北山錄 6.4.6

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...')