景德傳燈錄 10

English (machine translation) 10

Language: English

10.1

Sixty-one persons in the third generation under Chan Master Huairang:
Seventeen Dharma heirs of Chan Master Nanquan Puyuan of Chizhou:
Chan Master Jingcen of Changsha in Hunan
Chan Master Tanzhao of Baima in Jingnan
Chan Master Shizu of Yunjishan on Mount Zhongnan
Chan Master Yiduan of the Lower Hall of Xiangyan in Dengzhou
Chan Master Congshen of the Eastern Cloister of Zhaozhou
Chan Master Xian of Lingjiu in Chizhou
The Monk of Mount Zhuyu in Ezhou
Chan Master Lizong of Zihu in Quzhou
The Monk of Mount Song in Luojing
The Monk Rizi
The Monk of Xichan in Suzhou
Lu Gen, prefect of Xuanzhou; Gan Zhi, practitioner in Chizhou (The above thirteen persons have records.)
Chan Master Cunzhi of Zishan
Chan Master Daohong of Jiangling
Chan Master Xuanji of Xuanzhou
Chan Master Dogyun of the kingdom of Silla (The above four persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
Eight Dharma heirs of Chan Master Qi'an of Yanguan in Hangzhou:
Chan Master Daochang of Guannan in Xiangzhou
Chan Master Xuanzhen of Shuangling in Hongzhou
Chan Master Jianzong of Jingshan in Hangzhou (The above three persons have records.)
Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang
Chan Master Tanjidng of Baiyun
Chan Master Wenju of Lushui in Lufu
Chan Master Pumil of Silla
Chan Master Jianzong of Shouzhou (The above five persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
Four Dharma heirs of Chan Master Lingmo of Mount Wuxie in Wuzhou:
Chan Master Zhengyuan of Guishan in Fuzhou (One person has a record.)
Chan Master Xiaofang of Ganquan Temple
Chan Master Zanghuan of Qixin Temple in Mingzhou
Chan Master Yuansui of Ganquan Temple (The above three persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
One Dharma heir of Chan Master Ruman of Foguang Temple in Luojing:
Bai Juyi, prefect of Hangzhou (One person has a record.)
Three Dharma heirs of Chan Master Fachang of Mount Damei in Mingzhou:
Chan Master Gaji of the kingdom of Silla
The Monk Tianlong of Hangzhou (The above two persons have records.)
Chan Master Chung'on of the kingdom of Silla (One person has no recorded encounter sayings and is not included.)
Five Dharma heirs of Chan Master Lingtuan of Yongtai Temple in Jingzhou:
Chan Master Jiexu of Shanglin in Hunan
The Monk of Mimo Cliff on Mount Wutai
The Monk of Qilin in Hunan (The above three persons have records.)
Chan Master Wenzhi of Mount Lühou
Chan Master Fahe of Suzhou (The above two persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
Two Dharma heirs of Chan Master Baoji of Panshan in Youzhou:
The Monk Puhua of Zhenfu (One person has a record.)
The Monk of Shangfang in Zhenzhou (One person has no recorded encounter sayings and is not included.)
Six Dharma heirs of Chan Master Weikuan of Xingshan Temple in Jingzhao:
Chan Master Fazhi of Jingzhao
Chan Master Wubiao of Jingzhao
Chan Master Huijian of Jingzhao
Chan Master Yuanjing of Jingzhao
Chan Master Huiguang of Jingzhao
Chan Master Yizong of Jingzhao (The above six persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
Two Dharma heirs of Chan Master Jingzong of Yunshui:
Chan Master Shenzhao of Xiaoma in Huazhou
Chan Master Daoyuan of Huazhou (The above two persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
Two Dharma heirs of Chan Master Yuanchang of Mount Longya in Tanzhou:
Chan Master Cangyi of Jiahe (One person has a record.)
Chan Master Zangshu of Yangchang (One person has no recorded encounter sayings and is not included.)
Two Dharma heirs of National Preceptor Wuye of Fenzhou:
Chan Master Changzhen of Zhenzhou
Chan Master Fengxianyi of Zhenzhou (The above two persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
Six Dharma heirs of Chan Master Zhichang of Guizong Temple on Mount Lu:
Chan Master Lingxun of Mount Furong in Fuzhou
The Monk of Gaoting in Gucheng County, Hannan
The Monk Damao of Silla
Chan Master Zhitong of Mount Wutai (The above four persons have records.)
Chan Master Dayu of Gao'an in Hongzhou
Li Bo, prefect of Jiangzhou (The above two persons have no recorded encounter sayings and are not included.)
One Dharma heir of Chan Master Baoyun of Mount Luzu:
The Monk Yunshui (One person has no recorded encounter sayings and is not included.)
One Dharma heir of Chan Master Daotong of Mount Ziyu:
Yu Di, military commissioner of Xiangzhou under the Tang (One person has no recorded encounter sayings and is not included.)
One Dharma heir of Chan Master Zhiyan of Huayan Temple:
The Monk Qi'an of Huangzhou (One person has a record.)

10.2

Third Generation under Huairang, Part 2

10.3

Dharma Heirs of the Late Chan Master Nanquan Puyuan of Chizhou

10.4

Chan Master Jingcen of Changsha in Hunan, styled Great Master Zhaoxian, first dwelt at Luyuan as the first generation [abbot]. Thereafter he had no fixed abode, but merely followed conditions to receive people, expounding the Dharma according to invitations; hence the assembly of that time called him the Monk Changsha. Ascending the hall, he said, "If I were to promote the ancestral tradition without exception, grass would grow ten feet deep in the Dharma Hall. I have no choice in the matter, which is why I say to you all: the entire worlds of the ten directions are the eyes of the śramaṇa; the entire worlds of the ten directions are the whole body of the śramaṇa; the entire worlds of the ten directions are one's own radiance; the entire worlds of the ten directions are within one's own radiance; in the entire worlds of the ten directions, there is not a single person who is not oneself. I have often told you all: all the Buddhas of the three periods, together with the sentient beings throughout the entire Dharmadhātu, are the light of mahāprajñā. When the light has not yet shone forth, toward what place will you understand? When the light has not yet shone forth, there is still no news of Buddhas or sentient beings. From where could the mountains, rivers, and lands come?"
Then a monk asked, "What are the eyes of the śramaṇa?"
The Master said, "For ever and ever they cannot get out."
He also said, "Achieving Buddhahood and becoming patriarchs cannot get out; transmigration in the six destinies cannot get out."
The monk said, "I do not understand: what is it they cannot get out of?"
The Master said, "By day seeing the sun, by night seeing the stars."
The monk said, "I do not understand."
The Master said, "The color of Mount Sumeru is green upon green."
A monk asked, "In the teachings it is said: 'And always dwelling on this bodhi seat.' What is the seat?"
The Master said, "This old monk is sitting upright; the Venerable is standing upright."
A monk asked, "What is the Great Way?"
The Master said, "Drowning you."
A monk asked, "Who is the teacher of all Buddhas?"
The Master said, "From beginningless kalpas until now, under whose shelter have you been?"
The monk asked, "What about before there were all the Buddhas?"
The Master said, "When Luzu opened his hall, he also talked east and spoke west with the monks."
A monk asked, "What is it like when a student does not occupy ground?"
The Master said, "Where will you settle your body and establish your life?"
The monk said, "What about when one does occupy ground?"
The Master said, "Drag out this dead corpse!"
A monk asked, "What is 'of a different kind'?"
The Master said, "The foot is short; the inch is long."
A monk asked, "What is the teacher of all Buddhas?"
The Master said, "Must one bend the straight and make it crooked?"
The monk said, "Please, Upādhyāya, speak toward the transcendental."
The Master said, "Ācārya, why are your eyes blind and your ears deaf?"
The Master dispatched a monk to ask his fellow student, the Monk Hui, "How was it after the Upādhyāya saw Nanquan?"
Hui remained silent.
The monk said, "What was it like before the Upādhyāya had seen Nanquan?"
Hui said, "There cannot be anything else besides."
The monk returned and related this to the Master. The Master presented a verse, saying:

10.5

"A person motionless on the top of a hundred-foot pole, / although having gained entry, is not yet true. / At the top of a hundred-foot pole, one must take a step forward: / the worlds of the ten directions are the whole body."

10.6

A monk asked, "Just as on the top of a hundred-foot pole, how does one take a step forward?"
The Master said, "The mountains of Langzhou, the waters of Lizhou."
The monk said, "Please explain, Master."
The Master said, "The four seas and five lakes are within the imperial transformation."
A guest came to call. The Master addressed him, saying, "Minister!"
The man answered, "Yes?"
The Master said, "That is not the Minister's original life-destiny."
He replied, "Apart from right now answering, there cannot be a second master."
The Master said, "Would it do to call the Minister the Supreme Emperor?"
He said, "When in this manner I do not answer at all, is that not this disciple's master?"
The Master said, "Not only when answering or not answering—from beginningless kalpas it is the root of birth and death."
He had a verse that said:

10.7

"Students of the Way do not recognize the true, / solely because they have always recognized the conscious spirit. / From beginningless kalpas the root of birth and death, / foolish people call it the original body."

10.8

A scholar viewing the Scripture of Buddha Names asked, "Among the hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, one sees only their names; I wonder what lands they reside in, and do they also transform sentient beings or not?"
The Master said, "After Cui Hao composed his poem at the Yellow Crane Tower, did you, scholar, ever compose one?"
He replied, "Never."
The Master said, "When you have leisure, what harm is there in composing one?"
A monk asked, "Where did Nanquan go upon his passing?"
The Master said, "To the house in the east to be a donkey; to the house in the west to be a horse."
The monk said, "What is the meaning of this?"
The Master said, "If one wants to ride, one rides; if one wants to dismount, one dismounts."
The monk Haoyue asked, "Have the kalyāṇamitras of the world realized the three-virtue nirvāṇa or not?"
The Master said, "Does the Venerable ask about nirvāṇa as the fruit, or nirvāṇa in the cause?"
He replied, "I ask about nirvāṇa as the fruit."
The Master said, "The kalyāṇamitras of the world have not realized it."
He asked, "Why have they not realized it?"
The Master said, "Their merit is not equal to that of all the sages."
He said, "If their merit is not equal to that of the sages, why are they kalyāṇamitras?"
The Master said, "Clearly seeing the Buddha-nature may also be named being a kalyāṇamitra."
He said, "I wonder, when merit is equal to what path is it called realizing great nirvāṇa?"
The Master gave a verse, saying:

10.9

"Mahāprajñā illuminates, / liberation is the extremely profound Dharma. / The Dharma body is the quiescent and extinct essence; / the three and one are complete and eternal in principle. / If you wish to know where merit becomes equal: / this is named the Constant Quiescent Light."

10.10

He also asked, "I have already received your instruction on the three-virtue nirvāṇa as the fruit; what is nirvāṇa in the cause?"
The Master said, "You, Venerable, are it."
He also asked, "When the teachings speak of the meaning of illusion, does it exist?"
The Master said, "Venerable, what words are these?"
He said, "Then is the meaning of illusion nonexistent?"
The Master said, "Venerable, what words are these?"
He said, "Then is the meaning of illusion neither existent nor nonexistent?"
The Master said again, "Venerable, what words are these?"
He said, "As my three explanations all fail to tally with the meaning of illusion, I wonder how the Upādhyāya clarifies the meaning of illusion in the teachings?"
The Master said, "Venerable, do you believe that all dharmas are inconceivable or not?"
He said, "How could I dare not believe the sincere words of the Buddha?"
The Master said, "You speak of faith: between the two kinds of faith, which faith is it?"
He said, "According to my understanding, between the two kinds of faith, it is called conditional faith."
The Master said, "Relying on what doctrinal teaching is conditional faith produced?"
The Venerable said, "According to the Avataṃsaka, 'Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, with unimpeded and unobstructed wisdom, believe that all realms of the world are the realm of the Tathāgata.' Furthermore, the Avataṃsaka says, 'All Buddha-World-Honoured Ones fully know that between worldly phenomena and the phenomena of all Buddhas, nature has no distinction and is decisively non-dual.' Furthermore, the Avataṃsaka says, 'Buddha-dharma and worldly phenomena: if one sees their reality, all are without distinction.'"
The Master said, "The doctrinal teachings cited by the Venerable for conditional faith have great provenance. Listen to this old monk clarify the meaning of illusion in the teachings for the Venerable:
'If a person sees that illusion is originally real, / such a one is called a person who sees the Buddha. / Perfectly penetrating, dharma by dharma is without arising or ceasing; / without ceasing and without arising is the Buddha body.'"
He also asked, "When an earthworm is cut into two pieces and both ends move, in which end is the Buddha-nature?"
The Master said, "Moving and not moving—what kind of realm is that?"
He said, "Words that do not concern the canons are not the discourse of the wise. Just like the Upādhyāya's words, 'Moving and not moving—what kind of realm is that?'—from which sutra does this come?"
The Master said, "Indeed, words that do not concern the canons are not the discourse of the wise. Has the Venerable not seen where the Śūraṅgama Sūtra says: 'You should know that the boundless, unmoving space of the ten directions, together with the fluctuating earth, water, fire, and wind, are collectively called the six elements. Their true nature is perfectly fused, all being the Tathāgatagarbha, fundamentally without arising and ceasing'?"
The Master had a verse that said:

10.11

"Most profound, most profound: / the human body in the Dharmadhātu is just the mind. / The deluded are deluded about the mind, taking it as multiple forms; / when awakened, the world-realm is the true mind. / Body and realm—the two dust-realms—have no real characteristics; / clearly penetrating this is termed being a connoisseur."

10.12

He also asked, "What is a dhāraṇī?"
The Master pointed to the right side of the meditation platform and said, "This monk here can chant it."
He asked again, "Can anyone else chant it?"
[The Master] pointed to the left side of the meditation platform and said, "This monk here can also chant it."
[The monk] said, "Why did I not hear it?"
The Master said, "Venerable Sir, have you not heard it said: 'True chanting has no sound; true listening has no hearing'?"
[The monk] said, "If so, then sound does not enter the nature of the Dharma realm."
The Master said, "To seek seeing apart from form is not right view; to seek hearing apart from sound is perverse listening."
[The monk] said, "How is not parting from form right view, and not parting from sound true hearing?"
The Master then delivered a verse:

10.13

Filling the eyes, originally it is not form; / Filling the ears, originally it is not sound. / Mañjuśrī is constantly before one's eyes; / Avalokiteśvara blocks the ear-faculty. / Understand the three, and originally they are one substance; / Realize the four, and fundamentally they share the same truth. / Magnificently manifest is the nature of the Dharma realm: / There is no Buddha, nor is there any person.

10.14

A monk asked, "Nanquan said: 'Wildcats and white bullocks know it exists, but the Buddhas of the three periods do not know it exists.' Why do the Buddhas of the three periods not know it exists?"
The Master said, "Before entering the Deer Park, they were still somewhat closer."
The monk said, "Why do wildcats and white bullocks know it exists?"
The Master said, "How could you blame them?"
A monk asked, "Whose succession did the Venerable inherit?"
The Master said, "I had no one to succeed."
The monk said, "Did you still study and practice?"
The Master said, "I studied and practiced by myself."
The monk said, "What was the Master's intention?"
The Master delivered a verse:

10.15

Empty space questions the myriad phenomena; / The myriad phenomena answer empty space. / Who is it that personally hears it? / An unordained boy with his hair in tufts.

10.16

A monk asked, "What is the ordinary mind?"
The Master said, "When wanting to sleep, just sleep; when wanting to sit, just sit."
The monk said, "Your disciple does not understand."
The Master said, "When hot, take to the cool; when cold, turn toward the fire."
A monk asked, "Please tell me, Master, what is the path of the transcendental?"
The Master said, "A single needle, three feet of thread."
The monk said, "How should I understand this?"
The Master said, "Yizhou cloth, Yangzhou silk."
A monk asked, "Movement is the sprout of the Dharma King; stillness is the root of the Dharma King. What is the Dharma King?"
The Master pointed to an exposed pillar and said, "Why not ask the Mahāsattva?"
Once, when [the Master] was facing the sun in the courtyard, Yangshan said, "Everyone has this matter, yet they just cannot use it."
The Master said, "It is precisely that I invite you to use it."
Yangshan said, "How should it be used?"
The Master thereupon kicked Yangshan over. Yangshan said, "Directly like a tiger!" (Changqing said, "Before, both were experts; afterward, neither was an expert." He further said in substitute, "False Dharma is hard to uphold.") From this, the various quarters referred to him as "Tiger Cen."
A monk asked, "Does the original person also attain Buddhahood?"
The Master said, "Have you ever seen the Son of Heaven of the Great Tang plowing the fields and harvesting the grain himself?"
The monk said, "I do not know who attains Buddhahood."
The Master said, "It is you who attain Buddhahood."
The monk was silent.
The Master said, "Do you understand?"
The monk said, "I do not understand."
The Master said, "Like a person falling due to the ground and rising by relying on the ground—what does the ground say?"
Sansheng had Sthavira Xiu ask, "Where did Nanquan go upon his passing?"
The Master said, "When Shitou was a novice, he visited the Sixth Patriarch."
Xiu said, "I am not asking about Shitou visiting the Sixth Patriarch. Where did Nanquan go upon his passing?"
The Master said, "Tell him to ponder it."
Xiu said, "Although the Venerable has a thousand-foot cold pine, you still lack a shoot-bearing stone bamboo."
The Master remained silent.
Xiu said, "Thank you, Venerable, for answering my words."
The Master also remained silent.
Sthavira Xiu related this to Sansheng. Sansheng said, "If it is truly like this, it still surpasses Linji by seven paces. Nevertheless, wait until I test him further." The next day, Sansheng went up and asked, "I have heard that yesterday the Venerable replied to the question of Nanquan's passing with a statement that could be called shedding light on the past and surpassing the future, rarely heard in present or ancient times."
The Master also remained silent.
A monk asked, "What is Mañjuśrī?"
The Master said, "Walls and rubble are."
He asked again, "What is Avalokiteśvara?"
The Master said, "Sounds and speech are."
He asked again, "What is Samantabhadra?"
The Master said, "The minds of sentient beings are."
He asked again, "What is Buddha?"
The Master said, "The physical bodies of sentient beings are."
The monk said, "The Buddhas numerous as the sands of the Ganges are all of the same substance; why are there various names?"
The Master said, "Returning to the source from the eye-faculty is called Mañjuśrī; returning to the source from the ear-faculty is called Avalokiteśvara; returning to the source from the mind is called Samantabhadra. Mañjuśrī is the Buddha's wondrous observing wisdom; Avalokiteśvara is the Buddha's unconditioned great compassion; Samantabhadra is the Buddha's unconditioned wondrous practice. The three sages are the Buddha's wondrous functions; the Buddha is the true substance of the three sages. In terms of function, there are conventional designations as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; in terms of substance, it is collectively named the one Bhagavān."
A monk asked, "'Form is emptiness, emptiness is form'—what is the principle of this?"
The Master gave a verse:

10.17

Where there is obstruction is not walls; / Where there is openness is not empty space. / If one understands in this way, / Mind and form are fundamentally the same.

10.18

He also gave a verse:

10.19

The Buddha-nature is magnificently manifest; / Sentient beings who abide in nature find it hard to see. / If one realizes that sentient beings are without self, / How does my face differ from the Buddha's face?

10.20

A monk asked, "The sixth, seventh, and eighth consciousnesses ultimately have no substance; how is it called transforming the eighth into the great mirror wisdom?"
The Master gave a verse:

10.21

The seven arisings depend on the one cessation; / The one cessation sustains the seven arisings. / When the one cessation ceases, ceasing also ceases; / The sixth and seventh are eternally without transition.

10.22

Another monk asked, "An earthworm is cut into two pieces and both ends move; I wonder, at which end is the Buddha-nature?"
The Master said, "Why make delusive thoughts?"
The monk said, "What about the movement?"
The Master said, "Do you not know that fire and wind have not yet dispersed?"
A monk asked, "How can one turn the mountains, rivers, and the earth back to oneself?"
The Master said, "How can one turn oneself into the mountains, rivers, and the earth?"
The monk said, "I do not understand."
The Master said, "Below the city of Hunan it is good to nourish the people; rice is cheap, firewood is plentiful, and the four neighbors have enough."
The monk had nothing to say. The Master gave a verse:

10.23

Who asks about the turning of mountains and rivers? / Toward whom do the mountains and rivers turn? / Complete penetration has no two sides; / The Dharma-nature fundamentally has nowhere to return.

10.24

A venerable master who lectured on the Avataṃsaka asked, "Is empty space definitely existent, or is it definitely non-existent?"
The Master said, "To say it is existent is acceptable; to say it is non-existent is also acceptable. When empty space is existent, it is only conventionally existent; when empty space is non-existent, it is only conventionally non-existent."
[The lecturer] said, "What scriptural passage is there for what the Venerable says?"
The Master said, "Venerable Sir, have you not heard the Śūraṅgama Sūtra say: 'The empty space of the ten directions is produced within your mind, like a piece of cloud dotting the great expanse of clear sky'? Is this not that when empty space arises, only a conventional name arises? It also says: 'If just one of you brings forth the real and returns to the source, the empty space of the ten directions all completely dissolves.' Is this not that when empty space ceases, only a conventional name ceases? Therefore this old monk says: existence is conventional existence, and non-existence is conventional non-existence."
He also asked, "The sūtra says: 'Like an image of pure gold appearing inside clear lapis lazuli'—what does this mean?"
The Master said, "Take the clear lapis lazuli as the substance of the Dharma realm, and take the image of pure gold as the substance of undefiled wisdom. Substance can generate wisdom, and wisdom can penetrate substance; therefore it says, 'Like an image of pure gold appearing inside clear lapis lazuli.'"
[A monk] asked, "What is the sphere of action of the highest person?"
The Master said, "Like a dead person's eyes."
[The monk] said, "How is it when the highest persons meet each other?"
The Master said, "Like a dead person's hands."
[A monk] asked, "Why could Sudhana not traverse all the worlds within Samantabhadra's body throughout immeasurable kalpas?"
The Master said, "Have you been able to traverse them all since immeasurable kalpas ago?"
[The monk] said, "What is Samantabhadra's body?"
The Master said, "Seeking Chang'an inside the Hanyuan Hall."
[A monk] asked, "What is the student's mind?"
The Master said, "The entire world of the ten directions is your mind."
[The monk] said, "If so, then the student has no place to establish his body."
The Master said, "It is the place to establish your body."
[The monk] said, "What is the place to establish one's body?"
The Master said, "The water of the great ocean is deep and deep again."
[The monk] said, "The student does not understand."
The Master said, "Fishes and dragons plunge in and out, rising and sinking at will."
[A monk] asked, "When someone asks, the Venerable answers according to causes and conditions. What if no one asks at all?"
The Master said, "When tired, sleep; when vigorous, get up."
[The monk] said, "Where should the student understand this?"
The Master said, "In summer, stark naked; in the winter cold, one must have a quilt."
[A monk] asked, "Where did the deceased monk go?"
The Master gave a verse:

10.25

Not recognizing the vajra substance, / You mistakenly call it conditioned arising. / The ten directions are truly tranquil and ceased; / Who remains, and who walks on?

10.26

On Nanquan's portrait, [the Master] wrote a praise:

10.27

Magnificent Nanquan, / Source of the three periods, / Vajra ever-abiding, / Boundless throughout the ten directions; / Sentient beings and Buddhas are inexhaustible; / Having manifested, he has now returned.

10.28

Nanquan's verse on according with the capacity upon long residence:

10.29

Today returning to my native village, I enter the main gate; / Nanquan personally says it pervades heaven and earth. / Every dharma clearly is the grandfather; / Turning the head with shame, one makes a good grandchild.

10.30

The Master replied:

10.31

Today's matter of according with the capacity is not to be discussed; / Nanquan does not say it pervades heaven and earth. / Returning to the native village is entirely the business of grandchildren; / The grandfather has never entered the gate.

10.32

The Master also had a verse encouraging study:

10.33

At the top of a hundred-foot pole, you must not rest; / Magnificently there is a road where few people travel. / May the Chan master attain to Nanquan's place; / Before the eyes, green mountains for myriad, myriad autumns.

10.34

Because Venerable Linji said, "Upon the mass of red flesh there is a true person of no rank," the Master gave a verse:

10.35

The myriad dharmas are of one suchness, no need for selection; / In the one suchness, who selects and who does not? / Right now birth-and-death is fundamentally bodhi; / The Tathāgatas of the three periods share the same eye.

10.36

The Master admonished people against cutting down pines and bamboos with a verse:

10.37

Thousand-year bamboo, / Ten-thousand-year pine: / Every branch and every leaf is completely the same. / I announce to the mysterious scholars of the four directions: / Stirring a hand, you do nothing but touch the grandfather.

10.38

Chan Master Tanzhao of Baima in Jingnan would often say, "Delightful, delightful!" When he approached the end of his life, he cried out, "Pain, pain!" and also said, "King Yama has come to take me!"
The temple director asked, "When the Venerable was thrown into the water by the military commissioner at that time, your countenance did not change. Why are you like this now?"
The Master held up his pillow and said, "Do you say that time was right, or is now right?"
The temple director had no reply. (Fayan said in substitute, "At this moment, just cover your ears and go out.")

10.39

Chan Master Shizu of Yunjai on Mount Zhongnan, when he was first with Nanquan, asked, "'People do not recognize the maṇi-jewel, personally gathered within the Tathāgata-garbha.' What is the garbha?"
Nanquan said, "That which comes and goes with you is the garbha."
The Master said, "What about that which does not come and go?"
Nanquan said, "It is also the garbha."
He asked again, "What is the jewel?"
Nanquan called, "Shizu!"
The Master responded, "Yes?"
Nanquan said, "Go; you do not understand my words."
From this, the Master gained faithful entry.

10.40

Chan Master Yiduan of the Lower Hall of Xiangyan in Dengzhou instructed the assembly, saying: 'Brothers, since neither of us has completed the matter, what business is there to deliberate together? In three or five days I shall depart. Nowadays, students must resolve what is of the present; do not covet that those transcendental people have nothing to do. Brothers, even if you study various differential paths of meaning, in the end they cannot substitute for your own insight. You must apply effort at last to attain it. Merely memorising others' ingenious phrases will only make you all the more disturbed and confused. If you wish to accord with it, simply be entirely deferential, letting not the slightest hair remain, directly resembling empty space—only then will you have a small share of it. For empty space has no locks, no walls, no form, and no mental eye.' A monk asked: 'How was it when the ancients met each other?' The master said: 'This old monk has never seen those ancients.' The monk said: 'At the place where the lifeblood of the present is unbroken, how should one look up to and admire it?' The master said: 'What is there to look up to and admire?' A monk asked, saying: 'I am not asking about idle matters; please, Upādhyāya, answer.' The master said: 'What more are you seeking from me?' The monk said: 'It is not an idle matter.' The master said: 'You tell me, then.' The master also said: 'Brothers, the Buddha is dust, and the Dharma is dust as well. Seeking after them all day long, what rest is there? Just do not cling with sentiment at all times; let sentiment not cling to things. There is no good to be grasped, and no evil to be abandoned. Do not let yourself be enveloped by them; only this is the place of practice.' A monk said: 'I once took leave of a veteran master who instructed me, saying: "When you go, associate with good companions and adhere to friends of the Way." I wonder what the veteran master's meaning was?' Just as the monk was bowing, the master said: 'Make your bows as you please, but do not mistake a slave for the master.' A monk asked: 'What is directly cutting through to the root source?' The master threw down his staff and entered the abbot's quarters. One day the master said to the assembly: 'Speech is slander; silence is deception. Beyond silence and speech, there is a road. This old monk's mouth is narrow; I cannot explain it to you.' Thereupon he stepped down from the hall. A monk asked: 'What about the single phrase?' The master said: 'Here, there is not even a single phrase.' A monk asked: 'Why is the primary cause without concern?' The master said: 'I have never lingered.' He also said: 'Even if layer upon layer is peeled clean and nothing remains, provisional establishment is still an expedient to receive people. If it comes to the matter of that other side, it has no validity whatsoever.'

10.41

Chan Master Congshen of Guanyin Cloister (also called the Eastern Cloister) in Zhaozhou was a native of Hao Township in Caozhou. His surname was Hao. When he was a child at the Hutong Cloister in his home prefecture, he followed his master to have his head shaved, but had not yet received the precepts when he went straight to Chiyang to visit Nanquan. It happened that Nanquan was resting, and he asked: 'Where have you come from recently?' The master said: 'Recently I left the Auspicious Image Cloister.' Nanquan said: 'Did you see the auspicious image?' The master said: 'I did not see the auspicious image; I only saw a reclining Tathāgata.' Nanquan said: 'Are you a novice with a master, or a novice without a master?' The master said: 'A novice with a master.' Nanquan said: 'Where is your master?' The master said: 'In the severe cold of midwinter, I humbly hope that the upādhyāya's venerable body enjoys myriad blessings.' Nanquan regarded him as a vessel and permitted him to enter his chamber. Another day, he asked Nanquan: 'What is the Way?' Nanquan said: 'The ordinary mind is the Way.' The master said: 'Can one direct oneself toward it, or not?' Nanquan said: 'To intend toward it is to deviate.' The master said: 'When one does not intend, how does one know it is the Way?' Nanquan said: 'The Way does not belong to knowing or not knowing. Knowing is false awareness; not knowing is neutrality. If you truly reach the Way that is free of doubt, it is like the great void—vast, open, and clear. How could one arbitrarily judge it as right or wrong?' Upon these words, the master awakened to the principle. Thereupon he went to the Lapis Lazuli Altar on Mount Song to receive the precepts, and then returned to Nanquan. Another day, he asked Nanquan: 'Where does a person who knows there is "it" rest?' Nanquan said: 'Go down the mountain and be an ox.' The master said: 'Thank you for your instruction.' Nanquan said: 'Last night at the third watch, the moon reached the window.' While the master served as the fire-tender, one day he shut the door and filled the room with smoke, calling out: 'Fire! Fire!' The great assembly all arrived. The master said: 'If you can speak, I will open the door.' The assembly had no reply. Nanquan passed the key through the window to the master, and the master then opened the door. He also went to Huangbo. Seeing him coming, Huangbo immediately shut the door of the abbot's quarters. The master then held a torch in the Dharma hall and called out: 'Fire! Fire!' Huangbo opened the door, seized him, and said: 'Speak! Speak!' The master said: 'Drawing the bow after the thief has fled.' He also went to Baoshou. Seeing him coming, Baoshou sat with his back turned on the meditation bed. The master spread his sitting mat and made bows. Baoshou got down from the meditation bed, and the master then left. He also went to Yanguan and said: 'Look at the arrow!' Yanguan said: 'It has passed.' The master said: 'It hit.' He also went to Jiashan, taking his staff into the Dharma hall. Jiashan said: 'What are you doing?' The master said: 'Sounding the water.' Jiashan said: 'Not a single drop—what are you sounding?' The master leaned on his staff and went out. When the master was about to travel to Mount Wutai, a person of great virtue composed a verse to detain him, which said:

10.42

"Where are green mountains not a place of the Way? / Why must you brace your staff to pay homage at Mount Qingliang? / Even if the golden-maned [lion] appears amid the clouds, / When viewed with the correct eye, it is not auspicious."

10.43

The Master said, "What is the correct eye?" The Virtuous One had no reply. (Fayan said on his behalf, "I invite the sthavira to accept my humble feelings." Tong'an Xian said on his behalf, "It is the sthavira's eye.") From this time on, the Master's teaching of the Way covered the northern lands. The assembly invited him to reside at Guanyin [Temple] in Zhaozhou. Ascending the hall, he addressed the assembly, saying: "Like a bright pearl in the palm of one's hand: when a foreigner comes, a foreigner appears; when a Han Chinese comes, a Han Chinese appears. This old monk takes a stalk of grass and uses it as the sixteen-foot golden body; he takes the sixteen-foot golden body and uses it as a stalk of grass. The Buddha is affliction; affliction is the Buddha." At that time, a monk asked, "I do not know: whose affliction is the Buddha?" The Master said, "He is affliction for all people." The monk said, "How can one escape it?" The Master said, "What is the use of escaping?" The Master was sweeping the ground. Someone asked, "The upādhyāya is a kalyāṇamitra; why is there dust?" The Master said, "It comes from outside." Another monk asked, "In a pure monastic dwelling, why is there dust?" The Master said, "There is another speck." Another person was strolling through the garden with the Master and saw a rabbit run away startled. He asked, "The upādhyāya is a great kalyāṇamitra; why was the rabbit startled upon seeing you?" The Master said, "Because this old monk is fond of killing." A monk asked, "When the flower of awakening has not yet bloomed, how does one distinguish the genuine and real?" The Master said, "It has bloomed." The monk said, "Is it genuine or real?" The Master said, "The genuine is the real; the real is the genuine." The monk said, "To whose lot does this matter belong?" The Master said, "This old monk has a share; the ācārya has a share." The monk said, "What if I do not accept it?" The Master feigned not hearing. The monk was speechless. The Master said, "Go." In the Master's monastery, a stone pillar was broken by the wind. A monk asked, "Has the dhāraṇī pillar gone to the mundane or gone to the sacred?" The Master said, "It has neither gone to the mundane nor gone to the sacred." The monk said, "Ultimately, what has it done?" The Master said, "It has fallen to the ground." The Master asked a lecturer, "What sūtra do you lecture on?" He replied, "I lecture on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra." The Master said, "May I ask about a passage's meaning?" He said, "You may." The Master kicked the air with his foot, blew a breath, and said, "What meaning is this?" The lecturer said, "There is no such meaning in the sūtra." The Master said, "When it comes to the meaning of the five hundred strongmen lifting the rock, you just say there is none." At the evening assembly, the Master said, "Tonight I shall answer questions; if anyone understands how to ask, let him step forward." At that time a monk came forward and bowed. The Master said, "I had hoped to throw out a brick to draw out jade, but instead I have only drawn out an unburnt tile." (Baoshou said, "If one's shooting at the tiger is not true, one vainly buries the feathers [of the arrow]." Changqing asked Sthavira Jue, "That monk had only just stepped forward and bowed; why did he immediately take him to be an unburnt tile?" Jue said, "Just now over there someone also asked like this." Qing said, "What did you say to him?" Jue said, "I also spoke to him like this." Xuanjue said, "At what point did he turn into an unburnt tile? In the monasteries they say that as soon as he stepped forward he became an unburnt tile. But in daily coming and going, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one cannot always be an unburnt tile. Now tell me: did this monk, in coming forward, possess the eye or not possess the eye?") A monk went on pilgrimage to Wutai and asked an old woman, "Which way does the road to Mount Tai go?" The old woman said, "Go straight ahead like that." The monk then walked on. The old woman said, "There he goes like that again." That monk recounted this to the Master. The Master said, "Wait until I go and test and see through this old woman." On the next day, the Master went and asked, "Which way does the road to Mount Tai go?" The old woman said, "Go straight ahead like that." The Master then walked on. The old woman said, "There he goes like that again." The Master returned to the monastery and said to the monk, "I have tested and seen through that old woman for you." (Xuanjue said, "The previous monk also spoke like that, and Zhaozhou also spoke like that when he went. Where was the testing and seeing through of the old woman?" He also said, "Not only was she tested and seen through by Zhaozhou, she was also tested and seen through by that monk.") A monk asked, "Does the Master receive someone who comes like this?" The Master said, "I receive him." The monk said, "Does the Master receive someone who does not come like this?" The Master said, "I receive him." The monk said, "One who comes like this may well be received by the Master; how do you receive one who does not come like this?" The Master said, "Stop, stop! There is no need to speak; my Dharma is subtle and hard to fathom." The Master went out of the monastery and met an old woman on the road. She asked, "Where does the upādhyāya reside?" The Master said, "West (xi) of Zhaozhou's East Temple." The old woman was speechless. When the Master returned to the monastery, he asked the monks, "Which character 'xi' should be used?" Some said the character for east and west, while others said the character for roosting (xi) and staying. The Master said, "You are all fit to be salt and iron commissioners." A monk said, "Why does the upādhyāya speak like that?" The Master said, "Because you all know characters." (Fadeng said instead on behalf of the monks, "I already know where you are going.") A monk asked, "What is the jewel in the bag?" The Master said, "Shut your mouth." (Fadeng said instead, "Do not speak of it to others.") A newly arrived monk said to the Master, "I have come from Chang'an carrying a single staff horizontally, without having brushed against a single person." The Master said, "Naturally, the Virtuous One's staff is too short." (Tong'an Xian said instead, "This old monk has never seen such a person here.") The monk had no reply. (Fayan said on his behalf, "Ha, ha!" Tong'an Xian said on his behalf, "It is not short either.") A monk painted a portrait of the Master and presented it to him. The Master said, "Tell me: does it resemble me or not? If it resembles me, beat this old monk to death; if it does not resemble me, burn the portrait." The monk had no reply. (Xuanjue said on his behalf, "Keep it and make offerings to it.") The Master struck a fire and asked a monk, "This old monk calls it fire; what do you call it?" The monk was speechless. The Master said, "Not understanding the mysterious meaning, you vainly practice quietude." (Fadeng said instead, "I am not as good as you.") A newly arrived monk came for an audience. The Master asked, "Where do you come from?" The monk said, "I come from the south." The Master said, "The Buddha Dharma is entirely in the south; what have you come here for?" The monk said, "How could the Buddha Dharma have north and south?" The Master said, "Even if you come from Xuefeng or Yunju, you are merely a board-carrying fellow." (Chongshou Chou said instead, "The upādhyāya treats the guest as the host.") A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "The one in the hall." The monk said, "Isn't the one in the hall a clay niche and a sculpted icon?" The Master said, "It is." The monk said, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "The one in the hall." A monk asked, "This student is deluded and ignorant; I beg the Master's instruction." The Master said, "Have you eaten your porridge yet?" The monk said, "I have eaten the porridge." The Master said, "Go wash your bowl." That monk suddenly had an awakening. The Master ascended the hall and said, "As soon as right and wrong arise, the mind is lost in confusion. Is there still any question to be answered?" Later, a monk recounted this to Luopu; Luopu clicked his teeth. He also recounted it to Yunju; Yunju said, "What need is there?" The monk returned and recounted this to the Master. The Master said, "In the south there are many people who lose their bodies and forfeit their lives." The monk said, "Please, upādhyāya, bring it up." Just as the Master brought up the previous words, the monk pointed to a monk beside him and said, "Having eaten his rice, this monk utters such words." The Master then rested. (This passage completely lacked logic in the old edition; it is now corrected according to another record.) A monk asked, "I have long heard of the stone bridge of Zhaozhou, but having arrived here, I only see a plank bridge." The Master said, "You only see a plank bridge; you do not see the bridge of Zhaozhou." The monk said, "What is the bridge of Zhaozhou?" The Master said, "Come across." Another monk asked the same question, and the Master also answered as before. The monk said, "What is the bridge of Zhaozhou?" The Master said, "It crosses donkeys; it crosses horses." The monk said, "What is a plank bridge?" The Master said, "It crosses each and every person." (Yunju Xi said, "Did Zhaozhou support the stone bridge or support the plank bridge?") The Master heard a novice shouting his arrival and said to the attendant, "Tell him to leave." The attendant then told him to leave. The novice then took his leave and departed. The Master said, "The novice has entered the gate; the attendant is outside the gate." (Yunju Xi said, "Where is it that the novice entered the gate and the attendant is outside the gate? If you can understand here, you will see Zhaozhou.") The Master asked a newly arrived monk, "Where do you come from?" The monk said, "I come from the south." The Master said, "Do you know that there is the Zhaozhou barrier?" The monk said, "You should know that there is one who does not cross the barrier." The Master said, "This private salt smuggler!" A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the [Patriarch's] coming from the West?" The Master stepped down from the meditation platform and stood. The monk said, "Could it be just this?" The Master said, "This old monk has not spoken yet." The Master asked the vegetable overseer, "Today, are we eating raw vegetables or cooked vegetables?" The vegetable overseer lifted up a vegetable and presented it. The Master said, "Those who know gratitude are few; those who are ungrateful are many." A monk asked, "During the kalpa of emptiness, was there still anyone practicing?" The Master said, "What do you call the kalpa of emptiness?" The monk said, "Not a single thing is it." The Master said, "Only this can be called cultivation; what do you call the kalpa of emptiness?" The monk was speechless. A monk asked, "What is the mystery within the mystery?" The Master said, "How long have you been mysterious?" The monk said, "I have been mysterious for a long time." The Master said, "If the ācārya had not met this old monk, you would almost have been killed by the mysterious." A monk asked, "The ten thousand dharmas return to the one; where does the one return to?" The Master said, "When this old monk was in Qingzhou, I made a cloth robe that weighed seven pounds." A monk asked, "At night he leaves Tuṣita, and by day he descends to Jambudvīpa; why during that interval does the jewel not appear?" The Master said, "What did you say?" The monk asked again. The Master said, "Vipaśyin Buddha set his mind to it early on, but even until now he has not attained the marvel." The Master asked the monastery director, "Where have you come from?" He replied, "I have come from offering food [to the spirits]." The Master said, "Why did the crows fly away?" The monastery director said, "They were afraid of me." The Master said, "You have been an administrator for ten years; how can you speak like that?" The monastery director in turn asked, "Why did the crows fly away?" The Master said, "Because the monastery director still has no murderous intent." The Master held up his bowl and said, "Thirty years from now, if you see this old monk, keep it and make offerings; if you do not see me, smash it to pieces." A monk stepped forward and said, "Thirty years from now, I dare say I will see the upādhyāya." The Master then smashed it to pieces. A monk was taking his leave. The Master asked, "Where are you going?" The monk said, "I am going to Xuefeng." The Master said, "If Xuefeng suddenly asks you, 'What words and phrases does the upādhyāya have?', how will you reply?" The monk said, "I cannot say; I ask the upādhyāya to say it." The Master said, "In winter one speaks of cold; in summer one speaks of heat." He also said, "If Xuefeng further asks you, 'What about the ultimate matter?', what will you say?" That monk again said, "I cannot say." The Master said, "Just say, 'I have come directly from Zhaozhou; I am not a messenger.'" That monk arrived at Xuefeng and recounted it exactly according to the previous words. Xuefeng said, "It had to be Zhaozhou to be able to do this." When Xuansha heard of this, he said, "Great or small, Zhaozhou does not even know his own blunder!" (Yunju Xi said, "Where was Zhaozhou's blunder? If you can detect it, that is the sthavira's eye.") A monk asked, "What is Zhaozhou's single phrase?" The Master said, "This old monk does not even have half a phrase." The monk said, "Is the upādhyāya not here?" The Master said, "This old monk is not a single phrase." A monk asked, "What is leaving home?" The Master said, "Not treading upon lofty fame; not seeking improper gain." A monk asked, "When it is completely clear and without a speck, how is it?" The Master said, "Here we do not accommodate a hired laborer." A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Ancestral Teacher?" The Master tapped the leg of the meditation platform. The monk said, "Is it just this?" The Master said, "If you say so, take it and carry it off." A monk asked, "What is the circular figure of Vairocana?" The Master said, "Since youth I have left home, and my eyes have never been dimmed." The monk said, "Do you not act for the sake of others?" The Master said, "May you constantly see the circular figure of Vairocana." Someone asked, "Does the upādhyāya still enter hell?" The Master said, "This old monk enters first." The person said, "Why does a great kalyāṇamitra enter hell?" The Master said, "If I do not enter, who will teach and transform you?" One day, Military Commissioner Lord Wang of Zhending brought his sons to visit the monastery. The Master sat and asked, "Does the Great King understand?" The King said, "I do not understand." The Master said, "Having maintained the precepts since youth, my body is now old; seeing people, I lack the strength to step down from the meditation platform." Lord Wang respected and honored him all the more. The next day, he sent a guest general to convey a message. The Master stepped down from the meditation platform to receive him. Shortly after, the attendant asked, "When the upādhyāya saw the Great King come, you did not step down from the meditation platform; why did you step down today when a military general came?" The Master said, "It is not something you know. When a first-class person comes, I receive him from the meditation platform; when a middling person comes, I step down from the meditation platform to receive him; when an inferior person comes, I go outside the triple gate to receive him." The Master sent a fly-whisk to Lord Wang, saying, "If someone asks where it came from, just say, 'It is something this old monk could not use up in his whole life.'" The Master's mysterious words spread throughout the empire; people at the time spoke of the Zhaozhou house style, and all were awed into faithful submission. On the second day of the eleventh month in the fourth year of Qianning of the Tang dynasty, he passed away lying on his right side. His lifespan was one hundred and twenty years. (Someone once asked, "How old is the Master?" The Master said, "A string of recitation beads cannot count them all.") Later, he was posthumously granted the title Great Master Zhenji.

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景德傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese