景德傳燈錄
Chinese title:景德傳燈錄
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THE THIRTY-FIRST PATRIARCH, GREAT MASTER ĐẠO TÍN,
FROM WHOSE COLLATERAL LINEAGES OVER NINE GENERATIONS CAME 76 DHARMA HEIRS
The ancestral lineage continued for six generations at Mount Ngưu Đầu in Kim Lăng.
First generation: Chan Master Pháp Dung;
Second generation: Chan Master Trí Nham;
Third generation: Chan Master Huệ Phương;
Fourth generation: Chan Master Pháp Trì;
Fifth generation: Chan Master Trí Oai;
Sixth generation: Chan Master Huệ Trung.
(The six persons above are recorded.)
The Dharma heirs(53) of the six generations of patriarchs above numbered 70 persons.
From Chan Master Pháp Dung, collateral lineages over three generations comprised 12 persons:
1. Chan Master Đàm Thôi at Chung Sơn in Kim Lăng (One person is recorded);
2. Chan Master Đại Tố in Kinh Châu; 3. Chan Master Nguyệt Không at U Thê; 4. Chan Master Đạo Diễn of Bạch Mã Monastery; 5. Chan Master Định Trang in Tân An; 6. Chan Master Trí Thả in Bành Thành; 7. Chan Master Đạo Thọ in Quảng Châu; 8. Chan Master Trí Sảng in Hồ Châu; 9. Chan Master Đỗ Mặc in Tân Châu; 10. Chan Master Trí Thành in Thượng Nguyên;
11. Chan Master Định Chơn (from Chan Master Trí Thành);
12. Chan Master Như Độ (from Chan Master Định Chơn).
(The eleven persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
From Chan Master Trí Nham, collateral lineages comprised eight persons:
1. Chan Master Kính Đàm in the Eastern Capital; 2. Chan Master Chí Trường in Tương Châu; 3. Chan Master Nghĩa Chơn in Hồ Châu; 4. Chan Master Đoan Phục in Ích Châu; 5. Chan Master Quy Nhơn at Long Quang; 6. Chan Master Biện Tài in Tương Dương; 7. Chan Master Pháp Tuấn in Hán Nam; and 8. Chan Master Mẫn Cổ in Tây Châu.
(The eight persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
From Chan Master Pháp Trì, collateral lineages comprised two persons:
1. Chan Master Huyền Tố of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
2. Chan Master Hoằng Nhơn at Thiên Trụ.
(The two persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
From Chan Master Trí Oai, collateral lineages over four generations comprised 12 persons:
1. Great Master Huyền Đĩnh of An Quốc Monastery in Tuyên Châu;
2. Chan Master Huyền Tố of Hạc Lâm Monastery in Nhuận Châu;
3. Chan Master Sùng Huệ of Mount Thiên Trụ in Thư Châu;
(The three persons above were from Chan Master Trí Oai.)
4. Chan Master Đạo Khâm at Kính Sơn in Hàng Châu (from Chan Master Huyền Tố);
5. Chan Master Đạo Lâm, known as Điểu Khòa, in Hàng Châu (from Chan Master Đạo Khâm); 6. Chan Master Hội Thông of Chiêu Hiền Monastery in Hàng Châu (from a collateral lineage of Điểu Khòa); (The six persons above are recorded.)
7. Chan Master Bảo Quán at Linh Nham (from Chan Master Trí Oai);
8. Chan Master Đàm Ích of Mount Kim Hoa; 9. Chan Master Viên Kính at Ngô Môn (The two came from collateral lineages of Chan Master Huyền Tố);
10. Chan Master Ngộ of Mount Mộc Chử; 11. Chan Master Quảng Phu in Thanh Dương; 12. Chan Master Sùng Huệ of Mount Cân Tử in Hàng Châu (The three came from collateral lineages of Chan Master Khâm at Kính Sơn).
(The six persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
The old edition did not clearly record the generational sequence of those listed above. Here, notes identifying each Dharma heir have been added according to the respective entries, forming four generations in all.
From Chan Master Huệ Trung, collateral lineages over two generations comprised 36 persons (Apart from two persons—Vân Cư Trí at Thiên Thai and Thanh Nguyên of Thê Hà Monastery in Nhuận Châu—all came from collateral lineages of Chan Master Huệ Trung).
1. Chan Master Duy Tắc of Phật Quật Cave on Mount Thiên Thai;
2. Chan Master Vân Cư Trí of Mount Thiên Thai (from Chan Master Duy Tắc); (The two persons above are recorded.)
3. Chan Master Đạo Tánh of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
4. Chan Master Trí Đăng in Giang Ninh;
5. Chan Master Hồi Tín in Giải County;
6. Chan Master Tồn of Hạc Lâm Monastery;
7. Chan Master Hồi Cổ at Bắc Sơn;
8. Chan Master Quán Tông in Minh Châu;
9. Chan Master Đại Trí of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
10. Chan Master Thiện Đạo of Bạch Mã Monastery;
11. Chan Master Trí Chơn of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
12. Chan Master Đàm Ngung of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
13. Chan Master Vân Thao of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
14. Chan Master Ngưng of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
15. Chan Master Pháp Lương of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
16. Chan Master Hành Ứng in Giang Ninh;
17. Chan Master Huệ Lương of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
18. Chan Master Đạo Dung at Hưng Thiện;
19. Chan Master Chiếu Minh at Tưởng Sơn;
20. Chan Master Pháp Đăng of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
21. Chan Master Định Không of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
22. Chan Master Huệ Thiệp of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
23. Chan Master Đạo Ngộ at U Thê;
24. Chan Master Ngưng Không of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
25. Chan Master Đạo Sơ at Tưởng Sơn;
26. Chan Master Tạng at U Thê;
27. Chan Master Linh Huy of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
28. Chan Master Đạo Dĩnh at U Thê;
29. Chan Master Cự Anh of Mount Ngưu Đầu;
30. Chan Master Pháp Thường at Thích Sơn;
31. Chan Master Ngưng Tịch at Long Môn;
32. Chan Master Viễn of Trang Nghiêm Monastery;
33. Chan Master Đạo Kiên in Tương Châu;
34. Bhikshuni Minh Ngộ;
35. Layman Ân Tịnh Kỷ;
36. Chan Master Thanh Nguyên of Thê Hà Monastery in Nhuận Châu (from Huệ Thiệp).
(The 34 persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
THE THIRTY-SECOND PATRIARCH, GREAT MASTER HOẰNG NHẪN,
FROM WHOSE COLLATERAL LINEAGES OVER FIVE GENERATIONS CAME 107 PERSONS
The first generation comprised 13 persons:
1. Chan Master Thần Tú of the Northern School;
2. National Preceptor Huệ An of Mount Tung Nhạc;
3. Chan Master Đạo Minh at Mông Sơn in Viên Châu;
(The three persons above are recorded.)
4. Chan Master Đàm Quang of Phụng Pháp Monastery in Dương Châu;
5. Chan Master Thần Tháo in Tùy Châu;
6. Chan Master Pháp Trì in Kim Châu;
7. Chan Master Trí Săn in Tư Châu;
8. Chan Master Pháp Chiếu in Thư Châu;
9. Chan Master Nghĩa Phương in Việt Châu;
10. Chan Master Đạo Tuấn in Chi Giang;
11. Chan Master Huyền Trách in Thường Châu;
12. Chan Master Tăng Đạt in Việt Châu;
13. Registrar Lưu of Mount Bạch Tùng;
(The ten persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
The second generation comprised 37 persons:
Chan Master Thần Tú of the Northern School had 19 Dharma heirs:
1. Chan Master Cự Phương at Mount Ngũ Đài; 2. Chan Master Trí Phong of Mount Trung Điều in Hà Trung Prefecture; 3. Chan Master Hàng Ma Tạng in Duyện Châu; 4. Chan Master Đạo Thọ in Thọ Châu; 5. Chan Master Tồn Thực of Mount Đô Lương in Hồi Nam;
(The five persons above are recorded.)
6. Chan Master Từ Lãng in Kinh Châu; 7. Chan Master Phổ Tịch at Mount Tung; 8. Chan Master Hương Dục of Mount Đại Phật; 9. Chan Master Nghĩa Phước in the Western Capital; 10. Chan Master Hốt Lôi Trừng; 11. Chan Master Nhật in the Eastern Capital; 12. Chan Master Biến Tịnh in Thái Nguyên; 13. Chan Master Nguyên Quán at Nam Nhạc; 14. Chan Master Đỗ in Nhữ Nam; 15. Chan Master Kính at Mount Tung; 16. Chan Master Tiểu Phước in Kinh Triệu; 17. Chan Master Quán at Mount Hoắc in Tấn Châu; 18. Chan Master Sùng Khuê at Mount Mao in Nhuận Châu; 19. Chan Master Hồi Không in An Lục.
(The fourteen persons above have no records of encounters or sayings and are not recorded.)
National Preceptor Huệ An of Mount Tung Nhạc and the other first-generation Chan masters had 18 Dharma heirs.
Six persons were from National Preceptor Huệ An:
1. Chan Master Nhân Kiệm of Phước Tiên Monastery in Lạc Kinh; 2. Venerable Phá Táo Đọa of Mount Tung Nhạc; 3. Chan Master Nguyên Khuê of Mount Tung Nhạc;
(The three persons above are recorded.)
4. Chan Master Thản Nhiên in Thường Sơn; 5. Chan Master Viên Tịch in Nghiệp Đô; 6. Chan Master Đạo Lượng in the Western Capital.
Five persons came from collateral lineages of Chan Master Đạo Lượng: 7. Lý Hiếu Dật, Chief Administrator of Dương Châu; 8. Trương Tích, Minister of Works; 9. Thôi Dung, Chancellor of the Imperial Academy; 10. Hạ Tri Chương, Director of the Palace Library; 11. Khang Săn, Prefect of Mục Châu.
One person was from Chan Master Thần Tháo of Tùy Châu: 12. Chan Master Chánh Thọ.
Three persons were from Chan Master Đạo Minh at Mông Sơn: 13. Chan Master Sùng Tịch in Hồng Châu; 14. Chan Master Khôi in Giang Tây; 15. Chan Master Thần Trinh in Phủ Châu.
One person descended from Chan Master Trí Săn of Tư Châu: 16. Chan Master Xử Tịch of Tư Châu.
Two people descended from Chan Master Huyền Trách of Thường Châu: 17. Chan Master Thần Phỉ of Nghĩa Hưng; 18. Chan Master Sướng of Hồ Châu.
(The fifteen people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The third generation comprised forty-nine people (the Chan lineage of Thần Tú):
Three were first-generation Dharma heirs of Chan Master Từ Lãng of Kinh Châu: 1. Chan Master Huyền Tông of Tử Kim; 2. Chan Master Thường of Đại Mai Mountain, Minh Châu; 3. Chan Master Thận Huy of Chuyên Giới.
(The three people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Forty-six were Dharma heirs in the lineage of Chan Master Phổ Tịch of Tung Sơn.
. Twenty-four people descended from Chan Master Phổ Tịch:
4. Chan Master Duy Chánh of Chung Nam Mountain (one person is included); 5. Chan Master Huệ Không of Quảng Phước Monastery; 6. Chan Master Thường Việt; 7. Chan Master Tư of Giáp Thạch Mountain, Tương Châu; 8. Chan Master Minh
Toản; 9. Chan Master Chơn of Kính Ái Monastery; 10. Chan Master Thủ Hiền of Duyện Châu; 11.
Chan Master Thạch Tạng of Định Châu; 12. Chan Master Trừng Tâm of Nam Nhạc; 13. Chan Master Nhật Chiếu of Nam Nhạc; 14.
Chan Master Cán of Đồng Đức Monastery, Lạc Kinh; 15. Chan Master Chơn Lượng of Tô Châu; 16. Chan Master Tuyền of Ngõa Quan Monastery; 17.
Chan Master Pháp Dung of Dặc Dương; 18. Chan Master Diễn of Quảng Lăng; 19. Chan Master Huệ Không of Thiểm Châu; 20.
Chan Master Chơn Lượng of Lạc Kinh; 21. Chan Master Tuyên Nguyệt of Trạch Châu; 22. Chan Master Đàm Chơn of Bạc Châu; 23.
Chan Master Sùng Diễn of Đô Lương Mountain; 24. Chan Master Trừng of Chương Kính Monastery, Kinh Triệu; 25. Chan Master Nhất Hạnh of Tung Dương Monastery; 26.
Chan Master Dung of Sơn Bắc Monastery, Kinh Triệu; 27. Layman Đinh of Định Đào, Tào Châu.
. Eight people descended from Chan Master Nghĩa Phước of the Western Capital:
28. Chan Master Đại Hùng Mãnh; 29. Chan Master Đại Chấn Động of the Western Capital; 30. Chan Master Thần Phỉ; 31. Chan Master Đại Bi Quang of the Western Capital; 32. Chan Master Đại Ẩn of the Western Capital; 33. Chan Master Định Cảnh; 34. Chan Master Đạo Bá; 35. Chan Master Huyền Chứng.
. Three people descended from Chan Master Hàng Ma Tạng:
36. Chan Master Tịch Mãn of the Western Capital; 37. Chan Master Định Trang of the Western Capital; 38. Chan Master Huệ Ẩn of Nam Nhạc.
. One person descended from Chan Master Nguyên Quán of Nam Nhạc:
39. Chan Master Thần Chiếu.
. Three people descended from Chan Master Tiểu Phước of Kinh Triệu:
40. Chan Master Thâm Tịch of Lam Điền, Kinh Triệu; 41. Chan Master Nhật Một Vân of Thái Bạch Mountain; 42. Chan Master Pháp Siêu of Đông Bạch Mountain.
. One person descended from Chan Master Quán of Hoắc Sơn:
43. Chan Master U of Hiện Sơn.
. Four people descended from Chan Master Xử Tịch of Tư Châu (in the lineage of Chan Master Trí Săn):
44. Chan Master Vô Tướng of Ích Châu; 45. Chan Master Mã of Trường Tùng Mountain, Ích Châu; 46. Chan Master Siêu; 47. Chan Master Hiểu Liễu of Tử Châu.
. Two people descended from Chan Master Thần Phỉ of Nghĩa Hưng (in the lineage of Chan Master Huyền Trách):
48. Chan Master Trí Du of the Western Capital; 49. Chan Master Trí Thâm of the Eastern Capital.
(The forty-five people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The fourth generation comprised seven people:
Two were Dharma heirs of Chan Master Duy Chánh of Hưng Thiện Monastery on Chung Nam Mountain (in the lineage of Chan Master Phổ Tịch):
1. Chan Master Định Tâm of Hành Châu; 2. Chan Master Chí Chơn of Kính Ái Monastery.
(The two people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Four people descended from Chan Master Vô Tướng of Ích Châu (in the lineage of Chan Master Xử Tịch of Tư Châu):
3. Chan Master Vô Trụ of Bảo Đường Monastery, Ích Châu (one person is included); 4. Chan Master Dung of Minh Nguyệt Mountain, Kinh Châu; 5. Dhuta Vương of Vân Đảnh Mountain, Hán Châu; 6. Chan Master Thần Hội of Tịnh Chúng Monastery, Ích Châu.
. One person descended from Chan Master Thận Huy of Chuyên Giới (in the lineage of Chan Master Từ Lãng of Kinh Châu):
7. Chan Master Vũ Giới.
(The four people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The fifth generation comprised one person, a Dharma heir of Chan Master Chí Chơn of Kính Ái Monastery (in the lineage of Chan Master Duy Chánh):
1. Chan Master Chiếu of Tung Sơn.
(The one person above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and is therefore not included.)
The Dharma heirs of the Thirty-first Patriarch, Master Đạo Tín, comprised 180 people: three within the direct line and seventy-six collateral descendants.
The six generations of patriarchs at Ngưu Đầu Mountain in Kim Lăng are recorded:
First generation: Chan Master Pháp Dung;
Second generation: Chan Master Trí Nham;
Third generation: Chan Master Huệ Phương;
Fourth generation: Chan Master Pháp Trì;
Fifth generation: Chan Master Trí Oai;
Sixth generation: Chan Master Huệ Trung.
Eighty people were Dharma heirs of the patriarchal line through six generations:
Twelve collateral descendants from Chan Master Pháp Dung through three generations:
1. Chan Master Đàm Thôi of Chung Sơn, Kim Lăng (one person is included); 2. Chan Master Đại Tố of Kinh Châu; 3. Chan Master Nguyệt Không of U Thê; 4. Chan Master Đạo Diễn of Bạch Mã Monastery; 5. Chan Master Định Trang of Tân An; 6. Chan Master Trí Thả of Bành Thành; 7. Chan Master Đạo Thọ of Quảng Châu; 8. Chan Master Trí Sảng of Hồ Châu; 9. Chan Master Đỗ Mặc of Tân Châu; 10. Chan Master Trí Thành of Thượng Nguyên;
11. Chan Master Định Chơn (in the lineage of Chan Master Trí Thành);
12. Chan Master Như Độ (in the lineage of Chan Master Định Chơn).
(The eleven people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Eight collateral descendants from Chan Master Trí Nham:
1. Chan Master Kính Đàm of the Eastern Capital; 2. Chan Master Chí Trường of Tương Châu; 3. Chan Master Nghĩa Chơn of Hồ Châu; 4. Chan Master Đoan Phục of Ích Châu; 5. Chan Master Quy Nhân of Long Quang; 6. Chan Master Biện Tài of Tương Dương; 7. Chan Master Pháp Tuấn of Hán Nam; and 8. Chan Master Mẫn Cổ of Tây Xuyên.
(The eight people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Two collateral descendants from Chan Master Pháp Trì:
1. Chan Master Huyền Tố of Ngưu Đầu Mountain;
2. Chan Master Hoằng Nhơn of Thiên Trụ.
(The two people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Twelve collateral descendants from Chan Master Trí Oai through three generations:
1. Master Huyền Đĩnh of An Quốc Monastery, Tuyên Châu; 2. Chan Master Huyền Tố of Hạc Lâm Monastery, Nhuận Châu; 3. Chan Master Sùng Huệ of Thiên Trụ Mountain, Thư Châu; 4. Chan Master Đạo Khâm of Kính Sơn, Hàng Châu; 5. Chan Master Đạo Lâm Điểu Khòa of Hàng Châu; 6. Chan Master Hội Thông of Chiêu Hiền Monastery, Hàng Châu.
(The six people above are included.)
Two people descended from Huyền Tố:
7. Chan Master Đàm Ích of Kim Hoa Mountain; 8. Chan Master Viên Cảnh of Ngô Môn.
Three people descended from Đạo Khâm:
9. Chan Master Ngộ of Mộc Chử Mountain; 10. Chan Master Quảng Phu of Thanh Dương; 11. Chan Master Sùng Huệ of Cân Tử Mountain, Hàng Châu.
One person descended from Đạo Lâm:
12. Chan Master Bảo Quán of Linh Nham.
(The six people above left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Thirty-six collateral descendants from Chan Master Huệ Trung through two generations:
1. Chan Master Duy Tắc of Phật Quật Cave on Thiên Thai Mountain; 2. Chan Master Vân Cư Trí of Thiên Thai Mountain (a collateral descendant of Chan Master Duy Tắc of Thiên Thai).
(The two people above are included.)
3. Chan Master Đạo Tánh of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 4. Chan Master Trí Đăng of Giang Ninh; 5.
Chan Master Hồi Tín of Giải Huyền; 6. Chan Master Tồn of Hạc Lâm Monastery; 7. Chan Master Hồi Cổ of Bắc Sơn; 8.
Chan Master Quán Tông of Minh Châu; 9. Chan Master Đại Trí of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 10. Chan Master Thiện Đạo of Bạch Mã Monastery; 11.
Chan Master Trí Chơn of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 12. Chan Master Đàm Ngung of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 13. Chan Master Vân Thao of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 14.
Chan Master Ngưng of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 15. Chan Master Pháp Lương of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 16. Chan Master Hành Ứng of Giang Ninh; 17.
Chan Master Huệ Lương of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 18. Chan Master Đạo Dung of Hưng Thiện; 19. Chan Master Chiếu Minh of Mount Tưởng; 20.
Chan Master Pháp Đăng of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 21. Chan Master Định Không of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 22. Chan Master Huệ Thiệp of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 23.
Chan Master Đạo Ngộ of U Thê; 24. Chan Master Ngưng Không of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 25. Chan Master Đạo Sơ of Mount Tưởng; 26.
Chan Master Tạng of U Thê; 27. Chan Master Linh Huy of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 28. Chan Master Đạo Dĩnh of U Thê; 29.
Chan Master Cự Anh of Mount Ngưu Đầu; 30. Chan Master Pháp Thường of Mount Thích; 31. Chan Master Ngưng Tịch of Long Môn; 32.
Chan Master Viễn of Trang Nghiêm Monastery; 33. Chan Master Đạo Kiên of Tương Châu; 34. Bhikshuni Minh Ngộ; 35.
Layman Ân Tịnh Kỷ;
One person descended from Huệ Thiệp: 36. Chan Master Thanh Nguyên of Thê Hà Monastery, Nhuận Châu.
(The preceding 34 persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The Thirty-Second Patriarch, GREAT MASTER HOẰNG NHẪN, had 107 collateral descendants over five generations.
The first generation comprised 13 persons:
1. Chan Master Thần Tú of the Northern School; 2. National Preceptor Huệ An of Mount Tung Nhạc; 3. Chan Master Đạo Minh of Mông Sơn, Viên Châu;
(The preceding three persons are included.)
4. Chan Master Đàm Quang of Phụng Pháp Monastery, Dương Châu; 5. Chan Master Thần Tháo of Tùy Châu; 6. Chan Master Pháp Trì of Kim Châu; 7. Chan Master Trí Săn of Tư Châu; 8. Chan Master Pháp Chiếu of Thư Châu; 9. Chan Master Nghĩa Phương of Việt Châu; 10. Chan Master Đạo Tuấn of Chi Giang; 11. Chan Master Huyền Trách of Thường Châu; 12. Chan Master Tăng Đạt of Việt Châu; 13. Registrar Lưu of Mount Bạch Tùng.
(The preceding ten persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The second generation comprised 37 persons:
Nineteen were Dharma heirs of Chan Master Thần Tú of the Northern School:
1. Chan Master Cự Phương of Mount Ngũ Đài; 2. Chan Master Trí Phong of Mount Trung Điều, Hà Trung Prefecture; 3. Chan Master Hàng Ma Tạng of Duyện Châu; 4. Chan Master Đạo Thọ of Thọ Châu; 5. Chan Master Tồn Thực of Mount Đô Lương, Hồi Nam;
(The preceding five persons are included.)
6. Chan Master Từ Lãng of Kinh Châu; 7. Chan Master Phổ Tịch of Mount Tung; 8. Chan Master Hương Dục of Mount Đại Phật; 9. Chan Master Nghĩa Phước of the Western Capital; 10. Chan Master Hốt Lôi Trừng; 11. Chan Master Nhật of the Eastern Capital; 12. Chan Master Biến Tịnh of Thái Nguyên; 13. Chan Master Nguyên Quán of Nam Nhạc; 14. Chan Master Đỗ of Nhữ Nam; 15. Chan Master Kính of Mount Tung; 16. Chan Master Tiểu Phước of Kinh Triệu; 17. Chan Master Quán of Mount Hoắc, Tấn Châu; 18. Chan Master Sùng Khuê of Mount Mao, Nhuận Châu; 19. Chan Master Hồi Không of An Lục.
(The preceding fourteen persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Eighteen were Dharma heirs of National Preceptor Huệ An of Tung Nhạc.
1. Chan Master Nhân Kiệm of Phước Tiên Monastery, the Capital of Lạc;
2. Venerable Phá Táo Đọa of Tung Nhạc;
3. Chan Master Nguyên Khuê of Tung Nhạc;
(The preceding three persons are included.)
4. Chan Master Thản Nhiên of Thường Sơn; 5. Chan Master Viên Tịch of Nghiệp Đô; 6. Chan Master Đạo Lượng of the Western Capital.
Five persons descended from Đạo Lượng:
7. Lý Hiếu Dật, Grand Commander of Dương Châu; 8. Trương Tích, Minister of the Ministry of Works; 9. Thôi Dung, Chancellor of the Imperial Academy; 10. Hạ Tri Chương, Director of the Palace Library; 11. Khang Săn, Prefect of Mục Châu.
One person descended from Chan Master Thần Tháo of Tùy Châu:
12. Chan Master Chánh Thọ.
Three persons descended from Chan Master Đạo Minh of Mông Sơn:
13. Chan Master Sùng Tịch of Hồng Châu; 14. Chan Master Khôi of Giang Tây; 15. Chan Master Thần Trinh of Phủ Châu.
One person descended from Chan Master Trí Săn of Tư Châu: 16. Chan Master Xử Tịch of Tư Châu.
Two persons descended from Chan Master Huyền Trách of Thường Châu: 17. Chan Master Thần Phỉ of Nghĩa Hưng; 18. Chan Master Sướng of Hồ Châu.
(The preceding fifteen persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The third generation comprised 49 persons:
Three were Dharma heirs of Chan Master Từ Lãng of Kinh Châu:
1. Chan Master Huyền Tông of Tử Kim; 2. Chan Master Thường of Mount Đại Mai, Minh Châu; 3. Chan Master Thận Huy of Chuyên Giới.
(The preceding three persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Forty-six were Dharma heirs of Chan Master Phổ Tịch of Mount Tung.
4. Chan Master Duy Chánh of Mount Chung Nam (this one person is included); 5. Chan Master Huệ Không of Quảng Phước Monastery; 6.
Chan Master Thường Việt; 7. Chan Master Tư of Mount Giáp Thạch, Tương Châu; 8. Chan Master Minh Toản; 9.
Chan Master Chơn of Kính Ái Monastery; 10. Chan Master Thủ Hiền of Duyện Châu; 11. Chan Master Thạch Tạng of Định Châu; 12.
Chan Master Trừng Tâm of Nam Nhạc; 13. Chan Master Nhật Chiếu of Nam Nhạc; 14. Chan Master Cán of Đồng Đức Monastery, the Capital of Lạc; 15.
Chan Master Chơn Lượng of Tô Châu; 16. Chan Master Tuấn (or Tuyền?) of Ngõa Quan Monastery; 17. Chan Master Pháp Dung of Dặc Dương; 18.
Chan Master Diễn of Quảng Lăng; 19. Chan Master Huệ Không of Thiểm Châu; 20. Chan Master Chơn Lượng of the Capital of Lạc; 21.
Chan Master Tuyên Nguyệt of Trạch Châu; 22. Chan Master Đàm Chơn of Bạc Châu; 23. Chan Master Sùng Diễn of Mount Đô Lương; 24.
Chan Master Trừng of Chương Kính Monastery, Kinh Triệu; 25. Chan Master
Nhất Hạnh of Tung Dương Monastery; 26. Chan Master Dung of Sơn Bắc Monastery, Kinh Triệu; 27. Layman Đinh of Định Đào, Tào Châu.
Eight persons descended from Chan Master Nghĩa Phước of the Western Capital:
28. Chan Master Đại Hùng Mãnh; 29. Chan Master Đại Chấn Động of the Western Capital; 30. Chan Master Thần Phỉ; 31. Chan Master Đại Bi Quang of the Western Capital; 32. Chan Master Đại Ẩn of the Western Capital; 33. Chan Master Định Cảnh; 34. Chan Master Đạo Bá; 35. Chan Master Huyền Chứng.
Three persons descended from Chan Master Hàng Ma Tạng:
36. Chan Master Tịch Mãn of the Western Capital; 37. Chan Master Định Trang of the Western Capital; 38. Chan Master Huệ Ẩn of Nam Nhạc.
One person descended from Chan Master Nguyên Quán of Nam Nhạc:
39. Chan Master Thần Chiếu.
. Three persons descended from Chan Master Tiểu Phước:
40. Chan Master Thâm Tịch of Lam Điền, Kinh Triệu; 41. Chan Master Nhật Một Vân of Mount Thái Bạch; 42. Chan Master Pháp Siêu of Mount Đông Bạch.
One person descended from Chan Master Quán of Mount Hoắc:
43. Chan Master U of Mount Hiện.
Four persons descended from Chan Master Xử Tịch of Tư Châu:
44. Chan Master Vô Tướng of Ích Châu; 45. Chan Master Mã of Mount Trường Tùng, Ích Châu; 46. Chan Master Siêu; 47. Chan Master Hiểu Liễu of Tử Châu.
Two persons descended from Chan Master Thần Phỉ of Nghĩa Hưng:
48. Chan Master Trí Du of the Western Capital; 49. Chan Master Trí Thâm of the Eastern Capital.
(The preceding forty-five persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
The fourth generation comprised seven persons:
Two were Dharma heirs of Chan Master Duy Chánh of Hưng Thiện:
1. Chan Master Định Tâm of Hành Châu; 2. Chan Master Chí Chơn of Kính Ái Monastery.
(The preceding two persons left no recorded encounter dialogues or sayings and are therefore not included.)
Five were Dharma heirs of Chan Master Vô Tướng of Ích Châu:
3. Chan Master Vô Trụ of Bảo Đường Monastery, Ích Châu (this one person is included); 4. Chan Master Dung of Mount Minh Nguyệt, Kinh Châu; 5. Dhutanga practitioner Vương of Mount Vân Đỉnh, Hán Châu; 6. Chan Master Thần Hội of Tịnh Chúng Monastery, Ích Châu.
One disciple of Chan Master Shen Hui of Zhuanjie:
7. Chan Master Wujie.
(The four persons above left no records of encounters or sayings, so nothing is recorded.)
In the fifth generation, there was one Dharma successor of Chan Master Zhizhen of Jing’ai Monastery:
1. Chan Master Zhao of Mount Song.
(He left no records of encounters or sayings, so nothing is recorded.)
DHARMA SUCCESSORS BRANCHING OFF FROM
THE THIRTY-FIRST PATRIARCH, GREAT MASTER DAOXIN
THE SIX GENERATIONS OF THE NIUTOU LINEAGE
AT JINLING
First generation: CHAN MASTER FARONG.
He was a native of Yanling in Runzhou, and his family name was Wei. At the age of nineteen, he had mastered the classics and histories. Upon studying the Mahaprajnaparamita corpus, he thoroughly understood the principle of true emptiness. One day he suddenly sighed, “The Confucian Way and worldly books are not the ultimate Dharma. The right contemplation of prajnaparamita is the vessel that crosses the ocean of the world.”
He then withdrew to Mount Mao, where he relied upon a teacher and entered monastic life. Later, he entered a stone chamber in a cavern north of Youqi Monastery on Mount Niutou. There occurred the extraordinary omen of hundreds of species of birds bringing flowers in their beaks.
During the Zhenguan era of the Tang dynasty (627–649, reign of Emperor Taizong), the Fourth Patriarch saw an unusual atmosphere over the mountain from afar and knew that an extraordinary person dwelt there. The Patriarch personally went in search of him and asked the monks in the monastery whether there was a man of the Way there.
A monk replied:
– Among those who have left home, who is not a man of the Way?
The Patriarch asked:
– Who is a man of the Way?
That monk could not answer. Another monk said:
– About ten miles from here in the mountains, there is a lazy man named Rong. When he meets people, he neither rises nor joins his palms in greeting. Could he perhaps be the man of the Way?
The Patriarch then entered the mountains and met the Master. He saw the Master sitting upright, wholly unconcerned, as though there were nothing worth noticing. The Patriarch asked:
– What are you doing here?
The Master replied:
– Contemplating mind.
The Patriarch asked:
– Who is it that contemplates? What thing is mind?
The Master could not answer, so he immediately rose and bowed.
The Master asked:
– Where does the eminent and virtuous master reside?
The Patriarch replied:
– This poor monk has no fixed abode, being here at one time and elsewhere at another.
The Master asked:
– Do you know Chan Master Daoxin?
The Patriarch asked:
– Why do you ask about him?
The Master replied:
– I have long admired his virtue and have hoped to pay my respects to him in person just once.
He replied:
– This poor monk is none other than Chan Master Daoxin.
The Master asked:
– Why have you compassionately deigned to come here?
The Patriarch said:
– I came especially to visit you. Is there nowhere here where one may rest?
The Master pointed behind him and said:
– There is only that little hermitage.
The Master then led the Patriarch to the hermitage. All around it, they saw only tigers and wolves. The Patriarch raised both hands and made a show of fear.
The Master asked:
– Is that still present?
The Patriarch asked in return:
– What did you just see?
The Master could not answer. After a moment, the Patriarch wrote the character “Buddha” on the stone where the Master sat in meditation.
Seeing this, the Master made a show of fear. The Patriarch asked:
– Is that still present?
The Master did not yet clearly understand, so he bowed reverently and asked the Patriarch to explain the true essential principle.
The Patriarch said:
– All the hundreds of thousands of Dharma gates return to the square inch of mind; wondrous virtues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges all abide in the source of mind. All the gates of moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom, together with spiritual powers and miraculous transformations, are inherently complete and never apart from your mind. All karmic obstructions and afflictions have from the beginning been empty and quiescent. All causes and effects are like dreams and illusions. There are no three realms from which to escape, and no bodhi to seek. The nature of human and nonhuman beings is equal. The Great Way is empty and open, beyond thought and deliberation.
You have now attained such a Dharma, wholly complete and lacking nothing. There is no other Dharma besides it. How are you different from the Buddha? You need only take responsibility for this free and unhindered mind. Do not engage in contemplative practices, nor hold the mind rigidly in concentration. Then there will be no one who gives rise to greed or anger and nothing that bears sorrow or anxiety. Vast, open, and unobstructed, you may roam freely as you please. Neither doing good deeds nor doing evil deeds, whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, whatever meets the eye and whatever conditions you encounter are all the Buddha’s wondrous functioning—joyful and free of care. Therefore, this is called Buddha.
The Master asked:
– If mind is already complete, who is Buddha, and what is mind?
The Patriarch replied:
– Were it not mind, there would be no one to ask about Buddha. Since you ask about Buddha, how could there be no mind?
The Master asked:
– Since you do not permit the practice of contemplation, when mind arises in response to objects, how should it be counteracted?
The Patriarch replied:
– Objective conditions themselves have neither good nor bad; good and bad arise from mind. If mind does not follow names, from where could deluded feelings arise? Once deluded feelings no longer arise, true mind naturally knows all things universally. You need only follow the mind in freedom and no longer need to counteract anything. This is called the eternally abiding Dharma body, which undergoes no change.
I received this Dharma gate of the sudden teaching from Great Master Sengcan, and I now transmit it to you. Receive my words correctly and remain on this mountain alone. Later, five people who attain the principle will succeed you in teaching the profound gate.
(Master Guifeng commented: “He dissolved the doctrine of indeterminate neutrality, discarded the doctrinal characteristics, and gave his seal of verification.”
A monk asked Nanquan:
– Before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch, why did birds and beasts bring flowers as offerings?
Nanquan replied:
– Because with every step he trod upon the Buddha’s stairway.
Dongshan replied:
– It was like looking at a jewel in the palm of one’s hand; his attention never left it even for a moment.
The monk asked:
– After Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch, why did the birds and beasts cease to come?
Nanquan replied:
– Though they did not come, he was still one road away from Old Teacher Wang.
Dongshan replied:
– His body had already become thoroughly free(54).
Another venerable master gave a single answer to both preceding questions:
– Thieves do not raid the house of a poor man.
A monk asked an old worthy:
– What was it like before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?
He replied:
– Like leaves joined to the branch.
The monk asked:
– What was it like after he met him?
He replied:
– On an autumn night, the leaves fall one after another.
Another monk asked Chan Master Qian of Yongming in Wuyue:
– What was it like before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?
Qian replied:
– Niutou.
The monk asked:
– What was it like after he met him?
Qian replied:
– Niutou.
Many places have raised and answered this theme; they cannot all be recorded.)
After transmitting the Dharma, the Patriarch returned to Mount Shuangfeng, where he lived out the rest of his years. From that time onward, the Master’s Dharma assembly flourished greatly. During the Yonghui era (650–656, reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang), when his community lacked provisions, the Master went to Danyang and taught according to circumstances. Though it was eighty miles from Mount Niutou, he personally carried one shi and eight dou of rice, leaving in the morning and returning in the evening to provide for three hundred monks. He made the journey twice each day for three years without rest.
The district magistrate Xiao Yuanshan invited the Master to Jianshu Monastery to lecture on the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, and listeners gathered in great numbers. When the Master’s lecture reached the chapter “Quiescent Cessation,” the earth shook. The Master informed the assembly that his lectures were complete and returned to the mountain.
*
– *
Prince Baling asked the Master:
– When arising occurs in dependence upon the objective appearance of form, yet it is not said to arise because of that objective appearance of form, if one wishes to end such arising, how can dependent origination be known?
The Master replied:
When an object of form first appears,
All objects of form are empty in nature.
Fundamentally, no one knows conditions;
The measure of mind and knowing are the same(55).
Illumination originally appears without appearing;
At that moment, arising ceases of itself.
Clinging to delusion gives rise to conditions for awakening(56).
The mind then does not follow conditions.
Reaching back to before arising,
Do not nurture mind or form.
From emptiness, originally there is no thought;
Perception and feeling are called the arising of thought.
Though it arises, the Dharma has never arisen;
What need is there for the Buddha’s instruction?
He asked:
Closing the eyes, one does not see form,
Yet objects of thought become all the more numerous.
Since they do not concern the mind or form,
From what place do these objects appear?
The Master replied:
Closing the eyes, one does not see form,
Yet many thoughts stir within the mind.
Illusory consciousness borrows them for its function;
Once names arise, they continue without end.
Knowing form does not concern the mind;
The mind, too, contains no person.
Following activity, transforming appearances arise(57),
Like a bird flying through true emptiness.
He asked:
Objects appear in no location,
For knowing arises through awareness*.
When objects recede, awareness turns again;
Awareness still changes and becomes an object.
If mind is used to lead mind,
It is again awareness being known by awareness.
Following this, each exists through the other,
How can one cross beyond the shore of birth and death?
The Master replied:
Before, after, and amid mind and form,
Truly, no conditioned object arises.
When absorbed, and thought is forgotten,
Who can speak of motion and stillness?
That knowing is itself unknowing;
Knowing, knowing—conditions are not encountered.(58)
One should examine oneself;
Why seek from one seated beside you?
Before an object, it does not pass away;
The subsequent thought has not now arrived.
Seeking the moon, one grasps its dim reflection;
Discussing its traces, one chases a bird in flight.
If you wish to know the mind’s original nature,
It is again like seeing within a dream.
It is like ice in the sixth month;
Everywhere it is all the same.
Fleeing emptiness, one can never escape it;
Seeking emptiness, it cannot be attained.
Just ask the image in the mirror:
From where does mind arise?
Question:
When rightly applying the mind,
How can one attain peace and stability?
The Master replied:
When rightly applying the mind,
Rightly there is no mind that applies.
Circling around names and characteristics is wearisome;
Speaking directly, there is not much to say.
No-mind applies what is right;
Constant application is rightly absent.
What is now called the state of no-mind
Is not different from having mind.(59)
Question:
The wise utter wondrous words
That accord with the mind.
Yet words and mind follow different paths;
When they meet, are they not utterly opposed?
The Master replied:
Expediently speaking wondrous words,
The Mahayana path cures illness.
Discussion does not reach the original nature;
From emptiness, fabrication arises again.
No-thought is true constancy;
Forever it severs the path of mind.
The unmoving nature is free from thought;
Amid arising and ceasing, it is not deluded.
When a valley resounds, there is already sound;
The mirror’s image can look back.
Question:
A practitioner encounters an object,
And through awareness knows the object has vanished.
Do the preceding awareness, the subsequent awareness,
And the object constitute three minds?
The Master replied:
The object appears because the essence of awareness is forgotten;
Once aware, do not reflect upon it.
Through awareness one knows the object has vanished;
At the moment of awareness, the object does not arise.
The preceding awareness, the subsequent awareness,
And the object—these three are obstructions.
Question:
Abiding in samadhi without ever turning,
One regards this as right samadhi,
And no karma can drag one away.
Yet one does not recognize subtle ignorance(*),
Which leisurely follows close behind.
The Master replied:
I have also heard of another kind of person
Who clings to emptiness and gives rise to deluded mind.
Among the three, the matter is not accomplished;
Not transforming, delusion still remains.
Even a correct mind becomes fettered;
How, then, can karmic hindrances be purified?
One speck of mental dust among ten thousand(60),
If not comprehended, is called ignorance.
Subtle habitual causes arise,
And gradually names and characteristics are born.
When wind comes, waves and billows rise;
If one wishes for calm, the water is immediately still.
If one still wishes to speak of the road ahead,
I only fear the mind that follows afterward.
The great beast of no-thought roars;
The empty nature overcomes frost and hail.
The frost melts, and wild grasses wither;
Birds flying crosswise and lengthwise fall.
The five paths cease their confusion;
The four maras no longer remain before one.(61)
It is already like a spreading fire,
And also like the stroke of a keen sword.
Question:
Through awareness one knows the myriad dharmas;
The myriad dharmas have always been thus.
If one borrows the mind’s illuminating function,
One obtains only the mind’s illuminating function;
The mind should not thereby have any affair.
The Master replied:
Through awareness one knows the myriad dharmas;
The myriad dharmas have nowhere to depend.
If one borrows the mind’s illuminating function,
One should not abide within the mind.
Question:
Following compliantly without discrimination,
The luminous mind does not manifest before one.
Still one fears that the mind is dim and dark.
If one applies effort within the activity of mind,
The obstruction of knowledge is again difficult to remove.
The Master replied:
Though it is there, it cannot be possessed;
Though sought, it cannot be found.
Not choosing is precisely right choosing;
Emerging from darkness, the mind is luminous.
To worry that the mind is dim and dark
Is still to retain a mind upon which to exert effort.
Why discuss the difficulty of the obstruction of knowledge?
Even attaining Buddhahood would still be an illness.
Question:
The tidings of the Middle Way are distant;
Truly, it is also difficult to inquire after them.
One need not personally send someone,
Yet they are difficult—ultimately difficult—to encounter.
The Master replied:
If you seek the tidings of the Middle Way, those tidings are neither difficult nor easy.
First contemplate mind within mind; next seek wisdom within wisdom.
Third, illuminate the seeker; fourth, penetrate the indeterminate.
Fifth, understand liberation from names; sixth, see truth and falsehood as the same.
Seventh, know the foundation of dharmas; eighth, let the unconditioned be compassionate.
Ninth, preserve the emptiness of the skandhas; tenth, let beneficent grace spread everywhere.
When that absence of awareness is wholly exhausted, original wisdom is born from ignorance.
The three karmic activities are images in a mirror; an illusory person teaches
at the crossroads.
Not abiding, one exhausts the shore of emptiness; while illuminating, one sees nonbeing within being.
Do not abide in emptiness within being, lest it be said that nonbeing
and being are the same.
This is called the Middle Way; the Middle Way is beyond speech.
Inquiring after peace, there is nowhere to be at peace; if one still travels, how can one arrive?
Question:
There is a distinct class of people skilled in explaining emptiness and signlessness.
They say, “Samadhi and distraction are one,” and also speak of nonbeing within being.
By functioning, they realize that constant quiescence and being and nonbeing are the same; in constant functioning, knowledge and awareness cease.
They apply the mind to comprehend true principle, then say that functioning has no place of functioning.
Their wisdom and expedient means are many; their words accord with principle.
Principle, being suchness, is naturally thus and is not comprehended through discriminating mind.
Already knowing that mental comprehension is mistaken, one mind then wrests away another.
Such a Dharma is difficult to know; for endless kalpas it cannot be known.
This Dharma cannot be taught to those who wish to apply the mind in this way.”
The Master replied:
There are indeed people who realize emptiness, as discussed in the preceding verse.
Practicing emptiness and grasping quiescent cessation, their consciousness is transformed only temporarily.
Knowing the true is merely a measure of the deluded mind; though their seeing is clear, they have not comprehended the source.
They also speak of functioning to halt the mind; abundant knowledge obstructs through resemblance.
Truly, because they do not understand the nature, seeking emptiness only wearies them further.
For endless kalpas they abide in deluded consciousness, embracing characteristics without knowing it.
Even if they emit light and shake the earth, what use is there in determining the farther shore?
Question:
When facing matters, does one who observes the mind still encounter obstruction and remain separated by a layer of silk gauze?
The Master replied:
Observing the mind, one meets obstruction;
Who needs to observe an illusory mind?
Moreover, matters are empty and mind is illusory;
At ease and unhurried, words are difficult to utter.
Question:
The great undertaking has endured for a long time,
Yet the path of mind remains obstructed.
If one awakens to subtle hindrances,
One then reaches the shore of truth.
Without a skillful teacher,
One cannot ascertain this principle.
I respectfully entreat our great master
To open the essential gate for us,
Guiding those who apply the mind
So that they do not lose the right path.
The Master replied:
The Dharma-nature is originally the undertaking;
Dream objects become contrary to it.
The true characteristic, the subtle body,
Mind and form—these are seldom awakened to.
Suddenly encountering a teacher of primordial simplicity,
Who, with loving concern, worries for sentient beings,
You avail yourself of doubt to present extensive questions;
Upholding the principle, inwardly you are ever luminous.
Directly severing delusion concerning birth and death,
Your mind does not fear praise or blame.
This rustic old man has answered distinctly;
Regarding the characteristics of dharmas, shame reaches his very person.
Though medicine has been dispensed to all beings,
It still remains within the nature of form.
In the first year of Xianqing (656, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang), the district magistrate Xiao Yuanshan invited the Master to descend the mountain and reside at Jianshu Monastery. Unable to decline,
he summoned Zhiyan, the foremost disciple who had entered his chamber, transmitted the Dharma seal to him, and instructed him to pass it on successively.
As he was about to descend the mountain, the Master told the assembly:
– I shall never set foot on this mountain again.
At that time, birds and beasts uttered mournful cries that did not cease for more than a month. Before the Master’s hermitage stood four tall parasol trees. Though it was the height of summer, in the fifth lunar month, their leaves suddenly withered and fell of themselves. The following year, on the twenty-third day of the first lunar month of the ding-si year, 657, the Master passed into quiescence at Jianshu Monastery. He was sixty-four years old and had forty-one Dharma years. On the twenty-seventh day, he was buried on Mount Jilong; more than ten thousand people accompanied the Master’s funeral procession.
At the Master’s former dwelling on Mount Niutou were Goldspring, Tiger-Roar Spring, Staff Spring, the Golden Tortoise Pond, and others. The stone chamber where the Master regularly practiced seated meditation still remains there today (1004).
Second Generation: CHAN MASTER ZHIYAN
He was a native of Qu’a, and his family name was Hua. By about the age of twenty, his courage surpassed that of others, and he stood seven chi and six cun tall according to the Chinese measure. During the Daye era of the Sui dynasty (605–617, under Emperor Yang of Sui), he served as a military commander. He always carried a bow from which hung a bag containing filtered water, using it wherever he went. He once followed a great general into battle against rebels and earned many military distinctions.
During the Wude era (618–626, under Emperor Gaozu of the Tang), when he was already forty, he sought permission to leave the household life at Mount Hungong in Shuzhou and became a disciple of Chan Master Baoyue. Later, one day while seated in meditation, he saw an extraordinary monk whose body was more than one zhang tall. With a radiant bearing, the monk spoke in a clear and limpid voice, saying to the Master: “For eighty lifetimes you have left the household life; you should apply yourself even more diligently.” Having spoken, he vanished.
The Master often entered samadhi in a valley. Once, water poured down from the mountain and flooded the entire area, yet the Master remained calmly unmoved; eventually, the water receded of itself. Some hunters who encountered the Master repented and thereafter cultivated wholesome conduct. There were also two men who had formerly served with him in the army. Hearing that the Master had withdrawn from the world and was living in seclusion, they went together into the mountains to find him and asked:
– Why are you here? Has the commander gone mad?
He replied:
– My madness is about to clear, while yours is still increasing. Those who crave sensual beauty, delight in improper sounds, covet glory and splendor, and rely upon favor and affection are swept along in the cycle of birth and death. How could they ever free themselves?
The two men were awakened by his words, praised their excellence, and departed.
In the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era (643, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang), the Master returned to Jianye and entered Mount Niutou.
He paid his respects to Chan Master Farong and awakened to the great matter. Chan Master Farong instructed him:
– I received the secret Dharma of the authentic transmission from Great Master Daoxin, and all attainments have vanished. Even if there were a Dharma surpassing nirvana, I would still say that it was like a dream or an illusion. When a single mote of dust arises, the heavens are obscured; when a single mustard seed falls, the earth is concealed.
You have now gone beyond this view. What more could I say? I now entrust the work of teaching and guiding at this mountain monastery to you.
Obeying the command, the Master succeeded as the second-generation patriarch. He later transmitted the True Dharma to Chan Master Fang. The Master resided at Baima and Qixuan monasteries, and later moved to Shitou Citadel. On the tenth day of the first month in the second year of the Yifeng era (677, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang), he manifested entry into extinction. His complexion remained unchanged, and his limbs could be bent and extended as though he were still alive. An extraordinary fragrance filled his chamber and did not dissipate for ten days. In his final instructions, he requested burial in water. He was seventy-eight years old and had been ordained for thirty-nine years.
Third Generation: CHAN MASTER HUIFANG
He was a native of Yanling in Runzhou, and his family name was Pu. He left the household life at Kaishan Monastery and later received the full precepts. He thoroughly mastered the sutras and treatises.
Later, he entered Mount Niutou and paid his respects to Chan Master Zhiyan, inquiring about the essential mystery. Zhiyan perceived that the Master possessed the capacity to receive the True Dharma and therefore revealed the mind-seal to him. The Master suddenly awakened. From then on, he did not leave his dwelling in the mountain forest for nearly ten years. Students from the four directions gathered there in great numbers. One day, the Master told the assembly:
– I am about to go elsewhere, responding to conditions to benefit beings. You should each abide peacefully.
He then transmitted the True Dharma to Chan Master Fachì. Afterward, he returned to Mount Mao and remained there for several years. When he was about to enter extinction, approximately five hundred people appeared, their hair tied in topknots and hanging down behind them, resembling bodhisattvas. Each held a banner adorned with flowers and said:
– We invite the Dharma Master to preach.
The mountain deity was also moved to appear in the form of a great serpent. It came before the courtyard as though lamenting their impending separation.
The Master told his attendant Hongdao:
– I am departing! Inform my disciples so that they may assist me.
By the time the disciples hurriedly arrived, the Master had already entered extinction. This occurred on the first day of the eighth month in the first year of the Tiance era, 759(62).
The mountain forests turned the white color of mourning, and the streams and ravines changed their courses and flowed crosswise for seven days. Monastics and laypeople grieved for him, and the sound of their lamentation echoed through the distant valleys. The Master was sixty-seven years old and had been ordained for forty years.
Fourth Generation: CHAN MASTER FACHI
He was a native of Jiangning in Runzhou, and his family name was Zhang. He left the household life at an early age. At the age of thirty, he went before Great Master Hongren in Huangmei County. Upon hearing the Dharma, his mind opened. Later, he met Chan Master Huifang, received his seal of approval, and succeeded him in guiding the mountain monastery, becoming a patriarch of the Niutou lineage.
When the Patriarch of Huangmei was about to pass away, he told his disciple Xuance, “In the future, approximately ten people will transmit my Dharma. Fachi of Jinling will be one of those ten.”
The Master later entrusted the Dharma eye to Chan Master Zhiwei. On the fifth day of the ninth month in the second year of the Chang'an era (702, during the reign of Empress Wu of the Tang), the Master passed away at the Wuchang Cloister of Yanzuo Monastery in Jinling. In his final instructions, he requested that his body be left beneath a pine tree as food for wild animals.
On the day his body was carried away, divine banners came through the sky from the west and circled the mountain several times. In the cloister where the Master had formerly resided, a bamboo grove turned the white color of mourning and remained so for seven days.
The Master was sixty-eight years old and had been ordained for forty-one years.
Fifth Generation: CHAN MASTER ZHIWEI
He was a native of Jiangning, and his family name was Chen. When he was still young, he temporarily stayed at Mount Yingqing. Suddenly, his family discovered that he had disappeared, and no one knew where he had gone. When his parents searched for him, they learned that the Master had already left the household life under Dharma Master Tong at Tianbao Monastery. At the age of twenty, he received the full precepts.
Later, hearing that Chan Master Fachi had appeared in the world, he went to pay his respects and received transmission of the True Dharma. From then on, students throughout the region east of the Yangtze flocked to become his disciples. Among them was Huizhong, who possessed all the qualifications of a Dharma vessel.
The Master often taught with this verse:
Mạc hệ niệm niệm,
Thành sanh tử hà.
Luân hồi lục thú hải,
Vô kiến xuất trường ba.
Translation:
Do not indulge deluded thoughts,
For they become the river of birth and death.
In the sea of the six destinies' cycle,
One fails to perceive the towering waves.
Huizhong replied with a verse:
Niệm tưởng do lai huyễn,
Tánh tự vô chung thủy.
Nhược đắc thử trúng ý,
Trường ba đương tự chỉ.
Translation:
Thoughts and perceptions arise from illusion;
Their nature has neither beginning nor end.
If one realizes the meaning within this,
The towering waves will cease of themselves.
The Master again taught with a verse:
Dư bổn tánh hư vô,
Duyên vọng sanh nhân ngã.
Như hà tức vọng tình?
Hồn quy không xứ tọa.
Translation:
My original nature is empty and nonexistent;
Following delusion, self and others arise.
How can deluded feelings be brought to an end?
Return entirely and sit in the place of emptiness.
Huizhong replied with a verse:
Hư vô thị thực thể,
Nhân ngã hà sở tồn?
Vọng tình bất tu tức,
Tức phiếm Bát nhã thuyền.
Translation:
Emptiness and nonexistence are the true essence;
Where then could self and others remain?
Deluded feelings need not be restrained;
At once, the prajnaparamita boat sails the boundless expanse.
Knowing that Huizhong had attained complete awakening, the Master entrusted the mountain monastery to him. He then taught and guided beings in accordance with conditions. On the eighteenth day of the second month in the seventeenth year of the Kaiyuan era (729, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang), the Master passed away at Yanzuo Monastery.
As he was about to manifest entry into extinction, the Master told his disciples:
– Carry my corpse into the forest and leave it there as an offering to the birds and beasts.
The Master was seventy-seven years old.
Sixth Generation: CHAN MASTER HUIZHONG
He was a native of Shangyuan in Runzhou, and his family name was Wang.
At the age of twenty-three, he received ordination at Zhuangyan Monastery. Later, hearing that Chan Master Zhiwei had appeared in the world, he went to pay his respects.
As soon as Zhiwei saw the Master, he said:
– The lord of the mountain has arrived!
The Master awakened to the profound, hidden meaning, and Zhiwei appointed him as his close attendant. Later, the Master took leave of his teacher and traveled about to visit and pay homage to spiritual teachers in various places.
At the precepts cloister, Zhiwei saw a trumpet-creeper vine, also called ziwei, that had withered away from neglect during the summer retreat. Someone intended to cut it down, but Zhiwei stopped him, saying:
– Do not cut it down. When Huizhong returns, this ziwei vine will sprout again.
When the Master returned, the prediction was fulfilled. Zhiwei then entrusted the mountain monastery to the Master and departed to reside at Yanzuo Monastery.
Throughout his life, the Master possessed only a single patched robe, which he never replaced. His sole utensil was one steamer for preparing glutinous rice. There were always two granaries storing rice for the Sangha's use. When thieves came prowling, tigers guarded the stores.
County Magistrate Zhang Xun ascended the mountain to pay his respects and asked the Master:
– Do you have any disciples?
The Master replied:
– I have three or five.
Xun asked:
– How may I meet them?
The Master struck the Chan platform, and three roaring tigers emerged. Terrified, Xun retreated.
Later, the assembly invited the Master into the city to reside at the Old Zhuangyan Monastery. The Master wished to construct a separate Dharma hall east of the main sanctuary. An ancient tree already stood there, with a flock of magpies nesting in it, and the workers were preparing to fell the tree. The Master informed the magpies: “A Dharma hall is about to be built here. Why do you not depart quickly?” As soon as he had spoken, the flock of magpies moved their nests to another tree. When the foundations were first laid, two divine beings guarded the four corners. They also secretly assisted with the work at night, and the construction was completed within a few days.
From then onward, students from the four quarters gathered like clouds beneath his seat. Thirty-four people attained the Dharma, each dwelling in a different place and teaching many assemblies.
The Master often taught the assembly a verse on pacifying the mind. The verse said:
Person and dharmas both purified,
Good and evil both forgotten.
The true mind is genuine and real,
The bodhi place of awakening.
Translation:
Self and dharmas are both empty,
Good and evil are wholly forgotten.
The true mind is genuine and real,
The bodhi place of awakening.
In the third year of the Dali era (768, reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang), before the stone chamber, the tree from which the steamer was hung and the rattan vine upon which robes were hooked suddenly withered and died beneath the summer sun. In the fourth year (769), after the assembly had completed the uposatha on the fifteenth day of the sixth month, the Master instructed his attendant to shave his head clean and bathe him. That evening, auspicious clouds covered the Master's pure dwelling, and celestial music was heard in the sky. At early dawn, the Master serenely passed away while seated. At that time, torrential rain and violent winds brought thunder and lightning that felled the forest trees, while a white rainbow spanned the mountain ravines.
In the spring of the fifth year (770), his body was cremated, yielding innumerable relics. He was eighty-seven years old.
COLLATERAL DHARMA HEIRS
DESCENDING FROM CHAN MASTER FĂRÓNG
1. CHAN MASTER TÁNTUĪ OF ZHONGSHAN, JINLING
He was a native of Wu Commandery, and his family name was Gu. When he first went to pay homage to Great Master Róng at Niutou, the Great Master took one look at him, recognized him as an extraordinary person, and summoned him, saying:
– Form, sound, and the rest are poisons to the unborn; sensation, perception, and the rest are pits and chasms for the consummate person. Do you understand this?
The Master remained silent and contemplated it, whereupon he greatly awakened to the profound purport.
The Master went to dwell at Zhongshan, where he remained hidden for many years, living humbly in a thatched hermitage with an earthen pot until the end of his life.
On the sixth day of the second month in the third year of the Tiance era of the Tang dynasty (694, reign of Empress Wu), he serenely entered samadhi for seven days and then passed away. He was sixty-two years old.
COLLATERAL DHARMA HEIRS OF THE THIRD GENERATION
DESCENDING FROM CHAN MASTER ZHÌWĒI
1. CHAN MASTER XUÁNDǏNG OF ANGUO MONASTERY, XUANZHOU
It is not known where the Master was from. One day, a monk who had once traveled to Chang'an to lecture on the Avatamsaka Sutra came and asked the Fifth Patriarch, Zhìwēi:
– What is the meaning of the arising of conditions from the true nature?
The Patriarch remained silent. At that time, the Master was standing in attendance upon the Patriarch and afterward replied:
– Venerable! At the moment you asked the question, a single thought arose. That is the arising of conditions within the true nature.
At the Master's words, the monk attained great awakening.
Someone else asked the Master:
– On what basis was the Southern School established?
The Master replied:
– The Mind School has neither South nor North.
*
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2. CHAN MASTER XUÁNSÙ OF HELIN MONASTERY, RUNZHOU
He was from Yanling in Runzhou, and his family name was Ma. During the Ruyi era of the Tang dynasty (692, reign of Empress Wu), the Master received ordination at Changshou Monastery in Jiangning.
During an evening consultation with Chan Master Zhìwēi, the Master awakened to the true school. Later, he resided at Helin Monastery in Jingkou.
On one occasion, a butcher came to pay homage to the Master and wished to invite him to his home to arrange an offering. The Master gladly went, and the assembly was astonished. The Master said:
– Buddha-nature is equal; the wise and the foolish possess the same nature. Whenever there is someone I can deliver, I deliver that person. What distinction could there be?
A monk once asked:
– What is the meaning of the coming from the West?
The Master replied:
– To understand is precisely not to understand; to doubt is precisely not to doubt.
The Master further said:
– That which neither understands nor doubts; that which neither doubts nor understands.
Another monk knocked at the door. The Master asked:
– Who is it?
He replied: - A monk.
The Master said:
– Not only a monk—even if the Buddha came, he would not be admitted.
He asked:
– Why would the Buddha not be admitted if he came?
The Master replied:
– There is no place for you to stop and lodge.
At midnight in the eleventh year of the Tianbao era (752, reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang), the Master passed away without illness at the age of eighty-five. A stupa was erected for him on Mount Honghe. By imperial decree, he was granted the posthumous title Chan Master Daxin, and his stupa was named Great Harmony Jeweled Vessel.
*
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3. CHAN MASTER CHÓNGHUÌ OF MOUNT TIANZHU, SHUZHOU
He was from Pengzhou, and his family name was Chen. At the beginning of the Qianyuan era (758, reign of Emperor Suzong of the Tang), the Master came to establish a monastery on Mount Tianzhu in Shuzhou. In the first year of the Yongtai era (765, reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang), an imperial decree bestowed upon the monastery the name Tianzhu.
A monk asked:
– What is the scenery of Tianzhu?
The Master replied:
– The master is faint, the mountain lofty—it is hard to see the sun;
Before the jade mirror upon the peak, it is easy to discern a person.
Translation: The master is faint, the mountain lofty—it is hard to see the sky;
The precious mirror shines from above, easily revealing a person.
He asked:
– Before Bodhidharma came to this land, was the Buddhadharma present here?
The Master replied:
– Set aside for the moment the time before he came. What about the matter right now?
– I do not understand; I beg the Master to instruct me.
The Master said:
– The vast sky endures for ten thousand ages; wind and moon belong to a single moment.
After a long while, the Master asked again:
– Ācārya, do you understand? What about your own fundamental matter? What relevance has it whether that Bodhidharma came or did not come?
That fellow's coming was exactly like a diviner seeking to earn his livelihood. Seeing that you did not understand, he used written words to explain the hexagram to you. Once fortune and misfortune arise, you must examine everything for yourself within your own share.
The monk asked:
– What is one who knows divination like?
The Master replied:
– The moment you step out the door, you miss the mark.
He asked:
– What is the family style of Tianzhu?
The Master replied:
– When white clouds come, the door is closed;
No more do wind and moon roam freely among the four mountains.(63)
Translation:
When white clouds arrive, the door is closed;
How could wind and moon still sweep through the four mountains?
He asked:
– When a monk dies and passes away, where does he go?
The Master replied:
– The lofty peaks of Mount Qian forever gather emerald hues;
Above the Shu River, the brilliant moon shines radiantly.
Translation:
The lofty peaks of Mount Qian remain forever green.
Above the Shu River, the bright moon shines radiantly.
He asked:
– What is the Buddha Great Penetrating Wisdom Victory?
The Master replied:
– Empty and open, never concealed since the great kalpa—if this is not the Buddha Great Penetrating Wisdom Victory, then what is it?
He asked:
– Why is the Buddhadharma not manifest before me?
The Master replied:
– It is not manifest before you only because you do not understand. If you understood, there would likewise be no Buddha Way to attain.
He asked:
– What is the Way?
The Master replied:
– White clouds cover the green mountains,
Bees and birds circle the flowered courtyard.
(Bái yún fù qīng zhàng,
Fēng niǎo bù tíng huā.)
He asked:
– Did the sages of old have any words?
The Master asked:
– Do you now see that I have any words?
He asked:
– I invite the Master to raise and proclaim the teaching of the school.
The Master replied:
– The stone ox bellows long beyond true emptiness;
When the wooden horse neighs, the moon is hidden behind the mountain.
Translation:
The stone ox bellows loudly beyond true emptiness;
The wooden horse neighs, and the moon disappears behind the mountain.
He asked:
– In what way does the Venerable benefit people?
The Master replied:
– A single rain moistens all alike; a thousand mountains glow with fresh color.
He asked:
– What is the person within Mount Tianzhu like?
The Master replied:
– Walking alone upon the summits of a thousand peaks,
Roaming at ease beside the nine-bending spring.
Translation:
Alone he strides across a thousand peaks,
At ease beside the spring's nine winding bends.
He asked:
– What is the meaning of the coming from the West?
The Master replied:
– A white ape carries its young into the verdant mountains;
Bees and butterflies hold blossoms amid green stamens.
Translation:
A white ape carries its young into the deep mountains;
Bees and butterflies hold blossoms amid green stamens.
The Master expounded the Way on the mountain for about twenty-two years. On the twenty-second day of the seventh month in the fourteenth year of the Dali era (779, reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang), the Master passed away. His stupa was built north of the monastery, and his body remains intact to this day (1004).
*
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DHARMA HEIRS OF CHAN MASTER XUÁNSÙ
HELIN MONASTERY, RUNZHOU
4. CHAN MASTER DÀOQĪN OF JINGSHAN, HANGZHOU
He was from Kunshan in Suzhou, and his family name was Zhou. At first, he cherished a deep admiration for Confucianism. At the age of twenty-eight, the Master met Chan Master Xuánsù, who said to him:
– Observing that your spiritual bearing is gentle yet pure, I see that you are truly a vessel of the Dharma.
The Master was awakened by this and asked to become his disciple. Xuánsù personally shaved his head and transmitted the precepts to him, then said:
– Travel downstream along the river; when you encounter Jing, remain there.
The Master then journeyed south. Upon reaching Lin'an, he saw a mountain to the northeast and asked a woodcutter about it. The woodcutter said:
– That is Mount Jingshan.
The Master then took up residence there.
A monk asked:
– What is the Way?
The Master replied:
– On the mountain there are carp,
At the bottom of the water there is tumbleweed dust.
Translation:
Carp upon the mountain,
Tumbleweed dust beneath the river.
*
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Mazu sent someone to deliver a letter in which a circle had been drawn. The Master opened the letter, added a single stroke inside the circle, sealed it in the envelope, and sent it back to Mazu. (When National Preceptor Huizhong heard of this, he said, “Master Qin has still been deceived by Master Ma.”)
*
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A monk asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?
The Master said:
– Your question is not correct.
The monk asked:
– What would be correct?
The Master replied:
– Wait until I have passed away; only then will I tell you.
*
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Mazu sent his disciple Zhizang to ask:
– Throughout the twelve hours of the day, what do you take as the object before you?
The Master replied:
– Wait until you return, and then there will be news.
Zang said:
– Then I shall return at once.
The Master said:
– Once it has been spoken, you must still go and ask Caoxi.
In the third year of the Dali era (768), Emperor Daizong of the Tang issued an edict inviting the Master to the palace gates so that the emperor himself might once again pay reverence to him. One day, when the Master met the emperor in an inner palace hall, he rose to his feet.
The emperor asked:
– Master, why did you have to rise?
The Master replied:
– If the donor seeks me within the four dignified postures, how could he see this poor monk?
The emperor was pleased and said to National Preceptor Huizhong:
– We intend to bestow a title upon Master Qin.
Huizhong joyfully obeyed the edict, and the title Guoyi was then bestowed upon the Master.
Later, the Master took leave of the emperor and returned to his former mountain.
In the eighth year of the Zhenyuan era (792), in the twelfth month, the Master manifested illness, expounded the Dharma, and then passed away. He was seventy-nine years old.
By imperial decree, he was granted the posthumous title Chan Master Great Awakening.
*
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DHARMA HEIRS OF CHAN MASTER DAOQIN
OF JINGSHAN, HANGZHOU
5. CHAN MASTER DAOLIN NIAOKE OF HANGZHOU.
He was a native of Fuyang County in the same prefecture of Hangzhou, and his family name was Pan. His mother, Lady Zhou, dreamed that the radiance of the sun entered her mouth, whereupon she conceived. When he was born, an extraordinary fragrance filled the entire house, and so he was named Xiangguang, “Fragrant Radiance.”
He left the household life at the age of nine and received the precepts at the age of twenty-one at Guoyuan Monastery in Jingzhou. Later, he went to Dharma Master Fuli at Ximing Monastery in Chang’an, where he studied the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith. Fuli instructed him by means of verses concerning the true and the deluded, chiefly so that he might cultivate meditative concentration.
The Master asked:
– At the outset, what is called contemplation? How should the mind be applied?
Fuli remained silent for a long while without speaking. The Master bowed three times and withdrew.
Just then, Emperor Daizong of the Tang issued an edict inviting Chan Master Guoyi of Jingshan to the palace gates. The Master therefore went to see him and obtained the true Dharma. When the Master later journeyed south, there was a Pratyekabuddha stupa at Yongfu Monastery on Gushan. At that time, monastics and laypeople had gathered there to hold a Dharma assembly. The Master shook his staff(64) and entered the assembly. Dharma Master Taoguang of Lingyin Monastery, who was present in the assembly, asked:
– Since this is a Dharma assembly, why do you make a sound?
The Master replied:
– If there were no sound, who would know that this was a Dharma assembly?
Later, he saw on Mount Qinwang a great pine tree whose luxuriant, twisting branches and leaves formed a canopy. The Master then made his dwelling
upon it. For this reason, people of the time called him Chan Master Niaoke, “Bird’s Nest.” A magpie also built its nest beside him and naturally grew tame and accustomed to people, so he was also called Venerable Quesao, “Magpie’s Nest.”
The Master had an attendant named Huitong, who suddenly wished one day to take his leave. The Master asked:
– Where are you going now?
He replied:
– Huitong left the household life for the sake of the Dharma, but the Venerable has not compassionately bestowed instruction upon me. I am now going elsewhere to study the Buddha-Dharma.
The Master said:
– If it is the Buddha-Dharma, I also have a little of it here.
Huitong asked:
– What is the Venerable’s Buddha-Dharma?
The Master plucked a loose thread from his robe, held it up, and blew upon it.
Huitong immediately awakened to the profound purport.
During the Yuanhe era (806–820, under Emperor Xianzong of the Tang), Bai Juyi became prefect of that region (Shaoxing, Zhejiang). On entering the mountain to pay his respects, he said to the Master:
– The place where the Chan Master dwells is exceedingly dangerous!
The Master said:
– The prefect’s dwelling place is even more dangerous.
Bai asked:
– This disciple’s place is one from which the rivers and mountains are guarded. What danger is there?
The Master said:
– Firewood and flame meet one another, while discriminating consciousness never ceases. Is that not dangerous?
He further asked:
– What is the essential meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?
The Master replied:
– Commit no evil; faithfully practice every good.
(Do not commit any evil deeds; faithfully perform all good deeds.)
Bai said:
– Even a three-year-old child knows how to say that.
The Master replied:
– Although a three-year-old child can say it, even an eighty-year-old man cannot put it into practice.
Bai then bowed.
In the fourth year of the Changqing era (824), on the tenth day of the second month, the Master told his attendant, “The body that is the recompense of my karma has now
come to its end.” Having spoken, he passed away while seated. He was eighty-four years old and had been ordained for sixty-three years. (Some accounts say that the Master’s name was Yuanxiu, though this may have been his posthumous title.)
*
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DHARMA HEIRS OF CHAN MASTER DAOLIN NIAOKE OF HANGZHOU
6. CHAN MASTER HUITONG OF ZHAOXIAN MONASTERY, HANGZHOU.
He was a native of that prefecture, and his family name was Wu. His original name was Yuanqing. His bearing was solemn and dignified, and from an early age he was intelligent and keen-witted.
During the reign of Emperor Dezong of the Tang (779–805), he served as an envoy of the Six Palaces. All members of the imperial family praised him. One spring, seeing the flowers and grasses of Zhaoyang Palace displaying their vivid freshness, he strolled leisurely, enjoying the scenery. Suddenly, he heard a voice in the air saying:
– These illusory sights bloom and then wither; what permanence is there in them? They can destroy wholesome roots. How could a benevolent man delight in them?
The Master reflected that from childhood he had delighted in goodness and had been deeply weary of the tribulations of the world.
One day, while the emperor was touring the palace, he asked:
– Why are you unhappy, my minister?
He replied:
– Since childhood, this subject has abstained from meat and pungent, foul foods, and it is my aspiration to follow the Buddha.
The emperor said:
– We regard you as a brother. If it were your aspiration to possess wealth and rank surpassing others, We would not oppose your wish. We ask only that you not leave the household life.
After ten days had passed, the emperor saw that his countenance had grown haggard and issued an edict assigning him to oversee the reception of the emperor’s guests. He memorialized the throne:
– The person appointed to this office must cause the Three Jewels to flourish.
The emperor said to the Master:
– If you wish, choose a day as you please and then report it to Us.
Grateful for the emperor’s favor, the Master conveyed his thanks. Before long, news arrived from his native place that his mother was ill, and he requested permission to return and care for her. The emperor granted his wish and ordered the appropriate officials to escort the Master to the landing. Before long, he arrived home.
At that time, encouraged by Dharma Master Taoguang, the Master went to Daolin Niaoke, became his donor, and built a hermitage and established a monastery. When the monastery was completed, the Master knelt and said:
– This disciple became a vegetarian at the age of seven and received the Five Precepts at eleven. I am now twenty-two years old and have resigned from official service because I wish to leave the household life. I beseech the Venerable to allow me to become a monk.
The Chan Master said:
– Nowadays, among those who become monks, few are diligent and willing to endure hardship; most behave frivolously and without restraint.
The Master replied:
– Original purity is not produced by polishing;
Innate luminosity does not depend upon illumination.
The Chan Master said:
– If you thoroughly comprehend pure wisdom, the wondrous and perfect essence is itself empty and quiescent. That is true renunciation of household life; what need is there for an outward form? You should become a lay bodhisattva, practicing both generosity and observance of the precepts, as Xie Lingyun did.
The Master said:
– Yes, although the principle is so, what benefit would there be for anyone in terms of actual practice? If the Master would compassionately accept me, I vow to follow your instructions.
Three times the Master made this request, and each time he was refused. At that point, Taoguang firmly declared to Niaoke:
– The palace envoy has never married, nor has he kept women as attendants. If the Chan Master does not rescue him, who will deliver him?
Only then did Niaoke allow him to shave his head and receive the complete precepts. The Master regularly broke his fast during the mao hours (5:00–7:00 a.m.), practiced diligently day and night, recited Mahayana sutras, and cultivated anapanasati samadhi(65).
Then the Master earnestly asked leave to depart and travel in all directions. Niaoke raised a strand of cloth thread and instructed him, whereupon the Master awakened to the profound purport. At that time, people called him the Cloth-Fluff Attendant. (This has already been related in the section concerning Niaoke.) Nearly twenty years after Niaoke passed away, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang ordered the suppression of monasteries. The Master and the assembly of monks paid their respects and took leave of Niaoke’s spirit stupa, then journeyed far away. Nothing further is known of him.
COLLATERAL DHARMA HEIRS OF TWO GENERATIONS
DESCENDED FROM CHAN MASTER HUIZHONG
1. CHAN MASTER WEIZE OF BUDDHA GROTTO, TIANTAI.
He was a native of Jingzhao, and his family name was Zhangsun. At first he called upon Chan Master Huizhong at Niutou and greatly awakened to the profound purport. Later, he lived in seclusion in a mountain cave west of the waterfall on Mount Tiantai. During the Yuanhe era (806–820, reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang), the Master’s Dharma assembly gradually flourished. When he first took up his secluded residence, the Master himself named his mountain cave “Buddha Grotto.”
One day, the Master instructed the assembly: “Heaven and earth contain no thing; the self is not a thing, yet there has never been an absence of things. Here, sages are like shadows and a hundred years are like a dream—who is there to undergo birth and death? Therefore, the consummate person shines forth alone and is able to be master of the myriad things. I know this already; do you know it yet?”
A monk asked:
– What is Narayana’s arrow(66)?
The Master replied:
– It strikes the target.
One day, the Master suddenly announced to his disciples:
– You must each exert yourselves. What have I ever said?
Two days and nights later, the Master sat calmly and passed away. He was eighty years old and had spent fifty-eight years in the monastic life.
*
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DHARMA HEIR OF VENERABLE WEIZE
BUDDHA GROTTO, TIANTAI
2. CHAN MASTER ZHI OF YUNJU MONASTERY ON MOUNT TIANTAI.
On one occasion, Jizong, a monk from the Huayan Cloister, asked:
– What is the meaning of “seeing one’s nature and becoming a Buddha”?
The Master replied:
– The pure nature has from the beginning been utterly clear and has never moved. Its essence belongs neither to existence nor nonexistence, neither to defilement nor purity, neither to length nor shortness, neither to grasping nor rejecting… It naturally pervades everywhere. Clearly seeing it in this way is called seeing one’s nature. The nature is Buddha, and Buddha is the nature; therefore it is said, “See one’s nature and become a Buddha.”
He asked:
– Since the nature is pure and belongs neither to existence nor nonexistence, how can there be seeing?
The Master replied:
– There is seeing, yet nothing seen.
He asked:
– If there is nothing seen, how can there be one who sees?
The Master replied:
– Even the place of seeing does not exist.
He asked:
– If so, when seeing occurs, who exactly is seeing?
The Master replied:
– There is no one who sees.
He asked:
– Ultimately, what is the principle of this?
The Master said:
– Do you understand? Delusive reckoning fabricates existence; subject and object then arise, and this is called delusion. When understanding is produced in dependence upon seeing, one immediately falls into birth and death. One who clearly comprehends seeing is not like this: seeing throughout the day, yet never having seen. When the form and appearance of what is seen are sought, they cannot be found. Both subject and object disappear; this is called seeing one’s nature.
He asked:
– Does that nature pervade everywhere?
The Master replied:
– There is nowhere it does not pervade.
He asked:
– Do ordinary beings fully possess that nature?
The Master replied:
– It was said above, “There is nowhere it does not pervade.” How could this mean that ordinary beings do not fully possess it?
He asked:
– Why are the Buddhas and bodhisattvas not bound by birth and death, while ordinary beings alone remain entangled in that suffering? How could they ever pervade everywhere?
The Master replied:
– Within the pure nature, ordinary beings give rise to discrimination. As soon as subject and object arise, they fall into birth and death. The Buddhas and great beings skillfully know that within the pure nature, when one does not depend upon the characteristics of existence and nonexistence, subject and object are not established.
He asked:
– If this is said, does it not mean that there are those who comprehend and those who do not comprehend?
The Master said:
– Even comprehension itself cannot be apprehended; how could there be someone who comprehends?
He asked:
– What is the ultimate principle?
The Master said:
– I shall state it briefly. You should remember that within the pure nature there are neither ordinary beings nor sages, nor is there anyone who comprehends or fails to comprehend. “Ordinary being” and “sage” are both provisional names. If understanding arises in dependence upon names, one falls into birth and death. If one knows that they are provisional names without reality, then nothing corresponds to those names.
The Master further said:
– This is the ultimate point. If one supposes, “I can comprehend and awaken, while that person cannot comprehend and awaken,” this is a grave illness. Seeing purity and defilement, ordinary beings and sages, is likewise a grave illness. Giving rise to the view that there are no ordinary beings or sages amounts to repudiation and to denying cause and effect—the view of annihilation. Seeing a pure nature on which to rely and abide is also a grave illness; giving rise to the view of neither relying nor abiding is likewise a grave illness. Yet although the pure nature does not move, it fully possesses all functions and skillful means, which are never impaired. Even the arousing of loving-kindness and the exercise of compassion—the functioning and arising of these—is entirely the pure nature itself. Therefore, it is called seeing one’s nature and becoming a Buddha.
Jizong leapt for joy, bowed in gratitude, and withdrew.
COLLATERAL DHARMA HEIRS
DESCENDED FROM THE THIRTY-SECOND PATRIARCH, GREAT MASTER HONGREN
FIRST GENERATION OF COLLATERAL DHARMA HEIRS
1. CHAN MASTER SHENXIU OF THE NORTHERN SCHOOL.
(The Tripitaka Master Zhizhi of Yasa recorded: “From the Gen land the profound purport is born; those who penetrate the lineage and those who revere it both honor it. Shoulder to shoulder stand the clans of three and nine; beneath their feet lies a single portion of down.” Tentative translation: “The Gen land gives birth to the profound purport; those who penetrate the lineage and those who admire it both honor it. Five or seven clans stand shoulder to shoulder; beneath their feet lies one portion of down.”)
He was a native of Weishi County, Kaifeng Prefecture (Henan), and his family name was Li. In his youth, he delighted in Confucian studies and became broadly learned and knowledgeable. Before long, he relinquished his former interests, left the household life, and sought a teacher from whom to study the Way. He came to Dongshan Monastery on Mount Shuangfeng in Qizhou, where he met Great Master Hongren, the Fifth Patriarch. Taking seated meditation as his duty, he exclaimed in admiration:
– This truly is my teacher.
The Master resolved in his heart to endure hardship and preserve his integrity. He personally performed such services as splitting firewood and carrying water while seeking the Way.
Hongren secretly recognized the Master’s profundity and, moreover, regarded him as a man of outstanding ability. He said to the Master:
– I have guided many people. Even among those who have awakened and understood, none equals you.
After Hongren manifested his entry into nirvana, Shenxiu went to reside at Mount Dangyang in Jiangling.
Empress Wu of the Tang heard of his reputation and summoned the Master to the capital, making offerings to him in the inner palace’s place of practice and treating him with exceptional reverence. The sovereign commanded the Master to return to his former mountain and bestowed an inscribed plaque to be hung before Dumen Monastery in honor of his virtue. At that time, princes and nobles, scholars and commoners alike revered and venerated him to the utmost. When Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, he esteemed the Master even more highly. The great minister Zhang Yue often inquired about the essentials of the Dharma and observed the proprieties of a disciple.
The Master had a verse with which he instructed the assembly:
All Buddha-Dharmas
Are inherently present in one’s own mind.
To take the mind and seek outside
Is to forsake one’s father and flee.
Translation:
All Buddha-Dharmas
Are inherently present in one’s own mind.
To take the mind and seek outside
Is to forsake one’s father and flee.
In the second year of Shenlong (706, reign of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang), the Master entered nirvana at Tiangong Monastery in the Eastern Capital. The emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Chan Master Datong and designated him a “Vessel of the Dharma and Exemplar of Deportment” (a repository of the Dharma serving as a model for others to follow). He was taken to Longmen for burial. The emperor accompanied the funeral procession as far as the bridgehead, while princes, nobles, scholars, and commoners all escorted him to the burial place. Zhang Yue and the recluse Lu Hong each composed a memorial inscription that was engraved upon the stele. His disciples Puji, Yifu, and others were all revered by both the imperial court and the people of the countryside.
*
– *
2. NATIONAL PRECEPTOR HUI’AN OF MOUNT SONG.
(The Tripitaka Master Zhizhi of Yasa recorded: “The ninth daughter transcends the human order; the eighth daughter severs the bonds of marriage. To the decayed couch six legs are added; the Mind Patriarch is honored among the assembly.” Tentative translation: “The ninth maiden transcends ordinary ways; the eighth maiden renounces marriage. Six legs are added to the ruined bed; the Mind Patriarch is esteemed among the assembly.”)
He was a native of Zhijiang in Jingzhou, and his family name was Wei. In the seventeenth year of Kaihuang (597), Emperor Wen of the Sui ordered an investigation throughout the realm into privately ordained monks and nuns (monks and nuns who had not been issued official ordination certificates by the authorities). When the Master was questioned, he said, “Simple and unadorned, without name or reputation,” and then withdrew into a mountain cave.
During the Daye era (605–617, reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui), a general levy of able-bodied men was imposed to open the Grand Canal. Corvée laborers who died of starvation lay heaped one upon another. The Master begged for food to save them, and the number of people he rescued was very great. Emperor Yang summoned him, but the Master did not go; instead, he secretly entered Mount Taihe. When the emperor was residing in Jiangdu (Jiangsu Province), the situation throughout the country was in turmoil, so the Master took up his staff, ascended to a monastery on Mount Heng, and practiced the dhutanga austerities.
During the Zhenguan era (627–649, reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang), the Master went to Huangmei to pay his respects to Patriarch Hongren and there attained the essential import of the mind. In the first year of Linde (663, reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang), while traveling from place to place, he reached Shibi on Mount Zhongnan and settled there. Emperor Gaozong repeatedly summoned him, but the Master declined each time. He traveled among renowned sacred sites and then came to Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song, where he said, “This is the place where I shall dwell for the rest of my life.” From then on, Chan practitioners gathered there in great numbers.
*
– *
Two men, Tanran and Huairang, came to seek instruction and asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?
The Master asked:
– Why do you not ask about the meaning within yourself?
They asked:
– What is the meaning within oneself?
The Master replied:
– Observe the hidden function at the very moment it operates.
They asked:
– What is the hidden function?
The Master closed and opened his eyes to instruct them. Thus, if at his words they knew how to return, where else could there be any appropriate place? Yet Huairang’s karmic affinity did not accord with the Master, so he took leave of him and went to Caoxi.
*
– *
Empress Wu invited the Master to the imperial capital and received him with the courtesies due in the relationship between disciple and teacher. The Master and Chan Master Shenxiu were held in ever greater esteem. On one occasion, Empress Wu asked the Master his age. The Master replied:
– I do not remember.
The Empress asked:
– Why do you not remember?
The Master replied:
– This body, subject to birth and death, revolves in cycles like this, transmigrating without beginning or end. What need is there to remember? Moreover, that mind never ceases to act as the intermediary that waters and nurtures; from the initial consciousness it leads to coarse, agitated appearances. To see the mind as arising and ceasing, like a bubble, is merely deluded thought. When arising and ceasing have ended, it is still just thus. What years or months are there worth remembering?
On hearing this, Empress Wu bowed her head, paid homage, and accepted his teaching in faith.
In the second year of Shenlong (706), Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang bestowed a purple kasaya upon the Master. Fourteen of the Master’s ordained disciples were also invited into the inner palace, where they received offerings for three years, and each was presented with a set of hempen robes.
In the third year of Jinglong (709), the Master took leave of the capital and returned to Mount Song. On the third day of the third month of that year (709), he instructed his disciples:
– After I die, carry my body into the forest and wait for wild fire to cremate it.
A short while later, Lord Wanhui came to see the Master, took his hand, and engaged him in an uninhibited discussion. The attendants nearby strained their ears to listen, but none understood. On the eighth day, the Master had the doors closed, lay down peacefully, and entered cessation.
The Master was 128 years old (born in the renyin year, the second year of Kaihuang of the Sui, 582; died in the jiyou year, the third year of Jinglong of the Tang, 709. In his time he was known as National Teacher Lao’an).
Following his instructions, his disciples placed his body in the forest. Wild fire indeed arose naturally and cremated it, yielding eighty sariras. Among them were five purple-red relics, which were preserved in the palace.
In the second year of Xiantian (711), his disciples built a stupa to enshrine them.
*
– *
3. CHAN MASTER DAOMING OF MOUNT MENG, YUANZHOU
A native of Poyang, he was a distant descendant of Emperor Xuan of the Chen dynasty (557–588). After the imperial lineage perished, his family became displaced among the common people. Because he was a descendant of the royal house, he once briefly held an official post and was consequently known by the title “General.”
While still young, he left home at Yongchang Monastery, and his aspiration for the Way was exceedingly earnest. He later joined the Dharma assembly of the Fifth Patriarch and devoted himself wholeheartedly to investigation, but at first gained no awakening. When he heard that the Fifth Patriarch had secretly transmitted the robe and Dharma to the lay practitioner Lu, the Master immediately led about ten like-minded men in pursuit and followed his trail to the Dayu Ridge. The Master went far ahead and saw that the others had not yet caught up. When the lay practitioner Lu saw the Master running toward him, he placed the robe and bowl upon a rock and said:
– This robe is an object of testimony. Can it be taken by force? I leave it for you to carry away.
The Master tried to lift the robe, but it remained immovable as a mountain. Hesitant and afraid, the Master said:
– I have come to seek the Dharma, not for the robe. I beg you, lay practitioner, to instruct me.
The Sixth Patriarch said:
– Think neither of good nor of evil. At that very moment, what is the original face(67) of Venerable Ming?
At these words, the Master attained great awakening. Sweat poured from his entire body, and he wept and bowed several times.
The Master asked:
– Besides the secret meaning and secret words just spoken, is there any further essential purport?
The Patriarch said:
– What I am now telling you is not secret. If you turn the light around and illuminate your own face, the secret is there with you.
The Master said:
– Although I stayed at Huangmei among the assembly, in truth I had not yet awakened to and recognized my own face. Now, through your instruction, I have found an entrance, like one who drinks water and knows for himself whether it is hot or cold. From this day forth, lay practitioner, you are my teacher.
The Patriarch said:
– If it is so, then you and I share Huangmei as our teacher. Guard and preserve it well yourself.
The Master further asked:
– Where should I go from here?
The Patriarch replied:
– When you encounter Yuan, you should stop; when you encounter Meng, dwell there.
(Feng Yuan ke zhi, yu Meng ji ju)
The Master bowed in gratitude and hurried down to the foot of the mountain, where he told the others:
– I climbed to the lofty summit and gazed into the distance, but there was utterly no trace of him. We must search by another road.
They all believed him. After returning, the Master went alone to Bushui Terrace on Mount Lu and remained there for three years. Only afterward did he go to Mount Meng in Yuanzhou, where he greatly proclaimed and spread the teaching of the Chan school. The Master’s original name was Huiming, but to avoid the first character of his teacher’s name, Huineng, he changed his name to Daoming.
All the Master’s disciples were sent to Lingnan to pay homage to the Sixth Patriarch.
*
– *
COLLATERAL DHARMA SUCCESSORS OF THE SECOND GENERATION
1. DHARMA SUCCESSORS OF CHAN MASTER SHENXIU OF THE NORTHERN SCHOOL
1.1. Chan Master Jufang of Mount Wutai
A native of Anlu, his family name was Cao. When young, he received instruction from Chan Master Lang at Mingfu Cloister. At first he lectured on sutras and treatises; only later did he investigate Chan.
When he arrived at the Northern School, Master Xiu asked:
– When the white clouds disperse, what is it like there?
The Master replied:
– Not deluded.
Xiu further asked:
– Once you have entered there, what then?
The Master replied:
– I see precisely one branch producing five leaves.
Xiu silently acknowledged him and admitted him to his chamber to attend by his side, hoping that all error would be exhausted. The Master then went to dwell at Hanling in Shangdang. Within several years, his assembly numbered in the thousands. Afterward, the Master propagated the teaching on Mount Wutai for more than twenty years before entering cessation at the age of eighty-one. On the third day of the ninth month in the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan of the Tang (727), the assembly placed the Master’s intact body in a stupa.
1.2. Chan Master Zhifeng of Mount Zhongtiao, Hezhong Prefecture
The Master’s family name was Wu. At first he studied the Treatise on Consciousness-Only but became entangled in names and characteristics. When challenged by a learned teacher, he grew angry and ceased lecturing.
The Master traveled to Mount Wudang, where he met Chan Master Shenxiu, and the doubts in his mind immediately dissolved. Wishing to nurture the holy embryo, he took his leave and departed for Mount Anfeng in Pujin, where he subsisted on vegetables and spring water for no fewer than ten years. At that time, the prefect Wei Wensheng invited him into the inner city, built the state-sponsored Xin’an Cloister, and had him reside there. Monastics and laypeople came and went without cease to take refuge in him.
The governor asked:
– What shall become of me from now on?
The Master replied:
– The sun rises from Mengfan(68),
Illuminating the tree entirely without shadow.
At first the governor could not understand. He joined his palms, bowed in farewell, and withdrew. Before long, he understood, and from then on he naturally attained ease.
The Master traveled to and from Mount Zhongtiao for more than twenty years. Those who attained the Way under him were too numerous to record fully.
After the Master entered cessation, his disciples built a stupa to enshrine him north of the prefectural city.
1.3. Chan Master Xiangmo Zang of Yanzhou
A native of Zhao Commandery, his family name was Wang, and his father served as a deputy official. The Master left home at the age of seven. At that time, many demons and spirits haunted the fields of Zhu, deluding the people. The Master went alone to subdue them, without ever showing the slightest fear; hence he became known as Subduer of Demons.
Later, he took refuge under Chan Master Mingzan of Guangfu Monastery, left home, and served him diligently. After receiving the Dharma, he encountered a time when the teachings of the Northern School flourished, and he vowed to lift his robe and follow them.
Master Xiu asked:
– Your name is Subduer of Demons, but here there are no mountain spirits or tree goblins. Could it be that you yourself are the demon?
The Master replied:
– Where there is a Buddha, there is a demon.
Xiu said:
– If you are a demon, you must dwell in the inconceivable realm.
The Master replied:
– Even being a Buddha is empty; what realm could there be?
Xiu gave the Master a prophetic assurance, saying:
– You have an affinity with the mound of Shaohao.
The Master then entered Mount Tai. Within a few years, students gathered around him in great numbers. One day, the Master told his disciples:
– My body is now old and useless. When things reach their extreme, they return.
After saying this, the Master departed. He was ninety-one years old.
1.4. Chan Master Daoshu of Shouzhou.
A native of Tangzhou, his family name was Wen. In his youth, he pursued the study of the scriptures and classical texts. When he was nearly fifty, he encountered an eminent monk who admonished him, whereupon he vowed to leave home.
He went to pay homage to Master Huiwen of Mount Mingyue in his native region and took him as his teacher. Being advanced in years and late in seeking the Dharma, the Master felt ashamed. Resolutely, he traveled in all directions, leaving no place unvisited. Later, he returned to Eastern Luo and met Chan Master Shenxiu. From their conversation, Xiu knew that although his awakening had come late, he had become a vessel of the Dharma.
He then selected a place on Mount Sanfeng in Shouzhou, built a hermitage, and dwelt there. A wild man, clothed in tree bark, often appeared and discoursed on strange and extraordinary matters. While sitting, acting, speaking, and laughing, he would also transform himself into the forms of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, arhats, celestial immortals, and so forth. At times he emitted divine light or performed music. When the Master’s students saw these things, they were unable to assess them.
This continued for ten years. Later, the wild man died, and no further apparitions appeared. The Master instructed the assembly:
– The wild man transformed himself into many forms and appearances, skillfully deluding people through illusion. It was merely a diversion. This old monk neither saw nor heard it. His abilities had limits; my neither seeing nor hearing is inexhaustible.
In the first year of Baoli of the Tang dynasty, 825, the Master manifested illness and then passed away. He was ninety-two years old.
In the first lunar month of the following year, a stupa was erected in his honor.
1.5. Chan Master Cunshi of Mount Duliang, Huainan.
A native of Guangzhou, his family name was Rui. At first, he built a hermitage as a temporary dwelling. Prefect Wei Wenqing invited the Master to expound the Dharma and gathered a community of disciples at Changshou Monastery in his home prefecture.
Wenqing asked:
– In the future, how will the Buddhadharma flourish and decline?
The Master replied:
– What is true is neither ancient nor present and leaves no trace. Conditioned dharmas undergo the four marks and change with the ages; this Dharma will inevitably encounter obstacles. Your Lordship should understand this.
The Master passed away at the age of ninety-three. In the fourth year of Huichang of the Tang dynasty, on the seventh day of the ninth lunar month of the jiazi year, 844, his remains were enshrined in a stupa.
2. DHARMA HEIRS OF NATIONAL PRECEPTOR HUI’AN OF MOUNT SONG
2.2. Chan Master Renjian of Fuxian Monastery in the Eastern Capital of Luo.
After the teaching at Mount Song had ceased, the Master roamed freely among crowded places such as shops and marketplaces. People of the time called him Venerable Tengteng. In 694, during the Tiance Wansui era of the Tang dynasty, the Heavenly Empress summoned the Master before the palace hall. Gazing up at the Heavenly Empress, Empress Wu, for a long while, the Master asked:
– Do you understand?
The Empress replied:
– I do not understand.
The Master said:
– This old monk observes the precept of “not speaking.”
Having said this, he departed. The following day, he presented a collection of nineteen short songs. After reading them, the Heavenly Empress praised the Master and bestowed generous rewards upon him, but he accepted none of them. The Empress ordered that the Master’s songs be transcribed and disseminated throughout the realm. The songs fully expounded the true principle in order to awaken the worldly people of that time. The Song of Comprehending the Source, in particular, circulated widely in the world.
2.2. Venerable Pot-Breaker of Mount Song.
His personal and family names are unknown. His words and deeds were unfathomable, and he lived in seclusion on Mount Song.
In a mountain hollow stood a shrine reputed to possess great spiritual power. Within its sanctuary, only a clay stove was enshrined. People from near and far came ceaselessly to make offerings, slaughtering a great many living creatures.
One day, the Master led an attendant monk into the shrine. He struck the stove three times with his staff and said:
– Enough, you stove! You are merely fashioned from clay. Whence comes your holiness, and whence comes your spiritual power? Why do you cause living creatures to be slaughtered in this way?
He then struck the stove three more times. It collapsed, shattered, and fell to the ground. Because of this, National Preceptor An named him Pot-Breaker. Shortly afterward, a man dressed in blue robes and wearing a tall cap suddenly appeared before the Master and bowed. The Master asked:
– Who are you?
He replied:
– I was formerly the stove spirit of this shrine and have long endured karmic retribution. Today, through the Venerable’s kindness in expounding the Dharma of non-arising, I have escaped this place and been born in a heavenly realm. I have come especially to express my gratitude.
The Master said:
– That is your own inherent nature; it was not something I compelled you to realize through my words.
The spirit bowed to the Master once more and then vanished. Shortly afterward, one of the monks accompanying the Master, an attendant, asked:
– We have long remained beside the Venerable, yet have never received such earnest instruction from you. Please teach us especially. What did the stove spirit attain that, as soon as you pointed it out directly, he was born in heaven?
The Master replied:
– I merely told him that it was composed of tiles and clay. Apart from that, I gave him no principle whatsoever.
All the monks accompanying the Master stood up without saying a word.
The Master asked:
– Do you understand?
The monk in charge replied:
– We do not understand.
The Master asked:
– Since the nature is inherently present, why do you not understand?
The monks then bowed in homage.
The Master said:
– Collapse, collapse! Shatter, shatter!
*
– *
Later, Chan Master Yifeng cited the preceding account and asked National Preceptor An about it. The National Preceptor praised him, saying:
– He thoroughly understood that self and things are one suchness. It may be said that, like the bright moon in the sky, there was nothing he did not see. It is difficult to discern the pulse of his words.
Chan Master Feng then bowed his head, joined his palms, and asked:
– I do not yet know who can discern the pulse of his words.
The National Preceptor replied:
– That which does not know.
*
– *
Another monk asked:
– What is it like when all things are without form or appearance?
The Master replied:
– When you bow, there is only you and no me; when you do not bow, there is only me and not you.
The monk then bowed in gratitude. The Master said:
– Each and every thing is inherently present, yet it is not a thing. Therefore it is said, “When the mind can turn things, it is identical with the Tathagata.”
*
– *
Another monk asked:
– What is a person who cultivates wholesome conduct like?
The Master replied:
– Holding weapons and wearing armor.
The monk asked:
– What is a person who commits evil conduct like?
The Master replied:
– Practicing Chan and entering samadhi.
The monk said:
– My faculties are shallow and limited. I ask the Master to point it out directly.
The Master said:
– You ask me about evil: evil does not follow good. You ask me about good: good does not follow evil.
After a long while, the Master again asked:
– Do you understand?
The monk replied:
– I do not understand.
The Master said:
– An evil person has no thought of good; a good person has no mind of evil. Therefore it is said, “Good and evil are like floating clouds; neither has any place of arising or cessation.”
Upon hearing the Master’s words, the monk attained great awakening.
*
– *
A monk came from the Niutou Dharma center. The Master asked:
– From whose Dharma assembly have you come?
The monk approached the Master, joined his palms, circumambulated him once, and then turned and walked out. The Master said:
– There could be no such person in the Niutou Dharma assembly.
The monk then returned, stepped close to the Master, joined his palms, and stood there. The Master said:
– Just so! Just so!
The monk then asked:
– What is it when things appear in response, yet that does not follow things?
The Master asked:
– How could it not follow things?
The monk asked:
– What is it to accord with true wisdom and return to the source?
The Master asked:
– Upon returning to the source, what is there left to accord with?
The monk said:
– Were it not for the Venerable, I would have incurred many errors.
The Master said:
– Therefore, before meeting the Fourth Patriarch, one speaks of principle; after meeting him, one penetrates the future.
The monk again circumambulated the Master once and then departed. The Master said:
– The Way that accords with the true has always been thus.
The monk bowed.
*
– *
A monk stood in attendance for a long time. The Master said:
– The Buddhas and Patriarchs merely speak according to the person; as for the original mind and original nature themselves, there is no principle that can be spoken. Understand this, understand this!
The monk bowed in thanks. The Master then struck him with the fly whisk and said:
– If it is thus in one place, it is likewise thus in a thousand places.
The monk then joined his palms, came before the Master, and answered, “Yes.” The Master said:
– Still you do not believe; still you do not believe.
The monk asked:
– What is a great icchantika?
The Master replied:
– Showing reverence and making obeisance.
He asked again:
– What is a person of great diligence?
The Master replied:
– Slandering and becoming angry.
Later, no one knew where the Master passed away.
2.3. Chan Master Yuan Gui of Mount Song.
He was from Yique, and his family name was Li. He left home while still young. In the second year of the Yongchun era of the Tang dynasty (683), the Master received full ordination at Xianju Monastery and practiced the Vinaya without weariness.
Later, he paid a visit to National Preceptor An, who confirmed his sudden awakening to the profound purport of the true school. He then selected a large tract of land on Mount Song and built a thatched hermitage there. One day, an extraordinary person arrived, wearing a tall cap, short trousers, and a lined robe, accompanied by a great many attendants. Walking lightly and at ease, he announced that he had come to pay his respects to the great master.
Seeing that his appearance was extraordinarily majestic, the Master said:
– Come here, worthy one! What brings you here?
The other replied:
– Does the Master not know who I am?
The Master said:
– I regard the Buddha and sentient beings as equal. When I look upon them, how could there be any distinction?
The other said:
– I am the divine spirit of this mountain and hold the power of life and death over people. How could the Master know me merely by looking?
The Master replied:
– I am originally unborn; how, then, could you put me to death? I see my body as identical with empty space, and I see you and myself as the same. Can you destroy empty space and yourself, that you would hope to destroy empty space and destroy yourself? I am unborn and undying. Since you yourself have not yet attained this, how could you wrest from me the power of life and death?
The spirit bowed low and said:
– I am more intelligent and upright than the other spirits, yet how could I have known that the Master possessed such vast wisdom and eloquence? I beg you to confer the true precepts upon me and help me deliver beings in the world.
The Master said:
– Since you have requested the precepts, you have already received them. Why is this? Apart from the precepts, there are no precepts; who, then, is there to transmit them?
The spirit said:
– Hearing this principle leaves me bewildered. I only beg the Master to transmit the precepts so that I may become a disciple of your gate.
For the spirit’s sake, the Master had seats arranged and placed an incense burner and a small table in the center. He then said:
– I shall transmit the five precepts to you. If you can uphold one, answer, “I can”; if you cannot uphold it, answer, “I cannot.”
The spirit said:
– I respectfully submit to your instruction.
The Master asked:
– Can you refrain from sexual misconduct?
He replied:
– I already have a wife.
The Master said:
– Do not speak of that. Say instead that you will not be bound by sensual desire.
He replied:
– I can.
The Master asked:
– Can you refrain from stealing?
He replied:
– What do I lack? How could I possibly steal?
The Master said:
– Do not speak of that. Say instead that excessive blessings, emoluments, luxury, and wastefulness, together with failing to consider supporting others, cause what is wholesome to become a calamity(*).
He replied:
– I can.
The Master asked:
– Can you refrain from killing living beings?
He replied:
– I truly hold that very power; how can you speak of my refraining from killing?
The Master said:
– Do not speak of that. Say instead that there are indiscriminate killing, accidental killing, killing on suspicion, and killing amid confusion(69).
He replied:
– I can.
The Master asked:
– Can you refrain from false speech?
He replied:
– I am upright; how could I tell falsehoods?
The Master said:
– Do not speak of that. Say instead that your conduct from beginning to end must not fail to accord with the will of Heaven**.
He replied:
– I can.
The Master asked:
– Can you refrain from drinking alcohol to intoxication?
He replied:
– I can.
The Master said:
– The foregoing are the Buddha’s precepts. The Master further said:
– Uphold the precepts wholeheartedly, yet without a mind of attachment; act wholeheartedly for the sake of beings, yet without a mind that thinks of itself. If you can do this, you will live before heaven and earth, yet not as a disembodied spirit; you will die after heaven and earth, yet not become old. Though transforming throughout the day, you will not be in motion; though utterly quiescent, you will not be at rest.
If you awaken to this, then although you have a wife, you have no wife; although you enjoy things, there is no enjoyment; although you wield authority, it is not authority; although you act, there is no deliberate intent; although intoxicated, you are not deluded. If you can be without mind toward the myriad things, then being surrounded by desire is not sexual misconduct; excessive blessings and wholesome deeds meeting with calamity are not stealing; killing without cause, through error, from lingering suspicion, or amid disorder is not killing; speaking from beginning to end contrary to heavenly principle is not falsehood; delusion, confusion, and inversion are not intoxication.
This is called no-mind. With no-mind there are no precepts; having no precepts is precisely no-mind. There is neither Buddha nor sentient being, neither you nor I. If there is no you, what could the precepts be?
The spirit said:
– My spiritual powers are one level below the Buddha’s.
The Master said:
– Of the ten categories of spiritual power, you have attained five and have not attained five. The Buddha has attained seven and has not attained three.
The spirit, alarmed, rose from his seat, knelt, and asked:
– May I hear about them?
The Master said:
– Can you go to the Supreme Lord, perform your duties in the Eastern Heaven, and employ the seven stars(70) to bestow blessings or send down calamities upon all under heaven in the Western Heaven?
He replied:
– I cannot.
The Master asked:
– Can you seize the authority of the earth spirits, melt away the five great mountains, and then gather them together to form the four seas?
He replied:
– I cannot.
The Master said:
– These are among the five things you cannot do. The Buddha can render all appearances empty and transform the myriad dharmas into wisdom, but cannot immediately extinguish fixed karma. The Buddha can know the events of hundreds of millions of kalpas and the dispositions of sentient beings, but cannot guide and transform those who lack affinity. The Buddha can deliver immeasurable sentient beings, but cannot completely deliver the entire realm of sentient beings. These are the three things the Buddha cannot do.
Yet fixed karma is not enduringly fixed; lacking affinity likewise means only for a certain period; and the realm of sentient beings is originally neither increased nor diminished. No one rules over conditioned dharmas. That conditioned dharmas have no ruler is called the absence of dharmas; the absence of dharmas and of a ruler is called no-mind. According to my understanding, the Buddha likewise has no spiritual powers; he merely employs the Dharma of no-mind to penetrate all dharmas.
The spirit said:
– I am indeed shallow and deluded, and have never heard the meaning of emptiness. I shall reverently practice the precepts the Master has transmitted to me. Now I wish to employ all my strength in obedience to you, hoping to repay your compassionate virtue.
The Master said:
– I contemplate the body as nothing whatsoever and contemplate all dharmas as impermanent. Alone and solitary, what could I still desire?
The spirit said:
– The Master should command me to perform some worldly task and display the abilities of this minor spirit, so that the five classes of people—those whose resolve is already established, those who have first aroused resolve, those who have not yet aroused resolve, and those without faith—may all assuredly acquire faith. By following the traces of this spirit, people in the world will know that there are Buddhas and spirits; that there are things that can be done and things that cannot be done; and that there are things that occur naturally and things that do not.
The Master said:
– Non-action! Non-action!
The spirit said:
– The Buddha also instructed spirits to protect the Dharma. Could the Master go against the Buddha? I beg the Master to instruct me as you please.
Unable to decline, the Master finally said:
– On the embankment of Dongling Monastery there are no large trees, and wild grasses grow densely. In the northern ravine there are large trees, but none of them—the old edition has the character bei instead of jie—is of any use as shelter. Can you move the trees from the northern ravine to the embankment of Dongling Monastery?
The spirit replied:
– I shall obey your instruction. But there will surely be a commotion in the darkness of night; I hope the Master will not be afraid.
Having said this, he bowed and took his leave. The Master escorted him to the gate and continued watching as he departed. He saw a long, winding ceremonial procession like that of a sovereign; clouds, mist, and rosy vapors intertwined, now parting and then merging again, while banners, pennants, and jeweled ornaments rose and sank away into the sky.
That night, as expected, a violent wind arose. Thunder resounded, and clouds rolled amid trembling flashes of lightning.
The buildings shook, and the sleeping birds cried out in alarm.
The Master told the assembly:
– Do not be afraid, do not be afraid! The spirit is merely in accord with us.
The next morning, the sky was calm. All the pine and juniper trees at the northern grotto had moved to the eastern mountain, where they stood in orderly rows, still verdant and luxuriant.
The Master said to his disciples:
– After I die, you must not let outsiders know of this matter, lest they have reason to suppose that I was a demon.
In the fourth year of Kaiyuan, the bingchen year, 716, the Master instructed his disciples:
– At first I dwelt at Dongling Monastery. After I die, you must place my remains there.
Having said this, he seemed to cast off the body. He was seventy-three years old. His disciples built a stupa at that place.
COLLATERAL DHARMA SUCCESSORS OF THE THIRD GENERATION
DHARMA SUCCESSORS OF CHAN MASTER PUJI OF MOUNT SONG (THE SHENXIU LINEAGE)
CHAN MASTER WEIZHENG OF MOUNT ZHONGNAN
He was a native of Pingyuan, in Shandong Province, and his family name was Zhou. He received ordination in his home prefecture under Dharma Master Quancheng at Yanhua Monastery.
He attained the Dharma under Chan Master Puji of Mount Song and decisively realized the true purport. The Master then entered Mount Taiyi and dwelt there. Students filled his quarters.
During the Taihe era of the Tang dynasty, 827–835, Emperor Wenzong was fond of eating clams. Officials along the coast were successively required to present clams as tribute before the proper season, and the people showed signs of exhaustion.
One day, among the dishes prepared for the imperial table, someone tried to pry open a clam with his thumb but could not. The emperor found this strange and lit incense in supplication. After a moment, the clam transformed into the complete figure of a bodhisattva, endowed with all the noble marks. The emperor ordered that money, rice, and agarwood incense be set out before it and covered it with fine brocade. He bestowed upon the monastery the name Xing善 Monastery. He commanded the monks to come and pay reverence, and then asked his ministers:
– What auspicious sign might this be?
Someone replied:
– Chan Master Weizheng of Mount Taiyi profoundly understands the Buddha-Dharma and is broadly learned and deeply knowledgeable.
The emperor immediately dispatched an envoy to invite the Master to the capital and question him about the matter. The Master said:
– I have heard that when phenomena appear in response, it is never without cause. This is a sign intended to open Your Majesty’s mind to faith. Thus a sutra says, “For those who are to be liberated by such-and-such a body, he immediately manifests such-and-such a body and teaches them the Dharma.”
The emperor asked:
– The body of the bodhisattva has appeared, yet I still have not heard the Dharma being taught.
The Master asked:
– Does Your Majesty regard this manifestation as ordinary or extraordinary? Do you believe it or not?
The emperor replied:
– This is a rare and wondrous event, and I have complete faith in it.
The Master said:
– Then Your Majesty has already heard the Dharma being taught.
At that moment, the emperor’s heart rejoiced as never before. He issued an edict commanding every monastery throughout the realm to establish
an image of Bodhisattva Guanyin in gratitude for this exceptionally auspicious event.
The emperor then retained the Master at the practice hall within the palace. The Master repeatedly took leave and requested permission to return to the mountains, but the emperor instead issued an edict appointing him abbot of Shengshou Monastery. When Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne,(71) the Master hastened into Mount Zhongnan and lived in seclusion. When someone asked the reason, the Master replied:
– I have gone to avoid an enemy.
The Master later passed away at his mountain hermitage at the age of eighty-seven. After his body was cremated, forty-nine relics were recovered and enshrined in a stupa on the fourth day of the ninth month in the third year of Huichang, 843.
COLLATERAL DHARMA SUCCESSORS OF THE FOURTH GENERATION
DHARMA SUCCESSORS OF CHAN MASTER WUXIANG OF YIZHOU (THE ZHIXIAN LINEAGE)
CHAN MASTER WUZHU OF BAOTANG MONASTERY IN YIZHOU
At first, the Master attained the Dharma under Great Master Wuxiang, after which he went to dwell on Mount Baiya in Nanyang, Henan. He devoted himself to the cultivation of samadhi for many years. Students gradually arrived, diligently seeking instruction without cease. From then on, the Master began to teach. Although he discoursed extensively upon doctrinal teachings, he took no-thought alone as the essential principle.
The Tang chancellor Du Hongjian led troops to pacify a strategic region. Having heard of the Master’s reputation, he wished to visit and pay reverence to him. In the ninth month of the first year of Dali, 766, Lord Du sent an envoy to the mountain to invite the Master. At that time, the military governor Cui Ning also ordered monastic communities from the various monasteries to travel from afar to welcome him. On the first day of the tenth month, the Master arrived at Konghui Monastery. Lord Du and the military commanders then summoned eminent monks accomplished in the three trainings to assemble together at the monastery.
After the ceremony was completed, Lord Du asked:
– I have just heard that Master will stay here. Will you go anywhere else afterward?
The Master replied:
– By nature, Wuzhu delights in rustic simplicity and ordinarily sojourns in the mountains. I traveled among renowned sacred sites from Helan to Wutai. Hearing that at my late master’s place, Dafeng Guifeng Monastery, the teaching of the Supreme Vehicle was being expounded, I hurried there from afar
and presumed to take a seat at the lecture assembly. Afterward, I took refuge at Baiya and remained there for many years. Now that I have been invited and am fortunate enough to meet Your Excellency, how could I dare disobey your command?
Lord Du asked:
– This disciple has heard that Venerable Jin taught, “Do not recollect, do not think, and do not follow delusion.” Is this the Dharma gate of the three phrases?
The Master replied:
– It is.
Lord Du asked:
– Are these three phrases one or three?
The Master replied:
– “Do not recollect” is called morality; “do not think” is called concentration; and “do not follow delusion” is called wisdom. When not a single thought arises, morality, concentration, and wisdom are all complete. It is neither one nor three.
Lord Du asked:
– In the final phrase, might the word “delusion” mean forgetting that phenomena arise from the mind?
The Master replied:
– That is a delusion arising from your own mind.
Lord Du asked:
– Is there scriptural evidence for this?
The Master replied:
– The Dharmapada Sutra says, “If one gives rise to a mind of diligence, that is delusion, not diligence. If one can be diligent while the mind is free from delusion, there will be no boundary or limit.”
Upon hearing this, Lord Du’s doubts were completely dispelled. He asked again:
– Does Master use the three phrases to teach people?
The Master replied:
– For beginning students, I teach them to bring thoughts to rest and still the waves of consciousness. When the water becomes clear, reflections appear. When they realize that thoughts have no intrinsic nature, quiescent extinction manifests before them. Even no-thought is not established.
At that moment, a magpie called from a tree before the courtyard.
Lord Du asked:
– Does Master hear it?
The Master replied:
– I hear it.
After the magpie had flown away, Lord Du asked again:
– Does Master hear it?
The Master replied:
– I hear it.
Lord Du asked:
– The magpie has flown away and there is no sound. Why do you say that you hear it?
The Master then addressed the entire assembly:
– It is difficult to encounter a Buddha appearing in the world, and difficult to hear the true Dharma. Each of you, listen attentively! Hearing has nothing that hears. That which is heard—sound—has no bearing upon the nature of hearing. The nature of hearing has never arisen from the beginning and has never ceased. When sound is present, the sound-object arises of itself; when sound is absent, the sound-object ceases of itself. Yet the nature of hearing does not arise by following sound, nor does it cease by following sound. If you awaken to this nature of hearing, you will escape the bonds of the sound-object. You should therefore know that the nature of hearing neither arises nor ceases, and neither comes nor goes.
Lord Du, together with his officials and the assembly, bowed reverently.
Lord Du asked again:
– What is called the ultimate truth, and through what sequence of stages may one enter the ultimate truth?
The Master replied:
– The ultimate truth has no sequence of stages, nor does it have entering or leaving. Conventional truth contains all things; the ultimate truth contains no things. The absence of intrinsic nature in all dharmas—the nature of emptiness—is called the ultimate truth. The Buddha taught, “The existence of dharmas is called conventional truth; their absence of intrinsic nature is called the ultimate truth.”
Lord Du said:
– Instruction such as the Master’s is truly inconceivable!
Lord Du continued:
– This disciple’s understanding is shallow and limited. Previously, during leisure from official duties, I composed a two-fascicle “Chapter Commentary on the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith.” May it be called Buddha-Dharma?
The Master replied:
– In general, the composition of commentaries and annotations employs consciousness and discriminative thought; being conditioned and contrived, the arising of the mind and stirring of thoughts are precisely what constitute consciousness. According to the treatise: “You should know that all dharmas, from the beginning, are free from the characteristics of speech, free from the characteristics of names and words, and free from the characteristics of mental objects. They are ultimately equal, without change or distinction, and are solely the One Mind; therefore, this is called true suchness.”
Now, Your Excellency is attached to the characteristics of speech, to the characteristics of names and words, and to the characteristics of mental objects. Being attached to so many characteristics, how can this be called the Buddha-Dharma?
The official rose, bowed, and said:
– This disciple once asked the venerable worthies serving as court chaplains, and they all praised this disciple as inconceivable. It should be known that they were merely accommodating human sentiments. Now the Master has explained according to principle, in conformity with the Dharma gate of the mind-ground. This is indeed the inconceivable true principle.
The official further asked:
– What is non-arising, and what is non-cessation? How can liberation be attained?
The Master replied:
– When confronting objects, “the mind does not arise”; this is called non-arising. Non-arising itself is non-cessation. Since there is neither arising nor cessation, one is not bound by the objects before one; right there is liberation.
Non-arising is called no-thought; no-thought is itself non-cessation; no-thought is itself non-bondage; no-thought is itself no-liberation.
In brief: to be free from thought within consciousness(72) is to see one’s nature, and seeing one’s nature is liberation. Apart from consciousness and far removed from seeing one’s nature, could
there be anything called a Dharma gate for realizing unsurpassed bodhi? There is no such thing.
The official asked:
– What is called seeing one’s nature within consciousness?
The Master replied:
– All who study the Way drift along following their thoughts because they do not know the true mind. As for that true mind, when a thought arises, it does not arise along with it; when a thought ceases, it does not cease along with it. It neither comes nor goes, is neither concentrated nor distracted, neither grasps nor rejects, neither sinks nor floats. It is unconditioned and without characteristics, lively, ordinary, and naturally free. The essence of this mind is ultimately unobtainable and cannot be known through perception; whatever meets the eye is all suchness, and all of it is seeing one’s nature.
The official and the assembly bowed, offered praises, rejoiced, and then withdrew.
Later, the Master resided at Baotang Monastery and passed away there.
END OF FASCICLE IV
Notes:
(53) Dharma heir: A disciple who has attained the Dharma and continues the master’s Chan lineage.
(54) When one’s mind is true and naturally free, the five skandhas—the self—are empty; how could birds and beasts know where to find one in order to make offerings?
(55) Mental measure: The deluded mind that follows sensory objects and gives rise to discrimination, involving a perceiving subject and perceived objects; it is also called the object-clinging mind.
Knowing: The true mind, suchness itself, unmoving, which neither follows conditions nor engages in illumination.
The deluded and the true are nondual, identical in essence.
(56) Cognition conditioned by objects: The object-clinging mind; mind and mental factors depend upon sensory objects to give rise to cognition. This is the deluded mind of ordinary beings.
(57) Activity: Mental activity, the arising and ceasing of consciousness. Right within mental activity, use the inherently present knowing that neither arises nor ceases to illuminate it. This is called transforming appearances, transforming consciousness into wisdom; delusion is like illusory flowers in empty space.
– Cognition: Awareness and sensation that establish subject and object and belong to delusion.
(58) Knowing: Knowing that is free of knowing, true knowing. Conditioned knowing: Knowing that establishes knowledge, deluded knowing. Deluded knowing does not reside in true knowing and cannot defile true knowing.
(59) No-mind: The constant knowing present within the deluded mind—the mind that exists—which we ourselves forget while following the deluded mind.
– Subtle: Extremely fine.
(60) The mind is the host and is only one; sensory objects are guests and are very many—myriad.
61 The five paths (five destinies, five modes of existence): The five paths of cyclic birth and death traversed by sentient beings. They are hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, and devas.
The four maras: Four kinds of mara that seize a person’s physical life and life of wisdom. They are the mara of the five skandhas, the mara of afflictions, the mara of death, and the celestial mara—the Mara King.
62 In 759, Shi Siming usurped the throne of the Tang dynasty and established the Great Yan dynasty, designating the year as the first year of the Tiance era.
(63) The four mountains: The impermanent body is oppressed by four sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, and death.
(64) Shaking the staff: Striking or shaking the ringed staff to make a sound when a traveling monk wishes to stop or depart.
(65) Anapana samadhi: One of the important foundational practices for attaining right concentration (samadhi), namely, mindful and clear awareness while breathing. When a practitioner breathes in slowly, that person knows, “I am breathing in slowly”; when breathing out slowly, that person knows, “I am breathing out slowly” …
(66) Narayana: The Sino-Vietnamese transcription of a Sanskrit term meaning a vajra warrior of great strength.
(67) Original face: The face that has always been as it is from the very beginning. This expression refers to Buddha-nature, true suchness—unborn, undying, and ever-present in every sentient being. To see the original face is to see one’s nature.
(68) Mengfan: The ancients called the place where the sun sets “Mengfan,” the west.
– We have been unable to trace the terms “phước dâm, họa thiện”; according to the context, we have provisionally translated them in this way.
69 Wrongful execution: Killing an innocent person; Accidental killing: Killing through carelessness or error; Suspected killing: Killing without clear evidence; Indiscriminate killing: Killing during times of turmoil and lawlessness.
** Heavenly mind: Conscience.
(70) The seven luminaries: Seven celestial bodies—the sun, moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. According to folk belief, they exert auspicious or inauspicious influences upon the world.
71 The third persecution of the Dharma. There were four persecutions of the Dharma in all, during which Buddhism was suppressed by emperors: the first under Emperor Wu of the Northern Wei dynasty; the second under Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou dynasty; the third under Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty; and the fourth under Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou dynasty. Historians call these “the Dharma persecutions under the Three Wus and One Zong.”
72 Freedom from thought means abiding properly in the Dharma of no-thought. No-thought is the essence of thought; it is neither thought nor does it reside in thought. When thoughts arise and cease, no-thought neither arises nor ceases and is not defiled by thought; therefore, it is said to be free from thought. To recognize the essence of no-thought within one’s own thinking mind is called seeing one’s nature.
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