Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle 3

趙州觀音院(亦曰東院)從諗禪師。曹州郝鄉人也。姓郝氏。童稚於本州扈通院。從師披剃未納戒。便抵池陽參南泉。值南泉偃息。而問曰近離什麼處。師曰。近離瑞像院。曰還見瑞像麼。師曰。不見瑞像只見臥如來。曰汝是有主沙彌無主沙彌。師曰。有主沙彌。曰主在什麼處。師曰。仲冬嚴寒伏惟和尚尊體萬福。南泉器之而許入室。異日問南泉。如何是道。南泉曰。平常心是道。師曰。還可趣向否。南泉曰。擬向即乖。師曰。不擬時如何知是道。南泉曰。道不屬知不知。知是妄覺不知是無記。若是真達不疑之道。猶如太虛廓然虛豁。豈可強是非邪。師言下悟理。乃往嵩嶽瑠璃壇納戒。卻返南泉。異日問南泉。知有底人向什麼處休歇。南泉雲。山下作牛去。師雲。謝指示。南泉雲。昨夜三更月到窓。師作火頭。一日閉卻門燒滿屋煙。叫雲。救火救火。時大眾俱到。師雲。道得即開門。眾皆無對。南泉將鎖匙於窓間過與師。師便開門。又到黃蘗。黃蘗見來便閉方丈門。師乃把火於法堂內叫雲。救火救火。黃蘗開門捉住雲。道道。師雲。賊過後張弓。又到寶壽。寶壽見來即於禪床上背面坐。師展坐具禮拜。寶壽下禪床。師便出。又到鹽官雲。看箭。鹽官雲。過也。師雲。中也。又到夾山將拄杖入法堂。夾山曰。作什麼。曰探水。夾山曰。一滴也無探什麼。師倚杖而出。師將遊五臺山次。有大德作偈留雲。

Chan Master Congshen of Guanyin Cloister (also called East Cloister) in Zhaozhou was a native of Haoxiang in Caozhou, surnamed Hao. As a child he had his head shaved under a teacher at Hutong Cloister in his home prefecture, and before receiving the full precepts went to Chiyang to study with Nanquan. Nanquan was lying down resting and asked: "Where did you recently come from?" The master said: "I recently came from Ruixiang Cloister (Auspicious Image Cloister)." Nanquan said: "Did you see the auspicious image?" The master said: "I did not see the auspicious image, I only saw a reclining Tathagata." Nanquan said: "Are you a novice with a master or a novice without a master?" The master said: "A novice with a master." Nanquan said: "Where is your master?" The master said: "In the depth of winter it is bitterly cold; I humbly wish that the Venerable's honored body enjoy ten thousand blessings." Nanquan valued him and allowed him into his room. Another day he asked Nanquan: "What is the Way?" Nanquan said: "The ordinary mind is the Way." The master said: "Can one still head toward it?" Nanquan said: "If you try to head toward it, you go against it." The master said: "If one does not try, how can one know it is the Way?" Nanquan said: "The Way does not belong to knowing or not knowing. Knowing is false awareness, and not knowing is a blank. If you truly reach the Way of no doubt, it is like great space, vast and open; how can you force right and wrong upon it?" At these words the master awakened to the principle, and went to the Liuli ordination platform on Mount Song to receive the precepts, then returned to Nanquan. Another day he asked Nanquan: "Where does a person who knows it rest?" Nanquan said: "Go down the mountain and become an ox." The master said: "Thank you for the instruction." Nanquan said: "Last night at the third watch the moon came to the window." The master served as the fire-tender. One day he shut the door, burned until the house was full of smoke, and shouted: "Fire! Fire!" The whole assembly came. The master said: "If you can say a word, I will open the door." The assembly had no answer. Nanquan passed the key through the window to the master, and he opened the door. He also went to Huangbo. Huangbo saw him come and shut the abbot's room door. The master took a torch into the Dharma hall and shouted: "Fire! Fire!" Huangbo opened the door and seized him, saying: "Speak, speak." The master said: "You draw the bow after the thief has passed." He also went to Baoshou. Baoshou saw him come and sat on his meditation seat with his back turned. The master spread his sitting cloth and bowed. Baoshou came down from the seat. The master went out. He also went to Yanguan and said: "Watch the arrow." Yanguan said: "It has passed." The master said: "It has hit." He also went to Jiashan, carrying his staff into the Dharma hall. Jiashan said: "What are you doing?" He said: "Probing for water." Jiashan said: "There is not a drop; what are you probing for?" The master leaned his staff and went out. When the master was about to travel to Mount Wutai, a great virtuous monk left a verse saying:

何處青山不道場何須策杖禮清涼

What green mountain is not a place of practice? Why must one take a staff to bow at Qingliang?

雲中縱有金毛現正眼觀時非吉祥

Even if a golden-haired lion should appear in the clouds, seen with the true eye it is not auspicious.

師雲。作麼生是正眼。大德無對(法眼代雲。請上坐領某甲卑情。同安顯代雲。是上坐眼)師自此道化被於北地。眾請住趙州觀音。上堂示眾。雲如明珠在掌。胡來胡現漢來漢現。老僧把一枝草為丈六金身用。把丈六金身為一枝草用。佛是煩惱煩惱是佛。時有僧問。未審佛是誰家煩惱。師雲。與一切人煩惱。僧雲。如何免得。師雲。用免作麼。師掃地。有人問雲。和尚是善知識為什麼有塵。師曰。外來。又僧問。清淨伽藍為什麼有塵。師曰。又一點也。又有人與師遊園見兔子驚走。問雲。和尚是大善知識為什麼兔子見驚。師雲。為老僧好殺。僧問。覺華未發時如何辨貞實。師雲。開也。僧雲。是貞是實。師雲。貞是實實是貞。僧雲。什麼人分上事。師雲。老僧有分闍梨有分。僧雲。某甲不招納如何。師佯不聞。僧無語。師雲去。師院有石幢子被風吹折。僧問。陀羅尼幢子作凡去作聖去。師雲。也不作凡亦不作聖。僧雲。畢竟作什麼。師雲。落地去也。師問一坐主。講什麼經。對雲。講涅槃經。師雲。問一段義得否。雲得。師以腳踢空吹一吹雲。是什麼義。坐主雲。經中無此義。師雲。五百力士揭石義便道無。大眾晚參師雲。今夜答話去也有解問者出來。時有一僧便出禮拜。師雲。比來拋塼引玉。卻引得箇墼子(保壽雲。射虎不真徒勞沒羽。長慶問覺上坐雲。那僧才出禮拜。為什麼便收伊為墼子。覺雲。適來那邊亦有人恁麼問。慶雲。向伊道什麼。雲也向伊恁麼道。玄覺雲。什麼處卻成墼子去。叢林中道才出來便成墼子。只如每日出入行住坐臥。不可總成墼子也。且道。遮僧出來具眼不具眼)有僧遊五臺。問一婆子云。臺山路向什麼處去。婆子云。驀直恁麼去。僧便去。婆子云。又恁麼去也。其僧舉似師。師雲。待我去勘破遮婆子。師至明日便去問。臺山路向什麼處去。婆子云。驀直恁麼去。師便去。

The master said: "What is the true eye?" The great virtuous monk had no answer. (Fayan answered for him: "Please, Venerable, receive my humble feeling." Tong'an Xian answered for him: "It is the Venerable's eye.") From then on the master's teaching spread over the northern lands. The assembly asked him to live at Guanyin in Zhaozhou. He ascended the hall and addressed the assembly: "It is like a bright pearl in the palm: when a foreigner comes it shows a foreigner, when a Chinese comes it shows a Chinese. This old monk takes a blade of grass and uses it as a sixteen-foot golden body, and takes the sixteen-foot golden body and uses it as a blade of grass. The Buddha is affliction, and affliction is the Buddha." A monk asked: "Whose affliction is the Buddha?" The master said: "The affliction of everyone." The monk said: "How can one avoid it?" The master said: "What is the use of avoiding it?" The master was sweeping the ground. Someone asked: "The Venerable is a good teacher; why is there dust?" The master said: "It came from outside." Another monk asked: "Why is there dust in a pure monastery?" The master said: "There is another speck." Another time someone was walking in the garden with the master and saw a rabbit run away in fright, and asked: "The Venerable is a great good teacher; why is the rabbit frightened at seeing you?" The master said: "Because this old monk likes killing." A monk asked: "When the flower of awakening has not yet opened, how does one distinguish true from real?" The master said: "It has opened." The monk said: "Is it true, is it real?" The master said: "True is real, real is true." The monk said: "Whose share is this?" The master said: "This old monk has a share, and you, Acarya, have a share." The monk said: "What if I do not accept it?" The master pretended not to hear. The monk was silent. The master said: "Go." A stone pillar in the master's cloister was broken by the wind. A monk asked: "Does the dharani pillar go as ordinary or as sage?" The master said: "It is neither ordinary nor sage." The monk said: "What is it ultimately?" The master said: "It has fallen to the ground." The master asked a lecturing monk: "What sutra do you lecture on?" He replied: "I lecture on the Nirvana Sutra." The master said: "May I ask about one passage?" He said: "Yes." The master kicked at the air and blew once, and said: "What meaning is this?" The lecturer said: "There is no such meaning in the sutra." The master said: "When the five hundred strongmen lifted the stone, you say there was no such meaning." At the evening assembly the master said: "Tonight I will answer questions; anyone who understands how to ask, come forward." A monk then came forward and bowed. The master said: "I was throwing out a brick to draw jade, but I drew out a clod." (Baoshou said: "Shooting the tiger was not true, and the feather-sinking arrow was wasted." Changqing asked Venerable Jue: "The monk had just come out and bowed; why was he then taken for a clod?" Jue said: "Just now someone over there asked the same." Qing said: "What did you tell him?" He said: "I told him the same." Xuanjue said: "Where did he become a clod? In the monastic community they say that as soon as one comes forward, one becomes a clod. But in daily coming and going, living, sitting and lying, surely one cannot all be a clod. Tell me, did this monk come out with eyes or without?") A monk traveling to Mount Wutai asked an old woman: "Which way is the road to the mountain?" The old woman said: "Go straight on like that." The monk went. The old woman said: "He goes on like that again." The monk told this to the master. The master said: "Wait while I go and test this old woman." The next day the master went and asked: "Which way is the road to the mountain?" The old woman said: "Go straight on like that." The master went.

婆子云。又恁麼去也。師歸院謂僧雲。我為汝勘破遮婆子了也(玄覺雲。前來僧也恁麼道。趙州去也恁麼道。什麼處是勘破婆子。又云。非唯被趙州勘破。亦被遮僧勘破)僧問。恁麼來底人師還接否。師雲接。僧雲不恁麼來底師還接否。師雲接。僧雲。恁麼來者從師接。不恁麼來者如何接。師雲。止止不須說我法妙難思。師出院路逢一婆子。問和尚住什麼處。師雲。趙州東院西。婆子無語。師歸院問眾僧。合使那箇西字。或言東西字。或言棲泊字。師曰。汝等總作得鹽鐵判官。僧曰。和尚為什麼恁麼道。師曰。為汝總識字(法燈別眾僧雲。已知去處)僧問。如何是囊中寶。師雲。合取口(法燈別雲。莫說似人)有新到僧。謂師曰。某甲從長安來。橫擔一條拄杖。不曾撥著一人。師曰。自是大德拄杖短(同安顯別雲。老僧遮裡不曾見恁麼人)僧無對(法眼代雲。呵呵。同安顯代雲。也不短)有僧寫得師真呈師。師曰。且道似我不似我。若似我即打殺老僧。不似我即燒卻真。僧無對(玄覺代雲。留取供養)師敲火問僧雲。老僧喚作火。汝喚作什麼。僧無語。師雲。不識玄旨徒勞念靜(法燈別雲。我不如汝)新到僧參。師問。什麼處來。僧雲。南方來。師雲。佛法盡在南方。汝來遮裡作什麼。僧雲佛法豈有南北邪。師雲。饒汝從雪峰雲居來。只是箇擔板漢(崇壽稠別雲。和尚是據客置主人)僧問。如何是佛。師雲。殿裡底。僧雲。殿裡者豈不是泥龕塑像。師雲是。僧雲。如何是佛。師雲。殿裡底。僧問。學人迷昧乞師指示。師雲。吃粥也未。僧雲。吃粥也。師雲。洗缽去。其僧忽然省悟○師上堂。雲才有是非紛然失心。還有答話分也無。後有僧舉示洛浦洛浦扣齒。又舉示雲居雲居雲。何必。僧迴舉示師。師雲。南方大有人喪身失命。僧雲。請和尚舉。師才舉前語。僧指傍僧雲。者箇師僧吃卻飯了作恁麼語話。

The old woman said: "He goes on like that again." The master returned to the cloister and said to the monks: "I have tested this old woman for you." (Xuanjue said: "The earlier monk said it that way, and Zhaozhou went the same way; where did he test the old woman?" He also said: "She was tested not only by Zhaozhou but also by that monk.") A monk asked: "Do you receive a person who comes in that way?" The master said: "I receive." The monk said: "Do you receive a person who does not come that way?" The master said: "I receive." The monk said: "Those who come that way you receive as they are; how do you receive those who do not come that way?" The master said: "Stop, stop, no need to say; my Dharma is wonderful and hard to conceive." The master left the cloister and met an old woman on the road. She asked: "Where does the Venerable live?" The master said: "West of Zhaozhou East Cloister." The old woman had no reply. The master returned to the cloister and asked the monks: "Which 'xi' should be used?" Some said the xi of east-west, some said the xi of dwelling. The master said: "All of you could be salt and iron commissioners." The monks said: "Why does the Venerable say so?" The master said: "Because you all know characters." (Fadeng said separately to the monks: "I know where he went.") A monk asked: "What is the treasure in the bag?" The master said: "Shut your mouth." (Fadeng said separately: "Do not tell others.") A newly arrived monk said to the master: "I have come from Chang'an carrying a staff across my shoulder and have not touched a single person." The master said: "It is just that your staff is short, Venerable." (Tong'an Xian said separately: "This old monk has never seen such a person here.") The monk had no answer. (Fayan answered for him: "Ha ha." Tong'an Xian answered for him: "It is not short either.") A monk drew the master's portrait and presented it. The master said: "Tell me, is it like me or not like me? If it is like me, beat this old monk to death; if it is not like me, burn the portrait." The monk had no answer. (Xuanjue answered for him: "Keep it for veneration.") The master struck a fire and asked a monk: "This old monk calls it fire; what do you call it?" The monk was silent. The master said: "Not recognizing the profound meaning, you only waste effort reciting stillness." (Fadeng said separately: "I am not as good as you.") A newly arrived monk came to study. The master asked: "Where do you come from?" The monk said: "From the south." The master said: "The Buddha-Dharma is all in the south; what are you doing here?" The monk said: "How could the Buddha-Dharma have north and south?" The master said: "Even if you came from Xuefeng or Yunju, you are only a man carrying a board." (Chongshou Chou said separately: "The Venerable is making a guest the master.") A monk asked: "What is the Buddha?" The master said: "The one in the hall." The monk said: "Is the one in the hall not just a clay statue in a niche?" The master said: "Yes." The monk said: "What is the Buddha?" The master said: "The one in the hall." A monk asked: "Your student is confused; please instruct me." The master said: "Have you eaten your gruel?" The monk said: "I have." The master said: "Go wash your bowl." The monk suddenly awakened. The master ascended the hall and said: "The moment there is right and wrong, one loses the mind in confusion. Is there still a share in answering?" Later a monk reported this to Luopu, and Luopu clicked his teeth. He also reported it to Yunju, and Yunju said: "Why bother?" The monk returned and reported to the master. The master said: "In the south many people lose their lives." The monk said: "Please tell it, Venerable." As soon as the master began to repeat the earlier words, the monk pointed to a monk beside him and said: "This monk has finished eating and talks like this."

師乃休(此一段舊本全無倫理今依別錄改正)僧問。久嚮。趙州石橋。到來只見掠彴。師雲。汝只見掠彴不見趙州橋。僧雲。如何是趙州橋。師雲。過來。又有僧同前問。師亦如前答。僧雲。如何是趙州橋。師雲。度驢度馬。僧雲。如何是掠彴。師雲。箇箇度人(雲居錫雲。趙州為當扶石橋扶掠彴)師聞沙彌喝參向侍者雲。教伊去。侍者乃教去。沙彌便珍重去。師雲。沙彌得入門。侍者在門外(雲居錫雲。什麼處是沙彌入門。侍者在門外。遮裡若會得。便見趙州)師問新到僧。什麼處來。僧雲。從南來。師雲。還知有趙州關否。僧雲。須知有不涉關者。師雲。遮販私鹽漢。僧問。如何是西來意。師下禪床立。僧雲。莫即遮箇便是否。師雲。老僧未有語在。師問菜頭。今日吃生菜熟菜。菜頭拈起菜呈之。師雲。知恩者少負恩者多。僧問。空劫中還有人修行也無。師雲。汝喚什麼作空劫。僧雲。無一物是。師雲。遮箇始稱得修行。喚什麼作空劫。僧無語。僧問。如何是玄中玄。師雲。汝玄來多少時邪。僧雲。玄之久矣。師雲。闍梨若不遇老僧幾被玄殺。僧問。萬法歸一一歸何所。師雲。老僧在青州作得一領布衫重七斤。僧問。夜離兜率晝降閻浮。於其中間摩尼為什麼不現。師雲。道什麼。其僧再問。師雲。毘婆屍佛早留心。直至如今不得妙。師問院主。什麼處來。對雲。送生來。師雲。鵶為什麼飛去。院主雲。怕某甲。師雲。汝十年知事作恁麼語話。院主卻問。鵶為什麼飛去。師雲。院主無殺心在。師托起缽雲。三十年後若見老僧留取供養。若不見即撲破。一僧出雲。三十年後敢道見和尚。師乃撲破。有僧辭。師問。什麼處去。僧雲。雪峰去。師雲。雪峰忽若問汝。雲和尚有何言句。汝作麼生祇對。僧雲。某甲道不得。請和尚道。師雲。冬即言寒夏即道熱。又云雪峰更問汝畢竟事作麼生。其僧又云。道不得。

The master then stopped. (This passage in the old edition was entirely incoherent, and is now corrected according to another record.) A monk said: "I have long admired the stone bridge of Zhaozhou, but arriving I only see a log bridge." The master said: "You only see a log bridge and do not see the Zhaozhou bridge." The monk said: "What is the Zhaozhou bridge?" The master said: "Come across." Another monk asked the same question as before. The master answered as before. The monk said: "What is the Zhaozhou bridge?" The master said: "It carries donkeys and carries horses." The monk said: "What is a log bridge?" The master said: "It carries every person." (Yunju Xi said: "Is Zhaozhou supporting the stone bridge or supporting the log bridge?") The master heard a novice shouting at the assembly, and said to the attendant: "Have him go." The attendant then taught him to go. The novice bowed and left. The master said: "The novice has entered the gate, and the attendant is outside the gate." (Yunju Xi said: "Where did the novice enter the gate, and where was the attendant outside the gate? If you can understand here, you will see Zhaozhou.") The master asked a newly arrived monk: "Where do you come from?" The monk said: "From the south." The master said: "Do you know there is a Zhaozhou pass?" The monk said: "One must know there are those who do not pass through the pass." The master said: "This smuggler of private salt." A monk asked: "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The master got down from his seat and stood. The monk said: "Is it just this?" The master said: "This old monk has said nothing." The master asked the vegetable monk: "Are we eating raw vegetables or cooked vegetables today?" The vegetable monk held up a vegetable and presented it. The master said: "Those who know kindness are few; those who betray kindness are many." A monk asked: "In the empty kalpa, is there anyone who practices?" The master said: "What do you call the empty kalpa?" The monk said: "Not a single thing." The master said: "Only this can be called practice. What do you call the empty kalpa?" The monk was silent. A monk asked: "What is the mystery within the mystery?" The master said: "How long have you been mysterious?" The monk said: "Mysterious for a long time." The master said: "If you had not met this old monk, you would nearly have been killed by mystery." A monk asked: "The ten thousand dharmas return to one; where does the one return?" The master said: "In Qingzhou this old monk made a cloth robe, weighing seven jin." A monk asked: "At night leaving Tusita and by day descending to Jambudvipa, in between why does the mani jewel not appear?" The master said: "What are you saying?" The monk asked again. The master said: "Vipasyin Buddha put his mind to it long ago, but to this day has not got the wonder of it." The master asked the temple manager: "Where have you come from?" He replied: "I went to give offerings of food to the birds." The master said: "Why did the crows fly away?" The manager said: "They fear me." The master said: "You have been in charge for ten years and talk like this." The manager asked in turn: "Why did the crows fly away?" The master said: "The manager has no intent to kill." The master held up his bowl and said: "Thirty years from now, if you see this old monk, keep it for veneration. If you do not see, then smash it." A monk came forward and said: "Thirty years from now I would dare say I see the Venerable." The master then smashed it. A monk took leave. The master asked: "Where are you going?" The monk said: "To Xuefeng." The master said: "If Xuefeng suddenly asks you what words the Venerable has, how will you answer?" The monk said: "I cannot say; please tell me, Venerable." The master said: "In winter say it is cold, in summer say it is hot." He added: "If Xuefeng asks you further what is the ultimate matter, what will you say?" The monk again said: "I cannot say."

師雲。但道親從趙州來不是傳語人。其僧到雪峰一依前語舉似雪峰。雪峰雲。也須是趙州始得。玄沙聞雲。大小趙州敗闕也不知(雲居錫雲。什麼處是趙州敗闕處。若檢得出是上座眼)僧問。如何是趙州一句。師雲。老僧半句也無。僧雲。豈無和尚在。師雲。老僧不是一句。僧問。如何是出家。師雲。不履高名不求苟得。僧問。澄澄絕點時如何。師雲。遮裡不著客作漢。僧問。如何是祖師意。師乃敲床腳。僧雲。只遮莫便是否。師雲。雲即脫取去。僧問。如何是毘盧圓相。師雲。老僧自幼出家不曾眼花。僧雲。豈不為人。師雲。願汝常見毘盧圓相。人問和尚還入地獄否。師雲。老僧末上入。曰大善知識為什麼入地獄。師雲。若不入阿誰教化汝。一日真定帥王公攜諸子入院。師坐而問曰。大王會麼。王雲。不會。師雲。自小持齋身已老。見人無力下禪床。王公尤加禮重。翌日令客將傳語。師下禪床受之。少間侍者問。和尚見大王來不下禪床。今日軍將來為什麼卻下禪床師雲。非汝所知。第一等人來禪床上接。中等人來下禪床接。末等人來三門外接。師寄拂子與王公曰。若問何處得來。但道老僧平生用不盡者。師之玄言布於天下。時謂趙州門風。皆悚然信伏矣。唐乾寧四年十一月二日右脇而寂。壽一百二十(有人問。師年多少。師雲。一串念珠數不盡)後諡真際大師。

The master said: "Just say you came personally from Zhaozhou and are not a message carrier." The monk went to Xuefeng and reported exactly as before to Xuefeng. Xuefeng said: "It must be Zhaozhou for that." Xuansha heard of it and said: "Zhaozhou has such a big failing and does not even know it." (Yunju Xi said: "Where is Zhaozhou's failing? If you can find it, it is the Venerable's eye.") A monk asked: "What is Zhaozhou's one phrase?" The master said: "This old monk does not have even half a phrase." The monk said: "Is the Venerable not here?" The master said: "This old monk is not a phrase." A monk asked: "What is leaving home?" The master said: "Not treading on high repute, not seeking undeserved gain." A monk asked: "When it is clear and clear without a speck, what then?" The master said: "Here one does not employ hired laborers." A monk asked: "What is the Patriarch's meaning?" The master tapped the leg of his seat. The monk said: "Is it just this?" The master said: "If so, take it away." A monk asked: "What is Vairocana's perfect circle?" The master said: "This old monk has been a monk since childhood and has never had blurred vision." The monk said: "Is that not for others?" The master said: "May you always see Vairocana's perfect circle." Someone asked: "Does the Venerable enter hell?" The master said: "This old monk enters first." He asked: "Why does a great good teacher enter hell?" The master said: "If I did not enter, who would teach you?" One day Wang, the military governor of Zhending, brought his sons into the cloister. The master sat and asked: "Does the Great King understand?" Wang said: "I do not." The master said: "Having kept a fast since youth, my body is old; seeing people, I have no strength to get down from my seat." Duke Wang showed him even more respect. The next day he had a guest officer convey a message. The master came down from his seat to receive it. A little later the attendant asked: "The Venerable did not get down when the Great King came, but today a military officer came, why did you get down?" The master said: "It is not what you know. When a first-class person comes, I receive him on the seat. When a middle-class person comes, I get down to receive him. When a lowest-class person comes, I receive him outside the main gate." The master sent a whisk to Duke Wang, saying: "If asked where it came from, just say it is something this old monk has never used up in his life." The master's profound words spread throughout the world and were called the Zhaozhou style, and all were awed and convinced. In the eleventh month, on the second day, of the fourth year of Qianning of the Tang, he passed into stillness lying on his right side. He was one hundred and twenty years old. (Someone asked the master his age. The master said: "A string of beads cannot count it.") He was later posthumously named Great Master Zhenji.

池州靈鷲閑禪師謂眾曰。是汝諸人本分事。若教老僧道即與蛇畫足。此是頓教諸上坐。有僧便問。與蛇畫足即不問。如何是本分事。師雲。闍梨試道看。其僧擬再問。師曰。畫足作麼。明水和尚問。如何是頓獲法身。師雲。一透龍門雲外望。莫作黃河點額魚。仰山問。寂寂無言如何視聽。師雲。無縫塔前多雨水。僧問。二彼無言時如何。師雲。是常。僧雲。還有過常者無。師雲有。僧雲。請師唱起。師雲。玄珠自朗耀。何須壁外光。僧問。今日供養西川無染大師。未審大師還來否。師雲。本自無所至今豈隨風轉。僧雲。恁麼即供養何用。師雲。功力有為互不換義相涉。

Chan Master Xian of Lingjiu in Chizhou said to the assembly: "It is your own original affair. If you made this old monk speak of it, it would be drawing legs on a snake. This is the sudden teaching, all of you." A monk then asked: "I will not ask about drawing legs on a snake; what is the original affair?" The master said: "Try to say it yourself, Acarya." The monk was about to ask again. The master said: "What is the use of drawing legs?" Venerable Mingshui asked: "What is suddenly attaining the Dharma body?" The master said: "Once through the Dragon Gate, look out from beyond the clouds; do not be a fish with a mark on its forehead in the Yellow River." Yangshan asked: "When it is silent and wordless, how does one see and hear?" The master said: "In front of the seamless tower there is much rainwater." A monk asked: "What when both sides are wordless?" The master said: "It is constant." The monk said: "Is there anything beyond the constant?" The master said: "There is." The monk said: "Please begin it." The master said: "The dark pearl shines bright by itself; why need light from beyond the wall?" A monk asked: "Today we make offerings to the Great Master Wuran of Xichuan; will the Great Master come?" The master said: "Originally there was no place; why would he now be turned by the wind?" The monk said: "Then what is the use of the offerings?" The master said: "Effort and conditioned action do not interchange or involve each other in meaning."

鄂州茱萸山和尚。初住隋州護國院為第一世。金輪可觀和尚問。如何是道。師雲。莫向虛空裡釘橛。觀雲。虛空是橛。師乃打之。觀捉住雲。莫打某甲。已後錯打人在。師便休(雲居錫雲。此人具眼不具眼。因什麼著打)趙州諗和尚先到雲居。雲居問曰。老老大大漢何不覓箇住處。諗曰。什麼處住得。雲居曰。山前有古寺基。諗曰。和尚自住取。後到師處。師曰。老老大大漢何不住去。諗曰。什麼處住得。師曰。老老大大漢住處也不知。諗曰。三十年弄馬伎。今日卻被驢撲(雲居錫雲。什麼處是趙州被驢撲處)眾僧侍立。師曰。只恁麼白立無箇說處一場氣悶。有僧擬出問。師乃打之。曰為眾竭力。便入方丈。有行者參師曰。曾去看趙州麼。曰和尚敢道否。師雲。非但茱萸一切人道不得。曰和尚放某甲過。師曰。遮裡從前不通人情。曰要且慈悲心在。師便打曰。醒後來為汝。

The Venerable of Zhuyu Mountain in Ezhou. He first lived at Huguo Cloister in Suizhou as the first abbot. The Venerable Kejian of Jinlun asked: "What is the Way?" The master said: "Do not drive pegs into empty space." Guan said: "Empty space is the peg." The master struck him. Guan seized him and said: "Do not strike me; later you will strike the wrong person." The master stopped. (Yunju Xi said: "Did this man have eyes or not? Why did he get struck?") The Venerable Congshen of Zhao first went to Yunju. Yunju asked: "An old, aged man, why do you not look for a place to live?" Shen said: "Where can I live?" Yunju said: "In front of the mountain there is an old temple site." Shen said: "You live there yourself, Venerable." Later he went to the master. The master said: "An old, aged man, why do you not go and live somewhere?" Shen said: "Where can I live?" The master said: "An old, aged man, and you do not even know where to live." Shen said: "For thirty years I have played at horse tricks, and today I am kicked by a donkey." (Yunju Xi said: "Where was Zhaozhou kicked by the donkey?") The monks stood in attendance. The master said: "Just standing here empty-handed with nothing to say is a stuffy affair." A monk was about to come forward and ask. The master struck him, saying: "I exhaust my strength for the assembly." He went into his room. A lay practitioner came to study. The master said: "Have you gone to see Zhaozhou?" He said: "Does the Venerable dare to say?" The master said: "Not only Zhuyu, no one can say." He said: "Venerable, let me pass." The master said: "Here, from the start, there is no personal favor." He said: "But your compassionate mind is there." The master struck him, saying: "When you wake up I will do it for you."

衢州子湖巖利蹤禪師澶州人也。姓周氏。幽州開元寺出家依年受具。後入南泉之室。乃抵於衢州之馬蹄山結茅宴居。唐開成二年邑人翁遷貴。施山下子湖創院。咸通二年勅賜額曰安國禪院。一日上堂示眾曰。子湖有一隻狗。上取人頭。中取人心。下取人足。擬議即喪身失命。僧問。如何是子湖一隻狗。師曰。嘷嘷。臨濟下二僧到參方揭簾。師曰。看狗。二僧迴顧。師歸方丈。師與勝光和尚鋤園。師驀按鑊迴視勝光雲。事即不無擬心即差。光乃禮拜擬問。師與一蹋便歸院。有一尼到參。師曰。汝莫是劉鐵磨否。尼曰。不敢。師曰。左轉右轉。尼雲。和尚莫顛倒。師便打。師中夜於僧堂前叫有賊。眾皆驚走。師到僧堂後架把住一僧叫雲。維那捉得也捉得也。僧曰。不是某甲。師曰。是即是隻是汝不肯承當。師有偈。示眾曰。

Chan Master Lizong of Yan on Zihu in Quzhou was a native of Chanzhou, surnamed Zhou. He left home at Kaiyuan Monastery in Youzhou and received the full precepts at the proper age. Later he entered Nanquan's room, and then went to Mount Mati in Quzhou, where he built a thatched hut and lived in tranquility. In the second year of Kaicheng of the Tang, Weng Qiangui, a townsman, donated Zihu at the foot of the mountain to found a cloister. In the second year of Xiantong, an imperial decree granted the plaque "Anguo Chan Cloister". One day he ascended the hall and addressed the assembly: "On Zihu there is a dog. Above it takes people's heads, in the middle it takes people's hearts, below it takes people's feet. If you hesitate, you lose body and life." A monk asked: "What is the dog of Zihu?" The master said: "Woof, woof." Two monks from the Linji school came to study, and as they lifted the curtain, the master said: "Watch the dog." The two monks looked back. The master returned to his room. The master was hoeing a garden with Venerable Shengguang. The master suddenly pressed down on the hoe and looked back at Shengguang, saying: "It is not that there is no matter, but if you aim with the mind, it is wrong." Guang bowed and was about to ask. The master gave him a kick and returned to the cloister. A nun came to study. The master said: "Are you not Liu the Iron Grindstone?" The nun said: "I would not dare." The master said: "Turn left, turn right." The nun said: "Venerable, do not be confused." The master struck her. In the middle of the night the master shouted in front of the monks' hall: "A thief!" The assembly all ran out in alarm. The master went to the back rack of the monks' hall and seized a monk, shouting: "The director has caught him, has caught him." The monk said: "It is not I." The master said: "It is, it is; it is just that you will not own up." The master had a verse for the assembly:

三十年來住子湖二時齋粥氣力麁

For thirty years I have lived at Zihu, with two meals of gruel a day and strong in body,

每日上山三五轉問汝時人會也無

Every day I go up the mountain three or five times; I ask you people of today, do you understand?

師居子湖說法。四十五稔。廣明中無疾歸寂。壽八十有一。臘六十一。今本山有塔。

The master lived at Zihu and taught for forty-five years. In the Guangming era he passed into stillness without illness, aged eighty-one, with sixty-one monastic years. Now there is a stupa on that mountain.

洛京嵩山和尚。僧問。古路坦然時如何。師曰。不前。僧曰。為什麼不前。師曰。無遮障處。僧問。如何是嵩山境。師曰。日從東出月向西頹。曰學人不會。師曰。東西也不會。僧問。六識俱生時如何。師曰異。僧曰為什麼如此。師曰同。

The Venerable of Mount Song in Luojing. A monk asked: "When the ancient road is level and open, what then?" The master said: "It does not advance." The monk said: "Why does it not advance?" The master said: "There is nothing blocking it." A monk asked: "What is the scene of Mount Song?" The master said: "The sun rises in the east and the moon sets in the west." He said: "I do not understand." The master said: "East and west you do not understand either." A monk asked: "When the six consciousnesses arise together, what then?" The master said: "Different." The monk said: "Why is it so?" The master said: "Same."

日子和尚亞谿來參。師作起勢。亞谿曰。遮老山鬼猶見某甲在。師曰。罪過罪過適來失秖對。亞谿欲進語。師乃叱之。亞谿曰。大陣前不妨難禦。師曰是是。亞谿曰。不是不是(趙州雲。可憐兩箇漢。不識轉身句)。

The Venerable Rizi. Yaxi came to study. The master made a gesture of rising. Yaxi said: "This old mountain demon still sees me here." The master said: "My fault, my fault; I just failed to answer." Yaxi was about to say more. The master shouted at him. Yaxi said: "In front of a great battle array, it is hard to withstand." The master said: "Right, right." Yaxi said: "Not right, not right." (Zhaozhou said: "Pity the two men, who do not know the phrase for turning the body.")

蘇州西山和尚僧問。三乘十二分教則不問。如何是祖師西來的的意。師舉拂子示之。其僧不禮拜去參雪峰。雪峰問。什麼處來。僧雲。浙中來。雪峰曰。今夏在什麼處。曰蘇州西禪。雪峰曰。和尚安否。曰來時萬福。雪峰曰。何不且從容。曰佛法不明。雪峰曰。有什麼事。僧舉前話。雪峰曰。汝作麼不肯。僧曰。是境。雪峰曰。汝見蘇州城裡人家男女否。曰見。雪峰曰。汝見路上林木否。曰見。雪峰曰。凡覩人家男女大地林沼總是境。汝還肯否。曰肯。雪峰曰。只如拈起拂子汝作麼生不肯。僧乃禮拜曰。學人取次發言。乞師慈悲。雪峰曰。盡乾坤是箇眼。汝向什麼處蹲坐。僧無語。宣州刺史陸亙大夫初問南泉曰。古人瓶中養一鵝。鵝漸長大出瓶不得。如今不得毀瓶。不得損鵝。和尚作麼生出得。南泉召曰。大夫。陸應諾。南泉曰。出也。陸從此開解。暨南泉圓寂。院主問曰。大夫何不哭先師。陸曰。院主道得即哭。院主無對(長慶代雲。合哭不合哭)。

The Venerable of Xishan in Suzhou. A monk asked: "I will not ask about the three vehicles and twelve divisions of the teaching; what is the true meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?" The master held up his whisk to show him. The monk did not bow and went to study at Xuefeng. Xuefeng asked: "Where do you come from?" The monk said: "From Zhejiang." Xuefeng said: "Where were you this summer?" He said: "At Xichan in Suzhou." Xuefeng said: "Is the Venerable well?" He said: "When I left he was in good health." Xuefeng said: "Why not take it easy for a while?" He said: "The Buddha-Dharma is not clear." Xuefeng said: "What is the matter?" The monk recounted the earlier exchange. Xuefeng said: "Why did you not accept it?" The monk said: "It is a mere object." Xuefeng said: "Do you see the men and women in the houses of Suzhou city?" He said: "I see them." Xuefeng said: "Do you see the trees along the road?" He said: "I see them." Xuefeng said: "All the men and women in houses, the great earth, woods and ponds that you see are objects; do you accept that?" He said: "I accept it." Xuefeng said: "Then when he holds up the whisk, why do you not accept it?" The monk bowed and said: "Your student spoke carelessly; I beg your compassion." Xuefeng said: "The whole universe is one eye; where will you squat and sit?" The monk was silent. The Grand Master Lu Gen, prefect of Xuanzhou, first asked Nanquan: "An ancient raised a goose in a bottle; the goose grew bigger and could not get out of the bottle. Now one must not break the bottle and must not harm the goose. How would the Venerable get it out?" Nanquan called: "Grand Master." Lu answered "Yes." Nanquan said: "It is out." From this Lu awakened. When Nanquan passed into stillness, the abbot asked: "Why does the Grand Master not weep for the late teacher?" Lu said: "If the abbot can say a word, I will weep." The abbot had no answer. (Changqing answered for him: "Is it right to weep or not right to weep?")

池州甘贄行者。將錢參貫文入僧堂。於第一坐面前雲。請上座施財。上坐雲。財施無盡法施無窮。甘雲。恁麼道爭得某甲錢。卻將出去。上坐無語。又於南泉設粥雲。請和尚念誦。南泉雲。甘贄行者設粥。請大眾為狸奴白牯念摩訶般若波羅蜜。甘乃禮拜便出去。南泉卻到廚內打破鍋子。雪峰和尚來。甘閉門召雲。請和尚入。雪峰隔籬掉過納衣。甘便開門禮拜。有住菴僧緣化什物。甘曰。若道得即施。乃書心字問。是什麼字。僧雲。心字。又自問其妻。什麼字。妻雲。心字。甘雲。某甲山妻亦合住菴。其僧無語。甘亦無施。又問一僧。什麼處來。僧雲。溈山來。甘雲。曾有僧問溈山。如何是西來意。溈山舉起拂子。上坐作麼生會溈山意。僧雲。借事明心附物顯理。甘雲。且歸溈山去好(保福聞之乃仰手覆手)。

The practitioner Gan Zhi of Chizhou. He took three strings of coins into the monks' hall and said before the head seat: "Venerable, please give wealth." The head seat said: "The giving of wealth is endless, the giving of the Dharma is inexhaustible." Gan said: "If you say so, how can you get my money?" He took them out again. The head seat had no reply. Also, when serving gruel at Nanquan's, he said: "Venerable, please recite." Nanquan said: "The practitioner Gan Zhi is serving gruel; I ask the assembly to recite the Mahaprajnaparamita for the cat and the white ox." Gan bowed and went out. Nanquan went to the kitchen and smashed the pot. When the Venerable Xuefeng came, Gan shut the door and called: "Venerable, please come in." Xuefeng tossed his patched robe over the fence. Gan then opened the door and bowed. A hermit monk came begging for goods. Gan said: "If you can say a word, I will give." He wrote the character for "mind" and asked: "What character is this?" The monk said: "The character mind." He also asked his wife: "What character?" His wife said: "The character mind." Gan said: "My mountain wife too is fit to live in a hermitage." The monk was silent. Gan gave nothing. He asked another monk: "Where do you come from?" The monk said: "From Weishan." Gan said: "Once a monk asked Weishan what the meaning of the coming from the West was, and Weishan held up his whisk. How do you understand Weishan's meaning?" The monk said: "Using an event to clarify the mind, using a thing to show the principle." Gan said: "You had better go back to Weishan." (When Baofu heard of it, he turned his hand up and then over.)

前杭州鹽官齊安禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of the earlier Chan Master Qi'an of Yanguan in Hangzhou

襄州關南道常禪師僧問。如何是西來意。師舉柱杖雲。會麼。僧雲。不會。師乃喝出。僧問。如何是大道之源。師與一拳。師每見僧來參禮。多以拄杖打趁。或雲。遲一刻。或雲。打動關南鼓。而時輩鮮有唱和者。

Chan Master Daochang of Guannan in Xiangzhou. A monk asked: "What is the meaning of the coming from the West?" The master held up his staff and said: "Do you understand?" The monk said: "I do not." The master shouted and drove him out. A monk asked: "What is the source of the great Way?" The master gave him a punch. Whenever the master saw a monk come to pay respects, he usually drove him off with his staff. Sometimes he would say: "A moment late." Sometimes he would say: "Strike the drum of Guannan." Few people of the time could echo him.

洪州雙嶺玄真禪師初問道吾。無神通菩薩為什麼足跡難尋。道吾曰。同道者方知。師曰。和尚還知否。曰不知。師曰。何故不知。曰去不識我語。師後於鹽官契會。

Chan Master Xuanzhen of Shuangling in Hongzhou first asked Daowu: "Why are the footprints of a bodhisattva without spiritual powers hard to find?" Daowu said: "Only those on the same Way know." The master said: "Does the Venerable know?" He said: "I do not know." The master said: "Why do you not know?" He said: "Go, you do not recognize my words." The master later reached accord at Yanguan.

杭州徑山鑒宗禪師。湖州長城人也。姓錢氏。依本州開元寺大德高閑出家。學通淨名思益經。後往鹽官謁悟空大師決擇疑滯。唐咸通三年止徑山宣揚禪教。有小師洪諲以講論自矜(諲即徑山第三世法濟大師)師謂之曰。佛祖正法直截亡詮。汝算海沙於理何益。但能莫存知見。泯絕外緣離一切心即汝真性。諲聞茫然。禮辭遊方至溈山方悟玄旨。乃師溈山師。咸通七年丙戌閏三月五日示滅。復諡曰無上大師。即徑山第二世也。

Chan Master Jianzong of Jingshan in Hangzhou was a native of Changcheng in Huzhou, surnamed Qian. He left home under the great virtuous monk Gaoxian of Kaiyuan Monastery in his home prefecture and became proficient in the Vimalakirti and Sutra of Sagacious Thinking. Later he went to Yanguan to visit Great Master Wukong to resolve his doubts and obstructions. In the third year of Xiantong of the Tang he settled at Jingshan and spread the Chan teaching. A junior monk, Hongyin, prided himself on lecturing and discussion (Yin was the third abbot of Jingshan, Great Master Fa Ji). The master said to him: "The true Dharma of the Buddhas and patriarchs is direct and cuts off explanation. If you count the sand of the sea, what benefit is it to the principle? Just do not hold on to views, eliminate external conditions and be apart from all minds, and that is your true nature." Yin heard it bewildered, bowed and took his leave to travel, and at Weishan finally awakened to the profound meaning and then became a disciple of Weishan. The master showed extinction on the fifth day of the intercalary third month of the bingxu year, the seventh year of Xiantong. He was posthumously named again Great Master Wushang. He was the second abbot of Jingshan.

前五洩山靈默禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of the earlier Chan Master Lingmo of Mount Wuxie

福州長谿龜山正原禪師。宣州南陵人也。姓蔡氏。幼厭俗出家。於本州籍山落髮。唐元和十二年丁酉建州乾元寺受具。尋造五洩山默師之室決擇玄微。後住龜山為第二世也。師嘗述二偈。其一曰。

Chan Master Zhengyuan of Guishan in Changxi, Fuzhou, was a native of Nanling in Xuanzhou, surnamed Cai. In youth he became weary of the world and left home, having his head shaved at Jishan in his home prefecture. In the dingyou year, the twelfth year of Yuanhe of the Tang, he received the full precepts at Qianyuan Monastery in Jianzhou. Soon he went to the room of Master Mo on Mount Wuxie to settle the profound subtlety. Later he lived at Guishan as its second abbot. The master once composed two verses. The first said:

滄溟幾度變桑田唯有虛空獨湛然

The dark sea has many times turned to mulberry fields, only empty space alone remains clear.

已到岸人休戀筏未曾度者要須船

One who has reached the shore should not cling to the raft; those not yet crossed must have a boat.

其二曰。

The second said:

尋師認得本心源兩岸俱玄一不全

Seeking a teacher and recognizing the source of the original mind, both shores are profound, yet the one is not whole.

是佛不須更覓佛只因如此便忘緣

One who is Buddha need not seek another Buddha; just because of this, conditions are forgotten.

師咸通十年終於本山。壽七十八。臘五十四。勅諡性空大師慧觀之塔也。

The master died on that mountain in the tenth year of Xiantong, aged seventy-eight, with fifty-four monastic years. He was posthumously named by imperial decree Great Master Xingkong, and the stupa was called the Stupa of Wisdom Contemplation.

前落京佛光寺如滿禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of the earlier Chan Master Ruman of Foguang Monastery in Luojing

唐杭州刺史白居易字樂天。久參佛光得心法。兼稟大乘金剛寶戒。元和中造於京兆興善法堂致四問(語見興善章)十五年牧杭州訪鳥窠和尚。有問答偈頌(鳥窠章敘訖)甞致書於濟法師。以佛無上大慧演出教理。安有徇機高下應病不同。與平等一味之說相反。援引維摩及金剛三昧等六經。闢二義而難之。又以五蘊十二緣。說名色前後不類。立理而徵之。並鉤深索隱通幽洞微。然未覩法師醻對。後來亦鮮有代答者。復受東都凝禪師八漸之目。各廣一言而為一偈釋其旨趣。自淺之深猶貫珠焉。凡守任處多訪祖道。學無常師。後為賓客分司東都。罄己俸修龍門香山寺。寺成自撰記。凡為文動關教化。無不贊美佛乘。見於本集。其歷官次第歸全代祀。即史傳存焉耳。

Bai Juyi, courtesy name Letian, prefect of Hangzhou in the Tang. He studied long at Foguang and obtained the mind-Dharma, and also received the Mahayana Diamond precepts. In the Yuanhe era he went to the Dharma hall of Xingshan in Jingzhao and raised four questions (the words are in the chapter on Xingshan). In the fifteenth year he governed Hangzhou, visited the Venerable Niaoke, and they exchanged question-and-answer verses (the chapter on Niaoke has told this). He once wrote a letter to Dharma Master Ji, saying that the Buddha's unsurpassed great wisdom expounds the principle of the teaching, so how could he adapt to capacities as high or low, and apply different remedies to different illnesses, in contradiction with the doctrine of equal single taste? He cited six sutras including the Vimalakirti and Vajra Samadhi, rejected two meanings and challenged him. He also, regarding the five aggregates and twelve links, said that name and form do not match in sequence, set out the principle and questioned it. He sought out the deep and hidden, penetrating the obscure and the subtle. But he did not see the Dharma master's reply, and later few answered in his place. He also received the eight stages from Chan Master Ning of the Eastern Capital, and for each broadened it with a word and made a verse explaining its meaning, from shallow to deep like a string of pearls. In every place where he held office he often visited the Way of the patriarchs, and in learning had no constant teacher. Later, as a guest official in the Eastern Capital, he used up his own stipend to repair the Xiangshan Temple at Longmen. When the temple was finished he wrote its record himself. All his writings bore on teaching and transformation and none failed to praise the Buddha vehicle, as seen in his collected works. His career and his return to the whole body for posthumous offerings are preserved in the histories.

前大梅山法常禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of the earlier Chan Master Fachang of Mount Damei

新羅國迦智禪師僧問。如何是西來意。師雲。待汝裡頭來即與汝道。僧問。如何是大梅的旨。師雲。酪本一時拋。

Chan Master Jiazhi of Silla. A monk asked: "What is the meaning of the coming from the West?" The master said: "When you come inside, I will tell you." A monk asked: "What is the purport of Damei?" The master said: "The cream is thrown away all at once."

杭州天龍和尚上堂雲。大眾莫待老僧。上來便上來下去便下去各有華藏性海具足功德無礙光明。各各參取珍重。僧問。如何是祖師意。師竪起拂子。僧問。如何得出三界去。師雲。汝即今在什麼處。

The Venerable Tianlong of Hangzhou ascended the hall and said: "Assembly, do not wait for this old monk to come up before you come up, or to go down before you go down. Each of you has the Huayan ocean of nature, complete with merit and unobstructed light. Each of you study it. Take care." A monk asked: "What is the Patriarch's meaning?" The master raised his whisk. A monk asked: "How does one get out of the three realms?" The master said: "Where are you right now?"

前永泰寺靈湍禪師法嗣

Dharma heirs of the earlier Chan Master Lingtuan of Yongtai Monastery

湖南上林戒靈(目錄作虛)禪師。初參溈山。曰大德作什麼來。師曰。介冑全具。溈山曰。盡卸了來與大德相見。師曰。卸了也。溈山咄曰。賊尚未打卸作什麼。師無對。仰山代雲。請和尚屏左右。溈山以手揖雲喏喏。師後參永泰方喻其旨。

Chan Master Jieling of Shanglin in Hunan (the catalog writes the second character as "xu"). He first studied with Weishan, who said: "Great virtuous one, what have you come to do?" The master said: "Fully equipped in helmet and armor." Weishan said: "Take it all off and meet me, great virtuous one." The master said: "I have taken it off." Weishan shouted: "The thief has not yet been beaten; what is the use of taking off?" The master had no answer. Yangshan answered for him: "Please, Venerable, dismiss those on both sides." Weishan bowed with his hands and said: "Yes, yes." The master later studied at Yongtai and only then understood the point.