黃龍慧南禪師語錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

When the Master first resided at Chongsheng Chan Monastery in Tong'an, on the day of opening the hall, after the proclamation of the dedication was concluded, the Master held up incense and said: "This stick of incense is for the boundless holy life of the reigning Emperor." He held up incense again and said: "This is to support and extend the blessings and longevity of the military commissioner, the bureau director, and the civil and military officials, and next for the peace of the realm and the constant turning of the wheel of the Dharma." He held up incense yet again: "Assembly, tell me: for whom should this stick of incense be? How many people make conjectures, yet do not know where it settles? Today, for Chan Master Ciming of Hunan, I burn this one stick, causing it to permeate monastic groves throughout the realm, bringing disaster and calamity to all patch-robed monks!"

1.2

The karmadāna struck the gavel and said: "The assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma banquet should observe the supreme truth." The Master sighed and said: "Fine supreme truth! Fortunately complete in itself, yet it has just been broken in two halves by the karmadāna. Is there anyone who can mend it together?" He then looked around at the assembly to the left and right, and said: "If it cannot be mended together, Tong'an today will take the head and make it the tail, take the tail and make it the head. Those with questions, pay close attention!" At that time a monk asked: "Having already ascended the precious seat on the Phoenix Ridge, whose lineage do you carry forward in expounding the ancestral style?" The Master drew a circle-mark. [The monk] advanced and said: "The branch of Shishuang bursts into Jiangxi!" The Master said: "The bright sun is in the sky; a blind man gropes the ground." [The monk] asked: "What is the environment of Tong'an?" The Master said: "It cannot be seen." [The monk] advanced and said: "What is the person in the environment?" The Master said: "He has no face." [The monk] asked: "An adept does not peck and tap; if there is pecking and tapping, he is not an adept. The assembly has approached the banquet; we ask the Master to meet as an adept." The Master lowered one foot. [The monk] advanced and said: "Seeking flying snow within the flames; fire under the water burns heaven." The Master then drew back his foot. [The monk] advanced and said: "The assembly bears witness to a true kalyāṇamitra." The Master said: "Tong'an did not take advantage, nor did the ācārya take advantage." [The monk] advanced and said: "This is still both parties acting in common; what about seizing the drum and capturing the banner?" The Master threw down his fly-whisk.

1.3

The Master then said: "Before ascending this seat, there was not a single matter. No sooner had I ascended this seat than there were so many questions and answers. I venture to ask the assembly: just as with this questioning and answering, does it correspond to the ancestral vehicle or not? If you say it corresponds, does the entire canon of teachings lack questions and answers? Why is it said: 'A separate transmission outside the teachings, transmitted to those of superior faculties'? If you say it does not correspond, then what were all those questions and answers just now aimed at? Itinerant practitioners must open their eyes for themselves, lest they have regrets later. If we speak of this matter, it is not something that supernormal powers or cultivation and realization can attain, nor is it something spoken of by extensive learning and wisdom. The buddhas of the three times only say they know it themselves; the entire canon of teachings cannot fully explain or comment upon it. Therefore, amidst the hundreds of thousands of assembly members on Gṛdhrakūṭa, only Kāśyapa was permitted to hear it intimately; the robe and bowl among the seven hundred eminent monks of Huangmei were bestowed upon the lay practitioner. How could this be something your greed, lust, foolish attachments, and competitiveness are capable of? Now, one who leaves household life must possess the resolute, fierce will of a great man, sever both extremes, sit firmly at home, and only then open wide the gates, bring forth his own family wealth, receive visitors, and relieve the destitute and exposed. Only then will there be a small portion of repaying the Buddha's profound grace. If it is not so, it is completely out of the question!" Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat and expressed thanks.

1.4

Ascending the hall on New Year's Day, a monk asked: "Not seeking the sages and not valuing one's own spirit are not yet the patch-robed monk's proper business. What is the patch-robed monk's proper business?" The Master said: "In thirty years, I have rarely met with this question." [The monk] advanced and said: "If so, then you have failed the sages." The Master said: "I have not even answered your words; why speak of failing?" The monk clapped his hands once. The Master said: "Humph! Letting you off will not do."

1.5

The Master then said: "The four seasons shift and transition, ending and beginning again; the two polarities harmonize in peace, truly belonging to this day. In saṃvṛti-satya, all is bustling, each exchanging customary greetings of coming and going; yet in the realm of tathatā, there is fundamentally no distinction between new and old. Why? Do you not see it said: 'In a single thought, one universally contemplates immeasurable kalpas; there is no going, no coming, and also no abiding.' Since coming and going are cut off, what new or old is there? Since it is neither new nor old, why is there need for bows and congratulations, or purposeful coming and going? If you can only remain constantly still in a single thought, naturally the three time-periods will be entirely forgotten. What coming and going could constrain you? What new and old could be asked about? Therefore it is said: 'Understanding the matters of the three times in this way, one transcends all expedient means and realizes the ten powers.'" After a long pause, he said: "Everyone knows how to expound it like this, but when it comes to shattering two to make three, how many are capable? Why? People of the time only know how to sail with the wind; they do not know how to hold the rudder against the wind!" He struck the Chan seat and descended from the seat.

1.6

Ascending the hall, he said: "Leaving aside the winter solstice and the hundred and five days before Cold Food—venerables, how do you say a phrase for threading a needle at midnight? If someone can say it, return my first tally; if you cannot say it, both of us lose out." He descended from the seat.

1.7

Ascending the hall, he said: "The dharmakāya is without form, manifesting forms in response to things; prajñā is without cognition, shining in accordance with conditions." Then, holding up his fly-whisk, he said: "When the fly-whisk is held upright, it is called the dharmakāya; is this not manifesting forms in response to things? When the fly-whisk lies horizontal, it is called prajñā; is this not shining in accordance with conditions?" Then he laughed heartily: "Ha, ha! If suddenly someone were to come out, grab Tong'an, spit on me, slap me, overturn the Chan seat, and drag me down the steps, I couldn't blame him either. Now, since there are no such moves capable of biting pigs and dogs, Tong'an will instead carry out this order in reverse!" He descended from the seat.

1.8

Ascending the hall and gathering the assembly, after a long pause, he said: "The fine fish stays in the depths; the secluded bird stands for a long time." He struck the Chan seat and descended from the seat.

1.9

Ascending the hall, he said: "Today is the eighth day of the fourth month, the day our Buddha descended to be born. In saṅghārāmas throughout the realm, they all bathe the Buddha. I recall when Cloth-Robe Zun was serving as hall master in Yaoshan's assembly. During the bathing of the Buddha, Yaoshan asked: 'You only bathe this one; can you also bathe that one?' Zun said: 'Bring that one here.' Yaoshan then let it rest." The Master said: "When the ancients uttered a word or half a phrase according to occasion, there was no clever contrivance; yet people today exhaust their mental effort to arrange things, but in the end never reach their realm. Some in the assembly deliberate and say: 'This one is the bronze statue, that one is the dharmakāya. The bronze statue has form and can be washed; the dharmakāya has no form, so how can it be washed? Yaoshan only knew one and did not know two; he was pushed back by Master Zun, until his mouth was like a carrying-pole, completely humiliated.' Others say: 'When the ancient sage posed a question, he only wanted to test the person. When he asked you about that one, you immediately said, "Bring that one here"—this is just following sound and chasing form, chewing on his words, falling into his entanglements. Yaoshan saw he did not understand, which is why he let it rest.' Still others say: 'For Yaoshan to come out like that was already making trouble where there was none, gouging out a wound on healthy flesh. Master Zun did not see the original illness, but applied more moxibustion scorches onto the burn scar.' There are also those who say: 'The ancients attained it and played at each occasion; nothing was right and nothing was wrong, so what is high and what is low? Both sides knew it was there; it is merely later people forcing distinctions.'" The Master said: "Explanations such as those above are because they have not encountered the right person. Once they lose the source, they wander and do not return. Thus they rely solely on good intentions, deliberating and calculating to serve as the ancestral vehicle. Little do they know that intentional thinking arises from a deliberate mind; to use this thinking to discern the realm of the Buddha is like taking a firefly's light to burn Mount Sumeru—even passing through kalpas numerous as dust particles, it can never ignite it. Therefore, itinerant practitioners of superior caliber must strictly look for themselves: what are the ancestral matters fundamentally about? In the end, what will you use to confront birth and death? Do not allow petty, superficial, and coarse views to create obstacles for yourselves; the Buddha Dharma is not this kind of principle. Today, Tong'an will not avoid verbal karma and will lay it bare for you all: these two venerable masters, one going out and one coming in, have not yet revealed who won and who lost. Thirty years later, do not quote it wrongly!" He descended from the seat.

1.10

Ascending the hall on the Imperial Birthday, he said: "Today is the anniversary of the Emperor's birth; throughout the realm under all of heaven, wishing to extend the holy life is indeed not lacking. Virtuous people! Do you recognize the Prince yet? If someone recognizes him, all the dust-mote lands of the ten directions will belong entirely to you, venerables, and are no other thing; you will then sit in the city of nirvāṇa, holding your hands folded in non-action, taking the three realms as your home and serving as the reliance for the four kinds of born beings. If you do not yet recognize him, go burn incense in the Buddha hall and join your palms at the triple gate!" He descended from the seat.

1.11

Ascending the hall, on account of a monk delivering a letter, he then cited: "Master [Xingsi of Qing]yuan ordered Shitou to deliver a letter up to Master [Huai]rang of Nanyue, and said: 'When you return, I will give you a blunt axe to live in the mountains.' Shitou arrived at Master Rang's place, and before delivering the letter, he asked: 'How is it when one does not seek the sages and does not value one's own spirit?' Rang said: 'Your question is too lofty; why not ask lower down?' Shitou said: 'I would rather undergo transmigration for eternal kalpas than seek liberation from the sages.' Master Rang did not reply, and Shitou returned. Master Si asked: 'You have not been gone long; was the letter delivered?' Shitou said: 'No message was conveyed, and the letter was not delivered.' Master Si said: 'Why?' Shitou recounted the previous dialogue and further said: 'The day I left, I was promised by the Master a blunt axe to live in the mountains; I request it right now.' Master Si lowered one foot, and Shitou bowed and left, entering Nanyue to live in the mountains." The Master said: "Shitou delivering the letter has been heard of in past and present. Later people do not understand the ancestral origin and are rarely able to bring it forward, causing milk and water not to be distinguished and jade and stone not to be differentiated. Today, Tong'an will split it in half as an alms-gift to the assembly. Although Shitou was well able to deliver it and did not disgrace the ancestral style, yet he was too hasty in displaying his talent and did not know he had lost his footing. Since he had lost his footing, why upon his return did he still receive the blunt axe to live in the mountains? If you can see into this here, not only living in the mountains, but all the worlds of the ten directions, each dust mote and every land, tiger dens and demon palaces, will all be dwelling places. If you have not yet seen it, I dare guarantee that you all do not yet have a place to settle your body and establish your life." He descended from the seat.

1.12

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Great Master Yunmen said: 'On level ground there are countless dead people; one who can pass through the bramble thicket is an expert hand.'" Then, holding up his fly-whisk, he said: "Assembly! If you call it a fly-whisk, you are precisely a dead person on level ground; if you do not call it a fly-whisk, you have not yet penetrated the bramble thicket." He struck the Chan seat and descended from the seat.

1.13

Ascending the hall, he gave a shout and said: "The whole earth has been shattered and dissolved like tiles and melting ice by Tong'an's single shout. Where will you all put on clothes and eat meals? If you have not yet found a place to put on clothes and eat meals, you must find a place to put on clothes and eat meals; if you recognize a place to put on clothes and eat meals, you had better recognize your own nostrils!" He descended from the seat.

1.14

Ascending the hall, he said: "Great billows surge vast and boundless, white waves surge to the heavens. One who cuts across the flow to reach the shore is serene, forgetting all worries; the traveler in an isolated boat with short oars knits his brows, advancing and retreating. Tell me: how do you say a phrase for when the wind is calm and waves are still? Is there anyone who can say it? If no one can say it, Tong'an will bestow an alms-gift upon you all." After a long pause, he said: "The fisherman idly sings to himself; the woodcutter sings aloud alone." He descended from the seat.

1.15

Recorded Sayings on Moving to Reside at Guizong

1.16

When the Master first entered the monastery, he ascended the hall and said, "Guizong Superior Monastery is a great river of Chan. Since it is a river of Chan, how could it lack anglers? Is there anyone who would ask a question?" After a long pause, no one asked. The Master then continued: "Horns may dwell in abundance, but none belong to the xiezhi; feathers and plumage may be numerous, yet few are the mandarin ducks. The wondrous and subtle great dharmakāya—one listens for it without hearing, gazes at it without seeing. How could the pristine, teacherless wisdom be attained through thinking or mastered through learning? Yet without presenting and advocating [the teaching], who could discern the ancestral lineage? Without questions and answers, who could clarify the heterodox and the orthodox? Now the elder has mounted the hall to present and advocate, but among the assembly there is still no one who asks. Since there is no one who asks and no one who answers, how are the lineage and the heterodox or orthodox to be clearly distinguished? If someone can discern the heterodox and orthodox, let him come forward, overturn the Chan seat, and shout to scatter the great assembly—that too would vent the patch-robed monks' indignation! If you cannot discern them, next year there will be yet newer regulations, troubling the spring breeze without end." He descended from the seat.

1.17

Ascending the hall, he said: "The maṇi-jewel is in the palm of the hand, dividing its radiance according to whatever colours are met; the precious moon hangs in the sky, casting reflections across a thousand rivers. Virtuous ones! A single question and a single answer, a single blow and a single shout are rays and shadows. Light and dark, capturing and releasing are rays and shadows. The mountains, rivers, and great earth are rays and shadows; the sun, moon, and stars are rays and shadows. The entire canon of teachings of the buddhas of the three times, and even the diverse knockings and strikings at the gates of all the great patriarchs and venerable elders throughout the realm—all are rays and shadows. Tell me, which is the jewel? Which is the moon? If you do not recognise the jewel and the moon, but cling to words and phrases, mistaking the light and the shadows, it is just like entering the sea to count grains of sand, or polishing a brick to make a mirror. To hope for their sum and desire its clarity is utterly impossible. Have you not heard it said: 'If you broadly search for the meaning of texts, it is just like seeking a form within a mirror; if you further quiet your thoughts to contemplate emptiness, it is very much like grasping the moon in the water.' When a patch-robed monk arrives here, he must possess the one path of turning the body. If he can turn around, then whether laying things out or pinching them together, nothing is not the manifestation of the Great Matter; in all freedom, vertical or horizontal, there is no leftover dharma whatsoever. If he cannot turn around, he is an old crow in a cloth bag: though alive, he is as good as dead. I, an ordinary fellow of the mountain wilderness, have always lacked knowledge and insight. Yesterday, I was specially favoured with a summons by the palace assistant, administrator, and secretary of this prefecture. Being under their jurisdiction, I did not dare fail to come. No sooner had I reached the gate than the order to occupy Guizong was given. Reflecting upon stepping forward or back, my face grows deeply ashamed. This is because the palace assistant and administrator formerly received the Buddha's prediction, manifesting as royal ministers. Often, in the leisure from administering governance, they reverently revere the teachings of the Hero of Awakening, desiring to make the wind of wisdom fan alongside the wind of Yao, and hoping that the sun of the Buddha shines equally with the sun of Shun. Were they not mindful of living beings, how could they exert their minds to such a degree? On this day, we are also honoured by the official carriages gracing this Dharma gathering, bringing this affair to completion from start to finish, which truly increases our honour and gratitude. In former days, when Chancellor Pei held high office at the court, Huangbo received his recognition; when Lord Han Wen was celebrated in his time, Dadian found his patron. Comparing the present with the past, what difference is there? Were I to speak more, I fear it would weary your sight and hearing." He descended from the seat.

1.18

Ascending the hall, he said: "Fully executing the directive admits neither ordinary nor sage; letting down a single thread allows for deliberation." He then held up his staff and said: "Right now the staff stands vertically: the worlds of the ten directions stand vertically all at once." He also held the staff horizontally and said: "Right now the staff lies horizontally: the worlds of the ten directions lie horizontally all at once. Why is this? Have you not heard it said: 'The extremely small is identical to the large; boundaries and realms are forgotten and severed. The extremely large is identical to the small; no outer limits can be seen.'" He struck his staff and descended from the seat.

1.19

When the judicial commissioner entered the mountain, [the Master] ascended the seat. A monk asked, "The judicial commissioner's carriages have come from afar to grace this Dharma gathering. We beg the Master for a single key regarding the ancestral vehicle of the highest truth." The Master said, "A straight-cut headband, a sharp-brimmed hat." The monk continued, "Not only does the judicial commissioner receive this goodness, but this student bows in gratitude for the Master's kindness." The Master said, "If I pull off your eyebrows and knock away your nostrils, what then?" The monk sighed, "Hsu, hsu." The Master said, "To grind flour, one must rely on local wheat; to sing a song, one must be a person from the imperial capital."

1.20

The Master then said: "The root of sentient beings depends on the ocean of wisdom as its source; the flow of conscious beings takes the dharmakāya as its substance. It is merely because passion arises that wisdom is obstructed, so they remain unaware in their daily activities; because thoughts change, form differs, and they head into karmic conditions without returning. Boundless across past and present, who comprehends the fundamental cause? Restless in love and hate, the source of passions is empty and false. Therefore, our Tamer, Śākyamuni, having long since realised bodhi, pitied us weary beings who bring about our own transmigration. Thereafter, attaining great wisdom, he manifested a body of wondrous signs, dwelt in the world for forty-nine years, and expounded the twelve divisions of teachings. Adapting to the sharp and dull, he established those expedient gates of transformation, so that those of high, middling, and low capacity might each attain gradual progress. For example, the great ocean does not reject small streams; even if mosquitoes, gnats, or the king of asuras drink its waters, they all attain fullness. Later, when his transforming conditions were drawing to a close, he manifested extinction at the Twin Trees, telling the assembly of humans and devas: 'I possess the treasury of the true Dharma eye, the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, which I entrust to Mahākāśyapa to circulate separately outside the teachings, transmitted to those of supreme capacity.' This Dharma cannot be understood through purposeful deliberation, nor entered through supernatural powers and cultivational realization; it cannot be known through having a mind, nor attained through having no mind. Awakening to it, one immediately transcends the three realms; deluded about it, one remains submerged for myriad kalpas. Just consider: today, royal officials gather widely, monks and laypeople share the same banquet, sitting and standing solemnly, their seeing and hearing unobscured—is this delusion or awakening? If you can see clearly here, without waiting for the completion of three asaṃkhyeya kalpas or the round perfection of myriad practices, in a single thought you transcend them, with neither before nor after. On this day, this mountain monastery is exceedingly fortunate to receive the judicial commissioner and judicial clerk of this circuit, who have personally lowered their official carriages to illuminate and adorn this wild monastery, travelling overnight to arrive, bringing ten thousand blessings. Moreover, these two honourable officials have long planted roots of virtue and now manifest the bodies of ministers, governing the people with benevolence and compassion, relieving on behalf of the present Son of Heaven the anxieties of early morning and late night. Monks and laypeople, noble and base, all receive their bounty. How could their fortune and longevity be fully expressed? Since we have been favoured with your presence, pray relax your minds. Thus our Buddha, the Tathāgata, said: 'One who expounds the Dharma neither speaks nor displays; one who listens to the Dharma neither hears nor attains.' We have also heard that Zhongni and Wenbo Xue had long desired to see each other. One day, halting their carriages, they met on the road; without a word to each other, each turned and went back. Later, a disciple asked, 'The Master long desired to see Wenbo Xue, yet when you met, you did not exchange a single word. What was the meaning of this?' Zhongni said, 'When gentlemen meet, the Way is present at a single glance.' Tell me: the ancients met and the Way was present at a single glance; today this mountain monk beats the drum and mounts the hall, specially babbling away—what a complete failure!" He descended from the seat.

1.21

Ascending the hall, he said: "Stroking the tiger's whiskers along the grain, one should watch out for oneself; holding the snake's tail backward, let others guess. A barbarian coming, a Han appearing—an ordinary occurrence; do not hang a bright mirror high upon a terrace." He descended from the seat.

1.22

Ascending the hall, he said: "Dense black clouds gather over Zixiao Peak; white waves surge to the heavens in Poyang Lake. A single breath acts without acting; the ten thousand phenomena are so without being so. If you further deliberate and calculate, you are distant by a hundred and eight thousand [li]." He descended from the seat.

1.23

Ascending the hall, he took up his staff and said: "Taking it up horizontally and wielding it in reverse, it pokes open Maitreya's eyes; coming in light and going in darkness, it knocks away the patriarch's nostrils. At precisely such a time, Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra swallow their breath in silence, while Linji and Deshan burst out in loud laughter. Tell me, what are they laughing at? Bah!" He descended from the seat.

1.24

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A scholar came to meet Muzhou. Muzhou said, 'What do you understand?' The scholar said, 'I understand the calligraphy of the twenty-four masters.' Muzhou made a dot in the air with his staff and said, 'Do you understand?' The scholar was at a loss. Muzhou said, 'You claim to understand the calligraphy of the twenty-four masters, yet you do not even recognise the eight methods of the character yong.'" The Master said, "Muzhou's single dot was straight from before the King of Awesome Voice; yet when it came to discussing calligraphy with the eight methods, he was exposed by a worldly man. If it were Guizong, it would not be so: among the disciples of Confucius, no one recognises it; the blue-eyed barbarian monk smiles and nods." He descended from the seat.

1.25

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Venerable Yanyang asked Zhaozhou, 'How is it when not bringing a single thing?' Zhaozhou said, 'Lay it down.' The Venerable said, 'Since I do not bring a single thing, what should I lay down?' Zhaozhou said, 'Carry it away.' At these words, the Venerable had an awakening." The Master recited a verse: "Not bringing a single thing, / The shoulders cannot bear the load. / At his words, suddenly knowing his error, / In his heart there is boundless joy. / Poison and malice once forgotten, / Snakes and tigers become intimate friends. / Through several hundred years of time, / The pure breeze has never ceased." Striking the Chan seat with his staff, he descended from the seat.

1.26

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Linji asked the prior, 'Where have you come from?' The prior said, 'I have come from selling yellow rice in the prefecture.' Linji drew a line in front of him with his staff and said, 'Did you manage to sell this too?' The prior shouted, and Linji struck him. When the tenzo arrived, Linji cited the previous exchange. The tenzo said, 'The prior did not understand the Master's intention.' Linji said, 'What about you?' The tenzo bowed, and Linji struck him as well." The Master said, "A shout was struck, and a bow was struck—was there any partiality or not? If there was no partiality, Linji cannot be wielding a blind flail and a sightless staff. If it were Guizong, it would not be so: when the prior shouted, he should not have been let off; when the tenzo bowed, letting him off would not do." He also said, "Linji executed the command; Guizong let them off. Thirty years from now, someone will explain it clearly." Striking the Chan seat, he descended from the seat.

1.27

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Nanyuan, 'Sun and moon alternate in change, winter and summer trade their places—is there that which does not touch winter and summer?' Nanyuan said, 'A purple silk headband, an embroidered skirt's waist.' The monk continued, 'Those of supreme capacity have now understood; how are those of medium and low capacity to comprehend?' Nanyuan said, 'Hiding one's body in a heap of charcoal.'" The Master said, "Nanyuan's temporarily benefiting beings, giving medicine according to the sickness, was not wrong. But if brought to the gate of a patch-robed monk, heaven and earth are far apart. Tell me, what advantage does a patch-robed monk have? Bah!" He descended from the seat.

1.28

Ascending the hall, he said: "An ancient said, 'When ordinary and holy feelings are exhausted, the substance reveals true constancy; merely departing from false conditions, one is just the tathatā Buddha.' Bah! What kind of talk is that?" He descended from the seat.

1.29

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "Before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch, why did the hundred birds hold flowers in their beaks to offer him?" The Master said, "A mulberry tree with pinned roots; a wide-horned water buffalo." The monk continued, "Why did they not hold flowers in their beaks to offer after he met him?" The Master said, "Short trousers without a crotch; trousers without an opening." The monk also asked, "How was it before meeting him?" The Master said, "In a peaceful state, the talented are valued; in a wealthy family, the young children are pampered." "How was it after meeting him?" The Master said, "Worldly sentiments look to warmth and cold; human faces follow high and low."

1.30

The Master then said: "Haklenaya transformed manifestations in the air; Manorhita pointed to the ground to make a spring. In the assembly of Deshan, he surpassed the past and cut off the future; before the gate of Linji, one obtains only a single side." After a long pause, he said: "What is that single side?" He descended from the seat.

1.31

Dharma Words at Mount Huangbo in Yunzhou

1.32

Ascending the hall, he said: "The sun rises from the east, and the moon sets toward the west. One rising and one setting, from antiquity to the present—all of you completely know it, completely see it. Vairocana is boundless and limitlessly vast; in daily use there are a thousand differences, at ease in following conditions. Why do all of you not see it? It is simply because sentiment dwells on quantities and views dwell in cause and effect, unable to surpass holy sentiment or transcend all traces and shadows. If you understand that in a single thought dependent origination is unarisen, you will be equal to the illumination of the sun and moon and identical to heaven and earth in overspreading and sustaining. If you do not see it, the great spirit Raudra will flare up in rage and shatter your skulls with a single blow!" He descended from the seat.

1.33

Ascending the hall, he said: "Today is the first of the fifth month, the dawn of midsummer. May the administrators, the head monk, and the great assembly enjoy bodily peace and joy in the Way! Overnight upon the long collective platform, extending the legs and retracting the legs does not depend on anyone else. Rising at dawn, [eating] paste-cakes and leftover fillings, biting crosswise and biting lengthwise—once full, you simply stop. At such a time, it is neither past nor present, thinking neither of good nor of evil; ghosts and spirits cannot trace its tracks, and the myriad phenomena cannot be its companions; the earth cannot bear it, and heaven cannot cover it. Even though it is like this, you must have pupils within your eyes and blood beneath your skin. If your eyes have no pupils, how are you different from a blind fellow? If there is no blood beneath your skin, how are you different from a dead corpse? Thirty years hence, do not mistakenly blame Huangbo!" He descended from the seat.

1.34

Ascending the hall, when the assembly gathered, he gave a shout. After a long pause, he said: "There is not a single matter—what are you shouting about?" He gave another shout, and again said: "After one shout and two shouts, what then?" Using the fly-whisk, he drew a stroke in the air and said: "Baizhang's deafness was still somewhat bearable; Sansheng's blind donkey grieves one to death." Striking the Chan seat, he descended from the seat.

1.35

Ascending the hall, he said: "Roaming through the Flower Treasury World, manifold and inexhaustible; yet arriving at the place of the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, not a single dharma exists. Therefore, within nothingness there is also existence: Deshan's staff is like scattering stars; within existence there is also nothingness: Linji's shout is like a clap of thunder. As if deaf, as if mute, filling heaven and earth—how many can there be who know pain and know itching?" He descended from the seat.

1.36

Ascending the hall, he said: "The Way does not rely on cultivation; merely do not defile it. Chan does not rely on study; what is valued is setting the mind at rest. Because the mind is at rest, mind after mind is free of deliberation; because there is no cultivation, step after step is the bodhimaṇḍa. Free of deliberation, there are no three realms to leave; without cultivation, there is no bodhi to seek. Not leaving and not seeking—this is still the talk of the doctrinal vehicles. If you are patch-robed monks, what should you do?" After a long pause, he said: "The bodhisattva has no head and emptily clasps his palms; the vajra-deva has no feet and vainly opens his fists." He descended from the seat.

1.37

Ascending the hall, he said: "Huangbo sometimes walks the main road, and sometimes walks in the grass. All of you, do not see the sharpness of the awl's point and lose the squareness of the chisel's head. Have you not seen what the ancients said? 'Open, one cannot block; a phrase that is a thief breaks up the family. Failing to sever when it is time to sever, one encounters chaos instead.'" He descended from the seat.

1.38

Ascending the hall, he said: "Entering the ocean to count the sand is merely wasting effort in vain; grinding a brick to make a mirror is futile labor. Sir, do you not see? The clouds upon the high, high mountain roll up and unfurl by themselves—what is close, what is distant? The water at the bottom of the deep, deep ravine meets bends and meets straights—without 'that' and without 'this'. The daily functioning of sentient beings is like clouds and water; clouds and water are so, but people are not. If you could be so, from where could the transmigration in the three realms arise?" He descended from the seat.

1.39

Ascending the hall, he said: "The golden robe having already been transmitted, Ānanda still harbored hesitation; before the monastery flagpole was knocked down, Kāśyapa could not avoid furrowing his brows. Venerable elders! Tell me, which monastery flagpole was knocked down? Beginners and late learners cannot fathom it; ordinary people who have long been in the monastic groves—ten out of ten—are reckless and crude. We are far removed in time from the sages, and people are mostly indolent." He descended from the seat.

1.40

Because he had left the prefecture, retired from the monastery, and returned, he ascended the hall and said: "The flowing water descending the mountain has no longing; / A solitary cloud returning to its cave is fundamentally without intention. / In the bamboo house and thatched hall, who is the master? / In the bright moonlight at midnight, an old ape howls." Striking the Chan seat, he descended from the seat.

1.41

Ascending the hall on New Year's Day, a monk asked: "The old year has passed, and the new year has arrived. Without involving both ways, I beg the master to give instruction." The master said: "In the east, jiǎ and yǐ are Wood." [The monk] advanced and said: "Humans and devas prick up their ears, solely for the sake of propagation." The master said: "What is this matter of propagation?" [The monk] advanced and said: "Had it not obtained the flowing stream, it would almost have crossed another mountain." The master said: "Thirty years hence, it may well be discussed."

1.42

The master then cited: "A monk asked Jingqing: 'At the beginning of the new year, is there still the Buddhadharma or not?' Jingqing said: 'There is.' The monk said: 'What is the Buddhadharma at the beginning of the new year?' Jingqing said: 'The prime first month initiates good fortune; the myriad things are all renewed.' The monk said: 'I thank the master for answering.' Jingqing said: 'This old monk has suffered a loss today.' Again, a monk asked Mingjiao: 'At the beginning of the new year, is there still the Buddhadharma or not?' Mingjiao said: 'There is not.' The monk said: 'Every year is a good year, every day is a good day; why then is there not?' Mingjiao said: 'Master Zhang drinks wine, and Master Li gets drunk.' The monk said: 'So very venerable and old, yet a dragon's head with a snake's tail.' Mingjiao said: 'This old monk has suffered a loss today.'" The master then said: "I will not ask about Jingqing's suffering a loss. All of you, where is Mingjiao's suffering a loss? If anyone can distinguish it, Mañjuśrī's head turns white and Samantabhadra's head turns black. If you cannot distinguish it, Huangbo has suffered a loss today." He descended from the seat.

1.43

Because a letter had arrived by courier from Letan, ascending the hall, he cited: "Reverend Jie of Wuzu carried a letter for Zhimon to Deshan. Yuanming received it and asked: 'This is Zhimon's; which is the special envoy's?' Jie peered straight up. Deshan said: 'If you wish to examine the man before you, first observe his envoy.'" The master then said: "When the ancients saw smoke beyond the mountain, they knew at once it was fire. How much more fortunate am I! I have humbly received Chan Master Letan's elegant letter sent from afar, graciously comforting my mountain sentiments; truly, I feel shame and humility. Furthermore, the Chan master is thoroughly illuminated in the ocean of learning and broadly versed in ancient and modern times; he may be called the sun and moon propping up the sky, never weary of instructing people. What mustard stalk am I, to be bathed in such favor?" Striking the Chan seat with the fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.44

Ascending the hall on the Imperial Birthday, he said: "This day is the celebration of the birthday of the reigning Emperor. The whole world offers congratulations, and all within the bounds revere him. The sky of Yao and the virtue of Shun equal the sun and moon in simultaneous brilliance; the jade leaves and golden branches will endure forever with the mountains and rivers. Kindness and pity extend to myriad countries, and grace descends upon other states. In the prisons there are no convicts held overnight, and horses share caves with cattle and sheep. Cultivating civil arts and halting military arms, weapons of war are put to rest. The ten thousand people dig wells to drink, and the common folk plow for themselves to eat. The family and the state are peaceful, and in all matters nothing is amiss." He descended from the seat.

1.45

Ascending the hall because snow was falling, he said: "Snow, snow, flake after flake without distinction, / Drifting wildly, scattering wildly, responding to the season and the festival. / The muddled Chan monks still do not know— / Waiting by the stump for a hare, to whom can it be told?" He descended from the seat.

1.46

Ascending the hall, he said: "The Three Mysteries and Three Essentials, the Five Ranks of Lord and Vassal, the Four Kinds of Concealed Points, the Jewels of the Eight Directions—thirty years ago, people vied with one another to buy them, each displaying dynamic wit. But now the Way flourishes in peace, returning to simplicity and purity; each person has it for themselves. The mountains are blue and the waters are green! In the depths of the white clouds! The three robes are combined into a single patch-robe; when the myriad affairs are without thought, what deliberation is there?" Striking the Chan seat, he descended from the seat.

1.47

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Great Master Yongjia said: 'Roaming rivers and oceans, crossing mountains and rivers, / Seeking teachers and asking after the Way in order to investigate Chan. / Ever since recognizing the road of Caoxi, / I thoroughly know that birth and death are of no concern.' Venerable elders! Which are the mountains and rivers roamed? Who is the teacher sought? What is the Chan investigated? What is the Way asked after? Going to Huainan, the two Zhes, Mount Lu, and the Southern Peak, seeking teachers and asking after the Way from Yunmen and Linji, and investigating Chan from Dongshan and Fayan—this is seeking outward, and is called heterodoxy. If you take the self-nature of Vairocana as the ocean and the quiescent wisdom of prajñā as Chan, it is called seeking inward. If you seek outward, it will run you to death; if you dwell within the five aggregates and seek inward, it will bind you to death. Therefore, Chan is neither internal nor external, neither existent nor nonexistent, neither real nor unreal. Have you not seen it said: 'Internal views and external views are both mistakes; the Buddha way and the māra way are both evil.' In a flash, going on like this—the moon sets on the western mountain! If you further seek sound and form, where can it be named and depicted?" Striking the Chan seat with the fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.48

Recorded Sayings of Mount Huanglong

1.49

Ascending the hall upon entering the monastery, a monk asked: "What is the realm of Huanglong?" The master said: "I arrived here only yesterday and have not yet looked closely." [The monk] advanced and said: "Who is the person within the realm?" The master said: "What is long is long; what is short is short."

1.50

The master then said: "The Way has no hesitation or obstruction; dharmas fundamentally accord with conditions. How could things be forced? Simply being so without making it so, when at Jicui I spoke as a man of Jicui Hermitage, and upon entering Huanglong I speak as the elder of Huanglong. How could one know that the ancestral master's mind-seal is shaped like the iron ox's mechanism? If it goes, the seal is affixed; if it stays, the seal is broken. Just tell me, when neither going nor staying, how do you affix the seal?" After a long pause, he said: "In the misty village, the third-month rain; / Another kind of springtime for this household." He descended from the seat.

1.51

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Layman Pang was selling bamboo strainers. Coming down off a bridge, he took a tumble. His daughter Lingzhao also fell down beside her father. The Layman said: 'What are you doing?' The daughter said: 'Seeing Father fall to the ground, I am helping you.' The Layman said: 'Fortunately, no one saw.'" The master then said: "Doting on the child, he unintentionally laughed out loud; / Yet right in the middle of the road they wallowed in mud and sand. / Had this old fellow Huanglong seen it at that time, / With a single staff he would have beaten this foe to death!" Striking the Chan seat with the fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.52

Ascending the hall, he said: "The buddhas appeared in the world and provisionally established spoken explanations; the ancestral master came from the West and did not hang words on his lips. If you let go from emptiness, among all the dust motes in the three-thousandfold world, each and every dust mote contains the dharmadhātu. If you ascend higher step by step, the bridge of a donkey's saddle is not your daddy's lower jaw." Striking the Chan seat with the fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.53

Ascending the hall, he said: "The Great Way has no center; who then is before or behind? The vast sky leaves no trace; why bother measuring it? Since emptiness is like this, how could the Way be spoken of? Even though it is like this, for those of superior faculties, it does not rely on verbal explanations; for those of middling and lower sorts, how can they avoid them? Therefore, a monk asked Yunmen: 'What is the melody of Yunmen?' Yunmen said: 'The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month.'" The master said: "Today happens to be the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. How do all of you understand it? If you do not understand it, all of you listen attentively; wait for Huanglong to sing it once more for all of you: / The melody of Yunmen, the twenty-fifth, / Belongs not to gong, shang, jiao, zhi, or yu. / If someone asks me the cause and theme of the tune: / Clouds arise on the southern mountain, rain falls on the northern mountain." Striking the Chan seat with the fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.54

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "In front of the Saṅgha hall, the bell is struck and the bell rings; up in the Dharma hall, the drum is beaten and the drum sounds. Within the sound of the drum, the buddhas of the three times turn the great wheel of Dharma. In what place do all of you settle your body and establish your life? There is a sort of bogus patch-robed monk who does not distinguish between touched and pure, and promptly says: 'East, west, south, and north, above, below, and the four intermediate quarters; today is the seventh, tomorrow the eighth; eating rice in the Saṅgha hall, warming oneself at the fire in the dormitory,' or draws a line in front of his face. If it is like this, violating the four debts of gratitude is still pardonable, but failing the blue-eyed barbarian who came from the west is not!" Striking the Chan seat, he descended from the seat.

1.55

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "When at midnight on Huangmei the verse transmitting the mind was given, and when before the crag of Shaoshi the arm was cut off—gouging out flesh to make a wound, unaware of the pain—it has led straight down to the present day to make right and wrong." Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.56

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "In former days, Venerable Dazhu of Yuezhou went to call upon Mazu. Mazu asked, 'What have you come here to do?' Zhu said, 'I have come seeking the Buddha Dharma.' Mazu said, 'Why have you abandoned your home and neglected your livelihood? Why not turn back and recognize your own treasure house?' Zhu said, 'What is my own treasure house?' Mazu said, 'It is none other than that which is asking right now. If you turn back, everything is complete, its use inexhaustible, with nothing lacking whatsoever.' Thereupon Zhu's seeking mind suddenly ceased, and he sat in the great bodhimaṇḍa." The Master said: "Each of you has your own treasure house. Why do you not attain its function? Simply because you do not turn back." Striking the Chan seat, he descended from the seat.

1.57

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "There is a person who reads the Avataṃsaka in the morning and the Prajñā in the evening, diligent day and night without a moment's leisure. There is a person who does not practice Chan or discuss doctrine, but takes a tattered mat and sleeps during the day. If these two people arrive at Huanglong together—one being purposeful and one being non-purposive—which one should be settled?" After a long pause, he said: "Puṇyalakṣmī and the Dark Maiden—a wise master of the house accepts neither." Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.58

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The World-Honoured One, the Great Awakened One, said: 'I now preserve and maintain this matter for you; it is ultimately not in vain. You should be diligent and energetic, practicing this samādhi.'" The Master said: "Vigor is not absent, but what is this samādhi for all of you?" After a long pause, he said: "Kāśyapa's rag robes are worth hundreds of thousands, while the jewel in the wheel-turning king's topknot is not worth half a penny." Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.59

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Yesterday eating gruel was too late again, and today eating gruel was too early again. Is it that the abbot's authority and orders are not strict? Or is it that the duty-officers' bodies and minds are lazy and remiss? Let the great assembly try to judge. Once the regulations fall into disorder, all matters go awry; if one person errs in a matter, the whole community is uneasy. There are one or two hundred people inside and outside this monastery. Since this crooked seat holds this position, in all matters great and small, he must personally attend to them; he must not make light of affairs nor be disrespectful toward the assembly. If you can be like this, in every matter there is perfect awakening, at every step there is the bodhimaṇḍa. What need is there to chisel outwards or gouge flesh to make a wound?" Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.60

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: / "Bodhidharma came from the west across a hundred thousand li; / Facing the wall at Shaolin for eight or nine years. / Only Shenguang understood this intention; / His three silent bows were not passed down in vain. / Later descendants forget the right awakening, / Abandoning the root to chase branches and valuing false words; / When the thirtieth day of the twelfth month arrives, / A body full of karmic debts enters the Yellow Springs." / Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

1.61

Ascending the hall, [the Master] struck the Chan seat once with his fly-whisk and said: "All who have eyes see; all who have ears hear. Having seen and having heard, tell me, what have you heard? For late learners and beginners, it must be clearly laid bare. Our Buddha, the Tathāgata, personally carried out this command in Magadha; the twenty-eight ancestors transmitted it from one to another; down to Shitou and Mazu, when the colt trampled to death all people under heaven; Linji and Deshan, whose blows and shouts were as swift as thunder and lightning. Later descendants, being unfilial, though they bring up the command cannot carry it out, but merely boast of ornate words and phrases. Huanglong has appeared in the world when the times have met with degeneration, beating the Dharma drum that is on the verge of collapse, righting the mysterious net that has already fallen. None of you may tie old almanacs from many years around your waists; you must know that the waters of the four great oceans are right above your heads." Striking the Chan seat with his fly-whisk, he descended from the seat.

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黃龍慧南禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese