佛祖歷代通載 22.32

22.32

6. On the nineteenth day of the first month in the twenty-fifth year of Zhiyuan, Yang Lianzhenjia, the Chief Controller of Buddhist Teachings for Jianghuai, gathered the masters of Chan and the doctrinal schools of Jiangnan for an imperial audience and debate. The master from Shangzhu stepped forward from the ranks. An imperial decree asked, "What sutra do you lecture on?" He answered, "The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra." Next, the emperor asked, "What text does Xianlin lecture on?" He memorialised, "The Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas (Śatadharma-vidyāmukha-śāstra)." He then stepped back and stood in place. The emperor had Venerable Yunfeng of Jingshan summoned and asked, "What does Chan take as its fundamental tenet?" He replied in memorial, "Chan is the purely wise, wondrous, and complete; its essence is originally empty and quiescent." (Controller Quan translated and said, "Speak further.") He again memorialised, "It is not something that seeing, hearing, awareness, or knowing can comprehend, nor is it something that deliberation and discrimination can understand." Again an imperial decree was conveyed, ordering him to elaborate further. He again memorialised: "As for Chan's fundamental tenet, there were four-times-seven [twenty-eight patriarchs] in the Western Heavens and two-times-three [six patriarchs] in the land of Tang. From Kāśyapa it was entrusted to Ānanda; Ānanda transmitted it to Śāṇavāsa; Śāṇavāsa transmitted it to Upagupta. From then on it was handed down in succession until the twenty-eighth patriarch, Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was the first patriarch of the Eastern Land. After the Patriarch attained the Dharma, he thoroughly shattered the errors of the six schools. Seeing that the eastern country of Cīnasthāna possessed the capacity for the Great Vehicle, he came by sea. When he met the Liang emperor, their words did not accord, so he broke off a reed, crossed the Yangzi River, and went to the Shaolin mountains, where he faced the wall for nine years. He received the Second Patriarch, Shenguang, who severed his arm while standing in the snow. The Patriarch asked, 'What do you seek?' Guang said, 'My mind is not yet at peace; I beg the master to pacify my mind.' The Patriarch said, 'Bring your mind here, and I will pacify it for you.' Guang said, 'When I search for my mind, it is ultimately unobtainable.' The Patriarch said, 'I have pacified your mind for you.' Guang thus received the transmission of the mind-dharma. Later, it was transmitted to the Third Patriarch; the Third Patriarch transmitted it to the Fourth Patriarch; the Fourth Patriarch transmitted it to the Fifth Patriarch. The Fifth Patriarch was originally a Daoist who planted pine trees. The Fourth Patriarch said to him, 'You are already old; come again in another life, and I shall bear lingering in death to await you.' The Fifth Patriarch then went to the riverside of Zhuogang, where he saw a woman and asked for lodging, thereby taking conception and being reborn; he was called the nameless child of Huangmei. Later, he received the Dharma transmission from the Fourth Patriarch and became the Fifth Patriarch. At the Dharma assembly of Huangmei there were seven hundred eminent monks, among whom Senior Monk Shenxiu alone was the leader. Because the time for transmitting the robe and the Dharma had arrived, the Patriarch ordered each of them to compose a verse. Shenxiu then wrote on the wall: 'The body is the bodhi tree, / The mind is like a bright mirror stand. / At all times constantly wipe it clean; / Do not let it gather dust.' The Fifth Patriarch said, 'This verse also does not see the nature, for he is still entangled in names and marks, not yet freed from intellectual understanding, and remains in the stage of learning.' An imperial decree was conveyed: 'Recite it again.' After he finished reciting it again, he memorialised further: 'Workman Lu was at that time in the mortar shed, treading the pestle for the assembly. The Fifth Patriarch already knew that he innately had the gate of awakening. Workman Lu was originally illiterate, so he asked someone to write a verse on the wall beside the verse written by Master Shenxiu: 'Bodhi originally has no tree, / Nor is the bright mirror a stand. / Originally there is not a single thing; / Where could dust gather?'" He then analyzed and explained, "When Old Lu's verse reached 'Originally there is not a single thing,' this was emptying all that exists and penetrating to the very bottom of the source of phenomena. The Fifth Patriarch then, in the middle of the night, secretly entrusted the robe and Dharma to him. Lu received the robe and bowl and fled by night. When he reached the summit of Dayu Ridge, Senior Monk Ming caught up with him. Lu then placed the robe and bowl upon a rock and said, 'This cannot be contested by force.' Ming then exerted all his spiritual strength, but the bowl could not be lifted. Ming then said, 'I have come originally for the Dharma, not for the robe.' The Patriarch said, 'Do not think of good; do not think of evil. At just such a moment, what is Senior Monk Ming's original face?' Thereupon he had great awakening. Shenxiu returned to the north of the river and called himself the Sixth Patriarch. However, because his intellectual understanding had not been extinguished and he still clung to names and marks, he lapsed into the Characteristics School. Therefore, doctrine flourished in the northwest, while Neng received the orthodox transmission at Caoxi, so Chan flourished in the southeast. They were called Southern Neng and Northern Xiu; this is how doctrine and Chan came to diverge. From then on, Caoxi transmitted it to Nanyue Huairang—Rang was originally a manifestation of the Great Being Avalokiteśvara. Rang transmitted it to Mazu, who was called 'the young colt who tramples to death all people under heaven.' Mazu transmitted it to Baizhang. While standing in attendance when the whisk was raised and hung back, Baizhang directly received a shout; he attained awakening on the spot, remaining deaf for three days. Baizhang related this shout to Huangbo; Huangbo unconsciously stuck out his tongue and, at these words, clearly understood the purport of this shout. Later, Linji came to Huangbo and three times asked about the great meaning of the Buddhadharma, three times receiving sixty painful blows of the stick. Later, at the assembly of Dayu, he related the previous story, saying, 'Where was the fault?' Dayu said, 'Huangbo was so intensely grandmotherly for your sake, yet you still look for a fault?' Linji had great awakening and struck Dayu three times under the ribs. Dayu said, 'Your teacher is Huangbo; it has nothing to do with me.' Linji returned to Huangbo and gave him three slaps. From this, the shout was circulated and propagated; it is called 'Linji shouts as soon as one enters the gate.' This is how the shout originated. As for what is called Deshan's stick, it refers to Diamond Zhou." (Controller Quan conveyed again.) An imperial decree asked, "Who was Diamond Zhou?" He memorialised, "Deshan's original surname was Zhou. He was a lecturer on the Vajracchedikā Sūtra. He loaded a cart full of commentaries and subcommentaries and traveled to the south, intending directly to smash the den of the demonic scoundrels. At that time, he possessed tremendous spirit. On the road, he met an old woman selling fried oil cakes and sought to buy some oil cakes as a light meal (dianshin). The old woman said, 'You are a lecturer on the Vajracchedikā Sūtra. There is a passage of meaning in the sutra; if you can answer it, you may eat the oil cakes for free without paying.' She then asked, 'Past mind cannot be obtained, present mind cannot be obtained, and future mind cannot be obtained. Among the three minds, which mind do you wish to refresh (dianxin)?' The lecturer had no reply. An ancient master said, 'Even if you can lecture on a thousand sutras and treatises, a single word when facing the situation is hard to utter.' Truly we know that if one cannot penetrate to the very bottom of the source of phenomena, then a cart full of commentaries is merely superfluous words. Later, he saw Longtan. While standing in attendance late at night, he took his leave to depart. Seeing that it was dark outside, Longtan handed him a paper torch. Just as Deshan took it, Longtan blew it out. Deshan attained great awakening on the spot. The next day, he instructed the assembly, saying, 'Even if one exhausts all profound disputations, it is like placing a single hair in great empty space; even if one expends the world's pivotal mechanisms, it is like dropping a single drop into a vast chasm.' From then on, relying on a single plain stick, if a Buddha came he struck, and if a patriarch came he struck. This was for no other reason than fear that later generations would cling to names and marks; whenever there was an inquiry, as soon as it reached fragmented intellectualizing, he would give a blow of the stick. This is how the stick originated. Thus it is said, 'Deshan strikes as soon as one enters the gate, and Linji shouts as soon as one enters the gate.' Indeed, how could the stick and the shout be applied in vain?" Having memorialised up to this point, he then said, "This minister monk dares not speak further, fearing to profane the imperial hearing." An imperial decree was conveyed: "Just speak; do not be afraid. This is not some affair of treason, theft, slaughter, or trade." He then proceeded to memorialise: "When Śākyamuni Bhagavān was first born, he walked seven paces in all directions, looked around the four quarters, and pointing one finger to heaven and one finger to earth, said, 'In heaven above and earth below, I alone am the most honored.' What is called the 'most honored' does not mean the honor of the position of a golden-wheel-turning king. That which is worthy of honor is the Self, the Way, the Dharma, and the Mind." (Just as he was about to memorialise on the public case of Great Master Yunmen's one blow of the stick in order to vindicate the Buddhas and Patriarchs, Abbot Jingfu of Lingyin tugged at his robe, saying, "Do not bring up this matter"; whereupon he shifted his words and said:) "During forty-nine years and over three hundred assemblies, the Dharma that he spoke was nothing other than examining faculties and suiting the teachings to them. It was like a single rain universally moistening the three kinds of plants and two kinds of trees, bringing forth their capacity according to their respective size and faculties. At the very end, he said, 'From the beginning at the Deer Park to the end at the river Bhadrikā, between these two I have never spoken a single word.' Since he preached the Dharma for forty-nine years, why did he not speak a single word? It was precisely out of fear that later generations would cling to names and marks and not abandon intellectual understanding. What is called 'not speaking a single word' means preaching blaze-like constantly, preaching with the teaching of no-teaching—this is called true preaching. Furthermore, at the assembly on Vulture Peak before a multitude of millions, he held up a flower and showed it to the entire assembly; Mahākāśyapa alone broke into a smile. The Bhagavān said, 'I have the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, and I entrust it to Mahā-Mahākāśyapa.' This is called the separate transmission outside the teachings: transmitting this mind, and sealing this Dharma. Bodhidharma's coming from the West, not establishing words and letters, directly pointing to the human mind and seeing one's nature to become a Buddha, was transmitting this mind, and sealing this Dharma." Receiving the imperial instruction, the emperor condescended to ask, "Look here, Lecturer, regarding what that Elder said about the separate transmission outside the teachings, is it right or wrong?" The master from Shangzhu stepped forward and replied, "It is right, it is right." Then the master from Xianlin stepped forward and said, "Sentient beings of the south mostly tell lies. That is why Bodhidharma came from the West and did not establish words and letters: precisely fearing that the clever ones would tell lies and covet language and writings, he therefore gave the teaching of direct pointing." An imperial decree was further issued summoning them forward; before the imperial couch, he and Xianlin were granted seats. Having expressed their gratitude, they took their seats. An imperial decree was conveyed: "Hold debate." Xianlin said, "'From the beginning at the Deer Park to the end at the river Bhadrikā, between these two I have never spoken a single word.' Since he did not speak a single word, from where do the more than five thousand fascicles come?" Yunfeng replied, "The teachings of his entire life are like a finger pointing at the moon; one must clearly know that what is pointed to is ultimately not the moon." Xianlin said, "In your Chan school, how many people have attained the Dharma?" Yunfeng replied, "From the Buddhas and Patriarchs of old down to the old venerable ones throughout the realm, they exhaust the sands of the Ganges, their number inexhaustible." Xianlin said, "Who is it right now?" Yunfeng replied, "You have missed him to his face." Xianlin said, "Where is he?" Yunfeng replied, "Looking for Chang'an while standing in the Hanyuan Hall." Xianlin was speechless. Again an imperial decree was conveyed, ordering Controller Quan to ask, "What words were those that the Lecturer asked?" Xianlin replied, "I asked him how many people in his Chan school have attained the Way. He said they are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges." Again an imperial decree was conveyed: "You lecturing masters, do not care about saving face; why do you speak of things so far away?" Xianlin then asked, "What is Chan?" Yunfeng answered by drawing a circle with his hand. Xianlin said, "Why move hands and move feet?" Yunfeng replied, "If you cannot even penetrate this single circle, what is the use of speaking of thousands of sutras and tens of thousands of treatises?" Xianlin was speechless. An imperial decree was further issued, saying, "We also know that yours is the Supreme Vehicle's Dharma. But those who have attained the Dharma do not drown when entering water, and do not burn when entering fire. If you were told to sit in a cauldron of boiling oil, would you dare?" Yunfeng answered, "I would not dare." The imperial decree said, "Why would you not dare?" Yunfeng memorialised, "These are spiritual powers and samādhis; in our Dharma there are no such things." Again an imperial decree was conveyed: "Why is there no winner or loser at all?" Xianlin said, "Saying he does not dare means he has lost." Yunfeng then rebuked Xianlin, saying, "You certainly understand it well!" Xianlin was speechless. Yunfeng then grasped the imperial intention and memorialised, "Chan and the doctrinal teachings are originally one body. Chan is the Buddha's mind, and the doctrinal teachings are the Buddha's words. Through the Buddha's words, one sees the Buddha's mind. It is like a hundred rivers with different currents returning together to the sea; once they reach the sea, there is no different flavor. Furthermore, it is like our Emperor of Ten Thousand Years, who presides over the mountains and rivers, unifying all under heaven: the four barbarians and hundreds of tribes come from their directions, and they must enter from outside the Shuncheng Gate; only when they arrive at the Golden Palace and personally behold the golden countenance can they be said to have reached home. If the doctrinal masters rely only on language and writings without reaching the profound purport, they are still people outside the Shuncheng Gate. Likewise, if Chan practitioners have not attained thorough realization and sudden awakening, they too remain outside the Shuncheng Gate, and to say they have reached home is likewise inadmissible." The emperor was greatly pleased, and swept his dragon sleeve westward. Yunfeng then gave thanks for the imperial grace and stepped down from the palace hall. An imperial attendant led him back to the private quarters, where food was bestowed upon him.