大慧普覺禪師語錄 15.2
English (machine translation) 15.2
- Language
- English
15.2.1
Consultant Qian requested a general discourse. A monk asked, "In the past, a monk asked the Venerable Yangqi, 'What is the Buddha?' He replied, 'A three-legged donkey jerks its hooves and walks.' I wonder, what is the meaning of this?" The Master said, "In heaven above and earth below, there is no trace." The monk asked further, "Just before the King of Majestic Voice, who rode it?" The Master said, "After the King of Majestic Voice, who rides it?" The monk hesitated. The Master then shouted, and then said, "Before the King of Majestic Voice, the three-legged donkey galloped; after the King of Majestic Voice, old man Yangqi cut off all news. Since he cut off all news, why on earth did the three-legged donkey gallop? If you can understand clearly right here, only then will you know that before the King of Majestic Voice the three-legged donkey indeed galloped; if you cannot understand clearly, old man Yangqi has suffered an injustice all his life. Right at such a time, what is a single phrase that clears the injustice?" He gave a shout and said, "Almost took a dangerous risk!" He further said, "Senior monk Yunwen came today on behalf of Zixu to request that I give a general discourse for the assembly. The old fellow asked, 'What should I say that would do?' Yunwen said, 'We request the Venerable to bring forth Yangqi's vajra ring and chestnut burr, and bestow them upon the great assembly.' He also said, 'Regarding the dharma preaching of National Teacher Zhong and Venerable Dazhu, the various quarters have great doubt, thinking that dragging through mud and water, not preaching straightforward doctrinal Chan, [causes confusion]. We wish the Venerable would clarify the genuine and the false, and resolve the assembly's doubts.' This was also the intention of the patron who requested this general discourse. The old fellow said, 'Alright.' Thus, when the Greatly Awakened World-Honoured One initially awakened to this matter, for three weeks in the country of Magadha he had nowhere to open his mouth, and said to himself: 'I would rather not preach the Dharma, and quickly enter into nirvāṇa.' Know with certainty that preaching the Dharma is difficult—how could it be easy? He subsequently recalled the power of expedients practiced by past Buddhas; only then did he rise from the Bodhi tree, proceed to the Deer Park, and according to the capacities of sentient beings, preach the entire canon of teachings. At the very end, drawing the causes to a conclusion, he nonetheless said, 'From the Deer Park at the beginning to the Hiraṇyavatī River at the end, between these two, I have not yet spoken a single word.' Just this is what Yangqi called the vajra ring and the chestnut burr: truly hard to swallow, hard to penetrate. Arriving here, even if one directly accepts and assumes it, if the Great Dharma is not illuminated, there is nothing one can do about it. I venture to ask everyone: What is called the Great Dharma? How do you penetrate the vajra ring? How do you swallow the chestnut burr? Do you not see what Yantou said: 'If you bind people with real dharmas, you cannot even digest earth, how much less the faithful offerings of the ten directions?' The appearance of the Buddhas in the world and the coming of the Patriarch from the West were nothing other than to serve as masters of verification for all of you. If there were any dharma that could be transmitted or conferred, how could the wisdom-life of the Buddhas have reached today? Therefore the Patriarch said: 'The mind-ground is spoken of in accord with the times; bodhi is also just tranquil. When phenomena and principle are both unobstructed, that which is arising is immediately non-arising.' If you can understand these four lines, then you penetrate the vajra ring and swallow the chestnut burr; you do not need to seek to illuminate the Great Dharma—the Great Dharma illuminates itself! Furthermore, regarding the ancient masters' diverse and varied core circumstances, and the wondrous mystery of mind and nature: if the Great Dharma is illuminated, the moment they are brought up you will understand them, exactly like a lodestone meeting iron—moved at the slightest lead. You must be able to comprehend three parts upon hearing one, discern the situation down to a grain and dram: touch the south and the north moves; the moment it is brought up, you immediately understand. Nowadays, across the various quarters, there are several kinds of deviant Chan. If the Great Dharma is illuminated, just this deviant Chan becomes furniture for one's own use. Those fond of striking sparks from stone and flashes of lightning, of a single blow and a single shout, are determined [in their way]. Those who do not like speaking of mind and speaking of nature only love sharp and agile dynamic action, calling it the 'great function and great dynamic'; those who are fond of speaking of mind and speaking of nature are determined not to like striking sparks from stone and flashes of lightning. Those of a single blow and a single shout only love threads coming and strings going, calling it 'continuous and dense', and also calling it 'the matter under one's own feet.' Little do they know that they are simply useless fellows playing with mud balls! Look at the functional activity of the former venerable elders whose Great Dharma was illuminated—whirling like a waterwheel; National Teacher Nanyang Zhong and Venerable Dazhu are examples of this. Only Yang Wengong possessed the eye: when he compiled the Transmission of the Lamp, he placed National Teacher Zhong and Venerable Dazhu above the venerable elders under Mazu, and included all the phrases in their extensive sayings into it. Under the Sixth Patriarch, National Teacher Zhong's sayings were collected the most, because his family enterprise was grand, his gate wide, and his dharma-nature vast, with broad waves and wide currents difficult to approach. Such Dharma is difficult to speak of; his Chan is equipped with all modes. Take, for instance, the story of calling three times to the attendant: can you call that speaking grandmotherly Chan, or dragging through mud and water? One day he called his attendant; the attendant responded. He called three times like this, and the attendant responded three times." The Master said, "When the National Teacher called the attendant three times, how was there ever any betrayal? When the attendant responded three times, where was the betrayal? The National Teacher said, 'I had thought that I was betraying you, but who knew that you were betraying me?'" The Master said, "A pile of bones raised on level ground!" He further said, "In the monasteries, it is called the story of the National Teacher calling his attendant three times. From this, a whole tangled skein arose. Only Xuedou saw through to the ancients' marrow, saying, 'The National Teacher calling the attendant three times—tapping, but not reaching.'" The Master said, "Indeed so! 'The attendant responding three times—reaching, but not tapping.'" The Master said, "It is not like that, however! '"I had thought that I was betraying you, but who knew that you were betraying me"—cannot fool Xuedou.'" The Master said, "Who said so?" He called again to the great assembly and said, "A fine 'cannot fool Xuedou'! Even though it is like this, Xuedou cannot fool Miaoxi either; Miaoxi cannot fool all of you either; and all of you cannot fool the exposed pillar either. Xuansha said, 'The attendant actually understood.' Xuedou said, 'Keeping a prisoner increases his wit.'" The Master said, "A double win in one roll. Yunmen said, 'What was the place where the National Teacher betrayed the attendant? Even if you understand, it is unprovoked.' Xuedou said, 'Originally he did not understand.'" The Master said, "What Xuefeng said. Yunmen also said, 'What was the place where the attendant betrayed the National Teacher? Could crushing the bones and pulverizing the body repay it?' Xuedou said, 'Unprovoked, unprovoked!'" The Master said, "Standing as a target invites arrows. Fayan said, 'Go away for now, and come back another time.' Xuedou said, 'You cannot fool me.'" The Master said, "Yet Fayan understood! Xinghua said, 'One blind person leading a crowd of blind people.'"
15.2.2
Xuedou said, 'Truly blind!'" The master said, "Intimate words come from an intimate mouth. Hongjue probed a monk, asking, 'Where is the attendant's understanding?' The monk said, 'If he did not understand, how could he answer like that?' Hongjue said, 'You are far from understanding.' He also said, 'If you can see into this, you will know Xuansha.'" The master said, "It puts one deeply to shame! Cuiyan Zhi said, 'Both National Teacher and attendant completely lack understanding.'" The master said, "That is somewhat better. Touzi said, 'Why coerce people?' Xuedou said, 'A fellow sheltering by the root of the target.'" The master said, "When the principle is superior, one yields to it." He further said, "Only Zhaozhou, that talkative fellow, added a footnote that makes people doubtful. A monk asked, 'What was the meaning of the National Teacher calling the attendant three times?' Zhaozhou said, 'Like a person writing characters in the dark: though the characters are not formed, the literary brilliance is already manifest.' Xuedou then gave a shout." The master said, "Tell me: does this shout belong to the side of the National Teacher and attendant, or does it belong to Zhaozhou's side?" Following this, he gave a shout and continued, "If the five-colored cords of the root of life are not severed, how could one penetrate through this? Xuedou said, 'If someone were to ask Xuedou, Xuedou would strike them at once; this also requires all places to examine it.'" The master said, "A thief's heart is fearful. Xuedou also had a verse saying: / 'When master and disciple meet, the intention is not light.'" / The master said, "These words have two failing gates. / 'Without any affair, taking each other by the hand and walking through the grass.'" / The master said, "A man of Puzhou seeing off a thief. / 'Whether I fail you or you fail me, let no one ask.'" / The master said, "Let it cool down and see. / 'Let everyone under heaven vie and dispute over it.'" / The master said, "If you cease right now, then cease; if you look for a time of completion, there will never be a time of completion." He continued, "You wish to seek profound and marvelous intellectual understanding, being concerned only with understanding the National Teacher's calling the attendant three times: where did the National Teacher fail the attendant? Where did the attendant fail the National Teacher? What connection does that have? The king of geese separating milk is naturally not of the duck clan; this is the National Teacher acting on the blade of a sword. Was it merely this little bit? Or was there something else? One day he asked Court Attendant Zilin, 'Where have you come from?' The attendant said, 'I have come from south of the city.' The National Teacher said, 'What color is the grass south of the city?' The attendant said, 'It is yellow.' The National Teacher then asked a boy attendant, 'What color is the grass south of the city?' The boy said, 'It is yellow.' The National Teacher said, 'Even this boy can be granted the purple robe before the curtain to discuss the profound before the Emperor.' Do you say that the National Teacher's speaking grandmotherly Chan drags through mud and carries water? Was it merely this little bit? Or was there something else? One day Emperor Suzong invited him to watch a theatrical play. The National Teacher said, 'What frame of mind does the patron have to watch theatrical plays?' Chan Master Yuantong Yun said, 'Tell me: where did the National Teacher find his footing?' Miaoxi ventures to ask you all: tell me, where did Chan Master Yuantong find his footing? If you can see into this, the three elders are not far apart. Emperor Suzong also asked, 'What is the Tamer of the Ten Bodies?' The National Teacher brought it straight out and said to him, 'The patron walks upon the crown of Vairocana's head; why ask any further about the Tamer of the Ten Bodies?' Do you all want to see National Teacher Zhong? It is right inside your eyes: opening your eyes you miss it; closing your eyes you miss it. Since it is inside your eyes, why do you miss it? Miaoxi speaking like this has also missed it by no small amount. Look further at his dialogue on the insentient preaching the Dharma. I usually do not speak of it; today, having already cast aside good and bad and not avoiding vocal karma, I will shake it all out for you, to clear him of grievance. But you must not understand it as doctrinal principle! A monk asked, 'What is the mind of the ancient buddhas?' The National Teacher said, 'Walls, tiles, and rubble are it.'" The master said, "To answer like this—if the mind seeking avenues of profound and marvelous understanding is not cut off, if the root of life is not severed, and if the Great Dharma is not illuminated, one would definitely not dare to do so. Striking the ground squarely with four corners—one blow, one shout, one push, one squeeze, like sparks struck from flint, like a flash of lightning—is rather easy; this kind of talk is rather difficult to engage in. Only with what was previously described as having a great household, a great portal, a vast dharma-nature, wide billows, and the root of life severed, can one act like this. The monk said, 'Are walls, tiles, and rubble not insentient?' The National Teacher said, 'They are.' The monk said, 'Do the insentient also know how to preach the Dharma?' The National Teacher said, 'They preach constantly, preach blazingly, without pause.' The monk said, 'Why do I not hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'You yourself do not hear it, but you must not hinder those who do hear it.' The monk said, 'I wonder what kind of person gets to hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'All the sages get to hear it.' The monk said, 'Does the Venerable also hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'I do not hear it.' The monk said, 'Since the Venerable does not hear it, how do you know the insentient know how to preach the Dharma?' The National Teacher said, 'Fortunately I do not hear it; if I heard it, I would be equal to the sages, and then you would not hear me preach the Dharma.' The monk said, 'If so, then sentient beings have no share in it.' The National Teacher said, 'I preach for sentient beings; I do not preach for the sages.' The monk said, 'What about sentient beings after they hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'Then they are not sentient beings.'" The master said, "Remarkable! See how freely he turns, not stuck in a corner, not failing the questioner's inquiry: 'Fortunately I do not hear it; if I heard it, I would be equal to the sages, and then you would not hear me preach the Dharma.' Can you call this negligent? If one has not attained the marrow of the buddhas and patriarchs, how could one turn like this? Do not call it having no gain or loss: this is having gain and loss within no gain and loss, and having no gain and loss within gain and loss. Call it entering mud and entering water, riding the thief's horse to pursue the band of thieves, borrowing an old woman's shawl to pay New Year's respects to the old woman—how difficult to cope with! Again, a monk asked, 'Generating the resolve to leave home, I originally intended to seek buddhahood. I wonder how I should apply the mind so as to attain buddhahood?' The National Teacher said, 'When there is no mind to be applied, you will attain buddhahood.'" The master said, "This monk is difficult to tolerate, just like a burdock burr.".
15.2.3
"This old fellow was stubborn and obstinate, and he happened upon this monk who was also stubborn and obstinate, who stuck to him and immediately asked: 'If there is no mind to use, who becomes a buddha?' The National Teacher said: 'Having no mind, one naturally becomes a buddha; becoming a buddha is also having no mind.' The monk said: 'Buddhas possess great inconceivability because they can deliver sentient beings. If there is no mind, who delivers sentient beings?' The National Teacher said: 'Having no mind is truly delivering beings. If you see that there are beings to be delivered, that is having a mind, distinctly undergoing arising and ceasing.' The monk said: 'Now since there is no mind, the Sage of the Śākyas appeared in the world and expounded so many traces of teaching—could that have been in vain?' The National Teacher said: 'The Buddha's expounding of teachings was also without mind.' The monk said: 'Expounding the Dharma without mind should mean having no exposition.' The National Teacher said: 'Exposition is itself nothingness; nothingness is itself exposition.' The monk said: 'If expounding the Dharma is without mind, is creating karma with mind?' The National Teacher said: 'Having no mind is having no karma. Now that you have karma, your mind arises and ceases—how could it be without mind?' The monk said: 'Having no mind is becoming a buddha; has the Venerable now become a buddha or not?' The National Teacher said: 'Even mind itself does not exist; who speaks of becoming a buddha? If there were a buddha to become, that would still be having a mind; having a mind is having outflows—how could you attain no-mind?' The monk said: 'Since there is no buddha to become, does the Venerable still attain the function of a buddha or not?' The National Teacher said: 'Even mind itself does not exist; where would function come from?' The monk said: 'If all is utterly non-existent, wouldn't that fall into nihilism?' The National Teacher said: 'Fundamentally there are no views; who speaks of annihilation?' The monk said: 'Fundamentally there are no views—would that not fall into emptiness?' The National Teacher said: 'There is no emptiness into which one could fall.' The monk said: 'Is there anything one can tumble into?' The National Teacher said: 'Since emptiness is non-existent, where could tumbling be established?' The monk said: 'Subject and object are both non-existent. If someone suddenly came holding a blade to take your life, would that be existent or non-existent?' The National Teacher said: 'It is non-existent.' The monk said: 'Would there be pain?' The National Teacher said: 'Pain is also non-existent.' The monk said: 'Since pain is non-existent, into which destiny will one be born after death?' The National Teacher said: 'There is no death, no birth, and no destiny.' The monk said: 'Since you have attained ease with nothing existing, when pressed by hunger and cold, how do you apply your mind?' The National Teacher said: 'When hungry, eat rice; when cold, put on clothes.' The monk said: 'Knowing hunger and knowing cold should be having a mind.' The National Teacher said: 'I ask you: if you have a mind, what form or structure does the mind have?' The monk hesitated for a long while; seeking the form and structure of the mind and of hunger and cold, he could not find them at all. Thereupon he truthfully confessed, saying: 'Mind has no form or structure.' The National Teacher said: 'Since you know it has no form or structure, it is fundamentally without mind—how can you say it exists?' The monk said: 'When encountering tigers and wolves in the mountains, how should one apply the mind?' The National Teacher said: 'See as though not seeing; let them come as though not coming. When you are without mind, vicious beasts cannot inflict harm.' The monk said: 'Silent and without affairs, solitary and unbound without mind—what is this called?' The National Teacher said: 'It is called the Vajra Great Being.'" The Master gave a shout and said, "Refusing to be a good person, he insists on wallowing in excrement! 'The monk said: "What form or structure does the Vajra Great Being have?" The National Teacher said: "Fundamentally it has no physical form." '" The Master said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? 'The monk said: "Since it has no physical form, what is called the Vajra Great Being?" The National Teacher said: "It is called the formless Vajra Great Being." The monk said: "What merits does the Vajra Great Being possess?" The National Teacher said: "In a single thought corresponding with the Vajra, one can extinguish the heavy transgressions of birth and death for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and behold all the buddhas numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The merits of this Vajra Great Being are measureless—they cannot be spoken by the mouth, nor expressed by thought. Even if one were to dwell in the world and speak of them for kalpas numerous as the sands of the Ganges, they could never be exhausted."' This monk was enlightened on the spot, like awakening from a dream, like a lotus flower opening. Something like this is precisely a vajra trap and a chestnut burr. If you cannot swallow it and cannot penetrate it, failing to see the ancient ones' footsteps, you will definitely give rise to slander without doubt. Once you penetrate this, only then can you become a great ferryboat, not clinging to this shore, not clinging to that shore, and not staying in midstream. Only when a good friend of Chan can deploy such skill and enter into such a lair can he begin to be a teacher of people. If one does not possess such varied eyes—such as those who find an entry-way on the interpretive path of mind-nature—they definitely will not like sparks struck from stone or flashes of lightning, but will love this kind of speech, and yet will mistakenly understand it as real dharmas. As for those who find an entry-way upon a single dynamic action, a single state, a single blow, or a single shout, they definitely will not like this kind of speech, which is again a misunderstanding. Truly, it is what is called: 'Views differ, and each has its gains and losses.' In the teachings it is said: 'Bodhisattvas see water as sweet dew; devas see water as lapis lazuli; ordinary mortals see water as water; hungry ghosts see water as pus and blood.' If there is a patch-robed monk who loves lofty Chan and comes forward saying, 'Does Miaoxi hold such views as these?' I will simply say to him, 'Whenever you meet someone, just bring it up like this.' Therefore, contained in the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: A monk asked National Teacher Zhong, 'An ancient worthy said: "The lush green bamboo is entirely the Dharma-body; the luxuriant yellow flowers are none other than prajñā." Some do not accept this, saying it is a heterodox teaching; there are also those who believe it, saying it is inconceivable. I do not know how it is.' The National Teacher said, 'This is indeed the realm of Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī; it cannot be believed and accepted by ordinary mortals and the Lesser Vehicle. It entirely accords with the intent of the Mahāyāna sutras of definitive meaning. Therefore the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: "The Buddha's body fills the dharmadhātu, universally appearing before all sentient beings; responding to conditions and according with affinities, there is nowhere it does not reach, yet it constantly abides on this bodhi-seat." Since the green bamboo does not fall outside the dharmadhātu, how could it not be the Dharma-body? Furthermore, the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: "Because form is boundless, prajñā is also boundless." Since the yellow flowers do not exceed form, how could they not be prajñā? These are profound and far-reaching words; those who do not understand will find it hard to comprehend their meaning.' Furthermore, a lecturer on the Avataṃsaka asked Venerable Dazhu, 'Why does the Chan master not accept that lush green bamboo is entirely the Dharma-body, and luxuriant yellow flowers are none other than prajñā?' Dazhu said, 'The Dharma-body is without form, yet it takes shape in response to green bamboo; prajñā is without knowing, yet it reveals its appearance in reflection of yellow flowers. It is not that those yellow flowers and green bamboo possess prajñā and the Dharma-body.'
15.2.4
"Therefore the sūtra says: 'The Buddha's true Dharma-body is like empty space; responding to things, it manifests forms like the moon in the water.' If the yellow blossom is prajñā, then prajñā is identical to insentient things; if the emerald bamboo is the Dharma-body, can the emerald bamboo still respond and function? Does the lecturer understand?" The lecturer said, "I do not understand this meaning." Dazhu said, "If one is a person who has seen their nature, saying it is is acceptable, and saying it is not is also acceptable; speaking in accord with function, they do not stagnate in right and wrong. If one is a person who has not seen their nature, when speaking of emerald bamboo they cling to emerald bamboo, when speaking of yellow blossoms they cling to yellow blossoms, when speaking of the Dharma-body they stagnate in the Dharma-body, and when speaking of prajñā they do not recognize prajñā; thus all becomes dispute." The master said: "The National Teacher advocated that 'ever-green emerald bamboo is entirely the Dharma-body'—advocated it straight to the very end; Dazhu refuted that 'ever-green emerald bamboo is not the Dharma-body'—refuted it straight to the very end. This old fellow takes the one that advocates and takes the one that refutes, brings them together into one place without any promoting or expounding, not daring to stir them by a single hair. I require you students to possess the eye to break through the National Teacher's diamond circle and also swallow down Dazhu's chestnut burr. Those with eyes can distinguish it; those without eyes might not fail to laugh. Although I, Zonggao, studied under Master Yuanwu and had my nostrils knocked off, the one who originally put nostrils on me was actually Master Zhantang; only when helping others, he did not press down the blade tightly, but when discussing Chan sicknesses, no one surpassed him. I once reflected on a story from the teachings: Aṅgulimāla wanted the fingers of a thousand people to make a garland, and after that ascend the royal throne. Having already obtained nine hundred and ninety-nine fingers, he was short only one finger, and wanted to sever his mother's finger to fill out the number. The Buddha, knowing his conditions had ripened, therefore went to transform him. Just as Aṅgulimāla conceived the intention and was about to bring down the knife to take his mother's finger, he suddenly heard the sound of the vibrating ringed staff. He then abandoned his mother's finger and asked the Buddha, who had come to transform him, for a finger, saying: 'Since Gautama is here, I hope you will give me a finger to fulfill my vow.' Just as he raised the knife, the World-Honored One pulled away and left. The World-Honored One walked slowly, yet Aṅgulimāla ran swiftly and could not catch up. He then called out loudly, 'Stop, stop!' The World-Honored One said, 'I stopped long ago; it is you who do not stop.' Aṅgulimāla suddenly had an awakening, and took refuge in the Buddha to leave the household. The Buddha then had him carry his bowl to the gate of an elder, where a woman of the family was encountering difficult childbirth. The elder said, 'Disciple of Gautama, you are a supreme sage; what Dharma do you have that can relieve this difficult childbirth?' Aṅgulimāla said, 'I have only just entered the Way and do not know this Dharma; wait until I return and ask the World-Honored One, then I will come back to inform you.' When he returned, he reported the matter fully to the Buddha. The Buddha told Aṅgulimāla, 'Go quickly and tell her: "Since I came to the Noble Dharma, I have never taken life."' Aṅgulimāla immediately followed the Buddha's words, went there, and told her. The woman, upon hearing this, was relieved of the difficult childbirth." The master said: "Here, can wielding the staff, giving shouts, overturning the meditation bench, citing scriptural teachings to speak of principle and phenomena, striking sparks from stone, flashing lightning, or catching a black chicken in the middle of the night do it? Therefore I asked Master Zhantang for instruction. As soon as I brought up this case, Zhantang said: 'You have scratched my itch. This story is the Dharma of gold and dung: when you do not understand, it is like gold; when you understand, it is like dung.' I said: 'Is there really no expedient means?' Zhantang said: 'I have an expedient means, but you will completely fail to understand.' I said: 'I beg the Venerable's compassion.' Zhantang said: 'Aṅgulimāla said, "I have only just entered the Way and do not know this Dharma; wait until I ask the World-Honored One." Before he reached the Buddha's seat, what if her family had already given birth to the child? "Since I came to the Noble Dharma, I have never taken life." When Aṅgulimāla carried these words, before he reached her family, what if she had already given birth to the child?' At that time, this old fellow could not understand it. Later, while at Huqiu, reading the Avataṃsaka Sūtra up to the bodhisattva ascending the seventh ground and realizing the patience with the non-arising of dharmas, it says: 'Disciples of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva accomplishes this patience, he immediately enters the bodhisattva's eighth ground, the Immovable Ground, becoming a bodhisattva of profound practice—difficult to know, nondiscriminatory, free from all signs, all thoughts, and all clingings, which all immeasurable and boundless śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot reach. Free from all disputes, quiescence becomes manifest before him. It is just as when a bhikṣu is endowed with spiritual penetration and attains freedom of mind, gradually up to entering the concentration of cessation, all moving minds, recollections, and discriminations are entirely stilled. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: abiding in the Immovable Ground, he immediately relinquishes all effortful practices, obtains effortless bodily, verbal, and mental karma, and all concerns of mindfulness cease, abiding in retributive practice. It is just as when a person in a dream sees his body fall into a great river, and wishing to cross over, arouses great courage and employs great expedient means. Because he employs expedient means with great courage, he immediately awakens. Once awakened, all that he did ceases. The bodhisattva is also like this: seeing the bodies of sentient beings in the four floods, in order to rescue them he arouses great courage and initiates great vigor. Because of his courageous vigor, he arrives at this Immovable Ground. Having arrived here, there is no effort that does not cease; dual practices and sign-bearing practices do not manifest. In this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, the bodhisattva mind, the buddha mind, the bodhicitta, and the nirvāṇa mind do not even arise, let alone the minds of the worldly realm.'" The master said: "Arriving here, the bag was torn open, and the expedient means that Zhantang spoke of to me suddenly appeared before me. Only then did I know that a true spiritual guide does not deceive me. It is truly a diamond circle; one must have clear storehouse consciousness to be able to break through it. There was also a senior venerable named Master Luopu, who was Linji's attendant for a long time. Linji always praised him, calling him an arrow under Linji's gate—which was just bullying people. After finishing his travels, he went straight to the peak of Jiashan and pitched a hermitage for years. Jiashan learned of this, wrote a letter, and sent a monk galloping over with it. Luopu took it and sat down on it, then stretched out his hand again to ask for it. The monk had no reply. Luopu struck him and said, 'Go back and present this to the Venerable.' The monk returned and presented it to Jiashan. Jiashan said, 'If this monk reads the letter, he will certainly come within three days. If he does not read the letter, this person cannot be saved.'" The master said: "The ancients called this 'fishing for people.' Without knowing what idle talk or long phrases were in the letter, Luopu swallowed his hook and line, and indeed came within three days. Jiashan in advance ordered someone to watch for him leaving the hermitage, and immediately burned his dwelling." The master said: "Just this was a diamond circle. Luopu paid no heed." The master said: "To become a buddha and act as a patriarch, one must be this sort of fellow.
15.2.5
Going straight to Jiashan's abbot's quarters, without bowing, he stood face to face with folded hands. Jiashan said, 'A chicken roosting in a phoenix's nest is not of the same kind; get out!' Luopu said, 'Having hastened from afar toward your wind, I beg the master to receive me.' Jiashan said, 'Before my eyes there is no ācārya; here there is no old monk.' Luopu gave a shout. Jiashan said, 'Stop, stop! Do not be hasty and hurried. Clouds and moon are the same; valleys and mountains are distinct. Cutting off the tongues of the whole world is indeed not absent, but how does the ācārya cause a tongueless person to understand speech?'" The master said: "Luopu bowed his head in thought. Failing to understand this one incantation, he was struck across the spine by Jiashan, his nostrils were pierced, and he subsequently became Jiashan's dharma heir. Later he instructed the assembly, saying: 'Only with the final word does one reach the firm pass; barring the crucial ford, it allows no passage to ordinary or holy. One must know that a person of the superior stream does not paste the views of buddhas and patriarchs onto their forehead, like an auspicious turtle carrying a chart, bringing about the basis of its own destruction.'" The master said: "After his awakening, he was able to clarify this one incantation of his, this bit of starter medicine. Whether under Yunmen, Linji, Caodong, Fayan, or Guiyang, if the Great Dharma is not clear, each takes their own school as their school, their own teacher as their teacher, their own father as their father, their own child as their child, merely attending to the school's tenets, agitated and unessential. When this old fellow was in the assembly, I once sought instruction from a senior venerable: 'In the Chan school it is said: within speech there is no speech, within no speech there is speech.' The senior venerable cited an attestation for me, saying: 'Within speech there is no speech: meeting a dead snake on the road, do not strike it dead; carrying it back in a bottomless basket. This is called within speech there is no speech, and also called within no speech there is speech. What is within speech there is no speech? Meeting a dead snake on the road, do not strike it dead. What is within no speech there is speech? Carrying it back in a bottomless basket. This single line alone possesses both meanings: "Meeting a dead snake on the road, do not strike it dead" is within no speech there is speech; "Carrying it back in a bottomless basket" is within speech there is no speech. It means that since it is already a dead snake, there is no need to strike it dead.' He also said: 'What is difference within sameness? An egret standing in the snow is not the same color. What is sameness within difference? The bright moon and reed flowers do not resemble each other.' When I spoke like this, you understood it, but what help was it? Do not study things like this. After the Great Dharma is clear, if a single hair is raised, one understands it all at once, just like the story of Aṅgulimāla. As for the expedient means spoken by Zhantang, 'I have only just entered the Way' is of no use, and 'the Buddha has spiritual penetrations' is also of no use. Since they are of no use, why was the child born? If you see here, old Śākya is Aṅgulimāla, and Aṅgulimāla is old Śākya; if you do not understand, Śākya is Śākya, Aṅgulimāla is Aṅgulimāla, and it has nothing to do with the family with difficult childbirth." Then, joining his palms, he said: "May the merit of every word and phrase conforming to the buddhas and patriarchs from bringing up and upholding prajñā above be dedicated to Lady Anren Lü, the deceased wife of Policy Advisor Qian. We humbly pray that passing away from here and appearing there, she may always be a close relation of prajñā; casting off this body and receiving a body, she may forever be a kin of bodhi." Calling to the great assembly, he said: "Do you understand thoroughly? If you wish to rest right now, do not remember what I have said today." Giving a shout, he descended the seat.
Linked texts (1)
- 大慧普覺禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese