Twenty-Three: Slandered Without Cause 二十三、无端被谮
Teacher Qi Zhijun | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 〖公案原文〗 |
[Original Text of the Koan] |
| 舜老夫住庐山栖贤，槐都官守南康，因私忿，民其衣。净因大觉琏禅师，尝入舜室。闻舜还俗，遣人取归净因，让正寝居之，自处偏室。仁宗数召琏入内问道，竟不言舜事。 |
Old Master Shun was residing at Qixian on Mount Lu. The official Huai of Nankang, out of personal resentment, stripped him of his robes and made him return to lay life. Chan Master Dajue Lian of Jingyin had once entered Master Shun’s room for intimate instruction. When he heard that Shun had been returned to lay status, he sent for him and brought him to Jingyin, yielding his own main quarters to Shun while residing himself in a side room. Emperor Renzong repeatedly summoned Lian to the inner palace to ask about the Way, yet Lian never mentioned Shun’s situation. |
| 偶一日，嘉王取旨出净因饭僧，见大觉侍舜之旁甚恭，归奏仁宗。召对便殿，见之叹曰：“道韵奇伟，真山林达士。”于扇上书云：“赐晓舜依旧为僧。”特旨再住栖贤，仍赐紫衣银钵盂。 |
One day, Prince Jia, acting on an imperial order, went to Jingyin to offer a meal to the monks. Seeing Dajue attend Master Shun with great reverence, he reported this to Emperor Renzong upon his return. Shun was summoned for an audience in a side hall. On seeing him, the emperor sighed and said, “His bearing in the Way is extraordinary and majestic; he is truly an accomplished gentleman of the mountains and forests.” On Shun’s fan he wrote: “Xiaoshun is hereby restored to the monastic life.” He further issued a special edict reinstating him at Qixian and bestowed upon him a purple robe and a silver alms bowl. |
| 舜罢栖贤日，以二庄力舁轿，至罗汉寺前，二力相谓曰：“既不是我院长老，不能远去。”弃轿而归。暨舜再来，令人先慰谕二力曰：“尔当时做得是。但安心，不必疑惧。” |
On the day Master Shun left Qixian, two laborers carried his sedan chair. When they reached the front of Luohan Monastery, the two said to one another, “Since he is no longer the elder of our monastery, we cannot carry him any farther.” They abandoned the chair and went home. When Shun returned, he first sent someone to reassure the two men: “What you did then was right. But set your minds at ease; there is no need for doubt or fear.” |
| 舜入院上堂颂曰：“无端被谮枉遭迍，半年有余作俗人。今日再归三峡寺，几多欢喜几多嗔。” |
When Master Shun reentered the monastery and ascended the Dharma seat, he composed this verse: “Slandered without cause, I wrongly suffered hardship; for more than half a year, I was a layman. Today I return once more to Three Gorges Monastery—how much joy, how much anger.” |
| 〖老人眉批〗 |
[The Elder’s Marginal Notes] |
| 知恩报德，合当如是乎！ |
To know gratitude and repay kindness—surely this is how it should be! |
| 舜老夫每喜骂人，无端被谮，有以致之欤！ |
Old Master Shun was fond of scolding people. Was there perhaps some cause for his being slandered without reason? |
| 〖锯解秤砣〗 |
[Sawing Apart the Steelyard Weight] |
| 舜老夫就是云居晓舜禅师，云门宗第五代【云门文偃→德山缘密→文殊应真→洞山晓聪→云居晓舜】祖。他喜欢骂人，“五、身手不凡”里就提到他“常讥天衣怀禅师说葛藤禅”。 |
Old Master Shun was Chan Master Xiaoshun of Yunju, the fifth-generation patriarch of the Yunmen school: [Yunmen Wenyan → Deshan Yuanmi → Wenshu Yingzhen → Dongshan Xiaocong → Yunju Xiaoshun]. He liked to scold people. In “V. Extraordinary in Bearing and Ability,” it is mentioned that he “often ridiculed Chan Master Huai of Tianyi for teaching tangled-vine Chan.” |
| 南康太守因泻私忿，不但不让他作方丈，还勒令他还俗（民其衣）。这私忿从何而来？恐怕是骂人招惹的吧。老人批示云：“舜老夫每喜骂人，无端被谮，有以致之欤！” |
The prefect of Nankang, venting personal resentment, not only refused to let him remain as abbot, but also ordered him to return to lay life by stripping him of his robes. Where did this personal resentment come from? Perhaps it was provoked by his scolding people. The Elder commented: “Old Master Shun was fond of scolding people. Was there perhaps some cause for his being slandered without reason?” |
| 净因大觉琏禅师就是育王怀琏禅师，也是云门宗第五代【云门文偃→双泉师宽→五祖师戒→泐潭怀澄→育王怀琏】祖。他曾是舜老夫的入室弟子，虽然后来继承了泐潭禅师的衣钵，也不忘舜老夫的大恩。 |
Chan Master Dajue Lian of Jingyin was Chan Master Huailian of Ayuwang, likewise a fifth-generation patriarch of the Yunmen school: [Yunmen Wenyan → Shuangquan Shikuan → Wuzu Shijie → Letan Huaicheng → Ayuwang Huailian]. He had once been an intimate disciple of Old Master Shun. Although he later inherited the Dharma transmission of Chan Master Letan, he never forgot Old Master Shun’s great kindness. |
| 他听说舜老夫无端被谮，被勒令还俗了，就派人把舜老夫请来，将方丈正室让给舜老夫住，自己住偏室。宋仁宗屡次召见琏禅师，请教禅宗的见地，琏禅师并不借机反映舜老夫被冤之事。 |
When he heard that Old Master Shun had been slandered without cause and ordered to return to lay life, he sent for him and invited him to come. He gave Old Master Shun the main abbot’s quarters and lived in a side room himself. Emperor Renzong of the Song repeatedly summoned Chan Master Lian to ask about the Chan school’s understanding, but Lian did not take the opportunity to report Old Master Shun’s unjust treatment. |
| 这看起来不象是同一个人所为：一是不怕株连，接来供养；二是能面见皇上，也不为之申冤。其实，若为此事上奏皇帝，便成了官场讼事。南康太守也不会是孤立的，不仅官场有后台，可能在禅林也有背景。 |
This may not seem like the conduct of the same person. On the one hand, he was unafraid of being implicated and brought Shun to support him; on the other, though he could meet the emperor, he did not plead Shun’s case. Yet if he had memorialized the emperor over this matter, it would have become an official lawsuit. The prefect of Nankang would not have been isolated: he would have had backing not only in official circles but perhaps also in the Chan community. |
| 事情闹大了，未必对舜老夫有利。比方说，哪位王爷找皇帝说句话，或者哪位辈分高的禅师在禅林说句话，这些都会对世俗身份的舜老夫造成伤害。瓜熟蒂必落、水到渠自成。用不着去争讼，只要有道，自能弘开。 |
If the matter had been made too big, it would not necessarily have benefited Old Master Shun. For example, if some prince had spoken to the emperor, or if some senior Chan master had spoken within the Chan community, this could have harmed Shun, who was then a layman. When the melon ripens, its stem naturally falls; when the water arrives, the channel naturally forms. There was no need to contend in litigation. So long as one has the Way, it will naturally spread widely. |
| 待时节因缘成熟，自会有龙天推出。琏禅师这样做，既不给尚在弱处的舜老夫招来伤害，又长养了舜老夫之道，是真懂报恩啊！所以老人赞云：“知恩报德，合当如是乎！”请看！半年多以后，时节因缘终于成熟了： |
When the time and conditions ripen, dragons and devas will naturally bring one forth. By acting in this way, Chan Master Lian neither brought harm upon Old Master Shun, who was still in a vulnerable position, nor failed to nurture Shun’s Way. This is truly understanding how to repay kindness. Therefore, the Elder praised him: “To know gratitude and repay kindness—surely this is how it should be!” Look: more than half a year later, the time and conditions finally ripened: |
| 有一天，嘉王爷奉圣旨到琏禅师的寺院里斋僧，见琏禅师非常恭敬地在舜老夫身旁服侍，回去后将此事奏明皇上。于是，宋仁宗在便殿里召见了舜老夫，为舜老夫的谈吐仪表所折服，赞之为“道韵奇伟，真山林达士。 |
One day, Prince Jia, acting under an imperial decree, went to Chan Master Lian’s monastery to offer a meal to the monks. Seeing Chan Master Lian attending Old Master Shun at his side with great reverence, he reported the matter to the emperor. Emperor Renzong of the Song then summoned Old Master Shun to a side hall. Overwhelmed by Shun’s manner of speaking and dignified bearing, he praised him: “His bearing in the Way is extraordinary and majestic; he is truly an accomplished gentleman of the mountains and forests.” |
| ”皇上在舜老夫的扇子上写道：“赐晓舜依旧为僧。”还特地下了一道圣旨，赐给紫衣银钵盂，请舜老夫还去主持原来的道场。皇上给平的反，南康太守只有服从，还敢再说什么！ |
The emperor wrote on Old Master Shun’s fan: “Xiaoshun is hereby restored to the monastic life.” He also specially issued an imperial edict, bestowed a purple robe and a silver alms bowl, and invited Old Master Shun to return and preside over his former monastery. Once the emperor had redressed the injustice, the prefect of Nankang could only obey. What more would he dare say? |
| 半年前舜老夫出院的时候，是由两个轿夫抬出去的，出寺院不远，两个轿夫对舜老夫说：“你既然已经不是我院的长老了，不能抬你太远。”当时就把轿子扔下，不抬了。 |
When Old Master Shun left the monastery half a year earlier, he was carried out by two sedan-chair bearers. Not far from the monastery, the two bearers said to him, “Since you are no longer the elder of our monastery, we cannot carry you any farther.” They immediately set down the chair and refused to continue carrying him. |
| 而今舜老夫领了皇上的圣旨，又回来了，先派人去安慰这两个抬轿子的：“你们当时做得没错。只管安心抬轿，不必怀疑害怕。”咦！只安慰轿夫么？怎么没提到他安慰别的人哪？岂不闻赵州禅师云：“第一等人来，禅床上接；中等人来，下禅床接；末等人来，三门外接。”他若跟谁客气，谁是几等啊？哈哈！ |
Now Old Master Shun had received the emperor’s edict and returned. He first sent someone to reassure those two sedan-chair bearers: “What you did then was not wrong. Simply set your minds at ease and carry the chair; there is no need for doubt or fear.” Ah—did he reassure only the chair bearers? Why is there no mention of his reassuring anyone else? Have you not heard Chan Master Zhaozhou say: “When a first-rate person comes, I receive them on the Chan couch; when a middling person comes, I receive them after getting down from the Chan couch; when a lowest-rate person comes, I receive them outside the monastery gate.” If he were courteous to someone, what rank would that person be? Ha ha! |
| 舜老夫重新入院，上堂作了一个颂：“无端被谮枉遭迍，半年有余作俗人。今日再归三峡寺，几多欢喜几多嗔。”可有人出来评论这“欢喜”和“嗔”么？ |
When Old Master Shun reentered the monastery, he ascended the Dharma seat and composed a verse: “Slandered without cause, I wrongly suffered hardship; for more than half a year, I was a layman. Today I return once more to Three Gorges Monastery—how much joy, how much anger.” Will anyone come forward to comment on this “joy” and “anger”? |
