景德傳燈錄 5.47

5.47

Chan Master Xingxi of Mount Qingyuan in Jizhou was a native of Ancheng in that prefecture, surnamed Liu. He left home in his youth. Whenever people gathered in groups to discuss the Way, the master alone remained silent. Later, hearing of the Dharma assembly at Caoxi, he went to pay homage. He asked, 'What should one attend to so as not to fall into stages?' The Patriarch asked, 'What have you ever done?' The master said, 'I do not even practice the noble truths.' The Patriarch said, 'What stages do you fall into?' He said, 'If one does not even practice the noble truths, what stages could there be?' The Patriarch deeply valued his capacity. Although the students in the assembly were numerous, the master ranked at their head, just as when the Second Patriarch said nothing, Shaolin declared that he had attained the marrow. One day, the Patriarch said to the master, 'From ancient times, robe and Dharma have traveled together, conferred from master to disciple in turn. The robe serves as a token of faith; the Dharma seals the mind. Now that I have found the right person, why worry about a lack of faith? Ever since I received the robe, I have met with so many hardships; how much more will there surely be disputes in future generations! The robe shall remain to guard the mountain gate. You should go forth to transform a region; do not allow it to be cut off.' Having attained the Dharma, the master resided at Jingju Monastery on Mount Qingyuan in Jizhou. When the Sixth Patriarch was about to manifest extinction, the novice Xiqian (who was Upādhyāya Shitou of Nanyue) asked, 'After the Upādhyāya's passing, whom should Xiqian rely upon?' The Patriarch said, 'Go seek Si (Xingxi) / [Take it into deep thought (xunsi)].' When the Patriarch passed from the world, Qian would sit upright in a quiet place, quiescent as if he had forgotten his own existence. The first seat asked, 'Your master has already passed; what are you doing sitting in vain?' Qian said, 'I am following the final instructions, and therefore seeking Si [or: taking it into deep thought].' The first seat said, 'You have a senior Dharma-brother, Upādhyāya Xingxi, who now resides in Jizhou. Your conditions lie with him. The Master's words were very direct; you were deluding yourself.' Hearing these words, Qian bowed in farewell to the Patriarch's shrine and went straight to Jingju. The master asked, 'Where have you come from?' Qian said, 'From Caoxi.' The master said, 'What have you brought with you?' He said, 'Even before going to Caoxi, it was not lost.' The master said, 'If so, what was the use of going to Caoxi?' He said, 'If I had not gone to Caoxi, how could I know it was not lost?' Qian asked further, 'Does the Great Master of Caoxi still know the Upādhyāya?' The master said, 'Do you know me now?' He said, 'Even if I know you, how could I know you?' The master said, 'Though horns are many, a single unicorn is enough.' Qian asked again, 'How long has it been since the Upādhyāya left the Ridge?' The master said, 'I do not know. How recently did you leave Caoxi?' He said, 'Xiqian does not come from Caoxi.' The master said, 'I already know where you are going.' He said, 'Fortunately the Upādhyāya is an elder; do not be rash.' On another day, the master again asked Qian, 'Where do you come from?' He said, 'From Caoxi.' The master raised his whisk and said, 'Is there still this at Caoxi?' He said, 'Not only is it not at Caoxi, it is not in the Western Heavens (India) either.' The master said, 'Could it be that you have not been to the Western Heavens?' He said, 'If I had been there, it would exist.' The master said, 'Not yet there; speak further.' He said, 'The Upādhyāya must also speak half of it; do not rely entirely on the student.' The master said, 'I do not refuse to speak to you, but I fear that later on no one will bear it.' The master ordered Xiqian to carry a letter to Upādhyāya Rang of Nanyue, saying, 'Once you deliver the letter, return quickly. I have a blunt ax to give you to dwell on the mountain.' When Qian arrived there, before presenting the letter, he asked, 'How is it when one does not admire the sages and does not value one's own spirit?' Rang said, 'You ask too high; why not ask downward?' Qian said, 'I would rather sink for eternal kalpas than seek the liberation of the sages.' Rang then desisted. Qian returned to Jingju. The master asked, 'You have not been gone long; was the letter delivered?' Qian said, 'No message was conveyed, nor was the letter delivered.' The master said, 'How so?' Qian related the previous exchange, and then said, 'When departing, I was favored with the Upādhyāya's promise of a blunt ax; please produce it now.' The master lowered one foot. Qian made a prostration and soon bid farewell to go to Nanyue. (Xuansha said, 'Great and small Upādhyāya Shitou was pushed over by Master Rang, and to this day he cannot get up.') When Heze Shenhui came to visit, the master asked, 'Where do you come from?' Hui said, 'From Caoxi.' The master said, 'What is the essential meaning of Caoxi?' Hui merely shook his body. The master said, 'You are still lingering in tiles and rubble.' Hui said, 'Does the Upādhyāya here not have real gold to give someone?' The master said, 'Even if I had it, where would you put it?' (Xuansha said, 'Indeed!' Yunju Xi said, 'Just as Xuansha said "indeed"—is it real gold, or is it tiles and rubble?') A monk asked, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The master said, 'What is the price of rice in Luling?' Having transmitted the Dharma to Shitou, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of the gengchen year, the twenty-eighth year of Kaiyuan of the Tang, the master ascended the hall, addressed the assembly, sat cross-legged, and passed away. Emperor Xizong bestowed the posthumous title 'Chan Master Hongji' and the stupa name 'Guizhen' (Return to Truth).