大慧普覺禪師語錄 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.1

Presented to the Throne by Abbot and Dharma-heir of Nengren Chan Monastery on Mount Jing, Chan Master Huiri, the Subject Yunwen

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "When standing like a sheer wall ten thousand cubits high, is discussion still permitted or not?" The Master said, "Standing like a sheer wall ten thousand cubits high, no discussion is permitted." [The monk] advanced and said, "I also know the Venerable's piece-by-piece sincere heart." The Master said, "Since you know, what more do you ask?" [The monk] advanced and said, "In that case, it truly is standing like a sheer wall ten thousand cubits high." The Master said, "Eating rice and biting on a grain of sand." [The monk] advanced and said, "If that is so, then do you permit this student to advance three paces?" The Master said, "You do not understand; you must step back three paces before you can have it." He then said, "Magadha is still halfway along the road; before the peak of Shaoshi there is no handle at all. Talking of the profound and speaking of the wondrous is like gouging wounds into healthy flesh; citing the past to illuminate the present is scattering sand and throwing dirt. How can that compare to eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty, sitting at leisure and sleeping when tired, letting the four seasons roll on without interfering in my affairs at all? Even though it is like this, you must actually reach this ground before you can have it. But as for one who has actually reached this ground, how do you approach them?" He gave a shout and said, "Upon the scar of a moxibustion burn, one cannot place another moxa cone!"

4.3

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Nanquan instructed the assembly, saying: 'Last night at the third watch, Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra were fighting with each other. I gave each of them twenty blows with the staff and drove them out of the monastery.' Zhaozhou came out from the assembly and said, 'Whom does the Venerable have take the blows?' Nanquan said, 'Where is Teacher Wang's fault?' Zhaozhou then made prostrations." The Master said, "Nanquan had no fault, but his mouth could summon calamity; Zhaozhou bowed down, and the grass-brigand was utterly routed. Jingshan does not care: closing the case according to the confession, Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra can step aside for a while."

4.4

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "'Now the Buddha radiates light, assisting in revealing the meaning of the true mark.' What is the light that is radiated?" The Master said, "Have you eaten your gruel?" [The monk] advanced and said, "This student has already eaten gruel." The Master said, "Do you still see it?" [The monk] advanced and said, "I wonder if that still measures up or not?" The Master said, "It turns out you do not see it." He then said, "'Now the Buddha radiates light, assisting in revealing the meaning of the true mark.'" Holding up his staff, he said, "The buddhas of the past, the buddhas of the present, and the buddhas of the future are all on the tip of Jingshan's staff, simultaneously radiating great light, illuminating the dharmadhātu of the ten directions, causing the mountains, rivers, the great earth, and the myriad dense phenomena all to bow their heads at once. What is the meaning of the true mark?" Striking [the floor] once, he said, "The text that follows is lengthy; it is deferred until tomorrow."

4.5

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Tong'an, 'What is the Venerable's family style?' Tong'an said, 'The golden cock embraces its chick and returns to the heavens; the jade rabbit conceives and turns toward the Purple Subtlety.' The monk said, 'If a guest suddenly arrives, with what will you entertain him?' Tong'an said, 'The golden fruit is plucked away by monkeys in the early morning; the jade blossom is brought in the beak of a phoenix after dusk.'" The Master said, "Tong'an's family style is indeed extraordinary. Jingshan's family style is quite otherwise. If someone were to ask, 'What is the Venerable's family style?' I would say to him: 'At the noon meal, a bowl of mixed rice; I know nothing of Chan, the Way, right or wrong.' 'If a guest suddenly arrives, with what will you entertain him?' 'Steamed buns and boiled noodles.'"

4.6

Ascending the hall for the end of the summer retreat, [the Master] picked up his staff and said, "The one hundred and twenty days of summer, day after day without gap or lack: the open pillars display their spiritual powers, the lanterns show their clumsiness and ugliness. Thoroughly penetrating or not, come back to the staff's tip to have it decided for you." He struck [the floor] once.

4.7

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is it like when mind and Buddha are both forgotten?" The Master said, "An old woman selling fans shields the sun with her hand." He then said, "Mind and Buddha are not two; things and self are as one. If you truly attain this oneness, then you do not see names of things and self; if you truly attain this non-duality, then you do not see marks of mind and Buddha. Since you do not see marks of mind and Buddha, then the entire mind is simply Buddha, and the entire Buddha is simply mind. Since you do not see names of things and self, then all things are simply oneself, and oneself is simply all things. If during the twenty-four hours of daily life you realize and enter in this way, then whether mind or Buddha, whether self or things, all ups and downs become useful function, and you can take a stalk of grass and make it into the sixteen-foot golden body, and take the sixteen-foot golden body and turn it back into a stalk of grass. Even if you are like this, take care not to pass before Jingshan's gate, lest I break your back with a staff. Do not say I did not tell you!"

4.8

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "The teaching says, 'Furthermore, with different expedient means, one assists in revealing the paramārtha.'" The Master picked up his staff, struck [the floor] once, and said, "This is the different expedient means; which one is the paramārtha?" Throwing it down, he said, "A tiger wearing a paper hat: ridiculous, yet terrifying!"

4.9

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Jingqing asked Xuansha, 'This student has just entered the monastery; I beg the master to point out a way in.' Xuansha said, 'Do you hear the sound of the water in Yan Stream?' Jingqing said, 'I hear it.' Xuansha said, 'Enter from here.' Jingqing obtained an entry at this. Grand-master Wuzu said, 'If you truly obtain an entry, you are entirely free to go in all four quarters and eight directions; but if that is not yet so, you must not depart from here under any circumstances.'" The Master said, "If you want to truly obtain an entry, you must depart from here immediately." He descended from the seat.

4.10

The lay devotee Shuanghuai, Zheng Yugong, requested [the Master] to ascend the high seat for the enshrinement of Chan Master Fodeng's relics in a stupa: "Following the flow without ceasing, one asks what to do; / The boundless true illumination is described to him. / Abandoning marks and names, people do not receive it; / Once the blow-hair sword is used, it must be swiftly sharpened. / My dharma-brother Chan Master Fodeng wielded this blow-hair [sword] for twenty years, bringing to life the eyes of humans and devas, leaving behind marks and names, destroying the heterodox and revealing the orthodox, wielding it crosswise and applying it upside down, without blunting its edge. The full cycle of Buddhist work being complete, it truly outshines the past and has no equal in the future." He then looked at the assembly and said, "Today's gathering is precisely the occasion for Chan Master Fodeng to wield the blow-hair [sword] once again, entering the mud and water to expound completely for you all. Is there anyone who recognizes the debt of gratitude? If so, the effort has not been wasted; if not, Jingshan cannot avoid entanglements, and will further cite an ancient story: In the past, when Venerable Shushan had completed building his longevity stupa, the supervisor of monks came to inform Shushan. Shushan asked, 'How much money did you give the craftsman?' The supervisor said, 'Everything depends on the Venerable.' Shushan said, 'Did you give him three coins? Did you give him two coins? Or did you give him one coin? If you can speak [properly], you can personally build the stupa for me.' The supervisor had no reply. At that time, Venerable Luoshan was dwelling in a hermitage at Daling. The supervisor went there, and Luoshan asked, 'Where do you come from?' The supervisor said, 'I come from Shushan.' Luoshan said, 'What words and phrases have there been recently?' The supervisor then cited the previous story. Luoshan said, 'Was there anyone who could speak [properly]?' The supervisor said, 'No one has yet been able to speak.' Luoshan said, 'Go back and cite this to Shushan, saying: "Daling heard this cited and said: 'If you give three cash to the craftsman, the Venerable in this life will definitely not get a stupa; if you give two cash to the craftsman, the Venerable and the craftsman join in putting forth one hand; if you give one cash to the craftsman, you will cause the craftsman's eyebrows and beard to fall out.'"' The supervisor returned and cited this to Shushan. Shushan immediately donned his formal robes, bowed toward Daling, and sighed, saying, 'I thought there was no one, but at Daling there is an ancient buddha emitting light that strikes this place of mine!' He then said to the supervisor, 'Go and say to Daling: "Like a lotus blossom in the twelfth month."' The supervisor again took these words and cited them to Luoshan. Luoshan said, 'The turtle hair is already several yards long.'" The Master said, "Do you people know where the two old men settled? If not, Jingshan today will churn the ancients and moderns into a single lump! Shushan's one coin, two coins, three coins—the lay devotee Shuanghuai pooled together two hundred thousand, and has already expressed gratitude to the craftsmen on Fodeng's behalf, saving Supervisor Yi from running back and forth to ask other people. That single lotus blossom of the twelfth month is exceedingly rare and wondrous; Chan Master Fodeng has gathered it into the stūpa to serve as a standard for the monasteries. The several yards of turtle hair are entrusted to Chan Master Tianbing for his use at any time. May I ask the great assembly: tell me, is Jingshan in their midst or not?" After a good pause, he said, "Several chimes of the clear lithophone outside of right and wrong; / A single idle man between heaven and earth."

4.11

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is it like where there is a Buddha and one must not stay?" The Master said, "To stay is to chop the root." [The monk] advanced and said, "What is it like when one runs quickly past where there is no Buddha?" The Master said, "Troubling the ācārya." [The monk] advanced and said, "Where do you instruct this student to practice?" The Master said, "Take off the halter, remove the muzzle." [The monk] advanced and said, "What is it like when meeting someone three thousand miles away and not mistakenly citing it?" The Master said, "Mistaken, mistaken." [A monk] asked, "When the one hundred and twenty days of summer are complete and one goes out the gate, if someone asks, 'What is it that Jingshan said?' how should one answer him?" The Master said, "What did Jingshan ever say?" [The monk] advanced and said, "How can it be that calling it a bamboo comb violates, while not calling it a bamboo comb opposes?" The Master said, "How do you understand it?" The monk gave a shout and said, "Thirty years from now, many will laugh!" The Master said, "Why wait for thirty years? Right now, many are laughing at you!" He then said, "I usually tell you people: calling it a bamboo comb violates, while not calling it a bamboo comb opposes; you must not take it up where it is held up, you must not calculate it under the faculty of intention, you must not give a phrase, you must not make a pause. If someone asks, 'Ultimately, what is it?' say to him: 'There is neither an ultimate nor a what.' Just at such a time, standing firmly on four square sides right in front of you all, those with keen eyes and deft hands who grasp it in a flash can ensnare the three realms and liberate the four modes of birth. But if that is not yet so, it is naturally because your own faculties and natures are dull and slow; you must not mistakenly blame Jingshan."

4.12

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Dharma Master Zhao said, 'When it is said that all dharmas are not different, does it mean that one must lengthen the duck's legs and shorten the crane's, or level the mountains and fill the valleys before they are considered without difference?' Great Master Yunmen said, 'The long is naturally long; the short is naturally short.' He also said, 'These phenomena abide in phenomenal positions; the characteristics of the world are permanently abiding.' He then held up his staff and said, 'The staff is not a permanently abiding dharma.'" The Master then held up his staff, called to the assembly, and said, "Gouging out the pupils of your eyes, where do you see Dharma Master Zhao's dharma of non-difference? Knocking out the marrow from your bones, where do you see Great Master Yunmen's permanently abiding dharma?" Throwing it down, he said, "Divide your body in two places to see." He descended from the seat.

4.13

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When our school has no verbal phrases, and there is truly not a single dharma given to people, how is it?" The Master said: "Five flavors bore into a steelyard weight." The monk continued: "Why broadcast household disgrace abroad?" The Master said: "Why does your tongue prop up the ground?" The monk continued: "Then I have been led on by the Master." The Master then struck him and asked: "Ganfeng addressed the assembly: 'If you bring up one, you must not bring up two; if you let pass the first move, you fall into the second.' What is the meaning?" The Master said: "Fishing for a winter melon on a camel's tail." The monk continued: "Do you still permit the student to turn around and catch his breath?" The Master said: "I permit you to turn around; how do you catch your breath?" The monk stepped forward and made a hissing sound. The Master said: "This fellow playing with mud balls!" The monk continued: "Just as Yunmen said: 'A person comes from Tiantai, yet goes to Jingshan.' How about that?" The Master said: "An old rat eats salt." The monk continued: "Then he knows its flavor." The Master said: "Quickly make three prostrations." Then he said: "The prolonged rain has not cleared; suddenly heaven and earth are pure. What need is there to display further the matters under the Patriarch's gate?"

4.14

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up: "A monk asked Yunmen: 'What is the eye of the true dharma?' Yunmen said: 'Universal.' Another monk asked Fengxue: 'What is the eye of the true dharma?' Fengxue said: 'Blind.'" The Master said: "When these two venerable elders answered in a turning of words, was there any superiority or inferiority? If you say there is superiority and inferiority, you are truly blind; if you say there is no superiority and inferiority, it is truly universal. In the end, how is it? Clouds atop the ridge never finish being idle; water flowing at the bottom of the ravine is far too busy."

4.15

Minister Zhang arrived. Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When Dadian drove out the head monk for Master Han Wen, what was the meaning?" The Master said: "A catfish climbs a bamboo pole: a thousand li in a single day." The monk continued: "The student does not understand; I beg the Master to extend compassion." The Master said: "Do you want a second ladle of dirty water?" The monk continued: "Just as the head monk also clicked his teeth three times, where was the fault?" The Master said: "The fault lay in clicking his teeth." The monk continued: "It would be best not to slander that head monk." The Master said: "What principle do you see, that you speak like this?" The monk continued: "Who knows that beyond the distant smoke and waves, there is another fine thought?" The Master said: "It would be best for you not to slander Jingshan." The monk continued: "If today the Minister should ask, 'How old is the Master?' how about that?" The Master said: "Tell him: 'One hundred and twelve years old.'" The monk continued: "Can this be called slandering Jingshan?" The Master said: "You are slandering the Minister again." Then he said: "The ancients said: 'Our school has no verbal phrases, and truly not a single dharma is given to people.' Speaking like this is already to have one's whole body soaked in a cesspool; how much more so to step forward asking 'how' and 'what,' asking about the upward and downward, the three essentials and three mysteries, silver bowls holding snow, and the meaning of hiding the body in the Northern Dipper? Is this not digging another cesspool beside a cesspool? Even though it is like this, if you catch a bit of the scent within the cesspool, only then will you know that the buddhas of the three times, the successive generations of patriarchs, the venerable old masters under heaven, and all good spiritual friends of past and present, are all turning the great wheel of the Dharma within the cesspool. If not yet so, by all means avoid fixing your footing in the cesspool."

4.16

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up: "When Mazu was enjoying the mid-autumn moon with Xitang, Nanquan, and Baizhang, Mazu pointed to the moon and said: 'Just at such a time, how is it?' Xitang said: 'Just right for cultivation.' Baizhang said: 'Just right for making offerings.' Nanquan shook his sleeves and walked away. Mazu said: 'The scriptures enter the canon; Chan returns to the sea; only Puyuan alone transcends beyond things.'" The Master said: "Do you know where the four elders landed? If not yet, listen to a verse: / When the state is peaceful, talented scholars are esteemed; / When the family is wealthy, the young children are indulged. / Everyone extends a single hand; / Neither side yields to the other."

4.17

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When one is fully endowed with the dharmas of an ordinary person, but an ordinary person does not know it, how is it?" The Master said: "Good news." The monk continued: "When one is fully endowed with the dharmas of a sage, but a sage does not understand it, how is it?" The Master said: "Also good news." The monk continued: "I wonder, what kind of news is it?" The Master said: "Seeing people, one only knows how to smile; playing with things, one does not know their names." The monk continued: "If one does not meet running water, one should still cross another mountain." The Master said: "Mountain Master Xiu has arrived!" A monk asked: "When a person is atop a solitary peak with no way to emerge, how is it?" The Master said: "Good news." The monk continued: "Why does the Master consistently stand like a wall of ten thousand fathoms?" The Master said: "Try saying a phrase facing where the wall stands ten thousand fathoms." The monk continued: "Stirring the long river into curds, transforming the great earth into yellow gold." The Master said: "Hold on a bit." Then he said: "One person is atop a solitary peak with no way to emerge; one person is at the crossroads with nowhere to turn. It is neither Śākyamuni nor Vimalakīrti. If here you recognize their true face, only then will you recognize what Mountain Master Xiu said: 'Fully endowed with the dharmas of an ordinary person, an ordinary person does not know; fully endowed with the dharmas of a sage, a sage does not understand. If a sage understood, he would be an ordinary person; if an ordinary person knew, he would be a sage.' Is there anyone who recognizes this? If you recognize it, the ordinary person and the sage, atop the solitary peak, and at the crossroads, are right here. If you have not yet recognized it, leave it until it cools down to look at it."

4.18

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up: "A monk asked Master Ancestor Wuzu: 'Before Niutou had seen the Fourth Patriarch, why did the hundred birds hold flowers in their beaks to offer him?' Wuzu said: 'Wealth and nobility are what people desire.' 'After he saw him, why did they not hold flowers in their beaks to offer him?' Wuzu said: 'Poverty and lowliness are what people dislike.'" The Master said: "Although the Master Ancestor's answering the question like this was skillful in responding to the incoming potential, how could it prevent the words from startling the ears of the time? Jingshan also has two turning words to meet with the Master Ancestor. Before Niutou had seen the Fourth Patriarch, why did the hundred birds hold flowers in their beaks to offer him? Placing an owl's-tail ridge ornament atop a thatched hut. After he saw him, why did they not hold flowers in their beaks to offer him? Digging a latrine in the Buddha Hall."

4.19

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When speech, silence, motion, and stillness are completely uninvolved, and non-speech, non-silence, non-motion, and non-stillness are also uninvolved, how is it?" The Master said: "You reap what you sow." [The monk] said: "Even if it is like this, it is not involved." The Master then struck him, and then said: "Buddhas and sentient beings originally have no different characteristics; it is only because of delusion and awakening that there are different paths. Although they are called different paths, when deluded, this one has never been deluded; when awakened, this one has never been awakened. Therefore it is said: 'Just as the substance of empty space is not the manifold characteristics, yet it does not prevent those manifold characteristics from manifesting.' If you can see it like this, only then will you believe that: 'Before leaving Tuṣita, he had already descended into the royal palace; before leaving his mother's womb, he had already finished delivering people.' These are true words, not deceitful words. If you can believe them, their use will be inexhaustible; if you cannot believe them, you are still inside them."

4.20

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "'If you bring up one, you must not bring up two; if you let pass the first move, you fall into the second.' If it were a patch-robed monk who knows fullness when eating and knows thirst when drinking, he would not need Yunmen to come out and run circles around it. Since Yunmen is not permitted to run circles around it, right now is there anyone who knows fullness when eating and knows thirst when drinking? Even if there were, he would still be a yellow dragon spirit."

4.21

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "'Empty-handed, holding a hoe; walking, riding a water buffalo'—how is this?" The Master said: "An eel scurries into an oil jar." The monk continued: "I thought the barbarian's beard was red, but there is another barbarian with a red beard." The Master said: "A person crosses over a bridge; the bridge flows, the water does not flow." The monk continued: "Just as Mahāsattva Fu went to fish markets and wine shops to receive people, I wonder, where does the Master receive people?" The Master said: "I receive people everywhere." The monk continued: "I wonder how many you have received?" The Master said: "Only you, a lacquer bucket, do not understand." Then he said: "'Empty-handed, holding a hoe'—there are croton seeds in the rice. 'Walking, riding a water buffalo'—one stubs one's toe. 'A person crosses over a bridge'—how many people has it misled to death? 'The bridge flows, the water does not flow'—that is slightly better. If you can take it up like this, only then will you believe that: 'Maitreya, the true Maitreya, divides his body into hundreds of thousands of myriads, constantly manifesting to the people of the time, yet the people of the time do not recognize him.'" He slapped the meditation bed and stepped down from the seat.

4.22

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When it does not come like this at all, how is it?" The Master said: "Moving one's expression exalts the ancient road; it does not fall into quiet stillness." The monk continued: "Like severing a skein of silk, with one cut all are severed." The Master said: "When the family is wealthy, the young children are indulged." The monk continued: "Where the pivot wheel turns, even an adept is bewildered." The Master said: "Where does the pivot wheel turn?" The monk continued: "Where the partridge cries, a hundred flowers are fragrant." The Master said: "You cannot draw it in." The monk continued: "Where did the Master see Puhua?" The Master said: "Where is Puhua to let me see him?" The monk continued: "Only when the arrow pierces the red sun's shadow is one a vulture shooter." The Master said: "That too cannot draw it in." Then he said: "'Only when the arrow pierces the red sun's shadow is one a vulture shooter.' Tell me, before the arrow has left the bowstring, beside the red sun's shadow, is there this news or not? Once the arrow has left the bowstring, where does this news land? If you know where it lands, a single arrow pierces the three checkpoints, clear is the path behind the arrow. If not yet so, go back under the crossbow to take cover."

4.23

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up: "A monk asked Bajiao: 'Not falling into various conditions, please point it out directly, Master.' Bajiao said: 'There is a question, there is an answer.'" The Master said: "Although Bajiao was skillful in handling matters on the sword's blade, if you inspect it closely, it is very much like fleeing from one's shadow in the midday sun, failing this monk. If today someone asked Jingshan: 'Not falling into various conditions, please point it out directly, Master,' I would only say to him: 'Although an orangutan can speak, in the end it is a beast.'"

4.24

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Setting aside for a moment that the Patriarch's mind seal is like the mechanism of an iron ox, what matter was illuminated by facing the wall for nine years?" The Master said: "Spanning his body across the universe, who is the person sticking out his head?" The monk continued: "Is returning to the West with a single shoe authentic or not?" The Master said: "Not authentic." The monk continued: "I know the Master is accustomed to using this device." The Master said: "Yes." The monk then shouted; the Master also shouted, and then said: "Just now Shanxiu gave a shout that shook heaven and moved earth; Jingshan followed with a shout that had no clue at all. If you understand at the place where there is no clue, then you will know how to take a broken connecting cord and pierce the nostrils of everyone under heaven. If you take it up at the place that shakes heaven and moves earth, your own nostrils will be pierced by someone else taking a broken connecting cord. Right at such a time, how can this fault be avoided? Du! Du! Du! Nowhere to go, nowhere to go."

4.25

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When raising one, one must not raise two; letting pass the first move, one falls into the second. The student comes forward and asks the Master to raise one." The Master said: "Six times six remains thirty-six as before." The monk continued: "I wonder, is this true and real or not?" The Master said: "Only this one matter is real; the other two are not true." The monk bowed. The Master then said: "'When raising one, one must not raise two; letting pass the first move, one falls into the second.' Just like the Zhenzhou turnip, I wonder if it can be placed in Lingzhao's basket or not? If you can utter a turning word right here, then yesterday someone came from Tiantai and went instead to Nanyue; if you cannot utter one, it is just as Xuefeng said."

4.26

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked the Sixth Patriarch: 'Who attained the purport of Huangmei?' The Patriarch said: 'One who understands the Buddha Dharma attained it.' The monk said: 'Did the Venerable attain it or not?' The Patriarch said: 'I did not attain it.' The monk said: 'Why did the Venerable not attain it?' The Patriarch said: 'I do not understand the Buddha Dharma.'" The Master called to the assembly: "Do you still see the Patriarch? If you do not see him, Jingshan will point him out for you. Plantain, oh plantain! Having leaves without an end. Suddenly a gust of wild wind arises, just like the torn kāṣāya of Venerable Wang at the north corner beneath the eastern corridor among the thirty-six cloisters in the Great Xiangguo Monastery of the Eastern Capital. Ultimately, how is it? Return to the hall and drink tea."

4.27

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "An ancient said: 'It is like a man up a tree, holding a branch in his mouth, his hands not grasping a bough, and his feet not treading on the tree. I wonder, does he still have a share in answering words or not?'" The Master said: "He has already answered the words." The monk said: "The student asked about the words up the tree; why does the Venerable answer from under the tree?" The Master said: "Only because you asked from under the tree." The monk continued: "Can you deceive the eyes of the assembly?" The Master said: "Clearly, I cannot deceive them." The monk continued: "Just when the tree has not yet grown and news has not yet stirred, from where did Xiangyan get this huatou?" The Master said: "He got it from inside your lacquer bucket." The monk continued: "Just as the Venerable says: 'Calling it a bamboo comb violates; not calling it a bamboo comb opposes'—is there still a place to help people or not?" The Master said: "There is none." The monk continued: "If so, then it becomes set up in vain." The Master said: "Set up in vain." He then said: "'It is like a man up a tree, holding a branch in his mouth, his hands not grasping a bough, and his feet not treading on the tree. Someone under the tree asks about the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West: if he answers him, he loses his body and forfeits his life; if he does not answer him, he goes against what was asked.' At that time, Xiangyan had just said this when there was one who disapproved, called Senior Monk Hutou, who stepped forward from the assembly and said: 'I do not ask about up the tree; say a phrase from under the tree!'" The Master said: "Perilous! Xiangyan laughed heartily, 'Ha-ha!'" The Master said: "Perilous! Of these two 'perilous' of Jingshan, one is like heaven covering all, like earth supporting all; one is completely irrelevant and has no connection. Is there anyone who can distinguish them? If you can distinguish them, not only will you personally see Xiangyan, but you will also leave Senior Monk Hutou with no place to establish body and life. If not, Jingshan will provide a commentary on this ready-made gong'an for all of you: 'Calling it a bamboo comb violates; not calling it a bamboo comb opposes.'"

4.28

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "The teachings say: 'This is true vigor; this is called the true Dharma-offering to the Tathāgata.' Since a dog has no buddha-nature, what do you call the true Dharma?" The Master said: "Just this 'no buddha-nature' is the true Dharma." The monk continued: "According to the student's view, it is not so." The Master said: "Try fabricating something and let's see." The monk bowed. The Master said: "Just this bowing is fabrication." He then said: "'This is true vigor; this is called the true Dharma-offering to the Tathāgata.' Since a dog has no buddha-nature, what do you call the true Dharma? This mountain monk says: 'Just this "no buddha-nature" is the true Dharma.' Can you people truly believe in it? If you can truly believe in it, the assembly on Vulture Peak is solemn and has not yet dispersed; if you cannot believe in it, wait directly until the future to ask Maitreya."

4.29

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Zhaozhou: 'I have heard that the Venerable personally saw Nanquan; is this so or not?' Zhaozhou said: 'Zhenzhou produces large turnips.' Another monk asked: 'The ten thousand dharmas return to one; where does the one return?' Zhaozhou said: 'When I was in Qingzhou, I made a cloth shirt weighing seven catties.' Old Man Yunju Shun said: 'Zhenzhou's turnips are large; Qingzhou's cloth shirt is heavy. If you wish to understand the meaning within this, the rooster crows at the fifth watch.'" The Master said: "Yunju speaking like this is very much like finding it hard to forget what is familiar. If it were Jingshan, it would not be so: / Zhenzhou's turnips have always been large; / The weight of Qingzhou's cloth shirt is clear. / Patch-robed monks gather their heads seeking the definite purport, / Yet are like mosquitoes and gnats biting an iron nail."

4.30

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Yangshan said: 'Spiritual penetrations and playful roaming are not lacking in the venerable one, but the Buddha Dharma must be left to the old monk.' I wonder, on what principle did he rely?" The Master said: "He only knows how to open his mouth and laugh, not realizing his tongue is long." The monk continued: "If so, then today he is laughed at by the Venerable." The Master said: "Why raise your voice to stop an echo?" The monk continued: "Spiritual penetrations and playful roaming are not lacking in the venerable one, but the Buddha Dharma must be left to Jingshan." The Master said: "Do you still see Jingshan?" The monk continued: "Do not show off so much." The Master said: "Having eyes is like being blind." He then said: "Yangshan clearly did not understand spiritual penetrations and playful roaming; the arhat clearly did not know the subtle essentials of the Buddha Dharma. Although they did not know each other, each lacked nothing. Since nothing was lacking, the long is the long dharmakāya, the short is the short dharmakāya, the round is the round dharmakāya, the square is the square dharmakāya. If you awaken in this way, only then will you know that the long is not long, the short is not short, the round is not round, and the square is not square. Since all are not, what then do you call the dharmakāya?" He gave a shout and said: "Almost like prolonging imprisonment to increase wisdom."

4.31

Ascending the hall on the Imperial Birthday, after offering incense, there was suddenly thunder and a downpour of rain. He then said: "Strike the Dharma thunder, beat the Dharma drum, spread the clouds of compassion, and sprinkle the sweet dew! Just now the Dharma thunder has already struck, the Dharma drum has already been beaten, the clouds of compassion have already spread, and the sweet dew has already been sprinkled. It accords with phenomena, and it accords with principle. Since phenomena and principle are already in accord, how will you understand it? Step down from the seat, and let us go with the great assembly to the Great Buddha Hall to inaugurate the Qianlong Imperial Birthday."

4.32

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Dongshan asked Hermitage Master Sanfeng: 'What is your name?' The master said: 'Daoying.' Dongshan said: 'Why do you not speak toward what is beyond?' The master said: 'If I spoke toward what is beyond, I would not be named Daoying.' Dongshan deeply approved of him." The Master said: "If Daoying speaks toward what is beyond, he is not named Daoying; since he is not named Daoying, it is impermissible to call it the place beyond. Since it is not speaking toward what is beyond, how do you tally with Dongshan's meaning?" After a long pause, he said: "The wise hearing a bit vigorously take hold; / Do not wait for an instant and lose your head."

4.33

Ascending the hall on the arrival of Venerable Chi of Xuedou, a monk asked: "Yangshan said: 'If martial uncle Dongsi were here, Huiji would not suffer loneliness.' Just like today when Venerable Xuedou has intentionally come, I wonder how you will entertain him?" The Master said: "Ancient and modern." The monk continued: "If so, not only does Jingshan not suffer loneliness, but the one thousand seven hundred members of the great assembly also have someone to rely on." The Master said: "What principle do you see?" The monk continued: "Like two mirrors reflecting each other, completely without flaw or obstruction." The Master said: "Break the mirrors, and I will meet with you." The monk continued: "Just as 'Two mouths, neither having a tongue, is our essential teaching'—how do you deliberate on this?" The Master said: "Embracing the bridge pillar to bathe; holding the mooring cable to let out the boat." The monk continued: "If it is the essential teaching of Linji, what then?" The Master said: "Shut your dog mouth." He then said: "Yangshan said: 'If martial uncle Dongsi were here, Huiji would not suffer loneliness.' Yangshan only knew there was oneself, not knowing there were others. Jingshan is not so: if martial uncle Xuedou is here, patch-robed monks throughout the world will not suffer loneliness. Why? Have you not seen ancient Xuedou say: 'With cold wood in hand, the full dynamic is laughable; with autumn water pressed across, half the presentation can destroy, causing those with eyes on the summit of the eight extremities not to contend with each other; seeing this person riding aloft and unshakable'?"

4.34

Ascending the hall: "Today is the first day of the fourth month; patch-robed monks put down their walking staffs. Although silent illumination is not permitted, everyone must face the wall. Since silent illumination is not permitted, why must one face the wall? Have you not seen Master Grandfather Baiyun say: 'Where there is much, add a little; where there is little, reduce a little'?"

4.35

Ascending the hall for Bathing the Buddha: "The plantain without ears hears thunder and blossoms; the sunflower without eyes follows the sun and turns. Old Shakya is also unborn, yet every year on this day we bathe him once. Since he is unborn, what is being bathed? If there are branches, climb the branches; if there are no branches, follow precedent."

4.36

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "The Way has no fixed place; clarifying it depends on the person. The Dharma is free from seeing and hearing; severing it depends on wisdom. When not giving rise to a single thought, is there still Buddha Dharma or not?" The Master said: "There is no Buddha Dharma." The monk continued: "Why is there no Buddha Dharma?" The Master said: "Because you abide in that single thought." The monk continued: "Where does the Venerable see that single thought of the student?" The Master said: "It has arisen." He then said: "Not giving rise to a single thought is not yet the place for you to abandon body and life. As soon as a single thought arises, like a dragon gaining water, like a tiger leaning against a mountain, the whole substance comes in this way, the whole substance abides as such. If you understand it in this way, you must buy another one hundred and twenty pairs of straw sandals to go on pilgrimage. Why so? In our king's treasury, there is no such sword."

4.37

Vice Minister Zhang requested [the Master] to ascend the high seat. A monk asked, "'From the ten directions they gather together, each studying the unconditioned; this is the selection arena for buddhas: when the mind is emptied, they pass the examination and return'—at just such a time, how is it?" The Master said, "What does the topic say?" [The monk] advanced and said, "It is distinct right before our eyes." The Master said, "Fabricating Chan monks are as numerous as hemp seeds and millet grains." [The monk] advanced and said, "How can one help but join together in climbing the immortal cassia tree, aiming to snap off the foremost bough in the Toad Palace?" The Master said, "This fellow has drawn a blank today." [The monk] advanced and said, "Even though it is like this, this summer I will surely become the top graduate in Chan." He then bowed. [He] asked, "How does the Vice Minister's understanding compare to last year?" The Master said, "This year and last year are separated by only three hundred and sixty days." [The monk] advanced and said, "Better not slander the Vice Minister; the Vice Minister has no such news." The Master said, "Since he already has no such news, why do you talk wildly again?" [The monk] advanced and said, "Borrowing someone else's mouth to speak a sentence or two—what harm is there in that?" He then bowed. The Master then said, "What is spoken by borrowing another's mouth does not concern one's own self. As for what flows forth from one's own breast, onlookers have eyes as if blind and mouths as if mute. If you comprehend it like this, to be the top graduate in Chan is not difficult. Even granting it were like this, you have only entered the gate of Jingshan; you have not yet entered the inner chamber of Jingshan. If you enter the inner chamber of Jingshan, only then will the top graduate in Chan be of use. The moment the top graduate in Chan is of use, the top graduate in Confucian learning will not be of use. I venture to ask the great assembly: Why was the former of use, while the latter is not of use?" He then looked left and right, and said, "Do you know where Jingshan settles? If you know where Jingshan settles, the top graduate in Chan is the top graduate in Confucian learning, and the top graduate in Confucian learning is the top graduate in Chan. Right now, setting aside both Chan and Confucianism, tell me: what can you say about the sentence directly confronting you? If you want to know the dead Vice-director Zhang, he is none other than the living Top Graduate!"

4.38

Ascending the high seat for the start of the summer retreat: "Mañjuśrī spent the summer retreat in three places; Master Zhi was not an idle monk. When Kāśyapa wished to enforce the proper rule, he could not avoid seeing ghosts right before his eyes. But tell me: what about the affair under Jingshan's gate today? After stepping down from the seat, let everyone make three prostrations touching [the ground]."

4.39

Ascending the high seat, [the Master] cited: "A monk asked Yunmen, 'What is the phrase that penetrates the dharmakāya?' Yunmen said, 'Hiding one's body within the Northern Dipper.'" The Master said, "Old Yunmen spoke like this, but he only answered the phrase of the dharmakāya; he did not yet answer the phrase that penetrates the dharmakāya. Today, if someone were to ask Jingshan, 'What is the phrase that penetrates the dharmakāya?' I would immediately say to him, 'Setting up a night market in the eye of a midge; swinging on a swing on the tongue of a tiger.'"

4.40

Ascending the high seat: "Today is the Duanwu Festival once again; Mañjuśrī and Sudhana are ceaselessly busy. The medicine that kills people and brings people to life has lost its efficacy, adding three pounds of iron behind their own heads." Abruptly taking his staff, he struck once and said, "'The wonderful power of Avalokiteśvara's wisdom can save the world from suffering.'" He then threw it down and said, "What is it? An iron snake bores into the earth."

4.41

Ascending the high seat, [the Master] cited: "Mazu had Zhizang deliver a letter to Patriarch Guoyi of this mountain. The Patriarch opened the envelope and saw a single circle; he immediately called for a brush and made a dot in the middle. When National Teacher Zhong of Nanyang heard of this, he said, 'Master Qin was still deluded by Master Ma.'" The Master said, "For Master Ma it was the severe cold of midwinter; for Guoyi it was the gradual heat of early summer. Although cold and heat are not the same, neither lost the proper season. Why did National Teacher Zhong nonetheless say, 'Master Qin was still deluded by Master Ma'? Do you understand? When lotus leaves move without wind, there are definitely fish swimming." He stepped down from the seat.

4.42

Ascending the high seat, [the Master] cited: "The National Teacher said, 'Speaking of the gradual, turning away from the ordinary accords with the Way; discussing the sudden, it leaves no trace.' Yunmen said, 'Taking up the gavel, raising the fly-whisk, and snapping the fingers—if you examine it closely, it is not yet without traces.'" The Master gave a shout and instructed, "Why talk in your sleep?" He then raised his fly-whisk and again snapped his fingers, saying, "Jingshan right now raises the fly-whisk and snaps his fingers: if you seek traces here, you will enter hell as swift as an arrow shot."

4.43

Ascending the high seat, [the Master] cited: "Daowu instructed the assembly, saying, 'Height is not at the absolute peak; wealth is not at Fuyan; joy is not in heaven; suffering is not in hell. Acquaintances fill the whole realm, but how many know one's heart?'" The Master said, "For Jingshan it is not so: height is at the absolute peak; wealth is at Fuyan; joy is in heaven; suffering is in hell. Who knew that under the woven hat was originally the man of former sorrows?"

4.44

Ascending the high seat, [the Master] cited: "Muzhou asked a scholar, 'What classic does the senior cultivate?' The scholar said, 'I cultivate the Changes.' Muzhou said, 'In the Changes it says, "The common people use it daily yet do not know it"—what do they not know?' The scholar said, 'They do not know its Way.' Muzhou said, 'What is the Way?' The scholar was silent. Muzhou said, 'Truly, you do not know.'" The Master said, "Although the scholar was silent and silently tallied with Muzhou, he was merely lacking the very last move. Had Jingshan seen Muzhou say 'Truly, you do not know' at that time, I would only have clapped my hands and laughed ha-ha, ensuring that Muzhou would not get the better of me."

4.45

Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Dahui Pujue Residing at Nengren Chan Monastery on Jingshan, Fascicle Four

Linked texts (1)

大慧普覺禪師語錄 — Classical Chinese