續傳燈錄 22.8

22.8

Chan Master Caotang Shanqing of Letan in Longqing Prefecture was a son of the He clan of Nanxiong Prefecture. At first he called on Chan Master Zhe of Dahui with no attainment. Later he called on Huanglong, who instructed him with the wind and banner phrase. For a long time he did not tally with it. One day Huanglong asked, 'How do you understand the phrase about the wind and banner?' The master said, 'There is nowhere at all to enter; I beg the master for an expedient.' Huanglong said, 'Have you seen a cat catching a mouse? Its eyes do not blink, its four paws crouch on the ground, all its faculties are directed forward, head and tail form a straight line, and every pounce hits the mark. If you can truly be like this, with the mind free of extraneous conditions, the six sense faculties will naturally be quiet; investigate in silence, and out of ten thousand times, not once will you miss.' From this, the master cast aside idle conditions for over a year and suddenly tallied in awakening. He presented Huanglong with a verse, saying: 'Follow, follow, follow! Past, past, past! / After following, following, following, no one recognizes it. / Last night the bright moon rose over the high peak; / Originally it was just this thief!' Huanglong nodded at it and told him again: 'To attain the Way is not difficult; to propagate the Way is difficult. Propagating the Way still rests with oneself; to speak the Dharma for others is difficult. After you have become clear, it lies in vigorous practice. Generally speaking, when an ancestral master expounds the Dharma, within one phrase are contained the three mysteries, and within one mystery are contained the three essentials. Your place of entry is genuine; once you take the seat and put on the robe, examine yourself from now on, and you will naturally be unhindered in all directions.' The master relied on him for another seven years, then took his leave and visited the monasteries far and wide. Later he appeared in the world at Huanglong and ended his days at Letan. A monk asked, 'What was it like before Niutou saw the Fourth Patriarch?' The master said, 'Three in the capital and four in Bian.' The monk said, 'What about after seeing him?' The master said, 'Ash on the head and dirt on the face.' The monk said, 'In the end, what about it?' The master said, 'A scene of embarrassment.' Opening the hall, he ascended the hall and cited Master Yuan of Fushan: '"Do you want to be outstanding? You must still have all four matters complete before you can display the path of an ancestral master. What are they? First, the ancestral masters' nose; second, having diamond eyes; third, possessing the lion's claws and teeth; fourth, obtaining the patch-robed monk's staff that kills and brings to life. With these four matters, one can then transform freely in all directions, rolling out and rolling up at will, towering high over humans and devas, standing like a wall a thousand fathoms tall. If not like this, one who clings to death in good ways is in the place of a defeated army. Why? Hitting a stone man with a staff values discussing the actual matter. Therefore, can one arrive here or not? The Xiu River glistens; over the great wilderness, clouds congeal. Green bamboos hold mist; green mountains lock in verdure. Wind and clouds are of one accord; water and moon are viewed together. A single phrase encompassing all has already manifested the remnants and decay."' The master said, 'Huanglong comes into the world today at a time when the degenerate age has arrived and the Buddha Dharma is diluted and weak. I do not use the ancestral masters' nose; I do not use diamond eyes; I do not use the lion's claws and teeth; I do not use the staff that kills and brings to life. There is only a single whisk taken as the path: it too can transform freely in all directions, rolling out and rolling up at will; it too can tower high over humans and devas, standing like a wall a thousand fathoms tall. At times, meeting the strong, it becomes weak; at times, meeting the noble, it becomes base. When raised, the hordes of māras vanish without a trace, and Buddhas and patriarchs conceal their tracks; when lowered, it mixes with water and blends with mud, sages and ordinary people sharing the same ruts. Tell me: is it better to raise it, or better to lower it? The silk line at the tip of the rod is for you to play with; without disturbing the clear waves, the meaning is naturally distinct.' He ascended the hall: 'Form and mind are not different; other and self have no distinction.' Raising his whisk, he said, 'If you call it a whisk, you enter hell like an arrow; if you do not call it a whisk, you have eyes as if blind. Even if you break through both ends, it is still a black ox lying in stagnant water.'