黃檗斷際禪師宛陵錄

Minister Pei asked the Master:

“Of the four or five hundred people on the mountain, how many have attained the Venerable Master’s Dharma?”

The Master replied:

“Those who have attained it cannot be numbered. Why? Because the Way is awakened to through the mind; it does not lie in words. Speech is used only to instruct the immature, like young children.”

Question: “What is Buddha?”

Answer: “Mind itself is Buddha; no-mind is the Way. Simply be without the mind that gives rise to mental activity and thoughts of existence and nonexistence, long and short, self and other, subject and object, and so forth. Mind is originally Buddha, and Buddha is originally mind.

Mind is like empty space; hence it is said, ‘The true Dharma-body of the Buddha is like empty space.’ Do not seek anything separately; all seeking is suffering. Even if, for as many kalpas as there are sands in the Ganges, you cultivate the six paramitas and myriad practices and attain the Buddha’s bodhi, this is still not ultimate. Why?

Because it belongs to conditioned activity. When those conditions are exhausted, it returns to impermanence. Therefore it is said, ‘The reward-body and transformation-body are not the true Buddha, nor are they the one who teaches the Dharma.’ You need only know that your own mind is without self and without person and has always been Buddha.”

Question: “A sage’s no-mind is Buddha, but would not an ordinary person’s no-mind sink into blank quiescence?”

Answer: “In the Dharma there are neither ordinary people nor sages, nor is there any sinking into quiescence. Dharma is originally nonexistent, so do not give rise to a view of nonexistence. Dharma is originally not nonexistent, so do not give rise to a view of existence. Both existence and nonexistence are emotional views born of attachment, like an illusion or a diseased eye. Therefore it is said, ‘Seeing and hearing are like illusions and diseased vision; cognition and perception constitute sentient beings.’ In this school, the Patriarchs speak only of ‘cutting off the mechanism and forgetting views.’ Thus it is said, ‘When the mechanism is forgotten, the Buddha Way flourishes; when discrimination arises, the armies of Mara prevail.’”

Question: “Since mind has always been Buddha, is it still necessary to cultivate the six paramitas and myriad practices?”

Answer: “Awakening lies in the mind and has nothing to do with the six paramitas and myriad practices. The six paramitas and myriad practices are all gateways of transformative guidance, matters used for receiving beings and bringing them across. Even bodhi, true suchness, ultimate reality, liberation, and the Dharma-body, all the way through the Ten Grounds and the four fruits of sainthood, are gateways of transformation and have nothing to do with Buddha-mind.

Mind itself is Buddha; hence it is said, ‘Among all the gateways for receiving and delivering beings, Buddha-mind is foremost.’ Simply have no mind of birth and death or affliction, and then there is no need for such a thing as the Dharma of bodhi. Thus it is said, ‘The Buddha taught all Dharmas to deliver all minds; since I have no mind at all, what use have I for all Dharmas?’ From the Buddha down through the Patriarchs, nothing else was discussed; only the one mind was discussed, and this is also called the One Vehicle.

Thus it is said, ‘Search carefully throughout the ten directions, and there is no other vehicle. Here there are no remaining branches or leaves, only firm fruits.’ Because this meaning is difficult to believe, when Patriarch Bodhidharma came to this land and passed through the Liang and Wei kingdoms, only Great Master Huike silently trusted his own mind and, upon hearing a single sentence, understood that ‘mind itself is Buddha.’ When body and mind are both empty, that is the Great Way.

The Great Way has always been equal. Thus it is said, ‘Deeply believe that all beings share the same true nature. Mind and nature are not different: nature itself is mind, and mind is not different from nature.

One who realizes this is called a Patriarch.’ It is also said, ‘When mind-nature is recognized, it should be called inconceivable.’”

Question: “Does the Buddha deliver sentient beings?”

Answer: “In truth, there are no sentient beings delivered by the Tathagata. Even a self cannot be found; how could a non-self exist? Neither Buddha nor sentient beings can be found.

Whatever has characteristics is false and illusory; if one sees that all characteristics are not characteristics, one sees the Tathagata. Both Buddha and sentient beings arise from your false views. Only because you do not know the original mind do you set up knowledge and views in opposition to it.

As soon as you give rise to a view of Buddha, you are obstructed by Buddha; as soon as you give rise to a view of sentient beings, you are obstructed by sentient beings. Views of ordinary and sacred, pure and defiled, and so forth become corresponding obstructions. Because they obstruct your mind, they bring about endless samsara, like a monkey that releases one foot only to grasp with the other, never coming to rest.

If you would truly learn, you must have nothing to learn: neither ordinary nor sacred, neither clean nor dirty, neither small nor great, uncontaminated and unconditioned. Within this one mind, expedient teachings encourage adornment. Even if you master the Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of scripture, all your knowledge and views must be discarded.

Thus it is said, ‘Remove all possessions and leave only a sickbed upon which to lie’—the Vimalakirti Sutra. Simply do not give rise to any views or attachments. No Dharma whatsoever can be attained.

Be unobstructed by Dharmas and transcend the three realms and the domains of ordinary people and sages; only then may you be called a Buddha who has appeared in the world. Thus it is said, ‘I bow to that which, like space, has no support, surpassing the paths of outsiders. Since mind is not different, Dharmas are likewise not different; since mind is unconditioned, Dharmas are likewise unconditioned.’

“The myriad Dharmas are wholly transformations of mind. Thus it is said, ‘Because my mind is empty, all Dharmas are empty; the thousand kinds and myriad classes are all alike. Throughout empty space in the ten directions there is a single essence of mind.’ Mind is originally undifferentiated, and Dharmas are likewise undifferentiated.

Differences exist only because your knowledge and views are not the same. It is like the devas eating from the same precious bowl, while the color of the rice differs for each according to his merit. In truth, the Buddhas of the ten directions have not obtained the slightest Dharma that may be called anuttara-bodhi.

There is only the one mind, truly without any other characteristic, without radiance and without superiority or inferiority. Because it has no superiority, it has no characteristic of Buddha; because it has no inferiority, it has no characteristic of sentient beings.”

Question: “Since mind has no characteristics, how could the thirty-two excellent marks and eighty noble features used to transform sentient beings be entirely absent?”

Answer: “The thirty-two marks belong to characteristics, and whatever has characteristics is false and illusory. The eighty noble features belong to form. ‘If one sees me through form, one is practicing a deviant path and cannot see the Tathagata.’”

Question: “Are Buddha-nature and sentient-being nature the same or different?”

Answer: “Nature is neither the same nor different. In the teachings of the Three Vehicles, Buddha-nature and sentient-being nature are spoken of, and thus the causes and fruits of the Three Vehicles are established, together with sameness and difference. But in the Buddha Vehicle and the transmission of the Patriarchs, no such thing is taught. There is only one mind, neither the same nor different, without cause and without fruit. Thus it is said, ‘There is only this Way of the One Vehicle, neither two nor three, except where the Buddha speaks expediently.’”

Question: “Since a bodhisattva’s body is boundless, why can he not see the crown-mark of the Tathagata?”

Answer: “It truly cannot be seen. Why? Because the bodhisattva’s boundless body is itself the Tathagata.

How could it see itself again? You are simply taught not to form an attached view of Buddha, and then you do not fall into the Buddha side; not to form an attached view of sentient beings, and then you do not fall into the sentient-being side; not to form an attached view of existence, and then you do not fall into existence; not to form an attached view of nonexistence, and then you do not fall into nonexistence; not to form an attached view of the ordinary, and then you do not fall into the ordinary; not to form an attached view of the sacred, and then you do not fall into the sacred.

To be without all attached views is the boundless body. If there is anything to which your views attach, you are an outsider. Outsiders delight in views and attachments; bodhisattvas remain unmoved by them.

Tathagata means the ‘suchness’ of all Dharmas. Thus it is said, ‘Maitreya is also such; all sages and worthies are also such. Suchness is unborn; suchness is undying; suchness neither sees nor hears.’ The crown of the Tathagata is complete seeing, yet there is no complete seeing; therefore it does not fall into the side of complete seeing.

Hence the Buddha-body is unconditioned and does not fall within any category. Empty space is provisionally used as an analogy: perfectly identical with the great void, lacking nothing and having nothing in excess, at ease and free of affairs. Do not labor to distinguish this realm, for as soon as you distinguish it, it becomes consciousness.

Thus it is said, ‘Perfect completion sinks into the sea of consciousness, drifting and turning like tumbleweed borne by the wind.’ You merely say, ‘I know this, I have learned this, I accord with this, I am liberated in this, and this accords with principle.’ Where you are strong, things go as you wish; where you are weak, they do not. Of what use is such knowledge and understanding? I tell you: be at ease and free of affairs; do not falsely employ your mind.

There is no need to seek the true; you need only cease views and attachments. Thus it is said, ‘Views of inside and outside are both mistaken; the Buddha Way and the way of Mara are both evil.’ Therefore, as soon as Manjusri gave rise to a dualistic view, he saw two Iron Encircling Mountains. Manjusri represents real wisdom, and Samantabhadra represents expedient wisdom.

Expedient and real wisdom counteract one another, but ultimately there is neither expedient nor real wisdom; there is only the one mind. Mind is neither Buddha nor sentient being, and there is no separate view. As soon as there is a view of Buddha, there is a view of sentient beings.

Views of existence and nonexistence, permanence and annihilation, become two Iron Encircling Mountains, and one is obstructed by seeing. The Patriarchs directly point out that the original mind and fundamental essence of all sentient beings have always been Buddha. It is not achieved through cultivation, does not belong to gradual stages, and is neither bright nor dark.

Because it is not bright, there is no ignorance; because it is not dark, there is no darkness. Thus it is said, ‘There is neither ignorance nor the extinction of ignorance.’ To enter my school, this meaning is essential. Seeing it is called Dharma; seeing Dharma is therefore called Buddha.

Both Buddha and Dharma are empty, and this is called Sangha—the unconditioned Sangha, also called the Three Jewels of One Essence. Those who seek the Dharma should not cling to Buddha in their seeking, should not cling to Dharma in their seeking, and should not cling to the Sangha in their seeking. Thus there must be nowhere to seek.

Seeking without clinging to Buddha means there is no Buddha; seeking without clinging to Dharma means there is no Dharma; seeking without clinging to the Sangha means there is no Sangha.”

Question: “Now we see the Venerable Master teaching the Dharma. How can you say that there is neither Sangha nor Dharma?”

Answer: “If you see a Dharma that can be taught, you are seeking me through sound. If you see a self, you establish a place. Dharma is also no-Dharma; Dharma itself is mind. The Patriarch said, ‘When this mind-Dharma was transmitted, how could any Dharma ever have been a Dharma?’ Only by realizing no-Dharma and no original mind can one understand the Dharma of mind-to-mind. In truth, no Dharma whatsoever can be attained; this is called sitting at the seat of awakening. The seat of awakening means simply not giving rise to any views or attachments. Awakening to the original nonexistence of Dharmas is called the Empty Tathagatagarbha.

“Originally there is not a single thing; where could dust alight? If you grasp the meaning here, carefree freedom is beyond discussion.”

Question: “Originally there is not a single thing. Is ‘no thing’ correct?”

Answer: “Even ‘no’ is incorrect. Bodhi is nowhere, and there is no understanding of nothingness.”

Question: “What is Buddha?”

Answer: “Your mind is Buddha. Buddha is mind; mind and Buddha are not different. Thus it is said, ‘Mind itself is Buddha.’ Apart from mind there is no other Buddha.”

Question: “If one’s own mind is Buddha, what did the Patriarch transmit when he came from India?”

Answer: “The Patriarch came from India only to transmit Buddha-mind, directly pointing out that your minds have always been Buddha. Mind and mind are not different; therefore he is called a Patriarch. If you see this meaning directly here, you immediately transcend all stages of the Three Vehicles. You have always been Buddha, without depending upon cultivation.”

Question: “If so, what Dharma do the Buddhas of the ten directions teach when they appear in the world?”

Answer: “When the Buddhas of the ten directions appear in the world, they teach only the one mind-Dharma. Therefore the Buddha secretly entrusted this essence of the one mind-Dharma to Mahakasyapa. Extending throughout empty space and pervading the dharmadhatu, it is called the principle taught by all Buddhas.

How could you understand this Dharma through words and phrases? Nor can it be seen in any single occasion or object. This meaning can only be silently realized.

This one gateway is called the Dharma-gate of the unconditioned. If you wish to understand it, simply know no-mind, and sudden awakening is attained. If you employ your mind to reason and study it, you go ever farther away.

Only when there is no calculating mind, no mind of grasping or rejecting anything, and the mind is like wood or stone, do you have a share in studying the Way.”

Question: “At present all kinds of deluded thoughts arise. How can one speak of their nonexistence?”

Answer: “Delusion originally has no essence; it is merely produced by your mind. If you know that your mind is Buddha and that mind is originally without delusion, how could you raise a mind and then recognize it as deluded? If you do not generate mental activity or thoughts, naturally there is no delusion. Thus it is said, ‘When mind arises, all kinds of Dharmas arise; when mind ceases, all kinds of Dharmas cease.’”

Question: “Just when deluded thoughts arise, where is Buddha?”

Answer: “When you now know that delusion has arisen, that knowing itself is Buddha. Thus, if there were no deluded thoughts, there would also be no Buddha. Why is this so? Because when you generate a mind attached to a view of Buddha, you say there is a Buddha to be attained. When you attach to a view of sentient beings, you say there are sentient beings to be delivered. All mental activity and thoughts are merely your views. If there were no views whatsoever, where could Buddha be? As soon as Manjusri gave rise to a view of Buddha, he glimpsed the two Iron Encircling Mountains.”

Question: “Just at the moment of awakening, where is Buddha?”

Answer: “From where does the question come? From where does knowing arise? Speech and silence, movement and stillness, all sounds and forms—these are all Buddha-work.

Where else would you seek Buddha? You cannot place another head atop your head or another beak atop your beak. Simply do not generate separate views, and mountains are mountains, waters are waters, monks are monks, and laypeople are laypeople.

Mountains, rivers, the great earth, the sun, moon, and stars are all not outside your mind. The entire three-thousandfold world is your own substance; where could there be a multitude of separate things? Outside mind there is no Dharma.

Everywhere you see green mountains, and the empty sky and world are perfectly clear, yet there is not so much as a hair’s breadth on which you can form an understanding. Thus it is said, ‘All sounds and forms are the Buddha’s wisdom-eye.’ Dharmas do not arise independently; only in dependence upon objects do they arise. Because things are many, forms of knowledge are many.

Speaking all day, yet never speaking; hearing all day, yet never hearing. Thus it is said, ‘For forty-nine years Sakyamuni taught the Dharma, yet he never spoke a single word.’”

Question: “If so, where is bodhi?”

Answer: “Bodhi is not a place. Buddha does not attain bodhi, and sentient beings do not lose bodhi. It cannot be obtained through the body or sought with the mind.

“All sentient beings are themselves the characteristic of bodhi.”

Question: “What does it mean to arouse the mind of bodhi?”

Answer: “Bodhi has nothing to attain. Now simply arouse a mind that attains nothing, resolutely obtaining not a single Dharma; this is the mind of bodhi. Bodhi abides nowhere, and therefore there is no attainment.

Thus it is said, ‘When I was with Dipankara Buddha, there was not the slightest Dharma I could attain, and the Buddha then bestowed a prediction upon me.’ Clearly know that all sentient beings are originally bodhi; how could they attain bodhi again? Now when you hear of arousing the mind of bodhi, you suppose there is a mind that can learn to become Buddha. Even if you cultivate for three asamkhyeya kalpas, you will attain only the reward-body and transformation-body of a Buddha.

What connection have these with your original Buddha of true nature? Thus it is said, ‘Seeking a Buddha with external characteristics bears no resemblance to you.’”

Question: “If we have always been Buddha, why are there the four modes of birth, the six paths, and all their differing forms?”

Answer: “The essence of all Buddhas is perfectly complete, neither increasing nor decreasing. Flowing into the six paths, it is complete in every place; among the myriad species, each and every one is Buddha. It is like a ball of mercury scattered in different places: every fragment is round, and when not divided, it is simply one mass. This is one as all and all as one. The different forms are like houses: leaving the house of a donkey, one enters the house of a human; leaving the human body, one reaches the body of a deva. Even the houses of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas are all places you grasp and reject. Thus differences exist, but how could the original nature differ?”

Question: “How do the Buddhas practice great loving-kindness and compassion and teach the Dharma for sentient beings?”

Answer: “The Buddha’s compassion is without conditions and is therefore called great loving-kindness. Loving-kindness means not seeing any Buddha to be attained. Compassion means not seeing any sentient beings to be delivered. The Buddha’s teaching of Dharma is neither speaking nor instructing. The one who hears the Dharma neither hears nor obtains, like an illusory person teaching Dharma to illusory people. If, through the teaching of this Dharma, I immediately recognize, understand, and awaken upon hearing a single sentence from a good spiritual friend, that is compassion. But if you generate mental activity and thoughts to acquire another person’s knowledge and understanding, this is not personal awakening to the original mind and is ultimately useless.”

Question: “What is vigor?”

Answer: “When body and mind do not arise, that is called the foremost courageous vigor. As soon as the mind turns outward to seek, this is called King Kali and the macaques grasping at foam. The macaques lived in trees beside a river. Seeing masses of foam glittering in the sunlight, they competed to leap down and seize them; all drowned. When the mind does not run outward, this is the patient immortal. When body and mind are both empty, that is the Buddha Way.”

Question: “If one practices with no-mind, can this Way be attained?”

Answer: “No-mind itself is the practice of this Way. What more can be said about attaining or not attaining it? As soon as a single thought arises, an object appears. If no thought arises, the object disappears and the mind itself also ceases. There is no need to seek anything further.”

Question: “What does it mean to leave the three realms?”

Answer: “Do not think of either good or evil; right there you immediately leave the three realms. The Tathagata appeared in the world to break through the three realms. If there is no mind whatsoever, the three realms also do not exist.

“Suppose a speck of dust is divided into one hundred parts: if ninety-nine parts are empty and one part exists, the Mahayana Dharma cannot appear. Only when all one hundred parts are empty can the Mahayana Dharma appear.”

The Master ascended the hall and said:

“Mind itself is Buddha. From all Buddhas above down to every flying, crawling, and wriggling creature, all possess Buddha-nature and share the same essence of mind. Thus Patriarch Bodhidharma came from India solely to transmit the Dharma of the one mind and directly point out that all sentient beings have always been Buddha.

This does not depend upon cultivation. Right now, simply recognize your own mind and see your original nature; seek nothing else. How do you recognize your own mind?

That which is speaking at this very moment is your mind. When it is not speaking and the essence of mind is not functioning, it is exactly like empty space: it has no form or appearance, no location, and is neither merely nonexistent nor existent; nor can it be seen. The Patriarch said, ‘The treasury of the mind-ground’s true nature has neither head nor tail.

Responding to conditions, it transforms beings and is expediently called wisdom. When it does not respond to conditions, it cannot be said to exist or not exist; even while responding to conditions, it leaves no trace.’ Knowing this, simply proceed within that which has no support; this is to travel the path of all Buddhas. The sutra says, ‘One should give rise to that mind which abides nowhere.’

“All sentient beings revolve through birth and death because the conceptual mind races outward after conditions. They wander ceaselessly through the six paths and must undergo every kind of suffering. The Vimalakirti Sutra says, ‘The minds of those difficult to teach are like apes and monkeys; therefore many kinds of Dharma are used to restrain their minds, and only afterward are they tamed.’ Thus it is said, ‘When mind arises, all kinds of Dharmas arise; when mind ceases, all kinds of Dharmas cease.’ Therefore know that all Dharmas are created by mind.

Even devas, humans, asuras, hell beings, and all six paths are wholly created by mind. Now simply learn no-mind, suddenly cut off all conditions, and do not produce deluded discrimination. There is neither self nor other, neither greed nor anger, neither love nor hatred, neither victory nor defeat.

Remove all such deluded thoughts, and the nature is naturally pure as it has always been. This is the cultivation of the Dharma of bodhi and Buddha. If you do not understand this meaning, then however widely you study, however diligently you undertake austere practices, and even if you eat plants and wear leaves, failing to know the mind makes all these deviant practices.

In the future you will become a celestial Mara, an outsider, or a spirit of the waters or earth. What benefit is there in cultivating this way? Master Zhigong said, ‘The fundamental essence is recognized as one’s own mind; how could it be sought within written words?’ Now simply recognize your own mind and put an end to thought and calculation; deluded thoughts and defilements will naturally cease to arise.

The Vimalakirti Sutra says, ‘Leave only a sickbed upon which to lie.’ This means that mind does not arise. When you lie ill and all entangling conditions have been severed, and deluded thoughts have been completely extinguished, that is bodhi. If the mind is agitated and unsettled, then even if you study through all the stages of the Three Vehicles, the four fruits, and the Ten Grounds, you are merely sitting among the ranks of ordinary people and sages.

When the force of all practices is exhausted, they return to impermanence. It is like shooting an arrow into the sky: when its propelling force is spent, it falls back to the ground, and one returns to the samsara of birth and death. To practice in this way is to misunderstand the Buddha’s intent and suffer in vain.

Is this not a grave error? Master Zhigong said, ‘Without meeting an enlightened teacher who has appeared in the world, one swallows the medicine of the Mahayana Dharma in vain.’ Now, at all times—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—devote yourself solely to learning no-mind, without discrimination, dependence, or attachment. Throughout the day, let things take their course in silence, exactly like a fool.

People of the world should know nothing of you, and you need not cause them to know whether you understand or not. Let your mind be like a flawless, smoothly polished stone. All Dharmas pass through your mind without penetrating it; lofty and unattached—only then will you have some small measure of accord.

“To pass beyond the objects of the three realms is called the appearance of Buddha in the world. When the characteristics of mind do not flow, this is called uncontaminated wisdom. Do not create the karma of humans or devas; do not create the karma of hell.

Do not give rise to any mind; when all conditions are exhausted and nothing arises, this very body and mind are a person of freedom. This does not mean never being born at all, but simply being born according to one’s will. The sutra says, ‘A bodhisattva has a mind-born body.’ This is its meaning.

If you have not understood no-mind and instead cling to characteristics in your activities, everything belongs to ghostly karma. Even performing Buddha-work and cultivating a Pure Land all become karma; this is called the obstruction of Buddha. Because it obstructs your mind, you are controlled by cause and effect and have no freedom whatsoever in standing or walking.

Therefore, such Dharmas as bodhi did not originally exist. The Tathagata taught them solely to transform people, like holding up a yellow leaf and calling it gold to soothe a crying child. Thus, in truth, there is no Dharma called anuttara-bodhi.

“If you have understood this meaning, what need is there to dwell in an isolated place? Simply follow conditions and exhaust old karma, while creating no new karma in the lucid mind. Thus it is said, ‘Former knowledge and views must be completely swept away.’ The Vimalakirti Sutra says, ‘Remove what is already there.’ The Lotus Sutra says, ‘For twelve years he was constantly ordered to clear away dung.’ This means only clearing away the knowledge and views within the mind; it is also called ‘removing the dung of frivolous theories.’ Therefore, the Tathagatagarbha is originally empty and quiescent and ultimately contains not a single Dharma. Thus the sutra says, ‘The lands of all Buddhas are likewise entirely empty.’

“If one says that the Buddha Way is attained through cultivation and study, such a view is entirely irrelevant. A teacher may devise some device or circumstance, raise his eyebrows, or blink his eyes; these are used only to address a person’s present capacity and bring about realization. Having attained insight into a principle of Chan, one may suddenly encounter someone who does not understand and begin explaining it, without knowing how to respond to that person’s capacity at all.

If the person agrees with the principle in one’s mind, one is delighted; if another refutes and outdoes one, one harbors sorrow. What relevance has such a mind to the study of Chan? Even if you understand some small portion of principle, you have merely acquired a mental factor, which has no connection with the good path.

Therefore Patriarch Bodhidharma sat facing a wall, causing people to have nowhere to see. Thus it is said, ‘Forgetting the mechanism is the Buddha Way; discrimination is the realm of Mara.’

“This nature is not lost when you are deluded, nor gained when you awaken. The natural, true self-nature is originally without delusion or awakening. The realm of empty space pervading the ten directions has always been the single essence of my mind.

However you act or function, how could you depart from empty space? Empty space has always been neither great nor small, uncontaminated and unconditioned, neither deluded nor awakened. Clearly seen, there is not a single thing—neither person nor Buddha.

There is not even the measure of a strand of silk, nor anything upon which to depend or by which to be bound. One pure path flowing freely is the self-nature, the patience regarding the unborn nature of Dharmas. How could it be conceived or discussed?

The true Buddha has no mouth and does not know how to teach Dharma; true hearing has no ears, so what could be heard? Take care!”

One day, the Master ascended the hall and instructed the assembly:

“In the time ahead, if you do not break through completely, when the thirtieth night of the twelfth lunar month arrives—the hour of death—you will inevitably become anxious and confused.

“There is a group of outsiders who, upon seeing someone speak of applying effort in practice, sneer and say, ‘So you still have that.’ I ask you: when the hour of death suddenly approaches, what will you use to withstand birth and death? Reflect on this. Is there any principle by which Maitreya is born a natural sage and Sakyamuni is spontaneously so?

There is a group of lazy spirits and idle ghosts who, whenever they see someone slightly ill, say, ‘Just let go!’ But when they themselves fall ill, they cannot apply what they thought they understood. Their hands and feet contract in confusion, and though their flesh aches as if cut by knives, they cannot remain masters of themselves. While you have leisure, you must settle the myriad matters completely.

How could you wait until confusion comes to make use of it? You must possess some power of wakeful awareness; do not wait until you are thirsty to dig a well. With hands tied and feet shackled, when you encounter tigers and wolves chasing and biting you, how will you escape, with the road ahead in darkness?

Donors have offered you white rice and fresh meat, and now you are being drilled and beaten. How painful! How painful!

“Ordinarily, you study samadhi only with your mouths. You talk of Chan and speak of the Way, scold Buddhas and rebuke Patriarchs, but when you arrive here, none of it can be used. Ordinarily, you seek only to deceive others, not knowing that by now you have deceived yourselves. In Avici Hell you will certainly not be released.

“Now, as we are about to sink into the age of the decline of the Dharma, you must rely upon your own strength. Brothers! Strive to shoulder and continue the Buddha’s wisdom-life; do not allow it to be severed.

Nowadays there is scarcely one person, or even half a person, who goes on pilgrimage for practice. Most go merely to view mountains and enjoy scenery, unaware that the months and days do not wait for us. When a single exhalation does not return, you have passed into another life without yet knowing what your original face is.

Alas! I urge you, brothers, while your bodies are still strong, to recognize your own place of penetrating understanding and not be deceived by others. This is a great matter.

This pivotal point is exceedingly easy; it is only that you yourselves refuse to recognize it.

“People of resolve risk death in applying effort, fearing only that the Way will be difficult to clarify and attain. How could anyone teach you to know that incense-tree shoots naturally grow upon a tree? You must skillfully turn yourselves around.

If you are true men of resolve, investigate a koan. A monk once asked Zhaozhou, ‘Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?’ Zhaozhou answered, ‘Wu.’ Afterward, throughout the twelve periods of the day, investigate this single word ‘Wu.’ Investigate by day and by night, while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, while putting on robes and eating, while urinating and defecating. Mind after mind, observe it closely; remain attentive, awake, and lucid, holding solely to the one word ‘Wu.’ After long days and months it will form a single mass.

Suddenly the flower of mind will open of itself, and you will awaken to the wondrous mechanism of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. Then you will no longer be deceived by an old venerable’s tongue, and your great mouth will immediately open.

“Patriarch Bodhidharma came from India, stirring up waves where there was no wind. The World-Honored One held up a flower, and the entire assembly was bewildered. When you reach that place, what need is there to speak of old King Yama? Even a thousand sages cannot match you. If you do not believe this Way, there will certainly be a most extraordinary assembly such as this. The only concern is whether a person possesses the resolve.”

Verse:

Translation:

To escape the dust of toil is no ordinary affair;
Grasp the rope’s end tightly and firmly hold your ground.
Without once enduring cold that pierces to the bone,
How could you easily smell the fragrance of plum blossoms?

BIOGRAPHY OF MASTER HUANGBO

The Master’s Dharma name was Xiyun. He was from Min in Hongzhou, in present-day Fujian Province. In his youth he left home in his native region at Mount Huangbo. On his forehead was a raised lump of flesh like a pearl. His voice was clear and resonant, and his disposition was detached and serene.

While traveling on Mount Tiantai, he met a monk and conversed with him as though they had known one another from ancient times. Looking closely, the Master saw that the man’s eyes emitted a penetrating radiance. They traveled together until they came to a mountain stream, swollen and rushing powerfully. The Master took off his hat, planted his staff, and stopped. The other monk urged him to cross together.

The Master said:

“If you need to cross, cross by yourself.”

The monk immediately gathered up his robe and walked upon the waves as though walking on level ground. Reaching the opposite bank, he turned and urged:

“Come across! Come across!”

The Master said:

“You fool! Now you have revealed yourself. Had I known sooner, I would have cut off your thighs.”

The monk praised him:

“You are truly a vessel of the Mahayana Dharma. I cannot equal you.”

When he finished speaking, the monk disappeared.

Later, the Master went to the capital. On someone’s recommendation, he visited Patriarch Baizhang. He asked Baizhang:

“How has the essential vehicle of the school been taught from ancient times?”

Baizhang remained silent. The Master said:

“You must not cause later generations to lose it entirely.”

Baizhang said:

“I shall tell you privately.”

Baizhang rose and entered the abbot’s quarters. The Master followed behind and said:

“I have come alone.”

Baizhang said:

“If so, in the future you will not fail me.”

One day Baizhang asked:

“Where have you come from?”

The Master replied:

“From gathering mushrooms below Mount Daxiong.”

Baizhang asked:

“Did you see the great tiger?”

The Master immediately made the sound of a tiger roaring. Baizhang picked up an axe and assumed a striking posture. The Master at once slapped Baizhang’s leg. Baizhang laughed loudly and departed.

When Baizhang ascended the hall, he told the assembly:

“Below Mount Daxiong there is a great tiger. You should watch out for it. This old Baizhang personally encountered it today and was bitten once.”

While the Master was staying with Patriarch Nanquan, the whole assembly went out one day to pick tea. Nanquan asked, “Where are you going?”

The Master replied:

“To pick tea.”

Nanquan asked:

“What will you use to pick it?”

The Master raised his knife. Nanquan said:

“The whole household has gone to pick tea.”

One day Nanquan told the Master:

“This old monk has spontaneously composed a ‘Song of Herding the Ox.’ I invite the Elder to harmonize with it.”

The Master replied:

“I already have a teacher of my own.”

When the Master took leave to go elsewhere, Nanquan escorted him to the gate. Holding up the Master’s hat, Nanquan asked:

“The Elder’s body is so large, yet his hat is very small—is it not?”

The Master replied:

“Even so, the entire great-thousandfold world is inside it.”

Nanquan said, “What about Teacher Wang?”

The Master put on his hat and departed.

Later, the Master resided at Da’an Monastery in Hongzhou, where disciples came to him in great numbers.

Chief Minister Pei Xiu, while governing Wanling, established a great Chan monastery and invited the Master to teach the Dharma there. Because the Master deeply cherished his former mountain, he retained the name Huangbo.

One day, when the assembly had gathered and the Master ascended the hall, he said:

“You are all nothing but dregs-eaters, yet you call yourselves pilgrims and cause people to ridicule you. I can bear to see eighteen hundred people come and go, but I cannot bear the clamor. When I went on pilgrimage, if I found ‘that one’ beneath some tuft of grass, I would devote my entire mind to examining him. If he knew where the itch was, he was worthy of receiving a bag of rice as an offering. If things had been as easy then as you find them now, how could there be today’s matter? Are there no Chan masters in the Great Tang?”

A monk came forward and asked:

“Venerable adepts everywhere gather assemblies and give instruction. Why do you say there are no Chan masters?”

The Master said:

“I do not say there is no Chan; I say there are no masters. Acarya, do you not see? Under Great Master Mazu, eighty-four people sat at seats of awakening, yet only two or three attained Mazu’s true eye. Venerable Lushan was one of them.

“Those who leave home must know that there is a matter transmitted from ancient times. For example, below the Fourth Patriarch, Great Master Niutou Farong could expound freely, yet still did not know the pivotal matter beyond. Only one possessing this eye of wisdom can distinguish the orthodox from the heterodox within the school. People today cannot embody and understand it. They merely learn words and phrases, ponder matters within their leather bags, and claim, ‘I understand Chan.’ Can that take your place in the matter of birth and death?

“To slight venerable adepts sends one into hell as swiftly as an arrow. As soon as I see someone enter the gate, I already know him. Do you understand? You urgently need to exert yourselves; do not take things lightly. Wearing robes and eating while letting an entire life pass in vain is ridiculed by the wise.

“Later, you will certainly be led away by laypeople. You must personally examine what, whether near or far, is the matter at hand. If you understand, then you understand; if you do not, disperse and leave.”

Master Linji Yixuan came and asked:

“What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from India?”

The Master immediately struck him with his staff. Linji asked three times and was struck each time. Finally, Master Linji took leave of him to go elsewhere. The Master directed him to visit Dayu. Later, Master Linji awakened to the Master’s essential meaning. The Master’s instructions were all directed toward those of superior capacity; people of middling and lesser capacities found it difficult to perceive their essential meaning.

During the Dazhong era of the Tang dynasty, approximately 847–860 CE, the Master passed away at Mount Huangbo. The emperor bestowed upon him the posthumous title Chan Master Duanji, and his stupa was named Guangye.