圓悟佛果禪師語錄 11

English (machine translation) 11

Language: English

11.1

Compiled by his disciple Shaolong and others of Mount Huqiu in Pingjiang Prefecture of the Song

At an informal gathering upon residing at Tianning Monastery in the Eastern Capital, the Master said: 'One sight, never to be seen again, yet now seen again; one explanation, never to be spoken again, yet now spoken again. Never has there been one constantly travelling who did not abide on the road—there is no such news; never has there been one constantly abiding who did not travel in the house—there are no such entanglements. When one directly involves neither of the two ways, going and abiding are unconstrained: when abiding, thousands and myriads cannot cage one; when going, with ease one cuts off the tongues of all people. Even if you personally arrive at this ground, you must still know there is the aperture of the transcendent, where illumination and function are simultaneous and person and environment are both snatched away, before you will attain it. If one speaks of the aperture of the transcendent, Buddhas and patriarchs are not established, commoners and sages are utterly vanished, clean and naked without anything to undertake, stark and exposed without mutual interplay. Right at such a time, how is it? May the spring wind put forth all its strength, blowing all at once into this.' He further gave a verse: 'The bright jewel is in the palm, / Those with merit are rewarded. / The elder has newly entered the monastery, / Utterly devoid of tricks or craft. / Not establishing Zhaozhou's gate, / Each attends to their own feeding trough.'

11.4

Informal gathering on the eighth day of the fourth month: 'Directly this is it—one has already stepped upon the ladder; entirely not thus—one still falls into emotional consciousness. Even if before King Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja there is no connection, and after the Seven Buddhas there is no connection, transcending or descending there is no connection at all; nevertheless, though adept masters of comprehensive ways understand as soon as it is raised, they still linger on the skin and find it difficult to escape the rutted path. Therefore, facing the gate of secondary meaning, within not-thus sometimes there is thus, and within thus sometimes there is not-thus. The pure dharmadhātu body originally has no appearing or disappearing; by the power of great compassion and vows, it manifests receiving birth. Although this is talk that falls into the grass, within the grass there must also be a way out through the whole body. I dare ask everyone: Do you want to know the principle of having originally no appearing or disappearing?' He then held up his whisk and said: 'Just this is it. Do you want to know manifesting receiving birth?' He held up his whisk and said: 'Just this is it. Arriving here, dual withdrawal and dual release, complete darkness and complete light: for faculties of medium and low capacity this is acceptable; yet when the nine dragons spout water, it is altogether a fabrication, looking around in all directions only admits blunders. Only Great Master Yunmen understood how to produce flowers on an iron tree, saying: "If I had seen him, with one blow of the staff I would have beaten him to death and fed him to the dogs." What kind of eye did Great Master Yunmen possess that he could speak like this? Do you want to see Great Master Yunmen? This mountain monk will not begrudge his eyebrows and will open a single thread of a path for you. Do you understand thoroughly? "Unless you enter waves of a thousand fathoms, / It is hard to meet the fish that satisfies your wish."' He further said: 'Before leaving Tuṣita he had already descended into the royal palace; before leaving his mother's womb he had already finished delivering people. Looking at it for a moment, it seems to be so; yet examining it closely, it still lingers in the two extremes. Little do people know: galloping horses in Pūrvavideha, dancing in Jambudvīpa, clapping hands in Aparagodānīya, doing somersaults in Uttarakuru—there is neither right nor wrong, neither gain nor loss. And tell me, ultimately how is it? An eight-cornered millstone runs through empty space.'

11.5

At an informal gathering requested by the Prince of Yun, a monk asked: 'No cultivation and no realization is the marvelous clarity of original awakening; seeking the bodhi of the Buddha-fruit is precisely the cause of conditioned action. Leaving aside these two ways, I ask the Master to point directly.' The Master said: 'The hair-severing jewel sword chills one to the bone.' The monk continued: 'A single spark of numinous light is extraordinary, illuminating the human realm through countless kalpas.' The Master said: 'What will you do with a single spark of numinous light?' The monk continued: 'It can be called: every word accords with the holy path, every phenomenon is of itself fully perfected.' The Master said: 'He too was originally wordless.' The monk bowed, and the Master said: 'Spacious and open, not outside—the lands of the ten directions are viewed before the eyes; tranquil and solitary, not inside—the lands of the jewel king are upon the tip of a single hair. Directly without inside and outside, cutting off that and this, spanning the ancient and modern, completely bright and completely dark: arriving here, you must still have a path of turning the body before you can attain great ease. Have you not heard it said: Great people possess great views; great wisdom attains great function. When the great dynamic is released, all dynamic sharpness ceases; when a single word is established, all words are deprived of speech. Directly every word and every dynamic match each other point by point, continuous and unbroken like interlocking golden links; this is still a matter on the road of eternal life. Therefore it is said: "If the sharpness of words errs, the mysterious pass is ten thousand leagues away. Even if you let go on the hanging cliff, personally accept and shoulder it, and revive after utter death, you cannot deceive the sovereign." How can an extraordinary purport be concealed from anyone! Since there is an extraordinary purport, it must rely on an extraordinary person; since there is an extraordinary person, they must clarify an extraordinary purport. Right at such a time, how is it? Turning sideways beyond the realm to look: who is the person within it?' He further said: 'The virtue of protecting life penetrates the earth's bounds; / Plants, trees, insects, and reptiles rejoice in the sage's era. / Overcoming the match and startling the crowd, there is something extraordinary. / What is the extraordinary? / Luoluo lili.' He struck the meditation seat and descended from the platform.

11.6

At an informal gathering, the Master said: 'Before the eyes there is not a single dharma, yet the myriad phenomena stand distinctly revealed; outside the pattern a thousand workings are established, yet provisional, real, illumination, and function are vast and open. As for the provisional: gathering Sumeru into a mustard seed, hurling the trichiliocosm beyond the realms. As for the real: above is heaven, below is earth; mountains are mountains, waters are waters; monks are monks, laypeople are laypeople. As for illumination: it completely encompasses worlds as numerous as sands without remainder. As for function: the shout is like running thunder, the staff like falling raindrops. Now, not falling into provisional, real, illumination, and function, not falling into the thousand workings outside the pattern, not falling into the single dharma before the eyes: right at such a time, how do you make an approach? If the mind's workings are thoroughly cast off, gain and loss already forgotten, and subtle principles discharged: if there is such a person, having barely heard it raised, they kick it up and walk on—Śākyamuni is himself Śākyamuni, Maitreya is himself Maitreya, Vimukta is himself Vimukta, Sudhana is himself Sudhana. If one cannot yet be like this, and cannot directly have complete faith, hold firm, and be the master, one must instead, at the place where the ancients established the gates of skillful means, be clear in every instance and manifest in every thing, without the slightest hairbreadth of a slip, without the slightest hairbreadth of gain or loss, clean and naked cutting off all undertaking, stark and exposed without mutual interplay, treading on the scenery of the fundamental ground, clearly seeing the original face. Right at such a time, how does one apply effort? Not giving rise to the slightest mind of cultivation or study, ever at ease within the markless light.' He further gave a verse: 'Buddha and Buddha share the same path, together reaching the supreme path; / Mind and mind truly tally, tallying with the true mind. / Openly penetrating beyond Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja, / Earth is enduring, heaven is long, and the ocean is deeper still.'

11.7

At an informal gathering requested by the Lady of Yi State, the Master said: 'Before the eyes there is not a single dharma; who knows its dense intimacy? Outside the pattern a thousand differences are arrayed; in the end one must apply it oneself. If you can apply it yourself, changing rice stalks into millet stems, converting short life into long years, transforming the great earth into yellow gold, churning the Heavenly River into clarified butter, it is not beyond your lot. Moreover, if the dense and intimate place can be recognized, the place of function is precisely the dense and intimate, and the dense and intimate is precisely the place of function. Therefore it is said: "The samādhi of the World-Honoured One is not known by Kāśyapa; the samādhi of Kāśyapa is not known by Ānanda; the samādhi of Ānanda is not known by Śāṇavāsa; the samādhi of Śāṇavāsa is not known by Upagupta." Since each of them did not know it, why was it transmitted and received? Arriving here, it does not hurt that where it is dubious it is utterly dubious, and where it is dense and intimate it is utterly dense and intimate. If you understand, when this mountain monk just now answered that monk's question, "Who can know the Venerable's samādhi?" I replied, "This mountain monk knows it himself." Although it is thus, it is much like pulling someone's hand up a high mountain; one cannot avoid the sneers of bystanders. There is yet another move: people often make their livelihood in knowing and not knowing. If one says they know, this person possesses only a single eye; if one says they do not know, this person also possesses only a single eye. Leaving aside knowing and not knowing, right at such a time, how is it? The trichiliocosm of sand-worlds is a foam bubble on the ocean; all sages and worthies are like a flash of lightning.' He further cited: 'A non-Buddhist asked the Buddha, "What Dharma did you preach yesterday?" The World-Honoured One said, "I preached the fixed Dharma." The non-Buddhist said, "What Dharma do you preach today?" The World-Honoured One said, "I preach the unfixed Dharma." The non-Buddhist said, "Yesterday it was fixed; why is it unfixed today?" The World-Honoured One said, "Yesterday it was fixed; today it is unfixed."' The Master said: 'The great and small World-Honoured One, a dragon's head and a snake's tail. If it were Tianning, it would not be so. If someone suddenly asks, "What Dharma did you preach this morning?" I would answer, "The unfixed Dharma." "What Dharma do you preach right now?" I would answer, "The fixed Dharma." If they say, "This morning it was unfixed; why is it fixed now?" I would immediately say to them: "Taken on the hook as soon as cast!"'

11.8

At an informal gathering, [the Master] said: "To bring forth the transcendent dynamic requires the transcendent eye; to point out the matter within requires a person from within. Even if one could place the thousand sages in the inferior position, hurl the great trichiliocosm beyond the limits of space, have the soles of one's feet rock-hard and firm, have the crown of one's head pitch-black, and cut off the essential crossroads so that neither ordinary nor sacred may pass—still this is not yet the transcendent dynamic, nor is it yet the matter within. And what is the transcendent dynamic, the matter within? If one clearly supposes that there is truly such talk, one fails to understand that, like swapping a bitter gourd for a sweet fruit, cleansing the karmic roots involves no real thing whatsoever. If one is an agile person, upon merely hearing it mentioned, one immediately knows where it lands and is no longer confused. Being no longer confused, then throughout the twelve periods of the day, though one eats all day long, one never bites into a single grain of rice; though one wears clothes all day long, one never hangs a single thread on oneself; though one speaks all day long, one never moves one's tongue. Even though it is like this, how many people can reach this ground? Why is that? Only because they do not fall into mind, intellect, or consciousness, do not fall into the extremes of pure or defiled, but penetrate beyond Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja, fully illuminating the fundamental essential ground. A single blow, a single shout, a single jostle, a single push; an exit, an entrance, a question, an answer—like hurling a sword to slash through empty space, speak not of whether it reaches or does not reach: here the wheel of space bears no trace, and the sword-edge suffers no loss. Just at such a time, how do you utter a genuine phrase? Do you fully understand yet? Letting go of one's hands on that side, beyond the thousand sages, / The lantern and the exposed pillar radiate rays of light." He added a verse: "Wonderful Virtue and Empty-Born cannot exhaust its praise; / The true eye of Maheśvara lets no wind pass through. / The great trichiliocosm is hurled outside other realms; / An adept must understand the transcendent lineage."

11.9

At an informal gathering on the conclusion of the summer retreat, [the Master] said: "To protect life one must kill, yet though one kills there is no harm; the wax figure has already iced over, yet its function is distinct. One can steer an iron boat into the sea, one can make a millstone fly spinning through the sky; half-closed and half-open, forming a ball, forming a lump, none can ever step outside the Great Perfect Enlightenment. If there is someone who can step outside the Great Perfect Enlightenment, they can act contrarily or adaptively, horizontally or vertically, killing or bringing to life with total freedom. Therefore, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī spent a single summer retreat in three places: one month in Māra's palace, one month in a householder's home, and one month in a brothel. Having spent the summer retreat in three places, he then entered the World-Honoured One's assembly to conclude the retreat, which seemed utterly unfair. Therefore Kāśyapa wished to strike the gavel to expel Mañjuśrī. But no sooner had he raised this thought than he saw in the assembly immeasurable Śākyamunis, immeasurable Mañjuśrīs, immeasurable Kāśyapas, and immeasurable gaṇḍīs. Once Kāśyapa saw this, his eyes stared blankly and his mouth gaped open. Why? A person of extraordinary measure possesses extraordinary vision and extraordinary function. Even the golden-hued ascetic, upon arriving here, could neither pull back his hands nor extend them. Just at such a time, is it inside the Great Perfect Enlightenment, or outside the Great Perfect Enlightenment? Only a capable adept who has opened through can bear witness to this. Why? This is the realm of the great beings Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. If one penetrates the realm of Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra, then the boundless oceans of fragrant water and the immeasurable, countless dust-mote Buddha-lands are all places of retreat; further, appearing in boundless bodies, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down everywhere, they do not obstruct one another, nor do they touch hands. Just at such a time, if one is a connoisseur, upon it being raised, one knows immediately. Therefore, although Tianning has resided in retreat with the great assembly for ninety days, after all, do you all know? If you penetrate from top to bottom, that is the realm of Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra; if you do not penetrate from top to bottom, that is the realm of Kāśyapa. Leaving aside Mañjuśrī and Kāśyapa, how do you utter the single phrase that gathers the cause and brings the result? Do you fully understand yet? The work of ninety days is now complete; / Open wide the cloth bag, and roam freely each in your own way."

11.10

At an informal gathering, a monk asked: "What is the guest within the host?" The Master said: "Where the ācārya asks, it carries a speck of dust." The monk continued: "If so, then the numinous radiance is exquisite for a thousand ages, while all phenomena fall to the stairs." The Master said: "Stand below the stairs." The monk asked: "What is the host within the guest?" The Master said: "This mountain monk cannot avoid speaking it himself." The monk continued: "In the position of the ancient Buddhas there is nowhere to seek; deep within the lush grasses the whole body is revealed." The Master said: "Do not come here presenting a blindfold bag." The monk asked: "What is the host within the host?" The Master said: "Cutting off the tongue, there is no taking or leaving." The monk continued: "In the sleeve, the golden mallet glitters brightly; the hair-blowing precious sword chills one with cold." The Master said: "Seventy-five blows turn into a hundred and fifty." The monk asked: "What is the guest within the guest?" The Master said: "Beyond the blue mountains, one worries even more." The monk continued: "If so, poverty at home is not yet poverty; poverty on the road worries a person to death." The Master said: "Go into the deserted village and the ancient shrine." The monk asked: "What kind of person is it who does not involve host and guest?" The Master shouted. The Master then said: "To know where to return upon a glance is already an extra; to accord before speaking still involves a journey. You must know that within this there is the extra-pattern dynamic and the extra-pattern function, illuminating the extra-pattern Way and realising the extra-pattern mind. Unrestrained and free, completely exposed without taking on anything; intimate and grand, stark and vivid without mutual evasion. Where a cliff stands ten thousand cubits steep, there are a thousand differences and ten thousand distinctions; where there are ten thousand distinctions and a thousand differences, a cliff stands ten thousand cubits steep. Therefore it is said: 'Casting a hook across the four seas, one angles only for fierce dragons; dynamic sharpness outside the pattern is for seeking true teachers.' If among you there is one who thus takes it on, obtaining the extra-pattern inclination, and thus weighs and assesses, obtaining the extra-pattern action, what can be said to them? Even to speak of the profound, speak of the wondrous, speak of Buddhas, speak of Patriarchs, speak of mind, speak of nature—these are already superfluous words discarded by this person; to discuss the staff, discuss the shout, discuss provisional, discuss real, discuss illumination, discuss function—these too are redundant items not needed by this person. Because therein one does not touch point or edge, and not a speck of dust is established, how can one penetrate and break free? Do you fully understand yet? The great Way is broad in substance, without facing toward or turning away; / Standing in full daylight, one must be a person from within."

11.11

Requested by Ji Difu to give an informal gathering, [the Master] said: "Suddenly matching each other, the entire capacity is independently verified; eye to eye reflecting each other, heart to heart knowing each other—none of this is obtained from elsewhere, but completely flows out from within one's own chest. Just at such a time, all phenomena of the universe are the ancient Buddha's family style; the azure sky and blue heavens are the person of the Way's livelihood. Opening one's own treasury, bringing forth one's own family property, sharing the same virtue and sincerity with the Buddhas and Patriarchs, wielding and releasing together with Vimalakīrti and Layman Pang, sharing the same dynamic function and the same objective illumination with Prime Minister Pei and Attendant Wang, there is nothing else: cutting off the road of birth and death, smashing the nest of defilements—it does not take more than a single phrase. And tell me: which phrase is it? Do you fully understand yet? Transcending aloof, directly penetrating beyond Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja; / Before the eyes, not a single phenomenon can be deliberated."

11.12

Requested to give an informal gathering, [the Master] said: "Standing directly in full daylight, no steps or stairs are established; meeting face to face, the true substance is completely manifested. If one receives people with worldly conventions, one falls into worldly conventions; if one receives people with the Buddhadharma, one falls into the Buddhadharma; if one receives people with the dynamic of the Patriarchs and Buddhas, one falls into the realm of the dynamic of the Patriarchs and Buddhas; if one receives people with transcendent bringing forth, one falls into transcendent bringing forth; if one receives people with 'thus, thus', one falls into 'thus, thus'; if one receives people with 'not thus, not thus', one falls into 'not thus, not thus'; if one receives people with 'altogether not thus, altogether not thus', one falls into 'altogether not thus, altogether not thus'. Arriving here, where nothing can encage them, even if the thousand sages were to appear, they would not dare look straight at them. Although one sheds it directly at the head and takes it on toward that side, one still gets only no connection whatsoever. And how does one bring about the final closure? If there is a person of great capacity and great caliber who can push through a thread's breadth at the place of final closure, they can pick up a blade of grass to use as the sixteen-foot golden body, and at times use the sixteen-foot golden body as a blade of grass; at times pick up the lantern to use as the exposed pillar, and at times use the exposed pillar as the lantern; at times ride the Buddha shrine out through the triple gate, and releasing a single thread, take Silla and make it butt heads with Campā. And tell me: what lineage principle is this, what realm is this? Just at such a time, how do you utter the phrase right at the head? The view is filled with brilliance, without facing toward or turning away; / An utpala flower blossoms within the fire."

11.13

At an informal gathering, the Master said: "When the thousand differences are raised at once, where they are raised, all obstruction is cut off; when the ten thousand transformations are taken up at once, when they are taken up, there is no facing toward or turning away. Just as it is said: Before the ancient Buddhas appeared in the world, before they attained the Way, before they gave rise to the mind [for awakening], was there this news or not? If you say there was, where was it? If you say there was not, how did this come about? Therefore, former sages and later sages, former Buddhas and later Buddhas, could only hold it up and look up to it, but after all did not know how to become the master at the place held firm upon the dynamic and the realm. This mountain monk tonight will be the master for them: before the Buddhas appeared in the world, before they gave rise to the mind, before they attained the Way, all are in this mountain monk's hand. If I let them go, I allow them to breathe a breath of air; if I do not let them go, it takes no more than a single grip to choke them to death. Therefore Huangbo said: 'Niutou spoke horizontally and spoke vertically, but did not know there is a transcendent pivot.' If he had been made to know the transcendent pivot, even Patriarchs and Buddhas could not have brought it out; truly the land is vast and people are scarce, and those who encounter it are few. If suddenly someone who shares the same death and the same life comes to meet Tianning, I must tolerate them. Why? If they sit, this mountain monk must step down from the Chan bed; if this mountain monk sits, they must stand obliquely on their feet. Even if it is directly like this, although on the same road, after all they are not in the same rut; although sharing the same light, after all they are not in the same darkness; although sharing the same gain, after all they are not in the same loss. And after all, what about it? Stepping outside heaven to look, / Who is a person from within?" He also cited: "After Master Xianzi of Jingzhao studied with Dongshan, he had no fixed residence and did not observe the monastic rules. Every day along the riverbank he gathered shrimp and clams to fill his morning stomach, and at night he slept among paper money at the White Horse Shrine. At that time, Chan Master Jing of Huayan heard of this and, wishing to determine whether he was genuine or fake, slipped in advance into the paper money. When Xianzi returned late at night, Jing grabbed hold of him and asked: 'What is the meaning of the Ancestral Master's coming from the West?' Xianzi replied: 'The wine offering tray in front of the spirit shrine.' Jing was astonished, made an apology, and withdrew." The Master said: "If you do not yet fully understand, this mountain monk will add a footnote: The wine offering tray in front of the spirit shrine, / An iron ball as big as a fist; / A single strike smashes it to pieces, / Not worth half a copper coin."

11.14

The Lady of the State of Yi requested an informal gathering. A monk asked, "The very first was the King of the Majestic Voice, and the very last is Buddha Ruci; I wonder, whom did the King of the Majestic Voice study under and meet?" The Master said, "He studied under and met the one without face or features." The monk said, "As for the person without face or features, whom in turn did he meet?" The Master said, "A mad dog chasing a dirt clod." The monk said, "What can be done about the staff being in this student's hands?" The Master said, "Try using it and see." The monk said, "Arriving here, one is completely reduced to having no words that can be spoken, no principle that can be presented." The Master said, "You only have seven tenths." The monk said, "It may be called not establishing any lineage transmission, yet passing it on from generation to generation." The Master said, "Cut off with a single sword slash." The monk said, "Since it is like this, why must the Venerable further seek White Cloud?" The Master said, "Tell me, where are the Buddhas Majestic Voice and Ruci right now?" The monk said, "Pierced through at a single stroke." The Master said, "Only when an eye is added atop the crown of your head will you attain it." The Master said, "The Buddhas of the three times are just thus; the successive generations of patriarchs are also just thus; Deshan was also just thus; Linji was also just thus; how could Tianning not be just thus? Therefore, in the early morning it was just thus, and now it is also just thus. But tell me: what is this 'just thus, just thus'? Do you fully understand yet? Therefore it is said: 'The transcendent path is not transmitted by the thousand sages; learners exhaust their bodies like apes grasping at shadows.' If you were to encounter a realized one face to face, how would you bring it forth? How would you thoroughly know it? Can you attain it by explaining the principle and talking of the profound and wondrous? Can you attain it by giving a shout? Can you attain it by drawing a line? Can you attain it by babbling on with the mouth? Can you attain it by 'six times six is thirty-six, nine times nine is eighty-one'? In short, none of this is that principle. Furthermore, this is the wonder not transmitted by the thousand sages; this one patch of ground only a Buddha together with a Buddha can know. After having known it, in the end is it transmitted to others or not transmitted to others? If it could be transmitted, it would be a dragon's head and snake's tail; if it cannot be transmitted, the thousand sages and myriad sages each and every one arriving here, whether Buddha or patriarch, clarify it where no person's dynamic situation can reach, bring it forth where no person's functioning can extend, and cut off the paths of the thousand differentiations where no person's emotional consciousness can calculate. Even so, bringing forth a phrase, gathering brocade and heaping flowers, heaping flowers and gathering brocade, one can head toward it; yet when arriving at that side, if you try to take it upon yourself, you will have no connection. Arriving here, there are staff, shout, provisional, real, killing, giving life, seizing, and releasing; it is only permitted that the Buddhas know it, not permitted that the Buddhas understand it. Since it is permitted that the Buddhas know it, why is it not permitted that the Buddhas understand it? If they understood it, it could be transmitted! Therefore, what is needed is for people's mental machinations to be cut off from cognitive realms, forgetting gain and loss, letting go of right and wrong; all at once falling away, the myriad realms stand tall and distinct, yet without any obstruction. Then you can walk hand in hand with the thousand sages, sharing the same function and the same realization, shining in all places, clear and tranquil in all places, pulling out nails and drawing out pegs, untying stickiness and releasing bonds. Just as the mountain monk speaks to the assembly like this right now, can this match what the thousand sages do not transmit? Clearly it cannot match it. Since it cannot match it, why speak of it? Thousands and myriads of people are bound to have no way out. Therefore an ancient said: 'Although the essential guidelines have been pointed out, the intention lies before patterns and colors emerge; one must see through at a single glance and bite through at a single bite.' If you have not yet understood, by no means give rise to doubt about it. Now, sparing neither life nor limb, I disclose a message to all of you right here. Do you understand yet? / The thousand sages together transmit the bottomless bowl; / The great chiliocosm of sands is a single floating bubble."

11.15

At an informal gathering the Master said: "Cutting off the paths of the thousand differentiations, sitting upon the head of right and wrong, the reward and transformation bodies find no room for themselves, and speech and silence are devoid of news. Right at such a time, if there is an intention of the ancestral teacher coming from the west, this is precisely scattering dirt and throwing sand; if there is no intention of coming from the west, it is very much like deceiving one another to the face. Leaving these two paths aside, you must know that that house has a way of extrication. Great assembly! Clearly it is not an affair before your eyes, nor is it a dynamic before your eyes. There is a single phrase which the thousand sages cannot see; there is a single phrase from which the thousand sages cannot stick their heads out; there is a single phrase which the thousand sages share in common and use together. But tell me: from where, in the end, does this single phrase flow forth? If anyone recognizes the place to which it flows forth, then stark naked and cleanly stripped, one neither speaks of one being three nor three being one, has no need to apply the staff, has no need to deliver a shout, has no need to say it is an accomplished gong'an, has no use for blinking eyes and raising eyebrows, and has no need to discuss the profound and speak of the wondrous. Therefore Śākyamuni, Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, and Samantabhadra are still its errand runners. It fundamentally does not make anything, does not do anything; it cuts off everything, originally without movement or wavering. Under the heels of each and every person, it is round, bright, and brilliantly illuminating like the great disc of the sun; everyone, by turning back the light, attains crossing over. It is not in another place, nor in oneself; it is not inside, not outside, and not in between. Yet all extraordinary affairs are established because of it; all wondrously supreme affairs are brought to completion by it. It is like the precious blade in the king's armory, like the three eyes of Maheśvara, like the three dots of the rounded letter 'i', like the poison-smeared drum; thousands of words and myriads of phrases in the end cannot explain it, cannot achieve it. Right at such a time, do you fully understand yet? / Like the king's precious sword following the king's will, / Sweeping and brandishing, horizontal and vertical, attaining utter freedom."

11.16

At an informal gathering, a monk asked, "King Prasenajit asked the World-Honoured One: 'Within the meaning of the noble truth, are there still worldly affairs or not?' The World-Honoured One said: 'Great King! In the time of Dragon Radiance Buddha, you once asked about this meaning.' Was he answering his words, or speaking for him?" The Master said, "Both are within it at once." The monk advanced and said, "What about when Cuiyan said, 'The Great King is good at asking but not good at answering; the World-Honoured One is good at answering but not good at asking'? I wonder, what is the meaning of this?" The Master said, "Bringing up the crucial turning point at the top." The monk advanced and said, "If the Great King were to ask you, Venerable, by conveying these words, I wonder how you would reply?" The Master said, "Opening the mouth, one sees the gallbladder." The Master said: "Just now the clue was already revealed; now I display the lineage style further. The three eyes of Maheśvararāja penetrate through in all eight directions; the hundred billion bodies of old Śākyamuni manifest forms in the ten directions: like a seal stamping space, like a seal stamping water, like a seal stamping mud, originally without distinguishing before and after, nor distinguishing horizontal and vertical or combined and separate. Arriving here, one who has penetrated deep into the marrow sees through and becomes emancipated right under it, having no doubt about the tongues of anyone under heaven; hearing it brought up casually, one kicks it up and walks, able to cut off the ten directions and walk alone in heaven and earth. If one still lingers in seeing and hearing, still stuck in the skin, one must make it thoroughly clear one by one under one's heels, each seeing one's original face and stepping on one's native ground, not following sound and form, not abiding in ordinary or sage, not falling into seeing and hearing, not getting involved in speech and silence—stark naked and cleanly stripped. Therefore it is said: 'The ten directions have no walls; the four sides also have no gates. The entire body comes just so; the entire body goes just so.' In the end, the classes of devas and humans all rely on the power of this grace; if you recognize the power of this grace, you will never fall into emptiness; step by step, your feet tread on solid ground; phrase by phrase, you see through to the source; the entire body is suchness, unchanging and unmoving; extending this, it reaches all sentient spirits; gathering this, it universally salvages the myriad classes. Right at such a time, how do you express the single phrase that transcends sound and surpasses form? Do you fully understand yet? / There is no need to expend even the slightest bit of effort / To swallow and leap past the diamond cage and the chestnut burr."

11.17

The Grand Dowager Lady Zhang requested an informal gathering. The Master said: "The frosty wind is piercingly cold; the fine rain falls softly. The gate of liberation is thrown wide open; the eye of the true Dharma is revealed on the crown of the head. Is there anyone who transcends the lineage, surpasses standards, leaves behind views, and cuts off emotions? Come forward and bear witness! If you can bear witness, before the seven Buddhas it was not just so; after the seven Buddhas it was not just so; for the twenty-eight patriarchs of the Western Heavens it was also not just so; for the six patriarchs of the Tang land it was also not just so; down to the ancestral masters of successive generations and the old venerable teachers under heaven, it was also not just so. Why was it not just so? Only for fear of misleading people. Since it is not just so and also does not mislead people, how do you take it upon yourself? Arriving here, within a flat field a cliff stands ten thousand cubits high; where the cliff stands ten thousand cubits high, it is just like a flat field. It bars the strategic ford, not letting ordinary or sage pass through; there is no share for speech and words, nor any share for elaboration. In the end, from where are all people to enter? Sparing not my eyebrows, this old monk discloses a message for you." Thereupon he held up his whisk and said, "Do you see?" He also struck the meditation bed and said, "Do you hear? If you say you see, you have no connection to it; if you say you do not see, you have even less of a connection to it. In the end, how is it? If this old monk were only to speak to you, through unending eons you would never grope it out. If you do not follow verbal explanations, then stark naked and cleanly stripped, each of you cuts off the heads of the reward and transformation Buddhas, and each has an energy that storms through the cosmos; even if a thousand Buddhas appeared, they would be just like mosquitoes and gnats. Only when you can maintain such firmness and be the master like this are you an adept of the fundamental lot. Right at such a time, how do you fully understand? A single phrase far transcends the standards of the Buddhas, cutting off the heads of the patch-robed monks under heaven." He further added a verse: / "Although the lineages of the five houses have been spoken through, / How can that compare to the single thread of Caoxi opening through? / When the precious sword is facing the sun, who kills and who gives life? / Departing from names and forms, the lofty lineage style is roused."

11.18

At an informal gathering, he said: "It is not the Tathāgata's nirvāṇa mind, nor is it the Patriarch's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. Ten thousand conditions cannot reach it through exhaustive search; a thousand sages cannot attain it through scrutiny. Even beyond the King of Majestic Voice, before the empty kalpa, it would indeed be right to brandish the Vajra King jewel sword; how much more so since the King of Majestic Voice down to the exhaustless bounds of the future—all this is merely weaving entanglements and is ultimately not the fodder of our fundamental lot. Therefore it is said: 'If I were exclusively to raise up and expound the ancestral vehicle, the grass before the Dharma hall would be ten feet deep.' Now, having no other choice, I tell you all: the entire great earth is the light of prajñā. When the light has not yet manifested, there are no Buddhas and no sentient beings; from what place does news come? If you completely cut off news right here, your life-root is still not severed. If the life-root is severed, then wherever you knock or collide, wherever words are spoken, dynamic potential and circumstance match. Even though this is so, this is still the second dynamic. If you reach the first dynamic, what talk can there be of before the King of Majestic Voice or beyond the empty kalpa? Even if you take it up under Deshan's or Linji's shout, or attain realization at the tip of their staff, you will not avoid dragging through mud and wading through water. If you are not deceived by others, with teeth like a forest of swords and a mouth like a basin of blood, taking it up directly, you can overshadow past and present and cut off heaven and earth. Even though this is so, Tianning speaking in this way seems very much as if there were no one else around. Why? The Buddhas share the same path; the Patriarchs jointly realize it. If one accepts it individually right here, where can it be placed? Can a single snowflake be placed upon a red-hot stove? Arriving here, inside and outside are purely spotless, within and without are one suchness; although descending into the weeds, one cannot avoid the transcendent function. Right at such a time, how is it? There are eyes at the staff-tip, bright as the sun; to know true gold, look into the fire." He also cited: "Layman Pang asked Great Master Ma: 'What kind of person is he who does not make a companion of the ten thousand dharmas?' Master Ma said: 'Wait until you can swallow the waters of the West River in a single gulp, then I will tell you.'" The mountain monk will briefly reveal a bit of news: in helping people, you must be thorough; in killing someone, you must see blood. If you take it up right directly, you have already fallen into the second moon. And tell me: what is the first moon? Du!"

11.19

At a winter night's informal gathering, a monk asked: "In former days, Deshan held informal gatherings and did not answer questions, while Zhaozhou held informal gatherings and answered questions. I wonder: was the one who answered right, or was the one who did not answer right?" The Master said: "Neither is right." The monk proceeded: "Good notes are in the ear; everyone is thrilled." The master said: "Divining with a ladle, listening to empty sounds." The monk proceeded: "What about when not answering questions within answering questions, and answering questions within not answering questions?" The Master said: "Sticking one's head out from the nest of vines." The monk proceeded: "What if a fellow comes out who doesn't care about answering or not answering, and just overturns the meditation couch?" The Master said: "A blow of the staff right across his back." The monk said: "Perilous!" The Master said: "Perilous!" The monk gave a shout; the Master also gave a shout. The monk bowed and returned to the assembly. The Master said: "A total exposure of flaws." The Master then said: "Great assembly! Cutting off all dynamic potentials before any sign appears, cutting off the tongues of everyone under heaven, concealing the dark workings in immediate transformation, the single yang is born in worldly conventions. And tell me: is it one or is it two? If you say it is one, why are there worldly truths within the ultimate truth? If you say it is two, why is there no ultimate truth within worldly truths? Arriving here, if you do not have the barrier-penetrating eye to see through the mechanism, you cannot avoid being muddled, heedless, blind, and clumsy. Do you know what is within this? It is just like a bright mirror on its stand, a luminous pearl in one's palm; when raised, nothing is left unillumined, the myriad forms are clear and distinct. Though the four seasons transition, within them is a substance that does not shift a single hairsbreadth; though the ten thousand dynamics arise together, within them is a source that remains serenely unmoved. By this, turn the road around and respond to the dynamic potential according to conditions. If you do not see it, even if a thousand sages appeared, they could not grasp it; even if an extraordinary patch-robed monk came out with eyes like bronze bells and a mouth like a torrent, he could not speak of it, nor could he catch sight of it. Tianning's intention is to untie your bonds, release your fetters, pull out your wedges, and extract your nails; yet arriving here, not a single bit of artifice can be used. And tell me: why is this so? His family inherently has a path reaching straight to heaven; beware of gesturing and pointing him out in broad daylight." The Master said: "Last night when the bell sounded, you all came here—this was already thrusting your heads into a basin of glue. Tonight when the bell sounded, you came again; what business is there? A second and a third time—you have already fallen into error. If you are one who knows what exists, upon merely hearing it mentioned, it penetrates your bones and enters your marrow; you kick it up and walk on, cut off the heads of the reward and transformation Buddhas, and do not fall into speech or silence, sound or form—then that is a little better. If, as before, you only guard your burrows, the mountain monk cannot avoid stirring up trouble where there is none, expressing words where there are none, speaking of entanglements where there are no entanglements, and setting up thorns where there are no briars. When a single speck of dust is raised, the great earth is completely gathered in; in all four quarters and eight directions, it is stripped bare and purely exposed. Flowers bloom, the world rises like floating banners, the king's lands are distinct and bright, so that insentient and sentient beings alike realize the Buddha path, and spoken and unspoken alike turn the dharmacakra. This is still just picking up things by the shore of the ocean of Dharma-nature. If you turn to the gate of patch-robed monks: even if you shatter empty space with a single staff-blow and scatter the white clouds with a single shout, Śākyamuni and Maitreya are still just errand boys, and Deshan and Linji will stare blankly with mouths agape—still not yet having the breath of the fundamental lot. Therefore it is said: 'Sit on your tongue and form a different view; they investigate living phrases, not dead phrases.' If you understand under a living phrase, you will never forget for eternal kalpas; if you understand under a dead phrase, you cannot even save yourself. Just as for you all right now, how do you understand his living phrases? Could 'mind itself is Buddha' be a living phrase? No connection. Could 'neither mind nor Buddha' be a living phrase? No connection. Could 'not mind, not Buddha, not a thing' be a living phrase? No connection. Could getting a blow of the staff upon entering the gate be a living phrase? No connection. Could getting a shout upon entering the gate be a living phrase? No connection. As long as there are any words, they are all dead phrases. What is a living phrase? Do you understand? Standing on one foot on a tenthousand-fathom peak, pitch black in all four quarters and eight directions." He further said: "In a single gulp swallowing the West River dry, / The chestnut burr choked old Pang to death. / If you can swallow it right in broad daylight, / You are guaranteed to be peerless in all the world."

11.20

The Master said: "Heaven has no four walls, utterly beyond all cages and snares; earth has no eight boundaries, completely without obstruction. It is of one substance with empty space, merging dark and merging bright; it shares the same lifespan as empty space, extending from ancient times to the present. Everyone has a place for a sitting mat—what need is there to arrange it? Everywhere Maitreya's door is open—no need to snap your fingers. It is all for everyone to use, without going and without coming. Through the power of great compassion this supreme event is accomplished. Therefore, old Śākyamuni had already descended into the royal palace before leaving Tuṣita; he had already finished liberating people before emerging from his mother's womb. And tell me: is there this news in your own shares, or is there not? If not, everyone is fully endowed, each one is completely accomplished—why would it be lacking? If there is, where do you settle your body and establish your life right now? Do you know the landing place? If you know the landing place, then without moving from the bodhimanda you can universally contain the oceans of lands in the ten directions; taking birth everywhere in every speck of dust and every kṣetra, what need is there to wait for nine dragons to spout fragrant water, to point with hands to heaven and earth, or to roar the great lion's roar? You should know that before emerging from the mother's womb, he had already roared the great lion's roar, straight up to every single person, every moment, every thought, and every place being completely fulfilled—the great gate of liberation that is pure, unconditioned, without gap, and without interruption. Right at such a time, ascending by day to Tuṣita and descending by night to Jambudvīpa, why does the mani jewel within not appear? I dare ask you all: what about the interval between? Can you understand? / The dragon sleeve brushes open, the whole body appears; / Where the elephant king walks, foxes' tracks disappear."

11.21

The Master said: "The great potential responds completely, the great function operates freely—not falling into the mechanisms of a thousand sages, not wandering in the nests of the Patriarchs. Raise one dynamic, and a thousand dynamics are cut off; take up one matter, and ten thousand matters are simultaneously manifested. Only a person of great liberation can understand the transcendent lineage principle. Have you not seen: Vimalakīrti moved the Abhirati world without leaving his seat, like holding a jujube leaf on the tip of a needle? And have you not seen: Dayang said, 'Taking up a single tree leaf is moving the whole of Mount Yang'? Thus we know that if this matter is sought along the tracks of mental machinations and consciousness, or on verbal expressions, it is very much like digging into the earth to look for heaven—completely without connection. If one is cast of raw iron, not passing through the phantom city, not depending on delusion and enlightenment, and not restricted by gain and loss, then when one is clear, all are clear; when one understands, all is understood; when one sees, all is seen; when one functions, all functions. This is still the patch-robed monk's conduct on the side of extending hands to respond to potentials and helping others. If you let him shine alone and operate alone, even a thousand sages could not find him, the devas would find no path to shower flowers, and māras and outsiders could not see him by stealthy observation; circulating back and forth through the ten directions without obstruction, in a single thought universally responding, with past and future cut off. Just now, sitting and standing solemnly under the brilliant lamplight—and tell me, what season is this? If you say it is the realm of mind-only, you are sitting right in the thicket of thorns. If you say it is the transcendent season, you have not yet leapt out of the diamond cage. If it is none of these, how is it then? Is there anyone who can speak? / If he had not shot the stone tiger at Lantian, / It would almost have cost General Li his life." / The verse says: / "In heaven and among humans, he cannot be matched; / Sharing the same style, a thousand eyes open with the season. / Layman Zhitong is truly extraordinary; / He came twice to Daozhao in three years."

First 21 of 24 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

圓悟佛果禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese