The Sixth Patriarch Read Along II & III

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次年春。師辭眾歸寶林。印宗與緇白。送者千餘人。直至曹溪。時荊州通應律師。與學者數百人。依師而住。

師至曹溪寶林。觀堂宇湫隘。不足容眾。欲廣之。

In the spring of the following year, the Master took leave of the assembly

and returned to Pao Lin.  Yin Tsung, together with more than a thousand

monks and laypeople, accompanied him to Ts'ao Hsi.

At that time Vinaya Master T'ung Ying of Ching Chou and several hundred students followed the Master and came to dwell there. When the Master arrived at Pao Lin, in Ts'ao Hsi, he saw the buildings were bleak and small, insufficient to accommodate the crowd. Wishing to enlarge them. . .

遂謁里人陳亞仙曰。老僧欲就檀越求坐具地。得不。仙曰。和尚坐具幾許闊。祖出坐具示之。亞仙唯然。祖以坐具 一展。盡罩曹溪四境。四天王現身。坐鎮四方。今寺境有天王嶺。因茲而名。仙曰。知和尚法力廣大。但吾高祖墳墓並坐此地。他日造塔。幸望存留。餘願盡捨。永 為寶坊。然此地乃生龍白象來脈。只可平天。不可平地。寺後營建。一依其言。

師遊境內。山水勝處。輒憩止。遂成蘭若一十三所。今日花果院。隸籍寺門。

其寶林道場。亦先是西國智藥三藏。自南海經曹溪口。掬水而飲。香美。異之。謂其徒曰。此水與西天之水無別。溪源上必有勝地。堪為蘭若。隨流至源上。四顧山 水回環。峰巒奇秀。歎曰。宛如西天寶林山也。

He paid a visit to the villager, Ch'en Ya Hsien and said, "This Old Monk

comes to the Almsgiver seeking a sitting cloth’s worth of land.  Is that

possible?" Hsien asked, "How big is the High Master's sitting cloth?"                                                                                                                                                               The master took out his sitting cloth, it completely covered the four borders of Ts'ao Hsi.  The Four Heavenly Kings appeared and sat as protectors in each of the four directions.

It is true to this occurrence that the mountain range bordering the

monastery is called "The Range of the Heavenly Kings."  

Hsien said, "I know that the High master's Dharma power is vast and great.  



However, the burial ground of my great-grandfather lies on this land.  

In the future, if you build a stupa, I hope this area will remain undisturbed.

As for the rest, I wish to give it all to be a forever treasured place.  

This land has the flowing energy of a living dragon and a white elephant.

Level only heaven; do not level earth."

Later, the monastery was constructed according to his words.  The

Master roamed within these boundaries, and at places where the scenes

of nature were fine he stopped to rest.

Accordingly, thirteen Aranyas were erected, among them the present

Hua Kuo Hall.  The site of the Pao Lin Bodhimanda was decided upon

long ago by Indian Tripitaka Master Jnanabhaishajya, who, during his

journey from Nan Hai, passed Ts'ao Hsi, where he cupped up the water

with his hands and found it to be delicious.  Surprised, he told his disciples.

"This water is not different from that in India.  It source would

surely be an excellent site on which to build a monastery.

He followed the water and looked to the four directions.  The mountains

and waters encircled one another and the peaks were impressive.  He

sighed and said, "This is just like Jeweled Forest Mountain in India."

乃謂曹侯村居民曰。可於此山建一寶剎。一百七十年後。當有無上法寶。於此演化。得道者如林。宜號寶林。時韶州 牧侯敬中。以其言具表聞奏。上可其請。賜額為寶林。遂成梵宮。蓋始於梁天監三年也。

He told the villagers of Ts'ao Hou, "A pure dwelling may be built here.  

After one hundred and seventy years, the Unsurpassed Dharma

Jewel will be taught here. Those who realize awakening here will be

as numerous as the trees of this forest.  It should, therefore be called

'Pao Lin (Jeweled Forest).'"

At that time Magistrate Hou Ching Chung of Shao Chou reported these

words to the Emperor who assented the conferred upon it the name

'Pao Lin Bodhimanda.'  The construction of the pure monastery began in the

third year of the T'ien Chien reign if the Liang Dynasty (A.D.  504).

寺殿前有潭一所。龍常出沒其間。觸撓林木。一日。現形甚巨。波浪洶湧。雲霧陰翳。徒眾皆懼。師叱之曰。你只能現大身。不能現小身。若為神龍。當能變化。以 小現大。以大現小也。其龍忽沒。俄頃復現小身。躍出潭面。師展缽試之。曰。你且不敢入老僧缽盂裡。龍乃游揚至前。師以缽舀之。龍不能動。師持缽歸堂上。與 龍說法。龍遂蛻骨而去。其骨長可七寸。首尾角足皆具。留傳寺門。師後以土石煙其潭。今殿前右側。有鐵塔處是也。

In front of the temple was a pond in which a dragon often swam, bumping and scraping the trees of the forest. One day he appeared, larger than ever, covering the area with thick mist. The disciples were afraid, but the Patriarch scolded him, saying, "Hah! You can only make yourself appear in a large body, not in a small one. If you were a divine dragon, you could transform the great to the small and the small into the great. The dragon suddenly disappeared, but he returned an instant later in a small body, skipping about on the surface of the pond. The Master held out his bowl and teased him, saying, "You don't dare climb into this old monk's bowl."

At that moment the dragon swam in front of the Master, who scooped him out of the water with his bowl. The dragon couldn't move. Holding the bowl, the Master returned to the hall and explained the Dharma to the dragon. The dragon then shed his skin and left. His bones, only seven inches long and complete with head, tail, horns, and claws were preserved in the temple.

Later the master filled in the pond with earth and stones. Now, in that place, in front of the hall on the right side is an iron stupa.