Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Fifteen

台州瑞巖子鴻禪師

Chan Master Zihong of Ruiyan in Taizhou

本郡吳氏子。僧問。如何是道。師曰。開眼覷不見。問。法爾不爾。如何指南。師曰。話墮也。曰。乞師指示。師呵呵大笑。上堂。一不守。二不向。上下四維無等量。大洋海裡汎鐵船。須彌頂上翻鯨浪。臨濟縮卻舌頭。德山閣卻拄杖。千古萬古獨巍巍。留與人間作榜樣。

He was a son of the Wu family of the prefecture. A monk asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'Open your eyes and you do not see it.' He asked, 'It is thus and not thus — how do you point the way?' The Master said, 'The words have fallen.' He said, 'I beg the Master for instruction.' The Master laughed heartily. Ascending the hall: 'One, not guarding; two, not turning toward. Above and below and the four quarters there is no measure. In the great ocean an iron boat floats; on the summit of Sumeru the whale spouts waves. Linji draws back his tongue and Deshan sets aside his staff. Through a thousand ages and ten thousand ages it stands alone in majesty, left for the human world as a model.'

廬山棲賢智遷禪師

Chan Master Zhiqian of Qixian in Mount Lu

僧問。一問一答。盡是建化門庭。未審向上更有事也無。師曰。有。曰。如何是向上事。師曰。雲從龍。風從虎。曰。恁麼則龍得水時添意氣。虎逢山則長威獰。師曰。興雲致雨又作麼生。僧便喝。師曰。莫更有在。僧擬議。師咄曰。念話杜家。問。如何是本來心。師曰。拆東籬。補西壁。曰。恁麼則今日齋宴。師曰。退後著。上堂。聞佛法二字。早是汙我耳目。諸人未跨法堂門。腳跟下好與三十棒。雖然如是。山僧今日也是為眾竭力。珍重。上堂。是甚麼物。得恁頑頑嚚嚚。𥈅𥈅睍睍。拊掌呵呵大笑曰。今朝巴鼻。直是黃面瞿曇通身是口。也分疎不下。久立。

A monk asked, 'One question and one answer are all the gate of building and transforming. I wonder whether above there is still a matter or not.' The Master said, 'There is.' He said, 'What is the matter above?' The Master said, 'Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger.' He said, 'If so, then when the dragon gets water it adds spirit, and when the tiger meets the mountain it grows fierce.' The Master said, 'And how do you raise clouds and bring rain?' The monk then shouted. The Master said, 'Is there still more?' As the monk began to deliberate, the Master said, 'Ho! A reciter of phrases, the Du family.' He asked, 'What is the original mind?' The Master said, 'Tear down the east fence to patch the west wall.' He said, 'If so, then today's feast.' The Master said, 'Step back.' Ascending the hall: 'Hearing the two words "Buddha Dharma" has already soiled my ears and eyes. You people have not yet crossed the gate of the Dharma hall, and beneath your heels you deserve thirty blows. Yet though it is so, this mountain monk today has also done his utmost for the assembly. Take care.' Ascending the hall: 'What is this thing, that it is so stubborn and stupid, so glaring and squinting?' He clapped his hands and laughed heartily, saying, 'Today's nose — even if the yellow-faced Gautama were all mouth, he could not sort it out. Stand long.'

越州淨眾梵言首座

Head Seat Fanyan of Jingzhong in Yuezhou

示眾。南陽國師道說法有所得。斯則野幹鳴。說法無所得。是名師子吼。師曰。國師恁麼道。大似掩耳偷鈴。何故。說有說無。盡是野幹鳴。諸人要識師子吼麼。咄。

He addressed the assembly: 'National Master Nanyang said: to speak the Dharma with something attained is the cry of a wild jackal; to speak the Dharma with nothing attained is called the lion's roar.' The Master said, 'When the National Master speaks like this, it is much like covering the ears to steal a bell. Why? To speak of having and to speak of not having are both the cry of a wild jackal. Do you people want to know the lion's roar? Ho!'

舒州山谷三祖沖會圓智禪師

Chan Master Chonghui Yuanzhi of the Third Ancestor in Shangu, Shuzhou

臨安府人也。初開堂日。僧問。如何是第一義諦。師曰。百雜碎。曰。恁麼則褒禪一會。不異靈山。師曰。將糞箕掃帚來。問。師登寶座。壁立千仞。正令當行。十方坐斷。未審將何為人。師曰。千鈞之弩。曰。大眾承恩。師曰。量才補職。問。理雖頓悟。事假漸除。除即不問。如何是頓悟底道理。師曰。言中有響。曰。便恁麼又且如何。師曰。金毛師子。問。生也猶如著衫。死也還同脫袴。未審意旨如何。師曰。譬如閑。曰。為甚麼如此。師曰。因行不妨掉臂。問。如何是天堂。師曰。太遠在。曰。如何是地獄。師曰。放你不得。曰。天堂地獄。相去多少。師曰。七零八落。問。白雲綻處。樓閣門開。善財為甚麼從外而入。師曰。開眼即瞎。曰。未審落在甚麼處。師曰。填溝塞壑。問。如何是不動尊。師曰。寸步千里。

He was a man of Lin'an Prefecture. On the day he first opened the hall, a monk asked, 'What is the truth of the first principle?' The Master said, 'A hundred smashed bits.' He said, 'If so, then the assembly at Baoch'an is no different from Vulture Peak.' The Master said, 'Bring the dung basket and broom.' He asked, 'The Master has ascended the precious seat and stands like a wall a thousand fathoms high; the correct decree is being carried out and the ten directions are cut off. I wonder by what he will work for others?' The Master said, 'A crossbow of a thousand catties.' He said, 'The great assembly receives the grace.' The Master said, 'Measure ability to assign office.' He asked, 'Though the principle is suddenly awakened to, the matter is gradually removed. I do not ask about the removal — what is the principle of sudden awakening?' The Master said, 'There is an echo in the words.' He said, 'And just like that, then what?' The Master said, 'A golden-haired lion.' He asked, 'Living is like putting on a shirt, and dying is like taking off trousers — I wonder what it means?' The Master said, 'As if idle.' He said, 'Why is it so?' The Master said, 'Because one is going, one may as well swing the arms.' He asked, 'What is heaven?' The Master said, 'Too far.' He said, 'What is hell?' The Master said, 'I cannot let you off.' He said, 'How far apart are heaven and hell?' The Master said, 'Seven pieces and eight scattered.' He asked, 'Where the white clouds part and the tower gate opens, why did Sudhana enter from outside?' The Master said, 'Open your eyes and you are blind.' He said, 'I wonder where it falls?' The Master said, 'Filling the ditches and stopping the ravines.' He asked, 'What is the Immovable Honored One?' The Master said, 'An inch of step, a thousand li.'

泉州資壽院捷禪師

Chan Master Jie of Zishou Monastery in Quanzhou

僧問。如何是佛法大意。師曰。鐵牛生石卵。曰。如何是接人句。師曰。三門前合掌。曰。如何是大用句。師曰。腦門著地。曰。如何是無事句。師曰。橫眠大道。曰。如何是奇特句。師曰。的。

A monk asked, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The Master said, 'An iron ox bears a stone egg.' He said, 'What is the phrase that receives people?' The Master said, 'Palms joined before the three gates.' He said, 'What is the phrase of great function?' The Master said, 'The forehead touches the ground.' He said, 'What is the phrase of nothing to do?' The Master said, 'Sleeping across the great road.' He said, 'What is the extraordinary phrase?' The Master said, 'Exact.'

洪州觀音啟禪師

Chan Master Qi of Guanyin in Hongzhou

僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。松長栢短。曰。意旨如何。師曰。葉落歸根。

A monk asked, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'The pine is long and the cypress is short.' He said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'The leaves fall and return to the root.'

越州天章元善禪師

Chan Master Yuanshan of Tianzhang in Yuezhou

僧問。大無外。小無內。既無內外。畢竟是甚麼物。師曰。開口見膽。曰。學人未曉。師曰。苦中苦。曰。為眾竭力。禍出私門。師打曰。教休不肯休。須待雨淋頭。問。如何是最初句。師曰。末後問將來。曰。為甚如此。師曰。先行不到。曰。入水見長人也。師曰。秦皇擊缶。上堂。君問西來意。馬師踏水潦。若認一毛頭。何曾知起倒。劫火才洞然。愚夫覓乾草。寧知明眼人。為君長懊惱。

A monk asked, 'The great has no outside and the small has no inside; since there is no inside or outside, what thing is it after all?' The Master said, 'Open your mouth and your guts show.' He said, 'The student does not understand.' The Master said, 'Bitter within bitter.' He said, 'Doing his utmost for the assembly, disaster comes out of his own gate.' The Master beat him and said, 'Told to stop he will not stop; he must wait for the rain to soak his head.' He asked, 'What is the very first phrase?' The Master said, 'Ask it at the last.' He said, 'Why is it so?' The Master said, 'Going first, one does not arrive.' He said, 'Entering the water, one sees a tall man.' The Master said, 'The First Emperor strikes the tile.' Ascending the hall: 'If you ask about the meaning of the coming from the West: Mazu treads the puddle?' If you recognize a single hair, how have you ever known rise and fall? Only when the kalpa fire blazes does the fool look for dry grass. How would he know that the clear-eyed man grieves long for you?'

真州長蘆體明圓鑑禪師

Chan Master Timing Yuanjian of Changlu in Zhenzhou

上堂。顧視左邊曰。師子之狀。豈免嚬呻。顧右邊曰。象王之儀。寧忘回顧。取此逃彼。上士奚堪。識變知機。野狐窠窟。到這裡須知有凡聖不歷處。古今不到處。且道是甚麼人行履。良久曰。丈夫自有沖天志。莫向如來行處來。

Ascending the hall, he looked to the left and said, 'The lion's bearing — how can it avoid frowning and groaning?' He looked to the right and said, 'The elephant king's demeanor — how could it forget to turn its head? To take this and flee that, how can a superior man bear it? To know change and understand the mechanism is a wild fox's den. When you get here, you must know there is a place where sage and commoner do not pass, where ancient and present do not reach. Tell me, whose walking is that?' After a long while he said, 'A great man has his own heaven-piercing ambition; do not come by the Tathagata's road.'

汀州開元智孜禪師

Chan Master Zhizi of Kaiyuan in Tingzhou

上堂。衲僧家向針眼裡藏身稍寬。大海中走馬甚窄。將軍不上便橋。勇士徒勞掛甲。晝行三千。夜行八百即不問。不動步一句作麼生道。若也道得。觀音．勢至．文殊．普賢祇在目前。若道不得。直須撩起布裙。緊峭草鞋。參。上堂。寒空落落。大地漫漫。雲生洞口。水出高原。若也把定。則十方世界恍然。若也放行。則東西南北坦然。茫茫宇宙人無數。一箇箇鼻孔遼天。且問諸人把定即是。放行即是。還有人斷得麼。若無人斷得。三門外有兩箇大漢。一箇張眉握劒。一箇努目揮拳。參。

Ascending the hall: 'For a patch-robed monk, hiding the body in the eye of a needle is rather roomy, and riding a horse in the great sea is very narrow. The general does not cross the plank bridge, and the brave man wears his armor in vain. Three thousand by day' and eight hundred by night I do not ask — how will you speak the phrase of not moving a step? If you can speak it, Guanyin, Dashizhi, Manjushri and Samantabhadra are right before your eyes. If you cannot, you must tuck up your cloth skirt and tighten your straw sandals. Study.' Ascending the hall: 'The cold sky is vast and still, the great earth is boundless; clouds rise at the cave mouth, water comes from the high plain. If you hold fast, the ten directions are dim; if you let go, east, west, south and north are level. Vast and boundless the universe holds countless people, and every one of them has nostrils reaching to the sky.' And I ask you people: is holding fast it, 'or is letting go it?' Is there anyone who can decide it? If no one can decide it, there are two big fellows outside the three gates: one with brows stretched and sword in hand, one with glaring eyes and brandished fist. Study.

平江府澄照慧慈禪師

Chan Master Huici of Chengzhao in Pingjiang Prefecture

僧問。瞭然無所得。為甚麼天高地闊。師曰。窄。上堂。若論此事。眨上眉毛。早是蹉過。那堪進步向前。更要山僧說破。而今說破了也。還會麼。昨日雨。今日晴。

A monk asked, 'Clearly there is nothing to be attained, so why are the sky high and the earth broad?' The Master said, 'Narrow.' Ascending the hall: 'If we speak of this matter, blinking the brows has already let it slip by — how much less advancing a step forward. And you would have this mountain monk speak it out. Now I have spoken it out — do you understand? Yesterday rain, today clear.'

臨安府法雨慧源禪師

Chan Master Huiyuan of Fayu in Lin'an Prefecture

僧曰。如何是最初一句。師曰。梁王不識。曰。如何是末後一句。師曰。達磨渡江。

A monk said, 'What is the very first phrase?' The Master said, 'The king of Liang did not recognize it.' He said, 'What is the last phrase?' The Master said, 'Bodhidharma crosses the river.'

秀州崇德智澄禪師

Chan Master Zhicheng of Chongde in Xiuzhou

上堂。覿面相呈。更無餘事。若也如此。豈不俊哉。山僧蓋不得已曲為諸人。若向衲僧面前。一點也著不得。諸禪德。且道衲僧面前說箇甚麼即得。良久曰。深秋簾幕千家雨。落日樓臺一笛風。

Ascending the hall: 'Face to face I present it, and there is nothing further. If it is like this, is it not fine? This mountain monk is only compelled by circumstance to bend for you people. If one stands before a patch-robed monk, not a bit of it can be applied. Chan worthies, tell me, what should one say before a patch-robed monk?' After a long while he said, 'In late autumn, rain on a thousand households behind the curtains; at sunset, one flute's wind on the tower.'

泉州棲隱有評禪師

Chan Master Youping of Qiyin in Quanzhou

僧問。如何是平常道。師曰。和尚合掌。道士擎拳。問。十二時中如何趣向。師曰。著衣吃飯。曰。別還有事也無。師曰。有。曰。如何即是。師曰。齋餘更請一甌茶。

A monk asked, 'What is the ordinary Way?' The Master said, 'The monk joins his palms, the Daoist raises his fist.' He asked, 'Through the twelve hours, what should one turn toward?' The Master said, 'Wearing clothes, eating food.' He said, 'Is there anything else besides?' The Master said, 'There is.' He said, 'What is it?' The Master said, 'After the meal, have another cup of tea.'

平江府定慧雲禪師

Chan Master Yun of Dinghui in Pingjiang Prefecture

僧問。如何是為人一句。師曰。見之不取。曰。學人未曉。師曰。思之千里。

A monk asked, 'What is the one phrase by which one works for others?' The Master said, 'Seeing it, do not take it.' He said, 'The student does not understand.' The Master said, 'Think on it for a thousand li.'

建寧府乾符大同院旺禪師

Chan Master Wang of the Datong Monastery at Qianfu in Jianning Prefecture

僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。入市烏龜。曰。意旨如何。師曰。得縮頭時且縮頭。

A monk asked, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'A turtle entering the market.' He said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'When you can pull in your head, pull it in.'

無為軍鐵佛因禪師

Chan Master Yin of the Iron Buddha Monastery in Wuwei Jun

僧問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。一尋寒本自為隣。三事秋雲更誰識。曰。和尚家風蒙指示。為人消息又如何。師曰。新月有圓夜。人心無滿時。

A monk asked, 'What is the Reverend's family style?' The Master said, 'A fathom of cold root is a neighbor in itself; the three matters of autumn clouds — who else knows them?' He said, 'The Reverend's family style has been pointed out; what of the news of working for others?' The Master said, 'The new moon has its night of fullness; the human heart has no time of fullness.'

安吉州報本法存禪師

Chan Master Facun of Baoben in Anji Prefecture

錢塘陸氏子。僧問。無味之談。塞斷人口。作麼生是塞斷人口底句。師便打。僧曰。恁麼則一句流通。天人聳耳。師曰。祇恐不是玉。是玉也大奇。曰。專為流通。師曰。一任亂道。在天衣受請。上堂曰。吳江聖壽見召住持。進退不遑。且隨緣分。此皆堂頭和尚。提耳訓育。終始獎諭。若據今日。正令當行。便好一棒打殺。那堪更容立在座前。雖然如是。養子方見父慈。

He was a son of the Lu family of Qiantang. A monk asked, 'The tasteless talk that blocks people's mouths—what is the phrase that blocks people's mouths?' The Master struck him. The monk said, 'Then one phrase spreads abroad and gods and men prick up their ears.' The Master said, 'I only fear it is not jade; if it is jade, it is very strange indeed.' He said, 'It is especially for spreading abroad.' The Master said, 'Say what you like.' When he received the invitation at Tianyi, he ascended the hall and said, 'Shengshou of Wu River has summoned me to be abbot. I am at a loss whether to go or stay, and will simply follow my karmic conditions. All this comes from the Reverend at the head of the hall, who took me by the ear and trained and raised me, encouraging me from first to last. If judged by today, when the true command should be carried out, one blow would be enough to kill me—how could I be allowed to stand before the seat?' Even so, only in raising a child does one see a father's kindness.

和州開聖院棲禪師

Chan Master Qi of Kaisheng Monastery, Hezhou

開堂垂語曰。選佛場開人天普會。莫有久歷覺場。罷參禪客。出來相見。時有僧出。師曰。作家。作家。僧曰。莫著忙。師曰。元來不是作家。僧提起坐具。曰。看。看。摩竭陀國。親行此令。師曰。祇今作麼生。僧禮拜。師曰。龍頭蛇尾。問。東西不辯。南北不分。學人上來。乞師一接。師曰。不接。曰。為甚麼不接。師曰。為你東西不辯。南北不分。曰。將謂胡鬚赤。更有赤鬚胡。師曰。蘇嚧蘇嚧。問。如何是道。師曰。放汝三十棒。曰。為甚麼如此。師曰。殺人可恕。無禮難容。上堂。拈拄杖曰。大眾。急著眼看須彌山。畫一畫百雜碎。南贍部洲打一棒。東傾西側。不免且收在開聖手中。教伊出氣不得。卓一下。

When he opened the hall he gave words: 'The field for choosing Buddha is opened; gods and men all gather. Is there a Chan guest who has long traversed the field of awakening and finished his calling? Come forward and meet me.' At that time a monk came forward. The Master said, 'An expert, an expert.' The monk said, 'Do not be in a hurry.' The Master said, 'So he is not an expert after all.' The monk lifted his sitting cloth and said, 'Look, look! In the land of Magadha I personally carry out this command.' The Master said, 'What about right now?' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Dragon's head, snake's tail.' A monk asked, 'East and west are not distinguished, north and south are not divided; this student comes up and begs the Master to receive him once.' The Master said, 'I do not receive.' He said, 'Why do you not receive?' The Master said, 'Because you do not distinguish east and west or divide north and south.' He said, 'I thought the beard was red; there is even a red-bearded barbarian.' The Master said, 'Su-lu, su-lu.' A monk asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'I let you off thirty blows.' He said, 'Why is it so?' The Master said, 'Killing a man can be forgiven; rudeness cannot be tolerated.' Ascending the hall, he picked up his staff and said, 'Assembly, look sharply at Mount Sumeru.' He drew a line and it smashed to bits. 'One blow at Jambudvipa and it tilts east and west. I cannot help but put it away in Kaisheng's hand, so that it cannot catch its breath.' He set the staff down with a thud.