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師南海。陸姓。年十六自攜刀就磐石。禮佛剃落。縛茅於龍山。恭向上事。一日閱語錄言。石壓芛斜出。崖懸華倒生。豁然冰釋。事母至孝。卒盧墓三月。後恭博山。山一日以倒騎牛入佛殿。話命眾下語。師呈頌曰：
貪呈不覺曉 愈求愈轉渺
相逢正是渠 纔是猶顛倒
蟻子牽大磨 石人撫掌笑
別是活生機 不落宮商調
山為印記。後住羅浮。長慶。海幢。大弘博山之道。順治十八年七月二十二日。端坐逝世。壽六十二。全身塔於羅浮華首台。
這位禪師是廣東南海縣人，俗家姓陸。他長到十六歲時「自攜刀就磐石」：自己拿著刀到一塊大石頭上，「禮佛剃落」：把自己的頭髮剃去了「縛茅於龍山」：他做一個茅房。「恭向上事」：這個恭向上，禪宗這個法門就叫向上事。
「一日閱語錄言」：他看一本語錄。「石壓芛斜出」：他說石頭壓在地上，那個竹筍，直的出不來了，它斜著從旁邊出來。「崖懸華倒生」：懸崖的地方，這個花它本來是在地下往上生的，可是它現在倒生起來。「豁然」：豁然就是突然間。「冰釋」：他這時候就像冰消瓦解了似的，什麼也沒有了。「事母至孝」：他就這樣對他母親很孝順的。「母卒廬墓三月」：他母親死了之後，他在墳上結廬有三個月那麼久。
「後恭博山」，「山日以倒騎牛入佛殿話」：用這個話，「命眾下語」：令所有在那兒住的人道出來一句。「師呈頌曰」：那麼這個空隱禪師，他就作了一首偈頌。
他說：「貪呈不覺曉」：貪得在那兒－－這個呈大約是應該有走舟邊，這個「呈」和那個「逞」差不多，逞英雄論豪傑－－也或者貪得在晚間在那兒打坐。這個貪呈就想在那兒用功。用得好像－－我要開悟，我要有神通。這都可能叫貪呈。「不覺曉」：在那兒坐著坐著，也不知道睡覺，就那麼心外求法。所以「愈求愈轉渺」：他越在那兒追求，用那個心一直用功夫。「愈轉渺」：跑得越遠，越找不著。他不知道苦海無邊，回頭是岸，你只要看破放下，自然就得到自在。這個「渺」就是找不著了。「相逢正是渠」：可是因為你求它，它找不著；你不求它，正是遇著了。因為它並沒有離開你。你儘到外邊遠的地方去找，怎麼能夠找到它？你回頭就是。「纔是猶顛倒」：這個「猶」可能是那個「又」，和這個「又」一樣。才是剛剛見到了，可是又顛倒，又湊合起來了。
「蟻子牽大磨」：這個就好像什麼呢？在那兒往外找，就好像那個螞蟻想把那個大磨推動似的。「石人撫掌笑」：這個石頭人在那兒看著那個螞蟻，在那兒費那麼大力氣，想把這個大磨來拉動它，也拉不動，所以石頭人都在那兒笑呢。「別是活生機」：這種境界真是好特別。這是活潑天機在裡頭流露出來了。「不落宮商調」：它並沒有這個宮、商、角、徵、羽的這些個曲調。
「山為印記」：這個博山和尚一看他這首頌，知道這個是不錯，是這樣子，就給他授記了。「後住羅浮」山。又住「長慶」，又是「海幢」，這個好幾個地方。「大弘博山之道」：他弘揚博山禪宗這一法，當時很多人都仰慕博山和尚。「順治十八年七月二十二日」，「端坐逝世」：也是端坐示寂了。「壽六十二」，「全身塔於羅浮華首台」：在那兒給他造個塔。
贊曰：
石壓芛出 巖花倒懸
豁開兩眼 三更日現
處處逢渠 機若雷電
博山無端 牛騎佛殿
「石芛壓出，巖花倒懸」：在那個巖花倒懸那裡出來了。「豁開兩眼」：這個時候他得到這個法眼、慧眼。「三更日現」：修行人有的功夫到家了，晚間和白天是一樣的。所以三更日現，也像白天那麼有太陽。「處處逢渠」：處處都遇著它。「機若電雷」：這種機，就像那個電光石火那麼快，非常迅速。「博山無端」：這個博山和尚真是沒事情他找事情幹。他真是自己不甘寂寞。「牛騎佛殿」：騎著牛到佛殿去。你說是不是沒有事情找事情幹？
或說偈曰：
南海童子自落髮 獨居深山種竹麻
石壓竹芛從旁出 懸崖異方連根發
天真野趣露玄妙 地靈人傑無我他
處處逢渠不相識 石人拍掌笑哈哈
「南海童子自落髮」：這南海有個童子，就是這位空隱宗寶禪師。「自落髮」：他自己把自己的髮給剃掉了。你看這個真是很奇怪的。「獨居深山種竹麻」：他在深山學著種竹種麻。他看見「石壓竹芛從旁出」：石頭壓住竹芛，它從旁又起來了。「懸崖異方連根發」：懸崖上頭本來也沒有根，就在那個巖坑又是根，又是花，那麼在那兒長出來。
「天真野趣」：這種的天真野趣真是活潑天機。「露玄妙」：這裡頭都是洩漏天地的祕密的。「地靈人傑無我他」：這個地大概風水也不錯，地靈；人傑，這個人也是出乎其類拔乎其萃的。他修到也沒有我，也沒有他這個境界。
「處處逢渠不相識」：這說這一般人每處都是那天真野趣，那種活潑天真，那種自然的景象，那種佛性具足的那種道理，可是不相識，人人都不認識那個。惹得「石人拍掌笑哈哈」：惹得那個石頭人，在那個地方都著急得拍掌笑起來。你看石頭人都會笑的。
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Text:
The Master was a native of Nanhai. His surname was Lu. When he was sixteen, he took a knife, stepped onto a slab of stone, bowed to the Buddha, and shaved his hair off. He then built a hut at Longshan (Dragon Mountain) and devoted himself to studying Chan. One day he read a passage in a book of lectures, which said, "Bamboo shoots that are pressed down by stones emerge sideways. Flowers hanging from a cliff grow upside-down." His sudden awakening was like ice melting. He attended upon his mother with utmost filial piety. When she passed away, he stayed in a hut by her grave for three months. Afterwards, he paid his respects to Dhyana Master Boshan. One day Master Boshan asked the assembly to say something on the topic of riding an ox backwards into the Buddha Hall. The Master submitted a verse which said:
Greedy to succeed, I made vigorous efforts;
the dawn caught me unawares.
The more I sought, the more hopeless it was.
When encountered without seeking, it was perfect.
But right then, I became confused again.
It's like an ant trying to drag a millstone,
While men of stone rub their palms and laugh.
It's a special sign of the dynamic principle
of the universe,
That doesn't follow any tune.
Master Boshan certified him and gave him a prediction. Later he dwelt at Luofu, Changqing, and Haichuang, where he extensively propagated Boshan's Way. On the twenty-second day of the seventh month, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Sunzhi, the Master sat upright and departed. He was sixty-two years old. A stupa was built to house his body at Huashou Platform in Luofu.
Commentary:
The Dhyana Master was a native of Nanhai County in Guangdong Province. His lay surname was Lu. When he was sixteen, he took a knife, stepped onto a large slab of stone, bowed to the Buddha, and shaved his hair off. He then built a hut at Longshan (Dragon Mountain) and devoted himself to studying Chan. The approach of the Chan School is called "going upwards."
One day he read a passage in a book of lectures, which said, "Bamboo shoots that are pressed down by stones emerge sideways. When there are stones on the ground, bamboo shoots cannot grow up directly, so they emerge from the side. Flowers hanging from a cliff grow upside-down. Basically flowers grow from the bottom up, but now they are growing in the reverse direction. His sudden awakening was like ice melting so that there was nothing left. He attended upon his mother with utmost filial piety. When she passed away, he stayed in a hut by her grave for three months.
Afterwards, he paid his respects to Dhyana Master Boshan. One day Master Boshan asked the assembly, everyone who lived there, to say something on the topic of riding an ox backwards into the Buddha Hall. The Master Kongyin composed and submitted a verse which said:
Greedy to succeed, I made vigorous efforts. Perhaps he meant that at night he was applying effort at meditation, wanting very much to become enlightened and to attain spiritual penetrations. The dawn caught me unawares. He kept sitting and sitting, without falling alseep, seeking outside his mind for the Dharma. The more I sought, the harder his mind worked, the more hopeless it was. The farther he got, the less likely it was that he would find what he was seeking. He didn't realize that "the sea of suffering is boundless; a turn of the head is the other shore." All you have to do is see through things and put them down, and you'll naturally attain freedom and ease. When encountered without seeking, it was perfect. If you seek for something, you won't find it simply because you're seeking for it. But if you don't seek, you will encounter it. It was never apart from you, but you always looked outside and far away for it, so how could you find it? All you have to do is turn around, and there it is. But right then, right after seeing it, I became confused again.
What is this external searching like? It's like an ant trying to drag and move a huge millstone, / While men of stone rub their palms and laugh. Observing the ant expending such great strength in its vain attempt to move the millstone, the stone statues start laughing. This kind of state is extraordinary. It's a special sign of the dynamic principle of the universe / That doesn't follow any tune. The secret workings of heaven are vividly being revealed, but they cannot be analyzed as any regular melody of do, re, mi, etc.
Master Boshan saw right away that his verse was not bad at all, so he certified him and gave him a prediction. Later he dwelt at Luofu Mountain, Changqing, and Haichuang, as well as several other places, where he extensively propagated Boshan's Way. He spread the Dharma of the Chan School as taught by Master Boshan, whom many people admired at the time. On the twenty-second day of the seventh month, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Sunzhi, the Master sat upright and departed, manifesting the stillness. He was sixty-two years old. A stupa was built to house his body at Huashou Platform in Luofu.
A verse in praise says:
Bamboo shoots come out from under the stone,
and flowers hang upside-down along the cliff.
With the sudden opening of his two eyes—
the Dharma eye and the wisdom eye—
the sun appeared at midnight.
Meeting the answer everywhere,
it was like thunder and lightning.
Boshan, for no apparent reason,
rode an ox into the Buddha Hall.
Commentary:
Bamboo shoots come out from under the stone, and flowers hang upside-down along the cliff. / With the sudden opening of his two eyes—the Dharma eye and the wisdom eye—the sun appeared at midnight. Sometimes when cultivators reach a high level of skill, nighttime and daytime become the same to them. Even at midnight there seemed to be sunlight just as if it were day.
Meeting the answer everywhere, it was like thunder and lightning. It was as swift as a lightning flash or a spark of fire. Boshan, for no apparent reason, rode an ox into the Buddha Hall. Master Boshan was looking for something to do when there was nothing to do. He couldn't stand to be idle. So he talked about riding an ox into the Buddha Hall. Wouldn't you say he was looking for something to do in his idleness?
Another verse says:
The youth from Nanhai shaved off his own hair.
Dwelling alone deep in the mountains, he planted
bamboo and hemp.
Pressed down by stone, bamboo shoots emerge
from the side.
Flowers grow on a cliff wall, roots and all.
The innocent wilderness reveals the mysterious.
In this spiritual land of noble individuals, there is
no self or other.
The truth is met everywhere, yet no one recognizes it.
The stone men clap their hands and laugh: ha ha!
Commentary:
The youth from Nanhai, that is, Dhyana Master Kongyin, shaved off his own hair by himself. Now, that's really strange. Dwelling alone deep in the mountains, he planted bamboo and hemp. He observed that, pressed down by stone, bamboo shoots emerge from the side. Also, flowers grow on a cliff wall, roots and all. Usually plants don't grow roots on top, but in this case, the roots and flowers all grew together on the cliff.
The innocent wilderness, the dynamic working of the universe, reveals the mysterious. The secrets of heaven are divulged. In this spiritual land of noble individuals, there is no self or other. Probably the geomantic properties of the place were pretty good, so it was an efficacious area where outstanding people lived. He cultivated and reached the state of there being no self and no others.
The truth is met everywhere, yet no one recognizes it. The innocence of the wilderness, the natural state of things, the principle of the Buddha nature, is found everywhere, yet ordinary people don't recognize it. As a result, the stone men eagerly clap their hands and laugh: ha ha! See? Even men of stone can laugh! |
