Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Ten

臨濟宗

The Linji School

南嶽下四世

The fourth generation below Nanyue

黃檗運禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Yun of Huangbo

鎮州臨濟義玄禪師

Chan Master Linji Yixuan of Zhenzhou

曹州南華邢氏子。幼負出塵之志。及落髮進具。便慕禪宗。初在黃檗會中。行業純一。時睦州為第一座。乃問。上座在此多少時。師曰。三年。州曰。曾參問否。師曰。不曾參問。不知問箇甚麼。州曰。何不問堂頭和尚。如何是佛法的的大意。師便去。問聲未絕。檗便打。師下來。州曰。問話作麼生。師曰。某甲問聲未絕。和尚便打。某甲不會。州曰。但更去問。師又問。檗又打。如是三度問。三度被打。師白州曰。早承激勸問法。累蒙和尚賜棒。自恨障緣。不領深旨。今且辭去。州曰。汝若去。須辭和尚了去。師禮拜退。州先到黃檗處曰。問話上座。雖是後生。卻甚奇特。若來辭。方便接伊。已後為一株大樹。覆蔭天下人去在。師來日辭黃檗。檗曰。不須他去。祇往高安灘頭參大愚。必為汝說。師到大愚。愚曰。甚處來。師曰。黃檗來。愚曰。黃檗有何言句。師曰。某甲三度問佛法的的大意。三度被打。不知某甲有過無過。愚曰。黃檗與麼老婆心切。為汝得徹困。更來這裡問有過無過。師於言下大悟。乃曰。元來黃檗佛法無多子。愚搊住曰。這尿床鬼子。適來道有過無過。如今卻道黃檗佛法無多子。你見箇甚麼道理。速道。速道。師於大愚肋下築三拳。愚拓開曰。汝師黃檗。非幹我事。師辭大愚。卻回黃檗。檗見便問。這漢來來去去。有甚了期。師曰。祇為老婆心切。便人事了。侍立。檗問。甚處去來。師曰。昨蒙和尚慈旨。令參大愚去來。檗曰。大愚有何言句。師舉前話。檗曰。大愚老漢饒舌。待來痛與一頓。師曰。說甚待來。即今便打。隨後便掌。檗曰。這風顛漢來這裡捋虎鬚。師便喝。檗喚侍者曰。引這風顛漢參堂去(溈山舉問仰山。臨濟當時得大愚力。得黃檗力。仰雲。非但騎虎頭。亦解把虎尾)。黃檗一日普請次。師隨後行。檗回頭見師空手。乃問。钁在何處。師曰。有一人將去了也。檗曰。

He was a son of the Xing family of Nanhua in Caozhou. In youth he bore the aspiration to leave the dust. When he had shaved and taken full ordination, he longed for the Chan school. At first he was in Huangbo's assembly, and his practice was pure and single. At that time Muzhou was the head seat, and asked him, 'How long has the worthy been here?' The Master said, 'Three years.' Muzhou said, 'Have you ever asked a question?' The Master said, 'I have never asked. I do not know what to ask.' Muzhou said, 'Why do you not ask the Reverend in the hall, what is the exact great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The Master then went. Before his question had died away, Huangbo beat him. The Master came down. Muzhou said, 'How did the questioning go?' The Master said, 'Before my question had died away, the Reverend beat me. I do not understand.' Muzhou said, 'Just go and ask again.' The Master asked again, and Huangbo beat him again. Thus three times he asked, and three times he was beaten. The Master told Muzhou, 'I was urged earlier to ask about the Dharma, and repeatedly received the Reverend's blows. I blame my own karmic obstruction for not grasping the deep purport. Now I shall take my leave.' Muzhou said, 'If you go, you must take leave of the Reverend before you go.' The Master bowed and withdrew. Muzhou first went to Huangbo and said, 'The worthy who asked the question, though young, is most extraordinary. If he comes to take leave, receive him with expedients. Hereafter he will be a great tree shading all people in the world.' The next day the Master came to take leave of Huangbo. Huangbo said, 'He need not go elsewhere. Just go to the rapids of Gao'an and study under Dayu; he will surely explain it to you.' The Master went to Dayu. Dayu said, 'Where have you come from?' The Master said, 'From Huangbo.' Dayu said, 'What words did Huangbo have?' The Master said, 'Three times I asked the exact great meaning of the Buddha Dharma and three times I was beaten. I do not know whether I was at fault or not.' Dayu said, 'Huangbo is so earnest with a grandmother's heart, and for your sake is utterly worn out. And you come here asking whether you were at fault or not.' At these words the Master was greatly awakened and said, 'So Huangbo's Buddha Dharma is nothing much after all.' Dayu seized him and said, 'This bed-wetting devil. Just now you said you did not know whether you were at fault, and now you say Huangbo's Buddha Dharma is nothing much. What principle have you seen? Speak quickly, speak quickly.' The Master thrust three punches into Dayu's ribs. Dayu pushed him away and said, 'Your teacher is Huangbo; it has nothing to do with me.' The Master took leave of Dayu and went back to Huangbo. When Huangbo saw him he asked, 'This fellow coming and going, when will it end?' The Master said, 'Only because of a grandmother's earnest heart.' Then he finished his greetings and stood in attendance. Huangbo asked, 'Where have you been?' The Master said, 'Yesterday I received the Reverend's gracious instruction and went to study under Dayu.' Huangbo said, 'What words did Dayu have?' The Master brought up the earlier words. Huangbo said, 'That old fellow Dayu is loose-tongued. Wait till he comes and I will give him a good thrashing.' The Master said, 'Why wait till he comes? I will beat him right now.' Then he gave him a slap. Huangbo said, 'This madman has come here to pull the tiger's whiskers.' The Master shouted. Huangbo called an attendant and said, 'Take this madman to the study hall.' (Guishan brought this up and asked Yangshan, 'Did Linji then get his strength from Dayu or from Huangbo?' Yangshan said, 'Not only did he ride the tiger's head, he also knew how to grab the tiger's tail.') One day when Huangbo held a general work session, the Master followed behind him. Huangbo turned his head and saw the Master empty-handed, and asked, 'Where is your hoe?' The Master said, 'Someone has taken it away.' Huangbo said:

近前來共汝商量箇事。師便近前。檗竪起钁曰。祇這箇天下人拈掇不起。師就手掣得。竪起曰。為甚麼卻在某甲手裡。檗曰。今日自有人普請。便回寺(仰山侍溈山次。溈舉此話未了。仰便問。钁在黃檗手裡。為甚麼卻被臨濟奪卻。溈雲。賊是小人。智過君子)。師普請鉏地次。見黃檗來。拄钁而立。檗曰。這漢困那。師曰。钁也未舉。困箇甚麼。檗便打。師接住棒一送送倒。檗呼維那。扶起我來。維那扶起曰。和尚爭容得這風顛漢無禮。檗才起便打維那。師钁地曰。諸方火塟。我這裡活埋(溈山問仰山。黃檗打維那意作麼生。仰雲。正賊走卻。邏贓人吃棒)。師一日在僧堂裡睡。檗入堂見。以拄杖打板頭一下。師舉首見是檗。卻又睡。檗又打板頭一下。卻往上間。見首座坐禪。乃曰。下間後生卻坐禪。汝在這裡妄想作麼。座曰。這老漢作甚麼。檗又打板頭一下。便出去(溈山舉問仰山。祇如黃檗。意作麼生。仰雲。兩彩一賽)。師栽松次。檗曰。深山裡栽許多松作甚麼。師曰。一與山門作境致。二與後人作標牓。道了。將钁頭𡎺地三下。檗曰。雖然如是。子已吃吾三十棒了也。師又𡎺地三下。噓一噓。檗曰。吾宗到汝。大興於世(溈山舉問仰山。黃檗當時祇囑臨濟一人。更有人在。仰雲。有。祇是年代深遠。不欲舉似和尚。溈雲。雖然如是。吾亦要知。汝但舉看。仰雲。一人指南。吳越令行。遇大風即止)。黃檗因入廚下。問飯頭。作甚麼。頭曰。揀眾僧飯米。檗曰。一頓吃多少。頭曰。三石五。檗曰。莫大多麼。頭曰。猶恐少在。檗便打。頭舉似師。師曰。我與汝勘這老漢。才到侍立。檗舉前話。師曰。飯頭不會。請和尚代一轉語。檗曰。汝但舉。師曰。莫太多麼。檗曰。來日更吃一頓。師曰。說甚麼來日。即今便吃。隨後打一掌。檗曰。這風顛漢又來這裡捋虎鬚。師喝一喝。

(Huangbo continued:) 'Come closer and let us discuss a matter.' The Master came closer. Huangbo raised his hoe and said, 'This very thing — no one in the world can lift it.' The Master at once took it from his hand, raised it and said, 'Why then is it in my hand?' Huangbo said, 'Today there is someone to do the general work.' Then he returned to the monastery. (When Yangshan was attending on Guishan, and Guishan had not finished bringing up these words, Yangshan asked, 'The hoe was in Huangbo's hand — why was it snatched away by Linji?' Guishan said, 'The thief is a petty man, but his wisdom surpasses the gentleman's.') One day when the Master was hoeing the ground during a general work session, he saw Huangbo coming and stood leaning on his hoe. Huangbo said, 'Is this fellow tired?' The Master said, 'I have not even raised the hoe — tired of what?' Huangbo then beat him. The Master caught the staff and pushed him over with one shove. Huangbo called the work manager: 'Help me up.' The work manager helped him up and said, 'Reverend, how can you tolerate this madman's rudeness?' As soon as Huangbo was up he beat the work manager. The Master struck the ground with his hoe and said, 'In all quarters they cremate; here I bury alive.' (Guishan asked Yangshan, 'What was Huangbo's meaning in beating the work manager?' Yangshan said, 'The real thief got away, and the man who tracked the loot took the blows.') One day the Master was sleeping in the monks' hall. Huangbo came into the hall and saw him, and rapped the head of the plank once with his staff. The Master looked up, saw it was Huangbo, and lay back down to sleep. Huangbo rapped the plank again and went to the upper section, where he saw the head seat sitting in meditation, and said, 'The young man in the lower section is sitting in meditation, and you sit here lost in thought — what are you doing?' The head seat said, 'What is this old fellow up to?' Huangbo rapped the plank again and went out. (Guishan brought this up and asked Yangshan, 'As for Huangbo, what was his meaning?' Yangshan said, 'Two prizes for one contest.') When the Master was planting pines, Huangbo said, 'What are you planting so many pines deep in the mountains for?' The Master said, 'First, to make a scenic setting for the monastery gate; second, to be a marker for later people.' Having said this, he jabbed his hoe into the ground three times. Huangbo said, 'Even so, you have already taken thirty blows from me.' The Master jabbed the ground three more times and let out a puff of breath. Huangbo said, 'With you, my school will flourish greatly in the world.' (Guishan brought this up and asked Yangshan, 'At that time Huangbo entrusted it only to Linji — was there anyone else?' Yangshan said, 'There was. It is only that the years are far off and I do not want to bring it up to the Reverend.' Guishan said, 'Even so, I too want to know. Just bring it up.' Yangshan said, 'One man points south, and the command runs through Wu and Yue. Meeting a great wind, it stops.') When Huangbo entered the kitchen and asked the rice cook, 'What are you doing?' The cook said, 'Sorting the rice for the monks' meal.' Huangbo said, 'How much do they eat at one meal?' The cook said, 'Three and a half piculs.' Huangbo said, 'Is that not too much?' The cook said, 'I fear it may still be too little.' Huangbo then beat him. The cook brought this up to the Master. The Master said, 'I will examine this old fellow for you.' As soon as he came and stood in attendance, Huangbo brought up the earlier words. The Master said, 'The cook did not understand. Please, Reverend, give a turning phrase for him.' Huangbo said, 'Just bring it up.' The Master said, 'Is that not too much?' Huangbo said, 'Tomorrow we will eat another meal.' The Master said, 'Why say tomorrow? We eat right now.' Then he gave him a slap. Huangbo said, 'This madman has again come here to pull the tiger's whiskers.' The Master gave a shout,

便出去(溈山舉問仰山。此二尊宿意作麼生。仰山雲。和尚作麼生。溈山雲。養子方知父慈。仰山雲。不然。溈山雲。子又作麼生。仰山雲。大似勾賊破家)。師半夏上黃檗山。見檗看經。師曰。我將謂是箇人。元來是唵(或作揞)黑豆老和尚。住數日。乃辭。檗曰。汝破夏來。何不終夏去。師曰。某甲暫來禮拜和尚。檗便打趂令去。師行數裡疑此事。卻回終夏。後又辭檗。檗曰。甚處去。師曰。不是河南。便歸河北。檗便打。師約住與一掌。檗大笑。乃喚侍者。將百丈先師禪板几案來。師曰。侍者將火來。檗曰。不然。子但將去。已後坐斷天下人舌頭去在。師到達磨塔頭。塔主問。先禮佛。先禮祖。師曰。祖佛俱不禮。主曰。祖佛與長老有甚冤家。師拂袖便出。師為黃檗馳書至溈山。與仰山語次。仰曰。老兄向後北去。有箇住處。師曰。豈有與麼事。仰曰。但去。已後有一人佐輔汝。此人祇是有頭無尾。有始無終(懸記普化)。師後住鎮州臨濟。學侶雲集。一日。謂普化克符二上座曰。我欲於此建立黃檗宗旨。汝且成褫我。二人珍重下去。三日後。普化卻上來問。和尚三日前說甚麼。師便打。三日後克符上來問。和尚前日打普化作甚麼。師亦打。至晚小參。曰。有時奪人不奪境。有時奪境不奪人。有時人境兩俱奪。有時人境俱不奪(問答語具克符章)。僧問。如何是真佛．真法．真道。乞師開示。師曰。佛者心清淨是。法者心光明是。道者處處無礙淨光是。三即一。皆是空名而無實有。如真正作道人。念念心不間斷。自達磨大師從西土來。祇是覓箇不受人惑底人。後遇二祖。一言便了。始知從前虗用工夫。山僧今日見處。與祖佛不別。若第一句中薦得。堪與祖佛為師。若第二句中薦得。堪與人天為師。若第三句中薦得。自救不了。僧便問。如何是第一句。師曰。三要印開朱點窄。未容擬議主賓分。曰。

(The Master continued) and then went out. (Guishan brought this up and asked Yangshan, 'What was the intent of these two venerable ones?' Yangshan said, 'What about the Reverend?' Guishan said, 'Only when one has raised a son does one know a father's kindness.' Yangshan said, 'Not so.' Guishan said, 'Then what do you say?' Yangshan said, 'It is very much like colluding with a thief to break up a house.') In mid-summer the Master went up Huangbo Mountain and found Huangbo reading a scripture. The Master said, 'I thought he was a man; it turns out he is an old monk [mumbling] black beans.' He stayed several days and then took his leave. Huangbo said, 'You broke the summer retreat by coming; why not stay through the summer?' The Master said, 'I came only to pay reverence to the Reverend.' Huangbo then beat him and drove him off. The Master walked several li and then doubted this matter, and returned to finish the summer. Later he again took leave of Huangbo. Huangbo said, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'If not Henan, then Hebei.' Huangbo then beat him. The Master caught the blow and gave him a slap. Huangbo laughed aloud and called an attendant: 'Bring the late master Baizhang's Chan board and desk.' The Master said, 'Attendant, bring fire.' Huangbo said, 'Not so. Just take them and go. Hereafter you will sit and cut off the tongues of everyone in the world.' The Master arrived at Bodhidharma's stupa. The stupa keeper asked, 'Do you first pay reverence to the Buddha or to the Ancestor?' The Master said, 'I pay reverence to neither Ancestor nor Buddha.' The stupa keeper said, 'What grudge have the Ancestor and Buddha against you, elder?' The Master shook his sleeves and went out. The Master carried a letter from Huangbo to Guishan, and while speaking with Yangshan, Yangshan said, 'Elder brother, you will go north hereafter, and there will be a place for you to dwell.' The Master said, 'How could there be such a thing?' Yangshan said, 'Just go. Hereafter there will be one man to assist you. This man has only a head and no tail, a beginning and no end.' (This was the prophecy about Puhua.) Later the Master lived at Linji in Zhenzhou, and students gathered like clouds. One day he said to the two worthies Puhua and Kefu, 'I wish to establish Huangbo's purport here. You must help me accomplish it.' The two men said, 'Take care,' and went down. Three days later Puhua came up and asked, 'What did the Reverend say three days ago?' The Master then beat him. Three days later Kefu came up and asked, 'Why did the Reverend beat Puhua the day before yesterday?' The Master also beat him. That evening at the minor gathering he said, 'Sometimes I take away the man but not the realm; sometimes I take away the realm but not the man; sometimes I take away both man and realm; sometimes I take away neither man nor realm.' (The questions and answers are in Kefu's chapter.) A monk asked, 'What are the true Buddha, the true Dharma, and the true Way? I beg the Master to reveal them.' The Master said, 'The Buddha is the purity of the mind. The Dharma is the brightness of the mind. The Way is the unobstructed pure light everywhere. Three are one, and all are empty names with no real existence. If one is truly a man of the Way, thought after thought the mind is unbroken. Since the great master Bodhidharma came from the western land, he only sought a man who was not deceived by others. Later he met the Second Ancestor, and at one word it was finished, and only then did he know that his former efforts had been spent in vain. What this mountain monk sees today is no different from the Ancestor and the Buddhas. If you awaken in the first phrase, you are fit to be the teacher of Ancestors and Buddhas. If you awaken in the second phrase, you are fit to be the teacher of men and gods. If you awaken in the third phrase, you cannot even save yourself.' The monk then asked, 'What is the first phrase?' The Master said, 'The three essentials' seal opens, the vermilion dot is narrow; before deliberation is allowed, host and guest are divided.' The monk said:

如何是第二句。師曰。妙解豈容無著問。漚和爭負截流機。曰。如何是第三句。師曰。但看棚頭弄傀儡。抽牽全藉裡頭人。乃曰。大凡演唱宗乘。一句中須具三玄門。一玄門須具三要。有權有實。有照有用。汝等諸人作麼生會。師謂僧曰。有時一喝如金剛王寶劒。有時一喝如踞地師子。有時一喝如探竿影草。有時一喝不作一喝用。汝作麼生會。僧擬議。師便喝。示眾。參學之人。大須子細。如賓主相見。便有言論往來。或應物現形。或全體作用。或把機權喜怒。或現半身。或乘師子。或乘象王。如有真正學人便喝。先拈出一箇膠盆子。善知識不辯是境。便上他境上作模作樣。便被學人又喝。前人不肯放下。此是膏肓之病。不堪醫治。喚作賓看主。或是善知識。不拈出物。祇隨學人問處即奪。學人被奪。抵死不肯放。此是主看賓。或有學人應一箇清淨境。出善知識前。知識辯得是境。把得拋向坑裡。學人言。大好善知識。知識即雲。咄哉。不識好惡。學人便禮拜。此喚作主看主。或有學人。披枷帶鎻。出善知識前。知識更與安一重枷鎻。學人歡喜。彼此不辯。喚作賓看賓。大德。山僧所舉。皆是辯魔揀異。知其邪正。師問洛浦。從上來。一人行棒。一人行喝。阿那箇親。曰。總不親。師曰。親處作麼生。浦便喝。師乃打。上堂。有一人論劫在途中。不離家舍。有一人離家舍。不在途中。那箇合受人天供養。師問院主。甚處去來。曰。州中糶黃米來。師曰。糶得盡麼。主曰。糶得盡。師以拄杖畫一畫曰。還糶得這箇麼。主便喝。師便打。典座至。師舉前話。座曰。院主不會和尚意。師曰。你又作麼生。座禮拜。師亦打。上堂。一人在孤峰頂上。無出身路。一人在十字街頭。亦無向背。且道那箇在前。那箇在後。不作維摩詰。不作傅大士。珍重。有一老宿參。便問。禮拜即是。不禮拜即是。師便喝。宿便拜。

(The monk continued asking:) 'What is the second phrase?' The Master said, 'Wondrous understanding — how could it admit the question of one without attachment? How could upaya prevail over the mechanism that cuts off the stream?' The monk said, 'What is the third phrase?' The Master said, 'Just watch the puppets played on the stage; all their pulling and tugging depends on the man inside.' Then he said, 'Whenever one sings and expounds the ancestral vehicle, one phrase must contain the three mysterious gates, and one mysterious gate must contain the three essentials. There is the provisional and the real, the illuminating and the functioning. How do you people understand it?' The Master said to a monk, 'Sometimes a shout is like the vajra king's precious sword; sometimes a shout is like a crouching lion; sometimes a shout is like a probing pole or shadow grass; sometimes a shout does not function as a shout. How do you understand it?' As the monk deliberated, the Master shouted. Addressing the assembly: 'Students of the Way must be very careful. When host and guest meet, there is an exchange of words. Sometimes one responds to things and manifests forms; sometimes one functions with the whole body; sometimes one takes up the mechanism of power, joy and anger; sometimes one shows half the body; sometimes one rides a lion, sometimes an elephant king. If a true student then shouts, he first holds out a glue pot. If the good friend does not discern that this is a realm, and goes onto his realm and puts on airs and poses, then the student shouts again. If the other will not let it go, this is a disease beyond cure and not worth treating. This is called the guest looking at the host. Or it may be the good friend who does not hold out anything, but simply takes away whatever the student asks about. If the student, being robbed, will not let go even to death, this is the host looking at the guest. Or a student may respond with a pure realm and come before the good friend. The teacher discerns that it is a realm, grabs it and throws it into a pit. The student says, "What a fine good friend." The teacher then says, "Fie, you do not know good from bad." The student then bows. This is called the host looking at the host. Or a student may come before the good friend wearing cangue and chains. The teacher puts another layer of cangue and chains on him. The student is delighted, and neither discerns. This is called the guest looking at the guest. Great Virtue, what this mountain monk has raised is all for discerning demons and picking out the heterodox, knowing the false and the true.' The Master asked Luopu, 'From of old, one man used the staff and one man used the shout. Which is the closer?' Luopu said, 'Neither is close.' The Master said, 'What is the close place?' Luopu then shouted. The Master then beat him. Ascending the hall: 'One man for kalpas has been on the road without leaving his house. One man has left his house and is not on the road. Which one deserves to receive the offerings of men and gods?' The Master asked the prior, 'Where have you been?' The prior said, 'To the prefecture to sell yellow rice.' The Master said, 'Did you sell it all?' The prior said, 'I sold it all.' The Master drew a line with his staff and said, 'Can you sell this too?' The prior then shouted. The Master then beat him. The cook arrived. The Master brought up the earlier words. The cook said, 'The prior did not understand the Reverend's intent.' The Master said, 'What about you?' The cook bowed. The Master also beat him. Ascending the hall: 'One man is on the summit of the lonely peak and has no road for going forth. One man is at the crossroads and has no facing or turning away. Tell me, which is in front and which is behind? Not to be Vimalakirti, not to be Great Scholar Fu. Take care.' An old monk came to study and asked, 'Is it right to bow or right not to bow?' The Master then shouted. The old monk then bowed.

師曰。好箇草賊。宿曰。賊。賊。便出去。師曰。莫道無事好。時首座侍立。師曰。還有過也無。座曰。有。師曰。賓家有過。主家有過。曰。二俱有過。師曰。過在甚麼處。座便出去。師曰。莫道無事好(南泉聞雲。官馬相踏)。師到京行化。至一家門首。曰。家常添缽。有婆曰。太無厭生。師曰。飯也未曾得。何言大無厭生。婆便閉卻門。師陞堂。有僧出。師便喝。僧亦喝。便禮拜。師便打。趙州遊方到院。在後架洗腳次。師便問。如何是祖師西來意。州曰。恰遇山僧洗腳。師近前作聽勢。州曰。會即便會。啗啄作什麼。師便歸方丈。州曰。三十年行腳。今日錯為人下註腳。問。僧甚處來。曰。定州來。師拈棒。僧擬議。師便打。僧不肯。師曰。已後遇明眼人去在。僧後參三聖。才舉前話。三聖便打。僧擬議。聖又打。師應機多用喝。會下參徒亦學師喝。師曰。汝等總學我喝。我今問汝。有一人從東堂出。一人從西堂出。兩人齊喝一聲。這裡分得賓主麼。汝且作麼生分。若分不得。已後不得學老僧喝。示眾。我有時先照後用。有時先用後照。有時照用同時。有時照用不同時。先照後用有人在。先用後照有法在。照用同時。駈耕夫之牛。奪饑人之食。敲骨取髓。痛下針錐。照用不同時。有問有答。立賓立主。合水和泥。應機接物。若是過量人。向未舉已前。撩起便行。猶較些子。師行腳時到龍光。值上堂。師出問。不展鋒鋩。如何得勝。光據坐。師曰。大善知識。豈無方便。光瞪目曰。嗄。師以手指曰。這老漢今日敗缺也。次到三峰平和尚處。平問。甚處來。師曰。黃檗來。平曰。黃檗有何言句。師曰。金牛昨夜遭塗炭。直至如今不見蹤。平曰。金風吹玉管。那箇是知音。師曰。直透萬重關。不住青霄內。平曰。子這一問太高生。師曰。龍生金鳳子。沖破碧琉璃。平曰。且坐吃茶。又問。近離甚處。

The Master said, 'What a fine grass thief.' The old monk said, 'A thief, a thief.' Then he went out. The Master said, 'Best not to say there is nothing to do.' At that time the head seat was standing in attendance. The Master said, 'Is there any fault?' The head seat said, 'There is.' The Master said, 'The guest has a fault, and the host has a fault.' The head seat said, 'Both have a fault.' The Master said, 'Where is the fault?' The head seat then went out. The Master said, 'Best not to say there is nothing to do.' (Nanquan heard of it and said, 'The government horses trample each other.') The Master went to the capital to beg, and coming to the doorway of a house he said, 'Add a bowl for the householder.' An old woman said, 'You are too insatiable.' The Master said, 'I have not even got the rice yet — why say too insatiable?' The old woman then shut the door. The Master ascended the hall. A monk came forward, and the Master shouted. The monk also shouted and bowed. The Master then beat him. Zhaozhou, on pilgrimage, came to the monastery, and while washing his feet at the back rack, the Master asked him, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' Zhaozhou said, 'I happen to be washing my feet.' The Master came near and made a listening gesture. Zhaozhou said, 'If you understand, then understand — what are you pecking at?' The Master returned to his quarters. Zhaozhou said, 'Thirty years on pilgrimage, and today I wrongly wrote a footnote for someone.' He asked a monk where he had come from. The monk said, 'From Dingzhou.' The Master picked up his staff. As the monk deliberated, the Master beat him. The monk would not accept it. The Master said, 'Hereafter you will meet a clear-eyed man.' The monk later studied under Sansheng, and as soon as he brought up the earlier words, Sansheng beat him. As the monk deliberated, Sansheng beat him again. The Master in meeting opportunities mostly used the shout. The students in his assembly also learned to shout. The Master said, 'You all learn my shout. Now I ask you: one man comes out of the east hall, one man comes out of the west hall, and the two shout at the same moment. Can you tell host from guest here? How do you tell them apart? If you cannot tell, hereafter you must not learn this old monk's shout.' Addressing the assembly: 'Sometimes I illumine first and function after; sometimes I function first and illumine after; sometimes illumining and functioning are simultaneous; sometimes illumining and functioning are not simultaneous. When illumining first and functioning after, there is a person. When functioning first and illumining after, there is a dharma. When illumining and functioning are simultaneous, one drives the plowman's ox and seizes the hungry man's food, knocks the bone and takes the marrow, applies the needle and cone painfully. When illumining and functioning are not simultaneous, there is question and answer, host is established and guest is established, one mixes water with mud, and responds to opportunities and receives beings. If one is a man beyond measure, before it is raised he lifts it and goes — he is still a cut above.' When the Master was on pilgrimage he came to Longguang, and it happened that Longguang was ascending the hall. The Master came forward and asked, 'Without unfurling the point of the blade, how does one win?' Longguang sat firm. The Master said, 'A great good friend — has he no expedient?' Longguang glared and said, 'Hah.' The Master pointed with his finger and said, 'This old fellow has lost a piece today.' Then he went to the Reverend Ping of Sanfeng. Ping asked, 'Where have you come from?' The Master said, 'From Huangbo.' Ping said, 'What words did Huangbo have?' The Master said, 'Last night the golden ox met with disaster, and to this day no trace of it is seen.' Ping said, 'The golden wind blows the jade flute — who is the one who knows the tune?' The Master said, 'Piercing straight through ten thousand barriers, not dwelling within the blue sky.' Ping said, 'This question of yours is too lofty.' The Master said, 'A dragon begets a golden phoenix chick, and breaks through the blue beryl.' Ping said, 'Sit a while and drink tea.' He asked again, 'Where have you just come from?'

師曰。龍光。平曰。龍光近日如何。師便出去。又往鳳林。路逢一婆子。婆問。甚處去。師曰。鳳林去。婆曰。恰值鳳林不在。師曰。甚處去。婆便行。師召婆。婆回首。師便行(一作師曰。誰道不在)。到鳳林。林曰。有事相借問。得麼。師曰。何得剜肉作瘡。林曰。海月澄無影。遊魚獨自迷。師曰。海月既無影。遊魚何得迷。林曰。觀風知浪起。翫水野帆飄。師曰。孤蟾獨耀江山靜。長嘯一聲天地秋。林曰。任張三寸揮天地。一句臨機試道看。師曰。路逢劒客須呈劒。不是詩人不獻詩。林便休。師乃有頌曰。大道絕同。任向西東。石火莫及。電光罔通。(溈山問仰山。石火莫及。電光罔通。從上諸聖。以何為人。仰雲。和尚意作麼生。溈雲。但有言說。都無實義。仰雲。不然。溈雲。子又作麼生。仰雲。官不容針。私通車馬)。麻谷問。十二面觀音。那箇是正面。師下禪床擒住曰。十二面觀音。甚處去也。速道。速道。谷轉身擬坐。師便打。谷接住棒。相捉歸方丈。師問一尼。善來。惡來。尼便喝。師拈棒曰。更道。更道。尼又喝。師便打。師一日拈餬餅示洛浦曰。萬種千般。不離這箇。其理不二。浦曰。如何是不二之理。師再拈起餅示之。浦曰。與麼則萬種千般也。師曰。屙尿見解。浦曰。羅公照鏡。師見僧來。舉起拂子。僧禮拜。師便打。又有僧來。師亦舉拂子。僧不顧。師亦打。又有僧來參。師舉拂子。僧曰。謝和尚指示。師亦打(雲門代雲。祇宜老漢。大覺雲。得即得。猶未見臨濟機在)。麻谷問。大悲千手眼。那箇是正眼。師搊住曰。大悲千手眼。作麼生是正眼。速道。速道。谷拽師下禪床。卻坐。師問訊曰。不審。谷擬議。師便喝。拽谷下禪床。卻坐。谷便出。上堂。僧問。如何是佛法大意。師竪起拂子。僧便喝。師便打。又僧問。如何是佛法大意。師亦竪拂子。僧便喝。師亦喝。

The Master said, 'Longguang.' Ping said, 'How is Longguang lately?' The Master then went out. He also went to Fenglin. On the road he met an old woman. The woman asked, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'To Fenglin.' The woman said, 'It happens that Fenglin is not in.' The Master said, 'Where has he gone?' The woman then walked on. The Master called to the woman. The woman turned her head. The Master then walked on. (One version has the Master say, 'Who says he is not in?') He arrived at Fenglin. Fenglin said, 'I have a matter to ask you about — may I?' The Master said, 'How can you cut flesh to make a sore?' Fenglin said, 'The sea moon is clear and without shadow; the swimming fish alone are deluded.' The Master said, 'Since the sea moon has no shadow, how are the swimming fish deluded?' Fenglin said, 'Watching the wind, one knows the waves are rising; playing in the water, the wild sail drifts.' The Master said, 'The lone toad shines alone and the rivers and mountains are still; one long whistle, and heaven and earth are autumn.' Fenglin said, 'However you may wield three inches to sway heaven and earth, try and say the one phrase at the moment.' The Master said, 'Meeting a swordsman on the road, one must present the sword; not being a poet, one does not offer a poem.' Fenglin then dropped it. The Master then had a verse: 'The great Way is utterly without sameness; let it go east or west. A flint spark cannot reach it; lightning cannot penetrate it.' (Guishan asked Yangshan, 'A flint spark cannot reach it, lightning cannot penetrate it — with what did the sages of old benefit people?' Yangshan said, 'What is the Reverend's intent?' Guishan said, 'Whatever is spoken has no true meaning.' Yangshan said, 'Not so.' Guishan said, 'Then what do you say?' Yangshan said, 'Officially not a needle gets through; privately carriages and horses pass.') Magu asked, 'The twelve-faced Guanyin — which is the front face?' The Master came down from the meditation seat, seized him and said, 'The twelve-faced Guanyin — where has she gone? Speak quickly, speak quickly.' Magu turned and was about to sit, and the Master beat him. Magu caught the staff, and they grappled and went back to the abbot's quarters. The Master asked a nun, 'Have you come well or come ill?' The nun shouted. The Master picked up his staff and said, 'Say more, say more.' The nun shouted again. The Master then beat her. One day the Master picked up a fried cake and showed it to Luopu, saying, 'A myriad kinds and a thousand sorts do not depart from this. The principle is not two.' Luopu said, 'What is the principle of not two?' The Master picked up the cake again and showed it. Luopu said, 'If so, then the myriad kinds and a thousand sorts are done.' The Master said, 'The view of one who shits and pisses.' Luopu said, 'Old Man Luo looking in a mirror.' When the Master saw a monk coming he raised his whisk. The monk bowed. The Master then beat him. Another monk came, and the Master also raised his whisk. The monk paid no attention. The Master also beat him. Another monk came to study, and the Master raised his whisk. The monk said, 'Thank you, Master, for pointing it out.' The Master also beat him. (Yunmen said in his place, 'He only suits this old fellow.' Dajue said, 'He gets it, but he has not yet seen Linji's mechanism.') Magu asked, 'The Great Compassionate One has a thousand hands and eyes — which is the correct eye?' The Master seized him and said, 'The Great Compassionate One has a thousand hands and eyes — how is the correct eye? Speak quickly, speak quickly.' Magu dragged the Master down from the meditation seat and sat there himself. The Master greeted him, saying, 'Greetings.' As Magu deliberated, the Master shouted. He dragged Magu down from the seat and sat down himself. Magu then went out. Ascending the hall, a monk asked, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The Master raised his whisk. The monk shouted. The Master then beat him. Another monk asked, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?' The Master also raised his whisk. The monk shouted. The Master also shouted.

僧擬議。師便打。乃曰。大眾。夫為法者。不避喪身失命。我於黃檗先師處。三度問佛法的的大意。三度被打。如蒿枝拂相似。如今更思一頓。誰為下手。時有僧出曰。某甲下手。師度與拄杖。僧擬接。師便打。同普化赴施主齋次。師問。毛吞巨海。芥納須彌。為復是神通妙用。為復是法爾如然。化趯倒飯床。師曰。太麤生。曰。這裡是甚麼所在。說麤說細。次日又同赴齋。師復問。今日供養。何似昨日。化又趯倒飯床。師曰。得即得。太麤生。化喝曰。瞎漢。佛法說甚麼麤細。師乃吐舌。師與王常侍到僧堂。王問。這一堂僧還看經麼。師曰。不看經。曰。還習禪麼。師曰。不習禪。曰。既不看經。又不習禪。畢竟作箇甚麼。師曰。總教伊成佛作祖去。曰。金屑雖貴。落眼成翳。師曰。我將謂你是箇俗漢。師上堂次。兩堂首座相見。同時下喝。僧問師。還有賓主也無。師曰。賓主歷然。師召眾曰。要會臨濟賓主句。問取堂中二首座。師後居大名府興化寺東堂。咸通八年丁亥四月十日。將示滅。說傳法偈曰。㳂流不止問如何。真照無邊說似他。離相離名人不稟。吹毛用了急須磨。復謂眾曰。吾滅後。不得滅卻吾正法眼藏。三聖出曰。爭敢滅卻和尚正法眼藏。師曰。已後有人問。你向他道甚麼。聖便喝。師曰。誰知吾正法眼藏。向這瞎驢邊滅卻。言訖。端坐而逝。塔全身於府西北隅。諡慧照禪師。塔曰澄靈。

As the monk deliberated, the Master then beat him. Then he said, 'Assembly, one who is for the Dharma does not shrink from losing body and life. In the place of my late master Huangbo, three times I asked the exact great meaning of the Buddha Dharma and three times I was beaten, like being brushed by a mugwort branch. Now if I wanted another round, who would deal the blow?' Then a monk came forward and said, 'I will deal it.' The Master handed him his staff. As the monk was about to take it, the Master beat him. When he went with Puhua to a donor's meal, the Master asked, 'A hair swallows the great sea, a mustard seed holds Mount Sumeru. Is this the wondrous function of spiritual power, or is it simply so by nature?' Puhua kicked over the dining table. The Master said, 'Too rough.' Puhua said, 'What sort of place is this, to speak of rough and fine?' The next day they went to a meal again. The Master asked again, 'How does today's offering compare with yesterday's?' Puhua again kicked over the table. The Master said, 'He gets it, but he is too rough.' Puhua shouted, 'Blind man! What does the Buddha Dharma have to say about rough and fine?' The Master then put out his tongue. The Master went with Attendant Censor Wang to the monks' hall. Wang asked, 'Do the monks in this hall read the scriptures?' The Master said, 'They do not.' Wang said, 'Do they practice Chan?' The Master said, 'They do not.' Wang said, 'Since they neither read scriptures nor practice Chan, what on earth do they do?' The Master said, 'I have them all become Buddhas and Ancestors.' Wang said, 'Though gold dust is precious, in the eye it becomes a cataract.' The Master said, 'I thought you were a layman.' When the Master was ascending the hall, the head seats of the two halls met and shouted at the same time. A monk asked the Master, 'Is there host and guest or not?' The Master said, 'Host and guest are clearly distinguished.' The Master called the assembly and said, 'If you want to understand Linji's phrase of host and guest, ask the two head seats in the hall.' Later the Master lived in the east hall of Xinghua Monastery in Daming Prefecture. On the tenth day of the fourth month of the eighth year of Xiantong he was about to show his extinction, and spoke the verse of transmitting the Dharma: 'Flowing on without cease — ask not how; true illumination without boundary — described as him. Departing from mark and name, people do not receive it; having used the hair-cutting blade, one must quickly grind it.' Again he told the assembly, 'After my extinction, you must not let my correct Dharma eye treasury be extinguished.' Sansheng came forward and said, 'How would we dare let the Reverend's correct Dharma eye treasury be extinguished?' The Master said, 'Hereafter if someone asks, what will you say to him?' Sansheng then shouted. The Master said, 'Who would have known that my correct Dharma eye treasury would be extinguished by this blind donkey.' Having spoken, he sat upright and passed away. A stupa was built for his whole body in the northwest corner of the prefecture. His posthumous title was Chan Master Huizhao, and his stupa was called Chengling.

南嶽下五世

The fifth generation below Nanyue

臨濟玄禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Xuan of Linji

魏府興化存獎禪師

Chan Master Cunjiang of Xinghua in Weifu

在三聖會裡為首座。常曰。我向南方行腳一遭。拄杖頭不曾撥著一箇會佛法底人。三聖聞得。問曰。你具箇甚麼眼。便恁麼道。師便喝。聖曰。須是你始得。後大覺聞舉。遂曰。作麼生得風吹到大覺門裡來。師後到大覺為院主。一日覺喚院主。我聞你道。向南方行腳。一遭拄杖頭。不曾撥著一箇會佛法底。你憑箇甚麼道理。與麼道。師便喝。覺便打。師又喝。覺又打。師來日從法堂過。覺召院主。我直下疑你昨日這兩喝。師又喝。覺又打。師再喝。覺又打。師曰。某甲於三聖師兄處。學得箇賓主句。總被師兄折倒了也。願與某甲箇安樂法門。覺曰。這瞎漢來這裡納敗缺。脫下衲衣。痛打一頓。師於言下薦得臨濟先師於黃檗處吃棒底道理。師後開堂日。拈香曰。此一炷香本為三聖師兄。三聖於我大孤。本為大覺師兄。大覺於我太賖。不如供養臨濟先師。僧問。多子塔前。共談何事。師曰。一人傳虗。萬人傳實。師有時喚僧。僧應諾。師曰。點即不到。又喚一僧。僧應諾。師曰。到即不點。僧問。四方八面來時如何。師曰。打中間底。僧便禮拜。師曰。昨日赴箇村齋。中途遇一陣卒風暴雨。卻向古廟裡軃避得過。問僧。甚處來。曰。崔禪處來。師曰。將得崔禪喝來否。曰。不將得來。師曰。恁麼則不從崔禪處來。僧便喝。師便打。示眾。我聞前廊下也喝。後架裡也喝。諸子。汝莫盲喝亂喝。直饒喝得興化向虗空裡。卻撲下來一點氣也無。待我蘇息起來。向汝道未在。何故。我未曾向紫羅帳裡撒真珠與汝諸人去在。胡喝亂喝作麼。雲居住三峰庵時。師問。權借一問。以為影草時如何。居無對。師雲。想和尚答這話不得。不如禮拜了退。二十年後。居雲。如今思量。當時不消道箇何必。後遣化主到師處。師問。和尚住三峰庵時。老僧問伊話。對不得。如今道得也未。主舉前話。師雲。雲居二十年祇道得箇何必。

He was the head seat in Sansheng's assembly. He often said, 'I went on pilgrimage in the south once, and the tip of my staff never poked one man who understood the Buddha Dharma.' Sansheng heard of it and asked, 'What eye do you have, that you speak this way?' The Master then shouted. Sansheng said, 'It has to be you before it can be.' Later Dajue heard it brought up and said, 'How could the wind blow him into Dajue's gate?' Later the Master came to Dajue and became the prior. One day Dajue called the prior: 'I hear you said that when you went on pilgrimage in the south, the tip of your staff never poked one man who understood the Buddha Dharma. On what principle do you speak this way?' The Master then shouted. Dajue then beat him. The Master shouted again. Dajue beat him again. The next day the Master passed by the Dharma hall. Dajue called the prior: 'I simply doubt those two shouts of yours yesterday.' The Master shouted again. Dajue beat him again. The Master shouted again. Dajue beat him again. The Master said, 'From my senior brother Sansheng I learned the phrase of host and guest, and it has all been broken down by you, senior brother. I beg you to give me a gate of peace and ease.' Dajue said, 'This blind fellow has come here to display his defeat. Take off his robe and give him a good beating.' At these words the Master awakened to the principle by which his late master Linji had taken blows in Huangbo's place. On the day the Master later opened the hall, he picked up incense and said, 'This stick of incense was originally for my senior brother Sansheng. Sansheng was too sparing with me. It was originally for my senior brother Dajue. Dajue was too generous with me. Better to offer it to my late master Linji.' A monk asked, 'Before the many-seeded stupa, what did they discuss together?' The Master said, 'One man transmits a falsehood, and ten thousand men transmit it as truth.' Sometimes the Master would call a monk. The monk would answer. The Master would say, 'Pointed at, but not reached.' He would call another monk. The monk would answer. The Master would say, 'Reached, but not pointed at.' A monk asked, 'What is it like when they come from the four quarters and eight directions?' The Master said, 'Strike the one in the middle.' The monk then bowed. The Master said, 'Yesterday I went to a village meal and halfway met a sudden squall of wind and rain, and had to take shelter in an old shrine.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you come from?' The monk said, 'From Cui Chan's place.' The Master said, 'Did you bring Cui Chan's shout with you?' The monk said, 'I did not bring it.' The Master said, 'If so, then you did not come from Cui Chan's place.' The monk then shouted. The Master then beat him. Addressing the assembly: 'I hear shouting in the front corridor and shouting at the back rack too. My sons, do not shout blindly and wildly. Even if you shout Xinghua into empty space and he comes tumbling down without a breath left, when I revive and rise, I will tell you it is not yet. Why? Because I have never scattered true pearls in a purple gauze tent for you people. What are you shouting wildly and blindly for?' When Yunju was living at the Sanfeng hermitage, the Master asked, 'Borrowing one question to use as shadow grass — how is it?' Yunju had no reply. The Master said, 'I think the Reverend cannot answer these words; better to bow and withdraw.' Twenty years later Yunju said, 'Thinking of it now, at that time I need not have said anything at all.' Later he sent his fund-raiser to the Master's place. The Master asked, 'When the Reverend was living at the Sanfeng hermitage, this old monk asked him a question and he could not answer. Can he answer it now?' The fund-raiser brought up the earlier words. The Master said, 'In twenty years Yunju has only managed to say "no need at all",'

興化即不然。爭如道箇不必。師謂克賓維那曰。汝不久為唱導之師。賓曰。不入這保社。師曰。會了不入。不會了不入。曰。總不與麼。師便打。曰。克賓維那法戰不勝。罰錢五貫。設饡飯一堂。次日。師自白椎曰。克賓維那法戰不勝。不得吃飯。即便出院。僧問。國師喚侍者。意作麼生。師曰。一盲引眾盲。師在臨濟為侍者。洛浦來參。濟問。甚處來。浦曰。鑾城來。濟曰。有事相借問。得麼。浦曰。新戒不會。濟曰。打破大唐國。覓箇不會底人也無。參堂去。師隨後。請問曰。適來新到。是成褫他。不成褫他。濟曰。我誰管你成褫不成褫。師曰。和尚祇解將死雀就地彈。不解將一轉語蓋覆卻。濟曰。你又作麼生。師曰。請和尚作新到。濟遂曰。新戒不會。師曰。卻是老僧罪過。濟曰。你語藏鋒。師擬議。濟便打。至晚濟又曰。我今日問新到。是將死雀就地彈。就窠子裡打。及至你出得語。又喝起了向青雲裡打。師曰。草賊大敗。濟便打。師見同參來。才上法堂。師便喝。僧亦喝。師又喝。僧亦喝。師近前拈棒。僧又喝。師曰。你看這瞎漢猶作主在。僧擬議。師直打下法堂。侍者請問。適來那僧有甚觸忤和尚。師曰。他適來也有權。也有實。也有照。也有用。及乎我將手向伊麵前橫兩橫。到這裡卻去不得。似這般瞎漢。不打更待何時。僧禮拜。問。寶劒知師藏已久。今日當場略借看。師曰。不借。曰。為甚麼不借。師曰。不是張華眼。徒窺射鬥光。曰。用者如何。師曰。橫身當宇宙。誰是出頭人。僧便作引頸勢。師曰。嗄。僧曰。喏。便歸眾。後唐莊宗車駕幸河北。回至魏府行宮。詔師問曰。朕收中原。獲得一寶。未曾有人酬價。師曰。請陛下寶看。帝以兩手舒幞頭腳。師曰。君王之寶。誰敢酬價(玄覺徵雲。且道興化肯莊宗。不肯莊宗。若肯莊宗。興化眼在甚麼處。若不肯莊宗。過在甚麼處)。

(The Master continued:) 'Xinghua is not like that. How does it compare with saying there is no need?' The Master said to the Vinaya Master Kebin, 'Before long you will be a master who leads the chanting.' Kebin said, 'I will not enter that fellowship.' The Master said, 'Understanding it you do not enter; not understanding it you do not enter.' Kebin said, 'In any case I am not like that.' The Master then struck him, saying, 'The Vinaya Master Kebin was defeated in dharma battle; he is fined five strings of cash and must provide one meal of fine rice for the assembly.' The next day the Master struck the gavel himself and said, 'The Vinaya Master Kebin was defeated in dharma battle and may not eat. Let him leave the monastery at once.' A monk asked, 'The National Teacher called the attendant—what was the meaning?' The Master said, 'One blind man leading a crowd of blind men.' The Master was an attendant under Linji. Luopu came to call. Linji asked, 'Where have you come from?' Luopu said, 'From Luancheng.' Linji said, 'There is a matter I would like to ask about; may I?' Luopu said, 'This newly ordained one does not understand.' Linji said, 'If you smashed the whole Great Tang realm, you would not find a person who does not understand. Go into the hall.' The Master followed after and asked, 'That newcomer just now—was he fully endorsed or not?' Linji said, 'Who am I to care whether you are fully endorsed or not.' The Master said, 'The Reverend only knows how to shoot a dead sparrow on the spot; he does not know how to cover it over with a turning word.' Linji said, 'And how do you put it?' The Master said, 'Please, Reverend, be the newcomer.' Linji then said, 'This newly ordained one does not understand.' The Master said, 'That is rather this old monk's fault.' Linji said, 'Your words hide a blade.' The Master started to deliberate, and Linji struck him. That evening Linji also said, 'Today I questioned a newcomer—that was shooting a dead sparrow on the spot, striking inside the nest. But when you got a word out, you shouted it up and shot into the blue clouds.' The Master said, 'The straw bandit is badly beaten.' Linji struck him. When the Master saw a fellow student coming, as soon as the man had entered the dharma hall the Master shouted. The monk also shouted. The Master shouted again. The monk shouted again. The Master stepped closer and picked up his stick. The monk shouted again. The Master said, 'Look at this blind fellow, still acting the host.' The monk hesitated, and the Master drove him straight out of the dharma hall with blows. The attendant asked, 'What did that monk just now do to offend the Reverend?' The Master said, 'Just now he had expedient means, he had the real, he had illumination, he had function. But when I swept my hand twice across in front of him, at that point he could not get through. With a blind fellow like this, if I do not strike him, when else?' The monk bowed. A monk asked, 'The precious sword—we know the Master has kept it hidden a long time; today, on the spot, may we borrow a look?' The Master said, 'I will not lend it.' The monk said, 'Why will you not lend it?' The Master said, 'Without Zhang Hua's eye, you would only peer at the radiance that shoots toward the Dipper.' The monk said, 'What of one who uses it?' The Master said, 'He sets his body across the universe—who is the one who sticks his head out?' The monk then made as if to stretch out his neck. The Master said, 'Aha.' The monk said, 'Yes.' And he returned to the assembly. Later Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang toured Hebei and, returning to the temporary palace at Weifu, summoned the Master and asked, 'I have taken the Central Plain and obtained a treasure, but no one has yet named its price.' The Master said, 'May Your Majesty let me see the treasure.' The Emperor spread the two ends of his headwrap with both hands. The Master said, 'A king's treasure—who would dare name its price?' (Xuanjue added, 'Tell me: did Xinghua approve of Zhuangzong or not? If he approved of Zhuangzong, where were Xinghua's eyes? If he did not approve of Zhuangzong, where was the fault?')

龍顏大悅。賜紫衣．師號。師皆不受。乃賜馬與師乘騎。馬忽驚。師墜傷足。帝復賜藥救療。師喚院主。與我做箇木柺子。主做了將來。師接得。遶院行。問僧曰。汝等還識老僧麼。曰。爭得不識和尚。師曰。𨁸腳法師。說得行不得。又至法堂。令維那聲鐘集眾。師曰。還識老僧麼。眾無對。師擲下柺子。端然而逝。諡廣濟禪師。

The imperial countenance was greatly pleased. He bestowed a purple robe and a master's title. The Master accepted neither. Then he bestowed a horse for the Master to ride. The horse suddenly shied, and the Master fell and injured his foot. The Emperor again sent medicine to heal him. The Master called the monastery steward: 'Make me a wooden crutch.' The steward made one and brought it. The Master took it and walked around the monastery. He asked a monk, 'Do you people still recognize this old monk?' The monk said, 'How could we not recognize the Reverend?' The Master said, 'A lame dharma master speaks of what he cannot do.' Again he came to the dharma hall and had the Vinaya Master sound the bell to gather the assembly. The Master said, 'Do you still recognize this old monk?' The assembly had no reply. The Master threw down the crutch and passed away sitting upright. He was given the posthumous title Chan Master Guangji.

鎮州寶壽沼禪師(第一世)

Chan Master Zhao of Baoshou, Zhenzhou (First Generation)

僧問。萬境來侵時如何。師曰。莫管他。僧禮拜。師曰。不要動著。動著即打折汝腰。師在方丈坐。因僧問訊次。師曰。百千諸聖。盡不出此方丈內。曰。祇如古人道。大千沙界海中漚。未審此方丈向甚麼處著。師曰。千聖現在。曰。阿誰證明。師便擲下拂子。僧從西過東立。師便打。僧曰。若不久參。焉知端的。師曰。三十年後。此話大行。趙州來。師在禪床背面而坐。州展坐具禮拜。師起入方丈。州收坐具而出。師問僧。甚處來。曰。西山來。師曰。見獼猴麼。曰。見。師曰。作甚麼伎倆。曰。見某甲一箇伎倆也作不得。師便打。胡釘鉸參。師問。汝莫是胡釘鉸麼。曰。不敢。師曰。還釘得虗空麼。曰。請和尚打破。師便打。胡曰。和尚莫錯打某甲。師曰。向後有多口阿師與你點破在。胡後到趙州。舉前話。州曰。汝因甚麼被他打。胡曰。不知過在甚麼處。州曰。祇這一縫尚不奈何。胡於此有省。趙州曰。且釘這一縫。僧問。萬裡無雲時如何。師曰。青天也須吃棒。曰。未審青天有甚麼過。師便打。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。面黑眼睛白。西院來參。問。踏倒化城來時如何。師曰。不斬死漢。院曰。斬。師便打。院連道。斬。斬。師又隨聲打。師卻回方丈曰。適來這僧。將赤肉抵他乾棒。有甚死急。

A monk asked, 'When the ten thousand conditions come invading, what then?' The Master said, 'Pay them no mind.' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Do not move. If you move, I will break your back.' The Master was sitting in the abbot's quarters. When a monk came to greet him, the Master said, 'A hundred thousand holy ones all do not go beyond this abbot's quarters.' The monk said, 'As the ancients said, the great thousand worlds and the sands of the Ganges are a bubble in the sea. I wonder where this abbot's quarters is placed?' The Master said, 'The thousand sages are present.' The monk said, 'Who is the witness?' The Master then threw down his whisk. The monk walked from the west side to the east and stood. The Master struck him. The monk said, 'Had I not spent long in practice, how would I know it so precisely?' The Master said, 'Thirty years from now these words will be greatly in vogue.' Zhaozhou came. The Master sat with his back to the meditation platform. Zhaozhou spread his sitting cloth and bowed. The Master rose and went into the abbot's quarters. Zhaozhou folded up his sitting cloth and went out. The Master asked a monk, 'Where have you come from?' The monk said, 'From the Western Mountain.' The Master said, 'Did you see the macaque?' The monk said, 'I saw it.' The Master said, 'What tricks did it do?' The monk said, 'It could not do a single trick for me.' The Master struck him. Hu the Tinker came to call. The Master asked, 'Are you not Hu the Tinker?' The monk said, 'I would not presume.' The Master said, 'Can you tinker with empty space?' The monk said, 'Please, Reverend, smash it.' The Master struck him. Hu said, 'Reverend, do not strike me by mistake.' The Master said, 'Hereafter there is a talkative master who will poke it through for you.' Later Hu came to Zhaozhou and brought up the earlier words. Zhaozhou said, 'Why were you struck by him?' Hu said, 'I do not know where the fault was.' Zhaozhou said, 'You can do nothing about even this one seam.' At this Hu had an awakening. Zhaozhou said, 'Just tinker this seam.' A monk asked, 'When not a cloud in ten thousand miles, what then?' The Master said, 'Even the blue sky must take a blow.' The monk said, 'I wonder what fault the blue sky has?' The Master struck him. A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'A black face and white eyes.' Xiyuan came to call and asked, 'When one has trampled down the phantom city and comes, what then?' The Master said, 'I do not behead a dead man.' Xiyuan said, 'Behead!' The Master struck him. Xiyuan said repeatedly, 'Behead, behead!' The Master struck him again following the sound of his voice. The Master returned to the abbot's quarters and said, 'That monk just now used his bare flesh to meet a dry stick. What death-defying urgency was there?'

鎮州三聖院慧然禪師

Chan Master Huiran of Sansheng Monastery, Zhenzhou

自臨濟受訣。遍歷叢林。至仰山。山問。汝名甚麼。師曰。慧寂。山曰。慧寂是我名。師曰。我名慧然。山大笑而已。仰山因有官人相訪。山問。官居何位。曰。推官。山竪起拂子曰。還推得這箇麼。官人無對。山令眾下語。皆不契。時師不安。在涅槃堂內將息。山令侍者去請下語。師曰。但道和尚今日有事。山又令侍者問。未審有甚麼事。師曰。再犯不容。到香嚴。嚴問。甚處來。師曰。臨濟。嚴曰。將得臨濟喝來麼。師以坐具驀口打。又到德山。才展坐具。山曰。莫展炊巾。這裡無殘羹餿飯。師曰。縱有也無著處。山便打。師接住棒。推向禪床上。山大笑。師哭蒼天。便下參堂。堂中首座號踢天泰。問。行腳高士。須得本道公驗。作麼生是本道公驗。師曰。道甚麼。座再問。師打一坐具曰。這漆桶前後觸忤多少賢良。座擬人事。師便過第二座人事。又到道吾。吾預知。以緋抹額。持神杖於門下立。師曰。小心祇候。吾應喏。師參堂了。再上人事。吾具威儀。方丈內坐。師才近前。吾曰。有事相借問。得麼。師曰。也是適來野狐精。便出去。住後。上堂。我逢人即出。出則不為人。便下座(興化雲。我逢人則不出。出則便為人)。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。臭肉來蠅(興化雲。破驢脊上足蒼蠅)。問。僧近離甚處。僧便喝。師亦喝。僧又喝。師又喝。僧曰。行棒即瞎。便喝。師拈棒。僧乃轉身作受棒勢。師曰。下坡不走快便難逢。便棒。僧曰。這賊。便出去師遂拋下棒。次有僧問。適來爭容得這僧。師曰。是伊見先師來。

Having received the seal from Linji, he traveled through all the monasteries. He came to Yangshan. Yangshan asked, 'What is your name?' The Master said, 'Huiji.' Yangshan said, 'Huiji is my name.' The Master said, 'My name is Huiran.' Yangshan only laughed aloud. Once an official came to visit Yangshan. Yangshan asked, 'What office do you hold?' The official said, 'A prefectural judge.' Yangshan raised his whisk and said, 'Can you judge this?' The official had no reply. Yangshan told the assembly to give a word; none hit the mark. At that time the Master was unwell and resting in the nirvana hall. Yangshan sent an attendant to ask him for a word. The Master said, 'Just say the Reverend has business today.' Yangshan again sent the attendant to ask, 'I wonder what business?' The Master said, 'A second offense will not be forgiven.' He came to Xiangyan. Xiangyan asked, 'Where have you come from?' The Master said, 'From Linji.' Xiangyan said, 'Did you bring Linji's shout along?' The Master struck him across the mouth with his sitting cloth. Again he came to Deshan and had just spread his sitting cloth when Deshan said, 'Do not spread a napkin; here there is no leftover soup or stale rice.' The Master said, 'Even if there were, there would be nowhere to put it.' Deshan struck him. The Master caught the stick and pushed him onto the meditation platform. Deshan laughed aloud. The Master cried out to heaven and went down into the assembly hall. The chief seat in that hall was called Tiantai the Kicker, and he asked, 'A wandering gentleman must have the travel permit of the Way. What is the travel permit of the Way?' The Master said, 'What are you saying?' The chief seat asked again. The Master gave his sitting cloth a blow and said, 'This lacquer bucket—how many good men has he offended from first to last?' The chief seat started to say a polite word, and the Master went on to the second seat's greeting. Again he came to Daowu. Daowu knew in advance, wrapped a crimson band around his forehead, and stood in the gateway holding a staff. The Master said, 'Be careful in your attendance.' Daowu answered, 'Yes.' After the Master had gone down into the hall, he came up again to greet him. Daowu arranged his full ceremonial and sat inside the abbot's quarters. The Master had just drawn near when Daowu said, 'There is a matter I would like to ask about; may I?' The Master said, 'So it was the old fox spirit from before.' And he went out. After he took up residence, he ascended the hall: 'When I meet a man I come out; when I come out I have never been a person.' And he left the seat. (Xinghua said, 'When I meet a man I do not come out; when I come out I am a person.') A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'A stinking piece of meat draws the flies.' (Xinghua said, 'On a broken donkey's back, enough flies to fill it.') He asked a monk where he had recently come from. The monk shouted. The Master also shouted. The monk shouted again. The Master shouted again. The monk said, 'Raise your stick and you go blind.' And he shouted. The Master picked up his stick. The monk turned and made as if to receive the blow. The Master said, 'Going downhill, if you do not run you rarely get such an easy chance.' And he struck. The monk said, 'This thief.' And he went out. The Master then threw down his stick. Then a monk asked, 'Just now why did you put up with that monk?' The Master said, 'That is because he had seen my late teacher.'

魏府大覺和尚

Venerable Master Dajue of Weifu

參臨濟。濟才見。竪起拂子。師展坐具。濟擲下拂子。師收坐具。參堂去。時僧眾曰。此僧莫是和尚親故。不禮拜又不吃棒。濟聞說。令侍者喚適來新到上來。師隨侍者到方丈。濟曰。大眾道汝來參長老。又不禮拜。又不吃棒。莫是長老親故。師乃珍重下去。師住後。僧問。如何是本來身。師曰。頭枕衡山。腳踏北嶽。問。如何是佛法大意。師曰。良馬不窺鞭。側耳知人意。問。如何是鎮國寶。師曰。穿耳賣不售。問。香草未生時如何。師曰。齅著腦裂。曰。生後如何。師曰。腦裂。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。十字街頭。望空啟告。問。如何是大覺。師曰。惡覺。曰。乖極。師便打。問。忽來忽去時如何。師曰。風吹柳絮毛毬走。曰。不來不去時如何。師曰。華嶽三峰頭指天。問。一飽忘百饑時如何。師曰。縱遇臨岐食。隨分納些些。臨終時謂眾曰。我有一隻箭。要付與人。時有一僧出。曰。請和尚箭。師曰。汝喚甚麼作箭。僧喝。師打數下。便歸方丈。卻喚其僧入來。問曰。汝適來會麼。曰。不會。師又打數下。擲卻拄杖。曰。已後遇明眼人。分明舉似。便乃告寂。

He called on Linji. Linji had barely seen him when he raised his whisk. The Master spread his sitting cloth. Linji threw down his whisk. The Master folded up his sitting cloth and went into the hall. At that time the monks said, 'This monk may be a relative of the Reverend; he neither bows nor takes a blow.' Linji heard of it and sent an attendant to call the newcomer up. The Master followed the attendant to the abbot's quarters. Linji said, 'The assembly says you have come to call on the elder, yet you neither bow nor take a blow. Are you perhaps a relative of the elder?' The Master said, 'Take care of yourself,' and went down. After the Master took up residence, a monk asked, 'What is the original body?' The Master said, 'Head pillowed on Mount Heng, feet on the Northern Peak.' A monk asked, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha dharma?' The Master said, 'A good horse does not look at the whip; it cocks an ear and knows the rider's mind.' A monk asked, 'What is the treasure that secures the state?' The Master said, 'Pierced ears, offered for sale and not sold.' A monk asked, 'When the fragrant grass has not yet grown, what then?' The Master said, 'Smell it and your brain splits.' The monk said, 'And after it has grown?' The Master said, 'Your brain splits.' A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'At the crossroads, lifting your face to the sky and announcing it.' A monk asked, 'What is great awakening?' The Master said, 'An evil awakening.' The monk said, 'That is utterly perverse.' The Master struck him. A monk asked, 'When it comes and goes suddenly, what then?' The Master said, 'The wind blows the willow catkins and the hairball rolls away.' The monk said, 'When it neither comes nor goes, what then?' The Master said, 'The three peaks of Mount Hua point their heads at the sky.' A monk asked, 'When one meal satisfies and a hundred hungers are forgotten, what then?' The Master said, 'Even if you meet food at the fork in the road, take only a little, according to your share.' As he was dying he said to the assembly, 'I have one arrow; I want to hand it to someone.' At that time a monk came forward and said, 'Please, Reverend, the arrow.' The Master said, 'What do you call an arrow?' The monk shouted. The Master struck him several times and went back into the abbot's quarters. Then he called that monk in and asked, 'Did you understand just now?' The monk said, 'I did not.' The Master struck him several times more, threw down his staff, and said, 'Hereafter, when you meet a clear-eyed man, tell it plainly.' And he passed away.

灌谿志閑禪師

Chan Master Zhixian of Guanxi

魏府館陶史氏子。幼從栢巖禪師披剃受具。後見臨濟。濟驀胸搊住。師曰。領。領。濟拓開曰。且放汝一頓。師離臨濟至末山(語見末山章)。師住後。上堂曰。我在臨濟爺爺處得半杓。末山孃孃處得半杓。共成一杓。吃了。直至如今飽不飢。僧問。請師不借借。師曰。滿口道不得。師又曰。大庾嶺頭佛不會。黃梅路上沒眾生。師會下一僧。去參石霜。霜問。甚處來。曰。灌谿來。霜曰。我南山。不如他北山。僧無對。僧回舉似師。師曰。何不道灌谿修涅槃堂了也。問。久嚮灌谿。到來祇見漚麻池。師曰。汝祇見漚麻池。且不見灌谿。曰。如何是灌谿。師曰。劈箭急(後人舉似玄沙。沙雲。更學三十年未會禪)。問。如何是古人骨。師曰。安置不得。曰。為甚麼安置不得。師曰。金烏那教下碧天。問。金鎻斷後如何。師曰。正是法汝處。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。缽裡盛飯。饙裡盛羹。曰。學人不會。師曰。飢則食。飽則休。上堂。十方無壁落。四畔亦無門。露裸裸。赤灑灑。無可把。便下座。問。如何是一色。師曰。不隨。曰。一色後如何。師曰。有闍黎承當分也無。問。今日一會。祇敵何人。師曰。不為凡聖。問。一句如何。師曰。不落千聖機。問。如何是洞中水。師曰。不洗人。唐乾寧二年乙卯五月二十九日。問侍者曰。坐死者誰。曰。僧伽。師曰。立死者誰。曰。僧會。師乃行七步。垂手而逝。

He was a son of the Shi family of Guantao in Weifu. As a child he was shaved and ordained under Chan Master Baiyan. Later he met Linji. Linji seized him by the chest. The Master said, 'I accept, I accept.' Linji pushed him away, saying, 'I will let you off this once.' The Master left Linji and came to Mount Mo. (The words are in the chapter on Mount Mo.) After he took up residence, he ascended the hall and said, 'I got half a ladle at Grandpa Linji's place and half a ladle at Granny Mount Mo's place; together they make one ladle. Having eaten it, I am full to this day and never hungry.' A monk asked, 'Please, Reverend, do not borrow.' The Master said, 'A mouthful cannot say it.' The Master also said, 'At the top of the Dayu Range the Buddha does not understand; on the Huangmei road there are no living beings.' A monk in the Master's assembly went to call on Shishuang. Shishuang asked, 'Where have you come from?' The monk said, 'From Guanxi.' Shishuang said, 'My southern mountain is not as good as his northern mountain.' The monk had no reply. The monk went back and reported this to the Master. The Master said, 'Why did you not say, 'Guanxi has finished repairing the nirvana hall'?' A monk asked, 'I have long heard of Guanxi; now that I have arrived I see only a hemp-retting pool.' The Master said, 'You see only the hemp-retting pool and do not see Guanxi.' The monk said, 'What is Guanxi?' The Master said, 'Swift as a flying arrow.' (Later someone reported this to Xuansha. Xuansha said, 'Study another thirty years and you still will not understand Chan.') A monk asked, 'What is the bone of the ancients?' The Master said, 'It cannot be put anywhere.' The monk said, 'Why can it not be put anywhere?' The Master said, 'How could the golden crow be taught to come down from the blue sky?' A monk asked, 'After the golden lock is broken, what then?' The Master said, 'Just where the dharma applies to you.' A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Rice in the bowl, soup in the steamer.' The monk said, 'This student does not understand.' The Master said, 'When hungry, eat; when full, rest.' Ascending the hall: 'The ten directions have no walls, the four sides have no gate. Bare and naked, red and dripping, there is nothing to grasp.' And he left the seat. A monk asked, 'What is the one color?' The Master said, 'Not following.' The monk said, 'After the one color, what then?' The Master said, 'Do you have a share to take it on, Acarya?' A monk asked, 'Today's assembly—who can it match?' The Master said, 'It is not for ordinary men or sages.' A monk asked, 'What of one phrase?' The Master said, 'It does not fall into the mechanisms of a thousand sages.' A monk asked, 'What is the water in the cave?' The Master said, 'It does not wash people.' On the twenty-ninth day of the fifth month of the second year of Qianning of the Tang, a yimao year, he asked his attendant, 'Who dies sitting?' The attendant said, 'Sangha.' The Master said, 'Who dies standing?' The attendant said, 'Seng Hui.' The Master then took seven steps and, dropping his hands, passed away.

𣵠州紙衣和尚(即克符道者)

The Paper-Robed Monk of Zhuozhou (that is, the Wayfarer Kefu)

初問臨濟。如何是奪人不奪境。濟曰。煦日發生鋪地錦。嬰兒垂髮白如絲。師曰。如何是奪境不奪人。濟曰。王令已行天下遍。將軍塞外絕煙塵。師曰。如何是人境俱奪。濟曰。並汾絕信。獨處一方。師曰。如何是人境俱不奪。濟曰。王登寶殿。野老謳謌。師於言下領旨。後有頌曰。奪人不奪境。緣自帶誵訛。擬欲求玄旨。思量反責麼。驪珠光燦爛。蟾桂影婆娑。覿面無差互。還應滯網羅。奪境不奪人。尋言何處真。問禪禪是妄。究理理非親。日照寒光澹。山搖翠色新。直饒玄會得。也是眼中塵。人境兩俱奪。從來正令行。不論佛與祖。那說聖凡情。擬犯吹毛劍。還如值木盲。進前求妙會。特地斬精靈。人境俱不奪。思量意不偏。主賓言少異。問答理俱全。踏破澄潭月。穿開碧落天。不能明妙用。淪溺在無緣。僧問。如何是賓中賓。師曰。倚門傍戶猶如醉。出言吐氣不慚惶。曰。如何是賓中主。師曰。口唸彌陀隻拄杖。目瞽瞳人不出頭。曰。如何是主中賓。師曰。高提祖印當機用。利物應知語帶悲。曰。如何是主中主。師曰。橫按鏌鎁全正令。太平寰宇斬痴頑。曰。既是太平寰宇。為甚麼卻斬痴頑。師曰。不許夜行剛把火。直須當道與人看。

At first he asked Linji, 'What is taking away the man but not the surroundings?' Linji said, 'The warm sun brings forth brocade spread on the ground; the infant's hanging hair is white as silk.' The Master said, 'What is taking away the surroundings but not the man?' Linji said, 'The king's command has already gone throughout the world; beyond the frontier the general cuts off smoke and dust.' The Master said, 'What is taking away both man and surroundings?' Linji said, 'Bing and Fen cut off news; he dwells alone in one quarter.' The Master said, 'What is taking away neither man nor surroundings?' Linji said, 'The king ascends the jeweled hall; the old rustic sings.' The Master received the purport under his words. Later he had a verse: 'Taking away the man but not the surroundings, by nature it brings its own error. If you would seek the mysterious purport, what reproach lies in thinking it over? The black dragon pearl shines brilliantly, the toad and cassia shadows dance. Face to face with no discrepancy, still one should linger in the net. / Taking away the surroundings but not the man, seeking the words, where is the truth? Ask about Chan and Chan is delusion, investigate principle and principle is not intimate. The sun shines and cold light is thin, the mountain sways and the emerald color is new. Even if you understand it mysteriously, it is still dust in your eye. / Taking away both man and surroundings, from of old the true command prevails. It does not discuss Buddha or Patriarch, how much less the feelings of sage and commoner. Try to violate the hair-cutting sword and you are like a blind man facing wood. Step forward seeking a wondrous understanding, and it deliberately cuts down the spirit. / Taking away neither man nor surroundings, thinking it over, the mind is not partial. Host and guest differ a little in words, question and answer are complete in principle. Trample through the moon in the clear pool, pierce open the blue sky. If you cannot understand the wondrous function, you drown in having no condition.' A monk asked, 'What is the guest within the guest?' The Master said, 'Leaning on the gate, beside the door, like a drunkard; speaking and breathing without shame.' The monk said, 'What is the host within the guest?' The Master said, 'Mouth reciting Amitabha, only holding the staff; blind pupils, the pupil does not come out.' The monk said, 'What is the guest within the host?' The Master said, 'Lifting high the Patriarch's seal, using it at the moment; benefiting beings, one should know the words carry compassion.' The monk said, 'What is the host within the host?' The Master said, 'Holding the Moye sword across, the whole true command; in the peaceful universe, cutting down the deluded and stubborn.' The monk said, 'Since it is the peaceful universe, why cut down the deluded and stubborn?' The Master said, 'You are not allowed to walk at night, yet you must carry fire; you must show it to people right in the road.'

定州善崔禪師

Chan Master Shancui of Dingzhou

州將王令公於衙署張座。請師說法。師陞座。拈拄杖曰。出來也打。不出來也打。僧出曰。崔禪聻。師擲下拄杖曰。久立令公。伏惟珍重。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。定州瓷器似鍾鳴。曰。學人不會意旨如何。師曰。口口分明沒喎斜。

The prefect Lord Wang set up a seat in his office and invited the Master to preach. The Master ascended the seat, picked up his staff, and said, 'Come out and you get struck; do not come out and you get struck.' A monk came out and said, 'Cui Chan!' The Master threw down his staff and said, 'Long standing, my Lord. Please take care.' A monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Dingzhou porcelain rings like a bell.' The monk said, 'This student does not understand the purport.' The Master said, 'Mouth to mouth, clear and distinct, with no distortion.'

鎮州萬壽和尚

The Venerable Wanshou of Zhenzhou

僧問。如何是迦葉上行衣。師曰。鶴飛千點雪。雲鎻萬重山。問。如何是丈六金身。師曰。袖頭打領。腋下剜襟。曰。學人不會。師曰。不會請人裁。師訪寶壽。壽坐不起。師展坐具。壽下禪床。師卻坐。壽驟入方丈。閉卻門。知事見師坐不起。曰。請和尚庫下吃茶。師乃歸院。翌日。寶壽來復謁。師踞禪床。壽展坐具。師亦下禪床。壽卻坐。師歸方丈閉卻門。壽入侍者寮。取灰圍卻方丈門。便歸去。師遂開門見曰。我不恁麼。他卻恁麼。

A monk asked, 'What is Mahakasyapa's robe of ascent?' The Master said, 'Cranes fly, a thousand points of snow; clouds lock ten thousand layers of mountains.' A monk asked, 'What is the sixteen-foot golden body?' The Master said, 'A sleeve-head used as a collar, a lapel cut from under the arm.' The monk said, 'This student does not understand.' The Master said, 'If you do not understand, ask someone to cut it.' The Master visited Baoshou. Baoshou sat and did not rise. The Master spread his sitting cloth. Baoshou got down from the meditation platform. The Master sat down instead. Baoshou hurried into the abbot's quarters and shut the door. The administrator saw that the Master sat and did not rise, and said, 'Please, Reverend, have tea in the storeroom.' The Master then returned to his monastery. The next day Baoshou came to call again. The Master was seated on the meditation platform. Baoshou spread his sitting cloth. The Master also got down from the platform. Baoshou sat down instead. The Master returned to the abbot's quarters and shut the door. Baoshou went into the attendant's room, took ashes and drew a line around the abbot's door, and went back. The Master then opened the door and, seeing it, said, 'I was not like that, but he was like that.'

幽州譚空和尚

Venerable Tankong of Youzhou

鎮州牧有姑為尼。行腳回。欲開堂為人。牧令師勘過。師問曰。見說汝欲開堂為人。是否。尼曰。是。師曰。尼是五障之身。汝作麼生為人。尼曰。龍女八歲。南方無垢世界成等正覺又作麼生。師曰。龍女有十八變。你試一變看。尼曰。設使變得。也祇是箇野狐精。師便打。牧聞舉乃曰。和尚棒折那。僧問。德山棒。臨濟喝。未審那箇最親。師曰。已前在眾裡。老僧也曾商量來。僧便喝。師曰。卻是汝會。僧曰。錯。師便打。上堂。眾集。有僧出曰。擬問不問時如何。師曰。嗄。僧便喝。師曰。㘞。僧又喝。師拈拄杖。僧曰。瞎。師拋下拄杖。曰。今日失利。僧曰。草賊大敗。便歸眾。師以手向空點一點。曰。大眾。還有人辯得麼。若有辯得者。出來對眾道看。師良久。曰。頂門上眼。也鑒不破。便下座。寶壽和尚問。除卻中上二根人來時。師兄作麼生。師曰。汝適來舉早錯也。壽曰。師兄也不得無過。師曰。汝卻與我作師兄。壽側掌曰。這老賊。

The prefect of Zhenzhou had an aunt who was a nun. She returned from her wandering and wanted to open a hall to teach people. The prefect had the Master examine her. The Master asked, 'I hear you want to open a hall to teach people; is that so?' The nun said, 'Yes.' The Master said, 'A nun is a body of five hindrances. How will you teach people?' The nun said, 'The dragon girl, at eight years old, attained perfect enlightenment in the Stainless World in the South—how about that?' The Master said, 'The dragon girl had eighteen transformations. Try one transformation.' The nun said, 'Even if I could transform, it would still be just a wild fox spirit.' The Master struck her. When the prefect heard of it he said, 'The Reverend's stick is broken.' A monk asked, 'Deshan's stick, Linji's shout—which is closest?' The Master said, 'Formerly, among the assembly, this old monk discussed that too.' The monk shouted. The Master said, 'So you do understand.' The monk said, 'Wrong.' The Master struck him. He ascended the hall. The assembly gathered. A monk came forward and said, 'What of one who intends to ask but does not ask?' The Master said, 'Aha.' The monk shouted. The Master said, 'Huo.' The monk shouted again. The Master picked up his staff. The monk said, 'Blind.' The Master threw down the staff and said, 'Today I have lost.' The monk said, 'The straw bandit is badly beaten.' And he returned to the assembly. The Master pointed his hand at the sky and said, 'Assembly, is there anyone who can discern this? If there is one who can discern it, come forward and speak before the assembly.' After a long while the Master said, 'The eye on the crown of the head cannot see through it either.' And he left the seat. The Venerable Baoshou asked, 'Setting aside those of middle and superior faculties, what of you, senior brother?' The Master said, 'What you just brought up was already wrong.' Baoshou said, 'You, senior brother, cannot be without fault either.' The Master said, 'Then you be my senior brother.' Baoshou turned his palm sideways and said, 'This old thief.'

襄州歷村和尚

The Venerable of Licun, Xiangzhou

僧問。如何是觀其音聲而得解脫。師將火筯敲柴曰。汝還聞麼。曰。聞。師曰。誰不解脫。師煎茶次。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師舉起茶匙。僧曰。莫祇這便當否。師擲向火中。

A monk asked, 'What is it to contemplate the sound and thereby gain liberation?' The Master tapped fire-tongs against firewood and said, 'Do you hear it?' The monk said, 'I hear it.' The Master said, 'Who is not liberated?' While the Master was boiling tea, a monk asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master raised his tea spoon. The monk said, 'Is it just this, then?' The Master threw it into the fire.

滄州米倉和尚

The Venerable of the Rice Granary, Cangzhou