大慧普覺禪師語錄 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Submitted by his dharma heir, the Abbot of Nengren Chan Monastery on Mount Jing, the subject monk Yunwen, Chan Master Huiri

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Muzhou, 'Leaving aside taking away one layer after another, what is it like when not taking away one layer after another?' Muzhou said, 'Yesterday I planted eggplants; this morning I sowed winter melons.'" The Master said, "Viewed from the highest place, it is not enough; leveled from the lowest place, it is more than sufficient. Tomorrow in the hall, everyone is free to bite through the eggplants horizontally or vertically; but is there anyone who can say a phrase about the winter melon? If you can say a phrase, monks and laypeople, sentient and insentient, will all be thoroughly sated. If you cannot say it, pay me back the rice money!"

3.3

Ascending the hall, [the Master said]: "The Dharma is the eternal Dharma; the Way is the eternal Way. Pressing hard against the face, it cannot be touched even by pointing." He gave a shout.

3.4

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Muzhou, 'What are unfolding words?' Muzhou said, 'Measuring talent to assign office.' 'What are non-unfolding words?' Muzhou said, 'Respectfully we offer this sacrifice.'" The Master said, "The ancient buddha Muzhou was skilled at responding to incoming potential; nevertheless, he only achieved eighty percent. If someone were to ask Jingshan, 'What are unfolding words?' I would say to him, 'To be asked ten and answer a hundred—what is difficult about that?' 'What are non-unfolding words?'" Giving a shout, he said, "Do not let the privy boil over!"

3.5

Vice Minister Wei requested [the Master to] ascend the high seat: "Wei Gang, residing in Changshan County of Quzhou while observing mourning, respectfully donated pure wealth to enter the mountain and arrange [this service], further requesting the rustic mountain [monk] to ascend this seat to promote and expound prajñā, in order to dedicate this merit to assisting his late father, the retired Xuanjiao, to be reborn in the Realm of Peace and Sustenance. Do you all know? This old lay practitioner was none other than the Master Wei who provided hospitality for three generations in Hezhou. When this mountain monk was on pilgrimage in the early Daguan era, I also visited his home; at that time the Vice Minister was still young. Today he serves as an attendant official, exerting effort for the state—all this has been brought about by his father's hidden virtue. Throughout his life, this old man was extremely devoted to cultivation and study, delighted in reading Buddhist books, associated with old patch-robed monks beyond worldly bounds, meticulously cultivated pure conduct, and often used Master Wang Fanzhi's 'Earth Dumpling' verses to perform Buddhist services in order to alert and awaken the worldly crowd. Recently I saw the biographical sketch composed by Secretariat Drafter Pan, which recorded these facts in detail. I heard that when his illness was critical, whenever visitors came to inquire after his health, he would also gather and transform them with compassion, not uttering a single worldly word. When it came time to lay down his hands and feet, he conversed and laughed with self-possession, and passed away seated cross-legged. This is what the Vimalakīrti says: 'Though there is suffering in one's own body, one thinks of sentient beings in the miserable realms and gives rise to great compassion: Since I have subdued myself, I should also subdue all sentient beings; one only removes their disease without removing the Dharma.'" Then he called to the assembly: "Lord Wei's illness was already critical, yet he was able to endure the pain and expound the Dharma according to what was appropriate for those who came, which is ample proof of his practice of Buddhism. Today, fortunately meeting with everyone gathered here to bear witness together, I cannot help but borrow his nostrils to exhale. Do you wish to know the Dharma? Thusness, buddha-nature, bodhi, and nirvāṇa are it. Do you wish to know the disease? Deluded thoughts, inversions, greed, anger, and false views are it. Even so, apart from deluded thoughts and inversions, there is no thusness or buddha-nature; apart from greed, anger, and false views, there is no bodhi or nirvāṇa. Tell me, is making a distinction correct? Or is not making a distinction correct? If you distinguish, keeping one and getting rid of the other makes the disease even deeper; if you do not distinguish, it is precisely muddle-headed buddha-nature and vague thusness. Ultimately, how do you speak of this principle of removing the disease without removing the Dharma? There are some fellows who, hearing such talk, immediately say: 'The Dharma is the disease, and the disease is the Dharma; whatever is expressed in words lacks any real meaning. If one accords with thusness, then inversions, deluded thoughts, greed, anger, and false views are all the Dharma; if one follows inversions, then thusness, buddha-nature, bodhi, and nirvāṇa are all diseases.' With such understanding, do not speak of wearing patch robes—one would not even qualify to be a slave to a lecture master! Why is this? You must know that countless people die on level ground; only those who distinctly pass through the thorn forest are truly skilled hands. Have you not seen what the ancient said: 'Even if there were a Dharma surpassing nirvāṇa, I would say it is also like a dream or an illusion.' If, within dream and illusion, one can realize it as it truly is, understand it as it truly is, cultivate it as it truly is, and practice it as it truly is, subduing oneself by means of the Dharma as it truly is, giving rise to great compassion to employ various skillful means, and further able to subdue all sentient beings—yet without conceiving thoughts of subduing or not subduing regarding sentient beings, nor conceiving thoughts of inversions, thoughts of greed, anger, or false views, nor conceiving thoughts of thusness, buddha-nature, bodhi, or nirvāṇa, nor conceiving thoughts of removing the disease or not removing the Dharma, nor conceiving thoughts of keeping one, getting rid of one, distinguishing or not distinguishing—once such thoughts are absent, then there is one path of pure, equal liberation. Jingshan today speaks this Dharma of pure, equal liberation, respectfully for the mourning Wei Gang, to commemorate his late father, the retired Xuanjiao, humbly praying that he realizes the Pure Land of mind-only, beholds the Amitābha of his own nature, and enjoys happiness everywhere in this world and in other realms." Again he called to the assembly: "Now that I have finished borrowing his nostrils to exhale, Jingshan will now use his nostrils to exhale on his behalf." He gave a shout.

3.6

Ascending the high seat at the end of the summer retreat: "This gong'an of the fifteenth day of the fourth month is only settled on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Right now, among so many people here, everyone has reasons that are difficult to clarify. Is there anyone in the assembly with an eloquent tongue and sharp words? Step forward and try to clarify it! Even if you can clarify it, your forehead must touch the ground before you can obtain it."

3.7

Ascending the high seat, he cited: "Yunmen said: 'Even if wherever your eye touches there is no obstruction, and you reach the emptiness of all dharmas, of name-bodies and phrase-bodies—mountains, rivers, and the great earth are names, and names are also unattainable—and this is called the complete possession of the samādhi nature-ocean, it is still rippling waves where there is no wind. Even if one eliminates knowledge within awakening, and awakening is buddha-nature itself, and one is called a person of no affairs, one must still know there is an aperture beyond.'" The Master said: "Pouring oil to put out a fire is completely leisurely business; adding frost atop snow makes one deeply grieve."

3.8

Ascending the high seat: "Dismantling the eastern fence, patching up the western wall—under the gate of Jingshan, there is no standard at all. If there were a standard, who would understand it? The monks' hall sees right through the fragrant kitchen; the roof-ridge owl bites to death the ridge of the Buddha hall."

3.9

Ascending the high seat, a monk asked: "Cuiwei made offerings to arhats, while Danxia burned the wooden buddha. I wonder, between these two venerable masters, which one is right?" The Master said: "Which one is not?" [The monk] advanced: "To whom is the middle assigned?" The Master said: "Just grope around as much as you like." [The monk] advanced: "Why do they both come horizontally and go vertically on the tip of the staff?" The Master said: "Why are your eyes dazzled with flowers?" [The monk] advanced: "Is this precisely where the Venerable serves people?" The Master said: "Yes." Then he said: "Danxia burning the wooden buddha did not accord with human sentiments; Cuiwei making offerings to the arhats was a Vinaya suited to the locality. If brought under the gate of Jingshan, neither is of any use. Tell me, what is used under the gate of Jingshan? / When the autumn river is clear and shallow, / White dew mingles with the misty isles; / How marvelous, Avalokiteśvara, / Completely entering the overgrown weeds!"

3.10

Ascending the high seat: "Eighty days before this mountain monk left his home district, I had already completely revealed today's business to you all. What is today's business?" He gave a shout.

3.11

Ascending the high seat, a monk asked: "Where the thousand sages cannot reach, the functioning of the ten thousand dharmas is not lacking. What is Jingshan's dynamic function?" The Master said: "An unyielding true dragon—how could it hide in stranded waters?" [The monk] advanced: "Vast and open, the dharmadhātu is fully manifest; distinctly clear, the ancestral function shines alone." The Master said: "The heavens rotate to the left; the earth turns to the right." [The monk] advanced: "The entire body comes thus; the entire body goes thus." The Master said: "Running the ācārya to death." Then he said: "The true mind is without dwelling; the true illumination stands alone. The true nature cuts off conditioned clinging; true seeing does not depend on objects. True knowledge is unobstructed; true wisdom is boundless. Above, it tallies with the original source of all buddhas; below, it accords with the mind-ground of all living beings. Therefore it is said: / 'Everywhere is true, everywhere is true; / Every speck of dust is completely the original person. / When the real and true is spoken, no sound appears; / The majestic, upright substance obliterates the body.'" Then he looked around at the assembly and said: "What is the majestic, upright substance? / Standing by the cliff, watching the bank, the eyes / Cause a bout of grief."

3.12

Ascending the high seat: "Where wisdom does not reach, be strictly careful not to speak of it; if you speak of it, horns will sprout on your head." Holding up his fly-whisk, he said: "Horns have sprouted! Is it a donkey or a horse? Do you recognize it? If you recognize it, you may freely walk among different species; if you do not yet recognize it, you will sink for eternal eons."

3.13

Ascending the high seat, he cited: "A monk asked Touzi: 'How is it before the moon is full?' Touzi said: 'Swallow down three or four.' The monk said: 'How is it after it is full?' Touzi said: 'Spit out seven or eight.'" The Master said: "Three and four, seven and eight—the numbers are very distinct, yet no one can count them through. Since the numbers are distinct, why can no one count them through?" After a long pause, he said: "A Daoist wearing a white robe is still not a true scholar."

3.14

Ascending the high seat, a monk bowed, arose, and immediately shouted. The Master also shouted. The monk returned to the assembly. The Master said: "It still lacks one move." Then he said: "A single shout distinguishes guest and host; illumination and function operate at the same time. If you wish to understand the meaning within this: / At high noon, strike the third watch! / Tell me, between the shout of this monk just now and this mountain monk's shout, which is the guest? Which is the host? Which is illumination? Which is function? If you can discern this here, I permit you to walk alone through the great chiliocosm. If not yet so, be strictly careful not to lose your spoon and chopsticks inside your bowl." Again he gave a shout.

3.15

Ascending the high seat on New Year's Day upon newly stretching the Dharma drum: "In the new year, strike the new drum, / Universally bestowing the new Dharma rain. / The ten thousand things all follow the new, / Each and every one conforming to rule. / Samantabhadra, the Great Being, rejoices with delight, / Seizing the moment to fling open the doors, / Releasing the white elephant king— / Nowhere in all the land can it be found!" Holding up his staff, he said: "Only this does not belong to old or new; casually opening its mouth, it swallows the Dharma body." Throwing it down, he said: "What is it? Inside the thousand-year peach pit, it is originally the old kernel."

3.16

Ascending the high seat, he cited: "A monk asked Zhaozhou: 'I, a student, have newly entered the monastery; I beg the Master for instruction.' Zhou said: 'Have you eaten your porridge yet?' The monk said: 'I have eaten the porridge.' Zhou said: 'Go wash your bowl.' The monk suddenly had a great awakening." The Master said: "Was it really genuine or not? Yunmen said: 'Tell me, was there instruction or was there no instruction? If you say there was, what did he say to him? If you say there was not, why did this monk awaken?'" The Master said again: "If Zhaozhou and this monk had not met Yunmen, they would have suffered injustice their whole lives. Nowadays in various quarters there is a type of blind fellow who generally understands it all as mere talk of washing bowls."

3.17

Ascending the high seat: "Today is the middle of the first month; there is an old gong'an. Lighting several bowls of lamps, beating the drum, I invite all to look. Looking is not absent, but suddenly, when the oil is exhausted and the lamps go out, in the darkness be strictly careful not to bump into the exposed pillar."

3.18

Ascending the high seat: "The mind of the Great Sage of India was secretly transmitted east and west. What is this mind that was transmitted?" He gave a shout, struck the meditation bed once, and said: "What words are these?"

3.19

Top Graduates Zhang and Wang arrived. Ascending the high seat, he cited: "A monk asked Yunmen: 'What is the Master's family custom?' Men said: 'A scholar comes to report.'" The Master said: "The scholars are already here; tell me, how will you meet with them?" Then he looked to the left and right and said: "Enemies never fail to meet."

3.20

Ascending the high seat, he cited: "A monk asked Touzi: 'What is the Tamer of Ten Bodies?' Touzi got down from the rope chair and stood. [The monk] also asked: 'How far apart are the ordinary and the sacred?' Touzi also got down from the rope chair and stood." The Master said: "Touzi got down from the rope chair; / Today I expound it for you. / You fellows before donkeys and behind horses, / Be strictly careful not to accept it heedlessly!"

3.21

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Does a person of great cultivation still fall under cause and effect or not? The former Baizhang said, 'He does not fall under cause and effect.' Why did he fall into the body of a wild fox?" The Master said: "Whenever meeting someone, just bring it up like this." The monk asked further: "Just as the latter Baizhang said, 'He is not blind to cause and effect,' why did he shed the body of a wild fox?" The Master said: "Whenever meeting someone, just bring it up like this." The monk asked further: "If someone were to ask Jingshan: 'Does a person of great cultivation still fall under cause and effect or not?' I wonder what the Venerable would say to him?" The Master said: "I would say to him: 'Whenever meeting someone, just bring it up like this.'" He then said: "'A person of great cultivation falls under cause and effect.'" Striking the meditation couch once with his fly-whisk, he said: "It is not apart from this news. 'A person of great cultivation does not fall under cause and effect.'" Striking the meditation couch once again, he said: "It is also not apart from this news. Falling and not falling are cancelled out with a single stroke of the brush; then what do you call cause and effect?" Striking the meditation couch once more, he said: "It is also not apart from this news." Then, raising the fly-whisk, he addressed the assembly: "The news from five hundred lives before is present; there is no need to search for it elsewhere in your mind."

3.22

Ascending the hall: "The Patriarch said: 'If the eyes do not sleep, all dreams naturally cease; if the mind does not differentiate, the ten thousand dharmas are of one suchness.' Which is the eye that does not sleep? Which is the mind that does not differentiate? Mountain flowers bloom like brocade; ravine waters run clear as indigo."

3.23

Ascending the hall: "The root of sentient beings takes the ocean of wisdom as its source; the flow of conscious beings unites the dharmakāya as its substance. Now then, which is the source of the ocean of wisdom? Which is the substance of the dharmakāya? If you recognize this source, thousands and myriads of sources are just this one source; if you recognize this substance, thousands and myriads of substances are just this one substance. Therefore it is said: 'Boundless land-realms—self and other are not separated by the tip of a hair; past and present across the ten periods—from beginning to end are not apart from the present thought.' Although it is so, a true man inherently possesses an ambition that soars to the heavens; do not walk where the Tathāgata walks."

3.24

Ascending the hall: "Dharmas have no fixed characteristics; their establishment depends on people." Suddenly taking up the staff, he struck once and said: "'This dharma cannot be understood by thought or discrimination.' And tell me: when not discriminating and not thinking, what is it? When discriminating and thinking, what is it again?" Striking once again, he gave a shout.

3.25

Addressing the assembly on appointing the two head monks Ben and Yan: "Driving away the plowman's ox, snatching the starving man's food, kicking over the great ocean's waters, punching down Mount Sumeru, seizing tigers and rhinoceroses alive, capturing ferocious dragons bare-handed—these are still not the patch-robed monk's proper affair. What is the patch-robed monk's proper affair? Inquire of the two head monks in the hall."

3.26

Ascending the hall, he took up the staff, struck once, and said: "'The wondrous power of Avalokiteśvara's wisdom can save the world from suffering.' A hundred flowers bloom in splendid profusion; gaze upon them, and there is nothing to be seen." Then throwing it down, he said: "Today is the fifth day of the third month."

3.27

Ascending the hall: "Mind itself is buddha, there is no other buddha; buddha itself is mind, there is no other mind. It is like a fist making a palm, like water forming waves: waves are water, palm is fist. This mind belongs neither to inside, outside, nor between; this buddha belongs neither to past, future, nor present. Since it belongs neither to inside, outside, nor between, and also does not belong to past, future, nor present, this mind and this buddha are entirely nominal designations. Since they are nominal designations, can that which is expounded in the entire great canon of teachings be real? Since it is not real, old Śākya could not have opened his two flaps of skin in vain and wagged his three inches of tongue. In the end, what is it? Just know to do good deeds; do not ask about the journey ahead."

3.28

Ascending the hall, he cited: "One day, while Linji was standing in attendance beside Deshan, Deshan looked back and said to him, 'This old monk is weary today.' Linji said, 'What is this old fellow talking in his sleep for?' Deshan made to take up his stick, and Linji promptly overturned the rope chair. Yunfeng said: 'Two masters of the craft: one pressing and one pushing down, slightly revealing the style and standard—much like holding hands to climb a high mountain. Although this is so, they could not avoid the smirk of bystanders.'" The Master said: "Old man Yunfeng's criticism like that is very much like a man from Puzhou. If Jingshan had seen them, he would have tied them into a bundle and sent them into the river. Why? Have you not heard it said: 'When the clam and the snipe grapple with each other, both fall into the fisherman's hands'?"

3.29

Ascending the hall on the Buddha's Bathing Day, he said: "Everyone pours a ladle of foul water / to wash away the defilement of purity from the Tathāgata. / When defilements are exhausted, the afflictions of sentient beings are removed, / and the fox roars like a lion."

3.30

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Yunmen asked Caoshan, 'What is the practice of a śramaṇa?' Caoshan said, 'One who eats the permanent property's sprouts and crops.' Yunmen said, 'What about when one goes on just like that?' Caoshan said, 'Can you still maintain it?' Yunmen said, 'This student can maintain it.' Caoshan said, 'How do you maintain it?' Yunmen said, 'Wearing clothes and eating food, what difficulty is there?' Caoshan said, 'Why not say, "Wearing fur and sporting horns"?' Yunmen bowed." The Master said: "The two venerable elders engaging in questions and answers like this could not avoid making a living inside a donkey's womb and a horse's belly. Although this is so, 'When a dog holds an imperial pardon in its mouth, the feudal lords clear the road.'"

3.31

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "What about when bright things come?" The Master said: "A big head and a tapering tail." The monk asked further: "What about when dark things come?" The Master said: "A wild horse neighs in the wind, its hooves trampling splashingly." The monk asked further: "Tomorrow there will be a vegetarian feast at the Great Compassion Monastery; what about that?" The Master said: "What Xuefeng said." He then said: "When bright things come, strike at the bright things—open your eyes; when dark things come, strike at the dark things—close your eyes; when things come from all four quarters and eight directions, strike like a whirlwind—no small amount of blundering; when things come from empty space, strike with flails linked together—what reason was there to get involved? When none of them come at all, it is somewhat better. Tomorrow there will be a vegetarian feast at the Great Compassion Monastery; an extraordinary cause for gloom." He further said: "The ancients spoke like this, and people today bring it up like this; what side of the matter has been accomplished within the patriarchal school?" He gave a shout.

3.32

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When the past mind cannot be grasped, the present mind cannot be grasped, and the future mind cannot be grasped, what then?" The Master said: "Intimate words come from an intimate mouth." The monk asked further: "I wonder how to uphold it?" The Master said: "Just uphold it like this; it will certainly not deceive you." The monk bowed. The Master then said: "'All Tathāgatas of the past have already accomplished this gate; all bodhisattvas of the present now enter its complete brilliance; people of future practice and study should rely upon such a dharma.' Since they rely upon such a dharma, taking just that the past mind cannot be grasped, the present mind cannot be grasped, and the future mind cannot be grasped—since the three periods cannot be grasped, how can one rely on it? If you know where to return here, outgoing breaths do not get entangled in the myriad conditions, and incoming breaths do not dwell in the skandha-realms; you constantly turn this sūtra, hundreds, thousands, myriads, and kotis of scrolls. Taking just today's donor inviting the one thousand seven hundred great assembly of Jingshan, is what is turned still within the hundreds, thousands, myriads, and kotis of scrolls or not? If it is within them, you seize the characteristic of dharma; if it is not within them, you seize the characteristic of non-dharma. Therefore the sūtra says: 'If one seizes the characteristic of dharma, one grasps at a self, a person, a sentient being, and a life span; if one seizes the characteristic of non-dharma, one grasps at a self, a person, a sentient being, and a life span.' Right at such a time, is there anyone who can determine this? If you cannot determine it, come tomorrow and I will speak to you."

3.33

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Fengxue, 'The ancient tune has no melody; how can one harmonize with it?' Fengxue said, 'A wooden rooster crows at midnight; a straw dog barks at dawn.'" The Master said: "For this yellow-faced man of Zhejiang to answer like this, he still could not be a descendant of Linji. If someone were to ask Jingshan today: 'The ancient tune has no melody; how can one harmonize with it?' I would only say to him: 'A wooden rooster crows at midnight; a straw dog barks at dawn.'"

3.34

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Huichao asked Fayan, 'What is the Buddha?' Fayan said, 'You are Huichao.' Xuedou said: 'The spring breeze across the river country fails to blow, / a partridge cries amidst the deep blossoms; / when the three levels of waves surge high, the fish transforms into a dragon, / yet the foolish man still bails the nocturnal pond water.' Grand master Baiyun said: 'With one big bright coin, / I bought an oily rice-cake; / having eaten it down into my belly, / right then I was no longer hungry.'" The Master said: "Between the two venerable elders, one is granted to know how to listen to the partridge cry, and one knows how to buy an oily rice-cake to eat. But as for Huichao, he still did not understand the talk of Buddha."

3.35

Ascending the hall: "'Hearing sounds, one awakens to the Way; seeing forms, one clarifies the mind.'" Suddenly taking up his staff, he said: "This is form." Striking once, he said: "This is sound. All of you see and hear everything; yet which is the mind that is clarified, and which is the Way that is awakened to?" He gave a shout and said: "Coveting another's single grain of rice, you lose half a year's provisions." He struck once again.

3.36

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Linji, 'What is the realm of the three eyes?' Linji said, 'I enter with you into the pure and wondrous realm, wear the robe of purity, and speak of the dharmakāya Buddha; again, I enter into the realm of non-differentiation, wear the robe of non-differentiation, and speak of the sambhogakāya Buddha; again, I enter into the realm of liberation, wear the robe of radiance, and speak of the nirmāṇakāya Buddha.'" The Master looked around at the assembly and said: "Do you still see old man Linji? If you still do not see him, Jingshan will point him out for you. Dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, nirmāṇakāya—bah! You mountain specters and monster spirits! Encountering them in the realm of the three eyes causes the true person of no rank to laugh himself to death."

3.37

Ascending the hall, he cited: "The Grand Prince of the Prefecture of Zhen asked Zhaozhou, 'The Venerable is advanced in years; how many teeth do you have left?' Zhaozhou said, 'There is only one.' The Prince said, 'How can you eat things?' Zhaozhou said, 'Although there is only one, it bites down every single time.'" The Master gave a shout and said: "A petty display!"

3.38

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Zhaozhou, 'What is the path that does not go astray?' Zhaozhou said, 'Recognizing the mind and seeing one's nature is the path that does not go astray.'" The Master said: "A stick hits a stone man's head—crack! It discusses real facts; there is no need to understand it as Chan, there is no need to understand it as the Way. If you want the path that does not go astray, you must recognize the mind and see your nature before you can attain it. And which is the mind that is recognized? Which is the nature that is seen? Some hear it spoken like this and immediately say, 'Wherever there is water, it holds the moon; no mountain does not carry clouds.' Such an understanding is truly leaving Zhengzhou through the Cao Gate."

3.39

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Nanquan, 'Before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch, why did the hundred birds carry flowers in their beaks to offer [him]?' Nanquan said, 'Step by step he trod the stairs of buddhahood.' The monk said, 'Why did they not carry flowers to offer [him] after he met [him]?' Nanquan said, 'Even granting they do not come, he still differs from Teacher Wang by a thread of a path.' Yunmen said, 'Nanquan only knows how to step by step ascend to the heights; he does not know how to let go from the void.'" The Master said, "Although Yunmen has the skill to needle the vital organs and heal crippled limbs, he cannot avoid curing the deaf by making them mute. 'Step by step ascending to the heights' and 'letting go from the void'—from where did he get this news? A monk asked Yunmen for further instruction: 'What is step by step ascending to the heights?' Yunmen said, 'The Realm of Fragrant Accumulation.' The monk said, 'What is letting go from the void?' Yunmen said, 'Filling gullies and plugging ravines.'" The Master said, "[He] barely saved half of it."

3.40

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Yunmen asked the duty-monk (zhisuì), 'What did you do today?' The duty-monk said, 'I cut thatch.' Yunmen said, 'How many ancestral masters did you cut down?' The duty-monk said, 'Three hundred.' Yunmen said, 'Striking three thousand in the morning and eight hundred in the evening, the eastern house's ladle handle is long, the western house's ladle handle is short—what about it?' The duty-monk had nothing to say. Yunmen took up his staff and struck [him]." The Master said, "The duty-monk had nothing to say, yet three hundred ancestral masters naturally bear witness. Although Yunmen executed the order, fundamentally his staff-head had no eyes."

3.41

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Yunmen said, 'Old man Śākya and Śakra, king of the gods, are in the central courtyard contending over the Buddha Dharma, making quite a racket.'" The Master said, "This old fellow deserves thirty blows of the staff. And tell me, where is the fault? Falsely accusing someone of a crime, one incurs that very crime upon oneself."

3.42

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Sansheng asked Xuefeng, 'What does the golden fish that has passed through the net take as food?' Xuefeng said, 'Wait until you come out of the net, and then I will tell you.' Sansheng said, 'A spiritual friend to fifteen hundred people, yet you do not even recognise a huatou!' Xuefeng said, 'This old monk's duties as abbot are manifold.'" The Master said, "Of the two venerable elders, one was as coarse as hill and mountain, one as fine as rice flour. Though coarse and fine were not the same, when weighed out, their heaviness and lightness matched precisely. Today Jingshan tells you all in all reality: by all means avoid boring tortoise-shells and knocking on tiles."

3.43

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "One day, as the World-Honoured One was walking with Ānanda, he saw a stūpa temple. The World-Honoured One paid homage. Ānanda asked, saying, 'Whose stūpa temple is this?' The World-Honoured One said, 'It is the stūpa temple of the past buddhas.' Ānanda said, 'Whose disciple was [he]?' The World-Honoured One said, 'He is my disciple.' Ānanda said, 'It should indeed be so.'" The Master said, "Ānanda's 'It should indeed be so' was fine enough, but what could be done about the fact that one move was missing in between? If one wants to make the conversation complete, when the World-Honoured One says, 'He is my disciple,' one should immediately say to him: 'You must further make three prostrations to me to get it right.' If the World-Honoured One asks, 'Why do you have me pay homage to you?' then say to him: 'It should indeed be so.'"

3.44

Ascending the hall, [the Master said,] "Form and mind are not two; other and self are without difference." Suddenly picking up his staff, he said, "If you call this a staff, you squeeze your eyes and produce flowers. If you do not call it a staff, you break up the family and ruin the household. Ultimately, what is it?" Throwing it down, he said, "The blue mountains only know how to wear away past and present; when have flowing waters ever washed clean right and wrong?"

3.45

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "When Nian the Lotus-reciter and Zhen the head gardener were attending upon Fengxue, Fengxue asked Zhen, 'What is the World-Honoured One's speaking without speaking, and Kāśyapa's hearing without hearing?' Zhen said, 'The wood pigeon cries in the tree-tops; its intention lies in the hemp fields.' Fengxue said, 'Why are you making so much foolish merit? Why not investigate the words and phrases?' He then asked Nian, 'What about you?' Nian said, 'Moving about expresses the ancient path, not falling into quietistic function.' Fengxue said, 'Why don't you look at the phrase turned by Nian the Lotus-reciter?'" The Master said, "Had this mountain monk seen this old fellow speaking thus at that time, I would have dug a deep pit, buried them together at once, and furthermore led an ox to tread over them; yet I would still have had to allow Elder Zhen to stick his head out to get it right. This mountain monk's speaking this way is by no means suppressing the strong and supporting the weak, nor is it a fabricated contrivance. If you recognise 'The wood pigeon cries in the tree-tops; its intention lies in the hemp fields,' then you will recognise 'Moving about expresses the ancient path, not falling into quietistic function.' Are these two turning words ultimately one or two? If you say they are one, why did Fengxue only approve Nian the Lotus-reciter and not approve Zhen the head gardener? If you say they are two, what can be done about 'The sunset glow and solitary duck fly side by side; autumn waters and the vast sky are of one colour'? Examine it!"

3.46

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Zhaozhou instructed the assembly, saying, 'You must not pass your time in vain: be mindful of the Buddha, mindful of the Dharma, mindful of the Saṅgha.' Then [a monk] asked, 'What is the student's own mindfulness?' Zhaozhou said, 'Who is the one being mindful?' The monk said, 'There is no companion.' Zhaozhou scolded him, saying, 'This donkey!'" The Master said, "Although this monk had no companion, gathering into crowds and forming bands, he creates a racket that bothers people to death. Although Zhaozhou is a fine donkey, he just does not know how to graze on grass."

3.47

Ascending the hall on the anniversary of the passing of Grand Master Wuzu: "A patch of unused land before the mountain—fundamentally I remember it is there. Folding my hands, I carefully inquire of the ancestral grandfather, only because the deed and contract were unclear. Several times sold and bought back oneself, it makes it hard for the middleman, out of love for the pines and bamboos drawing a clear breeze." He gave a shout and said, "A beggar seeing a petty gain."

3.48

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Jinfeng instructed the assembly, saying, 'Twenty years ago, this old monk had a grandmotherly heart; twenty years later, I have no grandmotherly heart.' At that time a monk came forward and asked, 'What was having a grandmotherly heart twenty years ago?' Jinfeng said, 'Asked about the ordinary, I answered with the ordinary; asked about the sacred, I answered with the sacred.' The monk said, 'What is having no grandmotherly heart twenty years later?' Jinfeng said, 'Asked about the ordinary, I do not answer with the ordinary; asked about the sacred, I do not answer with the sacred.'" The Master said, "Had Jingshan seen it at that time, I would simply have taken Grand Master Wuzu's [response] to counter him." Thereupon he raised his hand to make a wood pigeon's beak and said, "Gu-gu-gua."

3.49

Ascending the hall, [the Master said,] "Approaching thought and departing from thought, awakening and non-awakening, having mind and having no mind, whether good or evil—churned into a single lump, taking error and following error." Raising his fly-whisk, he said, "Strung together on the tip of the fly-whisk, going along just like that, the karmic consciousness is vast and boundless, with no foundation to rely on. And tell me: between the one whose karmic consciousness is vast and boundless and old man Śākya, how much distance is there?" He gave a shout and said, "I almost added the wrong footnote!"

3.50

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Xuansha instructed the assembly, saying, 'The venerable elders of all quarters all speak of receiving people and benefiting living beings. If three kinds of sick persons come, how do you receive them? For the blind person, when you take up the mallet or raise the fly-whisk, he does not see it. For the deaf person, when there is the samādhi of speech, he does not hear it. For the mute person, when you tell him to speak, he cannot speak. So how do you receive them? If you cannot receive these people, the Buddha Dharma has no efficacy.' A monk asked Yunmen for further instruction. Yunmen said, 'Make your bows.' When the monk finished bowing and stood up, Yunmen poked him with his staff. The monk stepped back. Yunmen said, 'You are not blind.' He then called him forward. The monk came forward. Yunmen said, 'You are not deaf.' He then held up his staff and said, 'Do you understand?' The monk said, 'I do not understand.' Yunmen said, 'You are not mute.' Thereupon that monk was awakened." The Master said, "Although this monk was awakened, he only awakened to Yunmen's Chan; as for Xuansha's Chan, he still needs to buy straw sandals to get it right."

3.51

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "As Guishan and Yangshan were walking, Guishan pointed to a plot of land and said to Yangshan, 'This end is so high, and that end is so low.' Yangshan said, 'On the contrary, that end is high, and this end is low.' Guishan said, 'If you do not believe it, just stand in the middle of the field and look at both ends.' Yangshan said, 'There is no need to stand in the middle, nor should one stay at either end.' Guishan said, 'If that is so, apply water and see; water can level things.' Yangshan said, 'Water also has no fixed [level]; it is merely high-level where it is high, and low-level where it is low.' Guishan then rested." The Master said, "'Manifesting in benevolence, concealed in functioning, stirring the ten thousand things without sharing the worries of the sage'—abundant virtue and great achievement have reached the ultimate!" He gave a shout.

3.52

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "Did Śākya close his room in Magadha, and Vimalakīrti shut his mouth in Vaiśālī, because their calculations had not succeeded, or because their tricks were both exhausted?" The Master said, "Their calculations had not succeeded, and their tricks were both exhausted." [The monk] asked, "With question and answer, there is flair everywhere; when there is neither question nor answer, is there still Buddha Dharma or not?" The Master said, "What kind of talk is that?" [The monk] advanced and said, "May I inquire in what place one should practise?" The Master said, "Practise in the place where there is no Buddha Dharma." He then said, "There are question and answer, letting go and gathering in, host and guest, killing and giving life. At the time of giving life, there is no principle of killing; at the time of killing, there is no principle of giving life. The guest has no principle of the host; the host has no principle of the guest. The guest is guest from beginning to end; the host is host from beginning to end. When guest and host intermingle, hand rests on sword right at the gate. Do you not see the Chan traveler just now asking: 'Did Śākya close his room in Magadha, and Vimalakīrti shut his mouth in Vaiśālī, because their calculations had not succeeded, or because their tricks were both exhausted?' This mountain monk answered him: 'Their calculations had not succeeded, and their tricks were both exhausted.' How do you all understand this? If you can understand, the complete guest is the host, the complete host is the guest; the complete gathering in is letting go, the complete letting go is gathering in; the complete killing is giving life, the complete giving life is killing." Then he gave a shout and said, "What place is this to speak such words?" He said to himself, "As long as there is a path to ascend, even loftier people will tread it."

3.53

Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Dahui Pujue while Residing at Nengren Chan Monastery on Mount Jing, Fascicle Three

Linked texts (1)

大慧普覺禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese