Shíyǔ chánshī fǎ tán 石雨禪師法檀
Dharma-Altar of Chán Master Shíyǔ
A twenty-juan late-Míng / Míng-Qīng-transitional Chán yǔlù preserving the collected sermons and teachings of Shíyǔ Míngfāng 石雨明方 (1593–1648), zì Duànfú 斷拂 (“Broken Whisk”), Cáodòng-lineage master; dharma-heir of Zhànrán Yuánchéng 湛然圓澄 (1561–1627, the author of KR6q0171 Kǎi gǔ lù). Compiled by his senior dharma-heir Yuǎnmén Jìngzhù 遠門淨柱.
About the work
A twenty-juan Chán yǔlù collection, J27 B190. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted.
The twenty juan contain Míngfāng’s sermons and teaching-materials from his successive major abbacies across the late Wànlì–Chóngzhēn–Shùnzhì period:
- Xiàngtián 象田 (from Chóngzhēn 4 = 1631)
- Tiānhuā 天華 (from Chóngzhēn 5 = 1632; opened the hall with formal sermons)
- Xiǎnshèngyuàn 顯聖院 (from Chóngzhēn 7 = 1634; the former Yuánchéng monastery)
- Bǎoshòu 寶壽 (at Yúháng 餘杭, from Chóngzhēn 9 = 1636; concurrent with Lóngmén 龍門)
- Xīchán 西禪 (from Chóngzhēn 11 = 1638)
- Xuěfēng 雪峰 (from Chóngzhēn 12 = 1639)
- Second round at Tiānhuā (Chóngzhēn 15 = 1642)
- Dōngtǎ 東塔 (from Chóngzhēn 17 = 1644, the MíngQīng transition year)
- Fórì 佛日 (from Shùnzhì 3 = 1646)
Structure within the twenty juan: formal hall-sermons (shàng táng 上堂), general talks (pǔ shuō 普說), xiǎo cān 小參 (small-group instruction), xíng zhuàng 行狀 (life-account) of the master by Jìngzhù (juan 20), plus poetic and prose compositions.
The xíng zhuàng in juan 20 — one of the most detailed biographical records preserved for any late-Míng Cáodòng master — is a principal primary source for Míngfāng’s Cáodòng-lineage connections and for the broader history of early-seventeenth-century Cáodòng at the Yúnménsì cluster in Zhèjiāng.
Abstract
Shíyǔ Míngfāng 石雨明方 (1593/3/1–1648/2/1; Wànlì 21/1/29 – Shùnzhì wùzǐ / 1/8, age 56, sēnglà 35). Zì Shíyǔ 石雨 (“Stone-Rain”), Duànfú 斷拂 (“Broken Whisk”) — the latter conferred by his master Yuánchéng after transmission, referring to the “broken whisk” as a symbol of dharma-continuity beyond physical implements. Also Bǎoshòu Fāng 寶壽方 (for his Bǎoshòusì abbacy). Lay surname Chén 陳. Native of Jiāshàn 嘉善 in Hé 禾 (modern Jiāxīng 嘉興 region, Zhèjiāng).
Ordained at 22 in Wànlì 42 = 1614 under Xīzhú Zōng chánshī 西築宗禪師. In Wànlì 43 = 1615 went to Yúnménsì to study under Zhànrán Yuánchéng 湛然圓澄; also visited Bóshān 博山 and Hānshān Déqīng 憨山德清. Returned to Yúnmén. Received dharma-transmission from Yuánchéng with a certification-verse: “Clearly seeing through Zhàozhōu’s dog, / Picking up nose-holes loses the mouth; / Do not stand on the ten-thousand-foot peak, / But submerge in the monastic community.” Presented with a duàn fú 斷拂 (broken whisk) as transmission-symbol, whence his secondary name Duànfú.
Abbacies at the nine sites listed above, spanning 1631–1648. Dharma-heirs included Yuǎnmén Jìngzhù 遠門淨柱 (the compiler of the present text), Dàdǐng Jìngxīn 大鼎淨新, Jíniàn Jìngxiàn 即念淨現, Tiānyú Jìngbǎo 天愚淨寶, and more than ten other named masters — a substantial continuation of the Cáodòng lineage into the Qīng.
Yuǎnmén Jìngzhù 遠門淨柱: senior dharma-heir of Míngfāng; compiler of the present text. See his own person note.
Dating: notBefore 1632 (start of Míngfāng’s major abbacies at Tiānhuā 天華, the earliest sustained sermon-records); notAfter 1648 (his death, Shùnzhì 5 / 1 / 8). Jìngzhù’s editorial compilation and publication would have followed shortly thereafter.
Translations and research
- Jiang Wu. 2008. Enlightenment in Dispute. Provides context on early-Qīng Cáodòng revival, within which Míng-fāng’s lineage is central.
- No substantial Western-language monographic study located specifically on J27 B190.
Other points of interest
Shíyǔ Míngfāng represents one of the central figures of the late-Míng Cáodòng revival, the same movement documented in KR6q0171 (Yuánchéng’s Kǎi gǔ lù). The master-disciple chain Yuánchéng → Míngfāng → Jìngzhù represents three generations of Cáodòng institutional leadership at the Yúnménsì cluster in Zhèjiāng, and their collected yǔlù preserve the Cáodòng school’s entry into the early-Qīng period with substantial institutional vigour.
The text’s scale (twenty juan) is unusual for a Cáodòng master’s yǔlù of this period — Cáodòng collections were typically more compact than parallel Línjì works. This reflects Míngfāng’s extended productive career (nine major abbacies across fifteen years) and the editorial thoroughness of his senior dharma-heir Jìngzhù.
Links
- CBETA J27nB190
- Kanseki DB
- Master-lineage: KR6q0171 Kǎi gǔ lù by Zhànrán Yuánchéng, Míngfāng’s master.