萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.3

Carved into blocks by the Daoist Shengsheng

5.4

Case Sixty-Seven: The Wisdom of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra

Instruction to the assembly: A single dust mote contains the myriad phenomena; a single thought-moment is endowed with the three thousand realms. How much more so for a hero standing tall between heaven and earth! Speak of the head and he knows the tail—a nimble fellow! Can you avoid failing your own spirit and burying the family treasure?

5.6

Case: The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: "I now universally see that all sentient beings are fully endowed with the wisdom, virtues, and marks of the Tathāgata (A bear turns somersaults; a donkey dances the Zhezhi dance), yet because of deluded thoughts and attachments, they do not realize them (Deluded thoughts and attachments are also not bad)."

5.7

The Master said: In the Great Commentary on the Avataṃsaka from beginning to end, Great Master Qingliang classified this passage of the sūtra under the heading of 'Revealing the Nature of the Cause.' The Commentary on the Vows of Samantabhadra named it 'Revealing the Source of Beings' Nature.' How does it reveal it? The 'Manifestation Chapter' says: "Sons of the Buddha, there is not a single sentient being that is not fully endowed with the wisdom of the Tathāgata; yet because of deluded thoughts, inversions, and attachments, they do not realize it (The note says: ordinary beings have deluded thoughts; provisionary and small vehicles have attachments; inversions run through both types). If one leaves behind deluded thoughts, then all-knowledge, spontaneous knowledge, and unhindered knowledge will become manifest." It then raises the analogy of a single dust mote containing the scrolls of a great trichiliocosm. The previous verse, "Midst myriad forms a body revealed alone; / Seeing the Buddha away from thoughts, breaking the dust to bring forth the sūtra," refers precisely to this section of the sūtra. It also says: "At that time, the Tathāgata, with the pure eye of unhindered wisdom, universally observed all sentient beings in the dharmadhātu and said: 'How wondrous! How wondrous! How is it that these sentient beings are fully endowed with the wisdom of the Tathāgata, yet in foolishness and delusion they neither know nor see it? I shall instruct them in the right path, causing them to forever leave behind deluded thoughts and attachments, and within their own bodies obtain sight of the Tathāgata's vast wisdom, which is not different from the Buddha.'" Qingliang's Great Commentary says: "Sentient beings encompass the virtuous nature as their essence, and draw from the ocean of wisdom as their source. But marks mutate so their essence appears distinct; passions arise so their wisdom is blocked off. Now, causing them to know their minds and unite with essence, to reach the origin and forget passions, this sūtra was preached to reveal it." In explanation: This also explains the cause of sentient beings being deluded about the real. For example, a person endowed with marks of blessings, virtue, and wisdom suddenly dreams of a body that is impoverished, ill, and suffering—this is marks mutating. Not seeing the original body—this is essence appearing distinct. Grasping and taking it to be 'my body'—this is passions arising. Disbelieving that one's own body is blessed, virtuous, and handsome—this is wisdom being blocked off. A monk asked Baoci: "'Passions arise and wisdom is blocked off; marks mutate and essence appears distinct.' When passions have not yet arisen, how is it?" Baoci said: "Blocked off." The various quarters do not know the source, and often take 'marks' (xiang) for 'thoughts' (xiang). One should discern it in due course; students should know this. Yangshan interrogated Xiangyan: "As for Tathāgata Zen, I grant that elder brother understands it; but Patriarch Zen, you have not even dreamed of it yet." Tell me: how much difference is there with Tathāgata Zen? Try taking the text of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra to investigate the meaning of our Tiantong's verse. The verse says:

5.8

Heaven covers and earth supports (Penetrating above and piercing below);
Lumped together, forged into a mass (Knives and axes cannot chop it open).
Pervading the dharmadhātu without boundary (In the ten directions there are no walls);
Dividing a neighbor to voidness without interior (The Buddha's eye cannot spy it).
Reaching the utmost of the mysterious and subtle (A good thing is not as good as nothing);
Who distinguishes facing towards or turning away? (No place to evade it).
Buddhas and patriarchs come to repay the debt of verbal karma (Too many words injure conduct);
Ask Old Teacher Wang of Nanquan (Avoiding Shanshan);
Everyone just eats a single stalk of vegetable (There are no other affairs to manage).

5.9

The Master said: Yantou said: "You must let it flow forth directly from your own breast, to cover heaven and cover earth for me in the future." Now saying "Heaven covers and earth supports"—how inverted! This is spoken according to human sentiment. Human sentiment all maintains that heaven and earth give birth to human beings, calling them the Three Powers. Buddhism, on the contrary, holds that human beings give birth to heaven and earth; therefore the three realms are mind-only, and the myriad phenomena are consciousness-only. Here, it is beaten into a lump, smelted into a single mass, pervading the dharmadhātu without boundary or mark. In the Śūraṅgama-sūtra, the Buddha told Ānanda: "You observe the nature of earth: coarsened, it is the great earth; refined, it is fine dust motes, down to the dust mote that is neighbor to voidness. Dividing the boundary marks of that ultimate subtle form, it is formed of seven parts. Dividing further the neighbor to voidness, it is the true nature of emptiness." Wansong frequently cites the Xinxin ming: "The utmost small is the same as the large, realms forgotten and cut off; the utmost large is the same as the small, no boundary or mark seen." If someone asks, "What is the greatest thing in the world?" one should say, "True emptiness." Why? Because the utmost large is the same as the small, no boundary or mark seen. If someone asks, "What is the smallest thing in the world?" one should say, "True emptiness." Why? Because the utmost small is the same as the large, realms forgotten and cut off. Alas! What kind of man was the Third Patriarch? He produced a single phrase, and monks throughout the world cannot leap out of it! A monk asked Zhaozhou: "What is the mysterious within the mysterious?" Zhou said: "How long have you been mysterious?" The monk said: "Mysterious for a long time." Zhou said: "If not for this old monk, you would almost have been mystified to death!" Dongshan's Xuanzhong ming says: "Do not go facing toward it; returning, you turn your back on your father." Since it pervades the dharmadhātu and is forged into a single mass, how could there laboriously be a separate mysterious subtlety outside the dust? How could there be front or back, facing towards or turning away? When the Buddha did not appear in the world, it was not decreased; when the Buddha appeared in the world to point it out and expound it, it was not increased. Praising the breadth of the ocean, boasting of the brightness of the sun—these are not worth speaking of, all being superfluous words. When Nanquan and Shanshan were in general labor picking bracken, Nanquan held up a stalk and said: "This is very good for an offering." Shanshan said: "Not only this; even a hundred delicacies, he would not pay them heed." Nanquan said: "Although it is like this, each person must taste it before attaining it." Dayang Ming'an entered the hall and said: "Do not walk the road of the place of mind; do not sit in the merit of the place of non-being. Leave behind both being and non-being; vast and open, heaven and earth are void." Therefore Nanquan said: "Everyone eats a single stalk of vegetable; if you seek another stalk, you enter hell like an arrow shot." Wansong says: Today is the seventh day of the human month.

5.10

Case Sixty-Eight: Jiashan Brandishes the Sword

5.11

Instruction to the assembly: Within the realm, the Son of Heaven's decree; beyond the borders, the general's command. Sometimes gaining strength at the threshold; sometimes claiming honor within the chamber. Tell me: what kind of person is this?

5.12

Case: A monk asked Jiashan: "When sweeping away dust to see the Buddha, how is it? (What need is there?)" Shan said: "You must brandish the sword directly! (Just so.) If you do not brandish the sword, the fisherman roosts in a nest. (Sitting, then one is not the Buddha.)" The monk raised this and asked Shishuang: "When sweeping away dust to see the Buddha, how is it? (Seeing, one does not sweep; sweeping, one does not see.)" Shuang said: "He has no realm; where will you meet him? (Not sitting, then one is the Buddha.)" The monk returned and raised this to Jiashan. (Back and forth is not easy.) Shan entered the hall and said: "For household arrangements, he is not as good as this old monk; for profound discourse entering principle, I am still a hundred paces behind Shishuang. (Each got a piece.)"

5.13

The Master said: Chan Master Qingzhu of Shishuang in Tanzhou was originally the rice steward under Guishan. Just as he was sifting rice, Gui said: "The things of the almsgivers must not be cast away." Shuang said: "They are not cast away." Gui picked up a single grain from the ground, showed it to him, and said: "You say they are not cast away; where did this one come from?" The Master had no reply. Gui said: "Do not slight this one grain; hundreds of thousands of grains are born from this one grain." Shuang said: "Then where was this single grain born from?" Gui laughed loudly and returned to his abbot's quarters. In the evening he entered the hall and said: "Assembly, there is a worm in the rice!" Later he visited Daowu and asked about "Bodhi touching the eyes." Wu called to the novice to add water to the pure pitcher; his awakening was as related previously. Shuang was with Daowu for two summer retreats and received the seal. During the Huichang persecution, he mingled among the crowds at the Tao family pottery works in Liuyang, Tanzhou, wandering in the morning and lodging in the evening. In the early Dazhong era, a monk came from Dongshan and recounted: In early autumn and late summer, Dongshan said, "Brothers going east or west must go straight to the place where there is not an inch of grass for ten thousand miles." After a pause, he said, "Just as to the place where there is not an inch of grass for ten thousand miles, how do you go?" Shuang said: "Stepping out the door, there is already grass." The monk again raised this to Dongshan. Shan said: "These are the words of a good friend to fifteen hundred people! How many such people can there be in the Great Tang empire?" The awl in the bag was first exposed, and he stayed at the Shishuang training ground, truly matching the prediction of Wuben. For twenty years, his sea of an assembly numbered over a thousand; they often sat continuously without lying down, standing tall like stumps, and the name 'Hall of Dried Wood' was established from this. The monk asked about sweeping away dust to see the Buddha; what was asked was the same. Jiashan said: "If you do not brandish the sword, the fisherman roosts in a nest." Shishuang said: "He has no realm; where will you meet him?" Wansong says: For profound discourse entering principle, he is not as good as Shishuang; for household arrangements, he is still a hundred paces behind Jiashan. Is there anyone who wins two colors in a single contest? What did Tiantong say? The verse says:

5.14

Brushing the Ox constellation, the sword's vapor washes away martial might (Great peace is originally brought about by the general);
When turmoil is settled, to whom else does the credit return? (The general is not permitted to see great peace).
Once the foul dust is cleared from the four seas (Just exhaust ordinary sentiments);
Robes hanging loose, the imperial transformation is naturally non-action (There is no other sacred understanding).

5.15

The Master said: In the ancestral style of Linji, the vajra king's precious sword kills buddhas and kills patriarchs. Jiashan cuts off the old entangling vines and smashes the foxes' dens. In the Book of Jin: Lei Huan was skilled in astrology. Because Zhang Hua looked between the Dipper and the Ox constellations and constantly saw an extraordinary vapour, he invited Huan to ascend a tower at night and gaze upward. Huan said, 'I have observed it for a long time: the quintessence of a precious sword reaches up to the heavens, in the boundary of Fengcheng County in Yuzhang.' Hua then recommended Lei to be the magistrate of Fengcheng. Repairing the prison and digging the foundation, they found a stone coffer containing a pair of swords, whose radiance shone with great splendour. He sent one to Hua and kept one to wear himself. When Hua was executed, his sword was lost. After Huan died, his son, who was an assistant official of the prefecture, wore his father's sword to the Yanping Ford. The sword leaped and fell into the water. When he sent someone to dive for it, they saw two dragons with patterned scales; the diver returned in fear. In the Garden of Stories: When King Wu attacked Zhou, he encountered rain. San Yisheng said, 'Is this not an omen of misfortune?' The king said, 'No, heaven is washing our weapons.' This versifies: 'If one does not brandish the sword, the fisherman perches in a nest.' The Book of Changes says: 'The Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun simply let their robes hang down, and the realm was governed.' Their transformation through non-action was carried out without giving orders. This versifies: There is no nest in which to perch; he has no country; there is no sword to brandish; where can one meet him? Chan Master Tong'an Cha said, 'The wondrous body originally has no location; throughout the whole body, where could there be any traces?' Wansong says: Though I grant that you have personally seen Shishuang, you are still a hundred paces behind Jiashan. Do you want to see Jiashan? 'Because of injustice, the sword leaves its precious scabbard; / In response to illness, the medicine comes forth from the golden bottle.'

5.16

Case 69: Nanquan's Water Buffalo

5.17

Instruction to the assembly: Becoming a buddha and acting as a patriarch is resented as bearing a defiled name; wearing horns and clad in fur is promoted to the highest seat. Therefore, true light does not shine; great wisdom appears foolish. There is also someone who conveniently plays deaf and pretends not to notice—who do you know this is?

5.18

Case: Nanquan instructed the assembly, saying, 'The buddhas of the three periods do not know it is there (only because they know it is there). Cats and white water buffaloes, on the contrary, know it is there (only because they do not know it is there).'

5.19

The Master said: Master Jiezhu of Mount Feishan wrote the Discussion on the Mind Dharma Transmitted Separately, in which he censured Nanquan, saying, 'People like Yuan do not love learning and do not know the root; they are not fit to speak of the Tathāgata's teachings.' In the Appendices to the Lamp of the Inexhaustible, relying on conventional understanding, he hastily argued and recounted: Nanquan initially studied the Vinaya, next listened to the Avataṃsaka and the Laṅkāvatāra, and entered the contemplations of the Madhyamaka- and Śata-śāstras. Hearing that Mazu transmitted the Way outside the words, he repeatedly inquired into his purport and suddenly attained forgetting the fish-trap. One day while distributing congee, Mazu asked, 'What is in the bucket?' Quan said, 'This old fellow should shut his mouth! Why make such talk?' Quan did not yield to Mazu in sharp dynamic; being like this, he later had to repay his debt into Zhaozhou's hands. Quan asked a lecturer, 'What does the Nirvāṇa Sūtra take as the ultimate standard?' The lecturer said, 'It takes thusness as the ultimate standard.' Quan said, 'Calling it thusness is already changing it. These days, a śramaṇa must move among different species before he can get it.' In front of the Monks' Hall, Zhaozhou asked, 'I do not ask about "different"; what is "species"?' Quan then supported himself on the ground with both hands. Zhou kicked him with his foot, and Quan fell to the ground. Zhou ran into the Longevity Hall and shouted, 'I regret it, I regret it!' Quan ordered his attendant to ask Zhou, 'What do you regret?' Zhou said, 'I regret not giving him two more kicks.' Quan entered the hall and said, 'Since childhood, Old Master Wang has raised a water buffalo. Intending to graze it east of the brook, it cannot avoid eating that state's water and grass; grazing it west of the brook, it also cannot avoid eating that state's water and grass. Nowadays, it cannot avoid paying a little according to its lot, yet it is nowhere to be seen.' One day Quan saw the bath-master heating water for the bath and said, 'After the meal, invite the water buffalo to take a bath.' The bath-master went to invite him. Quan said, 'Did you bring a rope?' Zhou grabbed Quan's nose with his hand. Quan said, 'That's it, but it is too crude!' Zhou asked, 'Where does a person who knows it is there go?' Quan said, 'He goes to the patron's house before the mountain to become a water buffalo.' Zhou said, 'I thank the Master for your instruction.' Quan said, 'Last night at the third watch, the moon reached the window.' When Quan was about to pass away, the head monk asked, 'After your hundred years, Venerable Sir, where will you go?' Quan said, 'I will go beneath the mountain to become a water buffalo.' The head monk said, 'May I follow you, Venerable Sir?' Quan said, 'If you follow me, you must bring a stalk of grass in your mouth.' This talk of 'different species' was first led by Nanquan, harmonized by Guishan, and transmitted by Daowu and Yunyan; today it constitutes Caoshan's three fallings. When Daowu arrived at Nanquan's, Quan asked, 'What is the Ācārya's name?' Wu said, 'Zongzhi.' Quan said, 'Where wisdom does not reach, how can one take it as the source?' Wu said, 'Be sure not to speak of it!' Quan said, 'Truly, if you speak of it, horns will grow on your head!' Three days later, while Wu was handling a needle with Yunyan behind the latrine, Quan passed by and asked, 'The other day you said, "Where wisdom does not reach, be sure not to speak of it; if you speak of it, horns will grow on your head." How should one practice?' Wu then pulled himself away and entered the Monks' Hall; Quan then left. Yan asked Wu, 'Junior Brother, why did you not reply to the Venerable Sir just now?' Wu said, 'How could you be so clever?' Yan did not get it; instead, he went and asked Quan, 'Regarding the case just now, why did Dhūta Zhi not reply to the Venerable Sir?' Quan said, 'He, on the contrary, moves among different species.' Yan said, 'What is moving among different species?' Quan said, 'Haven't you heard it said: "Where wisdom does not reach, be sure not to speak of it; if you speak of it, horns will grow on your head"? You must go straight into moving among different species.' Yan still did not understand. Wu knew Yan did not get it and said, 'This person's conditions are not here.' Then they returned together to Yaoshan. Yan then raised the previous conversation. Yaoshan said, 'How did you understand that season of his, such that you returned?' Yan had no reply. Yaoshan then laughed heartily. Yan then asked, 'What is moving among different species?' Yaoshan said, 'I am tired today; come back another time.' Yan said, 'I returned especially for this matter.' Yaoshan said, 'Leave for now.' Yan then went out. Outside the Abbot's Room, Wu heard that Yan did not get it; without realizing it, he bit his finger until it bled. He then came down and asked, 'Senior Brother, what happened with that case you asked the Venerable Sir?' Yan said, 'The Venerable Sir did not explain it to me.' Wu then lowered his head. The two stood in attendance. Yaoshan asked, '"Where wisdom does not reach, be sure not to speak of it; if you speak of it, horns will grow on your head."' Wu immediately said, 'Take care,' and went out. Yan then asked Yaoshan, 'Why did Junior Brother Zhi not reply to the Venerable Sir?' Yaoshan said, 'My back aches today. He, however, understands; go ask him.' Yan then asked, 'Junior Brother, why did you not reply to the Venerable Sir just now?' Wu said, 'My head aches today; go ask the Venerable Sir.' Later, when Yunyan passed away, he sent someone speeding with a letter of farewell. After reading it, Wu said, 'Yunyan did not know it is there; I regret not having told him at that time. Nevertheless, in the end he did not violate being a son of Yaoshan.' Xuanjue said, 'The ancient spoke like this; did he still know it is there or not? Yunyan did not understand at that time; what was the place of not understanding?' Cuiyan Zhi said, 'Daowu said, "Yunyan did not know it is there; I regret not having told him at that time." Just speaking like this, did Daowu still know it is there or not?' Wansong says: Yunyan was the teacher of Dongshan and the source of a whole lineage; yet three times and four times he did not know there is this matter. Wansong records it completely, wanting also to give later people half a share of help in their side-inquiry. Is it only Yunyan who did not know it is there? Cuiyan Zhi said, 'Did Daowu still know it is there or not?' Wansong says: Not only Daowu—did Cuiyan still know it is there or not? Have you not seen: A monk asked Changsha, 'Why do the buddhas of the three periods not know it is there?' Sha said, 'Before entering the Deer Park, it was still a bit better.' The monk said, 'Why, on the contrary, do cats and white water buffaloes know it is there?' Sha said, 'How can you blame them?' When Wansong comes to this point, he can only look on from the side. Great or small, Tiantong has a share in praising it. The verse says:

5.20

Limping and stumbling (not close to rest or busyness), / Ragged and frayed (people do not like to look);
One hundred times unacceptable, / Completely and utterly useless (opening the door is flabby, kindling the fire is wet).
Silently he knows his ground is secure (toes wiggling inside the boots); / Carefree and roaming, who would say his belly is simple-minded? (feigning foolishness while playing tricks).
Pervading the whole dharmadhātu, it has completely turned into rice (unable to spit it out, unable to swallow it);
With nostrils hanging down, he is content with full inquiry (tossing away half, scattering half).

5.21

The Master said: 'Limping and stumbling' is the appearance of being emaciated, weak, and not sharp-witted. While Yaoshan was reading a sūtra, Boyan said, 'Venerable Sir, you should stop fooling people.' Yaoshan rolled up the sūtra and said, 'What time of day is it?' [Boyan] said, 'It is right at noon.' Yaoshan said, 'There is still this cultural pattern remaining.' [Boyan] said, 'I do not even have "nothing".' Yaoshan said, 'You are extraordinarily clever.' [Boyan] said, 'I am just like this; what is your honourable opinion, Venerable Sir?' Yaoshan said, 'I am limping and stumbling, with a hundred uglinesses and a thousand clumsinesses; I just pass the time like this.' Venerable Xian of Guanxi in his verse said, 'Shaking out the torn cassock worn for many years, / Ragged and frayed, half of it flies with the clouds. / Picking it up and draping it over my shoulders, / It is still better than contemporaries wearing brocade robes.' 'One hundred times unacceptable, / Completely and utterly useless'—among the assembly he is like 'a hundred clumsinesses', being a person of leisure all his life. 'Silently he knows his ground is secure; / Carefree and roaming, who would say his belly is simple-minded?' Wang Fanzhi wore his socks inside out; people all said it was a mistake: 'I would rather pierce your eyes / Than conceal my heels.' Wang Fanzhi was an extraordinary man; these words spread widely in the world. He can be called a leather lantern ball—bright inside, dark outside. The final line versifies: 'having fully inquired to the terrain of rotten antiques, rice grains cover even his eyebrows and eyelashes; one day bursting his scabby belly, the five viscera and internal organs are all vomited out.'

5.22

Case 70: Jinshan Inquires into Nature

5.23

Instruction to the assembly: Those who hear of the fragrant elephant crossing the river have already gone with the flow. Those who know that birth is the unborn nature are detained by birth. What is more, discussing before and after absorption, or making shoots and making bamboo strips—the sword has long been gone, and you only now notch the boat! Stepping to turn the mechanism's wheel, how do you travel another path? Please try to present it and see.

5.24

Case: Temple Director Jin asked Temple Director Xiu, 'Clearly knowing that birth is the unborn nature, why is one detained by birth?' (Illuminating the old nose-twisting wood).
Xiu said, 'A bamboo shoot will ultimately become bamboo; can it be used right now to make bamboo strips?' (His nostrils are in someone else's hands).
Jin said, 'In the future you will awaken on your own!' (Great or small, disliking the good and making it base).
Xiu said, 'I am just like this; what is the Senior Monk's purport?' (Sticking his head into someone's bosom).
Jin said, 'This is the Prior's room; that is the Chief Cook's room.' (Hitting the ball to another place).
Xiu then made prostrations (Treating him with good intentions for the time being).

5.25

The Master said: Chan Master Hongjin, mountain master of Qingxi in Xiangzhou, served as the first seat under Venerable Dizang Chen. At that time, two monks came together to pay homage to Dizang. Dizang said, "Both are mistaken." Both monks were speechless. They went down to ask Mountain Master Xiu for clarification. The Master said, "Dignified and imposing in your own right, yet you pay homage to someone else—how is that not a mistake?" Jin heard this and disagreed, saying, "You are deluded and dark yourself; how can you guide others?" Xiu indignantly went up to the abbot's quarters to ask for instruction. Dizang pointed beneath the corridor and said, "The cook has gone down into the storehouse." Xiu thereupon realized his fault. One day, Jin asked Xiu, "If one clearly knows that arising is the nature of non-arising, why is one retained by arising?" The woman Āndīkā was of brahmin lineage, the daughter of the elder Vāsiṭṭha in the village of Dīrghā, more than twenty li west of the city of Śrāvastī. Because her family held a great gathering, inviting the Buddha and the monastic assembly, Dīkā became famous. The Great Being Mañjuśrī asked, "Are there any who, clearly knowing the characteristic (previously 'nature') of arising to be non-arising, are nonetheless retained by arising?" The woman said, "There are. Although they see clearly for themselves, their strength is not yet sufficient, and those who are retained by arising are such." Mountain Master Xiu replied, "A bamboo shoot ultimately becomes a bamboo; can it be used as bamboo strips right now?" Bamboo strips are strips of bamboo skin used to bind objects, bamboo ropes. A shoot is tender and powerless; mature bamboo has strength. The shoot's strength is not yet sufficient, so it cannot be used as strips. Juefan's Praise of Avalokiteśvara says: "Pitying my mind, clear yet with strength falling short; / from time to time seeds manifest in actual activity. / Like someone who goes mad from wine, / having abstained from drinking, then meeting fine vintage again." This also speaks of one's strength not yet being sufficient. How admirable that the ancients were so thoroughly versed in the doctrinal teachings; their speech and expressions accorded with the sūtras. Mountain Master Jin wanted to turn the words around, so he again refused to accept it, saying, "In the future, you will awaken to this on your own." Xiu said, "My view is only this; what is the Senior Elder's meaning?" Master Xiu had first sat firmly where all four sides were level and all eight directions filled; for Master Jin to dislodge him, there necessarily had to be another living road. Thereupon he pointed and said, "This is the director's room; that is the cook's room." Tell me: did he clarify that arising is the nature of non-arising, or did he fail to clarify that arising is the nature of non-arising? Tell me: was he retained by arising, or was he not retained by arising? Xiu thereupon bowed. He investigated the living phrase, not the dead phrase. This is not a bit different from "The cook has gone down into the storehouse." The various regions all say that beneath Fayan, it is entirely plain and solid, with mystery within the substance. Please look at the previous case. Tiantong saw that this case was extraordinary and out of the ordinary, so he gave full expression to it from the bottom of his heart in verse. The verse says:

5.26

Vast and open, devoid of reliance—(The board overturns the hitching post for the donkey.)
Lofty and leisurely, unconstrained.(Snapping the golden chain.)
The homeland is tranquil; few are those who reach it.(Planting one's feet in a safe place.)
A slight bit of strength distinguishes ranks;(Forcefully creating joints and segments.)
Vast and expansive, body and mind leave behind right and wrong.(Seeing an oddity without considering it odd.)
Right and wrong are ended;(The oddity destroys itself.)
Standing resolutely in the Great Square, without rut or track.(In universal peace there are no taboos; where is it not delightful?)

5.27

The Master said: This verses Mountain Master Jin's "This is the director's room; that is the cook's room." When there is no reliance, it is naturally vast and open; where there is no bridle or tether, phenomena are inherently lofty and leisurely. In the tranquil homeland, how many can arrive? There must be no afflictions to sever and no Chan or Way to investigate; throughout the twelve periods of the day, apart from wearing clothes and eating food, all else is idle use of the mind. Judging by Master Jin's question, it also slightly possesses a hook and line that examines the ancient, tests the present, distinguishes ranks, and settles strength. Yet this vast and expansive body and mind fundamentally leave behind right and wrong. Nor was it wrong for Master Xiu to understand the Tathāgata's Chan, plainly discussing it with fundamental speech. How can one help that Baizhang said, "To interpret the meaning according to the sūtras is the injustice done to the buddhas of the three periods"? Therefore, slightly distinguishing strength and provisionally setting up steps, he said the bamboo shoot is tender without strength for use, while bamboo makes strips that can haul a thousand jun. When traces of words arise, right and wrong are formed. Master Jin cleared it away for him, pointing to another living road of vital function, which was by no means opening doors and windows or establishing tracks and ruts to deceive companions of the Way. Master Xiu bowed to excuse his lack of skill. Do you recognize the domestic furnace and bellows of these two masters? Entering the fire, one must still be finely forged; only upon the anvil can one endure the heavy hammer.

5.28

Case 71: Cuiyan's Eyebrows

5.29

Instructing the assembly, he said: Squirting blood to spit at others only defiles one's own mouth. Craving wine for a lifetime repays human debts; selling paper for three years leaves one indebted to ghosts. Wansong asks for clarification on behalf of all of you: is there any way to bear the responsibility?

5.30

Case: At the end of the summer retreat, Cuiyan instructed the assembly, saying, (He still thinks it's not enough.) "All summer long I have spoken to the brothers. (Exposing the family disgrace himself.) Look: are Cuiyan's eyebrows still there?" (He does not fear his mouth being disgraced.) Baofu said, "One who acts as a thief has an uneasy heart." (He too is someone in the fire.) Changqing said, "They have grown!" (Adding frost on top of snow.) Yunmen said, "Barrier!" (Blocking the street and intercepting the alley.)

5.31

The Master said: Great Master Yongming of Cuiyan in Mingzhou, named Lingcan, was a man of Huzhou. Having received Xuefeng's prediction, he opened a great assembly of Dharma. One day he ascended the hall and said, "All summer long, I have talked this way and that to the brothers. Look: are Cuiyan's eyebrows still there?" In various places, many say that he originally intended to make a confession but inadvertently created a double gong'an. Further seeing Baofu say, "One who acts as a thief has an uneasy heart," they simply say he thrust wood behind his back to conceal the fault of his mouth. Foguo said, "Many misunderstand, saying that in broad daylight he spoke aimless words, creating trouble out of nothing, speaking of his fault beforehand to avoid the scrutiny of others. Fortunately, this has nothing to do with it." Changqing said, "They have grown!" Wansong says, "As before, they are above the eyes." Yunmen's character "Barrier"—his lineage is known for one-word Chan. All three were heirs of Xuefeng. Seeing a person of their own family speaking without outside words, and seeing Cuiyan's instruction to the assembly as extraordinary, they joined together in harmony. When the ancients gave words, they did not resort to crude gestures. A lecturing master came down from lecturing on the Huayan to invite Cuiyan to a meal. Cuiyan said, "This mountain monk has a question. If you can answer, then I will take the meal." He picked up a sesame cake and said, "Does it possess the dharmakāya?" The lecturing master said, "It possesses it." Cuiyan said, "If so, then you are eating the dharmakāya." The lecturing master had no answer. The lecturing master for that period answered on his behalf, "What fault is there?" Cuiyan did not accept it. Yunmen answered on his behalf, "We especially thank the Venerable for deigning to grace this empty banquet." Juefan called Great Master Yunmen a king among monks. Indeed, Tiantong strung them together and praised them from the beginning in verse. The verse says:

5.32

The mind of a thief—(The stolen goods are already exposed.)
Courage surpassing others;(Acting as if no one were around.)
Distinctly vertical and horizontal, responding to the capacity.(A skillful thief of daylight robbery.)
Baofu and Yunmen—drooping noses, slighting lips;(Sticking their heads out too far.)
Cuiyan and Changqing—long eyebrows mirroring eyes.(Pretending not to know.)
Ignorant Chan monks,
how countless they are!(Tiantong fabricates; how does he compare to Wansong?)
Stubbornly saying that intent and words are swept away together.(Wishing to conceal, it is all the more exposed.)
Burying themselves, swallowing their breath in silence;(A son not measuring up to his father.)
Dragging down the ancestral school, facing the wall and carrying a board.(The household declines for a generation.)

5.33

The Master said: Xuedou said, "When a skilled thief steals, even ghosts and spirits do not know." Since he was seen through by Baofu and Tiantong, Cuiyan was not a skilled hand. Little do they know that the great Yunmen and Changqing both had their nostrils pierced all at once by Cuiyan using a single eyebrow hair. If one hides the head and exposes the shadow, what kind of great hand or strongman can one be considered? Therefore, he was distinctly vertical and horizontal, responding to capacities. Baofu said, "One who acts as a thief has an uneasy heart," and Yunmen said, "Barrier!" These are all the long nostrils of patched-robed monks. At a thousand li, one has already smelled the stench of dry dung; in the three months of winter, one still scents the fragrance of rotten melon. Cuiyan said, "Are the eyebrows still there?" and Changqing immediately said, "They have grown!" This is like the eminent monk on the wall responding at a single call, or the goose raised in the bottle coming out with the voice—how could it be estimated by discursive consciousness? This is why it is said, "long eyebrows mirroring eyes, watching people from a cold place; not a bit can one deceive him." Some say that during the summer, branches sprouted and vines extended upon the entangling vines, and now the weeds are cut and the roots removed, swept away all at once. Little do they know that thirty years from now, this talk will prevail widely. Why must one conceal it in a bag and cover it with a quilt, swallowing one's breath in silence? If one does so, one faces the wall and carries a board, dragging down the ancestral school. In various places, they say that Xu the Sixth carrying a board sees only one side. The Book of Documents says not to study facing the wall; the commentary says facing the wall leaves one seeing nothing. Do you not see: atop Vulture Peak, he emitted the white curl mark, illuminating the eighteen thousand worlds to the east?

5.34

Case 72: Zhongyi's Monkey

5.35

Instructing the assembly, he said: Contending in wits across the river, hiding troops with magical concealment; confronting each other face to face with real spears and genuine swords—this is why patched-robed monks value full dynamic and great functioning. Moving from gradual to tight, try to speak it forth.

5.36

Case: Yangshan asked Zhongyi, "What is the meaning of Buddha-nature?" (This lecturing master is indeed capable of debate.) Zhongyi said, "I will tell you an analogy: (Fit for the provisional, not the real.) it is like a room with six windows, with a monkey placed inside. (Will it agree to be quiet?) Outside, someone calls, 'Xingxing!' and the monkey immediately responds. (Coming again, it's not worth half a coin.) In this way, across all six windows, wherever called, it responds." (One only needs the sweetheart to recognize the voice.) Yangshan said, "Just when the monkey is asleep, how is it then?" (Do not speak sleep-talk.) Zhongyi thereupon stepped down from the meditation bench, took hold of him, and said, (Has he awakened or not?) "Xingxing, you and I meet face to face!" (Why didn't you say so earlier?)

5.37

The Master said: Chan Master Hong'en of Zhongyi in Langzhou (the Tongyao has Dingzhou) was one of Mazu's more than eighty great good friends, and the grand-uncle of Yangshan. Yangshan was ordained in Jiangling, and on his return went to express his gratitude for the precepts. Zhongyi, seeing Yangshan was young, used the monkey responding at the six windows to explain the meaning of the buddha-nature, like slapping a wet nurse to scare a child. Yangshan laid an ambush and engaged him in combat, unable to stifle his mirth. Having finished his bows of thanks, he said, 'Now, receiving the Venerable's metaphor, everything is clear. Yet there is still one matter: just when the inner monkey is dozing off, and an outer monkey wants to meet it, what then?' How extraordinary! A true lion's cub immediately exposes the claws and teeth of the Dharma den. Unawares, Zhongyi stepped down from the meditation seat, took Yangshan by the hand, danced, and said, 'Sing-sing and you have met each other!' Why not give another metaphor? Yunju Xi said, 'At that time, if Zhongyi had not obtained this phrase from Yangshan, where would there be a Zhongyi?' When our late master and Uncle Shengmo were in their twenties, the monasteries held them in awe. Venerable Bao of Zhengzhou was renowned throughout the Yellow and Luo rivers. Our late master made a pilgrimage and went to see him. Bao of Zhengzhou said, 'You brothers are young and handsome; it is just the right time to investigate and inquire. In my earlier years, thought after thought, I constantly took the Buddha-dharma as my business.' Our late master rose from his seat, stepped forward, and said, 'How is it with the Venerable now?' Bao said, 'Just like a mortal enemy.' Our late master said, 'If I had not obtained these words, I would almost have made a thousand-li journey in vain.' Bao descended from the meditation seat, grasped our late master's hand, and said, 'An adept!' Thereupon he kept him for several days. When Jiashan said, 'A single bean popping out of the dead ashes of the Buddha-sun,' he was referring to this. Xuanjue said, 'Were it not for Yangshan, how could Zhongyi be seen? And tell me: what is the place where Yangshan was able to see Zhongyi?' Wansong says: Upon the Dharma hall of Bao'en. Chongshou Chou said, 'Is there still anyone who can determine this principle? If it cannot be determined, it is merely the maneuvers of someone playing with a phantom spirit. Where is the meaning of the buddha-nature?' Wansong says: Discern it right in the maneuvers of someone playing with a phantom spirit. Fojian said, 'Yangshan acts the simpleton; Zhongyi peddles charm. The charm peddled is simple folly; the simple folly displayed is refined charm. Although the monkey is asleep, what can be done about the clarity inside its belly? Even if the six windows were blocked off completely, where would the sing-sings not meet each other?' Do you all wish to see the two elders' entanglement? Each has skin three inches thick. Wansong says: To seek someone who knows shame is impossible to find. Only the old man Tiantong is slightly better. The verse says:

5.38

Sleeping frozen in a snow hut, the year crumbles away; (The hibernating door does not open.)
Deep and secluded, the ivy-hung door does not open at night. (A dragon has no dragon-phrase.)
Look at the transformation of the cold and withered forest— (Nearly dead!)
The spring breeze blows up the ash in the pitch-pipes! (Rejoicing to be revived again.)

5.39

The Master said: The Biographies of Former Worthies of Runan says: At that time, heavy snow accumulated more than ten feet on the ground. The magistrate of Luoyang went out in person to inspect. He saw people clearing snow to come out, and some begging for food. Reaching Yuan An's gate, there was no path through. Thinking An was already dead, he ordered people to clear the snow, entered the door, and saw An lying stiff. He asked why he did not go out. An said, 'In heavy snow, everyone is starving; it is not fitting to trouble others.' The magistrate considered him a worthy and recommended him as Filial and Incorrupt. This versifies Zhongyi's offering a metaphor: talking in his sleep for a while, in the end he was not awake; this is 'deep and secluded, the ivy-hung door does not open at night.' Suddenly exposed by Yangshan, Zhongyi immediately applied his full function: the withered tree meets spring again; 'the spring breeze blows up the ash in the pitch-pipes.' In Cai Yong's Monthly Ordinances, bamboo is cut into pipes, called pitch-pipes; they are placed in a closed room, and reed pith is reduced to ash to fill their ends. When the qi of that month arrives, the ash flies and the pipe empties: yang qi is generated—life within death. It is like Zhongyi and Yangshan meeting as adepts. After meeting, what then? Do not labor to stand for long.

5.40

Case 74: Caoshan's Mourning Fulfilled

5.41

Instruction to the assembly: Relying on grass and clinging to trees, they become sprites; bearing grievances and harboring resentments, they become ghosts and spooks. To summon them, paper money is burned and paper horses presented; to dispel them, water is incanted and talismans written. How can the household obtain peace?

5.42

A monk asked Caoshan, 'When the mourning clothes are not worn, how is it?' (The cicada sheds its shell, still clinging to the cold branch.)
Caoshan said, 'Today Caoshan's mourning is fulfilled.' (He has not betrayed his whole life.)
The monk said, 'What about after the mourning is fulfilled?' (Striding broad and wide.)
Caoshan said, 'Caoshan loves to be crazy drunk.' (What is wrong with that?)

5.43

The Master said: A monk asked Chan Master Tong'an Wei, 'How was Niutou before he saw the Fourth Patriarch?' Tong'an said, 'A wayside spirit shrine: all who see it raise their fists.' The monk said, 'How was it after he saw him?' Tong'an said, 'Inside the room there is no altar bed; the entire family wears no mourning.' This monk asked, 'When the mourning clothes are not worn, how is it?' Dongshan Chu said, 'Taking off the greasy hat, stripping off the foul cloth shirt, become a carefree patch-robed monk.' Later, a monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' He answered, 'Three pounds of flax.' If you arrive at this juncture, then you will understand 'Today Caoshan's mourning is fulfilled.' This monk was also quite fine: wanting to see Caoshan's conduct today, he asked, 'What about after the mourning is fulfilled?' Caoshan said, 'Caoshan loves to be crazy drunk.' Juefan said, 'His mind is like a clear mirror; his mouth is like a drunkard's.' One day a monk asked, 'Qingshui is solitary and destitute; please, Master, save him.' Caoshan called, 'Acārya Shui!' The monk responded, 'Yes?' Caoshan said, 'Three cups of Master Bai's wine of Qingyuan, and you still say you haven't moistened your lips!' Again, a monk asked Jinfeng, 'When the golden cup is filled to the brim, how is it?' Jinfeng said, 'Jinfeng is thoroughly drunk.' Foguo raised this and said, 'Grasping the words to understand the lineage, illuminating the dynamic to respond universally—then Jinfeng is not lacking. Yet scrutinize it closely, and looking back, it leaks too much. If someone asks Jiangshan, "When the golden cup is filled to the brim, how is it?" I would just answer him, "This mountain monk naturally has the heavenly precepts."' Again, a monk asked Caoshan, 'Throughout the twelve hours, how should one protect and maintain it?' Caoshan said, 'Like passing through a realm of virulent poison: not even a single drop of water may touch you.' Caoshan sometimes sobered up in the midst of drunkenness, and sometimes, being sober, made no distinction between day and night, because for him the yellow millet dream had shattered and feelings of the inner chambers were forgotten. Dongshan asked Yunju, 'When a great icchantika kills his father and harms his mother, where is the filial piety?' Yunju said, 'Only then is filial piety accomplished.' This is what is called a person whose mourning is fulfilled and is crazy drunk. Dongshan said, 'Everywhere my eyes meet is a desolate grove; through the years I am footloose and free.' Tiantong was accustomed to sporting among these. The verse says:

5.44

A pure and immaculate household, completely severed from neighbors; (Cheeks seen from behind the head—do not associate with him.)
Swept clean throughout the years, it brooks no dust. (Even if there were a speck, there is no place to set it.)
Where the radiance turns, the remnant moon tilts down; (When bad fortune reaches the extreme, good fortune arises.)
When the hexagram lines divide, the yin month Jian-yin begins. (Yin is somber, yang expands.)
Newly fulfilled in mourning, (Tear stains have not yet ceased.)
He forthwith encounters spring; (Calling to one another to swing on the swing.)
Stumbling in drunkenness and wildly singing, he lets his cap fall where it may. (Familiarity ignores etiquette.)
With hair unloosed and strolling at ease, who can constrain him? (A thousand liberties, a hundredfold freedom.)
In the grand peace without business, a man crazy with wine! (This fellow in the seven villages is delighted.)

5.45

The Master said: To not tolerate a grain of sand in the eye is too narrow. Caoshan said, 'As for worldly coarse, heavy greed, anger, and delusion—although difficult to cut off, they are actually light. But as for the spotlessness of doing nothing and having no business, this heaviness cannot be surpassed.' Therefore Dongshan said, 'In front of the Hall of the Bright Moon, it is constantly the ninety days of summer.' The ultimate Way cannot be described. The ancients took analogies from their own bodies nearby and from external things far away, linking kinds by metaphor and evocative comparison to illustrate the ultimate Way. Baoci's verse in praise of Longya's half-body says, 'The sun rises over connecting mountains; / The full moon faces the door. / It is not that there is no body, / But that it does not wish to be fully revealed.' Both elders were Dongshan's descendants. Juefan said, 'The sharp dynamic of their family style values mutual interweaving, so that one does not infringe upon the primary position; their words avoid being hundred-percent complete, so that one does not fall into the present time. Yet Baoci's craftsmanship was uniquely marvelous, and his words did not lose the ancestral lineage; this is why he is precious.' Here, 'where the radiance turns, the remnant moon tilts down' illustrates mourning fulfilled and meeting spring. In the commentary to the second nine of the Qian hexagram in the Book of Changes, 'The dragon appears in the field; it is beneficial to see the great man,' the second nine corresponds to the transition between the months of Chou and Yin. At that time, when sprouts begin to emerge from the earth, this signifies the manifestation of yang qi; the image of the Qian hexagram naturally corresponds to this. Old Du's 'Song of the Eight Immortals of the Winecup' has: 'Taking off his cap to bare his pate before princes and dukes; / Though the Son of Heaven summons him, he will not board the boat.' Both forget appearances and neglect etiquette; they cannot be constrained by bounds and limits. One day Danxia Tianran was lying across Tianjin Bridge; the regent Lord Zheng's advance retinue shouted at him to clear the way, but the Master paid no heed. When asked about it, he slowly said, 'I am a monk who has no business.' Zheng respected him as extraordinary. At Xuefeng's evening instruction to the assembly, Xuefeng was lying down in the courtyard. Senior Monk Fu of Taiyuan said, 'In the jurisdiction of the five prefectures, only this Venerable is slightly superior.' Xuefeng then got up and left. These are all wine-bibbers who unfasten their collars, let down their hair, and have no business. When Caoshan's mourning is fulfilled, how does he enjoy it? In the four seasons, spring is rich and noble; in all things, wine is romance and freedom.

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萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 — Classical Chinese