The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll Five

僧問。竛竮之子如何得歸向。師曰。會人路不通。曰。恁麼則無奉重處也。師曰。我道你缽盂落地拈不起。問。一撥便轉時如何。師曰。野馬走時鞭轡斷。石人撫掌笑呵呵。

A monk asked: 'How can a lonely wanderer find his way home?' The master said: 'For one who understands, the road is blocked.' [The monk] said: 'Then there is no place to serve and revere him.' The master said: 'I say your alms bowl has fallen to the ground and you cannot pick it up.' [The monk] asked: 'What about when one turns at a single prod?' The master said: 'When the wild horse runs, the whip and reins are broken; the stone man claps his hands and laughs ha ha.'

潭州龍興禪師

Chan Master Longxing of Tanzhou

僧問。一撥便轉時如何。師曰。根不利。問。得坐披衣時如何。師曰。不端嚴。曰。為甚麼不端嚴。師曰。不從修證得。問。如何是道中人。師曰。終日寂攢眉。問。文不加點時如何。師曰。無目童兒不出戶。問。賓主未分時如何。師曰。雙陸盤中不喝彩。曰。分後如何。師曰。骰子未曾拋。

A monk asked: 'What about when one turns at a single prod?' The master said: 'The root is not sharp.' [The monk] asked: 'What about when one sits and dons the robe?' The master said: 'Not dignified.' [The monk] said: 'Why is he not dignified?' The master said: 'It is not obtained through cultivation and realization.' [The monk] asked: 'Who is the man within the Way?' The master said: 'All day long he knits his brows in silence.' [The monk] asked: 'What about when the text needs no punctuation?' The master said: 'The eyeless child does not go out of doors.' [The monk] asked: 'What about before host and guest are distinguished?' The master said: 'At the backgammon board no one cheers.' [The monk] said: 'And after they are distinguished?' The master said: 'The dice have not yet been thrown.'

潭州伏龍山禪師(第一世)

Chan Master of Mount Fulong in Tanzhou, the first generation

僧問。攪長河為酥酪。變大地作黃金時如何。師曰。臂長衫袖短。問。隨緣認得時如何。師曰。雪內牡丹花。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。你得恁麼不識痛癢。

A monk asked: 'What about churning the long river into cream and turning the great earth into gold?' The master said: 'The arms are long but the sleeves are short.' [The monk] asked: 'What about recognizing it as one follows conditions?' The master said: 'A peony flower in the snow.' [The monk] asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the West?' The master said: 'You take it like this without knowing ache or itch.'

京兆白雲善藏禪師

Chan Master Shanzang of White Cloud in Jingzhao

僧問。如何是和尚深深處。師曰。矮子渡深谿。問。赤腳時如何。師曰。何不脫卻。問。如何是法法不生。師曰。萬類千差。曰。如何是法法不滅。師曰。縱橫滿目。

A monk asked: 'What is the master's deepest place?' The master said: 'A dwarf fording a deep stream.' [The monk] asked: 'What about being barefoot?' The master said: 'Why not take them off?' [The monk] asked: 'What is it for dharmas not to arise?' The master said: 'Ten thousand kinds, a thousand differences.' [The monk] said: 'What is it for dharmas not to cease?' The master said: 'Filling the eyes, lengthwise and crosswise.'

伏龍山禪師(第二世)

Chan Master of Mount Fulong, the second generation

僧問。隨緣認得時如何。師曰。汝道興國門樓高多少。問。子不譚父德時如何。師曰。闍黎且低聲。

A monk asked: 'What about recognizing it as one follows conditions?' The master said: 'Tell me, how high is the gate tower of Xingguo?' [The monk] asked: 'What about when a son does not speak of his father's virtue?' The master said: 'Acharya, lower your voice.'

陝府龍峻山禪師

Chan Master of Mount Longjun in Shanfu

僧問。如何是不知善惡底人。師曰。千聖近不得。曰。此人還知有向上事也無。師曰。不知。曰。為甚麼不知。師曰。不識善惡。說甚麼向上事。曰。畢竟如何。師曰。不見道犴𤞞。問。如何是佛向上人。師曰。不帶容。問。凡有展拓盡落今時。不展拓時如何。師曰。不展。不展。曰。畢竟如何。師曰。不拓。不拓。

A monk asked: 'What is a man who does not know good and evil?' The master said: 'A thousand sages cannot come near him.' [The monk] said: 'Does such a man know there is a matter above?' The master said: 'He does not know.' [The monk] said: 'Why does he not know?' The master said: 'He does not know good and evil — what matter above are you talking about?' [The monk] said: 'After all, what is it?' The master said: 'Have you not heard it said, the prison gate?' [The monk] asked: 'What is the man above the Buddha?' The master said: 'He carries no countenance.' [The monk] asked: 'Whatever is unfolded all falls into the present. What about not unfolding?' The master said: 'Not unfolded, not unfolded.' [The monk] said: 'After all, what is it?' The master said: 'Not spread, not spread.'

伏龍山和尚(第三世)

The monk of Mount Fulong, the third generation

僧問。行盡千山路。玄機事若何。師曰。鳥道不曾棲。問。既是師。為甚卻無位次。師曰。古今排不出。三際豈能安。曰。恁麼則某甲隨手去也。師曰。春風吹柳絮。往復幾時休。問。如何是真際。師曰。曠劫無異。不存階級。

A monk asked: 'Having walked to the end of a thousand mountain roads, what of the matter of the dark mechanism?' The master said: 'On the bird's path he never perches.' [The monk] asked: 'Since he is a master, why has he no rank or station?' The master said: 'Past and present cannot arrange him; how could the three periods set him at rest?' [The monk] said: 'Then I will follow along as it comes.' The master said: 'The spring wind blows the willow catkins — when will going and returning ever cease?' [The monk] asked: 'What is the true frontier?' The master said: 'Through vast kalpas it is without difference, and admits no ranks.'

九峰虔禪師法嗣

Heirs of Chan Master Qian of Jiufeng

新羅國清院禪師

Chan Master of the Pure Monastery in Silla

僧問。奔馬爭毬。誰是得者。師曰。誰是不得者。曰。恁麼則不在爭也。師曰。直得不爭。亦有過在。曰。如何免得此過。師曰。要且不曾失。曰。不失處如何鍛鍊。師曰。兩手捧不起。

A monk asked: 'When galloping horses contend for the ball, who gets it?' The master said: 'Who does not get it?' [The monk] said: 'Then it is not a matter of contention.' The master said: 'Even if you reach the point of not contending, there is still a fault.' [The monk] said: 'How does one avoid that fault?' The master said: 'The point is that nothing has ever been lost.' [The monk] said: 'How is one forged at the place where nothing is lost?' The master said: 'Two hands cannot hold it up.'

洪州泐潭神黨禪師

Chan Master Shendang of Letan in Hongzhou

僧問。四威儀中如何辨主。師曰。正遇寶峰不脫鞋。問。如何是佛法大意。師曰。虗空駕鐵船。嶽頂浪滔天。

A monk asked: 'Among the four dignified postures, how does one distinguish the host?' The master said: 'Just when you meet Baofeng, do not take off your shoes.' [The monk] asked: 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha-dharma?' The master said: 'An iron boat sails the void; waves flood the heavens at the mountain's peak.'

袁州南源行修慧觀禪師(亦曰光睦)

Chan Master Xingxiu Huiguan of Nanyuan in Yuanzhou, also called Guangmu

僧問。如何是南源境。師曰。幾處峰巒猿鳥呌。一帶平川遊子迷。問。如何是南源深深處。師曰。眾人皆見。曰。恁麼則淺也。師曰。也是兩頭搖。問。有口談不得。無心未見伊時如何。師曰。古洞有龍吟不出。巖前木馬喊無形。

A monk asked: 'What is the realm of Nanyuan?' The master said: 'At many a peak the apes and birds cry out; along the level plain the wanderer loses his way.' [The monk] asked: 'What is Nanyuan's deepest place?' The master said: 'Everyone sees it.' [The monk] said: 'Then it is shallow.' The master said: 'That too is swinging from both ends.' [The monk] asked: 'What about when the mouth cannot speak of it and the mind, having no mind, has not yet seen it?' The master said: 'In the ancient cave a dragon hums and does not come out; before the cliff a wooden horse neighs without form.'

泐潭明禪師

Chan Master Ming of Letan

一日下到客位。眾請師歸方丈。師曰。道得即去。時牟和尚對曰。大眾請。師乃上法堂。僧問。非思量處識情難測時如何。師曰。我不欲違古人。曰。不違古人意作麼生。師曰。也合消得汝三拜。僧問。碓擣磨磨。不得忘卻。此意如何。師曰。虎口裡活雀兒。問。定慧不生時如何。師曰。鐵牛草上臥。昏昏不舉頭。問。如何是道者。師曰。毛𣯶𣯶地。曰。如何是道者家風。師曰。佛殿前逢尊者。問。如何是和尚終日事。師曰。缽盂裡無折筯。曰。如何是沙門日用事。師曰。轟轟不借萬人機。

One day he came down to the guest quarters. The assembly asked him to return to the abbot's room. The master said: 'If you can speak, I will go.' At that the monk Mou replied: 'The assembly invites you.' The master then ascended the dharma hall. A monk asked: 'What about the place beyond thought, where cognition and feeling cannot fathom it?' The master said: 'I do not wish to go against the ancients.' [The monk] said: 'What is it not to go against the ancients' meaning?' The master said: 'You too deserve three bows.' A monk asked: 'Pounding in the mortar, grinding at the mill — do not forget it. What does this mean?' The master said: 'A live sparrow in the tiger's mouth.' [A monk] asked: 'What about when concentration and wisdom do not arise?' The master said: 'An iron ox lies in the grass, dazed, never lifting its head.' [A monk] asked: 'What is a man of the Way?' The master said: 'Shaggy and tousled.' [The monk] said: 'What is the family style of a man of the Way?' The master said: 'Meeting the venerable one before the Buddha hall.' [A monk] asked: 'What is the master's business all day long?' The master said: 'In the alms bowl there are no broken chopsticks.' [The monk] said: 'What is the daily business of a monk?' The master said: 'Booming and roaring, borrowing no one's device.'

吉州禾山禪師

Chan Master of Mount He in Jizhou

僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。杉樹子。問。文殊以何為師。師曰。風箏有韻真堪聽。聽得由來曲不成。

A monk asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the West?' The master said: 'A fir sapling.' [The monk] asked: 'What does Manjushri take as his teacher?' The master said: 'The kite has a tune truly worth hearing, yet having heard it through, no melody is made.'

泐潭延茂禪師

Chan Master Yanmao of Letan

僧問。如何是古佛心。師曰。終不道土木瓦礫是。問。日落西山去。林中事若何。師曰。庭前花盛發。室內不知春。問。如何是閉門造車。師曰。失卻斑貓兒。曰。如何是出門合轍。師曰。坐地到長安。問。如何是和尚正主。師曰。畵鼓連槌響。耳畔不聞聲。

A monk asked: 'What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?' The master said: 'I will never say it is earth, wood, tile, or gravel.' [The monk] asked: 'The sun sets in the western hills — what of the matter in the grove?' The master said: 'Before the courtyard the flowers bloom in profusion; within the room no one knows it is spring.' [The monk] asked: 'What is it to build a cart behind closed doors?' The master said: 'You have lost your tabby cat.' [The monk] said: 'What is it to go out and fit the rut?' The master said: 'Sitting on the ground, you arrive at Chang'an.' [The monk] asked: 'Who is the master's true host?' The master said: 'The painted drum resounds with the mallet, yet at the ear no sound is heard.'

洪州鳳棲同安院常察禪師

Chan Master Changcha of Tong'an Monastery at Fengqi in Hongzhou

僧問。如何是鳳棲家風。師曰。鳳棲無家風。曰。既是鳳棲。為甚麼無家風。師曰。不迎賓。不待客。曰。恁麼則四海參尋。當為何事。師曰。盤飣自有旁人施。問。如何是鳳棲境。師曰。千峰連嶽秀。萬嶂不知春。曰。如何是境中人。師曰。孤巖倚石坐。不下白雲心。問。祖意教意。是同是別。師曰。鐵狗吠石牛。幻人看月色。問。如何是披毛戴角底人。師曰。蓑衣箬笠賣黃金。幾箇相逢不解喚。問。學人未曉時機。乞師指示。師曰。參差松竹煙籠薄。重疊峰巒月上遲。僧擬進語。師曰。劒甲未施。賊身已露。僧曰。何也。師曰。精陽不剪霜前竹。水墨徒誇海上龍。僧遶禪床而出。師曰。閉目食蝸牛。一場酸澁苦。問。返本還源時如何。師曰。蟭蟟雖脫殻。不免抱寒枝。問。如何是猛利底人。師曰。石牛步步吼深潭。紙馬聲聲火中呌。新到持錫遶師三匝。振錫一下曰。凡聖不到處。請師道。師鳴指三下。僧曰。同安今日嚇得忘前失後。師曰。闍黎發足何處。僧珍重便出。師曰。五湖衲子。一錫禪人。未到同安。不妨疑著。僧回首。曰。遠聞不如近見。師曰。貪他一杯酒。失卻滿船魚。問。如何是大沒慚愧底人。師曰。老僧見作這業次。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。犀因翫月紋生角。象被雷驚花入牙。問。如何是向去底人。師曰。寒蟬抱枯木。泣盡不回頭。曰。如何是卻來底人。師曰。火裡蘆花秀。逢春恰似秋。曰。如何是不來不去底人。師曰。石羊遇石虎。相看早晚休。座主問。三乘十二分教。某甲粗知。未審和尚說何法示人。師曰。我說一乘法。曰。如何是一乘法。師曰。幾般雲色出峰頂。一樣泉聲落檻前。曰。不問這箇。如何是一乘法。師曰。你不妨靈利。翫月次。謂僧曰。奇哉。奇哉。星明月朗。足可觀瞻。豈異道乎。僧曰。如何是道。師曰。汝試道看。曰。彼自無瘡。勿傷之也。師曰。

A monk asked: 'What is the family style of Fengqi?' The master said: 'Fengqi has no family style.' [The monk] said: 'Since it is Fengqi, why has it no family style?' The master said: 'It does not welcome guests and does not entertain visitors.' [The monk] said: 'Then for the sake of what matter does one seek throughout the four seas?' The master said: 'The dishes on the tray are set out by others.' [The monk] asked: 'What is the realm of Fengqi?' The master said: 'A thousand peaks join the range in beauty; ten thousand cliffs know nothing of spring.' [The monk] said: 'Who is the person within that realm?' The master said: 'Leaning on a stone by a lone crag he sits, and does not let his mind descend to the white clouds.' [The monk] asked: 'Are the patriarch's meaning and the teaching's meaning the same or different?' The master said: 'An iron dog barks at a stone ox; a conjured man gazes at the moonlight.' [The monk] asked: 'What is a man who wears fur and horns?' The master said: 'A straw cape and a bamboo hat sold for gold — how few who meet him know how to call him.' [The monk] asked: 'The student does not yet understand the timing; I beg the master to point it out.' The master said: 'Uneven pines and bamboos, thin the mist that wraps them; range upon range of peaks, the moon rises late.' The monk was about to speak. The master said: 'The armour is not yet put on, and already the thief's body is exposed.' The monk said: 'Why?' The master said: 'One does not cut the bamboo before the frost while the pure yang is at its height; ink and wash vainly boast of dragons on the sea.' The monk walked around the meditation seat and left. The master said: 'Eating a snail with your eyes closed — a whole bout of sour, astringent bitterness.' [A monk] asked: 'What about returning to the root and going back to the source?' The master said: 'Though the cicada sheds its shell, it cannot help clinging to the cold branch.' [A monk] asked: 'What is a fierce, keen man?' The master said: 'A stone ox roars at every step in the deep pool; a paper horse cries out from within the fire at every sound.' A newly arrived monk held his staff, walked three times around the master, shook his staff once, and said: 'Where ordinary and sage do not reach, please, master, speak.' The master snapped his fingers three times. The monk said: 'Today Tong'an is so frightened he forgets what comes before and loses what comes after.' The master said: 'Acharya, from where did you set out?' The monk said 'Take care', and went out. The master said: 'Patch-robed sons of the five lakes, single-staffed Chan men — until you reach Tong'an, you may well have your doubts.' The monk turned his head and said: 'Hearing from afar is not like seeing close at hand.' The master said: 'For coveting one cup of his wine, you lose a whole boatload of fish.' [A monk] asked: 'What is a man utterly devoid of shame?' The master said: 'This old monk is seen doing just such karmic work.' [A monk] asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the West?' The master said: 'Because the rhinoceros toys with the moon, patterns grow on its horn; when the elephant is startled by thunder, flowers enter its tusks.' [A monk] asked: 'What is a man who is heading away?' The master said: 'A winter cicada embraces a withered tree, weeping itself out and never turning its head.' [The monk] said: 'What is a man who comes back?' The master said: 'Reed flowers bloom within the fire; meeting spring, they are just like autumn.' [The monk] said: 'What is a man who neither comes nor goes?' The master said: 'A stone sheep meets a stone tiger; they look at each other, and sooner or later it is over.' The lecturer asked: 'The three vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teaching — I know them roughly. I wonder what dharma the master expounds to show people?' The master said: 'I expound the One Vehicle dharma.' [The lecturer] said: 'What is the One Vehicle dharma?' The master said: 'Several kinds of cloud colour come out at the peak; one same sound of spring falls before the railing.' [The lecturer] said: 'I am not asking about that. What is the One Vehicle dharma?' The master said: 'You are sharp enough as it is.' Once, while enjoying the moon, he said to a monk: 'How wonderful, how wonderful. The stars are bright and the moon is clear — well worth gazing at. Is this different from the Way?' The monk said: 'What is the Way?' The master said: 'You try to say.' [The monk] said: 'He has no wound of his own, so do not injure him.' The master said:

負笈攻文。不閑弓矢。問僧。近離何處。曰。江西。師曰。江西法道何似此間。曰。賴遇問著某甲。若問別人。則禍生也。師曰。老僧適來造次。曰。某甲不是嬰兒。徒用止啼黃葉。師曰。傷鼈恕龜。殺活由我。問僧。甚處來。曰。五臺。師曰。還見文殊麼。僧展兩手。師曰。展手頗多。文殊誰覩。曰。氣急殺人。師曰。不覩雲中鴈。焉知沙塞寒。問。遠趨丈室。乞師一言。師曰。孫臏門下。徒話鑽龜。曰。名不浪得。師曰。吃茶去。僧便珍重。師曰。雖得一場榮。刖卻一雙足。師看經次。有僧來問訊。師曰。古佛今佛。皆無別理。曰。和尚如何。師打一掌。僧曰。如是。如是。師曰。這風顛漢。曰。今古皆然。師曰。擬欲降龍。卻逢死虎。曰。同安甚生光彩。師曰。守株停舶。非汝而誰。曰。和尚聻。師曰。胡羊往楚。抱屈而歸。師問僧。眼界無光。如何得見。曰。北斗東轉。南斗西移。師曰。夫子入太廟。曰。與麼則同安門下。道絕人荒去也。師曰。橫抱孾孩。擬彰皇簡。師聞鵲聲。謂眾曰。喜鵲鳴寒檜。心印是渠傳。僧出問曰。何別。師曰。眾中有人在。曰。同安門下。道絕人荒。師曰。胡人飲乳。返怪良醫。曰。休。休。師曰。老鶴入枯池。不見魚蹤跡。

(Tong'an continued:) 'To carry a book box and attack letters leaves no leisure for bow and arrow.' He asked a monk: 'Where have you just come from?' [The monk] said: 'Jiangxi.' The master said: 'How does the dharma-way of Jiangxi compare with this place?' [The monk] said: 'It is lucky for you that you asked me. Had you asked someone else, trouble would have arisen.' The master said: 'This old monk was just now rash.' [The monk] said: 'I am not an infant, so there is no use offering me a yellow leaf to stop my crying.' The master said: 'To spare the turtle when the soft-shelled turtle is hurt; killing and giving life are up to me.' He asked a monk: 'Where have you come from?' [The monk] said: 'Mount Wutai.' The master said: 'Did you see Manjushri?' The monk spread out both hands. The master said: 'Spreading the hands is common enough — who has seen Manjushri?' [The monk] said: 'You take my breath away.' The master said: 'If you do not see the goose in the clouds, how do you know the cold of the desert frontier?' [A monk] asked: 'Coming from afar to your room, I beg one word from the master.' The master said: 'In the school of Sun Bin you only talk of drilling tortoise shells.' [The monk] said: 'A name is not won in vain.' The master said: 'Go drink tea.' The monk then said 'Take care.' The master said: 'Though you gain one round of glory, you lose both feet.' Once, while the master was reading a sutra, a monk came to greet him. The master said: 'Ancient Buddhas and present Buddhas have no different principle.' [The monk] said: 'And the master?' The master gave him a slap. The monk said: 'So it is, so it is.' The master said: 'This madman.' [The monk] said: 'Past and present are both like this.' The master said: 'You meant to subdue a dragon, but you met a dead tiger.' [The monk] said: 'How Tong'an shines!' The master said: 'To guard a stump and halt the boat — if not you, then who?' [The monk] said: 'And the master?' The master said: 'A barbarian sheep going to Chu returns nursing an injury.' The master asked a monk: 'When the eye's field has no light, how does one see?' [The monk] said: 'The Dipper turns east, the Southern Dipper shifts west.' The master said: 'The Master enters the great temple.' [The monk] said: 'In that case, at Tong'an's gate the Way is cut off and men are barren.' The master said: 'Carrying an infant in your arms, you mean to display the imperial tablets.' Hearing a magpie, the master said to the assembly: 'The magpie cries on the cold juniper; the mind-seal is what it transmits.' A monk came forward and asked: 'What is the difference?' The master said: 'There is someone among the assembly.' [The monk] said: 'At Tong'an's gate the Way is cut off and men are barren.' The master said: 'A barbarian drinks milk and then blames the good physician.' [The monk] said: 'Enough, enough.' The master said: 'An old crane enters a dried-up pond and sees no trace of fish.'

洪州泐潭匡悟禪師

Chan Master Kuangwu of Letan in Hongzhou

僧問。如何是直截一路。師曰。恰好消息。曰。還通向上事也無。師曰。魚從下過。問。幽關未度。信息不通時如何。師曰。客路如天遠。侯門似海深。問。香煙馥郁。大張法筵。從上宗乘。如何舉唱。師曰。莫錯舉似人。曰。恁麼則總應如是。師曰。還是沒交涉。問。六葉芬芳。師傳何葉。師曰。六葉不相續。花開果不成。曰。豈無今日事。師曰。若是今日即有。曰。今日事如何。師曰。葉葉連枝秀。花開處處芳。

A monk asked: 'What is the direct, cutting-off road?' The master said: 'Just the right news.' [The monk] said: 'Does it also connect with the matter above?' The master said: 'The fish passes underneath.' [The monk] asked: 'What about when the dark gate is not yet crossed and news does not get through?' The master said: 'The traveller's road is as far as heaven; the marquis's gate is as deep as the sea.' [The monk] asked: 'The incense smoke is fragrant and the dharma seat is spread wide. How does one proclaim the patriarchal teaching handed down from above?' The master said: 'Do not proclaim it wrongly to anyone.' [The monk] said: 'Then it must all be like this.' The master said: 'Still there is no connection.' [The monk] asked: 'The six leaves are fragrant — which leaf does the master transmit?' The master said: 'The six leaves do not continue one another; when the flower opens, the fruit does not form.' [The monk] said: 'Is there then no matter of today?' The master said: 'If it is the matter of today, then there is.' [The monk] said: 'What is the matter of today?' The master said: 'Leaf after leaf joins the branches in beauty; wherever the flower opens, there is fragrance.'

吉州禾山無殷禪師

Chan Master Wuyin of Mount He in Jizhou

福州吳氏子。七歲從雪峰出家。依年受具。謁九峰。峰問。汝遠遠而來。暉暉(音袞)隨眾。見何境界而可修行。由何徑路而能出離。師曰。重昏廓闢。盲者自盲。峰乃許入室。後住禾山。學徒濟濟。諸方降歎。江南李氏召而問曰。和尚何處來。師曰。禾山來。曰。山在甚麼處。師曰。人來朝鳳闕。山嶽不曾移。國主重之。命居楊州祥光院。復乞入山。以翠巖而棲止焉。時上藍亦虗其室。命師來往闡化。號澄源禪師。僧問。學人乍入叢林。乞師指示。師曰。於汝不惜。問。仰山插鍬意旨如何。師曰。汝問我。曰。玄沙踏倒鍬又作麼生。師曰。我問汝。曰。未辯其宗。如何體悉。師曰。頭大尾尖。問。咫尺之間。為甚麼不覩師顏。師曰。且與闍黎道一半。曰。為甚麼不全道。師曰。盡法無民。曰。不怕無民。請師盡法。師曰。推倒禾山也。問。習學謂之聞。絕學謂之隣。過此二者。謂之真過。如何是真過。師曰。禾山解打鼓。曰。如何是真諦。師曰。禾山解打鼓。問。即心即佛則不問。如何是非心非佛。師曰。禾山解打鼓。曰。如何是向上事。師曰。禾山解打鼓。問。萬法齊興時如何。師曰。禾山解打鼓。問。如何是古佛心。師曰。世界崩陷。曰。為甚如此。師曰。寧無我身。問。尊者撥眉擊目。視育王時如何。師曰。即今也恁麼。曰。學人如何領會。師曰。莫非摩利支山。問。摩尼寶殿有四角。一角常露。如何是露底角。師舉手曰。汝打我。復曰。汝還會麼。曰。不會。師曰。汝爭解打得我。問。如何是西來意。師曰。撲破著。問。已在紅爐。請師烹鍊。師曰。槌下成器。曰。恁麼則烹鍊去也。師曰。池州和尚。問。四壁打禾。中間剗草。和尚赴阿那頭。師曰。甚麼處不赴。曰。恁麼則同於眾去也。師曰。小師弟子。建隆元年二月示微疾。三月二日辭眾。乃曰。後來學者未識禾山。即今識取。珍重。

He was a son of the Wu family of Fuzhou. At seven he left home under Xuefeng, and in due course received full ordination. He paid homage to Jiufeng. Feng asked: 'You have come from far away, moving brightly along with the crowd. What state have you seen that you can cultivate, and by what path can you leave the world?' The master said: 'Heavy darkness opens wide; the blind are blind of themselves.' Feng then allowed him into his room. Later he resided at Mount He, and his students were numerous; every quarter sighed in admiration. The Li family of Jiangnan summoned him and asked: 'Where does the master come from?' The master said: 'I come from Mount He.' [The ruler] said: 'Where is that mountain?' The master said: 'A man comes to court at the phoenix gate, but the mountain peak has never moved.' The ruler esteemed him and ordered him to reside at the Xiangguang Monastery in Yangzhou. He then begged to enter the mountains and settled at Cuiyan. At the time Shanglan's quarters were also vacant, and he was ordered to go back and forth to spread the teaching, with the title Chan Master Chengyuan. A monk asked: 'The student has just entered the monastery; I beg the master to point the way.' The master said: 'I do not begrudge it to you.' [A monk] asked: 'What was the meaning of Yangshan planting his spade?' The master said: 'You ask me.' [The monk] said: 'And what of Xuansha kicking over the spade?' The master said: 'I ask you.' [The monk] said: 'If one has not discerned its purport, how does one comprehend it?' The master said: 'A big head and a pointed tail.' [A monk] asked: 'At so close a distance, why do I not see the master's face?' The master said: 'For now I will tell you half.' [The monk] said: 'Why not tell it all?' The master said: 'When the dharma is exhausted there are no subjects.' [The monk] said: 'I do not fear there being no subjects; please, master, exhaust the dharma.' The master said: 'You have pushed over Mount He.' [A monk] asked: 'Study is called hearing, and the end of study is called nearing. Going beyond these two is called truly passing beyond. What is truly passing beyond?' The master said: 'Mount He knows how to beat the drum.' [The monk] said: 'What is the ultimate truth?' The master said: 'Mount He knows how to beat the drum.' [A monk] asked: 'I do not ask about mind-is-Buddha. What is not-mind and not-Buddha?' The master said: 'Mount He knows how to beat the drum.' [The monk] said: 'What is the matter above?' The master said: 'Mount He knows how to beat the drum.' [A monk] asked: 'What about when the ten thousand dharmas arise together?' The master said: 'Mount He knows how to beat the drum.' [A monk] asked: 'What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?' The master said: 'The world collapses.' [The monk] said: 'Why is it so?' The master said: 'Better that I have no body.' [A monk] asked: 'What about when the venerable one twitches his brows and rolls his eyes, looking at King Yu?' The master said: 'Even now it is just like that.' [The monk] said: 'How is the student to understand?' The master said: 'It is none other than Mount Marichi.' [A monk] asked: 'The jewelled hall of Mani has four corners, and one corner is always exposed. What is the exposed corner?' The master raised his hand and said: 'You hit me.' He said again: 'Do you understand?' [The monk] said: 'I do not.' The master said: 'How could you manage to hit me?' [A monk] asked: 'What is the meaning of his coming from the West?' The master said: 'Shatter it.' [A monk] asked: 'I am already in the red furnace; please, master, forge me.' The master said: 'Under the hammer it becomes a vessel.' [The monk] said: 'Then I will go to be forged.' The master said: 'The monk of Chizhou.' [A monk] asked: 'Threshing grain on all four sides and cutting grass in the middle — where does the master go?' The master said: 'Where does he not go?' [The monk] said: 'Then he goes along with the crowd.' The master said: 'A junior master's disciple.' In the second month of the first year of Jianlong he showed a slight illness. On the second day of the third month he took leave of the assembly and said: 'Later students do not yet know Mount He; know it now. Take care.'

言訖而寂。諡法性禪師。

Having spoken, he passed into stillness. He was given the posthumous title Chan Master Faxing, Dharma Nature.

洪州泐潭牟禪師

Chan Master Mou of Letan in Hongzhou

僧問。如何是學人著力處。師曰。正是著力處。上堂。僧問。百丈捲席意旨如何。師曰。珍重。便下座。

A monk asked: 'Where should a student put his effort?' The master said: 'That is exactly where to put your effort.' He ascended the hall. A monk asked: 'What was the meaning of Baizhang rolling up the mat?' The master said: 'Take care of yourself.' He then stepped down from the seat.