圓悟佛果禪師語錄 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

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

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "For instance, swinging a sword into empty space—how is it when there is a person who has no sword and also does not swing at empty space?"
The Master said, "Great assembly! See his failure."
The monk continued, "The student simply pushes forward; why does the Venerable not let it pass?"
The Master said, "It would be best not to slander Chongning."
The monk continued, "Why are you unwilling to acknowledge it?"
The Master said, "Hiding the body while exposing the shadow."
The monk continued, "Caught in failure today."
The Master said, "Indeed."
A monk asked, "How was it before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?"
The Master said, "Heaven and earth could not know."
The monk continued, "How was it after he met him?"
The Master said, "It became a model for past and present."
The monk continued, "Benevolence and righteousness are severed only from poverty."
The Master said, "Sticking his head out from a ghost cave."
He then said, "Lush and green, deep and clear, leaking the heavenly secret at the tips of the hundred grasses; clustered with flowers, clustered with brocade, exposing true wisdom beside the bustling marketplace. The sounding of gold and chiming of jade, the scenery striking the ground; the lightning flash and shooting star, the functioning reaching to heaven. Setting aside for now not taking the myriad dharmas as companions, how is it when the needle-eye fish swallows the great statue of Jiazhou? Ough!" He stepped down from the seat.

2.4

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the dust-by-dust samādhi?"
The Master said, "Not giving a single drop."
The monk continued, "Is it one or two?"
The Master said, "A precious land on the tip of a hair."
The monk continued, "Two colors in one contest."
The Master said, "Painfully receiving a question."
The monk said, "Heavens, heavens!"
The Master said, "I have not yet acknowledged it."
A monk asked, "The World-Honoured One held up a flower, and Kāśyapa smiled faintly. When the Venerable expounds the Dharma, what instruction is there?"
The Master said, "Not a single thing."
The monk continued, "Why is there not a single thing?"
The Master said, "Because you have no eyes."
The monk continued, "What can be done with the student?"
The Master said, "Leap about as you will."
He then said, "Before one's eyes, absolute opposition ends; the myriad realms are dense and vast; beyond things, there is a profound dynamic; standing prominently in the direct light. Striking and shouting, illumination and function—set them aside; paths of speech running across and vertical—let that move pass. If you people here can poke open a single path, it is directly solitary and perilous; if you have not yet poked it open, your nostrils are entirely in the mountain monk's hand." Holding up his staff, he said, "Pierced through!" Striking the Chan bench, he stepped down from the seat.

2.5

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "Round and without a seam—why is it so extraordinary?"
The Master said, "Torn into seven blossoms and eight splits."
The monk continued, "There are echoes within the words."
The Master said, "Just slow down."
A monk asked, "When the solstice arrives and the single yang arises, how is it when the way of the gentleman grows?"
The Master said, "Under the patch-robed monk's gate, there are not so many affairs."
The monk continued, "How about 'the myriad dharmas are the light of mind'?"
The Master said, "Just right to look with high-placed eyes."
The monk continued, "Directly taking it upon oneself."
The Master said, "Swinging a sharp sword in empty space."
He then said, "Leaving behind marks and leaving behind names, entirely exhausted of traces; brought out once, it is renewed once; used once, it is delightful once. Horizontally covering the myriad existences, vertically piercing the golden wheel; inside without a fine hair, outside without an embellishment. If you can avoid generating sacred sentiments and worldly understanding, and shoulder and unfold it, entering the marketplace with open hands, every move possesses the dynamic of self-release; retiring to a solitary peak, everywhere passes through the realms of dust motes. In suchness, not such; in non-suchness, yet such. How do you speak the phrase of full presentation? Poking open the transcendent aperture, the thousand sages stand downwind together." He stepped down from the seat.

2.6

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "'Last year, this morning, today has gone; this year's year is last year's year.' What is non-movement of things?" The Master said, "The eyebrows are above the eyes." The monk continued, "In that case, the old is altered and replaced with the new." The Master said, "Do not mistake it." The monk said, "What is that which is not mistaken?" The Master said, "Look closely at it." The monk said, "'When the kalpa fire blazes through, consuming even the finest hair, the green mountain remains as before amid white clouds.'" The Master said, "To turn back around is not worth a penny." A monk asked, "At the juncture when all things are renewed, and on the dawn when the single person receives congratulations, what is the Buddhadharma of the new year's beginning?" The Master said, "Early spring is still cold." The monk continued, "Then phenomena do not arise in isolation." The Master said, "Having sat upon the host, where will you let out breath?" The monk said, "Across the vast sky is the moon, shining on a thousand gates." The Master said, "Turning on the heels of others." The Master then said, "If a single phenomenon exists, Vairocana falls into being an ordinary being; if the ten thousand phenomena do not exist, Samantabhadra loses his realm. A single phenomenon and the ten thousand phenomena, whether existing or non-existing—Vairocana, Samantabhadra, ordinary beings, and the Dharma realm are all within this. Good adds not a single hair; ugly adds not a single hair. Encircling heaven and Earth, encompassing inside and out—before heaven, Earth, and worlds existed, it was already fully formed; and when the diverse things manifest, it remains motionless and unchanging. If you can fix your eyes before the single breath has shown any sign, you will fall into the secondary; further, if you can attain firm faith right when all things are fully formed, it is all the more irrelevant. How do you express the single phrase in which the new year and the old year are distinctly clear? Every day, fragrant flowers; every night, a lamp." He stepped down from the seat.

2.7

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "I do not ask about the fifteenth day; what is the Master's single phrase that clearly guides people?" The Master said, "Directly confronted, it is seen definitely without a hair's breadth; if you hesitate and deliberate, you are separated by ten thousand mountains." A monk asked, "Right during the Lantern Festival, where is the water buffalo?" The Master said, "Struck by an iron staff, the scar is exposed." The Master then said, "Pushing aside dust to see the Buddha cannot avoid throwing sand into the eyes; hearing sounds and awakening to the Way is also putting water in the ears. Even if you reach where sentient beings and Buddhas have no hierarchy and the empty realm is entirely equal, cleanly exposed beyond all thinking, stripped bare with nothing to grasp, you have still not left the matters of this side. You must further wield the Vajra jewel sword to sever disputes and take up the staff of killing and giving life to break through gain and loss—yet even then you have not clarified the transcendent opening. If perchance you possess the spirit of a great hero and have the hammer and tongs for forging Buddhas and patriarchs, directly undertaking it on that side, then coming back here, horizontally three and vertically four, sitting as one and walking as seven, you shoulder the lineage vehicle and uphold the ancestral seal. Sometimes releasing: the same as that and the same as this, manifesting bodies in accord with kinds, harmonizing with the light and accommodating things. Sometimes holding back: do not say the Buddha's eye cannot catch sight of it; even if the grasses and trees of the entire earth were all to transform into hundreds of millions of bodies emitting countless rays of light, they could not shine upon it. And tell me: right now, how is it? If not for shooting the stone tiger at Lantian, General Li would almost have been killed in error." He stepped down from the seat.

2.8

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "Piercing horizontally through the blue vault and planting Sumeru upside down—I wonder whose lot this belongs to?" The Master said, "It belongs to the lot of one who enters hell." The monk continued, "Yet that is his place of settling body and establishing life." The Master said, "The tiles shatter and the ice melts." The monk said, "How many people can know this mind?" The Master said, "I only fear they do not know." The Master then said, "All day encountering one another without half a face seen, / Resolutely across a thousand miles there is an intimate knower. / No need to discuss extraordinary wonders beyond the norm; / Only this whole dynamic shines across past and present. / Inclining canopies like old friends; white-haired like newcomers. / Two mirrors shining on each other without a speck of dust between. / Throughout the realm it has never displayed a form, / Yet on the tip of a fine hair it universally manifests the physical body. / At rest, it is like the Valley Spirit; in motion, it is like drifting clouds. / Meeting again, there is nothing the matter; / When you do not come, I still remember you." He stepped down from the seat.

2.9

Ascending the hall, the Master said, "Chan is not conceptual thought; establishing intentions goes against the lineage. The Way is beyond meritorious labor; setting up accomplishments loses the essential purpose. Hear the phrase outside the clear sound; do not seek within thought. Turning the mechanisms of illumination and function, wielding the hammer and tongs of the Buddhas and patriarchs: where there are Buddhas, mutually acting as host and guest; where there are no Buddhas, the wind howls soughingly. The mind is tranquil and the intent at peace; the echo is compliant and the voice harmonious. For such a person, tell me: where do you place him? Wearing a coir raincoat, standing askance beyond a thousand peaks; / Drawing water to irrigate vegetables before the Five Old Peaks." He stepped down from the seat.

2.10

Ascending the hall, the Master said, "Fundamentally being Buddha, there is no becoming or non-becoming; the true substance is limpid, beyond appearing or not appearing. On the matter of one's fundamental lot, even if for ten thousand miles there is not a patch of cloud, one still cannot let it pass by—what more is there to say of anything else? Or if adapting to capacity, one may provisionally discuss appearing in the world or not appearing in the world. Therefore it is said: 'The body of the pure Dharma realm fundamentally has no arising or passing away; by the power of great compassion and vows, it manifests and takes birth.' And tell me: where is Old Śākya right now? One only knows things pass before the eyes, / Unaware that old age is arriving upon one's head." He stepped down from the seat.

2.11

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "'Clearly seen, there is not a single thing.' I wonder what this is like?" The Master said, "Fine news." The monk continued, "Effort is not expended in vain." The Master said, "I only fear your feet do not touch the ground." The monk said, "'Turning the head to look at the bank, especially brings a bout of sorrow.'" The Master said, "Indeed, wandering in vain." A monk asked, "What is it like when a practitioner does not raise a single thought?" The Master said, "Injuring your own life." The monk continued, "Due to whom is this brought about?" The Master said, "It would be best not to exchange Chongning's tongue." A monk asked, "What is it like when the wondrous substance fundamentally has no location?" The Master said, "Pulling out the wedge from behind the brain." A monk asked, "What is the mystery within the mystery?" The Master said, "It mystifies you to death." The monk said, "The stone man secretly nods his head." The Master said, "The words are still in the ears." The Master then said, "Held up without omission of illumination, the ocean of realms of the ten directions is viewed right before the eyes; the true substance is imposing, and the great trichiliocosm shares the identical nature of True Suchness. When each abides in its fundamental position, mountains are mountains and waters are waters; when mutually exchanging and tallying with the dynamic, the stars change places and the patriarchs and Buddhas conceal their traces. In both places, disputes are cut off; on neither of the two sides is anything established. With neither permissible nor impermissible, all attain peaceful dwelling; responding to conditions according to the time, it is motionless and limpidly serene. And tell me: how do you express the single phrase of nourishing the sacred fetus? Not raising the slightest mind for study and cultivation, / Within the formless light, ever at ease." He stepped down from the seat.

2.12

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the dynamic of flatly unfurling?" The Master said, "Horizontally and vertically, a crisscross." The monk continued, "Then it is completely irrelevant." The Master said, "Where is it irrelevant?" The monk said, "Pulling out an arrow from behind the brain." The Master said, "Press!" A monk asked, "'Father and mother are not my kin'—who is the closest kin?" The Master said, "I am always keen on this." The monk continued, "'All Buddhas are not my Way'—who is the most of the Way?" The Master said, "Only when you have a place to turn around will you get it." The monk said, "Wishing to walk a thousand miles, the single step is the beginning." The Master said, "Faithfully accept and uphold it." The Master then said, "The country having no sword to quell disorder, the four seas are peaceful and clear; the household having no drawing of Baize, the whole family enjoys good fortune. If you say there is a place where one receives the power of grace, that is precisely adding mud on top of dirt; and if you erase your tracks and swallow your voice, that too is taking south for north. Arriving here, crisscrossing horizontally and vertically, one cannot avoid error; occupying the position and tallying with the dynamic is still somewhat better. And what is the phrase that occupies the position? Hanshan meets Shide, / Clapping their hands and laughing heartily." He stepped down from the seat.

2.13

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "Those approaching the water by the river are all people catching fish. How does one catch the brocade scales and red tails?" The Master said, "Do not have delusive thoughts." The monk continued, "What about when not having delusive thoughts?" The Master said, "Without calculating the labor, stop once you obtain it." The monk said, "'The jade pool is ten thousand fathoms deep; directly going down, one catches the fish and returns.'" The Master said, "You must take a step backward." A monk asked, "What is it like when a single dust mote contains the Dharma realm?" The Master said, "In darkness the skull brightens the world." The Master then said, "What patriarch after patriarch transmitted is this matter; what Buddha after Buddha passed down by hand is nothing other. If you retain emotional consciousness to discuss intellectual understanding, it is dust and sand in the ears, flowers in the eyes. Therefore it is said: 'Seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing are phenomena; phenomena are free from seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing.' Not clinging to Buddha, Dharma, or Sangha to seek, not returning when called, not caught in any cage or snare—you must further know the mutual rushing of staff and shout, the simultaneity of illumination and function, and the transcendent opening before you get it. And what is the transcendent opening? The crane in the ninefold marsh finds it hard to spread its wings; / A horse without thousand-mile stamina vainly chases the wind." He stepped down from the seat.

2.14

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "When a single rain universally moistens, is there still the Buddhadharma or not?" The Master said, "Entirely receiving its power." The monk continued, "Then above the head is vast and boundless, and beneath the feet is vast and boundless." The Master said, "You must also be bone-dry before you get it." The monk said, "The entire earth is all teaching; how does the practitioner enter?" The Master said, "Submerged together with the head." The monk said, "In that case, a two-tiered encounter." The Master said, "Completely irrelevant." The Master then said, "The ox's head sinks and the horse's head turns—the thousand sages do not know; the front three-three and the back three-three—the river sands cannot reckon. In low places leveling it leaves a surplus; in high places viewing it is never enough. In the eastern continent of Pūrvavideha a horse gallops; in the southern continent of Jambudvīpa someone tumbles. The fan leaps up to heaven; the carp of the Eastern Sea is enraged. It reaches where the rain pours down like from basins, and the great trichiliocosm is entirely flooded. And tell me: is the ox's head sinking and the horse's head turning? Is it the front three-three and the back three-three? The ocean god knows its preciousness but not its price; / Leaving it to the human world, its light shines through the night." He stepped down from the seat.

2.15

Ascending the hall, the Master said, "Attaining realization at the staff's head is tossing dirt and scattering sand; undertaking it under a shout is chasing emptiness and catching echoes. Transcendent or downward, it becomes all the more muddled; talking of the wondrous and discussing the mystery is mixing mud with water. This patch of land has been handed over for a long time. Plainly deceiving people: gathering up the entire earth, it is like the size of a millet grain; swinging a staff to strike the moon. Buddhas and patriarchs, ordinary beings and sages are tossed to one side—what is it like when relying on nothing at all? Red clouds pierce the emerald sea; / The white sun circles Sumeru." He stepped down from the seat.

2.16

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "Birth and death alternate, cold and heat replace each other. I wonder: does the true person without rank still have cold and heat or not?" The Master said, "Sweat flows like rain." The monk continued, "It is clearly before the eyes." The Master said, "Do not make a nest right before the eyes." The monk said, "What about right now?" The Master said, "Baffling the fellow." The Master then said, "The summer heat steams people as if fallen into a cauldrons-steamer; / The four limbs pour sweat as if boiling soup were poured. / Depending on the white feather completely exerting its strength, / It draws a gust of pure breeze and a mantle of coolness. / Do you people still feel your body hair standing on end? Zha!" He stepped down from the seat.

2.17

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the meaning of Mount Sumeru?" The master said, "Pushing it forward cannot move it; holding it back cannot retreat it." The monk continued, "I wonder, is there still any fault?" The master said, "It sits upon your tongue." [The monk] asked, "Dharmas do not arise alone; relying on conditions they come to be." Raising his sitting mat, he said, "This is the condition; what is the Dharma?" The master said, "Yet the spear has been snatched away by the ācārya." The monk continued, "Why does the Venerable retreat and yield to others today?" The master said, "There is only the vanguard, no rearguard." The monk asked, "I wonder, what is the rearguard?" The master said, "Give me back my topic of words!" Then he said, "One whose ground is secure and hidden cannot lift his feet, and pokes his head out too far; one of supernatural powers and wondrous functioning cannot plant his feet, and his body's withdrawal cannot turn around. Even if freely crossing in all directions, receiving three thousand blows in the morning, it would still fall short by a little bit. And tell me: where is the error? If you know it is there, only then will you see the full presentation and the half presentation. If you do not yet know, you are an old crow in a sack—though alive, just as if dead." He stepped down from the seat.

2.18

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What was the meaning of Nanquan cutting the cat?" The master said, "Killing and reviving depend on the moment." The monk continued, "What about Zhaozhou putting the straw sandals on his head?" The master said, "That was his own domestic affair." The monk said, "I shall beat the drum and play the pipa lute." The master said, "For now, do not fake cleverness." Then he said, "Where there is a Buddha, one cannot be trapped in a cage; where there is no Buddha, one searches for people in wild grasses. Giving free rein, everywhere is fresh and radiant; holding fast, heaven and earth abruptly transform. And tell me: what about when a transcendent person arrives? His family naturally has a road leading straight through to the sky." He stepped down from the seat.

2.19

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Concluding the summer retreat and holding the confession ceremony is the regular rule of the vast assembly. The autumn colors are clear and pure, and heaven and earth are crisp and severe. Prajñā flows and operates; motion and stillness are as one. The seasons show no leniency; heat and cold suddenly shift. The tune of the unproduced sends its melody beyond the clear sky; the ultimate jewel always stands revealed, its light swallowing myriad phenomena. Past and present cannot cover it; the present has no obstruction. When a single thought does not fall into various conditions, realize and attain your own realm. Why must you seek the Buddha at Vulture Peak, or inquire of the Patriarch at Shaolin? Do you understand? Untying the cloth sack, there is no restraint; be ever more diligent in tending the water buffalo." He stepped down from the seat.

2.20

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "A single word cuts off all; the thousand sages fall silent. A single sword held in front leaves corpses across ten thousand li. Therefore it is said: 'Sometimes the words arrive but the intention does not; sometimes the intention arrives but the words do not.' Words can cut off intention, and intention can cut off words. Intention and words rushing together is the monk's grasp. If you can turn about like this, even the blue sky must take a blow of the staff. And tell me: what does this rely upon? Pitiable are the countless riders of the waves; in the end they still fall into the tide and die." He stepped down from the seat.

2.21

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "The sword that kills people, the sword that gives people life—this was the style and standard of high antiquity, and is also the pivot of the present day. If you form conceptual understanding upon words and phrases, it is washing a clod of earth in the mud. If you do not understand through words and phrases, it is fitting a square peg into a round hole. Before you deliberate, you have already missed it; just as you deliberate, you are separated by mountain passes. Flint-spark fire, flashing lightning—whether you grasp it or fail to grasp it, you cannot avoid losing your body and forfeiting your life. And tell me: what is the principle of this? The bitter gourd is bitter right to the root; the sweet melon is sweet all the way to the stem." He stepped down from the seat.

2.22

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Clouds rising bring rain, and the world is bleak; the sun shines from the sky, and heaven and earth are wide open. Even if ten thousand bodhisattvas appear in Mañjuśrī's hall: sunshine is sunshine, rain is rain, mountains are mountains, waters are waters. Which one is the ten thousand bodhisattvas? / The wind is warm, bird songs are scattered; / The sun is high, flower shadows are dense." He stepped down from the seat.

2.23

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "A phrase that settles heaven and earth encompasses past and present, penetrates the barrier of life and death, and transcends sound and form. Living in a ghost cave, for hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas it is hard to stick one's head out. Cutting off the manifold streams, a single expanse of empty stillness has nothing to rely upon. Even if heaven and earth were overturned and the great sea surged, and grasses, trees, and forests all turned into knives, spears, shields, and halberds, they could not stir a single point of it. And tell me: relying on what is it like this? / Holding in hand the talisman that shines by night, / How many know the dawn of heaven?" He stepped down from the seat.

2.24

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Blink your eyebrows and you have already missed it; block your eyes and you further form speech, turning increasingly roundabout. Close your mouth! The entire great earth becomes a single dust mote, which the Buddha eye cannot see; the entire Great Canon becomes a single phrase, which a mouth as vast as the ocean cannot express—yet it has not even brought out half of it. What about when you suddenly trample through the conjured city? / Walking to where the waters end, / Sitting to watch when the clouds arise." He stepped down from the seat.

2.25

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "The breeze is fresh at the doors and windows; brightly, the ancient mirror hangs high. Light shoots toward the Dipper and Ox constellations; imposing, the Tai'e sword is held across. Outer demons encountering it tremble with fear; malicious spirits conceiving of it lose their souls. The thousand sages fold their hands and submit; the ten directions are squarely cut off. Outwardly severed from the four cardinal directions, inwardly severed from principle and phenomena, right here it is. Do you all see it? / Not departing from this very place, it is always serene; / If you seek it, know that you cannot see it." He stepped down from the seat.

2.26

Retiring from the monastery and returning, taking leave of the assembly, he ascended the hall and said, "There has never been long journeying without stopping; there has never been long stopping without journeying. Acting without action, benefiting without benefit, being a raft across the three realms of existence, ferrying across the four modes of birth—this is the fundamental lot of the monk. Even so, when the time arrives, cut it in two with a single blade; above all, your nostrils must not be in another's hands. Therefore it is said: 'Moving like drifting clouds, halting like the valley spirit.' Since there is no mind toward this or that, nor any sign of going or coming, being like this, going and coming are not by signs, and motion and stillness are not by forms—is there not ample and abundant room to spare? And tell me: what can be said as the phrase on the verge of departure? / Originally a person dwelling beneath the forest, / Now returning back beneath the forest." He stepped down from the seat.

2.27

Taking up residence at Jiashan, the master received the invitation at Tianning in Gong'an. Holding up the letter of invitation, he showed it to the assembly, saying, "Grasping it on the tips of the hundred grasses—how can that compare to undertaking it right here? Since the mandate has arrived to be carried out, how could one facing the furnace avoid the fire? If you can see it, you cut off the tongues of all people. If not yet so, then let the karmadāna expound it."

2.28

The master pointed to the Dharma seat and said, "At Vaiśālī, a seat was borrowed from the King of Lamps; at Wanshou, the King of Lamps borrows a seat. And tell me: are they the same or different? Do you understand? Fortunately it is pitiful indeed; you must look with discerning eyes."

2.29

Mounting the seat, he instructed the assembly, saying, "On the tip of the hook there is bait; within the words there is no partiality. Having already floated the skiff, I release the fishing line. Is there any brocade-scaled fish that breaks through the waves?" A monk came forward and said, "There is." The master said, "Look with discerning eyes!" The monk deliberated, and the master said, "Struck!" [The monk] asked, "Ending the fishing in Jin'guan, journeying again through the water country, having just been the guest of Wanshou, you are now the master of Blue Cliff (Biyan). The flowing water going down the mountain is not asked about; what is the meaning of the white clouds returning to the cave?" The master said, "An old shop newly opened." The monk continued, "A fine sound in the ear, all are aroused; a single selfless phrase spans past and present." The master said, "Everyone is right here." The monk continued, "Ten thousand fathoms of white clouds cannot hide it; a single wheel of bright light illumines without partiality." The master said, "What do you say as the phrase upon arriving home?" The monk deliberated. The master said, "Finished." The master then said, "Before the eyes there is no alien grass; throughout the realm all barriers are cut off. The sun and moon within the realm are brand new; heaven and earth outside the bounds stand solely revealed. It truly makes the dragons, devas, Śakra, and Brahmā shake the earth and rain down flowers, and causes Mañjuśrī and Subhūti to stare blankly with mouths agape. Brandishing the staff and giving a shout are set aside; the clouds, moon, streams, and mountains are let pass for a move. When one place penetrates through, hundreds and thousands of places are thoroughly mastered; when one dynamic is clearly illuminated, thousands and tens of thousands of dynamics turn smoothly. Blue Cliff is not separate from this place; this place is not separate from Blue Cliff. Encompassing the great chiliocosm on the tip of a hair; fusing mustard seeds and dust motes within the ocean of kṣetras. The flower-carrying bird flies past, the child-cradling ape returns; serene and still, the true arhat does not borrow [external aid]—let that be. But on the ground without yin and yang, what kind of matter is accomplished? / Myriad plants are just aided by the force of harmonious qi; / Blue Cliff first puts forth a branch of spring." He further cited: "Great Master Ma asked Yaoshan, 'You have been here for such a long time; how is your fundamental lot?' Yaoshan said, 'The skin has completely peeled away; there is only one true reality.' The Patriarch said, 'According to your view, it may be said to accord with the essence of mind and spread to the four limbs. Why not bundle your belly with three strips of bamboo and go dwell on a mountain anywhere?' Yaoshan said, 'Who am I to dare speak of dwelling on a mountain?' The Patriarch said, 'Not so. There has never been long journeying without stopping; there has never been long stopping without journeying. Wishing to benefit, there is nothing to benefit; wishing to act, there is nothing to act. You should serve as a boat and raft.' Thereupon he dwelt on a mountain." The master said, "Great assembly! After attaining the meaning, the ancient did not forget benefiting sentient beings, entering directly into the deep mountains to uphold the essential tenets of the lineage. I, this mountain monk, am benighted and dim; how could I dare aspire to compare? Being like this, there is no need to bundle the belly with bamboo strips; instead, there is a broken-legged cauldron to keep solitude together with those who come from all directions. If you can have full faith, there is no need for chatter; if you do not yet thoroughly know, listen to this final phrase: / The high peak rises sheer, leaning on Heaven's gate; / The green cliffs are quiet and solitary, enough to rest one's feet. / Fortunately the broken-legged cauldron is still here; / There is no harm in carrying it to hide in the deep clouds. / Although it is like this, everyone must lend a hand before it will do. And tell me: after all, how is it? / A wondrous dance must indeed match every beat; / The Santai dance requires everyone to urge it on." He stepped down from the seat.

2.30

The master entered the monastery, pointed to the abbot's quarters, and said, "This is where the man of Vaiśālī took his seat, exactly identical to the time the mandate was executed at Magadha. The crown of Jiashan's head opens a single aperture, releasing the old awl of Tianpeng. Since he has been released to show his head, tell me: what kind of skill can he display? / The brocade-scaled fish breaking the waves enters the bamboo creel; / When the sky-blanketing net is lifted, it spares none." He stepped down from the seat.

2.31

The Master pointed to the Dharma seat and said, "Great assembly! Do you recognize the Jewel-Flower King? Do not fall into a second or third [thought]." He then spread his sitting cloth and said, "Wild monkeys holding their young return to the verdant screens; / Secret birds carrying flowers pass over the Jasper Cliff. / In this place in past days I was once a guest; / Today as host, I am ashamed, yet without shame. / Is there a patched-robed monk in this assembly who can distinguish host and guest?" / A monk asked, "The rain is fine and willows trail golden threads; the wind is gentle and flowers unfurl a brocade screen. Not asking about the clouds and moon, streams and mountains, how do you discuss the phrase of arriving home?" / The Master said, "Cutting off the tongues of everyone under heaven." / The monk continued, "Just what is the poignant and new affair?" / The Master said, "Do you still recognize your tongue?" / The monk continued, "Clouds reach the Jasper Cliff, a thousand fathom green; / The moon faces the verdant screen, ten thousand streams are spring." / The Master said, "Only taking another step forward will do." / The monk continued, "Could it not be the Magadha decree?" / The Master said, "I let you have thirty blows." / The Master then said, "Below the gate, green mountains splash dark indigo; along the road, fine rain is like rich balm. Lingyun's peach blossoms along the path—everywhere fragrant blossoms overflow the eyes. Xiangyan's jade bamboos beside the cliff—constantly shaking shadows and swaying in the wind. Just reaching where a single strike makes one forget all that was known, a single sight cuts off all doubt and confusion, yet inevitably viewing and listening still remain, and one has not yet penetrated sound and form. If you can see form without seeing, and hear sound without hearing, turn the pivot of the road and kick over the mechanism, then phrase by phrase you will transcend the Buddhas and go beyond the Patriarchs, dust by dust you will shine through the ancient and soar through the modern, everywhere departing from form and severing designations, each person cutting nails and shearing iron. Outside the mind there are no phenomena; outside phenomena there is no mind. Wielding the royal treasury's sword and shooting the ten-pūrvā bow, standing like a wall ten thousand fathoms high and cutting off the ten directions, one can enter the gate of great liberation and transmit the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, rejoicing together in peace in the days of Yao and Shun, drumming on the belly and singing, sitting stably at home. And how do you speak the phrase of arriving home? May the spring breeze exert its strength together, / Blowing at once straight into my gate!" / He further said, "Formerly, Chuanming possessed world-transcending action and ocean-spanning spiritual capability. He made tongueless people speak meaningless words; he brought in Luopu, received Qingfeng, discerned Shishuang, and praised Fori. His precipitous cliff phrases were steep, his trap-pit tigers dynamic and deep; lightning flashed, stars shot past, pearls revolved, and jade turned. He established this jewel monastery, and his style and standards remain complete. Yet this mountain monk is inept in diverse matters; how can I continue in his lofty footsteps? Having failed to decline and with no door through which to turn around and penetrate, I cannot avoid borrowing a path: in the place of no speech, expounding speech; in the place of no affairs, generating affairs; in the place of no Buddha, manifesting Buddha; in the place of no Patriarch, displaying Patriarch; and valuing above all that the beginning and end correspond, the head upright and the tail upright. I dare ask everyone: do you still see the old fellow Jiashan? Do not discern him at the tips of the hundred grasses; / Face to face without partiality, spanning ancient and modern."

2.32

The acting prefect of Lizhou, Court Gentleman for Consultation Zhang, invited the Master to open the hall at Xiangji Cloister. The Master received the declaration from the hands of the acting prefect, held it up to the assembly, and said, "Every word is brocade, every phrase is a pearl, praising the Supreme Vehicle, revealing the True Dharma Eye. You must discern it before it is raised, and take responsibility outside the literary embellishments. If this is not yet so, then I invite it to be read out loud."

2.33

The Master pointed to the Dharma seat and said, "Does the great assembly see? The Jewel-Flower King seat is ascended together by the successive Patriarchs. A cart is not pushed sideways; principle is not judged crookedly." He then ascended the seat, offered incense, and said, "This stick of incense is reverently offered for the reigning Emperor, wishing for the solemnity of his sacred life for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten-thousand years! We humbly pray that his sagely calculation equals heaven and earth, his sacred brilliance surpasses the sun and moon, the dragon charts and phoenix calendar extend for hundred millions of years, and the jade leaves and golden branches span hundreds of thousands of kalpas." Next he offered incense: "Reverently offered for the acting prefect, controller-general, court gentleman for consultation, and judicial investigator, the honored officials present, and the noble meritorious ones of the various offices: we humbly pray that your ranks and emoluments rise high, and the foundation of your longevity is forever firm." He also offered incense, saying, "This stick of incense was paid for in former years on the plains of the Huai, and was raised in past days in Jinguang. Now the ocean-like assembly wants to know; I cannot avoid clearly laying it bare: reverently offered for the late Chan Master Yan, twelfth generation of Mount Wuzu in Qizhou. Burning it in the censer, I vent the indignation of the patched-robed monks under heaven." He then spread his sitting cloth. Venerable Luopu struck the mallet and said, "Assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma banquet, you should observe the primary meaning!" The Master said, "Already it is the secondary! If one discusses the true supreme meaning within the supreme meaning, the literary embellishment has not yet omened, the single mallet has not yet fallen, the vital crossing is blocked off, admitting neither ordinary nor sage; it is not discerned under words, nor sought within conceptual thought. Since the grass bends when the wind blows, I cannot avoid following the waves and chasing the billows. Is there anyone who will mutually bear witness?" The Master then said, "The cakra eye atop the crown of the head emits great light; Maheśvara's face reveals an extraordinary mark. A single word contains all phenomena; a single phrase meets the multitude of capacities. How could it stop at lying across the fierce tiger's den or setting foot on the edge of a ten-thousand-fathom peak? Therefore it is said: 'Revealing the great potential, illuminating the great function, gain and loss are both forgotten, right and wrong are utterly vanished; cut off from dust and tracks, penetrating form and sound, layer upon layer without end, phenomenon and phenomenon fully interpenetrating.' Furthermore, it is like the boundless fragrant water seas of the Huayan realm of phenomena: the unspeakably many floating banner king kṣetras all open and appear here at once. Just this is ready-made; just this is for your enjoyment. It is not seen with the eye, not heard with the ear, not spoken with the mouth, not known with the mind. Can you still realize it? If you realize it, you need not first see Mañjuśrī at the eastern edge of the City of Awakening, nor need the tower gates open before you consult Maitreya. I dare ask the great assembly: tell me, right now whose realm is this?" He raised the whisk and said, "The original body of Rocana completely manifests; / Direct and immediate to the dynamic situation, not a speck remains."

2.34

Arriving at Luopu, he ascended the hall and said, "Ten thousand trees wind and twist along a single distant path; / Imposing old buildings pillow the mountain's waist. / Today I am delighted to arrive at this deep, deep place; / Several times letters flew, gracing me with invitations. / Shining mountain peaches are like fire; / Slender stream willows trail gold. / The sun is warm and the wind is gentle; / Orioles sing and swallows chatter. / Therefore, without leaving the Universal Light Hall, without departing from the bodhi site, roaming everywhere throughout the boundless kṣetra-realms of the ocean of the Flower Treasury, boring left and tunneling right, layer upon layer without end, each and every one interwoven. And what is the deep, deep place of Luopu? Face to face, if you lack the lineage's upright eye, / Turning your head, you will only see verdant mountain cliffs."

2.35

Retaining the head monk, he ascended the hall: "The ancient road is level; the true regulation does not fall into ruin. Discipline has its proper place; leadership has its man. Internally solemn, externally tranquil, establishing home and rejoicing in one's vocation, taking the great-thousandfold realm as the one true realm, taking the Buddhas of the ten directions as the same Rocana. Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra's lights cross and interlace; Avalokiteśvara and Maitreya raise fists and join palms; Linji and Deshan mutually praise and accomplish; white bullocks and wildcats have no favoring or turning away. One can perform the song of the unborn and sing the ode of great peace. And how do you speak the phrase that transcends sentiment and departs from views? The wooden man holds the clapper and strikes it amid the clouds; / The stone woman holds the reed pipes and plays them at the bottom of the well."

2.36

Ascending the hall, he said, "The three months of spring have passed, and the ninety days of summer are newly begun. 玄 Gather the mysterious followers amid the clouds; fan the true style outside the world. Not urging a single thought, not traversing three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, each person finds it ready-made in every place; each and every one has an eye on the crown of their head. If you take responsibility in such a way, releasing and holding back are entirely up to yourself; appearing and disappearing, vertical and horizontal, are not external things at all. If the highest class were to look, they would see you are right in mid-journey; when clear-eyed ones meet, it is hard to penetrate through. Although this mountain monk has no diamond jewel sword or patched-robed monk's transcendent pincers and hammer, formerly at Mount Wuzu Baiyun I picked up several diamond cages and a basket of chestnut burrs. Throughout the ninety days of summer, I will cut and polish together with you all." He then raised the whisk and said, "Does the great assembly still see? Tell me: is this a diamond cage, or a chestnut burr? It cannot be understood by monks of shallow views; / It is only known by accomplished masters of pervasive ways."

2.37

Ascending the hall, he said, "'Striking one and knocking two' is the fundamental pincers and hammer; kneading together and opening up is an adept's application. In the place of dirt on the head and mud on the face, one stands like a wall a thousand fathoms high; in the place of standing like a wall a thousand fathoms high, there is mud on the face and dirt on the head. Naturally releasing both and gathering both, everywhere bringing auspiciousness and good fortune. Do you fully comprehend? Scoop up water, and the moon is in your hands; / Handle flowers, and fragrance fills your robes."

2.38

Ascending the hall, he said, "The great void is vast and expansive, the myriad phenomena are dense and luxuriant; the upright eye is thoroughly clear, not establishing a single speck of dust. In the solitary and precipitous place, Patriarchs cannot approach; in the level and even place, humans and devas all know. Strike open the great liberation gate and recognize the one without features! And what is the one without features? Peony blossoms bloom as a bodhisattva's face; / Palm leaves reveal a yakṣa's head."

2.39

At the conclusion of the summer retreat, he ascended the hall and said, "The monastery of complete enlightenment flings open its doors and windows; the great seat of the Huayan kṣetra-seas faces the open porch. Shortening hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas into a single thought—how could it stop at a long period of one hundred and twenty days? Extending a single thought into hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas—how could one discuss this life and future rebirths? First one saw gold melt and rocks burn; suddenly the jade dew hangs its pearls. The seasons show no favor; the nature of things undergoes changes and returns. When the summer retreat was bound, the entire heaven and earth were bound at once; now when the retreat is lifted, the entire heaven and earth are lifted at once. When bound, originally they do not touch; when lifted, originally they do not separate. Coming to this point, opening a single thread and understanding a single dynamic: you are you, I am I, the long is long, the short is short, the pure is naturally pure, the turbid is naturally turbid. Within it there is no coming or going, nor is there movement or turning; vast and completely equal, all return to the same oneness. Thereafter, releasing, gathering, capturing, and letting loose, one attains great liberation. What more could you call you, call me, call long, call short? Sever them all at once! And how do you speak the phrase of self-indulgence? Clouds at the mountain ridge never finish being at leisure; / Water flowing down in the ravine is far too busy."

2.40

Thanking the karmadāna and the director of duties, he ascended the hall and said, "Smelting gold and carving jade requires relying on an adept's pincers and hammer; bearing the teaching and upholding the lineage must depend on fundamental brothers. Interlocking like elbows and arms, mutually serving as host and guest, one can then reveal the great potential and manifest the great function, spread clouds of compassion and sprinkle sweet dew, steer the raft of compassion and observe the broken shore, transcend birth and death and go beyond nirvāṇa, causing patched-robed monks throughout the world to emit light from the crown of their heads, to be distinct and untrammeled under their heels, each like a dragon and like a tiger, everyone with jade turning and pearls revolving. Not only upholding the monastic grove, it also circulates the upright eye. Is this not an extraordinary affair? I dare ask the great assembly: how do you speak the extraordinary phrase? A marvelous dance still needs praise at every beat; / The Santai tune requires everyone's accompaniment to hurry it on."

2.41

Upon opening the hearth, he ascended the hall. A monk asked, "An ancient said: 'Striking the void makes a sound; hitting wood is soundless.' What is striking the void making a sound?" The Master said, "Old man Śākya has arrived." The Master then said, "The Buddhas of the three periods turn the great dharmacakra within the flames. Why get feverish? The flames expound the Dharma for the Buddhas of the three periods, and the Buddhas of the three periods stand listening; yet one must still take care of one's eyebrows. If you just barely hear it penetrating bone and marrow, believe it completely, and see it thoroughly, then right here you will live and die together with the Buddhas of the three periods, arise and perish together with the flames, attaining liberation on the spot and gaining great peace. A patched robe covering the head is just a world of pure cool. If this is not yet so, you only know that affairs pass before your eyes, unaware that old age is arriving over your head."

2.42

Ascending the hall, he said, "Consistently not so: eyes gazing at the clouds and Milky Way, not following human sentiment. Consistently so: dirt on the head and mud on the face, carrying water and dragging through mud. Not so within being so: accommodating the low to level the high. Being so within not so: letting go from the void. Or there is someone who pays no attention to either being so or not so: neither bright nor dark, neither releasing nor gathering. Tell me, how is it? Ultimately, under the frosty night moon, / It falls into the front ravine at its own accord."

2.43

Ascending the hall, he said: “The sky is cold and people are cold; everyone is in this. Water drops, ice freezes; there is no leisure for this. A person in the courtyard suddenly cannot find mind; who understands the matter beneath the patch-robed monk's gown when wild fire burns the mountain? A thousand layers, a hundred coils, without obstruction; Han departs, Hu comes, cutting off all trade. But how do you speak a phrase that does not leave the immediate spot? The crane flies through a thousand feet of snow; the dragon rises from a pool of ice.”

2.44

Ascending the hall, he said: “Xuedou said: ‘Righteousness emerges in years of abundance; lack breeds unfilial children. Under the gate of the patch-robed monk, is this letting go or holding fast? If someone can say, this old monk will divide half the monastery for him to live in.’ ” The Master said: “Xuedou was ill often, so he understood the properties of medicines; only after experiencing their efficacy did he transmit them to others. If among you there is one who knows abundance and knows lack, knows letting go and knows holding fast, what need is there to divide half the monastery for him to live in? Burn incense and make vows, simply wishing that he soon has a monastery to live in, letting him taste a bit of the flavor, and spared from poverty's torment and hunger's fry.”

First 44 of 48 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

圓悟佛果禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese