The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One

初參石頭。頭問。那箇是汝心。師曰。見言語者是。頭便喝出。經旬日。師卻問。前者既不是。除此外何者是心。頭曰。除卻揚眉瞬目。將心來。師曰。無心可將來。頭曰。元來有心。何言無心。無心盡同謗。師於言下大悟。異日侍立次。頭問。汝是參禪僧。是州縣白蹋僧。師曰。是參禪僧。頭曰。何者是禪。師曰。揚眉瞬目。頭曰。除卻揚眉瞬目外。將你本來面目呈看。師曰。請和尚除卻揚眉瞬目外鑒。頭曰。我除竟。師曰。將呈了也。頭曰。汝既將呈我心如何。師曰。不異和尚。頭曰。不關汝事。師曰。本無物。頭曰。汝亦無物。師曰。既無物。即真物。頭曰。真物不可得。汝心見量。意旨如此。也大須護持。師住後。學者四集。上堂。夫學道人須識自家本心。將心相示。方可見道。多見時輩祇認揚眉瞬目。一語一默。驀頭印可。以為心要。此實未了。吾今為你諸人分明說出。各須聽受。但除卻一切妄運想念。見量即汝真心。此心與塵境。及守認靜默時全無交涉。即心是佛。不待修治。何以故。應機隨照。泠泠自用。窮其用處。了不可得。喚作妙用。乃是本心。大須護持。不可容易。僧問。其中人相見時如何。師曰。早不其中也。曰。其中者如何。師曰。不作箇問。韓文公一日相訪。問師。春秋多少。師提起數珠。曰。會麼。公曰。不會。師曰。晝夜一百八。公不曉。遂回。次日再來。至門前見首座。舉前話問意旨如何。座扣齒三下。及見師。理前問。師亦扣齒三下。公曰。原來佛法無兩般。師曰。是何道理。公曰。適來問首座亦如是。師乃召首座。是汝如此對否。座曰。是。師便打趂出院。文公又一日白師曰。弟子軍州事繁。佛法省要處。乞師一語。師良久。公罔措。時三平為侍者。乃敲禪床三下。師曰。作麼。平曰。先以定動。後以智拔。公乃曰。和尚門風高峻。弟子於侍者邊得箇入處。僧問。

He first studied under Shitou. Tou asked, 'Which is your mind?' The master said, 'The one that speaks is.' Tou shouted him out. After ten days the master asked, 'Since the former was not it, apart from that what is the mind?' Tou said, 'Apart from raising the eyebrows and blinking, bring your mind here.' The master said, 'There is no mind to bring.' Tou said, 'Originally there is a mind; why say there is no mind? Saying there is no mind is entirely slander.' At these words the master had a great awakening. Another day, as he stood in attendance, Tou asked, 'Are you a Chan-studying monk, or a prefecture-and-county idling monk?' The master said, 'A Chan-studying monk.' Tou said, 'What is Chan?' The master said, 'Raising the eyebrows and blinking.' Tou said, 'Apart from raising the eyebrows and blinking, present your original face.' The master said, 'Please, reverend master, examine apart from raising the eyebrows and blinking.' Tou said, 'I have finished removing it.' The master said, 'I have presented it.' Tou said, 'Since you have presented it, how is my mind?' The master said, 'Not different from the reverend master's.' Tou said, 'That is no concern of yours.' The master said, 'Originally there is no thing.' Tou said, 'You too have no thing.' The master said, 'Since there is no thing, that is the true thing.' Tou said, 'The true thing cannot be obtained. The measure of your mind's seeing and the purport being like this, you must guard it well.' After the master took up residence, students gathered from all quarters. Ascending the hall, he said: 'Students of the Way must recognize their own original mind and show that mind to one another before they can see the Way. Many people of the time only recognize raising the eyebrows and blinking, a word or a silence, and at once seal and approve it, taking it for the essence of mind. This is truly not yet clear. I will now state it plainly for you all; each of you must listen and accept. Simply remove all false movements and thoughts, and the measure of your seeing is your true mind. This mind has no connection at all with defiling objects or with keeping to silent stillness. This very mind is Buddha, and it does not await cultivation or correction. Why so? It responds to occasions and follows illumination, coolly functioning of itself. Exhaust its function, and it cannot be found. Call it wondrous function, and it is the original mind. Guard it well; do not take it lightly.' A monk asked, 'What about when those who are among them meet?' The master said, 'You were not among them long ago.' He said, 'What about those who are among them?' The master said, 'They do not ask such a question.' One day Han Wengong came to visit and asked the master, 'How many springs and autumns?' The master lifted his prayer beads and said, 'Do you understand?' The duke said, 'I do not.' The master said, 'A hundred and eight, day and night.' The duke did not understand and went back. The next day he came again. At the gate he saw the head seat and brought up the former words and asked what they meant. The seat clicked his teeth three times. When he saw the master and raised the former question, the master also clicked his teeth three times. The duke said, 'So the Buddha Dharma has no two kinds.' The master said, 'What principle is that?' The duke said, 'A while ago I asked the head seat, and he answered the same way.' The master then called the head seat: 'Did you answer him like that?' The seat said, 'I did.' The master then beat him and drove him out of the monastery. Another day Wengong said to the master, 'Your disciple has many military and prefectural affairs; as for the essential point of the Buddha Dharma, I beg the master for one phrase.' The master was silent a long while. The duke was at a loss. At that time Sanping was the attendant, and he rapped the meditation platform three times. The master said, 'What are you doing?' Ping said, 'First move with samadhi, then pull up with wisdom.' The duke then said, 'The reverend master's style is lofty and steep; your disciple has found a place to enter from the attendant.' A monk asked:

苦海波深。以何為船筏。師曰。以木為船筏。曰。恁麼即得度也。師曰。盲者依前盲。瘂者依前瘂。一日。將癢和子廊下行。逢一僧問訊次。師以癢和子驀口打曰。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。大顛老野狐。不曾孤負人。

(The monk continued:) 'The waves of the sea of suffering are deep; what shall serve as boat and raft?' The master said, 'Use wood as boat and raft.' He said, 'Then one may cross.' The master said, 'The blind remain blind as before, the mute remain mute as before.' One day, carrying a scratching stick, he was walking in the corridor when he met a monk who greeted him. The master struck him on the mouth with the scratching stick and said, 'Do you understand?' He said, 'I do not.' The master said, 'Old wild-fox Dadian has never let anyone down.'

潭州長髭曠禪師

Chan Master Changzi Kuang of Tanzhou

曹谿禮祖塔回。參石頭。頭問。甚麼處來。曰。嶺南來。頭曰。大庾嶺頭一鋪功德成就也未。師曰。成就久矣。祇欠點眼在。頭曰。莫要點眼麼。師曰。便請。頭乃垂下一足。師禮拜。頭曰。汝見箇甚麼道理便禮拜。師曰。據某甲所見。如紅爐上一點雪(玄覺雲。且道長髭具眼祇對。不具眼祇對。若具眼。為甚麼請他點眼。若不具眼。又道成就久矣。具作麼生商量。法燈代雲。和尚可謂眼昏)。僧參。遶禪床一帀。卓然而立。師曰。若是石頭法席。一點也用不著。僧又遶禪床一帀。師曰。卻是恁麼時。不易道箇來處。僧便出去。師乃喚。僧不顧。師曰。這漢猶少教詔在。僧卻回曰。有一人不從人得。不受教詔。不落階級。師還許麼。師曰。逢之不逢。逢必有事。僧乃退身三步。師卻遶禪床一匝。僧曰。不唯宗眼分明。亦乃師承有據。師乃打三棒。問僧。甚處來。曰。九華山控石庵。師曰。庵主是甚麼人。曰。馬祖下尊宿。師曰。名甚麼。曰。不委他法號。師曰。他不委。你不委。曰。尊宿眼在甚處。師曰。若是庵主親來。今日也須吃棒。曰。賴遇和尚。放過某甲。師曰。百年後討箇師僧也難得。龐居士到。師陞座。眾集定。士出曰。各請自檢好。卻於禪床右立。時有僧問。不觸主人翁。請師答話。師曰。識龐公麼。曰。不識。士便搊住曰。苦哉。苦哉。僧無對。士便拓開。師少間卻問。適來這僧還吃棒否。士曰。待伊甘始得。師曰。居士祇見錐頭利。不見鑿頭方。士曰。恁麼說話。某甲即得。外人聞之。要且不好。師曰。不好箇甚麼。士曰。阿師祇見錐頭尖。不見鑿頭利。李行婆來。師乃問。憶得在絳州時事麼。婆曰。非師不委。師曰。多虗少實在。婆曰。有甚諱處。師曰。念你是女人。放你拄杖。婆曰。某甲終不見尊宿過。師曰。老僧過在甚麼處。婆曰。和尚無過。婆豈有過。師曰。無過的人作麼生。

After bowing at the Patriarch's stupa at Caoxi he returned to study under Shitou. Tou asked, 'Where do you come from?' He said, 'From Lingnan.' Tou said, 'Has the one offering of merit at the top of Dayu Ridge been completed yet?' The master said, 'It was completed long ago; it only lacks the dotting of the eye.' Tou said, 'Do you want me to dot the eye?' The master said, 'Please do.' Tou then let down one foot. The master bowed. Tou said, 'What principle have you seen, that you bow?' The master said, 'As I see it, it is like a flake of snow on a red-hot furnace.' (Xuanjue said, 'Tell me, did Changzi answer with eyes or without eyes? If with eyes, why did he ask him to dot the eye? If without eyes, he said it had been completed long ago. How do you settle this?' Fadeng offered in his stead: 'The reverend master may be said to have dim eyes.') A monk came to call, circled the meditation platform once, and stood erect. The master said, 'If this were Shitou's Dharma seat, not one bit of that would be of use.' The monk circled the platform once more. The master said, 'Even so, it is not easy to state where you come from.' The monk started to go out. The master called to him. The monk paid no heed. The master said, 'This fellow still lacks instruction.' The monk turned back and said, 'There is one person who is not obtained from others, does not receive instruction, and does not fall into stages. Does the master allow it?' The master said, 'Meeting it, one does not meet; meeting, there must be something.' The monk stepped back three paces. The master then circled the platform once. The monk said, 'Not only is the school eye clear, the transmission is also well grounded.' The master then gave him three blows. He asked a monk, 'Where do you come from?' He said, 'From Kongshi Hut on Mount Jiuhua.' The master said, 'Who is the hut master?' He said, 'An elder under Mazu.' The master said, 'What is his name?' He said, 'I do not know his Dharma name.' The master said, 'He does not know, and you do not know.' He said, 'Where are the elder's eyes?' The master said, 'If the hut master came himself, he would have to take a beating today too.' He said, 'Thanks to the reverend master, I am let off.' The master said, 'A hundred years from now such a monk will be hard to find.' The layman Pang arrived. The master ascended the seat and the assembly settled. The layman came forward and said, 'Each of you, please examine yourselves well.' Then he stood to the right of the meditation platform. A monk then asked, 'Without touching the host, please, master, answer.' The master said, 'Do you know Master Pang?' He said, 'I do not.' The layman then grabbed him and said, 'How bitter, how bitter.' The monk had no reply. The layman let go. After a while the master asked, 'Did that monk just now get a beating or not?' The layman said, 'When he is willing, then yes.' The master said, 'The layman sees only the sharpness of the awl's point, not the squareness of the chisel's head.' The layman said, 'Saying that, I can take it; but if outsiders hear it, it will not be good.' The master said, 'What is not good?' The layman said, 'The reverend sees only the tip of the awl, not the sharpness of the chisel.' Old Mrs. Li the postulant came. The master asked, 'Do you remember the matter in Jiangzhou?' The woman said, 'Had it not been for the master, I would not know.' The master said, 'Much empty talk, little substance.' The woman said, 'What is there to conceal?' The master said, 'Because you are a woman, I spare you the staff.' The woman said, 'I have never seen a fault in an elder.' The master said, 'Where is this old monk's fault?' The woman said, 'The reverend master has no fault; how could the old woman have one?' The master said, 'What about one who has no fault?'

婆乃竪拳曰。與麼。總成顛倒。師曰。實無諱處。師見僧。乃擒住曰。師子兒。野幹屬。僧以手作撥眉勢。師曰。雖然如此。猶欠哮吼在。僧擒住師曰。偏愛行此一機。師與一摑。僧拍手三下。師曰。若見同風。汝甘與麼否。曰。終不由別人。師作撥眉勢。僧曰。猶欠哮吼在。師曰。想料不由別人。師見僧問訊次。師曰。步步是汝證明處。汝還知麼。曰。某甲不知。師曰。汝若知。我堪作甚麼。僧禮拜。師曰。我不堪。汝卻好。

The woman then raised her fist and said, 'Like this, everything becomes upside down.' The master said, 'Truly there is nothing to conceal.' The master saw a monk and grabbed him, saying, 'A lion's cub, a jackal's kind.' The monk made the gesture of stroking his eyebrows with his hand. The master said, 'Even so, you still lack the roar.' The monk grabbed the master and said, 'You are partial to playing this one trick.' The master gave him a slap. The monk clapped his hands three times. The master said, 'If you met one of the same wind, would you be content with that?' He said, 'In the end it does not depend on others.' The master made the eyebrow-stroking gesture. The monk said, 'Still lacking the roar.' The master said, 'I think it does not depend on others.' Once, as a monk greeted the master, the master said, 'Every step is where you are certified; do you know it?' He said, 'I do not know.' The master said, 'If you knew, what use would I be?' The monk bowed. The master said, 'I am not up to it; you are the good one.'

京兆府尸利禪師

Chan Master Shili of the Capital Prefecture

問石頭。如何是學人本分事。頭曰。汝何從吾覓。曰。不從師覓。如何即得。石頭曰。汝還曾失麼。師乃契會厥旨。

He asked Shitou, 'What is the student's own matter?' Tou said, 'Why do you seek it from me?' He said, 'If I do not seek it from the master, how shall I attain it?' Shitou said, 'Have you ever lost it?' The master then understood the point.

潭州招提寺慧朗禪師

Chan Master Huilang of Zhaoti Monastery in Tanzhou

始興曲江人也。初參馬祖。祖問。汝來何求。曰。求佛知見。祖曰。佛無知見。知見乃魔耳。汝自何來。曰。南嶽來。祖曰。汝從南嶽來。未識曹谿心要。汝速歸彼。不宜他往。師歸石頭。便問。如何是佛。頭曰。汝無佛性。師曰。蠢動含靈。又作麼生。頭曰。蠢動含靈。卻有佛性。曰。慧朗為甚麼卻無。頭曰。為汝不肯承當。師於言下信入。住後。凡學者至。皆曰。去。去。汝無佛性。其接機大約如此(時謂大朗)。

He was a man of Qujiang in Shixing. He first studied under Mazu. Zu asked, 'What have you come seeking?' He said, 'The Buddha's knowledge and vision.' Zu said, 'The Buddha has no knowledge or vision; knowledge and vision are Mara. Where do you come from?' He said, 'From Nanyue.' Zu said, 'You come from Nanyue and do not yet know the mind-essence of Caoxi. Go back there quickly and do not go elsewhere.' The master returned to Shitou and asked, 'What is Buddha?' Tou said, 'You have no Buddha-nature.' The master said, 'What about the crawling things that have spirit?' Tou said, 'Crawling things with spirit do have Buddha-nature.' He said, 'Why does Huilang not have it?' Tou said, 'Because you are unwilling to accept it.' At these words the master entered with faith. After he took up residence, whenever a student came he would say, 'Go, go. You have no Buddha-nature.' His way of meeting people was roughly like this (he was called Great Lang at the time).

長沙興國寺振朗禪師

Chan Master Zhenlang of Xingguo Monastery in Changsha

初參石頭。便問。如何是祖師西來意。頭曰。問取露柱。曰。振朗不會。頭曰。我更不會。師俄省悟。住後。有僧來參。師召上座。僧應諾。師曰。孤負去也。曰。師何不鑒。師乃拭目而見之。僧無語(時謂小朗)。

He first studied under Shitou and asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?' Tou said, 'Ask the exposed pillar.' He said, 'Zhenlang does not understand.' Tou said, 'I understand even less.' The master was suddenly awakened. After he took up residence, a monk came to call. The master called, 'Senior.' The monk answered. The master said, 'You have let me down.' He said, 'Why does the master not examine?' The master then wiped his eyes and looked at him. The monk had nothing to say (he was called Little Lang at the time).

汾州石樓禪師

Chan Master Shilou of Fenzhou

上堂。僧問。未識本來性。乞師方便指。師曰。石樓無耳朵。曰。某甲自知非。師曰。老僧還有過。曰。和尚過在甚麼處。師曰。過在汝非處。僧禮拜。師便打。問僧。近離甚處。曰。漢國。師曰。漢國主人還重佛法麼。曰。苦哉。賴遇問著某甲。若問別人。即禍生。師曰。作麼生。曰。人尚不見。有何佛法可重。師曰。汝受戒得多少夏。曰。三十夏。師曰。大好不見有人。便打。

Ascending the hall, a monk asked, 'I have not yet recognized the original nature; I beg the master's skillful means to point it out.' The master said, 'Shilou has no ears.' He said, 'I know myself that I am wrong.' The master said, 'This old monk still has a fault.' He said, 'Where is the reverend master's fault?' The master said, 'The fault lies in where you are wrong.' The monk bowed. The master struck him. He asked a monk, 'Where have you just come from?' He said, 'The land of Han.' The master said, 'Does the lord of the land of Han still revere the Buddha Dharma?' He said, 'How bitter. Lucky it was me you asked. If you had asked someone else, trouble would have arisen.' The master said, 'How so?' He said, 'People are not even seen; what Buddha Dharma is there to revere?' The master said, 'How many summer retreats since you received the precepts?' He said, 'Thirty summers.' The master said, 'Excellent — not seeing a single person.' And he struck him.

鳳翔府法門寺佛陀禪師

Chan Master Fotuo of Famen Monastery in Fengxiang Prefecture

尋常持一串數珠。念三種名號。曰一釋迦．二元和．三佛陀。自餘是甚麼椀躂丘。乃過一珠。終而復始。事蹟異常。時人莫測。

He ordinarily carried a string of prayer beads and recited three kinds of names, saying: one, Shakyamuni; two, Yuanhe; three, Buddha. Whatever else came up, some clod or lump, he passed over one bead, and then began again from the start. His doings were extraordinary, and people of the time could not fathom him.

水空和尚

The Monk Shuikong

一日廊下見一僧。乃問。時中事作麼生。僧良久。師曰。祇恁便得麼。曰。頭上安頭。師打曰。去。去。已後惑亂人家男女在。

One day in the corridor he saw a monk and asked, 'What about the matter of the time?' The monk was silent a long while. The master said, 'Is that all it takes?' He said, 'A head on top of a head.' The master struck him and said, 'Go, go. Later you will confuse the men and women of people's households.'

澧州大同濟禪師

Chan Master Datong Ji of Lizhou

米胡領眾來。才欲相見。師便拽轉禪床。面壁而坐。米於背後立。少時卻回客位。師曰。是即是。若不驗破。已後遭人貶剝。令侍者請米來。卻拽轉禪床便坐。師乃遶禪床一匝。便歸方丈。米卻拽倒禪床。領眾便出。師訪龐居士。士曰。憶在母胎時。有一則語。舉似阿師。切不得作道理主持。師曰。猶是隔生也。士曰。向道不得作道理。師曰。驚人之句。爭得不怕。士曰。如師見解。可謂驚人。師曰。不作道理。卻成作道理。士曰。不但隔一生．兩生。師曰。粥飯底僧。一任檢責。士鳴指三下。師一日見龐居士來。便掩卻門曰。多知老翁。莫與相見。士曰。獨坐獨語。過在阿誰。師便開門。才出被士把住曰。師多知。我多知。師曰。多知且置。閉門開門。卷之與舒。相較幾許。士曰。祇此一問。氣急殺人。師默然。士曰。弄巧成拙。僧問。此箇法門。如何繼紹。師曰。冬寒夏熱。人自委知。曰。恁麼則蒙分付去也。師曰。頑嚚少智。勔臔多痴。問。十二時中如何合道。師曰。汝還識十二時麼。曰。如何是十二時。師曰。子丑寅卯。僧禮拜。師示頌曰。十二時中那事別。子丑寅卯吾今說。若會唯心萬法空。釋迦．彌勒從茲決。

When Mi Hu came leading an assembly, as soon as he was about to meet him the Master turned the meditation seat around and sat facing the wall. Mi stood behind him, and after a while went back to the guest seat. The Master said, 'So it is, so it is. But if you do not break through and test it, later you will be picked apart by others.' He told the attendant to invite Mi in, and again turned the seat around and sat. The Master then walked once around the meditation seat and went back to his quarters. Mi in turn pulled the meditation seat over and went out leading his assembly. The Master visited the layman Pang. The layman said, 'I remember a saying from when I was in my mother's womb; I will bring it up for the Master, but you must absolutely not make it into a principle to hold to.' The Master said, 'Still you are separated by a lifetime.' The layman said, 'I told you not to make it into a principle.' The Master said, 'A startling phrase — how could one not be afraid?' The layman said, 'An understanding like the Master's may indeed be called startling.' The Master said, 'Not making it a principle turns out to be making it a principle.' The layman said, 'It is not just one lifetime or two lifetimes apart.' The Master said, 'A rice-and-gruel monk, let him be censured as you please.' The layman snapped his fingers three times. One day the Master saw the layman Pang coming, and shut the door, saying, 'Old man of much knowing, I will not meet you.' The layman said, 'Sitting alone, talking alone — whose fault is it?' The Master then opened the door. As soon as he came out the layman caught hold of him and said, 'The Master knows much, I know much.' The Master said, 'Set aside much knowing. Shutting and opening the door, rolling up and spreading out — how much difference is there?' The layman said, 'This one question alone takes my breath away.' The Master was silent. The layman said, 'Trying to be clever, only made a fool of myself.' A monk asked, 'How is this gate of Dharma to be carried on?' The Master said, 'Cold in winter, hot in summer — people know for themselves.' He said, 'If so, then I have received the instruction.' The Master said, 'The stupid and obstinate have little wisdom; the bashful and shy have much folly.' Someone asked, 'How can one accord with the Way throughout the twelve hours?' The Master said, 'Do you know the twelve hours?' He said, 'What are the twelve hours?' The Master said, 'Zi, chou, yin, mao.' The monk bowed. The Master gave a verse: 'In the twelve hours that matter is distinct; zi, chou, yin, mao, I now explain. If you understand that mind alone makes all dharmas empty, Sakyamuni and Maitreya are settled from here.'

青原下三世

The Third Generation under Qingyuan

藥山儼禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Yan of Yaoshan

潭州道吾山宗智禪師

Chan Master Zongzhi of Daowu Mountain in Tanzhou

豫章海昏張氏子。幼依槃和尚受教登戒。預藥山法會。密契心印。一日。山問。子去何處來。師曰。遊山來。山曰。不離此室。速道將來。師曰。山上烏兒頭似雪。㵎底遊魚忙不徹。師離藥山見南泉。泉問。闍黎名甚麼。師曰。宗智。泉曰。智不到處。作麼生宗。師曰。切忌道著。泉曰。灼然。道著即頭角生。三日後。師與雲巖在後架把針。泉見乃問。智頭陀前日道。智不到處切忌道著。道著即頭角生。合作麼生行履。師便抽身入僧堂。泉便歸方丈。師又來把針。巖曰。師弟適來為甚不祇對和尚。師曰。你不妨靈利。巖不薦。卻問南泉。適來智頭陀為甚不祇對和尚。某甲不會。乞師垂示。泉曰。他卻是異類中行。巖曰。如何是異類中行。泉曰。不見道。智不到處切忌道著。道著即頭角生。直須向異類中行。巖亦不會。師知雲巖不薦。乃曰。此人因緣不在此。卻同回藥山。山問。汝回何速。巖曰。祇為因緣不契。山曰。有何因緣。巖舉前話。山曰。子作麼生會他。這箇時節便回。巖無對。山乃大笑。巖便問。如何是異類中行。山曰。吾今日睏倦。且待別時來。巖曰。某甲特為此事歸來。山曰。且去。巖便出。師在方丈外。聞巖不薦。不覺齩得指頭血出。師卻下來問巖。師兄去問和尚那因緣作麼生。巖曰。和尚不與某甲說。師便低頭(僧問雲居。切忌道著。意作麼生。居雲。此語最毒。雲。如何是最毒底語。居雲。一棒打殺龍蛇)。雲巖臨遷化。遣書辭師。師覧書了。謂洞山．密師伯曰。雲巖不知有。我悔當時不向伊道。雖然如是。要且不違藥山之子(玄覺雲。古人恁麼道。還知有也未。又云。雲巖當時不會。且道甚麼處是伊不會處)。藥山上堂曰。我有一句子。未曾說向人。師出曰。相隨來也。僧問。藥山一句子如何說。山曰。非言說。師曰。早言說了也。師一日提笠出。雲巖指笠曰。用這箇作甚麼。師曰。

was a son of the Zhang family of Haihun in Yuzhang. In childhood he studied under the Reverend Pan, received instruction and was ordained, and joined Yaoshan's Dharma assembly, where he secretly matched the mind seal. One day Shan asked, 'Where have you come from?' The Master said, 'From wandering the mountains.' Shan said, 'Without leaving this room, tell it to me quickly.' The Master said, 'The crows on the mountain have heads like snow; the fish in the ravine are busy without end.' The Master left Yaoshan and went to see Nanquan. Quan asked, 'Acharya, what is your name?' The Master said, 'Zongzhi.' Quan said, 'Where wisdom does not reach, how do you carry on the line?' The Master said, 'Above all, do not speak of it.' Quan said, 'Quite so. If you speak of it, horns and antlers grow.' Three days later the Master was sewing with Yunyan in the rear frame. Quan saw them and asked, 'The other day the dharma-beggar Zhi said that where wisdom does not reach one must above all not speak of it, and that if one speaks of it horns and antlers grow. How then should one walk?' The Master at once withdrew and went into the monks' hall. Quan then went back to his quarters. The Master came again to sew. Yan said, 'Brother, why did you not answer the Reverend just now?' The Master said, 'You are indeed sharp.' Yan did not take it, and asked Nanquan, 'Just now why did the dharma-beggar Zhi not answer the Reverend? I do not understand; please, Master, reveal it.' Quan said, 'He walks among the different kinds.' Yan said, 'What is walking among the different kinds?' Quan said, 'Have you not heard it said, where wisdom does not reach one must above all not speak of it, and if one speaks of it horns and antlers grow? One must simply walk among the different kinds.' Yan also did not understand. The Master knew that Yunyan had not taken it, and said, 'This man's karmic connection is not here.' And he went back to Yaoshan with him. Shan asked, 'Why have you come back so quickly?' Yan said, 'Only because the connection does not match.' Shan said, 'What connection?' Yan brought up the earlier words. Shan said, 'How do you understand that he turned back at that moment?' Yan had no reply. Shan then laughed heartily. Yan then asked, 'What is walking among the different kinds?' Shan said, 'I am tired today; come back another time.' Yan said, 'I came back specially for this matter.' Shan said, 'Go away for now.' Yan then went out. The Master was outside the quarters, and hearing that Yan had not taken it, he bit his finger until it bled without knowing it. The Master then came down and asked Yan, 'Brother, what came of your asking the Reverend about that matter?' Yan said, 'The Reverend did not tell me.' The Master then bowed his head. (A monk asked Yunju, 'Above all do not speak of it — what does this mean?' Ju said, 'These words are the most poisonous.' He said, 'What are the most poisonous words?' Ju said, 'One blow that kills dragon and snake.') When Yunyan was about to pass away, he sent a letter taking leave of the Master. When the Master had read the letter, he said to Dongshan and Uncle Mi, 'Yunyan does not know that there is. I regret that I did not tell him at the time. Even so, he does not betray being a son of Yaoshan.' (Xuanjue said, 'When the ancients spoke like that, did they know that there is or not?' He also said, 'Yunyan did not understand at the time — just say, where was it that he did not understand?') Yaoshan ascended the hall and said, 'I have one phrase that I have never spoken to anyone.' The Master came forward and said, 'I have come along with it.' A monk asked, 'How does Yaoshan's one phrase speak?' Shan said, 'It is not spoken.' The Master said, 'It has already been spoken.' One day the Master picked up his hat and went out. Yunyan pointed at the hat and said, 'What do you use this for?' The Master said,

有用處。巖曰。忽遇黑風猛雨來時如何。師曰。葢覆著。巖曰。他還受葢覆麼。師曰。然雖如是。且無滲漏。溈山問雲巖。菩提以何為座。巖曰。以無為為座。巖卻問溈山。山曰。以諸法空為座。又問。師作麼生。師曰。坐也聽伊坐。臥也聽伊臥。有一人不坐不臥。速道。速道。山休去。溈山問師。甚麼處去來。師曰。看病來。山曰。有幾人病。師曰。有病底。有不病底。山曰。不病底莫是智頭陀麼。師曰。病與不病。總不干他事。速道。速道。山曰。道得也與他沒交涉。僧問。萬裡無雲未是本來天。如何是本來天。師曰。今日好曬麥。雲巖問。師弟家風近日如何。師曰。教師兄指點。堪作甚麼。巖曰。無這箇來多少時也。師曰。牙根猶帶生澁在。僧問。如何是今時著力處。師曰。千人萬人喚不回頭。方有少分相應。曰。忽然火起時如何。師曰。能燒大地。師卻問僧。除卻星與燄。那箇是火。曰。不是火。別一僧卻問。師還見火麼。師曰。見。曰。見從何起。師曰。除卻行住坐臥。別請一問。有施主施裩。藥山提起示眾曰。法身還具四大也無。有人道得。與他一腰裩。師曰。性地非空。空非性地。此是地大。三大亦然。山曰。與汝一腰裩。師指佛桑花問僧曰。這箇何似那箇。曰。直得寒毛卓竪。師曰。畢竟如何。曰。道吾門下底。師曰。十里大王。雲巖不安。師乃謂曰。離此殻漏子。向甚麼處相見。巖曰。不生不滅處相見。師曰。何不道非不生不滅處。亦不求相見。雲巖補鞋次。師問。作甚麼。巖曰。將敗壞補敗壞。師曰。何不道即敗壞非敗壞。師聞僧念維摩經云。八千菩薩．五百聲聞。皆欲隨從文殊師利。師問曰。甚麼處去。其僧無對。師便打(後僧問禾山。山曰。給侍者方諧)。師到五峰。峰問。還識藥山老宿否。師曰。不識。峰曰。為甚麼不識。師曰。不識。不識。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。

'There is a use for it.' Yan said, 'Suppose a black wind and violent rain come, what then?' The Master said, 'Cover yourself with it.' Yan said, 'Does it receive covering or not?' The Master said, 'Even so, there is no leaking.' Weishan asked Yunyan, 'On what is enlightenment seated?' Yan said, 'It is seated on non-doing.' Yan then asked Weishan. Shan said, 'It is seated on the emptiness of all dharmas.' He also asked the Master how he put it. The Master said, 'If he sits, let him sit; if he lies, let him lie. There is one who neither sits nor lies. Speak quickly, speak quickly.' Shan let it be. Weishan asked the Master, 'Where have you been?' The Master said, 'To visit the sick.' Shan said, 'How many are sick?' The Master said, 'There are those who are sick and those who are not sick.' Shan said, 'Is the one who is not sick perhaps the dharma-beggar Zhi?' The Master said, 'Sick or not sick, none of it concerns him. Speak quickly, speak quickly.' Shan said, 'Even if you can speak, it has nothing to do with him.' A monk asked, 'A sky without a cloud for ten thousand li is not yet the original sky — what is the original sky?' The Master said, 'A good day for drying wheat.' Yunyan asked, 'Brother, how has your family style been lately?' The Master said, 'Being pointed out by you, brother, what use is it?' Yan said, 'It has been a long time since you had this.' The Master said, 'The roots of my teeth are still raw and astringent.' A monk asked, 'Where should one put effort nowadays?' The Master said, 'When a thousand men and ten thousand men call and you do not turn your head, then you have a little accord.' He said, 'Suppose a fire suddenly breaks out, what then?' The Master said, 'It can burn the great earth.' The Master then asked the monk, 'Setting aside the spark and the flame, which is the fire?' He said, 'It is not fire.' Another monk then asked, 'Does the Master see the fire?' The Master said, 'I see it.' He said, 'From what does the seeing arise?' The Master said, 'Setting aside walking, standing, sitting and lying, ask something else.' Once a donor gave him a pair of trousers. Yaoshan held them up before the assembly and said, 'Does the dharma body possess the four elements or not? If anyone can speak, I will give him a pair of trousers.' The Master said, 'The nature of earth is not empty, and emptiness is not the nature of earth. This is the element of earth. The other three are the same.' Shan said, 'I give you a pair of trousers.' The Master pointed at a hibiscus flower and asked a monk, 'How is this compared with that?' He said, 'It makes my hairs stand on end.' The Master said, 'After all, how is it?' He said, 'It is the one under Daowu's gate.' The Master said, 'A king of ten li.' Yunyan was ill. The Master said to him, 'Leaving this leaky shell, where shall we meet?' Yan said, 'We shall meet where there is neither birth nor death.' The Master said, 'Why not say, where there is neither non-birth nor non-death, and where no meeting is sought?' Once, when Yunyan was mending shoes, the Master asked, 'What are you doing?' Yan said, 'Using ruined to patch ruined.' The Master said, 'Why not say, that is, ruined and not ruined?' The Master heard a monk reciting the Vimalakirti Sutra: 'Eight thousand bodhisattvas and five hundred sravakas all wished to follow Manjushri.' The Master asked, 'Where are they going?' That monk had no reply. The Master hit him. (Later the monk asked Heshan. Shan said, 'When the attendant is served, it is fitting.') The Master came to Wufeng. Feng asked, 'Do you know the old recluse of Yaoshan?' The Master said, 'I do not.' Feng said, 'Why do you not?' The Master said, 'I do not, I do not.' Someone asked, 'What is the meaning of the Ancestor's coming from the West?' The Master said,

東土不曾逢。因設先師齋。僧問。未審先師還來也無。師曰。汝諸人用設齋作甚麼。石霜問。和尚一片骨。敲著似銅鳴。向甚麼處去也。師喚侍者。者應諾。師曰。驢年去。唐太和九年九月示疾。有苦。僧眾慰問體候。師曰。有受非償。子知之乎。眾皆愀然。越十日將行。謂眾曰。吾當西邁。理無東移。言訖告寂。闍維得靈骨數片。建塔道吾。後雷。遷於石霜山之陽。

'In the eastern land it has never been met.' Once, when he held a memorial meal for his late teacher, a monk asked, 'I wonder whether the late teacher comes or not?' The Master said, 'What do you people hold the memorial meal for?' Shishuang asked, 'The Reverend's single piece of bone, struck, rings like bronze — where has it gone?' The Master called the attendant. The attendant answered. The Master said, 'In the year of the donkey.' In the ninth month of the ninth year of Taihe of the Tang he showed signs of illness, and suffered pain. The monks came to inquire after his health. The Master said, 'To have a receiver is not to repay it — do you know that?' The assembly all looked grieved. Ten days later, as he was about to go, he said to the assembly, 'I am going west; by principle I do not move east.' Having said this, he passed into quiescence. After cremation several pieces of sacred bone were found, and a stupa was built at Daowu. Later, after lightning, it was moved to the south side of Shishuang Mountain.

潭州雲巖曇晟禪師

Chan Master Tansheng of Yunyan in Tanzhou

鍾陵建昌王氏子。少出家於石門。參百丈海禪師二十年。因緣不契。後造藥山。山問。甚處來。曰。百丈來。山曰。百丈有何言句示徒。師曰。尋常道。我有一句子。百味具足。山曰。鹹則鹹味。淡則淡味。不鹹不淡是常味。作麼生是百味具足底句。師無對。山曰。爭柰目前生死何。師曰。目前無生死。山曰。在百丈多少時。師曰。二十年。山曰。二十年在百丈。俗氣也不除。他日侍立次。山又問。百丈更說甚麼法。師曰。有時道。三句外省去。六句內會取。山曰。三千里外。且喜沒交涉。山又問。更說甚麼法。師曰。有時上堂。大眾立定。以拄杖一時趂散。復召大眾。眾回首。丈曰。是甚麼。山曰。何不早恁麼道。今日因子得見海兄。師於言下頓省。便禮拜。一日山問。汝除在百丈。更到甚麼處來。師曰。曾到廣南來。曰。見說廣州城東門外有一片石。被州主移去。是否。師曰。非但州主。闔國人移亦不動。山又問。聞汝解弄師子。是否。師曰。是。曰。弄得幾出。師曰。弄得六出。曰。我亦弄得。師曰。和尚弄得幾出。曰。我弄得一齣。師曰。一即六。六即一。後到溈山。溈問。承聞長老在藥山弄師子。是否。師曰。是。曰。長弄。有置時。師曰。要弄即弄。要置即置。曰。置時師子在甚麼處。師曰。置也。置也。僧問。從上諸聖甚麼處去。師良久。曰。作麼。作麼。問。暫時不在。如同死人時如何。師曰。好埋卻。問。太保任底人。與那箇是一是二。師曰。一機之絹。是一段是兩段(洞山代雲。如人接樹)。師煎茶次。道吾問。煎與阿誰。師曰。有一人要。曰。何不教伊自煎。師曰。幸有某甲在。師問石霜。甚麼處來。曰。溈山來。師曰。在彼中得多少時。曰。粗經冬夏。師曰。恁麼即成山長也。曰。雖在彼中卻不知。師曰。他家亦非知非識。石霜無對(道吾聞雲。得恁麼無佛法身心)。住後。

was a son of the Wang family of Jianchang in Zhongling. He left home in youth at Shimen. He studied under Chan Master Hai of Baizhang for twenty years, but the connection did not match. Later he went to Yaoshan. Shan asked, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'From Baizhang.' Shan said, 'What words and phrases does Baizhang use to instruct his students?' The Master said, 'He ordinarily says, I have one phrase in which a hundred flavors are complete.' Shan said, 'Salty is the salty flavor, bland is the bland flavor, and neither salty nor bland is the constant flavor. What is the phrase in which a hundred flavors are complete?' The Master had no reply. Shan said, 'What is to be done about birth and death right before your eyes?' The Master said, 'There is no birth and death before my eyes.' Shan said, 'How long were you at Baizhang?' The Master said, 'Twenty years.' Shan said, 'Twenty years at Baizhang, and you have not even removed your worldly air.' Another day, as he stood in attendance, Shan asked again, 'What other dharma does Baizhang speak?' The Master said, 'Sometimes he says, be clear of it beyond three phrases, grasp it within six phrases.' Shan said, 'Three thousand li away — and I am glad it has nothing to do with it.' Shan asked again, 'What other dharma does he speak?' The Master said, 'Sometimes when he ascends the hall and the assembly has stood in place, he drives them all away with his staff. Then he calls the assembly, and when they turn their heads, Zhang says, What is it?' Shan said, 'Why did he not say that earlier? Today, because of you, I have seen brother Hai.' At these words the Master was suddenly awakened, and bowed. One day Shan asked, 'Apart from Baizhang, where else have you been?' The Master said, 'I have been to Guangnan.' He said, 'I hear there is a piece of rock outside the east gate of Guangzhou city that was moved away by the prefect — is that so?' The Master said, 'Not only the prefect — if the whole country moved it, it would not budge.' Shan also asked, 'I hear you can play the lion — is that so?' The Master said, 'Yes.' He said, 'How many routines can you do?' The Master said, 'Six routines.' He said, 'I can do it too.' The Master said, 'How many routines can the Reverend do?' Shan said, 'One routine.' The Master said, 'One is six, six is one.' Later he went to Weishan. Wei asked, 'I hear the Elder played the lion at Yaoshan — is that so?' The Master said, 'Yes.' He said, 'You play it constantly — is there a time when you set it down?' The Master said, 'When I want to play I play; when I want to set it down I set it down.' He said, 'When you set it down, where is the lion?' The Master said, 'Set down, set down.' A monk asked, 'Where have all the sages gone?' The Master was silent a long time, and said, 'What is it, what is it?' Someone asked, 'What about when one is absent for a moment and is like a dead man?' The Master said, 'Better to bury him.' Someone asked, 'Is the man who greatly relies on this one and that one, one or two?' The Master said, 'A bolt of silk from one loom — is it one piece or two?' (Dongshan said on his behalf, 'Like a man grafting a tree.') Once, when the Master was boiling tea, Daowu asked, 'Who is the tea for?' The Master said, 'There is one who wants it.' He said, 'Why not let him boil it himself?' The Master said, 'Fortunately I am here.' The Master asked Shishuang, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'From Weishan.' The Master said, 'How long were you there?' He said, 'Roughly a winter and a summer.' The Master said, 'If so, then you have become an elder of the mountain.' He said, 'Though I was there, I did not know it.' The Master said, 'His house is likewise neither knowing nor consciousness.' Shishuang had no reply. (When Daowu heard this he said, 'He has got a body and mind without Buddha Dharma.') After he had settled there,

上堂示眾曰。有箇人家兒子。問著無有道不得底。洞山出問曰。他屋裡有多少典籍。師曰。一字也無。曰。爭得恁麼多知。師曰。日夜不曾眠。山曰。問一段事還得否。師曰。道得卻不道。問僧。甚處來。曰。添香來。師曰。還見佛否。曰。見。師曰。甚麼處見。曰。下界見。師曰。古佛。古佛。道吾問。大悲千手眼。那箇是正眼。師曰。如人夜間背手摸枕子。吾曰。我會也。師曰。作麼生會。吾曰。遍身是手眼。師曰。道也太煞道。祇道得八成。吾曰。師兄作麼生。師曰。通身是手眼。掃地次。道吾曰。太區區生。師曰。須知有不區區者。吾曰。恁麼則有第二月也。師竪起掃帚曰。是第幾月。吾便行(玄沙聞雲。正是第二月)。問僧。甚處來。曰。石上語話來。師曰。石還點頭也無。僧無對。師自代曰。未語話時卻點頭。師作草鞋次。洞山近前曰。乞師眼睛得麼。師曰。汝底與阿誰去也。曰。良价無。師曰。設有。汝向甚麼處著。山無語。師曰。乞眼睛底是眼否。師曰。非眼。師便喝出。尼僧禮拜。師問。汝爺在否。曰。在。師曰。年多少。曰。年八十。師曰。汝有箇爺不年八十。還知否。曰。莫是恁麼來者。師曰。恁麼來者。猶是兒孫(洞山代雲。直是不恁麼來者。亦是兒孫)。僧問。一念瞥起便落魔界時如何。師曰。汝因甚麼卻從佛界來。僧無對。師曰。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。莫道體不得。設使體得。也祇是左之右之。院主遊石室回。師問。汝去入到石室裡許。為祇恁麼便回。師無對。洞山代曰。彼中已有人占了也。師曰。汝更去作甚麼。山曰。不可人情斷絕去也。會昌元年辛酉十月二十六日示疾。命澡身竟。喚主事令備齋。來日有上座發去。至二十七夜歸寂。茶毗得舍利一千餘粒。瘞於石塔。諡無住大師。

he ascended the hall and said to the assembly, 'There is a son of a household who, when questioned, has nothing he cannot answer.' Dongshan came forward and asked, 'How many books are there in his house?' The Master said, 'Not a single word.' He said, 'How then does he know so much?' The Master said, 'Day and night he never sleeps.' Shan said, 'If you asked him about one matter, could he answer?' The Master said, 'He could speak, but he does not speak.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'From adding incense.' The Master said, 'Did you see the Buddha?' He said, 'I saw him.' The Master said, 'Where did you see him?' He said, 'In the lower realm.' The Master said, 'Ancient Buddha, ancient Buddha.' Daowu asked, 'The Great Compassionate One has a thousand hands and eyes — which is the true eye?' The Master said, 'Like a man feeling for his pillow with his hand behind his back at night.' Wu said, 'I understand.' The Master said, 'How do you understand?' Wu said, 'The whole body is hands and eyes.' The Master said, 'You have said too much as it is; you have only said eighty percent.' Wu said, 'How about you, brother?' The Master said, 'The whole body through and through is hands and eyes.' Once, while sweeping, Daowu said, 'How petty.' The Master said, 'You should know there is one who is not petty.' Wu said, 'If so, then there is a second moon.' The Master held up his broom and said, 'Which moon is this?' Wu then left. (When Xuansha heard this he said, 'It is exactly the second moon.') He asked a monk, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'From talking on the stone.' The Master said, 'Did the stone nod too?' The monk had no reply. The Master answered on his behalf, 'It nodded before the talking.' Once, when the Master was making straw sandals, Dongshan came up and said, 'May I beg the Master's eyes?' The Master said, 'To whom have yours gone?' He said, 'Liangjie has none.' The Master said, 'Even if you had, where would you put them?' Shan said nothing. The Master said, 'Is the one who begs the eyes an eye?' He said, 'Not an eye.' The Master then shouted him out. A nun bowed. The Master asked, 'Is your father alive?' She said, 'He is.' The Master said, 'How old is he?' She said, 'Eighty.' The Master said, 'You have a father who is not eighty — do you know that?' She said, 'Is it not the one who comes like this?' The Master said, 'The one who comes like this is still a descendant.' (Dongshan said on her behalf, 'Even one who does not come like this is also a descendant.') A monk asked, 'What about when a single thought flashes up and one falls into the realm of Mara?' The Master said, 'Why have you come from the realm of the Buddha?' The monk had no reply. The Master said, 'Do you understand?' He said, 'I do not.' The Master said, 'Do not say you cannot realize it. Even if you realize it, it is only leaning left and right.' Once, when the prior came back from visiting the stone chamber, the Master asked, 'When you went in as far as the stone chamber, did you just come back like that?' The Master had no reply. Dongshan said on his behalf, 'Someone has already occupied that place.' The Master said, 'Why go again?' Shan said, 'One cannot cut off human feeling and leave.' On the twenty-sixth day of the tenth month of the xinyou year, the first year of Huichang, he showed signs of illness. When he had ordered his body bathed, he called the administrator and told him to prepare a meal, for an elder would be departing tomorrow. On the night of the twenty-seventh he passed into quiescence. After cremation more than a thousand relics were found, and were interred in a stone stupa. His posthumous title was Great Master Wuzhu.

秀州華亭船子德誠禪師

Chan Master Decheng the Boatman of Huating in Xiuzhou

節操高邈。度量不群。自印心於藥山。與道吾。雲巖為同道交。洎離藥山。乃謂二同志曰。公等應各據一方。建立藥山宗旨。予率性疎野。唯好山水。樂情自遣。無所能也。他後知我所止之處。若遇靈利座主。指一人來。或堪雕琢。將授生平所得。以報先師之恩。遂分擕。至秀州華亭。泛一小舟。隨緣度日。以接四方往來之者。時人莫知其高蹈。因號船子和尚。一日。泊船岸邊閑坐。有官人問。如何是和尚日用事。師竪橈子曰。會麼。官人曰。不會。師曰。棹撥清波。金鱗罕遇。師有偈曰。三十年來坐釣臺。鉤頭往往得黃能。金鱗不遇空勞力。收取絲綸歸去來。千尺絲綸直下垂。一波才動萬波隨。夜靜水寒魚不食。滿船空載月明歸。三十年來海上遊。水清魚現不吞鉤。釣竿斫盡重栽竹。不計功程得便休。有一魚兮偉莫裁。混融包納信奇哉。能變化。吐風雷。下線何曾釣得來。別人祇看採芙蓉。香氣長粘遶指風。兩岸映。一船紅。何曾解染得虗空。問我生涯祇是船。子孫各自賭機緣。不由地。不由天。除卻簑衣無可傳。道吾後到京口。遇夾山上堂。僧問。如何是法身。山曰。法身無相。曰。如何是法眼。山曰。法眼無瑕。道吾不覺失笑。山便下座。請問道吾。某甲適來祇對這僧話必有不是。致令上座失笑。望上座不吝慈悲。吾曰。和尚一等是出世未有師在。山曰。某甲甚處不是。望為說破。吾曰。某甲終不說。請和尚卻往華亭船子處去。山曰。此人如何。吾曰。此人上無片瓦。下無卓錐。和尚若去。須易服而往。山乃散眾束裝。直造華亭。船子才見。便問。大德住甚麼寺。山曰。寺即不住。住即不似。師曰。不似。似箇甚麼。山曰。不是目前法。師曰。甚處學得來。山曰。非耳目之所到。師曰。一句合頭語。萬劫繫驢橛。師又問。垂絲千尺。意在深潭。離鉤三寸。子何不道。山擬開口。被師一橈打落水中。

His integrity was lofty and remote, his measure unlike other men's. After he had sealed his mind at Yaoshan, he was a fellow student with Daowu and Yunyan. When he left Yaoshan he said to these two companions, 'You two should each hold a region and establish Yaoshan's purport. I am by nature careless and rustic, and I love only mountains and water, taking my joy in my own way; I am capable of nothing. In the future, if you know where I am staying, and you meet a sharp-witted lecturer, point one man out to me. If he can be carved and polished, I will give him what I have gained in a lifetime, to repay the kindness of my late teacher.' So they parted. Reaching Huating in Xiuzhou, he floated a small boat, passing his days according to conditions and receiving those who came and went from all quarters. People of the time did not know of his lofty withdrawal, and so they called him the Boatman Monk. One day, when he had moored the boat by the bank and was sitting at leisure, an official asked, 'What is the Reverend's daily activity?' The Master raised his oar and said, 'Do you understand?' The official said, 'I do not.' The Master said, 'The oar stirs the clear waves; the golden-scaled one is seldom met.' The Master had a verse: 'For thirty years I have sat on the fishing terrace, and on the hook I have often got a yellow bear. Meeting no golden scale, my labor is all in vain; I gather up my silk line and go home. A line a thousand feet long hangs straight down; one wave has just stirred and ten thousand waves follow. The night is still and the water cold, and the fish do not bite; the whole boat returns empty, carrying the moonlight. For thirty years I have roamed the sea; when the water was clear and the fish appeared, they did not take the hook. The fishing rod is all cut down, and I have planted bamboos again; reckoning no merit, I stop when I can. There is a fish, and a mighty one beyond reckoning, blending and containing all — truly strange. It can transform, it spits wind and thunder; how could it ever be caught by a cast line? Others only look at picking the lotus, whose fragrance clings long to the wind around the fingers. Both banks reflect it, one boat is red — how could one ever dye empty space? Ask about my livelihood: it is only a boat; my descendants each gamble on their own chances. It is not by earth, not by heaven — apart from a straw rain cape I have nothing to transmit.' Later Daowu reached Jingkou, and came upon Jiashan ascending the hall. A monk asked, 'What is the dharma body?' Shan said, 'The dharma body has no form.' He said, 'What is the dharma eye?' Shan said, 'The dharma eye has no flaw.' Daowu could not help laughing. Shan then stepped down from the seat and asked Daowu, 'My reply to that monk just now must have been wrong, to make the elder laugh. I beg the elder not to stint his compassion.' Wu said, 'The Reverend has come out into the world as an equal, but has no teacher.' Shan said, 'Where am I wrong? Please point it out.' Wu said, 'I will not say in the end. Please go to the Boatman of Huating.' Shan said, 'What is this man like?' Wu said, 'This man has not a tile above him and not a foot of ground below. If the Reverend goes, he must change his clothes and go.' Shan then dismissed the assembly, packed his things, and went straight to Huating. As soon as the Boatman saw him he asked, 'Great Virtue, what monastery do you live in?' Shan said, 'A monastery I do not live in, and living is not like.' The Master said, 'If not like, what is it like?' Shan said, 'It is not the dharma before my eyes.' The Master said, 'Where did you learn that?' Shan said, 'It is not reached by ear or eye.' The Master said, 'One phrase that fits the head is a stake to tie the donkey for ten thousand kalpas.' The Master also asked, 'A line hanging a thousand feet, the intent is in the deep pool. Three inches from the hook — why do you not speak?' Shan was about to open his mouth, and the Master knocked him into the water with his oar.

山才上船。師又曰。道。道。山擬開口。師又打。山豁然大悟。乃點頭三下。師曰。竿頭絲線從君弄。不犯清波意自殊。山遂問。拋綸擲釣。師意如何。師曰。絲懸淥水。浮定有無之意。山曰。語帶玄而無路。舌頭談而不談。師曰。釣盡江波。金鱗始遇。山乃掩耳。師曰。如是。如是。遂囑曰。汝向去直須藏身處沒蹤跡。沒蹤跡處莫藏身。吾三十年在藥山。祇明斯事。汝今已得。他後莫住城隍聚落。但向深山裡。钁頭邊。覓取一箇半箇接續。無令斷絕。山乃辭行。頻頻回顧。師遂喚闍黎。山乃回首。師竪起橈子曰。汝將謂別有。乃覆船入水而逝。

Shan had just got into the boat. The Master again said, 'Speak, speak.' Shan was about to open his mouth, and the Master struck him again. Shan was suddenly greatly awakened, and nodded three times. The Master said, 'The line at the tip of the pole is yours to play with; not offending the clear waves, the intent is naturally apart.' Shan then asked, 'Casting the line and throwing the hook — what is the Master's intent?' The Master said, 'The line hangs in the clear water, floating to settle the intent of being and non-being.' Shan said, 'The words carry the mystery yet there is no road; the tongue speaks and does not speak.' The Master said, 'When the river's waves are all fished out, then the golden scale is met.' Shan then covered his ears. The Master said, 'So it is, so it is.' He then instructed him: 'When you go on, you must hide where there are no traces, and where there are no traces do not hide your body. For thirty years I was at Yaoshan and understood only this matter. You have now got it. Hereafter do not dwell in cities and towns, but in the deep mountains, by the hoe, seek out one or half a one to carry it on, and do not let it be cut off.' Shan then took his leave, looking back again and again. The Master then called, 'Acharya!' Shan turned his head. The Master raised his oar and said, 'Do you think there is something else?' Then he capsized the boat and went into the water and passed away.

宣州椑樹慧省禪師

Chan Master Huixing of Beishu in Xuanzhou

洞山參。師問。來作甚麼。山曰。來親近和尚。師曰。若是親近。用動這兩片皮作麼。山無對(曹山雲。一子親得)。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。貓兒上露柱。曰。學人不會。師曰。問取露柱去。

When Dongshan came to study, the Master asked, 'What have you come for?' Shan said, 'To draw near to the Reverend.' The Master said, 'If it is to draw near, what need is there to move those two flaps of skin?' Shan had no reply. (Caoshan said, 'One son has drawn near.') A monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'A cat climbing the exposed pillar.' He said, 'The student does not understand.' The Master said, 'Go and ask the exposed pillar.'

鄂州百巖明哲禪師

Chan Master Mingzhe of Baiyan in Ezhou

藥山看經次。師曰。和尚休猱人好。山置經曰。日頭早晚也。師曰。正當午。山曰。猶有文彩在。師曰。某甲無亦無。山曰。汝太煞聰明。師曰。某甲祇恁麼。和尚作麼生。師曰。跛跛挈挈。百醜千拙。且恁麼過。洞山與密師伯到參。師問。二上座甚處來。山曰。湖南。師曰。觀察使姓甚麼。曰。不得姓。師曰。名甚麼。曰。不得名。師曰。還治事也無。曰。自有郎幕任。師曰。還出入也無。曰。不出入。師曰。豈不出入。師拂袖便出。師次早入堂。召二上座曰。昨日老僧對闍黎一轉語不相契。一夜不安。今請闍黎別下一轉語。若愜老僧意。便開粥相伴過夏。山曰。請和尚問。師曰。豈不出入。山曰。太尊貴生。師乃開粥。同共過夏。

Once, when Yaoshan was reading a sutra, the Master said, 'Please, Reverend, stop teasing people.' Shan put down the sutra and said, 'It is getting late in the day.' The Master said, 'It is just noon.' Shan said, 'Still there is literary flourish.' The Master said, 'I have not even that.' Shan said, 'You are far too clever.' The Master said, 'I am just like this. How is the Reverend?' Shan said, 'Limpy and gimpy, a hundred uglinesses and a thousand clumsinesses — just getting by like this.' Dongshan and Uncle Mi came to study. The Master asked, 'Where have you two elders come from?' Shan said, 'Hunan.' The Master said, 'What is the surname of the inspecting commissioner?' He said, 'No surname.' The Master said, 'What is his name?' He said, 'No name.' The Master said, 'Does he still govern affairs?' He said, 'He has his own staff of officials.' The Master said, 'Does he still go out and come in?' He said, 'He does not go out or come in.' The Master said, 'How can he fail to go out and come in?' The Master flicked his sleeves and went out. The next morning the Master entered the hall and called the two elders, saying, 'Yesterday this old monk did not match with the acharya on one turning word, and was uneasy all night. Now please, acharya, give another turning word. If it suits this old monk's mind, I will open the gruel and we will pass the summer together.' Shan said, 'Please, Reverend, ask.' The Master said, 'How can he fail to go out and come in?' Shan said, 'How very noble.' The Master then opened the gruel, and they passed the summer together.

澧州高沙彌

The novice of Gaosha in Lizhou