宏智禪師廣錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Preface to the Recorded Sayings of Venerable Jue of Tiantong

I am stubborn, foolish, clumsy, and negligent, of no practical use. Only toward the flavors of the world am I bland and indifferent, regarding self and other lightly, as if one who could study Buddhism. For this reason, from youth I have enjoyed associating with monks. When occasionally meeting a person of the Way in their authentic nature, even before speaking our minds were already close, almost like the dark accord between lodestone and iron, something that cannot be closely questioned. Otherwise, though associating day after day, they are as distant as ever. Now,

1.3

Senior Monk Jue, Master of Tiantong, is indeed one with whom "before speaking the mind was already close." When I was first penalized and transferred south, mooring my boat below Mount Lu, I only met the Master once or twice, but the sentiment between us was like old friends. Last year, having resigned the premiership and come east, the Master visited me in Siming, and I visited him again in the mountains. Talking for days, our joy grew ever greater. I once said to the Master: "One who studies Buddhism aims to resolve birth and death—truly this may be called the one great affair! Yet among scholar-officials, there are those who gorge on sounds and colors, pursue influence and profit, while their tongues roll like waves speaking of buddhas and ancestors, thinking they have attained something, and in worse cases taking it as material for jokes and laughter. What principle is this? I am intent on this matter, and dare not deceive myself. In another day, at the place of truth, if I can manage just a little, only then will I dare bring it forth and ask the Master to discern it." The Master deeply affirmed these words and taught me methods for cultivating the Way. I faithfully accepted them. It happened that the Master's disciples requested a preface for the Master's recorded sayings. Since I dare not deceive myself, how could I dare compose words? I merely record the general outline of my association with the Master to fulfill their request. On the full moon day of the renzi year of Shaoxing [1132], preface by Fan Zongyin, Layman Tuihui.

1.4

Recorded Sayings of Ascending the Hall at Great Sage Puzhao Chan Monastery in Sizhou

1.5

Compiled by Attendant Jicheng

1.6

When the Master accepted the invitation at Changlu, he held up the invitation letter, showed it to the assembly, and said: "The path of speech is cut off; the nature of words is empty. Arriving here, it may be said: 'A whale swallows the sea water dry, exposing the coral branches.' Do you all understand? If not yet so, I must trouble a person who knows the tune to explain it thoroughly for me." When the reading of the letter was completed, the Master received the Dharma robe from the hands of the Venerable of Changlu, held it up, showed it, and said: "The ascetic of the Western Regions waited for long years; the practitioner of the Eastern Mountain transmitted it at midnight. Just when it reached the summit of Mount Dayu, it could not be lifted despite all strength. And now on the hall of Changlu it is handed over with both hands. Do you all understand the news within this? One breath joins the branches in a shared grand affair; a shining breeze without shadow brings spring to the treetops." He then pointed to the Dharma seat and said: "Before the portents have arisen, one must borrow function to illuminate position; when shadows and echoes just appear, one must also borrow position to illuminate function. Do you all fully comprehend? Stepping across, one has already surpassed the realm of ordinary and sage; throughout the whole body, one is unobstructed by the functioning of being and nonbeing." He then took the seat. A monk asked: "A few lines of official mandate had to trouble a colorful phoenix to carry them; a flake of idle mind was suddenly stirred by a pure breeze. Just as the ancestral intention is held high, how is it laid bare?" The Master said: "When the wind moves, the grass bends; when water arrives, a channel is formed." The monk continued: "A single shock of the great sound startles heaven and earth; Chan practitioners of the four seas all get to hear it." The Master said: "I thank you for your verification." The monk continued: "This is still a condition answering the time and season. Just when it is silent and unmoving, wisdom has already pervaded the ten directions; vast and selfless, the Way is already practiced in the Land of Bliss—what then?" The Master said: "One who knows the tune does not need frequent reminders." A monk asked: "When the three periods are extinguished of traces, true and false are immediately empty. As soon as compassion and wisdom arise, the dharmacakra turns. Just within the gate of tapping and singing, how can one avoid falling into the present?" The Master said: "I do not answer this talk of yours." The monk continued: "If so, then a jade horse walking in snow returns at midnight; blended completely, it does not reveal the slightest mechanism." The Master said: "You must further know that there is a road of turning the body before it will do." The monk continued: "Where the golden rooster crows, the third watch moon; where the jade phoenix perches, the midnight clouds." The Master said: "It must be straightly thus." The Master then said: "It cannot be named, it cannot be depicted. From the beginning pure, it receives no defilement. Originally complete in itself, it requires no cultivation or realization. Dissolving all existence, dignified and steady, it drives the true vehicle. Harmonizing all conditions, everywhere it proclaims this matter. Worthy people, today the mountains, rivers, the great earth, grasses, trees, and monastic groves attain the Way simultaneously with Senior Monk Jue, preaching the Dharma with a single voice. Do you still verify it?" After a long pause, he said: "When meeting, there will naturally be one who knows the tune to know; why must a pure breeze stir heaven and earth?" After expressing thanks, he brought up again: "A monk asked Caoshan, 'How is it before the Buddha appeared in the world?' Caoshan said, 'Caoshan is not as good.' The monk said, 'How is it after he appeared in the world?' Caoshan said, 'He is not as good as Caoshan.'" The Master said: "The Buddha and Caoshan, one appearing and one disappearing, can be called taking the head as the tail and taking the tail as the head. Looking closely, that Caoshan after all never appeared in the world. Senior Monk Jue today is not ruining the family tradition, but intends to shoulder the fundamental matter. I venture to ask you all, tell me, what other special strength is there?" After a long pause, he said: "The white ox drinks dry the water without a source; at dawn, riding the wind, it crosses Jade Gate. Having stood long, assembly of compassionate ones, I respectfully bid you take care."

1.7

That evening, in the informal gathering, he instructed the assembly, saying: "Prabhāpāla descending traces broke the house and emptied the home; Bodhidharma transmitting mind crowded into the lane and seized the market. In our patch-robed monks' fundamental affair, originally not a single shred of silk is lacking, not a single shred of silk is extra. From the beginning onward, it has been spiritually luminous, vast, and thorough. How could it rely on someone's grinding and polishing? How could it rely on someone's arranging? Truly within there is no silk to bind an ant, and outside there are no grits to gather flies. Is it genuine? If not yet so, I cannot avoid pointing it out: Before the family tradition outside the Changes had portended, at the third watch a black horse mounted a crow. And now, turning the wheel of mechanism, within every land and every dust mote, who else is it?" After expressing thanks, he brought up again: "A monk asked Longya, 'How is it when the toad has no returning light and the jade rabbit has no intent of accompanying the moon?' Longya said, 'The lords Yao and Shun still had transforming influence.'" The Master said: "Good Chan worthies! Old man Longya was skilled at playing a role according to the occasion, blending with the worldly and dimming his light. Senior Monk Jue today also goes like this. Do you all fully comprehend? Heaven shares the dawn with white clouds; water harmonizes with the autumn of the bright moon. Having stood long, take care."

1.8

The next day, taking leave of the assembly, he ascended the seat and said: "Same sounds correspond to each other; same vapors seek each other out. A thousand miles in the same wind, not separated by a shred of silk. Stripping completely away emotional dust, the news is present: On the river of reed flowers, the bright moon in autumn. Suddenly parting far from the assembly of compassionate ones, I respectfully bid you take care."

1.9

Entering the monastery, he ascended the hall and said: "The ancients said that the worlds of the ten directions are a single gate of liberation, yet pulling by the hand one cannot enter. Today Senior Monk Jue intends to invite everyone universally to enter the gate. Is there anyone who can enter? If you can enter, then we meet on the Dharma hall of Universal Radiance. This can be called the harmony of host and guest, the perfect interfusion of principle and phenomena. But how do we meet? Do you understand? The netting of banners and precious pearls has no front or back; the lights and shadows of self and other are simultaneously complete."

1.10

That evening, in the informal gathering, he instructed the assembly, saying: "The Dharma acts in accordance with Dharma; the Dharma banner is established everywhere. Yesterday on the river of Changlu, and now in the light of Puzhao. Patch-robed monks cannot be measured by stillness or clamor, cannot be sought in going or coming. Step by step not bringing along, mind by mind having no resting place. One must directly reach the point where the upright does not establish the profound, and the biased does not involve phenomena; everywhere without leakage, intimately and constantly manifesting before you—only then will it do. I venture to ask you all, ultimately in what place do you see Senior Monk Jue?" After a long pause, he said: "The secluded cavern is not bound by the intention of lock and key; crisscrossing freely, how could it involve a person of the two extremes?"

1.11

He also cited: "Zhaozhou asked a monk, 'Have you ever been here?' The monk said, 'I have.' Zhaozhou said, 'Go drink tea.' He asked another monk, 'Have you ever been here?' The monk said, 'I have not.' Zhaozhou said, 'Go drink tea.'" The Master said: "Having been here or not having been here, drinking tea is the same. Not employing traps, having no artifice whatsoever. Yet this is not an ordinary family tradition; how could it be following the waves and chasing the billows? Only disliking selection without explanation, one recognizes old Venerable Zhaozhou."

1.12

Ascending the hall, he said: "Good Chan worthies! Vast and spiritual, the original light shines of itself. Silent and responsive, the great functioning manifests before you. The wooden horse neighs in the wind, not moving the steps of the present time. The mud ox emerges from the sea, plowing open the spring of the kalpa of emptiness. Do you all fully comprehend?" After a long pause, he said: "Where the jade figure beckons with the hand, the wondrous returns on the path back."

1.13

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "What is the Guiyang school?" The Master said: "Curling into a ball, one cannot leap out." The monk continued: "What is the Linji school?" The Master said: "One blow of the staff, one welt." The monk continued: "What is the Yunmen school?" The Master said: "Grasp it before your eyes." The monk continued: "What is the Fayan school?" The Master said: "Mountains, rivers, and the great earth; the great earth, mountains, and rivers." The monk continued: "What is the Caodong school?" The Master said: "A black dog with bright silver hooves; a white elephant ridden by a Kunlun slave." The monk continued: "I do not know, what is the Venerable's own school tradition?" The Master said: "Come at another time and I will tell you." The Master then said: "Mountain clouds drift slowly; river waters stretch vast and boundless. The upright does not abide in position; the biased does not involve leaning aside. Revealed yet not exposed; hidden yet ever more manifest. The ape cries from ancient trees, its voice urgent; the crane roosts in withered pines, its dreams long."

1.14

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Luopu, 'Making offerings to hundreds of thousands of buddhas is not as good as making offerings to a single person of the Way who is without mind. I do not know, what fault do the hundreds of thousands of buddhas have, and what virtue does the person of the Way without mind have?' Luopu said, 'A wisp of white cloud lies across the valley mouth; how many returning birds completely lose their nests!'" The Master said: "Good brothers! Distinguishing clearly within the ring, observing light beyond measure, not contacting the mechanism of dust, wondrously separating true illumination. Do you understand? Snow, moon, and reed flowers are cold on the river; the dawn wind rustles, the sand gulls chatter."

1.15

Ascending the hall, he said: "The northern wind creates a wintry hue; the beloved mouth streams forth gracious light. Everywhere meeting and encountering, clearly not concealed. Mountains and rivers have no separation; grasses and trees all proclaim it. Lands preach, sentient beings preach; Vairocana's tongue is broad and long. Chan worthies! The worlds of the ten directions, the mountains, rivers, the great earth, grasses, trees, and monastic groves are merely a single tongue of Vairocana. Do you all hear it? If you hear it here, it is still an affair within the gate of teaching and transformation. Tell me, without falling into the gate of transformation, how do you say a phrase?" After a long pause, he said: "Turning the body to approach the father, there is no target; taking off the flower crown, no name can be obtained."

1.16

Ascending the hall, he said: "Before the fifteenth day, having a mouth one cannot speak. After the fifteenth day, being without mind, it is naturally so. Right on the fifteenth day, how do you say a phrase?" After a long pause, he said: "Clouds envelop the seamless robe; flowers smile on the branch that does not sprout."

1.17

Ascending the hall, he said: "A stretch of pure emptiness, the night is right at its middle; in the cassia palace, the old rabbit coldly sprays frost. Blended together, light and dark have no place of division; who discerns the biased and upright orientations within this? Therefore it is said: 'Though the upright position is upright, it is biased; though the biased position is biased, it is complete.' Right at such a time, how do you discern it?" After a long pause, he said: "Distinctly before the mechanism, eyes of dual illumination; stately beyond forms, a body of ten thousand years."

1.18

Ascending the hall on the winter solstice, he said: "Yin reaches its extreme and yang lies submerged, spreading the way of generation and growth. Empty and congealed, it shines, dividing aside the conditions of establishing transformation. One directly reaches the point where looking down and looking up accords with transformation, and responding and meeting are without lack. Do you all understand? When the mirror is clean, who dislikes different images? When the valley is empty, it naturally responds with the same sound."

1.19

Ascending the hall, he said: "Clearly on the tips of the hundred grasses; clearly the intention of the ancestral teachers. In another it has never been one; in oneself it has never been different. If this right here is just it, you directly violate the taboo. If this right here is just not it, where will you hide and avoid it? Therefore it is said: 'Neither right nor wrong, neither immediate nor separate.' The Tathāgatas of the three times all proclaim this meaning alike. I dare ask everyone: tell me, ultimately what meaning is this?" After a long pause he said: "The text that follows is long; it is left for tomorrow."

1.20

A letter from Changlu arrived. Ascending the hall, he said: "When the wondrous capacity has not yet turned, it is difficult to perceive the trace of blue and white. When the precious seal is in power, the positions of upright and bias are secretly arranged. The news from within the pot; the spring radiance beyond the kalpa. It truly belongs to the single breath of connected branches; one must share the same body and common destiny. Turning and leaning on the bright side, welcoming each other in the dark—it directly achieves having the same wind across a thousand miles. Do you people fully understand? The bright moon fills the sky, heaven and water are pure; brothers are both in the boat of unity."

1.21

Ascending the hall, he said: "Dwelling in purity, it shines all the more; passing through transformations, it is ever as such. The original light manifests the body beyond form; wondrous response possesses the eye amidst phenomena. Directly it comes to pass that thing after thing is unobstructed, and phenomenon after phenomenon accords with truth. Therefore it is said: 'Collaterally dividing the imperial decree to pass on and uphold it; across ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, its upright authority is deployed.' But what is the affair of collateral division? Do you understand? On a moonlit night, the golden rooster conveys the tidings of dawn; along the fragrant thoroughfare, step by step, the brocade clouds are deep." He then cited: "Minister Chen visited Zifu. When Zifu saw him coming, he immediately drew a circle. The Minister said: 'For this disciple to come like this was already not appropriate; why further draw a circle?' Zifu then returned to the Abbot's room and closed the door." The Master said: "Zifu drew a circle, and the Minister spoke thus—was this not falling into Zifu's snare? Zifu then returned to the Abbot's room and closed the door—was this not falling into the Minister's snare? It may be called: one suppressing and one uplifting, one taking away and one letting go; each put forth a single hand to take up and clarify this affair. But tell me, what affair is it? The giant turtle drinks up all the water of the vast ocean, leaving behind the coral facing the bright moon."

1.22

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Dongshan, 'What is the person beyond the Buddhas?' Dongshan said, 'Not Buddha.'" The Master said: "When Dongshan spoke like this, he utterly cut off his house style so not a drop of water could leak through. Hearing and seeing do not reach it; mental traces are completely extinguished. Arriving here, one must nevertheless penetrate its transformations so that people do not tire, directly enabling the dark dragon to shed its bones and the jade phoenix to hatch its chicks. But how do you state the principle of penetrating transformations? Do you understand? The pure wind fills [the sail] following the oar; the bright moon pursues the boat as it comes."

1.23

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Superintendent Ze was in Fayan's assembly. One day Fayan asked, 'How long have you been here?' Ze said, 'Three years.' Fayan said, 'You are a junior; why do you usually not ask about the affair?' Ze said, 'I dare not deceive the Venerable; formerly, at Qingfeng's place, I attained a state of peace and joy.' Fayan said, 'Through what words did you gain entry?' Ze said, 'I once asked: What is the student's self? Qingfeng said: The youth Bingding comes seeking fire.' Fayan said, 'Fine words! I only fear you did not understand.' Ze said, 'Bingding belongs to fire; using fire to seek fire is like using oneself to search for oneself.' Fayan said, 'Clearly I know you did not understand. If the Buddha Dharma were like this, it would not have reached today.' Ze became agitated and vexed, and left. On the way, however, he said to himself: 'He is a good friend of five hundred people; since he said I was wrong, he must have superior insight.' So he returned, repented, and then asked, 'What is the student's self?' Fayan said, 'The youth Bingding comes seeking fire.' Upon these words, Ze had a great awakening." The Master said: "When it was said like that before, he did not understand; when it was said like that later, he went on to awaken. Tell me, where does the turning point lie? Senior Monk Jue has a verse: / 'The youth Bingding comes seeking fire; / The Persian from the southern seas has big nostrils. / The tongue of a southern barbarian is hard to understand; / Directly right now it is seen through. / Having seen through, there is neither merit nor fault; / Knowing that under your quilt it is worn through, / I once lay sharing the same bed with you. / Completely shedding the trivial old doubts, / The snake-string in the cup's reflection detains one to sit again.'"

1.24

Ascending the hall, he said: "Only when mind does not mind itself is it mind; only when the eye does not see the eye is it the eye. Magnificently without shadow or trace, distinctly beyond thinking. Light fills the circle; the hare conceives the night moon. Kingfisher-green lies across the sea; the rhinoceros horn rings the autumn mountain. One must reach the utmost profound subtlety before understanding the affair of taking it upon oneself. But tell me, what is the affair of taking it upon oneself? Where wisdom cannot reach, you must never speak of it."

1.25

Ascending the hall, he cited: "A monk asked Dongshan, 'When the Venerable is ill, is there also one who is not ill?' Dongshan said, 'There is.' The monk said, 'Does the one who is not ill look after the Venerable?' Dongshan said, 'This old monk has a share in looking after him.' The monk said, 'When the Venerable looks after him, how is it?' Dongshan said, 'Then I do not see that there is one who is ill.'" The Master said: "Able to go and able to come, able to come and able to go. I have a share in looking after him; his looking after me is not so. Just at such a time, how do you comprehend it?" After a long pause he said: "The lingering mist is still deep—there is no visible summit; the spring wind is ever present on the unsprouted branch."

1.26

Ascending the hall, he said: "Before the wheel of capacity moves, all images are forgotten. There is no trace to be found; it unites in body with empty space. There is no home to dwell in; it takes the entire Dharma realm to form its body. Behind the crown of Vairocana, behold the divine light; before the body of Śūnyatā, discern the living eye. Just at such a time, how do you tread?" After a long pause he said: "When the hand points to emptiness, heaven and earth revolve; on the return path, the stone horse emerges from the gauze cage."

1.27

Ascending the hall, he said: "Conditioned thinking does not reach it—a single sheet of numinous clarity. Vast and without reliance, unobstructed in the ten directions. In Magadha, closing the doors, there was no Dharma to preach; at Shaolin, facing the wall, seeking an intimate friend. If you are a patch-robed monk of authentic character, grasp it before taking a step."

1.28

Ascending the hall, he said: "One is not; two does not form. Solitary and independent; dual functioning by the nature of phenomena. Willow threads gently sway, the wind's force is tender; grass needles rise up together, the burnt marks turn green. A single point of numinous light covers heaven and earth; where else could one dislike as not distinct? Venerable Chan monks, how do you comprehend the distinct place? Feeling for your nostrils in the bustle; swapping your eyes when in a rush."

1.29

Ascending the hall, he said: "The yellow pavilion's blinds hang down; family letters are hard to convey. The purple silk curtain closes; secretly scattering genuine pearls. Just at such a time, seeing and hearing do not reach it; words and explanations do not attain it. How can you communicate any news?" After a long pause he said: "Awakening from a dream, the night shades dimly turn to dawn; laughingly pointing to the family tradition in the brilliant spring."

1.30

Instructing the assembly on the Lantern Festival, he said: "At midnight, who transmitted the inexhaustible lamp? At Huangmei's seat, it was granted to Lu Neng. Empty brightness shines of itself, not by mental effort; it is entrusted to the monk in the monastic grove who has settled the affair. There are Buddha realms where light is made the Buddha's work; today Puzhao also acts like this. Do you understand? / The lamps connect like phoenix wings, illuminating the front of the hall; / The moon stamps delicate brows—turn your face and look."

1.31

Ascending the hall, he said: "Breezy is the spring wind, drizzling is the spring rain; equally moistening, pervading the ten directions. Licorice receives it and is sweet; coptis receives it and is bitter. Heaven's intent brings forth the monastic grove; the eaves' dripping clatters against windows. An ancient worthy once said: 'Already unconfused oneself, casually corrupting others' sons and daughters.' Assembly, since he is already unconfused, why does he corrupt others' sons and daughters? Do you understand? Stepping out is still easy; shedding the body is indeed difficult." In the study session ascending the hall, he cited Xuansha: "'Refusing to abide in cages and nets, not turning the head when called. Ancient sages did not arrange him; to this day he has no dwelling place.' Under Puzhao's gate, he would only make a board-carrying fellow! Arriving here, one must be able to take hold of him and call him back; yielding position to succeed each other, borrowing function to meet each other, directly causing the same sound to respond mutually, elegantly according with Gong and Shang notes; forgetting each other in the same Dao, without distinction of ranks. Do you understand? / The egret standing in the snow is not of the same color; / The bright moon and the reed flowers do not resemble each other."

1.32

Ascending the hall, he said: "Not falling into empty congealment, moving steps before the substance; not confused by illumination and function, dividing the body amidst the bustle. It may be called: standing alone without altering, moving all around without tiring. Do you understand? The threads on the loom are not hung up on the shuttle's tip; the rich patterns crisscross, their meaning naturally distinctive."

1.33

Ascending the hall, he said: "Vast, it pervades the realm, unselfish like sunny spring—this is the generative condition for the ten thousand phenomena. Numinous illumination is wondrous within the circle, free of defilement and pure—this is the resting place of sentient beings. One must pass the jade thread through the golden needle's eye, and have the golden needle lead the jade thread's path; only then can there be interpenetration and collateral participation, turning the body to allow breath through. Do you understand? The precious seal facing the wind is wondrous; layer upon layer of brocade seams open up."

1.34

Ascending the hall, he said: "The Dharma realm is dustless, the mind-moon round; original light shines back to before anything had sprouted. Even if you understand clearly right now, you are still twenty years behind Nanquan. Why is it like this? Although gold dust is precious, falling into the eye it causes a cataract. Participate!"

1.35

Ascending the hall, he said: "Original brightness breaks through the dark—behold the light behind the crown of Vairocana. Silent illumination contains emptiness—possess the eye within the body of Śūnyatā. Before the silken imperial edict descends, the noble honor is hard to name; one must rely on the palace usher to proclaim the nation's decrees. Transmitting words from the ninefold imperial court, radiance brings forth spring across ten thousand miles. Principle relies on collateral division, and phenomena can respond perfectly, directly enabling one to see Buddhas in every speck of dust and hear sūtras in every land, immediately manifesting the body of an official to preach the Dharma for them, intending to extend one's own hand to guide people. But tell me: just at such a time, how do you explain the principle of collateral division? Do you understand? Have you not seen Jiufeng say: 'The edict spreads throughout the empire, but the king does not travel'?"

1.36

Ascending the hall, he said: "The mind cannot condition it; the mouth cannot deliberate it. You must take a step backward and shoulder the load; never directly violate the taboo. Wind and moon are chill and pure at the ancient ferry; the night boat is steered around across the ground of lapis lazuli. Participate!"

1.37

Ascending the hall, he said: "Incoming wild geese and shifting orioles all perform Avalokiteśvara's Buddha works; wild flowers and fragrant grasses entirely display Mañjuśrī's house style. A person who has comprehended directly rides on sounds and straddles colors, transcending seeing and surpassing hearing, before joining with them. But tell me, what about the practice of Samantabhadra? Moving one's countenance makes known the ancient path, not falling into quietistic function."

1.38

Ascending the hall, he said: "Its essence is ever more empty yet universally responds; its function is ever more substantial yet ever as such. Therefore the ancients said: 'The blue mountain is the father of the white cloud; the white cloud is the son of the blue mountain. All day long the white cloud leans upon it, yet the blue mountain does not know it at all.' Assembly, since it leans upon it all day long, why does it not know it? Do you understand? Wild birds chirp of themselves, flowers smile of themselves; it has nothing to do with the person sitting in Chan beneath the crag."

1.39

On the memorial day of the Great Sage Bodhisattva, ascending the hall, he offered incense and said: "This pinch of incense is offered for the anniversary of the parinirvāṇa of the Great Sage, Equal Compassion, Universally Illuminating, Bright Awakening, State Master Bodhisattva, to repay his radiant grace and adorn his holy transformation. Moreover, the Bodhisattva's coverage and support share the same Dao; through the three periods of time he extends the body of single suchness. His transformation covers living beings; in the ten directions he manifests responsive and transformative bodies. His Dao exercises equal compassion; his wisdom can illuminate universally. His holy power supports the ancestral shrines; his true mind expands the doctrinal gates. He vowed to fulfill the knowledge of all aspects together with all sentient beings." Then taking his seat, he instructed the assembly, saying: "When due to be born, not born, borrowing light to manifest thirty-six responses; when due to cease, not ceased, forgetting illumination to gather in hundreds of thousands of millions of bodies. Just as when coming and going are cut off and there is neither motion nor stillness, just at such a time, where do you see the Great Sage Bodhisattva?" After a long pause he said: "Sitting upright in the hall, how could he turn to functions at the two ends?"

1.40

On the memorial day of Dahong, ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the precise meaning of Hongshan?"
The Master said, "In former years I remembered; now I have forgotten."
He went on to ask, "Might one call it: 'The golden rooster broods on the egg in the morning; the jade hare carries the fetus in the night'?"
The Master said, "Three tiers of waves rise high and the fish becomes a dragon; a foolish man still bails out the night pond's water."
The Master then cited: Dongshan asked Yunyan, "A hundred years hence, if someone suddenly asks, 'Can you depict the Master's true [likeness]?', what will you say to him?"
Yunyan was silent for a good while and said, "Just this is it."
Dongshan paused in thought.
Yunyan said, "Ācārya Jie, taking charge of this matter is indeed very difficult; in the future you must be meticulous."
Dongshan then took his leave and departed.
Later, on Yunyan's memorial day, Dongshan hung up his portrait. A monk asked, "Yunyan said, 'Just this is it.' I wonder: did he still know of there being [anything else] or not?"
Dongshan said, "If he did not know of there being [anything], how could he understand how to speak like that? If he did know of there being [anything], how would he consent to speak like that?"
The Master said, "A grandmotherly mind is indeed the way to nurture a child; the tactic of a patch-robed monk is really the occasion to seize his father.
Knowing kindness and repaying kindness, subtle and winding within the phrase; seeming to consent yet not consenting, bringing it up beyond measure—this is Dongshan's affair.
Were someone to ask Puzhao, 'Can you depict the Master's true [likeness]?', what would I say to him?"
After a good while, he said, "The mind does not fail others; the face shows no shame."

1.41

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Illumination and conditions of illumination blend completely without duality; mind and phenomena of mind accord seamlessly without discrepancy. Therefore it is said: 'Like a jewel emitting light, the light returns to illuminate itself.' Do you understand? The idle monk on the tips of the hundred grasses buys up all the elegance without spending a coin."

1.42

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Clouds gather in the vast sky, the wind and sun are mild; in the great peace, woodcutters and herdsmen sing together loudly. The patch-robed monk, with a full belly, has nothing else to do; intimately, before the loom of function, he works the jade shuttle. Therefore it is said: 'Upon the lapis lazuli palace, the jade maiden casts the shuttle; before the bright-moon hall, the stone figure claps its hands.' How can one practice so as to accord like this? In the dark draw out the crosswise bone; in the light sit on the tongue. Investigate!"

1.43

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "The taste of salt in water, the glue's blue in color: its substance has evidence, but grasping it has no form. When in use it is intimate; where silent it is awake. It is the fundamental enlightenment of all buddhas, the wondrous numen of sentient beings. Vast as the great thousand [worlds] to serve as its measure, breaking open a minute dust mote to bring forth a sūtra."

1.44

Bathing the Buddha, ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Pure and all-pervading—this is the water of the Dharma-nature. True enlightenment, numinous and bright—this is the body of the Dharma-nature. Joining with the water, it is the body, thereby manifesting the affair of pouring and ablution; the whole body is water, only then completing the occasion of parting from defilement. Right at this very moment, how do you distinguish them?" After a good while, he said, "As in pure lapis lazuli, within it appears a statue of true gold."

1.45

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "The jade loom shifts and turns: who can distinguish the threads at the shuttle's tip? The moon door is pushed open: within the realm, the scenery is naturally distinct. The golden rooster crows at dawn; the stone maiden wanders in spring. Aloof, upon the bird's path, meeting no one; vast and wide, within the great realm, walking alone again. Do you know of not falling into vacant stillness, returning to the path and again being wondrous? With a full head of white hair, leaving the crags and valleys; at midnight passing through the clouds to enter the marketplace."

1.46

Bringing forward Head Monk Zhi's taking up the position of monk, ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Who uses living eyes to peer into the kalpa of emptiness? / I say the branch of our lineage is dipped in vast spring. / Its horns, towering and sharp, cannot be concealed; / beneath the gate of Qingyuan there is an auspicious lin."

1.47

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "An ancient said, 'First shoulder the burden on that side, then come to this side to polish and rub.' Not asking about polishing and rubbing on this side, what is shouldering the burden on that side?"
The Master said, "Illumination exhausted, the substance has no reliance; throughout the body, there is no separation."
He went on to ask, "In that case, the fish bought right by the boat is especially delicious, and the wine bought while treading snow is doubly fragrant."
The Master said, "Arriving here, there are neither these idle sounds nor sights."
The Master then said, "Letting go of hands before a cliff of ten thousand fathoms, only then is wondrous existence seen. Manifesting the body at the crossroads, only then can one respond completely. Turning the head toward different species, strolling along on that side. On the road of the living, a dead man walks; within the mouth of the dead man, a living man's tongue. Do you understand? The wondrously round is not hidden illumination; the great function does not match the occasion."

1.48

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: Senior Monk De was at Caoshan. Caoshan asked, "When a bodhisattva is in samādhi and hears a fragrant elephant crossing a river, what sūtra does that come from?"
De said, "The Nirvāṇa Sūtra."
Caoshan said, "Is it heard before samādhi or heard after samādhi?"
De said, "The Venerable is drifting with the stream."
Caoshan said, "Saying it is saying it exceedingly well, but you have only said eighty percent."
De said, "What about the Venerable?"
Caoshan said, "Catch it down at the rapids."
The Master said, "Senior Monk De truly recognized the illness; Caoshan was skilled at administering the medicine. If you understand it like this, I grant that you have a share in peace and joy. If it is not yet so, it cannot be helped but to treat a dead horse. Grasping involves function; hearing it is precise. The fragrant elephant crossing the river—let everyone understand it thoroughly."

1.49

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Vast and quiet, there are no different tracks; intimately departing from profound function. The moon turns over the reed-flower bank; autumn waters swallow the great sky. Do you understand? If you wish to know the father of the newborn prince: the crane soars into the firmament, out of the silver cage."
Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Phenomenon by phenomenon, nothing is concealed, striking Mañjuśrī's nostrils. Step by step, there is no place, shining through Samantabhadra's heels. Just what about the great person's marks of Vairocana?" After a good while, he said, "The night is quiet, the water cold, and the fish do not bite; the boat returns empty, loaded with moonlight."

1.50

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: The World-Honoured One asked Mañjuśrī, "Why do you not enter through the gate?"
Mañjuśrī said, "I do not see a single phenomenon outside the gate."
The Master said, "The Great Being Mañjuśrī, questioned by old Śākya, was directly led to lose all four directions, seeking the doorway without success, yet said, 'I do not see a single phenomenon outside the gate.' Xuanjue said, 'Are these words inside the gate, or words outside the gate?' Do you all understand? Rewards are not given to scholars of great peace; misfortune does not enter the door of a cautious household."

1.51

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "The hundred bones all scatter and collapse; one thing is constantly and eternally numinous. The white clouds' function exhausted, the green mountains are graceful; the green mountains' road turns, the white clouds welcome. Never dead, never born. The golden cord jerks the mud ox's nose around; at midnight it is driven to plow upon the sea."

1.52

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: Shizhu traveled on pilgrimage to Dongshan. Dongshan gave voice to instruction, saying, "There are four kinds of people: one speaks surpassing buddhas and patriarchs, but cannot walk a single step; one walks surpassing buddhas and patriarchs, but cannot speak a single phrase; one can speak and can walk; one cannot speak and cannot walk."
Shizhu came forth from the assembly and said, "The one who speaks surpassing buddhas and patriarchs but cannot walk a single step—he is merely tongueless, not permitted to walk. The one who walks surpassing buddhas and patriarchs but cannot speak a single phrase—he is merely footless, not permitted to speak. The one who can speak and can walk—he is merely like box and lid matching. The one who cannot speak and cannot walk—like someone severed of life seeking to live, this is the stone maiden's child wearing a cangue and carrying locks."
Dongshan said, "What about your own part, Ācārya?"
Zhu said, "On the part of all-pervading comprehension, how could preeminence be displayed?"
Dongshan said, "Just what about Minggongxiu on the sea?"
Zhu said, "Phantoms meeting each other clap their hands and laugh, haha!"
The Master said, "One word exhausts the ten directions, yet ten thousand scrolls cannot encompass it; one step traverses the eight borders, yet a four-horse chariot cannot overtake it. It is solely required that the tongueless person understand speech, and the footless person be able to walk, only then will it do. Not being able to speak and not being able to walk—there is directly no breath; what use is there? And tell me: phantoms meeting each other clap their hands and laugh, haha—what about this?" After a good while, he said, "Thought after thought clinging to all objects; mind after mind eternally severing all discriminations."

1.53

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Under a single mallet all buddhas are born; birth is non-birth. Within a minute dust mote the great dharmacakra is turned; turning has no turning. Direct it so that thought after thought seeing things, having no different marks, is precisely true; place after place hearing sūtras, not falling into the ears, is then wondrous. Even though it is like this, the fellow who has settled his affair within the portal of light and shadow will manage it. But just when host and guest are not yet distinguished, and images have not yet taken shape, how do you tread?" After a good while, he said, "Wind and clouds have not encroached upon the dawn; heaven and water share the same autumn."

1.54

On the Imperial Birthday, ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "From the beginning noble and honored, borrowed to be born. A single step intimately shifting, the whole body joins the substance. Resting on the basis of great peace, upholding the origin of creation and transformation. Equal in lifespan to empty space and eternally numinous; matching the sun and moon in brightness without obscurity. The sage's footprints follow a single measure; spiritual response matches ten thousand occasions. And tell me: what about this person's practice? Behind the jade screen, robes trailing, he sits upright with folded hands; the transforming influence across ten thousand directions accords with non-action."

1.55

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Ordinarily, a word or half a phrase sometimes unties bonds and removes fetters, and sometimes scatters sand and throws dirt. On the part of patch-robed monks, both are superfluous dharmas. Just when the path of words is cut off and the realm of mental activity is extinguished, what then?" After a good while, he said, "Wild clouds gather at midnight; the bright moon is at the central peak."

1.56

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "The nature of enlightenment is wondrous and bright, fundamental enlightenment is brightly wondrous; of equal measure with great emptiness, of the same path with the sentiments of things. Responding to forms and responding to sounds, following along with hearing and following along with gazing. Entering the three times yet without coming or going, blending with the myriad conditions yet without upright or inverted. Do you understand? When clouds and sun are low, geese fly horizontally in the shape of a character; where the night hare sinks, a solitary ape cries."

1.57

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: Minister Li Ao asked Yaoshan, "What is the Way?"
Yaoshan pointed to the sky, then pointed to the water pitcher, and said, "Do you understand?"
The Minister said, "I do not understand."
Yaoshan said, "Clouds are in the blue sky; water is in the pitcher."
The Master said, "Clouds are in the blue sky, water is in the pitcher—how many people mistakenly fix the balance-beam star? Yaoshan blasted it wide open in all eight directions; right up to now, the story has had great currency."

1.58

On opening the brazier, ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Flames emerge from cold ashes—the old family style; precisely within the direct recipient's enjoyment. A flake of snow flies here and ends upon the stove; the whole body without image shares the same efficacy. Remember: Xuefeng said, 'The buddhas of the three times turn the great dharmacakra within the flames.' Xuansha said, 'The flames expound the Dharma for the buddhas of the three times; the buddhas of the three times stand on the ground and listen.'"
The Master said, "Right here, body and mind are one suchness, outside the body there is no remainder. The speaker is the listener; the listener is the speaker. Only then does one know: before one's eyes there is no ācārya, in this place there is no old monk. If it is not yet so, investigate at the brazier."

1.59

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: A monk asked Qingping, "What is the Great Vehicle?"
Qingping said, "A well rope."
The monk said, "What is the Lesser Vehicle?"
Qingping said, "A string of cash."
The monk said, "What is with outflows?"
Qingping said, "A single hedge."
The monk said, "What is without outflows?"
Qingping said, "A wooden ladle."
The Master said, "Poor as Fan Dan in poverty, clumsy as Panthaka in clumsiness, yet ultimately they cannot be moved, cannot be deliberated. There is no place for you to drive a nail. Therefore it is said: 'An error of a hair's breadth is a transgression as immense as mountains.' And tell me, what about it in the end? Do you not see it said: 'The peck being full, the steelyard weight stops'?"

1.60

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Buddha-illness and Dharma-illness, Buddha-medicine and Dharma-medicine—genuine patch-robed monks are unstained by either. Encountering food, they open their mouths; wishing to walk, they move their feet. Naturally ready-made, who can fabricate it? It can be called: 'Words fill the world without verbal error; actions fill the world without grievance or malice.' Do you understand? Do not bring right and wrong to distinguish me; the contrivances of floating life have nothing to do with it."

1.61

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "The ten thousand functions cease, the thousand sages do not carry [one]. Parents are not my kin; all buddhas are not my way. A genuine patch-robed monk, arriving here, has a single path of life: directly, arising and ceasing cannot move him, distinctions cannot turn him. Turning one's back on dust to unite with enlightenment; conforming to things to tally with the spirit. All buddhas and sentient beings are fundamentally equal. Great assembly, since they are equal, why are all buddhas of eternal virtue, while sentient beings are not yet so? And tell me: where is the discrepancy? Night travel is not permitted; one must arrive by daybreak. Investigate!"

1.62

Ascending the hall on the Winter Solstice festival, a monk asked, "What is it like when not a single line [of the hexagram] has yet moved?"
The Master said, "Qian is three unbroken lines; Kun is six broken lines."
[The monk] advanced and said, "It may be called: swept over the earth, the north wind is bitingly cold; filling the hall, the cloud-robed monks shiver."
The Master said, "Right at such a time, tell me: has the single yang arisen yet, or not?"
[The monk] advanced and said, "The jade hare lies among the clouds; the golden rooster crows toward the sun."
The Master said, "Where the power of spring does not reach, even withered trees blossom."
The Master then said, "The essential point of penetrating the ancestral school obliquely is: when strength is exhausted, to turn one's steps. The functioning of heaven and earth's mutual accord is: when yin reaches its extreme, yang arises. Spring conditions are subtly spread through the cold forest; the message of warmth is secretly transmitted to the withered trees. It brings about the moon rising at midnight and clouds gathering over the empty mountain. Right at such a time, the eye within the dream comes alive. Therefore it is said: 'In brightness there is darkness, but do not meet it as darkness. In darkness there is brightness, but do not see it as brightness. Brightness and darkness are mutually paired, like front and back footsteps.' Do you understand thoroughly? / On the withered tortoise's back, ancient hexagram marks; / In the Gen position, faint and moving patterns."

1.63

Ascending the hall to express thanks to the director of affairs, [the Master] said, "A patch-robed monk's family style is simply this: hidden and revealed, polished and ground, entering into complete integration. The lion's leaping back fully returns to the father; the antelope's hanging by its horns involves no shared merit. Therefore it is said: moving, it is like drifting clouds; resting, it is like the valley spirit. In the midst of functioning, it is eternally still; dwelling in obscurity, it becomes ever brighter. Do you understand? When the fruit is complete, Bodhi is fulfilled; when the flower blossoms, the world arises."

1.64

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said, "Cold clouds are dense; wild snow is vast. Roads cut off a thousand differences; the home is lost in a single colour. One who has not reached this stage must step forward. One who falls into this achievement must turn around completely and come to meet. And how is the matter of meeting?" After a pause, he said, "The whole body has no place to be distinguished; directly at the head, do not abide in merit."

1.65

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: Venerable Huashan [Chuanzi] instructed Jiashan, "In the future, you must have no trace where you conceal yourself, and do not conceal yourself where there are no traces. I was at Yaoshan for thirty years and only clarified this matter."
The Master said, "Concealing yourself must leave no trace: / The blue-eyed barbarian monk finds it hard to distinguish. / Do not conceal yourself where there are no traces: / Gate upon gate wide open, all dusts are understood. / Coming alone, one might think there are no companions; / Amid the hustle and bustle, one suddenly meets an old friend. / Willow threads containing gold still fear the cold; / Plum blossoms breaking through the snow have already become spring. / I have a thousand eyes across my entire body; / Responding skillfully without fixed bounds, everywhere is real. / And what is this matter of 'everywhere is real'? Do you understand? Aconite from Yizhou; achyranthes from Huaizhou."

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宏智禪師廣錄 — Classical Chinese