景德傳燈錄

THE JINGDE RECORD OF THE TRANSMISSION OF THE LAMP — VOLUME 14

VOLUME 14

• Dharma heirs of Chan Master Xingsi of Mount Qingyuan, Ji Prefecture.
• In the first generation, there was one person: Great Master Xiqian of Shitou, Nanyue (his record is included).
• In the second generation, there were 21 persons.
• There were 21 Dharma heirs of Chan Master Xiqian of Shitou, Nanyue:

1. Chan Master Daowu of Tianhuang Monastery in Jing Prefecture,
2. Chan Master Shili of Jingzhao,
3. Chan Master Tianran of Mount Danxia in Deng Prefecture,
4. Chan Master Huilang of Zhaoti Monastery in Tan Prefecture,
5. Chan Master Zhenlang of Xingguo Monastery in Changsha,
6. Chan Master Weiyan of Mount Yaoshan in Li Prefecture,
7. Venerable Dachuan of Tan Prefecture,
8. Venerable Shilou of Fen Prefecture,
9. Venerable Fotuo of Famen Monastery in Fengxiang,
10. Venerable Hualin of Tan Prefecture,
11. Venerable Dadian of Chao Prefecture,
12. Chan Master Kuang of Changzi in Tan Prefecture,
13. Venerable Shuikong (records of the preceding 13 persons are included),
14. Chan Master Baotong,
15. Chan Master Dabian of Hailing,
16. The Venerable of Chujing,
17. Chan Master Daoshan of Heng Prefecture,
18. Chan Master Changqing of Han Prefecture,
19. Venerable Zuishi of Fu Prefecture,
20. Venerable Shangling of Chang Prefecture,
21. Venerable Yixing of Chang Prefecture (the preceding eight persons have no recorded encounters or sayings).

• In the third generation, there were 23 persons.
• Chan Master Daowu of Tianhuang in Jing Prefecture had one Dharma heir:

1. Chan Master Chongxin of Longtan in Feng Prefecture (his record is included).
Chan Master Tianran of Mount Danxia in Deng Prefecture had seven Dharma heirs:
1. Chan Master Wuxue of Cuiwei in Jingzhao,
2. Chan Master Yian of Mount Danxia,
3. Chan Master Xingkong of Ji Prefecture,
4. The Venerable of Bentong,
5. The Venerable of Micang (records of the preceding five persons are included),
6. Chan Master Dayin of Liuhe in Yang Prefecture,
7. Chan Master Huiqin of Mount Danxia (the preceding two persons have no recorded encounters or sayings).

– Venerable Weiyan of Yaoshan had ten Dharma heirs:

1. Chan Master Yuanzhi of Mount Daowu in Tan Prefecture,
2. Chan Master Tancheng of Yunyan in Tan Prefecture,
3. Chan Master Decheng, the Boatman of Huating,
4. Chan Master Huijing of Pishou in Xuan Prefecture,
5. Novice Gao of Yaoshan,
6. Chan Master Mingzhe of Baiyan in Yu Prefecture,
7. Chan Master Guangli of Mount Jingyuan in Cheng Prefecture,
8. Chan Master Kui of Yaoshan,
9. Venerable Luoxia of Xuan Prefecture,
10. Li Ao of Lang Prefecture (the preceding four persons have no recorded encounters or sayings).
+ Chan Master Kuang of Changzi in Tan Prefecture had one Dharma heir:
1. Venerable Shishan Shandao of Tan Prefecture.

– Venerable Dadian of Chao Prefecture had two Dharma heirs:

1. Chan Master Yizhong of Mount Sanping in Zhang Prefecture (his record is included),
2. Venerable Shushan of Ge Prefecture.

– Venerable Dachuan of Tan Prefecture had two Dharma heirs:

1. The Venerable of Xiantian,
2. Venerable Puguang of Fu Prefecture.

– The first generation descending from Chan Master Xingsi.

1. Great Master Xiqian of Shitou.
The Master was a native of Gaoyao in Duan Prefecture, and his family name was Chen. While his mother was pregnant with him, she had no desire to eat meat or fish. Even as a child, the Master never caused his mother distress. When he grew older, he made it his personal mission to confront the villagers of Dongliao, who feared ghosts and spirits and had become accustomed to making offerings, slaughtering oxen, and pouring out wine, regarding these practices as ordinary. The Master would immediately go and demolish their shrines, seize the oxen, and return with them. He did this dozens of times, and even the village elders could not stop him.
Later, the Master went directly to Caoxi. The Sixth Patriarch, the Great Master, ordained him as a disciple, but before he had received the full precepts, the Patriarch entered nirvana. In accordance with the injunction left to him, he went to pay his respects to Chan Master Xingsi on Mount Qingyuan in Luling, and thereafter arranged his robes and followed him.
One day, Xingsi asked the Master, “Some say that news has come from Lingnan.”
The Master replied, “There is someone who does not say so.”
Xingsi asked, “If so, from where did the Great and Lesser Treasuries come?”
The Master said, “All of them come forth from within it; ultimately there is not the slightest other matter.”
Xingsi considered this entirely correct.
At the beginning of the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty, the Master went to Nansi Monastery on Mount Heng. East of the monastery was a rock shaped like a platform, so he built a hermitage upon it. People at the time consequently called him Venerable Shitou, “Stone Head.”
One day, the Master ascended the Dharma hall and said, “My Dharma gate has been transmitted by the ancient Buddhas. It does not concern meditation or diligent exertion, but the realization of the Buddha’s knowledge and vision: mind itself is Buddha. Mind, Buddha, sentient beings, bodhi, and afflictions differ in name but are identical in essence.
“You should know that the numinous essence of your own mind transcends the views of annihilation and permanence. It is neither defiled nor pure, and is empty, quiescent, and fully complete. Ordinary beings and sages alike share it. Its responsive functioning knows no fixed method, and it is apart from mind, thought, and consciousness. The three realms and six destinies are merely manifestations of your own mind. Like the moon in water or an image in a mirror, how could they have birth and death? You should know that there is nowhere it is not complete.”
At that time, his disciple Daowu asked, “Who has attained the essential purport of Caoxi?”
The Master replied, “One who understands the Buddha-Dharma has attained it.”
Daowu asked, “Have you attained it, Master?”
The Master replied, “I do not understand the Buddha-Dharma.”
A monk asked, “What is liberation?”
The Master replied, “Who binds you?”
The monk further asked, “What is the Pure Land?”
The Master replied, “Who defiles you?”
“What is nirvana?”
The Master replied, “Who gives birth and death to you?”
The Master asked a newly arrived monk, “Where have you come from?”
The monk said, “I have come from Jiangxi.”
The Master asked, “Did you see Great Master Ma?”
The monk said, “I did.”
The Master pointed to a piece of firewood and said, “How does Master Ma resemble this?”
The monk could not answer. He then returned and related this exchange to Great Master Ma. Master Ma asked, “Did you see whether that piece of firewood was large or small?”
The monk said, “It was immeasurably large.”
Master Ma said, “You are very strong.”
The monk asked, “Why?”
Master Ma replied, “You carried that piece of firewood here from Nanyue. How could you not be strong?”
Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land?”
The Master said, “Ask the exposed pillar.”
The questioner replied, “This student does not understand.”
The Master said, “I do not understand either.”
Dadian asked the Master, “An ancient said, ‘To say it exists or to say it does not exist are both slanderous statements.’ I ask the Master to remove them for me.”
The Master said, “When not even a single thing exists, what is there to remove?”
The Master then said, “Bring forth your throat and lips and speak.”
Dadian said, “There is no such thing.”
The Master said, “If so, you have entered the gate.”
Daowu asked, “What is the great purport of the Buddha-Dharma?”
The Master said, “It cannot be unknown.”
Daowu asked, “Is there a place of turning beyond this?”
The Master said, “The vast sky does not obstruct the drifting white clouds.”
Someone asked, “What is Chan?”
The Master said, “A broken brick.”
He further asked, “What is the Way?”
The Master said, “The top of a tree.”
Those of other lineages who understood the purport, as well as their questions and answers, all emerged from this chapter.
The Master composed a work entitled “The Harmony of Difference and Equality” (Cantong Qi), whose words and meaning are profound and subtle. A commentary on it was also produced, and it circulated widely throughout the world.
At Nanyue, many ghosts and spirits manifested signs and came to hear the Dharma, and the Master conferred the precepts upon them all.
In the second year of the Guangde era, his disciples invited the Master to Liangduan, where he broadly expounded the profound teaching. Daji was the master of Jiangxi, while Shitou was the master of Hunan; the Master often traveled between these two great beings.
In the sixth year of the Zhenyuan era, the gengwu year, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, the Master entered nirvana. He was 91 years old and had completed 63 Dharma years. His disciples erected his stupa at Dongling. During the Changqing era, the emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Great Master Wuji, “Without Bounds,” and named his stupa Jianxiang, “Seeing the Marks.”

• The second generation descending from Chan Master Xingsi
• The aforementioned Dharma heirs of Xiqian of Shitou.

1. Chan Master Daowu of Tianhuang in Jing Prefecture.
The Master was a native of Dongyang in Wu Prefecture, and his family name was Zhang. His appearance and bearing were extraordinary. Even as a child, he possessed precocious understanding, and as he grew older, he became increasingly brilliant and exceptional. At the age of 14, he earnestly asked permission to leave the household life, but his parents refused. He then vowed to reduce his food and drink, eating only one meal each day. His body became emaciated, and his parents, having no other choice, finally gave their consent. The Master relied upon the great virtuous Mingzhou and had his head shaved. At the age of 25

He went to Zhulin Monastery in Hangzhou, where he received the full precepts and cultivated the pure conduct of brahmacarya with great vigor. Even amid dark wind and rain, the Master would sit quietly in meditation upon hills, burial mounds, high ridges, or deep hollows, his body and mind peaceful and free from all fear.

One day, the Master traveled to Yuhang and paid an audience upon Chan Master Guoyi of Jingshan. He received the Dharma of the mind and attended upon him for five years. During the Dali era of the Tang dynasty, the Master went to Zhongling and visited Great Master Ma. His former understanding was again confirmed, and he realized that the Dharma admits of no divergent teaching. He therefore remained there for two summer retreats.

He then met Great Master Xiqian of Shitou and asked, “Apart from concentration and wisdom, what Dharma do you use to teach people?”

Shitou said, “Here with me there are no bondservants; so what is there to depart from?”

The Master asked, “How can it be clarified?”

Shitou said, “Have you grasped emptiness?”

The Master replied, “If so, then I have not come forth from today.”

Shitou said, “I do not know when, morning or evening, you came from over there.”

He replied, “Daowu is not a man from over there.”

Shitou said, “I knew long ago where you came from.”

The Master asked, “Why do you falsely accuse people?”

Shitou said, “Your body is present here.”

He replied, “Although that is so, ultimately, how should this be taught to those who come after?”

Shitou asked, “Tell me, who are those who come after?”

At these words, the Master suddenly awakened. All the places where his mind had rested upon the words of the two former worthies were now swept utterly clean, leaving no trace.

Later, the Master went to reside at Chaizi Mountain in Dangyang, Jingzhou. Students came to rely upon him in great numbers, and lay and monastic men and women all gathered there. At that time, the senior monk of Chongye Monastery submitted a letter requesting the military governor to invite the Master into the city. To the left of the prefectural city stood Tianhuang Monastery, a renowned monastery that had burned down and lain abandoned. The monastery’s abbot, the monk Lingjian, discussed its restoration and said, “If Chan Master Daowu could become the guiding teacher, it would be a blessing for us.” In the middle of the night, he quietly went to make the request, personally shouldered the Master’s sedan chair, and welcomed him to Tianhuang Monastery.

At that time in Jiangling, Pei, Duke and Vice Director of the Left, bowed his head and inquired about the Dharma with utmost sincerity. Yet the Master neither went out to welcome nor escorted anyone away; whether guests were noble or humble, he remained seated and greeted them. Duke Pei respected him all the more. Thus, the Dharma of Shitou flourished greatly at this Dharma seat.

A monk asked, “What are the words of the mysterious and sublime?”

The Master said, “Do not say that I understand the Buddhadharma.”

The monk asked, “Then what of a student who remains obstructed by doubt?”

The Master said, “Why do you not ask the elder monks?”

The monk said, “I have already asked them.”

The Master said, “Go, go! This is not a landing place for you.”

In the fourth month of the dinghai year during the Yuanhe era, the Master fell ill and instructed his disciples to announce beforehand the day of his death. When that day grew dark, the assembly came to visit him in his illness. The Master suddenly called for the cook. When the cook came before him, the Master asked, “Do you understand?”

He replied, “I do not understand.”

The Master then threw his pillow to the ground, bade farewell, and entered quiescence. He was sixty years old and had been ordained for thirty-five years. On the fifth day of the eighth month of that year, his remains were entombed in a stupa east of the prefecture.

2. Chan Master Shili of Jingzhao

Earlier, the Master asked Shitou, “What is the student’s proper affair?”

Shitou asked, “From where have you come to seek me?”

He replied, “If I did not seek it from the Master, how could I attain it?”

Shitou asked, “Have you ever lost anything?”

The Master thereupon accorded with and understood the essential purport.

3. Chan Master Tianran of Danxia in Dengzhou

It is not known where the Master was from. At first he pursued Confucian studies. When he was about to enter Chang’an to sit for the civil-service examination, he spent the night at an inn and suddenly dreamed that white light filled the room. A diviner said that this was an auspicious omen of awakening.

He suddenly met a Chan traveler who asked, “Where are you going, Humane One?”

He replied, “I am going to be selected for government office.”

The Chan traveler said, “How can selection for government office compare with selection for Buddhahood?”

The Master asked, “Where must one go to be selected as a Buddha?”

The Chan traveler replied, “At present, Great Master Ma of Jiangxi has appeared in the world. That is the place where Buddhas are selected. Humane One, you should go there.”

The Master then went directly to Jiangxi. As soon as Great Master Ma saw him, the Master lifted his headcloth up over his forehead and gazed intently for a long while. Ma said, “Shitou of Nanyue is your teacher.”

The Master then went to Nanyue and stated his former intention. Shitou told him, “Go to the rice-hulling room.” The Master bowed in thanks and entered the postulants’ quarters, where he took his place in order and performed attendant duties for three years.

Suddenly, one day, Shitou told the assembly, “Tomorrow we shall clear the weeds before the Buddha Hall.” When the day came, the entire assembly prepared hoes and spades. The Master alone took a basin filled with clean water and knelt before the abbot. Seeing this, Shitou laughed, shaved his head, and began to proclaim the precepts for him. The Master covered his ears and withdrew.

He then returned to Jiangxi to see Master Ma. Without first making his formal bows, he went straight into the Sangha hall, climbed onto the platform of the sacred monk, and sat astride the image’s neck. The assembly was alarmed and hurried to report this to Master Ma. Ma personally invited him into the Dharma hall, looked at him, and said, “My son is Tianran—Natural.” The Master prostrated himself to the ground and bowed in gratitude for the Dharma name bestowed upon him.

Master Ma asked, “Where have you come from?”

The Master said, “From Shitou.”

Master Ma said, “The road at Shitou is slippery. Did you fall?”

The Master said, “Had I fallen, I would not have come.”

The Master again took up his staff and traveled to various regions. He stayed for three years on Huading Peak at Tiantai, then went to Jingshan in Yuhang to pay homage to Chan Master Guoyi.

During the Yuanhe era of the Tang dynasty, the Master went to Xiangshan at Longmen in the region of the eastern capital Luoyang, where he became an intimate companion of the abbot of Funiu. Later, while staying at Huilin Monastery during extremely cold weather, the Master split up a wooden Buddha and burned it for warmth.

Someone reproached him, and the Master said, “I am burning it to obtain relics.”

Everyone said, “How could there be relics in wood?”

The Master said, “If so, why do you blame me?”

One day, when the Master went to see National Preceptor Zhong, he first asked the attendant, “Is the National Preceptor here?”

The attendant replied, “He is here, but he does not see guests.”

The Master said, “That is because he is exceedingly profound.”

The attendant said, “Even the Buddha’s eye cannot see him.”

The Master said, “A dragon begets a dragon’s offspring; a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix’s offspring.”

When the National Preceptor awoke, the attendant went in and reported the exchange. The National Preceptor immediately struck the attendant twenty blows and drove him out.

When Danxia later heard of this, he said, “He is indeed worthy of being National Preceptor of Nanyang.”

The following morning, the Master went to pay homage. On meeting the National Preceptor, he immediately spread out his sitting mat.

The National Preceptor said, “No need, no need.”

The Master stepped back.

The National Preceptor said, “Just so, just so.”

The Master immediately stepped forward.

The National Preceptor said, “Not so, not so.”

The Master circled the National Preceptor once and then withdrew.

The National Preceptor said, “We are already far removed from the Buddha, and people have grown very indolent. Thirty years from now, it will be difficult to find such a fellow again.”

The Master went to call upon Layman Pang and saw his daughter gathering vegetables.

The Master asked, “Is the layman here?”

The daughter put down her basket, folded her arms, and stood still.

The Master again asked, “Is the layman here?”

The daughter immediately picked up her basket and walked away.

– In the third year of Yuanhe, the Master lay stretched across Tianjin Bridge. The governor, Lord Liu, came out and rebuked him, but the Master did not rise. Soldiers came and asked the reason. The Master slowly replied, “I am a monk with nothing to do.” Governor Liu found this extraordinary and presented him with plain silk and two robes, while providing him with rice and flour each day. People throughout Luoyang also came to take refuge in him.

In the spring of the fifteenth year, the Master told his disciples, “In my old age, I long for a place among forests and streams.” At that time, his disciple Qi Jing divined and found Mount Danxia in Nanyang, whereupon they built a hermitage and attended upon him. Within three years, as many as three hundred students of the profound teaching gathered there, and the hermitage was renovated into a great monastery.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and said:

“You must carefully safeguard the one numinous reality. It cannot be fashioned into name or form; still less can one speak of advancement or non-advancement. Long ago, when I met Master Shitou, he likewise taught only that one must safeguard it oneself. This matter is not something you can express in words. Each of you possesses a firm and settled ground upon which to sit, so what doubt remains? What thing could Chan possibly understand, and how could there be a Buddha to become? I never wish to hear the word ‘Buddha.’

“Look for yourselves. Skillful means and loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity are not obtained from outside, nor are they bound to any place. Skillfulness is Manjusri; skillful means are Samantabhadra. What thing are you determined to cast away? Do not rely upon the scriptures, and do not fall into emptiness.”

At that time, students were bustling about in confusion,
all pursuing the path of Chan. Here I have no Way to cultivate and no Dharma to
realize. In eating and drinking, each naturally has his own share, without doubt,
apprehension, or concern. Is it present in every place and every situation? If you understand, Shakyamuni himself is an ordinary person. You
must examine this for yourselves. Do not let one blind person lead many blind people,
dragging one another into hell. In the darkness of night, constantly making comparisons, you must always remain free of affairs. Take good care of yourselves.

– A monk came for an interview. Meeting the Master below the mountain, he asked, “Which way leads

to Mount Danxia?” The Master pointed to the mountain and said, “The land is deep green.” The monk asked, “Apart
from this, what is it?” The Master said, “A true lion’s cub turns as soon as there is one turning-point.”
The Master asked, “Where did you spend the night?” The monk said, “I spent the night below the mountain.” The Master
asked, “Where did you eat?” He replied, “I ate below the mountain.” The Master said, “Did the person who ate with
the acharya possess eyes or not?” The monk could not answer. On the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the
fourth year of Changqing, the Master told his disciples, “Prepare water for my bath;
I am about to depart.” He then put on his hat, took up his staff, and donned his shoes. As he raised one foot before it had touched the ground, he passed away,
at the age of eighty-six. His disciples piled stones to build a stupa. The king bestowed upon him the posthumous title Chan Master Zhitong,
and the stupa was named Miaojue.
4. Chan Master Huilang of Zhaoti Monastery in Tanzhou.
The Master was a native of Shixing in Qujiang, and his family name was Ouyang. At the age of thirteen,
he relied upon Chan Master Mo at Denglin Monastery and shaved his head. At seventeen he traveled to Nanyue,
and at twenty he received the complete precepts at a monastery there. He then went to Mount Jigong
in Qianzhou and met the Great Master Daji. Daji asked, “What have you come seeking?”
The Master replied, “I seek the Buddha’s knowledge and vision.” Daji said, “The Buddha has no knowledge and vision;
knowledge and vision belong to the realm of Mara.
You have come from Nanyue, yet it seems you have not understood the essential mind of Shitou and Caoxi. You should return.” The Master obeyed and returned to Nanyue
to visit Shitou. He asked, “What is Buddha?” Shitou said, “You have no Buddha-nature.”
The Master asked, “What of flying creatures, crawling beings, and all sentient beings?” Shitou said, “Flying creatures,
crawling beings, and all sentient beings have Buddha-nature.” He asked, “Why, then, does Huilang not have it?” Shitou
said, “Because you refuse to accept and undertake it.” Upon hearing these words, the Master attained faith.
Later, the Master resided at Zhaoti Monastery in Liangnan and did not leave its gate for more than thirty years.
Whenever a student came to him, he would always say, “You have no Buddha-nature.”
Such was generally the manner in which the Master responded to circumstances.
5. Chan Master Zhenlang of Xingguo Monastery in Changsha.
Previously, the Master visited Shitou and asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming
from India?” Shitou said, “Ask the exposed pillar.”
Zhenlang replied, “I do not understand.” Shitou said, “I do not understand either.” The Master
suddenly awakened and thereafter remained there. Later, a monk came for an interview. The Master called, “Venerable!”
The monk responded, “Yes!” The Master said, “You have greatly failed it.” The monk replied, “Why do you not examine me,
Master?” The Master rubbed his eyes and looked at him. The monk could not answer.
6. Chan Master Weiyan of Yaoshan in Fengzhou.
The Master was a native of Jiangzhou, and his family name was Han. At the age of seventeen, he relied upon Chan Master Huizhao
at Mount Xiyang in Yizhou and left the household life. In the eighth year of the Dali era
of the Tang dynasty, he received the complete precepts from Vinaya Master Xitao at Hengyue. He then declared,
“A great man should purify himself through the Dharma; how could he concern himself with the trifling minor practices
of those clad in cloth?” He subsequently met Shitou and clearly understood the profound purport.
One day, as the Master was sitting, Shitou came, looked at him, and asked, “What are you doing in there?”
He replied, “Doing nothing at all.” Shitou said, “Then you are sitting idly.” He replied, “If I were
sitting idly, that would already be doing something.” Shitou said, “You say you are doing nothing; what is it that you do not do?”
He replied, “Even the thousand sages do not know.” Shitou praised him in verse:

Dwelling together since ancient times, its name remains unknown.
Let it freely accompany us—what practice could there be?
Even the worthies of old did not know it;
How could ordinary people today speak of it?

Shitou once said, “Speech and active functioning do not reach it.”
The Master said, “Not speaking and not actively functioning do not reach it either.” Shitou said,
“Here, not even a needle can enter.” The Master said, “Here, it is like planting flowers upon stone.”
Shitou affirmed this. Later, the Master resided at Yaoshan in Fengzhou, where the assembly was vast.
One day, the Master was reading a sutra. Bairu asked, “Reverend, Xiuru called you an intelligent murderer, did he not?” The Master closed the sutra and said, “Is it early or late in the day?”
He replied, “It is exactly noon.” The Master said, “That still bears painted lines and colors.” He replied,
“As for me, I do not have even that.” The Master said, “You have killed intelligence.” He replied, “That is merely how I am;
what about you, Reverend?” The Master replied, “I am lame and half-blind, with a hundred faults and a thousand ineptitudes—how could I surpass that?” The Master said
to Daowu, “Mingxi was a military commissioner in a former life.” Daowu said, “What were you in a former life,
Reverend?” The Master said, “I am foolish and sickly, merely passing the days.” Daowu said, “On what basis do you say so?”
The Master said, “I do not understand how to open another person’s book.” The monastery director rang the bell and announced,
“Reverend, please ascend the Dharma hall.” The Master said, “Bring my bowls and cups up for me.” The director asked,
“How long have you been without hands, Reverend?” The Master replied, “You are merely wearing the kasaya in vain.” The director asked,
“I am only thus; what about you, Reverend?” The Master replied,
“I have no such retinue.” The Master saw Zhiyuan planting vegetables. The Master said, “I do not prevent you from planting,
but do not say that roots grow.” Zhiyuan replied, “If one does not say that roots grow, what will the great assembly eat?”
The Master asked, “Do you still have a mouth?” The monk could not answer.

– A monk asked, “How can one avoid being deluded by the various objects of perception?”

The Master replied, “What obstruction is there if you hear other people?” The monk replied, “I do not understand.”
The Master said, “Which object of perception deludes you?” A monk asked, “What is most precious
in the Way?” The Master said, “Do not flatter or act crookedly.” He asked, “What is it like when one does not flatter or act crookedly?”
The Master said, “Even if the nation topples, one does not change.” Another monk came
to seek refuge. The Master asked, “Who is it?” He replied, “Changtan.” The Master reproached him, saying,
“Before, it was Changtan; afterward, it is still Changtan.” One day, the monastery director invited the Master
to ascend the Dharma hall. Just as the great assembly had gathered, the Master remained silent for a long while, then returned
to the abbot’s quarters and shut the door. The director followed him and said, “Reverend, you promised me
you would ascend the Dharma hall, yet you returned to the abbot’s quarters.” The Master said, “Director, sutras have masters of sutras,
treatises have masters of treatises, and the Vinaya has masters of Vinaya. Why do you still find fault with this old monk?”

– The Master asked Yunyan, “What are you doing?” Yunyan replied, “Carrying manure.” The Master asked,

“What of that?” Yunyan replied, “It is here.” The Master said, “Why do you come and go here?”
He replied, “To replace something else.” The Master said, “Why not say that everything is being done?” He replied, “Reverend,
do you not disdain it?” The Master said, “That does not accord with the Way.” Yunyan asked, “What Way accords?” The Master
asked in return, “What have you ever carried?”

– As the Master was sitting, a monk asked, “What do you think about while sitting so steadfastly?”

The Master said, “I think of that which does not think.” He asked, “How does one think of that which does not think?”
The Master said, “Non-thinking.” A monk asked,
“When this student intends to return to his native village, what then?” The Master said, “Your parents’ bodies are cracked all over and redder than blood,
lying amid thorny brambles. Where would you return?” The monk said, “Then I shall not return.”
The Master said, “Go back. If you return to your native village, I will show you a provision for rest.”
The monk said, “Please instruct me.” The Master immediately said, “When ascending the Dharma hall at the two daily periods,
you must not bite through a single grain of rice.” A monk asked, “What is nirvana?”
The Master said, “Before you open your mouth, what do you call it?” The Master saw Zun Buna washing a Buddha image and asked,
“That one is left for you to wash, but can you wash this one?” Zun said,
“Bring this one here.” The Master then desisted.

– A monk asked, “This student has a doubt; I ask the Master to resolve it.” The Master said, “Wait until I ascend the Dharma hall,

and I will resolve it with you.” In the evening, when he ascended the Dharma hall and the great assembly had gathered,
the Master said, “The venerable who requested that his doubt be resolved today—where is he?” That monk stepped out from the assembly
and stood before him.

The Master descended from the meditation platform, seized him firmly, and said, “Great assembly, this monk has doubts.” He then lifted him up and returned to the abbot’s quarters.

The Master asked the cook, “How long have you been here?”

He replied, “Three years.”

The Master said, “I have never known you at all.”

The cook did not understand and angrily left.

A monk asked, “What is the critical matter of life itself?”

The Master said, “Do not plant mixed seeds.”

He asked, “What should be offered?”

The Master said, “There is nothing.”

The Master sent someone to make an offering to the patron, Lay Practitioner Gan. Gan asked, “Where have you come from?”

The monk said, “From Yaoshan.”

Gan asked, “What have you come to do?”

He replied, “To teach and transform.”

Gan asked, “Have you brought any medicine?”

He replied, “What illness do you have, Practitioner?”

Gan immediately set down two ingots of silver and said, “If there is someone, take them away; if there is no one, let it be.”

The Master carried the monk back in haste. The monk said, “A question about the Buddhadharma was worth two ingots of silver.” The Master had him relate what had happened. When he had finished, the Master told the monk to return quickly to the practitioner’s house. Seeing the monk return, the practitioner said, “The monk has come, so I shall give additional silver.”

The Master asked, “I have heard it often said that you know how to discern the false from the true?”

The monk said, “I would not dare.”

The Master said, “Try to assess this old monk.” The monk could not answer.

The Master wrote the character “Buddha” and asked Daowu, “What character is this?”

Daowu said, “The character ‘Buddha.’”

The Master said, “You are a talkative fellow.”

A monk asked, “My own matter is not yet clear. I beg the Venerable Master to instruct me.”

The Master remained silent for a long while and then said, “It would not be difficult for me now to speak a single phrase for you. You need only see immediately after the words are spoken. But if you imitate that other fellow, and then deliberate further, I shall have committed an offense. It would be better to keep my mouth shut and not implicate one another.”

When the great assembly gathered for the evening interview, no lamps were lit. The Master said, “I have a phrase that I shall tell you when a bull gives birth to a calf.”

At that moment a monk asked, “The bull has given birth to a calf; why do you not speak?”

The Master said, “Bring a lamp here.”

That monk withdrew into the assembly.

A monk asked, “Before the Patriarch came to this land, did this land possess the Patriarch’s intent?”

The Master said, “It did.”

The monk said, “Since it already possessed the Patriarch’s intent, why did he still come?”

The Master said, “Precisely because it possessed it, he had to come.”

While the Master was reading a sutra, a monk asked, “Venerable Master, you ordinarily do not permit people to read sutras. Why do you yourself read one?”

The Master said, “I am merely covering my eyes.”

He asked, “May I learn from the Venerable Master?”

The Master said, “If yours were an oxhide, you would have to see through it.”

Prefect Li Ao of Langzhou heard of the Master’s profound teaching and repeatedly invited him, but the Master would not go. He therefore personally entered the mountain to meet him. The Master held a sutra scroll and did not look up. The attendant announced, “The Governor is present.” Li Ao was narrow-tempered and impatient, so he said, “Seeing the face is not as good as hearing the reputation.”

The Master called, “Governor!”

Li Ao answered, “Yes!”

The Master said, “How can you value the ear and slight the eye?”

Li Ao clasped his hands, apologized, and asked, “What is the Way?”

The Master pointed upward and downward with his hand and asked, “Do you understand?”

Li Ao replied, “I do not understand.”

The Master said, “Clouds are in the sky; water is in the jar.”

Li Ao joyfully bowed and recited a verse:

A body refined until its form resembles a crane,
Beneath a thousand pines, two cases of scriptures.
I came to ask about the Way, and he spoke of nothing else:
Clouds in the blue sky, water in the jar.

Li Ao further asked, “What are morality, concentration, and wisdom?”

The Master said, “This poor monk has no such things in here; dwelling in emptiness, all is complete.”

Li Ao could not fathom the profound purport. The Master said, “Governor, if you wish to preserve this matter, you should sit atop the highest mountain peak and walk along the deepest ocean floor. If you cannot relinquish the things in your inner chambers, that is a grievous leakage.”

One night, while the Master was walking in meditation on the mountain, the clouds suddenly dispersed and the moon appeared. The Master gave one great laugh that resounded as far as Yang, ten li east of the river crossing. All the people there said that it came from the eastern household. The following morning, they made inquiries from place to place and came directly to Yaoshan. The disciples said, “Last night the Venerable Master laughed loudly on the summit of the mountain.”

Li Ao then presented another poem:

He chose a secluded place, suited to his rustic nature;
For three years, he neither welcomed nor saw anyone off.
At times he ascends directly to the mountain summit;
Beneath the moon, clouds disperse; the moon vanishes, clouds appear—and one burst of laughter.

In the second month of the eighth year of the Dacheng era, when the Master was about to pass away, he said, “The Dharma hall is collapsing! The Dharma hall is collapsing!”

The assembly all brought pillars to shore it up. The Master raised his hand and said, “You children do not understand my meaning.” He then passed away. He was eighty-four years old and had completed sixty Dharma summers. Among his disciples who entered his chamber was Chongxu, who erected the Master’s stupa at the eastern corner of the monastery. The emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Great Master Hongdao, and upon the stupa the name Huacheng.

7. Venerable Dachuan of Tanzhou

A monk newly arrived from Jiangling bowed and then stood waiting at one side. The Master asked, “When did you leave Jiangling?”

The monk raised his sitting mat.

The Master said, “Thank you for coming from so far away. Now go.”

The monk immediately departed.

The Master said, “If it were not so, how could he know for certain that it was his own eye?”

The monk clapped his hands and said, “How many people have been painfully misled by the venerable adepts of all quarters!” The Master approved.

8. Venerable Shilou of Fenzhou

The Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk came forward and asked, “I do not yet know my life before birth. I beg the Master expediently to instruct me.”

The Master said, “Shilou has no ears.”

The monk said, “I myself know my error.”

The Master said, “This old monk also has an error.”

The monk asked, “Where is the Venerable Master’s error?”

The Master replied, “My error lies in your error.”

The monk bowed. The Master then struck him.

The Master asked a departing monk, “From where have you come?”

The monk said, “From the kingdom of Han.”

The Master asked, “Does the king of Han still esteem the Buddhadharma?”

The monk said, “How painful! How painful! Whom have I encountered asking such a question?”

The Master asked, “If you implicate someone else, calamity arises. What are you saying?”

The monk said, “One does not even see that there are people; what Buddhadharma is there to esteem?”

The Master asked, “Acarya, how many summers have passed since you received the precepts?”

The monk said, “Thirty summers.”

The Master said, “Excellent indeed—not seeing that there are people!” He then struck him.

9. Venerable Foduo of Famen Monastery,
Fengxiang Prefecture

The Master constantly held a string of prayer beads and recited three names: first, Sakyamuni; second, Yuanhe; and third, Foduo. Apart from these, what could be fluently expressed? (And there was also the stone bowl.) When one cycle was completed, he began again. His deeds were extraordinary, and the people of that time could not fathom them.

10. Venerable Hualin of Tanzhou

A monk came for an interview. Just as he spread out his sitting mat, the Master said, “Slowly, slowly! (Stop, stop!)”

The monk asked, “What does the Venerable Master see?”

The Master said, “What a pity—the bell tower has collapsed with a resounding crash.”

The monk immediately awakened.

11. Venerable Dadian of Chaozhou

At first, the Master studied with Shitou. Shitou asked him, “What is your mind?”

The Master said, “Speech is it.”

He was immediately shouted at and driven out. After a week had passed, the Master returned and asked, “What I said before was not it. Apart from that, what is mind?”

Shitou said, “Apart from raising your eyebrows and glaring your eyes, bring forth your mind.”

The Master said, “There is no mind to bring forth.”

Shitou said, “Originally there is mind; why do you say there is no mind? To say there is no mind repudiates everything.”

Upon hearing these words, the Master attained great awakening.

Another day, while he was standing in attendance, Shitou asked, “Are you a monk who investigates Chan, or a monk carrying bricks and tiles in the prefectures and districts?”

The Master said, “I am a monk who investigates Chan.”

Shitou asked, “What is Chan?”

The Master said, “Raising the eyebrows and glaring the eyes.”

Shitou said, “Apart from raising the eyebrows and glaring the eyes, present your original face and let me see it.”

The Master said, “I ask the Venerable Master to look upon me after setting aside raising the eyebrows and glaring the eyes.”

Shitou said, “I have set them aside.”

The Master said, “I have presented it to the Venerable Master.”

Shitou said, “You have presented it. What is my mind like?”

The Master said, “It is no different from the Venerable Master’s.”

Shitou said, “The matter has nothing to do with you.”

The Master said, “Originally there is not a single thing.”

Shitou said, “You too are no thing.”

The Master said, “Since there is no thing, that itself is the true thing.”

Shitou said, “The true thing cannot be attained. The measure of your insight and the purport of your mind are thus; you must guard them most carefully.”

Later, the Master took leave and went to Lingshan in Chaozhou, where he lived in seclusion. Students from the four quarters gathered in great numbers. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying, “Those who study the Way must know their own original mind. Only by bringing forth the mind and revealing it can they see the Way. Most people”

At this time, you merely recognize the raising of the eyebrows and glaring of the eyes, one utterance and one silence, and suddenly take the seal upon your forehead as the essential point of mind. Truly, you have not yet understood. I shall now explain it clearly for you; you should all listen and receive it.

Merely cast off all deluded thinking, conceptual activity, views, and estimations: this itself is your true mind. This mind has no involvement whatsoever with sense objects, nor with grasping at purity and silence. Mind itself is Buddha; it does not await cultivation or correction.

Why is this so? Because, responding to circumstances and illuminating accordingly, it functions distinctly of itself. When you clearly understand it, the place of its functioning can never be found.

What is wrongly contrived and called wondrous functioning is precisely the original mind; you must preserve it and never regard it lightly.

A monk asked, “What is it like at the moment when people meet one another?”

The Master said, “From the beginning, it has not been within that.”

The monk asked, “What is it like within that?”

The Master said, “Do not ask in that way.”

He was asked, “The sea of suffering has deep waves. What may be used as a boat and raft?”

The Master said, “Use wood to make a boat and raft.”

He asked, “If so, will one then be able to cross over?”

The Master said, “The blind man behind follows the blind man in front; the mute man behind follows the mute man in front.”

12. Chan Master Kuang of Changsi in You County, Tanzhou.

The Master first went to Caoxi to pay reverence at the Patriarch’s stupa, then returned to visit Shitou.

Shitou asked, “Where have you come from?”

He replied, “From Lingnan.”

Shitou asked, “Has the honored one atop the ridge completed his meritorious work yet?”

The Master replied, “It was completed long ago; only the dotting of the eyes is lacking.”

Shitou said, “Do you require the eyes to be dotted?”

The Master said, “I ask the Master to do so.”

Shitou then drew up one leg. The Master bowed in reverence.

Shitou said, “What principle did you perceive that made you bow?”

The Master said, “As I see it, it is like a single flake of snow upon a red-hot furnace.”

13. Venerable Shuikong.

One day, beneath the veranda, the Master encountered a monk and asked, “What about the matter at that time?”

The monk remained silent for a while.

The Master said, “Is that all you have attained?”

The monk said, “Upon the head, another head is placed.”

The Master immediately struck him and said, “Enough, enough! From now on, do not confuse the sons and daughters of other people’s households.”

– The Third Generation in the Lineage of Chan Master Xingsi.

– Dharma heirs of Chan Master Daowu of Tianhuang in Jingzhou.

1. Chan Master Chongxin of Longtan in Lizhou.

The Master was originally the son of a seller of steamed cakes. His family name is unknown. From childhood, his intelligence surpassed that of others. At first, Venerable Wu, through the covert invitation of Lingjian, resided at Tianhuang Monastery. No one could fathom him. The Master’s home was in an alley near the monastery, and every day he regularly brought ten cakes as an offering. Whenever Wu had finished eating, he would always leave one cake and say, “I give this to you to bring prosperity to your descendants.”

One day the Master thought to himself, “The cakes are brought by me. Why does he take one and give it back to me? There must surely be some special meaning in this.” He then went to ask.

Wu said, “You brought it to me, and I return it to you. What fault is there in that?”

Upon hearing this, the Master immediately understood the profound purport. He consequently requested permission to leave the household life.

Wu said, “Formerly you revered meritorious goodness; now you trust my words. Therefore, I shall name you Chongxin, ‘Revering Faith.’”

Thereafter, the Master constantly attended upon him. One day he asked, “Since I came here, the Master has not yet revealed to me the essential point of mind.”

Wu said, “Since you came here, I have never failed to reveal the essential point of mind to you.”

The Master said, “Where did you reveal it?”

Wu said, “When you brought tea, I received it for you; when you brought food, I accepted it for you; when you bowed, I lowered my head. Where have I failed to reveal the essential point of mind?”

The Master lowered his head for a long while.

Wu said, “If you see, then see directly at once; as soon as you deliberate, you miss it.”

At those words, the Master immediately understood clearly. He then asked, “How should it be preserved?”

Wu said, “Let your nature roam freely and at ease; relax in accordance with conditions. Merely exhaust the ordinary mind; there is no other superior understanding.”

Later, the Master went to reside at Longtan in Liyang.

A monk asked, “Who obtains the jewel within the topknot?”

The Master said, “The one who does not admire it obtains it.”

The monk asked, “Where is it kept?”

The Master said, “If there were a place, I would tell you.”

A nun asked, “How may one become a monk?”

The Master asked, “How long have you been a nun?”

The nun asked, “Is there also a time when one becomes a monk?”

The Master asked, “What are you now?”

The nun said, “I presently have the body of a nun; how could you not know?”

The Master said, “Who knows you?”

Li Ao asked, “What is the prajna of true suchness?”

The Master said, “I have no prajna of true suchness.”

Ao said, “How fortunate that I have met the Venerable.”

The Master said, “Even this lies outside the words.”

Deshan asked, “For a long time I have heard of Longtan, the Dragon Pool. Now that I have arrived, no pool is seen, nor does any dragon appear.”

The Master said, “You yourself have arrived at Longtan.”

Deshan then ceased.

– Dharma heirs of Chan Master Tianran of Mount Danxia in Dengzhou.

1. Chan Master Cuiwei Wuxue of Mount Zhongnan in Jingzhao.

At first, the Master asked Danxia, “What is the teacher of all Buddhas?”

Danxia sighed and said, “How truly pitiful! Why clutch a cleaning cloth and a broom?”

The Master then withdrew three steps.

Danxia said, “Wrong.”

The Master immediately advanced.

Danxia said, “Wrong, wrong!”

The Master drew up one leg, turned around once, and withdrew.

Danxia said, “Attainment is simply attainment; there is no other Buddha.”

Through this, the Master understood the purport and then took up residence at Cuiwei.

Touzi asked, “I do not know what the Second Patriarch obtained when he first met Bodhidharma.”

The Master asked, “What do you obtain now that you have met me?”

One day, the Master was walking through the Dharma hall. Touzi came forward, bowed, and asked, “How does the Venerable reveal to people the secret purport that came from Western India?”

The Master stopped walking for a moment.

Touzi asked again, “I beg the Master to instruct me.”

The Master said, “Do you still need a second dipper to bail out the foul water?”

Touzi bowed in thanks and withdrew.

The Master said, “Do not pile it up.”

Touzi said, “When the time comes, roots and sprouts emerge.”

On an occasion when the Master was making offerings to the arhats, a monk asked, “Danxia burned a wooden Buddha; why does the Venerable make offerings to arhats?”

The Master said, “Whether burned or not burned, offerings are made just the same.”

The monk further asked, “When offerings are made to the arhats, do the arhats come?”

The Master replied, “Do you eat every day?”

The monk could not answer.

The Master said, “There are few who are quick-witted.”

2. Chan Master Yian of Mount Danxia, in the second generation.

A monk asked, “What is Buddha?”

The Master said, “What is the senior monk?”

The monk replied, “If so, there is no difference.”

The Master said, “I have told you.”

3. Chan Master Xingkong of Jizhou.

A monk came for an interview. The Master spread out his arms and gestured. The monk stepped forward and then withdrew.

The Master said, “Even though both father and mother have died, you show no grief.”

The monk laughed loudly, “Ha, ha!”

The Master said, “In a moment I shall join the Acarya in weeping and lamentation.”

The monk turned a somersault and withdrew.

The Master said, “Blue heaven! Blue heaven!”

4. Venerable Bentong.

A monk once painted a portrait of the Master and brought it to present to him.

The Master said, “Is this me, or whom are you presenting it to?”

The monk said, “How could there be any distinction outside it?”

The Master said, “If there is no distinction outside it, take it back.”

As the monk was about to take it back, the Master struck him and said, “This is precisely making a distinction outside the realm.”

The monk said, “If so, then I must present it to the Master.”

The Master said, “Take it back! Take it back!”

5. Venerable Micang.

A monk had just arrived for an interview. He walked three times around the Master, raised the Chan platform, and said, “If I do not see the host, I shall never go down to visit the assembly.”

The Master said, “From where do discriminating consciousness and its coming and going arise?”

The monk replied, “Indeed, there is none.”

The Master struck him once with his staff.

The monk said, “How many discriminating consciousnesses have fallen away! Ha, ha!”

The Master said, “A single one is stuck to the tip of a blade of grass. What words do you have?”

The monk said, “I shall go again to visit the assembly.”

– Dharma heirs of Chan Master Weiyan of Yaoshan, mentioned above.

1. Chan Master Yuanzhi of Mount Daowu in Tanzhou.

The Master was from Haihun in Yuzhang, and his family name was Zhang. In his youth, he relied upon Venerable Pan to receive instruction and ordination. The Master joined the Dharma assembly at Yaoshan and secretly accorded with the mind-seal.

One day Yaoshan asked, “Where have you come from?”

He replied, “I have come from wandering in the mountains.”

Yaoshan said, “Without leaving this room, quickly speak of what is to come.”

The Master said:

On the mountain, a white crow amid the snowstorm; at the bottom of the ravine, swimming fish dimly beyond penetration. The Master and Yunyan stood in attendance. Yaoshan said, “Speak most carefully of the place where knowledge cannot reach. To speak of it is to grow horns upon your head. How does Toutuo Zhi bring it forth?” The Master immediately withdrew. Yunyan asked Yaoshan, “Why did Senior Brother Zhi not answer the Venerable?” Yaoshan said, “Today my back aches. He understands; go and ask him.” Yunyan then went and asked the Master, “Senior Brother, just now why did you not answer the transformation body?” The Master replied, “Go and ask the Venerable.”

When Yunyan was about to pass away, he sent someone to bring a letter. The Master opened and read it, then said, “Yunyan did not know how to repent and amend. At that time I did not tell him; nevertheless, in this he does not fail to be a son of Yaoshan.”

Yaoshan ascended the Dharma hall and said, “I have one statement that I have never spoken to anyone.” The Master stepped forward and said, “Have you brought it here? Please present it so that we may see.” A monk asked Yaoshan, “What is that one statement like?” Yaoshan said, “It is not speech.” The Master said, “You have already spoken it!”

The Master was lying down when Sishou asked, “What are you doing?” The Master said, “Covering.” Sishou asked, “Is lying down right, or is sitting right?” The Master said, “It is not at either end.” Sishou asked, “How do you cover it?” The Master said, “Do not speak wildly.”

The Master saw Sishou sitting and asked, “What are you doing?” Sishou said, “Paying homage.” The Master asked, “How long have we been separated from one another?” Sishou said, “It fits perfectly,” and then brushed out his sleeves and departed.

The Master held out a hat. Yunyan asked, “What is it for?” The Master said, “It has a use.” Yunyan asked, “What will you do when wind and rain come?” The Master replied, “Cover it.” Yunyan asked, “Will it submit to being covered?” The Master said, “Even so, it still does not leak.”

Guishan asked Yunyan, “What does bodhi take as its seat?” Yunyan replied, “It takes the unconditioned as its seat.” Yunyan then asked Guishan, and Guishan replied, “It takes the emptiness of all dharmas as its seat.” Guishan again asked the Master, “What are you doing?” The Master said, “When sitting, listen to it sitting; when lying down, also listen to it lying down. There is one person who neither sits nor lies down. Speak quickly! Speak quickly!”

Guishan asked the Master, “Where have you come from?” The Master said, “I have come from visiting the sick.” Guishan asked, “How many people are sick? Ultimately, what is it when sick, and what is it when not sick?” The Master replied, “Is the one who is not sick not Toutuo Zhi?” The Master added, “Sickness and non-sickness alike have nothing to do with anything else. Speak quickly—at once, quickly!”

A monk asked, “For ten thousand miles there is not a cloud; is this not the sky of all ages? What is the sky of all ages?” The Master asked, “Today the parched rice is very dry, is it not?”

Someone asked, “Since a bodhisattva has no supernatural powers, why are his tracks difficult to find?” The Master said, “Only one of the same Way knows.” The questioner asked, “Does the Venerable know?” The Master said, “I do not know.” The questioner asked, “Why do you not know?” The Master said, “You do not understand what I am saying.”

Yunyan asked, “What is Senior Brother’s family style?” The Master said, “If I taught you to point it out, what else would you do?” Yunyan replied, “That has not existed for a long time now.” The Master said, “The roots and sprouts are still astringent.” Yunyan again asked, “How should one exert oneself today?” The Master said, “Though a thousand people call, he does not turn his head; this is only the smallest fraction.”

Someone asked, “If it suddenly bursts into flame, what then?” The Master replied, “It can burn up the entire earth.”

The Master asked a monk, “Apart from the sparks and the flame, what is fire?” The monk said, “It is not fire.”

On another day a monk asked the Master, “Do you see fire?” The Master said, “I see it.” The monk asked, “From where do you see it arise?” The Master said, “Apart from walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, please ask me one more word.”

Nanquan instructed the assembly, saying, “Does the Dharma body possess the four great elements? If anyone can say, I shall give him a sash.” The Master said, “The nature of earth is not emptiness, and emptiness is not the nature of earth: this is the earth element. The other three great elements are likewise.” Nanquan did not go back on his earlier word and accordingly gave the Master one sash.

The Master saw that Yunyan was uneasy and said to him, “When you leave this leaking corpse behind, toward what place will you behold the form?” Yunyan said, “I shall behold the form at the place of neither arising nor cessation.” The Master said, “Why not say that it is not the place of neither arising nor cessation, and that there is also no need to behold the form?”

The Master saw Yunyan carrying straw sandals and asked, “What are you doing?” Yunyan replied, “Taking what is worn out to patch what is worn out.” The Master said, “Why not say that it is precisely worn out, yet is not worn out?”

The Master heard a monk reciting from the Vimalakirti Sutra: “Eight thousand bodhisattvas and five hundred sravakas all wished to follow Manjusri.” The Master asked, “Where did they go?” The monk could not answer, so the Master struck him. Later, the monk took the question to Heshan. Heshan answered on his behalf, “Appointing him attendant would then be harmonious.”

The Master descended the mountain and went to Wufeng. Wufeng asked, “Do you know the elder adept Yaoshan?” The Master said, “I do not know, I do not know.”

Someone asked, “What is the Venerable’s family style?” The Master descended from the meditation seat, assumed the manner of a young woman, bowed, and said, “Thank you for coming from afar; there was no waiting for you.”

Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?” The Master said, “He has never been encountered in the Eastern Land.”

Someone asked, “At the memorial vegetarian feast for the late Master, I wonder whether the late Master comes?” The Master said, “If you hold a memorial feast, what are you doing?”

Someone asked, “Above one’s head, the precious canopy cannot arise; one must not say, ‘I am right.’ What is it?” The Master said, “Listen to it.” The questioner asked, “What about the Venerable?” The Master said, “I do not have that.”

Shishuang asked the Master, “A hundred years from now, if someone asks about the matter of the ultimate principle, what shall I say to him?” The Master called, “Sramanera!” The sramanera answered, “Yes!” The Master said, “Add water to the pure-water vase.” The Master remained silent for a long while and then asked Shishuang, “What did you ask just now?” Shishuang repeated the question. The Master immediately rose and departed.

On another day Shishuang asked, “Venerable, when this single piece of bone is struck, it rings like copper. Toward what place will you go?” The Master called the attendant. The attendant answered, “Yes!” The Master said, “The donkey goes in the year of the donkey.”

In the ninth month of the ninth year of the Taihe era of the Tang dynasty, the year Yimao, the Master suffered from illness. The monks visited and consoled him. The Master said, “There is receiving, yet it is not recompense. Do you understand?” The entire assembly was displeased. On the eleventh day, when he was about to pass away, the Master told the assembly, “I am about to return to the West; in principle I do not return to the East.” Having spoken, he passed away at the age of sixty-seven. After cremation, several pieces of sacred bone, or relics, were obtained. A stupa was erected on the eastern side of Mount Shishuang. The emperor bestowed on him the posthumous title Great Master Xiuyi. His stupa was named Precious Form.

2. Chan Master Tansheng of Yunyan in Tanzhou

The Master was a native of Jianchang in Zhongling, and his family name was Wang. In his youth he left home at Shimen. At first he went to study under Chan Master Huaihai of Baizhang. Without awakening to the profound purport, he attended him for fully twenty years. When Baizhang passed away, the Master went to meet Yaoshan, and following Yaoshan’s words he immediately accorded with realization.

One day Yaoshan asked, “Apart from Baizhang, where else have you been?” The Master said, “I once went to Guangnan.” Yaoshan asked, “It is said that at the eastern gate of the city of Guangzhou there was a rock that the provincial governor had moved. Is that so?” The Master replied, “Not only the provincial governor—even if all the people of the country tried to move it, they could not.”

Yaoshan then asked, “I hear that you have been playing with the lion. Is that so?” The Master said, “It is.” Yaoshan asked, “How many times have you played with it?” The Master replied, “I have played with it six times.” Yaoshan said, “I too have played with it.” The Master asked, “How many times has the Venerable played with it?” Yaoshan replied, “I have played with it once.” The Master said, “One is six, and six is one.”

Later, the Master went to Guishan. Guishan asked, “When the Elder was at Yaoshan, did you play with the lion?” The Master said, “I did.” Guishan asked, “Did you play with it continuously, or did you sometimes put it aside?” The Master said, “When I needed to play, I played; when I needed to put it aside, I put it aside.” Guishan asked, “When you put it aside, where was the lion?” The Master replied, “Putting aside was also put aside.”

Someone asked, “Where have all the sages from ancient times gone?” The Master remained silent for a long while, then asked, “What are you doing? What are you doing?”

Someone asked, “For the moment, when there is nothing at all, like a dead person, what is it?” The Master said, “Take him away and bury him.”

Someone asked, “When the Great Treasure entrusts itself to a person, is it one with that person or two?” The Master said, “Is one bolt of silk one piece or two pieces?” When Dongshan heard of this, he said, “It is like a person grafting a tree.”

The Master was boiling tea when Daowu asked, “For whom are you boiling it?” The Master replied, “There is one person who needs it.” Daowu asked, “Why not tell him to boil it himself?” The Master

He replied, “Fortunately, I am here.”

The Master asked Shishuang, “Where have you come from?”

Shishuang said, “From Guishan.”

The Master asked, “How long were you there?”

Shishuang replied, “I have just passed the winter and summer there.”

The Master said, “Then you have been there as long as the great mountain has been growing.”

Shishuang said, “Although I was there, I did not know.”

The Master said, “Those of another household also neither perceive nor know.”

Shishuang could not reply. Later, upon hearing of this, Daowu said, “There, body and mind attain the Dharma of no Buddha.”

Afterward, the Master dwelt on Yunyan Mountain in You County, Tanzhou. One day, he addressed the assembly, saying, “There is a child of that household.”

Someone asked, “When one becomes involved in the Way, is it impossible to speak of existence or nonexistence?”

Dongshan asked, “How many books are there in that household?”

The Master said, “Not even a single character.”

Dongshan asked, “How, then, does one know so much?”

The Master said, “Day and night, one has never slept.”

Dongshan said, “May I ask about one matter?”

The Master said, “You may, but I will not speak.”

The Master asked a monk, “Where have you come from?”

The monk said, “From Tianxiang.”

The Master asked, “Did you see the Buddha?”

He replied, “I did.”

The Master asked, “Where did you see him?”

He replied, “I saw him in the lower realm.”

The Master said, “Ancient Buddha! Ancient Buddha!”

Daowu asked, “What is it when, though there is no lamp, one can grasp the pillow?” Then Daowu said, “I understand! I understand!”

The Master asked, “What gives rise to this understanding?”

Daowu said, “The whole body is the eye.”

The Master was sweeping the ground when Guishan came and said, “The more you sweep, the more arises.”

The Master said, “You should know that there is sweeping without sweeping.”

Guishan said, “Then there is a second moon.”

The Master raised the broom and said, “Which moon is this?”

Guishan lowered his head and departed.

The Master asked a monk, “Where have you come from?”

The monk said, “I have come from Shishuang’s words and speech.”

The Master asked, “Does the stone have a beginning?”

The monk could not reply.

The Master said, “Before the question was asked—that is the beginning.”

The Master was putting on his sandals when Dongshan came and asked, “I have come to ask the Master for the pupil of the eye. I wonder whether it may be obtained.”

The Master asked, “With whom did you come?”

He replied, “Liangjie does not have one either.”

The Master said, “If you had one, where would you go?”

Dongshan did not reply.

The Master said, “Is asking for the pupil in this way the eye?”

He replied, “It is not the eye.”

The Master shouted.

The Master asked an assembly of nuns, “Is your father still alive?”

They replied, “He is.”

The Master asked, “How old is he?”

They replied, “Eighty.”

The Master said, “Do you have a father who is eighty years old, yet whom you do not know?”

They replied, “Is it not that person who comes?”

The Master replied, “That is still only a child.”

A monk asked, “When a single thought arises, one immediately falls into the realm of Mara. What is it like at that moment?”

The Master said, “Why have you come from the realm of the Buddha?”

The monk could not reply.

The Master asked, “Do you understand?”

He replied, “I do not understand.”

The Master said, “Do not say that it cannot be embodied. Even if it could be embodied, it would still be merely to the right or the left.”

The Master asked a monk, “I hear that you know divination. Is that so?”

He replied, “It is.”

The Master said, “Try divining this old monk.”

The monk could not reply.

In the first year of the Huichang era of the Tang dynasty, the xinyou year, in the tenth month, the Master fell ill. On the twenty-sixth day, after bathing, he summoned the monk in charge of affairs and instructed him to prepare a vegetarian feast. The following day, a senior monk arrived. On the twenty-seventh day, no one else came. That night, the Master entered nirvana at the age of sixty. After his cremation, more than a thousand relics were obtained and stored in a stone casket. The emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Great Master Wuzhu, “Non-Abiding,” and his stupa was inscribed “Jingsheng.”

3. The Venerable Chuanzhi of Huating.

The Master’s name was Decheng, and he was a Dharma successor of Yaoshan. He once lived in a small boat at the Wujiang landing in Huating. People of that time called him the Boat Monk. The Master once told his fellow practitioner Daowu, “Later, if there is an astute lecturer-monk, send him here just once.”

Later, Daowu urged the Venerable Shanhui of Liangkou to go and pay his respects to the Master. The Master asked, “Lecturer, in how many monasteries have you dwelt?”

Hui said, “As for monasteries, I do not dwell in them. If I dwelt, it would not resemble it.”

The Master asked, “Not resemble—what does it resemble?”

Hui said, “Before my eyes, there is nothing it resembles.”

The Master asked, “Where did you study to arrive at this?”

He replied, “It is not something the ears and eyes can reach.”

The Master laughed and said, “A single phrase that accords with words is a stake to tether a donkey for ten thousand kalpas. Let down a line a thousand feet—the intention lies in the deep pool. Three inches away from the hook, speak quickly! Speak quickly!”

Just as Hui was about to open his mouth, the Master thrust the pole into the water. At this, Hui attained great awakening. The Master then rowed the boat away. It is not known what became of him afterward.

4. Chan Master Huixing of Bishou in Xuanzhou.

Dongshan came to question the Master. The Master asked, “What have you come for?”

Dongshan replied, “I have come to draw near to the Venerable.”

The Master asked, “If it is to draw near, why move those two pieces of skin?”

Dongshan could not reply.

A monk asked, “What is the Buddha?”

The Master said, “The cat atop the exposed pillar.”

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

The Master said, “Ask the pillar.”

5. Novice Gao.

He first went to question Yaoshan. Yaoshan asked, “Where have you come from?”

He replied, “From Nanyue.”

Yaoshan asked, “Where are you going?”

The Master said, “I am going to Jiangling to receive the precepts.”

Yaoshan asked, “Why receive them?”

The Master said, “To be free from birth and death.”

Yaoshan said, “There is a person who has not received the precepts and yet is free from birth and death. Do you know him?”

The Master said, “Then he is a Buddha; what need has he of precepts?”

Yaoshan said, “You still have lips and teeth.” He then summoned the rector and said, “This lame novice cannot perform the duties of the Sangha. Let him stay in the rear hermitage.”

Yaoshan also told Yunyan and Daowu, “A novice has just arrived who has some basis.”

Daowu said, “We cannot yet believe him completely. We must examine him first.”

Yaoshan then asked the Master, “I hear that Chang’an is very noisy.”

The Master said, “My country is peaceful.”

Yaoshan asked, “Did you attain this through reading sutras, or through requesting instruction?”

The Master said, “I did not attain it through reading sutras, nor did I attain it through requesting instruction.”

Yaoshan said, “There are many people who neither read sutras nor request instruction. Why have they not attained it?”

The Master said, “I do not say they do not have it; it is only that they are unwilling to take responsibility for it.”

The Master then took leave of Yaoshan and went to dwell in a hermitage. Yaoshan said, “Birth and death are a great matter. Why do you not receive the precepts?”

The Master said, “Knowing that they obstruct all such affairs, what could be said to constitute the precepts?”

Yaoshan sighed and said, “This novice truly has a tongue. Since he will be dwelling nearby in the hermitage, we shall meet again.”

The Master went to dwell in the hermitage and, during the rain, came again to visit.

Yaoshan asked, “Have you come here?”

The Master said, “Yes.”

Yaoshan asked, “Can you distinguish dry from wet?”

The Master replied, “Do not beat that drum or play that flute.”

Yunyan asked, “If there is no hide, what drum could there be?”

Daowu said, “If there is not even a drum, what could be struck?”

Yaoshan said, “Today the harmony is excellent.”

A monk asked, “Does your single phrase still fall short of the ultimate?”

The Master said, “It does not accord with the world.”

When Yaoshan ate, he would beat the drum himself. Novice Gao, holding his bowl, danced into the refectory. Yaoshan immediately threw down the drumstick and asked, “Which harmony is this?”

Gao said, “The second harmony.”

Yaoshan asked, “What is the first harmony?”

Gao went to the food tub, scooped out a bowl of rice, and immediately walked outside.

6. Chan Master Mingzhe of Baiyan in Yuzhou.

Dongshan and Master Mi came to question him. The Master asked, “Acaryas, from where have you recently departed to come here?”

Dongshan said, “We recently departed from Hunan.”

The Master asked, “What is the surname of the Surveillance Commissioner?”

He replied, “He has no surname.”

The Master asked, “What is his given name?”

He replied, “He has no name.”

The Master asked, “Does he perform any duties?”

He replied, “He has attendants of his own.”

The Master said, “Does he not come and go?”

Dongshan immediately shook out his sleeves and departed.

The following day, the Master entered the monks’ hall and said, “Yesterday, when facing the two acaryas, I lacked a turning word. Today, I ask the two acaryas to speak. If you can speak, this old monk will provide you with gruel and rice and be your companion through the summer retreat. Speak quickly! Speak quickly!”

Dongshan said, “The venerable one treasures life.”

The Master then provided them with gruel and rice throughout one summer.

– Dharma disciples of Chan Master Kuang of Changsi in Tanzhou.

1. The Venerable Shandao of the Stone Chamber in Tanzhou.

He was a Dharma successor of Kuang of Changsi in You County. While the Master was still a novice, Changsi instructed him to receive the precepts, saying, “When you return, go and pay homage to Shitou.” After receiving the precepts, the Master returned and went to question Shitou.

One day, the Master accompanied Shitou on a walk through the mountains. Shitou said, “Cut down that tree before us together with me; it is obstructing me.”

The Master said, “I did not bring a knife.”

Shitou then drew his sword and knocked the Master down.

The Master said, “It merely reaches that end.” Shitou said, “What would you do with that end?” The Master thereupon attained great awakening and returned.

Changsi asked, “Did you go to Shitou?”

The Master said, “I did go, but there was no communication.”

Changsi asked, “From whom did you receive the precepts?”

The Master said, “I did not rely upon anyone else.”

Changsi said, “Being right there, how did you come to my place?”

The Master said, “It is not far removed.”

Changsi said, “Why did you come all this way to my place?”

The Master said, “My tongue has never stirred.”

Changsi shouted, “Novice, get out!” The Master immediately withdrew.

Changsi said, “How could he have failed to encounter a person?”

When the Master suffered under Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty’s suppression of Buddhism, he became a lay practitioner and lived in a stone chamber. Whenever he saw a monk, he would raise his staff and say, “All the Buddhas of the three times arise through this.” Few who responded achieved a clear, tacit accord.

When Changsi heard of this, he said, “If I saw him, I would immediately make him put down the staff, and separately discern the import of this matter.” Sansheng conveyed these words to the stone chamber as his response, but the Master recognized them as Changsi’s words intended to refute him.

— When Xingshan heard that Sansheng had missed the opportunity, he personally went to the stone chamber. Upon seeing Xingshan, the Master secretly followed the assembly of monks to pound rice. Xingshan said, “Practitioner, this is no easy matter; this poor monk would find it difficult to digest.”

The Master said, “A mindless bowl is filled with food for the future. It has no patched seams; fit your mouth to it and take it away. Why speak of difficulty in digesting it?”

Xingshan then desisted.

— Yangshan asked, “How far apart are Buddha and the Way?”

The Master said, “The Way is like opening the hand; Buddha is like closing it into a fist.”

He asked, “Ultimately, what can be trusted and relied upon?”

The Master waved his hand through the air two or three times and said, “There is nothing to it, nothing to it.”

He asked, “Must one still rely upon studying the teachings?”

The Master replied, “The Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teachings are matters outside one’s proper share. If you engage in questions and answers with others, then mind and objects—the two dharmas of perceiver and perceived—proceed together, and all manner of views and interpretations arise. This too is wild wisdom, insufficient to constitute the Way. If you do not engage in questions and answers with others, there is not even a single matter. Therefore, the Patriarch said, ‘From the beginning, there has not been a single thing.’

“Have you not seen a newborn child just emerged from the womb? Can it say, ‘I know how to study the teachings,’ or ‘I do not know how to study the teachings’? At that time, it does not even know whether it possesses Buddha-nature. When it grows up, however, it learns all manner of cultivation and interpretation, bringing forth knowledge, and then says, ‘I can know; I know myself,’ unaware that these are the afflictions of adventitious defilements.

“Among the sixteen practices, the practice of an infant is foremost. Its cries of ‘wa-wa’ are used as an analogy for those who have newly begun to study the Way, because they have departed from the all-pervading mind and adopted a contrived mind. The infant is praised only by way of analogy. If you say that the infant itself is the Way, that is a mistaken understanding.”

— One evening, the Master and Yangshan were gazing at the moon. Yangshan asked, “When that moon wanes, where does its round form go? When it is full, where does its waning form go?”

The Master said, “When it wanes, the round form is concealed; when it is full, the waning form still remains.”

— When Yangshan took his leave, the Master accompanied him to the gate and called, “Acharya!”

Yangshan answered, “Yes!”

The Master said, “Do not simply keep going over to that side.”

— A monk asked, “Have you ever been to Mount Wutai?”

The Master said, “I have.”

The monk asked, “Did you see Manjusri?”

The Master said, “I did.”

The monk asked, “What did Manjusri say to the practitioner?”

The Master said, “Manjusri said, ‘The Acharya’s parents gave birth to him in a rustic village.’”

– Dharma heirs of the Venerable Dadian of Chaozhou.

1. Chan Master Yizhong of Sanping, Zhangzhou.

The Master was a native of Fuzhou, and his family name was Yang. He first studied under Shigong. Shigong would often draw his bow and nock an arrow while waiting for students to arrive.

When the Master came to his Dharma seat, Shigong said, “Watch the arrow!”

The Master then bared his chest and said, “This is the arrow that kills a person; what about the arrow that brings a person to life?”

Shigong thereupon plucked the bowstring three times. The Master immediately bowed in homage.

Shigong said, “For thirty years I have drawn one bow and two arrows, yet I have managed to shoot only half a sage.” He then broke the bow and arrows.

Later, the Master recounted these words to Dadian. Dadian said, “Since it is the arrow that brings a person to life, why discuss it upon the bowstring?”

The Master could not answer.

Dadian said, “Thirty years from now, it will be very difficult to find someone to whom you can present these words and pose this question.”

— Later, the Master studied under Dadian, then went to Mount Sanping in Zhangzhou. There he instructed the assembly, saying:

“Most students nowadays delight in flitting about and seeking. What is there within your own eyes and nose? If you wish to study, why seek other things? You all have your own proper share; why do you not understand it for yourselves? What benefit is there in harboring resentment in your minds and grievances in your mouths?

“To speak plainly: if you wish to cultivate according to the teaching methods established by the sages, the scriptures of the Great Canon are already available. But concerning the matter within the School, none of you should mistakenly apply your minds.”

At that time, a monk stepped forward and asked, “Is there still a path of study?”

The Master said, “There is a path as slippery as moss.”

The monk asked, “Can a student follow it?”

The Master said, “It is not fixed; examine your own mind.”

Someone asked, “What was it like before the black bean had sprouted?”

The Master said, “Even the Buddha does not know.”

— A lecturing monk asked, “I have no doubts concerning the Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teachings. What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?”

The Master said, “The tortoise-hair fly whisk and the rabbit-horn staff—where has the Venerable hidden them?”

The monk asked, “Do tortoise hair and rabbit horns actually exist?”

The Master said, “The flesh weighs a thousand catties, yet the wisdom has no measure.”

— The Master further instructed the assembly:

“If you have never met a spiritual teacher, you cannot attain it. If you have met an adept, then upon his arrival you should accord with and understand his intent and bearing. Living in a mountain cave, clothed and fed by grasses and trees—why must you travel about before gaining even a small measure of accord? If you flit about seeking phrases, meanings, knowledge, and understanding, you are ten thousand miles from home. Please take good care of yourselves.”

– Dharma heirs of the Venerable Dachuan of Tanzhou.

1. The Venerable of Xiantian.

A monk from Silla in Korea came for an interview and had just spread out his sitting mat to make obeisance when the Master seized him firmly and asked, “Before you departed from your native country, quickly speak a word!”

The monk could not answer.

The Master then shoved him away and said, “Asked for one phrase, you immediately speak two.”

— Another monk came and was about to make obeisance.

The Master said, “Wild fox spirit, what do you see that makes you bow?”

The monk said, “Old barbarian slave, what do you see that makes you ask?”

The Master said, “How painful! How painful! Today Xiantian has forgotten what came before and lost what comes after.”

The monk said, “Even through ten thousand moments, attaining completeness would still not suffice for losing it.”

The Master said, “Why is it not so?”

The monk asked, “Who?”

The Master said, “Ha! Ha! The farther away, still farther away.”

2. The Venerable Puguang of Fuzhou.

A monk was standing there. The Master opened his robe over his belly with his hands and said, “Do you clearly understand this old monk’s affair?”

The monk said, “There is also this.”

The Master covered his belly again and said, “I do not mind displaying it.”

The monk said, “Where could it hide?”

The Master said, “Indeed, there is nowhere for it to hide.”

The monk asked, “What should be done right now?”

The Master immediately struck him.