Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle Twelve

華亭船子德誠禪師

Chan Master Decheng of Chuanzi in Huating

宣州椑樹慧省禪師

Chan Master Huisheng of Beishu in Xuanzhou

藥山高沙彌

The novice Gao of Yaoshan

鄂州百顏明哲禪師(已上六人見錄)

Chan Master Mingzhe of Baiyan in Ezhou (the above six persons are recorded)

郢州涇源山光虙禪師

Chan Master Guangfu of Mount Jingyuan in Yingzhou

藥山蘷禪師

Chan Master Kui of Yaoshan

宣州落霞和尚

The Venerable Luoxia of Xuanzhou

朗州刺史李翱(已上四人無機緣語句不錄)

Li Ao, Governor of Langzhou (the above four persons have no encounter dialogues and are not recorded)

潭州長髭曠禪師法嗣一人潭州石室善道和尚(一人見錄)

One Dharma heir of Chan Master Kuang of Changzi in Tanzhou: the Venerable Shandao of Shishi in Tanzhou (one person recorded)

潮州大顛和尚法嗣二人漳州三平山義忠禪師(一人見錄)

Two Dharma heirs of the Venerable Dadian of Chaozhou: Chan Master Yizhong of Mount Sanping in Zhangzhou (one person recorded)

吉州薯山和尚(一人無機緣語句不錄)

The Venerable Shushan of Jizhou (one person with no encounter dialogues, not recorded)

潭州大川和尚法嗣二人僊天和尚

Two Dharma heirs of the Venerable Dachuan of Tanzhou: the Venerable Xiantian

福州普光和尚(已上二人見錄)

The Venerable Puguang of Fuzhou (the above two persons are recorded)

行思禪師第一世

First generation of Chan Master Xingsi

石頭希遷大師端州高要人也。姓陳氏。母初懷妊不喜葷茹。師雖在孩提不煩保母。既冠然諾自許。鄉洞獠民畏鬼神多淫祀。殺牛釃酒習以為常。師輒往。毀叢祠奪牛而歸。歲盈數十。鄉老不能禁。後直造曹谿。六祖大師度為弟子。未具戒屬祖師圓寂。稟遺命謁於廬陵青原山思禪師。乃攝衣從之(緣會語句如思禪師章敘之)一日思問師曰。有人道嶺南有消息。師曰。有人不云云。曰若恁麼大藏小藏從何而來。師曰。盡從遮裡去。終不少他事。思甚然之。師於唐天寶初。薦之衡山南寺。寺之東有石狀如臺。乃結庵其上。時號石頭和尚。師一日上堂曰。吾之法門先佛傳授。不論禪定精進。達佛之知見即心即佛。心佛眾生菩提煩惱名異體一。汝等當知。自己心靈體。離斷常性非垢淨。湛然圓滿凡聖齊同。應用無方離心意識。三界六道唯自心現。水月鏡像豈有生滅。汝能知之無所不備。時門人道悟問。曹谿意旨誰人得。師曰。會佛法人得。曰師還得否。師曰。我不會佛法。僧問。如何是解脫。師曰。誰縛汝。又問。如何是淨土。師曰。誰垢汝。問如何是涅槃。師曰。誰將生死與汝。師問新到僧。從什麼處來。僧曰。江西來。師曰。見馬大師否。僧曰見。師乃指一橛柴曰。馬師何似遮箇。僧無對卻迴舉似馬大師。馬曰。汝見橛柴大小。僧曰。勿量大。馬曰。汝甚有力。僧曰。何也。馬曰。汝從南嶽負一橛柴來。豈不是有力。問如何是西來意。師曰。問取露柱。曰學人不會。師曰。我更不會。大顛問師。古人云。道有道無是二謗。請師除。師曰。一物亦無除箇什麼師卻問。併卻咽喉唇吻道將來。顛曰。無遮箇。師曰。若恁麼即汝得入門。道悟問。如何是佛法大意。師曰。不得不知。悟曰。向上更有轉處也無。師曰。長空不礙白雲飛。問如何是禪。師曰。碌塼。又問。如何是道。師曰。木頭。自餘門屬領旨所有。

Great Master Shitou Xiqian was from Gaoyao in Duanzhou, with the surname Chen. When his mother first became pregnant, she did not enjoy meat or pungent vegetables. Even as a child he did not trouble his nurse. When he came of age, he was committed to his word. The Liao people of the mountain villages in his home region feared ghosts and spirits and engaged in many licentious sacrifices, killing oxen and pouring wine as a matter of habit. The master would go there, destroy the shrines in the thickets, seize the oxen and bring them back, dozens each year, and the village elders could not stop him. Later he went straight to Caoxi, where the Sixth Patriarch accepted him as a disciple. Before he received the precepts, the Patriarch passed into stillness, and following his last instruction he went to see Chan Master Si of Mount Qingyuan in Luling, and gathered his robes and followed him. (The conditions of their meeting and sayings are narrated as in the chapter on Chan Master Si.) One day Si asked the master: “Someone says there is news from south of the ridge.” The master said: “Someone does not say so.” He asked: “If so, where do the great and small canons come from?” The master said: “All go from here, and in the end nothing is lacking.” Si very much agreed. In the early Tianbao era of Tang, the master was recommended to the Southern Temple on Mount Heng. East of the temple there was a rock shaped like a terrace, and he built a hermitage on it, and was then called the Venerable Shitou (Stone Head). One day the master ascended the hall and said: “My Dharma gate was transmitted by the former Buddhas. It does not speak of meditation or diligence. It reaches the Buddha's knowledge and vision: this very mind is Buddha. Mind, Buddha, sentient beings, bodhi and afflictions differ in name but are one in substance. You should know that the spiritual substance of your own mind is free of annihilation and permanence, its nature is neither defiled nor pure, serenely perfect, and the common and the sage are equal. Its response and function have no fixed direction, apart from mind, thought and consciousness. The three realms and six destinies appear only from one's own mind. Like the moon in water or an image in a mirror, how could there be arising and ceasing? If you can know this, nothing is lacking.” At that time his disciple Daowu asked: “Who has gained the meaning of Caoxi?” The master said: “One who understands the Buddha Dharma.” He asked: “Has the master gained it?” The master said: “I do not understand the Buddha Dharma.” A monk asked: “What is liberation?” The master said: “Who has bound you?” He asked again: “What is the Pure Land?” The master said: “Who has defiled you?” He asked: “What is nirvana?” The master said: “Who gave you birth and death?” The master asked a newly arrived monk: “Where do you come from?” The monk said: “From Jiangxi.” The master said: “Did you see Great Master Ma?” The monk said: “I did.” The master pointed to a stick of firewood and said: “How does Master Ma compare to this?” The monk had no answer and went back to tell Great Master Ma. Ma said: “How big did you see the stick of firewood?” The monk said: “Immeasurably big.” Ma said: “You are very strong.” The monk said: “Why?” Ma said: “You carried a stick of firewood from Nanyue; are you not strong?” He asked: “What is the meaning of the coming from the West?” The master said: “Ask the pillar.” He said: “I do not understand.” The master said: “I do not understand either.” Dadian asked the master: “An ancient said that saying there is the Way and saying there is none are two slanders. Please remove them, Master.” The master said: “There is not one thing; what is there to remove?” The master asked in return: “Setting aside throat, lips and tongue, say it.” Dadian said: “I do not have these.” The master said: “If so, you can enter the gate.” Daowu asked: “What is the great meaning of the Buddha Dharma?” The master said: “One must not fail to know.” Wu said: “Is there a turning place beyond that?” The master said: “The vast sky does not obstruct the flying white clouds.” He asked: “What is Chan?” The master said: “A brick.” He asked again: “What is the Way?” The master said: “A piece of wood.” The other disciples each received the point,

問答各於本章出焉。師著參同契一篇。辭旨幽𤀹頗有註解大行於世。南嶽鬼神多顯跡聽法。師皆與授戒。廣德二年門人請下於梁端。廣闡玄化。江西主大寂。湖南主石頭。往來憧憧並湊二大士之門矣。貞元六年庚午十二月二十五日順世。壽九十一。臘六十三。門人建塔於東嶺。長慶中諡無際大師。塔曰見相。

and their questions and answers each appear in their own chapters. The master composed the Cantongqi in one piece, whose meaning is profound and subtle (the base text has a variant character, to be read as “miao”), with many commentaries, and it circulated greatly in the world. The spirits of Nanyue often manifested to listen to the Dharma, and the master gave them all the precepts. In the second year of Guangde, his disciples asked him to come down to Liangduan to spread the profound transformation widely. Jiangxi was led by Daji and Hunan by Shitou; people went back and forth in crowds, all gathering at the gates of the two great masters. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the gengwu year, the sixth year of Zhenyuan, he passed away. He lived ninety-one years and had sixty-three years as a monk. His disciples built a stupa on the eastern ridge. In the Changqing era he was given the posthumous title Great Master Wuji, and the stupa was called Jianxiang.

行思禪師第二世

Second generation of Chan Master Xingsi

前石頭希遷法嗣

Earlier Dharma heirs of Shitou Xiqian

荊州天皇道悟禪師婺州東陽人也。姓張氏。神儀挺異。幼而生知長而神俊。年十四懇求出家父母不聽。遂誓志損減飲膳。日才一食形體羸悴。父母不得已而許之。依明州大德披削。二十五杭州竹林寺具戒精修梵行。推為勇猛。或風雨昏夜宴坐丘塚。身心安靜離諸怖畏。一日遊餘杭首謁徑山國一禪師。受心法服勤五載。唐大歷中抵鍾陵造馬大師。重印前解法無異說。復住二夏。乃謁石頭遷大師而致問曰。離卻定慧以何法示人。石頭曰。我遮裡無奴婢。離箇什麼。曰如何明得石頭曰。汝還撮得空麼。曰恁麼即不從今日去也。石頭曰。未審汝早晚從那邊來。曰道悟不是那邊人。石頭曰。我早知汝來處。曰師何以贓誣於人。石頭曰。汝身見在。曰雖如是畢竟如何示於後人。石頭曰。汝道阿誰是後人。師從此頓悟。於前二哲匠言下。有所得心罄殫其跡後卜於荊州當陽柴紫山(五百羅漢翱翔之地也)學徒依附駕肩接跡。都人士女嚮風而至。時崇業寺上首以狀聞。於連帥迎入郡城之左有天皇寺乃名藍也。因火而廢。主寺僧靈鑒將謀修復。乃曰。苟得悟禪。師為化主必能福我。乃中宵潛往哀請肩輿而至。遂居天皇。時江陵尹右僕射裴公稽首問法致禮勤至。師素不迎送。客無貴賤皆坐而揖之。裴公愈加歸向。由是石頭法道盛於此席。僧問。如何是玄妙之說。師曰。莫道我解佛法。僧曰。爭奈學人疑滯何。師曰。何不問老僧。僧曰。問了也。師曰。去不是汝存泊處。師元和丁亥四月示疾。命弟子先期告終。至晦日大眾問疾。師驀召典座。典座近前。師曰。會麼。對曰。不會。師乃拈枕子拋於地上。即便告寂。壽六十。臘三十五。以其年八月五日塔於郡東(寂音尊者。曰荊州天王寺道悟禪師。如傳燈錄所載。則曰。道悟得法於石頭。所居寺曰天皇。婺州東陽人。姓張氏。年十四出家。依明州大德披剃。年二十五。抗州竹林寺受具。

Chan Master Daowu of Tianhuang in Jingzhou was a native of Dongyang in Wuzhou, surnamed Zhang. His bearing was extraordinary; born knowing in childhood, he grew up brilliantly gifted. At fourteen he earnestly begged to leave home, but his parents would not allow it, so he vowed to cut down his food and drink, eating only once a day until his body grew gaunt and worn. His parents had no choice but to consent. He took the tonsure under a great worthy of Mingzhou, and at twenty-five received the full precepts at Zhulin Monastery in Hangzhou, where he cultivated the pure life with vigor and was praised for his fierce effort. Sometimes, on dark nights of wind and rain, he would sit in meditation among grave mounds, body and mind quiet, free of every fear. One day he traveled to Yuhang and first called on National Master Guoyi of Jingshan, from whom he received the mind Dharma and whom he served devotedly for five years. In the Dali era of the Tang he reached Zhongling and visited Great Master Ma, who sealed his earlier understanding anew—the Dharma was no different—so he stayed two more summers. Then he called on Great Master Shitou Qian and put this question: 'Leaving aside concentration and wisdom, by what Dharma do you instruct people?' Shitou said: 'There are no slaves here—what is there to leave aside?' He asked: 'How can that be made clear?' Shitou said: 'Can you clutch hold of empty space?' Daowu said: 'In that case it does not begin from today.' Shitou said: 'I wonder when it was that you came from that side.' Daowu said: 'Daowu is not a man of that side.' Shitou said: 'I long knew where you come from.' Daowu said: 'Master, why do you plant stolen goods on an innocent man?' Shitou said: 'Your very body is here before me.' Daowu said: 'Even so, how will you instruct those who come after?' Shitou said: 'Tell me, who are those who come after?' At this the master was suddenly enlightened. Beneath the words of these two wise masters, every trace of a mind that had gained something was emptied out. Later he settled on Chaizi Mountain in Dangyang, Jingzhou (a place where five hundred arhats are said to hover). Students attached themselves to him, shoulder to shoulder in unbroken succession, and men and women of the city came drawn by his fame. At the time the head monk of Chongye Monastery reported this to the military governor, who welcomed him into the prefectural city. To the left of it stood Tianhuang Monastery, a famous establishment that had been destroyed by fire. The resident monk Lingjian planned to restore it and said: 'If we can get Chan Master Wu to be the teaching abbot, he will surely bless us.' So at midnight he went secretly and earnestly begged him, and Daowu arrived in a sedan chair and came to dwell at Tianhuang. Then Lord Pei, governor of Jiangling and Vice Director of the Right, bowed his head to ask about the Dharma, paying him the most assiduous courtesies. The master never went out to greet or see anyone off; whatever a guest's rank, he stayed seated and received them with a bow. Lord Pei only grew more devoted, and from then on Shitou's Dharma flourished at this seat. A monk asked: 'What is the teaching of the profound mystery?' The master said: 'Do not say I understand the Buddha Dharma.' The monk said: 'But what is to be done about this student's doubts and blockages?' The master said: 'Why not ask this old monk?' The monk said: 'I have asked.' The master said: 'Away with you—this is no place for you to lodge.' In the fourth month of the dinghai year of Yuanhe the master showed signs of illness and ordered his disciples to announce his end in advance. On the last day of the month the assembly came to ask after him. The master suddenly summoned the head cook. The cook drew near. The master said: 'Do you understand?' He answered: 'I do not.' The master picked up the pillow and threw it on the ground, and straightaway passed away. He was sixty years old, with thirty-five summers as a monk. On the fifth day of the eighth month of that year he was enshrined in a stupa east of the prefecture. (The venerable Jiyin says: Chan Master Daowu of Tianwang Monastery in Jingzhou. As recorded in the Transmission of the Lamp, Daowu obtained the Dharma from Shitou; the monastery where he dwelled was called Tianhuang. He was a man of Dongyang in Wuzhou, surnamed Zhang. At fourteen he left home and took the tonsure under a worthy of Mingzhou. At twenty-five he received the full precepts at Zhulin Monastery in Hangzhou. (The base text reads 「抗州」, i.e. Hangzhou.))

首謁徑山國一禪師服勤五年。大曆中抵鍾陵。謁馬大師經二夏。乃造石頭。元和丁亥四月示疾。壽六十臘三十五。及觀達觀頴禪師所集五家宗派。則曰。道悟嗣馬祖。引唐丘玄素所撰碑文幾千言。其略曰。師號道悟。渚宮人姓崔氏。即子玉後胤也。年十五於長沙寺禮曇翥律師出家。二十三詣嵩山。律德得屍羅。謁石頭扣寂二年無所契悟。乃入長安親忠國師。三十四與侍者應真。南還謁馬大師大悟於言下。祝曰。他日莫離舊處。故復還渚宮。元和十三年戊戌歲四月初示疾。十三日歸寂壽八十二。臘六十三。考其傳正如兩人然。玄素所載曰。有傳法一人。崇信。住澧州龍潭。南嶽讓禪師碑。唐聞人歸登譔。列法孫數人於後。有道悟名。圭峰答裴相國宗趣狀。列馬祖之嗣六人。首曰江陵道悟。其下注曰。兼稟徑山。今妄以雲門臨濟二宗競者。可發一笑。出林間錄○覺夢堂重校五家宗派序雲。景德間吳僧道原。集傳燈錄三十卷。自曹溪下列為兩派。一曰南嶽讓。讓出馬大師。一曰青原思。思出石頭遷。自兩派下又分五宗。馬大師出八十四員善知識。內有百丈海。海出黃檗運大溈祐二人。運下出臨濟玄。故號臨濟宗。祐下出仰山寂。故號溈仰宗。八十四人內又有天王悟。悟得龍潭信。信得德山鑒。鑒得雪峰存。存下出雲門偃。號雲門宗。次玄沙備。備出地藏琛。琛出清涼益。號法眼宗次。石頭遷出藥山。儼天皇悟二人。悟下得慧真。真得幽閑。閑得文賁。三世便絕。唯藥山得雲嚴晟。晟得洞山價。價得曹山章。是為曹洞宗。今傳燈卻收雲門法眼兩宗。歸石頭下誤矣。緣同時道悟有兩人。一曰江陵城西天王寺道悟者。渚宮人也。崔子玉之後嗣馬祖。元和十三年四月十三日化。正議大夫丘玄素撰塔銘。文幾千言。其略雲。馬祖祝曰。他日莫離舊處。故復還渚宮。一曰。江陵城東天皇寺道悟者。𭤇州東陽人也。

(Jiyin continues:) He first called on National Master Guoyi of Jingshan and served him five years. In the Dali era he reached Zhongling, visited Great Master Ma through two summers, and then went to Shitou. In the fourth month of the dinghai year of Yuanhe he showed illness. He was sixty years old, with thirty-five monastic summers. But when we look at the lineages of the five houses compiled by Chan Master Daguanying, it says that Daowu was the heir of Mazu, citing a stele inscription of several thousand words written by the Tang scholar Qiu Xuansu. Its gist: the master's name was Daowu, a man of Zigong, surnamed Cui, a descendant of Ziyu. At fifteen he left home at Changsha Monastery under Vinaya master Tanzhu. At twenty-three he went to Mount Song, where under a vinaya worthy he received the sila. He visited Shitou and knocked at the gate of stillness for two years but had no awakening. Then he entered Chang'an and attended on National Master Zhong. At thirty-four he returned south together with the attendant Yingzhen, called on Great Master Ma, and was greatly enlightened at his words. Ma admonished him: 'In days to come do not leave the old place.' So he went back to Zigong. In the fourth month of the wuxu year, the thirteenth of Yuanhe, he first showed illness, and on the thirteenth day he entered stillness. He was eighty-two years old, with sixty-three monastic summers. Examining the two accounts, they describe exactly two different men. Xuansu's record says he had one Dharma heir, Chongxin, who lived at Longtan in Lizhou. The stele of Chan Master Rang of Nanyue, written by the Tang luminary Gui Deng, lists several Dharma grandsons at the end, among them the name Daowu. Guifeng's reply to Minister Pei's inquiry on the purport of the school lists six heirs of Mazu, the first being 'Daowu of Jiangling,' with a note beneath saying 'he also received instruction from Jingshan.' Those today who ignorantly make the Yunmen and Linji houses rivals deserve a laugh. (From the Forest Record.) The preface to the Juemeng Hall re-collation of the five houses' lineages says: in the Jingde era the monk Daoyuan of Wu compiled the Transmission of the Lamp in thirty juan. From Caoxi down it divides into two branches: one is Nanyue Rang, from whom came Great Master Ma; the other is Qingyuan Si, from whom came Shitou Qian. Under the two branches five houses further split off. Great Master Ma produced eighty-four good friends, among them Baizhang Huaihai. From Hai came Huangbo Xiyun and Guishan Lingyou. Under Yun's line came Linji Yixuan, hence the name Linji house. Under You's line came Yangshan Huiji, hence the name Guiyang house. Among the eighty-four there was also Tianwang Wu. Wu obtained Longtan Xin, Xin obtained Deshan Jian, Jian obtained Xuefeng Cun. Under Cun came Yunmen Wenyan, called the Yunmen house. Next was Xuansha Shibei; from Bei came Dizang Guichen, and from Chen came Qingliang Wenyi, called the Fayan house. Next, Shitou Qian produced two men, Yaoshan Weiyan and Tianhuang Wu. Under Wu came Huizhen, under Zhen came Youxian, under Xian came Wenben, and the line died out after three generations. Only Yaoshan obtained Yunyan Tansheng, Sheng obtained Dongshan Liangjia, Jia obtained Caoshan Benji—this is the Caodong house. Now the Transmission of the Lamp instead gathers the Yunmen and Fayan houses under Shitou—that is the error. For at that time there were two men named Daowu. One was Daowu of Tianwang Monastery west of Jiangling city, a man of Zigong, a descendant of Cui Ziyu, the heir of Mazu. He passed away on the thirteenth of the fourth month of the thirteenth year of Yuanhe. Grand Master of Correct Counsel Qiu Xuansu wrote his stupa inscription, several thousand words. Its gist: Mazu admonished him, 'In days to come do not leave the old place,' so he went back to Zigong. The other was Daowu of Tianhuang Monastery east of Jiangling city, a man of Dongyang in Wuzhou. (The base text reads 「𭤇州」, i.e. Wuzhou.)

姓張氏嗣石頭。元和二年丁亥化。葉律郎符載撰塔銘。二碑所載生緣出處甚詳。但緣道原採集傳燈之日非非一一親往討尋。不過宛轉託人捃拾。而得其差誤可知也。自景德至今。天下四海以傳燈為據。雖列剎據位立宗者。不能略加究辦。惟丞相無盡居士張公。及呂夏卿二君子。每會議宗門中事。嘗曰。石頭得藥山藥山得曹洞一宗教理行果言說宛轉。且天皇道悟下出箇周金剛。呵風罵雨。雖佛祖不敢嬰其鋒。恐自天皇處或有差誤。寂音尊者亦嘗疑之雲。道悟似有兩人。無盡居士後於達觀頴禪師處。得唐符載所撰天皇道悟塔記。又討得丘玄素所作天王道悟塔記。賚以遍示諸方曰。吾嘗疑德山洞山同出石頭下。因甚垂手處作用殺活不同。今以丘符二記證之朗然明白。方信吾擇法驗人之不謬耳。寂音曰。圭峰答裴相國宗趣狀。列馬祖之嗣六人。首曰江陵道悟。其下注曰。兼稟徑山今妄以雲門臨濟二宗競者。可發一笑。略書梗概以傳。明達者庶知五家之正派如是而已)。

He was surnamed Zhang and was the heir of Shitou. He passed away in the dinghai year, the second of Yuanhe. The collating secretary Fu Zai wrote his stupa inscription. (The base text reads 「叶律郎」, which should be 「协律郎」.) The two steles record the circumstances of his life in great detail. But when Daoyuan gathered material for the Transmission of the Lamp, he did not go in person to track down every item; he merely picked up what others relayed to him at second hand, so errors were to be expected. From the Jingde era until now, everyone under heaven has taken the Transmission of the Lamp as the authority. Even those who occupy seats and found houses in the great monasteries have been unable to examine the matter at all. Only Chancellor Zhang, the layman Wujin, and the gentleman Lu Xiaqing, whenever they discussed the affairs of the school, used to say: 'Shitou got Yaoshan, and Yaoshan got the Caodong line; the doctrine, practice, and realization of that house, and the turns of its phrasing, all hang together. Yet under Tianhuang Daowu there came forth a Zhou Diamond, who railed at the wind and cursed the rain—before his edge even Buddhas and patriarchs dared not stand. We fear there may be some error at the point of Tianhuang.' The venerable Jiyin likewise once doubted it and said: 'There seem to have been two Daowus.' Later the layman Wujin obtained, at the place of Chan Master Daguanying, the stupa record of Tianhuang Daowu written by the Tang scholar Fu Zai, and also hunted down the stupa record of Tianwang Daowu composed by Qiu Xuansu, and took them around to show everywhere, saying: 'I always wondered why Deshan and Dongshan, both descended from Shitou, act so differently in the way they give and take away when they extend a hand. Now, verified by the two records of Qiu and Fu, it is luminously clear. Only now do I trust that my discernment of the Dharma and judgment of men were not mistaken.' Jiyin says: Guifeng's reply to Minister Pei's inquiry lists six heirs of Mazu, the first being 'Daowu of Jiangling,' with a note beneath saying 'he also received instruction from Jingshan.' Those who ignorantly make the Yunmen and Linji houses rivals deserve a laugh. I have written the gist down briefly to pass it on, so that the discerning may know that the correct line of the five houses was thus and no more.)

京兆尸利禪師。初問石頭。如何是學人本分事。石頭曰。汝何從吾覓。曰不從師覓如何即得。石頭曰。汝還曾失卻麼。師乃契會厥旨。

Chan Master Shili of Jingzhao first asked Shitou: 'What is the student's own fundamental matter?' Shitou said: 'Why do you come seeking it from me?' He said: 'If I do not seek it from you, master, how am I to get it?' Shitou said: 'Have you ever lost it?' At this the master awakened to the purport.

鄧州丹霞天然禪師不知何許人也。初習儒學將入長安應舉。方宿於逆旅。忽夢白光滿室。占者曰。解空之祥也。偶一禪客問曰。仁者何往。曰選官去。禪客曰。選官何如選佛。曰選佛當往何所。禪客曰。今江西馬大師出世。是選佛之場。仁者可往。遂直造江西。才見馬大師以手托幞頭額。馬顧視良久曰。南嶽石頭是汝師也。遽抵南嶽還以前意投之。石頭曰。著槽厰去。師禮謝入行者房。隨次執爨役凡三年。忽一日石頭告眾曰。來日剗佛殿前草。至來日大眾諸童行各備鍬钁剗草。獨師以盆盛水淨頭。於和尚前胡跪。石頭見而笑之便與剃髮。又為說戒法。師乃掩耳而出。便往江西再謁馬師。未參禮便入僧堂內。騎聖僧頸而坐。時大眾驚愕遽報馬師。馬躬入堂視之曰。我子天然師即下地禮拜曰。謝師賜法號。因名天然。馬師問。從什麼處來。師雲。石頭。馬雲。石頭路滑還躂倒汝麼。師曰。若躂倒即不來。乃杖錫觀方。居天台華頂峰三年。往餘杭徑山禮國一禪師。唐元和中至洛京龍門香山。與伏牛和尚為莫逆之友。後於慧林寺遇天大寒。師取木佛焚之。人或譏之。師曰。吾燒取捨利。人曰。木頭何有。師曰。若爾者何責我乎。師一日謁忠國師。先問侍者。國師在否。曰在即在不見客。師曰。太深遠生。曰佛眼亦覷不見。師曰。龍生龍子鳳生鳳兒。國師睡起侍者以告。國師乃鞭侍者二十棒遣出。後丹霞聞之乃雲。不謬為南陽國師。至明日卻往禮拜。見國師便展坐具。國師雲。不用不用。師退步。國師雲。如是如是。師卻進前。國師雲。不是不是。師繞國師一匝便出。國師雲。去聖時遙人多懈怠。三十年後覓此漢也還難得。師訪龐居士。見女子取菜次。師雲。居士在否。女子放下籃子斂手而立。師又云。居士在否。女子便提籃子去。元和三年師於天津橋橫臥。會留守鄭公出呵之不起。吏問其故。師徐曰。無事僧。

Chan Master Tianran of Danxia in Dengzhou—no one knows where he was from. At first he studied Confucian learning and was about to enter Chang'an to sit the examinations. While lodging at an inn he suddenly dreamed that white light filled the room. A diviner said: 'This is an omen that you will understand emptiness.' A Chan traveler happened to ask: 'Where are you headed, sir?' He said: 'Off to select an office.' The traveler said: 'How does selecting an office compare to selecting Buddhahood?' He said: 'Where does one go to select Buddhahood?' The traveler said: 'Great Master Ma of Jiangxi has now appeared in the world; his place is the field where Buddhas are selected. You should go there.' So he went straight to Jiangxi. On first seeing Great Master Ma, he held his cap up to his forehead with his hand. Ma looked him over for a long while and said: 'Shitou of Nanyue is your teacher.' He promptly went to Nanyue and presented the same gesture to Shitou. Shitou said: 'Off to the work shed with you.' The master bowed in thanks, entered the laborers' quarters, and in turn took up cooking duties for a full three years. One day Shitou suddenly announced to the assembly: 'Tomorrow we cut the grass in front of the Buddha hall.' When the day came, all the postulants of the community prepared spades and hoes to cut grass. Only the master filled a basin with water, washed his head, and knelt down before the abbot. Shitou saw this, laughed, and shaved his head for him. As Shitou began to preach the precepts to him, the master covered his ears and walked out, then went to Jiangxi to call on Master Ma again. Before even making his bows, he entered the monks' hall and sat astride the neck of the holy monk's image. The assembly, shocked, rushed to report it to Master Ma. Ma came into the hall himself, looked at him, and said: 'My son—natural.' The master got down at once and bowed, saying: 'Thank you for bestowing my Dharma name.' So he was named Tianran, the Natural. Master Ma asked: 'Where have you come from?' The master said: 'From Shitou.' Ma said: 'Shitou's road is slippery—did it not trip you up?' The master said: 'If it had tripped me, I would not have come.' Then he took up his staff and wandered about. He lived for three years at Huading Peak on Tiantai, went to Jingshan in Yuhang to pay respects to National Master Guoyi, and in the Yuanhe era of the Tang reached Xiangshan at Longmen in the Luo capital, where he and Master Funiu became the closest of friends. Later, at Huilin Monastery in bitter cold, the master took a wooden Buddha statue and burned it. Someone rebuked him. The master said: 'I am burning it to get relics.' The man said: 'How can wood have relics?' The master said: 'If that is so, why blame me?' One day the master called on National Master Zhong. First he asked the attendant: 'Is the National Master in?' The attendant said: 'In he is, but he sees no visitors.' The master said: 'How exceedingly profound of him.' The attendant said: 'Even the Buddha's eye cannot peer in.' The master said: 'A dragon begets a dragonling, a phoenix a phoenix chick.' When the National Master rose from sleep, the attendant told him of it, and the National Master had the attendant beaten twenty strokes and driven out. When Danxia later heard of this, he remarked: 'Not in vain is he the National Master of Nanyang.' The next day he went to pay his respects. On seeing the National Master he spread out his sitting cloth. The National Master said: 'No need, no need.' The master stepped back. The National Master said: 'Thus, thus.' The master stepped forward again. The National Master said: 'Not it, not it.' The master circled the National Master once and went out. The National Master said: 'The time of the sages is far behind us and people have grown slack; thirty years from now a fellow like this will be hard to find.' The master called on Layman Pang and saw a young woman picking vegetables. The master said: 'Is the layman in?' The woman put down her basket and stood with folded hands. The master said again: 'Is the layman in?' The woman picked up her basket and left. In the third year of Yuanhe the master lay sprawled across Tianjin Bridge. It happened that Lord Zheng, the regent, was passing by; his men shouted at him to rise, but he did not. An officer asked him why. The master said slowly: 'A monk with nothing to do.'

留守異之。奉束素及衣兩襲日給米麫。洛下翕然歸信。至十五年春告門人言。吾思林泉終老之所。時門人令齊靜方卜南陽丹霞山。結庵以奉事。三年間玄學者至盈三百。眾構成大院。師上堂曰。阿爾渾家切須保護一靈之物。不是爾造作名貌得。更說什麼薦與不薦。吾往日見石頭和尚。亦只教切須自保護。此事不是爾譚話得。阿爾渾家各有一坐具地。更疑什麼。禪可是爾解底物。豈有佛可成。佛之一字永不喜聞。阿爾自看。善巧方便慈悲喜捨。不從外得。不著方寸。善巧是文殊方便是普賢。爾更擬趁逐什麼物。不用經不落空去。今時學者紛紛擾擾。皆是參禪問道。吾此間無道可修。無法可證。一飲一啄各自有分不用疑慮。在在處處有恁麼底。若識得釋迦即者凡夫是。阿爾須自看取。莫一盲引眾盲相將入火坑。夜裡暗雙陸賽彩。若為生無事珍重。有僧到參。於山下見師乃問。丹霞山向什麼處去。師指山曰。青黯黯地。僧曰。莫只遮箇便是麼。師曰。真師子兒一撥便轉。師問僧。什麼處宿。雲山下宿。師曰。什麼處吃飯。曰山下吃飯。師曰。將飯與闍梨吃底人。還具眼也無。僧無對(長慶舉問保福。將飯與人吃。感恩有分。為什麼不具眼。保福雲。施者受者二俱瞎漢。長慶雲。盡其機來又作麼生。保福雲。道某甲瞎得麼。玄覺徵雲。且道。長慶明丹霞意。為復自用家財)師以長慶四年六月二十三日。告門人曰。備湯沐吾欲行矣。乃戴笠策杖受履。垂一足未及地而化。壽八十六。門人斲石為塔。勅諡智通禪師。塔號妙覺。

The regent found this remarkable and presented him with plain silk and two sets of clothing, and daily supplied him with rice and flour. All of Luoyang turned to him in faith. In the spring of the fifteenth year he told his disciples: 'I wish for a place among woods and springs to end my days.' His disciple Lingjing was then divining a site at Danxia Mountain in Nanyang and built a hermitage to serve him. Within three years more than three hundred students of the mystery had come, forming a great community. The master entered the hall and said: 'Each of you must protect the one spiritual thing; it cannot be gotten by contriving names and appearances. What is the use of talking about recognizing it or not? In the old days when I saw Shitou, he too only taught me to guard it myself. This matter is not something you can gossip about. Each of you has the ground of your own sitting cloth—what more is there to doubt? Is Chan something you can explain? How could there be a Buddha for you to become? The very word Buddha is a thing I never like to hear. See for yourselves. Skillful means, kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity do not come from outside and do not stick to a square inch of flesh. Skill is Manjushri, means is Samantabhadra—what thing are you chasing after? Without the scriptures, you would not fall into emptiness. Students nowadays bustle about in confusion, all of them practicing Chan and asking about the Way. Here there is no Way to cultivate and no Dharma to realize. A drink and a peck—each has its own allotment; there is no need for doubt. In every place there is just this. If you recognize Shakyamuni, this ordinary fellow is he. Each of you must see it for yourself. Do not let one blind man lead a crowd of the blind along into a fiery pit. Casting double-six dice for stakes in the dark of night—that is how you pass your lives. Nothing further; take care.' A monk came to call and met the master at the foot of the mountain, and asked: 'Which way does Danxia Mountain lie?' The master pointed at the mountain and said: 'Green and dim it stands.' The monk said: 'Is this really it?' The master said: 'A true lion cub—one push and he turns around.' The master asked a monk: 'Where did you sleep?' He said: 'At the foot of the mountain.' The master said: 'Where did you eat?' He said: 'At the foot of the mountain.' The master said: 'Does the man who gives an acarya his rice have eyes or not?' The monk had no answer. (Changqing later asked Baofu: 'The man who feeds others deserves gratitude—why does he have no eyes?' Baofu said: 'Giver and receiver are both blind men.' Changqing said: 'And what if he brings out all his devices?' Baofu said: 'Could he say that I am blind?' Xuanjue tested this: 'Tell me—did Changqing understand Danxia's meaning, or was he just spending his own family fortune?') On the twenty-third day of the sixth month of the fourth year of Changqing, the master told his disciples: 'Prepare bath water; I am about to go.' Then he put on his hat, took his staff, and was putting on his sandals; with one foot lowered but not yet touching the ground, he passed away. He was eighty-six. His disciples cut stone to make his stupa. By imperial decree he was posthumously titled Chan Master Zhitong, and the stupa was called Miaojue.

潭州招提慧朗禪師始興曲江人也。姓歐陽氏。年十三依鄧林寺模禪師披剃。十七遊南嶽。二十於嶽寺受具。往虔州龔公山謁大寂。大寂問曰。汝來何求。師曰。求佛知見。曰佛無知見。知見乃魔界。汝從南嶽來。似未見石頭曹谿心要爾。汝應卻歸。師承命迴嶽造於石頭。問如何是佛。石頭曰。汝無佛性。曰蠢動含靈又作麼生。石頭曰。蠢動含靈卻有佛性。曰慧朗為什麼卻無。石頭曰。為汝不肯承當。師於言下信入。後住梁端招提寺。不出戶三十餘年。凡參學者至。皆曰。去去汝無佛性。其接機大約如此(時謂大朗禪師)。

Chan Master Huilang of Zhaoti in Tanzhou was a man of Qujiang in Shixing, surnamed Ouyang. At thirteen he took the tonsure under Chan Master Mo of Denglin Monastery. At seventeen he journeyed to Nanyue, and at twenty received the full precepts at the Yue monastery. He went to Gonggong Mountain in Qianzhou to call on Daji. Daji asked: 'What have you come to seek?' The master said: 'I seek the Buddha's knowledge and vision.' Daji said: 'The Buddha has no knowledge and vision; knowledge and vision are the realm of Mara. You have come from Nanyue, but you seem not yet to have seen the essence of the Caoxi mind of Shitou. You should go back.' Obeying, the master returned to Yue and went to Shitou. He asked: 'What is Buddha?' Shitou said: 'You have no Buddha-nature.' The master said: 'And what about the wriggling sentient creatures?' Shitou said: 'The wriggling sentient creatures do have Buddha-nature.' The master said: 'Why does Huilang alone have none?' Shitou said: 'Because you will not accept it.' At these words the master entered in faith. Later he lived at Zhaoti Monastery at Liangduan and did not leave its gates for over thirty years. Whenever students came to call, he would say: 'Away, away—you have no Buddha-nature.' That was roughly how he met them. (People of the time called him Chan Master Dalang.)

長沙興國寺振朗禪師。初參石頭問。如何是祖師西來意。石頭曰。問取露柱。曰振朗不會。石頭曰。我更不會。師俄然省悟。住後有僧來參。師乃召曰。上坐。僧應諾。師曰。孤負去也。曰師何不鑒。師乃拭目而視之。僧無語(時謂小朗禪師)

Chan Master Zhenlang of Xingguo Monastery in Changsha. When he first called on Shitou he asked: 'What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming from the west?' Shitou said: 'Ask the exposed pillar.' He said: 'Zhenlang does not understand.' Shitou said: 'Still less do I.' At this the master was suddenly awakened. After he took up residence as abbot, a monk came to call. The master called out: 'Elder!' The monk answered. The master said: 'You have gone in vain.' The monk said: 'Master, why do you not look?' The master wiped his eyes and looked at him. The monk had nothing to say. (People of the time called him Chan Master Xiaolang.)

澧州藥山惟儼禪師。絳州人姓韓氏。年十七依潮陽西山慧照禪師出家。唐大歷八年納戒于衡嶽希操律師。乃曰。大丈夫當離法自淨。豈能屑屑事細行於布巾耶。即謁石頭密領玄旨。一日師坐次。石頭覩之問曰。汝在遮裡作麼。曰一切不為。石頭曰。恁麼即閑坐也。曰若閑坐即為也。石頭曰。汝道不為。且不為箇什麼。曰千聖亦不識。石頭以偈讚曰。

Chan Master Weiyan of Yaoshan in Lizhou was a man of Jiangzhou, surnamed Han. At seventeen he left home under Chan Master Huizhao of West Mountain in Chaoyang. In the eighth year of the Dali era of the Tang he received the precepts from Vinaya master Xicao of Hengyue, and remarked: 'A great man should purify himself apart from regulations—how could he fuss over petty rules upon a strip of cloth?' He then called on Shitou and secretly received the profound purport. One day, as the master was sitting, Shitou saw him and asked: 'What are you doing here?' He said: 'Not doing anything at all.' Shitou said: 'Then you are just sitting idle.' He said: 'If I were sitting idle, that would already be doing something.' Shitou said: 'You say you do not do—what is it that you do not do?' He said: 'Even the thousand sages do not know it.' Shitou praised him in a verse:

從來共住不知名任運相將只麼行

Dwelling together all along yet never knowing its name, trusting to fate they just go on like this,

自古上賢猶不識造次凡流豈可明

Since ancient times even the worthiest have not recognized it—how could the heedless stream of common folk possibly make it clear?

石頭有時垂語曰。言語動用勿交涉。師曰。不言語動用亦勿交涉。石頭曰。遮裡針劄不入。師曰。遮裡如石上栽華。石頭然之。師後居澧州藥山。海眾雲會(廣語見別卷)一日師看經次。柏巖曰。和尚休猱人得也。師卷卻經曰。日頭早晚。曰正當午。師曰。猶有遮箇文彩在。曰某甲無亦無。師曰。汝大殺聰明。曰某甲只恁麼。和尚尊意如何。師曰。我跛跛挈挈百醜千拙且恁麼過。師與道吾說。茗谿上世為節察來。吾曰和尚上世曾為什麼。師曰。我痿痿羸羸且恁麼過時。吾曰。憑何如此。師曰。我不曾展他書卷(石霜別雲。書卷不曾展)院主報。打鍾也請和尚上堂。師曰。汝與我擎缽盂去。曰和尚無手來多少時。師曰。汝只是枉披袈裟。曰某甲只恁麼和尚如何。師曰。我無遮箇眷屬。師見園頭栽菜次。師曰。栽即不障汝栽。莫教根生。曰既不教根生。大眾吃什麼。師曰。汝還有口麼無對。僧問。如何不被諸境惑。師曰。聽他何礙汝。曰不會。師曰。何境惑汝。僧問。如何是道中至寶。師曰。莫諂曲。曰不諂曲時如何。師曰。傾國不換。有僧再來依附。師問。阿誰。曰常坦。師呵曰。前也是常坦後也是常坦。一日院主請師上堂。大眾才集。師良久。便歸方丈閉門。院主逐後曰。和尚許某甲上堂。為什麼卻歸方丈。師曰。院主。經有經師。論有論師。律有律師。又爭怪得老僧。師問雲巖。作什麼。巖曰。擔屎。師曰那箇聻。巖曰在。師曰。汝來去為誰。曰替他東西。師曰。何不教並行。曰和尚莫謗他。師曰。不合恁麼道。曰如何道。師曰。還曾擔麼。師坐次有僧問。兀兀地思量什麼。師曰。思量箇不思量底。曰不思量底如何思量。師曰。非思量。僧問。學人擬歸鄉時如何。師曰。汝父母遍身紅爛臥在荊棘林中汝歸何所。僧曰。恁麼即不歸去也。師曰。汝卻須歸去。汝若歸鄉我示汝箇休糧方。僧曰。便請。師曰。

Shitou once remarked: 'Do not traffic in words and doings.' The master said: 'Do not traffic in not speaking and not doing either.' Shitou said: 'Here not even a needle can get in.' The master said: 'Here it is like planting flowers in stone.' Shitou approved. The master later lived at Yaoshan in Lizhou, and the great assembly gathered like clouds. (His fuller sayings are found in another chapter.) One day, as the master was reading a scripture, Baiyan said: 'Abbot, stop monkeying with people.' The master rolled up the scroll and said: 'What time of day is it?' Baiyan said: 'Right at noon.' The master said: 'So this kind of flourish is still there.' Baiyan said: 'I do not even have that.' The master said: 'You are altogether too clever.' Baiyan said: 'That is simply how I am. What is the abbot's view?' The master said: 'Limping and lugging along, ugly in a hundred ways and clumsy in a thousand, I just get through my days like this.' The master remarked to Daowu that Mingxi had been a surveillance commissioner in a former life. Daowu said: 'And what were you in your former life, abbot?' The master said: 'Weak and worn down, I just passed my days like this.' Daowu said: 'By virtue of what?' The master said: 'I never opened his books and scrolls.' (Shishuang's version says: 'The books and scrolls were never unrolled.') The monastery director reported: 'The bell has struck; please ascend the hall, abbot.' The master said: 'Carry my bowl for me.' The director said: 'How long has the abbot been without hands?' The master said: 'You are merely wearing the kasaya in vain.' The director said: 'That is how I am—what about you, abbot?' The master said: 'I have no such followers.' Seeing the gardener planting vegetables, the master said: 'Planting does not hinder your planting—just do not let the roots grow.' The gardener said: 'If roots are not to grow, what will the assembly eat?' The master said: 'Do you still have a mouth?' There was no answer. A monk asked: 'How can I avoid being deluded by external objects?' The master said: 'Let them be—how do they hinder you?' The monk said: 'I do not understand.' The master said: 'What object deludes you?' A monk asked: 'What is the supreme treasure in the Way?' The master said: 'Do not be fawning and crooked.' The monk said: 'And when one is not fawning?' The master said: 'I would not trade it for a whole kingdom.' A monk came back to attach himself once more. The master asked: 'Who is it?' He said: 'Changtan.' The master scolded him: 'Changtan before, and Changtan again.' One day the director asked the master to ascend the hall. The assembly had barely gathered when the master, after a long silence, returned to his room and shut the door. The director ran after him, saying: 'Abbot, you promised me you would ascend the hall—why did you go back to your room?' The master said: 'Director! Sutras have their sutra masters, treatises have their treatise masters, discipline has its discipline masters—how can you blame this old monk?' The master asked Yunyan: 'What are you doing?' Yunyan said: 'Carrying dung.' The master said: 'And that one?' Yunyan said: 'He is here.' The master said: 'For whom do you come and go?' Yunyan said: 'I carry things for him.' The master said: 'Why not let the two go together?' Yunyan said: 'Abbot, do not slander him.' The master said: 'That is no way to put it.' Yunyan said: 'How should it be put?' The master said: 'Have you ever carried it yourself?' Once as the master sat, a monk asked: 'Stolid like that—what are you pondering?' The master said: 'I ponder what does not ponder.' The monk said: 'How do you ponder what does not ponder?' The master said: 'It is not pondering.' A monk asked: 'What if this student means to return to his village?' The master said: 'Your parents lie covered in red sores amid the thorn bushes—where would you return to?' The monk said: 'Then I will not return.' The master said: 'Yet you must return. If you go home, I will show you a way to stop eating.' The monk said: 'Please do.' The master said:

二時上堂不得齩破一粒米。僧問。如何是涅槃。師曰。汝未開口時喚作什麼。師見遵布衲洗佛乃問遮箇從汝洗。還洗得那箇麼。遵曰。把將那箇來。師乃休(長慶雲。邪法難扶。玄覺雲。且道長慶恁麼道。在賓在主。眾中喚作洗佛語。亦云。兼帶語。且道盡善不盡善)僧問曰。學人有疑請師決。師曰。待上堂時來與闍梨決疑。至晚間上堂。大眾集定。師曰。今日請決疑。上坐在什麼處。其僧出眾而立師下禪床把卻曰。大眾遮僧有疑。便托開歸方丈(玄覺雲。且道與伊決疑否。若決疑什麼處是決疑。若不與決疑。又道待上堂時與汝決疑)師問飯頭。汝在此多少時也。曰三年。師曰。我總不識汝。飯頭罔測發憤而去。僧問。身命急處如何。師曰。莫種雜種。曰將何供養。師曰。無物者。師令供養主鈔化。甘行者問。什麼處來。僧曰。藥山來。甘曰。來怎麼。僧雲。教化。甘雲。將得藥來麼。曰行者有什麼病。甘便捨銀兩鋌曰。有人即送來。無人即休。師怪僧歸太急。僧曰。問佛法相當得兩鋌銀。師令舉其語。舉已。師令僧速送還行者家。行者見僧迴雲。僧來遂添銀施之(同安代雲。早知行者恁麼問。終不道藥山來)師問僧。見說汝解算虛實。曰不敢。師曰。汝試算老僧看。僧無對(雲巖後來舉問洞山。汝作麼生。洞山雲。請和尚生日)師書佛字問道吾。是什麼字。吾雲。佛字。師雲。多口阿師。僧問己事未明乞和尚指示。師良久曰。吾今為汝道一句亦不難。只宜汝於言下便見去。猶較些子。若更入思量。卻成吾罪過。不如且各合口免相累。及大眾夜參不點燈。師垂語曰。我有一句子。待特牛生兒即向汝道。時有僧曰。特牛生兒也何以不道。師曰把燈來。其僧抽退入眾(雲巖後舉似洞山。洞山雲。遮僧卻會。只是不肯禮拜)僧問。祖師未到此土此土還有祖師意否。師曰有。僧曰。既有祖師意。又來作什麼。師曰。

(The master continued:) "At the two sessions in the hall, you must not bite a single grain of rice." A monk asked: "What is nirvana?" The master said: "What did you call it before you opened your mouth?" The master saw Zun washing a Buddha with his patched robe and asked: "This one you may wash; can you also wash that one?" Zun said: "Bring that one here." The master stopped. (Changqing said: "Wrong dharma is hard to prop up." Xuanjue said: "Tell me, in saying this, is Changqing guest or host? Among the assembly it is called a saying about washing the Buddha, and also a saying of combined approach. Tell me, is it entirely good or not entirely good?") A monk asked: "This student has a doubt; please resolve it, Master." The master said: "Come when I am in the hall, and I will resolve your doubt, Ajari." In the evening, when he was in the hall and the great assembly was settled, the master said: "Today a doubt is to be resolved. Where is the monk?" The monk came out of the assembly and stood. The master got down from the meditation seat, seized him, and said: "Great assembly, this monk has a doubt." Then he pushed him away and returned to the abbot's room. (Xuanjue said: "Tell me, did he resolve the doubt for him or not? If he resolved the doubt, where was the resolving? If he did not resolve it, yet he said he would resolve your doubt when in the hall.") The master asked the rice-cook: "How long have you been here?" He said: "Three years." The master said: "I do not know you at all." The rice-cook could not fathom it and left in a fit of indignation. A monk asked: "What about when body and life are in extremity?" The master said: "Do not plant mixed seeds." He said: "With what shall I make offerings?" The master said: "One who has nothing." The master sent the offerings steward to collect alms. The practitioner Gan asked: "Where do you come from?" The monk said: "From Yaoshan." Gan said: "What have you come for?" The monk said: "To teach." Gan said: "Did you bring medicine?" He said: "What illness does the practitioner have?" Gan then gave two ingots of silver, saying: "If there is someone, send it; if there is no one, stop." The master was surprised that the monk returned so quickly. The monk said: "My question on the Buddha-dharma matched, and I received two ingots of silver." The master had him repeat his words. When he had, the master told the monk to quickly return it to the practitioner's home. The practitioner saw the monk return, said the monk had come, and added more silver to give. (Tong'an replied for him: "If I had known the practitioner would ask like that, I would never have said Yaoshan.") The master asked a monk: "I hear you can calculate emptiness and fullness." He said: "I dare not." The master said: "Try calculating this old monk." The monk had no reply. (Yunyan later brought this up to Dongshan: "What would you do?" Dongshan said: "Please tell me the Reverend's birthday.") The master wrote the character for Buddha and asked Daowu: "What character is this?" Wu said: "The character for Buddha." The master said: "A talkative monk." A monk asked: "My own matter is not clear; I beg the Reverend to point it out." After a long silence the master said: "It would not be hard for me to say a phrase for you. You should simply see it right at the words, which is better. If you go further into thinking, it becomes my fault. Better that we each close our mouths, to avoid burdening each other." At the evening assembly the lamp was not lit. The master gave a saying: "I have a phrase, and when the bull calf is born I will tell it to you." At that time a monk said: "The bull calf is born; why do you not say it?" The master said: "Bring the lamp." The monk withdrew into the assembly. (Yunyan later brought this up to Dongshan. Dongshan said: "This monk does understand; he just will not bow.") A monk asked: "Before the Patriarch came to this land, did this land have the Patriarch's meaning?" The master said: "It did." The monk said: "Since there was the Patriarch's meaning, why did he come?" The master said:

只為有所以來。師看經。有僧問。和尚尋常不許人看經。為什麼卻自看。師曰。我只圖遮眼。曰某甲學和尚還得也無。師曰。若是汝牛皮也須看透(長慶雲。眼有何過。玄覺雲。且道長慶會藥山意不會藥山意)朗州刺史李翱嚮師玄化屢請不起。乃躬入山謁之。師執經卷不顧。侍者白曰。太守在此。翱性褊急乃言曰見面不如聞名。師呼太守。翱應諾。師曰。何得貴耳賤目。翱拱手謝之。問曰。如何是道。師以手指上下曰。會麼。翱曰。不會。師曰。雲在天水在缾。翱乃欣愜作禮而述一偈曰。

(The master continued:) "Precisely because it existed, he came." The master was reading a sutra. A monk asked: "The Reverend usually does not allow people to read sutras; why do you read one yourself?" The master said: "I only want to shade my eyes." He said: "Can I learn from the Reverend?" The master said: "If it were you, you would have to see through even an ox hide." (Changqing said: "What fault do the eyes have?" Xuanjue said: "Tell me, does Changqing understand Yaoshan's meaning or not?") Li Ao, prefect of Langzhou, admired the master's transforming Way and repeatedly invited him but he did not rise, so he went into the mountain himself to visit. The master held a sutra scroll and did not look at him. An attendant reported: "The prefect is here." Ao, being hasty by nature, said: "Meeting the face is not as good as hearing the name." The master called: "Prefect." Ao answered "Yes." The master said: "Why value the ear and despise the eye?" Ao clasped his hands and apologized. He asked: "What is the Way?" The master pointed up and down with his hand and said: "Do you understand?" Ao said: "I do not." The master said: "Clouds are in the sky, water is in the bottle." Ao was delighted and bowed, and composed a verse:

練得身形似鶴形千株松下兩函經

I have trained my body into the form of a crane, beneath a thousand pines, two cases of scriptures,

我來問道無餘說雲在青天水在缾

I came to ask about the Way, with nothing else to say: clouds are in the blue sky, water is in the bottle.

(玄覺雲且道李太守是讚他語。明他語須具行腳眼始得)。

(Xuanjue said: "Tell me, is Prefect Li praising his words or clarifying his words? One must have the eye of a wanderer to see it.")

翱又問。如何是戒定慧。師曰。貧道遮裡無此閑傢俱。翱莫測玄旨。師曰。太守欲得保任此事。直須向高高山頂坐深深海底行。閨閤中物捨不得便為滲漏。師一夜登山經行。忽雲開見月大笑。一聲應澧陽東九十許裡。居民盡謂東家。明晨迭相推問直至藥山。徒眾雲。昨夜和尚山頂大笑。李翱再贈詩曰。

Ao further asked: "What are precepts, concentration, and wisdom?" The master said: "This poor monk has no such idle furniture here." Ao could not fathom the profound meaning. The master said: "If the prefect wishes to maintain this matter, you must sit on the top of the highest mountain and walk at the bottom of the deepest sea. If you cannot let go of things in the boudoir, there will be leakage." One night the master climbed the mountain and walked in meditation; suddenly the clouds parted and the moon appeared, and he laughed loudly. The sound was heard some ninety li east of Liyang. The residents all said it was from the neighbor to the east. The next morning, asking one another in turn, they came up to Yaoshan. The disciples said: "Last night the Reverend laughed loudly on the summit." Li Ao presented another poem: