Platform Sutra of the Dharma Jewel of the Sixth Patriarch

莫於大乘門，卻執生死智。

do not, within the gate of the Great Vehicle, instead cling to views of birth and death.

若言下相應，即共論佛義；

If words are in accord at once, discuss together the meaning of the Buddha's Dharma;

若實不相應，合掌令歡喜。

if they truly do not accord, join your palms and let the other go away happy.

此宗本無諍，諍即失道意，

This school originally has no dispute, and a dispute loses the meaning of the Way;

執逆諍法門，自性入生死。」

to stubbornly oppose and argue about this Dharma gate is for self-nature to fall into birth and death."

時，徒眾聞說偈已，普皆作禮，並體師意，各各攝心，依法修行，更不敢諍，乃知大師不久住世。法海上座，再拜問曰：「和尚入滅之後，衣法當付何人？」師曰：「吾於大梵寺說法，以至於今抄錄流行，目曰『法寶壇經』。汝等守護，遞相傳授。度諸群生，但依此說，是名正法。今為汝等說法，不付其衣。蓋為汝等信根淳熟，決定無疑，堪任大事。然據先祖達磨大師付授偈意，衣不合傳。偈曰：

When the community had heard the verse, they all bowed and all grasped the Master's intention, each gathering in his thoughts and practicing according to the Dharma, and never again dared to dispute; only then did they know the Master would not stay long in the world. The senior monk Fahai bowed again and asked: "After the Venerable enters extinction, to whom shall the robe and Dharma be entrusted?" The Master said: "I have taught the Dharma at Dafan Temple until today, and what was copied down and handed on is titled the Platform Sutra of the Dharma Jewel. Guard it and transmit it in turn to save beings; so long as you speak according to it, that is the correct Dharma. Now in teaching you the Dharma, I do not entrust the robe. Because your roots of faith are ripe and you are decided without doubt, you are able to bear the great matter. Moreover, according to the meaning of the verse of transmission by the ancestor Master Bodhidharma, the robe should not be transmitted further. The verse says:

「『吾本來茲土，傳法救迷情，

I originally came to this land to transmit the Dharma and save deluded beings;

一華開五葉，結果自然成。』」

one flower opens five petals, and the fruit will naturally form."

師復曰：「諸善知識！汝等各各淨心，聽吾說法。若欲成就種智，須達一相三昧、一行三昧。若於一切處而不住相，於彼相中不生憎愛，亦無取捨，不念利益成壞等事，安閒恬靜，虛融澹泊，此名一相三昧。若於一切處行住坐臥，純一直心，不動道場，真成淨土，此名一行三昧。若人具二三昧，如地有種，含藏長養，成熟其實。一相一行，亦復如是。我今說法，猶如時雨，普潤大地。汝等佛性，譬諸種子，遇茲霑洽，悉得發生。承吾旨者，決獲菩提。依吾行者，定證妙果。聽吾偈曰：

The Master said further: "Good teachers! Each of you purify your own mind and listen to my Dharma. If you wish to accomplish all-knowing wisdom, you must penetrate the samadhi of one characteristic and the samadhi of one practice. If, in all places, you do not cling to characteristics, and within those characteristics give rise to no hatred or love, and have neither taking nor rejecting, do not think of benefit, success or failure, but are calm, tranquil, empty, open and plain, this is called the samadhi of one characteristic. If, in all places, walking, standing, sitting and lying, you have a purely single straight mind, not moving from the place of practice and at once making a pure land, this is called the samadhi of one practice. If a person has these two samadhis, he is like the ground with seeds in it, storing and nurturing them until their fruit ripens. The samadhi of one characteristic and the samadhi of one practice are also like this. Now my teaching of the Dharma is like the timely rain that universally moistens the earth; your Buddha-nature is like seeds, and meeting this moistening, all can sprout and grow. Those who receive my intention will surely obtain bodhi; those who practice according to me will surely realize the wonderful fruit. Listen to my verse:

「心地含諸種，普雨悉皆萌，

The mind-ground holds all kinds of seeds, and when the universal rain comes they all sprout;

頓悟華情已，菩提果自成。」

after suddenly awakening to the state of the flower, the fruit of bodhi forms of itself."

師說偈已，曰：「其法無二，其心亦然。其道清淨，亦無諸相，汝等慎勿觀靜及空其心。此心本淨，無可取捨。各自努力，隨緣好去。」爾時徒眾作禮而退。

When the Master had finished the verse, he said: "This Dharma has no two kinds, and this mind is the same. This Way is pure and has no characteristics of any kind. You must never contemplate stillness, nor empty your minds. This mind is originally pure and has nothing to take or reject. Each of you strive, and go well according to conditions." At that time the community bowed and withdrew.

大師，七月八日忽謂門人曰：「吾欲歸新州，汝等速理舟楫。」大眾哀留甚堅。師曰：「諸佛出現，猶示涅槃。有來必去，理亦常然。吾此形骸，歸必有所。」眾曰：「師從此去，早晚可回。」師曰：「葉落歸根，來時無口。」又問曰：「正法眼藏，傳付何人？」師曰：「有道者得，無心者通。」又問：「後莫有難否？」師曰：「吾滅後五六年，當有一人來取吾首。聽吾記曰：『頭上養親，口裡須餐，遇滿之難，楊柳為官。』」又云：「吾去七十年，有二菩薩從東方來，一齣家、一在家。同時興化，建立吾宗，締緝伽藍，昌隆法嗣。」問曰：「未知從上佛祖應現已來，傳授幾代？願垂開示。」師云：「古佛應世已無數量，不可計也。今以七佛為始，過去莊嚴劫，毘婆屍佛、屍棄佛、毘舍浮佛；今賢劫，拘留孫佛、拘那含牟尼佛、迦葉佛、釋迦文佛。是為七佛。

On the eighth day of the seventh month, the Master suddenly said to his disciples: "I am going back to Xinzhou; quickly prepare a boat." The assembly begged him earnestly to stay. The Master said: "The Buddhas appear in the world and still manifest nirvana. Where there is coming there must be going; the principle is originally so. This body of mine, when I return, must have a place to go." The people said: "Master, going from here, you will surely return sooner or later." The Master said: "Leaves fall and return to the root; when they come, they have no mouth." They also asked: "To whom is the treasury of the true Dharma eye transmitted?" The Master said: "One who has the Way obtains it, and one who has no mind penetrates it." They asked again: "Will there be calamity later?" The Master said: "Five or six years after my passing, a man will come to take my head. Hear my prediction: 'Supporting his parents on his head, needing to eat with his mouth, meeting the calamity of fullness, a willow will be an official.'" He added: "Seventy years after my death, two Bodhisattvas will come from the east, one a monk and one a layperson, who together will start teaching, establish this school of mine, build temples, and make the Dharma lineage flourish." Someone asked: "We do not know how many generations of Buddhas and patriarchs have appeared and transmitted from the beginning; we hope you will explain." The Master said: "Ancient Buddhas who have responded to the world are already countless. Now we begin with the Seven Buddhas: in the past Glorious Kalpa, Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha and Visvabhu Buddha; in the present Bhadra Kalpa, Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kasyapa Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha. These are the Seven Buddhas.

「已上七佛，今以釋迦文佛首傳。

"Of the seven Buddhas above, the transmission now begins with Sakyamuni Buddha.

「第一摩訶迦葉尊者、第二阿難尊者、第三商那和修尊者、第四優波毱多尊者、第五提多迦尊者、第六彌遮迦尊者、第七婆須蜜多尊者、第八佛馱難提尊者、第九伏馱蜜多尊者、第十脇尊者、十一富那夜奢尊者、十二馬鳴大士、十三迦毘摩羅尊者、十四龍樹大士、十五迦那提婆尊者、十六羅睺羅多尊者、十七僧伽難提尊者、十八伽耶舍多尊者、十九鳩摩羅多尊者、二十闍耶多尊者、二十一婆修盤頭尊者、二十二摩拏羅尊者、二十三鶴勒那尊者、二十四師子尊者、二十五婆舍斯多尊者、二十六不如蜜多尊者、二十七般若多羅尊者、二十八菩提達磨尊者(此土是為初祖)、二十九慧可大師、三十僧璨大師、三十一道信大師、三十二弘忍大師。

"First, Venerable Mahakasyapa; second, Venerable Ananda; third, Venerable Sanavasa; fourth, Venerable Upagupta; fifth, Venerable Dhritaka; sixth, Venerable Miccaka; seventh, Venerable Vasumitra; eighth, Venerable Buddhanandi; ninth, Venerable Buddhamitra; tenth, Venerable Parsva; eleventh, Venerable Punyayasas; twelfth, the Great Being Asvaghosa; thirteenth, Venerable Kapimala; fourteenth, the Great Being Nagarjuna; fifteenth, Venerable Kanadeva; sixteenth, Venerable Rahulata; seventeenth, Venerable Sanghanandi; eighteenth, Venerable Gayasata; nineteenth, Venerable Kumarata; twentieth, Venerable Jayata; twenty-first, Venerable Vasubandhu; twenty-second, Venerable Manorhita; twenty-third, Venerable Haklenayasas; twenty-fourth, Venerable Simha; twenty-fifth, Venerable Vasasita; twenty-sixth, Venerable Punyamitra; twenty-seventh, Venerable Prajnatara; twenty-eighth, Venerable Bodhidharma (counted as the First Patriarch in China); twenty-ninth, Master Huike; thirtieth, Master Sengcan; thirty-first, Master Daoxin; thirty-second, Master Hongren.

「惠能是為三十三祖。從上諸祖，各有稟承。汝等向後，遞代流傳毋令乖誤。」

"Huineng is the thirty-third patriarch. Each of the patriarchs from the past has had his own succession. In the future, transmit it from generation to generation, and do not make mistakes."

大師，先天二年癸丑歲八月初三日(是年十二月改元開元)，於國恩寺齋罷，謂諸徒眾曰：「汝等各依位坐，吾與汝別。」法海白言：「和尚！留何教法，令後代迷人得見佛性？」師言：「汝等諦聽！後代迷人，若識眾生，即是佛性；若不識眾生，萬劫覓佛難逢。吾今教汝。識自心眾生，見自心佛性。欲求見佛，但識眾生。只為眾生迷佛，非是佛迷眾生。自性若悟，眾生是佛；自性若迷，佛是眾生。自性平等，眾生是佛；自性邪險，佛是眾生。汝等心若險曲，即佛在眾生中；一念平直。即是眾生成佛。我心自有佛，自佛是真佛。自若無佛心，何處求真佛？汝等自心是佛，更莫狐疑。外無一物而能建立，皆是本心生萬種法。故經云：『心生種種法生，心滅種種法滅。』吾今留一偈與汝等別，名自性真佛偈。後代之人，識此偈意，自見本心，自成佛道。偈曰：

On the third day of the eighth month of the second year of Xiantian, guichou (in the twelfth month of that year the era was changed to Kaiyuan), after the midday meal at Guo'en Temple, the Master said to the assembly: "Each of you sit in your places; I am going to take leave of you." Fahai said: "Venerable! What teaching will you leave so that deluded people of later times may see Buddha-nature?" The Master said: "Listen carefully! If deluded people of later times recognize sentient beings, that is Buddha-nature; if they do not recognize sentient beings, they will hardly meet a Buddha even if they seek him for ten thousand kalpas. Now I teach you: recognize the sentient beings of your own mind and you see the Buddha-nature of your own mind. If you wish to see the Buddha, only recognize sentient beings. It is only that sentient beings delude the Buddha, not that the Buddha deludes sentient beings. If self-nature awakens, sentient beings are Buddha; if self-nature is deluded, the Buddha is a sentient being. If self-nature is even, sentient beings are Buddha; if self-nature is crooked and dangerous, the Buddha is a sentient being. If your mind is dangerous, evil and crooked, that is the Buddha within sentient beings; with one thought of evenness and straightness, sentient beings become Buddha. In my mind there is a Buddha of its own, and this own Buddha is the true Buddha. If you do not have the Buddha mind yourself, where will you go to seek the true Buddha? Your own mind is the Buddha; do not doubt any more. Outside the mind there is not a single thing that can establish anything; all the ten thousand dharmas are born from the original mind. So the sutra says: 'When the mind arises, all dharmas arise; when the mind ceases, all dharmas cease.' Now I leave you a verse in farewell, called the 'Verse of the True Buddha of Self-Nature'. Later people who recognize the meaning of this verse will themselves see their original mind and themselves accomplish the Buddha Way. The verse says:

「真如自性是真佛，邪見三毒是魔王，

True Suchness self-nature is the true Buddha, and false views and the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance are the demon king;

邪迷之時魔在舍，正見之時佛在堂。

when one is false and deluded, the demon lives in the house; when one has right view, the Buddha sits in the hall.

性中邪見三毒生，即是魔王來住舍，

When false views and the three poisons arise in self-nature, that is the demon king coming to live in the house;

正見自除三毒心，魔變成佛真無假。

right view naturally removes the mind of the three poisons, and the demon turns into the Buddha, truly and not falsely.

法身報身及化身，三身本來是一身，

The Dharma body, the reward body and the transformation body, these three bodies are originally one body;

若向性中能自見，即是成佛菩提因。

if one can see it for oneself within self-nature, that is the cause of bodhi for becoming a Buddha.

本從化身生淨性，淨性常在化身中，

The pure nature is originally born from the transformation body, and the pure nature is also always in the transformation body;

性使化身行正道，當來圓滿真無窮。

when the original nature drives the transformation body to walk the right path, the future fulfillment is truly without end.

婬性本是淨性因，除婬即是淨性身，

The nature of lust is originally the cause of the pure nature; remove lust, and at once it is the pure nature body;

性中各自離五欲，見性剎那即是真。

each person within self-nature leaves the five desires, and the instant of seeing one's nature is the truth.

今生若遇頓教門，忽悟自性見世尊，

If in this life one meets the sudden teaching Dharma gate, suddenly awakening to self-nature one sees the World-Honored One;

若欲修行覓作佛，不知何處擬求真？

if one is bent on seeking a Buddha to become through practice, he does not know where he plans to seek the truth.

若能心中自見真，有真即是成佛因，

If one can see the truth in one's own mind, having the truth is the cause of becoming a Buddha;

不見自性外覓佛，起心總是大痴人。

not seeing self-nature and seeking a Buddha outside, those who give rise to such a mind are all great fools.

頓教法門今已留，救度世人須自修，

The sudden teaching Dharma gate has now been left behind, and to save worldly people each must practice for himself;

報汝當來學道者，不作此見大悠悠。」

I tell you who will study the Way in the future: without this view, you will only pass your life in vain."

師說偈已，告曰：「汝等好住。吾滅度後，莫作世情悲泣雨淚，受人弔問、身著孝服，非吾弟子，亦非正法。但識自本心，見自本性，無動無靜，無生無滅，無去無來，無是無非，無住無往。恐汝等心迷，不會吾意，今再囑汝，令汝見性。吾滅度後，依此修行，如吾在日；若違吾教，縱吾在世，亦無有益。」復說偈曰：

When the Master had finished the verse, he told the assembly: "Stay well. After my passing, do not weep and shed tears as in worldly sentiment, accept condolences from others, or wear mourning clothes on your body; that would be neither my disciple nor the correct Dharma. Only recognize your own original mind and see your own original nature, with no movement and no stillness, no arising and no ceasing, no going and no coming, no right and no wrong, no abiding and no departing. I fear that your minds are deluded and cannot understand my meaning, so now I charge you again so that you may see your nature. After my passing, practice in this way, and it will be just as in the days when I was alive; if you go against my teaching, even if I were alive, there would be no benefit." He spoke another verse:

「兀兀不修善，騰騰不造惡，

Standing alone and at ease, not deliberately cultivating good; drifting freely, not creating evil either;

寂寂斷見聞，蕩蕩心無著。」

quietly cutting off the clinging of seeing and hearing, vast and open, the mind attached to nothing."

師說偈已，端坐至三更，忽謂門人曰：「吾行矣！」奄然遷化。於時異香滿室，白虹屬地，林木變白，禽獸哀鳴。十一月，廣韶新三郡官僚，洎門人僧俗，爭迎真身，莫決所之。乃焚香禱曰：「香煙指處，師所歸焉。」時香煙直貫曹溪。十一月十三日，遷神龕併所傳衣缽而回。次年七月出龕，弟子方辯以香泥上之，門人憶念取首之記，仍以鐵葉漆布固護師頸入塔。忽於塔內白光出現，直上沖天，三日始散。韶州奏聞，奉勅立碑，紀師道行。

When the Master had finished the verse, he sat upright until the third watch, then suddenly said to his disciples: "I am going!" and peacefully passed into stillness. At that time an unusual fragrance filled the room, a white rainbow reached continuously down to the ground, the trees in the forest turned white, and birds and beasts cried out in grief. In the eleventh month, the officials of the three prefectures of Guangzhou, Shaozhou and Xinzhou, together with disciples, monks and laypeople, vied to invite the true body and could not decide where it should go, so they burned incense and prayed, saying: "Wherever the smoke points, the Master will go." At that time the incense smoke pointed straight to Caoxi. On the thirteenth day of the eleventh month, the shrine was moved back together with the robe and bowl that had been transmitted. In the seventh month of the next year the shrine was opened, and the disciple Fangbian smeared fragrant clay on the true body; the disciples, remembering the prediction about taking the head, reinforced and protected the Master's neck with iron plates and lacquered cloth, and then entered it into the pagoda. Suddenly a white light appeared in the pagoda and shot straight up to the sky, and did not disperse for three days. Shaozhou reported to the court, and by imperial order a stele was erected to record the Master's Way and conduct.

師春秋七十有六，年二十四傳衣，三十九祝髮，說法利生三十七載，嗣法四十三人，悟道超凡者莫知其數。達磨所傳信衣(西域屈眴布也)，中宗賜磨衲寶缽，及方辯塑師真相，並道具，永鎮寶林道場。留傳《壇經》以顯宗旨，興隆三寶，普利群生者。

The Master lived to the age of seventy-six; he received the robe at twenty-four, had his head shaved at thirty-nine, taught the Dharma and benefited beings for thirty-seven years, had forty-three Dharma heirs, and an unknown number who awakened to the Way and transcended the ordinary. The robe of faith transmitted by Bodhidharma (which is Quxun cloth from the Western Regions), the ground-cloth kasaya and treasure bowl bestowed by Emperor Zhongzong, as well as the true image and implements of the Master made by Fangbian, forever guard Baolin Monastery. The Platform Sutra was handed down to make the essential point clear, to make the Three Jewels flourish and to benefit all beings.

六祖大師緣起外紀

What follows is the Outer Record of the Origins of the Sixth Patriarch, an account of the Sixth Patriarch's life as an outside biography.

門人法海等集

Compiled by his disciples Fahai and others.

大師名惠能，父盧氏，諱行瑫，唐武德三年九月，左官新州。母李氏，先夢庭前白華競發，白鶴雙飛，異香滿室，覺而有娠。遂潔誠齋戒，懷姙六年師乃生焉，唐貞觀十二年戊戌歲二月八日子時也。時毫光騰空，香氣芬馥。黎明有二僧造謁，謂師之父曰：「夜來生兒，專為安名，可上惠下能也。」父曰：「何名惠能？」僧曰：「惠者以法惠濟眾生，能者能作佛事。」言畢而出，不知所之。師不飲母乳，遇夜神人灌以甘露。三歲父喪，葬於宅畔。母守志鞠養，既長鬻薪供母。年二十有四，聞經有省。往黃梅參禮，五祖器之，付衣法，令嗣祖位，時龍朔元年辛酉歲也。

The Master's name was Huineng. His father was surnamed Lu and named Xingtao, and in the ninth month of the third year of Wude of the Tang was demoted from office and sent to Xinzhou. His mother, Lady Li, had earlier dreamed of white flowers in the courtyard vying to bloom, a pair of white cranes dancing, and an unusual fragrance filling the room, and on waking she became pregnant. She then purified herself and fasted sincerely, and after six years of pregnancy gave birth to the Master, at the hour of zi on the eighth day of the second month of wuxu, the twelfth year of Zhenguan of the Tang. At that time rays of light rose into the sky and the fragrance was rich. At dawn two monks came to visit and said to the Master's father: "The child born last night, we have come especially to give him a name; he may be called Hui above and Neng below." The father asked: "Why Huineng?" The monks said: "Hui means to bestow the Dharma and save beings; Neng means to be able to do the Buddha's work." Having said this they went out, and no one knew where they went. The Master would not take his mother's milk, and every night a divine person fed him sweet dew. When he was three his father died and was buried beside the house. His mother kept her widowhood and raised him, and when he grew up he supported his mother by selling firewood. At twenty-four, hearing someone recite a sutra, he had an awakening and went to Huangmei to pay homage; the Fifth Patriarch valued him and entrusted him with the robe and Dharma, making him heir to the patriarchal position, in the xinyou year, the first year of Longshuo.

南歸隱遯，至儀鳳元年丙子正月八日，會印宗法師詰論玄奧，印宗悟契師旨。是月十五日，普會四眾為師薙𩬊。二月八日，集諸名德授具足戒。西京智光律師為授戒師，蘇州慧靜律師為羯磨，荊州通應律師為教授，中天耆多羅律師為說戒，西國蜜多三藏為證戒。其戒壇乃宋朝求那跋陀羅三藏創建，立碑曰：「後當有肉身菩薩於此授戒。」又梁天監元年，智藥三藏自西竺國航海而來，將彼土菩提樹一株植此壇畔，亦預誌曰：「後一百七十年，有肉身菩薩，於此樹下開演上乘度無量眾，真傳佛心印之法主也。」師至是祝髮受戒，及與四眾開示單傳之旨，一如昔讖(梁天監元年壬午歲，至唐儀鳳元年丙子，得一百七十五年)。

He withdrew into hiding in the south, and on the eighth day of the first month of bingzi, the first year of Yifeng, he met Dharma Master Yinzong, who questioned and discussed profound meanings, and Yinzong awakened and accorded with the Master's intention. On the fifteenth of that month he universally summoned the fourfold assembly to have the Master's head shaved. On the eighth day of the second month he gathered the virtuous ones to give him the full precepts: the Vinaya Master Zhiguang of the western capital served as precept master, the Vinaya Master Huijing of Suzhou as karma master, the Vinaya Master Tongying of Jingzhou as instructor, the Vinaya Master Qiduoluo of central India as precept reciter, and the Tripitaka Master Mitra of the western lands as witness of the precepts. That ordination platform was built by the Tripitaka Master Gunabhadra in the Liu Song period, and he erected a stele saying: "In later times a flesh-body Bodhisattva will give the precepts here." Also, in the first year of Tianjian of the Liang, the Tripitaka Master Zhiyao came by sea from western India, bringing a bodhi tree from there and planting it beside the ordination platform, and likewise predicted: "A hundred and seventy years from now, a flesh-body Bodhisattva will expound the Supreme Vehicle beneath this tree and save immeasurable beings; he will be the true Dharma lord who transmits the Buddha's mind-seal." The Master, at this time having his head shaved and receiving the precepts, and revealing to the fourfold assembly the essential point of the single transmission, fully confirmed the earlier predictions. (From renwu, the first year of Tianjian of the Liang, to bingzi, the first year of Yifeng of the Tang, is a hundred and seventy-five years.)

次年春，師辭眾歸寶林，印宗與緇白送者千餘人，直至曹溪。時荊州通應律師，與學者數百人依師而住。師至曹溪寶林，覩堂宇湫隘，不足容眾，欲廣之。遂謁里人陳亞仙曰：「老僧欲就檀越求坐具地，得不？」仙曰：「和尚坐具幾許闊？」祖出坐具示之，亞仙唯然。祖以坐具一展，盡罩曹溪四境，四天王現身坐鎮四方。今寺境有天王嶺，因茲而名。仙曰：「知和尚法力廣大，但吾高祖墳墓並在此地，他日造塔，幸望存留，餘願盡捨永為寶坊。然此地乃生龍白象來脈，只可平天，不可平地。」寺後營建，一依其言。師遊境內山水勝處，輒憩止，遂成蘭若一十三所。今曰華果院，隷籍寺門。其寶林道場，亦先是西國智藥三藏自南海經曹溪口，掬水而飲，香美，異之。謂其徒曰：「此水與西天之水無別，溪源上必有勝地，堪為蘭若。」隨流至源上，四顧山水回環，峰巒奇秀，歎曰：「宛如西天寶林山也。」乃謂曹侯村居民曰：「可於此山建一梵剎，一百七十年後，當有無上法寶於此演化，得道者如林，宜號寶林。」時韶州牧侯敬中，以其言具表聞奏，上可其請，賜寶林為額，遂成梵宮，落成於梁天監三年。寺殿前有潭一所，龍常出沒其間，觸橈林木。一日現形甚巨，波浪洶湧，雲霧陰翳，徒眾皆懼。師叱之曰：「爾只能現大身，不能現小身，若為神龍，當能變化以小現大、以大現小也。」其龍忽沒，俄頃復現小身躍出潭面，師展缽試之曰：「爾且不敢入老僧缽盂裡。」龍乃遊揚至前，師以缽舀之，龍不能動。師持缽堂上，與龍說法，龍遂蛻骨而去。其骨長可七寸，首尾角足皆具，留傳寺門。師後以土石堙其潭，今殿前左側有鐵塔鎮處是也。

In the spring of the next year, the Master took leave of the assembly and returned to Baolin, and Yinzong and more than a thousand monks and laypeople saw him off as far as Caoxi. At that time the Vinaya Master Tongying of Jingzhou, with several hundred students, took up residence with the Master. When the Master reached Baolin in Caoxi, he saw that the halls were low and cramped and could not hold the people, and wished to enlarge them, so he visited the local man Chen Yaxian and said: "This old monk wishes to ask the donor for a piece of land the size of a sitting cloth; may I?" Chen Yaxian said: "How wide is the Venerable's sitting cloth?" The Patriarch took out the sitting cloth and showed him, and Yaxian agreed. When the Patriarch unfolded the sitting cloth, it covered all four boundaries of Caoxi, and the Four Heavenly Kings appeared and sat to guard the four directions. The temple grounds now have a Heavenly King Ridge, which got its name from this. Yaxian said: "I know the Venerable's Dharma power is vast, but the tombs of my high ancestors are all on this land, and when pagodas are built in the future I hope they will be preserved; all the rest I give up entirely, to be a treasure-hall forever. But this land is the incoming vein of a living dragon and a white elephant, and may only be leveled to the sky, not leveled in the ground." Later construction behind the temple was all done as he said. The Master traveled the scenic mountains and waters of the area, stopping to rest wherever he went, and so built thirteen aranyas, now called Huaguo Yuan, attached to the temple gate. As for the Baolin place of practice, earlier the western Tripitaka Master Zhiyao, passing by Caoxi mouth from the South Sea, scooped up water to drink, found it fragrant and sweet and was amazed, and said to his disciples: "This water is no different from the water of the western heaven; at the source of this stream there must be a splendid place where an aranya can be built." So he followed the stream up to its source, looked all around at the encircling mountains and waters and the wondrous peaks, and exclaimed: "It is just like the Baolin Mountain of the western heaven." He then said to the residents of Caohou Village: "A temple can be built on this mountain; a hundred and seventy years from now, a supreme Dharma jewel will teach and transform here, and those who attain the Way will be as many as the trees of a forest, so it should be called Baolin (Jewel Forest)." At that time Hou Jingzhong, the prefect of Shaozhou, reported his words in a memorial, and the Emperor approved the request and bestowed 'Baolin' as the temple's plaque, and so the Brahma palace was built, completed in the third year of Tianjian of the Liang. In front of the temple hall was a pond in which a dragon often appeared and disappeared, striking the trees. One day the dragon showed its huge body, waves surged, clouds and mist darkened, and the community was afraid. The Master scolded it: "You can only show a large body, not a small one; if you are truly a divine dragon, you should be able to transform, showing the large as small and the small as large." The dragon suddenly vanished, and in a moment appeared in a small body and leapt out of the pond. The Master unfolded his bowl to test it: "You do not dare enter this old monk's bowl." The dragon then swam up to him, and the Master scooped it up with the bowl, and the dragon could not move. The Master carried the bowl to the hall and taught the Dharma to the dragon, and the dragon then shed its bones and left. The bones were about seven inches long, complete with head, tail, horns and feet, and are kept in the temple. The Master later filled the pond with earth and stone, and the place in front of the hall on the left side where an iron pagoda now stands to hold it down is the spot.

師墜腰石鐫龍朔元年盧居士誌八字，此石今存黃梅東禪。又唐王維右丞，為神會大師作《祖師記》云：「師混勞侶積十六載，會印宗講經，因為削𩬊。」又柳宗元刺史，作祖師諡號碑云：「師受信具，遯隱南海上十六年。度其可行，乃居曹溪為人師。」又張商英丞相，作《五祖記》云：「五祖演化於黃梅縣之東禪院，蓋其便於將母。龍朔元年，以衣法付六祖已，散眾入東山結庵。有居人憑茂，以山施師為道場焉。」以此考之，則師至黃梅傳受五祖衣法，實龍朔元年辛酉歲。至儀鳳丙子，得一十六年，師方至法性祝髮。他本或作師咸亨中至黃梅，恐非。

On the stone the Master tied to his waist were carved the eight characters "Recorded by the layman Lu in the first year of Longshuo," and this stone is still today at the Dongchan Temple in Huangmei. Furthermore, Wang Wei, Vice Director of the Right in the Tang dynasty, in writing the "Record of the Patriarch" for Master Shenhui, said: "The Master hid himself among his fellow laborers for sixteen years, until he met Yinzong lecturing on the scripture, and for him had his hair shaved." Also Liu Zongyuan, the Prefect, in writing the inscription for the Patriarch's posthumous title, said: "The Master, having received the robe of faith and the alms bowl, lived in seclusion in the Nanhai region for sixteen years. Judging that he could now practice the Way, he took up residence at Caoxi and became a teacher of others." Also Chancellor Zhang Shangying, in writing the "Record of the Fifth Patriarch," said: "The Fifth Patriarch taught at the Dongchan Monastery in Huangmei County in order to be able to support his mother conveniently. In the first year of Longshuo, after entrusting the robe and Dharma to the Sixth Patriarch, he dismissed his followers and went into Dongshan to build a hermitage. A local resident, Feng Mao, donated the mountain to the Master as a place of practice." By these accounts, the Master's arrival at Huangmei to receive the Fifth Patriarch's robe and Dharma was truly in the first year of Longshuo, the xinyou year; by the bingzi year of Yifeng, a total of sixteen years, the Master then went to the Faxing Temple to have his hair shaved. Some editions say the Master arrived at Huangmei in the Xianheng years, which is probably wrong.

歷朝崇奉事蹟

The records of reverence from successive dynasties are as follows.

唐憲宗皇帝，諡大師曰大鑒禪師。

Emperor Xianzong of the Tang gave the Master the posthumous title "Chan Master Dajian."

宋太宗皇帝，加諡大鑒真空禪師，詔新師塔曰太平興國之塔。

Emperor Taizong of the Song added the posthumous title "Chan Master Dajian Zhenkong," and by edict named the newly built stupa of the Master "The Stupa of Great Peace and Flourishing Country."

宋仁宗皇帝，天聖十年迎師真身及衣缽入大內供養，加諡大鑒真空普覺禪師。

In the tenth year of Tiansheng, Emperor Renzong of the Song invited the Master's true body and robe and bowl into the palace to be venerated, and added the posthumous title "Chan Master Dajian Zhenkong Pujue."

宋神宗皇帝，加諡大鑒真空普覺圓明禪師。具見晏元獻公碑記。

Emperor Shenzong of the Song added the posthumous title "Chan Master Dajian Zhenkong Pujue Yuanming." For details see the inscription by Duke Yan Yuanxian (Yan Shu).

賜諡大鑒禪師碑(柳宗元撰)

"Inscription on the Bestowal of the Posthumous Title Chan Master Dajian," composed by Liu Zongyuan.

扶風公廉，問嶺南三年，以佛氏第六祖，未有稱號，疏聞於上。詔諡大鑒禪師，塔曰靈照之塔。元和十年十月十三日，下尚書祠部符到都府，公命部吏洎州司功掾告於其祠。幢蓋鍾鼓增山盈谷，萬人鹹會，若聞鬼神。其時學者千有餘人，莫不欣踴奮厲，如師復生；則又感悼涕慕，如師始亡。因言曰：

Lord Ma Zong of Fufeng, serving as Surveillance Commissioner of Lingnan for three years, observed that the Sixth Patriarch of the Buddhist school had as yet no title, and memorialized the emperor. An edict granted the posthumous title "Chan Master Dajian" and named the stupa "The Stupa of Spiritual Illumination." On the thirteenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of Yuanhe, a document from the Ministry of Rites of the Department of State Affairs came down to the prefectural capital, and Lord Ma ordered his subordinate officials and the prefectural Superintendent of Merit to proclaim it at the temple. Banners, canopies, bells and drums filled the valleys, and tens of thousands assembled, as if one could hear the spirits. At that time there were over a thousand students, none of whom did not leap for joy and feel roused and encouraged, as if the Master had been reborn; and then at once they were grieved and mournful, weeping and longing, as if the Master had just passed away. Thereupon a text was written, saying:

自有生物，則好鬪奪相賊殺，喪其本實，誖乖淫流，莫克返於初。孔子無大位，沒以餘言持世，更楊、墨、黃老益雜，其術分裂。而吾浮圖說後出，推離還源，合所謂生而靜者。梁氏好作有為，師達磨譏之，空術益顯。六傳至大鑒。大鑒始以能勞苦服役，一聽其言，言希以究。師用感動，遂受信具。遯隱南海上，人無聞知，又十六年。度其可行，乃居曹溪為人師。會學者來，甞數千人。其道以無為為有，以空洞為寔，以廣大不蕩為歸。其教人，始以性善、終以性善，不假耘鋤，本其靜矣。中宗聞名，使倖臣再徵，不能致，取其言以為心術。其說具在。今布天下，凡言禪皆本曹溪。大鑒去世百有六年，凡治廣部，而以名聞者以十數，莫能揭其號。乃今始告天子，得大諡。豐佐吾道，其可無辭？公始立朝，以儒重剌虔州、都護安南，由海中大蠻夷，連身毒之西，浮舶聽命，鹹被公德，受旂纛節戟，來蒞南海，屬國如林，不殺不怒，人畏無噩，允克光於有仁，昭列大鑒莫如公，宜其徒之老。乃易石於宇下，使來謁辭。其辭曰：

Since living beings came into existence, they have loved to fight and plunder and to kill one another, losing their original truth, drifting on in disorder and excess, unable to return to the beginning. Confucius had no great power or rank, and after his death sustained the world through the words he left behind; afterward, through the schools of Yang Zhu, Mo Di, and Huang-Lao, it became still more confused, and his teaching too was fragmented. Our Buddhist teaching came later, tracing back the scattering to return to the source, which exactly accords with the nature said to be 'still at birth.' Emperor Wu of Liang loved conditioned affairs, and Master Bodhidharma criticized him, and so the principle of 'emptiness' became all the more clear. Handed down six generations, it came to Dajian. Dajian at first was able to endure hardship and do menial labor; hearing his master's words even once, though he said little he thoroughly grasped their principle, so his master was moved by it and gave him the robe of faith and the alms bowl. He lived in seclusion in the Nanhai region, where people had no way of hearing of him, for another sixteen years. Judging that he could now practice the Way, he took up residence at Caoxi and became a teacher of others. The students who gathered there often numbered several thousand. His Way took 'non-action' as 'being,' took 'emptiness' as 'reality,' and found its destination in vastness without license. In teaching people, he spoke of the goodness of nature at the start and also at the end, with no need to weed or hoe, because it is originally still. Emperor Zhongzong heard of his fame and sent favored ministers twice to summon him, and both times could not move him, and only took his words as an art of cultivating the mind. His teachings all still survive and now spread throughout the world; all who speak of Chan are rooted in Caoxi. In the one hundred and six years since Dajian died, more than ten governors of the Guangzhou region have won renown in the world, yet no one was able to raise up a title for him. Only now has it been reported to the Son of Heaven and a great posthumous title obtained. For one who so richly supports our Way, how could there not be a piece of writing? Lord Ma, when he first stood at court, was esteemed for his Confucian learning, and served as Prefect of Qianzhou and Protector-General of Annam; from the great barbarian lands in the sea, all the way to Shendu (India) and westward, the ships sailing the sea all obeyed his command, and all received the favor of Lord Ma, who, bearing banners and halberds, governed the South Sea, with dependent states like a forest; he neither killed nor raged, and people stood in awe of him without fear, and he was truly able to enlarge benevolence. None could match Lord Ma in making Dajian known and honored, and it is no wonder his disciples esteem him. So under the roof the stone stele was replaced, and he sent someone to invite me to compose the text. The text says:

達摩乾乾，傳佛語心，六承其授，大鑒是臨。勞勤專默，終挹於深，抱其信器，行海之陰。其道爰施，在溪之曹，厖合猥附，不夷其高。傳告鹹陳，惟道之褒，生而性善，在物而具。荒流奔軼，乃萬其趣，匪思愈亂，匪覺滋誤。由師內鑒，鹹獲於素，不植乎根，不耘乎苗。中一外融，有粹孔昭，在帝中宗，聘言於朝。陰翊王度，俾人逍遙，越百有六祀，號諡不紀。由扶風公，告今天子，尚書既復大行，乃誄光於南土。其法再起，厥徒萬億，同悼齊喜。惟師化所被洎，扶風公所履，鹹戴天子。天子休命，嘉公德美，溢於海夷，浮圖是視。師以仁傳，公以仁理，謁辭圖堅，永胤不已。

Bodhidharma, diligent and earnest, transmitted the mind-Dharma that the Buddha taught; six generations received this transmission, down to Dajian. He was diligent and single-minded and silent, in the end drawing from the depths, embracing that token of faith, walking south of the South Sea. His Way then spread, in the region of Caoxi; a mixed multitude came to attach themselves, and this did not lower his loftiness. Proclamations and notices were all stated, only to extol this Way. People are born with a nature that is good, each fully equipped in concrete things; it is only through wild running about that the myriad directions arose. Not to think it over only makes more confusion, not to awaken only increases delusion. Because the Master looked inward, everyone could return to his original simplicity; there was no need to plant its roots or weed out its sprouts. The inner mind is single and outer things are perfectly blended, pure and utterly bright. Under Emperor Zhongzong, an invitation was sent in court. He secretly assisted the kingly way, enabling people to wander free. After one hundred and six years, the posthumous title was not yet recorded. Through Lord Fufeng it was reported to the present Son of Heaven, and once the Department of State Affairs had answered and put it into effect, a eulogy was written to shine in the south. His Dharma flourished again, with disciples numbering in the tens of thousands of millions, mourning together and rejoicing together. The places covered by the Master's teaching and the administration carried out by Lord Fufeng all look up to the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven issued a fine edict, commending the virtue of Lord Ma, flowing out to the barbarians overseas and revered by the Buddhist school. The Master transmitted the Dharma with humaneness, and Lord Ma governed with humaneness. We request that the text be carved in stone for firmness, to be handed down without end.

大鑒禪師碑(並《佛衣銘》，俱劉禹錫撰)

"Inscription for Chan Master Dajian," together with the "Inscription on the Buddha's Robe," both composed by Liu Yuxi.

元和十年某月日，詔書追褒曹溪第六祖能公，諡曰大鑒。寔廣州牧馬總以疏聞，繇是可其奏，尚道以尊名，同歸善善，不隔異教。一字之褒，華夷孔懷，得其所故也。馬公敬其事且謹，始以垂後，遂諮於文雄。今柳州刺史河東柳君為前碑，後三年有僧道琳，率其徒由曹溪來，且曰：「願立第二碑，學者志也。」維如來滅後，中五百歲，而摩騰、竺法蘭，以經來華，人始聞其言，猶夫重昏之見曶爽。後五百歲，而達摩以法來華，人始傳其心，猶夫昧旦之覩白日。自達摩六傳至大鑒，如貫意珠，有先後而無同異。世之言真宗者，所謂頓門。初達摩與佛衣俱來，得道傳付以為真印。至大鑒置而不傳，豈以是為筌蹄邪？芻狗邪？將人人之莫已若而不若置之邪？吾不得而知也。

In the tenth year of Yuanhe, on a certain month and day, an imperial edict posthumously honored Lord Huineng, Sixth Patriarch of Caoxi, with the title "Dajian." This was truly through the memorial of Ma Zong, Governor of Guangzhou, and so his request was granted: valuing the Way and honoring its name, all alike commend good conduct without being kept apart by differing religions. A single word of honor is deeply cherished by both Chinese and foreigners because it is appropriate. Lord Ma respected this matter and was careful about it, and from the start wished to leave it for later generations, and so consulted a champion of the literary world. Now Master Liu, a man of Hedong and Prefect of Liuzhou, has composed the earlier inscription; three years later, a monk named Daolin led his disciples from Caoxi and said: "We wish to set up a second stele; this is the students' wish." After the Tathagata's extinction, five hundred years passed in between, then Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna brought scriptures to China, and people first heard his teaching, like seeing the faint light of dawn in layers of darkness. After another five hundred years, Bodhidharma brought the Dharma to China, and people then received his mind-Dharma, like seeing the bright sun at daybreak. From Bodhidharma, passed on through six generations to Dajian, like a string of wish-fulfilling pearls, with earlier and later but no difference. What the world speaks of as the true school is the so-called sudden gate. At the start Bodhidharma came together with the Buddha's robe, and those who attained the Way passed it on as a true seal of authentication. But when it came to Dajian, it was set aside and not passed on. Was it regarded as the fish-trap to be forgotten once the fish is caught? Or as the straw dog thrown away after being used in sacrifice? Or was it simply put aside because no one could match himself? I do not know.

按大鑒生新州，三十出家，四十七年而沒，百有六年而諡。始自蘄之東山，從第五師得授記以歸。中宗使中貴人再徵，不奉詔。第以言為貢，上敬行之。銘曰：

Examining the life of Dajian: he was born in Xinzhou, left home at thirty, and died after forty-seven years, receiving a posthumous title one hundred and six years later. At first he went from Dongshan in Qizhou, receiving the Fifth Generation Master's prediction and parting, and returned. Emperor Zhongzong twice sent eunuchs to summon him, and he did not obey the edict, only offering words as tribute, which the emperor respected and followed. The inscription says:

至人之生，無有種類，同人者形，出人者智。蠢蠢南裔，降生傑異，父乾母坤，獨肖元氣。一言頓悟，不踐初地，五師相承，授以寶器。宴坐曹溪，世號南宗，學徒爰來，如水之東。飲以妙藥，差其瘖聾，詔不能致，許為法雄。去佛日遠，群言積億，著空執有，各走其域。我立真筌，揭起南國，無修而修，無得而得。能使學者，還其天識，如黑而迷，仰目鬥極。得之自然，竟不可傳，口傳手付，則礙於有。留衣空堂，得者天授。

The birth of the perfected person has no kind to follow; what he shares with ordinary people is his appearance, and what surpasses ordinary people is his wisdom. In the dull remote south there was born this outstanding and extraordinary person; with Qian as his father and Kun as his mother, he alone resembles the primal qi. Awakening suddenly at a single phrase, he did not need to tread the first stage of practice; the five generations of masters received it one from another, and handed the precious vessel to him. He sat at ease at Caoxi, and the world called it the Southern School; students came in crowds, like water flowing east. He gave them wondrous medicine to drink and cured their muteness and deafness; the imperial edict could not move him, and people acknowledged him as the champion of the Dharma gate. As the age of the Buddha grew further and further away, the many doctrines accumulated into the hundreds of millions; some clung to emptiness and some clung to being, each running into his own territory. I set up the true fish-trap and snare, and revealed it in the southern land; cultivating without anything to cultivate, attaining without anything to attain. He enabled students of the Way to return to their innate insight, like someone lost in the dark who looks up and sees the Dipper. What is obtained is natural and ultimately cannot be transmitted; passed on from mouth to hand, it becomes stuck in 'being.' Leaving the robe in the empty hall, the one who obtains it is one given by Heaven.

佛衣銘(並引)

"Inscription on the Buddha's Robe," with a short preface.