人天眼目 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Fenyang's Four Phrases (with phrases by Dongshan Kong, Donglin Zong, and Ciming appended)

A monk asked: “What is the phrase that receives beginners?” Fenyang said: “You are an itinerant monk.” Kong said: “The vajra pestle strikes; the iron mountain collapses.” Zong said: “The bottomless bowl shines with dazzling brilliance.” Yuan said: “Severed in two with a single blade.”

2.3

“What is the phrase that discerns patch-robed monks?” Fenyang said: “In the west, the sun rises at the hour of the hare (mao).” Kong said: “The boats of Yueyang, the waves of Dongting.” Zong said: “The Tiantai cudgel is pitch black.” Yuan said: “Hanshan and Shide.”

2.4

“What is the phrase wherein the true mandate is enacted?” Fenyang said: “Having come a thousand leagues specially to present the old face.” Kong said: “The yakṣa bends his knees; his eyes are dark.” Zong said: “Carrying a tub on the head and wearing shoes for three thousand leagues.” Yuan said: “Thousands come, myriads go.”

2.5

“What is the phrase that settles heaven and earth?” Fenyang said: “Non-glutinous rice grows in Uttarakuru; those who eat it have neither anger nor joy (also written: ‘neither greed nor anger’).” Kong said: “The scriptures arrived at White Horse Temple; monks reached the year of Chiwu.” Zong said: “In the human realm and the heavens, it is the same spring.” Yuan said: “Heaven is high, the sea is wide.” He then said: “I use these four phrases to test patch-robed monks throughout the world.” (Dayu said: “Considering it carefully, using these four phrases to test patch-robed monks throughout the world—he was instead seen through by patch-robed monks throughout the world.” Dahui said: “Do you all want to recognise Dayu? ‘For three years not altering from the father's way may indeed be called filial.’”)

2.6

Three Kinds of Lions

2.7

Fushan Yuanjian instructed the assembly, saying: “Fenyang has the lion phrases, and these lions are of three kinds: 1. Transcending the lineage with exceptional vision; 2. Level with the eyebrows, walking together; 3. Following shadows and echoes. If one transcends the lineage with exceptional vision, one's insight surpasses the teacher's, and one can be a seedling worthy of transmission. If one is level with the eyebrows, walking together, one's insight equals the teacher's, reducing half of the teacher's virtue. If one follows shadows and echoes, one is like a jackal leaning on authority—how can different kinds be distinguished? Therefore, ancient worthies gave this entrusted admonition: ‘When you meet face-to-face, you must closely examine and investigate thoroughly; you must not be careless, lest you mistakenly bestow the seal of approval upon later people!’”

2.8

Fenyang's Three Secrets

2.9

Fenyang instructed the assembly, saying: “Fenyang has Three Secrets; patch-robed monks find them difficult to discern. Hesitating to ask how, the staff immediately strikes like a wedge into the head.” A monk asked: “What are the Three Secrets?” The Master immediately struck him. The monk bowed. Fen[yang] said: “I will utter verses for you.”

2.10

“The First Secret: / Receiving and guiding know no set time. / Ingenious words cannot express it: / Clouds split open, the moon in the blue sky.”

2.11

“The Second Secret: / Emitting light to discern the worthy and wise. / Question and answer for the mind of benefiting beings, / Pulling out the wedge from the eye.”

2.12

“The Third Secret: / Spoken by the barbarian of the Western Land. / Crossing the Jishui River to reach Silla; / In the northern lands, using the iron of Bin.”

2.13

Ciming:

2.14

“The First Secret: / The great earth, mountains, and rivers leak out. / Just as Vimalakīrti nods his head, / Mañjuśrī becomes talkative.”

2.15

“The Second Secret: / Unfolding and expanding, observe the season. / How could speech and silence have anything to do with it? / In the middle of the night, the autumn sky's moon.”

2.16

The third secret:
The mountains are distant and the road difficult to traverse;
On dry land one plays with boats;
From the eyes one picks out sun and moon.

2.17

Fachang Yu

2.18

The first secret:
Three pounds of iron in the sleeve;
Suddenly meeting the ailing Vimalakīrti,
He lifts it and drives a wedge straight into his head.

2.19

The second secret:
In the sixth month the sky is filled with snow;
Nowhere to flee the sweltering heat;
The whole body is cold as iron.

2.20

The third secret:
The character bā has no two slanting strokes;
The foreign monk smiles and nods his head;
Another wedge is driven into his eyes.

2.21

Dongshan Jian

2.22

The first secret:
Truly transcendent and supreme;
Holding the golden mallet in hand,
One strikes down the moon at the edge of the sky.

2.23

The second secret:
Difficult to distinguish:
A depression on the lapis lazuli pillow,
A protrusion in the agate plate.

2.24

The third secret:
Most supremely transcendent:
Flowers and trees are spring in all four seasons;
Courtyard and terrace hold the moon of a thousand ages.

2.25

Anzhu Jing

2.26

The first secret:
Shaving iron on the point of a needle;
A pierced-ear foreigner;
Teeth missing from his face.

2.27

The second secret:
Killing a man and seeing blood;
A mute enduring pain
Has nowhere to explain himself.

2.28

The third secret:
Sunny Spring and White Snow;
Peach blossoms at the bottom of the water;
The bright moon atop the mountain.

2.29

"What is the first secret?"
An ancient master said, "Branches of coral propping up the moon."

2.30

"What is the second secret?"
An ancient master said, "Ten thousand miles of a single strip of iron."

2.31

"What is the third secret?"
An ancient master said, "At the tip of every blade of grass, everything is disclosed."

2.32

Fenyang's Three Phrases

2.33

Fenyang took the high seat, and a monk came forward and asked, "What is the student's phrase of applying effort?"
Fen said, "Carving the Great Statue at Jiazhou."

2.34

"What is the student's phrase of turning the body?"
Fen said, "Casting the iron ox at Shanfu."

2.35

"What is the student's phrase of intimate closeness?"
Fen said, "Playing with the lion at Xihe."

2.36

He also said, "If someone understands these three phrases, they have already discerned the Three Mysteries. There are still the words of the Three Essentials; you must certainly grasp them!"

2.37

Ciyan Zhen's Answers

2.38

A monk asked, "What is the student's phrase of applying effort?"
Yan said, "Chopping wood for a thousand days, burning it in one day."

2.39

"What is the student's phrase of turning the body?"
Yan said, "One wall; a hundred walls aligned."
"What is the student's phrase of intimate closeness?"
Yan said, "The whole family seeing [one] off onto the ferry boat."

2.40

Fenyang's Eighteen Questions

2.41

Fenyang said, "The main idea is that except for actual questions and silent questions, which are difficult to distinguish, one must recognize the intent behind their coming. All the others have their seasons and occasions. Weigh the shallowness or depth of their speech and respond accordingly. You must not give rise to far-fetched interpretations at random; it would benefit neither party. Though it be a good cause, it invites an evil result. You must be extremely careful."

2.42

Requesting instruction: A monk asked Mazu, "What is the Buddha?"
The Patriarch said, "This mind itself is the Buddha."
Zhaozhou said, "The one in the hall."

2.43

Presenting understanding: [A monk] asked Longya, "How is it when heaven cannot cover and earth cannot bear?"
Ya said, "A practitioner of the Way should be like this."

2.44

Observing and discerning: [A monk] asked Linji, "How is it when the student has a question at the Master's place?"
Ji said, "Speak quickly! Speak quickly!"
The monk hesitated; Linji struck him at once.

2.45

Responding to the moment: [A monk] asked Tianhuang, "How is it when the feeling of doubt has not yet ceased?"
Huang said, "Guarding the one is not genuine."

2.46

Biased and one-sided: [A monk] asked Bajiao, "The entire great earth is a single eye; I beg the Master for guidance."
Jiao said, "A poor boy coming across spoiled rice."

2.47

Mental action: [A monk] asked Xinghua, "The student has not yet distinguished black from white; I beg the Master for expedient means."
Hua struck him immediately upon the sound of his voice.

2.48

Probing and extracting: [A monk] asked Fengxue, "Why does a person who does not understand have no doubt?"
Xue said, "When a spiritual tortoise walks on dry land, how can it avoid dragging its tail in the mud?"

2.49

Not understanding: [A monk] asked Xuansha, "The student has just entered the monastic community; I beg the Master for guidance."
Sha said, "Do you hear the sound of the water in Yan Creek?"
The monk said, "I hear it."
Sha said, "Enter from here."

2.50

Shouldering and carrying: [A monk] asked an elder master, "Do not bring out worldly knowledge and discriminating cleverness at all; give me back my essential phrase!"
The elder master struck him at once.

2.51

Setting aside: [A monk] asked Yunmen, "How is it when staring wide-eyed without seeing any boundary?"
Men said, "Perceive!"

2.52

Deliberate: [A monk] asked Shoushan, "All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature; why do they not recognize it?"
Shan said, "They recognize it."

2.53

Borrowing: [A monk] asked Fengxue, "The great ocean has a pearl; how can it be obtained?"
Xue said, "When Wangxiang arrives, the light is brilliant; where Lilou walks, the billows surge to the heavens."

2.54

Actual: [A monk] asked Sansheng, "The student only sees that the Master is a monk; what is the Buddha and what is the Dharma?"
Sheng said, "That it is the Buddha and it is the Dharma—do you know it?"

2.55

Provisional: [A monk] asked Jingshan, "This is the one in the hall; which is the Buddha?"
Shan said, "This is the one in the hall."

2.56

Investigating: [A monk] asked an ancestral master, "All phenomena are originally existent; which one is non-existent?"
He replied, "Your question is very clear; why bother to ask me further?"

2.57

Questioning: [A monk] asked Muzhou, "For what purpose did the Patriarch come from the west?"
Zhou said, "You say: for what purpose?"
The monk had no words; Zhou struck him at once.

2.58

Clear: A non-Buddhist asked the Buddha, "I do not ask about words or wordlessness."
The World-Honoured One remained silent for a good while.
[The non-Buddhist] said, "The World-Honoured One with great loving-kindness and great compassion has opened my clouds of delusion and enabled me to enter."

2.59

Silent: A non-Buddhist arrived at the Buddha's place, standing without words.
The Buddha said, "A great deal!"
The non-Buddhist said, "The World-Honoured One with great loving-kindness and great compassion has enabled me to enter."

2.60

Whenever a student brings forward biased and one-sided phrases, or conceals [their state] to test the teacher's eye, or presents their intellectual views, raising their heads and displaying their horns, test each and every one of them—every one of them can be struck. It is simply because one sees through them face to face; whether blaming or praising, when the clear mirror is placed upon the stand, what goblin can appear, what bewitching fox can conceal its original form?

2.61

The Nine Girdles (named Fayuan)

2.62

Whenever Fushan instructed his disciples, he cited the sayings of the lineage widely. Students compiled them and requested that the Master give them a title. Based on their categories, the Master titled it *Collection of the Nine Girdles of the Essential Doctrines of the Buddha-Zen School*, presumably modeled after Ban Gu's work on the Nine Streams.

2.63

The Girdle of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye of the Buddhas

2.64

Now, the real principle realizes and accomplishes the Dharmakāya; the function of illumination and operation acts as the reward land. Such was the fundamental cause of the Buddhas, and so too was the grand standard of the patriarchs. Divided into five branches, the pure monasteries of ten thousand streams are laid out like go pieces; a single lamp divides its flames, and the Dharma seats of the ten directions are arranged like fish scales. Furthermore, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, "The Tathāgata does not appear in the world, nor does he have nirvāṇa." Formerly, at the assembly on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, the World-Honoured One twitched his blue-lotus eyes and showed [a flower] to the fourfold assembly, yet none could comprehend his secret meaning. Only Mahākāśyapa alone understood the Buddha's intent. The sūtra says: The Buddha said to Mahākāśyapa, "I have the treasury of the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of nirvāṇa; I entrust it to you. You should propagate it and not allow it to be cut off." Furthermore, when approaching nirvāṇa, he said to Ānanda, "You should circulate the twelve divisions of scriptures." He said to Upāli, "You should uphold all the monastic precepts." The verse of transmission to Mahākāśyapa says:
"The fundamental Dharma of the Dharma is no-dharma;
The Dharma of no-dharma is also Dharma.
Now when transmitting the no-dharma,
How has the Dharma of dharmas ever been a Dharma?"
Thereupon Mahākāśyapa took the Buddha's kaṣāya and entered the samādhi of cessation on Mount Kukkuṭapāda, awaiting the descent and birth of Maitreya to hand it over with both hands. (An ancient master's capping phrase says, "A bird perches in a shadowless tree; a flower blooms on a budless branch. The waves of the four seas are still; the sky holds a single round of the bright moon.")

2.65

Eulogy by Dayuan Zhi

2.66

The Buddhas' true Dharma eye,
Kāśyapa heard it personally.
The ancestors did not finish the matter,
Bringing disaster upon their children and grandchildren.

2.67

Dahui Gao

2.68

The distant kalpa of voidness cannot constrain it;
How could the Buddha-eye ever recognize it?
The wondrous body originally has no rank or position;
How could the true cause have any pattern?
Great empty space is vast and clear, the dust wiped clean;
The mirror of wisdom is round and bright, all phenomena distinct.
From now on, Mount Hua is splendid for a thousand ages,
Letting Pan Lang ride his donkey backwards as he pleases.

2.69

The Girdle of the Buddhadharma Treasury

2.70

Now, outside the teaching of the three vehicles, the patriarchs transmit separately; amidst all phenomena, it stands out uniquely revealed. If the finest dust is not extinguished, it blocks the mountain passes; if hesitation and discrimination arise, it lasts for thousands of lives and ten thousand kalpas. The three wise levels do not understand it; how could the ten holy levels know it? Cutting off all streams, how can one approach it? The sage circuitously completes all things without stopping, carving all forms without claiming merit—how much more so the Tathāgatagarbha! The so-called "treasury" encompasses the Dharma treasuries of all Buddhas of the three periods of past, present, and future. Within it are the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna. The Hīnayāna refers to the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; the Mahāyāna refers to the bodhisattvas. Within these, it branches out into eight, namely the three baskets and the five vehicles. The three baskets refer to sūtras, vinaya, and treatises. The five vehicles refer to śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas, while also subsuming humans and gods. Thus, although the teachings are categorized by names and numbers established according to faculties, they do not depart from the One Vehicle. The Lotus Sūtra says, "Within the path of the One Vehicle, [the Buddha] discriminately explains three." It also says, "There are not even two vehicles, let alone three." It also says, "Only this one matter is real; the other two are not genuine." This clarifies that the provisional is established according to faculties. As the Avataṃsaka explains, the Tathāgatagarbha takes the Dharmadhātu as its substance. The Tathāgatagarbha has neither anterior nor posterior limits; it has no phenomenon of formation and decay, no stages of cultivation and realization, and transcends all dualistic meanings. Therefore, Mañjuśrī's verse says: "In a single thought, surveying everywhere, throughout immeasurable kalpas without going, coming, or abiding; understanding the matters of the three periods like this, transcending all expedients, one accomplishes the ten powers." That the sage spoke of definitive meaning and non-definitive meaning was entirely established according to faculties. The intention of the Buddhas in preaching the Dharma according to adaptability is difficult to discern. The three baskets and five vehicles each have their tenets; discussions within the One Vehicle of complete, sudden, half, or full are all provisionally established. Only the single scripture of the Avataṃsaka takes the Dharmadhātu as its scope: Buddhas and sentient beings share the identical substance, originally without cultivation or realization, originally without gain or loss, with no defilements to be severed and no bodhi to be sought, and the nature and characteristics of humans and non-humans are equal. (An ancient master's capping phrase says, "Scooping up water, the moon is in the hands; sporting with flowers, fragrance fills the robes. Cold spring water gushes from the ancient ravine; the green pine remains verdant after the snow.")

2.71

Eulogy by Dayuan

2.72

Our Buddha's Dharma treasury
Scoops up sentient beings;
Hundreds of thousands of samādhis
Are consummated in the snap of a finger.

2.73

Dahui

2.74

Pervading and subsuming the ten directions, leaving nothing behind;
Completely transcending the three periods at this very moment.
Sacred names and ordinary labels come from the same tongue;
Inferior forms and distinct appearances are vainly manifold.
Outside the gate of every house lies the road to Chang'an;
Inside the cave in every place is a lion cub.
Smashing the water vase, there is nothing to be done;
The cuckoo cries upon the branch of falling blossoms.

2.75

The Girdle of the Pervasion of Principle

2.76

Sound and form cannot reach it; the path of language cannot explain it. Clearly evident throughout past and present, from the very beginning it has never been interrupted. Revealing the Way through words is merely an accommodation for the present age; raising the whisk and twitching the eyebrows are circumlocutions used to instruct and guide. How could a naturally superior adept need to be prodded and admonished? Those of medium or lower capacity seek a standard at the point of the fishhook. If the response to their potential is not wondrous, whose fault is it? If one hesitates still further, it only adds to the clumsiness. 'The Appendant Belt of Principle' means that Principle is the upright rank. Within that upright rank, there is not a single dharma—it is completely empty and identical with the limit of reality. In that actual ground of principle, not a single speck of dust is admitted.

2.77

(An ancient master commented: "Though many beasts have horns, a single qilin is enough. Stirring one's countenance, one manifests the ancient path, not falling into quietistic mechanisms.")

2.78

Dayuan's verse:

2.79

The Appendant Principle gathers all entirely;
A myriad currents flow as one.
In the Flower Treasury of Vairocana,
Each and every thing is present.

2.80

Dahui:

2.81

How could true Principle ever establish a single speck of dust?
To call it the upright rank already strays from intimacy.
Where does the black rooster crow in the middle of the night?
A withered tree blooms into flowers—a spring beyond the kalpas.
Extending mercy freely with hands outspread, it constantly benefits beings;
Once the mind intends and clings, it already departs from the real.
Look at the crane grove on the day of Nirvāṇa:
He once raised both soles to display them to the multitude.

2.82

The Appendant Belt of Phenomena

2.83

The sun and moon cannot reach it with their light; heaven and earth cannot cover or bear it up. When the kalpa-fire destroys the world, it remains ever tranquil; when the myriad dharmas perish, its complete essence is laid bare. Adapting to conditions without changing, in the midst of turmoil it is constantly serene. From this one beam of gracious light, who is left without a share? The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'The lands preach, sentient beings preach, and the realms of the three times preach all at once.' (An ancient master commented: "Searching for fire, one finds it along with smoke; carrying water from the spring, one returns home bearing the moon. A rock grows a rootless tree; a mountain encloses an unmoving cloud.")

2.84

Dayuan's verse:

2.85

Phenomena encompass all that exists;
Not a fine speck of dust escapes.
The myriad forms arrayed in dense profusion—
Its entire mechanism is free of fault.

2.86

Dahui:

2.87

At the turning point, solitary and steep, the myriad affairs rest;
Following conditions and grasping the essential, what more is there to seek?
The creation and transformation of living beings ride upon this power;
A single beam of spiritual radiance permeates all places.
Identity with phenomena is identity with emptiness—no surplus dharmas remain;
The entirety of mind is the entirety of Buddha, arising from a true source.
Filling up the ditches and choking the ravines, yet no one understands;
How laughable to ride an ox while searching for an ox!

2.88

The Appendant Belt of Principle and Phenomena Crisscrossing

2.89

Whatever meets the eye is the Way; within the gate of Buddhist work, it leaves no trace and is free of partiality, running throughout the limit of reality. Harmoniously merging phenomena and principle, both are deployed in tandem. If one's capacity is up to the task, one responds according to the potential met. The manifestation of the lineage's style rests entirely with the person concerned. In establishing schools and vehicles, branches and knots are forcibly produced. Stepping outside the gate to ask for the way, they point east and draw west. How can the stubbornly dull across kalpas ever be stimulated and awakened? (An ancient master commented: "Turning a somersault on the point of a needle; azure waves arise within the flames of a red-hot furnace. A monkey holds its young and returns into the green peaks; a bird takes a flower in its beak and drops it before the azure cliff.")

2.90

Dayuan:

2.91

Principle and phenomena crisscross;
Illumination and function operate together.
On this side and on that side,
Midday and the third watch of the night.

2.92

Dahui:

2.93

In every dust mote, the limit of reality is originally harmonious;
The entire body encompasses all, phenomena and principle being identical.
Responding to things and applying expedients, there are no fixed rules;
Formulating principle in accord with conditions, it transcends every snare.
At the tip of the pole is a road that allows carts and horses to pass;
Beneath the staff, unborn, one encounters the ancestral patriarch.
Emerging and submerging, crisscrossing, essence and function are complete;
The evening sun sinks in the west, and the river flows to the east.

2.94

The Appendant Belt of Devious Lowering

2.95

To 'lower' means the sage lowers his capacity to receive and guide beings. 'Devious' means taking off the precious royal robes and putting on tattered, filthy garments. Master Tong'an said: 'Provisionally donning filthy clothes, one is called a Buddha; if one dresses again in precious royal robes, what should one be called?' Precious royal robes refer to not leaving the world; filthy clothes refer to leaving the world. A monk asked Venerable Che of Shimen: 'Why did Dharma Master Yunguang turn into an ox?' Che said: 'In a mean alley, he does not ride a golden horse; returning along the way, he wears a ragged robe instead.' After the sage realizes Buddhahood, he becomes a bodhisattva again to guide and benefit living beings. This is called 'not abiding in the unconditioned and not exhausting the conditioned.' Mañjuśrī asked Vimalakīrti: 'How does a bodhisattva penetrate the Buddha Way?' Vimalakīrti replied: 'A bodhisattva walking in non-ways is called penetrating the Buddha Way.' (An ancient master commented: "The cloud of compassion covers universally without boundary; if the withered tree bears no blossoms, what can be done? Twisting and turning through right and wrong, following crooked and straight; to understand the news of this moment is to know how to let the wind pass through.")

2.96

Dayuan's verse:

2.97

Lowering compassion through winding turns,
Staff and shout are deployed together.
Concealing the secret intent,
A spiritual branch of Mount Shaoshi.

2.98

Dahui:

2.99

Not donning precious royal robes to instruct beginners,
Leaving the world, he provisionally wears tattered, filthy garments.
A narrow path winds and twists through consecutive nights;
When will he return to his distant native home?
Letting down a thousand-foot line, the hook is nonetheless curved;
Benefiting things by many means, his words carry sorrow.
Do not talk about how fine the sights of Chang'an are;
Gaining an advantage is losing an advantage.

2.100

The Appendant Belt of Wondrous Accordance and Integration

2.101

Venerable Fengxue of Ruzhou addressed the assembly, saying: 'Those with the eye of study, when confronting the occasion, must directly allow the great function to appear before them; do not confine yourselves to petty details. Even if you understand before words are spoken, you are still bogged down in husks and deluded by wrappings. Even if you are thoroughly versed beneath phrases, you will not avoid wild views along the way. I urge all of you: whatever understanding you relied on others to form in the past, with its dual forks of bright and dark and doubtful feelings about ordinary and sage—sweep it all away at once! Make each of you roar like a lion cub! Stand like a cliff ten thousand fathoms high—who would dare look at it straight on? To look at it straight on is to be blinded!' (An ancient master commented: "A single phrase subtly contains the tune of a thousand ages; the myriad layers of clouds scatter when the moon first rises. Letting down a line of a thousand feet, the intention lies in the deep pool.")

2.102

Dayuan's verse:

2.103

In wondrous accordance with the true mechanism,
Objects and environment remain just as they are.
Whether ordinary or sage,
Nothing is lacking, nothing is surplus.

2.104

Dahui:

2.105

Lifting and subduing have always been known to the adept;
In this, a single word hangs down at both ends.
Sharing birth and death, when will it be understood?
Releasing both and gathering both causes the whole world to doubt.
The moonlight that reflects the belly sinks into the azure ether;
The surging sea striking heaven submerges Mount Sumeru.
Hearing the Shao music and forgetting the taste of food, there is joy to spare;
Only then does one recognize the poet's wonder beyond the lines.

2.106

The Appendant Belt of the Golden Needle Double-Lock

2.107

Ever since the lamp was shared at Cock's Foot Mountain and the fragrance was transmitted from Shaolin, each has expounded the profound style and mutually promoted Buddhist works. If one relies on verbal explanations as proof, one extinguishes the Dharma gate; what is more, engaging in artificial cultivation will submerge the ancient sages in mediocrity. Everything is clearly revealed; every object illuminates the truth. There is no need to hesitate; speak straight to the point! (An ancient master commented: "The wind blows the willows on the southern bank; rain breaks the lotuses in the northern pond. White egrets descending into the fields look like a thousand flakes of snow; an oriole alighting on a tree is a single branch of blossom.")

2.108

Dayuan's verse:

2.109

The golden needle double-lock,
The seal of approval of the entire mind.
With phrases or without phrases—
A thousand flowers and ten thousand blossoms.

2.110

Dahui:

2.111

Standing out distinctly, the full mechanism of principle and phenomena is profound;
In the eastern village, old Wang burns paper money at night.
Finding the road with ease, it is as bright as the sun;
Stepping forward and turning the head, it is as straight as a bowstring.
The profound and the essential operating in tandem, there are no separate words;
The moment the mechanism of conditions shows a sign, it cannot be transmitted.
The Great Way has never had any restriction;
Reaching out one's hand and taking it up, the hundred affairs are complete.

2.112

The Appendant Belt of an Even Mind and Constant Reality

2.113

Venerable Luopu addressed the assembly, saying: 'Only with the final phrase does one reach the firm checkpoint; holding shut the strategic pass, it admits neither ordinary nor sage. Usually I tell all of you: even if the whole world rejoices with delight, I alone do not agree. Why? The spiritual tortoise carrying the diagram brought upon itself the omen of its own destruction; when the phoenix is entangled in a golden net, what hope does it have of soaring to the heavens? Usually I tell all of you: you must clarify the lineage outside the intended message; do not adopt rules within words. Therefore it is said: if the mechanism of the stone man were like yours, he would also know how to sing the songs of Ba; if you were like the stone man, you would also harmonize with the songs of snow.' A monk asked Nanquan: 'What is the Way?' Nanquan said: 'The ordinary mind is the Way.' If one penetrates the ordinary Way, seeing mountains they are just mountains, and seeing water it is just water. Taking them up as one's hand reaches out, there is neither acceptable nor unacceptable. Even if wind comes and trees move, waves rise and boats lift, spring generates and summer grows, autumn harvests and winter stores—what difference is there? As long as the wind is seasoned and the rain is timely, the country prosperous and the people at peace, the borders calm, and lord and vassal harmoniously united in the Way, why must a qilin appear or a phoenix arrive before an auspicious sign is shown? As long as principle returns to its Way, phenomena will be plain and real. There is no sage to seek and no ordinary person to abandon. Inside and outside with an even mind, all dissolves and exhausts itself. Therefore, the words of the sages do not depart from worldly truth; they conform to the world. If you understand, you will enjoy their use on the road; if you do not understand, they remain worldly truths in circulation. (An ancient master commented: "Often, at the place where I saw off a guest, I recalled the time I departed from home.")

2.114

Dayuan's verse:

2.115

An even mind is constantly real;
Phenomena are rounded and principle is fulfilled.
Exposed pillars and lanterns—
There is neither gain nor loss.

2.116

Dahui:

2.117

Free of interchanging, it is originally complete and fulfilled;
Face-to-face without partiality, it is unified and level.
Upon the water, the Eastern Mountain walks without ceasing;
Amid the flames, a wooden horse neighs at night.
In the human realm, one sees only the floating white clouds;
Beyond heaven, one constantly watches the arrayed peaks lying across.
If you consider the ordinary mind to be the Way,
The intention of your mind is already inside the Iron Encircling Mountains.

2.118

Fushan said: 'According to the consummate Dharma gate, there are originally ten belts. Now these nine belts have already been explained to you all. There is still one more belt: do you see it? If you see it intimately and clearly, please step forward and speak of it. If what you say corresponds, then it penetrates through the previous nine belts, and your eye of the Way will be perfectly clear. If you do not see it intimately and what you say does not correspond, but merely rely on my words as your own understanding, this is called slandering the Dharma, and there is no truth in it. Coming to this point, what will you all do?' The assembly was utterly at a loss. The master thereupon shouted and dispersed them.

2.119

Huanglong's Three Checkpoints

2.120

Chan Master Nan asked Chan Master Xian of Longqing: 'Everyone has a native place of birth. Where is your native place of birth, Elder?' Xian said: 'In the morning I eat plain congee; by evening I feel hungry again.' Nan asked again: 'How is my hand like a Buddha's hand?' Xian said: 'Playing the pipa beneath the moon.' Nan asked again: 'How is my foot like a donkey's foot?' Xian said: 'An egret standing in the snow is not the same color.' Huanglong constantly used these three turning words to question students, yet most failed to accord with his intent. Layman Pan Xingsi, Yanzhi of Nanzhou, once asked him the reason. Huanglong said: 'Those who have already passed the checkpoint swing their arms and walk straight on; how would they know there is a checkpoint guard? To ask the checkpoint guard whether it is permissible or not—these are the ones who have not yet passed the checkpoint.' He then composed his own verses:

2.121

How is my hand like a Buddha's hand?
Let the Chan practitioner grasp it directly.
Speaking it out without clashing weapons,
Right here, one surpasses the Buddhas and patriarchs.

2.122

My foot and a donkey's foot walk together;
Step by step, tread upon the unborn.
If you understand the clouds clearing and the moon shining bright,
Only then will you know this Way crisscrosses everywhere.

2.123

Everyone knows the road to their native place of birth;
How has a jellyfish ever separated from a shrimp?
As long as the sun rises in the east,
Who could drink Zhaozhou's tea any further?

2.124

(The Recorded Sayings of the Ancient Buddha Min of Mount Lu notes: "Formerly I saw the verse on the Three Checkpoints in the personal calligraphy of Chan Master Nan collected by Head Monk Guangbian, recited without omission. Recently I have seen the recorded sayings from various quarters to be incomplete and full of errors, so I note and correct them here.")

2.125

Verses by Zhenjing Wen:

2.126

How is my hand like a Buddha's hand?
Turned up or turned over, who distinguishes good from ugly?
If one is a child of the lion,
The jackal opens its mouth in vain.

2.127

How is my foot like a donkey's foot?
Hidden or revealed, a thousand differences and myriad errors.
Throw wide open the vajra eyes,
And look at the good and evil right before you.

2.128

Everyone has a native place of birth;
Clinging to it, one still loses the road.
In the vast sky the clouds break and the moonlight shines bright;
East, west, south, or north—go as you please.

2.129

Jingfu Shun (a native of Shu, Dharma heir of Chan Master Nan):

2.130

Clouds scatter over the Yangtze River and the water surges on;
Suddenly a wild wind blows and the waves rise high.
Not understanding the fisherman's profound and wondrous intent,
One instead braves the wind and billows in the midst of the waves.

2.131

A Persian from the Southern Seas enters the Great Tang;
If someone recognizes jewels, they then confer together.
Sometimes encountering cheapness, sometimes encountering dearness;
As the sun reaches the western peak, the shadows grow longer.

2.132

(Old Venerable Huanglong had a saying on the native place of birth. This mountain monk inherited his Dharma and brings it up for you today. I bring it up for you: a cat is especially adept at catching mice.)

2.133

Nantang Jing (named Daoxing, a native of Shu, Dharma heir of Wuzu):

2.134

How is my hand like a Buddha's hand?
Bellows, tongs, hammer, and broom.
Having once smelted the purple-gold body,
Its radiance shoots toward the Seven Stars and the Dipper.

2.135

"How does my foot resemble a donkey's foot?"
White blades and red banners flicker and flash.
Sitting to cut off the midst of a hundred battlefields,
Wondrously deploying the Six Strategies and Three Tactics.

2.136

"Everyone has their native place."
Seeing, hearing, looking down, looking up, bowing, and turning about.
Bearing on one's head the sun and moon within the universe;
Harboring in one's bosom the commanding authority outside the palace gates.

2.137

Yuanwu Qin

2.138

"How does my hand resemble a Buddha's hand?"
Following one's lot to pick flowers and snap willows.
Suddenly bumping into an unheaded snake,
You cannot avoid suffering its single bite.

2.139

"How does my foot resemble a donkey's foot?"
Zhaozhou's stone bridge and wooden plank.
Suddenly kicking up a leather ball,
Crashing down the Three Mountains and Five Peaks.

2.140

"Everyone has their native place."
Crouching one's body where there is no ground to burrow into.
If one's eyelids burst open,
It causes another's bucket bottom to be kicked through.

2.141

Zhandang Zhun

2.142

My hand, a Buddha's hand—
Eighteen, nineteen.
Clouds disperse, the moon is round;
Foolish people run by night.

2.143

My foot, a donkey's foot—
Letting pass a single move.
Layman Pang's strainer;
Qingping's wooden ladle.

2.144

Everyone's native place—
Vinaya in the north, Chan in the south.
Daowu dances with a court tablet;
Huating poles his boat.

2.145

Haiyin Xin

2.146

My hand, a Buddha's hand—
Who does not have it?
Distinct and clear right here;
Why need one wildly run about?

2.147

My foot, a donkey's foot—
Treading high and low.
Rain passes, moss is green;
Clouds clear, the sun blazes.

2.148

Asked about your native place:
Everywhere without doubt.
With straightforward words the mind has no illness;
Who discusses right and wrong?

2.149

Wan'an

2.150

"How does my hand resemble a Buddha's hand?"
No need to deliberate before or calculate after.
How many foolish people in the world
Merely follow behind others' backs!

2.151

"How does my foot resemble a donkey's foot?"
Hesitating, one suffers his poison.
Again we see a commoner appointed prime minister,
Who never previously held rank or office.

2.152

"Everyone has their native place."
Mulberry and catalpa, people crowded together.
May I ask about the eastern neighbor and western house?
To the Western Heavens is one hundred and eight thousand [li].

2.153

Nantang's Ten Questions for Examination and Verification

2.154

Nantang addressed the assembly, saying: "The ultimate essential in practicing and studying does not go beyond the initial and the final phrases. For one who penetrates through them, the matter of a lifetime is finished. If perhaps this is not yet so, I shall further divide them into ten gates for you, each to be used to seal and verify your own mind, to see whether you have attained stability or not:
First, you must believe that there is a separate transmission outside the teachings.
Second, you must know that there is a separate transmission outside the teachings.
Third, you must understand that insentient beings expounding the Dharma and sentient beings expounding the Dharma are not two.
Fourth, you must see the nature as if looking at the palm of your hand, completely distinct and clear, each and every ground secure and secret.
Fifth, you must possess the eye that selects phenomena.
Sixth, you must travel the bird's path and dark road.
Seventh, you must balance both the civil and the martial.
Eighth, you must crush the heterodox and manifest the orthodox.
Ninth, you must have great dynamic function and great capability.
Tenth, you must walk among different species.
In these ten gates, have you all attained stability in each and every one, or not? If you are merely working behind closed doors, settling only your own self, you are not within this limit. If you wish to shoulder the orthodox lineage and carry on the sacred lineage, you must fulfill these ten gates of the essential guidelines; only then can you sit upon the curved wooden chair, be worthy of the prostrations of all people under heaven, and be a teacher to buddhas and patriarchs. If you have not arrived at such a ground, being consistently hollow and pretentious, then on another day, Old Yama will not let you off! Is there anyone? Let everyone come forward to bear witness. If not, there is no need to stand for long."

2.155

The House Style of Linji

2.156

The Linji lineage possesses great dynamic function and great capability. It slips out of cages and escapes from ruts. Tigers charge and dragons rush; stars speed and lightning flashes. It turns the heavenly pivot and shifts the earthly axle, carrying high-soaring spirit and employing guidance beyond convention. Rolling up, rolling out, seizing, releasing, killing, and enlivening at complete ease. Therefore, it demonstrates the Three Mysteries, the Three Essentials, the Four Hosts and Guests, the Four Dispositions, the Vajra King's precious sword, the crouching lion, the sounding pole and shadowing grass, one shout not used as one shout, one shout distinguishing host and guest, and illuminating and functioning operating simultaneously.
As for the Four Dispositions: when a person of medium-lower capacity comes, snatching away the environment but not the Dharma; when a person of medium-upper capacity comes, snatching away the environment and Dharma but not the person (one text has 'snatching away the Dharma but not the environment', which is incorrect); when a person of supreme capacity comes, snatching away both person and environment; when an extraordinary person comes, snatching away neither person nor environment.
As for the Four Hosts and Guests: when the master has nostrils, it is called the host within the host; when the student has nostrils, it is called the host within the guest; when the master has no nostrils, it is called the guest within the host; when the student has no nostrils, it is called the guest within the guest. This is not the same as the host and guest of Caodong.
As for the Three Mysteries: the mystery within the mystery, the mystery within the substance, and the mystery within the phrase.
As for the Three Essentials: one mystery contains three essentials; naturally, within one shout, the substance subsumes the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials.
As for the Vajra King's precious sword: a single sword stroke completely cuts away all emotional understanding.
As for the crouching lion: uttering words and breathing out, its majestic power stands shaken; the hundred beasts are terrified, and the brains of the hordes of māras split.
As for the sounding pole: probing whether you have a lineage transmission or not, whether you have nostrils or not.
As for the shadowing grass: deceiving like a thief, to see whether you perceive it or not.
As for one shout distinguishing host and guest: within one shout, host and guest are naturally present.
As for illuminating and functioning operating simultaneously: within one shout, illumination and functioning are naturally present.
As for one shout not used as one shout: within one shout are fully possessed such things as the Three Mysteries, the Three Essentials, the Four Hosts and Guests, and the Four Dispositions.
In general, the lineage style of Linji is nothing more than this. Do you wish to recognize Linji? Thunder crashes in the blue sky; waves surge on dry land. (Shantang Chun criticized the gates of the Three Mysteries, saying: Linji said, 'A single phrase must possess the three mysterious gates; one mysterious gate must possess the three essentials.' With great dynamic function and great capability, how could he permit dissecting them with phrase meanings and numerical terms? When the various quarters engaged in question and answer about the mysteries and essentials, they also merely said, 'What is the first, the second, the third?' Fenyang's verse states: 'The Three Mysteries and Three Essentials are difficult to distinguish; / Attaining the meaning and forgetting the words, the Way is easily approached. / A single phrase clearly encompasses the myriad phenomena; / On the Double Ninth festival, the chrysanthemums are fresh.' Only when it reached the Master of the Ancient Stūpa was it torn into the mystery within the substance, the mystery within the phrase, and the mystery within the mystery; while regarding the three essentials, explaining them did not work, so he merely consigned them to muddle-headedness. This section discusses the threshold and doorway of Linji, which may be followed for now; but coming to the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials, it falls again into the overturned chariot of the Master of the Stūpa. This must be distinguished.)

2.157

Essential Instructions (by Shantang Chun)

2.158

The Great Hero directly succeeded the cardinal principles of the Linji lineage. Because of asking Huangbo about the coming from the west, he was sorely given three rounds of the black rattan staff; thereupon he went to Dayu and was enlightened, personally delivering three punches under Dayu's ribs. Under the words he immediately saw the grandmotherly mind, and knew in advance that there is not much to the Buddha Dharma. He gave a shout like rumbling thunder, plucked the fierce tiger's whiskers, burst open beside the mass of red flesh, and everywhere used the technique of the ungraspable pickpocket. Flying stars and exploding crackers, splitting rocks and crumbling cliffs; walking upon icicles, treading upon sword blades. The complete dynamic flashes like lightning, the great function turns like the heavens. Killing with bare hands, driving straight in with a single blade. Snatching away both person and environment, illumination and function proceeding together. Coming in the light, coming in the dark; killing the Buddha, killing the patriarchs. Distinguishing ancient and modern in the Three Mysteries and Three Essentials, testing dragons and snakes in the single host and single guest. Breaking out of cages, retaining no mysterious understanding. Wielding the Vajra King's sword, sweeping away bamboo and wood spirits; arousing the full majesty of the lion, shaking the hearts and gall of the fox packs. In the end, the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye was extinguished beside this blind donkey! Thorough to the bone and marrow, the bloodline runs through; penetrating the crown and base, heaven and earth stand solely revealed. Unbroken and leakless, transmitted from vessel to vessel. Because their lineage ancestor was lofty and brilliant, his descendants magnified it. This is the Linji lineage.

2.159

Verse on the Cardinal Principles by an Ancient Worthy (Contains errors)

2.160

Holding the Moye blade horizontally, blazing with brilliant light;
Facing enemies from the eight directions, vast and boundless.
Dragons and snakes both conceal themselves, their scales shedding;
Thunder and rain fully deployed, their stratagems fall into disarray.
Buddhas and patriarchs dot it as dripping sounds;
Rivers and mountains bound together are all fragrant.
On the return journey, solitary and desolate, the outskirts are distant;
The Persian who lost his ship falls into the land of Chu.

2.161

The Yunmen Lineage

2.162

The master's posthumous name was Wenyan, a son of the Zhang family of Jiaxing. After receiving full ordination, he traveled on pilgrimage. First he visited Venerable Chen of Muzhou, clarifying the essential mind. Muzhou directed him to see Chan Master Xuefeng Cun, where he once again received the seal of approval. At first he went to Lingshu, opening the Dharma to succeed Xuefeng. Later he moved to Guangtai Temple on Mount Yunmen, where his Way flourished greatly. Students throughout the world came following his fame, and it was called the Yunmen lineage.

2.163

The Three Phrases

2.164

The master addressed the assembly, saying: "Encompassing heaven and earth; discerning the dynamic by ounces and drams; not involving the myriad conditions—how do you undertake this?" The assembly had no answer. He answered on their behalf, saying: "A single arrowhead shatters three barriers." Later, Chan Master Deshan Yuanming Mi separated his words into three phrases, calling them: the phrase that encompasses heaven and earth, the phrase that cuts off all streams, and the phrase that follows the waves and pursues the billows. (Yuanwu said: "Originally true and originally empty, of one color and one taste, not lacking a wondrous substance, not requiring hesitation, thoroughly clear—this is encompassing heaven and earth." He also said: "Originally not understood through conceptual thought; when arranged and brought forward, it does not expend a single word, and the myriad workings instantly cease—this is cutting off all streams." He also said: "If allowing him to meet face-to-face, discerning the soil from the sprout, recognizing the person through words—this is following the waves and pursuing the billows.")

2.165

Pu'an Dao's Verses on the Three Phrases

2.166

Heaven and earth along with the myriad phenomena,
Hells and heavenly palaces—
Each and every thing is truly manifested,
Every single one completely unharmed.

2.167

Piling up mountains and amassing peaks they come;
Each and every one is entirely dust.
If one further intends to discuss mystery and wonder,
They melt like ice and shatter like collapsing tiles.

2.168

Distinguishing mouths with sharp words question;
Neither high nor low is ever deficient.
Just like medicine responding to illness,
The diagnosis and examination depend on the moment.

2.169

Ciyan Zhen

2.170

Encompassing heaven and earth, the matter is brilliant and clear;
Why must wolf smoke be specially raised?
The herald rings his bell and the God of Spring arrives,
Not letting flowering branches fail to bloom everywhere.

2.171

Cutting off all streams is further discussed;
Would buddhas numerous as the Ganges sands dare speak of it?
Stars shift, constellations turn, heaven and earth are dark;
If the slightest hair exists, reality does not abide.

2.172

Following the waves and pursuing the billows, let it be high or low;
Releasing or gathering, principle and phenomena are equal.
In one equal measure extending compassion, looking lightly upon late learners;
Yet hampered by being down and out, bearing dust and mud.

2.173

Questions and Answers

2.174

Guizong Tong (successor to Guishan You); Sanzu Hui (successor to Tianyi Huai); Yunju Qing (successor to Y蓋 Yong);

2.175

Shoushan Nian (successor to Fengxue Zhao); Tianzhu Jing

2.176

"What is the phrase that encompasses heaven and earth?"
Tong said, "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west at night."
Zu said, "The seas are calm and rivers clear."
Ju said, "Joined."
Shan said, "The great earth is pitch black." He also said, "Pervading heaven and encompassing earth." He also said, "Red dust rises from the bottom of the sea."
Zhu said, "Only hearing the wind striking with sounds, who knows how many thousands of bamboo poles?"

2.177

"What is the phrase that cuts off all streams?"
Tong said, "An iron snake lies across the ancient road."
Zu said, "Not a drop of water leaks through."
Ju said, "Narrow."
Shan said, "Not admitting ordinary or sage." He also said, "Almost let pass." He also said, "Throwing one's body across outside the three realms."
Zhu said, "Yesterday the cold wind arose; this morning ground-covering frost."

2.178

"What is the phrase that follows the waves and pursues the billows?"
Tong said, "The boatman goes down to Yangzhou."
Zu said, "The Persian drops into the water."
Ju said, "Broad."
Shan said, "If you want to speak, then speak." He also said, "There is question and there is answer." He also said, "From here to the Western Heavens is one hundred and eight thousand [li]."
Zhu said, "Spring warmth and gentle sunshine weave a carpet of flowers; throughout the grove, wild orioles first begin to warble."

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人天眼目 — Classical Chinese