The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One

蘇溪和尚

The Monk of Suxi.

僧問。如何是定光佛。師曰。鴨吞螺師。曰。還許學人轉身也無。師曰。眼睛突出。

A monk asked: ‘What is the Buddha Dingguang?’ The Master replied: ‘A duck swallowing a spiral shell.’ The monk asked: ‘May this student turn around?’ The Master said: ‘Your eyes will pop out.’

盤山積禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Ji of Panshan.

鎮州普化和尚者

The Monk Puhua of Zhenzhou,

不知何許人也。師事盤山。密受真訣。而徉狂出言無度。暨盤山順世。乃於北地行化。或城市。或塚間。振一鐸曰。明頭來。明頭打。暗頭來。暗頭打。四方八面來。旋風打。虗空來。連架打。一日。臨濟令僧捉住曰。總不恁麼來時如何。師拓開曰。來日大悲院裡有齋。僧回舉似濟。濟曰。我從來疑著這漢。凡見人無高下。皆振鐸一聲。時號普化和尚。或將鐸就人耳邊振之。或附其背。有回顧者。即展手曰。乞我一錢。非時遇食亦吃。甞暮入臨濟院吃生菜。濟曰。這漢大似一頭驢。師便作驢鳴。濟謂直歲曰。細抹草料著。師曰。少室人不識。金陵又再來。臨濟一隻眼。到處為人開。師見馬步使出喝道。師亦喝道作相撲勢。馬步使令人打五棒。師曰。似即似。是即不是。師甞於闤闠間搖鐸唱曰。覔箇去處不可得。時道吾遇之。把住問曰。汝擬去甚麼處。師曰。汝從甚麼處來。吾無語。師掣手便去。臨濟一日與河陽木塔長老同在僧堂內坐。正說師每日在街市掣風掣顛。知他是凡是聖。師忽入來。濟便問。汝是凡是聖。師曰。汝且道我是凡是聖。濟便喝。師以手指曰。河陽新婦子。木塔老婆禪。臨濟小廝兒。卻具一隻眼。濟曰。這賊。師曰。賊。賊。便出去。唐咸通初。將示滅。乃入市謂人曰。乞我一箇直裰。人或與披襖。或與布裘。皆不受。振鐸而去。臨濟令人送與一棺。師笑曰。臨濟廝兒饒舌。便受之。乃辭眾曰。普化明日去東門死也。郡人相率送出城。師厲聲曰。今日葬不合青烏。乃曰。明日南門遷化。人亦隨之。又曰。明日出西門。方吉。人出漸稀。出已還返。人意稍怠。第四日。自擎棺出北門外。振鐸入棺而逝。郡人奔走出城。揭棺視之。已不見。唯聞空中鐸聲漸遠。莫測其由。

whose origins are unknown, served Panshan as his teacher and secretly received the true instructions, but acted wildly and spoke without restraint. After Panshan passed away, he taught in the north. In marketplaces or among tombs, he shook a handbell and said: ‘Come in brightness, and I strike in brightness. Come in darkness, and I strike in darkness. Come from the four quarters and eight directions, and I strike like a whirlwind. Come through empty space, and I strike with the flail.’ One day Linji had a monk seize him and ask: ‘What if you do not come in any of these ways?’ The Master shoved him away and said: ‘Tomorrow there will be a vegetarian feast at Great Compassion Monastery.’ The monk reported this to Linji, who said: ‘I have always suspected this fellow.’ Puhua shook his bell at everyone, high or low; sometimes he rang it beside someone’s ear or behind their back. If anyone turned around, he held out his hand and said: ‘Give me a coin.’ He ate whenever food came his way, even at odd hours. Once, at dusk, he entered Linji’s monastery and ate raw vegetables. Linji said: ‘This fellow is just like a donkey.’ Puhua brayed. Linji told the director: ‘Prepare some finely chopped fodder.’ Puhua said: ‘The man of Shaoshi was not recognized; now he has come again to Jinling. Linji’s single eye opens everywhere for people.’ When Puhua saw a mounted official clearing the way, he too shouted and struck a wrestling pose. The official ordered him beaten five times with a stick. Puhua said: ‘It resembles it, but it is not it.’ Once, ringing his bell in the marketplace, he sang: ‘Seeking a place to go, none can be found.’ Daowu met him, grabbed him, and asked: ‘Where are you planning to go?’ Puhua replied: ‘Where have you come from?’ Daowu had no answer, and Puhua pulled free and left. One day Linji sat in the monks’ hall with the elder Mutou of Heyang, discussing how Puhua behaved like a madman in the streets and wondering whether he was ordinary or holy. Puhua suddenly entered. Linji asked: ‘Are you ordinary or holy?’ Puhua said: ‘You tell me: am I ordinary or holy?’ Linji shouted. Puhua pointed and said: ‘Heyang is a newly married bride, Mutou an old woman practicing Chan, and Linji a little lad—yet he has one eye.’ Linji said: ‘You thief!’ Puhua replied: ‘Thief, thief!’ and went out. At the start of the Xiantong era, when he was about to die, he went into the market and asked people for a straight robe. Some offered him a padded coat, others a cloth cloak; he refused them all and went away ringing his bell. Linji sent him a coffin. Puhua laughed and said: ‘That little Linji is so talkative!’ Then he accepted it. He announced to the assembly: ‘Tomorrow Puhua will die at the east gate.’ The townspeople followed him there, but he declared: ‘It is not an auspicious day for burial according to the geomancers.’ He then said he would transform at the south gate the next day, and people followed. He said the west gate would be auspicious, so they went there too; their numbers dwindled, and once they had gone out they returned, gradually losing interest. On the fourth day he carried the coffin himself outside the north gate, rang his bell, climbed inside, and passed away. The townspeople rushed out and opened the coffin, but he had disappeared. They only heard the bell’s sound receding through the air, its cause beyond their understanding.

麻谷徹禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Che of Magu.

壽州良遂禪師

Chan Master Liang-sui of Shouzhou.

參麻谷。谷見來。便將鉏頭去鉏草。師到鉏草處。谷殊不顧。便歸方丈。閉卻門。師次日復去。谷又閉門。師乃敲門。谷問。阿誰。師曰。良遂。才稱名。忽然契悟曰。和尚莫謾良遂。良遂若不來禮拜和尚。洎被經論賺過一生。谷便開門相見。及歸講肆。謂眾曰。諸人知處。良遂總知。良遂知處。諸人不知。

He studied with Magu. When Magu saw him coming, he took a hoe and went to weed. Liang-sui arrived at the place where he was hoeing, but Magu paid him no attention, returned to his room, and shut the door. Liang-sui came again the next day, and Magu again shut the door. Liang-sui knocked. Magu asked: ‘Who is it?’ He said: ‘Liang-sui.’ The moment he spoke his name, he suddenly awakened and said: ‘Master, do not deceive Liang-sui! Had Liang-sui not come to pay his respects, the sutras and treatises would nearly have cheated him for his whole life.’ Magu opened the door and met with him. When Liang-sui returned to the lecture hall, he told the assembly: ‘What you all know, Liang-sui knows too. What Liang-sui knows, you do not know.’

東寺會禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Hui of Dongsi.

吉州薯山慧超禪師

Chan Master Huichao of Shushan in Jizhou.

洞山來禮拜次。師曰。汝已住一方。又來這裡作麼。曰。良价無柰疑何。特來見和尚。師召良价。價應諾。師曰。是甚麼。價無語。師曰。好箇佛。祇是無光𦦨。

As Dongshan came to pay his respects, the Master said: ‘You already reside in one place. Why come here?’ Dongshan replied: ‘Liangjie cannot help being perplexed, so I have come especially to see you.’ The Master called: ‘Liangjie!’ Liangjie answered: ‘Yes?’ The Master asked: ‘What is it?’ Liangjie was silent. The Master said: ‘A fine Buddha indeed, only without any radiance.’

西堂藏禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Cang of Xitang.

䖍州處微禪師

Chan Master Chuwei of Qianzhou.

僧問。三乘十二分教體理得妙。與祖意是同是別。師曰。須向六句外鑒。不得隨聲色轉。曰。如何是六句。師曰。語底默底。不語不默。總是總不是。汝合作麼生。僧無對。問仰山。汝名甚麼。山曰。慧寂。師曰。那箇是慧。那箇是寂。山曰。祇在目前。師曰。猶有前後在。山曰。前後且置。和尚見箇甚麼。師曰。吃茶去。

A monk asked: ‘The teachings of the Three Vehicles and twelve divisions penetrate principle and attain the wondrous. Are they the same as the Patriarch’s intent, or different?’ The Master replied: ‘You must discern beyond the six phrases; do not be turned about by sounds and forms.’ The monk asked: ‘What are the six phrases?’ The Master said: ‘What is spoken and what is silent, neither speaking nor silent, all are and all are not. What do you make of that?’ The monk had no answer. The Master asked Yangshan: ‘What is your name?’ Yangshan said: ‘Huiji.’ The Master asked: ‘Which is Hui, and which is Ji?’ Yangshan replied: ‘They are right before your eyes.’ The Master said: ‘There is still a before and after.’ Yangshan said: ‘Set before and after aside. What do you see, Master?’ The Master replied: ‘Go have some tea.’

章敬腪禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Yun of Zhangjing.

京兆大薦福寺弘辯禪師

Chan Master Hongbian of Dajianfu Monastery in Jingzhao.

唐宣宗問。禪宗何有南北之名。對曰。禪門本無南北。昔如來以正法眼付大迦葉。展轉相傳。至二十八祖菩提達磨。來遊此方為初祖。暨第五祖弘忍大師在蘄州東山開法。時有二弟子。一名慧能。受衣法。居嶺南為六祖。一名神秀。在北揚化。其後神秀門人普寂者。立秀為第六祖。而自稱七祖。其所得法雖一。而開導發悟有頓漸之異。故曰南頓北漸。非禪宗本有南北之號也。帝曰。云何名戒。對曰。防非止惡謂之戒。帝曰。云何為定。對曰。六根涉境。心不隨緣名定。帝曰。云何為慧。對曰。心境俱空。照鑒無惑名慧。帝曰。何為方便。對曰。方便者。隱實覆相權巧之門也。被接中下。曲施誘迪謂之方便。設為上根言。捨方便但說無上道者。斯亦方便之譚。乃至祖師玄言。忘功絕謂。亦無出方便之跡。帝曰。何為佛心。對曰。佛者西天之語。唐言覺。謂人有智慧覺照為佛心。心者佛之別名。有百千異號。體唯其一。無形狀。非青黃赤白．男女等相。在天非天。在人非人。而現天現人。能男能女。非始非終。無生無滅。故號靈覺之性。如陛下日應萬機。即是陛下佛心。假使千佛共傳。而不念別有所得也。帝曰。如今有人念佛如何。對曰。如來出世為天人師。善知識隨根器而說法。為上根者開最上乘頓悟至理。中下者未能頓曉。是以佛為韋提希權開十六觀門。令念佛生於極樂。故經云。是心是佛。是心作佛。心外無佛。佛外無心。帝曰。有人持經念佛。持呪求佛。如何。對曰。如來種種開讚。皆為最上一乘。如百川眾流。莫不朝宗於海。如是差別諸數。皆歸薩婆若海。帝曰。祖師既契會心印。金剛經云無所得法。如何。對曰。佛之一化。實無一法與人。但示眾人。各各自性。同一法藏。當時然燈如來但印釋迦本法而無所得。方契然燈本意。故經云。無我無人。無眾生。無壽者。是法平等。修一切善法。

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang asked: ‘Why does the Chan school have the names Southern and Northern?’ Hongbian replied: ‘The Chan school originally has no north or south. Long ago the Tathagata entrusted the True Dharma Eye to Mahakashyapa, and it was transmitted from one generation to the next until the twenty-eighth Patriarch, Bodhidharma, came to this land as the First Patriarch. Later, the Fifth Patriarch, Master Hongren, taught at East Mountain in Qizhou. He had two disciples: Huineng received the robe and Dharma and lived south of the mountain as the Sixth Patriarch; Shenxiu taught in the north. Later, Shenxiu’s disciple Puji made Shenxiu the Sixth Patriarch and called himself the Seventh. Though the Dharma they received was one, their methods of teaching and awakening differed as sudden and gradual; hence “Southern sudden” and “Northern gradual.” The Chan school itself never had names for north and south.’ The emperor asked: ‘What is meant by precepts?’ He replied: ‘Preventing wrongdoing and stopping evil is called precepts.’ ‘What is concentration?’ ‘When the six faculties encounter their objects and the mind does not follow conditions, that is concentration.’ ‘What is wisdom?’ ‘When mind and objects are both empty and illumination is free of delusion, that is wisdom.’ ‘What are skillful means?’ ‘Skillful means are expedient methods that conceal the real and veil its marks, adapting themselves to guide those of middling and lesser capacities. Even when speaking to those of superior capacity and setting aside expedients to teach only the unsurpassed Way, this too is called expedient speech. Even the Patriarchs’ profound words, which forget merit and cut off conjecture, do not go beyond the traces of skillful means.’ The emperor asked: ‘What is the Buddha-mind?’ He replied: ‘Buddha is a word from India; in our language it means “awakened.” A person’s wisdom and illuminating awareness are called the Buddha-mind. “Mind” is another name for Buddha, who has hundreds of thousands of names but one substance. It has no shape, and is not blue, yellow, red, or white, nor male or female. In heaven it is not heaven, and among people it is not a person, yet it manifests as heaven or human, male or female. It has neither beginning nor end, birth nor death, and is therefore called the numinous awakened nature. When Your Majesty responds daily to the affairs of state, that is Your Majesty’s Buddha-mind. Even if a thousand Buddhas transmitted it, there is no thought of gaining something else.’ The emperor asked: ‘What of people who recite the Buddha’s name?’ He replied: ‘The Tathagata appeared as teacher of gods and humans. Good teachers expound according to capacity. To those of superior capacity they reveal the highest vehicle and sudden awakening to ultimate principle. Those of middling or lesser capacity cannot understand at once, so the Buddha provisionally taught Queen Vaidehi the sixteen contemplations, enabling people to recite the Buddha’s name and be born in the Land of Bliss. Thus the sutra says: “This mind is Buddha; this mind makes Buddha.” Outside mind there is no Buddha, and outside Buddha there is no mind.’ The emperor asked about reciting sutras, Buddha’s names, and mantras to seek Buddha. Hongbian replied: ‘The Tathagata opened and praised many approaches, all for the highest vehicle. Just as rivers and streams all flow toward the sea, these differing practices all return to the ocean of Sarvajna, all-knowing wisdom.’ The emperor asked: ‘If the Patriarchs realized the mind-seal, why does the Diamond Sutra say that no dharma is attained?’ He replied: ‘Throughout the Buddha’s teaching, he truly gave no dharma to anyone. He only showed people their own nature, the same treasury of Dharma in everyone. Dipamkara Tathagata merely confirmed Shakyamuni’s original Dharma, with nothing attained; only then did he accord with Dipamkara’s intent. Thus the sutra says: “No self, no person, no sentient being, no life-span. This Dharma is equal.” Cultivate every wholesome dharma…’

不住於相。帝曰。禪師既會祖意。還禮佛轉經否。對曰。沙門釋子。禮佛轉經。蓋是住持常法。有四報焉。然依佛戒修身。參尋知識。漸修梵行。履踐如來所行之跡。帝曰。何為頓見。何為漸修。對曰。頓明自性。與佛同儔。然有無始染習。故假漸修對治。令順性起用。如人吃飯。不一口便飽。師是日辯對七刻。賜紫方袍。號圓智禪師。仍勑修天下祖塔。各令守護。

He continued: ‘…without abiding in marks.’ The emperor asked: ‘Since the Chan Master understands the Patriarch’s intent, does he still bow to Buddha and recite sutras?’ He replied: ‘For a monk, bowing to Buddha and reciting sutras are customary practices that sustain the teaching. They concern the four kinds of repayment. One cultivates the body in accordance with the Buddha’s precepts, seeks out good teachers, gradually cultivates pure conduct, and follows the path walked by the Tathagata.’ The emperor asked: ‘What is sudden seeing, and what is gradual cultivation?’ He replied: ‘Suddenly clarify one’s own nature and become a companion of the Buddhas. But beginningless habits of defilement remain, so gradual cultivation is provisionally used to counteract them and let functions arise in accord with one’s nature. A person does not become full by eating one mouthful.’ The Master answered questions for seven periods that day. He was bestowed a purple robe and the title Chan Master Yuan-zhi. An edict also ordered the restoration of ancestral stupas throughout the empire and appointed guardians for each.

福州龜山智具禪師

Chan Master Zhiju of Guishan in Fuzhou.

揚州柳氏子。初謁章敬。敬問。何所而至。師曰。至無所至。來無所來。敬雖默然。師亦自悟。住後。上堂。動容瞬目。無出當人一念淨心。本來是佛。仍說偈曰。心本絕塵何用洗。身中無病豈求醫。欲知是佛非身處。明鑑高懸未照時。後值武宗沙汰。有偈示眾曰。勑命如雷下翠微。風前垂淚脫禪衣。雲中有寺不容住。塵裡無家何處歸。明月分形處處新。白衣寧墜解空人。誰言在俗妨修道。金粟曾為居士身。忍僊林下坐禪時。曾被歌王割截肢。況我聖朝無此事。祇令休道亦何悲。暨宣宗中興。乃不復披緇。咸通六年終於本山。諡歸寂禪師。

He was a son of the Liu family of Yangzhou. He first visited Zhangjing. Zhangjing asked: ‘From where have you come?’ The Master replied: ‘I arrived from nowhere and came from nowhere.’ Zhangjing was silent, and the Master awakened by himself. After taking up residence, he addressed the assembly: ‘Every movement and blink arises within the pure thought of the person here and now; originally, this is Buddha.’ He also gave this verse: ‘The mind is originally free of dust—why wash it? The body is without illness—why seek a doctor? If you would know where Buddha is beyond the body, the bright mirror hangs high before it has reflected.’ Later, during Emperor Wuzong’s suppression of Buddhism, he showed the assembly this verse: ‘An imperial command crashed down like thunder from the green heights; in the wind, tears fell as I removed my monk’s robe. There are temples in the clouds where one may not stay; in the dust there is no home—where can I return? The moon’s image is renewed everywhere; though dressed in white, how could one who understands emptiness fall away? Who says that being a layman obstructs cultivation? Jinsu once lived as a householder. When the immortal Ren sat in meditation beneath the trees, the King of Songs had his limbs cut apart. How much less is there such a thing in our sacred dynasty—why grieve merely because we are told to cease speaking of the Way?’ When Emperor Xuanzong restored Buddhism, he did not again don the monastic robe. He died on his mountain in the sixth year of Xiantong and was posthumously titled Chan Master Guiji.

金州操禪師

Chan Master Cao of Jinzhou.

請米和尚齋。不排坐位。米到。展坐具禮拜。師下禪床。米乃坐師位。師卻席地而坐。齋訖。米便去。侍者曰。和尚受一切人欽仰。今日坐位被人奪卻。師曰。三日後若來即受救在。米三日後果來。曰。前日遭賊(僧問鏡清。古人道。前日遭賊。意旨如何。清雲。祇見錐頭利。不見鑿頭方)。

He invited the Monk Mi to a meal but set out no seat. Mi arrived, spread his sitting mat, and bowed. The Master stepped down from the Chan seat, and Mi sat in the Master’s place. The Master sat on the ground beside him. When the meal was over, Mi left. An attendant said: ‘Master, everyone reveres you, yet today someone took your seat.’ The Master replied: ‘If he returns in three days, he will be saved.’ Mi indeed returned three days later and said: ‘The other day I was robbed.’ (A monk asked Jingqing: ‘What did the ancients mean by “the other day I was robbed”?’ Jingqing said: ‘He saw only the awl’s sharp point, not the chisel’s square end.’)

朗州古堤和尚

The Monk of the Old Embankment in Langzhou.

尋常見僧來。但曰。去。汝無佛性。僧無對。或有對者。莫契其旨。仰山到參。師曰。去。汝無佛性。山叉手近前三步應喏。師笑曰。子甚麼處得此三昧來。山曰。我從耽源處得名。溈山處得地。師曰。莫是溈山的子麼。山曰。世諦即不無。佛法即不敢。山卻問。和尚從甚處得此三昧。師曰。我從章敬處得此三昧。山嘆曰。不可思議。來者難為湊泊。

Whenever he saw a monk arrive, he would say: ‘Go away. You have no Buddha-nature.’ The monk had no answer; those who answered did not accord with his intent. When Yangshan came to visit, the Master said: ‘Go away. You have no Buddha-nature.’ Yangshan put his hands together, stepped forward three paces, and answered: ‘Yes!’ The Master smiled and asked: ‘Where did you get this samadhi?’ Yangshan said: ‘I received its name from Danyuan and found its ground at Guishan.’ The Master asked: ‘Are you Guishan’s disciple?’ Yangshan replied: ‘In worldly convention, that is so; as for the Buddha-Dharma, I would not presume to say.’ Yangshan then asked: ‘From where did you get this samadhi?’ The Master said: ‘I got it from Zhangjing.’ Yangshan praised him: ‘Inconceivable! Those who come here will find it hard to draw near.’

河中府公畿和尚

The Monk of Gongji in Hezhong Prefecture.

僧問。如何是道。如何是禪。師以偈示之曰。有名非大道。是非俱不禪。欲識箇中意。黃葉止啼錢。

A monk asked: ‘What is the Way, and what is Chan?’ The Master showed him this verse: ‘A named Way is not the great Way; neither right nor wrong is Chan. If you would know the meaning here, yellow leaves are coins used to quiet a child’s crying.’

永泰湍禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Tuan of Yongtai.

湖南上林戒靈禪師

Chan Master Jieling of Shanglin in Hunan.

初參溈山。山曰。大德作甚麼來。師曰。介冑全具。山曰。盡卸了來。與大德相見。師曰。卸了也。山咄曰。賊尚未打。卸作甚麼。師無對。仰山代曰。請和尚屏卻左右。溈山以手揖曰。喏。喏。師後參永泰。方諭其旨。

He first studied with Guishan. Guishan asked: ‘What have you come here to do?’ The Master replied: ‘I am fully armed.’ Guishan said: ‘Take off all your armor and come meet me.’ The Master said: ‘It is off.’ Guishan shouted: ‘The bandits have not even attacked—why take it off?’ The Master had no answer. Yangshan replied on his behalf: ‘Please dismiss the attendants, Master.’ Guishan gestured with his hand and said: ‘All right, all right.’ Later the Master studied with Yongtai, and only then understood the meaning.

五臺山秘魔巖和尚

The Monk of the Secret Demon Cliff on Mount Wutai.

常持一木叉。每見僧來禮拜。即叉卻頸曰。那箇魔魅教汝出家。那箇魔魅教汝行腳。道得也叉下死。道不得也叉下死。速道。速道。學徒鮮有對者(法眼代雲。乞命。法燈代。但引頸示之。玄覺代雲。老兒家放下叉子得也)。霍山通和尚訪師。才見不禮拜。便攛入懷裡。師拊通背三下。通起拍手曰。師兄三千里外賺我來。三千里外賺我來。便回。

He always carried a wooden fork. Whenever a monk came to bow, he hooked it around the monk’s neck and said: ‘What demon told you to leave home? What demon told you to travel on foot? If you can answer, you die on the fork; if you cannot answer, you die on the fork. Speak quickly, speak quickly!’ Few students could answer. (Fayan replied on their behalf: ‘Spare my life!’ Fadeng simply offered his neck. Xuanjue said: ‘Old man, put down the fork and that will do.’) The Monk Tong of Huoshan visited him. As soon as they met, Tong did not bow but plunged into his embrace. The Master patted Tong on the back three times. Tong rose, clapped his hands, and said: ‘Senior brother, you tricked me into coming three thousand miles! You tricked me into coming three thousand miles!’ Then he returned.

湖南祇林和尚

The Monk of Qilin in Hunan.

每叱文殊普賢皆為精魅。手持木劒。自謂降魔。才見僧來參。便曰。魔來也。魔來也。以劒亂揮。歸方丈。如是十二年後。置劒無言。僧問。十二年前為甚麼降魔。師曰。賊不打貧兒家。曰。十二年後為甚麼不降魔。師曰。賊不打貧兒家。

He often denounced Manjushri and Samantabhadra as demons and spirits. Holding a wooden sword, he claimed to subdue demons. Whenever a monk came to visit, he said: ‘A demon has come! A demon has come!’ and swung his sword wildly before returning to his room. After twelve years he put down the sword and said nothing. A monk asked: ‘Why did you subdue demons before those twelve years?’ The Master replied: ‘A thief does not rob a poor man’s house.’ The monk asked: ‘Why not subdue demons after twelve years?’ He gave the same reply: ‘A thief does not rob a poor man’s house.’

華嚴藏禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Zang of Huayan.

黃州齊安禪師

Chan Master Qi’an of Huangzhou.

上堂。言不落句。佛祖徒施。玄韻不墜。誰人知得。僧問。如何識得自己佛。師曰。一葉明時消不盡。松風韻罷怨無人。曰。如何是自己佛。師曰。草前駿馬實難窮。妙盡還須畜生行。有人問。師年多少。師曰。五六四三不得類。豈同一二實難窮。師有偈曰。猛熾𦦨中人有路。旋風頂上屹然棲。鎮常歷劫誰差互。杲日無言運照齊。

Addressing the assembly, he said: ‘Words do not fall into phrases, though Buddhas and Patriarchs exert themselves. The mysterious resonance does not perish—who can know it?’ A monk asked: ‘How can one recognize one’s own Buddha?’ The Master replied: ‘When the leaf becomes clear, it cannot be dispelled; when the pine wind’s music ends, one resents having no listener.’ Asked: ‘What is one’s own Buddha?’ he said: ‘It is hard to fathom a fine horse before the grass; when wondrous subtlety is exhausted, one must still act like an animal.’ Someone asked his age. He replied: ‘Five, six, four, and three cannot be grouped; how could one or two ever exhaust it?’ His verse says: ‘Amid fierce flames there is a road for a person; atop a whirlwind one stands firm. Through kalpas it has always endured without change; the bright sun silently illumines all alike.’