Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Ten
設使了得底。明明得知有去處。尚乃浮逼逼地。師下問首座。適來和尚意作麼生。曰。浮逼逼地。師曰。首座久在此住。頭白齒黃。作這箇語話。曰。上座又作麼生。師曰。要道即得。見即便見。若不見。莫亂道。曰。祇如道浮逼逼地。又作麼生。師曰。頭上著枷。腳下著杻。曰。與麼則無佛法也。師曰。此是文殊普賢大人境界。僧舉灌溪上堂。曰。十方無壁落。四面亦無門。淨躶躶。赤灑灑。沒可把。師曰。舉即易。出也大難。曰。上座不肯和尚與麼道那。師曰。你適來與麼舉那。曰。是。師曰。你驢年夢見灌溪。曰。某甲話在。師曰。我問你。十方無壁落。四面亦無門。你道大梵天王與帝釋天商量甚麼事。曰。豈幹他事。師喝曰。逐隊吃飯漢。師到江州。有陳尚書者請齋。才見便問。儒書中即不問。三乘十二分教自有座主。作麼生是衲僧行腳事。師曰。曾問幾人來。書曰。即今問上座。師曰。即今且置。作麼生是教意。書曰。黃卷赤軸。師曰。這箇是文字語言。作麼生是教意。書曰。口欲談而辭喪。心欲緣而慮忘。師曰。口欲談而辭喪。為對有言。心欲緣而慮忘。為對妄想。作麼生是教意。書無語。師曰。見說尚書看法華經。是否。書曰。是。師曰。經中道。一切治生產業。皆與實相不相違背。且道非非想天。有幾人退位。書無語。師曰。尚書且莫草草。三經五論。師僧拋卻。特入叢林。十年二十年。尚不奈何。尚書又爭得會。書禮拜曰。某甲罪過。師唱道。靈樹雲門。凡三十載。機緣語句。備載廣錄。以乾和七年己酉四月十日。順寂。塔全身於方丈。後十七載。示夢阮紹莊曰。與吾寄語秀華宮使特進李托。奏請開塔。遂致奉勑迎請內庭供養。逾月方還。因改寺為大覺。諡大慈雲𭅕真弘明禪師。
'Even one who has finished, who clearly knows there is a place to go, is still floating and pressing.' The Master came down and asked the prior: 'What was the Master's meaning just now?' He said: 'Floating and pressing.' The Master said: 'You have lived here long, Prior — head white, teeth yellow — and you speak such words.' He said: 'What about you, Reverend?' The Master said: 'If I want to speak, I can; seeing, I see at once; if I do not see, I do not speak wildly.' He said: 'Take the words floating and pressing — what then?' The Master said: 'A cangue on the head, fetters on the feet.' He said: 'Then there is no buddhadharma.' The Master said: 'This is the realm of the great beings Manjushri and Samantabhadra.' A monk brought up Guanxi's mounting the hall: 'The ten directions have no wall or fence, the four sides have no gate either; clean naked, bare and free, nothing to grasp.' The Master said: 'To bring it up is easy; to get out is very hard.' He said: 'Does the Reverend not accept the Master's speaking thus?' The Master said: 'Did you bring it up thus just now?' He said: 'Yes.' The Master said: 'In the year of the donkey you will dream of Guanxi.' He said: 'My words remain.' The Master said: 'I ask you: the ten directions have no wall or fence, the four sides have no gate either — what do you say Great Brahma and Indra are deliberating?' He said: 'How does that concern them?' The Master shouted: 'A fellow who follows the herd to eat!' The Master went to Jiangzhou. A Minister Chen invited him to a meal. As soon as he saw him he asked: 'Of the Confucian books I will not ask; the three vehicles and twelve divisions of teaching have their own masters. What is the pilgrimage matter of a patch-robed monk?' The Master said: 'How many people have you asked before?' The Minister said: 'I ask you now, Reverend.' The Master said: 'Set aside now — what is the meaning of the teaching?' The Minister said: 'Yellow scrolls and red rollers.' The Master said: 'That is written words and language. What is the meaning of the teaching?' The Minister said: 'When the mouth would speak, the words are lost; when the mind would reach, thought is forgotten.' The Master said: 'When the mouth would speak and the words are lost, that is against having words. When the mind would reach and thought is forgotten, that is against deluded thinking. What is the meaning of the teaching?' The Minister had no reply. The Master said: 'I hear the Minister reads the Lotus Sutra — is that so?' The Minister said: 'It is.' The Master said: 'The sutra says: all works of governing and livelihood do not contradict the true mark. Now tell me: in the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception, how many men have fallen from their rank?' The Minister had no reply. The Master said: 'Minister, do not be careless. Monks cast aside the three sutras and five treatises and enter the monasteries, and for ten or twenty years still cannot manage it — how then shall the Minister understand it?' The Minister bowed and said: 'I am at fault.' The Master proclaimed the Way at Lingshu and Yunmen for thirty years in all. His opportunities and sayings are fully recorded in the Guanglu. On the tenth day of the fourth month of the jiyou year, the seventh year of Ganhe, he passed away peacefully, and his whole body was enshrined in a stupa at the abbot's quarters. Seventeen years later he appeared in a dream to Ruan Shaozhuang and said: 'Give my words to Li Tuo, the special advanced envoy of the Xiuhua Palace, and memorialize the throne to open the stupa.' Thereupon an imperial order was issued and his remains were welcomed into the inner court for offering, and only after a month were they returned. The monastery was accordingly renamed Dajue, and he was given the posthumous title Chan Master Daci Yunkuang Zhen Hongming.
青原下七世
The seventh generation below Qingyuan
雲門偃禪師法嗣
Dharma heirs of Chan Master Yunmen Yan
韶州白雲子祥實性大師
Great Master Shixing, Zixiang of Baiyun, Shaozhou
初住慈光院。廣主召入府說法。時有僧問。覺華才綻。正遇明時。不昧宗風。乞師方便。師曰。我王有令。問。祖意教意。是同是別。師曰。不別。曰。恁麼則同也。師曰。不妨領話。問。諸佛出世。普徧大千。白雲一會。如何舉揚。師曰。賺卻幾人來。曰。恁麼則四眾何依。師曰。沒交涉。問。即心即佛。示誨之辭。不涉前言。如何指教。師曰。東西且置。南北作麼生。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。石橋那畔有。這邊無。會麼。曰。不會。師曰。且作丁公吟。問。衣到六祖。為甚麼不傳。師曰。海晏河清。問。從上宗乘。如何舉揚。師曰。今日未吃茶。上堂。諸人會麼。但向街頭市尾．屠兒魁劊．地獄鑊湯處會取。若恁麼會得。堪與人天為師。若向衲僧門下。天地懸殊。更有一般底。祇向長連床上作好人去。汝道此兩般人。那箇有長處。無事。珍重。問僧。甚麼處來。曰。雲門來。師曰。裡許有多少水牛。曰。一箇兩箇。師曰。好水牛。問僧。不壞假名而談實相。作麼生。僧指倚子曰。這箇是倚子。師以手撥倚曰。與我將鞋袋來。僧無對。師曰。這虗頭漢(雲門聞。乃雲。須是我祥兄始得)。師將示滅。白眾曰。某甲雖提祖印。未盡其中事。諸仁者且道其中事作麼生。莫是無邊中間內外已否。若如是會。即大地如鋪沙。良久曰。去此即他方相見。言訖而寂。
He first resided at Ciguang Monastery. The ruler of Guang summoned him into his residence to preach. Then a monk asked: 'The enlightenment flower has just opened and meets the bright hour; may the Master, without obscuring the school's style, grant skillful means.' The Master said: 'My king has an order.' He asked: 'The patriarch's meaning and the teaching's meaning — same or different?' The Master said: 'Not different.' He said: 'Then they are the same.' The Master said: 'You may as well take the words.' He asked: 'The buddhas appear in the world throughout the great thousand worlds; at the one assembly of Baiyun, how is it proclaimed?' The Master said: 'How many people has it cheated?' He said: 'Then on what do the four assemblies rely?' The Master said: 'No connection.' He asked: 'Mind itself is buddha — that is a word of instruction. Setting aside former words, how do you point and teach?' The Master said: 'Set aside east and west — what about north and south?' He asked: 'What is the Master's family style?' The Master said: 'On the far side of the stone bridge there is; on this side there is not. Do you understand?' He said: 'I do not.' The Master said: 'Then make the song of Lord Ding.' He asked: 'The robe reached the Sixth Patriarch — why was it not transmitted?' The Master said: 'The seas are calm and the rivers clear.' He asked: 'The ancestral vehicle from of old — how is it proclaimed?' The Master said: 'Today I have not yet drunk tea.' He mounted the hall: 'Do you people understand? Just understand it at the street corners and market ends, among butchers and executioners, in the hell of boiling cauldrons. If you understand it thus, you are fit to be a teacher of gods and men. But at the gate of a patch-robed monk, heaven and earth are far apart. There is another sort who only go to be good men on the long meditation bench. Tell me, of these two sorts, which has the advantage?' Nothing more. Take care. He asked a monk: 'Where do you come from?' He said: 'From Yunmen.' The Master said: 'How many water buffalo are there in there?' He said: 'One or two.' The Master said: 'Good water buffalo.' He asked a monk: 'Without destroying the provisional name, to speak of the true mark — what then?' The monk pointed to a chair and said: 'This is a chair.' The Master pushed the chair with his hand and said: 'Bring me my shoe bag.' The monk had no reply. The Master said: 'This empty-headed fellow.' (When Yunmen heard of it he said: 'It would have to be my brother Xiang.') When the Master was about to pass away he told the assembly: 'Though I have held up the patriarch's seal, I have not exhausted the matter within it. Good people, tell me, what is the matter within it? Is it not that there is no edge, no middle, no inside or outside? If you understand it thus, then the great earth is like spread sand.' After a long while he said: 'Leaving this place, we meet in another region.' When the words were done he passed away.
鼎州德山緣密圓明禪師
Chan Master Yuanming of Deshan Yuanmi, Dingzhou
上堂。僧堂前事。時人知有。佛殿後事作麼生。上堂。我有三句語示汝諸人。一句函葢乾坤。一句截斷眾流。一句隨波逐浪。作麼生辯。若辯得出。有參學分。若辯不出。長安路上輥輥地。僧問。如何是透法身句。師曰。三尺杖子攪黃河。問。百花未發時如何。師曰。黃河渾底流。曰。發後如何。師曰。幡竿頭指天。問。不犯辭鋒時如何。師曰。天台南嶽。曰。便恁麼去時如何。師曰。江西湖南。問。佛未出世時如何。師曰。河裡盡是木頭船。曰。出世後如何。師曰。這頭蹋著那頭掀。上堂。與麼來者。現成公案。不與麼來者。垛生招箭。總不與麼來者。徐六擔板。迅速鋒鋩。猶是鈍漢。萬裡無雲。青天猶在。上堂。但參活句。莫參死句。活句下薦得。永劫無滯。一塵一佛國。一葉一釋迦。是死句。揚眉瞬目。舉指竪拂。是死句。山河大地。更無誵訛。是死句。時有僧問。如何是活句。師曰。波斯仰面看。曰。恁麼則不謬去也。師便打。上堂。舉臨濟示眾曰。恁麼來者。恰似失卻。不恁麼來者。無繩自縛。十二時中。莫亂斟酌。會與不會。都盧是錯。分明與麼道。一任天下人貶剝。師曰。古鏡濶一丈。屋梁長三尺。是汝缽盂鐼子濶多少。上堂。俱胝和尚。凡有扣問。祇竪一指。寒則普天寒。熱則普天熱。僧問。己事未明。如何辯得。師曰。須彌山頂上。曰。便恁麼去時如何。師曰。腳下水淺深。問。達磨未來時如何。師曰。千年松倒掛。曰。來後如何。師曰。金剛努起拳。問。師未出世時如何。師曰。佛殿正南開。曰。出世後如何。師曰。白雲山上起。曰。出與未出。還分不分。師曰。靜處薩婆訶。問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。南山起雲。北山下雨。問。如何是應用之機。師喝。僧曰。祇這箇。為復別有。師便打。問。大用現前。不存軌則時如何。師曰。黑地打破甕。僧退步。師便打。問。
He mounted the hall: 'The matter before the monks' hall — people nowadays know of it. What about the matter behind the buddha hall?' He mounted the hall: 'I have three phrases to show you people. One phrase encompasses heaven and earth, one phrase cuts off the stream of the multitude, one phrase follows the waves and chases the billows. How will you distinguish them? If you can distinguish them, you have a share in study; if you cannot, you will roll along the road to Chang'an.' A monk asked: 'What is the phrase that penetrates the dharma body?' The Master said: 'A three-foot staff stirs the Yellow River.' He asked: 'What about before the hundred flowers open?' The Master said: 'The Yellow River flows muddy to the bottom.' He said: 'And after they open?' The Master said: 'The tip of the banner pole points at heaven.' He asked: 'What about when one does not trespass on the edge of words?' The Master said: 'Tiantai and Nanyue.' He said: 'What if one goes along just so?' The Master said: 'Jiangxi and Hunan.' He asked: 'What about before the buddha appeared in the world?' The Master said: 'The river is full of wooden boats.' He said: 'And after he appeared?' The Master said: 'Step on this end and that end lifts.' He mounted the hall: 'One who comes thus — the case is already settled. One who does not come thus — a target set up draws arrows. One who comes neither way — Xu the Sixth carrying a plank. Even a swift blade's edge is still a dull fellow; with not a cloud in ten thousand li, the blue sky is still there.' He mounted the hall: 'Only study the living phrase, do not study the dead phrase. If you can grasp it under a living phrase, for kalpas without end you will not be stuck. One mote, one buddha land; one leaf, one Shakyamuni — that is a dead phrase. Raising the eyebrows and blinking, lifting a finger and holding up a whisk — that is a dead phrase. Mountains, rivers and the great earth, with no error at all — that is a dead phrase.' Then a monk asked: 'What is the living phrase?' The Master said: 'The Persian looks up.' He said: 'Then one does not go astray.' The Master struck him. He mounted the hall and brought up Linji's address to the assembly: 'One who comes thus is as if he had lost it; one who does not come thus binds himself without a rope. Through the twelve hours do not deliberate wildly. Understanding and not understanding are both alike wrong. Speaking thus plainly, I let the whole world criticize and strip me.' The Master said: 'The ancient mirror is ten feet wide, the roof beam three feet long. How wide is your bowl and basin?' He mounted the hall: 'Whenever Elder Juzhi was questioned, he only held up one finger. Cold, then the whole heaven is cold; hot, then the whole heaven is hot.' A monk asked: 'My own matter is not yet clear — how can I distinguish it?' The Master said: 'On the summit of Mount Sumeru.' He said: 'What if one goes along just so?' The Master said: 'The water beneath your feet, shallow or deep.' He asked: 'What about before Bodhidharma came?' The Master said: 'A thousand-year pine hanging upside down.' He said: 'And after he came?' The Master said: 'A diamond deity clenching its fist.' He asked: 'What about before the Master appeared in the world?' The Master said: 'The buddha hall opens due south.' He said: 'And after he appeared?' The Master said: 'It rises on Baiyun Mountain.' He said: 'Appearing and not appearing — is there still a distinction?' The Master said: 'In the still place, svaha.' He asked: 'What is the Master's family style?' The Master said: 'South Mountain raises clouds, North Mountain rains.' He asked: 'What is the working of responsive function?' The Master shouted. The monk said: 'Is it only this, or is there something else?' The Master struck him. He asked: 'What about when the great function appears before one and no rule is kept?' The Master said: 'Breaking a jar in the dark.' The monk stepped back. The Master struck him.
佛未出世時如何。師曰。猢猻繫露柱。曰。出世後如何。師曰。猢猻入布袋。問。文殊與維摩對談何事。師曰。並汝三人。無繩自縛。問。如何是佛。師曰。滿目荒榛。曰。學人不會。師曰。勞而無功。問。盡大地致一問不得時如何。師曰。話墮也。曰。大眾總見。師便打。問。無蹤無跡是甚麼人行履。師曰。偷牛賊。問。羺羊未掛角時如何。師曰。獵屎狗。曰。掛後如何。師曰。獵屎狗。問。牛頭未見四祖時如何。師曰。秋來黃葉落。曰。見後如何。師曰。春來草自青。
He asked: 'What about before the buddha appeared in the world?' The Master said: 'A monkey tied to an exposed pillar.' He said: 'And after he appeared?' The Master said: 'A monkey into a cloth bag.' He asked: 'What did Manjushri and Vimalakirti discuss together?' The Master said: 'You three together bind yourselves without a rope.' He asked: 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said: 'Eyes full of tangled brush.' He said: 'This student does not understand.' The Master said: 'Toil without merit.' He asked: 'What about when one cannot raise a single question of the whole great earth?' The Master said: 'Your words have fallen.' He said: 'The whole assembly sees it.' The Master struck him. He asked: 'Whose walking is without trace or track?' The Master said: 'A cattle thief.' He asked: 'What about before the sheep hangs its horns?' The Master said: 'A dung-hunting dog.' He said: 'And after hanging them?' The Master said: 'A dung-hunting dog.' He asked: 'What about before Niutou met the Fourth Patriarch?' The Master said: 'When autumn comes the yellow leaves fall.' He said: 'And after meeting?' The Master said: 'When spring comes the grass turns green of itself.'
嶽州巴陵新開院顥鑒禪師
Chan Master Haojian of the Xin Kai Monastery, Baling, Yuezhou
初到雲門。門曰。雪峰和尚道。開卻門達磨來也。我問你作麼生。師曰。築著和尚鼻孔。門曰。地神惡發。把須彌山一摑𨁝跳上梵天。拶破帝釋鼻孔。你為甚麼向日本國裡藏身。師曰。和尚莫瞞人好。門曰。築著老僧鼻孔。又作麼生。師無語。門曰。將知你祇是學語之流。師住後。更不作法嗣書。祇將三轉語上雲門。僧問。如何是道。師曰。明眼人落井。問。如何是吹毛劒。師曰。珊瑚枝枝撐著月。問。如何是提婆宗。師曰。銀椀裡盛雪。門曰。他後老僧忌日。祇消舉此三轉語。足以報恩。自後忌辰。果如所囑。僧問。祖意教意。是同是別。師曰。鷄寒上樹。鴨寒下水。問。三乘十二分教即不疑。如何是宗門中事。師曰。不是衲僧分上事。曰。如何是衲僧分上事。師曰。貪觀白浪。失卻手橈。問僧。遊山來。為佛法來。曰。清平世界。說甚麼佛法。師曰。好箇無事禪客。曰。早是多事了也。師曰。上座去年在此過夏了。曰。不曾。師曰。與麼。則先來不相識。下去。師將拂子遺僧。僧曰。本來清淨。用拂子作甚麼。師曰。既知清淨。切勿忘卻。(梁山觀別雲。也須排卻)。
When he first arrived at Yunmen, Men said: 'Xuefeng said: Open the gate — Bodhidharma has come. I ask you, what then?' The Master said: 'It butts against the Master's nostrils.' Men said: 'The earth spirit flew into a rage, gave Mount Sumeru a slap, jumped up to the Brahma heaven, and crushed Indra's nostrils. Why do you hide your body in the land of Japan?' The Master said: 'Master, please do not deceive people.' Men said: 'It butts against this old monk's nostrils — what then?' The Master was speechless. Men said: 'Now I know you are just the sort who studies words.' After the Master took up residence, he never wrote a letter of dharma succession; he only sent three turning phrases up to Yunmen. A monk asked: 'What is the Way?' The Master said: 'A clear-eyed man falls into a well.' He asked: 'What is the sword that blows off hair?' The Master said: 'Each branch of coral props up the moon.' He asked: 'What is the school of Deva?' The Master said: 'Snow held in a silver bowl.' Men said: 'Afterward, on this old monk's memorial day, it is enough to bring up these three turning phrases — that will repay my kindness.' Thereafter, on the memorial day, it was indeed as he had instructed. A monk asked: 'The patriarch's meaning and the teaching's meaning — same or different?' The Master said: 'When the chicken is cold it goes up the tree; when the duck is cold it goes down to the water.' He asked: 'Of the three vehicles and twelve divisions of teaching I have no doubt; what is the matter within the school?' The Master said: 'It is not the share of a patch-robed monk.' He said: 'What is the share of a patch-robed monk?' The Master said: 'Coveting the sight of white waves, one loses the oar in one's hand.' He asked a monk: 'Have you come to tour the mountains or for the buddhadharma?' He said: 'In a peaceful world, what buddhadharma is there to speak of?' The Master said: 'A fine Chan guest with nothing to do.' He said: 'Already that is too much business.' The Master said: 'You spent last summer here, Reverend.' He said: 'I did not.' The Master said: 'Then we did not know each other before. Go down.' The Master gave his fly whisk to a monk. The monk said: 'Originally pure — what is the use of a fly whisk?' The Master said: 'Since you know it is pure, by no means forget it.' (Liangshan Guan said otherwise: 'You must still push it aside.')
隨州雙泉山師寬明教禪師
Chan Master Shikuan Mingjiao of Shuangquan Mountain, Suizhou
上堂。舉拂子曰。這箇接中下之人。時有僧問。上上人來時如何。師曰。打鼓為三軍。問。向上宗乘如何舉唱。師曰。不敢。曰。恁麼則含生有望。師曰。腳下水深淺。問。凡有言句。盡落有無。不落有無時如何。師曰。東弗於逮。曰。這箇猶落有無。師曰。支過雪山西。僧問洞山初和尚。如何是佛。山曰。麻三斤。師聞之。乃曰。向南有竹。向北有木。問。不可以智知。不可以識識時如何。師曰。不入這箇野狐群隊。問。如何是定。師曰。鰕跳不出鬥。曰。如何出得去。師曰。南山起雲。北山下雨。問。北斗裡藏身。意旨如何。師曰。鷄寒上樹。鴨寒下水。問。竪起杖子。意旨如何。師曰。一葉落知天下秋。師遊山回。首座同眾出接。座曰。和尚遊山。巇嶮不易。師提起拄杖曰。全得這箇力。座乃奪卻。師放身便倒。大眾皆進前扶起。師拈拄杖。一時趂散。回顧侍者曰。向道全得這箇力。師一日訪白兆。兆曰。老僧有箇木魚頌。師曰。請舉看。兆曰。伏惟爛木一橛。佛與眾生不別。若以杖子擊著。直得聖凡路絕。師曰。此頌有成褫無成褫。兆曰。無成褫。師曰。佛與眾生不別。聻。侍僧救曰。有成褫。師曰。直得聖凡路絕。聻。當時白兆一眾失色。僧問。新年頭還有佛法也無。師曰。無。曰。日日是好日。年年是好年。為甚卻無。師曰。張公吃酒李公醉。僧曰。老老大大。龍頭蛇尾。師曰。明教今日失利。
He mounted the hall, held up his fly whisk and said: 'This receives men of middle and lesser capacity.' Then a monk asked: 'What about when a man of the highest capacity comes?' The Master said: 'Beating the drum for the three armies.' He asked: 'The vehicle that goes beyond — how is it proclaimed?' The Master said: 'I dare not.' He said: 'Then beings have hope.' The Master said: 'The water beneath your feet, shallow or deep.' He asked: 'Whatever has words and phrases all falls into existence or nonexistence. What about when it falls into neither?' The Master said: 'Purvavideha.' He said: 'That still falls into existence and nonexistence.' The Master said: 'Branching past the west of the Snowy Mountains.' A monk asked Elder Chushan of Dongshan: 'What is the Buddha?' Shan said: 'Three catties of hemp.' When the Master heard of it he said: 'Southward there is bamboo; northward there is wood.' He asked: 'What about when it cannot be known by wisdom nor recognized by consciousness?' The Master said: 'Do not enter that pack of wild foxes.' He asked: 'What is samadhi?' The Master said: 'A shrimp cannot jump out of the peck.' He said: 'How does one get out?' The Master said: 'South Mountain raises clouds, North Mountain rains.' He asked: 'What is the meaning of hiding the body in the North Dipper?' The Master said: 'When the chicken is cold it goes up the tree; when the duck is cold it goes down to the water.' He asked: 'What is the meaning of holding up the staff?' The Master said: 'One leaf falls and one knows autumn is in the world.' When the Master returned from touring the mountains, the prior and the assembly came out to receive him. The prior said: 'The Master has toured the mountains; the steep and dangerous ways were no easy matter.' The Master lifted his staff and said: 'I got the whole way on the strength of this.' The prior then snatched it away. The Master let himself fall flat. The whole assembly came forward to raise him up. The Master picked up his staff and chased them all away, then turned to look at his attendant and said: 'I told you — I got the whole way on the strength of this.' One day the Master visited Baizhao. Zhao said: 'This old monk has a verse on the wooden fish.' The Master said: 'Please bring it up.' Zhao said: 'Reverently: a single clod of rotten wood, in which buddha and sentient beings are not different. If you strike it with a staff, the road of sage and ordinary is cut off outright.' The Master said: 'Does this verse have accomplishment or no accomplishment?' Zhao said: 'No accomplishment.' The Master said: 'Buddha and sentient beings are not different — well?' The attendant monk came to the rescue and said: 'It has accomplishment.' The Master said: 'The road of sage and ordinary is cut off outright — well?' At that time the whole assembly of Baizhao changed color. A monk asked: 'At the head of the new year, is there still buddhadharma?' The Master said: 'No.' He said: 'Every day is a good day, every year a good year — why is there none?' The Master said: 'Zhang drinks the wine and Li gets drunk.' The monk said: 'Old as you are, a dragon's head and a snake's tail.' The Master said: 'Mingjiao has lost the advantage today.'
益州青城香林院澄遠禪師
Chan Master Chengyuan of the Xianglin Monastery of Qingcheng, Yizhou
漢州綿竹人。姓上官。在眾日。普請鉏草次。有一僧曰。看。俗家失火。師曰。那裡火。曰。不見那。師曰。不見。曰。這瞎漢。是時一眾皆言遠上座敗闕。後明教寬聞舉。歎曰。須是我遠兄始得。住後。僧問。美味醍醐。為甚麼變成毒藥。師曰。導江紙貴。問。見色便見心時如何。師曰。適來甚麼處去來。曰。心境俱忘時如何。師曰。開眼坐睡。問。北斗裡藏身。意旨如何。師曰。月似彎弓。少雨多風。問。如何是諸佛心。師曰。清則始終清。曰。如何領會。師曰。莫受人謾好。問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。踏步者誰。問。如何是和尚妙藥。師曰。不離眾味。曰。吃者如何。師曰。唼㗖看。問。如何是室內一盌燈。師曰。三人證龜成鼈。問。如何是衲衣下事。師曰。臘月火燒山。問。大眾雲集。請師施設。師曰。三不待兩。問。如何是學人時中事。師曰。恰恰。問。如何是玄。師曰。今日來。明日去。曰。如何是玄中玄。師曰。長連床上。問。如何是香林一脈泉。師曰。念無間斷。曰。飲者如何。師曰。隨方鬥秤。問。如何是衲僧正眼。師曰。不分別。曰。照用事如何。師曰。行路人失腳。問。萬機俱泯跡。方識本來人時如何。師曰。清機自顯。曰。恁麼則不別人。師曰。方見本來人。問。魚遊陸地時如何。師曰。發言必有後救。曰。卻下碧潭時如何。師曰。頭重尾輕。問。但有言句盡是賓。如何是主。師曰。長安城裡。曰。如何領會。師曰。千家萬戶。問。如何是西來的的意。師曰。坐久成勞。曰。便回轉時如何。師曰。墮落深坑。問。如何是無縫塔。師曰。合掌當胷。曰。如何是塔中人。師曰。露也。問。教法未來時如何。師曰。閻羅天子。曰。來後如何。師曰。大宋國裡。問。一子出家。九族解脫。目連為甚麼母入地獄。師曰。確。問。如何是平常心。師曰。早朝不審。晚後珍重。上堂。
He was a man of Mianzhu in Hanzhou, of the Shangguan family. In the assembly one day, when they were weeding the grass at communal work, a monk said, 'Look, a layman's house is on fire.' The Master said, 'Where is the fire?' The monk said, 'Do you not see it?' The Master said, 'I do not see it.' The monk said, 'This blind fellow.' At that time the whole assembly said that Elder Yuan had failed. Later Master Mingjiao Kuan heard it brought up and sighed, saying, 'It had to be my brother Yuan.' After he took up residence, a monk asked, 'The excellent taste of ghee — why does it turn into poison?' The Master said, 'Paper is dear in Daojiang.' He asked, 'When one sees form and so sees the mind, how is it?' The Master said, 'Where have you just been?' He said, 'When mind and realm are both forgotten, how is it?' The Master said, 'Eyes open, sitting asleep.' He asked, 'What is the meaning of hiding the body within the Big Dipper?' The Master said, 'The moon is like a bent bow: little rain, much wind.' He asked, 'What is the mind of all the Buddhas?' The Master said, 'If clear, then clear from beginning to end.' He said, 'How does one understand it?' The Master said, 'Best not be deceived by others.' He asked, 'What is the Ancestor's meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Who is it that walks the steps?' He asked, 'What is the Reverend's wonderful medicine?' The Master said, 'It never departs from the flavors of the crowd.' He said, 'How is it for the one who eats it?' The Master said, 'Try pecking at it.' He asked, 'What is the single bowl of lamp within the room?' The Master said, 'Three men prove a turtle to be a soft-shelled turtle.' He asked, 'What is the matter beneath the robe?' The Master said, 'In the twelfth month, fire burns the mountain.' He asked, 'The great assembly gathers like clouds — I beg the Master to set it out.' The Master said, 'The three do not wait for the two.' He asked, 'What is the student's matter within the hour?' The Master said, 'Exactly so.' He asked, 'What is the profound?' The Master said, 'Coming today, going tomorrow.' He said, 'What is the profound within the profound?' The Master said, 'On the long meditation bench.' He asked, 'What is the single vein of spring at Xianglin?' The Master said, 'Thought without interruption.' He said, 'How is it for the one who drinks?' The Master said, 'A measure and scale for each region.' He asked, 'What is the patch-robed monk's true eye?' The Master said, 'Not discriminating.' He said, 'How is the matter of illumination and function?' The Master said, 'The traveler loses his footing.' He asked, 'When the ten thousand mechanisms are all stilled and the original man is first recognized, how is it?' The Master said, 'The clear mechanism shows itself of itself.' He said, 'If so, then he is no different from others.' The Master said, 'Then you first see the original man.' He asked, 'What is it when a fish swims on dry land?' The Master said, 'When one speaks, there must be a later rescue.' He said, 'What about when it goes back down into the jade-green pool?' The Master said, 'Heavy head, light tail.' He asked, 'All that has words and phrases is the guest — what is the host?' The Master said, 'Within the city of Chang'an.' He said, 'How does one understand it?' The Master said, 'A thousand gates and ten thousand households.' He asked, 'What is the exact meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said, 'Sitting long brings weariness.' He said, 'What about turning back at once?' The Master said, 'You fall into a deep pit.' He asked, 'What is the seamless stupa?' The Master said, 'Palms joined on the breast.' He said, 'Who is the man within the stupa?' The Master said, 'He is exposed.' He asked, 'What was it before the teaching came?' The Master said, 'King Yama.' He said, 'And after it came?' The Master said, 'Within the land of the Great Song.' He asked, 'When one son leaves home, nine clans are liberated — why did Maudgalyayana's mother enter hell?' The Master said, 'Certain.' He asked, 'What is the ordinary mind?' The Master said, 'In the morning, greetings; in the evening, take care.' Ascending the hall.
是汝諸人。盡是擔缽囊。向外行腳。還識得性也未。若識得。試出來道看。若識不得。祇是被人熱謾將去。且問汝諸人。是汝參學日久。用心掃地煎茶。遊山翫水。汝且釘釘。喚甚麼作自性。諸人且道。始終不變不異。無高無下。無好無醜。不生不滅。究竟歸於何處。諸人還知得下落所在也未。若於這裡知得所在。是諸佛解脫法門。悟道見性。始終不疑不慮。一任橫行。一切人不奈汝何。出言吐氣。實有來處。如人買田。須是收得元本契書。若不得他元本契書。終是不穩。遮莫經官判狀。亦是不得。其奈不收得元本契書。終是被人奪卻。汝等諸人。參禪學道。亦復如是。還有人收得元本契書麼。試拈出看。汝且喚甚麼作元本契書。諸人試道看。若是靈利底。才聞與麼說著。便知去處。若不知去處。向外邊學得千般巧妙。記持解會。口似傾河。終不究竟。與汝自己天地差殊。且去衣缽下體當尋覓看。若有箇見處。上來這裡道看。老僧與汝證明。若覓不得。且依行隊去。將示寂。辭知府宋公璫曰。老僧行腳去。通判曰。這僧風狂。八十歲行腳去那裡。宋曰。大善知識。去住自由。師謂眾曰。老僧四十年。方打成一片。言訖而逝。塔於本山。
'You people all carry your bowls and bags and go pilgrimaging abroad. Have you recognized your nature or not? If you have recognized it, try coming out and speaking. If you have not recognized it, you are merely being taken in by others' flattery. And I ask you people: have you studied long? You apply your minds to sweeping the ground and boiling tea, to roaming the mountains and playing in the water. You should be firm. What do you call your own nature? Tell me, you people: that which from beginning to end does not change or differ, has no high or low, no fair or ugly, is not born and does not die — where does it finally return? Do you people know where it comes down? If you know the place here, that is the Buddhas' gate of liberation. Awakening to the Way and seeing the nature, from beginning to end without doubt or deliberation, you may go about at will, and no one can do anything to you. Your words and breath have a real source. It is like a man buying farmland: he must obtain the original deed. If he does not obtain the original deed, in the end it is not secure; even if the matter goes to court and a judgment is given, it is still no use, because the original deed was not obtained and in the end he will be dispossessed. You people who study Chan and learn the Way are also like this. Is there anyone who has obtained the original deed? Try bringing it out. What do you call the original deed? Try to say, all of you. If you are sharp, the moment you hear this said you know where to go. If you do not know where to go, then though you learn a thousand kinds of cleverness outside, remember and understand them, and your mouth pours like a river, in the end it is not final; it is as far apart from your own heaven and earth as can be. Go and search and experience it beneath your robe and bowl. If you have a place of seeing, come up here and say it and I will certify you. If you cannot find it, then follow the ranks and go.' When he was about to pass away, he took leave of the prefect Song Dang, saying, 'This old monk is going on pilgrimage.' The assistant prefect said, 'This monk is mad — going on pilgrimage at eighty, and to what place?' Song said, 'A great good friend goes and stays freely.' The Master said to the assembly, 'This old monk took forty years before he could beat it into one piece.' Having said this he passed away, and a stupa was built on this mountain.
襄州洞山守初宗慧禪師
Chan Master Shouchu Zonghui of Dongshan in Xiangzhou
初參雲門。門問。近離甚處。師曰。查渡。門曰。夏在甚處。師曰。湖南報慈。曰。幾時離彼。師曰。八月二十五。門曰。放汝三頓棒。師至明日。卻上問訊。昨日蒙和尚放三頓棒。不知過在甚麼處。門曰。飯袋子。江西湖南便恁麼去。師於言下大悟。遂曰。他後向無人煙處。不蓄一粒米。不種一莖菜。接待十方往來。盡與伊抽釘㧞楔。拈卻炙脂帽子。脫卻鶻臭布衫。教伊灑灑地。作個無事衲僧。豈不快哉。門曰。你身如椰子大。開得如許大口。師便禮拜。住後上堂。言無展事。語不投機。承言者喪。滯句者迷。還得麼。你衲僧分上。到這裡須具擇法眼始得。祇如洞山恁麼道。也有一場過。且道過在甚麼處。僧問。迢迢一路時如何。師曰。天晴不肯去。直待雨淋頭。曰。諸聖作麼生。師曰。入泥入水。問。心未生時。法在甚麼處。師曰。風吹荷葉動。決定有魚行。問。師登師子座。請師唱道情。師曰。晴乾開水道。無事設曹司。曰。恁麼則謝師指示。師曰。賣鞋老婆腳䟐(郎擊切)趚(七亦切)。問。如何是三寶。師曰。商量不下。問。如何是無縫塔。師曰。十字街頭石師子。問僧。甚處來。曰。汝州。師曰。此去多少。曰。七百里。師曰。踏破幾緉草鞋。曰。三緉。師曰。甚處得錢買。曰。打笠子。師曰。參堂去。僧應喏。問。如何是免得生死底法。師曰。見之不取。思之三年。僧問。離卻心機意識。請師一句。師曰。道士著黃甕裡坐。問。非時親覲。請師一句。師曰。對眾怎生舉。曰。據現定舉。師曰。放汝三十棒。曰。過在甚麼處。師曰。罪不重科。問。如何是佛。師曰。麻三斤。問。蓮華未出水時如何。師曰。楚山頭倒卓。曰。出水後如何。師曰。漢水正東流。問。如何是吹毛劒。師曰。金州客。曰。用者如何。師曰。伏惟尚饗。問。車住牛不住時如何。師曰。用駕車漢作麼。問。
He first studied under Yunmen. Yunmen asked, 'How far away did you just come from?' The Master said, 'Chadu.' Yunmen said, 'Where did you spend the summer?' The Master said, 'Baoci in Hunan.' He said, 'When did you leave there?' The Master said, 'The twenty-fifth of the eighth month.' Yunmen said, 'I let you off three blows.' The next day the Master went up to pay his respects and said, 'Yesterday I was let off three blows by the Reverend, but I do not know wherein my fault lay.' Yunmen said, 'Rice bag! Going on like that from Jiangxi to Hunan!' The Master was greatly awakened at these words, and said, 'Later, in a place where no smoke rises from chimneys, I will store not a single grain of rice and plant not a single stalk of vegetables, and receive those who come and go from the ten directions, and for all of them pull out the nails and draw out the wedges, take off the greasy hat, strip off the stinking hawk-smelling cloth shirt, and let them be clean and free, patch-robed monks with nothing to do. Would that not be delightful?' Yunmen said, 'Your body is only as big as a coconut, yet you open such a big mouth.' The Master bowed. After taking up residence he ascended the hall: 'Words have no unfolding matter; speech does not hit the mark. He who receives words perishes; he who sticks to phrases is lost. Do you understand? In the patch-robed monk's own share, when you get here you must have the eye that selects the Dharma. Even speaking as Dongshan does, there is still a fault. Tell me, wherein lies the fault?' A monk asked, 'What about the long, long road?' The Master said, 'On a clear day he will not go; he waits for the rain to soak his head.' He said, 'How is it with the sages?' The Master said, 'Entering mud, entering water.' He asked, 'When the mind has not yet arisen, where is the Dharma?' The Master said, 'When the wind blows and the lotus leaf stirs, there is certainly a fish moving.' He asked, 'The Master has ascended the lion's seat; I beg the Master to sing the song of the Way.' The Master said, 'In dry weather open the water channel; with nothing to do set up a tribunal.' He said, 'If so, then I thank the Master for his instruction.' The Master said, 'The shoe-selling old woman's feet shuffle and scurry.' He asked, 'What are the three treasures?' The Master said, 'You cannot deliberate it out.' He asked, 'What is the seamless stupa?' The Master said, 'A stone lion at the crossroads.' He asked a monk, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'Your prefecture.' The Master said, 'How far is it from here?' He said, 'Seven hundred li.' The Master said, 'How many pairs of straw sandals did you wear out?' He said, 'Three pairs.' The Master said, 'Where did you get the money to buy them?' He said, 'Making bamboo hats.' The Master said, 'Go to the hall to study.' The monk answered, 'Yes.' He asked, 'What is the dharma by which one escapes birth and death?' The Master said, 'Seeing it, do not take it; think on it three years.' A monk asked, 'Apart from mind, mechanism and consciousness, I beg the Master for one phrase.' The Master said, 'A Daoist priest sits inside a yellow jar.' He asked, 'Calling at an untimely hour, I beg the Master for one phrase.' The Master said, 'How would you raise it before the assembly?' He said, 'I would raise it as it presently stands.' The Master said, 'I let you off thirty blows.' He said, 'Wherein is the fault?' The Master said, 'A crime is not punished twice.' He asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Three catties of hemp.' He asked, 'What was it like before the lotus came out of the water?' The Master said, 'The head of Chu Mountain hangs upside down.' He said, 'And after it comes out of the water?' The Master said, 'The Han River flows due east.' He asked, 'What is the hair-cutting sword?' The Master said, 'A guest from Jinzhou.' He said, 'How is it for the one who uses it?' The Master said, 'Reverently, may you enjoy the offering.' He asked, 'What about when the cart stops but the ox does not?' The Master said, 'What use is a cart-driving fellow?' He asked,
如何是衲僧分上事。師曰。雲裹楚山頭。決定多風雨。問。海竭人亡時如何。師曰。難得。曰。便恁麼去時如何。師曰。雲在青天水在瓶。問。文殊普賢來參時如何。師曰。趂向水牯牛欄裡著。曰。和尚入地獄如箭射。師曰。全憑子力。問。如何是正法眼。師曰。紙撚無油。問。牛頭未見四祖時如何。師曰。楖栗木拄杖。曰。見後如何。師曰。竇入布衫。問。如何是佛。師曰。灼然諦當。問。萬緣俱息。意旨如何。師曰。甕裡石人賣棗圈。問。如何是洞山劒。師曰。作麼。曰。學人要知。師曰。罪過。問。乾坤休著意。宇宙不留心。學人祇恁麼。師又作麼生。師曰。峴山亭起霧。灘峻不留船。問。大眾雲臻。請師撮其樞要。略舉大綱。師曰。水上浮漚呈五色。海底蝦蟇呌月明。問。正當恁麼時。文殊普賢在甚麼處。師曰。長者八十一。其樹不生耳。曰。意旨如何。師曰。一則不成。二則不是。
'What is the patch-robed monk's own share?' The Master said, 'Clouds wrap the head of Chu Mountain: there will surely be much wind and rain.' He asked, 'What about when the sea is dried up and men are gone?' The Master said, 'Hard to come by.' He said, 'What about going on just like that?' The Master said, 'The cloud is in the blue sky, the water is in the bottle.' He asked, 'What about when Manjushri and Samantabhadra come to pay their respects?' The Master said, 'Shove them into the water-buffalo pen.' He said, 'The Reverend will enter hell swift as an arrow shot.' The Master said, 'It depends entirely on your strength.' He asked, 'What is the correct Dharma eye?' The Master said, 'A paper spill with no oil.' He asked, 'What was it like before Niutou met the Fourth Ancestor?' The Master said, 'A jujube-wood staff.' He said, 'And after he met him?' The Master said, 'Mud enters the cloth shirt.' He asked, 'What is the Buddha?' The Master said, 'Truly apt.' He asked, 'When the ten thousand conditions are all stilled, what is the meaning?' The Master said, 'A stone man in a jar sells jujube rings.' He asked, 'What is Dongshan's sword?' The Master said, 'What?' He said, 'The student wants to know.' The Master said, 'My fault.' He asked, 'Heaven and earth do not trouble the mind, the cosmos does not linger in the heart — the student is just like this; what of the Master?' The Master said, 'Mist rises at Xianshan Pavilion; the rapids are steep and do not hold a boat.' He asked, 'The great assembly has gathered like clouds — I beg the Master to gather up the essentials and set out the main points briefly.' The Master said, 'Froth on the water shows five colors; the toad at the bottom of the sea calls to the bright moon.' He asked, 'At just this moment, where are Manjushri and Samantabhadra?' The Master said, 'The elder is eighty-one, and his tree bears no ears.' He said, 'What does it mean?' The Master said, 'One is not made, and two is not so.'
洪州泐潭道謙禪師
Chan Master Daoqian of Letan in Hongzhou
僧問。如何是泐潭家風。師曰。闍黎到來幾日也。問。但有纖毫即是塵。不有時作麼生。師以手掩兩目。問。當陽舉唱。誰是聞是。師曰。老僧不患耳聾。問。悟本無門。如何得入。師曰。阿誰教汝恁麼問。
A monk asked, 'What is the family style of Letan?' The Master said, 'How many days since you, acharya, arrived?' He asked, 'Whatever has the slightest bit is dust — what about when there is none?' The Master covered both eyes with his hand. He asked, 'When one raises and sings in the full sun, who is it that hears?' The Master said, 'This old monk is not afflicted with deafness.' He asked, 'Awakening has no gate — how does one enter?' The Master said, 'Who taught you to ask like that?'
金陵奉先深禪師
Chan Master Shen of Fengxian in Jinling
江南主請開堂。才升座。維那白槌曰。法筵龍象眾。當觀第一義。師便曰。果然不識。鈍置殺人。時有僧出。問。如何是第一義。師曰。賴遇適來道了也。曰。如何領會。師曰。速禮三拜。復曰。大眾且道。鈍置落在阿誰分上。師同明和尚在眾時。聞僧問法眼。如何是色。眼竪起拂子。或曰。鷄冠花。或曰。貼肉汗衫。三人特往請益。問曰。承聞和尚有三種色語。是否。眼曰。是。師曰。鷂子過新羅。便歸眾。時李王在座下。不肯。乃白法眼曰。寡人來日致茶筵。請二人重新問話。明日茶罷。備綵一箱。劒一口。謂二師曰。上座若問話得是。奉賞雜綵一箱。若問不是。祇賜一劒。法眼陞座。師復出問。今日奉敕問話。師還許也無。眼曰。許。曰。鷂子過新羅。捧綵便行。大眾一時散去。時法燈作維那。乃鳴鐘集眾。僧堂前勘師。眾集。燈問。承聞二上座久在雲門。有甚奇特因緣。舉一兩則來商量看。師曰。古人道白鷺下田千點雪。黃鸎上樹一枝花。維那作麼生商量。燈擬議。師打一座具便歸眾。師同明和尚到淮河。見人牽網。有魚從網透出。師曰。明兄俊哉。一似箇衲僧相似。明曰。雖然如此。爭如當初不撞入網羅好。師曰。明兄你欠悟在。明至中夜。方省。
The ruler of Jiangnan invited him to open the hall. He had just ascended the seat when the director of affairs struck the mallet and said, 'Assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma feast, you should contemplate the first principle.' The Master then said, 'Indeed you do not understand — you have dulled and stymied people to death.' At that time a monk came forward and asked, 'What is the first principle?' The Master said, 'Fortunately it has just been spoken.' He said, 'How does one understand it?' The Master said, 'Bow three times quickly.' Again he said, 'Assembly, tell me, on whom does the dulling fall?' When the Master and the Reverend Ming were in the assembly, they heard a monk ask Fayan, 'What is form?' Fayan raised his whisk. Someone said, 'It is a cockscomb flower.' Someone said, 'It is an undergarment.' The three of them went especially to seek instruction. He asked, 'I have heard that the Reverend has three words on form — is it so?' Fayan said, 'It is.' The Master said, 'The sparrowhawk has passed into Silla,' and returned to the assembly. At that time King Li was seated below and was not convinced. He then said to Fayan, 'I will hold a tea feast tomorrow and invite the two of them to question again.' The next day after tea, a chest of colored silk and a single sword were prepared. He said to the two Masters, 'If the elder's questioning is right, he is awarded a chest of colored silk; if the questioning is not right, he is granted only a sword.' Fayan ascended the seat. The Master again came forward and asked, 'Today I am commanded to question — will the Master permit it or not?' Fayan said, 'Today I am commanded to question — will the Master permit it or not?' Fayan spoke. He said, 'The sparrowhawk has passed into Silla,' and taking up the colored silk he went off, and the whole assembly dispersed at once. At that time Fadeng was director of affairs. He then rang the bell and gathered the assembly and interrogated the Master before the monks' hall. When the assembly had gathered, Deng asked, 'I have heard that the two elders long dwelt at Yunmen — what extraordinary causes and conditions did you have? Bring up one or two and let us deliberate.' The Master said, 'The ancients said: the white egret comes down to the field, a thousand flecks of snow; the oriole goes up the tree, one branch of flowers. Director of affairs, how will you deliberate?' As Deng began to deliberate, the Master struck him with a sitting cloth and returned to the assembly. The Master and the Reverend Ming came to the Huai River and saw men pulling a net. A fish escaped through the net. The Master said, 'Brother Ming, how fine — he is just like a patch-robed monk.' Ming said, 'Even so, it would have been better never to have blundered into the net.' The Master said, 'Brother Ming, you are lacking in awakening.' Ming did not understand until the middle of the night.
隨州雙泉鬱禪師
Chan Master Yu of Shuangquan in Suizhou
僧問。如何是第一句。師曰。回頭終不顧。曰。如何是第二句。師曰。未語先分付。曰。如何是第三句。師曰。連根猶帶苦。上堂。初祖不虗傳。二祖不虗受。彼彼大丈夫。因甚麼到恁麼地。便下座。後住舒州海會。僧問。如何是舒州境。師曰。浣水逆流山露骨。曰。如何是境中人。師曰。地有毒蛇沙有蝨。
A monk asked, 'What is the first phrase?' The Master said, 'Turning the head, never looking back.' He said, 'What is the second phrase?' The Master said, 'Before speaking, already handed over.' He said, 'What is the third phrase?' The Master said, 'Even with the root, it still carries bitterness.' Ascending the hall: 'The First Ancestor did not transmit in vain; the Second Ancestor did not receive in vain. Each of them a great man — why did they come to this?' He then descended from the seat. Later he lived at Haihui in Shuzhou. A monk asked, 'What is the realm of Shuzhou?' The Master said, 'The Huan River flows backward and the mountain shows its bones.' He said, 'What is the man within the realm?' The Master said, 'The ground has poisonous snakes and the sand has lice.'
韶州披雲智寂禪師
Chan Master Zhiji of Piyun in Shaozhou
僧問。如何是披雲境。師曰。白日沒閑人。問。如何是不遷義。師曰。山高不礙白雲飛。問。以字不成。八字不是。未審是甚麼字。師曰。聽老僧一偈。以字不是八不成。森羅萬象此中明。直饒巧說千般妙。不是謳阿不是經。問。如何是色空。師曰。拾取落花生舊枝。問。如何是一塵。師曰。滿目是青山。問。如何是毗盧藏中有大經卷。師曰。拈不得。曰。為甚拈不得。師曰。特地卻成愁。
A monk asked, 'What is the realm of Piyun?' The Master said, 'In broad daylight there is no idle man.' He asked, 'What is the meaning of non-movement?' The Master said, 'The mountain is high and does not hinder the white clouds from flying.' He asked, 'The character yi is not formed and the character ba is not it — I wonder what character it is?' The Master said, 'Hear one verse from this old monk: the character yi it is not, the eight it does not make; the myriad phenomena are made clear herein. Even with a thousand wondrous turns of clever speech, it is neither a song nor a sutra.' He asked, 'What is form and emptiness?' The Master said, 'Pick up the fallen flower on the old branch.' He asked, 'What is one dust?' The Master said, 'The whole eye is green mountains.' He asked, 'What is the great sutra within the Vairocana treasury?' The Master said, 'You cannot pick it up.' He said, 'Why can you not pick it up?' The Master said, 'Especially it turns into sorrow.'
韶州舜峰義韶禪師
Chan Master Yishao of Shunfeng in Shaozhou
僧問。正法無言時如何。師曰。言。曰。學人不會。乞師端的。師曰。兩重公案。曰。豈無方便。師曰。無禮難容。問。祖意教意。是同是別。師曰。日出東方月落西。僧正到方丈。曰。方丈得恁麼黑。師曰。老鼠窟。正曰。放貓兒入好。師曰。試放看。正無對。師拊掌笑。師與老宿渡江次。師取錢與渡子。宿曰。囊中若有青銅片。師揖曰。長老莫笑。
A monk asked, 'What about when the correct Dharma is without words?' The Master said, 'Words.' He said, 'The student does not understand; I beg the Master for the exact point.' The Master said, 'A double case.' He said, 'Is there no expedient means?' The Master said, 'Discourtesy is hard to bear.' He asked, 'Are the Ancestor's intent and the teaching's intent the same or different?' The Master said, 'The sun rises in the east and the moon sets in the west.' The monk had just reached the abbot's quarters and said, 'The abbot's quarters are this dark.' The Master said, 'A rat hole.' The monk said, 'It would be good to let a cat in.' The Master said, 'Try letting one in.' As the monk had no answer, the Master clapped his hands and laughed. Once, when the Master and an old monk were crossing the river, the Master took out money for the ferryman. The old monk said, 'If there were bronze coins in the bag —' The Master saluted and said, 'Elder, do not laugh.'
南嶽般若寺啟柔禪師
Chan Master Qirou of Prajna Monastery in Nanyue
僧問。西天以蠟人為驗。此土如何。師曰。新羅人草鞋。問。如何是千聖同歸底道理。師曰。未達苦空境。無人不歎嗟。上堂。眾聞板聲集。師因示偈曰。妙哉三下板。知識盡來參。既善分時節。吾今不再三。便下座。
A monk asked, 'In the Western Heaven they use a wax figure as the test — what of this land?' The Master said, 'A Silla man's straw sandals.' He asked, 'What is the principle by which a thousand sages return together?' The Master said, 'Before reaching the realm of suffering and emptiness, there is no one who does not sigh.' Ascending the hall, the assembly gathered at the sound of the board. The Master then showed a verse: 'How wondrous the three strikes of the board; the good friends all come to study. Since they are good at dividing the hours, I now will not repeat it twice or thrice.' He then descended from the seat.
潞府妙勝臻禪師
Chan Master Zhen of Miaosheng in Lu Prefecture
僧問。金粟如來為甚麼卻降釋迦會裡。師曰。香山南。雪山北。曰。南贍部洲事又作麼生。師曰。黃河水急浪花麤。問。如何是向上一路。師曰。一條濟水貫新羅。
A monk asked, 'Why did the Tathagata Golden Grain nonetheless descend into Sakyamuni's assembly?' The Master said, 'South of Fragrant Mountain, north of Snow Mountain.' He said, 'What about the matter of Jambudvipa?' The Master said, 'The Yellow River's water is swift and the wave flowers are coarse.' He asked, 'What is the road above?' The Master said, 'One Ji River runs through Silla.'
饒州薦福承古禪師
Chan Master Chenggu of Jianfu in Raozhou
操行高潔。稟性虗明。參大光敬玄禪師。乃曰。祇是箇草裡漢。遂參福嚴雅和尚。又曰。祇是箇脫灑衲僧。由是終日默然。深究先德洪規。一日覽雲門語。忽然發悟。自此韜藏。不求名聞。棲止雲居弘覺禪師塔所。四方學者奔湊。因稱古塔主也。景祐四年。范公仲淹出守鄱陽。聞師道德。請居薦福。開闡宗風。僧問。大善知識。將何為人。師曰。莫。曰。恁麼則有問有答去也。師曰。莫。問。青青翠竹。盡是真如。鬱鬱黃花。無非般若。如何是般若。師曰。黃泉無老少。曰。春來草自青。師曰。聲名不朽。曰。若然者。碧眼胡僧也皺眉。師曰。退後三步。僧曰。苦。師乃吽吽。問。臨濟舉拂。學人舉拳。是同是別。師曰。訛言亂眾。曰。恁麼則依令而行也。師曰。天涯海角。問。一喝分賓主。照用一時行。此意如何。師曰。乾柴濕茭。僧便喝。師曰。紅燄炎天。上堂。夫出家者為無為法。無為法中無利益。無功德。近來出家人。貪著福慧。與道全乖。若為福慧。須至明心。若要達道。無汝用心處。所以常勸諸人。莫學佛法。但自休心。利根者畫時解脫。鈍根者或三五年。遠不過十年。若不悟去。老僧與你入㧞舌地獄。參。
His conduct was lofty and pure, his nature empty and bright. He studied under Chan Master Jingxuan of Daguang and then said, 'He is just a fellow in the grass.' He then studied under the Reverend Ya of Fuyan, and again said, 'He is just a free and easy patch-robed monk.' Because of this he kept silent all day, deeply investigating the great models of the former worthies. One day, reading Yunmen's words, he suddenly had an awakening. From then on he concealed himself and did not seek fame. He dwelt at the stupa of Chan Master Hongjue of Yunju. Scholars from the four quarters rushed to him, and so he was called the Old Stupa Keeper. In the fourth year of Jingyou, Lord Fan Zhongyan was appointed prefect of Poyang. Hearing of the Master's virtue, he invited him to reside at Jianfu and unfold the school's wind. A monk asked, 'A great good friend — by what does he work for others?' The Master said, 'Do not.' He said, 'If so, then there is questioning and answering.' The Master said, 'Do not.' He asked, 'The green, green emerald bamboo is all suchness; the luxuriant, luxuriant yellow flowers are none other than prajna. What is prajna?' The Master said, 'The Yellow Springs know no old or young.' He said, 'When spring comes the grass grows green of itself.' The Master said, 'Fame does not decay.' He said, 'If so, then even the blue-eyed Indian monk knits his brows.' The Master said, 'Step back three paces.' The monk said, 'Bitter.' The Master then gave a humming sound. He asked, 'Linji raised his whisk and the student raises his fist — is this the same or different?' The Master said, 'A false report confuses the crowd.' He said, 'If so, then I will act according to the order.' The Master said, 'The ends of the earth.' He asked, 'One shout divides host and guest, illumination and function act at once — what does this mean?' The Master said, 'Dry firewood and wet chaff.' The monk then shouted. The Master said, 'Red flames and a blazing sky.' Ascending the hall: 'One who leaves home does so for the sake of the unconditioned Dharma. In the unconditioned Dharma there is no profit and no merit. Monks of late covet blessing and wisdom, which is wholly at odds with the Way. If one works for blessing and wisdom, one must reach the clarity of mind. If one would penetrate the Way, there is no place for your mind's working. Therefore I always urge you people: do not study the Buddha Dharma. Only put your minds to rest. The sharp-rooted are liberated in the time it takes to paint a picture; the dull-rooted in three or five years, at the farthest ten years. If you do not awaken, this old monk will go with you into the hell of pulled-out tongues.' Study.
金陵清涼智明禪師
Chan Master Zhiming of Qingliang in Jinling
江南主請師上堂。小長老問。凡有言句。盡落方便。不落方便。請師速道。師曰。國主在此。不敢無禮。
The ruler of Jiangnan invited the Master to ascend the hall. The junior elder asked, 'Whatever has words and phrases falls into expedient means — apart from expedient means, I beg the Master to speak quickly.' The Master said, 'The ruler of the country is here; I dare not be discourteous.'