笑堂和尚語錄

Xiàotáng héshàng yǔlù 笑堂和尚語錄

Recorded Sayings of Venerable Xiào-táng by 明哲 (說), 超源 (等記錄), 超晙 (等編)

About the work

Single-juan yǔlù of Xiàotáng Míngzhé 明哲 笑堂明哲, one of the 50 dharma-heirs of Línyě Tōngqí 林野通奇 (1595/6–1652) in the Mìyún Yuánwù line (cf. KR6q0408). Fǎhuì 法諱 Míngzhé 明哲 (using the 明-character generation-variant sometimes substituted for 行 in the Mìyún lineage-poem’s 30→31-generation transition), hào Xiàotáng 笑堂 (“Laughter-Hall”). First-generation dharma-son of Línyě; Chén Zhīshēn’s 1665 preface identifies Xiàotáng as one of the principal Línyě heirs alongside Mùchén Dàomǐn (whose imperial patronage is the preface’s opening-reference). Compiled by shìzhě Chāoyuán Huìfù 超源 超源慧復 (recorder, jìlù 記錄) and dharma-heir Chāojùn 超晙 超晙 / Xiáqǐ 霞起 (editor, děng biān 等編) at Yánguān Bāoshān Língquánān 鹽官包山靈泉菴. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted. Printed as Jiāxīng Canon J28 B206.

Abstract

Author. Xiàotáng Míngzhé’s detailed biography is not preserved in the single-juan recension; the sermon content opens with his 1656 winter abbacy entry. Per the Chén Zhīshēn 1665 preface, Xiàotáng was from a “míngjiā zǐ 名家子” (distinguished-family son) background with a pre-birth vision-narrative. He served as close attendant to Línyě Tōngqí for several years at Tiāntóng before the master’s 1652 death; per the preface, “zhēnxiàn wèilèi jiáfǔ jiāogōng, jīnpíng wǎng dài, yǐgù qiánchuí dúlà yú shī shǒuyǎn měi guò yú zhòng 疑關畏壘夾輔交攻巾瓶罔怠以故鉗鎚獨辣於師手眼每過於眾” — “at the rocky-passes and windy-fortifications he redoubled his study, attended the teacher’s towel-and-vase without slackening; in consequence the master’s hammer-and-anvil fell on him alone, his eye and hand surpassed the assembly.” Specifically cited to Línyě’s Qiūhuái 秋懷 poem sent to Xiàotáng as the earliest sealing-verse, implying first sealing c. 1650–52.

Abbacies. Per the Chén Zhīshēn preface, Xiàotáng held three abbacies in sequence: (1) Yúháng Bēidù 餘杭杯渡; (2) Sānjù 三聚; (3) Yúháng Wòlóngshān Guǎnghuà Chánsì 餘杭臥龍山廣化禪寺 — the central abbacy, opened bǐngshēn dōng 丙申冬 = Shùnzhì 13 / 1656 winter (dated internally in the yǔlù’s opening shàngtáng), where he returned and held the seat at the time the present yǔlù was compiled. The Guǎnghuàsì 廣化禪寺 is distinct from the Jīnsùshān Guǎnghuìsì 廣慧禪寺 of the Mìyún line — Wòlóngshān Guǎnghuà is a specifically Lín-yě-line Zhèjiāng Hang-zhōu seat that Xiàotáng restored.

Compositional history. The compilation was undertaken by Xiàotáng’s dharma-heir Xiáqǐ Chāojùn 霞起超晙 at the Bāoshān Língquánān 包山靈泉菴 hermitage site — as indicated both by the juan-head signature and by Chén Zhīshēn’s preface (“Guò Bāoshān jìngshì xǐ jiē Xiáqǐ Jùngōng … jí guān qí suǒ juē Wòlóng yī luán, shí wèi Xiàotáng xián fǎsì 過包山靜室喜接霞起晙公 … 及觀其所劂臥龍一臠實為笑堂賢法嗣” — “passing through Bāoshān’s quiet chamber gladly met Xiáqǐ Jùngōng … and on examining what he was cutting — the Wòlóngshān yī luán 一臠 (one morsel) — realized it to be Xiàotáng’s worthy dharma-heir’s work”). This indicates Xiáqǐ Chāojùn was Xiàotáng’s principal heir and textual-executor. Cut with two front-prefaces both dated Kāngxī 4 乙巳 (= 1665): (1) Chén Zhīshēn 陳之伸 (Húguǎng liángchǔ bùzhèngshǐsī yòu cānzhèng 湖廣糧儲布政使司右參政, grain-policy deputy of the Húguǎng region) Kāngxī 乙巳 壯月穀旦 = Kāngxī 4 / 1665 lunar 8 first-day = September 1665; (2) Cáo Línyùn 曹林韻 (古 Yánguān layperson) Kāngxī 乙已 桂秋 = same year, autumn (lunar 8–9). notBefore = 1656 (the bǐngshēndōng 丙申冬 first Wòlóngshān shàngtáng opening); notAfter = 1665 (both prefaces 1665).

Contents. A single juan preserving: the Wòlóngshān Guǎnghuàsì kāitáng and shàngtáng corpus (1656 onwards); xiǎocān; fǎyǔ; wèndá jīyuán; closing miscellaneous material. No dedicated xíngshí, xíngzhuàng, or tǎmíng.

Tiyao

Not applicable — this is a Jiā-xīng-canon imprint (J28 B206), not a WYG text. Two 1665 front-prefaces (Chén Zhīshēn, Cáo Línyùn) provide the principal compositional documentation. Biographical detail is thin — the text was cut during Xiàotáng’s lifetime and preserves no deathbed material.

Translations and research

• See KR6q0408 for the broader Lín-yě Tōng-qí transmission context; Xiào-táng is one of Lín-yě’s 50 dharma-heirs and an instance of the mid-generation Mìyún-line Jiāng-nán abbacy-succession at smaller Hang-zhōu-area seats.
• No dedicated secondary literature located.

Other points of interest

• The 明-character as 行-parallel in Línyě’s sub-branch. Xiàotáng’s fǎhuì Míngzhé 明哲 uses 明 rather than 行 — an apparent generation-character alternative in Línyě’s specific sub-line. Similar 明-character heirs of Línyě include several others in the Tiāntóng 18-heir list at KR6q0408. The alternation between 行 (e.g. 行瑋 under 通門 Mùyún, 行謐 under 通奇 Línyě’s own compiler) and 明 (e.g. Míngzhé here) within Línyě’s sub-branch suggests that Línyě specifically allowed both conventions — possibly using 明 for disciples with stronger doctrinal / “明智 wisdom-clarity” profile and 行 for disciples with stronger institutional-administrative profile. This is a speculative differentiation; detailed cross-comparison would be needed.
• Xiáqǐ Chāojùn / Bāoshān Língquánān as editorial site. The cutting was done at the Bāoshān Língquánān 包山靈泉菴 — a hermitage on Bāoshān 包山 (either an island in Tai-hu 太湖 or a mountain near Sūzhōu; ambiguous from the text). This is a smaller-institution editorial venue not common in the J26–J28 cluster’s larger-monastery editorial patterns — reflecting the modest scale of Xiàotáng’s institutional footprint (single-juan yǔlù versus the multi-juan productions of his more prominent dharma-siblings).

Links

• CBETA
• Dharma-teacher: Línyě Tōngqí (at KR6q0408).
• Editor-heir: 超晙 超晙 (= Xiáqǐ 霞起).
• Compiler-recorder: 超源 Chāoyuán Huìfù.
• Preface-writers: Chén Zhīshēn 陳之伸 (Qīng Húguǎng official, 1665); Cáo Línyùn 曹林韻 (Yánguān layperson, 1665).