Xīsǒu Shàotán chánshī yǔlù 希叟紹曇禪師語錄
Sayings-Record of Chán Master Xīsǒu Shàotán — a one-juan late-Southern-Sòng yǔlù of Xīsǒu Shàotán 紹曇 希叟紹曇 (d. by 1279), Yángqí-branch Línjì master, dharma-heir of 師範 Wújùn Shīfàn. This is the shorter of two parallel recensions; cf. KR6q0323 for the seven-juan guǎnglù 廣錄. Compiled by ten attendant-disciples.
About the work
One-juan yǔlù in Xuzangjing X70 n1389. Preface by Zhào Mènghé 趙孟何 (qiánjìnshì 前進士) dated túwéi dānmào jiāpíng (January 1280, i.e. one year after Shàotán’s recorded death). Four abbacy records: Qìngyuán Fólǒng 佛隴 (entered Chúnyòu 9.1.8 = 22 January 1249), Píngjiāng Fǎhuá 法華 (from Jǐngdìng 1 / 1260), Qìngyuán Xuědòu Zīshèng 雪竇資聖 (from Jǐngdìng 5 / 1264), and Qìngyuán Ruìyán Kāishàn Chóngqìng 瑞巖開善崇慶 (from Xiánchún 5 / 1269). Then fǎyǔ, fózǔ zàn, jìsòng, xiǎo fóshì, bá, and an fùlù 附錄.
Abstract
Shàotán is one of the most culturally influential of Wújùn’s dharma-heirs: his Wǔjiā zhèngzōng zàn (KR6q0005, composed 1254) was the canonical YuánMíng summary of the five Chán houses, and his prose style — tight sìliù 四六 parallel — was prized throughout Japanese Zen, where the Wǔjiā was reprinted as a Gozan-ban at Tenryū-ji in 1349. The four abbacies recorded here map the Qìngyuán–SūSōng Jiāngnán circuit. Zhào Mènghé’s preface treats the yǔlù as the monument to a master whose “vow-force” (願力) was particularly equipped to revive the degenerate monastic mores of the late Sòng, noting that cremation relics scattered after his death were treasured like pearls — hence the demand for his words in print.
Translations and research
For Shào-tán’s corpus generally, see the existing entry on the Wǔ-jiā zhèng-zōng zàn (KR6q0005). No dedicated English-language study located. Japanese scholarship on Rinzai kōan collections frequently cites his yǔlù for phraseology.