The Five Lamps Meeting at the Source, Scroll One
文殊菩薩
Manjushri Bodhisattva
一日令善財採藥。曰。是藥者採將來。善財徧觀大地。無不是藥。卻來白曰。無有不是藥者。殊曰。是藥者採將來。善財遂於地上拈一莖草。度與文殊。文殊接得。呈起示眾曰。此藥亦能殺人。亦能活人。文殊問菴提遮女曰。生以何為義。女曰。生以不生生為生義。殊曰。如何是生以不生生為生義。女曰。若能明知。地水火風四緣未甞自得。有所和合而能隨其所宜。是為生義。殊曰。死以何為義。女曰。死以不死死為死義。殊曰。如何是死以不死死為死義。女曰。若能明知。地水火風四緣未甞自得。有所離散而能隨其所宜。是為死義。菴提遮女問文殊曰。明知生是不生之理。為甚麼卻被生死之所流轉。殊曰。其力未充。
One day Manjushri told Sudhana to gather medicinal herbs, saying, ‘Bring me what is medicine.’ Sudhana examined the whole earth and found nothing that was not medicine. He returned and reported, ‘There is nothing that is not medicine.’ Manjushri said, ‘Bring what is medicine.’ Sudhana picked a blade of grass from the ground and handed it to him. Manjushri received it, held it up before the assembly, and said, ‘This medicine can kill, and it can also save.’ He then asked the woman Antidha, ‘What is the meaning of birth?’ She replied, ‘Birth means giving birth through the unborn.’ Manjushri asked, ‘What does that mean?’ She said, ‘If one clearly knows that the four conditions of earth, water, fire, and wind never independently obtain anything, but combine according to what is appropriate, this is the meaning of birth.’ Manjushri asked, ‘What is the meaning of death?’ She replied, ‘Death means dying through the undying.’ Asked what this meant, she said, ‘If one clearly knows that the four conditions never independently obtain anything, but separate according to what is appropriate, this is the meaning of death.’ She asked Manjushri, ‘If one clearly knows that birth is unborn, why is one still carried along by birth and death?’ Manjushri said, ‘Because one’s strength is not yet complete.’
天親菩薩
Bodhisattva Vasubandhu
從彌勒內宮而下。無著菩薩問曰。人間四百年。彼天為一晝夜。彌勒於一時中成就五百億天子。證無生法忍。未審說甚麼法。天親曰。秖說這箇法。秖是梵音清雅。令人樂聞。
He descended from Maitreya’s inner palace. Bodhisattva Asanga asked, ‘Four hundred human years are one day and night there. In a single moment Maitreya brings five hundred billion gods to accomplishment and realization of patience with the unborn. What Dharma does he teach?’ Vasubandhu said, ‘He teaches only this Dharma, but his Brahma voice is pure and elegant, making people rejoice to hear it.’
維摩會上。三十二菩薩各說不二法門。文殊曰。我於一切法。無言無說。無示無識。離諸問答。是為菩薩入不二法門。於是文殊又問維摩。仁者當說何等是菩薩入不二法門。維摩默然。文殊讚曰。乃至無有語言文字。是菩薩真入不二法門。
At Vimalakirti’s assembly, thirty-two Bodhisattvas each explained the Dharma gate of nonduality. Manjushri said, ‘In regard to all phenomena I have no words or speech, no demonstration or knowing, and am apart from all questions and answers; this is entering the nondual Dharma gate.’ Manjushri then asked Vimalakirti, ‘What is your explanation of a Bodhisattva’s entry into nonduality?’ Vimalakirti remained silent. Manjushri praised him: ‘To have no language or written characters at all is the Bodhisattva’s true entry into the nondual Dharma gate.’
善財
Sudhana
參五十三員善知識。末後到彌勒閣前。見樓閣門閉。瞻仰讚嘆。見彌勒從別處來。善財作禮曰。願樓閣門開。令我得入。尋時。彌勒至善財前。彈指一聲。樓閣門開。善財入已。閣門即閉。見百千萬億樓閣。一一樓閣內有一彌勒領諸眷屬並一善財而立其前。善財因無著菩薩問曰。我欲見文殊。何者即是。財曰。汝發一念心清淨即是。無著曰。我發一念心清淨。為甚麼不見。財曰。是真見文殊。
He visited fifty-three spiritual friends. At last he reached the gate of Maitreya’s pavilion, which was closed, and gazed up in praise. Maitreya came from elsewhere. Sudhana bowed and said, ‘May the gate of the pavilion open so that I may enter.’ At once Maitreya came before him and snapped his fingers; the gate opened. After Sudhana entered, it closed again. Inside he saw hundreds of thousands of millions of pavilions, and in each one Maitreya stood with his retinue and another Sudhana before him. Sudhana asked Bodhisattva Anagaraja, ‘I wish to see Manjushri. Which person is he?’ Anagaraja said, ‘When you give rise to a single thought of purity, that is Manjushri.’ Sudhana asked, ‘I have given rise to a single pure thought. Why do I not see him?’ Anagaraja said, ‘That is truly seeing Manjushri.’
須菩提尊者
Venerable Subhuti
在巖中宴坐。諸天雨華讚嘆。者曰。空中雨華讚嘆。復是何人。云何讚嘆。天曰。我是梵天。敬重尊者善說般若。者曰。我於般若未甞說一字。汝云何讚嘆。天曰。如是尊者無說。我乃無聞。無說無聞。是真說般若。尊者一日說法次。帝釋雨華。者乃問。此華從天得邪。從地得邪。從人得邪。釋曰。弗也。者曰。從何得邪。釋乃舉手。者曰。如是。如是。
He sat quietly in a rocky cave. The gods rained flowers and praised him. The venerable said, ‘Who is it that rains flowers in the air and offers praise? Why praise me?’ A god said, ‘I am Brahma. I honor the venerable for explaining prajna well.’ Subhuti said, ‘I have never spoken a single word about prajna. Why do you praise me?’ The god said, ‘Exactly so: the venerable does not speak, and I do not hear. Non-speaking and non-hearing are the true explanation of prajna.’ One day, while Subhuti was teaching, Shakra rained flowers. Subhuti asked, ‘Did these flowers come from heaven, from earth, or from people?’ Shakra said, ‘No.’ Subhuti asked, ‘Where did they come from?’ Shakra raised his hand. Subhuti said, ‘Just so, just so.’
舍利弗尊者
Venerable Shariputra
因入城遙見月上女出城。舍利弗心口思惟。此姊見佛。不知得忍不得忍否。我當問之。才近便問。大姊往甚麼處去。女曰。如舍利弗與麼去。弗曰。我方入城。汝方出城。何言如我恁麼去。女曰。諸佛弟子。當依何住。弗曰。諸佛弟子依大涅槃而住。女曰。諸佛弟子既依大涅槃而住。而我亦如舍利弗與麼去。舍利弗問須菩提夢中說六波羅蜜與覺時同異。提曰。此義深遠。吾不能說。會中有彌勒大士。汝往彼問。舍利弗問彌勒。彌勒雲。誰名彌勒。誰是彌勒。舍利弗問天女曰。何以不轉女身。女曰。我從十二年來求女人相。了不可得。當何所轉。即時天女以神通力變舍利弗。令如天女。女自化身如舍利弗。乃問言。何以不轉女身。舍利弗以天女像而答言。我今不知云何轉面而變為女身。
When entering the city, Shariputra saw the woman Yue Shang coming out from afar. He thought, ‘This woman has met the Buddha; I wonder whether she has attained patience. I should ask her.’ As he approached he asked, ‘Elder sister, where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am going as Shariputra goes.’ He said, ‘I am entering the city and you are leaving it. How can you say you go as I go?’ She said, ‘Where should the Buddha’s disciples abide?’ He said, ‘The Buddha’s disciples abide in great nirvana.’ She said, ‘Since the Buddha’s disciples abide in great nirvana, I too am going as Shariputra goes.’ Shariputra asked Subhuti whether the six paramitas in a dream were the same as when awake. Subhuti said, ‘This meaning is profound; I cannot explain it. Maitreya is in the assembly. Go and ask him.’ Shariputra asked Maitreya, ‘Who is called Maitreya, and who is Maitreya?’ He asked the goddess, ‘Why do you not transform your female body?’ She said, ‘For twelve years I have sought the mark of womanhood, but it cannot be found. What is there to transform?’ At once she used her supernatural power to transform Shariputra into a goddess and transformed herself into Shariputra, then asked, ‘Why do you not transform the female body?’ Shariputra, in the goddess’s form, replied, ‘I do not know how to turn this appearance and become a woman.’
殃崛摩羅尊者
Venerable Angulimala
未出家時。外道受教為嬌屍迦。欲登王位。用千人拇指為花冠。已得九百九十九。唯欠一指。遂欲殺母取指。時佛在靈山。以天眼觀之。乃作沙門在殃崛前。殃崛遂釋母欲殺佛。佛徐行。殃崛急行。追之不及。乃喚曰。瞿曇。住。住。佛告曰。我住久矣。是汝不住。殃崛聞之。心忽開悟。遂棄刃。投佛出家。
Before leaving home, he followed an outsider teacher named Jotishka, who wished to ascend the throne and make a crown from the thumbs of a thousand people. He had obtained nine hundred and ninety-nine and lacked only one, so he planned to kill his mother and take her thumb. The Buddha was then on Vulture Peak. Seeing this with his divine eye, he appeared before Angulimala as a monk. Angulimala let his mother go and thought of killing the Buddha. The Buddha walked slowly; Angulimala hurried after him but could not catch him. He called, ‘Gautama, stop! Stop!’ The Buddha said, ‘I stopped long ago. It is you who have not stopped.’ Hearing this, Angulimala suddenly awakened, cast away his blade, and left home under the Buddha.
賓頭盧尊者
Venerable Pindola
因阿育王內宮齋三萬大阿羅漢。躬自行香。見第一座無人。王問其故。海意尊者曰。此是賓頭盧位。此人近見佛來。王曰。今在何處。者曰。且待須臾。言訖。賓頭盧從空而下。王請就座。禮敬。者不顧。王乃問。承聞尊者親見佛來。是否。者以手䇿起眉。曰。會麼。王曰。不會。者曰。阿耨達池龍王曾請佛齋。吾是時亦預其數。
When King Ashoka prepared food in his inner palace for thirty thousand great arhats, he personally carried incense and saw that the first seat was empty. The king asked why. Venerable Haiyi said, ‘That is Pindola’s seat. He has recently seen the Buddha.’ The king asked where he was. Haiyi said, ‘Wait a little.’ As soon as he finished speaking, Pindola descended from the sky. The king invited him to sit and paid his respects, but the venerable did not look at him. The king asked, ‘I have heard that you personally saw the Buddha. Is that so?’ Pindola raised his hand and lifted his eyebrows, saying, ‘Do you understand?’ The king said, ‘I do not.’ Pindola said, ‘When the dragon king of Anavatapta invited the Buddha to a meal, I was among those who attended.’
障蔽魔王
The Demon King Zhangbi
領諸眷屬一千年。隨金剛齊菩薩覔起處不得。忽一日得見。乃問曰。汝當依何而住。我一千年覔汝起處不得。齊曰。我不依有住而住。不依無住而住。如是而住。
For a thousand years he led a thousand followers, searching with Bodhisattva Vajraki for where he arose, but could not find it. One day he suddenly saw him and asked, ‘Where do you abide? I have searched for a thousand years and could not find the place where you arise.’ Qi said, ‘I abide neither by abiding in existence nor by abiding in nonexistence. I abide in this way.’
那叱太子
Prince Nacha
析肉還母。析骨還父。然後現本身。運大神力。為父母說法。
He divided his flesh and returned it to his mother, divided his bones and returned them to his father, then manifested his original body, exercised great supernatural power, and taught the Dharma to his parents.
秦跋陀禪師
Chan Master Qinbatatuo
問生法師講何經論。生曰。大般若經。師曰。作麼生說色空義。曰。眾微聚曰色。眾微無自性曰空。師曰。眾微未聚。喚作甚麼。生罔措。師又問。別講何經論。曰。大涅槃經。師曰。如何說涅槃之義。曰。涅而不生。槃而不滅。不生不滅。故曰涅槃。師曰。這箇是如來涅槃。那箇是法師涅槃。曰。涅槃之義。豈有二邪。某甲秖如此。未審禪師如何說涅槃。師拈起如意曰。還見麼。曰。見。師曰。見箇甚麼。曰。見禪師手中如意。師將如意擲於地曰。見麼。曰。見。師曰。見箇甚麼。曰。見禪師手中如意墮地。師斥曰。觀公見解。未出常流。何得名喧宇宙。拂衣而去。其徒懷疑不已。乃追師扣問。我師說色空涅槃不契。未審禪師如何說色空義。師曰。不道汝師說得不是。汝師秖說得果上色空。不會說得因中色空。其徒曰。如何是因中色空。師曰。一微空故眾微空。眾微空故一微空。一微空中無眾微。眾微空中無一微。
He asked Dharma Master Sheng what scripture he lectured on. Sheng said, ‘The Great Prajnaparamita Sutra.’ The master asked, ‘How do you explain the meaning of form and emptiness?’ Sheng said, ‘The gathering of minute particles is called form; because the particles have no self-nature, it is called emptiness.’ The master asked, ‘Before the particles gather, what do you call them?’ Sheng was at a loss. The master asked what else he taught. Sheng said, ‘The Nirvana Sutra.’ The master asked, ‘How do you explain nirvana?’ Sheng said, ‘Nirvana means neither birth nor extinction.’ The master said, ‘That is the Tathagata’s nirvana; this is the Dharma master’s nirvana.’ Sheng said, ‘How could nirvana have two meanings? I only explain it this way. How do you explain it?’ The master raised his ruyi. Sheng said, ‘I see it.’ The master asked, ‘What do you see?’ Sheng said, ‘The ruyi in the Chan master’s hand.’ The master threw it on the ground and asked, ‘Do you see it?’ Sheng said, ‘I see the ruyi that was in the Chan master’s hand lying on the ground.’ The master rebuked him: ‘From what I see, your understanding has not gone beyond the ordinary. How could it be proclaimed throughout the universe?’ He shook out his robe and left. Sheng’s disciple remained deeply doubtful and followed him to ask, ‘My teacher’s explanations of form, emptiness, and nirvana do not accord with you. How do you explain form and emptiness?’ The master said, ‘I do not say your teacher’s explanation is wrong. He explains form and emptiness at the level of result, but does not understand form and emptiness at the level of cause.’ The disciple asked, ‘What is form and emptiness at the level of cause?’ The master said, ‘Because one minute particle is empty, all minute particles are empty; because all minute particles are empty, one minute particle is empty. In the emptiness of one particle there are no many particles; in the emptiness of many particles there is no single particle.’
寶誌禪師
Chan Master Baozhi
初。金陵東陽民朱氏之婦。上巳日聞兒啼鷹巢中。梯樹得之。舉以為子。七歲依鍾山大沙門僧儉出家。專修禪觀。宋太始二年髮而徒跣。著錦袍往來皖山劒水之下。以翦尺拂子拄杖頭。負之而行。天鑑二年梁武帝詔問。弟子煩惑未除。何以治之。答曰。十二。帝問。其旨如何。答曰。在書字時節刻漏中。帝益不曉。帝甞詔畫工張僧繇寫師像。僧繇下筆輙不自定。師遂以指𠢐面門。分披出十二面觀音。妙相殊麗。或慈或威。僧繇竟不能寫。他日。與帝臨江縱望。有物泝流而上。師以杖引之。隨杖而至。乃紫旃檀也。即以屬供奉官俞紹。令雕師像。頃刻而成。神采如生。師問一梵僧。承聞尊者喚我作屠兒。曾見我殺生麼。曰。見。師曰。有見見。無見見。不有不無見。若有見見是凡夫見。無見見是聲聞見。不有不無見是外道見。未審尊者如何見。梵僧曰。你有此等見邪(汾陽曰。不枉西來)。師垂語曰。終日拈香擇火。不知身是道場。又曰。大道秖在目前。要且目前難覩。欲識大道真體。不離聲色言語。又曰。京都鄴都浩浩。還是菩提大道(法眼曰。京都鄴都浩浩。不是菩提大道)。
Originally, on the third day of the third month, the wife of Zhu, a commoner of Dongyang in Jinling, heard a child crying in an eagle’s nest. She climbed the tree, found him, and raised him as her own. At seven he left home under the great monk Sengqian of Zhongshan and devoted himself to meditation. In the second year of Taishi under the Song, he wore his hair loose, went barefoot, and traveled beneath the mountains and along the Jian waters in a brocade robe, carrying scissors and a fly-whisk on the top of his staff. In the second year of Tianjian, Emperor Wu of Liang asked, ‘My vexations have not been removed. How can I cure them?’ He replied, ‘Twelve.’ The emperor asked its meaning. He said, ‘It is in the moments marked by writing and the water clock.’ The emperor understood even less. The emperor once ordered the painter Zhang Sengyou to paint his portrait. Zhang could not settle his brush. The master then used a finger to split open his face, revealing twelve faces of Guanyin, each wondrous and dignified, sometimes compassionate and sometimes awe-inspiring. Zhang could not paint them. Another day, while the emperor was looking across the river with him, something came upstream. The master drew it with his staff; it followed and proved to be purple sandalwood. He gave it to the court official Yu Shao, ordering him to carve a statue. It was finished in a moment and seemed alive. The master asked a Brahman monk, ‘I hear you call me a butcher. Have you ever seen me kill?’ The monk said, ‘I have.’ The master said, ‘There is seeing with an object, seeing without an object, and seeing neither existence nor nonexistence. Seeing with an object is the view of ordinary people; seeing without an object is the view of hearers; seeing neither existence nor nonexistence is the view of outsiders. How do you see?’ The Brahman asked, ‘Do you have such views?’ (Fenyang said, ‘The journey from the West was not in vain.’) The master said, ‘All day you pick up incense and choose firewood, yet do not know that your body is the place of awakening.’ He also said, ‘The Great Way is right before your eyes, but it is difficult to see what is before your eyes. To know the true substance of the Great Way, do not leave sound, form, and speech.’ He also said, ‘The capital and Yedu are bustling, and still this is the Great Way of awakening.’ (Fayan said, ‘The capital and Yedu are bustling, but they are not the Great Way of awakening.’)
善慧大士者
Great Master Shanhui,
婺州義烏縣人也。齊建武四年丁丑五月八日。降於雙林鄉傳宣慈家。本名翕。年十六納劉氏女。名妙光。生普建．普成二子。二十四與里人稽亭浦漉魚。獲已。沈籠水中。祝曰。去者適。止者留。人或謂之愚。會有天竺僧嵩頭陀曰。我與汝毗婆尸佛所發誓。今兜率宮衣缽見在。何日當還。因命臨水觀影。見圓光寶葢。大士笑謂之曰。鑪韛之所多鈍鐵。良醫之門足病人。度生為急。何思彼樂乎。嵩指松山頂曰。此可棲矣。大士躬耕而居之。有人盜菽麥瓜果。大士即與籃籠盛去。日常營作。夜則行道。見釋迦．金粟。定光三如來。放光襲其體。大士乃曰。我得首楞嚴定。天嘉二年。感七佛相隨。釋迦引前。維摩接後。唯釋尊數顧共語。為我補處也。其山頂黃雲盤旋若葢。因號雲黃山。梁武帝請講金剛經。士才陞座。以尺揮按一下。便下座。帝愕然。聖師曰。陛下還會麼。帝曰。不會。聖師曰。大士講經竟。又一日講經次。帝至。大眾皆起。唯士端坐不動。近臣報曰。聖駕在此。何不起。士曰。法地若動。一切不安。大士一日披衲．頂冠．靸履朝見。帝問。是僧邪。士以手指冠。帝曰。是道邪。士以手指靸履。帝曰。是俗邪。士以手指衲衣。大士心王銘曰。觀心空王。玄妙難測。無形無相。有大神力。能滅千災。成就萬德。體性雖空。能施法則。觀之無形。呼之有聲。為大法將。心戒傳經。水中鹽味。色裡膠青。決定是有。不見其形。心王亦爾。身內居停。面門出入。應物隨情。自在無礙。所作皆成。了本識心。識心見佛。是心是佛。是佛是心。念念佛心。佛心念佛。欲得早成。戒心自律。淨律淨心。心即是佛。除此心王。更無別佛。欲求成佛。莫染一物。心性雖空。貪嗔體實。入此法門。端坐成佛。到彼岸已。得波羅蜜。慕道真士。自觀自心。知佛在內。不向外尋。即心即佛。即佛即心。心明識佛。曉了識心。
He was from Yiwu County in Wuzhou. In the fourth year of Jianwu under Qi, on the eighth day of the fifth month, he was born in Shuanglin village to the household of Fu Xuanci. His given name was Xi. At sixteen he married Liu’s daughter Miaoguang and had two sons, Pujian and Pucheng. At twenty-four he went fishing with villagers at Jiting ford. After catching fish, he sank the basket in the water and said, ‘Those who leave may go; those who stay may remain.’ Some called him foolish. At that time the Indian monk Song Toutuo said, ‘You and I made a vow in the presence of Vipashyin Buddha. Your robe and bowl are still in Tushita Heaven; when will you return?’ He told him to look at his reflection in the water, where he saw a circular radiance and jeweled canopy. The master smiled and said, ‘A furnace makes much dull iron, and a physician’s door is full of the sick. Saving beings is urgent; why think of that pleasure?’ Song pointed to the top of a pine-covered mountain and said, ‘You can dwell there.’ The master cultivated the land and lived there. When people stole beans, grain, and fruit, he filled baskets and gave them away. By day he worked; at night he practiced the Way. He saw Shakyamuni, Golden Grain, and Dipamkara Buddhas emit light that entered his body, and said, ‘I have attained the Shurangama samadhi.’ In the second year of Ti an, he was accompanied by the Seven Buddhas, with Shakyamuni leading and Vimalakirti following. Only Shakyamuni often turned back to speak with him and appointed him as the future successor. Yellow clouds circled the mountain summit like a canopy, so it was called Cloud Yellow Mountain. Emperor Wu of Liang invited him to lecture on the Diamond Sutra. As soon as he mounted the seat, the master struck once with a ruler and descended. The emperor was astonished. The Imperial Teacher said, ‘Does Your Majesty understand?’ The emperor said, ‘I do not.’ The teacher said, ‘The master has finished lecturing.’ Another day, while he was lecturing, the emperor arrived. Everyone rose, but the master remained seated. A close attendant reported, ‘The emperor is here. Why do you not rise?’ The master said, ‘If the Dharma-ground moved, everything would be unsettled.’ One day he appeared before the emperor wearing a monk’s robe, a cap, and slippers. The emperor asked, ‘Are you a monk?’ The master pointed to his cap. ‘Are you a Daoist?’ The master pointed to his slippers. ‘Are you a layman?’ The master pointed to his robe.
離心非佛。離佛非心。非佛莫測。無所堪任。執空滯寂。於此漂沉。諸佛菩薩。非此安心。明心大士。悟此玄音。身心性妙。用無更改。是故智者。放心自在。莫言心王。空無體性。能使色身。作邪作正。非有非無。隱顯不定。心性離空。能凡能聖。是故相勸。好自防慎。剎那造作。還復漂沉。清淨心智。如世黃金。般若法藏。並在身心。無為法寶。非淺非深。諸佛菩薩。了此本心。有緣遇者。非去來今。有偈曰。夜夜抱佛眠。朝朝還共起。起坐鎮相隨。語默同居止。纖毫不相離。如身影相似。欲識佛去處。秖這語聲是。又曰。空手把鋤頭。步行騎水牛。人從橋上過。橋流水不流。又曰。有物先天地。無形本寂寥。能為萬象主。不逐四時凋。四相偈。曰生．曰老．曰病．曰死。識託浮泡起。生從愛慾來。昔時曾長大。今日復嬰孩。星眼隨人轉。朱唇向乳開。為憐迷覺性。還卻受輪回。覧鏡容顏改。登階氣力衰。咄哉今已老。趨拜復還虧。身似臨崖樹。心如念水龜。尚猶耽有漏。不肯學無為。忽染沉痾疾。因成臥病身。妻兒愁不語。朋友厭相親。楚痛抽千脈。呻吟徹四隣。不知前路險。猶尚恣貪嗔。精魄隨生路。遊魂入死關。秖聞千萬去。不見一人還。寶馬空嘶立。庭華永絕攀。早求無上道。應免四方山。
Apart from mind there is no Buddha; apart from Buddha there is no mind. Buddha cannot be measured, and nothing can serve as its capacity. Clinging to emptiness and stagnating in stillness, one drifts here. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not make this their peace. The great master who understands mind awakens to this mysterious sound. Body and mind have a wondrous nature; their function never changes. Therefore the wise let the mind go and remain at ease. Do not say that the mind-king is empty and without substance: it can make the physical body act rightly or wrongly. Neither existent nor nonexistent, it appears and disappears unpredictably. The nature of mind is apart from emptiness and can be ordinary or holy. Therefore take care and guard yourself. What is made in an instant returns to carry one through the drifting round. The pure mind and wisdom are like gold in the world. The treasury of prajna is in body and mind. The treasure of the unconditioned Dharma is neither shallow nor deep. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas understand this original mind. Whoever meets it through affinity is beyond past, present, and future. A verse says: ‘Night after night I embrace Buddha in sleep; morning after morning I rise with him. Rising and sitting, he always follows me; in speech and silence we dwell together. Not separated by the smallest hair, like a body and its shadow. If you wish to know where Buddha has gone, it is this voice speaking.’ Another says: ‘Empty-handed, grasp the hoe; walking on foot, ride the water buffalo. A person crosses the bridge; the bridge flows, but the water does not.’ Another says: ‘There is something before heaven and earth, formless and originally still. It can be lord of the ten thousand forms and does not wither with the seasons.’ The four-mark verse says: birth, old age, illness, and death. Consciousness relies on a floating bubble and arises from desire. Once it grew large; today it becomes a baby. Starry eyes turn after people, red lips open toward milk. Out of pity for deluded awakening, it again undergoes transmigration. Looking in a mirror, the face changes; climbing stairs, strength declines. Alas, now old, even walking and bowing become difficult. The body is like a tree by a cliff; the mind like a tortoise thinking of water. Still attached to conditioned existence, it will not learn the unconditioned. Suddenly serious illness comes and one lies sick. Wife and children grieve in silence; friends grow tired of drawing near. Pain pulls through every channel, groans reach the neighbors, yet one does not know the danger ahead and still indulges greed and anger. The vital spirit follows the road of birth; the wandering soul enters the gate of death. One hears that thousands depart, but sees no one return. The fine horse stands neighing in vain; courtyard flowers can never again be plucked. Seek the unsurpassed Way early, and you may escape the mountains of the four directions.’
南嶽慧思禪師
Chan Master Huisi of Mount Nanyue
武津李氏子。因誌公令人傳語曰。何不下山教化眾生。目視雲漢作甚麼。師曰。三世諸佛。被我一口吞盡。何處更有眾生可化。示眾曰。道源不遠。性海非遙。但向己求。莫從他覔。覔即不得。得亦不真。偈曰。頓悟心源開寶藏。隱顯靈通現真相。獨行獨坐常巍巍。百億化身無數量。縱令畐塞滿虗空。看時不見微塵相。可笑物兮無比況。口吐明珠光晃晃。尋常見說不思議。一語標名言下當。又曰。天不能葢地不載。無去無來無障礙。無長無短無青黃。不在中間及內外。超群出眾太虗玄。指物傳心人不會。
He was the son of the Li family of Wujin. Master Zhigong once sent him a message: ‘Why do you not descend the mountain to teach and transform beings? Why gaze at the Milky Way?’ The master said, ‘I have swallowed all the Buddhas of the three times in one mouthful. Where are there any beings left to transform?’ He instructed the assembly: ‘The source of the Way is not far, and the sea of nature is not distant. Seek within yourself; do not seek from another. Seeking makes it unobtainable, and what is obtained is not true.’ His verse says: ‘Suddenly awaken to the mind-source and open the treasure store; hidden and manifest, spiritual powers reveal the true form. I walk and sit alone, always majestic; hundreds of millions of transformation bodies are without number. Even if they filled all empty space, when seen there would be no mark of a particle. Laughable is this thing, beyond comparison; it spits out a bright pearl whose light flashes. People commonly call it inconceivable; one phrase gives it a name and settles it at the words.’ He also said: ‘Heaven cannot cover it, earth cannot carry it; it neither comes nor goes and has no obstruction. It is neither long nor short, blue nor yellow, neither in the middle nor inside or outside. It rises beyond the crowd, empty and mysterious; pointing to things and transmitting mind, people do not understand.’
天台山修禪寺智者禪師
Chan Master Zhiyi of Xiuchan Monastery on Mount Tiantai
諱智顗。荊州華容陳氏子。在南嶽誦法華經至藥王品曰。是真精進。是名真法。供養如來。於是悟法華三昧．獲旋陀羅尼。見靈山一會。儼然未散。
His personal name was Yi; he was the son of the Chen family of Huarong, Jingzhou. While reciting the Lotus Sutra on Mount Nanyue, he reached the Medicine King chapter and the words, ‘This is true vigor; this is the true Dharma, an offering to the Tathagata.’ He then awakened to the Lotus samadhi, obtained the Dharani of Revolving Entry, and saw the assembly on Vulture Peak still present and not dispersed.
泗州僧伽大聖
The Great Sage Sengqie of Sizhou
或問。師何姓。師曰。姓何。曰。何國人。師曰。何國人。
Someone asked, ‘What is the master’s surname?’ He said, ‘He.’ Asked, ‘What country are you from?’ he said, ‘The country of He.’
天台山豐幹禪師
Chan Master Fenggan of Mount Tiantai
因寒山問。古鏡未磨時如何照燭。師曰。冰壺無影像。猿猴探水月。曰。此是不照燭也。更請道看。師曰。萬德不將來。教我道甚麼。寒山．拾得俱作禮而退。師欲遊五臺。問寒山．拾得曰。汝共我去遊五臺。便是我同流。若不共我去遊五臺。不是我同流。山曰。你去遊五臺作甚麼。師曰。禮文殊。山曰。你不是我同流。師尋獨入五臺。逢一老人。便問。莫是文殊麼。曰。豈可有二文殊。師作禮未起。忽然不見(趙州代曰。文殊。文殊)。
Hanshan asked, ‘Before an ancient mirror is polished, how does it illuminate?’ The master said, ‘An ice jar has no reflected image; a monkey reaches for the moon in water.’ Hanshan said, ‘That is not illumination. Please say more.’ The master said, ‘The ten thousand virtues do not bring anything; what do you want me to say?’ Hanshan and Shide bowed and withdrew. The master wished to visit the Five Platforms and asked them, ‘If you go with me to the Five Platforms, you are of my stream; if you do not, you are not.’ Hanshan asked, ‘Why go there?’ The master said, ‘To pay respects to Manjushri.’ Hanshan said, ‘Then you are not of my stream.’ The master entered the Five Platforms alone and met an old man. He asked, ‘Could you be Manjushri?’ The old man said, ‘How could there be two Manjushris?’ Before the master had risen from his bow, the old man suddenly disappeared. (Zhaozhou spoke for him: ‘Manjushri, Manjushri.’)
天台山寒山子
Hanshan of Mount Tiantai
因眾僧炙茄次。將茄串向一僧背上打一下。僧回首。山呈起茄串曰。是甚麼。僧曰。這風顛漢。山向傍僧曰。你道這僧費卻我多少鹽醋。因趙州遊天台。路次相逢。山見牛跡。問州曰。上座還識牛麼。州曰。不識。山指牛跡曰。此是五百羅漢遊山。州曰。既是羅漢。為甚麼卻作牛去。山曰。蒼天。蒼天。州呵呵大笑。山曰。作甚麼。州曰。蒼天。蒼天。山曰。這廝兒宛有大人之作。
Once, while the monks were roasting eggplant, he struck a monk’s back with a skewer. The monk turned. Hanshan held up the skewer and asked, ‘What is this?’ The monk said, ‘This madman!’ Hanshan said to a monk beside him, ‘Tell me how much salt and vinegar this monk has cost me.’ When Zhaozhou traveled to Tiantai, they met on the road. Hanshan saw ox tracks and asked, ‘Does the superior seat recognize an ox?’ Zhaozhou said, ‘I do not recognize one.’ Hanshan pointed to the tracks and said, ‘These are the Five Hundred Arhats traveling in the mountains.’ Zhaozhou asked, ‘If they are arhats, why have they become oxen?’ Hanshan said, ‘Heavens, heavens!’ Zhaozhou laughed loudly. Hanshan asked, ‘What are you doing?’ Zhaozhou said, ‘Heavens, heavens!’ Hanshan said, ‘This fellow truly acts like a great person.’