Master Yuanwu rushed over and called out, 'Chief Seat Zu!' Chief Seat Zu opened his eyes again. Chan Master Yuanwu said, 'Rouse your spirit, break through the barrier and go!' Chief Seat Zu nodded again, and finally fell into a long sleep. (Donglin Yantun'an recorded this event) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
韩退之曰。且愈不助释氏而排之者。其亦有说。至于欧阳永叔曰。佛法为中国患千余岁。世之卓然不惑而有力者。莫不欲去之。已尝去矣而复大集。攻之暂破而愈坚。扑之未灭而愈炽。遂至于无可奈何。二皆欲壮其儒道。虽排之破之。实激扬吾释氏之道。何害之有。(公论) 舒王问佛慧泉禅师曰。禅家所谓世尊拈花。出自何典。泉云藏经所不载。王云。顷在翰苑偶见大梵王问佛决疑经三卷。因阅之。经中所载甚详。梵王至灵山会上。以金色波罗花献佛。舍身为床坐。请佛为群生说法。世尊登坐拈花示众。人天百万悉皆罔措。独迦叶破颜微笑。世尊云吾有正法眼藏涅槃妙心分付摩诃迦叶。泉叹其博究。(梅溪集) 秦国夫人计氏法真。因寡处。屏去纷华。蔬食弊衣。习有为法。于禅宗未有趋向。因径山大慧遣谦禅者致问其子魏公浚公。留谦以祖道诱其母。真一日问谦曰。径山和尚寻常如何为人。谦曰和尚只教人看狗子无佛性。只是不得下语。不得思量卜度。只举狗子还有佛性也无。州云无。只恁么教人看。真遂谛信。以狗子话昼夜参究。坐至中夜。俄有契。连作数偈呈于大慧。其后云。终日看经文。如逢旧识人。莫言频有碍。一举一回新。(语录) 神光者。磁州人。旷达之士也。居伊洛。博览 现代汉语译本：韩愈说：‘我韩愈不帮助佛教反而排斥它，这也是有原因的。’至于欧阳修说：‘佛法成为中国的祸患一千多年了，世上那些清醒而不受迷惑且有力量的人，没有不想去除它的。已经尝试去除它了，却又再次大规模聚集；攻击它暂时破灭，却更加坚固；扑灭它没有灭绝，反而更加炽盛，于是到了无可奈何的地步。’这两位都想壮大儒家的道统，虽然排斥它、破除它，实际上是激励发扬了我们佛教的道义，有什么妨害呢？（公论） 舒王问佛慧泉禅师说：‘禅宗所说的世尊拈花（释迦牟尼佛在灵山会上拈花示众，表示以心传心）出自哪部经典？’泉禅师说：‘藏经中没有记载。’舒王说：‘我近来在翰林院偶尔看到《大梵王问佛决疑经》三卷，因此阅读了它。经中所记载非常详细。梵天王到达灵山会上，以金色的波罗花（一种花名）献给佛，舍弃自身作为床座，请佛为众生说法。世尊登上座位，拈花向大众示意，人天百万都茫然不知所措，只有迦叶（释迦牟尼十大弟子之一，以头陀苦行著称）破颜微笑。世尊说：‘我有正法眼藏（如来正法，以心传心，不立文字），涅槃妙心（不生不灭的微妙心性），交付给摩诃迦叶（大迦叶）。’泉禅师赞叹他学识渊博。（梅溪集） 秦国夫人计氏法真，因为守寡，屏退了繁华的生活，吃素食，穿破旧的衣服，修习有为法（通过修行以达到某种目的的法门），对于禅宗还没有明确的趋向。因此径山大慧（南宋著名禅师）派遣谦禅者去问候她的儿子魏公浚公，留下谦禅者用祖师的道义引导她的母亲。法真有一天问谦禅者说：‘径山和尚平时是如何教导人的？’谦禅者说：‘和尚只教人参看狗子无佛性（禅宗公案，通过否定狗的佛性来启发人们对佛性的认识）。只是不得妄下判断，不得思量揣测。只是提出狗子还有没有佛性这个问题，赵州禅师回答说没有。只是这样教人参看。’法真于是深信不疑，用狗子的话头日夜参究，坐到半夜，忽然有所领悟，连续作了几首偈颂呈给大慧禅师。其中有几句说：‘终日看经文，如逢旧识人。莫言频有碍，一举一回新。’（语录） 神光（人名）是磁州人，是旷达之士。居住在伊洛一带，博览群书。