..续本文上一页ead of him. Suddenly the Master lost his footing on the treacherous path and fell into the river, where he bobbed and floated for twenty-four hours. The current carried him downstream near Cai Jetty, where he was caught by a fisherman”s net. By that time the Venerable Master was nearly drowned. The fisherman pulled him up, then informed the nearby temple. Monks from Baoji ("Jewel Cluster") Monastery carried the Master back to the temple, where they revived him. The Venerable Master was bleeding from seven orifices, and was in critical condition, but he would not give up his original intent. After resting for a few days, the Master set aside his personal welfare for the sake of the Dharma, and, putting life and death out of his mind, he went on to Gaomin Monastery to join the Chan retreat.
高旻寺规矩非常严格，执行非常认真，如果有犯规矩的，就打香板，毫不客气。当时住持月朗禅师，请他代职，虚老不答应，遂按规矩打香板。虚老接受不语，但经责打之后，他的病势加重，血流不止，病况危殆。
According to Gaomin Monastery”s extremely strict regulations and their high standards of practice, anybody who broke the rules earned a beating with the incense-board (discipline-rod); there was no recourse to courtesy at all. The acting abbot, Chan Master Yue Lang ("Moon Radiance"), had requested the Venerable Hsu Yun to substitute for him in his position as official administrator. The Venerable Master declined the request, and thereby, according to the rules of the monastery, deserved a beating. He took his punishment without complaint. But after the beating, his illness grew worse; he bled non-stop from every orifice and his condition grew nearly fatal.
有人在想：「虚老这么样用功修道，为什么护法神不护持？还让他掉在水里？」其实，还是护法神在护持，不然的话，渔夫怎么会用网把他打上来？所以在冥冥之中，都有佑护。
Someone may be wondering, "Since Venerable Hsu Yun was a sincere and diligent cultivator, why did the Dharma-protecting spirits fail to protect him, and let him fall into the river like that
" In fact, the spirits were still protecting him. If not, then how could he have been saved in the fisherman”s net
Thus, we can know that he was protected invisibly at all times by the Dharma-protecting spirits.
这也是生死的考验，看他遭受这次的灾难，有什么感想？是不是生了退道心？「啊！我修行这么多年，又读经，又拜忏，又燃指，又住茅棚，种种的苦行，我都认真去修，为什么一点感应也没有？算了吧！我不修行了，我要还俗，过五欲的生活。」如果这样一想，就不会做禅宗五宗的祖师了。
The entire episode was a life and death test to reveal his thoughts and feelings upon meeting such a disaster. The test determined whether or not he would retreat from his resolve for the Way. Would he entertain thoughts such as these: "Ha! I”ve been cultivating for so many years, reading Sutras, bowing repentances, burning a finger, living as a hermit, practicing all kinds of austerities, and my cultivation has been earnest, so why haven”t I had the least response
Forget it! I”m giving up! I”m not going to cultivate any longer! I”m going to return to lay-life and indulge the five desires!" If he”d allowed such thoughts to occur, then he could never have become the Patriarch of the Five Sects of the Chan School.
高旻寺的规矩最认真，彼此不准讲话，就是同住之人，也互相不知姓名。虚老在禅堂里很守规矩，虽然病得很厉害，仍然只字不提，也不说出落水被救的事，只是一心一意参禅。二十天后，病况好转，此乃蒙佛菩萨之加被矣！
The Venerable Hsu Yun obeyed the rules closely in the meditation hall, especially since Gaomin Monastery was noted for the extreme severity of its regulations. Nobody was allowed to hold conversations, and often it was the case that cultivators living side by side in the monastery would not even know each other”s name. Venerable Hsu Yun was seriously ill, but did not mention the fact to anyone, nor did he tell the story about falling into the river. He only investigated Chan with a single-minded concentration. Twenty days passed, and his sickness abated, thanks to the aid bestowed upon him by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
有一天，采石矶宝积寺住持德岸法师，来到高旻寺，发现虚老在凳上端然正坐，容光焕发，大为惊悦，于是乎将虚老落水被救的事，向大众宣布。众人皆钦叹不已，为成就虚老用功修行，于是禅堂内职，不令虚老轮值。至此，虚老更能一心参禅，直至一念不生的境地。
One day, the Venerable Master De An ("Virtue …
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