撫州曹山元證禪師語錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Preface to the Recorded Sayings of Great Master Caoshan

Chan Master Benji was to Dongshan like [pouring water from] one pitcher into another. From [the realization of] the one unchanging place to his holding and abiding by the great teaching, he differed greatly from the rest; it was solely because of his genuine proclamation that he brought people to genuine realization. Because [this genuineness] is deep, mysterious, pure, and refined, it is difficult to perceive at once. The world takes it to be commonplace, lacking active application and bold strategy. Alas! How could shallow people understand that the decline or prosperity of the Way in an era depends on its genuineness or falsehood? Not truly understanding it, they utter biased criticisms. Now, the essentials of the Master's words lie in using the three falls to indicate the stages and positions of cultivation, and using different species to penetrate both the ordinary and the sacred, clarifying the raw and ripe states of the Way. This is what the ancestral master of Dongshan meant by: 'The Way harmonizes with man, man harmonizes with the Way; whether old or not old, the matter and substance are wondrous.' If one truly knows this, it cannot be obscured; yet today, obscurations abound. During the Genbun era, [a text of this] was circulated together with the Record of Dongshan, but even this did not easily clear away the blinders of the multitude. In the autumn of the year Gengchen, the assembly of patch-robed monks of Kisshō gathered around me to compile this record. They cut the printing blocks intending to circulate it together with the ancestral master Dongshan's record, so as to correct the errors and falsehoods of the times. This can be called a good intention, and I hope it meets with a good recompense. Moreover, they came requesting an introductory text; hence I have set down the most essential points of the record to crown its head, solely allowing one to glimpse his normative example of the Way through Caoshan's own perspective—sufficient to disclose his meaning, and that is all. At the time:

1.3

On an auspicious day of the first month of the xin-si year, the eleventh year of the Hōreki era, written by Inshigetsu after washing his hands and burning incense.

1.4

Collated by his remote descendant, the śramaṇa Huiyin.

1.5

The Master's taboo name was Benji. He was a son of the Huang family of Putian in Quanzhou. In his youth he studied Confucianism, and at the age of nineteen he went to Lingshi in Fuzhou to leave home. At twenty-five he received the precepts, and soon after visited Dongshan. Dongshan asked, 'What is the ācārya's name?' The Master said, 'Benji.' Dongshan said, 'Speak further of the higher matter.' The Master said, 'I will not speak.' Dongshan said, 'Why will you not speak?' The Master said, 'It is not named Benji.' Dongshan regarded him highly as a vessel of the Dharma. From then on he entered [Dongshan's] room, remaining for several years. When he took his leave to depart, Dongshan secretly transmitted to him the essential teachings of Dongshan. Dongshan further asked, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'To the unchanging place.' Dongshan said, 'Can there be any going to the unchanging place?' The Master said, 'Going, too, is unchanging.' Thereupon he went to Caoxi to pay homage to the ancestral pagoda. When he returned to Jishui, the assembly looked up to the Master's reputation and invited him to inaugurate teachings. The Master cherished his aspiration for the Sixth Patriarch, and so named the mountain Cao. Soon after, meeting with bandit turmoil, he went to Yihuang. There was a faithful layman named Wang Ruoyi who gave up the Hewang Monastery and invited the Master to serve as abbot. The Master changed 'Hewang' to 'Heyu'. From this, the Dharma assembly greatly flourished, students gathered like clouds, and the school of Dongshan reached its height under the Master.

1.6

Thereupon a monk asked about the essential instructions on the Five Ranks of lord and vassal. The Master said, 'The correct rank is the realm of emptiness, originally without a thing; the biased rank is the realm of form, possessing the shapes of myriad phenomena. Bias within the correct means turning one's back on principle and approaching phenomena; correctness within the bias means renouncing phenomena and entering principle; integration means secretly responding to all conditions without falling into the various states of existence—neither defiled nor pure, neither correct nor biased. Therefore it is called the great Way of void mystery, the non-clinging true school. Former virtuous masters from antiquity have praised this single rank as the most wondrous and the most profound; you must investigate and distinguish it clearly. The lord is the correct rank; the vassal is the biased rank. The vassal facing the lord is correctness within the bias; the lord regarding the vassal is bias within the correct; the way of lord and vassal harmonizing is the language of integration.' [The monk] stepped forward and said, 'What is the lord?' The Master said, 'Wondrous virtue is revered throughout the universe; lofty brightness illuminates the great void.' The monk said, 'What is the vassal?' The Master said, 'Spiritual faculty propagates the sacred Way; true wisdom benefits all living beings.' The monk said, 'What is the vassal facing the lord?' The Master said, 'Not falling into the various different destinies, with focused mind gazing upon the sacred countenance.' The monk said, 'What is the lord regarding the vassal?' The Master said, 'Though the wondrous countenance does not move, the illuminating radiance is originally without bias.' The monk said, 'What is the way of lord and vassal harmonizing?' The Master said, 'Blended together without inside or outside; harmoniously merged, high and low are equal.' The Master also said, 'In speaking of lord and vassal, biased and correct, one does not wish to violate the center; thus, just as a vassal addressing the lord dares not speak directly [by name], such is the essence of our school.' Thereupon he composed a verse: 'Students must first recognize their own school; / Do not mix the true limit with inert voidness. / When the wondrously bright substance is exhausted, know the injury of contact; / Its power lies in not borrowing in the midst of encountering conditions. / Let words come forth straightaway so that fire cannot burn them; / Secret practice must be identical with that of the ancients. / With no body yet with phenomena, one transcends divergent roads; / With no phenomena and no body, one falls into beginning and end.' He further composed the five forms, with verses saying: [For ◎:] 'A commoner must be appointed prime minister; / This matter is nothing unusual. / One from a lineage of caps and sashes for generations / Should not speak of the time of destitution.' [For ◕:] 'The midnight hour corresponds to the correct rank; / The clearly correct lies in lord and vassal. / Not yet having departed from the Tuṣita realm, / A black chicken walks upon the snow.' [For ◑:] 'Cold ice freezes within the flames; / Willow catkins fly in the ninth month. / The mud ox bellows on the water's surface; / The wooden horse neighs pursuing the wind.' [For ○:] 'On the day of first descending into the royal palace, / The jade rabbit cannot be left behind. / Not yet having attained the purport of non-effort, / Why are humans and devas so late?' [For ●:] 'Blended together, principle and phenomenon are concealed; / The subtle portents are hard to make clear at once. / Even Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja was not yet aware of it; / How could Maitreya be wide awake?' When the Master was on pilgrimage, he asked Chan Master Guan of Wushi, 'What is the teacher of Vairocana, the master of the dharmakāya?' Wushi said, 'If I spoke to you of it, there would immediately be something else.' The Master brought this up to Dongshan. Dongshan said, 'A fine topic, only it lacked a follow-up question. Why did you not ask: "Why do you not speak?"' The Master went back and posed that question. Wushi said, 'If you say I do not speak, that mutes my mouth; if you say I speak, that ties my tongue.' The Master returned and brought this up to Dongshan. Dongshan said, 'An ancient Buddha.'

1.7

Yunmen asked, 'What is the conduct of a śramaṇa?' The Master said, 'Eating the grain of the permanent property is it.' Yunmen said, 'What about when one goes along just like that?' The Master said, 'Can you still domesticate it?' Yunmen said, 'I can domesticate it.' The Master said, 'How do you domesticate it?' Yunmen said, 'Wearing clothes and eating rice—what difficulty is there?' The Master said, 'Why did you not say "wearing fur and sporting horns"?' Yunmen thereupon bowed.

1.8

The Master instructed the assembly, saying, 'In all quarters they completely hold to fixed standards; why not say a turning phrase for them to cause them to be free of doubts?' Yunmen came out from the assembly and asked, 'Why does one not know the existence of It in the intimate place?' The Master said, 'Simply because it is intimate, therefore one does not know the existence of It.' Yunmen said, 'How should this person approach [It]?' The Master said, 'Do not approach [It] towards the intimate place.' Yunmen said, 'What about when one does not approach towards the intimate place?' The Master said, 'Only then do you know how to approach [It].' Yunmen said, 'Yes, yes.' He also asked, 'When a person who does not alter comes, does the Master still receive him or not?' The Master said, 'Caoshan has no such spare time.'

1.9

Once, when Monk Mi arrived, before they had met, Mi went and sat on the meditation bed. The Master did not come out at all, so Mi left. The director of affairs then asked, 'Why was the master's meditation bed sat upon by someone else?' The Master said, 'After he leaves, he will return.' Mi indeed returned and met with the Master.

1.10

Zhiju came to pay respects and asked, 'When the ancients brought up the person of that side, how should a student comprehend it?' The Master said, 'Take a step back and approach oneself; not one in ten thousand will miss.' At these words, Zhiju instantly forgot his profound interpretations.

1.11

Zhi of Jinfeng arrived. The Master asked, 'What have you come to do?' Zhi said, 'I have come to build a house.' The Master said, 'Is it finished?' Zhi said, 'On this side, it is finished.' The Master said, 'What about the matter on that side?' Zhi said, 'Wait until the day the work ends, and I will speak to the master.' The Master said, 'So it is, so it is.'

1.12

The monk Qingrui asked, 'I am solitary and poor; I ask the master to deliver me.' The Master said, 'Ācārya Rui, come forward.' Rui stepped forward. The Master said, 'Having drunk three cups of the Bai family wine in Quanzhou, you still say your lips are not yet wet.'

1.13

Jingqing asked, 'What about when moss grows along the path of the mind?' The Master said, 'It is difficult to find a guide.' Jingqing said, 'Where has it gone?' The Master said, 'One only sees the moss growing; one does not know where it has gone.' [Jingqing] also asked, 'What about when the principle of pure emptiness ultimately has no body?' The Master said, 'Principle is indeed so; what about phenomena?' Jingqing said, 'Accord with principle, accord with phenomena.' The Master said, 'Deceiving Caoshan alone is fine, but what will you do about the eyes of all the sages?' Jingqing said, 'If not for the eyes of all the sages, how could one discern that which is not so?' The Master said, 'Officially not a needle is allowed; privately carriages and horses may pass.'

1.14

The Master asked Senior Monk De, 'In which sūtra is it taught that a bodhisattva in samādhi hears a fragrant elephant crossing the river?' The monk said, 'It is in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra.' The Master said, 'Does he hear it before samādhi, or hear it after samādhi?' The monk said, 'The master is drifting.' The Master said, 'You have spoken quite a lot, but you have only managed to say half of it.' The monk said, 'What about the master?' The Master said, 'Catch it downstream at the rapids.' The Master asked again, '"The Buddha's true dharmakāya is like empty space; responding to things, it manifests forms like the moon in water." How do you explain the principle of responding?' De said, 'Like a donkey peering into a well.' The Master said, 'You have spoken quite a lot, but you have only said eighty percent.' De said, 'What about the master?' The Master said, 'Like a well peering at a donkey.'

1.15

The Daoist in Paper Clothes came to visit. The Master asked, 'Are you not the Daoist in Paper Clothes?' [The Daoist] said, 'I would not dare [claim it].' The Master said, 'What is the matter under the paper clothes?' The Daoist said, 'Once this single robe hangs upon the body, the ten thousand dharmas are all as such.' The Master said, 'What is the function under the paper clothes?' The Daoist came forward, answered 'Yes', and thereupon passed away standing up. The Master said, 'You only understand how to go like that; why do you not understand how to come like that?' The Daoist suddenly opened his eyes and asked, 'What about when the one numinous true nature does not rely on a womb?' The Master said, 'That is not yet wondrous.' The Daoist said, 'What is wondrous?' The Master said, 'Not borrowing what is borrowed.' The Daoist said, 'Take care,' and immediately passed away. The Master gave an instructional verse, saying: 'The nature of awakening is perfectly bright, a formless body; / Do not use intellectual views to falsely make distant or near. / With a discordant thought, one is immediately blind to the mysterious substance; / With an erring mind, one is not a neighbour to the Way. / Sentiments divide the ten thousand dharmas, sinking into external objects; / Diverse cognitions and judgments ruin one's original reality. / If within such words one thoroughly understands, / Clearly there is nothing to do, the person of former times.'

1.16

A monk cited: "Grand Master Lu Geng asked Nanquan, 'What is your surname?' Nanquan said, 'My surname is Wang [King].' Lu said, 'Does the King still have a family?' Nanquan said, 'The four ministers are not dimmed.' Lu said, 'In what rank does the King dwell?' Nanquan said, 'Moss grows in the jade palace.'" [The monk] asked the Master, "What is the meaning of 'Moss grows in the jade palace'?" The Master said, "He does not dwell in the correct rank." The monk said, "What happens when the eight directions come to pay homage?" The Master said, "He does not accept their courtesy." The monk said, "What is the use of coming to pay homage?" The Master said, "If they disobey, they are beheaded." The monk said, "Disobedience belongs to the vassal's position; I do not know what the lord's intention is?" The Master said, "The Privy Council does not receive his decree." The monk said, "If so, then the merit of harmonizing governance entirely returns to the minister-vassal." The Master said, "Do you still know the lord's intention?" The monk said, "From outside, I dare not reckon it." The Master said, "So it is, so it is."

1.17

A monk asked, "My entire body is diseased; I ask the Master to cure me." The Master said, "I will not cure you." The monk said, "Why will you not cure me?" The Master said, "To make you unable to seek life, and unable to seek death."

1.18

A monk asked, "An ancient said, 'I have a great disease, which cannot be cured by the worldly.' I wonder what disease it is?" The Master said, "A disease that cannot be gathered together." The monk said, "Do all sentient beings also have this disease or not?" The Master said, "Everyone has it entirely." The monk said, "Does the Venerable also have this disease or not?" The Master said, "Here, the place where it arises cannot be found." The monk said, "Why are all sentient beings not ill?" The Master said, "If all sentient beings were ill, they would not be sentient beings." The monk said, "I wonder if the Buddhas also have this disease or not?" The Master said, "They have it." The monk said, "Since they have it, why are they not ill?" The Master said, "Because they are awake."

1.19

A monk asked, "Is not a śramaṇa a person endowed with great compassion?" The Master said, "He is." The monk said, "What happens when the six thieves suddenly arrive?" The Master said, "He must also be endowed with great compassion." The monk said, "How is he endowed with great compassion?" The Master said, "With a single sword, he sweeps them completely away." The monk said, "What happens after they are swept away?" The Master said, "Only then is harmony attained."

1.20

A monk asked, "Do the eyebrows and the eyes know each other?" The Master said, "They do not know each other." The monk said, "Why do they not know each other?" The Master said, "Because they are in the same place." The monk said, "If so, then they are not distinguished." The Master said, "The eyebrows are by no means the eyes, and the eyes are by no means the eyebrows." The monk said, "What are the eyes?" The Master said, "Straight to the point." The monk said, "What are the eyebrows?" The Master said, "Caoshan, however, doubts." The monk said, "Why does the Venerable doubt?" The Master said, "If I did not doubt, then it would go straight to the point."

1.21

A monk asked, "What happens when the Five Ranks face a guest?" The Master said, "Which rank are you asking about right now?" The monk said, "I have come from the biased rank; I ask the Master to receive me in the correct rank." The Master said, "I will not receive you." The monk said, "Why will you not receive me?" The Master said, "I fear falling into the biased rank." The Master then asked the monk, "As for not receiving you, is it facing the guest or not facing the guest?" The monk said, "It is already facing the guest." The Master said, "So it is, so it is."

1.22

A monk asked, "From what do the myriad dharmas arise?" The Master said, "They arise from inversion." The monk said, "When there is no inversion, where are the myriad dharmas?" The Master said, "They are present." The monk said, "Where are they?" The Master said, "Why make an inversion?"

1.23

A monk asked, "Why can grass that does not sprout conceal a fragrant elephant?" The Master said, "The Ācārya fortunately is an adept; why ask Caoshan again?"

1.24

A monk asked, "The three realms are turbulent, and the six destinies are murky; how does one distinguish form?" The Master said, "One does not distinguish form." The monk said, "Why does one not distinguish form?" The Master said, "If one distinguishes form, then it is murky."

1.25

The Master heard the sound of the bell and thereupon said, "Ouch, ouch!" A monk asked, "What is the Venerable doing?" The Master said, "It strikes my heart." The monk had no reply.

1.26

The Master asked the rector, "Where have you come from?" [The rector] said, "I have been pulling the vinegar trough." The Master said, "If you come to a dangerous place, how will you pull it?" The rector had no reply.

1.27

One day the Master entered the Monks' Hall to warm himself by the fire. A monk said, "Today is very cold." The Master said, "You must know that there is one who is not cold." The monk said, "Who is the one that is not cold?" The Master took up the fire with tongs and showed it to him. The monk said, "Do not say there is no person." The Master threw down the fire. The monk said, "Having come to this point, I however do not understand." The Master said, "The sun shines on the cold pool, clear and ever clearer."

1.28

A monk asked, "What kind of person is one who is not a companion to the myriad dharmas?" The Master said, "Tell me, where did all those many people in the city of Hongzhou go?"

1.29

A monk asked, "What is the blade-less sword?" The Master said, "It is not produced by forging and tempering." The monk said, "What of the one who uses it?" The Master said, "All who encounter it perish." The monk said, "What of those who do not encounter it?" The Master said, "Their heads must also fall." The monk said, "That all who encounter it perish is indeed so; why do the heads of those who do not encounter it also fall?" The Master said, "Have you not heard it said: It can exhaust all things." The monk said, "What happens after all is exhausted?" The Master said, "Only then does one know the existence of this sword."

1.30

A monk asked, "In forms, what is real?" The Master said, "Forms themselves are the real." The monk said, "How should it be revealed?" The Master lifted up the saucer.

1.31

A monk asked, "What is the reality of the root of illusion?" The Master said, "The root of illusion is originally real." The monk said, "In illusion, how is it revealed?" The Master said, "Illusion itself is the revelation." The monk said, "If so, then from beginning to end it does not depart from illusion?" The Master said, "Seeking the marks of illusion, they cannot be found."

1.32

A monk asked, "I do not ask about 'mind itself is Buddha'; what is 'neither mind nor Buddha'?" The Master said, "Rabbit horns need not be non-existent; ox horns need not be existent."

1.33

A monk asked, "What is the person who is always present?" The Master said, "Just as Caoshan goes out for a moment." The monk said, "What is the person who is always not present?" The Master said, "Hard to find."

1.34

A monk asked, "Is not intentionality of the [same] species?" The Master said, "Even non-intentionality is also of the species." The monk said, "What is different?" The Master said, "Do not fail to recognize pain and itch."

1.35

Someone asked, "An ancient said, 'Everyone has it entirely.' As your disciple is covered in dust, do I also have it or not?" The Master said, "Pass your hand here." The monk passed his hand, and [the Master] counted on his fingers, saying, "One, two, three, four, five: complete."

1.36

A monk asked, "What did Ruzu signify by facing the wall?" The Master covered his ears with his hands.

1.37

A monk asked, "Receiving the ancient saying, 'There has never been anyone who falls to the ground and does not rise by relying on the ground'—what is falling?" The Master said, "Consenting is it." The monk said, "What is rising?" The Master said, "Risen!"

1.38

A monk asked, "When the son returns to the father, why does the father pay no heed at all?" The Master said, "In principle, it should be like this." The monk said, "Where is the grace between father and son?" The Master said, "Only now is the grace between father and son completed." The monk said, "What is the grace between father and son?" The Master said, "Knives and axes cannot cleave it apart."

1.39

A monk asked, "What happens when the spirit-robe is not worn?" The Master said, "Caoshan's mourning is fulfilled." The monk said, "What happens after mourning is fulfilled?" The Master said, "Caoshan is fond of drunken revelry."

1.40

A monk asked, "Receiving the teaching, it is said: 'The great ocean does not harbor a dead corpse.' What is the ocean?" The Master said, "It encompasses the myriad beings." The monk said, "Why does it not harbor a dead corpse?" The Master said, "Those whose breath has ceased do not adhere." The monk said, "Since it encompasses the myriad beings, why do those whose breath has ceased not adhere?" The Master said, "The myriad beings are not its achievement; the cessation of breath possesses its virtue." The monk said, "Is there still a higher matter or not?" The Master said, "Saying there is or saying there is not may be acceptable, but what can you do about the Dragon King resting his hand on his sword?"

1.41

A monk asked, "Endowed with what understanding is one skilled in confronting the assembly with challenging questions?" The Master said, "Not presenting phrases." The monk said, "What do you challenge?" The Master said, "Knives and axes cannot cut into it." The monk said, "When one can ask challenging questions like this, is there still someone who refuses to assent?" The Master said, "There is." The monk said, "Who is it?" The Master said, "Caoshan."

1.42

A monk asked, "What is the most precious thing in the world?" The Master said, "A dead cat's head is the most precious." The monk said, "Why is a dead cat's head the most precious?" The Master said, "No one can put a price on it."

1.43

A monk asked, "How is the wordless revealed?" The Master said, "Do not reveal it here." The monk said, "Where should it be revealed?" The Master said, "Last night at the head of the bed, three copper coins were lost."

1.44

A monk asked, "What is it like before the sun has risen?" The Master said, "Caoshan also once came like this." The monk said, "What about after the sun has risen?" The Master said, "It is still half a month's journey short of Caoshan."

1.45

The Master asked a monk, "What are you doing?" The monk said, "Sweeping the ground." The Master said, "Do you sweep in front of the Buddha, or do you sweep behind the Buddha?" The monk said, "I sweep in front and behind at the same time." The Master said, "Bring Caoshan his sandals."

1.46

A monk asked, "Holding unworked jade, I turn to the master; I ask the Master to carve and polish it." The Master said, "I will not carve and polish it." The monk said, "Why will you not carve and polish it?" The Master said, "You must know that Caoshan is a skilled hand."

1.47

A monk asked, "What is Caoshan's family?" The Master said, "White hair worn covering the head; atop the crown, a single blossom."

1.48

A monk asked, "An ancient worthy said, 'In the entire great earth there is only this person.' I wonder what person it is?" The Master said, "There cannot be a second moon." The monk said, "What is the second moon?" The Master said, "I need you, venerable brother, to settle it." The monk said, "What is the first moon?" The Master said, "Perilous."

1.49

A monk asked, "How should a student maintain and protect It throughout the twelve periods of the day?" The Master said, "Like passing through a country of gu-poison, not allowing a single drop of water to touch you."

1.50

A monk asked, "Who is the master of the dharmakāya?" The Master said, "Saying that Qin has no men." The monk said, "Might this not be it?" The Master said, "Behead him."

1.51

A monk asked, "Associating closely with what kind of companion of the Way enables one constantly to hear what has not yet been heard?"
The Master said, "Sharing the very same blanket."
The monk said, "This is still what the Master gets to hear; what is it constantly to hear what has not yet been heard?"
The Master said, "Not being the same as wood and stone."
The monk said, "Which comes first, and which comes after?"
The Master said, "Haven't you heard it said: 'Constantly hearing what has not yet been heard'?"

1.52

A monk asked, "Who is the one clasping the sword within the state?"
The Master said, "Caoshan."
The monk said, "Whom do you intend to kill?"
The Master said, "Whoever there is—I kill them all."
The monk said, "If all of a sudden you meet your own parents, what then?"
The Master said, "What is there to choose?"
The monk said, "What can be done about oneself?"
The Master said, "Who can do anything about me?"
The monk said, "Why do you not kill [it]?"
The Master said, "There is no place to lay a hand."

1.53

The Master asked a monk, "When the season is so hot, where do you go to avoid it?"
The monk said, "I avoid it in the caldron and amidst the charcoal of the hearth."
The Master said, "How do you avoid it in there?"
The monk said, "The multitude of sufferings cannot reach it."
The Master remained silent.

1.54

A monk asked, "When a poor family is robbed, what happens?"
The Master said, "They cannot take everything completely away."
The monk said, "Why can they not take everything completely away?"
The Master said, "The thief is a family relative."

1.55

A monk asked, "When one ox drinks water and five horses do not neigh, what then?"
The Master said, "Caoshan knows how to abstain from food."
He also gave an alternative answer: "Caoshan's mourning period is complete."

1.56

A monk asked, "What kind of person is it who is constantly submerged in the ocean of birth and death?"
The Master said, "The second moon."
The monk said, "Do they still seek deliverance or not?"
The Master said, "They also seek deliverance, but there is simply no way."
The monk said, "When they are delivered, who can receive them?"
The Master said, "One who carries an iron pillory."

1.57

A monk asked, "When snow covers a thousand mountains, why is the solitary peak not white?"
The Master said, "You must know that there is the difference within difference."
The monk said, "What is the difference within difference?"
The Master said, "Not falling into the colors of the various mountains."

1.58

A monk cited: "Yaoshan asked a monk, 'How old are you?' He said, 'Seventy-two.' Yaoshan said, 'Is it seventy-two?' He said, 'It is.' Yaoshan then struck him. What is the meaning of this?"
The Master said, "The first arrow was still tolerable; the second arrow shot the man deeply."
The monk said, "How can one avoid this blow?"
The Master said, "Once the king's decree is enacted, the feudal lords clear the road."

1.59

A monk asked Xiangyan, "What is the Way?" Xiangyan said, "A dragon roaring inside a withered tree." The monk said, "Who is the person within the Way?" Xiangyan said, "An eyeball inside a skull." The monk did not understand, so he asked Shishuang, "What is a dragon roaring inside a withered tree?" Shishuang said, "It still carries joy." The monk said, "What is an eyeball inside a skull?" Shishuang said, "It still carries consciousness." Again he did not understand, so he brought it up to the Master. The Master said, "The old śrāvaka Shishuang holds this kind of view." He then presented a verse, saying:
"The dragon roaring in a withered tree is truly seeing the Way;
When the skull has no consciousness, the eyes first become clear.
When joy and consciousness are exhausted, all tidings end;
How can that person distinguish the clear amidst the turbid?"
The monk then asked the Master again, "What is a dragon roaring inside a withered tree?" The Master said, "The bloodline is unbroken." He said, "What is an eyeball inside a skull?" The Master said, "It does not dry up completely." He said, "I wonder, is there anyone who gets to hear it?" The Master said, "Throughout the great earth, there is not a single person who does not hear it." He said, "I wonder, what chapter and verse is the dragon roaring inside a withered tree?" The Master said, "I do not know what chapter and verse it is; all who hear it perish."

1.60

A monk asked, "What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?"
The Master said, "Filling the ditches and plugging the ravines."

1.61

A monk asked, "What is a lion?"
The Master said, "The multitude of beasts cannot approach it."
The monk said, "What is a lion cub?"
The Master said, "One capable of swallowing its parents."
The monk said, "Since the multitude of beasts cannot approach it, why then is it swallowed by its cub?"
The Master said, "Haven't you heard it said: 'If the cub roars, the ancestor and father are both wiped out'?"
The monk said, "After they are wiped out, what then?"
The Master said, "Its entire body returns to the father."
The monk said, "I wonder, when the ancestor is wiped out, where does the father return to?"
The Master said, "The place is also wiped out."
The monk said, "Why did you say earlier that its entire body returns to the father?"
The Master said, "It is like a prince who can accomplish the affairs of an entire realm." He also said, "Ācārya, in this matter you must not remain isolated and stuck; you must rub some blossoms onto the withered tree."

1.62

A monk asked, "When right and wrong have just arisen in confusion and one loses one's mind, what then?"
The Master said, "Cut! Cut!"

1.63

The Master read the dharmakāya verse composed by Dushun and Fu Dashi, and then said, "My intention is not to speak like that." His disciples requested that he compose another one; after composing the verse he also annotated it. His words said:
"He is fundamentally not me (Not me),
I am fundamentally not him (Not him).
If he lacks me, he dies (Looking to you to sustain life),
If I lack him, I am the remainder (There is nothing else).
If he were like me, he would be a Buddha (Above all, he is not a Buddha),
If I were like him, I would be a donkey (Neither is established).
Not eating the rations of the King of Emptiness (If encountering the royal meal, one must spit it out),
Why rely on wild geese to deliver letters? (Exchanging no messages)
I sing a song exposing myself (Singing for the sake of trust);
Look at the hair on my back! (It does not resemble you)
At first it is like a song of White Snow (One would suppose it to be 'White Snow');
I still fear it is a song of Ba." (It is handed down that this phrase has no annotation.)

1.64

The Master gave an instruction, saying, "There is a person who leaps straight down from a cliff of ten thousand fathoms; what kind of person is this?"
The assembly had no response. Daoyan stepped forward and said, "Not remaining."
The Master said, "Not remaining as what?"
Yan said, "Only then can it not be smashed to pieces."
The Master deeply approved of him.

1.65

A monk cited: "One day when Xiyuan was heating his bath himself, a monk asked, 'Why not have a novice do it?' Xiyuan clapped his hands three times." He asked the Master about it. The Master said, "Though both are clapping hands, Xiyuan's was particularly extraordinary; as for Juzhi's one-finger Chan, it is because his taking it on was not precise." The monk then asked the Master, "Isn't Xiyuan's clapping of hands a matter on the side of boys and maidservants?"
The Master said, "It is."
[The monk] said, "Is there still a higher matter or not?"
The Master said, "There is."
[The monk] said, "What is the higher matter?"
The Master shouted at him, "This boy and maidservant!"

1.66

The Military Commissioner of Nanzhou, Prince Zhong of Nanping, having heard with elegance of the Master's possession of the Way, invited him with full etiquette; [the Master] did not go, but only wrote Damei's verse, which said:
"A battered, withered tree leans against the cold forest;
Though it has met spring several times, its heart does not change.
The woodcutter sees it and still pays it no heed;
Why must the man of Ying bitterly seek after it?"
Entrusting it to the messenger, he presented it to him and consequently did not go.

1.67

The Master composed a verse on the four prohibitions, which said:
"Do not walk the road of the mind's place;
Do not hang up your original clothing.
Why must it be just like this?
Strictly avoid the time before one is born."

1.68

He gave a verse to instruct students, which said:
"Recognizing it through conditions, the response is swift;
Coming to rest within the substance, gaining strength is slow.
Suddenly arising, it fundamentally has no location;
My teacher temporarily spoke of it as inconceivable."

1.69

He addressed the assembly, saying: "A monk beneath these monastic robes must in principle comprehend and penetrate the higher matter; do not treat it lightly. If your undertaking is lucid and distinct, you can turn all the sages behind your own back, and only then will you attain freedom. If you cannot turn them, even if your learning reaches a full ten tenths, you will still have to clasp your hands behind their backs—what big talk are you making? If you can turn yourself around, then whenever any crude and heavy condition comes, you can master it in all cases; even if you fall down in the mud, you can still master it. For instance, a monk asked Yaoshan, 'Is the ancestral intention also present within the teachings of the Three Vehicles, or not?' Yaoshan answered, 'It is.' The monk said, 'Since it is present, why did Bodhidharma come?' Yaoshan said, 'Precisely because it is present, he came.' Is this not mastering it and turning it back to oneself? As the sūtra says: 'Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū Buddha sat at the site of enlightenment for ten kalpas, yet the Buddha-Dharma did not appear before him, and he could not achieve the Buddha Way.' The word 'kalpa' means stagnation; calling it 'ten tenths' also refers to cutting off leaks, yet it is merely cutting off the ten crossroad heads without forgetting the great fruit. Therefore it is said: 'Remaining stuck and indulging in attachment is called arbitrary; in undertaking it, make no distinction between noble and base.' I often see the monasteries delighting in discussing this and that—can they really establish anything? These are merely talks spreading out about matters of going forward. Have you not seen that Nanquan said, 'Even if you attain ten tenths, you are still a thread behind Teacher Wang'? It is greatly difficult. When the matter comes to this point, you must be meticulous; only then will you attain clarity and freedom. Regardless of heavenly realms, hells, hungry ghosts, or animals, if you are simply unmoving and unchanging in all places, you are fundamentally the person of old, only you do not walk the path of old. If you have an aspiring mind, you will still become stuck in attachment. If you can get free, what is there to choose? An ancient worthy said: 'I only fear not attaining transmigration.' What do you say to this? People today merely speak of a pure and clean place and love to speak of matters of going forward; this ailment is the hardest to cure. Crude and heavy worldly affairs are actually light, while the sickness of purity and cleanliness is severe; it is just like the flavor of the Buddhas and the flavor of the patriarchs—all become stuck attachments. My late teacher said: 'Conceiving an intention in mind is violating the precepts; if one also savors the flavor, it is breaking the fast.' Now, what is called 'flavor'? It is merely the flavor of the Buddhas and the flavor of the patriarchs. As soon as there is an aspiring mind, it is violating the precepts. If one speaks nowadays of breaking the fast and violating the precepts, at the very moment of the three karmans, they were already broken long ago. Although crude and heavy greed, anger, and delusion are hard to cut off, they are actually light; but if one is non-active, without concerns, pure and clean, this heaviness cannot be surpassed. The ancestral masters appeared in the world only for this; it was not solely for you. At present do not treat it lightly: the black cat and white ox cultivate rapidly, not having Chan or the Way; unlike you with your various pursuits seeking Buddhas, seeking patriarchs, down to bodhi and nirvāṇa—when will you ever rest and accomplish it? These are all minds of arising and ceasing. Therefore, they are not as good as the black cat and white ox, towering and insentient, not knowing Buddhas, not knowing patriarchs, down to bodhi, nirvāṇa, and wholesome or unwholesome cause and effect, merely eating grass when hungry and drinking water when thirsty. If you can be like this, do not worry that it will not be accomplished. Have you not heard it said: 'Calculation fails, therefore one knows the existence of It.' Then one can wear fur and sport horns, pulling the plow and dragging the harrow; only when one obtains this advantage does it amount to a little bit. Have you not seen that the realms of Maitreya, Akṣobhya, and various Abhiratis are called by those above them 'shameless and indolent'? Bodhisattvas are also said to undergo inconceivable transformation death, and it is still feared to be a minor indolence. What should be done in one's fundamental matter? You must be greatly meticulous to attain it. Everyone has a place of a sitting mat; even when a Buddha appears in the world, he cannot encroach upon it. Realize and cultivate in this way; do not chase after quick advantage. If you want to know this matter, even if it causes you to become a Buddha or become a patriarch, it is just this; even if you fall into the three bad paths, the hells, and the six destinies, it is just this. Although it is of no use, after all you cannot leave it; you must master it to attain it. If you can master it, that is unchanging; if you cannot master it, that is changing. Have you not seen Yongjia say: 'Reckless and unrestrained, one invites disaster'?

1.70

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is a person of great icchantika?" The Master said, "Not fearing karma." The monk said, "What is an ignorant person?" The Master said, "Never awakening from beginning to end." The monk said, "Between these two people, who is ahead?" The Master said, "The ignorant one." The monk said, "Why is the icchantika behind?" The Master said, "One who goes onward." The monk said, "If so, then does the ignorant one not go forth from today?" The Master said, "Right." The monk said, "Since he does not go forth from today, from where does ignorance come?" The Master said, "It dares not enter where there is light." The monk said, "Is it not neither dark nor light?" The Master said, "Right." The monk said, "What about right at such a time?" The Master said, "Not receiving touch." The Master further said, "There are many kinds of icchantika. One kind kills father and kills mother, sheds the Buddha's blood, breaks the harmonious saṅgha, and destroys monasteries; these have fixed actual retributions and suffer various kinds of pain. Another kind also performs actions like the former, but this is killing the father of ignorance and the mother of craving and attachment, not believing that there are Buddha, Dharma, or Saṅgha that can be broken, nor monasteries that can be destroyed; reckoning what is attained by the karmic mind, they fall accordingly and also suffer various false retributions as before, differing in ascent and descent. Another kind knows the existence of their own fundamental matter, calling it father and mother; it is not obtained through external things, has neither practice nor realization, is neither cause nor effect, is not received from a teacher, and is not obtained from realized practice. Not giving rise to the view of 'father' is called killing; not giving rise to the view of 'mother' is called harming. That is, among all fundamental matters one dares not fail to preserve it, hence it is called killing and harming. The moment there is the slightest honoring or tasting [of it], one fails to know the existence of one's own matter; therefore it is called a great icchantika. Mobilizing this wondrous power is precisely undertaking the realization of the family matter according to the ancestral vehicle, cutting off the dark path and shattering all circumlocutions, just as the Old Man of Xinfeng subtly revealed."

1.71

National Teacher Zhong suddenly called his attendant. The attendant came and stood there. The National Teacher bowed his head. The attendant stood for a long time and then went out. The National Teacher called his attendant in this manner three times and then said, "I thought I was disappointing you, but you on the contrary are disappointing me." Baizhang brought this up and asked Zhaozhou, "What was the National Teacher's intention in calling his attendant three times?" Zhou said, "Like someone writing characters in the dark: though the characters are not formed, the literary pattern has already become manifest." Later, someone brought this up and asked the Master, "What was the National Teacher's intention in calling his attendant three times?" The Master said, "When the attendant returned the second time, he said, 'I do not believe that the Venerable Monk is calling me.'"

1.72

Nanquan said, "Before the womb was formed, were there words or not?" Someone brought this up and asked Yunfeng. Feng said, "Saying there are or saying there are not—eat thirty blows of the staff." He also asked Zhaoqing. Qing said, "Let it speak for itself." He also brought it up and asked the Master. The Master said, "There were." The questioner said, "Please take a sidelong glance, Venerable Monk." The Master said, "With what object would you hear it?" The questioner said, "Does a deaf person still hear it or not?" The Master said, "If a deaf person can hear it, then he possesses ears and eyes." The questioner said, "What kind of person can hear it?" The Master said, "One whose womb has not yet been formed."

1.73

A monk asked the Master, "The teaching says, 'A single phrase can swallow hundreds of thousands of meanings.' What is this single phrase?" The Master said, "A needle cannot pierce it."

1.74

A lecturer monk took leave of Nanquan. Nanquan asked, "Where are you going?" He replied, "Down the mountain." Nanquan said, "Above all, do not slander Old Teacher Wang." He replied, "How would I dare slander the Venerable Monk?" Nanquan sprayed water and said, "How much?" The lecturer monk then went out. The Master said, "What a narrow escape!"

1.75

One day Guishan called the monastery director. The director came. Shan said, "I called the monastery director; what did you come for?" The director had no reply. The Master spoke on his behalf, "I also knew that the Venerable Monk was not calling me." Guishan also ordered his attendant to call the head monk. The head monk came. Shan said, "I called the head monk; what did you come for?" The Master spoke on his behalf, "If you order the attendant to call him, I fear he would not come."

1.76

The Master cited: "A monk took leave of Yaoshan to return to his home village. Yaoshan said, 'There is a person whose entire body is red and festering, lying amidst thorns and briars.' The monk said, 'If so, then should this student not return?' Yaoshan said, 'If you only know to return, I will give you a prescription for abstaining from grain.' The monk said, 'What is the prescription for abstaining from grain?' Shan said, 'Ascending the hall every day without biting through a single grain of rice.'" The Master said, "Just as an ancient buddha said: 'A person whose entire body is red and festering is simply an ugly person; nobody can approach him, there is no place to take hold of him, and he is further said to lie amidst thorns and briars.' It only means being in daily use as of today; there is also no place to take hold of it regarding guarding and maintaining it." At that time a monk asked, "What about when the entire body is red and festering?" The Master said, "Bearing the load." The monk said, "Bearing the load of what person?" The Master said, "May the redness and festering not reach the ācārya." He also asked, "Between the ugly person and the person whose entire body is red and festering, which one is heavy?" The Master said, "The greatly ugly person is heavy." The Master also asked a monk, "What does a person of great maintenance maintain?" The monk had no reply. The Master answered on his behalf, "All day long it is behind his back, yet he has never cast a glance at it."

1.77

Whenever Master Juzhi was questioned, he would only raise one finger. Later there was a boy attendant. When an outsider asked, "What essential Dharma does the Venerable Monk teach?" the boy also held up a finger. When Zhi heard of this, he severed the boy's finger with a blade. Bearing the pain, the boy ran away wailing. Zhi called to him again. The boy turned his head, and Zhi then held up his finger; the boy suddenly had an awakening. When Zhi was about to pass away, he said to the assembly, "I attained Tianlong's one-finger Chan and have not exhausted its use in an entire lifetime." Having spoken, he passed away. The Master said, "Juzhi's undertaking was crude and careless; he only recognized one dynamic and one objective realm."

1.78

A monk asked, "Vimalakīrti was silent, and Mañjuśrī praised him as excellent; I wonder, did this still match Vimalakīrti's intention?" The Master said, "Can you bind empty space?" The monk said, "If so, then it did not match Vimalakīrti's intention." The Master said, "How could he agree?" The monk said, "Ultimately, where does it return?" The Master said, "If there were a place to return, it would be identical to those two gentlemen." The monk said, "And what about you, Venerable Monk?" The Master said, "You must wait until you contract Vimalakīrti's illness."

1.79

On a summer night in the xinyou year of the Tianfu reign era, the Master asked the monastic manager, “What date is today?” The manager replied, “The fifteenth day of the sixth month.” The Master said, “Throughout my whole life of traveling, wherever I went I simply regarded ninety days as one summer retreat. Tomorrow at the hour of the dragon, I shall go traveling.” When the time arrived, he burned incense, sat peacefully, and passed away. He had lived sixty-two years and had thirty-seven monastic rains. His whole body was buried on the western slope of the mountain. He was posthumously named Chan Master Yuanzheng, and his pagoda was called Fuyuan.

1.80

Explanation of Dongshan’s Clear Formula of the Five Ranks (General Synthesis of the Discriminations)

1.81

Recompiled from here down by Benguang.

1.82

In a discrimination made on another occasion, it was said: “Now, what the late master clarified regarding the biased and the correct, together with integration, all employed the late master’s original intent. It was not to clarify ranks of meritorious practice and advancement, nor did it involve the phrases of doctrinal teachings. It is simply profound discourse beyond the patterns, the essential, consummate, and wonderful meaning, merely clarifying that from the very beginning, the substance of things is manifest before us, silently tallying with the Way of the ancient sages. Seeing nowadays that various scholars, in interpreting and discriminating the intentions of our predecessor, seem to have mistakenly obscured them, I cannot avoid briefly laying out their appropriateness. What is precious is not confounding their functions. Therein, there is sometimes using the rank to clarify merit, or using merit to clarify the rank. The threads of conditions are manifold, and the function lies in the immediate moment: looking at the momentum of the incoming words so as not to betray the incoming capacity; the subtlety lies purely in the fine consummation.”

1.83

“The correct rank yet turns to the biased; discerned in terms of the biased, it rounds out the two meanings.” Discriminating rank by rank, it is said: “That ‘the correct rank yet turns to the biased’ is because it does not confront objects; although it does not confront objects, it nonetheless possesses them.” Another discrimination says: “In ‘the correct rank yet turns to the biased,’ having no function within the correct is the biased; complete function is the rounded—these are the two meanings.” It was asked, “What is the complete?” He said, “One who is not insensate is a person who has attained it. This rank does not clarify ‘coming.’ If a Buddha appears in the world, it is thus; if a Buddha does not appear in the world, it is also thus. Therefore, all the thousands and myriads of sages return to the correct rank to take charge of it.” In a discrimination made on another occasion, it was said: “Bias within the correct possesses this single rank; above all, you must not stir it.”

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撫州曹山元證禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese