Yeonhoe Flees from Fame — Munsujeom緣會逃名文殊岾
1Lotus Flowers That Never Wither in Any Season
縁㑹逃名文殊岾髙僧縁㑹甞隐居霊鷲,每讀蓮經修普賢觀行,庭池常有蓮数朶四時不萎.〔今霊鷲寺龍藏殿是縁㑹舊居.〕
Yeonhoe flees from fame — Munsujeom.
The eminent monk Yeonhoe (緣會) once lived in hiding on Yeongchwisan, always reading the Lotus Sutra and practicing the contemplation of Bohyeon.
In the pond in his courtyard there were always a few lotus flowers, and through all four seasons they never withered.〔The Yongjangjeon of the present Yeongchwisa is where Yeonhoe once lived.〕
Interlinear notes 1
今霊鷲寺龍藏殿是縁㑹舊居.
The Yongjangjeon of the present Yeongchwisa is where Yeonhoe once lived.
2You Could Sell It Here, So Why Go Far to Sell It?
國主元聖王聞其瑞異欲徴拜爲國師.師聞之乃棄庵而遁.行跨西嶺嵓間有一老叟今爾耕問,“師奚適.”曰“吾聞,邦家濫聽縻我以爵故避之爾.”叟聽曰,“於此可賈,何勞逺售.師之謂賣名無猒乎.”㑹謂其慢己不聽.遂行数里許溪邉遇一媪問,“師何徃.”荅如初.媪曰,“前遇人乎.”曰“有一老叟侮予之甚愠且来矣.”媪曰,“文殊大聖也,夫言之不聽何.”㑹聞即驚悚遽還翁所扣顙陳悔曰,“聖者之言敢不聞命乎.今且還矣.溪邉媪彼何人斯.”叟曰,“辯才天女也”,言訖遂隠.
King Wonseong, the ruler, heard of this auspicious wonder and wished to summon him and make him national preceptor.
The master heard of it, abandoned his hermitage, and fled.
As he went over the western ridge, an old man among the rocks, who happened to be plowing, asked, "Where are you going, master?"
"I hear the state has listened to loose rumor and means to bind me with rank, so I am only getting away."
The old man listened and said, "You could sell it here. Why take the trouble to go far to sell it? It is you, master, who never tire of selling your name."
Yeonhoe thought the man was mocking him and did not listen.
He went on several li and met an old woman by a stream, who asked, "Where are you going, master?"
He answered as before.
The old woman said, "Did you meet someone back there?"
"There was an old man who insulted me badly, and I have come on in anger."
The old woman said, "That was the great sage Manjusri. What are you doing, not listening to his words?"
Yeonhoe heard this, was at once startled and afraid, hurried back to where the old man had been, touched his forehead to the ground, and repented, saying:
"How could I dare not obey the words of a holy one? I will go back now. Who is the old woman by the stream?"
The old man said, "The goddess Byeonjae, Sarasvati."
When he had spoken he vanished.
3In the End He Becomes National Preceptor
乃還庵中,俄有天使賷詔徴之.㑹知業已當受乃應詔赴闕,封爲國師.〔僧傳云,“憲安王封爲二朝王師号照,咸通四年卒,”与元聖年代相朩,未知孰是.〕師之感老叟處因名文殊岾,見女處曰阿尼岾.讃曰.倚市難藏久陸沉,囊錐旣露括難禁.自縁庭下青蓮誤.不是雲山固未深.
So he returned to his hermitage, and soon a royal messenger came with a decree summoning him.
Yeonhoe knew that his karma was such that he must accept, so he answered the decree, went to the palace, and was invested as national preceptor.〔The Seungjeon says that King Heonan made him royal preceptor of two courts, called him Jo, and that he died in the fourth year of Xiantong. This conflicts with the dates of King Wonseong, and which is right is not known.〕
The place where the master was moved by the old man was for this reason named Munsujeom, and the place where he saw the woman is called Anijeom.
In praise it is said:
Leaning on the market, it is hard to stay hidden for long; once the awl in the bag shows its point, it is hard to keep it wrapped. It was only the blue lotus below the courtyard that gave him away, not that the cloudy mountain was not deep enough.
Interlinear notes 1
僧傳云, “憲安王封爲二朝王師号照, 咸通四年卒,” 与元聖年代相朩, 未知孰是.
The Seungjeon says that King Heonan made him royal preceptor of two courts, called him Jo (照), and that he died in the fourth year of Xiantong. This conflicts with the dates of King Wonseong, and which is right is not known.