Tánxī Zǐzhōu Chuán chánshī yǔlù 壇溪梓舟船禪師語錄
Recorded Sayings of Chán Master Tán-xī Zǐ-zhōu Chuán by 船 (說), 明法 (等編)
About the work
Three-juan yǔlù of Zǐzhōu Chāochuán 船 梓舟超船 (b. 1619-04-29), LínjìYángqí dharma-heir of Èryǐn Bǎoān Mì 二隱寶安謐 at Jīngxī Bǎoānsì 荊溪保安寺. Compiled by ménrén Míngfǎ 明法 děng. Front-preface by Zhāng Lián / Tōngshēng 武張聯法名通陞 (Hú-guǎng-area lay-Chán figure who served as a military-administrative official supervising grain-transport on the Hànshuǐ corridor in the early 1660s). Printed as Jiāxīng Canon J33 B281. Contents: juan 1–2 shàngtáng / xiǎocān / fǎyǔ; juan 3 jīyuán / jì / 行實 (autobiographical narrative).
Abstract
Authorship. Per the juan-3 xíngshí and DILA: native of Tóngchuānzhōu 童川州 (= Chéngdūfǔ Tóngchuān 成都府潼川, Sìchuān); lay surname Hé 何. Tonsured 1640 under Yìngchūn 映春 at Báiliánān; full precepts 1642 at Rónghuáshān with three-year xiébùzhìxí sūtra-prostration practice. Late-Míng warfare disruptions and famine drove him to Guānyīn invocation. 1645 onward: nine-year pilgrimage circuit through virtually every major Mì-yún-line successor: Cuìyán → Wànrú Tōngwēi at Yíxīng → Yùlín Tōngxiù at Húzhōu → Fèiyǐn Tōngróng at Jìngshān → Mùyún Tōngmén at Tiāntóng → Jùdé Hónglǐ at Língyǐn → Mùchén Dàomín at Tiāntóng → Zìxián at Sāntǎ. Final teacher Èryǐn Mì at Huátíng Chuánzǐ Fǎrěnsì 華亭船子法忍寺 (whence the dharma-name 船 derives, in resonance with the Táng-era chuánzǐ boatman-master); 4 years of tòngbàng; 3-year yǐnguān at Gǔxīnān. 庚子 = 1660 transmission at Bǎoānsì on the chūguān “破” reply.
Dating. notBefore = 1660 (post-transmission preaching). notAfter = 1670 as a conservative bound. The Zhāng Lián preface mentions a 1666 (丙午) meeting at WǔHàn during which Chuán was already in active ministry. The preface itself is undated but post-1666.
Lineage and abbacies. Two abbacies in Húběi border-region: Xiāngzhōu Lùménsì 襄州鹿門寺 (the zìshān 紫山 abbacy referenced in 鹿門 catalog-form, 2 years post-1660s) and Tánxī gǔsì 檀溪古寺 (Hànshuǐ valley historic temple, restored by Chuán; whence the title-form 壇溪 / 檀溪 / 鹿門梓舟船). Èryǐn → Chuán is one Línjì sub-line of the Tiānyǐn Yuánxiū 天隱圓修 → Tōngshòu / Èryǐn Mì Qìngshān succession (parallel to KR6q0463’s Yúnwài Xíngzé via Sōngjì Tōngshòu, but a distinct branch).
Cross-school synthesis. Zhāng Lián’s preface emphasizes Chuán’s doctrinal range spanning both Línjì and Cáodòng currents: wèi chéng Cáodòng zhī mài ér jiān shàn qí miánmì wú yúxiān zhī piān; xiàn jiē Línjì zhī chuán ér dú dé qí zhíjié wú lǔmǎng zhī shī 未承曹洞之脈而兼擅其綿密無連纖之偏現接臨濟之傳而獨得其直捷無魯莽之失.
Tiyao
Not applicable — Jiā-xīng-canon imprint (J33 B281). The juan-3 行實 and the Zhāng Lián front-preface provide the principal documentation.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located. For the broader Tiān-yǐn / Tōng-shòu / Èr-yǐn line: see KR6q0463 (Yún-wài Xíng-zé).
Other points of interest
- Comprehensive nine-year pilgrimage circuit. The 1645–1654 pilgrimage record visits eight of the major contemporary Línjì masters (Wànrú, Yùlín, Fèiyǐn, Mùyún, Jùdé, Mùchén, Cuìyán, Zìxián, Èryǐn) before final commitment to Èryǐn — making this volume a particularly informative witness to the mid-seventeenth-century cross-Línjì-circuit pilgrim practice. Compare KR6q0458’s Rúxǐ Cáodòng pilgrimage and KR6q0462’s Bùhuì cross-school circuit for parallel cases.
- Boat / Chuánzǐ resonance. The single-character dharma-name 船 (catalog-form) deliberately echoes the Táng-era Chuánzǐ Déchéng 船子德誠 (“Boatman” Déchéng), with the master taking up the seat at Huátíng Chuánzǐ Fǎrěnsì 華亭船子法忍寺 — the historical site of Chuánzǐ Déchéng’s hermitage.