景德傳燈錄 23.8

23.8

Great Master Chonghui Shouchu of Dongshan in Xiangzhou initially studied under Yunmen. Yunmen asked, “Where did you leave recently?”
The master said, “Zhadu.”
Yunmen said, “Where did you spend the summer retreat?”
The master said, “Baoci in Hunan.”
Yunmen said, “When did you leave there?”
The master said, “The twenty-fifth day of the eighth month.”
Yunmen said, “I give you thirty blows of the staff [to reflect upon].”
The next day the master went back to inquire [of him], saying, “Yesterday I received the upādhyāya’s thirty blows of the staff, but I do not know where my fault lay.”
Yunmen said, “Rice bag! Jiangxi and Hunan were just like that!”
At these words the master had a great awakening. He then said, “From this day forward, I will go to a crossroads; I will not store a single grain of rice, nor plant a single stalk of vegetables. I will receive those coming and going from the ten directions, one by one, and make them take off their greasy caps and cast off their foul-smelling hemp robes, making them completely unbound, clear-eyed patch-robed monks! Would that not be delightful?”
Yunmen said, “Rice bag! Your body is as big as a coconut, yet you open such a huge mouth!”
After the master took up residence [as abbot], a monk asked, “How is it when one travels the distant road?”
The master said, “When the sky is clear you are unwilling to go; you just wait until the rain pours down on your head.”
[The monk] asked, “What about the sages?”
The master said, “Entering the mud and entering the water.”
[A monk] asked, “When the mind has not yet arisen, where are phenomena?”
The master said, “When the wind blows and the lotus leaves move, there are definitely fish swimming.”
[A monk] asked, “The master has mounted the lion seat; please, master, chant the sentiments of the Way.”
The master said, “When it is dry and sunny, opening a water channel; when there is nothing to do, establishing a government bureau.”
[The monk] said, “Then I thank the master for your pointing out.”
The master said, “The old woman selling shoes has trembling feet.”
[A monk] asked, “What are the Three Jewels?”
The master said, “They cannot be settled by discussion.”
[A monk] asked, “What is the seamless stūpa?”
The master said, “The stone lion at the crossroads.”
[A monk] asked, “What is the Dharma that avoids birth and death?”
The master said, “See it and do not grasp it; ponder it for three years.”
[A monk] asked, “Leaving aside mind, intellect, and consciousness, please give a phrase, master.”
The master said, “A Daoist priest wearing yellow sits inside an earthen jar.”
[A monk] asked, “Seeing you at an improper time, please give a phrase, master.”
The master said, “Everywhere, how do they bring it up?”
[The monk] said, “They bring it up according to what is presently fixed.”
The master said, “I give you thirty blows of the staff.”
[The monk] said, “Where is the fault?”
The master said, “An offense is not punished twice.”
[A monk] asked, “How is it before the lotus flower emerges from the water?”
The master said, “The peak of Mount Chu is turned upside down.”
[The monk] said, “How is it after it emerges from the water?”
The master said, “The Han River flows straight to the east.”
[A monk] asked, “What is the sword that cuts a blowing hair?”
The master said, “A guest nun from Jinzhou.”
[A monk] asked, “How is it when the cart stops but the ox does not stop?”
The master said, “What use is the cart driver?”
[A monk] asked, “What is the matter that pertains to a patch-robed monk?”
The master said, “The peak of Mount Chu amidst the clouds is sure to have much wind and rain.”
[A monk] asked, “How is it when the sea dries up and the person dies?”
The master said, “Rare to attain.”
[The monk] said, “How is it when one goes on just like that?”
The master said, “Clouds are in the blue sky; water is in the pitcher.”
[A monk] asked, “When both existence and non-existence are extinguished, and both provisional and ultimate are forgotten, how is it ultimately?”
The master said, “The peak of Mount Chu is turned upside down.”
[The monk] said, “Do you still permit the student to comprehend it?”
The master said, “There are also skillful means.”
[The monk] said, “Please, master, [give] a skillful means.”
The master said, “A thousand miles, ten thousand miles.”
[A monk] asked, “How was it before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?”
The master said, “A staff of staff-wood.”
[The monk] said, “How was it after meeting him?”
The master said, “Dou the Eighth’s cloth robe.”
[A monk] asked, “What is Buddha?”
The master said, “Clearly true and accurate.”
[A monk] asked, “When all conditions are at rest, what is the meaning?”
The master said, “The stone man inside the jar sells date cakes.”
[A monk] asked, “What is Dongshan’s sword?”
The master said, “What?”
The monk said, “The student wishes to know.”
The master said, “Sinful error!”
[A monk] asked, “When heaven and earth are paid no heed, and the universe is left without mind, the student is just like this; what about you, master?”
The master said, “Fog rises at the Xianshan Pavilion; the rapid shallows do not keep the boat.”
[A monk] asked, “The great assembly has gathered like clouds. Please, master, grasp the pivotal essence and briefly bring forth the main outline.”
The master said, “Floating foam on the water displays five colors; toads at the bottom of the sea croak at the bright moon.”
[A monk] asked, “Just at such a time, where are Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra?”
The master said, “The elder is eighty-one; his tree bears no ears [of fungus].”
[The monk] said, “What is the meaning?”
The master said, “One does not succeed; two is not right.”