[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003) › 8.26 # 佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 8.26 佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 8.26 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [8.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.8.26) 鄧州丹霞天然禪師。不知何許人。初習儒學。將入長安應舉。方宿於逆旅。忽夢白光滿室。占者曰。解空之祥。偶一禪客問曰。仁者何往。曰。選官去。禪客曰。選官何如選佛。霞云。選佛當往何所。禪客曰。今江西馬大師出世。是選佛之場。仁者可往。遂直造江西。才見馬大師。以兩手托幞頭脚。馬師顧視云。吾非汝師。南嶽石頭處去。遽抵南嶽。還以前意投之。石頭云。著槽廠去。師禮謝。入行者堂。隨眾作務。凡三年。石頭一日告眾云。來日剗佛殿前草。至來日。大眾各備鍬鋤剗草。丹霞獨以盆盛水淨頭。於師前跪膝。石頭見而笑之。便與剃髮。又為說戒。丹霞掩耳而出。便往江西。再謁馬祖。未參禮。便去僧堂內。騎聖僧頸而坐。時大眾驚愕。急報馬祖。祖躬入堂。視之曰。我子天然。霞便下禮拜曰。謝師賜法號。因名天然他古人天然。如此頴脫。所謂選官不如選佛也。傳燈錄中載其語句。直是壁立千仞。句句有與人抽釘拔楔底手脚。似問這僧道。什麼處來。僧云。山下來。這僧却不通來處。一如具眼倒去勘主家相似。當時若不是丹霞。也難為收拾。丹霞却云。喫飯了也未。頭邊總未見得。此是第二回勘他。僧云。喫飯了也。懵𢤦漢元來不會。霞云。將飯與汝喫底人。還具眼麼。僧無語。丹霞意道。與爾這般漢飯喫。堪作什麼。這僧若是箇漢。試與他一劄。看他如何。雖然如是。丹霞也未放爾在。這僧便眼眨眨地無語。保福長慶。同在雪峯會下。常舉古人公案商量。長慶問保福。將飯與人喫。報恩有分。為什麼不具眼。不必盡問公案中事。大綱借此語作話頭。要驗他諦當處。保福云。施者受者二俱瞎漢。快哉到這裏。只論當機事。家裏有出身之路。長慶云。盡其機來。還成瞎否。保福云。道我瞎得麼。保福意謂。我恁麼具眼。與爾道了也。還道我瞎得麼。雖然如是。半合半開。當時若是山僧。等他道盡其機來。還成瞎否。只向他道瞎。可惜許。保福當時。若下得這箇瞎字。免得雪竇許多葛藤。雪竇亦只用此意頌。 > Chan Master Tianran of Danxia in Dengzhou was a man of unknown origins. At first he studied Confucian learning. When he was about to enter Chang'an to sit for the civil service examinations, while lodging at an inn, he suddenly dreamt that a white light filled his room. A diviner said, "An omen of understanding emptiness." A visiting Chan monk happened to ask him, "Where are you going, virtuous one?" He said, "To be chosen for official post." The Chan monk said, "How does being chosen for official post compare to being chosen as a Buddha?" Danxia said, "Where should one go to be chosen as a Buddha?" The Chan monk said, "Now in Jiangxi Master Ma has appeared in the world; that is the arena for being chosen as a Buddha. You may go there, virtuous one." He then went directly to Jiangxi. As soon as he saw Master Ma, he held up the flaps of his headwrap with both hands. Master Ma looked at him and said, "I am not your teacher; go to Shitou at Nanyue." He immediately went to Nanyue and presented himself with the same intention as before. Shitou said, "Go to the stable shed." The master bowed in thanks, entered the postulants' hall, and followed the assembly in working chores for three years. One day Shitou announced to the assembly, "Tomorrow we will cut the weeds in front of the Buddha hall." When the next day came, the assembly all prepared spades and hoes to cut weeds. Danxia alone filled a basin with water, washed his head, and knelt on his knees before the master. Shitou saw this and smiled, shaved his head, and was about to expound the precepts for him. Danxia covered his ears and walked out, immediately heading for Jiangxi to visit Mazu again. Before making his formal bows, he went into the monks' hall, climbed onto the neck of the Holy Monk statue, and sat down. At that time the assembly was startled and alarmed, and hurriedly reported it to Mazu. Mazu came in person into the hall, looked at him, and said, "My son is so Tianran (natural)!" Danxia then stepped down, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Master, for bestowing the Dharma-name." He was therefore named Tianran. The ancients were so naturally outstanding and free; this is what is meant by "being chosen for official post is not as good as being chosen as a Buddha." The words and phrases recorded of him in the \*Chuandeng lu\* (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp) are truly a thousand cubits of sheer cliff; every phrase has the hands and feet to pull out nails and extract wedges for people. Here, he asked this monk: "Where do you come from?" The monk said, "From the foot of the mountain." This monk did not disclose his origin; it seemed as though he had eyes and had turned around to examine the host. Had it not been Danxia at that time, it would have been hard to handle. Danxia then said, "Have you eaten your meal yet?" In the first instance it was not yet evident; this was testing him a second time. The monk said, "I have eaten." An ignorant fellow—it turned out he did not understand. Danxia said, "Does the person who brought the meal for you to eat still have eyes?" The monk had no words. Danxia meant: "What is the use of giving food to a fellow like you to eat?" If this monk had been an adept, he would have probed him with a thrust to see how he reacted. Even so, Danxia did not let you off. This monk merely blinked his eyes and was speechless. Baofu and Changqing were together under Xuefeng; they frequently brought up ancient gong'ans to discuss. Changqing asked Baofu, "Giving food to someone to eat has a share in repaying gratitude; why did he not have eyes?" One need not ask entirely about the matters in the gong'an; in general, he borrowed these words as a topic to test where he stood firm. Baofu said, "The giver and the receiver are both blind men." How delightful! Arriving here, one discusses only the matter at the crucial juncture; within one's own house there is a path of escape. Changqing said, "If one exhausts his dynamic function, does he still turn out blind?" Baofu said, "Can you say that I am blind?" Baofu meant: "I possess such eyes and have spoken it to you; can you still say that I am blind?" Even so, it was half closed and half open. Had it been this mountain monk at that time, when waiting for him to say, "If one exhausts his dynamic function, does he still turn out blind?" I would have simply said to him: "Blind!" What a pity! If Baofu had produced this word "blind" at that time, he would have spared Xuedou so many entangling vines. Xuedou also eulogized using merely this idea. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 8.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.8.25) - [Next: 8.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.8.27) - [Up: 8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.8) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003~en-mt.8.26) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.8.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.8.26) · Pramāṇa