景德傳燈錄 16
English (machine translation) 16
- Language
- English
16.1
Seventy-two persons in the fifth generation under Chan Master Xingsi of Mount Qingyuan in Jizhou
Nine Dharma heirs of Chan Master Xuanjian of Mount Deshan in Langzhou:
Chan Master Quanhuo of Yantou in Ezhou
Chan Master Yicun of Mount Xuefeng in Fuzhou
Chan Master Huigong of Ruilong Cloister in Tiantai
Upādhyāya Waguan of Quanzhou
Chan Master Gaoting Jian of Xiangzhou
Upādhyāya Gantan Ziguo of Hongzhou (The above six persons appear in the records)
Great Master Shaoshi of Ehu at Deshan
Upādhyāya Wugou of Fengxiang Prefecture
Upādhyāya Yuchi of Shuangliu in Yizhou (The above three persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)
Forty-one Dharma heirs of Chan Master Qingzhu of Mount Shishuang in Tanzhou:
Chan Master Sengyi of Mount Nanjishan in Hezhong
Chan Master Juhui of Mount Daguang in Tanzhou
Chan Master Huaiyou of Mount Lu
Chan Master Daoqian of Mount Jiufeng in Yunzhou
Chan Master Jingxin of Yongquan in Taizhou
Chan Master Zhiyuan of Mount Yunggai in Tanzhou
Chan Master Cang of Mount Gushan in Tanzhou
Chan Master Hongjian of Mount Fuchuanshan in Fuzhou
Chan Master Cunde Huikong of Mount Deshan in Langzhou
Upādhyāya Chong'en of Jizhou
Chan Master Hui, third generation of Shishuang
Upādhyāya Bajiao of Yingzhou
Upādhyāya Feitian Fu of Tanzhou
Chan Master Hui of Lu Yuan in Tanzhou
Chan Master Yue of Mount Baogai in Tanzhou
Chan Master Haiyan of Yunmen in Yuezhou
Upādhyāya Wenshu of Hunan
Upādhyāya Shizhu of Fengxiang Prefecture
Upādhyāya Zhong Yunggai of Tanzhou
Chan Master Cunshou of Qiyan in Hezhong
Sthavira Xuantai of Nanyue (The above twenty-one persons appear in the records)
Chan Master Jing of Longquan in Hangzhou
Chan Master Zongmin of Panting in Lufu
Chan Master Qinchong of Silla
Chan Master Xingji of Silla
Upādhyāya Luyuan of Hongzhou
Upādhyāya of Mount Dayang in Yingzhou
Upādhyāya Guanyin of Huazhou
Upādhyāya Zhengjue of Yunzhou
Upādhyāya Gaoming of Shangzhou
Upādhyāya Qingshou of Xuzhou
Upādhyāya Wansui of Zhenzhou
Upādhyāya Lingshou of the second generation in Zhenzhou
Chan Master Hongji of Zhenzhou
Chan Master Jianzhi of Jizhou
Chan Master Hongfang of Daliang
Chan Master Shouxian of Qiongzhou
Chan Master Lang of Silla
Chan Master Qingxu of Silla
Chan Master Shuang of Fenzhou
Chan Master Tong of Yuhang (The above twenty persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)
Twenty-two Dharma heirs of Chan Master Shanhui of Mount Jiashan in Lizhou:
Chan Master Yuan'an of Mount Lepu in Lizhou
Chan Master Lingchao of Shanglan in Hongzhou
Upādhyāya Sishan of Yunzhou
Chan Master Huaizhong of Mount Xiaoyao in Jiangxi
Chan Master Kewen of Mount Panlong in Yuanzhou
Chan Master Yuelun of Mount Huangshan in Fuzhou
Chan Master Huanpu of Mount Shaoshan in Luojing
Upādhyāya Haihu of Taiyuan
Upādhyāya of Baishui Temple in Jiazhou
Chan Master You of Mount Tiangai in Fengxiang Prefecture
Upādhyāya Tong'an of Hongzhou (The above eleven persons appear in the records)
Chan Master Tanpu of Shaozhou
Upādhyāya of Mount Xianju in Jizhou
Chan Master Duan of Zifu in Taiyuan
Upādhyāya Yanqing of Mount Luxian in Hongzhou
Upādhyāya Yuefeng of Yuezhou
Upādhyāya of Mount Qishe in Langzhou
Upādhyāya Qimu of Yizhou
Chan Master Quan of Mount Song
Upādhyāya of Jiashan Cloister in Yizhou
Upādhyāya Yunyan of the Western Capital
Upādhyāya Yanxiu of Anfu (The above eleven persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)
16.2
In the fifth generation under Chan Master Xingsi
16.3
Dharma heirs of the former Chan Master Xuanjian of Mount Deshan in Langzhou
16.4
Chan Master Quanhuo of Yantou in Ezhou was a native of Quanzhou. His surname was Ke. When young, he went to Venerable Yi of Qingyuan to have his head shaved. He went to Baoshou Monastery in Chang'an to receive the precepts, and studied various sections of the sūtras and vinaya. Roaming through the Chan groves, he became friends with Yicun of Xuefeng and Wensui of Qinshan. Travelling step by step from Daci Mountain in Yuhang, he went to Linji. Since Linji had entered nirvāṇa, he then called on Yangshan. As soon as he entered the gate, he lifted up his sitting mat and said, 'Upādhyāya!' Yangshan took his whisk and was about to raise it. The Master said, 'A fine hand, no doubt.' Later he visited Upādhyāya Deshan. Holding his sitting mat, he went up to the Dharma hall and looked around. Deshan said, 'What are you doing?' The Master shouted at him. Deshan said, 'Where is this old monk's fault?' The Master said, 'A double gong'an.' He then went down to the Sangha hall. Deshan said, 'This monk somewhat resembles an itinerant.' On the next day, [the Master] went up to pay his respects. Deshan said, 'Are you the newcomer who arrived yesterday, ācārya?' He replied, 'Yes.' Deshan said, 'Where did you learn to put on such false airs?' The Master said, 'I, Quanhuo, never deceive myself.' Deshan said, 'Hereafter you must not let down this old monk.' On another day, the Master entered the abbot's quarters, stood sideways at the door, and asked, 'Is it ordinary or is it holy?' Deshan gave a shout. The Master bowed. Someone recounted this to Dongshan. Dongshan said, 'If it were not Sthavira Huo, it would have been very hard to bear.' When the Master heard this, he said, 'Old man Dongshan does not know good from bad and has made a mistaken remark. At that time, with one hand I raised up, and with one hand I pressed down.' When Xuefeng was serving as the head cook at Deshan's monastery, one day the meal was late. Deshan, holding his bowl, went up to the Dharma hall. Xuefeng was drying meal towels and, seeing Deshan, immediately said, 'This old fellow—the bell has not rung and the drum has not sounded, where are you going carrying your bowl?' Deshan then returned to the abbot's quarters. Xuefeng recounted this to the Master. The Master said, 'Great Deshan though he is, he does not understand the final word.' When Deshan heard this, he had an attendant summon the Master to the abbot's quarters and asked, 'Do you not approve of this old monk?' The Master secretly conveyed his meaning. The next day, when Deshan ascended the hall, he was completely different from usual. The Master went to the front of the Sangha hall, clapped his hands, and laughed heartily, saying, 'How delightful that the old fellow understands the final word! Hereafter, no one in the world can do anything to him. Even so, it will only be for three years.' (Deshan indeed passed away three years later.) One day, the Master, Yicun of Xuefeng, and Wensui of Qinshan were gathered talking. Yicun suddenly pointed to a bowl of water. Sui said, 'When the water is clear, the moon appears.' Cun said, 'When the water is clear, the moon does not appear.' The Master kicked over the water bowl and walked away. From this time on, Sui took Dongshan as his master, while the two worthies Cun and Huo together became Dharma heirs of Deshan. The Master and Cun took leave of Deshan together. Deshan asked, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'We are temporarily taking leave of the Upādhyāya to go down the mountain.' Deshan said, 'How will you be hereafter?' The Master said, 'We will not forget.' He said, 'On what basis do you say this?' The Master said, 'Have you not heard: "Only when wisdom surpasses the master is one fit to receive the transmission; if wisdom equals the master, it diminishes the master's virtue by half"?' He said, 'So it is, so it is. You should preserve it well.' The two worthies bowed and withdrew. Cun returned to Minchuan and resided at Xuefeng on Elephant Bone Mountain. The Master had a hermitage at Wolong Mountain by Lake Dongting, where disciples gathered like clouds. A monk asked, 'When one has no master, is there still a way out or not?' The Master said, 'Before sound, the ancient felt is rotten.' He asked, 'What happens when one comes grandly and openly?' The Master said, 'It pierces the eyes.' He asked, 'What is the intention of the ancestral master?' The Master said, 'Move Mount Lu here, and I will tell you.' One day, the Master ascended the hall and addressed the assembly, 'I once investigated the Nirvāṇa Sūtra for seven or eight years and came across two or three passages of text that seemed like the talk of patched-robe monks.' He also said, 'Enough, enough!' At that time, a monk came forward, bowed, and requested the Master to cite them. The Master said, 'The meaning of my teaching is like the three dots of the letter *i*. The first dot is placed toward the east, dotting open the eyes of the bodhisattvas. The second dot is placed toward the west, dotting the life-root of the bodhisattvas. The third dot is placed toward the zenith, dotting the crowns of the bodhisattvas. This is the meaning of the first passage.' He also said, 'The meaning of my teaching is like Maheśvara cleaving open his forehead and setting an eye upright therein. This is the meaning of the second passage.' He also said, 'The meaning of my teaching is like a poison-smeared drum: when struck once, all who hear it near and far perish; it is also said that they die together. This is the meaning of the third passage.' At that time, Sthavira Xiaoyan asked, 'What is the poison-smeared drum?' The Master pressed his knees with both hands, bent his body forward, and said, 'When Han Xin attended court.' Yan had nothing to say. A monk from Jiashan's assembly arrived at Shishuang's place. Upon entering the gate, he immediately said, 'Greetings.' Shishuang said, 'No need, ācārya.' The monk said, 'In that case, take care.' He also went to Yantou and, as before, said, 'Greetings.' The Master hissed, 'Hsu!' The monk said, 'In that case, take care,' and was just turning his steps. The Master said, 'Although he is a youngster, he knows how to carry himself.' That monk returned and recounted this to Jiashan. Jiashan said, 'Does the assembly understand?' The assembly made no answer. Jiashan said, 'If no one can speak, this old monk will not spare his two eyebrows to speak.' He then said, 'Although Shishuang has a sword that kills people, he does not yet have a sword that brings people to life.' The Master and Luoshan were selecting a site for a stūpa. On the way, Luoshan suddenly said, 'Upādhyāya!' The Master looked back and said, 'What is it?' Luoshan raised his hand and said, 'Here is a fine plot of land.' The Master scolded him, 'You melon-seller of Guazhou!' Walking a few more li, as they strolled about, Luoshan bowed and asked, 'Upādhyāya, did you not spend thirty years at Dongshan yet not approve of Dongshan?' The Master said, 'Yes.' He asked further, 'Upādhyāya, are you not the Dharma heir of Deshan, yet also do not approve of Deshan?' The Master said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Leaving aside not approving of Deshan, what is it that Dongshan lacked?' The Master remained silent for a long while and said, 'Dongshan is a fine Buddha, but he simply lacks light.' A monk asked, 'When a sharp sword cuts through all under heaven, who bears the brunt?' The Master said, 'Secretly plotting.' The monk asked again. The Master scolded him, 'Get out, you dull fellow!' He asked, 'What is it like when it does not pass through past or present?' The Master said, 'Stretching out aloft.' He asked, 'How about the affairs of past and present?' The Master said, 'Let them rot.' The Master asked a monk, 'Where have you come from?' He replied, 'From the Western Capital.' The Master said, 'Now that Huang Chao has passed, have you recovered your sword?' He replied, 'I have recovered it.' The Master stretched out his neck in a posture to receive the blade. The monk said, 'Master, your head has fallen!' The Master laughed heartily. (That monk later went to Xuefeng and recounted these words, but was driven down the mountain with strikes of the staff.) He asked, 'When two dragons fight over a pearl, who gets it?' The Master said, 'Both are mistaken.' A monk asked Xuefeng, 'When śrāvakas see the nature, it is like seeing the moon at night; when bodhisattvas see the nature, it is like seeing the sun by day. I wonder, what is it like when the Upādhyāya sees the nature?' Xuefeng struck him three times with his staff. That monk later recounted the previous words and asked the Master. The Master gave him three slaps. A monk asked, 'Who is the master of the three realms?' The Master said, 'Do you know how to eat an iron rod?' Ruiyan asked, 'Who is the teacher of Vairocana?' The Master said, 'What did you say?' Ruiyan asked again. The Master said, 'You are not yet seventeen or eighteen.' He asked, 'In the midst of dust, how does one distinguish the master?' The Master said, 'A bronze gong filled to the brim with oil.' He asked, 'What happens when the bow is broken and the arrows are exhausted?' The Master said, 'Go.' He asked, 'What is the precise meaning within the cliff?' The Master said, 'Thank you for your instruction.' The monk said, 'Please, Upādhyāya, answer my question.' The Master said, 'Take care.' He asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'Take your worn-out straw sandals and throw them into the lake.' He asked, 'In a ten-thousand-fathom well, how can one reach the very bottom?' The Master said, 'Hūṃ!' The monk asked again. The Master said, 'It has passed beneath your feet.' He asked, 'What happens when the ancient sail is not unfurled?' The Master said, 'In the back garden, the donkey grazes on grass.' Thereafter, whenever people asked about Buddha, Dharma, the Way, or Chan, the Master would only make a hissing sound. And he often said to the assembly, 'When this old fellow passes away, he will give one great roar and depart.' After the Guangqi era of the Tang, bandits arose throughout the Central Plains and everyone fled elsewhere, but the Master dwelt upright and at ease. One day, a large band of brigands arrived and, reproaching him for not offering them food and drink, stabbed him with a blade. The Master remained composed in countenance, gave a great shout, and expired. The sound was heard for several tens of li. It was the eighth day of the fourth month in the dingwei year, the third year of the Guangqi era [887 CE]. His disciples later cremated him and obtained forty-nine relics (śarīra). The assembly erected a stūpa for him. His age was sixty. Emperor Xizong bestowed the posthumous title 'Great Master Qingyan', and the stūpa was named Chuchen ('Leaving the Dust').
16.5
Chan Master Xuefeng Yicun of Fuzhou was a native of Nan'an in Quanzhou. His surname was Zeng. His family had served the Buddha for generations. From birth, the master abhorred pungent roots and meat. While in swaddling clothes, whenever he heard the sounds of bells and Sanskrit chanting, or saw banners, flowers, and images set up, his countenance would unfailingly be moved by them. At the age of twelve, he accompanied his father on a visit to Yujian Monastery in Putian. Seeing Vinaya Master Qingxuan, he quickly bowed and said, "This is my master," and thereupon remained to attend upon him. At seventeen, he shaved his head and went to pay respects to Great Master Changzhao of Mount Furong. Changzhao stroked him and recognized his talent. Later, he went to Baosha Monastery in Youzhou to receive full ordination. Having long frequented Chan assemblies, his karmic conditions harmonized with Deshan. During the Xiantong era of the Tang, he returned to Minzhong, climbed Mount Xianggu (Elephant Bone), and founded a monastery on Xuefeng (Snow Peak). Students and followers flocked to him like birds. Emperor Yizong bestowed upon him the title "Great Master Zhenjue" and also granted him a purple kāṣāya.
A monk asked, "Are the ancestral intention and the doctrinal intention identical or distinct?"
The master said, "The sound of thunder shakes the earth, but inside the chamber it is not heard."
He also said, "For what matter has the ācārya gone on pilgrimage?"
[A monk] asked, "When my eyes are fundamentally correct, yet because of the master they become skewed, what then?"
The master said, "Being confused, you meet Bodhidharma."
[The monk] asked, "Where are my eyes?"
The master said, "How could you not obtain them from a master?"
[A monk] asked, "Having shaved the head, dyed the robes, and received the shelter of the Buddha, why is one not permitted to identify with the Buddha?"
The master said, "A good thing is not as good as nothing."
The master asked a lecture master, "The two characters 'Thus have' (ru shi) belong entirely to the sectional analysis. What is the fundamental text?"
The lecture master had no reply. (Upādhyāya Wuyun said in his place, "Divide it into three more sections.")
[A monk] asked, "Someone asked, 'Among the three bodies, which body does not fall into various reckonings?' The ancient said, 'I am constantly earnest regarding this.' What is the meaning?"
The master said, "The old fellow went up Mount Dong nine times."
The monk intended to ask again. The master said, "Drag this monk out!"
[A monk] asked, "What is the matter right before one's face?"
The master said, "A thousand miles is not yet far."
[A monk] asked, "What is the mark of a great man?"
The master said, "Looking up in reverence, you have a share."
[A monk] asked, "What matter did Mañjuśrī and Vimalakīrti discuss together?"
The master said, "The meaning has fallen away."
A monk asked, "When one is still and without reliance, what then?"
The master said, "It is still a sickness."
[The monk] asked, "What about after turning around?"
The master said, "The boatman goes down to Yangzhou."
[A monk] asked, "I understand that ancients have had the saying..."
The master then assumed a reclining posture for a good while, got up, and said, "What were you asking?"
The monk brought it up again. The master said, "A fellow who lives in vain and dies to no purpose!"
[A monk] asked, "When arrow points meet head-on, what then?"
The master said, "A skilled hand does not hit the mark."
The monk said, "When the whole eye does not aim at a target, what then?"
The master said, "It is no harm to be a skilled hand according to one's lot."
[A monk] asked, "An ancient said, 'Meeting a person who has attained the Way on the road, do not greet them with speech or silence.' I wonder, what should one greet them with?"
The master said, "Go drink some tea."
The master asked a monk, "Where have you come from?"
[The monk] replied, "I come from Shenguang (Divine Light)."
The master said, "By day it is called sunlight, and by night it is called firelight. What is divine light?"
The monk had no reply. The master spoke in his place: "Sunlight, firelight."
Director of Meals Qi asked, "An ancient said, 'Only when one knows there is a matter transcendent to the Buddha does one have a share of speaking.' What is speaking?"
The master grabbed him and said, "Speak! Speak!"
Qi had no reply. The master kicked him over. When Qi got up, sweat was pouring from him.
The master asked a monk, "Where have you come from?"
The monk said, "I recently left Zhezhong."
The master said, "Did you come by boat or by land?"
[The monk] said, "I did not take either route."
The master said, "How could you have arrived here?"
[The monk] said, "What obstruction is there?"
The master then struck him.
[A monk] asked, "An ancient said, 'Presenting it right before one's face.'"
The master said, "Yes."
[The monk] asked, "What is presenting it right before one's face?"
The master said, "Blue sky! Blue sky!"
The master asked a monk, "How old is this water buffalo?"
The monk had no reply. The master spoke in his place: "Seventy-seven."
The monk asked, "Why does the upādhyāya make yourself a water buffalo?"
The master said, "What crime or fault is there?"
A monk was taking leave. The master asked, "Where are you going?"
[The monk] said, "I am going to pay respects to the upādhyāya of Jingshan."
The master said, "If Jingshan asks you, 'What is the Buddhadharma like in this place?', how will you reply?"
[The monk] said, "I will reply when he asks."
The master struck him with his staff. He soon brought this up to Daofu (Daofu was Great Master Shunde of Jingqing), saying, "Where was this monk's fault that he took a beating?"
Fu said, "He thoroughly exhausted Jingshan with his questioning."
The master said, "Jingshan is in Zhezhong; how could he have thoroughly exhausted him with questioning?"
Fu said, "Haven't you heard it said: 'A distant question, a near reply'?"
The master then let it drop. (Qi of Dongchan said, "If that monk understood Xuefeng's meaning, why was he struck? If he did not understand, why strike him either? Tell me, where was his fault? Even though Jingqing analyzed it for him like father and son, it also seems much like crowning his clumsy ugliness. Do you understand? And when Xuefeng simply let it drop, did he approve of him or not approve of him?")
One day, the master said to Huileng (Leng was Changqing), "I saw Guishan ask Yangshan, 'Where have the holy ones gone?' He said, 'Perhaps in the heavens, perhaps in the human realm.' Tell me, what was Yangshan's meaning?"
Leng said, "If one asks about the place where the holy ones appear and disappear, saying it like that will not do."
The master said, "You completely disapprove. If suddenly someone asks you, how will you speak?"
Leng said, "I would only say, 'Wrong.'"
The master said, "Is it that you are not wrong?"
Leng said, "How is it different from wrong?"
The master asked a monk, "Where have you come from?"
[The monk] replied, "I left Jiangxi."
The master said, "How far apart are Jiangxi and this place?"
[The monk] said, "Not far."
The master held up his whisk and said, "Are they separated by this?"
[The monk] said, "If they are separated by this, then they are far away."
The master then struck him.
[A monk] asked, "This student has just entered the monastery and begs the master to point out an entrance path."
The master said, "I would rather crush my own body into fine dust than ever dare to blind the eyes of a single monk."
[A monk] asked, "I do not ask about the matters after the forty-nine years; what about the matters before the forty-nine years?"
The master struck him right across the mouth with his whisk.
A monk took leave to go study with Lingyun. He asked, "What about before the Buddha appeared in the world?"
Lingyun raised his whisk.
He also asked, "What about after he appeared in the world?"
Lingyun also raised his whisk.
The monk then returned. The master asked, "Ācārya, you only recently departed; why have you returned so quickly?"
The monk said, "When I reached that place, my questions on the Buddhadharma did not correspond, so I returned."
The master said, "What matter did you ask?"
The monk recounted the earlier dialogue.
The master said, "You ask, and I will speak for you."
The monk then asked, "What about before the Buddha appeared in the world?"
The master raised his whisk.
He also asked, "What about after he appeared in the world?"
The master lowered his whisk.
The monk bowed.
The master then struck him. (Later, a monk related this to Xuansha. Xuansha said, "Do you wish to understand? I will give you a metaphor. It is like a person selling a plot of garden: north, south, east, and west have all been contracted and completed at once, but there is a small tree in the middle that still belongs to me." Chou of Chongshou said, "Was it that he struck him at the point of his understanding, or was there another principle?")
Once, citing the Sixth Patriarch's words: "It is not the wind moving; it is not the banner moving; it is the minds of you benevolent ones that are moving,"
the master said, "Great or small, the ancestral master had a dragon's head and a snake's tail; he deserves twenty blows with the staff."
At that time, Sthavira Fu of Taiyuan was standing in attendance, and hearing this, he ground his teeth. The master added, "The words I just spoke also deserve twenty blows with the staff." (Xitang of Yunju said, "Where was the ancestral master's dragon's head and snake's tail, that he deserves a beating? And when Xuefeng said of himself, 'I also deserve to take the staff,' tell me, what was the intention of the Buddhadharma? The sthaviras who have long been in the assembly all know; but how should you brothers of initial faculties understand it?" Qi of Dongchan said, "When Xuefeng spoke like this, was he inspecting with another place to land? In the assembly, it is called withdrawing from one's own fault. Setting aside 'withdrawing from fault,' what about the ancestral master saying, 'It is not the wind moving, it is not the banner moving'?")
The master asked Huiquan, "What is your place of entry like?"
Quan said, "I have already deliberated with the upādhyāya."
The master said, "Where did we deliberate?"
[Quan] said, "Where have you been?"
The master said, "What is your place of entry like?"
Quan had no reply. The master struck him.
Quantan asked, "In the open plain of shallow grass, the elks gather in herds. How does one shoot the leader among the elks?"
The master called out, "Quantan!"
Tan answered, "Yes?"
The master said, "Go drink some tea."
The master asked a monk, "Where have you recently left?"
The monk said, "I left Guishan. I once asked, 'What is the meaning of the ancestral master's coming from the West?' Guishan sat firmly in his seat."
The master said, "Did you approve of him?"
The monk said, "I did not approve of him."
The master said, "Guishan is an ancient Buddha; go quickly to bow and repent!"
Xuansha said, "The old fellow on the mountain peak has missed Guishan." (Qi of Dongchan said, "Where is the missed mark? Was it indeed a miss? Do not immediately understand it like that! If you understand it like that, then you haven't yet understood Guishan's meaning. Just as Xuefeng said, 'Guishan is an ancient Buddha; go quickly to repent,' was he verifying Guishan or praising Guishan? This matter is difficult to scrutinize closely. It is also not difficult to see well.")
[A monk] asked, "Where this student cannot speak, I invite the master to speak."
The master said, "For the sake of the Dharma, I spare people."
The master held up his whisk and showed it to a monk. The monk immediately went out. (Changqing Leng related this to Wang Yanbin of Quanzhou and said, "This monk ought to have been called back and given a round of blows with the staff." Bin said, "What mental disposition was that of the upādhyāya?" Leng said, "How nearly he was let off!")
The master asked Huileng, "An ancient said, 'The front three-three and the rear three-three.' What was the meaning?"
Leng immediately went out. (Ehu gave an alternate response: "Yes.")
The master asked a monk, "Where have you come from?"
[The monk] replied, "I come from Lantian."
The master said, "Why didn't you enter the grass?" (Changqing Leng said, "Perilous!")
[A monk] asked, "What is the great matter?"
The master took the monk's hand and said, "To whom is the sthavira putting this question?"
A monk bowed. The master struck him with five blows of his staff.
The monk said, "Where was my fault?"
The master struck him with five more blows and shouted him out.
The master asked a monk, "Where have you come from?"
The monk said, "I come from beyond the Lingnan passes."
The master said, "Did you happen to meet Bodhidharma?"
The monk said, "Blue sky and bright sun."
The master said, "What about yourself?"
The monk said, "What else could there be?"
The master then struck him.
The master was seeing off a monk. Walking three or four paces, he called out, "Sthavira!"
The monk turned his head.
The master said, "Take good care along the road."
A monk asked, "When knocking with the gavel and raising the whisk do not match the fundamental vehicle, what does the upādhyāya do?"
The master held up his whisk.
The monk held his own head and walked out. The master did not look back. (Fayan spoke in his place: "Great assembly, look at this battle commander!")
A monk asked, "Are the three vehicles and twelve divisions of the teachings expounded for the sake of ordinary beings or not expounded for the sake of ordinary beings?"
The master said, "They are not worth a single tune of 'Willow Branches.'"
The master said to Jingqing, "In ancient times, a senior master led an official on an inspection of the hall, saying, 'This whole assembly consists entirely of monks who study the Buddhadharma.' The official said, 'Though gold dust is precious, what about it?' The senior master had no reply." Jingqing spoke in his place: "Hitherto casting a brick to draw jade." (Fayan gave an alternate reply: "Why should an official value his ears and despise his eyes?")
The master took the hall, held up his whisk, and said, "This is for those of medium and low [faculties]."
A monk asked, "What about when a person of the very highest [faculties] comes?"
The master held up his whisk.
The monk said, "This is for those of medium and low [faculties]."
The master struck him.
[A monk] asked, "What was the National Teacher's meaning in calling his attendant three times?"
The master got up and entered the abbot's quarters.
The master asked a monk, "Where were you this summer?"
[The monk] said, "At Yongquan."
The master said, "Does it gush constantly or gush intermittently?"
[The monk] said, "The upādhyāya's question does not hit the mark."
The master said, "My question does not hit the mark?"
[The monk] said, "Yes."
The master then struck him.
During communal labor, on the road to the monastery's estate, they encountered a monkey. The master said, "This animal carries an ancient mirror on its back and plucks the mountain monk's rice stalks!"
A monk said, "Nameless for kalpas without beginning, why designate it as an ancient mirror?"
The master said, "A flaw has appeared."
The monk said, "What is the dying hurry? You don't even recognize the topic of conversation."
The master said, "It is this old monk's fault."
The Military Commissioner of Min presented a silver folding chair. A monk asked, "Having received such an offering from the Great Prince, how will the upādhyāya repay him?"
The master propped his hands against the ground and said, "Beat me lightly!" (A monk asked Shushan, "Xuefeng said, 'Beat me lightly.' What was the meaning?" Shushan said, "Sticking pickled melon on the head; the hanging tail touches the heels.")
[A monk] asked, "What about when one swallows Vairocana whole?"
The master said, "Did you return safely from Futang?"
The master said to the assembly, "If I speak of east and west, you chase after words and pursue phrases. If I act like an antelope hanging by its horns, where will you grope for me?" (A monk asked Baofu, "When Xuefeng had no verbal teaching and just acted like an antelope hanging by its horns, what then?" Baofu said, "Could it be that you cannot become Xuefeng's minor disciple?")
The master dwelt in Minchuan for more than forty years, and the students in winter and summer were never fewer than fifteen hundred. In the second year of Kaiping of the Liang (wuchen, 908 CE), in the spring, the third month, he showed signs of illness. The Military Commissioner of Min ordered a physician to examine him. The master said, "I have no illness," and in the end did not take the medicine. He left a verse transmitting the Dharma. In summer, on the second day of the fifth month, he went for an excursion to Lantian in the morning. In the evening, he returned and bathed. At midnight, he entered extinction. His age was eighty-seven; his monastic age was fifty-nine.
16.6
Chan Master Huigong of Ruilong Cloister in Tiantai was a native of Fuzhou surnamed Luo. His family had been literati for generations. At age seventeen, he was recommended as a jinshi and went with the tributary cohort to the capital. While visiting Fengri Temple on Mount Zhongnan, the master saw an image left behind of an ancestral master, whereupon he sought to leave home. At twenty-two he received the precepts. Travelling about, he visited Chan Master [Xuan]jian of Deshan. Deshan asked, "Do you understand?" Gong said, "What?" Deshan said, "Please let us see each other." Gong said, "Do you recognize [me]?" Deshan laughed loudly, and [Huigong] then entered his room. After Deshan's passing, [Huigong] went with his disciples to Ruilong Cloister in Tiantai and extensively opened the Dharma seat. In the third year of the Tianfu reign of the Tang (a guihai year, 903 CE), on the second day of the twelfth month at the hour of the horse, he ordered the assembly to sound the bell. He looked left and right and said, "I am going." Having spoken, he sat cross-legged and passed away. His age was eighty-four, his monastic age sixty-two. His disciples erected a pagoda.
16.7
The upādhyāya of Waguan in Quanzhou. Deshan asked him, "Do you understand yet?" The master said, "I do not understand." Deshan said, "You had best take care to hold to this 'not understanding'." The master said, "Not understanding—what is there to take care to hold to?" Deshan said, "You are like a lump of iron." The master then hitched up his robe [and served] Deshan.
16.8
Chan Master Gaoting Jian of Xiangzhou. When he first saw Deshan across a river, from afar he joined his palms and called out, "Greetings!" Deshan beckoned to him twice with the fan in his hand. The master was suddenly awakened, whereupon he turned sideways and left, never looking back. Later he opened the Dharma in Xiangzhou and succeeded Deshan.
16.9
Upādhyāya Ziguo of Gantan in Daning, Hongzhou. Baizhao asked, "There is a funeral at home; I ask the Master to offer condolences." The master said, "Grievous blue sky!" Zhao said, "Father has died; mother has died." The master struck him and drove him out. Whenever the master encountered monks coming, he also mostly drove them out with blows of his staff.
16.10
Dharma heirs of the former Chan Master Qingshu of Mount Shishuang in Tanzhou
16.11
Chan Master Sengyi of Mount Nanjishan in Hezhong. A monk asked, "Having the good fortune to draw near, I beg the Master for guidance." The master said, "If I were to guide you, I would be doing you an injustice." The monk said, "What should you teach this student to do that would be right?" The master said, "Above all, avoid right and wrong." He asked, "What is the breath of a patch-robed monk?" The master said, "Has it ever fumigated you?" He asked, "I do not ask about the identical; what is the distinct?" The master said, "If you want my head, you are completely free to chop it off and take it away." He asked, "Who is the master of the Dharma-body?" The master said, "It does not pass over." He further asked, "Who is the teacher of Vairocana?" The master said, "It does not transcend." The master first resided at Moshan; later the military governor of Min invited him to open the Dharma. He passed away at the Changqing Chan Yard. He was given the posthumous title Great Master Benjing, and his pagoda was called Wuchen (Dustless).
16.12
Chan Master Juhui of Mount Daguang in Tanzhou was a native of Jingzhao surnamed Wang. He first came to Shishuang's room, requesting instruction in the abbot's quarters for two years. He was then ordered to take charge of the Northern Pagoda. In hemp clothes and straw sandals, he almost forgot body and mind. One day Shishuang, wishing to test what he had attained, posed a question: "Every year the state passes scholars in the examinations; do they still get to bow before the court gates?" The master said, "There is someone who does not seek advancement." Shishuang said, "Relying on what?" The master said, "For the moment, not for fame." Shishuang also asked because of an illness, "Apart from today, is there any other time?" The master said, "He also does not say today is it." Shishuang thoroughly approved. Interrogated and tested four or five times like this, his answers were never amiss. He stayed for more than twenty years. Upāsaka Hu of Liuyang invited him to reside on Mount Daguang to expound the tenets of the school. A monk asked, "Just as Bodhidharma is an ancestor, is he or is he not?" The master said, "He is not an ancestor." The monk said, "Since he is not an ancestor, what did he come for?" The master said, "Because you do not recognize the ancestor." The monk said, "What about after recognizing him?" The master said, "Only then will you know he is not an ancestor." He asked, "How was it before chaos had divided?" The master said, "Who could the teachings of the time describe?" The master also said, "The teachings of a whole lifetime only take care of the people of that generation. Even if you peel away to the very bottom, you merely turn out to be someone who has finished the matter. You must not simply take that as the matter beneath the patch-robe. Therefore it is said: 'Forty-nine years could not clarify it; forty-nine years could not set it forth.' In general, his instructions to students were mostly like this." On the third day of the ninth month in the third year of the Tianfu reign of the Tang (a guihai year, 903 CE), he returned to stillness at the age of sixty-seven.
16.13
Chan Master Huaiyou of Qixian in Mount Lushan was a native of Xianyou in Quanzhou. He received his training under Chan Master Chen of Mount Jiuzuo. Soon after, he travelled and studied, being admitted to Shishuang's room. Having received the profound purport, he resided on Mount Xie. His Way not yet widely known, he moved to reside at Qixian. Disciples gathered in crowds. A monk asked, "What is the phrase before the Five Old Men Peaks?" The master said, "For ten thousand ages and a thousand autumns." The monk said, "In that case, does it not end up severed of succession?" The master said, "Hesitating—to whom would you give it?" A monk asked, "Having come from afar, I ask the Master to inspire me." The master said, "I also do not rely on the time." He said, "I ask the Master to rely on the time." The master said, "I also do not change." He asked, "What is 'every dharma is without difference'?" The master said, "Adding frost on top of snow." The master later died on Mount Lushan. He was given the posthumous title Great Master Xuanwu, and his pagoda was called Chuandeng (Transmission of the Lamp).
16.14
Chan Master Daoqian of Jiufeng in Junzhou was a native of Houguan in Fuzhou surnamed Liu. Having travelled through assemblies of the Dharma everywhere, he later received Shishuang's seal of transmission, and converted disciples at Jiufeng. The master took the high seat, and a monk asked, "What practice does a person in the Avīci Hell practice?" The master said, "The practice of beasts." He said, "And what practice do beasts practice?" The master said, "The practice of Avīci." He said, "This is still someone on the road of long life." The master said, "You must know there is one who does not share their life." He said, "What life does he not share?" The master said, "The breath of long life is not constant." The master also said, "Brothers, do you recognize life yet? If you wish to know life: the flowing spring is life, and still silence is the body. A thousand competing waves surging forth is Mañjuśrī's realm; a stretch of clear sky is Samantabhadra's couch. Next, borrowing a single phrase is pointing at the moon; the matter within is discussing the moon. The matter of the ancestral school from of old is like the military commissioner's token-flag. Moreover, before the former worthies of all quarters established so many designations to point out and explain, based on what substance did you brothers deliberate up to this point? Without relying on three inches [of tongue], try discussing it and see! Without relying on the ear-faculty, try listening to it and see! Without relying on the eyes, try discerning it and see! Therefore it is said: 'Before the sound, it cannot be cast out; behind the phrase, it does not conceal its form.' The entire universe, all of it, is your own person's substance. Where can you place eyes, ears, nose, and tongue? Do not merely scheme and form interpretations beneath the faculty of mind; to the end of future time there will still be no time of rest. Therefore an ancient said: 'Intending to use mind and thought to study the mysterious school / Is like wanting to travel west yet turning east.' At that time a monk asked, "When there is no news from the ninefold palace, whence does the gracious amnesty come?" The master said, "Though the streaming light is everywhere, inside the palace gates it is not complete." He said, "How far apart are the streaming light and the inside of the palace gates?" The master said, "Clear waters churn with waves; green mountains have verdant beauty." He asked, "Everyone says they seek instruction; I wonder how the Master will deliver them?" The master said, "Tell me, has the great mountain ever lacked an inch of earth?" He said, "If so, what is the purpose of seeking across the four seas?" The master said, "Yajñadatta, deluded about his head, became crazy in his own mind." He said, "Is there also one who is not crazy?" The master said, "There is." He said, "Who is the one who is not crazy?" The master said, "At sudden dawn on the road, his eyes do not open." He asked, "What is the student's self?" The master said, "Whom else do you ask?" He said, "What about when one accepts it just like that?" The master said, "Does Mount Sumeru carry another Mount Sumeru on its head?" He asked, "Ancestor transmits to ancestor; what Dharma do they transmit?" The master said, "Śākyamuni is stingy; Kāśyapa is rich." He said, "Ultimately, how is the thing transmitted?" The master said, "Old men of the same age share a night lamp." He asked, "'All Buddhas are not my way'—what is my way?" The master said, "My way is not all Buddhas." He said, "Since it is not all Buddhas, why set up 'my way'?" The master said, "Just now I briefly called it in; now I send it out." He said, "Why send it out?" The master said, "If not sent out, dust arises in the eyes." He asked, "Not finding it in any place—is this not being sacred?" The master said, "What sacred?" He said, "Before Niutou saw the Fourth Ancestor, was he not sacred?" The master said, "The sacred realm was not yet forgotten." He said, "How far apart are the two sages?" The master said, "Though within the dust there is an art of hiding one's form, how can one help entering the emperor's capital in full body?" He asked, "It is said in an ancient text: 'The true mind and the deluded mind.' How is that?" The master said, "This is establishing the true to reveal the deluded." He said, "What is the true mind?" The master said, "Not eating mixed foods." He said, "What is the deluded mind?" The master said, "Arising upon conditioning and turning upside down is it." He said, "Leaving aside these two paths, what is the student's original substance?" The master said, "The original substance is not apart [from them]." He said, "Why is it not apart?" The master said, "If you do not revere Śrīmahādevī, who would loathe the Dark Maiden?" He asked, "It is said in an ancient text: 'The entire universe, all of it, is an eye.' What is the eye of the universe?" The master said, "The universe is within it." He said, "Where is the eye of the universe?" The master said, "It is precisely the eye of the universe." He said, "Does it still illuminate?" The master said, "It does not borrow the power of the three luminaries." He said, "Since it does not borrow the power of the three luminaries, on what basis is it called the eye of the universe?" The master said, "If it were not so, those who see ghosts before a skull would be countless." He asked, "Why is it that with a single brush of colors one cannot portray it?" The master said, "Sengyou yielded to Zhigong." He said, "I wonder from whom Sengyou obtained verification that he yielded to Zhigong?" The master said, "A black tortoise bows its head to the Sumeru pillar." He asked, "'Moving the countenance, one sinks into the ancient road; / Only when the body is lost does one know it.' What is the meaning of this?" The master said, "Stealing the Buddha's money to buy the Buddha's incense." He said, "The student does not understand." The master said, "If you do not understand, then burn incense to make offerings to your original father and mother." Later the master resided at Letan, where he passed away. He was given the posthumous title Chan Master Dajue, and his pagoda was called Yuanji (Complete Stillness).
16.15
Chan Master Jingxin of Yongquan in Taizhou was a native of Xianyou in Quanzhou. He originally undertook his training at Mount Baiyun. Having received instruction from Shishuang, he settled at the hermitage of Yongquan in Danqiu. One day, the master was eating without wearing his kāṣāya. A monk asked, "Are you not becoming a layman?" The master said, "Right now, am I a monk?" The two Chan travelers Qiang and De arrived. On the road they saw the master riding an ox; not recognizing the master, [one] said, "The hooves and horns are very clear, but what can be done if the rider does not know?" The master urged his ox on and left. The two Chan travelers rested under a tree and boiled tea. The master turned back, dismounted the ox, approached, offered greetings, and sat with them to drink tea. The master asked, "Where have the two Chan travelers recently departed from?" They said, "Departed from that side." The master said, "What about the matter on that side?" One of them lifted up his teacup. The master said, "This is still this side; what about the matter on that side?" The two had no reply. The master said, "Do not say the rider does not know!"
16.16
Zhiyuan of Mount Yunggai in Tanzhou was titled Great Master Yuanjing. While travelling on pilgrimage, he asked Yunju, "What about when Zhiyuan cannot do anything about it?" Yunju said, "It is only because of where your efforts, Ācārya, do not reach." The master withdrew without bowing. He then visited Shishuang and asked as before. Shishuang said, "Not only you, Ācārya; this old monk also cannot do anything about it." The master said, "Why can the Upādhyāya not do anything about it?" Shishuang said, "If this old monk could do something about it, I would have taken away your inability to do anything about it." (There was another dialogue; it appears in the chapter on Shishuang.) A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The master said, "The yellow-faced one is it." He said, "What is the Dharma?" The master said, "What is in the canon is it." He asked, "How was it before Dīpaṃkara appeared?" The master said, "It cannot be obscured." He asked, "Why does the snake swallow the snake charmer?" The master said, "The color throughout the body is not the same." He asked, "What is a patch-robed monk?" The master said, "Searching and inquiring, visiting the Way."
16.17
Chan Master Cang of Gushan in Tanzhou. A monk asked, "Are the ancestral intention and the doctrinal intention one or two?" The master said, "Blue sky and bright sun; heavy frost at midnight."
16.18
Chan Master Hongjian of Mount Fuchuan in Fuzhou. A monk asked, "What is the original face?" The Master closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, then opened his eyes and stuck out his tongue again. The monk said, "Does the original possess as many faces as this?" The Master said, "What did you just see?" [The monk] asked, "When meeting a person who has attained the Way on the road, one does not greet them with speech or silence; I wonder, what does one greet them with?" The Master said, "This old monk also does so." Three days before the Master was to manifest passing away, he ordered the attendant to summon the first seat. The Master lay down and uttered a breath. The first seat called the attendant and said, "The upādhyāya is thirsty and wants some decoction or water to drink." The Master then lay down facing the wall. When his end drew near, he ordered the assembly to gather, then spread out both hands, stuck out his tongue, and showed it to them. At that time, the third seat said, "Everyone, the upādhyāya's root of the tongue has stiffened." The Master said, "How bitter, how bitter! It is truly as the third seat says: the root of the tongue is stiffening away." Having spoken this again, he announced his passing. He was given the posthumous title Great Master Shaolong, and his pagoda was named Guangji.
16.19
Great Master Huikong, Cunde of Deshan in Langzhou (abbot of the sixth generation). A monk asked, "What is the one phrase?" The Master said, "Ask again, please." [The monk] asked, "What is the upādhyāya's saindhava?" The Master said, "Last night at the third watch, I saw the bright moon."
16.20
Upādhyāya Chong'en of Jizhou. A monk asked, "Are the ancestral intention and the doctrinal intention one or two?" The Master said, "Although there is a moon at Shaolin, the Congling mountains do not pierce the clouds."
16.21
Chan Master Hui of Shishuang (abbot of the third generation). A monk asked, "When the Buddha appeared in the world, he first liberated the five companions. When the upādhyāya appears in the world, whom do you liberate first?" The Master said, "I do not liberate anyone at all." [The monk] said, "Why do you not liberate them?" The Master said, "Because they are not the five companions." [The monk] asked, "What is the upādhyāya's house style?" The Master said, "Bamboo chopsticks and an earthenware bowl."
16.22
Upādhyāya Bajiao of Yingzhou. A monk asked, "How is the ancestral vehicle of old proclaimed?" The Master said, "It has already been seen through by a bystander with cold eyes." [The monk] asked, "Without falling into the various conditions, please, Master, point directly." The Master said, "There is a question and there is an answer." [The monk] asked, "What is the upādhyāya's one phrase for instructing people?" The Master said, "I only fear that the ācārya will not ask."
16.23
Great Master Huijue, Upādhyāya Fu of Feitian in Tanzhou. A monk asked, "What is this place called?" The Master said, "Feitian (fertile field)." [The monk] said, "What is it suitable for?" The Master struck him with his staff and drove him away.
16.24
Chan Master Hui of Lu'yuan in Tanzhou. A monk asked, "Without relying on various conditions, please speak, monk." The Master struck the brazier. The monk said, "At the intimate point, please offer one more word." The Master said, "Do not talk in your sleep." [The monk] asked, "How was it before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?" The Master said, "Like the moon in the water." [The monk] said, "How about after meeting him?" The Master said, "Like water in the moon." [The monk] asked, "The patriarchs transmitted to one another; I wonder, what did they transmit?" The Master said, "You ask me, I ask you." The monk said, "If so, then monastic and lay are not distinguished." The Master said, "Where have you been?"
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- 景德傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese