圓悟佛果禪師語錄 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.1

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

When the Master received the imperial edict at Mount Jiang, he held it up, showed it to the assembly, and said: "Great assembly! Do you see? Dragon flying and phoenix dancing, it descends from the ninefold palace; the essential guidelines of the Buddhas and Patriarchs are all within it. But please ask the karmadāna to read it aloud before the assembly."

5.4

Ascending the seat, a monk asked: "I have received the Master's words: 'Dragon flying and phoenix dancing, it descends from the ninefold palace.' What does this mean?" The Master said: "There is no one who does not look up to the deepest grace." The monk advanced and said: "The good sound is in the ear; all people are exalted." The Master said: "The canal is made and the water arrives; it is a single family." The monk advanced and said: "It directly causes the woodcutter to dance his sleeves and the old rustic to sing songs." The Master said: "Who is not like this?" The monk advanced and said: "The rustic spring grove shares its splendor with the heavenly flowers." The Master said: "A single branch is uniquely the spring of Great Harmony." The monk advanced and said: "What can be done about clouds having no mind, yet possessing of themselves the force that follows the dragon?" The Master said: "Then the ācārya gets to exhale." The monk advanced and said: "Just as for Master Bao, would he be willing to let the Venerable One go or not?" The Master said: "He let me go long ago." The monk advanced and said: "Let the gibbons and cranes resent it; for now, fulfill the one man's heart." The Master said: "Every place is Maitreya; no gate lacks Sudhana." The Master then said: "Cold crags, withered trees, heaps of white clouds—how can dispersed material suit a great timber? Could it be that an empty reputation reached the pure imperial palace, and the sacred purple-tress edict came from the nine heavens? Since the matter arose beyond expectation, it must be directly taken upon oneself; what is prized is that the correct eye flows and circulates, reverently praying for boundless sagacious lifespan, directly causing insects, plants, and trees all to look up to the earth-shaking scene, and the living beings of the great earth all to be steeped in the sagacious beneficence of Tang and Yu. Everywhere gentle breezes pervade the wilds; in every person joyous energy fills the eyes. Moved by the boundless grace of imperial canopy, we bear the life-giving virtue of the one man. Right at such a time, do you understand thoroughly? Green peaches gently condense the morning dew; red apricots vaguely mirror the rosy dawn clouds."

5.5

Entering the monastery, he went to the Abbot's quarters, sat down, and said: "In the land of Magadha, for three times seven days mouths hung agape; in the city of Vaiśālī, the assembly of eighty thousand had eyes glazed over. Although it was brought forth for a time, it inevitably involved getting one's hands bruised and blunting the sharp edge. How could it compare to this eight-sided translucence, open and clear in the four directions? Above, relying on the protective shade of the one man; beside, assisting the sacred transformation without end. A single phrase cuts off the flow; ten thousand devices cease. Do you understand thoroughly? Understand the intention at the tip of the hook; do not fix on the steelyard mark."

5.6

Pointing to the Dharma seat, he said: "How could thirty-two thousand lion seats compare to this curved wooden chair? Cutting off the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya Buddhas, not involving hearing, seeing, or knowing, it raises aloft the lofty style of Vulture Peak and reverently prays for sagacious lifespan enduring as the Southern Mountain. Do you see? Watch when the order is executed!"

5.7

Ascending the hall, he offered incense: "This single piece of incense prays for the sacred lifespan of the reigning Emperor to be boundless, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!" The Master then said: "Entering the gate, one sees it at once, brook no hesitation or deliberation; opening the mouth, one speaks it at once, no longer taking roundabout ways. Even if Sudhana enters Maitreya's tower, he still relies on gathering his thoughts; when Samantacakṣus enters Samantabhadra's marvelous realm, he also borrows spiritual power. Just now, reaching the state of being pierced through in eight places and penetrated in seven, open on all four sides and five directions, penetrating one place makes a thousand or ten thousand places bright; one illumination shines universally over a thousand or ten thousand lights. And how do you speak a phrase on arriving home? Ahead of the wind, there is a path surpassing the Tamer; patting the belly and singing songs, one delights in great peace. There is also a verse: / 'Originally a man of the mountains, / Incompetent, merely keeping to simplicity, / Who would have thought an empty name / Would reach far into the cinnabar phoenix court? / The edict descended to reside at Tianning; / The bamboo palanquin set off by night under the stars. / Arriving in person this morning, / A single phrase has no words to speak.' / Another, another! The Golden Ascetic once leaked it out."

5.8

Words at Tianning Monastery in Dongjing. Requested by Noble Consort Qiao, ascending the hall, he said: "When a single phrase is fully brought forth, a thousand differences unite; when a single flower opens and appears, ten thousand blessings arrive. Going and returning without break yet having a source, moving and still without shifting yet eternally serene. Everywhere is Buddha; in each thing is the Way. If you have deep faith that reaches this, you will not rely on the remaining power of others; just like a strong warrior bending and extending his arm, this dynamic fully emerges. Whether moving or still, whether emerging or remaining, within the supreme manifesting the supreme, within the extraordinary manifesting the extraordinary, it is certainly not an external condition, but completely receives that one's virtue. Therefore it is said: 'Beings of the realms of devas and humans all receive the power of this grace.' If you recognize this grace, your movements, stillness, and actions across hundreds of thousands of transformations will none of them fall into emptiness. Right at such a time, how do you speak a phrase? Directly manifest throughout the realm without mutual obstruction; folding a thousand times and encircling a hundred turns, it shines with ever greater brilliance."

5.9

Ascending the hall for the Patriarch Assembly, a monk asked: "At Shaolin, the sudden teaching was first transmitted, its five leaves fragrant; at the Onion Range, it parted from the multitude of streams, a thousand lamps continuing to shine. Though the gates and courtyards differ among the five houses, their prajñā alike returns to the same ground. What are the lineages of the five houses?" The Master said: "Chattering and jabbering, distinctly apart." The monk continued: "Without asking, how could one attain the fundamental source?" The Master said: "Struck through with a single stroke of the brush." The monk asked: "Kicking over the water bottle, leaving behind no livelihood; two mouths without tongues—this is truly our lineage. What is the Weiyang lineage?" The Master said: "Everyone under heaven cannot leap out of its circular figures." The monk asked: "Three times taking the staff, yet like mugwort stems; in the end, a blind ass becomes the true eye of humans and devas. What is the Linji lineage?" The Master said: "Striking and chanting proceed together." The monk asked: "Resting and ceasing, an incense burner in an ancient temple; a withered tree bearing blossoms, the mind essential of patriarchs and buddhas. What is the Caodong lineage?" The Master said: "In pairs, they do not make a couple." The monk asked: "Meeting dynamic moments with a sesame cake, naturally so from the root; a single arrow [shot into] the distant void, three phrases can discern it. What is the Yunmen lineage?" The Master said: "Missed right before one's face." The monk asked: "Form and emptiness, light and dark, shining wherever touched; in every kṣetra and every dust mote, distinctly displayed in each thing. What is the Fayan lineage?" The Master said: "Point." The monk asked: "The patriarchs' mind-seal is like the dynamic action of the iron bull: as soon as it departs, it imprints and fixes; remaining fixed, it breaks the imprint. Just what kind of seal is applied to a patch-robed monk without nostrils?" The Master said: "It is precisely you, Reverend." The monk asked: "The nostrils of all the patriarchs under heaven have been pierced through on a single string by the Venerable Monk, but I do not yet know whose string has pierced the Venerable Monk's nostrils?" The Master said: "It is best not to slander Foguo." The Master then said: "On the crown of the heads of a thousand sages there is room for oceans of kṣetras, but within the life-vein of a patch-robed monk, no true dynamic is permitted. Opening yet a single line of path: revealing patriarchs through buddhas, verifying buddhas from patriarchs, seal after seal without disparity, dynamic after dynamic perfectly realized. Holding up a flower before the assembly on Vulture Peak established this lineage style; the Golden Ascetic once received the wondrous purport. Down to the four-times-seven of the Western Heavens and the two-times-three of this land, during the several centuries since the assembly at Caoxi dispersed, the monasteries have faced one another, each grasping the jewel of the spiritual snake, every person holding the jade of Mount Jing. Possessing illumination and possessing function, possessing the provisional and possessing the real, they uphold and invigorate the transcendent lineage style and transmit and maintain the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. Ultimately, a hundred rivers flow in diverse streams yet return together to the great ocean; a thousand layers and a hundred coils do not issue from more than a single source. Therefore it is said: 'The twenty-eight patriarchs of the Western Heavens were like this; the six patriarchs of the Tang land were like this; all the venerable elders of the monasteries facing each other under heaven were like this; and this mountain monk is also like this.' But tell me: how is such a matter to be discussed? Can it still be brought forth? Can the black and white still be distinguished clearly? This mountain monk will not begrudge his two eyebrows to point it out for you all." He then held up his staff and said: "Do you still see? The buddhas of the three periods, the successive generations of patriarchs, and the old venerable monks under heaven are all on the tip of the staff, emitting great radiance, manifesting the provisional and manifesting the real, manifesting dynamic action and manifesting states, lining up the five positions of lord and minister, opening the lineage essentials of the three mysteries, dynamic action and state fitting together, arrowheads striking each other, the one character and three phrases of identical source, the atmospheres of circular figures distinctly apart. If you thoroughly understand here, on the tips of the hundred grasses you put an end to lifelong affairs, leaving behind not even roots or stumps; hearing the phrase beyond the pure sound, do not seek it within phrases. If you are not yet clear, this mountain monk cannot avoid dragging through mud and wading through water again. Bodhidharma did not come to the Eastern Land; the Second Patriarch did not go to the Western Heavens. Each person stands like a wall ten thousand fathoms high; every one manifests constant radiance before their faces." Striking the staff once, he stepped down from the seat.

5.10

Ascending the hall for the Lotus Assembly, a monk asked: "Amid the lotus blossoms, a field for selecting buddhas; the Dharma banquet is opened wide with a single burner of incense. The holding up of the flower for ten thousand ages on Vulture Peak—today we rely on the Master to hold it forth." The Master said: "One who is not an earnest person will not know." The monk continued: "Then all dharmas have already abided in accord with dharmas, clearly revealing the dynamic of the white lotus." The Master said: "Just now, right before your face, it has already been presented." The monk asked: "Within the sea of the wondrous nature, rain and dew fall; in the bodhimaṇḍa, a pure breeze arises." The Master said: "You still fall into the secondary." The monk asked: "A student is only like this; what is the Master's meaning?" The Master said: "Three thousand at the crown of the head, eight hundred behind the skull." The Master then said: "Before Vipaśyin, a thousand flowers manifested auspicious omens; the deva of devas rectified the earth, the uḍumbara revealing auspiciousness. Directly reaching where the entire realm was never hidden and the whole body is without image, manifesting the great King of Lotuses, encircled by a thousand-flower throne, one leaf one Śākya, one filament one Maitreya, dust mote by dust mote thus, kṣetra by kṣetra thus, place by place thus, thought by thought thus. Raising a single dust mote takes in the great earth; opening a single flower raises the world. It may be called the most sublime among the sublime, the most extraordinary among the extraordinary. Before the Pagoda of Gracious Mercy, auspicious vapors congeal; beside the Cave of the Arhats, the true countenance appears; the Dharma assembly is solemn, devas and humans gathered together. Arriving here, what matter ought to be discussed? Can one speak of the mystery and speak of the wondrous? Can one speak of buddhas and speak of patriarchs? Can one cite the ancients and cite the moderns? Can one display operations and display functions? All these have been brought forth by the great masters from former times to the present. Right now, it is better not to stir a thing, and simply present a ready-made gong'an. If you understand, every person's mind-flower will bloom with light, shining everywhere throughout the kṣetras of the ten directions. Right at such a time, how does one say a phrase attributing the merit to the root? Do you fully understand? The ten thousand quarters have cause to celebrate, returning to the enlightened sage; we wish to see the Yellow River run clear a hundred times."

5.11

At the request of the Noble Consort Qiao on the occasion of Dharma Master Fazhen's recovery from illness, ascending the hall, the Master said: "Vulture Peak solely held forth the transcendent dynamic, a thousand spirits converging without planning; Shaoshi secretly transmitted the True Dharma Eye, the ten thousand forms unimpeded and perfectly penetrating. Accord and seal matching each other, conditions and causes entering one another, spiritual efficacy like heaven and earth covering and bearing, wondrous wisdom like the sun and moon shining upon all. The realms of sand are equal and flat, with no bias toward front or back. There is a great liberated being who realizes the great way of liberation, opens the great gate of liberation, and displays the great work of liberation, manifesting the ancient's incurable illness, causing the thousand sages to seek its point of origin and find none. All buddhas and sentient beings both have this illness. If the buddhas were ill, they would not be sentient beings; if sentient beings were ill, they would not be all buddhas. Therefore, because sentient beings are ill, this ailment is shown to exist. Because of this, the people of Rājagṛha, each receiving the light above the crown of the head, all came to inquire after the illness; and that Great Being revealed it according to their requests, causing them to stand like walls ten thousand fathoms high, until the illness of sentient beings was exhausted and the great liberated being was also at peace. Having reached peace, there is a great dānapati who makes the great Dharma offering, raises the great Dharma banner, expounds the great Dharma meaning, and rains down the great Dharma rain, each and every one intertwining, layer upon layer without end. Right at such a time, how does one say a phrase attuned to the moment and season? Do you fully understand? Spiritual sprouts add exquisite vitality; auspicious grasses send forth propitious radiance. Composing a gāthā again: / Manifesting illness, Vimalakīrti was fundamentally not ill; / Inquiring after the ailment, Mañjuśrī never came at first. / Raising the great Dharma banner, inaugurating the great offering, / Instantly causing a thousand eyes to open all at once."

5.12

The Noble Consort Qiao arranged a Thousand Buddhas Assembly. Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "A thousand flowers reveal auspicious responses; ten thousand goods accumulate upon the spiritual terrace. Broadly opening the gate of liberation, widely displaying the priceless treasury, holding forth the True Dharma Eye, manifesting the cause of a thousand buddhas. It directly reaches where the entire realm is free of traps and cages, and in plain sight there is no grasping or rejecting; penetrating sound and penetrating form, spanning past and present. There is one endowed with great roots of faith, practicing bodhisattva conduct, generating inconceivable power of vows, inaugurating pure adornment, establishing a great bodhimaṇḍa, fully arranging precious delicacies: one incense, one flower, one tea, one fruit, identical with the Dharma-nature, equal to the great void. In every dust mote and every kṣetra, a thousand buddhas emit radiance; according with principle and according with phenomena, universally responding throughout the ten directions. Therefore it is said: 'The great carpenter has no plumb line; fine timber has no crooked or straight. The red disc glitters in the great void; the whole realm is illuminated with radiance.' When a single flower opens, a buddha appears in the world; when a single dust mote is raised, a buddha attains the Way. Host and companion mutually intermingle; the myriad phenomena shine brightly. Gathering boundless blessings and prosperity, we pray for the imperial lifespan to be without limit. Right at such a time, what do you say? A thousand lamps within the room shine upon one another; the precious moon at the edge of the sky is even purer and rounder."

5.13

At the request of the Great Prince of Yun State, ascending the hall, a monk asked: "What is the first phrase?" The Master said: "How could sound and form allow you to see?" The monk continued: "At midnight, emerald clouds shroud the ancient hall; at dawn, the golden crow bursts forth over the seashore." The Master said: "There is a talisman on the elbow for everyone to see." The monk asked: "What is the second phrase?" The Master said: "True gold must be forged in the furnace." The monk continued: "Riding an iron horse backward up Mount Sumeru, treading down to cut off the sound of flowing water at Caoxi." The Master said: "Right in the middle of the road." The monk asked: "What is the third phrase?" The Master said: "Leaving the grass and entering the grass to seek a person." The monk continued: "Within the Abhirati kṣetra, it falls as rain and dew; upon the Mountain of Ignorance, clouds and thunder arise." The Master said: "Clearly the place of letting down hands; observe carefully and well." The Master then said: "The supreme principle is naturally harmonious; a thousand flowers once manifested auspicious omens. It is nowhere and not nowhere; the ten directions are right before the eyes. If one possesses sharp faculties and superior wisdom, at a single lifting one will immediately understand and take it on. Being able to cut off the myriad streams, one can surpass the present and crown antiquity. With such wisdom, with such power, with such a mind, and with such vows, bright as the shining sun and broad as the great void. Therefore it is said: 'For example, the essence of empty space is not the various forms, yet it does not refuse the illumination of those forms.' It is also said: 'If a person wishes to fully know / all the buddhas of the three periods, / they should observe the nature of the dharmadhātu: / all is created solely by the mind.' This pure fundamental source is departed from going and departed from coming, departed from sound and departed from form. If with genuine right view one accords with the quiescence of suchness, then throughout the twelve periods of the day, without thinking or deliberating, without creating or contriving, even in motion and stillness, speech and silence, waking and dreaming, none of it is other than the scenery of the original ground, the original face. Manifesting various auspicious omens and manifesting various extraordinary things, all are perfumed over oceans of immeasurable, boundless kalpas into the wisdom of seeds, and respond and appear thus from the pure and subtle root-wisdom. Right at such a time, what about it? Within the light of formlessness, a thousand buddhas appear; a single path of pure emptiness spans past and present." He then cited: "Old Śākya spoke the Great Prajñā at the assembly on Vulture Peak. Śāriputra asked Subhūti before the Buddha: 'Is expounding the six pāramitās in a dream the same as or different from when awake?' Subhūti said: 'This meaning is profound and deep; I cannot speak it. In this assembly is the Great Being Maitreya, next in line to the Buddha seat; you may go and ask him.' Maitreya said: 'Who is Maitreya? What is Maitreya?'" The Master commented: "Do you fully understand? A single phrase fitting the dynamic, the ten thousand conditions are put to rest. Listen further to a gāthā: / Expounding the Dharma in a dream is no different from waking; / Wondrous function and spiritual powers do not step outside him. / Who is who, what is named, all are Maitreya; / Where the auspicious light arises, the mind-jewel appears."

5.14

Requested by Layman Benran, the Master ascended the hall and said: "Without hanging a single thread, the stark naked frame is still there; where there is not a flake of cloud for ten thousand miles, the blue sky is still there. If you do not exhaust it completely, you will inevitably be entangled in roundabouts. Even if you cut off everything, you have already fallen into the trap of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. Arriving here, how do you bring it up? How do you hold it aloft? Even though it is like this, from ancient times there has been a ready-made gong'an, and I cannot avoid holding it aloft: An ancient one said, 'I have a great illness that cannot be cured by the worldly.' A monk later asked Caoshan, 'I wonder, what illness is it?' Caoshan said, 'An illness that cannot be bunched together.' The monk said, 'I wonder, do all sentient beings also have this illness or not?' Caoshan said, 'If sentient beings fall ill [with it], they are not sentient beings.' The monk said, 'Does the Venerable also have it?' Caoshan said, 'I am just searching for where it arises, but cannot find it.' Great assembly! This illness cannot indeed be cured by the worldly; it requires an expert of the fundamental lot to pierce his crown with a diamond awl right where its point of arising cannot be found, and administer a dose of medicine, directly causing the Patriarch-illness, the Buddha-illness, and the illness of the profound and wondrous—dynamic conditions and objective realms—to be swept away completely, cleanly liberated without abiding in the dynamic of liberation. Arriving here, one refuses to remain caged or trapped; call him and he will not turn his head. Ancient sages did not arrange him; to this day he has no abode. Just this 'no abode' is already an abode. You must directly undertake it over on the other side of a thousand and ten thousand peaks. Casually picking up a dynamic or raising a phrase, totally extract the nails and pull out the wedges, unstick the glue and untie the bonds for others. What further talk of directly pointing to the human mind? What further search for seeing one's nature and attaining Buddhahood? Right at such a time, how is it? Without borrowing the strength of an iron awl, smash the den of the Buddhas and Patriarchs!"

5.15

Requested on the memorial day of Junior Protector Chancellor Zhang, the Master ascended the hall. A monk asked: "Vimalakīrti, where did he go? For a thousand ages he leaves people gazing endlessly. The non-dual Dharma gate is being asked right now; last night the bright moon mounted the high peak. What was the meaning of Vimalakīrti's single silence?" The Master said: "It crams full empty space." The monk proceeded: "If so, then facing the sun there is neither facing towards nor turning away; the entire dynamic is exposed right in front of one." The Master said: "There is no place for you to insert your beak." The monk proceeded: "What about the former three-and-three and the latter three-and-three?" The Master said: "Also a tea bottle from Gong County." The monk proceeded: "Mañjuśrī said, 'I have neither word nor speech in all places.' Is this identical to or different from his single silence?" The Master said: "Falling into the secondary head." The monk proceeded: "What about severing nails and cutting iron?" The Master said: "Holding the sword of Moye horizontally." The monk proceeded: "Layman Wujin shared an intimate spiritual bond of acquaintance with you, Venerable, all his life. Tell me, where is he right now?" The Master said: "I have already told you." The monk proceeded: "The student today had a small venture but met with a great reward." The Master said: "With what will you repay this kindness?" The monk said: "For ten thousand ages, the moon in the open sphere over the deep green pool." The Master said: "Idle words." The Master then said: "Great assembly! Grasping the tongs and hammers of the Buddhas and Patriarchs, operating the forge and bellows of an adept, forging past and present to test patch-robed monks, one employs only the transcendent dynamic—the Vajra King jewel sword. The Patriarch Linji received this essential dynamic from Huangbo and Mazu, and north of the Great River single-handedly invigorated the authentic lineage: a single shout distinguishes host and guest; illumination and function are carried out simultaneously, cutting off the tongues of everyone under heaven and sending the clouds and waters of the four seas scurrying. Down to his sons and grandsons, transmitting this right view and using this true dynamic—if one were not a person of great liberation, how could one witness and verify it facing the sun? Recalling the great layman Wujin in former days, he made this matter his lifelong concern, consulting and questioning lineage masters throughout the realm without exception. When he arrived at the foot of Mount Doushuai and met that old patch-robed monk, discussing the final phrase, he finally was able to cast off his body in complete authenticity; conceptual understanding and theoretical principles were shed all at once. Thereupon he composed a verse: 'The drums are silent, the bells have stopped, and bearing the bowl I return; / Yantou's single squeeze brought words like thunder. / Sure enough, he had only three years to live— / could it be that he received his prediction of enlightenment from him?' Clanging like gold and chiming like jade, bounding like a tiger and soaring like a dragon, he truly possessed great potential and attained great function, using this authentic seal to stamp the kalyāṇamitras of the monastic groves throughout the realm. When this mountain monk met him in Hubei in former days, we swept like lightning and sped like shooting stars; with a single word we were verified in accord, inner and outer as one. The layman's meritorious deeds are written on bamboo and silk; his surviving virtue rests with the common people. Later, when this day arrived, he let go his hands and walked beyond. Tell me, where did Layman Wujin go? Do you understand? Throughout the Buddha-lands of the trichiliocosm, in every dust mote and every land, he manifests a superior body." He further said: "His abundant virtue rests with the common people, / revered in common by the four quarters. / A great ancestral master of the three teachings, / possessing precise ounces and drachms on the steelyard beam. / At seventy-nine, he equaled the Buddha's years; / on this day, frosty wind spans heaven and earth. / A single sound shakes like sudden thunder; / the front star falls into the cloud curtain. / The qilin snaps the golden chain / and with a single leap returns straight above the Brahma heaven, / leaving behind remembrance for ten thousand years and a thousand autumns."

5.16

Ascending the hall: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—this morning this month falls on the first. Last night the Great Fire star flowed west again; the autumn wind shakes the earth with a soughing sound. The sound is soughing; the gate of universal penetration is flung wide open. Please enter directly! Do you understand? All having of thoughts is a fetter of affliction; being without mind is truly the crystal palace."

5.17

Ascending the hall on the first of the month, the Master said: "Originally without form or shape, how could there be lips and beak? Intentionally praising it broadly, taking the place of others' various principles. Tell me, who is that other? Examine!"

5.18

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "The moon appears on the first, the room produces white light; the moon appears on the second, an extraordinary spirit is born; the moon appears on the third, Wanhu's silliness. Outside the patterns there are no traces; before the wind, pointing south is forced. Everything without facing towards or turning away, each and every thing free of the slightest hair. Twirling a flower intentionally stirs the wind and grass, causing people to laugh long at old Gautama."

5.19

On the occasion of Director Li holding an annual memorial vegetarian feast, the Master ascended the hall and said: "Great assembly! The Tathāgata's nirvāṇa-mind, the bodhisattvas' great liberation, the Patriarchs' Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, and the patch-robed monk's diamond hammer—having illumination and having function, having the provisional and having the real, having release and having capture, having killing and having giving life: these are still on the transcendent pivotal axis. If someone appears and disappears in this place, or raises and holds aloft in this place, he still cannot be completely and dynamically stripped free. If one is completely and dynamically stripped free, then transforming the great earth into gold, churning the long river into ghee, changing stalks of grain into millet stems, and converting a short life into long years—none of this is beyond one's lot. Why? Holding aloft the transcendent lineage guideline and employing the adepts' nostrils, we turn the year's beginning to this morning and celebrate the year on this day. Right at such a time, how is it? Raising a high banner amid a crowd of ten thousand, laying flowers upon brocade, adding ever more radiance."

5.20

Ascending the hall on the first of the winter month, the Master said: "Day after day after day, swift as a split arrow; morning after morning and evening after evening, the dark ocean turns. This is good news in the human realm! Li! Hu! Chi! You must look with eyes set high, lest you let your head turn white in vain."

5.21

Requested by Grand Preceptor Zheng, the Master ascended the hall. A monk asked: "When all myriad workings have ceased, how is it?" The Master said: "Cut off the crown of Vairocana's head." The monk proceeded: "It can be said that a single phrase before the wind surpasses the Tamer; intending to ask how it is, one is deluded across eons." The Master said: "I can only fold my hands in praise." The Master then said: "Before the numinous light had shown omens, the myriad entities were contained in the great void; once the single breath became manifest, the flowers blossomed and worlds arose. The past Buddhas, present Buddhas, and future Buddhas all appear from within this; whether devas, humans, or the multitude of sentient beings, none do not flow forth from this. With one place illuminated, hundreds and thousands of places shine; with one dynamic turned, thousands and myriads of dynamics follow in succession. Therefore it is said: 'The body of the pure Dharma realm fundamentally neither emerges nor disappears; by the power of great compassion and vows, it manifests undergoing birth.' Yet this compassion, this vow, this power—if one has originally received numinous roots and possesses transcendent seed-wisdom, then as soon as one is born, one already roars the lion's roar and already possesses great supernatural powers. As for walking, staying, sitting, or lying down, letting go or holding fast, all without exception proceed upon the crowns of the heads of all sages, crisscrossing in all directions. Even enjoying blessings, enjoying longevity, enjoying wealth and honor, and having many descendants—all are received from that person's mighty power. Right at such a time, how does a single phrase go? 'Layer upon layer manifests auspicious aura; one by one spring forth golden lotuses.'" He further gave a verse: "The numinous sprout was elegant prior to Awesome Sound; / down to the present, its radiance is ever fresh. / The myriad plants are fragrant and the landscape lovely; / the mountain of longevity reaches as high as the years of the great cedrela."

5.22

Requested by Lady of the State of Qing of the Imperial Palace, the Master ascended the hall. A monk asked: "In the eon of emptiness, is there still the Buddhadharma or not?" The Master said: "It crams full empty space." The monk said: "I wonder where the student should settle body and life?" The Master said: "You've missed it." The monk said: "What does the Venerable call empty space?" The Master said: "Where did the Ācārya come from with this question?" The monk said: "When the three periods of time are severed, ordinary and holy are exhausted; where the ten bodies are perfected, lands and dust motes are empty." The Master said: "Yet you cannot tread upon it." The Master then said: "True everywhere, without mutual avoidance; in every dust mote, there is discernment and awareness. The myriad phenomena are seen through not-seeing; the myriad dharmas are heard through not-hearing. Not-seeing sees its seeing cramming full empty space; not-hearing hears its hearing encompassing the myriad existences. Leaving aside seeing and not-seeing, hearing and not-hearing, there is another extraordinary affair: you must be one of great liberation's dynamic and great liberation's function before you can be completely authentic in the place where things distinctly arise. Have you not seen? A monk asked Yunmen, 'What is the samādhi of every dust mote?' Yunmen said, 'Rice in the bowl, water in the bucket.' Another monk asked, 'What is the place where all Buddhas emerge?' Yunmen said, 'The eastern mountain walks upon the water.' Equally, this is a moment: where it is plain and simple, it is straightforwardly plain and simple; where it is solitary, precarious, and steep, it is straightforwardly solitary, precarious, and steep. Right at such a time, with what do you hold it aloft? With what eyes do you discern it? Do you understand? To test jade, it must pass through fire; seeking a pearl does not depart from the mud." He further gave a verse: "This mind contains the Dharma realm; / clearly it accords with the original person. / A thousand auspicious signs gather like fog; / ten thousand good deeds arrive like clouds."

5.23

On the birthday of the Great Compassionate One, the Prince of Yun requested [the master] to ascend the hall. A monk asked: "'Hearing sound, one awakens to the Way; seeing form, one clarifies the mind.' The entire earth is form—which one is mind?" The master replied: "Guanyin Bodhisattva has come." The monk continued: "It may be called: 'Scooping up water, the moon is in one's hands; playing with flowers, their fragrance fills one's robes.'" The master asked: "Why instead is it a steamed bun?" The monk said: "Just as with Yunmen, what was his intended meaning?" The master said: "Pulling heavily, it retreats heavily; pulling lightly, it retreats lightly." The monk said: "In the end, the waters flow toward the vast sea; at last, the clouds of themselves seek the mountains to return." The master said: "One must also possess the eye of Guanyin on the crown of the head to attain it." The master then said: "On this day in that past year, the Great Compassionate One was born, adorned with a thousand arms and bright with a thousand eyes. In worldly and world-transcending sublime affairs, spiritual powers are entirely and fully accomplished. Going like this, step by step one treads the ladder of the Buddhas; coming like this, everywhere one manifests the body and manifests the lands. Attaining deep, complete penetration among the six sense faculties, and attaining the universal gateway wisdom in liberation, therefore there is no land where [she] does not manifest, no place that is not genuine. She may become Master Bao with twelve faces, or act as Bodhidharma transmitting the mind-seal, or display spiritual penetrations toward Sizhou, or manifest a marvelous body at Mount Xiang. Revolving and returning, she may realize the three realities, attain the two superior [qualities], the four inconceivables, the fourteen fearlessnesses, and the thirty-two responses. Toward the sahā world she alone has great affinity: speaking the inexhaustible marvelous mantra that is unspoken, manifesting the marvelous body of the treasure-king that has no body, manifesting compassion according to category, responding to dynamics and meeting resonance. Seeking benefit, one receives the response of benefit; seeking sons or daughters, one receives the response of sons or daughters; seeking fulfillment of wishes, one receives the response of fulfillment of wishes. This is still merely the power of Guanyin's skillful means. I venture to ask the great assembly: What is Guanyin's truly authentic place? 'Not seeing a single dharma is precisely the Tathāgata'—only then can one be named Avalokiteśvara (Contemplator of Self-Mastery)."

5.24

Ascending the hall on the first day of the tenth month, the master said: "The boundless oceans of lands are vast and identical to great space; last night autumn ended, today is the beginning of winter. There has never been change or alteration—how could there be closeness or distance? Directly rest right here: suru suru!"

5.25

Ascending the hall, the master said: "I, I, I; he, he, he! The crown of the head of the thousand sages is but a thatched hut. It is not mind, it is not a thing; a single mouthful swallows completely the Buddhas of the three times. The Floating Banner King and the Ocean of Fragrant Waters—take them up and fling them beyond other realms! Clean and naked, bare and free; all the myriad myriad forms without a single seam. With an equanimous mind and solid truth, stand towering and still: when hungry, eat rice; when weary, sleep."

5.26

Ascending the hall on the festive occasion of the Grand Sacrifice: "'On the seventh day comes the return'—each returns to the root of ultimate exhaustion; 'the single yang arises'—at once is seen the heart of Heaven and Earth. Thoroughly break open the twofold mystery; facing the sun, reveal the true eye. Straightway, the ten thousand states rejoice together, and the four seas share the delight. Blessings gather upon the One Man; the imperial throne is exalted without limit. There is an extraordinary circumstance that accords with the time and season, which I bring forth to the great assembly. Do you thoroughly understand it? The Emperor has issued an edict granting a great amnesty to all under Heaven."

5.27

When the reigning Emperor was still at his princely estate, he requested [the master] to ascend the seat. A monk asked: "'One moon in the sky, its reflections contained in myriad waters; one Buddha appears in the world, each seated on a flower.' What about when the Buddha had not yet appeared in the world?" The master replied: "The wind blows rustlingly." The monk said: "If so, then mists rise and dragons chant; wind stirs and tigers roar." The master said: "That is still a bit off." The monk said: "What about after the Buddha appeared in the world?" The master said: "Throughout the realm, nothing has ever been concealed." The monk said: "'If only in one's mind-ground no evils are kept, even amidst a forest of swords one can take one's stand.'" The master said: "With a body and mind of iron and stone, repay the nation's kindness." The monk said: "'Past and present have no different road; those who attain share the same path.'" The master said: "It requires looking up to and revering it, everyone praising it together." The master then said: "The vajra-mind is true, and the Flower Treasury realm is vast. When one Buddha appears in the world, a thousand Buddhas escort and guard him; when one flower unfolds, ten thousand flowers surround it. Manifesting sublime causes and performing extraordinary deeds, one can safeguard the state and household, and can enter sagehood and transcend the ordinary—solely relying on inconceivable spiritual penetrations and hard-to-fathom marvelous functions. A cart is not pushed sideways; principle is not crookedly judged. Have you not seen: in ancient times King Prasenajit asked old Śākya: 'Within the sacred ultimate truth, is there still conventional truth? If one says it exists, wisdom should not be one; if one says it does not exist, wisdom should not be two. Regarding the meaning of one and two, how does this matter stand?' Old Śākya said: 'Great King! In the time of Dragon Light King Buddha, you previously asked this meaning. Now I speak nothing, and you also hear nothing. No-speaking and no-hearing is the true sacred ultimate truth; it is called "one principle, two meanings." Regarding the meaning of one and two, the matter is like this.' Old Śākya emitted light from the crown of his head and hung a talisman beneath his elbow, lifting up the one move facing the sun amidst hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of realms. Can you all verify it? If you can verify it, pressing down the head you obtain the imperial edict; if you cannot verify it, bow down and await the verdict. Just at such a time, how is it? Opening up a pathway, spiritual powers are displayed wherever one touches." He further cited: "In ancient times, a king went to visit a patriarch of Western Heaven (India). Having met, he then ordered the patriarch to preach the Dharma. The patriarch said: 'Great King! When coming, the Way is good; leaving is just like coming.'" The master critiqued: "The Buddha Dharma is precisely worldly law; worldly law is precisely the Buddha Dharma. Practicing in accordance with the true Way, the wind moves and the grass bends. This mountain monk has a small verse, supremely simple, supremely easy, most honored, and most noble: / Traversing back and forth on the crown of the heads of the thousand sages, / Worldly and world-transcending matters are inconceivable. / In the snap of a finger, eighty thousand gateways are fully accomplished; / With a single leap, one enters directly into the Tathāgata stage."

5.28

The Prince of Shen requested [the master] to ascend the seat. A monk asked: "'The Hall of Universal Light is in the human realm; the ordinary and the sacred intermingle, cutting off coming and going. If one can see through within a single dust mote, where the extended light shines, one beholds the Compassionate Countenance.' Just at such a time, where is Vairocana?" The master said: "On the crown of your head." The monk said: "Why has this student not run into him?" The master said: "Only because you do not have a bronze head and an iron forehead." The monk said: "How great the Ven. Tianning has turned around within the flow of words!" The master said: "How great the Chan traveler follows behind other people's heels!" The monk said: "One must know that traveling the same road does not mean following the same ruts." The master said: "Neither is it this kind of principle." The monk said: "'The sky whitens together with the white clouds; the water flows together with the bright moon.'" The master said: "A shrimp cannot leap out of the bushel basket." The monk said: "In ancient times Zhaozhou sat upright in his abbot's quarters. The attendant reported: 'The Great King has arrived.' Zhaozhou said: 'May the Great King have myriad blessings!' What is the principle of this?" The master said: "The vajra-eye on the crown of the head radiates light." The monk said: "Although entering the weeds to seek the person, how can one avoid being dragged through mud and dripping with water?" The master said: "It would be better not to slander Zhaozhou." The monk said: "If suddenly the Great King of the State of Shen were to arrive in person today, what then?" The master said: "The character eight is opened wide: preaching the Dharma is finished!" The master then said: "Great assembly! Seeing Buddha through Buddha, there is no different vision; preaching Dharma through Dharma, there is no separate preaching. Hearing and seeing the Buddha Dharma are completely present; directly beneath facing the sun, all is completely transcended. The one move facing the sun is neither Buddha nor Dharma, neither seeing nor speaking, neither existent nor non-existent, neither different nor identical. Broad as great space, bright as the blazing sun, therefore the Tathāgatas of the three times demonstrated birth here, cultivated practice here, realized the Way here, and achieved Buddhahood here—wholly not relying on another, solely relying on its power. Right now, it has been brought forth on the crown of the heads of the thousand sages: it is not seen by the eye, not heard by the ear, not proclaimed by the mouth, not known by the mind. Just at such a time, one must be such a person to attain it. Therefore it is said: 'A great person possesses great vision; great wisdom attains great function.' Pointing out one, he understands three; telling the past, he knows the future. Just at such a time, not involving dependent conditions, how do you say a phrase? Do you thoroughly understand? In the marshes of Chu, the calendar herbs bloom for five hundred years; the flat peach secretly grows for a thousand years." He added a verse: "The moment a single dust mote is raised, a single land appears; / When a single flower blooms, a single Buddha is born. / Overcoming and realizing the vajra nature, one attains long life; / Day and night, the six sense faculties radiate brilliant light."

5.29

The Prince of Ji requested [the master] to ascend the seat: "With taintless faculties, perform extraordinary deeds; with liberating wisdom, plant vajra affinities. Not manifesting the body elsewhere, it is always uniquely revealed on the crown of the head. Neither mind nor Buddha, neither different nor identical: casually take up a blade of grass to make a sixteen-foot golden body; casually speak a phrase that can serve as a vajra jewel sword. Everyone is endowed with this function; each and every one is endowed with this mind. If you can reverse the light to illumine inward, you are precisely the authentic substance of Vairocana. Have you not seen: King Prasenajit asked old Śākya: 'In the past, before receiving the Buddha's instruction, I met Kātyāyana, who all said that after this body dies, it is annihilated. Though I have encountered the Buddha, my mind still has doubts: this body shifts and changes thought by thought, but I do not know whether there is that which does not change.' Thereupon, the World-Honored Śākya said to King Prasenajit: 'Though you know it shifts and changes without stopping, do you still know whether there is that which does not change within your body?' The king joined his palms and said to the Buddha: 'I truly do not know.' The Buddha said: 'Great King! At what age did you see the water of the Gaṅgā River?' The king said: 'I saw it when I was three years old.' The Buddha said: 'How is it now?' The king said: 'Sixty-two years have passed until now, and my seeing is no different from when I was three.' The Buddha said: 'Great King, though your face is wrinkled—what is wrinkled being change—the nature of this seeing essence has never changed. That which changes undergoes extinction; that which does not change originally has neither birth nor extinction.' Old Śākya pointed out the vajra nature on the crown of the heads of the thousand sages and on the peak of ten thousand fathoms: unchanging and unaltering, serene and motionless, standing out magnificently revealed. Thereupon, King Prasenajit recognized his fundamental mind. I venture to ask the great assembly: Right now, everyone sees this mountain monk ascend the hall; tell me, from where is this seeing obtained? Compared to the other side of the empty kalpa before the Sound of Kingly Majestic Voice, is it the same or is it different? If you can see that it is without difference and without distinction, then the seeing is manifest right before you. Just at such a time, how do you say a phrase? Directly face to face, strike open the inexhaustible treasury; from each and every thing, the night-shining pearl wells forth." He further said: "The Great King of the State of Ji possesses great capacity and has the seed-nature of the supreme vehicle. Born as an imperial prince, in his person he is exceedingly noble and glorious, yet he does not forget the entrustment of the Buddhas, knowing of this great causal affinity. Inquiring into the scriptural teachings, he deeply recognizes cause and effect; wherever he acts, the source of his mind is clearly illuminated. Therefore, through these wholesome causal conditions and practicing hidden virtue, he secures his long-lasting wealth and nobility, with blessings and emoluments ever flourishing. Having blessings, he cultivates blessings, like the great ocean taking in all streams—only a person of sharp faculties and omniscient wisdom possesses such function. This is none other than the signless body in the Hall of Universal Light acting as Rocana; the flower of causes in myriad practices completes the ocean of fruits; the great torrent of the source of blessings overflows the heavenly river."

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圓悟佛果禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese