Wansong Yulu
Introduction
The Wansong Yulu (萬松語録, Japanese: Banshō Goroku), or "Record of Wansong's Sayings," compiles the teachings, discourses, dialogues, and poems of Wansong Xingxiu (萬松行秀, 1166–1246), one of the greatest masters of the Caodong (Sōtō) school under the Jin dynasty and the Mongol Empire. Wansong is best known in the West as the compiler of the Shōyōroku (從容錄), the "Book of Serenity," one of the two great classical kōan collections alongside the Gateless Barrier.
The Yulu (語録) is a literary genre characteristic of Chan Buddhism: it is the transcription of a master's words and deeds, compiled by his disciples after his death. The Wansong Yulu gives us direct access to the master's voice—his instructions to the assembly, his dialogues with monks, his responses to laypeople, his poems and letters. It is through these pages that one perceives the personality, wisdom, and humor of the one his contemporaries called the "Old Man of Ten Thousand Pines."
Wansong Xingxiu lived in a time of upheaval: the fall of the Jin dynasty, the Mongol invasion led by Genghis Khan, and the emergence of a new Eurasian order. Despite wars and persecutions, he kept the flame of the Caodong teaching alive, training disciples who would transmit the Dharma long after his death.
Wansong Xingxiu (1166–1246)
Wansong was born into a Cai family in Hezhong (present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi). At fifteen, he went to Xingzhou (present-day Xingtai, Hebei) to become a monk, receiving the religious name Xingxiu. He then studied under the Chan master Xueyan Huiman (雪岩慧滿, 1136–1206) in Cizhou (present-day Ci County).
He later returned to Xingzhou, where he lived in the Wansong ("Ten Thousand Pines") hermitage, calling himself the "Old Man of Ten Thousand Pines" (Wansong Laoren). In 1193, his fame reached Emperor Zhangzong of Jin (r. 1189–1208), who invited him to court. Impressed by his knowledge, the emperor offered him a brocade monastic robe and asked him to settle in the central capital Zhongdu (present-day Beijing).
In 1197, Wansong settled at Bao'en Temple (寶恩寺) west of the capital, in the Congrong Hermitage (從容庵) — it is this name that would give its title to the Congrong Lu (Shōyōroku). In 1215, the Jin capital of Zhongdu was sacked by the Mongols, and the Jin capital was moved to Kaifeng. Wansong remained at Bao'en Temple, continuing his teaching despite the turmoil. In 1223, the Khitan minister Yelü Chucai (1190–1244), who had joined the Mongols, came to receive instruction from Wansong. In 1230, Wansong became abbot of Wanshou Temple (萬壽寺) in Yanjing (Beijing). He died at the age of 81, leaving this gatha: "Eighty-one years, only this word; cherish all beings, and never take a false step."
Le Shōyōroku — Livre de la Sérénité
The Shōyōroku (從容錄), or "Book of Serenity," compiles 100 kōan by master Hongzhi Zhengjue (宏智正覺, 1091–1157), one of the greatest Caodong masters of the Song dynasty, with Wansong's verse and prose commentaries. The Shōyōroku is, along with Wumen Huikai's Gateless Barrier (Wumenguan), one of the two most studied kōan collections in Chan/Zen Buddhism.
The full title is: Wansong Laoren Pingchang Tiantong Jue Heshang Songgu Congrong An Lu (萬松老評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄). It is preserved in the Taishō Tripiṭaka, volume 48, text no. 2004 (T48n2004).
The kōan in the Shōyōroku are famous for their poetic elegance. Hongzhi Zhengjue was a master of Chan poetry, and his verses on the "old cases" of the tradition are among the most refined of their kind. Wansong's commentaries add an additional layer of depth, connecting each case to the living practice of zazen and the realization of emptiness.
Contenu du Yulu
The Wansong Yulu proper comprises several sections:
- Discours à l'assemblée (上堂, jōdō) : instructions formelles données dans la salle du Dharma
- Entretiens en salle (入室, nyūshitsu) : dialogues privés avec les moines
- Poèmes et gāthā : vers d'éveil et poésie Chan
- Lettres : correspondance avec des laïcs et des disciples, dont Yelü Chucai
- Éloges aux anciens : hommages aux patriarches de la lignée Caodong
The whole constitutes a precious testimony not only to Wansong's thought, but also to the life of Chan Buddhism at the turn of the 13th century, between the fall of the Jin and the rise of the Yuan.
Original Text / 原文
Taishō Tripiṭaka 大正新脩大藏經 萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 Taishō Tripiṭaka, Electronic version, No. 2004 萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 大正新脩大藏經數位版, No. 2004 萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 宋 正覺頌古．元 行秀評唱 Electronic Version by CBETA XML TEI P5 correctionsorig correctionsTaisho correctionsCBETA correctionsCBETA.maha correctionsCBETA.ting correctionsCBETA.shin correctionsCBETA.liyi 6卷 T.48.2004 財團法人佛教電子佛典基金會 (CBETA) service@cbeta.org Available for non-commercial use when distributed with this header intact. 2025-01-30 01:37:50 +0800 大正新脩大藏經 Text as provided by Mr. Hsiao Chen-Kuo, Text as provided by Electronic Buddhadharma Society (EBS), Text as provided by Anonymous from USA 蕭鎮國大德提供，佛教電腦資訊庫功德會提供，北美某大德提供 原書標點 【CB】 【大】 【原】 【甲】 【卍續-CB】 CBETA CHARACTER CB00037 composition [卄/碭] U+26FC6 U+F0025 CBETA CHARACTER CB00081 composition [口*銜] normalized form 銜 U+3605 U+F0051 CBETA CHARACTER CB00403 composition [泳-永+公] normalized form 沿 U+3CC2 U+F0193 CBETA CHARACTER CB00416 composition [竺-二+帚] normalized form 帚 U+7B92 U+F01A0 CBETA CHARACTER
Original text
The *Wansong Yulu* and the *Shōyōroku* are preserved in the Taishō canon:
Complete English translation: Thomas Cleary, *The Book of Serenity*, Shambhala, 2005.
Original text in Classical Chinese (文言) · Source: CBETA T48n2004 · Taishō Canon, public domain · Presentation Mokusan, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wansong Xingxiu · Jin & Yuan Dynasties (13th century)