佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

The vital pulse of the supreme sages, the grand dynamic function of the successive ancestral masters, the efficacious prescription that transforms the bones, the wondrous art of nourishing the spirit—surely it was Chan Master Xuedou alone who possessed the true eye surpassing the tradition and transcending ordinary standards. He held high the authentic imperative without betraying his style, wielding the tongs and hammer that forge Buddhas and temper ancestral masters to eulogize in verse the transcendent hold of patch-robed monks. Silver mountain and iron wall: who dared bore through them? A mosquito biting an iron ox cannot find a place to sink its mouth. Had [the world] not encountered a great master craftsman, how could its abstruse subtleties have been known? There was the venerable Elder Foguo, who, while residing at Blue Cliff, had students confused and begging for further instruction. Moved by pity, the Elder extended his compassion: he lanced down to the deep springs, dissected the underlying truths, and pointed directly in the full light of day, without ever establishing views or cognition. The hundred gong'ans were strung through from beginning to end; a whole crowd of old fellows were appraised in order, one by one. One must realize that the Jade of Zhao was originally without flaw or blemish, and Lin Xiangru merely duped the King of Qin; the supreme Way is truly beyond words, but the lineage master extended compassion to remedy defects. If seen in this way, one will only then recognize his thoroughly grandmotherly heart; but if one clings to clauses and sinks into words, one will inevitably extinguish the Buddha-nature. I, Puzhao, have had the good fortune to attend the master's seat and hear what had not yet been heard. As Dharma friends compiled this into a volume, my clumsy self has set forth its origin and development. Respectfully prefaced by the bhikṣu Puzhao, follower of the teachings and inheritor of the ancestral masters, on the last day of late spring, the wushen year of the Jianyan era [1128].

1.3

Ever since the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters entered China, people first knew there was a Buddha. From Bodhidharma down to the Sixth Ancestor's transmission of the robe, words and phrases first emerged: 'Originally not a single thing exists' was the Southern School; 'constantly strive to wipe it clean' was the Northern School. Thereupon the Chan school's verse eulogies on antiquity circulated throughout the world. Its followers practiced the method of overturning cases: scolding the Buddhas and reviling the ancestral masters, there was nothing they would not do. At times there were those who deeply grasped the living methods of our poets. Yet as for the so-called paramārtha, what use could it have for words and phrases? Xuedou and Yuanwu were earnestly full of a grandmotherly heart; Dahui, however, consigned it all to a single flame. Zhang Wei, Mingyuan of Yuzhong, has now revived the dead ashes and recut the printing blocks—can he not also be called earnestly full of a grandmotherly heart? Prefaced by Fang Hui Wanli of Mount Ziyang on the eighth day of the fourth month, a guichou day, in the gengzi year, the fourth year of the Dade era [1300].

1.4

The Biyan ji was composed by the Great Master Yuanwu. His senior disciple, Chan Master Dahui, then burned and discarded the book. The myriad conditioned phenomena of the mundane world all shun clinging; among what the disciples of the Śākya clan take refuge in and revere, nothing surpasses the Buddha, yet at times they still scold him. This is because there is the self and no other; it proceeds from oneself and does not depend on others. To abandon oneself and follow external objects inevitably leads to losing oneself. Now, the mind and the Way are one; the Way and the myriad phenomena are one; filling the great void, where could one go that is not the Way? Ordinary people observing it merely see what can be seen and do not see what cannot be seen. When seeking it from others and having others speak of it, it is like Dongpo's parable of the sun: deducing back and forth, the farther one goes, the more one loses it. Even when our Master Confucius embodied the Way, he still wished to be without words; how much more so for the Buddha's world-transcending Dharma—can it be sought through written words and speech? Nevertheless, there is also that which cannot be discarded. The wise are few and the foolish are many; those who have learned are few, and those who have not yet learned are many. The more than five thousand fascicles of the Tripiṭaka were all set forth for future generations. If one could truly forget words, old Śākyamuni should have kept his mouth shut; why would he go so far as to chatter endlessly? The principles under heaven indeed reside in the midst of the ordinary while transcending the surface of the ordinary. Though seemingly easy to understand, they are in truth not easy to understand; if one does not seek them from others, one will never attain them throughout one's life. The renowned men of antiquity were either the elites among thousands or the heroes among tens of thousands. The sword Tai'e was the sharpest blade under heaven; ascending a mountain it slew tigers and leopards, and entering the water it cut through flood dragons. That is all people know of it. Yet the ancients had those skilled in using it: mounting the city walls to do battle, they brandished it along with the wind; the three armies suffered a crushing defeat, and blood flowed red for a thousand li. How could one doubt this entirely on the basis of what an individual alone can do? Ever since I heard of this book, I sought it with utmost diligence. Mr. Zhang of Yuzhong recently recut the woodblocks and came to consult with me; I then praised and brought it to fruition, and also wrote this title inscription at its head. Written by the retired scholar Xiuxiu of Yucen, Zhou Chi of Liaocheng, at the Guanshiqiao residence in Qiantang, on an auspicious day in the third month of the yisi year, the ninth year of the Dade era [1305].

1.5

Someone asked: 'Between the compilation and destruction of the Biyan ji, which was right?' I replied: 'Both were right.' When the buck-toothed one [Bodhidharma] came east to transmit solely the mind-seal, it was indeed 'not establishing words and letters.' Yet as for the various treatises like the Bloodline Treatise and Returning to Emptiness, who actually composed them? The ancients' saying that it is 'neither in written words nor apart from written words' is truly an understanding statement. If one could cause everyone to resolve the great matter right at the moment of rolling up the blinds, hearing the clapper, raising a finger, or stubbing a toe, what need would there be for written words? Yet ever since holding up a flower and smiling, and after the flagpole was knocked down, the moment one touches upon words and phrases, there is no way to transmit it without written words. This too cannot be discarded. I have often observed that calling the books of ancestral teachings 'gong'an' began in the Tang and flourished in the Song; its origins are ancient. These two characters are the bureaucratic terminology of worldly law. Their uses are threefold: When wall-gazing practice is accomplished and the affairs of itinerant pilgrimage are concluded, the markings on the steelyard remain hard to discern, and falling into the track of a wild fox is easy; someone with the eye performs testing and examination for them—with a scold or a shout, demanding to see genuine realization, just as a veteran magistrate examines crimes based on the case records, fully uncovering what lies at the bottom without omitting a single detail of the depositions. This is the first. Second, when one has just arrived from Lingnan and has not yet drunk the West River, one easily weeps at the fork of the lost sheep, while the needle pointing to the sea must turn south; with a compassionate heart one guides them—each blow leaving a welt to bring about realization, just as the commandant of justice upholds the law to redress grievances, saving people from death. This is the second. Third, when the worry over trampling crops is deep and tying up the donkey is a grave matter, one's intention in learning chess must be concentrated, and the color of dyed silk easily brings sorrow; a great kalyāṇamitra entrusts the instructions to them, making their minds die upon the meditation cushion—in every movement and every inquiry, it is just like the government promulgating regulations to make people read the statutes and know the law, so that as soon as an evil thought arises, it is immediately extinguished. This is the third. Preparing the volumes, making the dossiers, presenting dynamic situations, and establishing standards—how do these initially differ from worldly golden rules, jade regulations, and books of uprightness and reverent inspection? The ancestral masters established them as gong'ans to leave behind for the chan groves, perhaps drawing upon this meaning. Yet ever since the age of saddharma-vipralopa, people seek the wondrous mind in soiled paper and consign the authentic Dharma to oral debates; though pointing out all the ghosts and spirits, they never depart from the register; relying on others' doors, they let themselves be called servants. The sword has dropped, yet they still carve the boat; the rabbit has fled, yet they do not move from the stump. With bellies full of entangling vines, they can raise a thousand rounds of questions, yet in the great matter of birth and death, it initially has no bearing whatsoever. When the bell tolls and the water clock runs dry, of what use will it be? Alas! The antelope hangs by its horns and cannot be sought by outward traces; how could those who are adept at learning from lower wisdom just follow step for step, pace for pace? If one knows this, the minds of both elders were right. Yuanwu's mind was full of regard for his children and concern for his grandchildren, and so he re-evaluated Xuedou's eulogies. Dahui's mind was full of urgency to rescue people from fire and pull them from drowning, and so he immediately destroyed the Biyan ji. The Śākya clan's founder spoke an entire Tripiṭaka, yet at the very end said he had not spoken a single word; could he have been deceiving us? Yuanwu's mind was the Buddha's mind when speaking the sūtras; Dahui's mind was the Buddha's mind when refusing to speak. If Yu, Ji, and Yanzi had traded places, they would have acted the same. Pushing it or pulling it, the main concern is simply that the cart moves forward. Now some two hundred years have passed, and Zhang Mingyuan of Yuzhong has carved the woodblocks again to prolong its transmission. Is it that the ancestral teachings are returning to spring, or is it that worldly affairs have their appointed destiny? Yet the circulation of this book involves a matter of great weight: if upon seeing water one takes it to be the ocean, or mistakes the pointing finger for the moon, not only would Dahui worry about it, but Yuanwu would also set about peeling off the glue and untying the bonds for them. An ancient's portrait poem says: 'Vividly on the paper is Mr. Zhang, / Though called with all one's might and in a loud voice, he does not respond.' If you wish to study this book, first investigate this phrase. Written on the full moon of the fourth month in the jiachen year of the Dade era [1304] by the Old Man of the Three Teachings.

1.6

Critical Commentary by the Master on the Essential Sayings of the Verse Eulogies on Antiquity by the Venerable Xuedou Xian, Delivered While Residing at the Lingquan Chan Cloister on Mount Jia in Lizhou

1.7

The pointer says: Seeing smoke beyond the mountain, one already knows there is fire; seeing horns beyond the wall, one immediately knows there is an ox. Deducing three from one, discerning the dynamic function down to the grain: this is the everyday tea and meal of patch-robed monks. As for cutting off the myriad streams, surging in the east and sinking in the west, moving with or against, perpendicular or horizontal, giving and taking with complete freedom—at just such a time, tell me: whose realm of practice is this? Look at Xuedou's entangling vines.

1.8

Case 1: Emperor Wu of Liang asked Great Master Bodhidharma (Speaking of this clumsy fellow), 'What is the paramārtha of the holy truths?' (What kind of donkey-tethering stake is this?) Bodhidharma said, 'Vast and void, nothing holy.' (He thought it would be quite extraordinary; the arrow has flown past Silla. Utterly clear!) The Emperor said, 'Who is confronting us?' (A face full of shame and embarrassment; forcing himself to be clever, sure enough. He cannot lay a hand on it.) Bodhidharma said, 'I do not know.' (Bah! Coming a second time, it isn't worth half a coin.) The Emperor did not understand. (What a pity! Yet he was slightly close.) Bodhidharma thereupon crossed the river to Wei. (This wild fox spirit cannot avoid a bout of embarrassment. Going from west to east, going from east to west.) The Emperor later brought this up and asked Master Zhi. (A pauper thinking of old debts; bystanders have eyes.) Master Zhi said, 'Does Your Majesty still know this person?' (He ought to be driven out of the country along with Master Zhi; he deserves thirty blows of the staff. Bodhidharma has arrived!) The Emperor said, 'I do not know.' (Yet Emperor Wu takes up Bodhidharma's gong'an.) Master Zhi said, 'This is the Mahāsattva Guanyin, transmitting the Buddha's mind-seal.' (Wild pointing and explaining; the arm does not bend outward.) The Emperor regretted it and sent an emissary to invite him back. (Sure enough, he cannot hold fast; told you he was a clumsy fellow.) Master Zhi said, 'Do not say that Your Majesty sends an emissary to fetch him; (When someone in the eastern house dies, the western house joins in mourning; he too might as well be driven out of the country on the spot.) even if the whole country went, he would not return.' (Master Zhi also deserves thirty blows of the staff; he does not know that great light is radiating from beneath his own feet.)

1.9

Bodhidharma observed from afar that in this land there were vessels with the capacity for the Mahāyāna, so he sailed the ocean and came deliberately, solely to transmit the mind-seal, to guide and reveal the way out of delusion, not establishing words and letters, directly pointing to the human mind, seeing one's nature and attaining buddhahood. If you can see it like this, you will have your share of freedom, not being turned about by any words or speech, with your whole being appearing complete. Then later, in facing Emperor Wu in dialogue, as well as where the Second Patriarch pacified his mind, you will naturally be able to see it, cut off in a single stroke without conceptualizing sentiment and dust, entirely free and unhindered. Why should you still distinguish right from wrong, or discriminate gain and loss? Even though it is like this, how many people are capable of it? Emperor Wu once donned a monk's robe and personally lectured on the *Light-Emitting Prajñā Sūtra*, moving heavenly flowers to fall in profusion and the earth to turn into gold. Discriminating the path and revering the Buddha, he issued edicts to the empire to build temples and ordain monks, practicing according to the teachings, so people called him the 'Son of Heaven with a Buddha Mind.' When Bodhidharma first met Emperor Wu, the Emperor asked, 'I have built temples and ordained monks; what merit is there?' Bodhidharma said, 'No merit.' This was already pouring foul water straight over his head. If you can penetrate this phrase 'no merit', I grant that you personally see Bodhidharma. But tell me: building temples and ordaining monks—why is there no merit at all? Where does the meaning of this lie? The Emperor, along with Dharma Master Louyue, Mahāsattva Fu, and Crown Prince Zhaoming, debated the two truths of the ultimate and the conventional. According to what is stated in the teachings, the conventional truth explains that phenomena are not non-existent; the ultimate truth explains that phenomena are not existent. The non-duality of the ultimate and the conventional is precisely the ultimate meaning of the holy truth. This is the utmost marvel and profoundest reach of the doctrinal schools. The Emperor then brought up this ultimate standard to ask Bodhidharma, 'What is the ultimate meaning of the holy truth?' Bodhidharma said, 'Vast and void, with nothing holy.' The patch-robed monks of the world cannot jump out of this. Bodhidharma cut through it for him in a single stroke. How many people today misunderstand, instead playing with their clever spirits, staring wide-eyed and saying, 'Vast and void, with nothing holy'? Fortunately, it has nothing to do with it! My late teacher Wuzu once said, 'Just this "vast and void, with nothing holy"—if one can penetrate it, one goes home and sits securely.' Though it is all tangling with vines, it does no harm to break through the lacquer bucket for them. Bodhidharma was extraordinary in this regard. Therefore it is said: 'Penetrate one phrase, and a thousand phrases, ten thousand phrases are penetrated all at once.' Naturally you can sit firmly and hold steady. An ancient said, 'Grinding bones and shattering the body would not suffice to repay it; one phrase clearly understood surpasses ten billion.' Bodhidharma gave him a thrust right at the start; how many openings were leaked! The Emperor did not realize, and because of his view of self and other, he asked again, 'Who is facing me?' Bodhidharma was exceedingly compassionate, and said to him again, 'I do not know.' This caused Emperor Wu's eyes to freeze, not knowing where it landed. What kind of talk is this? Coming to this point, whether there is a matter or no matter, whenever it is picked up, it cannot be handled. Master Duan had a verse that said: / 'A single arrow usually brings down an eagle; / Adding one more arrow was already showing mercy. / Directly returning to sit before the peak of Shaoshi, / The Lord of Liang should cease speaking of inviting him again.' / He also said, 'Who wishes to invite him?' The Emperor was not receptive, so [Bodhidharma] secretly left the country. This old fellow could only be chagrined, crossing the river into Wei. At that time, Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei occupied the throne; he was of the Tuoba clan from the northern peoples, which only later came to be called the Central Plains. When Bodhidharma arrived there, he did not come forth to see him either; he went straight past Shaolin, gazing at the wall for nine years, receiving the Second Patriarch. People there called him the 'Wall-Gazing Brahmin.' Later, Emperor Wu of Liang asked Master Zhi; Zhi said, 'Does Your Majesty still know this person?' The Emperor said, 'I do not know.' But tell me, is this the same as or different from what Bodhidharma said? It appears similar, but it is not. Many people mistakenly think that earlier Bodhidharma answered him with Chan, while later Emperor Wu replied to Master Zhi with ordinary acquaintance. Fortunately, it has nothing to do with that! At that time, when Master Zhi asked like that, tell me, how should one reply? Why not kill him with a single blow of the staff, saving him from being deceived? Emperor Wu, however, gave his testimony, saying, 'I do not know.' Master Zhi acted according to the dynamic and said, 'This is the Great Being Guanyin, transmitting the Buddha's mind-seal.' The Emperor regretted it and sent an envoy to fetch him. How clumsy! At that time, when he waited for him to say 'This is the Great Being Guanyin transmitting the Buddha's mind-seal,' it would also have been fine to banish him from the country, which would still have been a bit better. People recount that Master Zhi passed away in the thirteenth year of Tianjian, while Bodhidharma arrived only in the first year of Putong; they were separated by seven years, so why is it said they met at the same time? This must be an erroneous account. According to what is recorded in the biographies, we will not discuss this matter now; one only needs to know the general outline. But tell me, is Bodhidharma Guanyin, or is Master Zhi Guanyin? Which one is the real Guanyin? Since it is Guanyin, why are there two? Why stop at two? They form flocks and herds! At that time, Vinaya Master Guangtong and Tripiṭaka Master Bodhiruci of the Later Wei debated with the Master; the Master refuted appearances and pointed to the mind. But their narrow capacities could not bear it, and they vied with each other to harbor murderous intentions, repeatedly administering poison to him. When it reached the sixth time, his conditions for converting others were finished, and having found the right person to transmit the Dharma, he did not seek a remedy, but sat upright and passed away, being buried at Dinglin Monastery on Mount Xiong'er. Later, Song Yun of the Northern Wei served as an envoy and met the Master on the Congling Mountains, walking with a single shoe in hand. Emperor Wu reminisced and personally composed an inscription, saying, 'Alas! To see him and not see; to meet him and not meet; to encounter him and not encounter! Now and of old, how I lament and regret it!' He also praised him, saying, 'If the mind exists, one lingers as an ordinary being for kalpas; if the mind is non-existent, one ascends to marvelous awakening in an instant.' But tell me, where is Bodhidharma right now? You pass him by without even knowing.

1.10

The holy truth is vast and void; / (The arrow has passed to Silla. Oh!) / When will you distinguish it clearly? / (It is past. What is hard to distinguish?) / 'Who is facing me?' / (Coming again, it's not worth half a coin. Gone like that again!) / He still said, 'I do not know.' / (Three or four have hit the mark. Tut!) / Because of this, he secretly crossed the river; / (Unable to pierce another's nostrils, he had his own pierced by another instead. Blue heaven, blue heaven! How unheroic!) / How could he avoid generating brambles? / (Beneath his feet it is already several fathoms deep.) / Though all the people of the country pursue him, he will not return; / (A double gong'an. What use is pursuing? Where is he? Where is the spirit of a great hero?) / For thousands of ages and myriad ages, remembering him in vain! / (Beating the chest with alternating hands; calling out into the empty void.) / Stop remembering! / (What are you saying? Making a living in a ghost cave!) / The pure breeze sweeps the earth—what limit is there? / (Indeed. Old and young Xuedou rolls in the grass.) / The Master looked around to the left and right and said, 'Is there an ancestral master here?' / (Are you waiting to change your testimony? Still putting on this performance!) / He answered himself, 'There is.' / (Muddled and clumsy.) / 'Call him over to wash this old monk's feet.' / (Giving him thirty more blows of the staff and driving him out would not be excessive either. Putting on this performance is still a bit better.)

1.11

Regarding Xuedou's verse eulogy on this gong'an, it is just like one skilled in wielding the Tai'a sword, sprawling and circling in the empty void, naturally not offending the sharp edge. If one lacks this kind of skill, the moment one touches it, one sees injury from the blade and harm to the hand. If one possesses the eye, see how in his picking up and letting down, praising and blaming, he uses only four lines to settle a gong'an. Generally speaking, verses on antiquity are simply roundabout ways of talking about Chan; bringing up antiquity is just settling the case based on the testimony. Xuedou gives him a thrust, saying straight off: / 'The holy truth is vast and void; / When will you distinguish it clearly?' / For Xuedou to place this line under his first line is remarkably extraordinary. But tell me, in the end, how do you distinguish it clearly? Even with iron eyes and copper pupils, you cannot grope for it. Arriving here, can it be estimated by emotional consciousness? Therefore Yunmen said, 'Like sparks struck from flint, like a flash of lightning.' This little bit does not fall into mental calculations, consciousness, or emotional thoughts. Waiting for you to open your mouth, what is it good for? When calculations arise, the sparrow hawk has already crossed to Silla. Xuedou said, 'You patch-robed monks of the world, when will you distinguish it clearly?' For 'Who is facing me?', he adds 'He still said, "I do not know."' This is Xuedou being overly grandmotherly, helping people again and again. But tell me: are 'vast and void' and 'I do not know' one or two? For one who has clarified it, it goes without saying. For one who has not clarified it, they definitely split it into two halves. People in various quarters usually say that Xuedou picked it up once again, not knowing that the four lines already eulogized the whole gong'an, and only later, out of compassion, did he eulogize the subsequent events: / 'Because of this, he secretly crossed the river; / How could he avoid generating brambles?' / Bodhidharma originally came to this land to untie bonds and loosen ropes for people, to pull out nails and extract wedges, and to clear away brambles; why then is it said that he generated brambles? Not only then, but beneath everyone's feet right now, it is already several fathoms deep! / 'Though all the people of the country pursue him, he will not return; / For thousands of ages and myriad ages, remembering him in vain!' / How unheroic! But tell me, where is Bodhidharma? If you see Bodhidharma, you will see Xuedou's ultimate act for people. Fearing that people would pursue emotional views, Xuedou turned the mechanism around and produced his own view, saying: / 'Stop remembering! / The pure breeze sweeps the earth—what limit is there?' / Since you stop remembering, what about the matter beneath your feet? Xuedou says: right now, in this place, the pure breeze sweeps the earth—in heaven and on earth, what limit is there? Xuedou picked up the events of thousands of ages and myriad ages and threw them right in front of you. Not only was there no limit for Xuedou at that time, but what limit is there for all of you? Again, fearing that people would cling here, he further applied an expedient and said in a loud voice, 'Is there an ancestral master here?' He said himself, 'There is.' Arriving here, Xuedou does no harm in acting for others with pieces of an earnest heart. He said himself, 'Call him over to wash this old monk's feet.' This severely diminishes one's majesty and brilliance! At that time, it would also have been good to give him his proper hands and feet. But tell me, where was Xuedou's intent? Arriving here, is it right to call him a donkey, is it right to call him a horse, or is it right to call him an ancestral master? How can he be named or depicted? Often people call it Xuedou ordering the ancestral master around. Fortunately, it has nothing to do with it! But tell me, ultimately how is it? It is only permitted for the Old Barbarian to know; it is not permitted for the Old Barbarian to understand.

1.12

The pointer says: Heaven and earth are narrow; the sun, moon, and stars turn dark all at once. Even if staffs fall like rain and shouts rush like thunder, it still cannot match the matter of the transcendent ancestral vehicle. Even if the Buddhas of the three periods could only know it for themselves, the ancestral masters through the ages could not completely bring it up, the teachings of the entire Tripiṭaka could not expound it, and clear-eyed patch-robed monks could not save themselves. Arriving here, how can you ask for instruction? Speak the word 'Buddha', and you are dragging through mud and water; speak the word 'Chan', and your whole face is covered in shame. Advanced practitioners of long standing need not be told; beginners and novices must simply investigate it.

1.13

[2] Case: Zhaozhou addressed the assembly, saying, ("What is this old fellow doing? Don't tangle in these vines!") "The Supreme Way is not difficult—("It is neither difficult nor easy.") it only dislikes picking and choosing. ("What is before your eyes? The Third Ancestor is still here.") As soon as there are words and language, they are picking and choosing, or they are clarity. ("Two heads and three faces. Don't show off so much. When fish move the water gets murky; when birds fly feathers drop.") This old monk is not within clarity. ("The thief's body has already been exposed. Where is this old fellow going?") Do you still cherish and protect [it], or not?" ("A defeat! Yet there are one or two [who can].") At the time, a monk asked, "Since you are not within clarity, what do you cherish and protect?" ("A fine pressuring. His tongue sticks to his palate.") Zhaozhou said, "I do not know either." ("Pressuring this old fellow to death! Retreating three thousand miles!") The monk said, "Since the venerable monk does not know, why do you say you are not within clarity?" ("Look at where he is running off to. Chasing him right up a tree!") Zhaozhou said, "It is enough to ask about the matter. Make your prostrations and withdraw." ("Good thing he has this move. This old thief!")

1.14

Master Zhaozhou routinely brought up this topic: simply that "it only dislikes picking and choosing." This comes from the Third Ancestor's Inscription on Faith in Mind: "The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes picking and choosing. Simply have neither hatred nor love, and it is clearly and lucidly evident." As soon as there is right and wrong, that is picking and choosing, that is clarity. As soon as you understand it in such a way, you have already missed it. Riveting nails and sticking glue—what use can that be? Zhou said, "They are picking and choosing, or they are clarity." Nowadays, those who practice Chan and inquire into the Way, if they are not caught in picking and choosing, then sit right within clarity. "This old monk is not within clarity. Do you all still cherish and protect [it], or not?" Since you people are not within clarity, tell me: where is Zhaozhou? Why does he instead teach people to cherish and protect it? My late master Wuzu used to say, "His lowering his hands seems to pass you by. How do you understand it?" Tell me, what is his lowering of hands? Recognize the intent at the tip of the hook; do not fixate on the mark on the steelyard. When this monk came forward, he was quite extraordinary too: catching Zhaozhou at an empty point, he immediately went and pressured him: "Since you are not within clarity, what do you cherish and protect?" Zhaozhou did not employ the staff or shout, but simply said, "I do not know either." Were it not for this old fellow, being pressured like that, one would often forget front and lose back. Fortunately, this old fellow has room to turn himself around with ease, so he answered him like this. Nowadays Chan monks, when questioned, also say, "I do not know either, I don't understand." What can be done about the fact that though they travel the same road, they do not run in the same ruts? This monk had an extraordinary quality; only then could he know how to ask: "Since the venerable monk does not know, why do you say you are not within clarity?" An even better pressuring! If it had been anyone else, they often would have been unable to explain it away. Zhaozhou is an adept; he simply said to him: "It is enough to ask about the matter. Make your prostrations and withdraw." This monk was still helpless before this old fellow; he could only swallow his breath and gulp down his voice. This is a master of great ability; he does not discuss mystery and subtlety with you, nor does he discuss dynamic function and circumstance; all along he received people with the matter of their own fundamental lot. Therefore it is said: "If cursed, you are allowed to mouth back; if spat upon, you are allowed to splash water." Little do people realize that this old fellow never received people with the staff or shout throughout his life; he only used ordinary words, yet no one under heaven could do anything about him. It was simply because throughout his life he had no such contrivances; therefore he could turn things sideways and use them upside down, moving with the current or against it, attaining great ease. Nowadays people do not comprehend this; they only constantly say that Zhaozhou did not answer the question, that he did not explain it for the person. Little do they realize that they have missed it right to their faces.

1.15

"The Supreme Way is not difficult—("A triple gong'an. A mouth full of frost. What are you saying?") / words are correct and speech is straight. ("When fish move the water gets murky. Split seven ways and torn eight ways. Smearing paste over the beard.") / One has many kinds; ("Good to divide it. Yet it is just one kind. When will there ever be an end?") / two are not of two sorts. ("Intolerable! Four, five, six, seven. Why tangle in these vines?") / On the horizon the sun rises and the moon sets; ("Presented face to face. Boundless overhead, boundless underfoot. Be sure not to raise or lower your head.") / before the railing the mountains are deep and the waters cold. ("Once dead, never to live again. Do you still feel your fine hairs standing on end?") / When consciousness is exhausted in the skull, what joy can arise? ("Staring wide-eyed in the coffin. Practitioner Lu is his fellow practitioner.") / In the withered tree the dragon's chant has not dried up. ("Bah! The withered tree puts forth blossoms again. Bodhidharma travels to the eastern land.") / Difficult, difficult! ("False dharma is hard to uphold. An inverted explanation. What place is this, to talk of difficult or easy?") / Picking and choosing, or clarity—see for yourself, sir!" ("Blind! You thought it depended on someone else? Fortunately you look for yourself; it has nothing to do with this mountain monk.")

1.16

Xuedou knew where it landed; therefore he composed this eulogy. Having said, "The Supreme Way is not difficult," he immediately followed with, "words are correct and speech is straight." When one corner is raised, if one does not return with the other three corners, Xuedou says, "One has many kinds; two are not of two sorts," which is like the three corners returning to the one. Tell me, where is it that words are correct and speech is straight? Why does the one have many kinds, yet the two are not of two sorts? If you do not possess the eye, where can you grope for it? If you can penetrate these two lines, then as the ancients said, "Forged into a single piece, still as before you see: mountains are mountains, waters are waters, long is long, short is short, heaven is heaven, earth is earth." Sometimes heaven is called earth, sometimes earth is called heaven, sometimes mountains are called not-mountains, waters are called not-waters. In the end, how can you attain steadiness? When the wind comes, trees shake; when waves rise, boats go high; spring generates, summer grows; autumn harvests, winter stores away. "With a single even state of mind, everything vanishes naturally of itself." Then these four lines of eulogy suddenly break off. Xuedou had talent to spare, so he divided and wrapped it up, yet when calculated, it is simply adding a head on top of a head, saying: "The Supreme Way is not difficult; words are correct and speech is straight. One has many kinds; two are not of two sorts." Although there are not so many matters, on the horizon when the sun rises, the moon sets; before the railing when the mountains are deep, the waters are cold. When you come here, words are correct and speech is straight; every single thing is the Way, every single object is entirely real. Is this not where mind and realm are both forgotten, forged into a single piece? Xuedou's beginning is too solitary and steep, and at the end he leaks quite a bit. If you investigate thoroughly and see completely, naturally it is just like the supreme flavor of ghee. If emotional interpretations are not yet forgotten, you will see it split seven ways and torn eight ways, definitely unable to understand such talk. "When consciousness is exhausted in the skull, what joy can arise? In the withered tree the dragon's chant has not dried up." This alone is the point of intertwining. This monk asked like that, and Zhaozhou answered like that: Zhou said, "The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes picking and choosing. As soon as there are words and language, they are picking and choosing, or they are clarity. This old monk is not within clarity. Do you all still cherish and protect [it], or not?" At the time, a monk immediately asked, "Since you are not within clarity, what do you cherish and protect?" Zhou said, "I do not know either." The monk said, "Since the venerable monk does not know, why do you say you are not within clarity?" Zhou said, "It is enough to ask about the matter. Make your prostrations and withdraw." This is an ancient gong'an of inquiring into the Way; Xuedou dragged it out and strung it together, using it to eulogize: "The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes picking and choosing." Nowadays people do not understand the ancients' intent; they just bite on words and chew on phrases—when will there be an end? Only an adept who has penetrated through all quarters can distinguish this kind of talk. Haven't you seen? A monk asked Xiangyan, "What is the Way?" Yan said, "The dragon's chant in a withered tree." The monk said, "Who is the person within the Way?" Yan said, "Eyes in a skull." Later, the monk asked Shishuang, "What is the dragon's chant in a withered tree?" Shuang said, "It still carries joy." "What are the eyes in a skull?" Shuang said, "They still carry consciousness." The monk also asked Caoshan, "What is the dragon's chant in a withered tree?" Shan said, "The bloodline is unbroken." "What are the eyes in a skull?" Shan said, "Not completely dry." "Who can hear it?" Shan said, "In the entire great earth there is not a single person who does not hear it." The monk said, "I wonder what verse line the dragon's chant is?" Shan said, "I do not know what verse line it is; all who hear it lose their lives." There is also a eulogy that says: "The dragon's chant in a withered tree is truly seeing the Way; / with no consciousness in the skull, the eyes first become clear. / When joy and consciousness are exhausted, all tidings end; / how could that person distinguish clarity within the turbid?" Xuedou can be said to have great skill; all at once he eulogized them intertwined for you. Even though it is like this, there are not two sorts at all. At the end Xuedou has a place of helping people, further saying, "Difficult, difficult!" Even this "Difficult, difficult!" must be penetrated before you can get it. Why? Baizhang said, "All words and language, the mountains, rivers, and great earth, one by one turn and return to oneself." Whenever Xuedou makes a pick-up and take-away, at the end it must return to oneself. Tell me, where is Xuedou's place of helping people? "Picking and choosing, or clarity—see for yourself, sir!" Since he has eulogized by tangling in vines, why does he instead say, "See for yourself, sir"? Luckily he tells you to look for yourself. Tell me, where does the intent land? Do not say that none of you can understand it; even if this mountain monk comes here, he just cannot understand it either.

1.17

The pointer says: One dynamic function, one circumstance; one word, one phrase: temporarily intended to provide an entrance, gouging a wound in healthy flesh, forming nests and burrows. When the great function manifests before us, it does not keep to rules and regulations: temporarily intended to let you know there is the transcendent matter, covering heaven and covering earth, yet impossible to grope for. To be like this is acceptable, and not to be like this is acceptable—too fussy! To be like this is not acceptable, and not to be like this is not acceptable—too solitary and precipitous! Without getting involved in these two paths, what is right? Please test and bring it up to see.

1.18

[3] Case: Master Ma was unwell. ("This fellow leaks quite a bit. Dragging others into trouble.") The monastery director asked, "Venerable monk, how has your health been recently?" ("Four hundred and four illnesses break out all at once. Not sending off a deceased monk after three days makes a skilled hand. Walking in the way of benevolence and righteousness.") The great master said, "Sun-Face Buddha, Moon-Face Buddha." ("Extremely fresh! Karmic affinity of raising a child.")

1.19

Master Ma was unwell. The monastery director asked, "Venerable monk, how has your health been recently?" The great master said, "Sun-Face Buddha, Moon-Face Buddha." If the ancestral master had not met him with the matter of his fundamental lot, how could this Way shine brightly? In this gong'an, if you know where it lands, you walk alone in the cinnabar dawn; if you do not know where it lands, you often take a wrong turn before the withered tree cliff. If an authentic person comes here, they must possess the moves of driving away the plowman's ox and snatching away the starving person's food; only then can they see Master Ma's place of helping people. Nowadays many people say that Master Ma was receiving the monastery director. Fortunately, that has no connection! Nowadays in the assembly many misunderstand, staring wide-eyed and saying, "Right here! The left eye is Sun-Face, the right eye is Moon-Face." What connection is there? They have not even dreamt of it in the year of the donkey, constantly missing the matter of the ancients! Just take Master Ma's saying this: where was his intent? Some say, "Serve a bowl of Stomach-Calming Powder." What hold is there? When you come here, how can you attain steadiness? Therefore it is said: "The single transcendent path is not transmitted by the thousand sages; students wear out their bodies like monkeys grasping at shadows." Just this "Sun-Face Buddha, Moon-Face Buddha" is extremely difficult to see. When Xuedou reached this point, it was also difficult to eulogize; yet because he saw through it completely, he used the full effort of his life to point it out and annotate it. Do you all want to see Xuedou? Look at the text below.

1.20

“Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.” (When he opens his mouth you see his guts. Like two mirrors reflecting each other, with no image between them.) / “What things are the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns?” (Too elevated! Don’t deceive others, that would be fine. Both precious and base.) / “For twenty years I experienced bitterness and hardship;” (Naturally you fell into the weeds yourself; it has nothing to do with this mountain monk. A mute eating bitter melon.) / “For your sake, how many times did I go down into the blue dragon’s cave?” (What need for such as this? You’d better not apply your mind mistakenly. Nor should you say there is nothing extraordinary.) / “An injustice!” (Grieves people to death. A sorrowful person should not speak to a sorrowful person.) / “Fitting to relate!” (To whom will you speak? Speaking to a sorrowful person grieves them to death.) / “Clear-eyed patch-robed monks, do not treat it lightly!” (You must be even more meticulous. Bah! Retreat three thousand miles!)

1.21

During Emperor Shenzong's reign, it was claimed that this verse satirized the state; for this reason it was not permitted to enter the Tripiṭaka. Xuedou first brings it up, saying: “Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.” Having brought it up once, he then says: “What things are the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns?” Now tell me, what was his intention? It was already explained just now: he glosses it directly. Therefore it is said: “Lowering the hook in the four seas, only fishing for ferocious dragons.” With just this one phrase, it is already done. Afterwards, Xuedou himself eulogizes the effort and search of his lifelong practice: “For twenty years I experienced bitterness and hardship; / For your sake, how many times did I go down into the blue dragon’s cave?” What is this like? It is just like someone entering the blue dragon’s cave to retrieve a jewel. Later, when the lacquer tub is smashed open, one might imagine how extraordinary it is—yet it turns out to merely amount to: “What things are the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns?” Now tell me, where do Xuedou’s words land? You must step back yourself and see; only then will you perceive where they land. Have you not seen? Attendant Pou of Xingyang answered the question of Recorder Yuan: “When Sāgara emerges from the ocean, heaven and earth tremble; when they meet face to face, what is it like?” Pou said: “When the Garuḍa king presides over the universe, who inside can stick their head out?” Yuan said: “If one suddenly meets one who sticks their head out, then what?” Pou said: “Like a falcon seizing a pigeon. If you don't believe, verify it before the skull to know the truth.” Yuan said: “If so, then I bend my knee to my chest and retreat three steps.” Pou said: “Little tortoise beneath Mount Meru’s seat, do not wait to suffer another marked forehead before turning back.” Therefore, what things are the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, too? Many people fail to see Xuedou’s meaning, insisting that it satirizes the state. If you understand it in that way, it is merely emotional view. This comes from Chanyue’s poem, “Noble Youths’ Outing,” which says: “In brocade robes of brilliant hue, a falcon perched on hand; / Roaming at leisure, demeanors mostly haughty and light. / The hardships of sowing and reaping are completely unknown to them; / What things are the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns?” Xuedou said: “An injustice! Fitting to relate! / Clear-eyed patch-robed monks, do not treat it lightly!” How many people make a living inside the blue dragon’s cave? Even if one has an eye on the crown of the head and a talisman behind the elbow, a clear-eyed patch-robed monk who shines through the four continents—when coming to this, must not treat it lightly either; one must be meticulous to get it.

1.22

The pointer says: Under the blue sky and bright sun, one should not point east and mark west. Meeting seasonal conditions and causes, one must also prescribe medicine suited to the disease. Tell me, is letting go better, or holding fast? Try bringing it up to see.

1.23

[4] Case: Deshan arrived at Guishan. (A board-carrying fellow. A wild fox spirit.) Carrying his bundle under his arm into the Dharma hall, (Sure enough, this causes people to doubt. He exposes his defect.) he crossed from east to west and from west to east. (Extremely full of Chan! What is he doing?) Looking around, he said, “Nothing, nothing,” and went straight out. (He deserves thirty blows of the staff. Extremely arrogant, rising to the skies. A true lion’s cub, skilled in the lion’s roar!) Xuedou remarks: “Checked and exposed!” (Mistake! As expected! Marked!) Deshan arrived at the gate and said, “Still, I should not be sloppy.” (Letting go and gathering in. At the head he is too elevated; in the end he is too lowly. Knowing an error and definitely correcting it—how many people can do this?) So he assumed dignified deportment and re-entered to see him. (He behaves just as before; this is already a second layer of defect. Perilous!) Guishan was sitting. (Coldly observing this old fellow. Plucking the tiger's whiskers. It takes this kind of person!) Deshan held up his sitting mat and said, “Venerable monk!” (Changing his head and face. Raising waves where there is no wind.) Guishan began to reach for the whisk. (It has to be that fellow! Planning strategies within the tent. Surely he sits and cuts off the tongues of everyone under heaven.) Deshan gave a shout, shook his sleeves, and went out. (A wild fox spirit’s view. This single shout has both the provisional and the real, both illumination and function. Both are those who seize clouds and grasp mists; among them, this is extraordinary.) Xuedou remarks: “Checked and exposed!” (Mistake! As expected! Marked!) Deshan turned his back on the Dharma hall, put on his straw sandals, and departed. (The scenery is lovely. The gong'an is not yet complete. He gained the rainhat on his neck and lost the sandals on his feet. He has already lost his body and life.) In the evening, Guishan asked the head monk, “Where is the newcomer who arrived just now?” (In the east losing joints, in the west pulling up roots. Eyes looking southeast, intent on the northwest.) The head monk said, “At that time he turned his back on the Dharma hall, put on his straw sandals, and went out.” (A divine tortoise dragging its tail. He deserves thirty blows of the staff. How many should this kind of fellow receive behind his head?) Guishan said, “Hereafter this fellow will build a thatched hut on the solitary peak, scolding the Buddhas and reviling the ancestral masters.” (Drawing the bow after the thief has fled. Patch-robed monks of the world cannot leap out.) Xuedou remarks: “Adding frost on top of snow!” (Mistake! As expected! Marked!)

1.24

Jiashan added three checking marks. Do all of you understand? Sometimes one blade of grass is used as the sixteen-foot golden body; sometimes the sixteen-foot golden body is used as a blade of grass. Deshan was originally a doctrinal lecturer. In western Shu he lectured on the Diamond Sūtra. Because in the teachings it says, 'Vajra symbolizes samādhi; in post-attainment wisdom, for a thousand kalpas one studies the Buddha's deportment and for ten thousand kalpas one studies the Buddha's fine conduct, and only then does one attain Buddhahood,' yet those southern devil-spawn went about saying, 'This very mind is Buddha.' Thereupon he grew indignant, shouldered his commentaries, and went on itinerant pilgrimage straight toward the south to overthrow this band of devils. Seeing him so indignant, he was indeed a fierce and keen fellow! When he first arrived in Lizhou, on the road he saw an old woman selling fried cakes. So he set down his commentaries to buy some snacks [literally: 'point of mind'] to eat. The old woman asked, 'What is that you are carrying?' Deshan said, 'Commentaries on the Diamond Sūtra.' The old woman said, 'I have one question. If you can answer it, I will give you fried cakes as snacks. If you cannot answer, go buy them elsewhere.' Deshan said, 'Just ask.' The old woman said, 'The Diamond Sūtra says, "Past mind cannot be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, future mind cannot be grasped." Which mind does the Acārya wish to refresh [point to]?' Deshan was speechless. The old woman then directed him to go call upon Longtan. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he asked, 'I have long heard of Longtan [Dragon Pool], but having arrived here, no pool is seen, nor does a dragon appear.' Reverend Longtan, drawing himself forward from behind a folding screen, said, 'You have personally arrived at Longtan.' The Master then made prostrations and retired. When night came, he entered the room and stood in attendance until late in the night. Longtan said, 'Why not go down?' Deshan then said farewell, lifted the curtain, and went out. Seeing that it was dark outside, he turned back and said, 'It is dark outside the door.' Longtan then lit a paper candle and handed it to Deshan. Just as Deshan took it, Longtan blew it out. Deshan had a sudden great enlightenment, and at once bowed down. Longtan asked, 'What have you seen that makes you bow?' Deshan said, 'From this day forward, I will never again doubt the tongue-tips of the old reverends under heaven.' The next day, Longtan went up to the hall and said, 'Among you there is a fellow whose fangs are like a forest of swords, whose mouth is like a blood bowl; strike him with a staff and he does not turn his head. Someday in the future, upon a solitary peak, he will establish my path.' Deshan then took his commentaries, brought a torch before the Dharma Hall, held it up, and said, 'Exhausting all profound eloquence is like placing a single hair in the great void; using up all worldly mechanisms is like casting a single drop into a vast chasm.' He then burned them. Later, hearing of the flourishing teaching at Guishan, he went straight to Guishan to meet him as an adept. Without even unpacking his bundle, he went straight into the Dharma Hall, crossed from east to west and from west to east, looked around and said, 'Nothing, nothing,' and immediately went out. Now tell me, what was his intention? Could he have been mad? Most people misunderstand and take this as establishing something; in truth, it has no connection whatsoever. Seeing him act like this, it is truly extraordinary! Therefore it is said: 'To emerge from the crowd requires an outstanding hero; to conquer the opponent relies on a lion's cub. In choosing Buddhas, if one lacks such an eye, even after a thousand ages, what would be the use?' Arriving here, one must be an adept of comprehensive ways before one can begin to see it. Why? In the Buddha Dharma there are not so many affairs; where could emotional views find a foothold? In his mind's workings, how could there be so much fuss? Therefore Xuansha said, 'Directly like the moon's reflection in an autumn pool, or the bell's chime in the quiet night: it responds to the striking without deficiency, and touches the waves without dispersing.' This is still an affair on the shore of birth and death. Arriving here, there is neither gain nor loss, neither right nor wrong, nor is there anything extraordinary, mysterious, or abstruse. Since there is nothing extraordinary, mysterious, or abstruse, how do you understand his crossing from east to west and from west to east? Now tell me, what was his meaning? Old Guishan did not pay him any mind either. Were it not for Guishan, he would have been frustrated and broken down by him. Look at old adept Guishan meeting him: he simply sat and watched the outcome. If he had not deeply discerned the incoming breeze, how could he have acted like this? Xuedou's interlinear remark says, 'Checked and exposed!'—just like an iron stake. In the assembly it is called an interlinear remark: although it stands on both sides, it does not abide on either side. How do you understand his saying, 'Checked and exposed'? Where is the place he checked and exposed? Tell me, did he check and expose Deshan, or did he check and expose Guishan? Deshan then went out to the gate, but wanting to eradicate the root, said to himself, 'I must not be careless.' He wanted to turn out his five viscera, heart, and liver to engage Guishan in a Dharma battle. Having fully arrayed his deportment again, he returned to meet him. While Guishan was sitting, Deshan held up his sitting mat and said, 'Reverend!' Guishan moved to take up his whisk. Deshan then gave a shout and, flicking his sleeves, went out. Exceedingly extraordinary! Many in the assemblies say Guishan was afraid of him—what connection does that have? Guishan was in no hurry either. Therefore it is said, 'He whose wisdom surpasses birds catches birds; he whose wisdom surpasses beasts catches beasts; he whose wisdom surpasses humans catches humans.' When one has penetrated such Chan, even if the entire great earth, the myriad phenomena, heaven and hell, grass, mustard seeds, humans, and beasts all let out a shout at once, he would pay no mind; even if someone overturned the meditation platform and shouted the great assembly to dispersal, he would not give it a glance. It is as high as the heavens, as deep as the earth. If Guishan lacked the skill to cut off the tongues of everyone under heaven, it would have been very difficult to test him at that time. Were he not a kalyāṇamitra of fifteen hundred people, when it came to this point, he could not have sorted it out either. Guishan devised strategies in his command tent to secure victory a thousand leagues away. Deshan turned his back on the Dharma Hall, put on his straw sandals, and went straight out. Now tell me, what was his meaning? Do you say Deshan won or lost? Did Guishan's acting like this mean winning or losing? Xuedou's interlinear remark says, 'Checked and exposed!' It was because he applied effort and saw through the ancient's stubborn, paradoxical, and ultimate point that he was able to do this. It is truly extraordinary. Netang said, 'Xuedou applied two

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佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 — Classical Chinese