瑞州洞山良价禪師語錄
Chinese title:瑞州洞山良价禪師語錄
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The Master’s personal 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 passage, “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 introduced 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 traveled in search of instruction and first paid a visit to Nanquan. It happened to be the day of the memorial feast for Mazu. Nanquan asked the assembly, “Tomorrow we will hold a memorial feast for Mazu. I wonder whether Mazu will come?”
No one in the assembly could answer.
The Master stepped forward and said:
– He will come as soon as he has a companion.
Nanquan said:
– This fellow, though a young novice, is very easy to carve and polish.
The Master said:
– Venerable, do not crush a good person into becoming a thief.
*
Next, the Master went to consult Guishan Lingyou. He asked:
– I have heard that National Preceptor Huizhong of Nanyang spoke of “the insentient expounding the Dharma,” but I have not yet penetrated its subtle meaning.
Guishan said:
– Acharya, do you still remember the National Preceptor’s words?
The Master replied:
– I remember them.
– Try recounting them once for me.
The Master then related the account:
A monk asked: - What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?
The National Preceptor replied: - Walls, partitions, tiles, and stones.
The monk said: - Are walls, partitions, tiles, and stones not insentient?
The National Preceptor replied: - They are.
The monk asked: - Do they know how to expound the Dharma?
The National Preceptor replied: - They constantly expound it, ceaselessly and without interruption.
The monk asked: - Why can I not hear it?
The National Preceptor replied: - You yourself do not hear it, but that does not prevent others from hearing it.
The monk asked: - I do not know who can hear it.
The National Preceptor replied: - The sages can hear it.
The monk asked: - Venerable, do you hear it?
The National Preceptor replied: - I do not hear it.
The monk asked: - Since you do not hear it, how do you know that the insentient can expound the Dharma?
The National Preceptor replied: - It is precisely because I do not hear it. If I heard it, I would be the same as the 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 Preceptor replied: - I expound it for sentient beings, not for the sages.
The monk asked: - What happens after sentient beings hear it?
The National Preceptor replied: - They are then no longer sentient beings.
The monk asked: - On which scripture is the teaching that the insentient expounds the Dharma based?
The National Preceptor replied: - It does not follow any scripture, and it is not a matter for a gentleman to discuss. Have you not seen the Avatamsaka Sutra say, “The monasteries 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 still do not understand. Master, please instruct me.
Guishan raised his whisk and asked:
– Do you understand?
– I do not understand. Venerable, please explain it.
– The mouth born of your father and mother can never explain it to you.
– Is there anyone of your generation who aspires to the Way as you do?
– From here, go to You County in Liling. Where the stone hermitages stand joined together, there is a man of the Way named Yunyan. If you are capable of dispelling ignorance and investigating the profound mystery of the Buddhas and patriarchs, he will certainly be someone you esteem.
The Master said:
– I wonder what sort of person he is.
Guishan said:
– He once asked this old monk, “May this student follow and serve you?” This old monk replied, “You must first bring all leakage to an end.” He said, “Above all, do not say that this old monk is here within it.”
The Master then took leave of Guishan and went directly to Yunyan. He recounted the preceding encounter and then asked:
– Who can hear the insentient expounding the Dharma?
Yunyan replied:
– The insentient can hear it.
– Venerable, do you hear it?
– If I heard it, you would not be able to hear me expounding the Dharma.
– Why can 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 the insentient expounding the Dharma?
– In which scriptures is the insentient expounding the Dharma contained?
– Have you not seen the Amitabha Sutra say, “The water, birds, trees, and forests all invoke the Buddha and invoke the Dharma”?
At this, the Master experienced an awakening and composed the following 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! How wondrous!
The insentient expounding the Dharma is inconceivable.
If one listens with the ears, one can never understand;
Only when the eyes hear the sound can one finally know.
The Master asked Yunyan:
– Do I still have residual habitual tendencies that have not been exhausted?
– What have you ever done?
– I have not even practiced the holy truths.
– Have you experienced joy yet?
– It is not that there is no joy; it is like finding a bright jewel in a heap of refuse.
*
The Master asked Yunyan:
– What if I wish to meet you?
– Ask someone who understands the matter.
– I am asking you now.
– What are you saying?
*
Yunyan was making straw sandals when the Master approached and asked:
– May I have the Master’s eyeballs?
– With whom did you go?
– Liangjie did not go with anyone at all.
– Since you have none, where would you put them?
The Master could not answer.
Yunyan said:
– Are the eyeballs you ask for truly eyeballs?
– They are not eyeballs.
Yunyan then shouted and drove him out.
*
As the Master was taking leave of Yunyan, Yunyan asked:
– Where are you going?
– Although I am leaving the Venerable, I have not yet chosen a place to dwell.
– Are you not going to Hunan?
– No.
– Are you not returning to your native place?
– No.
– When will you return?
– I will come as soon as the Venerable has a dwelling place.
– After this parting, it will be difficult for us to meet again.
– It will be difficult for us not to meet again.
*
Just before departing, the Master asked:
– After the Venerable has lived a hundred years, if someone suddenly asks me, “Can you portray your Master’s likeness?” how should I answer?
Yunyan remained silent for a long while, then said:
– Acharya Jie! In undertaking 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 attained great awakening 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:
Take utmost care not to seek elsewhere,
For then it becomes ever more distant from me.
Now I go on alone,
Yet everywhere I encounter him.
He now is truly me,
But I now am not him.
One must understand in this way
To accord with suchness.
*
On another occasion, while making offerings to the departed spirit of Yunyan, a monk asked:
– The late Master said, “Just this.” Is that so?
The Master replied:
– It is.
– What is its essential meaning?
– At that time, so many people misunderstood the late Master’s meaning.
– I wonder whether the late Master knew that it was present?
– If he did not know it was present, how could he have known to speak in that way? If he knew it was present, how could he have consented to speak in that way?
Changqing Ling asked:
– Since he knew it was present, why did he speak in that way?
The Master replied:
– Only after raising a child does one know a father’s loving-kindness.
*
On the occasion of a memorial feast 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 hold a memorial feast for him?
– How could I dare turn my back on the late Master?
– The Venerable first paid a visit to Nanquan; why then do you hold a memorial feast for Yunyan?
– I do not esteem the late Master’s virtue or Buddha Dharma; I esteem only that the late Master did not explain everything to me.
– While holding a memorial feast for the late Master, do you acknowledge the late Master or not?
– I half acknowledge him and half do not.
– Why do you not acknowledge him completely?
– If I acknowledged him completely, I would have failed the late Master!
*
Toward the end of the Dazhong era of the Tang dynasty (847), the Master resided at Mount Xinfeng, receiving and guiding the assembly of disciples. Later, his teaching flourished at Dongshan in Gao'an, Yuzhang. Provisionally revealing the Five Ranks, he skillfully received those of the three capacities—great, middling, and lesser.
He greatly proclaimed the single sound and widely propagated the myriad grades of teaching. Brandishing the precious sword crosswise, he cut through the dense forest of views; spreading the wondrous teaching far and wide, he severed the myriad distortions. Furthermore, Caoshan profoundly illuminated the essential purport, skillfully raising the excellent path: the Way accords with sovereign and minister, and the biased and the upright turn back and mutually interact.
Thus, the Chan tradition of the Caodong School spread everywhere, and eminent masters throughout the regions jointly honored it as the “Dong-Cao School.”
*
Yunyan instructed the assembly:
– There is a child of a certain household who, whenever questioned, 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 does not speak.
*
When the monastery superintendent returned from Shishi's place, Yunyan asked:
– Why have you returned so quickly from Shishi's place?
The superintendent could not answer.
The Master answered in his stead:
– Someone 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.
*
While traveling to consult masters in various places, the Master went to Luzu. After making prostrations, he stood in attendance. A short while later, he went out and then came back in. Luzu said:
– Just thus, just thus; therefore it is thus.
The Master replied:
– Most people would not accept this.
Luzu said:
– How could it be discerned by your mouth?
The Master made prostrations and then remained in attendance for several months.
*
A monk asked Luzu:
– What is speaking without speaking?
Luzu replied:
– Where is your mouth?
– There is no mouth.
– Without a mouth, what do you use to eat your rice?
The monk could not answer.
The Master answered in his stead:
– He is not hungry; why should he eat rice?
*
The Master went to consult 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 ascended again and asked:
– Yesterday I received the benefit of the Venerable's compassion, but I do not know at what point the Venerable and I met.
Nanyuan said:
– Mind after mind, without interruption, flows into the stream of the nature.
The Master replied:
– Setting aside how very fitting that is.
*
When the Master took leave of Nanyuan, Nanyuan said:
– Study the Buddha-Dharma extensively and bring benefit far and wide.
The Master replied:
– I do not ask about studying the Buddha-Dharma extensively. What is bringing benefit far and wide?
Nanyuan answered:
– Do not oppose a single thing.
*
The Master went to the capital region and made prostrations to Venerable Xingping. Xingping said:
– Do not bow to this decrepit old man!
The Master replied:
– I bow to that which is not decrepit.
– That which is not decrepit does not accept prostrations.
– 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.
– Even though it is thus, this is still the point about which I 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.
When 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 reward-body that follows the current?
– In the end, I do not give rise to such an understanding.
Xingping then clapped his hands.
Baofu said:
Dongshan alone constituted a whole house. How many people like Dongshan can be found?
*
The Master and Senior Monk Mi went to consult Boyan. Boyan asked:
– Where have you come from?
The Master replied:
– Hunan.
– What is the surname of the Regional Inspector?
– He has no surname.
– What is his given name?
– He has no name.
– Does he govern affairs or not?
– Naturally, there are already deputy officials!
– Does he come and go?
– He neither comes nor goes.
– Why does he not come and go?
The Master brushed off his robe and departed. The next day, Boyan entered the Sangha hall and summoned the two senior monks, saying:
– Yesterday, in my exchange with the Acarya, there was one turning phrase that did not accord, so I was uneasy throughout the night. Now I ask the Acarya to offer another turning phrase. If it accords with this old monk's intent, I shall invite you to partake of the gruel and remain as my companions through the summer retreat.
– Venerable, please ask your question.
– Why does he not come and go?
– How exceedingly honored!
Boyan immediately invited them to partake of the gruel and remain through the summer retreat.
Tiantong Jie said:
– Entering in the morning and according in the evening, his skillfulness was complete in every respect. Without transgressing the immediate moment, he had a way to turn his body. Under the gate of Caodong, this is sufficient to reflect its radiance; but had they been descendants of Linji, they would not have been 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 thrust his body through and turn within this, not only would gruel have been prepared and offered to him, but he could also have been given a place beneath the bright window. Is there such a person? Is there? I call out: “Tongshan! Go to the Sangha hall.”
*
The Master and Senior Monk Mi went to pay their respects and inquire after Venerable Longshan's health. The old monk asked:
– This mountain has no road. From where have you come, Acaryas?
The Master replied:
– Let us set aside that there is no road. From where did the Venerable enter?
The old monk answered:
– I did not come from clouds and water.
– How long has the Venerable resided on this mountain?
– I am not involved with 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 of the Way did the Venerable attain that you reside on this mountain?
– I saw two clay oxen vying with each other to enter the sea. Even to this day, all news of them has ceased.
Only then did the Master arrange his deportment fully and make prostrations.
While traveling on pilgrimage, the Master met an official who asked:
– May this disciple write a commentary on the Third Patriarch Sengcan's “Inscription on Faith in Mind”?
The Master answered:
– “The moment affirmation and denial arise, the mind is lost in confusion.” How will you comment on that?
Fayan answered in his stead:
– If so, this disciple will not write a commentary.
*
When the Master first set out on pilgrimage, he met an old woman carrying water along the road and asked her for a drink. She said:
– You may freely drink the water, but this old woman has one question that you must answer first: “Tell me, how many sensory objects does water possess?”
The Master answered:
– It does not possess the various sensory objects.
The old woman said:
– Go away! Do not contaminate my water buckets.
*
While the Master was staying at Letan, he heard Head Seat Chu say:
– Truly marvelous! Truly marvelous! The realm of the Buddhas and the realm of the Way are inconceivable.
The Master then asked:
– I do not ask about the realm of the Buddhas or the realm of the Way. Who is the person who is right now speaking of the realm of the Buddhas 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?
– Even if I tried, I could not manage it.
– You have never even spoken; what do you mean by saying that even if you tried, you could not manage it?
Chu did not answer.
The Master said:
– Both Buddha and the Way are mere names and words. Why do you not provide instruction?
Chu said:
– What would you have me say?
– Upon grasping the meaning, forget the words.
– You are still using meaning to instruct me; it has become a disease of the mind.
– Is speaking of the realm of the Buddhas 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 “Jie, Who Questioned the Head Seat to Death.”
*
The Master was crossing a stream with Shenshan and Senior Monk Mi when he asked:
– What is the matter of crossing the stream?
Shenshan answered:
– The heels are not wet.
The Master said:
– Old fellow, 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 hoeing the tea garden, the Master set down his hoe and said:
– Today I have not the slightest strength left.
Thần Sơn said:
– If you have no strength left, how can you know to say such a thing?
The Master said:
– What strength do you suppose there is?
*
The Master was walking with Thần Sơn when suddenly they saw a white rabbit run past. Thần Sơn said:
– Splendid!
The Master asked:
– How so?
– It is exactly like the obeisance of a white-robed nobleman.
– Old man, why utter such words?
– What would you say?
– Having borne hairpins and tassels all his life, he loses his composure for a moment.
*
Thần Sơn 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 this be genuine practice?
– What would the Elder say?
– The principle is like the great earth erupting in flames.
*
Thần Sơn asked the Master:
– Those whose knowledge has penetrated invariably go forth to spread the teaching. Concerning the direct and essential point, I beg the Master for a word.
The Master said:
– How could Elder Dharma Brother’s intent abide in achievement?
At these words, Thần Sơn attained sudden awakening and uttered extraordinary words. Later, as he and the Master were crossing a log bridge, the Master crossed first, lifted the bridge by grasping the log, and said:
– Cross over!
Thần Sơn called:
– Ācārya Giới!
The Master then lowered the bridge.
*
While walking with Thần Sơn, the Master pointed to a monastery beside the road and said:
– In that monastery there is someone speaking of mind and speaking of nature.
Thần Sơn asked:
– Who is it?
– The moment Elder Dharma Brother questioned me, he died completely.
– Then who is speaking of mind and speaking of nature?
– Within death, he comes alive.
*
The Master asked Tuyết Phong:
– Where have you come from?
Tuyết Phong replied:
– From Thiên Thai.
– Did you see Trí Giả?
– Nghĩa Tồn deserves a share of the iron staff.
*
Tuyết Phong came forward, bowed, and inquired after the Master’s health. The Master said:
Upon entering the gate, you must have a word, yet you must not say that you have already entered.
Tuyết Phong replied:
– I have no mouth.
– Set aside having no mouth for the moment; return my eye to me.
Tuyết Phong could not answer.
Vân Cư Ưng offered an alternative reply to the preceding statement:
– Wait until I have a mouth, and I shall speak at once.
Trường Khánh offered the alternative reply: “If so, I respectfully withdraw.”
*
Tuyết Phong was carrying firewood. He came before the Master and threw down the bundle. The Master asked:
– How heavy is it?
Tuyết Phong replied:
– All the people in the world could not lift it.
The Master asked:
– Then how did it get here?
Tuyết Phong could not answer.
*
The Master wrote the character “ ” (Buddha) on the gate. Vân Nham saw it and wrote the character “ ” (not) beside it. The Master then changed it into the character “ ” (non-). Tuyết Phong saw this and immediately wiped them all away.
Hưng Hóa Tương answered in their stead:
– I am not your equal.
Bạch Dương Thuận said:
– If I were Động Sơn, I would merely have said to Tuyết Phong, “You are not one of my kin.”
Thiên Bát Nguyên said:
– Động Sơn and Vân Nham raised a mound on level ground; old Tuyết Phong took this opportunity to increase his wisdom.
*
Tuyết Phong served as head cook. While winnowing rice, the Master asked:
– Are you winnowing out the sand and keeping the rice, or winnowing out the rice and keeping the sand?
Tuyết Phong replied:
– Rice and sand are both discarded at once.
– What will the assembly eat?
Tuyết Phong immediately overturned the basin of rice.
The Master said:
– Judging from these causes and conditions, you are suited to be with Đức Sơn.
Lang Da Giác said:
– Tuyết Phong’s going in this manner was like cutting down a sweet peach tree and searching through the mountains for sour pears.
Thiên Đồng Giác said:
– Tuyết Phong climbed higher with every step, never expecting the heel of his straw sandal to split apart. Had the Correct and the Partial turned freely, with inquiry and response proceeding side by side (1), their tone would naturally have harmonized, and father and son would have been in accord. Tell me, what was Động Sơn’s intent in not accepting Tuyết Phong? For ten thousand miles no clouds—the sky is at fault; the clear pool is like a mirror—the moon can hardly enter.
Tuyết Đậu Tông said:
– The luan and phoenix do not perch on an ordinary tree; the golden needle has already embroidered the mandarin ducks. Had it not been for the Old Man of Tân Phong, it would immediately have been seen shattered into fragments.
((1) Inquiry: a student knocks at the door of the Chan master’s chamber to inquire about the principle of the Way.
Response: the Chan master replies in order to receive and guide the student.
Inquiry and response constitute the house style of the Caodong School.
When the questions and answers of master and disciple proceed continuously, without the slightest gap, this is called “Inquiry and Response Proceeding Side by Side.”
This is one of the three essential principles of Động Sơn Lương Giới.)
*
One day, the Master asked Tuyết Phong:
– What are you doing?
Tuyết Phong replied:
– Hewing a trough.
– How many blows will finish it?
– One blow will finish it.
– That is still an affair on this side. What about the affair on the other side?
– There is certainly nowhere to lay a hand upon it.
– That is still an affair on this side. What about the affair on the other side?
Tuyết Phong silently walked out.
*
Tuyết Phong took leave of the Master. The Master asked:
– Where are you going?
Tuyết Phong replied:
– Back into the mountains.
– By what road did you originally come out?
– I came out by the road where the apes fly across the mountains.
– By what road are you returning now?
– By the road where the apes fly across the mountains.
– There is a person 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?
Tuyết Phong could not answer.
*
Vân Cư Đạo Ưng came for an interview. The Master asked:
– Where have you come from?
Vân Cư replied:
– From Thúy Vi.
– What words and phrases did Thúy Vi use in instructing the assembly?
– Thúy Vi was making offerings to the arhats. I asked, “When offerings are made to the arhats, do the arhats come?” Thúy Vi asked me, “What do you eat every day?”
The Master asked:
– Did he truly say this?
Vân Cư replied:
– He did.
The Master said:
– You did not visit an adept in vain.
*
The Master asked Vân Cư:
– What is your name?
– Đạo Ưng.
– Speak of what is beyond.
– Beyond, it is not named Đạo Ưng.
– Your answer is like mine when I was at Đạo Ngô.
Vân Cư asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?
The Master said:
– Ācārya! Later, when you go forth to serve as an abbot, if someone asks you this, how will you answer?
Vân Cư replied:
– Đạo Ưng is truly at fault.
*
One day, the Master asked Vân Cư:
– I have heard that Master Tư Đại was reborn as the king of Japan. Is that so?
Vân Cư replied:
– If he is Tư Đại, he would not even become a Buddha.
The Master nodded.
*
The Master asked Vân Cư:
– Where have you come from?
Vân Cư replied:
– I came by treading upon the mountains.
– On which mountain can one abide?
– On which mountain can one not abide?
– If so, the entire country has been occupied by the Ācārya.
– It is not so.
– If so, you have found the way in.
– There is no way.
– If there is no way, how did you and this old monk meet?
– If there were a way, I would already be separated from the Master by a mountain.
– In the future, even a thousand or ten thousand people will be unable to hold this fellow fast.
*
While crossing a stream with Vân Cư, the Master asked:
– How deep is the stream?
Vân Cư replied:
– Not wet.
– Crude fellow!
– Master, please speak.
– Not dry.
Ngũ Tổ Diễn 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 explain it clearly for you. With the phrase “crossing the stream, not wet,” the storehouse is heaped with genuine pearls; with the phrase “crossing the stream, not dry,” who, lacking even an awl, would call himself utterly impoverished? Neither of the two paths, dry or wet, adheres to anything; let him speak as he will of clear waters and green mountains.
*
One day, while Vân Cư was working, he accidentally killed an insect. The Master said:
– You evil demon!
Vân Cư replied:
– It is not dead.
– Why did the Second Patriarch go to Nghiệp Châu?
Vân Cư could not answer.
*
The Master asked Vân Cư:
– When a great icchantika commits the five heinous offenses, wherein lies filial devotion?
Vân Cư replied:
– Only then is filial devotion fulfilled.
*
The Master asked Vân Cư:
– Long ago, Nam Tuyền asked a monk who lectured on the Sutra of Maitreya’s Descent, “When will Maitreya descend and be born?” The monk answered, “He presently remains in the heavenly palace and will descend and be born in the future.” Nam Tuyền said, “In heaven there is no Maitreya; on earth there is no Maitreya.”
Following these words, Vân Cư asked:
– If so, there is no Maitreya in heaven and no Maitreya on earth. Then I wonder who gave him that name?
At this question, even the Master's meditation platform shook. He said:
– Acarya Ying! When I was at Yunyan, I once asked the old man a question that made even the stove shake. Today, one question from you has made my whole body break out in sweat.
*
Later, Yunju built a hermitage at Sanfeng. For an entire week he did not come to the refectory. The Master asked:
– Why have I not seen you come to take your meal lately?
Yunju replied:
– Every day, heavenly spirits bring me food of their own accord.
– I thought you were still giving rise to conceptual understanding. Come here this evening.
That evening, Yunju came. The Master called:
– Hermitage Master Ying!
Yunju answered:
– Yes.
The Master said:
– Not thinking of good and not thinking of evil—what is it?
Yunju returned to his hermitage and sat in utter silence. From then on, the heavenly spirits searched everywhere but could not find him. This continued for three days, after which they ceased making offerings.
*
The Master asked Yunju:
– What are you doing?
Yunju replied:
– Blending the ingredients.
– How much salt do you use?
– Turn it inward.
– What fine flavor does it make?
– Attained.
*
Shushan arrived and encountered the Master during the early-morning instruction. He stepped forward and asked:
– Before those words have 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, there is nowhere for anything to be obstructed.
*
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 accomplishment. 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 away indeed.
– Far away, yet not far away; not that it is not far away.
– What is far away?
– You cannot call it the person on the other side.
– What is not far away?
– There is no place for discussion.
*
The Master asked Shushan:
– In the age of emptiness, when there are no people, whose dwelling place is it?
Shushan replied:
– I do not know.
– Does that person have an 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.
*
Master Shiqian of Qinglin 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 Hu lands.
– Cook a pot of especially fragrant rice as an offering to this man.
Qinglin brushed off his robe and walked out.
The Master said:
– In the future, this fellow will kill everyone under heaven.
Yong of Gushan said:
– With a reply like that, even a drop of water would be difficult to digest. Why cook a pot of especially 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 bade farewell and went out. The Master escorted him to the gate and said to Qinglin:
– How would you express such a statement?
Qinglin replied:
– Step by step, I tread upon the red dust; my entire body leaves 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 hasty disposition.
Qinglin replied:
– I am at fault.
Qinglin immediately bowed in reverence, bade farewell, and departed.
*
Longya asked Deshan:
– If I hold the Moye sword (1) and wish to take the Master's head, what then?
Deshan stretched out his neck and said:
– Hey!
Longya said:
– Your head has fallen.
Deshan laughed, “Ha! Ha!”
Longya came to Dongshan and related 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 me Deshan's fallen head and show it to this old monk.
Longya then awakened and asked to repent.
Later, someone related this to Deshan. Deshan said:
– Dongshan does not know what is good and what is bad. That fellow has been dead for so long already; 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 borrowed this term to indicate the wisdom inherent in each person, or the prajna insight of a Chan master, employed freely and at ease in guiding students.)
Zhan of Baofu commented:
– Longya knew only how to advance and did not know how to retreat.
Zhi of Cuiyan said:
– Should Longya have cut or not cut? Right now, how would you cut?
Guan of Dongchan said:
– Longya embraced the sword and wounded himself, thereby bringing guilt upon himself. Deshan was mastered by the head. Fortunately, the tally of Deshan's working was suddenly exposed by Dongshan; naturally, his tail showed.
*
Longya asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?
The Master replied:
– When the waters of the stream flow backward, I will tell you.
Longya then 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 discriminating consciousness.
The Master said:
– Do you see the path of principle or not?
– I see that there is no path of principle.
– Where are you caught by discriminating consciousness?
– This student is asking sincerely.
– If so, you must go to the place where, for ten thousand miles, there is not a single blade of grass.
– May I go to the place where, for ten thousand miles, there is not a single blade of grass?
– You must go in this way.
*
Huayan was carrying firewood when the Master stopped him and asked:
– What happens when we meet on a narrow road?
Huayan replied:
– Treachery! Treachery!
– Remember my words: “If you dwell facing south, there will be one thousand people; but if you dwell facing north, there will be 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 saw neither before nor after.
The Master nodded.
Qinshan then said:
– I left the Master too soon, and therefore could not fathom your meaning completely.
*
Qinshan, Yantou, and Xuefeng were sitting together. The Master prepared tea and brought it to them, whereupon Qinshan closed his eyes. The Master asked:
– Where have you come from?
Qinshan replied:
– I have come from entering samadhi.
The Master asked:
– Samadhi originally has no gate. Through what place did you enter?
An old adept answered in his stead:
– Many people understand it in this way.
Xuedou Chongxian said separately:
– At that time, he should merely have pointed at Yantou and Xuefeng and said, “I was dozing and drinking tea with those two fellows.”
*
Tong of Beiyuan came to consult the Master. The Master ascended the hall and said:
– Sit and cut off the master within; do not fall into a second view.
Tong stepped before the assembly and said:
– You should know that there is one person with whom you ought not become a companion.
The Master said:
– That is still a second view.
Tong immediately overturned the meditation platform.
The Master asked:
– Elder brother, what is it?
Tong replied:
– When my tongue has rotted away, I will tell the Venerable.
Later, Tong took leave of the Master, intending to enter the mountains.
The Master said:
– Take good care! The ape flies back to the mountains—take heed.
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 attained 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 fail the Venerable: “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 asked:
– There is a thing that props up heaven above and supports the earth below. It is black as lacquer and is always within activity and function, yet within activity and function it cannot be grasped. Tell me, where does the fault lie?
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 Jue said:
– If it were not for the Old Man of Dongshan, how could this have been revealed? Even so, Dongshan was still lacking one maneuver.
Guishan Zhe said:
– Do you know Dongshan's place? If you do not, you will forever give rise to understandings 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 the hammer and tongs to smash empty space, he had no needle and thread with which to mend it. When Tai said, “The fault lies within activity and function,” he needed only to say, “Head Monk, please eat some fruit.” If Head Monk Tai had been a patch-robed monk, after eating it he would also 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 whole body was a mouth—he had reason on his side, but it was difficult to express.
Guishan Guo said:
– Dongshan bewitched an innocent man into becoming a bandit. 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 merely have said, “Even the prophecy bestowed at the assembly on Vulture Peak did not go so far as this.” While he was deliberating, I would have picked up a piece of fruit and thrown it in his face. This would not only have stopped up his throat but also prevented later people from vainly giving rise to conjectures.
Jingci Chang said:
– Although Dongshan managed to clear away the tray of fruit, he could not stop Head Monk Tai's mouth.
*
Seeing Senior Monk You arrive, the Master rose from his seat and went to stand behind the meditation platform. You asked:
– Venerable, why do you turn away from me?
The Master replied:
– I thought that you, Acarya, had not seen this old monk.
*
The Master was tending the glutinous rice crop when he saw Senior Monk Lang approaching. The Master said:
– This ox must be carefully watched, 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 practice of a sramana?
Zhuyu replied:
– Practice is not nonexistent, but once there is awareness of it, one has gone astray.
Another monk related this to the Master. The Master said:
– Why did you not ask, “I do not yet know what practice it is?”
The monk then conveyed these words to Zhuyu. Zhuyu said:
– Buddha-practice, Buddha-practice.
The monk returned and related this to the Master. The Master said:
– Youzhou resembles Ke; the most wretched is Silla.
Dongchan Qi commented:
– Is there any doubt or error in these words? If there is, tell me where they fall short. If not, when he nevertheless said, “The most wretched is Silla,” can you discern it? He said, “Practice is not nonexistent, but once there is awareness of it, one has gone astray.” He had the monk ask again, “What practice is it?” and then said, “Buddha-practice.” Did that monk ask after understanding, or did he ask before understanding? Please judge and see.
*
A monk asked the Master:
– What is the practice of a sramana?
The Master said:
– The head is three feet long; the neck is two inches long.
The Master sent his attendant to ask Venerable Sansheng Ran this question. 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, is there cultivation and awakening?
Yangshan replied:
– Awakening there certainly is, but how could one fall into the secondary?
Venerable Mi then sent a monk to ask the Master:
– Ultimately, what about this matter?
The Master replied:
– You must question him further to find out.
*
Minister Chen asked:
– Among the twenty-five bodhisattvas, why is Wondrous Awakening not seen?
The Master replied:
– Minister, you yourself behold Wondrous Awakening!
*
An official asked:
– Is there anyone who cultivates the Way?
The Master replied:
– Wait until you become a man; then there will be cultivation.
*
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 a single inch of grass.
The Master remained silent for a long while, then said:
– If so, how can one go to the place where for ten thousand miles there is not a single inch of grass?
Later, someone related this to Shishuang. Shishuang 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 the practice to be found?
After a pause, he said:
– “Do not cling to the cold mountain where green grass differs;
Sitting entangled in white clouds, the essential teaching is not wondrous.”
Baiyun Duan said:
– If you can see the hermitage master, you immediately see Dongshan; if you can see Dongshan, you immediately see the hermitage master. Seeing Dongshan is easy; seeing the hermitage master is difficult, because he was not bound by the duties of the abbotship. Have you not heard it said:
“Clouds at the mountain peak drift idly without cease;
At the bottom of the ravine, the flowing stream is exceedingly busy!”
Guishan Guo said:
– Cutting through nails and cleaving iron, he flung open the profound gate of the transcendent. His words were sincere, pointing out the essential road for people. Tell me, how do you understand, “The moment one goes out the gate, there is grass”? Shishuang spoke thus; you must not touch it. If you touch it, you will receive thirty blows.
Jingshan Guo said:
– One drop of lion's milk dissolves ten bushels 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 considering what to say, the Master said:
– Without following the former tracks, please ask another question.
The monk could not answer.
Yunju spoke on his behalf:
– If so, I shall not see the Venerable's original teacher after all!
Later, Senior Monk Jiao raised this and asked Changqing:
– What does it mean for one's age and years to be alike?
Changqing replied:
– The ancient spoke thus; Acarya Jiao, what else are you seeking within it?
*
A monk asked:
– When cold and heat come, 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 at such a place?
Langye Jue said:
– I would not say so. 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 say so. 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, enjoy the cool breeze.
Baofeng Wen said:
– Great assembly, if you understand, you may freely disport in spiritual powers; whenever cold or heat comes, it will have nothing to do with you. If you do not understand, you will remain amid cold and heat from winter through summer.
Shangfeng Cai said:
– Dongshan's one statement may be said to have host and guest intermingling, with the absolute and the relative adhering to one another. Now, where can you turn to avoid it? I ask you: do you understand or not?
Letan Zhun said:
– If it is the right person, even the hour of water is hot; if it is not the right person, even the hour of 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 comprehend this principle, how can you escape the sickness of before and after? Mind after mind must not touch things; step after step must have no abiding place. Only by remaining constantly uninterrupted can you accord with it. You must strive diligently; do not idly pass your days.
*
The Master asked a monk:
– Where have you come from?
The monk replied:
– I have come from wandering in the mountains.
– Did you reach the summit?
– I did.
– Was there anyone on the summit?
– There was no one.
– If so, you have not yet reached the summit.
– If one does not reach the summit, how can one know that there is no one there?
– Why not remain for the time being?
– I do not refuse to remain, but there is someone in the Western Heaven who will not accept it.
– I have always had doubts about this fellow.
*
A monk asked:
– What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?
The Master replied:
– It is exactly like fearing the chill of a chicken.
The 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 visit the Master but was unable to walk, so the Master went to see him. The monk asked:
– Why does the Venerable not save another’s child?
The Master asked:
– Whose family’s child are you?
– I am a child of the family of the great icchantika.
The Master remained silent for a long while.
The monk asked:
– What is it like when the four mountains close in?
– In former days, this old monk also passed beneath another’s eaves and came through.
– Was there mutual interpenetration, or was there no mutual interpenetration?
– There was no mutual interpenetration.
– Venerable, where do you instruct me to go?
– Go into the rice field.
The monk gave a sigh 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 you are not skilled at arriving in this way.
Zhaojue Qin said:
– For one who travels on foot in pursuit of the Way, the essential thing is to penetrate this one matter completely. That monk was already a child of the family of the great icchantika; when the four mountains closed in and his hands and feet trembled, had Dongshan, rich in compassion, not let down a single thread and spoken smoothly to him, how could he have departed so skillfully? Therefore, an ancient said: “At the moment of death, if even the slightest trace of ordinary emotion or measurement of sagehood remains, one cannot avoid entering a donkey’s womb or a horse’s belly.” That being so, Dongshan said: “I too passed beneath another’s eaves.” Was he obstructed by the four mountains, or was he not obstructed by the four mountains? Arriving here, one must be like a bucket whose bottom has fallen out. Say, what was Dongshan’s meaning? Do you understand?
The golden cock pecks through the shell of lapis lazuli;
The jade rabbit flings wide the gate of the blue sea.
*
During an evening consultation when no lamps were lit, a monk stepped forward and asked a question. After asking, he withdrew and sat in the rear. The Master ordered the attendant to light a lamp, then called out:
– 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 awakened, cast away all his robes and bowl, and prepared a vegetarian meal as an offering.
Three years later, the monk came to take his leave and go elsewhere. The Master said:
– Take good care of yourself!
At that time, Xuefeng was standing in attendance and 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, went to the place where his robes and bowl were kept, sat down, and passed away. Xuefeng went to report this to the Master. The Master said:
– Even 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 is different, but the Venerable and I are not different.
– This old monk wishes to see the acharya’s original teacher. May I?
– We must still wait until the Venerable himself puts forth his head.
– Just now, for the time being, there was no old monk.
*
A monk asked:
– When meeting one another, nothing is brought up, yet as soon as the intention is raised, one immediately knows that there is an intimate—what is that like?
The Master joined his palms above his head.
*
The Master asked Deshan’s attendant:
– From which direction have you come?
The attendant replied:
– I have come from Deshan.
– What have you come here to do?
– To fulfill my filial duty toward 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 pay my respects in the Sangha hall.
*
On one occasion, the Master said:
– Only after realizing the matter beyond Buddha does one have some small share in speaking.
A monk asked:
– What is speaking?
– When I speak, acharya, you do not hear it.
– Does the Venerable hear it?
– I hear it when there is no speaking.
A monk asked:
– What is a correct question and a correct answer?
– They are not spoken from the mouth.
– If someone asks you, will you answer?
– He has never yet asked.
A monk asked:
– What does it mean that what enters through the gate is not the family treasure?
– Skillfully realize it.
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 has the mettle of a king.
*
The Master asked a monk who lectured on the Vimalakirti Sutra:
– “It cannot be known by wisdom; it cannot be known by 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 “constantly and diligently wiping it clean” not receive transmission of the robe and bowl? I do not yet know who alone could receive them.
The Master replied:
– One who does not enter through the gate.
– If so, can one who does not enter through the gate receive them or not?
– Even 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, who alone could receive them? Here, immediately give a turning phrase. Try to say what words you could offer.
At that time, a monk offered ninety-six turning phrases, but none accorded. Only his final turning phrase accorded with the Master’s intent.
The Master said:
– Acharya, why did you not say that sooner?
Another monk had secretly listened, but did not hear the final turning phrase. He therefore asked that monk for further instruction, but the monk refused to tell him. He followed him about in this way for three years, yet the monk still would not speak.
One day, when that monk was ill, this monk said:
– For three years I have asked you to tell me the words you spoke before, but I have not received your compassionate instruction. Since I cannot obtain them by good means, I must obtain them by evil means!
He then took up a knife and declared:
– If you do not tell me, I will kill you, senior monk.
The monk, alarmed, said:
– Acharya! Wait a moment! I will tell you.
He then said:
– Even if there is a future, there will still be nowhere to cling.
This monk bowed in gratitude.
Xuedou Xian said:
– Since he did not accept it, those eyes of his will surely become blind in the future. Do you see the Patriarch’s robe and bowl? Had he entered through the gate at that time, they would have been transmitted to him with both hands. Not only would one person have been unable to lift Mount Dayu—even if all the people in the country came, they could not carry it away.
Cuiyan Zhi said:
– Ultimately, one cannot obtain his robe and bowl, yet one may still participate together with the Ancient Buddha. Tell me, in what does one participate?
Tiantong Jue said:
– At Changlu, it is not so: there must be a future. If there were no future, how could one know that not accepting the future should surely be the eyes? Is not accepting the truth blindness? Do you understand? Illumination penetrates the essence, with nowhere to rely; the whole body accords with the Great Way.
After Lingyin Yue related this to Cuiyan, 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 one another! Save one another!
Many people offered words, but none accorded.
The Master then went to visit him. The hermitage master also said:
– Save one another!
The Master asked:
– Save one another from what?
The hermitage master said:
– Are you not the direct descendant of Yunyan and the 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.
*
Once, while the monks were assembled for communal labor, the Master made his rounds of 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:
– Ordinarily you are healthy and strong; why can you not come and go now?
The monk asked:
– Ordinarily, Master, you teach me to travel the bird’s path. What is the bird’s path?
The Master replied:
– One encounters no person.
– How does one travel it?
– Beneath your feet, you must not travel by yourself.
– Then is traveling the bird’s path not the original face?
– Why is the Acarya so inverted?
– In what way 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 replied:
– I have come from Dongshan.
– What words and phrases does Dongshan use to instruct his disciples?
– Ordinarily, he 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 compass and square are transmitted ten thousand miles; the person 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 come?
*
The Master addressed the assembly:
– Only one who knows that beyond Buddha there is something higher has a share in discussing it.
A monk asked:
– What is the person who knows that beyond Buddha there is something higher?
The Master replied:
– Not Buddha.
Baofu said separately:
– Buddha—not.
Fayan said separately:
– As an expedient means, it is called Buddha.
*
The Master asked a monk:
– Where have you come from?
The monk replied:
– From the place where shoes are made.
– 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?
– If permission is granted, there is no contradiction.
*
A monk asked:
– What is the mystery within the mystery?
The Master replied:
– Like the tongue of a dead man.
*
While the Master was washing bowls, he saw two birds fighting over shrimps and minnows. 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 master Vairocana?
The Master replied:
– The rice plant, the rice root.
*
A monk asked:
– Of the three bodies, which body does not fall within the categories of number?
The Master replied:
– I once analyzed this matter.
Later, the monk asked Caoshan:
– The former 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 also 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 makes the wind lofty and the moon cold; one turning phrase is to dismount from the bandit’s horse and pursue the bandit. Suddenly, a monk stepped forward and said, “None of them is like this.” I still allow that he possesses one eye.
Miaoxi said:
– With such tangled vines and creeping weeds, you have not even dreamed of those three old men. He further said: Why not drive a needle straight into the heart?
*
A senior monk in the assembly returned from visiting Yunyan. The Master asked:
– What did you go to Yunyan for?
The senior monk replied:
– I do not know.
The Master answered in his stead:
– To heap up a mound of earth.
*
A monk asked:
– What is it when white clouds are the father of the green mountain?
The Master replied:
– Not dark and densely overgrown.
– What is it when white clouds are the child of the green mountain?
– Not distinguishing east from west.
– What is it to lean upon the white clouds all day long?
– One must not abandon or depart from them.
– What is it when the green mountain knows nothing at all?
– Not looking back.
*
A monk asked:
– What grass is that on the far bank of the clear river?
The Master replied:
– It is grass without shoots.
*
The Master asked a monk:
– What is the greatest suffering in the world?
The monk replied:
– Hell is the greatest suffering.
– That is not so. To wear this robe yet fail to illuminate the great matter is the greatest suffering.
*
The Master asked a monk:
– What is your name?
The monk replied:
– So-and-so.
– What is the Acarya’s host and master?
– He is answering right now.
– How painful! How painful! People nowadays are accustomed to responding in this manner. They know only how to take the servant for themselves. They cannot yet distinguish the host within the guest; how could they discern the host within the host?
The monk immediately asked:
– What is the host within the host?
– Acarya, speak for yourself.
– If I can speak of it, that is merely the host within the guest.
Yunju answered in his stead:
– Though I can speak of it, it is not the host within the guest.
– What is the host within the host?
– Speaking in this way is easy, but maintaining continuity is exceedingly difficult.
The Master then taught this verse:
Ta kiến kim thời học đạo lưu,
Thiên thiên vạn vạn nhận môn đầu.
Kháp tợ nhập kinh triều thánh chúa,
Chỉ đáo Đồng quan tức tiện hưu.
Translation:
Alas, I see those who cultivate the Way today;
Thousands upon thousands recognize only the gate.
It is just like entering the capital to attend upon the sage-king,
Yet reaching only Tong Pass, they rest content with themselves.
*
The Master ascended the Dharma 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, there is one that is old and one that 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 the six principles.
*
Wuxie went to Shitou and said:
– If one word accords, I shall stay; if it does not accord, I shall leave.
Shitou sat crouched down, and Wuxie immediately departed. Shitou followed behind and called:
– Acarya! Acarya!
Wuxie turned his head. Shitou said:
– From birth until death, it is only this. Why turn your head and shift your brains about?
Wuxie suddenly awakened in accord and thereupon broke his staff. The Master said:
– At that time, had it not been the former Master Wuxie, it would have been exceedingly difficult to bear and accept this. Even so, he was still stuck on the path.
*
A monk took leave of Daci. Daci asked:
– Where are you going?
The monk replied:
– 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 greater than the Venerable, I still could not take him along.
Daci immediately let the matter rest.
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 replied:
– Sometimes he instructed the assembly: “To speak a zhang is not as good as practicing a chi; to speak a chi is not as good as practicing a cun.”
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 walking in the mountains with Yunyan when the knife at Yaoshan’s waist clattered. Yunyan asked:
– What is making that sound?
Yaoshan drew the knife and made a chopping gesture.
The Master related this and instructed the assembly:
– See how Yaoshan devoted his entire being to this matter. Anyone today who wishes to illuminate the matter beyond must fully realize this meaning.
*
Yaoshan held an evening interview without lighting a lamp.
Yaoshan expounded the Dharma:
– I have one phrase. When a bull gives birth to a calf, I shall speak it for you.
A monk replied:
– The bull has already given birth to a calf, yet the Venerable has not spoken.
Yaoshan said:
– Attendant! Bring the lamp here.
That monk withdrew into the assembly.
Yunyan raised the matter and asked the Master:
– What about this matter?
The Master replied:
– That monk understood, but he was unwilling to bow.
*
Case:
– Yaoshan asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” The monk replied, “I have come from Hunan.” Yaoshan asked, “Is the water of Dongting Lake full yet?” The monk replied, “Not yet.” Yaoshan asked, “It has rained so much; 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:
– How could there ever have been increase or decrease throughout the kalpa?
*
Yaoshan asked a monk:
– I hear that you are very skilled at calculation. Is that so?
The monk replied:
– I would not presume.
– Try calculating this old monk and see.
The monk could not answer.
Yunyan raised this and asked the Master:
– What would you say?
The Master replied:
– Venerable, please gaze at the moon.
*
The Master composed verses on the Five Ranks of Lord and Minister:
The Relative within the Absolute.
Tam canh sơ dạ nguyệt minh tuyền
Mạc quái tương phung bất tương thức,
Ẩn ẩn du hoài cựu nhựt hiềm.
The Absolute within the Relative.
Thất hiểu lão bà phùng cổ cảnh,
Phân minh dịch diện biệt vô chơn,
Hưu cánh mê đầu du nhận ảnh.
Coming from within the Absolute.
Vô trung hữu lộ, cách trần ai,
Đản năng bất xúc đương kim huý,
Dã thắng tiền triều đoạn thiệt tài.
Arrival within the Both.
Lưỡng nhẫn giao phong bất tu tị,
Hảo thủ du như hoả lý liên.
Uyển nhiên tự hữu xung thiên chí.
Attainment within the Both.
Bất lạc hữu vô thùy cảm hoạ?
Nhơn nhơn tận dục xuất thường lưu.
Chiết hiệp hoàn quy khôi lý toạ.
Translation:
The Relative within the Absolute.
In the third watch of darkest night, the moon shines brilliantly;
Face to face, why wonder that they do not recognize each other?
Deep within, one still harbors the grievance of former days.
The Absolute within the Relative.
At dawn, an 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 Absolute.
Within emptiness there is a path beyond the dust;
Today, because one does not violate the tabooed name,
One surpasses even the eloquent man of the former dynasty whose tongue was cut out.
Arrival within the Both.
When two blades cross, there is no need to evade;
A skillful hand is like a lotus blooming in the furnace,
Seemingly possessed of an aspiration that pierces the highest heavens.
Attainment within the Both.
Not falling into being or nonbeing—who dares respond in kind?
Everyone wishes to escape the ordinary stream;
Breaking apart and joining together, one returns to sit amid the ashes.
The Master ascended the Dharma hall:
– What is it like at the time of Turning Toward? What is it like at the time of Serving? What is it like at the time of Merit? What is it like at the time of Shared Merit? What is it like at the time of Merit upon Merit?
A monk asked:
– What is Turning Toward?
The Master replied:
– What is it like when eating rice?
– What is Serving?
– What is it like when turning one’s back?
– What is Merit?
– What is it like when putting down the hoe?
– What is Shared Merit?
– It cannot be given form.
– What is Merit upon Merit?
– It is not shared.
The Master then taught these verses:
Thánh Chúa do Lai Pháp đế Nghiên,
Ngự nhơn dĩ lễ khúc long yêu.
Hữu thời náo thị đầu biên quá,
Đáo xứ văn minh hạ Thánh triều.
Tịnh tẩy nùng trang vi a thùy?
Tử quy thinh lý khuyến nhơn quy.
Bách hoa lạc tận đề vô tận,
Cánh hướng loạn phong thâm xứ đề.
Khô mộc hoa khai kiếp ngoại xuân,
Đảo kỵ ngọc tượng sấn kỳ lân.
Nhi kim cao ẩn thiên phong ngoại,
Nguyệt kiểu phong thanh hảo nhựt thần.
Chúng sanh chư phật bất tương xâm,
Sơn tự cao hề thuỷ tự thâm.
Vạn biệt thiên sai minh để sự,
Chá cô đề xứ bách hoa tân.
Đầu giác tài sanh dĩ bất kham,
Nghĩ tâm cầu Phật hảo tu tàm.
Điều điều không kiếp vô nhơn thức.
Khẳng hướng Nam tuân ngũ thập tam
Translation:
The Sage Lord originally probes the Dharma Emperor’s profundity;
He governs the people through rites, bending his dragon waist.
At times he advances straight into the bustling marketplace;
Wherever civilization reaches, blessings attend the sacred dynasty.
Who is it that washes away the bloodstained adornments?
Amid the cuckoo’s cries, people are urged to return.
When all the hundred flowers have fallen, it calls without end;
Flying deep into the mountains, it warbles on.
A withered tree blossoms in a spring beyond the kalpa;
Riding backward upon a jade elephant, one pursues the qilin.
Today, all traces lie hidden beyond a thousand peaks;
The wind is cool, the moon bright—a fine and 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 reveal the matter clearly;
Where the partridge raises its song, the hundred flowers bloom anew.
No sooner have horns begun to grow upon the head than they are already unbearable;
How shameful to bring forth the mind to seek the Buddha!
Remote in the empty kalpa, no one knows it;
It is acknowledged in the South through the fifty-three visits.
When Caoshan came to take leave of the Master, the Master entrusted him, saying:
– At the place of my late master Yunyan, I personally received certification of the “Precious Mirror Samadhi,” the ultimate essential principle. I now transmit it to you. Its words are:
Như thị chi pháp,
Phật Tổ mật phó,
Nhữ kim đắc chi,
Nghi thiện bảo hộ.
Ngân uyển thạnh tuyết,
Minh nguyệt tàng lộ,
Loại chi phất tề,
Hỗn tắc tri xứ.
Ý bất tại ngôn,
Lai cơ diệc phó,
Đọng thành sào cựu,
Sai lạc cố trữ.
Bối xúc câu phi,
Như đại hoả tụ,
Đản hinh văn thái,
Tức thuộc nhiễm ô.
Dạ bán chánh minh,
Thiên hiểu bất lộ.
Vị vật tác tắc,
Dụng bạt chư khổ.
Tuy phi hữu vi,
Bất thị vô ngữ,
Như lâm bảo cảnh,
Hình ảnh tương đổ.
Nhữ bất thị cừ,
Cừ chánh thị nhữ,
Như thế anh nhi,
Ngũ tướng hoàn cụ.
Bất khứ bất lai,
Bất khởi bất trụ,
Bàbàhòa hòa,
Hữu cú vô cú.
Chung bất đắc vật,
Ngữ vị chánh cố,
Trùng ly lục hào,
Thiên chánh hồi hỗ.
Điệp nhi vi tam,
Biến tận thành ngũ.
Như trị thảo vị,
Như kim cang chữ.
Chánh trung diệu hiệp,
Sao xướng song cử.
Thông tông thông đồ,
Hiệp đới hiệp lộ.
Thố nhiên tắc cát,
Bất khả phạm ngỗ.
Thiên chơn nhi diệu,
Bất thuộc mê ngộ,
Nhơn duyên thời tiết,
Tịch nhiên chiêu trước.
Tế nhập vô gian,
Đại tuyệt phương sở,
Hào hốt chi sai,
Bất ưng luật lữ.
Kim hữu đốn tiệm,
Duyên lập tông thú,
Tông thú phân hỷ,
Tức thị qui củ.
Tông thông thú cực,
Chơn thường lưu chú.
Ngoại tịch trung diêu,
Hệ câu phục thử.
Tiên Thánh bi chi,
Vi pháp đàn độ,
Tùy kỳ điên đảo,
Dĩ truy vi tố,
Điên đảo tưởng diệt,
Khẳng tâm tự hứa.
Yếu hợp cổ triệt,
Thỉnh quán tiền cổ,
Phật đạo thúy thành,
Thập kiếp quán thọ.
Như hổ chi khuyết
Như mã chi chú.
Dĩ hữu hạ liệt,
Bảo kỷ trân ngự;
Dĩ hữu kinh dị,
Ly nô bạch cổ.
Nghệ dĩ xảo lực,
Xạ trúng bách bộ,
Tiễn phong tương trực,
Xảo lực hà dự?
Mộc nhơn phương ca,
Thạch nữ khởi vũ,
Phi tình thức đáo,
Ninh dung tư lự?
Thần phụng ư quân,
Tử thuận ư phụ,
Bất thuận phi hiếu,
Bất phụng phi phụ,
Tiềm hành mật dụng,
Như ngu như lỗ.
Đản năng tương tục,
Danh chủ trung chủ.
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 filled with snow;
A bright moon concealing a white heron.
Though of the same kind, they are not identical;
When mingled, their places are known.
The meaning does not reside in words.
When the capacity arrives, its function also appears;
Stirring gives rise to a nest,
And deviation leads to lingering contemplation.
Turning away and touching are both wrong,
Like facing a great mass of fire.
Merely to display literary ornamentation
Is itself defilement.
At midnight, it is truly bright;
At dawn, its form is not revealed.
It serves as a standard for beings,
Its function being to uproot all suffering.
Though it is not conditioned,
It is not without words.
Like one facing a precious mirror,
Form and reflection behold each other.
You are not it;
Yet it is precisely you.
Like a newborn infant,
The five characteristics are fully present.
Neither going nor coming,
Neither arising nor abiding,
“Bābā, héhé” —
Words and no words.
Ultimately, nothing is apprehended,
Because its speech is not yet correct.
The doubled Li trigram forms six lines;
The relative and absolute interpenetrate.
Stacked, they make three;
Their complete transformations make five.
Like the five flavors of the hi plant,
Like the vajra pestle.
Wonderfully harmonized within the absolute,
Drumming and singing arise together.
Penetrating the source and penetrating the paths,
It enters secretly into the byways.
To mingle is auspicious,
Yet one must not transgress or oppose.
Naturally true and wondrous,
It belongs neither to delusion nor enlightenment.
When causes, conditions, time, and season arrive,
It is silently and clearly revealed.
So fine that no interval admits it;
So vast that all location is cut off.
If one deviates by so much as a hair’s breadth,
The rule and measure are immediately lost.
Today there are sudden and gradual,
Because schools and their aims have been established.
Once the schools and their aims are clearly distinguished,
These themselves become the rules.
When the source is penetrated and the aim reaches its culmination,
True constancy flows through all.
Outwardly still, yet inwardly moving,
Like a tethering post for horses, subduing rats.
The ancient sages, moved by compassion,
Therefore bestowed the Dharma,
In accordance with those who are inverted,
Taking black to be white.
If the marks of inversion vanish,
Directly recognize the mind itself.
It is essential to accord with the ancient traces;
Please behold the one who came before:
When he was about to accomplish the Buddha Way,
For ten kalpas he sat contemplating the tree.
Like a tiger’s den,
Like a horse’s stall.
Because there are those of lesser capacity,
Jeweled seats and precious carriages are displayed;
Because there are those who are fearful,
The household cat and white ox appear.
Skill in the craft comes from practiced power:
The shot strikes true from a hundred paces.
When the arrowheads are about to meet,
How could skillful power hesitate?
The wooden man has only just begun to sing;
The stone maiden rises and dances.
Discriminating consciousness cannot reach it;
How could thoughts be allowed 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 duty.
Functioning secretly, practicing unseen,
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 instructed:
– 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 the leakage of views: one’s capacity does not depart from rank and position, and one falls into the poisonous sea. The second is the leakage of feelings: one is obstructed by facing toward and turning away, and one’s view becomes one-sided and withered. The third is the leakage of words: one excels in investigation yet loses the true lineage, and 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 further composed three verses on the essential principles:
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. Subtle Chanting in Concerted Practice
The golden needle completes the paired fastenings;
Concealed and revealed, all is wholly gathered in.
The precious 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 interweave;
Turning awakening is difficult, though the merit is equal.
When strength is exhausted, advance and retreat are forgotten;
The golden net is already spread all around.
3. Not Departing from the Ordinary and the Sacred
Neither phenomena nor principle adheres;
Turning illumination back, the hidden and subtle cease.
Facing against the wind, there is neither skill nor clumsiness;
A flash of lightning is difficult to pursue.
*
When the Master became ill, he sent a novice to inform Yunju, instructing him:
– If he asks, “Is the Venerable Master at ease?” simply say, “The path of Yunyan is about to be severed.” Once you have said this, stand far away, lest he strike you.
The novice received these essential instructions and went to deliver the message. Before he had finished speaking, Yunju struck him once with his staff, leaving the novice unable to speak.
Tong’an Xian said in his stead:
– If so, Yunyan’s single blow did not fall in vain.
Yunju Xi said:
– Venerable! Tell me: Is Yunyan’s path severed or not?
Chongshou Chou said:
– What was the ancient one’s meaning in striking that single blow?
*
As the Master was about to pass away, he told the assembly:
– I have a reputation in the world. Who can remove it for me?
No one in the great assembly could answer. At that moment, a novice stepped forward and said:
– Venerable Master, please bestow upon me a Dharma name.
The Master said:
– My reputation has already come to an end.
Shishuang said:
– No one gained 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 possesses the activity of emerging from the water, yet no one has been able to discern it.
*
A monk asked:
– Venerable Master, you are ill. Is there that which is not ill?
The Master replied:
– There is.
– Does that which is not ill see the Venerable Master?
– This old monk has a part in seeing it.
– I do not yet understand how the Venerable Master sees it.
– When this old monk sees it, 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 numerous as the sands of the Ganges—yet not one awakens;
The fault lies in seeking it upon the exposed tongue.
If you wish to forget the body and sweep away every trace,
Strive diligently, walking the path within emptiness.
The Master ordered that his head be shaved. After bathing, he put on his robe, had the bell rung, bade farewell to the assembly, and sat serenely before passing away. At that time, the great assembly wailed and wept without ceasing. The Master suddenly opened his eyes and told them:
– For one who has left the household, the mind’s nonattachment to things is true practice. Life is toil and death is regretted—but what benefit is there in grieving and weeping?
The Master instructed the steward to prepare an “ignorance meal” as an offering. The assembly still clung to him with sorrow and would not cease. 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 monastic should be free of concerns. The hour of departure is approaching; do not make a commotion.”
The Master then entered the abbot’s quarters, sat serenely, and passed away.
It was 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. The emperor posthumously bestowed upon him the title Chan Master Wuben, “Awakening to the Source,” and named his stupa Huijue, “Wisdom and Awakening.”
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