The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll Seven

台州紫凝普聞寺智勤禪師

Chan Master Zhiqin of Puwen Monastery on Zining in Taizhou

僧問。如何是空手把鉏頭。師曰。但恁麼諦信。曰。如何是步行騎水牛。師曰。汝自何來。有偈示眾曰。今年五十五。腳未蹋寸土。山河是眼睛。大海是我肚。太平興國四年。有旨試僧經業。山門老宿。各寫法名。唯師不閑書札。時通判李憲問。世尊還解書也無。師曰。天下人知。淳化初。不疾。命侍僧開浴。浴訖垂誡徒眾。安坐而逝。塔於本山。三年後。門人遷塔發龕。覩師容儀儼若。髭髮仍長。遂迎入新塔。

A monk asked, 'What is carrying a hoe with empty hands?' The Master said, 'Just thus have deep faith.' The monk said, 'What is walking on foot while riding a water buffalo?' The Master said, 'Where have you come from?' He had a verse to show the assembly: 'This year I am fifty-five, and my feet have not trodden an inch of ground. Mountains and rivers are my eyes, the great sea is my belly.' In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo there was an edict to examine monks in the sutra studies. The old masters of the monastery each wrote their Dharma names. Only the Master was unskilled at writing. Then the assistant prefect Li Xian asked, 'Does the World-Honored One understand writing too?' The Master said, 'The people of the world know.' In the early Chunhua era, without illness, he ordered an attendant monk to prepare a bath. After bathing he gave his final admonition to the disciples, sat at ease, and passed away. His stupa is on that mountain. Three years later his disciples moved the stupa and opened the niche, and saw the Master's countenance and demeanor as if alive, his beard and hair still growing, so they welcomed him into a new stupa.

溫州鴈蕩山願齊禪師

Chan Master Yuanqi of Yandang Mountain in Wenzhou

錢塘江氏子。上堂。僧問。夜月舒光。為甚麼碧潭無影。師曰。作家弄影漢。其僧從東過西立。師曰。不唯弄影。兼乃怖頭。

was a son of the Jiang family of Qiantang. Ascending the hall. A monk asked, 'The night moon gives out light—why has the blue pool no shadow?' The Master said, 'A master craftsman at playing with shadows.' The monk crossed from east to west and stood. The Master said, 'Not only playing with shadows, but also fearing your own head.'

杭州普門寺希辯禪師

Chan Master Xibian of Pumen Monastery in Hangzhou

蘇州人也。忠懿王命主越州清泰。署慧智。後遷上寺。上堂。山僧素乏知見。復寡聞持。頃雖侍立於國師。不蒙一句開示。以致今日與諸仁者聚會。更無一法可相助發。何況能為諸仁者區別緇素。商量古今。還怪得山僧麼。若有怪者。且道此人具眼不具眼。有賓主義。無賓主義。晚學初機。必須審細。僧問。如何是普門示現神通事。師曰。恁麼則闍黎怪老僧去也。曰。不怪時如何。師曰。汝且下堂裡思惟去。太平興國三年。吳越王入覲。師隨寶塔至。見於滋福殿。賜紫衣。號慧明禪師。端拱中乞還故里。詔從之。賜御製詩。忠懿王施金於常熟本山院。創甎浮圖七級。高二百尺。功既就。至道三年八月示寂。塔於院之西北隅。

was a man of Suzhou. King Zhongyi ordered him to preside at Qingtai in Yuezhou, with the title Huizhi. Later he moved to the Upper Monastery. Ascending the hall: 'This mountain monk has always lacked views and knowledge, and is also poor in learning and retention. Though I once stood in attendance on the National Teacher, I did not receive a single phrase of instruction, so that today, meeting you good people, I have not one dharma with which to help you forth. How much less can I distinguish black from white for you good people and deliberate on past and present. Can you still blame this mountain monk? If there is one who blames, tell me, does this person have the eye or not, is there a host-guest relationship or not? Late students and beginners must examine this carefully.' A monk asked, 'What is the matter of Pumen's manifesting spiritual powers?' The Master said, 'Then the Acharya blames this old monk.' The monk said, 'What about when one does not blame?' The Master said, 'Go down to the hall and think it over.' In the third year of Taiping Xingguo, the king of Wu and Yue went to court. The Master followed the jeweled pagoda and came to be received in the Zifu Hall. He was given a purple robe and the title Chan Master Huiming. In the Duangong era he asked to return to his old village, and the edict granted it. He was given an imperial poem. King Zhongyi donated gold to the mountain monastery in Changshu and built a brick stupa of seven stories, two hundred feet high. When the work was done, in the eighth month of the third year of Zhidao the Master passed into quiescence. His stupa is at the northwest corner of the monastery.

杭州光慶寺遇安禪師

Chan Master Yu'an of Guangqing Monastery in Hangzhou

錢塘沈氏子。上堂。僧問。無價寶珠。請師分付。師曰。善能吐露。曰。恁麼則人人具足去也。師曰。珠在甚麼處。僧禮拜。師曰。也是虗言。問。提綱舉領。盡立主賓。如何是主。師曰。深委此問。曰。如何是賓。師曰。適來向汝道甚麼。曰。賓主道合時如何。師曰。其令不行。問。心月孤圓。光吞萬象。如何是吞萬象底光。師曰。大眾總見汝恁麼問。曰。光吞萬象從師道。心月孤圓意若何。師曰。抖擻精神著。曰。鷺倚雪巢猶可辯。光吞萬象事難明。師曰。謹退。問。青山綠水。處處分明。和尚家風。乞垂一句。師曰。盡被汝道了也。曰。未必如斯。請師答話。師曰。不用閑言。又一僧方禮拜。師曰。問答俱備。僧擬問。師乃叱之。上堂。欲識曹溪旨。雲飛前面山。分明真實箇。不用別追攀。僧問。古德有言。井底紅塵生。山頭波浪起。未審此意如何。師曰。若到諸方。但恁麼問。曰。和尚意旨如何。師曰。適來向汝道甚麼。乃曰。古今相承。皆雲塵生井底。浪起山頭。結子空華。生兒石女。且作麼生會。莫是和聲送事。就物呈心。句裡藏鋒。聲前全露麼。莫是有名無體。異唱玄譚麼。上座自會即得。古人意旨即不然。既恁麼會不得。合作麼生會。上座欲得會麼。但看泥牛行處。陽𦦨飜波。木馬嘶時。空華墜影。聖凡如此。道理分明。何須久立。珍重。

was a son of the Shen family of Qiantang. Ascending the hall. A monk asked, 'The priceless jewel—please, Master, hand it over.' The Master said, 'Well able to disclose it.' The monk said, 'Then everyone is fully provided.' The Master said, 'Where is the jewel?' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'That too is empty words.' Asked, 'Raising the main point and lifting the collar, host and guest are all set up. What is the host?' The Master said, 'You have deeply entrusted this question.' The monk said, 'What is the guest?' The Master said, 'What did I just tell you?' The monk said, 'What about when host and guest are in accord?' The Master said, 'Its command does not go forth.' Asked, 'The mind-moon is alone and round; its light swallows the ten thousand forms. What is the light that swallows the ten thousand forms?' The Master said, 'The assembly all sees you asking like this.' The monk said, 'The light swallowing the ten thousand forms comes from the Master's words. What is the meaning of the mind-moon being alone and round?' The Master said, 'Rouse your spirit.' The monk said, 'A heron leaning on a snow nest can still be distinguished; the matter of the light swallowing the ten thousand forms is hard to make clear.' The Master said, 'Withdraw respectfully.' Asked, 'Green mountains and blue waters are clear in every place. The Master's house style—please grant one phrase.' The Master said, 'You have said it all.' The monk said, 'It is not necessarily so. Please, Master, answer.' The Master said, 'No idle words.' Another monk was just bowing when the Master said, 'Question and answer are both complete.' As the monk was about to ask, the Master scolded him. Ascending the hall: 'If you would know the purport of Caoxi, the clouds fly before the mountain. Clearly it is the true thing; no need to seek elsewhere.' A monk asked, 'The ancient virtuous ones said: red dust arises at the bottom of the well, waves rise on the mountain top. I do not understand what this means.' The Master said, 'If you go to the various regions, just ask like this.' The monk said, 'What is the Master's intent?' The Master said, 'What did I just tell you?' Then he said, 'Past and present transmit it in succession, all saying that dust arises at the bottom of the well, waves rise on the mountain top, fruit is born of empty flowers, and a stone woman bears a child. How will you understand it? Is it echoing events and sending off matters, presenting the mind through objects, hiding the blade in the phrase, fully revealing before sound? Is it having a name but no substance, strange songs and profound talk? If the elder understands it himself, all right. But the ancients' intent is not thus. Since you cannot understand it thus, how should you understand it? Does the elder want to understand? Just look: where the mud ox walks, the sun flames turn the waves. When the wooden horse neighs, the empty flower drops its shadow. Sage and ordinary are thus, and the principle is clear. Why stand long? Take care.'

台州般若寺友蟾禪師

Chan Master Youchan of Prajna Monastery in Taizhou

錢塘人也。初住雲居普賢。忠懿王署慈悟禪師。選止上寺。眾盈五百。僧問。鼓聲才罷。大眾雲臻。向上宗乘。請師舉唱。師曰。虧汝甚麼。曰。恁麼則人人盡霑恩去也。師曰。莫亂道。

was a man of Qiantang. He first lived at Yunju Puxian. King Zhongyi gave him the title Chan Master Ciwu. He was chosen to dwell at the Upper Monastery, where the assembly numbered five hundred. A monk asked, 'The drumbeat has just ceased and the assembly gathers like clouds. The vehicle above—please, Master, raise and sing it.' The Master said, 'Where do you fall short?' The monk said, 'Then everyone receives the grace.' The Master said, 'Do not talk nonsense.'

婺州智者寺全肯禪師

Chan Master Quanken of Zhizhe Monastery in Wuzhou

初參國師。國師問。汝名甚麼。師曰。全肯。國師曰。肯箇甚麼。師於言下有省。乃禮拜。住後。僧問。有人不肯。還甘也無。師曰。若人問我。即向伊道。

He first consulted the National Master. The National Master asked: 'What is your name?' The master said: 'Quan Ken, Complete Assent.' The National Master said: 'What do you assent to?' At these words the master had a realization, and bowed. After he became abbot, a monk asked: 'If someone does not assent, would you be content?' The master said: 'If someone asked me, I would tell him.'

福州玉泉義隆禪師

Chan Master Yuquan Yilong of Fuzhou

上堂。山河大地。盡在諸人眼睛裡。因甚麼說會與不會。時有僧問。山河大地眼睛裡。師今欲更指歸誰。師曰。祇為上座去處分明。曰。若不上來伸此問。焉知方便不虗施。師曰。依俙似曲才堪聽。又被風吹別調中。

He mounted the hall: 'The mountains, rivers and great earth are all within you people's eyes. Why then do you speak of understanding and not understanding?' At that moment a monk asked: 'The mountains, rivers and great earth are in the eyes — to whom does the Master now want to point them as belonging?' The master said: 'Only because your destination, Venerable One, is clear.' The monk said: 'Had I not come up and put this question, how would I know that your skillful means are not bestowed in vain?' The master said: 'Faintly like a tune that is just worth hearing, and again the wind blows it into another key.'

杭州龍冊寺曉榮禪師

Chan Master Xiaorong of Longce Monastery, Hangzhou

溫州鄧氏子。僧問。祖祖相傳。未審和尚傳阿誰。師曰。汝還識得祖也未。僧慧文問。如何是真實沙門。師曰。汝是慧文。問。如何是般若大神珠。師曰。般若大神珠。分形萬億軀。塵塵彰妙體。剎剎盡毗盧。問。如何是日用事。師曰。一念周沙界。日用萬般通。湛然常寂滅。常展自家風。小參次。僧問。向上事即不問。如何是妙善臺中的的意。師曰。若到諸方。分明舉似。曰。恁麼則雲有出山勢。水無投㵎聲。師乃叱之。

He was a son of the Deng family of Wenzhou. A monk asked: 'Patriarch after patriarch transmitted it; I wonder to whom the Master transmits it?' The master said: 'Do you know the patriarch or not?' The monk Huiwen asked: 'What is a true monk?' The master said: 'You are Huiwen.' The monk asked: 'What is the great spirit pearl of prajna?' The master said: 'The great spirit pearl of prajna divides its form into a trillion bodies. In every mote the wondrous essence is revealed; in every land it is all Vairocana.' The monk asked: 'What is the matter of daily use?' The master said: 'A single thought encompasses the sands of the Ganges; in daily use the ten thousand things are all pervaded. Serene and ever extinguished, it ever unfolds its own family style.' At the minor assembly a monk asked: 'I will not ask about the matter of going beyond. What is the precise meaning on the terrace of wondrous goodness?' The master said: 'If you go to other quarters, bring it up clearly.' The monk said: 'Then the clouds have the force to leave the mountain, and the water makes no sound falling into the ravine.' The master at once scolded him.

杭州功臣慶蕭禪師

Chan Master Gongchen Qingxiao of Hangzhou

僧問。如何是功臣家風。師曰。明暗色空。曰。恁麼則諸法無生去也。師曰。汝喚甚麼作諸法。僧禮拜。師曰。聽取一偈。功臣家風。明暗色空。法法非異。心心自通。恁麼會得。諸佛真宗。

A monk asked: 'What is the family style of Gongchen?' The master said: 'Bright and dark, form and emptiness.' The monk said: 'Then all dharmas go to non-arising.' The master said: 'What do you call all dharmas?' The monk bowed. The master said: 'Hear a verse. The family style of Gongchen: bright and dark, form and emptiness. Every dharma is not different; mind to mind they are self-communicating. If you can understand it thus, it is the true teaching of all buddhas.'

越州稱心敬璡禪師

Chan Master Chengxin Jingjin of Yuezhou

僧問。結束囊裝。請師分付。師曰。莫諱卻。曰。甚麼處孤負和尚。師曰。卻是汝孤負我。

A monk asked: 'My bundle is packed; please, Master, give me your parting instruction.' The master said: 'Do not conceal it.' The monk said: 'Where have I failed the Master?' The master said: 'It is rather you who have failed me.'

福州嚴峰師朮禪師

Chan Master Yanfeng Shishu of Fuzhou

開堂陞座。極樂和尚問曰。大眾顒望。請震法雷。師曰。大眾還會麼。還辨得麼。今日不異靈山。乃至諸佛國土。天上人間。總皆如是。亙古亙今。常無變異。作麼生會無變異底道理。若會得。所以道。無邊剎境。自他不隔於毫端。十世古今。始終不離於當念。僧問。靈山一會。迦葉親聞。嚴峰一會。誰是聞者。師曰。問者不弱。問。如何是文殊。師曰。來處甚分明。

When he opened the hall and mounted the seat, the Elder Jile asked: 'The great assembly looks up in expectation; please shake the thunder of dharma.' The master said: 'Does the great assembly understand? Can it tell? Today is no different from Vulture Peak. Indeed, all buddha lands, in heaven and among men, are altogether like this. From ancient times to the present it is always without change or variation. How do you understand the principle of no change and no variation? If you understand it, then it is as has been said: throughout boundless lands, self and other are not separated by the tip of a hair; through the ten ages of past and present, beginning and end never depart from the present thought.' A monk asked: 'At the assembly on Vulture Peak, Kashyapa heard it in person. At the assembly on Yanfeng, who is the hearer?' The master said: 'The questioner is not weak.' The monk asked: 'What is Manjushri?' The master said: 'The place he comes from is quite clear.'

潞府華嚴慧達禪師

Chan Master Huayan Huida of Lu Prefecture

僧問。如何是古佛心。師曰。山河大地。問。如何是華嚴境。師曰。滿目無形影。

A monk asked: 'What is the ancient buddha's mind?' The master said: 'Mountains, rivers, the great earth.' The monk asked: 'What is the realm of Huayan?' The master said: 'Filling the eyes, without shape or shadow.'

越州清泰院道圓禪師

Chan Master Qingtai Yuan Daoyuan of Yuezhou

僧問。亡僧遷化向甚麼處去也。師曰。今日遷化嶺中。上座問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。不可向汝道庭前栢樹子。

A monk asked: 'Where has the deceased monk gone, now that he has passed away?' The master said: 'Today he passes away in the ridge.' The Venerable One asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the west?' The master said: 'I cannot tell you, "the cypress tree in the courtyard."'

杭州九曲觀音院慶祥禪師

Chan Master Qingxiang of Jiuqu Guanyin Monastery, Hangzhou

餘杭人也。辯才冠眾。多聞強記。時天台門下。推為傑出。僧問。湛湛圓明。請師一決。師曰。十里平湖。一輪秋月。問。險惡道中。以何為津梁。師曰。以此為津梁。曰。如何是此。師曰。築著汝鼻孔。問。無根樹子向甚麼處栽。師曰。汝甚處得來。

He was a man of Yuhang. His eloquence surpassed the assembly, and he was widely learned with a strong memory. Among the disciples of Tiantai at that time he was reckoned outstanding. A monk asked: 'Deep and clear, perfectly bright; please, Master, settle it once.' The master said: 'Ten miles of level lake, one round autumn moon.' The monk asked: 'On a perilous road, what is the bridge?' The master said: 'This is the bridge.' The monk said: 'What is this?' The master said: 'It plugs your nostrils.' The monk asked: 'Where is the rootless tree planted?' The master said: 'Where did you get that from?'

杭州開化寺行明傳法禪師

Chan Master Xingming Chuanfa of Kaihua Monastery, Hangzhou

本州於氏子。禮雪竇智覺禪師為師。及智覺遷永明。遂入天台國師之室。蒙授記莂。復歸永明。翊贊廼師。海眾傾仰。忠懿王建六和寺(本朝賜開化額)。延請住持。聚徒說法。僧問。如何是開化門中流出方便。師曰。日日潮音兩度聞。問。如何是無盡燈。師曰。謝闍黎照燭。

He was a son of the Yu family of this prefecture. He took Chan Master Zhijue of Xuedou as his master. When Zhijue moved to Yongming, he entered the room of the National Master of Tiantai and received the prophecy and seal. He then returned to Yongming and assisted his own master, and the assembly, vast as the sea, looked up to him. King Zhongyi built Liuhe Monastery (our dynasty granted it the name Kaihua) and invited him to reside and gather disciples to preach the dharma. A monk asked: 'What skillful means flow out from the gate of Kaihua?' The master said: 'Day after day the sound of the tide is heard twice.' The monk asked: 'What is the inexhaustible lamp?' The master said: 'Thank you, Acharya, for your illumination.'

越州漁浦開善寺義圓禪師

Chan Master Kai Shan Yiyuan of Yupu, Yuezhou

僧問。一年去。一年來。方便門中請師開。師曰。分明記取。曰。恁麼則昔時師子吼。今日象王回也。師曰。且喜沒交涉。

A monk asked: 'One year departs, one year comes. In the gate of skillful means, pray, Master, open it.' The master said: 'Record it clearly.' The monk said: 'Then the lion's roar of former days has today become the elephant king's turning back.' The master said: 'I am rather glad it has no connection.'

溫州瑞鹿寺上方遇安禪師

Chan Master Shangfang Yu'an of Ruilu Monastery, Wenzhou

福州人也。得法於天台。又常閱首楞嚴經。到知見立知。即無明本。知見無見。斯即涅槃。師乃破句讀曰。知見立。知即無明本。知見無。見斯即涅槃。於此有省。有人語師曰。破句了也。師曰。此是我悟處。畢生不易。時謂之安楞嚴。至道元年春。將示寂。有嗣子蘊仁侍立。師乃說偈示之。不是嶺頭𢹂得事。豈從鷄足付將來。自古聖賢皆若此。非吾今日為君裁。付囑已。澡身易衣。安坐。令舁棺至室。良久。自入棺。經三日。門人啟棺。覩師右脇吉祥而臥。四眾哀慟。師乃再起。陞堂說法。訶責垂誡。此度更啟吾棺者。非吾之子。言訖。復入棺長往。

He was a man of Fuzhou. He obtained the dharma from Tiantai. He also often read the Shurangama Sutra, and when he came to 'When knowing and seeing set up a knowing, that is the root of ignorance. When knowing and seeing are without seeing, that is nirvana,' he broke the phrases and read it as: 'When knowing and seeing are set up, the knowing is the root of ignorance. When knowing and seeing are absent, the seeing is nirvana.' At this he had a realization. Someone said to the master: 'You have broken the phrases.' The master said: 'This is where I awakened. I will not change it for my whole life.' At that time he was called An of the Shurangama. In the spring of the first year of Zhidao, when he was about to pass away, his heir Yunren stood in attendance. The master then spoke a verse to him: 'It is not a matter carried off from the ridge top; how could it be transmitted from Kukkutapada? From ancient times the sages and worthies have all been thus; it is not that I today cut it out for you.' Having given his parting instruction, he bathed and changed his clothes and sat at ease. He had the coffin brought into the room. After a long while he entered the coffin himself. Three days later his disciples opened the coffin and saw the master lying on his right side in the auspicious posture. The four assemblies wept and grieved. The master then rose again, mounted the hall to preach the dharma, and admonished them with a rebuke: 'Whoever opens my coffin again this time is not my disciple.' Having spoken, he entered the coffin again and departed forever.

杭州龍華寺慧居禪師

Chan Master Huiju of Longhua Monastery, Hangzhou

閩人也。自天台領旨。忠懿王命住上寺。開堂示眾曰。從上宗乘。到這裡如何舉唱。祇如釋迦如來說一代時教。如瓶注水。古德尚雲。猶如夢事寱語一般。且道據甚麼道理便恁麼道。還會麼。大施門開。何曾壅塞。生凡育聖。不漏纖塵。言凡則全凡。舉聖則全聖。凡聖不相待。箇箇獨稱尊。所以道。山河大地。長時說法。長時放光。地水火風。一一如是。時有僧出禮拜。師曰。好箇問頭。如法問著。僧擬進前。師曰。又沒交涉也。問。諸佛出世。放光動地。和尚出世。有何祥瑞。師曰。話頭自破。上堂。龍華這裡。也祇是拈柴擇菜。上來下去。晨朝一粥。齋時一飯。睡後吃茶。但恁麼參取。珍重。問。學人未明自己。如何辨得淺深。師曰。識取自己眼。曰。如何是自己眼。師曰。向汝道甚麼。

He was a man of Min. He received the purport from Tiantai. King Zhongyi ordered him to reside at the upper monastery. When he opened the hall he addressed the assembly: 'The ancestral vehicle from the first — how is it to be proclaimed here? Consider how Shakyamuni Tathagata set forth the teachings of a whole age, like water poured from a pitcher. The ancient worthies still said it is like a dream and like talking in one's sleep. Tell me, on what principle does he speak like that? Do you understand? The gate of great giving stands open — when was it ever blocked? It gives birth to the ordinary and rears the holy, and not a mote slips through. Speaking of the ordinary, it is wholly ordinary; raising up the holy, it is wholly holy. Ordinary and holy do not wait upon each other; each one alone is called honored. Therefore it is said: the mountains, rivers and great earth ever preach the dharma and ever emit light. Earth, water, fire and wind, each one is like this.' At that moment a monk came forward and bowed. The master said: 'What a good question! Ask it in accordance with the dharma.' The monk was about to step forward. The master said: 'You have lost touch again.' The monk asked: 'When all buddhas appear in the world, they emit light and shake the earth. When the Master appears in the world, what auspicious sign is there?' The master said: 'The words of the question break themselves.' He mounted the hall: 'Here at Longhua we only pick firewood and choose vegetables. Coming up and going down, at dawn one bowl of gruel, at noon one meal, and tea after sleep. Just study it like this. Take care.' A monk asked: 'This student has not yet clarified himself; how can he tell shallow from deep?' The master said: 'Know your own eye.' The monk said: 'What is your own eye?' The master said: 'What did I tell you?'