楊岐方會和尚後錄 1.1

1.1

The master entered the monastery to inaugurate the hall. After the proclamation of the petition was concluded, the master said: "Great assembly! If everyone disperses, you already fall into the secondary and tertiary; if you do not disperse, today I have thoroughly swindled all of you. Yiyang has elegant waters; Pingxiang has the Chu River." He then ascended the seat, held up incense, and said: "This pinch of incense is offered for our reigning Emperor: may his sagely longevity endure for a thousand autumns, and the Buddha-sun prosper forever. This next pinch of incense is offered for the officials of the prefecture and county, and the dānapati of the ten faiths. As for this pinch of incense, do all of you yet know where it falls? If you know where it falls, there is no need to part the two lips; if you do not know, [I burned it] formerly when dwelling at Nanyuan, next when dwelling at Shishuang, and now when dwelling here at Xinghua Chan Monastery in Tanzhou. Do all of you yet recognize Xinghua? If not, you will inevitably implicate the ancestral masters." He then sat cross-legged. The karmadāna having struck the mallet, the master said: "Already fallen into the secondary meaning, if the great assembly were to disperse, it would still be somewhat better. Since you do not disperse, if you have doubts, please ask." A monk asked: "Whose tune does the master sing? Whose ancestral style do you inherit?" The master said: "Beating a drum across the river, no sound is heard." The monk said: "A child of Xinghua, an heir of Linji." The master said: "Today we celebrate on account of the vegetarian feast." The master then said: "Are there any more questions? Therefore it is said: among all offerings, the offering of Dharma is the supreme." After a pause, he said: "The hundreds of thousands of Buddhas and the old venerable teachers throughout the world appeared in the world solely to point directly to the human mind, to see one's nature and attain Buddhahood. If here you can understand clearly, you will commune together with all the hundreds of thousands of Buddhas; if here you have not yet been able to understand clearly, Yangqi will inevitably incur karmic burden of speech. Moreover, all of you are people who received the Buddha's entrustment at the assembly on Vulture Peak; why must you back down and yield of your own accord? Is there anyone who still remembers it? You tell me: what was that final phrase at Vulture Peak? If there is none, Yangqi has suffered defeat today. Because I, Fanghui, wished to conceal my clumsiness deep within the clouds and pass the time along with the assembly, how could I have anticipated that the prefecture and county officials, together with all the dānapati and believers, would jointly venerate the Three Jewels and continue the Buddha's lifespan, causing the Dharma to dwell long, and making this mountain monk preside over this monastery? This too is no small condition. May every slight good [merit] be dedicated to praying for the Emperor's longevity of ten thousand years, and a thousand autumns for the prime ministers. Great assembly, tell me: how is today's business?" After a pause, he said: "Next year there will be yet newer shoots; / Disturbers of the spring breeze never cease."