Jièān Jìn chánshī yǔlù 介菴進禪師語錄
Recorded Sayings of Chán Master Jiè-ān Jìn by 悟進 (說), 真理 (等編)
About the work
Ten-juan yǔlù of Jièān Wùjìn 悟進 介菴悟進 (1612 – after 1680s) — principal dharma-heir of Yuānhú Miàoyòng 鴛湖妙用 (1587–1642, cf. KR6q0416) in the Wúqù Rúkōng → Chēxī Wúhuàn → Nánmíng Zōngguǎng Cáodòng sub-line. Also the editorial author of the xíngzhuàng preserved in KR6q0416 juan 2 for his master. Fǎhuì 法諱 Wùjìn 悟進, hào Jièān 介菴, late-life hào Zhǐzū chánshī 之祖禪師 / Jièān Jìn 介菴進 (per catalog). Lay surname Zhāng 張, of Jiāxīng 嘉興. Father Zhāng Shùnfǔ 張舜甫; mother Hèshì 賀氏 who dreamt of the sun-wheel at conception. Born 萬曆 40 壬子 10.9 辰時 = ~2 November 1612 Western. Principal abbot of Jiāxīng Jīnmíngsì 嘉興金明寺 from late 1640s onwards. Compiled by dharma-heir Zhēnlǐ 真理 真理. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted. Printed as Jiāxīng Canon J29 B233.
Abstract
Author. See the extensive biographical frame established at KR6q0416 (where Wùjìn authored the xíngzhuàng for his master Miàoyòng). The present yǔlù preserves Wùjìn’s own juan 5 xíngshí 行實, delivering the following additional personal detail: tonsure at age 23 (= 1634) at Tóngyuèān 桐月庵 under Wànrú Tōngwēi 萬如通微 (Miàoyòng’s hermitage-successor; cf. KR6q0404); 1638 interview with Mìyún Yuánwù; decisive awakening on hearing the carpenter’s axe-sound during an illness-period at Tóngyuèān. Miàoyòng passed the 源流衣拂 源流衣拂 formal transmission to Wùjìn in 1642 at age 31. After Miàoyòng’s 1642 October death, Wùjìn went to Wǔlín Bǎoshòusì 武林寶壽寺 in 1643 spring to meet Shíyǔ Míngfāng 石雨明方 (Miàoyòng’s dharma-brother) to request the tǎmíng for Miàoyòng (later preserved at KR6q0416).
Abbacies (1648+). 順治戊子 順治戊子 = 1648: received an abbacy-invitation from Jiāhé protectors — most likely the Jiāxīng Jīnmíngsì 金明寺 seat that serves as his primary abbatial designation in subsequent cross-references. The preface signature to the present text identifies him as “秀州金明寺嗣祖沙門悟進” — the zhǔchí 住持 of Xiùzhōu Jīnmíngsì (秀州 = Jiāxīng).
Compositional history. The opening preface is self-authored (signed “Xiùzhōu Jīnmíngsì sìzǔ shāmén Wùjìn shū 秀州金明寺嗣祖沙門悟進書”) — rare for a Chán yǔlù to open with a self-preface. The preface explicitly argues for the authenticity of the 源流法偈 lineage-transmission-verse genre against those who question it. Undated but consistent with a late-career Jīnmíngsì cutting c. 1670s–1690s. notBefore = 1648 (first Jiāxīng abbacy invitation); notAfter = 1690 conservatively.
Contents by juan. (j.1) 序 + 啟 + shàngtáng 上堂; (j.2) shàngtáng continued; (j.3) shìzhòng 示眾; (j.4) xiǎocān 小參; (j.5) niāngǔ 拈古 + sònggǔ 頌古 + 行實 行實 (self-authored autobiography); (j.6) jīyuán 機緣 + wèndá 問答 + chuíwèn 垂問; (j.7) xiàngzàn 像贊 + fǎyǔ 法語 + shūwèn 書問; (j.8) jìsòng 偈頌; (j.9) shījì 詩偈; (j.10) shūyǐn 疏引 + xùbá 序跋 + zhēnmíng 箴銘.
Tiyao
Not applicable — this is a Jiā-xīng-canon imprint (J29 B233), not a WYG text. The self-authored front-preface + juan 5 xíngshí provide the principal biographical documentation summarized under Abstract and in cross-reference to KR6q0416.
Translations and research
- See KR6q0416 under Translations for the broader Miào-yòng Cáo-dòng sub-line context. Wù-jìn’s own extended career at Jīn-míng-sì has not received dedicated scholarly treatment.
- Liào Zhào-hēng (2013) and Zhāng Shèng-yán (1992) for the broader Wú-qù / Nán-míng line context.
Other points of interest
- Self-authored preface. The opening preface signed by Wùjìn himself is the distinctive feature of this yǔlù — most Chán yǔlù open with lay-patron or senior-dharma-brother prefaces, rarely with a master-self-preface. Wùjìn’s self-preface polemicizes against those who doubt the 源流法偈 lineage-verse genre, defending the authenticity of the Wúqù / Nánmíng / Miàoyòng transmission-tradition. This positions the present yǔlù as explicitly self-defending lineage-authentication — a late-career theological-polemical posture consistent with the CáodòngLínjì sectarian tensions of the mid-Kāng-xī era.
- The Jīnmíngsì abbacy continuity. Wùjìn’s long tenure at Jiāxīng Jīnmíngsì (from c. 1648 through at least the 1680s, = c. 35+ years) is one of the longest single-seat Chán abbacies documented in the J28–J29 cluster. The stability of this tenure — unusual among the abbacy-hopping masters of the period — reflects Wùjìn’s specific editorial-institutional focus on the master-Miào-yòng legacy-custodianship.
Links
- CBETA
- Dharma-teacher: Yuānhú Miàoyòng (at KR6q0416).
- Grand-teacher: Nánmíng Zōngguǎng 南明宗廣 (Cáodòng Wúqù Rúkōng sub-line).
- Hermitage-sister-master: Wànrú Tōngwēi 萬如通微 (Wùjìn’s actual tonsure-master in 1634 at Tóngyuèān).
- Editorial-companion-volume: KR6q0416 《鴛湖用禪師語錄》 — Wùjìn’s xíngzhuàng of his master.
- Compiler: 真理 Zhēnlǐ.