宏智禪師廣錄 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.1

Recorded Sayings of Ascending the Hall by Venerable Zhengjue of Mount Tiantong in Ming Prefecture

4.2

Compiled by the Attendant Bhikṣu Puchong

On the second day of the eleventh month in the third year of Jianyan [1129], the Master accepted an invitation. Ascending the hall, a monk asked: “Atop the peak of Great White, auspicious clouds drift gently; beside the Intricate Crag, auspicious vapors extend unceasingly. What is the very first phrase?” The Master said: “Auspicious vapors extend unceasingly.” The monk advanced and said: “This is still what the student has spoken.” The Master said: “Your tongue is my tongue.” The monk advanced and said: “A single word encompasses the myriad phenomena; a single phrase accords with all capacities.” The Master said: “Which phrase is that?” The monk advanced and said: “Direct and distinct, without duality; clear and luminous, not concealed.” The Master said: “You must have your heels firmly on the ground before you can attain it.” The monk bowed.

4.4

The Master then said: “The Buddha Dharma does not have so many varieties. It only requires that you, at all times, let your body and mind become completely empty and unencumbered, without a single thread hanging, vast and without reliance, the numinous clarity of your fundamental ground not obscure in the slightest. If you tread such a path and reach it, naturally at all times you will accord, and at all times you will respond, with not a speck of dust to cause you obstruction. Then you will be able to turn the thousand sages behind your back; only then can you be called a patch-robed monk. If you lean upon another’s doorway, take another’s disposition, and swallow another’s mixed tea, how is that not like a blind donkey following the great herd? Since it is like this, in the end what about it? If you do not return, that is up to you; once you return, you attain it. Over the misty waves of the five lakes, who would contend with you?”

4.5

Ascending the hall on the Winter Solstice, a monk asked: “The pivot of transformation turns, and once again the single yang arises. On the other side of heaven and earth, is there also this message or not?” The Master said: “Where the sun and moon do not reach, the past and present are without end.” The monk advanced and said: “At the cold crag returns the message of warmth; flowers laugh on unsprouted branches.” The Master said: “You are still a fellow outside the gate.” The monk advanced and said: “What is a person inside the gate?” The Master said: “He cannot be named or depicted.” The monk bowed.

4.6

The Master then said: “When yin reaches its utmost, yang arises; when power is exhausted, position turns. The green dragon sheds its bones and gallops forth; the dark leopard dons the mist and transforms. If you want to take the skulls of the buddhas of the three periods and string them into a single string of beads, do not speak of the bright side or the dark side: it is truly the Sun-face, the Moon-face! Even if your bushel is full and your scales are balanced, it is still my turn to sell high and buy low. Meditators, do you understand? The bright pearl in the basin turns of itself without being nudged.”

4.7

He cited: Xuefeng asked a monk: “Where are you going?” The monk said: “I am going to the communal work.” Xuefeng said: “Go.” Yunmen said: “Xuefeng recognized the man through his words.” / The Master said: “Do not stir it. If you stir it, thirty blows! Why so? Flawless white jade; carving patterns on it ruins its virtue.”

4.8

Ascending the hall, he said: “Good meditators! The clouds’ appearance has just broken apart; the intent of snow has already returned. Intoxicated by the pure light, the mind awakens; dazzled by the luminous color, the eyes turn. One reaches complete transcendence without borrowing, solitary liberation without reliance. Within this, passing through the source, how many attain the subtle? Meditators! This is the season of dense, continuous transformation of function. Do you comprehend? After a long pause he said: “Chuping does not speak; the foolish sheep lie down. To whom is this distinct message entrusted? Investigate!”

4.9

Ascending the hall, he said: “The subtle existence, calm and clear, is not non-existence; the true illumination, numinous and alert, is not existence. Furthermore, take a step back and look within it: where the white clouds break off, the green mountains are lean. Investigate!”

4.10

Ascending the hall, he cited: One day when Fayan was sitting, he suddenly pointed to the screen in front of him. At that time, two monks went together to roll it up. Fayan said: “One gain, one loss.” / The Master said: “The one who went like this was wrong; the one who went like this was intimate. When wrong, he was wrong to the very bottom; when intimate, he was intimately seeing the true. Acquaintances fill the empire, but how many truly know one's heart?”

4.11

Ascending the hall, he said: “Vast and purified without bounds, wisdom accompanies it; universally responding without direction, spirit convenes with it. Wisdom being empty, it illuminates itself alertly; spirit acting, it continues unbroken without restraint. Then at all times and in all places, one can emit great light and perform great Buddha affairs. Therefore it is said: ‘Mountains and rivers offer no obstruction; light penetrates everywhere.’ And have you not seen it said: ‘If one wishes to enter the realm of Buddha, one should purify one's mind like empty space, leaving behind all appearances and all graspings, causing everywhere the mind turns to be unobstructed’? How does one practice to attain such accordance? The water and moon calmly face each other; the pine breeze is clear and does not cease.”

4.12

Ascending the hall, he cited: Dongshan asked Venerable Yinshan: “What principle did you see that made you dwell on this mountain?” Yinshan said: “I saw two mud oxen fight into the ocean, and up to this day there has been no news.” / The Master said: “Good meditators! Autumn is sparse and mountains are lean; the moon sets and the pool is empty. The thoughts of clouds and water vanish; the path of meritorious deeds is cut off. And tell me, right at such a moment, how do you comprehend it? As the jade wheel's mechanism turns, he laughs heartily; meeting directly face to face, they do not recognize each other.”

4.13

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: “At the tips of the hundred grasses, what is it like when one puts an end to one’s whole life?” The Master said: “Completely stripped of reliance, vividly alive!” The monk said: “In that case, throughout the entire realm it has never been hidden.” The Master said: “Recognize Juzhi’s single finger.” The monk said: “A whole night of falling flower rain; throughout the city the flowing water is fragrant.” The Master said: “Be sure not to bump your head and bang your forehead!”

4.14

The Master then said: "The three thousand worlds are gathered in a single seal, yet their letters and meanings are clearly distinct. The eighty thousand Dharma gates are inside a minute dust mote, yet their categories and items are fully complete. Good Zen practitioners! Master Juzhi's one-finger Chan—for thirty years he made use of it. Was he not a fellow who was unobstructed in the ten directions, exquisitely versatile on all eight sides, manifest in equality, and roaming free in action? Do you understand? Look at him harmonizing his light when things are ripe, fully displaying charm and acting while playing with shadows. Go practice!"

4.15

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "Good Zen practitioners! Why can the person who swallows up the Buddhas of the three periods not open his mouth? Why can the person who illuminates through the four continents not shut his eyes? These many ailments I have simultaneously removed for you all. But tell me, how will you achieve complete, total unobstructedness? Do you understand? / Cleaving open Mount Hua, it connects with the color of heaven; / releasing the Yellow River, it reaches the sound of the sea."

4.16

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up [the following]: "Daowu and Jianyuan went together to a family's house to pay condolences. Yuan patted the coffin and said, 'Alive or dead?' Wu said, 'I won't say alive, and I won't say dead.' Yuan said, 'Why won't you say?' Wu said, 'I won't say! I won't say!' Halfway back, Yuan said to Daowu, 'Preceptor, quickly tell me! If you don't tell me, I'll hit you!' Wu said, 'If you want to hit, go ahead and hit; as for saying, I won't say.' Yuan then hit him." The Master said: "Daowu speaking like this was already covering his ears to steal a bell. To then be beaten black and blue was much like losing money and suffering punishment besides. Do all of you understand thoroughly? Senior Monk Jue has a verse: / 'Alive or dead? / I won't say, I won't say! / They only know the silly dog angrily chasing the clod; / who sees the dead snake startled out of the grass? / Direct your gaze into the home grove and look: / upon the branch before budding, spring's sunlight is early.'"

4.17

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "Fine, good Zen practitioners! Coming and going, the person in the mountains / recognizes that the green mountain is indeed the body. / The green mountain is the body, and the body is me— / where else could root and dust lodge? I have already removed the desk-mountain before you all. But as for the phrase atop the crown of the principal mountain, how would you speak it? If you can speak it, only then will you know that speaking like that just now was still an affair on the side of the guest-mountain paying its respects. Good Zen practitioners! If the host does not know there is a guest, he will have no method to respond to the world. If the guest does not know there is a host, he will have no insight to transcend the dust. But tell me: when principle and phenomena are complete and host and guest unite, what then?" After a long pause, he said: "Do you understand? / At midnight the wooden figure knocks on the moonlit door; / at dawn the young phoenix smiles, holding a flower in its beak."

4.18

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "Drifting and wafting, the clouds upon the mountain; / murmuring and babbling, the water below the mountain. / I venture to ask the cloud-and-water people therein: / where else would you seek yourselves? Good Zen practitioners! When the mind abides nowhere, phenomena are free from seeing and hearing; when wisdom has no object, the Way transcends sentiment and conception. Lingyun just thus awakened to peach blossoms—thirty years of foolishness, today's wisdom! What about on your own parts? One without tendons in his eyes is poor for a lifetime. Go practice!"

4.19

When Master Zhenxie entered the mountain, [the Master] ascended the hall. A monk asked, "Meeting each other there is nothing the matter; when not coming, one still remembers you. What is the affair of meeting each other?" The Master said, "White hair smilingly hangs down from the crown; blue pupils coldly illuminate the person." The monk continued, "In that case, eyebrows are knit together, and nose tips bump against each other." The Master said, "You must also know there is a season of sharing the same body and common life." The monk said, "What is the season of sharing the same body and common life?" The Master said, "Knife and axe cannot chop it apart."

4.20

The Master said: "Fine, good Zen practitioners! Jade grove soaked in the moon: the fledgling on the cinnabar mountain soars up and down, fluttering and calling. Snowy reeds floating in autumn: the geese on white sands follow one another, forming written characters. Passing the thread in the dark, casting the needle at the wondrous point. In illuminating the mind-ground, they share a single lamp; in thoroughly reflecting the spiritual tower, there is no separate shadow. The father, the green mountain, has always been towering; the son, the white cloud, drifts everywhere. Although a thousand leagues share the same wind, how could that compare to not a single thread intervening? When crossroads are almost cut off, one must shift positions to circulate. When words are exhausted, one must borrow light to make provisions. Good Zen practitioners! Such a season, such a place, such transmission and maintenance, such establishment—it must be such a person to begin with! I dare ask you all: what is such a person? As for the affair of making provisions, do you understand thoroughly? / On the Wagtail Mound, the preceptor's words; / on the cherry apple branches, the splendor of spring."

4.21

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up [the following]: "Layman Pang asked Great Master Ma, 'Who is the person who does not keep company with the ten thousand dharmas?' Master Ma said, 'Wait until you have swallowed all the water of the West River in a single gulp, and then I will tell you.'" The Master said: "'Swallow all the West River and then I will tell you'—Master Ma was unwilling to fall into the wild grass. The oceans of three thousand lands become autumn in one stroke; the bright moon and coral coldly illuminate each other."

4.22

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "Within it contains brightness: the midnight moon pierces the rhinoceros horn. Therein lies movement: suddenly thunder blossoms on the elephant's tusk. The wonder lies in lateral inquiry; do not violate the honored and noble. Nine years facing the wall at Shaolin: family ugliness is not to be aired outside. When the Second Ancestor stood after three prostrations, his mouth was clumsy, but who knew the agility within? Tiantong today is also exceedingly outrageous."

4.23

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "With a solitary staff I long roamed as cloud and water; / what matter is it that is now laid down to rest? / A single point breaks through obscurity, distinctly luminous; / completely fitting the body, cold and desolate. / In the dark one must penetrate the golden needle's eye; / at the turning point, one still conceals the jade thread's end. / The family style beyond the kalpa is distinguished today; / that fellow is truly a peer to me."

4.24

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "Seeing horns across a wall, you definitely know it is an ox; seeing smoke across a mountain, you definitely know it is fire. But tell me: what is that which you all definitely know is there? Can you realize and understand it? / Announcing the dawn, the roosting birds' chatter; / leaking news of spring, the early plum blossom's fragrance."

4.25

Ascending the hall, the Master brought up [the following]: "The two Senior Monks Shen and Ming saw a fisherman's net from which a carp leaped out. Shen said, 'Elder Brother Ming, how handsome! Just like a patch-robed monk!' Ming said, 'Be that as it may, how could it compare to not having crashed into the net in the first place?' Shen said, 'You still lack awakening.'" The Master said: "Amidst the myriad phenomena, shedding the body naturally possesses the conditions for life; after the single color, turning oneself around must distinguish the path of life. Since it is so, he is truly a patch-robed monk! But tell me, what about the patch-robed monk's realm of conduct? / Wondrously grasping the wordless seal upon the thoroughfare, / the horse's hooves ultimately do not stain with dust or mud."

4.26

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the person whom ancestors and Buddhas dare not approach?" The Master said, "Mount Hua connects with the blue of heaven." The monk continued, "What is the person whom ghosts and spirits cannot fathom?" The Master said, "The Yellow River rolls along its bed." The monk continued, "If so, then the west wind can drop the leaves, and the bright moon can follow the current." The Master said, "What is the patch-robed monk's staff of killing and reviving?" The monk continued, "Why does the Preceptor cover his ears to steal a bell?" The Master said, "Shielding the forehead, gazing toward Fusang."

4.27

The Master then said: "Fine, good Zen practitioners! Evening clouds confuse the house: one must know the spiritual bird tires of flying into the grove. Dawn shadows turn the mountain: suddenly one sees a dead snake startled out of the grass. The shuttle's path before the jade maiden's loom returns after being cut off. The song upon the wooden figure's tongue is sung out from nothingness. Taking steady strides within the bottle of the kalpa of emptiness, shaking one's head beyond the world of Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja. There must be an intimate knower for everyone to witness it. But as for responding to changes and according with conditions, how properly should one conduct oneself? / The loom's threads do not hang upon the shuttle's head; / the woven patterns, horizontal and vertical, are distinctive in design."

4.28

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "The mechanism prior to the kalpas, the seal behind the elbow—used without a trace, empty without exhaustion. Who created the great chiliocosm? It comes forth from the empty and luminous square inch. When you people wish to remove the patch of mud, Carpenter Shi does not begrudge swinging his axe." Then he called out in a loud voice, "Zen monks who understand how to take it upon yourselves, watch out for your nostrils!"

4.29

Citing Master Zhenxie entering the abbot's room, [the Master] ascended the hall and said: "Carrying robe and bowl over a hundred thousand leagues, he arrived, wishing to transmit and maintain in silence without a word. Selling his cotton sheet over four thousand leagues, he came, unable to do anything but laugh heartily. Hoeing weeds deceived Liangsui; shutting the gate pushed out Shaoyang. Some take it upon themselves relying on the correct command; some have a flash of insight thanks to a lateral hint. At Jingkou, re-interviewing Chuanzi, only then did he know how deep the kindness of teacher and friend is. At Linji, seeing Dayu again, only then did he believe how earnest the grandmotherly heart is. The past was thus, and the present is also like this." Stepping down from the seat, the great assembly went together to invite Master Zhenxie to enter the room for the assembly.

4.30

Ascending the hall, the Master said: "The Fifth Day of the Fifth Month is the Tianzhong Festival: on the tips of the hundred grasses, look at living and killing. Licorice and coptis are naturally bitter and sweet; ginseng and aconite distinguish cold and hot. Fragrant and foul are hard to obscure when the dual claws hang down; tastes—how can they fool the newly arched moon? Clear and luminous complete knowing is within mind-moments: Mahākāśyapa is able to distinguish. Good Zen practitioners! That which distinguishes is the intellect. The Venerable Kāśyapa long ago eradicated the sense-faculty of the intellect. Clear and luminous complete knowing does not depend on mind-moments. But how to get it just right? / When a person is impartial, he does not speak; / when water is level, it does not flow."

4.31

Ascending the hall, [the Master said]: "Zhaozhou went to Yunju. Yunju said, 'Old and aged as you are, why don't you look for a place to stay?' Zhou said, 'Where would you instruct this one to stay?' Yunju said, 'In front of the mountain there is the site of an ancient temple.' Zhou said, 'Preceptor, why don't you be at ease yourself?' Yunju then dropped it." The Master said: "You stay, and I stay too; / the ten directions and three periods are pinched together at once. / Moon-drunk and cloud-intoxicated, the rhinoceros leaves the water; / turning its body, it knocks down the coral tree."

4.32

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "When the myriad mechanisms have ceased and the thousand sages do not accompany, who is that person?" The Master said, "The iron Kunlun below the Vajra Boundary." The monk continued, "Always without companion, standing alone and eminent like this." The Master said, "When meeting upon turning around, what matter should properly be discussed?" The monk continued, "A pure breeze caresses the white moon." The Master said, "At that time, that one phrase must distinctly be raised laterally." The monk continued, "Then it penetrates past and present, encompassing heaven and earth." The Master said, "Again you are before the donkey and behind the horse." The monk continued, "What about that which does not fall before the donkey and behind the horse?" The Master said, "Past and present cannot encompass it; heaven and earth are too broad to enclose it." The Master then said: "Fine, good Zen practitioners! Fundamentally complete, fundamentally numinous, extending throughout antiquity there is the seed; blended with the Great Void, it is formless. The family style beyond the kalpa is plain and simple; the territory within the bottle is vast and level. When gazing toward it, eyesight is about to break; when realizing the place, mental conditions have not yet sprouted. Clouds harbor thoughts of snow, and the crane's dream is far away; heaven puts on an autumn countenance, and the wild goose flies into the distance. Only through silence does it self-illuminate; therefore it is deeply clear and purely limpid. Thoughts congeal and coalesce into the vessel world; awareness flows and becomes sentient beings. Sentiments differ in quantity, dividing into the six paths; wisdom differs in magnitude, distinguishing the three vehicles. When the realm is true, then touching phenomena one sees the Buddha; when the Way is wondrous, then breaking the dust mote brings forth the sūtras. Like a bright pearl responding to colors, like an empty valley transmitting sound. But as for transcending the ordinary and entering the sage, shifting positions and according with conditions—tell me, where is the road? Do you understand thoroughly?" After a long pause, he said: "The dawn breeze sweeps and washes, the murky smoke is cleared away; / faintly, the green mountains stretch across in a single line."

4.33

Requesting the karmadāna, the canon keeper, the guest prefect, and the attendant, [the Master] ascended the hall and said: "Before the mallet and anvil sound, in what land do the Buddhas abide? Before the mechanism's wheel turns, the One Vehicle does not pertain to names and words. When guest and host blend and fuse, why must the layman bow again? When the family style is harmonious and settled, the National Teacher need not call three times. If one can be like this, internally merit and achievement are cut off, and externally there are no sharp edges. Can you understand it thoroughly? / Roaring at the moon, the mud ox can enter the sea; / neighing in the wind, the wooden horse knows how to roam in spring."

4.34

When Master Shanquan Zhi sent a letter [certifying him as] Dharma heir, the Master ascended the hall. A monk asked: "It is recorded: A monk asked Caoshan, 'What is it like when the sun has not yet risen?' Caoshan said, 'Caoshan has also come this way.' I wonder, what is the meaning of this?"
The Master said: "Where wisdom does not reach, names and words are difficult to apply."
[The monk] asked further: "Rolling up the fishing line, one gazes at the distant mountains in indistinct haze; pushing the bow of the boat, one nears the ancient shore in lingering closeness."
The Master said: "What is it like upon reaching the shore?"
[The monk] asked: "Sails filled with the pure wind, oars piercing the bright moon."
The Master said: "Once again, going along with the waves and chasing the billows."
[The monk] asked: "What is it like after the sun has risen? Caoshan said, 'Still half a month's journey behind Caoshan.' What does this mean?"
[The Master] said: "As soon as clarity is distinguished, the news within the path of generation and transformation immediately achieves success."
[The monk] asked: "The descendants have gained strength, yet inside the room it is not known."
The Master said: "Just as for the person inside the room, how can one approach him intimately?"
[The monk] asked: "Clear emptiness shines of itself, without expending mental effort."
The Master said: "There are still clouds and waters separating [you]."
[The monk] asked: "How can one achieve total perfection?"
The Master said: "Only when you do not cling to treasured royal vestments will you attain it."
The Master then said: "Coming ten thousand miles from the West to sit at Shaolin, / The lamps have been passed on continuously down to the present. / Where mud oxen battle, together they return to the sea; / When the jade thread is linked, it subtly matches the needle. / Not letting the continuous lineage of our ancestors fall, / Never forgetting the ardent, motherly concern. / Playing a stringless tune before the wind, / Surely there will be someone in the monastic grove who appreciates the sound. / Just as the lamps are continuously transmitted, mind sealed with mind, and the bloodline remains unbroken—how does one practice? Do you fully understand? / The kingfisher treads upon the lotus leaf, shaking down the rain; / The egret bursts through the mist of the bamboo grove."

4.35

That evening, at an informal gathering, [the Master] cited: A monk asked Jiufeng, "When patriarchs transmit to patriarchs, what affair should be transmitted?" Jiufeng said, "Śākya is stingy, Kāśyapa is rich." The monk asked, "What is Śākya's stinginess?" Jiufeng said, "Not a single thing to give to people." The monk asked, "What is Kāśyapa's wealth?" Jiufeng said, "Lord Mengchang within the realm." The monk asked, "I wonder, what is the transmitted affair like?" Jiufeng said, "A hundred-year-old elder dividing the night lamp."
The Master said: "Everyone is fully endowed; each one is completely accomplished. Sometimes when it is lit, it does not arrive—neither can I do anything for you. Sometimes when it arrives, it is not lit—neither can I obstruct you. Venerable Zen practitioners! In the light, taking your place, completely cast off trivialities; in the dark, borrowing function, you yet add brilliance. Do you fully comprehend? The blue dragon sheds its bones as the moon turns into night; the dark leopard transforms its markings as the clouds play with fair weather."

4.36

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "What is the person who goes forward like?"
The Master said: "Desolate and lonely, without a trace."
[The monk] asked: "What is the person who turns back like?"
The Master said: "Clearly distinct, there is news."
[The monk] asked: "What is the person who neither comes nor goes like?"
The Master said: "Only when you sit down on your tongue will you see my nostrils."
[The monk] said: "Thank you, Master, for answering my question."
The Master then said: "The dynamism of the ancestral masters through the ages is like a flash of lightning, which cannot be opened by striking a dull vessel; the eloquence of the Buddhas of the three periods is like a cascading river, which cannot fill a leaking goblet. Do you know that there is a place of saving effort for the sake of people? The weather is cold and the days are short; two people share a single bowl."

4.37

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Bodhi originally has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. / Emptiness and pure radiance receive no dust. / In the illumination, it is easy to tell flour from snow; / In turning around, it is hard to distinguish coal from ink. / Birds return to roost atop the shadowless tree; / Flowers blossom upon the branch that does not bud. / At the time when wind and clouds meet, / The cold weaver's shuttle emerges from hibernation with a crack of thunder. Examine!"

4.38

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Yunmen was calm and settled in body and mind, naturally knowing how to follow the waves and pursue the billows. Linji had versatile methods, able to test with shadowy grass and sounding poles. But tell me, under the gate of Tiantong, what should be done? Dig the pond without waiting for the moon; when the pond is finished, the moon comes of itself."

4.39

Ascending the hall on the first day of the tenth month, [the Master] said: "Opening the hearth year after year falls on this very day; / The warm air subtly penetrates, suiting our assembly. / How lamentable that Danxia burned the wooden Buddha, / Causing the monastery director instead to lose his eyebrows. / Venerable Zen practitioners! The monastery director only knew to eat rice when hungry, without knowing of so many varied affairs. Danxia only knew to face the fire when cold, also without knowing of so many varied affairs. If someone under the gate of Tiantong suddenly showed such a hand and such an impatient temperament, I would strike him squarely across the back. Why so? 'Failing to sever what should be severed will bring about disorder instead.'"

4.40

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "A snake cannot burrow in, and a bird cannot fly across. I say: Everyone is inside. In the third watch, the bright moon sinks behind the western mountain; a blast of clear frost strips the cold trees. Examine!"

4.41

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "What is discourse that transcends Buddhas and patriarchs?"
The Master said: "High, then answer high; low, then respond low."
[The monk] asked: "Flavorless discourse shuts people's mouths."
The Master said: "Why has it not shut yours today, Superior One?"
[The monk] said: "One must trust that 'words fill the world without verbal fault.'"
The Master said: "Take special care not to let them stick to your teeth."
The Master then cited: A monk asked Mañjuśrī, "Was Bodhidharma an ancestor or not?" Mañjuśrī said, "He was not an ancestor." The monk asked, "Since he was not an ancestor, why did he come from the West?" Mañjuśrī said, "Because you did not recognize the ancestor." The monk asked, "What about after recognizing him?" Mañjuśrī said, "Only then do you know he is not an ancestor."
The Master said: "Who is the ancestor? His position is lofty in the family genealogy. He is the root of the two modes [of yin and yang] and the mother of the ten thousand phenomena. At the gate of establishing transformation, there is no need to turn the dynamic working; at the ground of reality, how does one take a step forward? The single green mountain path connects straight through, where the moon sets and the cold apes' cries break off."

4.42

Ascending the hall on the winter solstice, [the Master said]: "Above the floating and empty realm, the three periods shift ever anew; within the firm and stable earth, the single yang subtly stirs into germination. Abiding without abiding, secretly operating the dynamic wheel; arising without arising, wondrously transcending shadow affairs. Therefore, borrowing empty space as substance and taking all phenomena as function, one universally attends offerings throughout the four continents without compulsion, and completely integrates within a single seal: empty, with nothing outside. Just as with arising without arising—how do you fully understand it? Do you understand? If you want to ask for news of spring, the plum blossoms themselves do not know."

4.43

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When the hundred bones all disintegrate, one thing remains perpetually numinous. What is the thing that remains perpetually numinous?"
The Master said: "Clearly enduring beyond all forms, towering foremost before all operations."
[The monk] asked: "If so, when the poor household is robbed, it cannot be stripped bare."
The Master said: "Before the dry skull, behind the leather bag."
[The monk] asked: "Right at such a time, what is its original face?"
The Master said: "A fellow with rheum in his eyes—what is there to talk with him about?"
The Master then said: "The lump of red flesh has no master; the kalpa of emptiness has a home. Fully ten parts of pure white livelihood, an expansive stretch of life. The wind is high at the moonlit door as clouds gather over the ancient path; the waves are calm on the starry river as a numinous raft floats by night. Venerable Zen practitioners! Mind alone accomplishes the ten thousand dharmas; transformation Buddhas manifest on a thousand flowers. Quickly pull the fragrant elephant back by its nose; take special care not to step directly on the dead snake."

4.44

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The kalpa fires blaze, reducing all affairs to ash; / In the very emptiness of the kalpa, there is a numinous terrace. / There are no longer beauty and ugliness to form traces and defilements; / Yet beauty and ugliness both come from within this very place."

4.45

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The one nature is clearly perfect, the radiance of the original ground shines forth. The six senses function interchangeably, the hands and eyes of the whole body adapt as appropriate. Thus, one can perform ear-Buddha-work at the place of the eyes, and nose-Buddha-work at the place of the ears. Therefore it is said: 'If the stone figure's mechanism is like yours, it also knows how to sing the rustic song of Ba; if you are like the stone figure, you must harmonize with the White Snow song.' Being able to be like this, in all dust particles one accomplishes all-knowledge. Have you not seen it said in the teaching: 'If the sphere of form is pure, if the perfection of wisdom is pure, and if all-knowledge is pure—they are non-dual, without division, without difference, and without interruption.' Do you all fully understand this?" After a long pause, he said: "The father and son of the cloudy mountain can leave nothing outside; the friendship of the water and moon naturally possesses affinity."

4.46

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The conditioning mind and conditioned appearances perform their tricks atop the puppet stage. Smash the painted screen and return home: the fields of the homeland remain clear and vast. Sweep away the dust of passions, drain dry the waves of consciousness. Roaming in empty radiance, the wind and moon fill a single pot; turning the body around in a cold dream, snow and clouds stretch ten thousand cubits."

4.47

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: A monk asked Caoshan, "When the son returns to the father, why does the father pay him no heed at all?" Caoshan said, "In principle, it should be like this." The monk asked, "Where is the grace between father and son?" Caoshan said, "Only then is the grace between father and son accomplished." The monk asked, "What is the grace between father and son?" Caoshan said, "Knives and axes cannot cleave it apart."
The Master said: "At the entrance to the bright moon path, atop the roof of the green mountain, taking a step back and turning function, sharing one body and a common life. Only when reaching here does one know the principle that knives and axes cannot cleave it apart. And how do you fully understand it? Do you understand? Illumination exhausted, the substance has nothing to rely on; the entire body merges with the Great Way."

4.48

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "The tongue is a lump of meat, the lips two pieces of skin. Between them there is no stubborn fixedness; do not harbor extraneous doubts. Zhaozhou the ancient Buddha, Yunmen the sacred teacher—clearly, at the dynamic turning point, not a single thread hangs. Naturally, peaches and plums form a path below; how could the spring wind blow with deliberate intent?"

4.49

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Deeply clear, without a bottom; wondrously numinous, without a root. When the front mountain is fully traversed, no home is seen; when the waves of consciousness are drained dry, no self is seen. The stone maiden pulls open the golden lock and key; the wooden figure activates the mechanism of the jade wheel. Only then does one believe that being born from the Buddha's mouth and born of Dharma transformation is to partake in the Buddha's Dharma. Have you all ever practiced in such accord?" After a long pause, he said: "Together with the rod, a single jerk brings it up with the hook; across the vast surface of the water, the bright moonlight scatters."

4.50

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Jiashan said, 'The ape cradles its young behind the green precipice; the bird clutches a flower and drops it before the azure cliff.' Fayan said, 'For thirty years I understood this as words of objective scenery.' If one does not understand it as words of objective scenery, what is it?"
The Master said: "The waning moon drops through the sparse woods; white clouds embrace the secluded rock."
[The monk] asked: "Going forward, no effort is retained; turning back, wondrousness is gained."
The Master said: "You fellow tied to the stake have gone off like that again!"
[The monk] asked: "What about when not going off like that?"
The Master said: "A stream of spring water flows between flowers."
[The monk] asked: "Just as Fushan said, 'The rhinoceros gazes at the moon and patterns form on its horn; the elephant is startled by thunder and flowers emerge on its tusks.' What about this?"
The Master said: "You are pressing juice out of a sesame cake again." The monk bowed.
The Master then said: "Willow threads hang golden and orioles chatter smoothly; the flower trellis spreads brocade and butterflies fly busily. Within seeing and hearing, news is conveyed; who has obtained the master's formula for touching iron into gold?" He then held up his staff, showed it to the assembly, and said, "Do you see?" He struck it once and said, "Do you hear? Remove the rush roots; the catties and ounces are weighed equally."

4.51

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: A monk asked Yunmen, "Killing father and killing mother, one repents before the Buddha. Killing Buddha and killing patriarchs, where does one repent?" Yunmen said, "Exposed."
The Master said: "'Exposed' transcends the school and surpasses the patriarchs. People say he burned incense that revives souls; I say he struck a drum smeared with poison. Bitter, bitter! If you further chew words and gnaw phrasing, tread the compass and pace the square, the superior singing and the inferior following, looking ahead and glancing behind—Zhang the Third wears a hat now that he newly has money; a truly rich man does not act like this."

4.52

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Wash away the darkness of the long night with the light of the original limit; shatter the doubts of kalpas of dust with the wisdom of the Dharma realm. Arising and ceasing rage on, yet do not reach the home of true purity; conditioning relations perturb restlessly, yet do not arrive at the realm of perfect clarity. Let external changes happen as they will; alone within, I remain empty. Stepping into the ring of the Way, the substance eliminates illusory affairs. Therefore an ancient said: 'There is a thing prior to heaven and earth; formless, fundamentally desolate. Capable of being master to the ten thousand phenomena, it does not wither following the four seasons.' But tell me, what is this thing?" After a long pause, he said: "The whale swallows up the seawater completely, exposing the coral branches."

4.53

Ascending the hall, [the Master] said: "Birds in the nest know the wind; creatures in the burrow know the rain. Without needing contrivance, rules form naturally. Distinct without conditions, spacious without counterpart. How joyful! Forest birds and deep-pool fish, with a single smile they forget 'you' and 'I'. But tell me, how does one fully understand and accord like this? Do you understand? Understanding is extraordinary indeed; not understanding is also permitted."

4.54

Invited by the head monk, he ascended the hall: "White has no color, yet all colors honor it before them. Water has no flavor, yet all flavors find it supreme. The Way has no root or sprout, yet it pervades heaven and earth. The Dharma has no fixed form, appearing here or there. A valley is always empty, yet its echo answers a call. A mirror is naturally pure, yet its reflections follow every type of thing. When a patch-robed monk truly attains this body and mind, his great function operates freely and cannot be measured as a vessel. Zen worthies, tell me: who is the person who cannot be made into a vessel? Do you still understand?" After a long pause, he said: "Wondrously surpassing the threshold of the first thought, towering aloft before the ten thousand machinations."

4.55

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When one holds fast the eye of heaven and earth, continuous and unyielding without leaking the finest thread, how is it?" The Master said: "Clear, it embraces the whale's sea wide; cold, it shines on the toad's orb narrow." The monk proceeded: "The wondrous radiance is not an unfolding illumination, before decorative patterns ever arose." The Master said: "What is the eye with which you see through?" The monk proceeded: "A single speck on the rhinoceros horn penetrates the toad's shadow; through the nine-curved divine pearl, the ant's thread is drawn." The Master said: "You must further shift positions to take up function, engaging sideways in reciprocal interplay before you have it." The monk proceeded: "Just where the jade person beckons with hands, it is further wondrous upon the return road." The Master said: "Just at the time of the return road, what is wondrous?" The monk proceeded: "Everywhere the green willows are suitable for tethering a horse." The Master said: "This is an affair on the way." The monk proceeded: "When not stepping onto the path, how is it functioning?" The Master said: "In straw rain-cape and rush hat, selling fine gold; meeting everywhere, yet none know to call out." The monk bowed. The Master then said: "True emptiness is not empty; wondrous existence does not exist. It is the root of the generation and transformation of all phenomena, the mother of the creation of heaven and earth. Directions cannot fix its dwelling; kalpas cannot exhaust its lifespan. The courtyard is clear and empty—the color of the wind is like autumn. The ground is void and luminous—the splendor of the moon is like broad daylight. Reaching before a single thought sprouts, remain within great merit without guarding it. At the five-way crossroads, the wooden horse neighs; within the four thoroughfares, the stone ox gallops. Met everywhere, everywhere it is him. The entire body is eyes, the entire body is hands."

4.56

Ascending the hall, he cited: A monk asked Shoushan, "What is the Buddha?" Shan said, "The bride rides the donkey, the mother-in-law leads it." The Master said: "A patch-robed monk's tongue is truly free; within the undivided whole, there is no awl or hook. Wheelwright Bian's chisel-craft could not be handed down to his son; Cook Ding's wandering blade leaves no whole ox."

4.57

Ascending the hall, he said: "The body is not an accumulation of dust, standing toweringly, wondrously present. The mind is not tied to sensory conditions, darkly solitary and self-taught. Its substance transcends all obstacles; its function attains great autonomy. Neither going nor coming, neither evident nor obscure. Responding to forms and sounds, it abandons opposites and counterparts. Steamed buns, sesame cakes, and Avalokiteśvara—return to me the buying and selling of one skilled in the trade."

4.58

Ascending the hall, he said: "Richly endowed with the ten thousand virtues, letting shadowy affairs tower high. Swept clean without a speck of dust, firmly arresting speech and thought into utter silence. The family style of quiet stillness illuminates itself; in the realm of true permanence, one roams alone. Holding it up, it is crystal clear—the thousand differences and myriad distinctions cannot mingle with it. Setting it down, it is light and free—sought throughout the ten directions and the three periods of time, no trace remains. Therefore the ancients said: 'Refusing to stay in a coop, never turning the head when called. The ancient sages did not arrange it, and to this day it has no fixed place.' Tell me, how does one practice to attain such resonance? Do you understand?" After a long pause, he said: "'Walking to where the water ends, / sitting to watch when clouds arise.'"

4.59

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "Pines in the wind and flowing water are the gate through which Avalokiteśvara enters principle. Wild grasses and secluded flowers are the realm in which Samantabhadra activates dynamic potential. What should a patch-robed monk's working place be?"

4.60

The Master said: "Releasing one's hands, walking along the Chang'an road; every single thing is at ease." The monk proceeded: "If so, then the six doors are not closed, and on the four thoroughfares there are no tracks." The Master said: "Do not bring eyes and ears along; according to the circumstances, enjoy its use." The monk proceeded: "Avalokiteśvara buys a sesame cake; opening the hand, it is a steamed bun." The Master said: "What about on your part?" The monk proceeded: "Let it fill the ravines and dam the gullies, mixing with mud and wallowing in water." The Master said: "Hu the third and Hei the fourth know nothing of each other." The Master then said: "All forms do not obstruct the eyes—dynamic potential activates within Mañjuśrī's gate. All sounds do not become ear-dust—thorough penetration occurs within Avalokiteśvara's gate. All functions are not constrained by the body; all responses do not run contrary to affairs. Then one emerges and vanishes within Samantabhadra's gate. Robbing the realm is like a donkey peering into a well; robbing the person is like a well peering into a donkey. In three thousand worlds, hundreds of millions of bodies—without arrangement, this alone is it. Practice!"

4.61

Ascending the hall, he said: "'Flowers and birds do not come, vainly passing spring; / the lazy man on Mount Niutou. / Because one's own mind is pure, fundamentally there is no contrived action; / put down all that idle hardship.' Practice!"

4.62

Ascending the hall for the beginning of the summer retreat, he said: "Dwelling in the sign of non-dwelling, who gives tracks to coming and going? Attaining the mind of non-attainment, the merits of object and self dispel themselves. Completely enclosing with nothing outside, the worlds of the ten directions are a single saṅghārāma. Equal without distinctions, all sentient beings are my kinfolk. The hundred streams gather in the ocean to become a single flavor; the myriad dharmas return to the nature to become a single family. Just tell me: what is the meaning of protecting living beings and observing confinement? Do you understand? Bias and upright have never left their original positions; how could non-arising involve verbal conditions?"

4.63

Ascending the hall, he said: "When the cataract in the eye is removed, how could there be flowers in the sky? Not picking up lost items on the road is the gentleman's affair; people without harassment belong to a peaceful family. Practice!"

4.64

Ascending the hall, he cited: Jingqing asked a monk, "What is that sound?" The monk said, "The sound of raindrops dripping from the eaves." Jingqing said, "Sentient beings are inverted, deluded about themselves and pursuing external objects." The monk said, "What about the Venerable?" Jingqing said, "I almost did not delude myself." The monk said, "What is the meaning of 'almost did not delude myself'?" Jingqing said, "To step out and manifest a body may still be easy; to shed the substance and speak of it must be difficult." The Master said: "'The sound of raindrops dripping from the eaves'—asking you to be wide awake. Directly bringing one's own affair to fruition, serving as the master along the way. In every land, seeing Buddhas; from every dust particle, rolling out sūtras. Splitting Mount Hua reveals the color connecting to the sky; releasing the Yellow River unleashes the sound reaching the sea. Just as Jingqing said, 'To step out and manifest a body may still be easy; to shed the substance and speak of it must be difficult'—how is it? Do you understand? Before the wind, it is hard to deceive the eyes of all sages; there must be a Caoshan who recognizes Jingqing."

4.65

Ascending the hall, he said: "Just this family style is clear and open on all eight sides. The handle of the Dipper lies across and the Milky Way pales; the dreaming crane takes flight and its nest is empty. Stepping back in function to take up position; shifting the body within position to borrow function. At the numinous and lucid place, within sameness there is difference; at the clear and still place, within difference there is sameness. Suiting the occasion, the dynamic pivot revolves smoothly; responding wondrously, the mechanism opens into emptiness. Therefore it is said: 'When a child of the Buddha dwells in this station, / that is the Buddha's state of enjoyment; / whether walking, sitting, or lying down, / they are constantly within it.' Zen worthies, tell me: what is the affair within it?" After a long pause, he said: "The moon in the empty realm over the eternal green pool—only after repeatedly netting and capturing it will you know."

4.66

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "When a pearl emits light and the light reflects back on itself, how is it?" The Master said: "On the coral branch, the moon at midnight." The monk proceeded: "Then it is empty and numinous, void and wondrous." The Master said: "Has the Senior Monk's skull been completely drained dry, or not?" The monk proceeded: "What can be done about this piece of pure sincerity?" The Master said: "Tell me, what kind of person is beyond Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja?" The monk proceeded: "Crow Zhang the third, Black Li the fourth." The Master said: "Indeed it has not yet been drained dry." The monk proceeded: "How does one reach the very bottom?" The Master said: "Do not forcefully assign names and words." The Master then said: "Empty, pure, and undefiled—a clear sky without clouds, and autumn waters without wind. Pure and white, self-contained—a jade jar without dust, and an ice mirror without grime. Having reached such a stage, one must further borrow light to set up displays, and borrow a road to pass through. Unify the mind with empty space; unite function with all phenomena. In the midst of clamor, turn around and ride the ox backward; in the midst of turmoil, be able to put socks on inside out. How do you all understand? Distinctly, moving freely horizontally and vertically, all attain wonder; I originally come from within difference."

4.67

Ascending the hall, he cited: Whenever Luzu saw a monk coming, he would face the wall. Nanquan said, "I usually tell people: undertake it prior to the kalpa of emptiness, understand it before the Buddha appeared in the world; yet I still cannot find even half a person. Acting like you—[wait until] the year of the donkey!" The Master said: "Luzu's dharma brought forth treachery; Nanquan's order gave rise to deceit. Tiantong is not faulting the ancients, but wishes all of you to understand. Do you? Let you play with the line at the rod's tip; not disturbing the clear waves, the intent is inherently distinct."

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宏智禪師廣錄 — Classical Chinese