景德傳燈錄 10.43

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.