筠州洞山悟本禪師語錄
Chinese title:筠州洞山悟本禪師語錄
The Master’s Dharma name was Liangjie. His family name was Yu, and he was a native of Kuaiji. When he was young, he followed his teacher in reciting the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Upon reaching the words, “No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind,” the Master suddenly touched his face with his hand and asked his teacher:
“I have eyes, ears, a nose, and a tongue. Why does the sutra say there are none?”
The scripture teacher, astonished, said:
“I am not your teacher.”
The teacher directed the Master to Mount Wuxie to pay homage to Chan Master Lingmo and request ordination. At the age of twenty-one, the Master went to Mount Song to receive the precepts.
The Master journeyed in search of the Dharma and first paid a visit to Nanquan. It happened to be the day of the memorial meal for Mazu. Nanquan asked the assembly, “Tomorrow we shall offer the memorial meal to Mazu. I wonder whether Mazu will come?”
No one in the assembly could answer.
The Master stepped forward and said:
“When he has a companion, he will come.”
Nanquan said:
“Although this fellow is a young student, he is very easy to carve and polish.”
The Master said:
“Venerable, do not oppress a good person and turn him into a bandit.”
The Master next went to study under Guishan Lingyou and asked:
“I have heard that National Teacher Huizhong of Nanyang spoke of ‘insentient beings expounding the Dharma,’ but I have not yet penetrated its wondrous meaning.”
Guishan said:
“Acharya, do you still remember the National Teacher’s words?”
The Master replied:
“I remember them.”
“Try relating them once for me.”
The Master then recounted:
A monk asked, “What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?”
The National Teacher replied, “Walls, partitions, tiles, and bricks.”
The monk said, “Are walls, partitions, tiles, and bricks not insentient?”
The National Teacher replied, “They are.”
The monk asked, “Do they know how to expound the Dharma?”
The National Teacher replied, “They constantly expound it, without ever ceasing.”
The monk asked, “Why do I not hear it?”
The National Teacher replied, “You yourself do not hear it, but that does not prevent others from hearing it.”
The monk asked, “I wonder who is able to hear it?”
The National Teacher replied, “The holy sages are able to hear it.”
The monk asked, “Does the Venerable hear it?”
The National Teacher replied, “I do not hear it.”
The monk asked, “Since the Venerable does not hear it, how do you know that insentient beings know how to expound the Dharma?”
The National Teacher replied, “It is precisely because I do not hear it. If I heard it, I would be the same as the holy sages, and you would not hear me expounding the Dharma.”
The monk asked, “If so, do sentient beings have no share in it?”
The National Teacher replied, “I expound it for sentient beings, not for the holy sages.”
The monk asked, “What happens after sentient beings hear it?”
The National Teacher replied, “Then they are no longer sentient beings.”
The monk asked, “On which scripture is the teaching that insentient beings expound the Dharma based?”
The National Teacher replied, “It does not follow any scripture at all, nor is it a matter for a gentleman to debate. Have you not seen the Avatamsaka Sutra say, ‘Temples expound it, sentient beings expound it, and everything throughout the three times expounds it’?”
When the Master had finished recounting this, Guishan said:
“I also have it here, but I have not yet encountered that person.”
The Master said:
“I do not yet understand. Please instruct me, Master.”
Guishan raised his whisk and asked:
“Do you understand?”
“I do not understand. Please speak, Venerable.”
“A mouth born of father and mother can never speak it for you.”
“Is there anyone who sought the Way at the same time as you?”
“From here, go to You County in Liling, where a series of stone chambers are joined together. There is a man of the Way named Yunyan. If you are able to eliminate ignorance and investigate the profound mystery of the Buddhas and patriarchs, he will certainly be worthy of your esteem.”
The Master said:
“I wonder what sort of person he is?”
Guishan said:
“He once asked this old monk, ‘May a student follow and serve the Master?’ This old monk replied, ‘Only when all leaking has completely ceased.’ He said, ‘First of all, you must not say that this old monk is here within it.’”
The Master then took leave of Guishan and went directly to Yunyan. After recounting the preceding circumstances, he asked:
“When insentient beings expound the Dharma, who is able to hear it?”
Yunyan replied:
“The insentient are able to hear it.”
“Does the Venerable hear it?”
“If I heard it, you would not be able to hear me expounding the Dharma.”
“Why do I not hear it?”
Yunyan raised his whisk and asked:
“Do you hear it?”
“I do not hear it.”
“You cannot even hear me expounding the Dharma; how much less can you hear insentient beings expounding the Dharma?”
“In which scripture is the teaching that insentient beings expound the Dharma contained?”
“Have you not seen the Amitabha Sutra say, ‘The waters, birds, trees, and forests all recollect the Buddha and recollect the Dharma’?”
At this, the Master had an awakening and composed this verse:
Dã đại kỳ! Dã đại kỳ!
Vô tình thuyết pháp bất tư nghì.
Nhược tương nhĩ thính chung nan hội,
Nhãn xứ văn thinh chung đắc tri.
Translation:
How wondrous indeed! How wondrous indeed!
Insentient beings expounding the Dharma is inconceivable.
If you listen with the ears, you will never understand;
Only when the eye hears the sound will you finally know.
The Master asked Yunyan:
“Do I still have residual habitual tendencies that have not been exhausted?”
“What have you ever done?”
“Not even the noble truths have I practiced.”
“Are you joyful yet?”
“It is not that I am without joy; it is like finding a bright jewel in a heap of refuse.”
The Master asked Yunyan:
“What should one do when one wishes to meet face-to-face?”
“Ask the one who understands the matter.”
“I am asking him now.”
“What are you saying?”
While Yunyan was making straw sandals, the Master approached and asked:
“May I have the Master’s eyes?”
“With whom did you go?”
“Liangjie did not go with anyone at all.”
“If there is no one, where would you put them?”
The Master could not answer.
Yunyan said:
“Are the eyes you ask for truly eyes?”
“They are not eyes.”
Yunyan then shouted and drove him out.
The Master took leave of Yunyan. Yunyan asked:
“Where are you going?”
“Although I am leaving the Venerable, I have not yet chosen a dwelling place.”
“Are you not going to Hunan?”
“No.”
“Are you not returning to your native place?”
“No.”
“When will you return?”
“When the Venerable has a dwelling place, I will come at once.”
“After this parting, it will be difficult for us to meet again.”
“It will be difficult for us not to meet again.”
Just as he was about to depart, the Master asked:
“After the Venerable has passed away, if someone suddenly asks me, ‘Can you describe your Master’s likeness?’ how should I answer?”
Yunyan remained silent for a long while, then said:
“Acharya Jie! In taking up this great matter, you must examine it carefully.”
The Master still harbored doubts.
Later, while crossing a stream, he saw his reflection in the water and greatly awakened to the meaning of the earlier teaching. He composed this verse:
Thiết kỵ tùng tha mích,
Điều, điều dữ ngã sơ.
Ngã kim độc tự vãng,
Xứ, xứ đắc phùng cừ.
Cừ kim chánh thị ngã,
Ngã kim bất thị cừ.
Ưng tu nhẫm ma hội,
Phương đắc khế như như.
Translation:
Above all, seek it not elsewhere,
For then it remains ever distant from me.
Now I go on alone,
Yet everywhere I meet him.
He now is precisely me,
But I now am not him.
One must understand in this way
To accord with suchness.
On another day, while making offerings to the awakened spirit of Yunyan, a monk asked:
“The late Master said, ‘Just this.’ Is that so?”
The Master replied:
“Yes.”
“What is its essential meaning?”
“At that time, how many people misunderstood the late Master’s meaning!”
“I wonder whether the late Master had true knowing?”
“If he did not have true knowing, how could he know to speak in that way? If he did have true knowing, how could he consent to speak in that way?”
Changqing Ling asked:
“Since he had true knowing, why did he speak in that way?”
The Master replied:
“Only after raising a child does one understand a father’s compassion.”
On the occasion of preparing a memorial meal for Yunyan, a monk asked:
“What instruction did the Venerable receive while with Yunyan?”
The Master replied:
“Although I was there with him, I received no instruction.”
“Since you received no instruction, why prepare a memorial meal for him?”
“How would I dare turn against the late Master?”
“The Venerable first paid a visit to Nanquan. Why, then, do you prepare a memorial meal for Yunyan?”
“I do not esteem the late Master’s virtue or his Buddha-Dharma. I esteem only that the late Master did not explain everything to me.”
“In preparing a memorial meal for the late Master, does the Venerable acknowledge him as your master or not?”
“I acknowledge him by half and do not acknowledge him by half.”
“Why do you not acknowledge him completely?”
“If I acknowledged him completely, I would have betrayed the late Master!”
Toward the end of the Dazhong era of the Tang dynasty (847), the Master resided at Mount Xinfeng, where he received and guided the assembly of disciples. Thereafter, his teaching flourished at Dongshan in Gao’an, Yuzhang. Provisionally opening the Five Ranks, he skillfully received those of the three capacities—the great, middling, and lesser capacities.
He greatly proclaimed the single sound and broadly propagated its myriad expressions. Drawing the jeweled sword crosswise, he cut down the dense forest of views; unfurling the wondrous leaves of universal penetration, he severed the myriad distortions. Caoshan, moreover, profoundly illumined the essential purport, skillfully voicing the excellent path wherein sovereign and minister accord and the Relative and Absolute turn back upon and interpenetrate one another.
Thus, the Chan tradition of the Caodong school spread everywhere, and eminent masters throughout the land together honored it as the “Dong-Cao School.”
Yunyan instructed the assembly:
– There is a child in someone’s household who, whatever he is asked, has nothing he cannot answer.
The Master stepped forward and asked:
– How many books are there in his house?
The Master answered:
– Not even a single written character.
– How, then, does he know so much?
– Day and night, he has never slept.
– May I ask him about one matter?
– Though he can speak, he will not speak.
The prior returned from Shishi’s quarters, and Yunyan asked:
– You went to Shishi’s quarters; why have you returned so quickly?
The prior could not answer.
The Master answered in his place:
– Someone in there had already seen it!
Yunyan asked the Master:
– Then how would you go?
The Master replied:
– One cannot utterly cut off human feeling.
Yunyan asked a nun:
– Is your father still living?
The nun replied:
– He is.
– How old is he?
– Eighty years old.
– You have a father who is not eighty years old. Do you know him?
– Is he the one who comes thus?
– That is still a child or grandchild.
The Master said:
– Even if he were not the one who comes thus, he would still be a child or grandchild.
The Master traveled about visiting various places. When he came to Luzu, he bowed, stood in attendance, and after a short while went out, then entered again. Luzu said:
– Just so, just so; therefore it is thus.
The Master replied:
– Most people would not accept it.
Luzu said:
– How could it be discerned through your mouth?
The Master bowed and then remained in attendance for several months.
A monk asked Luzu:
– What is speaking without speaking?
Luzu answered:
– Where is your mouth?
– There is no mouth.
– Without a mouth, what do you use to eat rice?
The monk could not answer.
The Master answered in his place:
– He is not hungry; why should he eat rice?
The Master went to visit Nanyuan. Just as he stepped into the Dharma hall, Nanyuan said:
– We have already met.
The Master immediately went back down. The next day he returned and asked:
– Yesterday I received the benefit of the Venerable’s compassion, but I do not know where it was that the Venerable and I met.
Nanyuan said:
– Mind after mind, without interruption, flows into the stream of the nature.
The Master replied:
– Let us set aside so much agreement.
When the Master took leave of Nanyuan, Nanyuan said:
– Study the Buddha Dharma extensively and confer benefit broadly.
The Master replied:
– I do not ask about studying the Buddha Dharma extensively. What is it to confer benefit broadly?
Nanyuan answered:
– Do not turn against a single thing.
The Master went to the capital region and bowed to Venerable Xingping. Xingping said:
– Do not bow to this decrepit old man!
The Master replied:
– I bow to that which does not grow old and decrepit.
– That which does not grow old and decrepit does not accept bows.
– It does not remain still either.
The Master further asked:
– What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?
Xingping answered:
– It is precisely your own mind.
– Although it is so, this is still where I harbor doubt.
– If so, go and ask a wooden man.
– I have one statement that does not rely upon the mouths of the sages.
– Try saying it!
– It is not mine.
As the Master took his leave, Xingping asked:
– Where are you going?
– Following the current, without remaining in any fixed place.
– Is it the Dharma body that follows the current, or the recompense body that follows the current?
– Ultimately, I do not give rise to such an interpretation.
Xingping then clapped his hands.
Baofu said:
Dongshan was a school unto himself. How many people like Dongshan could one find?
The Master and Mishi Bo went to visit Baiyan. Baiyan asked:
– Where have you come from?
The Master replied:
– Hunan.
– What is the surname of the military governor?
– He has no surname.
– What is his name?
– He has no name.
– Does he administer affairs or not?
– Naturally, there is already a deputy official!
– Does he come and go?
– He neither comes nor goes.
– Why does he neither come nor go?
The Master shook out his robe and departed. The next day, Baiyan entered the Sangha hall and summoned the two senior monks, saying:
– Yesterday, in my exchange with you acharyas, there was one turning phrase with which I failed to accord, and so I was uneasy throughout the night. I now ask you acharyas to offer another turning phrase. If it accords with this old monk’s intention, I shall invite you to have gruel and remain as my companions through the summer retreat.
– Venerable, please ask your question.
– Why does he neither come nor go?
– How exceedingly honored!
Baiyan immediately invited them to have gruel and remain through the summer retreat.
Tiantong Jie said:
– Entering brightly and joining in darkness, he was skillful in every respect. Without transgressing in the immediate moment, there was a way to turn the body. Under the Caodong gate, this is sufficient to reflect the radiance; but if they were descendants of Linji, they would not be spared even after the staff had broken. At that time, had I heard him say that he did not know the name or surname, I would immediately have struck him once with my fist. If he could push himself around and turn within this, not only could gruel be prepared and offered, but he could also be settled beneath the bright window. Is there such a one? Is there such a one? I would call out: “Tongshan! Go to the inquiry hall.”
The Master and Mishi Bo went to pay their respects and inquire after Venerable Longshan’s health. The old monk asked:
– There is no road on this mountain. From where have you acharyas come?
The Master replied:
– Let us set aside whether there is a road. From where did the Venerable enter?
The old monk answered:
– I did not come from clouds and water.
– How long has the Venerable dwelt on this mountain?
– I am untouched by spring and autumn.
– Was the Venerable here first, or was this mountain here first?
– I do not know.
– Why do you not know?
– I did not come from among humans or devas.
– What principle did the Venerable realize that caused you to dwell on this mountain?
– I saw two clay oxen racing into the sea; to this very day, all news of them has been cut off.
Only then did the Master arrange his deportment fully and bow.
While traveling on foot, the Master met an official who asked:
– May this disciple compose a commentary on the Third Patriarch Sengcan’s “Inscription on Faith in Mind”?
The Master answered:
– “As soon as right and wrong arise, the mind is lost in confusion” (cai you shi fei, fen ran shi xin). How will you comment on that?
Fayan answered in the official’s place:
– If so, this disciple will not compose the commentary.
When the Master first set out on pilgrimage, he encountered an old woman carrying water along the road. He asked her for a drink. She said:
– You may freely drink the water, but this old woman has a question that must first be put to you: “Try to say, how many kinds of dust are contained in the water?”
The Master answered:
– It does not contain any of the kinds of dust.
The old woman said:
– Go away! Do not defile my load of water.
While the Master was staying at Letan, he heard Head Monk Chu say:
– How wondrous! How wondrous! The realm of Buddha and the realm of the Way are inconceivable.
The Master then asked:
– I do not ask about the realm of Buddha or the realm of the Way. Who is it who is now speaking of the realm of Buddha and the realm of the Way?
Chu remained silent for a long while and did not answer.
The Master said:
– Why do you not speak quickly!
– I cannot answer in a flash.
– You have not yet said anything at all. What do you mean that you cannot answer in a flash?
Chu did not answer.
The Master said:
– Buddha and the Way are both mere names and words. Why do you not cite the teachings?
Chu said:
– What would you have me say?
– Once the meaning is attained, the words are forgotten.
– You are still using meaning to instruct me; it has become a sickness of the mind.
– Is speaking of the realm of Buddha and the realm of the Way a grave illness or a minor one?
Chu did not answer. The next day, Chu suddenly passed away. People called the Master “the one who questioned Head Monk Chu to death.”
The Master was crossing a stream with Shenshan and Mishi Bo when he asked:
– What is the matter of crossing the stream?
Shenshan answered:
– The heels are not wet.
The Master said:
– Old man, why utter such words?
Shenshan said:
– And what about you?
The Master answered:
– The heels are not wet.
Another version says:
The Master was crossing a stream with Shenshan. The Master said:
– Do not make a mistake beneath your feet!
Shenshan said:
– If I made a mistake, I could not cross.
The Master asked:
– What is the matter of not making a mistake?
Shenshan answered:
– Crossing the stream together with the elder.
One day, while the Master and Shenshan were tilling the tea garden, the Master set down his hoe and said:
– Today I have not the slightest strength left.
Shenshan said:
– If there were no strength left, how could you know to speak thus?
The Master said:
– What strength do you take there to be?
The Master was walking with Shenshan when suddenly they saw a white rabbit run past. Shenshan said:
– How excellent!
The Master asked:
– How so?
– It is exactly like the bowing manner of a white-robed nobleman.
– Old man, why utter such words?
– What about you?
– Though he has borne hairpins and tassels all his life, for the moment he has lost his composure.
Shenshan was holding a needle and sewing. The Master asked:
– What are you doing?
– Holding a needle.
– What is the matter of holding a needle like?
– Needle after needle, mutually assisting.
– We have traveled together for twenty years, yet you still utter such words. How could the practice be like that?
– What about you, Elder?
– The principle is like the great earth erupting in flames.
Shenshan asked the Master:
– Once knowledge has been penetrated, no one fails to go forth and spread the teaching. At the point of direct realization, I ask the Master for a word.
The Master said:
– How could Senior Dharma Brother's intent preserve any merit?
At this, Shenshan suddenly awakened and spoke an extraordinary turning phrase. Later, as he and the Master were crossing a narrow log bridge, the Master crossed first, lifted the bridge pole in his hand, and said:
– Cross over!
Shenshan called:
– Acarya Jie!
The Master then lowered the bridge pole.
While walking with Shenshan, the Master pointed to a monastery beside the road and said:
– In that monastery there is someone speaking of mind and speaking of nature.
Shenshan asked:
– Who is it?
– The moment Senior Dharma Brother questioned him, he died ten parts out of ten.
– Then who is speaking of mind and speaking of nature?
– Within death, he attained life.
The Master asked Xuefeng:
– Where have you come from?
Xuefeng replied:
– From Tiantai.
– Did you see Zhizhe?
– Yicun deserves a share of the iron staff.
Xuefeng went up, bowed, and inquired after the Master's health. The Master said:
Upon entering the gate, you must have a word, but you must not say that you have already entered.
Xuefeng replied:
– I have no mouth.
– Set aside having no mouth for the moment; return my eye to me.
Xuefeng could not answer.
Yunju Ying said separately in response to the preceding statement:
– Wait until I have a mouth, and I shall speak at once.
Changqing said separately, “If so, I respectfully withdraw.”
Xuefeng was carrying firewood. He came before the Master and threw down the bundle. The Master asked:
– How heavy is it?
Xuefeng replied:
– All the people in this world could not lift it.
The Master asked:
– Then how did it get here?
Xuefeng could not answer.
The Master wrote the character “ ” (Buddha) on the gate. Yunyan saw it and wrote the character “ ” (not) beside it. The Master then changed it into the character “ ” (non-). When Xuefeng saw this, he wiped them all away at once.
Xinghua Cun said on his behalf:
– I am not equal to you.
Baiyang Shun said:
– If I were Dongshan, I would merely have said to Xuefeng, “You are not one of my kin.”
Tianbo Yuan said:
– Dongshan and Yunyan raised a mound on level ground; old Xuefeng took this occasion to increase his wisdom.
Xuefeng served as rice steward. While he was winnowing rice, the Master asked:
– Are you sifting out the sand and leaving the rice, or sifting out the rice and leaving the sand?
Xuefeng replied:
– Rice and sand are both discarded at once.
– What will the assembly eat?
Xuefeng immediately overturned the rice basin.
The Master said:
– Judging by this encounter, you are suited to be with Deshan.
Langye Jiao said:
– Xuefeng's going in this manner was like cutting down a sweet peach tree to search the mountains for sour pears.
Tiantong Jue said:
– Xuefeng climbed higher step by step, never expecting the heel of his straw sandal to split apart. Had the Proper and the Inclined turned freely, with inquiry and response proceeding together (1), their words and vital spirit would naturally have harmonized, and father and son would have been affectionate and dutiful. Tell me, where did Dongshan's intention lie in not accepting Xuefeng? For ten thousand miles there are no clouds, yet the sky is at fault; the clear pool is like a mirror, yet the moon can scarcely enter.
Xuedou Zong said:
– The luan and phoenix do not perch on an ordinary tree; the golden needle has already embroidered the paired mandarin ducks. Were it not for the old man of Xinfeng, it would at once have shattered into fragments.
((1) Inquiry: a student knocks at the door of the Chan master's chamber to ask about the principle of the Way.
Response: the Chan master answers in order to receive and guide the student.
Inquiry and response are the house style of the Caodong School.
When the exchanges between master and disciple continue without any gap, this is called “inquiry and response proceeding together.”
This is one of the three essential principles of Dongshan Liangjie.)
One day the Master asked Xuefeng:
– What are you doing?
Xuefeng replied:
– Hewing a trough.
– How many strokes will finish it?
– One stroke will finish it.
– That is still an affair on this side. What about the affair on the other side?
– There is certainly nowhere to set one's hand.
– That is still an affair on this side. What about the affair on the other side?
Xuefeng silently walked out.
When Xuefeng took leave of the Master, the Master asked:
– Where are you going?
Xuefeng replied:
– Back into the mountains.
– By which road did you come out at that time?
– I came out by the road where the apes fly across the mountains.
– By which road are you returning now?
– By the road where the apes fly across the mountains.
– There is someone who travels without taking the road where the apes fly across the mountains. Do you know him?
– I do not know him.
– Why do you not know him?
– He has no face or features.
– Since you do not know him, how do you know that he has no face or features?
Xuefeng could not answer.
Yunju Daoying came for instruction. The Master asked:
– Where have you come from?
Yunju replied:
– From Cuiwei.
– What words did Cuiwei use to instruct the assembly?
– Cuiwei was making offerings to the arhats. I asked, “When offerings are made to the arhats, do the arhats come?” Cuiwei asked me, “What do you eat every day?”
The Master asked:
– Did he truly say this?
Yunju replied:
– He did.
The Master said:
– Your visit to an adept was not in vain.
The Master asked Yunju:
– What is your name?
– Daoying.
– Speak of what is beyond.
– Beyond, it is not named Daoying.
– Your answer is like mine when I was at Daowu.
Yunju asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?
The Master said:
– Acarya! Later, when you go forth to serve as an abbot, if someone asks you this, how will you answer?
Yunju replied:
– Daoying is truly at fault.
One day the Master asked Yunju:
– I have heard that Great Master Si was reborn as the king of Japan. Is that so?
Yunju replied:
– If it is Great Master Si, he would not even become a Buddha.
The Master nodded.
The Master asked Yunju:
– Where have you come from?
Yunju replied:
– I came by treading upon the mountains.
– On which mountain can you abide?
– On which mountain can I not abide?
– If so, the entire country has been occupied by the Acarya.
– It is not so.
– If so, you have found the road of entry.
– There is no road.
– If there is no road, how did you and this old monk meet?
– If there were a road, I would already be separated from the Venerable by a mountain.
– In the future, a thousand or ten thousand people will not be able to hold this fellow fast.
While crossing a stream with Yunju, the Master asked:
– How deep is the stream?
Yunju replied:
– Not wet.
– Crude fellow!
– Please, Master, speak.
– Not dry.
Wuzu Yan said:
– In speaking this dialogue, were the two men superior and inferior to one another or not? Today this mountain monk moves his arm to break it open and explain it for you. The phrase “crossing the stream, not wet”: the storehouse is heaped high with genuine pearls. The phrase “crossing the stream, not dry”: lacking even an awl, can he be considered utterly impoverished? Neither the path of dryness nor the path of wetness adheres to anything; let him speak as he will of clear waters and green mountains.
One day, while Yunju was working, he accidentally killed an insect. The Master said:
– You evil demon!
Yunju replied:
– It did not die.
– Then why did the Second Patriarch go to Yezhou?
Yunju could not answer.
The Master asked Yunju:
– When a great icchantika commits the five heinous offenses, where is filial devotion practiced?
Yunju replied:
– Only then is filial devotion fulfilled.
The Master asked Yunju:
– Long ago, Nanquan asked a monk who lectured on the Sutra of Maitreya's Descent, “When will Maitreya descend and be born?” The monk replied, “He is presently still in the heavenly palace and will descend and be born in the future.” Nanquan said, “In heaven there is no Maitreya; on earth there is no Maitreya.”
Following this statement, Yunju asked:
– If so, in heaven there is no Maitreya and on earth there is no Maitreya; then I do not yet know who gave him that name?
At this question, the Master was so shaken that the meditation platform trembled. He then said:
– Acarya Ying! When I was at Yunyan’s, I once asked the old man a question that made even the stove tremble. Today, at this one question of yours, my whole body broke out in a sweat.
Later, Yunju built a hermitage at Sanfeng. For an entire week he did not come to the dining hall. The Master asked:
– Why have I not seen you come to take your meals lately?
Yunju replied:
– Every day a heavenly deity brings me food.
– I thought you were still giving rise to interpretations. Come here again this evening.
That evening Yunju came, and the Master called:
– Hermitage Master Ying!
Yunju answered:
– Yes.
The Master said:
– Not thinking of good, not thinking of evil—what is it?
Yunju returned to his hermitage and sat in silent stillness. From then on, the heavenly deity searched everywhere but could not find him. This continued for three days, after which the offerings ceased.
The Master asked Yunju:
– What are you doing?
Yunju replied:
– Blending the ingredients.
– How much salt do you use?
– Turn inward.
– What fine flavor are you making?
– Attained.
Shushan arrived while the Master was conducting the early-morning instruction. He stepped forward and asked:
– Before those words have yet arisen, I ask the Master to instruct me.
The Master said:
– If it is not granted, there is no one to receive it.
– Can merit be attained or not?
– Have you now attained merit?
– If merit cannot be attained, then there is nowhere to avoid.
One day, the Master ascended the hall and said:
– If you wish to understand this matter, you must be like a withered tree blossoming; only then will you accord with it.
Shushan asked:
– What if one does not go against it anywhere?
The Master said:
– Acarya! This is a matter on the side of meritorious achievement. Fortunately, there is the merit of no-merit; why do you not ask about that?
– Is not the merit of no-merit the person on the other side?
– Many people would laugh at you for asking in that way.
– If so, it is far distant.
– Far distant, yet not far distant; not that it is not far distant.
– What is far distant?
– You cannot call it the person on the other side.
– What is not far distant?
– There is no place for discussion.
The Master asked Shushan:
– In the age of the empty kalpa, when there are no people and no self, whose dwelling place is it?
Shushan replied:
– I do not know.
– Does that person have the essential meaning or not?
– Why does the Venerable not ask him?
– I am asking him right now.
– What is the essential meaning?
The Master did not answer.
Qinglin Shiqian came to consult the Master. The Master asked:
– From where have you just come?
Qinglin replied:
– Wuling.
– What does the Dharma taught at Wuling resemble here?
– In winter, bamboo shoots grow in the land of Hu.
– Cook a special pot of fragrant rice as an offering to this man.
Qinglin brushed off his robe and walked out.
The Master said:
– This fellow will later kill everyone under heaven.
Gushan Yong said:
– With an exchange like this, even a single drop of water would be difficult to digest. Why cook a special pot of fragrant rice?
One day, Qinglin took leave of the Master. The Master asked:
– Where are you going?
Qinglin replied:
– The golden carriage leaves no trace; throughout the realm, the red dust is cut off.
The Master said:
– Take good care of yourself.
Qinglin took his leave and went out. The Master accompanied him to the gate and said to Qinglin:
– How would you express such a statement?
Qinglin replied:
– With every step I tread upon the red dust, yet my whole body casts no shadow or trace.
The Master remained silent for a long while. Qinglin said:
– Old Venerable, why do you not speak quickly?
The Master said:
– You have acquired such a quick disposition.
Qinglin replied:
– I am at fault.
Qinglin then bowed in homage, took his leave, and departed.
Longya asked Deshan:
– If I were holding the Moye sword(1) and wished to take the Master’s head, what then?
Deshan stretched out his neck and said:
– Ah!
Longya said:
– Your head has fallen.
Deshan laughed, “Ha! Ha!”
Longya went to Dongshan and recounted the preceding exchange. The Master asked, “What did Deshan say?”
Longya replied:
– Deshan said nothing.
The Master said:
– Do not say that Deshan said nothing. Bring Deshan’s fallen head and show it to this old monk.
Only then did Longya awaken, and he asked to repent.
Later, someone recounted this to Deshan. Deshan said:
– Dongshan does not know what is good and what is bad. How long has that fellow already been dead? What use is there in saving him?
( (1). A famous sword of ancient times.
During the Wu period in China, there was a renowned swordsmith named Ganjiang, whose wife was named Moye. The two assisted King Helü of Wu and forged two swords: the yang sword was named Ganjiang, and the yin sword was named Moye. The Chan school borrows this term to indicate the wisdom inherent in each person, or the prajna insight used by a Chan master to guide students freely and without obstruction.)
Baofu Zhan commented:
– Longya knew only how to advance and did not know how to retreat.
Cuiyan Zhi said:
– Should Longya have cut or not cut? Right now, how would you cut?
Dongchan Guan said:
– Longya embraced the sword and injured himself, bringing the fault upon himself; Deshan was mastered by the head. Fortunately, when Dongshan suddenly exposed the trace of Deshan’s pivotal device, the tail naturally showed itself.
Longya asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?
The Master replied:
– Wait until the water in the stream flows backward, and I will tell you.
Longya thereupon awakened to the essential meaning.
Huayan Xiujing asked the Master:
– This student does not know the path of principle and has not yet escaped being dragged about by consciousness and emotion.
The Master said:
– Have you seen the path of principle or not?
– I see that there is no path of principle.
– Where are you obstructed by consciousness and emotion?
– This student is asking in earnest.
– If so, you must go to the place where for ten thousand miles there is not a single inch of grass.
– Will you permit me to go to the place where for ten thousand miles there is not a single inch of grass?
– You must go in this way.
Huayan was carrying firewood when the Master stopped him and asked:
– What is it like when meeting on a narrow road?
Huayan replied:
– Treacherous! Treacherous!
– Remember my words: “If you reside facing south, you will have one thousand people; but if you reside facing north, you will have only three hundred.”
Qinshan came to consult the Master. The Master asked:
– Where have you come from?
Qinshan replied:
– From Daci.
– Did you see Daci?
– I saw him.
– Did you see him before form, or after form?
– I did not see before or after.
The Master nodded.
Qinshan then said:
– I left the Master too soon and therefore could not fully penetrate your meaning.
Qinshan, Yantou, and Xuefeng were sitting together when the Master prepared tea and brought it to them. Qinshan then closed his eyes. The Master asked:
– Where have you come from?
Qinshan replied:
– I have come from entering samadhi.
The Master asked:
– Samadhi is originally gateless; through what place did you enter?
An elder monk answered on his behalf:
– Many people understand it in this way.
Xuedou Xian separately said:
– At that time, he should merely have pointed at Yantou and Xuefeng and said, “I was dozing and drinking tea together with those two fellows.”
Beiyuan Tong came to consult the Master. The Master ascended the hall and said:
– Sit firmly as the host, without falling into a second view.
Tong stepped forward before the assembly and said:
– You should know that there is one person with whom you ought not become companions.
The Master said:
– That is still a second view.
Tong immediately overturned the meditation platform.
The Master asked:
– Elder brother, what about it?
Tong replied:
– When my tongue has rotted away, I shall tell the Venerable.
Later, Tong took leave of the Master, intending to enter the mountains.
The Master said:
– Take good care! When the ape flies back to the mountains, be heedful.
Tong remained silent for a long while.
The Master called:
– Acarya Tong!
Tong answered:
– Yes!
The Master said:
– Why do you not go into the mountains?
At this, Tong had an awakening and did not enter the mountains.
Daoquan asked the Master:
– What is the essential meaning of liberation?
The Master replied:
– Smoke arises beneath the Acarya’s feet.
Quan immediately awakened in accord and never went elsewhere.
Yunju said:
– I shall never betray the Venerable’s “Smoke arises beneath the feet.”
The Master said:
– Each wondrous step is itself the arrival of merit.
At the Winter Solstice, Head Monk Tai and the Master were sitting and eating fruit. The Master then asked;
– There is a thing that supports heaven above and upholds the earth below, black as lacquer, always present within activity and function, yet impossible to grasp within activity and function. Tell me, where does the fault lie?
Head Monk Tai replied:
– The fault lies within activity and function.
Tong’an Xian said separately:
– I do not know.
The Master called the attendant to clear away the tray of fruit.
Langye Jiao said:
– If it were not for the old man Dongshan, how could this have been revealed? Even so, Dongshan was still lacking one maneuver.
Guishan Zhe said:
– Do you know where Dongshan stands? If you do not, you will forever give rise to interpretations of right and wrong, gain and loss.
This mountain monk says:
– Not only was the head monk unable to eat that fruit, but even all the people in the world have no true eye with which to behold it.
Yungai Ben said:
– Although Dongshan had hammer and tongs with which to smash empty space, he had no needle and thread with which to sew it back together. When the other said, “The fault lies within activity and function,” he needed only to say, “Head Monk, please eat the fruit.” If Head Monk Tai had been a patch-robed monk, after eating it he would still have had to vomit it all out.
Nantang Jing said:
– Dongshan sat behind the curtain and determined victory a thousand miles away; Head Monk Tai’s entire body was a mouth—he had reason on his side, but it was difficult to express.
Guishan Guo said:
– Dongshan framed an innocent man as a thief. Head Monk Tai had reason on his side, but it was difficult to express. This mountain monk, seeing the injustice, feels ashamed. At that time, upon hearing such a question, I would simply have said, “The prediction of buddhahood at the assembly on Vulture Peak did not go so far as this.” Then, while he was deliberating, I would have taken the fruit and thrown it in his face, not only stopping up his throat but also preventing later people from giving rise to deluded speculation.
Jingci Chang said:
– Although Dongshan was able to clear away the tray of fruit, he could not stop Head Monk Tai’s mouth.
Seeing Elder You arrive, the Master rose and went to stand behind the meditation couch. You asked:
– Why does the Venerable turn away from me?
The Master replied:
– I thought that you, Acarya, did not see this old monk.
While the Master was tending the glutinous rice crop, he saw Elder Lang approaching. The Master said:
– This ox must be watched carefully, lest it damage other people’s rice seedlings.
Lang replied:
– If it is a well-trained ox, it will not trespass upon other people’s rice seedlings.
A monk asked Master Zhuyu:
– What is the conduct of a sramana?
Zhuyu replied:
– It is not that there is no conduct, but awareness of it is already contrary to it.
Another monk related this to the Master. The Master said:
– Why did you not ask, “I do not yet know what conduct it is?”
The monk then conveyed these words to Zhuyu. Zhuyu said:
– Buddha-conduct, Buddha-conduct.
The monk returned and related this to the Master. The Master said:
– Youzhou resembles Ke; the hardest of all is Silla.
Dongchan Qi commented:
– Is there any doubt or error in these words? If there is, tell me what remains inadequate. If there is not, then when he said, “The hardest of all is Silla,” can you discern it? He said, “It is not that there is no conduct, but awareness of it is already contrary to it.” He had him ask again, “What conduct is it?” and then said, “Buddha-conduct.” Did that monk ask after understanding, or did he ask before understanding? Please judge.
A monk asked the Master:
– What is the conduct of a sramana?
The Master said:
– The head is three feet long; the neck is two inches long.
The Master instructed his attendant to take this saying and ask Venerable Sansheng Ran about it. Sansheng pinched the attendant’s hand once. The attendant returned and related this to the Master, and the Master nodded.
Venerable Mi of Jingzhao sent a monk to ask Yangshan:
– In the present age, are there those who cultivate practice and attain awakening?
Yangshan replied:
– Awakening is certainly not absent, but how could one fall into the secondary?
Venerable Mi then sent the monk to ask the Master:
– Ultimately, how is this matter?
The Master replied:
– You must go back and ask him again.
Minister Chen asked:
– Among the twenty-five bodhisattvas, why is Wondrous Awakening not seen?
The Master replied:
– Minister, you personally see Wondrous Awakening!
An official asked:
– Is there anyone who cultivates practice?
The Master replied:
– When you become a man, there will be cultivation and practice.
The Master instructed the assembly:
– Brothers! At the beginning of autumn and the end of the summer retreat, as you travel east and west, you must reach the place where for ten thousand miles there is not an inch of grass.
The Master remained silent for a long while, then said:
– That being so, how can one travel in the place where for ten thousand miles there is not an inch of grass?
Later, someone related this to Shishuang, who said:
– Why did no one say, “The moment one goes out the gate, there is grass”?
When the Master heard this, he said:
– How many such people are there in the great Tang realm?
Dayang Xuan said:
– Today I say directly: even without going out the gate, grass is everywhere. Tell me, where is one to act? After a long while, he said, “Do not cling to the cold mountain as separate from the green grass; sitting fast amid white clouds, the essential principle is not wondrous.”
Baiyun Duan said:
– If you can see the hermitage master, you can immediately see Dongshan; if you can see Dongshan, you can immediately see the hermitage master. Seeing Dongshan is easy; seeing the hermitage master is difficult, because he was not bound by the office of abbot. Have you not heard it said, “The clouds at the mountain peak are endlessly at leisure; the stream at the bottom of the ravine—how very busy it is!”
Guishan Guo said:
– Cutting through nails and cleaving iron, he flung open the mysterious gate of the matter beyond. His words were true and sincere, showing people the essential road. Tell me, how do you understand, “The moment one goes out the gate, there is grass”? Shishuang spoke in this way; you must not touch it. If you touch it, you will receive thirty blows.
Jingshan Guo said:
– A single drop of lion’s milk dissolves ten pecks of donkey’s milk.
A monk asked:
– If I wish to see the Venerable’s original teacher, how may I see him?
The Master replied:
– If your age and years are alike, there will be no obstruction.
As the monk was about to speak, the Master said:
– Without following the former tracks, please ask another question.
The monk could not answer.
Yunju answered in his place:
– If so, then I shall not see the Venerable’s original teacher!
Later, Elder Jiao raised this and asked Changqing:
– What does it mean for one’s age and years to be alike?
Changqing replied:
– The ancient spoke in this way; what are you, Acarya Jiao, still seeking within it?
A monk asked:
– When cold and heat arrive, how can one avoid them?
The Master said:
– Why not go to the place where there is neither cold nor heat?
– What is the place where there is neither cold nor heat?
– When it is cold, the cold kills you, Acarya; when it is hot, the heat kills you, Acarya.
Touzi Tong said:
– How many people can arrive there in this way?
Langye Jiao said:
– I would not speak thus. What is the place where there is neither cold nor heat? Then he entered the Sangha hall.
Yunju Yu said:
– Langye expressed this idea, but this mountain monk would not speak thus. What is the place where there is neither cold nor heat? During the three months of winter, light a fire to keep warm; during the nine months of summer, preserve the cooling breeze.
Baofeng Wen said:
– Great assembly, if you understand, you may freely sport in spiritual powers: whenever cold or heat comes, it will have nothing to do with you. If you do not understand, then within cold and heat you will pass from winter into summer.
Shangfeng Cai said:
– Dongshan’s one saying may be described as host and guest intermingling, the straight and the partial adhering to one another. Now, where can you turn aside? Let me ask you: do you understand or not?
Letan Zhun said:
– If it is the right person, even water is hot; if it is not the right person, even fire is cold!
The Master ascended the hall and instructed the assembly:
– Is there anyone who does not repay the four benefactions and the three realms?
The assembly could not answer.
The Master further said:
– If you cannot realize this principle, how can you escape the sickness of before and after? You must ensure that mind after mind does not touch any object and step after step has no abiding place; only when this is continuous and uninterrupted will you accord with it. You must exert yourselves and not idly pass your days.
The Master asked a monk:
– Where have you come from?
The monk replied:
– I have been roaming among the mountains.
– Did you reach the summit?
– I did.
– Was anyone on the summit?
– There was no one.
– If so, then you have not yet reached the summit.
– If I had not reached the summit, how could I know there was no one there?
– Why did you not remain there for a while?
– I do not refuse to abide, but in the Western Heaven there is someone who does not accept it.
– I have always doubted this fellow.
A monk asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?
The Master replied:
– It is exactly like a frightened pheasant.
A monk asked:
– A snake swallows a frog: is it right to save it, or is it right not to save it?
The Master replied:
– If you save it, both eyes will not see the road; if you do not save it, neither form nor shadow will appear.
There was a sick monk who wished to come pay his respects to the Master but was unable to walk, so the Master went to visit him. The monk asked:
– Why does the Venerable not save other people’s children?
The Master asked:
– Whose family’s child are you?
– I am a child of the family of the great icchantikas.
The Master remained silent for a long while.
The monk asked:
– What is it like when the four mountains press in upon one?
– Formerly, this old monk also passed beneath another person’s eaves to come through here.
– Is there mutual interpenetration or not?
– There is no mutual interpenetration.
– Venerable, where do you instruct me to go?
– Go into the rice field.
The monk gave a cry and said:
– I bid you farewell.
The monk then sat upright and passed away.
The Master struck him three times on the head with his staff and said:
– You are only skilled at departing in this way, but not skilled at arriving in this way.
Zhaojue Qin said:
– For those who journey on foot, the essential thing is to penetrate this one matter completely. That monk was already a child of the family of the great icchantikas; when the four mountains pressed in upon him, his hands and feet trembled. Had Dongshan, rich in compassion, not let down a single silken thread and spoken smoothly to him, how could he have departed so skillfully? Therefore, an ancient said, “When approaching the end of life, if even the slightest measure of ordinary sentiment or estimation of sagehood remains unexhausted, one cannot avoid entering the womb of a donkey or the belly of a horse.” Then, when Dongshan said, “I too passed beneath another person’s eaves,” was he hindered by the four mountains or not hindered by the four mountains? Upon reaching this point, one must be like a bucket whose bottom has fallen out. Now tell me, what was Dongshan’s meaning? Do you understand?
The golden cock pecks through the crystal shell;
The jade rabbit flings wide the gate of the blue sea.
During an evening consultation when no lamps had been lit, a monk stepped forward to ask a question. After asking, he withdrew and sat at the back. The Master ordered the attendant to light a lamp and then called:
– Let the monk who just asked the question come forward.
That monk approached. The Master said:
– Bring two ounces of flour for this senior monk.
The monk brushed off his robe and withdrew. From that moment he had an awakening, whereupon he gave away all his robes and bowl and arranged a vegetarian meal as an offering.
Three years later, the monk came to bid farewell before departing elsewhere. The Master said:
– Take good care of yourself!
At that time, Xuefeng, who was standing in attendance, asked the Master:
– Since that monk has taken his leave and departed, when will he return?
The Master replied:
– He knows only how to depart once; he does not know how to return.
The monk returned to the Sangha hall, sat down beside his robes and bowl, and passed away. Xuefeng went to report this to the Master. The Master said:
– Although it was so, compared with this old monk he is still three lifetimes away.
The Master asked a monk:
– Where have you come from?
The monk replied:
– I have come from the stupa of the Third Patriarch.
– Since you have come from the Patriarch’s place, why do you still wish to see this old monk?
– The Patriarch may be different, but the Venerable and I are not different.
– May this old monk see the Acarya’s original teacher?
– We must still wait for the Venerable himself to put forth his head.
– Just now, for the time being, there was no old monk.
A monk asked:
– What is it like when, upon meeting, nothing is brought forth, yet as soon as the intention is raised, one immediately recognizes an intimate?
The Master then placed his joined palms atop his head.
The Master asked Deshan’s attendant:
– From what region have you come?
The attendant replied:
– I have come from Deshan.
– What have you come here to do?
– To show filial devotion to the Venerable.
– What is the most filial thing in the world?
The attendant could not answer.
The Master ascended the hall and said:
– There is a person who, amid a thousand or ten thousand people, neither turns his back on a single person nor faces toward a single person. Tell me, what sort of face and features does this person possess?
Yunju stepped forward and said:
– I am going to the consultation hall—to enter the Sangha hall and pay respects to the head monk and the assembly.
On one occasion, the Master said:
– Only when one personally realizes the matter beyond Buddha can one have some small part in speaking.
A monk asked:
– What is speaking?
– When I speak, Acarya, you do not hear.
– Does the Venerable hear?
– I hear when there is no speaking.
A monk asked:
– What are a correct question and a correct answer?
– They are not spoken from the mouth.
– If someone asks you, do you answer?
– No one has ever asked.
A monk asked:
– What is it that enters through the gate but is not a household treasure?
– Realize it well.
A monk asked:
– Since the Venerable came forth to serve as abbot, how many people have trusted you?
– Not a single person has trusted me at all.
– Why has not a single person trusted you at all?
– Because each of them possesses the bearing of a king.
The Master asked a monk who lectured on the Vimalakirti Sutra:
– “It cannot be known through wisdom; it cannot be known through consciousness.” What kind of words are these?
The monk replied:
– Words praising the Dharma-body.
– By calling it the Dharma-body, you have already praised it.
A monk asked:
– Why did “Always diligently wipe it clean” not receive the transmission of the robe and bowl? I do not know what sort of person could receive them.
The Master replied:
– A person who does not enter through the gate.
– If so, can the person who does not enter through the gate receive them or not?
– Although it is so, they cannot but be transmitted to him.
The Master further said:
– Even the words “Originally there is not a single thing” were still unable to obtain that robe and bowl. Tell me, what sort of person could receive them? Here, immediately give a turning word. Try to say what words you would put forth.
At that time, a monk offered ninety-six turning words, but none accorded. Only his final turning word accorded with the Master’s meaning.
The Master said:
– Acarya, why did you not say that sooner?
Another monk secretly listened, but did not hear the final turning word. He therefore asked that monk for further instruction, but the monk refused to tell him. He followed him in this way for three years, yet the monk still would not speak.
One day, when the monk was ill, the other monk said:
– For three years I have asked you to tell me those earlier words, but I have not received your compassionate instruction. Since I cannot obtain it through good means, I must obtain it through evil means!
He then took up a knife and declared:
– If you do not tell me, I shall kill you, senior monk.
The monk, alarmed, said:
– Acarya! Wait a moment! I will tell you.
He then said:
– Even if it comes in the future, there will still be nowhere for it to lodge.
The monk bowed in thanks.
Xuedou Xian said:
– Since he did not accept it, that eye of his will surely be blind in the future. Do you see the Patriarch’s robe and bowl? Had he entered the gate at that time, they would have been transmitted to him with both hands. Not only would a single person have been unable to lift them from Mount Dayu; even if all the people in the country came, they would still be unable to carry them away.
Cuiyan Zhi said:
– He could never obtain that robe and bowl, yet he also practiced together with the ancient Buddha. Tell me, what did he practice?
Tiantong Jue said:
– At Changlu, it is not so: the future is necessary. If there were no future, how could one know that not accepting the future must surely be the eye? Is not accepting the truth blindness? Do you understand? Illumination utterly penetrates the essence, with nowhere to rely; the whole body accords with the great Way.
After Lingyin Yue related this for Cuiyan to hear, he said:
Traveling throughout the lands of Jiang and Wu,
Crossing shores and passing over many mountains.
There was a hermitage master who was ill. Whenever he saw a monk, he would say:
– Save me! Save me!
Many people offered words, but none accorded.
The Master then went to visit him, and the hermitage master likewise said:
– Save me!
The Master asked:
– Save what?
The hermitage master said:
– Are you not the legitimate heir of Yunyan and the Dharma-grandson of Yaoshan?
The Master replied:
– I dare not claim so.
The hermitage master joined his palms and said:
– Everyone, see one another off.
The hermitage master then passed away.
A monk asked:
– Where does a monk go after passing away?
The Master replied:
– After the cremation, there is a stalk of vegetable.
While the chief monk was assembling the monks for communal labor, the Master made his rounds through the quarters and saw a monk who had not gone to work. The Master asked:
– Why have you not gone to work?
The monk replied:
– I am ill.
The Master said:
– You are usually in good health; why can you no longer come and go now?
A monk asked:
– Ordinarily, Master, you teach me to travel the bird’s path, but I do not know what the bird’s path is.
The Master replied:
– Not encountering a single person.
– How does one travel it?
– Beneath your feet, you must not travel apart.
– Then is traveling the bird’s path not the original face?
– Why is the Acarya so inverted?
– Where am I inverted?
– If you are not inverted, why do you take the servant for the master?
– What is the original face?
– Not traveling the bird’s path.
Later, Jiashan Hui asked a monk:
– Where have you come from?
The monk said:
– From Dongshan.
– What words and phrases does Dongshan use to instruct his disciples?
– He ordinarily teaches students to laboriously study the three paths.
– What are the three paths?
– The mysterious path, the bird’s path, and extending the hand.
– Did he truly say this?
– He truly did.
– The rule and measure are transmitted ten thousand miles; the man of the Way beneath the forest grieves.
Fushan Yuan said:
– Were it not for the falling yellow leaves, how would one know that autumn had arrived?
The Master addressed the assembly:
– Only one who knows that there is a Buddha beyond Buddha has a share in speaking of it.
A monk asked:
– What is one who knows that there is a Buddha beyond Buddha?
The Master replied:
– Not Buddha.
Baofu said separately:
– Buddha Not.
Fayan said separately:
– As an expedient, it is called Buddha.
The Master asked a monk:
– Where have you come from?
The monk said:
– From the shoemaker’s place.
– Did you make them yourself, or did you have someone else make them?
– I had someone else make them.
– Did that other person give the Acarya any instruction or not?
– If permission is granted, there is no transgression.
A monk asked:
– What is the Mysterious within the Mysterious?
The Master replied:
– Like the tongue of a dead man.
While the Master was washing bowls, he saw two birds fighting over small shrimp. A monk immediately asked:
– Why is this matter like this?
The Master replied:
– Only because of the Acarya.
A monk asked:
– What is the lord of the Dharma body, the teacher Vairocana?
The Master replied:
– The rice plant, the rice root.
A monk asked:
– Among the three bodies, which body does not fall within the numbered categories?
The Master replied:
– I once analyzed this matter.
Later, a monk asked Caoshan:
– The late Master said, “I once analyzed this matter.” What did he mean?
Caoshan replied:
– If you want the head, cut it off at once.
The monk then asked Xuefeng. Xuefeng struck him on the mouth with his staff and said:
– I too once went to Dongshan.
Chengtian Zong said:
– One turning phrase makes the sea blue and the river clear; one turning phrase brings a high wind and a cold moon; one turning phrase is dismounting from the bandit’s horse to chase the bandit. Suddenly a monk stepped forward and said, “None of them is like this.” He too may be acknowledged as possessing a single eye.
Miaoxi said:
– Such tangled vines have not even dreamed of those three old men. He also said: Why not aim at the heart and give it one prick?
An elder in the assembly returned from visiting Yunyan. The Master asked:
– What did you go to Yunyan for?
The elder said:
– I do not know.
The Master answered in his place:
– To heap up a mound of earth.
A monk asked:
– What is the father of the white clouds and the green mountain?
The Master replied:
– Not dark and densely overgrown.
– What is the child of the white clouds and the green mountain?
– Not distinguishing east from west.
– What is it to lean on the white clouds throughout the day?
– One must not leave them behind.
– What is it when the green mountain knows nothing at all?
– Not looking back.
A monk asked:
– What grass is that on the bank of the clear river?
The Master replied:
– It is sproutless grass.
The Master asked a monk:
– What is the most painful thing in the world?
The monk said:
– Hell is the most painful.
– Not so. To wear this robe and yet not illuminate the great matter is the most painful.
The Master asked a monk:
– What is your name?
The monk said:
– So-and-so.
– What is the Acarya’s master within?
– The one who is answering right now.
– What suffering! What suffering! People nowadays are accustomed to answering in this manner. They know only how to take the servant as themselves. They cannot yet distinguish the master within the guest; how could they discern the master within the master?
The monk immediately asked:
– What is the master within the master?
– Acarya, speak for yourself.
– If I can speak, that is the master within the guest.
Yunju answered in his place:
– Though I can speak, it is not the master within the guest.
– What is the master within the master?
– Speaking thus is easy, but maintaining continuity is exceedingly difficult.
The Master then taught this verse:
I see the present-day followers studying the Way,
By thousands and tens of thousands, taking the gateway for the goal.
They are just like those entering the capital to attend upon the sage sovereign,
Who reach only Tong Pass and there come to a halt.
Translation:
Alas, I see those who cultivate in the present age,
By thousands and tens of thousands, taking the gateway for the goal.
They are just like those entering the palace to attend upon the sage sovereign,
Who reach only Tong Pass and there congratulate themselves.
The Master ascended the hall:
– The Way, being without mind, accords with the person; the person, being without mind, accords with the Way. If you wish to know the meaning within this, one is old and one is not old.
Later, a monk asked Caoshan:
– What is the one that is old?
Caoshan replied:
– It does not support or uphold.
The monk asked:
– What is the one that is not old?
Caoshan replied:
– A withered tree.
The monk later related this to Xiaoyao Zhong. Zhong said:
– The three conformities and six principles.
Wuxie went to Shitou’s place and said:
– If a single word accords, I will stay; if it does not accord, I will leave.
Shitou sat crouching, and Wuxie immediately departed. Shitou followed after him and called:
– Acarya! Acarya!
Wuxie turned his head. Shitou said:
– From birth until death, it is only this; why turn your head and revolve your brains?
Wuxie suddenly awakened in accord and broke his staff. The Master said:
– At that time, had it not been the late Master Wuxie, it would have been exceedingly difficult to undertake. Even so, he was still stuck on the path.
A monk took leave of Daci. Daci asked:
– Where are you going?
The monk said:
– I am going to Jiangxi.
– May I trouble you with one matter?
– What matter do you have, Venerable?
– Could you take this old monk along with you?
– Even if there were someone superior to the Venerable, I still could not take him along.
Daci then desisted.
Later, the monk related this to the Master. The Master said:
– Acarya, you should not have spoken that way.
– What would the Venerable have said?
– Got him.
Fayan said separately:
– If the Venerable goes, I shall carry your hat.
The Master again asked that monk:
– Did Daci have any other words or phrases?
The monk said:
– On one occasion he instructed the assembly: “To speak ten feet is not as good as to practice one foot; to speak one foot is not as good as to practice one inch.”
The Master said:
– I would not say it that way.
– What would the Venerable say?
– What is spoken cannot be practiced; what is practiced cannot be spoken.
Yaoshan was roaming in the mountains with Yunyan. The knife at Yaoshan’s waist made a sound. Yunyan asked:
– What is making that sound?
Yaoshan drew the knife and made a chopping gesture.
The Master related this while instructing the assembly:
– See how Yaoshan devoted his whole being to this matter. Anyone today who wishes to illuminate the matter beyond must comprehend this meaning.
Yaoshan held an evening interview without lighting a lamp.
Yaoshan expounded the Dharma:
– I have a saying. I shall tell it to you when a bull gives birth to a calf.
A monk said:
– The bull has already given birth to a calf, but the Venerable has not yet spoken.
Yaoshan said:
– Attendant! Bring the lamp here.
That monk withdrew into the assembly.
Yunyan raised this and asked the Master:
– What about this matter?
The Master replied:
– That monk had understood, but he was unwilling to bow.
Case:
– Yaoshan asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” The monk replied, “From Hunan.” Yaoshan asked, “Is the water of Dongting Lake full yet?” The monk replied, “Not yet.” Yaoshan asked, “It has rained a great deal; why is it not yet full?” The monk could not answer.
Daowu said:
– It is full already.
Yunyan said:
– Clear and still within.
The Master said:
– Why have there ever been increase and decrease within the kalpa?
Yaoshan asked a monk:
– I hear that you are very good at calculation; is that so?
The monk said:
– I would not presume.
– Try calculating this old monk.
The monk could not answer.
Yunyan raised this and asked the Master:
– What would you say?
The Master said:
– Venerable, please gaze at the moon.
The Master composed this verse on the Five Ranks of Sovereign and Minister:
The Relative within the Absolute.
At the third watch, in the beginning of night, the moon shines before dawn
Do not wonder that, though we meet, we do not recognize each other;
Deeply concealed, one still harbors the grievances of former days.
The Correct within the偏.
At dawn, a blind old woman encounters the ancient mirror;
Face to face, perfectly clear—there is no other reality.
Cease losing your head and recognizing only its reflection.
Coming from within the Correct.
Within emptiness there is a road that parts from the dust;
If only one can avoid violating the present taboo,
One surpasses the eloquent man of the former dynasty whose tongue was cut out.
Arriving within Both.
When two blades cross, there is no need to evade them;
A skillful hand is still like a lotus in the fire,
Naturally possessing an aspiration that soars to heaven.
Reaching within Both.
Not falling into being or nonbeing—who dares respond?
Everyone wishes to emerge from the ordinary stream;
Shattered and joined again, one returns to sit within the ashes.
Translation:
The偏 within the Correct.
In the third watch of the dark night, the moon shines brilliantly;
Meeting face to face, why doubt that you have never known each other?
Secretly harboring the burden of a lifetime’s vexation.
The Correct within the偏.
A blind old woman encounters the ancient mirror;
Face to face, perfectly clear—there is no other reality.
Cease losing your head and taking the reflection for it.
Coming from within the Correct.
Within emptiness there is a road apart from the dust;
Today, because one does not violate the taboo,
One surpasses the eloquent man at court whose tongue was cut out.
Arriving within Both.
When two swords divide and meet, one should not evade them;
A skillful hand is like a lotus in the furnace,
Seeming to possess an aspiration that reaches the boundless sky.
Reaching within Both.
Not falling into being or nonbeing—who dares respond?
Everyone wishes to escape the ordinary stream;
Dissolved and joined again, one returns to sit within the ashes.
The Master ascended the hall:
“When it is Orientation, what then? When it is Service, what then? When it is Merit, what then? When it is Shared Merit, what then? When it is Merit of Merit, what then?”
A monk asked:
“What is Orientation?”
The Master replied:
“What is it like when eating rice?”
“What is Service?”
“What is it like when one turns away?”
“What is Merit?”
“What is it like when one sets down the hoe?”
“What is Shared Merit?”
“One does not obtain form.”
“What is Merit of Merit?”
“Not shared.”
The Master then taught this verse:
The Sage Lord, from the beginning, examines the Dharma sovereign’s principle;
In governing people, he observes propriety, bending his dragon waist.
At times he passes straight through the bustling marketplace;
Wherever he goes, civilization flourishes beneath the sage dynasty.
For whom does one wash away the thick adornments?
Amid the cuckoo’s cries, people are urged to return.
Though a hundred flowers fall away, its calling never ends;
It calls again toward the depths of the wind-tossed mountains.
A withered tree blossoms in spring beyond the kalpa;
Riding backward upon a jade elephant, one pursues the qilin.
Now, hidden high beyond a thousand peaks,
The moon is bright, the wind pure—a fine day and hour.
Sentient beings and all Buddhas do not encroach upon one another;
The mountain is naturally high, and the waters naturally deep.
The myriad distinctions and thousand differences reveal the fundamental matter;
Where the partridge cries, a hundred flowers are fresh.
As soon as horns begin to grow upon the head, it is already unbearable;
Those who seek the Buddha with the discriminating mind ought truly to be ashamed.
Remote and distant, beyond the empty kalpa, no one recognizes it;
Who would journey south through the fifty-three encounters?
Translation:
The Sage Lord, from the beginning, examines the Dharma sovereign’s principle;
In governing people, he observes propriety, bending his dragon waist.
At times he advances straight into the marketplace;
Wherever civilization flourishes, blessings are invoked for the sage dynasty.
Who is it that washes away all bloodstains?
The cuckoo warbles, urging people to return.
Though a hundred flowers have entirely fallen, its call is endless;
Flying into the deep mountains, it sings and warbles.
A withered tree blossoms in spring beyond the kalpa;
Riding backward upon a jade elephant, one pursues the qilin.
Today, all traces are concealed beyond a thousand mountains;
The wind is cool, the moon bright, on this auspicious day.
Sentient beings and all Buddhas do not encroach upon one another;
The mountain is naturally high, and the stream naturally deep.
The myriad distinctions and thousand differences make the matter perfectly clear;
The partridge raises its song, and the flowers glow fresh.
As soon as horns begin to grow upon the head, it is already unbearable;
To set the mind upon seeking Buddha is a cause for shame.
Remote and distant, beyond the empty kalpa, who can know it?
It is realized in the South through the fifty-three encounters.
When Caoshan came to take leave of the Master, the Master entrusted him, saying:
“At the place of my former master, Yunyan, I personally received the seal of realization of the ‘Jewel Mirror Samadhi.’ It is the ultimate essential principle, and I now transmit it to you. Its words are:
The Dharma of suchness,
Was intimately transmitted by Buddhas and patriarchs.
Now that you have received it,
You should guard it well.
A silver bowl filled with snow;
The bright moon concealing a heron.
They are similar, yet not the same;
When mingled, their places are known.
The meaning does not lie in words;
When the potential arrives, the function also appears.
Stirring becomes an old nest;
Deviation falls into lingering fixation.
Turning away and touching are both wrong,
Like a great mass of fire.
Merely to express it in literary form
Is already to defile it.
At midnight it is truly bright;
At dawn it is not revealed.
It serves as a standard for beings;
Its function removes all suffering.
Though it is not conditioned,
It is not without words.
Like facing a precious mirror,
Form and reflection behold each other.
You are not it;
It truly is you.
Like a newborn infant,
Endowed with all five characteristics:
Neither going nor coming,
Neither arising nor abiding,
Bābā héhé—
Words with meaning and words without meaning.
In the end, it apprehends nothing,
Because its speech is not yet correct.
The doubled trigram Li has six lines;
The偏 and the Correct return and interweave.
Piled together, they make three;
Their transformations culminate in five.
Like the five flavors of the zhi grass,
Like the diamond vajra.
Wonderfully harmonized within the Correct,
Drumming and singing arise together.
Penetrating the source, penetrating the pathways;
Embracing, one proceeds; embracing, one enters the road.
To mingle freely is auspicious;
One must not violate or oppose it.
Naturally true and wondrous,
It belongs neither to delusion nor awakening.
When causes, conditions, time, and season arrive,
It is quiescent yet plainly manifest.
So fine that it enters where there is no gap;
So vast that it transcends all location.
A hairsbreadth of deviation,
And it fails to accord with the pitch pipes.
Today there are sudden and gradual teachings,
From which schools and doctrines are established.
Once schools and doctrines are distinguished,
Rules and standards arise.
When the source is penetrated and the doctrine exhausted,
True constancy flows ceaselessly.
Outwardly still, inwardly trembling,
Like a tethered colt or a cowering rat.
The ancient sages pitied them,
And bestowed the Dharma upon them.
Following their inverted views,
They took black to be white.
When inverted thinking ceases,
The affirming mind naturally assents.
If you wish to accord with the ancient track,
Please contemplate the sages of old.
When the Buddha Way was about to be accomplished,
He gazed upon the tree for ten kalpas.
Like a tiger’s damaged ear,
Like a hobbled horse.
Because some are lowly and inferior,
A jeweled footrest is deemed precious;
Because some are startled by the unusual,
A raccoon or white ox is taken as strange.
Yi, through skill and strength,
Could hit a target from a hundred paces.
But when arrowheads meet point to point,
What has skill or strength to do with it?
The wooden man begins to sing;
The stone woman rises to dance.
It is not reached by feeling or consciousness;
How could it admit deliberation?
A minister serves his sovereign;
A child obeys the parent.
Disobedience is not filial;
Failure to serve is no true service.
Practice secretly and function intimately,
As though foolish, as though dull.
Only by continuing in this way
Is one called the lord within the lord.
Translation:
The true Dharma is thus;
Buddhas and patriarchs have secretly transmitted it.
Now that you have received it,
You should guard it well.
A silver bowl is used to hold snow;
The bright moon conceals a heron.
Things of this kind are not identical;
When mingled, their places are known.
The meaning is not contained in words.
When the potential arrives, the function also arrives;
Stirring gives rise to a nest;
Going astray leads to ceaseless looking back.
Turning away and touching are both wrong,
Like a great mass of fire.
Merely displaying color and form
Is itself defilement.
At midnight the moon shines brightly;
At dawn its form is not displayed.
It serves as a rule for beings,
Uprooting all suffering.
Though it is not conditioned,
It is not without words.
Like a person gazing into a precious mirror,
Form and reflection behold each other.
You are not he;
He is not you.
Like a newborn infant,
Already endowed with the five characteristics:
Neither coming nor going,
Neither rising nor standing,
Crying wā wā, wā wā—
Words with meaning and words without meaning.
Ultimately, no thing is apprehended,
Because its speech is not yet correct.
The doubled trigram Li consists of six lines;
The偏 and the Correct return and interweave.
Piled together, they make three;
Through transformation, they complete the five.
Like the flavor of the zhi grass,
Like a vajra pestle.
Wonderfully harmonized within the Correct,
Drumming and singing are both raised together.
Penetrating the source and penetrating the pathways,
Secretly carrying it into the narrow lane.
To mingle is good,
But one must not violate or oppose it.
Naturally true and mysterious,
It belongs neither to awakening nor delusion.
When causes, conditions, time, and season arrive,
It is silently and clearly revealed.
Though minute, it enters where no gap admits it;
Though vast, it transcends every place.
If one deviates by the slightest hair,
The rule immediately disappears.
Today there are sudden and gradual teachings,
Because schools and doctrines have been established.
Once schools and doctrines are clearly divided,
These themselves become rules and standards.
The source is penetrated and the doctrine reaches its utmost;
True constancy flows through without cease.
Outwardly still, inwardly moving,
Like a tethered horse or a cowering rat.
The ancient sages took pity,
And therefore bestowed and spread the Dharma.
According to the inverted views of people,
They take black to be white.
If the marks of inversion cease,
Directly recognize it within the mind itself.
It is essential to accord with the ancient traces;
I invite you to behold the worthies of old.
When he was about to attain the Buddha Way,
For ten kalpas he sat contemplating the tree.
It is like a tiger’s den,
It is like a horse’s stall.
Because there are those of lesser capacity,
The jeweled seat and precious carriage are displayed;
Because there are those who are fearful,
The house cat and white ox appear.
Skill in the craft comes through practiced ability:
The target is struck from a hundred paces;
When the sharp arrowheads are about to meet,
How could practiced skill hesitate?
No sooner does the wooden man begin to sing
Than the stone maiden rises to dance;
Discriminating consciousness cannot reach it—
How could it permit thought to arise?
The minister serves the sovereign,
The filial child obeys the father;
Without obedience, there is no filial piety;
Without service, there is no ministerial duty.
Its function is concealed and secretly practiced,
As though foolish, as though dull;
One need only be able to continue it.
This is called the host within the host.
The Master further said:
“In the age of the Final Dharma, many people possess keen faculties. If you wish to discern the true from the false, there are three kinds of leakage. The first is leakage of view: one’s capacity does not depart from its position, and one falls into the poisonous sea. The second is leakage of feeling: one is trapped in turning toward and turning away, and one’s vision becomes biased and withered. The third is leakage of speech: one excels in investigation but loses the true lineage, while one’s capacity remains obscure from beginning to end. Because the wisdom of students is defiled, they revolve without escaping these three kinds. You should understand this.”
The Master also composed three essential verses:
1. Sao xướng câu hành
Kim châm song tỏa bị.
Hiệp lộ ẩn toàn cai.
Bảo ấn đương phong diệu,
Trùng trùng cẩm phùng khai.
2. Kim tỏa huyền lộ
Giao hỗ minh trung ám,
Công tề chuyển giác nan.
Lực cùng vong tiến thối
Kim tỏa võng man man.
3. Bất đọa phàm Thánh.
Sư lý câu bất thiệp,
Hồi chiếu tuyệt u vi.
Bối phong vô xảo chuyết,
Điện hỏa thước nan truy.
Translation:
1. Responsive Chanting, Walking Together
The golden needle completes both locks;
Concealed and revealed, all is wholly gathered in.
The jeweled seal is wondrous directly in the wind;
Layer upon layer, the brocade is stitched and opened.
2. The Golden Lock on the Mysterious Path
Light and darkness interpenetrate one another;
Though their functions are equal, turning to awakening is difficult.
When strength is exhausted, advance and retreat are forgotten;
The golden net has already spread everywhere.
3. Not Falling into the Ordinary or the Holy
Neither phenomena nor principle adheres;
Turning the illumination back, the subtle and hidden cease.
Facing against the wind, there is neither skill nor clumsiness;
A flash of lightning is difficult to pursue.
When the Master fell ill, he sent a novice to inform Yunju and instructed him:
“If he asks, ‘Is the Venerable well?’ simply say, ‘The path of Yunyan is about to be severed.’ After saying this, you must stand far away, lest he strike you.”
The novice received the essential message and went to deliver it. Before he had finished speaking, Yunju struck him once with his staff, leaving the novice unable to speak.
Tong’an Xian spoke on his behalf:
“If so, Yunyan’s single blow did not fall.”
Yunju Ji said:
“Venerable! Tell me: Is Yunyan’s path severed or not?”
Chongshou Chou said:
“What was the intention of the ancient in striking that single blow?”
As he was approaching nirvana, the Master said to the assembly:
“I have a reputation in the world. Who can remove it for me?”
No one in the assembly could answer. At that moment, a novice stepped forward and said:
“Venerable, please bestow a Dharma name upon me.”
The Master said:
“My reputation has already come to an end.”
Shishuang said:
“No one received his acknowledgment.”
Yunju said:
“If he had a reputation, he would not be my late Master.”
Caoshan said:
“From ancient times until now, no one has been able to discern it.”
Shushan said:
“The dragon has the dynamic capacity to emerge from the water, yet no one has been able to discern it.”
A monk asked:
“The Venerable is ill. Is there that which is not ill?”
The Master replied:
“There is.”
“Does that which is not ill see the Venerable?”
“This old monk has a share in seeing him.”
“I do not yet understand how the Venerable sees him.”
“When this old monk sees him, he does not see that there is any illness.”
The Master then asked the monk:
“Apart from this leaking body, where will you meet me?”
The monk could not answer.
The Master taught this verse:
Học giả hằng sa vô nhất ngộ,
Quá tại tầm tha thiệt đầu lộ.
Dục đắc vong hình dẫn tung tích,
Nổ lực ân cần không lý bộ.
Translation:
Students are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, yet not one awakens;
The fault lies in seeking him upon the road of the tongue.
If you wish to forget the body and erase all traces,
Strive diligently to walk within emptiness.
The Master ordered that his head be shaved. After bathing, he donned his robe, had the bell rung, bade farewell to the assembly, and sat peacefully as he entered nirvana. At that time, the assembly wailed and wept without ceasing. The Master suddenly opened his eyes and said to them:
“For one who has left the household life, the mind’s nonattachment to things is true practice. Life is toil, yet death is regretted—what benefit is there in grieving and weeping?”
The Master instructed the steward to prepare an “ignorance meal” as an offering. The assembly continued to cling sorrowfully and would not desist. This continued until the seventh day, when all the food had been fully arranged. After partaking of the meal with the assembly, the Master said, “A monk’s household is free of affairs. The hour of departure is approaching; do not make a commotion.”
The Master then entered the abbot’s quarters, sat peacefully, and entered nirvana.
This occurred in the third month of the tenth year of the Xiantong era (869). The Master was sixty-three years old and had completed forty-two summer retreats. By imperial decree, he was posthumously titled Chan Master Wuben, and his stupa was named Huijue.
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