景德傳燈錄 7.9

7.9

Chan Master Dayi of Ehu in Xinzhou was a native of Xujiang in Quzhou. His family name was Xu. Li Ao once asked the master, “What does the Great Compassionate One use a thousand hands and eyes for?” The master said, “What does the present Emperor use you for, Minister?” A monk requested to build a stūpa. Minister Li asked him, “In the teachings, it is not permitted to carry a corpse past a stūpa; how about that?” There was no reply. The monk then came and asked the master. The master said, “He has attained great icchantika.” Emperor Xianzong of the Tang once summoned him to enter the palace to engage in debate in the Linde Hall. A Dharma master asked, “What are the four noble truths?” The master said, “His Sage Majesty is the one emperor; where are the other three emperors?” He also asked, “There is no dhyāna in the desire realm; dhyāna resides in the form realm. On what basis is dhyāna established in this land?” The master said, “The Dharma master only knows that there is no dhyāna in the desire realm, but does not know that there is no desire in the realm of dhyāna.” The Dharma master said, “What is dhyāna?” The master pointed his finger at empty space. The Dharma master had no reply. The Emperor said, “The Dharma master has expounded endless scriptures and treatises, yet he cannot handle even this single point!” The master then asked the eminent worthies, “In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, what after all is the Way?” Someone replied, “Knowing is the Way.” The master said, “It cannot be known through wisdom, nor can it be cognized through consciousness; how can knowing be the Way?” Someone replied, “Non-discrimination is the Way.” The master said, “Skillfully distinguishing all dharma-characteristics while remaining unmoved in the primary meaning—how can non-discrimination be the Way?” Someone replied, “The four dhyānas and eight samāpattis are the Way.” The master said, “The Buddha's body is unconditioned and does not fall into various numbers; how could it reside in the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis?” All fell silent. The master further cited: “Emperor Shunzong asked Chan Master Shili, ‘How can the sentient beings of the great earth see their nature and become Buddhas?’ Shili said, ‘Buddha-nature is like the moon in the water: it can be seen, but cannot be grasped.’” He then said to the Emperor, “Buddha-nature is not seen with the seeing mind; how can the moon in the water be grabbed?” The Emperor then asked, “What is Buddha-nature?” The master replied, “It is not apart from what Your Majesty has asked.” The Emperor silently accorded with the true principle and respected him all the more. The master passed into extinction on the seventh day of the first month of the thirteenth year of the Yuanhe era, at the age of seventy-four. By imperial order, he was posthumously titled Chan Master Huijue, and his stūpa was called Jianxing.