Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle 3

潭州華林善覺禪師

Chan Master Shanjue of Hualin in Tanzhou

汀州水塘和尚

The Venerable Shuitang of Tingzhou

古寺和尚

The Venerable Gusi

江西椑樹和尚

The Venerable Beishu of Jiangxi

京兆草堂和尚

The Venerable Caotang of Jingzhao

袁州陽岐山甄叔禪師

Chan Master Zhenshu of Mount Yangqi in Yuanzhou

濛谿和尚

The Venerable Mengxi

洛京黑㵎和尚

The Venerable Heijian of Luojing

京兆興平和尚

The Venerable Xingping of Jingzhao

逍遙和尚

The Venerable Xiaoyao

福谿和尚

The Venerable Fuxi

洪州水老和尚

The Venerable Shuilao of Hongzhou

浮杯和尚

The Venerable Fubei

潭州龍山和尚

The Venerable Longshan of Tanzhou

襄州居士龐蘊(已上四十三人見錄)

The layman Pang Yun of Xiangzhou (the above forty-three persons are recorded)

天目山明覺禪師

Chan Master Mingjue of Mount Tianmu

王屋山行明禪師

Chan Master Xingming of Mount Wangwu

京兆智藏禪師

Chan Master Zhizang of Jingzhao

大陽山希頂禪師

Chan Master Xiding of Mount Dayang

蘇州崑山定覺禪師

Chan Master Dingjue of Kunshan in Suzhou

隨州洪山大師

Great Master Hongshan of Suizhou

連州元堤禪師

Chan Master Yuandi of Lianzhou

泉州無了禪師

Chan Master Wuliao of Quanzhou

泉州慧忠禪師

Chan Master Huizhong of Quanzhou

安豐山懷空禪師

Chan Master Huaikong of Mount Anfeng

羅浮山道行禪師

Chan Master Daoxing of Mount Luofu

廬山法藏禪師

Chan Master Fazang of Mount Lu

呂後山寧賁禪師(已上一十三人無機緣語句不錄)

Chan Master Ningben of Mount Lühou (the above thirteen persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)

懷讓禪師第二世法嗣

Dharma heirs in the second generation under Chan Master Huairang

汾州無業禪師者。商州上洛人也。姓杜氏。初母李氏聞空中言寄居得否。乃覺有娠。誕生之夕神光滿室。俯及丱歲行必直視坐即跏趺。九歲依開元寺志本禪師受大乘經。五行俱下諷誦無遺。十二落髮。二十受具戒於襄州幽律師。習四分律疏。才終便能敷演。每為眾僧講涅槃大部。冬夏無廢。後聞馬大師禪門鼎盛。特往瞻禮。馬祖覩其狀貌瓌偉語音如鐘。乃曰。巍巍佛堂其中無佛。師禮跪而問曰。三乘文學麁窮其旨。常聞禪門即心是佛。實未能了。馬祖曰。只未了底心即是。更無別物。師又問。如何是祖師西來密傳心印。祖曰。大德正鬧在。且去別時來。師才出。祖召曰。大德。師迴首。祖雲。是什麼。師便領悟禮拜。祖雲。遮鈍漢禮拜作麼(雲居錫拈雲。什麼處是汾州正閙)自得旨尋詣曹谿禮祖塔及廬嶽天台遍尋聖跡。自洛抵雍憩西明寺。僧眾舉請充兩街大德。師曰。非吾本志也。後至上黨。節度使李抱真重師名行旦夕瞻奉。師常有倦色。謂人曰。吾本避上國浩穰。今復煩接君俟。豈吾心哉。乃之縣上抱腹山。未久又往清涼金閣寺。重閱大藏周八稔而畢。復南下至於西河。刺史董叔纏請住開元精舍。師曰。吾緣在此矣。繇是雨大法雨垂二十載(廣語具別錄)並汾緇白無不嚮化。凡學者致問。師多答之雲。莫妄想。唐憲宗屨遣使徵召。師皆辭疾不赴。暨穆宗即位思一瞻禮。乃命兩街僧錄靈阜等。齎詔迎請。至彼作禮曰。皇上此度恩旨不同常時。願和尚且順天心。不可言疾也。師微笑曰。貧道何德累煩世主。且請前行吾從別道去矣。乃沐身剃髮。至中夜告弟子惠愔等曰。汝等見聞覺知之性。與太虛同壽不生不滅。一切境界本自空寂。無一法可得。迷者不了即為境惑。一為境惑流轉不窮。汝等當知。心性本自有之。非因造作。猶如金剛不可破壞。一切諸法如影如響無有實者。故經云。唯有一事實餘二即非真。

Chan Master Wuye of Fenzhou was from Shangluo in Shangzhou, with the surname Du. At first his mother, Lady Li, heard a voice in the air say “May I lodge here?” and then realized she was with child. On the night of his birth, divine light filled the room. In childhood, he always looked straight ahead when walking and sat in the lotus posture. At nine he studied the Mahayana sutras under Chan Master Zhiben of Kaiyuan Monastery; he read five lines at a time and recited without omission. At twelve he had his head shaved, and at twenty he received the full precepts from the Vinaya Master You of Xiangzhou. He studied the Commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya, and as soon as he finished, he could expound it. He regularly lectured to the monks on the great Nirvana Sutra, without break in winter or summer. Later he heard that the Chan school of the Great Master Ma was flourishing and went especially to pay respects. Mazu, seeing his imposing appearance and bell-like voice, said: “A towering Buddha hall, and no Buddha inside.” The master bowed on his knees and asked: “I have roughly mastered the essence of the writings of the three vehicles. I have often heard that in the Chan school this very mind is Buddha, but I have not been able to understand it.” Mazu said: “Just this mind that does not understand is it, and there is nothing else.” The master asked again: “What is the secret mind-seal that the Patriarch transmitted when he came from the West?” The Patriarch said: “The Great Virtue is making a great commotion right now. Go for now and come another time.” As the master was leaving, the Patriarch called: “Great Virtue.” The master turned his head. The Patriarch said: “What is it?” The master immediately awakened and bowed. The Patriarch said: “What is this dull fellow bowing for?” (Yunju Xi commented: “Where is Fenzhou's great commotion?”) Having gained the point, he went to Caoxi to pay homage at the Patriarch's stupa, and also to Mount Lu and Tiantai, searching everywhere for sacred sites. From Luoyang he reached Yong and rested at Ximing Monastery. The monks recommended him to serve as Great Virtue of the two streets. The master said: “This is not my original aim.” Later he reached Shangdang. The military governor Li Baozhen respected the master's name and conduct and attended him morning and evening. The master often looked weary and said to people: “I originally avoided the crowds of the capital, and now I am troubled again by receiving the marquis; is this my intention?” He then went to Mount Baofu in the county. Before long he went to Jinge Monastery on Mount Qingliang, where he reread the Great Canon, and finished after eight years. He then went south again to Xihe. The governor Dong Shuchan invited him to reside at Kaiyuan Vihara. The master said: “My affinity is here.” From then on he poured down the great Dharma rain for nearly twenty years (his extended sayings are recorded separately). Monks and laity of Bing and Fen all turned toward the teaching. Whenever students asked questions, the master mostly answered: “Do not have deluded thoughts.” Emperor Xianzong of Tang repeatedly sent envoys to summon him, and the master always declined on grounds of illness and did not go. When Emperor Muzong took the throne, he wished to see him once and ordered the monk registrars of the two streets, Ling Fu and others, to bring an edict to invite him. On arriving, they bowed and said: “His Majesty's grace this time is not as at other times; we hope the Venerable will for now accord with Heaven's will and not say that he is ill.” The master smiled slightly and said: “What virtue does this poor monk have, that he should repeatedly trouble the ruler of the world? Please go ahead; I will go by another road.” He then bathed and shaved his head. At midnight he told his disciples Huiyin and others: “The nature of your seeing, hearing, sensing and knowing has the same lifespan as the great void; it is neither born nor extinguished. All realms are by nature empty and still, and there is not a single dharma to be attained. The deluded do not understand and are confused by realms. Once confused by realms, they flow and turn without end. You should know that the nature of mind is originally possessed and does not come from fabrication. It is like a diamond, which cannot be destroyed. All dharmas are like shadows and echoes, with nothing real in them. So a sutra says: Only one thing is real, and the other two are not true.

常了一切空無一物當情。是諸佛用心處。汝等勤而行之。言訖跏趺而逝。荼毘日祥雲五色異香四徹。所獲舍利璨若玉珠。弟子等貯以金棺。當長慶三年十二月二十一日。葬於石塔。壽六十二。臘四十二。勅諡大達國師。塔曰澄源。

Constantly understanding that all is empty, with not one thing present in the feelings: this is where the Buddhas apply their minds. Practice this diligently.” When he had finished speaking, he sat in the lotus posture and passed away. On the day of cremation, auspicious clouds of five colors appeared and a rare fragrance spread in all directions. The relics obtained were bright as jade pearls. His disciples stored them in a golden coffin. On the twenty-first day of the twelfth month of the third year of Changqing, he was buried in a stone stupa. He lived sixty-two years and had forty-two years as a monk. The emperor bestowed the posthumous title National Master Dada, and the stupa was named Chengyuan.

澧州大同廣澄禪師。僧問。如何是六根滅。師雲。輪劍擲空(舊本作雲)無傷於物。問如何是本來人。師雲。共坐不相識。僧雲。恁麼即學人禮謝下去。師雲。暗寫愁腸寄與誰。

Chan Master Guangcheng of Datong in Lizhou. A monk asked: “What is the extinction of the six sense faculties?” The master said: “A wheeled sword thrown through the void (the old edition has “cloud”) harms nothing.” He asked: “What is the original person?” The master said: “Sitting together without knowing one another.” The monk said: “In that case this student will bow and withdraw.” The master said: “To whom will you send your hidden, written sorrow?”

池州南泉普願禪師者。鄭州新鄭人也。姓王氏。唐至德二年依大隗山大慧禪師受業。三十詣嵩嶽受戒。初習相部舊章。究毘尼篇聚。次遊諸講肆。歷聽楞伽華嚴。入中百門觀精練玄義。後扣大寂之室。頓然忘筌。得遊戲三昧。一日為僧行粥次。馬大師問。桶裡是什麼。師雲。遮老漢合取口作恁麼語話。自餘同參之流無敢徵詰。貞元十一年憩錫於池陽自構禪齋。不下南泉三十餘載。大和初宣城廉使陸公亙嚮師道風。遂與監軍同請下山。伸弟子之禮。大振玄綱。自此學徒不下數百。言滿諸方目為郢匠。一日師示眾雲。道箇如如早是變也。今時師僧須向異類中行。歸宗雲。雖行畜生行。不得畜生報。師雲。孟八郎又恁麼去也。師有時雲。文殊普賢昨夜三更每人與二十棒趁出院也。趙州雲。和尚棒教誰吃。師雲。且道。王老師過在什麼處。趙州禮拜而出(玄覺雲。且道。趙州休去。是肯南泉不肯南泉)師擬取明日遊莊舍。其夜土地神先報莊主。莊主乃預為備。師到問莊主。爭知老僧來排辦如此。莊主雲。昨夜土地報道和尚今日來。師雲。王老師修行無力。被鬼神覷見。有僧便問。和尚既是善知識。為什麼被鬼神覷見。師雲。土地前更下一分飯。(玄覺雲。什麼處是土地前更下一分飯。雲居錫雲。是賞伊罰伊。只如土地前。見是南泉。不是南泉)師有時雲。江西馬祖說即心即佛。王老師不恁麼道。不是心不是佛不是物。恁麼道還有過麼。趙州禮拜而出。時有一僧隨問趙州雲。上座禮拜了便出意作麼生。趙州雲。汝卻問取和尚。僧上問曰。適來諗上座意作麼生。師雲。他卻領得老僧意旨。師一日捧缽上堂。黃檗和尚居第一座。見師不起。師問雲。長老什麼年中行道。黃檗雲。空王佛時。師雲。猶是王老師孫在下去。師一日問黃檗。黃金為世界。白銀為壁落。此是什麼人居處。黃檗雲。是聖人居處。師雲。

Chan Master Nanquan Puyuan of Chizhou was from Xinzheng in Zhengzhou, with the surname Wang. In the second year of Zhide of the Tang, he studied under Great Chan Master Dahui of Mount Dawei. At thirty he went to Mount Song to receive the precepts. He first studied the old regulations of the Xiang school and mastered the Vinaya collections. Then he visited various lecture halls, listened in turn to the Lankavatara and the Avatamsaka, entered the Madhyamaka and the Hundred Gates, and refined his study of profound doctrines. Later he knocked at the room of Great Master Daji and suddenly forgot the snare and gained the samadhi of playful freedom. One day as he was serving gruel to the monks, Great Master Ma asked: “What is in the bucket?” The master said: “This old fellow should shut his mouth; what kind of talk is this?” None of his fellow students dared question him further. In the eleventh year of Zhenyuan he rested his staff at Chiyang and built his own meditation hut, and did not leave Nanquan for more than thirty years. At the beginning of Dahe, the Surveillance Commissioner Lu Gen of Xuancheng admired the master's Way and, together with the army supervisor, invited him down the mountain and offered the courtesies of a disciple. He greatly raised the profound net. From then on there were no fewer than several hundred students, and his sayings filled the various quarters, and he was regarded as the Ying craftsman. One day the master addressed the assembly: “To say ‘suchness’ is already change. Monks of today must go among other kinds of beings.” Guizong said: “Though one practices the conduct of an animal, one does not receive the retribution of an animal.” The master said: “Meng Balang is going off like that again.” Sometimes the master said: “Manjushri and Samantabhadra were each given twenty blows at the third watch last night and driven out of the monastery.” Zhaozhou said: “For whom does the Venerable's stick do its eating?” The master said: “Tell me, where does old Wang's fault lie?” Zhaozhou bowed and went out (Xuanjue said: “Tell me, Zhaozhou's stopping there, did he approve of Nanquan or not?”). The master intended to visit a farm the next day. That night the earth god told the farm steward in advance, and the steward made preparations. When the master arrived, he asked the steward: “How did you know this old monk was coming that you made such preparations?” The steward said: “Last night the earth god reported that the Venerable would come today.” The master said: “Old Wang's practice has no strength, and the spirits have seen through him.” A monk asked: “If the Venerable is a good teacher, why is he seen by spirits?” The master said: “Put out one more portion of food before the earth god.” (Xuanjue said: “What is this putting out one more portion of food before the earth god?” Yunju Xi said: “Is it a reward or a punishment? As for what the earth god saw, was it Nanquan or not Nanquan?”) Sometimes the master said: “Mazu of Jiangxi said that this very mind is Buddha. Old Wang does not say it that way: it is not mind, not Buddha, not a thing. Is there any fault in saying it so?” Zhaozhou bowed and went out. A monk then followed and asked Zhaozhou: “The senior monk bowed and left at once; what did you mean?” Zhaozhou said: “You should go and ask the Venerable.” The monk went up and asked: “What did Senior Monk Shen mean just now?” The master said: “He has understood the old monk's meaning.” One day the master held his bowl and came into the hall. Venerable Huangbo sat in the first seat and did not rise on seeing the master. The master asked: “In what year did the elder begin to practice the Way?” Huangbo said: “In the time of the Buddha Empty King.” The master said: “Still a grandson of old Wang; go down.” One day the master asked Huangbo: “Gold is the world and silver the walls; whose dwelling is this?” Huangbo said: “It is the dwelling of a sage.” The master said: “

更有一人居何國土。黃檗乃叉手立。師雲。道不得何不問王老師。黃檗卻問。更有一人居何國土。師雲。可惜許。師又別時問黃檗。定慧等學此理如何。黃檗雲。十二時中不依倚一物。師雲。莫是長老見處麼。黃檗雲。不敢。師雲。漿水價且置。草鞋錢教阿誰還。師見僧斫木。師乃擊木三下。僧放下斧子歸僧堂。師歸法堂。良久卻入僧堂。見前僧在衣缽下坐。師雲。賺殺人。僧問。師歸丈室將何指南。師雲。昨夜三更失卻牛。天明失卻火。師因東西兩堂各爭貓兒。師遇之白眾曰。道得即救取貓兒。道不得即斬卻也。眾無對。師便斬之。趙州自外歸。師舉前語示之。趙州乃脫履安頭上而出。師曰。汝適來若在。即救得貓兒也師在方丈與杉山向火次。師雲。不用指東指西。直下本分事道來。杉山插火著叉手立。師雲。雖然如是。猶較王老師一線道。有僧問訊叉手而立。師雲。太俗生。其僧便合掌。師雲太僧生。僧無對。一僧洗缽次。師乃奪卻缽。其僧即空手而立。師雲。缽在我手裡。汝口喃喃作麼。僧無對。師因入菜園見一僧。師乃將瓦子打之。其僧迴顧。師乃翹足。僧無語。師便歸方丈。僧隨後入問訊雲。和尚適來擲瓦子打某甲。豈不是警覺某甲。師雲。翹足又作麼生。僧無對(後有僧問石霜雲。南泉翹足意作麼生。石霜舉手雲。還恁麼無)師示眾雲。王師老要賣身阿誰要買。一僧出雲。某甲買。師雲。他不作貴價不作賤價。汝作麼生買。僧無對(臥龍代雲。屬某去也。未山代雲。是何道理。趙州代雲明年來與和尚縫箇布衫)師與歸宗麻谷同去參禮南陽國師。師先於路上畫一圓相雲道得即去。歸宗便於圓相中坐。麻谷作女人拜。師雲。恁麼即不去也。歸宗雲。是什麼心行師乃相喚迴不去禮國師(玄覺雲。只如南泉恁麼道。是肯底語不肯語。雲居錫雲。比來去禮拜國師。南泉為什麼卻相喚迴。

In what land does yet another person dwell?” Huangbo folded his hands and stood. The master said: “You cannot say it; why not ask old Wang?” Huangbo then asked: “In what land does yet another person dwell?” The master said: “What a pity.” On another occasion the master asked Huangbo: “Concentration and wisdom studied equally; how is this principle?” Huangbo said: “In the twelve periods of the day, not relying on a single thing.” The master said: “Is this what the elder sees?” Huangbo said: “I dare not claim it.” The master said: “Put aside the price of the soup; who will pay for the straw sandals?” The master saw a monk chopping wood, and struck the wood three times. The monk put down his axe and went back to the monks' hall. The master returned to the Dharma hall, and after a long while went into the monks' hall and saw the monk sitting below his robe and bowl. The master said: “You have cheated me to death.” A monk asked: “When the master returns to his room, what will he use as a guide?” The master said: “Last night at the third watch I lost the ox, and at dawn I lost the fire.” The east and west halls were quarreling over a cat. The master met them and told the assembly: “If you can say something, I will save the cat; if you cannot, I will cut it in two.” The assembly had no answer. The master cut it. Zhaozhou came back from outside. The master told him what had happened. Zhaozhou took off his sandals, put them on his head and went out. The master said: “If you had been here just now, you would have saved the cat.” The master was in the abbot's quarters warming himself at the fire with Shanshan. The master said: “There is no need to point east or west; say what is the matter of your original portion right now.” Shanshan stuck the fire tongs in the ashes and stood with folded hands. The master said: “Even so, you are still a thread behind old Wang.” A monk came to pay respects and stood with folded hands. The master said: “Too worldly.” The monk then put his palms together. The master said: “Too monkish.” The monk had no answer. A monk was washing his bowl, and the master snatched the bowl. The monk stood empty-handed. The master said: “The bowl is in my hand; what are you muttering about?” The monk had no answer. The master entered the vegetable garden and saw a monk, and threw a piece of tile at him. The monk looked back. The master raised his foot. The monk was silent. The master returned to his quarters. The monk followed and asked: “When the Venerable threw a tile at me just now, was it not to alert me?” The master said: “What about raising the foot?” The monk had no answer (later a monk asked Shishuang: “What was the meaning of Nanquan raising his foot?” Shishuang raised his hand and said: “Is there anything like this?”). The master addressed the assembly: “Old Wang wants to sell himself; who wants to buy?” A monk came forward and said: “I will buy.” The master said: “He does not set a high price or a low price; how will you buy?” The monk had no answer (Wolong spoke in his place: “It is up to me to go.” Weishan spoke in his place: “What is the principle?” Zhaozhou spoke in his place: “Next year I will come and sew a cloth robe for the Venerable.”). The master went with Guizong and Magu to pay respects to National Master Nanyang. The master first drew a circle on the road and said: “If you can say something, we will go.” Guizong sat in the circle. Magu bowed like a woman. The master said: “In that case we will not go.” Guizong said: “What kind of mind is that?” The master called them back and they did not go to pay respects to the National Master (Xuanjue said: “As for what Nanquan said, was it an approving or a disapproving remark?” Yunju Xi said: “They had come to pay respects to the National Master, so why did Nanquan call them back?

且道古人意作麼生)師問神山。作什麼。對雲。打羅。師雲。手打腳打。神山雲。請和尚道。師雲。分明記取舉似作家(洞山別雲。無腳手者。始解打羅)有一坐主辭師。師問。什麼處去。對雲。山下去。師雲。第一不得謗王老師。對雲。爭敢謗和尚。師乃噴水雲。多少。坐主便出去(先雲居雲。非師木意。先曹山雲。賴也。石霜雲。不為人斟酌。長慶雲。請領語。雲居錫雲。坐主當時出去。是會不會)師一日掩方丈門。將灰圍卻門外雲。若有人道得即開。或有祇對多未愜師意。趙州雲。蒼天。師便開門。師因翫月次。有僧便問。幾時得似遮箇去。師雲。王老師二十年前亦恁麼來。僧雲。即今作麼生。師便歸方丈。陸亙大夫問雲。弟子從六合來。彼中還更有身否。師雲。分明記取舉似作家。陸又謂師曰。和尚大不可思議。到處世界皆成就。師雲。適來總是大夫分上事。陸異日又謂師曰。弟子亦薄會佛法。師便問大夫十二時中作麼生。陸雲。寸絲不掛。師雲。猶是階下漢。師又云。不見道。有道君王不納有智之臣。師上堂次。陸大夫雲。請和尚為眾說法。師雲。教老僧作麼生說。陸雲。和尚豈無方便。師雲。道他欠少什麼。陸雲。為什麼有六道四生。師雲。老僧不教他。陸大夫與師見人雙陸。拈起骰子云。恁麼不恁麼。只恁麼信彩去時如何。師拈起骰子云。臭骨頭十八。又問雲。弟子家中有一片石。或時坐或時臥。如今擬鐫作佛還得否。師雲得。大夫雲。莫不得否。師雲。不得不得(雲巖雲坐即佛不坐即非佛。洞山雲。不坐即佛坐即非佛)趙州問。道非物外物外非道。如何是物外道。師便打。趙州捉住棒雲。已後莫錯打人去。師雲。龍蛇易辨衲子難謾師喚院主。院主應諾。師雲。佛九十日在忉利天為母說法。時優填王思佛。請目連運神通三轉攝匠人往彼雕佛像。只雕得三十一相。為什麼梵音相雕不得。

Tell me, what was the ancient's meaning?”) The master asked Shenshan: “What are you doing?” He replied: “Sifting.” The master said: “Sifting by hand or by foot?” Shenshan said: “Please say, Venerable.” The master said: “Remember it clearly and tell it to an expert.” (Dongshan added: “Only one without hands or feet knows how to sift.”) A lecturer took leave of the master. The master asked: “Where are you going?” He replied: “Down the mountain.” The master said: “Above all, do not slander old Wang.” He replied: “How would I dare slander the Venerable?” The master spat water and said: “How much?” The lecturer went out (Earlier Yunju said: “It was not the master's original intent.” Earlier Caoshan said: “Fortunately.” Shishuang said: “He does not weigh things for people.” Changqing said: “Please take the words.” Yunju Xi said: “When the lecturer went out then, did he understand or not?”). One day the master closed the abbot's door and drew a circle of ash outside the door, saying: “If anyone can say something, I will open.” Some who answered mostly did not satisfy the master. Zhaozhou said: “Blue Heaven.” The master opened the door. While admiring the moon, a monk asked: “When will it be possible to be like this?” The master said: “Twenty years ago old Wang was also like this.” The monk said: “What about right now?” The master returned to his quarters. The Grand Master Lu Gen asked: “I came from Liuhe; is there another body there?” The master said: “Remember it clearly and tell it to an expert.” Lu again said to the master: “The Venerable is truly inconceivable, and everywhere the worlds are accomplished.” The master said: “All of that just now was the Grand Master's own affair.” On another day Lu again said to the master: “I also have a slight understanding of the Buddha Dharma.” The master asked: “How does the Grand Master pass the twelve periods of the day?” Lu said: “Not a thread attached.” The master said: “Still a man below the steps.” The master also said: “Have you not heard: a ruler who has the Way does not take in a minister who has cleverness.” When the master was ascending the hall, Grand Master Lu said: “Please, Venerable, teach the assembly.” The master said: “How would you have this old monk teach?” Lu said: “Does the Venerable have no skillful means?” The master said: “Tell me, what does he lack?” Lu said: “Why are there the six destinies and four modes of birth?” The master said: “The old monk did not teach them.” Grand Master Lu was with the master watching people play shuangliu; he picked up the dice and said: “Like this, not like this; what about when one simply goes by chance?” The master picked up the dice and said: “Stinking bones, eighteen.” He also asked: “In my home there is a slab of stone that I sometimes sit on and sometimes lie on. Now I intend to carve it into a Buddha; can I?” The master said: “You can.” The Grand Master said: “Can I not?” The master said: “You cannot, you cannot.” (Yunyan said: “Sitting is Buddha; not sitting is not Buddha.” Dongshan said: “Not sitting is Buddha; sitting is not Buddha.”) Zhaozhou asked: “The Way is not outside things, and outside things is not the Way. What is the Way outside things?” The master struck him. Zhaozhou grasped the stick and said: “Later do not strike the wrong person.” The master said: “Dragons and snakes are easy to tell apart; it is hard to fool a monk.” The master called the temple steward. The steward answered. The master said: “For ninety days the Buddha taught his mother in the Trayastrimsa heaven. At that time King Udayana longed for the Buddha and asked Maudgalyayana to use his supernatural power to carry craftsmen there three times to carve a Buddha image. They carved only the thirty-one marks; why could they not carve the mark of the Brahma voice?”

院主問。如何是梵音相。師雲。賺殺人。師問維耶。今日普請作什麼。對雲。拽磨。師雲。磨從爾拽。不得動著磨中心樹子。維那無語(保福代雲。比來拽磨如今卻不成。法眼代雲。恁麼即不拽也)一日有大德。問師曰。即心是佛又不得。非心非佛又不得。師意如何。師雲。大德。且信即心是佛便了。更說什麼得與不得。只如大德吃飯了從東廊上西廊下。不可總問人得與不得也。師住庵時有一僧到庵。師向其僧道。某甲上山。待到齋時做飯自吃了。送一分來山上。少時其僧自吃了。卻一時打破家事就床臥。師待不見來。便歸庵見僧臥。師亦去一邊而臥。僧便起去。師住後雲我往前住庵時。有箇靈利道者。直至如今不見。師拈起毬子問僧雲。那箇何似遮箇。對雲。不似師雲。什麼處見那箇便道不似。僧雲。若問某甲見處。和尚放下手中物。師雲。許爾具一隻眼。陸亙大夫向師道。肇法師甚奇怪。道萬物同根是非一體。師指庭前牡丹華雲。大夫時人見此一株華如夢相似。陸罔測陸又問。天王居何地位。師雲。若是天王即非地位。陸雲。弟子聞說天王是居初地。師雲。應以天王身得度者。即現天王身而為說法。陸辭歸宣城治所。師問。大夫去彼將何治民。陸雲。以智慧治民。師雲。恁麼即彼處生靈盡遭塗炭去也。師入宣州。陸大夫出迎接。指城門雲。人人盡喚作甕門。未審和尚喚作什麼門。師雲。老僧若道。恐辱大夫風化。陸雲。忽然賊來時作麼生。師雲。王老師罪過。陸又問。大悲菩薩用如許多手眼作什麼。師雲。只如國家又用大夫作什麼。師為馬大師設齋。問眾雲馬大師來否。眾無對。洞山雲。待有伴即來。師雲。子雖後生甚堪雕琢。洞山雲。和尚莫壓良為賤。師洗衣次有僧問。和尚猶有遮箇在。師拈起衣雲。爭奈遮箇何(玄覺雲。且道是一箇是兩箇)師問僧良欽。空劫中還有佛否。對雲有。師雲。是阿誰。

The steward asked: “What is the mark of the Brahma voice?” The master said: “You have cheated me to death.” The master asked the work director: “What is the general labor today?” He replied: “Pulling the mill.” The master said: “You may pull the mill as you like, but you must not disturb the tree in the middle of the mill.” The work director had no words (Baofu spoke in his place: “We were pulling the mill before, but now it does not work.” Fayan spoke in his place: “In that case we will not pull.”). One day a Great Virtue asked the master: “Neither can it be said that this very mind is Buddha, nor that it is neither mind nor Buddha. What does the master think?” The master said: “Great Virtue, just believe that this very mind is Buddha and be done; why say whether it is possible or not? It is like when Great Virtue has eaten, you go from the east corridor to the west corridor; you should not ask everyone whether you can or cannot.” When the master lived in a hermitage, a monk came to the hermitage. The master said to the monk: “I am going up the mountain. When it is mealtime, cook and eat yourself, and send one portion up the mountain.” After a short while the monk ate it himself, smashed all the household things at once, and lay down on the bed. The master waited and, not seeing him come, returned to the hermitage and saw the monk lying there. The master also went to one side and lay down. The monk got up and left. After the master took up residence, he said: “When I lived in a hermitage before, there was a clever fellow, and to this day I have not seen him again.” The master picked up a ball and asked a monk: “How does that one compare with this one?” He replied: “Not similar.” The master said: “Where did you see that one that you say it is not similar?” The monk said: “If you ask where I see it, Venerable, put down what is in your hand.” The master said: “I grant you have one eye.” The Grand Master Lu Gen said to the master: “Dharma Master Zhao was very remarkable, saying that the ten thousand things share one root and right and wrong are one body.” The master pointed to the peony in the courtyard and said: “Grand Master, people of the day look at this one flower as if in a dream.” Lu could not fathom it. Lu asked again: “At what stage is a Heavenly King?” The master said: “If he is a Heavenly King, then he has no stage.” Lu said: “I have heard it said that a Heavenly King is at the first ground.” The master said: “To those who can be saved by the body of a Heavenly King, he appears in the body of a Heavenly King and teaches them.” Lu took leave to return to his post at Xuancheng. The master asked: “What will the Grand Master use to govern the people there?” Lu said: “I will govern the people with wisdom.” The master said: “In that case the living beings there will all suffer misery.” The master entered Xuanzhou. Grand Master Lu came out to welcome him and, pointing at the city gate, said: “Everyone calls it the Urn Gate; what does the Venerable call it?” The master said: “If the old monk says, I fear it will dishonor the Grand Master's influence.” Lu said: “If suddenly bandits come, what then?” The master said: “It is old Wang's fault.” Lu again asked: “What is the Great Compassion Bodhisattva doing with so many hands and eyes?” The master said: “What does the state use a Grand Master for?” The master held a vegetarian feast for Great Master Ma and asked the assembly: “Has Great Master Ma come?” The assembly had no answer. Dongshan said: “He will come when he has company.” The master said: “Though you are young, you are well worth carving.” Dongshan said: “Venerable, do not press the good into the base.” While the master was washing clothes, a monk asked: “The Venerable still has this.” The master picked up the clothes and said: “What can one do about this?” (Xuanjue said: “Tell me, is it one or two?”) The master asked the monk Liangqin: “In the empty eon, were there Buddhas?” He replied: “There were.” The master said: “Who was it?”