Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle 3

師聞偈再啟曰。經云。諸大聲聞乃至菩薩。皆盡思度量。尚不能測於佛智。今令凡夫但悟自心。便名佛之知見。自非上根未免疑謗。又經說三車。大牛之車與白牛車如何區別。願和尚再垂宣說。祖曰。經意分明。汝自迷背。諸三乘人不能測佛智者。患在度量也。饒伊盡思共推轉加懸遠。佛本為凡夫說不為佛說。此理若不肯信者從他退席。殊不知坐卻白牛車。更於門外覓三車。況經文明向汝道。無二亦無三。汝何不省。三車是假為昔時故。一乘是實為今時故。只教汝去假歸實。歸實之後實亦無名。應知所有珍財盡屬於汝由汝受用。更不作父想。亦不作子想。亦無用想。是名持法華經。從劫至劫手不釋卷。從晝至夜無不念時也。師既蒙啟發踴躍歡喜。以偈贊曰。

The Master heard the verse and asked again, "The sutra says: all the great hearers, up to the bodhisattvas, exhaust their thought and measurement, and still cannot fathom the Buddha's wisdom. Now you tell ordinary people merely to awaken to their own mind and it is called the Buddha's knowledge and vision. Unless one has superior roots, one cannot avoid doubt and slander. Also the sutra speaks of three carts. What is the difference between the cart of the great ox and the white ox cart? I hope the Venerable will explain once more." The Patriarch said, "The sutra's meaning is clear; you yourself are deluded and turn your back on it. People of the Three Vehicles cannot fathom the Buddha's wisdom; their trouble is measuring. Let them exhaust their thought in joint deliberation, they only grow further away. The Buddha originally spoke for ordinary people and not for buddhas. If one is unwilling to believe this principle, let him withdraw from the seat. Little do they know that, having sat down in the white ox cart, they seek three carts outside the gate. How much more, when the sutra text tells you clearly: there is neither two nor three. Why do you not realize it? The three carts are provisional, for past times; the One Vehicle is real, for the present. They only teach you to leave the provisional and return to the real. After returning to the real, the real too has no name. You should know that all the treasure and wealth belongs to you, for you to enjoy. You do not think of a father, nor of a son, nor even of use; this is called upholding the Lotus Sutra. From eon to eon the scroll is never out of your hand; from day to night there is no time that is not recitation." The Master, having been enlightened, was overjoyed, and praised it with a verse:

經誦三千部曹谿一句亡

Reciting the sutra three thousand times, a single line from Caoxi wiped it out.

未明出世旨寧歇累生狂

Not understanding the purpose of appearing in the world, how could I end the madness of life after life?

羊鹿牛權設初中後善揚

Sheep, deer, and ox carts are provisional devices; the good is proclaimed at beginning, middle, and end.

誰知火宅內元是法中王

Who would have known that inside the burning house, one was originally the king of the Dharma?

祖曰。汝今後方可名為念經僧也。師從此領玄旨。亦不輟誦持。

The Patriarch said, "From now on you may be called a sutra-reciting monk." The Master from then on grasped the profound purpose, and did not stop reciting and upholding.

壽州智通禪師者壽州安豐人也。初看楞伽經約千餘遍而不會三身四智。禮師求解其義。祖曰。三身者。清淨法身汝之性也。圓滿報身汝之智也。千百億化身汝之行也。若離本性別說三身。即名有身無智。若悟三身無有自性。即名四智菩提。聽吾偈曰。

Chan Master Zhitong of Shouzhou was a man of Anfeng in Shouzhou. At first he read the Lankavatara Sutra about a thousand times but did not understand the Three Bodies and Four Wisdoms, and bowed to the Master to ask for their meaning. The Patriarch said, "The Three Bodies: the pure Dharma body is your nature, the perfect reward body is your wisdom, and the hundreds of millions of transformation bodies are your conduct. If you speak of the three bodies apart from original nature, it is to have bodies without wisdom. If you awaken that the three bodies have no self-nature, it is called the bodhi of Four Wisdoms. Listen to my verse:

自性具三身發明成四智

The self-nature holds three bodies; when it is made clear, it becomes four wisdoms.

不離見聞緣超然登佛地

Without leaving the conditions of seeing and hearing, one leaps up to the Buddha ground.

吾今為汝說諦信永無迷

I now speak to you; truly believe and you will never be deluded.

莫學馳求者終日說菩提

Do not imitate those who rush about seeking, talking of bodhi all day.

師曰。四智之義可得聞乎。祖曰。既會三身便明四智。何更問邪。若離三身別譚四智。此名有智無身也。即此有智還成無智。復說偈曰。

The Master said, "May I hear the meaning of the Four Wisdoms?" The Patriarch said, "Once you understand the Three Bodies you will understand the Four Wisdoms; why ask again? If one speaks of the Four Wisdoms apart from the Three Bodies, it is called having wisdom without a body. Even this having wisdom becomes without wisdom." He spoke another verse:

大圓鏡智性清淨平等性智心無病

The Great Mirror Wisdom is pure by nature; the Wisdom of Equality has a mind without illness.

妙觀察智見非功成所作智同圓鏡

The Wisdom of Wondrous Observation sees without effort; the Wisdom of Accomplishing Action is the same as the great mirror.

五八六七果因轉但用名者無實性

The fifth, eighth, sixth, and seventh turn in cause and fruit; they only use names and have no real nature.

若於轉處不留情繁興永處那伽定

If at the turning point one leaves no sentiment, one dwells forever in the naga samadhi, flourishing.

(轉識為智者。教中雲。轉前五識為成所作智。轉第六識為妙觀察智。轉第七識為平等性智。轉第八識為大圓鏡智。雖六七因中轉。五八果上轉。但轉其名而不轉其體也)。

(Turning consciousness into wisdom: the teachings say that turning the first five consciousnesses is the Wisdom of Accomplishing Action, turning the sixth consciousness is the Wisdom of Wondrous Observation, turning the seventh consciousness is the Wisdom of Equality, and turning the eighth consciousness is the Great Mirror Wisdom. Although the sixth and seventh turn in the causal stage and the fifth and eighth turn at the fruition stage, only their names are turned and not their substance.)

師禮謝以偈贊曰。

The Master bowed in thanks and praised it with a verse, saying:

三身元我體四智本心明

The three bodies are originally my own substance; the four wisdoms are the clarity of the original mind.

身智融無礙應物任隨形

Body and wisdom blend without obstruction; responding to things, one follows their form freely.

起修皆妄動守住匪真精

To start cultivating is all false movement; to hold on and abide is not the true essence.

妙言因師曉終亡汙染名

The wondrous words I understood because of the Master; in the end the name of defilement is gone.

江西志徹禪師者江西人也。姓張氏。名行昌。少任俠。自南北分化。二宗主雖亡彼我。而徒侶競起愛憎。時北宗門人自立秀師為第六祖。而忌能大師傳衣為天下所聞。然祖是菩薩預知其事。即置金十兩於方丈。時行昌受北宗門人之囑。懷刃入祖室將欲加害。祖舒頸而就。行昌揮刃者三都無所損。祖曰。正劍不邪邪劍不正。只負汝金不負汝命。行昌驚僕。久而方甦求哀悔過。即願出家。祖遂與金雲。汝且去。恐徒眾翻害於汝。汝可他日易形而來。吾當攝受。行昌稟旨宵遁。終投僧出家具戒精進。一日憶祖之言。遠來禮覲。祖曰。吾久念於汝。汝來何晚。曰昨蒙和尚捨罪。今雖出家苦行終難報於深恩。其唯傳法度生乎。弟子嘗覽涅槃經。未曉常無常義。乞和尚慈悲略為宣說。祖曰。無常者。即佛性也。有常者。即善惡一切諸法分別心也。曰和尚所說大違經文也。祖曰。吾傳佛心印。安敢違於佛經。曰經說佛性是常。和尚卻言無常。善惡諸法乃至菩提心皆是無常。和尚卻言是常。此即相違。令學人轉加疑惑。祖曰。涅槃經吾昔者聽尼無盡藏讀誦一遍。便為講說。無一字一義不合經文。乃至為汝終無二說。曰學人識量淺昧。願和尚委曲開示。祖曰。汝知否。佛性若常。更說什麼善惡諸法。乃至窮劫無有一人發菩提心者。故吾說無常。正是佛說真常之道也。又一切諸法若無常者。即物物皆有自性容受生死。而真常性有不遍之處。故吾說常者。正是佛說真無常義也。佛比為凡夫外道執於邪常。諸二乘人於常計無常共成八倒故。於涅槃了義教中。破彼偏見。而顯說真常真我真淨。汝今依言背義。以斷滅無常及確定死常。而錯解佛之圓妙最後微言。縱覽千遍有何所益。行昌忽如醉醒。乃說偈曰。

Chan Master Zhiche of Jiangxi was a man of Jiangxi, surnamed Zhang, with the given name Xingchang. In youth he was a knight-errant. Ever since the north and south had divided, though the heads of the two schools had forgotten self and other, their followers competed in love and hatred. At that time the disciples of the Northern School set up Master Xiu as the Sixth Patriarch, and were jealous that Great Master Neng's transmission of the robe was known throughout the world. But the Patriarch was a bodhisattva and foresaw the matter, and placed ten taels of gold in his abbot's room. At that time Xingchang, at the urging of the Northern School disciples, went into the Patriarch's room with a blade hidden, intending to harm him. The Patriarch stretched out his neck to him. Xingchang swung the blade three times, and did no damage. The Patriarch said, "A true sword is not crooked; a crooked sword is not true. I owe you gold, but I do not owe you my life." Xingchang fell in fright, and after a long while awoke, begged forgiveness and repented, and wished to leave home. The Patriarch gave him the gold and said, "Go for now. I fear my followers will turn and harm you. You may come in another day in a changed appearance, and I will take you in." Xingchang received the instruction and slipped away by night, and finally joined a monk to leave home, received the full precepts and made diligent progress. One day, remembering the Patriarch's words, he came from afar to pay respects. The Patriarch said, "I have long thought of you; why did you come so late?" He said, "Yesterday I was forgiven by the Venerable for my crime; now though I have left home and practice austerities, it is hard to repay such deep kindness, except by transmitting the Dharma and delivering beings. Your disciple once read the Nirvana Sutra but did not understand the meaning of permanence and impermanence; I beg the Venerable, in compassion, to explain briefly." The Patriarch said, "Impermanence is Buddha-nature itself. Permanence is the discriminating mind of all dharmas, good and evil." He said, "What the Venerable says greatly contradicts the sutra text." The Patriarch said, "I transmit the Buddha's mind seal; how would I dare contradict the Buddha's sutra?" He said, "The sutra says Buddha-nature is permanent, but the Venerable says impermanent. Good and evil dharmas and even the bodhi mind are all impermanent, but the Venerable says they are permanent. This is contradictory and increases the student's doubt." The Patriarch said, "The Nirvana Sutra I once heard the nun Wujinzang recite once, and then I explained it for her, and there was not a word or meaning that did not accord with the sutra. Even for you, I have never given two accounts." He said, "Your student's understanding is shallow and dim; I hope the Venerable will explain in detail." The Patriarch said, "Do you know? If Buddha-nature were permanent, what would there be to speak of as good and evil dharmas, and even through an eon no one would give rise to the bodhi mind. Therefore when I say impermanent, it is exactly the Buddha's way of true permanence. Again, if all dharmas were impermanent, then every thing would have self-nature and could receive birth and death, and the true permanent nature would have places it does not pervade. Therefore when I say permanent, it is exactly the Buddha's meaning of true impermanence. The Buddha, because ordinary people and non-Buddhists cling to false permanence, and people of the Two Vehicles take permanence as impermanence, together making the eight inversions, in the definitive teaching of the Nirvana Sutra refuted those one-sided views and plainly showed true permanence, true self, and true purity. You now follow the words and turn your back on the meaning, taking annihilation and impermanence and fixed dead permanence, and so misunderstand the Buddha's perfect, wondrous, and final subtle words. Even if you read it a thousand times, what benefit is there?" Xingchang was suddenly like one waking from drunkenness, and spoke a verse:

因守無常心佛演有常性

Holding to an impermanent mind, the Buddha taught a permanent nature.

不知方便者猶春池執礫

One who does not know skillful means is like grasping pebbles in a spring pond.

我今不施功佛性而見前

Now I apply no effort, and Buddha-nature appears before me.

非師相授與我亦無所得

Had the Master not given it to me, I too would have gained nothing.

祖曰。汝今徹也。宜名志徹。師禮謝而去。

The Patriarch said, "You have now penetrated it; you should be named Zhiche (Resolute Penetration)." The Master bowed in thanks and left.

信州智常禪師者本州貴谿人也。髫年出家志求見性。一日參六祖。祖問。汝從何來欲求何事。師曰。學人近往洪州建昌縣白峰山。禮大通和尚。蒙示見性成佛之義。未決狐疑。至吉州遇人指迷令投謁和尚。伏願垂慈攝受。祖曰。彼有何言句。汝試舉似於吾。與汝證明。師曰。初到彼三月未蒙開示。以為法切故。於中夜獨入方丈禮拜哀請。大通乃曰。汝見虛空否。對曰見。彼曰。汝見虛空有相貌否。對曰。虛空無形有何相貌。彼曰。汝之本性猶如虛空。返觀自性了無一物可見。是名正見。無一物可知。是名真知。無有青黃長短。但見本源清淨覺體圓明。即名見性成佛。亦名極樂世界。亦名如來知見。學人雖聞此說猶未決了。乞和尚誨示令無凝滯。祖曰。彼師所說猶存見知故。令汝未了。吾今示汝一偈曰。

Chan Master Zhichang of Xinzhou was a man of Guixi in that prefecture. He left home in his youth, resolved to seek to see his nature. One day he visited the Sixth Patriarch. The Patriarch asked, "Where do you come from, and what do you seek?" The Master said, "Your student recently went to Baifeng Mountain in Jianchang County, Hongzhou, and bowed to the Venerable Datong, who taught me the meaning of seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha, but I was not yet free of doubt. In Jizhou I met someone who pointed out the way and told me to visit the Venerable. I hope you will show compassion and take me in." The Patriarch said, "What words did he use? Try repeating them to me and I will verify them for you." The Master said, "When I first arrived there, for three months I was not given instruction, and because of my urgent desire for the Dharma, in the middle of the night I entered the abbot's room alone, bowed, and earnestly begged. Datong then said: Do you see empty space? I said I saw it. He said: Do you see that empty space has a form? I said: Empty space has no form; what form could it have? He said: Your original nature is like empty space. Looking back on your self-nature, there is not a single thing to be seen, and this is called right view; there is not a single thing to be known, and this is called true knowledge. There is no blue or yellow, long or short, only the pure original source and the perfectly bright awakened substance, which is called seeing nature and becoming a Buddha, also called the Land of Ultimate Bliss, also called the Tathagata's knowledge and vision. Though your student has heard this, I have not yet resolved it; I beg the Venerable to instruct me so that I have no obstruction." The Patriarch said, "That teacher's words still retain knowledge and views, and so left you unresolved. I now show you a verse:

不見一法存無見大似浮雲遮日面

Seeing not a single dharma yet holding to non-seeing is much like floating clouds covering the face of the sun.

不知一法守空知還如太虛生閃電

Not knowing a single dharma yet keeping an empty knowing is again like lightning arising in the great void.

此之知見瞥然興錯認何曾解方便

This knowing and seeing arises suddenly; mistaking it, how could one understand skillful means?

汝當一念自知非自己靈光常顯見

In a single thought you should know it is wrong, and your own spiritual light will always shine.

師聞偈已心意豁然。乃述一偈曰。

The Master heard the verse, his mind suddenly opened, and he composed a verse, saying:

無端起知解著相求菩提

Without reason arises knowing and understanding; clinging to characteristics, I sought bodhi.

情存一念悟寧越昔時迷

With feeling holding to one thought of awakening, how could I get beyond past delusion?