袁州仰山慧寂禪師語錄

The Master’s Dharma name was Huệ Tịch. He was born into the Diệp family in Hoài Hóa, Thiều Châu. At the age of nine, he went to Hòa An Monastery in Quảng Châu and asked Chan Master Thông for permission to leave the household life. When he was fourteen, his parents compelled him to return home and tried to force him to marry. The Master refused. He then cut off two fingers, knelt before his parents, and vowed to seek the True Dharma in order to repay their kindness in giving birth to and raising him. Only then did his parents permit him to leave the household life.

The Master returned to Chan Master Thông, who shaved his head. Although he had not yet received the full precepts, the Master began traveling in search of instruction.

At first, the Master went to pay homage to Đam Nguyên and attained accord with the profound purport. Later, while studying under Qui Sơn, he deeply awakened to the principle of the Way. Đam Nguyên told the Master:

_ In his time, the National Preceptor received from six generations of Patriarchs ninety-seven circular symbols. He entrusted them to this old monk, instructing me: “About thirty years after my passing into extinction, a śrāmaṇera will come from the South and cause this teaching to flourish. You should transmit these to him in due succession and must not allow the lineage to be severed.” Now I entrust them to you. You should reverently uphold them.

Đam Nguyên then handed the manuscript to the Master. The Master accepted it, looked through it once, and burned it completely.

One day, Đam Nguyên asked:

_ The symbols I entrusted to you the other day should be kept secret.

The Master said:

_ That day, after I finished looking through them, I burned them all.

Đam Nguyên said:

_ No one can understand this Dharma gate of mine. Only the former masters, the Patriarchs, and the great sages could fully comprehend it. Why did you burn it?

The Master said:

_ As soon as Huệ Tịch had finished looking through it, I understood its purport. I can apply it without needing to retain the manuscript.

Đam Nguyên said:

_ Even if that is so, it may suffice for you, but those who come later will not be able to believe it.

The Master said:

_ If the Venerable requires it, it will not be difficult for me to copy it out again.

The Master immediately reproduced a copy and presented it. Not a single word was missing. Đam Nguyên praised it as correct.

When Đam Nguyên ascended the Dharma hall, the Master stepped before the assembly, formed a circle, and presented it with both hands. He then folded his arms and stood. Đam Nguyên crossed both hands to form a fist and showed it to the Master. The Master advanced three steps and made the symbol of a woman bowing. Đam Nguyên nodded, and the Master immediately made obeisance.

]

While the Master was washing his robe, Đam Nguyên asked:

_ What are you doing at this very moment?

The Master replied:

_ At what place does the Venerable see me?

Later, the Master studied under Qui Sơn. Qui Sơn asked:

_ Are you a śrāmaṇera with a master, or a śrāmaṇera without a master?

The Master said:

_ I have a master.

_ Where is the master?

The Master walked from the eastern side to the western side and stood there. Qui Sơn considered this extraordinary.

The Master asked:

_ What is the dwelling place of the true Buddha?

Qui Sơn replied:

_ Employ wondrous thought that is without thought; turn back the infinitely luminous thought. When thought is exhausted, return to the source. Nature and characteristics eternally abide; phenomena and principle are nondual. The true Buddha is thusness itself.

At these words, the Master suddenly awakened. From then on, he attended the Patriarch for nearly fifteen years.

]

While the Master was sweeping the ground, Qui Sơn asked:

_ Dust cannot be swept away, and empty space does not arise by itself. What is the dust that cannot be swept away?

The Master swept the ground once.

Qui Sơn said:

_ Is this empty space not arising by itself?

The Master pointed to his own body and then pointed to Qui Sơn. Qui Sơn said:

_ Dust cannot be swept away, and empty space does not arise by itself. Apart from these two paths, what is it?

The Master swept the ground once again, then pointed to his own body while simultaneously pointing to Qui Sơn.

]

One day, Qui Sơn pointed to a field and asked the Master:

_ That end of this field is high, while this end is low.

The Master said:

_ Rather, this end is high and that end is low.

_ If you do not believe it, go stand in the middle and look at both ends.

_ There is no need to stand in the middle, nor any need to stand at either end.

_ If so, measure it by the water’s surface. The water’s surface can make things level.

_ Water also has no fixed level. In a high place, it is level with the high place; in a low place, it is level with the low place.

Qui Sơn then desisted.

]

A donor made an offering of a bolt of silk to Qui Sơn. The Master asked:

_ Having accepted the donor’s offering in this way, what will the Venerable give in return?

Qui Sơn struck the Chan platform to instruct the Master. The Master said:

_ Why does the Venerable take another person’s property and make it an implement (1) for himself?

The Master served as the Superintendent of Work (2) at Qui Sơn. When he returned from work, Qui Sơn asked:

_ Where have you come from?

The Master said:

_ I have come from the fields.

_ How many people were in the fields?

The Master planted his hoe upright and folded his arms.

‑(1) Another version says:

Qui Sơn asked the Master:

_ A lay disciple brought me three bolts of silk to redeem the bell, so I accepted his meritorious offering.

The Master said:

_ The lay disciple had silk and gave it to the Venerable to redeem the bell. What will the Venerable give them in return?

Qui Sơn took his staff, struck the Chan platform three times, and said:

_ I shall give them this in return.

The Master said:

_ If it is this, what use is it?

Qui Sơn again struck the Chan platform three times and said:

_ Why do you doubt this matter?

_ I do not doubt this matter; it is only for the sake of everyone.

_ Since you know it is for the sake of everyone, why did you come here and tell me to find something with which to repay them?

_ I merely find it strange that the Venerable performs such favors for everyone.

_ Do you not see that Great Master Bodhidharma came from the Western Heaven to this land solely to bring this thing as a favor? You see that everyone accepts their token of trust

((2): A monk specifically responsible for overseeing miscellaneous work, serving according to a rotating work assignment to ensure that tasks continue without interruption, with each term lasting one year. This is one of the six administrative officers of the Eastern Office.

Volume Four of the Baizhang Pure Rules records:

“The responsibilities of the Superintendent of Work include repairing damaged or leaking halls, buildings, and monastic quarters; managing miscellaneous matters; allocating labor; inspecting construction projects; and directing, rewarding, and disciplining work in gardens, fields, estates, rice-pounding areas, boats and carts, lamps and torches, patrols, and guards against thieves and bandits…”

Qui Sơn said:

_ Today they are cutting rice stubble on South Mountain.

The Master shouldered his hoe and left.

While the Master was herding oxen at Qui Sơn, Senior Monk Thiên Thái asked:

_ When one hair-tip of a lion appears, I do not ask about it. What is it when, upon a hundred thousand hair-tips, a hundred thousand lions appear?

The Master then untethered the ox and returned. Standing in attendance upon Qui Sơn, he related the incident, thereby making it clear. When he saw Senior Monk Thái arrive, the Master said:

_ It was this very senior monk.

Qui Sơn then asked:

_ Was it you, Senior Monk, who spoke of a hundred thousand lions appearing upon a hundred thousand hair-tips?

Thái replied:

_ Yes.

The Master asked:

_ At that very moment, did the lions appear before the hairs, or did the lions appear after the hairs?

Thái replied:

_ When they appear, there is no speaking of before or after.

Qui Sơn laughed loudly.

The Master said:

_ The lion has bowed its body.

_ The Master then descended and left.

]

The Master accompanied Qui Sơn on a walk through the mountains and came to sit upon a boulder. While he was standing in attendance upon Qui Sơn, a bird suddenly flew over carrying a persimmon and dropped it before them. Qui Sơn picked it up and handed it to the Master. The Master washed the persimmon and presented it to Qui Sơn. Qui Sơn said:

_ Where did you obtain this fruit?

The Master said:

_ It came in response to the Venerable’s virtue of the Way.

Qui Sơn said:

_ Nor are you without a share in it.

Qui Sơn then broke the persimmon in half and gave one half to him.

]

Qui Sơn asked the Master:

_ If someone were suddenly to question you, how would you reply?

The Master said:

_ If my Dharma uncle were still at the Eastern Monastery, I would not be reduced to silence.

Qui Sơn said:

_ I pardon you one offense for failing to answer.

_ Life and death depend solely upon a single word.

_ You have not betrayed your insight, but there is someone who will not accept it.

_ Who?

Qui Sơn pointed to the main pillar and said:

_ This one.

_ What does it say?

_ What does it say?

_ The white mouse changes its place; the silver terrace remains unchanged.

]

The Master asked Qui Sơn:

_ The great function is manifest before us; I ask the Master to discern it clearly.

Qui Sơn descended from his seat and returned to the abbot’s quarters. The Master followed him inside. Qui Sơn asked:

_ What did you ask just now?

The Master repeated his question. Qui Sơn said:

_ Do you remember the words with which I answered?

_ I remember.

_ Try repeating them.

The Master then took his leave and departed.

Guishan said:

_ Wrong.

The Master turned his head and said:

_ If my younger Dharma brother Zhixian comes, do not say that I had no words!

]

While tending an ox before the mountainside, the Master met a monk coming up from the mountain. Before long, the monk came back down again.

The Master asked:

_ Why did you not remain in the mountain, Venerable?

The monk replied:

_ Because the conditions were not suitable.

_ What happened? Try telling me.

_ The Venerable Guishan asked my name, and I replied, “Guizhen.” The Venerable asked, “Where is Guizhen?” I was unable to answer.

_ Go back and tell the Venerable that you can answer. If the Venerable asks you how, simply reply, “In the eyes, in the ears, in the nose.”

The monk returned and did exactly as the Master had instructed.

Guishan rebuked him:

_ Mere mouthing of words! Those are the words of the spiritual guide of five hundred people.

]

The Master dreamed that he entered the inner court of Maitreya Buddha. In the monks’ hall, seats had been set at every place, but the second seat alone was vacant, so the Master went up and sat there. A Venerable struck the gavel and announced, “Today the second seat will expound the Dharma.” The Master arose, struck the gavel, and said, “The Mahayana Dharma is free from the four propositions and cuts off the hundred negations. Listen carefully, listen carefully!” The entire assembly then dispersed.

Upon awakening, the Master related the dream to Guishan. Guishan said, “You have entered the rank of the sages.” The Master immediately bowed in reverence.

]

The Master was attending upon Guishan when he suddenly saw dust rising before them. Guishan asked:

_ What is before you?

The Master drew near to look and made this sign: 〇. Guishan nodded.

]

Guishan instructed the assembly:

_ All sentient beings are without Buddha-nature.

Yanguan instructed his assembly:

_ All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature.

Two monks from Yanguan’s assembly came to Guishan to investigate. Hearing Guishan’s exposition but being unable to fathom its bounds, they became contemptuous.

One day, while the two monks were discussing the principles of the Way with the Master, they advised him, “Elder Dharma brother, you should study diligently. The Buddha Dharma is not something easily attained.”

The Master then made this sign: 〇, raised it before them with both hands, and tossed it behind his back. He then opened both hands toward the two monks and demanded it back, but neither monk could respond.

The Master said:

_ You brothers must study diligently. The Buddha Dharma is not easily attained.

The Master then rose and departed.

The two monks then set out to return to Yanguan. After traveling thirty li, the first monk suddenly awakened and said:

_ You should know that Guishan teaches, “All sentient beings are without Buddha-nature.” I am firmly convinced that this is not mistaken.

That monk immediately returned to Guishan. The second monk continued for several more li. While wading across a stream, he suddenly awakened and cried out to himself:

_ Guishan says that all sentient beings are without Buddha-nature. Clearly, those words are indeed spoken.

This monk also returned to Guishan and remained there for quite a long time.

]

Several members of Yanguan’s assembly came to Guishan but refused to submit. One day, during communal labor, they carried rice from the Western Farm. The Master reached the mountaintop and set down his load of rice; more than ten others followed and also set theirs down. The Master then shouldered his load, walked once around before everyone, and said:

_ Is it there? Is it there?

None of the traveling monks could answer. The Master said:

_ You deceive people to death.

The Master then carried the rice away.

]

The Master was tending oxen with Guishan when Guishan said:

_ Are there bodhisattvas in here?

The Master replied:

_ There are.

_ Point out the one you see to be genuine.

_ Venerable, point out the one you suspect is not genuine.

Guishan then desisted.

]

The Master presented a piece of fruit to Guishan. Guishan took it and asked:

_ Where did you get this fruit?

The Master replied:

_ In the monastery garden.

_ Has it been used yet?

_ I have not dared to use it. I offer it to the Venerable to use first.

_ Whose is it?

_ It belongs to Huiji.

_ Since it is yours, why do you let me use it first?

_ Venerable, use a thousand; use ten thousand.

Guishan ate it and said:

_ It is still sour and bitter.

_ Whether it is sour and bitter, know for yourself.

Guishan made no further reply.

]

At the end of the summer retreat, the Master came to pay his respects and inquire after Guishan’s health. Guishan asked:

_ Why did I not see you come up here throughout the summer? What were you doing below?

The Master replied:

_ Down below, I hoed a plot of ground and sowed a basketful of rice seed.

_ This summer, you did not let your time pass in vain.

The Master asked in return:

_ I wonder what the Venerable did during this summer?

_ At midday I ate one meal; at the end of the night I slept one sleep.

_ This summer, the Venerable also did not let his time pass in vain.

After speaking, the Master stuck out his tongue for a long while.

Guishan said:

_ Ji, my child! Why harm your own life?

]

One day, when Guishan saw the Master approaching, he crossed both hands, walked past while flicking his hands three times, and then raised one finger. The Master likewise crossed both hands and walked past while flicking them three times. He then held one hand palm-up and the other palm-down before his chest and looked up at Guishan.

Guishan desisted and walked away.

]

Guishan was driving away crows that were eating the rice. Turning and seeing the Master, he said:

_ Today, on account of them, I ascended the hall once.

The Master replied:

_ Following the customary rule, I have heard the Venerable expound the Dharma.

_ What is the matter of hearing the Dharma?

_ A crow cries with a crow’s voice; a partridge cries with a partridge’s voice.

_ What sound and form is it?

_ What did the Venerable just say?

_ I merely said that on account of them I ascended the hall once.

_ Why is it called sound and form?

_ Although it is so, there is no harm in testing it.

_ How is the great matter of causes and conditions tested?

Guishan raised his forearm upright. The Master said:

_ Ultimately, is this merely pointing east and drawing west?

_ I questioned you because you were attached to sound and form.

_ You have still not fully understood this matter.

_ How does one fully understand this matter?

_ Ji, you are sound and form; this old monk is east and west.

_ A single moon’s reflection shines in a thousand rivers, yet its essence makes no distinctions among the waters.

_ It must be so before it will do.

_ As gold and gold are ultimately no different in color, how could their names differ?

_ What is the principle of their names not differing?

_ Vase, dish, hairpin, bracelet, bowl, basin.

_ Ji, when you speak Chan, it is like a lion’s roar, terrifying foxes, wolves, and jackals.

]

One day, while the Master stood attending upon Guishan, he suddenly heard a crow cry. Guishan said:

_ It gives a concise exposition of the matter.

The Master replied:

_ It cannot be spoken to anyone else.

_ Why do you say that?

_ Because it speaks too directly.

_ You investigate all the Dharma gates at the same time.

_ What is the matter of investigation?

Guishan struck the meditation platform three times.

]

When the Master was residing at Mount Wangmang, Guishan asked:

_ You are already called a spiritual guide. How do you discern whether people who come from various places possess understanding or lack understanding? Whether they have inherited transmission from a teacher or have no transmitted lineage? Whether theirs is doctrinal learning or the study of the profound? Try speaking of it.

The Master replied:

_ Huiji has a means of testing them. Whenever I see a monk arrive, I immediately raise my fly whisk and ask him, “Do they speak of this in the various places or not?”

The Master continued:

_ Setting this aside for the moment, what is the intent of the venerable adepts in the various places?

Guishan praised him:

_ This has always been the fangs and claws of our lineage.

Guishan further asked:

_ The sentient beings of this world have a boundless karmic consciousness with no root upon which to rely. How do you know this?

The Master replied:

_ Huiji has a means of testing it.

At that moment, a monk passed before them. The Master called, “Acharya!” The monk turned his head.

The Master said:

_ Venerable, this precisely is boundless karmic consciousness with no root upon which to rely.

Guishan said:

_ This is one drop of lion’s milk dissolving six dou of donkey’s milk.

]

The Master asked Songfeng:

_ Recently, what has been Junior Brother’s view?

Feng replied:

_ According to my view, truly not a single dharma can accord with the mind.

The Master said:

_ Your understanding still rests upon objects.

_ I am thus; what about you, Senior Brother?

_ Do you not know that not a single dharma can accord with the mind?

Upon hearing this, Guishan said:

_ That one sentence of Huiji’s puts everyone under heaven to death.

]

One day, when it was raining, Senior Monk Tianxing said to the Master:

_ A fine rain.

The Master said:

_ What is fine about it?

Tianxing remained silent. The Master said:

_ I can say it.

Tianxing asked:

_ What is fine about it?

The Master pointed to the rain. Tianxing again remained silent. The Master said:

_ How could one of great wisdom remain silent?

]

One day, the head seat raised his whisk and said:

_ Whoever can express the principle shall be given this whisk.

The Master said:

_ I can express the principle. May I have the whisk?

The senior monk said:

_ If you can express the principle, you may have it.

The Master immediately snatched the whisk and carried it away.

]

Layman Pang (Longyun) asked:

_ I have long heard it said that this mountain lies face up. Why, upon arriving here, do I see it lying face down?

The Master raised his whisk.

The layman said:

_ Precisely right.

The Master asked:

_ Face up or face down?

The layman struck a pillar and said:

_ Although there is no person here, a pillar is still needed to bear witness.

The Master threw down his whisk and said:

_ When you go elsewhere, you may demonstrate it as you please.

]

Sansheng came for an interview. The Master asked:

_ What is your name?

Sansheng replied:

_ Huiji.

_ Huiji is my name.

_ My name is Huiran.

The Master laughed heartily, and that was the end of it.

]

An official came to visit the Master. The Master asked:

_ What official post do you hold?

The official replied:

_ Inspector.

The Master raised his whisk and asked:

_ Can you inspect this?

The official could not answer. The Master instructed the assembly to offer turning words, but none accorded.

At that time, Sansheng was recuperating from illness in the Nirvana Hall. The Master sent an attendant to invite him to offer a turning word. Sansheng told the attendant:

_ Simply say that the Venerable has business today.

The attendant returned and reported this to the Master. The Master again sent him to ask:

_ I wonder what business the Venerable has?

Sansheng said:

_ Do not permit a second offense.

]

Chan Master Guangyong, known as Nanta, went to pay respects to Linji and later returned to attend upon the Master. The Master asked:

_ What have you come here to do?

Nanta replied:

_ To attend upon and pay homage to the Venerable.

_ Have you seen the Venerable?

_ I have.

_ How does the Venerable resemble a donkey?

_ I see that the Venerable does not resemble a Buddha either.

_ If he does not resemble a Buddha, then what does he resemble?

_ If there were something he resembled, how would he differ from a donkey?

The Master was greatly astonished and said:

_ Ordinary and holy are both forgotten; sentiments are purified, and the essence is revealed. For twenty years I have tested people, yet not one has understood. You must preserve and sustain this well.

The Master ascended the hall and told the assembly:

_ This man is a Buddha in the flesh.

]

Huoshan came for an interview. The Master sat with his eyes closed. Huoshan bent his right leg, stood there, and said:

_ Thus, thus. The twenty-eight Patriarchs of India were also thus; the six Patriarchs of China were also thus; Jingtong is also thus.

The Master rose and struck Huoshan once with a wisteria staff. From then on, Huoshan styled himself “The Great Wisteria-Staff Chan Master Under Heaven.”

]

When the practitioner Chigan heard the sound of the closing bell, he asked the Master:

_ Venerable, do you hear the sound of the bell?

The Master said:

_ Why do you not ask me? You need not trouble me to answer that I cannot.

The practitioner said:

_ I have already asked.

The Master shouted:

_ Go!

]

Imperial Attendant Liu asked the Master:

_ May I hear the essential teaching for comprehending the mind?

The Master replied:

_ If you wish to comprehend the mind, only no-mind can comprehend it. The mind does not comprehend; that is true comprehension.

]

Minister Lu Xisheng wished to visit the Master. He drew the symbol o and sent it in a letter to present to the Master beforehand. Upon receiving the letter, the Master opened it and saw written beneath the symbol o: “To know through thought is to fall into the secondary; to know without thought is to fall into the tertiary.”

The Master immediately folded the letter. When he saw the minister entering the mountain, the Master went out to the gate to welcome him. As soon as the minister entered the gate, he asked:

_ All three gates stand open; through which gate should one enter?

The Master replied:

_ Enter through the Gate of Faith.

When the minister reached the Dharma hall, he asked again:

_ What is it like when, without leaving the realm of Mara, one immediately enters the realm of the Buddha?

The Master inverted his whisk three times. The minister immediately bowed and then asked:

_ Does the Venerable observe the precepts?

_ No.

_ Does he practice seated meditation?

_ No.

The minister remained silent for a long while. The Master asked:

_ Do you understand?

_ I do not understand.

_ Listen to this verse of this old monk:

Vast and free, observing no precepts

Lofty and still, practicing no seated meditation

Savoring two or three bowls of tea

The meaning lies beside the head of the hoe.

Translation:

Blankly, observing no precepts

Dully, practicing no seated meditation

Two or three bowls of fine tea

The meaning lies beside the head of the hoe.

The Master asked again:

_ I have heard that the minister attained awakening while reading a sutra. Is that so?

_ Your disciple found peace and bliss while reading the Nirvana Sutra and reaching the passage: “Without needing to sever the afflictions, one enters nirvana.”

The Master raised his whisk and asked:

_ If so, how does this enter?

_ Even the single word “enter” is inadmissible.

_ Even the single word “enter” is not the minister.

The minister immediately rose and departed.

]

Wei Zhou went to Guishan and requested a verse. Guishan said:

_ Even presenting it face-to-face would still be the conduct of a dullard, much less presenting it with paper and ink.

Wei Zhou then went to request one from the Master. The Master drew a circle on paper and annotated it:

_ To know through thought is to fall into the secondary; to know without thought is to fall into the tertiary.

]

When the Master was still a novice monk, one day He’an Tong called him to bring over the bed. The Master brought it. He’an said:

_ Present the fundamental place and let me see!

The Master presented it accordingly. He’an called, “Huiji!” The Master responded. He’an asked:

_ What is that object on the other side of the bed?

_ The pillow.

_ What is this object on this side of the pillow?

_ No object.

He’an called, “Huiji!” The Master responded. He’an asked:

_ What is it?

]

When the Master was still a novice monk, he heard a monk ask Shishuang:

_ What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?

Shishuang replied:

_ It is like a person in a well a thousand feet deep. If, without a single inch of rope, he can emerge from the well, that person will answer you concerning the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West.

The monk said:

_ Recently, Venerable Chang has appeared in Hunan and likewise speaks of east and west for people.

Shishuang called to the novice monk:

_ Drag this corpse out of here!

Later, the Master asked Danyuan:

_ How can the person in the well get out?

Danyuan shouted:

_ Good heavens! You fool! Who is the person in the well?

The Master then asked Guishan. Guishan called, “Huiji!” The Master responded. Guishan said, “He is out.”

Later, after becoming an abbot, the Master often brought up this saying before the assembly and said:

_ At Danyuan’s place I obtained the “name”; at Guishan’s place I obtained the “ground.”

]

When the Master was still a novice monk, he chanted sutras loudly. Venerable Ruyuan said:

_ This novice chants sutras exactly as though he were weeping.

The Master said:

_ Huiji is only thus; I wonder how the Venerable is?

Ruyuan turned and looked at the Master. The Master said:

_ If you are thus, then how are we different in weeping together?

Ruyuan immediately stopped.

]

The Master visited Dongsi. Dongsi asked:

_ Where are you from?

The Master replied:

_ Guangnan.

_ I have heard that Guangnan possesses a luminous pearl that guards the sea. Is that so?

_ It is.

_ What is that pearl like?

_ On the thirtieth it is hidden; on the fifteenth it appears.

_ Have you brought it with you?

_ I have.

_ Then why do you not present it to this old monk?

The Master folded his hands, stepped nearer, and said:

_ When I had just arrived at Guishan, I was also asked for this pearl, so much so that I had not a single word with which to answer and no principle to present.

_ Truly a lion cub, well able to roar.

After completing his bows, the Master returned to the guest quarters, arranged his deportment fully, then came back up and bowed once more. Dongsi said:

_ We have already seen one another.

_ Is seeing one another in this way entirely acceptable?

Đông Tự returned to the abbot’s quarters and closed the door. The Master returned and related the incident to Qui Sơn. Qui Sơn said:

_ Tịch! What kind of conduct of mind is that?

The Master replied:

_ If I had not acted thus, how could I have known him?

]

The Master asked Đông Tự:

_ May I borrow a road to cross over to the other shore?

Đông Tự said:

_ A śramaṇa cannot have only one road; is there some other road?

The Master remained silent for a long while. Đông Tự asked him in return:

_ May I borrow a road to cross over to the other shore?

The Master replied:

_ A śramaṇa cannot have only one road; is there some other road?

Đông Tự said:

_ That alone is it.

The Master said:

_ The Son of Heaven of the Great Tang is certainly surnamed Kim.

]

After receiving the precepts, the Master went to Master Trung Ấp to express his gratitude for them. Trung Ấp patted his mouth, making the sound, “Hòa, hòa.” The Master walked from west to east. Trung Ấp patted his mouth, making the sound, “Hòa, hòa.” The Master walked from east to west. Trung Ấp patted his mouth, making the sound, “Hòa, hòa.” The Master came to the center and stood there, and only afterward expressed his gratitude for the precepts.

Trung Ấp asked:

_ Where did you obtain this samadhi?

The Master replied:

_ From the seal of Tào Khê.

_ Whom did Tào Khê receive with this samadhi?

_ He received the One-Night Awakened One.

The Master asked:

_ Where did the Venerable obtain this samadhi?

_ From Great Master Mã.

_ How may the Buddha-nature be seen?

_ I shall give you an analogy. It is like a house with six doors. Inside is a monkey, and outside is another monkey. From the eastern door, the one inside cries, “Chéo, chéo,” and the one outside also cries, “Chéo, chéo.” In this way, it calls at all six doors, and at all six doors there is a response.

The Master bowed in gratitude, rose, and said:

_ I have just received the Venerable’s analogy and understood it completely. Yet there is one matter: if the monkey inside has fallen asleep and the monkey outside wishes to meet it, what should it do?

Trung Ấp stepped down from the meditation platform, took the Master by the hand, and danced, saying, “Chéo, chéo! Now you and I have met.” It is like the Tiêu Minh insect making its nest upon a mosquito’s eyelash and standing at the crossroads crying, “The land is vast and the people are few; seldom does one meet another.”

]

The Master went to consult Nham Đầu. Nham Đầu raised his whisk, and the Master spread out his sitting cloth. Nham Đầu took the whisk and placed it behind his back. The Master lifted the sitting cloth onto his shoulder and walked out. Nham Đầu said:

_ I do not acknowledge your “letting go”; I acknowledge only your “gathering in.”

]

While gazing at the moon with Trường Sa, the Master said:

_ Everyone possesses it, yet they cannot use it.

Trường Sa said:

_ I invite Elder Brother to use it.

The Master said:

_ How am I to use it?

Trường Sa kicked him in the chest.

The Master said:

_ Ah! Truly, you are like a great beast—a tiger.

]

The Master went to consult Venerable Cổ Đê. Cổ Đê said:

_ Go away! You have no Buddha-nature.

The Master stepped forward three paces and respectfully joined his palms. Cổ Đê asked:

_ Where did you obtain this samadhi?

The Master replied:

_ I obtained the “name” from Đam Nguyên and the “ground” from Qui Sơn.

_ Are you not a disciple of Qui Sơn?

_ In terms of conventional truth, it is not that I am not; but with regard to the Buddha-Dharma, I would not dare say that I am.

The Master asked in return:

_ Where did the Venerable obtain this samadhi?

_ From Chương Kỉnh.

The Master praised him:

_ Inconceivable! It will be difficult for later generations to accord with it.

]

The Master went to Master Xử Vi in Kiền Châu. Xử Vi asked:

_ What is your name?

The Master replied:

_ Huệ Tịch.

_ Is this Huệ, or is this Tịch?

_ It is right before your eyes.

_ There is still a before and an after.

_ Set before and after aside for the moment. What does the Venerable see?

_ Go drink tea.

]

Later, the Master opened the Dharma at Vương Mãn Mountain. The Master asked a monk:

_ Where have you just come from?

The monk replied:

_ Lô Mountain.

_ Have you ever been to Ngũ Lão Peak?

_ I have never been there.

_ Ācārya, you have never roamed the mountain.

]

The Master ascended the hall:

_ All of you must turn the light around and illuminate yourselves; do not memorize words and phrases. From beginningless kalpas until now, you have forsaken the light and entered darkness. The roots of deluded thinking are deep and dense, and truly difficult to eradicate completely.

Therefore, provisional skillful means are established to subdue your coarse consciousness, like using yellow leaves to soothe a crying child—what truth is there in that? It is also like someone setting up a marketplace with a hundred kinds of merchandise and precious gold, thinking only of what will suit the buyers. Thus it is said: “Thạch Đầu’s is a shop of genuine gold, while mine is a general store.

If someone comes here seeking rat droppings, I give them to him; if he comes seeking genuine gold, I also give it to him.”

At that time, a monk asked:

_ I do not want rat droppings. Venerable, please give me genuine gold.

The Master said:

_ With sharp teeth, you think to open your mouth, but even in the Year of the Donkey you will not understand.

The monk could not answer.

The Master said:

_ If there is seeking and questioning, there is a transaction; if there is no seeking or questioning, there is no transaction. When speaking of the Zen school, one does not need even a single intimate companion at one’s side, much less an assembly of five hundred or seven hundred. If I speak of east and west, you vie with one another to pick things up, like children being deceived with an empty fist; there is utterly nothing real in it.

I shall now explain clearly to you the matter on the side of the sages; do not let your minds become attached. You need only sincerely cultivate in accordance with the ocean of your own nature; there is no need for the Three Knowledges and Six Supernatural Powers. Why?

Because those are peripheral affairs of the sages. Right now, you must recognize the mind and penetrate the source. The essential thing is to attain the root; there is no need to worry about the branches, for one day they will naturally be complete.

If you have not yet attained the root, then even if you bring your mind to study, you will attain nothing at all. Have you not heard Venerable Qui Sơn say:

_ When ordinary and holy sentiments are exhausted, true constancy manifests. Principle and phenomena are nondual: this is the Buddha of suchness.

]

A monk asked:

_ What is the Patriarch’s meaning?

With his hand, the Master traced the form of a Buddha in empty space and then instructed the monk. The monk could not answer.

]

The Master asked the First Seat:

_ Think neither of good nor of evil. At that very moment, what is it like?

The First Seat replied:

_ At that very moment, it is where I relinquish body and life.

_ Why do you not ask this old monk?

_ At that very moment, I do not see the Venerable.

_ You are unable to uphold my school and teaching.

]

The Master asked a monk:

_ Where have you come from?

The monk replied:

_ U Châu.

_ I want news from U Châu. How much does rice cost there?

_ When I came here, I happened to pass through the marketplace and stepped upon that bridge, breaking it.

The Master immediately desisted.

]

Seeing a monk arrive, the Master raised his whisk. The monk immediately shouted. The Master said:

_ It is not that the shout is wrong, but tell me: where is this old monk’s fault?

The monk replied:

_ The Venerable should not use an object to instruct people.

The Master immediately struck him.

]

An Indian master came through empty space. The Master asked:

_ Where have you just come from?

_ The Western Heaven.

_ When did you leave the Western Heaven?

_ This morning.

_ How exceedingly slow!

_ I was gazing at the mountains and wandering by the streams.

_ It is not that such playful supernatural powers are lacking, but as for the Ācārya’s Buddha-Dharma, you must hand it over to this old monk.

_ I intended to journey to the Eastern Land to pay homage to Mañjuśrī, but instead I have encountered the Little Śākyamuni.

The monk then presented the Master with a Sanskrit manuscript written on palm leaves, bowed, and departed through empty space.

From then on, the Master was known as the Little Śākyamuni.

]

When the Master was abbot of Đông Bình Monastery, Qui Sơn sent a monk to bring him a letter and a mirror. The Master ascended the hall, held up the mirror, and instructed the assembly:

_ Speak! Is this Qui Sơn’s mirror or Đông Bình’s mirror? If you say it is Đông Bình’s mirror, why was it brought here from Qui Sơn? If you say it is Qui Sơn’s mirror, why is it in Đông Bình’s hand? If you can speak, it will be kept; if you cannot speak, it will be smashed.

The assembly could not speak. The Master then smashed it and descended from the seat.

]

A monk came for consultation and asked:

_ Venerable, do you know how to read?

The Master replied:

_ To some extent.

With his hand, the monk traced this o-shaped sign and presented it. The Master brushed it away with the flap of his robe. The monk again made this o-shaped sign and presented it. With both hands, the Master made a gesture of throwing it behind his back. The monk raised his eyes and looked at the Master; the Master lowered his head. The monk circumambulated the Master once. The Master immediately struck him. The monk then departed.

]

The Master was sitting when a monk came and bowed. The Master did not look at him. The monk then asked:

_ Master, do you know written characters?

The Master replied:

_ To some extent.

The monk then circled once to the right and asked:

_ What character is this?

The Master traced the character + (ten) upon the monk’s body in reply.

The monk again circled once to the left and asked:

_ What character is this?

The Master changed the character + into the character 卍. The monk traced the sign o and raised it with both hands, like an asura holding the sun and moon in its palms, and asked:

_ What character is this?

The Master then traced this sign in reply.

The monk thereupon assumed the posture of the Star of Perfect Virtue.

The Master said:

_ Just so, just so. This is what all Buddhas protect and keep in mind. You are thus, and I too am thus. Guard it well yourself.

The monk bowed in thanks, leapt into the air, and departed.

At that time, a practitioner witnessed this. Five days later, he asked the Master about it. The Master said:

_ Did you see it?

The practitioner replied:

_ I saw him go out through the gate, leap into the air, and depart.

The Master said:

_ That was an arhat from India who came here to investigate my Way.

_ Although I have seen the various kinds of samadhi, I cannot discern the principle of this.

I shall explain its meaning so that you may readily understand. These are the eight kinds of samadhi: the ocean of awakening becomes the ocean of meaning, yet their fundamental essence is the same. There are cause and effect; neither the present moment nor another time ever departs from the grace of the Body Samadhi.

]

An Indian monk came for an interview. The Master traced a crescent moon on the ground. The monk approached and added a circular sign, then erased everything with his foot. The Master spread out both hands. The monk shook out his robe and departed.

]

The Master asked a monk:

_ From where have you just come?

The monk replied:

_ The South.

The Master raised his staff and asked:

_ Do the venerable adepts there speak of this?

_ No.

_ Since they do not speak of this, do they speak of that?

_ No.

The Master called:

_ Venerable sir!

The monk responded:

_ Yes.

The Master said:

_ Go to the congregation hall. (Enter the Sangha hall to pay respects to the head monk and the assembly.)

The monk immediately went out. The Master called him back:

_ Venerable sir!

The monk turned his head.

The Master said:

_ Come here!

The Master tapped him once on the head with his staff and said:

_ Go!

]

One day, the Master was sitting in the Dharma hall when he saw a monk enter from outside. After offering his greetings, the monk stood with folded hands on the eastern side and fixed his gaze upon the Master. The Master extended his left leg. The monk then walked with folded hands to the western side and stood there. The Master extended his right leg. The monk went with folded hands to the center and stood there. The Master drew both legs back. The monk bowed.

The Master said:

_ Since this old monk began residing here, I have never struck anyone.

The Master immediately seized his staff and struck the monk. The monk then leapt into the air and departed.

]

The Master was lying down when a monk came and asked:

_ Does the Dharma-body possess a Dharma by which it is liberated?

The Master said:

_ I cannot say, but there is someone who can.

_ Where is the one who can say it?

The Master pushed out his pillow.

Upon hearing of this, Guishan said, “Huiji acts upon the edge of a sword.”

]

The Master was sitting with his eyes closed when a monk stealthily approached and stood beside him. The Master opened his eyes, made a sign on the ground, and then looked up at the monk.

The monk was unable to reply.

]

The Master was walking, leaning upon his staff, when a monk asked:

_ What is in the Venerable’s hand?

The Master immediately placed the staff behind his back and asked:

_ Do you see it?

The monk was unable to reply.

]

A monk asked:

_ What is the Vairocana Master?

The Master immediately shouted at the monk. The monk asked:

_ What is the Venerable Master?

The Master said:

_ Do not be disrespectful.

]

The Master was discussing the principle of the Way with a monk when another monk standing nearby said:

_ Speech is Manjusri; silence is Vimalakirti.

The Master said:

_ Neither speaking nor remaining silent—is that not you?

The monk remained silent. The Master said:

_ Why do you not manifest spiritual powers?

_ I do not mind declining to manifest spiritual powers; I only fear that the Venerable would gather them into a doctrine.

_ Judging from where you have arrived, you do not yet possess the eye beyond the teachings.

]

How far apart are heaven and hell?

The Master took his staff and drew a line upon the ground.

]

While serving as abbot of Guanyin Monastery, the Master posted a notice outside: “While I am reading sutras, do not ask about matters.”

A monk came, bowed, and inquired after his health. Seeing the Master reading a sutra, the monk stood nearby and waited. The Master closed the sutra and asked:

_ Do you understand?

_ I was not reading the sutra; how could I understand?

_ You will understand later.

That monk went to Yantou. Yantou asked:

_ Where have you come from?

The monk replied:

_ From Guanyin Monastery in Jiangxi.

_ Did the Venerable give you any instruction?

The monk recounted the preceding incident. Yantou said:

_ Seeing that old fellow, I thought he had been buried beneath old paper, yet fundamentally he is still there.

]

The monk Siai asked:

_ Regarding the Chan school’s sudden awakening, what ultimately is the meaning of entering the gate?

The Master replied:

_ This matter is exceedingly difficult. If one is a descendant of the ancestral lineage, a person of the highest capacity and highest wisdom, then upon hearing one thing, one awakens to a thousand and attains the great dharani. But when people of inferior capacity and wisdom come here, they are all utterly bewildered.

_ Apart from this path, is there another place through which one may enter?

_ There is.

_ What must one do for it to be right?

_ Where is your native place?

_ Youzhou.

_ Do you think of that place?

_ I often think of it.

_ That which can think is mind; that which is thought of is the object. There are towers, gardens and groves, and multitudes of people and horses there. Try to think and see how many things there are.

_ Having arrived here, I see absolutely nothing at all.

_ Your understanding still lies within mind. It is acceptable at the stage of faith, but you have not yet attained the stage of a person.

_ Apart from this matter, is there any other meaning?

_ If there is either difference or no difference, it cannot be attained.

_ Having arrived here, what must one do for it to be right?

_ According to your present understanding, you have attained only the One Mystery. You may sit wearing the patched robe; afterward, examine it for yourself!

Siai bowed in thanks.

]

A monk asked:

_ Why, on the third occasion, was Tripitaka Master Dair not able to see National Teacher Huizhong?

The Master replied:

_ On the first two occasions, his mind was still attached to objects. On the final occasion, the National Teacher had entered right samadhi, and therefore the Tripitaka Master could not see him.

]

Guishan asked the Master:

_ In the encounter when Baizhang visited Mazu again, what was the intent of those two venerable adepts?

The Master replied:

_ The two venerable adepts demonstrated the great function of the great potential.

_ Mazu produced eighty-four good spiritual friends. How many attained the great potential, and how many attained the great function?

_ Baizhang attained the great potential, Huangbo attained the great function; all the others were teachers who expounded the Way.

_ Just so, just so.

]

Guishan raised the account of Baizhang asking Huangbo:

_ Where have you come from?

Huangbo replied:

_ From gathering mushrooms below Mount Daxiong.

Baizhang asked:

_ Did you see the great beast—a tiger?

Huangbo immediately made the sound of a tiger roaring. Baizhang seized an axe and made as though to strike. Huangbo immediately gave Baizhang a slap. Baizhang hummed and laughed, then returned to the abbot’s quarters. Ascending the hall, he addressed the assembly:

_ Below Mount Daxiong there is a great beast. You must all be on your guard. Today, this old Baizhang was personally mauled once by that great beast.

Guishan asked the Master:

_ What should have been done?

The Master replied:

_ Venerable, what is the matter with you?

_ At that moment, if Baizhang had taken the opportunity to strike it dead with one blow of the axe, how could matters have come to this?

_ It is not so.

_ What do you say?

_ Baizhang opened only the tiger’s head, but did not open the tiger’s tail.

_ You have posed a difficult question.

]

Guishan raised the account of Nanquan asking Huangbo:

_ “If samadhi and wisdom are both cultivated, one will clearly see Buddha-nature.” What of this principle?

Huangbo replied:

_ Throughout the twelve hours, rely upon not a single thing.

Nanquan asked:

_ Is that not the Elder’s own view?

Huangbo replied:

_ I dare not say so.

Nanquan asked:

_ Let us set aside the money for the soy sauce; to whom should the money for the straw sandals be repaid?

Huangbo then fell silent. Guishan asked the Master:

_ Was Huangbo bewildered and unable to answer Nanquan’s question?

The Master replied:

_ It was not so. You should know that Huangbo possessed the device for trapping a tiger.

Guishan praised him:

_ Your insight is exceptionally gifted.

]

When Huangbo was the head monk in Nanquan’s assembly, one day he carried his bowl to Nanquan’s central seat and sat down. Nanquan entered the Sangha hall, saw him, and asked:

_ Elder, what path have you been practicing this year?

Huangbo replied:

_ From before the time of Buddha King Awesome Voice.

Nanquan said:

_ You are still a descendant of Old Teacher Wang.

Huangbo immediately moved to the second seat and sat down. Nanquan then let the matter rest.

Guishan said to the Master:

_ The fellow who deceives the bandit will die.

The Master said:

_ It is not so. You should know that Huangbo possesses the device for trapping a tiger.

Guishan praised him:

_ Your insight is exceptionally gifted.

]

Guishan cited Huangbo’s words of instruction to the assembly:

_ All of you are merely dregs-eaters. Traveling on foot in this manner, where could you ever find a day such as today? Is there no Chan master in the Great Tang realm?

At that time, a monk stepped forward and said:

_ Venerable adepts everywhere gather assemblies and give instruction. Why do you say there are no Chan masters?

Huangbo said:

_ I do not say there is no Chan; it is only that there are no masters.

Guishan asked the Master:

_ What do you make of that?

The Master replied:

_ The king of geese can separate milk from water; ducks cannot compare with him.

Guishan said:

_ This fellow is truly difficult to discern.

]

Senior Monk Khoat came to consult Baizhang. Baizhang asked:

_ Acarya! May I ask you about one matter?

Khoat said:

_ Fortunately, I have not yet asked anything; how could an empty answer suffice?

Baizhang said:

_ Having taken Annam, one again worries that the north is obstructed.

Khoat opened his robe at the chest with his hands and said:

_ Like this, yet not like this.

Baizhang said:

_ Truly difficult to fathom, truly difficult to fathom.

Khoat said:

_ If you know, that will do; if you know, that will do.

The Master commented:

_ If someone understands where these two men came down, he may be called an extraordinary person. If he cannot discern it, he is no different from one who loses his way in broad daylight.

]

Wufeng asked a monk:

_ Where have you come from?

The monk replied:

_ I have come from the upper farmstead.

Wufeng asked:

_ Did you see the ox?

The monk replied:

_ I did.

Wufeng asked:

_ Did you see its left horn or its right horn?

The monk could not answer. Wufeng answered in his place:

_ I saw neither right nor left.

The Master commented:

_ Can you discern right from left?

]

A practitioner followed a Dharma master into the Buddha hall. The practitioner spat upon the Buddha image. The Dharma master rebuked him:

_ Practitioner, you are lacking in decorum. Why did you spit upon the Buddha image?

The practitioner replied:

_ Bring me a place where there is no Buddha, so that I may spit there.

The Dharma master could not answer. Guishan said:

_ A humane person is yet not a humane person; one who is not humane is instead a humane person.

The Master answered in the Dharma master’s place:

_ Go ahead and spit, practitioner!

The Master continued:

_ If the practitioner opens his mouth, say to him: “I have no place for you to come to.”

]

In responding to circumstances and benefiting beings—teaching and transforming sentient beings—the Master was an exemplar within the Chan school.

Later, the Master moved to Dongping Monastery. As he was about to pass away, two or three monks stood in attendance. The Master instructed them with this verse:

Nhất nhị nhị tam tử

Binh nhật phục ngưỡng thị

Lưỡng Khẩu nhất vô thiệt

Tức thị ngô tông chỉ.

Translation:

Two or three young disciples,

Day after day we see one another.

Having mouths, yet having no tongues—

This is the essential principle of my school.

At noon, the Master ascended the seat to bid farewell to the assembly and recited another verse:

Niên mãn thất thập thất

Vô thường tại kim nhật.

Nhật luân chánh đương ngọ

Lưỡng thủ phan khuất tất.

Translation:

My years have reached seventy-seven;

Impermanence is here today.

The sun’s disk stands precisely at noon;

With both hands clasping my bent knees, I depart.

Having finished speaking, the Master embraced his knees with both hands and passed away.

In the Yueming era, Chan Master Nanta moved the Master’s sacred remains to Guiyang and built a memorial stupa below Jiyun Mountain. The king bestowed upon him the title Chan Master Zhitong, and named the stupa Wondrous Light.