Xūzhōu Shěng chánshī yǔlù 虛舟省禪師語錄
Recorded Sayings of Chán Master Xū-zhōu Shěng by 行省 (說), 超直 (等編)
About the work
Four-juan yǔlù of Xūzhōu Xíngshěng 行省 虛舟行省 (1600-02-06 – 1668-06-14), Línjì-Yángqí dharma-heir of Fèiyǐn Tōngróng 費隱通容 (1593–1661). Compiled by fǎsì Wènshí Chāozhí 超直. Two front-prefaces: (i) by Yán Dàcān 嚴大參 𨍏轢大參 (= Yán Diàoyù 嚴調御, the prominent Jiāxīng lay-Chán figure and editor of KR6q0202 etc.), dated 戊戌夏 = 1658 summer, framing Xūzhōu as a fǎxiōng 法兄 (dharma-brother) sharing the same Fèiyǐn 同門 affiliation as Yán himself; (ii) posthumous preface by Wǔlín fǎzhí 武林法侄 Zhāng Wénjiā 張文嘉 (Zhòngjiā fǔ 仲嘉甫), undated but post-1668 (shī jì shìjì 師既示寂). Printed as Jiāxīng Canon J33 B282; original cutting at the Hézhōng Léngyánsì 禾中楞嚴 in Jiāxīng. Contents: juan 1 shàngtáng / xiǎocān; juan 2 shìzhòng / shànggòng / jīyuán / jì / zàn; juan 3 niāngǔ / sònggǔ; juan 4 xíngzhuàng + tǎmíng + appendices including 《筏喻初學》 and the separately-printed 《八識規矩頌註》 (KR6q0215).
Abstract
Authorship. Per the 行省 note: lay native of Cíxī 慈谿, surname Yáo 姚, born 1600. Lay-Chán pilgrim under multiple Línjì masters (Yúnmén, Píngtáo, Yǔfēng, Lóngmén, Lǐān) and finally Mìyún Yuánwù at Jīnsù; received the lay-name Tōngshěng from Mìyún. 1644 (age 46) tonsured at Xuědòu in the Míng-Qīng warfare-disruption; transferred to Fèiyǐn Tōngróng and renamed Xíngshěng 行省 (the standard xíng-generation form for Fèiyǐn heirs, paralleling KR6q0463’s Xíngzé). Transmission 1654 at Yúyún Chāoguǒ; abbacies 1655–59 at Xiǎnjìng, Hùshēng, Liúxī Chányuàn. The Yán Dàcān preface dates the corpus as already compiled by 1658 at the Hǒushān seat.
Dating. notBefore = 1654 (transmission and beginning of public preaching). notAfter = 1670 as a conservative bound — the volume was complete by 1658 per the Yán preface, with the Zhāng Wénjiā post-1668 preface added at the time of the Léngyánsì publication after Xūzhōu’s death.
Heirs. Six fǎsì (Méiān, Wènshí [this volume’s compiler], Kēxuě, Xuědìng) plus two ordained nuns (Mìqǐ, Juéwù) and two principal lay-heirs (Hézhuó Xuě Chāoxìn, Shěn Shàngxiān). Wènshí Chāozhí’s reputation among the heirs centered on his fund-raising for the Léngyánsì publication: jiélì mùzǐ, cángbǎn yú Hézhōng zhī Léngyán 竭力募梓藏板於禾中之楞嚴.
Doctrinal interest. Xūzhōu’s distinctive Yogācāra-Chán synthesis is preserved in the appended 《八識規矩頌註》 (KR6q0215) and referenced in the second preface as biékè bāshí guījǔsòng zhù 別刻八識規矩頌註. Few early-Qīng Chán masters produced Yogācāra commentaries at this scholastic depth.
Tiyao
Not applicable — Jiā-xīng-canon imprint (J33 B282). The two prefaces and the juan-4 行狀 + 塔銘 provide the principal documentation.
Translations and research
Reminder: AI generated list - beware of hallucinations. Corrections and additions welcome
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located. For the broader Fèi-yǐn / Mì-yún line: Jiang Wu, Enlightenment in Dispute (Oxford 2008).
Other points of interest
- Late-life monastic conversion. Xūzhōu’s transition from lay-Chán to ordained monastic at age 46 (1644) — driven directly by the Míng-Qīng warfare-disruption and family-loss — preserves a documented life-transition triggered by the dynastic transition. Compare KR6q0464 ‘s Chuán (also late-Míng-warfare-driven Chán entry) for parallel cases.
- Yogācāra commentary. The accompanying Bāshí guījǔsòng zhù (separately preserved at KR6q0215) makes Xūzhōu one of the few early-Qīng Chán masters to produce a substantial commentary on Xuánzàng’s Bāshí guījǔsòng — a doctrinal scholastic engagement unusual for the Línjì preaching tradition.