English (machine translation)
Translation of 曆代法寶記
- Language
- English
- Extent
- 29 passages, 30,219 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.2075 · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…
Contents
- 1 — 17 parts
Text
1.1
(Also named Record of the Lineage of Teachers and Disciples. Also named Settling Right and Wrong, Crushing the Heterodox and Revealing the Correct, Destroying All Mind Transmissions. Also named Dharma Gate of Sudden Awakening of the Supreme Vehicle.)
1.2
According to the Benxing jing; the Za ahan jing; the Puyào jing; the Yingrui jing; the Wenshushili niepan jing; the Qingjing faxing jing; the Wugouguang zhuan nüshen jing; the Jueding pini jing; the Dafoding jing; the Jingang sanmei jing; the Fajù jing; the Fozang jing; the Yingluo jing; the Avataṃsaka Sūtra; the Da bore jing; the Chanmen jing; the Nirvāṇa Sūtra; the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra; the Siyi jing; the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra; the Weimo jing; the Yaoshi jing; the Jingang bore jing; the Fu fazang jing; the Daoist Xisheng jing; the Shi Falin zhuan; the Shi xushi ji; the Kaiyuan shijiao [lu]; the Zhoushu yiji; the Hanfa neizhuan; the Yin Xi neizhuan; Mouzi; Liezi; Fuzi; the Wushu; as well as ancient catalogues, Yang Lengqia, the Yedu gushi, and others:
In the third year of Yongping of Emperor Ming of the Later Han, he dreamed at night that he saw a golden man, sixteen feet in height, with a halo around his neck and back, flying about the palace courtyard. At dawn, he asked the court ministers what kind of auspicious sign this was. The Grand Astrologer Fu Yi memorialized, saying, “In the West there is a Great Sage named the Buddha; this is his image.”
Emperor Ming asked, “How do you know this?”
The Grand Astrologer Fu Yi replied, saying, “The Zhoushu yiji states: ‘The Buddha was born in the jia-yin year of King Zhao, and passed into extinction in the ren-shen year of King Mu. One thousand years later, the teachings of the Dharma will flow into the land of Han.’ That time is now.”
Emperor Ming dispatched the Court Gentleman Cai Yin, the Erudite Qin Jing, and others as envoys to the country of Tianzhu. They invited and obtained Buddha images, bodhisattva images, and the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, and obtained two Dharma masters: Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna. Emperor Ming invited them to ascend the palace hall and made offerings to them; therefore, west of the city of Luoyang, he first established the Baima Temple.
On the first day of the first month of the fourteenth year of Yongping, Chu Shanxin, Fei Zhaicai, and others—six hundred and ninety Daoist priests from the Five Sacred Peaks, Mount Huo, and Mount Bailu—submitted a memorial saying:
“Your subjects have heard that the Supreme is formless, empty non-being and spontaneous; revered alike since high antiquity, unchanged through a hundred kings. Your Majesty abandons the root to chase the branches, seeking teachings from the Western Regions and being converted by what is called a barbarian spirit. What is expounded does not accord with the Huaxia [traditions]. Your subjects possess much intelligence and have broadly delved into the classics. We pray that Your Majesty will permit your subjects to compete and compare [with them]. If there is a victor, we pray that what is hollow and deceptive be eliminated; if we are not equal to them, we submit ourselves to severe judgment.”
The Emperor said, “In accordance with this edict, let the relevant offices prepare the ritual offerings.” Together with civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above, both inside and outside the court, they gathered at dawn on the fifteenth day at Baima Temple.
Outside the temple gates, the Daoist priests established three altars and opened twenty-four gates. Outside the temple gates, the Emperor set up relics and Buddhist scriptures and images, and erected a mobile pavilion of the seven treasures. Chu Shanxin, Fei Zhaicai, and others placed Daoist scriptures, philosophers' writings, talismans, and magic arts upon the altars to test them with fire. Weeping sorrowfully, they chanted an incantation, saying: “The barbarian spirit throws our Huaxia into confusion! May the Taishang Tianzun enlighten sentient beings so that they can distinguish the true from the false!”
When the Daoist scriptures, philosophers' writings, and talismans were exposed to the fire, they turned into ash and cinders. The Daoist priests were astounded and terrified: those who had previously ascended to heaven could not ascend to heaven; those who had previously hidden their forms could not hide their forms; those who had previously entered water and fire did not dare enter; those who had previously commanded incantations called upon their devices, but there was no response. None of their various powers showed a single sign of efficacy. Chu Shanxin, Fei Zhaicai, and others died of their own distress.
At that time, the Buddha's relics emitted five-coloured light, circling like a parasol, completely covering the great assembly, its brilliance eclipsing the disk of the sun. Dharma Master Mātaṅga sat and lay down in empty space, displaying supernatural transformations with mastery. The heavens rained down jewelled flowers and heavenly music, while Dharmaratna chanted praises in the Brahmā voice. Dharma Master Mātaṅga spoke a verse, saying:
“A fox is not of the lion's kind; / A lamp is not the brightness of sun and moon. / A pond cannot take in the vast ocean; / A hill cannot have the glory of Mount Song.”
Emperor Ming was greatly delighted, and allowed the sons and daughters of dukes and marquises of the fifth rank and above, as well as Lady Yin and others, to take pravrajyā. Six hundred Daoist priests turned to the Buddha and took pravrajyā. Dharmaratna recited the Sutra on the Merit of Leaving the Household, the Buddha's Jātakas, and other scriptures. Emperor Ming was overjoyed, and the entire realm took refuge in the Buddhist teachings.
Emperor Ming asked the two masters: “The Buddha is called the Dharma King; why was he not born in the Han state?”
Dharma Master Kāśyapa Mātaṅga replied, saying, “The city of Kapilavastu is the center of hundreds of thousands of suns and moons, and the master of the three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world system. All dragon gods possessing merit are born in that land. This is why the Dharma King was born in the country of Tianzhu.”
Emperor Ming further asked the Dharma masters: “What was the Buddha's lineage? When was he born, and when did he pass into extinction?”
Master Mātaṅga answered, saying, “The Buddha was the grandson of the Golden-Wheel-Turning King of a thousand generations and the son of King Śuddhodana. His surname was Gautama, and he was also called of the Śākya clan. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the gui-chou year, he descended from the Tuṣita heavenly palace and entered the womb of Queen Māyā. On the eighth day of the fourth month of the jia-yin year, in Lumbinī Park, he was born from Queen Māyā's right side. Furthermore, five hundred Śākyas, five hundred white horses, Kaṇṭhaka, and Chandaka were born at the same time on the eighth day of the fourth month to serve the Buddha. On the eighth day of the second month of the ren-shen year, he leapt over the city walls and took pravrajyā. On the fifteenth day of the second month of the gui-wei year, he entered parinirvāṇa. Although the Buddha was not born in the land of Han, one thousand years or five hundred years later, when sentient beings have the karmic affinity, he first causes his holy disciples to travel there and carry out conversion.”
According to the Qingjing faxing jing: “In the country of Cīnasthāna, northeast of the country of Tianzhu, the people mostly lack faith and reverence, and very many commit sins. I now dispatch three holy disciples, all of whom are bodhisattvas, to manifest there and carry out conversion. Mahākāśyapa is called Laozi there; the Youth Guangjing is called Zhongni [Confucius] there; and the Literatus Youth Mingyue is called Yan Hui there. They lecture upon and debate the Five Classics, the Odes, the Documents, the Rites, Music, and rules of deportment, gradually enticing and transforming [the people]. Afterward, the Buddhist scriptures shall arrive.”
Mouzi says: “Formerly, Emperor Xiao Ming of the Han dreamed at night that he saw a divine man with sunlight on his body, flying before his palace. In his mind he was elated, feeling great joy in his heart. The next day, he asked his ministers in turn, ‘What was this thing?’ The Gentleman of the Palace Fu Yi, who possessed understanding of affairs, said, ‘Your subject has heard that in Tianzhu there is one who attained the Way, named Buddha. He rises lightly and flies soaring, with sunlight on his body; it must have been his spirit.’ Thereupon the Sovereign understood. He sent twelve men, including the envoy Zhang Qian, the Palace Gentleman of the Forest of Plumes Qin [Jing], and the Erudite's disciple Wang Zun, to the Da Yuezhi, to copy and obtain the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, which was placed in the fourteenth stone chamber of the Orchid Terrace. Immediately, outside the Yongmen gate west of the city of Luoyang, a Buddhist temple was erected. On its walls was painted the court with a thousand chariots and ten thousand horsemen circling thirteen times. Furthermore, Buddha images were made on the Qingliang Terrace of the Southern Palace and above the Kaiyang Gate. In Emperor Ming's time, knowing that life was impermanent, he pre-constructed his mausoleum, named Xianjie; on it he also made painted images of the Buddha. Before his death, the state was prosperous and the people were at peace; distant barbarians admired righteousness and all came to submit to his virtue. Those who wished to become subjects numbered in the hundreds of millions. Therefore his posthumous title was ‘Ming’ [Enlightened]. From this time onward, near the capital and throughout the prefectures and counties, there were Buddhist temples everywhere, and scholars flourished because of this.”
The Jin shu says: “During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Jin, he wished to purge the Buddha-Dharma and summoned Master Yuan of Mount Lu. The Emperor asked, saying, ‘Lately, We have seen monks and nuns whose conduct in the precepts is impure, with many committing violations. We wish to purge and sift them. May this matter be done now or not?’ Master Yuan answered, saying, ‘Mount Kunlun produces jade, yet upon it is mixed dust and sand; the Li River is abundant in gold, yet it still abounds in tiles and pebbles. Your Majesty should only respect the Dharma and value the people; you must not disparage the people and slight the Dharma.’ The Emperor of Jin granted a great amnesty.”
Emperor Wu of the Xiao-Liang said in his harmonization of the Three Teachings: “In youth I studied the Rites of Zhou; at twenty I plumbed the Six Classics. In mid-life I again observed Daoist books, [examining] the named and the nameless. In my late years I opened the Buddhist scrolls; like the sun, they outshine the host of stars.”
According to the Avataṃsaka Sūtra: “All Buddhas step back from their positions and either act as bodhisattvas, or act as śrāvakas, or act as cakravartins, or act as māra kings, or act as kings, ministers, laymen, elders, palace women, and civil officials; or they act as powerful spirits and deities, mountain spirits, river spirits, stream spirits, sea spirits, day-governing spirits, night-governing spirits, fire-governing spirits, water-governing spirits, all crop spirits, tree spirits, and non-Buddhists—employing all kinds of upāya to assist our Śākyamuni Tathāgata in teaching and guiding sentient beings.”
According to the Dhāraṇī Chapter of the Da bore jing: “At that time, Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honoured One, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, in what direction will such a profound scripture as this prajñāpāramitā flourish?’ The Buddha told Śāriputra, ‘Such a profound scripture as this prajñāpāramitā, after my nirvāṇa, will gradually flourish from the north to the northeast. In that direction there will be many bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās abiding in the Great Vehicle who will be able to rely on such profound prajñāpāramitā and develop deep faith and joy.’ Furthermore, the Buddha told Śāriputra, ‘After my nirvāṇa, in the later time, the later period, the final five hundred years, such profound prajñāpāramitā will perform great Buddhist activities in the northeast.’”
According to the Fu fazang jing: “After the extinction of Śākyamuni Tathāgata, the Dharma eye was entrusted to Mahākāśyapa; Kāśyapa entrusted it to Ānanda; Ānanda entrusted it to Madhyāntika; Madhyāntika entrusted it to Śāṇakavāsa; Śāṇakavāsa entrusted it to Upagupta; Upagupta entrusted it to Dhītika; Dhītika entrusted it to Miccaka; Miccaka entrusted it to Buddhanandi; Buddhanandi entrusted it to Buddhamitra; Buddhamitra entrusted it to Bhikṣu Pārśva; Bhikṣu Pārśva entrusted it to Puṇyayaśas; Puṇyayaśas entrusted it to Aśvaghoṣa; Aśvaghoṣa entrusted it to Elder Kapimala; Elder Kapimala entrusted it to Nāgārjuna; Nāgārjuna entrusted it to Kāṇadeva; Kāṇadeva entrusted it to Rāhulata; Rāhulata entrusted it to Saṅghanandi; Saṅghanandi entrusted it to Saṅghayaśas; Saṅghayaśas entrusted it to Kumāralāta; Kumāralāta entrusted it to Jayata; Jayata entrusted it to Vasubandhu; Vasubandhu entrusted it to Manorhita; Manorhita entrusted it to Haklenayaśas; Haklenayaśas entrusted it to Bhikṣu Simha. After Bhikṣu Simha had entrusted it to Śāṇavāsa, he came from Central Tianzhu to the country of Jibin. The king's name was Mitorojue [Mihirakula]. This king did not believe in the Buddha-Dharma; he destroyed stupas and temples, murdered sentient beings, and served the non-Buddhist Maimānī [Mani] and Mixihe [Messiah], and others. At that time, Bhikṣu Simha came especially to convert this country. The king was unprincipled, and holding a sharp sword in his own hand, he said, ‘If you are a sage, all you masters must undergo bodily punishment.’ At that time, Bhikṣu Simha manifested his form, and his body flowed with white milk. When Maimānī, Mixihe, and the others were executed, blood flowed and splattered on the ground. The king gave rise to the mind [of faith] and took refuge in the Buddha. He immediately summoned the disciples of Bhikṣu Simha. Bhikṣu Simha had previously entrusted it to Śāṇavāsa, who entered South Tianzhu to broadly carry out teaching and conversion, and liberate sentient beings. The king then pursued the disciples of the non-Buddhist Maimān and the disciples of Mixihe; when he caught them, he erected scaffolds in the court and suspended their heads, and all the people of the country shot arrows at them. The king of Jibin issued an order to all countries: ‘If there are these doctrines, expel them from the country!’ Because of Bhikṣu Simha, the Buddha-Dharma flourished again. Śāṇavāsa entrusted it to Upagupta; Upagupta entrusted it to Śubharnamitra; Śubharnamitra entrusted it to Saṅgharakṣa; Saṅgharakṣa entrusted it to Bodhidharmatrāta. In the Western Countries there were twenty-nine generations, or excluding Dharmatrāta, twenty-eight generations.”
There was Śramaṇa Jingjue of the Eastern Capital, who was a disciple of Chan Master Shenxiu of Yuquan. He composed the Lengqie shizi xuemai ji in one fascicle, which brought in Tripiṭaka Master Guṇabhadra of the Song dynasty as the first patriarch. Not knowing the origin and basis, he confused later students, saying that Guṇabhadra was the teacher of Patriarch Bodhidharma. In truth, Guṇabhadra was a sutra-translating Tripiṭaka master and a Hīnayāna scholar, not a Chan master; he translated the four-fascicle Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, but he did not transmit the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra to Patriarch Bodhidharma. Patriarch Bodhidharma, through twenty-eight generations transmitted from beginning to end, succeeded Saṅgharakṣa. Later, Great Master Huike in person at the Shaolin Temple on Mount Songgao asked Patriarch Bodhidharma: the successive transmissions and entrustments from above possess their own clear written records. That Master Jingjue brought in Guṇabhadra and called him the first patriarch, deeply throwing the study of the Dharma into confusion! The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra says: “One is not permitted to associate with Tripiṭaka Hīnayāna scholars.” Tripiṭaka Master Guṇabhadra translated the four-fascicle Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, named the Abatuobao lengqie jing. Tripiṭaka Master Bodhiruci of the Wei dynasty translated ten fascicles, named the Ru lengqie jing. During the reign of Zetian in the Tang dynasty, Śikṣānanda translated seven fascicles, named the Ru lengqie jing. All of the above were sutra-translating Tripiṭaka masters, not Chan masters, and all transmitted the verbal and textual teachings. The Chan teachings of the school of Patriarch Bodhidharma do not bring along a single word of teaching; they silently transmit the mind seal.
1.3
The first patriarch of the Liang dynasty, Chan Master Bodhidharmatrāta, was the third son of the king of a South Tianzhu country. He left home in his youth. Early on he received [instruction] from his master and awakened at his words. He propagated transformations in South India, greatly performing Buddhist activities. At that time, observing that the sentient beings of the Han land possessed the nature of the Mahāyāna, he sent two disciples, Buddhabhadra and another, to the region of Qin to preach the sudden teaching and the dharma of awakening. When the bhadantas of Qin first heard it, they were suspicious and harbored doubts, and none believed or accepted it. Having been expelled, they then came to Donglin Temple on Mount Lu. At that time the dharma master, the Venerable Yuan, asked, "What teaching have you bhadantas brought that you were expelled?" Thereupon the two brāhmaṇas stretched out their hands and said to the Venerable Yuan, "A hand becomes a fist, and a fist becomes a hand: is this fast or not?" The Venerable Yuan replied, "Extremely fast." The two brāhmaṇas said, "This is not yet fast; afflictions are bodhi—this is fast." The Venerable Yuan understood deeply, only then knowing that bodhi and afflictions are fundamentally not different. He then asked, "From whom did you learn this teaching in that country?" The two brāhmaṇas replied, "Our master Dharmatrāta." The Venerable Yuan, having acquired deep faith, immediately translated one fascicle of the *Chanmen jing*, which fully clarified the Chan methods of the Great and Small Vehicles. The teaching transmitted in the Western Countries is also fully cited in the preface to the *Dhyāna Sūtra*. When the two brāhmaṇas finished translating the scripture, they passed into extinction on the same day and were buried on Mount Lu; their stūpa still exists. When Dharmatrāta heard that no one believed or accepted his two disciples' propagation in the Han land, he floated across the sea and arrived. Emperor Wu of the Liang went outside the city to welcome him personally. Ascending the hall, he asked, "What teaching has the Upādhyāya brought from that country to transform sentient beings?" The Great Master Bodhidharma replied, "I have not brought a single word of teaching." The emperor asked again, "What merit is there in Our building temples, ordaining people, copying scriptures, and casting images?" The Great Master replied, "There is no merit whatsoever." He replied, "These are conditioned goods, not true merit." Emperor Wu's ordinary mind could not understand. [The master] then took his leave and departed the country. Gazing north, he saw an atmosphere of the Great Vehicle. The Great Master arrived during the Wei dynasty and dwelt at Mount Songgao, guiding all classes of beings for six years. Students rushed like gathering clouds and surging rain, like rice, hemp, bamboo, and reeds. Only Master Ke attained my marrow. At that time in the Wei, the Tripiṭaka [master] Bodhiruci and Vinaya Master Guangtong put poison in food and served it to the Great Master. When the Great Master finished eating, he called for a basin and vomited out a pint of snakes. They again put poison in food and served it. When the Great Master finished taking the food, he sat upon a huge boulder; as the poison came out, the boulder cracked. In all, they poisoned him six times. The Great Master addressed his disciples, saying, "I originally came to transmit the Dharma. Now, since people have come to despise me, what is the benefit of staying long?" He then transmitted one kāṣāya to serve as verification of the Dharma. He spoke to Huike, "Because of this poison, you too will not escape this difficulty. When it reaches the sixth generation of Dharma transmission, life will hang by a thread." Having spoken, he then passed away due to the poison. He often said of himself, "I am one hundred and fifty years old," but in truth no one knew how old he was. The Great Master said, "In the Tang land there are three people who have attained my Dharma: one attained my marrow, one attained my bones, and one attained my flesh. The one who attained my marrow is Huike; the one who attained my bones is Daoyu; the one who attained my flesh is the nun Zongchi." He was buried at Mount Xiong'er in Luozhou. At that time, Song Yun, an envoy sent by the Wei, met the Great Master at the Congling Mountains, holding one shoe in his hand. Song Yun asked, "Where is the Great Master going?" He replied, "I am returning to my native country. Your king dies today." Song Yun immediately wrote it down. Song Yun also asked, "Now that the Great Master is leaving, to whom is the Buddha-Dharma entrusted?" He replied, "Forty years after I leave now, there will be a Han monk; Ke is the one." When Song Yun returned to court, the former emperor had indeed died and a new emperor had already been enthroned. Song Yun told the court officials, "The Great Master held one shoe in his hand and was returning to the Western Countries. His words, 'Your king dies today,' were truly as he said." None of the court officials believed him, so they opened the Great Master's tomb; there was only a single shoe. Emperor Wu of the Xiao Liang composed an inscription. [Among] the disciples of the Western Countries, Prajñātāra, and the three people of the Tang land, Daoyu, the nun Zongchi, and others, only Huike received the robe and attained the Dharma.
1.4
The second patriarch of the Northern Qi dynasty was Chan Master Huike. His secular surname was Ji, and he was a native of Wulao. At that time he was forty years old. He served the Great Master for six years. Formerly his name was Shenguang. When he first served the Great Master, he stood before him; that night heavy snow fell up to his waist, yet he did not move. The Great Master said, "One who seeks the Dharma does not begrudge body or life." Thereupon he severed an arm, whereupon white milk flowed forth. The Great Master silently transmitted the mind-seal and conferred one kāṣāya. The Great Master said, "Because of this poison, you too will not escape [trouble]; take good care of yourself." Master Ke asked the Upādhyāya, "Regarding the Dharma that has been handed down and entrusted from above in your native country, please explain it again." It is fully as spoken in the preface to the *Dhyāna Sūtra*. He also asked the Great Master, "In the Western Countries, who will succeed later, and is the robe of verification also transmitted?" The Great Master replied, "The people of the Western Countries have faith and reverence, and are without deceit. The successor is Prajñāpāramitāra; the successor does not transmit the robe. The sentient beings of the Tang land possess the nature of the Great Vehicle, yet they falsely claim to have attained the Way and attained the fruit. Therefore, the kāṣāya is transmitted to serve as verification of the Dharma. It is like the prince of a cakravartin who receives anointment on his crown, thereby obtaining the seven true treasures and succeeding to the royal throne; obtaining this robe signifies the correct lineage of the Dharma." After Master Ke received the entrustment, he went into hiding for forty years in Mount Wang and the two prefectures of Luo and Xiang. Later he guided all classes of beings; monastics and laypeople who took refuge were beyond count. During the twenty years he was opening and transforming, difficulties arose. Again, the associates of the Tripiṭaka [master] Bodhiruci and Vinaya Master Guangtong wished to harm Master Ke. After the master had entrusted the Dharma to Sengcan, he entered Mount Sikong to hide. Later Master Ke feigned madness and preached the Dharma in city streets and markets; the multitudes of people were very numerous. The faction of Bodhiruci reported Master Ke, saying he was a bizarre sorcerer, and memorialized for an imperial decree. An imperial decree ordered the relevant authorities to interrogate Master Ke. The master replied, "Indeed, I am truly a sorcerer." The authorities knew the multitude was envious, and ordered Master Ke to reconsider. The master answered firmly, "I am truly a sorcerer." An imperial decree ordered the magistrate of Cheng'an County, Zhai Chongkan, to carry out punishment according to the law. Master Ke addressed the crowd, saying, "When my Dharma reaches the fourth patriarch, it will transform into names and characteristics." Having spoken, he shed tears of sorrow. Then he manifested his physical body flowing with white milk, with the color of his flesh remaining as usual. The authorities memorialized the emperor. Hearing this, the emperor repented of his error: "This is a true bodhisattva!" The entire court gave rise to the aspiration [for awakening], and the Buddha-Dharma flourished once again. The master was then one hundred and seven years old. His tomb is buried five li north of the Zimo River in Cheng'an County, Xiangzhou; Dongliugou is one hundred paces from the tomb, and fifteen li to the southwest is Wuer Caokou. The *Gushi of the Laṅkāvatāra at the Capital Ye* fully records this. The disciple who succeeded him, transmitted the robe, and attained the Dharma was Sengcan. Later, Shi Falin composed a stela inscription.
1.5
The third patriarch of the Sui dynasty was Chan Master Can. It is not known where he was from. When he first met Master Ke, Can manifested an appearance of severe leprosy. Meeting him among the assembly, the Great Master asked, "Where do you come from? What is your business now?" Sengcan replied, "I have come specially to take refuge in the Upādhyāya." Master Ke said to him, "You are a person afflicted with severe leprosy; what is the benefit of seeing me?" Can replied, "Although the body is afflicted, between the mind of an afflicted person and the mind of the Upādhyāya there is no difference." Master Ke knew that Can was no ordinary person, and thereupon entrusted to him the Dharma and the kāṣāya of verification. Master Ke said, "Take good care of yourself. I face calamity; you must avoid it." Master Can also feigned madness in the marketplaces, and later hid on Mount Sikong in Shuzhou. Meeting with Emperor Wu of the Zhou's destruction of the Buddha-Dharma, he hid on Mount Wanggong for more than ten years. Formerly, this mountain had many ferocious beasts that constantly harmed the local inhabitants; from the time Master Can arrived, they all moved beyond the borders. He entrusted the Dharma and the kāṣāya. Later, there were Chan Master Wang, Chan Master Yue, Chan Master Ding, and Chan Master Yan, who came to Master Can's place and said, "After Patriarch Bodhidharma's entrustment, this Venerable Can is truly divine Can! Samādhi and wisdom are applied equally, profoundly inconceivable." Master Can then went with the various Chan masters to Mount Luofu to hide for three years. Later, coming to a great vegetarian gathering, he came forward and addressed the crowd, saying, "I now wish to eat." The disciples served him. When the Great Master finished eating, he sighed and addressed the crowd, saying, "Sitting is just temporary lodging; only I have mastery over birth and death." Clasping the branch of a tree in the assembly with one hand, he quietly passed away while standing. Neither was it known how old he was. His stūpa is beside Wangshan Temple. His disciples were very numerous; only Master Daoxin transmitted the robe, attained the Dharma, and succeeded him. Xue Daoheng composed a stela inscription.
1.6
The fourth patriarch of the Tang dynasty was Chan Master Xin. His secular surname was Sima, and he was a native of Henei. He left home in his youth and served Master Can. Master Can recognized his extraordinary spirit. Day and night he constantly sat, not lying down for over sixty years, his ribs never touching a mat. His spiritual majesty was wondrous and unique; his eyes were kept closed without looking, and if he wished to look at someone, those who saw him were terrified. During the Daye reign era, Master Xin looked from afar toward Jizhou, where wild bandits had besieged the city for over a hundred days, and the springs and wells had run dry. The Great Master entered the city and exhorted the monastics and laypeople, causing them to practice the prajñāpāramitā; the wild bandits retreated on their own, and the springs and wells in the city overflowed again. Master Xin looked from afar toward Potou Mountain in Huangmei of Qizhou and saw a purple cloud canopy. Master Xin thereupon dwelt on this mountain, which was later renamed Mount Shuangfeng. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, the Civil and Martial Emperor sent an imperial envoy to Mount Shuangfeng to invite Chan Master Xin into the palace. Chan Master Xin declined on account of old age and did not go. The imperial envoy returned to see the emperor and memorialized, "Chan Master Xin declines on account of old age and will not come." An imperial edict was sent again to invite him. The envoy arrived at Chan Master Xin's place and said, "An imperial edict has been issued to invite the Chan master." The Chan master adamantly declined on account of old age and would not go, saying to the envoy, "If you want to have my head, feel free to cut it off and take it; I will never go." The envoy returned to see the emperor and memorialized, "He said, 'If you need my head, feel free to cut it off and take it; as for my heart to go, I will never go.'" The emperor again sent an envoy with a sealed sword to take the Chan master's head, but the decree said, "Do not harm the Upādhyāya." The envoy arrived at the Upādhyāya's place and said, "I have received an imperial decree to take the Upādhyāya's head. Will the Chan master go or not?" The Upādhyāya said, "I will never go." The envoy said, "The imperial decree says, 'If the Chan master does not come, sever his head and bring it.'" Master Xin stretched out his neck and said, "Sever and take it." The envoy reversed the blade and drew it across his neck. Master Xin called out, "Why do you not sever it? What more are you waiting for?" The envoy said, "The imperial decree does not permit harming the Upādhyāya." Chan Master Xin laughed heartily and said, "Let you know that there are [true] men here!" Later, Master Xin greatly performed Buddhist activities, broadly opened the dharma gate, and guided all classes of beings; the dragon-elephants of the four directions all received refuge. After more than thirty years, only Hongren served him and grasped his intent. Having finished entrusting the Dharma and the kāṣāya to Hongren, he instructed his disciple Master Yuanyi, "Build a dragon niche for me beside the mountain; it must be completed quickly." Later he asked, "Is the dragon niche completed or not?" Master Yuanyi replied, "The work is finished." On the twenty-fourth day of the intercalary ninth month of the second year of Yonghui, the Great Master, having had no illness, quietly passed away while sitting. The master was then seventy-two years old. One full year after his burial, the stone door opened on its own without any cause; the Great Master's features were dignified and serene, unaltered from normal days. Hongren and the others, beholding his spiritual deportment anew, could not overcome their feelings of admiration and reverence; they then applied lacquer cloth to his venerable countenance. From this time on, they dared not close it again. His disciples were very numerous; only Hongren transmitted the robe, attained the Dharma, and succeeded him. Du Zhenglun, Secretariat Director, composed a stela inscription.
1.7
The fifth patriarch of the Tang dynasty, Chan Master Hongren, had the secular surname Zhou and was a native of Huangmei. At the age of seven, he served Master Xin. At the age of thirteen, he entered the Way and donned the robe. By nature he was taciturn, reticent, and profound. His fellow disciples made light of him and teased him, but he remained silent without answering. He was always diligent at his tasks, behaving humbly toward others with propriety. By day, he mingled in the chores and ran errands; by night, he would sit and gather his mind until dawn, never wearying or growing remiss. For thirty years he did not leave Master Xin's presence. He was eight feet tall, and his appearance was utterly extraordinary. Having received the transmission of the Dharma and the kāṣāya, he dwelt on Mount Pingmao, which lies east of Mount Shuangfeng, not far from each other. People of the time called him the Dharma Master of the East Mountain—that is, Mount Pingmao, not Mount Song. At that time, there were wild bandits, such as Keda, Hannu, and Lu, who surrounded the prefectural city several folds thick; there was no road into it, and even flying birds could not pass. The Master was seen from afar coming to that city, and the band of bandits retreated and dispersed, saying to one another, 'Countless vajra-warriors holding pestles were pursuing us, glaring with anger and gnashing their teeth! We then fled in disarray.' Master Ren returned to Mount Pingmao. In the fifth year of the Xianqing era, the Great Emperor sent an imperial envoy to Mount Pingmao in Huangmei to invite Master Ren. The Master did not accept the invitation. Another imperial envoy was sent to invite him again, but he did not come. The emperor bestowed robes and medicines upon him, making offerings to him at Mount Pingmao. For more than forty years afterward, he guided both the monastics and the laity; dragons and elephants from all four directions took refuge and rushed to him. The Master entrusted the Dharma and the kāṣāya to Huineng. Later, in the fifth year of the Xianheng era, he ordered his disciple Master Xuanji: 'Build a stūpa for me.' On the fourteenth day of the second month, he asked whether the stūpa was completed. [Xuanji] answered: 'The work is finished.' The Master said, 'I cannot enter parinirvāṇa on the fifteenth day of the second month, the same as the Buddha.' He also said, 'In my whole life, I have taught countless people. Aside from Huineng, there are only ten others: Master Shenxiu, Master Zhixian, Master Zhide, Master Xuanji, Master Lao'an, Master Faru, Master Huizang, Master Xuanyue, and Liu Wangbo. Although you have not left my presence, each of you shall be a master of one region.' Later, on the eleventh day of the second month in the second year of the Shangyuan era, he quietly entered sitting transformation. Master Ren was seventy-four years of age. His disciple Huineng transmitted the robe, attained the Dharma, and succeeded him. Academician Lüqiu Jun composed the stele inscription.
1.8
The sixth patriarch of the Tang dynasty, Chan Master Neng of Caoxi in Shaozhou, had the secular surname Lu and was a native of Fanyang. Following his father's official posting beyond the [Nan]ling mountains, he lived in Xinzhou. At the age of twenty-two, he came to Mount Pingmao to pay homage to Master Ren. Upon their first meeting, the Master asked, 'Where have you come from?' He answered, 'I come from Xinzhou. I seek only to become a Buddha.' Master Ren said, 'You are an aboriginal barbarian from Xinzhou.' Chan Master Neng replied, 'Although my body is that of a barbarian, how could my Buddha-nature differ from yours, Reverend?' The Master deeply recognized his ability. Wishing to speak with him again, but because many people were all around, he ordered Neng to tread the pestle along with the community for eight months. The sound of his pestle-strikes was uniform. Master Ren went to the pestle and secretly spoke to him of directly and completely seeing the nature. In the night, he summoned him into his room in secret, and they spoke together for three days and three nights. Having finished, he entrusted the Dharma and the kāṣāya to him, saying: 'You are the great master of this world.' He then ordered him to leave swiftly. The Master personally saw him off past the Jiujiang postal relay station, watched him cross the great river, and only then returned. None of the disciples knew that the Dharma and the kāṣāya had been transmitted to Huineng. Three days after his departure, the Master announced to all the disciples: 'You may disperse. There is no Buddha-dharma here with me; the Buddha-dharma has flowed across the southern mountains.' Everyone was astonished, and they asked one another: 'Who is there in Lingnan?' Master Faru of Luzhou replied: 'Huineng is there.' The crowd all rushed [in pursuit]. Among the crowd was a fourth-rank general who had renounced office to enter the Way; his courtesy name was Huiming. Having been in the Master's presence for a long time, he had not been able to tally with awakening. Hearing these words of the Master, he then doubled his pace through morning and night and rushed ahead, reaching the top of Mount Dayuling, where he saw Chan Master Neng. Master [Neng], in fear and urgency, worried that his life would not be spared, and so he handed the transmitted kāṣāya of the Dharma to Chan Master Huiming. Chan Master Huiming said, 'I have not come for the kāṣāya in the first place. On the day Master Ren sent you away, what words of instruction did he give? Please explain them for me.' Chan Master Neng spoke fully of the mind-dharma of directly and completely seeing the nature. Having heard the Dharma, Master Huiming joined his palms, bowed his head in homage, and urged Chan Master Neng to quickly cross the mountains, saying: 'Behind me there are many people coming in pursuit.' That Chan Master Huiming later lived on Mount Xiang; the disciples he produced only practiced contemplating purity. Chan Master Neng reached Caoxi in Shaozhou, where for more than forty years he opened and transformed the monastics and laity, who gathered like clouds. Later, in the second year of the Jingyun era, he instructed his disciple Likai to have a stūpa built on Mount Long in Xinzhou. When the first year of the Xiantian era arrived, he asked whether the stūpa was completed. [Likai] replied that it was finished. In the ninth month of that year, the monks Likai, Zhihai, and others from Caoxi asked the Reverend: 'In the future, who will attain the Dharma, succeed you, and transmit the robe of verification?' The Reverend answered: 'Do not ask. In the future, calamities will arise with great ferocity. On account of this kāṣāya, on how many occasions would I have lost my life? In Master Xin's presence it was stolen three times; in Master Ren's presence it was stolen three times; and even in my presence it has been stolen six times. This kāṣāya of mine will be taken away by a woman. Do not ask me again! If you wish to know who attains my Dharma: anyone who establishes my lineage more than twenty years after my decease is the person who has attained the Dharma.' In the second year of the Xiantian era, he suddenly told his disciples, 'I must embark on the great journey.' On the night of the third day of the eighth month, he quietly entered sitting transformation. The Master's worldly age was seventy-six. The gullies and streams of Caoxi stopped flowing, the spring ponds dried up, the sun and moon lost their light, the forest trees turned white, and an extraordinary fragrance billowed, not ceasing for three days and three nights. In that year, they received the Reverend's sacred chair at Guo'en Temple in Xinzhou, and in the eleventh month buried him at Caoxi. Wei, Assistant of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, composed the stele inscription. In the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era, it was ground down and altered by someone who carved a different stele; in recent times, Vice Minister Song Ding of the Department of Public Works composed a stele inscription.
1.9
For three hundred years after the teaching flowed east, there were initially no formal rules for phenomenal practice. Later, during the time of Shi Le of the Jin, Dharma Master Dao'an, a disciple of Fotudeng, was in Xiangyang. Fu Jian of the Qin heard Dao'an's reputation from afar and thereupon dispatched an army to attack Xiangyang to take Dharma Master Dao'an. The Emperor of Qin treated him with great esteem. The scions of the elite families of Chang'an relied upon him when studying poetry, rhapsodies, and recitation; hence the saying: "If one does not rely on Dharma Master Dao'an, one's sense will not withstand challenge." He was intellectually brilliant, giving lectures and composing commentaries, establishing standards for monks and nuns, institutional regulations for the Buddhadharma, and rules for receiving precepts, which were divided into three categories: first, offering incense and determining the seating; second, regular worship and repentance throughout the six periods of the day; third, monthly poṣadha and repentance of transgressions. Phenomenal practices, deportment, ritual services, spells, prayers, praises, and the like all originated from this Dharma Master Dao'an. In recent times, the Shu monk Dharma Master Ci'an composed the Fasting Rituals in four scrolls, which are currently in circulation. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says: "Whatever is established is all confused and erroneous; if one sees into one's own mind, then there are no conditioned disputes." It also says: "If one relies on the slightest dharma, then the slightest dharma arises; if one relies on phenomenal things, this dharma is immediately destroyed." It also says: "Grasping meanings according to words and thereby establishing the Buddhadharma—because of that establishment, upon death one falls into hell." It also says: "To seek me within doctrinal teaching is a delusion, defilement, and an evil departure; departing from the holy teachings and correct principle, desiring extinction they instead increase [defilements]—these are the wild words of non-Buddhists, which the wise should not utter." The Diamond Sūtra says: "Leaving behind all characteristics is called the Buddhas." It also says: "If one sees me by form, or seeks me by sound, this person walks a deviant path and cannot see the Tathāgata." The Sūtra of the Questions of Viśeṣacinti says: "How does a monk follow the Buddha's teaching? How does he follow the Buddha's words? If praised or reviled, his mind is unmoved—this is following the Buddha's teaching." It also answers: "If one does not rely on written words or spoken language, this is called following the Buddha's words. How should a monk receive offerings? Answer: One who grasps nothing in phenomena. How does he digest offerings? One who is not dragged along by worldly dharmas. Who repays the Buddha's kindness? Answer: One who practices according to the Dharma." The various Hīnayāna meditations and various samādhi gates are not the central宗旨 of Patriarch Bodhidharma. Their names are listed as follows: white bone visualization, counting breaths visualization, nine aspects visualization, five stops visualization, sun visualization, moon visualization, tower visualization, pond visualization, and Buddha visualization. Furthermore, the Sūtra of the Secret Essentials of Chan says: "When a person suffers from a hot disease, perform the cool and cold visualization; when suffering from a cold disease, perform the hot visualization. Perform the poisonous snake visualization and impurity visualization on physical form. Perform the snake and maggot visualization on beloved food and drink. Perform the burning iron wrapped around the body visualization on beloved clothing." As for all the other samādhi visualizations and the like, the Chan Gate Sūtra says: "In seated meditation and visualization, if one sees the Buddha's bodily form, thirty-two marks, various lights, flying up into empty space, and manifesting freely, is it true or is it illusory? The Buddha said: Seated meditation sees emptiness without any objects; if one sees the Buddha's thirty-two marks, various lights, flying into empty space, and manifesting freely, all are the inversions of one's own mind, bound in Māra's net. Seeing such things within empty extinction is illusory." The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says: "Such various characteristics fall into the views of non-Buddhists." The Dharmapada says: "If one studies various samādhis, this is movement, not seated meditation; when the mind flows along with sensory realms, how can it be called concentration?" The Diamond Samādhi Sūtra says: "I do not enter samādhi and do not abide in seated meditation; this is unproduced chan." The Sūtra of the Questions of Viśeṣacinti says: "Not relying on the desire realm, not abiding in form or formlessness—practicing meditation like this is the universal practice of a bodhisattva." The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: Vimalakīrti rebuked Śāriputra for quiet sitting in the forest, and rebuked Subhūti and Mahākāśyapa for lack of impartiality. The Sūtra on Transforming the Female Body says: The Maiden Vimalaprabhā rebuked Śakra, Devānāmindra: "You people of the śrāvaka vehicle fear birth and death and delight in nirvāṇa." The Vinayaviniścaya Sūtra states: "Persons of the bodhisattva vehicle fear birth and uphold the open and permeable precepts; persons of the śrāvaka vehicle uphold strictly prohibitive precepts and completely protective precepts." The Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra says: The Buddha rebuked Ānanda: "You śrāvakas are like the blind and the deaf, not understanding the supreme meaning of emptiness." The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says: Rebuking the śrāvakas for taking a little to be sufficient—these seven instances. The Buddhapiṭaka Sūtra says: "Śāriputra, while the Tathāgata is in the world, the Three Jewels are of one taste; after my parinirvāṇa, they will divide into five divisions. Śāriputra, evil Māra even now still conceals his body and aids Devadatta in breaking my Dharma and Saṃgha. Because the Tathāgata's great wisdom is present in the world, the depraved and evil hosts of Māra cannot accomplish their great evil. In the future age, evil Māra will transform his body into the form of a śramaṇa and enter into the Saṃgha, preaching various deviant doctrines to cause many sentient beings to fall into deviant views, expounding deviant teachings for them. At that time evil people, deluded by Māra, will each grasp onto their own views, saying 'I am right and they are wrong.' Śāriputra, the Tathāgata foresaw such matters of destroying the Dharma in future ages; therefore, I preach this profound sūtra, entirely severing all that evil Māra grasps. Ānanda, just as an evil thief before the king and great ministers does not dare let it be seen that he has stolen another's goods and does not call himself a thief, so it is, Ānanda: a monk who breaks the precepts and accomplishes non-śramaṇa dharmas still does not say of himself, 'I am an evil person'—how much less could he state his own offenses to others? Ānanda, when a monk who has broken the precepts hears such a sūtra, if he subdues himself, he will feel shame and remorse, and a monk who upholds the precepts will naturally grow." The Great Śūraṅgama Sūtra says: "At that time the Tathāgata broadly addressed the great assembly and Ānanda: 'All of you who are learners, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas, today turn your minds to aspire toward great bodhi, the supreme wondrous awakening. I have now expounded the true method of cultivation. Because you do not yet know it, when practicing śamatha and vipaśyanā subtle demonic events and sensory realms manifest before you, and you are unable to recognize them. Cleansing the mind incorrectly, you fall into deviant views, either from your own skandha demons, or heavenly demons, or possession by ghosts and spirits, or encounter with mountain elves. With an unclear mind, you mistake a thief for your son. Moreover, within this you take a little to be sufficient, like the Unlearned Monk of the fourth dhyāna, who falsely claimed to have realized sainthood; when his heavenly retribution ended and the signs of decay appeared before him, he slandered the arhats, and after his physical body met disaster, he fell into the Avīci Hell.' This is why Śākyamuni Tathāgata transmitted the golden brocade kāṣāya, ordering Mahākāśyapa to wait at Mount Kukkuṭapāda for Maitreya the World-Honoured One to descend and be born to hand it over. Now, in this evil age, those who study Chan are numerous. My Patriarch Bodhidharma therefore transmitted the kāṣāya to signify the correctness of his Dharma, so that later students would have their authentic lineage. Formerly, when the Great Master [Hongren] was at Mount Pingmao in Huangmei, he widely opened the Dharma gate to receive and guide all kinds of people. At that time, those studying the Way numbered more than ten thousand, and all entered the hall and entered the chamber. Zhizhen, Shenxiu, Xuanji, Yifang, Zhide, Huizang, Faru, Lao'an, Xuanyue, Liu Zhubu, and others were all leaders of their day, famous monks of the realm. Each said of himself that he was a great dragon-elephant, saying he had attained it, but actually did not attain it. Suddenly there was a man from Xinzhou, secular surname Lu, named Huineng, aged twenty-two, who came to pay homage to Master Ren. The Master asked: 'Where have you come from? What is your purpose?' Huineng answered: 'I have come from Lingnan; I also have no purpose other than to seek to become a Buddha.' The Master knew he was an extraordinary person. Because there were many people around him, the Master asked: 'Can you engage in labor alongside the community?' Huineng answered: 'I do not spare body or life; I will simply work.' Thereupon he trod the pestle along with them for eight months. The Master saw that Huineng's capacity was fulfilled, and so secretly summoned him, transmitted the Dharma and handed over the verified kāṣāya, and immediately ordered him to leave the region. Afterwards, Huineng feared that people would recognize him, and so constantly hid in mountain forests, sometimes in Xinzhou, sometimes in Shaozhou, remaining among the laity for seventeen years, and not preaching the Dharma. Later he went to Hainan's Zhixin Temple, where he encountered Dharma Master Yinzong lecturing on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. Huineng was also in the audience. At that time, Yinzong asked the assembly: 'You all see the wind blowing the banner; above, is the banner moving or not?' The assembly said they saw it moving; some said they saw the wind moving, some said they saw the banner moving, and some said it was not the banner moving, but seeing that was moving. As the debate went on unsettled, Huineng stood up from among the audience and answered the Dharma Master: 'It is merely the assembly's deluded minds; movement and non-movement are not seeing the banner move. The Dharma fundamentally has neither movement nor non-movement.' The Dharma Master heard this and was astonished and bewildered, not knowing what these words meant. He asked: 'Where does the layman come from?' Huineng answered: 'Fundamentally I have not come, and now I do not go.' The Dharma Master stepped down from the high seat, welcomed Huineng into his room, and inquired in detail. Huineng recounted one by one the East Mountain Buddhadharma and that he had been entrusted with the verified kāṣāya. When Dharma Master Yinzong saw it, he prostrated with his head to the feet, praising: 'How could I have expected a great bodhisattva in my audience!' Having spoken, he bowed again and requested Huineng to be his upādhyāya, Yinzong himself claiming to be his disciple. He immediately shaved Chan Master Huineng's head and clothed him in monk's robes. Yinzong and his lecturing disciples sighed: 'How excellent! How excellent! Master Ren's Dharma of Huangmei was recently heard to have flowed to Lingnan; who knew it is now right here! Do you all recognize him?' Everyone said: 'We do not recognize him.' Dharma Master Yinzong said: 'The Dharma I preach is like tiles and rubble; now Chan Master Neng transmits Master Ren's Dharma, which is like pure gold, profoundly inconceivable.' Dharma Master Yinzong led the disciples to prostrate at Chan Master Neng's feet. Fearing people might doubt, he requested the transmitted verified kāṣāya to show to everyone, and personally received the bodhisattva precepts. Master Yinzong and the assembly escorted Chan Master Neng back to Caoxi to receive and guide all kinds of people and widely open the Chan teachings. The whole realm knew that Caoxi's Dharma was the most inconceivable. Later, when the Great Zhou was established and Zetian took the throne, she revered the Buddhadharma. In the first year of the Changshou era, she decreed that Dayun Temples be established in each prefecture of the realm. On the twentieth day of the second month, she imperial dispatched the Tianguan Gentleman Zhang Changqi to go to Caoxi in Shaozhou to invite Chan Master Neng. Chan Master Neng feigned illness and did not go. Later, in the first year of the Wansui Tongtian era, Zetian sent an envoy again to invite Chan Master Neng. Since Chan Master Neng would not come, she requested the verified kāṣāya transmitted from the ancestral master Bodhidharma of previous generations: 'Let Zhen make offerings to it within the palace chapel.' Chan Master Neng complied with the request, lifting up the verified kāṣāya transmitted from Patriarch Bodhidharma and giving it to the imperial envoy. Having received the verified kāṣāya back, Zetian was extremely delighted to see the transmitted verified kāṣāya arrive, and made offerings to it within the palace chapel. In the seventh month of the second year of Wansui Tongtian, Zetian decreed that the Tianguan Gentleman Zhang Changqi go to Dechun Temple in Zizhou to invite Chan Master Zhen. Chan Master Zhen accepted the invitation, proceeded to the capital, and was provided offerings in the palace chapel. During the Jiudai years, she sent envoys to Yuquan Temple in Jingzhou to invite Chan Master Xiu; to Shoushan Temple in Anzhou to invite Chan Master Xuanji; to Dayun Temple in Suizhou to invite Chan Master Xuanyue; and to Huishan Temple on Mount Song in Luozhou to invite Chan Master Lao'an, providing offerings in the palace chapel. Zetian originally invited these bhadantas because there was a Tripiṭaka Brahman from the Western Regions whom Zetian had always specially revered. Chan Master Zhizhen of Jiannan happened to be ill and longed to return to his homeland, feeling a little distressed because the mountain passes were far and blocked. That Brahman with deviant spiritual powers said: 'What difference is there between there and here? Why should the Chan master miss home?' Zhizhen answered: 'How does the Tripiṭaka master know this?' The Brahman answered: 'If the Chan master simply tries to raise a thought, there is nothing I will not know.' Zhen said: 'I am going! Look at my form wearing lay clothes and gazing out from the market gate of the Western Market.' That Tripiṭaka master said: 'How can a bhadanta monk wear secular clothes and look around in the marketplace?' Zhen said again: 'Look closely, I am going! My form is standing upon the finial rings of the stupa at Chanding Temple.' The Tripiṭaka master again said: 'How can a monk climb up high and stand there?' Zhen said: 'This time look even more closely!' Thereupon, right where he was, he relied on the Dharma so that no thought arose. That Tripiṭaka master searched within the triple world, but ultimately could not find him. The Tripiṭaka Brahman thereupon gave rise to reverence, bowed at Zhen's feet, and addressed the upādhyāya, saying: 'I did not know that the Tang realm possessed such great Buddhadharma! Now I reproach myself and repent in body and mind.' When Zetian saw that the Tripiṭaka master took refuge in Chan Master Zhen, Zetian inquired of the bhadantas: 'Do the upādhyāyas have desire?' Shenxiu, Xuanyue, Lao'an, Xuanji, and others all said they had no desire. Zetian asked Chan Master Zhen: 'Does the upādhyāya have desire?' Chan Master Zhen, fearing he would not be allowed to return if he did not accommodate Zetian's mind, answered: 'I have desire.' Zetian asked again: 'How can you have desire?' Zhen answered: 'When arising, there is desire; when not arising, there is no desire.' Zetian was awakened at these words. Seeing also that the Tripiṭaka master took refuge in Upādhyāya Zhen, Zetian revered him doubly. Taking this opportunity, Chan Master Zhen memorialized to request permission to return to his homeland. An imperial edict granted him one set of the newly translated Avataṃsaka Sūtra, an embroidered image of Maitreya, banners and flowers, and the verified kāṣāya of Patriarch Bodhidharma. Zetian said: 'Chan Master Neng did not come; this ancestral kāṣāya is also offered up to the upādhyāya to take back to your native land for perpetual offerings.' In the eleventh month of the first year of the Jinglong era, Zetian again sent the palace attendant General Xue Jian to Chan Master Neng at Caoxi, proclaiming the oral edict: 'We have offered the verified kāṣāya of the previous generations to Chan Master Zhen to receive, uphold, and offer to. Now We separately present one mānava kāṣāya and five hundred bolts of silk as an offering for your milk and medicine.'
First 9 of 31 passages. Read on