The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll Seven

僧問。學人乍入叢林。乞師一接。師曰。去。問。承教有言。是法平等。無有高下。如何是平等法。師曰。堯峰高。寶華低。曰。恁麼則卻成高下去也。師曰。情知你恁麼會。聞雷聲。示眾曰。還聞雷聲麼。還知起處麼。若知起處。便知身命落處。若也不知。所以古人道。不知天地者。剛道有乾坤。不如吃茶去。問。如何是道。師曰。夕死可矣。問。如何是金剛力士。師曰。這裡用不著。問。亡僧遷化向甚麼處去也。師曰。蒼天。蒼天。乃曰。祇如末後僧問。亡僧遷化向甚麼處去也。山僧向他道。蒼天。蒼天。且道意落在甚麼處。莫是悲傷遷逝。痛憶道人麼。若乃恁麼評論。實謂罔知去處。要知去處麼。更不用久立。歇去。上堂。冬去春來。樓閣門開。若也入得。不用徘徊。諸上座。還向這裡入得也未。若也入得。所以古人道。是處是彌勒。無門無善財。若也入之未得。自是諸上座狂走。更不忉忉。久立珍重。

A monk asked, 'The student has just entered the groves; I beg the Master to extend one hand.' The Master said, 'Go.' Someone asked, 'The teaching says that this Dharma is equal, with no high or low. What is the Dharma of equality?' The Master said, 'Yaofeng is high, Baohua is low.' The monk said, 'If so, then it turns into high and low.' The Master said, 'I knew you would understand it that way.' Hearing thunder, he addressed the assembly: 'Do you hear the thunder? Do you know where it arises? If you know where it arises, you know where body and life fall. If you do not know, then, as the ancients said, Those who do not know heaven and earth still insist there is a heaven and earth. Better to go drink tea.' Someone asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'One may die in the evening.' Someone asked, 'What is the vajra warrior?' The Master said, 'He is of no use here.' Someone asked, 'Where has the deceased monk gone after his passing?' The Master said, 'O heaven, O heaven.' Then he said, 'Just now a monk asked where the deceased monk had gone after his passing, and I told him, O heaven, O heaven. Tell me, where does the intent fall? Is it grieving over the passing and mourning the man of the Way? To judge it that way is truly to know nothing of where he has gone. Do you want to know where he has gone? Then you need not stand long. Rest.' Ascending the hall: 'Winter goes and spring comes; the gate of the tower is open. If you can enter, you need not hesitate. Worthies, can you enter here? If you can enter, then, as the ancients said, Wherever you are is Maitreya; where there is no gate is Sudhana. If you cannot enter, then you worthies are running mad. No more fuss. You have stood long. Take care.'

蘇州吳江聖壽志昇禪師

Chan Master Zhisheng of Shengshou in Wujiang, Suzhou

上堂。若論佛法。更有甚麼事。所以道古今山河。古今日月。古今人倫。古今城郭。喚作平等法門。絕前後際。諸人還信得及麼。若信得及。依而行之。久立。珍重。

Ascending the hall: 'If one speaks of the Buddha Dharma, what further matter is there? Therefore it is said: ancient and present mountains and rivers, ancient and present sun and moon, ancient and present human relations, ancient and present city walls. This is called the gate of the Dharma of equality, cutting off the limits of before and after. Can you worthies believe it? If you can believe it, then practice according to it. You have stood long. Take care.'

杭州功臣開化守如禪師

Chan Master Shouru of Kaihua in Gongchen, Hangzhou

上堂。召大眾曰。還知道聖僧同諸人到這裡麼。既勞尊降。焉敢稽留。久立。珍重。

Ascending the hall, he called to the assembly and said, 'Do you know that the holy monk has come here together with you people? Since you have taken the trouble to descend, how dare I delay you. You have stood long. Take care.'

棲賢湜禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Shi of Qixian

杭州南山興教院惟一禪師

Chan Master Weiyi of Xingjiao Monastery on South Mountain in Hangzhou

僧問。佛未出世時如何。師曰。白雲數重。曰。出世後如何。師曰。青山一朵。問。如何是道。師曰。刺頭入荒草。曰。如何是道中人。師曰。乾屎橛。曰。大耳三藏第三度為甚麼不見國師。師曰。腳跟下看。曰。如何得見。師曰。草鞋跟斷。

A monk asked, 'What was it like before the Buddha came into the world?' The Master said, 'Several layers of white clouds.' The monk said, 'And after he came into the world?' The Master said, 'One blossom of green mountain.' Someone asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'Thrusting your head into the wild grass.' The monk said, 'What is the man within the Way?' The Master said, 'A dried shit stick.' The monk said, 'Why did the Great Ear Tripitaka not see the National Teacher the third time?' The Master said, 'Look at your heels.' The monk said, 'How can one see him?' The Master said, 'When your straw sandal heels break.'

安吉州西餘體柔禪師

Chan Master Tirou of Xiyu in Anji Prefecture

上堂。一人把火。自燼其身。一人抱冰。橫屍於路。進前即觸途成滯。退後即噎氣填𮌎。直得上天無路。入地無門。如今已不奈何也。良久曰。待得雪消去。自然春到來。

Ascending the hall: 'One man holds fire and burns up his own body. One man embraces ice and lies a corpse on the road. Step forward and every road becomes blocked; step back and the breath chokes and fills the chest. Truly one reaches the point where there is no road up to heaven and no gate down into the earth. Now there is nothing to be done about it.' After a long while he said, 'Wait until the snow melts away, and spring will come of itself.'

真州定山惟素山主

Master Weisu of Dingshan in Zhenzhou

僧問。如何是不遷義。師曰。暑往寒來。曰。恁麼則遷去也。師曰。啼得血流無用處。問。達磨心印師已曉。試舉家風對眾看。師曰。門前有箇長松樹。夜半子規來上啼。問。知師洞達諸方旨。臨機不答舊時禪。如何是新奇。師曰。若到諸方。不得錯舉。曰。學人慇懃於座右。莫不祇此是新奇。師曰。折草量天。問。如何是定山境。師曰。清風滿院。曰。忽遇客來。如何祇待。師曰。莫嫌冷淡。乃曰。若論家風與境。不易酬對。多見指定處所。教他不得自在。曾有僧問大隨。如何是和尚家風。隨曰。赤土畵簸箕。又曰。肚上不貼榜。且問諸人作麼生會。更有夾山．雲門．臨濟．風穴皆有此話。播於諸方。各各施設不同。又作麼生會。法無異轍。殊途同歸。若要省力易會。但識取自家桑梓。便能紹得家業。隨處解脫。應用現前。天地同根。萬物一體。喚作衲僧眼睛。綿綿不漏絲髮。苟或於此不明。徒自竛竮辛苦。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。含齒戴髮。曰。恁麼則人人具足。師曰。遠之又遠。問。牛頭未見四祖時如何。師曰。成家立業。曰。見後如何。師曰。立業成家。問。如何是定山路。師曰。峭。曰。履踐者如何。師曰。嶮。問。無上法王有大陀羅尼。名為圓覺。流出一切清淨真如．菩提涅槃。未審圓覺從甚麼處流出。師曰。山僧頂戴有分。曰。恁麼則信受奉行。師曰。依俙似曲才堪聽。問。十二時中如何得與道相應。師曰。皇天無親。唯德是輔。曰。恁麼則不假修證也。師曰。三生六十劫。

A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of non-movement?' The Master said, 'Heat goes and cold comes.' The monk said, 'If so, then it has moved.' The Master said, 'Crying until blood flows is of no use.' Someone asked, 'The Master already understands Bodhidharma's mind seal. Try and raise your family style before the assembly.' The Master said, 'Before the gate there is a tall pine; at midnight the cuckoo comes and cries on it.' Someone asked, 'I know the Master penetrates the purport of all quarters and does not answer the old-time Chan when the moment comes. What is the new and wondrous?' The Master said, 'If you go to all quarters, you must not raise it wrongly.' The monk said, 'The student is earnest at your seat — is this not just the new and wondrous?' The Master said, 'Breaking grass to measure heaven.' Someone asked, 'What is the realm of Dingshan?' The Master said, 'Clear wind fills the courtyard.' The monk said, 'If a guest suddenly comes, how does one receive him?' The Master said, 'Do not dislike its being cold and thin.' Then he said, 'As for family style and realm, they are not easy to answer. Most people fix on a place and point it out, and then it cannot be at ease. Once a monk asked Dasui, "What is the Reverend's family style?" Dasui said, "A winnowing basket painted in red earth." He also said, "No notice pasted on the belly." Now I ask you people, how do you understand it? Moreover Jiashan, Yunmen, Linji and Fengxue all had such sayings, spread through all quarters, each with different arrangements — how do you understand them? The Dharma has no different tracks; different roads lead to the same place. If you want to save effort and understand easily, then just recognize your own native place, and you can carry on the family estate. Everywhere you are freed, and the response is present before you. Heaven and earth share one root; the ten thousand things are one body. This is called the monk's eye, continuous and leaking not a hair's breadth. If one is unclear about this, one only wears oneself out alone.' A monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'He has teeth and wears hair.' The monk said, 'If so, then everyone is complete.' The Master said, 'Far, far away.' Someone asked, 'What was it like when Niutou had not yet met the Fourth Ancestor?' The Master said, 'Making a family and setting up an estate.' The monk said, 'And after he met him?' The Master said, 'Setting up an estate and making a family.' Someone asked, 'What is the road of Dingshan?' The Master said, 'Sheer.' The monk said, 'What of the one who walks it?' The Master said, 'Perilous.' Someone asked, 'The unsurpassed Dharma king has a great dharani called perfect enlightenment, from which flow all pure suchness, bodhi and nirvana. I wonder from what the perfect enlightenment flows?' The Master said, 'This mountain monk has a share in holding it on his head.' The monk said, 'If so, then I believe, receive and practice it.' The Master said, 'Faintly like a tune, it is just worth hearing.' Someone asked, 'How can one accord with the Way throughout the twelve hours?' The Master said, 'Heaven has no kin; it aids only virtue.' The monk said, 'If so, then there is no need of cultivation or certification.' The Master said, 'Three lives and sixty kalpas.'

淨土素禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Su of Jingtu

杭州淨土院惟正禪師

Chan Master Weizheng of Jingtu Monastery in Hangzhou

秀州華亭黃氏子。幼從錢塘資聖院本如𨽻業。且將較藝於有司。如使禱觀音像。以求陰相。師謝曰。豈忍獨私於己哉。郡人朱紹安聞而嘉歎。欲啟帑度之。師慨然曰。古之度人。以清機密旨。今反是。去古遠矣。吾墮三寶數。當有其時。已而遇祥符覃恩。得諧素志。獨擁毳袍且弊。同列慢之。師曰。佛乎佛乎。儀相云乎哉。僧乎僧乎。盛服云乎哉。厥後有願輸奉歲時用度。俾繼如之院務。亦復謝曰。聞拓缽乞食。未聞安坐以享。聞歷謁諸祖。未聞廢學自任。況我齒茂氣完。正在筋力為禮。非從事屋廬之秋也。於是提䇿東引。學三觀於天台。復旋徑山。諮單傳之旨於老宿惟素。素董臨安功臣山淨土院。師輔相之。久而繼席焉。然為人高簡。律身精嚴。名卿鉅公。多所推尊。葉內翰清臣牧金陵。迎師語道。一日。葉曰。明日府有燕飲。師固奉律。能為我少留一日。欵清話否。師諾之。翌日。遣使邀師。留一偈而返。曰。昨日曾將今日期。出門倚杖又思惟。為僧祇合居巖谷。國士筵中甚不宜。坐客皆仰其標致。師識慮洗然。不牽世累。雅愛跨黃犢出入。軍持巾缽。悉掛角上。市人爭觀之。師自若也。杭守蔣侍郎甞與師為方外友。每往謁。至郡庭下犢譚笑。終日而去。蔣有詩曰。禪客尋常入舊都。黃牛角上掛缾盂。有時帶雪穿雲去。便好和雲畵作圖。師甞作山中偈曰。橋上山萬層。橋下水千里。唯有白鷺鷥。見我常來此。平生製作三十卷。號錦溪集。又工書。筆法勝絕。秦少游珍藏之。冬不擁爐。以荻花作毬。納足其中。客至共之。夏秋好翫月。盤膝大盆中浮池上。自旋其盆。吟笑達旦。率以為常。九峰韶禪師甞客於院。一夕將臥。師邀之曰。月色如此。勞生擾擾。對之者能幾人。峰唯唯而矣。久之。呼童子使熟炙。峰方饑。意作藥石。頃乃橘皮湯一盃。峰匿笑曰。無乃太清乎。有問曰。師以禪師名。乃不談禪。

He was a son of the Huang family of Huating in Xiuzhou. In youth he studied under Benru of Zisheng Monastery in Qiantang. When he was about to compete in the examinations before the authorities, Benru had him pray before an image of Guanyin for hidden aid. The Master declined, saying, 'How could I bear to be partial to myself alone?' A man of the prefecture, Zhu Shao'an, heard of it and admired him, and wished to open his treasury to have him ordained. The Master said with feeling, 'The ancients ordained people with pure and secret purport. Now it is the opposite, far from antiquity. When I fall into the number of the Three Treasures, there will be its time.' Soon after he met with the general amnesty of the Xiangfu era and got his long-cherished wish. He alone wore a woolen robe that was worn out, and his fellows slighted him. The Master said, 'O Buddha, O Buddha, is it a matter of dignified appearance? O monk, O monk, is it a matter of rich clothing?' Later there was one who wished to contribute his yearly income and have him take over the monastery affairs as Benru had. He also declined, saying, 'I have heard of carrying the bowl and begging for food; I have never heard of sitting at ease and enjoying it. I have heard of visiting all the Ancestors; I have never heard of abandoning study and taking it on oneself. Moreover my teeth are strong and my breath is whole; this is the season of sinew and strength for the rites, not of busying myself with buildings.' So he set out eastward, studied the three contemplations at Tiantai, and returned to Jingshan, where he questioned the old worthy Weisu on the purport of the single transmission. Weisu was in charge of Jingtu Monastery on Gongchen Mountain in Lin'an. The Master assisted him, and after a long time succeeded to his seat. He was lofty and simple in manner, and disciplined himself strictly. Famous ministers and great lords mostly honored him. The Hanlin scholar Ye Qingchen, governing Jinling, welcomed the Master to speak of the Way. One day Ye said, 'Tomorrow there is a banquet at the prefecture. The Master firmly keeps the precepts — can he stay one day for my sake for a quiet talk?' The Master agreed. The next day he sent an envoy to invite the Master. The Master left a verse and returned: 'Yesterday I had set today's appointment; going out the gate I leaned on my staff and thought again. A monk should only dwell in crags and valleys; in a feast of state scholars it is most unfitting.' The guests all admired his bearing. The Master's understanding was clear and he was not entangled in worldly cares. He loved to ride a yellow calf about, with his water flask, kerchief and bowl all hung on its horns. The people of the market vied to look at him, and the Master was at ease. The Hang prefect Vice Minister Jiang was a friend of the Master beyond the world. Whenever he went to visit, he would dismount from the calf in the prefectural courtyard, talk and laugh, and leave after a whole day. Jiang had a poem: 'The Chan guest often enters the old capital; on the yellow ox's horns hang bottle and bowl. Sometimes he goes through the clouds carrying snow — it would make a fine picture with the clouds.' The Master once made a verse in the mountains: 'Above the bridge ten thousand layers of mountain; below the bridge a thousand li of water. Only the white egret sees me come here often.' In his life he composed thirty volumes, called the Brocade Stream Collection. He was also skilled at calligraphy, with a brush method unsurpassed. Qin Shaoyou treasured it. In winter he did not use a stove; he made a ball of reed flowers and put his feet in it, and shared it with guests when they came. In summer and autumn he loved the moon, sitting cross-legged in a large basin floated on the pond, spinning the basin himself and chanting and laughing until dawn, and this became his habit. Chan Master Shao of Jiufeng once stayed at the monastery. One evening as he was about to lie down, the Master invited him, saying, 'The moonlight is like this. Among the toiling and troubled living, how many can face it?' Jiufeng only murmured assent. After a long while, he called a boy to roast something. Jiufeng was hungry and expected medicine. Presently it was a cup of orange-peel tea. Jiufeng laughed to himself and said, 'Is this not too pure?' Someone asked, 'The Master bears the name of a Chan master, and yet does not talk of Chan —'

何也。師曰。徒費言語。吾懶寧假曲折。但日夜煩萬象為敷演耳。言語有間。而此法無盡。所謂造物無盡藏也。皇祐元年孟夏八日。語眾曰。夫動以對靜。未始有極。吾一動歷年六十有四。今靜矣。然動靜本何有哉。於是泊然而逝。

(The man continued asking:) '— why is that?' The Master said, 'It would be a waste of words. I am lazy — how could I bother with twists and turns? Day and night I only trouble the myriad things to expound it for me. Words have their limits, but this Dharma has no end. It is what is called the inexhaustible treasury of the Creator.' On the eighth day of the first month of summer in the first year of Huangyou he told the assembly, 'Movement is set against stillness, and there has never been an end. My one movement has lasted sixty-four years; now I am still. But what is there originally in movement and stillness?' Then he passed away calmly.

青原下十二世

The twelfth generation below Qingyuan

靈隱勝禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Sheng of Lingyin

杭州靈隱延珊慧明禪師

Chan Master Yanshan Huiming of Lingyin in Hangzhou

僧問。如何是道。師曰。道遠乎哉。問。如何是正真一路。師曰。絲髮不通。曰。恁麼則依而行之。師曰。莫亂走。上堂。與上座一線道。且作麼生持論佛法。若也水洩不通。便教上座無安身立命處。當此之時。祖佛出頭來。也有二十棒分。恁麼道。山僧還有過也無。不見世尊生下。周行七步。目顧四方。一手指天。一手指地。雲。天上天下。唯吾獨尊。雲門雲。我當初若見。一棒打殺與狗子吃卻。何以如此。貴圖天下太平。且道雲門恁麼說話。有佛法道理也無。雖然如此。雲門祇具一隻眼。久立。珍重。

A monk asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'Is the Way far off?' Someone asked, 'What is the one true road?' The Master said, 'Not a hair's breadth gets through.' The monk said, 'If so, then I practice according to it.' The Master said, 'Do not run about.' Ascending the hall: 'With a single thread of road for you worthies, how will you hold forth on the Buddha Dharma? If it is watertight, then you worthies will have no place to settle body and life. At such a time, were the Ancestor and Buddha to come forth, they too would deserve twenty blows. Speaking this way, does this mountain monk have any fault? Do you not know that when the World-Honored One was born he walked seven steps in a circle, looked in the four directions, pointed one hand at heaven and one hand at earth, and said, Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored. Yunmen said, Had I seen him then, I would have beaten him to death with one blow and given him to the dogs to eat. Why so? For the sake of the peace of the world. Tell me, do Yunmen's words have the principle of the Buddha Dharma or not? Even so, Yunmen had only one eye. You have stood long. Take care.'

常州薦福院歸則禪師

Chan Master Guize of Jianfu Monastery in Changzhou

僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。耳畔打鐘聲。

A monk asked, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'The sound of a bell struck by the ear.'

瑞巖海禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Hai of Ruiyan

明州翠巖嗣元禪師

Chan Master Siyuan of Cuiyan in Mingzhou

僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。見錢買賣不曾賖。曰。向上更有事也無。師曰。好不信人直。

A monk asked, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Buying and selling for cash, never on credit.' The monk said, 'Is there still a matter above?' The Master said, 'Best not to trust a man's honesty.'