續傳燈錄 31

English (machine translation) 31

Language: English

31.1

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

Seventeenth Generation under Dajian / One Dharma heir of Chan Master Huqiu Long: / Chan Master Tiantong Danhua (recorded) / Nine Dharma heirs of Chan Master Yuwang Yu: / Chan Master Qingliang Tan / Chan Master Jingci Shiyi / Chan Master Daochang Faquan / Chan Master Yanfu Huisheng (the above four are recorded) / Chan Master Yunyan Faxiu / Chan Master Lianyun Xingdun / Chan Master Tianmu Zhao / Chan Master An'yan Gu / Chan Master Shangyan Yong (the above five are not recorded) / Four Dharma heirs of Chan Master Dagui Tai: / Chan Master Huitong Qingdan / Chan Master Lingyan Zhong'an / Chan Master Zhengfa Hao / Chan Master Zhaojue Bian (the above four are recorded) / Five Dharma heirs of Chan Master Huguo Yuan: / Chan Master Guoqing Xingji / Chan Master Jiaoshan Shitai / Chan Master Huazang Zhishen / Assistant Administrator Qian Duanli, Upāsaka (the above four are recorded) / Chan Master Shangzhu Yuanzhi (one is not recorded) / Nine Dharma heirs of Chan Master Lingyin Yuan: / Chan Master Dongshan Qiyi / Chan Master Sushan Rubeng / Elder Jue'a / Hanlin Scholar Zeng Kai, Upāsaka / Prefect Ge Tan, Upāsaka (the above five are not recorded) / Chan Master Jidian the Recorder / Chan Master Yao the Head Monk / Chan Master Shanglan Liaocheng / Chan Master Gong'an Huichong (the above four are not recorded) / One Dharma heir of Chan Master Huazang Min: / Chan Master Jingshan Baoyin (recorded) / One Dharma heir of Chan Master Huazang Zuo: / Chan Master Donggu Guang (not recorded) / One Dharma heir of Chan Master Zhaojue Yuan: / Chan Master Fengqi Huiguan (recorded) / Three Dharma heirs of Chan Master Wenshu Dao: / Chan Master Chu'an Huifang / Chan Master Wenshu Siye (the above two are recorded) / Chan Master Wenshu Qiong (one is not recorded) / Four Dharma heirs of Chan Master Fodeng Xun: / Chan Master Chouyan Liaoyun / Auxiliary Academician Pan Lianggui, Upāsaka (the above two are recorded) / Chan Master Tianjing Daoru / Zheng Ji of Shuanghuai, Upāsaka (the above two are not recorded) / One Dharma heir of Chan Master Letan Ming: / Chan Master Wuwei Shouyuan (recorded)

31.3

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

31.4

Seventeenth Generation under Dajian

31.5

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Huqiu Long

31.6

Chan Master Ying'an Tanhua of Tiantong in Mingzhou was a son of the Jiang family of Qizhou. Remarkable and extraordinary from birth, at the age of seventeen he had his hair shaved at Dongchan. He first attached himself to Chan Master Sui of Shuinan to taste the flavor of the Dharma. He then traveled extensively throughout the Jianghu region, engaging in dynamic exchanges with various elders, in all of which he found accord. Reaching Yunju, he paid homage to Chan Master Yuanwu. At the first sight of him, Yuanwu spurred him on vigorously. When he entered Shu, he was directed to see Zhangjiao. When Jiao moved to Huqiu, the Master accompanied him as his attendant. In less than half a year, he suddenly understood the Great Matter. He left to visit C'an, where he shared the seat at Lianyun, and opened the Dharma hall at Miaoyan. Later he was transferred to various grand monasteries. When he resided at Guizong, Dahui was in Meiyang. A monk conveyed to Dahui the phrases of instruction the Master had given. Seeing them, Dahui praised them to the utmost and later sent him a verse saying: 'Sitting atop the foremost peak of the golden wheel, / A thousand goblins and a hundred specters all conceal their traces. / In recent years true news has reached us once again, / Announcing that Yangqi's authentic line flows freely on.' Such was the high regard in which he was held. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Gazing at the wall for nine years ruined the sons and grandsons of the eastern land. Returning west with a single shoe made a fool of the yellow-faced fellow.' Drawing a line with his staff, he said: 'A stone ox lies across the ancient road; one horse gives birth to three yin.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Dezhang, the old blind shaved-pate, never had any flavor. Grasping the mouth, he lost the nose. At the second beat of the third watch he sang the songs of Ba, pointlessly startling Brahma from his sleep.' Giving a shout, he said: 'I walk through the wild grasses; you enter a deep village again.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Do all of you thoroughly see through Linji's intention in receiving blows of the stick three times from Huangbo? Even if you bite through it with a single snap, you are still not a great hero. The mouths of the Buddhas of the three periods hang on the wall; on what do the old upādhyāyas of the world eat their rice?' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Before the fifteenth day, the water rises and the boat goes high; after the fifteenth day, there is much mud and the Buddha is big. Right on the fifteenth day, giving the carp of the Eastern Sea a blow of the stick causes rain to pour down like overturned basins. It brings all sentient beings in the three-thousand great thousand worlds to complete joy, saying: "Striking this blow of the stick certainly accords with the time and season!" Without realizing it, Bao'en's entire body leaped with joy, whereupon he composed a poem and presented it to the assembly: A dragonfly is indeed a fine dragonfly; / Flying here and flying there, it never halts. / Caught by me, both its wings plucked off, / It looks just like a big iron nail.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'If we discuss this as a single phrase, who cannot eat congee? If we do not discuss it as a single phrase, the maggots in the cesspool will laugh the ācārya to death.' Raising his staff, he said: 'This staff has committed a heaven-filling offense and is banished to the Dual Iron Enclosing Mountains. Tell me, is there any fault on the part of Jianfu?' Striking the staff, he said: 'A moment too late!' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Light does not see darkness; darkness does not see light. Forgetting both light and darkness, one is no different from a common fellow. The jackal's howl is the lion's roar; the lion's roar is the jackal's howl. The stinking monkey in a hamlet of three houses increases in price tenfold; the bright moon pearl beneath the black dragon's chin is not worth a single coin. If taken as a patch-robed monk's clue, where does it come from? Thirty years hence, switching hands to beat your chest will still not be the end of your suffering.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Beside the rice basket, inside the lacquer tub: if you spit at each other, I allow you to throw water; if you scold each other, I allow you to answer back. The Yellow River clears once every three thousand years; the flat peach blossoms once every five hundred years. Hālenaya clenches his teeth; the red-crowned king laughs uproariously. Guizong had a gong'an from fifty years ago; today I present it to you all. Tell me, what gong'an is it? Bailiff Wang lost his warrant.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Eating congee and eating rice, one unknowingly bites through the tongue, and blood splatters against the Brahma heaven, overflowing copiously below the four quarters. The Jade Emperor dispatches an order to arrest the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and examine him upon the peak of the Golden Wheel. In an instant, you all are summoned to bear witness! Please provide a truthful testimony, each of you; by all means avoid evasion. If it is not true, you will forfeit your lives.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Five hundred wrestlers lift the stone up; / Walking with hands released atop a cliff of ten thousand fathoms. / The worlds of the ten directions are a single ball of iron; / White hairs sprout on the back of empty space. / Even if you toss off the grease-stained hat and strip away the foul-smelling robe, before Bao'en's gate it is just the right time to take a beating. Why? Rising at midnight to sit with knees bent, / The Mao star appears before the patch-robed monk.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'The Buddhas of the three periods have no sinews in their eyes; the six generations of patriarchs have no blood beneath their skins. Clearly clenching their teeth, they leap about, unable to get out of the other's circle. Why did Nanquan cut the cat in two?' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Practitioners of Chan must strictly avoid misapplying their minds. Awakening and clearly seeing the nature is misapplying the mind. Becoming a Buddha and making oneself a patriarch is misapplying the mind. Reading the scriptures and expounding the teachings is misapplying the mind. Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are misapplying the mind. Eating congee and eating rice are misapplying the mind. Excreting feces and passing urine are misapplying the mind. Every movement and rest, every coming and going, are misapplying the mind. There is yet another place of misapplying the mind that Guizong does not dare explain to you. Why? Once a single character enters the magistrate's gate, nine teams of oxen cannot haul it out.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'When the skilled craftsman has not emerged, jade and stone are indistinguishable; when there is no expert smelter, gold and sand are mixed together. Even if one is awakened by oneself without a teacher, before Tiantong's gate it is just the right time to be struck three thousand times in the morning and eight hundred times in the evening.' Suddenly raising his staff, he said: 'Call it a staff, and jade and stone are indistinguishable; do not call it a staff, and gold and sand are mixed together. If among you there is one half-person skilled at discerning the reason, I guarantee he will step smoothly into the cinnabar skies. If not yet so—' Striking the staff, he said: 'Quickly, fix your eyes and look!' A monk asked: 'An old woman asked Yantou: "I do not ask about handling the oars or swinging the rudder; tell me, where did the son in this old woman's arms come from?" Yantou struck the gunwale three times. What was his meaning?' The Master said: 'A scorched brick strikes and freezes right down to the bottom.' The monk said: 'If someone had asked the upādhyāya at that time, how would you have replied to her?' The Master said: 'Strike her dead with a single blow of the stick.' The monk said: 'This old upādhyāya is much like buying a hat to fit the head.' The Master said: 'Where did you see Yantou?' The monk said: 'Zha!' The Master said: 'Fabricating Chan monk!' The monk said: 'The old woman gave birth to seven children; six did not meet someone who understood them, and this single one is of no use either. What about throwing it into the water?' The Master said: 'Show off less.' The monk said: 'At that time Yantou unconsciously stuck out his tongue. What was the meaning?' The Master said: 'When joyful, we rejoice together.' The monk said: 'A monk asked Yunmen: "What is the pure Dharmakāya?" Yunmen said: "The medicinal flower hedge." What is this meaning?' The Master said: 'Shensha glares with protruding eyes.' The monk asked: '"Just this" buries oneself; "just this is not" fails the former sages. Leaving aside these two paths, please, Master, speak of the place where mud is mixed with water.' The Master said: 'Jade chopsticks prop open the tiger's mouth.' The monk said: 'One word, like metal and stone, is weighty in discourse; the myriad affairs, like wild-goose feathers, are light when cast off.' The Master said: 'Better not deceive this old monk.' The monk asked: '"Everyone fears the sweltering heat, but I love the long summer days. / A fragrant breeze arrives from the south, / Bringing a light coolness to the palace halls." How is it at such a time?' The Master said: 'Reverse the weapons and shed the armor.' On the memorial anniversary of Huqiu, the Master offered incense and said: 'Throughout my life I had no good luck, stumbling into this unintelligent old upādhyāya; I exhausted all my tricks and could find no purchase. From then on, I put away my weapons and casually wore clothes and ate food. For twenty years I have sat on the curved-wood chair, hanging up a sheep's head to sell dog meat—who knows what proof there is? Even so, with the day of burning incense coming once a year, through a thousand ages it causes one's resentment to grow deeper.' In the abbot's room, the Master was skilled at tempering senior elders; hence the world referred to the residences of Dahui and the Master as the two nectar gates. He often admonished his disciples, saying: 'When patch-robed monks wear straw sandals to dwell as abbots, how is that any different from a viper clinging to its den?' On the thirteenth day of the sixth month in the first year of the Longxing era, he passed away peacefully. His whole body was stupaed on the local mountain.

31.7

Dharma Heir of Chan Master Yu of Yuwang

31.8

Chan Master Tan of Qingliang in Fuzhou. A monk brought forward Dahui's bamboo comb topic to request instruction. The Master instructed him with a verse: 'At Jingshan there is a bamboo comb; / Right beneath it there is no other principle. / The Buddha hall, the kitchen storehouse, and the three gates / Pierce through the patch-robed monks' eyes and ears.' That monk had an awakening upon hearing these words.

31.9

Chan Master Shiyi of Shui'an at Jingci in Lin'an Prefecture was a son of the Ma family of Wuzhou. Shaving his head at sixteen, he first studied under Chan Master Huizhao of Xuefeng. Zhao posed the topic of 'hiding the body leaving no trace' to question him. Only after several days did the Master comprehend it. He presented a verse saying: 'Hiding the body leaving no trace—there is nothing more to hide; / Divested of body without reliance, it directly matches. / The ancient mirror without labor reflects itself again; / Pale mist mingled with dew dampens the autumn light.' Zhao examined him, saying: 'In the end, where is the place of hiding the body leaving no trace?' The Master said: 'Aha!' Zhao said: 'Why not hide the body in the placeless trace?' The Master said: 'The stone tiger swallows the wooden sheep.' Zhao deeply approved of him. After taking up residence, he ascended the hall and brought forward: 'Grandfather Master Yuanwu said: "Investigating Chan until the place of non-investigation, / Only upon reaching non-investigation has one thoroughly arrived." Shui'an says otherwise: "Investigating Chan until the place of non-investigation, / Upon reaching non-investigation one has not yet thoroughly arrived. / If you wish to exhaust a thousand miles of vision, / You must ascend another flight of stairs."' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Frozen clouds are about to snow but have not yet snowed; Samantabhadra's elephant mount is towering. The plum blossoms on the ridge are half closed and half open; the Shaoshi scenery leaks out. Even going on like this is still half-presentation. What is the matter of whole-presentation? Do not speak in the presence of someone without wisdom, lest it strike your head and break your brow.' Ascending the hall, he cited Fayan instructing the assembly: 'The entire worlds of the ten directions are brilliantly clear. If there is a single strand of thread, it is just a single strand of thread.' The Master held up his fly whisk and said: 'Do you see? Pierced through your skulls, you are still not aware.' Fadeng said: 'The entire worlds of the ten directions are naturally brilliantly clear. If there is a single strand of thread, it is not a single strand of thread.' The Master said: 'Last night the moonlight was entirely fine; today the autumn mountains are boundlessly green.'

31.10

Chan Master Wu'an Faquan of Daochang in Anji Prefecture was a son of the Chen family of Gusu. Upādhyāya Chuan of Dongzhai shaved his hair. The Master long relied on Fozhi. Whenever he entered the room, Zhi questioned him with the topic of the dog having no Buddha-nature. The Master had no response. One day, hearing a monk cite Wuzu's verse: 'Zhaozhou bares his sword,' he suddenly experienced a great awakening. He had a verse saying: 'Drums and horns roar as one bare shoulder shows; / The Dragon Pavilion wafts incense onto the Yizhou boat. / Sometimes with bare feet I toy with the bright moon, / Treading through the sky beneath the waves of the five lakes.' After taking up residence, he ascended the hall and said: 'If you wish to obtain what is present before you, harbor neither accord nor adversity.' Striking his staff, he said: 'The Great Master Third Patriarch transformed into a horse-faced yakṣa, heading toward Pūrvavideha, Aparagodānīya, Jambudvīpa, and Uttarakuru, and came back to reveal his body in this mountain monk's hand. Originally it was merely a single black lacquer staff. Do you see? Even if you see it, entering hell is like an arrow shot!' Striking his staff, he descended from the seat. Ascending the hall, he took up his staff and said: 'Each and every one of you towers to the sky and stands on the earth, carrying a staff across your shoulders, traveling everywhere on itinerant pilgrimage to test the various quarters. What more do you come here to look for? The moment you are lightly pressed, you immediately say: "Tiantai holds a communal work session; Nanyue goes wandering the mountains." Let me ask you: have you ever obtained the precious blade from the realm of the Tajiks?' Striking his staff, he said: 'By all means avoid holding a sheep's horn in your mouth.' A monk asked: 'How was it before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?' The Master said: 'Under heaven there were no poor people.' The monk said: 'How was it after meeting him?' The Master said: 'Across the four seas there were no rich men.' On the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month in the yiyou year of Qiandao, as he was about to enter quiescence, the assembly requested a verse. The Master stared with eyes wide, looking downward. The assembly's request grew more persistent; he then wrote the two characters "Wu Wu" (No, No), cast aside the brush, and passed away. After the cremation, five-colored śarīra appeared. His stupa was erected on Jindou Peak.

31.11

Chan Master Hanyan Huisheng of Yanfu in Quanzhou was a native of Jianning. Ascending the hall, he gave a shout and said, "Taking all the worlds of the ten directions together with all time throughout the ten periods, ancient and modern—they are packed tight and completely filled within here. Yet if one opens it up just by the point of a needle, the great ocean flows westward and huge peaks stand upside down; giant turtles, alligators, fish, dragons, shrimp, crabs, and earthworms all surge forth in rolling waves on level ground, swimming and dancing with joy. Even though it is like this, you must take one further step yourself from the top of the hundred-foot pole; then with every step you turn the inexhaustible treasure wheel. Only then will you know that the nostrils hang over the upper lip and the eyebrows are not below the eyes. Do you clearly understand?" Again he gave a shout and said, "Beware of moving your throat and touching upon the taboo!"

31.12

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Dawai Tai

31.13

Chan Master Huitong Qingdan of Tanzhou was a son of the Yan family of Pengzhou. When he first left his home region and reached Deshan, [Fozhi] Zhi[tai] ascended the hall and brought up: "Zhaozhou said, 'I have completely seen through that old woman of Mount Wutai for you.' Tell me, what was his meaning?" After a long pause he said: "'Right on the ground he sweeps away the yellow leaves; / Entering the mountain he pushes out the white clouds.'" Hearing this, the Master was completely released. The next day he entered the abbot's room. Deshan asked, "The former Baizhang did not fall into cause and effect; why did he fall into being a wild fox? The latter Baizhang was not blind to cause and effect; why was he released from the wild fox?" The Master said, "They should both be buried in the same pit." After assuming the abbacy, he ascended the hall and said, "Speaking of buddhas and speaking of patriarchs is just like gouging healthy flesh to make a wound. Citing the ancient and citing the present is like leftover broth and spoiled rice. Awakening immediately upon hearing has already fallen into the second rank; acting immediately upon mention has already missed the point. You should know that this matter covers everywhere like the sky and bears everything like the earth. A lion wanders without seeking companions; a stalwart extends his arm without borrowing another's strength. Buddhas and patriarchs cannot lift it; patch-robed monks have no door through which they may hope to see it. Delusion and awakening are both forgotten; the path of sages and commoners is severed. Tell me, by what Dharma have the past sages instructed people?" He gave a shout and said, "Do not engage in deluded thoughts!" On the memorial anniversary of Upādhyāya Foxing, he ascended the hall: "'A three-legged donkey prances with its hooves; / Step by step they follow one another without arriving. / At the top of a tree, pairs of fish are startled into flight; / Bringing them up, one is old and one is not old. / Out of love for the pines and bamboos, it draws forth a cool breeze; / Yet what can be done when going out the door there is only grass? / Because of calling the beloved, she recognizes him; / Great capacity and great function are both knocked over. / Burning incense to verify, one sees the source; / Atop the heap of dung and sweepings, a jewel is picked up. / In the monasteries, people talk and deliberate in vain; / It is best that I urge you not to slander the late master.'"

31.14

Chan Master Zhongan of Lingyan in Lizhou became a monk in his youth and in adulthood traveled to lecture halls. Later he visited Yuanwu at Jiangshan. At that time Foxing was the head of the hall; the Master inquired of him and immediately grasped the import. When [Foxing] Xing resided at Deshan, he sent the Master to Zhongfu to deliver the letter of Dharma succession. Yuanwu asked, "Galloping a thousand miles without disgracing the ancestral style—the gong'an is already manifest, so how do you communicate the message?" The Master said, "Presented face to face, there is no evasion whatsoever." Yuanwu said, "This is Deshan's; which is yours, Elder?" The Master said, "How could there be a second person?" Yuanwu said, "What about the one behind your back?" The Master presented the letter. Yuanwu laughed and said, "An expert Chan traveler naturally has what it takes." The Master said, "I entrust it to Jiangshan." Next he went before the monks' hall, held up the letter, and bowed in greeting to the head monk. The head monk said, "Xuanji's blank paper—from where has this come?" The Master said, "'Having long been silent on this essential point, I do not rush to speak of it.' Today I respectfully present it, hoping you will take a look." The head monk immediately gave a shout. The Master said, "An expert head monk!" The head monk shouted again. The Master struck him with the letter. The head monk hesitated; the Master said, "Before understanding three, eight, and nine, one cannot avoid brooding to oneself." The Master struck him once more with the letter and said, "Take it!" At that time Yuanwu and Foyan were watching. Yuanwu said, "He has beaten my head monk to death!" Foyan said, "When government horses kick each other, what proof is there?" The Master said, "Why talk of government horses kicking each other? This is precisely dragons and elephants treading!" Yuanwu called the Master over and said, "The head monk of my five hundred people—why did you hit him?" He replied, "The Upādhyāya also needs to take a beating!" Yuanwu looked at Foyan and stuck out his tongue. Foyan said, "Not yet." Then looking at the Master, he asked, "'Empty-handed, holding a hoe; / Walking on foot, riding a water buffalo. / A person crosses over a bridge; / The bridge flows, but the water does not flow.' What is the meaning of this?" The Master bowed and said, "Everything stated is completely true." Foyan laughed and said, "Turns out he is a man of our own house!" He also went to visit Wuzu [Fayan's heir] Upādhyāya [Foguo] Zi to deliver the letter of Dharma kinship. Zu said, "What does it say in the letter?" The Master said, "The literary pattern is already manifest." Zu said, "In the end, what does it say?" The Master said, "Wielding a precious sword in broad daylight." Zu said, "Come closer; I don't know many characters here." The Master said, "Do not feign defeat." Zu turned to the attendant and said, "Where is this monk from?" The attendant said, "This Elder previously stayed in the Upādhyāya's assembly." Zu said, "No wonder he is so slippery!" The Master said, "I was made a fool of by the Upādhyāya." Zu then took the letter, fumigated it over the incense burner, and said, "Namo samanta-buddhānām." The Master just stepped forward and snapped his fingers. Zu then opened the letter. On the day he returned to Deshan, both Foguo and Foyan wrote verses to send him off. Before long, Lingyan became vacant; the patch-robed monks submitted a petition asking the Master to assume the abbacy. Thereupon he became a Dharma heir of Dawai. Ascending the hall, he said: "If in investigating Chan one does not plumb the source, whatever one encounters becomes a hindrance. Therefore, clinging to quiet stillness, serene emptiness, and idle leisure, one falls into a sea of poison. Using the weak to overcome the strong, affirming oneself and denying others, establishing measures of self and other—their views become skewed and withered, resulting in an inability to distinguish superior from inferior, illumination failing to reach function, and function failing to depart from its nest. This is because their learning is not mysterious and is completely worldly. Reaching here, one must know that there is breakthrough within killing and concealed dynamic within life. Buddhas cannot know it, and patriarchs cannot measure it. Therefore the ancients said: 'Sometimes illumination precedes function'—for now I want to deliberate with you; 'sometimes function precedes illumination'—you must be an able fellow to handle it; 'sometimes illumination and function are simultaneous'—how will you withstand that? 'Sometimes illumination and function are not simultaneous'—where will you anchor yourself? Do you know? 'The arrow piercing the willow leaf and the verse that astounds people / Are not things that can be learned on the spot.'"

31.15

Chan Master Hao of Zhengfa in Chengdu Prefecture ascended the hall. He brought up the story of Yongjia going to Caoxi and said: "Do you want to know Yongjia? Overturning seas and mountains to seek an intimate friend. Do you want to know the Patriarch? Stirring heaven and earth to establish great peace. Where the two old masters went is unknown." He tapped his staff and said, "The ancestral style spreads fine renown for ten thousand ages."

31.16

Chan Master Bian of Zhaojue in Chengdu Prefecture ascended the hall and said: "'A fraction of a hair's breadth of difference, and heaven and earth are far apart.' When across the river someone sings the 'Song of the Partridge', it is mistaken for 'Eighteen Beats of the Nomad Flute'. Do you wish to understand? 'If you wish it to appear before you, do not harbor favor or adversity.' Who contends over the misty waves of the five lakes? If you simply do not return—return, and you have it!"

31.17

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Huguo Yuan

31.18

Chan Master Jiantang Xingji of Guoqing in Taizhou was a native of that prefecture, surnamed Yang. His bearing was extraordinarily upright and his talent surpassed the Confucian circle. At age twenty-five he abandoned wife and children to study the world-transcending Dharma. Later he saw Ci'an and had a close, tacit realization. He went out to respond to the call at Guanshan, practicing slash-and-burn farming alone for seventeen years. He once had a verse: 'The hearth has no fire, the traveler's bag is empty; / Snow falls like willow catkins at the year's end. / Picking up broken hemp to stitch a ragged robe, / I do not realize my body is in desolate solitude.' He often said to people, 'I am not yet secure; how could I make dwelling in the mountains my joy?' One day, happening to watch a tree being chopped down to the ground, he suddenly had a great awakening; the things that had troubled his chest dissolved like melting ice. Soon after, an invitation came from Yuantong in Jiangzhou; he said, 'My Way is about to be practiced,' and joyfully set out dragging his staff. Ascending the seat to preach the Dharma, he said: 'Yuantong does not open an apothecary shop; / Exclusively he sells only dead cat heads. / Wondering who is without calculation, / Eating one, cold sweat pours over the whole body.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Merely clarifying oneself and being attached to joy is a cause of suffering; heading toward the ancestral vehicle brings eons of dwelling in hell. An inquiry every five days and general talks on three and eight days simply broadcast our household disgrace. Furthermore, if you ask about principle, ask about phenomena, ask about mind, or ask about nature—it is truly unbearable! If you are a hero, you do not peer through the hedge or taste from the cauldron; you immediately turn your body before there are sentient beings and buddhas, and on the great highway of today stride swiftly with wide steps, never poking your head in and out of mouse-holes and grassy nests. But if your faculties are base and poor, you will want to go chew where there is flavor; meeting scholastic teachers, you will rivet each other in bondage. Even if you speak so that clouds arise and rain appears, it is still a toad transforming into a dragon—in the end, still eating mud and earth! What is it good for?' Ascending the hall: 'The first day of the eighth month in mid-autumn; / In the courtyard enters a new coolness. / A phrase that does not reveal its bones— / The sorrowful know the night is long.' Ascending the hall: 'Without overnight kindness one may investigate Linji's Chan; having an attitude of agreement, it is hard to continue the Yangqi branch. Boiling together in poverty, frying together in hunger; stirring the great ocean with only a broken chopstick. You die and I live; burning a fierce fire to boil the cauldron and cook the Buddha to shreds! Only with such functioning can one sustain the household. If you further speak of harmonious voices and obedient echoes, upright forms and straight shadows, you have not dreamed of it even in the year of the donkey!' A monk asked, 'Sansheng asked Xuefeng, "I wonder what the golden fish that has passed through the net takes for food?" Feng said, "Wait until you come out of the net, then I will tell you." What was his meaning?' The Master said, 'Same road, different tracks.' The monk asked, 'Sansheng said, "A teacher of fifteen hundred people, yet you do not even recognize the topic of the dialogue!" Feng said, "This old monk has many administrative duties as abbot." What about this?' The Master said, 'The first arrow was still light; the second arrow went deep.' The monk asked, 'As for Xuedou saying, "What a pity to let it slip by; he should have been given thirty blows of the stick! Not one of these blows could be spared; truly it is rare to meet an expert!" What was his meaning?' The Master said, 'Losing the battle and discussing military manuals.' The monk asked, 'Were these blows deserved by Sansheng, or were they deserved by Xuefeng?' The Master struck the meditation seat with his whisk and said, 'Apprehend it here!' He instructed the assembly: 'The staff of a patch-robed monk—if not used, let it be; but if used, it is like a poison bird dropping into the water: all fish and turtles die. Pressing directly or lifting obliquely, the wind howls fiercely. Walking alone in the great sphere, killing and enlivening belong to me. Therefore it is said: A thousand people pushing a gate is not as good as one person lifting the bar. If one person lifts the bar, thousands and myriads reach the realm of peace and joy. Do you know? "The mandarin ducks are embroidered for all to see, / But the golden needle is not passed on to anyone."' He instructed the assembly: 'Viewing form as emptiness accomplishes great wisdom, and therefore one does not abide in birth and death; viewing emptiness as form accomplishes great compassion, and therefore one does not realize nirvāṇa. Not abiding in birth and death and not realizing nirvāṇa—not gathered by the land of Han, not governed by the land of Qin. Tell me, where do you establish your life? Could it be shining brightly between mind and eyes yet no appearance can be seen, or glaring brilliantly within sensory dust yet the principle cannot be separated? Could it be rising and sitting constantly together, speaking and keeping silent dwelling together? If it is like this, it is all knocking against a skull. You must know that an extraordinary person naturally has extraordinary function. And what is extraordinary function? "Though there is a saying about hiding one's body in the Northern Dipper, / Few people know the news of leaving the herd."'"

31.19

Chan Master Huo'an Shitil of Jiaoshan in Zhenjiang Prefecture was a son of the Luo family of Taizhou. Ascending the hall, he cited the gong'an of Linji's four shouts shown to the assembly. Then he called to the assembly and said: "The venerable elders throughout the realm have brought up and expounded this gong'an extensively, but I fear none has brought it to complete perfection. Jiaoshan cannot avoid going all out on hands and knees to comment on and explain it clearly once for you all: What is 'the crouching lion'? Bah! What is 'the diamond king's jeweled sword'? Bah! What is 'the probing pole and shadowing grass'? Bah! What is 'one shout that is not used as a shout'? Bah! If you still do not understand, let the staff express it for Jiaoshan!" Striking once, he said, "A knife concealed in a smile." Striking once again, he said, "A poisonous snake with no eyes." Striking once again, he said, "Unable to contain one's laughter." Striking once again, he said, "Stepping out the door is the road. There is yet another dynamic device, but even the venerable abbot cannot comprehend it." Ascending the hall: "Year after year, bathing the Buddha falls on this day; / Look directly at Kapilavastu—the road is not far. / If indeed he actually manifested at that time, / It is quite right that foul water be poured over his head." Ascending the hall: "In the hot months, one must wave a fan; / When cold arrives, put on more clothes. / If you say you spend your days in vain, / It is much like not knowing the seasons." Ascending the hall: "The Way gave birth to one: / The hornless iron ox sleeps at Shaoshi. / One gave birth to two: / Grandfather clears the fields and explains the great principle. / Two gave birth to three: / Between the rafters, purple swallows twitter and chirp. / Three gave birth to the ten thousand things: / A real man's livelihood leaves the nest behind. / Add where there is much, subtract where there is little; / The tiger is afraid to eat the gall of living people. / Existence is like non-existence; fullness is like emptiness— / How can one obscure the black dragon's bright moon pearl? / True as it may be, what about Jiaoshan's single phrase that cuts off the tongues of all quarters? How do you say it? When the belly has no perverse ailment, one does not fear cold, oily pickles." He slapped the meditation bed and stepped down from the seat. A monk asked, "What is 'mind itself is Buddha'?" The Master said, "Dingzhou produces fierce and contentious deities." "What is 'neither mind nor Buddha'?" The Master said, "Min and Shu share the same wind." "What is 'neither mind, nor Buddha, nor things'?" The Master said, "A bottomless pit is hard to fill." A monk asked, "What is it like when arising and ceasing do not stop?" The Master said, "Thank you for the offering." A monk asked, "I have a stringless zither; it has long rested in the wilderness. It is not that I do not know how to play it, but that I have not yet met one who understands its music. Now that I have met one who understands, I wonder how it should be played?" The Master said, "The bell rings as a bell; the drum sounds as a drum." "What was the meaning of Yunmen giving Dongshan three rounds of thirty blows?" The Master said, "Falling flat on one's body, rolling all over." "What about the rice-bag monks going off like that to Jiangxi and Hunan?" The Master said, "Tears flow from a broken heart." "Real gold must be forged in a red-hot furnace; white jade must be polished by an expert's hand." The Master said, "Even adding a single speck would be difficult." In the abbot's room, he would often hold up a broom handle and ask students, "Vaguely resembling a broom handle; faintly like a red-speckled snake." The assembly's turning words were never in accord. When a monk asked for further instruction, the Master showed him a verse: "Vaguely resembling a broom handle; / Faintly like a red-speckled snake. / Under the stick is the tolerance of non-arising; / Meeting the occasion, one does not recognize one's own father." In the eighth month, the new moon, of the jihai year of the Chunxi era, he manifested a slight illness. Dipping his brush, he took leave of Governor Zeng. Towards midnight, he wrote a verse to bid farewell to the assembly: "The iron tree blooms; / The rooster lays an egg. / Seventy-two years— / The cradle string snaps." Dropping the brush, he passed away in stillness.

31.20

Chan Master Zhitang Zhishen of Huazang in Changzhou was a native of Wulin. Ascending the hall on the day of the Buddha's Parinirvāṇa, he said: "Descending to be born from Tuṣita, manifesting extinction in the Twin Trees grove: digging in the ground to search for heaven, driving a wedge into empty space. For forty-nine years spreading dust and kicking up dirt; throughout three hundred assemblies taking in full measure of ruin and defects. Straining all powers to spread nets and set snares, inevitably mistaking a water turtle for a softshell tortoise. Finally, beside the city of Kuśinagara, he showed both feet from the coffin—seen by a bystander with a cold eye, it looks very much like trying to be clever only to botch it." Striking his staff, he said, "If there were not this principle, who would open their mouth to speak across a thousand ages? But tell me: what principle is this? Before a foolish person, be absolutely sure not to leak it out!" Participant in Determining Governmental Matters Upāsaka Qian Duanli, courtesy name Chuhe, called himself Songchuang. Under this hermitage, he clarified his own matter, and thereafter exhausted each and every aim and import of the ancestral lineage. In the winter of the bingshen year of Chunxi, Jiandang returned to reside at Pingtian, whereupon they began associating with one another. In the autumn of the dingyou year, suffering a slight ailment, he wrote a letter summoning Jiandang and the resident abbots of Guoqing and Ruiyan, with words of farewell. Dang and the two Chan masters went to his bedside. The lord got up, sat cross-legged, and talked and laughed for some time. Then he wrote: "The floating world is an illusion, fundamentally without coming or going. The four elements and five aggregates certainly have no final extinction. Even though the Buddhas and Patriarchs possessed great power and majesty, they too could not avoid this one move. Throughout the realm, among all the old upādhyāyas and all the kalyāṇamitras, is there anyone who can leap over it? They are merely the causes and conditions of earth, water, fire, and wind gathering together temporarily; one must not mistakenly recognize them as one's own possession. A great man is open, magnanimous, and upright: wherever function is exercised, hold it steady, and every place one stands is real. Sailing with the wind, moving upstream or downstream, all can be an occasion to celebrate the feast, leaving or staying at ease. This is the single path of the nirvāṇa gate of great liberation opened by the sages of old, the originally pure and empty-quiescent realm, the Great Way of non-action. Today, being like this myself, is it not delightful? The defilements and external conditions are swept clean in an instant. I am grateful for the gracious consideration of the various mountains, and wish that all may bear witness. Respectfully take care." Laying down the brush, he looked at Jiandang and said, "Is it better for me to go sitting, or to go lying down?" Dang said, "My lord, just go and be done with it! Why bother about sitting or lying?" The lord laughed and said, "Dharma brother, you must take care of yourself for the sake of the Patriarch's Way." Thereupon he closed his eyes and passed away.

31.21

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Yuan of Lingyin

31.22

Chan Master Qiji of Dongshan in Qingyuan Prefecture was a son of the Xie family of Qiongzhou. Ascending the hall, he cited Master Shan Xiu's verse: "It is a pillar, yet do not see a pillar; / It is not a pillar, yet do not see a pillar. / Right and wrong have already departed; / Comprehend within right and wrong." Calling to the assembly, he said: "If you comprehend 'it is', you move the flowers and the butterflies come along; if you comprehend 'it is not', you shoulder the spring and bring the moon back. 'It is' is good: pears from Zhengzhou surpass dates from Qingzhou. 'It is not' is good: the road from Xiangshan enters the island of Penglai. 'It is' also has no bearing: stepping on a steelyard weight, it is hard as iron. 'It is not' also has no bearing: the diamond jeweled sword cuts straight at the head. A-ha-ha! Do you understand? When you know few matters, you have few afflictions; where you know many people, there is much right and wrong." At the request of fellow practitioners of the Lotus Society, he ascended the hall: "Gradually comes chicken-skin and crane-white hair—the father is young while the son is old. Look, see: steps falter and stumble—doubt to death the Wooden Elder. Even if gold and jade fill the hall—watch out for the barefaced thief! How can one escape decrepitude, old age, and sickness? Right now is the time to gather one's spirits! Indulge in your thousand kinds of pleasures—that fellow must be free and easy. Impermanence will come in the end—return to the hall and drink tea! There is only cultivating the shortcut path—still going round in circles! Just recite Amitābha Buddha—reciting accomplishes nothing!" He continued: "Ah! This living road was pointed out straightforwardly by Upādhyāya Shandao. You people walk back and forth along this shortcut morning and night; why do you miss Amitābha Buddha right to his face? If you comprehend here, you can remove the obstacles of delusion and inversion, pluck out the arrow of hesitation, cut through the net of doubt, sever the river of infatuation, fell the dense thicket of the mind, wash away the impurities of the mind, straighten the crooked flattery of the mind, and put an end to the mind's birth and death. Then turn around and enter that other side: lift your foot and take a step forward into the place the Buddhas and Patriarchs never reached; open your mouth and utter a phrase in the realm that Buddhist teachings cannot express. Call back Upādhyāya Shandao and seek another shortcut path for cultivation! If, as before, you abandon your father and run away, wandering into strange lands and bumping around in confusion—alas, Amitābha Buddha!"

31.23

Chan Master Guiyun Ruoben of Shushan in Fuzhou was a native of Taizhou. Ascending the hall: "Prolonged rain does not clear up; wu lies in bing and ding. Covered head to toe in mud and water, the eyes are exposed. But tell me: what kind of eyes are they?" Striking his staff, he said, "In the forest, the mud is so slick; from time to time it cries out two or three calls."

31.24

The Venerable Jue'a was a son of the Fujiwara clan of Japan. At the age of fourteen, he was tonsured and received full ordination, becoming renowned for his study of the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. When he was twenty-nine, merchants returning from the central capital spoke of the flourishing of the Chan school. Strongly motivated, A took along his fellow monk Jinqing and sailed across the sea. Carrying incense in his sleeve, he paid homage to Chan Master Fohai of Lingyin. Hai asked where he had come from. A wrote down his replies each time. He also wrote: "Our country has no Chan school; we only lecture on the scriptures and treatises of the five schools. The lord of our realm has no surname and is titled the Golden Wheel King. Changing the era name to Jianyuan, he renounced the throne and became a monk, taking the name Xingzhen, at the age of forty-four. The prince was ordered to accept the throne at the age of seven; this was five years ago. Ordaining monks requires no monetary donation, but rather ordination is bestowed on those whose doctrinal expositions are high. We hold in deep reverence..."

31.25

"...the renown of Chan Master Yuangong of the holy court, and have specifically come to the abbot's room to pay homage, wishing to transmit the mind seal so as to ferry across the waters of delusion. Furthermore, 'mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction'; separated from characteristics and separated from words, they are revealed through provisional words. How does the Chan Master explain this?" Hai said, "Sentient beings falsely see seeing; the Buddha sees the world." A wrote, "Whence does ignorance arise?" Hai struck him at once. A then asked Hai to ascend the seat to resolve his doubts. The following autumn, he took leave to travel to Jinling, arriving at the riverbank of Changlu. Hearing the sound of a drum, he suddenly experienced great awakening, and only then knew the intent of Fohai's extending a hand. Returning to Lingyin, he composed five verses recounting what he had realized, and took leave of Hai to return east. The verses said: "Sailing across the sea to seek the transmission outside the teachings, / Wanting to abandon perception and knowledge, to escape the snare and trap. / Having traveled through every quarter till my straw sandals wore out, / Water is in the clear pool, the moon is in the sky. (First) / Sweeping clean all entanglements, perception, and knowledge, / Following the hand picking it up, the complete body manifests. / The round halo behind the head pervades the great void; / A thousand workings and ten thousand functions turn all at once. (Second) / How can the wondrous point be explained to others? / Falling to the ground, one immediately rises; it is clear of itself. / Suddenly treading upon the old homeland, / Wearing one's headcloth backwards, one walks the solitary path. (Third) / Seeking the real and eradicating the false is fundamentally not wondrous; / Realizing the real right within the false is entirely mistaken. / Laughable is the old fellow on Gṛdhrakūṭa, / Throwing down a broken wooden ladle in broad daylight. (Fourth) / Raising a fist and giving a shout is just cheap display; / Speaking of 'is' and speaking of 'is not' enters mud and water. / Cutting off all distinctions, cease pointing and explaining; / A single note from the homeward flute: luo-luo-li! (Fifth)" Hai praised them as excellent and wrote a verse to present to him upon his departure. He returned to his native country and resided at Mount Hiei temple. By the time his letter confirming Dharma succession arrived, Hai had already entered stillness.

31.26

Hanlin Academician Upāsaka Zeng Kai, courtesy name Tianyou, had long studied under Yuanwu and had frequented the gate of Dahui for many days. In the xinwei year of the Shaoxing era, Fohai was appointed to Guangxiao in Sanqu. The lord and Upāsaka Zhao Chao-ran visited him, and the lord asked, "What is a kalyāṇamitra?" Hai said, "Lanterns, pillars, cats, and puppies." The lord said, "Why is it that praise brings delight while disparagement brings vexation?" Hai said, "Has the Vice Minister ever seen a kalyāṇamitra?" The lord said, "I have engaged in study and inquiry for thirty years; how can you say I have not seen one?" Hai said, "Did you see them in the place of delight, or in the place of vexation?" As the lord hesitated, Hai shouted with a resounding voice. As the lord was about to reply, Hai said, "The one who opens his mouth is not it!" The lord was at a loss. Hai called out, "Vice Minister, where have you gone?" The lord had a sudden breakthrough, nodded, and recited a verse: "Bah! You blind ass, monster of the monasteries! / With a single earth-shaking shout, / The heavenly mechanism is leaked out. / If someone asks further about the meaning: / Pick up the whisk and strike across the mouth!" Hai said, "You have only gotten half of it."

31.27

Prefect Upāsaka Ge Tan, styled Qianwen and carrying the sobriquet Xinzhai, passed the highest imperial examination at an early age. Taking pleasure in the delight of Chan, he first called upon Chan Master Wu'an Quan to request guidance. An instructed him to investigate 'mind itself is Buddha', but for a long time he had no realization. He requested, 'What expedient means does the Master have to enable me to enter?' An said, 'Upāsaka, you are far too insatiable!' Later, when Fohei came to reside at Jianchi, the gentleman followed him as a student. He then cited the words shown to him by Wu'an and requested Fohei to explain them comprehensively for the assembly. Fohei expounded on them, saying:
'Mind itself is Buddha—eyebrows trail on the ground;
Neither mind nor Buddha—both eyes lie horizontal.
In the butterfly's dream, home is ten thousand miles away;
Upon the cuckoo's branch, the moon marks the third watch.'
He stayed for ten days before returning. One day, when contemplating 'neither mind, nor Buddha, nor a thing', he was suddenly awakened. He composed a verse of praise:
'Neither mind, nor Buddha, nor even a thing—
Before the Five Phoenix Tower, mountains loom steep and high.
In the glare of the bright sun, turning a somersault,
The wild fox leaps straight into the golden lion's den.'
Wu'an approved of it. [Ge Tan] then sent the verse in a letter to Fohei. Fohei replied, 'This matter cannot be exhausted by paper and brush. If the upāsaka can come visit me, you shall certainly hear something.' Thereupon he went again to Huqiu. Fohei welcomed him and said, 'The upāsaka's view only allows you to enter the realm of the buddhas; you are not yet able to enter the realm of māras.' The gentleman bowed with redoubled courtesy. Fohei straightened his countenance and said, 'Why did you not say, "The golden-haired [lion] leaps into the wild fox's den"?' The gentleman deeply grasped this. He once asked various Chan masters: 'A husband and wife were fighting, and they summoned their son as a witness. Tell me, did he witness for the father, or did he witness for the mother?' Chan Master Huo'an Ti appended a remark: 'A small loss, a great gain.' In the sixth year of the Chunxi era, he governed Linchuan. In the eighth year, falling ill, one evening he suddenly asked for a brush and wrote a verse:
'In the great ocean, a drum is struck;
Upon Mount Sumeru, a bell is heard.
The mirror of karma suddenly smashed to pieces,
Turning the body, one leaps out into empty space.'
He summoned his subordinate officials, showed it to them, and said, 'Life and death are like day and night—there is nothing strange about them. If considered in terms of the Way, how could there be life and death? If one understands it as life and death, one is far from the Way.' Having finished speaking, he sat upright and passed away.

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續傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese