景德傳燈錄 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

6.1

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Huairang of Nanyue
First Generation: nine persons
Chan Master Daoyi of Jiangxi (one person recorded; surname Ma; called Mazu at the time)
Chan Master Changhao of Nanyue
Chan Master Zhida
Chan Master Tanran
Chan Master Shenzhao of Chaozhou
Chan Master Yanjun of Daming Monastery in Yangzhou
Chan Master Benru of the kingdom of Silla
Chan Master Xuansheng
Chan Master Fakong of Mount Dongwu (the above eight persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)
Second Generation: thirty-seven persons (Dharma heirs of Mazu)
Chan Master Dazhu Huihai of Yuezhou
Chan Master Fahui of Mount Letan in Hongzhou
Chan Master Zhijian of Mount Shanshan in Chizhou
Chan Master Weijian of Letan in Hongzhou
Chan Master Daoxing of Mingxi in Lizhou
Chan Master Huizang of Shigong in Fuzhou
Chan Master Daotong of Mount Ziyu in Tangzhou
Chan Master Rang of Beilan in Jiangxi
Chan Master Fuguang Ruman of Luojing
Chan Master Daoming of Nanyuan in Yuanzhou
Chan Master Ziman of Licun in Xinzhou
Chan Master Hong'en of Zhongyi in Langzhou
Chan Master Huaihai of Mount Baizhang in Hongzhou (Monastic Regulations of the Chan Gate appended; the above thirteen persons are recorded)
Chan Master Haoying
Chan Master Chongtai
Chan Master Xiaoran of Mount Wangmu
Chan Master Ce of Fuqi Monastery in Huazhou
Chan Master Zhicong of the Songzi Stūpa in Lizhou
Chan Master Shenjian of Mount Yunxiu in Tangzhou
Chan Master Zhitong of Qiling Monastery in Yangzhou
Chan Master Zhizang of Kengzhou
Chan Master Huaitao of Jingzhao
Chan Master Fazang of Chuzhou
Chan Master Huaize of Hezhong Prefecture
Chan Master Minggan of Changzhou
Chan Master Hongtan of Ezhou
Chan Master Huaitan of Xiangyuan
Chan Master Yuanli of Qinglian in Lu Prefecture
Chan Master Baoqing of Hezhong Prefecture
Chan Master Zhixian of Ganquan
Chan Master Daowu of Mount Dahui
Chan Master Farou of Lu Prefecture
Chan Master Jueping of Xiantong Monastery in Jingzhao
Chan Master Shengbian of Yixing
Chan Master Qingyun of Hailing
Chan Master Xuanxu of Kaiyuan Monastery in Hongzhou (the above twenty-three persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)

6.2

First Generation of Chan Master Huairang

6.3

Chan Master Daoyi of Jiangxi was a native of Shifang in Hanzhou. His surname was Ma. His appearance was extraordinary: he walked like an ox and glared like a tiger; he could extend his tongue past his nose, and on the soles of his feet were two wheel marks. In his youth, he had his head shaved under Upādhyāya Tang of Zizhou, and received the full precepts from Vinaya Master Yuan of Yuzhou. During the Kaiyuan era of the Tang, he practiced Chan meditation at the Chuanfa Cloister on Mount Heng. There he met Upādhyāya [Huai]rang. Among the nine fellow practitioners, only the Master secretly received the mind-seal. (Rang's [lineage] to [Dao]yi is just like [Xing]si's to [Xi]qian. They share the same source but branch differently; thus the flourishing of Chan practice began with these two masters. Liu Ke said: "Jiangxi is led by Daji, and Hunan is led by Shitou. Going back and forth in confusion without seeing these two great masters constitutes ignorance." Prajñātāra of the Western Heavens prophesied to Bodhidharma, saying: "Though the land of Cīnasthāna is broad, there is no other way; it must depend on the travel beneath the feet of your nephew and grandson. A golden cock will be able to hold a single grain of rice in its beak, making offerings to the arhat monks of the ten directions." Furthermore, the Sixth Patriarch, Upādhyāya [Hui]neng, said to [Huai]rang: "In the future, the Buddhadharma will go forth from your side: a colt will trample and kill people all under heaven." Later, his Dharma heirs in Jiangxi spread throughout the world, and at the time he was called Mazu.) He moved first from Fo'jiling in Jianyang to Linchuan, and next to Mount Gonggong in Nankang. During the Dali era, his name was registered at the Kaiyuan Hermitage. At that time, the Circuit Commander Lu Sigong, having heard of his reputation and admiring his conduct, personally received the essential teaching. From then on, students from the four directions gathered like clouds beneath his seat. One day he addressed the assembly, saying: "Each of you should believe that your own mind is Buddha. This very mind is the Buddha-mind. When the Great Master Bodhidharma came from Southern India and personally arrived in China, he transmitted the supreme Dharma of the one mind to make you all awaken. He also cited passages from the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra to seal the mind-ground of sentient beings, fearing that you would be inverted and would not believe yourselves that each possesses this Dharma of the mind. Therefore, the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra states: 'The Buddha's word takes mind as the source, and gatelessness as the Dharma-gate.' It also says: 'He who seeks the Dharma should seek nothing.' Outside of mind there is no other Buddha; outside of Buddha there is no other mind. Neither grasp the good nor abandon the bad; do not depend upon either the pure or the defiled. Comprehend that the nature of sin is empty and cannot be grasped from moment to moment, because it lacks self-nature. Therefore, the three realms are mind-only; the myriad phenomena are sealed by the single Dharma. All forms that are seen are seeing mind. Mind is not mind of itself; it exists because of form. You need only speak in accord with the occasion: the concrete and the principle are both without obstruction. The fruition of the path to bodhi is also like this. What is produced in the mind is called form; knowing that form is empty, arising is non-arising. If you comprehend this mind, you can then wear clothes and eat food in accord with the occasion, nourishing the sacred embryo and letting things take their course as time passes. What else is there? Receive my teaching and listen to my verse:"

6.4

"The mind-ground speaks in accord with the occasion;
Bodhi is also just thus.
Phenomena and principle are both unobstructed;
That which is arising is non-arising."

6.5

A monk asked, "Why does the Upādhyāya say 'mind itself is Buddha'?" The Master said, "To stop a small child's crying." The monk said, "What about when the crying has stopped?" The Master said, "Not mind, not Buddha." The monk said, "Aside from these two kinds of people, how do you instruct someone who comes?" The Master said, "I tell him, 'It is not a thing.'" The monk said, "What about if someone who is within it suddenly comes?" The Master said, "For the time being, I teach him to experience the Great Way." A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the [Patriarch's] coming from the West?" The Master said, "Right now, what is the meaning?" Layman Pang asked, "Water has no sinews or bones, yet it can support a ship of ten thousand bushels. What is the principle of this?" The Master said, "Here there is neither water nor ship; what sinews and bones are you talking about?" One day the Master ascended the hall. After a long pause, Baizhang rolled up the mat in front of him. The Master then left the hall. Baizhang asked, "What is the essential purport of the Buddhadharma?" The Master said, "It is precisely where you let go of your body and life." The Master asked Baizhang, "With what Dharma do you instruct people?" Baizhang held up his whisk. The Master said, "Is it only this, or is there something else?" Baizhang threw down the whisk. A monk asked, "How can one accord with the Way?" The Master said, "I have long been out of accord with the Way." A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the [Patriarch's] coming from the West?" The Master struck him and said, "If I did not strike you, the various quarters would laugh at me." A novice returned from his travels, drew a circular figure in front of the Master, bowed upon it, and stood there. The Master said, "Do you not wish to become a Buddha?" [The novice] said, "I do not know how to rub my eyes [to create illusions]." The Master said, "I am not as good as you." The novice made no reply. Deng Yinfeng took his leave of the Master. The Master said, "Where are you going?" He replied, "To Shitou." The Master said, "The path of Shitou is slippery." He replied, "Carrying a pole on my person, I play my role as the occasion arises," and departed. As soon as he reached Shitou, he circled the meditation platform once, shook his staff once, and asked, "What is the central teaching?" Shitou said, "Heaven! Heaven!" Yinfeng was speechless. He returned and related this to the Master. The Master said, "Go again. When you see him say 'Heaven,' you then sigh twice: 'Xu, xu!'" Yinfeng went to Shitou again and asked as before, "What is the central teaching?" Shitou then sighed, "Xu, xu!" Yinfeng was again speechless. He returned. The Master said, "I told you: the path of Shitou is slippery." A monk drew four strokes in front of the Master, one long on top and three short below, and asked, "You may not say 'one long and three short.' Aside from these four words, please answer, Upādhyāya." The Master then drew one stroke on the ground and said, "You may not say long or short. I have answered you." (National Teacher Zhong, hearing of this, said differently: "Why did he not ask this old monk?") A lecturing monk came and asked, "I do not know what Dharma the Chan school transmits and upholds?" The Master asked in return, "What Dharma does the lecturer transmit and uphold?" The other said, "I have humbly lectured on more than twenty volumes of sūtras and treatises." The Master said, "Could you not be a lion's cub?" He said, "I would not dare." The Master made a sound: "Xu, xu!" The other said, "This is the Dharma." The Master said, "What Dharma is it?" He said, "The Dharma of the lion leaving the cave." The Master then remained silent. The other said, "This is also the Dharma." The Master said, "What Dharma is it?" He said, "The Dharma of the lion in the cave." The Master said, "When neither leaving nor entering, what Dharma is it?" There was no reply. (Baizhang said on his behalf, "Do you see?") He then took his leave and went out the door. The Master called, "Lecturer!" The other turned his head. The Master said, "What is it?" There was still no reply. The Master said, "This dull-rooted fellow!" The Surveillance Commissioner of Hongzhou asked, "If your disciple eats wine and meat, is that right, or is not eating them right?" The Master said, "If you eat them, that is the Vice Censor-in-Chief's salary; if you do not eat them, that is the Vice Censor-in-Chief's blessing." The Master had one hundred and thirty-nine disciples who entered his room, each becoming a leader of a region and transforming others boundlessly. In the first month of the fourth year of the Zhenyuan era, the Master ascended Mount Shimen in Jianchang and walked in the woods. Seeing a flat area in a ravine, he said to his attendant, "My decaying body will return to this ground next month." Having spoken, he returned. On the fourth day of the second month, he indeed had a slight illness. After bathing, he sat cross-legged and entered extinction. During the Yuanhe era, he was posthumously granted the title Chan Master Daji, and his stūpa was named Dazhuangyan. Today, his memorial hall remains in Haihun County. (The Biographies of Eminent Monks records: "Chan Master Dajue. According to the stūpa inscription composed by Quan Deyu, Mazu passed away at Kaiyuan Monastery and was cremated at Shimen, where a stūpa was erected. In the seventh month of the fourth year of Dazhong, after the Huichang suppression, Emperor Xuanzong decreed that Pei Xiu, Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi, rebuild the stūpa and monastery, bestowing the plaque name Baofeng.")

6.6

Second Generation of Chan Master Huairang: Dharma Heirs of Mazu

6.7

Chan Master Dazhu Huihai of Yuezhou was a native of Jianzhou, surnamed Zhu. He received his training under Upādhyāya Daozhi at Dayun Monastery in Yuezhou. When he first arrived in Jiangxi to call upon Mazu, Mazu asked him, "Where have you come from?" He replied, "I have come from Dayun Monastery in Yuezhou." Mazu asked, "What do you intend to seek by coming here?" He replied, "I have come seeking the Buddha Dharma." Mazu said, "Ignoring your own treasury and throwing away your home to run wandering about—what are you doing? I do not have a single thing here. What Buddha Dharma are you seeking?" The Master then bowed and asked, "Which is Huihai's own treasury?" Mazu said, "That which is right now asking me is your treasury. Everything is fully provided, lacking nothing whatsoever. You can use it freely—why rely on seeking outside?" Upon these words, the Master recognised his own original mind without relying on intellection. Leaping for joy, he bowed in gratitude. He served his master for six years. Later, because the teacher under whom he had trained had grown old, he hurriedly returned to attend upon him. Thereupon, obscuring his traces and hiding his function, he outwardly appeared foolish and slow of speech. He composed the one-fascicle *Essentials of Entering the Path through Sudden Enlightenment*. His fellow Dharma-nephew Xuanyan secretly carried it beyond the river and presented it to Mazu. After reading it through, Mazu addressed the assembly, saying, "In Yuezhou there is a Great Pearl (Dazhu); its round brilliance is pellucid and unhindered, freely without obstruction." In the assembly there were those who knew that the Master was surnamed Zhu. Telling one another and deducing who it was, they formed companionships and went to Yue to seek him out and attach themselves to him. (His being called at that time Upādhyāya Dazhu was because Mazu had pointed him out.) The Master said to them, "Chan guests, I do not understand Chan, nor do I have a single dharma to show to people. Therefore, do not trouble yourselves to stand for long; go and rest yourselves." At that time, his fellow students gradually increased, knocking and questioning day and night. Things being unavoidable, he answered according to their questions, his eloquence without impediment. (His extensive sayings appear in a separate fascicle.) At that time several Dharma masters came to visit and said, "We intend to put forward a question; would the Master be willing to answer?" The Master said, "The moon's reflection in a deep pool—handle and touch it as you please." They asked, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "Facing directly across the clear pool—who is it if not the Buddha?" The assembly was all bewildered. (Fayan said, "To be 'is' has no connection.") After a long pause, the monk asked again, "What dharma does the Master preach to save people?" The Master said, "This poor monk has never had a single dharma to save people." The monk said, "The house of Chan masters is entirely like this." The Master asked back, "What dharma does the Venerable preach to save people?" He replied, "I lecture on the *Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*." The Master asked, "How many lecture series have you given?" He replied, "More than twenty series." The Master asked, "Who preached this sūtra?" The monk raised his voice and said, "The Chan master is mocking me! How could you not know that it was preached by the Buddha?" The Master said, "'If one says that the Tathāgata has preached any dharma, that is slandering the Buddha, and this person does not understand the meaning of what I have preached.' If you say that this sūtra was not preached by the Buddha, that is slandering the sūtra. Please explain, Venerable." There was no answer. After a short while, the Master asked again, "The sūtra says, 'If one sees me through form or seeks me through sound, this person walks a false path and cannot see the Tathāgata.' Let the Venerable say: which is the Tathāgata?" He replied, "At this point, I am confused instead." The Master said, "Never having been enlightened, what do you mean by 'confused instead'?" The monk said, "Please let the Chan master explain it for me." The Master said, "The Venerable has lectured on the sūtra for more than twenty series, yet does not recognise the Tathāgata!" The monk bowed again and said, "May you deign to give instruction." The Master said, "'Tathāgata' means the suchness (tathatā) of all dharmas. How could you forget that?" He said, "Yes, it is the suchness of all dharmas." The Master said, "Venerable, 'yes' is still not it." He said, "The sūtra text is clear; how could it not be it?" The Master said, "Is the Venerable 'such'?" He said, "Such." The Master said, "Are wood and stone 'such'?" He said, "Such." The Master said, "Is the Venerable's suchness the same as the suchness of wood and stone?" He said, "Not two." The Master said, "What is the difference between the Venerable and wood or stone?" The monk had no answer. After a long pause, he asked instead, "How does one attain great nirvāṇa?" The Master said, "By not creating the karma of birth-and-death." The monk asked, "What is the karma of birth-and-death?" The Master said, "Seeking great nirvāṇa is the karma of birth-and-death. Abandoning defilement and grasping purity is the karma of birth-and-death. Having attainment and realization is the karma of birth-and-death. Not breaking free from the gates of antidotes is the karma of birth-and-death." The monk asked, "How then does one attain liberation?" The Master said, "Originally there is no bondage; there is no need to seek liberation. Straightforward function and straightforward action are the unequalled." The monk said, "One such as the Chan master Upādhyāya is truly rare!" He bowed in gratitude and departed. A practitioner asked, "'Mind is Buddha'—which is the Buddha?" The Master said, "Which do you doubt is not the Buddha? Point it out and let us see." There was no answer. The Master said, "When one reaches it, the entire realm is it; when one is not enlightened, it is forever remote and alienated." Vinaya Master Faming said to the Master, "Chan masters mostly fall into emptiness." The Master said, "On the contrary, lecturers mostly fall into emptiness." Faming was greatly astonished and said, "How do we fall into emptiness?" The Master said, "The sūtras and treatises are paper and ink words. Paper and ink words are all empty. When, on the basis of sound, words, phrases, and such dharmas are established, none of them are not empty. The lecturer clings stubbornly to the teaching-vehicle; how could you not fall into emptiness?" Faming said, "Does the Chan master fall into emptiness?" The Master said, "I do not fall into emptiness." Faming asked, "Why do you not fall into emptiness?" The Master said, "Words and letters all arise from wisdom. When great function appears before us, how could it fall into emptiness?" Faming said, "Therefore I know: if one dharma is not reached, one is not called Siddhā." The Master said, "The Vinaya master not only falls into emptiness, but also mistakenly uses names and expressions." Faming changed countenance and asked, "Where is the mistake?" The Master said, "The Vinaya master has not distinguished between the sounds of China and India—how can you lecture and preach?" Faming said, "Please, Chan master, point out Faming's mistake." The Master said, "How could you not know that Siddhā is a Sanskrit word?" Although the Vinaya master realized his error, his mind was still indignant. (In full Sanskrit, it is *sarvārthasiddha*, translated in China as 'the accomplishment of all purposes'. The old translation 'Siddhārtha' was still an erroneous abbreviation of the Sanskrit.) He asked again, "The sūtras, vinaya, and abhidharma are the Buddha's words. Reading, reciting, and practicing according to the teachings—why does one not see the nature?" The Master said, "Like a mad dog chasing a clod, while a lion bites the person. The sūtras, vinaya, and abhidharma are the functions of one's own nature; the one who reads and recites is the nature-dharma." Faming asked, "Does Amitābha Buddha have parents and a surname?" The Master said, "Amitābha's surname is Kauśika; his father's name is Candrottara, and his mother's name is Viśiṣṭarūpā." Faming asked, "From what scriptural text does this appear?" The Master said, "It appears in the *Collection of Dhāraṇīs*." Faming bowed in thanks, praised him, and withdrew. A Tripiṭaka master asked, "Does true suchness have mutability?" The Master said, "It has mutability." The Tripiṭaka master said, "The Chan master is mistaken." The Master asked the Tripiṭaka master in turn, "Is there true suchness?" He replied, "There is." The Master said, "If there were no mutability, you would definitely be an ordinary monk. Have you not heard: a kalyāṇamitra can turn the three poisons into the three groups of pure precepts, turn the six consciousnesses into the six supernormal powers, turn afflictions into bodhi, and turn ignorance into the great wisdom of true suchness? If there were no mutability, the Tripiṭaka master would truly be an adherent of the non-Buddhist school of spontaneity." The Tripiṭaka master said, "If that is so, then true suchness does have mutability." The Master said, "If one clings to true suchness having mutability, that too is non-Buddhist." He asked, "The Chan master just said that true suchness has mutability, and now you say it does not have mutability. What then is exact?" The Master said, "If one clearly sees the nature, then like a maṇi jewel displaying colors, to say it changes is fine, and to say it does not change is also fine. If someone has not seen the nature, upon hearing it said that true suchness changes, they form an understanding of change; upon hearing it said that it does not change, they form an understanding of non-change." The Tripiṭaka master said, "Therefore I know that the Southern School is truly unfathomable." A Daoist asked, "Is there any dharma in the world that surpasses the spontaneous (ziran)?" The Master said, "There is." He asked, "What dharma can surpass it?" The Master said, "The one who can know the spontaneous." He asked, "Is primordial qi the Way?" The Master said, "Primordial qi is just primordial qi; the Way is just the Way." He asked, "If it is so, then there should be two." The Master said, "The knower is not two persons." He asked again, "What is heterodox and what is orthodox?" The Master said, "The mind pursuing objects is heterodox; objects following the mind is orthodox." Vinaya Master Yuan came and asked, "Does the Upādhyāya still apply effort in cultivating the Way?" The Master said, "I apply effort." He asked, "How do you apply effort?" The Master said, "When hungry, I eat food; when tired, I sleep." He asked, "Everyone is like this; is their effort the same as the Master's?" The Master said, "Not the same." He asked, "Why is it not the same?" The Master said, "When they eat, they are unwilling to eat, demanding hundreds of things; when they sleep, they are unwilling to sleep, scheming in a thousand ways. Therefore they are not the same." The Vinaya master held his tongue. Venerable Yunguang asked, "Does the Chan master know his own place of birth?" The Master said, "Having never died, what need is there to discuss birth? Knowing birth is precisely the unborn dharma; there is no dharma separate from birth to speak of as being unborn. The Ancestral Master said: 'Right at birth, there is no birth.'" The Venerable asked, "Can someone who has not seen the nature also attain this?" The Master said, "Not having seen the nature oneself is not being without the nature. Why? Seeing is itself the nature; without the nature, one cannot see. Cognition is itself the nature, hence it is called cognitive nature. Understanding is itself the nature, called understanding nature. Being able to produce the myriad dharmas is called the Dharma-nature, and is also called the Dharma-body. Ancestral Master Aśvaghoṣa said: 'What is called the Dharma is the mind of sentient beings. If the mind arises, all dharmas arise; if the mind does not arise, dharmas have nowhere to arise from, nor do they have names.' Deluded people do not know that the Dharma-body is formless, manifesting forms in response to things; so they call green bamboo completely the Dharma-body, and luxuriant yellow blossoms nothing other than prajñā. If yellow blossoms were prajñā, prajñā would be the same as the insentient. If green bamboo were the Dharma-body, the Dharma-body would be the same as grass and trees. If someone ate bamboo shoots, they would be eating the Dharma-body altogether! How could such words be worthy of recording? Bewildered about the Buddha right in front of them, they seek through long kalpas; deluded within the totality of dharmas, they search outside. Therefore, for those who understand the Way, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are nothing other than the Way; for those who awaken to the Dharma, unrestrained and free, nothing is not the Dharma." The Venerable asked again, "Can great emptiness produce spiritual wisdom? Does the true mind take good and evil as objects? Is a person of greedy desires in the Way? Will a person clinging to right and wrong have their mind penetrate later on? Does a person who produces mind upon contact with objects have samādhi? Does a person dwelling in solitude have wisdom? Does a person harboring arrogance toward things have a self? Does a person clinging to emptiness and clinging to existence have wisdom? For those seeking realization in texts, those seeking buddhahood through austerities, those seeking buddhahood separate from mind, and those clinging to mind as Buddha—does such intellect accord with the Way? Please let the Chan master explain each one." The Master said, "Great emptiness does not produce spiritual wisdom. The true mind does not take good and evil as objects. Those whose desires run deep have shallow capacities. Those who contend over right and wrong have not penetrated. Those who produce mind upon contact with objects have little samādhi. Those in solitude who forget their capacity have sunken wisdom. Those arrogant toward things with elevated minds have strong selfhood. Those who cling to emptiness and cling to existence are all foolish. Those who seek realization in texts are increasingly obstructed. Those who seek buddhahood through austerities are all deluded. Those who seek buddhahood separate from mind are non-Buddhists. Those who cling to mind as Buddha are māras." The Venerable said, "If it is so, then ultimately there should be nothing at all." The Master said, "Ultimately it is the Venerable; it is not that ultimately there is nothing at all." Leaping for joy, the Venerable bowed in gratitude and left. (Below this, the old edition had the biography of Chan Master Weizheng of Mount Baizhang in Hongzhou; it is now moved to the ninth fascicle under Upādhyāya Hai of Mount Baizhang.)

6.8

Chan Master Fahui of Letan in Hongzhou asked Mazu, "What is the meaning of the Ancestral Master's coming from the West?" Mazu said, "Lower your voice and come closer." The Master then stepped forward. Mazu slapped him once and said, "Six ears cannot plot together. Come tomorrow." When tomorrow came, the Master entered the Dharma hall again and said, "Please speak, Upādhyāya." Mazu said, "Go away for now. Wait until this old fellow ascends the hall, then come out, and I will give you certification." The Master was thereupon enlightened and said, "I thank the great assembly for the certification." He then circled the Dharma hall once and left.

6.9

Chan Master Shanshan Zhijian of Chizhou: when he was initially on pilgrimage with Guizong and Nanquan, they encountered a tiger on the road. Each of them passed by the side of the tiger. Nanquan asked Guizong, "What did the tiger you just saw resemble?" Guizong said, "It resembled a cat." Guizong then asked the master. The master said, "It resembled a dog." Guizong asked Nanquan again. Nanquan said, "I saw that it was a big bug (a tiger)." While the master was eating, Nanquan gathered up the uncooked rice and said, "Uncooked (unborn)." The master said, "There is no unborn." Nanquan said, "No-birth is still the secondary branch." Nanquan walked several paces, and the master called out, "Elder, elder!" Nanquan turned his head and said, "What is it?" The master said, "Do not say it is the secondary branch." One day during communal work gathering bracken, Nanquan picked up a stalk and said, "This makes an excellent offering." The master said, "Not only this, but even the hundred delicacies of fine feasts he would not look at." Nanquan said, "Although it is like this, each and every one must taste it before he gets it." (Xuanjue said, "Are these words of mutual recognition, or not words of mutual recognition?") A monk asked, "What is the original body?" The master said, "The entire world has nothing similar to it."

6.10

Chan Master Letan Weijian of Hongzhou: one day he was sitting in meditation behind Mazu's Dharma hall. Mazu saw him and blew into the master's ear. He blew twice, and the master arose from samādhi. Seeing it was the upādhyāya, he entered samādhi again. Mazu returned to the abbot's quarters and ordered an attendant to bring a bowl of tea to the master. The master paid no heed, and went back to the hall by himself.

6.11

Chan Master Mingxi Daoxing of Lizhou: the master at times said, "I have a great illness that cannot be cured by the world." Later a monk asked the late Caoshan, "I have received the ancient's saying, 'I have a great illness that cannot be cured by the world.' I wonder, what is it called, this illness?" Cao said, "The illness that cannot be gathered together." [The monk] said, "Do all sentient beings also have this illness or not?" Cao said, "Everyone has it entirely." [The monk] said, "Everyone has it entirely; does the upādhyāya also have this illness or not?" Cao said, "I am just unable to find where it arises." [The monk] said, "Why do all sentient beings not fall ill?" Cao said, "If sentient beings were ill, then they would not be sentient beings." [The monk] said, "I wonder whether all Buddhas also have this illness or not?" Cao said, "They have it." [The monk] said, "Since they have it, why are they not ill?" Cao said, "Because they are awake." A monk asked, "How to practice cultivation?" The master said, "A fine reverend monk like you, do not work as a hired hand." The monk said, "In the end, how [should one be]?" The master said, "Setting up an arrangement is unendurable." Another monk asked, "What is the correct path of cultivation?" The master said, "There is after nirvāṇa." The monk said, "What is 'after nirvāṇa'?" The master said, "Not washing the face." The monk said, "The student does not understand." The master said, "There is no face to be washed."

6.12

Chan Master Shigong Huizang of Fuzhou: he originally took hunting as his occupation and hated seeing śramaṇas. Because of chasing a herd of deer, he passed in front of Mazu's hermitage. Mazu went out to meet him. Zang asked, "Did the upādhyāya see the deer pass by?" Mazu said, "What sort of person are you?" [Zang] said, "A hunter." Mazu said, "Do you know how to shoot?" [Zang] said, "I shoot, I shoot." Mazu said, "How many do you shoot with one arrow?" [Zang] said, "With one arrow I shoot one." Mazu said, "You do not know how to shoot." [Zang] said, "Does the upādhyāya know how to shoot?" Mazu said, "I know how to shoot." [Zang] said, "How many does the upādhyāya shoot with one arrow?" Mazu said, "With one arrow I shoot a whole herd." [Zang] said, "Both this and that are lives; why shoot a whole herd of them?" Mazu said, "Since you know it is like this, why not shoot yourself?" [Zang] said, "If you make this person shoot himself, there is nowhere to lay a hand." Mazu said, "This fellow's ignorance and afflictions of countless eons are suddenly stilled today!" Zang at that time destroyed and cast aside his bow and arrows, cut off his hair with his own knife, and took refuge with Mazu to leave household life. One day while doing chores in the kitchen, Mazu asked, "What are you doing?" [Zang] said, "Herding an ox." Mazu said, "How do you herd it?" [Zang] said, "Whenever it enters the grass, I immediately grab its nostrils and drag it back." Mazu said, "You are truly herding an ox!" The master then stopped. After the master resided [as an abbot], he often received capacities with bow and arrow (as related in the chapter on Upādhyāya Sanping). The master asked Xitang, "Do you still know how to grasp empty space?" Xitang said, "I can grasp it." The master said, "How do you grasp it?" [Xi]tang grabbed empty space with his hand. The master said, "How can you grasp empty space like that?" [Xi]tang asked back, "How does Senior Brother grasp it?" The master grabbed Xitang's nostrils and yanked. Xitang cried out in pain and said, "You yanked someone's nostrils terribly, almost pulling them right off!" The master said, "Only by grasping empty space like this can you get it." While the assembly of monks was inquiring, the master said, "Where did the one from just now go?" A monk said, "He is here." The master said, "In what place?" That monk snapped his fingers once. A monk arrived and bowed. The master said, "Did you bring that one along or not?" The monk said, "I brought it along." The master said, "In what place is it?" The monk snapped his fingers three times. [A monk] asked, "How to avoid birth and death?" The master said, "What is the use of avoiding it?" The monk said, "How can it be avoided?" The master said, "This one does not undergo birth and death."

6.13

Chan Master Daotong of Mount Ziyu in Tangzhou was a native of Lujiang. His surname was He. In his youth, he followed his father, who was serving as an official in Nan'an County, Quanzhou, and left household life because of this. In the early Tianbao era of the Tang, when Mazu was propagating the transformation in Jianyang and residing at Buddha-Footprint Cliff (Fojiyan), the master went to call upon him. Soon [Mazu] moved to Mount Gonggong in Nankang, and the master also followed him. At the beginning of the second month of the fourth year of Zhenyuan, when Mazu was about to pass away, he said to the master, "Now, jade stones moisten a mountain, and fine elegance benefits your undertaking of the Way; when you encounter it, you may reside there." The master did not comprehend his words. That autumn, he traveled together with Chan Master Zizai of Mount Funiu to Luoyang. Returning west to Tangzhou, he saw a mountain steep and precipitous on all four sides, with wonderfully extraordinary peaks. He then inquired of the locals, who said it was Mount Ziyu (Purple Jade). The master then climbed to the mountain summit and saw a stone that was square, correct, and lustrous with a purple color. He sighed and said, "This is indeed 'purple jade.' Only now do I recall the late master's words, which were a prophetic prediction." Thereupon he cut reeds, built a hut, and dwelt there. Later, students gathered from the four directions. A monk asked, "How to get out of the three realms?" The master said, "How much time have you spent in there?" The monk said, "How to escape?" The master said, "The blue mountain does not obstruct the flight of white clouds." Chancellor Yu Di asked, "What is 'a black gale blowing one's ship, drifting and falling into the realm of the rākṣasa demons'?" The master said, "Yu Di, you hired labourer! Why do you ask about such things?" Master Yu lost his composure. The master then pointed and said, "This is 'drifting and falling into the realm of the rākṣasa demons.'" Yu asked again, "What is the Buddha?" The master called out, "Yu Di!" Di responded, "Yes?" The master said, "Do not seek anywhere else." (A monk cited this to Yaoshan. Yaoshan said, "This fellow has been bound to death!" The monk said, "What about the upādhyāya?" Yaoshan also called out, "So-and-so!" The monk responded, "Yes?" Yaoshan said, "What is it?") In the eighth year of Yuanhe, his disciple Jinzang returned from visiting Baizhang and paid obeisance. The master said, "You have come; this mountain has an owner." Thereupon, having finished transmitting the entrustment to Jinzang, he took his staff and went directly to Xiangzhou, where clergy and laity welcomed him. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he passed away without illness. His age was eighty-three.

6.14

Chan Master Beilan Rang of Jiangxi: Elder Liang of Hutang asked, "I have respectfully heard that Senior Brother has painted the late master's true portrait; I briefly request to gaze upon it with reverence." The master parted his robe over his chest with both hands to display it. Liang then bowed. The master said, "Do not bow, do not bow." Liang said, "Senior Brother is mistaken; I am not bowing to Senior Brother." The master said, "You are bowing to the late master's true portrait." Liang said, "Why do you tell me not to bow?" The master said, "When was there ever a mistake?"

6.15

Chan Master Foguang Ruman of the Capital of Luoyang (formerly resided at Jin'ge Monastery on Mount Wutai): Emperor Shunzong of the Tang asked: / "From what direction does the Buddha come, / And toward what direction does he go in extinction? / Since it is said that he constantly abides in the world, / Where is the Buddha now?" / The master answered: / "The Buddha comes from the unconditioned, / And goes into extinction toward the unconditioned. / The Dharma body is equal to empty space, / Constantly present in the place of no-mind. / Having thoughts, he returns to no-thought; / Having an abode, he returns to non-abiding. / Coming, he comes for the sake of sentient beings; / Going, he goes for the sake of sentient beings. / In the pure ocean of true suchness, / His essence is limpid and constantly abiding. / Let the wise contemplate this well, / And generate no further doubt or hesitation." / The Emperor asked again: / "The Buddha was born into the royal palace, / And extinguished beneath the twin trees; / Abiding in the world for forty-nine [years], / He also said there was no Dharma spoken. / Mountains, rivers, and the great sea, / Heaven, earth, sun, and moon— / When the time arrives, all return to extinction; / Who can say there is no birth and extinction? / My doubtful mind is just like this; / Let the wise distinguish it well." / The master answered: / "The Buddha's essence is fundamentally unconditioned; / Deluded sentiments falsely make distinctions. / The Dharma body is equal to empty space, / Never having had birth or extinction. / When conditions are present, the Buddha appears in the world; / When conditions are absent, the Buddha enters extinction. / Everywhere converting sentient beings, / He is like the moon in the water. / Neither permanent nor annihilated, / Neither born nor extinguished. / Born, he has never been born; / Extinguished, he has never been extinguished. / Clearly seeing the place of no-mind, / Naturally there is no Dharma to speak." / The Emperor was greatly pleased upon hearing this, and revered the Chan school all the more.

6.16

Chan Master Nanyuan Daoming of Yuanzhou entered the hall and said, "One whip for a fast horse, one word for a sharp person. If there is a matter, why not step forward? If there is no matter, each take good care of yourselves." He then stepped down from the hall. A monk asked, "What is the one word?" The master stuck out his tongue and took it back, saying, "Wait until I have the mark of a broad and long tongue, then I will tell you." Dongshan came to visit, and as soon as he stepped up to the Dharma hall, the master said, "We have already met." Dongshan immediately went down. On the following day he went up again and asked, "Yesterday I was already favored with the upādhyāya's compassion; I would like to know where was the place where we already met?" The master said, "Mind after mind without interruption, flowing into the ocean of nature." Dongshan said, "I almost let it slip past." When Dongshan took his leave, the master said, "Study the Buddha Dharma extensively and broadly create benefits." Dongshan said, "I do not ask about studying the Buddha Dharma extensively; what is broadly creating benefits?" The master said, "Not defying a single thing is it." A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The master said, "One cannot say that you are it."

6.17

Chan Master Licun Ziman of Xinzhou entered the hall and said, "Past and present are not different, naturally so as things are. What more is there? Although it is like this, in this matter there are very many people who are utterly at a loss." At that time a monk asked, "Not falling into past or present, please, Master, speak directly." The master said, "I know full well you are at a loss." The monk wanted to speak further, but the master said, "You thought the old monk would fall into his 'past and present'?" The monk said, "How then is it right?" The master said, "For a fish leaping into the blue sky, the gradual steps are hard to fly." The monk said, "How can one avoid this fault?" The master said, "If it has the form of a dragon, who discusses high and low?" That monk bowed. The master said, "How bitter, how unjust! Who is like me?" One day the master said to the assembly, "Aside from bright day and dark night, what else can be said? Take good care of yourselves." At that time a monk asked, "What is the phrase of non-disputation?" The master said, "Resounding through heaven and shaking the earth."

6.18

Chan Master Hong'en of Zhongyi in Langzhou. When Yangshan first received the newly-taken precepts, he came to give thanks for the precepts. Seeing him come, the Master clapped his hands from the meditation seat and said, "Hehe!" Yangshan then stood on the east side, then stood on the west side, and then stood in the center. Afterward, having finished giving thanks for the precepts, he stepped back and stood. The Master said, "Where did you obtain this samādhi?" Yangshan said, "I learned it by taking an impression from the seal at Caoxi." The Master said, "Tell me, whom did Caoxi receive using this samādhi?" Yangshan said, "He used this samādhi to receive the One-Night Enlightened One." Yangshan said, "Where did the Upādhyāya obtain this samādhi from?" The Master said, "I learned this samādhi at Great Master Ma's place." [Yangshan] asked, "How can one see one's nature?" The Master said, "Suppose there is a house. The house has six windows, and inside there is a monkey. From the east side, someone calls, 'Shan! Shan!' and it responds. In this way, all six windows are called and all respond." Yangshan bowed in gratitude, arose, and said, "I fully understand the analogy the Upādhyāya has bestowed. But there is still one thing: what if the inner monkey falls asleep, and an outer monkey wants to meet with it?" The Master stepped down from the rope chair, grasped Yangshan's hand, danced, and said, "Shan, Shan, I have met with you! It is just like a midge building a nest on a mosquito's eyelash and calling out at the crossroads, 'The land is vast, people are few, and those who meet each other are rare!'" (Yunju Xi said, "At that time, if Zhongyi had not obtained this single phrase from Yangshan, where would Zhongyi be?" Chongshou Chou said, "Is there still anyone who can settle this principle? If it cannot be settled, it is merely the maneuvers of someone playing with a phantom spirit. Where does the meaning of Buddha-nature lie?" Xuanjue said, "If not for Yangshan, how could one see Zhongyi? But tell me: where is the place where Yangshan was able to see Zhongyi?")

6.19

Chan Master Huaihai of Mount Baizhang in Hongzhou was a native of Changle in Fuzhou. As a youth he left the dust behind, thoroughly mastering the three trainings. When Daji was spreading the teachings in Nankang, he inclined his heart to him and took refuge there. Together with Chan Master Zhizang of Xitang, he was known as having entered the master's room. At that time, these two great beings stood out as peers. One evening, while the two masters were attending Mazu enjoying the moon, Mazu asked, "What about right at such a time?" Xitang said, "It is just right for making offerings." The master said, "It is just right for cultivating practice." Mazu said, "The sūtras enter the zang (treasury); Chan returns to the hai (ocean)." When Mazu went up to the hall, the great assembly gathered like clouds. Just as he sat for a good while, the master rolled up the mat for bowing before him; Mazu then got down from the hall. One day, the master went to Mazu's Dharma pagoda. Mazu took a fly-whisk from the corner of the meditation platform and held it up to show him. The master said, "Just this, or is there something else?" Mazu then put it back in its original place and said, "In the future, what will you use to help people?" The master then took the fly-whisk and held it up to show him. Mazu said, "Just this, or is there something else?" The master hung the fly-whisk back in its original place and had just stood in attendance when Mazu shouted at him. From this time, his thunderous voice was about to shake the world. Sure enough, requested by donor-believers, he resided at Mount Daxiong within the borders of Xinwu in Hongzhou. Because his dwelling was among steep and precipitous crags and peaks, it was called Baizhang (Hundred-Fathom). Before he had resided there a full month, guests inquiring into the profound flocked from the four directions like deer; Guishan and Huangbo stood at their head. One day, the master said to the assembly, "The Buddha Dharma is no small matter. Formerly, when this old monk once again received a shout from Great Master Ma, I was deaf and blind for three whole days." Hearing this related, Huangbo unconsciously stuck out his tongue and said, "I do not know Mazu, and what is more, I have never seen Mazu." The master said, "In the future, you will certainly succeed Mazu." Huangbo said, "I will not succeed Mazu." The master said, "Why?" Huangbo said, "In the future it would ruin my descendants." The master said, "So it is, so it is." One day, a monk came crying into the Dharma hall. The master asked, "What is it?" The monk said, "My father and mother have both passed away; I ask the Master to select a day [for their burial]." The master said, "Come tomorrow, and we will bury them both at once." The master went up to the hall and said, "Closing off your throat and lips, speak swiftly!" Guishan said, "I cannot speak; I ask the Upādhyāya to speak." The master said, "I would not refuse to speak for you, but later on it would ruin my descendants." Wufeng said, "The Upādhyāya also must close them off." The master said, "Where there is no one, I shade my brow and gaze toward you." Yunyan said, "I have something to say; I ask the Upādhyāya to bring it up." The master said, "Closing off your throat and lips, speak swiftly!" Yunyan said, "Now you have it, Master." The master said, "It would ruin my descendants." The master said to the assembly, "I need someone to deliver a message to Xitang. Who can go?" Wufeng said, "I will go." The master said, "How will you deliver the message?" Wufeng said, "I will speak when I see Xitang." The master said, "What will you say?" Wufeng said, "I will come back and tell the Upādhyāya." While the master and Guishan were doing manual work, the master asked, "Is there fire or not?" Guishan said, "There is." The master said, "Where is it?" Guishan took a stick of wood, blew on it two or three times, and handed it to the master. The master said, "Like an insect gnawing on wood." A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The master said, "Who are you?" The monk said, "I am so-and-so." The master said, "Do you know so-and-so?" The monk said, "Clearly." The master then raised his fly-whisk and said, "Do you still see it?" The monk said, "I see it." The master was then silent. Once, during general communal labor digging the ground, a monk suddenly heard the dining drum sound; he raised his hoe, laughed heartily, and went back. The master said, "Splendid! This is Avalokiteśvara's gate of entering the principle." When the master returned to the cloister, he called that monk and asked, "What principle did you see just now that made you act like that?" He replied, "Just now I merely heard the drum beat and went back to eat rice." The master then laughed. A monk asked, "'To explain the meaning according to the sūtras is the enemy of the Buddhas of the three periods; to depart from the sūtras by a single word is the same as the preaching of Māra'—what about this?" The master said, "To rigidly maintain movement and function is the enemy of the Buddhas of the three periods; to seek separately outside of this is the same as the preaching of Māra." A monk asked Xitang, "What about when there is questioning and answering, and when there is neither questioning nor answering?" Xitang said, "Why are you afraid it will rot away?" Hearing this related, the master said, "I have always suspected this elder brother." The monk said, "Please, Upādhyāya, tell me." The master said, "A composite unity cannot be grasped." The master said to the assembly, "There is a person who long goes without eating rice and does not say he is hungry; there is a person who eats rice all day long and does not say he is full." The assembly had no reply. Yunyan asked, "For whom does the Upādhyāya busy himself every day?" The master said, "There is someone who needs it." Yunyan said, "Why do you not have him do it himself?" The master said, "He has no household livelihood." A monk asked, "What is the Great Vehicle's dharma-gate of sudden awakening?" The master said, "You must first rest from all conditions and cease all matters. Toward all dharmas, good and not good, worldly and world-transcending, do not remember, do not think on conditions. Let go of body and mind and let them be free. Let the mind be like wood or stone, without discrimination. When the mind has nowhere to go, when the mind-ground is like empty space, the sun of wisdom will naturally manifest, like the sun coming out when the clouds disperse. Simultaneously cease all clinging to conditions; let sentiments of greed, anger, love, grasping, defilement, and purity come to an end. In the face of the five desires and the eight winds, do not be bound by seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing; do not be deluded by various objects. Naturally endowed with supernatural powers and wondrous functions, such a person is liberated. Facing all objects, the mind is neither calm nor disordered, neither gathering nor scattering. Passing through all sounds and forms without obstruction, one is called a person of the Way. Merely not being restrained by any good or evil, defilement or purity, conditioned worldly merit or wisdom—this is called Buddha wisdom. When all views of right and wrong, good and ugly, principle and non-principle are completely exhausted, not bound anywhere, the mind is at ease; this is called a bodhisattva of initial aspiration, immediately ascending to the Buddha-ground. All dharmas are fundamentally not empty of themselves; they do not say of themselves that they are form, nor do they speak of right and wrong, defilement and purity. Nor do they have any mind to bind people. It is merely that people falsely reckon and grasp onto them, fabricating various kinds of interpretations and giving rise to various kinds of views. If the mind of defilement and purity is exhausted, not dwelling in bondage and not dwelling in liberation, without any conditioned or unconditioned [states], understanding the measure of an equal mind, dwelling in birth and death, one's mind is at ease. Ultimately one does not blend with illusory worldly toil, the aggregates, realms, birth and death, and the various sense entrances. Aloof and without reliance, bound by nothing, leaving or staying without hindrance, coming and going in birth and death is just like an open door. If encountering various kinds of suffering, pleasure, and disagreeable matters, the mind does not regress or bend; not mindful of fame, clothing, or food; not coveting any merit or benefit; not impeded by worldly dharmas—even though the mind personally experiences suffering and pleasure, it does not concern the heart. Coarse food sustains life; patched robes ward off cold and heat. Steady, like one foolish or deaf, one will have a slight familiarity [with the Way]. Extensively learning views and interpretations within birth and death, seeking merit and seeking wisdom, is of no benefit to the principle; instead, one is tossed by the wind of objective knowledge and returns again to the ocean of birth and death. A Buddha is a person without seeking; to seek it is to contradict the principle. It is the principle of non-seeking; to seek it is to lose it. If you grasp at non-seeking, it is again the same as seeking. This Dharma is neither real nor unreal. If throughout one's life the mind can be like wood or stone, not tossed or drowned by the aggregates, realms, five desires, and eight winds, then the cause of birth and death is severed, and going or staying is free. One will not be bound by any conditioned cause and effect. In the future, along with an unbound body, one will benefit living beings; with an unbound mind, one will respond to all minds; with unbound wisdom, one will untie all bonds; and one will also be able to prescribe medicine according to the illness." A monk asked, "Now that I have received the precepts and body and mouth are pure, already possessing all goods, do I attain liberation or not?" The master answered, "You have attained a small part of liberation, but have not attained liberation of the mind, nor have you attained all liberation." The monk asked, "What is liberation of the mind?" The master answered, "Not seeking Buddha, not seeking views and interpretations, when sentiments of defilement and purity are exhausted, yet not holding to this non-seeking as right, nor dwelling where they are exhausted; neither fearing the bonds of hell nor loving the pleasures of heaven; unbound by any dharma—only then is it called unhindered liberation. Then body, mind, and everything are called liberation. Do not say that having a small part of precept-goodness settles the matter. There are gates of undefiled morality, concentration, and wisdom as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, of which you have not yet touched a single hair. Exert yourself and work vigorously early on; do not wait until your ears are deaf, your eyes are dim, your head is white, and your face is wrinkled, when the suffering of old age comes upon your body, tears flow from your eyes, and your heart is panic-stricken, with nowhere to go. When it comes to such a time, you will not be able to arrange your hands and feet. Even if you have merit, wisdom, and wide learning, none of it will rescue you, because your mind's eye has not opened. Only thinking on conditions and various objects, you do not know how to reflect back inward, nor do you see the Buddha Way. All the evil karma of a lifetime will completely appear before you, bringing now joy, now terror. The six destinies and the five aggregates will all appear before you; ornate houses, boats, carriages, and radiant splendor will be seen. Because you indulged your own mind's greed and love, whatever is seen will turn into pleasant realms; according to where what you see is heaviest, you will take rebirth, without the least freedom. Whether as a dragon, a beast, noble, or base, is entirely undetermined." The monk asked, "How can one attain freedom?" The master answered, "Right now, facing the five desires and eight winds, have no sentiment of grasping or rejecting; defilement and purity are both obliterated. Like the sun and moon in the sky, illuminating without clinging to conditions; the mind like wood or stone, and like a fragrant elephant crossing a stream cutting through the flow, with no further hesitation or obstruction—such a person cannot be contained by heaven or hell. Furthermore, when reading sūtras and studying the teachings, words and phrases must all be subtly brought back to oneself. All teachings in words merely clarify the present nature of awakening oneself. Neither being moved by any realm of dharmas, existent or non-existent—this is the teacher of the Way; being able to illuminate and break through all realms and dharmas of existence and non-existence—this is the vajra; then you will have a share of free independence. If you cannot attain this, even if you can recite the twelve Vedas, it will only become overweening pride; that is actually slandering the Buddha, not cultivating practice. Reading sūtras and studying the teachings, if judged by worldly standards, is a good and virtuous matter; but if reckoned from the side of a person who understands the principle, this is a person blocked and stopped up. Even people of the ten grounds cannot break free and flow into the river of birth and death. Simply do not seek for views, interpretations, words, and meanings; views and interpretations belong to greed, and greed turns into an illness. Right now, simply depart from all dharmas of existence and non-existence, pass through beyond the three phrases, and naturally you will not differ from the Buddha. Since you yourself are Buddha, why worry that the Buddha does not understand words? One only fears that one is not a Buddha, turned by the dharmas of existence and non-existence, unable to attain freedom. Therefore, before the principle is established, to have merit and wisdom carry one away is like the base employing the noble. It is not as good as having the principle established first, and having merit and wisdom afterward. When the time comes, it can be done: grasping earth to make gold, turning seawater into ghee, crushing Mount Sumeru into fine dust, making boundless meanings out of a single meaning, and making a single meaning out of boundless meanings." Sometimes, when the master finished expounding the Dharma, the great assembly would leave the hall; he would then call to them. When the assembly turned their heads, the master would say, "What is it?" (Yaoshan referred to this as "Baizhang's leaving-the-hall phrase.") On the seventeenth day of the first month in the ninth year of the Yuanhe era of the Tang (814), he entered quiescence at the age of ninety-five. In the first year of the Changqing era (821), he was posthumously granted the title Chan Master Dazhi by imperial decree, and his stupa was named Dabao Shenglun.

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景德傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese