The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One

終南山惟政禪師

Chan Master Weizheng of Zhongnan Mountain

平原人也。姓周氏。受業於本州延和寺詮澄法師。得法於嵩山普寂禪師。即入太一山中。學者盈室。唐文宗好嗜蛤蜊。㳂海官吏先時𮞏進。人亦勞止。一日御饌中有擘不張者。帝以其異。即焚香禱之。乃開。見菩薩形儀。梵相具足。帝遂貯以金粟檀香合。覆以美錦。賜興善寺。令眾僧瞻禮。因問群臣。斯何祥也。或奏太一山惟政禪師深明佛法。博聞強記。乞詔問之。帝即頒詔。師至。帝問其事。師曰。臣聞物無虗應。此乃啟陛下之信心耳。故契經云。應以此身得度者。即現此身。而為說法。帝曰。菩薩身已現。且未聞說法。師曰。陛下覩此為常邪。非常邪。信邪。非信邪。帝曰。希奇之事。朕深信焉。師曰。陛下已聞說法竟。皇情悅豫。得未曾有。詔天下寺院各立觀音像。以答殊休。留師於內道場。累辭歸山。詔令住聖壽寺。至武宗即位。師忽入終南山隱居。人問其故。師曰。吾避仇矣。終後闍維。收舍利四十九粒。而建塔焉。

He was from Pingyuan and belonged to the Zhou clan. He studied under Dharma Master Quancheng at Yanhe Monastery in his home prefecture, received the Dharma from Chan Master Puji of Mount Song, and then entered Mount Taiyi, where students filled his room. Emperor Wenzong of Tang loved eating clams. Officials along the coast hurried to present them in tribute, causing great hardship for the people. One day, in the imperial meal, there was a clam that would not open. The emperor found it strange, burned incense, and prayed; only then did it open, revealing the complete form and Brahmin features of a Bodhisattva. The emperor placed it in a sandalwood box decorated with millet-gold, covered it with fine brocade, and bestowed it on Xingshan Monastery for the monks to venerate. He then asked his ministers: “What auspicious sign is this?” Someone reported that Chan Master Weizheng of Mount Taiyi deeply understood the Buddha-Dharma and had a broad memory, and asked the emperor to summon him. The emperor issued an edict. When the master arrived, the emperor asked about the matter. The master said: “I have heard that things do not respond without cause. This is meant to awaken Your Majesty’s faith. Therefore the sutra says: ‘For those who can be liberated by this body, one manifests this body and teaches the Dharma.’” The emperor said: “The Bodhisattva’s body has appeared, but I have not yet heard the Dharma taught.” The master asked: “Does Your Majesty regard this as ordinary or extraordinary, trustworthy or untrustworthy?” The emperor replied: “It is a wondrous event; I deeply believe it.” The master said: “Your Majesty has already heard the Dharma.” The emperor was delighted, feeling he had encountered something unprecedented. He issued an edict for every monastery in the empire to establish an image of Guanyin Bodhisattva in gratitude for this exceptional sign. He kept the master in the palace sanctuary and repeatedly declined his requests to return to the mountain, ordering him instead to reside at Shengshou Monastery. When Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, the master suddenly went into seclusion on Zhongnan Mountain. People asked why. The master said: “I am avoiding an enemy.” After his passing, his body was cremated and forty-nine relics were collected; a stupa was built.

破灶墮和尚法嗣

Dharma heirs of the Monk Who Toppled the Broken Stove

嵩山峻極禪師

Chan Master Junji of Mount Song

僧問。如何是修善行人。師曰。擔枷帶鏁。曰。如何是作惡行人。師曰。修禪入定。曰。某甲淺機。請師直指。師曰。汝問我惡。惡不從善。汝問我善。善不從惡。僧良久。師曰。會麼僧。曰。不會。師曰。惡人無善念。善人無惡心。所以道善惡如浮雲。俱無起滅處。僧於言下大悟。後破灶墮聞舉。乃曰。此子會盡諸法無生。

A monk asked: “What is a person who practices good conduct?” The master said: “One who carries cangue and chains.” The monk asked: “What is a person who does evil?” The master said: “One who practices Chan and enters samadhi.” The monk said: “My capacity is shallow. I beg the master to point directly.” The master said: “When you ask about evil, evil does not come from good. When you ask about good, good does not come from evil.” The monk was silent for a long time. The master asked: “Do you understand, monk?” The monk said: “I do not.” The master said: “An evil person has no thought of good; a good person has no evil mind. Therefore good and evil are like floating clouds, neither arising nor ceasing anywhere.” At these words the monk greatly awakened. Later the Monk Who Toppled the Stove heard about it and said: “This man has completely understood the unborn nature of all dharmas.”

五祖下四世

Fourth generation under the Fifth Patriarch

益州無相禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Wuxiang of Yizhou

益州保唐寺無住禪師

Chan Master Wuzhu of Baotang Monastery, Yizhou

初得法於無相大師。乃居南陽白崖山。專務宴寂。經累歲。學者漸至。勤請不已。自此垂誨。雖廣演言教。而唯以無念為宗。唐相國杜鴻漸出撫坤維。聞師名。思一瞻禮。遣使到山延請。時節度使崔寧亦命諸寺僧徒遠出。迎引至空慧寺。時杜公與戎帥召三學碩德俱會寺中。致禮訖。公問曰。弟子聞今和尚說無憶．無念．莫妄三句法門。是否。師曰。然。公曰。此三句是一是三。師曰。無憶名戒。無念名定。莫妄名慧。一心不生。具戒定慧。非一非三也。公曰。後句妄字莫是從心之忘乎。曰。從女者是也。公曰。有據否。師曰。法句經云。若起精進心。是妄非精進。若能心不妄。精進無有涯。公聞疑情盪然。公又問。師還以三句示人否。師曰。初心學人。還令息念。澄停識浪。水清影現。悟無念體。寂滅現前。無念亦不立也。於時庭樹鵶鳴。公問。師聞否。師曰。聞。鵶去已。又問。師聞否。師曰。聞。公曰。鵶去無聲。云何言聞。師乃普告大眾曰。佛世難值。正法難聞。各各諦聽。聞無有聞。非關聞性。本來不生。何曾有滅。有聲之時。是聲塵自生。無聲之時。是聲塵自滅。而此聞性。不隨聲生。不隨聲滅。悟此聞性。則免聲塵之所轉。當知聞無生滅。聞無去來。公與僚屬大眾稽首。又問。何名第一義。第一義者。從何次第得入。師曰。第一義無有次第。亦無出入。世諦一切有。第一義即無。諸法無性性。說名第一義。佛言有法名俗諦。無性第一義。公曰。如師開示。實不可思議。公又曰。弟子性識微淺。昔因公暇。撰得起信論章疏兩卷。可得稱佛法否。師曰。夫造章疏。皆用識心。思量分別。有為有作。起心動念。然可造成。據論文雲。當知一切法。從本以來。離言說相。離名字相。離心緣相。畢竟平等。無有變異。唯有一心。故名真如。今相公著言說相。著名字相。著心緣相。既著種種相。

At first, he received the Dharma from Master Wuxiang and settled on White Cliff Mountain at Nanyang, devoting himself to quiet meditation. After several years, students gradually came to him and earnestly sought instruction without ceasing, so he began teaching. Though he expounded the teachings widely, he took no-thought alone as his central principle. When the Tang chancellor Du Hongjian was sent to govern the southwest, he heard of the master and wished to pay his respects. He dispatched an envoy to invite him from the mountain. The military governor Cui Ning also ordered monks from the various monasteries to come out from afar and escort him to Konghui Monastery. There Du and the commander summoned eminent masters versed in the Three Vehicles to gather at the monastery. After paying his respects, Du asked, ‘I have heard that you now teach a Dharma gate of three phrases: no recollection, no thought, and no delusion. Is that so?’ The master said, ‘It is.’ Du asked, ‘Are these three phrases one, or three?’ The master said, ‘No recollection is precept; no thought is concentration; no delusion is wisdom. When the one mind does not arise, precepts, concentration, and wisdom are all complete. They are neither one nor three.’ Du asked, ‘In the last phrase, is the word for delusion not the same as “forgetting,” written with the heart radical?’ The master said, ‘It is written with the woman radical.’ Du asked, ‘Is there a scriptural basis?’ The master said, ‘The Dharmapada says: “If a mind of striving arises, it is delusion, not true striving. If the mind can remain free of delusion, its striving has no limit.”’ Hearing this, Du’s doubts vanished. He asked again, ‘Do you still use these three phrases to instruct people?’ The master said, ‘For beginners, I still have them quiet their thoughts and still the waves of consciousness, until the water is clear and reflections appear. When they awaken to the substance of no-thought and quiescent extinction manifests, even no-thought is no longer established.’ Just then, crows called in the courtyard trees. Du asked, ‘Master, do you hear them?’ The master said, ‘I do.’ After the crows flew away, Du asked again, ‘Master, do you hear them?’ The master said, ‘I do.’ Du said, ‘The crows have gone and there is no sound. Why do you say you hear?’ The master then addressed the whole assembly: ‘It is hard to encounter a Buddha’s age, and hard to hear the true Dharma. Listen carefully, each of you. Hearing is without a hearer; it does not depend on the faculty of hearing. It was never born to begin with, so how could it ever cease? When sound is present, the sound-object arises by itself; when sound is absent, the sound-object ceases by itself. The nature of hearing does not arise with sound or perish with sound. Awaken to this nature of hearing, and you will not be turned about by sound-objects. Know that hearing has neither arising nor ceasing, neither coming nor going.’ Du and his attendants bowed to the ground with the assembly. He asked again, ‘What is called the highest truth, and by what stages can one enter it?’ The master said, ‘The highest truth has no stages and no coming or going. In conventional truth, all things exist; in the highest truth, they do not. The nature of all phenomena is without inherent nature; this is called the highest truth. The Buddha said that the existence of phenomena is conventional truth, while their lack of inherent nature is the highest truth.’ Du said, ‘What you have revealed is truly inconceivable.’ He continued, ‘My nature and understanding are shallow. In my spare time from official duties, I composed a two-volume commentary on the Awakening of Faith. Can it be called Buddhadharma?’ The master said, ‘When composing commentaries, one uses the discriminating mind of consciousness, thinking and analyzing; one acts and creates through the stirring of thought. The treatise says: “Know that all phenomena, from the very beginning, are apart from the marks of speech, apart from the marks of names, and apart from the marks of mental engagement. They are ultimately equal and unchanging; there is only the one mind, and this is called suchness.” Now, Chancellor, you are attached to the marks of speech, names, and mental engagement. Since you cling to these various marks…’

云何是佛法。公起作禮曰。弟子亦曾問諸供奉大德。皆讚弟子不可思議。當知彼等但狥人情。師今從理解說。合心地法。實是真理不可思議。公又問。云何不生。云何不滅。如何得解脫。師曰。見境心不起。名不生。不生即不滅。既無生滅。即不被前塵所縛。當處解脫。不生名無念。無念即無滅。無念即無縛。無念即無脫。舉要而言。識心即離念。見性即解脫。離識心見性外。更有法門證無上菩提者。無有是處。公曰。何名識心見性。師曰。一切學道人。隨念流浪。葢為不識真心。真心者。念生亦不順生。念滅亦不依寂。不來不去。不定不亂。不取不捨。不沈不浮。無為無相活鱍鱍。平常自在。此心體畢竟不可得。無可知覺。觸目皆如。無非見性也。公與大眾作禮稱讚。踴躍而去。師後居保唐寺而終。

(Wuzhu continued:) ‘…what is the Buddhadharma?’ Du rose, made a bow, and said, ‘I have asked many eminent court masters about this, and they all praised me as inconceivable. I now know they were merely indulging me. You have explained it from the standpoint of understanding and accorded with the teaching of the mind-ground; this is truly the inconceivable truth.’ Du asked again, ‘What is non-arising? What is non-ceasing? How does one attain liberation?’ The master said, ‘When the mind does not arise upon encountering an object, that is called non-arising. What does not arise does not cease. Since there is neither arising nor ceasing, one is not bound by objects before one and is liberated right where one stands. Non-arising is called no-thought. No-thought is non-ceasing; no-thought is neither bondage nor release.’ In brief: ‘The mind of consciousness is to be free of thought; seeing one’s nature is liberation. Apart from freeing oneself from the mind of consciousness and seeing one’s nature, there is no other Dharma gate by which to realize unsurpassed awakening.’ Du asked, ‘What does it mean to know the mind and see one’s nature?’ The master said, ‘All who study the Way wander along with each thought because they do not know the true mind. When thoughts arise, the true mind does not follow their arising; when thoughts cease, it does not abide in stillness. It neither comes nor goes, is neither settled nor disturbed, neither grasps nor rejects, neither sinks nor floats. Unconditioned and formless, it is vividly alive, ordinary, and at ease. Ultimately, this mind’s substance cannot be found or apprehended. Whatever meets the eye is thusness; nothing is apart from seeing one’s nature.’ Du and the assembly bowed and praised him, then departed in delight. The master later resided at Baotang Monastery, where he passed away.

六祖大鑒禪師旁出法嗣第一世

The First Generation of Collateral Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Dajian, the Sixth Patriarch

西域崛多三藏者

Tripitaka Master Jueduo of the Western Regions,

天竺人也。於六祖言下契悟。後遊五臺。見一僧結庵靜坐。師問曰。孤坐奚為。曰。觀靜。師曰。觀者何人。靜者何物。其僧作禮。問曰。此理何如。師曰汝何不自觀自靜。彼僧茫然。師曰。汝出誰門邪。曰。秀禪師。師曰。我西域異道最下種者不墮此見。兀然空坐。於道何益。其僧卻問。師所師者何人。師曰。我師六祖。汝何不速往曹溪。決其真要。其僧即往參六祖。六祖垂誨。與師符合。僧即悟入。師後不知所終。

He was from India and awakened under the Sixth Patriarch’s instruction. Later, while traveling on Mount Wutai, he saw a monk sitting in meditation in a hut. The master asked, ‘What are you doing sitting alone?’ The monk said, ‘Contemplating stillness.’ The master asked, ‘Who is the one contemplating? What is stillness?’ The monk bowed and asked, ‘What is the principle?’ The master said, ‘Why don’t you contemplate yourself and make yourself still?’ The monk was at a loss. The master asked, ‘Whose lineage are you from?’ The monk said, ‘Chan Master Shenxiu’s.’ The master said, ‘Even the lowest among the heterodox schools of my western homeland would not fall into this view. Sitting rigidly in emptiness—what benefit is that to the Way?’ The monk then asked, ‘Who is your teacher?’ The master said, ‘My teacher is the Sixth Patriarch. Why don’t you go quickly to Caoxi and settle the essential matter?’ The monk went to study with the Sixth Patriarch. The Patriarch’s instruction accorded with what this master had said, and the monk awakened. The master’s end is unknown.

韶州法海禪師者

Chan Master Fahai of Shaozhou,

曲江人也。初見六祖。問曰。即心即佛。願垂指喻。祖曰。前念不生即心。後念不滅即佛。成一切相即心。離一切相即佛。吾若具說。窮劫不盡。聽吾偈曰。即心名慧。即佛乃定。定慧等持。意中清淨。悟此法門。由汝習性。用本無生。雙脩是正。師信受。以偈贊曰。即心元是佛。不悟而自屈。我知定慧因。雙脩離諸物。

He was from Qujiang. When he first met the Sixth Patriarch, he asked, ‘Since mind itself is Buddha, I beg you to explain this.’ The Patriarch said, ‘When the preceding thought does not arise, that is mind; when the succeeding thought does not perish, that is Buddha. Giving rise to all forms is mind; being apart from all forms is Buddha. If I explained it fully, I could not finish in kalpas. Listen to my verse: “Mind itself is named wisdom; Buddha itself is concentration. When concentration and wisdom are held equally, the mind is pure. Awaken to this Dharma gate according to your own disposition. Function through original non-arising; cultivating both is the right path.”’ The master accepted this teaching and praised it in verse: ‘Mind itself was originally Buddha; failing to awaken, I wronged myself. Now I know the cause of concentration and wisdom: cultivating both, I am apart from all things.’

吉州志誠禪師者

Chan Master Zhicheng of Jizhou,

本州太和人也。初參秀禪師。後因兩宗盛化。秀之徒眾往往譏南宗曰。能大師不識一字。有何所長。秀曰。他得無師之智。深悟上乘。吾不如也。且吾師五祖親付衣法。豈徒然哉。吾所恨不能遠去親近。虗受國恩。汝等諸人無滯於此。可往曹谿質疑。他日回。當為吾說。師聞此語。禮辭至韶陽。隨眾參請。不言來處。時六祖告眾曰。今有盜法之人。潛在此會。師出禮拜。具陳其事。祖曰。汝師若為示眾。師曰。甞指誨大眾。令住心觀靜。長坐不臥。祖曰。住心觀靜。是病非禪。長坐拘身。於理何益。聽吾偈曰。生來坐不臥。死去臥不坐。一具臭骨頭。何為立功過。師曰。未審和尚以何法誨人。祖曰。吾若言有法與人。即為誑汝。但且隨方解縛。假名三昧。聽吾偈曰。心地無非自性戒。心地無痴自性慧心地無亂自性定。不增不減自金剛。身去身來本三昧。師聞偈悔謝。即誓依歸。乃呈偈曰。五蘊幻身。幻何究竟。回趣真如。法還不淨。

He was from Taihe in that prefecture. At first he studied with Chan Master Shenxiu. Later, as the two schools flourished, Shenxiu’s disciples often mocked the Southern School, saying, ‘Master Huineng cannot even recognize a single character. What excellence could he have?’ Shenxiu said, ‘He has wisdom that comes from no teacher and deeply realizes the Great Vehicle. I am no match for him. Moreover, our teacher, the Fifth Patriarch, personally transmitted the robe and Dharma to him; surely that was not without reason. I regret that I cannot travel far to draw near to him, and that I have wasted the emperor’s favor. You should not remain here in error. Go to Caoxi and question him. When you return, tell me what you learned.’ Hearing this, the master took leave and went to Shaoyang. He joined the assembly to seek instruction without revealing where he had come from. The Sixth Patriarch then told the group, ‘A Dharma thief is hiding in this gathering.’ The master stepped forward, bowed, and recounted everything. The Patriarch asked, ‘How does your teacher instruct the assembly?’ The master said, ‘He has instructed everyone to settle the mind and contemplate stillness, sitting upright for a long time without lying down.’ The Patriarch said, ‘Settling the mind and contemplating stillness is illness, not meditation. Restricting the body by sitting—what benefit is that to principle? Listen to my verse: “While alive, one sits and does not lie down; when dead, one lies down and does not sit. This is but a stinking bundle of bones—what merit or fault can it achieve?”’ The master said, ‘I do not know what Dharma you use to instruct people.’ The Patriarch said, ‘If I claimed to give people a Dharma, I would be deceiving you. I merely untie bonds according to circumstances, provisionally calling it samadhi. Listen to my verse: “The mind-ground free of wrongdoing is one’s own-nature precepts; the mind-ground free of delusion is one’s own-nature wisdom; the mind-ground free of disorder is one’s own-nature concentration. Neither increasing nor diminishing, it is itself the indestructible vajra. Whether the body comes or goes, this is the original samadhi.”’ Hearing the verse, the master repented and apologized, then vowed to take refuge with him. He offered this verse: ‘This five-aggregate body is an illusion; what can an illusion ultimately accomplish? Turning back toward suchness, even Dharma is not pure.’

匾擔山曉了禪師者

Chan Master Xiaoliao of Bian’dan Mountain,

傳記不載。唯北宗門人忽雷澄禪師撰塔碑盛行於世。其略曰。師住匾擔山。號曉了。六祖之嫡嗣也。師得無心之心。了無相之相。無相者森羅眩目。無心者分別熾然。絕一言一響。響莫可傳。傳之行矣。言莫可窮。窮之非矣。師得無無之無。不無於無也。吾今以有有之有。不有於有也。不有之有。去來非增。不無之無。涅槃非滅。嗚呼。師住世兮曹谿明。師寂滅兮法舟傾。師譚無說兮寰宇盈。師示迷徒兮了義乘。匾擔山色垂茲色。空谷猶留曉了名。

No biography of him has survived. Only the widely circulated stupa inscription composed by Chan Master Huleicheng, a disciple of the Northern School, remains. It says in summary: The master dwelt on Bian’dan Mountain and was known as Xiaoliao. He was a direct heir of the Sixth Patriarch. He realized the mind that is no-mind and understood the mark that is markless. In the markless, the myriad forms dazzle the eye; in no-mind, discrimination blazes forth. He cut off every word and sound: sound cannot be transmitted, and to transmit it is to act. Words cannot be exhausted; to exhaust them is to go astray. The master attained the nothingness that is not nothing, without denying nothingness. I now speak of being that is not being, without asserting being. Being that is not asserted neither increases nor decreases as it comes and goes; nothingness that is not denied does not perish in nirvana. Alas! While the master dwelt in the world, Caoxi shone bright; when the master entered quiescence, the Dharma boat capsized. His teachings on nothingness filled the universe; he showed bewildered disciples the Vehicle of definitive meaning. The slopes of Bian’dan still bear this hue, and in the empty valley Xiaoliao’s name remains.

洪州法達禪師者

Chan Master Fada of Hongzhou,

洪州豐城人也。七歲出家。誦法華經。進具之後。禮拜六祖。頭不至地。祖訶曰。禮不投地。何如不禮。汝心中必有一物。蘊習何事邪。師曰。念法華經已及三千部。祖曰。汝若念至萬部。得其經意。不以為勝。則與吾偕行。汝今負此事業。都不知過。聽吾偈曰。禮本折慢幢。頭奚不至地。有我罪即生。亡功福無比。祖又曰。汝名甚麼。對曰。名法達。祖曰。汝名法達。何曾達法。復說偈曰。汝今名法達。勤誦未休歇。空誦但循聲。明心號菩薩。汝今有緣故。吾今為汝說。但信佛無言。蓮華從口發。師聞偈。悔過曰。而今而後。當謙恭一切。惟願和尚大慈。略說經中義理。祖曰。汝念此經。以何為宗。師曰。學人愚鈍。從來但依文誦念。豈知宗趣。祖曰。汝試為吾念一徧。吾當為汝解說。師即高聲念經。至方便品。祖曰。止。此經元來以因緣出世為宗。縱說多種譬喻。亦無越於此。何者。因緣唯一大事。一大事即佛知見也。汝慎勿錯解經意。見他道開示悟入。自是佛之知見。我輩無分。若作此解。乃是謗經毀佛也。彼既是佛。已具知見。何用更開。汝今當信。佛知見者。只汝自心。更無別體。葢為一切眾生自蔽光明。貪愛塵境。外緣內擾。甘受驅馳。便勞他從三昧起。種種苦口。勸令寢息。莫向外求。與佛無二。故云。開佛知見。汝但勞勞執念。謂為功課者。何異氂牛愛尾也。師曰。若然者。但得解義。不勞誦經邪。祖曰。經有何過。豈障汝念。只為迷悟在人。損益由汝。聽吾偈曰。心迷法華轉。心悟轉法華。誦久不明己。與義作讐家。無念念即正。有念念成邪。有無俱不計。長御白牛車。師聞偈再啟曰。經云諸大聲聞。乃至菩薩。皆盡思度量。尚不能測於佛智。今令凡夫但悟自心。便名佛之知見。自非上根。未免疑謗。又經說三車。大牛之車與白牛車如何區別。願和尚再垂宣說。祖曰。經意分明。

He was from Fengcheng, Hongzhou. He left home at seven and recited the Lotus Sutra. After receiving full ordination, he bowed before the Sixth Patriarch, but his head did not touch the ground. The Patriarch rebuked him: ‘If your bow does not reach the ground, you might as well not bow. There must be something in your mind. What have you been practicing?’ The master said, ‘I have recited the Lotus Sutra three thousand times.’ The Patriarch said, ‘Even if you recited it ten thousand times, if you understood its meaning and took no pride in it, you could walk beside me. Now you are burdened by this undertaking and do not even know your fault. Listen to my verse: “Bowing is meant to break the banner of pride; why does your head not touch the ground? With the self, offenses arise; relinquishing merit, blessings are beyond compare.”’ The Patriarch asked, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Fada.’ The Patriarch said, ‘You are called Fada—how have you ever reached the Dharma?’ He recited another verse: ‘You are now called Fada, yet ceaselessly recite with diligence. Empty recitation merely follows the sound; illuminate the mind, and you are called a Bodhisattva. Since you have this affinity, I will now speak to you. Trust only that the Buddha is beyond words, and a lotus will bloom from your mouth.’ Hearing this verse, the master repented and said, ‘From now on I will be humble toward everyone. I beg you, with great compassion, to explain briefly the meaning of the sutra.’ The Patriarch asked, ‘What is the central principle of this sutra you recite?’ The master said, ‘I am dull-witted. Until now I have only followed the text in recitation; how could I know its essential aim?’ The Patriarch said, ‘Recite it once for me, and I will explain it.’ The master recited aloud as far as the “Skillful Means” chapter. The Patriarch said, ‘Stop. This sutra takes the Buddha’s appearance in the world through causes and conditions as its central principle. Though it speaks of many parables, none go beyond this. Why? There is only one great matter in these causes and conditions: the one great matter is the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. Be careful not to misunderstand the sutra and think that “opening, showing, awakening, and entering” refer only to the Buddha’s own knowledge and vision, in which we have no share. Such an interpretation slanders the sutra and defames the Buddha. If he is already Buddha, he already possesses that knowledge and vision; why would it need to be opened? You should now trust that the Buddha’s knowledge and vision is only your own mind, with no separate substance. Because sentient beings obscure their own radiance, crave and cling to sensory objects, and are disturbed by outer conditions and inner turmoil, they willingly let themselves be driven about. The Buddha then rises from samadhi and, with every kind of earnest exhortation, urges them to rest and cease seeking outside, for they are no different from Buddha. This is why the sutra speaks of opening the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. You toil endlessly at clinging to recitation as a daily duty. How is that different from a yak that loves its own tail?’ The master asked, ‘If so, is it enough to understand the meaning, without reciting the sutra?’ The Patriarch said, ‘What fault is there in the sutra? How could it obstruct your recitation? The issue is only whether people are deluded or awakened; loss and gain depend on you. Listen to my verse: “When the mind is deluded, the Lotus Sutra turns you; when the mind is awakened, you turn the Lotus Sutra. Recite for a long time without understanding yourself, and you become an enemy of its meaning. Recitation without thought is right; recitation with thought is wrong. Taking neither being nor nonbeing into account, forever ride the white ox cart.”’ Hearing this verse, the master asked again, ‘The sutra says that even the great disciples and Bodhisattvas exhaust their minds trying to measure the Buddha’s wisdom, yet cannot fathom it. Now you say that an ordinary person need only awaken to his own mind to be called the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. Unless one has the highest capacity, surely this invites doubt and slander. Also, the sutra speaks of three carts. How does the great ox cart differ from the white ox cart? I beg you to explain further.’ The Patriarch said, ‘The sutra’s meaning is clear…’

汝自迷背。諸三乘人不能測佛智者。患在度量也。饒伊盡思共推。轉加懸遠。佛本為凡夫說。不為佛說。此理若不肯信者。從他退席。殊不知坐卻白牛車。更於門外覔三車。況經文明向汝道。無二亦無三。汝何不省三車是假。為昔時故。一乘是實。為今時故。只教你去假歸實。歸實之後。實亦無名。應知所有珍財。盡屬於汝。由汝受用。更不作父想。亦不作子想。亦無用想。是名持法華經。從劫至劫。手不釋卷。從晝至夜。無不念時也。師既蒙啟發。踴躍歡喜。以偈贊曰。經誦三千部。曹谿一句亡。未明出世旨。寧歇累生狂。羊鹿牛權設。初中後善揚。誰知火宅內。元是法中王。祖曰。汝今後方可為念經僧也。師從此領旨。亦不輟誦持。

(The Sixth Patriarch continued:) ‘…you yourself turn away from it in delusion. Those of the Three Vehicles cannot fathom the Buddha’s wisdom because they try to measure it. Even if they ponder and reason together as much as they can, they only move farther from it. The Buddha spoke originally for ordinary people, not for Buddhas. If you refuse to trust this principle, you may leave. You do not realize that you are already seated in the white ox cart, yet still go outside the gate looking for the three carts. The sutra plainly tells you: “There are neither two nor three.” Why not understand that the three carts were provisional, provided for the past, while the One Vehicle is real, provided for the present? It teaches you only to leave the provisional and return to the real. Once you have returned to the real, even “the real” has no name. Know that all the precious wealth belongs to you and is yours to use. There is no longer a thought of father or son, nor even a thought of using it. This is called upholding the Lotus Sutra: through kalpa after kalpa, never setting the scroll aside, there is no time, day or night, when you are not reciting it.’ Having received this instruction, the master rejoiced and praised him in verse: ‘Three thousand recitations, yet one phrase from Caoxi undoes them all. Not having understood the purpose of appearing in the world, how could I stop the madness accumulated through many lives? The sheep, deer, and ox carts were skillfully set forth, praised as good from beginning to end. Who knew that within the burning house was originally the King of Dharma?’ The Patriarch said, ‘From now on you may truly be called a monk who recites sutras.’ The master understood the teaching and continued to recite without interruption.’

壽州智通禪師者

Chan Master Zhitong of Shouzhou,

安豐人也。初看楞伽經約千餘徧。而不會三身四智。禮拜六祖。求解其義。祖曰。三身者。清淨法身。汝之性也。圓滿報身。汝之智也。千百億化身。汝之行也。若離本性。別說三身。即名有身無智。若悟三身無有自性。即名四智菩提。聽吾偈曰。自性具三身。發明成四智。不離見聞緣。超然登佛地。吾今為汝說。諦信永無迷。莫學馳求者。終日說菩提。師曰。四智之義。可得聞乎。祖曰。既會三身。便明四智。何更問邪。若離三身。別譚四智。此名有智無身也。即此有智。還成無智。復說偈曰。大圓鏡智性清淨。平等性智心無病。妙觀察智見非功。成所作智同圓鏡。五八六七果因轉。但用名言無實性。若於轉處不留情。繁興永處那伽定(轉識為智者。教中雲。轉前五識為成所作智。轉第六識為妙觀察智。轉第七識為平等性智。轉第八識為大圓鏡智。雖六七因中轉。五八果上轉。但轉其名而不轉其體也)。師禮謝。以偈贊曰。三身元我體。四智本心明。身智融無礙。應物任隨形。起修皆妄動。守住匪真精。妙旨因師曉。終亡汙染名。

He was from Anfeng. At first he read the Lankavatara Sutra more than a thousand times, yet did not understand the Three Bodies and Four Wisdoms. He bowed before the Sixth Patriarch and asked for an explanation. The Patriarch said, ‘The Three Bodies are these: the pure Dharma body is your nature; the complete reward body is your wisdom; the myriad-billion transformation bodies are your actions. To speak of the Three Bodies apart from one’s original nature is to have bodies without wisdom. If you realize that the Three Bodies have no separate self-nature, this is called the awakening of the Four Wisdoms. Listen to my verse: “One’s own nature contains the Three Bodies; bring them to light, and the Four Wisdoms are realized. Without departing from the conditions of seeing and hearing, transcendence leads directly to the Buddha’s realm. I now explain this to you; trust it truly and you will never be deluded. Do not imitate those who chase after things, speaking of awakening all day long.”’ The master asked, ‘May I hear the meaning of the Four Wisdoms?’ The Patriarch said, ‘Once you understand the Three Bodies, the Four Wisdoms are clear; why ask further? To discuss the Four Wisdoms apart from the Three Bodies is to have wisdom without a body. Such wisdom is itself no wisdom.’ He then recited this verse: ‘The Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom is pure in nature; the Equality Wisdom is a mind free of affliction. Wondrous Observing Wisdom sees without contrivance; Accomplishing-Activities Wisdom is like a perfect mirror. The fifth and eighth consciousnesses turn at fruition; the sixth and seventh turn in the causal stage. These are names only, with no real nature. If, in the turning, you do not cling to anything, then in ceaseless activity you abide forever in the naga-samadhi.’ (Turning consciousness into wisdom: the teachings say that the first five consciousnesses are transformed into Accomplishing-Activities Wisdom, the sixth into Wondrous Observing Wisdom, the seventh into Equality Wisdom, and the eighth into Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom. Though the sixth and seventh turn in the causal stage and the fifth and eighth at fruition, only their names turn, not their substance.) The master bowed in thanks and praised him in verse: ‘The Three Bodies are originally my own substance; the Four Wisdoms are the clarity of the original mind. Body and wisdom merge without obstruction, responding to things in whatever form is fitting. To cultivate or to cling to practice is deluded activity, not true refinement. Through my teacher I have understood the wondrous principle; at last, the name of defilement is gone.’

江西志徹禪師

Chan Master Zhiche of Jiangxi

姓張氏。名行昌。少任俠。自南北分化。二宗主雖亡彼我。而徒侶競起愛憎。時北宗門人自立秀禪師為第六祖。而忌大鑑傳衣為天下所聞。然祖預知其事。即置金十兩於方丈。時行昌受北宗門人之囑。懷刃入祖室。將欲加害。祖舒頸而就。行昌揮刃者三。都無所損。祖曰。正劒不邪。邪劒不正。只負汝金。不負汝命。行昌驚僕。久而方蘇。求哀悔過。即願出家。祖遂與金曰。汝且去。恐徒眾翻害於汝。汝可他日易形而來。吾當攝受。行昌稟旨宵遁。投僧出家。具戒精進。一日憶祖之言。遠來禮覲。祖曰。吾久念於汝。汝來何晚。曰。昨蒙和尚捨罪。今雖出家苦行。終難報於深恩。其唯傳法度生乎。弟子甞覽涅槃經。未曉常無常義。乞和尚慈悲。略為宣說。祖曰。無常者。即佛性也。有常者。即善惡一切諸法分別心也。曰。和尚所說。大違經文。祖曰。吾傳佛心印。安敢違於佛經。曰。經說佛性是常。和尚卻言無常。善惡諸法乃至菩提心。皆是無常。和尚卻言是常。此即相違。令學人轉加疑惑。祖曰。涅槃經。吾昔者聽尼無盡藏讀誦一徧。便為講說。無一字一義不合經文。乃至為汝。終無二說。曰。學人識量淺昧。願和尚委曲開示。祖曰。汝知否佛性若常。更說甚麼善惡諸法。乃至窮劫。無有一人發菩提心者。故吾說無常。正是佛說真常之道也。又一切諸法若無常者。即物物皆有自性。容受生死。而真常性有不徧之處。故吾說常者。正是佛說真無常義也。佛比為凡夫外道。執於邪常諸二乘人。於常計無常。共成八倒。故於涅槃了義教中。破彼偏見而顯說真常．真樂．真我．真淨。汝今依言背義。以斷滅無常。及確定死常而錯解佛之圓妙最後微言。縱覧千徧。有何所益。行昌忽如醉醒。乃說偈曰。因守無常心。佛演有常性。不知方便者。猶春池拾礫。我今不施功。佛性而見前。非師相授與。我亦無所得。祖曰。

His surname was Zhang and his given name was Xingchang. In his youth he was a wandering swordsman. After the Northern and Southern Schools divided, their two leaders had put aside self and other, but their followers began to fight over likes and dislikes. The Northern School disciples then proclaimed Master Shenxiu the Sixth Patriarch and resented the fact that Dajian’s transmission of the robe had become known throughout the land. The Sixth Patriarch foresaw this and placed ten taels of gold in his room. Xingchang, acting on the Northern School’s orders, entered the Patriarch’s chamber with a blade, intending to kill him. The Patriarch stretched out his neck to meet the blade. Xingchang struck three times, but not a wound was made. The Patriarch said, ‘A true sword is not crooked; a crooked sword is not true. I owe you only the gold, not my life.’ Xingchang collapsed in shock and remained unconscious for a long time. When he recovered, he begged forgiveness, repented, and wished to leave home. The Patriarch gave him the gold and said, ‘Go for now. I fear the assembly may take revenge on you. Some other day, come back in disguise, and I will receive you.’ Xingchang followed the instruction, fled by night, joined the monastic community, received the full precepts, and practiced diligently. One day he remembered the Patriarch’s words, traveled from afar, and paid him a visit. The Patriarch said, ‘I have thought of you for a long time. Why have you come so late?’ He replied, ‘The other day you forgave my crime. Though I have now left home and practiced austerities, I can never repay your great kindness. Perhaps I can only transmit the Dharma and liberate beings. I once read the Nirvana Sutra, but did not understand permanence and impermanence. I beg your compassion and ask you to explain it briefly.’ The Patriarch said, ‘Impermanence is Buddha-nature; permanence is the discriminating mind that distinguishes good and evil and all phenomena.’ Xingchang said, ‘What you say greatly contradicts the sutra.’ The Patriarch said, ‘I transmit the Buddha’s mind-seal. How could I dare contradict the sutra?’ Xingchang said, ‘The sutra says Buddha-nature is permanent, but you say it is impermanent. It says that all good and evil phenomena, even the mind of awakening, are impermanent, but you say they are permanent. This contradiction makes students even more doubtful.’ The Patriarch said, ‘When I formerly heard the nun Wujincang recite the Nirvana Sutra, I explained it after only one hearing, and not a single word or meaning failed to accord with the text. I will not give you a different explanation. Do you understand? If Buddha-nature were permanent, why speak further of good and evil phenomena? Even after kalpas, no one would give rise to the aspiration for awakening. Thus, when I call it impermanent, I am precisely speaking of the Buddha’s true teaching of permanence. If all phenomena were impermanent, then every thing would possess its own nature and undergo birth and death, while the true permanent nature would fail to pervade everywhere. Thus, when I call it permanent, I am precisely speaking of the Buddha’s true teaching of impermanence. The Buddha previously taught ordinary people and outsiders to abandon their mistaken attachment to permanence, while the Two Vehicles mistakenly took permanence to be impermanent; together these became the eight inverted views. Therefore, in the definitive teaching of nirvana, he refuted their partial views and clearly taught true permanence, bliss, self, and purity. You now follow the words while opposing their meaning, mistaking annihilationist impermanence and rigid permanence for the Buddha’s complete and wondrous final teaching. Even if you read it a thousand times, what good would that do?’ Xingchang suddenly awoke as if from intoxication and recited this verse: ‘Clinging to the mind of impermanence, I heard the Buddha teach the nature of permanence. Those who do not understand expedient means are like one gathering gravel from a spring pond. Now I exert no effort, and Buddha-nature appears before me. It was not transmitted to me by my teacher; I have gained nothing.’ The Patriarch said…’

汝今徹也。宜名志徹。師禮謝而去。

‘Now you have thoroughly understood; your name should be Zhiche.’ The master bowed in thanks and departed.

信州智常禪師者

Chan Master Zhichang of Xinzhou,

本州貴谿人也。髫年出家。志求見性。一日參六祖。祖問。汝從何來。欲求何事。師曰。學人近禮大通和尚。蒙示見性成佛之義。未決狐疑。至吉州遇人指迷。令投和尚。伏願垂慈攝受。祖曰。彼有何言句。汝試舉看。吾與汝證明。師曰。初到彼三月。未蒙開示。以為法切。故於中夜獨入方丈。禮拜哀請。大通乃曰。汝見虗空否。對曰。見。彼曰。汝見虗空有相貌否。對曰。虗空無形。有何相貌。彼曰。汝之本性猶如虗空。返觀自性。了無一物可見。是名正見。無一物可知。是名真知。無有青黃長短。但見本源清淨。覺體圓明。即名見性成佛。亦名極樂世界。亦名如來知見。學人雖聞此說。猶未決了。乞和尚示誨。令無凝滯。祖曰。彼師所說。猶存見知。故令汝未了。吾今示汝一偈曰。不見一法存無見。大似浮雲遮日面。不知一法守空知。還如太虗生閃電。此之知見瞥然興。錯認何曾解方便。汝當一念自知非。自己靈光常顯見。師聞偈已。心意豁然。乃述一偈曰。無端起知解。著相求菩提。情存一念悟。寧越昔時迷。自性覺源體。隨照枉遷流。不入祖師室。茫然趣兩頭。

He was from Guixi in that prefecture. He left home as a child, aspiring to see his nature. One day he visited the Sixth Patriarch. The Patriarch asked, ‘Where have you come from, and what do you seek?’ The master said, ‘I recently paid respects to Master Datong, who instructed me on seeing one’s nature and becoming Buddha, but I still have unresolved doubts. In Jizhou someone pointed out my confusion and directed me to you. I beg you to receive me with compassion.’ The Patriarch said, ‘What did he say? Tell me, and I will clarify it for you.’ The master said, ‘For the first three months after I arrived, he gave me no instruction. Since I was urgently seeking the Dharma, I went alone to his room at midnight, bowed, and pleaded with him. Datong asked, “Do you see empty space?” I replied, “I do.” He asked, “Does the empty space you see have any appearance?” I said, “Empty space is formless. What appearance could it have?” He said, “Your original nature is like empty space. Turn your attention back to your own nature: when there is not a single thing to be seen, this is called right view; when there is not a single thing to be known, this is called true knowledge. It has no blue or yellow, long or short. Only see the original source as pure and the awakened substance as perfectly clear. This is called seeing one’s nature and becoming Buddha; it is also called the Land of Ultimate Bliss and the knowledge and vision of the Tathagata.” Though I heard these words, I still did not fully understand. I ask you to instruct me, so that no doubts remain.’ The Patriarch said, ‘What that master said still retains seeing and knowing; that is why you have not understood. I will now show you a verse: “To see no thing while preserving the view of no-seeing is like a drifting cloud obscuring the face of the sun. To know no thing while guarding an empty knowing is like lightning flashing in the vast sky. When this seeing and knowing suddenly arise, mistaking them for the Way has never been an expedient means. In a single thought, recognize your own error; your own numinous light is constantly manifest and clear.”’ Having heard the verse, the master’s mind opened completely. He then recited a verse: ‘For no reason I developed views of knowledge and understanding, clinging to marks in search of awakening. Even when I seemed to awaken in a single thought, attachment remained—how was I beyond my former delusion? The substance of my own nature is the source of awakening; following reflections, I wandered in vain. Had I not entered the Patriarch’s room, I would have remained lost between two extremes.’

廣州志道禪師者

Chan Master Zhidao of Guangzhou,

南海人也。初參六祖。問曰。學人自出家覧涅槃經僅十餘載。未明大意。願和尚垂誨。祖曰。汝何處未了。對曰。諸行無常。是生滅法。生滅滅已。寂滅為樂。於此疑惑。祖曰。汝作麼生疑。對曰。一切眾生皆有二身。謂色身．法身也。色身無常。有生有滅。法身有常。無知無覺。經云生滅滅已。寂滅為樂者。未審是何身寂滅。何身受樂。若色身者。色身滅時。四大分散。全是苦。苦不可言樂。若法身寂滅。即同草木瓦石。誰當受樂。又法性是生滅之體。五蘊是生滅之用。一體五用。生滅是常。生則從體起用。滅則攝用歸體。若聽更生。即有情之類不斷不滅。若不聽更生。即永歸寂滅。同於無情之物。如是則一切諸法。被涅槃之所禁伏。尚不得生。何樂之有。祖曰。汝是釋子。何習外道斷常邪見。而議最上乘法。據汝所解。即色身外。別有法身。離生滅求於寂滅。又推涅槃常樂。言有身受者。斯乃執吝生死。耽著世樂。汝今當知。佛為一切迷人。認五蘊和合為自體相。分別一切法為外塵相。好生惡死。念念遷流。不知夢幻虗假。枉受輪迴。以常樂涅槃翻為苦相。終日馳求。佛愍此故。乃示涅槃真樂。剎那無有生相。剎那無有滅相。更無生滅可滅。是則寂滅見前。當見前之時。亦無見前之量。乃謂常樂。此樂無有受者。亦無不受者。豈有一體五用之名。何況更言涅槃禁伏諸法。令永不生。斯乃謗佛毀法。聽吾偈曰。無上大涅槃。圓明常寂照。凡愚謂之死。外道執為斷。諸求二乘人。目以為無作。盡屬情所計。六十二見本。妄立虗假名。何為真實義。唯有過量人。通達無取捨。以知五蘊法。及以蘊中我。外現眾色象。一一音聲相。平等如夢幻。不起凡聖見。不作涅槃解。二邊三際斷。常應諸根用。而不起用想。分別一切法。不起分別想。劫火燒海底。風皷山相擊。真常寂滅樂。涅槃相如是。吾今強言說。

He was a man of Nanhai. At first he studied with the Sixth Patriarch and asked: ‘For more than ten years since leaving home I have read the Nirvana Sutra, yet I still do not understand its main meaning. I beg the Master to instruct me.’ The Patriarch asked what he had not understood. He replied: ‘All conditioned things are impermanent; they are dharmas of arising and ceasing. When arising and ceasing have ceased, cessation is bliss. This is what confuses me. Every sentient being is said to have a form body and a Dharma body. The form body is impermanent, arising and passing away; the Dharma body is permanent, yet without knowledge or awareness. The sutra says that when arising and ceasing cease, cessation is bliss. Which body ceases, and which body receives bliss? If it is the form body, when it perishes the four elements disperse and there is only suffering. If it is the Dharma body, cessation would be like grass, trees, tiles, and stones; who could receive bliss? Dharma-nature is the substance of arising and ceasing, while the five aggregates are its functions. One substance and five functions, with arising and ceasing always present: arising brings functions forth from substance, and ceasing gathers functions back into substance. If there is further birth, sentient beings never end; if there is no further birth, everything returns forever to cessation like insentient things. Then all dharmas would be suppressed by nirvana and could never arise again. What joy could there be?’ The Patriarch said: ‘You are a disciple of the Buddha. Why learn the heretical views of annihilation and permanence and discuss the supreme vehicle? According to your understanding, you separate the Dharma body from the form body, seek cessation apart from birth and death, and imagine a permanent bliss with a person who enjoys it. You cling to samsara and indulge in worldly pleasure. Know this: deluded people mistake the aggregate of the five skandhas for a self and distinguish every dharma as an external object. They love birth and hate death, their thoughts flow without rest, and they do not know that all is dreamlike and false; thus they suffer transmigration. They turn the constant bliss of nirvana into suffering and pursue it all day. Out of compassion the Buddha revealed true nirvana. In each instant there is no mark of arising and no mark of ceasing, and there is no arising or ceasing left to extinguish. That is cessation appearing before you. At that moment there is not even a measure of something appearing; this is called constant bliss. That bliss has no enjoyer and no non-enjoyer. How could there be names such as one substance and five functions, or a nirvana that suppresses all dharmas and forbids them to arise? Such speech slanders the Buddha and destroys the Dharma. Hear my verse: The unsurpassed great nirvana is perfectly clear, eternally still and shining. The foolish call it death; outsiders cling to it as annihilation. Those seeking the two vehicles call it inactive. All these are constructions of emotion, the root of the sixty-two views. They set up false names, but what is their real meaning? Only one who goes beyond measure understands without grasping or rejecting. Knowing the five aggregates and the self within them, seeing every form, sound, and appearance outwardly, one regards them equally as dream and illusion and raises no view of ordinary or holy. One does not make an interpretation of nirvana; the two extremes and the three times are cut off. The faculties function continually, yet there is no thought of functioning. One distinguishes all dharmas, yet no thought of distinction arises. When the kalpa fire burns the sea and the wind strikes mountain against mountain, the bliss of true constant cessation remains as nirvana. This is its mark.

令汝捨邪見。汝勿隨言解。許汝知少分。師聞偈踴躍。作禮而退。

He continued: ‘I speak forcefully only to make you abandon wrong views. Do not follow my words mechanically and imagine that you understand even a little.’ The monk heard the verse, rejoiced, made obeisance, and withdrew.

永嘉真覺禪師

Chan Master Zhenjue of Yongjia.

諱玄覺。本郡戴氏子。丱歲出家。徧探三藏。精天台止觀圓妙法門。於四威儀中。常冥禪觀。後因左谿朗禪師激勵。與東陽䇿禪師同詣曹溪。初到振錫。繞祖三匝。卓然而立。祖曰。夫沙門者。具三千威儀。八萬細行。大德自何方而來。生大我慢。師曰生死事大。無常迅速。祖曰。何不體取無生．了無速乎。師曰。體即無生。了本無速。祖曰。如是。如是。於時大眾無不愕然。師方具威儀參禮。須臾告辭。祖曰。返大速乎。師曰。本自非動。豈有速邪。祖曰。誰知非動。師曰。仁者自生分別。祖曰。汝甚得無生之意。師曰。無生豈有意邪。祖曰。無意誰當分別。師曰。分別亦非意。祖歎曰。善哉。善哉。少留一宿。時謂一宿覺矣。師翌日下山。乃回溫州。學者輻湊。著證道歌一首。及禪宗悟修圓旨。自淺之深。慶州刺史魏靖緝而序之。成十篇。目為永嘉集。並行於世慕道志儀第一。夫欲修道。先須立志。及事師儀則。彰乎軌訓。故標第一。明慕道儀式。戒憍奢意第二。初雖立志修道。善識軌儀。若三業憍奢。妄心擾動。何能得定。故次第二。明戒憍奢意也。淨修三業第三。前戒憍奢。略標綱要。今子細檢責。令麁過不生。故次第三。明淨修三業。戒乎身口意也。奢摩他頌第四。已檢責身口。令麁過不生。次須入門修道漸次。不出定慧五種起心。六種料揀。故次第四。明奢摩他頌也。毗婆舍那頌第五。非戒不禪。非禪不慧。上既修定。定久慧明。故次第五。明毗婆舍那頌也。優畢叉頌第六。偏修於定。定久則沈。偏學於慧。慧多心動。故次第六。明優畢叉頌等於定慧。令不沈動。使定慧均等。捨於二邊。三乘漸次第七。定慧既均。則寂而常照。三觀一心。何疑不遣。何照不圓。自解雖明。悲他未悟。悟有深淺。故次第七。明三乘漸次也。事理不二第八。三乘悟理。理無不窮。窮理在事。了事即理。故次第八。

His personal name was Xuanjue, a son of the Dai family of the prefecture. He left home when young, studied all three baskets, and mastered the perfect and wondrous Tiantai teachings of calming and contemplation. In the four modes of conduct he constantly practiced silent meditation. Later, urged by Chan Master Lang of Zuoxi, he went with Chan Master Ce of Dongyang to Cao Creek. On first arriving he shook his staff, circled the Patriarch three times, and stood upright. The Patriarch said: ‘That monk possesses the three thousand forms of deportment and eighty thousand subtle practices. Venerable sir, from where have you come, displaying such great pride?’ The Master said: ‘The matter of birth and death is grave; impermanence is swift.’ The Patriarch asked: ‘Why not embody non-arising and understand that there is no swiftness?’ He replied: ‘When embodied, there is non-arising; when understood, there is originally no swiftness.’ The Patriarch said: ‘So it is, so it is.’ Everyone was astonished. The Master then performed the full ritual of greeting. After a short while he announced that he would leave. The Patriarch asked: ‘Are you returning so soon?’ He replied: ‘Originally there is no movement; how could there be haste?’ The Patriarch asked: ‘Who knows that there is no movement?’ He replied: ‘Venerable sir, you yourself create the distinction.’ The Patriarch said: ‘You have attained the meaning of non-arising.’ He replied: ‘How could non-arising have a meaning?’ The Patriarch asked: ‘Without meaning, who distinguishes?’ He answered: ‘Distinguishing is itself not meaning.’ The Patriarch praised him: ‘Good, good. Stay one night.’ Thus he was called “Awakened in One Night.” The next day he descended the mountain and returned to Wenzhou. Students gathered around him. He composed the Song of Realizing the Way and an exposition of Chan realization and practice, from the shallow to the deep. Wei Jing, governor of Qingzhou, edited and prefaced it in ten sections, entitled the Yongjia Collection, which circulated together. The first section, Aspiring to Seek the Way, explains that one must first establish the vow to practice and the proper conduct toward a teacher. The second, Guarding against Arrogance and Extravagance, says that even with an initial resolve, pride in body, speech, and mind disturbs the mind and prevents concentration. The third, Purifying the Three Actions, examines faults carefully so that coarse offenses of body, speech, and mind do not arise. The fourth, Verses on Shamatha, explains the gradual entry into practice through concentration and wisdom, the five ways of arousing the mind, and six kinds of discernment. The fifth, Verses on Vipashyana, says that without precepts there is no meditation and without meditation there is no wisdom; when concentration matures, wisdom becomes clear. The sixth, Verses on Upeksha, warns that one-sided concentration sinks and one-sided study of wisdom agitates; equanimity balances both and abandons the two extremes. The seventh, Gradual Stages of the Three Vehicles, says that balanced concentration and wisdom are silent yet shining, while compassion turns toward beings whose realization has depth and shallowness. The eighth, Nonduality of Principle and Practice, says that the principle is exhausted in affairs and affairs are realized as principle; understanding the two as one removes inverted views.

明事理不二。即事而真。用祛倒見也。勸友人書第九。事理既融。內心自瑩。復悲遠學。虗擲寸陰。故次第九。明勸友人書也。發願文第十。勸友雖是悲他。專心在一。情猶未普。故次第十。明發願文。誓度一切也優畢叉頌略曰。復次。觀心十門。初則言其法爾。次則出其觀體。三則語其相應。四則警其上慢。五則誡其疎怠。六則重出觀體。七則明其是非。八則簡其詮旨。九則觸途成觀。十則妙契玄源。第一言法爾者。夫心性虗通。動靜之源莫二。真如絕慮。緣計之念非殊。惑見紛馳。窮之則唯一寂。靈源不狀。鑒之則以千差。千差不同。法眼之名自立。一寂非異。慧眼之號斯存。理量雙銷。佛眼之功圓著。是以三諦一境。法身之理常清。三智一心。般若之明常照。境智冥合。解脫之應隨機。非縱非橫。圓伊之道玄會。故知三德妙性。宛爾無乖。一心深廣難思。何出要而非路。是以即心為道者。可謂尋流而得源矣。第二齣其觀體者。只知一念。即空不空。非空非不空。第三語其相應者。心與空相應。則譏毀讚譽。何憂何喜。身與空相應。則刀割香塗。何苦何樂。依報與空相應。則施與劫奪。何得何失。心與空不空相應。則愛見都忘。慈悲普救。身與空不空相應。則內同枯木。外現威儀。依報與空不空相應。則永絕貪求。資財給濟。心與空不空．非空非不空相應。則實相初明。開佛知見。身與空不空．非空非不空相應。則一塵入正受。諸塵三昧起。依報與空不空．非空非不空相應。則香臺寶閣。嚴土化生。第四警其上慢者。若不爾者。則未相應也。第五誡其疎怠者。然渡海應須上船。非船何以能渡。修心必須入觀。非觀無以明心。心尚未明。相應何日。思之勿自恃也。第六重出觀體者。只知一念即空不空。非有非無。不知即念即空不空。非非有。非非無。第七。明其是非者。心不是有。心不是無。心不非有。

The ninth section, A Letter Advising a Friend, says that when principle and practice融通, the inner mind becomes clear, and one should urge distant students not to waste even an instant. The tenth, The Vow Text, extends compassion universally and vows to liberate all beings. The verses on upeksha then survey ten gates of contemplating mind: first, describing its natural dharma; second, presenting the body of contemplation; third, explaining correspondence; fourth, warning against spiritual pride; fifth, admonishing negligence; sixth, restating the contemplative body; seventh, clarifying right and wrong; eighth, distinguishing words from their purport; ninth, turning every encounter into contemplation; and tenth, mysteriously accord with the source. The nature of mind is open and unobstructed, the source of movement and stillness is not two. True suchness is beyond thought, while delusive calculation is not different in its root. Confused views race in every direction, yet when exhausted they are one stillness; the numinous source has no fixed shape, yet when reflected it appears as a thousand differences. Thus the Dharma eye and wisdom eye are named, the truth and conventional measures both fall away, and the Buddha eye is complete. The three truths are one field, the three wisdoms one mind, and liberation responds according to circumstances. Neither vertical nor horizontal, the perfect way is subtly realized. In one thought know emptiness and non-emptiness, neither emptiness nor non-emptiness. When mind accords with emptiness, praise and blame bring neither sorrow nor joy; when body accords with emptiness, cutting and perfume bring neither pain nor pleasure. When resources accord with emptiness, giving and seizure bring neither gain nor loss. When mind accords with emptiness and non-emptiness, love and views disappear and compassion saves everywhere. When body accords with both, inwardly it is like a withered tree while outwardly it displays proper deportment. When resources accord with both, craving ends and wealth is used to aid others. When all three aspects accord with emptiness, non-emptiness, and neither, the true mark first shines and the Buddha’s knowledge and vision opens. Without this one is not yet in accord. Crossing the sea requires a boat; cultivating mind requires contemplation. Do not rely on yourself proudly. Again know that one thought is empty and not empty, neither existent nor nonexistent, and not even the negations of existence and nonexistence. Mind is not existence, not nonexistence, not the negation of either. To affirm or deny falls into affirmation or denial; even denying both has not reached the denial of denial. These subtle delusions are hard to see; examine them when spirit is clear and thought quiet.

心不非無。是有是無即墮是。非有非無即墮非。如是隻是是非之非。未是非是非非之是。今以雙非破兩是。是破非是猶是非。又以雙非破兩非。非破非非即是是。如是隻是非是非非之是。未是不非不不非．不是不不是。是非之惑。綿微難見。神清慮靜。細而研之。第八簡其詮旨者。然而至理無言。假文言以明其旨。旨宗非觀。藉修觀以會其宗。若旨之未明。則言之未的。若宗之未會則。觀之未深。深觀乃會其宗。的言必明其旨。旨宗既其明會。言觀何得復存邪。第九觸途成觀者。夫再演言詞。重標觀體。欲明宗旨無異。言觀有逐方移。移言則言理無差。改觀則觀旨不異。不異之旨即理。無差之理即宗。宗旨一而二名。言觀明其弄引耳。第十妙契玄源者。夫悟心之士。寧執觀而迷旨。達教之人。豈滯言而惑理。理明則言語道斷。何言之能議。旨會則心行處滅。何觀之能思。心言不能思議者。可謂妙契環中矣。先天二年十月十七日。安坐示滅。塔於西山之陽。諡無相大師。塔曰淨光。

The highest principle is wordless, yet words are borrowed to reveal its purport. The purport is not contemplation, yet contemplation is used to meet the source. If the purport is not clear, speech is not exact; if the source is not met, contemplation is not deep. When source and purport are understood, words and contemplation no longer remain. A person who has awakened to mind does not cling to contemplation and lose the purport; one who understands the teaching does not stagnate in words and become confused about principle. When principle is clear, the road of words is cut off; when the purport is met, the place where mind acts is extinguished. What contemplation could then think it? This is called subtly entering the circle. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month in the second year of Xiantian, he sat upright and manifested extinction. His stupa stood south of the western mountain. He was posthumously named Master Wuxiang, and the stupa was called Pure Light.