佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄

Part 8

CASE SEVENTY-ONE

BAIZHANG AND SPEAKING WITHOUT THROAT OR LIPS

CASE: Baizhang further asked Wufeng, “Without a throat or lips, how would you speak?” Wufeng said, “Master, you too should be silent.” Baizhang said, “In a place where no one is present, I shall shade my eyes with my hand and gaze at you.”

COMMENTARY: Guishan firmly held the frontier; Wufeng cut off all streams of thought. Though this is but a small matter, only one who dares to confront the issue directly can understand it. There is no room for hesitation. Wufeng employed his mind’s functioning directly; his reply was swift and lofty. He was not leisurely and easygoing like Guishan. Students of Zen today, who merely hide beneath a banner, cannot get past Wufeng. Thus it is said, “If you wish to reach the intimate place, do not bring forth a question and ask.”

Wufeng’s answer was blunt and direct; he was truly quick-witted. Baizhang said, “In a place where no one is present, I shall shade my eyes with my hand and gaze at you.” But tell me: was this approval or disapproval of Wufeng? Was it killing or giving life? Seeing Wufeng turn so smoothly, Baizhang could only acknowledge him. Xuedou’s verse says:

VERSE

Master, you too should be silent;

On the battlefield of dragons and snakes, behold the strategy.

It makes one forever remember General Li;

At the edge of heaven, ten thousand miles away, a hawk spreads its wings.

COMMENTARY: “Master, you too should be silent.” In a single line, Xuedou presses you, saying, “On the battlefield of dragons and snakes, behold the strategy.” Thus two battle formations are suddenly deployed and penetrated. Moving freely in every direction, he possesses the ability of a battlefield commander. One endowed with great strategy may freely enter and leave the battlefield of dragons and snakes, alone and on horseback. How could you possibly encircle such a person? If you are not that person yourself, how could you know that such strategy exists?

In all three of Xuedou’s verses here—Cases 70, 71, and 72—what Xuedou describes is like this: it is as though they were the divine arrows of Li Guang. “At the edge of heaven, ten thousand miles away, a hawk spreads its wings.” With a single arrow, a hawk is certain to fall; it will certainly not be spared. Xuedou versifies Baizhang’s question as though it were a hawk, while Wufeng’s answer is like an arrow. This mountain monk was so preoccupied with praising Wufeng that he completely forgot his whole body was already covered in mud and water.

CASE SEVENTY-TWO

BAIZHANG QUESTIONS YUNYAN

CASE: Baizhang further asked Yunyan, “Without a throat or lips, how would you speak?” Yunyan said, “Master, do you have a way to speak?” Baizhang said, “I have exterminated my descendants.”

COMMENTARY: Yunyan served as Baizhang’s attendant for twenty years. Afterward, he went with Daowu to see Yaoshan. Yaoshan asked, “What did you do in Baizhang’s assembly?” Yunyan said, “I penetrated and escaped birth and death.” Yaoshan asked, “Have you penetrated and escaped them yet?” Yunyan said, “That has no birth or death.” Yaoshan said, “After staying with Baizhang for twenty years, you still have not eliminated your habitual tendencies.” Yunyan took leave of Yaoshan and went to visit Nanquan. Later, he returned once more to Yaoshan, and only then did he attain accord and awakening.

Look at how the ancients studied for more than twenty years and yet were still half green and half yellow. Yunyan relied upon the bones and clung to the skin; he had not penetrated and escaped. He had attained something, to be sure, but had not yet reached the ultimate point. Have you not heard it said, “If words do not escape their molds and patterns, how can one escape bondage? White clouds stretch across the valley, causing many people to forget the source.”

In the Caodong school, this is called “breaking through by contact.” Thus it is said, “The rocks beside the mountain cast down the phoenix tower, but never violate the taboo.” It is also said, “First you must pass through the thorny forest. If you cannot pass through it, from beginning to end you will only become entangled in roots and branches, unable to cut them off.” As I just said, “He had not yet reached the ultimate point.” Yunyan was wholly preoccupied with probing someone else. When Baizhang saw him like this, he would certainly seize him and strike him dead on the spot.

Xuedou’s verse says:

VERSE

Master, do you have a way?

The golden-maned lion does not crouch.

Two by two, three by three, upon the old road;

Below Mount Daxiong, he snaps his fingers in vain.

COMMENTARY: “Master, do you have a way? The golden-maned lion does not crouch.” Xuedou brings the koan to a conclusion on the basis of the facts. It is correct, indeed, but the golden-maned lion still does not crouch upon the ground. When a lion catches its prey, it conceals its teeth and hides its claws, then crouches upon the ground in order to spring. Regardless of whether its prey is large or small, the lion always employs its full might, intent on completing its task.

Yunyan said, “Master, do you have a way to speak?” He was merely walking along the old road. Thus Xuedou said that Baizhang only snapped his fingers in vain below Mount Daxiong.

CASE SEVENTY-THREE

MASTER MA’S FOUR PROPOSITIONS AND HUNDRED NEGATIONS

POINTER: In expounding the Dharma, there is neither exposition nor bestowal; as for one who hears the Dharma, there is also neither hearing nor attainment. Since expounding the Dharma is neither exposition nor bestowal, would it not be better not to expound it? Since hearing is neither hearing nor attainment, would it not be better not to hear? In that case, no exposition and no hearing would still be preferable. But now, as you listen to this mountain monk’s discourse, how will you avoid that error? Try to bring it forth so that those with eyes may see through the critical point.

CASE: A monk asked Master Ma, “Apart from the four propositions and beyond the hundred negations, please directly point out to your disciple the essential meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India.” Master Ma said, “I am tired today and cannot explain it to you. Go and ask Zhizang.” The monk went to ask Zhizang. Zhizang said, “Why did you not ask the Master?” The monk said, “The Master instructed me to come here and ask you.” Zhizang said, “I have a headache today and cannot explain it to you. Go and ask Elder Brother Hai.” The monk went to ask Elder Brother Hai—Baizhang. Elder Brother Hai said, “When I reach this point, I understand nothing at all.” The monk related this to Master Ma, who said, “Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black.”

COMMENTARY: Regarding this koan, long ago, when this mountain monk was studying with Zhenjue in Chengdu, Zhenjue said, “You need only look at Mazu’s first sentence, and you will immediately understand.” Tell me: did that monk understand when he came to ask, or did he come to ask because he did not understand? His question was indeed profound. To be apart from the four propositions means to be apart from existence, nonexistence, neither existence nor nonexistence, and neither nonexistence of existence nor nonexistence of nonexistence. To be apart from the four propositions is to cut off the hundred negations. But if you are merely concerned with constructing theories and do not understand the key phrase, then even if your head splits and your brain is exhausted, you still will not see it.

If it were this mountain monk, I would wait until Mazu had finished speaking, immediately spread out my sitting mat, and bow three times, just to see how he would respond. At that moment, if Mazu, upon seeing that monk come forward and ask, “Apart from the four propositions and beyond the hundred negations, Master, please point out directly to your disciple the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land,” had simply raised his staff, beaten him soundly, and driven him out, let us see whether he would have awakened!

Yet Great Master Ma merely took pains to create further entanglements for him, so that the monk missed it right before his face; Great Master Ma then instructed him to go and ask Zhizang. Little did he know that Great Master Ma had discerned beforehand what would happen. The monk foolishly went to ask Zhizang.

Zhizang said, “Why did you not ask the abbot?” The monk said, “The abbot told me to come here and ask you.” Look at this monk: as soon as he was pressed, he turned with the situation, wasting not the slightest moment. Zhizang said, “Today I have a headache and cannot explain it to you. Go and ask Brother Hai.”

The monk then went to ask Brother Hai. Brother Hai said, “When it comes to this, I understand nothing at all.” Tell me: why did one say that he had a headache, while the other said that he understood nothing at all? What, ultimately, was going on? The monk returned and reported this to Great Master Ma. Great Master Ma said, “Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black.” If you try to calculate and compare by means of intellectual knowledge, you will surely say that they were deceiving the monk. Some say that all three were merely making excuses; others say that all three understood the monk’s question and therefore did not answer. To speak this way is merely to blind oneself and put poison into the ancients’ finest cream.

Thus Mazu said to Layman Pang, “When you can swallow all the water of the Jiangxi River in a single gulp, I will tell you.” These words are also like this case. If you understand “Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black,” then you will understand that saying about the Jiangxi River. This monk exchanged a whole burden of confusion for disquiet and even troubled those three venerable adepts to enter the mud. Ultimately, the monk still could not see. Although this is so, these three masters of the school were exposed by a fellow carrying a board on his shoulder.

People nowadays concern themselves only with clinging to words and living by them. They say that white means merging with the light, while black means merging with the darkness. They merely keep boring and chiseling, calculating and comparing, never realizing that with a single sentence the ancients cut off the root of conceptual thought.

You must enter the true current and see it for yourself. Thus Mazu said, “The final word reaches the crucial barrier. Once the line of speech is cut off, it does not communicate with ordinary or holy.” If you attempt to discuss this matter, it is like pressing a sword blade against your forehead: the moment you begin to deliberate, you lose your body and forfeit your life.

It is also said, “It is like tossing a sword and brandishing it in the air; do not discuss whether it reaches or does not reach.” Just understand at the place that shines lucidly in all eight directions.

Have you not heard the ancients say, “You black lacquer bucket!” or “You wild fox!” or “You blind fellow!” Tell me: are these different from or the same as a shout sounding along a single path? If you know that the thousand differences and myriad distinctions are all of one kind, you will naturally be able to withstand adversaries from all eight directions. Do you wish to understand “Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black”? No? Wuzu said, “Sir Fenghou.”

VERSE

Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black;

Even clear-eyed patch-robed monks cannot understand.

The young horse tramples everyone under heaven to death;

Linji was not yet a robber in broad daylight.

Apart from the four propositions, beyond the hundred negations—

In heaven and among humankind, I alone know.

COMMENTARY: “Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black.” Tell me, what does this mean? Because of this little bit alone, the patch-robed monks throughout the world cannot leap free. See how skillfully Xuedou draws his conclusion in the final passage.

He says that even if you are clear-eyed patch-robed monks, you still cannot understand it. This is called the immortals’ secret formula, not transmitted from father to son. Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma throughout his lifetime, but in the end he singly transmitted the mind-seal.

It is called the Jeweled Sword of the Diamond King; it is called the Correct Position. These entangling matters cannot be avoided. The ancients revealed a little of their sharp edge.

If you are people who have penetrated through, you may freely bore and chisel and attain great freedom. If you have not penetrated through, then, as before, there is no place for you to awaken and enter. The more one speaks, the farther away one goes.

“The young horse tramples everyone under heaven to death.” Prajnatara of India foretold to Bodhidharma, “Though China is vast, there is no other road; it will only follow in the footsteps of your descendants. The golden rooster knows how to hold a grain of rice in its beak and offer it to the arhats of the ten directions.” The Sixth Patriarch likewise said to the Venerable Nanyue Huairang, “From now on, the Buddhadharma will flourish through you.

In the future, from beneath your banner a young horse will appear and trample everyone under heaven to death.” Later, Mazu expounded the Dharma in Jiangxi and spread the Buddha’s teaching throughout the realm; at that time, everyone called him Mazu, “Patriarch Ma.” Both Bodhidharma and the Sixth Patriarch had foretold Mazu’s advent. Looking at Mazu’s way of acting, it was indeed extraordinary. He merely said, “Zang’s head is white; Hai’s head is black.” Right here we see how he trampled everyone under heaven to death.

This single statement about white and black cannot be bitten through even by thousands upon thousands of people.

“Linji was not yet a robber in broad daylight.” One day, Linji instructed the assembly, “Within this lump of red flesh there is always a true person of no rank, going in and out directly before your faces. Those who do not yet believe this, look! Look!” At that moment, a monk stepped forward and asked, “What is the true person of no rank?” Linji descended from the Chan seat, seized the monk tightly, and said, “Speak! Speak!” The monk could say nothing. Linji pushed him away and said, “What a dried piece of excrement this true person of no rank is!” Later, when Xuefeng heard of this, he said, “Linji is like a robber in broad daylight.”

Xuedou wished to compare Linji with Mazu and, observing Mazu’s dynamic, saw that it surpassed even Linji’s. Mazu was truly a robber in broad daylight; Linji was not yet a robber in broad daylight. In one stroke, Xuedou pierced through both of them.

In versifying the monk, Xuedou said, “Apart from the four propositions, beyond the hundred negations—in heaven and among humankind, I alone know.” But do not enter a demon’s cave and make your home there! An ancient said, “The question lies within the answer; the answer lies within the question.” This monk was indeed extraordinary. How can you separate from the four propositions and transcend the hundred negations?

Xuedou said, “I alone know this matter.” Even the Buddhas of the three times cannot catch sight of it. Each person must know for himself; then what are you still coming here to seek?

Dagui Zhenru raised this, saying, “The monk questioned in this way, and Mazu answered in this way: this is being apart from the four propositions and beyond the hundred negations. Zhizang and Brother Hai both did not know.”

Do you wish to understand? Have you not heard it said, “The young horse tramples everyone under heaven to death”?

CASE SEVENTY-FOUR

VENERABLE JINNIU LAUGHS, “HA! HA!”

POINTER: Brandishing the sword Moye, one cuts through every entanglement before its keen edge. The bright mirror hangs high; within a phrase, the seal of Vairocana is brought forth. In the hidden and intimate realm, one puts on clothes and eats food. At the place where spiritual powers freely play, how can one find refuge? Have you understood clearly yet? Please examine the text below.

CASE: Whenever mealtime arrived, Master Jinniu would carry the rice pot out before the Sangha hall, dance, and then laugh aloud, saying, “Bodhisattvas, come quickly and eat!”

Xuedou said, “Though it was so, Jinniu did not have good intentions.”

A monk asked Changqing, “When the ancient said, ‘Bodhisattvas, come quickly and eat,’ what was his essential meaning?” Changqing said, “It was just like expressing gratitude upon receiving a meal.”

COMMENTARY: Jinniu was a venerable master in Mazu’s lineage. Whenever mealtime arrived, he would carry the rice pot out before the Sangha hall, dance, and then laugh aloud, saying, “Bodhisattvas, come quickly and eat!” Our master did this for twenty years. Tell me, where did his meaning lie? If it was merely to call the Sangha to come and eat, ordinarily one could simply strike the wooden fish or beat the drum to summon them. Why did he have to carry out the rice pot and make such an elaborate display? Was our master mad? Or was he raising and establishing the teaching? If he was raising this matter, why did he not ascend the Jeweled King’s Seat, shake the meditation platform, and raise the whisk? Why did he have to act like this?

People today utterly fail to understand that the meaning of the ancients was originally beyond words. Why do they not try to look into the purport of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land? What does it mean?

It has been clearly stated that this is a special transmission outside the teachings, directly transmitting the mind-seal. The ancients’ skillful means were aimed solely at enabling you to take responsibility for it directly. Later, those whose deluded faculties stirred recklessly explained it by saying, “How could there be so many complications?

When cold, draw near the fire; when hot, seek the cool air; when hungry, eat; when tired, lie down and sleep.” If it were interpreted according to ordinary sentiments, Bodhidharma’s entire school would surely have been swept from the face of the earth. Do you not know that throughout the day and night, the ancients never passed a single moment without contemplating how to understand this matter clearly?

Xuedou said, “Though it was so, Jinniu did not have good intentions.” Many people misunderstand this statement. It is truly the world’s precious ghee, yet when it encounters such people, it turns into poison. Jinniu became so encumbered for the sake of everyone under heaven; why, then, did Xuedou say that he did not have good intentions? Why did Xuedou speak this way? Only patch-robed monks with living, dynamic faculties can understand. People nowadays cannot reach the realm of the ancients and merely keep saying, “What mind is there to see? What Buddha is there?” If you understand it in this way, you ruin Jinniu, an accomplished adept. You must examine it carefully before you can understand. If today and tomorrow you still possess nothing but such empty talk, when will it ever cease?

Later, when Changqing ascended the hall, a monk asked, “When the ancient said, ‘Bodhisattvas, come quickly and eat,’ what was his essential meaning?” Changqing said, “It was just like expressing gratitude upon receiving a meal.” The venerable masters were exceedingly compassionate, yet their indiscretion was not slight. It truly was “expressing gratitude upon receiving a meal.” But tell me, for what was he expressing gratitude? Xuedou versified:

VERSE

Amid the white clouds’ shadows, laughing ha, ha,

With both hands he brings it and offers it to others.

If they are descendants of the golden lion,

Even from three thousand miles away, they can discern it.

COMMENTARY: “Amid the white clouds’ shadows, laughing ha, ha.” Changqing said, “Expressing gratitude upon receiving a meal.” Xuedou said, “With both hands he brings it and offers it to others.” Tell me, did our master merely bring rice for people to eat, or was there something still more extraordinary? If you can understand the entire course of this matter, you are truly descendants of the golden-maned lion. If they are descendants of the golden-maned lion, Jinniu surely would not have needed to carry the rice pot before the Sangha hall, dance, and then laugh aloud; from three thousand miles away, they would already have discerned our master’s error.

An ancient said, “If you perceive it before the activity arises, you will not have to expend the slightest bit of effort.” Therefore, patch-robed monks must have an extraordinarily distinctive function before they can be called masters of the school. If one merely relies upon words, it is still difficult to avoid indiscretion.

CASE SEVENTY-FIVE

WUJIU ASKS ABOUT THE WAY OF THE DHARMA

POINTER: The precious sword of Spirit Peak is always openly revealed before you. It can kill people and it can give people life. Here and there, there is attainment and loss alike. If you wish to take it up, simply take it up. If you wish to unfold it, simply unfold it. Tell me, what is it like when one does not fall into guest and host and is not entangled in mutual interchange? Try to present it.

CASE: A monk from Master Dingzhou’s assembly came to see Wujiu. Wujiu asked, “Is Dingzhou’s Way of the Dharma the same as it is here?” The monk said, “It is no different.” Wujiu said, “If it is no different, then you should return there.” Having said this, he struck the monk. The monk said, “The staff’s tip has eyes; Master, you must not strike people recklessly like this.” Wujiu said, “Today I have struck one person.” Having said this, he struck him three times. The monk then went out.

Wujiu said, “And yet there is someone who receives an unjust beating.” The monk turned back and said, “What can be done, since the handle is in the Master’s hand?” Wujiu said, “If you wish, this mountain monk will hand it over to you.” The monk stepped forward, snatched the staff from Wujiu’s hand, and struck Wujiu three times. Wujiu said, “An unjust beating! An unjust beating!” The monk said, “There is someone receiving it!” Wujiu said, “I have struck this fellow recklessly.” The monk then bowed. Wujiu said, “That is all you are capable of.” The monk laughed loudly and went out. Wujiu said, “That is all, that is all.”

COMMENTARY: A monk from Master Dingzhou’s assembly came to see Wujiu. Wujiu too was an adept. If you understand that here these two had a place to emerge and a place to enter, then ten million are merely one. Whether acting as host or as guest, in the end the two formed a single household and together investigated the matter. Whether host or guest, whether questioning or answering, both were adepts from the outset.

Observe how Wujiu asked that monk, “Is Dingzhou’s Way of the Dharma the same as it is here?” The monk immediately said, “It is no different.” At that moment, had it not been Wujiu, no one would have been able to do anything with that monk. Wujiu said, “If it is no different, then you should return there,” and struck him. Who would have expected that monk to be an adept?

He therefore said, “The staff’s tip has eyes; Master, you must not strike people recklessly like this.” Wujiu carried out the command from beginning to end and thus said, “Today I have struck one person.” He then struck the monk three more times. The monk went out. Observe how smoothly the two turned and shifted, for they were adepts from the outset.

If you wish to understand this matter, you must know how to distinguish black from white, error from correctness. Although the monk went out, the koan was not yet concluded.

Wujiu wished from beginning to end to test the true substance of that monk and see what he was like. Yet the monk kept warding off every approach, so Wujiu still had not seen through him. Wujiu again said, “It turns out there is someone to take an unjust beating.” The monk wanted to turn matters around and reveal himself, yet instead of contending with Wujiu, he merely turned things lightly and said, “What can be done now, when the handle is in the Venerable’s hand?” Wujiu was a master with an eye on his forehead, daring to lie crosswise before a tiger’s mouth, and so he said, “If you want it, this mountain monk will hand it over to you.”

This monk was one who carried a talisman beneath his arm, just as it is said, “Seeing what is right is not without use.” The monk therefore hesitated no longer. He immediately stepped forward, snatched the staff from Wujiu’s hand, and struck him three times. Wujiu said, “An unjust beating!

An unjust beating!” Tell me, what did he mean? At first Wujiu had said, “It turns out there is someone to take an unjust beating.” Yet when the monk struck him, he again said, “An unjust beating! An unjust beating!” When the monk said, “There is someone here enduring it,” Wujiu said, “I struck this fellow recklessly.” At first Wujiu said that he had unjustly struck someone.

Later, when he himself took the blows, why did Wujiu also say, “I struck this fellow recklessly”? At that moment, had this monk not possessed such great ability, no one would have been able to do anything with Wujiu.

Then the monk bowed. That bow was exceedingly venomous; it did not arise from kindly intentions. Had it not been Wujiu, he would not have seen through the monk. Wujiu said, “That is all you are capable of.” The monk laughed loudly and departed. Wujiu said, “That is all, that is all.”

Observe how experts meet: from beginning to end, host and guest are always clearly distinguished. Even when the pit is severed, they can still continue. In truth, this is merely what is called “the dynamic of interchange.” Yet when they reach this point, they do not say that there is any place where interchange can occur. Because these ancients transcended the dust of feelings and conceptual thought, none of them spoke of gain or loss. Though this was only a dialogue, how vividly alive the two of them were! Both possessed the golden needle of the Zen lifeline. If through this koan you can see, you can remain clear and lucid throughout the entire day and night. When the monk walked out, both let go. Afterward, both gathered in. This is called “interchange.” Xuedou’s verse says:

VERSE

To summon is easy;

To send away is hard.

Look closely at the dynamic action of interchange;

Even the solid kalpa-stone is worn away.

Standing in the deepest place, the sea must run dry.

Old Wujiu, old Wujiu!

How many modes are there?

Handing the handle to another—far too unprovoked.

COMMENTARY: “To summon is easy; to send away is hard.” Both fall into the weeds. In his great compassion, Xuedou often said, “Calling a snake is easy; driving a snake away is hard.” If one now blows into a hollow gourd to summon a snake, that is easy; but when one wishes to drive the snake away, that is difficult. Likewise, handing the staff to another is easy, but seizing it back and sending the person away is difficult. One must possess exceptional ability to send someone away.

Wujiu was an expert capable both of summoning the snake and of driving it away. The monk, too, was never asleep. When Wujiu asked, “Is the Dharma teaching in Dingzhou the same as it is here?” he was summoning him. When the monk said, “The tip of the staff has an eye; Venerable, you must not strike people so recklessly,” the summoning was turned over to the monk. When Wujiu said, “If you want it, this mountain monk will hand it over to you,” and the monk then stepped forward, seized the staff from Wujiu’s hand, and struck him three times, this was the monk sending Wujiu away. As for the monk laughing loudly and departing, and Wujiu saying, “That is all,” this was plainly sending him away.

See how the dynamic actions of these two interchanged, moving back and forth until they formed a single body. From beginning to end, host and guest were always clearly distinguished. At times the host played the guest; at times the guest played the host.

Xuedou could not praise them enough. Therefore, he spoke of “the dynamic of interchange” so that you might observe it thoroughly. “Even the solid kalpa-stone is worn away.” This kalpa-stone is forty miles square.

Once every hundred years, a celestial being descends, brushes the stone once with his sleeve, and leaves. A hundred years later, he returns and again brushes the stone with his sleeve. When at last the stone has been completely worn away, that is one kalpa, called “a kalpa of a light sleeve brushing a stone.” Xuedou said, “Even the solid kalpa-stone is worn away.” Though the stone is solid, it is nevertheless worn completely away.

Yet the dynamic action of these two remains inexhaustible through a thousand ages and ten thousand ages.

“Standing in the deepest place, the sea must run dry.” Even if it were the great ocean, with mighty waves surging as high as the heavens, if these two stood within it, the ocean would still have to run dry. At this point Xuedou’s verse was immediately complete. Finally, Xuedou again said, “Old Wujiu, old Wujiu!

How many modes are there?” Grasping or releasing, killing or giving life—ultimately, how many modes are there? “Handing the handle to another—far too unprovoked.” The Buddhas of the three times used this staff; the ancestral masters through the generations also used it; and the great masters used it to pull out nails and wrench out pegs, unbind bonds, and unravel entanglements for all under heaven. How could it be so casually handed to someone else?

Xuedou meant that one should use it oneself. Fortunately, at that time the monk also demonstrated something to him. Had he produced thunder on level ground, one should still have watched how Wujiu dealt with it.

When Wujiu handed the handle of the staff to that monk, was it not far too unprovoked?

CASE SEVENTY-SIX

DANXIA ASKS, “WHERE HAVE YOU COME FROM?”

POINTER: Soft as rice flour, cold as ice and frost; blocking heaven and earth, apart from light and cut off from darkness. Examine it from a low place and there is a surplus; assess it from a high place and there is not enough. Grasping and releasing are both here, but is there still a place from which to emerge? Let us bring it up and see.

CASE: Danxia asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” The monk said, “From below the mountain.” Danxia asked, “Have you eaten?” The monk said, “I have eaten.” Danxia said, “Does the person who brought you food to eat have eyes or not?” The monk could say nothing.

Changqing asked Baofu, “Bringing food for another to eat may be considered knowing how to repay kindness. Why should he have no eyes?” Baofu said, “The giver and the receiver are both blind.” Changqing said, “If they employ the full extent of their mental faculties, are they still blind?” Baofu said, “Could you say that I am blind?”

COMMENTARY: Zen Master Danxia Tianran of Dengzhou was of unknown origin. At first, he devoted himself to Confucian learning and was on his way to Chang’an to sit for the civil service examination. While spending the night at an inn, he dreamed that white light filled the entire room.

A diviner said, “This is an auspicious sign that you will comprehend emptiness.” By chance, a Zen traveler asked him, “May I ask where this worthy man is going?” Danxia said, “I am going to take the examination to become an official.” The Zen traveler said, “How can taking the examination to become an official compare with taking the examination to become a Buddha?” Danxia asked, “Where must one go to take the examination to become a Buddha?” The Zen traveler said, “Great Master Ma of Jiangxi has appeared in the world.

That is precisely the place to take the examination to become a Buddha; worthy sir, you should go there.”

Danxia then went straight to Jiangxi. When he met Great Master Ma, Danxia lifted the cloth covering his head and looked at him. Great Master Ma examined Danxia and said, “I am not your teacher. You should go to Shitou’s place at Nanyue.” Danxia then went to Shitou and submitted himself to him with the same intention. Shitou told Danxia to go down to the stable, and Danxia bowed. Afterward, he entered the postulants’ hall and worked together with the assembly of monks for three years.

One day, Shitou said to the great assembly, “Tomorrow we shall clear the weeds in front of the Buddha hall.” The next day, everyone in the assembly brought a hoe to weed the ground. Danxia alone took a basin full of water, washed his head, and then knelt before Shitou. Seeing this, Shitou burst out laughing, yet he shaved Danxia’s head. When Shitou began to expound the precepts to him, Danxia covered his ears and walked away.

Afterward, he returned to Jiangxi to pay his respects to Mazu. Before presenting himself to Mazu, Danxia entered the Sangha hall and sat astride the neck of the statue of a holy monk. The assembly was alarmed and hurried to report this to Mazu. Mazu personally entered the Sangha hall, looked at Danxia, and said, “My son is naturally so.” Danxia then climbed down, bowed, and said, “Thank you, Master, for bestowing upon me a Dharma name.” Thus he came to be called Tianran, “Natural.” How transcendent and untrammeled this ancient worthy Tianran was! It is just as the saying goes, “How can sitting the examination to become an official compare with sitting the examination to become a Buddha?” Danxia’s teachings are recorded in the Transmission of the Lamp.

Danxia’s teachings often towered like a cliff ten thousand fathoms high; every sentence could pull out the nails and wrench free the pegs for people everywhere. Thus, when he asked that monk, “Where have you come from?” the monk replied, “From below the mountain.” Yet he did not say clearly from what place. It was as though he were a clear-eyed fellow trying to turn the situation around and test the host.

Had it not been Danxia at that moment, it would have been difficult for anyone to maintain a firm footing. But Danxia said, “Have you eaten?” At first Danxia had not yet seen through this monk; this was his second test of him. The monk said, “I have eaten.” As it turned out, this benighted fellow did not understand.

Danxia said, “Does the person who brought you food to eat have eyes or not?” The monk was unable to reply. Danxia’s meaning was, “What is the use of someone like you eating?” If that monk had been a clear-eyed fellow, he would have provoked Danxia once to see what the master would do. Even so, Danxia still did not let him off, and therefore the monk merely stood there blinking in silence.

Baofu and Changqing were both in Xuefeng’s assembly. The two often discussed the cases of the ancients with each other. Changqing asked Baofu, “Bringing food for another person to eat may be reckoned as knowing how to repay kindness. Why, then, should he have no eyes?” Changqing did not inquire into all the circumstances of the case, but merely took those words in a general way as a meditation topic. He actually wanted to test the truth of Baofu’s realization. Baofu said, “The giver and the receiver are both blind.” How swift! At this point, he discussed only the direct workings of responsive action. Within their lineage, Baofu truly had a place from which to emerge.

When Changqing said, “If they fully employ all their mental faculties, are they still blind?” Baofu said, “Could it be that I am blind?” Baofu meant, “I have eyes like these and have explained everything to you; can you still say that I am blind?” Even so, Baofu’s eyes were still half open and half closed. At that time, if it had been this mountain monk, when Changqing said, “If they fully employ all their mental faculties, are they still blind?” I would simply have said to him, “Blind.” What a pity! If Baofu had been able to utter this word “blind” at that time, he would surely have avoided all this entanglement from Xuedou. Xuedou also used this meaning in his verse:

VERSE

Exhausting their faculties, they do not become blind;

Pressing the ox’s head down to make it eat grass.

The twenty-eight and the six Patriarchs

Bring forth the precious vessel and thereby incur fault.

The fault is exceedingly grave,

Yet there is nowhere to find it.

Heaven and the human realm sink beneath the earth.

COMMENTARY: “Exhausting their faculties, they do not become blind.” Changqing said, “If they fully employ all their mental faculties, are they still blind?” Baofu said, “Could it be that I am blind?” This is also like pressing an ox’s head down to make it eat grass. One ought to wait for it to eat of its own accord. How can one press its head down and force it to eat? With Xuedou’s verse expressed in this way, we naturally understand Danxia’s meaning.

“The twenty-eight and the six Patriarchs bring forth the precious vessel and thereby incur fault.” Xuedou not only implicated Changqing, but also buried the twenty-eight Patriarchs of India and the six Patriarchs of this land, China. For forty-nine years, Shakyamuni Buddha taught the teachings of the entire Tripitaka, and in the end he transmitted only that one precious thing. Yongjia said, “This is not an empty display of forms and appearances, but the traces left by the Tathagata’s precious staff.” If you follow Baofu’s understanding, then even bringing forth the precious thing becomes a fault.

“The fault is exceedingly grave, yet there is nowhere to find it.” This cannot be explained to you; you must sit quietly and contemplate these words for yourselves. The fault is already exceedingly grave, so why is there nowhere to find it? This is no minor fault: it buries the Patriarchs’ great matter upon level ground. Xuedou said, “Heaven and the human realm sink beneath the earth.”

CASE SEVENTY-SEVEN

YUNMEN’S CAKE

POINTER: Turning upward, one can pierce the nostrils of everyone under heaven, like a hawk seizing a dove. Turning downward, one’s own nostrils are in the hands of everyone under heaven, like a turtle hiding within its shell. If someone suddenly steps forward and says, “Originally there is neither upward nor downward, so what is there to turn?” merely tell that person, “I knew all along that you would enter a demon’s cave and make your home there.” Tell me, how are black and white to be distinguished? After a moment of silence, Yuanwu said, “Where there is a regulation, follow the regulation; where there is none, follow precedent.”

CASE: A monk asked Yunmen, “What is a statement that transcends the Buddhas and surpasses the Patriarchs?” Yunmen said, “Cake.”

COMMENTARY: A monk asked Yunmen, “What is a statement that transcends the Buddhas and surpasses the Patriarchs?” Yunmen said, “Cake.” Do you feel a chill that makes your hair stand on end? Patch-robed monks ask about the Buddha and the Patriarchs, ask about Chan and the Way, ask about the upward and the downward; there is nothing left that can be asked. Yet this monk asked about a statement that transcends the Buddhas and surpasses the Patriarchs. Yunmen was an expert: when the water rises, the boat rides high; where there is much mud, the Buddha statue is large. Therefore he replied, “Cake.” It may be said that the Way does not proceed in vain, and its efficacy is not employed to no purpose.

Yunmen further instructed the assembly, “Do not act as though you understand. When you hear people speak of the Patriarch’s meaning, you immediately ask about words that transcend the Buddhas and Patriarchs. What do you call ‘Buddha,’ and what do you call ‘Patriarch,’ that you presume to speak of words transcending the Buddhas and Patriarchs?

Then you ask about going beyond the three realms. Take a look: what seeing, hearing, awareness, or knowing do the three realms possess that could obstruct you? What sounds, forms, or Buddha-Dharma are there for you to understand?

What ‘bowl’ is there whose function you could know? On what could you rely to produce divergent interpretations? The ancient sages could do nothing for you, even though they extended themselves to aid sentient beings.

Though it is said that everything is real, and that within every thing we can behold its essential nature, even this is unattainable. When I tell you, ‘What is there to be done?’ even that is already burying it.” If you understand these words, you understand “cake.”

Wuzu said, “Donkey dung is just like horse dung.” This is precisely what Yongjia called “going straight to the root-source, as sealed by the Buddha; as for picking through leaves and searching among branches, I cannot do it.” Having reached this point, if you wish to attain intimacy, do not bring a question to ask.

Look at that monk asking, “What are words that transcend the Buddhas and Patriarchs?” Yunmen said, “Cake.” Did the master know shame? Was he still being careless and muddled? There is a type of presumptuous person who says, “Yunmen saw the rabbit and released the hawk; therefore he said, ‘Cake.’” If you follow such an interpretation and regard “cake” as words transcending the Buddhas and Patriarchs, how could there still be a living path? Do not understand it as “cake,” nor understand it as transcending the Buddhas and Patriarchs; only then is there a living path. Yunmen’s “cake” is like Dongshan’s “three pounds of hemp” and Heshan’s “knowing how to beat the drum.” Although the master said only “cake,” in truth it is exceedingly difficult to see.

Later, people everywhere commonly argued, “Coarse words and subtle speech alike return to the ultimate meaning.” If you understand it this way, then go ahead and become a lecturing master; throughout your life you will accumulate many interpretations. Students of Chan today say, “At the point of transcending the Buddhas and Patriarchs, one tramples both Buddhas and Patriarchs beneath one’s feet; therefore Yunmen merely said the single word ‘cake’ to that monk.” If it is merely “cake,” how can it be explained as transcending the Buddhas and Patriarchs? Investigate it thoroughly and see.

Many places have composed verses on this koan, but they merely follow one side in their arguments. Only Xuedou’s verse is the finest. Let us bring it up and see.

VERSE

Chan travelers ask far too much about transcendent discourse;

Do you see the openings and gaps?

Though cake is stuffed in, they still will not stop;

To this very day, people everywhere remain bewildered.

COMMENTARY: “Chan travelers ask far too much about transcendent discourse.” Students of Chan are very fond of asking this question. Have you not heard Yunmen say, “You carry your staffs crosswise and say, ‘I investigate Chan and study the Way,’ and then go searching for a principle that transcends the Buddhas and Patriarchs. Let me ask you: throughout the entire day, while walking, standing, lying down, and sitting, while defecating and urinating, or while at the mutton stalls in the marketplace, is there still a principle that transcends the Buddhas and Patriarchs?” Whoever can speak, step forward and show me. If no one can speak, then leave me free to do as I please.” He then stepped down from the seat.

Some people cannot distinguish good from bad; they draw circles, add mud to dirt, and bring along still more shackles. “Do you see the openings and gaps?” That monk’s question had an enormous opening! Yunmen saw the opening in his question and therefore brought forth cake to stuff it tightly shut. Yet that monk still would not desist and continued to ask; therefore Xuedou said, “Though cake is stuffed in, they still will not stop.”

“To this very day, people everywhere remain bewildered.” Students of Chan today rely on “cake” to form their understanding; otherwise, they argue about “transcending the Buddhas and Patriarchs.” If it is in neither of these two, where is it ultimately? Thirty years from now, when I have changed my bones, I will tell you.

CASE SEVENTY-EIGHT

SIXTEEN BODHISATTVAS ENTER THE BATH

POINTER: In ancient times there were sixteen bodhisattvas. When it was time for the monks to bathe, these bodhisattvas entered the bath in succession. Suddenly they awakened to the essential nature of water. Virtuous Chan practitioners, how do you understand it when they said, “The wondrous touch reveals illumination, and one abides as a child of the Buddha”? You must bore into it and polish it diligently before you can understand.

COMMENTARY: In the Surangama Assembly, the bodhisattva Bhadrapala and those sixteen bodhisattvas all cultivated pure conduct, and each spoke of the Dharma-gate through which he had realized perfect penetration. This was one of the twenty-five Dharma-gates of perfect penetration. When it was time for the monks to bathe, those sixteen bodhisattvas entered the bath in succession and awakened to the essential nature of water. Since they washed neither dust nor body, tell me: what did they wash? If you understand, you will be inwardly at ease and attain nothing whatsoever. At that time, even a thousand or ten thousand people could not approach you. It has been said, “Only having nothing to attain is true prajnaparamita; if there is anything attained, it is merely a semblance of prajnaparamita.”

Have you not heard Bodhidharma say to the Second Patriarch, “Bring me your mind, and I will pacify it for you”? The Second Patriarch said, “I have searched for the mind, but it cannot be found.” This little point alone is precisely the fundamental life-root of patch-robed monks. There is nothing to become entangled with like this.

Simply say that they suddenly awakened to the essential nature of water, and naturally you will understand. Since they washed neither dust nor body, tell me: to what did they awaken? Once this point has been reached, there is nothing whatsoever to cling to; even uttering the single word “Buddha” must be avoided.

They said, “The wondrous touch reveals illumination, and one abides as a child of the Buddha.” “Reveals” means “causes to become manifest.” Wondrous touch means illumination. Once one awakens to the wondrous touch, one attains the station of a child of the Buddha. It also means attaining the Buddha-ground.

People nowadays also bathe with water and experience this same touch. Why do they not awaken? Because they are all obscured by sensory objects. They cling to skin and adhere to bone. Therefore, they cannot awaken immediately. If here there is no washing, no touching, and no essential nature of water, tell me: is this “the wondrous touch revealing illumination” or not? If you can see it directly, then it is indeed “the wondrous touch reveals illumination, and one abides as a child of the Buddha.” People in the present age also “touch,” but do they see the wondrous point? Wondrous touch is neither ordinary feeling nor the person who feels. When united, it is touch; when separate, it is not.

When Xuansha crossed the mountain and struck his toe, and when Deshan dealt blows, were these not wondrous touch? Although this is so, to understand it you must bore into it and polish it greatly. If you merely search by relying on the body, what significance is there in that? If you bore into it and polish it well, what need is there to enter the bath? At that time, you can manifest a Buddha-land upon the tip of a single hair and turn the great Dharma wheel within a tiny mote of dust. If you can penetrate one place, then a thousand places and ten thousand places are penetrated simultaneously. Thus, amid every cavern and every pit, everywhere is a gate through which Guanyin enters the principle.

The ancients also awakened to the Way upon hearing a sound and illuminated the mind upon seeing a form. If one person awakened, there would be nothing particularly remarkable about it; but why did the sixteen bodhisattvas all awaken at the same time? It was because the ancients cultivated together, realized together, awakened together, and understood together. Xuedou raised their teaching, intending that people everywhere should understand by relying on the point of “wondrous touch.” Yet Xuedou went beyond the eye of the teachings in composing his verse, so that people everywhere would not remain entangled in the teachings, half awake and half drunk. Xuedou wanted everyone to attain transcendent freedom. His verse says:

VERSE

Only one monk need understand this matter;

Upon a broad bed, he stretches out his legs and lies down.

In a dream he once spoke of awakening to perfect penetration;

After bathing in fragrant water, spit in his face.

COMMENTARY: “Only one monk need understand this matter.” But tell me, what matter does he understand? An expert Chan traveler, as soon as this is raised, will rouse himself and immediately put it into practice. Of such patch-robed monks, only one is needed; what need is there to form a crowd? “Upon a broad bed, he stretches out his legs and lies down.” An ancient said, “Clearly, clearly, there is no Dharma of awakening; once awakened, it only deludes people again. Stretch out your legs and lie down to sleep—neither false nor true. Therefore there is not a single matter in the mind. When hungry, eat; when tired, sleep.”

Xuedou means to say that if you claim that, upon entering the bath, you awakened to the principle that “wondrous touch proclaims illumination,” then from the perspective of such an unconcerned patch-robed monk, this is merely speaking of a dream within a dream. Therefore Xuedou said, “In a dream he once spoke of awakening to perfect penetration; after bathing in fragrant water—spit in his face.” Though it may seem like fragrant water, in reality it is merely filthy water poured over your head. What perfect penetration is there for you to speak of? Xuedou says that such a person deserves to be spat directly in the face. As for this mountain monk, I say that this merely adds mud to the ground.

CASE SEVENTY-NINE

TOUZI’S ALL SOUNDS

POINTER: When the great function manifests before you, it does not keep to rules. Capturing alive and holding fast, it expends no strength. But tell me, who has ever been able to act like this? Let us see it brought forth.

CASE: A monk asked Touzi, “Are all sounds the sounds of the Buddha?” Touzi said, “Yes.” The monk said, “Did the Venerable just break wind?” Touzi struck the monk. The monk again asked, “Do coarse words and subtle speech alike return to the ultimate meaning?” Touzi said, “Yes.” The monk said, “May the Venerable be called a donkey?” Touzi then struck the monk.

COMMENTARY: Touzi was honest and straightforward, with outstanding eloquence. Whenever a question was posed, the moment Touzi opened his mouth, we could already see what was in his heart. Without expending any effort, Touzi could still leave the questioner tongue-tied. It may be said that he devised his strategy within his own camp and achieved victory a thousand miles away. This monk arrayed his formation with a doctrinal understanding of the Buddha-Dharma based on sound and form, and would immediately question anyone he met. But Touzi was an expert who could instantly discern whatever came before him.

This monk knew that Touzi was honest, so from the outset he set a trap for Touzi to fall into; hence he made the conclusions quoted above. But Touzi, in turn, used a tiger trap to draw out the monk’s conclusions. The monk followed Touzi’s answer by saying, “Did the Venerable just break wind?” Sure enough, as soon as Touzi cast the hook, the monk was caught.

Anyone else would surely have been unable to do anything with this monk, but Touzi had the eye, so he immediately struck him. To possess such an ability as “a dog biting a boar,” one must be an expert. Whether that monk turned right or left, Touzi followed him smoothly and closely.

The monk had set a trap in order to stroke the tiger’s whiskers, but he never expected that Touzi had already risen entirely above his trap; therefore Touzi struck him. Regrettably, this monk had a head but no tail. When Touzi raised his staff, would it not have been better if the monk had immediately overturned Touzi’s Chan seat?

Even if Touzi had then brought his entire function into play, he surely would have had to retreat three thousand miles.

The monk again asked, “Do coarse words and subtle speech alike return to the ultimate meaning?” Touzi again said, “Yes,” exactly as he had answered before. The monk said, “May the Venerable be called a donkey?” Touzi struck him again. Although this monk merely followed a set pattern, he nevertheless had something distinctive about him. If the old fellow seated upon that carved bench had not possessed an eye atop his head, it would surely have been difficult for him to break this monk down. Touzi had a place from which to turn himself around. When the monk advanced his argument, he intended to seize Touzi’s shop, but in the end he still could do nothing with the old fellow Touzi.

Have you not heard Yantou say, “When it comes to battle, everyone stands at the crucial pass”? Touzi was very slow in letting go but very swift in drawing in. At that moment, if this monk had known how to turn himself around and reveal himself, would he not have been able to act like a person whose mouth resembles a bowl of blood? When patch-robed monks act, they never consent to stop until they have carried the action through to the end. This monk did not know how to counterattack and instead allowed Touzi to lead him by the nose. The verse says:

VERSE

Touzi, Touzi—

His pivotal mechanism turns without obstruction.

Releasing one, he gains two;

The same there, the same here.

Pitiful are the countless people who play in the waves;

In the end they fall into the waves and die.

If suddenly they come alive,

The hundred rivers roar as they flow backward.

COMMENTARY: “Touzi, Touzi—his pivotal mechanism turns without obstruction.” Touzi often said, “You frequently say that Touzi is honest, but if, after you have descended three steps from the mountain, someone suddenly asks, ‘Where is Touzi’s honesty?’ how will you answer?” Touzi’s pivotal mechanism turned smoothly, without the slightest obstruction.

Therefore Xuedou said, “Releasing one, he gains two.” Have you not heard that a monk asked, “What is Buddha?” Touzi said, “Buddha.” The monk again asked, “What is the Way?” Touzi said, “The Way.” The monk again asked, “What is Chan?” Touzi said, “Chan.” The monk again asked, “What is it like before the moon is full?” Touzi said, “Swallow three or four.” The monk again asked, “What about after the moon is full?” Touzi said, “Spit out seven or eight.” Touzi often used this pivotal working to receive people everywhere.

When answering the monk in the case above, Touzi used only the single word “Yes.” The monk was struck twice. Therefore Xuedou said, “The same there, the same here.” These four lines simultaneously praise Touzi. Finally, Xuedou versifies the monk, saying, “Pitiful are the countless people who play in the waves.” That monk dared to seize the banner and snatch the drum, saying, “Did the Venerable just break wind?” and, “May the Venerable be called a donkey?” This was precisely where he played in the waves. This monk exhausted all his skill, yet still died, just as before, within Touzi’s words; therefore Touzi struck him. Thus this monk “in the end fell into the waves and died.”

Xuedou lets this monk go and says that if he were suddenly to come back to life and overturn the Chan seat, even Touzi would have to retreat three hundred miles; at that moment, “the hundred rivers would surge and flow backward.” Then it would not be merely the Chan seat that shook—even the mountains and rivers would tremble, and heaven and earth would suddenly become pitch-dark. If each of you could be like this, this mountain monk would immediately beat the drum for retreat. Where will you establish yourselves and settle your lives?

CASE EIGHTY

ZHAOZHOU’S INFANT CONSCIOUSNESS

CASE: A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a newborn infant possess the sixth consciousness?” Zhaozhou said, “It is like striking a ball on swiftly flowing water.” The monk then asked Touzi, “What is striking a ball on swiftly flowing water like?” Touzi said, “Thought after thought, it flows without cease.”

COMMENTARY: The doctrinal schools establish this sixth consciousness as the basis. Mountains, rivers, the great earth, the moon, stars, and constellations arise because of it. It comes as the vanguard and departs as the rearguard. An ancient said, “The three realms are mind-only; the myriad dharmas are consciousness-only.” If one realizes the stage of Buddhahood, mind and consciousness are transformed into the four wisdoms. The doctrinal schools call this a change in name, not a change in substance.

Faculty, object, and consciousness are three. We are originally unable to distinguish the objects before us. The pure faculty can give rise to consciousness, and consciousness in turn can reveal forms and make distinctions. This is precisely the sixth consciousness. The seventh consciousness is manas. Manas consciousness can grasp and retain all the images and things of the world, causing people affliction and depriving them of freedom and ease. The eighth consciousness is also called the alaya consciousness, or storehouse consciousness, because it stores all wholesome and unwholesome seeds.

That monk understood the meaning of the teachings, and so he came to ask Zhaozhou, “Does a newborn infant possess the sixth consciousness?” Although a newborn infant is fully endowed with the six consciousnesses—its eyes can see and its ears can hear—at that time it does not yet know how to discriminate among the six objects. It knows nothing of ugly or beautiful, long or short, right or wrong, gain or loss. A student of the Way must be like a newborn infant, allowing neither honor nor disgrace, fame nor reputation, favorable conditions nor adversity to move him.

Though his eyes see forms, he is like a blind person; though his ears hear sounds, he is like a deaf person. As if foolish, as if witless, amid the eight winds he remains unmoved, like Mount Sumeru. This is precisely where true patch-robed monks attain strength.

An ancient said, “With the patched robe covering my head, the myriad affairs cease. At that time, this mountain monk no longer understands anything at all.” If you can be like this, you will have some measure of accord with the Way. Even so, you cannot deceive an adept in the slightest.

Mountains remain mountains as before; rivers remain rivers as before. There is no contrivance and no conditioned thought. It is like the sun and moon moving through space, never once pausing or saying, “I possess a great many names and characteristics.” It is like heaven covering all things and earth supporting all things.

Because they are without mind, they nurture the myriad beings, yet they do not say, “We possess a great many functions.” Because heaven and earth are without mind, they endure; if they had mind, they would have limits. A person who has attained the Way is likewise, exercising function where there is no function and using his own mind to embrace every adverse and favorable circumstance.

Having reached this point, an ancient reproached himself, saying, “When one has thoroughly understood, there is nothing to understand; even understanding the mystery within the wondrous mechanism still leaves something deserving reproach.” It is also said, “When every affair is penetrated and the myriad things made clear, those who understand are secretly startled upon hearing it.” Again, it is said, “Entering sagehood and transcending the ordinary without making a sound, the sleeping dragon still fears the blue pool. If a human life could last so long, how could heaven and earth preserve even a name?” Yet even so, one must leap beyond the mold.

Have you not heard it said in the teachings—the Avatamsaka Sutra—that “A bodhisattva dwelling on the eighth, Immovable Ground turns the great Dharma wheel within a tiny mote of dust, employing the wisdom of effortless functioning. At all times, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, he is never constrained by gain or loss, but freely drifts upon the sea of prajna”? When patch-robed monks reach this point, they must not become attached, but should be free and at ease according to the occasion. When tea comes, drink tea; when rice comes, eat rice. This matter beyond cannot be described as either settled or unsettled.

Master Shishan Shandao said, “Do you not see that when an infant has just emerged from the womb, it does not say, ‘I know how to recite sutras’? At that time it also has no understanding whatsoever of the meaning of possessing Buddha-nature or not possessing Buddha-nature. As it grows up, it learns many kinds of views and interpretations, and so it thrusts forward its face and says, ‘I can do it,’ or ‘I understand,’ unaware that these are merely the afflictions of adventitious defilements.

Among the sixteen practices of contemplation, the ‘practice of the infant’ is best. When an infant babbles, it resembles a student of the Way who has completely abandoned the discriminating mind of grasping and rejecting. This is why I praise the infant.

Although an infant may be used as an analogy, if one were to say that the infant itself is the Way, I fear people nowadays would misunderstand.”

Nanquan said, “Only at the age of eighteen did I learn how to live.” Zhaozhou said, “Only at the age of eighteen did I learn how to break down the gate and ruin the household.” He also said, “For twenty years in the South, apart from the two daily meals of rice and gruel, I merely applied my mind miscellaneously.” Caoshan asked a monk, “‘A bodhisattva in meditative absorption clearly hears the sound of the fragrant elephant crossing the river’—from which sutra does this passage come?” The monk said, “The Nirvana Sutra.” Dongshan asked, “Does he hear it before entering absorption or after entering absorption?” The monk said, “Venerable Master, it has already flowed away.” Dongshan said, “Receive it beside the riverbank.”

Guishan asked Yangshan, “How does Ji understand it?” Yangshan said, “Is the Venerable Master asking about his intellectual understanding or his understanding through practice? If the Venerable Master asks about his understanding through practice, this disciple does not know. But if the Venerable Master asks about his intellectual understanding, it is like pouring the water of one pitcher into another pitcher.” If you can be like this, you can become a master of a region.

When Zhaozhou said, “Striking a ball on swiftly flowing water,” he turned things around with consummate ease. If you strike a ball on swiftly flowing water, it rolls away in the blink of an eye. It is like the Surangama Sutra saying, “Looking at swiftly flowing water, it seems to be still.” An ancient said, “It is like swiftly flowing water: the water flows without cease, yet the drops do not know one another.

All dharmas are likewise.” Zhaozhou’s reply carries the same implication.

A monk again asked Touzi, “What does striking a ball on swiftly flowing water mean?” Touzi replied, “Thought after thought, it flows without cease.” Naturally, this accords perfectly with the monk’s question. The ancients acted with the utmost subtlety and precision, and so their answers were exactly alike. They never needed to deliberate; the moment you asked, they already knew your meaning. Although the sixth consciousness in an infant does not yet perform its function, it nevertheless flows without cease, thought after thought, like an uninterrupted stream. Touzi’s answer shows that he deeply understood the meaning of the question. Xuedou’s verse says:

VERSE

The six consciousnesses, without effort, ask a question;

Experts have long discerned the pivotal point together.

Striking a ball upon a swiftly flowing stream,

It falls away without stopping—who knows how to behold it?

COMMENTARY: “The six consciousnesses, without effort, ask a question.” When the ancients studied the Way and nurtured the mind to this degree, they called it functioning within nonfunctioning. It is like an infant: although endowed with eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, it does not discriminate among the six sense-objects. Such ones are fundamentally without deliberate functioning. Only upon reaching this degree can you subdue dragons and tame tigers. People today merely sweep aside the myriad phenomena before their eyes all at once; why should one have to reach the eighth bhumi—the Immovable Ground—or beyond before being able to be like this? Though this is the place of nonfunctioning, mountains are still mountains and rivers are still rivers, just as before.

In the preceding verse (Case 41), Xuedou said, “To have eyes while alive is still to be as though dead; how could one bring a contraindicated medicine to test an expert?” Because Zhaozhou and Touzi were both experts, our master said, “Experts have long discerned the pivotal point together, striking a ball upon a swiftly flowing stream.” Touzi said, “Thought after thought, it flows without ceasing.” Do you understand the meaning of these words? In the end, Xuedou instructed everyone under heaven to draw near and behold it with their own eyes. Therefore our master said, “It falls away without stopping—who knows how to behold it?” This is Xuedou’s living phrase; yet tell me, what does it mean?