景德傳燈錄 12.7

12.7

Senior Venerable Chen originally dwelt at Longxing Temple in Muzhou, concealing his traces and hiding his function. He frequently made straw sandals and secretly placed them on the road; as years passed, people came to know of this, so he was given the appellation 'Chen of the Straw Sandals.' At times students would probe and challenge him; he would answer abruptly according to their queries, and because his phrasing was steep and perilous, departing from conventional ruts, people of shallow capacity often mocked him. Only those of quick intellect pursuing the profound admired and yielded to him. From this, [seekers from] all quarters turned their devotion to him and called him Senior Venerable Chen. / Once during the evening assembly, the Master addressed the congregation, saying, 'You people have not obtained a point of entry; you must obtain a point of entry. If you obtain a point of entry, later on you must not disappoint this old monk.' / At that time a monk stepped forth, bowed, and said, 'I would certainly never dare disappoint the Upādhyāya.' / The Master said, 'Already you have disappointed me.' / The Master also said, 'This old monk has been abbot here, yet have never seen a person of no affairs arrive. Why do you not step forward?' / At that time a monk was just stepping forward. The Master said, 'The karmadāna is not present; lead yourself out beyond the triple gate and receive twenty blows of the staff.' / The monk said, 'Where is my fault?' / The Master said, 'Adding handcuffs on top of the cangue.' / Usually, whenever the Master saw a patch-robed monk coming, he would shut the door; or when he saw a lecturing monk, he would call out, 'Sūtra Lecturer!' When the monk responded, the Master would say, 'You board-carrying fellow!' Or he would say, 'There is a bucket here; draw water for me.' / One day the Master was standing on the veranda steps. A monk came and asked, 'Where is Senior Venerable Chen's room?' / The Master took off his straw sandal and struck him over the head. The monk ran away. The Master called out, 'Great Worthy!' The monk turned his head. The Master pointed and said, 'Go over that way instead.' / A monk knocked at the door. The Master said, 'Who is it?' / The monk said, 'Myself.' / The Master said, 'A useless Qin-dynasty drill.' / One day an imperial envoy asked, 'The triple gate is wide open—through which gate should I enter?' / The Master called out, 'Minister!' / The envoy responded. / The Master said, 'Enter through the gate of faith.' / The envoy also saw a wall mural and asked, 'What matter are the two venerables discussing together?' / The Master slapped an open pillar and said, 'Among the three bodies, which one does not preach the Dharma?' / The Master asked a lecturer, 'Are you perhaps lecturing on Consciousness-Only?' / He replied, 'I am.' / The Master said, 'You do not even observe the five precepts.' / The Master asked an elder, '"When comprehended, the tip of a hair swallows the vast sea; only then do you know the great earth is a single dust mote." How do you understand this, Elder?' / He replied, 'Whom are you asking?' / The Master said, 'I am asking you, Elder.' / The elder said, 'Why not comprehend the words?' / The Master said, 'You do not comprehend the words, and I do not comprehend the words.' / The Master saw a monk coming and said, 'A ready-made public case! I spare you thirty blows of the staff.' / The monk said, 'I am just thus.' / The Master said, 'Why does the Vajra guardian at the triple gate raise his fist?' / The monk said, 'Even the Vajra guardian is just thus.' / The Master struck him. / A monk asked, 'What is the road to the transcendental?' / The Master said, 'If you want to speak of it, what difficulty is there?' / The monk said, 'Please speak, Master.' / The Master said, 'At the beginning thirty, in the middle nine, at the bottom seven.' / A monk asked, '"Removing one layer after another"—this I do not ask about. What about when one does not remove one layer after another?' / The Master said, 'Yesterday morning I planted eggplants; today I planted winter melons.' / A monk asked, 'What is the precise meaning of Caoxi?' / The Master said, 'This old monk loves anger and does not love joy.' / The monk said, 'Why is it so?' / The Master said, 'When meeting a swordsman on the road, present a sword; / If one is not a poet, do not speak of poetry.' / A monk came to study. The Master asked, 'Where do you come from?' / The monk said, 'Liuyang.' / The Master said, 'What did the old venerable there say in response concerning the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' / He said, '"All over the earth one walks without a road."' / The Master said, 'Did that old venerable truly have these words?' / He said, 'He truly did.' / The Master picked up his staff, struck him, and said, 'You fellow who recites others' words!' / The Master asked an elder, 'If brethren come, what will you use to receive them?' / The elder said, 'I will wait until they come.' / The Master said, 'Why not say it now?' / The elder said, 'What does the Upādhyāya lack?' / The Master said, 'Please do not bother with entanglements.' / A monk came to study. The Master said, 'Are you not on pilgrimage?' / The monk said, 'I am.' / The Master said, 'Have you paid homage to the Buddha yet?' / He said, 'Why pay homage to that pile of clay?' / The Master said, 'Lead yourself out.' / A monk asked, 'What about when I lecture and also go on pilgrimage, yet do not understand the intention of the teachings?' / The Master said, 'Speaking truly, you ought to repent.' / The monk said, 'I beg the Master for instruction.' / The Master said, 'If you do not understand, this old monk will keep his mouth shut without a word.' / The monk said, 'Please speak.' / The Master said, 'When the mind does not betray others, the face shows no shame.' / A monk asked, 'What about when one phrase exhausts it completely?' / The Master said, 'The meaning falls into error.' / The monk said, 'Where does the student's meaning fall into error?' / The Master said, 'Whom should I have take the thirty blows of the staff?' / A monk asked, 'Are the intention of the teachings and the intention of the Patriarchs identical or distinct?' / The Master said, 'The green mountain is of itself the green mountain; the white cloud is of itself the white cloud.' / The monk said, 'What is the green mountain?' / The Master said, 'Return me a drop of rain.' / The monk said, 'I cannot speak; please speak, Master.' / The Master said, 'In the Lotus, the battle line before the spear; in the Nirvāṇa, gathered up behind the phrase.' / The Master asked a monk, 'Where were you this summer?' / He said, 'Wait until the Upādhyāya has an abode, then I will explain to the Upādhyāya.' / The Master said, 'A fox is not of the lion's kind; a lamp is not the light of the sun and moon.' / The Master asked a newly arrived monk, 'Where do you come from?' / The monk stared at him with wide eyes. / The Master said, 'You fellow who trails behind donkeys and horses!' / The monk said, 'Please, Master, examine me.' / The Master said, 'Fellow trailing behind donkeys and horses, speak up and tell me!' / There was no response. / While the Master was reading a sūtra, Minister Chen Cao asked, 'What sūtra is the Upādhyāya reading?' / The Master said, 'The Diamond Sūtra.' / The Minister said, 'Among the translations of the Six Dynasties, which translation is this?' / The Master held up the sūtra and said, 'All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.' / Also, while the Master was reading the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, a monk asked, 'What sūtra is the Upādhyāya reading?' / The Master held up the sūtra and said, 'This is the very end of the chapter on cremation.' / The Master asked a newly arrived monk, 'Where were you this summer?' / The monk said, 'Jingshan.' / The Master said, 'How many people were there?' / He said, 'Four hundred people.' / The Master said, 'You fellow who eats supper!' / The monk said, 'Why does a senior venerable of the monastery speak of eating supper?' / The Master then beat him with a staff and drove him out. / The Master heard that an old venerable was difficult to approach, so he went in person to visit him. As soon as the old venerable saw the Master enter the abbot's quarters, he shouted. The Master placed his hand beside his cheek and said, 'A double public case.' / The old venerable said, 'Where is the fault?' / The Master said, 'This wild fox spirit!' and withdrew. / The Master asked a monk, 'Where did you leave recently?' / The monk said, 'Jiangxi.' / The Master said, 'How many straw sandals have you worn out?' / The monk had no response. / The Master was drinking tea with a lecturing monk. The Master said, 'I cannot save you.' / The monk said, 'I do not understand; I beg the Master for instruction.' / The Master picked up an oil cake, showed it, and said, 'What is this?' / The monk said, 'Material form (rūpadharma).' / The Master said, 'You fellow entering the boiling cauldron!' / A Great Worthy in purple robes arrived and bowed. The Master held up his cap ribbon, showed it to him, and said, 'What is this called?' / The Great Worthy said, 'An audience-at-court cap.' / The Master said, 'In that case, this old monk will not take it off.' / The Master asked again, 'What practice do you study?' / He said, 'Consciousness-Only.' / The Master said, 'How do you explain it?' / He said, 'The three realms are mind-only; all phenomena are consciousness-only.' / The Master pointed to the door leaves and said, 'What is this?' / He said, 'It is material form.' / The Master said, 'Bestowed purple before the curtain and discussing the scriptures in the imperial presence—how is it that you do not observe the five precepts?' / There was no response. / A monk asked, 'I have newly entered the monastery; I beg the Master for instruction.' / The Master said, 'You do not understand how to ask.' / He said, 'What about the Upādhyāya?' / The Master said, 'I spare you thirty blows of the staff; lead yourself out.' / A monk asked, 'Concerning the intention of the teachings, please present the main principle, Master.' / The Master said, 'Just bring your questions, and I will tell you.' / The monk said, 'Please speak, Upādhyāya.' / The Master said, 'Burn incense in the Buddha hall; join palms outside the triple gate.' / A monk asked, 'What are words of expansive elaboration?' / The Master said, 'Weighing talent to assign office.' / The monk said, 'How can one avoid falling into expansive elaboration?' / The Master said, '"We respectfully offer this sacrifice!"' / The Master called Jiaoshan to step forward. He also called an attendant boy to bring an axe. The boy brought the axe and said, 'There is no inked marking-line yet; let us just rough-hew it.' / The Master shouted at him. / He then called the attendant boy again and said, 'What is your axe?' / The boy made a chopping motion. / The Master said, 'You cannot chop off your old man's head.' / A monk asked, 'What is opening a narrow path?' / The Master said, 'Weighing talent to assign office.' / He asked again, 'What is not opening a narrow path?' / The Master said, '"We respectfully offer this sacrifice!"' / A newly arrived monk came to study. The Master said, 'Are you newly arrived?' / He said, 'I am.' / The Master said, 'For now, lay aside entanglements; do you understand?' / He said, 'I do not understand.' / The Master said, 'Carrying your cangue and stating your accusation, lead yourself out.' / The monk then left. / The Master said, 'Come, come! I truly ask you: where do you come from?' / He said, 'Jiangxi.' / The Master said, 'Upādhyāya Letan is behind your back, fearing that you speak wildly—do you see him?' / There was no response. / A monk asked, 'The Vajra guardian in front of the temple gate supports it; the universe and great earth do not support it. What about when not even a thread or hair is encountered?' / The Master said, 'Hūṃ! Hūṃ! I have never seen such a question! First leaping three thousand, then retreating eight hundred—what should you do?' / The monk said, 'Yes.' / The Master said, 'First reproving with a sheet of indictments is fine!' and then struck him. / The monk was about to leave. The Master said, 'Come! I will tangle with you. Supporting the universe and the great earth—tell me, how deep is the water in Lake Dongting?' / The monk said, 'I have never measured it.' / The Master said, 'What about Lake Dongting itself?' / The monk said, 'Just for the present time.' / The Master said, 'You still do not understand even this entanglement,' and struck him. / A monk asked, 'What is the phrase that encounters obstacles nowhere?' / The Master said, 'I do not speak that way.' / The monk said, 'How do you speak, Master?' / The Master said, 'An arrow passes a hundred thousand leagues beyond the Western Heavens, waiting in the Great Tang Empire.' / A monk knocked at the door. The Master said, 'What is it?' / He said, 'My own matter is not yet clear; I beg the Master for instruction.' / The Master said, 'Here there is only the staff!' and opened the door. The monk was about to ask, and the Master immediately slapped him across the mouth. / A monk asked, 'Not forming the character yi (以), not being the character ba (八)—what chapter and phrase is this?' / The Master snapped his fingers once and said, 'Do you understand?' / He said, 'I do not understand.' / The Master said, '"The above expresses praise for boundless supreme causes; / The toad leaps up to the Brahmā heaven, / The earthworm scampers across the Eastern Sea."' / Elder Xifeng came to visit. The Master set out tea and fruit, bade him sit, and asked, 'Where did you, Elder, spend the summer retreat?' / He said, 'Lanxi.' / The Master said, 'How many followers were there?' / He said, 'Around seventy people.' / The Master said, 'Throughout the day, what did you use to instruct the followers?' / The elder picked up a mandarin orange, presented it, and said, 'Already finished.' / The Master said, 'What frantic urgency!' / At that time a newly arrived monk came to pay homage. The Master scolded him, 'Ācārya, why did you steal fruit of the Sangha property to eat?' / The monk said, 'I have only just arrived. Why does the Upādhyāya say I stole fruit?' / The Master said, 'The stolen goods are right here!' / The Master asked a monk, 'Where did you leave recently?' / He said, 'Yangshan.' / The Master said, 'You do not even observe the five precepts.' / He said, 'Where have I told a lie?' / The Master said, 'Here we do not accommodate novices.'