The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One
一日在法堂後坐禪。馬祖見。乃吹師耳。兩吹師起。見是祖。卻復入定。祖歸方丈。令侍者持一椀茶與師。師不顧。便自歸堂。
One day the master was meditating behind the Dharma Hall. Mazu saw him and blew twice into his ear. The master rose, saw that it was the Patriarch, and returned to meditation. Mazu went back to his quarters and sent an attendant with a bowl of tea. The master paid no attention and returned to the monks’ hall on his own.
澧州茗谿道行禪師
Chan Master Daoxing of Mingxi, Lizhou.
甞曰。吾有大病。非世所醫(後僧問曹山。古人曰。吾有大病。非世所醫。未審是甚麼病。山曰。攢簇不得底病。曰。一切眾生還有此病也無。山曰。人人盡有。曰。和尚還有此病也無。山曰。正覔起處不得。曰。一切眾生為甚麼不病。山曰。一切眾生若病。即非眾生。曰。未審諸佛還有此病也無。山曰。有。曰。既有。為甚麼不病。山曰。為伊惺惺)。僧問。如何脩行。師曰。好箇阿師。莫客作。曰。畢竟如何。師曰。安置即不堪。問。如何是正修行路。師曰。涅槃後有。曰。如何是涅槃後有。師曰。不洗面。曰。學人不會。師曰。無面得洗。
He once said: ‘I have a grave illness that cannot be cured by anything in the world.’ (Later, a monk asked Caoshan: ‘An ancient said, “I have a grave illness that cannot be cured by anything in the world.” What illness was it?’ Caoshan replied: ‘An illness that cannot be gathered up.’ ‘Do all sentient beings have it?’ ‘Every one of them.’ ‘Does the master have it?’ ‘I cannot find where it begins.’ ‘Why are sentient beings not ill?’ ‘If they were ill, they would no longer be sentient beings.’ ‘Do the Buddhas have it?’ ‘They do.’ ‘Why are they not ill?’ ‘Because they are awake.’) A monk asked: ‘How should one practice?’ The master said: ‘A fine monk you are; do not work as a hired hand.’ ‘Ultimately, what is it?’ ‘It cannot be managed or arranged.’ ‘What is the right path of practice?’ ‘What remains after nirvana.’ ‘What remains after nirvana?’ ‘Not washing one’s face.’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘There is no face to wash.’
撫州石鞏慧藏禪師
Chan Master Huizang of Shigong, Fuzhou.
本以弋獵為務。惡見沙門。因逐鹿從馬祖庵前過。祖乃逆之。師遂問。還見鹿過否。祖曰。汝是何人。曰。獵者。祖曰。汝解射否。曰。解射。祖曰。汝一箭射幾箇。曰。一箭射一箇。祖曰。汝不解射。曰。和尚解射否。祖曰。解射。曰。一箭射幾箇。祖曰。一箭射一群。曰。彼此生命。何用射他一群。祖曰。汝既知如是。何不自射。曰。若教某甲自射。直是無下手處。祖曰。這漢曠劫無明煩惱。今日頓息。師擲下弓箭。投祖出家。一日。在廚作務次。祖問。作甚麼。曰。牧牛。祖曰。作麼生牧。曰。一回入草去。驀鼻拽將回。祖曰。子真牧牛。師便休。師住後常以弓箭接機(載三平章)。師問西堂。汝還解捉得虗空麼。堂曰。捉得。師曰。作麼生捉。堂以手撮虗空。師曰。汝不解捉。堂卻問。師兄作麼生捉。師把西堂鼻孔拽。堂作忍痛聲曰。太煞。拽人鼻孔。直欲脫去。師曰。直須恁麼捉虗空始得。眾參次。師曰。適來底甚麼處去也。有僧曰。在。師曰。在甚麼處。僧彈指一聲。問。如何免得生死。師曰。用免作甚麼。曰。如何免得。師曰。這底不生死。
He had made his living as a hunter and hated seeing monks. Once, while chasing a deer, he passed Mazu’s hermitage. Mazu came out to meet him. The master asked: ‘Have you seen a deer pass by?’ Mazu asked: ‘Who are you?’ ‘A hunter.’ ‘Can you shoot?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How many can you hit with one arrow?’ ‘One.’ ‘Then you do not know how to shoot.’ ‘Can you shoot, Master?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How many with one arrow?’ ‘A whole herd.’ ‘They are all living beings. Why shoot a whole herd?’ Mazu said: ‘Since you know that, why do you not shoot yourself?’ The master replied: ‘If you asked me to shoot myself, I would have nowhere to begin.’ Mazu said: ‘This fellow’s ignorance and afflictions of beginningless ages have suddenly ceased today.’ The master threw down his bow and arrows and became a monk under Mazu. One day he was working in the kitchen, and Mazu asked: ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Tending an ox.’ ‘How do you tend it?’ ‘Whenever it wanders into the grass, I pull it back by the nose.’ Mazu said: ‘You truly know how to tend an ox.’ The master stopped. After he took up residence, he often used a bow and arrows to respond to students (see the chapter on Sanping). The master asked Xitang: ‘Can you seize empty space?’ ‘I can.’ ‘How?’ Xitang grabbed at the air with his hand. The master said: ‘You do not know how to seize it.’ Xitang asked: ‘How does senior brother do it?’ The master tugged Xitang by the nose. Xitang cried out in pain: ‘You are pulling my nose so hard it feels as if it will come off!’ The master said: ‘Only by seizing empty space this way will you do.’ While the assembly was studying, the master asked: ‘Where has what was just here gone?’ A monk said: ‘It is here.’ ‘Where?’ The monk snapped his fingers. Someone asked: ‘How can one escape birth and death?’ The master said: ‘Why try to escape?’ ‘How can one escape?’ ‘This one is not subject to birth and death.’
江西北蘭讓禪師
Chan Master Rang of Beilan, Jiangxi.
湖塘亮長老問。承聞師兄畫得先師真。暫請瞻禮。師以兩手擘胷開示之。亮便禮拜。師曰。莫禮。莫禮。亮曰。師兄錯也。某甲不禮師兄。師曰。汝禮先師真那。亮曰。因甚麼教莫禮。師曰。何曾錯。
Elder Liang of Hutang said: ‘I hear that senior brother painted a portrait of our late teacher. May I have a look and pay my respects?’ The master opened his chest with both hands and showed it to him. Liang bowed. The master said: ‘Do not bow, do not bow.’ Liang replied: ‘Senior brother is mistaken. I am not bowing to you.’ The master asked: ‘Then are you bowing to the portrait of our late teacher?’ Liang asked: ‘Why tell me not to bow?’ The master said: ‘How was I ever mistaken?’
袁州南源道明禪師
Chan Master Daoming of Nanyuan, Yuanzhou.
上堂。快馬一鞭。快人一言。有事何不出頭來。無事各自珍重。僧問。一言作麼生。師乃吐舌雲。待我有廣長舌相。即向汝道。洞山參。方上法堂。師曰。已相見了也。山便下去。明日卻上。問曰。昨日已蒙和尚慈悲。不知甚麼處是與某甲已相見處。師曰。心心無間斷。流入於性海。山曰。幾合放過。山辭。師曰。多學佛法。廣作利益。山曰。多學佛法即不問。如何是廣作利益。師曰。一物莫違。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。不可道你是也。
Ascending the hall, he said: ‘A swift horse needs only one stroke of the whip; a keen person needs only one word. If you have something to say, why not step forward? If you have nothing, take good care of yourselves.’ A monk asked: ‘What is that one word?’ The master stuck out his tongue and said: ‘When I have the broad, long tongue of a Buddha, I will tell you.’ Dongshan came to visit. As soon as he entered the hall, the master said: ‘We have already met.’ Dongshan went back down. The next day he returned and asked: ‘Yesterday I received your kindness, but where did you and I meet?’ The master said: ‘Mind flows without interruption into the ocean of nature.’ Dongshan said: ‘I nearly let that pass.’ As Dongshan took leave, the master said: ‘Study much Buddhadharma and benefit others widely.’ Dongshan said: ‘I am not asking about studying much Buddhadharma. What is benefiting others widely?’ The master said: ‘Do not oppose a single thing.’ A monk asked: ‘What is Buddha?’ The master said: ‘You cannot say that you are it.’
忻州酈村自滿禪師
Chan Master Ziman of Lichun, Xinzhou.
上堂。古今不異。法爾如然。更復何也。雖然如此。這箇事大有人罔措在。僧問。不落古今。請師直道。師曰。情知汝罔措。僧欲進語。師曰。將謂老僧落伊古今。曰。如何即是。師曰。魚騰碧漢。階級難飛。曰。如何免得此過。師曰。若是龍形。誰論高下。僧禮拜。師曰。苦哉。屈哉。誰人似我。上堂。除卻日明夜暗。更說甚麼即得。珍重。問。如何是無諍之句。師曰。喧天動地。
Ascending the hall, he said: ‘Past and present do not differ; things are just as they are. What more is there to say? Even so, many people are at a loss about this matter.’ A monk asked: ‘Without falling into past or present, please speak directly.’ The master said: ‘I knew you would be at a loss.’ The monk was about to speak. The master said: ‘I thought you would say I had fallen into your past and present.’ ‘Then what is it?’ ‘A fish leaps into the blue sky; no ladder can take it there.’ ‘How can one avoid that mistake?’ ‘If it is a dragon, who speaks of high or low?’ The monk bowed. The master said: ‘Alas, what a grievance! Who is like me?’ Ascending the hall, he said: ‘Apart from daylight and nighttime darkness, what else need be said? Take care.’ Asked: ‘What is the phrase that does not contend?’ He answered: ‘It makes a clamor that shakes heaven and earth.’
朗州中邑洪恩禪師
Chan Master Hong’en of Zhongyi, Langzhou.
每見僧來。拍口作和和聲。仰山謝戒。師亦拍口作和和聲。仰從西過東。師又拍口作和和聲。仰從東過西。師又拍口作和和聲。仰當中而立。然後謝戒。師曰。甚麼處得此三昧。仰曰。於曹谿印子上脫來。師曰。汝道曹谿用此三昧接甚麼人。仰曰。接一宿覺。仰曰。和尚甚處得此三昧。師曰。我於馬大師處得此三昧。仰問。如何得見佛性義。師曰。我與汝說箇譬喻。如一室有六窻。內有一獼猴。外有獼猴從東邊喚猩猩。猩猩即應。如是六窻俱喚俱應。仰山禮謝。起曰。適蒙和尚譬喻。無不了知。更有一事。祇如內獼猴睡著。外獼猴欲與相見。又且如何。師下繩床。執仰山手作舞曰。猩猩與汝相見了。譬如蟭螟蟲。在蚊子眼睫上作窠。向十字街頭呌雲。土曠人稀。相逢者少(雲居錫雲。中邑當時若不得仰山這一句語。何處有中邑也。崇壽稠雲。還有人定得此道理麼。若定不得。只是箇弄精魂腳手。佛性義在甚麼處。玄覺雲。若不是仰山。爭得見中邑。且道甚麼處是仰山得見中邑處)。
Whenever a monk came, he would pat his mouth and make the sound ‘he-he.’ When Yangshan came to receive the precepts, the master did the same. Yangshan walked from west to east, and the master again made the sound. Yangshan walked from east to west, and the master repeated it. Yangshan stood in the middle and then offered his thanks for the precepts. The master asked: ‘Where did you get this samadhi?’ Yangshan said: ‘I received it from the seal of Caoxi.’ ‘Who did Caoxi use this samadhi to receive?’ ‘Yisu Jue.’ Yangshan asked: ‘Where did you get this samadhi?’ ‘I received it from Great Master Ma.’ Yangshan asked: ‘How can one see the meaning of Buddha-nature?’ The master said: ‘I will give you an analogy. In a room with six windows there is a monkey inside. Outside, another monkey calls from the east window, and the one inside answers. The same thing happens when each of the six windows calls.’ Yangshan bowed and said: ‘Your analogy leaves nothing unclear. But suppose the monkey inside falls asleep and the monkey outside wants to meet him. What then?’ The master got down from his rope seat, took Yangshan by the hand, and danced, saying: ‘The monkey has met you.’ It is like a tiny insect nesting on a mosquito’s eyelash, calling out at a crossroads: ‘The land is vast and people are few; those who meet are rare.’ (Yunju Xi said: ‘If Yangshan had not given Zhongyi that line, where would Zhongyi have been?’ Chongshou Chou said: ‘Can anyone settle this? If not, this is merely a trick of playing with vital energy. Where is the meaning of Buddha-nature?’ Xuanjue said: ‘Without Yangshan, how could we see Zhongyi? Tell me, where did Yangshan see Zhongyi?’)
洪州泐潭常興禪師
Chan Master Changxing of Leitan, Hongzhou.
僧問。如何是曹谿門下客。師曰。南來燕。曰。學人不會。師曰。養羽候秋風。問。如何是宗乘極則事。師曰。秋雨草離披。南泉至。見師面壁。乃拊師背。師問。汝是阿誰。曰。普願。師曰。如何。曰。也尋常。師曰。汝何多事。
A monk asked: ‘Who is a disciple of Caoxi?’ The master said: ‘A swallow coming from the south.’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘It grows its feathers and waits for the autumn wind.’ Asked: ‘What is the highest matter of the lineage?’ He said: ‘The grass lies scattered in the autumn rain.’ Nanquan arrived and saw the master facing the wall. He patted the master on the back. The master asked: ‘Who are you?’ ‘Puyuan.’ ‘What do you want?’ ‘Nothing special.’ ‘Why are you making so much fuss?’
汾州無業禪師
Chan Master Wuye of Fenzhou.
商州上洛杜氏子。母李氏聞空中言。寄居得否。乃覺有娠。誕生之夕。神光滿室。甫及丱歲。行必直視。坐即跏趺。九歲。依開元寺志本禪師受大乘經。五行俱下。諷誦無遺。十二落髮。二十受具戒於襄州幽律師。習四分律疏。才終。便能敷演。每為眾僧講涅槃大部。冬夏無廢。後聞馬大師禪門鼎盛。特往瞻禮。祖覩其狀貌奇偉。語音如鐘。乃曰。巍巍佛堂。其中無佛。師禮跪而問曰。三乘文學。粗窮其旨。常聞禪門即心是佛。實未能了。祖曰。祇未了底心即是。更無別物。師曰。如何是祖師西來密傳心印。祖曰。大德正閙在。且去。別時來。師才出。祖召曰。大德。師回首。祖曰。是甚麼。師便領悟。乃禮拜。祖曰。這鈍漢禮拜作麼(雲居錫雲。甚麼處是汾州正閙)。自得旨後。詣曹溪禮祖塔。及廬嶽天台。徧尋聖跡。後住開元精舍。學者致問。多答之曰。莫妄想。唐憲宗屢召。師皆辭疾不赴。暨穆宗即位。思一瞻禮。乃命兩街僧錄靈阜等齎詔迎請。至彼作禮曰。皇上此度恩旨。不同常時。願和尚且順天心。不可言疾也。師微笑曰。貧道何德。累煩世王。且請前行。吾從別道去矣。乃澡身剃髮。至中夜告弟子惠愔等曰。汝等見聞覺知之性。與太虗同壽。不生不滅。一切境界。本自空寂。無一法可得。迷者不了。即為境惑。一為境惑。流轉不窮。汝等當知。心性本自有之。非因造作。猶如金剛不可破壞。一切諸法。如影如響。無有實者。經云。唯此一事實。餘二則非真。常了一切空。無一物當情。是諸佛用心處。汝等勤而行之。言訖。跏趺而逝。荼毗日。祥雲五色。異香四徹。所獲舍利璨若珠玉。弟子等貯以金缾。塟於石塔。當長慶三年。諡大達國師。
He was born into the Du family of Shangluo, Shangzhou. His mother, Lady Li, heard a voice in the air ask, ‘May I lodge here?’ and realized she was pregnant. On the night he was born, a divine light filled the room. As a young child he always walked looking straight ahead and sat cross-legged. At nine he studied Mahayana sutras under Chan Master Zhiben at Kaiyuan Monastery, reading five lines at a glance and reciting without omission. He left home at twelve and received the full precepts at twenty from Vinaya Master You of You Monastery in Xiangzhou. He studied the Commentary on the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and could expound it as soon as he finished. He regularly lectured to the monks on the great Nirvana Sutra, in summer and winter alike. Later he heard that Mazu’s Chan community was flourishing and went especially to pay his respects. The Patriarch saw his impressive appearance and bell-like voice and said: ‘A lofty Buddha hall, but no Buddha within.’ The master knelt and asked: ‘I have roughly understood the teachings of the Three Vehicles. I often hear that the Chan school says mind itself is Buddha, but I have not yet understood.’ Mazu said: ‘The very mind that has not understood is it; there is nothing else.’ The master asked: ‘What is the Patriarch’s secret transmission of the mind seal from the West?’ Mazu said: ‘Great Virtue, you are making a commotion. Go for now and come another time.’ Just as the master left, Mazu called: ‘Great Virtue!’ He looked back. Mazu asked: ‘What is it?’ The master understood at once and bowed. Mazu said: ‘Why is this dull fellow bowing?’ (Yunju Xi asked: ‘Where was Wuye making a commotion?’) After realizing the intent, he visited Caoxi to pay respects at the Patriarch’s stupa, then traveled throughout Lushan and Tiantai to seek sacred sites. Later he lived at Kaiyuan Hermitage. He usually answered students’ questions with: ‘Do not entertain deluded thoughts.’ Emperor Xianzong of Tang summoned him repeatedly, but each time the master declined on grounds of illness. When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, he wished to see him and sent the two chief clerics, Lingfu and others, with an edict to invite him. They paid their respects and said: ‘This time the emperor’s command is unlike the usual summons. We hope the master will honor the imperial wish and not plead illness.’ The master smiled faintly: ‘What virtue does this poor monk have, to trouble the ruler of the world? Please go on ahead; I will take another road.’ He bathed and shaved his head, then at midnight told his disciples Huiyin and the others: ‘Your nature of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing shares the life span of the great void: it is unborn and undying. All realms are originally empty and still; not a single dharma can be obtained. The deluded do not understand and are confused by objects; once confused, they transmigrate without end. Know that mind-nature is originally yours, not produced by fabrication, and is indestructible like a diamond. All dharmas are like shadows and echoes, without reality. The sutra says: “Only this one reality is true; the other two are not.” Always understand that all is empty and no thing is held in mind: this is how the Buddhas use mind. Practice this diligently.’ Having finished, he sat cross-legged and passed away. On the day of cremation, five-colored auspicious clouds appeared and wondrous fragrance spread in every direction. The relics shone like pearls and jade. His disciples placed them in a gold vessel and buried them in a stone stupa. This was in the third year of Changqing. He was posthumously titled National Master Dada.
澧州大同廣澄禪師
Chan Master Guangcheng of Datong, Lizhou.
僧問。如何得六根滅去。師曰。輪劒擲空。無傷於物。問。如何是本來人。師曰。共坐不相識。曰。恁麼則學人禮謝去也。師曰。暗寫愁腸寄與誰。
A monk asked: ‘How can the six faculties be extinguished?’ The master said: ‘A wheel sword hurled through empty space harms nothing.’ Asked: ‘Who is the original person?’ He said: ‘We sit together yet do not know one another.’ The monk said: ‘Then I shall bow in thanks and take my leave.’ The master said: ‘To whom can I secretly send this sorrow in my heart?’
信州鵝湖大義禪師
Chan Master Dayi of Ehu, Xinzhou.
衢州須江徐氏子。唐憲宗嘗詔入內。於麟德殿論義。有法師問。如何是四諦。師曰。聖上一帝。三帝何在。又問。欲界無禪。禪居色界。此土憑何而立。禪師曰。法師祇知欲界無禪。不知禪界無欲。曰。如何是禪。師以手點空。法師無對。帝曰。法師講無窮經論。祇這一點。尚不柰何。師卻問諸碩德曰。行住坐臥。畢竟以何為道。有對。知者是道。師曰。不可以智知。不可以識識。安得知者是乎。有對。無分別者是。師曰。善能分別諸法相。於第一義而不動。安得無分別是乎。有對。四禪八定是。師曰。佛身無為。不墮諸數。安在四禪八定邪。眾皆杜口。師卻舉順宗問尸利禪師。大地眾生如何得見性成佛。利曰。佛性猶如水中月。可見不可取。因謂帝曰。佛性非見必見。水中月如何攫取。帝乃問。何者是佛性。師對曰。不離陛下所問。帝默契真宗。益加欽重有一僧乞置塔。李翱尚書問曰。教中不許將屍塔下過。又作麼生。僧無對。僧卻問師。師曰。他得大闡提。元和十三年歸寂。諡慧覺禪師。
He was born into the Xu family of Xujiang, Quzhou. Emperor Xianzong once summoned him to the palace to debate at Lin’de Hall. A Dharma master asked: ‘What are the Four Noble Truths?’ The master said: ‘The emperor is one sovereign; where are the other three?’ The Dharma master asked: ‘There is no meditation in the desire realm, and meditation belongs to the form realm. On what does it rest in this land?’ The master replied: ‘You know that there is no meditation in the desire realm, but do not know that in the realm of meditation there is no desire.’ ‘What is meditation?’ The master pointed into the air. The Dharma master had no answer. The emperor said: ‘The Dharma master has lectured on endless sutras and treatises, yet cannot deal with this one point.’ The master then asked the eminent teachers: ‘In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, what ultimately is the Way?’ One answered: ‘That which knows is the Way.’ The master said: ‘It cannot be known by wisdom or recognized by consciousness. How can the knower be it?’ Another said: ‘It is that which makes no distinctions.’ The master replied: ‘One should skillfully discern the characteristics of all dharmas while remaining unmoved in the highest truth. How can it be mere nondiscrimination?’ Another answered: ‘The four dhyanas and eight concentrations.’ The master said: ‘The Buddha-body is unconditioned and does not fall within any number. How could it be among the four dhyanas and eight concentrations?’ Everyone fell silent. The master then recounted Emperor Shunzong’s question to Chan Master Shili: ‘How can the beings of the great earth see their nature and become Buddhas?’ Shili said: ‘Buddha-nature is like the moon in water: it can be seen but not grasped.’ The master told the emperor: ‘Buddha-nature is not something that must be seen, yet it is truly seen. How could one seize the moon in water?’ The emperor asked: ‘What is Buddha-nature?’ The master replied: ‘It is not apart from Your Majesty’s question.’ The emperor silently understood the true teaching and respected him ever more. A monk asked for permission to build a stupa. Minister Li Ao said: ‘The teachings forbid carrying a corpse past a stupa. What will you do?’ The monk had no answer and asked the master. The master said: ‘He has attained the great icchantika.’ In the thirteenth year of Yuanhe he passed away. He was posthumously titled Chan Master Huijue.
伊闕伏牛山自在禪師
Chan Master Zizai of Mount Funiu, Yique.
吳興李氏子。初依國一禪師。受具後參馬祖發明心地。祖令送書與忠國師。國師曰。馬大師以何法示徒。曰。即心即佛。國師曰。是甚麼語話。良久又問曰。此外更有何言教。師曰。非心非佛。或曰不是心。不是佛。不是物。國師曰。猶較些子。師曰。馬大師即恁麼。未審和尚此間如何。國師曰。三點如流水。曲似刈禾鎌。師後居伏牛山。上堂曰。即心即佛。是無病求藥句。非心非佛。是藥病對治句。僧問。如何是脫灑底句。師曰。伏牛山下古今傳。示滅於隨州開元寺。
He was a son of the Li family of Wuxing. At first he studied with Chan Master Guoyi. After receiving full ordination, he studied under Mazu and clarified the ground of mind. The patriarch sent him with a letter to National Preceptor Zhong. The preceptor asked, ‘What Dharma does Master Ma use to instruct his disciples?’ He replied, ‘Mind itself is Buddha.’ The preceptor said, ‘What sort of talk is that?’ After a long pause, he asked again, ‘Does he teach anything else?’ The master said, ‘Neither mind nor Buddha; sometimes he says, “It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not a thing.”’ The preceptor said, ‘That is somewhat closer.’ The master said, ‘Master Ma is like this. I wonder what you teach here.’ The preceptor replied, ‘Three dots flow like water; a curved stroke is like a sickle cutting grain.’ Later the master lived on Mount Funiu. At a sermon he said, ‘“Mind itself is Buddha” is a phrase for seeking medicine when one is not sick. “Neither mind nor Buddha” is a phrase for matching medicine to illness.’ A monk asked, ‘What is a phrase of complete freedom?’ He said, ‘It has been handed down through past and present beneath Mount Funiu.’ He manifested stillness at Kaiyuan Monastery in Suizhou.
京兆興善寺惟寬禪師
Chan Master Weikuan of Xing Shan Monastery in Jingzhao
衢州信安祝氏子。年十三。見殺生者。衋然不忍食。乃求出家。初習毗尼。修止觀。後參大寂。乃得心要。唐貞元六年。始行化於吳越間。八年至鄱陽。山神求受八戒。十三年。止嵩山少林寺。僧問。如何是道。師曰。大好山。曰。學人問道。師何言好山。師曰。汝秖識好山。何曾達道。問。狗子還有佛性否。師曰。有。曰。和尚還有否。師曰。我無。曰。一切眾生皆有佛性。和尚因何獨無。師曰。我非一切眾生。曰。既非眾生。莫是佛否。師曰。不是佛。曰。究竟是何物。師曰。亦不是物。曰。可見可思否。師曰。思之不及。議之不得。故曰不可思議。元和四年憲宗詔至闕下。侍郎白居易嘗問曰。既曰禪師。何以說法。師曰。無上菩提者。被於身為律。說於口為法。行於心為禪。應用者三。其致一也。譬如江湖淮漢。在處立名。名雖不一。水性無二。律即是法。法不離禪。云何於中妄起分別。曰。既無分別。何以修心。師曰。心本無損傷。云何要修理。無論垢與淨。一切勿念起。曰。垢即不可念。淨無念可乎。師曰。如人眼睛上。一物不可住。金屑雖珍寶。在眼亦為病。曰。無修無念。又何異凡夫邪。師曰。凡夫無明。二乘執著。離此二病。是曰真修。真修者不得勤。不得忘。勤即近執著。忘即落無明。此為心要雲爾。僧問。道在何處。師曰。祇在目前。曰。我何不見。師曰。汝有我故。所以不見。曰。我有我故即不見。和尚還見否。師曰。有汝有我。展轉不見。曰。無我無汝還見否。師曰。無汝無我。阿誰求見。元和十二年二月晦日。陞堂說法訖。就化。諡大徹禪師。
He was a son of the Zhu family of Xin'an in Quzhou. At thirteen, seeing an animal being killed, he was overcome with compassion and could no longer bear to eat meat, so he sought to leave home. At first he studied the Vinaya and practiced calming and contemplation. Later he visited Daji and realized the essential mind. In the sixth year of Zhenyuan under the Tang, he began teaching in the Wu and Yue regions. In the eighth year he reached Poyang, where the mountain spirit asked to receive the eight precepts. In the thirteenth year he stayed at Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song. A monk asked, ‘What is the Way?’ The master said, ‘What a fine mountain!’ The monk said, ‘I asked about the Way. Why do you speak of a fine mountain?’ He said, ‘You recognize a fine mountain, but how have you ever realized the Way?’ Asked, ‘Does a dog have Buddha-nature?’ he said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Does the master have it too?’ ‘I do not.’ ‘All sentient beings have Buddha-nature. Why are you alone without it?’ ‘I am not one of all sentient beings.’ ‘Since you are not a sentient being, are you a Buddha?’ ‘I am not a Buddha.’ ‘Then what are you, ultimately?’ ‘I am not a thing either.’ ‘Can it be seen or thought about?’ ‘Thought cannot reach it, and discussion cannot grasp it; therefore it is called inconceivable.’ In the fourth year of Yuanhe, Emperor Xianzong summoned him to the palace. The Gentleman-in-Attendance Bai Juyi once asked, ‘Since you are called a Chan master, why do you teach the Dharma?’ The master said, ‘The unsurpassed awakening, when embodied, is discipline; when spoken, it is Dharma; when enacted in the mind, it is Chan. Though its applications are three, its source is one. It is like the Yangtze, lakes, Huai, and Han: each place gives the water a different name, but the nature of water is the same. Discipline is Dharma, and Dharma does not depart from Chan. Why make arbitrary distinctions among them?’ Bai said, ‘If there is no distinction, why cultivate the mind?’ The master said, ‘The mind is originally unharmed; why repair it? Whether defiled or pure, do not let thoughts arise about anything.’ Bai said, ‘If one must not think of defilement, is it all right to think of purity?’ The master said, ‘It is like something resting on the eye. Even gold dust, though a precious treasure, becomes an ailment when it is in the eye.’ Bai said, ‘If there is neither cultivation nor thought, how are you different from an ordinary person?’ The master said, ‘Ordinary people are deluded by ignorance; those of the Two Vehicles are attached. Leaving these two ailments is called true cultivation. In true cultivation, do not be overzealous and do not be negligent. Zeal draws one toward attachment; negligence sinks one into ignorance. This is the essential point of mind.’ A monk asked, ‘Where is the Way?’ He said, ‘Right before you.’ The monk said, ‘Why can I not see it?’ He said, ‘Because you have a self, you cannot see.’ The monk said, ‘Because I have a self, I cannot see. Can the master see?’ He said, ‘When there are you and me, neither can see the other.’ ‘If there are neither you nor me, can one see?’ ‘With neither you nor me, who is there to seek to see?’ On the last day of the second month in the twelfth year of Yuanhe, after teaching from the hall, he passed away. He was posthumously titled Chan Master Dache.
鄂州無等禪師
Chan Master Wudeng of Ezhou
尉氏人也。出家於龔公山。密受心要。出住隨州土門。一日謁州牧王常侍。辭退將出門。牧召曰。和尚。師回顧。牧敲柱三下。師以手作圓相。復三撥之。便行。後住武昌大寂寺。一日大眾晚參。師見人人上來師前道不審。廼謂眾曰。大眾。適來聲向甚麼處去也。有一僧竪起指頭。師曰。珍重。其僧至來朝上參。師乃轉身面壁而臥。佯作呻吟聲曰。老僧三兩日來。不多安樂。大德身邊有甚麼藥物。與老僧些。小僧以手拍淨缾曰。這箇淨缾甚麼處得來。師曰。這箇是老僧底。大德底在甚麼處。曰。亦是和尚底。亦是某甲底。
He was from Weishi. He left home on Mount Gonggong and secretly received the essential mind teaching. He took up residence at Tumen in Suizhou. One day he visited the prefect Wang, a palace attendant. As the master took his leave and was about to go out, the prefect called, ‘Master!’ The master looked back. The prefect knocked three times on a pillar. The master formed a circle with his hand, then made three strokes through it, and left. Later he lived at Daji Monastery in Wuchang. One evening the assembly gathered for the late session. Seeing everyone come before him and say, ‘Good evening, Master,’ he asked them, ‘Where did the sound just go?’ A monk raised one finger. The master said, ‘Take care.’ The next morning the monk came to the morning session. The master turned his back, faced the wall, lay down, and pretended to groan. ‘For two or three days this old monk has not felt well. Do you have any medicine with you? Give me some.’ The monk tapped the clean-water bottle with his hand. The master asked, ‘Where did this bottle come from?’ The monk said, ‘This bottle belongs to the master. Where is yours?’ He replied, ‘It belongs both to the master and to me.’
潭州三角山總印禪師
Chan Master Zongyin of S jiao Mountain in Tanzhou
僧問。如何是三寶。師曰。禾．麥．豆。曰。學人不會。師曰。大眾欣然奉持。上堂。若論此事。眨上眉毛。早已蹉過也。麻谷便問。眨上眉毛即不問。如何是此事。師曰。蹉過也。谷乃掀倒禪床。師便打(長慶代雲。悄然)。
A monk asked, ‘What are the Three Jewels?’ The master said, ‘Rice, wheat, and beans.’ The monk said, ‘I do not understand.’ He replied, ‘The assembly joyfully receives and upholds them.’ At a sermon he said, ‘As for this matter, the moment your eyebrows twitch, you have already missed it.’ Magu then asked, ‘I will not ask about twitching your eyebrows. What is this matter?’ The master said, ‘You have missed it.’ Magu overturned the meditation seat. The master struck him. (Changqing substituted, ‘Silently.’)
池州魯祖山寶雲禪師
Chan Master Baoyun of Mount Lu Zu in Chizhou
僧問。如何是諸佛師。師曰。頭上有寶冠者不是。曰。如何即是。師曰。頭上無寶冠。洞山來參。禮拜。起。侍立。少頃而出。卻再入來。師曰。祇恁麼。祇恁麼。所以如此。山曰。大有人不肯。師曰。作麼取汝口辯。山便禮拜。僧問。如何是不言言。師曰。汝口在甚麼處。曰。無口。師曰。將甚麼吃飯。僧無對(洞山代雲。他不飢。吃甚麼飯)。師尋常見僧來。便面壁。南泉聞曰。我尋常向師僧道。向佛未出世時會取。尚不得一箇半箇。他恁麼驢年去(玄覺雲。為復唱和語。不肯語。保福問長慶。祇如魯祖。節文在甚麼處。被南泉恁麼道。長慶雲。退己讓於人。萬中無一箇。羅山雲。陳老師當時若見背上與五火抄。何故為伊解放不解收。玄沙雲。我當時若見。也與五火抄。雲居錫雲。羅山．玄沙總恁麼道。為復一般。別有道理。若擇得出許上座佛法有去處。玄覺雲。且道玄沙五火抄。打伊著不著)。
A monk asked, ‘Who is the teacher of all Buddhas?’ The master said, ‘It is not the one with a jeweled crown on his head.’ Asked who it was, he said, ‘The one without a jeweled crown.’ Dongshan came to visit, bowed, rose, and stood in attendance. After a little while he left, then came back in. The master said, ‘Just so, just so—that is why it is so.’ Dongshan said, ‘Many people will not accept this.’ The master said, ‘Why take up your skill in argument?’ Dongshan bowed. A monk asked, ‘What is speech without words?’ The master said, ‘Where is your mouth?’ The monk said, ‘I have no mouth.’ He replied, ‘Then what do you use to eat?’ The monk had no answer. (Dongshan substituted, ‘He is not hungry; why would he eat?’) Whenever the master saw a monk arrive, he would face the wall. When Nanquan heard of it, he said, ‘I often tell monks, “Understand it before the Buddha appeared in the world,” and still not one in ten thousand can do so. At this rate, he will go on until the year of the donkey.’ (Xuansha said, ‘Was he agreeing with him or refusing him?’ Baofu asked Changqing, ‘Where exactly was the point in Lu Zu’s conduct that made Nanquan speak this way?’ Changqing said, ‘Putting himself behind and yielding to others—one in ten thousand.’ Luoshan said, ‘If I had seen Master Chen then, I would have struck him five times with a fire poker. Why? He knows how to release but not how to gather in.’ Xuansha said, ‘If I had seen him then, I too would have struck him five times.’ Yunju Xi said, ‘Luoshan and Xuansha both say this: are they alike, or do they have different reasons? If you can distinguish them, I will grant that you have somewhere to stand in the Buddha Dharma.’ Xuansha said, ‘Tell me, did the five blows Xuansha gave him land or not?’)
常州芙蓉山太毓禪師
Chan Master Taiyu of Mount Furong in Changzhou
金陵范氏子。因行食到龐居士前。士擬接。師乃縮手曰。生心受施。淨名早訶。去此一機。居士還甘否。士曰。當時善現。豈不作家。師曰。非關他事。士曰。食到口邊。被他奪卻。師乃下食。士曰。不消一句。士又問。馬大師著實為人處。還分付吾師否。師曰。某甲尚未見他。作麼生知他著實處。士曰。祇此見知。也無討處。師曰。居士也不得一向言說。士曰。一向言說。師又失宗。若作兩向三向。師還開得口否。師曰。直是開口不得。可謂實也。士撫掌而出。寶曆中。歸齊雲入滅。諡大寶禪師。
He was a son of the Fan family of Jinling. Once, while serving food, he came before Layman Pang. The layman was about to receive it, but the master drew back his hand and said, ‘Vimalakirti rebuked the arising of mind when one receives an offering. Can you, layman, accept leaving this pivotal point behind?’ Pang said, ‘At the time, Subhuti was surely an expert.’ The master said, ‘This has nothing to do with anyone else.’ Pang said, ‘The food reached my mouth, but he snatched it away.’ The master then served him the food. Pang said, ‘Not a single word was needed.’ Pang asked again, ‘Did Grand Master Ma pass on to you the place where he truly helps people?’ The master said, ‘I have not even met him. How could I know the place where he truly helps people?’ Pang said, ‘Even what you know now gives me nothing to grasp.’ The master said, ‘Layman, you must not speak in only one direction.’ Pang said, ‘If I speak in only one direction, you lose the school’s principle. If I speak in two or three directions, can you still open your mouth?’ The master said, ‘If one truly cannot open one’s mouth, then it may be called real.’ Pang clapped his hands and left. During the Baoli era, the master returned to Qiyun and passed away. He was posthumously titled Great Treasure Chan Master.
唐州紫玉山道通禪師
Chan Master Daotong of Mount Ziyu in Tangzhou
盧江何氏子。隨父守官泉南。因而出家。詣建陽。謁馬祖。祖尋遷龔公山。師亦隨之。祖將歸寂。謂師曰。夫玉石潤山秀麗。益汝道業。遇可居之。師不曉其言。是秋遊洛。回至唐州。西見一山。四面懸絕。峰巒秀異。因詢鄉人。曰。紫玉山。師乃陟山頂。見石方正。瑩然紫色。歎曰。此其紫玉也。先師之言懸記耳。遂剪茅構舍而居焉。後學徒四集。僧問。如何出得三界去。師曰。汝在裡許。得多少時也。曰。如何出離。師曰。青山不礙白雲飛。於頔相公問。如何是黑風吹其船舫。漂墮羅剎鬼國。師曰。於頔客作漢。問恁麼事作麼。於公失色。師乃指曰。這箇便是漂墮羅剎鬼國。公又問。如何是佛。師喚相公。公應諾。師曰。更莫別求(藥山聞曰。噫。可惜於家漢生埋向紫玉山中。公聞。乃謁見藥山。山問曰。聞相公在紫玉山中大作佛事。是否。公曰。不敢。乃曰。承聞有語相救。今日特來。山曰。有疑但問。公曰。如何是佛。山召於頔。公應諾。山曰。是甚麼。公於此有省)。元和八年。弟子金藏參百丈回。師曰。汝其來矣。此山有主也。於是囑付訖。筞杖徑去襄州。道俗迎之。至七月十五日。無疾而終。
He was a son of the He family of Lujiang. He accompanied his father, who held office in Quannan, and there left home. He went to Jianyang to visit Mazu. When the patriarch moved to Mount Gonggong, the master followed him. As Mazu was about to pass into stillness, he told the master, ‘Jade and stone make a mountain beautiful and lustrous; this will benefit your practice. When you find a place to live, you will understand.’ The master did not understand. That autumn he traveled to Luoyang. On his return to Tangzhou, he saw a mountain to the west, precipitous on all four sides, with extraordinary peaks and ridges. He asked the local people what it was called. They said, ‘Mount Ziyu.’ He climbed to the summit, saw a square, smooth stone of purple color, and exclaimed, ‘This must be the purple jade! My late teacher’s words were a prophecy.’ He cut thatch and built a hut to live there. Later disciples gathered around him. A monk asked, ‘How can one get out of the Three Realms?’ The master said, ‘How long have you been in there?’ Asked how to get free, he said, ‘The green mountain does not hinder the white clouds from flying.’ The minister Yu asked, ‘What does it mean that a black wind blows a ship and drifts it into the land of rakshasa demons?’ The master said, ‘Yu, you hired hand, why ask such a thing?’ Yu turned pale. The master pointed and said, ‘This is what it means to be cast into the land of rakshasa demons.’ Yu asked again, ‘What is Buddha?’ The master called him. Yu answered, ‘Yes?’ The master said, ‘Seek no further.’ (When Yaoshan heard this, he said, ‘Alas, the man of the Yu family has been buried alive on Mount Ziyu.’ Yu heard of this and went to see Yaoshan. Yaoshan asked, ‘I hear the minister has been carrying out great Buddhist work on Mount Ziyu. Is that so?’ Yu said, ‘I would not dare.’ He continued, ‘I heard you had words to save me, so I have come especially today.’ Yaoshan said, ‘If you have a doubt, ask.’ Yu asked, ‘What is Buddha?’ Yaoshan called Yu. Yu answered, ‘Yes?’ Yaoshan said, ‘What is it?’ Yu had a slight awakening.) In the eighth year of Yuanhe, the disciple Jincang returned from visiting Baizhang. The master said, ‘You have come; this mountain has its host.’ After entrusting him with the teaching, the master took up his staff and went straight to Xiangzhou. Monks and laypeople welcomed him. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he passed away without illness.
五臺山隱峰禪師
Chan Master Yinfeng of Mount Wutai