筠州洞山悟本禪師語錄 1.7

1.7

The Master went to Guishan and asked: 'Recently I heard about National Teacher Zhong of Nanyang's huatou on insentient beings expounding the Dharma, but I have not fathomed its subtleties.' Guishan said: 'Ācārya, do you still remember it?' The Master said: 'I remember.' Guishan said: 'Try reciting it once for me to see.' The Master then recounted: 'A monk asked: "What is the ancient Buddha's mind?" The National Teacher said: "Walls, tiles, and rubble are it." The monk said: "Are not walls, tiles, and rubble insentient?" The National Teacher said: "They are." The monk said: "Do they also know how to expound the Dharma?" The National Teacher said: "They expound it constantly, expound it ablaze, without cessation." The monk said: "Why do I not hear it?" The National Teacher said: "You yourself do not hear it, but you must not hinder those who do." The monk said: "I wonder who gets to hear it?" The National Teacher said: "The noble ones get to hear it." The monk said: "Does the upādhyāya hear it?" The National Teacher said: "I do not hear it." The monk said: "Since you do not hear it, how do you know that insentient beings can expound the Dharma?" The National Teacher said: "Fortunately, I do not hear it. If I heard it, I would be equal to the noble ones, and you would not hear me expound the Dharma." The monk said: "If so, then sentient beings have no share in it?" The National Teacher said: "I expound it for sentient beings, not for the noble ones." The monk said: "What about after sentient beings hear it?" The National Teacher said: "Then they are not sentient beings." The monk said: "What canonical teaching does insentient beings expounding the Dharma rely on?" The National Teacher said: "Manifestly, words not grounded in the canon are not what a gentleman speaks. Have you not seen the Avataṃsaka Sūtra saying: 'Lands expound it, sentient beings expound it, everything in the three times expounds it'?"' When the Master finished recounting this, Guishan said: 'I also have it here, but one rarely encounters such a person.' The Master said: 'I am not yet clear; I beg the master to instruct me.' Guishan held up his fly-whisk and said: 'Do you understand?' The Master said: 'I do not understand. Please, Upādhyāya, explain.' Guishan said: 'The mouth born of father and mother will never explain it to you.' The Master said: 'Is there anyone else of your time who seeks the Way?' Guishan said: 'From here to You County in Liling, where the stone chambers join together, there is the person of the Way, Yunyan. If you can brush through the grass to look for his wind, he will surely be respected by you.' The Master said: 'I wonder how this person is?' Guishan said: 'He once asked this old monk: "When a student wishes to serve the master and go, how is it?" This old monk told him: "You must completely cut off leakages before you can attain it." He said: "Would that not disobey the master's instruction?" This old monk said: "Above all, you must not say that this old monk is here."' The Master then took leave of Guishan and went straight to Yunyan. Having related the previous encounter, he asked: 'What kind of person gets to hear insentient beings expounding the Dharma?' Yunyan said: 'The insentient get to hear it.' The Master said: 'Does the Upādhyāya hear it?' Yunyan said: 'If I heard it, you would not hear me expound the Dharma.' The Master said: 'Why do I not hear it?' Yunyan held up his fly-whisk and said: 'Do you still hear it?' The Master said: 'I do not hear it.' Yunyan said: 'When I expound the Dharma, you do not even hear it; how much less insentient beings expounding the Dharma?' The Master said: 'What canonical teaching does insentient beings expounding the Dharma accord with?' Yunyan said: 'Have you not seen the Amitābha Sūtra saying: "Waterbirds and groves of trees all recite the Buddha and recite the Dharma"?' Thereupon the Master had an awakening, and he uttered a gāthā: 'How wondrous! How wondrous! / Insentient beings expounding the Dharma is inconceivable. / If one listens with the ears, it is difficult to grasp in the end; / only when heard at the eye can it be known.'