續傳燈錄 32
English (machine translation) 32
- Language
- English
32.1
Table of Contents for Fascicle Thirty-Two of the Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp
32.2
Seventeenth generation under Dajian:
Ninety-four Dharma heirs of Chan Master Jingshan Dahui Gao:
Chan Master Jiaozhong Miguang
Chan Master Donglin Daoyan
Chan Master Xichan Dingxu
Chan Master Dongchan Siyue
Chan Master Xichan Shoujing
Chan Master Kaishan Daoqian
Chan Master Yuwang Deguang
Chan Master Huazang Zongyang
Chan Master Tiantong Jingquan
Chan Master Dawei Fabao
Chan Master Yuquan Tanyi
Chan Master Jianfu Wuben
Chan Master Yuwang Zunpu
Chan Master Nengren Zuyuan
Chan Master Lingyan Liaoxing
Chan Master Jiangshan Shanzhi
Chan Master Wanshou Zihu
Chan Master Dawei Jingyun
Chan Master Lingyin Liaoyan
Chan Master Guangxiao Zhiyuan
Chan Master Xuefeng Yunwen
Chan Master Lianyun Daoneng
Chan Master Lingyin Daoyin
Retreat Master Zhuyuan Zongyuan
Attendant Jinli
Nun Chan Master Jingju Miaodao
Nun Chan Master Zishou Miaozong
Vice Minister Upāsaka Zhang Jiucheng
Vice Grand Councillor Upāsaka Li Bing
Academician Upāsaka Liu Yanxiu
Judicial Commissioner Upāsaka Wu Weiming
Gate Officer Upāsaka Huang Yanjie
Lady Ji of the State of Qin
Chan Master Jingshan Liaoming
(The above thirty-four persons have records.)
Daoist Zulin
Chan Master Qingliang Zhu
Chan Master Huayao Jiming
Chan Master Dayun Ying
Chan Master Zhaojue Ziwen
Chan Master Longwang Ziyin
Chan Master Yuelu Fan
Chan Master Nanhua Yin
Person of the Way Chaozong
Chan Master Dawei Huiyang
Chan Master Luopu Xiang
Chan Master Jingshan Zuqing
Chan Master Yishan Chongmi
Chan Master Xiangfu Ruben
Chan Master Xiangtian De
Chan Master Xiangtian Xin
Chan Master Longya Xin
Attendant Yue
Chan Master Guangxiao Lin
Chan Master Yunwo Xiaoying
Chan Master Jiuding Fasheng
Compiler Huang Wenchang
Upāsaka Zheng Ang
Chan Master Jingshan Youcai
Chan Master Dabeijian
Chan Master Xuefeng Huiran
Chan Master Huayan Jueyin
Chan Master Fuyan Liaoxian
Chan Master Qingcheng Chong
Chan Master Bao'en Chonghai
Chan Master Guangxiao Zuyan
Chan Master Jianfu Miaoxi
Chan Master Boshan Neng
Chan Master Shimen Ren
Chan Master Longxiang Zongchang
Chan Master Jiangshan En
Chan Master Jiangshan Dengquan
Chan Master Guangxiao Yuan
Chan Master Heishui Tanzhen
Chan Master Xiufeng Nan
Chan Master Faji Seng'e
Chan Master Bao'en Xing
Old Chan Master Zhoufeng Qing
Chan Master Jianfu Puren
Upādhyāya Shuilu Ye'an
Chan Master Dawei Ruhui
Chan Master Yuquan Daocheng
Chan Master Mingzhao Guan
Chan Master Xingwang Ruzhao
Chan Master Congqing Qing
Head Monk Fahong
Chan Master Shiquan Yong
Chan Master Guangxiao Li
Chan Master Mingzhao Wei
Chan Master Daming Guangrong
Chan Master Zhaojue Zuming
Chan Master Zhengfa Xiu
Chan Master Yangshan Yuan
Head Monk Zhenghuan
Nun Zhenru of Guanxi
(The above sixty persons have no record.)
32.3
Table of Contents for Fascicle Thirty-Two of the Continued Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (End)
32.4
Seventeenth Generation under Dajian
32.5
Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Jingshan Gao
32.6
Chan Master Huian Miguang of Jiaozhong in Quanzhou was a son of the Li family of Min. In childhood he spoke and laughed little, but was delighted upon hearing Buddhist chanting. At fifteen, he shaved his head under Chan Master Wenhui of Youyan. He was still fond of perusing diverse books. One day he said, "Having shaved my head and dyed my robes, I ought to resolve upon thorough awakening. How could I remain intoxicated by worldly texts?" He then crossed the mountain ranges to call upon Chan Master Yuanwu at Yunju. Next he visited Huangbo Xiang and Gao'an Wu; his functional encounters with both were fully in accord. Because bandits arose in the Huai and Chu regions, he returned and called upon Foxin. When Dahui was residing in Guangxi, he went there to follow him. Dahui said to him, "Try to cite one or two things you attained at Foxin's place and let me see." The Master brought up Foxin ascending the hall and taking up the gong'an of Puhua, saying, "Foxin says it is not so: when one does not come in such a manner at all, what then? Cleaving right across the back, strike immediately! Let him divide his body across the entire realm!" Dahui said, "What was your understanding?" The Master said, "I did not approve of him appending a footnote to it at the end." Dahui said, "This is precisely taking an affliction as the Dharma." The Master was resolute and had no intention of accepting this. Dahui said, "Just try to conjecture it and see." The Master still took it to be not so. A decade of days later, recalling how Chan Master Haiyin Xin took it up, saying, 'The roar of thunder is vast and great, but not a single drop of rain falls,' his blockage began to dissolve and he hurried to tell Dahui. Dahui interrogated him using the words about Practitioner Ju seeing Langye and Xuansha's lack of thoroughness. After the Master replied, Dahui smiled and said, "Although you have taken a step forward, you still have not hit the mark. It is like a person cutting down a tree: a single stroke of the blade at the root severs its life-root. If you chop at the branches, can that sever its life-root? Nowadays, those in all quarters who expound Chan so profusely all have views like this—what benefit is there in that? There are only three or four who truly transmit Yangqi!" The Master left in resentment. The next day, Dahui asked, "Do you still have doubts?" The Master said, "There is nothing to doubt." Dahui said, "Just as when the ancients met, before opening their mouths they already knew the real and the false, or upon hearing a word they immediately recognized depth and shallowness—what principle is this?" The Master was terrified, sweat poured down, and he did not know where to turn. Dahui instructed him to investigate 'being with words, being without words'. Dahui passed by Yunmen Hermitage, and the Master accompanied him as attendant. One day he asked, "I have arrived here but cannot achieve thorough penetration. Where does the sickness lie?" Dahui said, "Your sickness is the most peculiar; worldly physicians would fold their hands in resignation. Why? Others die and cannot be revived; you have now revived without ever having died. If you wish to reach the realm of great peace and bliss, you must die once over before you can attain it." The Master's doubt deepened further. Later he entered the room. Dahui asked, "Having finished eating your gruel and washed your alms bowl, leave aside the dietary taboos and bring forth a phrase!" The Master said, "Ripped to shreds!" Dahui shook with majesty, gave a shout, and said, "You are talking Chan again!" The Master thereupon had a great awakening. Dahui struck the drum and announced to the assembly: / "Picking up a turtle's hair, laughing ha-ha, / With one strike, ten thousand layers of barriers and locks are thrown open! / The joy of my entire life is right today; / Who says I was tricked into coming a thousand li?" / The Master also presented a verse to him, saying: / "With a single press on the pivot, the angry thunder roars; / Startling Mount Sumeru into hiding the Northern Dipper. / The vast flood surges wide, waves crashing to heaven; / Grasping the nostrils, the mouth is lost!" / After assuming the abbacy, he ascended the hall: "'Being with words and being without words are like a vine clinging to a tree.' What are you playing dumb for? When the tree falls and the vine withers, where do the words return? I know full well that none of you can find a head or nose at all. Why is it like this? Just because it is exceedingly clear, it turns out to delay your attainment." Ascending the hall: "Dreams, illusions, empty flowers—why labor to grasp them? Gain and loss, right and wrong—let go of them all at once!" Throwing down his whisk, he said, "Today the mountain monk has already let go. What about all of you?" He added, "Attendant, pick up the whisk." A monk asked, "Why was Mañjuśrī unable to bring the woman out of samādhi?" The Master said, "The mountain monk is tired today." The monk said, "Why was Wangming able to bring her out?" The Master said, "It makes people doubtful." The monk said, "If so, then splitting open Mount Hua, a thousand peaks show their beauty; letting loose the Yellow River, a single stream runs clear." The Master said, "Feel free to calculate and speculate."
32.7
Chan Master Wan'an Daoyan of Donglin in Jiangzhou was a native of Tongchuan from the Xianyu clan. He had long trained under Yuanwu and had experienced a slight awakening. When Yuanwu was returning to Shu, he entrusted [Daoyan] to Miaoxi [Dahui], sending a letter to Miaoxi saying: "The colored painting of Daoyan of Chuan is already finished; it only lacks the dotting of the pupils. In the future, his succession will be beyond measure." While Miaoxi resided at Yunmen and Yangyu, the Master was with him throughout, questioning him day and night, before attaining great awakening. After becoming abbot, he ascended the hall: "A single leaf falls, and throughout the world it is autumn. A single speck of dust rises, and the great earth is gathered in. Bird's Nest blew on the goose down, and someone went off awakened. Why do present-day students fail to recognize themselves instead?" After a long pause, he said: "It is best not to blame the wrong person." He ascended the hall: "If you wish to know the mind of all Buddhas, just recognize it within the mental activities of sentient beings. If you wish to know the unwithering nature of the permanently abiding, just comprehend it where the myriad things undergo transformation. Do you still recognize it? If you wish to avoid incurring avīci karma, do not slander the Tathāgata's true Dharma wheel." He ascended the hall: "What all of you know, Liangcui knows entirely. What Liangcui knows, none of you know. What is it that Liangcui knows?" He then said: "The cormorant speaks to the crane." He ascended the hall: "In the severe cold of midwinter, there is no peace in the three realms. The wealthy are happy, while the poor suffer hunger and cold. Not recognizing the profound principle, they mistake the steelyard's zero mark. Why? An ox's head is mounted on the tail; gazing southward at the Northern Dipper." He ascended the hall: "Drop by drop, water freezes drop by drop. The sky is cold, people are cold, the wind moves, the banner moves. Yunmen's fan leaps up to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven and pokes Śakra's nostril; striking the carp of the Eastern Sea with one blow of the stick, rain pours down as if from a basin. None of this goes beyond what all of you constantly enjoy throughout the twelve periods of the day." He ascended the hall, saying: "The gate of complete penetration is wide open. If you enter through a gate, you are not worth talking with. You must enter the gate of no-gate before you can sit and ascend to the inner sanctuary. Therefore it is said: 'All the Tathāgatas of the past have already accomplished this gate; all the present Bodhisattvas now each enter into complete brightness; future students of the Way should rely on such a Dharma.' Since all the sages from of old fortunately possessed such a vast family tradition, failing to carry it on and willingly casting oneself into self-abasement, boring through walls, is hardly the mark of a true man! May I ask the great assembly: How does one enter the gate of no-gate?" After a long pause, he said: "Not only Avalokiteśvara—I too was confirmed through it." He ascended the hall: "The Lantern Festival has passed, and the alms-gatherers have gone out the door. The group of six monks each follow their own kind. This assembly no longer has any branches or leaves; it is purely genuine and real. For such overbearingly arrogant people, departing is also good! A qilin is not an omen of auspiciousness, and a yuezhuo is not an honor. Wheat bearing double ears and grain yielding nine heads are entirely unnecessary. We only wish that official matters remain untroubled, and that in retirement beneath the trees practicing Chan, the water buffalo lies full in the slanting sunlight. The board-carrying fellow finds perpetual joy in pure poverty. With porridge enough and rice enough, one bows and looks up as the seasons dictate. The chopstick basket does not mix in spoons, and old rats do not gnaw on the steaming mat. The mountain home's livelihood is simple and long-lasting. If one does not revere the Goddess of Merit, who can detest the Dark Maiden? The wise master accepts neither." After a long pause, he said: "A gentleman loves wealth and acquires it by proper means." He ascended the hall: "After last year's Cold Food Festival, before this year's Cold Food Festival. Every day is a good day; it is not the partial within the correct." He ascended the hall: "Lingering long in the guest lodge, / My homeland lies beside the evening glow. / Under the eaves hangs the rain of three months; / Water submerges the lotuses of two lakes. / The cauldron leaks onto the lamp dish; / Firewood is damp, filling the stove with smoke. / Having forgotten thoughts of north and south, / Looking as far as the eye can see, all is flat plain." He ascended the hall: "In a sandalwood grove there are no mixed trees; / Dense and deep, the lion resides. / Therefore, a sandalwood grove is surrounded by sandalwood; / A thorn grove is surrounded by thorns. / One person acts as master, two people act as companions, / Accomplishing myriad kotis of realms—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, / Whether yakṣas or rākṣasas, manifestly engaging in demonic deeds. / Leisurely and carefree, just passing the year." A monk asked: "What is the meaning of Xiangyan climbing the tree?" The Master said: "It cannot be sketched; it cannot be painted." The monk said: "Although Li Ling was a skilled hand, what could he do against falling into barbarian territory?" The Master said: "Where have you been?" The monk asked: "What is the Buddha?" The Master said: "You are Yuangu." The monk approached and said: "Yes, yes!" The Master said: "Pants without a crotch, trousers without an opening." The monk asked: "What is the Buddha?" The Master said: "Upādhyāya Baozhi." The monk said: "A student asks about the Buddha; why do you answer with Upādhyāya Baozhi?" The Master said: "Baozhi is no ordinary monk." The monk asked: "What is the Dharma?" The Master said: "Yellow silk, young maiden, daughter's child, mortar for pickled leeks." The monk said: "What phrase is that?" The Master said: "Extremely wondrous, fine words." The monk asked: "What is the Saṅgha?" The Master said: "Third Brother Xie on the fishing boat." The monk said: "Why not speak directly?" The Master said: "Upādhyāya Xuansha." The monk said: "I have already received the Master's instruction regarding the Three Jewels; what about the matter of the superior vehicle of the lineage?" The Master said: "Wang Qiao feigned immortality and attained immortality." The monk burst into loud laughter. The Master then clicked his teeth.
32.8
Chan Master Lan'an Dingxu of Xichan in Fuzhou was a son of the Lin clan of the same prefecture. In his youth, he sat for the jinshi examination with renown. At the age of twenty-five, upon reading the Sūtra of the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching, he suddenly said: "I was nearly led astray by the scholar's cap!" He wished to leave home, but his mother objected. Because his wedding was already scheduled, the Master broke it off, saying: "Tender peach blossoms and red apricots I entrust all at once to the spring wind; green bamboo and yellow flowers shall henceforth forever be my companions on the Path." He eventually relied on Chan Master Le of Baoshou to become a monk. Carrying a single staff through the Lake and Xiang regions, he visited famous masters everywhere, but the Dharma held no different flavor for him. Returning to his home region, he built a hut on the sheer summit of Qiang Peak, not coming down the mountain for three years. Chan Master Fo Xin Cai drew him out to lead the assembly at Dacheng. He once heard about the nidāna of "mind itself is Buddha" among students. At that time, Miaoxi was dwelling in a hut at Yangyu. The Master's friend Miguang sent him a letter saying: "The hut-master's methods are different from those elsewhere; could you come for a short stay?" The Master did not reply. Guang used a pretext to invite the Master to a meal, and the Master went to attend. It happened that Miaoxi was conducting interviews in the abbot's room for his disciples, and the Master joined in. Miaoxi cited the monk asking Mazu: "'What is the Buddha?' and Mazu said: 'Mind itself is Buddha'—how do you understand this?" The Master offered a turning phrase. Miaoxi scolded him, saying: "With views like yours, how dare you rashly act as a teacher to others?" Beating the drum, he gave a general discourse, exposing what [Dingxu] had treasured throughout his life as his strength and rejecting it as heterodox understanding. Tears streamed down the Master's cheeks; he did not dare look up. He secretly thought to himself: "Since what I have attained has been rejected, could it be that the uninherited message of the West's coming is not limited to this?" He thereupon submitted his mind and joined the ranks of his disciples. One day, Miaoxi asked: "Not letting out what is inside, not letting in what is outside—at just such a time, how is it?" The Master was about to open his mouth when Miaoxi took his bamboo stick and struck his back three times in succession. At this, the Master was greatly awakened and said in a stern voice: "Upādhyāya, that is already too much!" Miaoxi struck him once more. The Master bowed. Miaoxi laughed and said: "Today you finally know that I have not deceived you." He then confirmed him with a gāthā: "Atop the crown stands the eye of Maheśvara; / Behind the elbow hangs slanting the talisman that takes life. / Blind the eye, cast off the talisman— / East of Zhaozhou's wall hangs a gourd." Thereupon, his reputation resounded through the monasteries. After becoming abbot, he ascended the hall and said: "The meaning within the phrase, the phrase within the meaning—Sumeru towers over the great river. The phrase cuts away the meaning, the meaning cuts away the phrase—a heroic warrior releases a wild arrow. Let their teeth be like a grove of swords and their mouths like basins of blood; they merely flaunt the sharpness of words and make an empty show of bravado. Therefore, Vimalakīrti's closing of his mouth was already getting tangled in excessive words; Magadha's closing of the gate had already exposed the family scandal. As for the rest, the old fellow of the Tile Coffin and Great Master Yantou, on the summit of Qiang Peak, seized the wind and stirred the waves, toying with spiritual transformations—beneath their feet, they should properly be given thirty blows. Tell me, where was their fault?" After a long pause, he said: "The mechanism was not made by Han Guang; do not treat what is in your chest lightly." On the winter solstice, he ascended the hall and said: "Before the twenty-fifth day, the yin elements subside, and the mud dragon closes its door. After the twenty-fifth day, the single yang returns, and the iron tree blossoms. Right on the twenty-fifth day, drunken guests amidst the dust ride donkeys and horses, congratulating one another in front streets and back alleys. Idle people beyond worldly things cover their heads with patched robes and sit around the hearth. The wind whistles, the rain drizzles, chilly and bleak. Who cares about you, Mr. Zhang, Daoist Priest Li, or bearded Bodhidharma!" He ascended the hall: "The lazy old fellow is the laziest of the lazy; / Laziest of all, he is too lazy to speak of Chan. / Neither honoring himself, / Nor honoring the ancient worthies. / Who cares about your earth? / Who cares about your heaven? / Free and easy beyond worldly things, without a single concern; / When the sun is three poles high, he is still sleeping." He ascended the hall and cited a monk asking Zhaozhou: "What were the words of the ancients?" Zhou said: "Listen closely, listen closely." The Master said: "'Listen closely' is indeed not absent, but be careful not to mistake a bell for an earthen jar!" In the abbot's room, he asked a monk: "'The myriad dharmas return to one; where does the one return?'" The monk said: "In the kingdom of Silla." The Master said: "'When I was in Qingzhou, I made a cloth robe weighing seven catties'—what about that?" The monk said: "Today I have met Zhaozhou in person." The Master said: "Did you meet him in front, or did you meet him behind?" The monk made a gesture of shielding his forehead. The Master said: "Where are you from, Elder?" The monk said: "Jiangxi." The Master said: "Why did you come here to admit defeat?" The monk hesitated, and the Master hit him.
32.9
Chan Master Meng'an Siyue of Dongchan in Fuzhou was a native of Jiangzhou. He ascended the hall: "Moths, sheep, and ants expound all teachings; walls, tiles, and rubble manifest the boundless body. If your seeing is lucid, your hearing will surely be unimpeded. Therefore, whenever Upādhyāya Xuefeng saw a monk coming, he would roll out three wooden balls, just like performing a theatrical play. Xuansha would then make the gesture of chopping a signboard. How trivial to speak of them lightly! Today, Samantabhadra slanders the ancients; though a thousand Buddhas appear in the world, no repentance is permitted. If someone here slanders Samantabhadra, they will definitely enter the Tongue-Pulling Hell. Tell me, the one who slanders and the one who does not slander—who has a mind that does not wrong others and a face without the color of shame?" He ascended the hall: "When Bodhidharma arrived, this land understood Sanskrit; when he departed, the Western Heavens all understood the Tang tongue. If one speaks of directly pointing to the human mind and seeing one's nature to become a Buddha, it is much like an antelope hanging by its horns while the hunting dog searches for its tracks. One thought alienated, ten thousand words are useless. It can be said: 'When coming, he laughed at me; little did he know that after departing, I laugh at him.' Tang speech and Sanskrit words are directly entrusted; since antiquity, when hosting monks, one fears the evening tea." He ascended the hall: "The beginning of the twelfth month, the year draws to an end. The Yellow River has frozen over. In its depths, there is a fine fish, lively and splashing, unable to jump free. Nor can they keep each other moist with their breath, or moisten each other with foam. Thanks be to the bodhisattva mahāsattvas! When will the spring wind arrive to thaw this Yellow River's ice, making the fish transform into a dragon and leap directly through the peach blossom waves? If you understand, then understand right away; do not tell dreams in front of fools." He ascended the hall. A monk asked: "What is it to give one's body as many times as the sands of the Ganges in the morning?" The Master said: "Distinguish the soil from the sprout; recognize the person through their words." The monk asked: "What is it to again give one's body as many times as the sands of the Ganges at midday?" The Master said: "Colliding with it, bumping into it." The monk asked: "What is it to also give one's body as many times as the sands of the Ganges in the evening?" The Master said: "The text that follows is long; it is deferred until tomorrow." He also said: "One turning word covers all like heaven, upholds all like earth. One turning word: the tongue does not come out of the mouth. One turning word: fortunately, it has no relation. Do you want to understand? Thanks to the Bhagavat—a flushed face is not as good as straight speech. Elder Yue, great and small, has a mouth like a pillar-base stone! Today, preaching the sūtra for this questioning monk, without realizing it, the commentary and all were thoroughly exposed at once!" He then stepped down from the seat. He ascended the hall: "Though my mouth is struck dumb, I must speak; though your ears are stopped up, be careful not to let it slip by! Yesterday someone came from Tiantai and said that the Great Sage of Sizhou was sitting in meditation in Hongzhou, selling wares at the crossroads. What were they? Straw sandals with broken heels and a rush hat with pointed eaves."
32.10
Chan Master Ciyan Shoujing of Xichan in Fuzhou was a native of this prefecture. Ascending the hall, he said: "Talking of the profound and speaking of the wondrous is voiding excrement and pissing urine. Applying the stick and applying shouts is drinking salt to stop thirst. Establishing the host and establishing the guest is taking an axe to the ancestral vehicle. Even if none of this is so, it is again sitting in a ghost cave. Arriving here, this mountain monk has already beaten the retreat drum. Tell me, how should everyone commonly bring about this pent-up mind and stammering mouth? Do not take idle scholarly understanding and bury the Patriarch's mind." Ascending the hall: "If one only clarifies oneself and does not awaken to what is before one's eyes, this person has eyes but no feet. If one only awakens to what is before one's eyes and does not clarify oneself, this person has feet but no eyes. When eyes and feet support each other, like two wheels of a carriage or two wings of a bird, it is just the right time to examine thoroughly and strike!" Ascending the hall: "In the sweltering heat of the ninety days of summer, the wooden man's sweat flows without ceasing. A single night's rain brings coolness—do not say this mountain monk did not speak!" Striking the Chan bed with his whisk, he descended from the seat. Ascending the hall: "If you wish to properly raise the main cord, the great earth must become desolate. Coming to charge the snow-white blade, inevitably the sharp edge is revealed. At such a time, Old Śākya's inability to show his head is set aside. How do all of you understand concealing the body within the stirrup?" Ascending the hall: "The Way is the ordinary Way; the mind is the ordinary mind. When all of you hear this mountain monk speak thus, you immediately say, 'I understand! A long month has thirty days; a short month has twenty-nine. Above the head is heaven; beneath the feet is earth. Ears hear sounds; nostrils emit breath.' But if the waters of the four great oceans were suddenly upon your heads, poisonous snakes bored through your eyes, and toads entered your nostrils, what then?" Ascending the hall: "Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra discourse on principle and phenomena; Linji and Deshan wield the stick and the shout. Dongchan sleeps soundly till dawn, especially fond of the wind rising from a cool place. Bah!" Ascending the hall: "One skilled in fighting takes no heed of his head; one skilled in battle surely achieves success. Success once achieved, peace is brought about through inaction. Peace once brought about, one sleeps soundly without anxiety. Lay aside the three-foot sword; cease drawing the single bow. Return the horses to the sunny side of Mount Hua; release the cattle into the wilds of the Peach Forest. The wind arrives in season, and rain arrives in season; the fisherman sings and the woodcutter dances. Even so: though the lords Yao and Shun still exerted their transforming influence, how could that compare to heaven and earth being unable to encompass [one], and Yao and Shun not knowing [one's] name? The whole family pays no heed to rising and falling, especially fond of taking possession of Dongting along with the clouds." Ascending the hall: "Shutting the mouth, yet speaking at all times; severing the tongue, yet without cessation. Without cessation is most extraordinary; most extraordinary is dust in the eye. Since it is extraordinary, why does it turn into dust in the eye? When fully and thoroughly understood, there is nothing to understand; where it is profound, profound, and profound, it must also be berated." Ascending the hall: "Atop the crown of the Buddhas and Patriarchs lies a road wide as the open sky. Before breaking through the barrier of birth and death, how dare one take a step forward? If one does not take a step forward, the great chiliocosm is without protection. A single phrase transcends verbal explanation: Nata holds up the iron pillar." Having opened the hall and offered incense, he sat down. Upādhyāya Nantang struck the mallet and said: "The assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma banquet should observe the foremost principle!" The Master shouted in response to the voice and said: "Which principle is this? Senior adepts of long practice have already discerned where it came from; junior students with doubts need not hesitate to ask." A monk asked: "Ānanda asked Kāśyapa: 'Apart from transmitting the golden brocade robe, what else did the Bhagavat transmit?' Kāśyapa called out, 'Ānanda!' and Ānanda answered, 'Yes!' What is the meaning of this?" The Master said: "Take great care not to stir." The monk asked: "What about when Kāśyapa said: 'Knock down the flagpole in front of the gate'?" The Master said: "A stone ox lies across the ancient road." The monk said: "Did the Upādhyāya also have this message at the place of Furi?" The Master said: "I have no such message." The monk said: "What can be done about Dīpaṅkara beckoning from afar in the Golden Land, and Zhiyi nodding in secret at Jiangling?" The Master said: "Do not lightly compare the cypress in the courtyard to the mugwort beside the road." The monk bowed. The Master then said: "Dīpaṅkara beckoning from afar in the Golden Land, and Zhiyi nodding in secret at Jiangling, are already ten million leagues of white clouds. How could one not know to stop here? Even if one stops right here, it is no small mess. Is there anyone who can check and discern it? If not, this mountain monk suffers a defeat today." A monk asked: "Buddha to Buddha lends a hand; Patriarch to Patriarch transmits. What do they transmit?" The Master said: "Quickly make three prostrations!" The monk asked: "Without using an inch of blade, I invite the Master to meet." The Master said: "Meeting the strong, one becomes weak." The monk said: "Why conceal soldiers and provoke a fight?" The Master said: "Just because the Ācārya does not use an inch of blade." The monk said: "Is there still something higher above?" The Master said: "There is." The monk said: "What is the matter higher above?" The Master said: "A defeated general is not beheaded." The monk asked: "Who arrives first before the hall of ancient Buddhas?" The Master said: "A blind old village man." The monk asked: "How should one proceed toward it?" The Master said: "Carrying a staff horizontally across the shoulders."
32.11
Chan Master Daoqian of Kaishan in Jianning Prefecture was a native of that prefecture. Initially, he went to the capital and relied upon Yuanwu, but had no realization. Later, he followed Miaoxi and dwelt in a hermitage in Quannan. When Miaoxi assumed leadership of Jingshan, the Master also attended upon him. Before long, [Miaoxi] had the Master go to Changsha to deliver a letter to Upāsaka Zhang, Lord of Ziyan. The Master said to himself: "I have practiced Chan for twenty years without finding an entry point. Going on this journey will surely ruin my practice." Intending not to go, his friend Zongyuan chided him: "Can one not practice Chan on the road? Go! I will go with you." The Master had no choice but to go. Weeping on the road, he said to Yuan: "Throughout my life in Chan practice, I have attained no strength. Now, bustling on this journey, how can I attain accord?" Yuan told him: "You need only ignore everything you have practiced and awakened to in various quarters, and everything Yuanwu and Miaoxi have explained to you. Whatever can be done on your behalf along the way, I will do entirely for you. There are only five things I cannot do for you; you must bear them yourself." The Master said: "What are these five things? I wish to hear their essentials." Yuan said: "Wearing clothes, eating food, voiding excrement, pissing urine, and carrying a dead corpse walking along the road." Under these words, the Master apprehended the purport, unwittingly dancing with hands and feet. Yuan said: "Only now can you deliver the letter; you should go forward. I will return first." Yuan then returned to Jingshan. The Master returned after half a year. As soon as Miaoxi saw him, he was pleased and said: "Lad of Jianzhou, you are different this time!" After becoming abbot, he ascended the hall: "The mind of the Great Sage of the land of India was secretly transmitted between East and West. What is the secretly transmitted mind?" After a pause, he said: "In the eighth month of autumn, where is it hot?" Ascending the hall: "Standing like a wall a thousand fathoms high, the Buddhas of the three periods have no place to set their feet. True as that may be, it is far too devoid of human feeling. Opening a single slit of a path, the worlds of the ten directions radiate light and shake the earth. True as that may be, what can be done about mixing with mud and wallowing in water? You must know that right where a single slit of a path opens, it stands like a wall a thousand fathoms high; right where it stands like a wall a thousand fathoms high, a single slit of a path opens. Handled horizontally or used upside down, directly receiving or obliquely lifting, lightning flashes and thunder rushes, cliffs collapse and boulders split. True as that may be, it still falls into the gate of transformation. Reaching here, standing like a wall a thousand fathoms high has no relevance; opening a single slit of a path also has no relevance. Devoid of human feeling, mixing with mud and wallowing in water—none of it has any relevance at all. Even this 'having no relevance' has no relevance. True as that may be, it is also devoid of any principle of Buddha-Dharma. If you can emerge from these four crossroads, you will surely take solitary strides across heaven and earth. Tell me, how do you express the phrase of solitary strides? Do not wonder that of old there was much high spirit; that person once stepped through the topmost barrier." Ascending the hall: "Last year there was also a fifteenth day of the sixth month; this year there is also a fifteenth day of the sixth month. The fifteenth day of the sixth month of last year is lacking the fifteenth day of the sixth month of this year; the fifteenth day of the sixth month of this year exceeds the fifteenth day of the sixth month of last year. Where it is excessive, there is no need to reduce; where it is deficient, there is no need to add. Since there is neither need to add nor need to reduce, then use much where there is much, and use little where there is little." Then giving a shout, he said: "Is it much, or is it little?" After a pause, he said: "How many people can know the message within this?" Ascending the hall: "Taking Dongshan's three pounds of hemp, weigh it on a steelyard without dots: each pound has exactly sixteen ounces, weighing two hundred coins, not lacking a hair's breadth. It is just the same as what is in Zhaozhou's hall. It was only inappropriate that Dayu sawed apart the counterweight, leaving people unable to comprehend it. Now, if you want to comprehend it, just ask Yunmen's dried shit-stick." Ascending the hall: "Having words, having no words, like wisteria leaning on a tree. Knocking over the lantern, breaking the exposed pillar. Bustling in the Buddha shrine, glancing around the monks' hall. Looking closely, what kind of implement is this? Bah! It is only fit for beating mice." Ascending the hall: "All of you came up like this from the monks' hall, and in a short while you will go down like this from the Dharma hall, not having erred by a single step. Why do you still not understand?" After a pause, he said: "Only because it is utterly distinct does it instead make what is attained come late."
32.12
Chan Master Fozhao Deguang of Yuwang in Qingyuan Prefecture was a son of the Peng family of Linjiang Commandery. At the age of fifteen, he had his head shaved under Chan Master Ji of Guanghua Temple on East Mountain in his home commandery. One day he entered the abbot's room; Ji asked: "Not mind, not Buddha, not a thing—what is it?" The Master was at a loss; he was plunged into doubt and stayed awake all night. The next day he went to the abbot's quarters to request instruction: "Yesterday I received the Upādhyāya's question: since it is neither mind, nor Buddha, nor a thing, what ultimately is it? I pray the Upādhyāya will compassionately point it out." Ji unleashed an awe-inspiring shout and said: "This śrāmaṇera still wants me to provide an explanatory footnote for you!" Raising his stick, he struck him across the back and chased him out. At this, the Master had an awakening. Later, he visited Yue'an Guo, Ying'an Hua, and Baizhang Zhen, but in the end did not affirm himself. It happened that Dahui was presiding at Yuwang, and outstanding talents from the four seas gathered like fish scales; the Master was among them. Dahui asked the Master in the abbot's room: "If you call it a bamboo comb, you touch it; if you do not call it a bamboo comb, you turn away from it. You must not speak; you must not remain silent." The Master intended to answer; Dahui struck him with the stick. The Master had a sudden great awakening; what he had attained previously disintegrated like tiles and melted like ice. He first resided at Guangxiao in Taizhou. A monk asked: "In the bustling dust, how does one discern the host?" The Master said: "The spire of the pagoda atop Jin Peak." Ascending the hall: "Linji underwent three painful beatings, yet found his home under Dayu's words; Xinghua comprehended Huangbo's purport at the tip of Dajue's stick. If you understand it as the stick, you enter hell like an arrow shooting. If you do not understand it as the stick, you enter hell like an arrow shooting. Everyone in the assembly discusses it, all saying: 'Piece by piece of red heart, a great kindness hard to repay.' All of this is estimation by conscious sentiment, not yet having escaped the realm of the skandhas. Take Linji's awakening: did he obtain Huangbo's power, or Dayu's power? If you can see it, I acknowledge that the eye on your crown is correct and the talisman behind your elbow is efficacious. If not yet so, Hongfu will provide a message for everyone: a great man's spirit pierces the Ox and Dipper constellations; with a single kick, the double doors of Hongmen are flung open!" Ascending the hall: "Seven hands and eight feet, three heads and two faces. The ears listen but do not hear; the eyes look but do not see. Suffering and pleasure, adversity and conformity are forged into a single piece. Tell me, what is it? Meeting a dead snake on the road, do not beat it to death; put it in a bottomless basket and bring it home." Ascending the hall: "Hearing a sound and awakening to the Way falls into second and third place; seeing forms and clarifying the mind errs by seven and eight. The single path of dynamic functioning is still halfway along. Tell me, what kind of person pierces the iron circle and swallows the thorny chestnut burr? Wearing a straw raincoat, standing sideways beyond a thousand peaks; drawing water to irrigate vegetables before the Five Old Men." During the days the Master resided at Lingyin, Emperor Xiaozong once summoned him by decree to ask about the Way, retaining him overnight in the Hall of Inner Contemplation; the dialogues and interactions presented to the throne are fully recorded in his separate record. Later he showed demise. His whole body was stupaed at the East Hermitage of Mount Mao.
32.13
Chan Master Dun'an Zongyan of Huazang [Monastery] in Changzhou was a native of the Zheng family in Fuzhou. Ascending the hall, he held up his staff and said: 'If you recognise this, the work of your lifetime of study is finished. The ancients spoke like this, but Huazang does not. If you recognise this, you must further buy straw sandals and go on itinerant pilgrimage. Why so? Arriving at the river, the land of Wu ends; across the opposite bank, the mountains of Yue are many.' Ascending the hall on the first day of the twelfth month, he said: 'Meeting in the first nine and the second nine days [of winter], one does not put forth one's hands. In the mundane world and beyond the world, there is nothing surplus and nothing lacking.' He then thrust out his hands and said: 'Huazang does not begrudge his life, and puts forth his hands for you all: three punches right in the face, a slap across the cheek! A clever patch-robed monk knows his own itch and pain for himself. And how do you speak a turning-word?' [He said,] 'Make the rounds of the hall and go drink tea!' Ascending the hall, he cited Upādhyāya Nanquan, who said: 'When I was eighteen, I already understood how to make a living.' Upādhyāya Zhaozhou said: 'When I was eighteen, I already understood how to break up the family and squander the estate.' The Master said: 'Nanquan and Zhaozhou were also like Xu the Sixth carrying a board—seeing only one side. Huazang has no livelihood to make, nor does he have any family estate to break up. Meeting someone, my old fist suddenly shoots forth, wanting him to arrive right here immediately. And tell me, after arriving, how is it? Having not gazed enough at the thirty-six peaks, one returns to the flat ground riding a donkey backwards.'
32.14
Chan Master Wuyong Jingquan of Tiantong in Qingyuan Prefecture was a son of the Weng family in Yuezhou. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Studying the Buddha only speaks of not establishing truth; / Practising Chan mostly conflicts with the Way. / Forgetting mental faculty and forgetting objects, swiftly turn your head; / Without ground and without an awl, turn your steps and return. / The Buddha is not mind, nor is it the manifest substance. / Direct undertaking cuts off all reliance. / For myriad kalpas, the moon in the empty realm of the deep green pool; / Only after scooping and fishing again and again should one know it.' Ascending the hall, he remained silent for a long while, then called to the assembly: 'Do you still know?' He said again: 'No small defeat!' Ascending the hall, he cited Changsha instructing the assembly: 'A man sitting on top of a hundred-foot pole— / Although he has entered, it is not yet true. / At the top of a hundred-foot pole he must take a step forward; / Throughout the worlds of the ten directions he manifests his whole body.' My late teacher Dahui said: 'Do you want to see Changsha? Take a step further.' Baoning, however, said otherwise: 'Do you want to see Changsha? Take a step back.' In the end, what about it? 'Changing the bones and washing the intestines, reorganise anew; / The entire body is an eye, yet you must still investigate.' When the Master arrived at Lingyin, he was requested to ascend the hall: 'Regarding the orthodox lineage of Gṛdhrakūṭa, even the attained are bewildered. When brightness comes or darkness comes, who can distinguish them truly? Releasing both and gathering both, who can discern the beginning and end? Even if a thousand sages were to appear, they would only share in being tongue-tied. Why is this? Only when a man returns to the great kingdom is he honoured; only when waters reach the Xiao and Xiang are they clear.' He said again: 'Just now Upādhyāya Songyuan cited the case of the bamboo comb, making Tiantong suffer defeat. If you all wish to know, listen to a verse: Holding up the black-lacquered bamboo comb, / The swift thunder leaves no time to cover the ears. / Deshan and Linji are at a loss; / How could a muddled person stick in his beak?' Dahui once cited Lingyun's awakening upon seeing peach blossoms and questioned the Master. The Master said: 'Lingyun with one look raised both eyebrows, / Causing the old fisherman to conceive a fine scheme. / When white waves arise, casting a single line, / Leaving the fish and turtles to scramble in rivalry.' The Master praised himself, saying: 'A rustic whom a spoon cannot lift, / In his breast there is not a speck of literature or ink. / He once squeezed bones out of empty space, / Winning a bad reputation across the rivers and lakes.' Later he showed the passing away, and a stūpa was built on his mountain.
32.15
Chan Master Fabao of Dawei was a native of Fuzhou. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Call it a bamboo comb and you contradict; do not call it a bamboo comb and you turn your back. You must be like a lion biting the man, not like a dog of Han chasing the clod. Aha! Do you understand or not? Under the feet of the Vajra, an iron Kunlun / Has caught the foolish cloth bag of Mingzhou.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'A thousand sorts of words, ten thousand kinds of metaphors, / Only want to make you return home early. / Last night a patch of dark clouds arose; / Do not let it lead you astray from the road in front of the mountain! Bah!'
32.16
Chan Master Tanyi of Yuquan in Fuzhou was a son of the Lin family of that prefecture. Having long attended upon Yuanwu, he considered himself without doubts. Early in the Shaoxing era, he came forth to reside at Xiangyun in Xinghua, where his Dharma assembly was quite flourishing. When Dahui entered Min, knowing that his view was not yet thorough, he sent a letter summoning him to come. The Master tarried. Dahui held an informal gathering and severely rebuked him, moreover posting a notice to inform the fourfold assembly. Left with no choice, the Master broke his summer retreat to visit him. Dahui closely examined what he had realised, and then said: 'With such an understanding, how dare you succeed old man Yuanwu?' The Master stepped down from the abbacy to attend upon him. One day he entered the abbot's room, and Dahui asked: 'I need someone who does not understand Chan to be the National Teacher.' The Master said: 'I can serve as the National Teacher.' Dahui shouted him out. Before long, he said to him: 'Xiangyan's awakening was not by striking the bamboo; Juzhi's attainment was not on the fingertip.' The Master was then suddenly enlightened. Later he resided at Yuquan, burned incense for Dahui, and subsequently went to visit Dahui at Xiaoxi. Dahui ascended the seat and cited: 'One day Yunmen held up his staff and showed it to the assembly, saying: "Worldlings truly call it existing; the two vehicles analyse it as non-existing; pratyekabuddhas call it illusory existence; bodhisattvas see that its very substance is empty. When patch-robed monks see a staff, they merely call it a staff: walking, they just walk; sitting, they just sit. In all respects, it cannot be stirred."' Dahui said: 'I am not like old man Yunmen, gouging out holes in empty space.' Abruptly holding up his staff, he said: 'The staff does not belong to existence, does not belong to non-existence, does not belong to the illusory, and does not belong to emptiness.' Striking once, he said: 'Worldlings, the two vehicles, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas all head towards here, and in accordance with their respective faculties and natures, they all obtain function. Only on the part of patch-robed monks does it become a harm and an enemy: when wanting to walk, they cannot walk; when wanting to sit, they cannot sit. Taking a step forward, they are led astray by the staff; taking a step back, their nostrils are pierced by the staff. Right now, is there anyone who is not resigned? Step forward and try to meet the staff! If there is no one, next year there will still be new branches, troubling the spring breeze without coming to an end. At just this moment, what should be done?' He stepped down from the seat: 'I trouble Yuquan to take this up for the assembly.' The Master ascended the seat, and after expressing his gratitude, he cited the previous words and said: 'The abbot's critique just now was very much like a stranded fish staying in a shallow pool, or a sick bird roosting in reeds. If it were Yuquan, it would not be so.' Holding up his staff, he said: 'The staff can exist, can be non-existent, can be illusory, can be empty. Worldlings, the two vehicles, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas—' Striking once, he said: '—towards here, smashed into a hundred fragments! Only on the part of patch-robed monks is it like a dragon obtaining water, like a tiger leaning against a mountain: wanting to walk, they walk; wanting to sit, they sit. Taking a step forward, heaven and earth tremble; taking a step back, the grass bends and the wind blows. And tell me, how do you speak a phrase of neither advancing nor retreating?' After a long while, he said: 'At leisure holding the sūtra roll, standing leaning against a pine, / Laughing, I ask the guest from whence he came.'
32.17
Chan Master Wuben of Jianfu in Raozhou was a native of Jiangzhou. From Yunmen in Jiangxi, he attended upon Miaoxi as his attendant all the way to Xiaoxi in Quannan. At that time, outstanding figures gathered in full, and many were those who received the seal of approval. The Master privately thought that Miaoxi had cast him aside and intended to depart. Miaoxi knew this and said to him: 'Just concentrate your mind on investigating; if you have any attainment, you need not open your mouth—I will already recognise it.' Later, someone who heard the Master entering the abbot's room intentionally said to him: 'Attendant Ben has practised Chan for so many years, yet day after day he can only say "I do not understand."' The Master berated him, saying: 'You little ghost! Before you were born, I had already shed my teeth three times in the temple on Mount Huo—let that be known to you!' Because of this, his determination became even sharper. Taking up the case of the dog having no Buddha-nature, he raised the word 'Mu' and spurred himself on. One night, around the third drum, while leaning against a hall pillar in a daze of sleepiness, the word 'Mu' unconsciously came out of his lips, and he was suddenly awakened. Three days later, Miaoxi returned from the prefectural seat. The Master hastened to the abbot's room; his foot had barely crossed the threshold and before he could utter a word, Miaoxi said: 'Bearded Ben, this time you have finally reached the very bottom!' After taking up residence, he ascended the hall and said: 'To one who bows high to Śākya and does not prostrate to Maitreya, I give thirty blows of the staff. Why? Because he only knows how to ascend high step by step, and does not know how to let go from emptiness. To one who leads the plough at the eastern house and drags the harrow at the western house, I give thirty blows of the staff. Why? Because he only knows how to let go from emptiness, and does not know how to ascend high step by step. When this mountain monk speaks like this, is there any fault or not? Is there anyone in the assembly who can evaluate it? If you can evaluate it, south of Mount Sumeru we hold hands and walk together. If you cannot evaluate it, the old crow inside the cloth bag, though alive, is as if dead.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'Śākya shut his room in Magadha; Vimalakīrti stopped his mouth in Vaiśālī; Subhūti expounded the unsaid to reveal the Way; Śakra and Brahmā cut off seeing and hearing and rained down flowers. Everyone, this pack of clumsy fellows, for no reason at all, privately made contracts over the ancestral fields and gardens, occupying their four boundaries, circles, squares, lengths, and breadths, all tearing them apart at once, thereby causing later descendants a thousand years hence to have not a single tile to cover their heads above, nor ground enough to plant an awl below. Had Boshan seen them at that time, he would have dug a bottomless deep pit at the crossroads, called them over, and buried them all at once, to avoid seeing them repeatedly causing embarrassment to one another. Why so? Have you not heard it said: "A prosperous family produces filial sons; a hegemonic state possesses resourceful ministers"?' Ascending the hall, he said: 'The gandharva king once played music, and the mountains, rivers, and the great earth all danced. How could that compare to lame old Yunmen, who was able to say, "The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month"? Boshan today, with a rule follows the rule, and without a rule follows precedent; he too must respond to the season.' Abruptly he held up his staff, laid it across his knees, and made the gesture of stroking a zither, saying: 'Is there anyone who hears the strings and appreciates the sound?' After a long while, he said: 'Even if it directly made the phoenix's cry, in the end who understands the fingering?' Striking once, he stepped down from the seat.
First 17 of 39 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 續傳燈錄 — Classical Chinese