北山錄 6.4

English (machine translation) 6.4

Language: English

6.4.1

The worthy who establishes virtue conceals his purpose as if stealing away. (To establish means to erect. To conceal means to hide. The gentleman who establishes virtue harbors broad and magnanimous qualities within, constantly cloaking them as if they were insufficient.) The family that practices deceit makes fine words flow like water. (Fine means pleasing. The deceitful gentleman promotes glib flattery, hence his artful words flow with beauty.) Clinging to the empty as real, adorning the crooked to warp the upright, they extol what accords with them and revile what differs from them, aggressive and disorderly. Like the sun rising only to be veiled by clouds, like clear waters stirred into waves by the wind, it is hard indeed to see the end of it. (Artful speech throwing rectitude into chaos.) A sūtra says: In antiquity there were two disciples, each guarding one of their master’s legs, each disparaging the one they did not guard. (The *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish* says: In the past there were two disciples told to each guard one leg. When the one guarding the left leg was away, the one guarding the right leg struck it. When the one guarding the right leg was away, the one guarding the left leg struck it. Within a month, both of the master’s legs had rotted away. This is a metaphor for the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna today disparaging each other.) In anger they struck at each other; their anger never ceasing, the legs were lost. Nowadays, men of deviant doctrines each jealously hoard fame; (Jealousy means enviously harming others.) they have no regard whatsoever for their holy master. How lamentable! I once ventured to discuss this, saying: Outward appearance differs from the heart, and nature is formed by habit. When the rustic songs of Ba are sung, those who join in harmony are inevitably many. (In the past, when the people of Chu sang the songs of Ba, the rustic folk who joined in were many; but when the piece “White Snow” was composed, those who joined in were few.) As with the stones of Yan and fish eyes, those who can truly appraise them are inevitably few. (Stones of Yan resemble jade; fish eyes resemble pearls.) Therefore, those who chase clods flock together in heterodoxy and delusion, (Ganging up in their deviant doctrines like dogs chasing after clods of earth.) each preserving their own master, barking at Yao on behalf of Jie. Now, when words do not attain righteousness, they are deemed deviant doctrines; to refute them with propriety is termed ‘critique’. Striking at the root and blocking the deep pool, one may perhaps hope for success. (What is set forth today hopes to strike at their root and block up their source.) Yet the light of a tiny flame depends on the Torch Dragon to assist its illumination, and the close ring of a *pulao* relies on thunder and lightning to aid its resonance. (A tiny flame is like the fire of a glowworm. The *pulao* is a sea beast; when a whale strikes it, its roar shakes the rivers and valleys. Nowadays, it is cast atop bells, and a whale-shaped pestle is used to strike it to obtain its roar. Now the Venerable of Beishan speaks with humility, saying that although he wishes to strike at the root, block the source, and halt their deviant doctrines, he regrets that his own talent and wisdom are like a tiny flame; being equally insignificant, he relies on the voices of the multitude of worthies to aid him, so as to glorify the age of the Semblance Dharma.) This is truly what is harbored in my humble bosom. Once, a fawning and subservient person (Fawning means compliant in appearance; subservient means forcing a pleasant countenance.) privately said to me, “Their faction is flourishing; (Referring to the followers of deviant doctrines.) if you are not accepted by your contemporaries, what will you do? (Fearing that he will be resented by the times. When the people are full of deviance, they lack self-reliance, and flatterers have many factions.)” I replied, “If a beast looks back fearing to wet its tail, it will never cross over. (When a fox is about to cross a river, if it fears wetting its tail, it will not cross over.) If one attains righteousness, what resentment is there to fear even if one is harmed? The fisherman slaying a river dragon, the hunter grappling with a tiger—both follow their resolve. (If one is afraid, one will not act. As it is said, those who discuss supreme virtue do not conform to the vulgar; those who accomplish great deeds do not consult the multitude.)” The deviant doctrines say: “Those who bind themselves to the study of the precepts are in truth of petty wisdom, with narrow sentiments that are not serene. (Bound means stuck; narrow means confined; serene means tranquil. It means that those who uphold the precepts are confined to the Hīnayāna.) Meeting objects, they fear faults; discarding their own bodies as if dung and soil, they place profound care on grass and trees. (In antiquity there was a precept-holding monk who was robbed of his robes and bowl on the road by bandits, who then bound him with grass. In the heat of the day, the monk could not break the grass and leave, fearing he would break a precept.) Great beings view this as a perilous and treacherous path. Is it not better to rely on our Great Way, cast off our constraints, and unleash our minds? Neither following in others’ footsteps nor lowering our brows, neither suffering from hunger nor sickening on greens, roaming free amidst food and drink, magnanimous atop goods and wealth—what is there that does not suit our pleasure? Who could abandon the rich savor of rich meats and fine silks, only to become a ruined, cruel, and lowly thrall among the spirits of the future world? (If in this life one does not partake of delicacies and wear splendors, only to end up as a lowly and degraded ghost after death, why do it?)” The critic says: How can it be so? Unashamed before men, unfearing before Heaven, indulging desire and outraging goodness—no sin is greater than this. Precepts are dignified deportment. (Dignified means possessing authority to be revered; deportment means possessing conduct to be modeled.) Dignified deportment is the outward manifestation of virtue. *The Classic of Odes* says: “Be prudent and cautious in your deportment; do not err in your manners.” And again: “A majestic and dignified deportment is the cornerstone of virtue.” (Both emphasize the way of dignified deportment.) Thus, if one sets out on a long journey, they serve as tallies and seals; (Long means distant; when traveling a long road, one can journey by means of the precepts. Tallies and seals are like official travel permits today.) if one wades across great waters, they serve as a floating buoy; (The Vinaya says: Just as a person wishing to cross the great sea relies on a floating buoy to make the crossing—this is a metaphor for upholding the precepts. If one breaks even a minor precept, one cannot cross over.) if one restrains a runaway horse, they serve as bit and whip; if one cultivates a thousand acres, they serve as level ground. The goat cart contains only the five classes of offenses; (First, pārājika; second, saṃghāvaśeṣa; third, prāyaścittika; fourth, pratideśanīya; fifth, duṣkṛta. These only guard the two karmas of body and speech.) the ox carriage encompasses the three collections of precepts. (The three collections of body, speech, and mind.) Falling short from beginning to end, one sinks among dragons and ghosts; (Those who break the precepts mostly sink among dragons and ghosts.) keeping them whole from start to finish, one transcends to become human or deva. Their radiance is like the sun and moon; their beauty is like a necklace of jewels. Thus, with the binding of grass and the protection of the goose, (The binding of grass is as above. As for protecting the goose: in antiquity, a monk entered the royal palace and saw a goose swallow a pearl. Later, the king searched for the pearl and did not find it; suspecting the monk, he questioned him. Fearing that the goose would be killed, the monk said nothing. When the king was about to execute the monk, the monk still said nothing. Just then, the goose regurgitated the pearl. The king knew he was innocent and asked why he had not spoken. The monk said: “Had I spoken, I feared the goose would be killed.”) they chose death without double-mindedness; driving away the dragon and causing the wild goose to drop, their sincere dedication was consistent throughout. (For instance, there was a monk who manifested supernatural powers at the dragon’s dwelling to drive it away, yet failed; but when a precept-holder went there and snapped his fingers three times, the dragon immediately departed. The *Dazhidulun* says: There was a monk who upheld the precepts; when mealtime arrived, he thought of food, which moved the king of wild geese. Knowing this, the king of geese made a goose throw itself to the ground wishing to offer itself as food. When the monk realized this, he did not eat it.) Moreover, you and I are both in black robes: on our heads we wear no caps, and on our bodies we wear only coarse cloth.

6.4.2

The four seas are unified; there is neither prejudice nor rejection (["neither prejudice nor rejection" means] neither thickness nor thinness). Why merely select [monks] by the monastic age of the field of merit and satiate them with the offerings of burning incense burners? (A monk receives the full precepts only after reaching twenty years of age; having passed through summer and winter, this is called "summer-monastic age" [vassa].) If their deportment and standards are not controlled, how do the black-robed and white-robed differ? (Nowadays monks merely rely on seniority in monastic age to occupy the higher seats and receive offerings, yet totally fail to cultivate and regulate their dignified deportment.) Now, among the practices of the sages, none is superior to abstention and the precepts; among the minds of the sages, none is superior to compassion and frugality. If one does not observe abstention and the precepts, one slanders the practices of the sages; if one lacks compassion and frugality, one contravenes the minds of the sages. Slandering their practices and contravening their minds, the eight difficulties will be reached without having to take a step (the eight difficulties are: 1. hell, 2. hungry ghosts, 3. animals, 4. the northern continent, 5. the heaven of non-conception, 6. being born blind, deaf, and mute, 7. worldly wisdom and eloquence, 8. being born before or after a Buddha; these are all stations that obstruct the noble path); the five sufferings will arrive without waiting to be summoned. To this world, the next world, and the ghostly spirits of future lifetimes, they will create deep hatred and immense enmity (because slander in this lifetime causes the spiritual consciousness to sink and fall in future lifetimes, accumulating resentment and hatred). If one supposes that the Great Way is a matter of open-mindedness and that minor practices harm virtue, then what place remains for the bodhisattva precept scriptures? (If one cannot uphold the Hinayāna precepts, how could one uphold the bodhisattva precepts? The Hinayāna precepts originally flow forth from the Mahāyāna.) Therefore, to act thus is like wearing a tiger's pelt while having the body of a rat, or falsely assuming the form of a horse (for a monk to be unable to uphold the precepts and yet promote the Great while berating the Minor is truly like having the form of a dog or rat while falsely assuming the substance of a tiger or horse). Although they wish to borrow words to evade blame, in truth they only gloss over their offenses. The deviant teachings say: "Dhyāna is the learning of the mind. When the mind merges with spiritual transformation, it departs without walking; when about to halt, it instead speeds away. Its motion is like surging waves; its stillness is like the silence of an abyss. One should leave it to self-attainment and give free rein to it in wuwei. Why must one sit upright with a withered body, relying on the existent to seek the nonexistent? One who attains it is a person of a hundred years; one who does not attain it is also a person of a hundred years. Furthermore, sectarian paths arrogantly contend, and their doors and windows are overgrown and obscure (even if one realizes its principle, one still does not escape arising and ceasing; how much worse if one's traces surpass Vairocana—is that not arrogant contention? If form and mind are a chaotic blur, are they not overgrown and filthy?). If one seeks it in reality, who would awaken to it? It is not as good as rising and resting, reclining and leaning back, easing one's own body for a while; or letting bells, Sanskrit chanting, lecturing, and recitation thoroughly entertain one's mind. As for dhyāna, I have no use for it!" (This means an attitude that values lecturing and chanting and takes no delight in the flavor of dhyāna.) The critic says: How vague is its falsity! How far-reaching is its danger! (["Vague" means] superficial; ["far-reaching" means] distant. Once one listens to deviant teachings, their shallow and slandering falsity seems like far-reaching contemplation, yet it completely deviates from the profound and abstruse principles and interests, leading to extreme danger. When the principle is neglected, there is danger.) Having ascended and then tumbled, there is truly cause only for regret! What the five destinies cannot bind, and by which the three vehicles mount the carriage strap (a bridle binds a horse; a carriage strap is the rope for mounting a carriage; for one who realizes the principle of emptiness, the five destinies cannot constrain his body, and how could the three vehicles contain his rank? He transcends and emerges), stilling the clamorous dust on the thoroughfares and opening the profound mechanism of the spiritual gate (["thoroughfare" means] a great road; ["mechanism" means] a door-pivot)—none takes precedence over practitioners of dhyāna! Therefore, gentlemen who cultivate virtue and ward off evil have never failed to dwell like a corpse and feed like a nestling so as to arrive at wuwei (["ward off" means] to prevent; ["nestling" means] a young bird; for a gentleman who has forgotten the mind, his dwelling is without action like a corpse, and his eating is without contention like a nestling, placid and nothing more). If there are those who do not proceed by this way, then their words and thoughts will be tangled like hemp, their schemes will flow like a current, their bodies will be driven by their minds, their suffering will be exhausted only with their years, and in a state of confusion and staring blankly (["staring blankly" means] raising the eyes), bustling and faltering (a description of small steps), how could there be any peaceful leisure? (Those of today who claim [to practice] dhyāna are unable to remain quiescent; body and mind shift and turn following external objects, driven day and night. How could that be called peaceful leisure?) However, dhyāna is shared by internal and external [teachings], and its ranks differ between the lesser and the greater (dhyāna involves disliking the lower stages and aspiring to the higher stages, subduing afflictions so they do not arise; performing the six practices is an observation common to the internal teachings, external paths, Mahāyāna, and Hinayāna, and is not merely a single word or phrase). Each has depth or shallowness according to cultivation and realization (there are access concentrations and basic concentrations, principle and phenomena; the Mahāyāna and Hinayāna differ in depth). Just like the three animals—the elephant, the horse, and the hare—crossing the river, this was indeed sung by the former sages (the Hinayāna is compared to the hare, the middle vehicle to the horse, and the Mahāyāna to the elephant; their depths differ). In the past, during the Jin and Song dynasties, most of the Tripiṭaka masters who came from the west taught through the methods of dhyāna. Harmonious and solemn, they practiced them in silence, not using them to dazzle the world. For instance, the power of concentration of Zhu Daoyou was deep and far-reaching: as he chanted scriptures on a high cliff, a pack of tigers came before him to listen; when one tiger alone fell asleep, You struck its head with a ruyi sceptre to make it listen. Guṇavarman did not rise [from meditation] for many days; when disciples went to check on him, they saw a white lion standing against a pillar, and the open air was filled everywhere with blooming blue lotuses. Thus braving the rain, he was not soaked; treading in mud, he was not soiled. In the Wei, there was Bhadra, who transmitted mind-awakening to Huiguang. Guang lacked the power of concentration in his youth, but ended up as the State Chief Monk through his mastery of the Tripiṭaka texts (originally surnamed Yang, a native of Dingzhou. Bhadra saw him, found him extraordinary, and had him leave home; his intelligence was peerless, and at the time he was called the Sage Śrāmaṇera. In the Southern Qi he served as a monastic official, and later became State Chief Monk; he was very accomplished in literature, which circulated in the world). Only Sengchou attained Bhadra's Way: he parted tigers with his monk's staff and averted disasters with his kāṣāya robe (Dhyāna Master Chou was at Mount Wangwu, where he saw two tigers fighting; he parted them with his monk's staff, and each went its way. Lu Xiujing and others under the Northern Qi submitted a memorial requesting a contest of magic with the monks; they chanted spells causing the monks' robes, bowls, and other items to whirl and fly into the air. The State Chief Monk ordered Tanxian to face them. The opponents again chanted spells causing a large log to rise into the air; [Tanxian] then took Dhyāna Master Chou's patched robe and placed it on top; thereupon, though they cast spells and performed rites, they could not move it at all. The Emperor was greatly pleased). When Chou first entered concentration, he did not rise for nine days. Bhadra said: 'Since the Pamir Mountains, the pinnacle of dhyāna learning is you, and you alone!' At the end of the Eastern Wei, Bodhidharma set forth the teaching of the Four Practices, which comprehensively gathered the true profundities (the four practices are: 1. the practice of repaying grievances: when encountering affection or enmity, willingly accepting them, knowing this is the work of one's past with no resentment or enmity; 2. the practice of following conditions: feeling neither joy nor anger toward any circumstances; 3. the practice of seeking nothing: having no greedy seeking; 4. the practice of accordance with the Dharma).

6.4.3

This is the principle of inherent purity, perfect and luminous.) He transmitted the Dharma to Ke (the first patriarch, Huike). Ke encountered bandits who severed his arm, yet using the Dharma to govern his mind, he felt no pain or distress from the start. He often sighed over the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, saying: 'After four generations this sūtra will turn into names and characteristics; how deeply lamentable!' (Sengcan, Daoxin, Hongren, and Huineng are the four generations. After this, they mostly transmitted the mind through names and characteristics.) From Ke down to the Sixth Patriarch, it divided into North and South, each extolling its own strengths and discrediting the other's weaknesses, vying for spiritual merits. Yet if one wishes to discern their decline and flourishing, one should precisely examine their words and deeds. (From Hongren, Shenxiu became the Northern School and Huineng became the Southern School.) Common stones without jade have no luster; a deep abyss without a dragon lacks majesty. Those who possess the Way have minds that are open, broad, and far-reaching. Thus with the sounds of bells and drums: striking them in anger produces a martial sound; striking them in sorrow produces a sad sound; striking them in joy produces a joyful sound. As the mind's intent changes, the sound follows along. There has never been a worthy person who has attained the Way whose intent was wise yet whose speech was foolish. Formerly, I observed the Chan tradition of Jingzhong: lofty without arrogance, broad without sycophancy, never acting eccentrically to startle the common folk—truly one could call them gentlemen of vast and composed wisdom. (Preceptor Jin of Jingzhong Monastery in Shu was titled Chan Master Wuxiang. He was originally the third prince of the King of Silla. He was ordained at South Monastery in Wolsaeng County of his native country. In the sixteenth year of Kaiyuan, he arrived at the capital. Later he entered Shu, reaching Zizhong, where he called on Master Shen to study dhyāna. Entering Shu, he resided at Jingzhong. He transmitted the Dharma to his disciple Shenhui. There were also Nanyin Huiguang, and Monks An and Liang, all of whom took the Chan method as their school.) Thereupon I bowed at his feet to take him as master and requested to serve these teachings. But how could a learner, having not yet seen Ban or Chui, allow pillars and roof beams to buckle, (Ban and Chui were skilled craftsmen. Ying are pillars; meng are ridgepoles.) or, having not encountered He or Huan, give free rein to afflictions of the lungs and bowels? (He and Huan were both famous ancient physicians of Qin.) One need only engage in precise inner searching. If one merely takes external matters as the ford leading to self-entanglement, it is like turning one's carriage poles north to travel to Chu. (Yuan is the part of the carriage tied to the yoke. Chu is in the south. Learners of today cannot search with precision and illuminate thoroughly; merely seeking words and phrases, it turns out to become self-entanglement, like heading north when wishing to enter the south. In the end, one can never arrive.) The deviant teaching says: 'In Chan, none surpasses our master. His Chan is called Śūraṅgama (samādhi). From the Buddha it was transmitted to Mahākāśyapa, down to Bodhidharma, reaching our master, mind and mind transmitting to one another. Other lineages are no match for us.' (Tripiṭaka Master Pāramiti brought ten fascicles of the Foding jing, translating it together with Fang Rong in Guangzhou and presenting it to the Heavenly Empress. This was praised as the principle of the complete and sudden, all being masters of the Chan lineage.) The critic says: 'An auspicious man is sparing of words; boasting of merit is not rewarded. How much more so if it is not even merit, and one falsely boasts—how could such a person be auspicious? The transmission records only contain twenty-four persons. The four persons after Simha, such as Śāṇavāsa, are all crooked claims of other schools. (Recorded in the Baolin zhuan.) Moreover, the twenty-ninth was named Dharmatrāta, not Bodhidharma. Among those who transmitted the Dharma, sages and worthies were interspersed with śrāvakas. Figures such as Kāśyapa, though they turned their minds, still possessed only lesser wisdom. (Kāśyapa and Ānanda, though receiving predictions of buddhahood at Gṛdhrakūṭa, were still merely lesser sages.) How could they transmit the Buddha's mind-seal? Formerly, Śāṇavāsa told Upagupta: "The samādhis of the Buddha are unknown to pratyekabuddhas; the samādhis of pratyekabuddhas are unknown to śrāvakas; the samādhis of the great śrāvakas are unknown to the rest of the śrāvaka multitude; the samādhis of Ānanda are now unknown to me; and my present samādhis are also unknown to you. Such samādhis will all disappear with my nirvāṇa. Furthermore, there are seventy-seven thousand Jātakas, ten thousand Abhidharmas, and eighty thousand pure Vinayas, which will also disappear with my nirvāṇa." Therefore, transmitters of the Dharma merely transmit its words; recipients of the Dharma, embodying the words, perceive the mind, and that is to attain the Dharma. (Although called contemplative wisdom, they only transmitted words and phrases.) It is like the craft of wheelwrighting: transmitting the craft, but unable to transmit its marvel. (Duke Huan of Qi was reading a book in the hall. Wheelwright Pian was chiseling a wheel below the hall. Putting aside his mallet and chisel, he went up and asked Duke Huan: "May I ask what words my lord is reading?" The Duke said: "The words of the sages." The wheelwright said: "Are the sages alive?" The Duke said: "They are already dead." The wheelwright said: "Then what my lord is reading is merely the dregs of the ancients!" Duke Huan said: "When I read a book, how can a wheelwright discuss it? If you have an explanation, fine; if you have no explanation, you die." Wheelwright Pian said: "Speaking from my craft, looking at chiseling a wheel: if one is too slow, it slips and is not secure; if one is too swift, it catches and does not enter. Being neither too slow nor too swift, one gets it in the hand and responds to it in the mind, but the mouth cannot express it in words. There is a knack in it. In this matter, I cannot explain it to my son, nor can my son receive it from me. For this reason, walking on to the age of seventy, I am an old man chiseling wheels. The ancients and what they could not transmit are dead! Then what my lord is reading is indeed the dregs of the ancients.") Or like Master Xiang's zither: receiving the zither, but not getting its technique. (When Zhongni was in Wei, he studied the zither with Master Xiangzi. For ten days he did not advance. Master Xiangzi said: "You may advance." Confucius said: "I have mastered its melody, but not yet attained its technique." After a while, Xiangzi said: "You have mastered its technique, you may advance." Confucius said: "I have not yet attained its intent." After a while, Xiangzi said: "You have mastered its intent, you may advance." Confucius said: "I have not yet grasped the kind of person who composed it." After a while, having practiced solemnly and thoughtfully, suddenly he gazed high with delight and far-reaching intent, saying: "I have grasped his person: dark and silent, tall and prominent, his eyes gazing far as if ruling over the four quarters—who else could this be but King Wen?" Master Xiangzi left his mat and bowed, saying: "My master indeed said this is the Air of King Wen.") Therefore, some practice for a long time without success, while others realize upon giving rise to the mind. Some of low status attain it alone, while those of brilliant talent fail to awaken. What is prized lies in unspoken accord, not necessarily in face-to-face transmission. Now, since all the gates are Chan, how do we know that the Buddha's Chan belongs solely to one school?' (Just as what former virtuous elders transmitted each had their own lineage masters.) The deviant teaching says: 'When Bodhidharma was about to transmit the Dharma, he sent two disciples to the Han land. They were driven out by the Qin people to Mount Lu (referring to Bhadra). Consequently, together with Master Yuan, they produced the Chan yao jing. When Bodhidharma heard of this, he sighed with deep indignation.'

6.4.4

He therefore came forth from the Western land, crossed the sea to Liang, but the people of Liang did not place much faith [in him]. Looking north, he saw an atmosphere of the Great Vehicle, and thereupon went to Wei. (What is narrated here from the Baolin zhuan differs from the Gaoseng zhuan.) The critic says: The words lack accuracy, citing distortions to obscure the straight—how can this be called wisdom? Yet through the patriarchal masters' gate, the world returns to benevolence. The dhyāna virtue is of itself lofty; does it really await the transmission of the Dharma before first becoming an ancestral teaching? Furthermore, some have examined the chronological order: Bhikṣu Simha already corresponded to the Qi dynasty, while Bodhidharma, being the twenty-ninth, turns out to fall under the Jin dynasty. How could they blunder so regarding the dates? (Bodhidharma's disciples were expelled during the Jin period. From Hongshi of the Qin to the end of the Song was eighty years. Moreover, the Southern Qi lasted twenty-four years, separating them by over a century. How could the twenty-ninth patriarch precede the twenty-fourth patriarch by a hundred and twenty years?) There has also been a tradition of Lu Ban's stūpas (Lu Ban lived during the post-Spring and Autumn period, whereas stūpas only appeared from the Jin and Song dynasties onward) and the Right General's Prajñā (popular tradition claims the Jin Right General Wang Xizhi personally wrote out the Heart Sūtra, completely unaware that the Heart Sūtra was translated in the Zhenguan reign of the Tang dynasty by Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang). Had they previously known that Ban was in the Spring and Autumn period and Wang lived under Emperor Mu of the Jin, they would not have spoken thus. The deviant voice says: Bodhidharma was poisoned six times in secret by Bodhiruci and Guangtong in his food. Five times he vomited it out; by the sixth time, he did not vomit it out and passed away. Furthermore, he said to his disciples, 'When our lineage reaches the sixth generation, its life will be as if suspended by a thread.' From this we know that even the loftiest mountain will be collapsed by rotten soil, and the sturdiest tall tree will be hollowed out by wood-boring grubs. Therefore, it caused our ancestral master not to live long, suffering harm and ultimately grieving for our descendants. (Bodhiruci is translated here as Juexi. A man of North India, he was completely versed in the Tripiṭaka and exquisitely entered dhāraṇī. With his resolve set on broad propagation, he circulated his teachings widely. In the first year of the Yongping reign of Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei, a yichou year, he reached Luoyang and translated thirty-nine works of sūtras and treatises in 127 fascicles. His brush-recorded drafts filled an entire room. He also mastered various esoteric arts; he once sat by the mouth of a well, suspended a wash-basin in empty space, or chanted a spell over the well causing water to surge up, scooping it out for use. Vinaya Master Guangtong was an outstanding hero of his generation; moreover, holding the reins of the saṃgha, how could he act in such a manner? The Baolin zhuan contains an extreme number of errors; later scholars ought to examine it more carefully.) The critic says: When depraved men encroach upon the upright, the upright in the end turns into the depraved; when delusional men speak of the true, the true on the contrary becomes delusion. How distressing that within our own circle, Buddhist factions slaughter one another over fame and profit, even reaching such an extreme! Their intention was that lofty virtue is envied by others, and they used this deeply to display themselves, (meaning that Bodhidharma's lofty virtue was envied by Bodhiruci and others,) but they failed to realize that the harm to themselves was likewise extreme. Long ago, when the Northern Wei and Northern Zhou proscribed the Dharma, their edicts availed themselves of Master Gu's Treatise on the Three Destructions and the like (Master Gu Huan) to falsely accuse the Buddhists of evils; compared to this, it was actually not worse. The Book of Odes says: 'When people lack goodness, they blame one another in the region.' Does it not mean this? A fine general executed through slandering mouths truly gladdens the heart of the enemy; (like Bai Qi dying at Duiyou and the like;) a person of lofty virtue tarnished by slanderers truly aids the contempt of external factions (aiding the slanders of external schools). Those who listen to slander without covering their ears are also of the sort that encourage slander. The men of the Dao of old were calm and boundless, and all beauties followed them; therefore fierce tigers did not seize them, and birds of prey did not claw them (zhi means to strike; jue means to seize; it means not displaying power to show courage). How much more so for men! If he met with poison six times and ate it knowingly, why would he seek his own death? If he ate it unknowingly, who could call him possessed of the Dao? (How could he be called a sage?) As for Lingyang and Wucheng, we have never heard that they fell victim to poisoned wine; (Lingyang and Wucheng were both men of the Dao of old; they were still not harmed by poison;) could it be that only the Gate of Emptiness has such things? Therefore, one who is skilled in practicing the Dao does not cause others to love him—he makes people cut off even their love, so how much less would he cause others to harm him! Those masters Bodhiruci and Guangtong both widely disseminated virtuous transformations; they were the utmost hopes of humans and devas, encouraging the worthy and aiding the good, jointly raising the wind of teaching. In Master Guang's gate, there were ten men of virtuous conduct. (Among Huiguang's disciples, there were diverse renowned figures.) How dare these sycophants now slander and denigrate them! (Confucius said: 'This is why I despise the sycophants.') If they were cast to jackals and tigers, who could say the punishment was excessive? Moreover, 'in hearing litigations, I am like anyone else'; if when examining oneself to be benevolent one cannot be resolute, how can an evil man's becoming benevolent ever be resolute? (The benevolent fundamentally takes bravery and decisiveness as righteousness. Now evil men produce writings of slander against good people; if one cannot examine and decide right and wrong, but believes them, how could benevolence in such a case have the function of bravery?) Therefore, the noble person inwardly pardons himself to measure others. (The way of the noble person is nothing but loyalty and reciprocity; measuring others by oneself is called loyalty and reciprocity.) In antiquity, when the lords of Yu and Rui disputed over fields, they were still ashamed before the Western Earl. (The two states of Yu and Rui litigated over fields without resolution year after year. They then said to each other, 'The Western Earl is benevolent; why not go and have him judge?' Entering his borders, they saw farmers yielding the boundaries of their fields, travelers yielding the road, and court ministers yielding their seats. They said, 'We petty people cannot enter the court of a noble person!' Thereupon they ceded the land to be fallow. Confucius said, 'King Wen may be called of utmost virtue; people followed him without instruction.') Chu Ni, though an assassin, still respected the Jin minister. (Chu Ni was a knight-errant. Receiving the order of the Duke of Jin to assassinate Zhao Dun, he found Zhao Dun about to attend court early, fully robed and dozing. Seeing this, Ni said, 'He is the master of the people. To assassinate the master of the people is disloyal; to fail the lord's command is untrustworthy.' Thereupon he dashed his head against a pagoda tree and died.) Yet the ancestral master of Chan died of a plot! This surely cannot count as virtue. (Supposing it were a deceitful lie that Bodhidharma died at the hands of Bodhiruci, how could he be one of virtue?) Furthermore, it is said that Great Master Ke did not die under the withered tree by the order of the magistrate of Cheng'an, but rather died of poisoning by Chan Master He. This disparages Ancestor Ke even more! (Monk Ke, also named Huike, of the Ji clan, was a man of Hulao. Versed in Chan learning, he took Bodhidharma as his master. When assaulted by bandits who hacked off his arm, he controlled his mind with the Dharma and felt no pain, begging for food as before. Master Hua and Chan Master He were both renowned and virtuous men of their time. Some say that Master He poisoned him with drugs; this is a profound slander against Ke.) Those who love to prevail will inevitably strengthen their enemies.

6.4.5

Could the ancestral master have been someone fond of prevailing? (Qin means strong. Those fond of prevailing contend with rivals over strength and weakness, and thus there are matters of love and hate turning into enmity. The ancestral master dissolved his deliberate thoughts and reduced his mind to cold ashes, contending with nothing. How could he have harboured love and hate to bring on such harm? It is truly the mistake of the biographers.) Formerly, Ji Xingzi trained fighting cocks and could make one forget its mental vigour so that its bearing was like a wooden cock; when the flock of cocks saw it, none dared harbour the will to fight. How could a possessor of the Way be inferior to a fowl? (Ji Xingzi trained a fighting cock for the king. After ten days the king asked, 'Is the cock ready?' He replied, 'Not yet. It is still vainly arrogant and relies on its bluster.' After another ten days the king asked again. He replied, 'Not yet. It still responds to sounds and shadows.' After another ten days the king asked again. He replied, 'Not yet. It still glares fiercely and its bluster surges.' After another ten days he asked again. He replied, 'It is close. Though other cocks crow, it undergoes no change. Looking at it, it is like a wooden cock. Its virtue is complete. No strange cock dares challenge it; they all turn and flee.' When a fowl possesses the Way, the flock of fowl merely gaze upon it and flee; how much more so with the ancestral master—could anyone dare harm him?) Therefore, when a blowing roof-tile strikes a person, they hold no grudge; when an empty boat bumps into someone, they feel no anger. Why is that? Because of being without mind. And how could Patriarch [Hui]ke have had a mind? (Since Ke had no mind, he ought not to have been harmed.) Formerly, when Bao Qian of Qi had his feet amputated, Confucius said, 'Bao Zhuangzi’s wisdom is not equal to that of a mallow plant; a mallow plant can still protect its own roots.' (Qing Ke of Qi had illicit relations with Sheng Mengzi. She donned mourning garb and entered the palace. Bao Qian saw this and informed Guo Wuzi. Wuzi summoned Qing Ke and rebuked him. Qing Ke and the lady were enraged […]. Duke Ling of Qi attacked Zheng, and Bao Qian guarded the capital. The lady slandered him, saying, 'He intends not to admit the ruler and to set up Prince Jiao.' The ruler then amputated his feet. Confucius said, 'Bao Zhuangzi's wisdom is not equal to that of a mallow plant.' How could being harmed now be deemed having wisdom?) Fotudeng’s relation to Shi Le was like casting a stone into water. Once, Shi Le sought Deng intending to harm him, but Deng did not allow him to find him; this was because a sage does not wish to entrap people in crime. (If he had let himself be harmed, the other would surely have sunk into hell.) Although Deva had his belly slit—(Bodhisattva Deva composed the Hundred-Verse Treatise to refute non-Buddhists. Later, while his disciples were away, a non-Buddhist slit open his belly. The bodhisattva handed his robe and bowl to the non-Buddhist and instructed him to flee swiftly, saying, 'Before my disciples attain the tolerance of the Dharma, they might kill you.' Afterwards, when they pursued him, they indeed could not overtake him)—and Simha had his neck severed—(The twenty-fourth patriarch, the monk Simha, had his head cut off by the King of Kaśmīra, and his arm fell off)—these occurred because external tribulations were not yet pacified and their inner minds were as severe as a whetstone; or because transforming others in compliance was insufficient, so they transformed them by opposition; or because transforming them in life was insufficient, so they transformed them in death. All surrendered their lives without complaint, not attributing blame to the virtuous. (How could they groundlessly assign blame to the virtuous contrary to reason?) Observing the Sixth Patriarch receiving the robe of trust, it was as if treading on a tiger's tail and fearing its bite, or cherishing a jade disk and fearing destruction. (Uncle Yu said, 'The Zhou proverb says: An ordinary man is guiltless, but treasuring a jade disk is his crime. Why should I keep this and invite harm?') Panicking along the roads and holding his breath in the grassy marshes—now one suspects the biographer made an error. (The Baolin zhuan says: The Fifth Patriarch conferred the robe of trust, secretly giving it to the postulant Huineng. […] He fled, taking side paths and resting in the wilds, until he reached the South Sea, where he met Dharma Master Yinzong, who only then shaved his head.) He who attains the Way loses his self; he who loses his self also loses the myriad things. What relevance does the robe have that one should safeguard it for oneself? (The Way inherently arises from the mind; how could it depend on a robe?) If the mantle aids the Way, one certainly does not contend for it; if it does not aid the Way, it is truly of no use. (If a person has seen the Way, what need have they of a mantle? If they have not attained the Way, what use is obtaining the robe?) Scouring gold and wood to hunt and pursue—what business is this? Heterodox accounts say: 'The origin of sin and blessing is only the mind. When mind is extinguished into non-action (wuwei), the Way abides without affairs. Neither worshipping nor reciting is true non-action. Neither aspiring to precepts nor guarding against sin is true freedom from characteristics. Having preaching, having conduct, and having conceptual knowledge in mind belongs to the Dharma of the Śrāvakas.' (Lecturing, expounding, reading, and reciting are called by Chan masters the Dharma of the Śrāvakas, all belonging to the conditioned.) 'Therefore, only by removing images and discarding the scriptural Dharma does one merit being called the Sudden Gate. If there is anything to preach, let it come from one's own breast; settling matters as one faces the text, what need is there to rely on chapters, sentences, commentaries, or treatises?' (These refer to the contemporary practice of encounters, question-and-answer exchanges, and lineage sayings.) Critics say: How extreme this 'suddenness' is! Although its formulations resemble the words of sages, they are far from the Way of sages. (Ji means close. Although their words and phrases resemble the words of sages, the Way they practice is not close to the Way of sages.) Those who share their knowledge are regarded as fellow-travelers in delusion; those who differ from them are conversely accused of being deluded about their teachings. (Ruo means 'you'. Those who agree with you are deluded together with you; if someone differs from you, they are said to be deluded regarding your Way.) The aged lament it, while the young and naive believe it; how can this be tolerated? (Qidie means the elderly. Mengru means the young. The venerable lament it, while the foolish youth accept it on faith, which is why it holds weight in the world.) Now, non-action (wuwei) is empty, fusing, tranquil, and serene; there is no good it does not perform. (Free from obstruction is called empty; penetrating illumination is called fusing; transcending turmoil is called tranquil; undisturbed is called serene.) If one considers worshipping, reciting, copying, or carving to be obstacles, then one perceives conditioned phenomena and is not [dwelling in] non-action. (If one thinks that worshipping and praising, or painting and carving Buddha images, obstructs non-action, then this itself is conditioned. Seeing such characteristics is conditioned; it is not non-action.) Freedom from characteristics means clearly penetrating form and mind so that no characteristic is graspable; gaining without gain, shedding attachment is called freedom. (If one forms no grasping attachment toward observed characteristics, this is the accomplishment of the Way of freedom from characteristics.) If one takes the non-reception of precepts and the abandonment of maintaining and guarding them to be freedom from characteristics, then one is resolutely grasping at characteristics—how could this be freedom from characteristics? (If one must eliminate receiving precepts and terminate guarding them in order to call it freedom from characteristics, then on the contrary one is clinging to the characteristic of elimination.) The Dharma of the Śrāvakas is to receive the Buddha's voice and teachings, loathe suffering, delight in cessation, cultivate isolated wisdom with solitary excellence, (Isolated wisdom refers to using single-emptiness wisdom to sever the defilement-hindrance and realize the […] principle of emptiness)—having no goodness that extends to others (they solely cultivate self-benefit)—and does not mean that reciting aloud is called the Dharma of the Śrāvakas. (Later admirers fail to understand the meaning of Śrāvaka.) The Sudden Gate does not rely on the gradual path of the Two Vehicles.

6.4.6

Driving straight on the road of non-arising, practicing universal transformation, and promoting vast endeavors—this is what is called sudden (this refers to the sudden enlightenment of the Mahāyāna, not proceeding by the middle and lesser paths). It is not sitting rigidly, cutting off illumination, and disparaging the myriad good deeds that constitutes the gate of suddenness (how can remaining silent and practicing nothing, not undertaking a single bodhi-deed, be called the sudden gate? How would that differ from Uttarakuru or the Heaven of Non-conception?). As for the teachings of the sages, capacities and conditions are not uniform, and responses to circumstances have ten thousand variations: sometimes the words flow easily while the principle is straightforward; sometimes they begin with the expedient and conclude with the real (thus, as the sūtras adapt teachings to suit faculties, they have sudden and gradual, expedient and real, partial and complete; how could one understand them without study?). Furthermore, in glosses, phonology, and differentiating Sanskrit and Chinese, 'fish' and 'Lu', one must receive transmission from a master (studying without relying on a teacher leads to ignorance and narrow understanding) and achieve proficiency through consultation and reading. How could someone who does not even recognize written characters simply speak without thinking, reply without reflection, and wildly delve into the empty and profound? The vulgar crowd then calls it profound, or praises them for their talent and vigor, causing their disciples to flatter themselves (thereby using provisions and meals to lure people in, and thus leading them to praise each other). If one claims that through the knowledge gained from their meditative power they can expound the Buddhist scriptures, why not test them with non-Buddhist classics to observe what they produce, so that their crookedness or straightness will be naturally manifest? (If it is said that they are aided by meditative power and know without studying, then one can try questioning them with Ruist classics, and one will know whether they can or not). Moreover, claiming to be a Ruist without practicing what has been transmitted is likewise what worthy Ruists deplore (failing to practice what has been transmitted was deplored by Zengzi). Someone may say: 'Cultivating good deeds and initiating practices only increases delusion, like exposing oneself to the sun to dispel shadows, or adding firewood to cool a boiling pot. Truly, devoting oneself to this path—how could it be the path of cessation?' (If it is said that one should only regard setting up goodness and benefits as the gate of practice without needing scriptural teachings, that is also incorrect. The teachings show the path to enter goodness; without studying, how could one know it? Now, wishing to practice goodness while discarding the scriptural teachings is just like keeping to the sun while wishing to remove shadows, or stopping a pot from boiling while adding firewood; thus one knows it is impossible). I say: They probably do not know that managing affairs and maintaining a pure livelihood can use sound to stop sound (now using the scriptures to guide them back so they recognize formlessness is just like striking a ghaṇṭī in official affairs to quiet the clamor of the crowd); in the house of a skilled physician, poison is used to counteract poison (thus the scriptures are also called ghee and also called poison; just like monkshood and wolfsbane are originally poisons, yet a skilled physician has them taken and they can cure poisons). A dissenting narrative says: In the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang (the son of Emperor Suzong of the Tang, named Yu, who changed the reign era to Baoying), there was a great Chan practitioner who treated rites and music like chaff and trampled on the powerful and noble (tai means to tread; jie means to lay out; it is like saying trampling underfoot). He regarded the golden gate of the palace as a thatched hut, and the imperial residence as an ant-hill. Thus, facing the Sovereign, his expression was arrogant, and his words were confrontational (jie means straightforward and without courtesy). With a daring mind and spirited energy, as if he cared nothing for life or death, can he be called truly possessing the Way? The critic says: This is called possessing boldness, not possessing the Way. In all cases of unrighteous boldness, one should seek the Way to diminish it; if it cannot be diminished, then his 'Way' can be readily known (loving boldness without loving learning leads to disorder; being bold without courtesy leads to chaos). There was once the son of an uncultivated man who praised his father for having muscular strength and an aggressive tongue, which insulted his ancestors, and took it to be a virtue; the local bullies feared him, and the neighborhood avoided him; the more he vaunted it, the more his faults became apparent. Now, one who is called possessing the Way is gentle in countenance and refined in speech, mild in demeanor and lofty in mind. Even when wishing to reform someone's evil (chuan means to reform), he gently admonishes and guides them. Therefore, to those who understand me, I reveal what is known; to those who do not understand me, I reveal not knowing (when the state has the Way, one acts; when the state lacks the Way, one rolls up and conceals it; also, when employed, one acts; when dismissed, one hides). One does not delight in others not knowing oneself, nor does one feel resentment over others not knowing oneself (not feeling resentment when others do not know you). Anciently, when the Great Sage traveled through various states, he subdued the intoxicated elephant Dhanapāla (Devadatta ordered King Ajātaśatru to release the intoxicated elephant Dhanapāla to harm the Tathāgata; from the tips of his five fingers, the Tathāgata manifested five lions, and the intoxicated elephant knelt in submission), and he tamed the spirits and ghosts of the wilderness (furthermore, the wilderness ghost constantly devoured human children; one day he seized a child who chanted 'Homage to the Buddha', and the ghost could not eat him; the Buddha manifested a mountain of fire encircling him on all four sides; the ghost exhausted all his strength but could not escape, so he converted his mind to the Buddha and vowed never to eat humans again). Yet he never insulted King Prasenajit at court or confronted King Ajātaśatru to his face (whenever kings arrived at the Buddha's assembly, the Buddha would always first say, 'Welcome, Great King', making inquiries with soft words like this). Though his virtue was revered and his spiritual transformations divine, he did not violate the etiquette due to a ruler of a state. When Zhongni went to Wei, Duke Ling of Wei spoke with him; seeing wild geese flying past, the Duke looked up at them, and his attention was no longer on Confucius. Confucius departed merely to avoid the ruler of Wei's lack of sincerity toward him; he did not use loose words to vent his feelings. When there was a state like that of the First Emperor of Qin, a mind like that of the First Emperor of Qin, and power like that of the First Emperor of Qin, looking upon the world like a tiger, in a single morning, Tang Ju grasped his sword and restored the lands of Yan and Ying (Yan and Ying is an error; it was Yanling, namely Yanling County in Yingchuan. The First Emperor of Qin conquered Wei, and later offered to exchange a thousand li of land for the fifty li of the Lord of Yanling. The Lord of Yanling sent Tang Ju as an envoy to the First Emperor. The First Emperor said, 'I offer to exchange it for ten times the territory, yet you oppose me—why?' Ju replied, 'I do not dare to do this; the Lord of Yanling received it from his former lord and guards it, and would not exchange it even for a thousand li.' The First Emperor flew into a rage and said, 'Have you heard of the anger of the Son of Heaven? A million corpses lie dead, blood flowing for a thousand li.' Ju said, 'Has Your Majesty heard of the anger of a commoner? Two corpses lie dead, blood flowing five paces; today the whole empire will wear white mourning.' He grasped his sword and rose. The First Emperor changed color and apologized to him, saying: 'How has the master gone to such an extreme? I understand now'). Lin Xiangru glared at the pillar and returned the jade disc to Handan; none could match his boldness (the state of Zhao had Bian He's jade disc; Qin wanted to exchange fifteen cities for it. Zhao sent Lin Xiangru to present the disc; King Zhaoxiang of Qin obtained the disc but did not cede the territory. Xiangru pretended that it had a flaw, took it back and pointed it out, and then leaned against a pillar refusing to return it, requesting that territory be ceded and that he fast for five days before receiving the disc: 'If Your Majesty presses me...')

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北山錄 — Classical Chinese