撫州曹山本寂禪師語錄 1
English (machine translation) 1
- Language
- English
1.1
Preface to the Recorded Sayings of Caodong
1.2
Without encountering an enlightened age and Master He, the unworked jade of Mount Jing would lie hidden in vain among the stones of Jing; how could its beauty, splendid enough to equal multiple walled cities, ever be revealed? True jade is certainly not lacking; it is only that an enlightened age and Master He are truly difficult to bring together. In the past, the recorded sayings of Heyu of Xinfeng first circulated widely in the world, but fish eyes were mixed with pearls, and pure gold was amidst sand. Elder Gimoku was deeply grieved by how profound the corruption had become. Turning to Master Guo's Wuzong lu and a host of other works, he took their essence and discarded their coarseness, and the record was finally completed. I have a very close friendship beyond worldly bounds with the Elder. He sent it to me to read. I said, 'Elder! Are you not the Master He for the jade of Xinfeng? Yet even if there is a Master He, if he does not meet an enlightened age, how could he achieve this? How splendid! As an evidence of the cultural brilliance of our Great East reaching the excellence of today, how could the disciples of the Confucian school dare not praise its excellence and rejoice in its joy?' The printing blocks of the record of Xinfeng are already completed, and the record of Heyu is now also completed. Unworthy though I am, I write down that in which I find excellence and joy, so that people of broad vision may know the Elder's true Dharma eye.
1.3
Genbun, cyclical year gengshen, full moon of the eighth month.
1.4
Written at the south window of the Green Bamboo Study by Yanagisawa Satotomo, Duke of Kōriyama.
1.5
Preface to the Recorded Sayings of Caoshan
1.6
The ancients had a saying: 'The intent does not lie in the words.' They also said, 'Grasp the intent and forget the words.' 'Intent' is the purport; 'words' are the pointer. The purport is not easy to attain, while the pointer is not difficult to attain. Thus one relies on the easily attained pointer to attain the difficult-to-attain purport. If you grasp its purport, it is right to forget the pointer; if you lose its purport, what use is the pointer? Therefore, when the ancients spoke of those who merely cling to the pointer, they called it 'entangling vines', and they also called it a 'tile for knocking at the gate'. Zen monk Qi Gimoku of Unshū obtained the words of Great Master Heyu from Guo Zhengzhong's Wuzong lu, and also acquired the old volumes written by Huixia, Guanghui, Huiran, and others. He collated their agreements and differences, examined and verified the authentic and the spurious, titled it Recorded Sayings of Caoshan, and appended it to the previously published Recorded Sayings of Dongshan, so as to broaden its circulation. Great indeed is this aspiration! He himself began it. Yet I have never known: has he truly grasped the intent, or is he one who clings to words, or does he take it as a tile for knocking at the gate? Please inquire of the Zen monk. In the spring of this year, Kanpō, cyclical year kanoto-tori, Seijun, Master of Genkō on Mount Takagamine, made this inquiry and respectfully composed this with bows and prostrations.
1.7
Empty and mysterious, without attachment, wonderfully turning the spiritual pivot; / A golden crow flies by night; a wooden horse neighs in the wind. / The four prohibitions and three falls: lighting a rhinoceros horn in the palm; / The double Li trigram and five marks: hewing the mud on the tip of the nose. / Wine of the Bai family on Qingyuan makes people drunk so they lose east and west; / Eyebrows and eyes do not recognise each other; the ācārya is still bewildered himself. / Having once experienced the region of insect poison, not even a drop of water can be touched! / This one is depicted—what about that one? / Circulate it to future generations so they can discern the clues.
1.8
Respectfully inscribed with prostrations by the Forest and Spring Śramaṇa Genshi.
1.9
Compiler's Preface to the Re-collected Recorded Sayings of Great Master Yuanzheng of Caoshan
1.10
What is a 'recorded sayings'? It is that which was spoken by Great Master Yuanzheng of Heyu. What he spoke exists in antiquity and exists in the present. If we examine what exists in antiquity based on what exists in the present, then what is ancient is acceptable, while what is present is not yet acceptable. If one is to adopt it, should one adopt the ancient and let that be acceptable? Or should one adopt the present and let that be acceptable? Or would it be acceptable to adopt both the present and the ancient together? Alas! What to adopt and what to discard? It is better to collate the present and the ancient and adopt what is acceptable. Generally speaking, works circulating in the world under the title of the Great Master's recorded sayings are mostly spurious compositions—such as fabricating talks given upon ascending the hall to instruct the disciples, or adding auxiliary particles to the verses on the four prohibitions to make them say 'Upon ascending the hall, he said…'. From this, their spuriousness can be known. The Dong-Cao yulu in China was compiled by Guo Limei; this too is modern, not ancient. Nevertheless, although it is not an unblemished jade, its brilliance is also not of the class of swallow stones. Thereupon, unworthy though I am, I extracted the teachings of Heyu from the Wuzong lu, adopting what should be adopted and discarding what should be discarded, and occasionally using old volumes to supplement omissions, so that the recorded sayings was completed. Alas! When the ancients handed down teachings for later generations, those who bore such an aspiration stepped forward for their sake. If the teachings were not handed down, how could those in later generations who bear such an aspiration advance? This is why, unworthy though I am, I wished to collect the catalytic sayings of the ancients, correct the authenticity and spuriousness of the past and present, and untiringly spread his teaching widely. I venture to ask those in later generations who bear this aspiration to step forward for it, enter into it, and embody it. If it is so, it can be said that the ancestral masters and I ride upon the same turtle, floating and swimming in the deep pool—would that not be delightful!
1.11
In the winter of the fifth year of Genbun, cyclical year gengshen, respectfully composed with prostrations by Śramaṇa Gimoku Genkei of the Great State of Japan.
1.12
Compiled by Guo Ningzhi, Master of the Land of No Ground.
1.13
The Master's taboo name was Benji; he was a son of the Huang clan of Putian in Quanzhou. In his youth he pursued Confucian studies. At nineteen, he went to Lingshi in Fuzhou to leave home, and at twenty-five he took the precepts. Soon after, he visited Dongshan. Dongshan asked, 'What is your name, ācārya?' The Master said, 'Benji.' Dongshan said, 'Speak further of the matter of transcendence.' The Master said, 'I will not speak of it.' Dongshan said, 'Why do you not speak of it?' The Master said, 'It is not named Benji.' Dongshan regarded him highly as a vessel of the Dharma. (In the Sengbao zhuan the Master's name is Danzhang; here we follow what is recorded in the Denglu.) From then on he entered the abbot's room, lingered for several years, and then took his leave. Dongshan then secretly transmitted the essential lineage of the Dong school to him and asked again, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'To the unalterable place.' Dongshan said, 'In the unalterable place, how can there be any going?' The Master said, 'Going is also unalterable.' Thereupon he went to Caoxi and paid reverence at the Ancestor's stupa. Returning to Jishui, the assembly looked up to the Master's reputation and invited him to inaugurate the Dharma. The Master's aspiration was to admire the Sixth Ancestor, so he named the mountain Cao. Soon he encountered bandit disturbances and went to Yihuang. There was a faithful layman named Wang Ruoyi who donated the Hewang Abbey and invited the Master to serve as abbot. The Master changed 'Hewang' to 'Heyu'. From then on his Dharma assembly flourished greatly, and students gathered like clouds. The lineage of Dongshan became magnificent with the Master.
1.14
The Master instructed the assembly, saying: 'Worldly sentiments and sacred views are a golden lock on the mysterious path; one must directly bring about interchange. Now, one who takes the food of right livelihood must possess three kinds of falls: first, wearing fur and bearing horns; second, not severing sound and form; third, not receiving food.' At that time, Monk Choubu asked, 'What fall is wearing fur and bearing horns?' The Master said, 'It is the fall among kinds.' The monk said, 'What fall is not severing sound and form?' The Master said, 'It is the fall of following.' The monk said, 'What fall is not receiving food?' The Master said, 'It is the fall of the noble.'
1.15
Because a monk asked about the secret instructions on the five ranks of lord and vassal, the Master said: 'The correct rank is the realm of emptiness; originally there is not a single thing. The biased rank is the realm of form; there are the shapes of the myriad phenomena. The biased within the correct is turning the back on principle and approaching phenomena. The correct within the biased is abandoning phenomena and entering principle. Integration is secretly responding to myriad conditions without falling into various existences, neither defiled nor pure, neither correct nor biased; therefore it is called the empty and mysterious Great Way, the unattached true school. The former worthies of the past promoted this one rank as the most wondrous and most profound; you should examine and distinguish it clearly. The lord is the correct rank; the vassal is the biased rank. The vassal facing the lord is the correct within the biased. The lord looking at the vassal is the biased within the correct. The merging of the ways of lord and vassal is the expression of integration.' The monk asked, 'What is the lord?' The Master said, 'Wondrous virtue is revered throughout the realm; / Loftiness and brightness illuminate the Great Void.' The monk said, 'What is the vassal?' The Master said, 'The spiritual pivot magnifies the sacred Way; / True wisdom benefits the multitude of beings.' The monk said, 'What is the vassal facing the lord?' The Master said, 'Not falling into various divergent destinies, / With concentrated feeling one looks toward the sacred countenance.' The monk said, 'What is the lord looking at the vassal?' The Master said, 'Although the wondrous countenance does not stir, / Its light illuminates without any bias.' The monk said, 'What is the merging of the ways of lord and vassal?' The Master said, 'Merged without inside or outside, / Harmoniously blended, high and low are equal.' The Master also said: 'Speaking in terms of lord and vassal, biased and correct, is because one does not wish to encroach upon the center; thus the vassal refers to the lord without daring to address him directly—this is it. This is the cardinal essential of our Dharma.' He then composed a verse, saying: 'Students must first recognise their own lineage, / Do not mix the true limit with inert voidness. / When the wondrous and bright essence is exhausted, know the wounding touch; / The power lies in meeting conditions without borrowing. / Let your uttered words be such that fire cannot burn them; / Your hidden practice must be identical to that of the ancients. / Without body yet having phenomena, one transcends divergent paths; / Having neither phenomena nor body, one falls into beginning and end.' He again composed verses on the five marks, saying: 'A commoner must be appointed prime minister— / This matter is not considered extraordinary. / As for those with generations of hairpin and tassel, / Cease speaking of the time when their noses fall off.' A verse says: 'The midnight hour corresponds to the correct rank; / The clearly correct lies in lord and vassal. / Not yet having left the Tuṣita realm, / A black chicken walks on the snow.' [Rank] ○ Verse says: 'Within flames, cold ice freezes; / Willow catkins fly in the ninth month. / A mud ox roars over the surface of the water; / A wooden horse neighs following the wind.' [Rank] ○ Verse says: '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?' [Rank] ● Verse says: 'Completely concealed are principle and phenomena; / Signs and omens abruptly separate and become clear. / King Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja has not yet understood; / How could Maitreya be alert?'
1.16
When the Master was on pilgrimage, he asked Chan Master Wushi Guan, 'Who is the master of Vairocana and the lord of the dharmakāya?' Wushi said, 'If I were to tell you, there would be someone else.' The Master brought this up to Dongshan. Dongshan said, 'A fine topic for contemplation (huatou), but it just lacked a follow-up word. Why didn't you ask, "Why don't you speak?"' The Master went back and stepped forward with that question. Wushi said, 'If I say that I do not speak, that would mute my mouth; if I say that I do speak, that would stumble my tongue.' The Master returned and presented this to Dongshan, and Dongshan deeply approved of it.
1.17
Yunmen asked, 'What is the practice of a śramaṇa?' The Master said, 'Eating the permanent property's crops is it.' Yunmen said, 'What about when one goes on just like that?' The Master said, 'Can you still rear [them]?' Yunmen said, 'I can rear [them].' The Master said, 'How do you rear [them]?' Yunmen said, 'Wearing clothes and eating food—what difficulty is there?' The Master said, 'Why don't you say: wearing fur and bearing horns?' Yunmen then made prostrations.
1.18
The Master instructed the assembly, saying: 'The various quarters hold completely to standards; why don't you say a turning word to them so that they are free of doubt?' Yunmen, who was in the assembly, stepped forward and asked, 'In the most intimate place, why does one not know existence?' The Master said, 'Just because it is the most intimate, therefore one does not know existence. (Xuedou said as an alternative: Bodhidharma has arrived.)' Yunmen said, 'How should this person approach it?' The Master said, 'Do not approach it in the most intimate place.' Yunmen said, 'What about when one does not approach it in the most intimate place?' The Master said, 'Only then do you understand approaching.' Yunmen said, 'Indeed, indeed. (Miaoxi said: Turbid oil added to a black lamp-wick.)'
1.19
Yunmen asked, 'If an unalterable person comes, does the Master still receive him?' The Master said, 'Caoshan has no such leisure time.'
1.20
Because Master Mi had arrived, before they had met, Mi went and sat on the meditation bed. The Master did not come out, so Mi left. The director of affairs then asked, "Why has the Master's meditation bed been sat upon by someone else?" The Master said, "After going, he will return again." Mi indeed came back and met with the Master.
1.21
Zhiju came to study and asked the Master, "When the ancients brought up the person of that other side, how should a student comprehend it?" The Master said, "Take a step back and approach oneself; out of ten thousand, not one will be lost." At these words, Ju suddenly forgot his mysterious interpretations.
1.22
The Master asked Jinfeng Zhi, "What have you been doing?" Jinfeng said, "I have been thatching the roof." The Master said, "Is it finished yet?" Jinfeng said, "This side is finished." The Master said, "What about the matter on that side?" Jinfeng said, "I will report to the Master on the day the work ends." The Master said, "So it is, so it is."
1.23
The monk Qingshui asked, "I am solitary and poor; I ask the Master for relief." The Master said, "Ācārya Shui, come forward." Shui approached, and the Master said, "After drinking three cups of wine at the Bai family's in Quanzhou, you still say your lips are not yet wet." (Xuanjue said, "Where was it that he gave him wine to drink?")
1.24
Jingqing asked, "When the principle of pure emptiness ultimately has no body, how is it?" The Master said, "The principle is indeed like this; what about phenomena?" Jingqing said, "As is the principle, so are phenomena." The Master said, "You may deceive Caoshan alone, but what can you do about the eyes of the sages?" Jingqing said, "If not for the eyes of the sages, how could one discern that which is not so?" The Master said, "An official [needle] does not admit a needle; privately, carts and horses pass through." (Dagui Zhe said, "Although Caoshan is well able to cut and file, carve and polish, what can be done when the jade of Jingqing originally has no flaw? If you want to understand: unless it passes through deft hands, it will ultimately become a useless vessel.")
1.25
The Master asked Senior Monk De, "When a bodhisattva is in samādhi and hears a fragrant elephant crossing a river, in what sūtra does this appear?" The monk said, "It appears in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra." The Master said, "Is it heard before samādhi or after samādhi?" The monk said, "The Master is drifting with the stream." The Master said, "You have said a great deal, but you have only said half." The monk said, "What about the Master?" The Master said, "Catch it below the rapids."
1.26
The paper-robe practitioner came to call on him. The Master asked, "Are you not the paper-robe practitioner?" He said, "I would not dare [claim so]." The Master said, "What is the matter under the paper robe?" The practitioner said, "As soon as a single robe is hung upon the body, the ten thousand dharmas are all as such." The Master said, "What is the function under the paper robe?" The practitioner came forward, gave an assent, and immediately shed his body while standing. The Master said, "You only understand how to go like this; why do you not understand how to come like this?" The practitioner suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "When the one numinous true nature does not rely on the womb, how is it?" The Master said, "That is not yet wondrous." The practitioner said, "What is wondrous?" The Master said, "Not borrowing borrowing." The practitioner took care and immediately passed away. The Master gave a verse, saying: / "The awakened nature is completely bright, a body without marks; / do not use understanding to falsely make it distant or intimate. / When a thought differs, one is immediately dark to the mysterious essence; / when the mind errs, it is not a neighbor to the Way. / Sentiments divide the ten thousand dharmas, sinking into external objects; / cognitive discernment has many facets, losing the original true nature. / If one fully understands within such phrases, / one is clearly a person of former times, with nothing to do."
1.27
A monk brought up: "Grand Master Lu Gen asked Nanquan, 'What is your surname?' Nanquan said, 'My surname is Wang.' Gen said, 'Does the king still have dependents?' Nanquan said, 'The four ministers are not dark.' Gen said, 'In what position does the king dwell?' Nanquan said, 'Moss grows in the jade hall.'" He asked the Master, "What is the meaning of moss growing in the jade hall?" The Master said, "He does not dwell in the correct rank." The monk said, "When the eight directions come to pay homage, how is it?" The Master said, "He does not accept their salutations." The monk said, "What is the use of coming to pay homage?" The Master said, "Those who disobey are beheaded." The monk said, "Disobedience belongs to the ministers' part; what is the lord's intent?" The Master said, "The Privy Council does not obtain the imperial decree." The monk said, "If so, then the merit of harmonizing and ordering completely reverts to the ministers and councilors." The Master said, "Do you still know the lord's intent?" The monk said, "Those outside dare not reckon it." The Master said, "So it is, so it is."
1.28
A monk asked, "The student's whole body is sickness; please heal me, Master." The Master said, "I will not heal you." The monk said, "Why not heal me?" The Master said, "To cause you to seek life and not be able to get it, and to seek death and not be able to get it."
1.29
A monk asked the Master, "An ancient said, 'I have a great sickness that the world cannot cure.' What sickness is this?" The Master said, "A sickness that cannot be assembled together." The monk said, "Do all sentient beings also have this sickness?" The Master said, "Everyone has it." The monk said, "Does the Master also have this sickness?" The Master said, "I am just now unable to find where it arises." The monk said, "Why are all sentient beings not sick?" The Master said, "If all sentient beings were sick, they would not be sentient beings." The monk said, "Do the Buddhas also have this sickness?" The Master said, "They have it." The monk said, "Since they have it, why are they not sick?" The Master said, "Because they are wide awake."
1.30
A monk asked, "Is not a śramaṇa a person endowed with great compassion?" The Master said, "Yes." The monk said, "When suddenly encountering the six thieves coming, how is it?" The Master said, "One must also be endowed with great compassion." The monk said, "How is one endowed with great compassion?" The Master said, "Wipe them out completely with a single sword." The monk said, "After they are wiped out, how is it?" The Master said, "Only then does one attain harmony and unity."
1.31
A monk asked the Master, "Do the eyebrows and the eyes recognize each other?" The Master said, "They do not recognize each other." The monk said, "Why do they not recognize each other?" The Master said, "Because they are together in one place." The monk said, "If so, then are they not distinguished?" The Master said, "The eyebrows are not the eyes, and the eyes are not the eyebrows." The monk said, "What are the eyes?" The Master said, "Directly certain." The monk said, "What are the eyebrows?" The Master said, "Caoshan, on the contrary, doubts." The monk said, "Why does the Master, on the contrary, doubt?" The Master said, "If I did not doubt, then it would be directly certain."
1.32
A monk asked, "When the five ranks face a guest, how is it?" The Master said, "Which rank are you asking about right now?" The monk said, "I come from within the biased rank; I ask the Master to receive me within the correct rank." The Master said, "I will not receive you." The monk said, "Why will you not receive me?" The Master said, "For fear of falling into the biased rank." The Master then asked the monk, "Just as when not receiving you, is that facing a guest, or is it not facing a guest?" The monk said, "It is already facing a guest." The Master said, "So it is, so it is."
1.33
A monk asked, "From what do the ten thousand dharmas arise?" The Master said, "They arise from inversion." The monk said, "When there is no inversion, where are the ten thousand dharmas?" The Master said, "They are present." The monk said, "Where are they?" The Master said, "Why make an inversion?"
1.34
A monk asked, "Why can unsprouted grass conceal a fragrant elephant?" The Master said, "The ācārya is fortunately an adept; why ask Caoshan again?"
1.35
A monk asked, "The three realms are in turmoil, and the six destinies are dim and confused; how does one distinguish form?" The Master said, "Do not distinguish form." The monk said, "Why not distinguish form?" The Master said, "If you distinguish form, then it is dim and confused."
1.36
The Master, hearing the sound of a bell, thereupon said, "Ouch, ouch!" A monk asked, "What is the Master doing?" The Master said, "It struck my heart." The monk had no reply. (Wuzu Jie said, "A person who acts as a thief has a guilty conscience.")
1.37
The Master asked the karmadāna, "Where have you come from?" He said, "I have come from pulling the vinegar trough." The Master said, "If you come to a dangerous place, how do you pull it?" The karmadāna had no reply. (Yunju answered in his place: "It is just the right time to apply effort." Shushan answered in his place: "You must let go of it completely.")
1.38
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 should know there is that which is not cold." The monk said, "Who is the one who is not cold?" The Master picked up a charcoal ember with tongs and showed it to him. The monk said, "Do not say there is no one." The Master dropped the ember. The monk said, "Coming to this point, I do not understand." The Master said, "The sun shines on the cold pool, clear and ever clearer."
1.39
A monk asked, "What kind of person is one who is not a companion to the ten thousand dharmas?" The Master said, "Tell me, where do all the many people in the city of Hongzhou go?"
1.40
A monk asked, "What is the bladeless sword?" The Master said, "It is not formed by quenching and forging." The monk said, "What about the one who uses it?" The Master said, "All who encounter it perish." The monk said, "What about 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 fall?" The Master said, "Have you not heard it said: It can exhaust everything?" The monk said, "After everything is exhausted, how is it?" The Master said, "Only then does one know there is this sword."
1.41
A monk asked, "In marks, what is true?" The Master said, "Right in marks is the true." The monk said, "How should it be revealed?" The Master lifted up the saucer.
1.42
A monk asked, "How is the root of illusion true?" The Master said, "The root of illusion is originally true." (Fayan said as an alternative, "The root of illusion is not true.") The monk said, "When it is an illusion, how is it revealed?" The Master said, "Right in illusion it is revealed." (Fayan said as an alternative, "Illusion has no correspondence.") The monk said, "If so, then from beginning to end it is not separate from illusion." The Master said, "Seeking an illusory mark cannot be attained."
1.43
A monk asked, "I will not ask about 'mind itself is Buddha'; what is 'neither mind nor Buddha'?" The Master said, "A rabbit's horn does not need to be non-existent; an ox's horn does not need to be existent."
1.44
A monk asked, "What is a person who is constantly present?" The Master said, "Just when Caoshan temporarily goes out." The monk said, "What is a person who is constantly not present?" The Master said, "Hard to find."
1.45
A monk asked, "Is not formulating an intention of the same kind?" The Master said, "Even not formulating an intention is also of the same kind." The monk said, "What is different?" The Master said, "Do not fail to recognize pain and itch."
1.46
Someone asked, "An ancient said, 'Everyone has it.' Since this disciple is shrouded in defilement, do I still have it or not?" The Master said, "Pass your hand here." Then, pointing to his fingers, he said, "One, two, three, four, five, six—complete."
1.47
A monk asked, "What was signified by Luzu facing the wall?" The Master covered his ears with his hands.
1.48
A monk asked, "I accept the ancient saying: 'There has never been a person who fell to the ground who did not rise by means of the ground.' What is falling?" The Master said, "Assenting is it." The monk said, "What is rising?" The Master said, "Arisen!"
1.49
A monk asked, "When the son returns to the father, why does the father pay him no heed at all?" The Master said, "In principle it must be so." The monk said, "Where is the affection between father and son?" The Master said, "Only then is the affection between father and son accomplished." The monk said, "What is the affection between father and son?" The Master said, "Axes and cleavers cannot chop it apart."
1.50
A monk asked, "What happens when the spiritual robe is not worn?" The Master said, "Caoshan's mourning has ended." The monk said, "What about after mourning has ended?" The Master said, "Caoshan loves to indulge in wine."
1.51
A monk asked, "According to the teaching, it is said: 'The great ocean does not harbour dead bodies.' What is the great ocean?" The Master said, "It encompasses the myriad things." The monk said, "Why does it not harbour dead bodies?" The Master said, "That whose breath is cut off does not stick." The Master said, "The myriad things are not its merit; that whose breath is cut off possesses its virtue." The monk said, "Is there still a matter of transcendence or not?" The Master said, "You may say there is or say there is not; but what will you do about the Dragon King resting his hand on his sword?"
1.52
A monk asked, "Possessing what understanding is one able to cross-examine people in front of the assembly?" The Master said, "Not presenting phrases." The monk said, "What is cross-examined?" The Master said, "Axes and cleavers cannot enter." The monk said, "When one cross-examines like this, is there still someone who does not approve?" The Master said, "There is." The monk said, "Who is this person?" The Master said, "Caoshan."
1.53
A monk asked, "What thing in the world is most precious?" The Master said, "A dead cat's head is most precious." The monk said, "Why is a dead cat's head most precious?" The Master said, "No one can put a price on it."
1.54
A monk asked, "How can the wordless be manifested?" The Master said, "Do not manifest it here." The monk said, "Where should it be manifested?" The Master said, "Last night beside the bed, three copper coins were lost."
1.55
A monk asked, "What is it like before the sun rises?" The Master said, "Caoshan too has come like this." The monk said, "What about after it has risen?" The Master said, "It is still half a month's journey away from Caoshan."
1.56
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 behind the Buddha?" The monk said, "I sweep front and back at the same time." The Master said, "Bring Caoshan his slippers." (Wuzu Jie spoke on the monk's behalf, saying: "What frame of mind does the Venerable have?")
1.57
A monk asked, "Holding uncarved jade, I present it 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."
1.58
A monk asked, "What are the dependents of Caoshan?" The Master said, "Wearing white hair attached to the head, with a flower atop the crown."
1.59
A monk asked, "An ancient worthy said: 'In the whole great earth, there is only this person.' I wonder what person this is?" The Master said, "There cannot be a second moon." The monk said, "What is the second moon?" The Master said, "It also requires you, elder brother, to settle it." The monk said, "What is the first moon?" The Master said, "Perilous."
1.60
A monk asked, "How should a practitioner preserve and maintain throughout the twelve hours of the day?" The Master said, "As though passing through a land of poison; not a single drop of water may touch you."
1.61
A monk asked, "Who is the master of the dharmakāya?" The Master said, "Saying that Qin has no men." The monk said, "Is this not it?" The Master said, "Decapitate him."
1.62
A monk asked, "Associating closely with which companion on the Way allows one to constantly hear what has not been heard?" The Master said, "Sharing the same blanket." The monk said, "This is still what the Venerable has heard; what is constantly hearing what has not been heard?" The Master said, "It is not the same as wood and stone." The monk said, "Which is first? Which is after?" The Master said, "Haven't you heard it said: 'Constantly hearing what has not been heard'?"
1.63
A monk asked, "Who is the one within the realm with hand on sword?" The Master said, "Caoshan." (Fadeng said alternatively: "You are not such a person.") The monk said, "Whom do you intend to kill?" The Master said, "As long as there is anything, I kill everything altogether." The monk said, "If you suddenly encounter your original parents, what then?" The Master said, "Why choose?" The monk said, "What will you do about yourself?" The Master said, "Who can do anything about me?" The monk said, "Why not kill yourself?" The Master said, "There is no place to lay a hand."
1.64
A monk asked, "When a poor family is robbed, what happens?" The Master said, "They cannot take everything completely." The monk said, "Why can they not take everything completely?" The Master said, "The thief is a family relative."
1.65
A monk asked, "When one ox drinks water, the five horses do not neigh—what is this like?" The Master said, "Caoshan knows how to abstain from food." He also said alternatively, "Caoshan's mourning has ended."
1.66
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 to get out or not?" The Master said, "They also seek escape, only there is no road." The monk said, "When escaping, who can receive them?" The Master said, "One who carries an iron pillory."
1.67
A monk asked, "When snow covers the thousand mountains, why is the solitary peak not white?" The Master said, "You must know that there is difference within difference." The monk said, "What is difference within difference?" The Master said, "Not falling into the colors of the various mountains."
1.68
A monk brought up: "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 could he have avoided this blow?" The Master said, "Once the king's edict has gone forth, the feudal lords clear the road."
1.69
A monk asked Xiangyan, "What is the Way?" Xiangyan said, "A dragon roaring in a withered tree." The monk said, "Who is the person within the Way?" Xiangyan said, "An eyeball in a skull." The monk did not grasp it, so he asked Shishuang, "What is a dragon roaring in a withered tree?" Shishuang said, "It still carries joy." The monk said, "What is an eyeball in a skull?" Shishuang said, "It still carries consciousness." He did not grasp it either, so he related it to the Master. The Master said, "Old Śrāvaka Shishuang holds this view." Thereupon he presented a verse, saying: / 'A dragon roaring in a withered tree truly sees the Way; / A skull without consciousness, the eye is first bright. / When joy and consciousness are exhausted, all tidings end; / How could that person distinguish pure from impure?' / The monk then also asked the Master, "What is a dragon roaring in a withered tree?" The Master said, "The bloodline is uninterrupted." The monk said, "What is an eyeball in a skull?" The Master said, "It is not completely dry." The monk said, "I wonder if there is anyone who can hear it?" The Master said, "In the whole great earth, not a single person fails to hear it." The monk said, "I wonder what verse or phrase the dragon roaring in a withered tree is?" The Master said, "I do not know what verse or phrase it is; all who hear it perish."
1.70
A monk asked, "What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?" The Master said, "Filling ditches and blocking ravines."
1.71
A monk asked, "What is the lion?" The Master said, "The multitude of beasts cannot approach it." The monk said, "What is the lion cub?" The Master said, "One capable of swallowing its parents." The monk said, "Since the multitude of beasts cannot approach it, why is it swallowed by its cub?" The Master said, "Haven't you heard it said: 'If the son roars, ancestors and father are both wiped out'?" The monk said, "What about after they are wiped out?" The Master said, "Its entire body returns to the father." The monk said, "I wonder: when the ancestors are wiped out, where does the father return?" The Master said, "The place is also wiped out." The monk said, "Why did you say before 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 be solitary and stagnant; you must scatter a few flowers onto the withered tree."
1.72
A monk asked, "Just when there is right and wrong and one's mind is bewildered in confusion, what then?" The Master said, "Decapitate, decapitate!"
1.73
The Master read the verses on the dharmakāya composed by Dushun and Mahāsattva Fu, and then said, "My intention does not wish to speak thus." The disciples asked him to compose another one. Having composed the verse, he also added commentary to it. His words said: / 'He originally is not me (not me); / I originally am not he (not he). / Without me, he would die (relying on you to take life); / Without him, I would be surplus (there is nothing else). / If he is like me, he is a Buddha (and yet he is not a Buddha); / If I am like him, I am a donkey (neither of the two is established). / Not eating the emoluments of the King of Emptiness (if you encounter imperial food, you must spit it out at once), / What need to rely on the wild goose to deliver a letter (not exchanging letters)? / I state a song of exposing the body (a song for the sake of trust); / Look, sir, at the hairs on the back (not resembling you). / Suddenly like singing "White Snow" (taking it to be "White Snow"), / I still fear it is a song of Ba (it is handed down that this line had no commentary).'"}, point of view."
1.74
A monk asked, "What is it like when the bright moon is in the sky?" The Master said, "You are still a fellow below the steps." The monk said, "Please, Master, receive me up the steps." The Master said, "Come see me after the moon has set." (The recorded sayings of Zhaozhou also have this; both are preserved here.)
1.75
The Master gave instructions, saying, "There is a person who flings their body straight down from the edge of a myriad-fathom cliff. What kind of person is this?" The assembly had no answer. Daoyan came forward and said, "He does not remain." The Master said, "What does he not remain in?" Daoyan said, "Only then can he not be shattered by the fall." The Master deeply approved of him.
1.76
A monk brought up: "One day Xiyuan was heating bathwater himself. A monk asked, 'Why not have the novice do it?' Xiyuan clapped his hands three times." He asked the Master about this. The Master said, "Both are clapping hands and applauding, but among them Xiyuan is extraordinary. Juzhi's one-finger Chan was because the place where he took responsibility was not genuine." The monk then asked the Master, "Is Xiyuan's clapping of hands not a matter on the side of servant boys and maidservants?" The Master said, "It is." The monk said, "Is there still a matter of transcendence or not?" The Master said, "There is." The monk said, "What is the matter of transcendence?" The Master scolded him, saying, "This servant boy and maidservant!"
1.77
Zhong Kuangfan, King of Nanping and military governor of Nanzhou, heard that the Master possessed the Way and invited him with full courtesy. The Master did not go, but only wrote a verse and gave it to the messenger, which said: / 'A ravaged, withered tree leans against the cold forest; / Meeting spring how many times, its heart does not change. / Seeing it, the woodcutter does not even gather it; / For what reason do the men of Ying search so painfully?' / (Lord Zhong could not persuade him to come, but [the Master] only wrote Damei's verse on living in the mountains to reply to him.)
1.78
The Master composed a verse on the four prohibitions, which said: / 'Do not travel the road where mind resides; / Do not wear the original robe. / What need is there to be just like this? / Strictly avoid the time before birth.'
1.79
He gave a verse to instruct practitioners, which said: / 'Realising through conditions, accord is swift; / Settling down upon the substance, gaining strength is slow. / A sudden arising originally has no location; / My master provisionally spoke of the inconceivable.'
1.80
Addressing the assembly, [the Master] said: "We monastics, under this patched robe, fundamentally must understand and penetrate the matter of transcendence; do not take it lightly. If your taking charge of it is distinct and clear, then you turn all the sages and put them behind your own back, only then attaining freedom. If you cannot turn them, even if you study to complete perfection, you will still have to fold your hands behind their backs—what big talk could you give then? If you can turn yourself, then when all coarse and heavy circumstances arrive, you can act as their master in every case; even if you fall flat into the mud, you still act as master. For instance, a monk asked Yaoshan: 'In the teachings of the Three Vehicles, is there still the ancestral intention or not?' [Yaoshan] replied: 'There is.' The monk said: 'Since there is, what did Bodhidharma come for?' Yaoshan said: 'Precisely because there is, therefore he came.' Is this not acting as master and turning [it] back to oneself? As the sūtra says: 'Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū Buddha sat at the place of awakening for ten kalpas, yet the Buddhadharma did not appear before him, and he could not achieve the Buddha Way.' Speaking of 'kalpas' means stagnation; calling it 'ten completions' also refers to cutting off leakage, which is merely severing the ten paths. Without forgetting the great fruit, it is therefore said: 'Keeping still and clinging is called haphazard; taking charge does not distinguish noble and base.' I often see in the monasteries a fond debate over this kind or that kind—can they actually establish the matter? These are merely spreading verbal tracks toward what lies ahead. Have you not seen that Nanquan said: 'Even granted that you reach ten completions, you are still separated from Teacher Wang by a thread of a path'? It is extremely difficult. When the matter comes to this point, one must examine it minutely before achieving clarity and ease. Without distinguishing heaven, hell, hungry ghosts, or animals, as long as one is unmoving everywhere, fundamentally one is the person of old, simply not walking the old path. If there is a fond mind, it still turns into stagnation and attachment; if one can break free, what choice is there? An ancient worthy said: 'One only fears not attaining samsāra.' What do you say? People today only speak of a pure and clean place and love to speak of things lying ahead; this sickness is the hardest to cure. If it is worldly coarse and heavy matters, they are actually light; the sickness of purity and cleanliness is heavy. Just as with the flavour of the Buddhas and the flavour of the patriarchs, all are stagnation and attachment. My late master said: 'Deliberating in mind is breaking the precepts; if one obtains the flavour, it is breaking the fast.' And what is called flavour? It is merely the flavour of the Buddhas and the flavour of the patriarchs; as soon as there is a fond mind, that is breaking the precepts. If we speak of breaking the fast and breaking the precepts nowadays, then right at the time of the three karmavācanās, they were already broken. If it is coarse and heavy greed, anger, and delusion, though hard to sever, they are actually light; but if it is non-action, non-affair, and purity and cleanliness, this is heavy beyond compare. The Ancestral Master's coming into the world was only for this; it was not solely for you either. Nowadays do not take it lightly. The cultivation of tawny cats and white oxen is actually swift; it is not that they possess Chan or possess the Way. With your various sorts of chasing and seeking, looking for Buddha, looking for patriarchs, even up to bodhi and nirvāṇa—when will you ever rest and accomplish it? These are all minds of arising and ceasing. Therefore you are not as good as tawny cats and white oxen, inert and unknowing, knowing neither Buddha nor patriarchs, nor even bodhi, nirvāṇa, good and evil, cause and effect—merely eating grass when hungry and drinking water when thirsty. If you can be like this, have no fear of not accomplishing it. Have you not seen it said: 'Calculation fails, thereby one knows existence'? Only then can one wear fur and bear horns, pulling the plough and dragging the harrow; having gained this advantage, one begins to compare a little. Have you not seen that Maitreya, Akṣobhya, and worlds like Abhirati are called by those above them 'bodhisattvas without shame and indolent', also called 'inconceivable transformation death and birth'? Still it is feared to be a minor indolence; in the fundamental affair, what should one do? One must be extremely careful to get it right. Everyone has the ground of a sitting mat; a Buddha appearing in the world cannot usurp it. When comprehending and cultivating like this, do not rush for quick benefit. If you wish to know this matter: even if you become a Buddha and become a patriarch, it is just this; even if you fall into the three paths, the hells, and the six destinies, it is just this. Although it is of no use, you still cannot be parted from it; you must act as its master to get it right. If you can act as master, then that is being unalterable; if you cannot act as master, then it is transformation. Have you not seen Yongjia say: 'Brashly and recklessly incurring disasters'?
1.81
On a summer night in the xinyou year of Tianfu, the Master asked the administrator: 'What date is today?' [The administrator] answered: 'The fifteenth day of the sixth month.' The Master said: 'In Caoshan's lifelong journeying everywhere, he only treated ninety days as one summer retreat. Tomorrow at the hour of the dragon, I shall go on a journey.' When the time came, he burned incense, sat peacefully, and passed away. He lived sixty-two years and had thirty-seven years of monastic age. His whole body was buried at the western ridge of the mountain. He was posthumously named Chan Master Yuanzheng, and his stūpa was named Fuyuan. (End)
Linked texts (1)
- 撫州曹山本寂禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese