景德傳燈錄 7.23

7.23

Chan Master Zhichang of Guizong Temple on Mount Lu went up to the hall and said: "The ancient virtuous ones of the past were not without knowledge and understanding. Those high-minded individuals were unlike the common run of people. Nowadays, [practitioners] cannot establish themselves independently and pass the time in vain. Good people, do not use your minds wrongly! No one can take your place, nor is there any place for you to apply your mind. Do not seek after others. Hitherto, you have merely relied on others' understandings. Your spoken words are all stuck, and your light does not penetrate through, simply because there are things in front of your eyes." A monk asked, "What is the profound principle?" The Master said, "No one can understand it." The monk asked, "What about one who directs [the mind] toward it?" The Master said, "If there is directing toward it, it is contradicted." The monk asked, "What about one who does not direct [the mind] toward it?" The Master said, "Who seeks the profound principle?" He also said, "Go! There is no place for you to apply your mind." The monk asked, "Is there really no gate of skillful means to allow a student to enter?" The Master said, "The wondrous power of Avalokiteśvara's wisdom can save from the suffering of the world." The monk asked, "What is the wondrous power of Avalokiteśvara's wisdom?" The Master tapped the lid of the cauldron three times and said, "Do you hear it or not?" The monk said, "I hear it." The Master said, "Why do I not hear it?" The monk was speechless. The Master drove him away with his staff. The Master once traveled together with Nanquan. Later, suddenly one day when they were parting, while boiling tea Nanquan asked, "Hitherto, elder brother, our discussions and sayings have been known to one another. Hereafter, if someone asks what the ultimate affair is like, what then?" The Master said, "This single piece of ground is an excellent place to erect a hut." Nanquan said, "Setting erecting a hut aside for a moment, what is the ultimate affair like?" The Master thereupon knocked over the tea-boiler and stood up. Nanquan said, "Elder brother has drunk his tea, but Puyuan has not yet drunk his tea." The Master said, "Speaking such words, you cannot even digest a drop of water!" A monk asked, "This matter is vast and distant; how should one apply the mind?" The Master said, "Cowhide stretches over the exposed pillar; the exposed pillar chirps and cries out. Ordinary ears hear nothing; the holy say it and laugh ha-ha!" Because a lay official came, the Master held up the two ribbons of his hat and said, "Do you understand?" The lay official said, "I do not understand." The Master said, "Do not blame this old monk; due to a head cold I do not remove my hat." While the Master was in the vegetable garden picking greens, he drew a circular figure surrounding one plant. He told the assembly, "Under no circumstances may you touch this one." The assembly did not dare touch it. A short while later the Master returned and saw the greens were still there. He thereupon drove the monks away with his staff, saying, "In this whole band of fellows, there is not one who possesses wisdom!" The Master asked a newly arrived monk, "Where do you come from?" The monk said, "I come from Fengxiang." The Master said, "Did you bring that one along or not?" The monk said, "I brought it along." The Master said, "Where is it?" The monk held it up with his hands above his crown and presented it. The Master immediately raised his hands as if catching it and threw it behind his back. The monk was speechless. The Master said, "This wild fox cub!" While the Master was weeding grass, a lecturer monk came to visit. Suddenly a snake passed by, and the Master cut it in two with his hoe. The monk said, "I have long heard of Guizong, but it turns out you are a coarse-acting śramaṇa!" The Master said, "Lecturer, return to the tea hall and go drink tea." Yunyan came to visit. The Master made the gesture of drawing a bow. Yunyan paused for a long while and made the gesture of drawing a sword. The Master said, "You have arrived too late!" A monk was taking his leave. The Master called him to come forward: "I will speak the Buddha Dharma for you." The monk came forward. The Master said, "All of you have your own affairs. If you return here at another time, no one will recognize you. The weather is cold; take good care on the road as you go." The Master went up to the hall and said, "Today I wish to speak of Chan; let all good people come forward." The assembly came forward. The Master said, "Listen to Avalokiteśvara's practice, well responding in all places." A monk asked, "What is Avalokiteśvara's practice?" The Master then snapped his fingers and said, "Do you all hear it or not?" The monk said, "I hear it." The Master said, "What is this bunch of fellows seeking here?" He drove them out with his staff, and laughing loudly, returned to the abbot's quarters. A monk asked, "How can a beginner attain an entry point?" The Master tapped the lid of the cauldron three times and said, "Do you hear it or not?" The monk said, "I hear it." The Master said, "Why do I not hear it?" The Master tapped it three times again and asked, "Do you hear it or not?" The monk said, "I do not hear it." The Master said, "Why do I hear it?" The monk was speechless. The Master said, "The wondrous power of Avalokiteśvara's wisdom can save from the suffering of the world." Li Bo, Prefect of Jiangzhou, asked the Master, "What is said in the teachings about Mount Sumeru containing a mustard seed, I, Bo, do not doubt. But as for a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru, is that not a false tale?" The Master said, "People say that your Excellency has read ten thousand volumes of books; is that so or not?" Li said, "It is so." The Master said, "From the top of your head to your heels, you are merely the size of a coconut. Where are those ten thousand volumes of books kept?" Li could only bow his head. On another day Li asked again, "What aspect of the matter does the teachings of the great canon illuminate?" The Master raised his fist, showed it to him, and said, "Do you understand?" Li said, "I do not understand." The Master said, "This poor scholar does not even recognize a fist!" Li said, "I pray the Master will instruct me." The Master said, "If you meet the right person, transmit it along the way; if you do not meet one, circulate it as worldly truth." Because the Master had double pupils, he rubbed his eyes with medicinal herbs, causing the corners of both eyes to turn red; the world called him "Red-Eyed Guizong." Later he manifested extinction. He was imperial-conferred the posthumous title "Chan Master Zhizhen" (Utmost Truth).