The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One

遊山。見一巖。僧問。此巖還有主也無。師曰。有。曰。是甚麼人。師曰。三家村裡覔甚麼。曰。如何是巖中主。師曰。汝還氣急麼。小師行腳回。師問。汝離吾在外多少時邪。曰。十年。師曰。不用指東指西。直道將來。曰。對和尚不敢謾語。師喝曰。這打野榸漢。師同大於．南用到茶堂。有僧近前不審。用曰。我既不納汝。汝亦不見我。不審阿誰。僧無語。師曰。不得平白地恁麼問伊。用曰。大於亦無語那。於把定其僧曰。是你恁麼累我亦然。便打一摑。用大笑曰。朗月與青天。大於侍者到。師問。金剛正定。一切皆然。秋去冬來。且作麼生。者曰。不妨和尚借問。師曰。即今即得。去後作麼生。者曰。誰敢問著某甲。師曰。大於還得麼。者曰。猶要別人點檢在。師曰。輔弼宗師。不廢光彩。侍者禮拜。

While traveling in the mountains, he saw a cave. A monk asked, ‘Does this cave have a master?’ ‘It does.’ ‘Who is it?’ ‘Why search for someone in a hamlet of three families?’ ‘Who is the master inside the cave?’ ‘Are you short of breath?’ A junior monk returned from travel. The master asked, ‘How long were you away from me?’ ‘Ten years.’ The master said, ‘Do not point east and west; tell it straight.’ ‘I would not dare deceive you.’ The master shouted, ‘You wild stump of a fellow!’ The master went to the tea hall with Dayu and Nanyong. A monk approached and greeted them. Yong said, ‘I do not accept you, and you do not see me. Who is greeting whom?’ The monk was speechless. The master said, ‘You must not ask him such a question for no reason.’ Yong said, ‘Dayu is speechless too.’ Yu held the monk and said, ‘You have implicated me in the same way.’ Then he slapped him. Yong laughed and said, ‘The bright moon and the blue sky.’ Dayu’s attendant arrived. The master asked, ‘The vajra samadhi is such that all things are thus. Autumn passes and winter comes—what now?’ The attendant said, ‘It is fine for the master to ask.’ The master said, ‘That works for now. What about after I leave?’ ‘Who would dare question me?’ ‘Can Dayu manage it?’ ‘He still needs someone else to inspect him.’ The master said, ‘A helper to the patriarch does not lack luster.’ The attendant bowed.

清田和尚

The Venerable of Qingtian

與瑫上座煎茶次。師敲繩床三下。瑫亦敲三下。師曰。老僧敲。有箇善巧。上座敲。有何道理。瑫曰。某甲敲。有箇方便。和尚敲作麼生。師舉起盞子。瑫曰。善知識眼應須恁麼。茶罷。瑫卻問。和尚適來舉起盞子。意作麼生。師曰。不可更別有也。

While making tea with Senior Monk Tao, the master tapped the rope bed three times, and Tao tapped it three times as well. The master said, ‘When I tap, there is a skillful point. What principle is there in your tapping?’ Tao said, ‘When I tap, there is an expedient means. What about the master’s tapping?’ The master raised his cup. Tao said, ‘A good teacher’s eyes should indeed be like that.’ After the tea, Tao asked, ‘What did the master mean by raising the cup just now?’ The master said, ‘There cannot be something else beyond it.’

百丈山涅槃和尚

The Venerable of Nirvana at Baizhang Mountain

一日謂眾曰。汝等與我開田。我與汝說大義。眾開田了。歸請說大義。師乃展兩手。眾罔措(洪覺範林間錄雲。百丈第二代法正禪師。大智之高弟。其先甞誦涅槃經。不言姓名。時呼為涅槃和尚。住成法席。師功最多。使眾開田。方說大義者。乃師也。黃檗。古靈諸大士皆推尊之。唐文人黃武翊撰其碑甚詳。柳公權書。妙絕今古。而傳燈所載百丈惟政禪師。又係於馬祖法嗣之列。悞矣。及觀正宗記。則有惟政．法正。然百丈第代可數。明教但皆見其名。不能辨而俱存也。今當以柳碑為正)。

One day he told the assembly, ‘Open fields for me, and I will explain the great meaning to you.’ After they had opened the fields, they returned and asked him to explain. The master simply spread out both hands. The assembly was at a loss. (Hong Juefan’s Records from the Forest says: ‘The second-generation Baizhang master Fazheng was a senior disciple of Dazhi. He had formerly recited the Nirvana Sutra but did not give his name, so people called him the Venerable Nirvana. He established a monastery and contributed greatly as its teacher. He had the assembly open fields before explaining the great meaning. The great masters Huangbo and Guling all revered him. The Tang writer Huang Wuyi composed a detailed inscription for his stele, which Liu Gongquan wrote in peerless calligraphy. Yet the Transmission of the Lamp places the Baizhang master Weizheng among Mazu’s Dharma heirs, which is mistaken. In the Orthodox Record there are both Weizheng and Fazheng. The generations at Baizhang can be counted, but Mingjiao knew only their names and could not distinguish them, so he included both. The inscription by Liu should now be taken as authoritative.’)

南泉願禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Master Nanquan Yuan

趙州觀音院(亦曰東院)。從諗禪師

Zhaozhou Guanyin Monastery (also called Dongyuan), Chan Master Congshen

曹州郝鄉人也。姓郝氏。童稚於本州扈通院從師披剃。未納戒便抵池陽。參南泉。值泉偃息而問曰。近離甚處。師曰。瑞像。泉曰。還見瑞像麼。師曰。不見瑞像。祇見臥如來。泉便起坐。問。汝是有主沙彌。無主沙彌。師曰。有主沙彌。泉曰。那箇是你主。師近前躬身曰。仲冬嚴寒。伏惟和尚尊候萬福。泉器之。許其入室。他日問泉曰。如何是道。泉曰。平常心是道。師曰。還可趣向也無。泉曰。擬向即乖。師曰。不擬爭知是道。泉曰。道不屬知。不屬不知。知是妄覺。不知是無記。若真達不疑之道。猶如太虗。廓然蕩豁。豈可強是非邪。師於言下悟理。乃往嵩嶽瑠璃壇納戒。仍返南泉。一日問泉曰。知有底人向甚麼處去。泉曰。山前檀越家作一頭水牯牛去。師曰。謝師指示。泉曰。昨夜三更月到牕。泉曰。今時人。須向異類中行始得。師曰。異即不問。如何是類。泉以兩手拓地。師近前一踏。踏倒。卻向涅槃堂裡呌曰。悔。悔。泉令侍者問。悔箇甚麼。師曰。悔不更與兩踏。南泉上堂。師出問。明頭合。暗頭合。泉便下座。歸方丈。師曰。這老和尚被我一問。直得無言可對。首座曰。莫道和尚無語好。自是上座不會。師便打一掌曰。此掌合是堂頭老漢吃。師到黃檗。檗見來便閉方丈門。師乃把火於法堂內。呌曰。救火。救火。檗開門捉住曰。道。道。師曰。賊過後張弓。到寶壽。壽見來。於禪床上背坐。師展坐具禮拜。壽下禪床。師便出。又到道吾。才入堂。吾曰。南泉一隻箭來也。師曰。看箭。吾曰。過也。師曰。中。又到茱萸。執拄杖於法堂上。從東過西。萸曰。作甚麼。師曰。探水。萸曰。我這裡一滴也無。探箇甚麼。師以杖倚壁。便下。師將遊五臺。有大德作偈。留曰。無處青山不道場。何須䇿杖禮清涼。雲中縱有金毛現。正眼觀時非吉祥。師曰。作麼生是正眼。德無對(法眼代雲。

He was from Hao village in Caozhou, and his surname was Hao. As a child he received tonsure at Hutong Monastery in his native region. Before receiving full precepts, he went to Chiyang and visited Nanquan. He found Quan resting and was asked, ‘Where have you recently come from?’ ‘Ruixiang.’ ‘Did you see the auspicious image?’ ‘I did not see an auspicious image; I saw a reclining Tathagata.’ Quan sat up and asked, ‘Are you a novice with a master or without one?’ ‘With a master.’ ‘Who is your master?’ The master stepped forward, bowed, and said, ‘The weather is bitterly cold in midwinter. I trust the venerable master is well.’ Quan valued him and allowed him into his room. Another day the master asked Quan, ‘What is the Way?’ Quan said, ‘Ordinary mind is the Way.’ ‘May one deliberately head toward it?’ ‘To intend to do so is to turn away.’ ‘If one does not intend to, how can one know it is the Way?’ Quan said, ‘The Way belongs neither to knowing nor to not knowing. Knowing is deluded awareness; not knowing is blankness. If you truly reach the Way without doubt, it is like empty space: vast, open, and clear. How could you force it into right and wrong?’ At these words the master awakened to the principle. He went to the ordination platform at Liuli on Mount Song to receive the precepts, then returned to Nanquan. One day he asked Quan, ‘Where does a person who knows go?’ Quan said, ‘To the benefactor’s house in front of the mountain to become a water buffalo.’ The master said, ‘Thank you for your guidance.’ Quan said, ‘Last night the moon came to the window at the third watch.’ Quan added, ‘People today must walk among the different kinds of beings.’ The master said, ‘I do not ask about being different; what is the kind?’ Quan placed both hands on the ground. The master stepped forward, knocked him over, then went to the Nirvana Hall and cried, ‘Regret, regret!’ Quan sent an attendant to ask, ‘What do you regret?’ The master said, ‘I regret not giving him two more kicks.’ Nanquan ascended the teaching seat. The master stepped forward and asked, ‘Is it right in the light or right in the dark?’ Quan immediately descended and returned to his room. The master said, ‘This old master could not answer my question and was left speechless.’ The head monk said, ‘Do not say the master was speechless; it is simply that you did not understand.’ The master slapped him and said, ‘That slap should have landed on the abbot!’ The master went to Huangbo. Huangbo saw him coming and shut the door to his room. The master carried a torch into the Dharma Hall and shouted, ‘Fire! Fire!’ Huangbo opened the door and seized him, saying, ‘Speak! Speak!’ The master said, ‘The thief has gone; now you string your bow.’ He went to Baoshou. When Shou saw him, he sat with his back turned on the meditation platform. The master spread his bowing mat and paid respects. Shou got down from the platform, and the master left. He also went to Daowu. As soon as he entered the hall, Wu said, ‘Nanquan’s arrow has arrived.’ The master said, ‘Watch out!’ Wu said, ‘It passed by.’ The master said, ‘It hit.’ He next went to Zhuyu and carried his staff from east to west across the Dharma Hall. Yu asked, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Testing the water.’ ‘There is not a drop here. What are you testing?’ The master leaned the staff against the wall and left. The master planned to visit Mount Wutai. A senior monk composed a verse to stop him: ‘Everywhere among the green mountains is a place of practice; why carry a staff to worship Mount Qingliang? Even if a golden-maned lion appears in the clouds, to see it with the true eye is inauspicious.’ The master asked, ‘What is the true eye?’ The senior monk had no reply. (Fayan answered for him:)

請上座領某甲情。同安顯代雲。是上座眼)。師自此道化被於北地。眾請住觀音院。上堂。如明珠在掌。胡來胡現。漢來漢現。老僧把一枝草為丈六金身用。把丈六金身為一枝草用。佛是煩惱。煩惱是佛。僧問。未審佛是誰家煩惱。師曰。與一切人煩惱。曰。如何免得。師曰。用免作麼。掃地次。僧問。和尚是大善知識。為甚麼掃地。師曰。塵從外來。曰。既是清淨伽藍。為甚麼有塵。師曰。又一點也。師與官人遊園次。兔見乃驚走。遂問。和尚是大善知識。兔見為甚麼走。師曰。老僧好殺。問。覺華未發時。如何辨真實。師曰。開也。曰。是真是實。師曰。真是實。實是真。曰。甚麼人分上事。師曰。老僧有分。闍黎有分。曰。某甲不招納時如何。師佯不聞。僧無語。師曰。去。石幢子被風吹折。僧問。陀羅尼幢子作凡去。作聖去。師曰。也不作凡。亦不作聖。曰。畢竟作甚麼。師曰。落地去也。僧辭。師曰。甚處去。曰。諸方學佛法去。師竪起拂子曰。有佛處不得住。無佛處急走過。三千里外。逢人不得錯舉。曰。與麼則不去也。師曰。摘楊花。摘楊花。問。承聞和尚親見南泉。是否。師曰。鎮州出大蘿蔔頭。大眾晚參。師曰。今夜答話去也。有解問者出來。時有一僧便出禮拜。師曰。比來拋甎引玉。卻引得箇墼子(保壽雲。射虎不真。徒勞沒羽。長慶問覺上座雲。那僧才出禮拜。為甚麼便收伊為墼子。覺雲。適來那邊亦有人恁麼問。慶雲。向伊道甚麼。覺雲。也向伊恁麼道。玄覺雲。甚麼處卻成墼子去。叢林中道才出來。便成墼子。祇如每日出入。行住坐臥。不可總成墼子。且道這僧出來。具眼不具眼)。上堂。金佛不度爐。木佛不度火。泥佛不度水。真佛內裡坐。菩提涅槃。真如佛性。盡是貼體衣服。亦名煩惱。實際理地甚麼處著。一心不生。萬法無咎。汝但究理。坐看三二十年。若不會。

(Fayan continued:) ‘Please, senior monk, accept my feelings.’ Tong'an Xian answered for him: ‘It is the senior monk’s own eye.’ From then on the master’s teaching spread through the north. The assembly invited him to reside at Guanyin Monastery. At a teaching he said, ‘Like a bright pearl in the palm, a foreigner appears as a foreigner, a Han person appears as a Han person. This old monk can use a blade of grass as a sixteen-foot golden body, and use a sixteen-foot golden body as a blade of grass. Buddha is affliction; affliction is Buddha.’ A monk asked, ‘Whose affliction is Buddha?’ The master said, ‘Everyone’s.’ ‘How can one be free of it?’ ‘What use is trying to be free?’ While sweeping, the master was asked, ‘You are a great teacher. Why are you sweeping?’ He said, ‘Dust comes from outside.’ ‘If this is a pure monastery, why is there dust?’ The master said, ‘There is another speck.’ While walking in a garden with an official, they saw a rabbit startle and run away. The official asked, ‘You are a great teacher. Why did the rabbit run when it saw you?’ The master said, ‘This old monk is fond of killing.’ Someone asked, ‘Before the awakening flower opens, how can one distinguish the real?’ The master said, ‘It has opened.’ ‘Is it true or real?’ ‘True is real; real is true.’ ‘Whose matter is this?’ ‘It belongs to this old monk, and it belongs to you.’ ‘What if I refuse to accept it?’ The master pretended not to hear. The monk had no reply. The master said, ‘Go.’ A stone pillar was blown over by the wind. A monk asked, ‘Does the dharani pillar become ordinary or holy?’ The master said, ‘It becomes neither ordinary nor holy.’ ‘Then what does it become?’ ‘It has fallen to the ground.’ A monk took leave. The master asked, ‘Where are you going?’ ‘To study the Buddha Dharma in various places.’ The master raised his whisk and said, ‘Where there is a Buddha, do not stay; where there is no Buddha, hurry through. Three thousand miles away, do not misquote me when you meet someone.’ ‘Then I will not go.’ The master said, ‘Pluck the willow fluff, pluck the willow fluff.’ Someone asked, ‘I hear that you personally met Nanquan. Is that so?’ The master said, ‘Zhenzhou produces great turnips.’ At the evening gathering the master said, ‘Tonight I will answer questions. Anyone who understands may come forward.’ A monk immediately stepped out and bowed. The master said, ‘I tossed a brick to draw out jade, but instead I drew a lump of clay.’ (Baoshou said, ‘If you shoot at a tiger and miss, your labor has not even pierced its hide.’ Changqing asked Jue, ‘That monk had only stepped out and bowed. Why did the master call him a lump of clay?’ Jue said, ‘Someone over there has just asked the same thing.’ Qing said, ‘What did you tell him?’ Jue said, ‘I answered him the same way.’ Xuanjue said, ‘Where did he turn into a lump of clay? The community says that as soon as he came forward, he became one. But people come and go, walk, stand, sit, and lie down every day; surely they cannot all be lumps of clay. Tell me, did this monk have the eye or not?’) At a teaching he said, ‘A golden Buddha cannot pass through a furnace; a wooden Buddha cannot pass through fire; a clay Buddha cannot pass through water. The true Buddha sits within. Bodhi, nirvana, true suchness, and Buddha-nature are all garments fitted to the body, and are also called afflictions. Where can anything be placed on the ground of ultimate reality? When the one mind does not arise, the myriad things are without fault. You need only investigate the principle and sit with it for twenty or thirty years. If you do not understand…’

截取老僧頭去。夢幻空華。徒勞把捉。心若不異。萬法一如。既不從外得。更拘執作麼。如羊相似。亂拾物安向口裡。老僧見藥山和尚道。有人問著。但教合取狗口。老僧亦教合取狗口。取我是垢。不取我是淨。一似獵狗專欲得物吃。佛法在甚麼處。千人萬人盡是覔佛漢子。於中覔一箇道人無。若與空王為弟子。莫教心病最難醫。未有世界。早有此性。世界壞時。此性不壞。一從見老僧後。更不是別人。祇是箇主人公。這箇更向外覔作麼。正恁麼時。莫轉頭換腦。若轉頭換腦。即失卻也。僧問。承師有言。世界壞時。此性不壞。如何是此性。師曰。四大五陰。曰。此猶是壞底。如何是此性。師曰。四大五陰(法眼雲。是一箇兩箇。是壞不壞。且作麼生會。試斷看)。師因老宿問。近離甚處。曰。滑州。宿曰。幾程到這裡。師曰。一躂到。宿曰。好箇捷疾鬼。師曰。萬福大王。宿曰。參堂去。師應喏喏。尼問。如何是密密意。師以手掐之。尼曰和尚猶有這箇在。師曰。卻是你有這箇在。僧辭。師問。甚麼處去。曰。閩中去。師曰。彼中兵馬隘。你須迴避始得。曰。向甚麼處迴避。師曰。恰好。問。如何是賓中主。師曰。山僧不問婦。曰。如何是主中賓。師曰。山僧無丈人。有僧遊五臺。問一婆子曰。臺山路向甚麼處去。婆曰。驀直去。僧便去。婆曰。好箇師僧又恁麼去。後有僧舉似師。師曰。待我去勘過。明日。師便去問。臺山路向甚麼處去。婆曰。驀直去。師便去。婆曰。好箇師僧又恁麼去。師歸院謂僧曰。臺山婆子為汝勘破了也(玄覺雲。前來僧也恁麼道。趙州去也恁麼道。甚麼處是勘破婆子處。又云。非唯被趙州勘破。亦被這僧勘破)。問。恁麼來底人。師還接否。師曰。接。曰。不恁麼來底。師還接否。師曰。接。曰。恁麼來者從師接。不恁麼來者如何接。師曰。止。止。不須說。我法妙難思。

(The master continued:) ‘Cut off this old monk’s head and take it away. Dreamlike illusions and empty flowers—grasping at them is futile. When the mind is not divided, all things are one suchness. Since it is not obtained from outside, why cling to it? You are like sheep, wildly picking things up and stuffing them into your mouths. I heard Master Yaoshan say: “If anyone asks, just tell him to shut the dog’s mouth.” I too tell you to shut the dog’s mouth. To grasp at me is defilement; not to grasp at me is purity. You are just like hunting dogs, eager to get something to eat. Where is the Buddha Dharma? Thousands and tens of thousands are all men seeking Buddha; among them, is there one person of the Way? If you would be a disciple of the Empty King, do not let the sickness of mind be the hardest to cure. Before the world existed, this nature was already here. When the world is destroyed, this nature is not destroyed. From the moment you met this old monk, there has never been anyone else: only this master within. Why seek it elsewhere? Just at this very moment, do not turn your head and change your mind. If you do, you will lose it.’ A monk asked, ‘You have said that when the world is destroyed, this nature is not destroyed. What is this nature?’ The master said, ‘The four elements and five aggregates.’ The monk said, ‘Those are still things that perish. What is this nature?’ The master again said, ‘The four elements and five aggregates.’ (Fayan said, ‘Is it one or two? Is it destroyed or indestructible? How will you understand it? Try to judge.’) An old monk asked the master, ‘Where have you just come from?’ ‘Huazhou.’ ‘How many stages did you travel to get here?’ ‘One stride.’ ‘What a swift demon!’ ‘May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!’ ‘Go join the assembly.’ The master answered, ‘Yes, yes.’ A nun asked, ‘What is the intimate, secret meaning?’ The master pinched her. The nun said, ‘Master, you still have this.’ The master said, ‘It is you who have this.’ A monk took his leave. The master asked, ‘Where are you going?’ ‘To Min.’ ‘There are many troops there; you must avoid them.’ ‘Where should I avoid them?’ ‘Just so.’ Someone asked, ‘What is the guest within the host?’ The master said, ‘This mountain monk does not ask about wives.’ ‘What is the host within the guest?’ ‘This mountain monk has no father-in-law.’ A monk traveling on Mount Wutai asked a woman, ‘Which way is the road on Mount Tai?’ She said, ‘Go straight ahead.’ The monk went on. She said, ‘Another monk has gone straight off like that!’ Later a monk told the master about it. The master said, ‘I’ll go investigate her.’ The next day he went and asked, ‘Which way is the road on Mount Tai?’ She said, ‘Go straight ahead.’ He went on. She said, ‘Another monk has gone straight off like that!’ The master returned to the monastery and told the monks, ‘I have exposed that old woman of Mount Tai for you.’ (Xu Jue said, ‘The earlier monk said the same, and Zhaozhou said the same. Where did Zhaozhou expose her?’ He also said, ‘Not only was Zhaozhou exposed by the old woman; that monk was exposed too.’) Someone asked, ‘Does the master receive those who come like this?’ ‘I do.’ ‘Does he receive those who do not come like this?’ ‘I do.’ ‘Those who come like this are received by the master; how are those who do not come like this received?’ The master said, ‘Stop, stop. No need to speak. My Dharma is wondrous and hard to conceive.’

師因出。路逢一婆。婆問。和尚住甚麼處。師曰。趙州東院西。婆無語。師歸問眾僧。合使那箇西字。或言東西字。或言棲泊字。師曰。汝等總作得鹽鐵判官。曰。和尚為甚恁麼道。師曰。為汝總識字(法燈別眾僧雲。已知去處)。問。如何是囊中寶。師曰。合取口(法燈別雲。莫說似人)。有一婆子令人送錢。請轉藏經。師受施利了。卻下禪床轉一匝。乃曰。傳語婆。轉藏經已竟。其人回舉似婆。婆曰。比來請轉全藏。如何祇為轉半藏。(玄覺雲。甚麼處是欠半藏處。且道那婆子具甚麼眼。便與麼道)。因僧侍次。遂指火問曰。這箇是火。你不得喚作火。老僧道了也。僧無對。復筴起火曰。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。此去舒州。有投子和尚。汝往禮拜。問之。必為汝說。因緣相契。不用更來。不相契卻來。其僧到投子。子問。近離甚處。曰。趙州。子曰。趙州有何言句。僧舉前話。子曰。汝會麼。曰。不會。乞師指示。子下禪床。行三步卻坐。問曰。會麼。曰。不會。子曰。你歸舉似趙州。其僧卻回。舉似師。師曰。還會麼。曰。不會。師曰。投子與麼。不較多也。有新到謂師曰。某甲從長安來。橫擔一條拄杖。不曾撥著一人。師曰。自是大德拄杖短(同安顯別雲。老僧這裡不曾見恁麼人)。僧無對(法眼代雲。呵呵。同安顯代雲。也不短)。僧寫師真呈。師曰。且道似我不似我。若似我。即打殺老僧。不似我。即燒卻真。僧無對(玄覺代雲。留取供養)。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。庭前栢樹子。曰。和尚莫將境示人。師曰。我不將境示人。曰。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。庭前栢樹子。問。僧發足甚處。曰。雪峰。師曰。雪峰有何言句示人。曰。尋常道盡十方世界。是沙門一隻眼。你等諸人。向甚處屙。師曰。闍黎若回。寄箇鍬子去。師謂眾曰。我向行腳到南方。火爐頭有箇無賓主話。

One day the master went out and met an old woman on the road. She asked, ‘Where do you live, Master?’ He said, ‘West of the east courtyard of Zhaozhou.’ She had no answer. The master returned and asked the monks, ‘Which character for “west” should I have used?’ Some said the word for east and west; others said the word meaning to dwell. The master said, ‘You could all serve as salt-and-iron commissioners.’ They asked, ‘Why did the master say that?’ He said, ‘Because you all know your characters.’ (Fadeng gave the assembly a different answer: ‘He already knows where he is going.’) Someone asked, ‘What is the treasure in the pouch?’ The master said, ‘Shut your mouth.’ (Fadeng said instead, ‘Don’t tell it to anyone.’) A woman sent money and requested that the master turn the entire canon. After accepting the offering, he stepped down from his meditation seat, walked once around it, and said, ‘Tell the woman the canon has been turned.’ The messenger returned and reported this. The woman said, ‘I requested that the whole canon be turned. Why did you turn only half?’ (Xu Jue said, ‘Where is the missing half? Tell me: what kind of eye did that woman have to speak this way?’) Once, while a monk was attending him, the master pointed at the fire and said, ‘This is fire; you must not call it fire. I have said it now.’ The monk had no reply. The master then lifted the firewood and asked, ‘Do you understand?’ ‘I do not.’ The master said, ‘From here, go to Shuzhou and pay your respects to Master Touzi. He will surely explain it to you. If your conditions accord, you need not return; if they do not, come back.’ The monk reached Touzi. Touzi asked, ‘Where have you just come from?’ ‘Zhaozhou.’ ‘What words does Zhaozhou teach?’ The monk recounted the exchange. Touzi asked, ‘Do you understand?’ ‘I do not. Please instruct me.’ Touzi stepped down from his meditation seat, walked three paces, then sat down and asked, ‘Do you understand?’ ‘I do not.’ Touzi said, ‘Go back and tell Zhaozhou.’ The monk returned and reported it. The master asked, ‘Do you understand now?’ ‘I do not.’ The master said, ‘Touzi did not do too much.’ A newcomer told the master, ‘I came from Chang’an carrying a staff across my shoulder, and I have not struck a single person with it.’ The master said, ‘It is your own staff that is too short.’ (Tong’an Xian said instead, ‘I have never seen a person like that here.’) The monk had no answer. (Fayan replied for him, ‘Ha, ha!’ Tong’an Xian replied, ‘It is not short either.’) A monk painted a portrait of the master and presented it. The master said, ‘Tell me: does it resemble me or not? If it resembles me, kill the old monk. If it does not, burn the portrait.’ The monk had no answer. (Xu Jue replied for him, ‘Keep it for an offering.’) Someone asked, ‘What is the meaning of the ancestral teacher’s coming from the West?’ The master said, ‘The cypress tree in the courtyard.’ ‘Master, do not use an object to instruct people.’ ‘I am not using an object to instruct people.’ ‘What is the meaning of the ancestral teacher’s coming from the West?’ ‘The cypress tree in the courtyard.’ The master asked a monk, ‘Where did you set out from?’ ‘Xuefeng.’ ‘What words does Xuefeng use to instruct people?’ ‘He often says, “The whole world in all ten directions is a monk’s one eye. Where do all of you defecate?”’ The master said, ‘If you return, send him a spade.’ The master told the assembly, ‘When I traveled south, by the brazier there was a saying about a conversation with neither guest nor host. To this day no one has brought it up.’

直至如今無人舉著。上堂。至道無難。唯嫌揀擇。才有語言是揀擇。是明白。老僧不在明白裡。是汝還護惜也無。時有僧問。既不在明白裡。護惜箇甚麼。師曰。我亦不知。僧曰。和尚既不知。為甚道不在明白裡。師曰。問事即得。禮拜了退。別僧問。至道無難。唯嫌揀擇。是時人窠窟否。師曰。曾有人問我。老僧直得五年分疎不下。又問。至道無難。唯嫌揀擇。如何是不揀擇。師曰。天上天下。唯我獨尊。曰。此猶是揀擇。師曰。田庫奴甚處是揀擇。僧無語。問。至道無難。唯嫌揀擇。才有語言是揀擇。和尚如何為人。師曰。何不引盡此語。僧曰。某甲祇念得到這裡。師曰。至道無難。唯嫌揀擇。問。如何是道。師曰。墻外底。曰。不問這箇。師曰。你問那箇。曰。大道。師曰。大道透長安。問。道人相見時如何。師曰。呈漆器。上堂。兄弟若從南方來者。即與下載。若從北方來者。即與上載。所以道。近上人問道即失道。近下人問道即得道。師因與文遠行。乃指一片地曰。這裡好造箇巡舖。文遠便去路傍立曰。把將公驗來。師遂與一摑。遠曰。公驗分明過。師與文遠論義曰鬪劣不鬪勝。勝者輸果子。遠曰。請和尚立義。師曰。我是一頭驢。遠曰。我是驢胃。師曰。我是驢糞。遠曰。我是糞中蟲。師曰。你在彼中作甚麼。遠曰。我在彼中過夏。師曰。把將果子來。新到參。師問。甚麼處來。曰。南方來。師曰。佛法盡在南方。汝來這裡作甚麼。曰。佛法豈有南北邪。師曰。饒汝從雪峰．雲居來。祇是箇擔板漢(崇壽稠雲。和尚是據客置主人)。問。如何是佛。師曰。殿裡底。曰。殿裡者豈不是泥龕塑像。師曰。是。曰。如何是佛。師曰。殿裡底。問。學人乍入叢林。乞師指示。師曰。吃粥了也未。曰吃粥了也。師曰。洗缽盂去。其僧忽然省悟。上堂。才有是非。紛然失心。還有答話分也無。僧舉似洛浦。

(The master continued:) ‘The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes choosing and rejecting. As soon as there is speech, there is choosing and rejecting, there is clarity. This old monk is not within clarity. Do you still protect and cherish it?’ A monk asked, ‘Since you are not within clarity, what is there to protect and cherish?’ The master said, ‘I do not know either.’ The monk said, ‘Since you do not know, why say you are not within clarity?’ The master said, ‘You may ask your question; now bow and withdraw.’ Another monk asked, ‘“The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes choosing and rejecting”—is this a nest for people of our time?’ The master said, ‘Someone once asked me, and it took this old monk five years to explain it.’ He asked again, ‘“The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes choosing and rejecting.” What is not choosing and rejecting?’ The master said, ‘Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am honored.’ ‘That is still choosing and rejecting.’ The master said, ‘Where is the servant of the estate choosing and rejecting?’ The monk was silent. Someone asked, ‘The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes choosing and rejecting. As soon as there is speech, there is choosing and rejecting. How does the master teach people?’ The master said, ‘Why not quote the whole saying?’ The monk said, ‘I can only recite as far as this.’ The master said, ‘The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes choosing and rejecting.’ Someone asked, ‘What is the Way?’ The master said, ‘The thing outside the wall.’ ‘I am not asking about that.’ ‘Then what are you asking about?’ ‘The Great Way.’ ‘The Great Way runs through Chang’an.’ Someone asked, ‘When people of the Way meet, what is it like?’ The master said, ‘Presenting a lacquer vessel.’ At a teaching assembly the master said, ‘Brothers, if you come from the south, I will help you unload. If you come from the north, I will help you load up. Thus it is said: when a person of higher standing asks about the Way, he loses it; when a person of lower standing asks, he gains it.’ Once, while walking with Wenyuan, the master pointed to a patch of ground and said, ‘This would be a good place to build a patrol station.’ Wenyuan went to the roadside, stood there, and said, ‘Show me your travel permit.’ The master slapped him. Wenyuan said, ‘The permit is clearly in order.’ The master and Wenyuan debated, agreeing to compete in the inferior rather than the superior; the winner would pay fruit. Wenyuan said, ‘Please, Master, state your proposition.’ The master said, ‘I am a donkey.’ Wenyuan said, ‘I am its stomach.’ The master said, ‘I am donkey dung.’ Wenyuan said, ‘I am a worm in the dung.’ The master said, ‘What are you doing in there?’ Wenyuan said, ‘I am spending the summer there.’ The master said, ‘Bring the fruit!’ A newcomer came to pay respects. The master asked, ‘Where have you come from?’ ‘The south.’ ‘The Buddha Dharma is all in the south. Why have you come here?’ ‘Can the Buddha Dharma have a south or north?’ The master said, ‘Even if you came from Xuefeng or Yunju, you would still be a board-carrying fellow.’ (Chongshou Chou said, ‘The master put the guest in the place of the host.’) Someone asked, ‘What is the Buddha?’ The master said, ‘The one in the hall.’ ‘Isn’t the one in the hall a clay image in a niche?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What is the Buddha?’ ‘The one in the hall.’ Someone said, ‘I have just entered the monastery. Please instruct me.’ The master asked, ‘Have you eaten your porridge?’ ‘I have.’ ‘Go wash your bowl.’ The monk suddenly awakened. At a teaching assembly the master said, ‘As soon as there is right and wrong, the mind is lost in confusion. Is anyone still able to answer?’ A monk repeated this to Luopu,

浦扣齒。又舉似雲居。居曰。何必。僧回舉似師。師曰。南方大有人喪身失命。曰。請和尚舉。師才舉前語。僧指傍僧曰。這箇師僧吃卻飯了。作恁麼語話。師休去。問。久嚮趙州石橋。到來祇見略彴。師曰。汝祇見略彴。且不見石橋。曰。如何是石橋。師曰。度驢度馬。曰。如何是略彴。師曰。箇箇度人。後有如前問。師如前答。又僧問。如何是石橋。師曰。過來。過來(雲居錫雲。趙州為當扶石橋。扶略彴)。師聞沙彌喝參。向侍者曰。教伊去。者乃教去。沙彌便珍重。師曰。沙彌得入門。侍者在門外(雲居錫雲。甚麼處是沙彌入門。侍者在門外。這裡若會得。便見趙州)。問。僧甚麼處來。曰。從南來。師曰。還知有趙州關否。曰。須知有不涉關者。師曰。這販私鹽漢。問。如何是西來意。師下禪床立。曰。莫祇這箇便是否。師曰。老僧未有語在。問菜頭。今日吃生菜。吃熟菜。頭拈起菜呈之。師曰。知恩者少。負恩者多。問。狗子還有佛性也無。師曰。無。曰。上至諸佛。下至螻蟻。皆有佛性。狗子為甚麼卻無。師曰。為伊有業識在。師問一婆子。甚麼處去。曰。偷趙州筍去。師曰。忽遇趙州。又作麼生。婆便與一掌。師休去。師一日於雪中臥。曰相救。相救。有僧便去身邊臥。師便起去。問。如何是趙州一句。師曰。老僧半句也無。曰豈無和尚在。師曰。老僧不是一句。師問新到。曾到此間麼。曰。曾到。師曰。吃茶去。又問僧。僧曰。不曾到。師曰。吃茶去。後院主問曰。為甚麼曾到也雲吃茶去。不曾到也雲吃茶去。師召院主。主應喏。師曰。吃茶去。問。二龍爭珠。誰是得者。師曰。老僧秖管看。問。空劫中還有人修行也無。師曰。汝喚甚麼作空劫。曰。無一物是。師曰。這箇始稱得修行。喚甚麼作空劫。僧無語。問。如何是玄中玄。師曰。汝玄來多少時邪。曰。玄之久矣。師曰。

Luopu clicked his teeth. The monk also repeated it to Yunju. Yunju said, “Why bother?” The monk returned and reported it to the master. The master said, “Many people in the south lose their lives.” The monk said, “Please, Master, give us the saying.” The master had just repeated his earlier words when the monk pointed to a monk beside him and said, “This monk has eaten his meal and speaks this way.” The master fell silent. Someone said, “I had long heard of Zhaozhou’s stone bridge, but on arriving I see only a narrow plank bridge.” The master said, “You see only the plank bridge; you do not see the stone bridge.” “What is the stone bridge?” “It carries donkeys and horses across.” “What is the plank bridge?” “It carries everyone across.” Later, someone asked the same questions, and the master gave the same answers. Another monk asked, “What is the stone bridge?” The master said, “Come across, come across.” (Yunju Xi said, “Was Zhaozhou helping the stone bridge or the plank bridge?”) The master heard a novice call out seeking an interview and told his attendant, “Tell him to go away.” The attendant told him to leave, and the novice took his leave. The master said, “The novice has entered the gate; the attendant is outside it.” (Yunju Xi said, “Where did the novice enter, and the attendant remain outside? If you understand this, you will see Zhaozhou.”) The master asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” “From the south.” “Do you know there is a Zhaozhou barrier?” “One must know those who do not pass through the barrier.” The master said, “You salt smuggler!” Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the coming from the West?” The master stepped down from his meditation seat and stood. “Is that all there is?” The master said, “This old monk has not spoken yet.” He asked the vegetable steward, “Are we eating raw vegetables or cooked vegetables today?” The steward lifted a vegetable and presented it. The master said, “Few know gratitude; many repay kindness with ingratitude.” Someone asked, “Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?” The master said, “No.” “From the Buddhas above to the ants below, all have Buddha-nature. Why does the dog alone not?” The master said, “Because it has karmic consciousness.” The master asked an old woman, “Where are you going?” “To steal Zhaozhou’s bamboo shoots.” “What if you run into Zhaozhou?” She slapped him. The master fell silent. One day the master lay in the snow, saying, “Help! Help!” A monk went and lay down beside him. The master immediately got up and left. Someone asked, “What is Zhaozhou’s single phrase?” The master said, “This old monk has not even half a phrase.” “Can there be no master here?” The master said, “This old monk is not a phrase.” The master asked a newcomer, “Have you been here before?” “I have.” “Have some tea.” He asked another monk, who said, “I have not.” “Have some tea.” Later, the prior asked, “Why tell both the one who has been here and the one who has not to have tea?” The master called, “Prior!” The prior answered. The master said, “Have some tea.” Someone asked, “Two dragons are fighting over a pearl. Who gets it?” The master said, “This old monk only watches.” Someone asked, “Did anyone practice in the empty eon?” The master said, “What do you call the empty eon?” “When not a single thing exists.” The master said, “That is what may be called practice. What do you call the empty eon?” The monk had no answer. Someone asked, “What is the mystery within the mystery?” The master said, “How long have you been mysterious?” “For a long time.” The master said:

闍黎若不遇老僧。幾被玄殺。問。萬法歸一。一歸何所。師曰。老僧在青州作得一領布衫。重七斤。問。夜生兜率。晝降閻浮。於其中間。摩尼珠為甚麼不現。師曰。道甚麼。其僧再問。師曰。毗婆尸佛早留心。直至如今不得妙。問院主。甚麼處來。主曰。送生來。師曰。鵶為甚麼飛去。主曰。怕某甲。師曰。汝十年知事作恁麼語話。主卻問。鵶為甚麼飛去。師曰。院主無殺心。師拓起缽曰。三十年後若見老僧。留取供養。若不見。即撲破。別僧曰。三十年後敢道見和尚。師乃撲破。師在東司上。見遠侍者過。驀召文遠。遠應諾。師曰。東司上不可與汝說佛法。僧辭。師問。甚麼處去。曰。雪峰去。師曰。雪峰忽若問和尚有何言句。汝作麼生秖對。曰。某甲道不得。請和尚道。師曰。冬即言寒。夏即道熱。又曰。雪峰更問。汝畢竟事作麼生。僧又曰。道不得。師曰。但道親從趙州來。不是傳語人。其僧到雪峰。一依前語祇對。峰曰。也須是趙州始得(玄沙聞曰。大小趙州敗闕也不知。雲居錫雲。甚麼處是趙州敗闕。若檢得出。是上座眼)。問。如何是出家。師曰。不履高名。不求苟得。問。澄澄絕點時如何。師曰。這裡不著客作漢。問。如何是祖師意。師敲床腳。僧曰。祇這莫便是否。師曰。是。即脫取去。問。如何是毗盧圓相。師曰。老僧自幼出家。不曾眼花。曰。豈不為人。師曰。願汝常見毗盧圓相。官人問。和尚還入地獄否。師曰。老僧末上入。曰。大善知識為甚麼入地獄。師曰。我若不入。阿誰教化汝。真定帥王公𢹂諸子入院。師坐而問曰。大王會麼。王曰。不會。師曰自小持齋身已老。見人無力下禪床。王尤加禮重。翌日令客將傳語。師下禪床受之。侍者曰。和尚見大王來。不下禪床。今日軍將來。為甚麼卻下禪床。師曰。非汝所知。第一等人來。禪床上接。中等人來。下禪床接。末等人來。

“If you had not met this old monk, you would nearly have been killed by mystery.” Someone asked, “When all things return to the One, where does the One return?” The master said, “In Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt; it weighed seven pounds.” Someone asked, “At night he is born in Tusita Heaven, by day he descends to Jambudvipa. In between, why does the wish-fulfilling jewel not appear?” The master said, “What did you say?” The monk asked again. The master said, “Vipasyin Buddha kept his attention on this long ago, yet even now has not attained the wondrous.” The master asked the prior, “Where have you come from?” The prior said, “I have gone to deliver a birth announcement.” The master asked, “Why did the crow fly away?” The prior said, “It was afraid of me.” The master said, “You have managed affairs for ten years, yet speak like this.” The prior then asked, “Why did the crow fly away?” The master said, “The prior has no killing mind.” The master lifted his bowl and said, “Thirty years from now, if you see this old monk, keep this as an offering. If you do not see me, smash it.” Another monk said, “I dare say we will see you in thirty years.” The master smashed it. Once, while the master was in the latrine, he saw Attendant Yuan passing and suddenly called, “Wenyuan!” Wenyuan answered, “Yes?” The master said, “One cannot speak the Buddha Dharma to you in the latrine.” A monk took his leave. The master asked, “Where are you going?” “To Xuefeng.” “If Xuefeng asks what words this master teaches, how will you answer?” “I cannot say. Please, Master, tell me.” The master said, “In winter, say it is cold; in summer, say it is hot.” He added, “If Xuefeng asks again, what is your ultimate matter?” The monk again said, “I cannot say.” The master said, “Just say, ‘I came personally from Zhaozhou; I am not a messenger.’” The monk reached Xuefeng and answered exactly as instructed. Xuefeng said, “Only Zhaozhou could do that.” (Xuansha, hearing this, said, “That great Zhaozhou does not even know where he has failed.” Yunju Xi said, “Where did Zhaozhou fail? If you can point it out, your eye is sound.”) Someone asked, “What is leaving home?” The master said, “Do not tread upon high reputation; do not seek gain by dishonest means.” Someone asked, “When all is clear and not a speck remains, what then?” The master said, “There is no hired laborer here.” Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the ancestral teacher?” The master knocked on the leg of the seat. The monk said, “Is this it?” The master said, “If it is, take it off.” Someone asked, “What is Vairocana’s perfect circle?” The master said, “This old monk left home in childhood and has never suffered from blurred vision.” “Why not instruct people?” The master said, “May you always see Vairocana’s perfect circle.” An official asked, “Will the master enter hell?” The master said, “This old monk will be the first to enter.” “Why would a great teacher enter hell?” The master said, “If I did not enter, who would teach you?” Commander Wang of Zhenzhou brought his sons to the monastery. The master remained seated and asked, “Does Your Majesty understand?” Wang said, “I do not.” The master said, “I have kept the precepts since childhood; now I am old. When I see people, I have no strength to get down from the meditation seat.” Wang showed him even greater respect. The next day he sent an officer to convey a message, and the master got down from the meditation seat to receive him. The attendant said, “When the great king came, you did not get down from your seat. Why get down today for a military officer?” The master said, “You would not understand. When a person of the highest rank comes, I receive him on the meditation seat; when a person of middle rank comes, I receive him after getting down from the seat; when a person of low rank comes,”

三門外接。因侍者報大王來也。師曰。萬福大王。者曰。未到在。師曰。又道來也。師到一庵主處。問。有麼。有麼。主竪起拳頭。師曰。水淺不是泊船處。便行。又到一庵主處。問。有麼。有麼。主亦竪起拳頭。師曰。能縱能奪。能殺能活。便作禮。問僧。一日看多少經。曰。或七八。或十卷。師曰。闍黎不會看經。曰。和尚一日看多少。師曰。老僧一日祇看一字。文遠侍者在佛殿禮拜次。師見以拄杖打一下曰。作甚麼。者曰。禮佛。師曰。用禮作甚麼。者曰。禮佛也是好事。師曰。好事不如無。上堂。正人說邪法。邪法悉皆正。邪人說正法。正法悉皆邪。諸方難見易識。我這裡易見難識。問。如何是趙州。師曰。東門西門。南門北門。問。初生孩子還具六識也無。師曰。急水上打毬子。僧卻問投子。急水上打毬子。意旨如何。子曰。念念不停留。問。和尚姓甚麼。師曰。常州有。曰。甲子多少。師曰。蘇州有。問。十二時中如何用心。師曰。汝被十二時辰使。老僧使得十二時。乃曰。兄弟莫久立。有事商量。無事向衣缽下坐窮理好。老僧行腳時。除二時粥飯是雜用心處。除外更無別用心處。若不如是大遠在。僧問。如何是古佛心。師曰。三箇婆子排班拜。問。如何是不遷義。師曰。一箇野雀兒從東飛過西。問。學人有疑時如何。師曰。大宜小宜。曰。大疑。師曰。大宜東北角。小宜僧堂後。問。栢樹子還有佛性也無。師曰。有。曰。幾時成佛。師曰。待虗空落地時。曰。虗空幾時落地。師曰。待栢樹子成佛時。問。如何是毗盧師。師便起立。僧曰。如何是法身主。師便坐。僧禮拜。師曰。且道坐者是。立者是。師謂眾曰。你若一生不離叢林。不語五年十載。無人喚你作瘂漢。已後佛也不柰你何。你若不信。截取老僧頭去。師魚鼓頌曰。四大由來造化功。有聲全貴裡頭空。莫嫌不與凡夫說。

(The master continued:) ‘I receive guests outside the monastery gate.’ A novice reported, ‘The king has arrived.’ The master said, ‘May the king be blessed.’ The novice said, ‘He has not arrived yet.’ The master replied, ‘And you said he had arrived!’ The master went to a hermit’s hut and asked, ‘Is anyone there? Is anyone there?’ The hermit raised a fist. The master said, ‘The water is too shallow for a boat to moor here,’ and left. At another hermit’s hut he asked the same question, and that hermit also raised a fist. The master said, ‘You can advance or withdraw, kill or give life,’ and bowed. He asked a monk, ‘How many sutra scrolls do you read in a day?’ The monk answered, ‘Sometimes seven or eight, sometimes ten.’ The master said, ‘You do not know how to read sutras.’ The monk asked, ‘How many do you read?’ The master said, ‘I read only one word a day.’ Attendant Wen-yuan was bowing before the Buddha image when the master struck him once with his staff and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘I am bowing to the Buddha.’ ‘What for?’ ‘Bowing to the Buddha is a good thing.’ The master said, ‘A good thing is not as good as having nothing at all.’ Addressing the assembly, he said, ‘When an upright person expounds a crooked teaching, the crooked teaching is entirely upright. When a crooked person expounds an upright teaching, the upright teaching is entirely crooked. The teachers elsewhere are hard to meet but easy to understand; here, I am easy to meet but hard to understand.’ Asked, ‘What is Zhaozhou?’ he replied, ‘The east gate, the west gate, the south gate, and the north gate.’ Asked whether a newborn child already has the six consciousnesses, he said, ‘A ball being struck on rushing water.’ A monk asked Touzi what this meant. Touzi said, ‘Each moment passes without stopping.’ Asked his surname, the master answered, ‘There is one in Changzhou.’ Asked his age, he said, ‘There is one in Suzhou.’ Asked how to apply the mind through all twelve hours, he said, ‘You are driven by the twelve hours; I make the twelve hours serve me.’ He then said, ‘Brothers, do not stand here too long. If there is something to discuss, discuss it; if not, sit beneath your robes and bowls and investigate the principle. When I was traveling, apart from the two mealtimes, when the mind was occupied with practical matters, there was nothing else to apply the mind to. If it is not like this, you are far off.’ Asked about the mind of an ancient Buddha, he said, ‘Three old women line up and bow.’ Asked about the meaning of not moving, he said, ‘A wild sparrow flies from east to west.’ Asked what to do when in doubt, he said, ‘A great one is suitable; a small one is suitable.’ The monk said he had great doubt. The master said, ‘The great one is suitable in the northeast corner; the small one is suitable behind the monks’ hall.’ Asked whether the cypress tree had Buddha-nature, he said, ‘It does.’ ‘When will it become a Buddha?’ ‘When space falls to the ground.’ ‘When will space fall?’ ‘When the cypress becomes a Buddha.’ Asked, ‘Who is the teacher of Vairocana?’ the master stood up. ‘Who is the master of the Dharma Body?’ the master sat down. The monk bowed. The master said, ‘Tell me: is the one sitting right, or the one standing?’ He told the assembly, ‘If you spend your whole life in a monastery and remain silent for five or ten years, no one will call you a mute. Later, even the Buddha will have no way to deal with you. If you do not believe me, cut off my head.’ His verse on the wooden fish drum said, ‘The four elements have always been wrought by nature’s power. Its sound depends entirely on the hollow within. Do not complain that it is not explained to ordinary people—’

祇為宮商調不同。師因趙王問。師尊年有幾箇齒在。師曰。祇有一箇。王曰。爭吃得物。師曰。雖然一箇。下下齩著。師寄拂子與王曰。若問何處得來。但說老僧平生用不盡者。師之玄言。布於天下。時謂趙州門風。皆悚然信伏矣。唐乾寧四年十一月二日。右脇而寂。壽一百二十歲。諡真際大師。

‘—only because its notes and tones are not the same.’ When the King of Zhao asked how many teeth the master had left, he answered, ‘Only one.’ The king said, ‘How can you eat with that?’ The master replied, ‘Though there is only one, it bites every time.’ He sent the king his whisk and said, ‘If anyone asks where it came from, just say it is what this old monk could never use up in his lifetime.’ The master’s profound sayings spread throughout the land. People said that all were awed and convinced by the manner of the Zhaozhou school. On the second day of the eleventh month in the fourth year of Qianning (897), he passed away lying on his right side, aged one hundred and twenty. He was posthumously honored as Chan Master Zhenji.

湖南長沙景岑招賢禪師

Chan Master Jingcen of Zhaoxian at Changsha, Hunan

初住鹿苑為第一世。其後居無定所。但徇緣接物。隨宜說法。時謂之長沙和尚。上堂。我若一向舉揚宗教。法堂裡須草深一丈。事不獲已。向汝諸人道。盡十方世界是沙門眼。盡十方世界是沙門全身。盡十方世界是自己光明。盡十方世界在自己光明裡。盡十方世界無一人不是自己。我常向汝諸人道。三世諸佛。法界眾生。是摩訶般若光。光未發時。汝等諸人向甚麼處委悉。光未發時。尚無佛無眾生消息。何處得山河國土來。時有僧問。如何是沙門眼。師曰。長長出不得。又曰。成佛成祖出不得。六道輪回出不得。僧曰。未審出箇甚麼不得。師曰。晝見日。夜見星。曰。學人不會。師曰。妙高山色青又青。問。教中道而常處此菩提座。如何是座。師曰。老僧正坐。大德正立。問。如何是大道。師曰。沒卻汝。問。諸佛師是誰。師曰。從無始劫來。承誰覆蔭。曰。未有諸佛已前作麼生。師曰。魯祖開堂。亦與師僧東道西說。問。學人不據地時如何。師曰。汝向甚麼處安身立命。曰。卻據地時如何。師曰。拖出死屍著。問。如何是異類。師曰。尺短寸長。問。如何是諸佛師。師曰。不可更拗直作曲邪。曰。請和尚向上說。師曰。闍黎眼瞎耳聾。作麼遊山歸。首座問。和尚甚處去來。師曰。遊山來。座曰。到甚麼處。師曰。始從芳草去。又逐落花回。座曰。大似春意。師曰。也勝秋露滴芙蕖。師遣僧問同參會和尚曰。和尚見南泉後如何。會默然。僧曰。和尚未見南泉已前作麼生。會曰。不可更別有也。僧回舉似師。師示偈曰。百尺竿頭不動人。雖然得入未為真。百尺竿頭須進步。十方世界是全身。僧便問。秖如百尺竿頭如何進步。師曰。朗州山。澧州水。曰。不會。師曰。四海五湖皇化裡。有客來謁。師召尚書。其人應諾。師曰。不是尚書本命。曰。不可離卻即今祇對。別有第二主人。師曰。喚尚袹作至尊得麼。

He first lived at Luyuan as its founding abbot. Later he had no fixed residence, but went wherever circumstances led, receiving people and teaching according to their needs. At the time he was known as the Monk of Changsha. In the hall he said, ‘If I were to expound the school’s teaching without pause, grass would grow a zhang high in this Dharma Hall. Since I cannot avoid speaking, I tell you all: the whole world in the ten directions is a monk’s eye; the whole world in the ten directions is a monk’s entire body; the whole world in the ten directions is one’s own light; the whole world in the ten directions lies within one’s own light; there is not one person in the whole world who is not oneself. I often tell you: the Buddhas of the three times and beings throughout the Dharma realm are the radiance of great prajna. Before this light shines forth, where do you think it is? Before it shines, there is no trace of Buddha or sentient beings; from where could mountains, rivers, and lands have come?’ A monk asked, ‘What is a monk’s eye?’ The master said, ‘It cannot get out even a little.’ He added, ‘It cannot get out by becoming a Buddha or patriarch, nor by wandering in the six realms.’ The monk asked, ‘What is it that cannot get out?’ The master said, ‘By day you see the sun; by night you see the stars.’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘The colors of Mount Miaogao are blue, and blue again.’ Asked about the seat on which enlightenment is always present, he said, ‘This old monk is sitting; the reverend is standing.’ Asked about the Great Way, he said, ‘It swallows you up.’ Asked who is the teacher of all Buddhas, he replied, ‘Since beginningless kalpas, under whose shelter have you been?’ Asked what things were like before there were Buddhas, he said, ‘When Lu-zu opened his hall, he too spoke east and west with the monks.’ Asked what if a student had no footing, he said, ‘Where would you establish yourself and your life?’ Asked what if he did have a footing, he replied, ‘Drag out the dead body and put it there.’ Asked what is the different kind, he said, ‘A foot is short; an inch is long.’ Asked who is the teacher of all Buddhas, he said, ‘Do not twist what is straight and make it crooked.’ The monk asked for the highest teaching. The master said, ‘You are blind and deaf.’ Returning from a mountain outing, he was asked by the head monk where he had been. ‘Walking in the hills.’ ‘Where did you go?’ ‘I went following the fragrant grass, then came back following falling flowers.’ ‘That sounds very much like spring.’ ‘It is still better than autumn dew dripping from the lotus.’ The master sent a monk to ask his fellow student Hui, ‘What was it like after you met Nanquan?’ Hui remained silent. The monk asked, ‘What was it like before you met Nanquan?’ Hui said, ‘There cannot be something else.’ The monk reported this to the master, who offered this verse: ‘A man at the top of a hundred-foot pole stands still; though he has entered, this is not yet true. At the top of the hundred-foot pole he must take another step; the whole body is the ten-direction world.’ The monk asked how to take that step. The master said, ‘The mountains of Langzhou, the waters of Lizhou.’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘The four seas and five lakes are all within the emperor’s transforming influence.’ A visitor came to pay respects. The master called him, ‘Councillor!’ The man answered. The master said, ‘That is not the councillor’s original life.’ The man said, ‘Surely apart from responding right now there is no second master.’ The master replied, ‘Would it do to call the councillor “Your Majesty”?’

曰。恁麼。總不祇對時。莫是弟子主人否。師曰。非但祗對與不祗對時。無始劫來。是箇生死根本。有偈曰。學道之人不識真秖為從來認識神。無始劫來生死本。痴人喚作本來人。有秀才看千佛名經。問曰。百千諸佛。但見其名。未審居何國土。還化物也無。師曰。黃鶴樓崔顥題後。秀才還曾題也未。曰。未曾。師曰。得閑題取一篇好。問。南泉遷化向甚麼處去。師曰。東家作驢。西家作馬。曰。學人不會。此意如何。師曰。要騎即騎。要下即下。皓月供奉問。天下善知識證三德涅槃也未。師曰。大德問果上涅槃。因中涅槃。曰。問果上涅槃。師曰。天下善知識未證。曰。為甚麼未證。師曰。功未齊於諸聖。曰。功未齊於諸聖。何為善知識。師曰。明見佛性。亦得名為善知識。曰。未審功齊何道。名證大涅槃。師示偈曰。摩訶般若照。解脫甚深法。法身寂滅體。三一理圓常。欲識功齊處。此名常寂光。曰。果上三德涅槃。已蒙開示。如何是因中涅槃。師曰。大德是。月又問。教中說幻意是有邪。師曰。大德是何言歟。曰。恁麼則幻意是無邪。師曰。大德是何言歟。曰。恁麼。則幻意是不有不無邪。師曰。大德是何言歟。曰。如某三明盡。不契於幻意。未審和尚如何明教中幻意。師曰。大德信一切法不思議否。曰。佛之誠言。那敢不信。師曰。大德言信。二信之中是何信。曰。如某所明。二信之中是名緣信。師曰。依何教門得生緣信。曰。華嚴雲。菩薩摩訶薩以無障無礙智慧。信一切世間境界。是如來境界。又華嚴雲。諸佛世尊。悉知世法及諸佛法性無差別。決定無二。又華嚴雲。佛法世間法。若見其真實。一切無差別。師曰。大德所舉緣信教門甚有來處。聽老僧與大德明教中幻意。若人見幻本來真。是則名為見佛人。圓通法法無生滅。無滅無生是佛身。月又問。蚯蚓斷為兩段。兩頭俱動。

The visitor said, ‘So when I do not respond at all, would that be the master within me?’ The master said, ‘Whether you respond or not, since beginningless kalpas this has been the root of birth and death.’ He gave this verse: ‘Those who study the Way do not recognize the Real; it is only because they have always mistaken consciousness for it. The root of birth and death since beginningless kalpas—foolish people call it their original self.’ A scholar reading the Sutra of the Names of a Thousand Buddhas asked, ‘The names of hundreds of thousands of Buddhas are seen, but in what lands do they dwell, and do they teach beings?’ The master said, ‘After Cui Hao wrote his poem on Yellow Crane Tower, have you ever written one there?’ ‘I have not.’ ‘When you have time, write a good one.’ Asked where Nanquan had gone after passing away, the master said, ‘At the eastern house he becomes a donkey; at the western house he becomes a horse.’ ‘I do not understand. What does that mean?’ ‘Ride when you want to ride; get down when you want to get down.’ The lay attendant Haoyue asked, ‘Have the good teachers throughout the land realized the nirvana of the three virtues?’ The master asked, ‘Are you asking about nirvana as the fruit, or nirvana as the cause?’ ‘As the fruit.’ ‘The good teachers in the land have not realized it.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Their merit is not equal to that of all the sages.’ ‘If their merit is not equal to the sages’, why call them good teachers?’ ‘They clearly see Buddha-nature, and so may be called good teachers.’ ‘What path must merit equal to in order to be called realization of great nirvana?’ The master offered a verse: ‘Great prajna shines; liberation is a profound teaching. The Dharma Body is quiescent, and the three are one, perfectly complete and constant. If you wish to know where merit is equal, this is called eternally quiescent light.’ Haoyue said, ‘You have explained the three virtues of nirvana as the fruit. What is nirvana as the cause?’ The master said, ‘You are.’ Haoyue then asked, ‘The teaching speaks of the meaning of illusion. Does it exist?’ The master said, ‘What are you saying, reverend?’ ‘Then is the meaning of illusion nonexistent?’ ‘What are you saying, reverend?’ ‘Then is it neither existent nor nonexistent?’ ‘What are you saying, reverend?’ Haoyue said, ‘My three kinds of understanding are exhausted, yet I have not grasped the meaning of illusion in the teaching. How do you explain it?’ The master asked, ‘Do you believe that all things are inconceivable?’ ‘How could I not believe the Buddha’s truthful words?’ ‘You say you believe. Of the two kinds of faith, which is yours?’ ‘As I understand it, mine is faith arising from conditions.’ ‘On what teaching do you base that?’ Haoyue cited three passages from the Avatamsaka Sutra: Bodhisattva-mahasattvas use unobstructed wisdom to believe that every worldly realm is the realm of the Tathagata; Buddhas know that worldly dharmas and Buddha-dharmas have no difference in nature and are decisively not two; and if one sees the truth, Buddha-dharma and worldly dharma are without distinction. The master said, ‘The scriptural basis you have cited for faith arising from conditions is indeed sound. Listen, and I will explain the teaching’s meaning of illusion. If a person sees that illusion is originally the Real, that person is called one who sees the Buddha. Perfectly penetrating every dharma, without arising or ceasing, without ceasing or arising—this is the Buddha Body.’ Haoyue asked, ‘When an earthworm is cut in two and both ends move, in which end is Buddha-nature?’

未審佛性在阿那頭。師曰。動與不動是何境界。曰。言不幹典。非智者之所談。祇如和尚言動與不動是何境界。出自何經。師曰。灼然。言不幹典。非智者之所談。大德豈不見首楞嚴雲。當知十方無邊。不動虗空。並其動搖。地水火風。均名六大。性真圓融。皆如來藏。本無生滅。師示偈曰。最甚深。最甚深。法界人身便是心。迷者迷心為眾色。悟時剝境是真心。身界二塵無實相。分明達此號知音。月又問。如何是陀羅尼。師指禪床右邊曰。這箇師僧卻誦得。曰。別還有人誦得否。師又指禪床左邊曰。這箇師僧亦誦得。曰。某甲為甚麼不聞。師曰。大德豈不知道。真誦無響。真聽無聞。曰。恁麼。則音聲不入法界性也。師曰。離色求觀非正見。離聲求聽是邪聞。曰。如何是不離色是正見。不離聲是真聞。師示偈曰。滿眼本非色。滿耳本非聲。文殊常觸目。觀音塞耳根。會三元一體。達四本同真。堂堂法界性。無佛亦無人。僧問南泉道。三世諸佛不知有。貍奴白牯卻知有。為甚麼三世諸佛不知有。師曰。未入鹿苑時。猶較些子。曰。貍奴白牯為甚麼卻知有。師曰。汝爭怪得伊。僧問。和尚繼嗣何人。師曰。我無人得繼嗣。曰。還參學也無。師曰。我自參學。曰。師意如何。師有偈曰。虗空問萬象。萬象答虗空。誰人親得聞。木叉丱角童。問。如何是平常心。師曰。要眠即眠。要坐即坐。曰。學人不會。意旨如何。師曰。熱即取涼。寒即向火。問。向上一路。請師道。師曰。一口針。三尺線。曰。如何領會。師曰。益州布。楊州絹。問。動是法王苗。寂是法王根。如何是法王。師指露柱曰。何不問大士。師與仰山翫月次。山曰。人人盡有這箇。秖是用不得。師曰。恰是倩汝用。山曰。你作麼生用。師劈胷與一踏。山曰。㘞。直下似箇大蟲(長慶雲。前彼此作家。後彼此不作家。乃別雲邪法難扶)。

(Haoyue continued:) ‘In which end is Buddha-nature?’ The master asked, ‘What realm do movement and stillness belong to?’ Haoyue said, ‘Words unsupported by the classics are not what a wise person should speak. Which scripture says what you have just said about movement and stillness?’ The master said, ‘Certainly! Words unsupported by the classics are not what a wise person should speak. Have you not seen the Shurangama Sutra? It says that the boundless unmoving space of the ten directions, together with the moving elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, are all called the six elements. Their true nature is perfectly interpenetrating; all are the Tathagata-garbha, originally unborn and undying.’ The master offered this verse: ‘Most profound, most profound: the human body throughout the Dharma realm is just mind. The deluded mistake mind for the many forms; when awakened, stripping away objects reveals the true mind. Body and realm, these two objects, have no real marks; clearly realizing this is called knowing the heart.’ Haoyue asked, ‘What is a dharani?’ The master pointed to the right side of the meditation platform and said, ‘That monk can recite it.’ ‘Can anyone else recite it?’ He pointed to the left and said, ‘That monk can recite it too.’ ‘Why can I not hear them?’ ‘Do you not know, reverend? True recitation has no sound; true hearing hears nothing.’ ‘Then sounds do not enter the nature of the Dharma realm?’ The master said, ‘Seeking to contemplate apart from form is a wrong view; seeking to hear apart from sound is false hearing.’ Asked how to see without leaving form and truly hear without leaving sound, he gave this verse: ‘Filling the eyes, there is originally no form; filling the ears, there is originally no sound. Manjushri is always before the eyes; Avalokiteshvara fills the ears. Understand the three as one body; realize the four as originally true. The Dharma-realm nature stands openly—without Buddha and without person.’ A monk asked, ‘Nanquan said the Buddhas of the three times do not know it, while cats and white oxen do. Why do the Buddhas not know?’ The master said, ‘Before entering Luyuan, they were a little closer.’ ‘Why do cats and white oxen know?’ ‘How can you blame them?’ Asked whom he succeeded, the master said, ‘I have no one to succeed.’ ‘Have you studied with anyone?’ ‘I study by myself.’ Asked his meaning, he gave a verse: ‘Space questions the myriad forms; the myriad forms answer space. Who has personally heard this? A wooden fork, a horned child.’ Asked about ordinary mind, he said, ‘Sleep when you want to sleep; sit when you want to sit.’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘When hot, seek coolness; when cold, go to the fire.’ Asked for the highest path, he said, ‘One needle, three feet of thread.’ ‘How do I understand?’ ‘Cloth from Yizhou, silk from Yangzhou.’ Asked what is the Dharma King, when activity is its sprout and stillness its root, he pointed to a pillar and said, ‘Why not ask the great one?’ The master was watching the moon with Yangshan. Yangshan said, ‘Everyone has this, but cannot use it.’ The master said, ‘That is just why I ask you to use it.’ ‘How do you use it?’ The master kicked him in the chest. Yangshan cried, ‘Ah! That is just like a tiger!’ (Changqing said, ‘At first they were both masters of the craft; later neither was.’ He also offered another answer: ‘A crooked teaching is hard to support.’)

自此諸方稱為岑大蟲。問。本來人還成佛也無。師曰。汝見大唐天子還自種田割稻麼。曰。未審是何人成佛。師曰。是汝成佛。僧無語。師曰。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。如人因地而倒。依地而起。地道甚麼。三聖令秀上座問曰。南泉遷化向甚麼處去。師曰。石頭作沙彌時參見六祖。秀曰。不問石頭見六祖。南泉遷化向甚麼處去。師曰。教伊尋思去。秀曰。和尚雖有千尺寒松。且無抽條石筍。師默然。秀曰。謝和尚答話。師亦默然。秀回舉似三聖。聖曰。若恁麼。猶勝臨濟七步。然雖如此。待我更驗看。至明日。三聖上問。承聞和尚昨日答南泉遷化一則語。可謂光前絕後。今古罕聞。師亦默然。僧問。如何是文殊。師曰。牆壁瓦礫是。曰。如何是觀音。師曰。音聲語言是。曰。如何是普賢。師曰。眾生心是。曰。如何是佛。師曰。眾生色身是。曰。河沙諸佛體皆同。何故有種種名字。師曰。從眼根返源名文殊。耳根返源名觀音。從心返源名普賢。文殊是佛妙觀察智。觀音是佛無緣大慈。普賢是佛無為妙行。三聖是佛之妙用。佛是三聖之真體。用則有河沙假名。體則總名一薄伽梵。問。色即是空。空即是色。此理如何。師曰。聽老僧偈。礙處非牆壁。通處沒虗空。若人如是解。心色本來同。又曰。佛性堂堂顯現。住性有情難見。若悟眾生無我。我面何如佛面。問。第六第七識及第八識畢竟無體。云何得名轉第八為大圓鏡智。師示偈曰。七生依一滅。一滅持七生。一滅滅亦滅。六七永無遷。問。蚯蚓斷為兩段。兩頭俱動。未審佛性在阿那頭。師曰。妄想作麼。曰。其如動何。師曰。汝豈不知火風未散。問。如何轉得山河國土歸自己去。師曰。如何轉得自己成山河國土去。曰。不會。師曰。湖南城下好養民。米賤柴多足四鄰。僧無語。師示偈曰。誰問山河轉。山河轉向誰。圓通無兩畔。法性本無歸。華嚴座主問。

From then on, people throughout the land called him ‘Cen the Tiger.’ Asked whether the original person becomes a Buddha, the master said, ‘Have you seen the Son of Heaven in the Great Tang planting fields and cutting rice himself?’ ‘Then who becomes a Buddha?’ ‘You become a Buddha.’ The monk was silent. ‘Do you understand?’ ‘I do not.’ The master said, ‘When someone falls because of the ground, he gets up by relying on the ground. What does the ground say?’ The Three Sages sent senior monk Lingxiu to ask, ‘Where did Nanquan go after passing away?’ The master said, ‘When Shitou was a novice, he went to see the Sixth Patriarch.’ Lingxiu said, ‘I did not ask whether Shitou met the Sixth Patriarch. Where did Nanquan go after passing away?’ The master said, ‘Let him go and think it over.’ Lingxiu said, ‘Though you have a thousand-foot cold pine, you have no stone bamboo shoot sending up a new branch.’ The master was silent. Lingxiu said, ‘Thank you for answering.’ The master too remained silent. Lingxiu reported this to the Three Sages. The sage said, ‘If so, it is still better than Linji’s seven steps. Even so, I will test him again.’ The next day the Three Sages came and said, ‘I hear that yesterday you answered about Nanquan’s passing. It is a saying that shines before all others, unsurpassed, rarely heard in past or present.’ The master remained silent. A monk asked, ‘What is Manjushri?’ The master said, ‘Walls, tiles, and rubble.’ ‘What is Avalokiteshvara?’ ‘Sounds and words.’ ‘What is Samantabhadra?’ ‘The minds of sentient beings.’ ‘What is the Buddha?’ ‘The bodies and forms of sentient beings.’ ‘The bodies of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are all alike. Why do they have different names?’ The master said, ‘When the eye faculty returns to its source, it is called Manjushri; when the ear faculty returns to its source, Avalokiteshvara; when the mind returns to its source, Samantabhadra. Manjushri is the Buddha’s wondrous observing wisdom; Avalokiteshvara is the Buddha’s great compassion without conditions; Samantabhadra is the Buddha’s wondrous action without contrivance. The three sages are the Buddha’s wondrous functioning; the Buddha is the true substance of the three sages. In function there are names as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; in substance all are called Bhagavan.’ Asked how form is emptiness and emptiness is form, he said, ‘Listen to my verse: “Where blocked, there are no walls; where open, there is no empty space. If a person understands this, mind and form are originally one.”’ He added, ‘Buddha-nature stands openly manifest, yet beings who abide in their nature have difficulty seeing it. If you awaken to the absence of self in beings, how does my face differ from the Buddha’s?’ Asked how the sixth, seventh, and eighth consciousnesses can have no fixed substance, yet the eighth can turn into the wisdom of the Great Round Mirror, he gave a verse: ‘The seven arise dependent on the one’s ceasing; the one’s ceasing sustains the seven’s arising. When the ceasing too is extinguished, the six and seven never move.’ Asked again where Buddha-nature is when both ends of a cut earthworm move, he said, ‘Why think deluded thoughts?’ ‘But what of the movement?’ ‘Have you not heard that fire and wind have not dispersed?’ Asked how mountains, rivers, and lands could be turned into oneself, he said, ‘How could you turn yourself into mountains, rivers, and lands?’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘Below the city of Hunan are fine fields for raising people; rice is cheap, firewood plentiful, enough for the four neighbors.’ The monk was silent. The master gave this verse: ‘Who asks where mountains and rivers turn? Toward whom do mountains and rivers turn? Perfect interpenetration has no two sides; Dharma-nature has no destination.’ He asked the Avatamsaka lecturer—

虗空為是定有。為是定無。師曰。言有亦得。言無亦得。虗空有時但有假有。虗空無時但無假無。曰。如和尚所說。有何教文。師曰。大德豈不聞首楞嚴雲。十方虗空生汝心內。猶如片雲點太清裡。豈不是虗空生時但生假名。又云。汝等一人發真歸源。十方虗空悉皆消殞。豈不是虗空滅時但滅假名。老僧所以道。有是假有。無是假無。又問。經云如淨瑠璃中內現真金像。此意如何。師曰。以淨瑠璃為法界體。以真金像為無漏智。體能生智。智能達體。故云如淨瑠璃中內現真金像。問。如何是上上人行處。師曰。如死人眼。曰。上上人相見時如何。師曰。如死人手。問。善財為甚麼無量劫遊普賢身中世界不遍。師曰。你從無量劫來。還遊得遍否。曰。如何是普賢身。師曰。含元殿裡。更覔長安。問。如何是學人心。師曰。盡十方世界是你心。曰。恁麼。則學人無著身處也。師曰。是你著身處。曰。如何是著身處。師曰。大海水。深又深。曰。學人不會。師曰。魚龍出入任升沉。問。有人問和尚。即隨因緣答。無人問和尚時如何。師曰。困則睡。徤則起。曰。教學人作麼生會。師曰。夏天赤骨力。冬寒須得被。問。亡僧遷化甚麼處去也。師示偈曰。不識金剛體。卻喚作緣生。十方真寂滅。誰在復誰行。師讚南泉真曰。堂堂南泉。三世之源。金剛常住。十方無邊。生佛無盡。現已卻還。久依南泉。有投機偈曰。今日還鄉入大門。南泉親道遍乾坤。法法分明皆祖父。回頭慙愧好兒孫。泉答曰。今日投機事莫論。南泉不道遍乾坤。還鄉盡是兒孫事。祖父從來不出門。勸學偈曰。萬丈竿頭未得休。堂堂有路少人遊。禪師願達南泉去。滿目青山萬萬秋。臨濟雲。赤肉團上。有一無位真人。師因有偈曰。萬法一如不用揀。一如誰揀誰不揀。即今生死本菩提。三世如來同箇眼。誡斫松竹偈曰。千年竹。萬年松。

Is space definitely existent, or definitely nonexistent? The Master said, “You may say it exists, or say it does not. When space exists, it is only provisionally existent; when space does not, it is only provisionally absent.” The monk asked, “What scriptural passage supports what you say?” The Master replied, “Have you not heard the Surangama Sutra say, ‘The space of the ten directions arises within your mind, like a cloud speck in the vast clear sky’? Does this not mean that when space arises, only a provisional name arises? It also says, ‘When one of you awakens to the truth and returns to the source, all the space of the ten directions vanishes.’ Does this not mean that when space ceases, only a provisional name ceases? That is why I say existence is provisional existence, and nonexistence is provisional nonexistence.” He then asked, “The sutra says, ‘Within pure crystal appears the image of true gold.’ What does this mean?” The Master said, “Pure crystal represents the substance of the Dharma realm; the image of true gold represents stainless wisdom. The substance can give rise to wisdom, and wisdom can realize the substance. Hence the saying, ‘Within pure crystal appears the image of true gold.’” Asked, “How does a person of the highest capacity act?” he replied, “Like the eyes of a corpse.” “How do such people meet one another?” “Like the hands of a corpse.” “Why did Sudhana, though traveling for immeasurable aeons within Samantabhadra’s body, fail to traverse all its worlds?” “After immeasurable aeons, have you managed to travel them all?” “What is Samantabhadra’s body?” “Within the Hanyuan Palace, still you seek Chang’an.” “What is the student’s mind?” “The whole world in the ten directions is your mind.” “Then the student has nowhere to place his body.” “That is where you place it.” “Where is that?” “The ocean is deep, deeper still.” “I do not understand.” “Fish and dragons freely rise and sink in it.” “When someone asks the Master, you answer according to conditions. What about when no one asks?” “When tired, sleep; when well, rise.” “How should a student understand this?” “In summer go bare; in winter you need a quilt.” Asked where a deceased monk had gone, the Master gave this verse: “Not knowing the Diamond Body, one calls it conditioned arising. The ten directions are truly still and extinct—who is there to return, and who to travel?” He praised Nanquan: “Majestic Nanquan, source of the three ages. The Diamond is ever-abiding, boundless in the ten directions. Buddhas and beings are inexhaustible; now they have returned.” After long study with Nanquan, he offered a verse of understanding: “Today I return home and enter the great gate; Nanquan himself said it pervades the universe. In every thing, clear and distinct, all are ancestors and fathers. Looking back, I blush: what a fine descendant I am.” Nanquan replied, “Let us not discuss today’s moment of understanding. Nanquan did not say it pervades the universe. Returning home is the affair of descendants; the ancestors and fathers have never left home.” A verse urging study said: “At the top of a ten-thousand-foot pole, you still cannot rest; a broad and splendid road lies there, yet few travel it. Chan masters, may you reach Nanquan; green mountains fill the eye for ten thousand autumns.” Linji said, “Within this lump of red flesh is a true person without rank.” The Master then composed: “All dharmas are one suchness; there is no need to choose. If suchness is chosen, who chooses, and who does not? Birth and death themselves are bodhi; the Tathagatas of the three ages share one eye.” His admonitory verse on cutting pines and bamboo began: “A thousand-year bamboo, a ten-thousand-year pine; every branch and leaf is wholly alike. To students of the Way in all directions I say: raise an axe, and you will surely touch the ancestral one.”

枝枝葉葉盡皆同。為報四方玄學者。動手無非觸祖公。

The verse continues: “Every branch and leaf is wholly alike. To students of the Way in all directions I say: raise your hand, and you will inevitably touch the ancestral one.”

鄂州菜萸山和尚

The Chan master of Cuyu Mountain in Ezhou

初住隨州護國。上堂。擎起一橛竹曰。還有人虗空裡釘得橛麼。時有靈虗上座出眾曰。虗空是橛。師擲下竹。便下座。趙州到雲居。居曰。老老大大。何不覔箇住處。曰。甚麼處住得。居曰。山前有箇古寺基。州曰。和尚自住取。後到師處。師曰。老老大大。何不覔箇住處。州曰。向甚處住。師曰。老老大大。住處也不知。州曰。三十年弄馬騎。今日卻被驢撲(雲居錫雲。甚麼處是趙州被驢撲處)。眾僧侍立次。師曰。祇恁麼白立。無箇說處。一場氣悶。僧擬問。師便打。曰。為眾竭力。便入方丈。有行者參。師曰。會去看趙州麼。曰。和尚敢道否。師曰。非但茱萸。一切人道不得。曰。和尚放某甲過。師曰。這裡從前不通人情。曰。要且慈悲心在。師便打。曰。醒後來為汝。

He first resided at Huguo Monastery in Suizhou. One day in the Dharma hall, he held up a piece of bamboo and asked, “Can anyone drive a peg into empty space?” Senior monk Lingxu stepped forward and said, “Empty space is the peg.” The Master tossed down the bamboo and left the seat. When Zhaozhou visited Yunju, Yunju said, “You are already old. Why not find a place to settle?” Zhaozhou asked, “Where could I settle?” Yunju said, “There is an old monastery site in front of the mountain.” Zhaozhou replied, “You should live there yourself.” Later he visited the Master, who said, “You are already old. Why not find a place to settle?” Zhaozhou asked, “Where should I live?” The Master said, “You are old, yet do not even know where to live.” Zhaozhou said, “For thirty years I rode horses; today a donkey has thrown me.” (Yunju Xi asked, “Where exactly was Zhaozhou thrown by the donkey?”) Once, while the monks stood attending him, the Master said, “You just stand here silently, with nothing to say. This is a stifling affair.” A monk was about to ask a question. The Master struck him and said, “I am doing my utmost for the assembly,” then went into the abbot’s quarters. A novice came to see him. The Master asked, “Can you go and see Zhaozhou?” The novice said, “Would you dare say so, Master?” The Master replied, “Not only Cuyu; no one can say it.” The novice said, “Please let me pass, Master.” The Master said, “People here have never been treated with indulgence.” The novice said, “Still, you have a compassionate heart.” The Master struck him and said, “When you wake up, I will come for you.”

衢州子湖巖利蹤禪師

Chan Master Lizong of Zihu Cliff in Quzhou

澶州人也。姓周氏。幽州開元寺出家。依年受具。後入南泉之室。乃抵於衢州之馬蹄山。結茅宴居。唐開元二年。邑人翁遷貴施山下子湖創院。師於門下立牌曰。子湖有一隻狗。上取人頭。中取人心。下取人足。擬議即喪身失命。臨濟會下二僧參。方揭簾。師喝曰。看狗。僧回顧。師便歸方丈。與勝光和尚鉏園次。驀按钁。回視光曰。事即不無。擬心即差。光便問。如何是事。被師攔胷踏倒。從此有省。尼到參。師曰。汝莫是劉鐵磨否。曰。不敢。師曰。左轉右轉。曰。和尚莫顛倒。師便打。師一夜於僧堂前呌曰。有賊。眾皆驚動。有一僧在堂內出。師把住曰。維那。捉得也。捉得也。曰。不是某甲。師曰。是即是。祇是汝不肯承當。有偈示眾曰。三十年來住子湖。二時齋粥氣力麤。無事上山行一轉。借問時人會也無。廣明中。無疾歸究。塔於本山。

He was from Chan Prefecture and bore the surname Zhou. He became a monk at Kaiyuan Monastery in Youzhou and received full precepts at the proper age. Later he entered Nanquan’s room, then went to Mati Mountain in Quzhou and built a thatched hut for quiet practice. In the second year of the Kaiyuan era, a local man, Weng Qiangui, donated land below the mountain and founded Zihu Monastery. The Master put up a sign at the gate: “Zihu has a dog. It takes a person’s head above, heart in the middle, and feet below. Hesitate, and you lose your life.” Two monks from Linji’s community came to visit. As soon as they lifted the curtain, the Master shouted, “Look at the dog!” They turned to look, and he went back to his quarters. Once, while hoeing the garden with Master Shengguang, he suddenly pressed down on his hoe, turned to look at Guang, and said, “There is indeed something here, but the moment you set your mind on it, you miss.” Guang asked, “What is this matter?” The Master pushed him down by the chest with his foot. Guang then had an insight. A nun came to see him. The Master asked, “Are you Liu the Iron Grinder?” She said, “I would not presume.” He said, “Turn left, turn right.” She said, “Master, do not get things backward.” He struck her. One night the Master shouted in front of the monks’ hall, “Thief!” Everyone was startled. A monk came out of the hall, and the Master seized him, saying, “Vibhasa, I caught you! I caught you!” The monk said, “It was not me.” The Master said, “It is you, indeed; you simply refuse to own up.” He gave the assembly this verse: “For thirty years I have lived at Zihu; two meals of rice and gruel have kept me strong. When free, I take a walk up the mountain. Tell me, do people understand?” In the Guangming era, he passed away without illness. A stupa was built on the mountain.

荊南白馬曇照禪師

Chan Master Tanzhao of Baima in Jingnan

常曰。快活。快活。及臨終時呌。苦。苦。又曰。閻羅王來取我也。院主問曰。和尚當時被節度使拋向水中。神色不動。如今何得恁麼地。師舉枕子曰。汝道當時是。如今是。院主無對(法眼代雲。此時但掩耳出去)。

He often said, “How joyful! How joyful!” But at the time of his death he cried, “苦! 苦!” and said, “King Yama has come to take me.” The monastery director asked, “When the military governor once threw you into the water, your expression did not change. Why are you like this now?” The Master raised his pillow and said, “You tell me: was it so then, or is it so now?” The director had no answer. (Fayan answered in his place, “At this moment, just cover your ears and leave.”)

終南山雲際師祖禪師

Chan Master Shizu of Yunji on Zhongnan Mountain

初參南泉。問。摩尼珠人不識。如來藏裡親收得。如何是藏。泉曰。與汝往來者是。師曰。不往來者如何。泉曰。亦是。曰。如何是珠。泉召師祖。師應諾。泉曰。去。汝不會我語。師從此信入。

At first he visited Nanquan and asked, “People do not recognize the mani jewel, though it is personally kept in the Tathagata’s storehouse. What is this storehouse?” Nanquan said, “It is what comes and goes with you.” The Master asked, “What about what does not come and go?” “That too.” “What is the jewel?” Nanquan called, “Shizu!” The Master answered, “Yes?” Nanquan said, “Go. You do not understand my words.” From then on, the Master trusted and entered the Way.

鄧州香嚴下堂義端禪師

Chan Master Yiduan of Xiangtang in Dengzhou, in the lineage of Xiangyan

上堂。兄弟。彼此未了。有甚麼事相共商量。我三五日即發去也。如今學者。須了卻今時。莫愛他向上人無事。兄弟。縱學得種種差別義路。終不代得自己見解。畢竟著力始得。空記持他巧妙章句。即轉加煩亂去。汝若欲相應。但恭恭地盡。莫停留纖毫。直似虗空。方有少分。以虗空無鎻閉。無壁落。無形段。無心眼。時有僧問。古人相見時如何。師曰。老僧不曾見古人。曰。今時血脈不斷處。如何仰羨。師曰。有甚麼仰羨處。問。某甲不問閑事。請和尚答話。師曰。更從我覔甚麼。曰。不為閑事。師曰。汝教我道。乃曰。兄弟。佛是塵。法是塵。終日馳求。有甚麼休歇。但時中不用掛情。情不掛物。無善可取。無惡可棄。莫教他籠罩著。始是學處也。問。某甲曾辭一老宿。宿曰。去則親良朋。附善友。某今辭和尚。未審有何指示。師曰。禮拜著。僧禮拜。師曰。禮拜一任禮拜。不得認奴作郎。上堂。僧問。如何是直截根源。師乃擲下拄杖。便歸方丈。上堂。語是謗。寂是誑。語寂向上有路在。老僧口門窄。不能與汝說得。便下座。上堂。問。正因為甚麼無事。師曰。我不曾停留。乃曰。假饒重重剝得。淨盡無停留。權時施設。亦是方便接人。若是那邊事。無有是處。

In the Dharma hall he said, “Brothers, if neither of us has understood, what is there to discuss together? I will be leaving in three or five days. Students today must settle this matter here and now. Do not envy those above you who seem to have nothing to do. Even if you learn all sorts of subtle distinctions and doctrines, they cannot substitute for your own realization. Ultimately, you must apply yourself. Merely memorizing clever phrases will only make you more confused. If you want to accord with this, let everything drop completely and leave not the slightest trace. Become just like empty space; then you will have a little understanding. Space has no locks, no walls, no shape, no mind, and no eyes. A monk asked, “How was it when the ancients met?” The Master said, “This old monk never met the ancients.” “How can we look up to those who keep the lineage alive today?” “What is there to look up to?” A monk said, “I ask no idle question. Please answer me, Master.” The Master said, “What else are you seeking from me?” “This is no idle matter.” The Master said, “You tell me what to say.” He then continued, “Brothers, Buddha is dust; Dharma is dust. You chase after things all day—when will you rest? At all times, do not attach your feelings. When feelings cling to nothing, there is no good to grasp and no evil to reject. Do not let anything bind you; that is the way to study.” A monk said, “I once took leave of an elder, who told me to go close to good companions and seek virtuous friends. Now I take leave of you. What instruction do you have?” The Master said, “Make a bow.” The monk bowed. The Master said, “Bow as much as you like, but do not mistake a servant for his master.” In the hall, a monk asked, “What is the direct source?” The Master threw down his staff and returned to his quarters. On another occasion he said, “Speech slanders; silence deceives. Beyond speech and silence there is a way. This old monk’s mouth is narrow; I cannot explain it to you.” He then left the seat. Asked, “Why is the fundamental cause without affairs?” he replied, “I have never lingered.” He added, “Even if you strip away layer after layer until nothing remains and there is no lingering, this is only a provisional means of guiding people. As for the matter beyond, there is no such thing.”

池州靈鷲閑禪師

Chan Master Xian of Lingjiu in Chizhou

上堂。是汝諸人本分事。若教老僧道。即是與蛇畫足。時有僧問。與蛇畫足即不問。如何是本分事。師曰。闍黎試道看。僧擬再問。師曰。畫足作麼。明水和尚問。如何是頓獲法身。師曰。一透龍門雲外望。莫作黃河點額魚。仰山問。寂寂無言。如何視聽。師曰。無縫塔前多雨水。僧問。二彼無言時如何。師曰。是常。曰。還有過常者無。師曰。有。曰。請師唱起。師曰。玄珠自朗耀。何須壁外光。問。今日供養西川無染大師。未審還來否。師曰。本自無所至。今豈隨風轉。曰。恁麼則供養何用。師曰。功力有為。不換義相涉。

In the Dharma hall he said, “This is your own fundamental matter. If I explain it, I would be adding feet to a snake.” A monk asked, “Leaving aside adding feet to a snake, what is our fundamental matter?” The Master said, “Why not try saying it?” The monk was about to ask again. The Master said, “What use is it to add feet?” Master Mingshui asked, “How does one suddenly realize the Dharma body?” The Master replied, “Having crossed the Dragon Gate, gaze beyond the clouds; do not be a carp that leaps the Yellow River only to bruise its forehead.” Yangshan asked, “In utter stillness and silence, how can one see and hear?” The Master said, “Before the seamless stupa, rainwater is everywhere.” A monk asked, “What about when both are silent?” “That is ordinary.” “Is there anything beyond the ordinary?” “There is.” “Please expound it.” “The dark pearl shines by itself; why seek light beyond the wall?” Asked whether the great master Wuran of Western Shu would come today to receive offerings, he said, “He never went anywhere; how could he now be turned by the wind?” “Then why make offerings?” “Merit gained through effort does not exchange for the meaning; the two are related.”

洛京嵩山和尚

The Chan master of Mount Song in Luoyang