[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [續傳燈錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077) › 15.8 # 續傳燈錄 15.8 續傳燈錄 15.8 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [15.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077.15.8) 洪州泐潭洪英禪師。姓陳氏邵武軍人。幼警敏讀書五行俱下。父母愛之使為書生習進士。師不食自誓懇求出家。及成大僧即行訪道。東游至曹山依止耆年雅公。久之辭去登雲居。眷岩壑勝絕為終焉之計。閱華嚴十明論。至為真智慧無體性。不能自知無性故為無性之性。不能自知無性故名曰無明。華嚴第六地曰。不了第一義故號曰無明。將知真智慧本無性故不能自了。若遇了緣而了則無明滅矣。是謂成佛要門。願以此法紹隆佛種。然今諸方誰可語此。既而曰。有積翠老子在。即日往黃蘗謁南禪師。夜語達旦。南惟加敬而未許入室。師往往呈語。南惟默然。一日因取經函忽失手而墜。戞然有聲遂頓悟。徑造方丈陳其所解。南曰。汝乃吾家英雄具正眼者善自護持。時會下龍象雜遝。而師議論英發常傾四坐。聲名藉甚。乃游西山遇南昌潘居士同宿雙嶺。居士言。龍潭見天皇時節冥合孔子。師驚問。何以驗之。居士舉孔子曰。二三子以我為隱乎。吾無隱乎爾。吾無行而不與二三子者是丘也。天皇云。汝擎茶來吾與汝接。汝行食來吾與汝受。汝問訊我起手。何嘗不為汝。師以為何如。師笑曰。楚人以山雞為鳳。世傳以為笑。不意居士此語正相類。何也汝擎茶來吾為汝接。汝行食來吾為汝受。汝問訊我起手。若言是說。說箇什麼。若言不說。龍潭何以便悟此。所謂無法可說是名說法。以世尊之辨亦不能加此兩句耳。學者但求解會。譬如五色圖畫虛空。鳥窠無佛法可傳授。不可默坐。只拈布毛吹之。侍者便悟去。學者乃云。拈起布毛全體發露。似此見解未出教乘。其可稱祖師門下客耶。九峯被人問深山裏還有佛法也無。不得已云有。及被窮詰無可有。乃云。石頭大者大小者小。學者乃卜度云。剎說眾生說三世熾然說。審如此教乘自足。何必更問祖師意旨耶。要得脫體明去。譬如病眼人求醫治之。醫者乃能去翳膜。不曾以光明與之。居士推床而起云吾憂積翠法道未有繼者。今知盡在子躬矣。雙嶺順禪師問。菴中老師好問學者。併却咽喉唇吻道取一句。首座曾道得麼。師為之一笑已。而有偈曰。阿家甞醋三尺喙。新婦洗面摸著鼻。道吾答話得腰裩。玄沙開書是白紙。於是順嘆服以為名下無虛士。有同參在石門分座接納。師作偈寄之曰。萬煆爐中鐵蒺藜。直須高價勿饒伊。橫來竪去呵呵笑。一任旁人鼓是非。熙寧元年首眾于廬山圓通寺。學者歸之如南公。明年春南圓寂。十月師徇四眾之請。遂開法于石門僧問。逢場作戲時如何。師曰。紅爐爆出鐵烏龜。僧云。當軒布鼓師親擊。百尺竿頭事若何。師曰。山僧不信這活計。僧擬議。師曰。不唧𠺕漢。僧禮拜起。便垂下袈裟角云。脫衣卸甲時如何。曰喜得狼烟息弓弰壁上懸。僧却攬上袈裟角云。重整衣甲時如何。師曰。不到烏江畔知君未肯休僧便喝。師曰。驚我。僧拍一拍。師曰也是死中得活。僧禮拜。師曰。將謂收燕破趙之才。元來只是販私鹽賊。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。眉分八字眼似流星。僧云。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。一棒一條痕。僧云。大眾證明學人禮謝。師呵呵大笑。僧禮拜起以左手畫一圓相。師以拂子穿向右邊。僧以右手畫一圓相。師以拂子穿向左邊。僧以兩手畫圓相托呈。師以拂子畫一畫曰。三十年來未曾逢溈仰子孫。今日却遇著箇踏土墼漢。還更有問話者麼。良久無問。師乃曰。問也無窮答也無盡。問答去來於道轉遠。何故況為此事。直饒棒頭薦得不是丈夫。喝下承當未為達士。那堪更向言中取則句裏馳求。語路尖新機鋒捷疾。如斯見解盡是埋沒宗旨玷污先賢。於吾祖道何曾夢見。只如我佛如來臨般涅槃。乃云。吾有正法眼藏涅槃妙心。付囑摩訶大迦葉。迦葉遂付阿難。洎商那和修毱多大士諸祖相繼。至于達磨西來。直指人心見性成佛。不立文字語言。豈不是先聖方便之道。自是當人不信却自迷頭認影。奔逐狂途致使伶俜流浪生死。禪德。若能一念回光返照。向自己脚跟下褥剝究竟將來。可謂洞門谿開樓閣重重。十方普現海會齊彰。便乃凡聖賢愚山河大地以海印三昧一印印定。更無纖毫透漏。山僧如是舉唱。若是眾中有本色衲僧。聞之實為掩耳而歸笑破他口。大眾且道。本色衲僧門下一句作麼生道。良久曰。天際雪埋千尺石。洞門凍折數株松。又一日陞堂。僧問。黃龍一曲師親唱。佛手驢脚略借觀。師曰。老僧打退鼓。僧禮拜。師曰。龍頭蛇尾又問。臨濟栽松即不問。百丈開田事若何。師曰。深著鉏頭。僧云。古人猶在。師曰。更添鋤頭。僧禮拜。師擊禪床一下。乃顧視大眾曰。青山重疊疊綠水響潺潺。遂拈拄杖曰。未到懸崖處擡頭仔細看。卓拄杖而起。又曰。寶峯高峻人罕到。岩前雪壓枯松倒。嶺前嶺後野猿啼。一條古路清風掃。禪德。雖然如是。且道山僧拄杖子長多少。遂拈起曰。長者隨長使短者隨短用。卓一下。又上堂良久顧視大眾曰。石門巇嶮鐵關牢。舉目重重萬仞高。無角鐵牛衝得破。毘盧海內作波濤。且道不涉波濤一句作麼生道。良久曰。一句不遑無著問。迄今猶作野盤僧。下座。師住未期年。六月知事紛爭。止之不可。即謂眾曰。領眾不肅正坐無德。吾有媿黃龍。呼維那鳴鐘眾集敘行脚始末曰。吾滅後火化以骨石藏普通塔。明生死不離清眾也。言卒而逝。閱世五十有九。坐四十三夏。門弟子奉師遺誡。茶毘以靈骨入塔。別收舍利供養。 > Chan Master Hongying of Letan in Hongzhou was surnamed Chen and was a native of Shaowu Commandery. From childhood he was alert and quick-witted, reading five lines at a glance. His parents doted on him and had him study as a scholar for the jinshi examination. The Master took a vow by starving himself, earnestly begging to leave home. Once he had become a fully ordained monk, he immediately set out to seek the Way. Traveling east, he reached Mount Cao, where he relied upon the venerable elder Master Ya. After a long time he departed and climbed Mount Yunju, becoming fond of its peerless crags and ravines, intending to make it his final dwelling. Reading the Treatise on the Ten Clarities of the Avataṃsaka, he reached the passage: 'Because true wisdom has no self-nature, it cannot know its own lack of nature, and is therefore the nature that has no nature. Because it cannot know its own lack of nature, it is called ignorance (avidyā).' The sixth ground of the Avataṃsaka says: 'Not understanding the ultimate truth is therefore called ignorance.' One should know that because true wisdom originally has no nature, it cannot know itself. If it encounters conditions of understanding and is understood, then ignorance is extinguished. This is called the essential gate to becoming a buddha. 'I vow to use this teaching to carry on and prosper the seed of Buddhahood! Yet in the various regions today, with whom can this be spoken?' Soon after he said, 'There is the old fellow of Jicui!' On that very day he went to Huangbo to visit Chan Master Nan. They talked through the night until dawn. Nan only showed him increased respect, yet did not admit him into the abbot's room. The Master often presented his understanding in words, but Nan remained silent. One day, while taking down a sutra case, he accidentally dropped it; it fell with a clatter, and thereupon he was suddenly awakened. He went straight to the abbot's quarters and set forth his realization. Nan said, 'You are a hero of our lineage, endowed with the true eye; preserve it well.' At that time dragon-elephants thronged beneath the Master's seat, yet his discourse was brilliant and heroic, consistently captivating the four assemblies; his reputation grew renowned. He traveled to the Western Mountains, where he met Upāsaka Pan of Nanchang, and they lodged together at Shuangling. The upāsaka said, 'The occasion of Longtan seeing Tianhuang was in dark concurrence with Confucius.' The Master asked with surprise, 'By what proof?' The upāsaka cited Confucius's words: 'Do you, disciples, think I keep secrets from you? I have no secrets from you. There is nothing I do without you, disciples; that is who Qiu is.' Tianhuang said, 'When you bring tea, I receive it from you; when you bring food, I accept it from you; when you make salutations, I raise my hands. When have I ever not acted for you?' 'What does the Master think of this?' The Master smiled and said, 'The man of Chu mistook a mountain pheasant for a phoenix, and the world has handed it down as a laughingstock. I did not expect your words, Upāsaka, to be of the exact same kind! Why so? When you bring tea, I receive it for you; when you bring food, I accept it for you; when you make salutations, I raise my hands. If you call this speaking, what is spoken? If you call it not speaking, why did Longtan immediately awaken upon this? This is what is meant by "There is no Dharma that can be spoken; this is called speaking the Dharma." Even with the Bhagavat's eloquence, nothing can be added to these two lines. Students merely seek intellectual understanding, like painting empty space with five colors. At Niaoke there was no Buddhist Dharma that could be transmitted; unable to sit in silence, he merely picked up a bit of cloth fluff and blew on it, and the attendant was thereupon awakened. Students then say, "Picking up the cloth fluff, the complete substance is revealed." Views like this have not left the doctrinal vehicle; how could they be called guests at the Patriarch's gate? When Jiufeng was asked whether there was Buddha-Dharma in the deep mountains, having no choice he said there was. When pressed until nothing could be said to exist, he then said, "Of the stones, the large ones are large, and the small ones are small." Students then speculate, saying, "Lands speak, sentient beings speak, the three times blaze and speak." If it were truly like this, the doctrinal vehicle would be sufficient in itself; why would one further inquire into the Patriarch's meaning? If you wish to be completely clear of substance, it is like a person with diseased eyes seeking treatment from a physician: the physician can only remove the film and cataract; he cannot give them brightness.' The upāsaka pushed away his seat, stood up, and said, 'I was worried that Jicui's path of Dharma would have no successor; now I know it all resides in your person!' Chan Master Shun of Shuangling asked, 'The old master in the hermitage likes to ask students: "Leaving aside throat, lips, and mouth, say a phrase!" Has the head monk ever been able to say it?' The Master gave a smile, and then recited a verse: / 'The mother-in-law tastes the vinegar, her snout three feet long; / The daughter-in-law washes her face and feels her nose. / Daowu, answering the words, got the loincloth; / Xuansha, opening the letter, found blank paper.' / Shun then sighed in admiration, considering that there was no false reputation beneath his name. A fellow student was dividing the seat to receive followers at Shimen; the Master composed a verse and sent it to him: / 'In the furnace of ten thousand smeltings, caltrops of iron; / You must ask a high price and show him no lenience! / Coming sideways, going upright, with a hearty laugh, / Leave bystanders entirely free to stir up right and wrong.' / In the first year of the Xining era (1068), he was head of the assembly at Yuantong Temple on Mount Lu; students flocked to him as they had to Master Nan. In the spring of the following year Nan entered parinirvāṇa. In the tenth month the Master complied with the request of the four assemblies and opened the Dharma hall at Shimen. A monk asked, 'What happens when one plays at theatre on the occasion?' The Master said, 'From the red-hot furnace bursts out an iron turtle.' The monk said, 'The cloth drum before the porch, the Master strikes it in person. What about the matter atop a hundred-foot pole?' The Master said, 'This mountain monk does not believe in that livelihood.' The monk hesitated in thought. The Master said, 'Clumsy fellow!' The monk bowed, rose, and let down the corner of his kāṣāya, saying, 'What happens when one sheds robes and takes off armor?' The Master said, 'Delightful that the beacon smoke is stilled and the bow tips hang on the wall.' The monk then gathered up the corner of his kāṣāya, saying, 'What happens when one reorganizes robes and armor?' The Master said, 'Before reaching the banks of the Wu River, I know you will not be willing to stop.' The monk gave a shout. The Master said, 'You startled me!' The monk clapped once. The Master said, 'Indeed, gaining life from within death!' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'I thought you had the talent to take Yan and conquer Zhao, but it turns out you are merely a bandit peddling illicit salt.' A monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Eyebrows divided like the character "eight" (八), eyes like shooting stars.' The monk said, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'One blow of the stick, one welt.' The monk said, 'Let the great assembly bear witness; this student bows in gratitude.' The Master laughed heartily. The monk bowed, rose, and drew a circle with his left hand. The Master thrust his whisk through toward the right side. The monk drew a circle with his right hand. The Master thrust his whisk through toward the left side. The monk drew a circle with both hands and held it up to present it. The Master drew a horizontal line with his whisk and said, 'For thirty years I have not met a descendant of Weishan and Yangshan; today I have run into a fellow stamping out mud bricks! Are there any more questions?' After a long pause with no questions, the Master said: 'Questions are inexhaustible, answers are limitless. The coming and going of questions and answers takes one ever further from the Way. Why is this so? Much more for this matter: even if you apprehend it at the tip of the stick, you are not a real man; if you undertake it under a shout, you are not yet an accomplished person. How much less should you seek rules within words and gallop after phrases! Sharp, novel ways of speaking and nimble, swift verbal barbs—views such as these all bury the lineage tenets and defile the former sages! How could they ever have dreamed of our ancestral Way? Just consider our Buddha Tathāgata, when approaching parinirvāṇa, he said: "I have the treasury of the true Dharma eye, the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, and I entrust it to Mahākāśyapa." Kāśyapa then entrusted it to Ānanda, down through Śāṇavāsa, Upagupta, and the various patriarchs in succession, until Bodhidharma came from the West, directly pointing to the human mind, seeing one's nature and becoming a buddha, not establishing words and letters. Was this not the skillful means of the former sages? It is simply that people themselves do not believe, but instead lose their heads and recognize their shadows, rushing along wild paths, causing themselves to wander helplessly in birth and death. Virtuous Chan practitioners! If you can in a single thought turn the light back to illumine within, thoroughly investigating right down beneath your own heels, it may be said that the cave gate opens wide, pavilions stand layer upon layer, the ten directions are universally manifested, and the ocean-like assemblies are all revealed at once! Then ordinary and holy, wise and foolish, the mountains, rivers, and great earth are stamped fixed by the single seal of the ocean-seal samādhi (sāgara-mudrā-samādhi), with not the slightest leakage! This mountain monk gives instructional discourse like this; yet if there were an authentic patch-robed monk in the assembly, hearing it he would cover his ears and go home, laughing his mouth off! Great assembly, tell me: how does a phrase under the gate of an authentic patch-robed monk go?' After a long pause he said: 'At the edge of heaven, snow buries a thousand-foot stone; / At the cave gate, frost snaps several pine trees.' / Another day he ascended the hall. A monk asked, 'Huanglong's single song, the Master sings in person. The Buddha's hand and the donkey's foot, lend them to us briefly to look at.' The Master said, 'The old monk beats the retreat drum.' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Dragon's head, snake's tail!' He asked again, 'Leaving aside Linji planting pines, what about Baizhang opening fields?' The Master said, 'Dig deep with the hoe.' The monk said, 'The ancient is still present.' The Master said, 'Add another hoe.' The monk bowed. The Master struck the meditation seat once, looked around at the assembly, and said: 'Green mountains stacked layer upon layer, green waters murmuring and bubbling.' Then he picked up his staff and said: 'Before reaching the hanging cliff, raise your head and look carefully!' He planted the staff and stood up, then said: 'Baofeng is steep and high, rarely visited by people; / Before the crag, snow weighs down the withered pine until it falls. / Before the ridge and behind the ridge, wild apes cry; / Along the single ancient path, the clear wind sweeps. / Virtuous Chan practitioners, although it is like this, tell me: how long is this mountain monk's staff?' Then he raised it and said: 'When it is long, use it as long; when it is short, employ it as short.' He struck once with it. / He also ascended the hall, paused for a long time, looked around at the assembly, and said: 'Shimen is perilous, its iron barrier secure; / Raising the eyes, layer upon layer, ten thousand fathoms high. / An iron bull without horns can charge and break through it, / Stirring up waves within the ocean of Vairocana! / Tell me, how do you say a phrase that does not involve waves?' After a long pause he said: 'Having no leisure for a single phrase, Wuzhuo asked; / To this day he remains a monk roaming the wilderness.' He stepped down from the seat. When the Master had been abbot for not yet a year, in the sixth month the temple administrators were quarreling. He could not stop them, and so said to the assembly: 'Leading the assembly without order is solely because I lack virtue; I am ashamed before Huanglong.' He summoned the karmadāna to strike the bell, gathered the assembly, and recounted the beginning and end of his itinerant pilgrimages, saying: 'After my passing, cremate me and deposit my bone-relics in the General Pagoda, to make clear that in life and death I am not separated from the pure assembly.' With these words he passed away. He had lived fifty-nine years and sat forty-three summer retreats. His disciples followed his dying instructions, cremated him (jhāpita), and placed his sacred relics in the pagoda, separately gathering the śarīra to make offerings. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 15.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077.15.7) - [Next: 15.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077.15.9) - [Up: 15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077.15) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077~en-mt.15.8) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077.15.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2077.15.8) · Pramāṇa