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), LínjìYángqí 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 MíngQīng 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 YogācāraChán 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
- 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 MíngQīng 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.