Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Ten

風穴沼禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Fengxue Zhao

汝州首山省念禪師

Chan Master Shoushan Shengnian of Ruzhou

萊州狄氏子。受業於本郡南禪寺。才具屍羅。徧遊叢席。常密誦法華經。眾目為念法華也。晚於風穴會中充知客。一日侍立次。穴乃垂涕告之曰。不幸臨濟之道。至吾將墜於地矣。師曰。觀此一眾。豈無人邪。穴曰。聰明者多。見性者少。師曰。如某者如何。穴曰。吾雖望子之久。猶恐耽著此經。不能放下。師曰。此亦可事。願聞其要。穴遂上堂。舉世尊以青蓮目顧視大眾。乃曰。正當恁麼時。且道說箇甚麼。若道不說而說。又是埋沒先聖。且道說箇甚麼。師乃拂袖下去。穴擲下拄杖。歸方丈。侍者隨後請益。曰。念法華因甚不祇對和尚。穴曰。念法華會也。次日。師與真圓頭同上。問訊次。穴問真曰。作麼生是世尊不說說。真曰。鵓鳩樹頭鳴。穴曰。汝作許多痴福作麼。何不體究言句。又問師曰。汝作麼生。師曰。動容揚古路。不墮悄然機。穴謂真曰。汝何不看念法華下語。師受風穴印可之後。泯跡韜光。人莫知其所以。因白兆楚和尚至汝州宣化。風穴令師往傳語。才相見。提起坐具。便問。展即是。不展即是。兆曰。自家看取。師便喝。兆曰。我曾親近知識來。未甞輒敢恁麼造次。師曰。草賊大敗。兆曰。來日若見風穴和尚。待一一舉似。師曰。一任一任。不得忘卻。師乃先回。舉似風穴。穴曰。今日又被你收下一員草賊。師曰。好手不張名。兆次日才到。相見便舉前話。穴曰。非但昨日。今日和贓捉敗。師於是名振四方。學者望風而靡。開法首山。為第一世也。入院上堂曰。佛法付與國王大臣。有力檀越。令其佛法不斷絕。燈燈相續。至於今日。大眾且道。續箇甚麼。良久曰。須是迦葉師兄始得。時有僧問。靈山一會。何異今朝。師曰。墮坑落壍。曰。為甚麼如此。師曰。瞎。問。師唱誰家曲。宗風嗣阿誰。師曰。少室巖前親掌示。曰。便請洪音和一聲。師曰。如今也要大家知。問。

He was a son of the Di family of Laizhou. He studied under the South Chan Monastery of his own prefecture. As soon as he was fully ordained in the precepts, he traveled to all the monasteries. He constantly recited the Lotus Sutra in secret, and the assembly called him Nian Fahua, Reciter of the Lotus. In his later years he served as guest master in Fengxue's assembly. One day, as he stood in attendance, Fengxue, with tears falling, told him: 'Unhappily, the way of Linji, by the time it reaches me, is about to fall to the ground.' The master said: 'Looking at this assembly, can it be that there is no one?' Fengxue said: 'There are many clever ones; few who see the nature.' The master said: 'What about one like me?' Fengxue said: 'Though I have long looked to you, I fear you are addicted to this scripture and cannot put it down.' The master said: 'That too is a small matter. I wish to hear the essentials.' Fengxue then mounted the hall. He brought up how the World-Honored One surveyed the assembly with his blue lotus eyes, and said: 'At exactly such a moment, tell me, what does he say? If you say he speaks without speaking, that is to bury the former sages. Tell me, what does he say?' The master then brushed his sleeves and went down. Fengxue threw down his staff and returned to his quarters. The attendant afterward asked for instruction, saying: 'Why did Nian Fahua not answer the Master?' Fengxue said: 'Nian Fahua understands.' The next day the master went up together with the garden chief Zhen. As they paid their respects, Fengxue asked Zhen: 'What is it when the World-Honored One speaks without speaking?' Zhen said: 'A dove calls from the treetop.' Fengxue said: 'Why do you make so much foolish merit? Why do you not investigate the words?' He also asked the master: 'What do you make of it?' The master said: 'Stirring countenance, raising the ancient road; not falling into the still and silent working.' Fengxue said to Zhen: 'Why do you not look at how Nian Fahua puts it?' After the master received Fengxue's seal of approval, he hid his traces and veiled his light, and no one knew what he was. Because Chan Master Baizhao Chu came to Ruzhou to spread the teaching, Fengxue sent the master to carry a message. As soon as they met, he lifted his sitting cloth and asked: 'To spread it or not to spread it?' Baizhao said: 'See for yourself.' The master at once shouted. Baizhao said: 'I have attended good friends, and never once dared to be so rash.' The master said: 'The straw thief is badly beaten.' Baizhao said: 'Tomorrow, when I see Master Fengxue, I will bring up every bit of it.' The master said: 'As you please, as you please. Do not forget.' The master then went back first and brought it up to Fengxue. Fengxue said: 'Today you have again taken in a straw thief.' The master said: 'A good hand does not display his name.' When Baizhao arrived the next day, as soon as they met he brought up the previous talk. Fengxue said: 'Not only yesterday — today you are caught with the stolen goods.' Thereupon the master's fame shook the four quarters, and students fell before his wind. He opened the dharma at Shoushan and was its first generation. On entering the monastery he mounted the hall: 'The buddhadharma is entrusted to kings and great ministers and to powerful donors, so that the buddhadharma may not be cut off, lamp continuing to lamp, down to this day. Great assembly, tell me, what is continued?' After a long while he said: 'It must be the senior brother Kashyapa who has it.' At that time a monk asked: 'The assembly on Vulture Peak — how is it different from this morning?' The master said: 'Fallen into a pit and dropped into a moat.' The monk said: 'Why is it so?' The master said: 'Blind.' The monk asked: 'Whose song does the Master sing? Whose school does he succeed?' The master said: 'Before the rock of Shaoshi he showed it in person.' The monk said: 'Then please sound a great note in harmony.' The master said: 'Even now everyone must know.' The monk asked:

如何是徑截一路。師曰。或在山間。或在樹下。問。如何是學人親切處。師曰。五九盡日又逢春。曰。畢竟事如何。師曰。冬到寒食一百五。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。一言截斷千江口。萬仞峰前始得玄。問。如何是首山境。師曰。一任眾人看。曰。如何是境中人。師曰。吃棒得也未。僧禮拜。師曰。吃棒且待別時。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。風吹日炙。問。從上諸聖。向甚麼處行履。師曰。牽犂拽杷。問。古人拈槌竪拂。意旨如何。師曰。孤峰無宿客。曰。未審意旨如何。師曰。不是守株人。問。如何是菩提路。師曰。此去襄縣五里。曰。向上事如何。師曰。往來不易。問。諸聖說不到處。請師舉唱。師曰。萬裡神光都一照。誰人敢竝日輪齊。問。臨濟喝。德山棒。未審明甚麼邊事。師曰。汝試道看。僧便喝。師曰。瞎。僧又喝。師曰。這瞎漢祗麼亂喝作麼。僧禮拜。師便打。問。和尚是大善知識。為甚麼卻首山。師曰。不坐孤峰頂。常伴白雲閑。問。四眾圍繞。師說何法。師曰。打草蛇驚。曰。未審作麼生下手。師曰。適來幾合喪身失命。問。二龍爭珠。誰是得者。師曰。得者失。曰。不得者又如何。師曰。珠在甚麼處。問。一切諸佛。皆從此經出。如何是此經。師曰。低聲。低聲。曰。如何受持。師曰。切不得汙染。問。世尊滅後。法付何人。師曰。好箇問頭。無人答得。曰。如何是世尊不說說。師曰。任從滄海變。終不為君通。曰。如何是迦葉不聞聞。師曰。瞶人徒側耳。問。古人道。見色便見心。諸法無形。將何所見。師曰。一家有事百家忙。曰。學人不會。乞師再指。師曰。三日後看取。問。菩薩未成佛時如何。師曰。眾生。曰。成佛後如何。師曰。眾生。眾生。問。路逢達道人。不將語默對。未審將甚麼對。師曰。瞥爾三千界。曰。與麼則目視不勞也。師曰。天恩未遇。後悔難追。

(The monk continued asking:) 'What is the short-cut road?' The master said: 'Either among the mountains or beneath the trees.' The monk asked: 'Where is the student's intimate place?' The master said: 'When the five and nine are exhausted, one meets spring again.' The monk said: 'What of the ultimate matter?' The master said: 'From winter to the Cold Food Festival is one hundred and five days.' The monk asked: 'What is the Master's family style?' The master said: 'One phrase cuts off a thousand river mouths; only before a ten-thousand-fathom peak is the profound attained.' The monk asked: 'What is the realm of Shoushan?' The master said: 'Let everyone look as they please.' The monk said: 'What of the person within the realm?' The master said: 'Have you taken a blow yet?' The monk bowed. The master said: 'Taking the blow can wait for another time.' The monk asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the west?' The master said: 'Blown by wind, scorched by sun.' The monk asked: 'Where do the sages from the first walk?' The master said: 'Pulling the plow, dragging the harrow.' The monk asked: 'What is the meaning of the ancients picking up the mallet and raising the fly whisk?' The master said: 'The solitary peak has no overnight guest.' The monk said: 'I wonder what the meaning is?' The master said: 'He is not one who keeps watch by a stump.' The monk asked: 'What is the road of enlightenment?' The master said: 'Five li from here to Xiang county.' The monk said: 'What of the matter of going beyond?' The master said: 'Coming and going is not easy.' The monk asked: 'Where the sages cannot speak — pray, Master, proclaim it.' The master said: 'The divine light of ten thousand miles all shines at once; who dares to stand level with the sun?' The monk asked: 'Linji's shout, Deshan's blow — I wonder what matter they clarify?' The master said: 'Try to say.' The monk at once shouted. The master said: 'Blind.' The monk shouted again. The master said: 'What is this blind man doing, shouting wildly like this?' The monk bowed. The master at once struck him. The monk asked: 'The Master is a great good friend; why then Shoushan?' The master said: 'Not sitting on the solitary peak top, ever keeping company with the white clouds at leisure.' The monk asked: 'The four assemblies surround you; what dharma does the Master speak?' The master said: 'Beating the grass startles the snake.' The monk said: 'I wonder how one applies it?' The master said: 'Just now you nearly lost your life.' The monk asked: 'Two dragons fight over a pearl — who gets it?' The master said: 'The one who gets it loses.' The monk said: 'And the one who does not get it?' The master said: 'Where is the pearl?' The monk asked: 'All buddhas come forth from this scripture. What is this scripture?' The master said: 'Lower your voice, lower your voice.' The monk said: 'How does one uphold it?' The master said: 'Above all, do not defile it.' The monk asked: 'After the World-Honored One's extinction, to whom was the dharma entrusted?' The master said: 'A fine question, and no one can answer it.' The monk asked: 'What is it when the World-Honored One speaks without speaking?' The master said: 'Let the vast sea change as it will; I will never make it clear for you.' The monk said: 'What is it when Kashyapa hears without hearing?' The master said: 'The deaf man wears out his ears in vain.' The monk asked: 'The ancients said: seeing form, one sees the mind. All dharmas are without form — with what does one see?' The master said: 'When one house has trouble, a hundred houses are busy.' The monk said: 'This student does not understand; I beg the Master to point again.' The master said: 'Look three days from now.' The monk asked: 'What of when a bodhisattva has not yet become a buddha?' The master said: 'A sentient being.' The monk said: 'What of after becoming a buddha?' The master said: 'A sentient being, a sentient being.' The monk asked: 'Meeting a man of the way on the road, one does not answer him with speech or silence. I wonder with what one answers him?' The master said: 'A glance at the three thousand realms.' The monk said: 'Then one may look without effort.' The master said: 'Before heavenly grace is met, later regret is hard to recover.'

上堂。第一句薦得。堪與祖佛為師。第二句薦得。堪與人天為師。第三句薦得。自救不了。時有僧問。如何是第一句。師曰。大用不揚眉。棒下須見血。曰。慈悲何在。師曰。送出三門外。問。如何是第二句。師曰。不打恁麼驢漢。曰。將接何人。師曰。如斯爭奈何。問。如何是第三句。師曰。解問無人答。曰。即今祇對者是誰。師曰。莫使外人知。曰。和尚是第幾句薦得。師曰。月落三更穿市過。問。維摩默然。文殊贊善。未審此意如何。師曰。當時聽眾必不如是。曰。既不如是。維摩默然。又且如何。師曰。知恩者少。負恩者多。乃曰。若論此事實。不掛一箇元字腳。便下座。問。如何是古佛心。師曰。鎮州蘿蔔重三斤。問。如何是玄中的。師曰。有言須道卻。曰。此意如何。師曰。無言鬼也瞋。問。如何是衲僧眼。師曰。此問不當。曰。當後如何。師曰。堪作甚麼。問。如何得離眾緣去。師曰。千年一遇。曰。不離時如何。師曰。立在眾人前。問。如何是大安樂底人。師曰。不見有一法。曰。將何為人。師曰。謝闍黎領話。問。如何是常在底人。師曰。亂走作麼。問。如何是首山。師曰。東山高。西山低。曰。如何是山中人。師曰。恰遇棒不在。問。如何是道。師曰。爐中有火無心撥。處處縱橫任意遊。曰。如何是道中人。師曰。坐看煙霞秀。不與白雲齊。問。一毫未發時如何。師曰。路逢穿耳客。曰。發後如何。師曰。不用便遲疑。問。無絃一曲。請師音韻。師良久。曰。還聞麼。曰。不聞。師曰。何不高聲問著。問。學人久處沉迷。請師一接。師曰。老僧無這閑工夫。曰。和尚豈無方便。師曰。要行即行。要坐即坐。問。如何是離凡聖底句。師曰。嵩山安和尚。曰。莫便是和尚極則處否。師曰。南嶽讓禪師。問。學人乍入叢林。乞師指示。師曰。闍黎到此多少時也。曰。已經冬夏。師曰。

Ascending the hall: '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.' Then a monk asked, 'What is the first phrase?' The Master said, 'Great function does not raise the eyebrows; beneath the staff one must see blood.' The monk said, 'Where is the compassion?' The Master said, 'Escort him out beyond the triple gate.' He asked, 'What is the second phrase?' The Master said, 'I do not beat such a donkey of a man.' The monk said, 'Then whom will you receive?' The Master said, 'What is to be done about one like this?' He asked, 'What is the third phrase?' The Master said, 'He understands how to ask, and no one answers.' The monk said, 'Then who is the one facing you now?' The Master said, 'Do not let outsiders know.' The monk said, 'In which phrase did the Reverend awaken?' The Master said, 'The moon sets at the third watch; he passes through the market.' Someone asked, 'Vimalakirti was silent and Manjushri praised him. What is the meaning of this?' The Master said, 'The audience then certainly were not like that.' The monk said, 'If they were not like that, then what about Vimalakirti's silence?' The Master said, 'Those who know the grace are few; those who betray it are many.' Then he said, 'If one speaks of this matter truly, it does not hang by a single character.' Then he descended from the seat. Someone asked, 'What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?' The Master said, 'A Zhenzhou radish weighs three catties.' Someone asked, 'What is within the mystery?' The Master said, 'If there are words, one must speak them out.' The monk said, 'What does this mean?' The Master said, 'Without words even ghosts are angry.' Someone asked, 'What is the monk's eye?' The Master said, 'This question is not fitting.' The monk said, 'And after it fits?' The Master said, 'What is it good for?' Someone asked, 'How does one get free of all conditions?' The Master said, 'Met once in a thousand years.' The monk said, 'And when not free of them?' The Master said, 'Stand before the crowd.' Someone asked, 'What is a man of great peace and ease?' The Master said, 'He does not see a single dharma.' The monk said, 'With what will he benefit people?' The Master said, 'Thank you, acharya, for accepting the words.' Someone asked, 'What is a man who is always present?' The Master said, 'What are you running about for?' Someone asked, 'What is Shoushan?' The Master said, 'East Mountain is high, West Mountain is low.' The monk said, 'What is the man in the mountain?' The Master said, 'It happens that the staff is not with me.' Someone asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'There is fire in the stove and no mind to poke it; everywhere one roams freely at will.' The monk said, 'What is the man within the Way?' The Master said, 'Sitting, I watch the mist and haze excel, not ranking with the white clouds.' Someone asked, 'What was it like before a single hair arose?' The Master said, 'On the road meeting an ear-pierced guest.' The monk said, 'And after it arises?' The Master said, 'Then there is no need to hesitate.' Someone asked, 'A tune without strings — I beg the Master for its melody.' The Master was silent a long while and said, 'Do you hear it?' The monk said, 'I do not.' The Master said, 'Why not ask in a loud voice?' Someone asked, 'The student has long been sunk in delusion; I beg the Master to extend one hand.' The Master said, 'This old monk has no such leisure.' The monk said, 'Has the Reverend no expedient?' The Master said, 'To walk is to walk, to sit is to sit.' Someone asked, 'What is the phrase that departs from ordinary and sage?' The Master said, 'The Reverend An of Song Mountain.' The monk said, 'Is this not the Reverend's ultimate place?' The Master said, 'Chan Master Rang of Nanyue.' Someone asked, 'The student has just entered the groves; I beg the Master to point it out.' The Master said, 'How long has the acharya been here?' The monk said, 'A winter and a summer already.' The Master said:

莫錯舉似人。問。有一人蕩盡來時。師還接否。師曰。蕩盡即置。那一人是誰。曰。風高月冷。師曰。僧堂內幾人坐臥。僧無對。師曰。賺殺老僧。問。如何是梵音相。師曰。驢鳴狗吠。乃曰。要得親切。第一莫將問來問。還會麼。問在答處。答在問處。汝若將問來問。老僧在汝腳底。汝若擬議。即沒交涉。時有僧出禮拜。師便打。僧便問。掛錫幽巖時如何。師曰。錯。僧曰。錯。師又打。問。如何是佛。師曰。新婦騎驢阿家牽。曰。未審此語甚麼句中收。師曰。三玄收不得。四句豈能該。曰。此意如何。師曰。天長地久。日月齊明。問。曹谿一句。天下人聞。未審和尚一句。甚麼人得聞。師曰。不出三門外。曰。為甚麼不出三門外。師曰。舉似天下人。問。如何是和尚不欺人底眼。師曰。看看冬到來。曰。究竟如何。師曰。即便春風至。問。遠聞和尚無絲可掛。及至到來。為甚麼有山可守。師曰。道甚麼。僧便喝。師亦喝。僧禮拜。師曰。放汝三十棒。次住廣教及寶應。三處法席。海眾常臻。淳化三年十二月四日午時。上堂說偈曰。今年六十七。老病隨緣且遣日。今年記卻來年事。來年記著今朝日。至四年。月日無爽前記。上堂辭眾。仍說偈曰。白銀世界金色身。情與非情共一真。明暗盡時俱不照。日輪午後示全身。言訖。安坐而逝。茶毗收舍利建塔。

(The Master continued:) 'Do not raise it wrongly to others.' Someone asked, 'When a man comes having swept away everything, does the Master still receive him?' The Master said, 'Swept away, set that aside. Who is that man?' The monk said, 'The wind is high and the moon is cold.' The Master said, 'How many are sitting and lying in the monks' hall?' The monk had no reply. The Master said, 'He cheats this old monk to death.' Someone asked, 'What is the mark of the Brahma voice?' The Master said, 'The braying of donkeys and the barking of dogs.' Then he said, 'If you want intimacy, first do not use the question to ask the question. Do you understand? The question lies in the answer, and the answer lies in the question. If you use the question to ask the question, this old monk is under your feet. If you deliberate, it has nothing to do with it.' Then a monk came forward and bowed. The Master then beat him. The monk then asked, 'What is it like when one hangs up one's staff in a secluded crag?' The Master said, 'Wrong.' The monk said, 'Wrong.' The Master beat him again. Someone asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'A bride rides a donkey and her mother-in-law leads it.' The monk said, 'I wonder in which phrase these words are collected?' The Master said, 'The three mysteries cannot collect it; how could the four propositions contain it?' The monk said, 'What does this mean?' The Master said, 'Heaven is long and earth enduring; sun and moon shine together.' Someone asked, 'One phrase of Caoxi was heard by the whole world. I wonder who hears one phrase of the Reverend?' The Master said, 'It does not go beyond the triple gate.' The monk said, 'Why does it not go beyond the triple gate?' The Master said, 'Raise it to the whole world.' Someone asked, 'What is the eye of the Reverend that does not deceive people?' The Master said, 'Watch — winter is coming.' The monk said, 'After all, how is it?' The Master said, 'And then the spring wind arrives.' Someone asked, 'I have heard from afar that the Reverend has not a thread to hang on; now that I have come, why is there a mountain to guard?' The Master said, 'What did you say?' The monk then shouted. The Master also shouted. The monk bowed. The Master said, 'I let you off thirty blows.' Later he lived at Guangjiao and Baoying; at these three Dharma seats the ocean-like assembly constantly gathered. At noon on the fourth day of the twelfth month of the third year of Chunhua he ascended the hall and spoke a verse: 'This year I am sixty-seven; old and sick, I follow conditions and pass the days. This year I record next year's matter; next year I shall record today's date.' In the fourth year, the month and day matched his former record without error. He ascended the hall to take leave of the assembly and spoke another verse: 'A silver world and a golden body; sentient and insentient share one true. When light and dark are exhausted, neither shines; after noon the sun's wheel shows the whole body.' Having spoken, he sat at ease and passed away. After cremation his relics were collected and a stupa was built.

汝州廣慧真禪師

Chan Master Zhen of Guanghui in Ruzhou

甞在風穴作園頭。穴問曰。會昌沙汰時。護法善神向甚麼處去。師曰。常在闤闠中。要且無人識。穴曰。汝徹也。師禮拜。出世。開堂日。僧問。如何是廣慧境。師曰。小寺前。資慶後。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。杴𭺗钁子。

He once was the garden head under Fengxue. Fengxue asked, 'At the time of the Huichang persecution, where did the good spirits who protect the Dharma go?' The Master said, 'They are always in the market streets, and yet no one recognizes them.' Fengxue said, 'You have penetrated.' The Master bowed. He came out into the world. On the day he opened the hall, a monk asked, 'What is the realm of Guanghui?' The Master said, 'Before the small monastery, behind Ziqing.' Someone asked, 'What is the Reverend's family style?' The Master said, 'A spade and a hoe.'

鳳翔府長興院滿禪師

Chan Master Man of Changxing Monastery in Fengxiang Prefecture

僧問。如何是古佛道場。師曰。行便踏著。曰。踏著後如何。師曰。冰消瓦解。曰。為甚如此。師曰。城內君子。郭外小兒。問。大用現前時如何。師曰。閙市裡輥。

A monk asked, 'What is the place of the Way of the ancient Buddha?' The Master said, 'Walk and you step on it.' The monk said, 'And after stepping on it?' The Master said, 'The ice melts and the tiles crumble.' The monk said, 'Why is it so?' The Master said, 'A gentleman within the city, a small boy outside the wall.' Someone asked, 'What is it like when the great function is present before one?' The Master said, 'Rolling in the busy market.'

潭州靈泉院和尚

The Reverend of Lingquan Monastery in Tanzhou

僧問。如何是和尚活計。師曰。一物也無。曰。未審日用何物。師便喝。僧禮拜。師便打。問。先師道。金沙灘上馬郎婦。意旨如何。師曰。上東門外人無數。曰。便恁麼會時如何。師曰。天津橋上往來多。

A monk asked, 'What is the Reverend's livelihood?' The Master said, 'Not one thing.' The monk said, 'I wonder what you use day to day?' The Master then shouted. The monk bowed. The Master then beat him. Someone asked, 'My late teacher said, The horse-taming woman on the golden sand beach. What does that mean?' The Master said, 'Countless people outside the east gate.' The monk said, 'What if one understands it just like that?' The Master said, 'Many come and go on the Tianjin Bridge.'

南嶽下九世

The ninth generation below Nanyue

首山念禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of Chan Master Nian of Shoushan

汾州太子院善昭禪師

Chan Master Shanzhao of Taizi Monastery in Fenzhou

太原俞氏子。剃髮受具。杖䇿遊方。所至少留。隨機叩發。歷參知識七十一員。後到首山。問。百丈卷席。意旨如何。山曰。龍袖拂開全體現。曰。師意如何。山曰。象王行處絕狐蹤。師於言下大悟。拜起而曰。萬古碧潭空界月。再三撈摝始應知。有問者曰。見何道理。便爾自肯。師曰。正是我放身命處。後遊衡湘及襄沔間。每為郡守以名剎力致。前後八請。堅臥不答。洎首山歿。西河道俗遣僧契聰迎請住持。師閉關高枕。聰排闥而入。讓之曰。佛法大事。靖退小節。風穴懼應讖。憂宗旨墜滅。幸而有先師。先師已棄世。汝有力荷擔如來大法者。今何時而欲安眠哉。師矍起。握聰手曰。非公不聞此語。趣辦嚴。吾行矣。住後上堂。謂眾曰。汾陽門下有西河師子。當門踞坐。但有來者。即便齩殺。有何方便。入得汾陽門。見得汾陽人。若見汾陽人者。堪與祖佛為師。不見汾陽人。盡是立地死漢。如今還有人入得麼。快須入取。免得孤負平生。不是龍門客。切忌遭點額。那箇是龍門客。一齊點下。舉起拄杖曰。速退。速退。珍重。上堂。先聖雲。一句語須具三玄門。一玄門須具三要。阿那箇是三玄三要底句。快會取好。各自思量。還得穩當也未。古德已前行腳。聞一箇因緣。未明中間。直下飲食無味。睡臥不安。火急決擇。莫將為小事。所以大覺老人。為一大事因緣出現於世。想計他從上來行腳。不為遊山翫水。看州府奢華。片衣口食。皆為聖心未通。所以驅馳行腳。決擇深奧。傳唱敷揚。博問先知。親近高德。葢為續佛心燈。紹隆祖代。興崇聖種。接引後機。自利利他。不忘先跡。如今還有商量者麼。有即出來。大家商量。僧問。如何是接初機底句。師曰。汝是行腳僧。曰。如何是辯衲僧底句。師曰。西方日出卯。曰。如何是正令行底句。師曰。千里持來呈舊面。曰。如何是立乾坤底句。師曰。

He was a son of the Yu family of Taiyuan. He shaved his head and received full ordination. With his staff he wandered in search of the Way, rarely staying long wherever he went, questioning and awakening according to conditions. He studied under seventy-one good friends. Later he came to Shoushan and asked, 'Baizhang's rolling up of the mat — what does it mean?' Shoushan said, 'The dragon's sleeve brushes it open and the whole body appears.' The Master said, 'What is the Master's intent?' Shoushan said, 'Where the elephant king walks, the fox's tracks are cut off.' At these words the Master was greatly awakened, bowed and rose, saying, 'The moon in the empty realm above the ancient blue pool — only after fishing for it again and again should one know it.' Someone asked, 'What principle did you see, that you approve yourself like this?' The Master said, 'This is precisely where I lay down body and life.' Later he wandered in the regions of Heng and Xiang and Xiang and Mian, and was repeatedly pressed by the prefects with famous monasteries; eight times he was invited and eight times he lay firm and did not answer. When Shoushan passed away, the clergy and laity of Xihe sent the monk Qicong to welcome him to be abbot. The Master had shut himself in and slept soundly. Qicong pushed open the door and entered, and reproached him: 'The great matter of the Buddha Dharma is the great matter; quiet retirement is a minor point. Fengxue feared the prophecy would come true and grieved that the school's purport would fall into ruin. Fortunately there was the late master, and the late master has already left the world. You are a man with the strength to shoulder the Tathagata's great Dharma — what time is this, and you still want to sleep peacefully?' The Master started up and, grasping Qicong's hand, said, 'Were it not for you, I would not hear these words. Hurry and prepare the travel gear; I am going.' After he became abbot he ascended the hall and said to the assembly, 'Below the gate of Fenyang there is a lion of Xihe, crouching at the gate; whoever comes, it at once bites to death. By what expedient can one enter the gate of Fenyang and see the man of Fenyang? One who sees the man of Fenyang is fit to be the teacher of Ancestors and Buddhas. One who does not see the man of Fenyang is a dead man standing on the ground. Is there anyone who can enter now? You must enter quickly, lest you betray your whole life. One who is not a guest of the dragon gate — above all do not let your forehead be dotted. Who is a guest of the dragon gate? All are dotted.' He raised his staff and said, 'Withdraw quickly, withdraw quickly. Take care.' Ascending the hall: 'The former sages said that one phrase must contain the three mysterious gates, and one mysterious gate must contain the three essentials. Which is the phrase of the three mysteries and three essentials? Understand it quickly. Have you each thought it over and got it firmly? The ancient worthies, when on pilgrimage in former times, on hearing a story and not understanding it in the middle, would straightway find their food tasteless and their sleep uneasy, and hurry to decide it — do not treat it as a small matter. Therefore the great venerable one appeared in the world for one great matter and cause. Consider that his pilgrimage from of old was not for touring mountains and enjoying waters, or viewing the luxury of prefectures, or a piece of clothing and a mouthful of food — it was all because the sage's mind was not yet penetrated. Therefore he drove himself on pilgrimage, to decide the deep and profound, to transmit, sing and spread it, to question the wise widely, and to draw near to men of high virtue — all to continue the Buddha's lamp of mind, to make the Ancestors' line flourish, to prosper the sage's seed, to guide later capacities, to benefit self and others, and not to forget the traces of the forebears. Is there anyone now who would discuss it? If so, come forward and let us all discuss it.' A monk asked, 'What is the phrase that receives beginners?' The Master said, 'You are a pilgrim monk.' The monk said, 'What is the phrase that discerns a monk?' The Master said, 'In the west the sun rises at the mao hour.' The monk said, 'What is the phrase that carries out the correct command?' The Master said, 'Brought a thousand li to show the old face.' The monk said, 'What is the phrase that establishes heaven and earth?' The Master said:

北俱盧洲長粳米。食者無貪亦無瞋。乃曰。將此四轉語驗天下衲僧。才見你出來。驗得了也。問。如何是學人著力處。師曰。嘉州打大像。曰。如何是學人轉身處。師曰。陝府灌鐵牛。曰。如何是學人親切處。師曰。西河弄師子。乃曰。若人會得此三句。已辯三玄。更有三要語在。切須薦取。不是等閑。與大眾頌出。三玄三要事難分。得意忘言道易親。一句明明該萬象。重陽九日菊花新。師為並汾苦寒。乃罷夜參。有異比丘振錫而至。謂師曰。會中有大士六人。奈何不說法。言訖而去。師密記以偈曰。胡僧金錫光。為法到汾陽。六人成大器。勸請為敷揚。上堂。凡一句語須具三玄門。每一玄門須具三要。有照有用。或先照後用。或先用後照。或照用同時。或照用不同時。先照後用。且要共你商量。先用後照。你也須是箇人始得。照用同時。你作麼生當抵。照用不同時。你又作麼生湊泊。僧問。如何是大道之源。師曰。掘地覓天。曰。何得如此。師曰。不識幽玄。問。如何是賓中賓。師曰。合掌菴前問世尊。曰。如何是賓中主。師曰。對面無儔侶。曰。如何是主中賓。師曰。陣雲橫海上。㧞劒攪龍門。曰。如何是主中主。師曰。三頭六臂擎天地。忿怒那吒撲帝鐘。上堂。汾陽有三訣。衲僧難辯別。更擬問如何。拄杖驀頭楔。時有僧問。如何是三訣。師便打。僧禮拜。師曰。為汝一時頌出。第一訣。接引無時節。巧語不能詮。雲綻青天月。第二訣。舒光辯賢哲。問答利生心。拔卻眼中楔。第三訣。西國胡人說。濟水過新羅。北地用鑌鐵。復曰。還有人會麼。會底出來通箇消息。要知遠近。莫祇恁麼記言記語。以當平生。有甚麼利益。不用久立。珍重。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。青絹扇子足風涼。問。布鼓當軒掛。誰是知音者。師曰。停鉏傾麥飯。臥草不擡頭。問。如何是道場。師曰。下腳不得。問。

(The Master continued:) 'In Uttarakuru the long-grained rice grows; those who eat it have neither greed nor anger.' Then he said, 'With these four turning phrases I test the monks of the world. As soon as I see you come forward, the testing is done.' Someone asked, 'Where does the student apply his effort?' The Master said, 'Beating the great image at Jiazhou.' The monk said, 'Where does the student turn around?' The Master said, 'Pouring an iron ox at Shanfu.' The monk said, 'Where is the student's intimate place?' The Master said, 'Playing the lion at Xihe.' Then he said, 'If one understands these three phrases, one has already discerned the three mysteries; there are still the words of the three essentials. You must awaken to them — it is no idle matter. Let me chant them out for the assembly: The three mysteries and three essentials are hard to divide; attaining the intent and forgetting the words, the Way is easily intimate. One phrase clearly covers the myriad things; on the ninth day of the ninth month the chrysanthemums are new.' Because Bing and Fen were bitterly cold, the Master discontinued the night study. A strange bhiksu came shaking his staff and said to the Master, 'In your assembly there are six great beings — why do you not expound the Dharma?' Having spoken, he left. The Master secretly noted it and made a verse: 'The Indian monk's golden staff shines; for the Dharma he came to Fenyang. Six men will become great vessels; I urge you to expound it for them.' Ascending the hall: 'Every phrase must contain the three mysterious gates, and each mysterious gate must contain the three essentials. There is illuminating and there is functioning. Sometimes one illumines first and functions after; sometimes one functions first and illumines after; sometimes illumining and functioning are simultaneous; sometimes illumining and functioning are not simultaneous. When illumining first and functioning after, I must discuss it with you. When functioning first and illumining after, you too must be a man before you can. When illumining and functioning are simultaneous, how will you withstand it? When illumining and functioning are not simultaneous, how will you draw near to it?' A monk asked, 'What is the source of the great Way?' The Master said, 'Digging the ground to seek heaven.' The monk said, 'How can it be like that?' The Master said, 'You do not know the hidden mystery.' Someone asked, 'What is the guest within the guest?' The Master said, 'With palms joined before the hermitage, ask the World-Honored One.' The monk said, 'What is the host within the guest?' The Master said, 'Facing him, there is no companion.' The monk said, 'What is the guest within the host?' The Master said, 'Battle clouds stretch across the sea; drawing the sword, he stirs the dragon gate.' The monk said, 'What is the host within the host?' The Master said, 'Three heads and six arms holding up heaven and earth; the wrathful Nata strikes the emperor's bell.' Ascending the hall: 'Fenyang has three essentials; monks find them hard to discern. If you try to ask what they are, the staff comes down on your head.' Then a monk asked, 'What are the three essentials?' The Master then beat him. The monk bowed. The Master said, 'I will chant them all out for you. The first essential: receiving people has no fixed season. Clever words cannot expound it; the clouds part and the blue sky has a moon. The second essential: spreading light, it discerns the worthy and the wise. Question and answer benefit the living mind; it pulls out the wedge from the eye. The third essential: the Indian of the western land speaks of it. The Ji River flows past Silla; in the north they use wrought iron.' He also said, 'Does anyone understand? Let the one who understands come forward and send back a word. One must know the near and the far. Do not merely record words and phrases this way and take that for your whole life. What benefit is there? You need not stand long. Take care.' A monk asked, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'A blue silk fan is quite cool in the wind.' Someone asked, 'A cloth drum hangs at the carriage front — who is the one who knows the tune?' The Master said, 'He sets aside his hoe and pours out the wheat meal; lying in the grass he does not raise his head.' Someone asked, 'What is the place of the Way?' The Master said, 'You cannot set your foot down.' Someone asked:

如何是祖師西來意。師曰。徹骨徹髓。曰。此意如何。師曰。徧天徧地。問。真正修道人。不見世間過。未審不見箇甚麼過。師曰。雪埋夜月深三尺。陸地行舟萬里程。曰。和尚是何心行。師曰。卻是你心行。問。大悲千手眼。如何是正眼。師曰。瞎。曰。恁麼則一條拄杖兩人舁。師曰。三家村裡唱巴歌。曰。恁麼則和尚同在裡頭。師曰。謝汝慇懃。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。三玄開正道。一句破邪宗。曰。如何是和尚活計。師曰。尋常不掌握。供養五湖僧。曰。未審吃箇甚麼。師曰。天酥陀飯非珍饌。一味良羹飽即休。問。牛頭未見四祖時如何。師曰。新神更著師婆賽。曰。見後如何。師曰。古廟重遭措大題。上堂。謂眾曰。夫說法者。須具十智同真。若不具十智同真。邪正不辯。緇素不分。不能與人天為眼目。決斷是非。如鳥飛空而折翼。如箭射的而斷弦。弦斷故射的不中。翼折故空不可飛。弦壯翼牢。空的俱徹。作麼生是十智同真。與諸上座點出。一同一質。二同大事。三總同參。四同真志。五同徧普。六同具足。七同得失。八同生殺。九同音吼。十同得入。又曰。與甚麼人同得入。與阿誰同音吼。作麼生是同生殺。甚麼物同得失。阿那箇同具足。是甚麼同徧普。何人同真志。孰能總同參。那箇同大事。何物同一質。有點得出底麼。點得出者不悋慈悲。點不出來。未有參學眼在。切須辯取。要識是非。面目見在。不可久立。珍重。龍德府尹李侯與師有舊。虗承天寺致之。使三反不赴。使者受罰。復至曰。必欲得師俱往。不然有死而已。師笑曰。老病業已不出山。借往當先後之。何必俱邪。使曰。師諾。則先後唯所擇。師令饌設。且俶裝曰。吾先行矣。停箸而化。闍維收舍利起塔。

(The monk continued asking:) 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'To the bone and to the marrow.' The monk said, 'What does this mean?' The Master said, 'Filling heaven and covering earth.' Someone asked, 'A truly cultivated man of the Way does not see the faults of the world. I wonder what fault he does not see?' The Master said, 'Snow buries the night moon three feet deep; on dry land a boat travels ten thousand li.' The monk said, 'What is the Reverend's mind and conduct?' The Master said, 'It is your mind and conduct.' Someone asked, 'The Great Compassionate One has a thousand hands and eyes — which is the correct eye?' The Master said, 'Blind.' The monk said, 'If so, then one staff is carried by two men.' The Master said, 'Singing folk songs in a hamlet of three households.' The monk said, 'If so, then the Reverend is among them.' The Master said, 'Thank you for your earnestness.' Someone asked, 'What is the Reverend's family style?' The Master said, 'The three mysteries open the correct road; one phrase breaks the heterodox school.' The monk said, 'What is the Reverend's livelihood?' The Master said, 'Ordinarily I do not hold it in my hand; I offer it to the monks of the five lakes.' The monk said, 'I wonder what you eat?' The Master said, 'Heavenly nectar rice is no rare dish; one taste of good soup and one is full.' Someone asked, 'What was it like when Niutou had not yet met the Fourth Ancestor?' The Master said, 'A new god gets a shamaness to make offerings.' The monk said, 'And after he met him?' The Master said, 'An old shrine again suffers the great inscription of praise.' Ascending the hall, he said to the assembly, 'One who expounds the Dharma must possess the ten wisdoms and be the same as the true. If one does not possess the ten wisdoms and the same as the true, one cannot discern the false from the true, nor the black-robed from the white-robed, nor be eyes for men and gods, nor decide right and wrong. Such a one is like a bird that flies in the sky with broken wings, or an arrow shot at a target with a cut string. Because the string is cut, the arrow does not hit the target; because the wings are broken, the sky cannot be flown. When the string is strong and the wings firm, the target and the sky are both penetrated. What are the ten wisdoms and the same as the true? Let me point them out for you worthies. First, the same substance. Second, the same great matter. Third, all the same study. Fourth, the same true resolve. Fifth, the same universality. Sixth, the same completeness. Seventh, the same gain and loss. Eighth, the same life and death. Ninth, the same sound and roar. Tenth, the same entry.' He also said, 'With whom does one enter together? With whom does one roar together? How is one the same in life and death? What thing is the same in gain and loss? Which is the same in completeness? What is the same in universality? Who is the same in true resolve? Who can be all the same in study? Which is the same in the great matter? What thing is the same in substance? Is there anyone who can point them out? One who can point them out — I will not begrudge compassion. One who cannot — he has no eye of study yet. You must discern them. If you would know right from wrong, the face is right before you. You cannot stand long. Take care.' Prefect Li of Longde Prefecture was an old friend of the Master, and left the seat of Chengtian Monastery vacant to invite him. The envoy went back and forth three times and the Master did not go. The envoy was punished and came again, saying, 'I must bring the Master back with me, or else there is only death.' The Master laughed and said, 'Old and sick, I have long since not left the mountain. And if I were to go, there must be a first and a last — why go all together?' The envoy said, 'If the Master consents, then the order is for you to choose.' The Master had a meal prepared and also packed his travel gear, saying, 'I will go first.' He put down his chopsticks and passed away. After cremation his relics were collected and a stupa was built.

汝州葉縣廣教院歸省禪師

Chan Master Guisheng of Guangjiao Monastery in Yexian, Ruzhou

冀州賈氏子。弱冠依易州保壽院出家。受具後遊方。參首山。山一日舉竹篦。問曰。喚作竹篦即觸。不喚作竹篦即背。喚作甚麼。師掣得擲地上曰。是甚麼。山曰。瞎。師於言下。豁然頓悟。開堂。僧問。祖祖相傳傳祖印。師今得法嗣何人。師曰。寰中天子。塞外將軍。曰。汝海一滴蒙師指。向上宗風事若何。師曰。高祖殿前樊噲怒。須知萬裡絕煙塵。問。維摩丈室不以日月為明。和尚丈室以何為明。師曰。眉分八字。曰。未審意旨如何。師曰。雙耳垂肩。問。如何是超師之作。師曰。老僧眉毛長多少。問。如何是塵中獨露身。師曰。塞北千人帳。江南萬斛船。曰。恁麼即非塵也。師曰。學語之流。一札萬行。問。如何是和尚深深處。師曰。貓有歃血之功。虎有起屍之德。曰。莫便是也無。師曰。碓擣東南。磨推西北。問。如何是金剛不壞身。師曰。百雜碎。曰。意旨如何。師曰。終是一堆灰。問。不落諸緣。請師便道。師曰。落。問。如何是清淨法身。師曰。廁坑頭籌子。問。如何是戒定慧。師曰。破傢俱。師一日陞座。僧問。才上法堂來時如何。師拍禪床一下。僧曰。未審此意如何。師曰。無人過價。打與三百。問。忽遇大闡提人來。還相為也無。師曰。法久成弊。曰。慈悲何在。師曰。年老成魔。上堂。宗師血脈。或凡或聖。龍樹馬鳴。天堂地獄。鑊湯爐炭。牛頭獄卒。森羅萬象。日月星辰。他方此土。有情無情。以手畫一畫雲。俱入此宗。此宗門中。亦能殺人。亦能活人。殺人須得殺人刀。活人須得活人句。作麼生是殺人刀．活人句。道得底。出來對眾道看。若道不得。即孤負平生。珍重。問。如何是和尚四無量心。師曰。放火殺人。曰。慈悲何在。師曰。遇明眼人舉似。問。不在內。不在外。不在中間。未審在甚麼處。師曰。南斗六。北斗七。問。如何是毗盧師法身主。師曰。僧排夏臘。

He was a son of the Jia family of Jizhou. At twenty he left home under Baoshou Monastery in Yizhou. After receiving full ordination he wandered in search of the Way and studied under Shoushan. One day Shoushan raised a bamboo comb and asked, 'To call it a bamboo comb is to touch it; not to call it a bamboo comb is to turn away from it. What do you call it?' The Master snatched it and threw it on the ground, saying, 'What is it?' Shoushan said, 'Blind.' At these words the Master was suddenly and completely awakened. He opened the hall. A monk asked, 'Ancestor after Ancestor transmitted the Ancestor's seal — from whom has the Master obtained the Dharma and succeeded?' The Master said, 'The Son of Heaven within the realm, the general beyond the passes.' The monk said, 'One drop from the Ru Sea has been pointed out by the Master; what of the ancestral school above?' The Master said, 'Before the hall of the High Ancestor Fan Kuai rages — know that for ten thousand li the smoke and dust are cut off.' Someone asked, 'Vimalakirti's ten-foot room did not take the sun and moon for light; what does the Reverend's ten-foot room take for light?' The Master said, 'The eyebrows part into the character for eight.' The monk said, 'I wonder what the meaning is?' The Master said, 'Both ears hang to the shoulders.' Someone asked, 'What is a work that surpasses the teacher?' The Master said, 'How long are this old monk's eyebrows?' Someone asked, 'What is it to be alone exposed amid the dust?' The Master said, 'North of the passes, a thousand men's tents; south of the river, ten thousand measures of boats.' The monk said, 'If so, then it is not dust.' The Master said, 'For those who study words, one slip covers ten thousand lines.' Someone asked, 'What is the Reverend's deep deep place?' The Master said, 'The cat has the merit of blood-smearing, the tiger has the virtue of raising the dead.' The monk said, 'Is this not just it?' The Master said, 'The pestle pounds southeast, the mill turns northwest.' Someone asked, 'What is the vajra indestructible body?' The Master said, 'Broken into a hundred pieces.' The monk said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'In the end a heap of ashes.' Someone asked, 'Not falling into any condition — please, Master, say it right off.' The Master said, 'It falls.' Someone asked, 'What is the pure dharma body?' The Master said, 'The tally stick at the latrine pit.' Someone asked, 'What are precepts, concentration and wisdom?' The Master said, 'Broken furniture.' One day the Master ascended the seat. A monk asked, 'What of one who has just come up to the Dharma hall?' The Master rapped the corded chair once. The monk said, 'I wonder what this means?' The Master said, 'No one bids a price — give him three hundred.' Someone asked, 'If an icchantika suddenly comes, will you still act for him?' The Master said, 'When the Dharma lasts long it turns into a fault.' The monk said, 'Where is the compassion?' The Master said, 'When one is old, one turns into a demon.' Ascending the hall: 'The bloodline of the school masters — ordinary or sage, Nagarjuna and Asvaghosa, heaven and hell, boiling caldrons and furnace coals, ox-headed jailers, the teeming myriad things, sun, moon and stars, other lands and this land, sentient and insentient —' he drew a line with his hand and said, '— all enter this school. Within the gate of this school one can kill people and one can bring people to life. To kill people one must have the knife that kills; to bring people to life one must have the phrase that brings to life. What is the knife that kills and the phrase that brings to life? Let the one who can say it come forward and speak before the assembly. If you cannot say it, you betray your whole life. Take care.' Someone asked, 'What are the Reverend's four immeasurable minds?' The Master said, 'Setting fires and killing people.' The monk said, 'Where is the compassion?' The Master said, 'Raise it before a clear-eyed man.' Someone asked, 'Not inside, not outside, not in between — I wonder where it is?' The Master said, 'Six in the Southern Dipper, seven in the Northern Dipper.' Someone asked, 'What is Vairocana's teacher and the lord of the dharma body?' The Master said, 'Monks are ranked by summer seniority,'

俗列耆年。曰。向上更有事也無。師曰。有。曰。如何是向上事。師曰。萬裡崖州君自去。臨行惆悵怨他誰。上堂。良久曰。夫行腳禪流。直須著忖。參學須具參學眼。見地須得見地句。方有相親分。始得不被諸境惑。亦不落於惡道。畢竟如何委悉。有時句到意不到。妄緣前塵。分別影事。有時意到句不到。如盲摸象。各說異端。有時意句俱到。打破虗空界。光明照十方。有時意句俱不到。無目之人縱橫走。忽然不覺落深坑。問。如何是古今無異路。師曰。俗人盡褁頭。曰。意旨如何。師曰。闍黎無席帽。問。己事未明。以何為驗。師曰。閙市裡打靜槌。曰。意旨如何。師曰。日午點金燈。問。布鼓當軒擊。誰是知音者。師曰。眼中有澁釘。曰。未審此意如何。師曰。喬翁賽南神。僧請益栢樹子話。師曰。我不辭與汝說。還信麼。曰。和尚重言。爭敢不信。師曰。汝還聞簷頭水滴聲麼。其僧豁然。不覺失聲雲。㖿。師曰。你見箇甚麼道理。僧便以頌對曰。簷頭水滴。分明歷歷。打破乾坤。當下心息。師乃忻然。問僧。日暮投林。朝離何處。曰。新戒不曾學禪。師曰。生身入地獄。下去後。有僧舉到智門寬和尚處。門曰。何不道鎻匙在和尚手裡。師因去將息寮看病僧。僧乃問曰。和尚。四大本空。病從何來。師曰。從闍黎問處來。僧喘氣。又問曰。不問時如何。師曰。撒手臥長空。僧曰。㖿。便脫去。

(The Master continued:) '...and laymen are listed by age.' The monk said, 'Is there still a matter above?' The Master said, 'There is.' The monk said, 'What is the matter above?' The Master said, 'To Yazhou ten thousand li away you go yourself; at parting, in melancholy, whom do you blame?' Ascending the hall, after a long while he said, 'You pilgrims of Chan, you must ponder. To study you must have the eye of study; to have insight you must have the phrase of insight — only then is there a share of intimacy, and only then are you not deluded by the various realms, nor do you fall into evil paths. But after all, how are you to understand it? Sometimes the phrase arrives but the meaning does not: deluded conditions and former dusts, the shadows of discrimination. Sometimes the meaning arrives but the phrase does not: like the blind men feeling the elephant, each telling a different version. Sometimes both meaning and phrase arrive: breaking open the empty space of the realm, the light shines through the ten directions. Sometimes neither meaning nor phrase arrives: a man without eyes runs about at random and suddenly, unwitting, falls into a deep pit.' Someone asked, 'What is the road that is without difference in ancient and present?' The Master said, 'Laymen all wrap their heads.' The monk said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'The acharya has no matted hat.' Someone asked, 'My own matter is not yet clear — by what is it tested?' The Master said, 'Striking the stillness gavel in the busy market.' The monk said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'At noon lighting the golden lamp.' Someone asked, 'A cloth drum beats at the carriage front — who is the one who knows the tune?' The Master said, 'There is a gritty nail in the eye.' The monk said, 'I wonder what this means?' The Master said, 'Old Man Qiao makes offerings to the southern god.' The monk asked for instruction on the story of the cypress tree. The Master said, 'I do not shrink from telling you — do you believe it?' The monk said, 'The Reverend's words are weighty — how dare I not believe?' The Master said, 'Do you still hear the sound of water dripping from the eaves?' That monk was suddenly awakened, and unwittingly cried out, 'Ah!' The Master said, 'What principle have you seen?' The monk then answered with a verse: 'Water drips from the eaves, clearly and distinctly. Heaven and earth are broken open; on the spot the mind rests.' The Master was delighted. He asked a monk, 'At dusk you go to the forest — at dawn you leave, from where?' The monk said, 'A new ordinand who has never studied Chan.' The Master said, 'You will enter hell with this body.' After he had gone down, a monk brought this up to the Reverend Kuan of Zhimen. Zhimen said, 'Why did he not say that the key is in the Reverend's hand?' The Master then went to the infirmary to visit a sick monk. The monk asked him, 'Reverend, the four elements are originally empty — where does the illness come from?' The Master said, 'It comes from where you ask.' The monk panted and asked again, 'And when one does not ask?' The Master said, 'Let go and lie in the long sky.' The monk said, 'Ah!' and then passed away.

潭州神鼎洪諲禪師

Chan Master Hongyin of Shending in Tanzhou

襄水扈氏子。自遊方。一衲以度寒暑。甞與數耆宿至襄沔間。一僧舉論宗乘。頗敏捷。會野飯山店中。供辦而僧論說不已。師曰。三界唯心。萬法唯識。唯識唯心。眼聲耳色。是甚麼人語。僧曰。法眼語。師曰。其義如何。曰。唯心故根境不相到。唯識故聲色摐然。師曰。舌味是根境否。曰。是。師以筯筴菜置口中。含胡而語曰。何謂相入邪。坐者駭然。僧不能答。師曰。途路之樂。終未到家。見解入微。不名見道。參須實參。悟須實悟。閻羅大王。不怕多語。僧拱而退。後反長沙。隱于衡嶽三生藏。有湘陰豪貴。來遊福嚴。即師之室。見其氣貌閑靜。一缽掛壁。餘無長物。傾愛之。遂拜跪。請曰。神鼎乃我家植福之地。久乏宗匠。願師俱往。何如。師笑而諾之。即以己馬負師至。十年始成叢席。一朽床為說法座。其甘枯淡無比。又以德臘俱高。諸方尊之。如古趙州。僧問。諸法未聞時如何。師曰。風蕭蕭。雨颯颯。曰。聞後如何。師曰。領話好。問。魚鼓未鳴時如何。師曰。看天看地。曰。鳴後如何。師曰。捧缽上堂。問。古㵎寒泉時如何。師曰。不是衲僧行履處。曰。如何是衲僧行履處。師曰。不見有古㵎寒泉。問。兩手獻尊堂時如何。師曰。是甚麼。問。學人到寶山。空手回時如何。師曰。臘月三十日。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。飢不擇食。問。如何是和尚為人句。師曰。拈柴擇菜。曰。莫祇這便是也無。師曰。更須子細。問。撥塵見佛時如何。師曰。佛亦是塵。問。如何是道人活計。師曰。山僧自小不曾入學堂。官人指木魚問。這箇是甚麼。師曰。驚回多少瞌睡人。官曰。洎不到此間。師曰。無心打無心。問。如何是清淨法身。師曰。灰頭土面。曰。為甚麼如此。師曰。爭怪得山僧。曰。未審法身向上還有事也無。師曰。有。曰。如何是向上事。師曰。毗盧頂上金冠子。問。菩提本無樹。

He was a son of the Hu family of Xiangshui. From the time he began his pilgrimage, he wore a single robe through cold and heat. Once he went with several venerable elders to the Xiang and Mian region, and one monk brought up a discussion of the ancestral vehicle with considerable sharpness. It happened that they were eating a rustic meal at a mountain inn, and even after the food was served that monk would not stop arguing. The Master said, 'The three realms are mind only; the ten thousand dharmas are consciousness only. Mind only and consciousness only — the eye is sound and the ear is form. Whose words are these?' The monk said, 'Fayan's words.' The Master said, 'What is their meaning?' The monk said, 'Because it is mind only, the faculties and their objects do not reach each other; because it is consciousness only, sounds and forms clash.' The Master said, 'Is the taste on the tongue a faculty and object?' The monk said, 'It is.' The Master picked up a morsel of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and said indistinctly, 'What do you mean they do not enter each other?' Everyone present was startled. The monk could not answer. The Master said, 'The pleasures of the road never reach home. Insight entering the subtle is not yet called seeing the Way. Study must be true study; awakening must be true awakening. King Yama is not afraid of much talk.' The monk cupped his hands and withdrew. Later he returned to Changsha and hid at the Three Lives Storehouse in Mount Heng. A wealthy man of Xiangyin came to visit Fuyan, and entering the Master's room, saw that his bearing was quiet and at ease, with a single bowl hanging on the wall and nothing else besides, and was wholly taken with him. He knelt and bowed and said, 'Shending is my family's field for planting blessings, and it has long lacked a master craftsman. Would the Reverend come with me?' The Master laughed and agreed. Then he had the Master carried there on his own horse. After ten years it became a full assembly. A single rotted bed served as the Dharma seat, and he was content with a dryness and plainness beyond compare. And because his virtue and his seniority in ordination were both high, all quarters honored him as they did the ancient Zhaozhou. A monk asked, 'What was it like before the dharmas were heard?' The Master said, 'The wind sighs and the rain rustles.' The monk said, 'And after they are heard?' The Master said, 'Accept the words.' Someone asked, 'What was it like before the fish drum sounded?' The Master said, 'Look at the sky, look at the earth.' The monk said, 'And after it sounds?' The Master said, 'Take up your bowl and go up to the hall.' Someone asked, 'What about the cold spring in the ancient ravine?' The Master said, 'It is not where a monk walks.' The monk said, 'What is where a monk walks?' The Master said, 'He does not see any cold spring in an ancient ravine.' Someone asked, 'What about offering both hands to the honored hall?' The Master said, 'What is it?' Someone asked, 'What about the student who reaches the jewel mountain and returns empty-handed?' The Master said, 'The thirtieth day of the twelfth month.' Someone asked, 'What is the Reverend's family style?' The Master said, 'When hungry, one does not choose one's food.' Someone asked, 'What is the Reverend's phrase for the sake of others?' The Master said, 'Picking up firewood and sorting vegetables.' The monk said, 'Is this not just it?' The Master said, 'Look more carefully.' Someone asked, 'What about brushing away dust and seeing the Buddha?' The Master said, 'The Buddha is also dust.' Someone asked, 'What is the livelihood of a man of the Way?' The Master said, 'This mountain monk has never entered a schoolroom since childhood.' An official pointed at the wooden fish and asked, 'What is this?' The Master said, 'It has startled awake how many drowsy people.' The official said, 'I almost did not reach this place.' The Master said, 'No mind strikes no mind.' Someone asked, 'What is the pure dharma body?' The Master said, 'Ashen head and earthen face.' The monk said, 'Why is it so?' The Master said, 'How can this mountain monk be blamed?' The monk said, 'I wonder whether there is still a matter above the dharma body?' The Master said, 'There is.' The monk said, 'What is the matter above?' The Master said, 'The golden crown on Vairocana's head.' Someone asked, 'Bodhi is originally no tree,'

何處得子來。師曰。喚作無。得麼。問。持地菩薩修路等佛。和尚修橋等何人。師曰。近後。問。和尚未見先德時如何。師曰。東行西行。曰。見後如何。師曰。橫擔拄杖。上堂。舉洞山曰。貪瞋痴。太無知。賴我今朝識得伊。行便打。坐便槌。分付心王子細推。無量劫來不解脫。問汝三人知不知。師曰。古人與麼道。神鼎則不然。貪瞋痴。實無知。十二時中任從伊。行即往。坐即隨。分付心王擬何為。無量劫來元解脫。何須更問知不知。

(The monk continued asking:) '...where did the seed come from?' The Master said, 'If one calls it nothing, does that do?' Someone asked, 'The Bodhisattva of Holding the Earth built roads to equal the Buddha — what does the Reverend build bridges to equal?' The Master said, 'Come closer.' Someone asked, 'What was the Reverend like before he met the former worthies?' The Master said, 'Going east, going west.' The monk said, 'And after meeting them?' The Master said, 'Carrying his staff across his shoulder.' Ascending the hall, he brought up Dongshan's words: 'Greed, anger and delusion are too unknowing. Thanks to me today I recognize them. When they walk I beat them; when they sit I pound them. I hand them to the mind king to examine closely. For immeasurable kalpas they have not been freed — I ask you three, do you know or not?' The Master said, 'The ancients spoke like that; Shending is not so. Greed, anger and delusion are truly unknowing. Throughout the twelve hours let them be. When they walk, let them go; when they sit, let them follow. What is the mind king to do with them? For immeasurable kalpas they have been free from the start — why ask again whether one knows or not?'

襄州谷隱山蘊聰慈照禪師

Chan Master Yuncong Cizhao of Guyin Mountain in Xiangzhou

初參百丈恆和尚。因結夏。百丈上堂。舉中觀論曰。正覺無名相。隨緣即道場。師便出問。如何是正覺無名相。丈曰。汝還見露柱麼。師曰。如何是隨緣即道場。丈曰。今日結夏。次參首山。問。學人親到寶山。空手回時如何。山曰。家家門前火把子。師於言下大悟。呈偈曰。我今二十七。訪道曾尋覓。今朝喜得逢。要且不相識。後到大陽。玄和尚問。近離甚處。師曰。襄州。陽曰。作麼生是不隔底句。師曰。和尚住持不易。陽曰。且坐吃茶。師便參眾去。侍者問。適來新到。祇對住持不易。和尚為甚麼教坐吃茶。陽曰。我獻他新羅附子。他酬我舶上茴香。你去問。他有語在。侍者請師吃茶。問。適來祇對和尚。道住持不易。意旨如何。師曰。真鍮不博金。住後。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。邛州多出九節杖。曰。謝師指示。師曰。且莫作答佛話會。卻問。來時無物去時空。二路俱迷。如何得不迷去。師曰。秤頭半斤。秤尾八兩。問。如何是古佛心。師曰。踏著秤錘硬似鐵。曰。意旨如何。師曰。明日向汝道。問。青山淥水即不問。急切一句作麼生道。師曰。手過膝。耳垂肩。問。如何是道。師曰。車碾馬踏。曰。如何是道中人。師曰。橫眠竪坐。問。日往月來遷。不覺年衰老。還有不老者麼。師曰。有。曰。如何是不老者。師曰。虯龍筋力高聲呌。晚後精靈轉更多。問。如何是學人深深處。師曰。烏龜水底深藏穴。曰。未審其中事若何。師曰。路上行人莫與知。問。古人索火。意旨如何。師曰。任他滅。曰。滅後如何。師曰。初三十一。因作清涼河堰。僧問。忽遇洪水滔天。還堰得也無。師曰。上拄天。下拄地。曰。劫火洞然。又作麼生。師曰。橫出竪沒。問。深山巖崖中還有佛法也無。師曰。有。曰。如何是深山巖崖中佛法。師曰。奇怪石頭形似虎。火燒松樹勢如龍。問。古人道。見色便見心。露柱是色。

He first studied under the Reverend Heng of Baizhang. Because of the summer retreat, Baizhang ascended the hall and brought up the Madhyamaka Treatise: 'Correct enlightenment has no name or mark; following conditions is the place of the Way.' The Master then came forward and asked, 'What is correct enlightenment without name or mark?' Baizhang said, 'Do you see the exposed pillar?' The Master said, 'What is following conditions is the place of the Way?' Baizhang said, 'Today we begin the summer retreat.' Then he studied under Shoushan and asked, 'The student has personally reached the jewel mountain and returns empty-handed — what then?' Shoushan said, 'A torch before every household.' At these words the Master was greatly awakened, and presented a verse: 'I am now twenty-seven, seeking the Way and searching. Today I am glad to meet him, and yet I do not know him.' Later he went to Dayang, and the Reverend Xuan asked, 'Where have you just come from?' The Master said, 'Xiangzhou.' Dayang said, 'What is the phrase that is not separated?' The Master said, 'It is not easy for the Reverend to be abbot.' Dayang said, 'Sit a while and drink tea.' The Master then went to study with the assembly. The attendant asked, 'Just now the newcomer answered "not easy to be abbot" — why did the Reverend have him sit and drink tea?' Dayang said, 'I offered him Silla aconite, and he repaid me with fennel from a sea ship. Go and ask him; he has words.' The attendant invited the Master to tea and asked, 'Just now you answered the Reverend that it is not easy to be abbot — what does it mean?' The Master said, 'True brass does not exchange for gold.' After he became abbot, a monk asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Yongzhou produces many nine-jointed staffs.' The monk said, 'Thank you, Master, for pointing it out.' The Master said, 'Do not take it as the Buddha-talk understanding.' He then asked, 'Coming with nothing and going empty, both roads are deluded — how does one avoid delusion?' The Master said, 'Half a catty at the head of the scale, eight ounces at the tail.' Someone asked, 'What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?' The Master said, 'Step on the scale weight and it is hard as iron.' The monk said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'I will tell you tomorrow.' Someone asked, 'I do not ask about green mountains and clear waters; how does one speak the urgent phrase?' The Master said, 'Hands past the knees, ears to the shoulders.' Someone asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'Carts crush it and horses tread it.' The monk said, 'What is the man within the Way?' The Master said, 'Lying crosswise and sitting upright.' Someone asked, 'Days go and months come, and one does not notice the years aging. Is there one who does not age?' The Master said, 'There is.' The monk said, 'What is the one who does not age?' The Master said, 'The dragon's sinews are strong and it cries aloud; in the evening its spirit is still more abundant.' Someone asked, 'What is the student's deep deep place?' The Master said, 'The turtle hides deep in a hole at the bottom of the water.' The monk said, 'I wonder how the matter is within?' The Master said, 'Let no traveler on the road know of it.' Someone asked, 'The ancients asked for fire — what does it mean?' The Master said, 'Let it go out.' The monk said, 'And after it is out?' The Master said, 'The first and the thirty-first.' Because he was building the Qingliang River weir, a monk asked, 'If a flood suddenly overwhelms the sky, can you still dam it?' The Master said, 'It props up heaven above and earth below.' The monk said, 'And when the kalpa fire burns, what then?' The Master said, 'Coming out crosswise and sinking upright.' Someone asked, 'In deep mountains and sheer crags, is there Buddha Dharma or not?' The Master said, 'There is.' The monk said, 'What is the Buddha Dharma in deep mountains and sheer crags?' The Master said, 'Strange rocks shaped like tigers, burnt pines with the posture of dragons.' Someone asked, 'The ancients said, seeing form one sees the mind. The exposed pillar is form —'

那箇是心。師曰。晝見簸箕星。曰。意旨如何。師曰。柳營節級橫階上。問。如何是道。師曰。善犬帶牌。曰。為甚如此。師曰。令人懼見。上堂。十五日已前諸佛生。十五日已後諸佛滅。十五日已前諸佛生。你不得離我這裡。若離我這裡。我有鉤子鉤你。十五日已後諸佛滅。你不得住我這裡。若住我這裡。我有錐子錐你。且道正當十五日。用鉤即是。用錐即是。遂有偈曰。正當十五日。鉤錐一時息。更擬問如何。回頭日又出。問。如何是無縫塔。師曰。直下看。曰。如何是塔中人。師曰。退後。退後。問。承古有言。祇這如今誰動口。意旨如何。師曰。莫認驢鞍橋作阿爺下頷。張茂崇太保問。摩騰入漢。已涉繁詞。達磨單傳。請師直指。師曰。冬不寒。臘後看。問。若能轉物。即同如來。萬象是物。如何轉得。師曰。吃了飯。無些子意智。問。寸絲不掛。法網無邊。為甚麼卻有迷悟。師曰。兩桶一擔。問。有情有用。無情無用。如何是無情應用。師曰。獨扇門子盡夜開。上堂。春景溫和。春雨普潤。萬物生芽。甚麼處不霑恩。且道承恩力一句。作麼生道。良久曰。春雨一滴滑如油。問。如何是學人自己法身。師曰。每日般柴不易。曰。此是大眾底。如何是學人底。師曰。三生六十劫。問。逐日開單展缽。以何報答施主之恩。師曰。被這一問。和我愁殺。曰。恁麼則謝供養也。師曰。作甚麼人氣力。僧禮拜。師曰。明日更吃一頓。問。古人急水灘頭毛毬子。意旨如何。師曰。雲開月朗。問。急水灘頭連底石。意旨如何。師曰。屋破見青天。曰。破屋見青天。意旨如何。師曰。通上徹下。問。一處火發。任從你救。八方齊發時如何。師曰。快。曰。還求出也無。師曰。若求出。即燒殺你。僧禮拜。師曰。直饒你不求出。也燒殺你。示眾。第一句道得。石裡迸出。第二句道得。挨拶將來。第三句道得。

(The monk continued asking:) '— which is the mind?' The Master said, 'In daylight one sees the Winnowing Basket Star.' The monk said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'The sergeant of Willow Camp lies across the steps.' Someone asked, 'What is the Way?' The Master said, 'A good dog wears a tag.' The monk said, 'Why is it so?' The Master said, 'It makes people afraid to look.' Ascending the hall: 'Before the fifteenth day the Buddhas are born; after the fifteenth day the Buddhas are extinguished. Before the fifteenth day the Buddhas are born — you must not leave this place of mine. If you leave this place of mine, I have a hook to hook you. After the fifteenth day the Buddhas are extinguished — you must not stay in this place of mine. If you stay in this place of mine, I have an awl to awl you. Tell me, on the very fifteenth day, is it right to use the hook or right to use the awl?' Then he had a verse: 'On the very fifteenth day, hook and awl both rest. Try to ask again what it is — turning your head, the sun has come out.' Someone asked, 'What is the seamless stupa?' The Master said, 'Look directly below.' The monk said, 'What is the man in the stupa?' The Master said, 'Step back, step back.' Someone asked, 'The ancients had a saying: Just now, who is it that moves the mouth? What does it mean?' The Master said, 'Do not take the donkey's saddle bridge for your grandfather's chin.' The Grand Guardian Zhang Maochong asked, 'Matanga entered Han and already dealt in profuse words. Bodhidharma's single transmission — please, Master, point it out directly.' The Master said, 'Winter is not cold; look after the twelfth month.' Someone asked, 'If one can turn things, one is the same as the Tathagata. The myriad things are things — how does one turn them?' The Master said, 'Having eaten your rice, you have not a scrap of sense.' Someone asked, 'Not an inch of thread hanging, the net of Dharma boundless — why then is there delusion and awakening?' The Master said, 'Two buckets on one pole.' Someone asked, 'The sentient have function, the insentient have no function. What is the insentient's responsive function?' The Master said, 'A single door leaf stays open all night.' Ascending the hall: 'The spring scene is mild and gentle, the spring rain moistens all alike. The ten thousand things sprout — what place does not receive the grace? Tell me, how does one speak the phrase of receiving the power of grace?' After a long while he said, 'A drop of spring rain is slippery as oil.' Someone asked, 'What is the student's own dharma body?' The Master said, 'Carrying firewood every day is not easy.' The monk said, 'That is the assembly's; what is the student's?' The Master said, 'Three lives and sixty kalpas.' Someone asked, 'Opening the slip and spreading the bowl every day — with what does one repay the donors' grace?' The Master said, 'Because of this one question, you have worried me to death.' The monk said, 'If so, then I thank you for the offering.' The Master said, 'What sort of man's strength is that?' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Tomorrow eat another meal.' Someone asked, 'The ancients' hair ball at the rapids — what does it mean?' The Master said, 'The clouds open and the moon is bright.' Someone asked, 'The bottom-reaching stone at the rapids — what does it mean?' The Master said, 'The roof is broken and one sees the blue sky.' The monk said, 'The broken roof and the blue sky — what does it mean?' The Master said, 'Penetrating above and through below.' Someone asked, 'If fire breaks out in one place, you may put it out as you like. What when it breaks out in all eight directions at once?' The Master said, 'Quick.' The monk said, 'Should one still seek to escape?' The Master said, 'If you seek to escape, you will be burned to death.' The monk bowed. The Master said, 'Even if you do not seek to escape, you will be burned to death.' Addressing the assembly: 'If you can say the first phrase, it bursts out of stone. If you can say the second phrase, it comes pressing in. If you can say the third phrase —'

自救不了。上堂。五白貓兒爪距獰。養來堂上絕蟲行。分明上樹安身法。切忌遺言許外生。作麼生是許外生底句。莫錯舉。僧入室問。正當與麼時。還有師也無。師曰。燈明連夜照。甚處不分明。曰。畢竟事如何。師曰。來日是寒食。

(The Master continued:) '— you cannot even save yourself.' Ascending the hall: 'The five-white cat's claws and spurs are fierce; raised in the hall, it cuts off the insects' tracks. It clearly knows the way to settle itself up a tree, and yet above all do not leave word permitting an outsider to be born. What is the phrase that permits an outsider to be born? Do not raise it wrongly.' A monk came into the room and asked, 'At just such a time, is there still a teacher or not?' The Master said, 'The lamp shines through the night — what place is not clear?' The monk said, 'After all, how is the matter?' The Master said, 'Tomorrow is the Cold Food Festival.'

汝州廣慧院元璉禪師

Chan Master Yuanlian of Guanghui Monastery in Ruzhou

泉州陳氏。到首山。山問。近離甚處。師曰。漢上。山竪起拳曰。漢上還有這箇麼。師曰。這箇是甚麼盌鳴聲。山曰。瞎。師曰。恰是。拍一拍便出。他日又問。學人親到寶山。空手回時如何。山曰。家家門前火把子。師當下大悟。雲。某甲不疑天下老和尚舌頭也。山曰。汝會處作麼生。與我說來看。師曰。祇是地上水碙砂也。山曰。汝會也。師便禮拜。住後。僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。竹竿頭上曜紅旗。楊億侍郎問。天上無彌勒。地下無彌勒。未審在甚麼處。師曰。敲甎打瓦。又問。風穴道。金沙灘頭馬郎婦。意旨如何。師曰。更道也不及。僧問。如何是無位真人。師曰。上木下鐵。曰。恁麼則罪歸有處也。師曰。判官擲下筆。僧禮拜。師曰。拖出。問。如何是佛。師曰。兩箇不是多。上堂。臨濟兩堂首座相見。同時下喝。諸人且道還有賓主也無。若道有。祇是箇瞎漢。若道無。亦是箇瞎漢。不有不無。萬裡崖州。若向這裡道得。也好與三十棒。若道不得。亦與三十棒。衲僧家到這裡。作麼生出得山僧圈䙡去。良久曰。苦哉。蝦蟆蚯蚓。𨁝跳上三十三天。撞著須彌山百雜碎。拈拄杖曰。一隊無孔鐵鎚。速退。速退。

He was of the Chen family of Quanzhou. He came to Shoushan. Shoushan asked: 'Where have you recently come from?' The master said: 'From Hanshang.' Shoushan raised his fist and said: 'Does Hanshang also have this?' The master said: 'What is this clatter of bowls?' Shoushan said: 'Blind.' The master said: 'Exactly so.' He clapped his hands once and went out. Another day he asked again: 'This student has personally arrived at the jewel mountain; what of returning empty-handed?' Shoushan said: 'Every house has its own torch at the gate.' At once the master was greatly awakened, and said: 'I no longer doubt the tongues of the old monks of the world.' Shoushan said: 'How do you understand it? Tell me and let me see.' The master said: 'It is only the water-worn sand on the ground.' Shoushan said: 'You have understood.' The master then bowed. After he became abbot, a monk asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the west?' The master said: 'A red banner gleaming on the tip of a bamboo pole.' The Vice Minister Yang Yi asked: 'In heaven there is no Maitreya, on earth there is no Maitreya. I wonder where he is?' The master said: 'Knocking bricks and striking tiles.' He also asked: 'Fengxue said, "The horse-lang woman at the head of the golden sandbank." What is the meaning?' The master said: 'Even to say more would not reach it.' A monk asked: 'What is the true person without rank?' The master said: 'Wood above, iron below.' The monk said: 'Then the fault has a place to rest.' The master said: 'The judge throws down his brush.' The monk bowed. The master said: 'Drag him out.' The monk asked: 'What is the Buddha?' The master said: 'Two are not many.' He mounted the hall: 'When the two chief seats of Linji's two halls met, they both shouted at the same time. Tell me, venerable ones, was there host and guest or not? If you say there was, you are a blind man. If you say there was not, you are also a blind man. Neither existing nor not existing — ten thousand miles to Yazhou. If you can speak here, you still deserve thirty blows. If you cannot speak, you also get thirty blows. When a patch-robed monk reaches this point, how does he get out of this mountain monk's trap?' After a long while he said: 'How bitter! Frogs and earthworms leap up to the thirty-three heavens, strike Mount Sumeru and are smashed to bits.' He picked up his staff and said: 'A whole troop of holeless iron hammers. Retreat quickly, retreat quickly.'

幷州承天院三交智嵩禪師

Chan Master Sanjiao Zhisong of Chengtian Monastery, Bingzhou

參首山。問。如何是佛法的的大意。山曰。楚王城畔。汝水東流。師於此有省。頓契佛意。乃作三玄偈曰。須用直須用。心意莫定動。三歲師子吼。十方沒狐種。我有真如性。如同幕裡隱。打破六門關。顯出毗盧印。真骨金剛體可誇。六塵一拂永無遮。廓落世界空為體。體上無為真到家。山聞乃請吃茶。問。這三頌是汝作來邪。師曰。是。山曰。或有人教汝現三十二相時如何。師曰。某甲不是野狐精。山曰。惜取眉毛。師曰。和尚落了多少。山以竹篦頭上打。曰。這漢向後亂作去在。住後。上堂。文殊仗劒。五臺橫行。唐明一路。把斷妖訛。三世諸佛。未出教乘。網底遊魚。龍門難渡。垂鉤四海。祇釣獰龍。格外玄談。為求知識。若也舉揚宗旨。須彌直須粉碎。若也說佛說祖。海水便須枯竭。寶劒揮時。毫光萬裡。放汝一路。通方說話。把斷咽喉。諸人甚處出氣。僧問。鈍根樂小法。不自信作佛。作佛後如何。師曰。水裡捉麒麟。曰。與麼則便登高座也。師曰。騎牛上三十三天。問。古人拈推竪拂。意旨如何。師曰。騎驢不著靴。問。如何是奪人不奪境。師曰。家鄉有路無人到。曰。如何是奪境不奪人。師曰。暗傳天子勑。陪行一百程。曰。如何是人境兩俱奪。師曰。無頭蝦蟇腳指天。曰。如何是人境俱不奪。師曰。晉祠南畔長柳巷。問。古人東山西嶺青。意作麼生。師曰。波斯鼻孔大。曰。與麼則西天迦葉。東土我師。師曰。金剛手板濶。問。大悲千手眼。那箇是正眼。師曰。開化石佛拍手笑。晉祠娘子解謳歌。問。臨濟推倒黃檗。因甚維那吃棒。師曰。正狗不偷油。鷄銜燈盞走。問。如何是截人之機。師曰。要用便用。曰。請和尚用。師曰。拖出這死漢。鄭工部問。百尺竿頭獨打毬。萬丈懸崖絲繫腰時如何。師曰。幽州著腳。廣南廝撲。鄭無語。師曰。勘破這胡漢。鄭曰。二十年江南界裡。

He consulted Shoushan and asked: 'What is the precise great meaning of the buddhadharma?' Shoushan said: 'Beside the city of the king of Chu, the Ru River flows east.' At this the master had a realization and at once matched the buddha's intent, and composed a verse on the three profundities: 'One must use it, just must use it; the mind's intent must not be fixed or stirred. A three-year-old lion roars; in the ten directions there is no fox kind. I have the nature of true suchness, hidden as if behind a curtain. Break open the six gates and reveal the seal of Vairocana. The true bone, the vajra body, is worthy of praise; one brush of the six dusts and it is forever unobstructed. The vast world takes emptiness as its body; on that body, non-doing — truly arrived home.' When Shoushan heard this he invited him to tea and asked: 'Are these three verses your own composition?' The master said: 'They are.' Shoushan said: 'Suppose someone told you to manifest the thirty-two marks — what then?' The master said: 'I am not a wild fox spirit.' Shoushan said: 'Take care of your eyebrows.' The master said: 'How many has the Master lost?' Shoushan struck him on the head with a bamboo comb and said: 'This fellow will go on making a mess later.' After he became abbot he mounted the hall: 'Manjushri wields the sword and strides across Mount Wutai. The one road of Tang Ming cuts off all monstrous falsehood. The buddhas of the three ages have not yet come out of the teachings. Fish swimming beneath the net find it hard to cross the dragon gate. Hanging a hook in the four seas, one angles only for the fierce dragon. The profound talk beyond the ordinary is for the sake of seeking a good friend. If one proclaims the essential teaching, Mount Sumeru must be smashed to powder. If one speaks of buddhas and speaks of patriarchs, the sea water must dry up. When the precious sword is brandished, a hair's light goes ten thousand miles. I let you have one road, to speak freely of the way. But if I cut off your throat, where will you people breathe from?' A monk asked: 'Those of dull faculties delight in the lesser dharma and do not believe they can become buddhas. What of after becoming a buddha?' The master said: 'Catching a unicorn in the water.' The monk said: 'Then one may mount the high seat.' The master said: 'Riding an ox up to the thirty-three heavens.' The monk asked: 'What is the meaning of the ancients picking up the mallet and raising the fly whisk?' The master said: 'Riding a donkey without boots.' The monk asked: 'What is it to take away the person but not the object?' The master said: 'The home road has a way, and no one comes.' The monk said: 'What is it to take away the object but not the person?' The master said: 'Secretly transmitting the son of heaven's edict, escorting him a hundred stages.' The monk said: 'What is it to take away both person and object?' The master said: 'A headless frog points its toes at the sky.' The monk said: 'What is it to take away neither person nor object?' The master said: 'The long willow lane south of the Jin shrine.' The monk asked: 'The ancients said, "the eastern mountain, the western ridge, green." What does it mean?' The master said: 'A Persian has big nostrils.' The monk said: 'Then Kashyapa is in the west and my teacher is in the east.' The master said: 'The vajra's hand-board is broad.' The monk asked: 'Great Compassion has a thousand hands and eyes — which is the true eye?' The master said: 'The stone buddha of Kaihua claps and laughs; the lady of the Jin shrine knows how to sing.' The monk asked: 'Linji pushed over Huangbo — why did the rector take the blows?' The master said: 'A proper dog does not steal oil; a chicken carries the lamp away.' The monk asked: 'What is the working that cuts people off?' The master said: 'Use it when you need it.' The monk said: 'Please, Master, use it.' The master said: 'Drag out this dead man.' The works minister Zheng asked: 'What of playing ball alone on the top of a hundred-foot pole, with a silk thread tied around the waist at a ten-thousand-fathom cliff?' The master said: 'Setting foot in Youzhou, wrestling in Guangnan.' Zheng was speechless. The master said: 'I have seen through this barbarian.' Zheng said: 'Twenty years within the borders of Jiangnan,

這回卻見禪師。師曰。瞎老婆吹火。僧問。二邊純莫立。中道不須安。未審意旨如何。師曰。廣南出象牙。曰。不會。請師直指。師曰。番國皮毬八百價。上堂。寒溫冷暖。著衣吃飯。自不欠少。波波地覓箇甚麼。祇是諸人不肯承當。如今還有承當底麼。有則不得孤負山河大地。珍重。問。祖師西來。三藏東去。當明何事。師曰。佛殿部署修。僧堂老僧蓋。僧曰。與麼則全明今日事也。師曰。今日事作麼生。僧便喝。師便打。問。如何是學人用心處。師曰。光剃頭。淨洗缽。曰。如何是學人行履處。師曰。僧堂前。佛殿後。上堂。舉法眼偈曰。見山不是山。見水何曾別。山河與大地。都是一輪月。大小法眼未出涅槃堂。三交即不然。見山河與大地。錐刀各自用。珍重。

(The works minister Zheng continued:) 'and this time I have at last met the Chan master.' The master said: 'A blind old woman blowing the fire.' A monk asked: 'The two extremes are wholly not established, and the middle way need not be settled. I wonder what the meaning is?' The master said: 'Guangnan produces ivory.' The monk said: 'I do not understand. Pray, Master, point directly.' The master said: 'A foreign land's leather ball costs eight hundred.' He mounted the hall: 'Cold and warm, cold and heat, putting on clothes and eating food — you yourself are not lacking anything. What are you rushing about seeking? It is only that you people are unwilling to take it on. Is there anyone now who will take it on? If there is, he must not fail the mountains, rivers and great earth. Take care.' A monk asked: 'The patriarch came from the west and the Tripitaka went east — what matter do they clarify?' The master said: 'The buddha hall is laid out and repaired; the monks' hall is roofed by this old monk.' The monk said: 'Then today's matter is wholly clear.' The master said: 'What is today's matter?' The monk at once shouted. The master at once struck him. The monk asked: 'Where should a student apply his mind?' The master said: 'Cleanly shave the head, purely wash the bowl.' The monk said: 'Where does a student walk?' The master said: 'Before the monks' hall, behind the buddha hall.' He mounted the hall and brought up Fayan's verse: 'Seeing mountains, it is not mountains; seeing water, how is it different? The mountains and rivers and the great earth are all one round moon.' 'Great or small, Fayan had not yet left the hall of nirvana. Sanjiao is not like that. Seeing the mountains and rivers and the great earth, awl and knife each use their own. Take care.'

忻州鐵佛院智嵩禪師

Chan Master Zhisong of Tiefo Monastery, Xinzhou

有同參到。師見便問。還記得相識麼。參頭擬議。第二僧打參頭一坐具曰。何不快祇對和尚。師曰。一箭兩垛。師問。僧甚處來。曰。臺山來。師曰。還見龍王麼。曰。和尚試道看。師曰。我若道。即瓦解冰消。僧擬議。師曰。不信道。問。亡僧遷化向甚麼處去也。師曰。下坡不走。快便難逢。

A fellow student arrived. When the master saw him he asked: 'Do you still remember our acquaintance?' The head of the assembly was about to deliberate. The second monk struck the head of the assembly with his sitting cloth and said: 'Why not answer the Master at once?' The master said: 'One arrow, two targets.' The master asked a monk: 'Where do you come from?' The monk said: 'From Mount Tai.' The master said: 'Did you see the dragon king?' The monk said: 'Please, Master, try to say.' The master said: 'If I said it, it would all melt away like tiles and ice.' The monk was about to deliberate. The master said: 'I do not believe it.' The monk asked: 'Where does a deceased monk go when he passes away?' The master said: 'Going downhill one does not run; a quick chance is hard to meet.'

汝州首山懷志禪師

Chan Master Shoushan Huaizhi of Ruzhou