法演禪師語錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Recorded Sayings of Upādhyāya Yan of Haihui on Mount Baiyun in Shuzhou on First Residing at Mount Simian

On the day the Master opened the hall, he handed the placard to the assembly, saying: "Troops move with the tally; generals march following the insignia. Please, facing the honorable officials, reveal and disclose it clearly." After the placard was proclaimed, he pointed to the Dharma seat and said: "This Great Jewel Flower King Throne, from morning to evening, rises together and sits together with all of you. Do you all see it? If you see it, there is no need to ascend further; if you do not see it, do not say that today I deceive you." Then he ascended the seat, offered incense, and said: "This one stick of incense is first for the present Emperor; I humbly pray that he may always dwell behind the Phoenix Screen and forever protect the Dragon Tower." Next he offered incense, saying: "This one stick of incense is offered for the officials of the prefecture and county; I humbly pray that they may be both loyal and filial, purely upright and stainless, forever acting as the father and mother of the living people, and long serving as the guiding principle of external protection." Again he offered incense, saying: "This one stick of incense was obtained long ago. For more than ten years I wandered over the seas looking for an enemy, yet never encountered one. Once I arrived at Longshu, I truly met that person, and only then was the vexation in my heart satisfied. Today, clearing my grievances before the great assembly, it must be burned for Upādhyāya Duan, currently residing at Baiyun. Let it perfume the heavens and scorch the earth, freely penetrating Caizhou. Let those with nostrils discern it!" Upādhyāya Longmen struck the gavel and said: "Dragon and elephant assembly of the Dharma feast, you should observe the paramārtha!" The Master said: "If we discuss the paramārtha, the twenty-eight Indian patriarchs and the six Chinese patriarchs stand downwind; the whole great canon of teachings is ten thousand miles of white clouds; Magadha closing its chamber and Vaiśālī shutting its mouth are right in the midst of a dream; the thousand Buddhas appearing in the world have not finished their sleep-talk; Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra bend the crooked into the straight. Therefore it is said: 'Even if you apprehend it before words, you are still stuck in the shell and deluded by the envelope; even though you master it thoroughly under sentences, you cannot avoid wild views at every turn.' If one also seals off the borders, what talk is there of grass growing ten feet deep before the Dharma hall? It directly cuts off the paths of ordinary and sage so that even a flying bird cannot cross, leaving patch-robed monks under heaven without a place to draw breath. Is there anyone in the assembly who is unwilling? Come forward and meet me!" At that time a monk asked: "The udumbara flower appears, the gate of skillful means opens; when court ministers attend the feast, how is it proclaimed?" The Master said: "Today it is fine and clear." The student said: "The bright sun is in the sky, and a pure breeze covers the earth." The Master said: "How much [trouble] you spare me!" He asked: "What is the realm within the person?" The Master said: "A jewelled pavilion soars into the sky as golden bells ring; an uncanny pine leans over the precipice as wild apes cry." The student said: "What is the person within the realm?" The Master said: "Nose vertical, eyes horizontal." He then said: "Are there any more questioners? If not, today Shuangquan opens a path toward the gate of the secondary truth, to meet with all of you, mixing in the mud and water for a while. It is just necessary for Śākyamuni and Maitreya to shake the earth and rain down flowers, and for Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta to each occupy a direction to assist the Buddha in propagating the transformation, all attending to their fundamental tasks, their capacity being fully up to the duty. Shuangquan cannot avoid taking part as well, together discussing how the East House's ladle handle is long and the West House's ladle handle is short, allowing the spring grass to turn green and the burning glare to blaze brightly, autumn tree leaves to fall and winter ice sheets to thin. Why is it like this? It is simply to have everyone follow the seasons and take good care." (Words of thanks are omitted.) Then he held up his staff and said: "The ancients said: 'Held up, heaven turns and earth revolves; set down, the grass bends and the wind blows.' Simian is not like that: held up, it makes seven piercings and eight holes; set down, it adds flowers to brocade. Tell me, is there still a place to help people?" After a long pause, he said: "Next year there will be yet newer shoots, / Troubling the spring breeze without end."

1.4

When the Master received the certificate of appointment at Baiyun, he held it up, showed it to the assembly, and said: "Assembly! If you understand it only like this, you bury the lineage style, and your offense is not small. Fortunately, there is a ready-made gong'an; please let the karmadāna read it out to the assembly." After the certificate was read out, he was handed the Dharma robe; holding it up, he said: "Since it could not be lifted atop Dayu Ridge, why is it here instead? Tell me, is it this here, or is it that there?" He then said: "Carrying the bottle, I draw the cool water myself; / Then putting on the kāṣāya, I act as the host." Thereupon he put it on. Pointing before the Dharma seat, he said: "The elephant king turns; the lion strides; looking at them, my brows knit together. Even though it is like this, now that matters have come to such a pass, it is difficult to decline. Wherever there is a road that can be ascended, even higher persons walk it." Thereupon he ascended the seat. A monk asked: "Chan is not conceptual thought; the Way transcends meritorious deeds. What do you say as the turning phrase?" The Master said: "The assembly sees you." The student said: "I knew the Upādhyāya had such dynamic sharpness." The Master said: "An ācārya standing out alone." The student said: "Today it has instead turned into rashness." The Master said: "Held up, it does not become a dragon." He asked: "Fighting long on the battlefield, the name is accomplished today; without engaging in meritorious deeds, how do you speak?" The Master said: "The long snake [formation] is still tolerable; how could one withstand the crescent moon?" The student said: "Used to being trained with golden arrowheads, having fought a hundred battles, / With much strength in my iron whip, I regret having no enemy." The Master said: "Knowing that you are not made of gold teeth, / How could you draw the bow to shoot Yuchi?" The student said: "Seeing with the eye is not as close as touching with the hand." The Master said: "The new elder is defeated." The student said: "The mouth is the gate of calamity." The Master hissed and then said: "The autumn wind soughs and the jade dew hangs like pearls; the water is green, the mountains verdant, crickets chirp and cicadas buzz; the gate of universal penetration is wide open. Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra have pierced through the nostrils of all of you, yet you yourselves conceal it face to face." He spoke again: "All Buddhas did not appear in the world, yet they spoke for forty-nine years. I wonder, what did they say? Shaolin has a subtle secret, bringing disaster upon descendants so that up to now they cannot clear it up; why speak further of any subtle secret? If a person recognizes the patriarchs and Buddhas, right where they are they immediately transcend. Let transcendence and non-transcendence be set aside for a moment: tell me, where are the patriarchs and Buddhas right now? If no one can say, this mountain monk will not spare his eyebrows and will bring it out for you all." He slapped the meditation bench once.

1.5

At an informal gathering, a monk asked: "What is the Buddha?" The Master said: "Fatness enters through the mouth." He then cited: "Deshan instructed the assembly, saying: 'Tonight I will not answer questions; whoever asks a question gets thirty blows of the stick.' Many in the assembly cite this, and not a few understand it. Tell me, in what place do you see Deshan? If there is a fellow who disregards his own life, let him come forward and try to speak. If not, this mountain monk will go to meet old man Deshan on behalf of the assembly. When Deshan says, 'Tonight I will not answer questions; whoever asks a question gets thirty blows of the stick,' just say to him, 'I neither ask a question nor take the blows.' Tell me, does that still accord with that old man Deshan? To reach here, you must be such a fellow before you can do it. Moreover, I, Fayan, wandered visiting teachers for more than ten years; searching across the seas, I met several venerable elders and thought I had completed the matter. But when I arrived at the assembly of Fushan Yuanjian, I simply could not open my mouth. Later, coming to Baiyun's gate, I bit through an iron dumpling, immediately finding all the hundred flavors complete. Tell me, how do you say the phrase of the dumpling?" He then said: "The cockscomb flower blooms, charming in early autumn; / Who could dye its head of purple silk? / At times the wind moves it to lean repeatedly, / As if fighting ceaselessly before the steps."

1.6

On the day he entered the monastery, he ascended the hall. A monk asked: "Carrying the staff and leading the assembly, the ancestral command is to be carried out; when borders are completely blocked, what is the Master's intention?" The Master said: "The autumn wind blows over the Wei River; / Falling leaves fill Chang'an." The student said: "Simian has no gates, the mountain peaks are graceful; / Today we are fortunate to have the host return." The Master said: "Where do you say the road is?" The student said: "Why fail to recognize each other face to face?" The Master said: "I am just glad you have arrived." He then cited: "The Patriarch said: 'I originally came to this land / To transmit the Dharma and save deluded beings. / One flower opens with five petals, / The fruit naturally ripens of itself.' Great Master Bodhidharma walked as his feet pleased and spoke as his mouth pleased, while later descendants mostly formed calculations about it. Do you want to understand the place where flowers open and fruit ripens? Pears of Zhengzhou, dates of Qingzhou: of all myriad things, nothing surpasses being fine in its place of origin."

1.7

Ascending the hall, he cited: "An ancient said: 'If even one person brings forth the real and returns to the source, the empty space of the ten directions all vanishes completely.' Shuangquan is not like that: if even one person brings forth the real and returns to the source, the empty space of the ten directions bumps and knocks against them."

1.8

Arriving at Xinghua, he ascended the hall. A monk asked: "How was it when the Upādhyāya had not yet left Simian?" The Master said: "Sitting inside the house." The student said: "How is it after leaving?" The Master said: "Exhausting the ācārya from running around." He then cited: "Fayan's verse says: 'Mountains and waters are good for you to dwell in; / City walls and moats are what I also discuss. / Quietly I hear the sounding of bells and bugles; / In leisure I face the gathering of white clouds.' Assembly! Although Fayan does not seize the clouds and grasp the mist, how can he help the pure breeze covering the earth? Today Simian tries to walk hand in hand with Fayan: quietly hearing the sounding of bells and bugles is not yet sound; in leisure facing the gathering of white clouds is not yet form. Since it is neither sound nor form, how do you deliberate it?" He then said: "Inside the cave there are no clouds, another world exists; / Peach blossoms resemble brocade, willows like mist. / The immortals do not understand discussing winter and summer; / On stone balustrades, withered pines do not record the years."

1.9

Ascending the hall, he said: "Above heaven there is no Maitreya; beneath the earth there is no Maitreya. Standing at the crossroads, he is called a thief by people." Then he stepped down from the seat.

1.10

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Simian has no gates, the mountain peaks are graceful; how do you distinguish the season within it?" The Master said: "The God of Spring must be careful; sprouts burst forth all over the ground." The student said: "Spring departs and autumn arrives—the matter is clearly so." The Master said: "You have just rolled a clay pellet, and already you want to knead a vajra." He then cited: "An ancient said: 'If I speak to you, it will bald my tongue; if I do not speak to you, it will mute my mouth.' Tell me, is there still a place to help people? Simian at times intends to swallow it down for you, but is only obstructed by the front teeth; he intends to spit it out for you, but the throat is too small. Tell me, is there still a place to help people?" He then said: "Simian has always been like Liuxia Hui."

1.11

On New Year's Day, ascending the hall, he said: "The prime month begins the blessing; the myriad things are all renewed. Spanning completely the great chiliocosm of dust-realms, it all comes down to being within just a single dust-mote." Then he opened his hands and said: "Is it new, or is it old? Let someone come forward and try to speak. If not, Simian will for now follow conventional truth and circulate it." He then folded his hands and said: "Early spring is still cold; I humbly wish the head monk, the great assembly, and all the administrative monks ten thousand blessings in the care and routine of their honorable bodies."

1.12

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Not asking about the cold hue of the thousand peaks, what is the matter of the rain dripping on the cliff flowers?" The Master said: "Today is also like this." The student said: "A single phrase far surpasses the thousand sages; the thousand mountains bar and cut off the myriad passes." The Master said: "Where does a single drop fall?" The student said: "Wrong." The Master said: "Wrong." The student said: "Wrong, wrong." The Master then hit him, and said: "The emerald array of a thousand peaks, the golden weep of shore willows, the woodcutter singing, the fisherman plying the oars, reeds and mouth-organs deafening the earth, the chattering murmur of birds, the powdered beauty, the dashing young gentleman—each and every one sets forth for you people the supreme dynamic and opens the true Dharma eye. If you understand right here, the Golden Ascetic will have no place to hide his body. If you do not understand, eating your congee and eating your rice, I allow you to pierce through seven ways and perforate eight."

1.13

Announcing to the assembly that he was going out on an excursion, [the Master] ascended the hall and said: "Tomorrow, a single horse and a single spear will ride out to battle for the country; on the day of turning back the spears in victory, songs and ballads will fill the road. Assembly! What is this single tune of a song?" Then he said: "Luoluoli, luoluoli. Is there still anyone who can harmonize?" After a long pause, he said: "Let him look once the mandarin ducks are embroidered, but do not pass the golden needle to anyone."

1.14

At an informal gathering on the night of the Cold Food Festival, a monk asked: "The deluded multitude, long parched, braved the rain to climb the mountain; regarding the dynamic that points upward, we invite the Master's expedient means." The Master said: "One cannot avoid entering the mountains once." The student said: "In that case, then step by step one treads on reality." The Master said: "You go back with empty hands." The student said: "As for that side, is it genuine or not?" The Master said: "Rarely does one encounter an intimate friend." The student said: "I thank the Master for confirming it." The Master said: "What is the matter of an intimate friend?" The monk drew a line. The Master said: "Again blown by the wind into another tune." The student said: "One usually runs after someone else's talk." The Master said: "Who else would it be?" Then he said: "Plums white and peaches red, mountains green and waters blue, clouds stretching across the cave entrance, the moon luminous in the vast sky—if you only understand right here, then Fayan said: 'The moon shines bright, the secluded chamber is cold. The stars divide, revering the Pole Star differently'—this must immediately disintegrate like tiles and melt like ice. National Preceptor Shao said: 'The summit of Tongxuan Peak is not the human world; outside the mind there is no phenomenon, green mountains fill the eyes'—this too must be smashed into a hundred bits. Why? The entire universe and great earth do not take a single pinch to dispose of. Even though it is like this, matters are not one-sided; tonight, let us let it pass for a move."

1.15

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Emperor Wu of Liang asked Bodhidharma: 'What is the paramārtha of the noble truths?' Bodhidharma said: 'Vast emptiness, nothing holy.' The Emperor said: 'Who is facing We?' Bodhidharma said: 'Not knowing.' Furthermore, a monk asked the Sixth Patriarch: 'What kind of person attains the purports of Huangmei?' The Patriarch said: 'The person who understands the Buddha Dharma attains it.' The monk said: 'Does the Venerable Priest still attain it?' The Patriarch said: 'I do not attain it.' The monk said: 'Why do you not attain it?' The Patriarch said: 'I do not understand the Buddha Dharma.'" The Master said: "Such great ancestral masters—when asked, they just do not know and do not understand; why then are their descendants spread across the land?" Then he said: "One person transmits a falsehood, and ten thousand people transmit it as truth."

1.16

At an informal gathering, a monk asked: "The donor has hastened from afar to the abbot's quarters; we request a single phrase from the Master to benefit people." The Master said: "Teach everyone in the world to become Buddhas." The student said: "A leisurely traveler in the dust does not climb the mountain in vain." The Master said: "In between, there are still sentient beings." The monk then shouted. The Master said: "Tell me, is it a Buddha or a sentient being?" The student said: "Mount Simian's eyes are hard to deceive." The Master said: "Where do you see Mount Simian?" The monk shook his sleeves and returned to the assembly. The Master said: "An adept." Then he said: "One who can speak with his mouth full does not know it is there; one who knows it is there cannot speak of it. Tell me, where does the fault lie? When a mountain of nine fathoms is about to be completed, do not spare a single basket of earth."

1.17

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Yunmen offered the phrase: 'The ancient Buddha mingles with the exposed pillar—which dynamic is this?' He substituted the answer himself: 'Clouds rise on South Mountain, rain falls on North Mountain.'" The Master said: "Such a great master Yunmen turns out to be faint-hearted. Simian says: 'The ancient Buddha mingles with the exposed pillar—this is the fourth dynamic.'" After a long pause, he then said: "This talk has skin on its face three inches thick; uttering words, it turns insolent. It would be good to take Linji's staff and give it three beatings a day. But who can lay a hand to it? Although the offense fills the sky, a new amnesty releases all."

1.18

Ascending the hall at the start of the summer retreat, a monk asked: "The five Indias begin the retreat by entrusting it to a wax person; I wonder how Shuangquan instructs the assembly?" The Master said: "Feet not treading the ground." Then he said: "At the start of the summer retreat, there is nothing with which to make offerings to the great assembly; I shall hold a family banquet to entertain you people." Thereupon he raised his hand and said: "Luoluo beckons, luoluo sways, luoluo sends off. Do not blame its emptiness and shallowness. Take good care of yourselves."

1.19

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "'For three times seven days, pondering such matters'—old Śākyamuni leapt over the city walls in the middle of the night and went straight to the Snowy Mountains; already he made no small slip-up. What more was there to ponder?" He then stepped down from the seat.

1.20

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Yaoshan had long not ascended the hall. The manager reported: 'The assembly has long been yearning for your instruction, Venerable Priest.' Yaoshan said: 'Strike the drum.' Just as the assembly gathered, Yaoshan returned to the abbot's quarters. The manager said: 'You promised to preach the Dharma for the assembly, Venerable Priest; why did you not set forth a single word?' Yaoshan said: 'For sūtras there are sūtra masters; for treatises there are treatise masters. How can you blame this old monk?'" The Master said: "Although he obstructed others with himself, what can be done about the thief's body already being exposed? Do you people wish to know Yaoshan? Idly holding a scroll of scripture, leaning against the pine he stands, / Smiling, he asks the guest where he has come from."

1.21

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Dongshan: 'What is the eye of a kalyāṇamitra?' Dongshan said: 'A paper twist with no oil.'" The Master said: "It is not that old fellow Dongshan did not have it; he was merely too frugal. If someone were suddenly to ask Simian, 'What is the eye of a kalyāṇamitra?' I would only say to him: 'Blind.' Why? Only to match him." Then he said: "A paper twist without oil is indeed quite wondrous, / Unfit to be picked up—who understands? / Turning around, he remembers the road he came by; / Under the moon, surging along, he returns wherever his feet lead."

1.22

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "In the teachings it says: 'If one says that the Tathāgata has preached any Dharma, one slanders the Buddha.' But as for the great canon of teachings, where does it come from? If one says there was no preaching, where can the five thousand and forty-eight rolls be disposed of? When reaching here, one must be the right person before one can manage it. Do you understand? It would be best not to slander Simian."

1.23

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Touzi: 'What is the Regulator of the Tenfold Body?' Touzi stepped down from the meditation bench and stood. If someone were to ask Simian, 'What is the Regulator of the Tenfold Body?' this old monk would also step down from the meditation bench and stand. Why paint a cat following the model? Wait until my calculation succeeds, and then I will explain it to you."

1.24

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Yaoshan asked Shitou: 'As for the three vehicles and twelve divisions of teaching, I have a rough understanding of them. I have heard that in the south they point directly to the human mind to see one's nature and attain Buddhahood; I am truly not clear about this and beg the Master for instruction.' Shitou said: 'Thus will not do, not thus will not do, neither thus nor not thus will not do at all.' When this mountain monk was among the assembly, I heard the brethren deliberating, saying: 'Mind itself is Buddha will not do, neither mind nor Buddha will not do.' If one speaks like that, how dare one call oneself a Chan traveler? Why? They fail to recognize that the old man Shitou was equipped with both civil and military arts, complete in both tactics and strategies. If it is Simian's view, I would also have you people understand it together: one sees only surging waves; one does not see the dragon king's palace in the sea."

1.25

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The Buddhas of the three periods gaze toward it from afar and make prostrations; the six generations of ancestral masters cannot open their mouths; today Simian provisionally makes use of it. Tell me, what is it? One, two, three, four, five; boasting of a cloth drum at Thunder Gate; idle talk of General Li shooting the stone tiger at Lantian."

1.26

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "True thusness, ordinary, and sage are all words of a dream; Buddha and sentient beings are both redundant terms. If someone were to come forth and say, 'Old P'an-shan!' I would simply say to him: 'Were it not for the flowers blooming early on the purple lane, / How could the yellow oriole come down to the willow twig?' If he further asked: 'Old Simian!'" The Master said to himself: "Present! Stay alert."

1.27

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "In the severe cold of midwinter, I humbly wish that the head monk, the great assembly, your reverend bodies, and daily lives enjoy ten thousand blessings—two wins in one roll of the dice." He then stepped down from the seat.

1.28

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "I have a phrase to bring up for you people: above all, you must not bring it up wrongly." He then stepped down from the seat.

1.29

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Last night was the eve of the closing year; this morning is the first day of the year. / It is altogether an ordinary day, yet people of the world give rise to strange views, / Not knowing how to pursue the root and source, but merely searching for branches and vines. / New and old are just as it is right now; look carefully and distinctly; / If you deliberate further, it is a chisel of the Qin dynasty!"

1.30

When elders of various monasteries entered the mountain, the Master ascended the hall and said: "Linji shouting as soon as someone enters the gate—what kind of bowl-ringing sound is that? Deshan beating with the staff as soon as someone enters the gate—bending the crooked to make it straight. Yunmen's three phrases, Caodong's five ranks—dreaming with eyes wide open! Why is it like this? When the country is pure, talented men are prized; when the family is wealthy, small children are spoiled."

1.31

Arriving at Longmen, [the Master] ascended the hall and said: "Having a tongue, sharp and reckless; without a mouth, yet not mute; emerging seven times and submerging eight, cultured and elegant." He then stepped down from the seat.

1.32

Arriving at Haihui, [the Master] ascended the hall and said: "The person of white clouds within Mount Baiyun / Guards the territory without a seam. / Without a seam—who knows how much it is worth? / Is there anyone who knows the price?" Then he said: "One, two, three, four, five."

1.33

Arriving at Xinghua, [the Master] ascended the hall and said: "Worldly affairs are as tangled as hemp; / The road to the gate of emptiness turns ever distant. / Guests beneath the green pine grove, / How many have managed to return home? / Together singing the barbarian reed-pipe tune, / Spreading open the five-petaled flower; / Fortunately meeting all friends of the Way, / Together riding the great white ox cart. Assembly! The cart is right here; where is the ox? One cannot find it at the fragrant-grass ferry; / As night comes, it rests as before among the reed blossoms." Stepping down from the seat, Elder Zi of Ganlu held the Master fast and said: "Within the jurisdiction of Shuzhou, there turns out to be a grass-bandit!" The Master said: "You too must be on guard, Venerable Priest." As Zi hesitated in thought, the Master pushed him away.

1.34

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The ancestral master said: 'Leaves fall and return to the root; when coming, there was no mouth.' For the ancestral master to say this, he still lacks enlightenment." He then stepped down from the seat.

1.35

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Are the intent of the patriarchs and the intent of the teachings the same or different?" The Master said: "When a man is poor, his wisdom is short; when a horse is thin, its hair is long." Then he said: "The ancestral masters cannot speak of it, the Buddha eye cannot see it; / Simian's grandmotherly heart opens a thread of a path for you." He then stepped down from the seat.

1.36

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The spring air is now cold, now warm; the spring clouds now roll up, now unfold; / Inducing the old fellow of Shaoyang to let loose the fish in the eye of a needle." Then he said: "Wrong."

1.37

Ascending the hall to thank the monastic administrators, a monk asked, "What is it like when the king asks for the saindhava?" The Master said, "Seven openings and eight apertures." The student said, "What is the king asking for the saindhava?" The Master said, "Before the imperial carriage has lined up, orders are issued." The student said, "What is the saindhava?" The Master said, "Twitching eyes and burning ears." The monk bowed. The Master said, "Hit the mark." He then said, "Mañjuśrī sets the sail and Samantabhadra holds the rudder; Mahāsthāmaprāpta and Avalokiteśvara sing and harmonize together—gaining for Shuangquan [the freedom] to sit in meditation amid the clamour. Sitting in meditation is not non-existent; but tell me, how does one sing a downstream boatman's song? Luololi, luololi—vulgar airs not yet cast off."

1.38

Ascending the hall, he said: "Tonight is the fifteenth of the first month; heaven and earth are altogether one piece. Samantabhadra's gate stands wide open; meeting one another, they do not see one another." He then said, "Whose fault is it?"

1.39

Ascending the hall, he said: "Silence, silence, silence! Supreme bodhi—from this people are duped to death!" He then stepped down from the seat.

1.40

Ascending the hall, he said: "Just now I thought of a case, but now I have already forgotten it; yet my staff remembers." He then held up his staff and said, "The staff has forgotten it too." He then struck it once and said, "In the same pit there is no different earth. Bah!"

1.41

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Jingqing asked Xuansha, 'A student has newly entered the monastery; I beg the master to point out a path of entry.' Xuansha said, 'Do you hear the sound of the water of Yan Stream?' Jingqing said, 'I hear it.' Xuansha said, 'Enter from here.'" The Master said, "If you truly succeed in entering, you are entirely free in all directions; but if not yet so, you must never leave this place."

1.42

Ascending the hall to thank the head cook, he said: "Small ropes string cash; large ropes draw from wells. In urgent daily needs one must have strainers and wooden ladles. Though broken utensils, they have their proper applications. Move after move goes wrong; north, south, east, and west, water cannot be splashed on it."

1.43

Ascending the hall on the Winter Solstice, he said: "On this day the young Son of Heaven offers worship at the suburban altar; men of the forests and streams gaze from afar, singing ballads: Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years!" He then stepped down from the seat.

1.44

There was a Daoist nun who entered the mountain to pay homage and requested him to ascend the hall. He said: "The Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao—truly laughable! Heng'e embroidering mandarin ducks all through the night knows how to handle the golden needle to present her subtlety. Compared with Old Huangmei, how clumsy his descendants are! Nowadays each and every mouth talks wildly; asked about a tortoise, they call it a soft-shelled turtle. Today Simian makes a clean break for you to resolve it—how can it be cleared away? Foes, foes! Do not stick out your tongues behind people's backs!"

1.45

Recorded Sayings of the Subsequent Residence at Taiping

1.46

Compiled by Qingyuan, student of Chan

1.47

On the day the Master entered the monastery, a monk asked, "Taking distant leave of Shuangquan to arrive among the Chan assembly, we pray the Master will present a phrase on entering the gate." The Master said, "Wait until each one has been inspected." The student said, "If so, then people need not journey far to Mount Qingliang; merely burning incense here, one sees the Master." The Master shouted and said, "You do not even take in my words." The student said, "Seeing your face in person today truly surpasses hearing your renown." The Master said, "Still babbling." He asked, "What is the environment of Taiping?" The Master said, "Several tiers of the jeweled pagoda rise into the sky; ten thousand tall pines envelop the earth in cold." The student said, "Who is the person within the environment?" The Master said, "Leisurely holding a scripture roll, leaning against a pine he stands, smilingly asking the guest from whence he came." The student said, "The person and the environment have already been pointed out by the Master; what about the matter of the superior lineage vehicle?" The Master said, "You must believe the city walls below are near; indeed the bells and chimes blend with pipes and songs." He asked, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "Bare chest and bare feet." The student said, "What is the Dharma?" The Master said, "A general amnesty that does not release [the prisoner]." The student said, "What is the Sangha?" The Master said, "Third Son Xie on the fishing boat." He then said, "Originally I had no intention to seek anything, yet today this jewel trove has arrived naturally. The treasures of the mundane world can turn poverty into wealth; this single treasure can transform the ordinary into the noble. But tell me, is it right now ordinary or noble? Taiping says: neither at all. Why so? A bitter gourd is bitter right down to its roots; a sweet melon is sweet all the way to its stem."

1.48

Ascending the hall, he said: "Bodhidharma without reason faced the wall at Shaolin; the Second Patriarch severed his arm and endured grievance all his life; what hovenia dulcis fruit can be sought from the crown of a Huangbo tree? Today Taiping's two eyes are like pitch. Who has Li Guang's divine arrow hit in the bullseye?"

1.49

Ascending the hall, he said: "The Buddhas of the ten directions, the patriarchs of the six generations, and the kalyāṇamitras under heaven all share this very tongue. If you recognize this tongue, only then will you understand great deceit, and straightaway say that mountains, rivers, and the great earth are Buddha, that grasses, trees, and forests are Buddha. If you have not yet recognized this tongue, you will only bring about small deceit, fooling yourself; tomorrow and the day after, there will be serious matters ahead. In Taiping talking like this, is there any genuine place or not?" He said himself: "There is. What is the genuine place? Return to the hall and drink tea."

1.50

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the guest within the guest?" The Master said, "Little joy, much anger." The student said, "What is the host within the guest?" The Master said, "Passing messages and carrying words." The student said, "What is the guest within the host?" The Master said, "Zhong Kui's younger sister." The student said, "What is the host within the host?" The Master said, "As soon as a single word leaves the mouth, the embroidered mat unrolls upon the ground." He then said, "Lately at Taiping Monastery, Chan practitioners gather and scatter in large numbers; what they investigate is old woman Chan, what they eat is non-glutinous rice. The duty administrators fail to take care of them, and the host lacks skillful means; although there is no flavor, you must swallow it slowly."

1.51

Ascending the hall to thank the estate manager, he said: "If you do not do it at first, do not stop at second; where there is no romance, there is also romance. If you want public and private affairs both accomplished, take a good look at the white ox out in the open."

1.52

Ascending the hall, he said: "This thing supports heaven above and props up earth below, taking the Wan River as its mouth and Mount Wan as its nose. Taiping steps back three paces, allowing all of you to breathe out."

1.53

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What was it like before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?" The Master said, "Wearing a heavy burden on his head." The student said, "What about after he met him?" The Master said, "Blue cloth covering the front." The student said, "Before he met the Fourth Patriarch, why did the hundred birds hold flowers in their beaks to offer him?" The Master said, "Riches and nobility are what men desire." The student said, "After he met him, why did the hundred birds not hold flowers to offer?" The Master said, "Poverty and lowliness are what men detest." He then said, "The twenty-eight Indian patriarchs spoke thus, the six Chinese patriarchs spoke thus, and the old venerable monks throughout the realm spoke thus; only Taiping does not speak thus. Why? The few cannot withstand the many. But tell me, how is it in the end? For a wonderful dance, one must know the full rhythm; for the Santai tune, everyone must urge it on."

1.54

Ascending the hall, he said: "Above is heaven, below is earth; north, south, east, and west remain in their old positions. Old man Śākyamuni works his marvelous spirit; Bodhidharma's coming from the west has many taboos. If a fellow suddenly stepped forward and said, 'Venerable monk, lower your voice,' I would just say to him: 'I only wanted to cast a brick to draw a piece of jade.'"

1.55

Ascending the hall, he said: "Today this mountain monk takes mountains, rivers, and the great earth, making them completely into golden [...], encompassing the sentient and insentient, causing them all to become Buddhas; and thereafter Taiping will not enter this village community. Why so? In contending there is not enough; in yielding there is plenty."

1.56

Ascending the hall, he said: "Taiping does not understand Chan; he has always run toward the outside. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, all he has earned is a single mouth. But tell me, which is Taiping's mouth?" He said himself: "He does not even recognize two lips."

1.57

Ascending the hall, he cited: "When Baoshou was a market supervisor, he saw two men quarreling; one struck the other with a fist, saying, 'How can you be so shameless!' Baoshou thereby attained entry. If a person knows the outcome here, it can be said that public and private are both settled. Assembly! Listen to a verse: Exceedingly wondrous, exceedingly wondrous! / Herein one knows nature and life; / Giving a fist directly to the nose, / Right at that moment, he struck true."

1.58

Ascending the hall, he said: "Taiping is a muddled fellow who has experienced each and every thing; like this for thirty years, there are also people who praise him. But tell me, what is good to praise? A muddled fellow!"

1.59

Ascending the hall, he cited: "The scriptures say: 'Even if the entire world were full of those like Śāriputra, exercising their utmost thought to calculate together, they still could not know it.' Usually patch-robed monks make a high bow to Śākyamuni and do not prostrate to Maitreya—do they understand the Buddha's wisdom, or do they not understand the Buddha's wisdom? Among the assembly there are some who do, but they merely hide their teeth and conceal their claws. Taiping has a insight; not sparing his eyebrows, he presents it to all of you: wait until someone asks, and he will answer as the words come."

1.60

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is snatching away the person but not snatching away the environment?" The Master said, "Autumn wind blows across the Wei River; fallen leaves fill Chang'an." The student said, "What is snatching away the environment but not snatching away the person?" The Master said, "Half the people met on the road are monks." The student said, "What is snatching away neither person nor environment?" The Master said, "A young wife rows a light skiff; the sound of singing follows the flowing water." The student said, "What is snatching away both person and environment?" The Master said, "High in the sky is the moon, a thousand gates are shut; on the great highway no one is present, walking alone." He then said, "For several days continuous heavy waters have caused damage wherever they reached; the single drop from the source of Cao fills the human realm, and when a patch-robed monk takes a single sniff, his nostrils reach the sky. But tell me, since the names are the same, why are the harm and benefit different? Who knows that beyond the distant mist and waves there is another fine thought?"

1.61

Ascending the hall, he said: "When one leaf falls, it is autumn throughout the realm; when a speck of dust rises, the great earth is gathered in. It is not that gathering in does not exist, but who does it by their own hand? Pulling up the immortal cassia in the moon along with its roots; tugging the black dragon at the bottom of the sea by its horn."

1.62

Ascending the hall, he said: "Pinching earth into gold is still easy; changing gold into earth is on the contrary difficult. Transforming the ordinary into the noble is still easy; transforming the noble into the ordinary is on the contrary very difficult. Why? Who is willing to humble their honor and condescend to the lowly? But tell me, how do you say a phrase that is neither ordinary nor noble?" He then said, "One must not corrupt other people's sons and daughters."

1.63

Ascending the hall, he cited: "The Third Patriarch met the Second Patriarch, bowed, and asked, 'I pray the master will repent my sins.' The Second Patriarch said, 'Bring your sins here and I will repent them for you.' The Third Patriarch said, 'Searching for sins, they cannot be found.' The Second Patriarch said, 'I have finished repenting your sins for you.' Therefore, I compose a verse to present to the assembly: A holeless flute and fine woolen clappers; / The five tones and six pitches are all pervasive. / People of the time do not recognize Huang Fanchuo; / Laughing, they say our family has ascended the jewel palace."

1.64

Ascending the hall, he said: "Hearing shallowly, one awakens deeply; hearing deeply, one does not awaken. What can be done, what can be done? Offering to the Buddha does not depend on an abundance of incense."

1.65

Ascending the hall, he said: "Opening the eyes is daytime; closing the eyes is night. Sitting and cutting off the tongue, who speaks of prajñā? The Golden Ascetic does not enter the village community."

1.66

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Fengxue said, 'If a single speck of dust is established, the state flourishes and the rustic old man frowns; if a single speck of dust is not established, the state perishes and the rustic old man sings songs.' Taiping is not so: if a single speck of dust is established, the grass in front of the Dharma hall grows ten feet deep; if a single speck of dust is not established, it is laying brocade over flowers. Why is this? Have you not heard it said: 'Nine times nine is eighty-one; the poor fellow has finished suffering his punishment. Just as he intends to stretch out his legs to sleep, mosquitoes and fleas come out.'"

1.67

Ascending the hall on account of snow, he cited: "A monk asked Yunmen, 'When not a single thought arises, is there still any fault or not?' Yunmen said, 'Mount Sumeru.'" The Master said, "Sometimes when monks are asked, one raises a finger, another steps forward, another gives a shout, or another shakes his sleeves and leaves. Venerables, not yet! Why? Taiping has never made a flurry of snow fall on you people during the second or third month! Now, if a fellow were to come out and say, 'Old monk, do not be topsy-turvy—look, isn't it falling right now?'" He then extended his hands and said, "Finished."

1.68

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "How is it before the lotus has emerged from the water?" The Master said, "In the mud." The student said, "How is it after it emerges from the water?" The Master said, "On the water." He asked, "How is it before the prince ascends the throne of nine-and-five?" The Master said, "He frequently asks people for directions." The student said, "How is it just as he ascends the nine-and-five?" The Master said, "The realm is at great peace." The student said, "How is it after ascending the nine-and-five?" The Master said, "Who discusses good or bad?" He then said, "The very end is most earnest; our home is fresh everywhere. Within the great chiliocosm of sands, one cannot avoid being a person in the midst of it. Tell me, who is the person in the midst of it? Where the flat overgrown plains end are the green mountains; the traveler is still beyond the green mountains."

1.69

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Yunmen said, 'On flat ground the dead are countless; one who can emerge from the bramble forest is an adept.' At the time a monk said, 'If so, then the head monk in the hall has a strong point.' Yunmen said, 'Suru suru!' Taiping is not so: on flat ground everyone is a great person; one who can sit in the bramble forest is an adept. Why?" He then said, "Ge!"

1.70

Ascending the hall, he said, "Taking the waters of the four great oceans as an inkstone and Mount Sumeru as a brush, if someone were to write in empty space the five characters 'the Patriarch's intention in coming from the west', Taiping would step down from the seat, spread his sitting cloth widely, make prostrations, and take him as master. If he cannot write it, the Buddhadharma has no efficacy! Is there anyone? Is there anyone?" He then stepped down from the seat. As the assembly dispersed, the Master said in a loud voice, "Attendant!" The attendant responded, "Yes?" The Master said, "Take up the sitting cloth." He asked the attendant again, "Have you taken up the sitting cloth?" The attendant held up the sitting cloth. The Master said, "I knew all along you would do that."

1.71

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "How was it before the Buddha appeared in the world?" The Master said, "A great foolishness is not as good as a small foolishness." The student said, "How was it after he appeared in the world?" The Master said, "A small foolishness is not as good as a great foolishness." He then said, "Entering a wild field without choosing, / Taking up weeds at hand; / Not recognizing the eldest brother's wife, / She turns out to be sister-in-law. / Zhengzhou produces goose pears; / Qingzhou produces big jujubes. / When there is nothing to do under the baggage cloths, / Everyone takes a bite from the top."

1.72

Ascending the hall, he said, "Yesterday I went into the city and saw a puppet booth. I could not help stepping forward to watch: some appeared dignified and wondrous, others appeared unbearably ugly; moving, turning, walking, and sitting, blue, yellow, red, and white—I saw them all one by one. When I looked carefully, it turned out there was someone inside the blue cloth curtain! I could not hold back a laugh, and so asked the chief official's noble surname. He said, 'Old monk, just watch and be done with it; why ask what surname?' Assembly! Hit by that one sentence of his, I was left without a word to reply, without a reason to offer! Is there anyone who can speak for me? Yesterday that is where the meter broke; today here the root is pulled up."

1.73

Ascending the hall, he said, "With salt it is called salty; without salt it is called bland. Taiping hears this spoken of, and his mouth is like a carrying pole." He then stepped down from the seat.

1.74

Ascending the hall, he said, "Supernatural powers and wondrous functions lack not a thread; / For an adept, what need for endless prattle? / Much mud makes a big Buddha; high water raises the boat."

1.75

Ascending the hall, he said, "'One moon universally appears in all waters; the moons in all waters are gathered into the one moon.' Truly are these words spoken! It may be said: it cannot be sculpted, it cannot be painted; last night at the third watch it was white as day."

1.76

Thanking the director of meals, he ascended the hall and said, "Turning the raw into the cooked is indeed easy, / But harmonizing many mouths proves increasingly hard. / If one knows the true flavor of salty and bland, / Naturally hunger and fullness have nothing to do with each other."

1.77

Ascending the hall, he held up his staff and said, "Last night at the third watch, I dreamed that the staff taught me a piece of Chan, saying to me, 'Upādhyāya! Tomorrow morning when you rise and ascend the hall, cite it for the assembly: Yesterday was laying brocade over flowers; today feet tread on solid ground. Just look at today and tomorrow—what talk of the Patriarch's intention in coming! Reflecting on the yellow-faced old man, in vain he spoke of conferring predictions on Vulture Peak. Even though the mountains and rivers of the great earth borrow my nostrils to breathe, it is better to cast off body and mind; then benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are natural.'"

1.78

Applying fire for a deceased monk, he held up the torch and said, "The four great elements of fire and wind conflict with each other; at such a juncture, one is free according to conditions." The next day, he again held up the torch for a monk and said, "Yesterday was like this, today is also like this. Tell me, was yesterday right, or is today right? What talk of right or not right? Look at what colour the fire is!"

1.79

Ascending the hall, he said, "Today is the middle of the first month; I meet with all of you. / Tender wheat grows new sprouts; grain by grain all turns into flour. / Whether you comprehend or not, / It relies entirely on the fanning of the spring breeze."

1.80

Recorded Sayings of the Subsequent Abbatial Tenure at Haihui

1.81

Compiled by the student Jingchun

1.82

When the Master entered the monastery on the day of opening the hall, after the declaration of the letter of appointment, he said, "The letters and documents have all been read at once. If one possesses the diamond eye, why must gāthās be recited again? Even though it is like this, affairs are not one-sided." He then ascended the seat. After offering incense, the four-sided mallet was struck, declaring, "Assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma banquet, you should contemplate the paramārtha!" The Master said, "With golden arrowheads, one is used to leveling the Patriarchs' path; with the iron whip kept long, one regrets having no enemy. Is there any patch-robed monk who disregards peril and death? Come forth and meet with me!" A monk asked, "Beneath Mount Baiyun, the ancestral order should be carried out. What is the ancestral order?" The Master said, "One, two, three, four, five." The student said, "If so, then yesterday was Taiping, and today is Haihui." The Master said, "Aim higher, monk." A monk asked, "Formerly you left to provide timely rain; now brilliantly you come leading the assembly. Court worthies have arrived before the seat; we wish for a clap of thunder to shake us." The Master said, "Do you still hear it?" The student said, "The wind sends auspicious clouds back to the jade-green grotto; the water surges in the blue sea to aid the billows." The Master said, "How many people understand the heart?" The student said, "Hanshan constantly claps his hands; Shide is ever earnest." The Master said, "I had thought there was no one." The student said, "One must not suppress the virtuous into the lowly." The Master said, "Make prostrations for now." He then said, "Let the questioning cease. As for the paramārtha, just now if you had comprehended it under the striking of the four-sided mallet, the thousand sages could not approach it, the Patriarchs' words could not reach it, and the adept masters under heaven would clasp their hands and submit. Why? Moreover, the paramārtha is fundamentally pure and receives no specks of dust—how can it be spoken of? Only companions on the path will know. Today I let a move pass, and within the gate of teaching and transformation I make another explanatory gathering. Thus we continue the bequeathed traces of the former sages, extol the ancestral order, serve as a model for later students, and establish the lineage style. If one is not the right person, how could it be transmitted?" (Words of thanks not recorded.) He then said, "Having completed the statement of thanks, it cannot be left in vain. There is a verse cited for the assembly: / The sun is warm, the wind is gentle, and flowers are in full bloom; / Sevenfold mountains enclose, and the white clouds come. / Turning my thoughts to the bustling places of the city, / I once again step out of the pine gate for a stroll."

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法演禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese