傳法正宗記 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

6.1

Compiled by Śramaṇa Shi Qisong of Dongshan, Tengzhou, Song dynasty

Biography of the Twenty-ninth Patriarch in China, the Venerable Huike
Biography of the Thirtieth Patriarch in China, the Venerable Sengcan
Biography of the Thirty-first Patriarch in China, the Venerable Daoxin
Biography of the Thirty-second Patriarch in China, the Venerable Hongren
Biography of the Thirty-third Patriarch in China, the Venerable Huineng

6.3

Biography of the Twenty-ninth Patriarch in China, the Venerable Huike

6.4

Venerable Huike was a native of Wulao, with the surname of Ji. When his mother first became pregnant, an unusual light emanated from their household. When he was born, he was named on account of this. In his youth, the Venerable loved studying mundane books, and there was nothing he did not peruse; he was especially capable of speaking on Zhuangzi and Laozi. At the age of thirty, he suddenly was deeply moved and sighed, saying, “The Laozi and the Yijing are mundane books; they do not reach the ultimate, supreme principle.” Thereupon he searched into the Buddhist scriptures. He then traveled afar in search of a master, arriving at Mount Xiang in Luoyang. There he went forth under the Chan Master Baojing. Soon after, he received the precepts at Yongmu Monastery. He set off to devote himself to doctrinal study, and before long he was conversant with both sūtras and treatises. At thirty-two, he returned again to his original master. Eight years after his return, one evening a divine being appeared and said to the Venerable, “Why stay here so long? You are destined to attain the Way; you ought to head south immediately.” Because of this divine encounter, the Venerable added to his name, calling himself Shenguang. The following evening, his head suddenly ached so severely that it was almost unbearable. His master wished to apply moxibustion, but suddenly a voice was heard in the air, saying, “This is the marrow and bone transforming; it is not an ordinary pain.” He reported this to his master, who then stopped and dared not treat it. At dawn, looking at his skull, it had indeed risen up like peaks in five places. His master said, “How extraordinary! You will surely have an extraordinary encounter. Go! Do not miss the moment.” Now, in his character he was broad-minded and had great capacity; though he had attainments and depth, he never made a display of them, concealing himself seamlessly. Therefore, though he lived in the capital Luoyang for a long time, the world did not recognize him. When he met Bodhidharma, was instructed in the Way, and had his name changed, he was destined to be the patriarchal master of the Dharma teachers. Only then did students know that he possessed great virtue, and they vied to take refuge with him like water rushing down in torrents. One day, there suddenly was a man styling himself a lay householder, about forty years of age, who hurried before him appearing to be ill. Not giving his name or surname, he said to the Venerable, “Your disciple has long been plagued by karmic illness. I wish the Master to repent of my sins for me. I pray you grant my request.” The Venerable said, “Bring your sins here, and I will repent them for you.” After a long silence, the man said, “Seeking my sins, they cannot be found.” [The Venerable] said, “I have finished repenting your sins for you. However, you ought to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.” The man said, “Just now looking upon the Master, I already know the Sangha. But I do not understand what is called the Buddha and the Dharma.” [The Venerable] answered, saying, “This mind is the Buddha; this mind is the Dharma. The Dharma and the Buddha are not two. Do you know this?” The man then said, “Today for the first time I know that the nature of sin is neither inside, nor outside, nor in between. Just as is the mind, so truly the Buddha and the Dharma are not two.” The Venerable recognized his capacity and immediately shaved his head and took off his lay clothes for him, saying, “This is a Dharma-jewel; he should be named Sengcan.” Two years after he received the precepts, [Huike] then instructed him, saying, “In the past, the Buddha transmitted the Great Dharma-eye. Passing down, it reached Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma conferred it upon me. I now confer it upon you, along with the robe and bowl. Transmit it devotedly; do not let it ever be cut off. Listen to my verse:”

6.5

Originally, depending on the ground,
Due to the ground, planted flowers grow.
Originally, if there were no seed,
Flowers too could never grow.

6.6

Thereupon he again addressed Sengcan, saying, “I have past karmic debts in Ye; I am going there to pay them. However, you yourself will also face calamity later; you should by all means avoid it.” Can said, “This is truly my master’s holy wisdom foreseeing it. Yet I wish to hear the cause of the calamity.” [Huike] replied, saying, “This is not stated by me alone; the former patriarch Prajñātāra also prophesied it.” Can said, “What prophecy?” [Huike] replied, saying, “It is what he called ‘arising after one hundred and fifteen years.’ Does the verse not say:
‘Though within the mind is auspicious, on the outside it is baneful;
Under the river, the monk’s chamber will not have a favorable name.
Meeting a poisonous dragon, he gives birth to a brave son;
Suddenly encountering a little rat, all becomes ceaselessly silent.’
Calculating by the numbers, it will fall in your time. You must protect the Dharma all the more.” When Ke arrived in Ye and preached the Dharma, people were vastly transformed; this lasted for thirty-four years in all. One day, he abruptly changed his conduct and wandered at ease, no longer choosing where to go. Whether in markets or in the wilderness, even butchering stalls and wine houses, he mingled with them all alike. Someone who knew him tried to admonish him, saying, “The Master is of an exalted rank; how can you do this?” The Venerable said, “I am adjusting my own mind; what concern is it of yours?” Earlier, there was a monk in Ye named Bianhe, who was gathering disciples to lecture on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra at Kuangjiu Monastery in Guancheng County. The Venerable often went to the monastery gate to expound for people. As it happened, just at the morning session the crowd followed Ke in great numbers, and even the disciples of Bianhe defected to him. Bianhe was enraged by this, and soon said to the county magistrate Zhai Zhongkan, “Huike is crazy and heretical, and misleads the multitude greatly. This should be punished.” Zhongkan listened to his words and subjected him to cruel punishment. On account of this, the Venerable passed away. His worldly age at that time was one hundred and seven years. Men and women mourned him, and together gathered his remains and buried them east of Fuyang in Cizhou. It was the thirteenth year, the guichou year, of the Kaihuang era of the Sui. Emperor Dezong of the Tang bestowed the posthumous title Chan Master Dazu. During the Wude era, the eminent monk Falin, hearing of his reputation, once composed an inscription for him, which said in brief: “Alas, that Chan Master! None knew how he was so. Only the Dharma remained here. If not recorded in writing, how would one know the nobility of his Way? His being admired and longed for by later worthy people was just like this.”

6.7

An appraisal says: The Tang Biographies of Monks states that Ke was attacked by bandits who cut off his arm. How is this different from what is stated in my book? I say: I have examined Falin’s stele, which states: ‘The Master stood in the snow for several nights, and without a backward glance severed his arm; he cast himself to the ground to shatter his body, striving to seek instruction.’ Now, the author of the Tang biographies was contemporary with Falin; Falin’s account accords with the Chan texts, whereas [Daoxuan] contradicted it. Is this not because what he gathered and heard was incomplete? Therefore his book is insufficient as a detailed account.

6.8

Biography of the Thirtieth Patriarch in China, the Venerable Sengcan

6.9

Venerable Sengcan: it is not known what place he was from. At first, he met Huike as a retired scholar. The Venerable did not state his surname or personal name. Through their dialogue, he had an awakening, and thereupon took him as master and went forth. Patriarch Ke recognized his capacity, said that he had obtained a Dharma-jewel, and so gave him a name. During the Northern Zhou, he received the precepts at Guangfu Monastery. After receiving the precepts, he returned to his master. Two years later, he received the transmission of the Dharma. Patriarch Ke had once admonished him, saying, “Later there will surely be a calamity; you must retreat far away to avoid it.” The Venerable followed his words, and thereupon went to conceal himself on Mount Wangong in Shu (now called the Mountain Monastery of Shangu) for more than thirty years in all. His traces gradually became manifest, and students came to seek his Way. During the Kaihuang era of the Sui, there was a novice monk named Daoxin, who one day came to pay homage before his seat. He asked him, saying, “I beg the Great Master to reveal to me the Dharma gate of liberation.” The Venerable said, “Who binds you?” [Daoxin] said, “No one binds me.” [The Venerable] further said, “Since no one binds you, you are liberation itself; why seek further for liberation?” Daoxin immediately had an awakening, and wished to serve him as a disciple. After a long time, Xin went to seek the precepts in Luling; when he returned, the Venerable said, “You have received the precepts and your Way is also complete. I shall now depart. In the past, the Tathāgata’s Great Dharma-eye Treasury was entrusted down to me, and now I confer it upon you along with the robe and bowl. Take them all. Listen to my verse:”

6.10

Though flower seeds depend on the ground,
From the ground, planted flowers grow.
If no one sows the seed,
Flower and ground are completely unproduced.

6.11

He further said, “Transmit it well; do not let it be cut off. I am going to wander to Luofu, and will return before long.” After two more years, he returned to Shangu. For more than a month, he held a grand gathering of the people of the prefecture and preached the Dharma to them. Then, he passed away while standing under a large tree. It was the second year, the bingyin year, of the Daye era of the Sui. At that time, the Sui house was in turmoil, and there was no leisure to build a stūpa for him. In the fifth year of the Tianbao era of the Tang, it happened that Li Chang of Zhaojun was transferred to an official post in Shu. He opened the tomb and cremated him, obtained relics, and erected a stūpa at the place of his passing. Earlier, Venerable Can had gone forth because of a wind illness; when he resided at Shangu, although the illness was cured, his head no longer grew black hair. Therefore, the people of Shu called him Red-Headed Can. Yet with his extraordinary insight and remarkable virtue, he was truly an unfathomable man. Prior to this, where he lived, snakes and beasts had caused much harm; when the Venerable arrived, they all vanished. One day, a divine light suddenly shone forth from his monastery, and sweet dew dripped upon the mountain forests. People of the time thought it strange and asked each other about it. The Venerable said, “This is merely an omen that the Buddha Dharma is about to flourish and relics are about to arrive.” Afterward, the imperial capital obtained relics on a large scale, which were subsequently distributed throughout the realm, and indeed a stūpa was established at Shangu Monastery. His responsive manifestations were all of this kind. Emperor Minghuang of the Tang bestowed the posthumous title Chan Master Jianzhi, and his stūpa was named Jueji. Later, Prime Minister Fang Guan composed his stele, prefacing it in great detail.

6.12

An appraisal says: Although Venerable Can did not speak of his family name and home village at first, he was in the world for more than thirty more years afterward; could he have completely kept his mouth shut without mentioning them briefly? This is questionable. I say: I have examined Fang’s stele, which says: ‘The Great Master once said to Daoxin: “If someone asks, do not say that you obtained the Dharma from my place.”’ This clearly shows that the Venerable kept to himself most strictly. A consummate person regards the traces of things as an encumbrance to the Great Way, and so forgets his mind; when he even wished to leave behind the lineage of the True Dharma, how much less would he be willing to pay heed to mundane matters like his family name and native land!

6.13

Biography of the Thirty-First Patriarch in China, the Venerable Daoxin

6.14

Venerable Daoxin: his ancestors originally lived in Henai, and later moved to Guangji County in Qiyang. When Xin was born, he thus became a man of Qi. His surname was Sima. In the twelfth year, the renzi year, of the Kaihuang era of the Sui, as a novice monk he visited Venerable Sengcan; upon their dialogue he awakened to the Way, and thereupon faced north to serve him as master. After nine years in all, he received his transmission of the Dharma and conferring of the robe. During the Daye era of the Sui, the Venerable once traveled south to Luling. It happened that the bandit leader Cao Wuwei besieged the city with troops for seventy days without relenting. The Venerable therefore urged the people in the city all to recite Mahāprajñāpāramitā. The bandits suddenly saw men on the battlements numbering no fewer than several thousands, all over a zhang tall, their armor of golden color shining brilliantly against the sun. The bandits were terrified and said to one another, “In this city there must be a person of great blessings and virtue; it cannot be attacked.” That very day, they withdrew. In the seventh year of the Wude era of the Tang, he again went north and resided at Mount Potou in Qi (now called Mount Shuangfeng), greatly propagating the Dharma he had attained. Scholars from the four quarters flocked to him like people rushing to market at midday. During the Zhenguan era, Taizong heard of his reputation and summoned him three times, but the Venerable declined each time and did not rise. Summoning him again, Taizong said to the envoy, “If he still does not obey my command this time, bring his head.” When the edict arrived, [Daoxin] indeed went against the imperial will; the Venerable straightaway stretched out his neck to await the blade. The envoy returned and reported this to the throne. Taizong praised his steadfast uprightness and comforted and encouraged him lavishly. By this time, the Venerable had already resided on the mountain for twenty years. One day, on the way to Huangmei County, he suddenly saw a boy with fine bones and eyes, about seven years of age. He was amazed in his heart and asked him, saying, “What is your surname?” [The boy] replied, saying, “I have a surname, but it is no ordinary surname.” [Daoxin] asked, “What surname is it?” [The boy] replied, saying, “It is the Buddha surname.” [Daoxin] said, “Do you have no surname?” [The boy] replied, saying, “Because the surname is empty.” The Venerable looked back at his attendants and said, “This child is no ordinary vessel; later he will greatly promote Buddha affairs.” He then sent someone to accompany him to see his parents, telling of the child’s extraordinary responses and wishing to have him go forth. His parents consented. When the child returned with the monk, the Venerable shaved his head and ordained him, naming him Hongren. Later, he instructed him, saying, “In the past, the Tathāgata transmitted the True Dharma-eye, which was handed down to me. I now confer it upon you along with the former patriarchs' robe and bowl of trust. Take them all. Strive in their transmission; do not let them be severed. Listen to my verse:”

6.15

Flower seeds have the nature of growth;
Due to the ground, the flowers grow and flourish.
When the great condition accords with faith,
That which should grow grows unproduced.

6.16

He further said to Ren: “Formerly, during the Wude era, I once traveled to Mount Lu. Ascending its highest peak, I saw this Mount Potou: above it were purple clouds like a canopy, and below it arose white vapor, dividing horizontally into six branches. What kind of auspicious omen do you consider this to be?” Ren said: “This must surely be an omen that after the upādhyāya, a branch of the Buddha-Dharma will branch out horizontally.” The Venerable One said: “Excellent! You are able to understand it.” Shortly afterward, he bathed, sat in meditation, and passed away. His worldly age was seventy-two. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month in the xinhai year, the second year of the Yonghui era [651 CE]. Three years after his burial, the door of his stūpa suddenly opened of itself one day, and the Venerable One’s true body appeared majestic as though alive. During the Dali era, Emperor Daizong bestowed the posthumous title Chan Master Dayi, and the stūpa was named Ciyun.

6.17

Biography of the Thirty-Second Patriarch in Cīnasthāna, the Venerable Hongren

6.18

The Venerable Hongren was a native of Huangmei in Qiyang. His secular surname was Zhou. When his mother was pregnant with him, auspicious lights and unusual fragrances repeatedly emanated from her home. Upon being born, he was of great natural intelligence: whenever he heard or saw anything, whether difficult or easy, he understood it completely. His bearing was exceedingly extraordinary, bearing the marks of a sage. A worthy man once saw Ren in the lanes and alleys, and said to people: “This child possesses the marks of a great person; he lacks only seven marks compared to the Tathāgata.” At the age of seven, he met the Venerable Daoxin, left the household life, received the precepts, and soon received his Dharma. He succeeded him in residing at Mount Potou, and his teaching and converting grew ever more flourishing. At that time, scholars throughout the realm who admired his style flocked to him without regarding a thousand li as far. During the Xianheng era, there was a traveler known as Layman Lu, who called himself Huineng, who came to the Dharma assembly and paid homage before him. The Venerable One asked: “Where have you come from?” He replied: “I have come from Lingnan.” [The Venerable One] asked: “What matter do you seek?” He replied: “I seek only to become a Buddha.” [The Venerable One] said: “People of Lingnan have no Buddha-nature. How could you attain Buddhahood?” He replied: “People have north and south, but how could Buddha-nature be so?” The Venerable One knew he was an extraordinary person, but feigned a rebuke, saying: “Go to the stables.” Huineng immediately withdrew, sought a place in the pestle shed, and exerted his strength amidst the mortar and pestle; though months and days passed, he never spoke of toil. One day, the Venerable One, realizing the time for transmitting the Dharma had arrived, said to the assembly: “The true Dharma is difficult to understand. Each of you should compose a verse to illuminate your view. If anyone has truly attained something, I will entrust the robe and Dharma to him.” At that time, the bhikṣu Shenxiu was known for his extensive learning, and the assembly revered him as their leader, none daring to precede him. Shenxiu, considering himself to be the one recommended by the assembly, composed a verse one night and wrote it on the wall of the monastery corridor, saying:

6.19

“The body is the bodhi tree,
The mind is like a clear mirror stand.
Time and again diligently wipe it clean,
Do not let it gather dust.”

6.20

When the Venerable One saw it, he praised it, saying: “If future generations cultivate according to this, they will also attain supreme fruits.” He encouraged the assembly to recite it. Huineng happened to hear it, and asked the reciter: “Who composed this?” [The reciter] said: “This is the verse of Senior Seat Shenxiu. The Great Master praised it, and he will surely receive the transmission of the Dharma. Don't you know?” Neng said: “Although these words are good, they are not yet complete.” His peers all laughed, thinking Neng’s words were boastful nonsense. Neng soon composed a verse in response. That night, borrowing a brush from a boy, he wrote beside Xiu’s verse, saying:

6.21

“Bodhi fundamentally has no tree,
The clear mirror is also not a stand.
Fundamentally not a single thing exists;
Where could dust gather?”

6.22

When the Venerable One saw it, he silently approved but did not openly praise it, fearing that jealous persons would harm him. Thus he feigned disparagement, saying: “Who composed this? This one also has not seen the nature.” Because of this, the assembly paid no heed to Neng’s words. In the middle of the night, the Venerable One secretly summoned Huineng into his room and told him: “The Buddhas appear in the world solely for the sake of the one great causal condition. Because beings' capacities are large or small, they guide them accordingly; thus there are the teachings of the three vehicles, the ten stages, sudden and gradual teachings, spoken as Dharma doors. Exclusively, the unsurpassed, subtle, wondrous, and real Treasury of the True Dharma Eye was first entrusted to the foremost Mahākāśyapa. Thereafter it was transmitted successively across twenty-eight generations until it reached Patriarch Bodhidharma, who came to the east. In the east it was transmitted further, until it has now come to me. I now entrust to you this Great Dharma together with the received saṅghāṭī robe and precious bowl of the former patriarchs. Protect them well, and do not allow the Dharma to be severed. Listen to my verse:

6.23

“Sentient beings come to sow seeds;
Due to the ground, fruit is born again.
Without sentience, there is already no seed;
Without sentience, there is also no arising.”

6.24

Having received the Dharma and the robe and bowl, Layman Huineng bowed and asked: “I have received your instruction concerning the Dharma; will the robe and bowl also be transmitted in the future?” The Venerable One said: “Formerly, Bodhidharma came from a foreign land, and though he transmitted the Dharma to the Second Patriarch, he feared the world would not believe his lineage; therefore he used the robe and bowl as proof. Now, throughout the realm, my lineage is known, and none disbelieve. Thus, this robe and bowl may cease with you. However, the true Dharma will become ever wider through you. If you insist on transmitting the robe, I fear it will give rise to dispute. Therefore it is said: ‘The life of the one who receives the robe hangs by a thread.’ You should depart at once. You ought to conceal yourself for a time, and only later transform [others].” Huineng asked again: “Where should I go now?” The Venerable One said: “Stop when you meet Huai; conceal yourself when you encounter Hui.” Huineng received the instruction and departed that very night. Thereafter, the Venerable One did not teach the Dharma for three days. The assembly was bewildered and collectively questioned him. The Venerable One said: “My Dharma has already gone south. What more is there to say?” The assembly asked again: “Who has obtained it?” He replied: “The capable one (Neng) has obtained it.” The assembly then realized that Layman Lu had received his Dharma, and pursued him, but Huineng was already gone. Four years later, the Venerable One suddenly said to the assembly one day: “My work is done; I may go now.” He then entered his room, sat in meditation, and passed away. This was in the yihai year, the second year of the Shangyuan era [675 CE]. His worldly age was seventy-four. The fourfold assembly erected a stūpa at the East Mountain of Huangmei. Emperor Daizong conferred the posthumous title Chan Master Daman, and the stūpa was named Fayu.

6.25

Biography of the Thirty-Third Patriarch in Cīnasthāna, the Venerable Huineng

6.26

Venerable Huineng had the surname Lu. His ancestors originally belonged to Fanyang. His father, Xingtao, was demoted to an official post in Xinzhou during the Wude era, where Neng was born; thus he became a man of Xinxing. When he was just three years old, his father died. His mother did not remarry, but raised the Venerable alone to the end of his days. Yet their family was poor, and mother and son could scarcely support themselves. The Venerable thereupon sold firewood to sustain them. One day he went to the marketplace, and at an inn heard a guest reciting a sutra. He immediately asked the man, "What sutra is this?" The guest said, "It is the Diamond Sutra." He asked, "From whom did you receive it?" The guest said, "At present, the Fifth Patriarch, the Great Master Hongren, has appeared in the world in Huangmei County. He often tells people, 'If you uphold this sutra, you will quickly see your nature.' Therefore I recite it." The Venerable rejoiced, prepared a year's provisions for his mother, and then announced his departure to seek the Dharma. Departing, he reached Shaoyang, where he met the lay practitioner Liu Zhilüe, who took the Venerable as a good spiritual friend. Previously, Zhilüe had an aunt who was a nun, known as Wujinzang, who at that time took the reading of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra as her practice. The Venerable went to listen to the sutra, and before long wished to explain it for the nun. The nun then pushed the sutra toward the Venerable. The Venerable said, "Read it to me; I cannot read the characters." The nun said, "If you do not even know the characters, how can you understand their meaning?" The Venerable said, "How could the wondrous principles of the Buddhas lie in characters?" The nun marvelled at his words, knowing he must be no ordinary man, and thereupon told her fellow villagers. The villagers honoured his virtue, soon restored the Baolin Hermitage, and invited the Venerable to dwell there. After dwelling there not long, he was suddenly moved to say to himself, "I originally set out to seek a teacher for the sake of the Dharma; why linger here for long?" He immediately left Baolin, proceeded a little further to Lechang County in Shao, and met the śramaṇa of lofty conduct, the Venerable Zhiyuan. When he had stayed at his place for merely ten-odd days, Zhiyuan said to the Venerable, "Observing your spiritual insight, you are no ordinary person; my way is certainly not sufficient to assist your aspiration. Chan Master Ren of Huangmei is currently serving as the patriarch of the Great Dharma; he should be your teacher. You must go to him quickly. If you attain the Way and return south, do not forget each other." The Venerable thereupon journeyed north. At that time he was already thirty-two years of age. When he reached the East Mountain, Patriarch Ren silently recognized his capacity for the Dharma. At first he tested him by speaking to him, and in the end entrusted him with the Great Dharma-eye. When the Venerable attained the Dharma and returned south, the senior disciples of the East Mountain were all unwilling to accept this, and joined together to pursue him. There was one named Huiming, who caught up with him at the Dayu Ridge. The Venerable immediately placed his robe and bowl on a boulder and concealed himself among the grass. Huiming lifted the robe and bowl but could not move them; thereupon he cried out, "I come for the Dharma, not for the robe and bowl. Dharma brother, why do you not come out?" Thereupon they met. Huiming spoke with him, and Huiming immediately awoke. He paid the courtesies of a disciple to the Venerable and turned back, and then deceived those pursuing behind him, saying, "He has already gone far." When the Venerable returned south, he hid his traces between Sihui and Huaiji, mingling with the common folk for four years without anyone knowing. In the spring of the first year of Yifeng, he reached Nanhai and set down his burdens at Faxing Monastery. He happened to meet the Dharma Master Yinzong lecturing on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra at that monastery. At first, the Venerable lodged in a room in the corridors. One evening the wind arose, and the monastery banner flapped. Presently, two monks outside the room were arguing; one said, "The wind moves," and the other said, "The banner moves." Their exchanges of this sort were numerous, none hitting upon the truth. The Venerable, hearing it, immediately came out and said to the two monks, "May a layman be permitted to join your discussion?" The monks said, "Please let us hear your view." The Venerable thereupon said, "It is not the wind that moves, nor the banner that moves; it is your minds, kind sirs, that move." The next day, the two monks reported his words to Yinzong. Yinzong marvelled at them and immediately led him into his room, thoroughly interrogating him on their meaning. The Venerable spoke to him further with the ultimate principle. Yinzong was thereupon all the more subdued, and said to the Venerable, "Layman, you are truly no ordinary man. Who is your teacher, and whence did you attain the Way? Do not conceal it, but please reveal it to me." The Venerable thereupon recounted to him the beginning and end of his attainment of the Dharma. Yinzong was exceedingly fortunate in what he had encountered, and immediately adopted the rites of a disciple, requesting to learn his essential teachings. He then said to the assembly, "This Layman Lu is a flesh-body bodhisattva. How could an ordinary fellow such as Yinzong have expected to meet him?" Choosing an auspicious day, he gathered elder bhikṣus to strip off his secular robes and shave his head. Choosing another auspicious day, they adorned the monastery's ordination platform, and commanded the Vinaya Master Zhiguang to administer the full precepts to him. That platform had originally been inaugurated during the Song dynasty by the Tripiṭaka Master Guṇavarman. Initially, Guṇavarman had predicted, "Later there will be a flesh-body bodhisattva receiving the precepts here." And at the end of the Liang dynasty, when the Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha approached the platform, he personally planted two Bodhi trees and also predicted, "In the fourth generation hence, there will be a bodhisattva of the Supreme Vehicle receiving the precepts here. His preaching of the Dharma will deliver immeasurable people." Once ordained, the assembly immediately requested the Venerable to expound the East Mountain teaching. Thus, although Guṇavarman and Paramārtha were from the start known as holy beings who had attained the fruit, only at this point was that verified in this person. The following year, the Venerable thought to return to the Baolin Cloister, and wished to bid farewell to the assembly and depart immediately. Yinzong, together with more than a thousand monastics and laypeople, saw him off to Shaoyang. Before long, Wei Ju, the prefectural governor of Shao, invited him to dwell at Dafan Monastery in that prefecture and preach the Dharma. At that time, Daoists and Confucian scholars who hastened to ask about the Way were very numerous, just like Confucius at the Zhu and Si Rivers. His disciples thereupon compiled his discourses and titled them the Platform Sutra. Moreover, his ordinary congregation was never fewer than a thousand. Emperor Zhongzong heard of his reputation and, during the Shenlong era, issued an imperial edict stating: "We invited the two masters Huian and Shenxiu to inquire about the Way in the palace; both recommended: 'In the south there is Chan Master Neng, who personally received the robe and Dharma from the Great Master Ren, and is capable of answering this inquiry.' Now We dispatch the palace attendant Xue Jian to gallop with the edict to summon the Master. You should take this into consideration and come to fulfil Our wishes." The Venerable thereupon submitted a memorial claiming illness and did not rise. Xue Jian then asked the Venerable, "Chan practitioners in the capital always say: 'If you wish to comprehend the Way, you must sit in meditation. It has never happened that one attains liberation without relying on dhyāna-concentration.' What about this statement?" The Venerable said, "The Way is awakened to through the mind; how could it depend on sitting? The sutra says: 'If anyone says that the Tathāgata comes, goes, sits, or lies down, this person does not understand the meaning of what I have spoken. Why? The Tathāgata has nowhere whence he comes and nowhere whither he goes; therefore he is named Tathāgata.' Since there is nowhere whence he comes, he is not born; since there is nowhere whither he goes, he does not perish. If there is no birth and death, this is the Tathāgata's pure dhyāna; that all phenomena are empty and tranquil is the Tathāgata's pure sitting. Ultimately there is nothing to attain, nor is there anything to realize; why must one sit?" Xue Jian said, "When I, Jian, return, the Emperor will certainly ask questions. I pray that the Great Master will reveal the essential Dharma teachings, so that I may report them in reply and spread them throughout the capital, causing practitioners to cultivate them, just as one lamp ignites hundreds and thousands of lamps, so that those in darkness all become bright, and the brightness will never end." The Venerable said, "The Way has neither light nor darkness. Light and darkness have the sense of alternation. 'Endless brightness' also has an end, for names are established through mutual dependence. Therefore the sutra says: 'The Dharma has no comparison, because it has no mutual dependence.'" Xue Jian said, "Light is compared to wisdom, and darkness to afflictions. If a cultivator of the Way does not illuminate and destroy afflictions by means of wisdom, by what means can he escape beginningless birth and death?" The Venerable said, "Illuminating afflictions with wisdom is the capacity of the sheep and deer vehicles of the small children of the Two Vehicles; the supreme wisdom of great vessels is entirely unlike this." Xue Jian said, "What is meant by the view of the Great Vehicle?" The Venerable said, "Light and ignorance—their nature is not two. The nature that is not two is the real nature. The real nature does not decrease in the ordinary and foolish, nor does it increase in the worthy and holy. It abides in afflictions without being disordered, and dwells in dhyāna-concentration without being quiescent. It is neither annihilated nor permanent, neither comes nor goes, is not in the middle nor inside or outside. Unborn and unperishing, its nature and marks are suchness, permanently abiding and unchanging: this is named the Way." Xue Jian said, "How does what the Great Master speaks of as unborn and unperishing differ from the sayings of the non-Buddhists?" The Venerable said, "When non-Buddhists speak of unborn and unperishing, they merely use perishing to stop birth, and use birth to manifest perishing; perishing is still not perishing, and birth is spoken of as un生. When I speak of unborn and unperishing, it is originally without birth and now also without perishing; how could it be the same as the non-Buddhists? If you, kind sir, wish to clarify the essence of the mind, merely do not think of any good or evil, and you will naturally gain entry. The substance of the mind will be limpid and constantly tranquil, its wondrous functions numerous as the sands of the Ganges." Xue Jian was awakened by this, bowed twice and departed. Returning to court, he indeed reported his words to the throne. The Son of Heaven commended him, and again issued an edict of comforting thanks, bestowing patchwork robes and precious silks in varying degrees, and imperially ordering Baolin to be renamed Zhongxing Monastery. The following year, he commanded the prefect of Shaozhou to renovate it, and again renamed it Faquan Monastery, and made the former residence in Xinzhou into Guo'en Monastery. The Venerable always said to the assembly: "Good spiritual friends, each of you purify your mind and listen to my preaching of the Dharma. The self-mind of each of you is Buddha; do not harbor further doubts. Outside, there is not a single phenomenon that can be established; all are the myriad phenomena born from one's own mind. Therefore the sutra says: 'When the mind is born, various phenomena are born; when the mind perishes, various phenomena perish.' If you wish to achieve the knowledge of all aspects, you must master the single-mark samādhi and the single-practice samādhi. If you do not abide in marks in all places, do not give rise to hatred or love toward those marks, do not grasp or abandon, and do not think of gain, loss, success, or destruction, being peaceful, at ease, and pure—this is named the single-mark samādhi. If, while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down in all places, you maintain a purely straight mind without moving from the place of practice, making it a pure land—this is named the single-practice samādhi. If a person possesses these two samādhis, it is like the earth possessing seeds, capable of containing, nurturing, and completing their fruits; the single-mark and single-practice are also like this. My present preaching of the Dharma is like timely rain, everywhere moistening the great earth. Your Buddha-nature is compared to seeds; encountering this soaking moisture, all are able to sprout. Those who accept my words will definitely attain bodhi; those who rely on my practice will certainly realize the Buddha-fruit." Reaching the first year of Xiantian, one day he suddenly said to the assembly: "Unworthy as I am, I received the Dharma essentials along with the robe and bowl from the Great Master Ren. Now, although I preach the Dharma, I do not transmit the robe and bowl, because your faithful minds are mature and free of doubts, therefore I do not transmit them. Listen to my gāthā:"

6.27

"The mind ground contains all seeds; / With universal rain, all sprout forth. / Once suddenly awakened to the flower of sentient feeling, / The fruit of bodhi is naturally accomplished."

6.28

He said further, "The Dharma is not two, and the mind is also like this. Its Way is pure and also without any marks. You must be careful not to contemplate purity or empty your mind. This mind is originally pure, with nothing to grasp or abandon. Exert yourselves, each of you, and go well in accord with conditions." The Venerable had preached the Dharma and delivered people, by this time, for forty years. Prior to this, he had once commanded that a pagoda be built at Guo'en Monastery in Xinzhou; and on the sixth day of the sixth month of that year, he again urged them to double the labour and hasten its completion. Guo'en Monastery was indeed the former site of his family home; the intention behind building the pagoda was merely to repay the virtue of his parents. On the first day of the seventh month of the second year of Xiantian, he said to his disciples, "I am about to return to Xinzhou. You should ready the boats and oars." At that time, the great assembly all mourned and begged him to remain. The Venerable said, "Even when the Buddhas appear, they still manifest nirvāṇa. Where there is coming, there must be going—this is the constant principle. For this bodily frame of mine, there must be a place of return." The assembly then asked, "Master, once you leave here, when will you return?" He said, "Fallen leaves return to their roots; when I came, I had no mouth." They also asked, "To whom is the Master's Dharma-eye entrusted?" He said, "One who has the Way attains it; one who is without mind comprehends it." They also asked, "Will there be any trouble for the Master's bequeathed teaching?" He said, "Only five or six years after my decease, there will surely be someone who comes to take my head. Listen to my gāthā:"

6.29

"Above the head, nourishing parents; / Within the mouth, requiring food. / Encountering the difficulty of Man, / Yang and Liu will be the officials."

6.30

He also said, "Seventy years after my passing, two bodhisattvas will come from the east: one a renunciant and one a householder. Together they will flourish the teaching and transformation, manage my saṅghārāma, and uphold my essential teachings." Shortly after, he went to Xinzhou. Soon after, having bathed at Gu'en Monastery, he sat peacefully and transformed. An extraordinary fragrance filled the air, and a white rainbow connected to the ground. That time was in fact the second day of the eighth month in the second year of Xiantian (gui-chou) [713 CE]. At that time, the two prefectures of Xinzhou and Shaozhou each strove to build a stupa and contested over welcoming his true body, unable to decide for a long time. The prefectural governor, together with the people of both prefectures, burnt incense and prayed, saying, "Whichever direction the smoke of the incense points, there he may be conveyed." Presently, the incense smoke abruptly arose and drifted north toward the boundary of Shaozhou. The people of Shaozhou were thus able, on the thirteenth day of the eleventh month, to enshrine him in a stupa on the shore of Caohou Creek; this is the present Nanhua Monastery. His worldly age was seventy-six. The former prefectural governor Wei Ju wrote his stele. Earlier, when the Venerable entered the stupa, his disciples remembered his prediction that someone would come to take his head; they consequently used iron plates to securely protect his neck. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, on the night of the third day of the eighth month, around midnight, a sound like the dragging of iron chains was suddenly heard from the stupa. The stupa-keeper was startled awake and suddenly saw a person resembling a mourning son (at that time someone was seen wearing mourning clothes and mingling among them; saying he resembled a mourning son merely accords with the hidden meaning of the patriarchal master's cryptic words) rushing out from the stupa. Upon checking immediately, traces were already found on the iron-plate protection. They subsequently reported the burglary to the prefecture and county, and officials conducted a strict search. Later, in Shijiao Village of that county, they indeed captured the thief. The officials interrogated him: the thief called himself Zhang Jingman, originally from Liang County of Ruzhou. He had just been at Kaiyuan Monastery in Hongzhou, where he had been hired by a monk from Silla named Jin Dabi to take the patriarch's head and return to his country to venerate it. The officials wished to convict him according to the law, but the prefectural governor, seeing that his intention was not malicious, questioned the Venerable's disciple, Chan Master Lingtao. Lingtao, evaluating it from the standpoint of the Buddha-Dharma, wished the officials to pardon him. The prefectural governor considered Tao's intention noble and accordingly showed him clemency. At that time, the prefectural governor was Liu Wutian, the county magistrate was Yang Kan, and the thief was Zhang Jingman—proving that his prophetic words were fulfilled without the slightest error. During the Shangyuan era, Emperor Suzong, admiring the Venerable's Way, once decreed that the transmitted robe and bowl be brought to the inner palace to be venerated. When Suzong passed away and Daizong ascended the throne, on the fifth day of the fifth month in the first year of Yongtai, [the emperor] dreamed that the Venerable requested the return of his robe and bowl. The Son of Heaven respected his Dharma all the more, and on the seventh day he dispatched an imperial envoy to convey them back to Caoxi. Emperor Xianzong bestowed the posthumous title "Chan Master Dajian" and named the stupa "Yuanhe Lingzhao". Initially, Dajian manifested as a wood-gatherer, mingling with ordinary people and claiming not to know letters. But when he gradually became renowned for the Way, whether it was the scriptures of the Tripiṭaka or mundane books and chronicles, he cited them in his discourses, every one as though he had long practiced them. Expounding the sacred path and explaining the meaning of the sūtras, his unhindered great eloquence was as vast as rivers and oceans, such that no one could fathom its shores. Formerly, when Zhang Jiuling, the Duke of Shixing and prime minister of the Tang, was still a boy, his family brought him to pay homage to Dajian. Dajian stroked his head and said, "This is an extraordinary boy; he will surely become an instrument of state." His foreknowledge and foresight were all of this kind. Who could say he did not know mundane letters? Those with understanding say, "This was not truly an inability to know letters, but a manifestation of not knowing them." Because his Way is not something reached by mundane letters and language, it was meant to symbolize something. Furthermore, the eastward transmission of the true Dharma became all the broader from Dajian onward. Those who succeeded him were all outstanding great beings dispersed across the four seas. Their virtue and Dharma have benefited others, and people rely upon them to this day. Considering this, could he truly have been a mere woodcutter who only then began studying the Way? He was indeed a sage who descended his traces, demonstrating his emergence from humble origins. Was he at the stage of Equal Enlightenment or Wondrous Enlightenment? It cannot be definitively known.

6.31

Evaluation: The Dharma of the sage is one. What need is there to divide its lineage into North and South? I say: Indeed. When a whole country converges upon a path that branches, if one does not distinguish them, how could they be rectified? When children issue from one surname, there are legitimate and secondary heirs; if one does not distinguish them, who could be determined as close? The biographer (the Song Gaoseng zhuan) likened this to three powerful warriors together shooting at an impenetrable target: the first is called Malla, whose shot hits it but does not pierce it; the second is called Praśākhi, which pierces it but does not pass through; the third is the Nārāyaṇa arrow, which passes through it and pierces other objects as well. It is not that the impenetrable target has differences of strength and weakness, but rather that the power of their shooting differs. Neng of the South can indeed be called a Nārāyaṇa; he personally attained the prize. The metaphor comes close to it.

6.32

Record of the Orthodox Lineage of the Dharma Transmission, Fascicle Six

Linked texts (1)

傳法正宗記 — Classical Chinese