Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Fifteen

福州妙峰如璨禪師

Chan Master Rucan of Miaofeng, Fuzhou

上堂。今朝是如來降生之節。天下緇流。莫不以香湯灌沐。共報洪恩。為甚麼教中卻道。如來者無所從來。既是無所從來。不知降生底是誰。試請道看。若道得。其恩自報。若道不得。明年四月八。還是驀頭澆。

Ascending the hall he said, 'Today is the day the Tathagata was born. Throughout the world there is no renunciant who does not bathe in fragrant water and together repay the deep grace. Why does the teaching say, 'The Tathagata comes from nowhere'? Since he comes from nowhere, who is it that was born? Try and say. If you can say it, then the grace is naturally repaid. If you cannot, then next year on the eighth of the fourth month, you will still get a drenching on the head.'

雲居元禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Yuan of Yunju

臨安府百丈慶善院淨悟禪師

Chan Master Jingwu of Baizhang Qingshan Monastery, Lin'anfu

僧問。如何是佛。師曰。問誰。曰。特問和尚。師曰。鷂子過新羅。上堂。說則搖唇。行則動腳。直饒不說不行時。錯。錯。拍禪床下座。

A monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Whom are you asking?' The monk said, 'I am asking the Reverend in particular.' The Master said, 'A sparrowhawk passes over Silla.' Ascending the hall he said, 'To speak is to wag the lips; to act is to move the feet. Even when it is neither speaking nor acting—wrong, wrong.' He slapped the meditation bed and left the seat.

常州善權慧泰禪師

Chan Master Huitai of Shanquan, Changzhou

上堂。諸佛出世。廣演三乘。達磨西來。密傳大事。上根之者。言下頓超。中下之流。須當漸次。發明心地。或一言唱道。或三句敷揚。或善巧應機。遂成多義。撮其樞要。總是空花。一句窮源。沉埋祖道。敢問諸人。作麼生是依時及節底句。良久曰。微雲淡河漢。疎雨滴梧桐。參。

Ascending the hall he said, 'The Buddhas appear in the world and broadly proclaim the three vehicles; Bodhidharma came from the west and secretly transmitted the great matter. Those of superior faculties transcend at once beneath the words; those of middle and lesser faculties must proceed gradually. In revealing the ground of the mind, one may sing it out in one phrase, spread it in three phrases, or respond skillfully to the moment, and so there come to be many meanings. Seizing their pivot, they are all flowers in the air; to exhaust the source in one phrase is rather to bury the ancestral Way. May I ask you all: what is the one phrase that accords with the time and season?' After a long silence he said, 'Thin clouds pale the Milky Way, sparse rain drips on the parasol tree.' (A line by Meng Haoran.) 'Call.'

饒州崇福德基禪師

Chan Master Deji of Chongfu, Raozhou

上堂。若於這裡會得。便能入一佛國。坐一道場。水鳥樹林。共談斯要。樓臺殿閣。同演真乘。續千聖不盡之燈。照八面無私之燄。所以道。在天同天。在人同人。還有知音者麼。良久曰。水底金烏天上日。眼中瞳子面前人。

Ascending the hall: 'If you can understand it here, you can enter one Buddha land and sit in one bodhimanda. Water birds and forest trees together discuss this essential purport; towers and halls together proclaim the true vehicle. Continue the lamp that a thousand sages cannot exhaust, open the flame of eight faces without partiality. Therefore it is said: in heaven, one with heaven; among men, one with men. Is there anyone who knows the tune?' After a long silence he said, 'The golden crow under the water, the sun in the sky; the pupil in the eye, the person before your face.'

婺州寶林懷吉真覺禪師

Chan Master Huaiji Zhenjue of Baolin, Wuzhou

上堂。善慧遺風五百年。雲黃山色祇依然。而今祖令重行也。一句流通徧大千。大眾且道。是甚麼句。莫是函葢乾坤．截斷眾流．隨波逐浪底麼。吽。有甚交涉。自從有佛祖已來。未曾動著。今日不可漏洩真機去也。顧視大眾曰。若到諸方。不得錯舉。

Ascending the hall: 'Five hundred years of Shanhui's lingering wind; the color of Mount Yunhuang is just as before. And now the Patriarch's command is carried out anew, and one phrase spreads through the great thousand.' Assembly, tell me, what phrase is it? Is it not the one that encompasses heaven and earth, cuts off the massed streams, follows the waves and chases the currents? Hmm. What has that to do with it? Since the time of Buddha and Patriarch, it has never been moved. Today I must not let the true mechanism leak away. He looked around at the assembly and said, 'When you go to other quarters, do not bring it up wrongly.'

洪州資福宗誘禪師

Chan Master Zongyou of Zifu, Hongzhou

上堂。龍泉今日與諸人說些葛藤。良久曰。枝蔓上更生枝蔓。

Ascending the hall: 'Today Longquan will tell you people some tangled vines.' After a long silence he said, 'On the branches and tendrils, more branches and tendrils grow.'

智海逸禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Yi of Zhihai

瑞州黃檗志因禪師

Chan Master Zhiyin of Huangbo, Ruizhou

僧問。如何是得力句。師曰。腳。曰。學人不會。師曰。一步進一步。上堂。四十九年說。恩潤禽魚。十萬途程來。警悟人天。這二老漢。各人好與三十棒。何故。一箇說長說短。一箇胡言漢語。雖然如是。且放過一著。

A monk asked, 'What is the phrase of getting power?' The Master said, 'The foot.' He said, 'This student does not understand.' The Master said, 'One step after another.' Ascending the hall: 'Forty-nine years of speaking, grace moistening birds and fish; coming over a journey of a hundred thousand leagues, awakening gods and men. These two old fellows each deserve thirty blows. Why? One speaks of long and short, the other talks nonsense in barbarian and Chinese. Even so, let them off this once.'

福州大中德隆海印禪師

Chan Master Delong Haiyin of Dazhong, Fuzhou

上堂。法無異法。道無別道。時時逢見釋迦。處處撞著達磨。放步即交肩。開口即齩破。不齩破。大小大。上堂。夫欲智拔。先須定動。卓拄杖曰。唵囌嚧．㗭唎娑婆訶。歸堂吃茶。上堂。觸境無滯底。為甚麼擡頭不起。田地穩密底。為甚麼下腳不得。譬如天王賜與華屋。雖獲大宅。要因門入。乃曰。門聻。樊噲踏開真主出。巨靈擡手錦鱗噴。參。上堂。平旦寅曉何人。處處彌陀佛。家家觀世音。月裡麒麟看北斗。向陽椑子一邊青。

Ascending the hall: 'The dharma has no other dharma; the Way has no other way. At every moment you meet Shakyamuni, in every place you bump into Bodhidharma. Step out and you are shoulder to shoulder; open your mouth and you bite through. If you do not bite through, how great is the difference.' Ascending the hall: 'If you would pull up wisdom, you must first settle and stir.' He set down his staff and said, 'Om su-ru xi-li svaha. Return to the hall and drink tea.' Ascending the hall: 'Those who meet conditions without obstruction—why can they not lift their heads? Those whose field is firm and close—why can they not set their feet down? It is like a heavenly king granting a splendid house: though you obtain a great mansion, you must enter by the door.' Then he said, 'Where is the door? Fan Kuai tramples it open and the true lord comes forth; the giant spirit raises his hand and the brocade-scaled fish spouts. Call.' Ascending the hall: 'At dawn, the hour of the tiger—who is it? Everywhere Amitabha Buddha, in every house Guanyin. In the moon a unicorn watches the Northern Dipper; toward the sun the persimmon turns green on one side.'

簽判劉經臣居士

Layman Liu Jingchen, Assistant Judge

字興朝。少以逸才登仕版。於佛法未之信。年三十二。會東林照覺總禪師與語。啟廸之。乃敬服。因醉心祖道。既而抵京師。謁慧林沖禪師。於僧問雪竇。如何是諸佛本源。答曰。千峰寒色。語下有省。歲餘官雒幕。就參韶山杲禪師。將去任。辭韶山。山囑曰。公如此用心。何愁不悟。爾後或有非常境界。無量歡喜。宜急收拾。若收拾得去。便成法器。若收拾不得。則有不寧之疾。成失心之患矣。未幾復至京師。趨智海依正覺逸禪師。請問因緣。海曰。古人道。平常心是道。你十二時中放光動地。不自覺知。向外馳求。轉疎轉遠。公益疑不解。一夕入室。海舉傳燈所載香至國王問波羅提尊者何者是佛。尊者曰見性是佛之語問之。公不能對。疑甚。遂歸就寢。熟睡至五鼓。覺來方追念間。見種種異相。表裡通徹。六根震動。天地迴旋。如雲開月現。喜不自勝。忽憶韶山臨別所囑之言。姑抑之。逗明趨智海。悉以所得告。海為證據。且曰。更須用得始得。公曰。莫要踐履否。海厲聲曰。這箇是甚麼事。卻說踐履。公默契。乃作發明心地頌八首。及著明道諭儒篇以警世。詞曰。明道在乎見性。餘之所悟者。見性而已。孟子曰。口之於味也。目之於色也。耳之於聲也。鼻之於臭也。四肢之於安佚也。性也。楊子曰。視聽言貌思。性所有也。有見於此。則能明乎道矣。當知道不遠人。人之於道。猶魚之於水。未甞須臾離也。唯其迷己逐物。故終身由之而不知。佛曰大覺。儒曰先覺。葢覺此耳。昔人有言曰。今古應無墜。分明在目前。又曰。大道祇在目前。要且目前難睹。欲識大道真體。不離聲色言語。又曰。夜夜抱佛眠。朝朝還共起。起倒鎮相隨。語默同居止。欲識佛去處。祇這語聲是。此佛者之語道為最親者。立則見其參於前也。在輿則見其倚於衡也。瞻之在前也。忽焉在後也。取之左右逢其原也。

His courtesy name was Xingchao. As a youth he entered office by his outstanding talent and did not believe in the Buddha dharma. At thirty-two he met Chan Master Zhaojue Zong of Donglin and, in conversation with him, was inspired and guided; only then did he submit and become steeped in the ancestral Way. Afterwards he went to the capital and called on Chan Master Huilin Chong. He had an awakening at the words where a monk asked Xuedou, 'What is the source of all Buddhas?' and Xuedou answered, 'The cold color of a thousand peaks.' More than a year later, serving as an official in the Luoyang secretariat, he called on Chan Master Gao of Shaoshan nearby. About to leave his post, he took leave of Shaoshan. Shan instructed him: 'With such earnestness as yours, why worry that you will not awaken? Hereafter you may have extraordinary states and immeasurable joy; you should gather yourself up at once. If you can gather yourself up, you will become a vessel of dharma; if you cannot, you will have an illness of unrest and fall into the affliction of a lost mind.' Soon after he went again to the capital, hurried to Zhihai, and relied on Chan Master Zhengjue Yi, asking about the causes and conditions. Hai said, 'The ancients said, 'Ordinary mind is the Way.' Through the twelve hours you radiate light and shake the earth, yet you do not know it yourself; you run seeking outside, and the more you seek the further away you are.' The layman grew even more perplexed. One evening he entered the room, and Hai brought up the words recorded in the Transmission of the Lamp where King Xiangzhi asked the Venerable Parati, 'What is the Buddha?' and the Venerable said, 'Seeing nature is the Buddha.' He questioned him on it. The layman could not answer and doubted deeply, so he went back and lay down. He slept soundly until the fifth watch, and waking, as he was just pondering, he saw all kinds of extraordinary signs, inside and out penetrating clearly, the six senses shaken, heaven and earth revolving, like clouds opening and the moon appearing, and his joy was beyond himself. Suddenly he recalled what Shaoshan had instructed at parting and restrained himself for the time being. When day broke he hurried to Zhihai and told him everything he had attained. Hai certified it for him and also said, 'You must be able to use it as well.' The layman said, 'Is one not to practice it?' Hai said sternly, 'What matter is this, that you speak of practicing?' The layman silently accorded, and then made eight verses on revealing the ground of the mind, and also wrote the Discourse on Illuminating the Way to Admonish the Confucians to warn the world. The text says: Illuminating the Way lies in seeing nature. What I have awakened to is nothing but seeing nature. Mencius said, 'The mouth's relation to flavors, the eye's to colors, the ear's to sounds, the nose's to smells, the four limbs' to ease—this is nature.' Yangzi said, 'Seeing, hearing, speaking, appearance, and thought are what nature possesses.' If one has insight into this, one can illuminate the Way. You should know that the Way is not far from man. Man's relation to the Way is like a fish's to water—never for a moment apart. It is only because one is deluded about oneself and chases things that one follows it all one's life without knowing. The Buddha is called the Greatly Awakened; the Confucians are called the First Awakened—both are awakening to this alone. An ancient had a saying: 'Past and present should have no falling away; it is clear before your eyes.' It is also said: 'The great Way is only before your eyes, yet before your eyes it is hard to see. If you would know the true body of the great Way, it is not apart from sound, form, speech, and words.' It is also said: 'Night after night I sleep embracing the Buddha; morning after morning I rise together with him. Rising and lying down, always following; speaking and silence, dwelling together. If you would know where the Buddha goes, it is just this sound of the voice.' This is the most intimate of the Buddhists' sayings about the Way. Standing, one sees it before one; in a carriage, one sees it leaning on the crossbar; look up and it is before, suddenly it is behind; take it on the left and right and one meets its source.

此儒者之語道最邇者。奈何此道唯可心傳。不立文字。故世尊拈花而妙心傳於迦葉。達磨面壁而宗旨付於神光。六葉既敷。千花競秀。分宗列派。各有門庭。故或瞬目揚眉。擎拳舉指。或行棒行喝。竪拂拈槌。或持叉張弓。輥毬舞笏。或拽石般土。打鼓吹毛。或一默一言。一籲一笑。乃至種種方便。皆是親切為人。然祇為太親。故人多罔措。瞥然見者。不隔絲毫。其或沉吟。迢迢萬裡。欲明道者。宜無忽焉。祖祖相傳。至今不絕。真得吾儒所謂忿而不發。開而弗違者矣。餘之有得。實在此門。反思吾儒。自有其道。良哉孔子之言。默而識之。一以貫之。故目擊而道存。指掌而意喻。凡若此者。皆合宗門之妙旨。得教外之真機。然而孔子之道。傳之子思。子思傳之孟子。孟子既沒。不得其傳。而所以傳於世者。特文字耳。故餘之學。必求自得而後已。幸餘一夕開悟。凡目之所見。耳之所聞。心之所思。口之所談。手足之所運動。無非妙者。得之既久。日益見前。每以與人。人不能受。然後知其妙道果不可以文字傳也。嗚呼。是道也。有其人則傳。無其人則絕。餘既得之矣。誰其似之乎。終餘之身而有其人邪。無其人邪。所不可得而知也。故為記頌歌語。以流播其事。而又著此篇。以諭吾徒雲。

(Liu Jingchen continued:) This is the Confucians' most intimate way of speaking about the Way. Yet this Way can only be transmitted mind to mind and does not depend on letters. Therefore the World-Honored One held up a flower and the wondrous mind was transmitted to Mahakasyapa; Bodhidharma faced the wall and the school's purport was given to Shenguang. Once the six leaves had spread open, a thousand flowers vied in blossoming, dividing into schools and setting up lineages, each with its own gate and hall. So sometimes a blink of the eye or a lift of the eyebrow, a raised fist or a lifted finger; sometimes a stick or a shout, a raised whisk or a lifted gavel; sometimes holding a fork or drawing a bow, rolling a ball or dancing a tablet; sometimes dragging a stone or carrying earth, beating a drum or blowing a hair; sometimes one silence or one word, one sigh or one laugh. Down to all sorts of expedient means, all of them are intimate dealings with people. Yet just because they are too intimate, most people are bewildered and at a loss. One who catches a sudden glimpse is not separated by a hair; if he hesitates, he is ten thousand leagues away. One who would illuminate the Way should not neglect this. It has been transmitted from Patriarch to Patriarch and continues unbroken to this day; truly it is what we Confucians call being angry but not venting, opened but not transgressing. What I have attained is indeed within this gate. Reflecting on our Confucianism, it has its own Way. How good are Confucius's words: silently to remember it; one thread running through it all. Therefore, meeting it with the eye, the Way is present; pointing it out on the palm, the meaning is conveyed. All such things accord with the wondrous purport of the Chan school and attain the true mechanism outside the teachings. Yet Confucius's Way was transmitted to Zisi, and Zisi transmitted it to Mencius. After Mencius died, there was no one to receive it, and what was transmitted to the world was no more than letters. Therefore my learning must seek to attain it for myself before it stops. Fortunately, one evening I awakened, and whatever my eyes see, my ears hear, my mind thinks, my mouth speaks, my hands and feet move, is nothing but the wondrous. Having had it for a long time, it appears before me more and more each day. Often I bring it to people and they cannot receive it; only then do I know that this wondrous Way truly cannot be transmitted by letters. Alas. This Way—if there is a person for it, it is transmitted; if there is no person, it is cut off. Since I have already attained it, who can be like me? In all my life, will there be such a person, or will there not? This I cannot know. Therefore I have made records, verses, songs, and sayings to spread the matter abroad, and also written this piece to make it clear to my fellow seekers.

青原下十二世

Twelfth Generation below Qingyuan

蔣山泉禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Quan of Jingshan

清獻公趙抃居士

Layman Zhao Bian, Duke Qingxian

字悅道。年四十餘。擯去聲色。繫心宗教。會佛慧來居衢之南禪。公日親之。慧未甞容措一詞。後典青州。政事之餘。多宴坐。忽大雷震驚。即契悟作偈曰。默坐公堂虗隱幾。心源不動湛如水。一聲霹靂頂門開。喚起從前自家底。慧聞笑曰。趙悅道撞彩耳。富鄭公初於宗門。未有所趣。公勉之書曰。伏惟執事。富貴如是之極。道德如是之盛。福壽康寧如是之備。退休閑逸如是之高。其所未甚留意者。如來一大事因緣而已。能專誠求所證悟。則他日為門下賀也。公年七十有二。以太子少保致仕而歸。親舊里民。遇之如故。作高齋以自適。題偈見意曰。腰佩黃金已退藏。箇中消息也尋常。世人慾識高齋老。祇是柯村趙四郎。復曰。切忌錯認。臨薨遺佛慧書曰。非師平日警誨。至此必不得力矣。慧悼以偈曰。仕也邦為瑞。歸歟世作程。人間金粟去。天上玉樓成。慧劒無纖缺。冰壺徹底清。春風瀫水路。孤月照雲明。

His courtesy name was Yuedao. In his forties he cast off sound and form and fixed his mind on the school of Chan. It happened that Fohui came to dwell at Nanchan in Quzhou, and the layman drew near to him every day, yet Hui never once allowed him to put in a word. Later, when he was in office at Qingzhou, he sat in meditation much in his spare time from government. Suddenly a great thunderclap startled him and he awakened at once, and made a verse: 'Sitting silent in the public hall, idly leaning on the armrest; the mind-source does not move, still as water. One peal of thunder opens the crown of the head, rousing what was there from the first.' When Hui heard of it he laughed and said, 'Zhao Yuedao has merely struck lucky.' Duke Fu Zheng had at first no interest in the Chan school, and the layman wrote to encourage him: 'I respectfully think, sir, that your wealth and honor are at their utmost, your virtue at its height, your blessings and long life and peace at their fullest, and your retirement and leisure at its most elevated; the only thing you have not much attended to is the one great matter of the Tathagata. If you can sincerely seek what is to be realized and awakened, then another day I will congratulate you on your disciple's behalf.' At seventy-two the layman retired from office as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and returned home. His relatives, old friends, and village folk treated him as before. He built a tall studio for his own ease and wrote a verse to convey his meaning: 'The golden seal at the waist is already put away; the news within is nothing out of the ordinary. If people in the world would know the old man of the tall studio, he is only Zhao the Fourth of Ke Village.' He also said, 'Above all, do not mistake it.' As he was dying he left a letter for Fohui: 'Had not the Master warned and instructed me daily, at this point it would surely have been of no use.' Hui made a verse mourning him: 'In office he was a jewel to the state; retired, he is a measure for the world. The golden millet has gone from the world; the jade tower is built in heaven. His wisdom sword has not the slightest nick; his ice jug is clear to the bottom. On the Hushui road in the spring wind, a lone moon shines bright through the clouds.'

慧林本禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Ben of Huilin

東京法雲善本大通禪師

Chan Master Datong Shanben of Fayun, the Eastern Capital

族董氏。漢仲舒之裔也。大父琪。父溫。皆官於潁。遂為潁人。母無子。禱白衣大士。乃得師。及長。博極群書。然清修無仕宦意。嘉祐八年。與弟善思往京師地藏院。選經得度。習毗尼。東遊至姑蘇。禮圓照於瑞光。照特顧之。於是契旨。經五稔。益躋微奧。照令依圓通秀。師去又盡其要。元豐七年。渡淮。留太守巖。久之出住雙林。遷淨慈。尋被旨徙法雲。僧問。寶塔元無縫。如何指示人。師曰。煙霞生背面。星月遶簷楹。曰。如何是塔中人。師曰。竟日不知清世事。長年占斷白雲鄉。曰。向上更有事也無。師曰。太無厭生。問。若論此事。譬如兩家著碁。學人上來。請師一著。師曰。早見輸了也。僧曰。錯。師曰。是。僧曰。進前無路也。師卓拄杖一下。曰。爭奈這箇何。僧曰。祇如黑白未分時。又作麼生。師曰。且饒一著。問。百尺竿頭。如何進步。師曰。險。曰。便恁麼去又作麼生。師曰。百雜碎。問。九夏賞勞即不問。從今向去事如何。師曰。光剃頭。淨洗缽。曰。謝師指示。師曰。滴水難消。上堂。上不見天。下不見地。畐塞虗空。無處迴避。為君明破即不中。且向南山看鼈鼻。擲拄杖下座。

His family name was Dong, a descendant of Dong Zhongshu of the Han. His grandfather Qi and his father Wen both held office in Yingzhou, and so the family became people of Ying. His mother, having no son, prayed to the White-Robed Great Being and only then got the Master. When he grew up he was broadly versed in all books, yet he cultivated purity and had no intention of office. In the eighth year of Jiayou he went with his younger brother Shansi to Dizang Monastery in the capital, was chosen for ordination through the scriptures, and studied the Vinaya. Traveling east to Gusu, he paid respects to Yuanzhao at Ruiguang; Zhao looked after him especially, and he accorded with the purport. After five years he entered more deeply into the subtle and profound. Zhao sent him to rely on Yuantong Xiu. After the Master went, he again fully obtained his essentials. In the seventh year of Yuanfeng he crossed the Huai and stayed at Taishou Rock. After a long time he went out to be abbot of Shuanglin, moved to Jingci, and soon by imperial order moved to Fayun. A monk asked, 'The jeweled stupa is originally seamless—how will you point it out to people?' The Master said, 'Mist and clouds arise on its back and face; stars and moon circle its eaves and pillars.' He said, 'Who is the person in the stupa?' The Master said, 'All day he does not know the affairs of the pure world; all year he monopolizes the land of white clouds.' He said, 'Is there anything further above?' The Master said, 'You are too insatiable.' A monk asked, 'If we speak of this matter, it is like two families playing chess. This student comes up and asks the Master to make a move.' The Master said, 'I already see that you have lost.' The monk said, 'Wrong.' The Master said, 'Yes.' The monk said, 'Advancing, there is no road.' The Master set his staff down once and said, 'What can you do about this?' The monk said, 'What of when black and white are not yet divided?' The Master said, 'I will spare you one move.' A monk asked, 'At the top of a hundred-foot pole, how does one step forward?' The Master said, 'Perilous.' He said, 'What of one who goes on just like that?' The Master said, 'Smashed to bits.' A monk asked, 'The summer retreat's reward for labor I do not ask about—what of the matter from now on?' The Master said, 'Shave the head clean, wash the bowl clean.' He said, 'Thank you, Master, for pointing it out.' The Master said, 'A drop of water is hard to swallow.' Ascending the hall: 'Above, one does not see heaven; below, one does not see earth. It presses and fills empty space, with nowhere to turn aside. To point it out for you would be to miss; for now look at the turtle's nose toward the south mountain.' He threw down his staff and left the seat.

鎮江府金山善寧法印禪師

Chan Master Fayin Shanning of Jinshan, Zhenjiangfu

僧問。天皇也恁麼道。龍潭也恁麼道。未審和尚作麼生道。師曰。手握白玉鞭。驪珠盡擊碎。曰。退身有分。師曰。知過必改。上堂。顧視大眾曰。古人道。在眼曰見。在耳曰聞。在鼻嗅香。在舌談論。在身覺觸。在意攀緣。雖然如是。祇見錐頭利。不見鑿頭方。若是金山即不然。有眼覰不見。有耳聽不聞。有鼻不知香。有舌不談論。有身不覺觸。有意絕攀緣。一念相應。六根解脫。敢問諸禪德。且道與前來是同是別。莫有具眼底衲僧。出來通箇消息。若無。復為諸人重重注破。放開則私通車馬。揑聚則毫末不存。若是鮑戰作家。一任是非貶剝。

A monk asked, 'Tianhuang also spoke thus, Longtan also spoke thus—I wonder how the Reverend speaks?' The Master said, 'Holding a white jade whip in hand, every black dragon pearl is smashed.' He said, 'I have a share in withdrawing.' The Master said, 'Knowing one's fault, one must change.' Ascending the hall, he looked around at the assembly and said, 'The ancients said: in the eye it is seeing, in the ear it is hearing, in the nose it smells fragrances, in the tongue it discusses, in the body it feels contact, in the mind it climbs conditions. Even so, one sees only the sharpness of the awl's point and not the squareness of the chisel's head. At Jinshan it is not like that: having eyes, one does not see; having ears, one does not hear; having a nose, one does not know fragrances; having a tongue, one does not discuss; having a body, one does not feel contact; having a mind, one cuts off climbing conditions. When one thought accords, the six senses are liberated. May I ask all you Chan worthies: is this the same as what came before, or different? Is there a patch-robed monk with eyes who will come forward and pass on a message? If not, I will again break it open layer on layer for you all. Let it go and private carriages and horses pass through; pinch it together and not a hairtip remains. If you are a well-seasoned expert, let slander and praise be as they will.'

壽州資壽院圓澄巖禪師

Chan Master Yuancheng Yan of Zishou Monastery, Shouzhou

僧問。大藏經中還有奇特事也無。師曰。祇恐汝不信。曰。如何即是。師曰。黑底是墨。黃底是紙。曰。謝師答話。師曰。領取鉤頭意。莫認定盤星。上堂。雲生谷口。月滿長川。樵父斫深雲。漁翁釣沙島。到這裡。便是吳道子張僧繇。無你下手處。良久曰。歸堂問取聖僧。參。上堂。乾坤肅靜。海晏河清。風不鳴條。雨不破塊。春生夏長。秋收冬藏。這箇是世間法。作麼生是佛法。良久曰。欲得不招無間業。莫謗如來正法輪。

A monk asked, 'In the great canon of the treasury is there anything extraordinary?' The Master said, 'I only fear you will not believe it.' He said, 'What then is it?' The Master said, 'The black is ink, the yellow is paper.' He said, 'Thank you, Master, for answering.' The Master said, 'Take the meaning at the hook's head; do not fix on the pole star.' Ascending the hall: 'Clouds rise at the valley mouth, the moon fills the long river. The woodcutter chops deep in the clouds, the old fisherman fishes by the sand island. At this point, even Wu Daozi and Zhang Sengyou would have no place to set their hands.' After a long silence he said, 'Return to the hall and ask the sacred monk. Call.' Ascending the hall: 'Heaven and earth are solemn and still, the seas calm and the rivers clear. The wind does not whistle in the branches, the rain does not break the clods. Spring gives birth, summer grows, autumn harvests, winter stores. This is the worldly dharma. What is the Buddha dharma?' After a long silence he said, 'If you would not invite the karma of the uninterrupted hell, do not slander the Tathagata's wheel of the true dharma.'

秀州本覺寺守一法真禪師

Chan Master Shouyi Fazhen of Benjue Monastery, Xiuzhou

江陰沈氏子。僧問。如何是句中玄。師曰。崑崙騎象藕絲牽。曰。如何是體中玄。師曰。影浸寒潭月在天。曰。如何是玄中玄。師曰。長連床上帶刀眠。曰。向上還有事也無。師曰。放下著。上堂。舉拂子曰。三世諸佛。六代祖師。總在這裡。還見麼。見汝不相當。又為說法雲。無二無二分。無別無斷故。還聞麼。汝又不惺惺。一時卻往上方香積世界去也。𢷾拂子曰。退後退後。突著你眼睛。上堂。折半列三。人人道得。去一拈七。亦要商量。正當今日。雲門道底不要別。作麼生露得箇消息。良久曰。日月易流。

He was a son of the Shen family of Jiangyin. A monk asked, 'What is the mysterious within the phrase?' The Master said, 'Kunlun riding an elephant, led by a lotus thread.' He said, 'What is the mysterious within the essence?' The Master said, 'Its shadow soaks the cold pool; the moon is in the sky.' He said, 'What is the mysterious within the mysterious?' The Master said, 'Sleeping with a knife on the long bench.' He said, 'Is there anything further above?' The Master said, 'Put it down.' Ascending the hall, he raised his whisk and said, 'The Buddhas of the three ages and the six generations of Patriarchs are all here. Do you see them? Seeing that you are not in accord, he again preached the dharma, saying, neither two nor not-two, neither separate nor cut off. Do you hear it? You are still not clear-headed. In a moment they have all gone to the Fragrance Accumulating World above.' He threw down the whisk and said, 'Back off, back off—it pokes you in the eye.' Ascending the hall: 'Break in half and set out three—anyone can say it; take away one and pick up seven—that too must be deliberated. Just today, what Yunmen said needs no other explanation. How will you reveal a message?' After a long silence he said, 'Sun and moon flow easily.'

舒州投子修顒證悟禪師

Chan Master Xiuyong Zhengyu of Touzi, Shuzhou

僧問。是法平等。無有高下。為甚麼趙州三等接人。師曰。入水見長人。曰。爭奈學人未會。師曰。喚不回頭爭奈何。上堂。楞伽峰頂。誰能措足。少室巖前。水洩不通。正當恁麼時。黃頭老子張得口。碧眼胡僧開得眼。雖然如是。事無一向。先聖幸有第二義門。足可共諸人東說西說。所以道春生夏長。秋落冬枯。四時遷改。輪轉長途。愚者心生彼此。達者一味無殊。良久曰。陝府鐵牛吞大像。嘉州佛向藕𮈔藏。上堂。巍巍少室。永鎮群峰。有時雲中捧出。有時霧罩無蹤。有時突在目前。有口道不得。被人喚作壁觀胡僧。諸仁者作麼生免得此過。休。休。不如且持課。良久曰。一元和。二佛陀。三釋迦。自餘是甚椀躂丘。參。

A monk asked, 'This dharma is equal, with no high or low—why did Zhaozhou receive people in three grades?' The Master said, 'Entering the water, one sees the tall man.' He said, 'But this student does not understand.' The Master said, 'Call and he does not turn his head—what can be done?' Ascending the hall: 'On the summit of Lankavatara Peak, who can set foot? Before Shaoshi Rock, not a drop of water gets through. Just at such a time, the yellow-headed old fellow can open his mouth, and the blue-eyed barbarian monk can open his eyes. Even so, things have no single direction. The former sages fortunately had a second gate of meaning, enough to speak east and west with you people. Therefore it is said: spring gives birth and summer grows, autumn falls and winter withers; the four seasons change and turn along the long road. The foolish give rise to self and other in their minds; the one who has arrived tastes a single flavor with no difference.' After a long silence he said, 'The iron ox of Shaanfu swallows the great elephant; the Buddha of Jiazhou hides in a lotus thread.' Ascending the hall: 'Towering Shaoshi, forever guarding the peaks. Sometimes it is lifted out from the clouds, sometimes the mist covers it without a trace. Sometimes it suddenly stands before your eyes, and you have a mouth but cannot speak, and people call you the wall-gazing barbarian monk. All you benevolent ones, how will you avoid this fault? Stop, stop. You might as well keep to your recitation.' After a long silence he said, 'One is Vairocana, two is the Buddha, three is Shakyamuni; what are the rest but a bowl of dregs? Call.'