續傳燈錄 3.17

3.17

Chan Master Fayan Yuanjian of Mount Fushan in Shuzhou was a native of Zhengzhou. He went to Upādhyāya Song of Sanjiao to leave household life. While young as a novice, he saw a monk enter the room to inquire about the nidāna of Zhaozhou's cypress in the courtyard. Song questioned that monk closely, and the Master, who was standing by, experienced an awakening. After receiving the full ordination, he visited Fenyang and Yexian, both of whom granted him their seal of approval. Once, while traveling through Shu in the company of seven or eight peers including Daguan Ying and Xue Datou, they almost suffered disaster, but the Master used his wisdom to extricate them. Because the Master understood civil matters, the assembly called him 'Director Yuan'. Opening the hall, he took incense and said: 'A dead tree in the sea of Ru puts forth sprouts; its unique blossoms greet the colors of spring.' A monk asked: 'Whose tune does the Master sing? Whose lineage style do you inherit?' The Master said: 'An eighty-year-old grandfather rolling an embroidered ball.' [The monk] said: 'If so, then a single phrase towers aloft, unfolding the ancestral lineage; the spears and armor of the three mysteries shake the monastic groves.' The Master said: 'Li Ling was originally a minister of the Han dynasty.' [A monk] asked: 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said: 'The elder is like an elder brother; the younger is like a younger brother.' [A monk] asked: 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said: 'On level ground a mound of bones rises up.' [A monk] asked: 'Under the gate of the Patriarchs, the wall stands a thousand fathoms high; when the authentic decree is enforced, the ten directions are cut off. How does the upādhyāya manifest this?' The Master said: 'A cold cat does not catch mice.' [The monk] said: 'Is that not functioning for the sake of others?' The Master said: 'A Persian does not tie his waist.' [A monk] asked: 'The New Year has already arrived; where has the old year gone?' The Master said: 'Before our eyes there are no strange anomalies; there is no need to paste up Zhong Kui.' [The monk] said: 'Ultimately, what is it like?' The Master said: 'Thinking there was nothing before his eyes, a monk drew in the air with his hand.' [The monk] said: 'What can be done about this one?' The Master immediately struck him. The Master was discussing the Way with Vice Director Wang Zhi. Drawing a circle, he asked: 'First, you must not have a single horse and a single spear. Second, you must not return home in embroidered robes. A magpie cannot be an auspicious bird, nor can it be a calamity. Speak quickly! Speak quickly!' Wang was at a loss. The Master said: 'Thoroughly exposed!' Ascending the hall, [the Master said]: 'Do not further discuss antiquity or talk of the present. I will simply settle and distinguish things for all of you based on what is directly before your eyes.' A monk then asked: 'What is the matter before our eyes?' The Master said: 'The nostrils.' [The monk] said: 'What is the matter of the transcendence?' The Master said: 'The eyes.' Duke Ouyang Wenzhong heard of the Master's extraordinary renown and went to his room, but had not yet seen anything unusual about him. He was playing weiqi with a guest, and the Master sat beside them. Wenzhong abruptly swept up the game pieces and invited him to expound the Dharma by taking weiqi as an analogy. The Master immediately had the drum struck, ascended the seat, and said: 'If we discuss this matter, it is just like two opponents playing weiqi. Why is this? Worthy opponents and kindred spirits do not yield an inch at the critical moment. If one grants a handicap of five or three, one must open up another path before it will do. There is a common sort who only knows how to shut the door and work within, unable to seize the corners and charge the gates. When hard-headed knots and tiger's mouths are both exposed, after the board is broken, in vain does one struggle to save it. Therefore it is said: