 師紹興呂氏子。世業儒。矢志出家。參萬法歸一。聞鶯聲大悟。遂謁密雲和尚於金粟。有相契語。密即出「船子接夾山頌」示師續末後一句。師應聲曰：「鶯鶯還是紅娘俏」之句。密可之。後參三宜和尚於顯聖。宜間曰：「望仙橋討本道。」公驗曾納得否。師曰：「昨日六分銀。謂得玄沙錄。」宜曰：「未跨船絃好與三十棒。如何免得？」師曰：「道甚麼？」宜深器之。有先輩漏網之語。出住吳興清涼寺。順治庚子冬示寂。門人建塔於凝翠庵後。
我講簡單一點點給你們聽好了；你們都比我講得更好，所以我也不妨講一講。
這是七十一世曹洞宗的祖師，他名叫三疾，或叫淨甫禪師。淨甫禪師。「師紹興」：浙江紹興。「呂氏子」：俗家姓呂。「世業儒」：他從祖上以來都是讀書的。「矢志出家」：他立志想要出家。出家他就參這個「萬法歸一；一歸何處」這個話。萬法都要歸一；一又歸到什麼地方去？參這個話頭。他正參到無人、無我、無眾生、無壽者的時候；參到過去心也沒有了，現在心也沒有了，未來心也沒有了，三心四相都沒有的時候，忽然聽見這鶯叫的聲音，他就開悟了。
「遂謁密雲和尚於金粟」：在當時，這個大善知識叫密雲，他（三疾禪師）就到金粟寺那個地方去請他來印證。「有相契語」：兩個人一談就很投緣，很相契的。「密即出船子接夾山頌」這篇頌文給他（三疾禪師）看——「示師」。看了大約後邊還少一句；少一句，就叫這個三疾禪師續一句看：「續末後一句」。
「師應聲曰」：那麼他（三疾禪師）也不加思索，即刻就說了。說什麼呢？「鶯鶯還是紅娘俏」：說鶯鶯和紅娘來比較；這紅娘比較活潑，很天真，很俏麗的。這個意思就是說，鶯鶯雖然是個主人，可是論相貌，這個紅娘也很有本事的，也是個可人。也就是說這個船子和這個夾山都不錯的，所以「密可之」：密雲就給他印證說：「可以了。」
「後參三宜和尚於顯聖」：在顯聖寺那個地方。「宜問曰」：三宜就問他（三疾禪師），說是「望仙橋討本道」：在這望仙橋上討本道。討本道，就是本來修行的這個道路。這個望仙橋，或者也就是「杞橋納履」。各位記不記得漢朝的張良？張良在沒有幫著漢劉邦之前，他杞橋納履。那時候他作一個刺客，去暗殺秦始皇，可是誤中楚車，沒殺了；沒殺了，就到處藏藏躲躲的，秦始皇那時候大約也就抓他。他晚上出來見了一位老頭子，那個老頭子正在橋上那兒坐著。張良看他一對鞋子在另外一個地方，他就把那對鞋子拾起來了，拿給這個老頭子。這個老頭子看看他說：「我有一本書要傳給你，你明天來拿啦。我這一部書可以治國安邦的。明天你這時候來，到這兒我交給你這部書。」
於是乎，張良第二天就去了。去了這老頭子已經在這兒了，他就說：「你和長者約，你來得這麼晚。我今天不傳給你了。等明天！」他就叫張良明天這個時候來見他。第二天張良來的時候，也是這時候，可是老頭已經先到了，又不傳給他這本書。說這不行，你和長者約，你來得這麼晚，這不行、不行，等明天來啦！那麼這回張良回去，心想怎麼時候這麼早，他就在？那我這回不回來了，就在橋等著，不走。
不走呢，那老頭子來了，一看他已經在這兒了，這回很高興，說：「你這孺子可教啊！」你這個年輕人可以教啊，於是乎，就把這三卷天書傳給他了。傳給他那個治國安邦，修身、齊家、治國、平天下的這種書。所以他以後就熟悉這部書，這個用兵、鬥營埋伏啊，運籌帷幄之中，決勝千里之外啊！這些個法門，他都學會了。所以以後嘛，就幫著漢劉邦治理天下；把天下治好呢，他就辭官不做，歸山去尋師了。從祖遊，和這個老頭子修道去了。
待續 |
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Text:
The Master was a native of Shaoxing, a son of Lu family, which had produced generations of scholars. He set his mind on leaving home. While investigating the topic often thousand dharmas returning to one, all of a sudden he heard the call of a hawk and had a great awakening. Thereupon he visited the Venerable Master Miyun ('Secret Cloud') at Jinxi. There was an immediate affinity. Venerable Mi showed the Master the verse that a boatman had spoken in response to Jiashan and asked the Master to add another line at the end. The Master responded at once, "Yingying was not as winsome as the Red Lady." Venerable Mi indicated his approval. Afterwards he studied under Venerable Master at Sanyi at Xiansheng. Venerable Yi asked him, "Have you tried seeking the fundamental Way on the Bridge for Gazing at Immortals? And did you attain it?"
The Master said, "Yesterday I spent six cents of silver and obtained a copy of Dark Sand Chronicles."
Venerable Yi said, "How can you avoid receiving thirty whacks before boarding the boat?
The Master said, "What did you say?"
The Venerable Yi appreciated his capacity and said to him, "Among the elders, you are one who escaped the net." He first dwelled at Qingliang Monastery in Wuxing. In the winter of the year of gengzi [1660] he manifested the stillness. His disciples built a stupa for him behind the nunnery at Yincui.
Commentary:
This is a Patriarch of the seventy-first generation of the Caodong Sect. His name is Sanji, and he was also known as Dhyana Master Jingfu. The Master was a native of Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province, a son of the Lu family, which had produced generations of scholars. His lay surname was Lii. His ancestors had all been scholars. He set his mind on leaving home. He resolved to leave the home life. After leaving home, he investigated the topic: "The ten thousand dharmas return to one; where does the one return?" While investigating the topic of the ten thousand dharmas returning to one, he reached the point where he had no sense of self, others, living beings, or a life span, and where he had no thought of the past, present, or future—when the three thoughts and the four marks were all gone—and all of a sudden he heard the call of a hawk and had a great awakening. He became enlightened. Thereupon he visited the Venerable Master Miyun ('Secret Cloud') at Jinxi. He paid a call to one of the Great Wise Advisors of the time, the Venerable Miyun at Jinxi Monastery, in order to ask him to certify him. There was an immediate affinity. As soon as the two of them talked, they found that they could get along very well and saw eye to eye. Venerable Mi showed the Master the verse that a boatman had spoken in response to Jiashan and asked the Master to add another line at the end. Probably the verse was missing a line, so he asked Dhyana Master Sanji to try his hand at composing one to continue it. The Master responded at once, without pausing to think. He said, "Yingying was not as winsome as the Red Lady." If one were to compare Yingying and Red Lady (her maid), Red Lady was more vivacious, innocent, and pretty. The meaning is that, although Yingying was the mistress, in terms of looks, her maid, Red Lady, could hold her own. She was just as charming in her own right. In other words, the Master was saying that both the boatman and Jiashan were pretty good.
Venerable Mi indicated his approval. Master Miyun certified him, saying, "Okay. You pass." Afterwards he studied under Venerable Master Sanyi at Xiansheng Monastery. Venerable Yi asked him, "Have you tried seeking the fundamental Way on the Bridge for Gazing at Immortals?" The fundamental Way is the original path of cultivation. The Bridge for Gazing at Immortals might refer to the bridge where sandals were picked up. Do you remember Zhang Liang of the Han dynasty? Before he went to the aid of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, he went to a bridge and picked up sandals for an old man. At that time, he had to stay in hiding, because his plot to assassinate Emperor Shi of the Qin dynasty had failed and the Emperor was trying to catch him. One night he saw an old man sitting on a bridge, and a pair of shoes lying nearby. He picked up the pair of shoes and handed them to the old man, who said to him, "I have a book to give you. Come back tomorrow. This book contains strategies for governing the country. Come back tomorrow at the same time, and I will give it to you."
The following day when Zhang Liang arrived, the old man was already there. He said, "You have come late for an appointment with your elder. Today I will not give you the book. Wait till tomorrow." The second day when he arrived, the old man was already there again, and again told him, "You are so late in coming to meet an elder. This is not permissible. You must wait till tomorrow. "Zhang Liang figured that no matter how early he went, the old man was always there first, so he decided to just stay at the bridge and wait for the next day. When the old man arrived and saw that he was already there, he was very pleased and said, "You are a lad who is fit to be taught." Then he transmitted three scrolls of divine text to him. The texts he transmitted dealt with governing the country. They concerned cultivating the self, managing the household, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world.
After Zhang Liang mastered the book, he was well versed in military strategy and right inside his tent, he could direct and win battles that were a thousand miles away! After he had learned these skills, he went to help Liu Bang bring order to the Han kingdom. Once the kingdom was well settled, he resigned his post and withdrew into the mountains to find his teacher. He went to find the old man and cultivate the Way with him.
To be continued |
