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Language: English
Extent: 122 passages, 25,632 words
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Source: pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.1998b · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…

1 — 122 parts

Text

1.1

Compiled by the investigating monk Daoqian.

Practitioner Guang of Dongshan was a native of Zizhou, known in the monastic groves as Guang 'No-Mind.' When he first went wandering on pilgrimage, he asked Venerable Yungai Zhi, "What was the intended meaning of Xinghua striking the karmadāna?" Zhi got down from the rope-chair, spread both hands, stuck out his tongue, and showed it to him. Guang struck him once with his niṣīdana. Zhi said, "This is turned by the power of the wind." Guang also took these words to ask Venerable Shishuang Lin. Lin said, "What is your view?" Guang struck him once with his niṣīdana as well. Lin said, "A good strike with the niṣīdana, only you do not know where it lands." He asked Zhenjing again, and Jing said, "What is your view?" Guang struck him once with his niṣīdana as well. Jing said, "He struck, and you strike too." Guang experienced great awakening at this. Zhenjing thereupon composed a verse: "A great man should make a break, but does not cut it off himself; / Xinghua worked for others, an utterly thorough fellow. / Afterward, it was left to him for his own eyes to open; / Striking him with the staff and fining him money, he drove him out of the monastery."

1.3

Ciming, Langya, Dayu, and several others took their leave of Fenyang, deferring to one another, unwilling to be the leader of the traveling monks. Fenyang said, "This journey cannot be settled by monastic seniority. Listen to my verse: / 'The sky has no head, / Beside the walls of Jizhou spears and halberds are deployed. / The general on his lone horse passes beneath the trees; / Inside the walls of Yuanzhou, there is loud clamor.'" / Ciming stepped out from the assembly and said, "Who is Chuyuan to dare accept this prophecy of enlightenment?" He then led the assembly in bowing and taking leave.

1.4

When Venerable Zhantang Zhun first called upon Zhenjing, Jing asked, "Where have you recently departed from?" Zhun said, "Dayang." "Where did you spend the summer retreat?" Zhun said, "Dawei." Jing said, "Where are you from?" Zhun said, "Xingyuan Prefecture." Jing held out both hands and said, "How does my hand resemble a buddha's hand?" Zhun was at a loss. Jing said, "Just now your answers were each clearly perceptive and naturally true, yet when it comes to speaking of a buddha's hand, it immediately becomes an obstruction. Tell me, where does the illness lie?" Zhun said, "I do not understand." Jing said, "Everything is fully present; who else could be made to understand?"

1.5

Practitioner Xian had long studied under Xuedou. Dou wished to appoint him to abide at Jin'e. Xian heard of this, secretly wrote a verse on the wall of the abbot's quarters at night, and then fled. The verse said: / "It is not that I have no mind to continue the ancestral lamp, / But I am ashamed that my practice does not match Neng of Lingnan. / In the third watch beneath the moon, I leave the crags and caverns; / Filled with longing, without a word, I cherish the azure heights." / It also said: / "For more than thirty years amid the four seas, / Seeking masters and choosing friends, I was never at ease. / Today having reached the place of no-mind, / I am instead driven out of the mountain by no-mind." / Xian later assumed abbacy at Kaixian and was the Dharma heir of Venerable Deshan Yuan. Later he sent a letter to Xuedou. An old woman before the mountain saw the special envoy and cheerfully asked, "Head Monk Xian has assumed abbacy; for whom does he burn incense?" The special envoy said, "Venerable Deshan Yuan." The old woman cursed and said, "Xuedou emptied out his belly and spoke Chan for you; how can you be so ungrateful and betray his virtue?"

1.6

The old fellow Yunju Shun frequently derided Chan Master Tianyi Huai for teaching "tangled-vines Chan." One day, hearing that Huai had passed away, he clasped his hands in the dharma hall and said, "How joyful that the stake of tangled vines has toppled!" Xiu Yuantong, who was serving as karmadāna in the assembly at the time, seeing him constantly scolding and railing without end, said to his peers, "I must have a confrontation with this old fellow." When the night informal gathering came, Shun scolded and railed as before. Xiu stepped out from the assembly and shouted in a stern voice, "Have you not seen what is said in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment?" Shun immediately said, "You have stood long, assembly; take good care of yourselves!" He then returned to the abbot's quarters. Xiu said, "This old fellow has eyes all over his body; he is truly fit to scold Master Huai!"

1.7

Little Jingchun of Hunan possessed talent and learning and had once composed an inscription on the seamless stupa. Chan Master Datong Ben used his words to answer the topic of the seamless stupa, saying, "Mist and clouds arise on the back; / Stars and moon encircle the eaves and beams." Chun resided at Yuelu Temple, strict in bodily discipline and diligent. One night, while circumambulating on the hall's steps, he slipped and suffered a fall. A monk beside him helped him up; he was in a daze and unaware of human affairs, and as for the writings he had composed in his lifetime, he could no longer understand them either. When Chan Master Doushuai Zhao first wandered on pilgrimage and passed by Yuelu, he heard senior monks speak of Chun's story. Zhao was alarmed and said, "If in this life of investigating Chan I do not illuminate the mind-ground, I too will be like Chun. When a mere accidental fall leaves one like this, how much more so the transition between rebirths?"

1.8

When Duke Shen, Lü Da, was administering state affairs, he took advantage of a day of rest to send an appeal in advance inviting Master Yan Fahua to a vegetarian meal. The next day, Yan indeed arrived at the mansion and sat in the main hall. As Duke Shen was about to come out to meet him, he thought to himself, "Is it right to bow, or is it right not to bow?" Yan cried out loudly, "Old Lü! You are so terribly agitated! Come out quickly—bowing is fine, and not bowing is fine!" Duke Shen bowed and showed him reverence. When the meal was over, he asked whether his future would be good or bad. Yan asked for a brush and wrote in large characters the two words "Bozhou" and gave it to him, without explaining why. Later, dismissed as chief minister, he was appointed prefect of Bozhou. While sorting through documents, he suddenly saw those two characters before him and only then realized it was an earlier prophecy.

1.9

When Venerable Zhenjing retired from Dongshan, he traveled through Zhe and arrived in Chuzhou at the place of Venerable Qi of Langya. Because the assembly requested an informal gathering, Zhenjing dissected and exposed the divergent views and false understandings of various regions without any inhibition. Stepping down from the seat, he saw Venerable Qi and said, "The abbot being present, it was lucky that there were no other words." Qi said, "You too have hit the mark." The two looked at each other, laughed loudly, and walked away.

1.10

Venerable Yexian Sheng was austere, cold, withered, and plain, so patch-robed monks revered and feared him. When Fushan Yuan and Tianyi Huai were among the assembly, they specially went to call upon and question him. It was just during the freezing snow; Sheng scolded, cursed, and drove them out, even throwing water into the transient quarters so that their robes were all soaked. The other monks all left in anger, but Yuan and Huai alone folded their spreadings, adjusted their robes, and sat back down in the transient quarters. Sheng came up and scolded them, "If you still do not leave, I will strike you." Yuan stepped forward and said, "The two of us have traveled several thousand li specially to investigate the Venerable's Chan. How could we leave just because a ladle of water was thrown on us? Even if you beat us to death, we would not leave." Sheng laughed and said, "If the two of you want to investigate Chan, go register for quarters." Later he invited Yuan to serve as cook. The assembly suffered from his withered plainness. When Sheng happened to go out to the estate, Yuan secretly took the key, fetched oil and flour, and made five-flavor porridge. When the porridge was done, Sheng suddenly returned and joined the meal in the hall. After the porridge, he sat outside the hall and ordered the cook to be summoned. When Yuan arrived, he confessed first, "I indeed took the oil and flour to cook the porridge; I willingly beg the Venerable to punish me." Sheng ordered the cost to be calculated, assessed the value of his robes and bowl to repay it fully, struck him thirty blows with the staff, and expelled him from the monastery. Yuan stayed in the marketplace and entrusted friends in the Dharma to plead for him, but Sheng refused. He further said, "If you will not allow me to return, I only ask to follow the assembly into the room." He also refused. One day, while walking in the street, Sheng saw Yuan standing alone in front of an inn, and said, "These are monastery lodgings. You have stayed here so long; have you ever paid the rent?" He ordered the arrears to be calculated and recovered. Yuan showed no sign of hardship; carrying his bowl in the marketplace, he begged for money and repaid it. On another day, Sheng went out into the street again and saw him carrying his bowl. Returning, he said to the assembly, "Yuan is truly intent on investigating Chan." He then called him back.

1.11

One day, Chan Master Fenyang Wude said to the assembly, "Last night in a dream, my deceased parents sought wine, meat, and paper money. I cannot but follow convention and set out an offering for them." When the arrangements were made in the storehouse hall, seats were set up according to worldly etiquette; having poured wine, offered meat, and burned paper money, he ordered the monastic officers and senior monks to be gathered to distribute the remaining platters. The monastic officers declined them. Wude sat alone at the feast, drinking and eating at ease. The monks reproached him, saying, "How could a monk of wine and meat be fit to serve as a teacher and model?" With packs on their waists, they all left, leaving only six or seven persons, including Ciming, Dayu, and Quan Dadao. The next day, Wude ascended the hall and said, "So many idle spirits and wild ghosts have been sent off with merely a platter of wine and meat and two hundred sheets of paper money! The Lotus Sutra says: 'This assembly has no branches or leaves; it consists only of what is genuine and real.'" He then stepped down from the seat.

1.12

When Venerable Zhenjing was wandering on pilgrimage, he walked together with two monks to Guyin. Xue Datou asked, "When three people walk together, there must be one who is wise. What is the one who is wise?" The two monks had no words. Jing stood on the lower side, and answering the sound, he shouted. Xue raised his fist in a wrestler's posture. Jing said, "No need to examine me again." Xue dragged his staff and chased him out. Xue had seen Chan Master Cizhao of Shimen.

1.13

When the military commissioner of Chengdu Prefecture invited Chan Master Fu of Mount Yunding to ascend the seat in the government offices, a military music officer came forward, bowed, rose, and looking back toward the horse-dismounting platform before the street, said, "Swallowing the West River in a single gulp I do not ask about; I only ask the Venerable to swallow up the horse-dismounting platform in front of the street." The master held out both hands and called out, "Grind it fine and bring it here!" The military music officer had an awakening at this.

1.14

Librarian Ziqing was a native of Shu who was famous in the monastic groves. He had extensively studied under such great elders as Zhenru, Huitang, and Pujue. Traveling through Mount Lu and entering the capital, he met Chan Master Fayun Yuantong. Walking together with Great Master Xiu to Fayun, Xiu was permitted to enter the hall and conveyed Librarian Qing's reputation to Yuantong. Tong said, "Let him register for quarters elsewhere for the time being; wait until a place is vacant here, and then he will be permitted to enter the hall." While at Zhihai, Qing happened to fall ill in bed. Xiu wished to go inquire about his illness, but there was no leave granted by the monastery, so he secretly slipped out of Zhihai to visit Qing. Qing sent a letter reporting to Yuantong that Xiu was violating regulations by going in and out. Yuantong learned of this from the letter, and at the night informal gathering he scolded severely: "This is truly a petty man! Out of moral duty, that man risked expulsion from the monastery to inquire about your illness; in return, you lodged an accusation against him. Is this what an upright person or gentleman does?" Hearing of this, Qing stopped breathing. The monastic groves all said that Qing died from Yuantong's single scolding.

1.15

When Chan Master Xun of Mingshui in Fuzhou was in the attendants' quarters at Fayun, Chan Master Lin of Daolin registered for quarters. The abbot's quarters held a special tea for the newcomer. Xun personally went to the quarters to invite him, but it happened that Lin was not there. A traveling companion sharing a desk with Lin said, "You go on; wait until he comes, and I will invite him for you." Xun left, and the monk happened to forget. After the meal, the drum was sounded to gather for tea, but Lin did not arrive. Yuantong asked, "Is the newcomer present?" and urged that he be invited. When Lin arrived, Yuantong made him step back from the seating couch and stand, rebuking him before the assembly: "The monastery held a special tea to display the decorum of the monastic groves; why were you negligent and did not arrive on time?" Lin said, "Just when I heard the sound of the drum, I was suddenly pressed by nature and could not rush forward." Yuantong scolded him, "My drum is not croton seed; how does striking it make your feces come out?" Xun stepped forward and said, "It was I who forgot to invite him; I should be expelled from the monastery." At that time, the traveling companion stepped out from the assembly and said, "It has nothing to do with the attendant or the newcomer; it was improper for me to undertake inviting him on his behalf, and I happened to forget. I should be expelled from the monastery in place of the two of them." Yuantong esteemed their noble integrity and pardoned them both.

1.16

When venerable masters in various regions display extinction and their whole bodies are bathed in fire, they obtain extremely numerous relics (śarīra). Only Chan Master Zhenjing's relics were as large as beans, five-colored, crystal clear, and also hard and solid. Chan Master Zu of Gushan was an eminent disciple of Zhenjing; he gathered many of them, stored them in a lapis lazuli bottle, and carried them with him to make offerings. When Miaoxi visited Gushan, he once tested them: placing them on an iron anvil, he raised a hammer and struck them. The anvil and hammer were both dented, yet the relics were unharmed. How could this not be brought about by his clear and lucid daily practice and his transcendent realization of the Way?

1.17

Disheveled-hair Xian was a native of Jiangzhou, an outstanding figure within the assembly of Reverend Zhenru of Guishan. His insight was lucid, and his sharp wits stood out with distinction; he produced work that surpassed his master, yet his conduct was not scrupulous, and the entire assembly looked down upon him. Zhenru built a hut behind the abbot's quarters and had Xian dwell there alone, with only a small path passing in front of the abbot's quarters leading to it, and he did not permit his brethren to come and go. Two years later, [Zhenru] recommended him to lead the community; he established him as a monk to take up the whisk, and in expounding the Dharma, he greatly surpassed others, so that the whole assembly changed their view of him from then on. Later he went to Xingyang in Yingzhou; after several years, the Way was widely practiced there. When he showed entering stillness, his physical body did not decay. Reverend Yuanwu witnessed this matter with his own eyes at Guishan, and when Miaoxi traveled to Xingyang, he was still in time to see his physical body.

1.18

Reverend Zhantang Zhun, a native of Xingyuan Prefecture, was a direct heir of Zhenjing. When the seat at Yunyan in Fenning fell vacant, the prefect commanded Chan Master Sixin of Huanglong to recommend someone he knew to fill that post. Sixin said: 'Master of the Mountain Zhun can abide there; I do not know him personally, but have only seen that he has a verse on washing the bowls that is very fine.' The prefect asked: 'May I hear it?' Sixin cited it, saying: 'The particles of speech, / The patch-robed monk's nostrils, / The large head turned down— / If you do not understand, / Ask Elder Sister Wang of the eastern village.' The prefect marveled at it and prepared the ritual courtesies to earnestly invite him, and Zhun did not decline. Throughout his life he disciplined himself with frugality; though he led disciples and propagated the Dharma, he did not change how he had been when living among the assembly. Rising at dawn and visiting the rear rack, he took only a small ladle of hot water to wash his face, and then used it again to wash his feet; his other uses were all generally like this. As soon as the evening assembly was dismissed, the attendants and laborers in the abbot's quarters were just like passersby [to him]; sweeping the floor and boiling tea were all done by himself. He possessed the style of the ancients and was truly a fine model for posterity.

1.19

Chan Master Foyao Gao of Fayun once retired to live at the Iron Arhat Cloister of Jingde. In the hall there were several wooden arhat statues. The capital was bitterly cold; Gao took them and burned them, huddling over the brazier until dawn. The next day, when sifting through the ashes, countless relics were found. The various lecture masters all regarded him as a non-Buddhist. Indeed, Foyao was of the lineage of Danxia, not something worldly eyes could fathom.

1.20

Chen Liaoweng of Yanping, named Guan, with the courtesy name Yingzhong, styled himself Layman Huayan. In court service he was uncompromising and upright, possessing the forceful style of the ancients; he turned his mind to the inner scriptures, and his discourses took the floor from all others. Only in investigating Chan had he not yet experienced great illumination, and he explained most Chan anecdotes through intellectual interpretation. He dearly loved the recorded sayings of Master Nan and had fully interpreted nearly all of them, but with 'the vajra-holder scrubbing the mud person's back,' his commentary could not proceed. He once said to others: 'This must have a source, only no one knows it yet.' As the proverb says: 'Before a person of great wisdom, there is three feet of darkness.' Truly this is not false.

1.21

Chan Master Cizhao Cong, a spiritual son of Shoushan, dwelt at Shimen in Xiangzhou during the Xianping era. One day, the prefect, out of private malice, flogged and humiliated him. When he returned, the assembly of monks met him at the left of the road, and the head monk hurried forward to greet him, saying: 'The prefect has unjustly humiliated the Reverend like this without fault!' Cizhao pointed to the ground with his finger and said: 'A mound of bones rises from level ground!'—and following his finger, a mound of earth surged up. When the prefect heard of it, he sent people to scrape it away, but it surged up again as before; later, the prefect's entire family died in Xiangzhou. Furthermore, a monk asked: 'Deep within the mountains and craggy cliffs, is there still the Buddha Dharma or not?' Zhao said: 'There is.' [The monk] advanced and said: 'What is the Buddha Dharma deep within the mountains and craggy cliffs?' Zhao said: 'Strange stones shaped like tigers; / Fire-burnt pine trees with the posture of dragons.' Layman Wujin loved these words, but the *Shimen Records* alone does not contain these two matters; these were both heard directly by Miaoxi as told by Layman Wujin.

1.22

Li Shanglao of Mount Lu offended the earth spirits due to construction work, and his entire family fell ill with swelling. Seeking doctors brought no effect, so he thoroughly swept the chambers and halls, ordered each of his kin to purify their minds, and burned incense and recited the Dhāraṇī of Blazing Light to ward off what they had offended. Before seven days had passed, he dreamed at night of an old man in white riding an ox in his house, and suddenly the ground sank and he was gradually swallowed up; the next day, old and young were all without illness. When utmost sincerity moves [things], it is as swift as a shadow or an echo—could it be like this were it not for the Buddha's power?

1.23

Yong Huayan was a spiritual son of Chan Master Yuanzhao Ben. Because he stumbled and fell, he had an awakening and composed a verse: 'This one fall, this one fall— / Ten thousand ounces of yellow gold it would take to balance it! / A bamboo hat on the head, a bundle at the waist, / Pure wind and the bright moon carried on the tip of the staff.' Duke Fu Zheng often consulted him; one day, seeing him ascend the hall and look to the left and right, he suddenly accorded with awakening, and sent a verse to Yuanzhao: 'At a single sight of Master Yong, the awakening entered deep; / Through conditions was transmitted the old master's mind. / Separated by a thousand miles of rivers and mountains, / Face to face with the wondrous light and subtle sound.' When Duke Zheng was dismissed from the prime ministership and lived in Luoyang, he longed for Yong's instructions and invited him to dwell at Zhaoti. Hearing that Yong had entered the borders, he went out in person to welcome him. As he was about to board the carriage, Duke Sima Wen happened to arrive and asked: 'Where is Your Excellency going?' Duke Zheng said: 'To receive Chan Master Yong of Zhaoti.' Duke Wen said: 'I will go along as well.' With bridles side by side they rode out of the outer wall and waited at the post station for a long time. Suddenly they saw several dozen carrying-poles pass by. Duke Wen asked whose baggage it was, and the bearers replied: 'It is the baggage of the new Reverend of Zhaoti.' Duke Wen thereupon asked for his horse to return. Duke Zheng asked: 'You wished to see Huayan; why do you return first?' Duke Wen said: 'I have already seen him.' In the end, he returned first. Miaoxi once heard Vice Minister Li Yizhong speak of this.

1.24

The old fellow Shun dwelt at Qixian on Mount Lu. An official of the Bureau of Remonstrance, Huai, governed Nankang and, out of private malice, defrocked him as a commoner. Chan Master Dajue Lian of Jingyin had once entered Shun's room; hearing that Shun had returned to lay life, he sent someone to bring him back to Jingyin, yielded the main bedchamber for him to live in, and stayed in a side room himself. Emperor Renzong summoned Lian several times into the palace to inquire about the Way, but [Lian] never spoke of Shun's affair. One day, King Jia obtained an imperial decree to go out to Jingyin to feed the monks, and saw Dajue attending at Shun's side with great deference; upon returning, he reported it to Renzong. [Renzong] summoned [Shun] to an audience in a side palace, and seeing him, sighed and said: 'His demeanor in the Way is extraordinary and majestic; he is truly a man of attainment of the mountain forests!' On a fan he wrote: 'It is bestowed that Xiaoshun be a monk as before, and by special decree dwell once again at Qixian.' He also bestowed a purple robe and a silver alms bowl. On the day Shun was dismissed from Qixian, two manor laborers carried his sedan chair; when they reached the front of Luohan Monastery, the two laborers said to each other: 'Since he is no longer the elder of our monastery, we cannot go far,' and abandoning the sedan chair, they returned. When Shun came again, he sent someone beforehand to comfort and instruct the two laborers, saying: 'What you did back then was right; just set your minds at ease, you need not be suspicious or fearful.' When Shun entered the monastery and ascended the hall, he presented a verse: 'For no reason slandered, in vain I met distress; / For more than half a year I was a worldly man. / Today I return again to Sanxia Monastery; / How much joy there is, and how much indignation!'

1.25

One day the old fellow Shun cited: 'Reverend Yanguan called to his attendant: "Bring the rhinoceros fan." The attendant said: "The fan is already broken." Yanguan said: "Since the fan is broken, give me back the rhinoceros." The attendant had no reply.' Shun said: 'During the dog days of summer, a fan was truly needed right then; it was because the attendant did not bring the matter to completion. Even though it was like this, Yanguan was too wordy; why didn't everyone let it go? If the attendant back then had seen Yanguan say, "Since the fan is broken, give me back the rhinoceros," he should have said to him: "It has already been tossed onto the garbage heap!"'

1.26

Cuiyan Zhen of the Pointing Chest once reviled the old fellow Shun for preaching Chan of no-affairs. Reverend Shishuang Yong sent someone to convey a message to Zhen, saying: 'Shun's awakening to the ancient mirror story at Dongshan was like that; how could he be preaching Chan of no-affairs? In reviling him, you have lost an eye yourself.' When Shun heard this, he composed a verse, saying: 'Yunju does not understand Chan; / He washes his feet, gets into bed, and sleeps. / The winter melon is completely straight and round; / The gourd is curved and crooked.' Reverend Yong also composed a verse, saying: 'Shishuang does not understand Chan; / He washes his feet, gets into bed, and sleeps. / The pillow clatters to the ground, / Smashing the brick of the permanent property.' One day, Shun ascended the hall and said: 'After dusk I take off my socks and sleep; / Rising in the morning, I wind on my gaiters. / Last night the wind blew the fence down; / I summon all the laborers to split bamboo rafts and bind it up.' He then stepped down from the seat.

1.27

In the assembly of Wuzu there was a monk named Fahuo. When he entered the room, Wuzu asked: 'Who is the one who does not keep company with the ten thousand dharmas?' The monk said: 'For Fahuo, that is not so.' Wuzu pointed his finger and said: 'Stop, stop! How is it that for Fahuo it is not so?' Huo experienced awakening under these words. Later he reached the room of Reverend Xuanmi Du at Donglin and obtained the full import of plainness and solidity. One day Huo held a flower, circled the meditation bed once, placed it behind his back into the incense burner, and said: 'May the Reverend say: what was the intention?' Xuanmi repeatedly offered words, but Huo did not accept them. After two months, [Xuanmi] then asked Huo: 'Try to speak of it.' Huo said: 'I only put a flower into the incense burner; it was the Reverend who doubted himself—what other affair was there?'

1.28

When Chan Master Foyan was at Wuzu's place, Yuanwu brought up Linji's saying: 'Understand at the first phrase, and you are worthy to be a teacher of buddhas and patriarchs; understand at the second phrase, and you are worthy to be a teacher of humans and devas; understand at the third phrase, and you cannot even save yourself.' One day, he suddenly said to Yuanwu, 'I present three phrases to you.' Bending his finger, he said, 'This is the second phrase; the third phrase has already been spoken,' and then ran off. Yuanwu related this to Wuzu, who said, 'Quite good, isn't it?' Foyan then took leave of Wuzu and went to study with Master Zhenjing of Guizong. Later, Wuzu said to Yuanwu, 'Guizong's waves are vast; his method is to brandish a great banner. Even if Yuan goes there, they may not necessarily tally.' Within a few days, a letter reached Yuanwu, saying: 'Travelling north to Guizong, by chance I slipped through the net.' Having heard that Head Monk Qing of Yunju composed a portrait eulogy for Huitang saying, 'Heard of, he is wealthy; seen, he is poor,' he had been rather suspicious of him; but when they met, they indeed tallied. After a year, he returned to Wuzu Mountain. The assembly asked him to hold the whisk, but he spoke of 'mind-nature Chan.' Wuzu said, 'Since Yuan speaks of Chan in this manner, let him be.' Master Yuanwu had once studied with Chan Master Fang of Beiwuya in Qizhou, and Master Fojian had once studied with Chan Master Du of Xuanmi in Donglin; both had grasped the purport of illuminating awakening and even simplicity. Together they went into Wuzu's room, but not a single phrase they had attained in their lives was of any use; for a long time they had no awakening, and both said: 'Wuzu forcibly displaces others.' Uttering disrespectful words, they left in anger. Wuzu said, 'Go wander through Zhejiang; when a bout of hot sickness strikes you, only then will you think of me.' When Yuanwu reached Jinshan, he suddenly contracted a severe typhoid fever and was desperately ill. Moved into the ward for the gravely ill, he then tested it with the Chan he had studied all his life, but not a single phrase had power. Recalling Wuzu's words, he vowed to himself, 'As soon as my illness remits a little, I will return directly to Wuzu.' Fojian, at Dinghui, was also suffering from typhoid fever and was in extreme peril. When Yuanwu revived, he passed through Dinghui and urged him to return together to Huaxi. Fojian was still stubborn and bade him go ahead. Yuanwu rushed back to Wuzu Mountain; Master Yan was delighted and said, 'You have come back!' That very day he entered the hall and then joined the attendants' quarters. Half a month later, it happened that Judicial Commissioner Chen laid down his seal of office to return to Shu, and passed through the mountain to inquire after the Way. In the midst of their conversation, Wuzu said, 'In your youth, did you ever read the Little Romance poems, Judicial Commissioner? There are two lines quite close: "She repeatedly calls Xiaoyu, though there is really nothing the matter; she only wants her lover to recognize her voice."' The Commissioner assented with 'Yes, yes.' Wuzu said, 'Consider it carefully.' Yuanwu happened to return from outside and was standing in attendance; he asked, 'I heard the Master bring up the Little Romance poem; did the Commissioner understand?' Wuzu said, 'He only recognized the voice.' Yuanwu said, '"She only wants her lover to recognize her voice." Since he recognized the voice, why then is it not right?' Wuzu said, 'What is the meaning of the Ancestral Master's coming from the West? The cypress tree in the courtyard!' Yuanwu suddenly had an insight; he hastily went outside, saw a chicken fly up onto the balustrade, beat its wings and crow, and again said to himself, 'Is this not the voice?' He then slipped incense into his sleeve, entered the room, and reported his realization. Wuzu said, 'The great matter of the buddhas and patriarchs cannot be attained by those of inferior faculties and base capacity; I share in your joy.' Wuzu also told all the senior monks on the mountain: 'My attendant has attained Chan.' When Master Fojian returned to Wuzu Mountain from Zhejiang, he hesitated and was unwilling to register his stay. Yuanwu said, 'It has barely been over a month since we parted; compared with now when we meet, how is it?' Jian said, 'It is just this little bit in you that I doubt.' He then entered the hall. One day, while attending Wuzu together with Yuanwu, in the midst of conversation during a mountain walk, [Wuzu] cited: Master Dongsi asked Yangshan, 'Where are you from?' Yangshan said, 'A man of Guangnan.' Dongsi said, 'I hear that in Guangnan there is a sea-calming bright jewel; have you ever obtained it?' Yangshan said, 'I have obtained it.' Dongsi said, 'What color is the jewel?' Yangshan said, 'When the moon is waxing it appears; when the moon is waning it is hidden.' Dongsi said, 'Why not present it to this old monk?' Yangshan clasped his hands, stepped forward, and said, 'Yesterday when Huiji arrived at Weishan, I was asked for this jewel; I was utterly left with no words to reply, no reason to put forward.' Looking at Fojian, [Wuzu] said, 'Since he said he had obtained it, yet when asked for this jewel he said, "I had no words to reply, no reason to put forward"—how is this?' Fojian had nothing to say. Suddenly one day he said to Yuanwu, 'Regarding Yangshan's meeting with Dongsi, I have a word: at that time Dongsi only asked for a single jewel, but Yangshan immediately poured out a whole basketful.' Yuanwu deeply approved of him.

1.29

Liu Yiweng once studied with Foyin, was rather conceited, and treated Zhenjing with great flippancy. One day, coming from Yunju, he visited Guizong. Arriving at the dharma hall, as soon as he saw Zhenjing he asked, 'How many years has the Elder been writing plays?' Zhenjing said, 'I have been specially waiting for the musician to arrive.' Yiweng said, 'I do not join this guild.' Zhenjing said, 'What can be done about your being right now on this stage?' As Yiweng deliberated, Zhenjing clapped his hands and said, 'Frog Chan can only leap a single leap!' Furthermore, while seated, [Yiweng] pointed at his patched robe and said, 'What do you call this?' Zhenjing said, 'A Chan robe.' Yiweng said, 'What is Chan?' Zhenjing then shook it out and said, 'It cannot be shaken off.' Yiweng had nothing to say. Zhenjing struck him once and said, 'With tricks like this, do you want to test this old monk?'

1.30

The gate of the Hui'an Cloister in Fengxin County, Hongzhou, bordered the left side of the road; patch-robed monks traveling to and from Huanglong, Letan, Dongshan, and Huangbo all passed through it. By chance, the dharma seat had long been vacant, and the prefect sent a letter to Chan Master Zhenjing of Baofeng, instructing him to choose someone to preside over it; the senior monks, monastic officers, and elders were all daunted by the prospect of going. At that time there was Head Monk Yuan, a northerner, who was solitary, resolute, and independent. He had studied with Huitang and Zhenjing and genuinely had an area of realization, yet he mingled with the assembly in their daily routine, unrecognized by anyone. Hearing that the senior monks and officers were declining and unwilling to answer the call, he addressed Zhenjing, saying, 'Can Huiyuan go?' Zhenjing said, 'You can go.' He then replied to the letter, recommending Yuan. As soon as Yuan received the official document, he took his leave. At that time Zhantang was the head of the assembly, and asked Yuan, 'When you go, how will you act as abbot?' Yuan said, 'I lack merit; I must forge karmic affinities with all people, carrying a basket on my back and walking the streets to provide for the assembly.' Zhantang said, 'It must be an elder brother like you to manage it.' He then composed a verse to see him off, saying: 'The master enters Xinxin to guide and gather all beings; / For now draw in the donkey's foot, first extend the buddha's hand. / Pointing out right and wrong, distinguishing the fine and the foul; / Wielding the sword that kills and gives life, roaring the lion's roar; / Responding to the capacities of all beings, undoing the cloth bag's mouth. / Moving northeast, southwest, setting pearls rolling and jades turning; / Causing those who are blind to themselves to suddenly leap from the rut of ignorance. / Aha! Seeing three, deduct three; three times three makes nine. / Patriarchs transmit to patriarchs, buddhas hand it down to buddhas.' Yuan stayed at Hui'an, begging every day. When he encountered transients, he would invite them to rest at the cloister, saying, 'Allow me to return and prepare offerings.' Thus for thirty years, through wind and rain, he never changed. He newly founded a buddha hall, a revolving canon library, an arhat hall—whatever a monastic grove ought to have, all were completely provided. When Chan Master Sixin of Huanglong visited him, Yuan said, 'New Elder, you always like to use that thoughtless move to sweep people away; stay here tonight, and let me go over some fine points of the great dharma gate with you.' Sixin was intimidated by him and said to his attendant, 'This fellow truly understands; I cannot lock teeth and spar words with him; better to leave.' Without staying the night, he departed. Yuan passed away at Hui'an; after his cremation, three of his six sense organs were undamaged, countless relics were obtained, and a wondrous fragrance filled the room, unceasing for months. When Fengxin was devastated by war and fire, leaving nothing remaining, Hui'an's halls alone stood towering intact. Was this not the fulfillment of his vow power and the protection of divine spirits? Nowadays, when those in various quarters fold their hands and enjoy ready-made provisions hear of Yuan's style, how could they not feel ashamed in their hearts?

1.31

Master Fayun Gao traveled through the gates of various masters. When he arrived in the assembly of Practitioner Ji of Yuantong, during entering the room, [Ji] cited Zhaozhou asking Touzi: '"When a person who has died the great death comes back to life, how is it?" Touzi said, "Not permitted to walk by night; he must arrive by dawn." What is the meaning?' Gao said, 'The great kindness is hard to repay.' Yuantong praised him greatly. A few days later, he was appointed standing monk to hold the whisk; his wit was sluggish, and the hall burst into loud laughter. Gao looked ashamed. The next day, he specifically prepared tea for the assembly. Placing the tea utensils on the table, feeling so ashamed he did not know where to turn, he accidentally knocked over the tea utensils; the ladle fell to the ground and bounced several times, and he realized the answering word; his sharp wits became so swift that none dared to face him. He went again to Zhenjing's place, and upon seeing the Ancestral Master's verse: 'Mind is identical with the realm of empty space, / Revealing dharmas equal to empty space; / When one realizes empty space, / There is neither right nor wrong dharma'—he experienced a great awakening. Later, when he assumed the abbacy, he would often say to people during ascending the hall and informal gatherings, 'On the twenty-first day of the eleventh month of the third year of the Shaosheng era, this monk awakened to the Chan of the mind.' He also said, 'In this monk's registration document of the third year of the Xining era submitted to Fengxiang Prefecture, that year eighteen prefectures of Mount Hua were lost; how could you eggplants and gourds know about this?' By imperial decree he became abbot of Fayun. On the day of opening the hall, an imperial envoy arrived holding imperial incense, asking for his recorded sayings to present to the throne. At that time Hong Juefan was in his assembly; [Gao] had an attendant invite him to come and edit the recorded sayings, saying, 'Show some consideration for this old monk's face.' When Juefan had arranged them and presented them, [Gao] read them through and said to him, 'If it is Chan that settles birth and death, you must grant it to this monk; but if it is assembling flowers and clustering brocades, parallel prose and leisurely long-winded talk, it must be my Brother Hong who can do it.' In his life, Fayun had the spirit to swallow all quarters and treat his contemporaries like infants, for what he attained far surpassed others, and only thus did he dare to be so.

1.32

Because the Master Zhantang had entered stillness, the Master [Dahui] asked Juefan to write an account of his conduct and actual deeds. Having also obtained an introductory letter from Chan Master Zhao of Long'an, he went specially to Jingnan to visit Layman Wujin and request an epitaph for the pagoda. When he first met Wujin, Wujin stood and asked, "Why have you come so far wearing straw sandals just like this?" [Dahui] replied, "I have traveled thousands of li begging for food to see you, Minister." [Wujin] asked again, "How old are you?" He replied, "Twenty-four." [Wujin] asked again, "How old is the water buffalo?" He replied, "Two years old." [Wujin] asked again, "Where did you learn such deceit?" He replied, "Today I see you in person, Minister." Wujin laughed and said, "Sit for a while and have tea." As soon as he sat down, [Wujin] asked again, "What business brings you from afar?" [Dahui] then stood up, stepped forward, and said, "When the Master of Letan passed away and was cremated, his eyes, teeth, and prayer beads did not burn, and countless relics (śarīra) were obtained. The elders of the mountain all wish to obtain your great brush, Minister, to compose an epitaph for his pagoda to inspire and encourage future students. I have come from afar specially, presuming to trouble your esteemed attention." Wujin said, "Being here under punishment, I have not written texts for anyone. Now I have a question to ask you. If you can answer it, I will write the epitaph for the pagoda; if you cannot, I will give you five strings of cash to wrap up your feet and return to Doushuai to investigate Chan." [Dahui] then said, "Please ask, Minister." Wujin said, "I hear that old Zhun's eyes did not decay; is that so?" He replied, "It is." Wujin said, "I am not asking about those eyes." [Dahui] said, "What eyes are you asking about, Minister?" Wujin said, "The diamond eye." [Dahui] said, "If it is the diamond eye, it is at the tip of your brush, Minister." Wujin said, "If so, then this old fellow shall dot in the light for him, causing him to illuminate heaven and earth!" The Master then hurried to the steps and said, "My late master is most fortunate; I thank you, Minister, for the epitaph." Wujin chuckled in assent. The summary [of the inscription] said: "Relics are unheard of in the books of Confucius and Laozi. When the former Buddha, the World-Honoured One, attained extinction, his disciples gathered the relics and raised a pagoda to make offerings to them. The relics of Congshen of Zhaozhou numbered as many as ten thousand grains. In recent times, wherever the smoke reached for Xian of Longqing and Su of Baizhang, it all turned into relics. Generally speaking, those who leave home do so fundamentally for the great matter of birth and death. If when birth and death arrive one does not know one's destination, one is not even equal to an uncomplicated fellow in a three-family hamlet who, when facing death, entrusts everything clearly and distinctly. The four elements of the physical body are provisional combinations of various conditions; from the very beginning, how could relics have an essential nature? If pure practice (brahmacarya) is immaculate and white karma is firm, if the spiritual clarity is vast and pervasive so that one knows one's passing beforehand without alarm or dread, then the two retributions of dependent [environment] and proper [body] will not differ by a hair's breadth. The coarse minds of the world do not attend to the subtle flow [of consciousness] throughout the twelve periods of the day in regard to their fundamental duty, and they give rise to great arrogance. This is a ghost of a karmic master coming to borrow a dwelling. In such a state, desiring relics to flow forth like pearls and all sense faculties not to decay—how could that ever be possible!"

1.33

Master Zhi of Fuyan was a native of Dongchuan. When he first wandered on pilgrimage, he met Master Zhenru and clarified the right view. He was appointed as a senior monk in the guest hall at Guishan. Because of a verbal mistake, he begged to resign and become the gardener to redeem his fault. Zhenru said, "Your merit is thin; tending the garden to serve the assembly is indeed what is appropriate." After two years, he sought a replacement, took leave of Zhenru, and wished to go investigate Zhenjing and Wuzu. Zhenru said, "Wandering everywhere to visit the exemplary models of past sages—let your travel not be delayed." He first arrived at Dongshan, where he had a spiritual accord in the room, and Zhenjing appointed him to lead the assembly as a senior monk. After a long time, he also arrived at the assembly of Master Xuan of Sizhu. He frequently visited Wuzu; Wuzu tested and examined him and found that he truly possessed qualities surpassing others. Wuzu said to Sizhu, "Head Monk Zhi is an accomplished scholar of the monastic grove; why not appoint him to lead the assembly?" Sizhu did as he said, and Wuzu also ascended the hall to praise his understanding and method. When Drafter Li was military commissioner of Changsha, Sizhu recommended him in a letter. Before long, the seat at Fuyan became vacant. Ping Purong again recommended someone else, but the commissioner said, "We must first respond to Sizhu." However, he could not find the letter and did not know the name. While sitting facing guests, a rat dragged a scroll of writing from the shelf and dropped it in front of him. Taking it up and looking at it, it was Sizhu's letter recommending Head Monk Zhi. The commissioner marvelled at it and immediately sent a sincere invitation.

1.34

Master Shen of Letan was a native of Hedong, a dharma heir of Zhenjing. He had an attendant named Wu who happened to be in the guest hall; seeing a firewood end drop down, he suddenly had an awakening. He went straight up to the abbot's quarters to report what he had awakened to, but Master Shen shouted him out. From then on, he lost his mind, took a rope, and hanged himself in the latrine of the Life-Prolonging Hall. At night, he frequently appeared and disappeared in three places—the canon library, the guest hall, and the latrine—moving shoes and handing over water pitchers, which troubled the entire assembly. When Zhantang returned from traveling in Zhejiang and served as head monk, he heard about this matter. In the middle of the night, he purposely went into the latrine of the Life-Prolonging Hall to relieve himself. The wall lamp was faintly glowing and suddenly blew out. Just as he was taking off his robe, Wu brought the water pitcher. Zhantang said, "Not yet; wait until I take off my robe." After taking off his robe, he took the pitcher; at the moment he relieved himself where Wu had hanged himself, Wu in a short while also brought the toilet sticks. When he came out, [Zhantang] called out, "Take the pitcher." Just as Wu received it, [Zhantang] seized and felt his hand—it seemed soft at times and hard at times. He asked, "Are you Attendant Wu? Are you the one who had an awakening when you saw the firewood end fall in the guest hall back then? In investigating Chan and studying the Way, one only needs to know the destination of one's fundamental life and primal star. When you move Head Monk Duan's shoes in the canon hall, is that not what you awakened to back then? When you move pillows in the guest hall, is that not what you awakened to back then? When you carry pitchers and pass water to people here night after night, is that not what you awakened to back then? Why do you not know your destination, and do nothing but constantly harass the great assembly here? Tomorrow I will urge the assembly to recite the canon for you, gather money to prepare congee to commemorate you; you should seek a separate departure and must not remain stuck here." Having finished speaking, he gave a push; with a rustling sound, like a miniature stupa of rubble collapsing, [the ghost] vanished without a trace from then on. One of Zhantang's arms was cold as ice, and only recovered after more than half a month. This was because non-human spirits adhere to yin, and thus the cold qi invaded a person to such a degree.

1.35

Xu Zhike was a native of Piling. He had once passed the prefectural recommendation exam, but failed in the ministry examination and returned. His boat moored at Pingwang in Wujiang. In a night dream, a person in white said to him, "You lack hidden virtue; that is why you did not pass." Zhike said, "My family is poor; I have no wealth to give to others." The person in white said, "Why not study medicine? I will aid your wisdom." Zhike then awoke, and on returning home put those words into practice. Indeed, he acquired the wondrous skill of Lu and Bian. Whenever there were sick people, regardless of noble or base, he examined them and gave medicine without accepting payment; the sick filled his gate and none were not cured. Later, he was recommended again by the local evaluation. When going to the Ministry of Rites, he moored his boat at Pingwang, and dreamt of meeting the former person in white, who gave him a poem saying: / 'The merit of dispensing medicine is great; / Obstruction stands between Chen and Lou. / In the palace hall when the names are called out, / The sixth shall be hailed as fifth.' / He pondered it but did not understand its meaning. Later, when the names of those who passed the examinations were called, he was originally sixth; because the one above him in the palace examination had passed away, he was promoted to fifth, which fell between Chen and Lou. Only then did he understand the earlier prophecy.

1.36

Chan Master Foguang Wu'ai, in response to an imperial decree from Yong'an in Suzhou, came to reside at the Huilin Chan Cloister of the Da Xiangguo Monastery. Empress Huigong once saw from behind the curtain that when his imperial audience was finished, he departed riding through the air. From then on, she made offerings to him of the imperial meals presented by the chief caterer, and further ordered that the remnants of what the Chan master ate be brought back to the palace. She also had dharma robes made of brocade and personally attached a Chan plaque to present to him, so as to express her sincerity in revering the Dharma. In the winter months, she bestowed a red brocade curtain, down to clothing, vessels, and utensils. Foguang then turned and gave the dharma robe bestowed by the palace to Chan Master Foyin Fozhao of Fayun. Fayun again sent it to Master Zhantang of Baofeng in Hongzhou, writing in a letter: "I give this brocade dharma robe to my junior fellow monk to practice our late master's Way." When Zhantang entered stillness, it was kept to guard the mountain gate, and still exists today.

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