|
師閩之謝氏子。參雪峰。峰以其苦行呼為頭陀。一日峰問。那個是備頭陀。師曰終不敢誑於人。翌日峰召曰。備頭陀何不遍參去。師曰達摩不來東土。二祖不往西天。峰然之。每曰備頭陀再來人也。出世玄沙。一日遣僧送書上雪峰。峰開緘。惟白紙三幅。乃問僧曰。會麼。曰不會。峰曰不見道。君子千里同風。僧回舉似師。師曰山頭老漢蹉過也不知。梁開平二年子月。示寂。壽七十。臘四十四。閩帥為之樹塔。
「師閩之謝氏子」，師備禪師也是福建人，俗家姓謝。「參雪峰」，他去親近雪峰義存禪師。「峰以其苦行」，師備禪師也是夜不倒單，過午不食。他這個持午，並不是日中一食，是過午不食。「呼為頭陀」，所以他也不要錢，持銀錢戒，常常是坐單，也是常常搭著衣，行頭陀行。那麼雪峰叫他一個頭陀。頭陀是梵語，翻譯中文就叫抖擻，就是常常很有精神的，不懶惰。
「一日峰問」，有一天雪峰問他。「那個是備頭陀」，說：誰是這個備頭陀？「師曰終不敢誑於人」，他沒有承認說我是備頭陀，他說終不敢誑於人。說不敢打妄語。我不敢發狂做一些個不合規矩的事。是這樣子。誑於人就是打妄語，講大話，不守規矩。
「翌日峰召曰」，第二天雪峰叫他來對他說。「備頭陀何不遍參去」，說：你為什麼不到外邊去參學參學，你到旁的地方去看一看哪。
「師曰」，師備禪師就說了。「達摩不來東土，二祖不往西天」，說是：菩提達摩他不來東土。他不是不來東土，他為什麼到東土又不回去了呢？就是他為什麼不來東土。為什麼又來東土呢？二祖他為什麼又不到西天去呢？說這個的意思，就是說他的因緣。他不願意到外邊去，到外邊去參學也是，有什麼可學的呢？所以他沒來也沒去。「峰然之」，雪峰聽他這麼說，就說你講的也對。
「每曰備頭陀再來人也」，雪峰每每對旁人就說：備頭陀啊！他是個再來人，他是一個很了不起的！很稀有的。「出世玄沙」，就像在世間一個很值錢的玄沙似的。玄沙大約很少的。
「一日遣僧送書上雪峰」，有一天他派一個出家人送一封信給雪峰。「峰開緘」，雪峰把信打開。「惟白紙三幅」，只有三張白紙，什麼也沒有寫。
「乃問僧曰會麼」，雪峰就問這個僧人說：你懂不懂啊？「曰不會」，僧人說：我不懂。「峰曰不見道，君子千里同風」，雪峰說：你沒看見哪見道的君子嗎？千里同風，都是一樣的，不需要講什麼。「僧回舉似師」，那麼僧人就把這個話帶回去給師備禪師。
「師曰山頭老漢蹉過也不知」，師備禪師說你到那個山上遇著這個老漢，你是當面錯過了，你見到這個善知識你也不認識。「梁開平二年子月」，在梁朝開平二年，子月，就是十一月。「示寂」，圓寂了。「壽七十」，壽命是七十歲。「臘四十四」，僧臘就是出家受戒有四十四年。「閩帥為之樹塔」，福建的官，就是將軍元帥，給他建了一個塔。
贊曰
白紙纔上 家信乃通
父慈子孝 如空合空
玄沙猛虎 提契綱宗
病人三種 瘖啞盲聾
「白紙纔上」，白紙方才拿上去。「家信乃通」，雖然白紙上沒有字，互相都知道了。「父慈子孝」，就是師父是很慈悲的，徒弟是很孝順的。「如空合空」，這像什麼呢？就好像那個空白的紙，如空合空。「玄沙猛虎」，玄沙像猛虎那麼厲害。
「提契綱宗」，把宗門裡頭提綱契領大禪宗風。「病人三種」，有三種病人。「瘖啞盲聾」，有的啞巴，有的是瞎子，有的是聾子。有這三種病人是不容易度的。這就是說，雖然他在那兒說法，可是有的人也不懂的。
待續
|
更正啟事
◎本刊第395期佛祖道影全賀禪師第11頁第9行與第12頁第17行文中，它後不得孤負老僧，「得」誤作「德」，謹此致歉。
 編輯部 敬啟 |
|
|
Text:
The Master was born into the Xie family in Fujian Province. He went to study with Xuefeng. Because of his ascetic practices, Xuefeng called him a
dhuta practitioner.
One day, Xuefeng asked him, “Who is
dhuta practitioner Bei?” The Master replied, “I would never dare deceive others.”
The next day, Xuefeng summoned him and said, “Dhuta practitioner Bei, why don’t you travel around and visit teachers?”
The Master replied, “Bodhidharma did not come to the eastern land, and the Second Patriarch did not go to the western region.”
Xuefeng approved of his reply. On many occasions he remarked, “Dhuta practitioner Bei is someone who has come again.”
The Master started teaching at Xuansha. [Alternate translation: The Master appeared in the world like dark sand.] One day he sent a monk with a letter to Xuefeng. When Xuefeng opened the letter, he found only three pages of blank paper. Thereupon, he asked the monk, “Do you understand this?”
The monk replied, “No, I don’t understand.”
Xuefeng said, “Haven’t you seen how superior people are of one spirit even if they are a thousand miles apart?” The monk returned and reported what he had said to the Master. The Master said, “You really missed your chance by not recognizing that old fellow on the mountain.”
In the eleventh month of the second year of the Kaiping Reign period of the latter Liang Dynasty, the Master manifested the stillness. He was seventy years old, with forty-four years in the precepts. The commandant of Fujian built a stupa to commemorate him.
Commentary:
The Master was born into the Xie family in Fujian Province. Dhyana Master Shibei was a native of Fujian Province, and his surname was Xie.
He went to study with Xuefeng (Snow Peak). He drew near to Dhyana Master Yicun of Xuefeng.
Because of his ascetic practices, Xuefeng named him “Dhuta Practitioner.”
Dhuta is a Sanskrit word that means “striking up one’s spirits.” It refers to always being energetic and never being lazy. The Master never ate after noon (which is different from eating only one meal a day at noon). He always wore his precept sash, never lay down to sleep, and kept the precept of not holding money—all of which are ascetic practices.
One day, Xuefeng asked him, “Who is dhuta practitioner Bei?” Bei was his name. The Master did not admit that he was a
dhuta practitioner. Instead, the Master replied, “I would never dare deceive others. I wouldn’t presume to talk big, lie, and not follow the rules.”
The next day Xuefeng asked him, “Dhuta practitioner Bei, why don’t you travel around and visit teachers?” Why don’t you go see what other places are like?
The Master, Dhyana Master Shibei,
replied, “Bodhidharma did not come to the eastern land, and the Second Patriarch did not go to the western region.” He didn’t mean that Bodhidharma had never come to China, but that he had not come to China to
study [and then return to India]. And the Second Patriarch in China did not go to India to study, either. His meaning was that his causes and conditions were such that he didn’t want to go elsewhere. “Going somewhere else to visit teachers is just the same as being here—what is there to learn?” Therefore, he neither came nor went.
Xuefeng approved of his reply and told him, “What you say is right.”
On many occasions he, Xuefeng, remarked to people,
“Dhuta practitioner Bei is someone who has come again. He is a very outstanding and unique person.”
The Master, Dhyana Master Shibei,
started teaching at Xuansha.[Alternate translation: The Master was like dark sand.] He was like valuable dark sand, which is very rare in the world.
One day he sent a monk, a left-home person,
with a letter to Xuefeng. When Xuefeng opened the letter, he found only three pages of blank paper with nothing written on them.
Thereupon, he asked the monk, “Do you understand this?”
The monk replied, “No, I don’t understand.”
Xuefeng said, “Haven’t you seen how superior people are of one spirit even if they are a thousand miles apart?” They don’t need to say anything at all.
The monk returned and reported what he had said to the Master, to Dhyana Master Shibei.
The Master said, “You really missed your chance by not recognizing that old fellow on the mountain. He is a wise teacher. He was right in front of you, but you failed to recognize him.”
In the eleventh month of the second year of the Kaiping Reign period of the latter Liang Dynasty, the Master manifested the stillness. He was seventy years old, with forty-four years in the precepts. He had been ordained for forty-four years.
The commandant of Fujian built a stupa to commemorate him.
A verse in praise says:
Blank pages were delivered,
But the family news came through.
The father was kind and the son filial,
Like emptiness uniting with emptiness.
The ferocious tiger of Xuansha
Grasped the main doctrines of the school.
The three ailing kinds of people
Are the deaf, the dumb, and the blind.
Commentary:
Blank pages were delivered, but the family news came through. Although the letter didn’t contain any words, they understood each other.
The father was kind and the son filial, like emptiness uniting with emptiness. The Master was kind, and the disciple was very filial. What is this like? The blank pages were like empty space uniting with empty space, all emptiness being the same.
The ferocious tiger of Xuansha grasped the main doctrines of the school and went on to widely propagate the spirit of the Chan School.
The three ailing kinds of people are the deaf, the dumb, and the blind. Those three kinds of sick people are very difficult to save. Although he was there to speak the Dharma, some people didn’t understand.
To be continued
|
