New research on Obaku monk Jifei's Dharma Transmission Certificate Bestowed by Yinyuan

A new article by Ma Xuming 马旭明 on Jifei's 即非 Dharma Transmission Certificate given by Yinyuan 隐元 has been published in China. The original 1657 certificate and a few letters were published in 蜗庐藏珍図录 by 天六书房 in Japan (page 20). (Unfortunately, there is no such a book and publisher in American cataloging system.) These materials were not included in Yinyuan's complete collections.

 The certificate is as follows and resembles the one Yinyuan received from Feiyin Tongrong 费隐通容:
“从上承嗣来源 ：六祖下、南岳让、马祖一、百丈海、黄檗运、临济玄、兴化奖、南院颙、 风穴沼、首山念、汾阳昭、石霜圆、杨岐会、白云端、五祖演、圆悟勤、虎丘隆、天童华、密庵杰、 破庵先、无准范、雪巗钦、高峰妙、中峰本、千岩长、万峰蔚、宝藏持、东明山、海舟慈、宝峰瑄、 天奇瑞、绝学聪、月心宝、禹门传、天童悟、径山容，明历丁酉年寓普门福元禅寺老僧隐元琦手书付即 非一禅人。”

Here is the detailed bibliography of this article:

马旭明. (2017). 1657年隐元禅师付即非源流手迹考释. 世界宗教文化, (02), 110-117.

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  【機構】 無錫博物院；
  
  【摘要】 明末清初,黃檗宗高僧隱元隆琦在清順治十一年(1654)東渡日本,在日本政治文化中心京都創建"黃檗山萬福寺",開創日本佛教界的一大宗派——黃檗宗派,其影響遍及日本的禪學、文學、藝術、印刷、建筑乃至茶道和生活品味等各個方面,并成為17、18世紀當時日本文化的主流。1657年隱元禪師付即非源流及信件是一件不可多得的珍貴文獻,是研究隱元東渡初期活動的史料,具有重要的歷史價值,值得我們研究。 
  
  【關鍵詞】 隱元禪師； 即非； 手跡考釋； 
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Feiyin Tongrong's 费隐通容 Calligraphy from He Chuangshi 何创时 Foundation

http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/3/8/8/n355585p.htm

http://bbs.artron.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&action=printable&tid=3446522

I came across a piece of calligraphy by Yinyuan's teacher Feiyin Tongrong 费隐通容. Apparently it belongs to the collection of Mr. He Chuangshi 何创时 Foundation.

行草七言诗条幅
凌霄峰下住茅庵。
笑月昑风不等闲。
款─径山客
印─费隐客 径山老人
费隐通容（一五九三～一六六一），福建福清县人，俗家姓何，十四岁出家，号费隐，法名容。
费隐和尚自幼即英异绝伦，博通经论。历参无明慧经、湛然圆澄诸师。明天启三年参谒密云圆悟，遂顿释知见，并嗣其法。之后历住黄檗山万福寺、莲峰寺、浙江天宁寺、江苏超果寺、福严禅寺、万寿禅寺、维摩寺、尧峰山兴福寺等诸刹。皆能复兴古刹、传扬圆悟之法道、大振临济宗风。
崇祯六年主黄檗，延隐元入西堂，三年后退隐，由隐元隆琦承继法嗣；其法嗣计有隐元隆琦等六十四人。
费隐和尚在明朝灭亡之际，因战乱被贼兵伤及右腕，因此改用左手来书写，书法多为奔放的行草，亦能写端正的楷书。清顺治十四年（一六五七）再任嘉兴福严寺住持，十八年（一六六一）三月圆寂，世寿六十九。着有＜灯严统＞二十五卷、＜五灯严统解惑编＞一卷、＜祖庭钳锤录＞二卷等；另其法嗣隐元隆琦等编＞费隐禅师语录＞十四卷（或十六卷），明崇祯十六年（一六四三）刊行，内容包括＜上堂＞、＜小参＞、＜入堂＞、＜法语＞、＜偈＞、＜书问＞、＜问答机录＞、＜拈古＞、＜颂古＞、＜赞＞、＜杂着＞、＜小佛事＞等。

《赏析》
此书或为禅师左手所书写，字用狂草，恣肆奔放，气劫惊绝。
禅师为临济宗高僧，隐元隆琦为其法嗣。＜万法归心录＞称临济宗风为“势如山崩，机似电卷”，则禅师之书风实本自于宗风，是以禅入书者，其后之隐元、木庵、即非之黄蘗书风皆受其影响而开发。（钟弘年）

转载何创时书法艺术基金会

Feiyin's 費隱 (Hiin) Calligraphy in Dr. Harald Conrad's Collection 祖師西来意縦目劫帰

Hiin calligraphy for Harald Conrad collection. All rights reserved.

Details from the Conrad collection. All rights reserved.

Details from the Conrad collection. All rights reserved.

I am glad that Prof. Harald Conrad from School of East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield in England contact me about one of Feiyin Tongrong's one-column calligraphy in his collection. It reads  祖師西来意縦目劫帰. However, its meaning is very difficult to understand. Dr. Conrad is also puzzled by Feiyin's (Hiin) use of "the 35th generation after Nangaku 南嶽三十五世, rather than the reference to Rinzai, which is common with Ingen, Mokuan, Sokuhi, etc.? There is a genealogical document in Manpukuji written by Hiin which he started with Nangaku, too." Also, Dr. Conrad noticed that a number of similar on-column pieces (ichigyo) are also dated back to the same year 1656 with the same date and signature. 

He wants to organize a special exhibit of his collection some day and I think it is a great idea.Below is my reply and I want to thank Dr. Conrad for allowing me to use the pictures of his collections here.

I think your reading is correct unless there are other alternatives. If it is true, 縦目 could mean looking forward with protruding eyes. This is an common expression in Chinese literature but its meaning is not clear until the discovery in Sanxingdui in 1980s about masks with protruding eyes. See the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanxingdui.  劫帰 could be a short hand for 萬劫歸一，which could mean a return to the origin after sufferings in myriads of kalpas. Then the question is why he wrote this.

You are right to date it to 1656, more precisely the second month. I pulled out his biography in the year of 1656 (see below) and in the second month, he offered dharma transmission to his longtime follower Xu Changzhi 徐昌治，a gentleman from Yanguan 鹽官 county, zi Jinzhou  覲周. I mentioned him briefly in both of my books. Remember the controversy about his book Wudeng yantong 五燈嚴統 is not over yet and he was obviously very depressed but hopeful at the time. So his verse could be his expression of hoping to overturn the adverse situation. His verse then could mean the truth of Bodhidharma's coming from the west can be only looked for after many kalpas returning to one, or the true original existence. Of course, he meant his reputation would be rehabilitated for discovering the truth after being defeated in the court. The events listed in this year also shows some of his opponents actually visited him to show their remorse. This is only my guess. He could have written it for Xu Changzhi or even to Yinyuan Longqi 隱元隆琦. If you get this in Japan and there are many bearing similar dates from the same period, it may indicate that Yinyuan's envoy was visiting Feiyin around this time and they simply collected or requested Feiyin's writing as credentials for Yinyuan's orthodox transmission in Japan. Then they returned quickly to Japan with their collections. During this time, Yinyuan was "detained" in Fumonji 普門寺 under serious suspicion from all, including authorities and ordinary Japanese monks. So he needed something from China to prove his reputation and prestige. 

There is reason for Chan monks during this period to count from Nanyue rather than Linji to avoid overt sectarian rivalry in China. Feiyin was just challenged because of his genealogy book, this might be the reason that he used Nanyue to identify himself. But his seal is still orthodox Rinzai.

Here is the excerpt about what he did in the second month in 1656, followed by the entire entry for that year. Sorry, it is not punctuated.

二月鹽官覲周
J26nB178_p0190c29║　　徐居士來省覲周于天童金粟徑山諸禪席靡不
J26nB178_p0190c30║　　追隨嚮往究心本分機緣相契付如意一柄表信

十三年丙申

J26nB178_p0190c26║　　師六十四歲正月淨慈寺無生公來述三宜和尚

J26nB178_p0190c27║　　為嚴統事托某備申其意願與和尚面陳懺悔師

J26nB178_p0190c28║　　示答語存別錄付具足備天則琛二月鹽官覲周

J26nB178_p0190c29║　　徐居士來省覲周于天童金粟徑山諸禪席靡不

J26nB178_p0190c30║　　追隨嚮往究心本分機緣相契付如意一柄表信

J26nB178_p0191a01║　　三月師赴鹽城請舟次金山登覽賦二絕以志勝

J26nB178_p0191a02║　　概四月四日進永寧院佛誕日鹽宰賈公外翰劉

J26nB178_p0191a03║　　公總戎孫公及諸紳虔請上堂遂于此開戒三旬

J26nB178_p0191a04║　　劉一齋名若審博綜內典往來甚密設七問師立

J26nB178_p0191a05║　　答之王筠長名之楨射陽人望也皈依執弟子禮

J26nB178_p0191a06║　　嘗持宋丞相陸秀夫傳乞語跋之作宋份臣蔬枰

J26nB178_p0191a07║　　詩一章吳門縉紳內翰子美沈公繹堂沈公甲傍

J26nB178_p0191a08║　　陸公文衡申公繼揆繆公慧遠金公世渼暨眾檀

J26nB178_p0191a09║　　護敦請住堯峰師受請五月辭眾返棹先是興化

J26nB178_p0191a10║　　育長者黎太沖延師至家菴祖孫父子殷勤叩道

J26nB178_p0191a11║　　出所著頌古一冊乞鑒定求序師見其端莊鄭重

J26nB178_p0191a12║　　于本分相契欣然作序復托菴僧岷山公過鹽城

J26nB178_p0191a13║　　致請再過其家以本分砥勵三日而別還虞嶺趙

J26nB178_p0191a14║　　公景之兩致書問道師並答之復嶺南左轄曹鑒

J26nB178_p0191a15║　　躬問候請益書九月朔師進堯峰院萬指繞座薦

J26nB178_p0191a16║　　紳顧松交姚文初趙明遠沈匡來周子佩文孫符

J26nB178_p0191a17║　　及琴川檀信帆檣交映緇素駢闐初八日三宜和

J26nB178_p0191a18║　　尚造謁盤桓自陳懺悔之意靈巖繼起禪師同張

J26nB178_p0191a19║　　司農有譽到寺躬賀次日入城中輿公請瑞光上

J26nB178_p0191a20║　　堂聽法者凡數千指并答候三宜和尚暨剖石禪

J26nB178_p0191a21║　　師設供掃萬峰寶藏二祖塔十月起期龍象雲臻

J26nB178_p0191a22║　　檀度響從冠于今昔分五堂安禪眾舉龍華韜明

J26nB178_p0191a23║　　宗資福天水廣為秉拂首座東蓮古峰然為秉拂

J26nB178_p0191a24║　　西堂宗風大振仲冬苕溪孝廉嚴三求公來參應

J26nB178_p0191a25║　　接機契師遂撾鼓上堂以揚其德喜賡王公復來

J26nB178_p0191a26║　　參於此道甚有染指亦上堂表揚之臘月吳門乾

J26nB178_p0191a27║　　三法師素以才華自負後披剃博覽教乘淹貫台

J26nB178_p0191a28║　　教受無盡大師衣氣概頗異不通名字到寺見師

J26nB178_p0191a29║　　師與談論窮辨一晝夜見其所蘊理致不謬且云

J26nB178_p0191a30║　　和尚當今為宗門第一人故來相見次日上堂接

J26nB178_p0191b01║　　引之又以宗乘中事追拶機緣并上堂語載錄中。

Why the Japanese Emperor Go-Momozono 后桃園天皇 gave Yinyuan the title "First Disciple of Master Jingshan" “徑山首出”

Inscription by Song Emperor Xiaozong 孝宗, photo by Jiang Wu

Rebuilt Buddha Hall, photo by Jiang Wu 

Yinyuan has several honorific titles from Japanese emperors. One of them is "First Disciple of Master Jingshan" “徑山首出” given by Emperor Go-Momozono 后桃園天皇 in 1772. Many people don't know why Jingshan Temple appeared in this title because Yinyuan was not close related to the monastery. This is because Yinyuan's teacher Feiyin Tongrong 費隱通容 had been the abbot of Jingshan Temple from 1650 to 1651 and Yinyuan was the first dharma heir of Feiyin.  

Jingshan Temple has a fantastic reputation as the center of Zen Buddhism in East Asia. It was also famous for tea cultivation. One of the reasons was that Dahui Zonggao 大慧宗杲 was abbot of Jingshan during the Southern Song dynasty. Because of the Jingshan Canon conference, I had the opportunity to visit the temple in May 10, 2015.

Dahui Zonggao Stupa inscription, photo by Jiang Wu

Ryokei's Dharma Transmission Certificate

Ryokei's transmission certificate

 In the recent conference on Buddhism After Mao in Paris, an interesting question has been raised about the continuous use of dharma transmission certificate as a way to authenticate a Buddhist lineage in China. It is interesting to note that this practice is still alive in China today. In the Song time, the certificate was called “sishu” 嗣書, in the late Ming and early Qing, it became "yuanliu" 源流, and the late Qing and Republican era, "fajuan" 法卷 as Homles Welch has studied extensively. Today, it is still called "fajuan." I discussed its use in my Enlightenment in Dispute. Also, Yinyuan brought this practice to Japan as well. He wrote a yuanliu to his Japanese disciple Ryōkei 龍溪, who was the retired emperor Gomizunoo's 後水尾 teacher. This one looks like exactly the one Yinyuan received from his teacher Feiyin Tongrong. Compare with Figure 5.1 (page 139) in Enlightenment in Dispute.

Was Yinyuan a Chinese Spy?

Prof. Chen Jinhua at British Columbia recently asked me if Yinyuan was a Chinese spy. It is an interesting question. I have seen similar speculations in some works on Yinyuan. Indeed, the Japanese were alert about possible espionage attempts from China especially during their persecution of Christianity. The bakufu kept an effective intelligence program to collect information on China during the Ming-Qing transition.

Yinyuan was asked to stay in Fumonji 普門寺 in Osaka for six years. One explanation for this long detention was that he was suspicious of being a Chinese spy. However, I didn't see any primary sources directly accused of him or providing any evidence. My personal view is that it was highly unlikely that he had this secret mission. The first question is who he worked for. He could not work for the Manchus. Then he must have worked for Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功 whose ships escorted him to Nagasaki. Then why Zheng Chenggong wanted to spy on Japan.

This spy theory may have something to do with Mukai Genshō 向井元升 who criticized Yinyuan in his Chishihen 知恥篇. I analyzed his essay in Chapter 6 of my book. He knew that Yinyuan had sent his disciples to contact his teacher Feiyin Tongrong who was in the Hangzhou area around that time. He surmised that because the Hangzhou area was occupied by the Manchus, their frequent communication must have divulged information about Japan. Kumazawa Banzan 熊沢蕃山 shared a similar view. (For this discussion, see my book, Leaving for the Rising Sun, page 182.)

However, in the eighteenth century, when the Qing dynasty secured its power, both Kangxi and Yongzheng sent spies to Japan. Kangxi sent a certain Manchu official Mo'ersen 莫爾森 from Hangzhou Silk Manufacturing Office 杭州織造. (Prof. Lynn Struve was very curious about his identity and is researching on him.) Yongzheng's Zhejiang governor Li Wei 李衛 sent Zhu Laizheng 朱來章. The suspected spy ship according to Oba Osamu is the Siamese Vessel no. 2 of the year Kyoho 14 (1729). Oba did mention a Chinese monk who was an informant and Zhu Laizheng obtained useful information from him. (Oba, Books and Boats, pp. 234-235.)

Chinese monk Quanyan Guangchang's tomb at Fukusaiji © Jiang Wu

This monk's name is Quanyan Guangchang  全巖廣昌, the sixth abbot of Fukusaiji 福濟寺. I mentioned him briefly in my book page 224, and his possible espionage activities in page 295, note 30. We know quite a bit about him because Ka'i hentai 華夷變態 has preserved the affidavit he submitted to the Nagasaki officials when he arrived at Nagasaki from China. His full biography can be found in Obaku bunka jinmei jiten 黃檗文化人名辭典, pages 185-6. I visited Fukusaiji during the summer of 2013. Although the old temple structure was completely destroyed by the A-bomb, Quanyan's memorial pagoda remains there.