Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Twenty-Three

衢州鎮境志澄大師。僧問。如何是定乾坤底劍。師曰。不漏絲髮。曰用者如何。師曰。不知。問或因普請鋤頭損傷蝦蟇蚯蚓。還有罪也無。師曰。阿誰是下手者。曰恁麼即無罪過。師曰。因果歷然。師後遷住杭州西山寶雲寺說法。本國賜紫署積善大師。

Great Master Zhicheng of Zhenjing [Monastery] in Quzhou. A monk asked: "What is the sword that settles heaven and earth?" The master said: "It does not leak even a hair's breadth." He said: "What about the one who uses it?" The master said: "I do not know." He asked: "Suppose during communal labor a hoe injures a frog or earthworm. Is there offense or not?" The master said: "Who is the one who strikes the blow?" He said: "If so, then there is no offense." The master said: "Cause and effect are clearly evident." Later the master moved to reside at Baoyun Temple on Western Mountain in Hangzhou and expounded the Dharma. His native country bestowed purple robes and the title Master of Accumulated Goodness.

明州崇福院慶祥禪師上堂曰。諸禪德見性周遍聞性亦然。洞徹十方無內無外。所以古人道。隨緣無作動寂常真。如此施為全真智用。問如何是本來人。師曰。堂堂六尺甚分明。曰只如本來人還作如此相貌也無。師曰。汝喚什麼作本來人。曰乞師方便。師曰。教誰方便。

Chan Master Qingxiang of Chongfu Monastery in Mingzhou ascended the hall and said: "All you Chan worthies, the nature of seeing is all-pervasive, and the nature of hearing is likewise so. It penetrates the ten directions; there is no inside and no outside. Therefore the ancients said: 'Following conditions without doing, movement and stillness are always true.' Acting in this way is the functioning of complete true wisdom." He asked: "What is the original person?" The master said: "A dignified six feet, extremely clear." He said: "Does the original person still have such an appearance or not?" The master said: "What do you call the original person?" He said: "I beg the master for expedient means." The master said: "To whom would expedient means be taught?"

前杭州靈隱寺清聳禪師法嗣

Dharma heir of Chan Master Qingsong of Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou.

杭州臨安功臣院道慈禪師。問師登寶座大眾鹹臻請師舉揚宗教。師曰。大眾證明。上座曰。恁麼即亙古亙今也。師曰。也須領話始得。

Chan Master Daoci of Gongchen Monastery in Lin'an, Hangzhou. He asked: "The master has ascended the jeweled seat, and the great assembly has all arrived. Please, master, raise up the essentials of the teaching." The master said: "The great assembly bears witness." The senior monk said: "If so, then it is from ancient times to the present." The master said: "You still must grasp the words before you can."

秀州羅漢院願昭禪師錢塘人也。依本部西山保清院受業。自靈隱發明眾請出世。師上堂曰。山河大地是真善知識。時常說法時時度人。不妨諸上座參請。無事久立。僧問。羅漢家風請師一句。師曰。嘉禾合穗。上國傳芳。曰此猶是嘉禾家風。如何是羅漢家風。師曰。或到諸方分明舉似。師後住杭州香嚴寺。僧問。不立纖塵請師直道。師曰。眾人笑汝。曰如何領會。師曰。還我話頭來。

Chan Master Yuanzhao of Luohan Monastery in Xiuzhou was a man of Qiantang. He received his training at Baoqing Monastery on Western Mountain in his own region. Having become clear through Lingyin, the assembly requested him to emerge in the world. The master ascended the hall and said: "Mountains, rivers, and the great earth are truly good spiritual friends. They constantly expound the Dharma and constantly save people. It does not hinder you venerable ones from inquiring and paying respects. If there is nothing to do, stand for a long time." A monk asked: "The family style of Luohan—please, master, give a phrase." The master said: "Auspicious grain joins ears; the superior country transmits fragrance." He said: "This is still the family style of Jiahe. What is the family style of Luohan?" The master said: "If you go to various places, clearly raise it for them." Later the master resided at Xiangyan Temple in Hangzhou. A monk asked: "Not establishing the slightest dust—please, master, speak directly." The master said: "The crowd laughs at you." He said: "How should I understand it?" The master said: "Return my topic of conversation to me."

處州報恩院師智禪師。僧問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。誰人不見。問如何是一相三昧。師曰。青黃赤白。曰一相何在。師曰。汝卻靈利。問祖祖相傳傳祖印。師今法嗣嗣何人。師曰。靈鷲峰前月輪皎皎。

Chan Master Shizhi of Baoen Monastery in Chuzhou. A monk asked: "What is the master's family style?" The master said: "Who does not see it?" He asked: "What is the samadhi of one mark?" The master said: "Blue, yellow, red, white." He said: "Where is the one mark?" The master said: "You are indeed sharp." He asked: "Patriarch after patriarch transmitted the patriarchal seal. The master now succeeds the Dharma—whom does he succeed?" The master said: "Before Vulture Peak the moon wheel is bright and clear."

衢州瀫寧可先禪師。僧問。如何是瀫寧家風。師曰。謝指示。問如何是西來意。師曰。怪老僧什麼處。曰學人不會乞師方便。師曰。適來豈不是問西來意。

Chan Master Kexian of Huning in Quzhou. A monk asked, "What is the family style of Huning?" The Master said, "Thank you for the instruction." He asked, "What is the meaning of the coming from the West?" The Master said, "What place do you find fault with this old monk?" He said, "The student does not understand; I beg the Master for expedient means." The Master said, "Did you not just now ask about the meaning of the coming from the West?"

杭州臨安光孝院道端禪師。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。高聲問著。曰莫即便是也無。師曰。勿交涉。師後住靈隱寺示滅。

Chan Master Daoduan of Guangxiao Monastery in Lin'an, Hangzhou. A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "Ask in a loud voice." He said, "Is it just this or not?" The Master said, "No connection." The Master later resided at Lingyin Monastery and manifested extinction.

杭州西山保清院遇寧禪師。初開堂升座。有二僧一時禮拜。師曰。二人俱錯。僧擬進語。師便下座。

Chan Master Yuning of Baoqing Monastery on West Mountain in Hangzhou. When he first opened the hall and ascended the seat, two monks at the same time made prostration. The Master said, "Both people are wrong." The monk intended to advance words. The Master then descended from the seat.

福州支提山雍熙寺辯隆禪師明州人也。依靈隱寺了悟禪師出家。遂受心印。師上堂曰。巍巍寶相偪塞虛空。金剛之體無有破壞。大眾還見不見。若言見也且實相之體本非青黃赤白長短方圓。亦非見聞覺知之法。且作麼生說見底道理。若言不見又道。巍巍實相偪塞虛空。為什麼不見。僧問。如何是向上一路。師曰。腳下底。曰恁麼即尋常履踐。師曰。莫錯認。問如何是堅密身。師曰。倮倮地。曰恁麼即不密也。師曰。見什麼。

Chan Master Bianlong of Yongxi Monastery on Mount Zhiti in Fuzhou, a man of Mingzhou. He left home under Chan Master Liaowu of Lingyin Monastery. Thereupon he received the mind-seal. The Master ascended the hall and said: "The towering precious mark presses and fills the void. (The base text has 'bi sai'.) The diamond body has no destruction. Great assembly, do you see it or not? If you say you see it, the substance of true reality is originally not blue, yellow, red, or white, long or short, square or round. Nor is it a dharma of seeing, hearing, perceiving, or knowing. Then how do you speak of the principle of seeing? If you say you do not see it, it is again said: The towering true reality presses and fills the void. Why do you not see it?" A monk asked, "What is the road upward?" The Master said, "What is under your feet." He said, "If so, then it is ordinary practice." The Master said, "Do not mistake it." He asked, "What is the firm and dense body?" The Master said, "Stark naked." He said, "If so, then it is not dense." The Master said, "What do you see?"

杭州瑞龍院希圓禪師。僧問。如何是和尚家風。師曰。特謝闍梨借問。曰借問即不無家風作麼生。師曰。瞌睡漢。

Chan Master Xiyuan of Ruilong Monastery in Hangzhou. A monk asked, "What is the Master's family style?" The Master said, "Especially thanks to the acarya for borrowing the question." He said, "Borrowing the question is not absent, but what is the family style?" The Master said, "You sleepyhead."

前金陵報慈行言導師法嗣

Dharma heir of the late Guide Xingyan of Baoci in Jinling.

洪州雲居山義能禪師(第九世住)師上堂曰。不用上來。堂中憍陳如上座為諸上座轉第一義法輪。還得麼。若自信得各自歸堂參取。師下堂後。卻問一僧。只如山僧適來教上座參取聖僧。聖僧還道箇什麼。僧曰。特謝和尚再舉。問如何是佛。師曰。即心是佛。曰學人不會乞師方便。師曰。方便呼為佛迴光返照看身心是何物。

Chan Master Yineng of Mount Yunju in Hongzhou (the ninth generation abbot). The Master ascended the hall and said: "No need to come up. Up in the hall, the senior seat Ajnatakaundinya turns the wheel of the Dharma of the ultimate meaning for all senior seats. Do you get it? If you believe in yourselves, each return to the hall and investigate." After the Master descended from the hall, he instead asked a monk: "Just as I a moment ago told the senior seats to investigate the noble monk, what does the noble monk say?" The monk said, "Especially thanks to the Master for raising it again." He asked, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "This mind is the Buddha." He said, "The student does not understand; I beg the Master for expedient means." The Master said, "Expediently call it Buddha; turn the light and shine back to look—what is the body and mind?"

前金陵清涼泰欽禪師法嗣

Dharma heir of the late Chan Master Taiqin of Qingliang in Jinling.

洪州雲居山第十一世住道齊禪師洪州人也。姓金氏。禮百丈山明照禪師得度。遍歷禪會學心未息。後遇法燈禪師機緣頓契。暨法燈住上藍院。師乃主經藏。一日侍立次法燈謂師曰。藏主我有一轉西來意話。汝作麼生會。師對曰。不東不西。法燈曰。有什麼交涉。曰道齊只恁麼。未審和尚尊意如何。法燈曰。他家自有兒孫在。師於是頓明厥旨。初住筠州東禪院。僧問。如何是佛。師曰。汝是阿誰。問荊棘林中無出路。請師方便為畬開。師曰。汝擬去什麼處。曰幾不到此。師曰。閑言語。問不免輪迴不求解脫時如何。師曰。還曾問建山麼。曰學人不會乞師方便。師曰。放爾三十棒。問如何是三寶。師曰。汝是什麼寶。曰如何。師曰。土木瓦礫。師次住洪州雙林院。後住雲居山。三處說法著語要搜玄拈古代別等集盛行諸方。此不繁錄。至道三年丁酉九月示疾。八日申時令聲鍾集眾。維那白雲。眾已集。師曰。老僧三處住持三十餘年。十方兄弟相聚話道。主事頭首勤心贊助老僧。今日火風相逼。特與諸人相見。諸人還見麼。今日若見是末後方便諸人向什麼處見。為向四大五陰處見。六入十二處見。遮裡若見。便可謂雲居山二十年間後學有賴。吾去後山門大眾付契瓌開堂住持凡事更在勤而行之。各自努力珍重。大眾才散。師歸西挾告寂。壽六十九。臘四十八。今塔存本山。

The Eleventh Generation Abbot of Yunju Mountain in Hongzhou, Chan Master Daoqi, was a man of Hongzhou, surnamed Jin. He received ordination under Chan Master Mingzhao of Baizhang Mountain. He traveled extensively through Chan assemblies, but his mind of learning was not yet extinguished. Later he encountered Chan Master Fadeng, and the karmic opportunity suddenly clicked. When Fadeng dwelt at Shanglan Monastery, the Master took charge of the sutra repository. One day while standing in attendance, Fadeng said to the Master: "Repository Master, I have a phrase about the meaning of the coming from the West; how do you understand it?" The Master replied: "Not east, not west." Fadeng said: "What connection does that have?" He said: "Daoqi is just like this. I do not know the Venerable's honored intention." Fadeng said: "His house has its own sons and grandsons." The Master thereupon suddenly understood that purport. He first dwelt at Dongchan Monastery in Junzhou. A monk asked: "What is the Buddha?" The Master said: "Who are you?" He asked: "In a thicket of thorns there is no way out; please, Master, use skillful means to open it for me." The Master said: "Where do you intend to go?" He said: "I almost did not arrive here." The Master said: "Idle words." He asked: "When one cannot avoid reincarnation yet does not seek liberation, how is it?" The Master said: "Have you ever asked Jianshan?" He said: "The student does not understand; I beg the Master for skillful means." The Master said: "I spare you thirty blows." He asked: "What are the Three Treasures?" The Master said: "What treasure are you?" He said: "How is it?" The Master said: "Earth, wood, tiles, and pebbles." The Master then dwelt at Shuanglin Monastery in Hongzhou, and later dwelt at Yunju Mountain. He expounded the Dharma in three places and composed such collections as Yuyai, Souxuan, and Niangu Daibie, which circulated widely in all quarters. They are not recorded in detail here. In the third year of Zhidao, dingyou year, ninth month, he showed illness. On the eighth day, at the shen hour, he had the bell struck to assemble the assembly. The karmic administrator reported: "The assembly has gathered." The Master said: "This old monk has been abbot in three places for over thirty years. Brothers from the ten directions have gathered to converse about the Way, and the chief officers and heads have diligently supported this old monk with their minds. Today fire and wind press upon me, and I specially meet with all of you. Do all of you see? If you see today, this is the final skillful means. Where do all of you see? Do you see it at the four elements and five aggregates, at the six sense faculties and twelve sense fields? If you see here, then it can be said that for twenty years on Yunju Mountain the later students have relied upon it. After I go, the monastery assembly is entrusted to Qigui to open the hall and be abbot; all matters lie in diligently practicing them. Each of you must exert yourselves. Take care." As soon as the great assembly dispersed, the Master returned to the west chamber and announced his passing. He was sixty-nine years old, with forty-eight years in the precepts. His stupa still stands on this mountain.

前金陵報恩院法安禪師法嗣

Dharma heir of Chan Master Fa'an of the former Bao'en Monastery in Jinling

廬山棲賢寺道堅禪師。有官人問。某甲收金陵布陣殺人無數。還有罪也無。師曰。老僧只管看問如何是祖師西來意。師曰。揚瀾左里無風浪起。問如何是棲賢境。師曰。棲賢有什麼境。

Chan Master Daojian of Qixian Monastery on Mount Lu. An official asked: "I subdued Jinling, deployed troops, and killed countless people; is there any crime or not?" The Master said: "This old monk only watches." He asked: "What is the Patriarch's meaning of coming from the West?" The Master said: "At Yanglan and Zuoli, wind and waves arise without wind." He asked: "What is the realm of Qixian?" The Master said: "What realm does Qixian have?"

廬山歸宗寺第十四世慧誠禪師揚州人也。姓崔氏。幼出家於撫州明水院受具。遊方緣契慧濟禪師密承心印。庵於廬山之餘峰。淳化四年孟夏月歸宗柔和尚歸寂。郡牧與山門徒眾三請師開法住持。初上堂未升座。謂眾曰。天人得道此為證。恁麼便散去。已是周遮。其如未曉再為重敷。方乃升座。僧問。郡主臨筵請師演法。師曰。我不及汝。問如何是佛。師曰。如何不是。問如何是祖師西來意。師曰。不知。師又曰。問話且住諸上座問到窮劫問也不著。山僧答到窮劫答也不及。何以故。為上座各有本分事圓滿十方亙古亙今。乃至諸佛也不敢錯誤上座。謂之頂族只助發上座。所以道。十方法界諸有情念念以證善逝果。彼既丈夫我亦爾。何得自輕而退屈。諸上座不要退屈信取便休。祖師西來只道見性成佛。其餘所說不及此說。更有箇奇特方便。舉似諸人分明記取。到諸方莫錯舉。久立珍重。異日上堂。僧問。不通風處如何過得。師曰。汝從什麼處來。僧舉南泉雲。銅瓶是境瓶中有水。不得動著境與老僧將水來。鄧隱峰便拈瓶瀉水。南泉乃休。師曰。鄧隱峰甚奇怪。要且亂瀉。師接武歸宗十有四載。常聚五百餘眾。景德四年三月十八日上堂辭眾。安然而化壽六十有七。臘五十二。全身塔於本山。

Chan Master Huicheng of the Fourteenth Generation at Guizong Temple on Mount Lu, a man of Yangzhou, surnamed Cui. In his youth he left home and received full ordination at Mingshui Cloister in Fuzhou. Wandering in search of conditions, he became linked with Chan Master Huiji, and secretly inherited the mind seal. He dwelt in a hermitage on the remaining peak of Mount Lu. In the fourth year of Chunhua, in the first month of summer, Elder Rou of Guizong passed into quiescence. The prefect and the community of disciples at the mountain gate three times invited the Master to open the Dharma and reside as abbot. When he first entered the hall, before ascending the seat, he said to the assembly: "Gods and humans attaining the Way—this is the proof. If you would disperse just like this, that is already roundabout. Since you do not yet understand, I will spread it out again for you." Only then did he ascend the seat. A monk asked: "The prefect is present at the feast; please, Master, demonstrate the Dharma." The Master said: "I am not your equal." He asked: "What is the Buddha?" The Master said: "What is not?" He asked: "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?" The Master said: "I do not know." The Master also said: "Let the questioning stop here. Even if the venerable ones questioned until the end of the kalpa, their questioning would not hit the mark. Even if this mountain monk answered until the end of the kalpa, his answering would not reach it. Why is this? Because each of the venerable ones has his own original portion, perfect throughout the ten directions, from ancient times to the present. Even the Buddhas would not dare to mistake the venerable ones. What is called the supreme lineage merely helps to bring forth the venerable ones. Therefore it is said: All sentient beings in the ten directions and dharma realms, thought after thought, realize the fruit of the Well-Gone One. Since he is a great man, I too am so; how can one belittle oneself and retreat? Venerable ones, do not retreat; believe and take it up, and that is enough. The Patriarch's coming from the west only says: see one's nature and become Buddha. What the rest say does not reach this saying. Moreover, there is a wondrous expedient; I raise it before you all, so remember it clearly. When you reach the various regions, do not cite it wrongly. Standing long, take care." Another day he entered the hall. A monk asked: "How does one pass through a place where no wind penetrates?" The Master said: "Where have you come from?" The monk brought up Nanquan's words: "A bronze bottle is the setting; in the bottle there is water. Without moving the setting, bring me the water." Deng Yinfeng then picked up the bottle and poured out the water. Nanquan thereupon rested. The Master said: "Deng Yinfeng was very strange, yet he poured it out wildly." The Master succeeded in the footsteps of Guizong for fourteen years, often gathering more than five hundred followers. On the eighteenth day of the third month in the fourth year of Jingde, he entered the hall, took leave of the assembly, and peacefully transformed, aged sixty-seven, with fifty-two rains. His whole body was enshrined in a stupa on this mountain.

前廬州長安院延規禪師法嗣

A Dharma heir of former Chan Master Yangui of Chang'an Cloister in Luzhou.

廬州長安院辯實禪師(第二世住)僧問。如何是祖師西來意。師曰。少室靈峰住九霄。

Chan Master Bianshi of Chang'an Cloister in Luzhou (second generation resident). A monk asked: "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?" The Master said: "Shaoshi's numinous peak dwells in the nine heavens."

潭州雲蓋山海會寺用清禪師河州人也。姓趙氏。本州出家酷志求法。遠參長安潛契宗旨。先住韶州東平山。淳化二年知潭州張茂宗請居雲蓋(第六世住)僧問。有一人在萬丈井底如何出得。師曰。且喜得相見。曰恁麼即穿雲透月去也。師曰。三十三天事作麼生。僧無語。問如何是雲蓋境。師曰。門外三泉井。曰如何是境中人。師曰。童行作子。師有頌示眾曰。

Chan Master Yongqing of Haihui Temple on Mount Yungai in Tanzhou, a man of Hezhou, surnamed Zhao. He left home in his own prefecture, with fierce resolve seeking the Dharma. He traveled far to consult in Chang'an, and secretly matched the essential purport. He first resided at Dongping Mountain in Shaozhou. In the second year of Chunhua, Zhang Maozong, prefect of Tanzhou, invited him to reside at Yungai (sixth generation resident). A monk asked: "There is one person at the bottom of a ten-thousand-fathom well; how can he get out?" The Master said: "It is good to have met." He said: "If so, then he pierces through clouds and passes through the moon." The Master said: "What about the matter of the thirty-three heavens?" The monk was silent. He asked: "What is the realm of Yungai?" The Master said: "Outside the gate, the Three Springs Well." He said: "What is the person in the realm?" The Master said: "A postulant acting as a servant." The Master had a verse shown to the assembly, saying:

雲蓋鎖口訣擬議皆腦裂

The lock-mouth formula of Yungai: for anyone who deliberates, the brain splits.

拍手趁玄空雲露西山月

Clapping the hands, he follows the dark void; clouds reveal the moon over the western mountain.

僧問。如何是雲蓋鎖口訣。師曰。遍天遍地。曰恁麼即石人點頭露柱拍手。師曰。一瓶淨水一鑪香。曰此猶是井底蝦蟇。師曰。勞煩大眾。師常節段食隨眾二時但展缽而已。或逾年月。亦不調練服餌無妨作務。有請必開。即便飽食而亡拘執。至道二年四月二日示疾而逝。闍維建塔於本山。

A monk asked: "What is the lock-mouth formula of Yungai?" The Master said: "Throughout heaven and throughout earth." He said: "If so, then the stone man nods and the exposed pillar claps its hands." The Master said: "One bottle of pure water, one censer of incense." He said: "This is still a tadpole at the bottom of a well." The Master said: "I have troubled the great assembly." The Master often regulated and cut off food; following the assembly at the two meal times, he merely opened his bowl. Sometimes he exceeded months and years. Nor did he adjust or train in taking food and medicine, and it did not hinder his work. When invited, he would always open [the meal] and immediately eat his fill, without any fixation. On the second day of the fourth month in the second year of Zhidao, he showed illness and passed away. He was cremated and a stupa was built on this mountain.

行思禪師第十一世

The eleventh generation of Chan Master Xingsi.

前蘇州長壽院朋彥大師法嗣

A Dharma heir of former Great Master Pengyan of Changshou Cloister in Suzhou.

長壽第二世法齊禪師婺州人也。姓丁氏。始講百法因明二論。尋置講遊方。受心印於廣法大師。建隆二年廣法歸寂付授住持。節使錢仁奉禮重請揚真要。有百法座主問。令公請命四眾雲臻。向上宗乘請師舉唱。師曰。百法明門論。曰畢竟作麼生。師曰。一切法無我。問城東老母與佛同生。為什麼卻不見佛。師曰。不見即道。曰恁麼即見去也。師曰。城東老母與佛同生。師太平興國三年戊寅捨眾就本院創別室宴居。咸平三年庚子十二月十一日示滅。壽八十九。臘七十二。

Chan Master Faqi, the second generation of Changshou, was a man of Wuzhou. His surname was Ding. At first he lectured on the two treatises, the Hundred Dharmas and the Science of Valid Cognition. Then he set aside lecturing and traveled to various places. He received the mind-seal from Great Master Guangfa. In the second year of Jianlong, when Guangfa passed into quiescence, he transmitted the abbacy to him. The Commissioner Qian Renfeng revered him and requested him to proclaim the true essential. A lecturer on the Hundred Dharmas asked: "The Commissioner has requested your life, and the four assemblies gather like clouds. Regarding the supreme vehicle of the patriarchs, please, Master, raise it and sing it forth." The Master said: "The Treatise on the Door of Understanding of the Hundred Dharmas." He said: "Ultimately, how is it?" The Master said: "All dharmas are without self." He asked: "The old woman east of the city was born together with the Buddha; why then did she not see the Buddha?" The Master said: "Not seeing is precisely the Way." He said: "If so, then she has seen it." The Master said: "The old woman east of the city was born together with the Buddha." In the third year of Taiping Xingguo, the wuyin year, the Master relinquished the assembly and created a separate room in his own cloister for quiet dwelling. On the eleventh day of the twelfth month of the third year of Xianping, the gengzi year, he showed extinction. His age was eighty-nine; his monastic years were seventy-two.