佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.1

The pointer says: Where right and wrong intertwine, even a sage cannot know; when going with and against in every direction, even a Buddha cannot distinguish. Acting as a person who surpasses the world and transcends the ordinary, one manifests the ability of a great being who outstrips the multitude. Walking on thin ice, treading on the edge of a sword, directly appearing like the horn of a qilin or a lotus flower within fire. Only upon clearly witnessing one who transcends the ordinary sphere does one recognize a fellow traveler on the Path. Who is an adept? Try to bring it up and see.

5.2

[Case 41] Case: Zhaozhou asked Touzi, "When a person of the Great Death comes back to life, how is it?" (If there is such a thing, thieves do not burgle a poor person's home. Only one accustomed to being a guest pities a guest.) / Touzi said, "Night travel is not permitted; one must arrive by dawn." (Aiming at the tower, he strikes the tower. A thief recognizes a thief. If they do not sleep in the same bed, how would they know the bottom of the quilt is worn through?)

5.3

Zhaozhou asked Touzi, "When a person of the Great Death comes back to life, how is it?" Touzi answered him, saying, "Night travel is not permitted; one must arrive by dawn." Tell me, what sort of moment is this? A fluteless flute colliding with a felt clapper. This is called a host-testing question, and also a question of mental activity. In all quarters, Touzi and Zhaozhou were both praised for possessing eloquence that outstripped the herd. Though the two elders came from different lines of succession, look at how their dynamic sharpness harmonized like two in the same boat! One day, Touzi prepared a tea feast to receive Zhaozhou. He personally handed a steamed bun to Zhaozhou, but Zhaozhou paid no attention. Touzi ordered an attendant to hand a sesame flatbread to Zhaozhou, and Zhaozhou bowed three times to the attendant. Tell me, what was his meaning? Look at how both of them consistently drew upon the fundamental root, bringing up this proper matter of one's own lot for the sake of others. A monk asked, "What is the Dao?" He replied, "The Dao." "What is Buddha?" He replied, "Buddha." Again he asked, "How is it before the gold lock is unlocked?" He replied, "Unlocked." "How is it before the gold rooster crows?" He replied, "There is no such sound." "How is it after it crows?" He replied, "Each knows its own time." Touzi's questions and answers throughout his life were always like this. Look at Zhaozhou asking, "When a person of the Great Death comes back to life, how is it?" and Touzi immediately saying, "Night travel is not permitted; one must arrive by dawn." Directly appearing like spark struck from flint or a flash of lightning, one must be a transcendent person before this is possible. A person of the Great Death has no Buddhist principles, wondrous mysteries, gains, losses, right, wrong, long, or short whatsoever; arriving here, one simply lets it rest like this. The ancients said, "Countless are the dead on flat ground; the one who can pass through the bramble forest is an adept." One must also penetrate through to the other side before it works. Even though it is like this, for people nowadays to reach this kind of stage is already rare. If there is any reliance or understanding, there is no connection. Venerable Zhe called it "impure vision." My late master, Wuzu, called it "the life-root not being severed." One must undergo the Great Death once, and only then come back to life. Venerable Yongguang of Zhejiang said, "If the dynamic point of words errs, one's homeland is ten thousand leagues away. You must directly let go your hands at the cliff's edge, personally take responsibility and bear it. Reviving after complete extinction—you cannot be deceived. An extraordinary purport: how can a person conceal it?" Zhaozhou's intent in asking was like this. Touzi was an adept, and did not fail his question either; it is just that he severed emotionality and traces, which is indeed hard to understand, merely revealing a little bit before him. Therefore the ancients said, "If you wish to be intimate, do not bring a question to question; the question lies in the answer, and the answer lies in the question." Were it not for Touzi, being asked this question by Zhaozhou, it would have been very difficult to reply. It was only because he was an adept that as soon as it was raised, he knew where it fell. The verse says: (廋 [pronounced sōu]: to conceal).

5.4

"Possessing eyes within life is just like death;" (Neither knows the other. Tossing and turning. If not composed, how could one distinguish this fellow's black from white?) / "Why must the contraindication of a medicine test an adept?" (If not tested, how could one distinguish the truth? Encountering him, what harm is there in trying out a test? Still, it had to be asked.) / "Even the ancient Buddhas say they have not reached it;" (Fortunately there is a companion. The thousand sages do not transmit it either. This mountain monk does not know either.) / "I do not know who can scatter dust and sand." (Right now there are no few of them. Opening the eyes hits it; closing the eyes hits it. Reverend, bringing it up like this, where does it fall?)

5.5

"Possessing eyes within life is just like death." Xuedou was one who knew it was there, so he dared to compose this verse. The ancients said, "He investigates the living word, not the dead word." Xuedou said that possessing eyes within life is just like being a dead man; how was he ever dead? Possessing eyes within death is just like being a living man. The ancients said, "Only when all the dead are killed does one see the living; only when all the dead are brought to life does one see the dead." Zhaozhou was a living man, so he posed a question of death to test Touzi, just like something contraindicated by medicinal nature brought forward for an experiment. Therefore Xuedou said, "Why must the contraindication of a medicine test an adept?" This versifies Zhaozhou's questioning. Afterward, he versifies Touzi: "Even the ancient Buddhas say they have not yet reached it." This very place where a person of the Great Death comes back to life—even the ancient Buddhas have never reached it, and the old venerable monks throughout the world have never reached it either. Even old Śākya or the blue-eyed barbarian monk would have to practice further. Therefore it is said, "The old barbarian is only allowed to know; the old barbarian is not allowed to understand." Xuedou said, "I do not know who can scatter dust and sand." Have you not seen the monk who asked Changqing, "What is the eye of a kalyāṇamitra?" Changqing said, "I resolve not to scatter sand." Baofu said, "It cannot be scattered anymore." The old venerable monks throughout the world sit upon their curved-wood chairs, wielding staffs, shouting, raising whisks, knocking on chairs, manifesting supernatural powers, and acting as masters—all of this is scattering sand. Tell me, how can one avoid it?

5.6

The pointer says: Singly raising and independently handling; dragging through water and mired in mud; knocking and singing conducted together; walls of iron and mountains of silver. If you deliberate, you see ghosts before a skull; if you ponder, you sit beneath the Black Mountain. Clearly the bright sun illuminates the heavens; briskly the pure wind encircles the earth. Tell me, did the ancients still have any ambiguities? Try to bring it up and see.

5.7

[Case 42] Case: Layman Pang took leave of Yaoshan. (This old fellow makes strange trouble.) / Shan ordered ten Chan practitioners to see him off to the gate. (He does not treat him lightly. What kind of realm is this? One must be a patch-robed monk who recognizes the clues.) / The Layman pointed to the snow in the air and said, "Fine snow, flake by flake, not falling anywhere else." (Raising waves without wind. His fingertips have eyes. This old fellow has resonance in his words.) / At the time, Chan Practitioner Quan said, "Where does it fall?" (Hit! He follows along. Sure enough, he took the bait.) / The Layman gave him a slap. (Hit! Sure enough. Inviting a thief into the house.) / Quan said, "The Layman must not be careless!" (Staring wide-eyed in the coffin.) / The Layman said, "If you call yourself a Chan practitioner like this, Old Yama hasn't released you yet!" (A second ladle of foul water poured out. Not just Old Yama—this mountain monk here will not let you pass either.) / Quan said, "What about the Layman?" (His crude mind unchanged. Again asking for a beating. From beginning to end, this monk finds no advantage.) / The Layman gave him another slap, (Sure enough. Adding frost to snow. Having taken the beating, he submits his confession.) / saying, "The eyes see as if blind; the mouth speaks as if mute." (He even has a concluding verdict; again he reads him the judgment.) / Xuedou remarked differently: "At the initial question, he should have just balled up a lump of snow and struck him." (Granted, but that is drawing the bow after the thief has passed. It leaks quite a bit. Even so, one wants to see arrowheads meeting point-to-point. How can one help that it has fallen into the ghost cave?)

5.8

Layman Pang practiced under both Mazu and Shitou and composed verses for both. When he first met Shitou, he asked, "Who is the person that does not keep company with the myriad phenomena?" Before the sound had died away, Shitou covered his mouth. Having an insight, he composed a verse saying: "In daily affairs there is nothing different; / Only I harmonize with myself. / At every turn, neither grasping nor rejecting; / In every place, no discord. / Who cares for designations of vermilion and purple? / The green mountains are devoid of a single speck of dust. / Supernatural powers and wondrous dynamic functions: / Hauling water and carrying firewood." Later he practiced under Mazu and asked again, "Who is the person that does not keep company with the myriad phenomena?" Mazu said, "Wait until you swallow all the water of the West River in one gulp, then I will tell you." The Layman was thoroughly enlightened and composed a verse saying: "From the ten directions they gather together, / Each studying non-action. / This is the arena for choosing Buddhas; / With empty mind, passing the examination, one returns." Because he was an adept, later when monasteries stood in sight of each other, they competed to praise him wherever he went. When he arrived at Yaoshan, he lingered for a long time, and finally took leave of Yaoshan. Shan respected him deeply and ordered ten Chan practitioners to see him off. At that time, snow was falling. The Layman pointed to the snow and said, "Fine snow, flake by flake, not falling anywhere else." Chan Practitioner Quan said, "Where does it fall?" The Layman immediately slapped him. Since Chan Practitioner Quan could not execute the imperative, the Layman executed half of it. Although the imperative was executed, for Chan Practitioner Quan to reply like that does not mean he did not know where it fell. Each had dynamic sharpness, rolling up and unrolling differently. However, there was a point where he did not reach the Layman's level, which is why he fell under his frame and could hardly escape his range. After striking him, the Layman further explained the principle, saying, "The eyes see as if blind; the mouth speaks as if mute." Xuedou gave an alternative remark to the earlier words, saying, "At the initial question, he should have just balled up a lump of snow and struck him." For Xuedou to say this was intended not to fail his question, yet his dynamic function was slow. Repository Head Qing said, "The Layman's dynamic function was like a flash of lightning. If one waits for you to ball up a lump of snow, when will it arrive? Striking with the voice as it sounds—only then does one cut it off cleanly." Xuedou personally versified where he struck, saying: (彀 [gòu]: drawing a bow or crossbow; drawing a bow fully).

5.9

"Striking with a snowball, striking with a snowball—" (How can one help falling into the second dynamic? No need to bring it up. Endless above the head, endless under the feet.) / "Old Pang's mechanism cannot be grasped." (Often people do not know. One only fears it is not so.) / "In heaven and among humans, he does not know himself;" (What kind of news is this? Does Xuedou know?) / "In eyes and in ears, completely detached and free." (Arrowheads meeting point-to-point. The eyes see as if blind, the mouth speaks as if mute.) / "Completely detached and free!" (What about it? In what place do you see Old Pang and Xuedou?) / "The blue-eyed barbarian monk can hardly distinguish it." (If Bodhidharma came out, what would he say to you? Striking, he says, "Reverend, what do you say?" Buried in a single pit.)

5.10

"Hit with snowballs! Hit with snowballs! Layman Pang's mechanisms cannot be grasped." Xuedou wanted to walk upon the layman's head. The ancients used snow to clarify matters on the side of one color. Xuedou's meaning was: if at that time he had taken a snowball and hit him, even if the layman had whatever mechanisms, he would still have found it difficult to engage. Xuedou boasted of where he hit, completely unaware that there was a flaw. "In heaven and among humans, he does not know himself; / In the eyes and in the ears, utterly free and unconstrained." In the eyes it is snow; in the ears it is also snow. He is abiding right on the side of one color. This is also called the realm of Samantabhadra, matters on the side of one color; it is also called "becoming one whole piece." Yunmen said: "Even if the entire universe and great earth have not the slightest flaw, this is still a turning phrase; not seeing a single color is only half the presentation. If you want the full presentation, you must know there is a road beyond." Arriving here, the great function must appear before you; a needle cannot prick in, and one does not listen to another's judgment. Therefore it is said: "He investigates living phrases, he does not investigate dead phrases." An ancient said: "A single fitting phrase is an ass-tethering stake for ten thousand kalpas." What use is it? Having versified this to death, Xuedou again turns the dynamic mechanism, saying: just this utter freedom and unconstraint—even if it were the blue-eyed barbarian monk, he too would find it difficult to discern. If even the blue-eyed barbarian monk finds it difficult to discern, what more would you have this mountain monk say?

5.11

The pointer says: A phrase that settles heaven and earth is revered by ten thousand generations. Dynamic action that seizes tigers and rhinos cannot be discerned by a thousand sages. Directly underfoot there is not the slightest film over the eyes; the total dynamic function manifests everywhere together. If you wish to understand the tongs and hammer of the transcendent, you must be a bellows-furnace of an adept master. Tell me, has there been such a family custom from the past on down? Let us examine the case.

5.12

[Case 44] A monk asked Dongshan, "When cold and heat arrive, how should one avoid them?" (This is not the season for it. Right over the head and in the face, where is it?)
Dongshan said, "Why not go to the place where there is no cold or heat?" (Everyone under heaven searches for it and cannot find it. Hiding the body and revealing the shadow. Xiao He sold out the fake silver city.)
The monk said, "What is the place where there is no cold or heat?" (He swindles a boatload of people to death. Turning along with him. Once hooked, he is hauled right up.)
Dongshan said, "When it is cold, let the cold kill the ācārya; when it is hot, let the heat kill the ācārya." (The true does not conceal the false; the crooked does not hide the straight. Standing by the cliff watching tigers and rhinos—a special cause for sorrow. Overturning the great sea and kicking down Mount Meru. Tell me, where is Dongshan?)

5.13

Venerable Xin of Huanglong brought this up and said: "Dongshan makes a collar at the sleeve and cuts a lapel under the armpit; but what can be done if this monk is not satisfied? If someone came forth right now to ask Huanglong, tell me, how would I deal with him?" After a long pause he said: "'Settled dhyāna does not require mountain and water; / when the fire in the mind is extinguished, one is naturally cool.' Everyone, tell me: where did Dongshan's trap fall? If you can clearly discern it, only then will you know that under Dongshan, the five ranks' mutual interpenetration of the biased and the right in guiding people is quite extraordinary. Only when arriving at this transcendent realm can one be like this: without needing contrivance, it is naturally just right. Therefore it is said:
'The Biased within the Right:
In the first watch of the third watch, before the moon is bright;
Do not wonder that meeting, they do not recognize each other;
Hidden, they still harbor old days' dislike.
'The Right within the Biased:
A woman awake at dawn meets an ancient mirror;
Distinct, face-to-face, there is no other reality;
Stop being lost in the head and still recognizing the shadow.
'Coming from within the Right:
Within non-being there is a path to leave the dust;
If only one can avoid offending the present ruler's taboo,
It surpasses even the previous dynasty's tongue-cutting talent.
'Arrival within the Biased:
Two blades cross points, no need to avoid;
A skillful hand is like a lotus in fire;
Naturally having an air that pierces the heavens.
'Attainment within Both:
Not falling into existence or non-existence, who dares harmonize?
Everyone wishes to step out of the common flow;
When settled and matched, they return to sit in the charcoal.'
Master Lu of Fushan Yuan took this gong'an as the standard of the five ranks. If you understand this one case, the rest will naturally be easy to understand. Yantou said: 'It is just like a gourd on water; press it down and it turns, completely without using the slightest bit of strength.' Once a monk asked Dongshan, 'When Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra come to study, how is it?' Dongshan said, 'Drive them into the herd of water buffaloes.' The monk said, 'The Venerable enters hell like an arrow.' Dongshan said, 'It is entirely relying on their power.' Dongshan said, 'Why not go to the place where there is no cold or heat?' This is the Right within the Biased. The monk said, 'What is the place where there is no cold or heat?' Dongshan said, 'When it is cold, let the cold kill the ācārya; when it is hot, let the heat kill the ācārya.' This is the Biased within the Right. Although right, it is yet biased; although biased, it is yet complete. In the Records of Caodong, this is recorded in full detail. If it were under Linji, there would not be so much business; one would immediately understand this kind of gong'an directly. Some say, 'How fine, no cold or heat!' What hold is there on this? An ancient said: 'If you walk on the edge of a sword, it is swift; if you see according to feelings and consciousness, it is slow.' Have you not seen the monk who asked Cuiwei, 'What is the meaning of the ancestral master coming from the West?' Cuiwei said, 'Wait until there is no one around, and I will tell you.' He then went walking into the garden. The monk said, 'There is no one here; please tell me, Venerable.' Cuiwei pointed to the bamboo and said, 'This stalk of bamboo has grown so long; that stalk of bamboo has grown so short.' The monk was suddenly greatly enlightened. Furthermore, Caoshan asked a monk, 'It is so hot; where do you avoid it?' The monk said, 'I avoid it in the cauldron of boiling water and furnace of coals.' Caoshan said, 'How do you avoid it in the cauldron of boiling water and furnace of coals?' The monk said, 'The myriad sufferings cannot reach there.' Look at someone of their family: he naturally understands the speech of someone of his family. Xuedou used matters of their family to versify it:

5.14

Letting down the hands is still like a ten-thousand-fathom cliff; (If not an adept, who could discern it? Where is it not round and merging? When the king's edict goes forth, the feudal lords make way.)
Why must the right and biased consist in contrivance? (If it were contrivance, where would there be today? How can one avoid being involved in both ends? When the wind blows, the grass bends; when water arrives, the ditch is formed.)
The ancient palace of lapis lazuli reflects the bright moon; (Round and rollable—absolutely do not recognize the shadow! Do not stand directly facing it!)
The clever hound of Han vainly ascends the steps. (Not this time—he has missed it! Why chase the clod? Hitting, he says: You study together with this monk!)
Lu (rhyme: long du; interchangeable with lu [hound]).

5.15

Under Caodong there is appearing in the world and not appearing in the world; there is letting down the hands and not letting down the hands. If not appearing in the world, one's eyes gaze into the clouds; if appearing in the world, one covers the head with ash and the face with dirt. Gazing into the clouds is just the peak of ten thousand fathoms; covering the head with ash and the face with dirt is just the matter of letting down the hands. Sometimes covering the head with ash and the face with dirt is right on the peak of ten thousand fathoms; sometimes the peak of ten thousand fathoms is just covering the head with ash and the face with dirt. In fact, entering the marketplace letting down the hands is identical to standing solitary on an isolated peak; returning to the source and clarifying nature is no different from differentiating wisdom. Absolutely do not make a twofold understanding of them! Therefore it is said: "Letting down the hands is still like a ten-thousand-fathom cliff"—directly there is no place for you to lodge. "Why must the right and biased consist in contrivance?" When it comes to functioning, it is naturally like this; it does not consist in contrivance. This versifies Dongshan's answer. Later it says: "The ancient palace of lapis lazuli reflects the bright moon; / The clever hound of Han vainly ascends the steps." This precisely versifies this monk running after words. Under Dongshan there are these: the stone woman, the wooden horse, the bottomless basket, the luminous pearl, the dead snake, and so on—eighteen kinds. In outline, they only clarify the rank of the Right. Like the moon illuminating an ancient palace of lapis lazuli, it seems there is a round shadow. Dongshan replied, "Why not go to the place where there is no cold or heat?" That monk was just like the hound of Han chasing a clod, hurriedly ascending the steps as if catching the moon's shadow. He again asked, "What is the place where there is no cold or heat?" Dongshan said, "When it is cold, let the cold kill the ācārya; when it is hot, let the heat kill the ācārya." Like the hound of Han chasing a clod, he ran up to the steps, but then again did not see the moon's shadow. The hound of Han comes from the Strategies of the Warring States, which says that the hound of the Han clan was a swift dog, and the hare of Zhongshan was a cunning hare; only this hound could pursue this hare. Xuedou cites this as a metaphor for this monk. Just tell me, do you all recognize Dongshan's way of helping people? After a long pause he said: What rabbit are you searching for?

5.16

[Case 44] Heshan gave instruction, saying: "Practicing study is called hearing; ending study is called neighborliness. (Patch-robed monks of the world cannot leap out. An iron hammer without a hole, an iron stake.) / Surpassing these two is true surpassing." (What is having an eye on the top of the head for?)
A monk came forward and asked, "What is true surpassing?" (What are you saying? Cancelled with a single stroke. There is an iron stake.)
Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." (An iron stake. Iron caltrops. Solid and firm.)
He asked again, "What is the ultimate truth?" (What are you saying? A double gong'an. There is another iron stake.)
Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." (An iron stake. Iron caltrops. Solid and firm.)
He asked again, "'Mind itself is Buddha' is not what I ask; what is 'neither mind nor Buddha'?" (What are you saying? This rubbish heap. Three different sections. Another iron caltrop.)
Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." (An iron stake. Iron caltrops. Solid and firm.)
He asked again, "When a transcendent person arrives, how do you receive him?" (What are you saying? Meeting his fourth ladle of foul water. There is another iron stake.)
Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." (An iron stake. Iron caltrops. Solid and firm. Tell me, where does it fall? Morning arriving in the Western Heaven, evening returning to the Eastern Land.)

5.17

Heshan gave an instruction, saying: 'Practicing study is called hearing; abandoning study is called proximity. Surpassing these two is true surpassing.' These words come from the *Baozang lun*. To study until there is nothing left to study is called abandoning study. Therefore it is said: 'Hearing shallowly and awakening deeply; hearing deeply and not awakening—this is called abandoning study.' The One-Night Enlightened One said: 'In my early years I accumulated learning, and also searched through commentaries and sought out sūtras and treatises.' When practicing study is exhausted, one is called a relaxed person of the Way who has abandoned study and is free of contrived activity. Only upon reaching the abandonment of study does one first come close to the Way. To go directly beyond these two kinds of study is called true surpassing. That monk was quite sharp; he immediately took up these words to question Heshan. Heshan said: 'I know how to beat the drum.' This is what is meant by tasteless words and flavorless speech. If you wish to clarify this gong'an, you must be a transcendent person to be able to see that these words do not touch upon rational principles, nor is there any room for discussion. If you understand it directly, like the bottom falling out of a bucket, only then is it the secure place of a patch-robed monk, and only then do you accord with the ancestral master's intention in coming from the West. Therefore Yunmen said: 'Xuefeng rolls balls, Heshan beats the drum, the National Master's water bowl, Zhaozhou drinking tea—all of these are transcendent bringings-forth.' The monk also asked: 'What is the ultimate truth?' Shan said: 'I know how to beat the drum.' In ultimate truth, not a single phenomenon is established. As for conventional truth, the myriad things are fully present. That ultimate and conventional are non-dual is the supreme truth of the noble ones. He asked again: 'Leaving aside "mind itself is Buddha," what is "neither mind nor Buddha"?' Shan said: 'I know how to beat the drum.' 'Mind itself is Buddha' is easy to seek; when it comes to 'neither mind nor Buddha,' it is difficult, and few people reach it. He asked again: 'When a transcendent person comes, how do you receive them?' Shan said: 'I know how to beat the drum.' A transcendent person is one who is thoroughly liberated and unrestrained. The various quarters regard these four phrases as essential principles, calling them 'Heshan's four beatings of the drum.' Consider when a monk asked Jingqing: 'At the start of the New Year, is there still the Buddhadharma or not?' Qing said: 'There is.' The monk said: 'What is the Buddhadharma at the start of the New Year?' Qing said: 'The primary season inaugurates good fortune, and the myriad things are completely renewed.' The monk said: 'Thank you, Master, for answering my question.' Qing said: 'Today this old monk suffered a loss.' In answers like this, there are eighteen kinds of loss. Again, a monk asked Master Jingguo: 'How is it when a crane stands on a solitary pine?' Guo said: 'A scene of mortification underfoot.' He also asked: 'How is it when snow blankets a thousand mountains?' Guo said: 'A scene of mortification after the sun comes out.' He also asked: 'During the Huichang suppression, where did the Dharma-protecting spirits go?' Guo said: 'The two fellows outside the triple gate were a scene of mortification.' The various quarters call these the 'three scenes of mortification.' Again, Baofu asked a monk: 'What Buddha is inside the hall?' The monk said: 'Master, determine it and see.' Fu said: 'Old man Śākya.' The monk said: 'It would be better not to deceive people.' Fu said: 'Rather, it is you who are deceiving me.' He also asked a monk: 'What is your name?' The monk said: 'Xianze [Salty Marsh].' Fu said: 'What happens when you encounter drought?' The monk said: 'Who is the dried-up one?' Fu said: 'I am.' The monk said: 'Master, it would be better not to deceive people.' Fu said: 'Rather, it is you who are deceiving me.' He also asked a monk: 'What deed did you perform to eat yourself so big?' The monk said: 'Master, you are not small either.' Fu assumed a crouching posture. The monk said: 'Master, it would be better not to deceive people.' Fu said: 'Rather, it is you who are deceiving me.' He also asked the bath manager: 'How wide is the bath cauldron?' The manager said: 'Please measure it and see, Master.' Fu made a gesture of measuring. The manager said: 'Master, it would be better not to deceive people.' Fu said: 'Rather, it is you who are deceiving me.' The various quarters call these 'Baofu's four deceptions of people.' There are also Xuefeng's four tubs of black lacquer. All of these are ancestral lineage masters, each putting forth a profound and subtle intention to dynamically engage and receive people. Below, Xuedou adduces a long string of entanglements, and relying on Yunmen's instruction to the assembly, produces a verse on this gong'an.

5.18

First, hauling rocks; (The decree of the Son of Heaven within the realm. A mangy boy drags along a companion. A transcendent person comes like this.)
Second, carrying earth. (The general's order beyond the frontier. Both plead guilty together under a single charge. Sufferers of the same ailment pity each other.)
To release the mechanism requires a crossbow of a thousand jun. (Even with a thousand jun, it cannot penetrate. It cannot be lightly discharged. How could it be for the sake of a dead toad?)
The old master of Xianggu once rolled balls; (Someone once came like this, too. Here is a holeless iron hammer. Who doesn't know it?)
How does that compare to Heshan knowing how to beat the drum? (An iron stake. You must give it back to this old fellow to get it. One son intimately obtains it.)
I report to you, (Xuedou hasn't even dreamed of it yet. Adding frost on top of snow. Do you know it?)
Do not be reckless: (There is a little bit here. Vague and muddled.)
The sweet is sweet, the bitter is bitter! (Thank you for answering the question. Setting down a mistaken footnote. He deserves thirty blows of the staff. Have you taken the blows yet? He immediately strikes. As before, pitch black.)

5.19

One day at Guizong, there was a general labor call to haul rocks. Zong asked the karmadāna: 'Where are you going?' The karmadāna said: 'Going to haul rocks.' Zong said: 'Go ahead and haul rocks, but you must not disturb the tree in the center.' Whenever a newcomer arrived at Muping's place, he would first order them to carry three rounds of earth. Muping composed a verse instructing the assembly, saying: 'The path on East Mountain is narrow; West Mountain is low. New arrivals, do not begrudge three rounds of mud. Alas, having spent so long on the road, clearly not understanding, you instead become deluded.' Later, a monk asked: 'Leaving aside what is within the three rounds, what about what is outside the three rounds?' Ping said: 'The decree of the Iron-Wheel Son of Heaven within the realm.' The monk had nothing to say; Ping immediately struck him. Therefore it is said: 'First, hauling rocks; second, carrying earth. To release the mechanism requires a crossbow of a thousand jun.' Xuedou uses the crossbow of a thousand jun as a metaphor for this saying, wishing to reveal his way of helping people. Thirty catties make one jun; one thousand jun is thirty thousand catties. Only when facing ferocious dragons, tigers, and fierce beasts does one use this crossbow. If it is a tiny wisp of a creature like a wren, one must never release it lightly. Therefore, the trigger of a thousand-jun crossbow is not released for a tiny field mouse. 'The old master of Xianggu once rolled balls': one day, seeing Xuansha coming, Xuefeng rolled three wooden balls all at once. Xuansha immediately made a slashing gesture toward the board, and Xuefeng deeply approved of him. Although all of these are instances of whole-capacity great functioning, none compare to Heshan knowing how to beat the drum. How direct and swift it is! It is simply difficult to understand. Therefore Xuedou says: 'How does that compare to Heshan knowing how to beat the drum?' Fearing, moreover, that people would merely make a livelihood on the words without knowing their origin, acting recklessly and blindly, he therefore says: 'I report to you, do not be reckless.' You must truly reach this ground before you get it. If you want not to be reckless: the sweet is sweet, the bitter is bitter. Although Xuedou brings it out like this, in the end he too cannot leap clear.

5.20

The pointer says: If you must speak, then speak—matchless in all the world. Where action is called for, act immediately—holding nothing back in full dynamic function. Like sparks struck from flint, like a flash of lightning; a swift flame outpacing the wind, a rushing torrent running across a blade. If one takes up the transcendent tongs and hammer, even so one cannot avoid dulling the edge and tying the tongue. Letting a single path through, try to bring it forward and see.

5.21

[Case 45] Case: A monk asked Zhaozhou: 'The myriad dharmas return to the one; where does the one return?' (Pressed against this old fellow. Piling up mountains and heaping up peaks. Above all, do not make a livelihood inside the ghost cave.) / Zhou said: 'When I was in Qingzhou, I made a hemp robe that weighed seven catties.' (Sure enough, stretching vertically and horizontally in all directions. Pulling away the net that covers the sky. Do you still see Zhaozhou? The patch-robed monk's nostrils have been seized. Do you still know where Zhaozhou landed? If you can see here, then in the heavens and on earth, only I am the honored one. When water comes, the channel is formed; when the wind blows, the grass bends. If not yet so, this old monk is beneath your heels.)

5.22

If you understand from the place where one acts at a single stroke, the nostrils of the old venerable monks of the entire world are pierced all at once, and they can do nothing with you; naturally, when water comes, the channel is formed. If you hesitate, this old monk is beneath your heels. Where the Buddhadharma is essential, words are not numerous and speech is not complicated. Just like this monk asking Zhaozhou: 'The myriad dharmas return to the one; where does the one return?' He answered instead: 'When I was in Qingzhou, I made a hemp robe that weighed seven catties.' If you examine it in terms of words and phrases, you mistakenly recognize the indicator on the steelyard; if you do not examine it in terms of words and phrases, what can you do about his having spoken this way? Although this gong'an is difficult to perceive, it is easy to understand; although it is easy to understand, it is difficult to perceive. When it is difficult, it is a silver mountain and an iron wall; when it is easy, one is immediately awake to it, without any room for you to calculate right and wrong. This saying is no different from Puhua saying: 'Tomorrow there is a vegetarian feast at the Great Compassion Cloister.' One day a monk asked Zhaozhou: 'What is the ancestral master's intention in coming from the West?' Zhou said: 'The cypress tree in the front courtyard.' The monk said: 'Master, do not point out an object to people.' Zhou said: 'This old monk does not point out an object to people.' See how, in the ultimate place where turning is impossible, he was able to turn; naturally it covers heaven and earth. If one cannot turn, then whatever path one touches becomes an obstruction. Now tell me, did he have a discussion of the Buddhadharma or not? If you say he had Buddhadharma, when did he ever speak of mind, speak of nature, or speak of the mysterious and profound? If you say he had no principle or purpose of the Buddhadharma, he never failed your question either. Have you not seen: a monk asked Venerable Muping: 'What is the great meaning of the Buddhadharma?' Ping said: 'This winter melon is so large.' Again, a monk asked an ancient worthy: 'In deep mountains and sheer cliffs, where it is remote and utterly without people, is there still Buddhadharma or not?' The ancient worthy said: 'There is.' The monk said: 'What is the Buddhadharma in the deep mountains?' The ancient worthy said: 'Big stones are big; small ones are small.' Look at gong'ans like this: where is the confusion? Xuedou knew where he landed, so he opened up the path of meaning and versified it for you:

5.23

Pressing hard, he once jostled the old awl; (Why press against this old fellow? Jostling, where does he go?)
How many people know the weight of the seven-catty robe? (Coming again, it's not worth half a coin. Causing his mouth to be like a shoulder pole. Yet once more he has won a point over him.)
Now tossed into West Lake, (One must have Xuedou's hands and feet to get it. This mountain monk doesn't want it either.)
To whom is the pure breeze of a loaded boat entrusted? (From antiquity to the present. Tell me, Xuedou chimes in with him and sets down a footnote for him. One son intimately obtains it.)

5.24

Among the eighteen kinds of questions, this is called an arranging-and-organizing question. Xuedou says: “Arranging and organizing, he pressed the old awl.” He arranged and organized the myriad phenomena to make them return to unity. This monk wanted to press Zhaozhou, but Zhaozhou was indeed an adept: where there is no turning, he had a way out. Daring to open his big mouth, he immediately said: “When I was in Qingzhou, I made a cloth robe weighing seven pounds.” Xuedou says: “How many know this seven-pound cloth robe? / Now tossed into the West Lake.” The myriad phenomena return to one; one is not needed, and the seven-pound cloth robe is not needed either—both tossed into the West Lake at once. Xuedou lived at Dongting's Cuifeng, where there was a West Lake. “Unloading the clear breeze, to whom is it imparted?” This was Zhaozhou's address to the assembly: “If you come from the north, I load you up. If you come from the south, I unload you. If you come from Xuefeng or Yunju, you are also a board-carrying fellow.” Xuedou says: to whom can such a clear breeze be imparted? Loading up means explaining mind and nature to you, explaining the mysterious and marvelous, all sorts of expedient means. If it is unloading, there are no longer so many doctrinal principles and mysterious marvels. There are those who carry a load of Chan to Zhaozhou's place, where not a bit of it can be used; all at once he cleans it up for them, making them free and unencumbered without a single speck of matter, called “after awakening, still just like before awakening.” Nowadays people all interpret it as “nothing to do.” Some say: “There is neither delusion nor awakening; do not seek any further.” But consider: before the Buddha appeared in the world, before Bodhidharma came to this land, could it have been otherwise? What was the use of the Buddha appearing in the world? What was the use of the ancestral master coming from the west? If it were entirely like this, what relevance would it have? One must undergo a great thorough awakening; then as before mountains are mountains and waters are waters, and all the myriad phenomena are fully manifest—only then can one be a person of “nothing to do.” Do you not see what Longya said: “In studying the Way, one must first have a cause for awakening, / just like having once contested in a swift dragon boat. / Although it was the old pavilion and idle land, / only after winning once did one finally cease.” Just consider Zhaozhou's story of the seven-pound cloth robe: see how the ancients spoke in this way, like gold and jade. The mountain monk speaks like this, and you all listen like this—this is all loading up. Tell me, what is unloading? Look under your three rafters.

5.25

A pointer says:
With one stroke of the mallet it is completed, surpassing the mundane and transcending the sacred; with half a word it can be decided, removing bonds and untying adhesiveness. Like walking on thin ice, stepping on the blade of a sword, sitting in the midst of the heap of sights and sounds, walking over the heads of sights and sounds. Leaving aside freely roaming wondrous functioning, what about when one departs in an instant? Let us see, cite it:

5.26

【46】Case:
Jingqing asked a monk, “What sound is that outside the gate?” (Unconcernedly casting a fishing line. He is not deaf; what is he asking?)
The monk said, “The sound of raindrops.” (Indeed honest. Quite good news.)
Qing said, “Sentient beings are inverted, deluding themselves to chase after objects.” (Trouble arises. Accustomed to taking advantage. The grappling hook catches the rope. Give him back his own fundamental footwork.)
The monk said, “What about the Venerable?” (Sure enough, he falls into defeat. Turning the spear around. Truly hard to withstand. Instead taking the spearpoint to stab the person back.)
Qing said, “I almost do not delude myself.” (Bah! Utterly impossible to explain away.)
The monk said, “What is the meaning of ‘almost not deluding oneself’?” (Pressing this old fellow. Pressing him to death. The first arrow was still light; the second arrow goes deep.)
Qing said, “To escape is still easy; to speak with the entire body shed must be difficult.” (Conditions for raising a child. Even so, where would Deshan and Linji go? If not called the sound of raindrops, what sound should it be called? Utterly impossible to explain away.)
Jì [洎] (phonetic ju-zhi, meaning “almost” or “reached”).

5.27

Just here is a good place to grasp it. When the ancients offered a dynamic action or an environment, it was to receive people. One day Jingqing asked a monk, “What sound is that outside the gate?” The monk said, “The sound of raindrops.” Qing said, “Sentient beings are inverted, deluding themselves to chase after objects.” He also asked, “What sound is outside the gate?” A monk said, “The cooing of a turtle dove.” Qing said, “If you wish not to incur hellish karma, do not slander the Tathāgata’s true Dharma wheel.” He also asked, “What sound is outside the gate?” A monk said, “The sound of a snake biting a toad.” Qing said, “I thought sentient beings were suffering, but there are sentient beings suffering even more.” These words are no different from the preceding case. If a patch-robed monk can penetrate through here, he is completely free amid the heap of sights and sounds. If he cannot penetrate, he will be bound by sights and sounds. These kinds of cases are called “words of smelting” everywhere. If they are merely smelting, they become mere mental operations, and one does not see where the ancients helped people; they are also called “penetrating sights and sounds.” First is clarifying the eye of the Way; second is clarifying sights and sounds; third is clarifying the mind lineage; fourth is clarifying forgetting sentiment; fifth is clarifying unfolding. Although this is quite detailed, what can be done about it having clichés? When Jingqing asked in this way, “What sound is outside the gate?” and the monk said, “The sound of raindrops,” he instead said, “Sentient beings are inverted, deluding themselves to chase after objects.” People all misunderstand this, calling it intentionally turning the person around, but that has no connection whatsoever. Little do they know that Jingqing had the hands and feet to help people; being bold, he was not confined to a single dynamic action or a single environment, utterly unsparing of his eyebrows. How could Jingqing not know it was the sound of raindrops? Why would he need to ask further? You should know that the ancient used the probing pole and the weed shadow to test this monk. This monk was also good at pressing, saying: “What about the Venerable?” forcing Jingqing to go into the mud and water to tell him: “I almost do not delude myself.” If that monk was deluding himself to chase after objects, why did Jingqing also almost delude himself? You should know that within the phrase testing him there was already a way out. This monk was too thickheaded; wanting to cut off this talk, he asked further: “What is the meaning of ‘almost not deluding oneself’?” If this were under Deshan or Linji, staff blows and shouts would have already been carried out. Jingqing opened a thread of a path, following him in tangling vines, and told him further: “To escape is still easy; to speak with the entire body shed must be difficult.” Even so, the ancients said: “Continuity is also exceedingly difficult.” With just this one phrase, Jingqing clarified the great matter under the monk’s feet. Xuedou's verse says:

5.28

“In the empty hall, the sound of raindrops; (From the start without interruption. Everyone is right here.)
even an adept finds it hard to reply. (Sure enough, he does not know. The mountain monk has never been an adept. There is provisional and real, releasing and taking back, killing and giving life, capturing and releasing.)
If one says he has entered the flow, (Plunging his head into a bowl of glue. If not called the sound of rain falling, what sound should it be called?)
as before he still does not understand. (When did the mountain monk ever ask you? This lacquer bucket! Give me back my unpierced iron hammer!)
Never having understood— (Both ends cut off. The two places not divided. Not on these two sides.)
south mountain, north mountain, torrential downpours.” (Head above, feet below. If you call it the sound of rain, you are blind; if you do not call it the sound of rain, what sound should it be called? Arriving here, one must have one's feet planted on solid ground to begin with.)

5.29

“In the empty hall, the sound of raindrops; even an adept finds it hard to reply.” If you call it the sound of rain, that is deluding oneself to chase after objects; if you do not call it the sound of rain, how can you turn objects around? Arriving here, no matter how much of an adept one is, it is hard to reply. Therefore the ancients said: “One whose view is equal to the master's diminishes the master's virtue by half; only one whose view surpasses the master's is worthy of transmission.” Also, Nanyuan said: “Under the staff is the forbearance of the unarisen; when facing dynamic functioning, do not yield to the master.” “If one says he has entered the flow, as before he still does not understand.” The teachings say: “Initially within hearing, entering the flow and forgetting what is heard; what is entered being tranquil, the two characteristics of motion and stillness clearly do not arise.” If you say it is the sound of raindrops, it is not; if you say it is not the sound of raindrops, it is not either. The earlier verse, “Two shouts and three shouts, the adept knows dynamic transformation,” is of this very type. If you say it is entering the flow of sights and sounds, it is not; if you call it sights and sounds, as before you do not understand his intent. It is like pointing at the moon with a finger—the moon is not the finger. Whether understanding or not understanding, “south mountain, north mountain, torrential downpours.”

5.30

A pointer says:
“What does Heaven say? The four seasons move. What does Earth say? The myriad things are born.” Where the four seasons move, the essence can be seen; where the myriad things are born, the function can be seen. Tell me, where can a patch-robed monk be seen? Leaving aside words, movement and function, walking, standing, sitting and lying down, and setting aside throat and lips, can you still discern him?

5.31

【47】Case:
A monk asked Yunmen, “What is the dharmakāya?” (How many people have doubts about this? A thousand sages cannot leap out. No small amount of leaking.)
Yunmen said, “The six do not take it in.” (Cutting nails and shearing iron. An eight-cornered millstone flies in the air. A divine turtle dragging its tail. Grasping it before the omens are divided is already the second head; grasping it after the omens have arisen falls into the third head. If you further discern it in words and phrases, fortunately there is no connection).

5.32

Yunmen said, “The six do not take it in.” This is truly difficult to grasp. If you grasp it before the omens are divided, it is already the second head; if you grasp it after the omens have arisen, it falls into the third head. If you discern it in words and phrases, in the end you cannot feel it out. After all, what is considered the dharmakāya? If one is an adept, upon barely hearing it cited, one perks up and goes. If one hesitates and halts dynamic function, one submits to await instructions. Senior Monk Fu of Taiyuan was originally a lecturer. One day, ascending the seat to lecture, he spoke of the dharmakāya: “Vertically exhausting the three times, horizontally spanning the ten directions.” A Chan traveller listening below the seat burst out laughing. Fu descended the seat and said, “What defect did I have just now? May the Chan practitioner speak of it.” The Chan practitioner said, “The seat master only lectures on the boundary of the dharmakāya's measure; you do not see the dharmakāya.” Fu said, “In the end, what is it?” The Chan practitioner said, “You can temporarily cease lecturing and sit in a quiet room; you will surely see it for yourself.” Fu followed his words. Sitting quietly through the night, he suddenly heard the bell struck at the fifth watch and suddenly had a great awakening. Thereupon he knocked on the Chan practitioner's door and said, “I understand!” The Chan practitioner said, “Try to say something.” Fu said, “From this day forward, I will no longer twist and pinch the nostrils born of my parents.” The teachings also say: “The Buddha's true dharmakāya is like empty space; responding to things it manifests forms, like the moon in the water.” A monk also asked Jiashan, “What is the dharmakāya?” Jiashan said, “The dharmakāya has no form.” “What is the Dharma eye?” Jiashan said, “The Dharma eye has no blemish.” Yunmen said, “The six do not take it in.” Regarding this case, some say: “It is simply the six sense organs, the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses; these six are all born from the dharmakāya, and the six sense organs cannot take it in.” If interpreted through emotional understanding like this, fortunately there is no connection, and it further implicates Yunmen. If you want to see, see immediately; there is nowhere for you to bore and chisel. Do you not see what is said in the teachings: “This Dharma cannot be understood by thought and discrimination.” His answers often provoke emotional understanding in people; therefore, within one phrase, three phrases must be contained, and he does not fail your question. In accord with the time and season, each word, each phrase, each dot, each stroke—it is not without a way out. Therefore it is said: “When one phrase is penetrated, a thousand phrases and ten thousand phrases are penetrated at once.” Tell me, is it the dharmakāya, or is it the ancestral master? I give you thirty blows of the staff. Xuedou's verse says:

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佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 — Classical Chinese