Lǎnshí Líng chánshī yǔlù 懶石聆禪師語錄
Recorded Sayings of Chán Master Lǎn-shí Líng by 聆 (說), 海瑞 (等錄)
About the work
Four-juan yǔlù of Lǎnshí Líng 聆 懶石聆 — principal dharma-heir of Zhàngxuě Tōngzuì 丈雪通醉 (1610–1695, at KR6q0415) in the Pòshān Hǎimíng sub-line of the Mìyún Yuánwù tradition, and immediate successor to Zhàngxuě at the Hànzhōng Jìngmíngsì 漢中靜明寺 seat. Fǎhuì 法諱 Líng 聆 (“Hearer”), hào Lǎnshí 懶石 (“Lazy-Stone”). 34th-generation Línjì (per the lineage-claim “乃破山嫡孫丈雪真子” = “true grandson of Pòshān, true son of Zhàngxuě”). Lay surname Zhāng 張, native of ShǔChóngqìng Zhōngzhōu 蜀重慶忠州 (modern Zhōngxiàn 忠縣 in Sichuan). Compiled (děng lù 等錄) by dharma-heir Hǎiruì 海瑞 海瑞; juan-head recorder of the individual juan is Zhēnyùn 真蘊 真蘊. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted. Printed as Jiāxīng Canon J28 B218.
Abstract
Author. Lǎnshí Líng was born to the Zhāng 張 family of Zhōngzhōu 忠州 (Sichuan). Mother Zhào 趙 dreamt of swallowing the moon at conception. Age 12: dream-summoned to tonsure. Age 20: full ordination. Trained first under Xiàngyá héshàng 象崖和尚 on the wànfǎ guīyī 萬法歸一 huàtóu. First awakening: decisive shattering of the phenomenal world on yīrì bùjué shēnxīn shìjiè, húnrán xū huōhuō dì 一日不覺身心世界渾然虛豁豁地 — “one day, unaware, body-mind-world all vacant-and-clear like the blue sky struck by thunder”. Subsequent sealing exchange with Zhàngxuě Tōngzuì on the Shìzūn niánhuā, Jiāyè wēixiào 世尊拈花迦葉微笑 gōngàn — Zhàngxuě struck three times; Lǎnshí’s final response was “chìxīn piànpiàn 赤心片片”. Served Zhàngxuě for five years. Subsequently visited the grand-teacher Pòshān Hǎimíng 破山海明; received confirmation on the “cǐ shì rú míngjìng 此事如明鏡” passage. Returned to accompany Zhàngxuě to Tiāntóng 天童 for Mi-yun’s pagoda-sweeping. At Hànzhōng Jìngmíngsì 漢中靜明寺 during a subsequent stay, Lǎnshí had a final sealing-exchange on the Hányù cān Dàdiān, bìn shǒuzuò 韓愈參大顛擯首座 gōngàn and received the yuánliú fúzǐ 源流拂子 lineage-transmission from Zhàngxuě. The sealing-exchange closing “shōuqǔ zhù shān qù, tārì zì yǒu bié bǎo bōsī 收取住山去他日自有別寶波斯” was followed by Lǎnshí’s reluctant acceptance with a sequence of three “cuò cuò cuò 錯錯錯” (error-error-error) bows.
Three abbacies. (1) Hànzhōngfǔ Jìngmíngsì 漢中府靜明寺 — succeeded Zhàngxuě on his master’s Tiāntóng visit. Primary abbacy of Lǎnshí’s career. (2) Hànzhōngfǔ Bǎolínsì 漢中府寶林寺 — Shǎnxī second seat. (3) Yúnnánfǔ Shāngshānsì 雲南府商山寺 — southernmost seat, the Yúnnán frontier.
Historical significance. Lǎnshí extends the Pòshān / Zhàngxuě northern-mission (cf. KR6q0402, KR6q0415, KR6q0422) from Sichuan / Shǎnxī southwest into Yúnnán proper — his Shāngshānsì 商山寺 abbacy at Kūnmíng 昆明 represents the Mìyún-line’s first significant Yúnnán foothold in the southwest. Together with Yúné Xǐ’s contemporaneous northern mission (Hénán / Shǎnxī / Chángān) at KR6q0422, Lǎnshí’s southern-southwest push completes the geographic-frontier program of the Pòshān / Zhàngxuě sub-line in the 1650s.
Compositional history. Cut with two front-prefaces both dated 順治己亥 = Shùnzhì 16 / 1659: (1) by Liú Dàokāi 劉道開 (hào Liǎoān jūshì 了菴居士), dated 己亥夏 = summer 1659; (2) by Shībó 施博 (hào Yuēān dàorén 約庵道人, Zuìlǐ = Jiāxīng), dated 己亥 佛誕日 = Buddha’s Birthday 1659. Liú Dàokāi also appears as Lǎnshí’s correspondent in the juan 3 書問 書問 letters (“fù Liǎoān Liú jūshì 復了庵劉居士”). notBefore = 1655 (c. when Lǎnshí took up the Jìngmíng abbacy during Zhàngxuě’s Tiāntóng absence); notAfter = 1660 (post-1659 cutting with the two dated prefaces).
Contents by juan. (j.1) prefaces + shàngtáng across all three abbacies (Jìngmíngsì + Bǎolínsì + Shāngshānsì); (j.2) xiǎocān 小參 + guǎnglù 廣錄 + zàn 讚 + jīyuán 機緣 + sònggǔ 頌古; (j.3) 行繇 行繇 (self-biographical xíngshí) + fǎyǔ 法語 + shūwèn 書問 (including the correspondence with Liú Dàokāi and “fù Yuèchuáng fǎxiōng 復月幢法兄” addressed to Yuèchuáng Cèméi 月幢策眉, Zhàngxuě’s other heir) + fóshì 佛事 + shí wú 十無 + gē 歌 + fēndēng 分燈 + jì 偈; (j.4) more jì 偈.
Tiyao
Not applicable — this is a Jiā-xīng-canon imprint (J28 B218), not a WYG text. The two 1659 front-prefaces + juan 3 xíngyáo 行繇 provide the principal compositional documentation summarized under Abstract.
Translations and research
- See KR6q0415 under Translations for the broader Zhàng-xuě Tōng-zuì / Pò-shān Hǎi-míng sub-line context. Lǎn-shí Líng is treated as one of the principal regional-mission heirs in Yǒng Hé 永和 (ed.), 《丈雪通醉禪師語錄研究》 (Chéng-dū, 2015).
- Qí Lǐ-jiā 齊立家, 《四川佛教寺廟歷史研究》 (Běi-jīng: Zōng-jiào Wén-huà, 2018). Context for the Sichuan → Shǎn-xī → Yún-nán Chán expansion.
- No Western-language treatment.
Other points of interest
- The Yúnnán Shāngshānsì abbacy. Lǎnshí’s tenure at Yúnnánfǔ Shāngshānsì 雲南府商山寺 is a rare mid-century Chán yǔlù witness for Yúnnán Buddhism. The Yúnnán Chán presence at this period is otherwise poorly documented; Lǎnshí’s juan 1 Shāngshān shàngtáng block provides primary-source content from a Chán master’s residence at the frontier. Further research on the Shāngshānsì institutional history is warranted.
- Dual-recorder editorial team. The text shows an unusual dual-recorder pattern: the juan-head signatures list Zhēnyùn 真蘊 as direct-recorder (“嗣法門人真蘊錄”), while the catalog-meta names Hǎiruì 海瑞 as co-compiler (děng lù 等錄). Both are dharma-heirs of Lǎnshí at different career-stages; the division of labor between direct-stenography (Zhēnyùn) and final editorial-assembly (Hǎiruì) is a small textual-critical datum.
- Liú Dàokāi lay-patron. Liú Dàokāi 劉道開 (hào Liǎoān jūshì 了菴居士) is both the 1659 preface-writer and one of Lǎnshí’s recorded lay-correspondents. His preface’s metaphor — “Zǒng shì Pòshān yītiáo bàng, Zhàngshī chuán yǔ Lǎnshī niān 總是破山一條棒丈師傳與懶師拈” (“all is Pòshān’s single staff — Zhàngshī passed it to Lǎnshī for wielding”) — provides a memorable emblematic-summary of the three-generation Pòshān / Zhàngxuě / Lǎnshí transmission.
Links
- CBETA
- Dharma-teacher: Zhàngxuě Tōngzuì (at KR6q0415).
- Grand-teacher: Pòshān Hǎimíng 破山海明 (cf. KR6q0402).
- Dharma-brother (co-heir of Zhàngxuě): Yuèchuáng Cèméi 月幢策眉 (juan 3 fù Yuèchuáng fǎxiōng correspondence).
- Compilers: 海瑞 Hǎiruì + 真蘊 Zhēnyùn.
- Preface-writers: Liú Dàokāi 劉道開 (了菴居士, 1659 summer); Shībó 施博 (約庵道人, 1659 Buddha’s Birthday).