景德傳燈錄 9
English (machine translation) 9
- Language
- English
Contents
- 9.45 — 4 parts
9.1
Descendants of Chan Master Huairang, 3rd Generation, Part One: 56 persons.
Dharma heirs of Chan Master Baizhang Huaihai of Hongzhou: 30 persons.
Chan Master Guishan Lingyou of Tanzhou
Chan Master Huangboshan Xiyun of Hongzhou (Essential Dharma attached at the end of the fascicle)
Chan Master Daci Huanzhong of Hangzhou
Chan Master Puan of Tiantaishan
Chan Master Changguan of Junzhou
Chan Master Shishuang Xingkong of Tanzhou
Chan Master Da'an of Fuzhou
Chan Master Guling Shenzan
Chan Master He'an Tong of Guangzhou
Chan Master Longyuntai of Jiangzhou
Chan Master Daode of the state of Weiguo at Luojing
Upādhyāya Wansui of Zhenzhou
Upādhyāya Niepan of Baizhangshan
Upādhyāya Dongshan of Hongzhou (The above 14 persons are recorded with entries)
Chan Master Wuwei of Gao'an
Chan Master Daokuang of Dongyan
Chan Master Su of Xingzhou
Chan Master Jiben of Dachengshan in Tangzhou
Chan Master Huishen of Xiaochengshan
Chan Master Zhaoyi of Huizhao Monastery in Yangzhou
Chan Master Jianshen of Luofu in Zhenzhou
Chan Master Fanyun of Jiuxianshan in Hongzhou
Chan Master Cao of Lushan in Jiangzhou
Chan Master Qizhen of Yuji Monastery in Yuezhou
Chan Master Tianxing of Baoshan in Junzhou
Chan Master Bi'an of Dameishan in Mingzhou
Chan Master Zangshu of Liaoshan in Hongzhou
Chan Master Daofang of Qidashan in Shengzhou
Upādhyāya Qingtian
Upādhyāya Dayu (The above 16 persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded with entries)
Dharma heirs of the previously mentioned Chan Master Xitang Zang of Qianzhou: 4 persons.
Chan Master Chuwei of Qianzhou (1 person recorded with an entry)
Chan Master Doui of Gyerim
Chan Master Hye of the kingdom of Silla
Chan Master Hongjik of the kingdom of Silla (The above 3 persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded with entries)
Dharma heirs of the previously mentioned Chan Master Magushan Baoche of Puzhou: 2 persons.
Chan Master Liangsui of Shouzhou (1 person recorded with an entry)
Chan Master Muyeom of the kingdom of Silla (1 person has no encounter dialogues and is not recorded with an entry)
Dharma heirs of the previously mentioned Chan Master Ruhui of Dongsi in Hunan: 4 persons.
Chan Master Huichao of Shushan in Jizhou (1 person recorded with an entry)
Chan Master Jingzhu of Shuzhou
Chan Master Guangzhao of Zhuangyan Monastery
Chan Master Zhao of Mufushan in Tanzhou (The above 3 persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded with entries)
Dharma heirs of the previously mentioned Chan Master Huaiyun of Zhangjing Monastery in the capital Jingzhao: 16 persons.
Chan Master Hongbian of Jianfu in the capital Jingzhao
Chan Master Guishan Zhizhen of Fuzhou
Chan Master Huaizheng of Langzhou
Chan Master Cao of Jinzhou
Upādhyāya Guti of Langzhou
Upādhyāya Gongji of Hezhong (The above 6 persons are recorded with entries)
Chan Master Xianyun of Bolin
Chan Master Xuanzhe of Xuanzhou
Chan Master Baojian of Hezhong
Chan Master Daozhi of Xijing
Chan Master Shenyou of Jiangzhou
Chan Master Zhizang of Xijing
Chan Master Wuji of Xuzhou
Chan Master Weisu of Shouzhou
Chan Master Hyeonuk of the kingdom of Silla
Chan Master Gakche of the kingdom of Silla (The above 10 persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded with entries)
9.2
Dharma Heirs of the Previously Mentioned Baizhang Huaihai
9.3
Chan Master Lingyou of Mount Gui in Tanzhou was a native of Changxi in Fuzhou. His surname was Zhao. At fifteen, he took leave of his parents to leave household life, shaving his head under Vinaya Master Fachang of Jianshan Temple in his home commandery. He received the full precepts at Longxing Temple in Hangzhou. He investigated the sūtras and vinayas of both the Greater and Lesser Vehicles. At twenty-three, he traveled to Jiangxi and visited Chan Master Baizhang Dazhi. Baizhang granted him entry to his room upon first meeting him, and he subsequently became the foremost among the students. One day, as he stood attending, Baizhang asked, "Who is it?" The Master said, "Lingyou." Baizhang said, "Poke the brazier to see if there is any fire." The Master poked it and said, "There is no fire." Baizhang got up himself, poked deep into it, found a little spark of fire, held it up to show him, and said, "Is this not fire?" The Master had an awakening, bowed in gratitude, and presented his understanding. Baizhang said, "This is merely a temporary crossroad. A sūtra says: 'If you wish to see the Buddha-nature, you should observe the causes and conditions of the proper time.' Once the proper time arrives, it is like suddenly awakening from confusion, or suddenly remembering what was forgotten. Only then do you realize that what belongs to yourself does not come from others. Therefore the ancestral teacher said: 'Having awakened, one is the same as before awakening. Without mind, there are no dharmas.' It is simply being without false, deluded minds of ordinary or holy, and the like. Originally, mind and dharmas are fundamentally complete in themselves. Now that you are like this, take good care to protect and uphold it." At that time, Ascetic Sīmǎ came from Hunan. Baizhang said to him, "This old monk wishes to go to Mount Gui; would that be suitable?" (Aside from practicing Chan, Ascetic Sīmǎ harbored great insight in judging people and had also mastered geomancy. When monasteries were founded in various regions, many consulted him for decisions.) He replied, "Mount Gui is exceedingly marvelous; it can gather a congregation of fifteen hundred. However, it is not where you, Upādhyāya, should dwell." Baizhang said, "Why is that?" He replied, "The Upādhyāya is a person of bone, while that is a mountain of flesh. Even if you dwell there, your followers will not fill a thousand." Baizhang said, "Could someone in my community reside there?" He replied, "Let me examine them all." Baizhang then ordered his attendant to summon the first seat (namely Upādhyāya Hualin). He asked, "How about this person?" The ascetic had him clear his throat once and walk several steps, then replied, "This person will not do." [Baizhang] then ordered the head of the kitchen to be summoned (namely Master Lingyou). The ascetic said, "This is precisely the master of Mount Gui!" That night, Baizhang summoned the Master into his room and entrusted him, saying, "My transformative affinity is here. Mount Gui is a superior place; you should dwell there to continue my school and broadly deliver future students." Hearing of this at that time, Hualin said, "I shamefully hold the position of head; how could Master You become the abbot?" Baizhang said, "If you can utter an extraordinary phrase before the assembly, I will grant you the abbacy." Pointing to a pure water bottle, he asked, "You must not call this a pure water bottle. What do you call it?" Hualin said, "It cannot be called a wooden stub either." Baizhang did not approve and then asked the Master. The Master kicked over the pure water bottle. Baizhang laughed and said, "The first seat has lost the mountain!" He then dispatched the Master to Mount Gui. This mountain was sheer and towering, utterly desolate with no human habitation. The Master made company with apes and monkeys, feeding on acorns and chestnuts. Gradually, the residents below the mountain came to know of him, and leading the multitude, they jointly built a Buddhist temple. Military Commissioner Li Jingrang memorialized the throne, naming it Tongqing Temple. Chancellor Lord Pei Xiu once inquired into its profound mysteries. As a result, Chan students throughout the realm converged there like the spokes of a wheel. The Master ascended the hall and instructed the assembly, saying: "The mind of a person of the Way is straightforward and without deceit, without back or front, and without deceptive or false mental actions. At all times, seeing and hearing are ordinary, with no deviousness; nor does one close the eyes or block the ears. Simply so long as feelings do not attach to objects, that is sufficient. All the sages from ancient times have merely spoken of the faults and perils on the defiled side. If one is free from such many bad perceptions, emotional habits, and conceptual tendencies, it is like autumn waters clear and still—pure, non-active, tranquil, and unobstructed. Such a one is called a person of the Way, and is also named a person of no affairs." At that time, a monk asked, "Does a person of sudden awakening still have cultivation or not?" The Master said, "If one truly awakens to the fundamental, when they know it for themselves, cultivation and non-cultivation are two-ended speech. Nowadays, beginners, though gaining it through conditions and having a moment of sudden awakening to their own principle, still possess habitual tendencies from beginningless eons that cannot be purified all at once. They must be taught to purify and eliminate the current karma-driven flowing consciousness—this is precisely cultivation. I do not say there is a separate dharma to teach them to practice and advance toward. Entering the principle from hearing, the principle heard is deep and wondrous; the mind becomes naturally perfect and luminous, not abiding in the ground of confusion. Even if there are hundreds of thousands of wondrous meanings expounded to praise or disparage at the moment, this is merely obtaining the seat and donning the robe, knowing for oneself how to manage a livelihood. In short, the ground of the ultimate principle does not admit a single speck of dust, while within the gate of myriad practices, not a single dharma is abandoned. If one enters directly with a single sword, then feelings of ordinary and holy are exhausted, the essence reveals true constancy, principle and phenomena are non-dual, and that is just the Tathāgata of suchness." Yangshan asked, "What is the meaning of the [Patriarch's] coming from the West?" The Master said, "A very fine lantern." Yangshan said, "Isn't it just this?" The Master said, "What is this?" Yangshan said, "A very fine lantern." The Master said, "Indeed, you do not recognize it." One day, the Master said to the assembly, "So many people only attain the great dynamic (the old edition has 'great consciousness'; now changed to 'great dynamic'. According to the Guangdeng and other records, all say 'only attain the great dynamic', but in fascicle sixteen, in the chapter on Chan Master Jiufeng Hui, it says 'only attain the great essence'; it is not clear which is correct), but do not attain the great functioning." Yangshan brought this phrase up to an hermitage master at the foot of the mountain and asked, "The Upādhyāya spoke like that; what was his meaning?" The hermitage master said, "Cite it again and let me see." Yangshan was about to cite it again when he was kicked over by the hermitage master. Returning, he recounted it to the Master, who laughed heartily. The Master was sitting in the Dharma hall when the storeroom head struck the wooden fish, and the fire tender threw down his fire shovel, clapped his hands, and laughed heartily. The Master said, "There is indeed such a person in the community!" Calling him over, he asked, "What is it?" The fire tender said, "I did not eat any gruel and my stomach is hungry, so I am happy." The Master then nodded. (When Dongshi heard this, he said, "Know that there was no one in the Mount Gui community!" Wolong said, "Know that there was someone in the Mount Gui community!") During a general call for tea-picking, the Master said to Yangshan, "All day picking tea, I only hear your voice and do not see your form. Please manifest your original form so we may see each other." Yangshan shook the tea tree. The Master said, "You only attain its functioning, not its essence." Yangshan said, "I wonder, what about the Upādhyāya?" The Master was silent for a long time. Yangshan said, "The Upādhyāya only attains the essence, not the functioning." The Master said, "I spare you twenty blows!" (Xuanjue said, "And tell me, where was the fault?") The Master ascended the hall. A monk came forward and said, "I request the Upādhyāya to preach the Dharma for the assembly." The Master said, "I have thoroughly exhausted myself for you." The monk bowed. (Later, someone recounted this to Xuefeng. Xuefeng said, "The ancient had such grandmotherly compassion!" Xuansha said, "The Upādhyāya at the peak missed the ancient's point." Hearing this, Xuefeng asked Xuansha, "Where did this old monk miss the ancient's point?" Xuansha said, "Great and small Mount Gui was smashed into a hundred shattered pieces by that monk's single question!" Xuefeng was startled and dropped the matter.) The Master said to Yangshan, "Ji, speak quickly! Do not enter the realm of the skandhas." Yangshan said, "Huiji does not even establish faith." The Master said, "Do you not establish it having faith, or do you not establish it without faith?" Yangshan said, "It is merely Huiji; whom else would I trust?" The Master said, "If so, you are a śrāvaka of fixed nature." Yangshan said, "Huiji does not even see a Buddha." The Master asked Yangshan, "In the forty fascicles of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, how much is the Buddha's preaching, and how much is Māra's preaching?" Yangshan said, "It is all Māra's preaching." The Master said, "Hereafter, no one will be able to do anything with you." Yangshan said, "Huiji was speaking of a single occasion; where lies my actual conduct?" The Master said, "I only value the correctness of your eye; I do not speak of your actual conduct." While treading clothes, Yangshan lifted them up and asked the Master, "Right at this moment, what does the Upādhyāya do?" The Master said, "Right at this moment, on my side there is no doing anything." Yangshan said, "The Upādhyāya has a body but no functioning." The Master was silent for a long time, then picked them up and asked, "Right at this moment, what do you do?" Yangshan said, "Right at this moment, does the Upādhyāya still see it?" The Master said, "You have functioning but no body." (This exchange took place in the second month.) The Master suddenly asked Yangshan, "In the spring you had words that were incomplete; now try to say it and let me see." Yangshan said, "Right at this moment, by all means avoid making a clay figure." The Master said, "Detaining a prisoner increases wisdom." One day the Master called for the director of the monastery. When the director came, the Master said, "I called for the director; what did you come for?" The director had no reply. (Caoshan said on his behalf, "I knew that the Upādhyāya was not calling me.") He also had his attendant summon the first seat. When the first seat came, the Master said, "I called for the first seat; what did you come for?" He also had no reply. (Caoshan said on his behalf, "If ordered to be summoned by an attendant, I fear he would not come." Fayan gave an alternative: "Just now the attendant called.") The Master asked a newly arrived monk, "What is your name?" The monk said, "My name is Yuelun (Moon Disc)." The Master drew a circular figure and asked, "How is it compared to this?" The monk said, "When the Upādhyāya speaks like this, there are many people in various quarters who would not agree." The Master said, "This poor monk is just like this. What about the ācārya?" The monk said, "Do you still see the moon disc?" The Master said, "When the ācārya speaks like this, there are many people here who would not agree with various quarters." The Master asked Yunyan, "I hear you were at Yaoshan for a long time; is that so?" Yunyan said, "It is so." The Master said, "What are the marks of a great person like at Yaoshan?" Yunyan said, "Existing after nirvāṇa." The Master said, "What is existing after nirvāṇa like?" Yunyan said, "Water sprinkled on it cannot stick." Yunyan in turn asked the Master, "What are the marks of a great person like at Baizhang?" The Master said, "Towering and grand, splendid and magnificent! Before sound, it is not sound; after form, it is not form. Like a mosquito alighting on an iron bull, there is no place for you to insert your beak." The Master passed a pure water bottle to Yangshan. Yangshan made to take it, but the Master pulled his hand back and said, "What is this?" Yangshan said, "What does the Upādhyāya still see?" The Master said, "If so, why bother seeking it from me?" Yangshan said, "Even so, within the path of humaneness and righteousness, carrying the water bottle and drawing water for the Upādhyāya is also my proper duty." The Master then passed the pure water bottle to Yangshan. While walking with Yangshan, the Master pointed to a cypress tree and asked, "What is that ahead?" Yangshan said, "Just this cypress tree." The Master then pointed to an old farmer behind them and said, "Hereafter, this old fellow will also have a congregation of five hundred." The Master asked Yangshan, "Where have you returned from?" Yangshan said, "Returned from the fields." The Master said, "Is the grain ready to harvest yet?" Yangshan said, "It is ready to harvest." The Master said, "Do you see it as green, do you see it as yellow, or do you see it as neither green nor yellow?" Yangshan said, "What is behind the Upādhyāya?" The Master said, "Do you still see it?" Yangshan picked up an ear of grain and said, "When did the Upādhyāya ever ask about this?" The Master said, "This is the goose king extracting milk." In the winter month, the Master asked Yangshan, "Is the weather cold, or is the person cold?" Yangshan said, "Everyone is right here." The Master said, "Why not speak directly?" Yangshan said, "Just now was not crooked either. What about the Upādhyāya?" The Master said, "One must directly follow the flow." A monk came to pay homage, and the Master made a gesture of rising. The monk said, "Why does the Upādhyāya not rise?" The Master said, "This old monk has never sat." The monk said, "I have also never bowed." The Master said, "Why are you without courtesy?" The monk had no reply. (Tong'an said on his behalf, "The Upādhyāya does not take offense.") Two Chan travelers from Shishuang's assembly arrived and said, "In this place, not a single person understands Chan." Later, during a general call to carry firewood, Yangshan saw the two Chan travelers resting; taking up a piece of firewood, he asked, "Can you say something?" Both were speechless. Yangshan said, "You had better not say that no one understands Chan." Returning, he recounted this to Guishan, saying, "Today the two Chan travelers were tested and seen through by Huiji." The Master said, "Where were they tested and seen through by you?" Yangshan then cited the previous words. The Master said, "Ji, you have been tested and seen through by me once again!" (Yunju Xi said, "Where was the point where Guishan tested and saw through Yangshan?") While the Master was sleeping, Yangshan came to inquire after him. The Master turned his face toward the wall. Yangshan said, "Why does the Upādhyāya act like this?" The Master got up and said, "Just now I had a dream. Try to interpret it for me." Yangshan brought a basin of water for the Master to wash his face. A moment later, Xiangyan also came to inquire after him. The Master said, "Just now I had a dream, and Ji interpreted it. You interpret it for me as well." Xiangyan then made a bowl of tea and brought it. The Master said, "The understanding of you two disciples surpasses that of Śāriputra." A monk said, "Without becoming a bamboo hat on Mount Gui, there is no way to reach Moya Village. What is the bamboo hat on Mount Gui?" The Master immediately stepped on it. The Master ascended the hall and instructed the assembly, saying: "A hundred years after this old monk's passing, I will become a water buffalo at the foot of the mountain. On its left flank five characters will be written: 'Mount Gui Monk So-and-so.' At that time, if you call it a Mount Gui monk, it is also a water buffalo; if you call it a water buffalo, it is also called a Mount Gui monk. What should it be called to be right?" (Yunju said on his behalf, "The Master has no different name." Zifu made a circular figure on his behalf and lifted it up. An ancient versified: "Not saying Guishan, not saying ox, / One body with two names is truly hard to answer. / Leaving both ends behind, one ought to speak; / How to speak so as to emerge from the common run?") The Master propagated the tradition of the school for more than forty years. Those who attained understanding were innumerable, and he had forty-one disciples admitted to his room. On the ninth day of the first month in the seventh year of the Dazhong reign era of the Tang dynasty, after washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he sat upright and serenely passed away. He lived eighty-three years, with sixty-four rains retreats. A stupa was erected on his home mountain, and he was posthumously granted by imperial decree the title Chan Master Dayuan (Great Perfection), with his stupa named Qingjing (Purity).
9.4
Chan Master Xiyun of Huangbo in Hongzhou was a native of Min. In his youth he went forth from household life at Mount Huangbo in his home prefecture. On his forehead a flesh-pearl bulged up; the sound of his words was clear and resonant, and his disposition was calm and untroubled. Later, while traveling in Tiantai, he met a monk. Talking and laughing with him, they were like old acquaintances. Looking closely at him, his gaze shot forth light. As they walked together, they came upon a mountain stream that was flooding violently. They put down their bamboo hats, planted their staffs, and stopped. The monk urged the Master to cross with him. The Master said, "If you want to cross, elder brother, cross by yourself." The monk then hitched up his robe, stepped onto the waves as if walking on flat ground, looked back, and said, "Come across, come across!" The Master said, "Bah, this self-liberating fellow! Had I known earlier, I would have chopped your shins!" The monk sighed and said, "A true vessel of the Mahāyāna Dharma; I cannot match you." Having spoken, he disappeared. Later, the Master traveled to the capital. Being inspired by someone, he went to visit Baizhang. He asked, "How is the heritage transmitted from above pointed out?" Baizhang remained silent for a long while. The Master said, "You must not cause later generations to be cut off!" Baizhang said, "I took you for someone [of caliber]." He then arose and entered the abbot's quarters. The Master followed him in and said, "I have come specially." Baizhang said, "If so, you must not let me down in the future." One day Baizhang asked the Master, "Where have you been?" He said, "I have been picking mushrooms at the foot of Mount Daxiong." Baizhang said, "Did you see the big tiger?" The Master immediately made the sound of a tiger. Baizhang took up an axe and made a chopping gesture. The Master promptly struck Baizhang a slap. Baizhang chuckled and laughed heartily, then returned [to his quarters]. Entering the hall, he addressed the assembly, saying, "At the foot of Mount Daxiong there is a big tiger; all of you had better look out! Today this old man Baizhang was personally bitten!" When the Master was at Nanquan's place, there was a general labor call to pick greens. Nanquan asked, "Where are you going?" He said, "To pick greens." Nanquan said, "What will you pick them with?" The Master held up a knife. Nanquan said, "Let us all go pick greens." One day Nanquan said to the Master, "This old monk happened to compose a cowherding song; I ask the elder to match it." The Master said, "I have my own master." When the Master took leave of Nanquan, Nanquan saw him to the gate, picked up the Master's bamboo hat, and said, "Elder, your stature is extraordinarily large, but the hat is far too small." The Master said, "Even so, the great chiliocosm is entirely inside it." Nanquan said, "What about Old Teacher Wang?" The Master put on his hat and walked away. Later, he resided at Da'an Monastery in Hongzhou, where an ocean-like assembly rushed to gather. Chancellor Pei Xiu, who was governing Wanling, built a great Chan cloister and invited the Master to preach the Dharma. Because the Master deeply loved his former mountain, he also named it Huangbo. He also invited the Master to the prefecture and showed him a treatise containing his own understanding. The Master received it, placed it on his seat, and did not peruse it at all. After a long silence, he said, "Do you understand?" The Chancellor said, "I have not fathomed it." The Master said, "If you could understand it just like this, there would still be some [hope]; but if it is given form in paper and ink, where is our school?" Pei then presented a verse, saying:
9.5
"Ever since the Great Being transmitted the mind-seal,
There is a round jewel upon his forehead, a body of seven feet.
Having hung up his staff for ten years, he dwelt by the Shu River;
Floating his cup today, he crosses to the shore of the Zhang.
A thousand dragons and elephants follow his noble steps;
Ten thousand miles of fragrant flowers forge sublime causes.
I wish to serve the Master as his disciple,
Not knowing to whom he will entrust the Dharma."
9.6
(Examining the preceding account, Chan Master Yun resided at Da'an Monastery in Hongzhou, and later Lord Pei founded a monastery in Xuanzhou, invited the Master to reside there, named it Huangbo, and presented him with this poem. Yet the events recounted do not accord at all with the meaning of the poem. Now analyzing this poem, it was composed when Lord Pei was in Hongzhou. When it says, 'Having hung up his staff for ten years, he dwelt by the Shu River,' it means the Master had previously resided at Huangbo in Gao'an for ten years. According to the Treatise on Geography in the Book of the Former Han, Shu River is in Jiancheng County of Yuzhang Commandery; Jiancheng is the Tang dynasty's Gao'an County. When it says, 'Floating his cup today, he crosses to the shore of the Zhang,' it refers to inviting the Master from Huangbo to come to the city of Hong. According to the Treatise on Geography in the Book of the Former Han, the Yuzhang River emerges from west of Gan County, flows north, and enters the Great River; the city of Hongzhou is on the bank of the Zhang River, and the commandery is named Yuzhang. Furthermore, Lord Pei's Preface to the Essentials of the Transmission of Mind says: 'There was a Great Chan Master named Xiyun, residing at the foot of Vulture Peak on Mount Huangbo in Gao'an County, Hongzhou. The ocean-like assembly was constantly over a thousand people. In the second year of Huichang, I served as Surveillance Commissioner in Zhongling; I welcomed him from the mountain to the prefecture to rest at Longxing Monastery, where I inquired about the Way morning and night. In the second year of Dazhong, I served as Surveillance Commissioner in Wanling, and again respectfully welcomed him to my jurisdiction, lodging him at Kaiyuan Monastery, etc.' Zhongling is Hongzhou; Wanling is Xuanzhou. Examining what this preface recounts, it also states that the Master first resided at Huangbo in Gao'an, and Lord Pei invited him to Hongzhou, which exactly accords with the preceding poem. As for when he was Surveillance Commissioner in Xuanzhou, although he once again welcomed and invited the Master, he only lodged him at Kaiyuan Monastery; originally there was no talk of building a monastery. It is not known why this chapter contains such an error. One should indeed take Lord Pei's Preface to the Essentials of the Dharma and the poem as authoritative. Moreover, in the third year of Huichang Emperor Wuzong suppressed the teaching; in the second year, it was said that the Master had resided at Huangbo for ten years, which is an obvious fact. Lord Pei's invitation of the Master in Xuanzhou occurred after the revival in Dazhong, at the time when the Master reassembled disciples at Huangbo. Therefore, in the chapter on Qianqing Nan it says: 'In the beginning of Dazhong, Lord Pei went out to govern Wanling, invited Upādhyāya Huangbo to come down from the mountain, and Nan accompanied him.' The rest is clarified in the chapter on Lord Pei.)
9.7
The Master showed no sign of joy. From then on, the house style of Huangbo flourished south of the Yangtze. One day, he ascended the hall while the great assembly gathered like clouds. He then said: "What are all of you seeking?" Thereupon, driving them away with his staff, he said: "You are all dreg-eating fellows! Travelling on foot like this only invites ridicule from others. Wherever you see eight hundred or a thousand people, you just go there; you must not merely pursue excitement! When this old man was traveling on foot, if I encountered a fellow under the grass roots, I would jab a bodkin from above his head to see if he knew pain or itch; then he might be offered a bag full of rice. If it were always as easy as for you, how could there be today's affair? Since you claim to travel on foot, you must also summon some spirit! Do you know that in all of the Great Tang there are no Chan masters?" At that time, a monk came forward and asked, "In all directions, the venerable elders gather assemblies and convert them; why do you say there are no Chan masters?" The Master said, "I do not say there is no Chan, only that there are no masters. Ācārya, do you not see? Under Great Master Ma there were eighty-eight people who sat in bodhimaṇḍas; those who attained Master Ma's correct Dharma eye were only two or three people. The Upādhyāya of Mount Lu was one of them. Monks must know that there is a heritage from above! For instance, under the Fourth Patriarch, Great Master Niutou Rong spoke horizontally and spoke vertically, yet he still did not know the transcendental pivot. Only with these eyes and brains can one distinguish the heterodox from the orthodox lineage. If you cannot even comprehend your present concerns and only know how to learn phrases, stuffing them into your skin bag and claiming everywhere, 'I understand Chan!'—will this substitute for your birth and death? Despising old seniors, you enter hell like an arrow! As soon as I saw you come in the door, I already recognized you. Do you know? You must urgently apply effort; do not make light of the matter! Wearing a scrap of robe and eating a mouthful of food, you pass a lifetime in vain. Those with clear eyes will laugh at you; in the end, you will all be calculated by common folk. You should look at the distance for yourself: whose business is this? If you understand, then understand immediately; if you do not understand, then disperse!" Someone asked, "What is the meaning of the Western Ancestor's coming?" The Master promptly struck him. The rest of his functional devices were all directed at those of superior faculties; those of medium and lower streams could not fathom his depths. In the Dazhong era of the Tang, he passed away at his home mountain. He was imperially bestowed the posthumous title "Chan Master Duanji" (Limit of Severance) and his stūpa was named Guangye (Vast Endeavor).
9.8
Chan Master Huanzhong of Mount Daci in Hangzhou was a native of Puban. His family name was Lu. The crown of his head was round and prominent, and his voice was like a bell. In his youth, mourning the death of his mother, he built a hut by her grave. When the mourning period ended, wishing to repay her boundless benevolence, he went forth from household life at Tongzi Monastery in Bingzhou. He received the precepts on Mount Song and studied various vinaya teachings. Later, he visited Baizhang and received the mind-seal. Taking his leave, he went to Changle Monastery on the Southern Peak and thatched a hut atop the mountain. One day Nanquan arrived and asked, "Who is the master inside the hermitage?" The Master said, "Blue heaven! Blue heaven!" Nanquan said, "Set aside blue heaven; who is the master inside the hermitage?" The Master said, "If you understand, understand immediately; do not prattle on!" Nanquan flicked his sleeves and left. Later, he resided at Mount Daci north of the Zhejiang River. Ascending the hall, he said, "This mountain monk does not know how to answer questions; he can only diagnose illnesses." At that time a monk came forward and stood before the Master. The Master immediately descended from his seat and returned to the abbot's quarters. (Fayan said, "In the assembly they call it: 'The illness is right before one's eyes, yet one does not recognize it.' Xuanjue said, 'Tell me, did Daci recognize the illness or not? Did this monk's coming forward constitute illness or not illness? If you say it was illness, his daily walking and standing cannot all be illness. If you say it was not illness, why did he come forward?'") Zhaozhou asked, "What does prajñā take as its essence?" The Master said, "What does prajñā take as its essence?" Zhaozhou laughed loudly and went out. The next day, the Master saw Zhaozhou sweeping the ground and asked, "What does prajñā take as its essence?" Zhaozhou put down the broom, clapped his hands, and laughed loudly. The Master then returned to the abbot's quarters. A monk was taking his leave. The Master said, "Where are you going?" The monk said, "Temporarily going to Jiangxi." The Master said, "May I trouble you with a matter?" The monk said, "What matter does the Venerable have?" The Master said, "Take this old monk along." The monk said, "Even if there were someone surpassing the Venerable, I still could not take him along." The Master then rested the matter. The monk later cited this to Dongshan. Dongshan said, "Ācārya, how could you speak like that?" The monk said, "How would the Venerable speak?" Dongshan said, "Take him along!" (Fayan offered an alternative: "If the Venerable goes, I will carry your bamboo hat.") Dongshan also asked the monk, "What other words did Daci have?" The monk said, "Sometimes he instructed the assembly, saying: 'To speak a zhang is not as good as to practice a chi; to speak a chi is not as good as to practice a cun.'" Dongshan said, "I would not speak thus." The monk said, "How would you speak?" Dongshan said, "Speak of what cannot be practiced; practice what cannot be spoken." (Yunju said, "When practicing, there is no path for speaking; when speaking, there is no path for practicing. When neither speaking nor practicing, what path should one practice?" Lepu said, "When practice and speech both reach, the fundamental matter is absent; when practice and speech both do not reach, the fundamental matter is present.") Later, during the suppression of the teaching by Tang Emperor Wuzong, the Master lived in seclusion wearing coarse garments. In the renshen year of Dazhong, he shaved his head and dyed his robes again, greatly proclaiming the tenets of the school. On the fifteenth day of the second month in the third year of Xiantong, he passed away without illness at the age of eighty-three, with fifty-four years in the monastic order. Emperor Xizong bestowed the posthumous title "Great Master Xingkong" (Nature of Emptiness) and named his stūpa Dinghui (Meditation and Wisdom).
9.9
Chan Master Pu'an of Pingtian in Tiantai was a native of Hongzhou. He attained the principle under Baizhang. Later, hearing of the sublime scenery of Tiantai where sages and worthies appeared from time to time, he wished to withdraw far beyond the world and follow their distant footprints. Thereupon he thatched a hut, weeded the grass, and rested in quietude beneath the trees. As the days and months passed, he became known to the fourfold assembly, and they established a monastery called the Pingtian Chan Cloister. Sometimes he addressed the assembly, saying, "The spiritual radiance is never dimmed; an admirable model for ten thousand ages. Having entered this gate, harbor no intellectual understanding." A monk came to consult him. The Master struck him with a staff. The monk stepped forward and grabbed the staff. The Master said, "This old monk was rash just now." The monk then struck the Master with the staff. The Master said, "An adept! An adept!" The monk bowed. The Master seized him and said, "It is the ācārya who was rash." The monk laughed loudly. The Master said, "This monk suffered a great defeat today!" He gave a verse to instruct the assembly, saying:
9.10
"The Great Way is empty and vast,
Ever one true mind.
Think neither of good nor of evil;
The spirit is pure, beyond things.
Drinking and pecking according to conditions,
What else is there to do?"
9.11
He passed away at his cloister. Today, a surviving stūpa remains at the mountain gate. In the Song dynasty it was renovated, and an imperial plaque inscribed "Shouchang" was bestowed. Master An was the founding abbot of Shouchang.
9.12
Chan Master Changguan of Wufeng in Junzhou: A monk asked, "What is the realm of Wufeng?" The master said, "Perilous." The monk said, "Who is the person within the realm?" The master said, "Blocked." A monk took his leave of the master, and the master said, "Where are you going, ācārya?" The monk said, "I am going to Mount Tai." The master held up one finger and said, "Once you have seen Mañjuśrī, come back here and see me." The monk had no reply. The master asked a monk, "Do you see the ox?" The monk said, "I see it." The master said, "Do you see the left horn, or do you see the right horn?" The monk had no reply. The master answered for him, "Seeing has neither left nor right." (Yangshan commented separately, "Do you still distinguish left from right?") There was another monk taking leave of the master, and the master said, "When you go to various places, do not slander this old monk here." The monk said, "I will not say the upādhyāya is here." The master said, "Where do you say this old monk is?" The monk held up one finger. The master said, "Already you slander this old monk."
9.13
Chan Master Xingkong of Mount Shishuang in Tanzhou: A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The master said, "If a person is down in a thousand-foot well, without using an inch of rope, get this person out, and I will answer you on the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West." The monk said, "Recently in Hunan, Upādhyāya Chang appeared in the world and also rambled on about this and that for people." The master called a novice: "Drag this dead corpse out!" (The novice was Yangshan.) Later, the novice brought this up to Danyuan and asked, "How does one get the person out of the well?" Danyuan said, "Bah! You fool, who is in the well?" Later, he asked Guishan, "How does one get the person out of the well?" Guishan called out, "Huiji!" Ji answered, "Yes?" Guishan said, "He is out!" When he later resided at Mount Yang, he once cited these earlier words and told the assembly, "At Danyuan's place I attained the name; at Guishan's place I attained the ground."
9.14
Chan Master Da'an of Fuzhou was a native of that prefecture, with the surname Chen. In his youth, he underwent training at Mount Huangbo and studied the vinaya vehicle. He once thought to himself, "Though I have toiled diligently, I have not yet heard the profound and ultimate principle." Thereupon, with solitary staff he wandered on pilgrimage. On his way to Hongzhou via Shangyuan, he met an old man who said to him, "If you go to Nanchang, Master, you will surely attain something." The master went straight to Baizhang, paid homage, and asked, "I wish to seek knowledge of the Buddha. Which is it?" Baizhang said, "It is very much like riding an ox in search of an ox." The master said, "What after knowing it?" Baizhang said, "It is like a person riding an ox to reach home." The master said, "I do not know how to maintain and protect it from beginning to end." Baizhang said, "It is like an oxherd holding a staff and watching it, not allowing it to encroach on people's crops." From this, the master grasped the meaning and no longer sought elsewhere. When his fellow student Chan Master You first established the monastery at Mount Gui, the master personally plowed to support the Way. When Chan Master You passed into silence, the assembly requested him to take up the succession as abbot. The master entered the hall and said: "Why have all of you come to An to seek anything? If you wish to become a buddha, you yourselves are buddhas, yet you run from door to door, in a flurry like thirsty deer chasing a mirage. When will you ever tally [with the truth]? If you wish to become buddhas, merely have none of these many inverted, clinging,妄想 delusive thoughts, evil perceptions, defiled desires, and impure minds of sentient beings, and then you are the freshly awakened, fully enlightened Buddha! Where else would you search for a reason? I, An, was at Mount Gui for thirty-odd years. I ate Guishan's rice and excreted Guishan's feces, not studying Guishan's Chan, but only watching a water ox. If it strayed from the path into the grass, I led it out; if it encroached on people's crops, I whipped and subdued it. After a long time, pitifully, it could accept people's words. Now it has transformed into a white ox on open ground, always before my face, fully visible all day long; even if chased, it does not leave. Each of you has an invaluable great jewel: from the eye-gate it radiates light illuminating the mountains, rivers, and great earth; from the ear-gate it radiates light taking in all sounds, good and bad. The six gates constantly emit bright light day and night; this is also named the light-radiating samādhi. You yourselves do not recognize it, grasping at reflections within the four-element body, sustained internally and externally without letting it topple. It is like a person carrying a heavy burden crossing a single-plank bridge, without letting his footing slip. What thing, after all, maintains and bears it so? If you seek a hairsbreadth of it, it cannot be seen. Therefore Master Zhigong said, 'Searching within and without, nothing at all is found; yet acting upon phenomena, it is abundantly present.'" A monk asked, "All activities are the functioning of the Dharmakāya; what is the Dharmakāya?" The master said, "All activities are the functioning of the Dharmakāya." The monk said, "Apart from the five aggregates, what is the original body?" The master said, "Earth, water, fire, wind; sensation, perception, volition, consciousness." The monk said, "These are the five aggregates." The master said, "These are different from the five aggregates." A monk asked, "What is it like when this skandha has ceased and that skandha has not yet arisen?" The master said, "This skandha has not ceased; which one is the Great Worthy?" The monk said, "I do not understand." The master said, "If you understand this skandha, you will be clear about that skandha." A monk asked, "What is it like when the great functioning manifests before one, without abiding by rules?" The master said, "If you can use it, simply use it." The monk then bared his shoulder and walked around the master three times. The master said, "Why do you not speak of the transcendental matter?" The monk made as if to open his mouth, and the master struck him, saying, "Out with you, wild fox spirit!" A monk went up to the Dharma hall, looked east and west without seeing the master, and said, "A fine Dharma hall, but there is no one here." The master came out from behind the door and said, "What are you doing?" The monk had no reply. Master Xuefeng, having entered the mountain, gathered a piece of wood shaped like a snake. On its back he inscribed: "Naturally so of itself, not needing carving or chiseling," and sent it to the master. The master said, "A mountain dweller true to form, with no trace of knife or axe." Someone asked the master, "Where is the Buddha?" The master said, "Not apart from the mind." He also asked, "What did the Venerable Shuangfeng attain?" The master said, "In the Dharma there is nothing attained; even if there were an attainment, one attains that originally there is no attainment." A monk asked, "When Huang Chao's army comes, where will the upādhyāya hide?" The master said, "Within the mountain of the five aggregates." The monk said, "What if you are suddenly captured by them?" The master said, "It will trouble the general." The master extensively transformed people in the city of Min for more than twenty years. On the twenty-second day of the tenth month in the third year of the Zhonghe reign era of the Tang dynasty, he returned to Huangbo Monastery, manifested illness, and passed away. His stūpa was erected on Mount Laṅkā. By imperial decree, he was posthumously granted the title Chan Master Yuanzhi, and the stūpa was named Zhengzhen.
9.15
Chan Master Shenzan of Guling in Fuzhou: After undergoing training at Dazhong Monastery in his home prefecture, he went on pilgrimage, encountered Baizhang, and attained awakening. He then returned to his original monastery. His tonsure master asked him, "Since you left me to go abroad, what enterprise have you accomplished?" He replied, "No enterprise at all." Thereupon he was dispatched to perform menial labor. One day, as the tonsure master was bathing, he ordered the master to scrub the grime from his back. The master patted his back and said, "A fine Buddha hall, but the Buddha is not holy!" The master turned his head and looked at him. The master said, "Although the Buddha is not holy, he can nevertheless emit light." Another day, his master was reading a sūtra under a window. A bee bumped against the window paper trying to get out. The master, seeing this, said, "The world is so vast, yet it is unwilling to go out; drilling into old paper, when in the year of the donkey will it ever get out?" His master put down the sūtra and asked, "Whom did you meet on your pilgrimage? Time and again I have noticed your speech is extraordinary." The master said, "I received the direction of Upādhyāya Baizhang to a resting place; now I merely wish to repay your compassionate virtue." Thereupon his master informed the assembly, hosted a feast, and invited the master to preach the Dharma. The master mounted the seat, extolled Baizhang's house style, and said: "The numinous light shines alone, utterly transcending senses and dust. Its substance reveals the true and constant, unconfined by words and letters. The mind-nature is undefiled, originally complete in itself. Merely leave behind false conditions, and you are the Tathātā Buddha." His master was awakened upon these words and said, "Who could have expected that in my declining years I would hear of the ultimate matter?" Later, the master resided at Guling, gathering disciples for several years. When he was about to pass away, he shaved, bathed, and had the bell struck. He told the assembly, "Do you all recognize the soundless samādhi?" The assembly said, "We do not recognize it." The master said, "Listen quietly, and do not think of anything else." The assembly all leaned forward to listen. The master solemnly passed away in peace. His stūpa remains at that mountain.
9.16
Chan Master Tong of He'an Monastery in Guangzhou: He underwent training at Shuanglin Monastery in Wuzhou. From his youth he spoke little, and the people of his time called him "Speechless Tong." While he was paying homage to the Buddha, a Chan practitioner asked, "What is it that the lecturer is paying homage to?" The master said, "It is the Buddha." The Chan practitioner pointed to the statue and said, "What thing is this?" The master had no reply. When night came, he arranged his robes and deportment, paid homage, and asked the Chan practitioner, "Regarding your question today, I do not yet know what the intention was." The Chan practitioner said, "How many summer retreats have you had, lecturer?" The master said, "Ten retreats." The Chan practitioner said, "Have you ever left home?" The master became even more bewildered. The Chan practitioner said, "If you do not understand, what use are a hundred retreats?" The Chan practitioner then told the master to join him in visiting Mazu. When they arrived in Jiangxi, Mazu had already entered nirvāṇa. He then visited Baizhang, and his doubts were suddenly resolved. Someone asked, "Is the master a Chan master?" The master said, "This poor monk has never studied Chan." After a long pause, the master called the person. The person answered, "Yes?" The master pointed to a palm tree. (The person had no reply.)
9.17
One day, the master told Yangshan to bring a bench. Yangshan brought it. The master said, "Take it back to its original place." Yangshan complied. The master said, "What thing is on that side of the bench?" Yangshan said, "No thing." The master said, "What thing is on this side?" Yangshan said, "No thing." The master called, "Huiji!" Yangshan said, "Yes?" The master said, "Go."
9.18
Chan Master Longyuntai of Jiangzhou: A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Ancestral Teacher's coming from the West?" The master said, "Last night this old monk lost an ox from the pen."
9.19
Chan Master Dao of Weiguo Cloister in Jingzhao (both the Catalogue and the Record of the Orthodoxy say Luojing): A monk came for an interview. The master asked, "Where do you come from?" The monk said, "I come from Xiangnan." The master said, "Has the Yellow River cleared yet?" The monk had no reply. (Guishan said on his behalf, "A little fox wishing to cross simply crosses; why harbor doubts?") The master was ill. Someone came to inquire about his illness, but the master did not come out. The person said, "I have long heard of the upādhyāya's virtue in the Dao. Suddenly hearing that your bodily health is indisposed, I request to see the upādhyāya." The master put a bowl-stand inside an alms-bowl, ordered an attendant to carry it out, and presented it. The person had no reply.
9.20
Upādhyāya Wansui of Zhenzhou: A monk asked, "When the great assembly gathers like clouds, what matter is discussed?" The master said, "Chapter One: The Introduction." (Rou of Guizong commented separately, "Bow and leave.")
9.21
Chan Master Weizheng of Mount Baizhang in Hongzhou (This biography was formerly in fascicle 6 under Mazu's Dharma heirs, following Master Dazhu. Now, deducing from the encounter dialogues, it has been moved into this fascicle under the Dharma heirs of Chan Master Baizhang Hai, taking him as Master Baizhang Niepan. According to the stele for Master Niepan written by Liu Gongquan and composed by Wu Yihuang in the Tang dynasty, the master's taboo name was Fazheng; because he excelled at expounding the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, he was called Niepan ['Nirvāṇa']. Now in the master's own chapter it says: 'Clear the fields for me, and I will expound the great meaning for you,' from which it is clear that he was Master Niepan. Furthermore, he addressed Nanquan as 'elder Dharma-uncle,' so it is also clear that he was an heir of Baizhang Huaihai. Although the two names Weizheng and Fazheng differ, this is merely an error of transmission and copying. Moreover, Juefan's Linjian lu also considers it an error in old editions. Upon examining the Zhengzong ji, both the names Weizheng and Fazheng appear. However, the generations of Baizhang can be counted; Mingjiao merely saw that the names differed and, unable to distinguish them, preserved both. Now we must take the stele as standard. Furthermore, Qinggong's Shiyuan says that Baizhang Master Niepan was an heir of Guishan and a grandson of Huaihai; this is especially erroneous and not to be accepted). One day he said to a monk, 'Clear the fields for me, and I will expound the great meaning for you.' When the monk had finished clearing the fields, he came back and requested the master to expound the great meaning. The master then held out both hands. An elder saw sunlight penetrating through the window and asked the master, 'Does the window approach the sun, or does the sun approach the window?' The master said, 'Elder, there is a guest in your room; you had better return.' The master asked Nanquan, 'Do the kalyāṇamitras of the various quarters have a Dharma that they do not tell people?' Nanquan said, 'They do.' The master said, 'What is it?' Nanquan said, 'Not mind, not Buddha.' The master said, 'In that case, you have already told people.' Nanquan said, 'I am just like this.' The master said, 'What about you, elder Dharma-uncle?' Nanquan said, 'I am not a kalyāṇamitra either; how should I know whether there is a Dharma to tell or not to tell?' The master said, 'I do not understand; please, elder Dharma-uncle, speak.' Nanquan said, 'I have overwhelmingly expounded it for you!' A monk asked, 'What is "the Path of the Buddhas is uniform"?' The master said, 'Fixed.' When the master was on his way to the capital, he met an official on the road who invited him to take a meal. Suddenly a donkey brayed. The official called out, 'Tudhūta!' The master raised his head. The official then pointed at the donkey. The master then pointed at the official. (Fayan said alternatively, 'Just make the bray of a donkey.') Master Dongshan Hui of Hongzhou was wandering in the mountains when he saw a cliff. A monk asked, 'Does this cliff have a master or not?' The master said, 'It does.' The monk said, 'What kind of person is it?' The master said, 'What are you searching for in a village of three families?' That monk went in and asked, 'Who is the master within the cliff?' The master said, 'Are you still short of breath?' There was a junior monk who returned from traveling on foot. The master asked, 'How long have you been away from me outside?' The junior monk said, 'Ten years.' The master said, 'Do not point east and point west; speak directly!' The junior monk said, 'Facing the Venerable, I dare not tell a lie.' The master gave a shout and said, 'This field-beating fellow!' One day, while Master Qingtian was brewing tea with Sthavira Tao, the master tapped the rope-seat three times. Tao also tapped three times. The master said, 'When this old monk taps, there is a skillful means; what reason is there when you tap, Sthavira?' Tao said, 'When I tap, there is an expedient; what about when the Venerable taps?' The master held up the teacup. Tao said, 'The eye of a kalyāṇamitra should indeed be like this.' When the tea had been brewed, Tao asked back, 'What was the Venerable's intention when he held up the teacup just now?' The master said, 'It cannot be that there is something else!' Master Dayu and Nanyong went to the tea hall. Seeing a monk approach and bow in greeting, Yong said, 'I have neither admitted you nor have you seen me; whom are you greeting?' The monk said nothing. Master [Dayu] said, 'You should not question him like that for no reason.' Yong said, 'Dayu is also speechless.' The master then grabbed the monk and said, 'It is you who implicate me like this!' and likewise struck him a slap. Yong then laughed and said, 'A bright moon in the blue sky!' An attendant came to attend on the master. The master asked, 'The diamond samādhi is uniformly so for all things; what happens when autumn departs and winter comes?' The attendant said, 'It does not hurt for the Venerable to ask.' The master said, 'Right now is all right; what about after you pass away?' The attendant said, 'Who would dare question me?' The master said, 'Can Dayu manage it?' The attendant said, 'There is still a need for someone else to examine it.' The master said, 'Assisting and supporting the ancestral master does not forfeit radiance.' The attendant bowed.
First 21 of 57 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 景德傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese