臨濟宗旨

Chan Master Fenyang Shanzhao instructed the assembly:

The ancient sage said: One phrase contains the Three Mysteries^[1], and within each Mystery the Three Essentials must be complete. What is a phrase of the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials? Comprehend it quickly; each of you should reflect whether you have attained complete accord.

When the ancient worthies went on pilgrimage^[2], if they heard of an encounter^[3] and had not yet awakened to it, they could neither eat with relish nor sleep in peace, but urgently sought to resolve it. How could this be regarded as a minor matter? Therefore, the Buddha appeared in the world for the sake of one great causal condition^[4].

Consider the ancient worthies from former times until now: they did not go on pilgrimage to roam among mountains and rivers; nor to admire the splendor of great cities; nor for food and clothing. They did so entirely because they had not yet awakened to the mind of the sages. They hastened about on pilgrimage to resolve what was profound and hidden, propagate the teaching, inquire of their predecessors, and draw near to eminent worthies; to preserve the lamp of the Buddha-mind, continue the lineage of the Buddhas and patriarchs, cause the lineage of the sages to flourish, guide later generations, benefit themselves and others, and never neglect the conduct of the patriarchs.

Is there anyone today who can discuss this? If so, step forward and discuss it with the assembly!

A monk asked: “What is the phrase that guides a beginner?”

He replied: “You are a pilgrim monk.”

The monk further asked: “What is the phrase that distinguishes a patch-robed monk?”

He replied: “At the hour of the hare, the sun rises in the west.”

The monk continued: “What is the phrase in which the true command is carried out^[5]?”

He replied: “Brought from a thousand miles away to present the original countenance.”

The monk asked: “What is the phrase that establishes heaven and earth?”

He replied: “The grain of Uttarakuru—those who eat it are neither angry nor joyful.”

The Master said: “With only these four turning phrases^[6], I test the patch-robed monks under heaven. Thus, the moment I see you make an approach, I already know.”

A monk asked: “Where does a student apply his effort?”

He replied: “In Jiazhou they carve a great image.”

The monk asked: “Where does a student turn his body?”

He replied: “In Shanfu they bathe an iron ox.”

The monk asked: “What is the student’s intimate place?”

He replied: “At West River they tease a lion.”

The Master said: “Anyone who comprehends these three phrases can distinguish the Three Mysteries. Yet there are also the Three Essentials, which must be clearly known and should not be overlooked.” The Master recited a verse:

The Three Mysteries and Three Essentials are truly hard to distinguish;
Grasp the meaning and forget the words—the Way is then easy to approach.
One phrase penetrates all and enfolds the myriad forms;
When the Double Ninth Festival^[7] arrives, chrysanthemums bloom fresh and radiant.

Do you understand? If you understand, you are no hot-tempered patch-robed monk. As for the causal conditions of the Three Mysteries, do you understand them? You need only comprehend the purport of the ancients; then your own mind becomes luminous, you attain all-pervading adaptability, and freely enjoy inexhaustible use. This is called the Buddha’s body of personal enjoyment. Without another’s instruction, you know the means of livelihood in your own household^[8]. Therefore, Nanquan said: “Old Teacher Wang^[9] did not understand the means of livelihood until he was over eighty.”

A monk continued: “The ancient did not understand the means of livelihood until he was eighty, but what livelihood did he make?”

He replied: “Two bullocks, with four uncurved horns.”

He further said: “If you wish to awaken to this matter, you need only attain the purport of the Three Mysteries. Then you will enjoy freedom, delight in your own household, and pass your whole life in ease. Great men, do not fail yourselves. If you encounter matters but cannot penetrate them, you will be of no benefit to anyone. I shall explain it for you and everyone else:

The First Mystery:

The Second Mystery:

The Third Mystery:

The Master said: “This is the verse on the Three Mysteries. But what is the purport of the Three Mysteries? Even if you distinguish them clearly, you may merely understand them mistakenly and without foundation. I once attended closely upon the abbot and heard him teach: ‘If you use false words to deceive others, one day you will taste the iron staff. Do not say I did not warn you beforehand.’”

On another occasion, while gathering chrysanthemums, the Master told the assembly: “Golden flowers cover the earth; jade stamens fill the sky. The sun hangs in space, and heaven and earth shine brilliantly. Clouds gather and become rain; dew congeals into frost, without harming things or injuring meaning. Can you utter a phrase? If you cannot, there is dust in your eyes, and it must be removed.” Therefore, Fengxue said: “If a single speck of dust is established, the nation flourishes but the rustic grieves. If a single speck of dust is not established, the nation perishes but the rustic rests at ease.”

If you awaken right here, the acarya has no share; it belongs entirely to this old monk. If you awaken right here, this old monk is precisely the acarya. This old monk and the acarya can open the eyes of people throughout the world, and they can also cover the eyes of people throughout the world.

Do you wish to know where this old monk and the acarya are? The Master slapped his thigh and said: “Here is the acarya! Here is the old monk!” He then asked the senior monks: “Are the old monk and the acarya the same or different?

If you say they are the same, the senior monk is simply the senior monk, and the old monk is simply the old monk. If you say they are different, the old monk is precisely the acarya.” If you understand here, one phrase contains the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials, host and guest are distinct, the matter of your life is settled, and your investigation is complete. Therefore, Yongjia Xuanjue said: “Even if my bones are crushed and my body pulverized, I could never repay it; clearly penetrating a single phrase surpasses everything.”

It is also said that the head monks of two monks’ halls once met and both shouted. A monk asked Linji: “Was there host and guest?” He replied: “Host and guest were clearly distinguished.” The Master composed a verse:

Layman Wujin said to me: “Fenyang^[14] was a fifth-generation direct descendant of Linji, revered by students throughout the world. Judging from his outlines, his teaching was exceedingly profound and broad, yet he discussed only the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials. Nowadays, all members of this lineage consider the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials expedient words established for a particular period and of no benefit to the Way. They nevertheless form no divergent views concerning any dharma. Everything is ordinary, and this accords precisely with the intention of the patriarchs past and present. Is this statement correct?”

I said: “Having heard those words, you clearly penetrated their meaning. Why, then, do you doubt Fenyang’s essential principles?”

The layman said: “I still have doubts that remain unresolved.”

I told him: “That is precisely why the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials were established. It is said that one phrase fully contains the Three Mysteries, and one Mystery fully contains the Three Essentials. Mystery and Essential together are the cool, quiescent Dharma-banner of extinction raised within the sea of affliction of all sentient beings.

Raising this Dharma-banner is like smearing poison upon a drum and beating it: all who hear it die, though those farther away die later. Those without the karma of untimely death^[15] will not die even if they hear it. While Linji was alive, Xinghua Cunjiang, Sansheng Huiran, Baoshou, and Senior Ding died as soon as they heard it.

Those who heard it and awakened to its purport more than a century later were the ones who died afterward. Yet members of various lineages say it is of no benefit to the Way; they speak as people immune to untimely death. The patriarchal style towers like a cliff ten thousand fathoms high.

Their descendants are frightened and prefer a level, easy road. This is the decline of the Buddha-Dharma. It is like scholar-officials calling themselves disciples of Confucius while disparaging the Appended Statements^[16] of the Book of Changes—even a three-year-old child would laugh at them!

Linji merely said that one phrase contains the Three Mysteries, one Mystery contains the Three Essentials, and that there is Mystery and Essential. At first, people did not perceive the Mystery within the phrase, the Mystery within the meaning, and the Mystery within the essence. Thus, a stupa keeper mistakenly took Xuansha’s three phrases to be the Three Mysteries.

Consequently, he distinguished only the Three Mysteries and omitted the Three Essentials. The monasteries^[17] have allowed this to stand without considering it wrong. How lamentable!

Xuansha said: ‘The outflow of true constancy is the Dharma of equality. It merely uses words to refute words and principle to drive out principle. Therefore, one understands what comes before but not what follows.

Since the measure of one’s realization of the Dharma-body does not yet possess a transcendent phrase, one dies beneath that phrase. If one knows the transcendent measure, one is not manipulated by the mind-demon; one holds it firmly in one’s hand and turns it freely. This is called penetrating the Great Way and transcending ordinary views.

This is the first phrase, which the ancients called the Mystery within the phrase. Turning the mechanism and shifting the position, freely giving life and taking life, naturally grasping and releasing, entering birth and emerging from death, benefiting everyone, and leaving far behind the realm of sensual form, craving, and views—this is the second phrase, which the ancients called the Mystery within the meaning. Penetrating heaven and earth and pervading the Dharma-realm, the wondrous functioning of the one true and constant essence appears before one, responding and transforming without end; wholly functioning yet wholly not functioning, wholly arising yet wholly not arising—this is provisionally called the gate of loving-kindness samadhi^[18].

This is the third phrase, which the ancients called the Mystery within the essence.’

Master Yuan of Fushan also said: ‘The Mystery within the meaning is not the meaning of discriminating consciousness.’ The ancients truly should not have spoken; even Master Yuan remained confused. I could not refrain from explaining this, and Layman Wujin nodded in agreement.

The layman said: “I once saw that, when you took leave of the assembly, you said: ‘A monk from Wu named Jiancheng possesses great insight; Zhen Dianxiong^[19] personally saw Ciming; and when Yangqi and Daowu received people, they frequently raised the Ten Wisdoms Identical with the True.’ I beg to hear this teaching.”

I said: “The Ten Wisdoms Identical with the True and the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials have the same essential purport.” Master Fenyang said: “One who expounds the Dharma must fully possess the Ten Wisdoms Identical with the True. Without them, one cannot distinguish heterodox from orthodox, cannot discern sage from ordinary being, and cannot serve as an eye for devas and humans in judging right and wrong. It is like a bird: how can it fly into the sky with broken wings?

Or an arrow: how can it strike the target when the bowstring is snapped? When the string is strong and the wings vigorous, both sky and target are penetrated. What are the Ten Wisdoms Identical with the True?

I shall set them forth for the senior monks^[20]: first, the Wisdom Identical in the One Substance; second, the Wisdom Identical in the Great Matter; third, the Wisdom of Universal Identical Investigation; fourth, the Wisdom Identical with True Wisdom; fifth, the Wisdom of Identical Universal Pervasion; sixth, the Wisdom of Identical Completeness; seventh, the Wisdom Identical in Gain and Loss; eighth, the Wisdom Identical in Giving Life and Taking Life; ninth, the Wisdom Identical in the Roaring Sound; and tenth, the Wisdom Identical in Attainment and Entry.” He further said: “With whom is attainment and entry identical?

With what person is the roaring sound identical? What is identity in giving life and taking life? What thing is identical in gain and loss?

What is identical completeness? What is identical universal pervasion? What person is identical with true wisdom?

Who can universally investigate identically? What is identical in the Great Matter? What thing is identical in the One Substance?” Can anyone set these forth?

If you can, I shall not withhold my compassionate heart. If you cannot, you do not yet possess the eye of investigation. You must attain it quickly, know right and wrong, and see your present countenance.”

Today, most monasteries fear this Dharma-gate and do not wish to hear it. Why mention it? Teachers everywhere^[21] delight only in ordinary interpretations, cling tightly to them, and refuse to let go. They merely wish to transmit teachings and do not believe in complete awakening. Even if Master Fenyang returned to life and personally analyzed the matter, they would still declare him wrong. Long ago, while Ananda was walking in meditation at night, he heard a novice reciting this verse:

Ananda immediately instructed the novice to recite: “Clearly seeing the Buddha-Dharma,” not “seeing a crane.” The novice returned and reported this to his teacher. His teacher laughed and said: “Ananda is old and confused. You should regard my words as correct.” To explain the purport of the Three Mysteries and Ten Wisdoms to present-day students is no different from this.

At that time, Layman Wujin sighed and said: “If so, is this purport not an expedient means?” I immediately composed a verse:

The Ten Wisdoms Identical with the True reveal the whole countenance;
Within them, the One Wisdom is the source.
If you should behold old Fenyang,
Split apart the Three Mysteries and they become two.

He further asked: “Were the Four Guests and Hosts^[22] also a Dharma-gate established by Linji?”

I replied: “They are expedient means used by the Buddhas of the three times and the patriarchs to sweep away ordinary and saintly emotional views^[23], not something employed by Linji alone. Consider, for example, Longshan Ben’s meeting with Mazu. One day, Chan Master Dongshan Liangjie was traveling with Master Mi. Passing Longshan in Changsha, they saw streams and valleys thickly overgrown with trees and grasses. Liangjie looked back at the ranges of deep-green mountains and said to Mi: ‘There must certainly be a recluse here.’ They followed a stream for about ten miles and encountered a gaunt monk, who joined his palms before his forehead and asked: ‘There is no road here. From where have you venerable ones come?’

Liangjie said: “Let us set aside the absence of a road. From where did the hermitage master enter?”

He replied: “I have never traveled on pilgrimage.”

Liangjie asked: “How long has the hermitage master lived here?”

He replied: “It has nothing to do with days and months.”

Liangjie continued: “Did the hermitage master dwell here first, or did this mountain dwell here first?”

He replied: “I do not know.”

Liangjie pressed him: “Why do you not know?”

He replied: “I have never come from the realms of devas and humans.”

Liangjie asked: “What principle did you attain that caused you to dwell on this mountain?”

He replied: “I saw two clay oxen fighting; they sank into the sea^[24], and to this day no news of them has arrived.”

Master Mi and Liangjie performed the full ceremonial prostrations and then asked: “What is the guest within the host?”

He replied:

The green mountains are covered by white clouds.

They further asked: “What is the host within the host?”

He replied: “For many years he has not gone out the gate.”

They continued: “How far apart are host and guest?”

He replied: “Waves upon the Yangtze River.”

They further asked: “When host and guest meet, what words are spoken?”

He replied: “In broad daylight, a cool breeze blows.”

Liangjie bowed and requested instruction. The old monk laughed and said:

Since ancient times I have rested beneath a three-bay roof;
One beam of wondrous light^[25], and the myriad scenes are still.
Do not bring talk of right and wrong to me;
The discussions of the world have no relevance here.

At once, the hermitage master burned his hut and entered deep into the mountains. Liangjie later dwelt on this mountain.

Liangjie asked a monk: “Who is your master?”

The monk replied: “The one who is answering you!”

Liangjie raised his face and sighed: “This is called the affair of a servant. Why do you take it to be yourself? This is an omen of the decline of the Buddha-Dharma. You do not yet understand the host within the guest; how much less the host within the host?”

The monk asked: “What is the host within the host?”

Liangjie said: “You tell me yourself!”

The monk replied: “What can be spoken is the host within the guest. What is the host within the host?”

Liangjie remained silent for a while^[26], then said: “I do not mind telling you, but maintaining its continuity is extremely difficult. I regard the old monk Longshan’s intention as Xiao He^[27] understanding Han Xin^[28]—was there any Dharma?” Yet Master Liangjie’s formulation was like Huo Guang^[29] establishing the court: even walking and standing followed regulations. Alas! Later people certainly cannot fully comprehend the ancients’ intention. Yet Liangjie himself kept the host within the host hidden in his heart; this is truly doubtful!

I once went to Linchuan and befriended Zhou Shiying. One day, Elder Shanglan came and said to Shiying: “Juefan^[30] is renowned for composing poetry. But even his teacher was mistaken about Chan; how much more the disciple?”

Shiying laughed and said: “Can you test the matter?”

Shanglan replied: “Yes.”

The two stayed for a day and then went together to Shushan^[31], where they ate at the guest lodge. Shanglan drew upon the table with his finger and said to me: “The top edge of a scripture certainly bears the character yi (以). What does it mean?” I immediately drew a circle, crossed it with a horizontal stroke, and said: “It means this.” Shanglan was astonished. I composed a verse:

_ The character yi (以) is not formed; ba (八) is also wrong.^[32]
The Dharma-body sleeps in drunkenness, unobstructed and uncovered.
Face-to-face, the patch-robed monk does not know its name;
Though a hundred people stand before him, he cannot call a single one.

Shanglan returned and related this to Shiying. Shiying clapped his hands and said: “Who says a poet-monk^[33] can understand only the meaning of words?” We then read Fenyang’s verse “Becoming a Calf”:

A head it has, but horns it has not—how sad!
For a hundred years, one cannot escape this adept^[34].
Ordinary beings and sages alike cannot fully know it;
Does its present appearance differ by even a hairbreadth?

I told Shiying: “This verse explains the meaning of the word^[35].”

Shiying asked me: “The Avatamsaka Sutra records: ‘The seer Bhishmottaranirghosha took Sudhana by the hand. Sudhana immediately saw his own body dwelling in worlds as numerous as the dust motes in ten Buddha-lands. He then approached Buddhas as numerous as the dust motes in ten Buddha-lands, saw their Buddha-lands and assemblies, and beheld those Buddhas endowed with the adornments of the excellent marks. Thus he passed through kalpas as numerous as the dust motes in hundreds of thousands of millions of inexpressible Buddha-lands. When the seer released his hand, Sudhana immediately saw his body returned to its original place.’ How should the meaning of this passage be explained?”

I replied: “All of it is symbolic. The taking of his hand is the moment of entering contemplation: he sees that self and other are not separated by a hairbreadth, and that before and after never depart from the present thought. The releasing of the hand is the moment of emerging from samadhi.

Yongming said: ‘Thus we know that without moving from the original position, distant and nearby lands are distinctly clear; without departing from a single thought, long and short spans of time are definitely established.’ Because the World-Honored One used the lotus as an analogy, no one in the world understood it; only I recognized it. When a lotus first blossoms, seeds already lie within it, and within the seeds are lotus embryos.

The cause contains the fruit and the fruit contains the cause; the three times occur simultaneously. The seeds are distinct and possess an order, continuity is never interrupted, and the ten directions are not separated.”

Shiying further asked: “The Lotus Sutra records: ‘Before the great assembly, the World-Honored One displayed great spiritual power and extended his broad, long tongue upward to the Brahma heaven.’ This is truly difficult to understand! Someone explains it thus: ‘The Buddha’s voice is subtle and wondrous, heard everywhere. Because it transcends sages and ordinary beings, the Buddha’s broad, long tongue extends to the Brahma-world heaven.’ What do you think of this explanation?”

I replied: “This is understanding through language; it is not the World-Honored One’s intention.” Guishan said: “When thoughts of ordinary beings and sages cease, the essence reveals true constancy^[36]; principle and phenomena are nondual—this is the Buddha of suchness^[37].” Students cannot understand the profound savor of these words and merely accept provisional conjectures. It is like blind people touching an elephant: each takes the part he touches to be the elephant.

For them, therefore, the elephant is merely a tail, leg, back, or tusk, while the whole elephant remains concealed. The Prajnaparamita Sutra states: “Because it is nondual, without two parts, without differentiation, and without interruption, it is true constancy—not the true constancy of some quiescent thing that transcends and never changes or decays.” How could the tongue-mark extending to the Brahma heaven be known through discriminating consciousness?

When Xuanzang reached India, he met the scholar-monk Shilabhadra. Shilabhadra was then 106 years old and was revered by all as the Treasury of the True Dharma. Xuanzang respectfully bowed, approached the master, and was invited to sit.

Shilabhadra then asked: “From where have you come?” He replied: “I have come from China, wishing to study the Yogacara treatises and others.” At that moment, the master shed tears, summoned his disciple Buddhabhadra, and asked: “What of my former dream?”

The disciple told Xuanzang: “Three years ago, the abbot suffered a grave illness, with pain like that of a knife cutting open his belly. The abbot intended to fast until death. That night, he dreamed of a golden-bodied man who told him: ‘Do not grow weary of the body you once cherished. In former lives you frequently took life; you should repent. What benefit is there in killing yourself? A Chinese monk is coming here to study the Buddha-Dharma. He is now on the road and will arrive in three years. Transmit the Buddha-Dharma to him so that he may propagate it, and your offense will naturally be extinguished. I am Manjushri, and I have deliberately come to inform you.’ The abbot has been ill for three years, and now that you have arrived, the former dream has indeed proved efficacious.”

Throughout my life in this world, I have undergone many hardships, all because of former karma. I now know that, according to Manjushri’s instruction, if one transmits the Dharma to others, one’s offenses will naturally be extinguished. Therefore, my purpose in composing Resolving the Purport of the Buddhas and Patriarchs is to help people eliminate their own karmic obstructions from former lives; I seek nothing else.

Notes:

^[1] The Three Mysteries and Three Essentials: three mysterious gates and three essential factors used by Chan Master Linji Yixuan to guide students and arouse the sensation of doubt in practitioners.

The Three Mysteries are:

a. The Mystery within the Essence: a statement entirely without embellishment, expressed on the basis of the true characteristics and principles of all phenomena.

b. The Mystery within the Phrase: true speech untouched by discriminating consciousness; that is, without being constrained by the words, one awakens to their profound meaning.

c. The Mystery within the Mystery (the Mystery within Function): a wondrous statement free from every logical and verbal bond and opposition.

The Three Essentials are: within speech there is no fabricated discrimination; a thousand sages enter the mystery; the path of language is cut off. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 5, p. 4111.)

^[2] Pilgrimage: also called traveling abroad, wandering, or “clouds and water.” It means that monastics without fixed abodes travel in all directions, whether to seek renowned teachers, cultivate themselves, or teach others. A monk who travels in this way is called a pilgrim monk. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 269.)

^[3] Causal condition has two meanings:

a. In the Chan school, pivotal words or actions that reveal or respond to the student’s capacity are called causal conditions; the meaning resembles that of a koan.

b. In the doctrinal schools, thoughts, words, and actions that can lead to karmic results are called causal conditions; that is, they are causes within karmic cause and effect. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 507.)

^[4] The great causal condition: the responsive communion of one great matter. The Dharma Numerical Categories of the Tripitaka states: “‘One’ is the one true characteristic. Because the essential nature of the one true characteristic is vast, it is called ‘great.’ The form in which the Tathagata appears in the world to liberate sentient beings is called the ‘matter.’ Sentient beings originally possess this one true characteristic and skillfully become the capacity that evokes the Buddha; this is called the ‘cause.’ The Tathagata has realized this one true characteristic and arouses a response to liberate sentient beings;

this is called the ‘condition.’ All Tathagatas appear in the world to reveal the true characteristic originally possessed by sentient beings, enabling all to awaken to and enter the Buddha’s knowledge and vision.

Apart from this, nothing accords with the Tathagata’s original intent in appearing in the world. The one great matter means turning delusion around and opening awakening.” According to the sutras, the great matter in the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s knowledge and vision; in the Nirvana Sutra, it is Buddha-nature; and in the Infinite Life Sutra, it is rebirth in the Land of Bliss. The Skillful Means chapter of the Lotus Sutra states: “The Buddhas appear in the world solely because of one great causal condition.” (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 2, p. 1307.)

^[5] Carrying out the true command: the Way of the Buddhas and patriarchs circulating in the world. Case 63 of the Blue Cliff Record (Taisho 48, 194c) states: “With a single phrase in which the true command is presently carried out, the ten directions are cut off,” indicating that apart from blows and shouts, no other dharma is established; this alone is the essential purport of the special transmission outside the teachings. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 103.)

^[6] Four turning phrases: sharp words freely transformed according to circumstances and capacities. When a Chan student remains confused and has not awakened, caught in a dilemma between advance and retreat, the Chan master immediately turns the pivotal activity and delivers a turning phrase so that the student may awaken. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 1, p. 989.)

^[7] The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month.

^[8] Means of livelihood:

a. An occupation or work for earning a living. Chan writings usually use this term as an analogy for Chan teachings or pivotal activity. The Recorded Sayings of Mi’an states: “Square or round, do not employ schemes; long or short, do not seek it in speech or silence. A single axe is also a true livelihood—why waste time in deliberation?”

b. The implements and property by which one lives. The chapter on Chan Master Kuangwu in fascicle 17 of CĐTĐL records: “A monk asked: ‘What is shutting the gate and building a cart?’ The Master replied: ‘The household property contains nothing at all.’” (According to TĐTTHV, p. 298.)

^[9] Old Teacher Wang: Chan Master Puyuan of Nanquan in Chizhou. His family name was Wang; he inherited the Dharma from Mazu and propagated the Way at Nanquan. He was commonly called Old Teacher Wang. (According to Ding Fubao’s PHĐTĐ.)

^[10] The four propositions and hundred negations: four propositions and a hundred negations commonly used in Buddhism. The four propositions are existence, nonexistence, both existence and nonexistence, and neither existence nor nonexistence; or affirmation, negation, partial affirmation and partial negation, and the negation of both. They serve as forms of judgment in argumentation.

In the Chan school, they also commonly indicate Linji Yixuan’s Four Selections: 1. taking away the person but not the environment; 2. taking away the environment but not the person; 3. taking away both person and environment; and 4. taking away neither person nor environment. In addition, the Profound Commentary on the Vimalakirti Sutra says that there are more than ten different explanations of the four propositions.

The hundred negations indicate total negation. For example, fascicle 21 of the northern version of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra describes the Tathagata’s nirvana as neither existent nor nonexistent, neither conditioned nor unconditioned, neither with outflows nor without outflows, and even neither past, future, nor present. Thus, the four propositions and hundred negations are merely provisional concepts established from the standpoint of judgments and arguments.

Buddhism’s ultimate purport, however, is to transcend these provisional concepts and reach the realm where speech and thought cease. Therefore, the saying “Apart from the four propositions and beyond the hundred negations” circulates widely in Chan monasteries. The Chan school has many koans concerning the four propositions and hundred negations, which serve as guides for those investigating Chan and studying the Way. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 5, p. 4721.)

^[11] Master Lu: Luqiu Yin.

^[12] Fenggan: a Chinese Chan master of the Tang dynasty whose dates of birth and death are unknown. At first, he lived at Guoqing Monastery on Mount Tiantai. By day he hulled rice, and by night he chanted verses. His words were unconventional and often resembled prophecies. Whenever questioned, he answered only with the two words “according to the time” and said nothing else. Around 712–713, he traveled to the capital region of Chang’an and cured Luqiu Yin’s illness. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 4, p. 3703.)

^[13] Flowers in the sky: illusory spots seen in empty space. There are no flowers in space, but because a person’s eyes are diseased, he falsely sees illusory flowers. The Buddha often used this expression as an analogy for phenomena that have no real substance but, because of mistaken understanding, are seen as possessing a permanent self or real essence. These are called flowers in the sky. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 3, p. 2312.)

^[14] Fenyang: Master Shanzhao, a Chinese Chan master of the Linji lineage during the Song dynasty. His family name was Yu, and he came from Taiyuan, present-day Shanxi. Intelligent from childhood, he naturally understood written texts.

When his parents died at the age of fourteen, he entered monastic life, received full ordination, and visited seventy-one eminent worthies and venerable masters. He later called upon Chan Master Shengnian at Shoushan in Ruzhou, attained great awakening, and became his Dharma heir. Afterward he went to Hengxiang and Xiangmian.

The prefect invited him to serve as abbot of renowned monasteries, but he declined. Only after Shengnian’s passing did he accept the invitation of monastics and laypeople in Xihe to reside at the Prince’s Cloister in Fenyang. There he extensively expounded the essentials of the lineage and used such pivotal devices as the three phrases, four phrases, three resolutions, and eighteen chants to guide students, becoming famous in his time.

For thirty years he did not leave the gate, and monastics and laypeople called him Fenyang. He died in 1024 during the Song dynasty at the age of seventy-eight and received the posthumous title Chan Master Wude. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 6, p. 5547.)

^[15] Untimely death: an unexpected death caused by calamity. There are nine kinds: dying from illness for lack of a physician; execution under royal law; loss of vital energy to nonhuman beings; death by fire; drowning; being devoured by wild beasts; falling from a height; and death from poison, harmful spells or curses, or hunger and thirst. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 2, p. 1905.)

^[16] Appended Statements: The Book of Changes has seven types of commentary: Judgment, Image, Literary Remarks, Appended Statements, Discussion of the Trigrams, Sequence of the Hexagrams, and Miscellaneous Hexagrams. The Judgment, Image, and Appended Statements are each divided into two sections, producing ten sections in all. People of the Han dynasty called them the Ten Wings. (According to Ngữ Văn Hán Nôm, vol. 2, The Five Classics, Institute of Sino-Nom Studies, p. 507.)

^[17] Monastery: the Buddhist community, a monastery, or a Chan monastery; a term used by monks when referring collectively to Chan masters. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 906.)

^[18] Loving-kindness samadhi: while abiding in meditative concentration, when a practitioner wishes sentient beings to attain peace and happiness, concentration arises among the mental factors. This is called loving-kindness samadhi. (According to Initial Approach to the Sequential Gates of the Dharma-realm.)

^[19] Zhen Dianxiong: Chan Master Cuiyan Kezhen, who attained the Dharma under Shishuang Chuyuan.

^[20] Senior monk: an elder, senior in ordination, head monk, or one established in a leading position. A monk or nun of many ordination years and high position, one of the three monastic administrators. Fascicle 6 of the Vinaya-Matrika Sutra defines the title according to seniority in ordination. (TĐPHHQ, vol. 6, p. 5730.)

^[21] Teachers everywhere: Chan masters in various places, or Chan monasteries. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 110.)

^[22] The Four Guests and Hosts: four phrases used by Chan Master Linji Yixuan to measure pivotal activity and guide students. The guest is the visitor who comes to inquire, and the host is the teacher. The four are:

a. Guest examining host: the guest scrutinizes and clearly sees the host. For example, the shout of a genuine student is like presenting a basin of glue. The spiritual teacher fails to recognize it as an object, clings to it, and assumes a pose. The student then shouts once more, yet the spiritual teacher refuses to let go. This is an incurable, desperate illness.

b. Host examining guest: the host thoroughly sees the guest. For example, the spiritual teacher presents nothing; in response to the student’s question, he immediately takes everything away. Even when deprived, the student would rather die than let go.

c. Host examining host: the host looks back upon himself. For example, a student presents a pure state before the spiritual teacher. Recognizing it as an object, the teacher casts it into a deep pit. The student says: “What an excellent spiritual teacher!” The teacher immediately replies: “Fool! You do not know good from bad.” The student then bows.

d. Guest examining guest: the guest clearly sees the guest. For example, a student appears before the spiritual teacher wearing cangue and chains. The spiritual teacher adds another set, and the student rejoices; neither side understands. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 923.)

^[23] Emotional views: mundane emotions and deluded views. Fascicle 1 of the Blue Cliff Record states: “Xuedou feared that people would pursue emotional views. Therefore, he completely drew the gate-bolt, revealed his own understanding, and said: ‘Cease remembering one another; when will the cool breeze filling every place ever stop?’” (According to TĐTTHV, p. 814.)

^[24] A clay ox entering the sea: a clay ox sinks into the ocean. This is an analogy for disappearing without trace or news, departing never to return. The clay ox represents discriminating thought; the sea represents the equality of Dharma-nature. The Chan school uses this phrase for the state of an awakened person, in whom deluded emotions dissolve into the true mind. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 475.)

^[25] One beam of wondrous light: a current of miraculous light, namely one’s inherent luminosity—the lucid, spiritually wondrous mind that is never obscured. Case 31 of the Book of Serenity (Taisho 48, 248a) states: “One beam of wondrous light has never been concealed from the beginning.” (According to TĐTTHV, p. 814.)

^[26] A long silence: remaining silent or composed for a while. Its original meaning is a somewhat lengthy interval. The Chan school uses this term for a state without speech or words. When a teacher guides a student, and the student raises a question, presents his understanding, or answers the teacher’s inquiry, the teacher often remains silent for a while to express approval or disapproval. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 428.)

^[27] Xiao He: chancellor to Liu Bang, King of Han.

^[28] Han Xin: great general to Liu Bang, King of Han. With the aid of Xiao He and Han Xin, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and ascended the imperial throne as Emperor Gaozu of Han in 206 BCE. Xiao He, Han Xin, and Zhang Liang were called “the Three Heroes of the Early Han.” (According to Four Thousand Years of Chinese History, vol. 1, pp. 277–294.)

^[29] Huo Guang: a great general who served three reigns—Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhao, and Emperor Xuan of Han. He wielded supreme power over the court after Emperor Wu died, when Emperor Zhao ascended the throne at only eight years of age. (According to Four Thousand Years of Chinese History, vol. 1, pp. 369–373.)

^[30] Juefan: Chan Master Baojue of Qingliang Monastery in Duanzhou during the Song dynasty. His name was Dehong and his style-name Juefan; he was originally named Huihong. He awakened under Chan Master Zhenjing Kewen and wrote the thirty-fascicle Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Chan Grove and Records from among the Groves. He died in the fifth month of the Jianyan era under Emperor Gaozong at the age of fifty-eight and was posthumously granted the title Baojue Yuanming. (According to Ding Fubao’s PHĐTĐ.)

^[31] Shushan: a mountain in Jinxi County, Jiangxi Province, China, twenty-nine kilometers northwest of the county seat. Shushan Monastery stands on the mountain. The mountain was originally where the Tang-dynasty recluse He Xiandan studied, so it was sometimes called Mount Shu, “Book Mountain.” During the Zhonghe era of the Tang dynasty (881–884), Chan Master Kuangren of the Caodong school came to the mountain and built a monastery; the emperor granted it the name Baiyun. During the Southern Tang, its name was changed to Shushan. In the Ming dynasty, the Chan monk Zixing served as abbot. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 639.)

^[32] “The character yi (以) is not formed; ba (八) is also wrong”: the so-called character yi refers to the symbol written at the top of a protective talisman, which is a transformed Siddham character. Yet, viewed as a Chinese character, it is neither yi nor ba. On this basis, the Chan school indicates that the original countenance is exceedingly difficult to express by any means whatsoever. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 2, p. 1060.)

^[33] Poet-monk, also called a literary monk: a monk skilled in poetry and prose. In particular, the term refers to the poet-monks of Jiangzuo during China’s Tang dynasty. (According to TĐPHHQ, vol. 6, p. 5421.)

^[34] Adept, also called a master: an accomplished practitioner whose pivotal functioning surpasses that of others. (According to TĐTTHV, p. 652.)

^[35] Meaning of the word: the meaning of a term.

^[36] The essence reveals true constancy: the essential reality fully displays its true and eternal character, what Buddhism calls suchness. This is the state of one awakened to Chan. The section on Chan Master Baizhang Huaihai in fascicle 3 of NĐHN states: “The numinous light shines alone, free from sense faculties and objects; the essence reveals true constancy and is not confined by written words. The mind-nature is undefiled and originally perfect; merely leave delusive conditions behind, and you are the Buddha of suchness.” (According to TĐTTHV, p. 719.)

^[37] Suchness: the true characteristic of the myriad phenomena, equal and nondual, is called suchness. Essentials of Mind Transmission states: “No-mind means the absence of every mind. Inwardly, the essence of suchness is like wood or stone, unmoving and unstirring; outwardly, it is like empty space, unobstructed and unhindered. There is neither subject nor object, neither location nor place, neither characteristic nor appearance, neither gain nor loss.” (According to TĐTTHV, p. 541.)