圓悟佛果禪師語錄 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

8.1

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

On New Year's Day, ascending the hall: "The prime beginning opens good fortune, throwing open the doors. The myriad things are renewed, heaven and earth share in spring. In accord with the season, receiving blessings without falling into conventional grooves, fully fitting in every way, myriad ages in a single instant. The first month of spring is still cold; I respectfully wish the head monk and the great assembly ten thousand blessings in their daily lives. Begging fire, one obtains it along with smoke; carrying spring water, one returns bringing along the moon." He added: "If on New Year's Day there is Buddha Dharma, it is precisely adding mud on top of dirt. If on New Year's Day there is no Buddha Dharma, it turns into missing it right to one's face. Arriving here, Buddha Dharma and worldly dharma, existence and nonexistence, new and old—sweep them all aside at once! And how do you speak a phrase that does not fall into dependent conditions? Do you understand? Heaven and earth in a single embrace: a sesame pancake of earth; the two orbs of sun and moon: a leather ball of weather."

8.4

A donor having offered Dharma robes, he ascended the hall and said: "Kāśyapa carried it to sit on Cock's Foot Peak; old Lu held it across Dayu Ridge. Now donning it upon the precious flower seat, its solitary light shines far and wide atop the lofty peak. And tell me: are they the same or different? A noble youth in brocade robes is prized; a person of the Way beneath the forest is exalted."

8.5

Ascending the hall, he said: "Great assembly! Many hands panning gold together, everyone obtains something. Frosty wind assaults from all four sides; heavenly flowers fill the folds of our robes. For a great reward, merits are not counted; empty space ever constricts. Dividing the body into hundreds of thousands of kotis: Maitreya is the true Maitreya." He added: "Entering the water, one must slay the flood dragon; entering the mountains, one must capture the tiger. Just as one dashes down the emperor's bell, one beats the poison-smeared drum. One arrow shoots down nine crows; a single pinch weighs a thousand jun of earth. The sages cannot harmonize with it evenly: the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month."

8.6

On the first-anniversary memorial of Chan Master Shu, ascending the hall: "Great assembly! On this day last year, the Old Man of a Single Word: a mud ox entered the sea without any news. On this day this year, the Old Iron Axe: the udumbara flower appears in the calculating room. Thick clouds drift in and out of the great void; in movement, stillness, going, and coming, how could there be traces? You must believe that when the snow clears, heaven and earth are spring, and the golden crow rises from the east just as before."

8.7

Ascending the hall: "Great assembly! When the moon in the sky is full, the myriad forms are distinctly clear. When the moon on earth is halved, wherever one touches, it becomes manifest. Seeing or not seeing: wrapping around the ten directions of emptiness, half still remains; hearing or not hearing: penetrating through into complete penetration, piercing to the root source. The jade water-clock and bronze vessel cannot urge it on; heaven, earth, and the great plains are a single branch of lamp. One place completely interfuses all places; the boundless ocean of lands rises in ever steeper tiers."

8.8

Ascending the hall, he said: "Breaking through the ancestral barrier, one does not know of the changing of things. A single thought can be ten thousand years; a single strip of pure white silk. The thousand differences are intimate before the eyes; the myriad transformations appear within the mirror. Suddenly wanting to enter the triple gate, casually one rides the Buddha hall." He added: "Night rain soaks deep spring; / the colour of moss dyes people. / By the creek the fragrant grass is green; / the flowers and willow boughs are fresh. / The scent is richer than wine; / the breeze and light softer than woven mats. / Lingyun could not find it— / where would one awaken to natural truth?"

8.9

Ascending the hall, he said: "Sun Face, Moon Face; a barbarian comes, a Chinese appears. Sometimes letting go, sometimes holding tight. Worldly dharma and Buddha Dharma beaten into one piece. If you understand it as one piece, meeting the noble it becomes cheap; if you do not understand it as one piece, there is flour in the wheat." He added: "The Buddhas of the three periods do not know of its existence—each facing south, they look at the Northern Dipper. Wild foxes and white oxen do know of its existence—wearing horns and holding up heads, they give a lion's roar. With four corners stepping on the ground, yet it is round; an eight-cornered millstone runs through empty space. Intending to push and search, split the spine and pull; grasping the nostrils, one loses the mouth. Let me ask: how does Puhua's donkey compare to Zihu's dog?"

8.10

Ascending the hall, he said: "Having phrases or without phrases, transcending lineages and going beyond molds—like vines clinging to a tree, like silver mountains and iron walls. But when the tree falls and the vines wither, how many people lose their nostrils! Even if you are able to gather them together, you are already thousands and myriads of miles away. Just when there is no such news, can you still penetrate through? The wind is warm, bird songs are scattered; the sun is high, flower shadows are dense."

8.11

Ascending the hall, he said: "Great assembly! After raining long without clearing, today it has cleared; heaven, earth, and the great plains radiate bright light. Walls and rubble expound the Buddha Dharma; open pillars and lanterns listen with wide eyes. Dare I ask you all: how do they hear it?" He then said: "Intimately." He added: "Old Shakya said: 'Knowing illusion is detachment—stretching the body across ten thousand miles, not creating expedients, completely manifested. Detachment from illusion is awakening—Mount Sumeru standing upside down, with no gradations, a thorn growing out of the eye.' If suddenly the whole earth were gathered up into the size of a grain of millet, how would you know it? The fan leaps up to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven—how would you be awake to it? Right at such a moment, do you understand? In the ocean of lands in the ten directions, the diamond seat; within the furnace of myriad smelts, the iron caltrop."

8.12

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "'Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha'—what is the meaning of this?" The master said, "Turn it over and look at it." [The monk] went on to ask, "'The golden crow is swift, the jade rabbit is fast'—what about that?" [The master said,] "A two-fold gong'an." [The monk] went on to ask, "It is said that the Buddhas of the three periods and the patriarchs of the six generations speak with the same tongue; I wonder, which tongue do they speak with?" The master said, "Even if it is the same, it has been cut off." [The monk] went on to ask, "I wonder, with what is it cut?" The master said, "With the one that has no tongue." [The monk] said, "The grassroots bandit suffers a great defeat." The master said, "Check." The master then said, "Great assembly! When the moon reaches the first day, swift falcons and nimble hawks cannot catch up with it; when the moon reaches the second day, Deshan and Linji lose their nostrils; when the moon reaches the third day, Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra specially come to pay respects. Wrathful Nata takes Mount Sumeru and shatters it into a hundred pieces with a single rip; a broken-legged cauldron smashes right through a bottomless basket; of the thousand hands of the Great Compassionate One, not even a single hand or a single eye can lift it up; yet the Wordless Child knows how to say, 'The front three-three, the back three-three.' Do you understand thoroughly? Let go completely on the peak of ten thousand fathoms; the ragged cassock worn for years is excessively frayed."

8.13

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Great assembly! Mahāsattva Fu said, 'Sumeru is the father of the mustard seed; the mustard seed is the grandfather of Sumeru. The mountains and rivers are tranquil and level; chop the ice to boil tea.' I have heard that Mahāsattva Fu was an incarnation of Mahāsattva Maitreya; see how he communicates this news—it certainly hits the mark! Today this mountain monk will add mud to earth, and also has a verse:
Mount Sumeru taking in a mustard seed is not easy; / A mustard seed taking in Sumeru seems quite effortless. / Stirring the long river turns it into ghee; / Lightly strike right through the patriarchal barrier."

8.14

He brought up: "Elder Yu of Danxia, instructing someone entering the master's room, ascended the hall and said, 'Great assembly! Maheśvara reveals the true eye on the crown of the head; Magadha fully wields the tongs and hammer of the transcendent; standing like a wall ten thousand fathoms high, it cuts off all taking on; a solitary radiance blazes through the four worlds. Therefore it is said, "The sword that kills people, the sword that gives people life." Taking the error as the error was the model of high antiquity, and is also the pivotal essential of the present day, muddling with mud and water. If you discuss the sword that kills people, not an atom remains; the sword that gives people life covers ten thousand miles with corpses. You must know that within killing there is giving life, capturing and releasing gods and humans; within giving life there is killing, weighing Buddhas and patriarchs.' Even if he speaks of killing and giving life with distinct ease, this mountain monk still asks you to search for the sword. Right at such a moment, do you see? Reaching down a single hand over the ten-thousand-fathom cliff, together singing the song of great peace on the lofty peak." He further said, "Zhaozhou said, 'South of Zhaozhou, north of the stone bridge, within Guanyin Monastery there is Maitreya. The Patriarch left behind a single shoe, which cannot be found even down to today.' Do you all want to know where it comes to rest? Ask Master Danxia."

8.15

At the beginning of the retreat, [the master] ascended the hall: "A Buddha-regulation from two thousand years ago, followed as a precedent in all quarters: for ninety days one is at ease, together making a ghost's livelihood. And what is a ghost's livelihood? A monkey entering a cloth bag." He further said, "For ninety days tie up the mouth of the bag; / Abide peacefully in the path of liberation. / Water and milk naturally blend together; / The myriad conditions cause no disturbance. / Quickly swallow the chestnut burr; / Boldly leap through the diamond cage. / Together penetrate, for the patched-robed monks, / The single aperture on the crown of the head."

8.16

Ascending the hall: "The Golden Ascetic wears rags from the dust heap; / The Venerable Upagupta exercises spiritual powers. / Sparks of fire fly into the kingdom of Silla; / A great elephant is led and hidden inside the hollow of a lotus root."

8.17

On the first day of the fifth month, [the master] ascended the hall and said, "The iron tree spreads wide; the stone ox bellows. Fiery clouds stretch across the sky for ten thousand fathoms; the golden crow universally shines with great radiance. It makes the carp in the Eastern Sea shake its fins and raise its scales, and the Persian in the Southern Kingdom display his oars and dance with his paddles. Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra dare not speak of principle or matter; Deshan and Linji dare not wield the staff or the shout. Right at such a moment, do you understand? The staff intends to swallow the Buddhas of the three periods; the lantern, in a hundred resolutions, pours forth bright pearls." He further said, "Old Śākya said, 'If there is one person who brings forth truth and returns to the source, empty space in the ten directions all completely disintegrates.' Master Wuzu also said, 'When one person brings forth truth and returns to the source, empty space in the ten directions bumps and knocks against it.' This mountain monk is not like that: If there is one person who brings forth truth and returns to the source, it is like adding flowers onto brocade throughout empty space in the ten directions."

8.18

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "The crescent moon is like a hook; light clouds mirror the fire. In front of the mountain the wheat is ripe; in the baskets the silkworms are being reeled. Farmers in swarms plant the shoots; on willow banks, lines hang down. Wind and rain are seasonally balanced; bandits and thieves are dispelled. For us people of the forests, for a while there is extraordinary delight! No sooner was this said than suddenly an envoy bearing a talisman came forth and said, 'In various places in front of the mountain, the five plagues are circulating, and the epidemic is severe; I wish to obtain a spirit talisman from the Venerable to drive them away.' This mountain monk then drew a circle with the staff and gave it to him, and in an instant he was gone. Hesitating, he then returned and said, 'The demons of the five plagues have already been driven away to worlds in other regions. There is only one matter on which I await instruction from the Venerable: from where did this efficacious spirit talisman come?' This mountain monk struck him right across the spine with a blow, and on the spot his tracks vanished and his voice ceased. Walking freely and swinging the sleeves, I composed a verse:
On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Middle of Heaven Festival; / Red mouths and poisonous tongues are completely eliminated. / Inscribed at the fifth hour of the fifth day of the fifth month: / Letting go of the snake's head, stroking the tiger's whiskers."

8.19

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Utterly without dependence, transcending lineages and surpassing norms, not Buddha, not mind, standing like a wall ten thousand fathoms high. The arrow hits the mulberry tree, and the willow tree weeps sap."

8.20

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Satiated with gruel, satiated with rice, full of firewood, full of water. The price of rice in Luling is high; the wheat in front of the mountain is ripe. Traveling through all the world-seas of heaven and earth, altogether it is just oneself. Squeeze it into the space of eyebrows and eyelashes, and directly it emits light and shakes the earth. It is not Tathāgata Chan, nor is it the primary meaning; why speak further of a patched-robed monk's nostrils? How does that compare to letting go of your hands over the cliff? Cast aside medicinal restrictions, and for now sing a lala-lili! Examine!"

8.21

Ascending the hall: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven; seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. The steelyard's zero-point star on a whirlwind chariot; blowing the tartarpin reed pipe at the top of a hundred-foot pole. Yi!" He further brought up: "One day Yunmen instructed the assembly, saying, 'Monks, do not engage in idle thinking: mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, monks are monks, laypeople are laypeople.' At that time a monk came forward and said, 'What about when the student sees mountains as mountains and rivers as rivers?' Yunmen drew a stroke with his hand and said, 'Why did the Buddha hall pass by here?'" The master commented: "Like the earth carrying a mountain, like a rock enclosing jade. Those who can penetrate it are completely within the inexhaustible treasury; those who cannot penetrate it inevitably engage in calculation. Just as Yunmen drew a stroke with his hand and said, 'Why did the Buddha hall pass by here?'—what about that? When a single leaf falls, one knows autumn has arrived across the world."

8.22

Transport Commissioner Jiang sent the three large characters 'Yunju Shan' (Mount Yunju) and requested [the master] to ascend the seat. [The master] said, "Phenomenon upon phenomenon is perfectly interfused; mind upon mind is empty and tranquil. Broadly embracing without an exterior, the patterns and designs are already manifested; finely entering without an interval, eyes cannot observe it. Therefore it is said, 'The myriad phenomena are the light of mind; all conditions are illuminated solely by the nature. Originally there is no deluded or awakened person; one only needs to understand today.' Today, being just like this, sitting and cutting off the heads of the reward and transformation Buddhas, what do you call mind? What do you call nature? To speak like this has already cut off all sense roots. And what is the place where all sense roots are cut off? I open a slight crack of a path to communicate the news. Do you understand thoroughly? In a great drought, receiving sweet rain; in great heat, obtaining cool refreshment." He further had a verse that said:
"The manifold peaks wind and coil, the halls stand deep and lofty; / In the heavens, clarity and stillness rain upon the emerald pool. / Three large characters like a thirsty thoroughbred and an enraged lion; / The lofty traces throughout a thousand ages stir the famed monastery."

8.23

Residing at Yunju Zhenru Chan Cloister in Nankang Military Prefecture, sending off the fundraising monks, [the master] ascended the hall and said, "Fire does not wait for the sun to be hot—their natures are of the same kind; wind does not wait for the moon to be cool—their qi combines together. A single tree does not make a forest; a single thread does not make a cord. Constructing a great mansion is not within the power of a single timber; crossing a mighty river is not by the strength of a single oar. Therefore it is said: Many hairs make a ball; gathered iron makes an axe. One must have inner and outer correspond, host and guest know how to accommodate each other; then naturally qi and kinds will be identical, feathers and fur will be similar. Right at such a moment, what about it? Eighty-four thousand are not the phoenix's plumage; thirty-three people enter the tiger's cave." He further had a verse that said:
"Over thirty cloud-and-water guests, / In all quarters divide the work of transformation and vigorously practice. / The monastery's sundry affairs entirely rely upon them; / It is precisely the time for the golden-maned [lion] to exert itself."

8.24

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "'Having words and having no words' has already cut off dispute; 'neither matter nor mind' directly leaps beyond creeping vines. Having arrived here, is there any room to open the mouth? Do not say that Senior Monk Qin's mouth is like a carrying pole; even if the Buddhas of the three periods and the successive generations of patriarchs came forth, with eloquence like a rushing torrent and dynamic sharpness like flashing lightning, they could not avoid blunting their points and tying their tongues. Why? Simply because the wind's head is too stiff! Although this is so, if you can directly take it on right here, you are like a dragon reaching the water, like a tiger leaning against the mountain; you possess the resolve and spirit of a great hero, and are equipped with the means to cut off all nets and snares. Therefore it is said, 'The sword that kills people, the sword that gives people life.' Thus this side, that side, transcendent, descending, having affairs, having no affairs, the Buddha realm, the demon realm—all are cut off at once. If someone should suddenly ask, 'I wonder, where are the sword and blade?' Do you understand thoroughly? Formerly, the sweat-stained horse was known by no one; it is only necessary to discuss once more the merit that covers the era." He further brought up: "A monk asked Yunmen, 'What about when the tree withers and the leaves fall?' Yunmen said, 'The body is exposed in the autumn wind.'" The master said, "Yunmen's eye is like a shooting star; his dynamic sharpness is like flashing lightning. When he picks it up and brings it forth, it is certainly extraordinary. Now if someone should suddenly ask this mountain monk, 'What about when the tree withers and the leaves fall?' I would simply say to him, 'The clouds and mist of a thousand mountains roll away; in a single gaze one sees the village ahead.'"

8.25

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "Gathering together from the ten directions, each and every one studies non-action. This is the arena for selecting Buddhas; when the mind is empty, one passes the examination and returns. A great hero possesses fierce resolve and generous, noble spirit, trampling through the phantom city and directly taking it on: outside, seeing no realms whatsoever; inside, seeing no self; above, seeing no sages; below, seeing no ordinary or ignorant beings. Stark naked and purely exposed, not a single thought arising, the bottom of the tub kicked out—is this not the mind being empty? Arriving here, is there still room for blows and shouts? Is there still room for profound and wondrous principle and nature? Is there still room for that and this, right and wrong? Directly it is like a single snowflake on a red-hot furnace; is this not holding up the head and wearing horns in the arena for selecting Buddhas? Although this is so, if you examine it closely, it still involves steps and stairs. And what do you say in a single phrase that does not involve steps and stairs? Do you understand thoroughly? The thousand sages do not retain any sign or trace; in the midst of ten thousand people, one seizes the high banner." He further had a verse that said:
"Living in the mountains, one values only harmony in the assembly; / Inside and outside bright and clear, things should be properly aligned. / The broken-legged vessel fortunately suffers no harm; / Relying on each other, we put forth our hands and assist together."

8.26

Ascending the hall, he said: "Clear autumn and sunny skies, crops are rich and abundant; the four seas are peaceful and quiet, the myriad people delight in their occupations. People of the groves rest their thoughts and cease their minds; directly facing the sun, they cut off reward and transformation [bodies], eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty, lying down when tired, walking when at leisure; without affairs and without contrivance, they attain great freedom. The one phrase facing the sun cannot be proclaimed again; avoiding it is impossible, it must directly leak out. Do you fully understand? The eighth month of autumn—where is it hot?"
He added: "Last night I dreamed of ascending a tower, and suddenly obtained a seasonal cause and condition. This morning I bring it up to show the assembly:
The four quarters of the wilderness are distantly clear and still,
Directly like sitting in Shaolin;
Clouds cloak the peak of the high mountain,
The moon is in the heart of the blue waves."

8.27

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, ascending the hall, he said: "To penetrate it just like this is already to enter mud and water; how could one bear further petty entanglements, having neither head nor mouth? To reach here, you must be like someone who has died the great death and then returned to life before you can attain it. Do you fully understand? At the tip of the staff one can realize verification; under the shout, direct acceptance is cut off."
He added:
"Light and time are as swift as a shuttle;
How can the wise and clear deal with it?
A thousand groves of withered, fallen leaves;
A solitary wild goose crosses the autumn river.
The wind is sharp, the sound of the fulling block far away;
The mountain is high, the moonlight abundant.
Who, facing this season,
Knows how to sing the Song of the Purple Mushrooms?"

8.28

Retiring from the monastery, ascending the hall, he said: "An abbot in seven places for thirty years, today I finally become an earthly transcendent. Above, I have received the sacred sovereign's granting of my humble wish; the grace that nourishes and fosters is as vast as the sky. Entering upon seeing what is feasible, retreating upon knowing difficulty; the authority is held in hand, stretching and releasing are not other. Residing without mind, moving is likewise not me; therefore throughout the twenty-four hours, together with others having the same attainment, same realization, same exit, and same entry—how could there be mind toward this and that, what form could there be to going and coming? Therefore it is said: 'If you wish to know the meaning of Buddha-nature, you should observe seasonal causes and conditions. When the time arrives, the principle reveals itself.' Right at such a time, do you fully understand? In the carefree dispersal among the groves, an idle person outside the world."
He also had a verse:
"The Moon of Chan in former years once had words,
Which this mountain monk took as a model and fine plan:
Though such demeanor is clear and clumsy,
A great man ought to be free."

8.29

Informal Gathering 1

8.30

An informal gathering while residing at Tianning Monastery in Chengdu Prefecture. The master instructed the assembly, saying: "The correct command having already been executed, the ten directions are cut off; should a thousand sages come forth, their sharp edges would be lost and their tongues tied. Although this is so, affairs do not go in only one direction. Are there any patch-robed monks who live together and die together?"
At that time a monk asked: "Do not say that having no mind is itself the Way; having no mind is still separated by another barrier. What is this barrier?"
The master said: "There are even ten layers."
[The monk] asked further: "Who is the master inside the barrier?"
The master said: "I let you off this move."
[The monk] asked further: "What sort of countenance?"
The master gave a shout. The master then said: "Just like this is already too meddlesome. Nowadays, even if you could cite a phrase of words and completely clarify at once the ancient and modern teachings, that would precisely be blending mud and mixing water. Even if you took up a single thing and saw through the entire great earth at once, that too would be gouging a wound in healthy flesh. Look at those from of old who attained it: their mouths were like twelfth-month fans until mold grew on them; their minds were like withered wood, which even encountering spring and summer never changed or stirred. It was not forced action; it was naturally so. Why would you need to cite the ancient and clarify the modern, flinging sand and scattering soil?
"Tonight, as things cannot be helped, making the best of a mistake, I shall spin vines with you all. Do you know of this matter? Exhausting the worlds of the ten directions and reaching the limits of empty space, there is not the slightest leak; it is a diamond eye, with no other external objects. Therefore I constantly say to the brothers: 'The moment you look at form, your eyes are already blocked; the moment you listen to sound, your ears are already blocked; the moment you smell fragrance, your nose is already blocked; the moment you exhale breath, your throat is already blocked; the moment you move or shift, your body is already blocked; the moment you give rise to a thought, your mind is already blocked.' At the gates of the six senses, it is completely bare and stripped naked, only you are unwilling to reverse the light to illumine inward. Look at those ancients who accorded with realization under the words of former worthies—when they communicated a message, how intimately direct it was!
"Shuiliao was given a kick by Mazu, got up, laughed loudly, and said: 'The hundreds of thousands of Dharma gates and immeasurable subtle meanings—I have come to recognize their source right on the tip of a single hair! How delightful!' Linji raised questions to Huangbo three times and received sixty blows with the staff; when he arrived before Dayu, he unconsciously blurted out: 'There is actually not much to Huangbo's Buddhadharma!' Having attained it like this, does it not astound the crowd?
"Gentlemen, have you ever caught this message? If you examine it back and forth and genuinely obtain an entry, you will first know that throughout the twenty-four hours, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, moving, shifting, and operating are all, one by one, transcendent of the ancient and beyond the modern, uninterrupted and unceasing, walking hand in hand with the patriarchs and Buddhas of old. Usually one just keeps to leisure, not giving rise to the slightest worldly or sacred feelings and reckonings. What further gain and loss could there be to doubt, what life and death could there be to escape?
"Talk like this can be said to be speaking of dreams where there are no dreams and stirring up trouble where there is no trouble before you gentlemen. If someone unable to hold back were suddenly to come forth, shout to scatter the great assembly, drag me down from the rope chair, and give me a sound thrashing, one could not blame him. Although it is so, one must genuinely reach this field before it counts. Is there such a person nowadays? This mountain monk would willingly take a thrashing, just wanting to meet with such a person. Is there anyone? Is there anyone? If not, this mountain monk suffers a defeat tonight."

8.31

He instructed the assembly, saying: "The ancestral master's mind seal directly accords with the dynamic; it is stern as a sword's edge, bright as the shining sun, dazzling and resplendent on the terrace. Conspicuously manifested before you, is there anyone who levels and expands it together?"
A monk asked: "The World-Honoured One was long silent regarding this essential matter; why at the very end did he summon only Drinker of Light (Mahākāśyapa) to secretly transmit the Dharma Eye?"
The master said: "A dragon's head and a snake's tail."
[The monk] asked further: "A single drop of water and ink forms a dragon in two places."
The master said: "You implicate this mountain monk."
[The monk] asked further: "A bitter gourd is bitter right to its root; a sweet melon is sweet right through to its stem."
The master said: "Clearly so."
[The monk] asked further: "It is also a turtle eating raw vegetables."
The master said: "Indulging your nature."
[The master] then said: "'If you wish to know the meaning of Buddha-nature, you should observe seasonal causes and conditions. When the time arrives, the principle reveals itself.' If perchance the time has not yet arrived and the ground of principle is not yet clarified, then karmic consciousness will be boundless and there will be no basis to rely upon. I dare to ask you gentlemen: Right now, what season is it? Could it be the season of dusk? Could it be the season of an informal gathering? Could it be the season of sitting and standing solemnly? Could it be the season of talking of Chan and speaking of the Way? Could it be the season of the myriad images intermingling? Could it be the season of the unity of mind and environment? If you are so vague, then thankfully there is no connection. Tonight, while you gentlemen temporarily stand here for a short while, this mountain monk will not spare his eyebrows to discuss and evaluate this section of time with certainty.
"Just as you people are here listening to this mountain monk flapping his two lips, to take that as the season is precisely to fall into ordinary sentiment. You must know that this mountain monk has never spoken a single word, and you people have never heard a single phrase. You people and this mountain monk each have a great matter, blazing through past and present, far cut off from knowledge and views, completely bare and stripped naked, neither knowing each other nor reaching each other, penetrating sound and penetrating form, surpassing Buddhas and transcending patriarchs. If you can take a step back and turn to yourself, shedding emotional dust, intentional thought, recollective differentiation, tangled explanations and verbal expressions, seeing and hearing, awareness and perception, right and wrong, gain and loss, then directly open and clear, with a flash of insight, you will share the same knowledge and view, the same language, the same action, and the same substance and form as the ancient Buddhas. Not only will you be the same as all sages, but you will also be the same as the lineage masters throughout the ages and old venerable monks under heaven, down to the four kinds of births, the six paths of existence, vinegar gnats, and tiny midges—there are none who are not all the same. Not deluded by external objects, not troubled by intellectual understanding, not fearing birth and death, not loving nirvāṇa, free and ordinary, according with the times and following nature, in motion, stillness, action, and function, there is nothing that is not liberation. You can turn all realms and employ all words. Not only is it so for your own share, but even the ancients without exception attained entry by means of this season.
"Do you not see that when Zhaozhou first studied under Nanquan, he realized that ordinary mind is the Way; later, when asked about the meaning of the coming from the West, he directly answered: 'The cypress tree in front of the courtyard,' down to 'Zhenzhou produces large radishes,' and 'When I was in Qingzhou, I made a hemp robe weighing seven pounds.' Not only Zhaozhou: when Deshan attained this season, he would hit as soon as one entered the door; when Linji attained this season, he would shout as soon as one entered the door; when Muzhou attained this season, he would say: 'A manifest gong'an—I let you off thirty blows with the staff'; Juzhi used this season upon a single finger; Bird's Nest saw this season where he blew on cloth fuzz. To speak of the essentials, the lineage masters of old without exception used this season.
"Take Fayan, who once quoted the Cantongqi: 'The mind of the Great Immortal of India,' and thereupon said: 'There is nothing that surpasses these words.' Below this, the middle was merely speech responding to the times and seasons, until at the very end: 'Respectfully I say to those who investigate the mystery: do not waste your time in vain,' upon which he said: 'Stop, stop! Such great kindness is difficult to repay. Even if one were to grind one's bones and shatter one's body, one could still not repay this kindness.' Is this not speaking in such a way only because he knew this season? Nowadays, if you have not had an illumination, you merely waste your time in vain. If you investigate thoroughly and clearly, throughout the twenty-four hours you will certainly not fall into emptiness in the slightest; not only throughout the twenty-four hours, but down through hundreds of thousands of kotis of kalpas to the very end of future time, you will never fall into emptiness at all. Just as this mountain monk speaks of such a season, is it accurate or not?"
He added: "You haven't even dreamed of it yet. Tell me: is there still a place that helps people or not? If you investigate well, even this single phrase is not set forth in vain. I have a mountain verse to cite to the assembly:
In late autumn the weather is crisp,
The myriad forms are together deep and still;
The moon is lustrous, the pond quiet,
The breeze pure, the pines and cypresses shady.
Each and every thing is not an external object;
One and all are the original mind.
Directly accept and recognize it;
By no means hesitate any further."

8.32

Addressing the assembly, he said: "Before the veranda there is a road, level and plain straight ahead. Let an expert versed in battle charge straight in with a single blade! Is there anyone? Is there anyone?"
After a long pause, he said: "Since you are all concealing your edges, the mountain monk cannot help but stage a solo variety play. Before it is like this, it is the second head; precisely when it is like this, it is the third head; going on like this for a while is merely following the waves and pursuing the breakers. Now, right at the place of following the waves and pursuing the breakers, let me discuss it with everyone. Can it be covered over? Is there a single phenomenon that can be its companion? Therefore it is said: 'It can accomplish all phenomena, it can produce all phenomena; all Buddhas appear in the world relying upon it, all sentient beings are established because of it, and the six destinies and four modes of birth take it as their root.' Just as you are now sitting and standing here, all are manifested within its radiance. Do you still see it? If you see it, right here there is not a single thread of hindrance, not a single thread of principle; what seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing could further serve as conditions and objects? I only fear that you yourselves cannot reflect inward, and therefore give rise to doubts. Do I not constantly say to you:
'Among a thousand words and ten thousand words, just recognize a single word; among a thousand phrases and ten thousand phrases, just recognize a single phrase; among a thousand dharmas and ten thousand dharmas, just recognize a single dharma.'
Recognize the one, and the ten thousand affairs are finished. Penetrate the one, and there is no obstruction. Directly slough off the dust of emotions and deliberate thoughts, let body and mind become completely empty and open. At all times, when meeting tea drink tea, when meeting rice eat rice; heaven is simply called heaven, earth is simply called earth, the exposed pillar is simply called the exposed pillar, the lantern is simply called the lantern—everything is just so. Throughout the twelve periods of the day, just remain ordinary without a speck of business. Even so, if you harbor 'having no business' in your chest, you have not attained ease; if you have 'having business', you have also not attained ease. You must directly have neither business nor no business; even having no duality is still halfway along the road. If one is a person who, upon merely hearing it mentioned, believes deeply to the marrow and bone, hearing such talk is much like the ringing of a hot bowl. In ordinary times, if the word 'Chan' is spoken, one goes to the riverside to wash one's ears; at ordinary times one avoids getting involved, and if one accidentally speaks the word 'Buddha', one must rinse one's mouth for three days. One would rather enter hell in one's living body, endure drowning and transmigration for eternal kalpas, and be boiled and fried in cauldrons of boiling water and furnaces of burning coals, than ever agree to make an intellectual understanding of the Buddha Dharma, or ever give rise to views of Buddha and views of Dharma. If views of Buddha and views of Dharma are not even arisen, how much less could one further give rise to worldly emotional thoughts, discriminatory false conditions, and various karmas! And tell me, how can one see such a person? How can one draw near to such a person? Is there anyone with eyes? Come forth and speak! If there is no one, wait until twenty or thirty years later, when this mountain monk has changed his bones, to communicate news to you separately."

8.33

Addressing the assembly, he said: "The Great Way originally has no facing toward or turning away; the moment you intend to approach it, you have already gone astray. One who can roar with a formidable snarl is indeed a golden-haired lion cub. Is there anyone like this? Step forth from the assembly and meet!"
A monk asked: "What is the phrase that settles heaven and earth?"
The Master said: "I alone am revered."
The monk continued: "I shall throw my body across the universe."
The Master said: "You deserve thirty blows with the staff."
The monk said: "Please proceed."
The Master said: "I allow that you are bold."
The monk asked: "What kind of speech is this?"
The Master said: "Just wait until the rain pours over your head, and then I will strike."
He then said: "Before the omens have divided, it has already become exposed; the moment words and phrases are established, discord is deliberately produced. Nevertheless, the gate of the secondary meaning is not yet wallowing in mud and mixing with water. Great assembly! Do you still know this matter? Cutting off the thousand divergent roads, not establishing a single speck of dust, towering and magnificent, radiant and dazzling, covering heaven and covering earth, responding to sound and responding to form, not treading the same path with the thousand sages, not taking the ten thousand dharmas as companions, rolling up and unfurling at ease, without grasping and without clinging. If you see it, you can move freely over the tips of the hundred grasses, sitting and lying amidst heaps of sound and form. Verbal explanations cannot reach it; analogies cannot capture it; knowing cannot know it; perceiving cannot perceive it. It is not mind, not Buddha, not things, not sacred, not profane, not existence, not non-existence, not right, not wrong, not gain, not loss; being like this does not work, not being like this does not work either. Arriving here, how can it be set forth? How can it be proclaimed? The mountain monk finds his mouth just like a flat carrying pole: no principle can be extended, no words can be spoken. Even so, though the official does not permit a needle, privately carts and horses may pass through. Opening a slit of a path, there is room for discussion."
Holding up his fist, he said: "Do you still see? The Buddhas appeared in the world by means of this; the Patriarchs came from the West by means of this; the ancestral masters of past generations received beings and benefited living beings by means of this; the venerable teachers of the world forged and disciplined patch-robed monks by means of this. When it is held fast, heaven and earth lose their color, the sun and moon lose their light, and all people throughout the great earth lose their bodies and forfeit their lives. When it is let go, cliffs and valleys give off light, the myriad phenomena shine brightly, following the long and following the short, following existence and following non-existence, everywhere is real, and everything is overtly revealed. Tell me: is it better to hold fast, or is it better to let go? Thirty years from now, when meeting people, you must not cite this incorrectly."

8.34

Addressing the assembly, he said: "Solitarily rowing a skiff, drifting on the Five Lakes; on the hook now and then a fine fish is caught. Today the four seas are as clear as a mirror; are there any golden scales rising to the hook? Let those who risk their lives come forth from the assembly to meet!"
A monk asked: "Past Buddhas were like this, present Buddhas are like this, future Buddhas will also be like this. I wonder, what about the Venerable?"
The Master said: "What is 'like this'?"
The monk said: "It is precisely like this."
The Master said: "A shrimp cannot leap out of the basket."
The monk continued: "I ask the Venerable to speak a phrase about leaping out of the basket."
The Master said: "The skiff has already passed Lake Dongting."
He then said: "When there is movement, shadows appear; when there is perception, ice forms. Without movement and without perception, one sinks flat in dead water; having both moved and perceived, one cannot avoid wounding one's edge and hurting one's hand. Arriving here, how can it be proclaimed? How can one help others? Even so, when the law is executed to the utmost, there are no citizens. An ancient said: 'This plot of land has been handed over for a long time. I stand waiting for you to grasp it.' Do you know where it settles? Before King of Awesome Voice, on that side of the empty kalpa, this plot of land stood firm and unmoving. When the four modes of birth surge forth and the myriad phenomena proliferate, when worlds change and fluctuate, and death and birth transform, this plot of land also stands firm and unmoving. Even when the kalpa is destroyed by the three disasters and the vairambha wind rises, blowing the great earth apart into fine dust, this plot of land also stands firm and unmoving. The Buddhas' appearance in the world and the Patriarchs' coming from the West were precisely to clarify this plot of land. The ancestral masters of past generations and the venerable elders of the world, having devised skillful means in a thousand ways and ten thousand schemes, have all exerted their utmost to uphold this plot of land. Even so, in the end no one has been able to directly speak it out face-to-face. Can you grasp it? Level on all eight sides, clear and austere in all four directions, the ten thousand dharmas cannot cover it, the thousand sages dare not confront it. If you can grasp it, when one is resolved, all are resolved; when one is accomplished, all are accomplished; when one is seen, all are seen; when one is attained, all are attained. Therefore it is said: 'As soon as a speck of dust is raised, the great earth is completely gathered in. A lion on the tip of a single hair manifests simultaneously on the tips of a hundred billion hairs.' It is only because of clinging to deluded feelings that there is no time of penetration and liberation; being content to remain among the profane, one cannot cut straight through. If you can let go, with not a single dharma facing your mind, and not a single object attached to your mind, vastly unbounded and natural, it is just like pressing a gourd down on water: as soon as it is touched it turns, as soon as it is pushed it moves; it cannot be dragged back or entangled. Moving and still, speaking and silent, it covers heaven and covers earth. A clear-eyed fellow has no fixed nest; repelling objects is superior, pursuing objects is inferior. If we speak of battle, everyone's strength lies at the turning point; what high and low is there to doubt, what right and wrong to fear? Rushing straight to the gate and biting people with burning urgency—is this not an heroic, eminent fellow? Is there anyone like this in the assembly? Come forth to bear witness, making one long remember General Li: a falcon flying across ten thousand leagues of sky."

8.35

Addressing the assembly, he said: "The Way has no fixed location; clarifying it depends on the person. The Dharma is free from seeing and hearing; severing it depends on wisdom. If one can頓 (suddenly) abandon lifelong deluded thoughts and attachments, and in a single thought suddenly awaken to one's own mind and suddenly clarify one's own nature, not being defiled by the various dusts and not falling into existence or non-existence, naturally dharma after dharma becomes clear realization. Even so, this matter cannot be understood hastily; one must give rise to the generous, eminent aspiration of a great man, disregarding peril and ruin, ignoring gain and loss, maintaining an enduring body and mind of iron and stone. Meeting conditions and encountering circumstances, remain unchanging and unaltering, constantly applying your eye to investigate deeply, not reckoning months and years, taking awakening as the goal. Under the gate of the Patriarchs, it is not like the doctrinal schools: it requires only cutting straight to the root source, grasping it under a single word, being of the same substance and same function as the holy ones, acting at ease in great liberation without failing to see the nature. As for disorderly wild intellect, deliberation, and discrimination, if there is a single thread of hair that is not severed, there will be no time of entry. In the teachings it is even said: 'This Dharma is not something that deliberation and discrimination can understand.'" He also said: "'Using a deliberating mind to fathom the Tathāgata's realm of complete enlightenment is like using the fire of a firefly to burn Mount Sumeru—it can never catch alight.' The Patriarch said: 'Simply exhaust profane sentiments; there is no separate holy measure.' Where profane sentiments are exhausted, the holy measure appears before you. You must directly rest delusive conditions, remain without thought and without contrivance, letting things become empty and tranquil. None of the thousand sages and ten thousand sages have ever failed to enter through this gate. It lies solely in maintaining sincerity, standing firm, and striving forward; if you only produce a resolute mind, you will certainly not be deceived. Take care."

8.36

Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Yuanwu Foguo, Fascicle Eight

Linked texts (1)

圓悟佛果禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese