The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One

南嶽下四世

The fourth generation below Nanyue.

黃檗運禪師法嗣

Heirs in the Dharma of Chan Master Yun of Huangbo.

睦州陳尊宿

The Venerable Chen of Muzhou.

諱道明。江南陳氏之後也。生時紅光滿室。祥雲葢空。旬日方散。目有重瞳。面列七星。形相奇特。與眾奪倫。因往開元寺禮佛。見僧如故知。歸白父母。願求出家。父母聽許為僧。後持戒精嚴。學通三藏。遊方契旨於黃檗。後為四眾請住觀音院。常百餘眾。經數十載。學者叩激。隨問遽答。詞語峻險。既非循轍。故淺機之流。往往嗤之。唯玄學性敏者欽伏。由是諸方歸慕。鹹以尊宿稱。後歸開元(今改兜率)。居房織蒲鞋以養母。故有陳蒲鞋之號。巢宼入境。師標大草屨於城門。巢欲棄之。竭力不能舉。歎曰。睦州有大聖人。舍城而去。遂免擾攘。一日晚參。謂眾曰。汝等諸人還得箇入頭處也未。若未得箇入頭處。須覔箇入頭處。若得箇入頭處。已後不得孤負老僧。時有僧出禮拜。曰。某甲終不敢孤負和尚。師曰。早是孤負我了也。又曰。明明向你道。尚自不會。何況葢覆將來。又曰。老僧在此住持。不曾見箇無事人到來。汝等何不近前。時有一僧方近前。師曰。維那不在。汝自領去三門外。與二十棒。曰。某甲過在甚麼處。師曰。枷上更著杻。師尋常見衲僧來。即閉門。或見講僧。乃召曰。座主。主應諾。師曰。擔板漢。或曰。這裡有桶。與我取水。一日在廊階上立。僧問。陳尊宿房在何處。師脫草屨驀頭打。僧便走。師召。大德。僧回首。師指曰。卻從那邊去。天使問。三門俱開。從那門入。師喚尚書。使應諾。師曰。從信門入。使又見畫壁。問曰。二尊者對譚何事。師摑露柱曰。三身中那箇不說法。座主參。師問。莫是講唯識論否。曰。不敢。師曰。朝去西天。暮歸唐土。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。吽。吽。五戒不持。師問一長老。了即毛端吞巨海。始知大地一微塵。長老作麼生。曰。問阿誰。師曰。問長老。曰。何不領話。師曰。汝不領話。我不領話。問。座主講甚麼經。曰。講涅槃經。師曰。

His personal name was Daoming, a descendant of the Chen family of Jiangnan. At his birth, red light filled the room and auspicious clouds covered the sky; after ten days they finally dispersed. His eyes had double pupils, and seven stars appeared on his face. His appearance was extraordinary, unlike other people. Once, while worshipping Buddha at Kaiyuan Monastery, he saw a monk who seemed an old acquaintance. He returned home and told his parents he wished to leave home; they consented. He later kept the precepts strictly and mastered the three baskets. Traveling, he realized the intent under Huangbo. At the request of the fourfold assembly he resided at Guanyin Monastery, where more than a hundred people gathered for decades. When students challenged him, he answered each question at once in sharp, perilous words. Since he did not follow conventional patterns, people of shallow capacity often mocked him, while those quick in profound study revered him. Thus people everywhere admired him and called him Venerable. Later he returned to Kaiyuan (now called Doushuai), where he lived in a room and wove rush sandals to support his mother; hence he was known as Chen the Rush-Sandal Maker. When the bandit Huang Chao invaded the region, the Master placed a huge straw sandal at the city gate. Huang Chao tried to discard it but could not lift it despite all his strength. He sighed: ‘Muzhou has a great sage,’ and abandoned the city, which was thus spared disturbance. One evening he addressed the assembly: ‘Have you all found a point of entry? If not, you must seek one. If you have found one, afterward do not let this old monk down.’ A monk came forward and bowed, saying: ‘I will never dare let the Master down.’ The Master said: ‘You have already let me down.’ He added: ‘I have told you plainly and you still do not understand; how much less will you understand if I cover it over?’ Then he said: ‘I have resided here and never seen a person without concerns. Why don’t you come closer?’ A monk stepped forward. The Master said: ‘The disciplinarian is absent; take him yourself outside the monastery gate and give him twenty blows.’ The monk asked: ‘What is my offense?’ The Master said: ‘Put shackles on top of the cangue.’ Whenever he saw a monk coming, he shut the door. If he saw a lecturer, he called: ‘Lecturer!’ When the man answered, he said: ‘A fool carrying a plank!’ Another time he said: ‘There is a bucket here; fetch me some water.’ One day he stood on the veranda steps. A monk asked: ‘Where is Venerable Chen’s room?’ The Master pulled off his straw sandal and struck the monk over the head. The monk ran away. The Master called: ‘Venerable!’ The monk turned around, and the Master pointed: ‘Go back that way.’ A palace envoy asked: ‘All three gates are open. Which should I enter?’ The Master called: ‘Minister!’ When the envoy answered, he said: ‘Enter through the gate of faith.’ The envoy saw a painting on the wall and asked: ‘What are the two venerables discussing?’ The Master slapped a pillar and said: ‘Which of the three bodies does not preach the Dharma?’ A lecturer visited. The Master asked: ‘Are you lecturing on Consciousness-Only?’ He replied: ‘I would not presume otherwise.’ The Master said: ‘You go to India in the morning and return to Tang China by evening. Do you understand?’ He said: ‘I do not.’ The Master said: ‘Hmph, hmph! You do not keep the five precepts.’ The Master asked an elder: ‘When one hair-tip swallows the great sea, one knows the whole earth is a mote of dust. What do you say?’ The elder replied: ‘Whom are you asking?’ The Master said: ‘I am asking you.’ The elder said: ‘Why not understand my words?’ The Master replied: ‘You do not understand my words, and I do not understand yours.’ Asked what sutra he lectured on, a lecturer replied: ‘The Nirvana Sutra.’ The Master said: ‘’

問一段義得麼。曰。得。師以腳踢空。吹一吹。曰。是甚麼義。曰。經中無此義。師曰。脫空謾語漢。五百力士揭石義。卻道無。師見僧乃曰。見成公案。放汝三十棒。曰。某甲如是。師曰。三門頭金剛為甚麼舉拳。曰。金剛尚乃如是。師便打。問。如何是向上一路。師曰。要道有甚麼難。曰。請師道。師曰。初三十一。中九下七。問。以一重去一重即不問。不以一重去一重時如何。師曰。昨朝栽茄子。今日種冬瓜。問。如何是曹谿的的意。師曰。老僧愛嗔不愛喜。曰。為甚麼如是。師曰。路逢劒客須呈劒。不是詩人莫說詩。問僧。甚處來。曰。瀏陽。師曰。彼中老宿祇對佛法大意道甚麼。曰。徧地無行路。師曰。老宿實有此語否。曰。實有。師拈拄杖打曰。這念言語漢。師問一長老。若有兄弟來。將何祇對。曰。待他來。師曰。何不道。曰。和尚欠少甚麼。師曰請不煩葛藤。僧參。師曰。汝豈不是行腳僧。曰。是。師曰。禮佛也未。曰。禮那土堆作麼。師曰。自領出去。問。某甲講兼行腳。不會教意時如何。師曰。灼然實語當懺悔。曰。乞師指示。師曰汝若不問。老僧即緘口無言。汝既問。老僧不可緘口去也。曰。請師便道。師曰。心不負人。面無慙色。問。一句道盡時如何。師曰。義墮也。曰。甚麼處是學人義墮處。師曰。三十棒教誰吃。問。高揖釋迦。不拜彌勒時如何。師曰。昨日有人問。趂出了也。曰。和尚恐某甲不實邪。師曰。拄杖不在。苕帚柄聊與三十。上堂。我見百丈不識好惡。大眾才集。以拄杖一時打下。復召大眾。眾回首。乃雲。是甚麼。有甚共語處。又黃檗和尚亦然。復召大眾。眾回首。乃雲。月似彎弓。少雨多風。猶較些子。問僧。近離甚處。僧便喝。師曰。老僧被你一喝。僧又喝。師曰。三喝四喝後作麼生。僧無語。師便打曰。這掠虗漢。秀才訪師。稱會二十四家書。

(The master continued:) 'May I ask about one passage of meaning?' He said, 'Yes.' The master kicked at the empty air with his foot, blew on it, and said, 'What meaning is this?' The monk said, 'There is no such meaning in the scriptures.' The master said, 'You empty-talking fraud. The meaning of the five hundred strong men lifting the stone, yet you say there is none.' Seeing a monk, the master said, 'The case is already settled before you; I let you off thirty blows.' The monk said, 'I am like this.' The master said, 'Why does the guardian at the gate raise his fist?' The monk said, 'The guardian himself is like this.' The master struck him. A monk asked, 'What is the road that goes beyond?' The master said, 'What is hard about saying it?' The monk said, 'Please, master, say it.' The master said, 'First thirty-one, middle nine, last seven.' A monk asked, 'I do not ask about removing one layer with another layer; what about when one does not remove one layer with another layer?' The master said, 'Yesterday morning I planted eggplants; today I plant winter melons.' A monk asked, 'What is the precise meaning of Caoxi?' The master said, 'This old monk loves anger and does not love joy.' The monk said, 'Why is it so?' The master said, 'Meeting a swordsman on the road, one must present a sword; if he is not a poet, do not speak of poetry.' He asked a monk, 'Where do you come from?' The monk said, 'Liuyang.' The master said, 'What do the elder adepts there say in answer to the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The monk said, 'Everywhere there is no road to walk.' The master said, 'Did the elder adept really say this?' The monk said, 'He really did.' The master picked up his staff and struck him, saying, 'This fellow who recites words.' The master asked an elder, 'If a brother comes, how will you answer him?' The elder said, 'I will wait for him to come.' The master said, 'Why not say it?' The elder said, 'What is the reverend master lacking?' The master said, 'Please, no more tangling vines.' A monk came to call. The master said, 'Are you not a pilgrimage monk?' The monk said, 'I am.' The master said, 'Have you bowed to the Buddha yet?' The monk said, 'Why bow to that heap of earth?' The master said, 'Take yourself out.' A monk asked, 'I both lecture and go on pilgrimage; what about when I do not understand the meaning of the teachings?' The master said, 'Plainly true words call for repentance.' The monk said, 'I beg the master to instruct me.' The master said, 'If you had not asked, this old monk would have kept his mouth shut and said nothing. Since you have asked, this old monk cannot very well keep his mouth shut.' The monk said, 'Please, master, just say it.' The master said, 'The mind does not betray people, and the face shows no shame.' A monk asked, 'What about when one sentence says it all?' The master said, 'The meaning has fallen.' The monk said, 'Where has the student's meaning fallen?' The master said, 'Who is to eat the thirty blows?' A monk asked, 'What about bowing high to Shakyamuni and not bowing to Maitreya?' The master said, 'Yesterday someone asked that, and I drove him out.' The monk said, 'Does the reverend master fear I am not sincere?' The master said, 'The staff is not here; a broom handle will do for thirty.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'I see that Baizhang did not know good from bad. The assembly had just gathered when he struck them all down with his staff. Then he called to the assembly again. The assembly turned their heads. Then he said, What is it? What is there to talk about with them? And the reverend master of Huangbo was the same. He called to the assembly again. The assembly turned their heads. Then he said, The moon is like a bent bow, little rain and much wind. He was a little better.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you just come from?' The monk gave a shout. The master said, 'This old monk has been shouted at by you.' The monk shouted again. The master said, 'After three shouts and four shouts, what then?' The monk had nothing to say. The master struck him and said, 'This fellow who grabs at emptiness.' A scholar came to visit the master, claiming to know the calligraphy of twenty-four masters.

師以拄杖空中點一點。曰。會麼。秀才罔措。師曰。又道會二十四家書。永字八法也不識。上堂。裂開也在我。揑聚也在我。時有僧問。如何是裂開。師曰。三九二十七。菩提涅槃。真如解脫。即心即佛。我且與麼道。你又作麼生。曰。某甲不與麼道。師曰。盞子撲落地。碟子成七片。曰。如何是揑聚。師乃斂手而坐。問。教意祖意是同是別。師曰。青山自青山。白雲自白雲。曰。如何是青山。師曰。還我一滴雨來。曰。道不得。請師道。師曰。法華鋒前陣。涅槃句後收。問僧。今夏在甚麼處。曰。待和尚有住處即說。師曰。狐非師子類。燈非日月明。問僧。甚處來。僧瞪目視之。師曰。驢前馬後漢。曰。請師鑒。師曰。驢前馬後漢。道將一句來。僧無對。師看經次。陳操尚書問。和尚看甚麼經。師曰。金剛經。書曰。六朝翻譯。此當第幾。師舉起經曰。一切有為法。如夢幻泡影。看經次。僧問。和尚看甚麼經。師曰。涅槃經。茶毗品最在後。問僧。今夏在甚處。曰。徑山。曰。這吃夜飯漢。曰。尊宿叢林。何言吃夜飯。師以棒趂出。師聞一老宿難親近。躬往相訪。才入方丈。宿便喝。師側掌曰。兩重公案。宿曰。過在甚麼處。師曰。這野狐精。便退。問僧。近離甚處。曰。江西。師曰。踏破多少草鞋。僧無對。與講僧吃茶次。師曰。我救汝不得也。曰。某甲不曉。乞師垂示。師拈油餅曰。這箇是甚麼。曰。色法。師曰。這入鑊湯漢。紫衣大德到。禮拜。師拈帽子帶問曰。這箇喚作甚麼。曰。朝天帽。師曰。恁麼則老僧不卸也。復問。所習何業。曰。唯識。師曰。作麼生說。曰。三界唯心。萬法唯識。師指門扇曰。這箇是甚麼。曰。是色法。師曰。簾前賜紫。對御譚經。何得不持五戒。德無對。問。某甲乍入叢林。乞師指示。師曰。你不解問。曰。和尚作麼生。師曰。放汝三十棒。自領出去。問。

The master pointed once into the air with his staff and said, 'Do you understand?' The scholar was at a loss. The master said, 'You claim to know the calligraphy of twenty-four masters, yet you do not even know the eight methods of the character yong.' Ascending the hall, he said: 'To split open is up to me; to pinch together is up to me.' A monk then asked, 'What is splitting open?' The master said, 'Three nines are twenty-seven. Bodhi and nirvana, true suchness and liberation, this very mind is Buddha. I have put it that way; what about you?' The monk said, 'I do not put it that way.' The master said, 'The cup falls to the ground, and the saucer breaks into seven pieces.' The monk asked, 'What is pinching together?' The master drew in his hands and sat. A monk asked, 'Are the meaning of the teachings and the meaning of the Patriarch the same or different?' The master said, 'Green mountains are of themselves green mountains; white clouds are of themselves white clouds.' The monk said, 'What is the green mountain?' The master said, 'Give me back one drop of rain.' The monk said, 'I cannot say it. Please, master, say it.' The master said, 'Arrayed before the tip of the Lotus, gathered in after the words of the Nirvana.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you spent this summer?' The monk said, 'When the reverend master has a place to stay, I will say.' The master said, 'The fox is not of the lion's kind; a lamp is not as bright as the sun and moon.' He asked a monk, 'Where do you come from?' The monk stared at him wide-eyed. The master said, 'A fellow before donkeys and behind horses.' The monk said, 'Please, master, examine me.' The master said, 'Fellow before donkeys and behind horses, say one phrase.' The monk had no reply. Once, as the master was reading a sutra, Minister Chen Cao asked, 'What sutra is the reverend master reading?' The master said, 'The Diamond Sutra.' The minister said, 'It was translated in the six dynasties; which translation is this?' The master lifted the sutra and said, 'All conditioned things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow.' Once, as he was reading a sutra, a monk asked, 'What sutra is the reverend master reading?' The master said, 'The Nirvana Sutra; the chapter on cremation comes last.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you spent this summer?' The monk said, 'Jingshan.' The master said, 'This fellow who eats his evening meal.' The monk said, 'In the elders' monasteries, why speak of eating an evening meal?' The master chased him out with his staff. The master heard that an elder adept was hard to approach, so he went himself to visit him. As soon as he entered the abbot's quarters, the elder gave a shout. The master held up his palm sideways and said, 'A double case.' The elder said, 'Where is the fault?' The master said, 'This wild-fox spirit.' And he withdrew. He asked a monk, 'Where have you just come from?' The monk said, 'Jiangxi.' The master said, 'How many straw sandals have you worn through?' The monk had no reply. Once, as he was drinking tea with a lecturer monk, the master said, 'I cannot save you either.' The monk said, 'I do not understand; I beg the master to instruct me.' The master picked up a fried cake and said, 'What is this?' The monk said, 'A form-dharma.' The master said, 'This fellow who has fallen into the cauldron.' A greatly virtuous monk in purple robes arrived and bowed. The master picked up the band of his hat and asked, 'What is this called?' The monk said, 'A court-facing hat.' The master said, 'Then this old monk will not take it off.' He asked again, 'What study do you practice?' The monk said, 'Consciousness-only.' The master said, 'How do you explain it?' The monk said, 'The three realms are mind only; the ten thousand dharmas are consciousness only.' The master pointed at a door panel and said, 'What is this?' The monk said, 'It is a form-dharma.' The master said, 'Granted purple robes before the screen and lecturing to the emperor — how is it that you do not keep the five precepts?' The monk had no reply. A monk said, 'I have just entered the monastery; I beg the master to instruct me.' The master said, 'You do not know how to ask.' The monk said, 'What about the reverend master?' The master said, 'I let you off thirty blows; take yourself out.' A monk asked:

教意請師提綱。師曰。但問將來。與你道。曰。請和尚道。師曰。佛殿裡燒香。三門頭合掌。問。如何是展演之言。師曰。量才補職。曰。如何是不展演之言。師曰。伏惟尚饗。焦山借斧頭次。師呼童子取斧來。童取斧至。曰。未有繩墨且斫麤。師便喝。又問童曰。作麼生是你斧頭。童遂作斫勢。師曰。斫你老爺頭不得。師問秀才。先輩治甚經。才曰。治易。師曰。易中道。百姓日用而不知。且道不知箇甚麼。才曰。不知其道。師曰。作麼生是道。才無對。僧問。一氣還轉得一大藏教也無。師曰。有甚饆羅鎚子。快下將來。問。如何是一代時教。師曰。上大人。丘乙己。問。如何是禪。師曰。猛火著油煎。僧參。師曰。汝是新到否。曰。是。師曰。且放下葛藤。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。擔枷陳狀。自領出去。僧便出。師曰。來。來。我實問你甚處來。曰。江西。師曰。泐潭和尚在汝背後。怕你亂道。見麼。僧無對。問。寺門前金剛。拓即乾坤大地。不拓即絲髮不逢時如何。師曰。吽。吽。我不曾見此。師卻問。先跳三千。倒退八百。你合作麼生。曰。諾。師曰。先責一紙罪狀好。便打。其僧擬出。師曰。來。我共你葛藤。拓即乾坤大地。你且道洞庭湖水深多少。曰。不曾量度。師曰。洞庭湖又作麼生。曰。祇為今時。師曰。祇這葛藤尚不會。便打。問。如何是觸途無滯底句。師曰。我不恁麼道。曰。師作麼生道。師曰。箭過西天十萬裡。卻向大唐國裡等候。看華嚴經次。僧問。看甚麼經。師曰。大光明雲。青色光明雲。紫色光明雲。卻指面前曰。那邊是甚麼雲。曰。南邊是黑雲。師曰。今日須有雨。問。以字不成。入字不是。是何章句。師彈指一聲。曰。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。上來講讚無限勝因。蝦蟇𨁝跳上天。蚯蚓驀過東海。問僧。近離甚處。曰。河北。師曰。彼中有趙州和尚。你曾到否。曰。

'Please, master, give the outline of the meaning of the teachings.' The master said, 'Just ask, and I will tell you.' The monk said, 'Please, reverend master, say it.' The master said, 'Burn incense in the Buddha hall; join your palms at the gate.' A monk asked, 'What are words that unfold and display?' The master said, 'Measure the talent and fill the office.' The monk said, 'What are words that do not unfold and display?' The master said, 'Reverently we invite the spirits to feast.' Once, when Jiaoshan wanted to borrow an axe, the master called a boy to bring the axe. When the boy brought it, he said, 'There is no ink line yet; I will chop it rough first.' The master gave a shout. He asked the boy again, 'What is your axe?' The boy then made a chopping motion. The master said, 'You cannot chop off your old man's head.' The master asked a scholar, 'Which classic does the gentleman study?' The scholar said, 'The Book of Changes.' The master said, 'The Changes says that the common people use it daily and do not know it. Tell me, what do they not know?' The scholar said, 'They do not know its Way.' The master said, 'What is the Way?' The scholar had no reply. A monk asked, 'Can a single breath turn the whole Tripitaka?' The master said, 'What sort of cake-seller's hammer is that? Bring it down quickly.' A monk asked, 'What is the teaching of one age?' The master said, 'The great man, Qiu Yi-ji.' A monk asked, 'What is Chan?' The master said, 'A fierce fire with oil poured on it.' A monk came to call. The master said, 'Are you newly arrived?' The monk said, 'I am.' The master said, 'Put down the tangling vines for now; do you understand?' The monk said, 'I do not.' The master said, 'Carrying fetters and filing a complaint; take yourself out.' The monk started to leave. The master said, 'Come, come. I will really ask you where you come from.' The monk said, 'Jiangxi.' The master said, 'The reverend master of Letan is behind you; he fears you will talk wildly. Do you see him?' The monk had no reply. A monk asked, 'What about when the guardian at the monastery gate, when pressed, is the whole of heaven and earth, and when not pressed, not a hair is met?' The master said, 'Hmm, hmm. I have never seen such a thing.' The master asked in turn, 'First you leap three thousand, then you step back eight hundred — what will you do?' The monk said, 'Yes.' The master said, 'It would be well to first fine you one sheet of paper for your crime.' And he struck him. The monk was about to leave. The master said, 'Come. Let me tangle vines with you. Pressed, it is the whole of heaven and earth — tell me, how deep are the waters of Lake Dongting?' The monk said, 'I have never measured them.' The master said, 'What about Lake Dongting itself?' The monk said, 'It is only for the present time.' The master said, 'You cannot even handle this tangle of vines.' And he struck him. A monk asked, 'What is the phrase that nowhere meets obstruction?' The master said, 'I do not say it that way.' The monk said, 'How does the master say it?' The master said, 'The arrow has passed ten thousand li west of India, yet you wait for it here in the land of Tang.' Once, as he was reading the Avatamsaka Sutra, a monk asked, 'What sutra are you reading?' The master said, 'The great radiance cloud, the blue radiance cloud, the purple radiance cloud.' Then he pointed in front and said, 'What cloud is that over there?' The monk said, 'The black cloud is to the south.' The master said, 'There will surely be rain today.' A monk asked, 'Not made by the character yi nor by the character ba — what passage is this?' The master snapped his fingers once and said, 'Do you understand?' The monk said, 'I do not.' The master said, 'Above, the lecture and praise have boundless surpassing cause. The toad leaps up to heaven; the earthworm darts across the Eastern Sea.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you just come from?' The monk said, 'Hebei.' The master said, 'The reverend master of Zhaozhou is there. Have you ever been to him?' The monk said:

某甲近離彼中。師曰。趙州有何言句示徒。僧舉吃茶話。師乃呵呵大笑曰。慚愧。卻問。趙州意作麼生。曰。祇是一期方便。師曰。苦哉。趙州被你將一杓屎潑了也。便打。師卻問沙彌。你作麼生會。彌便設拜。師亦打。其僧往沙彌處問。適來和尚打你作甚麼。彌曰。若不是我。和尚不打某甲。新到參。方禮拜。師叱曰。闍黎因何偷常住果子吃。曰。學人才到。和尚為甚麼道偷果子。師曰。贓物見在。問僧。近離甚處。曰。仰山。師曰。五戒也不持。曰。某甲甚麼處是妄語。師曰。這裡不著沙彌。師臨終召門人曰。此處緣息。吾當逝矣。乃跏趺而寂。郡人以香薪焚之。舍利如雨。乃收靈骨。塑像於寺。壽九十八。臘七十六。

'I have just come from there.' The master said, 'What sayings did Zhaozhou use to instruct his students?' The monk told the story of the tea drinking. The master laughed heartily and said, 'What a shame.' He then asked, 'What was Zhaozhou's meaning?' The monk said, 'It was only a temporary expedient.' The master said, 'How bitter. Zhaozhou has been splashed with a ladle of your excrement.' And he struck him. The master then asked a novice, 'How do you understand it?' The novice bowed. The master struck him too. The monk went to the novice and asked, 'Why did the reverend master strike you just now?' The novice said, 'If it were not for me, the reverend master would not have struck me.' A newly arrived monk came to call and was just bowing. The master scolded him: 'Reverend, why did you steal and eat the monastery's fruit?' The monk said, 'I have only just arrived; why does the reverend master say I stole fruit?' The master said, 'The stolen goods are right here.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you just come from?' The monk said, 'Yangshan.' The master said, 'You do not even keep the five precepts.' The monk said, 'Where have I spoken falsely?' The master said, 'No novice is kept here.' As the master was about to die, he called his disciples and said, 'Here the conditions come to an end; I shall depart.' Then he sat cross-legged and passed into quiescence. The people of the prefecture cremated him with fragrant firewood, and the relics fell like rain. They gathered his sacred bones and made an image of him in the monastery. He lived ninety-eight years and had been ordained seventy-six.

杭州千頃山楚南禪師

Chan Master Chunan of Qianqing Mountain in Hangzhou

福州張氏子。初參芙蓉。蓉見曰。吾非汝師。汝師江外黃檗是也。師禮辭。遂參黃檗。檗問。子未現三界影像時如何。師曰。即今豈是有邪。檗曰。有無且置。即今如何。師曰。非今古。檗曰。吾之法眼。已在汝躬。住後。上堂。諸子設使解得三世佛教。如缾注水。及得百千三昧。不如一念修無漏道。免被人天因果繫絆。時有僧問。無漏道如何修。師曰。未有闍黎時體取。曰。未有某甲時教誰體。師曰。體者亦無。問。如何是易。師曰。著衣吃飯。不用讀經看教。不用行道禮拜。燒身煉頂。豈不易邪。曰。如何是難。師曰。微有念生。便具五陰三界。輪回生死皆從汝一念生。所以佛教諸菩薩雲。佛所護念。師雖應機無倦。而常寂然處定。或逾月。或浹旬。文德六年五月遷化。塔於院之西隅。大順二年宣州孫儒宼錢塘。發塔。覩師全身儼然。爪髮俱長。拜謝而去。

He was a son of the Zhang family of Fuzhou. He first studied under Furong. Rong saw him and said, 'I am not your teacher. Your teacher is Huangbo, beyond the river.' The master bowed and took his leave, and then went to study under Huangbo. Bo asked, 'What was it like before you manifested the images of the three realms?' The master said, 'Is it not so even now?' Bo said, 'Set aside being and non-being for now; what is it right now?' The master said, 'It is neither now nor ancient.' Bo said, 'My Dharma-eye is already upon you.' After he took up residence, he ascended the hall: 'My children, even if you could understand the teachings of the three ages of Buddhism as easily as pouring water into a bottle, and attain hundreds of thousands of samadhis, it would be no match for a single thought of cultivating the undefiled Way, which frees you from being bound by the cause and effect of gods and men.' A monk then asked, 'How does one cultivate the undefiled Way?' The master said, 'Realize it in the time before there was any reverend.' The monk said, 'In the time before there was any me, who is it that realizes?' The master said, 'The one who realizes is also not there.' A monk asked, 'What is the easy?' The master said, 'Wearing clothes and eating food, without reading the sutras or studying the teachings, without walking the path or bowing, without burning the body or scorching the crown — is that not easy?' The monk said, 'What is the hard?' The master said, 'Let the slightest thought arise, and the five aggregates and three realms are there. Rebirth and death in the wheel all arise from a single thought of yours. That is why the Buddha instructed the bodhisattvas, saying, That which is protected and remembered by the Buddha.' Though the master responded to opportunities without weariness, he constantly dwelt silent in samadhi, sometimes for more than a month, sometimes for a full ten days. He passed away in the fifth month of the sixth year of Wende. His stupa was built in the western corner of the monastery. In the second year of Dashun, Sun Ru of Xuanzhou raided Qiantang and opened the stupa. They saw the master's whole body, still intact, with hair and nails grown long. They bowed in apology and left.

福州烏石山靈觀禪師(時稱老觀)

Chan Master Lingguan of Wushi Mountain in Fuzhou (called Old Guan at the time)

尋常扄戶。人罕見之。唯一信士每至食時送供。方開。一日。雪峰伺便扣門。師開門。峰驀𮌎搊住曰。是凡是聖。師唾曰。這野狐精。便推出閉卻門。峰曰。也祇要識老兄。剗草次。問僧。汝何處去。曰。西院禮拜安和尚去。時竹上有一青蛇。師指蛇曰。欲識西院老野狐精。祇這便是。師問西院。此一片地。堪著甚麼物。院曰。好著箇無相佛。師曰。好片地被兄放不淨汙了也。引麵次。僧參。師引麵示之。僧便去。師至暮。問小師。適來僧在何處。小師曰。當時便去也。師曰。是即是。祇得一橛(玄覺雲。甚麼處是少一橛)。問。如何是佛。師出舌示之。其僧禮謝。師曰。住。住。你見甚麼便禮拜。曰。謝和尚慈悲。出舌相示。師曰。老僧近日舌上生瘡。僧到敲門。行者開門。便出去。僧入禮拜。問。如何是西來意。師曰。適來出去者。是甚麼人。僧擬近前。師便推出。閉卻門。曹山行腳時。問。如何是毗盧師法身主。師曰。我若向你道。即別有也。曹山舉似洞山。山曰。好箇話頭。祇欠進語。何不問為甚麼不道。曹卻來進前語。師曰。若言我不道。即瘂卻我口。若言我道。即謇卻我舌。曹山歸舉似洞山。山深肯之。

He usually kept his door barred, and people rarely saw him. Only one faithful layman brought him food at mealtimes, and only then did he open it. One day, Xuefeng waited for a chance and knocked at the door. The master opened it. Feng suddenly grabbed him by the chest and said, 'Are you ordinary or sage?' The master spat and said, 'This wild-fox spirit.' Then he pushed him out and shut the door. Feng said, 'I only wanted to know you, old brother.' Once, while cutting grass, the master asked a monk, 'Where are you going?' The monk said, 'To the West Court to bow to the reverend master An.' At that moment there was a green snake on the bamboo. The master pointed at the snake and said, 'If you want to know the old wild-fox spirit of the West Court, this is he.' The master asked the West Court master, 'This patch of ground — what would be good to put on it?' The court master said, 'A formless Buddha would go well on it.' The master said, 'This fine patch of ground has been fouled by your putting something unclean on it.' Once, while washing his face, a monk came to call. The master showed him his face. The monk left. Toward evening the master asked a junior monk, 'Where is the monk who came earlier?' The junior monk said, 'He left right then.' The master said, 'Right though that is, it is only one stump.' (Xuanjue said, 'Where is the missing stump?') A monk asked, 'What is Buddha?' The master stuck out his tongue and showed it to him. The monk bowed in thanks. The master said, 'Stop, stop. What did you see, that you bow?' The monk said, 'I thank the reverend master's compassion for showing the mark of his tongue.' The master said, 'This old monk has recently developed a sore on his tongue.' A monk came and knocked at the door. The attendant opened it, and the monk went out. The monk entered, bowed, and asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?' The master said, 'Who was that who went out just now?' The monk started to step forward. The master pushed him out and shut the door. When Caoshan was on pilgrimage, he asked, 'What is Vairochana's teacher, the lord of the Dharma body?' The master said, 'If I were to tell you, it would be something else.' Caoshan reported this to Dongshan. Shan said, 'A good topic, but it lacks an advancing phrase. Why do you not ask why he does not say it?' Caoshan then came and offered the advancing phrase. The master said, 'If you say I do not say it, that stops my mouth. If you say I do say it, that ties my tongue.' Caoshan returned and reported this to Dongshan. Shan deeply approved of it.

杭州羅漢院宗徹禪師

Chan Master Zongche of Luohan Monastery in Hangzhou

湖州吳氏子。上堂。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。骨剉也(師對機多用此語。時號骨剉和尚)。問。如何是南宗北宗。師曰。心為宗。曰。還看教也無。師曰。教是心。問。性地多昏。如何了悟。師曰。煩雲風卷。太虗廓清。曰。如何得明去。師曰。一輪皎潔。萬裡騰光。

He was a son of the Wu family of Huzhou. Ascending the hall, a monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?' The master said, 'Bones filed down.' (The master often used this phrase in answering opportunities, and was known at the time as the Bones-Filed Monk.) A monk asked, 'What are the Southern and Northern schools?' The master said, 'The mind is the school.' The monk said, 'Do you also read the teachings?' The master said, 'The teachings are the mind.' A monk asked, 'The nature-ground is much obscured; how does one awaken?' The master said, 'Troubling clouds are rolled up by the wind, and the great void is cleared.' The monk said, 'How does one become bright?' The master said, 'One wheel of pure brightness sends its light ten thousand li.'

相國裴休居士

The Layman Chancellor Pei Xiu

字公美。河東聞喜人也。守新安日。屬運禪師初於嶺南黃檗山捨眾入大安精舍。混跡勞侶。掃灑殿堂。公入寺燒香。主事祇接。因觀壁畫。乃問。是何圖相。主事對曰。高僧真儀。公曰。真儀可觀。高僧何在。主事無對。公曰。此間有禪人否。曰。近有一僧。投寺執役。頗似禪者。公曰。可請來詢問得否。於是遽尋檗至。公覩之欣然曰。休適有一問。諸德吝辭。今請上人代醻一語。檗曰。請相公垂問。公舉前話。檗朗聲曰。裴休。公應諾。檗曰。在甚麼處。公當下知旨。如獲髻珠。曰。吾師真善知識也。示人剋的若是。何故汩沒於此乎。寺眾愕然。自此延入府署。執弟子禮。屢辭不已。復堅請住黃檗山。薦興祖道。有暇即躬入山頂謁。或渴聞玄論。即請入州中。公既通徹祖意。復博綜教相。諸方禪學鹹謂裴相不浪出黃檗之門也。至遷鎮宣城。還思瞻禮。亦創精藍。迎請居之。雖圭峰該通禪講。為裴之所重。未若歸心於黃檗而傾竭服膺者也。又撰圭峰碑雲。休與師於法為昆仲。於義為交友。於恩為善知識。於教為內外護。斯可見矣。仍集黃檗語要。親書序引。冠於編首。留鎮山門。又親書大藏經五百函號。迄今寶之。又圭峰禪師著禪源詮．原人論及圓覺經疏注．法界觀。皆為之序。公篤志內典。深入法會。有發願文傳於世。

His courtesy name was Gongmei. He was a man of Wenxi in Hedong. While he was governing Xin'an, it happened that Chan Master Yun had just left the assembly at Huangbo Mountain in Lingnan and entered the Great Peace Monastery, where he mingled with the laborers and swept the halls. When the chancellor entered the monastery to burn incense, the steward merely received him. Looking at a wall painting, he asked, 'What picture is this?' The steward answered, 'True portraits of eminent monks.' The chancellor said, 'The portraits can be seen, but where are the eminent monks?' The steward had no reply. The chancellor said, 'Is there a Chan man here?' The steward said, 'There is one monk who came to the monastery to do chores; he seems to be a Chan practitioner.' The chancellor said, 'Could he be invited here so I may question him?' So they quickly sought out Bo (Yun) and brought him. When the chancellor saw him he was delighted and said, 'Xiu happens to have a question, and the learned monks have grudged their words. Now I ask the venerable to answer for them with one phrase.' Bo said, 'Please, chancellor, put your question.' The chancellor brought up the earlier conversation. Bo called out loudly, 'Pei Xiu.' The chancellor answered. Bo said, 'Where are you?' The chancellor understood the point on the spot, as if he had obtained the topknot pearl, and said, 'My teacher is truly a good teacher. He shows people the mark so precisely — why then is he buried here?' The monks of the monastery were astonished. From then on he invited him into his office and treated him with the courtesy of a disciple. When Bo repeatedly declined, he insisted all the more that he reside at Huangbo Mountain and promote the Patriarch's Way. Whenever he had leisure he went up the mountain himself to pay his respects. Or if he thirsted to hear profound discourse, he invited him into the prefecture. Having thoroughly penetrated the Patriarch's meaning and also mastered the teachings comprehensively, all the Chan students of the various regions said that Chancellor Pei had not come forth from Huangbo's gate in vain. When he was transferred to govern Xuancheng, he still thought of paying him homage, and also built a monastery to welcome him and have him reside there. Though Guifeng was versed in both Chan and lecturing and was valued by Pei, it did not equal the wholehearted submission with which he gave his heart to Huangbo. He also composed the Guifeng stele, saying, 'Xiu and the master are brothers in the Dharma, friends in meaning, good teachers to each other in kindness, and inner and outer protectors of the teachings.' From this it can be seen. He also collected the essential sayings of Huangbo, wrote out the preface and introduction with his own hand, placed it at the head of the volume, and left it to guard the monastery gate. He also wrote out with his own hand the titles of five hundred cases of the great canon, which are treasured to this day. He also wrote prefaces for Chan Master Guifeng's Explanatory Commentary on the Source of Chan, Treatise on the Origin of Man, and his Subcommentary on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment and Contemplation of the Dharma Realm. The chancellor devoted himself to the inner scriptures and entered deeply into the Dharma assembly; a vow text of his is transmitted in the world.

長慶安禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Changqing An

益州大隨法真禪師

Chan Master Fashen of Dasui in Yizhou

梓州王氏子。妙齡夙悟。決志尋師。於慧義寺出家。圓具後南遊。初見藥山．道吾．雲巖．洞山．次至嶺外大溈會下。數載食不至充。臥不求暖。清苦鍊行。操履不群。溈深器之。一日問曰。闍黎在老僧此間。不曾問一轉話。師曰。教某甲向甚麼處下口。溈曰。何不道如何是佛。師便作手勢掩溈口。溈歎曰。子真得其髓。從此名傳四海。爾後還蜀。寄錫天彭堋口山龍懷寺。於路旁煎茶普施三年。因往後山。見一古院號大隨。群峰矗秀。㵎水清冷。中有一樹。圍四丈餘。南開一門。中空無礙。不假斤斧。自然一菴。時自為木禪菴。師乃居之十餘載。影不出山。聲聞於外。四方玄學。千里趨風。蜀主欽尚。遣使屢徵。師皆辭以老病。署神照大師。上堂。此性本來清淨。具足萬德。但以染淨二緣。而有差別。故諸聖悟之。一向淨用。而成覺道。凡夫迷之。一向染用。沒溺輪回。其體不二。故般若雲。無二無二分。無別無斷故。僧問。劫火洞然。大千俱壞。未審這箇壞不壞。師曰。壞。曰。恁麼則隨他去也。師曰。隨他去。僧不肯。後到投子。舉前話。子遂裝香遙禮曰。西川古佛出世。謂其僧曰。汝速回去懺悔。僧回。大隨師已歿。僧再至投子。子亦遷化。問。如何是大人相。師曰。肚上不貼榜。問。僧甚處去。曰。西山住菴去。師曰。我向東山頭喚汝。汝便來得麼。曰。不然。師曰。汝住菴未得。問。生死到來時如何。師曰。遇茶吃茶。遇飯吃飯。曰。誰受供養。師曰。合取缽盂。庵側有一龜。僧問。一切眾生皮裹骨。這箇眾生為甚骨裹皮。師拈草履覆龜背上。僧無語。問。如何是諸佛法要。師舉拂子曰。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。麈尾拂子。問。如何是學人自己。師曰。是我自己。曰。為甚麼卻是和尚自己。師曰。是汝自己。問。如何是大隨一面事。師曰。東西南北。問。佛法徧在一切處。教學人向甚麼處駐足。

He was a son of the Wang family of Zizhou. In his youth he was awakened from former lives, and firmly resolved to seek a teacher. He left home at Huiyi Monastery. After receiving full ordination he traveled south. He first met Yaoshan, Daowu, Yunyan and Dongshan, and then went beyond the ranges to the assembly of Great Weishan. For several years he did not eat his fill, and did not seek warmth in sleep. Purifying himself with ascetic practice, his conduct was unlike other men's. Weishan greatly valued him. One day he asked him, 'Acharya, all the time you have been here with this old monk, you have never asked a single turning word.' The Master said, 'Where would you have me put my mouth?' Weishan said, 'Why do you not ask, what is the Buddha?' The Master then made a gesture covering Weishan's mouth. Weishan sighed and said, 'You have truly got the marrow.' From then on his name spread through the four seas. Afterwards he returned to Shu, and lodged his staff at Longhuai Monastery on Mount Pengkou in Tianpeng, boiling tea by the roadside and giving it freely for three years. Then he went to the mountain behind, and saw an ancient temple site called Dasui. The peaks stood in elegant array, the stream water was clear and cold. In the midst was a tree more than four arm-spans around, with a door opening on the south side and a hollow within with no obstruction — no axe had been used on it, a natural hermitage. At the time it was called the Wooden Chan Hermitage. The Master lived there for more than ten years, his shadow never leaving the mountain, his fame heard abroad. Seekers of the mystery from all quarters hurried to him from a thousand li. The ruler of Shu revered him and sent envoys to summon him repeatedly. The Master always declined on grounds of old age and illness. He was appointed Great Master Divine Illumination. Ascending the hall: 'This nature is originally pure, complete with ten thousand virtues. Only through the two conditions of defilement and purity are there differences. Therefore the sages, awakening to it, use it wholly in the pure mode and accomplish the Way of enlightenment. Ordinary people, deluded about it, use it wholly in the defiled mode and drown in the round of rebirth. Its substance is not two. Therefore the Prajna says: no two, no twofoldness; because there is no separation, no severance.' A monk asked, 'When the fire at the end of the kalpa blazes and the great thousand worlds are all destroyed, I wonder whether this is destroyed or not?' The Master said, 'It is destroyed.' The monk said, 'If so, then it goes along with them.' The Master said, 'It goes along with them.' The monk was not convinced. Later he went to Touzi and brought up the earlier words. Touzi then burned incense and bowed in the distance, saying, 'An ancient Buddha has appeared in the world in Western Shu.' He told that monk, 'Go back quickly and repent.' The monk returned, but the Master Dasui had already passed away. The monk came to Touzi again, and Touzi too had passed on. Someone asked, 'What is the mark of a great man?' The Master said, 'No placard pasted on the belly.' He asked a monk, 'Where are you going?' He said, 'To the Western Mountain to live in a hermitage.' The Master said, 'If I call you from the eastern peak, will you come?' He said, 'No.' The Master said, 'You are not ready to live in a hermitage.' Someone asked, 'What is it like when birth and death come?' The Master said, 'When tea comes, drink tea; when food comes, eat food.' He asked, 'Who receives the offerings?' The Master said, 'Shut up and take your bowl.' Beside the hermitage there was a turtle. A monk asked, 'All living beings have skin wrapping bone — why does this being have bone wrapping skin?' The Master picked up a straw sandal and covered the turtle's back with it. The monk said nothing. Someone asked, 'What is the essential point of the Buddhas' Dharma?' The Master raised his fly whisk and said, 'Do you understand?' He said, 'I do not.' The Master said, 'A deer-tail fly whisk.' Someone asked, 'What is the student's own self?' The Master said, 'It is my own self.' He said, 'Why is it the Reverend's own self?' The Master said, 'It is your own self.' Someone asked, 'What is the single matter of Dasui?' The Master said, 'East, west, south, north.' Someone asked, 'The Buddha Dharma is everywhere in all places — where should a student set his feet?'

師曰。大海從魚躍。長空任鳥飛。問。父子至親。岐路各別時如何。師曰。為有父子。問。如何是無縫塔。師曰。高五尺。曰。學人不會。師曰。鶻崙甎。問。和尚百年後法付何人。師曰。露柱火鑪。曰。還受也無。師曰。火鑪露柱。行者領眾參。師問。參得底人喚東作甚麼。曰。不可喚作東。師咄曰。臭驢漢。不喚作東喚作甚麼。者無語。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。赤土畫簸箕。曰。未審此理如何。師曰。簸箕有唇。米跳不出。問。僧講甚麼教法。曰。百法論。師拈杖曰。從何而起。曰。從緣而起。師曰。苦哉。苦哉。問。僧甚處去。曰。峨嵋禮普賢去。師舉拂子曰。文殊．普賢總在這裡。僧作圓相拋向後。乃禮拜。師喚侍者取一貼茶與這僧。眾僧參次。師以口作患風勢。曰。還有人醫得吾口麼。眾僧競送藥以至。俗士聞之。亦多送藥。師並不受。七日後。師自摑口令正。乃曰。如許多時鼓這兩片皮。至今無人醫得。即端坐而逝。

The Master said, 'The great sea lets the fish leap, the vast sky lets the bird fly.' Someone asked, 'When father and son are closest kin, and yet part at the fork in the road, how is it?' The Master said, 'Because there is father and son.' Someone asked, 'What is the seamless stupa?' The Master said, 'Five feet tall.' He said, 'The student does not understand.' The Master said, 'A lump of brick.' Someone asked, 'After the Reverend's hundred years, to whom will the Dharma be entrusted?' The Master said, 'The exposed pillar and the fire stove.' He said, 'Do they receive it or not?' The Master said, 'The fire stove and the exposed pillar.' A postulant came leading the assembly to pay respects. The Master asked, 'What do those who have paid respect call the east?' He said, 'One cannot call it the east.' The Master shouted, 'Stinking donkey! If you do not call it the east, what do you call it?' The postulant said nothing. Someone asked, 'What is the Reverend's family style?' The Master said, 'A winnowing basket painted in red earth.' He said, 'I wonder what principle this is?' The Master said, 'The winnowing basket has a rim, so the rice cannot jump out.' He asked a monk, 'What teaching do you lecture on?' He said, 'The Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas.' The Master picked up his staff and said, 'From what does it arise?' He said, 'It arises from conditions.' The Master said, 'How painful, how painful.' He asked a monk, 'Where are you going?' He said, 'To Emei to pay respects to Samantabhadra.' The Master raised his fly whisk and said, 'Manjushri and Samantabhadra are both right here.' The monk drew a circle, threw it behind him, and then bowed. The Master called the attendant to fetch a packet of tea for this monk. Once, when the monks were paying their respects, the Master made his mouth look as if it were afflicted by wind, and said, 'Is there anyone who can cure my mouth?' The monks competed in sending medicines. Lay people heard of it and also sent many medicines. The Master accepted none of them. Seven days later the Master slapped his own mouth to make it straight, and said, 'For so long I have been beating these two flaps of skin, and to this day no one has been able to cure it.' Then sitting upright he passed away.

韶州靈樹如敏禪師

Chan Master Rumin of Lingshu in Shaozhou

閩人也。廣主劉氏奕世欽重。署知聖大師。僧問。佛法至理如何。師展手而已。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。千年田．八百主。曰。如何是千年田．八百主。師曰。郎當屋舍沒人修。問。如何是西來意。師曰。童子莫傜兒。曰。乞師指示。師曰。汝從虔州來。問。是甚麼得恁麼難會。師曰。火官頭上風車子。有尼送瓷缽與師。師拓起問曰。這箇出在甚麼。曰。出在定州(法燈別雲。不遠此間)。師乃撲破。尼無對(保福代雲。欺敵者亡)。問。和尚年多少。師曰。今日生。來朝死。又問。和尚生緣甚麼處。師曰。日出東。月落西。師四十餘年化被嶺表。頗有異跡。廣主將興兵。躬入院請師決臧𠘶。師已先知。怡然坐化。主怒知事曰。和尚何時得疾。對曰。不曾有疾。適封一函子。令呈大王。主開函得一帖子云。人天眼目。堂中上座。主悟師旨。遂寢兵。乃召第一座開堂說法(即雲門也)。龕塔塟儀。廣主具辦。諡靈樹禪師。真身塔焉。

was a man of Min. The ruler of Guang, of the Liu family, revered him for generations, and appointed him Great Master Knowing the Sage. A monk asked, 'What is the ultimate principle of the Buddha Dharma?' The Master simply opened his hand. He asked, 'What is the Reverend's family style?' The Master said, 'A thousand-year field, eight hundred owners.' He said, 'What is a thousand-year field with eight hundred owners?' The Master said, 'A tumble-down house with no one to repair it.' Someone asked, 'What is the meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'A boy, a Yao lad.' He said, 'I beg the Master to point it out.' The Master said, 'You have come from Qianzhou.' Someone asked, 'What is it that is so hard to understand?' The Master said, 'A windmill on the fire god's head.' A nun brought a porcelain bowl to the Master. The Master held it up and asked, 'Where does this come from?' She said, 'It comes from Dingzhou.' (Fadeng said in comment, 'It is not far from here.') The Master then smashed it. The nun had no reply. (Baofu said on her behalf, 'He who cheats his enemy perishes.') Someone asked, 'How old is the Reverend?' The Master said, 'Born today, dead tomorrow morning.' He also asked, 'Where was the Reverend born?' The Master said, 'The sun rises in the east, the moon sets in the west.' For more than forty years the Master's transformation covered Lingnan, and he left many extraordinary traces. When the ruler of Guang was about to raise troops, he went in person to the monastery to ask the Master to judge the matter. The Master had known beforehand, and calmly passed away sitting. The ruler angrily asked the administrator, 'When did the Reverend fall ill?' He replied, 'He was never ill. Just now he sealed a box and told us to present it to Your Highness.' The ruler opened the box and found a note saying, 'The eye of gods and men, the head seat in the hall.' The ruler understood the Master's meaning, and then stopped his troops. He then summoned the head seat to open the hall and preach the Dharma (this was Yunmen). The funeral rites of the niche and stupa were provided in full by the ruler of Guang. His posthumous title was Chan Master Lingshu. His relic body is in the stupa.

福州靈雲志勤禪師

Chan Master Zhiqin of Lingyun in Fuzhou

本州長谿人也。初在溈山。因見桃華悟道。有偈曰。三十年來尋劒客。幾回落葉又抽枝。自從一見桃華後。直至如今更不疑。溈覧偈。詰其所悟。與之符契。溈曰。從緣悟達。永無退失。善自護持(有僧舉似玄沙。沙雲。諦當甚諦當。敢保老兄未徹在。眾疑此語。沙問地藏。我恁麼道。汝作麼生會。藏雲。不是桂琛。即走殺天下人)。住後。上堂。諸仁者所有長短。盡至不常。且觀四時草木。葉落華開。何況塵劫來。天人七趣。地水火風。成壞輪轉。因果將盡。三惡道苦。毛髮不曾添減。唯根蔕神識常存。上根者遇善友伸明。當處解脫。便是道場。中下痴愚。不能覺照。沈迷三界。流轉生死。釋尊為伊天上人間。設教證明。顯發智道。汝等還會麼。僧問。如何得出離生老病死。師曰。青山元不動。浮雲任去來。問。君王出陣時如何。師曰。春明門外。不問長安。曰。如何得覲天子。師曰。盲鶴下清池。魚從腳底過。問。如何是佛法大意。師曰。驢事未去。馬事到來。曰。學人不會。師曰。彩氣夜常動。精靈日少逢。雪峰有偈送雙峰。末句雲。雷罷不停聲。師別雲。雷震不聞聲。峰聞乃曰。靈雲山頭古月現。峰後問曰。古人道。前三三後三三。意旨如何。師曰。水中魚。天上鳥。峰曰。意作麼生。師曰。高可射兮深可釣。僧問。諸方悉皆雜食。未審和尚如何。師曰。獨有閩中異。雄雄鎮海涯。問。久戰沙場。為甚麼功名不就。師曰。君王有道三邊靜。何勞萬裡築長城。曰。罷卻干戈。束手歸朝時如何。師曰。慈雲普潤無邊剎。枯樹無華爭柰何。長生問。混沌未分時含生何來。師曰。如露柱懷胎。曰。分後如何。師曰。如片雲點太清。曰。未審太清還受點也無。師不答。曰。恁麼則含生不來也。師亦不答。曰。直得純清絕點時如何。師曰。猶是真常流注。曰。如何是真常流注。師曰。似鏡長明。曰。

was a man of Changxi in that prefecture. He was first at Weishan, where he awakened to the Way on seeing peach blossoms. He had a verse: 'For thirty years a seeker of the sword — how many times leaves fell and branches sprouted again. Since the day I first saw the peach blossoms, I have never doubted again.' Weishan read the verse, questioned him on what he had awakened to, and found it in accord. Weishan said, 'Awakening through a condition, you will never lose it. Guard it well.' (A monk reported this to Xuansha. Sha said, 'Quite right, quite right — but I dare not guarantee that the elder is fully penetrated.' The assembly doubted these words. Sha asked Dizang, 'I spoke like that — how do you understand it?' Zang said, 'Were it not Guichen, the whole world would be killed off.') After he had settled there, he ascended the hall: 'All you good people, whatever is long or short all comes to impermanence. Just look at the plants through the four seasons: leaves fall, flowers open. How much more so through the dust-kalpas: gods and men and the seven destinies, earth, water, fire and wind, forming and decaying in turn. When cause and effect are exhausted, the suffering of the three evil paths — not a hair has been added or subtracted. Only the root and the consciousness always remain. Those of sharp faculties who meet a good friend and have it made clear are liberated right where they stand, and that is the place of practice. Those of middling and dull faculties, foolish and deluded, cannot awaken or illumine themselves, and sink into the three realms, flowing on in birth and death. Sakyamuni, for their sake, in heaven and among men established teachings to verify and reveal the way of wisdom. Do you all understand?' A monk asked, 'How can one escape birth, old age, sickness and death?' The Master said, 'The green mountain never moves; floating clouds come and go as they please.' He asked, 'What is it like when the king goes out to battle?' The Master said, 'Outside the Spring Bright Gate, one does not ask after Chang'an.' He said, 'How can one have an audience with the Son of Heaven?' The Master said, 'A blind crane descends to the clear pool; fish pass beneath its feet.' Someone asked, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The Master said, 'The donkey's business is not yet done, and the horse's business arrives.' He said, 'The student does not understand.' The Master said, 'The colored vapors stir nightly; the spirits are seldom met by day.' Xuefeng had a verse sending off Shuangfeng, whose last line was, 'The thunder stops but the sound does not cease.' The Master said in comment, 'The thunder crashes and no sound is heard.' When Feng heard this he said, 'The ancient moon appears on the peak of Lingyun.' Later Feng asked, 'The ancients said, three before, three after — what is the meaning?' The Master said, 'A fish in the water, a bird in the sky.' Feng said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'The high one may be shot, the deep one may be hooked.' A monk asked, 'All quarters all eat mixed food; I wonder about the Reverend?' The Master said, 'Only Min is different, mighty and holding the edge of the sea.' Someone asked, 'Long fighting on the battlefield, why is merit and fame not achieved?' The Master said, 'When the king has the Way, the three borders are quiet — why labor to build a long wall for ten thousand li?' He said, 'When weapons are laid down and one returns to court with hands bound, how is it?' The Master said, 'Clouds of compassion moisten lands without bound; what can a withered tree do without flowers?' Changsheng asked, 'Before chaos was divided, where did sentient beings come from?' The Master said, 'Like an exposed pillar pregnant.' He said, 'And after the division?' The Master said, 'Like a wisp of cloud dotting the great clarity.' He said, 'I wonder whether the great clarity receives the dot or not?' The Master did not answer. He said, 'If so, then sentient beings do not come.' The Master still did not answer. He said, 'What about when utterly pure and cut off?' The Master said, 'It is still the outflow of the true and constant.' He said, 'What is the outflow of the true and constant?' The Master said, 'Like a mirror always bright.' He said,

向上更有事也無。師曰。有。曰。如何是向上事。師曰。打破鏡來。與汝相見。僧問。如何是西來意。師曰。井底種林擒。曰。學人不會。師曰。今年桃李貴。一顆直千金。問。摩尼珠不隨眾色。未審作何色。師曰。白色。曰。恁麼則隨眾色也。師曰。趙璧本無瑕。相如誑秦主。問。僧甚處去。曰。雪峰去。師曰。我有一信寄雪峰。得麼。曰。便請。師脫隻履拋向面前。僧便去。至雪峰。峰問。甚處來。曰。靈雲來。峰曰。靈雲安否。曰。有一信相寄。峰曰。在那裡。僧脫隻履。拋向峰面前。峰休去。

'Is there anything further beyond that?' The Master said, 'There is.' He said, 'What is the matter beyond?' The Master said, 'Break the mirror, and I will meet you.' A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Planting apple trees at the bottom of a well.' He said, 'The student does not understand.' The Master said, 'This year peaches and plums are dear; one fruit is worth a thousand in gold.' Someone asked, 'The mani pearl does not follow the various colors — I wonder what color it is?' The Master said, 'White.' He said, 'If so, then it follows the various colors.' The Master said, 'The jade disc of Zhao had no flaw; Xiangru deceived the king of Qin.' He asked a monk, 'Where are you going?' He said, 'To Xuefeng.' The Master said, 'I have a letter to send to Xuefeng — will you take it?' He said, 'Please do.' The Master took off one shoe and threw it in front of him. The monk then left. When he reached Xuefeng, Feng asked, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'From Lingyun.' Feng said, 'Is Lingyun well?' He said, 'He sent a letter.' Feng said, 'Where is it?' The monk took off one shoe and threw it in front of Feng. Feng let it be.

福州壽山師解禪師

Chan Master Shijie of Shoushan in Fuzhou

甞參洞山。山問。闍黎生緣何處。師曰。和尚若實問。某甲即是閩中人也。曰。汝父名甚麼。師曰。今日蒙和尚致此一問。直得忘前失後。住後。上堂。諸上座幸有真實言語相勸。諸兄弟合各自體悉。凡聖情盡。體露真常。但一時卸卻從前虗妄。攀緣塵垢。心如虗空相似。他時後日。合識得些子好惡。閩帥問。壽山年多少。師曰。與虗空齊年。曰。虗空年多少。師曰。與壽山齊年。

once studied under Dongshan. Shan asked, 'Acharya, where were you born?' The Master said, 'If the Reverend truly asks, then I am a man of Min.' He said, 'What is your father's name?' The Master said, 'Today, thanks to the Reverend's one question, I have quite forgotten what came before and lost what came after.' After he had settled there, he ascended the hall: 'You venerable ones are fortunate to have true words to encourage one another. You brothers should each understand for yourselves. When the feelings of ordinary and sage are exhausted, the substance is revealed as the true and constant. Just unload at once all your former falseness and the dust of clinging, and let the mind be like empty space. In days to come you should be able to tell a little of good from bad.' The commander of Min asked, 'How old is Shoushan?' The Master said, 'As old as empty space.' He said, 'How old is empty space?' The Master said, 'As old as Shoushan.'

饒州嶤山和尚

The Reverend of Yaoshan in Raozhou

僧問。如何是西來意。師曰。仲冬嚴寒。問。如何是和尚深深處。師曰。待汝舌頭落地。即向汝道。問。如何是丈六金身。師曰。判官斷案相公改。長慶問。從上宗乘。此間如何言論。師曰。有願不負先聖。慶曰。不負先聖作麼生。師曰。不露。慶曰。恁麼則請師領話。師曰。甚麼處去來。慶曰。祇守甚麼處去來。

A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Deep winter, bitter cold.' He asked, 'What is the Reverend's deepest place?' The Master said, 'When your tongue falls to the ground, I will tell you.' He asked, 'What is the sixteen-foot golden body?' The Master said, 'The judge decides the case, the minister alters it.' Changqing asked, 'As for the ancestral vehicle from above, how is it discussed here?' The Master said, 'There is a vow not to betray the former sages.' Qing said, 'What is not betraying the former sages?' The Master said, 'Not revealed.' Qing said, 'If so, please, Master, accept the words.' The Master said, 'Where have you been?' Qing said, 'I just keep to where I have been.'

泉州國歡崇福院文矩慧日禪師

Chan Master Wenju Huiri of Chongfu Monastery in Guohuan, Quanzhou

福州黃氏子。生而有異。及長為縣獄卒。每每棄役。往神光觀和尚及西院安禪師所。吏不能禁。後謁萬歲塔譚空禪師落髮。不披袈裟。不受具戒。唯以雜綵為掛子。復至神光。光曰。我非汝師。汝禮西院去。師擕一小青竹杖。入西院法堂。院遙見笑曰。入涅槃堂去。師應諾。輪竹杖而入。時有五百許僧染時疾。師以杖次第點之。各隨點而起。閩王禮重。創院以居之。厥後頗多靈跡。唐乾寧中示滅。

was a son of the Huang family of Fuzhou. He was born with something unusual about him. When grown he became a county jailer. He often abandoned his duties and went to where Chan Master Shenguang and Chan Master Xi of the Western Hall were. The officials could not stop him. Later he went to Chan Master Tankong of Wansui Pagoda, who shaved his head; he did not wear a cassock, did not receive the full precepts, and wore only a patched robe of mixed colors. He went again to Shenguang. Guang said, 'I am not your teacher. Go and pay respects to the Western Hall.' The Master carried a small green bamboo staff and entered the Dharma hall of the Western Hall. The Hall saw him from afar and said with a laugh, 'Go into the nirvana hall.' The Master assented, and went in twirling his bamboo staff. At that time some five hundred monks had caught an epidemic. The Master touched them one by one with his staff, and each rose as he was touched. The king of Min revered him and built a monastery for him to live in. Afterwards he left many spiritual traces. He passed into extinction in the Qianning era of the Tang.

台州浮江和尚

The Reverend of Fujiang in Taizhou

雪峰領眾到。問。即今有二百人寄此過夏。得麼。師將拄杖畫一畫。著不得即道。峰休去。

When Xuefeng came leading his assembly, he asked, 'There are two hundred people lodging here for the summer retreat just now — is that all right?' The Master drew a line with his staff and said, 'If it does not fit, then say so.' Feng let it be.

潞州淥水和尚

The Reverend of Lushui in Luzhou

僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。還見庭前華藥欄麼。僧無語。

A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Ancestor's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Do you see the flower railing in the courtyard?' The monk said nothing.

廣州文殊院圓明禪師

Chan Master Yuanming of Wenshu Monastery in Guangzhou