續傳燈錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

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Table of Contents for Fascicle One of the Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp

The Tenth Generation under Dajian
Sixteen Dharma heirs of Chan Master Nian of Shoushan in Ruzhou:
Chan Master Shanzhao of Fenyang
Chan Master Guisheng of Yexian
Chan Master Hongyin of Shending
Chan Master Yuncong of Guyin
Chan Master Yuanlian of Guanghui
Chan Master Zhisong of Sanjiao
Chan Master Zhisong of Tiefo
Chan Master Huaizhi of Shoushan
Chan Master Chuping of Renwang
Chan Master Jionghan of Zhimon
Mountain Master Huizhao of Lumen
Upāsaka Wang Sui, the Prime Minister (The above twelve persons appear in the record)
Chan Master Zhongmi of Huangbo
Chan Master Shanshao of Fusheng
Chan Master Qikuang of Nantai
Senior Monk Qicong (The above four persons are not recorded)

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Table of Contents for Fascicle One of the Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (End)

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The Tenth Generation under Dajian

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Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Nian of Shoushan

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Chan Master Shanzhao of Taizi Monastery in Fenyang was a son of the Yu family of Taiyuan. His capacity and insight were profound. Disdaining outward adornment, he possessed great wisdom. In all matters of literature, without the instruction of teachers, he was naturally conversant and understanding. When he was fourteen, his parents died one after the other. Left an orphan in hardship, he grew weary of worldly dust and toil, and thereupon shaved his head and received full ordination. Bearing a staff, he traveled from place to place, staying nowhere for long. Disliking mere sightseeing, he examined and awakened according to occasion, visiting and studying under seventy-one kalyāṇamitras across all quarters. At last he arrived at Shoushan. One day, Shoushan ascended the seat. The Master stepped forward and asked, "What is the meaning of Baizhang rolling up the mat?" Shoushan said, "When the dragon sleeve is shaken open, the entire body appears." The Master asked, "What is the Master's meaning?" Shoushan said, "Where the elephant king walks, fox tracks are cut off." At these words the Master experienced great awakening. He bowed, stood up, and said, "The moon in the empty sky above the emerald pool of ten thousand kalpas: / Only after fishing repeatedly is it finally recognized." Someone asked, "What principle did you see that led you to affirm yourself like this?" The Master said, "It is precisely where I cast down my body and life." Later, he traveled through the Heng and Xiang rivers, as well as the Xiang and Mian regions. Often the commandery prefects strove to secure him for famous monasteries, inviting him eight times in succession, but he lay firmly in retirement and did not respond. When Shoushan passed away, the monastics and laypeople of Xihe sent the monk Qicong to welcome and invite him to take up the abbotship. The Master barred his gate and rested on high pillows. Qicong pushed open the door, entered, and rebuked him, saying, "The great matter of the Buddha Dharma should not be abandoned for minor matters of seclusion and retirement! Fengxue feared fulfilling the prophecy, worrying that the lineage tenets would fall into ruin. Fortunately there was our late Master; our late Master has now departed the world. You are capable of shouldering the great Dharma of the Tathāgata—what time is it now to seek peaceful sleep?" Startled, the Master rose, grasped Qicong's hand, and said, "Had it not been for you, I would not have heard these words! Quickly prepare: I shall set out." After arriving, he sat peacefully on a single couch, not crossing the threshold for thirty years. Monastics and laypeople alike called him Fenyang, not daring to speak his name. Ascending the hall, he addressed the assembly, saying: "Under the gate of Fenyang sits the lion of Xihe crouching right at the door. If anyone comes, he bites them to death on the spot. What expedient method is there to enter Fenyang's gate and see Fenyang's person? If one sees Fenyang's person, one is fit to be teacher to patriarchs and buddhas; if one does not see Fenyang's person, all are standing dead men. Is there anyone now who can enter? Enter quickly, lest you fail your whole life! If you are not a guest of the Dragon Gate, take care not to be marked on the forehead! Which one is a guest of the Dragon Gate? All marked at once!" Raising his staff, he said: "Withdraw quickly, withdraw quickly! Take care!" Again he ascended the hall and said: "Every single phrase must possess the three mystery gates; each mystery gate must possess the three essentials. Which is the phrase of the three mysteries and three essentials? Understand it quickly! Reflect on this, each of you: have you attained stability yet or not? In former times, when the ancient worthies went on itinerant pilgrimage, if there was a single nidāna they had not yet clarified, food had no flavor for them and their sleep was uneasy. Urgently resolve it like putting out a fire—do not treat it as a small matter! That is why the Old Man of Great Awakening appeared in the world for the sake of the one great causal condition. Reflect upon their going on itinerant pilgrimage from times past: it was not to tour mountains, enjoy the waters, or gaze upon the luxury of prefectural cities. A patch of robe and a mouthful of food were all because the sacred mind was not yet penetrated. Therefore they toiled on itinerant pilgrimage, resolving the profound, transmitting, and proclaiming it, widely inquiring of the early sages, and drawing near to worthies of high virtue. This was all to continue the Buddha's mind lamp, perpetuate the lineage of patriarchs, elevate the sacred lineage, and guide future capacities, benefiting oneself and benefiting others. Is there anyone now who wants to discuss? If so, come forth and let us discuss together!" A monk asked, "What is the phrase for guiding beginners?" The Master said, "You are an itinerant monk." The monk asked, "What is the phrase for discerning a patch-robed monk?" The Master said, "The sun rises in the east in the west." The monk asked, "What is the phrase for executing the authentic command?" The Master said, "Holding it across ten thousand miles, one presents the original face." The monk asked, "What is the phrase for establishing heaven and earth?" The Master said, "In Uttarakuru the non-glutinous rice grows tall; / Those who eat it have neither anger nor joy." Then he said: "Using these four turning words to test patch-robed monks throughout the world—the moment I saw you come forth, the test was complete!" A monk asked, "What is the student's place of exerting effort?" The Master said, "Carving the Great Statue in Jiazhou." The monk asked, "What is the student's turning the body?" The Master said, "Casting the iron ox in Shanfu." The monk asked, "What is the student's most intimate place?" The Master said, "Playing with the lion in Xihe." Then he said: "If someone understands these three phrases, they have already discerned the three mysteries. There are still the words of the three essentials remaining—you must urgently comprehend them! It is not on a whim that I utter this verse for the great assembly: / The three mysteries and three essentials are hard to divide; / Getting the meaning and forgetting the words, the Way is easily approached. / A single phrase clearly encompasses all ten thousand phenomena; / On the ninth day of Double Ninth, the chrysanthemums are fresh." Because the cold in Bing and Fen was bitter, the Master suspended the evening instructions. An extraordinary monk arrived, shaking his staff, and said to the Master, "In your assembly there are six Mahāsattvas; why do you not preach the Dharma?" Having spoken, he left. The Master secretly recorded this in a verse, saying: / "The foreign monk's golden staff gleams; / For the sake of the Dharma he came to Fenyang. / Six men will become great vessels; / He exhorted and requested that I expound it." Ascending the hall: "Every single phrase must possess the three mystery gates, and each mystery gate must possess the three essentials. There is illumination and there is function. Sometimes illumination precedes and function follows; sometimes function precedes and illumination follows; sometimes illumination and function are simultaneous; sometimes illumination and function are not simultaneous. With illumination preceding and function following, I still need to discuss it with you. With function preceding and illumination following, you must be a true person to manage it. When illumination and function are simultaneous, how will you withstand it? When illumination and function are not simultaneous, how will you settle it?" A monk asked, "What is the source of the Great Way?" The Master said, "Digging the earth to seek the sky." The monk said, "How could it be like this?" The Master said, "You do not recognize the abstruse and profound." A monk asked, "What is the guest within the guest?" The Master said, "Joining palms before the hermitage, inquiring of the Bhagavat." The monk asked, "What is the host within the guest?" The Master said, "Facing each other, there is no companion." The monk asked, "What is the guest within the host?" The Master said, "Battle clouds lie across the sea; / Drawing a sword, one stirs the Dragon Gate." The monk asked, "What is the host within the host?" The Master said, "Three heads and six arms upholding heaven and earth; / In wrathful anger, Nata strikes the celestial bell." Ascending the hall: "Fenyang has three directives, / Hard for patch-robed monks to distinguish. / If you intend further to ask what they are, / The staff strikes a wedge into your head!" Then a monk asked, "What are the three directives?" The Master struck him at once. The monk bowed. The Master said, "I shall utter them in verse for you all at once: / The first directive: / Guiding without set seasons. / Clever words cannot explain it; / The clouds split—the moon in the blue sky. / The second directive: / Shedding light to discern the wise and worthy. / Question and answer in the mind to benefit sentient beings; / Pulling out the wedge from within the eyes. / The third directive: / Spoken by the foreigner of the western realm. / Crossing the water to Silla; / In the northern lands, using fine steel." He said again, "Is there anyone who understands? One who understands, come forth and communicate some news! I want to know near and far. Do not simply memorize words and phrases like this—what benefit is there in taking that as your whole life? No need to stand for long. Take care!" A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The Master said, "A fan of green silk brings plenty of cool breeze." A monk asked, "When the cloth drum is hung on the porch, who is the connoisseur?" The Master said, "Stopping the hoe, pouring out the barley rice; / Lying in the grass without raising the head." A monk asked, "What is the bodhimaṇḍa?" The Master said, "No place to set foot." A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The Master said, "Thorough to the bone, thorough to the marrow." The monk said, "What is this meaning?" The Master said, "Pervading heaven, pervading earth." A monk asked, "A true cultivator of the Way does not see the faults of the world. It is not yet clear: what kind of faults does he not see?" The Master said, "Snow buries the night moon three feet deep; / Sailing a boat on dry land for ten thousand miles." The monk said, "What kind of mind-practice does the Upādhyāya have?" The Master said, "It is actually your mind-practice." A monk asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's house style?" The Master said, "The three mysteries open the authentic Way; / A single phrase shatters false lineages." The monk asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's livelihood?" The Master said, "Ordinarily holding nothing in hand, / Making offerings to monks from the five lakes." The monk asked, "I wonder what they eat?" The Master said, "Heavenly sudhā rice is no precious delicacy; / One taste of good broth—once full, that is all." Ascending the hall, he addressed the assembly, saying: "Now, one who speaks the Dharma must possess the ten kinds of wisdom sharing one reality. If one does not possess the ten kinds of wisdom sharing one reality, one cannot distinguish the false from the correct or separate black from white, and cannot serve as the eyes for humans and devas to resolve right and wrong. It is like a bird flying in the sky with broken wings, or an arrow shot at a target with a snapped bowstring. Because the string is snapped, the target is missed; because the wings are broken, the sky cannot be flown through. When the bowstring is strong and the wings are firm, both target and sky are fully penetrated. What are the ten kinds of wisdom sharing one reality? Let me point them out for all of you seniors: first, sharing one substance; second, sharing the great matter; third, altogether sharing study; fourth, sharing true wisdom; fifth, sharing universality; sixth, sharing complete endowment; seventh, sharing gain and loss; eighth, sharing life and killing; ninth, sharing the roaring sound; tenth, sharing attainment of entrance." He also said: "With what kind of person does one share attainment of entrance? With whom does one share the roaring sound? What is sharing life and killing? What thing shares gain and loss? Which one shares complete endowment? What shares universality? Who shares true wisdom? Who can altogether share study? Which one shares the great matter? What thing shares one substance? Is there anyone who can point them out? One who can point them out does not spare compassion; one who cannot point them out does not yet possess the eye of study. You must urgently distinguish them! You must recognize that the face of right and wrong is present right now. You should not stand for long. Take care!" Lord Li, the Prefect of Longde Prefecture, had an old acquaintance with the Master and invited him to head the vacant Chengtian Monastery. The messenger came three times, but the Master would not go. The messenger was punished, and returning, said, "I must have you come along with me, Master; otherwise, there is only death for me." The Master smiled and said, "Being old and ill, I already do not leave the mountain. If I am to go, we should go one before the other. Why must we go together?" The messenger said, "If the Master consents, then whether before or after is entirely your choice." The Master then ordered food to be served and his baggage prepared. He addressed the assembly, saying, "This old monk is going. Who can follow?" A monk stepped forward and said, "I can follow." The Master said, "How many li do you walk in a day?" The monk said, "Fifty li." The Master said, "You cannot follow me." Another monk stepped forward and said, "I can follow." The Master said, "How many li do you walk in a day?" The monk said, "Seventy li." The Master said, "You too cannot follow me." The attendant stepped forward and said, "I can follow. Wherever the Upādhyāya reaches, I will reach." The Master said, "You can indeed follow this old monk." Having spoken, he said to the messenger, "I shall go first!" Setting down his chopsticks, he passed away. The attendant thereupon entered transformation standing up. They were cremated, their relics were gathered, and stupas were erected.

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Chan Master Guisheng of Guangjiao Monastery in Yexian, Ruzhou, was a son of the Jia family of Jizhou. In his young adulthood he went to Baoshou Monastery in Yizhou to leave household life and receive full ordination. Later he went on itinerant pilgrimage and called upon Shoushan. One day Shoushan held up a bamboo stick and asked, "If you call it a bamboo stick, you infringe; if you do not call it a bamboo stick, you turn your back on it. What do you call it?" The Master snatched it and threw it to the ground, saying, "What is it?" Shoushan said, "Blind man!" At these words, the Master had a sudden, penetrating awakening. Opening the hall, a monk asked, "Patriarchs transmit from one to another, transmitting the patriarchal seal. Whose Dharma heir are you today, Master?" The Master said, "Within the empire, the Son of Heaven; beyond the frontier, the general." The monk asked, "Receiving the Master's pointing like a single drop of the ocean, what is the affair of the supreme lineage?" The Master said, "Before Emperor Gaozu's palace hall, Fan Kuai grew furious; you must know that for ten thousand miles all smoke and dust are cut off." A monk asked, "Vimalakīrti's ten-foot room did not take the sun and moon as its illumination; what does the Upādhyāya's ten-foot room take as its illumination?" The Master said, "Eyebrows parting in the shape of the character eight." The monk asked, "I do not understand what the meaning is." The Master said, "Both ears hanging down to the shoulders." A monk asked, "What is an act that surpasses the teachers?" The Master said, "How long are this old monk's eyebrows?" A monk asked, "What is the solitary, exposed body amid the dust?" The Master said, "A thousand-man tent north of the frontier; a ten-thousand-bushel boat south of the Yangtze." The monk said, "Then it is not dust!" The Master said, "Followers of mimicry write ten thousand lines in a single letter." A monk asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's profound place?" The Master said, "A cat has the merit of smearing blood on its lips; a tiger has the virtue of raising corpses." The monk said, "Could it be just this?" The Master said, "The pestle pounds in the southeast, the mill turns in the northwest." A monk asked, "What is the adamantine indestructible body?" The Master said, "A hundred shattered fragments." The monk asked, "What is the meaning?" The Master said, "In the end, a single mound of ash." A monk asked, "Not falling into any conditions—please, Master, speak directly." The Master said, "Falling." A monk asked, "What is the pure Dharma body?" The Master said, "The latrine-pit scraper." A monk asked, "What are precept, concentration, and wisdom?" The Master said, "Broken furniture." One day the Master ascended the seat. A monk asked, "What about just when coming up to the Dharma hall?" The Master struck the Chan couch once. The monk said, "I do not understand what this meaning is." The Master said, "With no one bidding a higher price, I strike three hundred." A monk asked, "If suddenly a great icchantika arrives, will you still act on his behalf or not?" The Master said, "When the Dharma lasts long, it turns to abuses." The monk asked, "Where is compassion?" The Master said, "Growing old, one turns into a demon." Ascending the hall, [the Master said,] "The ancestral masters' bloodline—some are ordinary, some are sacred. Nāgārjuna and Aśvaghoṣa; heavens and hells; boiling cauldrons, burning coals, and ox-headed jailers; all phenomena in profusion, the sun, moon, and stars; other realms and this land; the sentient and the insentient—" He drew a line with his hand and said, "All enter this school. Within this school's gate, it can kill people and it can bring people to life. To kill people, one must have the sword that kills people. To bring people to life, one must have the words that bring people to life. What is the sword that kills people and the words that bring people to life? Those who can speak, come forth and try speaking to the assembly! If you cannot speak, you have wasted your entire life. Take care!" A monk asked, "What are the Upādhyāya's four immeasurable minds?" The Master said, "Arson and murder." The monk asked, "Where is compassion?" The Master said, "When you meet someone with eyes, cite it to him." A monk asked, "Not inside, not outside, and not in between—where on earth is it?" The Master said, "Six in the Southern Dipper, seven in the Northern Dipper." A monk asked, "What is the master of Vairocana's Dharma body?" The Master said, "Monks line up by summer retreats; laymen rank by seniority of years." The monk asked, "Is there still an affair beyond?" The Master said, "There is." The monk asked, "What is the affair beyond?" The Master said, "Ten thousand miles to Yazhou you must go yourself; when about to depart in melancholy, whom do you blame?" Ascending the hall, after a long pause, he said, "You itinerant Chan practitioners must really reflect: when investigating and studying, you must possess the eye of investigation and study; in your view and ground, you must obtain the phrase of view and ground—only then will you have a share of closeness; only then will you avoid being deluded by the various objects and not fall into the evil destinies. Ultimately, how do you understand it in detail? Sometimes the phrase reaches but the meaning does not: forgetting conditions, the former dust discriminates shadow-affairs. Sometimes the meaning reaches but the phrase does not: like the blind feeling the elephant, each speaks a divergent account. Sometimes meaning and phrase both reach: shattering the realm of empty space, radiant light illumines the ten directions. Sometimes neither meaning nor phrase reaches: a sightless person rushes about in all directions, and suddenly, unaware, falls into a deep pit." A monk asked, "What is the path where past and present do not differ?" The Master said, "All commoners wrap their heads." The monk said, "What is the meaning?" The Master said, "Ācārya, you have no woven-mat hat." A monk asked, "When one's own affair is not yet clear, what is used as proof?" The Master said, "Striking the silence gavel in a bustling market." The monk asked, "What is the meaning?" The Master said, "Lighting a golden lamp at noon." A monk asked, "When a cloth drum is struck right in the courtyard, who is the one that understands the tune?" The Master said, "There is an astringent nail in the eye." The monk said, "I do not understand what this meaning is." The Master said, "Old man Qiao offers sacrifice to the southern spirit." A monk requested instruction on the story of the cypress tree. The Master said, "I would not refuse to explain it to you, but will you believe it?" The monk said, "The Upādhyāya's weighty words—how could I dare not believe them?" The Master said, "Do you still hear the sound of water dripping from the eaves?" That monk was startled and unwittingly cried out, "Ye!" The Master said, "What principle have you seen?" The monk then replied with a verse: "Water dripping from the eaves, / distinct and clear! / Smashing heaven and earth, / in that moment the mind is put to rest." The Master was pleased. He asked a monk, "At nightfall entering the woods, where did you leave this morning?" The monk said, "A newly ordained monk has never studied Chan." The Master said, "Enter hell in your living body—get out!" Later, a monk brought this up to Upādhyāya Kuan of Zhimon. Zhimon said, "Why didn't you say, 'The key is in the Upādhyāya's hand'?" Once, the Master went to the infirmary to see a sick monk. The monk then asked, "Upādhyāya, the four great elements are originally empty; from where does sickness come?" The Master said, "It comes from where the Ācārya asks." The monk gasped for breath and asked again, "What about when not asking?" The Master said, "Dropping your hands, lie in the vast empty sky." The monk said, "Ye!" and passed away.

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Chan Master Hongyin of Shending in Tanzhou was a son of the Hu family of Xiangshui. Ever since his itinerant pilgrimage, he used a single patch-robed garment to pass both cold and heat. Once he arrived in the Xiang-Mian region with several senior monks. One monk brought up and discussed the ancestral school with great eloquence. It happened that a rustic meal was prepared at a mountain inn, but that monk continued talking without cease. The Master said, "'The three realms are mind-only; the ten thousand dharmas are consciousness-only. Consciousness-only, mind-only: eye is sound, ear is color.' Whose words are these?" The monk said, "Fayan's words." The Master said, "What is their meaning?" The monk said, "Because of mind-only, sense-faculties and sense-objects do not reach one another; because of consciousness-only, sound and color run free." The Master said, "Are tongue and taste sense-faculty and sense-object?" The monk said, "They are." The Master took up vegetables with his chopsticks, put them in his mouth, and mumbling indistinctly, said, "Why do you say they enter into each other?" Those seated were astonished, and the monk could not answer. The Master said, "The joy of the road is never reaching home. A subtle conceptual understanding is not called seeing the Way. In investigation, one must truly investigate; in awakening, one must truly awaken. King Yama does not fear many words." The monk bowed with hands clasped and withdrew. Later, the Master returned to Changsha and lived in seclusion in the Sansheng Treasury on Mount Heng. An eminent noble from Xiangyin came to visit Fuyan Monastery; he went to the Master's room and saw his calm, peaceful bearing, a single bowl hanging on the wall and no other belongings. Deeply moved and admiring him, he prostrated himself, knelt, and invited him, saying, "Shending is a place where my family cultivates merit, but it has long lacked a master of the lineage. Would you be willing to go there with me?" The Master smiled and agreed. [The nobleman] then carried the Master on his own horse. It took ten years before it became a flourishing monastery. A single rotting couch was his seat for expounding the Dharma. His contentment with austere simplicity was peerless. Moreover, as both his virtue and ordination age were high, all quarters revered him like the ancient Zhaozhou. A monk asked, "What about before the various teachings were heard?" The Master said, "Wind soughs, rain patters." The monk asked, "What about after hearing them?" The Master said, "Better to comprehend the speech." A monk asked, "What about before the fish drum is struck?" The Master said, "Look at the sky, look at the earth." The monk asked, "What about after it is struck?" The Master said, "Holding the bowl, ascend the hall." A monk asked, "What about the cold spring in the ancient ravine?" The Master said, "It is not a place for patch-robed monks to tread." The monk asked, "What is the place for patch-robed monks to tread?" The Master said, "Not seeing that there is any cold spring in the ancient ravine." A monk asked, "What about offering [it] with both hands to the venerable hall?" The Master said, "What is it?" A monk asked, "What about when a student reaches the treasure mountain and returns empty-handed?" The Master said, "The thirtieth day of the twelfth month." A monk asked, "What is the Upādhyāya's house style?" The Master said, "When hungry, one does not choose food." A monk asked, "What are the Upādhyāya's phrases for guiding people?" The Master said, "Gathering firewood, picking vegetables." The monk said, "Could it be just this?" The Master said, "You must still be careful." A monk asked, "What about brushing away the dust and seeing the Buddha?" The Master said, "Buddha is also dust." A monk asked, "What is a person of the Way's livelihood?" The Master said, "This mountain monk has never entered a schoolroom since childhood." An official pointed to the wooden fish and asked, "What is this?" The Master said, "How many drowsy people it startles awake!" The official said, "I almost did not reach here." The Master said, "No-mind strikes no-mind." A monk asked, "What is the pure Dharma body?" The Master said, "Ash on the head, dirt on the face." The monk asked, "Why is it like this?" The Master said, "How could you blame this mountain monk?" The monk asked, "I wonder, is there still an affair beyond the Dharma body?" The Master said, "There is." The monk asked, "What is the affair beyond?" The Master said, "The golden crown atop Vairocana's head." A monk asked, "Bodhi originally has no tree; from where does the fruit/seed come?" The Master said, "Can you call it non-existent?" A monk asked, "Earth-Holding Bodhisattva repaired roads to wait for the Buddha; whom is the Upādhyāya waiting for by repairing bridges?" The Master said, "Step back." A monk asked, "What about before the Upādhyāya saw the former virtuous master?" The Master said, "Walking east, walking west." The monk asked, "What about after seeing him?" The Master said, "Carrying the staff horizontally across the shoulders." Ascending the hall, the Master cited Dongshan: "Greed, anger, and ignorance are too mindless; / fortunate that today I have recognized them. / Walking, I strike them; sitting, I pound them; / I entrust them to the mind-king to scrutinize closely. / Through immeasurable kalpas, there has been no liberation; / I ask you three, do you know or not?" The Master said, "The ancient spoke like that; Shending does not. / Greed, anger, and ignorance are truly mindless; / throughout the twelve periods, leave them to their own accord. / Walking, they go along; sitting, they follow; / entrusting them to the mind-king, what does one intend to do? / Through immeasurable kalpas, there has originally been liberation; / why must one further ask whether they know or not?"

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Chan Master Yuncong Cizhao of Mount Guyin in Xiangzhou was a native of Zhang clan in Guangzhou. He first studied under Upādhyāya Baizhang Heng on the occasion of the summer retreat. Baizhang ascended the hall and cited the Madhyamakaśāstra: 'True awakening is without names or marks; conforming to conditions is the bodhimaṇḍa.' The Master immediately stepped forward and asked, 'What is the true awakening without names or marks?' Baizhang said, 'Do you see the exposed pillar?' The Master said, 'What is conforming to conditions as the bodhimaṇḍa?' Baizhang said, 'Today the summer retreat begins.' Next, he visited Shoushan and asked, 'When a student personally reaches the jewel mountain but returns empty-handed, how is that?' Shoushan said, 'A torch in front of every household's gate.' At these words, the Master had a great awakening. He presented a verse, saying: / 'Now I am twenty-seven, / I once went seeking the Way. / Today I have happily met it, / Yet after all, there is nothing to recognise.' / Later he arrived at Dayang. Upādhyāya Xuan asked, 'Where did you leave recently?' The Master said, 'Xiangzhou.' Dayang said, 'What is a phrase without separation?' The Master said, 'It is not easy for the Upādhyāya to be an abbot.' Dayang said, 'Sit down and drink tea.' The Master then went to join the assembly. The attendant asked, 'Just now the newcomer only answered that it is not easy to be an abbot. Why did the Upādhyāya tell him to sit down and drink tea?' Dayang said, 'I offered him aconite from Silla, and he repaid me with fennel from a foreign ship. Go ask him; there are words in it.' The attendant invited the Master to drink tea and asked, 'Just now you replied to the Upādhyāya that it is not easy to be an abbot—what was the meaning?' The Master said, 'True brass is not traded for gold.' / After he became an abbot, a monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Qiongzhou produces many nine-jointed staffs.' The monk said, 'Thank you, Master, for the instruction.' The Master said, 'Do not understand it as an answer to the question about the Buddha.' / A monk asked, 'Coming, there is nothing; going, it is empty. Both paths are bewildering. How can one go without being bewildered?' The Master said, 'Half a pound at the head of the steelyard, eight ounces at the tail.' / A monk asked, 'What is the mind of the ancient buddhas?' The Master said, 'Stepping on the steelyard weight, it is hard as iron.' The monk asked, 'What is the meaning?' The Master said, 'Tomorrow I will tell you.' / A monk asked, 'I do not ask about green mountains and clear waters. How does one speak the urgent phrase?' The Master said, 'Hands pass the knees, ears hang down to the shoulders.' / A monk asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'Carriages roll over it and horses trample it.' The monk asked, 'What about the person on the Way?' The Master said, 'Lying across, sitting upright.' / A monk asked, 'Days go and months come in succession, and unnoticed one grows old and frail. Is there anyone who does not grow old?' The Master said, 'There is.' The monk asked, 'Who is the one that does not grow old?' The Master said, 'The sinews of a horned dragon shout in a loud voice; later in the evening its vital spirit becomes even greater.' / A monk asked, 'What is the student's deepest recess?' The Master said, 'The tortoise hides its six limbs deep at the bottom of the water.' The monk asked, 'What happens within there?' The Master said, 'Do not let travellers on the road know.' / A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the ancient asking for fire?' The Master said, 'Let it go out.' The monk asked, 'What about after it goes out?' The Master said, 'The first, the thirtieth, and the eleventh.' / Because they were building a dam on the Qingliang River, a monk asked, 'If suddenly a flood surges to the heavens, can it still be dammed?' The Master said, 'Supporting heaven above, propping earth below.' The monk said, 'What if the fire of the kalpa burns furiously?' The Master said, 'Emerging horizontally, sinking vertically.' / A monk asked, 'Is there Buddha-Dharma in the deep mountain crags?' The Master said, 'There is.' The monk asked, 'What is the Buddha-Dharma in the deep mountain crags?' The Master said, 'Strange rocks shaped like tigers; burnt pines with the posture of dragons.' / A monk asked, 'An ancient said that when you see form, you see the mind. The exposed pillar is form; which one is the mind?' The Master said, 'In broad daylight, seeing the Winnowing Basket constellation.' The monk asked, 'What is the meaning?' The Master said, 'The squad leader of the Willow Camp crosses the steps and goes up.' / A monk asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'A fine dog wearing a collar.' The monk said, 'Why is it like this?' The Master said, 'It makes people afraid to look.' / The Master ascended the hall: 'Before the fifteenth, the buddhas are born. After the fifteenth, the buddhas perish. Before the fifteenth, the buddhas are born: you may not leave this place of mine. If you leave this place of mine, I have a hook to hook you. After the fifteenth, the buddhas perish: you may not stay in this place of mine. If you stay in this place of mine, I have an awl to pierce you. Tell me, right on the fifteenth, is it right to use the hook, or is it right to use the awl?' He then uttered a verse: / 'Right on the fifteenth, / Hook and awl both cease. / If you intend to ask what next, / You turn your head, and the sun rises again.' / A monk asked, 'What is the seamless pagoda?' The Master said, 'Look straight down.' The monk asked, 'What about the person inside the pagoda?' The Master said, 'Step back! Step back!' / A monk asked, 'Following the ancients' saying: "Just right now, who is moving the mouth?"—what is the meaning?' The Master said, 'Do not mistake a donkey's saddle tree for your father's lower jaw.' / Grand Protection Zhang Maochong asked, 'Kāśyapa Mātanga's arrival in Han involved manifold words; Bodhidharma transmitted solely—please, Master, point directly.' The Master said, 'If winter is not cold, look after the twelfth month.' / A monk asked, 'If one can transform things, one is identical to the Tathāgata. The myriad phenomena are things—how can they be transformed?' The Master said, 'Having eaten one's meal, there is not a bit of cunning left.' / A monk asked, 'Not a single thread hung, the Dharma net is boundless—why then is there confusion and awakening?' The Master said, 'Two buckets on one carrying pole.' / A monk asked, 'The sentient have function; the insentient have no function. What is the application of the insentient?' The Master said, 'A single door leaf kept open all night long.' / The Master ascended the hall: 'The spring scenery is mild and warm, the spring rain moistens everywhere, and the myriad things sprout. Where does not receive the grace? Tell me, what phrase can be said for receiving the power of grace?' After a long pause, he said, 'A drop of spring rain is as slippery as oil.' / A monk asked, 'What is the student's own Dharma-body?' The Master said, 'Carrying firewood every day is not easy.' The monk said, 'This belongs to the great assembly; what is the student's own?' The Master said, 'Three lifetimes and sixty kalpas.' / A monk asked, 'Opening the mats and unfolding the bowls day after day, with what does one repay the donor's kindness?' The Master said, 'By this one question, I am utterly grieved to death.' The monk said, 'Then I thank you for the offering.' The Master said, 'Whose strength have you gained?' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Tomorrow you shall eat another meal.' / A monk asked, 'What is the ancient's meaning of the tuft of fur at the head of a rushing rapid?' The Master said, 'The clouds part and the moon is bright.' / A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the stone resting on the bottom at the head of a rushing rapid?' The Master said, 'When the house collapses, one sees the blue sky.' The monk asked, 'What is the meaning of seeing the blue sky when the house collapses?' The Master said, 'Penetrating above, thoroughly piercing below.' / A monk asked, 'If fire breaks out in one place, you may extinguish it at will. What when it breaks out in all eight directions at once?' The Master said, 'Quickly!' The monk said, 'Does one still seek to get out?' The Master said, 'If you seek to get out, you will be burned to death.' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Even if you do not seek to get out, you will still be burned to death.' / The Master instructed the assembly: 'Speak the first phrase, and you burst out from within rock. Speak the second phrase, and you press close and come on. Speak the third phrase, and you cannot even save yourself.' / The Master ascended the hall: 'The five-white cat has fierce claws; / Raised in the hall, pests cease their crawling. / It clearly knows the method of climbing trees to keep safe, / But strictly avoids leaving the bequest to the nephew. / What is the phrase of bequeathing to the nephew? Do not bring it up mistakenly.' / A monk entered the abbot's room and asked, 'Right at such a time, is there still a master?' The Master said, 'The bright lamp shines through the night; where is it not clear?' The monk said, 'In the end, how is the matter?' The Master said, 'Come.' The monk said, 'It is the Cold Food Festival.'

1.10

Chan Master Yuanlian of Guanghui Monastery in Ruzhou was a native of Chen clan in Quanzhou. He arrived at Shoushan. Shoushan asked, 'Where did you leave recently?' The Master said, 'Hanshang.' Shoushan raised his fist and said, 'Is there this in Hanshang?' The Master said, 'What kind of bowl-ringing sound is this?' Shoushan said, 'Blind man!' The Master said, 'Exactly.' He clapped once and went out. On another day he asked again, 'When a student personally reaches the jewel mountain but returns empty-handed, how is that?' Shoushan said, 'A torch in front of every household's gate.' The Master had a great awakening on the spot and said, 'I no longer doubt the tongues of the old venerable monks of the world.' Shoushan said, 'What is your understanding? Speak it for me to see.' The Master said, 'It is just sal ammoniac on the ground.' Shoushan said, 'You have understood.' The Master then bowed. / After he became an abbot, a monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'At the tip of a bamboo pole, a red flag flutters.' / Vice Director Yang Yi asked, 'Above heaven there is no Maitreya; below the earth there is no Maitreya. I wonder, where is he?' The Master said, 'Knocking on bricks, striking tiles.' He also asked, 'What is the meaning of Fengxue's saying, "Lady Ma at the sands of Jinsha"?' The Master said, 'Even speaking of it falls short.' / A monk asked, 'What is the true person of no rank?' The Master said, 'Wood above, iron below.' The monk said, 'Then the blame falls upon a definite place.' The Master said, 'The judge throws down his brush.' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Drag him out!' / A monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Two is not many.' / The Master ascended the hall: 'When the two head monks of Linji met, they gave shouts simultaneously. All of you, tell me, was there still a host and a guest? If you say there was, you are just a blind fellow. If you say there was not, you are also a blind fellow. Neither being nor non-being is ten thousand leagues away in Yazhou. If you can speak here, you still deserve thirty blows of the stick; if you cannot speak, you also get thirty blows of the stick. Patch-robed monks, having reached here, how can you leap out of this mountain monk's corral?' After a long pause, he said, 'How miserable! Frogs and earthworms leap up to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, crash into Mount Sumeru, and shatter into a hundred fragments.' Raising his staff, he said, 'A gang of holeless iron hammers! Retreat quickly, retreat quickly!'

1.11

Chan Master Zhisong of Sanjiao in Chengtian Monastery of Bingzhou was a native of Fanyang. He called upon Shoushan and asked, "What is the precise main meaning of the Buddha Dharma?"
Shoushan said, "Beside the city of the King of Chu, the Ru River flows east."
At this, the Master had an insight and suddenly accorded with the Buddha's intent. Thereupon he composed three verses on the mystery gates:

"When it is needed, directly apply it;
Let the mind and intellect not stir or waver.
A three-year-old [lion] roars like a lion;
Throughout the ten directions, fox breeds vanish.

I possess the nature of tathatā,
As if hidden within a veil.
Break through the pass of the six gates,
And the seal of Vairocana is revealed.

True bone and vajra substance worthy of praise;
With a single wipe of the six dusts, unobstructed forever.
The vast, open realm has emptiness as its substance;
Above the substance is non-action, truly arriving home."

When Shoushan heard this, he invited him to drink tea and asked, "Did you compose these three verses?"
The Master said, "Yes."
Shoushan said, "What if someone told you to manifest the thirty-two marks?"
The Master said, "I am no wild fox spirit."
Shoushan said, "Spare your eyebrows."
The Master said, "How many has the Upādhyāya dropped?"
Shoushan struck him on the head with a bamboo scraper and said, "In days to come, this fellow will run wild!"

After becoming abbot, he ascended the hall and said, "Mañjuśrī brandishes a sword and struts across Wutai; along the route of Tangming, he cuts off all demonry and falsehood. The Buddhas of the three periods have never departed from the doctrinal vehicles; fish swimming beneath the net find it hard to cross the Dragon Gate. Lowering the hook into the four seas is only to catch ferocious dragons; mysterious discourse beyond the patterns is to seek true kalyāṇamitras. If one would hold up and make known the lineage tenets, Mount Sumeru must be smashed to powder. If one would speak of Buddhas and Patriarchs, the waters of the ocean must run dry. When the precious sword is swung, its blazing light reaches ten thousand leagues. I allow you an open avenue to speak thoroughly; yet once your throat is blocked off, where will you catch your breath?"

A monk asked, "Those of dull faculties delight in lesser teachings and do not believe that they themselves can become Buddhas. What happens after becoming a Buddha?"
The Master said, "Catching a qilin in the water."
The monk said, "In that case, one ascends the high seat directly."
The Master said, "Riding an ox up to the Thirty-Three Heavens."

[A monk] asked, "What was the meaning of the ancients taking up the mallet and raising the whisk?"
The Master said, "Riding a donkey without wearing boots."

[A monk] asked, "What is taking away the person but not taking away the environment?"
The Master said, "There is a road to one's homeland, but no one arrives."
[The monk] said, "What is taking away the environment but not taking away the person?"
The Master said, "Secretly carrying the Son of Heaven's imperial edict, covering double the journey of a hundred stages."
[The monk] said, "What is taking away both person and environment?"
The Master said, "A headless toad with its feet pointing to heaven."
[The monk] said, "What is taking away neither person nor environment?"
The Master said, "The long Willow Alley south of the Jin Shrine."

[A monk] asked, "What was the ancient's meaning when saying, 'The Eastern Mountain and Western Ridge are green'?"
The Master said, "The Persian's nostrils are huge."
[The monk] said, "In that case, in the Western Heavens it is Kāśyapa; in the Eastern Land, our Master."
The Master said, "The Vajra-bearer's palm is broad."

[A monk] asked, "Among Great Compassion's thousand hands and eyes, which is the main eye?"
The Master said, "The stone Buddha of Kaihua claps his hands and laughs; the Lady of the Jin Shrine knows how to sing songs."

[A monk] asked, "When Linji knocked Huangbo down, why did the karmadāna take the blows of the stick?"
The Master said, "An honest dog does not steal oil; a chicken runs off with the lamp saucer in its beak."

[A monk] asked, "What is intercepting someone's functioning?"
The Master said, "When it is needed, directly apply it."
[The monk] said, "Please apply it, Upādhyāya."
The Master said, "Drag this dead fellow out!"

Director Zheng of the Ministry of Works asked, "What about when one plays polo alone on a hundred-foot pole, or hangs over a cliff of ten thousand fathoms with a silk cord tied around one's waist?"
The Master said, "Planting feet in Youzhou, wrestling in Guangnan."
Zheng had nothing to say.
The Master said, "I have seen through this barbarian."
Zheng said, "For twenty years in Jiangnan, only this time have I met a Chan master."
The Master said, "A blind old woman blowing on a fire."

[A monk] asked, "'Do not establish the two extremes at all; there is no need to settle in the middle way.' What is the meaning of this?"
The Master said, "Guangnan produces elephant ivory."
[The monk] said, "I do not understand; please point it out directly, Master."
The Master said, "A barbarian leather ball costs eight hundred."

He ascended the hall and said, "From the cold border to warm comfort, wearing clothes and eating food, inherently nothing is lacking. What are you rushing around seeking? It is only that you are unwilling to take charge of it yourself. Is there anyone here now who will take charge? If there is, do not fail the mountains, rivers, and great earth. Take care!"

[A monk] asked, "When the Patriarch came from the West and the Tripiṭaka Master went to the East, what matter should be clarified?"
The Master said, "The Commander repairs the Buddha hall; this old monk roofs the monks' hall."
The monk said, "In that case, today's business is completely clarified."
The Master said, "What is today's business?"
The monk shouted.
The Master struck him.

[A monk] asked, "What is the student's place of mental application?"
The Master said, "Shave the head clean and wash the alms bowl thoroughly."
[The monk] said, "What is the student's realm of conduct?"
The Master said, "In front of the monks' hall, behind the Buddha hall."

He ascended the hall, cited Fayan's verse:
"Seeing mountains, they are not mountains;
Seeing waters, how have they ever differed?
Mountains, rivers, and the great earth—
All are a single wheel of the moon."

[and said,] "The great and small Fayans have not yet been seen leaving the Nirvāṇa Hall. Sanjiao is not like that: seeing mountains, rivers, and the great earth, awl and knife each serve their own purpose. Take care!"

1.12

Chan Master Zhisong of the Iron Buddha Monastery in Xinzhou had a fellow practitioner arrive. Seeing him, the Master asked, "Do you still remember our acquaintance?"
The head practitioner hesitated. A second monk struck the head practitioner with a sitting mat and said, "Why don't you answer the Upādhyāya quickly?"
The Master said, "One arrow hitting two targets."

The Master asked a monk, "Where have you come from?"
[The monk] said, "From Mount Tai."
The Master said, "Did you see the Dragon King?"
[The monk] said, "Let the Upādhyāya try to speak."
The Master said, "If I speak, tiles will shatter and ice will melt."
The monk hesitated.
The Master said, "He does not believe the path."

[A monk] asked, "When a deceased monk passes away, where does he go?"
The Master said, "Going downhill without running, quickness is hard to come by."

1.13

Chan Master Huaizhi of Shoushan in Ruzhou: A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?"
[The Master] said, "A three-foot staff smashes a broken earthenware basin."
[A monk] asked, "What is Buddha?"
The Master said, "The bottom falls out of the tub."
[A monk] asked, "What words and phrases have come down from the holy ones of old?"
The Master said, "'Thus have I heard.'"
[The monk] said, "I do not understand."
The Master said, "'Faithfully accept and uphold.'"

1.14

Chan Master Chuping of Renwang Monastery in Chizhou asked Shoushan, "What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?"
Shoushan shouted.
The Master bowed.
Shoushan took up his stick.
The Master said, "Old Upādhyāya, is there no world left?"
Shoushan cast down his staff and said, "It is hard to fool someone with clear eyes."
The Master said, "The grass bandits suffer a great defeat."

1.15

Chan Master Huihan of Zhimon in Suizhou was serving at the Northern Pagoda. While the monastic commissioner was serving tea, the Master rose, bowed, and said, "Monastic commissioner, please sit further up."
The commissioner said, "On the head of a sparrowhawk, how could one dare to build a nest?"
The Master said, "Holding it up does not turn it into a dragon." Following this, he struck him with a sitting mat.
After finishing tea, the commissioner rose and said, "Just now I ended up offending the Upādhyāya."
The Master said, "Meditation guest Du from Jiangnan, what second bowl are you looking for?"

1.16

Mountain Master Huizhao of Lumen in Xiangzhou: Vice Minister Yang Yi asked, "What about entering the mountain not fearing tigers, but on the main road on guard against people?"
The Master said, "The gentleman is serene and open-hearted."
A monk asked, "What is Mount Lumen?"
The Master said, "The big stones are big, the small ones are small."
[The monk] said, "What is the person in the mountain?"
The Master said, "Sleeping crosswise, lying lengthwise."

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續傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese