法演禪師語錄 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Recorded Sayings of Upādhyāya Yan of Dongshan in Huangmei

When the Master accepted the invitation at Haihui, he offered incense and instructed the assembly, saying, "An eighty-year-old grandfather rolls an embroidered ball." Then he handed it to the karmadāna to proclaim the document to the end, ascended the seat, and said, "As abbot in three places, it is only this flavor; / This time the foe is difficult to evade: / The nostrils of White Lotus Peak, / The mountain of Haihui breathes out."

3.4

That evening, at an informal gathering, he said, "One is three, three is seven: / The privet flowers beside the sheep-grazing embankment, / The husband-watching stone beside the Juma River. / A stone strikes a foot rule red; / Drawing an earth winnowing basket, / Letting eyes stare in dull bewilderment." He further said, "Thirty years in the Huai marshes, / Today I become the old Huangmei. / Better to speak clearly, / Letting ducks listen to thunder." Entering the monastery, he burned incense at the Ancestor's pagoda, pointed with his finger, and said, "Having gone away with your whole body like that at that time, / Coming back today, do you remember or not?" He further said, "What serves as proof? This serves as proof." Thereupon he made prostrations.

3.5

At the opening of the hall in Huangmei, when the prefect presented the statement, the Master held it up, showed it to the assembly, and said: "Do you see? The rarest treasures and extraordinary gems are all within it. If you do not see them, I invite the reciter to hold it out before the assembly." After the reading of the statement was concluded, he said: "If we were to disperse just like this, it would already be making too much trouble. If you do not believe it—" He then pointed to the Dharma seat and said: "In a moment, upon its top, sand and dirt will be scattered!" He then ascended the seat. Having concluded the offering of incense with prayers for the Emperor, he took up another stick of incense and said: "This stick of incense: for twenty-seven years in Shu Prefecture, I have presided over three monasteries, as all of you know." He was about to burn it, but then added: "It will not do; I must speak it plainly. For fifteen years I went on pilgrimage. First, I studied with Upādhyāya Qian and obtained his hair; next, I visited eminent masters throughout the four seas and obtained their skin; then I reached the venerable Fushan Yuanjian and obtained his bones; later, with Upādhyāya Baiyun Duan, I obtained his marrow. Only then did I dare take it upon myself to become a teacher to others. Today, I burn it in the censer: let it smoke through the heavens and scorch the earth; let whoever has ears discern it!" The Upādhyāya of Sizu struck the gavel and said: "The assembly of dragons and elephants at this Dharma banquet should contemplate the paramārtha!" The Master said: "'Should contemplate the paramārtha'—the precious sword's frosty edge is sharp. A flash of lightning separates three thousand [worlds]; supreme, it has no peer or parallel. With discerning eyes and skilled hands, come forth and test yourselves against me!" A monk asked: "An old shop newly opened arrays precious gems; each time they are picked up, each time they are fresh. Now that the Master occupies the seat of Lu Neng, how indeed do you wipe away the dust of the mirror?" The Master said: "In the morning arriving at the Western Heavens, in the evening returning to the land of Tang." The monk advanced and said: "Having obtained Xuanyuan to discern the truth, the numinous light from this point shines through the sands of the Ganges." The Master said: "What was the very first phrase?" The monk said: "Not shirking the long mountain road, even treading snow one must cross." The Master said: "You are still drunk." A monk asked: "At the single assembly on Numinous Mountain, Kāśyapa heard it personally; I wonder who gets to hear it at today's single assembly?" The Master said: "No different from Numinous Mountain." The monk advanced and said: "Those of ancient and modern times are all attuned listeners." The Master said: "What about the phrase of an attuned listener?" The monk said: "Nodding the head without sticking out the tongue." The Master said: "No one is more reckless than you." The monk said: "What if one suddenly encounters a dragon grabbing clouds and clutching mist?" The Master said: "This old monk beats the retreat drum." He then said: "Just now my Dharma Uncle from Sizu struck the gavel and said, 'Should contemplate the paramārtha.' But as for the paramārtha, how is it to be contemplated? Do you want to understand? If not for the paramārtha, what would all the Buddhas of the three periods use to transform and save sentient beings? If not for the paramārtha, what would the twenty-eight [patriarchs] of the Western Heavens, the six of the land of Tang, and the venerable old masters throughout the world use to establish their lineage style? If not for the paramārtha, what would the current Sagely Emperor use to govern the world? If not for the paramārtha, what would the prefect, the scholars, the county magistrate, the pacification commissioner, and all the venerable officials seated here use to be parents to the people? And down to the donors here in the assembly, if not for the paramārtha, what would they use to venerate the Three Jewels? Yet, although this is so, each and every one of you must personally awaken to it for it to count."

3.6

Ascending the hall, he cited: "An ancient said, 'One who is a kalyāṇamitra must drive off the plowman's ox and snatch away the hungry man's food. Driving off the plowman's ox causes his crops to flourish; snatching away the hungry man's food cuts off his hunger and emptiness forever.' When people in the assembly hear this cited, it is mostly like wind passing the ear. Since his ox is driven off, why do the crops flourish instead? Since his food is snatched away, why is hunger and emptiness cut off forever? Coming to this point, one must possess the hands and feet to drive off the plowman's ox and snatch away the hungry man's food; then give them a squeeze and a push, driving them to run into a blind corner, where one can well say to them: 'Good fortune does not come twice; misfortune never comes singly.'"

3.7

Ascending the hall, he said: "In the mid-spring of the second month, it is gradually getting warm; derisive songs frequently beat out the rhythm. The black chicken runs into the flock of geese; the duckling's bill is flattened by the cold. Floating or sinking on the water, when will they ever understand how to become sacrificial vessels? Consider it thoroughly and well: heaven and earth are not far from this." He further said: "King Bimbisāra."

3.8

Ascending the hall, he said: "Today is the fifth day of the second month; the postulant comes first to beat the drum. The elder's mind is completely blank, thinking of speaking of Buddhas and speaking of patriarchs. Over the great earth the snow is three feet deep; birds and beasts eat mud and eat dirt. This year is bound to have an abundant harvest; naturally there will be the five winds and ten rains. Right here there is a good thing; tell me, what good thing is there?" He then made a thunder sound and said: "What is it?" He further said: "Thunder then gives forth its sound."

3.9

Ascending the hall, he said: "A Chan wanderer is like a general going out beyond the borders. If you can bring Yunmen's half a piece of sesame flatbread, I will give you half of Mount Sumeru. If you are not like this, how dare you call yourself a Chan wanderer?"

3.10

Ascending the hall, he said: "One who leaves the household must have the vision of leaving the household; only when one possesses the eye for discerning the Dharma can one be said to have left the household. What is the eye for discerning the Dharma? A broken lamp dish. Ultimately, what about it? Carrying a board, carrying a board!"

3.11

Ascending the hall on the opening day of the summer retreat, he said: "Early summer is gradually growing hot; I respectfully inquire after the health and myriad blessings of the head monk and the great assembly. It is just like brocade oleanders spreading blossoms upon blossoms. Blossoms cover the ground—do not let your eyes be dazzled! The annual customs do not require bustling agitation. Stepping down from the seat, human greetings; making rounds of the quarters, drinking tea."

3.12

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Yongjia said, 'There are no people and there are no Buddhas; the great chiliocosms are bubbles in the ocean, and all the sages and worthies are like flashes of lightning.' Great assembly! Right here, if you do not possess the diamond eye, you will see skulls covering the wilds. How can one be correct? Though the road through Sword Pass is perilous, nighttime travelers are even more numerous."

3.13

Ascending the hall, he said: "Standing in the snow and severing an arm served as an instructive example for later people; human beings can enlarge the Way, it is not that the Way enlarges human beings. What kind of words are these? 'River Town Child.'"

3.14

Ascending the hall, he said: "Where people of the times dwell, I do not dwell; where people of the times walk, I do not walk. Ultimately, what is it like? An ox's horn is three inches long; a rabbit's horn is eight feet long. The four seas flow into the eastern sea; prajñāpāramitā."

3.15

Ascending the hall, he said: "Outside the gate there is a great highway, yet one refuses to open the mouth wide. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, scurrying about outside at random—good elder brother!"

3.16

Ascending the hall, he said: "There is no Dharma to be spoken: this is called expounding the Dharma. The night moon is austere and frozen; the frosty sky is piercingly cold. In the pond, the terrapin is frozen into a soft-shelled turtle. If I speak two more phrases, my tongue will turn to iron."

3.17

Ascending the hall on the Imperial Birthday, he said: "The eighth day of the twelfth month is the day of our current Emperor's descent and birth; nothing else may be spoken of." He then called out in a loud voice: "Ten thousand years to the Emperor! Ten thousand years to the Emperor!"

3.18

Ascending the hall, he said: "Boundless Body Bodhisattva took a bamboo staff to measure the World-Honoured One's crown: sixteen feet, and sixteen feet again, measuring all the way to the Brahmā Heaven without seeing the mark of the World-Honoured One's crown. Thereupon he threw down the bamboo staff, joined his palms, and spoke a verse: / 'Empty space has no boundary; / the Buddha's merit is also like this. / If someone were able to measure it, / throughout exhausted kalpas it could not be depleted.' / Great assembly! Set aside the verse spoken by Boundless Body Bodhisattva; do you all understand how to measure yourselves? If you have this old monk measure himself, there is simply no place to begin. Have you not seen the ancients say: 'A peck-measure filling the Buddha's seat: its merit is hard to measure; burning incense in a small saucer: purple clouds drift hazily.' Why is it like this? Another realm of spring entirely."

3.19

Ascending the hall, he said: "Of the year only this month remains, yet the way of Heaven has not yet brought down snow. I report to the dragon spirits of the three realms, each to relay the word to one another: let silver be spread over the entire heaven and entire earth, for it must be timely and in season! Furthermore, I hope the great assembly will be compassionate and recite for Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Ultimately, how is it? Mahāsattva!"

3.20

When Court Gentleman of Consultation Guo Xiangzheng requested him to ascend the hall, the Court Gentleman burned incense before the Dharma seat and said: "This petal of incense, burned in the censer, becomes a cloud of radiant light filling the Dharma realm, as an offering to my senior Dharma-brother Chan Master, head of the hall. I respectfully pray that within this cloud, upon the seat of broad expanse, he will tear open his face and release the form and appearance of our late master to depict them for everyone. Why so? / Beside the crag of Baiyun we met of old; / things are not the same today as in past times. / In the quiet night the water is cold, and the fish do not bite; / a single censer of incense disperses into the breeze of White Lotus." / The Master then said: "Namo sattātaprāya. Like this, like this: several times looking out over the creek of Baiyun, the yellow plum blossoms open amid the snow. Not like this, not like this: the tender willow twigs are threads of gold, and they must arrive in their proper season. Have you not seen Layman Pang ask Great Master Ma: 'Who is the one who keeps no company with the ten thousand dharmas?' Great Master Ma said: 'Wait until you have swallowed all the water of the West River in a single gulp, and then I will tell you.' Great assembly! Swallowing all the water of the West River in a single gulp, the pool ten thousand fathoms deep is exhausted to the bottom. A single-plank bridge is not the Zhaozhou Bridge; how can the bright moon and clear breeze compare?"

3.21

Ascending the hall, he said: "The spring rain sprinkles boundlessly; heaven and earth already fully know it. The Lord of the East carries out his proper order; plums and willows, branch by branch. Visitors under the Patriarch's gate meet each other in this present time. Meeting each other is indeed not lacking; what matter is to be discussed?" He then stepped down from the seat.

3.22

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Emperor Suzong asked National Teacher Zhong: 'After your passing, Upādhyāya, what will you need?' The National Teacher said: 'Build this old monk a seamless stupa.' The Emperor said: 'Please provide the master's stupa model.' The National Teacher remained silent for a long while and said: 'Do you understand?' The Emperor said: 'I do not understand.' The National Teacher said: 'I have a Dharma-successor disciple, Danyuan, who is well versed in this matter; please summon him to ask.'" The Master said: "In front are pearls and carnelian; in back are carnelian and pearls. On the east side are Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta; on the west side are Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī. In the middle there is a single banner, blown by the wind, saying: 'Hulu, hulu!'"

3.23

Ascending the hall, he looked to the left and right of the meditation platform, then picked up his staff in his hand and said: "Just one foot long." He stepped down from the seat.

3.24

Ascending the hall, he said: "There is a thing in the world: it belongs neither to the mundane nor to the sacred, neither to the heterodox nor to the orthodox. When the ten thousand matters arrive, it naturally issues the command. If you insist on knowing it to the death, it will cost you your life."

3.25

Ascending the hall, he said: "Carrying water to sell at the riverbank, everyone laughs at the strangeness. Stagnant goods that nobody guesses at, just like owing them a debt. Last night at midnight, the stone people competed in bowing. As for this talk, do not say that you cannot comprehend it—I cannot comprehend it either."

3.26

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “An ancient said: ‘Boundless Buddha-fields, self and other are not separated by the tip of a hair; ancient and modern across the ten times, beginning and end never depart from the present thought.’” The Master said: “True as it may be, it is merely too stale. Xuefeng instructed the assembly, saying: ‘Pinch up the whole great earth, it is the size of a grain of millet; toss it before you, and you lacquer tubs do not understand—beat the drum and summon everyone to look!’ Assembly! Facing you, Xuefeng hoodwinks everyone not a little. Even though it is like this, is there anyone who walks in step with Xuefeng? Step forth and meet with Wuzu. Is there anyone? If not…” Thereupon he picked up his staff, struck it once, held it up, and said: “Today, together with Xuefeng, Wuzu boarded a raft and drifted across the four great oceans, bored through the skulls of the eight great dragon kings, passed through hundreds of thousands of Mount Sumerus, and then returned to sit upon the Dharma seat, and also escorted Xuefeng back to Mount Xuefeng—merely without ever having moved a single step. Can you people still fully believe this? If you cannot fully believe…” Thereupon he held up his staff and said: “Have you not seen my late teacher-grandfather say: ‘Placed at the head of the bed, it is urgently needed to strike mice’?”

3.27

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Ordinary mind and sacred intent are exposed in full view; / Thought after thought without deviation is itself the bodhimaṇḍa. / Henceforth do not speak of today's affair; / Avalokiteśvara at ease radiates a beam of light.” After a long pause, he said: “It would be best not to deceive this old monk.”

3.28

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “The three-month retreat has now been completed; / How went the matter of ninety days of confinement? / The wax seal of India has long been heard of by reputation; / The goose and pearl of this land are spoken of by many. / The distant intention of the degenerate era after two thousand years: / Milk and water flowing together amass into a river. / May the open-hearted masters of forest and spring join in propagating and protecting it; / Do not let it fall into ruin and be seized by the various Māras.”

3.29

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “The season is late autumn, the frost is cold; / The bright, clear Silver River shines brightly. / A single stick of incense in the pine window's burner / Quite unravels our house's fine scene.”

3.30

Ascending the hall, the Master cited: “A monk asked Touzi, ‘Is there still an extraordinary matter within the great canon of teachings or not?’ Touzi said, ‘Expounding the great canon of teachings.’” The Master said: “Touzi, upon receiving this one question, was completely nonplussed and utterly disconnected. If it were Wuzu, it would not be so. If someone asked, ‘Is there still an extraordinary matter within the great canon of teachings or not?’ this old monk would say to him: ‘They made obeisance and departed, faithfully accepting and practicing it.’ Even though it is like this, between him and Touzi there are ten thousand leagues of white clouds. In the end, what is it? Why do you need the eyes of all directions?”

3.31

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Once enlightened, it is the same as being unenlightened; / Returning home to find the old path. / A single character is a single character; / A single phrase is a single phrase. / From youth not straying into emptiness, / At two years old learning to walk. / In clear water lotus blossoms grow, / Blooming once a year.”

3.32

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Constantly calling you, yet you do not return home, / Covetously playing with dirt and sand before the gate. / Every year when it comes to the third month, / Across the whole city the peony flowers bloom completely.”

3.33

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Green vines climbing, straight up to the peak of the cold pine; / White clouds drifting calmly, appearing and disappearing within the great void. / From the nineteenth to the twenty-third, more than ten thousand people came here to attend the gathering in an uproar; now there is only this old fellow seen chattering away by himself. If you say many people is bustle and one person is stillness, it is straightaway ten thousand leagues of white clouds. In the end, what is it? One person is clamorous and bustling; many people are quietly still. It would be better to return to the hall and drink tea.”

3.34

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “‘The mind turns following myriad circumstances; / Where it turns is truly profound.’ Yunmen said: ‘Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva takes money to buy a sesame cake, lets down her hand and says: “Why, it's a steamed bun!”’ If it is like this, then one is turned following his heels. Wuzu has an occasion of ‘following the flow and recognizing the nature, joyful and forever free of sorrow,’ which I cite for the assembly; perhaps you might suddenly awaken to it.” After a long pause, he called the attendant. The attendant responded. The Master said: “I suffer from foolishness.”

3.35

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “The severe cold of midwinter pervades the world; wealth and nobility find it easy, poverty finds it hard. Only we people of the forests and springs have neither easy nor hard. Why is it like this?” After a long pause, he said: “Where there is no one, I will speak to you.”

3.36

Ascending the hall, the Master cited: “Puhua said: ‘If it comes in the light, I strike in the light; if it comes in the dark, I strike in the dark; if it comes from empty space, I strike from empty space; if it comes from the four quarters and eight directions, I strike with a flail.’ Linji heard of this and sent a monk to ask: ‘What when it does not come in any such way at all?’ Puhua said: ‘Tomorrow there is a vegetarian feast at the Great Compassion Cloister.’ If it were Wuzu, it would not be so. If someone asked, ‘What when it does not come in any such way at all?’ I would strike along with the sound [of his voice]. He would surely say, ‘Wuzu's blind flail and sightless stick.’ I only want you to speak like this. Why? Bring it up before all directions at your will!”

3.37

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Responding to situations without fixed bounds is only this; / Atop a single hair-tip, the mind-ground is expanded. / Growing branches and spreading vines, Māra's family clan; / Dot by dot unfolding radiance, illuminating the ancestral sky.”

3.38

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “The wind is gentle and the sun is warm; orioles sing in tall trees. Peaches and plums are beautiful, their brilliant brocade forming rows; fragrant grasses are lush, spreading mats to form ranks. Blossoms fall, one petal, two petals, floating like broken jade in a mist; willows dance, three turns, five turns, trailing long silken threads softly. At such a time, an ancient said: ‘Secluded birds chatter like reeds, / Willows hang long golden threads. / Mists clear, the mountain valley is still; / The breeze brings the fragrance of apricot blossoms. / Sitting leisurely through the long day, / With a clear mind, ten thousand worries are forgotten. / Wishing to speak, words cannot reach; / Beneath the forest it is good to deliberate.’

3.39

Ascending the hall, the Master cited: “A monk asked Xuefeng, ‘How is it when it is the cold spring of an ancient ravine?’ Xuefeng said, ‘Staring with wide eyes, one does not see the bottom.’ The monk said, ‘What about one who drinks of it?’ Xuefeng said, ‘It does not enter through the mouth.’ Zhaozhou heard of this and said, ‘It must not enter through the nostrils.’ The monk then asked Zhaozhou, ‘How is it when it is the cold spring of an ancient ravine?’ Zhaozhou said, ‘Bitter.’ The monk said, ‘What about one who drinks of it?’ Zhaozhou said, ‘He dies.’” The Master said: “If someone were to ask Wuzu, ‘How is it when it is the cold spring of an ancient ravine?’ I would say to him: ‘Water.’ ‘What about one who drinks of it?’ I would merely say: ‘It immediately quenches thirst.’ If someone were to come forth and ask, ‘Is it one with or two from the waters of Caoxi?’ I would immediately say to him: ‘Branches and streams diverge, free and unhindered; watering fields in the lowlands, splashing vegetables on high ground.’”

3.40

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Zhaozhou spoke of the cypress tree, / Luling followed with snow-white rice. / In the middle there is White Lotus Peak, / Swallowing the waters of West River in a single gulp. / Xi-mei-luo-luo-li-luo-luo-li! / I am myself, you are yourself. / In the deep village there is a white-browed bug, / With puffing cheeks, bristling whiskers, and nine tails.” After a long pause, he said: “Bah! How terrifying.”

3.41

At an informal gathering, the Master cited: “When Yaoshan first visited Shitou, he asked: ‘The three vehicles and twelve divisions of the teachings, I have a rough understanding of. I have heard that in the south they point directly to the human mind, seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha, but I am truly not clear about this.’ Shitou said: ‘Like this will not do; not like this will not do; both like this and not like this will not do at all.’ Yaoshan was at a loss. One day while sitting, Shitou then asked him: ‘What are you doing here?’ Yaoshan said: ‘I am not doing a single thing.’ Shitou said: ‘Then you are sitting idly.’ Yaoshan said: ‘Sitting idly would be doing something.’ Shitou said: ‘You say you are not doing; not doing what?’ Yaoshan said: ‘Even the thousand sages do not know.’ Shitou thereupon had a verse: ‘From the beginning living together without knowing the name, / Following its course, walking together just like this. / Since ancient times even the highest worthies still do not know; / How could ordinary worldly folk easily understand in haste?’” The Master said: “Assembly! You must pass through the Patriarch's barrier and understand the bird's path and the dark road before you can begin to understand this sort of talk. Shitou's instructional guidance like this is just like Zhaozhou's cypress tree in the courtyard, Dongshan's three pounds of hemp, and Yunmen's talk of transcending Buddhas and going beyond patriarchs. Wuzu also has a verse: / Following its course without knowing the name, / Lightly turn your eyes to listen. / On the water, the vibrant fresh green / Was duckweed all along.”

3.42

The special envoy Wenxiang from Simian arrived bearing a letter of Dharma transmission. The Master received the letter before the Dharma seat, held it up, and asked the special envoy: “This belongs to Simian; where is the Ācārya’s?” The envoy said: “The verification is right before your eyes.” The Master said: “I almost let it pass without asking.” Thereupon he ascended the seat and said: “A fine event is hard to encounter; why not come forth and sing in harmony together?” At that time a monk came forth and asked: “Shitou sending a letter was still a dull fellow; Xuansha’s blank paper was a vain talk of sharing the same style. What auspicious sign is brought from Simian?” The Master said: “When spring air arises, there is no hard ground.” He pressed on: “If so, then surging open a thousand leagues of waves, one penetrates the Patriarch’s barrier.” The Master said: “Truly there is none.” He pressed on: “It may be called: ‘After the yellow plums are ripe, no one recognizes them; / Only the one old master of Dongshan is acknowledged.’” The Master said: “There is still someone else.” He pressed on: “The Upādhyāya also should not doubt it.” The Master said: “You also fall behind the Ācārya.” He pressed on: “Take it that Simian has no gate; from where did the venerable Upādhyāya receive this news?” The Master said: “Where have you just come from?” The monk pointed to the eastern side and said: “This director of affairs is so very black.” He also pointed to the western side and said: “This guest master is so very fat.” The Master said: “You must not point to the east and draw lines to the west.” The monk drew a line with his sitting mat and said: “This cannot be called east or west.” The Master said: “Look at you running around wildly.” He pressed on: “Upādhyāya, lower your voice, for fear people might hear.” The Master said: “Just now you were also slovenly not a little.” The monk slapped his own mouth with his hand and said: “I brought it upon myself.” The Master then said: “Assembly! The Elder of Simian has sent a letter; before the great assembly, it must be stated. A great lacquer tub of Simian, Master Xiang shares half a tub; opened beneath White Lotus Peak, it stinks up my nostrils. And tell me, why is it like this? There is no place for you to catch your breath.”

3.43

The special envoy from Taiping arrived. Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Ten thousand leagues without a cloud specking the great clarity; / In the ancestral sky, the sun and moon are naturally bright and clear. / Taiping does not permit the general to see; / Yet it permits the general to establish great peace.”

3.44

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Bring up a gong'an, and every matter is accomplished; run outside seeking, foolish fellow, foolish fellow!”

3.45

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “‘There is a thing prior to heaven and earth; / Formless, fundamentally serene and still. / Able to be the master of myriad phenomena, / It does not wither with the four seasons.’ An ancient speaking like this may be called adding flowers upon brocade, remarkably extraordinary. But how do you people understand? Today Bailian accommodates lower capacities, not sparing his eyebrows, and also composes a verse for it: / In the existent, there is existence; / In the nonexistent, there is nonexistence. / In the fine, there is the fine; / In the coarse, there is the coarse.”

3.46

Ascending the hall, the Master said: “Today is the fifth day of the third month; / This old fellow also has nothing to contribute. / The character ‘wu’ points the road openly; / In vain patch-robed monks are seen enduring bitterness. / In the end, what is it? Like a person learning archery.”

3.47

Ascending the hall, he said: "The charming scene in mid-spring has warm light and gentle heat; throughout the worlds of dust and sand there is just one sky. Forest and mountain ridges cluster luxuriantly, vying in verdant green; flowers and willows are fragrant, competing in fresh hues. Butterflies play among the peonies, their flying pace swift; bees wander among the Chinese herbaceous peonies, lingering slowly. How many times in a human life does one encounter spring scenery? Why not sow the field of blessings within it?"

3.48

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Xinghua said, 'Whenever I meet someone, I do not emerge; if I emerge, then I act for the person.' Sansheng said, 'Whenever I meet someone, I emerge; if I emerge, then I do not act for the person.'" The Master said, "Between these two ancients of virtue, one possesses literary talent vast and boundless, while the other completely displays martial prowess. If you say Xinghua is literary, that will not do; if you say Sansheng is martial, that will not do either. Can you discern between them here? If you can discern, I grant that your whole body is alive; if you cannot discern, deliberate it yourself."

3.49

Ascending the hall, he said: "What is Chan? The jambu tree is south of the sea; near, it does not leave the square inch of the mind; far, it is a hundred and eight thousand leagues away. What is it ultimately? Chan, Chan!"

3.50

Ascending the hall, he said: "Selling cheaply the plank-carrying fellow, adding as make-weight three pounds of flax; dead stock for hundreds and thousands of years, where can the whole body be placed?"

3.51

Ascending the hall, he said: "Today is the twentieth of the eighth month; the two words 'Buddha Dharma' are difficult to enter. The old men young and old in deep villages—even Patriarch Bodhidharma cannot match them."

3.52

Ascending the hall, he said: "If you have not passed through the Patriarch's barrier, do not ask about the Great Snow Mountains: with each step ten thousand leagues, a thousand hardships and ten thousand difficulties."

3.53

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Zhaozhou, 'Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?' Zhaozhou said, 'No (wu).' The monk said, 'All sentient beings have Buddha-nature; why does a dog not have it?' Zhaozhou said, 'Because he has karmic consciousness.'" The Master said, "Great assembly! How do you usually understand this? This old monk usually only cites the word 'No' (wu) and stops. If you can penetrate this one word, no one under heaven can do anything to you. How do you penetrate it? Is there anyone who has penetrated to the bottom? If there is, come forward and speak so we can see! I do not want you to say 'yes', nor do I want you to say 'no', nor do I want you to say 'neither yes nor no'. What do you say? Take care."

3.54

When Controller-General of Pingzhou Bao Wenjia entered the mountain, [the Master] ascended the hall. A monk asked, "The World-Honoured One held up a flower and Kāśyapa smiled; your highness's banners have illuminated this Dharma seat. We pray the Master will expediently expound it." The Master said, "Six ears do not plot together." The monk continued, "Not seeking it upon the flower, it is brilliantly round and bright of itself." The Master said, "Good." The monk continued, "What is meant by 'standing uniquely revealed without bias, matching each other with accuracy'?" The Master said, "Yes." The monk continued, "What about recognizing the dynamic right to one's face?" The Master said, "You must not tell others." The monk continued, "The Upādhyāya only knows the one, but does not yet know the two." The Master said, "What do you say?" The monk continued, "The Patriarch rather said, 'I know he has come; returning to be salt and plum is precisely the right time.'" The Master said, "You hit upon it." The monk continued, "Having obtained good news from the true person, there is no more doubt between heaven and earth." The Master then said, "I recall that formerly a monk asked the Sixth Patriarch, 'Who obtained the robe and bowl of Huangmei?' The Patriarch said, 'The person who understands the Buddha Dharma obtained them.' The monk said, 'Did the Upādhyāya also obtain them or not?' The Patriarch said, 'I did not.' The monk said, 'Why did the Upādhyāya rather not obtain them?' The Patriarch said, 'I do not understand the Buddha Dharma.'" He also cited: "A monk asked Xuefeng, 'After the Upādhyāya saw Deshan, what principle did you attain so that you just stopped?' Xuefeng said, 'At that time I went empty-handed and returned empty-handed.'" The Master said, "Great assembly! These two venerable elders—one was a Patriarch, and one was a Chan master. When questioned, one said: 'I do not understand the Buddha Dharma.' The other said: 'I went empty-handed and returned empty-handed.' Do you all understand such talk as theirs? If you wish to understand their talk, you must penetrate the Patriarch's barrier before you can succeed. If you do not penetrate the Patriarch's barrier, you must not rashly look at it with the correct eye."

3.55

When Intendant Tang Si arrived at the monastery, [the Master] ascended the hall and cited: "Sansheng asked Xuefeng, 'What does the golden fish that has penetrated the net eat for food?' Xuefeng said, 'Wait until you come out of the net, then I will tell you.' Sansheng said, 'A kalyāṇamitra of fifteen hundred people, yet you do not even recognize the topic of the dialogue!' Xuefeng said, 'This old monk's abbot duties are troublesome.' In the assembly some say that Xuefeng and Sansheng belonged to different lineages, and therefore their words did not accord. Some say that Sansheng was an adept, and Xuefeng could not convey his meaning. What connection do such interpretations have? If suddenly someone were to ask Wuzu, 'What does the golden fish that has penetrated the net eat for food?' this old monk would say to him: 'A fine question!'" He further said, "Great assembly, tell me: is this the same as or different from Xuefeng? I cannot explain it for you; listen to a verse: / Inside the cave without clouds there is another heaven, / Peach blossoms resemble brocade, willows resemble mist. / The immortals do not discuss spring and summer; / When stones rot and pines wither, that is one year."

3.56

When a special envoy from Zifu arrived bearing a letter of Dharma inheritance, the Master received the letter in the Dharma Hall, held it up, and asked the special envoy, "Originally there are no names; where did you get this from?" The special envoy hesitated. The Master said, "Because of whom was it brought about?" He then ascended the seat and cited: "Shitou asked Changzi, 'Where do you come from?' Changzi said, 'From Lingnan.' Shitou said, 'Is the merit on top of Dayu Ridge accomplished yet or not?' Changzi said, 'It has long been accomplished; it only lacks the dotting of the eyes.' Shitou said, 'Do you want the eyes dotted?' Changzi said, 'Please do so.' Shitou let down one foot, and Changzi bowed. Shitou said, 'What principle did you see that you bowed?' Changzi said, 'Like a flake of snow on a red-hot furnace.'" The Master said, "A flake of snow on a red-hot furnace; does an intimate friend catch a glimpse or not? Fan with a tortoise-hair fan; a single drop of blood from a mud ox."

3.57

Verses and Eulogies

3.58

Matching the Dynamic

3.59

A piece of idle land before the mountain; / With hands folded, I urgently questioned the ancestral grandfather. / How many times has it been sold and bought back again, / Only out of love for the pines and bamboos drawing a pure breeze.

3.60

Dwelling in the Mountains

3.61

The bed is a firewood frame, the mat is thatch; / The geda pillow is sunken in the middle. / On a desolate, frosty day someone comes to lodge; / Sleeping until dawn, hands and feet crossed.

3.62

To Myself

3.63

In the heaps of white clouds, the ancient family style; / Across ten thousand leagues of frosty sky, the moonlight is the same. / Under the trees and beside the water, people rarely arrive; / Only then do I know that our Way's joy is without end.

3.64

Expressing Feelings

3.65

Amidst the drifting white clouds, / A light breeze rises gently. / How supreme is the power of creation! / Who can investigate its end and beginning? / Since one cannot investigate it, / In vain do we grieve and rejoice ourselves.

3.66

Hearing a Horn

3.67

A faint, cold horn sounds from the solitary city; / Across ten leagues of mountaintops, darkness gradually falls. / The same single sound holds boundless meanings: / Some are fit to hear, some unfit to hear.

3.68

Rising from Illness

3.69

Illness after illness, skin clings to bone; / Shaking myself up, not a single thing exists. / Walking, I cannot make steps; my voice is low; / The nostrils, as before, stick out empty and prominent.

3.70

Four Dignified Demeanours in the Mountains

3.71

Walking in the mountains carrying a basket, / Plucking bracken accords with a quiet heart. / The cowherd has finished singing his foreign tune; / The cuckoo calls, cry after cry upon the branch.

3.72

Living in the mountains of myriad folds: / In a thousand layers, who is a companion? / Even if an intimate friend comes on purpose, / Deep in the clouds there is surely no place to seek.

3.73

Sitting in the mountains on a moonlit night: / In the frosty sky, cold geese pass by. / Raking the hearth ashes empty, not yet asleep; / The numinous bird heralding dawn clears the ears.

3.74

Lying down in the mountains: a sheet of / Pure light shines high upon me. / If only body and mind can be at leisure everywhere, / Let the cloth patch-robe of many years be torn.

3.75

Praise for the Portrait of the Late Master Baiyun

3.76

One moon in the sky, its shadow contained in all waters; / The Master's portrait of reality is neither moon nor water. / Blue, yellow, jasper, green—a jumbled smudge; / Looked at, half angry and half pleased.

3.77

Praise for Upādhyāya Yan of Sizhou

3.78

Within the cassia buds, the old yellow plum; / It does not blossom on yin or yang ground. / How could bees and butterflies know its fragrance unfolds from afar? / Hard to seek its traces, coming and going again.

3.79

Praise for Myself

3.80

Dim-eyed and deaf-eared, / Walking totteringly along; / Forcing a smile before people, / Hands folded across the chest.

3.81

Two Praises of My Own Portrait

3.82

Taking form to grasp form is entirely illusory and false; / Seeking reality through reality makes one ever less intimate. / The gong'an is ready-made, all affairs complete; / A hundred years, thirty-six thousand days— / Turned over and over, it is originally this fellow.

3.83

My reality, my praise— / Only I myself know it. / Staring face to face, / What end could there be?

3.84

In the Master's room, he often cited Zhaozhou's 'Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not? Zhaozhou said, "No (wu)."' When a monk asked for instruction, the Master composed a verse for him:

3.85

Zhaozhou's drawn-blade sword, / Cold frost gleaming and flaring; / If you again intend to ask how, / It splits the body into two pieces.

3.86

Two Verses Instructing Chan Practitioners

3.87

To study the Way, one must first attain the direction and return; / Hearing sounds and seeing forms is inconceivable. / In the vast sky, night after night, the moon of every household; / How many know its shadow falling into the clear pool?

3.88

How is the Patriarch's Way different from the level worldly path? / Where people of the time walk, there is no need for alarm. / Intentions not yet arrived, yet first shifting one's steps: / Just like Xuansha questioning Jingqing.

3.89

Four Verses Instructing Disciples

3.90

Among those who study the Way, those who attain it are rare; / When do right and wrong, long and short ever fall short? / If you rely on words to argue high and low, / It is just like before, when you were not yet enlightened.

3.91

The gate of emptiness has a road that everyone reaches; / Only those who arrive know its long, enduring flavour. / In the mind-ground, no idle weeds or trees sprout; / Naturally the body radiates the white curl's light.

3.92

A stretch of autumn scenery faces the thatched hut; / Beside the fence, golden chrysanthemums are fragrant in advance. / The cicadas' chirping has not ceased as the cool breeze arises; / Better than a wandering soldier returning to his native village.

3.93

All day discussing mystery in the supreme lineage, / Seeking fish tracks in a dried-up riverbed. / Even granting that patriarchs and buddhas have no ranks, / You must understand under the staff of an extraordinary man.

3.94

Seeing off the Two Chan Practitioners Ji and De Going to Chang'an on Monastery Business

3.95

Two people of one mind, their harmony cuts through gold; / Past and present having this, our Way can be sustained. / Mountain's massiveness, ocean's abyssal depth— / White clouds cannot hold them back, / Patriarchs and buddhas cannot forbid them. / Looking far toward Shaolin towering steep, / Looking sideways at Mount Hua towering high. / Having obtained Vimalakīrti's method of snapping the fingers, / Just play a tune to seek an intimate friend.

3.96

Mourning Upādhyāya Yan of Sizhou

3.97

This sickness, that complete cessation: / In our gate, what gain or loss? / Life and death are like sky-flowers; / Going and coming are like birds' tracks. / Rising in the east, suddenly sinking in the west; / The shadow hangs on the wall of the cold hall. / In the Thirty-three Heavens striking the imperial bell, / Universally chanting Prajñāpāramitā.

3.98

Mourning Chan Master Touzi Qing

3.99

Clouds atop the peak of quiet dwelling, / Sprinkling water of Caoxi. / Setting high the sail of Fudu, / Entering straight into the great ocean. / Now that the karmic conditions of ferrying across have ended, / Last night a wild wind arose: / A girl with tufted hair wears a jade flower; / An eighty-year-old grandfather puts on embroidered shoes.

3.100

Mourning Chan Master Jingdu Yuanjian

3.101

The green, slender cypress before Fudu Cliff, / Towering above the monasteries, marked out a distinctive style. / Last night its cold shadow fell on the western avenue; / Who sings the 'Eighteen Stanzas on the Nomad Flute'?

3.102

Mourning Great Master Chongshheng

3.103

Bitter fog covers the courtyard eaves, / Mournful clouds lock the twilight sky. / The master has returned to the realm of true purity; / His shadow hangs as a solitary, full moon. / Going or not going, alas, like a dream! / Coming or not coming, alas, who is first and who is last? / Who is first and who is last? / The jambu tree is south of the sea.

3.104

Mourning Chen Jixian

3.105

You have already chosen to move your dwelling, / The first dynamic of the Chan school. / Having a sail, do not hang it on a tree; / Non-abiding is a level road. / How can worldly manners be longed for? / Affection and love entirely belong to folly. / Guests at the Patriarch's gate, / At this point discern the tiniest ounces.

3.106

Visiting Upādhyāya Xin

3.107

The inner chamber of Vimalakīrti is ever open; / Standing in the snow seeking mind, one awakens like Sudhana. / Trees grow old and blossoms wither as white clouds roll wildly; / Waves clear in the frosty night as the bright moon lingers. / Visiting from afar the lofty Gate of Non-duality, / Again you ride a weary horse, entering into the dust.

3.108

Seeing Off Head Monk Bai Returning to His Home Village

3.109

With your heart set on returning, cease asking of the many-branching paths; / Making the four seas one's home is still not worth looking at. / A single shoe and pure renown make one think of Bodhidharma; / The nine assemblies of feudal lords make one laugh at Duke Huan of Qi.

3.110

Matching the Rhymes of Elder Ganlu Yong

3.111

Originally dwelling in the mountains, I never tire of the mountains; / The sound of waters and the color of mountains differ from the human world. / If an intimate friend understands this fellow's intent, / Even upon the perilous ledges we would climb together.

3.112

Seeing Off Chan Practitioner Ren

3.113

The moon above the cliff of white clouds; / The shadow beneath the pines of Taiping. / In the deep of night the autumn wind arises, / All becoming a single realm.

3.114

Seeing Off Chan Person Wen Visiting His Parents

3.115

The parents of this life should be visited in person, / Yet look closely at the father and mother from the origin. / In moving, turning, acting, and doing, complete strength is obtained; / Once it is brought up, one's bones and hairs turn cold.

3.116

Seeing Off a Monk from Shu

3.117

We gathered together in Huainan for forty years; / Now you return home on a road of three thousand [li]. / If someone should ask about the meaning of coming from the West: / The water is in the rivers and lakes, the moon is in the sky.

3.118

Sent to Superior Xin

3.119

With one bottle and one bowl, just follow conditions; / This matter is again and again forced into expression. / My confidant does not come, and spring gradually grows old; / The lone peak and bright moon face the cold spring.

3.120

Matching the Rhymes of Vice Director of the Longtu Pavilion Huang

3.121

At Haihui, the cloudy mountains layer in wild verdure; / The Dragon Pool pours out emerald with a cool, splashing sound. / The envoy grants me a peaceful and leisurely place / To listen through the night together with my Chan companions from time to time.

3.122

Matching the Rhymes of Dharma Brother Gaotai

3.123

Whenever I peruse your verses on fine reclusion, / The pure breeze is all the more lovable. / Sometimes I speak of it to others, / But people of the world do not understand at all. / Turning my head, I gaze toward Mount Heng, / The sacred peak a thousand leagues away. / Walking alone, I stand in the slanted sunlight, / Rustling, I hear the pipes of autumn.

3.124

Imitating the Clouds, Seeing Off Chan Practitioner Xin Going Alms-Gathering

3.125

On a clear spring day, touching the rocks, wishing to soar high, / Before the terrace of the Duke of Wan you cross through the emerald mist. / Originally having no mind to produce rain and dew, / How could they ever intend to leak the heavenly secret? / Relying on the momentum of wind and thunder, their sound and light reach far; / Receiving their shade, the grass and trees become lush and rich in hue. / Do not say that once merit is accomplished they disperse in vain; / Secretly promising to the cliff-dwelling: at what time will they return?

3.126

Three Poems Seeing Off Fund-Raising Monks

3.127

Bursting forth from the crevices of the cliffs, cloud-wreaths drift piece by piece, / Half cloaking the secluded rocks, half following the dragon. / After universally soaking the parched and withered as copious rain, / They return into the foremost layer of misty creepers.

3.128

Do not discuss human sentiments and sentiments for the Way; / In general, the nature of things is naturally clear. / The flowing water beneath Mount Wangong, / Surging from past to present, is utterly pure.

3.129

In the courtyard, no one stands in the snow; / On the road, there are travelers in the dust. / Pouring out all my heart at this moment, / Amid the pines I offer you a parting gift.

3.130

For Chan [Practitioner] Gui Soliciting Wheat

3.131

Fishing up wheat from the water, / How terrified is the guest, Chan [Practitioner] Gui! / Tossing back and forth beside the Yan Stream, / When hearing the sound, is it separated or not?

3.132

Sent to Elder Deng of Taiping

3.133

Having traveled all over Mount Wuzu, / Your words and laughter make one fond of you. / Looking as far as the eye can see, your capacity of mind is broad; / In your deportment and courtesy, there is much ease. / Longing for home, you immediately wish to return, / Not worrying that others might find it strange. / When we meet again it will be next year; / Coming and going, there is no obstruction.

3.134

Sent to Dharma Brother Chan Master Ben of Gaotai

3.135

Spring mountains gazed at to the utmost for several thousand leagues; / Leaning alone on the perilous railing, who is with me? / In the quiet of night, the cuckoo knows my mind: / Cry after cry among the emerald mists.

3.136

Moving to Dwell at Baiyun, After Entering the Monastery, Shown to the Few Duty Monks

3.137

To climb a mountain one must have a staff; / To cross water one needs a boat. / When a guest arrives, break into a smile; / Free of sorrow, stretch out your legs and sleep. / In myriad circumstances maintain this Way; / With a single taste trust in former conditions. / Try comparing it with within the red dust: / How much is pure emptiness worth?

3.138

Sent to Alms-Gatherers in Various Prefectures

3.139

Sitting on one, you must run across seven; / Ancient sages left traces behind. / In this land and in the Western Heavens, / Each clearly knows the standard rule. / Touching iron, it turns into gold; / Shouting at stone, it transforms into a wall. / As for the mighty Nārāyaṇa, / Who has hit the bullseye himself?

Linked texts (1)

法演禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese