續傳燈錄 28
English (machine translation) 28
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28.1
Table of Contents for Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle Twenty-Eight
28.2
Sixteenth generation under Dajian:
Fifty-nine Dharma heirs of Chan Master Zhaojue Yuanwu Keqin:
Chan Master Nanfeng Yunbian
Chan Master Zhengfa Jian
Chan Master Huazang Anmin
Chan Master Zhaojue Daoyuan
Chan Master Zhongzhu Zhongren
Chan Master Xianger Yuanjue
Chan Master Huayan Zujue
Chan Master Fuyan Wenyan
Chan Master Mingyin Tanyan
Chan Master Huqiu Yuanjing
Chan Master Tianning Fansi
Chan Master Junshan Jue
Chan Master Baohua Xian
Chan Master Dongshan Jue
Chan Master Tianfeng Jue
Head Monk Daozu
Head Monk Zongzhen
Upāsaka Xu Fu, Bureau of Military Affairs
Upāsaka Prince of the Commandery Zhao Lingjin
Upāsaka Vice Minister Li Mixun
Daoist of Jue'an of the Zu clan
Lady Daoist of Mingshi
Lady of Chengdu Prefecture, Madam Fan
Chan Master Lingyin Huiyuan
Chan Master Hongfu Zijiao (the twenty-five above are recorded)
Chan Master Zhongyan Zhao
Chan Master Guangli Sui
Chan Master Guangli Shu
Chan Master Wuwei Sheng
Chan Master Dingshan Ang
Chan Master Kaifu Yi
Chan Master Baishui Zheng
Chan Master Xianbao Yang
Chan Master Cuifeng Bi
Chan Master Yunjai Quan
Chan Master Deshan Jing
Chan Master Bao'en Ying
Chan Master Siming Heng
Chan Master Xichan Tong
Chan Master Jinwen Zhao
Chan Master Changxi Pu
Chan Master Wuming of Jiangning Prefecture
Chan Master Baolin Qin
Chan Master Jiuding Zongwu
Head Monk Zhiyun
Head Monk Daoshu
Head Monk Zizhen
Chan Master Zhidu Yan
Elder Jing
Head Monk Shifan
Chan Master Zhongzhu Hai
Chan Master Yonghuai Youzheng
Chan Master Youyan Shan
Chan Master Qianming Yin
Chan Master Baoning Zu
Chan Master Jingde Min
Upāsaka Zheng Chen of the Gate Office
Chan Master Lingquan Xishou
Chan Master Yunding Zongzheng (the thirty-four above are not recorded).
28.3
Table of Contents for Fascicle Twenty-Eight of the Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (End).
28.4
Sixteenth generation under Dajian:
28.5
Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Zhaojue Yuanwu Keqin
28.6
Chan Master Nanfeng Yunbian of Pingjiang Prefecture was a native of this prefecture. He was ordained under Ruifeng Zhang of Min. Returning to his home region, he visited Qionglong Yuan. Suddenly having an insight, he communicated what he had seen. Yuan said, "Though you have gained entry, you have not yet reached what is right. You must apply the whip with urgency." Thereupon he took his leave to seek out various assemblies. Later, he called upon Yuanwu. Finding him holding interviews, no sooner had he crossed the threshold than Yuanwu said, "Look beneath your feet!" The Master struck the exposed pillar once. Yuanwu said, "Why not say a solid word?" The Master said, "If the Master shakes his head, the disciple wags his tail." Yuanwu said, "You, try wagging your tail and let me see." The Master turned a somersault and walked out. Yuanwu laughed heartily. From this he became famous. After assuming an abbacy, a monk asked, "What is taking away the person but not taking away the environment?" The Master said, "The Hegemon reaches the Wu River." The monk asked, "What is taking away the environment but not taking away the person?" The Master said, "Building an altar to appoint the general." The monk asked, "What is taking away both person and environment?" The Master said, "Ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers attain peace." The monk asked, "What is taking away neither person nor environment?" The Master said, "The dragon roars and mists rise; the tiger whistles and the wind is born." The monk asked, "Is there still anything beyond?" The Master said, "Missed right before your face." The monk said, "Truly an adept!" The Master said, "In broad daylight a ghost bewilders someone." One day, entering the city, he was walking with monks and laypeople into Shilang Lane. Someone asked, "The lane is here; where is the Tenth Son (Shilang)?" The Master flung his arms and said, "Follow me!"
28.7
Chan Master Zhengfa Jian of Chengdu Prefecture ascended the hall: "Rabbits and horses have horns; oxen and sheep have no horns. Severing the finest hair, severed by a fraction, like a mountain, like a peak. On the tip of a needle, the lion turns its body; within the hollow of a lotus root, the roc spreads its wings. Casually bursting across Uttarakuru, the sun, moon, and stars all turn dark at once."
28.8
Chan Master Huazang Miyin Anmin of Jiankang Prefecture was a son of the Zhu family of Jiading Prefecture. At first, he lectured on the Śūraṅgama-sūtra in Chengdu, becoming a refuge for doctrinal scholars. At that time, Yuanwu resided at Zhaojue. The Master was friends with Chan Master Sheng, and accordingly visited there. Hearing Yuanwu's informal gathering, where he cited the nidāna of the National Teacher calling his attendant three times, and Zhaozhou's comment: 'Like someone writing characters in the dark; though the characters are not formed, the patterns are already evident. Where is the place where the patterns are already evident?' The Master harboured doubts about this in his mind, requested incense, and entered the abbot's room. Yuanwu asked, 'What sūtra does the lecture master preach?' The Master said, 'The Śūraṅgama-sūtra.' Yuanwu said, 'The Śūraṅgama has the seven locations searching for the mind and the eight returns discerning seeing. Ultimately, where is the mind?' The Master repeatedly presented theoretical understanding. Yuanwu rejected them all. The Master asked for further instruction. Yuanwu made him understand 'the patterns are already evident' in all places. By chance, a monk requested instruction on the Ten Mysterious Talks; he had just cited the line, 'I ask you, what does the mind-seal look like?' Yuanwu shouted in a harsh voice, 'The patterns are already evident!' Hearing this, the Master had an awakening. He then sought the seal of confirmation. Yuanwu struck him with his genuine tongs and hammer, and the Master was at a loss. One day he addressed Yuanwu, 'Upādhyāya, please cease citing sayings; wait for me to speak and see.' Yuanwu agreed. The Master said, 'Customarily raising the mallet and holding up the whisk—is this not what the sūtra calls, "All phenomena throughout all worlds are just the wondrous, luminous true mind of bodhi"?' Yuanwu smiled and said, 'So you have been making a living here all along!' The Master also said, 'When giving a shout and striking the seat—is this not "turning the hearing back to hear one's own nature, and the nature accomplishes the unsurpassed way"?' Yuanwu said, 'Have you not seen the sūtra say, "The wondrous nature is perfectly luminous, free from all names and characteristics"?' At these words, the Master was freed of doubt. When Yuanwu left Shu to reside at Jiashan, the Master ceased lecturing and accompanied him as an attendant. During an evening assembly for the congregation, Yuanwu cited the nidāna of 'before the ancient sail was hoisted'. Hearing it, the Master did not grasp it, and sought a resolution. Yuanwu said, 'You ask me.' The Master cited the earlier phrase. Yuanwu said, 'The cypress tree in the courtyard.' The Master immediately had penetrating illumination. He said to Yuanwu, 'The ancients said it is like a single drop cast into a vast chasm, but they hardly knew that the great ocean is cast into a single drop!' Yuanwu laughed and said, 'What can one do with this fellow?' Before long, he had him share the seat. Yuanwu recited a verse: 'Do not boast of the Four-Part Vinaya; set aside the Śūraṅgama. / Lower your high airs and thoroughly investigate. / Do not imitate Master Liang attending upon Mazu; / Rather be like Dejiao visiting Longtan. / For seven years travelling back and forth, visiting Zhaojue; / For three years soaring high, ascending Blue Cliff. / Today I trouble you to fill the position of first seat; / Amid the cluster of white flowers, the udumbara appears.' Later, he called upon Fogian at Jiangshan. Fogian asked, 'Foguo had a phrase that he never spoke carelessly for others; did he ever speak it for you?' The Master said, 'Close your dog mouth.' Fogian thundered, 'It is not this principle!' The Master said, 'No one is snatching your salt-and-tea bag; why are you hollering?' Fogian said, 'If Foguo did not speak it for you, I will speak it for you.' The Master said, 'If the Upādhyāya doubts it, retire from the monastery and investigate elsewhere!' Fogian laughed heartily. Before long, the Master opened the Dharma hall at Baoning and then moved to Huazang. Returning to his home region, he took charge of Zhongfeng. He ascended the hall: 'Everyone sells flowers, but I alone sell pine; / Its green colour does not compare to red. / All considered, it never accords with the times; / Let me return home amidst the emerald mists! / How laughable that an ancient spoke thus! / It is very much like fleeing the peak to run into the chasm, or avoiding drowning to jump into the fire. / How could it compare to going along with one's lot to the side of a mattock five parts out of a foot and eight inches, searching for one or half a person? / Even though it is like this, Baoning does not even want half a person. Why? A rich man dislikes a household of a thousand as too few; a poor man resents a single body as too many.' Ascending the hall at the winter solstice, he cited: 'Upādhyāya Yuquan Hao said, "Snow, snow! Flakes falling without difference. Arriving at the twelfth month, and then beginning again: the first month of the coming year, the second month, third month, fourth month, fifth month, sixth month, seventh month, eighth month, ninth month, tenth month—as before, without ceasing, freezing people to death, starving people to death, preventing them from speaking nonsense and reckless talk!"' The Master said, 'This is neither scolding someone nor praising someone. It towers above Linji and Deshan; it is not like Yunju or Luohan. But tell me, what was Yuquan's intention?' After a pause, he said, 'Only let the snow melt away, and naturally spring will arrive.' Later, the Master manifested nirvāṇa at his home mountain. When cremated, the relic-pearls were exceedingly abundant. When the common folk dug into the ground for about a foot, they all found them; they were especially bright, clear, and pure. His heart and tongue also did not decay.
28.9
Chan Master Zhaojue Che'an Daoyuan of Chengdu Prefecture was a son of the Deng family of Mianzhou. In his youth, he took full ordination at Jiangji Temple. Travelling east, he called upon Chan Master Dabie Dao. While contemplating the phrase 'Vast emptiness, nothing holy', he suddenly burst into laughter, saying, 'Bodhidharma was originally right here!' Dao praised him. He went to consult Fogian and Foyan, receiving their appreciation. He relied on Yuanwu at Jinshan and reported what he had seen, but Yuanwu did not approve it. When Yuanwu was summoned by imperial decree to reside at Yunju, the Master followed him. Although he had reached faith and entry, he was ultimately troubled by a doubt that the fishbone stuck in his throat had not been removed. It happened that Yuanwu asked the practitioners, 'When birth and death arrive, what then?' A monk said, 'The incense stand laughs at the Upādhyāya.' Next he asked the Master, 'What about you?' The Master said, 'The grass-bandits suffer a great defeat.' Yuanwu said, 'When someone asks you, what then?' The Master was about to reply, when Yuanwu pressed upon him, 'The grass-bandits suffer a great defeat!' The Master immediately attained thorough realization. Yuanwu struck him with his fist. The Master clapped his hands and laughed heartily. Yuanwu said, 'What did you see that makes you like this?' The Master said, 'The poisonous fist has not been repaid; I will never forget it for eternal kalpas.' When Yuanwu returned to Zhaojue, he appointed him head of the assembly. When Yuanwu was about to pass away, he had the Master succeed to his seat.
28.10
Chan Master Zhongtianzhu Huantang Zhongren of Lin'an Prefecture was a native of Luoyang. In his youth, he left home at the Fengxian Cloister in the Eastern Capital. At the beginning of the Xuanhe era, he had his head shaved upon being granted an ordination certificate at the Qingji Palace. After receiving full ordination, he frequented the Translation Bureau of the Tripiṭaka to investigate the sūtras and treatises exhaustively; he did not yet have faith specifically in the Chan lineage. At that time, Yuanwu resided at Tianning. At dawn, he visited him. Yuanwu was just entering the abbot's room for the assembly. Seeing him, the Master was filled with reverence and stepped boldly forward. Yuanwu said, 'Interpreting the meaning relying on the sūtras is the foe of the Buddhas of the three periods; departing from the sūtras by a single character is identical to the speech of Māra. Speak quickly, speak quickly!' The Master was about to reply when Yuanwu struck him across the mouth. Because of this, a tooth fell out, and he had a great awakening. He remained at Tianning. From then on, teacher and disciple were in complete accord, and his requests for instruction were uninterrupted. Later, he opened the Dharma hall at Dajue, moved to Zhongtianzhu, and subsequently relocated to Lingfeng. He ascended the hall: 'The ninety days of spring are already half past; / The weather that nurtures the flowers is truly warm and mild. / Upon the branches of the flowering crabapple, the orioles' song is lovely; / I ask of the people of the time: do you see it? / Even though it is like this, how do you say a phrase that penetrates sound and penetrates form? / Golden bridle, the horse neighs upon the fragrant grass ground; / Jade tower, the person is drunk in the apricot-flower sky.' Ascending the hall, he cited the topic of the dog having no Buddha-nature, and said: 'The maiden of sixteen is slow to embroider; / Beneath the redbud flowers, the yellow oriole warbles. / How pitiable the boundless sorrow of spring / Resides entirely in the moment she pauses her needle and speaks not.' On the eighth day of the fourth month in the jiawu year of the Chunxi era, Emperor Xiaozong summoned him to enter the palace, granted him a seat, and had him preach the Dharma. The Emperor cited the nidāna of not making a companion of the ten thousand dharmas and had him comment on it. Having commented, the Master praised it with a verse: 'Squeezing oil out of an iron weight; / Put an end to idle and rambling words. / With a hundred thousand strings of coins wrapped around the waist, / Riding a crane up to Yangzhou.' In the guihai year, he ascended the hall, took leave of the assembly, and passed away.
28.11
Chan Master Yuanjue of Mount Xianger in Meizhou was a native of the Yuan clan of that commandery. He left home and, passing the scripture examination during the Chuandeng era, received ordination. His original name was Yuanjue ('Round Awakening'). When filling out the official ordination certificate, the commandery governor erroneously wrote the character 'Yuan' [of his surname]. Suspecting that the Master might be displeased, he playfully asked him, 'Is a one-character name acceptable?' The Master smiled and said, 'Even one character is already too much.' The commandery governor marveled at him. After receiving full ordination, he left Shu and visited everywhere to pay respects to venerable masters of the Way. Later, he went to Dawei to rely on Foxing. Soon after, he entered the room and presented his insight. Foxing said, 'You are excessively far off.' Yet knowing he was a Dharma vessel, he had him serve as attendant in charge of guests. Whenever the Master attended Foxing, Foxing would inevitably bring up the four characters 'open, reveal, awaken, and enter' from the Lotus Sūtra and order him to give a turning word. He also said, 'Wait until I nod my head upright; only then will you be right.' Once, failing in his duty, he was expelled. Having no one to rely on during the summer retreat, he lodged at a layman's house. One day, while reciting the Lotus Sūtra, he reached [the line], 'nor do they know what is fire or what is the house,' whereupon he had a sudden realization. When the retreat ended, he returned to pay respects; seeing him, Foxing nodded in approval. Later, when Yuanwu again received an imperial decree to reside at Yunju, the Master went there and reported his attainment to Yuanwu. Yuanwu scolded him, saying, 'Originally it was clean ground; why are you defecating on it?' The Master's remaining doubts were instantly dispelled. In the dingsi year of the Shaoxing era, the seat at Xianger in Mei fell vacant. The commandery governor said that this bodhimaṇḍa had long been a bag and baggage for destructive vermin, and unless a renowned and superior gentleman took charge, none could revive what had lapsed. The Chan assembly recommended the Master to accept the invitation. He once said to a guest: 'Dongpo said: "I bring this stone back with me; in my sleeve is the Eastern Sea." Shangu said: "Huichong's misty rain, reeds, and wild geese make me sit by the Xiao, Xiang, and Dongting. Wanting to call a small skiff to return, bystanders say it is but a painting." This is the marrow of Chan.' He also said, 'When I strike the bed and raise the whisk, Old Man Śākya and Master Confucius both stand downwind.' Someone cited these words to Chan Master Fohai Yuan. Yuan said, 'Those are Old Jue's words. Here with me, it is not like that.'
28.12
Chan Master Huayan Zujue of Zhongyan in Meizhou was a native of the Yang clan of Jiazhou. Intelligent from youth, he could recite books and histories after a single reading. He wrote a book to refute the Buddhists. When ominous circumstances suddenly appeared, he repented of his errors and left home, relying on Chan Master Huimu Neng. Before long, an ulcer broke out on his knee, which could not be cured by physicians for five years. Because he finished copying the Huayan Helun (Synthesis of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra), at night he was moved by an extraordinary dream. At dawn, he discarded his staff and walked briskly. One day, while chanting the 'Manifestation of the Tathāgata' chapter, he read: 'The Buddha's body is without birth, / Yet it can manifest birth. / The Dharma-nature is like empty space; / All Buddhas dwell within it. / Dwelling nowhere and going nowhere, / Everywhere one sees the Buddha.' Thereupon, he awakened to the tenets of the Huayan lineage. When he was registered as a monk, the regional commander invited him to lecture at the Hall of a Thousand Sections. His eloquence was vast and unconstrained, winning the admiration of the assembly. Just then, Chan Master Nantang Jing passed by the gate and said to the Master, 'Observing your lecturing, you stand unrivaled in the southwest. A pity only that you have not understood detachment from the marks of words. If you were to seek the Way beyond convention, you would be today's Diamond Zhou.' The Master gladly ceased lecturing and traveled south, relying on Yuanwu at Zhongfu. One day, he entered the room. Yuanwu cited Luoshan's saying: 'When there are words, stride on the tiger's head and seize the tiger's tail—under the very first sentence, illuminate the lineage tenets. When there are no words, directly expose the dynamic pivot like a flash of lightning. How do you understand this?' The Master was unable to answer. He investigated it day and night, and suddenly had an insight. He composed a verse and presented it to Yuanwu: 'My home is atop a solitary peak; / All year long the gate is half-closed. / Lamenting that my body is already old, / I hand over my livelihood to sons and grandsons.' Yuanwu approved it upon reading. The next day, when he entered the room, Yuanwu asked again, 'How about yesterday's gong'an?' As the Master was about to answer, Yuanwu immediately shouted and said, 'The Buddha-Dharma is not this principle!' The Master stayed for another five years, becoming ever more bewildered and depressed. Later, at Xixian on Mount Lu, he read Chan Master Fushan Yuan's Treatise on Eliminating Attachments, which said: 'If you say that awakening has intimacy and estrangement, how could foul weeds grow in a sandalwood forest?' He suddenly accorded with awakening. He composed a verse and sent it to Yuanwu: 'Leaving the forest, one still enters tangled weeds; / Heaven's vast net is impossible to escape. / Who believes that karmic conditions leave no place of refuge? / Returning, I am no longer afraid of a loud voice.' Yuanwu was overjoyed. Holding it up, he showed it to the assembly and said, 'Jue of Huayan has penetrated through!' After becoming abbot, a monk asked, 'From King Awesome Sound at the very beginning to Luozhi Buddha at the very end, I wonder whom they called upon and studied under?' The Master said, 'Living in the city of Daliang, you further ask for the road to Chang'an.' The monk said, 'Just as Deshan carried his commentaries on itinerant pilgrimage, what was his intention?' The Master said, 'Squeezing your eyes until they burst.' The monk asked, 'How far is it from the Upādhyāya's awakening to the Huayan lineage tenets?' The Master said, 'Traveling the same road, but not in the same ruts.' The monk said, 'Deshan of the past, the Upādhyāya of today.' The Master said, 'The setting sun goes west; the waters flow east.' Ascending the hall, he cited: 'When Upādhyāya Shishuang passed away, the assembly requested the head monk to succeed him as abbot; then Attendant Qian questioned him with a gong'an.' The Master said, 'Where an ancestral master walks is like fire burning ice. Passing through the checkpoint of right and wrong, the total function loses gain and loss. Everyone says the head monk was stuck in one single hue, while the attendant's understanding surpassed the teacher's. This may be called marvelous in substance yet losing the lineage, completely blind to the orientation. Little do they know that the head monk is like a white heron standing in the snow—not of the same category; while the attendant is like a phoenix soaring into the cinnabar sky—never entangled in golden nets. One stands high upon the mountain peak; one walks deep along the ocean floor. Each comes according to his direction, meeting together inside the ninefold city. Do you want to recognize these two people now?' Raising his whisk, he said: 'A dragon lies in the deep blue pool, the wind chill and biting.' Lowering his whisk, he said: 'A crane returns to the boundless skies, its back brushing the heavens.' A monk asked, 'What is a shout like the jewel sword of the Diamond King?' The Master said, 'Blood splatters the heavens of Brahmā.' The monk asked, 'What is a shout like a crouched lion?' The Master said, 'Frightening wild foxes to death.' The monk asked, 'What is a shout like a probing pole and shadowing grass?' The Master said, 'Testing until your bones show through.' The monk asked, 'What is a shout that does not act as a shout?' The Master said, 'You must simply recognize the one who holds the needle; do not merely speak of the mandarin duck's fine plumage.'
28.13
Chan Master Wenyan of Fuyan in Tanzhou was a native of the Yang clan of Chengdu Prefecture. A monk asked, 'Who is the true master of Dinglin?' The Master said, 'Sitting and severing the tongues of all people under heaven.' The monk asked, 'I wonder how one can draw close?' The Master said, 'Gaze at it and you go blind.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Sitting directly in front cuts off all traces of ordinary and sage; letting go with the hand, heaven turns and earth revolves. Directly bringing the sun and moon into alternation, tigers roar and dragons chant. Each and every thing is heard by the ear and seen by the eye. What is atop established truth? Do you understand thoroughly? Asita! Bah!'
28.14
Chan Master Tanwan of Mingyin on West Mountain in Pingjiang Prefecture was a native of the Huang clan of Wenzhou. He visited monasteries everywhere. In the gengzi year of the Xuanhe era, he returned to Zhongfu. Just then, the imperial court decreed that Buddhist monks be changed into Daoist 'virtuous gentlemen.' The Master and several like-minded companions entered Toutuo Rock, subsisting on pine needles to keep themselves. After some time, Yuanwu received an imperial decree to reside on this mountain; he came in person to the rock and ordered them to shave their hair and beards. When Yuanwu was summoned to fill the vacancy at Tianning in the capital, the Master went along with him and was appointed to oversee the Ocean of Fragrant Waters. Soon after, raising the mallet and striking the drum, he suddenly became clear about the Great Dharma. Whenever anyone asked him anything, he would always answer, 'Don't pay attention.' Thus his peers all called him 'Don't-Pay-Attention.' After becoming abbot, he ascended the hall and said, 'You have a pair of eyes, and I too have a pair of eyes. If you deceive, you merely deceive yourself. If you become a Buddha or become a patriarch, this old monk has no share in you. If you become a donkey or become a horse, this old monk cannot save you.' When a group of donors came up the mountain and requested him to ascend the hall, he recited a verse: 'I have no special merit, my fame is hollow; / Thank you for coming especially with such earnest care. / Mingyin has no Dharma worthy of being bequeathed, / Merely swinging open the mountain gate for you in vain.'
28.15
Chan Master Yuanjing of Xueting at Huqiu in Pingjiang Prefecture was a native of Shuangxi. Ascending the hall, he said: 'For one who knows what exists, ten thousand years pass like a single day; for one who does not know what exists, a single day passes like ten thousand years. Have you not seen Upādhyāya Sixin say: "This mountain monk has been on itinerant pilgrimage for more than thirty years, taking ninety days as one summer retreat. Adding a single day is not possible; subtracting a single day is not possible. Taking is impossible, discarding is impossible; within what cannot be obtained, one merely obtains it thus." Cuiyun's view is not like that. In this mountain monk's thirty years of itinerant pilgrimage, who cares about one day or ninety days? There is neither obtaining nor not obtaining; everywhere one sees Maitreya in the future. Now tell me, where is Maitreya? The autumn wind blows on the Wei River; falling leaves fill Chang'an.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'To be able to speak of it, you must see it; seeing it, you must also be able to speak of it. Seeing it but unable to speak of it, you fall into the realm of yin, your view being one-sided and dry. Able to speak of it but not seeing it, you fall into opportunism, dropping into a sea of poison. If you are under Cuiyun's gate, even if you can both speak of it and see it, you deserve thirty blows of the stick. If you can neither speak of it nor see it, you deserve thirty blows of the stick. If Cuiyun speaks like this, he too deserves thirty blows of the stick.' Then he called out loudly to the assembly, 'Perilous!' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Day after day, the sun rises in the east; day after day, the sun sets in the west. This is what people of the world know exists, from antiquity to the present, like hemp and millet. If you suddenly twist the topic around, it neither rises in the east nor sets in the west. Now tell me, from where does it rise and set? If you are one who has penetrated the checkpoint and hears this said, you will surely know that the five-li marker is outside the city gate. If you have not penetrated, you will often say: "Banshan is fooling people."' A monk asked, 'What is the phrase for reaching home?' The Master said, 'Sitting and watching success and failure.' The monk asked, 'What kind of person is it who is not a companion to the myriad dharmas?' The Master said, 'A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor.' The monk said, '"Wait until you gulp down all the water of the West River in a single mouthful, then I will tell you"—what does that mean?' The Master said, 'A close neighbor is not as good as a distant relative.' The monk asked, 'Where does a deceased monk go upon passing away?' The Master said, 'To the dung heap.' The monk said, 'What is the meaning?' The Master said, 'Bumping into it and knocking against it.'
28.16
Chan Master Fansi of Notang at Tianning in Quzhou was a native of the Zhu clan of Sutai. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Kicking over the sea of birth and death, trampling down the shore of nirvāṇa. In the world there are no living people; in the Yellow Springs there are no dead fellows.' Then he picked up his staff and said, 'Today Notang's staff has a place to be entrusted. Is there anyone who can take it up? Step forward and try shouldering it! Is there? Is there?' After a long pause, he threw down the staff and stepped down from the seat. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Those who know what exists also eat gruel and rice; those who do not know what exists also eat gruel and rice. How will you directly test his having or not having, his right or wrong, his heterodoxy or orthodoxy? If you cannot test it out, the matter of your inquiry and study is exceedingly far off.' He gave a shout and stepped down from the seat. Ascending the hall, he said: 'This mountain monk is a fourth-generation descendant of Yangqi. That old fellow had the gong'an of "a three-legged donkey gallops along." Although everyone can cite it, they simply do not know where it lands. This mountain monk, not begrudging his eyebrows, will add a footnote for you all.' Thereupon he said: 'An eight-cornered millstone runs in empty space.'
28.17
Chan Master Fozhao Jue of Junshan in Yuezhou ascended the hall and cited: 'An ancient said: "Looking up to it, it is ever higher; drilling into it, it is ever firmer. Beholding it in front, suddenly it is behind." Do you people recognize it? If you do not recognize it, I shall explain it thoroughly for you: Looking up to it, it is ever higher—not separated by a single hair; the crucial checkpoint is held fast, Buddhas and patriarchs cannot escape. Drilling into it, it is ever firmer—the true substance is natural; birds cry and flowers smile in front of the Blue Cliff. Beholding it in front—neither upright nor biased; sitting and severing the ten directions, majesty subdues the chiliocosm. Suddenly it is behind—a complete blunder; laughable that Yunmen hides his body in the Northern Dipper. Bah!'
28.18
Chan Master Xian of Baohua in Pingjiang Prefecture was a native of that prefecture. Ascending the hall, he said: '"Having eaten the gruel" is putting a head on top of a head; "go wash your bowl" is drawing legs on a snake. If you further ask "how?" you bring defeat upon yourself.' After a long pause, he called out loudly to the assembly. The assembly raised their heads. The Master said, 'Return to the hall and drink tea.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Do not investigate Chan, cease studying the Way; rest thoughts and forget machinations, ever vast and open. The ready-made gong'an is already cluttered; merely being without mind is already far-fetched. Even if you sit and cut off the time before birth, it is difficult to penetrate this mountain monk's "wrong, wrong, wrong!"'
28.19
Chan Master Jue of Dongshan in Shaoxing Prefecture later resided at Yinsheng. He ascended the hall and said, "After the three rolls of the drum have ended, all of you come up one by one, intending to grasp the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West. Do you still know that the sword has long since gone? Even if you were to awaken right here, it would also be like cutting off your head to seek life. Dongshan has no alternative; for now let us interrogate the matter from the second level." Striking the meditation couch with his hand, he stepped down from his seat. Ascending the hall, he said, "The flowers are ablaze in bloom, the scenery warm and radiant; / Do not say there is another heaven inside the pot. / If you can grasp it right at the tip of the hundred grasses, / The east is thirty feet high and the west eight inches wide." Ascending the hall, he cited: "In ancient times, the butcher Broad-Forehead went one day to the Buddha's place, tossed down his butcher's knife, and said, 'I am one among the thousand Buddhas.' The Bhagavat said, 'It is so, it is so.' In contemporary monasteries, people suppose that Broad-Forehead was originally a Buddha manifesting expediently as a butcher. Seeing Broad-Forehead like this—luckily there is no connection. Others say, 'Broad-Forehead was precisely a man who killed without blinking an eye; tossing down his butcher's knife, he became a Buddha right on the spot.' Luckily there is no connection. Others also say, 'Broad-Forehead tossed down his butcher's knife and said: "I am one among the thousand Buddhas." How distinctly clear this single Buddha is!' Luckily there is no connection. Do you wish to know Broad-Forehead? Along the road, peach blossoms after wind and rain: / Where can the horse's hooves avoid the fallen crimson?"
28.20
Chan Master Jue of Tianfeng in Taizhou ascended the hall and said, "In the land of the unborn, it is not yet a secure dwelling. At the peak of a myriad-fathom cliff, how can one be permitted to halt one's feet? Moreover, how do you say a single phrase on letting go of your hands into the empty void and turning your body right around? When a person encounters a happy event, their spirits are refreshed; / Entering fire, pure gold becomes all the more vivid in color."
28.21
Head Monk Daozu of Zhaojue in Chengdu Prefecture first met Yuanwu and attained realization under his words, 'Mind itself is Buddha.' Later, Yuanwu ordered him to share the seat. One day he entered the room for the sake of the assembly, where there were some twenty-odd people. The master suddenly asked, 'When birth and death arrive, how will you avoid them?' The monks had no answer. The master threw down his whisk and passed away quietly. The assembly were all startled and gazed in astonishment, promptly reporting it to Yuanwu. Yuanwu arrived, called out, and said, 'Head Monk Zu!' The master opened his eyes and looked at him. Yuanwu said, 'Rouse your spirits and break through the pass!' The master nodded and thereupon entered quiescence.
28.22
Head Monk Zongzhen of Yunju in Nankang Commandery was a man of Danqiu. He relied on Yuanwu at Yunju. One day, looking up at the bell pavilion, he suddenly had an accord and realization. When someone questioned him, the head monk responded with three gāthās. The last one said: 'I have a dynamic function to reveal directly to you: / A thunderbolt in a clear sky, lightning sweeping, shooting stars dashing. / Deshan and Linji's blows and shouts were applied in vain; / In the marvel that is not transmitted, what lack is there in you?' Yuanwu saw it and was greatly pleased. In the end, he held his integrity high, and his reputation for the Dao grew ever weightier. He once wrote on the wall: 'Residing on the highest tier among a thousand peaks, / Approaching sixty years of age, I let things drift along as they will. / Spared from having my name hang on people's lips, / I am content to be a monk of a hundred clumsy ways today.'
28.23
Privy Councillor Xu Fu, styled Shichuan and having the sobriquet Upāsaka Donghu, whenever he attended upon his late father, the Academician of the Longtu Pavilion, would call upon Fachang and Lingyuan and discuss discourses all day long. Xu heard them with disdain. But when Fachang entered quiescence amidst laughing and chatting, Xu marveled at it and began to have sincere faith in this Dao. Later, mourning the death of his father and grieving that he had no way to repay his boundless kindness, he invited Lingyuan to return to the mourning site to preach the Dharma. Lingyuan ascended the seat, and after the questions and answers were concluded, he said, 'Virtuous ones, take for instance how during his life the Academician of the Longtu Pavilion read ten thousand scrolls of books, like water poured from vessel to vessel without losing a single drop. Now tell me: where were they ordinarily deposited? And now, after consciousness has been shed, where then does that which deposited the ten thousand scrolls of books reside?' Hearing this, Xu felt a sudden clarity of attainment, and thereupon said, 'I have no regrets!' Lingyuan stepped down from his seat and asked, 'Scholar, what did you see just now that made you speak like that?' Xu said, 'If there were anything seen, I would have made a fool of the Upādhyāya.' Lingyuan said, 'If so, this old monk is not your equal.' Xu said, 'What kind of mind-practice is that of the Upādhyāya?' Lingyuan laughed heartily. In the beginning of the Jingkang era, Xu served as an Undersecretary of the Ministry. Together with fellow-minded courtiers, he hung his bowl in the Choosing-the-Wood Hall at Tianning Monastery, vigorously practicing under Yuanwu. Yuanwu was also pleased with the transcendence of his insight. One day, going to the recorder's lodge, Xu pointed to Yuanwu's portrait and said, 'This old fellow's heels still haven't touched the ground.' Yuanwu made a face and said, 'How could the turtle ever escape from the urn?' Xu said, 'Fortunately, the old fellow's heels have touched the ground.' Yuanwu said, 'Better not slander him.' Xu desisted.
28.24
Commandery Prince Zhao Lingjin, styled Biaozhi and having the sobriquet Upāsaka Chaoran, held office in Nankang. The administration was settled and business simplified; he often associated with Chan patch-robed monks. During breaks in public duties, his chamber served as Vimalakīrti's ten-foot-square room. It happened that Yuanwu was residing at Oufu. The prince happily went to his forge. Yuanwu made no concessions. The prince pleaded earnestly. Yuanwu said, 'For this matter to accord, you must die once over before you attain it.' The prince had a silent accord. He once composed a commentary for himself, an excerpt of which read: 'A poor household suffered robbery; / Who knew that down to the very bottom, nothing was left? / An empty house with no one in it; / Though the thieves came several times, they too were beaten.' Yuanwu saw it and enjoined him to protect it further. In the winter of the gengshen year of the Shaoxing era, the prince, together with Hanlin Academician Wang Zao, Vice Director Li Bing, and Vice Minister Zeng Kai, went to Jingshan to pay respects to Dahui. Hearing of their arrival, Dahui ordered the drum struck for an interview in the abbot's room. The prince happily carried incense in his sleeve and hurried there. Dahui said, 'How does the upāsaka understand Zhaozhou's topic of washing the bowl?' The prince said, 'What bowl are you searching for?' and flicked his sleeves and walked out. Dahui rose, grabbed him, and said, 'The ancients awakened right here. Why did you not awaken?' The prince was about to respond, but Dahui mimicked him, saying, 'What bowl are you searching for?' The prince said, 'Only returning it to this old fellow will do.'
28.25
Vice Minister Li Mixun, having the sobriquet Upāsaka Puxian, in his youth read books five lines at a time. At eighteen he passed the provincial examination, attained the jinshi degree in the capital, and successively held prominent and crucial offices. By the age of twenty-eight, he was a Secretariat Drafter. He frequently entered Yuanwu's room. One day, returning from the morning court audience and reaching Tianjin Bridge, his horse leaped, and suddenly he had an awakening, breaking into a sweat over his whole body. He went straight to Tianning. Just as Yuanwu was stepping out the door, seeing him from afar, he called out, 'Upāsaka, rejoice that the great matter is finished!' The minister said in a stern voice, 'Why are the Upādhyāya's eyes blurred?' Yuanwu gave a shout. The minister also gave a shout. Thereupon his sharp wit was swift and agile; whenever he engaged in questions and answers with Yuanwu, he would not yield in the midst of the encounter. The minister was later transferred to the Ministry of Personnel; he petitioned for a temple sinecure and returned to Lianjiang in Min, where he built a hermitage to please himself. One day he suddenly manifested a slight illness. Hurriedly requesting hot water, he finished bathing, sat cross-legged, and composed a gāthā: 'In vain has there been talk of herding and protecting all along; / Today it is distinctly and clearly revealed. / Empty space crushes Mount Sumeru down; / What need to speak of the single road leading upward?' Throwing down his brush, he passed away. / The Daoist practitioner of Jue'an, née Zu, was the niece of Censor You of Jianning. From youth she had determined not to marry, devoting her mind to the ancestral Dao. Under Yuanwu's words of instructional discourse to the assembly, she understood completely and clearly. Yuanwu said, 'You must also cast away what you have seen before you can attain freedom.' Zu answered with a gāthā: 'The exposed pillar extracts its crossbones; / Empty space displays its claws and fangs. / Even if you comprehend it mysteriously, / It is still sand in the eyes.'
28.26
Lady Benming, styled Mingshi, after having an accord with Yuanwu, visited eminent elders everywhere, and all bestowed their seals of approval upon her. On the full moon of the second month of the gengshen year of the Shaoxing era, she personally wrote three gāthās and sent them to Caotang Qing, faintly intimating her intention of leaving the world. Toward the end of the ten-day period, she took leave of her kin and passed away. Caotang wrote an afterword to her gāthās and published them; Dahui had also once uttered words to extol her. The gāthās said: 'Not knowing that affliction is bodhi; / If one follows affliction, that is foolishness. / At the moment of arising and ceasing, one must understand: / A sparrowhawk passes Silla without anyone knowing. / Not knowing that affliction is bodhi; / The pure flower grows from muddy silt. / If someone comes to ask me what to do: / Eating gruel, eating rice, and finishing, wash the bowl. / Pay no heed to it, pay no heed to it; / Playing with ocean sand all day long in foolish bliss. / If you wish to know your original true face: / It is just the Patriarch's single wooden fork. / Those who cannot speak die beneath the fork; / Those who can speak also die beneath the fork. / In the end, how is it? / Walking by night is not permitted; you must arrive when day breaks.'
28.27
The Lady of Fan County in Chengdu Prefecture had lived as a widow for many years, constantly sitting without lying down. Hearing that Yuanwu was residing at Zhaojue, she went to pay homage and request instruction on the causes and conditions for entering the Dao. Yuanwu had her contemplate: 'It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not a thing—what is it?' For a long time she had no accord. Fan wept and told Yuanwu, 'What expedient means does the Upādhyāya have to enable me to understand easily?' Yuanwu said, 'I do have an expedient means.' Thereupon he had her only contemplate: 'What is it?' Later she had an awakening and said, 'Originally it was that close!'
28.28
Chan Master Xiatang Yuan of Lingyin in Lin'an Prefecture was born into the Peng family of Jinliu town in Meishan. At age thirteen, he went to Monk Zongbian of Yaoshi Cloister to leave home, tonsure his hair, and receive full ordination. He immediately went to Chengdu to study the sūtras and treatises. Later he returned to Yunyan Temple on Mount Emei. At that time, Chan Master Hui resided there. Hui was a fourth-generation descendant of Huanglong Nan, whose understanding was exceedingly high. When the master first entered the gate, it happened that Hui had finished his meal and was strolling leisurely in the courtyard corridors. As soon as the master saw him, he put down his pack and asked, “Mañjuśrī was the ancestral teacher of the seven Buddhas; I wonder, who was the teacher of Mañjuśrī?” Hui said, “The woman of the Ma family beside Jinsha Brook.” At that time, Qitiefo was head monk; the master also went to draw near to him. Qi often guided and helped him, but for two years he attained nothing. One day while sitting quietly, a monk walking alone said to himself, “Borrowing the four great elements as a cover, relying on the six sense-objects the mind is born. If the six sense-objects suddenly cease, what will you call mind?” Hearing this, the master suddenly had an awakening. He immediately rose and informed the head monk; the head monk approved him. He went up to the abbot's quarters to inform Hui; Hui also approved him. The next day he took his leave to depart. His fellow practitioners tried to hold him back, but the master would not listen, saying, “My master considers it acceptable, but I am still not completely at ease.” At that time, Yuanwu had returned from Yunju to Shu and was residing at Zhaojue. The master went there. Whenever he asked questions and requested instruction, his words and expressions were sharp and unyielding; Yuanwu held him in deep regard. One day Yuanwu gave a general sermon, citing Upāsaka Pang asking Mazu, “Who is the one that does not keep company with the ten thousand dharmas?” Mazu said, “Wait until you have swallowed all the water of the West River in a single gulp, and then I will tell you.” Hearing this cited, the master experienced a great awakening and collapsed into the assembly. The assembly thought he had suffered a stroke and together helped him up. The master then said, “I have awakened from a dream!” That night at Yuanwu's evening instruction, the master came forward and asked, “Stark naked, empty without a single thing; completely bare, poor without a single coin. With a broken door and a ruined home, I beg the master for relief.” Yuanwu replied, “Take hold of the seven treasures and eight jewels all at once.” The master said, “What if a thief does not enter the gate of a cautious house?” Yuanwu replied, “If the functional capacity does not leave its position, you fall into a sea of poison.” The master immediately gave a shout following his words. Yuanwu struck the meditation bench with his staff, saying, “Can you take a blow of the stick or not?” The master gave another shout. Yuanwu gave two shouts in succession. The master bowed. Yuanwu was overjoyed and presented the master with a verse containing the words: “The old iron tongue turns the trigger.” The assembly called him “Iron Tongue Yuan.” From this time on, his sharp dynamism erupted and met no obstruction. In the spring of the yimao year of the Shaoxing era, the governor of Mei invited him to reside at Mount Xiang'er, but he did not go. In that year Yuanwu entered nirvāṇa. The master sighed, “The wise man has passed away; who will succeed him?” Thereupon, he took a small skiff down the Gorges. He first arrived in Huainan and stayed at Longpan for eight years. He circled Langya, and then moved to Puji in Wu and Dingye in Qu. From the time the master illuminated his mind essentials, he attained the wind-like great self-mastery samādhi of playful sport. Once, on the occasion of opening the hearth, he ascended the seat and said: “Heaven has no gate, earth has no wall. On the calabash trellis winter melons are planted. With both hands holding the plough, the water rises above the knees. Leaping through the golden hoop, swallowing the spiky chestnut. Clappers face the holeless flute. What an injustice, what an injustice! The one-legged mountain demon knows how to kick with both feet. Last year in the winter there was no charcoal to burn; this year there will certainly be no fire to roast by. When hungry, one starves until the eyes turn yellow; when poor, one is reduced to stark bones. What an injustice, what an injustice! Now tell me, what is the injustice? Unbearable that the prior, the vice-prior, the rector, the chief cook, and the director of affairs have consulted with the plasterers and let loose two horned owls, biting off the ridge of the Buddha hall!” He also ascended the hall, citing Upādhyāya Zhenjing's instruction to the assembly: “Heaven and earth share the same root with me; the ten thousand things are of one body with me. Beneath the toes and under the heels, crossing three and standing four. In Uttarakuru a fire breaks out, burning the eyebrows of Śakra. The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea cannot bear the pain; with a crashing thunderclap, it empties ponds and overturns mountains, and clouds darken the vast sky. Old beard Liao at the crossroads, startled awake from his drunkenness, claps his hands and laughs heartily, saying: ‘In the city of Junyang there have recently been few thieves!’” Zhenjing then took up his staff and said, “Thief, thief!” The master, having cited this, said: “If so, that is no small display. Yet what can be done? The nostrils and eyes each have their master. Why steal amidst a pile of vine tangles, which does not count as daylight robbery? Dropping things before the tavern door is not a true thief.” Just then, under the eastern corridor, a dog happened to bark. The master then called to a postulant to inspect what official guest was at the gate. The assembly all turned their heads. The master said, “Do you want to see the true thief?” He then whistled through his fingers, waved his hand, and stepped down from the seat. His discourses were generally like this. At that time Miaoxi Gao was exiled to Meizhou. Someone conveyed the master's verses and instructional discourses to him. Miaoxi said in astonishment, “Did our old teacher have such a son in his twilight years?” Thereupon he sent a letter expressing his sincerity, together with the Dharma robe entrusted by Yuanwu as a gift. When an imperial decree granted Miaoxi permission to return, the master welcomed him with a verse, and they met with great joy. Miaoxi praised him to the utmost, and further inscribed his portrait: “This uncouth fellow of Chuan has neither real nor false; / With a single white stick, even if a Buddha comes he beats him. / He has yet another excellence: / He knows how to gallop a horse inside an alms-bowl.” From then on, people held him in even higher esteem. Soon he moved to Guangxiao, where ten years passed. King Zhao Biaozhi of Anding Commandery was his friend outside worldly ties. Vice Minister Zeng Kai visited the master to receive instruction. Although an official, Zeng had extensively studied under various elders and had associated with Miaoxi for a very long time, yet he had not fully attained breakthrough; only upon meeting the master were his remaining doubts exhausted. Later, passing through Nanyue, the master took up residence at Nantai. At that time, Chan Master Longwang Lian and Chan Master Fangguang Xing, both eminent disciples of Yue'an, were preaching in the Hu-Xiang region. They privately said to each other, “Here the cliff stands ten thousand cubits high; where can Yuan find a place to put his foot?” Thereupon, they asked him to ascend the seat and posed more than thirty questions, all of which concerned the Buddha and Patriarchs' obscure, perilous cruxes and triggers—places scholars rarely reach. The master responded according to capacity; his language was profound and his discourses transcendent. Only then were they greatly filled with admiration. Lian then led his subordinates to bow around him, saying, “These knees have not bent to anyone for a long time!” Before long, the master passed through Tiantai and successively resided at the three temples of Huguo, Guoqing, and Hongfu. In the dinghai year of the Qiandao era, Minister Shen Dehe, governing Pingjiang, felt that the great bodhimaṇḍa of Huqiu had not found the right person, and earnestly invited the master to preside over it. Upon arrival, he met people untiringly and kept the monastic regulations strict. Encountering a time of famine, though the morning porridge and midday meal were not continuous, the shoes outside the door were always full; those who forgot their bodies for the Dharma gathered there, and his teaching became even more illustrious. Thereupon he received an imperial decree to reside at Chongxian Temple on Mount Gaoting. Before long he disagreed with the patron and retired to Yingzhao Hermitage. Again he received an imperial decree to reside at Lingyin. When opening the hall, an imperial envoy delivered incense. After praying for the Emperor, the master held up the incense and said: “This single stick of incense cannot be covered or hidden by heaven and earth, nor can the Buddha's eye fathom it. Where it is raised, the barbarian lineage is wiped out; when held up, it dulls and embarrasses people to death. It has burdened me for thirty years, lying prone in the wild weeds, making me an incompetent fellow my entire life. Within it there is a slight contradiction; before the assembly it must be laid bare. Twenty years ago, the mountain monk was blown by karmic winds into the briar patch beneath Mount Min and Mount Emei, bumping into a holeless iron hammer; struck by it, half-drunk and half-awake, I thought my mouth would be struck dumb and unable to open my whole life. Twenty years later, I was blown again by karmic winds to the bank of the Zhuojin River; amidst the pile of vine tangles, I met a scorched-tail white-browed tiger. At that time, I was personally bitten once, which truly cost me neither courage nor soul, yet opened my mouth, and to this day its use is inexhaustible. Now tell me: is this incense for the spiritual friend seen twenty years ago, or for the spiritual friend seen twenty years later? A single crane does not roost in two trees; a single guest does not trouble two households. Have you not heard it said: ‘Going first, one does not arrive; trailing behind, it is excessive.’ Now the thief's body is already exposed and the stolen goods are right before us. Offered for the former abbot of Zhaojue in Chengdu Prefecture, the late Chan Master Yuanwu, the Great Upādhyāya. I do not revere his discussing emptiness before the throne or his striding across the seas; I only revere that he had nothing in his chest and no Chan in his belly. Burned in the brazier to repay his Dharma milk.” At that time, Emperor Xiaozong turned his mind to the school of emptiness and repeatedly summoned him into the palace, granting him the title Chan Master Fohai. Earlier, Miaoxi had praised the master's portrait with the words: “He knows how to gallop a horse inside an alms-bowl.” When the master returned from audience before the Emperor, he commemorated it with a verse: “Galloping a horse inside an alms-bowl toward the heavenly court, / Accustomed to treading the heavenly street, the horse takes no fright. / Turning my head to gaze from atop Feilai Peak, / White clouds completely envelop the spring of the imperial capital.” The master preached the Dharma with extraordinary function, not clinging to conventional rules and breaking free from set molds. As for the encounters in the abbot's room, they were especially precipitous and unapproachable. Once, pointing to a flower before him, he asked a monk, “If you call it Buddha, feed is right at hand; if you call it a beast, its mouth speaks human words. At such a time, where are the eyes of study?” The monk had no words. The master answered in his place: “The Five Sacred Peaks, the Four Great Rivers, famous mountains, and great streams.” He also asked a monk, “Before the triple gate not an inch of grass grows; how can you enter into the Buddha hall?” The monk had no words. The master answered in his place: “Shave the head clean, wash the bowl pure.” He also asked a monk, “The entire great canon of teachings is abusive speech; what is your own original body Vairocana?” The monk had no words. The master answered in his place: “Lake Anavatapta is forty zhang deep and forty zhang wide.” He also asked a monk, “Since the Patriarchs, how many people have misunderstood? Though mistaken, having erred, how can one avoid this fault?” The monk had no words. The master answered in his place: “A crime is not penalized twice.” He also asked a monk, “Which monastery are you from?” The monk said, “A monk of Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) Monastery.” The master said, “Since it is Heavenly Palace Monastery, why do both your feet tread on the ground?” The monk had no words. The master answered in his place: “How can you blame me?” Another day, having ascended the seat and after the drum had sounded, the master sat inside the curtain. The attendant searched for the master but did not see him. The master parted the curtain and said, “I am right here; why did you not see me?” The attendant had no words. The master answered in his place: “A great axe chops the triple gate.” Another day, when the recorder and the rector came to him in a dispute, the master posted a placard saying: “The recorder and rector have administered orders incorrectly; the old monk is fined oil, and the postulant receives a blow of the stick.” He ordered the two to present a turning word. The rector said, “Hard to escape the mirror of wisdom.” The master said, “Not so, not so.” The recorder had no words. Both were driven out. Once, an advance messenger from Jingci arrived to deliver a letter. The master asked, “Where is your senior elder from?” The messenger said, “The Upādhyāya seems not to know.” The master said, “Where are you from?” The messenger said, “Yuezhou.” The master said, “A fierce tiger does not eat meat that lies prostrate.” Once, when he was ill, a monk came to visit him. The master asked the monk, “Last night the fire star left the palace for this old monk; up to now, why can I not pass stool?” The monk said, “At such an advanced age, doing work toward the latrine!” The master said, “Though you understand the lineage through words, do not set up your own rules. Since you do not know, why make a mess?” He immediately drove him out, and answered in his place: “In the kingdom of Magadha, this decree was personally carried out.” A monk entered; the master stood up and asked, “Meeting without wearing cloth trousers?” The monk joined his hands, stepped forward, and said, “Today I have personally seen Xiatang.” The master laughed heartily. The monk said, “My tricks are already exhausted.” The master clapped his hands once. At that time, there was a monk from Japan named Jōa, who was versed in the Tiantai teachings, quite skilled in calligraphy, and able to speak the languages of various countries. When he first came to visit the master, his vigor was very sharp. The master gradually enlightened him with the Chan lineage. After staying three years, he suddenly had an attainment, composed five verses of mutual resonance, and departed. His words are recorded in Jōa's biography. Later, a sea merchant conveyed a letter and poem in gratitude from Kakuchō, the head of Enjō-ji in his country; thus, the master's lineage branch spread to Japan. On the first day of the ninth month in autumn of the second year of the Chunxi era, he ascended the hall and spoke a verse: “In autumn of the second year of Chunxi, / On the first day of the late-autumn ninth month: / In busy places do not stick out your head; / From a cool place look on with open eyes. / Light and dark do not concern each other; / Each divides half. / If all alike become nobles, / Who will be made to sell firewood and charcoal? / I say to you: / It cannot be reviled, it cannot be praised; / Its substance is like empty space, without cliff or shore. / Calling to each other, return home! / The Shangyuan Festival is surely the middle of the first month.” At that time, rumors spread throughout the capital, suspecting that the master would pass away on the fifteenth day of the first month; this eventually reached the ears of the Emperor. When the date arrived, free of illness, he ascended the seat to offer prayers for the Emperor as was customary. Moreover, secular officials visited the temple to hold a vegetarian feast. Having ascended the seat again, he instructed the administrators and head officers to accompany the official guests and the donors at the meal. At the mealtime, the attendants all went to the hall. On that day, people of the capital gathered eagerly, and the Emperor also secretly sent an imperial envoy to inquire after the master's daily activities; all saw that the master moved about as usual, and reports were sent back successively. When the meal ended, the attendants went up to the abbot's quarters with the secular officials, only to find the door locked tight. The master had long kept a black ape, which was quite tame and understood human intent; he had dressed it in a cloth robe and called it “Ape Postulant.” At this time, searching for the master without seeing him, they peeked through the window crack and saw only the ape holding a scroll of writing, standing upright like a man before the bed. Thereupon they hurried from the rear to the front of the bed and parted the curtains; the master had already transformed. Taking the writing from the ape's hand to view it, it was his verse of passing away: “Snapping the steelyard weight, / Overturning the hanging vines. / Leaping out before the functional trigger, / Even a crow cannot fly across.” His body was kept for ten days without its complexion changing. His age was seventy-four, and he had sat for fifty-nine rains retreats. Those who attained the Dharma—Liaocheng, Rubeng, Qiji, and Huichong—all resided in great monasteries. There was one volume of his Words in Audience before the Throne. On the twentieth day of the first month of the seventh year of the Qiandao era, an imperial decree ordered Elder Huiyuan of Lingyin to be granted an audience. On the last day of the month he was summoned to Xuande Hall and addressed the throne: “Your servant was originally ordinary and foolish, born in Western Shu. Early on, I heard the Dao from Chan Master Yuanwu, and I have nurtured my simplicity in the mountain forests for nearly forty years. I have respectfully heard that since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have treated sentient beings with grace and compassion and protected the religion, governing the realm with the mind of a Buddha. By fortunate connection, your servant is privileged to draw near to the heavenly countenance, overwhelmed with myriad emotions.”
First 28 of 101 passages. Read on
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- 續傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese