景德傳燈錄

THE JINGDE RECORD OF THE TRANSMISSION OF THE LAMP — FASCICLE 10

VOLUME 10
In the third generation after Chan Master Huairang, there were 61 masters.

– Among the Dharma successors of Chan Master Puyuan of Nanquan in Chizhou, there were

– Among the Dharma successors of Chan Master Qi'an of Yanguan, Hangzhou, there were

eight masters (the records of three are extant):
1. Chan Master Daochang of Guannan, Xiangzhou,
2. Chan Master Xuanzhen of Shuangling, Hongzhou,
3. Chan Master Jianzong of Mount Jing, Hangzhou (the records of these three
are extant)
4. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty
5. Chan Master Tanxing of Baiyun
6. Chan Master Wenju of Luoshui, Luzhou
7. Chan Master Pinri of Silla
6. Chan Master Jianzong of Shouzhou (the above five had no recorded
encounters or sayings and therefore are not included in the records).

– Among the Dharma successors of Chan Master Lingmo of Mount Wuxie in Wuzhou,

there were four masters (the record of one is extant):
1. Chan Master Zhengyuan of Mount Gui, Fuzhou (the record of this one
is extant)
2. Chan Master Xiaofang of Ganquan Monastery
3. Chan Master Zanghuan of Qixin Monastery, Mingzhou
4. Chan Master Yuansui of Ganquan Monastery (the above three had no
recorded encounters or sayings and therefore are not included in the records)

• Chan Master Ruman of Foguang Monastery in Luojing had one Dharma successor: 1. Governor Bai Juyi of Hangzhou (the record of this one is extant)
• Chan Master Fachang of Mount Damei in Mingzhou had three

Dharma successors:
1. Chan Master Jiazhi of the kingdom of Silla
2. The Reverend Tianlong of Hangzhou (the records of the above two are
extant)
3. Chan Master Zhongyan of Silla (this one had no recorded encounters or
sayings and therefore is not included in the records)

– Chan Master Lingtuo of Yongtai Monastery in Jingzhou had five

Dharma successors:
1. Chan Master Jiexu of Shanglin, Hunan
2. Reverend Mima Yan of Mount Wutai
3. The Reverend Qilin of Hunan (the records of the above three are extant)
4. Chan Master Wenzhi of Mount Lühou
5. Chan Master Fahe of Suzhou (the above two had no recorded encounters or
sayings and therefore are not included in the records).

– Chan Master Baoji of Panshan in Youzhou had two

– Chan Master Weikuan of Xingchan Monastery in Jingzhao had six

– Chan Master Jingzong of Yunshui had two Dharma successors:

– Chan Master Yuanchang of Mount Longya in Tanzhou had two

– National Preceptor Wuye of Fenzhou had two Dharma successors:

1. Chan Master Changzhen of Zhenzhou
2. Chan Master Fengxianyi of Zhenzhou.

– Chan Master Guizong of Mount Lu (Zhichang) had six

Dharma successors:
1. Chan Master Lingxun of Mount Furong, Fuzhou,
2. The Reverend Gaoting of Gucheng County, Hannan
3. The Reverend Damao, a native of the kingdom of Silla
4. Chan Master Zhitong of Wutai (the records of these four are extant)
5. Chan Master Dayu of Gao'an, Hongzhou
6. Governor Li Bo of Jiangzhou (these two have no recorded sayings).

– Chan Master Baoyun of Luzu had one Dharma successor:

1. The Reverend Yunshui.

– Chan Master Daotong of Mount Ziyu had one Dharma successor:

1. Military Commissioner Yu Di of Xiangzhou, who served the Tang dynasty. (This one had no recorded encounters or sayings and therefore is not included in the records.)

– Chan Master Zhizang of Huayan Monastery had one Dharma successor:

1. The Reverend Qi'an of Huangzhou (the record of this one is extant)

• Chan Master Huairang — Third Generation.
• Dharma successors of Chan Master Puyuan of Nanquan in Chizhou.

1. Jingcen, styled Great Master Zhaoxian, of Changsha, Hunan.
He first resided at Luyuan, where he was its first abbot. Thereafter, he had no fixed dwelling. The Master simply responded to circumstances in receiving beings and taught the Dharma according to their requests.

Thus, everyone at that time called him the Reverend of Changsha. The Master ascended the Dharma Hall and said: “If I were solely to propagate the teaching of our school, the grass in the Dharma Hall would grow ten feet high. That would not do for me.

Therefore, I tell you: all worlds throughout the ten directions are the eye of a śramana; all worlds throughout the ten directions are the whole body of a śramana; all worlds throughout the ten directions are your own light; all worlds throughout the ten directions abide within your own light; and throughout all worlds in the ten directions, there is no one who is not you. I tell you that the Buddhas of the three times and all sentient beings throughout the entire dharmadhatu are the light of Mahaprajnaparamita.

Before that light is manifested, where do you turn to entrust yourselves? Before that light is manifested, there is not even any news of Buddhas or sentient beings; whence, then, could mountains, rivers, and the great earth arise?”
At that time, a monk asked, “What is the eye of a śramana?”
The Master said, “It extends on and on without ever emerging.” He further said, “Becoming a Buddha or a patriarch cannot emerge from it; transmigration through the six paths cannot emerge from it.”
The monk said, “I do not know what it is that cannot emerge.”
The Master said, “By day, see the sun; by night, see the stars.”
The monk said, “This disciple does not understand.”
The Master said, “Mount Sumeru’s blue grows ever bluer.”
A monk asked, “The teaching says, ‘And constantly abides upon this seat of bodhi.’ What is the seat?”
The Master said, “This old monk is sitting upon you, Venerable.”
A monk asked, “What is the Great Way?”
The Master said, “All your life, it has been lost to you.”
The monk asked, “Who are the Buddhas?”
The Master said, “Since beginningless kalpas, through whose shade have you found shelter?”
The monk asked, “Before there were any Buddhas, what did you do, Master?”
The Master said, “Luzu ascended the Dharma Hall and spoke with the monks of east and west.”
The monk said, “What if this disciple relies upon neither place nor time?”
The Master said, “Where will you turn to settle your body and establish your life?”
The monk asked, “What if one does rely upon place and time?”
The Master said, “First escape that dead view.”
A monk asked, “What is the different class?”
The Master said, “The foot is short, yet the inch is long.”
A monk asked, “What is the teacher of all Buddhas?”
The Master said, “Could it be that one cannot go through bending the straight and making it crooked?”
The monk said, “I ask the Reverend to speak of what is beyond.”
The Master said, “Acarya, why are your eyes blind and your ears deaf?”
The Master instructed a monk to go and ask his fellow practitioner, the Reverend Hui: “After the Reverend met Nanquan, what was it like?”

The assembly remained silent for a long while. A monk asked, “Before you went to see Nanquan, what were you like?”
The Master said, “There can be no other account of it.” The monk returned and related this to the Master. Upon hearing it, the Master spoke this verse:

At the top of a hundred-foot pole, one remains unmoving;
Though one has gained entry, it is still not genuine.
At the top of a hundred-foot pole, one must take another step;
The worlds throughout the ten directions are the entire body.

A monk asked, “At the top of a hundred-foot pole, how can one take another step?” The Master said:
“The mountains of Langzhou, the waters of Lizhou.” The monk said, “Master, please explain.” The Master said, “Widely propagate the teaching throughout the four seas and five lakes.”

A visitor came to see the Master. The Master called loudly, “Minister!” The man responded, “Yes!” The Master said, “That is not the Minister’s original life.” The man replied, “Apart from this immediate response, there cannot be a second master.” The Master said, “May the Minister be called the Most Honored One?” The man replied, “When there is no response, is there then neither disciple nor master?” The Master said, “It is not merely a matter of responding or not responding. Since beginningless kalpas, this has been the root of birth and death.” He then spoke this verse:

Those who study the Way but do not know the truth
Do so only because they have always taken the conscious spirit to be real.
Since beginningless kalpas, it has been the root of birth and death;
Foolish people call it their original body.

A licentiate reading the Buddha-Names Sutra asked, “Of the hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, we see only their names. In what lands do they abide, and are they still transforming beings?” The Master said, “Cui Hao inscribed a poem on Yellow Crane Tower. Have you ever inscribed one there?” He replied, “Never.” The Master said, “When you have leisure, what harm would there be in composing one?”

A monk asked, “After Nanquan passed into transformation, where did he go?” The Master replied, “In the eastern household he became a donkey; in the western household he became a horse.” The monk asked, “What does this mean?” The Master replied, “When you wish to ride, ride; when you wish to dismount, dismount.”

The monk Haoyue asked, “Have the spiritual friends throughout the realm realized the three virtues of nirvana?” The Master asked, “Does the Venerable ask about nirvana as fruition or nirvana as cause?” He replied, “I ask about nirvana as fruition.” The Master said, “The spiritual friends throughout the realm have not yet realized it.”
He asked, “Why have they not realized it?”
The Master replied, “Because their merit does not yet equal that of the sages.”
He asked, “If their merit does not equal that of the sages, how can they be called spiritual friends?”
The Master said, “Those who clearly perceive Buddha-nature may also be called spiritual friends.”
He asked, “With what Way must their merit become equal for it to be called realization of great nirvana?”
The Master spoke this verse:

Mahaprajna shines;
The Dharma of liberation is profound.
The essential nature of the Dharma-body is quiescent;
Embracing the one principle, it is perfect and constant.
If you wish to know where merit is equal,
This is called the Light of Constant Quiescence.

He further asked, “The fruition of the three virtues of nirvana has now been revealed; what, then, is nirvana as cause?”
The Master said, “Precisely this.”

The Venerable further asked, “In the teachings, does illusory meaning exist?”
The Master asked, “What are you saying, Venerable?”
He asked, “Does that illusory meaning exist or not?”
The Master replied, “What are you saying, Venerable?”
He asked, “Then is illusory meaning neither existent nor nonexistent?”
The Master said, “What is the Venerable saying?”
He said, “I have presented it three times, yet none accorded with the illusory meaning. I sincerely ask the Master to explain the illusory meaning within the teachings.”
The Master asked, “Does the Venerable believe that all dharmas are inconceivable?”
He replied, “These are truly the Buddha’s words; how could I dare not believe them?”
The Master asked, “The Venerable says he believes. Of the two kinds of faith, which is it?”
He replied, “Of the two kinds of faith, I mean faith arising through conditions.”
The Master said, “Through reliance upon which teaching does faith arising through conditions come forth?”
The Venerable said, “According to the Avatamsaka Sutra, bodhisattva-mahasattvas, by means of unobstructed and unhindered wisdom, believe that every realm of the world is the realm of the Tathagata. The Avatamsaka Sutra also says, ‘All Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, know that worldly dharmas and the Dharma-nature of all Buddhas are not different and are definitively nondual.’ The Avatamsaka Sutra further says, ‘The Buddha-Dharma and worldly dharmas are all seen truly, without any difference.’”
The Master said, “The teaching you have cited concerning faith arising through conditions is very much to the point. Listen as this old monk explains to the Venerable the illusory meaning within the teachings. If a person sees that illusion has originally always been truth, that person is called one who sees the Buddha. In perfect penetration, every dharma is without birth or cessation; neither ceasing nor arising is the Buddha-body.”

He further asked, “When an earthworm is cut into two pieces and both pieces crawl away, in which piece is the Buddha-nature?”
The Master said, “To what realm do movement and nonmovement belong?”
The monk said, “Such a statement is not found in the scriptures and is not the speech of a wise person. As for the movement of which the Master speaks, from which sutra does it come?”
The Master said, “You plainly said that my words were unrelated to scripture and were not the words of a wise person. Have you not seen what the Surangama Sutra says? ‘You should know that the boundless, unmoving space throughout the ten directions, together with the moving earth, water, fire, and wind, are called the six elements. Their true nature is perfectly interfused; all are the Tathagata-garbha, fundamentally without birth or cessation.’”
The Master spoke this verse:

Most profound, and yet more profound;
The human body and the Dharma-realm are precisely mind.
When deluded, one is deluded about mind because of forms;
When awakened, every realm is the true mind.
Body and realm, these two objects, have no real characteristics;
Clearly understanding this is called knowing the sound.

He further asked, “What is a dharani?”
The Master pointed to the right side of the meditation platform and said, “This one can be recited by the Sangha.”
He further asked, “Is there another person who can recite it?”
The Master pointed to the left side of the meditation platform and said, “This one can also be recited by the Sangha.”
He asked, “Why do I not hear it?”
The Master said, “Has the Venerable not heard it said that true recitation has no reverberating sound, and true hearing hears nothing?”
The monk said, “Then sound does not enter the nature of the Dharma-realm.”
The Master said, “To seek seeing apart from form is not right view; to seek hearing apart from sound is false hearing.”
He asked, “Why is not departing from form right view, and not departing from sound true hearing?”
The Master then spoke this verse:

A monk asked, “Nanquan said, ‘Fox cubs and bullocks know that it exists, but the Buddhas of the three times do not know that it exists.’ Why do the Buddhas of the three times not know that it exists?”
The Master said, “It is just like you before you entered the Deer Park.”
The monk said, “Why do fox cubs and bullocks know that it exists?”
The Master said, “Why are you surprised at them?”

A monk asked, “Whose Dharma did the Master inherit?”
The Master said, “I have no one whose Dharma I could inherit.”
The monk asked, “Did you ever engage in the study of Chan?”
The Master said, “I studied it for myself.”
The monk asked, “What is the Master’s meaning?”
The Master spoke this verse:

A monk asked, “What is the ordinary mind?”
The Master said, “When you want to sleep, sleep; when you want to sit, sit.”
The monk said, “This disciple does not understand.”
The Master said, “When it is hot, seek coolness; when it is cold, warm yourself by the fire.”

A monk asked, “Please, Master, speak of the single path upward.”
The Master said, “A needle’s eye and three feet of thread.”
The monk asked, “How should this be understood?”
The Master said, “Yizhou has cloth; Yangzhou has silk.”

A monk asked, “Movement is the lineage of the Dharma King; stillness is the root of the Dharma King. What is the Dharma King?”
The Master pointed to a pillar and said, “Why not ask the great being?”

A monk asked, “Has anyone from ancient times to the present attained Buddhahood?”
The Master said, “Have you ever seen the sovereign of the Great Tang personally plowing fields and harvesting rice?”
The monk said, “I do not know who has attained Buddhahood.”
The Master said, “It is you who attain Buddhahood.”
The monk made no reply.
The Master asked, “Do you understand?”
The monk said, “I do not understand.”
The Master said, “When a person falls because of the ground, he rises again from the ground. What does the ground say?”

Sansheng instructed the senior monk Xiu to ask, “After Nanquan passed into transformation, where did he go?”
The Master replied, “When Shitou was still a novice, he went to pay respects to the Sixth Patriarch...”

He said: “I do not ask where Shitou went after meeting the Sixth Patriarch; I ask where Nanquan went when he passed away.” The Master said, “Study that teaching and find out.” Xiu said, “Although the Venerable has a thousand-foot shaft of cold clarity, bamboo and stone still do not grow from it.” The Master remained silent. Xiu said, “Thank you, Venerable, for answering!” The Master again remained silent. Senior Monk Xiu recounted this to Sansheng.

Sansheng said, “If it truly happened thus, he surpasses Linji by seven steps; nevertheless, wait until I test him.” Early the following morning, Sansheng went up and asked, “I have just heard that last night the Venerable gave an answer concerning Nanquan’s passing away. It may be said to shine brilliantly through all ages, a thing rarely seen from antiquity to the present.” The Master again remained silent.

A monk asked, “What is Manjusri?”

The Master said, “Walls, tiles, and bricks are it.”

He further asked, “What is Avalokitesvara?”

The Master said, “Sounds, speech, and words are it.”

He further asked, “What is Samantabhadra?”

The Master said, “The minds of sentient beings are it.”

He further asked, “What is the Buddha?”

The Master said, “The physical bodies of sentient beings are it.”

The monk said, “The bodies of the Buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, are all identical. How, then, can there be all these different names?”

The Master said, “Returning to the source through the eye is called Manjusri; returning to the source through the ear is called Avalokitesvara; returning to the source through the mind is called Samantabhadra. Manjusri is the Buddha’s wisdom. Avalokitesvara’s wondrous contemplation is the Buddha’s great, unconditioned compassion. Samantabhadra is the Buddha’s wondrous, unconditioned conduct. These Three Sages are the Buddha’s wondrous functions, and the Buddha is the true essence of the Three Sages. In function there are provisional names as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; in essence, all share the single name Bhagavat.”

A monk asked, “Form is precisely emptiness, and emptiness is precisely form. What is the principle of this?”

The Master spoke this verse:

He also spoke this verse:

Buddha-nature is clearly displayed,
Yet abiding nature is difficult for sentient beings to see.
If one realizes that sentient beings are without self,
How could one’s own face differ from the Buddha’s face?

A monk asked, “The sixth, seventh, and eighth consciousnesses ultimately have no essence. Why, then, is it said that the eighth consciousness is transformed into the wisdom of the great perfect mirror?”

The Master spoke this verse:

HISTORICAL TRANSMISSION, VOLUME 9

Another monk asked, “When an earthworm is cut into two pieces, both pieces crawl away. In which piece is the Buddha-nature?”

The Master said, “Why indulge in deluded thinking?”

The monk asked, “Then how can they move?”

The Master said, “Do you not know that wind and fire have not yet dispersed?”

A monk asked, “How can the mountains, rivers, and lands be turned into oneself?”

The Master asked, “How can you turn yourself into the mountains, rivers, and lands?”

The monk said, “I do not understand.”

The Master said, “Below the city of Hunan the people are well sustained; rice is cheap, firewood plentiful, and all four neighboring villages have enough.”

The monk could not answer. The Master spoke this verse:

Who asks that mountains and rivers be transformed?
For whom are mountains and rivers transformed?
Perfect penetration has no two shores;
The Dharma-nature fundamentally has nowhere to return.

A great worthy who lectured on the Avatamsaka Sutra asked, “Does empty space definitely exist, or does it definitely not exist?”

The Master said, “One may say that it exists, and one may also say that it does not exist. When empty space exists, it exists only provisionally; when empty space does not exist, it is absent only provisionally.”

He asked, “For what the Venerable has said, is there any scriptural passage that serves as proof?”

The Master said, “Great Worthy, have you not heard the Surangama Sutra say: ‘The empty space of the ten directions arises within your mind like a wisp of cloud floating in the sky’? Does this not mean that when empty space arises, only a provisional name arises? It also says: ‘When one person realizes the truth and returns to the source, the empty space of the ten directions entirely vanishes.’ Does this not mean that when empty space ceases, only a provisional name ceases? Therefore, this old monk says that existence is provisional existence and nonexistence is provisional nonexistence.”

He further asked, “The sutra says, ‘As an image of pure gold appears within pure vaidurya.’ What does this mean?”

The Master said, “Pure vaidurya represents the essence of the Dharma realm, while the image of pure gold represents the essence of undefiled wisdom. Essence can give rise to wisdom, and wisdom can penetrate that essence. Therefore it is said, ‘As an image of pure gold appears within pure vaidurya.’”

A monk asked, “What is the sphere of practice of a person of the highest rank?”

The Master said, “It is like the eyes of a dead man.”

He asked, “What is it like when people of the highest rank meet one another?”

The Master said, “It is like the hands of a dead man.”

He asked, “Why did Sudhana pass through immeasurable kalpas, entering the worlds within Samantabhadra’s body, yet fail to traverse them all?”

The Master asked, “Since immeasurable kalpas ago, have you traversed them all?”

He asked, “What is Samantabhadra’s body?”

The Master replied, “Inside Hanyuan Hall, you search again for Chang’an.”

He asked, “What is this disciple’s mind?”

The Master said, “The entirety of the worlds throughout the ten directions is your mind.”

He asked, “If so, this disciple has nowhere to place his body.”

The Master said, “That is precisely where you place your body.”

He asked, “Where is the place to set down the body?”

The Master said, “The great sea is deep, and its waters grow deeper still.”

The monk said, “This disciple does not understand.”

The Master said, “Dragons and fish enter and leave, freely rising and sinking.”

He asked, “Whenever someone asks the Venerable a question, you answer according to the causes and conditions. What is the Venerable like when no one asks you anything?”

The Master replied, “When tired, I sleep; when refreshed, I rise.”

He asked, “Toward what should this disciple turn in order to understand?”

The Master said, “In the heat of summer, bare your body; in the cold of winter, cover yourself with a quilt.”

He asked, “When a monk dies, where does he go?”

The Master spoke this verse:

He composed this verse in praise of Nanquan’s portrait:

Nanquan had composed this verse on long abiding and accord with the opportunity:

Today I return home and enter the great gate;
Nanquan himself speaks throughout heaven and earth.
Dharma after Dharma, clearly manifest—all are father and mother;
Turning my head, I feel ashamed before the children and grandchildren.

The Master replied:

Today, when opportunity and response meet, speak not of the matter;
Nanquan does not speak throughout heaven and earth.
Returning home is entirely the affair of children and grandchildren;
Father and mother, from ancient times, have never entered the gate.

The Master also composed this verse exhorting practitioners to study:

Plunge your head ten thousand fathoms and do not yet rest;
Vast and open, there is a path.
If a meditation master wishes to understand Nanquan,
Before him must be green mountains in all the myriad forms of autumn.

On the occasion of Venerable Linji’s saying, “Upon this lump of red flesh, is there a true person or not?” the Master composed this verse:

The myriad dharmas are one suchness, the one without discrimination;
Being one, who chooses and who does not choose?
Right now, birth and death are originally bodhi;
The Tathagatas of the three ages are likewise precisely this.

The Master had his attendant split bamboo tubes and composed this verse:

Bamboo of a thousand years, pines of ten thousand years;
Every branch and every leaf are all the same.
I proclaim to esoteric students throughout the four directions:
Wherever you move your hand, all is father and forefather.

HISTORICAL TRANSMISSION, VOLUME 9

2. Chan Master Baima Tanzhao of Jingnan would often say, “Living is joyful, living is joyful!” When he was dying, however, he cried, “Suffering! Suffering!” He further said, “King Yama has come to seize me.”

The monastery rector asked, “Venerable, when the military governor threw you into the water, your expression did not change. Why are you afraid now?”

The Master raised his pillow and asked, “You tell me: was that time correct, or is today correct?”

The monastery rector could not answer.

3. Chan Master Shizu of Yunji on Mount Zhongnan.

At first, while staying with Nanquan, he asked, “I do not know the flavor of the mani pearl. It is obtained within the rank of a monk of the Tathagata. What is such a monk?”

Nanquan said, “The one who comes and goes together with you is that monk.”

The Master asked, “What if he does not come and go?”

Nanquan said, “He too is the treasury.”

He further asked, “What is the pearl?”

Nanquan called out, “Shizu!”

The Master responded, “Yes!”

Nanquan said, “Go away! You do not understand my words.” From that time onward, the Master entered through reverent faith.

4. Chan Master Yiduan resided at Xiatang Xiangyan in Dengzhou.

The Master instructed the assembly, saying, “Brothers, so long as this and that have not been severed, what characteristics are there that need to be discussed? In another three or five days, I shall depart. Practitioners today must bring everything to an end at this very moment. Do not delight in anything other than being a person with nothing to do. Brothers, although you may learn various doctrines and principles, they can never replace your own understanding. You must exert yourselves to the utmost. Do not memorize chapters and phrases, for they will only make matters increasingly complicated. If you wish to accord, you need only be reverent.”

Exert yourself to the utmost; do not pause for even the slightest instant. Only when you are as directly open as empty space will you have some small share of it,
for empty space has neither locks nor barriers. To fall into a place devoid of form and appearance
is not mind.

• A monk asked, “What was it like when the ancients met one another?” The Master said, “This old monk has never seen any ancients who were different.” The monk asked, “Today, while still alive, what do you desire?” The Master said, “What is there to desire?” The monk said, “I am not asking about some idle matter; I beg the Venerable to answer.” The Master said, “What are you taking leave of, and what are you seeking?” The monk said, “It is not an idle matter.” The Master said, “You tell me what to say.” The Master further said, “Brothers, Buddha is dust, and the Dharma is also dust. You seek all day long—when do you ever stop? Only when there is nothing to which feelings cling and feelings cling to no object, when there is no good to grasp and no evil to cast away—do not say that you are bound by something else—only then is there a place for study.”
• A monk asked, “When I took leave of a certain elder, he instructed me: ‘When traveling, stay close to companions and rely on the right Way.’ I do not know what that elder meant.” As the monk was about to bow, the Master said, “Bow as you please, but do not take me as your master.” The monk asked, “What is it to cut off the source at a single stroke?” The Master immediately threw his staff into the abbot’s quarters.
• One day the Master addressed the assembly: “To speak is to incur blame; to remain silent is to be mad. Beyond both silence and speech, there is a path. This old monk’s mouth is narrow, so I cannot explain it to you.” He then descended from the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “What is the single phrase?” The Master said, “Here, there is not even a single phrase.” The monk asked, “Why is the true person without affairs?” The Master said, “I have never stopped.” He further said, “If there are many layers, strip them all away completely without stopping. When expediency is required, to set things forth is also a skillful means of receiving people; but as for the matter beyond, none of this exists.”

5. Chan Master Congshen of Guanyin Monastery in Zhaozhou

The Master was a native of Haoxiang in Caozhou, and his family name was Hao. When young, he followed a teacher at Hutong Monastery in Zhaozhou, shaved his head, and donned the robes of the Way, but had not yet received the precepts. He then went to Chiyang to consult Nanquan. He found Nanquan resting, and Nanquan asked, “Where have you just come from?” The Master said, “I have just left Ruixiang Monastery.” Nanquan asked, “Did you see the Auspicious Image?” The Master said, “I did not see the Auspicious Image; I saw only the Tathagata lying down.”

Nanquan asked, “Are you a novice with a master, or one without a master?” He replied, “A novice with a master.” Nanquan asked, “Where is your master?” He replied, “In the bitter cold of midwinter, I wish the Venerable’s noble body ten thousand blessings.” Nanquan recognized him as a vessel of the Dharma and admitted him to his chamber. One day the Master asked Nanquan, “What is the Way?” Nanquan said, “Ordinary mind is the Way.” The Master asked, “Can one direct oneself toward it?” Nanquan said, “The moment you direct yourself toward it, you go astray.” The Master asked, “If one does not direct oneself toward it, how can one know that it is the Way?” Nanquan said, “The Way does not belong to knowing or not knowing.

Knowing is deluded awareness; not knowing is mere blankness. If you truly penetrate the Way beyond doubt, it is like the vast emptiness, open and void. How could it forcibly be affirmed or denied?” Upon hearing these words, the Master awakened to the principle.

He then went to the Lapis Lazuli Ordination Platform on Mount Song and received the precepts. Afterward, he returned to Nanquan. On another day he asked Nanquan, “Where does one who knows that there is such a person come to rest completely?” Nanquan said, “Go down the mountain and become an ox!” The Master said, “Thank you.”

During the third watch of the previous night, when the moon reached the window, the Master lit a torch. One day he closed the door, set the whole room ablaze with light, and cried loudly, “Fire! Fire!” The entire assembly came running. The Master said, “If you can say it, I will open the door.” None of the assembly could answer. Nanquan brought the key to the window and handed it to the Master, whereupon the Master opened the door. Later, when the Master went to Huangbo, Huangbo saw him coming and immediately shut the door to the abbot’s quarters. The Master took a flame into the Dharma hall and shouted, “Fire! Fire!” Huangbo opened the door, seized the Master, and demanded, “Speak! Speak!” The Master said, “The bandit has already passed, and only then do you draw your bow and shoot!”

The Master also went to Baoshou. When Baoshou saw him coming, he sat on the Chan seat facing the wall. The Master spread out his sitting mat and bowed. Baoshou descended from the Chan seat, whereupon the Master withdrew. The Master also went to Yanguan, who said, “Watch the arrow.” The Master said, “It has passed.” Yanguan said, “A hit!” The Master also went to Jiashan and entered the Dharma hall leaning on his staff. Jiashan asked, “What are you doing?” He replied, “Testing the water.” Jiashan said, “There is not even a single drop. What are you investigating?” The Master then leaned on his staff and withdrew.

BIOGRAPHIES AND RECORDS 9

The Master went to Mount Wutai, where a greatly virtuous monk composed a verse to detain him:

Where among the green mountains is there no place of the Way?
Why must you carry your staff to pay homage at Qingliang?
Though golden hair may appear amid the clouds,
When viewed with the true eye, it is not auspicious.

The Master asked, “What is the true eye?” The greatly virtuous monk could not answer. From then on, the Master spread the teaching throughout the northern lands. The assembly invited him to reside at Guanyin Monastery in Zhaozhou.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly: “It is like a jewel held in the palm: when a Hu comes, a Hu appears; when a Han comes, a Han appears. This old monk takes a blade of grass and makes it into a sixteen-foot golden body; he takes the sixteen-foot golden body and makes it into a blade of grass. Buddha is affliction, and affliction is Buddha.” A monk asked, “I wonder whose affliction Buddha is?” The Master said, “The affliction of everyone.” The monk asked, “How can one be free of it?” The Master asked, “Why would you want to be free of it?”

The Master was sweeping the ground. Someone asked, “The Venerable is a good spiritual friend; why is there dust?” The Master replied, “It comes from outside.” The monk further asked, “Why is there dust in this pure monastery?” The Master replied, “Another speck.”

On another occasion, someone was walking in the garden with the Master when they saw a rabbit flee in fright. He asked, “The Venerable is a great spiritual friend; why was the rabbit frightened upon seeing you?” The Master said, “Because this old monk delights in killing.” A monk asked, “Before the flower of awakening has opened, how can the genuine and the real be distinguished?” The Master said, “Open it.” The monk asked, “Is it the genuine or the real?” The Master said, “The genuine is the real, and the real is the genuine.” The monk asked, “Who has a share in the supreme matter?” The Master replied, “This old monk has a share, and the acarya has a share.” The monk asked, “What if I do not accept it?” The Master pretended not to hear.

The monk could not answer. The Master said, “Go, go.”

In the Master’s monastery there was a stone pillar that the wind had broken. A monk asked, “Has the dharani pillar gone to become an ordinary being, or has it gone to become a sage?” The Master replied, “It has neither become an ordinary being nor become a sage.” The monk asked, “What did it ultimately become?” The Master said, “It fell to the ground.”

The Master asked a scripture lecturer, “Which sutra do you lecture on?” He replied, “I lecture on the Nirvana Sutra.” The Master said, “May I ask about the meaning of one passage?” He replied, “You may.” The Master kicked one foot into empty space, blew a breath, and asked, “What meaning is this?” The lecturer said, “There is no such meaning in the sutra.” The Master said, “It is the meaning of the five hundred strongmen shifting the stone, yet you say there is no such meaning.”

When the assembly came for the evening consultation, the Master said, “Tonight I shall answer. Anyone who understands how to question, come forward.” At that moment, a monk came forward and bowed. The Master said, “This is like throwing a brick to draw forth jade, only to draw forth a lump of clay.”

A monk traveling to Mount Wutai asked an old woman, “Which road leads to Mount Wutai?” The old woman replied, “Just go straight ahead.” The monk then went on. The old woman said, “There he goes again, just like that.” The monk later recounted the incident to the Master. The Master said, “Wait until I expose that old woman.” The next morning, the Master went and asked, “Which way is the road up Mount Wutai?” The old woman said, “Just go straight ahead.” He immediately went on. The old woman said, “There he goes again, just like that.” The Master returned to the monastery and told the monk, “I have exposed that old woman for you.”

A monk asked, “If someone comes here, will the Master still receive him?” The Master said, “I will receive him.” The monk asked, “If he does not come here, will the Master still receive him?” The Master said, “I will receive him.” The monk said, “If that person comes here, the Master can receive him; but if he does not come here, how will you receive him?” The Master said, “Stop there; there is no need to say more. My Dharma is subtle and wondrous, difficult to fathom.”

The Master left the monastery and encountered an old woman on the road. She asked, “Where does the Venerable reside?” The Master said, “To the west of the eastern monastery in Zhaozhou.” The old woman said nothing. The Master returned to the monastery and questioned the monks. Some of the monks said that it meant the word “west”; others said that it meant the words “east and west”; still others said that it meant “lodging.” The Master said, “All of you are fit to serve as magistrates of salt and iron.”

A monk asked,
“Why did the Venerable say that?” The Master said, “Because all of you know how to read.” The monk asked:
“What is the treasure within the bag?” The Master said, “Shut your mouth.” A newly arrived monk
said to the Master, “I have come from Chang’an, carrying a staff crosswise without getting caught
on anyone.” The Master said, “That is because the Virtuous One carries a short staff.” The monk could not answer.
A monk drew a portrait of the Master and presented it to him. The Master said, “Tell me whether it resembles me
or does not resemble me. If it resembles me, you have struck and killed this old monk; if it does not resemble
me, burn the portrait.” The monk could not answer. The Master held a flame aloft and asked a
monk, “This old monk calls it fire. What do you call it?” The monk could not answer.
The Master said, “Not knowing the profound purport, you labor in vain at mindfulness of purity.” A newly arrived monk
came for an interview. The Master asked, “Where have you come from?” The monk said, “From the South.” The Master
asked, “The Buddha-Dharma is all in the South; what did you come here for?” The monk
asked, “Does the Buddha-Dharma then have a north?” The Master said, “Whether you come from Yunju or Xuefeng,
you are merely a fellow carrying a plank.” The monk asked, “What is the Buddha?” The Master
said, “He is in that hall.” The monk asked, “Is not the one in that hall a
clay image?” The Master said, “That is right.” The monk asked, “What is the Buddha?” The Master said,
“He is in that hall.” The monk said, “This disciple is deluded; I beg the Master to instruct me.” The Master replied, “Have you
eaten your gruel?” The monk said, “I have eaten my gruel.” The Master said, “Then wash your bowl.” The monk suddenly
awakened.
The Master ascended the Dharma Hall and said, “As soon as there is right and wrong, the mind is lost in confusion.
Is there yet a reply?” Later, a monk presented the words, “The ford has fallen, the ford has fallen—gnash
your teeth.” He also brought them before Yunju. Yunju said, “What need is there?” The monk returned and reported
this to the Master. The Master said, “In the South there is a man who has lost body and life.” The monk
said, “Venerable, please bring it forth.” The Master then repeated the foregoing words. The monk pointed to another monk
beside him and said, “That Sangha monk said those words after finishing his meal.” The Master then desisted. A monk asked:
“For a long time I have heard of Zhaozhou’s stone bridge, but upon arriving I see only a log bridge.” The Master said,
“You see only the log bridge and do not see Zhaozhou’s bridge.” The monk asked:
“What is Zhaozhou’s bridge?” The Master said, “Come here!” Another monk asked the same
question as before, and the Master likewise answered as before. The monk asked, “What is Zhaozhou’s bridge?” The Master said,
“It carries donkeys across and carries horses across.” The monk asked, “What is the log bridge?” The Master replied,
“Each one carries people across.” The Master heard a novice shout while coming for an interview, and told the attendant:
“BIOGRAPHICAL RECORDS, PART 9
Tell him to leave.” The attendant told him to leave. The novice immediately departed with due care. The Master said, “The novice has entered
the gate; the attendant remains outside the gate.”

– The Master asked a newly arrived monk, “Where have you come from?” The monk said, “From the South.”

The Master asked, “Do you know that there is a Zhaozhou barrier?” The monk said, “Though I know there is, what
has that to do with anything?” The Master said, “That old ladle seller!” The monk asked, “What is the meaning of the coming
from the Western Land?” The Master stepped down from the meditation platform and stood. The monk asked, “Is this not
it?” The Master said, “This old monk has not said that.” The Master asked the cook, “Today, shall we call it
raw vegetables or cooked vegetables?” The cook brought out the vegetables and presented them. The Master said, “Those who know gratitude are
few; those who betray gratitude are many.” A monk asked, “In the empty kalpa, are there still practitioners?”
The Master asked, “What do you call the empty kalpa?” The monk could not answer.
A monk asked, “What is the mystery within the mystery?” The Master said, “How long ago did you come from the mystery?”
The monk said, “The mystery has existed for a long time.” The Master said, “Had the Acarya not met
this old monk, before long you would have been killed by the mystery.” A monk asked, “The myriad dharmas return to the One; where
does the One return?” The Master said, “When this old monk was in Qingzhou, he made a robe of colored cloth
weighing seven jin.” A monk asked, “At night he departed Tusita; by day he descended to Jambudvipa. While abiding
within it, why does the mani jewel not appear?” The Master asked, “What are you saying?” The monk asked again. The Master
said, “Vipasyin Buddha kept it in mind long ago, yet even down to the present has not attained the wondrous.”
The Master asked the monastery superintendent, “Where have you come from?” He replied, “I came along the river.” The Master said, “Why did the crow
fly away on returning?” The superintendent said, “Because it was afraid of me.” The Master said, “You have known the matter for ten years and
can say only this.” The superintendent then asked, “Why did the crow fly away?” The Master said, “The superintendent
has no murderous intent.” The Master raised a bowl and said, “Thirty years from now, if you see this old monk,
keep it and make offerings to him; if you do not see him, smash it.” A monk came forward and asked, “Thirty
years from now, I dare say that I shall be able to see the Venerable.” The Master immediately smashed the bowl.
A monk took his leave. The Master asked, “Where are you going?” The monk said, “To Xuefeng.” The Master
said, “If Xuefeng suddenly asks you, ‘What words does the Venerable have?’
how will you answer?” The monk replied, “I cannot say; I beg the Venerable to tell me.” The Master said,
“In winter, say it is cold; in summer, say it is hot.” He further said, “If Xuefeng then
asks you, ‘What is the ultimate matter?’” The monk again said, “I cannot say.”
The Master told him, “Simply say: ‘I came personally from Zhaozhou; I do not repeat words transmitted by others.’”
The monk arrived and related everything fully to Xuefeng. Xuefeng said, “Only Zhaozhou could be
like this.” Hearing of this, Xuansha said, “Great and small, Zhaozhou is altogether defeated and deficient—he does not know.”
A monk asked, “What is Zhaozhou’s single phrase?” The Master said, “This old monk does not have even half a phrase.” The
monk asked, “Does the Venerable truly have none?” The Master said, “This old monk is not
a single phrase.” A monk asked, “What is leaving the household life?” The Master said, “Not craving merit or fame,
and not acting carelessly.” A monk asked, “What is it like when all is stilled, clarified, and utterly extinguished?”
The Master said, “Within it, not a single guest obstructs the host.” A monk asked, “What is the Patriarch’s meaning?”
Without answering him, the Master raised his hand and struck the meditation platform. The monk asked,
“Is it nothing but this?” The Master said, “This old monk left home when young and has never suffered blurred vision.”
The monk asked, “Why is it not the position?” The Master said, “May you constantly perfect the mark of Vairocana.”
Someone asked, “Venerable, will you enter hell?”
The Master said, “In the end, this old monk will enter it.” He asked, “Why would a great spiritual friend
enter hell?” The Master said, “If I did not enter hell, who would teach you?” One day,
Commander Wang of Zhending brought his sons into the monastery. The Master remained seated and asked,
“Great King, do you understand?” Wang said, “I do not understand.” The Master said, “From childhood I have observed fasting, and now my body is old;
when I see someone, I have no strength to step down from the meditation platform.” Lord Wang respected him all the more. The next morning,
he sent a guest-general to convey a message. The Master stepped down from the meditation platform to receive him. A little later, the attendant asked,
“When the Great King came, why did the Venerable not step down from the meditation platform, yet now, when a military officer comes,
you step down?” The Master said, “You cannot understand. A person of the highest rank I receive while on the platform;
a person of the middle rank I receive after stepping down from the meditation platform; a person of the lowest rank
I go beyond the triple gate to receive.” The Master sent his whisk to Lord Wang, saying,
“If he asks where it came from, merely say, ‘This old monk has used it throughout his life without exhausting it.’”
The Master’s profound words spread throughout the realm. At that time, when Zhaozhou’s style was mentioned, all
were awed and faithfully submitted. In the fourth year of the Qianyuan era of the Tang, on the second day of the
eleventh month, the Master lay down on his right side and passed away, at the age of 120. Later, the emperor bestowed upon him
the posthumous title Great Master Zhenji.
6. Chan Master Xian of Lingjiu in Chizhou.
The Master called the assembly together and told them, “This is your own fundamental affair. If you ask this old
monk to speak, it is drawing legs on a snake. This is the Sudden Teaching of you Venerable Ones.”
A monk asked, “Let us set aside the matter of drawing legs on a snake. What is the fundamental
affair?” The Master said, “Acarya, try to say.” As the monk was about to ask again, the Master
said, “Why draw a snake?” Venerable Mingyong asked, “How can one immediately realize
the Dharma-body?” The Master said, “Once you have seen through the clouds beyond the Dragon Gate, do not become a Yellow River
carp whose forehead alone has passed through.” Yangshan asked, “When there is utter quiescence without words, how can it be heard or seen?”
The Master said, “The abundant rains of many lands extend before the stupa.” A monk asked,
“What is it like when those two are without words?” The Master said, “It is constant.” The monk asked, “Is there also”

Is there anything extraordinary? The Master replied, “There is.” The monk said, “Please, Master, reveal it.”
The Master said, “The mysterious pearl shines of itself; what need is there for light from beyond the wall?” The monk asked, “Today we are making offerings to Great Master Wuran of Western Sichuan. I wonder whether the Great Master has come?” The Master replied, “Originally, there is nowhere from which to come; how could he now shift with the wind?” The monk said, “If so, what need is there to make offerings?” The Master said, “The merit of conditioned action accords with the unchanging principle.”

7. The Reverend of Mount Zhuyu in Ezhou.

At first he resided at Huguo Monastery in Suizhou and was its first abbot. The Reverend asked, “What is the Way?” The Master said, “Do not drive a nail into empty space.” Guan said, “Empty space is the stake.” The Master thereupon struck him. Guan seized the staff and said, “Do not strike me; later you may mistakenly strike someone else.” The Master then stopped.

Reverend Shen of Zhaozhou first went to Yunju. Yunju asked, “You are such an old man; why do you not seek a place to stay?” Shen said, “How could I stay?” Yunju said, “In front of the mountain are the foundations of an ancient monastery.” Shen said, “Reverend, you may stay there yourself.” Later he came to the Master. The Master said, “You are such an old man; why do you not settle down?” Shen asked, “Where should I settle?” The Master said, “You are such an old man, yet you do not even know where to stay.” Shen said, “For thirty years I have sported astride a horse; today I have been kicked by a donkey.”

As the assembly of monks stood attending him, the Master said, “You merely stand there silently—a dreary scene.” A monk was about to ask a question, but the Master struck him and said, “I have already exerted myself fully for the assembly,” then entered the abbot’s quarters.

A practitioner came for an interview. The Master asked, “Have you gone to see Zhaozhou?” He asked, “Reverend, do you dare speak?” The Master said, “It is not only Zhuyu; no one at all can speak.” He said, “Reverend, please forgive me.” The Master said, “Here, from the beginning, there has been no accommodation for human sentiment.” He then said, “Please bring forth a compassionate mind.” The Master struck him again and said, “After you awaken, I shall explain it to you.”

8. Chan Master Lichong of Mount Zihu in Quzhou.

The Master was a native of Chanzhou, and his family name was Zhou. He left the household life at Kaiyuan Monastery in Quzhou and received the full precepts when he came of age. Later he entered Nanquan’s chamber. He subsequently built a thatched hermitage on Mount Mati in Quzhou. In the second year of the Kaicheng era of the Tang dynasty, the local people established Zihu Monastery below the mountain and invited the Master to reside there. In the second year of the Xiantong era, the emperor bestowed upon it the plaque “Anguo Chan Monastery.”

One day the Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying, “At Zihu there is a dog: above, it takes people’s heads; in the middle, it takes people’s hearts; below, it takes people’s legs. The moment you deliberate, your body is torn apart and your life is lost.” A monk asked, “What is the dog at Zihu like?” The Master said, “Woof! Woof!”

Two monks from Linji’s community came for an interview. Just as they were raising the curtain, the Master said, “Look out for the dog!” The two monks turned their heads, and the Master immediately returned to the abbot’s quarters.

The Master was in the garden with Reverend Shengguang. Suddenly the Master leaned upon his hoe, looked at Shengguang, and said, “It is not that the matter does not exist, but the moment the mind thinks of it, one is already mistaken.” Guang bowed and was about to ask a question. The Master kicked him once and returned to the monastery.

A nun came for an interview. The Master asked, “Are you not Liu Tiemo?” The nun replied, “I would not presume.” The Master said, “Turn to the left, then turn to the right, and let me see.” The nun replied, “Reverend, do not be inverted.” The Master immediately struck her.

At midnight the Master went to the monks’ hall and shouted, “Thief!” The assembly was alarmed and ran outside. The Master went to the rear of the monks’ hall, tightly seized a monk, and shouted, “Karmadana, I have caught him! I have caught him!” The monk said, “It is not me.” The Master said, “It is indeed; you simply refuse to admit it!”

The Master had a verse with which he instructed the assembly:

For thirty years I have resided at Zihu;
Two daily meals of gruel and rice have made my strength robust.
Each day I climb the mountain three or five times—
May I ask whether anyone understands?

The Master taught the Dharma at Zihu for forty-five years. During the Guangming era, he passed away without illness at the age of eighty-one, having completed sixty-one Dharma years. His stupa still stands on that mountain today.

9. The Reverend of Mount Song in Luojing.

A monk asked, “What is it like when the ancient road is level and even?” The Master replied, “One does not proceed.” The monk asked, “Why does one not proceed?” The Master replied, “There is nowhere obstructed.”

A monk asked, “What is the scenery of Mount Song?” The Master replied, “The sun rises in the east; the moon sets in the west.” He said, “This disciple does not understand.” The Master said, “You do not even understand east and west.”

A monk asked, “What is it like when all six consciousnesses arise?” The Master replied, “Different.” The monk asked, “Why is that?” The Master said, “The same.”

10. Reverend Riju.

Yaoxi came for an interview. The Master made as if to rise. Yaoxi asked, “Does that old mountain demon see me too?” The Master said, “What an offense! What an offense! You have only just arrived and already lost the exchange.” As Yaoxi was about to speak, the Master shouted. Yaoxi said, “Before a great battle, if one is unprepared, it is difficult to withstand the attack.” The Master said, “Right, right.” Yaoxi said, “Not right, not right.”

11. The Reverend of Xichan in Suzhou.

A monk asked, “Setting aside the Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teachings, what is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?” The Master raised his whisk. The monk did not bow, but went instead to seek instruction from Xuefeng.

Xuefeng asked, “Where have you come from?” The monk said, “From central Zhejiang.” Xuefeng asked, “Where did you spend this summer?” He replied, “At Xichan in Suzhou.” Xuefeng asked, “Was the Reverend well?” He replied, “When I departed, he enjoyed myriad blessings.” Xuefeng asked, “Why did you not remain at ease there?” He replied, “The Buddha-Dharma was not clear.” Xuefeng said, “What happened?” The monk recounted the preceding exchange.

Xuefeng asked, “Why did you not accept it?” The monk said, “It was an objective scene.” Xuefeng asked, “Did you see all the men and women in Suzhou city?” He replied, “I saw them.” Xuefeng asked, “Did you see the groves of trees along the road?” He replied, “I saw them.” Xuefeng said, “Whatever men, women, trees, land, and so forth you saw were all objective scenes. Do you accept that?” He replied, “I accept it.” Xuefeng said, “Then why did you not accept it when he raised the whisk?”

The monk then bowed and said, “This disciple has merely brought forth words; I beg the Master compassionately to instruct me.” Xuefeng said, “The whole of heaven and earth is this single eye. Where will you sit?” The monk could not answer.

12. Governor Lu Huan of Xuanzhou.

Earlier he asked Nanquan, “An ancient man raised a goose in a bottle. The goose gradually grew until it could no longer get out of the bottle. Now, without breaking the bottle and without killing the goose, how would you get it out?” Nanquan loudly called, “Minister!” Lu replied, “Yes!” Nanquan said, “It is out!”

From that moment, Lu awakened. When Nanquan passed away, the monastery superintendent asked, “Minister, why do you not weep for the late Master?” Lu said, “If the monastery superintendent can say something, I shall weep at once.” The superintendent could say nothing.

13. Practitioner Gan Zhi of Chizhou.

Carrying a string of coins, he entered the monks’ hall and said before the head seat, “Venerable, please give me some money.” The head seat replied, “Material giving is inexhaustible; Dharma giving is boundless.” Gan said, “If you speak like that, how could you obtain my money?” He then carried it away again. The head seat could not answer.

On another occasion, he offered gruel at Nanquan’s monastery and said, “Reverend, please perform the recitation.” Nanquan said, “Practitioner Gan Zhi has offered gruel. May the great assembly recite Mahaprajnaparamita for the wild fox and the white bull.” Gan thereupon bowed and withdrew. Nanquan entered the kitchen and smashed the cauldron.

When Reverend Xuefeng arrived, Gan shut the gate and shouted, “Reverend, please enter!” From beyond the fence, Xuefeng tossed his robe inside. Gan then opened the gate and bowed.

A hut-dwelling monk came soliciting alms. Gan said, “If you can say something, I will give you something.” He then wrote the character “mind” and asked, “What character is this?” The monk said, “The character ‘mind.’” He then asked his wife, “What character is this?” His wife replied, “The character ‘mind.’” Gan said, “My wife, too, is a match for the hut-dwelling monk.” The monk could not answer, and Gan gave him nothing.

He also questioned another monk, asking, “Where have you come from?” The monk said, “From Guishan.” Gan said, “A monk once asked Guishan, ‘What is the meaning of the coming from India?’ Guishan raised his whisk. Venerable, do you understand what Guishan meant?”

The monk replied, “Borrowing phenomena to illuminate the mind, relying upon things to reveal the principle.” Gan
said, “Please return to Guishan.”

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Qi’an of Yanguan, Hangzhou, mentioned above.

1. Chan Master Daochang of Guangnan, Xiangzhou.
A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the coming from the Western Land?” The Master raised his staff and asked,
“Do you understand?” The monk said that he did not understand. The Master then shouted, “Get out!” The monk asked, “What
is the source of the Great Way?” The Master struck him once. Whenever he saw a monk come
to pay respects and inquire, the Master would most often take up his staff and chase him away. Sometimes he would say, “Wait one quarter-hour,”
and sometimes, “Sound the drum of Guannan.” At that time, Beixian composed
responsive verses about this.
2. Chan Master Xuanzhen of Shuangling, Hongzhou.
Previously, he asked Daowu, “Since bodhisattvas have no supernatural powers, why are
their tracks difficult to find?” Daowu said, “Only one who shares the Way knows.” The Master asked, “Does the Venerable
know?” He replied, “I do not know.” The Master asked, “Why do you not know?” He replied,
“Go away! You do not understand what I am saying.” Later, while at Yanguan, the Master attained accord.
3. Chan Master Jianzong of Jingshan, Hangzhou.
The Master was a native of Changcheng in Huzhou, and his family name was Qian. Relying upon the Great Virtuous One
Gaoxian at Kaiyuan Monastery in Hangzhou, he left the household life and thoroughly studied
the Vimalakirti and Brahma’s Questions Sutras. Later, he went to pay respects to Great Master Wukong and
resolved all his doubts. In the third year of Xiantong under the Tang dynasty, he resided at Jingshan and
expounded the Chan teaching. There was a young disciple named Hongjin who took pride in his own
lecturing and disputation. The Master summoned him and said, “The true Dharma of the Buddhas and patriarchs directly
cuts off words. Of what benefit to the principle is your knowledge, numerous as the sands of the sea? If only
you do not cling to views and understanding, sever external conditions, and relinquish every kind of mind, then that
is your true nature.” Jin heard this but remained utterly bewildered. He bowed, took his leave, and traveled in all directions. Upon reaching
Master Guishan, he finally awakened to the profound purport. He then served Guishan
as his teacher. In the seventh year of Xiantong, the bingxu year, on the fifth day of the intercalary third month,
the Master passed away. The emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Great Master Wushang. He was the second-generation master of Jingshan.

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Lingmo of Mount Wuxie, mentioned

above.
1. Chan Master Zhengyuan of Guishan in Changxi,
which belonged to Fuzhou. The Master was a native of Nanling in Xuanzhou, and his family name was
Cai. From childhood he wearied of worldly life and left the household life, shaving his head at Jishan in Fuzhou.
In the twelfth year of Yuanhe under the Tang dynasty, the dingyou year, he
received the full precepts at Qianyuan Monastery in Jianzhou. Afterward, he sought out Master Mo’s quarters
on Mount Wuxie and discerned the profound subtleties. Later, he resided at Guishan as its
second-generation master. The Master once composed two verses, the first and the second:
1)
How many times has the blue sea become mulberry fields?
Only empty space remains serene and crystal clear.
One who has reached the shore no longer clings to the raft;
One who has not yet crossed the river must await the boat.
2)
Seeking a teacher, I recognized the source of the original mind;
Both shores are mysterious, yet neither is complete.
Being Buddha, there is no need again to seek Buddha;
Only through this does one at once forget conditions.
In the tenth year of Gantong, the Master passed away on this mountain, at the age of seventy-eight, with fifty-four Dharma years. The emperor
bestowed upon him the posthumous title Great Master Xingkong, and his stupa was named Huiguan.

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Ruman of Foguang Monastery in

Luojing, mentioned above.
1. Governor Bai Juyi, styled Letian, of Hangzhou during the Tang dynasty.
For a long time he consulted Master Foguang and received the Dharma of mind; he also studied
the Mahayana Jewel Precepts and Vajra teachings. During the Yuanhe era, he went to reside
at the Dharma Hall of Xing善 Monastery in Jingzhao and posed four questions. In the fifteenth year,
while governing Hangzhou, he exchanged verses of questions and answers with the Venerable Niaoke. He wrote
a letter to Dharma Master Ji, saying that the Buddha expounded the teachings through unsurpassed great wisdom,
adapting to differing capacities, high and low, and to differing illnesses, yet spoke contradictory teachings concerning the
single flavor of equality. He further cited six sutras, including the Vajrasamadhi Sutra, to elucidate
two meanings and raise objections. He also used the five skandhas and the twelve links of dependent origination to discuss how name-and-form, in their earlier and later phases,
are not of the same category. Establishing principles, he set forth various profound and hidden difficulties and caused them
to become thoroughly clear. Yet no reply from the Dharma Master has been seen. Later, too, few people
were able to answer him. He also received from Chan Master Ning of the Eastern Capital the teaching of the Eight Gradual Stages, and then
expanded each phrase into a verse to explain the purport, proceeding from shallow to profound in sequence,
like beads strung together. Wherever he held office, he frequently inquired into the Way of the patriarchs and studied under Master Wuchang.
Later, because travelers were dispersed from the Eastern Capital, he used all his salary
to restore Xiangshan Monastery at Longmen. When the restoration was complete, he himself composed
an inscription. Whenever he wrote texts related to the work of teaching and transformation, he always praised the Buddha Vehicle.
These may be found recorded in this collection. The successive dates and details of his official career are still preserved in the historical biographies...

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Fachang of Mount Damei,

mentioned above.
1. Chan Master Jiazhi of the kingdom of Silla:
A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land?” The Master said, “Wait until it reaches inside
your head, and then I shall tell you.” The monk asked, “What is the purport of Damei?”
The Master said, “Thick cream is bestowed at the moment it is cast away.”
2. Venerable Tianlong of Hangzhou.
The Master ascended the Dharma Hall and said, “Great assembly, do not wait for this old monk to ascend before you
ascend, or to descend before you descend. Each of you fully possesses the ocean of the Flower Treasury nature,
with luminous and unobstructed merit. All of you must carefully investigate and realize it.” A monk
asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch?” The Master held his whisk upright. The monk asked,
“How can one escape the three realms?” The Master asked, “Where are you now?”

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Chengrui of Yongtai Monastery,

mentioned above.
1. Chan Master Jieling of Shanglin, Hunan.
Previously, the Master consulted Guishan, who asked, “Great Virtuous One, what have you come here to do?”
The Master said, “My armor is fully equipped.” Guishan said, “Cast everything aside and come,
so that I may meet the Great Virtuous One.” The Master said, “I have cast it all aside.” Guishan shouted, “The bandits have not yet
all been defeated—what will you do?” The Master was unable to answer. Yangshan answered in his place, “Venerable,
please shield both sides.” Guishan folded his hands, bowed, and said, “Yes, yes!” Later,
the Master consulted Yongtai, who revealed the purport to him.
2. Venerable Biguangyan of Mount Wutai.
The Master always carried a wooden disc. Whenever he saw a monk come to bow in reverence, he
would immediately hang the disc around the monk’s neck and say, “It was a demon that taught you to leave the household life; it
was a demon that taught you to journey on foot. If you can speak, I shall strangle you to death; if you cannot speak,
I shall also strangle you to death. Speak quickly!” Among the monks studying with him, few could answer.
3. Venerable Qilin of Hunan.
The Master often shouted, “Manjusri and Samantabhadra are both goblin spirits!” Holding
a wooden sword in his hand, he declared that he was subduing demons. Whenever a monk came to pay respects, he would say, “A demon
has come! A demon has come!” Then, wildly brandishing his sword, he would enter the abbot’s quarters. He did this throughout twelve
years. Later, he put aside the sword and said nothing. A monk asked, “Why did you subdue
demons during the previous twelve years?” The Master said, “Bandits do not raid a poor household.” The monk asked, “Why, after twelve
years, do you no longer subdue demons?” The Master said, “Bandits do not raid a poor household.”

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Baoji of Panshan in Youzhou,

mentioned above.
1. Venerable Puhua of Zhenzhou.
No one knew where the Master came from. He served Master Panshan and secretly obtained
the true essential. He then feigned madness and spoke without restraint. After Panshan passed away,
he traveled throughout the northern lands, teaching and transforming. Whether in marketplaces or burial grounds, he would ring a
bell and say, “When brightness comes, strike; when darkness comes, strike.” One day,
Master Linji sent a monk to seize him and say, “When neither brightness nor darkness comes, what then?”
He replied, “In the days to come, there will be a vegetarian feast at the Great Compassion Cloister.” Whenever
he saw anyone, whether high or low, he would strike the wooden clapper once. At that time, people called him
Venerable Puhua. Sometimes he brought the clapper close to a person’s ear and struck it, or

When he wore it at his waist, if someone turned to look back, he would immediately stretch out his hand and say, “Give me one coin.” When he encountered food outside the prescribed time, he would also eat. Once, toward evening, he entered Master Linji’s monastery and ate raw vegetables. Master Linji said, “That old fellow resembles a donkey’s head!”

The Master immediately brayed like a donkey. Linji then desisted. The Master said, “That lackey Linji has only one eye.”

The Master saw Military Commissioner Ma come out shouting, so the Master also shouted and acted as though they were fighting. Military Commissioner Ma ordered someone to strike him five times with a staff. The Master said, “It seems like it, indeed it seems like it, but it is not truly so.”

The Master would often wander about the marketplace, striking a wooden fish and crying out, “Seeking a place to cast it away cannot be done.” At that time, Daowu encountered the Master, stopped him, and asked, “Where do you intend to cast it away?” The Master asked, “Where have you come from?” Daowu did not reply. The Master took him by the hand and went away.

One day, the Master entered Master Linji’s monastery. Linji said, “Thief! Thief!” The Master also said, “Thief! Thief!” Then they entered the Sangha Hall together. Linji pointed to the sacred seat in the Sangha Hall and asked, “Is this ordinary or sacred?”

BIOGRAPHIES OF THE MASTERS, 9

The Master said, “Sacred.” Linji said, “You speak such words!” The Master then struck the wooden fish and said, “The bride of Heyang, the wooden stupa, old-woman Chan—the lackey Linji has only one eye.”

In the first year of the Tang Xiantong era, when the Master was about to enter parinirvana, he went into the marketplace and called to people, saying, “Give me a long robe.” People offered him outer robes and cloth robes, but he accepted none of them and went away striking his wooden fish. At that time, Linji sent someone to give him a coffin. The Master laughed and said, “That lackey Linji talks too much,” and then accepted it.

He announced his farewell, saying, “Tomorrow I, Puhua, shall go to the eastern gate and die.” The people of the prefecture flocked together to escort the Master out of the city. The Master shouted loudly, “It is not auspicious to be buried today.” He then said, “On the second day, I shall undergo transformation at the southern gate.” The people complied with him. The Master again said, “Tomorrow, going out through the western gate will be auspicious.” The people who followed him gradually became fewer. After going out there, the Master returned once more. The people gradually grew weary of it.

On the fourth day, he carried the coffin himself beyond the northern gate, struck the bell, entered the coffin, and died. The people of the prefecture hurried outside the city and opened the coffin to look, but saw nothing. They heard only the sound of the bell receding into the distance. No one could fathom the reason.

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Yuanchang of Mount Longya, mentioned above.

1. Chan Master Zangyi of Jiahe.

The Master was from Xin’an in Quzhou, and his family name was Cheng. During the Tang Yuanhe era, the Master bade farewell to his parents and went to Yuelu Monastery in Changsha, where he paid homage to Vinaya Master Lingzhi and entered monastic life. In the third year of Changqing, the Master received the full precepts at Kaiyuan Monastery in Wuling. Upon hearing the sections of the Vinaya, he said to his fellow students, “The gates of the teachings are excessively complicated and extensive; one must seek the gate of the essential principle.”

He then went to see Chan Master Chang of Mount Longya. Longya said, “The skandhas and dhatus are not real; neither Buddha nor sentient beings are the self. What is your original true name, and from whom did you obtain it?” Upon hearing these words, the Master awakened. He then returned to Mount Ke to take refuge from Emperor Wuzong of Tang’s persecution of monks and nuns. Later, the Master stayed at Longxing and taught widely. In the third month of the sixth year of Qianfu, the Master passed away at the age of eighty-two, having completed fifty-six summer retreats.

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Zhichang of Guizong Monastery, mentioned above.

1. Chan Master Lingxun of Mount Furong, Fuzhou.

At first, the Master visited Guizong and asked, “What is Buddha?” Guizong said, “If I tell you, will you believe me?” The Master said, “How would I dare not believe the Venerable’s truthful words?” Guizong said, “You yourself are Buddha.” The Master asked, “How should I preserve this?” Guizong said, “Once the eyes are clouded, flowers in the sky fall in profusion.”

The Master bade farewell to Guizong. Guizong asked, “Where are you going?” The Master said, “I am returning to Lingzhong.” Guizong said, “You have stayed here for many years. Fasten your robe and come; I shall expound the Buddha Dharma of the One Vehicle for you.” The Master fastened his robe and ascended the Dharma Hall. Guizong said, “Come closer.” The Master drew near. Guizong said, “When the road is cold, take good care.” On hearing this statement, the Master immediately forgot his previous understanding.

After the Master passed away, the emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Great Master Hongzhao, and his stupa was named Yuanxiang.

2. Venerable Gaoting of Gucheng County, Hannan.

A monk came from Jiashan and paid homage. The Master immediately struck him. The monk said, “I came especially to pay homage; why did the Master strike me?” The monk bowed again. The Master struck him once more and drove him away.

The monk returned and recounted the incident to Jiashan. Jiashan asked, “Do you understand?” The monk said, “I do not understand.” Jiashan said, “I reproach you for not understanding. Had you understood, this mouth of Jiashan would have been mute.”

3. Venerable Damao, a native of the kingdom of Silla.

The Master ascended the Dharma Hall and said, “If you wish to know the teacher of all Buddhas, discern it within the beginningless mind of ignorance. If you wish to know the permanently abiding nature that neither decays nor perishes, discern it amid the transformations and changes of the myriad trees.”

A monk asked, “What is the realm of Damao?” The Master said, “It does not reveal its sharp point.” The monk asked, “Why does it not reveal the needle?” The Master said, “It does not correspond.”

4. Chan Master Zhitong of Mount Wutai.

Previously, he went to see Guizong. Suddenly, one night while making the rounds of the Chan hall, he cried aloud, “I have attained great awakening!” The assembly was startled. The next morning, Guizong ascended the Dharma Hall, gathered the assembly, and asked, “Which monk attained great awakening last night? Step forward.”

The Master stepped forward and said, “Zhitong.” Guizong asked, “What principle did you perceive that you call great awakening? Try to tell me.” The Master replied, “A paternal aunt is naturally made into a young woman.” Guizong remained silent and regarded it as extraordinary.

The Master then took his leave. Guizong escorted him to the gate and gave him a hat. The Master put the hat on his head and walked away without once looking back.

Later, the Master stayed at Fahua Monastery on Mount Tai. When he passed away, he left this verse:

Reaching out, I touch the Southern Dipper;
Turning around, I lean against the Northern Star.
Thrusting out my head, I see beyond the heavens—
Who is a person like me?

– Dharma successor of Chan Master Zhizang of Huayan Monastery, mentioned above.

1. Venerable Qi’an of Huangzhou.

The Master instructed the assembly, saying, “Speech does not fall into phrases; Buddhas and patriarchs do not reveal it. The mysterious resonance does not descend—who can know it?”

A monk asked, “How can one know one’s own Buddha?” The Master said, “A single leaf at dawn cannot be entirely consumed; when the wind through the pines exhausts its resonance, there is no one to lament.” The monk said, “What is one’s own Buddha?” The Master said, “Before the grass, a fine steed is truly difficult to match; when subtlety is exhausted, one must again let an animal go.”

Someone asked, “How old is the Great Master?” The Master said, “Five, six, four, and three cannot be classified; how could they be the same as one and two? Truly difficult to match.”

The Master composed this verse:

Later, the Master stayed at Fengxiang.