景德傳燈錄

THE JINGDE RECORD OF THE TRANSMISSION OF THE LAMP — FASCICLE 25

VOLUME 25
Ninth Generation after Chan Master Xingsi (Part 1).

– There were thirty Dharma successors of Chan Master Wenyi of Qingliang in Jinling:

• Ninth Generation after Chan Master Xingsi (Part 1).
• There were thirty Dharma successors of Chan Master Wenyi of Qingliang in Jinling:

1. National Preceptor Deshao of Mount Tiantai.
The Master was a native of Longquan in Chuzhou, and his family name was Chen. His mother, née Ye, dreamed that light illuminated her body, whereupon she conceived. Many extraordinary signs accompanied the Master's birth.

When the Master was fifteen, an Indian monk urged him to leave home. At seventeen, he entered Longgui Monastery in his native prefecture and undertook his training; at eighteen, he received the full precepts at Kaiyuan Monastery in Xinzhou. During the Kaiping era of the Later Liang, the Master traveled in search of instruction. Upon reaching Mount Touzi, he met Chan Master Datong and first aroused the resolve to seek awakening. Later, he met the Venerable Longya Dun and asked, “Why can one not draw near to the Supremely Honored Hero?”

Longya said, “It is like fire meeting fire.”

The Master asked, “What would you do if water suddenly came?”

Longya said, “You do not understand.”

The Master further asked, “Heaven does not cover it and earth does not support it—what is this principle?”

Longya said, “It comes together thus.”

The Master did not understand his meaning and again requested instruction.

Longya said, “As for the Way, you will understand it yourself in the future.”

Next, he asked Master Shushan, “Within a thousand encircling layers, what person’s realm is it?”

Shushan said, “To the left of the cart, a rope of chevè grass tightly binds the ghost.”

The Master asked, “Without falling into past or present, Master, please speak.”

He replied, “I will not speak.”

The Master asked, “Why will you not speak?”

He replied, “Herein, existence and nonexistence are not distinguished.”

The Master said, “Today the Master speaks well.”

Shushan was startled.

In this manner, the Master successively called upon fifty-four spiritual friends, yet his affinity with the Dharma had still not been fulfilled. Finally, he went to Linchuan and met Chan Master Jinghui. Upon first seeing him, Jinghui knew that he was a profound vessel. The Master had traveled everywhere among the monasteries and had grown weary of seeking instruction, so he merely followed the assembly.

One day, Jinghui ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “What is a single drop of water from the Cao Source?”

Jinghui said, “A single drop of water from the Cao Source.”

The monk withdrew in bewilderment. The Master, who was sitting nearby, suddenly awakened. All the doubts and obstructions he had ordinarily harbored dissolved like ice melting into water. The Master then presented his realization to Jinghui.

Jinghui said, “In the future, you will become a teacher of kings. Even Patriarch Daoguang and I will not equal you.”

From then onward, the divergent teachings of the various regions and the mysterious barriers of past and present were all discerned by him without leaving the slightest trace. The Master then returned to his native region and traveled to Mount Tiantai, where he saw the remains associated with Chan Master Zhizhe Kai, together with the site of his former dwelling. The Master also bore the same family name as Zhizhe, and people at the time called him a later incarnation of Zhizhe.

At first, the Master resided at Baisha. At that time, Prince Zhongyi of Wuyue, a son of the king, was serving in Taizhou. Hearing of the Master's reputation, he invited him to come and inquired about the Way.

The Master said, “When, on another day, you become the sovereign, do not forget the Buddha’s kindness.”

In the first year of the Qianyou era of the Later Han (the wushen year), the prince succeeded to the royal throne. He sent an envoy to welcome the Master and reverently honored him as a disciple would.

It was related that Xiji, a teacher in the Tiantai tradition of Zhizhe, repeatedly said to the Master, “The teachings of Zhizhe have gradually declined over the years, and I fear that much has been scattered and lost. In the kingdom of Silla, however, its textual foundations remain quite complete. Unless this is accomplished through the Venerable’s power, no one else can do it.”

The Master therefore conveyed these words to King Zhongyi. The king dispatched an envoy bearing the Master’s letter to that country. The texts were copied in full and brought back, and they have continued to circulate in the world down to the present.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and said:

“The skillful means of the ancient Buddhas were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The Patriarch said, ‘It is not the wind that moves, nor the banner that moves; it is the minds of you benevolent ones that move.’ This is precisely the Dharma gate of the unsurpassed mind-seal. We are guests beneath the Patriarch’s gate; how are we to understand the Patriarch’s meaning?

“Do not say that neither wind nor banner moves, while your own mind moves delusively. Do not say that wind and banner have been swept entirely away, so that wind and banner are both taken together. Do not ask where the wind and banner move. There is a saying that the mind shines when resting upon phenomena, and that one need not cognize phenomena. There is a saying, ‘Form itself is emptiness.’ There is also a saying that neither wind nor banner moves, but that one must attain a subtle understanding. If you interpret and understand it in these ways, what connection has that with the Patriarch’s essential meaning?

“Since such understanding is not permitted, venerable ones, you must know it completely. If you thoroughly awaken herein, what Dharma gate would not become clear? When the skillful means of hundreds of thousands of Buddhas are penetrated all at once, what doubt could remain?

“Therefore, an ancient said, ‘When one thing is comprehended, a thousand become clear; when one thing is misunderstood, ten thousand doubts arise.’ Venerable ones, could it be that today you understand one thing but tomorrow no longer understand it? It is not that there is one portion of the matter beyond that is difficult to understand, while another portion remains unintelligible because ordinary beings possess inferior capacities. With such views, even if you passed through dust-like kalpas and exhausted your spiritual faculties, it would be useless. There is no such place.”

A monk asked, “The characteristic of all dharmas is quiescent extinction and cannot be expressed in words. How does the Venerable teach people?”

The Master said, “Go to the various regions and ask once.”

The monk replied, “Then words and phrases are cut off.”

The Master said, “Awake within a dream.”

He asked, “When all the oars have stopped, how can one reach the other shore?”

The Master said, “I rejoice for you throughout your life.”

He asked, “What are the three kinds of sick people?”

The Master said, “The question fits perfectly.”

He asked, “What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?”

The Master said, “This question is not essential.”

He asked, “What are the six characteristics?”

The Master said, “They are precisely you.”

He asked, “What are skillful means?”

The Master said, “This question is most pertinent.”

He asked, “After a monk dies and undergoes transformation, where does he go?”

The Master said, “Ultimately, he does not head down your road.”

He asked, “Why does he not head down my road?”

The Master said, “I fear that you do not understand.”

He asked, “‘One flower opens into five petals, and the fruit naturally ripens.’ What is the one flower opening into five petals?”

The Master said, “The sun rises and the moon shines.”

He asked, “What is the fruit naturally ripening?”

The Master said, “Heaven and earth shine brilliantly.”

He asked, “What is the Buddha Free from Sorrow?”

The Master said, “Sorrow kills people.”

He asked, “From where do all mountains, rivers, and the great earth arise?”

The Master asked, “From where did this question come?”

He asked, “What is the arising of mental factors?”

The Master said, “How could it be feared?”

He asked, “What is the second moon?”

The Master said, “The place reached is perfectly clear.”

He asked, “Why do I not understand?”

The Master said, “What do you call the second moon?”

He asked, “What is the eye of a śramaṇa?”

The Master said, “Black as lacquer.”

Question: What is it like when all news has utterly vanished?
The Master said: Thank you for showing me.
Question: What does it mean that, in turning things, one is identical with the Tathagata?
The Master said: What do you call a thing?
The monk replied: That itself is being identical with the Tathagata.
The Master said: Do not utter the false cry of a dry ram.
Question: Prince Nata stripped off his flesh to return it to his mother and stripped off his bones to return them to his father. Later, seated upon a lotus flower, he expounded the Dharma for his parents. I do not yet know: what is the Prince’s body?
The Master said: Everyone has seen the Venerable ask.
The monk replied: That itself is the single nature of true suchness throughout the great chiliocosm.
The Master said: Faintly it resembles a tune just heard, but the wind has blown it elsewhere.
Question: When the six faculties have all vanished, why are principle and phenomena still not clear?
The Master asked: Where are they not clear?
The monk replied: That itself is principle and phenomena both being suchness.
The Master said: Where are your former words now?

At one time the Master addressed the assembly, saying: “Generally, when speaking a phrase, it must cut off all leakage before it will do.”

A monk then asked: “What is a phrase that cuts off all leakage?”
The Master said: “Your mouth merely resembles a nostril.”
Question: “What is the single Dharma that is not realized?”
The Master said: “Wait until there is speech.”
Question: “What is it to realize all dharmas?”
The Master asked: “Why act drunk?”

At one time the Master addressed the assembly, saying: “Even if this mountain monk freely answers all you Venerables, what use is understanding? Could it be the mark of reality? Could it be that, precisely at that moment, there is not a single dharma that can be realized?

Could it be knowing where it goes? Could it be the complete revelation of the whole essence? Do not misunderstand.

Such views are called relying upon grasses and clinging to trees; they are as far removed from the Buddhadharma as heaven is from earth. Even if one answers many questions with eloquence flowing like a river, one merely establishes inverted, entrenched views. If one values only answering questions and eloquent discernment, what difficulty is there in that?

I fear only that it brings no benefit to people and instead gives rise to doubts and errors.

“In what you Venerables have studied before, your eloquent analyses, questions and answers, memorized teachings and principles are extremely numerous; yet why do the doubts in your minds not cease? When you hear the special expedients of the ancient sages, there are particular places you do not understand; there is only much falsehood and little truth. You Venerables would do better to see through everything beneath your own heels all at once: what principle is it, and how many Dharma gates are there that require the doubts of you Venerables to be resolved?

Only then will you know that all you studied before was merely a root of birth and death, scheming for a livelihood in the realm of darkness. Therefore, an ancient said: ‘If one does not escape seeing and hearing, it is like the moon in the water.’ Nothing further. Take care.”

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

Later, at Prajnaparamita Monastery, the Master opened the Dharma hall and taught the Dharma in twelve assemblies.

At the first assembly, on the day the Dharma hall was newly opened, the Master instructed the assembly, saying: “A single hair swallows the ocean, yet the ocean’s nature suffers no loss. A mustard seed is cast upon the point of a needle, yet the sharp needle does not move. Seeing and not seeing, understanding and not understanding—only I know.” He then chanted:

Descending for a while from the lofty mountain, it has already been revealed;
Prajnaparamita, perfect and penetrating, pervades the ten directions.
Throughout the vast multitudes of devas and humans, there is no difference;
The Dharma realm extends freely, revealed everywhere.

Take care.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked: “An ancient said: ‘If a person sees Prajnaparamita, that person is immediately bound by Prajnaparamita. If a person does not see Prajnaparamita, that person is also bound by Prajnaparamita.’ Having seen Prajnaparamita, why is one still bound by Prajnaparamita?”
The Master said: “Tell me, what does Prajnaparamita see?”
The monk said: “If one does not see Prajnaparamita, why is one still bound?”
The Master said: “Tell me, where does Prajnaparamita not see?”

The Master further said: “If one sees Prajnaparamita, it is not called Prajnaparamita; if one does not see Prajnaparamita, it is likewise not called Prajnaparamita. What does Prajnaparamita have to do with speaking of seeing and not seeing? Therefore, an ancient said: ‘If one dharma is lacking, the Dharma body is not accomplished. If one dharma is superfluous, the Dharma body is not accomplished. If there is a single dharma, the Dharma body is not accomplished. If there is not a single dharma, the Dharma body is not accomplished.’ This is the true doctrine of Prajnaparamita. You Venerables should know this.”

Another monk asked: “You suddenly left the abbot’s quarters at Ningfeng and came to sit at the Prajnaparamita bodhimanda. Today, concerning your family style, I ask the Master for one phrase.”
The Master said: “In what respect have I failed you?”
The monk said: “That itself is thunder shaking heaven and earth, so that everyone is moistened by its gracious virtue.”
The Master said: “Fortunately, you have not yet understood. Do not stick out your head again; if you stick it out, you will miss the mark. May all you Venerables together bear witness, causing the Dharma to abide for a long time and the land to be peaceful and joyful. Take care.”

At the second assembly, the Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked: “The teaching says: ‘In returning to the source, the nature is not two, but expedient means have many gates.’ What is the nature that returns to the source?”
The Master said: “You ask; I answer.”
The monk asked: “What is the gate of expedient means?”
The Master said: “You answer; I ask.”
The monk asked: “How should one proceed toward it?”
The Master said: “Why turn things upside down?”

A monk asked: “One body is immeasurable bodies, and immeasurable bodies are one body. I ask: what is immeasurable bodies?”
The Master said: “One body.”
The monk said: “That itself is personally seeing today the person of ancient Vulture Peak.”
The Master said: “If it accords with principle, then act accordingly.”

The Master further said: “The Buddhas of the three times simultaneously bear witness for you Venerables. Yet how do you Venerables understand? When understanding does not shift, not even the slightest hair can be moved or altered. Why is this? Because past, future, and present—the three times—are you Venerables, yet you Venerables are not the three times. Soaked by the continuous rain, every drop of the great ocean is complete; the nature of a single mote of dust is empty, and the entire Dharma realm is gathered within it. Take care.”

Another monk asked: “The Buddhas of the three times do not know it, while cats and white oxen know it. Since they are the Buddhas of the three times, why do they not know it?”
The Master said: “It is again you who know it.”
The monk asked: “Why do cats and white oxen know it?”
The Master said: “Where do you see the Buddhas of the three times?”

Another monk asked: “The teaching says: ‘The eyes do not see form-objects, and the mind does not know the various dharmas.’ What does it mean that the eyes do not see form-objects?”
The Master said: “The ears see them.”
The monk asked: “What does it mean that the mind does not know the various dharmas?”
The Master said: “The eyes know them.”
The monk said: “That itself is where the paths of seeing and hearing are cut off, while sounds and forms clamor noisily.”
The Master said: “Who spoke to you?”

The Master further said: “Generally, every question and answer is like sharp points meeting, without the slightest mark of large or small. Phenomena are completely penetrated, and principle is wholly fulfilled. This is because all speech and all samadhis—horizontal and vertical, shallow and deep, concealed and revealed, coming and going—are the gate of the true marks of all Buddhas. Just test it all at once, right now. Take care.”

At the fourth assembly, the Master ascended the Dharma hall and said: “An ancient said: ‘What is the meditation in which the three realms stretch on? What is the Way in which the ten directions are vast?’ Why is it said that the three realms stretch endlessly? Where is the principle of the vastness of the ten directions?

Do you wish to understand? It fills the eyes, fills the ears, and fills the tongue, body, and mind. There is no place where anything is empty or lacking, and no place where anything can move.

How do you Venerables understand? Going horizontally will not do, nor will going vertically. Letting go will not do, nor will seizing it.

There is no place to apply the mind and no place to arrange anything. If you can understand in this way, only then do you understand the Dharma gate that cuts off discrimination, and all speech cuts off every leakage.”

A monk asked: “What is speech that is cut off?”
The Master said: “Speaking to others, ‘Your mouth resembles a nostril’—that is very good, Venerable. If you understand it in this way, you will travel without letting the wind pass through. If you can know that all the worlds of the ten directions are the diamond pupil of the eye, there is nothing further. Take care.”

At the fifth assembly, the Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked: “The realm under heaven is at peace, and the great king lives long. What is the king?”

The Master said, “The morning sun,
the bright moon.” The student asked, “How should one understand such words?” The Master said, “Who is the student?”
He further said, “All under heaven is at peace, the Great King enjoys long life, and the nation is prosperous and free from calamities. This is the word of the Buddhas, a single word that from ancient times to the present has neither changed nor shifted. Thus it can settle both ancient and present. Venerables, understand this.”

Again, a monk asked, “An ancient once said: ‘There is a thing preceding heaven and earth, formless and originally still and silent.’ What is the thing preceding heaven and earth?” The Master said, “It is not a coming together.” The student asked, “What is formless and originally still and silent?” The Master said, “Who is asking about what precedes heaven and earth?” The student said, “Then it is to bury oneself in a tranquil forest and wander alone.” The Master said, “What nonsense are you talking?”

He further said, “The Buddhadharma is not such a principle. Do you wish to understand? Once words are uttered, it is not that before sound and form there was no thing. Only then can one understand: ‘All under heaven is at peace, and the Great King enjoys long life.’ You have been standing for a long time. Take care.”

Sixth Assembly

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying, “The Buddhadharma is presently complete; everything is fully endowed. An ancient said: ‘Perfect and complete like the great void, lacking nothing and possessing nothing in excess.’ If so, who is deficient and who has a surplus? Who is right and who is wrong?

Who understands and who does not understand? Thus, when going east, it is also the Venerable; when going west, it is also the Venerable; when going south, it is also the Venerable; when going north, it is also the Venerable. On what does the Venerable depend to become east, west, south, and north?

If you understand, the paths of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing naturally cease, and all dharmas appear before you. Why is this so? Because the Dharma-body is without form, yet wherever the eyes look, all is its form; prajna is without knowing, yet it illumines in response to conditions.

Understand it thoroughly all at once.

“Venerables, what should those who have left the household gather together to do? This is an inherently existing principle; it is not necessarily something known from outside. To know the mind and penetrate its source—this is why one is called a sramana. If you know the mind with luminous clarity, truly there is not the slightest obstruction. Venerables, you have been standing for a long time. Take care.”

Seventh Assembly

The Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “To enter the sea of the unconditioned, one must first board the vessel of prajna. What is the vessel of prajna?” The Master said, “The place of abiding is impermanent.” He asked, “What is the sea of the unconditioned?” The Master said, “First understand the vessel of prajna.”

A monk asked, “An ancient worthy said: ‘Ascending to heaven, one relies on no ladder; throughout the earth, there is no road upon which to travel.’ What is ascending to heaven without relying on a ladder?” The Master said, “Do not value even a speck of earth.” The student asked, “What is having no road upon which to travel throughout the earth?” The Master asked, “What did I just say to you?”

The Master further said, “Hundreds of thousands of samadhis, hundreds of thousands of gates of spiritual powers, and hundreds of thousands of gates of wondrous functioning—all of them do not go beyond the sea of prajna. Why? Because all dharmas are established upon the root of non-abiding. Thus it is said that birth and death, coming and going, wrong and right, movement and stillness, and thousands of changes and myriad transformations are all the gate of the Great Samadhi of the Buddhas; nothing surpasses this. Today, Venerables, may each of you ultimately increase the longevity of the Buddhadharma. Take care.”

Eighth Assembly

The Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “The World-Honored One possessed the treasury of the true Dharma-eye and entrusted it to Mahakasyapa. Yet Mahakasyapa is now in Mount Kukkutapada Cave. To whom has it been entrusted?” The Master asked, “Tell me—to whom should I say it was entrusted?” The student said, “Then the entrustment at Vulture Peak is no different from that of today.” The Master asked, “Where did you see Vulture Peak?”

Another monk asked, “Has the precious seal of Venerable Jinghui been personally transmitted? To whom will it be entrusted in today’s assembly?” The Master said, “Look: pull one end, and when one end is struck, both ends resound.” The student said, “Then the myriad sages gather together, with no difference between ancient times and today?” The Master said, “The waves of the Chan river are still, yet one searches for water, bewildered about the source.”

Another monk, named Qingwu, said, “The emperor has invited the Master to receive the sovereign’s favor. In this assembly of prajna, please reveal and proclaim it.” The Master said, “Remember it clearly.” The student said, “Then the jeweled net upon the Cloud Terrace speaks the wondrous sound in unison.” The Master said, “Where is Qingwu?” The student said, “Such is the Dharma of the King of Dharma.” The Master said, “Who bears witness?”

He further said, “The entrustment at Yunshan is perfectly clear. Venerables, examine it all at once. If you can verify it, there is no other principle; it is simply as it is now. It is like the sun rising and shining in the open sky: when clouds obscure it, the mountains, the earth, and all conditioned worlds are darkened; when the clouds clear, all are distinctly revealed. Even the unconditioned is likewise. From the World-Honored One’s final injunction down to the present, there has not been the slightest difference. To whom, then, is it entrusted?

“Thus the Patriarch said:

“This is the model of the entrustment at Vulture Peak. Venerables, understand it thoroughly. Do not let the days and months pass in vain. The sovereign’s kindness is difficult to repay; the kindness of the Buddhas is difficult to requite; the kindness of parents and teachers is difficult to requite; and the kindness of donors throughout the ten directions is difficult to requite. How much more so when such an ordered assembly has been established to cause the Buddhadharma to flourish! Without the power of the sovereign’s benevolence, how could this have been achieved? If you wish to repay this kindness, you must clarify the Eye of the Way and enter the prajna Ocean of the Nature. Only then will it be possible. You have been standing for a long time. Take care.”

Ninth Assembly

The Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “An ancient worthy once said:

‘Entering emptiness, dharmas too are empty—
the two aspects have always been the same.’

“What does it mean that the two aspects have always been the same?” The Master said, “Mountains, rivers, and the great earth.” The student said, “I do not understand. Master, please use skillful means.” The Master said, “Where is there any place that is not a skillful means?”

Another monk asked, “The teaching says: ‘Because the mind is pure, the Dharma-realm is pure.’ What is the pure mind?” The Master said, “It is the kalavinka bird whose life is shared with another.” The student asked, “Are the mind and the Dharma-realm one or two?” The Master said, “Are you asking for yourself, or is someone else asking?”

The Master further said, “The Great Way is vast and expansive; how could it be measured in terms of past and present? Without name and without form, it is the Dharma and it is cultivation. Because the Dharma-realm is boundless, the mind too has no boundary. There is no matter it does not reveal and no word it does not make clear. To understand in this way is called prajna. The principle presently before you is ultimately identical with the true limit. All mountains, rivers, and the great earth; the dense array of myriad phenomena; walls, tiles, and stones—all are without the slightest deficiency. Having nothing to do, you have been standing for a long time. Take care.”

Tenth Assembly

The Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “The Master once said: ‘In the nine heavens the jade seal is struck; before the Seven Buddhas, the mind’s omen appeared.’ What is the seal?” The Master said, “It reveals no trace.” He asked, “What is the mind?” The Master said, “Your name is Ansi.”

He further said, “The nature-ocean of the Dharma-realm is like a sealed box, like a hidden treasury, like a hook, like a lock, like gold and the color of gold. Every position is equal, without the slightest discrepancy, yet they are not confused with one another. They are neither one nor different, neither separate nor the same. If one returns to the ground of reality, each and every dharma reaches the ultimate. It is not that, when one first asks how this can be right, it is right, but when one does not ask, it immediately becomes wrong; nor that when people sit together upon the same seat, it exists, but when they do not sit there, it does not exist.

“It is just as the venerable adepts of various regions say: teachings in the world are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. In every scroll of the Tathagata’s great treasury of scriptures, the principle of Buddha is taught; in every sentence, the mind of Buddha is taught. Why, then, are you unable to understand? If you persist in relying upon gradual stages, distinctions among ranks, doctrinal concepts, and discriminating consciousness for comprehension, then even after passing through kalpas as numerous as grains of dust and sand, many Venerables will still be unable to penetrate it thoroughly. This is called inverted views and calculations of the discriminating mind; none of these are effective.

“This is because the root has not been illumined. If you ultimately attain the source of the Dharma of the Buddhas, then the great treasury of scriptures, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, will appear before you all at once, lacking not the slightest thing and possessing not the slightest thing in excess. At that very moment, the Buddhas are constantly appearing in the world, constantly teaching the Dharma and delivering beings, without ever ceasing. Even the cries of apes and the songs of birds, grasses, trees, groves, and forests constantly assist the Venerables in awakening the pivotal function. There has never been a single moment when they were not acting for the Venerables. There is such a wondrous matter! What a pity it is for you Venerables.

“Each of you should carefully examine this, thereby enabling the Dharma to abide long in the world. May the lifespans of devas and humans greatly increase, and may the sovereign be free from troubles, peaceful, and joyful. Take care.”

Eleventh Assembly

1 1. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and cited the words of an ancient:
“I have a saying that transcends heaven and the human realm. If one does not understand it, what can the clear waters and green mountains do with a single saying of the Way?”
The ancients said that one must penetrate it thoroughly before it can be attained. If one takes spoken words and calls them the saying, one has not yet found the place of understanding. Only by ultimately reaching the root of all dharmas can one understand a single saying.

It is not a matter of taking a phrase or half a sentence, analyzing it, and calling such intellectual comprehension the understanding of a single saying. Only when the path of speech is severed and the activity of thought exhausted can one reach the realm of the ancients. Nor does closing one’s eyes and concealing one’s pupils so that nothing is seen amount to severing the path of speech.

Moreover, do not harbor doubts. The Buddha-Dharma is not such a principle. Do you understand?

Though one might speak throughout kalpas as numerous as grains of sand, not even half a sentence has ever been reached. And though you venerable ones might remain silent throughout kalpas as numerous as grains of sand, not even half a sentence has ever been lacking. You must penetrate it thoroughly.

If this is so, scrutinizing names and words without sparing mental effort is entirely useless. Together with you venerable ones and the assembly, I urge those newly resolved beginners among later students to investigate it swiftly. You have been standing a long time.

Take care.

At the twelfth assembly, the Master ascended the Dharma hall. A monk asked, “The skull constantly abides in the world; the nostrils first encounter the family style. What does it mean that the skull constantly abides in the world?”
The Master said, “Wait until there is a reply.”
The monk said, “What does it mean that the nostrils touch the family style?”
The Master said, “At that time, raise it once again.”

A monk asked, “What was Niutou like before he met the Fourth Patriarch?”
The Master said, “An extraordinary scene, traces of numinous power—all teachers delight in them.”
The monk then asked, “What was it like after he had met him?”
The Master asked, “What did I just say to you?”

Another monk asked, “An ancient once said:

Knock upon empty space—it sounds kok, kok;
People of stone and people of wood all answer, ‘Yes!’
In the sixth month, snow falls in swirling flakes.
This is the Tathagata’s Great Perfect Awakening.

What does it mean to knock upon empty space?”
The Master said, “A Kunlun slave wearing iron shorts advances one step each time he strikes with his staff.”
The monk said, “That, then, is the people of stone and people of wood all answering, ‘Yes!’”
The Master said, “Do you hear it?”

He further said, “The Dharma gate of all Buddhas is always thus. It is like the great ocean, where thousands and tens of thousands of waves, large and small, have never ceased even momentarily; they have never momentarily existed and never momentarily not existed—vast, luminous, and free. The essential teaching of the three times rests upon the tip of a single hair, and the perfect completeness of past and present lies within a single thought.

Therefore, you must penetrate and understand it thoroughly. It is not a matter of being asked one thing and then recalling some turning phrase to fashion a clever principle. Wind, clouds, moon, and water—four, six, and eight matched in pairs—are precisely the Buddha-Dharma.

Venerable ones, do not harbor doubts within yourselves; in the end they are of no benefit. If you penetrate and understand it thoroughly, truly there is nowhere it remains concealed: there is no realm in which it is not revealed and no mote of dust in which it does not appear. At once, the ordinary person stands equal with all Buddhas, without needing the slightest exertion, and comprehends it easily in a single moment.

There is nothing further. You have been standing a long time. Take care.”

In the fourth year of Kaibao, the xinwei year, the peak at Huading suddenly emitted a sound that shook the entire mountain. The Master said, “I shall not remain much longer.” In the sixth month of the following year, a star fell upon the summit, and the forest trees turned silvery white. The Master fell ill and then ascended Lotus Cloud Mountain, where he continued receiving visitors as usual. On the twenty-eighth day, he assembled the community, spoke words of farewell, then sat in the full lotus posture and passed away. He was eighty-two years old and had attained sixty-five Dharma years.

2. Chan Master Huiming of Bao’en Monastery in Hangzhou.

The Master’s family name was Xiang. He left home while still young and became thoroughly versed in the three trainings. Aspiring to investigate the profound purport, he traveled south to Minyue and attended various Chan assemblies, yet none accorded with his original mind. Later, the Master went to Linchuan and met Chan Master Jinghui. The Way united teacher and disciple, and he then withdrew to Damei Mountain near the water and lived in a hermitage.

At that time, although Chan learning flourished greatly in Wuyue, the orthodox teaching of Xuansha remained outside the city, and the Master wished to rectify and guide it. One day, two Chan travelers arrived. The Master asked, “Venerable ones, where have you come from?”
They replied, “From the capital.”
The Master said, “When you venerable ones left the capital and came to this mountain, the capital became short of you, while this mountain acquired a surplus of you. If there is a surplus, there are dharmas outside the mind; if there is a shortage, the dharmas of mind do not pervade everywhere. If you can state the principle, you may remain; if you do not understand, go elsewhere.”
The two Chan travelers could not reply.

A newly arrived monk asked, “Who is the host of Damei?”
The Master said, “Acarya, where did you leave to come here?”
The monk did not answer.

The Master moved to a hermitage at Baisha on Mount Tiantai. At that time, the widely learned and retentive Venerable Pengyan came to question the Master about the essential teaching of the school.
The Master said, “Many words take one far from the Way. Now there is one matter about which I would ask you: among all the sages and former worthies from ancient times onward, was there anyone who had not awakened?”
Pengyan said, “If they were sages and former worthies, how could any of them have failed to awaken?”
The Master said, “When one person reveals the truth and returns to the source, empty space throughout the ten directions completely vanishes. Yet Mount Tiantai now stands here as majestically as ever. How could it have vanished?”
Pengyan did not know what to say. From then on, those of other schools who came with broad learning all submitted to him with utmost conviction.

During the Qianhu era of the Later Han, King Zhongyi of Wuyue welcomed the Master into his residence to inquire about the Dharma and invited him to reside at Zisong Cloister. The Master spoke extensively on the supreme purport of the school transmitted by Great Master Zongyi Xuansha and Fayan Dizang. The king accordingly invited the accomplished Chan masters of Cuiyan and the eminent worthies of the city to debate and determine superiority and inferiority.

The Master cited the inscription on Master Xuefeng’s stupa and asked the senior monks, “Whatever arises in dependence upon conditions ultimately undergoes formation and decay. Whatever does not arise in dependence upon conditions remains ever firm throughout many kalpas. Let us set aside for the moment both firmness and decay. Where is Xuefeng today?”
No one in the assembly could answer. Even if someone had been able to answer, he still could not have withstood further questioning. At that time, everyone submitted to him.

The king was greatly delighted, invited the Master to remain there, and bestowed upon him the title Chan Master Yuantong Puzhao. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and addressed the assembly, saying, “Do you understand? Do not say that speech and silence, movement and stillness, are all Buddha-work. Furthermore, do not misunderstand.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?”
The Master said, “Have you seen the Incense Terrace?”
He replied, “I do not understand. Please instruct me, Master.”
The Master said, “The Incense Terrace does not know either.”

He asked, “Apart from the mechanism before the eyes, what is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?”
The Master said, “Why do you not ask?”
The monk said, “Then I have already understood it.”
The Master said, “Still, it is of no use.”

A monk asked, “What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?”
The Master said, “I see the lamp shining; the Buddha originally possesses such auspicious radiance.”

A monk asked, “What is the disciple’s own self?”
The Master said, “Simply state clearly what your question means.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?”
The Master said, “One hundred and eight thousand—truly a wearisome journey; right here he came from the West and did not come from the East.”

A monk asked, “What is the second moon?”
The Master said:

Rub your eyes and gaze at flowers—how many blossoms are there?
See the tree of wondrous clarity—how many branches does it have?

3. Great Master Zhiyi Xuanfa of Luohan in Zhangzhou.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and said, “Throughout all the worlds of the ten directions, there is not a single mote”

what dharma causes seeing, hearing, perception, and knowing for you? Do you believe it? Even so, you must attain awakening before it will do. Do not regard it lightly and fail to see the Way. If you illuminate only your own person but are not awakened to what is before your eyes, then you have only one eye. Do you understand?

A monk asked, “When not even the slightest thing is established, why are ugliness and beauty present before the eyes?”

The Master said, “Remember this clearly, and when you go elsewhere, ask someone.”

Question: “The great assembly has gathered like clouds; who is the one who attains it?”

The Master said, “Have you ever lost it?”

Question: “What is the Buddha?”

The Master said, “It is you.”

A traveling monk asked, “What is Baoshou’s family style?”

The Master said, “Take a careful look.”

Question: “Then the great assembly has something upon which to rely.”

The Master said, “What are you doing?”

He replied, “I would never dare deceive the great assembly.”

The Master said, “Why disparage so little?”

The Master asked a monk, “Where did you receive your training?”

He replied, “At Buddha’s Trace.”

The Master asked, “Where is the Buddha?”

He replied, “What place is not?”

The Master raised his fist and said, “What is this?”

He replied, “Venerable Master, gather it in.”

The Master said, “I spare the Acarya seven blows.”

The Master asked a monk, “Where did you spend this summer retreat?”

He replied, “At the place of the elder Wuyan.”

The Master said, “Did you ever ask anyone else?”

He replied, “I also made inquiries.”

The Master said, “Wuyan means ‘No Words’; how could you ask him?”

He replied, “If one attains No Words, where could one not ask?”

The Master shouted and said, “You are fit to question this old brother!”

The Master was eating baked cakes together with Elder Yanduan. Duan said, “The hundred kinds and thousand varieties—their essence is not two.”

The Master said, “What is the essence that is not two?”

Duan raised a cake.

The Master said, “That is merely one among the hundred kinds and thousand varieties.”

Duan said, “That too is the Venerable Master’s view.”

The Master said, “You too are one of the sort who chant the verse of Luogong.”

When the Master was about to pass away, he instructed the assembly, “This evening the four great elements are out of harmony. Clouds drift, birds fly, the wind stirs, dust rises, and the earth stretches boundlessly. Is there anyone who can remedy this? If you can remedy it, we shall not know each other throughout the entire kalpa. If you cannot remedy it, you will see me at all times.” Having spoken, he passed away.

4. Chan Master Daoqin of Zhangyi Monastery on Zhongshan, Jinling

The Master was a native of Taiyuan. Previously, he resided at Qixian on Mount Lu.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and said, “How far-reaching is the Way! Encountering phenomena, it is true. How far-reaching are the sages!

When understood, it is clear. I ordinarily instruct you: why do you not go to the place where you set down your robe and bowl, sit there, and investigate? What is there that must first be discussed?

Once discussion begins, I can accomplish nothing. I can only raise a few skillful means of the ancient worthies, slightly rousing you to understand the emptiness of turtle hair and rabbit horns. Elders, do you wish to attain the essential awakening?

Then investigate within the Sangha hall, beneath the Three Gates, and in your quarters. Have you yet found a place of understanding? If you have, try to speak of it, and I shall confirm it together with you, Elders.”

A monk asked, “What is the realm of Qixian?”

The Master said, “What realm does Qixian have?”

Question: “When the ancients held up a staff or raised a whisk, was this still a matter within the vehicle of the lineage, or not?”

The Master said, “The ancients have already spoken.”

Question: “This student has newly entered the forest monastery. I ask the Venerable Master to instruct me.”

The Master said, “One hand points to heaven; one hand points to earth.”

The ruler of Jiangnan invited the Master to reside at Zhangyi Monastery. The Master instructed the assembly, “Ultimately, what is established within this? Spiritual friends are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. They constantly accompany you, whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, never parting from you. Simply keep examining the skillful means of the ancients. Is it only because your faith cannot yet reach this that things are as they are? Elders, if you merely keep your attention within the Buddhadharma, you will all attain it. With nothing to do, embody the Way and depart.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the coming from India?”

The Master said, “Neither east nor west.”

Question: “When a single lamp dispels a hundred years of darkness within a house, what then?”

The Master said, “Do not speak deceitfully.”

Question: “Does the Buddhadharma undergo change?”

The Master said, “It is you, Elder.”

A monk asked, “The great assembly has gathered like clouds. We ask the Master to reveal the essential principle of the lineage.”

The Master said, “It has been revealed for a long time.”

Question: “What is the mysterious purport?”

The Master said, “What purport does the mysterious have?”

5. Chan Master Kuangyi of Bao’en Monastery, Jinling

The Master was a native of Mingzhou. Previously, he resided at Ciyun in Runzhou. The ruler of Jiangnan invited the Master to reside at the monastery and conferred upon him the title Chan Master Ningmi.

Once, the Master ascended the Dharma hall and assembled the community. Looking back at the great assembly, he said, “If you act in accordance with it, you will not be encumbered. Do you believe this?

It is like the radiant sun shining in the sky. You should not attempt to conceive of it, for conception cannot reach it. If you could reach it through conception, it would be called limited wisdom.

Have you not seen the ancient worthies say: ‘When a person is without mind, that person accords with the Way; when the Way is without mind, it accords with the person. When the person and the Way are united, this is called a person with nothing to do’? How then could one make oneself an ordinary being, and how could one make oneself a sage?

If this is not yet understood, it is merely because deluded emotions obscure you and cannot immediately be cast aside. While deluded, there are obstructions because one discriminates among the various things as different. If one suddenly awakens completely, there is still nothing to attain.

It is like Yajnadatta, who took his reflection to be his head. Was this not wearing one’s head while searching for one’s head? Yet at the very moment of delusion, the head was never lost; and upon awakening, nothing whatsoever was attained.

Why? The deluded person calls it loss, while the awakened person calls it attainment. Attainment and loss lie with the person; what do they have to do with movement or stillness?”

A monk asked, “The Buddhas expound the Dharma, universally permeating and nourishing beings of every capacity. When the Venerable Master establishes the Dharma, who is able to hear it?”

The Master said, “Only you do not hear it.”

Question: “What is Bao’en’s single phrase?”

The Master said, “Would it do to say that it is not?”

Question: “Throughout the twelve periods of the day, there is nowhere for conceptual thought to abide. What is practice?”

The Master said, “Where are you today?”

Question: “How did the Patriarch from India reveal it?”

The Master said, “He did not go against the request.”

Question: “What is the single phrase?”

The Master said, “How could my answer resemble your raising of it?”

Question: “The Buddha appeared in the world for the causes and conditions of one great matter. I do not yet know how the Venerable Master appeared in the world.”

The Master said, “A perfect fit.”

The monk said, “Then the great assembly has something upon which to rely.”

The Master said, “Do not misunderstand.”

6. Dharma Master Wensui of Baoci Monastery in Jinling

The Master was a native of Hangzhou, and his family name was Lu. When he was newly born, his parents moved to Xuancheng. As he grew older, he became dignified and fond of learning. He therefore paid homage to the Sangha Rector of Chizhou, under whom he shaved his head and received the precepts.

At the age of sixteen, he contemplated the various approaches, studying both Chan and the doctrinal teachings. He often investigated the ten fascicles of the Surangama Sutra and thoroughly understood the distinction between the true and the false, as well as the roots and branches of dependent origination. He accordingly divided the text into sections and composed lucid annotations on its words and passages. When the work was finished, he went to meet Chan Master Jinghui and presented what he had written; it accorded very closely with the meaning of the sutra.

Jinghui asked, “Does not the Surangama have eight meanings? State the eight meanings again.”

The Master said, “Yes.”

Jinghui asked, “What, then, is brightness?”

The Master replied, “Brightness is the sun.”

Jinghui asked, “Then what is the sun?”

The Master was bewildered and could not answer. Jinghui then told him to burn all the text he had annotated. From that point onward, the Master submitted wholeheartedly and requested further instruction, only then forgetting intellectual understanding.

At first, the Master resided at Zhiguan in Jizhou. In the second year of the Qiande era, the ruler of the state welcomed him to reside at Changqing. He next went to Qingliang, and afterward resided at the Great Dharma Monastery of Baoci. The ruler conferred upon him the title Great Dharma Master Leiyin Juehai and revered and treated him more highly than others.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and addressed the assembly, “Devas, humans, and all living beings depend upon this beneficence. Its awe-inspiring authority extends throughout the three realms, and its virtue pervades the four kinds of birth. All attain the numinous radiance, and all praise the wondrous meaning.

The Buddhas of the ten directions constantly bow in reverence; how dare you judge it to be right or wrong? This is called opening the gate of skillful means and establishing the teaching in accordance with beings’ capacities; thus it is so. Like that stream of water flowing without end, if you can comply with it and practice accordingly, what could you fail to attain?

Therefore, the former Master Qingliang said, ‘The Buddha is precisely a person with nothing to do.’ Yet even now, if you seek such a person with nothing to do, that person cannot be found.”

A monk asked, “Chongshou’s Buddhadharma was entrusted to Zhiguan. To whom was Zhiguan’s Buddhadharma entrusted?”

The Master said, “Try presenting Chongshou’s Buddhadharma.”

A monk asked, “Is there any Buddha Dharma on the mountaintop, within the rocky cave?” The Master asked, “What do you call the mountaintop and rocky cave?” Another asked, “What is the Way?” The Master said, “Deluded thinking and inverted views.”

The Master addressed the assembly, saying, “Throughout this old monk’s life, I have understood absolutely nothing. Day after day, it is just this one matter. Although dwelling in this realm, I accord with conditions, follow the natural course, and assume responsibility. Today, all you venerable ones are no different from the original root.”

A monk asked, “What is this matter of being no different?”

The Master said, “A thousand distinctions and ten thousand differences.”

The monk asked again.

The Master said, “Stop, stop! There is no need to speak. Instead, comprehend the thousand distinctions and ten thousand differences.”

A monk asked, “What is the domestic style of the Venerable?”

The Master said, “The abbot’s quarters have a wooden door.”

A monk asked, “What is the formless place of enlightenment?”

The Master said, “The shrine of the Fourth and Fifth Lords.”

A monk asked, “What is the sword that severs a hair blown against its edge?”

The Master said, “A staff for rolling wheat flour.”

A monk asked, “What is the single straight road?”

The Master said, “Far away, far away; close at hand, close at hand.”

The monk asked, “If it is simply thus, then what?”

The Master said, “Alas, foolish man! This is a perilous road.”

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

The monk replied, “From Caoshan in Fuzhou.”

The Master asked, “How many stages of the road did you travel to get here?”

The monk replied, “Seven stages.”

The Master said, “In traveling, you must have crossed many mountains, forests, ravines, and streams. What is your own true body?”

The monk replied, “Everything.”

The Master said, “Deluded sentient beings take external things to be themselves.”

A monk asked, “What is this student’s own true body?”

The Master said, “Everything.”

The Master also said, “All you venerable ones have been practicing calming and contemplation from spring through summer. Has anyone awakened to his own true body? Calming and contemplation will bear witness for you, enabling you truly to see and not be deluded by evil demons.”

A monk asked, “What is this student’s own true body?”

The Master said, “Excellent! This monk’s eyes are exceedingly clear.”

7. Chan Master Shouren of the Arhat Cloister in Zhangzhou

The Master was from Yongchun in Quanzhou. He first studied under Master Jinghui and later returned to his native prefecture, residing at the Upper Cloister of Xingjiao Monastery in Tong’an.

The Master instructed the assembly, saying, “Speaking only in terms of the present day, who is deficient and who has a surplus? Yet even this belongs to the gate of the secondary meaning. If you venerable ones penetrate it completely, whether it is one or two, you must still examine it most carefully.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land?”

The Master said, “What is the meaning right now?”

A monk asked, “What is nirvana?”

The Master said, “Birth and death.”

The monk asked, “What is nirvana?”

The Master said, “Birth and death.”

The monk asked, “What are birth and death?”

The Master said, “What was just said?”

When the monks assembled for the evening interview, the Master addressed them, saying:

“From the beginning, each and every thing has had no abiding place;
A single bright moon shines upon the mind’s pool.”

He then returned to the abbot’s quarters.

Later, the Master resided at Bao’en Cloister in Zhangzhou. He addressed the assembly, saying, “Here at Bao’en, I have never selected sayings for people and discussed them. Today I shall select one or two sayings for you venerable ones. Will that make you happy? Venerable ones, a crane’s legs are long, a duck’s legs are short, licorice is sweet, and huangbo is bitter. With distinctions selected so clearly, do you feel at ease and comfortable? Venerable ones, do not say that the blood vessels do not communicate or that water and mud form an obstruction. Moreover, do not misunderstand. Take care.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land?”

The Master said, “What do you call the meaning of coming from the Western Land?”

The monk said, “Then there was no coming from the Western Land?”

The Master said, “That comes from your own mouth.”

A monk asked, “What is the domestic style of Bao’en?”

The Master said, “It is not a place for you to set your eyes.”

A monk asked, “This student has not yet understood the essential purport. I ask the Master to employ an expedient means.”

The Master said, “Have we not let each other down?”

The monk said, “Then there is indeed a share in being teacher and disciple.”

The Master said, “Such things are often seen in the monasteries.”

A monk asked, “What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?”

The Master said, “What could I say to you?”

A monk asked, “What is the mark of non-arising?”

The Master said, “Casting off one body and assuming another.”

The monk asked, “Then birth and death are without fault?”

The Master said, “Do you suppose you understand?”

The Master also said, “Everyone is fully endowed with the principle; each and every one is perfect and constant.”

A monk asked, “What is the principle that is perfect and constant?”

The Master said, “There being nothing to do, there is no difference.”

The monk replied, “Then one ranges freely throughout the Dharma realm.”

The Master said, “What difficulty is there in speaking cleverly?”

A monk asked, “What is it that does not reach three inches?”

The Master said, “You ask, and I answer.”

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

The monk replied, “From Fuzhou.”

The Master said, “Having crossed so many mountain peaks, what is the venerable one’s own true body?”

The monk replied, “This body has departed from Fuzhou.”

The Master said, “Apart from that deliberation, there is another deliberation.”

The monk replied, “Why speak of deliberation again?”

The Master said, “You have fallen into words.”

A monk asked, “Without being deluded by conditioned sense-objects, I ask the Master to receive me once.”

The Master said, “What do you call conditioned sense-objects?”

The monk asked, “If I do not ask, how can I end my doubt?”

The Master said, “If you did not present your question, today itself would become the standard.”

8. Chan Master Daoqian of Yongming Monastery in Hangzhou

The Master was from Hezhong Prefecture, and his family name was Wu. He first went to Linchuan, where he met Chan Master Jinghui. Upon first seeing him, Jinghui regarded him as extraordinary and admitted him to his private quarters.

One day, Jinghui asked, “Apart from attending interviews and requesting instruction, what scripture do you study?”

The Master said, “I study the Avatamsaka Sutra.”

Jinghui asked, “Universality and particularity, identity and difference, formation and disintegration—the six characteristics: to which gate do they belong?”

The Master replied, “They appear in the text of the Chapter on the Ten Grounds. According to the principle, all worldly and supramundane dharmas are endowed with the six characteristics.”

Jinghui asked, “Is nonbeing also endowed with the six characteristics?”

The Master was bewildered and could not answer.

Jinghui said, “Ask me.”

The Master then asked, “Is nonbeing also endowed with the six characteristics?”

Jinghui replied, “No.”

At this, the Master awakened. Delighted, he bowed in gratitude.

Jinghui asked, “What have you understood?”

The Master replied, “Nothing.”

Jinghui approved.

On another day, when the fourfold assembly of men and women entered the cloister, Jinghui asked the Master, “According to the Vinaya, if one hears the jingling of a woman’s hairpins and bracelets through a wall, it is called breaking the precepts. Now, when you see gold and silver gathered together, complete with crimson and purple colors, is that breaking the precepts or not?”

The Master said, “It seems very good to enter among them.”

Jinghui said, “In the future, you will have five hundred disciples and will be honored by princes and nobles.”

The Master then bowed, took his leave, and went to reside at an ancient monastery in Quzhou, where he did nothing but study the Great Canon.

Later, King Zhongyi, Qian Chu, invited the Master to the prefectural residence to transmit the bodhisattva precepts and bestowed upon him the title Chan Master Cihua Dinghui. The king established the great monastery Huirì Yongming and invited the Master to reside there. The Master said, “I request that the bronze images beneath the pagoda be brought to the new monastery as offerings.”

The king said, “Excellent! Last night I dreamed that sixteen venerable ones asked to follow the Master into the monastery. How marvelously this has been fulfilled!” To the Master’s former title, he added the two characters Yingzhen.

The Master occupied the seat of enlightenment at Yongming, where there were always five hundred people. Ascending the Dharma hall, he instructed the assembly, saying, “The Buddha Dharma is perfectly clear; why do you not understand it? Venerable ones, if you wish to understand the Buddha Dharma, simply ask Zhang the Third and Li the Fourth. If you wish to understand worldly dharmas, go consult the ancient Buddhas in the monasteries. There is nothing further. You have been standing a long time.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of Yongming?”

The Master said, “Today is the fifteenth; tomorrow is the sixteenth.”

A monk asked, “I beg to see the Master’s meaning.”

The Master said, “Where will you look?”

A monk asked, “What is the domestic style of Yongming?”

The Master said, “The venerable one has already answered it.”

A monk asked, “How do you receive the three kinds of sick people?”

The Master said, “You are a deaf man.”

The monk asked, “I ask the Master to employ an expedient means.”

The Master said, “That is the expedient means.”

A monk asked, “Before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch, why did a hundred birds bring flowers in their beaks?”

The Master said, “Seeing east and seeing west.”

The monk asked, “After he met him, why did they no longer bring flowers?”

The Master said, “Seeing south and seeing north.”

A monk asked, “What was done in the past?”

The Master said, “First understand the present day.”

A monk asked, “What is the second moon?”

The Master said, “The moon.”

A monk asked, “What is the matter of seeing face-to-face?”

The Master said, “What is behind your back?”

A monk asked, “Whom does Manjusri intend to kill with his sword?”

The Master said, “Stop, stop!”

The monk asked, “What is the sword?”

The Master said, “The eyes are it.”

A monk asked, “I shall not ask about all other matters. I also set aside the vehicle of the transcendent lineage. I ask the Master not to answer.”

The Master said, “What an excellent monk!”

The monk asked, “Then I shall bow and depart.”

The Master said, “There is no need for three prostrations. Let that exhaust your entire life.”

One day, the great assembly came for an interview.

The Master pointed to the incense burner and said, “Do you see it?”
If you see it, bow once and then return home on your own. A monk asked, “The ultimate Way is wordless, yet words are borrowed to reveal the Way. What are words that reveal the Way?” The Master said, “Greatly taboo is discrimination.”
He asked, “What is the auspicious radiance of the sun of wisdom?” The Master said, “This is not far from Bao Ci.”
He asked, “Then this very body is illuminated by the torch.” The Master said, “I am also glad that you will engage with it throughout your life.”

9. Chan Master Liangkuang of Mount Huang, Fu Prefecture.

The Master was a native of Ji Prefecture. He ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly:

“On the open summit of this lofty mountain, there is not even a meal of vegetables with which to receive you. Worthy practitioners of the Way, there is only the vajra eye; rely upon it, and it will help you illuminate the true mind. If you understand, you can shatter the darkness of ignorance. If you do not understand, the true foundation nevertheless remains indestructible.”

The Master then returned to the abbot’s quarters.

A monk asked, “What is the family style of Mount Huang?” The Master said, “It fills up your nostrils.”

He asked, “What is the meaning of things not moving?” The Master said, “Spring, summer, autumn, and winter.”

He asked, “What is the single path through the gate of nirvana?” The Master said, “Is not the phrase you ask about within the vehicle of the School?”

The monk replied, “Then it is not to trample about.” The Master said, “It is best not to trample about.”

He asked, “What is it like when all the stars pay court to the moon?” The Master said, “What do you call the moon?”

He asked, “Is it not that?” The Master said, “What is that?”

He asked, “Why do the myriad phenomena not appear in the bright mirror upon its stand?” The Master asked, “Where is the stand?”

The monk replied, “What about right now?” The Master said, “And still you say that the Way does not appear.”

He asked, “What is Chan?” The Master said, “The three realms stretch endlessly.”

He asked, “What is the Way?” The Master said, “The four kinds of birth are boundless.”

10. Chan Master Qingtang of Mount Lingyin, Hang Prefecture.

The Master was a native of Fuqing County, Fu Prefecture. At first he went to study under Master Jinghui. One day, Jinghui pointed to the rain and told him, “Every drop falls into the Elder’s eyes.” The Master did not initially understand the purport. Later, while reading the Avatamsaka Sutra, he awakened and received Jinghui’s seal of approval. He then returned to dwell in a hermitage on Mount Siming in Ming Prefecture.

The military governor, Qian Yi, treated the Master as his own teacher. King Zhongyi invited him to reside in Lin’an and expound the Dharma at two places. Later, he resided at the Upper Monastery on Lingyin and was granted the title Chan Master Liaowu.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly:

“The Buddhas of the ten directions are always before you. Do you see them? If you say that you see, do you see with the mind or with the eyes? Thus it is said that all dharmas are unborn and all dharmas are undying. If you can understand in this way, the Buddhas are always present before you.

“It is also said, ‘Upon seeing form, one immediately sees mind.’ What is called mind? Mountains, rivers, the great earth, and the myriad arrayed phenomena—blue, yellow, red, white, male, female, and so forth—are all these characteristics mind, or are they not mind? If they are mind, why do they become material phenomena? If they are not mind, why is it said that upon seeing form, one immediately sees mind? Do you understand?

“Only because you are deluded about this do you become inverted, giving rise to all kinds of distinctions. Where there are no distinctions or differences, you forcibly impose sameness and difference. If, right here and now, you can personally take responsibility for it, you will suddenly open up the fundamental mind, lucid and clear, without a single thing that can constitute seeing or hearing. If you abandon mind and seek liberation elsewhere, the ancients called it ‘being deluded by the waves and forsaking the source.’ In the end, awakening will be difficult.”

A monk asked, “When faculty and object have both vanished, why are principle and phenomena still not clear?” The Master said, “Set principle and phenomena aside for now. What do you call ‘faculty and object have both vanished’?”

He asked, “What is Avalokitesvara’s Ultimate Meaning?” The Master said, “Wrong.”

He asked, “The true nature of ignorance is itself Buddha-nature. What is Buddha-nature?” The Master said, “What do you call ignorance?”

He asked, “What is the Venerable’s family style?” The Master said, “Displayed in ancient times, displayed today.”

He asked, “What is it like when there is neither question nor answer?” The Master said, “Why talk in your sleep?”

He asked, “What is the Buddhadharma within mountain peaks and rocky caves?” The Master said, “What use have you for mountain peaks and rocky caves?”

He asked, “What was it like before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?” The Master said, “Green mountains and clear waters.”

He asked, “What was it like after he met him?” The Master said, “Clear waters and green mountains.”

The Master asked a monk, “Do you understand the Buddhadharma?”

The monk replied, “I do not understand.”

The Master said, “Are you truly and certainly one who does not understand?”

He replied, “Yes.”

The Master said, “Come again another time.”

The monk respectfully took his leave. The Master said, “That is not the principle.”

A monk asked, “What is Maha Prajna?” The Master said, “Snow falls everywhere.”

The monk said nothing. The Master asked, “Do you understand?”

He replied, “I do not understand.”

The Master then recited this verse:

11. Chan Master Xuance of Bao’en Monastery, Jinling.

The Master was a native of Weinan in Hua Prefecture. At first he asked Qingfeng, “What is Buddha?” Qingfeng said, “The Fire God comes seeking fire.”

The Master kept these words hidden in his heart. When he later met Master Jinghui, he raised the matter with him and awakened to its purport. The Master said, “Bing and Ding signify fire, yet he still comes seeking fire. Likewise, Xuance brings Buddha to ask about Buddha.”

Jinghui said, “I nearly let you off, but as it turns out, you have misunderstood.”

Although the Master had received some illumination, he remained hesitant. He pondered until he was exhausted but still did not understand the profound principle, so he bowed his head in complete sincerity and requested further instruction. Master Jinghui said, “Ask me, and I shall tell you.”

The Master then asked, “What is Buddha?” Jinghui said, “The Fire God comes seeking fire.” The Master suddenly knew the place of return.

Later, the Master resided at Bao’en Monastery. He ascended the Dharma hall, looked over the great assembly, and said:

“Excellent indeed! It is only that no one knows how to ask about this saying. Therefore, the ancients troubled him by calling out three times. You people do not trouble him by calling out. This is merely following the intention of the ancients—what more can be said?

“Even if a thousand Buddhas appeared in the world, it would not increase by so much as a hair’s breadth. Even through transmigration in the six paths, it would not decrease by so much as a hair’s breadth. It appears bright and clear, without the slightest speck obscuring the eye. An ancient said, ‘If there is even the slightest speck, it becomes a mote of dust.’

“Yet now the phenomena before you stand impressively arrayed. How can you dispose of them? If you cannot dispose of them here, then it is merely the realm of ordinary beings. Still, do not disdain honest talk, and do not disdain talk of Buddhas and patriarchs. Why? Because when you hear talk of Buddhas and patriarchs, you immediately deem it something transcendent. If you understand it this way, you lose all connection with it. You must examine it with the utmost care and precision.

“Do you not see that when the ancient worthies ultimately departed from birth and death, it was not through the effort of shaving their heads and cutting their nails? Looking at matters now, the great difficulty continues on and on.”

A monk asked, “Buddha-nature is clearly seen. What is Buddha-nature?” The Master said, “Freedom from desire is the Way.”

He asked, “What is the Vajra Mahasattva?” The Master asked, “Have you seen it yet?”

He asked, “What is the most secret place of the sages?” The Master said, “You must understand it for yourself.”

He asked, “What is the Venerable’s most secret place?” The Master said, “Wait until you understand; only then will it do.”

The Master told the assembly, “All you Elders possess the constant completeness of the Sangha and all possess the life of the priceless treasure. Thus, though the moon within the clouds is bright, it does not shine forth; though wisdom hidden amid delusion is true, it does not function freely. There is nothing further. You have been standing a long time.”

A monk asked, “What is the Immovable Honored One?” The Master said, “Flying, flying.”

He asked, “What is the clear and distinct single phrase?” The Master said, “What difficulty would there be in answering you?”

He asked, “Is this the Way?” The Master said, “What difficulty would there be in not answering?”

He asked, “I profoundly understand the Venerable’s Way.” The Master asked, “What do you say I have said?”

He asked, “After this monk dies and is cremated, where does he return?” The Master said, “Wait until you are born, and then I shall tell you.”

He said, “Host and guest are perfectly clear.” The Master said, “You stand upon the earth and watch this monk die.”

He asked, “What is this student’s mind from the very beginning?” The Master asked, “Have you ever spoken of it?”

He asked only, “How should one clearly comprehend what has been expressed in this way?” The Master said, “Wait until you ask; only then will it do.”

He asked, “The teachings say that a tree can bear fruit of crystalline form. I do not yet know which fruit people can eat.” The Master asked, “Where did the tree come from?”

He replied, “This student has a share in it.” The Master said, “You are eighty-four thousand leagues away from the fruit.”

He asked, “What is that which does not alter or move?”

The Master said:
Rivers and streams vie to pour forth their waters; the sun and moon course in their circuits. Someone asked, “Concerning the profound and essential point within the School’s vehicle, I beg the Master for a word.” The Master said, “How long have you been traveling on foot?” He replied, “I have never met a companion.” The Master said, “Doze off less.”
12. Dharma Guide Xuanjue Xingyan of the Bao’en Dharma Hall in Jinling.
The Master was a native of Jinjiang in Quanzhou and attained the Dharma under Chan Master Jinghui. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and addressed the assembly, saying, “Generally, when people traveling on foot visit a good spiritual friend, they come to 1 monastery and set down their water bottle and alms bowl. It may be said that the bodhisattva’s practice of the Way is complete.

What need is there to discuss such things as true suchness and nirvana here? To do so would be speaking at the wrong time. Yet an ancient said that it is like raking through sand and recognizing a precious object: once the sand and stones are removed, pure gold appears.

This is then called the eternally abiding Sangha treasure, complete within the world. It is also like rain of 1 flavor and earth of one kind causing the myriad things to grow. Though they differ in size and vary in pungency and sweetness, one cannot say that the earth and rain bear the names ‘large’ and ‘small.’ Therefore, when square is spoken of, square appears; when round is spoken of, round appears.

Why is this? Because the Dharma is fundamentally thus, without crookedness or straightness; responding and appearing in accordance with forms is called manifesting a physical body in response. Do you see it?

If you do not see, do not sit idly on the ground either.” Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?” The Master said, “This question is unworthy.” Someone asked, “While sitting, how can right and wrong accord with people past and present?” The Master said, “Then why are you still sitting?” When the ruler of Jiangnan first established the Bao’en Dharma Hall, he invited the Master to expound the essential principles of the School.

The oceanic assembly numbered more than 2,000 people, and the ruler specially bestowed upon him the title Dharma Guide. The Master addressed the assembly, saying, “Today, worthy and eminent ones have gathered, and the entire oceanic assembly has arrived. I trust that, as far as the Buddha-Dharma is concerned, nothing is lacking.

Those of outstanding capacity need not wait for words. Yet if what is spoken of is fundamentally nonexistent, why remain silent? Thus, when the myriad phenomena, the vast source, and all the Buddhas shine forth clearly, the ocean seal is tranquil and luminous; when they are obscured, deluded feelings deceive themselves.

Unless one is a superior person whose mind is penetrating, an eminent person of transcendent stature, how could one reveal the wondrous ultimate amid all sensory objects, rolling up and unfolding phenomena? Even if one seized the myriad phenomena and disclosed that arising is non-arising, once arising and cessation have been seen through, this is called true permanence. Speaking of the provisional, reflections scatter along a thousand paths; discussing the true, the single emptiness leaves no trace.

How could it be reckoned in terms of existence and nonexistence, arising and cessation?” Someone asked, “The king has again extended an invitation, especially in honor of the late dynasty’s reverend. How will you expound it today?” The Master said, “You are not the one to raise it again.” He replied, “Then devas and humans are free from this fault.” The Master said, “Do not become entangled.” Someone asked, “I have come from far away and beg the Master to receive me once.” The Master said, “Go according to the old place.”
13. Chan Master Zhijun Daguan of the Jingde Dharma Hall in Jinling.
The Master was a native of Hezhong Prefecture and his family name was Wang. At a young age he distanced himself from worldly life and followed Great Master Gao at Pujiu Monastery, under whom he left the household life. When he reached the requisite age, he received the full precepts.

He first traveled throughout the regions and met Abbot Xiu at Longji in Fuzhou. Though he remained close to him for a long time, their spiritual conditions did not accord. He later went to the Bao’en Dharma Hall in Jinling and consulted Master Jinghui, whereupon he suddenly awakened to the profound purport.

Later, the Master resided at Qixian Monastery on Mount Lu. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying, “From the sages of old onward, there has been no lack of skillful means and Dharma gates. In general, all that is required is for you venerable ones to have insight.

Yet even before seeing, there is not the slightest difference, and you venerable ones have never deviated or fallen short by even the slightest amount. Why is this so? It does not expend the slightest effort.

Is this not effortless and essential? If it is said that Vairocana has a teacher and the Dharma body has a master, this is merely raising or lowering according to the capacity of those addressed and presenting it accordingly. How have you venerable ones ever confronted the principle?

If you understand this, do not disdain the words of the Buddhas and do not esteem the Patriarchs; only when your own eyes are bright right here will it do.” A monk asked, “What are those words?” The Master asked, “What did you say?” Someone asked, “What is it like when, amid turmoil, one seeks but cannot find it?” The Master said, “What are you seeking that you cannot find?” Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch?” The Master said, “What use have you for the Patriarch’s meaning?” Someone asked, “Today the court presents auspicious signs from afar; for whose sake has the true meaning come?” The Master said, “The entire assembly has seen it all;

ask as you please.” In the third year of Qiande, the ruler of Jiangnan, welcoming the Master’s transformative teaching, established a great Dharma hall in the northern garden called Jingde.

He invited the Master to reside there and bestowed upon him the title Great Chan Master. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying, “Anyone who yearns for the Way must possess the highest of superior capacities. Those of middling or inferior capacity cannot easily bear it.

Why is this? The Buddha-Dharma is not an object of the mind, intellect, or consciousness. Senior monks, do not take it lightly.

An ancient also said, ‘The eye of a śramaṇa holds the world fast, encloses heaven and earth in a box, and is so seamless that not even a single hair can pass through.’ Therefore, all the Buddhas cannot praise it enough, and comparisons cannot reach it. The Way of you senior monks, majestic and radiant, brilliantly illuminates the past and the present. Fortunately, you possess such a family tradition; why do you not carry it on?

Why do you belittle yourselves, vainly endure bitterness, and fail to attain understanding and awakening? It was solely for this that all the Buddhas appeared in the world; solely for this that all the Buddhas spoke of entering nirvana;

and solely for this that the Patriarch came alone from India.” A monk asked, “All the sages enter the Dharma gate of nonduality. What is the Dharma gate of nonduality?” The Master said, “Simply enter there.” He replied, “Then past and present are one and the same.” The Master asked, “Tell me, where are they the same?” Someone asked, “What is the essential meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?” The Master said, “It fits the question.” He replied, “Then this student bows in reverence.” The Master said, “What use is your understanding?” Someone asked, “What is Buddha?” The Master asked, “What is not?” The Master further addressed the assembly, saying, “I was unable to toil away in mountain caves and erase my tracks amid the marketplaces, but instead came forth and entered the royal city,

adding to the sovereign’s troubles.

This is my fault.” He then repeatedly took leave, wishing to return to his former mountain, but the ruler invited him to dwell at Qixuan Hermitage on Wufeng. In the second year of Kaibao, on the 17th day of the eighth month, the Master sat peacefully and passed away. He was 64 years old and had been ordained for 44 years.
14. National Preceptor Huiju of Mount Daofeng in Goryeo.
The Master first awakened to the pivotal matter under Master Jinghui. The king of his native country personally admired the Dharma Guide and dispatched an envoy to invite him home. The Master then returned to his former land.

The ruler received the essential instructions of the mind, paid him reverence, and treated him with exceptional generosity. One day, the Master was invited into the royal residence and ascended the Dharma seat. Pointing to the Tower of the Majestic Phoenix, the Master instructed the assembly, saying, “The Tower of the Majestic Phoenix expounds and reveals it for you senior monks.

Do you understand? If you understand, how do you understand? If you say you do not understand, how could the Tower of the Majestic Phoenix not understand?

Take good care.” The Master’s teachings spread throughout China. It is not known where he later passed away.
15. Chan Master Taiqin Fadeng of Qingliang in Jinling.
The Master was a native of Wei Prefecture. From birth, he possessed unobstructed eloquence. When the Master entered Master Jinghui’s chamber, the entire oceanic assembly followed, and everyone regarded him as intelligent and talented.

The Master was first invited to reside at the Shuanglin Cloister on Mount Yougu in Hongzhou. The Master ascended the Dharma hall but, before sitting down, said, “In former generations, 1 or 2 venerable adepts came to this mountain and expounded the Dharma. This seat is lofty and broad; how could an untalented person sit upon it?” An ancient said, “Having bowed in reverence to the Tathagata Sumeru Lamp King, one may then sit.” The Master continued, “Where is the Tathagata Sumeru Lamp King now?

Does the great assembly see him? Bow together at once.” The Master immediately ascended the seat, remained silent for a long while, and then said, “For the sake of the great assembly, it is simply thus. Do you have any understanding?” A monk asked, “What is the realm of Shuanglin?” The Master said, “Even a painting could not depict it.” He asked, “What is the person within that realm?” The Master said, “Go away.” He then added, “You do not yet know the realm, yet you set the person aside.” Someone asked, “When 1 Buddha appears in the world, heaven and earth tremble.

When the Reverend appears in the world, which direction trembles?” The Master said, “Where do you see any trembling?” He replied, “What about today?” The Master said, “What matter is there today?” A monk came forward and bowed. The Master said, “Wayfarer, first I thank you for inviting me. What shall I bring forth to say to you?” The monk was about to ask.

The Master

He said: “I was just about to say that we knew one another, yet it turns out that we are strangers.”

Question: “What is the profound and hidden meaning of the coming from India?”

The Master said: “Suffering.”

Question: “When a Buddha appears in the world, all living beings everywhere are thoroughly moistened. For whom has the Venerable appeared in the world?”

The Master said: “Not in vain.”

Question: “Then the great assembly has something upon which to rely.”

The Master said: “What need is there?”

The Master addressed the assembly, saying: “You have remained here long enough and have also been standing for a long time. Today, the officials and the entire assembly have invited one another to be diligent and circumspect; how could such meticulous recompense of merit ever be adequate? Therefore, those who have not yet understood should hear a single phrase—but who today can open his mouth?”

The Master then descended from the seat, stood leaning against a pillar, and said to the assembly: “Do you understand? Devas and dragons listen attentively, and flowers rain down. Do you understand? Devas and dragons listen attentively, and flowers rain down. Do not make it the property of Subhuti. The day is nearly over—how will you receive it in faith and respectfully practice it?”

The Master next resided at the Upper Indigo Monastery for the Protection of the Realm. A monk asked: “In the ten directions drums are all beaten, and in ten places they are heard simultaneously. What is this hearing?”

The Master said: “From which direction have you come?”

Question: “Skillfully practicing the bodhisattva path without being defiled by the marks of any dharma—what is the bodhisattva path?”

The Master said: “The marks of all dharmas.”

Question: “How can one remain undefiled?”

The Master said: “Where is there to be defiled?”

Question: “The examination hall will open before long. Are Confucian scholars selected there?”

The Master said: “Are you one whose forehead is marked?”

He also said: “For which examination category are you entered?”

Question: “What is it to expound the meaning of the Great Dharma?”

The Master said: “How could my exposition resemble yours?”

Later, the Master went to reside at Longguang Monastery in Jinling. He ascended the Dharma hall and sat upon the seat. The rector struck the white mallet and announced: “The dragons and elephants of this Dharma assembly should contemplate the meaning of the Highest Truth.”

The Master said: “The rector’s is the second meaning. Which meaning is this elder’s at present?”

The Master then raised his sleeve and said to the assembly: “Great assembly, do you understand? This is the mountain shouting, dancing, and stamping its feet. Do not say that five hundred lifetimes ago you once came here solely for the sake of joy. If anyone has doubts, please bring them forth for all to see.”

At that time, a monk asked: “What is the true school of all Buddhas?”

The Master said: “To which school do you belong?”

Question: “What does that mean?”

The Master said: “Why, then, do you not understand?”

Question: “At Upper Hermitage, the Master personally sang one song. What of the matter at Longguang today?”

The Master said: “When did you go to Upper Indigo and then come back here?”

Question: “What is the truth corresponding to phenomena?”

The Master said: “If it does not correspond to the truth, seek elsewhere.”

Question: “What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?”

The Master said: “Ask about the lesser meaning once more, and I shall give you the great meaning.”

Later, the Master entered and resided at the Great Hanhliang Practice Center in Jinling. The Master ascended the Dharma hall, and a monk came forward to ask a question. The Master said: “This monk has first come forward for the sake of the great assembly, and only afterward for the profound kindness of the ruler.”

Question: “The ruler has invited you so that the ancestral seat may be opened once again. As for this student, who has come from afar, I ask the Master to point directly to the source of mind.”

The Master said: “If you come from above, go below.”

Question: “A single lamp of Fayan shines throughout the realm. To whom does the Venerable entrust his single lamp?”

The Master said: “Where does Fayan’s light reach?”

When the ruler of Jiangnan was Prince Zheng, he received the Dharma of mind from Master Jinghui. After Jinghui entered extinction, the ruler once asked: “Was there any public case that the late Master did not understand?”

The Master said: “Analyze it and set it forth.”

On another day, the ruler again asked: “I have heard that the elder heard something distinctive from the late Master?”

The Master made as though to rise.

The ruler said: “Please sit down again.”

The Master addressed the assembly, saying: “The Dharma seat of the late Master had an assembly of five hundred. Now only several dozen serve as leaders in various regions. Tell me: might they not be wrongly pointing out the road to people? If one wrongly instructs others to enter water or fire, one must fall into a pit.”

“Yet an ancient also said: ‘If I reach the mountain of swords, the mountain of swords will collapse of itself; if I reach the cauldrons of boiling water, the cauldrons of boiling water will vanish.’ What, then, is there to deliberate? Why is it that when words are spoken, you immediately become agitated, and when questioned, you immediately become unfamiliar? It is because you are often separated from living activity.

“Venerable ones, you merely understand that there is nowhere I cannot go. When someone cannot go, it is because of the eye and the other faculties, and form and the other dharmas. Once all dharmas have been cast aside, what do you see when you open your eyes? Therefore, it is said: ‘Seeing not a single dharma is itself the Tathagata; only then may one be called Avalokitesvara, the One Who Contemplates Freely.’ Take care.”

In the sixth month of the seventh year of Kaibao, the Master became ill and addressed the assembly, saying: “This old monk lies ill because he wishes to meet you. Clearly, the practice center wherever you may be is a conjured city—yet why call it a conjured city? Have you not seen how the ancient guide said: ‘The place of treasure is not far away; you must advance farther.’ When they arrived at the city, he again told them: ‘This was conjured by me.’ Now, all of you, try to explain this principle. Is it Tathagata Chan or Patriarchal Chan? Can you determine it?

“Although you were born in a later age, you should know that our ruler, a lord like Yao and Shun, has established practice centers wherever there is suitable land, so that there will be no lack when they are needed. You need only open your mouths. Yet now, what is it that is your mouth? Thereafter you may repay the efficacy of the four debts of gratitude and the three realms of existence. Do you wish to understand? Merely know the mouth, and there will certainly be no fault. If there is a fault, because of you there is an ‘I.’

“Now wind and fire press against one another. Going and remaining are the constant Way. This old monk has served as abbot here for nearly twelve years and has always received the ruler’s support in fostering its development. The donors of the ten directions, fellow practitioners, stewards, and the assembly of the Way have all devoted themselves wholeheartedly on my behalf. I remain silent, for it is difficult to speak. If you put on coarse mourning garments, this would accord with worldly custom but run contrary to my true Way. Is it better to accord or to oppose? Simply follow what I say, and there will be no confusion.

“My remains should be buried on either side of the tomb of the Great Wisdom Repository at Southern Mountain, where the terrain above and below is clearly defined and will not sink away. Strive on, strive on, and be careful!”

On the twenty-fourth day of that month, the Master passed away while seated upright.

16. Chan Master Shaoyan of the True Body Stupa Monastery in Hangzhou

The Master was a native of Yongzhou, and his family name was Liu. At the age of seven, he relied upon Chan Master Gao’an and left the household life. At eighteen, he received the full precepts from Huaihui. When he later traveled in search of instruction, he and National Teacher Shao of Tiantai together received a prediction at Linchuan.

The Master then took up his staff and settled at Shuixin Monastery in western Zhejiang. Later, he stayed at Mount Fahua in Yuezhou, and subsequently entered and resided at the Upper Quarter Pure Monastery within the Stupa Temple. The King of Wuyue instructed the Master to expound the Dharma and bestowed upon him the title Chan Master Liaokong, Great Wisdom and Constant Illumination.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying: “This mountain monk possesses very little knowledge or insight. I originally hoped to live at leisure, reciting sutras and awaiting death. How could I have expected that today the Great King would earnestly and painstakingly urge this mountain monk to emulate the venerable masters of various regions and open a Dharma assembly?

“Since the Great King has sincerely invited me, I ask only whether you benevolent ones have yet illumined the mind. Is the mind present when you speak, laugh, and jest? Is it present when you compose your body and remain silent? Is it present when you seek out a spiritual teacher? Is it present when you deliberate with companions in the Way? Is it present when you look upon mountains and gaze at waters? When hearing and seeing are completely cut off, must that be your mind? All the explanations just given belong entirely to demonic delusion—how could this be called illuminating the mind?

“There is also a kind of person who departs from the body amid deluded thoughts and separately recognizes something that pervades the worlds of the ten directions, contains the sun and moon, and envelops the great void, taking this to be the originally existent true mind. This is the attachment of non-Buddhist paths and is not illumination of the mind.

“Benevolent ones, do you wish to understand? Mind neither is nor is not. Can you definitively grasp it?”

Question: “What is it like when the six directions are still and clear?”

The Master said: “Who in the great assembly believes you?”

Question: “What is it like when one sees the moon and forgets the pointing finger?”

The Master said: “That is not seeing the moon.”

Question: “Could one possibly take the finger to be the moon?”

The Master said: “How long have you been engaged in the study of Chan?”

In the seventh month of the fourth year of Kaibao, the Master became ill and said to his disciples: “All conditioned things are impermanent; this itself is the mark of permanent abiding.”

After saying this, the Master sat in the full lotus posture and passed away. He was seventy-three years old and had been ordained for fifty-five years.

17. Chan Master Huiqi Fa’an of Bao’en Monastery in Jinling

The Master was a native of Taihe and received the seal of mind from Master Fayan. Previously, the Master had been the fourth-generation abbot of Chongshou Monastery at Mount Cao in Fuzhou.

The Master ascended the Dharma hall and
addressed the assembly, saying: “To know illusion is immediately to leave it; no expedient means are employed. Upon leaving illusion, one is
immediately awakened; there are no stages either. Venerable ones, how do you understand this? ‘No
expedient means are employed, and there are no stages either’—wherein lies
the meaning of the ancients? If you understand, you will always behold
all the Buddhas before your eyes. If you do not yet understand, please do not enter the
Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment and discuss it. From ancient times to the present, the Buddhadharma has never
not been present before your eyes. At all times, venerable ones, you rely upon this majestic radiance.
You must fully possess the faculty of faith and be able to shoulder it—only then will it do. Have you not seen that the Buddha
praised the resolute person capable of crossing others over as a person of great ability? Nor did he praise
those who merely turn toward goodness and cultivate pure karma for a long time. You must be like
that butcher who cast down his knife and immediately realized the fruit of arhatship. You must be
like the beginning—only then will it do. Therefore, the Elder said: ‘Would one hang the rank of Brahma before an ordinary
person?’” A monk asked: “The great assembly has already arrived at the Dharma assembly. I request the Master, within the mystery,
not to begrudge us a phrase.” The Master said: “Could it deceive the great assembly?” The monk replied: “Then that wholly
answers this question.” The Master said: “It is of no use.” He asked: “An ancient said that all
dharmas take non-arising as their principle. What is the principle of non-arising?” The Master said:
“Excellent question.” He asked: “Concerning the Buddhadharma, I request the Master’s expedient instruction.” The Master said:
“The expedient instruction is finished.” He asked: “What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?” The Master said: “What age is this?”

The ruler of Jiangnan invited the Master to reside at Bao’en Monastery, bestowed an honorific title upon him, and charged him with guiding the assembly. The Master ascended
the Dharma hall and addressed the assembly, saying: “Today, in obedience to an order, I have been appointed abbot of this monastery
to expound the Dharma for the assembly. Just now, when I saw the rector strike the bell, it caused everyone, to some
degree, to contemplate the Ultimate Meaning. Yet where is there any Ultimate Meaning? If, within
this, you have gained some degree of insight into the essential point, what else could be separately explained now? Since I have
received this gracious decree, I cannot simply let it pass. In general, when the Chan school reveals the essential,
the Dharma as it is, the constant Dharma, is perfectly luminous and manifest, illuminating the ancient and the present.
Even when Bodhidharma came from India, he merely bore witness together with all of you; there was no Dharma
that could be given to anyone. The Way merely says that this very place is it, and tells you to meet it
at once. Although the ancients said to meet it at once, can you meet it today while sitting idly by?
Whoever has doubts may ask.” A monk asked: “The profound domain of the three virtues—from the Buddha there issues a single voice upon the mysterious path. I request the Master to speak.”
The Master said: “Have you said it yet?” He asked: “What is the realm of Bao’en?” The Master said: “Everyone sees you
asking.” During the Kaibao era, the Master passed away at this monastery.

18. Chan Master Xichou of Chongshou Monastery, Fuzhou.

The Master was a native of Xizhou. The Master ascended the Dharma hall, and a monk asked: “The fourfold assembly
closely contemplates the Ultimate Meaning. What is the Ultimate Meaning?” The Master said: “Why trouble yourself to ask?”
The Master further said: “If the great assembly wishes to know the meaning of Buddha-nature, contemplate the causes and conditions of the occasion.
What are the causes and conditions of the occasion? Venerable ones, you are now about to disperse. Tell me, do they exist or not?
If there are no causes and conditions, why do you disperse? If they exist, what is the Ultimate Meaning? Venerable ones,
the Ultimate Meaning is already fully manifest—why trouble yourselves to contemplate it further? How could the ever-shining Buddha-nature be revealed?
All dharmas constantly abide; yet if you perceive a dharma that constantly abides, that is still not the true
source of the Dharma. What is the true source of the Dharma? Venerable ones, have you not seen
an ancient say: ‘When one person manifests truth and returns to the source, all the empty space throughout the ten directions
is utterly dissolved’? Is there still some dharma to be conceptually understood? The ancients had such a great matter of causes and
conditions. Simply act in accordance with it—why trouble this elder to say so much?
If anyone in the assembly has not yet understood, please come forward.” A monk asked: “The lamp of Jinghui, whose body was burned at Shuiweng,
is now summoned by the prince’s command. What is the lamp of Jinghui?” The Master said: “Go ahead and ask
a question.” He asked: “The realizations of the ancients were not the same. I request the Master’s expedient instruction.” The Master said: “What did the ancients see
that was not the same?” He asked: “What is the Buddha?” The Master said: “What is the Buddha?” He asked: “What if one
understands?” The Master said: “If one understands, then it is not it.” He asked: “As for the meaning of the coming from India, which in the succession
would the Master be?” The Master said: “The eighth month of every year is a season.” He asked: “What is
the single phrase by which the Venerable instructs people?” The Master said: “Did Guanyin raise it, or did Shanglan raise it?” In the third year of Chunhua, the Master passed away.

19. Chan Master Qingji of Mount Yunju, Hongzhou.

The Master was a native of Quanzhou. Previously, the Master resided at Guangping Monastery on Mount Longxu.
A monk asked: “What is the realm of Guangping?” The Master said: “Understand Guangping.”
Another asked: “What is the person within the realm?” The Master said: “Examine it.”
Later, the Master resided on Mount Yunju. A monk asked: “What is the realm of Yunju?” The Master said:
“What do you call a realm?” He asked: “What is the person within the realm?” The Master said: “What did I just
say to you?” Later, the Master resided at Ximing Monastery in Quanzhou. When Commissioner Liao
entered the monastery and saw an image of Venerable Fayan being venerated, he asked: “What fruit is before the image?”
The Master said: “A false fruit.” The Commissioner said: “Since it is a false fruit, why venerate the image?”
The Master said: “It is only necessary that the Commissioner know it to be false.” He asked: “What is the Buddha?” The Master said:
“His countenance is wondrous indeed.”

20. Chan Master Daochang of Dazhi Monastery, Mount Baizhang, Hongzhou.

Long ago, he left home on this mountain, bowed to Chan Master Zhaoming as his teacher, and had his head shaved. Seeking
instruction from Jinghui, he attended him with traveling chest and staff. On one occasion, while requesting further instruction, he asked:
“The non-Buddhist questioned the Buddha, asking neither about speech nor about non-speech. Before the account was finished…” Jinghui said: “Stop, stop!
Just seek understanding in the place where the World-Honored One remained silent for a long while.” From this, the Master awakened and entered realization.
Later, this mountain invited the Master to return and serve as abbot. He was the eleventh in the succession, and students gathered in great numbers. The Master ascended the
Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying: “Riding this jeweled vehicle, proceed directly to the place of enlightenment. Every day, I trouble the venerable ones to inquire after me;
this cannot be prolonged. The weather is cold, so please do not stand for long. I invite you to return. Take care.” A monk asked: “What
is the traveling practice of this student?” The Master said: “Have you managed to break your staff yet?”
He asked: “An ancient said, ‘Shakyamuni and I studied under the same teacher.’ I do not yet know whom they studied
under.” The Master said: “Only fellow students could know.” He asked: “I do not know how one may draw near to
this person.” The Master said: “Then you do not understand how to inquire.” He asked: “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from
India?” The Master said: “Though you ask constantly, you cannot attain it.” He asked: “How is the song of returning home
sung?” The Master said: “If I caused it to be sung, it would fall behind you.” He asked: “What is
the realm of Baizhang?” The Master said: “How could it resemble Yunju?” He asked: “What is Baizhang’s single phrase
for instructing people?” The Master said: “If you go to the various regions, you must ask everywhere.”

The Master further addressed the assembly, saying: “There is truly nothing to do. Each of you venerable ones worships the Buddha.
What doubt could still bring you here? An ancient merely said: ‘The ten directions gather together;
everyone studies non-action. This is the place where Buddhas are selected; when the mind is empty, one passes the examination and returns.’ When the mind is empty, one passes the examination.
But how do you understand an empty mind? It does not mean closing your eyes and sitting silently somewhere—that is an empty mind.
This is precisely an understanding based on the conception of the consciousness-skandha. Venerable ones, do you wish your minds to be empty? Simply know the mind again
(the conscious mind?). Therefore, it is said: the past has already passed, and the future cannot be reckoned. Sitting rigidly with
nothing to do—has anyone ever called you? If someone calls a venerable one, is it better to answer
‘Yes,’ or is it better not to answer? If you answer, who called the venerable one? If you do not answer,
then you are not deaf. The essence of the three times is originally empty, yet it is not wood or stone. Therefore,
an ancient said: ‘When the mind is empty, one beholds the Dharma King.’ Do you behold the Dharma King? Or is it merely this old monk who is ill?
Could it be that he himself has manifested? Take care.” A monk asked: “What is the Buddha?” The Master said: “You”

so many matters need not be asked about. A monk cited someone else who had asked Xuansha, “I do not ask about the Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teachings. What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?”
Xuansha said, “There is no need for the Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teachings.” That monk did not understand and requested the Master to explain it. The Master said, “Do you truly not understand?” He replied, “I truly do not understand.” The Master said in verse:
No need for the Three Vehicles; what is needed is the ancestral tradition.
The Three Vehicles are not needed; together with you they are the same.
If you now wish to penetrate the essential purport of the tradition,
After nightfall, apes howl upon the wild mountain.
In the second year of Chunhua, the Master passed away, and a stupa was erected for him on this mountain.
21. Chan Master Jingzun Tonghui of Prajnaparamita Monastery on Mount Tiantai.
The Master ascended the Dharma hall and addressed the assembly: “In the brilliant, radiant place, whether expounding the ancient or expounding the present, there has never been the slightest interruption. At no time and in no season does it cease to strike decisively, leaving you venerable ones no place to draw breath. Therefore it is said: ‘The mountains, rivers, and great earth are the venerable ones’ good spiritual friend.’ Emitting light, shaking the earth, and manifesting wherever contact is made, truly there is not the slightest dharma that can obstruct or impede it.

Why is it that you do not understand even now and instead harbor doubts? There is nothing to do; you need not stand here long.” A monk asked, “When the udumbara flower blooms, everyone beholds it. Please bestow a word concerning the house style of Prajnaparamita.” The Master said, “Had the venerable one not asked, I would never have presented it to anyone.” The monk said, “Then Mount Prajnaparamita stands majestically, spanning past and present.” The Master said, “You have misunderstood again.” He asked, “Before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch, why did hundreds of birds bring flowers in their beaks?” The Master said, “Where did you see that?” He asked, “After he had met him, why did they no longer bring flowers?” The Master said, “You understand this saying rather well.” He asked,

“At the assembly on Vulture Peak, Kasyapa personally heard it.

I do not yet know who in today’s assembly is able to hear it.” The Master said, “Try presenting how Kasyapa personally heard it.” The monk said, “That itself is Kasyapa personally hearing it.” The Master said, “Why babble such nonsense?” The Master himself offered words of praise:
The true and real is vast and still;
People freely paint their pictures.
The lofty mountain has no clouds;
In the settled pool, the moon shines bright.
22. Chan Master Cezhen Fashi of Guizong Monastery on Mount Lu.
The Master was from Caozhou. His family name was Wei, and his personal name was Huichao. When he came to the Dharma hall, Master Jinghui asked, “What is Buddha?” Jinghui said, “You are Huichao.” From this, the Master gained faith.

These words spread throughout the various regions. At first, while on Yujia Peak of Mount Lu, he was invited by formal appointment to descend and reside at Guizong. The Master ascended the Dharma hall and addressed the assembly: “Venerable ones, seeing, hearing, understanding, and knowing occur only once.

Yet once you have understood, seeing, hearing, understanding, and knowing are no longer seeing, hearing, understanding, and knowing. Do you wish to understand? I shall explain it completely for you venerable ones.

You must wait until you awaken before it will do. You have been standing a long time. Take care.” A monk asked, “What is Buddha?” The Master said, “If I told you, there would be something separate.” He asked, “What is the realm of Guizong?” The Master said, “What do you see?” He asked, “What is the person within that realm?” The Master said, “Go out!” He asked, “The sovereign requests your aid in expanding the Dharma assembly.

Without falling into seeing and hearing, Master, please speak.” The Master said, “Quickly!” The monk said, “You have spoken idly already. What is the Master’s meaning?” The Master said, “Again you speak wildly.” He asked, “According to the teachings, it is said: ‘To offer this body and mind throughout realms as numerous as dust motes is truly called repaying the Buddha’s kindness.’ I do not ask about realms as numerous as dust motes; what is repaying the Buddha’s kindness?” The Master said, “If you are as you are, that itself is repaying the Buddha’s kindness.” He asked, “Insentient things expound the Dharma, and the great earth hears it.

What is it like when the lion roars?” The Master said, “Do you hear it?” He replied, “Then I am the same as the insentient.” The Master said, “You certainly do not hesitate to understand.” He asked, “The ancients took not departing from seeing and hearing as their tradition. I do not yet know what the Venerable takes as his tradition.” The Master said, “This question is very good.” He asked, “Is it also the three conditions and four conditions?” The Master said, “Do not speak wildly.” Later, the Master went to reside at Fengxian Monastery in Jinling.

Before long, he moved again to Bao’en Monastery. In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo, the Master entered nirvana.
23. Chan Master Shaoxian of Tong’an Cloister on Mount Fengqi in Hongzhou.
A monk asked, “The peaceful king has issued a decree, and the Master has received it. Please give one word concerning the house style of Xiong’er.” The Master said, “I have already spoken.” He asked, “I have come a thousand miles to the Master; please receive me once.” The Master said, “What place is good?” A monk from Yungai Mountain requested roof tiles to build a monastery. An official asked him, “Since it is already a ‘Cloud Canopy,’ why is there any need to request roof tiles?” The monk could not reply. The Master answered in his place, “Rare indeed is it to meet an extraordinary man.”
24. Chan Master Huiyuan of Qixian Monastery on Mount Lu in Jiangzhou.
The Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly: “Upon leaving the Sangha hall, you see the Five Elders Peak. The lifelong work of seeking instruction and studying is finished—what need is there to go there? Even so, I shall trouble you venerable ones to make one turn.

There is nothing to do. Take care.” A monk asked, “‘It is not the wind moving, nor is it the banner moving.’ I do not yet know what the ancient one’s meaning was.” The Master said, “Let the whole assembly understand it at once.” On another occasion, when the Master ascended the Dharma hall, a monk was about to ask a question. The Master pointed at him and said, “Stop, stop.” The monk stepped forward and asked, “Please expound the vehicle of the tradition transmitted from above.” The Master said, “You did not catch the words before;

the words afterward are difficult to follow.” He asked, “I do not yet know what the matter is now.” The Master said, “You do not understand human speech.” He asked, “What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?” The Master said, “Good.” He asked, “What is the realm of Qixian?” The Master said, “Once you enter the triple gate, you will know.” He asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?” The Master said, “There is a little lacking here.” He asked, “The lamp of the Patriarchs shines again; please do not begrudge compassion in teaching those of middling and lesser capacities.” The Master said, “Can you understand?” He replied, “Then the gate of skillful means has already opened.” The Master said, “That too is deception.”
25. Chan Master Congxian of Guanyin Cloister in Hongzhou.
The Master was from Putian in Quanzhou Prefecture. In his youth, he relied upon Master Shengqi in his home district, left the household life, received the full precepts, and sought instruction from Master Fayan, from whom he received confirmation. At first, the Master resided at Miaoguo Cloister in Shengzhou.

Later, he came to this cloister, where those who sought instruction and study gathered in great numbers. The Master ascended the Dharma hall, and when the assembly had gathered, he remained silent for a long while and then said, “Manjusri greatly praised the layman, but I do not know whether the layman accepted the praise. If he accepted it, where was there a layman?

If he did not accept it, then Manjusri could not have spoken empty words. Great assembly, how do you understand this? If you understand, you are indeed patch-robed monks.” At that time, a monk asked, “The layman remained silent, and Manjusri greatly praised him.

What is the meaning of this?” The Master said, “You ask, and I answer.” He asked, “Why did that man show his face and come here?” The Master said, “I walk until the waters end, then sit and watch the clouds drift by.” A monk asked, “What is the house style of Guanyin?” The Master said, “Look at what is before your eyes.” He asked, “If an adept suddenly arrived, how would you receive him?” The Master said, “A poor household has only this much; it is not certain he would speak of returning.” He asked, “Long have I borne the loss of a string from my lute; Master, please play one tune.” The Master said, “How will you listen?” The monk inclined his ear.

The Master said, “A trick for deceiving and killing people.” The Master addressed the assembly: “At that time, the Layman Lu, the Sixth Patriarch, stood before Mount Dayu and said to the venerable Huiming, ‘Think neither of good nor of evil; bring me the original face of the venerable Huiming.’ Today, Guanyin does not speak in that way: ‘Give the venerable Huiming back to me.’ One who speaks in this way—is he a descendant of Caoxi or not?

If he is a descendant of Caoxi, why does he discard four words? If he is not, where does the fault lie? Bring it forth and let us discuss it.” The Master remained silent for a long while, then said, “This whole assembly consists of true wayfarers.

Take care.” In the ninth month of the eighth year of Taiping Xingguo, the Master said to his patron, Chief Secretary Yuan, “In two or three days, this old monk will return home.” Yuan said, “The Venerable is staying here; why speak of returning home?” The Master said, “Upon returning home, I hope to eat a fine ladleful.” Yuan did not understand these words. Early the next morning, though free of illness, the Master passed away while seated.

He was seventy-eight years old. Chief Secretary Yuan erected a stupa in his honor at Xishan.
26. Chan Master Yangui of Chang’an Cloister in Luzhou.
A monk asked, “What is the master within the hermitage?” The Master said, “Go to the various regions.”

he only said, “From Chang’an to—” As the Master’s teaching career was drawing to a close, he entrusted the administration of the monastery to his disciple Biện Thật, who succeeded him in expounding the Dharma. The Master then returned to the cloister in the Western Hall, where he entered nirvana.

27. Chan Master Hy Phụng of Chánh Cần Monastery, Thường Châu.

The Master was a native of Tô Châu, and his family name was Tạ. He was the second-generation incumbent of this monastery. Once, the Master ascended the Dharma hall and instructed the assembly, saying:

“An ancient sage said, ‘Perfect and all-pervading like empty space, lacking nothing and containing nothing in excess.’ It is also said, ‘Each and every Dharma, each and every school: many dharmas, one Dharma-school.’ It is also said, ‘In arising, there is only arising; in ceasing, there is only the cessation of dharmas.’ Again, it is said, ‘When arising, it does not say, “I arise”; when ceasing, it does not say, “I cease.”’

“According to these words, senior monks who have long remained obstructed and stagnant in the monasteries—and even more so you brothers who have only recently aroused the aspiration—must embody the Way. A human body is difficult to obtain, and the true Dharma is difficult to hear. Do not spend your time in idleness. The donors’ food and clothing are not easily requited. If you do not illuminate the Way, each of you will have to repay your debts to others. Senior monks, do you understand the Way? Take good care of yourselves.”

A monk asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land?”

The Master said, “Where did you obtain that information?”

He asked, “What is the mark of emptiness of all dharmas?”

The Master said, “Mountains, rivers, and the great earth.”

He asked, “The Sangha has assembled like clouds. We ask the Master to reveal the essential teaching of the school.”

The Master said, “It was revealed long ago.”

He asked, “The Buddha-Dharma was entrusted to kings and great ministers. To whom does Chánh Cần entrust it today?”

The Master said, “Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years!”

He asked, “An ancient said, ‘The mountains, rivers, and great earth are your spiritual friends.’ How can one obtain the mountains, rivers, and great earth as spiritual friends?”

The Master said, “What do you call the mountains, rivers, and great earth?”

He asked, “Master, what is a statement that accords with the Way?”

The Master said, “You ask, and I answer.”

He asked, “At the assembly on Vulture Peak, Kasyapa personally heard it. I do not know who hears it today?”

The Master said, “What did Kasyapa personally hear?”

He asked, “How can this student reach the bodhimanda of the ancient Buddhas?”

The Master said, “Where are you now?”

He asked, “What is the Master’s perfect penetration?”

The Master raised and lowered the Chan seat three times.

He asked, “How does one escape the sense faculties and their objects?”

The Master said, “The place of deluded thought.”

He asked, “Are the king of men and the king of Dharma one or two?”

The Master said, “The king of men; the king of Dharma.”

He asked, “What is the quiescent and extinct mark of all dharmas?”

The Master said, “In arising, there is only arising; in ceasing, there is only the cessation of dharmas.”

He asked, “What is the Dharma that has never arisen?”

The Master said, “How could you know?”

He asked, “When Vô Trước came to see Manjusri, why did Manjusri not recognize him?”

The Master said, “Would you say that Manjusri recognized Vô Trước?”

He asked, “Only one who has grasped the meaning knows whose melody is wondrous. I ask the Master to speak a single phrase of Chánh Cần.”

The Master said, “Speak of what?”

He asked, “Is there no skillful means?”

The Master said, “You do not understand what I have said.”

28. Chan Master Thê Luân of Hưng Thiện Monastery in the Eastern Capital.

A monk asked, “What is the Buddha?”

The Master said, “What could I say to you that would do?”

He asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the Western Land?”

The Master said, “Just now, I could still remember it.”

When the Master’s patron, the Minister of Administration Lord Lý Kế Huân, passed away, a monk asked, “‘That Dharma abides in the Dharma-position; its mark constantly remains in the world.’ I do not know toward what fragrant realm the Master’s patron, Lord Lý, has departed?”

The Master said, “You have asked at precisely the right time.”

The monk said, “Then this is merely a deceptively presented phrase.”

The Master said, “You are capable of pursuing fame and profit.”

29. Chan Master Tề of Tân Hưng, Nghiêm Dương, Vũ Minh, Hồng Châu.

A monk asked, “How can one escape the three realms?”

The Master said, “Do you have faith?”

He replied, “I do indeed have profound faith. I beg the Master to be compassionate.”

The Master said, “Take just this mind of faith and raise up the ancient and the present. You must swiftly reflect upon it and discern it for yourself. Why hesitate in indecision? If you wish to escape the three realms, the three realms are only mind.”

Once, when it snowed, the Master addressed the assembly, saying, “Senior monks, do you see the snow? If you see it, you have eyes; if you do not see it, you have no eyes. Having eyes is eternalism; having no eyes is annihilationism. If you understand in this way, you will attain the complete body of the Buddha.”

A monk asked, “This student is taking his leave to go to Trợ Đàm. I beg the Master to show me the path of entry.”

The Master said, “Excellent indeed is the path of entry! Keep your mind of the Way firm and steadfast. Join the assembly in making requests and join the assembly in performing its duties. When it is necessary to go, then go; when you wish to remain, then remain. Going and remaining are no different. If you reach Trợ Đàm, do not seek out Mazu.”

30. Chan Master Khuông Đạt of Từ Vân, Nhuận Châu.

A monk asked, “The Buddha appeared in the world because of the causes and conditions of one great matter. I do not know how the Master appeared in the world?”

The Master said, “A very close fit.”

He asked, “What does it accomplish?”

The Master said, “No good.”