續傳燈錄 17

English (machine translation) 17

Language: English

17.1

Table of Contents for Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle Seventeen

Fourteenth Generation under Dajian
Nine Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Danxia Chun:
Chan Master Tiantong Zhengjue
Chan Master Changlu Qingliao
Chan Master Dahong Qingyu
Chan Master Zhiping Yu (the above four have records)
Chan Master Foyan of Wudang
Chan Master Dasheng Sheng
Upādhyāya Xiushan of Suizhou
Chan Master Dayang Man
Chan Master Guizong Ming (the above five have no records)

Eleven Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Xiangshan Jingyin Cheng:
Chan Master Tianfeng Zigui
Chan Master Jixiang Faxuan
Chan Master Huguo Shouchang
Chan Master Danxia Puyue
Chan Master Nun Miaohui Huiguang (the above five have records)
Chan Master Miaofeng Yun
Chan Master Jinshan Jian
Chan Master Tianning Ke
Chan Master Longchi Yu
Chan Master Shuangquan Yue
Chan Master Nan-yue Longwang Yun (the above six have no records)

Nine Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Baofeng Zhao:
Chan Master Yuantong Dezhi
Chan Master Zhenru Daohui
Chan Master Zhitong Jingshen
Chan Master Huayao Zhipeng (the above four have records)
Chan Master Wuju Ruyi
Chan Master Yangshan Ji
Chan Master Bao'en Tong
Chan Master Jianfu Zhen
Director of the Canon Tianwang Cong (the above five have no records)

Five Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Shimen Yi:
Chan Master Qingyuan Qi
Chan Master Tianyi Cong
Chan Master Nun Fotong of Xiangshan (the above three have records)
Chan Master Jiuding Cipu
Chan Master Wuwei Yisong (the above two have no records)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Tianning Bu:
Chan Master Xiong'er Ci (has a record)

Thirty Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Dagui Zhe:
Chan Master Zhihai Daoping
Chan Master Letan Jingxiang
Chan Master Guangxiao Huilan
Chan Master Dongming Renxian
Chan Master Puzhao Xiaoqin
Chan Master Donglin Zizun
Chan Master Fuyan Zhi
Chan Master Dongming Qian
Chan Master Daowu Runeng
Chan Master Xingjiao Huichun
Chan Master Luofu Xisheng
Chan Master Xingyang Xian
Chan Master Yong'an Miaoxi (the above thirteen have records)
Chan Master Heshan Huixiao
Chan Master Zhongfeng Zhiyuan
Chan Master Lingquan Daojian
Chan Master Qingju Wenzhe
Chan Master Wanshou Zisheng
Chan Master Chongyin Zheng
Chan Master Jiayou Bian
Chan Master Yuelu Hai
Head Monk Guishan Yun'ai
Head Monk Qirong
Hermitage Master Guishan Yong
Chan Master Jingfu Huiwen
Chan Master Ruifeng Daozong
Chan Master Zhaojue Shifan
Chan Master Wanshou Daozong
Chan Master Yunfeng Qingwu
Chan Master Xiang'er Zizhen (the above seventeen have no records)

Four Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Xuedou Ya:
Chan Master Guangxiao Puyin (one has a record)
Chan Master Longyou Qingyun
Chan Master Shimen Yongxi
Chan Master Chanlin Yongjue (the above three have no records)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Qingshan Zongzhen:
Chan Master Qingshan Puno (one has a record)

Two Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Jingsi Si:
Chan Master Wanshou Faxuan
Chan Master Qingshan Shoulong (both have records)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Huguo Yue:
Chan Master Huguo Huiben (has a record)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Huguo You:
Chan Master Zisheng Zeyuan (has no record)

Two Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Nanchan Hui:
Chan Master Xiaoshan Faxuan
Chan Master Baolin Daofang (both have no records)

Three Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Wanshou Yuan:
Chan Master Guoqing Zhao
Chan Master Huiyan Jue
Chan Master Yonghuai Rong (the above three have no records)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Fuchang Duan:
Chan Master Wangwu Zi (has no record)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Tianxi Yong:
Senior Seat Tian (has no record)

One Dharma Heir of Chan Master Lumen Deng:
Chan Master Baima Xi (has no record)

Two Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Nun Daoshen of Xijing:
Chan Master Fengsheng Shaocai
Chan Master Miaohui Zhi'an (the above two have no records)

Two Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Dahong Shouxi:
Chan Master Dahong Qingxian (has a record)
Min of Gong'an in Jingzhou (has no record)

17.3

Table of Contents of the Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle Seventeen (End)

17.4

Fourteenth Generation under Dajian

17.5

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Danxia Chun

17.6

Chan Master Hongzhi Zhengjue of Mount Tiantong in Mingzhou was a son of the Li family of Xizhou. His mother dreamed that a monk from Mount Wutai took off a ring and placed it on her right arm; she then became pregnant and subsequently maintained a vegetarian diet. When he was born, his right arm had a distinctive raised marking resembling a ring. At seven years of age, he recited thousands of words daily. His grandfather Ji and his father Zongdao had long practiced under Chan Master Fotuo Xun. Xun once pointed at the Master and said to his father, "This child has an extraordinary spiritual bearing; he is truly not one to linger in the dust. If he leaves home, he will surely become a vessel of the Dharma." At eleven, he was tonsured under Benzong of Jingming. At fourteen, he received full ordination. At eighteen, he went on itinerant pilgrimage. Parting from his grandfather, he said, "If I do not elucidate the Great Matter, I vow never to return." When he arrived at Xiangshan in Ruzhou, Kumucheng regarded him with profound esteem upon their first meeting. One day, hearing a monk recite the Lotus Sūtra up to the passage "The eyes born of father and mother completely see the three thousand realms," he had a sudden realization. He went straight to the abbot's quarters to state his realization. Shan pointed to an incense box on the stand and said, "What thing is inside?" The Master said, "What kind of mental activity is that?" Shan said, "What then is the place of your awakening?" The Master drew a circle with his hand, presented it, and then cast it behind him. Shan said, "What limit is there to a fellow playing with clumps of mud?" The Master said, "Wrong!" Shan said, "Only when you see another person will it be settled." The Master gave his assent, and immediately proceeded to Danxia. Danxia asked, "What is your self from before the empty kalpa?" The Master said, "A frog at the bottom of the well swallows up the moon; at midnight there is no borrowing of the night-bright curtain." Danxia said, "Not quite yet; say more!" As the Master hesitated, Danxia struck him with his whisk and said, "And you still say there is no borrowing!" The Master was completely freed at these words and thereupon paid homage. Danxia said, "Why do you not utter a phrase?" The Master said, "Today I have lost money and suffered punishment." Danxia said, "I have no time to beat you; begone for now." When Danxia assumed leadership at Dahong, the Master was placed in charge of correspondence. Later, he was appointed head of the assembly. Those who attained the Dharma under him already numbered several persons. After four years, he passed by Yuantong. At that time, Zhenxie had just become abbot of Changlu; he sent monks to invite the Master, and the community came out to welcome him. Seeing that his robes and sandals were worn and torn, they wished to replace them. Zhenxie had an attendant offer new shoes, but the Master declined, saying, "Did I come here for the sake of shoes?" Hearing this, the community was deeply impressed and earnestly requested him to preach the Dharma. He stayed as head monk for six years. Leaving there, he became abbot of Puzhao in Sizhou, and next succeeded to Taiping, Yuantong, and Nengren. When he came to Changlu and Tiantong, the monastic quarters were cramped and dilapidated; upon his arrival, he built and renewed them completely, and patch-robed monks vied to gather there. He ascended the hall and said: "The curtain hangs in the Yellow Hall—who transmits the family letter? The purple gauze canopy closes—secretly scattering genuine pearls. At just such a moment, seeing and hearing cannot reach it, and verbal explanation cannot grasp it. How can a message be conveyed? / Waking from a dream, the night color faintly hints at dawn; / Laughing, I point to the house style—luxuriant spring." He ascended the hall and said: "The mind cannot condition it; the mouth cannot deliberate it. Even if you step back and take up the burden, you must strictly avoid striking against the taboo head-on. / The wind and moon are chill and clear at the ancient ferry; / The night boat turns around upon the ground of lapis lazuli." He ascended the hall and said: "In the empty kalpa there is the true lineage; / Before sound, inquire into one's own person. / A starkly penniless new livelihood; / A clear and unblemished ancient house style. / Clearly outside the Three Vehicles; / Solitary within the one seal. / Returning, one acts among different kinds; / Ten thousand streams naturally flow toward the east." He ascended the hall and said: "Today is the anniversary of Old Śākya's descent and birth. Changlu does not know how to speak of Chan, so I shall draw an outline for all of you. What about when he was in Māyā's womb?" Drawing this ⊙ circle with his whisk, he said, "And what about when his golden body was bathed with pure water?" He then drew this [○@水] circle, saying, "And what about when he walked seven steps, looked in the four directions, pointed to heaven and pointed to earth, attained awakening, spoke the Dharma, displayed spiritual transformations, exhibited wisdom and eloquence, over forty-nine years in more than three hundred assemblies, talking of blue and yellow, pointing east and sketching west, and entering parinirvāṇa?" He then drew this ⊕ circle, and continued, "If you are patch-robed monks with eyes, you will surely agree. If not, you must experience each and every one before it is settled." Ascending the hall, a monk asked, "What is the person who goes forward?" The Master said, "White clouds plunge into the ravine completely; green cliffs lean high against the sky." The monk said, "What is the person who returns?" The Master said, "With a head full of white hair, he leaves the crags and valleys; at midnight, piercing through the clouds, he enters the marketplace." The monk said, "What is the person who neither comes nor goes?" The Master said, "The stone woman calls back the dream of the three realms; the wooden man sits and cuts off the functioning of the six gates." He then said: "To clarify the lineage within phrases is easy; to discern the exact within the lineage is hard." After a long pause, he said: "Do you understand? / Before the frozen rooster announces dawn in the family grove, / Dimly, a wayfarer passes over the snow-covered mountains." A monk asked, "What about when not a single thread is clinging?" The Master said, "Joining together with the boatman, walking abreast." The monk said, "What is the matter within that?" The Master said, "A sharp knife or a sharp axe cannot hack into it." A monk asked, "What about when the mouth of the cloth bag is opened?" The Master said, "Freely let it fill the ditches and choke the ravines." A monk asked, "What about when the principle of pure emptiness is ultimately without a body?" The Master said, "Before the ink-marks leave a trace, at the moment when the message is hard to transmit." The monk said, "One step is secretly shifted, and the mysterious path turns; the whole body is laid down, and the kalpa vase is emptied." The Master said, "When born and approaching the father, the united body leaves no residual illumination." The monk said, "Since the principle is like this, what about the phenomenon?" The Master said, "As soon as it distinctly turns into the work of divided transformation, what harm is there in responding to faculties throughout the ten directions?" The monk said, "If so, then every single dust particle manifests the original body!" The Master said, "Penetrating all form, transcending all mind." The monk said, "What about when principle and phenomenon are united?" The Master said, "Meeting a dead snake on the road, do not beat it to death; put it in a bottomless basket and carry it home." The monk said, "Entering the market, one can whistle long; returning home, one wears a short coat." The Master said, "The wooden man sings upon the ridge; the stone woman dances by the stream." He ascended the hall and said: "Chan worthies! Why can the person who completely swallows the Buddhas of the three times not open his mouth? Why can the person who illuminates and shatters the four continents not close his eyes? All these ailments have been taken away for you all at once. Now, how will you achieve complete, ten-fold liberation? Do you understand? / Cleaving open Mount Hua, connecting with the color of heaven; / Releasing the Yellow River, sounding forth all the way to the sea." Since assuming the abbacy, the Master received without greed and gave without satiety. In years of famine and scarcity, he exhausted his own possessions and whatever remained after caring for the community, so that tens of thousands relied upon him to survive. In his daily routine, he did not eat after noon. In the ninth month of the dingchou year of the Shaoxing era, he visited the prefectural officials and donors, and next visited the military commissioner of Yue, Lord Zhao Lingjin, to bid him farewell. On the seventh day of the tenth month, he returned to the mountain. The next day, between the hours of the Dragon and the Snake (7–11 a.m.), he bathed, changed robes, sat upright, and addressed the assembly. Turning to an attendant monk, he asked for a brush and wrote a letter leaving instructions to Chan Master Dahui of Yuwang to take charge of the funeral arrangements. He then wrote a gāthā: / 'Dream, illusion, empty flowers—sixty-seven years; / A white bird dissolves in the mist, autumn waters merge with heaven.' / He threw down the brush and passed away. His shrine was kept for seven days, and his countenance looked as if alive. His whole body was enshrined in a stupa in the Eastern Valley. He was granted the posthumous title Hongzhi, and his stupa was named Miaoguang.

17.7

Chan Master Zhenxie Qingliao of Changlu in Zhenzhou was a native of Zuomian, surnamed Yong. While still in swaddling clothes, he was brought into a temple and saw a Buddha; his joy moved his eyebrows and eyelashes, and everyone considered him unusual. At the age of eighteen, he was ordained after being examined on the Lotus Sūtra. He went to Daci Monastery in Chengdu, studied the sūtras and treatises, and grasped their great essentials. Leaving Shu, he reached the Mian and Han rivers and knocked at the room of Danxia. He asked, "What was one's own self before the empty kalpa?" The master was about to reply when Danxia said, "You are being noisy; be gone for now!" One day he ascended Boyu Peak and had a sudden awakening. He returned directly to attend on Danxia. Danxia slapped him and said, "I thought you knew existence!" The master joyfully bowed to him. The next day Danxia ascended the hall and said: "The sun shines on the solitary peak, green; / The moon overlooks the mountain stream, cold. / The Patriarch's profound, wondrous directive— / Do not settle it in your tiny heart!" He then stepped down from the seat. The master went straight forward and said, "Today your ascending the seat could not fool me at all." Danxia said, "Try to cite my ascending the seat today and let us see." The master remained silent for a long time. Danxia said, "I thought you had caught a glimpse!" The master then walked out. Later he traveled to Wutai and the capital, and floated along the Bian River. Arriving directly at Changlu, he visited Zuzhao; with a single word they accorded with each other. Zuzhao appointed him as attendant, and after a year, shared the seat with him. Before long Zuzhao pleaded illness and retired, ordering the master to succeed to the seat; learners flocked to him as if returning home. At the end of the Jianyan era, he traveled to Siming, serving as abbot of Putuo, Tianfeng in Tai[zhou], and Xuefeng in Min. By imperial decree he resided at Yuwang, and was transferred to Longxiang in Wenzhou, Jingshan in Hangzhou, and Cining. The Empress Dowager ordered him to open the mountain at Chongxian in Gaoning. Ascending the hall, he said: "Under one palm-strike of my late teacher, all my tricks were exhausted; I searched for a place to open my mouth and could not find one. Nowadays, is there still such a fellow who is thoroughly joyful? If there is none, then bit in mouth and saddle on back, each of you attend to your own affairs!" Ascending the hall, he said: "'For long I have kept silent about this essential, not striving to speak it quickly.' Old Shakyamuni wanted to show off in detail, but how could he help being seen through before he even left his mother's womb? And tell me, what was seen through? You cannot fool Xuefeng." Ascending the hall, he said: "Ascending the summit of a solitary peak, crossing a single-log bridge—walking straight along like that is still where worldly people's feet step high and low. If you see through thoroughly, without leaving the door your body pervades the ten directions; before entering the gate, you are constantly inside the room. If this is not yet so, take advantage of the cool air and haul a load of firewood." Ascending the hall, he said: "If you can utter the first phrase, you will not be fooled by the staff. If you recognize the staff, this is still an affair on the road. What is the phrase of arriving at the ground?" Ascending the hall, he said: "Nowhere can it be found; there is only one place where, without seeking, it is attained of itself. And tell me, what place is that?" After a long pause he said, "The thief's body is already exposed." Ascending the hall, he said: "Only when white mold clears from the mouth can you enter the gate. Only when your whole body is raw and festering will you know the matter inside the gate. Furthermore, you must know that there is one who does not go out the door." He then said, "What do you call 'the gate'?" A monk asked, "The Buddhas of the three periods turn the great Dharma wheel within the flames—is this truly so or not?" The master laughed loudly and said, "I doubt it." The monk said, "Why does the upādhyāya doubt it?" The master said, "Wild flowers fragrance the whole road; / Hidden birds know not the spring." A monk asked, "Not falling into patterns and traces—is one still permitted to turn the body or not?" The master said, "Where the stone man walks, accomplishments are not the same." The monk said, "What is the matter of transcendence?" The master said, "Wondrous before a single bubble— / How could it brook the eyes of a thousand sages?" The monk bowed. The master said, "I only fear it is not so." One day the master went into the kitchen to inspect the boiling of noodles. Suddenly the bottom of a tub fell out. The assembly cried out together, "What a pity!" The master said, "When the bottom of a tub falls out, one should naturally rejoice; why are you distressed?" A monk said, "That may be so for the upādhyāya." The master said, "Truly, what a pity for that tub of noodles!" He asked a monk, "After you die and are burned to ashes and scattered, where will you go?" The monk gave a shout. The master said, "A good shout, but you must not overturn your confession." The monk shouted again. The master said, "The gong'an is not yet complete; only after another shout will it do." The monk was speechless. The master struck him and said, "This dead fellow!" Ascending the hall, he said: "Moss sealing the ancient path does not fall into void stillness; fog locking the cold grove gladly manifests the wind's essence. The hook and barb are secure and concealed—who says the old fisherman roosts in a nest? Just undertaking it this way is of course ordinary bliss. Is there anyone with the eye to penetrate the barrier?" After a long pause he said, "Even if you return early upon hearing of it, / How could it compare to never having stepped outside the door?" Ascending the hall, he said: "Suddenly rain, suddenly clear; suddenly cold, suddenly hot. This mountain monk's own affair, this mountain monk knows himself; you people's own affair, you people speak of yourselves. And tell me, what does Xuefeng's mouth need to do besides eating rice?" He asked a monk, "In the lapis lazuli palace, the jade maiden casts the shuttle—what side of the matter does this clarify?" The monk said, "Interchange does not suit the capacity." The master said, "Is there any intermission or not?" The monk said, "From antiquity to present, it has never been interrupted." The master said, "Just when it is not interrupted, what about it?" The monk said, "Take care!" and walked out. Ascending the hall, he shook his staff and said: "Look, look! The trichiliocosm shakes all at once. For Great Master Yunmen that would do, but for Xuefeng it is not so." Planting his staff, he said: "Where has the trichiliocosm gone? Do you understand? Without heavy plum rains, / How could the rice shoots show their green?" Ascending the hall, he said: "'The illusory empty body is itself the Dharma body.'" He then danced and said, "Do you see? Do you see? Seeing it this way, the village wine across the bridge is fine!" Again he danced and said, "Do you see? Do you see? Not seeing it this way, the wild flowers across the bank are fragrant!" Ascending the hall, he said, "Is there anyone who is not defiled by the profound and wondrous?" After a long pause he said, "This single speck, even if the waters of the four seas were poured on it, could never be washed away." A monk asked, "What was one's own self before the empty kalpa?" The master said, "A white horse enters the reed blossoms." Ascending the hall, he said: "Exhausting subtlety loses the root; realizing the wondrous misses the lineage. A single phrase cuts off the flow; the abyss and the profound are both exhausted. Therefore, where the golden needle is dense, no sharp point is exposed; when the jade thread threads through, extraordinary splendor is secretly displayed. Although it is like this, it is still the mutual illumination of both. And tell me, when skill and clumsiness cannot reach, how is it understood?" After a long pause he said: "Where the cloud vines flourish, green shade coalesces; / High and low on the cliff, trees are deeply locked in emerald." Ascending the hall, he said: "Shifting accomplishment to attain the position is the person going forward—jade treasured in Mount Jing is precious. Shifting the position to attain accomplishment is the person returning—a flake of snow on a red furnace is spring. When accomplishment and position are both shifted, the whole body is unhindered; letting go of the hands, one loses all support—the stone woman mounts the loom at night, and the secret chamber has no one to sweep it. Just at such a time, how is the phrase that cuts off breath understood?" After a long pause he said: "Returning to the root, wind-fallen leaves; / Shining completely, the moonlit pool is empty." The master passed away at Chongxian in Gaoning. A stupa was built at Huatongwu to the west of the temple. He was posthumously titled Chan Master Wukong.

17.8

Chan Master Huizhao Qingyu of Dahong in Suizhou was a native of Yingzhou, surnamed Hu. Ascending the hall, he said: "Stepping forward, one treads on the king's water and grass; stepping backward, one tramples on one's ancestors' fields and gardens. Neither advancing nor retreating, one is right in dead water. Is there still a way to emerge? In the rustling evening sound, pine needles are short; / In the drifting spring breeze, willow strands are long." Ascending the hall, he cited Chuanzi's injunction to Jiashan: "'You must conceal your body where there are no traces, but do not conceal your body where there are no traces. I was at Yaoshan for thirty years and only clarified this matter.' Why do people nowadays act so rashly? On the cinnabar mountain there is no colorful phoenix; / In the precious palace no crown is retained. Sometimes silly, sometimes foolish— / If one is not on my path, how could one know?"

17.9

Chan Master Yu of Zhiping in Chuzhou ascended the hall and said: "Roaming freely in the wondrous clarity of the realm of reality, / Turning one's steps and shifting one's body, one points to the evening glow. / Boundless white clouds are still not seen; / Riding the bright moon by night, one emerges from the reed blossoms."

17.10

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Jingyin Cheng

17.11

Chan Master Zigui of Tianfeng in Taizhou ascended the hall. He struck the staff once, addressed the assembly, and said: "The eighty-four thousand Dharma doors are thrown wide open like the character ba (八). Do you see? / A golden phoenix roosts at night in a shadowless tree; / Just as the mountain peaks emerge, ocean clouds conceal them."

17.12

Chan Master Faxuan of Jixiang in Taiping Prefecture. A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The master said, "A prolonged drought without sweet rain; / In the fields, the ears of rice are withered." The monk asked, "What is the meaning?" The master said, "This year rice is expensive; / Do not lightly disfavor coarse food."

17.13

Chan Master Shouchang of HFeedback in Taizhou ascended the hall. Holding up his staff, he struck it and said: "The start of the thirty-six decades, the beginning of the seventy-two pentads. At the time when all nations welcome harmonious qi, the Eastern Emperor issues the decree of generation. It brings auspicious colors hanging from heaven and propitious portents welling up from earth. A fine, slight drizzle washes the cold sky; a faint spring radiance envelops the countryside. It can be called receiving blessings in accord with the season, where nothing is not felicitous. Everyone throughout the whole earth adds a year to their age. I venture to ask you all: tell me, how old is that one person?" After a long pause he said: "A thousand-year-old elder has a face like jade; / A ten-thousand-year-old child has sideburns like silk thread."

17.14

Chan Master Puyue of Danxia in Dengzhou ascended the hall and said: "Before Majestic Voice, who could discern the truth? After Dīpaṃkara, who is an intimate knower? Even if you undertake it on that side, you will inevitably split it into two halves; even if you practice on this side, you must still fail to achieve total perfection. For indeed, sealing the mouth at Vaiśālī was already leaking the heavenly secret; even if one closes the chamber at Magadha, seams and cracks must ultimately break open. Do not say that the essence reveals true constancy; it must be purely clear, free of any blemish. What need is there to speak of skin shedding away? Naturally it alone functions in solitary clarity. Although fresh like this, it still does not match the spirit of a patch-robed monk. Only when the five eyes open together and the three lights thoroughly illumine will the thread on the fishing rod naturally avoid stirring the waves. One must understand shifting the position and turning the function before one can enter the marketplace with open hands. Therefore it is said: 'Even if hair grows on your teeth, do not let your eyes gaze upon it.' If you recognize it, empty flowers become confused and disorderly; if you speak of it, the path of words becomes tangled. Since it is like this, I venture to ask you all: how do you speak a phrase that does not brush against the blade?" After a long pause he said: "In the middle of the night, the tortoise's eyes open wide; / When dawn arrives, the myriad phenomena are all of one color."

17.15

The nun Chan Master Huiguang Jingzhi of Miaohui in the Eastern Capital ascended the hall and cited the story of Zhaozhou examining the old woman. She then said: "Zhaozhou's tongue reached to heaven; the old woman's eyebrow-light covered the earth. Clearly having seen through her, he returned; countless ordinary people were fast asleep." Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Baofeng Zhao.

17.16

Chan Master Zhenji Dezhi of Yuantong in Jiangzhou was the youngest son of Xu Hongzhong, [an official awarded the] Purple and Gold [Ribbon]. For generations his family had resided in Liyang. The master's pupils were deep blue, and their spiritual glow struck people. At the age of ten, he did not yet know how to read and loved to sleep often; his father considered him an obtuse child. Upon reaching boyhood, his powerful memory surpassed ordinary people, and when learning literature he produced extraordinary expressions. At the age of twenty, he dreamed of an unusual monk who transmitted to him a four-line verse. Soon after, someone presented him with a portrait of the Master of Nan'an Cliff, beside which was recorded the Verse on Intelligence. From then on he held and recited it without forgetting. Five years later, following the official with the Purple and Gold Ribbon, he served as a transport official in Xiluo. One night he suddenly experienced great awakening and composed several verses in succession. One went: 'Not because of words or phrases, not because of another person; / Not because of forms or appearances, not because of sounds. / At midnight blowing out the lamp, just lying on the pillow, / Suddenly here it is already daybreak.' He always whistled and sang at ease, beyond the comprehension of the crowd. He then earnestly sought to leave home. His father would not permit it and wished to confer an official post upon him. The master said, 'I am about to cast off the worldly net and not cling to the three realms. How could I plunge my head back into profit and fame? Please transfer the post to my cousin Jue.' He then shaved his head and took full ordination. In not many years his name shook the capital. In the spring of the third year of Xuanhe, Emperor Huizong bestowed upon him the title Zhenji and appointed him to reside at Yuantong. He ascended the hall and said, 'Twenty years ago, this mountain monk's eyes were completely blind, seeing nothing at all. I only heard people say: "Above the blue sky is a great sun disk, shining upon the great trichiliocosm with nowhere it does not pervade." I devised myriad schemes, yet in the end could not see it. Twenty years later, my eyesight gradually opened up; but then it met with overcast weather and thick clouds surging in chaos. Observing in the four directions and investigating up and down, when I saw clouds moving I formed calculations where they moved, and when I saw clouds halting I set up a nest where they halted. Just at such a moment, I suddenly met a knowledgeable fellow who asked, "Do you want to see the sun disk? Why not go to the top of the high mountain?" This mountain monk questioned him in return, "Where is the top of the high mountain?" He said, "Where the red dust does not reach." This, worthy people, is fine news! Do you understand? The buddha upon the long joint-benches!' He ascended the hall and said, 'Last night the yellow-faced Gautama swallowed the entire great trichiliocosm in one mouthful. Like someone drinking hot soup, no trace remained, instantly dissolving away. At that very time, the great bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, arhats, and all sentient beings were completely unaware and uncomprehending. Only Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra caught a glimpse of it. Yet though they managed to see it, it was vast and indistinct, just like bobbing up and down in the great ocean. Tell me, everyone: what news is this? If you can inspect and penetrate it, I grant that you possess an eye atop your crown.' When he showed nirvāṇa, wherever the smoke of the cremation reached, it turned entirely into śarīra. A stupa was erected at Mount Sikong, and his relics were interred at the Dieshi Plain.

17.17

Chan Master Daohui of Zhenru in Taizhou ascended the hall and said, 'When you personally acknowledge and shoulder the matter before the empty kalpa, then in daily use it is fully manifest—what leakage could there be? It is just the right time to return home and sit securely, letting the snow cover the green mountain. Without letting a single word linger in mind, who pays heed to waves churning on the water's surface? Tell me: "The upright does not establish the mysterious, the biased does not attach to things"—how do you cite this sentence? Loom threads do not hitch the shuttle's head; / Patterns run crisscross, yet the sense is unique of itself.'

17.18

Chan Master Jingshen, 'Old Man of the Great Death,' of Zhitong in Xingguo Commandery, was a son of the Wang family of Taizhou. From childhood he stood out from the crowd. At the age of eighteen, he relied on Dezhi of Guangdu Cloister to shave his head. He first called upon Chan Master Xiang of Jingci. One day, hearing Xiang say, 'Understanding through thinking and comprehending through deliberation are all the livelihood of ghosts,' his excitement could not be contained. He then went to Baofeng and sought entry to the abbot's room. Baofeng said, 'You must cut off thoughts of arising and perishing, clear away the mysterious path before the empty kalpa, not tread upon the upright and biased, and exhaust all of the present moment. Cast down the entire body; having cast it all down, cast it down further—only then will you have a share of freedom.' Hearing this, the master immediately grasped its purport. Baofeng struck the drum and announced to the assembly, 'Shen has attained the path of an icchantika's great death; later students should rely on him.' Hence he was styled 'Old Man of the Great Death.' In the first year of the Jianyan reign era, he opened the Dharma at Zhitong. Ascending the hall, he said, 'Coming does not enter the gate; going does not leave the door. Coming and going leave no trace—how can it be taught? Truly, moss seals the ancient path and the antelopes leave no tracks; the moon locks Cangwu and the vermilion phoenix does not roost. Therefore it is said: "Where you conceal the body there are no traces; where there are no traces do not conceal the body." If you can be like this, going and staying have no reliance, utterly without facing or turning away. Do you fully understand? "Now dispersing like clouds and cranes, / You and I forget each other, everywhere mysterious."' A monk asked, 'What is the biased within the upright?' The master said, 'A black-faced old woman wearing white silk.' The monk asked, 'What is the upright within the biased?' The master said, 'A white-headed old man wearing a black shirt.' The monk asked, 'What is coming from within the upright?' The master said, 'Tumbling head over heels in excrement.' The monk asked, 'What is arriving within both?' The master said, 'Snow-white blades envelop the body without harming oneself.' The monk asked, 'What is reaching within both?' The master said, 'A Kunlun walking in the night.' The monk asked, 'Is there still a matter going beyond?' The master said, 'Catching a tortoise and calling it a soft-shelled turtle.' The monk said, 'I beg the master to bestow expedient means once more.' The master said, 'Entering the mountain, one meets a tiger lying down; leaving the valley, ghosts come pulling.' The monk said, 'Why treat each other with weapons of war?' The master said, 'Three ounces of thread, a pound of hemp.' In the early Shaoxing reign era, he returned to reside at Baocang Rock; due to an incident, he was defrocked to commoner status. In the second month of the renshen year, he showed a slight illness and said, 'My worldly conditions have ended.' On the thirteenth day of the third month, he gave an informal sermon for the assembly and spoke a verse, saying: 'No need to shave the head, / Why bother taking a bath? / A heap of red flames— / Completely and utterly sufficient.' 'Even though it is like this, tell me: is there still a matter going beyond?' Thereupon he closed his eyes and passed away.

17.19

Chan Master Zhipeng of Huayao in Hengzhou was a son of the Huang family of Siming. He resided at Baofeng for years without awakening. Because he was carrying the bowl for the community, Baofeng inscribed his portrait himself: 'Rain washes pale red peach calyxes tender, / Wind sways light green willow threads gentle. / In the shadow of white clouds, strange rocks emerge; / In the gleam of green water, ancient trees are clear. / Alas, what kind of person are you?' When he arrived at Jiaoshan, Chan Master Cheng of Kumu saw it and sighed, 'Only today do I know that this old man personally saw our late teacher!' The master then asked about the meaning of that verse. Cheng said, 'Have you not seen Fayan picking up the dialogue about Jiashan's scenery, saying: "For twenty years I only understood it as scenery"?' The master was immediately awakened. The Guanhuye Lu states: Cheng pointed to it and asked the master, 'Do you understand?' The master said, 'I do not.' Cheng said, 'Do you remember Fadeng matching Hanshan?' The master then recited up to: 'Who knows this intention? / It makes me remember Nanquan.' At the word 'remember', Cheng abruptly covered the master's mouth with his hand, saying, 'Stop, stop!' The master had a sudden awakening and said, 'So it was like this all along!' Cheng said, 'How do you understand it?' The master said, 'Spring generates, summer grows, autumn harvests, winter stores.' Cheng said, 'You must preserve and protect it.' The master responded, 'Yes.' In the early Shaoxing reign era, he went forth to reside at Huayao and at Tianning in Wuzhou, later transferring to Qingliang. Ascending the hall, he said, 'The sea wind blows dreams, ridge monkeys howl at the moon. Dare I ask you all: what season is this? If you understand it like this, roam freely beneath the shadowless tree; if not yet so, you must break through beneath the three rafters.' Later he retired to Ruiyan in Mingzhou. Jiankang again summoned him to Qingliang, and the governor of Mingzhou also urged him to go. The master did not comply, composing a verse to send the messenger off: 'Troubling the special envoy to enter the mist and clouds; / The ashes are cold without hot water to brew tea. / Convey my words to the worthy governor of Yongdong: / It is hard to make a withered tree bloom again.' Not long after, he passed away.

17.20

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Yi of Shimen

17.21

Chan Master Qi of Qingyuan in Jizhou was a son of the Chen family of Fuzhou. At twenty-eight, taking leave of his father and elder brother, he left home under Chan Master Zhi of Yunggai and served the head monk. One day, when the head monk finished holding the whisk, the master asked, 'I heard what the head monk said, but do not understand its meaning. I prostrate and beseech your compassion to instruct me.' The head monk earnestly guided him, telling him to investigate Asanga speaking this Dharma. After two days, he had an awakening and presented a verse: 'In speaking the Dharma, nothing is so intimate as this; / The ocean of lands in the ten directions is a single speck of dust. / If one can clarify the true reality in this, / When has a single person ever been seen upon the great earth?' The head monk was astonished, and based on this Zhi ordained him. He visited monasteries everywhere. Later he arrived at Shimen and was deeply recognized and approved. He went forth to reside at Qingyuan for barely twelve years. On the day he showed nirvāṇa, he spoke a verse to leave to the assembly: 'Last night at the third watch I crossed the swift rapids; / At the rapids the clouds and mist were pitch black. / A single staff as my intimate friend, / Smashed to pieces a thousand and myriad barriers.'

17.22

Chan Master Facong of Tianyi in Yuezhou was a native of Gaoyou. Ascending the hall, he said, 'In the secluded room a cold lamp requires no picking; / In the empty sky the bright moon penetrates the clouds. / If you want to know what is constant without interruption in daily use: / Amidst blazing flames an extraordinary sprout shoots forth.' Once, on the occasion of opening the light (consecrating) a statue of the Mahāsattva Samantabhadra, the master climbed the ladder, held the brush, and looked around at the great assembly, saying, 'If you can speak, I will lower the brush.' The assembly had no reply. The master called to his attendant, 'Hold the ladder firmly for this old monk!' and thereupon dotted the eyes.

17.23

The nun Chan Master Fotong of Xiangshan in Suining Superior Prefecture had an awakening through reciting the Lotus Sūtra. She went to see Shimen, who then said, 'You cannot eat in Chengdu; you cannot eat in Suining.' Shimen picked up his staff and drove her out with blows. Fotong suddenly awakened and said, 'What flourishes naturally flourishes; what withers naturally withers. Autumn dew and spring wind—it does not matter at all.' Shimen flicked his sleeves and returned to the abbot's quarters. The master also left without looking back. From this, monastics and laypeople followed her like shadows, and those who attained the Dharma were numerous.

17.24

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Pu of Tianning

17.25

Chan Master Ci of Xiong'er in the Western Capital ascended the hall and said, 'Prajñā has no knowing, yet illuminates in response to conditions. Today this mountain monk scatters feces and urinates: releasing over here, defecating over there; the eastern and western mountain ridges roar with laughter. Fortunately a patch of cool, pure ground, yet it has just been defiled by Xiong Peak. Defiling it—make no fretful complaints! Mud oxen and wooden horses all scold and shout. Let alone offenses filling heaven, when will clarity and brightness be attained again? Do you understand? "Next year there will be new branches again, / Troubling the spring wind, never ceasing."'

17.26

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Zhe of Dagui

17.27

Chan Master Purong Daoping of Zhihai in the Eastern Capital was a native of Chuzhou. Ascending the hall, he said, 'This mountain monk does not understand the Buddha Dharma; my dealings with people are entirely without reason. Sometimes half open and half closed, sometimes completely released and completely held back. Just like in a crowd of ten thousand people, coldly tossing a stone: suddenly hitting one, only then knowing it flows everywhere.' Ascending the hall, he said, 'Zhaozhou has four gates; gate by gate connects to the great avenue. Yuquan has four roads; road by road leads through to Chang'an. Gate by gate connects to the great avenue—in the end, who personally arrives? Road by road leads through to Chang'an—clearly take a step forward and look.' He slapped his knee once and said, 'At year's end, a traveler not yet returned; / The west wind outside the gate is cold.' Ascending the hall, he cited Panshan instructing the assembly: '"Like the earth holding up a mountain, unaware of the mountain's steep solitude; like a stone containing jade, unaware of the jade's lack of blemish." The ancient's words were very much like holding stolen goods and crying of injustice! Under Zhihai's gate, everyone is gallant: capturing tigers and rhinos alive, seizing ferocious dragons in the flesh. Within the eyes, Mount Sumeru can be placed; within the ears, the great ocean water can be contained.' He then picked up his staff and said, 'It is not boasting of my tricks to others; / A great hero's demeanor ought to be like this.' Striking his staff, he stepped down from the seat.

17.28

Chan Master Jingxiang of Letan in Hongzhou was a son of the Fu family of Nancheng in Jianchang. A monk asked, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The master said, "Ten fingers, eight spaces in between." [The monk] asked, "How does my hand resemble a Buddha's hand?" The master said, "Gold and brass are hard to distinguish." [The monk] asked, "How does my foot resemble a donkey's foot?" The master said, "The road of Huanglong is perilous." [The monk] said, "Everyone has their karmic conditions of birth. What are the Upādhyāya's karmic conditions of birth?" The master said, "Holding fast the essential ford, neither ordinary nor sage can pass." Ascending the hall at Mid-Autumn, [the master said], "The words at Gṛdhrakūṭa, the finger at Caoxi—let pass the newborn one who struck his forehead. Not yet questioning the old awl of Longmian, last night at the third watch it turned toward the west. Right at such a time, if someone asks what is the moon, and can utter a phrase where brightness and darkness are not yet divided, they join hands with the ancients. If not yet so, Baofeng cannot avoid following the pattern and drawing the likeness to correspond to the season." He then drew a circle and said, "Pure radiance for myriad kalpas and thousands of kalpas more; / How could it be seen for only one night in the human realm?" In his room, the master asked a monk, "When Bodhidharma returned to the west, he carried a single shoe in hand. Why didn't he take both away at that time?" [The monk] said, "This land also needed to have some news left behind." The master said, "One foot in the Western Heavens, one foot in the Eastern Land—what reason is there for that?" The monk was speechless. He asked a monk, "Only the single, adamantine-dense body manifests amidst all dust. What is the body that manifests amidst dust?" The monk pointed to an incense burner and said, "This is an incense burner." The master said, "You implicate the Buddhas of the three periods in falling alive into hell." The monk was at a loss; the master then struck him. When the master was indisposed, a monk asked, "How has the Upādhyāya's health been lately?" The master said, "Go burn two hundred sheets of paper money before the Earth God." The master used to sit at night with folded hands as if facing an eminent guest. When he first sat, his hands were joined at his crossed legs; by the fifth watch they invariably reached his chest. For this reason he was nicknamed 'Folded-Hands Xiang'.

17.29

Chan Master Huilan of Guangxiao in Hezhou: it is not known where he was from. He called himself the Daoist of the Azure Sky. He once wrote the names of the Seven Buddhas on his defiled undergarments; in the monastic groves he was called 'Lan of the Cloth Breeches'. A piece entitled 'Song in Imitation of the Grass Hut' circulated in the world; it is fully recorded in the Pudeng [lu]. At the end of the Jianyan era, rebel barbarians invaded the Huai region and captured the master, bringing him before their chieftain. The chieftain said, "Have you heard my name?" The master said, "What I have heard is only the name of the Son of Heaven of the Great Song." In rage, the chieftain ordered his attendants to strike him with hammers. Whenever a hammer struck, it broke to pieces. Astounded, the chieftain welcomed him under his banner and served him with respect. After ten days, the master asked for firewood to immolate himself, but no one dared provide it. He personally gathered firewood to make a pyre, sitting upright with a serene expression. As the smoke and flames arose, flowing radiance soared in all directions. Many of the barbarians knelt in submission, their skin scorched. When the fire died out, five-colored relics were obtained. They took them along with his bones and returned north. The captured monks and nuns were all allowed to go free. To this day, the people of Hezhou sing praises of him.

17.30

Chan Master Renxian of Dongming in Tanzhou. On the day he opened the hall, a monk asked, "When the Bhagavat appeared in the world, King Brahmā led the way in front and Śakra followed behind. When the Upādhyāya appears in the world, what auspicious omen is there?" The master said, "Even if it were a hundred thousand Buddhas, drive them all at once into the water buffalo pen." [The monk] asked, "What auspicious omen is there?" The master said, "The mountain monk's eyes have never been blurred."

17.31

Chan Master Xiaoqin Mingwu of Puzhao in Sizhou. A monk asked, "Whose song does the master sing? Whose lineage style do you inherit?" The master said, "The eastern side is even closer to the east." [The monk] said, "The true child of Guishan, the direct grandchild of Zhihai." The master said, "Yet laughing at the bystander holding a fishing rod." Ascending the hall, [the master said], "Reaching out a hand to grasp emptiness, turning and tossing, it cannot be caught; turning the body to cast a shadow, in vain one exhausts the form. Brought right before your face, yet it turns into a missed encounter. In the end, how is it?" He slapped the meditation bench and said, "We have agreed on a mistaken consultation."

17.32

Chan Master Zizun Zhengjue of Donglin on Mount Lu ascended the hall: "Before the fifteenth day, I let one move pass. After the fifteenth day, it cannot yet be discussed. Right on the fifteenth day, try saying a phrase and let us see." After a long pause, he said, "The mountain colors are deep verdure as the spring rain ceases; / The courtyard cypresses are enveloped in fragrance as the magnolias bloom."

17.33

Chan Master Zhi of Fuyan in Tanzhou was a native of Dongchuan. Ascending the hall, [he said]: / "The clouds atop Mount Fuyan / Unfurl and roll up at the morning and evening's whim. / Suddenly falling down to level ground, / When guests arrive, the gate is hard to find."

17.34

Chan Master Qian of Dongming in Tanzhou served Zhenru in his early years, and in his later years resided at the Zhenru Hermitage on Mount Guishan. Daozhe Zhong held his style in high regard and often questioned him. One day, while [the master] was reading the Śūraṅgama, Zhong asked, "'As I press my finger, the ocean-seal emits light'—what was the Buddha's meaning?" The master said, "Old Śākya deserves twenty blows of the stick." [Zhong] asked, "Why is it so?" The master said, "What was the use of pressing the finger?" [Zhong] asked, "'When you momentarily give rise to a thought, defilements arise first'—what about that?" The master said, "That too is the ocean-seal emitting light."

17.35

Chan Master Runeng of Daowu in Tanzhou. A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The master said, "When slandered, not angry." The monk said, "What is the Dharma?" The master said, "When praised, not pleased." The monk said, "What is the Saṅgha?" The master said, "Shaving off the beard and hair." He then said, "'Turning the wheel of Dharma thrice in the great chiliocosm, / That wheel has always been inherently pure.' / Vipaśyin Buddha paid attention early on, / But right up to the present has not attained the wondrousness. Why is it so? 'The purity of the all-inclusive wisdom of all wisdoms'—do you understand yet? Playing the zither to a donkey does not enter a cow's ears." Soon after, he moved to Mount Dagui. In less than two months, he bathed, shaved his head, sat cross-legged, and passed away.

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續傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese