Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Eighteen

南康軍歸宗真牧正賢禪師

Chan Master Zhenmu Zhengxian of Guizong, Nankang Jun

潼川陳氏子。世為名儒。幼從三聖海澄為苾蒭。具滿分戒。遊成都。依大慈秀公習經論。凡典籍過目成誦。義亦頓曉。秀稱為經藏子。出蜀謁諸尊宿。後扣佛眼。一日入室。眼舉殷勤抱得旃檀樹。語聲未絕。師頓悟。眼曰。經藏子漏逗了也。自是與師商確淵奧。亹亹無盡。眼稱善。因手書真牧二字授之。紹興己巳。歸宗虗席。郡侯以禮請。堅臥不應。寶文李公懋甞問道於師。同屬官強之。乃就。上堂。且第一句如何道。汝等若向世界未成時．父母未生時．佛未出世時．祖師未西來時道得。已是第二句。且第一句如何道。直饒你十成道得。未免左之右之。卓拄杖。下座。上堂。良久召大眾曰。作麼生。若也擬議。賢上座謾你諸人去也。打地和尚。瞋他秘魔巖主擎箇叉兒。胡說亂道。遂將一摑成虀粉。散在十方世界。還知麼。舉拂子曰。而今卻在拂子頭上。說一切智智清淨無二。無二分無別無斷故。還聞麼。閻老子知得。乃曰。賢上座。你若相當去。不妨奇特。或不相當。總在我手裡。祇向他道。閻老子你也退步。摸索鼻孔看。擊禪床。下座。僧問。久默斯要。已洩真機。學人上來。請師開示。師曰。耳朵在甚麼處。曰。一句分明該萬象。師曰。分明底事作麼生。曰。臺星照臨。枯木回春。師曰。換卻你眼睛。

He was a son of the Chen family of Tongchuan; his family were noted scholars for generations. As a youth he became a monk under Haicheng of Sansheng and took the full and perfect precepts. He traveled to Chengdu and relied on Lord Xiu of Daci to study the sutras and treatises. Whatever texts passed his eyes he could recite from memory, and their meaning he understood at once; Xiu called him the Sutra Storehouse. He left Shu and called on the various venerable ones. Later he knocked at Foyan's door. One day, entering the room, Yan brought up 'earnestly embracing the sandalwood tree,' and before the sound of the words had ceased the Master was suddenly awakened. Yan said: 'The Sutra Storehouse has let it leak.' From then on he deliberated the profound and hidden with the Master tirelessly, and Yan praised him. He wrote the two characters 'True Herdsman' with his own hand and gave them to him. In the jisi year of Shaoxing, Guizong was vacant, and the prefect invited him with ceremony. He lay firm and did not respond; Lord Li Mao of Baowen, who had once asked him about the Way, joined with the officials in pressing him, and he accepted. He mounted the hall: 'And how shall the first phrase be spoken? If you can speak it at the time before the world was made, before your parents were born, before the buddha appeared in the world, before the patriarch came from the West — you are already at the second phrase. And how shall the first phrase be spoken? Even if you speak it perfectly, you cannot avoid going left and right.' He planted his staff and descended. He mounted the hall. After a long silence he called the assembly and said: 'What then? If you deliberate, Preceptor Xian has cheated you people. Dadi the monk was angry that Mimo, the lord of the rock, held up a fork and talked wildly at random; so he smashed him into powder with one slap and scattered it through the ten directions. Do you understand? He held up his fly whisk and said: 'And now it is on the head of the fly whisk, saying: the wisdom of all wisdom is pure, without duality, without division, without separation, without cutting off. Do you hear it?' Old man Yama learned of it and said: 'Preceptor Xian, if you accord, it is extraordinary enough; if you do not accord, you are altogether in my hand.' He only said to him: 'Old man Yama, you too step back and feel for your nostrils.' He struck the meditation seat and descended. A monk asked: 'Long silent on this essential matter, one has already leaked the true working. This student has come up — I beg the Master to instruct.' The Master said: 'Where are your ears?' He said: 'One phrase plainly encompasses the ten thousand forms.' The Master said: 'What of the matter that is plain?' He said: 'The terrace star shines down; the withered tree returns to spring.' The Master said: 'I have swapped out your eyes.'

安吉州道場正堂明辯禪師

Chan Master Zheng tang Mingbian of Daochang, Anji Prefecture

本郡俞氏子。幼事報本蘊禪師。圓顱受具後。謁諸名宿。至西京少林。聞僧舉佛眼以古詩發明罽賓王斬師子尊者話。曰。楊子江頭楊柳春。楊華愁殺渡江人。一聲羗笛離亭晚。君向瀟湘我向秦。師默有所契。即趨龍門。求入室。佛眼問。從上祖師方冊因緣。許你會得。忽舉拳曰。這箇因何喚作拳。師擬對。眼築其口曰。不得作道理。於是頓去知見。住後。上堂。猛虎口邊拾得。毒虵頭上安排。更不釘樁搖艣。回頭別有生涯。婆子被我勘破了。大悲院裡有村齋。上堂。淨五眼。湧金春色晚。得五力。吹落碧桃華。唯證乃知難可測。卓拄杖曰。一片何人得。流經十萬家。上堂。三祖道。但莫憎愛。洞然明白。當時老僧若見。便與一摑。且道是憎邪是愛邪。近來經界稍嚴。不許詭名挾佃。解夏。上堂。十五日已前不得去。少林隻履無藏處。十五日已後不得住。桂子天香和雨露。正當十五日。又且如何。阿呵呵。風流不在著衣多。上堂。舉。僧問投子。大死底人卻活時如何。子曰。不許夜行。投明須到。師曰。我疑千年蒼玉精。化為一片秋水骨。海神欲護護不得。一旦鰲頭忽擎出。上堂。華開隴上。柳綻堤邊。黃鸎調叔夜之琴。芳草入謝公之句。何必聞聲悟道。見色明心。非唯水上覓漚。已是眼中著屑。擘開胸曰。汝等當觀吾紫磨金色之身。今日則有。明日則無。大似無風起浪。全不知羞。且道今日事作麼生。好箇迷逢達磨。不知誰解承當。僧問。如何是佛。師乃鳴指三下。問。語默涉離微。如何通不犯。師曰。橫身三界外。獨脫萬機前。曰。祇如風穴道。長憶江南三月裡。鷓鴣啼處百華香。又作麼生。師曰。說這箇不唧𠺕漢作麼。曰。嫰竹搖金風細細。百華鋪地日遲遲。師曰。你向甚麼處見風穴。曰。眼裡耳裡絕瀟灑。師曰。料掉無交涉。問。蓮華未出水時如何。師曰。未過冬至莫道寒。曰。出水後如何。

He was a son of the Yu family of this prefecture. As a youth he served Chan Master Yun of Baoben, and after being shaved and taking the precepts he called on the various noted elders. Reaching Shaolin in the Western Capital, he heard a monk bring up Foyan's use of an old poem to illuminate the story of the king of Kashmiri beheading the Venerable Simha: 'At the head of the Yangzi River the willows are in spring; the willow catkins grieve the river-crossing man to death. One note of the Qiang flute at the parting pavilion at dusk — you go toward Xiao and Xiang, I go toward Qin.' The Master silently had an accord, and at once hurried to Longmen and asked to enter the room. Foyan asked: 'The records and stories of the patriarchs from of old — I grant that you understand them. But suddenly, holding up his fist, he said: Why is this called a fist?' The Master was about to answer, and Yan stopped his mouth and said: 'You may not make a principle of it.' Thereupon he suddenly let go of knowing and seeing. After he took up residence he mounted the hall: 'Picked up at the mouth of a fierce tiger, arranged on the head of a poisonous snake. No need to drive the stake or pull the oar; turning your head there is another livelihood. The old woman has been seen through by me. In the Great Compassion cloister there is village fare.' He mounted the hall: 'Purifying the five eyes — the golden spring color is late. Gaining the five powers — the green peach blossoms are blown down. Only by realization does one know; it is hard to fathom.' He planted his staff and said: 'One slice — who gets it? It flows past ten thousand households.' He mounted the hall: 'The Third Patriarch said: only do not hate or love, and it is clearly evident. Had this old monk been there then, he would have given him a slap. Tell me, is that hate or love? Lately the land registry has grown strict; false names and tenant holdings are not permitted.' At the end of the summer retreat he mounted the hall: 'Before the fifteenth day you may not go — Shaolin's single shoe has nowhere to hide. After the fifteenth day you may not stay — the cassia seeds and celestial fragrance come with rain and dew. On the fifteenth day itself, what then? Ah ha-ha, elegance does not lie in wearing many clothes.' He mounted the hall: 'Bring it up. A monk asked Touzi: when a man who has died the great death comes back to life, what then? Zi said: Night travel is not permitted; you must arrive by dawn. The Master said: I suspect a thousand-year green jade spirit has turned into a piece of autumn-water bone. The sea god would guard it and cannot; one morning from the turtle's head it is suddenly lifted up.' He mounted the hall: 'Flowers open on the ridge, willows burst at the dike. The oriole tunes Shuye's lute; the fragrant grass enters Lord Xie's lines. Why must one hear sound to awaken to the Way or see form to clarify the mind? That is not only seeking foam on the water — it is already a mote in the eye.' He opened his chest and said: 'You should contemplate my body of purple-golden hue. Today it exists, tomorrow it does not. That is very much like raising waves without wind, utterly without shame. And tell me, what of today's matter? A fine meeting Bodhidharma on the road — I wonder who can take it on.' A monk asked: 'What is the Buddha?' The Master snapped his fingers three times. He asked: 'Speech and silence involve leaving and entering the subtle — how can one pass through without trespassing?' The Master said: 'Setting the body sideways beyond the three realms, standing alone before the ten thousand workings.' He said: 'Take Fengxue's words: I long remember in the third month in Jiangnan, where the partridge cries, a hundred flowers are fragrant. What then?' The Master said: 'Why talk of that dribbling fellow?' He said: 'Tender bamboo sways in gold, the wind fine and fine; a hundred flowers carpet the ground, the sun slow and slow.' The Master said: 'Where do you see Fengxue?' He said: 'In the eye and in the ear, utterly free and easy.' The Master said: 'Most likely no connection.' He asked: 'What about before the lotus emerges from the water?' The Master said: 'Before the winter solstice do not speak of cold.' He said: 'And after it emerges?'

師曰。未過夏至莫道熱。曰。出與未出時如何。師曰。三十年後。不要錯舉。問。如何是佛。師曰。無柴猛燒火。曰。如何是法。師曰。貧做富裝裹。曰。如何是僧。師曰。賣扇老婆手遮日。曰。如何是和尚栗棘蓬。師曰。不答此話。曰。為甚麼不答。師大笑曰。吞不進。吐不出。問。如何是一喝如金剛王寶劍。師曰。古墓毒虵頭戴角。曰。如何是一喝如踞地師子。師曰。虗空笑點頭。曰。如何是一喝如探竿影草。師曰。石人拍手笑呵呵。曰。如何是一喝不作一喝用。師曰。布袋裡豬頭。曰。四喝已蒙師指示。向上還有事也無。師曰。有。曰。如何是向上事。師曰。鋸解秤鎚。隨聲便喝。佛眼忌拈香。龍門和尚闡提潦倒。不信佛法。滅除禪道。拶破毗盧向上關。貓兒洗面自道好。一炷沈香爐上然。換手槌𮌎空懊惱。遂搖手曰。休懊惱。以坐具搭肩上。作女人拜。曰。莫怪下房媳婦觸忤大人好。室中垂問曰。貓兒為甚麼愛捉老鼠。又曰。板鳴因甚麼狗吠。師家風嚴冷。初機多憚之。因贊達磨曰。昇元閣前懡㦬。洛陽峰畔乖張。皮髓傳成話霸。隻履無處埋藏。不是一番寒徹骨。爭得梅華撲鼻香。雪堂行一見。大稱賞曰。先師猶有此人在。只消此贊。可以坐斷天下人舌頭。由是衲子奔湊。臨終登座。拈拄杖於左邊。卓一下曰。三十二相無此相。於右邊卓一下曰。八十種好無此好。僧繇一筆畫成。誌公露出草藁。又卓一下。顧大眾曰。莫懊惱。直下承當休更討。下座歸方丈。儼然趺坐而逝。火後收靈骨設利。藏所建之塔曰僊人山。

The Master said: 'Before the summer solstice do not speak of heat.' He said: 'What about when it has emerged and has not emerged?' The Master said: 'Thirty years from now, do not bring it up wrongly.' He asked: 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said: 'No firewood, yet fiercely burning a fire.' He said: 'What is the dharma?' The Master said: 'The poor dressing up as the rich.' He said: 'What is the sangha?' The Master said: 'The old woman selling fans shields the sun with her hand.' He said: 'What is the Master's chestnut burr?' The Master said: 'I do not answer that question.' He said: 'Why do you not answer?' The Master laughed loudly and said: 'Cannot swallow it, cannot spit it out.' He asked: 'What is one shout like the vajra king's precious sword?' The Master said: 'The poisonous snake in the old tomb wears horns on its head.' He said: 'What is one shout like a lion crouching on the ground?' The Master said: 'Emptiness laughs and nods.' He said: 'What is one shout like a probing pole and shadow grass?' The Master said: 'The stone man claps his hands and laughs ha-ha.' He said: 'What is one shout that is not used as a shout?' The Master said: 'A pig's head in a cloth bag.' He said: 'The four shouts have been pointed out by the Master; is there still something beyond?' The Master said: 'There is.' He said: 'What is the matter beyond?' The Master said: 'Sawing a steelyard weight apart.' At the sound he shouted. On Foyan's memorial day he offered incense: 'The Longmen elder is an icchantika, down and out, not believing in the buddhadharma, wiping out the Chan way. He crushed the gate beyond Vairochana. The cat washes its face and says it is fine. One stick of aloeswood burns in the censer; changing hands and beating the breast is empty vexation.' Then he waved his hand and said: 'Do not be vexed.' He draped his sitting cloth over his shoulder, bowed like a woman and said: 'Do not mind that the daughter-in-law of the lower room offends the lady.' In his room he let fall a question: 'Why does the cat love to catch mice?' And he said: 'Why does the dog bark when the board sounds?' The Master's family style was stern and cold, and beginners mostly feared him. He once praised Bodhidharma: 'Before the Shengyuan Pavilion, awkward; beside Luoyang Peak, perverse. Skin and marrow were passed down and became a talking bully; the single shoe has nowhere to be buried. But for one spell of bone-piercing cold, how would the plum blossom's fragrance rush to the nose?' When Xuetang Xing saw it he greatly applauded and said: 'My late master still has this man. This one praise alone can sit firm and cut off the tongues of the whole world.' Thereby the patch-robed monks flocked to him. At the end, on the seat, he picked up his staff, planted it once on the left and said: 'The thirty-two marks are not this mark.' He planted it once on the right and said: 'The eighty excellences are not this excellence. Zhang Sengyou paints it in one stroke; Master Zhi reveals the rough draft.' He planted it once more and, turning to the assembly, said: 'Do not be vexed; take it on directly and seek no further.' He descended and returned to the abbot's quarters, and there sat upright in full lotus and passed away. After the fire his remains and relics were collected and enshrined in a stupa he had built at Xianren Mountain.

潭州方廣深禪師

Chan Master Shen of Fangguang, Tanzhou

僧問。一法若有。毗盧墮在凡夫。萬法若無。普賢失其境界。未審意旨如何。師曰。富嫌千口少。貧恨一身多。

A monk asked: 'If one dharma exists, Vairochana falls among ordinary men; if the ten thousand dharmas do not exist, Samantabhadra loses his realm. What is the meaning?' The Master said: 'The rich man grumbles that a thousand mouths are few; the poor man resents that one body is too many.'

世奇首座者

The chief seat Shiqi

成都人也。徧依師席。晚造龍門。一日燕坐。瞌睡間群蛙忽鳴。誤聽為淨髮版響。亟趨往。有曉之者曰。蛙鳴非版也。師恍然。詣方丈剖露。佛眼曰。豈不見羅睺羅。師遽止曰。和尚不必舉。待去自看。未幾有省。乃占偈曰。夢中聞版響。覺後蝦蟇啼。蝦蟇與版響。山嶽一時齊。由是益加參究。洞臻玄奧。眼命分座。師固辭。曰。此非細事也。如金針刺眼。毫髮若差。睛則破矣。願生生居學地。而自煅煉。眼因以偈美之曰。有道只因頻退步。謙和元自慣回光。不知已在青雲上。猶更將身入眾藏。暮年。學者力請。不容辭。後因說偈曰。諸法空故我心空。我心空故諸法同。諸法我心無別體。祇在而今一念中。且道是那一念。眾罔措。師喝一喝而終。

He was a man of Chengdu. He relied on teachers everywhere, and in his later years came to Longmen. One day, sitting in meditation, dozing, he suddenly heard a chorus of frogs and mistook it for the sound of the shaving board. He hurried over, and someone who knew said: 'The frogs are croaking, not the board.' The Master was suddenly clear. He went to the abbot's quarters and laid it bare. Foyan said: 'Have you not seen Rahula?' The Master quickly stopped him and said: 'The Master need not bring it up; let me go and look for myself.' Before long he had an awakening, and made a verse: 'In a dream I heard the board sound; waking, the frogs are croaking. Frogs and the sound of the board — mountains and peaks are one and the same.' Thereby he investigated further and penetrated the profound mystery. Yan appointed him to a seat and the Master firmly declined, saying: 'This is no small matter. It is like a golden needle pricking the eye: if a hair's breadth is off, the pupil is ruined. May I life after life dwell in the stage of learning and temper myself.' Yan then made a verse praising him: 'It is because you have the Way that you keep stepping back; humble and gentle, you are used to turning the light around. You do not know you are already above the blue clouds, and still take your body into the crowd to hide.' In his late years the students pressed him hard and he could not refuse. Later, speaking a verse, he said: 'Because all dharmas are empty, my mind is empty; because my mind is empty, all dharmas are the same. All dharmas and my mind have no separate body — it is only in this present single thought. And tell me, which thought is it?' The assembly was bewildered. The Master shouted once and died.

溫州淨居尼慧溫禪師

Chan Master Huiwen, nun of Jingju, Wenzhou

上堂。舉。法眼示眾曰。三通皷罷。簇簇上來。佛法人事。一時周畢。師曰。山僧道。三通皷罷。簇簇上來。拄杖不在。苕帚柄聊與三十。

She mounted the hall: 'Bring it up. Fayan addressed the assembly: When the three rounds of the drum are done, come crowding up; the buddhadharma and human affairs are all at once complete. The Master said: This mountain monk says: When the three rounds of the drum are done, come crowding up — the staff is not here; with the handle of the broom I give you, for now, thirty blows.'

給事馮楫濟川居士

The Layman Feng Ji Jichuan, Supervising Secretary

自壯扣諸名宿。最後居龍門。從佛眼遠禪師。再歲。一日同遠經行法堂。偶童子趨庭。吟曰。萬象之中獨露身。遠拊公背曰。好。聻。公於是契入。紹興丁巳。除給事。會大慧禪師就明慶開堂。慧下座。公挽之曰。和尚每言於士大夫前曰。此生決不作這蟲豸。今日因甚卻納敗缺。慧曰。盡大地是箇杲上座。你向甚處見他。公擬對。慧便掌。公曰。是我招得。越月。特丐祠坐夏徑山。榜其室曰不動軒。一日。慧陞座。舉。藥山問石頭曰。三乘十二分教。某甲粗知。承聞南方直指人心。見性成佛。實未明瞭。伏望慈悲示誨。頭曰。恁麼也不得。不恁麼也不得。恁麼不恁麼總不得。你作麼生。山罔措。頭曰。子緣不在此。可往江西見馬大師去。山至馬祖處。亦如前問。祖曰。有時教伊揚眉瞬目。有時不教伊揚眉瞬目。有時教伊揚眉瞬目者是。有時教伊揚眉瞬目者不是。山大悟。慧拈罷。公隨至方丈曰。適來和尚所舉底因緣。某理會得了。慧曰。你如何會。公曰。恁麼也不得囌嚧娑婆訶。不恁麼也不得㗭唎娑婆訶。恁麼不恁麼。總不得囌嚧㗭唎娑婆訶。慧印之以偈曰。梵語唐言打成一塊。咄哉俗人。得此三昧。公後知卭州。所至宴晦無倦。甞自詠曰。公事之餘喜坐禪。少曾將脇到床眠。雖然現出宰官相。長老之名四海傳。至二十三年秋。乞休致。預報親知。期以十月三日報終。至日。令後廳置高座。見客如平時。至辰巳間。降堦望闕肅拜。請漕使攝卭事。著僧衣履。踞高座。囑諸官吏及道俗。各宜向道。扶持教門。建立法幢。遂拈拄杖按膝。蛻然而化。漕使請曰。安撫去住如此自由。何不留一頌以表罕聞。公張目。索筆書曰。初三十一。中九下七。老人言盡。龜哥眼赤。竟爾長往。建炎後名山巨剎。教藏多不存。公累以己俸印施。凡一百二十八藏。用祝君壽。以康兆民。門人蒲大聘甞誌其事。有語錄．頌古行於世。

From his prime he knocked at the doors of the various noted elders, and last he settled at Longmen with Chan Master Foyuan Yan for two years. One day, walking with Yuan in the dharma hall, a boy happened to run across the courtyard, and someone chanted: 'In the midst of the ten thousand forms he alone reveals his body.' Yuan patted the gentleman on the back and said: 'Good. Well?' Thereupon the gentleman entered into accord. In the ding si year of Shaoxing he was appointed Supervising Secretary. It happened that Chan Master Dahui opened the hall at Mingqing. When Hui had descended from the seat, the gentleman held him back and said: 'The Master always says before the scholar-officials that in this life he will certainly not become such a worm. Why today does he take the defeat?' Hui said: 'The whole great earth is Venerable Gao. Where do you see him?' The gentleman was about to answer, and Hui slapped him. The gentleman said: 'I brought it on myself.' A month later he specially begged a temple post to pass the summer at Jingshan and named his room the Immovable Pavilion. One day Hui ascended the seat and brought up how Yaoshan asked Shitou: 'Of the three vehicles and twelve divisions of teaching I have a rough knowledge. I have heard that in the South they point directly at the human mind, see the nature and become buddha, but I have not truly understood it. I beg your compassion to instruct me.' Tou said: 'Thus is not permissible, not thus is not permissible, neither thus nor not thus is altogether not permissible. What will you do?' Shan was bewildered. Tou said: 'Your affinity is not here. Go to Jiangxi and see Great Master Ma.' Shan went to Mazu and asked as before. Zu said: 'Sometimes I have him raise his eyebrows and blink; sometimes I do not have him raise his eyebrows and blink. Sometimes having him raise his eyebrows and blink is right; sometimes having him raise his eyebrows and blink is not right.' Shan was greatly awakened. When Hui had finished commenting, the gentleman followed him to the abbot's quarters and said: 'The story the Master has just brought up — I have understood it.' Hui said: 'How do you understand it?' The gentleman said: 'Thus is not permissible — su-lu svaha. Not thus is not permissible — chi-li svaha. Neither thus nor not thus is altogether not permissible — su-lu chi-li svaha.' Hui certified him with a verse: 'Sanskrit speech and Tang speech beaten into one lump. Ha, a layman has gained this samadhi.' Later the gentleman became prefect of Qiongzhou. Wherever he went he was tranquil and untiring. He once sang of himself: 'After official business I love to sit in meditation; seldom have I let my ribs touch the bed to sleep. Though I show the marks of a magistrate, the name of elder is spread through the four seas.' In the autumn of the twenty-third year he asked to retire. He forewarned his relatives and friends, setting the third of the tenth month as the day of his end. On that day he had a high seat set in the rear hall and received guests as usual. Between the hours of chen and si he descended the steps, bowed reverently toward the palace, and asked the transport commissioner to take over the affairs of Qiongzhou. He put on monk's robes and shoes, sat on the high seat, and instructed the officials and the monks and laymen each to turn toward the Way, support the teaching, and establish the dharma banner. Then he picked up his staff, laid it on his knee, and passed away like a sloughing. The transport commissioner said: 'The Commissioner goes and stays with such freedom — why not leave a verse to mark this rare thing?' The gentleman opened his eyes, asked for a brush and wrote: 'The first and the thirty-first; the middle nine and the lower seven. The old man's words are done; Brother Turtle's eyes are red.' And so he was gone for good. After the Jianyan era, in the famous mountains and great monasteries the teaching collections were mostly not preserved. The gentleman repeatedly had them printed and given away from his own salary, one hundred and twenty-eight collections in all, to wish the ruler long life and bring health to the myriad people. His disciple Pu Dapin once recorded the matter. His recorded sayings and verses on the ancients circulate in the world.

開福寧禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Kaifu Ning

潭州大溈月庵善果禪師

Chan Master Yue'an Shanguo of Dawei, Tanzhou

信州餘氏子。上堂。奚仲造車一百輻。拈卻兩頭除卻軸。以拄杖打一圓相曰。且莫錯認定盤星。卓一卓。下座。謝供頭。上堂。解猛虎頷下金鈴。驚群動眾。取蒼龍穴裡明珠。光天照地。山僧今日到此。讚歎不及。汝等諸人。合作麼生。竪起拂子曰。眨上眉毛。速須薦取。擲拂子。下座。上堂。心生法亦生。心滅法亦滅。心法兩俱忘。烏龜喚作鼈。諸禪德。道得也未。若道得。道林與你拄杖子。其或未然。歸堂吃茶去。僧問。達磨九年面壁時如何。師曰。魚行水濁。曰。二祖禮三拜。為甚麼卻得其髓。師曰。地肥茄子大。曰。祇如一華開五葉。結果自然成。明甚麼邊事。師曰。賊以贓為驗。曰。有時乘好月。不覺過滄洲。師曰。闍黎無分。問。有句無句。如藤倚樹時如何。師曰。驗盡當行家。曰。樹倒藤枯。句歸何處。又作麼生。師曰。風吹日炙。曰。溈山呵呵大笑。聻。師曰。波斯讀梵字。曰。道吾推倒泥裡。溈山不管。此意又且如何。師曰。有理不在高聲。曰。羅山道。道吾是撮馬糞漢。又作麼生。師曰。多口阿師。曰。今日足見老師七通八達。師曰。仰面哭蒼天。僧禮拜。師曰。過。問。蓮華未出水時如何。師曰。乾坤無異色。曰。出水後如何。師曰。徧界有清香。

He was a son of the Yu family of Xinzhou. He mounted the hall: 'Xi Zhong made a cart with a hundred spokes; pick away both ends and remove the axle.' He drew a circle with his staff and said: 'Do not mistake the pole star.' He planted it once and descended. Thanking the offering, he mounted the hall: 'To loosen the golden bell under the fierce tiger's chin startles the crowd and stirs the multitude. To take the bright pearl from the green dragon's cave lights heaven and shines on earth. This mountain monk has come to this today and cannot praise it enough. What will you people do?' He held up his fly whisk and said: 'Raise your eyebrows and grasp it quickly.' He threw down the fly whisk and descended. He mounted the hall: 'When mind arises, dharmas also arise; when mind ceases, dharmas also cease. When mind and dharma are both forgotten, the turtle is called a soft-shelled turtle. Chan worthies, can you speak it? If you can, Daolin gives you a staff. If not, return to the hall and drink tea.' A monk asked: 'What about when Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years?' The Master said: 'Fish swim and the water is muddy.' He said: 'The Second Patriarch bowed three times — why did he get the marrow?' The Master said: 'When the soil is fat, the eggplants are big.' He said: 'Take the line, one flower opens five leaves; the fruit comes naturally. What matter does that illuminate?' The Master said: 'A thief is proven by the stolen goods.' He said: 'Sometimes riding the good moon, one does not notice passing the misty isle.' The Master said: 'You have no share, Reverend.' He asked: 'What about when there is a phrase and no phrase, like a vine leaning on a tree?' The Master said: 'Tested to the end, a genuine expert.' He said: 'The tree falls, the vine withers — where does the phrase return to? What then?' The Master said: 'Blown by wind, scorched by sun.' He said: 'Weishan laughed ha-ha. Well?' The Master said: 'A Persian reads Sanskrit.' He said: 'Daowu pushed him down into the mud and Weishan paid no heed. What does this mean?' The Master said: 'Reason does not lie in a loud voice.' He said: 'Luoshan said Daowu was a horse-dung gatherer. What then?' The Master said: 'A chatterbox Reverend.' He said: 'Today one fully sees the Master's seven-way penetration and eight-way reach.' The Master said: 'Face upward and weep to heaven.' The monk bowed. The Master said: 'Wrong.' He asked: 'What about before the lotus emerges from the water?' The Master said: 'Heaven and earth have no other color.' He said: 'And after it emerges?' The Master said: 'Throughout the realm there is a clear fragrance.'

大隨靜禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Dasui Jing

台州釣魚臺石頭自回禪師

Chan Master Shitou Zihui of the Fishing Terrace, Taizhou

本郡人也。世為石工。雖不識字。志慕空宗。每求人口授法華。能誦之。棄家投大隨。供掃灑。寺中令取崖石。師手不釋鎚鑿。而誦經不輟口。隨見而語曰。今日硿磕。明日硿磕。死生到來。作甚摺合。師愕然。釋其器。設禮。願聞究竟法。因隨至方丈。隨令且罷誦經。看趙州勘婆因緣。師念念不去心。久之。因鑿石。石稍堅。盡力一鎚。瞥見火光。忽然省徹。走至方丈。禮拜呈頌曰。用盡工夫。渾無巴鼻。火光迸散。元在這裡。隨忻然曰。子徹也。復獻趙州勘婆頌曰。三軍不動旗閃爍。老婆正是魔王腳。趙州無柄鐵掃帚。掃蕩煙塵空索索。隨可之。遂授以僧服。人以其為石工。故有回石頭之稱也。上堂。參禪學道。大似井底叫渴相似。殊不知塞耳塞眼。迴避不及。且如十二時中。行住坐臥。動轉施為。是甚麼人使作。眼見耳聞。何處不是路頭。若識得路頭。便是大解脫路。方知老漢與你證明。山河大地與你證明。所以道。十方薄伽梵。一路涅槃門。諸仁者。大凡有一物當途。要見一物之根源。一物無處。要見一物之根源。見得根源。源無所源。所源既非。何處不圓。諸禪德。你看老漢有甚麼勝你處。諸人有甚麼不如老漢處。還會麼。太湖三萬六千頃。月在波心說向誰。

He was a man of this prefecture, a stonemason for generations. Though he could not read, his mind aspired to the school of emptiness. He often asked people to recite the Lotus Sutra to him orally, and he could chant it. He left home and went to Dasui, where he did sweeping. The monastery had him fetch cliff stone; the Master never let go of hammer and chisel, and never ceased chanting. Sui saw him and said: 'Today crack-crack, tomorrow crack-crack — when birth and death come, what reckoning will you make?' The Master was startled, put down his tools and bowed, wishing to hear the ultimate dharma. So he followed Sui to the abbot's quarters. Sui told him to stop chanting for now and look into the story of Zhaozhou's testing of the old woman. The Master kept it in mind without letup. After a long time, chiseling stone, he struck a slightly harder stone with all his strength and glimpsed a spark of fire, and was suddenly thoroughly awakened. He ran to the abbot's quarters, bowed and presented a verse: 'I used up all my effort and had not a scrap of a handle; the firelight burst and scattered — it was here all along.' Sui was delighted and said: 'You have penetrated.' Again he presented a verse on Zhaozhou's testing of the old woman: 'The three armies do not move, the banners flicker; the old woman is precisely the demon king's foot. Zhaozhou's handleless iron broom sweeps away the smoke and dust, leaving it bare and empty.' Sui approved him and gave him monk's robes. Because he was a stonemason, people called him Hui Shitou, Returned Stone. He mounted the hall: 'Studying Chan and learning the Way is very much like crying for thirst at the bottom of a well; you do not know that ears and eyes are stopped and there is no avoiding it. Take the twelve hours: walking, standing, sitting, lying, moving and acting — who is it that makes them work? What the eye sees and the ear hears — where is it not the head of the road? If you recognize the head of the road, that is the road of great liberation. Then you know that this old man certifies you and the mountains, rivers and great earth certify you. Therefore it is said: the Bhagavans of the ten directions are one road, the gate of nirvana. Good people, whenever a thing stands in your path, you must see the source of that thing; when a thing has no place, you must see the source of that thing. Seeing the source, the source has no source; since the source is not, where is it not complete? Chan worthies, see what advantage this old man has over you, and in what you people fall short of this old man. Do you understand? Lake Tai, thirty-six thousand acres — the moon in the heart of the waves, to whom does it speak?'

潼川府護聖愚丘居靜禪師

Chan Master Yuqiu Jujing of Husheng, Tongchuan Prefecture

成都楊氏子。年十四。禮白馬安慧為師。聞南堂道望。遂往依焉。堂舉香嚴枯木裡龍吟話。往返酧詰。師於言下大悟。一日。堂問曰。莫守寒巖異草青。坐卻白雲宗不妙。汝作麼生。師曰。直須揮劒。若不揮劒。漁父棲巢。堂矍然曰。這小廝兒。師珍重便行。出住東巖。上堂。月生一。東巖乍住增愁寂。紅塵世路有多端。米麫倉儲無顆粒。崖為伴。泉為匹。颯颯清風來入室。山王土地暗中忙。雲版鐘魚偷淚滴。世人莫道守空巖。亦有東籬打西壁。甞謂眾曰。參學至要。不出先南堂道。最初句及末後句。透得過者。一生事畢。儻或未然。更與你分作十門。各各印證自心。還得穩當也未。一．須信有教外別傳。二．須知有教外別傳。三．須會無情說法與有情說法無二。四．須見性如觀掌中之物。了了分明。一一田地穩密。五．須具擇法眼。六．須行鳥道玄路。七．須文武兼濟。八．須摧邪顯正。九．須大機大用。十．須向異類中行。凡欲紹隆法種。須盡此綱要。方坐得這曲彔床子。受得天下人禮拜。敢與佛祖為師。若不到恁麼田地。祇一向虗頭。他時異日。閻老子未放你在。間有學者各門頌出。呈師。師以頌示曰。十門綱要掌中施。機會來時自有為。作者不須排位次。大都首末是根基。

He was a son of the Yang family of Chengdu. At fourteen he took Anhui of Baima as his teacher. Hearing of Nantang's reputation in the Way, he went to rely on him. Tang brought up Xiangyan's 'the dragon's cry in the withered tree' and they questioned and answered back and forth, and at these words the Master was greatly awakened. One day Tang asked: 'Do not keep the blue of the strange grass on the cold crag; sitting down on the white clouds, the school is not wondrous. What will you do?' The Master said: 'One must wield the sword. If one does not wield the sword, the fisherman nests in his nest.' Tang was startled and said: 'This little brat!' The Master said 'Take care' and went. He came forth to reside at Dongyan. He mounted the hall: 'The moon brings forth one; newly dwelling at Dongyan, sorrow and stillness increase. The dusty world's roads have many branches; in the rice and flour storehouse there is not one grain. The crag is my companion, the spring my mate; a soughing clear wind enters the room. The mountain king and the earth spirit are secretly busy; the cloud board, the bell and the fish steal tears. Let the world not say I keep an empty crag — there is also the eastern hedge beating the western wall.' He once told the assembly: 'The essential point of study does not go beyond what Nantang said: the first phrase and the last phrase. One who passes through them has finished the matter of a lifetime. If not, I will further divide it into ten gates for you, each to certify your own mind — are you still not settled? First, you must believe there is a separate transmission outside the teachings. Second, you must know there is a separate transmission outside the teachings. Third, you must understand that the insentient preaching the dharma and the sentient preaching the dharma are not two. Fourth, you must see the nature as a thing in the palm of your hand, clear and distinct, each field firm and dense. Fifth, you must possess the eye that chooses the dharma. Sixth, you must walk the bird path and the dark road. Seventh, you must be versed in both the civil and the martial. Eighth, you must crush the false and reveal the true. Ninth, you must have the great working and great function. Tenth, you must walk among the different species. Whenever one would continue and prosper the seed of the dharma, one must exhaust these essentials, and only then can one sit on this crooked couch and receive the bows of the whole world and dare to be a teacher to buddhas and patriarchs. If you have not reached such a field, you are only empty-headed throughout, and another day old man Yama will not let you off.' Among the students there were those who made verses on each gate and presented them to the Master. The Master showed them a verse: 'The ten gates' essentials are dealt from the palm of the hand; when the working comes, there is doing of itself. The master craftsman need not arrange the ranks — for the most part the first and last are the root.'

簡州南巖勝禪師

Chan Master Sheng of Nanyan, Jianzhou

上堂召大眾曰。護生須是殺。殺盡始安居。會得箇中意。分明在半途。且道到家一句又作麼生。釋迦彌勒沒量大。看來猶祇是他奴。僧問。放行五位即不問。把定三關事若何。師曰。橫按鏌鎁全正令。曰。把定三關蒙指示。放行五位事如何。師曰。太平寰宇斬痴頑。曰。恁麼則南巖門下。土曠人稀。師曰。靈利衲僧。祇消一點。曰。自古自今。同生同死時如何。師曰。家賊難防。曰。今日學人小出大遇去也。師便打。曰。須是老僧打你始得。僧禮拜。師曰。切忌詐明頭。

He mounted the hall, called the assembly and said: 'To protect life one must kill; only when killing is finished does one dwell in peace. One who understands the meaning within is plainly only halfway. And tell me, what is the phrase of arriving home? Shakyamuni and Maitreya are beyond measure, yet they are still only his slaves.' A monk asked: 'Releasing and letting go in the five ranks I do not ask; what of holding firm the three passes?' The Master said: 'Laying the Moye sword crosswise, the true command is complete.' He said: 'Holding firm the three passes has been pointed out; what of releasing and letting go in the five ranks?' The Master said: 'In a peaceful realm, behead the foolish and stubborn.' He said: 'Then at the gate of Nanyan the land is broad and the people few.' The Master said: 'A sharp patch-robed monk needs only a touch.' He said: 'From ancient times to now, what about living together and dying together?' The Master said: 'A thief in the house is hard to guard against.' He said: 'Today this student has come forth a little and met much.' The Master struck him and said: 'It takes this old monk to strike you.' The monk bowed. The Master said: 'By all means do not falsely claim to understand.'

常德府梁山廓庵師遠禪師

Chan Master Shiyuan of Kuang'an, Liangshan, Changde Prefecture

合川魯氏子。上堂。舉楊岐三腳驢子話。乃召大眾曰。揚其湯者。莫若撲其火。壅其流者。莫若杜其源。此乃智人之明鑒。佛法之至論。正在斯焉。這因緣。如今叢林中提唱者甚多。商量者不少。有般底。祇道宗師家無固必。凡有所問。隨口便答。似則也似。是即未是。若恁麼。祇作箇乾無事會。不見楊岐用處。乃至祖師。千差萬別。方便門庭。如何消遣。又有般底。祇向佛邊會。卻與自己沒交涉。古人道。凡有言句。須是一一消歸自己。又作麼生。又有般底。一向祇作自己會。棄卻古人用處。唯知道明自己事。古人方便卻如何消遣。既消遣不下。卻似抱橋柱澡洗。要且放手不得。此亦是一病。又有般底。卻去腳多少處會。若恁麼會。此病最難醫也。所以他語有巧妙處。參學人卒難摸索。才擬心則差了也。前輩謂之楊岐宗旨。須是他屋裡人。到恁麼田地。方堪傳授。若不然者。則守死善道之謂也。這公案直須還他透頂徹底漢。方能了得。此非止禪和子會不得。而今天下叢林中。出世為人底。亦少有會得者。若要會去。直須向威音那畔。空劫已前。輕輕覷著。提起便行。捺著便轉。卻向萬仞峰前進一步。可以籠罩古今。坐斷天下人舌頭。如今還有恁麼者麼。有則出來道看。如無。更聽一頌。三腳驢子弄蹄行。直透威音萬丈坑。雲在嶺頭閑不徹。水流㵎下太忙生。湖南長老誰解會。行人更在青山外。上堂。天得一以清。地得一以寧。君王得一以治天下。這箇說話。是家常茶飯。須知衲僧家。別有奇特處始得。且道衲僧門下有甚奇特處。天得一。鬥牛女虗危室壁。地得一。萬象森羅及瓦礫。君王得一。上下四維無等匹。且道衲僧得一時如何。要見客從何處來。閑持經卷倚松立。浴佛上堂。舉藥山浴佛公案。拈雲。這僧問處。依稀越國。髣髴楊州。藥山答來。眼似流星。機如掣電。點檢將來。二俱不了。

He was a son of the Lu family of Hechuan. He mounted the hall and brought up Yangqi's story of the three-legged donkey. Then he called the assembly and said: 'To raise the broth, one does best to beat down the fire; to dam the stream, one does best to stop the source. This is the clear mirror of the wise and the ultimate discourse of the buddhadharma — it lies precisely here. This story is now brought up and sung by many in the monasteries, and deliberated by not a few. There is a sort who only say: the masters of the school have no fixed rule; whatever is asked, they answer offhand. It seems so, but it is not so. If it were thus, one would make of it a bare matter-of-nothing understanding and would not see where Yangqi was working — and then the patriarchs' thousand differences and myriad distinctions and the gates of skillful means, how would you settle them? There is another sort who understand it only on the buddha's side, and it has no connection with themselves. The ancients said: whenever there are words and phrases, each one must be turned back to oneself. What then? There is another sort who understand it only as themselves and throw away the ancients' working, knowing only how to make clear their own matter. Then how will they settle the ancients' skillful means? Since they cannot settle them, it is like embracing the bridge post to bathe — one cannot let go. This too is an illness. There is another sort who go and understand it at the point of more or less. If you understand it thus, this illness is the hardest to cure. Therefore his words have a place of skill, and students find it hard to grope out. As soon as one would deliberate, one has already missed it. The ancients called this the purport of Yangqi. It must be a man of his own house, one who has reached such a field, before he is fit to receive and transmit it. If not, then it is what is called keeping to the dead and the good Way. This case must be returned to a man who is pierced through to the very top and bottom before he can finish it. It is not only that the Chan monks cannot understand it; today in the monasteries of the world, even those who come forth to work for people rarely understand it. If you would understand it, you must, at the far shore of Awesome Sound, before the empty kalpa, lightly glimpse it, and the moment you lift it, walk; the moment you press it, turn. Then take one step forward before the ten-thousand-fathom peak, and you can cover ancient and modern and sit firm and cut off the tongues of the whole world. Is there any such person today? If there is, come forward and speak. If not, hear one more verse. The three-legged donkey walks on its hooves, straight through the ten-thousand-fathom pit of Awesome Sound. The clouds at the ridge's head are never idle; the water below the ravine is too busy in its living. Who among the elders of Hunan understands? The traveler is still beyond the blue mountains.' He mounted the hall: 'Heaven gained the one and became clear; earth gained the one and became still; the king gained the one and governed the world. These words are everyday tea and rice. You must know that a patch-robed monk has something else extraordinary. And tell me, what extraordinary thing is there at the gate of a patch-robed monk? Heaven gained the one: the Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Danger, Roof, Wall. Earth gained the one: the ten thousand forms in dense array and the tiles and pebbles. The king gained the one: above and below and the four quarters, nothing to compare. And tell me, when a patch-robed monk gains the one, what then? If you would see where the guest comes from, idly holding a sutra scroll, leaning on a pine, he stands.' On the buddha's bathing day he mounted the hall and brought up the story of Yaoshan bathing the buddha. He picked it up and said: 'This monk's question is faintly like Yue, vaguely like Yangzhou; Yaoshan's answer comes with eyes like shooting stars and workings like lightning. Examined closely, neither is finished.'

若是山僧即不然。當是時。才見他問。只浴得這箇。且不浴得那箇。但轉木杓柄與伊。待他擬議之間。攔面便潑。假饒這僧有大神通。具大智慧。也無施展處。敢問大眾。這箇即且置。喚甚麼作那箇。下座。佛殿燒香。為你說破。師有十牛圖並頌行於世。

'If it were this mountain monk, it would not be so. At that moment, as soon as I saw him ask, Only this one can be bathed, and that one cannot be bathed, I would just turn the handle of the wooden ladle toward him, and while he was deliberating, I would splash it in his face. Even if this monk had great spiritual powers and great wisdom, he would have no place to display them. May I ask the assembly: set this one aside — what do you call that one? Descend from the seat. Burn incense in the buddha hall, and I will break it open for you.' The Master had a Ten Oxherding Pictures with verses circulating in the world.

嘉州能仁默堂紹悟禪師

Chan Master Shaowu of Motang, Nengren, Jiazhou

結夏上堂。最初一步。十方世界現全身。末後一言。一微塵中深鎻斷。有時提起。如倚天長劒。光耀乾坤。有時放下。似紅爐點雪。虗含萬象。得到恁麼田地。天魔外道。拱手歸降。三世諸佛。一時稽首。便可以大圓覺為我伽藍。於一毫端現寶王剎。如是則朝往西天。暮歸東土。亦是禁足。百華叢裡坐。婬坊酒肆行。亦是禁足。雖然如是。不曾動著這裡一步。恁麼則九旬無虗棄之功。百劫有今時之用。堪報不報之恩。以助無為之化。此即是涅槃妙心。金剛王寶劒。敢問大眾。作麼生得到這田地去。如人上山。各自努力。上堂。舉趙州訪二庵主公案。頌曰。一重山盡一重山。坐斷孤峰子細看。霧捲雲收山嶽靜。楚天空闊一輪寒。

At the summer retreat he mounted the hall: 'The first step: in the ten directions the whole body appears. The last word: within a single mote of dust, deeply locked off. Sometimes lifted up, it is like a sword leaning on heaven, lighting up heaven and earth. Sometimes set down, it is like a spot of snow on a red furnace, emptily containing the ten thousand forms. Reaching such a field, the heavenly demons and outer paths fold their hands and surrender, and the buddhas of the three ages all at once bow their heads. Then one can take the great perfect enlightenment as one's monastery and manifest the jewel king's realm at the tip of a hair. If so, then going to the Western Heaven in the morning and returning to the Eastern Land at dusk is still keeping the feet still; sitting in a thicket of a hundred flowers and walking in brothels and wine shops is still keeping the feet still. Even so, one has not moved a single step here. If so, then the ninety days have no vainly wasted effort, and a hundred kalpas have the use of this moment. One can repay the kindness that cannot be repaid and assist the transformation that does nothing. This is the wondrous mind of nirvana, the vajra king's precious sword. May I ask the assembly: how does one reach this field? Like a man going up a mountain — each must strive for himself.' He mounted the hall and brought up the case of Zhaozhou visiting the two hermits. He made a verse: 'One range of mountains ends and another begins; sitting firm on the lone peak, look carefully. The mist rolls up, the clouds gather in, the mountains are still; the Chu sky is vast and broad, one wheel of cold.'

彭州土溪智陀子言庵主

The lay brother Ziyan, Zhituo of Tuxi, Pengzhou

綿州人也。初至大隨。聞舉石頭和尚示眾偈。倐然領旨。歸隱土溪。懸崖絕壑間有石若蹲異獸。師鑿以為室。中發異泉。無涸溢。四眾訝之。居三十年。化風盛播。室成日。作偈曰。一擊石庵全。縱橫得自然。清涼無暑氣。涓潔有甘泉。寬廓含沙界。寂寥絕眾緣。箇中無限意。風月一床眠。

He was a man of Mianzhou. He first came to Dasui and, hearing the verse Shitou the monk addressed to the assembly, suddenly grasped the purport. He returned to hide at Tuxi. Among the sheer cliffs and cut-off ravines there was a rock like a crouching strange beast; the Master chiseled it into a room, and within a rare spring broke forth that never dried nor overflowed. The four assemblies marveled at it. He lived there thirty years and his transforming influence spread widely. On the day the room was finished he made a verse: 'One blow and the stone hut is complete; vertical and horizontal, one attains naturally. Cool and clear, without the breath of summer; pure and limpid, there is sweet spring water. Broad and vast, it holds the sands of the Ganges; still and silent, it cuts off all conditions. Within it there is infinite meaning: wind and moon, sleeping on one couch.'

劍門南修道者

The cultivator Nan of Jianmen

淳厚之士也。自大隨一語契投。服勤不怠。歸謁崇化贇禪師。坐次。贇以宗門三印問之。南曰。印空印泥印水。平地寒濤競起。假饒去就十分。也是靈龜曳尾。

He was a man of plain and generous character. From a single word of Dasui he entered into accord and served diligently without slackening. Returning, he called on Chan Master Yun of Chonghua. As they sat, Yun asked him about the school's three seals. Nan said: 'The seal of emptiness, the seal of mud, the seal of water — on level ground cold waves race up. Even if one comes and goes perfectly, it is still the sacred turtle dragging its tail.'

莫將尚書

The Supervising Secretary Mo Jiang

字少虗。家世豫章分寧。因官西蜀。謁南堂靜禪師諮決心要。堂使其向好處提撕。適如廁。俄聞穢氣。急以手掩鼻。遂有省。即呈以偈曰。從來姿韻愛風流。幾笑時人向外求。萬別千差無覓處。得來元在鼻尖頭。南堂答曰。一法才通法法周。縱橫妙用更何求。青虵出匣魔軍伏。碧眼胡僧笑點頭。

His courtesy name was Shaoxu. His family had lived in Fenning in Yuzhang for generations, and because of office he went to Western Shu. He called on Chan Master Jing of Nantang to resolve the essentials of mind. Tang had him raise it up in a good place. Happening to go to the privy, he suddenly smelled the stench and hastily covered his nose with his hand, and thereby had an awakening. He at once presented a verse: 'I have always loved elegance and refinement, and often laughed at people of the time for seeking outside. In the ten thousand differences and a thousand distinctions there is no place to find it — getting it, it turns out to be at the tip of the nose.' Nantang answered: 'One dharma has only to be penetrated and every dharma is complete; what more would you seek of its free and wondrous working? The green snake leaves its box and the demon hosts submit; the blue-eyed barbarian monk laughs and nods.'

龍圖王蕭居士

The Layman Wang Xiao of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion

字觀復。留昭覺日。聞開靜板聲。有省。問南堂曰。某有箇見處。才被人問。卻開口不得。未審過在甚處。堂曰。過在有箇見處。堂卻問。朝斾幾時到任。公曰。去年八月四日。堂曰。自按察幾時離衙。公曰。前月二十。堂曰。為甚麼道開口不得。公乃契悟。

His courtesy name was Guanfu. While staying at Zhaojue he heard the sound of the board opening the stillness and had an awakening. He asked Nantang: 'I have a place of insight, but as soon as someone questions me I cannot open my mouth. I do not know where the fault lies.' Tang said: 'The fault lies in having a place of insight.' Tang then asked: 'When did the morning banners reach the post?' The gentleman said: 'The fourth day of the eighth month last year.' Tang said: 'When did you leave your office as censor?' The gentleman said: 'The twentieth of last month.' Tang said: 'Why do you say you cannot open your mouth?' Thereupon the gentleman entered into accord and awakening.