續傳燈錄 7.7

7.7

Chan Master Yangqi was named Fanghui. He was born into the Leng family, a native of Yichun in Yuanzhou. When young, he was alert and quick-witted, humorous, and his conversation and jokes were full of flavor. Upon reaching adulthood, he did not like to engage with brush and inkstone. Registering under an assumed name in the commercial tax office, his management of assessments was the highest. Held liable for malfeasance, he was due for punishment; fleeing by night, he traveled to Jiufeng in Yunzhou. In a daze, it seemed like a place he had walked in the past; reluctant to part, he could not bear to leave. Thereupon he shaved his head and became a fully ordained monk. Reading the scriptures and listening to the Dharma, his mind fused and his spirit grasped it; he was able to humble himself thoroughly and rely on venerable elders for study. Chan Master Ciming resided at Nanyuan; Hui assisted him in ease, hardship, and toil. When Ciming moved to Daowu and Shishuang, Hui in both cases personally requested to take charge of the duties of the monastery director. This was not Ciming's intention, but the voices of the assembly unanimously praised it as good. Holding a paper blanket, he entered to manage the funds and grain. From time to time, he made blunt remarks that rubbed Ciming the wrong way; the various quarters passed them on, considering them apt. Whenever Ciming finished eating, he would certainly walk in the mountains; Chan students asking about the Way often lost track of his whereabouts. Seeing that he had not gone far, Hui would strike the drum and assemble the community. Ciming would hurriedly return, furiously reproaching him: 'In a small monastery, to ascend the seat at dusk—from where did you get this regulation?' Hui replied slowly: 'Fenzhou had evening instruction; why is it not a regulation?' Ciming had no recourse. Nowadays in the monasteries, when the three-and-eight recitations are finished, they still have instruction; this is the origin of it. Ciming moved to Xinghua; [Hui] therefore took leave of him and returned to Jiufeng. Monastics and laypeople of Pingshi came to the mountain to invite him to reside at Yangqi. At that time, Elder Qin of Jiufeng did not know Hui and said in astonishment: 'Can Director Hui also do Chan?' Hui received the letter of invitation, and after finishing questions and answers, he then said: 'Is there anyone else with a question? Try to come forward and meet. Today Yangqi's life is in the hands of all of you; let you drag me across and haul me upside down as you will. Why is it like this? A great man must make a decision before the assembly; do not behind the scenes be like pressing a gourd beneath the water. Examine and test before the assembly! See if there is anyone? If not, Yangqi loses advantage and descends from the seat.' Qin seized him and said: 'Today we are glad to have obtained a fellow cultivator.' [Hui] said: 'What is the matter of a fellow cultivator like?' Qin said: 'Yangqi pulls the plow; Jiufeng drags the harrow.' [Hui] said: 'Just at such a time, is Yangqi in front, or is Jiufeng in front?' Qin was speechless. Hui pushed him away and said: 'I thought you were a fellow cultivator, but it turns out you are not.' From this, his name was heard in the various quarters. Hui said to the assembly: 'Not seeing a single dharma is a great calamity.' Holding up his staff, he said: 'Piercing through old man Śākya's nostrils, how can you speak a phrase of shedding the body? Speak a phrase toward the place where water does not wash water!' After a long while, he said: 'I told you not to take the path beneath the mountain; indeed, one hears the sound of apes crying, breaking the heart.' He also said: 'All-knowledge penetrates without obstruction.' Holding up the staff, he said: 'The staff displays its spiritual powers in front of all of you.' Throwing it down, he said: 'Directly causing heaven and earth to shatter and mountains to tremble! Do you understand? Have you not heard it said: "The wisdom of all-knowledge is pure"?' Slapping the rope chair, he said: 'Thirty years later, do not say Yangqi had a dragon's head and a snake's tail.' His grasp of essentials was largely similar to Yunmen. He also asked a visiting monk: 'The clouds are deep and the road is remote; from where does your high carriage come?' [The monk] replied: 'Heaven has no four walls.' [Hui] said: 'How many straw sandals have you worn out?' The monk then gave a shout. Hui said: 'After one shout and two shouts, what then?' [The monk] said: 'Look at this old upādhyāya getting flustered.' Hui said: 'My staff is not here; sit for a while and drink tea.' He also asked a visiting monk: 'Fallen leaves pile like clouds; where did you leave this morning?' [The monk] replied: 'Guanyin.' [Hui] said: 'How do you say a phrase beneath Guanyin's heels?' [The monk] replied: 'Just now we met each other.' [Hui] said: 'What is the matter of meeting each other like?' The monk had no reply. Hui said: 'Let the second senior monk speak on behalf of the pilgrimage leader.' There was also no reply. Hui said: 'We have made fools of each other.' His testing of dynamic sharpness was also similar to Nanyuan. In the sixth year of Qingli, he moved to Mount Yunggai in Tanzhou. He transmitted the correct lineage of Linji to Shouduan.