Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Fifteen

福州地藏守恩禪師

Chan Master Shouen of Dizang, Fuzhou

本州丘氏子。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。晝眠無益。曰。意旨如何。師曰。早起甚長。問。如何是西來祖意。師曰。風吹滿面塵。上堂。竪起拳曰。或時為拳。復開曰。或時為掌。若遇衲僧有功者賞。遂放下曰。直是土曠人稀。相逢者少。上堂。雨後鳩鳴。山前麥熟。何處牧童兒。騎牛笑相逐。更把短笛橫吹。風前一曲兩曲。參。上堂。山僧今日略通一線。不用狐疑。麥中有麵。上堂。拈拄杖擊禪床一下。曰。有智若聞。則能信解。無智疑悔。則為永失。三十年後。不得道山僧今日上堂。祇念法華經。參。上堂。衲僧現前三昧。釋迦老子不會。住世四十九年。說得天花亂墜。爭似飢餐渴飲。展腳堂中打睡。上堂。諸人知處。山僧盡知。山僧知處。諸人不知。今日不免佈施諸人。良久曰。頭上是天。腳下是地。參。

He was a son of the Qiu family of the prefecture. A monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Sleeping by day is of no benefit.' He said, 'What is the purport?' The Master said, 'Rising early is very long.' A monk asked, 'What is the ancestral meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'The wind blows dust all over the face.' Ascending the hall, he held up his fist and said, 'Sometimes it is a fist.' Then he opened it and said, 'Sometimes it is a palm. If a patch-robed monk meets it, those with merit are rewarded.' Then he put it down and said, 'Truly the land is broad and the people few; those who meet are few.' Ascending the hall: 'After the rain the doves call, before the mountain the wheat ripens. Where is the herd boy, riding his ox and laughing as he chases? He plays his short flute crosswise, one tune or two before the wind. Call.' Ascending the hall: 'Today this mountain monk will let through one thread—no need to doubt: in the wheat there is flour.' Ascending the hall, he picked up his staff and struck the meditation bed once, saying, 'Those with wisdom, hearing it, can believe and understand; those without wisdom, doubting and regretting, lose it forever. Thirty years from now, do not say that this mountain monk today ascended the hall and merely recited the Lotus Sutra. Call.' Ascending the hall: 'The patch-robed monk's present samadhi, old Shakyamuni did not understand. Dwelling in the world forty-nine years, he spoke till flowers rained from the sky. How does that compare with eating when hungry and drinking when thirsty, and stretching the legs to sleep in the hall?' Ascending the hall: 'What you people know, this mountain monk knows entirely; what this mountain monk knows, you people do not know. Today I cannot help but give it to you people.' After a long silence he said, 'Above the head is heaven, below the feet is earth. Call.'

衢州靈曜寺𮗿(音辯)良佛慈禪師

Chan Master Bianliang Foci of Lingyao Monastery, Quzhou (the base text has a rare character here, originally glossed as bian; now read according to the gloss)

饒州吳氏子。清獻趙公命開法於越州福果．衢州超化．海會．靈曜四剎。僧問。三變禪林。四回出世。於和尚分上。成得甚麼邊事。師曰。缽盂口向天。曰。三十年來關棙子。而今流落五湖傳。師曰。那箇是山僧關棙子。曰。一言超影象。不墜古人風。師曰。惜取眉毛。上堂。不知時分之延促。不知日月之大小。灰頭土面。且與麼過。山僧每遇月朔。特地鬬釘家風。抑揚問答。一場笑具。雖然如是。因風撒土。借水獻花。有箇葛藤露布。與諸人共相解摘看。驀拈拄杖擊香臺。曰。參堂去。

He was a son of the Wu family of Raozhou. Duke Qingxian Zhao had him begin teaching, and he dwelt in turn at the four monasteries of Fuguo in Yuezhou, and Chaohua, Haihui, and Lingyao in Quzhou. A monk asked, 'Three times you changed Chan groves, four times you appeared in the world—what matter does this accomplish for the Reverend?' The Master said, 'The bowl's mouth faces heaven.' He said, 'The pivotal mechanism of thirty years is now spread through the five lakes.' The Master said, 'Which is this mountain monk's pivotal mechanism?' He said, 'One phrase transcends shadow and image and does not fall into the ancients' wind.' The Master said, 'Take care of your eyebrows.' Ascending the hall: 'Not knowing whether the divisions of time are long or short, not knowing whether sun and moon are large or small, with an ashen face and earthen brow, I pass the time just so. Whenever this mountain monk meets the first of the month, I make a point of nailing down the family style, raising and lowering questions and answers, a whole comedy. Even so, scattering earth on the wind and offering flowers borrowed from the water, there is a tangle of vines and a posted notice for you people to untie and pick apart together.' Suddenly he picked up his staff and struck the incense table, saying, 'Go into the hall. Call.'

明州香山延泳正覺禪師

Chan Master Yanyong Zhengjue of Xiangshan, Mingzhou

上堂。心隨境現。境逐心生。心境兩忘。是箇甚麼。拈起拄杖曰。且道這箇甚處得來。若道是拄杖。瞎卻汝眼。若道不是拄杖。眼在甚麼處。是與不是。一時拈卻。且騎拄杖出三門去也。遂曳杖下座。

Ascending the hall: 'The mind appears according to conditions, and conditions follow the mind as it arises. When mind and conditions are both forgotten, what is it?' He picked up his staff and said, 'Tell me, where did this come from? If you say it is a staff, your eyes go blind; if you say it is not a staff, where are the eyes? Is or is not—at once pick it away, and I will ride the staff out of the three gates.' Then he trailed his staff and left the seat.

安吉州道場慧印禪師

Chan Master Huiyin of Daochang, Anjizhou

上堂。韶石渡頭。舟橫野水。汾陽浪裡。棹撥孤煙。雲月無私。谿山豈異。一言合轍。千里同風。敢問諸人。作麼生是同風底句。良久曰。八千子弟今何在。萬裡山河屬帝家。

Ascending the hall: 'At the Shaoshi ferry head, a boat lies across the wild water; in the waves of Fenyang, an oar stirs the lone mist. Clouds and moon are without partiality; how could streams and mountains differ? One phrase fits the rut, and a thousand leagues share the same wind. May I ask you all: what is the phrase of the same wind?' After a long silence he said, 'Where are the eight thousand sons today? The ten thousand leagues of mountains and rivers belong to the imperial house.'

臨安府西湖妙慧文義禪師

Chan Master Wenyi of Miaohui, West Lake, Lin'anfu

上堂。會麼。已被熱謾了也。今早起來。無言可說。下床著鞋。後架洗面。堂內展缽吃粥。粥後打睡。睡起吃茶。見客相喚。齋時吃飯。日日相似。有甚麼過。然雖如是。更有一般令我笑。金剛倒地一堆泥。拍禪床。下座。

Ascending the hall: 'Do you understand? You have already been hotly deceived. This morning when I got up, there was nothing to say. I got off the bed and put on my shoes, washed my face at the back shelf, spread my bowl in the hall and ate gruel; after gruel I slept, after sleeping I drank tea; when a guest came I called out to him; at the mealtime I ate rice. Every day is the same—what fault is there? Even so, there is one thing that makes me laugh: the diamond king falls down and becomes a heap of mud.' He slapped the meditation bed and left the seat.

處州靈泉山宗一禪師

Chan Master Zongyi of Lingquan Mountain, Chuzhou

上堂。美玉藏頑石。蓮華出淤泥。須知煩惱處。悟得即菩提。咄。

Ascending the hall: 'Fine jade is hidden in stubborn stone; the lotus comes out of the mud. You must know that where affliction is, there awakening is bodhi. Tut.'

泗州普照寺處輝真寂禪師

Chan Master Chuhui Zhenji of Puzhao Monastery, Sizhou

滁州趙氏子。開堂日。僧問。世尊出世。地湧金蓮。和尚出世。有何祥瑞。師曰。掃卻門前雪。

He was a son of the Zhao family of Chuzhou. On the day he opened the hall, a monk asked, 'The World-Honored One appeared in the world and golden lotuses gushed from the earth. The Reverend appears in the world—what auspicious sign is there?' The Master said, 'Sweep away the snow before the gate.'

常州南禪寧禪師

Chan Master Ning of Nanchan, Changzhou

僧問。廬陵米價作麼生詶。師曰。欵出囚口。

A monk asked, 'How will you answer the price of rice in Luling?' The Master said, 'Slow words come from a prisoner's mouth.'

越州石佛曉通禪師

Chan Master Xiaotong of Shifo, Yuezhou

上堂。冷似秋潭月。無心合太虗。山高流水急。何處駐遊魚。僧問。如何是頓教。師曰。月落寒潭。曰。如何是漸教。師曰。雲生碧漢。曰。不漸不頓時如何。師曰。八十老婆不言嫁。

Ascending the hall: 'Cold as the autumn pool's moon, with no mind it joins the great void. The mountain is high and the flowing water swift—where can the wandering fish rest?' A monk asked, 'What is the sudden teaching?' The Master said, 'The moon sets in the cold pool.' He said, 'What is the gradual teaching?' The Master said, 'Clouds arise in the blue sky.' He said, 'What of neither gradual nor sudden?' The Master said, 'An eighty-year-old woman does not speak of marrying.'

法雲秀禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Xiu of Fayun

東京法雲惟白佛國禪師

Chan Master Weibai Foguo of Fayun, the Eastern Capital

上堂。離婁有意。白浪徒以滔天。罔象無心。明珠忽然在掌。以手打一圓相。召大眾曰。還見麼。良久曰。看即有分。上堂。拈拄杖示眾曰。山僧住持七十餘日。未曾拈動這箇。而今不免現些小神通。供養諸人。遂卓拄杖。下座。上堂。過去已過去。未來且莫算。正當現在事。今朝正月半。明月正團圓。打鼓普請看。大眾看即不無。畢竟喚甚麼作月。休於天上覓。莫向水中尋。師有續燈錄三十卷。入藏。

Ascending the hall: 'When Lizi had the intention, white waves vainly flooded the sky; when Wangxiang had no mind, the bright pearl suddenly was in his palm.' He drew a circle with his hand, called to the assembly, and said, 'Do you see it?' After a long silence he said, 'Looking, you have a share.' Ascending the hall, he picked up his staff and showed it to the assembly, saying, 'This mountain monk has been abbot for over seventy days and has never picked up this. Today I cannot help but manifest a little spiritual power and make an offering to you people.' Then he set down the staff and left the seat. Ascending the hall: 'The past has already passed; do not reckon the future. As for the matter of the present, today is the fifteenth of the first month. The bright moon is perfectly round—beat the drum and let everyone look. Assembly, looking is not absent, but after all what do you call the moon? Do not seek it in the sky; do not look for it in the water.' The Master had a Continued Lamp Record in thirty scrolls, which was entered into the canon.

建康府保寧子英禪師

Chan Master Ziying of Baoning, Jiankangfu

錢塘人也。上堂。拈拄杖曰。日月不能竝明。河海不能競深。須彌不能同高。乾坤不能同固。聖凡智慧不及。且道這箇有甚麼長處。良久曰。節目分明。生來條直。冰雪敲開片片分。白雲點破承伊力。擊禪床。下座。

He was a man of Qiantang. Ascending the hall, he picked up his staff and said, 'Sun and moon cannot shine together; rivers and seas cannot vie in depth; Sumeru cannot match its height; heaven and earth cannot match its solidity. The wisdom of sage and commoner does not reach it. Tell me, what excellence does this have?' After a long silence he said, 'Its joints and nodes are clear, and it was straight from birth. Ice and snow are knocked open and split piece by piece; white clouds are pierced through by its power.' He struck the meditation bed and left the seat.

溫州僊巖景純禪師

Chan Master Jingchun of Xianyan, Wenzhou

僧問。德山棒。臨濟喝。和尚如何作用。師曰。老僧今日困。僧便喝。師曰。卻是你惺惺。

A monk asked, 'Deshan's stick, Linji's shout—how does the Reverend use them?' The Master said, 'This old monk is sleepy today.' The monk shouted. The Master said, 'It is you who are clear-headed.'

寧國府廣教守訥禪師(圓照上足。時稱訥叔)

Chan Master Shoune of Guangjiao, Ningguofu (a full heir of Yuanzhao, called Uncle Ne at the time)

僧問。如何是古今常存底句。師曰。鐵牛橫海岸。曰。如何是衲僧正眼。師曰。針劄不入。

A monk asked, 'What is the phrase that endures through past and present?' The Master said, 'An iron ox lies across the sea coast.' He said, 'What is the patch-robed monk's true eye?' The Master said, 'A needle cannot pierce it.'

興元府慈濟聰禪師

Chan Master Cong of Ciji, Xingyuanfu

僧問。如何是道。師曰。此去長安三十七程。曰。如何是道中人。師曰。撞頭磕額。問。不是風動。不是幡動。未審是甚麼動。師曰。低聲。低聲。問。如何是隨色摩尼珠。師曰。青青翠竹。鬱鬱黃花。曰。如何是正色。師曰。退後。退後。問。釋迦已滅。彌勒未生。未審誰為導首。師曰。鐵牛也須汗出。曰。莫便是為人處也無。師曰。細看前話。問。如何是超佛越祖之談。師曰。陝府鐵牛。上堂。三乘教典。不是真詮。直指本心。未為極則。若是通心上士。脫灑高流。出來相見。乃顧視大眾曰。休。上堂。終日孜孜相為。恰似牽牛上壁。大眾。何故如此貪生逐日區區去。喚不回頭爭奈何。上堂。一即一。二即二。把定要津。何處出氣。拈拄杖曰。彼自無瘡。勿傷之也。卓一下。下座。

A monk asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'From here to Chang'an is thirty-seven stages.' He said, 'What is the person in the Way?' The Master said, 'Bumping his head and knocking his brow.' A monk asked, 'It is not the wind that moves, it is not the banner that moves—I wonder what moves?' The Master said, 'Lower your voice, lower your voice.' A monk asked, 'What is the mani jewel that follows color?' The Master said, 'Green, green bamboo; lush, lush yellow flowers.' He said, 'What is the true color?' The Master said, 'Back off, back off.' A monk asked, 'Shakyamuni has passed away and Maitreya has not yet been born—I wonder who is the guide?' The Master said, 'Even an iron ox must sweat.' He said, 'Is this not then where one deals with people?' The Master said, 'Look carefully at the earlier words.' A monk asked, 'What is the talk that transcends Buddha and Patriarch?' The Master said, 'The iron ox of Shaanfu.' Ascending the hall: 'The scriptures of the three vehicles are not the true exposition; pointing directly at the original mind is not yet the ultimate. If there is a superior seeker who has penetrated the mind, a free and lofty one, let him come forward and meet me.' Then he looked around at the assembly and said, 'Stop.' Ascending the hall: 'All day I earnestly work for you, like pulling an ox up a wall. Assembly, why are you so greedy for life, scurrying day by day—call and you do not turn your head, what can be done?' Ascending the hall: 'One is one, two is two. Guard the vital pass—where will you catch your breath?' He picked up his staff and said, 'Since he has no sore, do not wound him.' He set it down once and left the seat.

安州白兆山通慧珪禪師

Chan Master Tonghui Gui of Mount Baizhao, Anzhou

上堂。幸逢嘉會。須採異聞。既遇寶山。莫令空手。不可他時後日。門扇後．壁角頭。自說大話也。窮天地。亙古今。即是當人一箇自性。於是中間。更無他物。諸人每日行時行著。臥時臥著。坐時坐著。祇對語言時滿口道著。以至揚眉瞬目。嗔喜愛憎。寂默遊戲。未始間斷。因甚麼不肯承當。自家歇去。良由無量劫來。愛欲情重。生死路長。背覺合塵。自生疑惑。譬如空中飛鳥。不知空是家鄉。水裡遊魚。忘卻水為性命。何得自抑。卻問傍人。大似捧飯稱飢。臨河呌渴。諸人要得休去麼。各請立地定著精神。一念回光。豁然自照。何異空中紅日。獨運無私。盤裡明珠。不撥自轉。然雖如是。祇為初機。向上機關。未曾踏著。且道作麼生是向上機關。良久曰。仰面看天不見天。

Ascending the hall: 'Happily meeting this fine gathering, you should gather extraordinary news; having come upon a mountain of treasure, do not go away empty-handed. You must not, some other time or later day, behind the door leaf or in the corner of the wall, talk big to yourselves. Exhausting heaven and earth, spanning past and present, it is just each person's own nature. In between there is no other thing. You people walk when you walk, lie down when you lie down, sit when you sit, and when facing words your mouth is full of it; down to raising the eyebrows and blinking, anger and delight, love and hate, silence and play—it has never been interrupted. Why will you not take it up and settle down in it yourselves? Only because from measureless kalpas your love and desire have been heavy and the road of birth and death long, so you turn your back on awakening and join with dust and give rise to doubts yourselves. It is like a bird flying in the sky that does not know the sky is its home, or a fish swimming in water that forgets water is its life. Why let yourself be pressed down and instead ask others? It is very much like holding rice and crying hungry, or standing at a river and shouting thirsty. Do you people want to be able to rest? Each of you, please stand, settle your spirit, and turn the light around in one thought; then you will suddenly illumine yourselves. How is that different from the red sun in the sky, moving alone without partiality, or the bright pearl on a plate, turning without being spun? Even so, this is only for beginners. The mechanism above has not yet been trodden. Tell me, what is the mechanism above?' After a long silence he said, 'Lifting your face to look at the sky, you do not see the sky.'

廬州長安淨名法因禪師

Chan Master Fatong of Jingming, Chang'an, Luzhou

上堂。天上月圓。人間月半。七八是數。事卻難算。隱顯不辨即且置。黑白未分一句作麼生道。良久曰。相逢秋色裡。共話月明中。上堂。祖師妙訣。別無可說。直饒釘觜鐵舌。未免弄巧成拙。淨名已把天機洩。

Ascending the hall: 'In heaven the moon is round, among men it is half. Seven and eight are numbers, yet the matter is hard to reckon. Whether hidden or manifest cannot be distinguished—set that aside; what of the phrase before black and white are divided?' After a long silence he said, 'Meeting in the autumn colors, talking together in the bright moon.' Ascending the hall: 'The Patriarch's wondrous secret has nothing else to say. Even with a nail-mouth and iron-tongue, one cannot avoid being clever and making a fool of oneself. Jingming has already leaked the heavenly mechanism.'

浮槎山福嚴守初禪師

Chan Master Shouchu of Fuyan, Mount Fucha

僧問。如何是受用三昧。師曰。拈匙放筯。問。如何是正直一路。師曰。踏不著。曰。踏著後如何。師曰。四方八面。乃曰。若論此事。放行則曹谿路上月白風清。把定則少室峰前雲收霧卷。如斯語論。已涉多途。但由一念相應。方信不從人得。大眾且道。從甚麼處得。良久曰。水流元在海。月落不離天。上堂。即性之相。一亙晴空。即相之性。千波競起。若徹來源。清流無阻。所以舉一念而塵沙法門頓顯。拈一毫而無邊剎境齊彰。且道文殊普賢在甚麼處。下坡不走。快便難逢。便下座。

A monk asked, 'What is the samadhi of enjoyment?' The Master said, 'Lifting the spoon and setting down the chopsticks.' A monk asked, 'What is the one straight road?' The Master said, 'You cannot tread on it.' He said, 'And after treading on it?' The Master said, 'Four directions, eight faces.' Then he said, 'If we speak of this matter: let it go and on the Caoxi road the moon is white and the wind clear; hold it fast and before Shaoshi Peak the clouds withdraw and the mist rolls up. To talk like this has already involved many paths. Only when one thought accords will you believe that it is not obtained from others. Assembly, tell me, from where is it obtained?' After a long silence he said, 'The flowing water is originally in the sea; the setting moon does not leave the sky.' Ascending the hall: 'The mark that is just the nature—one stretch of clear sky; the nature that is just the mark—a thousand waves rising together. If you penetrate to the source, the clear stream has no obstruction. Therefore, raise one thought and the dust-mote dharma gates at once appear; lift one hair and the boundless lands all shine forth. Tell me, where are Manjushri and Samantabhadra? Going downhill, if you do not run, you rarely get such an easy chance.' And he left the seat.

鼎州德山仁繪禪師

Chan Master Renhui of Deshan, Dingzhou