Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Fifteen
棲賢遷禪師法嗣
Dharma heirs of Chan Master Qian of Qixian.
舒州王屋山崇福燈禪師
Chan Master Deng of Chongfu Monastery on Mount Wuwang in Shuzhou.
上堂。天不能葢。地不能載。一室無私。何處不在。大眾。直饒恁麼會去。也是鬼弄精魂。怎生說箇常在底道理。良久曰。金風昨夜起。徧地是黃花。
In the hall he said: “Heaven cannot cover it; earth cannot bear it. In a room free of self-interest, where is it not present? Even if you understand it this way, you are still a ghost playing tricks. How can one speak of what is ever-present?” After a long silence: “Last night the autumn wind rose; yellow flowers covered the ground.”
淨眾言首座法嗣
Dharma heirs of Chief Monk Yan of Jingzhong.
西京招提惟湛廣燈禪師
Chan Master Weizhan, Guangdeng, of Zhaoti in the Western Capital.
嘉禾人也。僧問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。秋風黃葉亂。遠岫白雲歸。曰。專為流通也。師曰。即今作麼生舉。僧便喝。師便打。上堂。偏不偏。正不正。那事從來難比並。滿天風雨骨毛寒。何須更入那伽定。卓拄杖下座。上堂。六塵不惡。還同正覺。馬上誰家白麵郎。穿花折柳垂巾角。夜來一醉明月樓。呼盧輪卻黃金宅。臂鷹走犬歸不歸。娥眉皓齒嗔無力。此心能有幾人知。黃頭碧眼非相識。囉囉哩。拍手一下。下座。
A native of Jiahe. A monk asked, “What is the master’s way of life?” The master said, “Autumn wind scatters yellow leaves; white clouds return to distant peaks.” Asked for a teaching to pass on, he asked, “How will you present it now?” The monk shouted; the master struck him. In the hall he said: “Neither partial nor impartial, neither right nor wrong—the matter has never been easy to compare. Wind and rain chill the very bones; why enter the naga’s samadhi?” He struck his staff and descended. He later sang: “The six sense fields are not evil, yet are just awakening. Which fair-faced youth rides horseback, plucking flowers and willows? Last night drunk in the moonlit tower, he gambled away a golden mansion. Will he return with hawk on arm and hounds in chase? His beauty and charm are powerless to persuade him. How many know this heart? Yellow-headed and blue-eyed ones are strangers.” He clapped once and descended.
青原下十三世
Thirteenth generation below Qingyuan.
法雲本禪師法嗣
Dharma heirs of Chan Master Ben of Fayun.
臨安府淨慈楚明寶印禪師
Chan Master Chuming, Precious Seal, of Jingci in Lin’an Prefecture.
百粵張氏。上堂。祖師心印。非長非短。非方非圓。非內非外。亦非中間。且問大眾。決定是何形貌。拈拄杖曰。還見麼。古篆不成文。飛帛難同體。從本自分明。何須重特地。擊禪床下座。上堂。出門見山水。入門見佛殿。靈光觸處通。諸人何不薦。若不薦。淨慈今日不著便。上堂。祖師道。吾本來茲土。傳法救迷情。一花開五葉。結果自然成。淨慈當時若見恁麼道。用黑漆拄杖子一棒打殺。埋向無陰陽地上。令他出氣不得。何故。尀耐他瞞我唐土人。眾中莫有為祖師出氣底麼。出來。和你一時埋卻。上堂。若論此事。如散鋪寶貝。亂堆金玉。昧己者自甘窮困。有眼底信手拈來。所以道閻浮有大寶。見少得還稀。若人將獻我。成佛一餉時。乃拈拄杖曰。如今一時呈似。普請大眾高著眼。擲拄杖。下座。
A native of Baiyue, born to the Zhang family. In the hall he said: “The patriarch’s mind seal is neither long nor short, neither square nor round, neither inside nor outside, nor in between. Tell me, assembly, what shape does it definitely have?” He raised his staff: “Do you see? Ancient seal script cannot make it into writing; flying silk cannot match its form. It has always been clear by itself—why make a special effort?” He struck the seat and descended. He said: “Leaving home, you see mountains and waters; entering, you see the Buddha hall. The numinous light is everywhere—why do you not recognize it? If you do not, Jingci is at a disadvantage today.” He also said: “The patriarch declared, ‘I came to this land to transmit the Dharma and rescue deluded beings. One flower opens five petals; the fruit ripens naturally.’ Had Jingci been there, I would have beaten him with a black staff, buried him where yin and yang do not reach, and left him unable to breathe. Why? He dared deceive us people of Tang. Is anyone here to avenge the patriarch? Come out, and I will bury you too.” He continued: “This matter is like scattered treasure and heaps of gold and jade. Those blind to themselves accept poverty; those with eyes pick it up freely. Thus it is said: ‘Jambudvipa holds a great treasure, yet few see or obtain it. If someone offers it to me, Buddhahood is attained in an instant.’” He raised his staff: “Now I present it all at once. Everyone, open your eyes!” He cast down the staff and descended.
真州長蘆道和祖照禪師
Chan Master Daohe, Patriarchal Illumination, of Changlu in Zhenzhou.
興化潘氏子。僧問。無遮聖會。還有不到者麼。師曰。有。曰。誰是不到者。師曰。金剛腳下鐵崑崙。問。不許夜行。投明須到。意旨如何。師曰。羊頭車子推明月。曰。便恁麼去時如何。師曰。鐵門路嶮。問。一槌兩當時如何。師曰。踏藕得魚歸。問。教外別傳。未審傳箇甚麼。師曰。鐵彈子。問。百城遊罷時如何。師曰。前頭更有趙州關。上堂。一二三四五六。碧眼胡僧數不足。泥牛入海過新羅。木馬追風到天竺。天竺茫茫何處尋。補陀巖上問觀音。普賢拍手呵呵笑。歸去來兮秋水深。
A native of Xinghua, born to the Pan family. A monk asked whether anyone failed to reach the unobstructed assembly. The master said, “There is.” Asked who, he said, “The iron Kunlun beneath Vajra’s feet.” Asked about “Do not travel by night; by dawn you must arrive,” he said, “A ram-headed cart pushes the moon at dawn.” Asked what if one proceeded this way, he said, “The iron gate’s road is perilous.” Asked about one hammer doing two jobs, he said, “Picking lotus roots, I return with a fish.” Asked what was transmitted beyond the teachings, he said, “An iron pellet.” Asked what after visiting a hundred cities, he said, “Ahead is still Zhaozhou’s pass.” In the hall he sang: “One, two, three, four, five, six—the blue-eyed monk cannot count enough. The clay ox enters the sea and passes Silla; the wooden horse races to India. India stretches vast; where can it be found? Ask Guanyin on Mount Putuo. Samantabhadra claps and laughs; return, return—the autumn waters run deep.”
福州雪峰思慧妙湛禪師
Chan Master Sihui, Wondrous Depth, of Xuefeng in Fuzhou.
錢塘俞氏子。僧問。古殿無燈時如何。師曰。東壁打西壁。曰。恁麼則撞著露柱也。師曰。未敢相許。上堂。一法若通。萬緣方透。拈拄杖曰。這裡悟了。提起拄杖。海上橫行。若到雲居山頭。為我傳語雪峰和尚。咄。上堂。布大教網。摝人天魚。護聖不似老胡。拖泥帶水。祇是見兔放鷹。遇獐發箭。乃高聲召眾曰。中。上堂。昔日藥山早晚不參。動經旬月。一日。大眾才集。藥山便歸方丈。諸禪德。彼時佛法早自淡薄。論來猶較些子。如今每日鳴皷陞堂。忉忉怛怛地。問者口似紡車。答者舌如霹靂。總似今日。靈山慧命。殆若懸絲。少室家風。危如纍卵。又安得箇慨然有志。扶竪宗乘底衲子出來。喝散大眾。非唯耳邊靜辦。當使正法久住。豈不偉哉。如或棒上不成龍。山僧倒行此令。以拄杖一時趂散。上堂。眼睫橫亙十方。眉毛上透青天。下徹黃泉。且道鼻孔在甚麼處。良久曰。劄。上堂。妙高山頂。雲海茫茫。少室巖前。雪霜凜凜。齊腰獨立。徒自苦疲。七日不逢。一場懡㦬。別峰相見。落在半途。隻履西歸。遠之遠矣。卓拄杖。下座。上堂。大道祇在目前。要且目前難睹。欲識大道真體。今朝三月十五。不勞久立。建炎改元。上堂。天地之大德曰生。聖人之大寶曰位。今上皇帝踐登寶位。萬國歸仁。草木禽魚。鹹被其德。此猶是聖主應世邊事。王宮降誕已前一句。天下人摸索不著。上堂。一切法無差。雲門胡餅趙州茶。黃鶴樓中吹玉笛。江城五月落梅花。慚愧太原孚上座。五更聞鼓角。天曉弄琵琶。喝一喝。上堂。南詢諸友。踏破草鞋。絕學無為。坐消日月。凡情易脫。聖解難忘。但有纖毫。皆成滲漏。可中為道。似地擎山。應物現形。如驢覰井。縱無計較。途轍已成。若論相應。轉沒交涉。勉諸仁者。莫錯用心。各自歸堂。更求何事。
A native of Qiantang, born to the Yu family. A monk asked what it was when the ancient hall had no lamp. The master said, “Strike the west wall against the east wall.” The monk said he would run into a pillar; the master said he could not yet agree. In the hall he said: “When one Dharma is penetrated, ten thousand conditions open. If you awaken here, raise your staff and roam the seas. If you reach Yunju Mountain, deliver a message for me to Xuefeng.” He shouted. He taught widely, rescuing people and gods like a net catching fish, and said that unlike Bodhidharma he did not drag through mud and water but merely released the hawk when seeing a rabbit. He called out, “Hit!” He recounted how Yaoshan once dismissed the assembly and returned to his room; compared with the noisy daily sermons of today, those days were closer to the mark. He called for a monk with resolve to uphold the lineage and disperse the assembly; if none emerged, he would enforce the order himself, driving them out with his staff. Asked where the nostrils were, after a long pause he said, “A stake.” He spoke of standing waist-deep in snow, being ashamed after seven days without meeting anyone, meeting at another peak only halfway, and Bodhidharma returning west with one sandal—far, far away. He said the Great Way is right before us, though hard to see; to know its true body, today is the fifteenth day of the third month. In the first year of Jianyan he spoke of the emperor ascending the throne and the virtue reaching plants, birds, and fish, then asked about the phrase before birth in the royal palace, which no one could fathom. He quoted: “All dharmas are without distinction: Yunmen’s bun, Zhaozhou’s tea; a jade flute sounds in Yellow Crane Tower, and plum blossoms fall over the river city in the fifth month.” He ended by urging practitioners to cast off ordinary delusion and sacred understanding alike, since even the slightest trace leaks away, and to return to the hall and seek what else there is.
婺州寶林果昌寶覺禪師
Chan Master Guochang, Precious Awakening, of Baolin in Wuzhou.
安州時氏子。師與提刑楊次公入山同遊山次。楊拈起大士飯石。問。既是飯石。為甚麼齩不破。師曰。祇為太硬。楊曰。猶涉繁詞。師曰。未審提刑作麼生。楊曰。硬。師曰。也是第二月。楊為寫七佛殿額。乃問。七佛重出世時如何。師曰。一回相見一回新。上堂。一即一。二即二。齅著直是無香氣。驀拈拄杖卓一下。曰。識得山僧楖栗條。莫向南山尋鼈鼻。
A native of Anzhou, born to the Shi family. He traveled in the mountains with Yang Cigong, the judicial commissioner. Yang picked up a stone used by the Bodhisattva as food and asked, “If it is a food stone, why can it not be bitten through?” The master said, “Because it is too hard.” Yang said this was needless talk. The master asked how Yang would answer; Yang said, “Hard.” The master said, “That too is a reflection of the moon.” Yang wrote the plaque for the Seven Buddhas Hall and asked what it was like when the Seven Buddhas appeared again. The master said, “Each meeting is fresh.” In the hall he said: “One is one, two is two; smell it and there is no fragrance at all.” He struck his staff and said: “If you know this mountain monk’s staff, do not seek the turtle’s nose on South Mountain.”
鄭州資福法明寶月禪師
Chan Master Faming, Precious Moon, of Zifu in Zhengzhou.
上堂。資福別無所補。五日一參擊鼓。何曾說妙談玄。祇是麤言直語。甘草自來甜。黃連依舊苦。忽若鼻孔遼天。逢人切忌錯舉。參。上堂。若論此事。譬如伐樹得根。灸病得穴。若也得根。豈在千枝徧斫。若也得穴。不假六分全燒。以拄杖卓一下。曰。這箇是根。那箇是穴。擲下拄杖曰。這箇是穴。又喚甚麼作根。咄。是何言歟。
In the hall he said: “Zifu has nothing special to offer: every five days we gather and beat the drum. I have never spoken of mystery or marvel, only plain, direct words. Licorice is naturally sweet; coptis remains bitter. If your nostrils reach the sky, beware of misrepresenting this to others.” He continued: “This matter is like felling a tree by cutting its root, or curing an illness by finding its acupuncture point. Find the root, and there is no need to chop a thousand branches; find the point, and no need to burn six moxa cones. He struck his staff: “This is the root; that is the point.” He threw it down: “This is the point—what then do you call the root?” Bah! What sort of words are these?
潭州雲峰志璿祖燈禪師
Chan Master Zhixuan, Patriarchal Lamp, of Yunfeng in Tanzhou.
南粵陳氏子。土堂。休去歇去。一念萬年去。寒灰枯木去。古廟香爐去。一條白練去。大眾。古人見處。如日暉空。不著二邊。豈墮陰界。堪嗟後代兒孫。多作一色邊會。山僧即不然。不休去。不歇去。業識茫茫去。七顛八倒去。十字街頭閙浩浩地。聲色裡坐臥去。三家村裡。盈衢塞路。荊棘裡遊戲去。刀山劒樹。劈腹剜心。鑊湯爐炭。皮穿骨爛去。如斯舉唱。大似三歲孩兒輥繡毬。上堂。一切聲是佛聲。塗毒鼓透入耳朵裡。一切色是佛色。鐵蒺藜穿過眼睛中。好事不如無。便下座。上堂。盡乾坤大地。是箇熱鐵圓。汝等諸人向甚麼處下口。良久曰。吞不進。吐不出。上堂。瘦竹長松滴翠香。流風疏月度炎涼。不知誰住原西寺。每日鐘聲送夕陽。上堂。聲色頭上睡眠。虎狼群裡安禪。荊棘林內翻身。雪刃叢中遊戲。竹影掃堦塵不動。月穿潭底水無痕。上堂。不是風動。不是幡動。衲僧失卻鼻孔。是風動。是幡動。分明是箇漆桶。兩段不同。眼暗耳聾。㵎水如藍碧。山花似火紅。上堂。僧問。如何是西來意。師曰。築著額頭磕著鼻。曰。意旨如何。師曰。驢駝馬載。曰。向上還有事也無。師曰。朝到西天。暮歸唐土。曰。謝師答話。師曰。大乘砑郎當。僧退。師乃曰。僧問西來意。築著額頭磕著鼻。意旨又如何。驢駝並馬載。朝到西天暮歸唐。大乘恰似砑郎當。何故。沒量大人。被語脈裡轉卻。遂拊掌大笑。下座。僧問。丹霞燒木佛。院主為甚麼眉鬚墮落。師曰。一人傳虗。萬人傳實。曰。恁麼則不落也。師曰。兩重公案。曰。學人未曉。特伸請益。師曰。筠袁虔吉。頭上插筆。問。德山入門便棒。意旨如何。師曰。束杖理民。曰。臨濟入門便喝。又作麼生。師曰。不言而化。曰。未審和尚如何為人。師曰。一刀兩段。問。無縫鐵門。請師一啟。師曰。進前三步。曰。向上無關。請師一閉。師曰。
A native of Nanyue, born to the Chen family. In the hall he said: “Stop, rest; let one thought last ten thousand years; be cold ash and withered wood; be the incense burner in an ancient shrine; be a strip of white silk.” The ancients saw things as sunlight filling the sky, attached to neither extreme and never falling into dark realms. Sadly, later descendants often understood this as merely one uniform state. This mountain monk says otherwise: do not stop, do not rest; let karmic consciousness surge without end; tumble upside down; live amid the bustle of crossroads, sitting and lying among sights and sounds; play among thorns where roads are blocked in village lanes; let knives and sword trees split the belly and pierce the heart, let cauldrons and furnaces strip skin and melt bone. To teach this way is like a three-year-old rolling an embroidered ball. In the hall: “Every sound is a Buddha’s voice, a poisonous drum penetrating the ears; every form is a Buddha’s form, iron caltrops piercing the eyes. Better to have no good thing at all.” He descended. He said: “All heaven and earth are a red-hot iron ball. Where will you put your mouth?” After a long silence: “You cannot swallow it or spit it out.” He recited: “Slender bamboo and tall pines drip with green fragrance; a flowing breeze and sparse moon carry coolness through the heat. Who lives in the western monastery? Each day the bell sends the sun away.” He taught: “Sleep amid sights and sounds; meditate among tigers and wolves; turn around in a thorn thicket; play in a mass of sharp blades. Bamboo shadows sweep the steps, yet dust does not stir; moonlight pierces the pool, yet water bears no trace.” He said: “Neither wind moves nor banner moves—the monk has lost his nostrils. Wind moves, banner moves—plainly this is a lacquer bucket. These are two different sayings; the eyes are dim, the ears deaf. The stream is blue as indigo; mountain flowers red as fire.” A monk asked the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West. The master replied, “You bump your forehead and strike your nose.” Asked what that meant, he said, “Donkeys carry it, horses bear it.” Asked whether there was anything higher, he said, “Arrive in India at dawn and return to Tang lands by dusk.” He added: “The Great Vehicle is like a clumsy roller.” The monk withdrew. The master then sang these lines, laughing and descending: “Asked the meaning of the West: forehead bumped, nose struck. What does it mean? Donkeys carry it, horses bear it. Dawn in India, dusk back in Tang; the Great Vehicle is just a clumsy roller. Why? Even a person of measure is turned around by the thread of words.” Asked why the monastery steward lost his brows when Danxia burned a wooden Buddha, he said, “One person spreads a falsehood; ten thousand make it true.” The monk said then they were not lost; the master said, “Two layers of old case.” Asked for instruction, he replied with a place-name riddle. Asked about Deshan’s staff and Linji’s shout, he said, “One governs the people with a staff; the other transforms them without words.” Asked how he guided people, he said, “Cut clean in two.” Asked him to open an iron gate without seams, he said, “Step forward three paces.” Asked him to close the gate beyond, he said, “Step back one fathom.” Asked about neither opening nor closing, he said, “Hng, hng!” and struck the monk.
退後一尋。曰。不開不閉。又作麼生。師曰。吽吽。便打。
(The master continued:) The monk asked what it was when the gate was neither open nor shut. The master said, “Hng, hng!” and struck him.
東京慧林常悟禪師
Chan Master Changwu of Huilin in the Eastern Capital.
僧問。若不傳法度眾生。舉世無由報恩者。未審傳箇甚麼法。師曰。開宗明義章第一。問。達磨未來時如何。師曰。省得草鞋錢。曰。來後如何。師曰。重疊關山路。
A monk asked: “If the Dharma is not transmitted and beings are not delivered, the world has no way to repay kindness. What Dharma is transmitted?” The master said, “The first chapter, ‘Clarifying the Canon and Setting Forth the Meaning.’” Asked what it was before Bodhidharma came, he said, “You saved the price of sandals.” Asked what after he came, he said, “A road of overlapping mountains and passes.”
安吉州道場有規禪師
Chan Master Yougui of Daochang in Anji Prefecture.
婺州姜氏子。上堂。拈拄杖曰。還見麼。窮諸玄辯。若一毫置於太虗。竭世樞機。似一滴投於巨壑。德山老人雖則焚其疏鈔。也是賊過後張弓。且道文彩未彰以前。又作麼生理論。三千劒客今何在。獨許莊周致太平。上堂。種田博飯。地藏家風。客來吃茶。趙州禮度。且道護聖門下。別有甚麼長處。良久曰。尋常不放山泉出。屋底清池冷照人。化士出問。促裝已辦。乞師一言。師曰。好看前路事。莫比在家時。曰。恁麼則三家村裡。十字街頭。等箇人去也。師曰。照顧打失布袋。
A native of Wuzhou, born to the Jiang family. In the hall he raised his staff: “Do you see? Exhausting all subtle arguments is like placing a hair in the vast sky; using every worldly stratagem is like dropping a single drop into a great abyss. Old Deshan burned his commentaries, but that was like stringing a bow after the thief had passed. What can be said before patterns appear?” He added: “Where are the three thousand swordsmen now? Only Zhuang Zhou is allowed to bring peace.” He taught: “Farming for food is Dizang’s family style; offering tea to a guest is Zhaozhou’s courtesy. What special strength is there in Husheng’s house?” After a long silence: “We usually do not let the mountain spring flow out; beneath the roof, the clear pool reflects coldly.” A traveling monk asked for a parting word. The master said, “Watch the road ahead; do not compare it with your days at home.” The monk said someone awaited him at village and crossroads. The master replied, “Take care not to lose your bag.”
越州延慶可復禪師
Chan Master Kefu of Yanqing in Yuezhou.
上堂。胡來胡現。漢來漢現。忽然胡漢俱來時。如何祗準。良久曰。落霞與孤鶩齊飛。秋水共長天一色。參。上堂。驀拈拄杖橫按膝上。曰。苦痛深。苦痛深。碧潭千萬丈。那箇是知音。卓一下。下座。
In the hall he said: “When a foreigner comes, a foreigner appears; when a Han comes, a Han appears. If both arrive at once, how will you receive them?” After a long silence: “The sunset clouds fly with the lone wild duck; autumn waters share one color with the vast sky.” He shouted, “Investigate!” He raised his staff across his knees: “Deep, deep is the pain. In a thousand-fathom blue pool, who is the one who knows?” He struck once and descended.
安吉州道場慧顏禪師
Chan Master Huiyan of Daochang in Anji Prefecture.
上堂。世尊按指。海印發光。拈拄杖曰。莫妄想。便下座。
In the hall he said: “The World-Honored One pressed a finger, and the ocean seal radiated light.” He raised his staff: “Do not indulge in delusion.” He descended.
溫州雙峰普寂宗達佛海禪師
Chan Master Zongda, Buddha Sea, of Shuangfeng in Wenzhou.
僧問。如何是永嘉境。師曰。華葢峰。曰。如何是境中人。師曰。一宿覺。上堂眾集定。喝一喝曰。冤有頭。債有主。珍重。
A monk asked for the landscape of Yongjia. The master said, “Huagai Peak.” Asked who lived in that landscape, he said, “The one awakened in a single night.” When the assembly had gathered, the master shouted and said, “Every grievance has its source; every debt its creditor. Take care.”
越州五峰子琪禪師
Chan Master Ziqi of Wufeng in Yuezhou.
僧問。學人上來。乞師垂示。師曰。花開千朵。秀曰。學人不會。師曰。雨後萬山青。曰。謝指示。師曰。你作麼生會。僧便喝。師曰。未在。僧又喝。師曰。一喝兩喝後作麼生。曰。也知和尚有此機要。師曰。適來道甚麼。僧無語。師便喝。
A monk asked for instruction. The master said, “A thousand blossoms open in splendor.” The monk said he did not understand. The master said, “After rain, ten thousand mountains are green.” The monk thanked him. The master asked how he understood; the monk shouted. “Not yet,” said the master. The monk shouted again. The master asked what came after one or two shouts. The monk said he knew the master had this essential capacity. The master asked what he had just said. The monk was speechless, and the master shouted.
西京韶山雲門道信禪師
Chan Master Daoxin of Shaoshan Yunmen in the Western Capital.
僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。千年古墓蛇。今日頭生角。曰。莫便是和尚家風也無。師曰。卜度則喪身失命。問。如何是學人自己。師曰。無人識者。曰。如何得脫灑去。師曰。你問我答。
A monk asked the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West. The master said, “A thousand-year-old tomb snake has grown horns today.” Asked whether this was his family style, he said, “Speculation costs you life.” Asked what the student himself was, he said, “No one recognizes him.” Asked how to be free and unbound, he said, “You ask; I answer.”
臨安府上天竺從諫慈辯講師
Lecturing Master Congjian, Compassionate Eloquence, of Shang Tianzhu in Lin’an Prefecture.