撫州曹山元證禪師語錄 1.6

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.'