The Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Scroll Twenty.

福州祥光澄靜禪師

Chan Master Chengjing of Xiangguang in Fuzhou.

襄州鷲嶺明遠禪師

Chan Master Mingyuan of Jiuling in Xiangzhou.

杭州報慈從瓌禪師

Chan Master Conggui of Baoci in Hangzhou.

杭州龍華契盈禪師(已上二十六人見錄)

Chan Master Qiying of Longhua in Hangzhou (the above twenty-six persons are recorded).

杭州龍冊寺道怤禪師法嗣五人越州清化山師訥禪師

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Daofu of Longce Monastery in Hangzhou: five persons; Chan Master Shine of Qinghua Mountain in Yuezhou.

衢州南禪遇緣禪師

Chan Master Yuyuan of Nanchan in Quzhou.

復州資福智遠禪師(已上三人見錄)

Chan Master Zhiyuan of Zifu in Fuzhou (the above three persons are recorded).

筠州洞山龜端禪師

Chan Master Guiduan of Dongshan in Yunzhou.

溫州景豐禪師(已上二人無機緣語句不錄)

Chan Master Jingfeng of Wenzhou (the above two persons had no karmic-condition dialogues and sayings, and are not recorded).

信州鵝湖智孚禪師法嗣一人法進禪師(一人無機緣語句不錄)

Dharma heir of Chan Master Zhifu of Ehu in Xinzhou: one person, Chan Master Fajin (the one person had no karmic-condition dialogues and sayings, and is not recorded).

漳州報恩懷嶽禪師法嗣一人潭州妙濟師浩禪師(一人見錄)

Dharma heir of Chan Master Huaiyue of Bao'en in Zhangzhou: one person, Chan Master Shihao of Miaoji in Tanzhou (the one person is recorded).

福州鼓山神晏禪師法嗣十一人杭州天竺山子儀禪師

Dharma heirs of Chan Master Shenyan of Gushan in Fuzhou: eleven persons; Chan Master Ziyi of Tianzhu Mountain in Hangzhou.

建州白雲智作禪師

Chan Master Zhizuo of Baiyun in Jianzhou.

福州鼓山智嚴禪師

Chan Master Zhiyan of Gushan in Fuzhou.

福州龍山智嵩禪師

Chan Master Zhisong of Longshan in Fuzhou.

泉州鳳凰山強禪師

Chan Master Qiang of Fenghuang Mountain in Quanzhou.

福州龍山文義禪師

Chan Master Wenyi of Longshan in Fuzhou.

福州鼓山智嶽禪師

Chan Master Zhiyue of Gushan in Fuzhou.

襄州定慧和尚

The Master of Dinghui in Xiangzhou.

福州鼓山清諤禪師

Chan Master Qing'e of Gushan in Fuzhou.

金陵淨德沖煦禪師

Chan Master Chongxu of Jingde in Jinling.

金陵報恩院清護禪師(已上十一人見錄)

Chan Master Qinghu of Bao'en Monastery in Jinling (the above eleven persons are recorded).

吉州青原山行思禪師第七世上

Seventh Generation of Chan Master Xingsi of Qingyuan Mountain in Jizhou, Part One

前福州玄沙師備禪師法嗣

Dharma Heirs of the Aforementioned Chan Master Xuansha Shibei of Fuzhou

漳州羅漢院桂琛禪師常山人也。姓李氏。為童兒時日一素食。出言有異。既冠辭親事本府萬歲寺無相大師。披削登戒學毘尼。一日為眾升臺宣戒本布薩已。乃曰。持犯但律身而已。非真解脫也。依文作解豈發聖乎。於是訪南宗。初謁雲居雪峰參訊勤恪。然猶未有所見。後造玄沙宗一大師。一言啟發廓爾無惑。玄沙嘗問曰。三界唯心汝作麼生會。師指倚子曰。和尚喚遮箇作什麼。玄沙曰。倚子。曰和尚不會三界唯心。玄沙曰。我喚遮箇作竹木。汝喚作什麼。曰桂琛亦喚作竹木。玄沙曰。盡大地覓一箇會佛法底人不可得。師自爾愈加激勵。玄沙每因誘迪學者流。出諸三昧。皆命師為助發。師雖處眾韜晦。然聲譽甚遠。時漳牧王公請於閩城西之石山建精舍曰地藏。請師駐錫焉。僅逾一紀後遷止漳州羅漢院。大闡玄要學徒臻湊。師上堂曰。宗門玄妙為當只恁麼也。更別有奇特。若別有奇特。汝且舉箇什麼。若無去。不可將三箇字便當卻宗乘也。何者三箇字。謂宗教乘也。汝才道著宗乘便是宗乘。道著教乘便是教乘。禪德佛法宗乘元來由汝口裡安立名字。作取說取便是也。斯須向遮裡說平說實說圓說常。禪德。汝喚什麼作平實。把什麼作圓常。傍家行腳理須甄別。莫相埋沒。得些聲色名字貯在心頭。道我會解善能揀辨。汝且會箇什麼。揀箇什麼。記持得底是名字。揀辨得底是聲色。若不是聲色名字。汝又作麼生記持揀辨。風吹松樹也是聲。蝦蟇老鴉也是聲。何不那裡聽取揀擇去。若那裡有箇意度模樣。只如老師口裡。又有多少意度與上坐。莫錯。即今聲色摐摐地。為當相及不相及。若相及即汝靈性金剛秘密。應有壞滅去也。何以如此。為聲貫破汝耳。色穿破汝眼。緣即塞卻汝幻妄。走殺汝聲色體爾不容也。若不相及。又什麼處得聲色來。會麼。相及不相及試裁辨看。少間又道。是圓常平實什麼人恁道。

The Chan Master Guichen of Luohan Yuan in Zhangzhou was a native of Changshan. His surname was Li. As a child he ate only one vegetarian meal a day. His words were extraordinary. When he came of age, he left his parents and served Master Wuxiang of Wansui Temple in his home prefecture. He shaved his head, received full ordination, and studied the Vinaya. One day, having ascended the platform for the assembly and finished proclaiming the precept text for the uposatha, he said: 'Observing and transgressing merely discipline the body; they are not true liberation. How can interpreting according to the text bring forth sagehood?' Thereupon he visited the Southern School. He first paid respects to Yunju and Xuefeng, inquiring and consulting with diligence and respect, yet he still had no insight. Later he called on Master Xuansha Zongyi. At a single word he was awakened, and became thoroughly free of doubt. Xuansha once asked him: 'The three realms are mind-only—how do you understand it?' The master pointed to a chair and said: 'What does the Reverend call this?' Xuansha said: 'A chair.' He said: 'The Reverend does not understand that the three realms are mind-only.' Xuansha said: 'I call this bamboo-wood. What do you call it?' He said: 'Guichen also calls it bamboo-wood.' Xuansha said: 'Searching the whole great earth, one who understands the Buddhadharma cannot be found.' From then on the master became even more zealous. Whenever Xuansha, taking occasion to guide and lead the stream of students, brought forth various samadhis, he always had the master assist in stimulating them. Although the master lived among the assembly, concealing his brilliance, his reputation spread far. At that time Lord Wang, the governor of Zhangzhou, invited him to build a vihara at Stone Mountain west of Min city called Dizang, and asked the master to take up residence there. After just over twelve years, he moved to reside at Luohan Yuan in Zhangzhou. He greatly expounded the profound essentials, and students gathered in crowds. The master ascended the hall and said: 'The mystery of the school—is it just like this, or is there something more extraordinary? If there is something more extraordinary, then just bring up what it is. If there is not, you must not take three words and make them suffice for the school-vehicle. What are the three words? They are school, teaching, and vehicle. As soon as you speak of the school-vehicle, it is the school-vehicle; speak of the teaching-vehicle, it is the teaching-vehicle. Chan worthies, the Buddhadharma and the school-vehicle are originally names established by your mouths. As you make them, as you say them, so they are. In a moment here you speak of ordinary, of true, of perfect, of constant. Chan worthies, what do you call ordinary and true? What do you take as perfect and constant? You who travel as pilgrims from house to house should by rights discern and distinguish; do not bury one another. Having obtained some sounds, forms, and names, you store them in your mind and say, I understand; I am good at picking and discriminating. What is it that you understand? What do you pick out? What you can remember and retain are names; what you can pick out and distinguish are sounds and forms. If it were not for sounds, forms, and names, how would you remember, retain, pick out, and distinguish? The wind blowing through the pine trees is also a sound; frogs and crows are also sounds. Why not go there and listen, pick, and choose? If there is some pattern of meaning there.' Take just what is in the teacher's mouth—how much estimation does he offer to the Venerable? Do not be mistaken. Right now sounds and forms are clashing noisily. Is it that they reach you or do not reach you? If they reach you, then your spiritual nature, the secret of the vajra, ought to be destroyed and extinguished. Why is this so? Because sound pierces through your ears and form pierces through your eyes. Conditions then block up your illusory delusions; they run your body of sound and form to death, and you cannot accommodate them. If they do not reach you, then from what place do you get sounds and forms? Do you understand? Whether they reach or do not reach, try to judge and discern. After a moment he also said: 'It is perfect and constant, plain and real—what person speaks thus?'

未是黃夷村裡漢解恁麼說。是他古聖垂些子相助顯發。今時不識好惡。便安圓實。道我別有宗風玄妙。釋迦佛無舌頭。不如汝些子便恁麼點胸。若論殺盜婬罪。雖重猶輕尚有歇時。此箇謗般若瞎卻眾生眼。入阿鼻地獄吞鐵丸。莫將為等閑。所以古人道。過在化主不幹汝事。珍重。僧問。如何是羅漢一句。師曰。我若向爾道成兩句也。問不會底人來師還接否。師曰。誰是不會者。曰適來道了也。師曰。莫自屈。問八字不成以字不是時如何。師曰。汝實不會。曰學人實不會。師曰。看取下頭註腳。問如何是沙門正命食。師曰。吃得麼。曰欲吃此食作何方便。師曰。塞卻爾口。問如何是羅漢家風。師曰。不向爾道。曰為什麼不道。師曰。是我家風。問如何是法王身。師曰。汝今是什麼身。曰恁麼即無身也。師曰。苦痛深。師上堂才坐。有二僧一時禮拜。師曰。俱錯。問如何是撲不破底句。師曰撲。問一佛出世普為群生。和尚今日為箇什麼。師曰。什麼處遇一佛。曰恁麼即學人罪過。師曰。謹退。問如何是羅漢家風。師曰。表裡看取。問如何是諸聖玄旨。師曰。四楞塌地。問大事未肯時如何。師曰。由汝。問如何是十方眼。師曰眨上眉毛著。問因請保福齋令人去傳語曰。請和尚慈悲降重。保福曰。慈悲為阿誰。師曰。和尚恁麼道渾是不慈悲。師翫月乃曰。雲動有雨去。有僧曰。不是雲動是風動。師曰。我道雲亦不動風亦不動。僧曰。和尚適來又道雲動。師曰。阿誰罪過。師見僧來舉拂子曰。還會麼。僧曰。謝和尚慈悲示學人。師曰。見我竪拂子便道示學人。汝每日見山見水可不示汝。師又見僧來舉拂子。其僧讚歎禮拜。師曰。見我竪拂子便禮拜讚歎。那裡掃地竪起掃箒。為什麼不讚歎(玄覺雲。一般竪起拂子拈一種物。有肯底有不肯底道理。且道利害在什麼處)僧問。承教有言。若見諸相非相則見如來。

(The master continued:) “It is not that a rustic from Huangyi Village knows how to speak like this. It was the ancient sages who let down a little to aid and reveal it. People nowadays do not know good from bad, and so they settle on it as perfect and real, saying, ‘I have a separate Chan style, mysterious and wondrous.’ Śākyamuni Buddha has no tongue; he is not as good as you by a little, yet you thump your chest like that. If one speaks of the sins of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, though they are heavy, they are still light and there is a time when they cease. But this slandering of prajñā blinds the eyes of sentient beings; one enters the Avīci Hell and swallows iron pellets. Do not take it lightly. Therefore the ancients said, ‘The fault lies with the teaching master; it has nothing to do with you.’ Take care.” A monk asked: “What is Luohan’s one phrase?” The master said: “If I speak it to you, it becomes two phrases.” He asked: “If someone who does not understand comes, will the master still receive him?” The master said: “Who is the one who does not understand?” He said: “I have just spoken.” The master said: “Do not humble yourself.” He asked: “When the character ‘eight’ is not formed and the character ‘yi’ is not, what then?” The master said: “You truly do not understand.” He said: “This student truly does not understand.” The master said: “Look at the annotation below.” He asked: “What is the śramaṇa’s right-livelihood food?” The master said: “Can you eat it?” He said: “If one wishes to eat this food, by what skillful means?” The master said: “Block your mouth.” He asked: “What is Luohan’s family style?” The master said: “I do not tell you.” He said: “Why not tell?” The master said: “It is my family style.” He asked: “What is the body of the Dharma King?” The master said: “What body are you now?” He said: “If so, then there is no body.” The master said: “The pain is deep.” The master ascended the hall and had just sat down. Two monks bowed at the same time. The master said: “Both are wrong.” He asked: “What is the phrase that cannot be smashed?” The master said: “Smash.” He asked: “When one Buddha appears in the world, it is universally for the multitude of beings. Today, for what does the Venerable One [appear]?” The master said: “Where did you meet one Buddha?” He said: “If so, then it is this student’s fault.” The master said: “Withdraw respectfully.” He asked: “What is Luohan’s family style?” The master said: “Look at the outside and inside.” He asked: “What is the profound purport of all the sages?” The master said: “Four corners collapse to the ground.” He asked: “When the great matter is not yet settled, what then?” The master said: “It is up to you.” He asked: “What is the eye of the ten directions?” The master said: “Raise your eyebrows.” Question: Because he invited Baofu to a vegetarian feast and sent a person to convey a message, saying: “Please, Venerable, out of compassion, condescend to come.” Baofu said: “Compassion for whom?” 」The Master said: “If the Preceptor speaks like this, it is utterly lacking in compassion.” The Master was enjoying the moon and said: “The clouds are moving; the rain is going away.” A monk said: “It is not the clouds moving; it is the wind moving.” The Master said: “I say the clouds also do not move and the wind also does not move.” The monk said: “Preceptor, just now you again said the clouds move.” The Master said: “Who is to blame?” The Master saw a monk coming, raised his fly whisk, and said: “Do you understand?” The monk said: “Thank you, Preceptor, for compassionately showing it to the student.” The Master said: “Seeing me raise the fly whisk, you say it is showing the student. Every day you see mountains and see water—do they not show you?” The Master again saw a monk coming and raised his fly whisk. That monk praised and bowed. The Master said: “Seeing me raise the fly whisk, you bow and praise. Over there, when sweeping the ground and raising a broom, why do you not praise?” (Xuanjue said: “It is the same as raising a fly whisk and holding up one kind of thing. There is the principle of some approving and some not approving. Tell me, where lies the gain or loss?”) A monk asked: “According to the teaching, it is said: If one sees all signs as non-signs, then one sees the Tathagata.”

如何是非相。師曰。燈籠子。問如何是出家。師曰。喚什麼作家。師問僧。什麼處來。曰秦州來。師曰。將得什麼物來。曰不將得物來。師曰。汝為什麼對眾謾語。其僧無語。師卻問。秦州豈不是出鸚鵡。僧曰。鸚鵡出在隴州。師曰。也不較多。師問僧。什麼處來。曰報恩來。師曰。何不且在彼中。僧曰。僧家不定師曰。既是僧家為什麼不定。僧無對(玄覺代雲。謝和尚顧問)師住地藏時僧報雲。保福和尚已遷化也。師曰。保福遷化地藏入塔(僧問法眼。古人意旨如何。法眼雲。蒼天蒼天)後王公上雪峰施眾僧衣時。有從弇上坐者不在。有師弟代上名受衣。弇歸。師弟曰。某甲為師兄上名了。弇曰。汝道我名什麼。師弟無對。師代雲。師兄得恁麼貪。又云。什麼處是貪處。師又代雲。兩度上名(雲居錫雲。什麼處是弇上坐兩度上名處)師與長慶保福入州見牡丹障子。保福雲。好一朵牡丹花。長慶雲。莫眼花。師曰可惜許一朵花(玄覺雲。三尊宿語還有親疎也無。只如羅漢恁麼道落在什麼處)師問僧。汝在招慶有什麼異聞底事試舉看。僧曰。不敢錯舉。師曰。真實底事作麼生舉。僧曰。和尚因什麼如此。師曰。汝話墮也。眾僧晚參聞角聲。師曰。羅漢三日一度上堂。王太傅二時相助。僧問。如何是學人本來師。曰。是心汝本來心。僧問。師居寶座說法度人。未審度什麼人。師曰。汝也居寶座度什麼人。僧問。鏡裡看形見不難。如何是鏡。師曰。還見形麼。僧問。但得本莫愁末如何是末。師曰。總有也。師因疾。僧問。和尚尊候較否。師以杖拄地曰。汝道遮箇還痛否。僧曰。和尚問阿誰。師曰。問汝。僧曰。還痛否。師曰。元來共我作道理。師後唐天成三年戊子秋復屆閩城舊止遍遊近城梵宇已。俄示疾數日安坐告終。壽六十有二。臘四十。荼毘收舍利建塔於院之西隅稟遺教也。清泰二年乙未十二月望日入塔。

What is the mark of non-mark?' The Master said, 'A lantern.' Someone asked, 'What is leaving home?' The Master said, 'What do you call a home-maker?' The Master asked a monk, 'Where do you come from?' He said, 'I come from Qinzhou.' The Master said, 'What thing did you bring?' He said, 'I did not bring a thing.' The Master said, 'Why do you speak falsely before the assembly?' That monk was silent. The Master then asked, 'Does not Qinzhou produce parrots?' The monk said, 'Parrots come from Longzhou.' The Master said, 'That is not much different.' The Master asked a monk, 'Where do you come from?' He said, 'I come from Baoen.' The Master said, 'Why not just stay there?' The monk said, 'A monk is unsettled.' The Master said, 'Since you are a monk, why are you unsettled?' The monk had no reply. (Xuanjue said on his behalf, 'Thank you, Venerable, for your inquiry.') When the Master was residing at Dizang, a monk reported, 'Venerable Baofu has already passed away.' The Master said, 'Baofu has passed away; Dizang enters the stupa.' (A monk asked Fayan, 'What is the ancient one's meaning?' Fayan said, 'Heaven! Heaven!') Later, when Lord Wang went up to Xuefeng to give clothing to the assembly of monks, the senior monk Congyan was not present. A junior dharma brother registered his name and received the clothing on his behalf. When Yan returned, the junior brother said, 'I registered your name for you, senior brother.' Yan said, 'What do you say my name is?' The junior brother had no reply. The Master said on his behalf, 'Senior brother, how greedy you are!' Again he said, 'Where is the greed?' The Master again said on his behalf, 'The name was registered twice.' (Yunju Xi said, 'Where is it that Senior Monk Yan registered his name twice?') The Master, together with Changqing and Baofu, entered the city and saw a peony screen. Baofu said, 'What a fine peony flower!' Changqing said, 'Do not let your eyes be dazzled.' The Master said, 'What a pity for such a flower!' (Xuanjue said, 'In the words of the three venerable ones, is there still intimacy or distance? As for Luohan speaking like this, where does it fall?') The Master asked a monk, 'While you were at Zhaoqing, what unusual thing did you hear? Try and bring it up.' The monk said, 'I dare not bring it up incorrectly.' The Master said, 'How does one bring up a true matter?' The monk said, 'Why is the Venerable like this?' The Master said, 'Your words have fallen.' The assembly of monks at evening assembly heard the sound of a horn. The Master said, 'Luohan goes up to the hall once every three days; Grand Tutor Wang assists at the two periods.' A monk asked, 'What is the student's original teacher?' He said, 'It is the mind—your original mind.' ” A monk asked, “The Master sits on the jeweled seat, expounds the Dharma, and delivers people. I wonder whom you deliver.” The Master said, “You also sit on the jeweled seat—whom do you deliver?” A monk asked, “Seeing a form in a mirror is not difficult. What is the mirror?” The Master said, “Do you still see the form?” A monk asked, “If one gains the root, do not worry about the branches; what are the branches?” The Master said, “There are always [such things] too.” The Master then fell ill. A monk asked, “Has the Reverend’s honorable health improved?” The Master propped his staff on the ground and said, “Do you say this still hurts?” The monk said, “Whom is the Reverend asking?” The Master said, “Asking you.” The monk said, “Does it still hurt?” The Master said, “So it turns out you are making an argument with me.” In the autumn of the wuzi year, the third year of Tiancheng of the Later Tang, the Master again arrived at his old dwelling in Min City. After he had traveled throughout the monasteries near the city, he suddenly manifested illness; after several days, he sat peacefully and passed away. He was sixty-two years old and had forty monastic years. He was cremated; his relics were collected and a stupa was built at the western corner of the monastery, in accordance with his final instructions. On the full moon day of the twelfth month of the yiwei year, the second year of Qingtai, he entered the stupa.

諡曰真應禪師。

His posthumous title was Chan Master Zhenying.

福州臥龍山安國院慧球寂照禪師(第二世住亦曰中塔)泉州莆田人也。龜洋山出家。玄沙室中參訊居首。因問。如何是第一月。玄沙曰。用汝箇月作麼。師從此悟入。梁開平二年玄沙將示滅。閩帥王氏遣子至問疾。仍請密示繼踵說法者誰乎。玄沙曰。球子得。王氏默記遺旨乃問鼓山國師曰。臥龍法席孰當其任。鼓山舉城下宿德。具道眼者十有二人。皆堪出世。王氏亦默之。至開堂日官寮與僧侶俱會法筵。王氏忽問眾曰。誰是球上座。於是眾人指出師。王氏便請陞座。師良久謂眾曰。莫嫌寂寞。莫道不堪。未詳涯際作麼生論量。所以尋常用其音響。聊撥一兩下助他機發道。盡十方世界覓一人為伴侶不可得。僧問。佛法大意從何方便頓入。師曰。入是方便。問雲自何山起風從何㵎生。師曰。盡力施為不離中塔。師上堂謂眾曰。我此間粥飯因緣為兄弟舉唱終是不常。欲得省要。卻是山河大地與汝發明。其道既常亦能究竟。若從文殊門入者。一切無為土木瓦礫助汝發機。若從觀音門入者。一切音響蝦蟇蚯蚓助汝發機。若從普賢門入者。不動步而到。我以此三門方便示汝。如將一隻折箸攪大海水。令彼魚龍知水為命。會麼。若無智眼而審諦之。任汝百般巧妙不為究竟。僧問。學人近入叢林不明己事乞師指示。師以杖指之曰。會麼。曰不會。師曰。我恁麼為汝卻成抑屈人。還知麼。若約當人分上。從來底事不論初入叢林。及過去諸佛不曾乏少。如大海水。一切魚龍初生及至老死。所受用水悉皆平等。問不謬正宗請師真實。師曰。汝替我道。僧曰。或有不辨者作麼生。師曰。待不辨者來。問諸佛還有師否。師曰有。僧曰。如何是諸佛師。師曰。一切人識不得。師上堂良久。有僧出禮拜。師曰。莫教髑髏拶損。問如何是靈山會上事。師曰。少得靈利底。僧曰。忽遇靈利底作麼生。師曰。遮懵懂師上堂示眾曰。諸人若要商量。

Chan Master Huiqiu Jizhao of the Anguo Cloister on Wolong Mountain in Fuzhou (the second-generation abbot; also called Zhongta) was a native of Putian in Quanzhou. He left home at Guiyang Mountain. In Xuansha's chamber, he was foremost in inquiry. Because he asked, 'What is the first month?' Xuansha said, 'What use is that month of yours?' The master awakened from this. In the second year of Kaiping of the Liang, Xuansha was about to show his extinction. The Wang clan, military commissioner of Min, sent his son to inquire after his illness, and further asked him to secretly indicate who would succeed him as a speaker of the Dharma. Xuansha said, 'Qiu, the boy, has it.' The Wang clan silently noted the bequeathed instruction, then asked National Master Gushan, 'Who is fit to take the Wolong Dharma seat?' Gushan named the senior virtuous ones in the city below. There were twelve who possessed the eye of the Way, all worthy to go out into the world. The Wang clan also kept silent about it. On the day of opening the hall, officials and monks all assembled at the Dharma feast. The Wang clan suddenly asked the assembly, 'Who is Senior Monk Qiu?' Then the assembly pointed out the master. The Wang clan then invited him to ascend the seat. After a long while, the master said to the assembly: 'Do not resent solitude; do not say you cannot bear it. If you have not yet understood the limit, how can you assess it? That is why, ordinarily, one uses its sound, just plucking it once or twice to help him set his potential in motion and bring forth the Way. Throughout the ten directions of the world, seeking one person as a companion, I cannot find one.' A monk asked, 'By what expedient means does one suddenly enter the great meaning of the Buddha-dharma?' The master said, 'Entry is the expedient means.' He asked, 'From what mountain does the cloud arise, from what ravine does the wind spring?' The master said, 'Even exerting all your strength in action, you do not leave Zhongta.' The master ascended the hall and said to the assembly: 'The circumstances of gruel and rice here, my expounding for you brothers, are ultimately impermanent. If you wish to grasp the essential, it is instead the mountains, rivers, and great earth that reveal it to you. Since this Way is constant, it can also be ultimate. If you enter through Manjushri's gate, all unconditioned things—earth, wood, tiles, and pebbles—help your potential to stir. If you enter through Guanyin's gate, all sounds—frogs and earthworms—help your potential to stir. If you enter through Samantabhadra's gate, without moving a step you arrive. I use these three gates as expedients to show you, like taking a single broken chopstick to stir the waters of the great ocean, causing those fish and dragons to know that water is their life. Do you understand? If, lacking the eye of wisdom, you closely examine it, no matter how clever you are in a hundred ways, it is not the ultimate.' A monk asked, 'This student has recently entered the forest and does not understand his own matter; I beg the master to instruct me.' The master pointed with his staff and said, 'Do you understand?' He said, 'I do not understand.' The master said, 'If I do it for you in this way, it instead becomes suppressing and wronging someone. Do you know? If one considers it from the standpoint of the person himself, the matter from the beginning—not to speak of just entering the forest—even the past Buddhas have never lacked it. It is like the water of the great ocean: all fish and dragons, from first birth until old age and death.' The water received and used was entirely equal.” Someone asked: “If one is not mistaken about the orthodox teaching, please, Master, the truth.” The Master said: “You speak it for me.” The monk said: “If there happens to be one who does not discern, what then?” The Master said: “Wait until the one who does not discern comes.” Someone asked: “Do the Buddhas have a teacher?” The Master said: “Yes.” The monk said: “What is the teacher of all Buddhas?” The Master said: “All people cannot recognize it.” The Master ascended the hall and remained silent for a long time. A monk came forward and bowed. The Master said: “Do not let the skull be crushed.” Someone asked: “What is the matter at the Vulture Peak assembly?” The Master said: “Few are sharp.” The monk said: “If one suddenly meets a sharp one, what then?” The Master said: “This muddlehead.” The Master ascended the hall and addressed the assembly, saying: “If all of you want to deliberate.

向髑髏後通取消息來相共商量。遮裡不曾障人光明。問從上宗乘事如何。師良久。僧再問。師便喝出。問如何是大庾嶺頭事。師曰。料汝承當不得。僧曰。重多少。師曰。遮般底論劫不奈何。師問了院主。只如先師道。盡十方世界是真實人體。爾還見僧堂麼。了曰。和尚莫眼花。師曰。先師遷化肉猶暖在。師梁乾化三年癸酉八月十七日不疾而逝。

(The Master continued:) Get the message through from behind the skull and come; we will deliberate together. This place has never obstructed people's light.” Someone asked: “What about the matter of the supreme vehicle handed down from of old?” The Master was silent for a long time. The monk asked again. The Master immediately shouted him out. Someone asked: “What is the matter at the top of Dayu Ridge?” The Master said: “I expect you cannot bear it.” The monk said: “How heavy is it?” The Master said: “For such a one, even discussing kalpas there is no way.” The Master asked the temple manager Liao: “Just as the late Master said, ‘The whole ten-direction world is the true human body.’ Do you still see the monks’ hall?” Liao said: “Preceptor, do not be dazzled.” The Master said: “The late Master passed away, yet his flesh is still warm.” The Master passed away without illness on the seventeenth day of the eighth month in the guiyou year, the third year of Qianhua of the Liang.

杭州天龍寺重機明真大師台州黃巖人也。自玄沙得法迴入浙中。錢武肅王請說法住持。上堂示眾曰。若直舉宗風。獨唱本分事。便同於頑石。若言絕凡聖消息。無大地山河。盡十方世界都是一隻眼。此乃事不獲已恁麼道。所以常說。盲聾瘖瘂是僊陀。滿眼時人不奈何。只向目前須體妙身心萬象與森羅。僧問。如何是璿璣不動。師曰。青山數重。僧曰。如何是寂爾無根。師曰。白雲一帶。問如何是歸根得旨。師曰。兔角生也。僧曰。如何是隨照失宗。師曰。龜毛落也。問蓮華未出水時如何。師曰。誰人不知有。僧曰。出水後如何。師曰。馨香目擊。問朗月輝空時如何。師曰。正是分光景何消指玉樓。

Hangzhou Tianlong Temple's Great Master Chongji Mingzhen was a man of Huangyan in Taizhou. Having obtained the Dharma from Xuansha, he returned to the Zhejiang region. King Qian Wusu invited him to expound the Dharma and reside as abbot. Ascending the hall to address the assembly, he said: 'If one directly raises up the school's style and singly sings the matter of one's original portion, then one is just like a stubborn stone. If one says that the traces of ordinary and sage are cut off, that there is no great earth, mountains, or rivers, and that the entire ten-direction world is all a single eye—this is speaking thus because circumstances leave no alternative. Therefore it is often said: The blind, deaf, and mute are Xianduo. The people of the time are everywhere, helpless. One should only, before one's eyes, realize the wondrous body and mind, the ten thousand phenomena, and the dense array.' A monk asked: 'What is it when the celestial pivot is unmoving?' The Master said: 'Layers of green mountains.' The monk said: 'What is it when it is silent and without root?' The Master said: 'A band of white clouds.' He asked: 'What is it to return to the root and attain the purport?' The Master said: 'A rabbit's horn has grown.' The monk said: 'What is it to follow illumination and lose the essential principle?' The Master said: 'A turtle's hair has fallen.' He asked: 'When the lotus has not yet emerged from the water, how is it?' The Master said: 'Who does not know it is there?' The monk said: 'After it has emerged from the water, how is it?' The Master said: 'Its fragrance is seen with the eye.' He asked: 'When the bright moon illumines the sky, how is it?' The Master said: 'It is precisely a share of the light and scene; why need point to the jade tower?'

福州僊宗院契符清法大師。初開堂日有僧問師。登寶座合談何事。師曰。剔開耳孔著。僧曰。古人為什麼道非耳目之所到。師曰。金櫻樹上不生梨子。僧曰。古今不到處請師道。師曰。汝作麼生問。問眾手淘金誰是得者。師曰。舉手隔千里休功任意看。問飛岫巖邊華子秀仙境臺前事若何。師曰。無價大寶光中現。暗客惛惛爭奈何。僧曰。優曇華拆人皆覩向上宗乘意若何。師曰。闍梨若問宗乘意。不如靜處薩婆訶。問如何是大閩國中諸佛境界。師日。造化終難測春風徒自輕。問如何是道中寶。師曰。雲孫淚亦垂。問諸聖收光歸源後如何。師曰。三聲猿屢斷萬裡客愁聽。僧曰。未審今時人如何湊得古人機。師曰。好心向子道切忌未生時。

Qifu Qingfa, Great Master, of Xianzong Monastery in Fuzhou. On the day he first opened the hall, a monk asked the Master: 'When one ascends the jewel seat, what should one discuss?' The Master said: 'Pry open your ear holes.' The monk said: 'Why did the ancients say it is not reached by ear and eye?' The Master said: 'On a golden cherry tree, pears do not grow.' The monk said: 'Please, Master, speak of the place where past and present do not reach.' The Master said: 'How do you ask?' He asked: 'When many hands pan for gold, who is the one who obtains it?' The Master said: 'Raise a hand and it is separated by a thousand li; stop your effort and look as you please.' He asked: 'At the edge of Feixiu Rock the blossoms are fair; before the Immortal Terrace, what is it like?' The Master said: 'The priceless great treasure appears in the light; what can the benighted guest, so muddled, do?' The monk said: 'The udumbara flower has opened and everyone sees it; what about the meaning of the supreme ancestral vehicle?' The Master said: 'If you, Acarya, ask about the meaning of the school's vehicle, it is better to be in a quiet place: svaha.' He asked: 'What is the realm of all Buddhas in the great Min country?' The Master said: 'The workings of creation are ultimately hard to fathom; the spring breeze is merely frivolous on its own.' He asked: 'What is the treasure within the Way?' The Master said: 'Even the distant descendant's tears fall.' He asked: 'After all the sages withdraw their light and return to the source, what then?' The Master said: 'Three cries of the gibbon, repeatedly breaking off; a traveler of ten thousand li listens in sorrow.' The monk said: 'I do not know how people today can match the ancients' mechanism.' The Master said: 'With good intentions I tell you: above all, avoid the time before birth.'

婺州金華山國泰院瑫禪師。上堂曰。不離當處鹹是妙明真心。所以玄沙和尚道。會我最後句出世少人知。爭似國泰有末頭一句。僧問。如何是國泰末頭一句。師曰。闍梨上太遲生。問如何是毘盧師。師曰。專甲與老兄是弟子。問達磨來唐土即不問。如何是未來時事。師曰。親遇梁王。問古鏡未磨時如何。師曰。古鏡。僧曰。磨後如何。師曰。古鏡。

Chan Master Tao of Guotai Monastery on Mount Jinhua in Wuzhou. On entering the hall, he said: 'Not departing from this very place, all is the wondrous luminous true mind. Therefore Elder Xuansha said: "Those who understand my last phrase are few in the world." How does that compare with Guotai's having a final phrase?' A monk asked: 'What is Guotai's final phrase?' The Master said: 'You, Acarya, have come up too late.' He asked: 'What is Vairocana's teacher?' The Master said: 'I and you, old brother, are disciples.' He asked: 'I do not ask about Bodhidharma coming to the land of Tang. What is the matter of the future?' The Master said: 'I personally met the King of Liang.' He asked: 'What is it like when the ancient mirror is not yet polished?' The Master said: 'Ancient mirror.' The monk said: 'After polishing, what then?' The Master said: 'Ancient mirror.'

衡嶽南臺誠禪師。僧問。玄沙宗旨請師舉揚。師曰。什麼處得此消息。僧曰。垂接者何。師曰。得人不迷己。問潭清月現是何人境界。師曰。不幹爾事。僧曰。相借問又何妨。師曰。覓潭月不可得。問離地四指為什麼卻有魚紋。師曰。有聖量在。僧曰此量為什麼人施。師曰。不為聖人。

Chan Master Cheng of Nantai, Hengyue. A monk asked, “Please, Master, bring up and expound the essential teaching of Xuansha.” The Master said, “Where did you get this news?” The monk said, “What is the one who deigns to receive [others]?” The Master said, “Attaining the person, one does not delude oneself.” [The monk] asked, “When the pool is clear and the moon appears, whose realm is that?” The Master said, “It is none of your business.” The monk said, “What harm is there in borrowing a question?” The Master said, “The pool and moon cannot be found.” [The monk] asked, “Four fingers above the ground, why is there still a fish pattern?” The Master said, “There is a sagely measure in it.” The monk said, “To whom is this measure bestowed?” The Master said, “It is not for a sage.”

福州升山白龍院道希禪師福州閩縣人也。師上堂曰。不要舉足是誰威光。還會麼。若道自家去處本自如是。切喜勿交涉。問如何是西來意。師曰。汝從什麼處來。問如何是佛法大意。師曰。汝早禮三拜。問不責。上來請師直道。師曰得。問如何是正真道。師曰。騎驢覓驢。問請師答無賓主話。師曰。昔年曾記得。僧曰。即今如何。師曰。非但耳聾亦兼眼暗。問情忘體合時如何。師曰。別更夢見箇什麼。問學人擬申一問請師裁。師曰。不裁。僧曰。為什麼不裁。師曰。須知好手。問大眾雲集請師舉揚宗教。師曰。少過聽者。問不涉唇鋒乞師指示。師曰。不涉唇鋒問將來。僧曰。恁麼即群生有賴。師曰。莫閑言語。問請和尚生機答話。師曰。把紙筆來錄將去。問如何是思大口。師曰。出來向爾道。僧曰。學人即今見出。師曰。曾賺幾人來。問承古人有言。髑髏常幹世界鼻孔毛觸家風。如何是髑髏常幹世界。師曰。近前來向爾道。僧曰。如何是鼻孔毛觸家風。師曰。退後去別時來。

Chan Master Daoxi of Bailong Yuan on Shengshan in Fuzhou was a native of Min County, Fuzhou. The Master ascended the hall and said: 'Do not lift a foot—whose majestic light is it? Do you understand? If you say that one's own place is originally thus, by all means have no involvement with it.' Asked: 'What is the meaning of the coming from the West?' The Master said: 'Where do you come from?' Asked: 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha-dharma?' The Master said: 'You have already bowed three times.' Asked: 'Without reproaching the coming forward, please, Master, speak directly.' The Master said: 'Good.' Asked: 'What is the true Way?' The Master said: 'Riding a donkey while looking for a donkey.' Asked: 'Please, Master, answer the saying of no host and guest.' The Master said: 'In former years I once remembered it.' The monk said: 'What about right now?' The Master said: 'Not only deaf but also blind.' Asked: 'When feeling is forgotten and substance is united, how is it?' The Master said: 'What else are you dreaming of?' Asked: 'The student intends to put forward a question; please, Master, judge it.' The Master said: 'I do not judge.' The monk said: 'Why do you not judge?' The Master said: 'You must know a skilled hand.' Asked: 'The great assembly has gathered like clouds; please, Master, expound the essential teaching.' The Master said: 'Few can surpass the hearer.' Asked: 'Without involving the edge of the lips, I beg the Master to instruct.' The Master said: 'Ask without involving the edge of the lips and bring it forth.' The monk said: 'If so, then sentient beings have something to rely on.' The Master said: 'Do not speak idle words.' Asked: 'Please, Reverend, answer with a living mechanism.' The Master said: 'Bring paper and brush, record it, and take it away.' Asked: 'What is Sida's mouth?' The Master said: 'Come out and I will tell you.' The monk said: 'The student is just now coming out.' The Master said: 'How many people have you deceived?' Asked: 'I have heard the ancients say: 'The skull constantly dries up the world; the nostril hairs touch the family style.' What is 'the skull constantly dries up the world'?' The Master said: 'Come closer and I will tell you.' The monk said: 'What is 'the nostril hairs touch the family style'?' The Master said: 'Step back; come another time.'

福州螺峰沖奧明法大師。先住白龍。師上堂曰。人人具足人人成見。爭怪得山僧。珍重。僧問。諸法寂滅相不可以言宣。如何是寂滅相。師曰。問答俱備。僧問。恁麼即真如法界無自無他。師曰。特地令人愁。問牛頭未見四祖時如何。師曰。德重鬼神欽。曰見後如何。師曰。通身聖莫測。問如何是螺峰一句。師曰苦。問如何是本來人。師曰。惆悵松蘿境界危。

Chong'ao, Great Master Mingfa, of Luofeng in Fuzhou. He first resided at Bailong. The Master ascended the hall and said: 'Everyone is fully endowed; everyone forms views. How could you blame this mountain monk? Take care.' A monk asked: 'The mark of quiescence of all dharmas cannot be proclaimed in words. What is the mark of quiescence?' The Master said: 'Question and answer are both complete.' A monk asked: 'If so, then the dharma-realm of suchness is without self and without other.' The Master said: 'It especially makes one grieve.' [A monk] asked: 'What was it like when Niutou had not yet seen the Fourth Patriarch?' The Master said: 'His virtue was weighty; ghosts and spirits revered him.' [The monk] said: 'What was it like after he saw him?' The Master said: 'His whole body was sagely, beyond fathoming.' [A monk] asked: 'What is Luofeng's one phrase?' The Master said: 'Bitter.' [A monk] asked: 'What is the original person?' The Master said: 'Sadly, the realm of pine and dodder is perilous.'