Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Fascicle 15
撫州曹山本寂禪師泉州莆田人也。姓黃氏。少慕儒學。年十九出家。入福州福唐縣靈石山。二十五登戒。唐咸通初禪宗興盛。會洞山價禪師坐道場。往來請益。洞山問。闍梨名什麼。對曰。本寂。曰向上更道。師曰。不道。曰為什麼不道。師曰。不名本寂。洞山深器之。師自此入室密印所解盤桓數載。乃辭洞山。洞山問。什麼處去。曰不變異處去。洞山雲。不變異豈有去耶。師曰。去亦不變異。遂辭去。隨緣放曠。初受請止於撫州曹山。後居荷玉山。二處法席學者雲集。問不與萬法為侶者是什麼人。師曰。汝道洪州裡許多人什麼處去也。問眉與目還相識也無。師曰。不相識。曰為什麼不相識。師曰。為同在一處。曰恁麼即不分也。師曰。眉且不是目。曰如何是目。師曰。端的去。曰如何是眉。師曰。曹山卻疑。曰和尚為什麼卻疑。師曰。若不疑即端的去也。問於相何真。師曰。即相即真。曰當何顯示。師提起托子。問幻本何真。師曰。幻本元真(法眼別雲。幻本不真)曰當幻何顯。師曰。即幻即顯(法眼別雲。幻即無當)曰恁麼即始終不離於幻也。師曰。覓幻相不可得。問如何是常在底人。師曰。恰遇曹山暫出。曰如何是常不在底人。師曰。難得。僧清銳問。某甲孤貧乞師拯濟。師曰。銳闍梨近前來。銳近前。師曰。泉州白家酒三盞猶道未沾唇(玄覺雲。什麼處是與他酒吃)問擬豈不是類。師曰。直是不擬亦是類。曰如何是異。師曰。莫不識痛癢。鏡清問。清虛之理畢竟無身時如何。師曰。理即如此事作麼生。曰如理如事。師曰。謾曹山一人即得。爭奈諸聖眼何。曰若無諸聖眼。爭鑒得箇不恁麼。師曰。官不容針私通車馬。雲門問。不改易底人來師還接否。師曰。曹山無恁麼閑工夫人。問古人云。人人盡有弟子在。塵蒙還有也無。師曰。過手來。乃點指曰。一二三四五足。問魯祖面壁用表何事。
Chan Master Benji of Mount Cao in Fuzhou was a native of Putian in Quanzhou, with the surname Huang. In youth he admired Confucian learning. At nineteen he left home, entering Mount Lingshi in Futang County, Fuzhou. At twenty-five he mounted the precept platform. In the early Xiantong era of the Tang the Chan school was flourishing. It happened that Chan Master Jia of Dongshan was presiding over a training seat, and he went back and forth to ask for instruction. Dongshan asked: "What is the Teacher's name?" He replied: "Benji." Dongshan said: "Speak further upward." The master said: "I will not say." Dongshan said: "Why will you not say?" The master said: "It is not named Benji." Dongshan held him in deep regard. From then on the master entered the inner room and secretly sealed what he had understood; after lingering several years, he took leave of Dongshan. Dongshan asked: "Where are you going?" He said: "To where there is no change." Dongshan said: "If there is no change, how can there be a going?" The master said: "The going also does not change." So he departed. He roamed freely as conditions led. At first he was invited to stay on Mount Cao in Fuzhou; later he lived on Mount Heyu. At those two Dharma seats students gathered like clouds. He was asked: "What is the person who does not take the ten thousand dharmas as companions?" The master said: "You tell me—all those people in Hongzhou, where have they gone?" He was asked: "Do the eyebrows and eyes still know each other?" The master said: "They do not." He said: "Why do they not know each other?" The master said: "Because they are in the same place." He said: "Then they are not distinguished." The master said: "The eyebrows are after all not the eyes." He said: "What are the eyes?" The master said: "Go straight." He said: "What are the eyebrows?" The master said: "Caoshan rather doubts." He said: "Why does the Reverend doubt?" The master said: "If I did not doubt, it would be straight going." He was asked: "Within marks, what is true?" The master said: "The very mark is the true." He said: "By what should it be displayed?" The master held up the saucer. He asked: "Within illusion's ground, what is true?" The master said: "Illusion's ground is originally true." (Fayan said differently: "Illusion's ground is not true.") He said: "Within illusion, what appears?" The master said: "The very illusion is the appearing." (Fayan said differently: "Illusion is itself without counterpart.") He said: "Then from first to last one does not depart from illusion." The master said: "The marks of illusion cannot be found." He was asked: "What is the person who is ever present?" The master said: "It happens that Caoshan is out for the moment." He said: "What is the person who is ever not present?" The master said: "Hard to come by." The monk Qingrui asked: "I am lone and poor; I beg the master to relieve me." The master said: "Teacher Rui, come forward." Rui came forward. The master said: "Three cups of the Bai family's wine of Quanzhou, and you still say it has not touched your lips." (Xuanjue said: "Where was he given wine to drink?") He was asked: "Is not-intending then a category?" The master said: "Even sheer non-intention is still a category." He said: "What is difference?" The master said: "There is none that does not know pain and itch." Jingqing asked: "When the principle of pure emptiness is in the end without body, how is it?" The master said: "Principle is thus; what about the matter?" He said: "Like principle, like the matter." The master said: "You may fool this one Caoshan, but what about the eyes of all the sages?" He said: "If there were no eyes of the sages, how could they discern the one that is not thus?" The master said: "Officially not even a needle is admitted; privately carts and horses pass through." Yunmen asked: "If one who does not change comes, will you receive him, master?" The master said: "Caoshan has no such leisure to spare for people." He was asked: "The ancients said: every person has a disciple. When all is dusted and dimmed, is there still one?" The master said: "Hold out your hand." Then, pointing at his fingers, he said: "One, two, three, four, five—complete." He was asked: "What did Luzu's facing the wall signify?"
師以手掩耳。問承古有言。未有一人倒地不因地而起。如何是倒。師曰。肯即是。曰如何是起。師曰。起也。問承教有言。大海不宿死屍。如何是海。師曰。包含萬有。曰為什麼不宿死屍。師曰。絕氣者不著。曰既是包含萬有。為什麼絕氣者不著。師曰。萬有非其功絕氣有其德。曰向上還有事也無。師曰。道有道無即得。爭奈龍王按劍何。問具何知解善能對眾問難。師曰。不呈句。曰問難箇什麼。師曰。刀斧斫不入。曰能恁麼問難。還更有不肯者也無。師曰有。曰是什麼人。師曰。曹山。問無言如何顯。師曰。莫向遮裡顯。曰向什麼處顯。師曰。昨夜三更床頭失卻三文錢。問日未出時如何。師曰。曹山也曾恁麼來。曰日出後如何。師曰。猶較曹山半月程。師問僧。作什麼。曰掃地。師曰。佛前掃佛後掃。曰前後一時掃。師曰。與曹山過靸鞋來。師問彊德上坐曰。菩薩在定聞香象渡河。出什麼經。曰出涅槃經。師曰。定前聞定後聞。曰和尚流也。師曰。道也大殺道。始道得一半。曰和尚如何。師曰。灘下接取。問學人十二時中如何保任。師曰。如經蠱毒之鄉。水不得霑著一滴。問如何是法身主。師曰。謂秦無人。曰遮箇莫便是否。師曰斬。問親近什麼道伴即得常聞於未聞。師曰。同共一被蓋。曰此猶是和尚得聞。如何是常聞於未聞。師曰。不同於木石。曰何者在先何者在後。師曰。不見道常聞於未聞。問國內按劍者是誰。師曰。曹山(法燈別雲。汝不是恁麼人)曰擬殺何人。師曰。但有一切總殺。曰忽逢本父母作麼生。師曰。揀什麼。曰爭奈自己何。師曰。誰奈我何。曰為什麼不殺。師曰。勿下手處。問一牛飲水五馬不嘶時如何。師曰。曹山解忌口。又別雲。曹山孝滿。問常在生死海中沈沒者是什麼人。師曰。第二月。曰還求出離也無。師曰。也求出離只是無路。曰出離什麼人接得伊。師曰。擔鐵枷者。
(The master answered:) He covered his ears with his hands. A monk cited, ‘No one falls without rising by relying on the ground. What is falling?’ He said, ‘Willingness is it.’ ‘What is rising?’ ‘Rising.’ The monk cited, ‘The great sea does not harbor a corpse. What is the sea?’ ‘It contains all things.’ ‘Why does it not harbor a corpse?’ ‘One without breath does not cling.’ ‘If it contains all things, why does it not cling to one without breath?’ ‘All things are not its achievement; the breathless have their virtue.’ ‘Is there anything above this?’ ‘Say “exists” or “does not exist”—how can you reckon with the Dragon King’s sword?’ Asked, ‘What understanding lets one answer questions before an assembly?’ he said, ‘I do not present phrases.’ ‘What is the question?’ ‘Knives and axes cannot cut into it.’ ‘Is there anyone who will not accept such an answer?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Who?’ ‘Caoshan.’ Asked, ‘How is the ineffable revealed?’ he said, ‘Do not reveal it here.’ ‘Where then?’ ‘Last night at the third watch, I lost three coins beside my bed.’ Asked, ‘Before sunrise?’ he said, ‘Caoshan once came this way.’ ‘After sunrise?’ ‘Still half a month behind Caoshan.’ He asked a monk, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Sweeping.’ ‘Sweep before the Buddha or after?’ ‘Both at once.’ ‘Bring Caoshan his sandals.’ He asked Qiangde, ‘A bodhisattva in samadhi hears an elephant cross a river. Which sutra says this?’ ‘The Nirvana Sutra.’ ‘Does he hear before or after samadhi?’ ‘The master has caught me.’ ‘You have talked too much, and only said half.’ ‘What about the master?’ ‘Catch it below the rapids.’ Asked how to maintain oneself through the twelve periods of the day, he said, ‘As if passing through a region infested with poison insects: do not let a single drop of water touch you.’ Asked, ‘Who is the master of the Dharma-body?’ he said, ‘They say there is no Qin.’ ‘Is that it?’ ‘Behead him.’ Asked what spiritual companion allows one always to hear what has never been heard, he said, ‘Share a blanket.’ ‘That is what the master hears. What is always hearing what has never been heard?’ ‘It is unlike wood and stone.’ ‘Which comes first and which later?’ ‘Have you not heard: always hearing what has never been heard?’ Asked who held the sword within the kingdom, he said, ‘Caoshan.’ (Fadeng said, ‘You are not such a person.’) ‘Whom would you kill?’ ‘Everything that exists, I would kill.’ ‘What if you met your own parents?’ ‘Why distinguish?’ ‘What about yourself?’ ‘Who can do anything to me?’ ‘Why not kill?’ ‘There is nowhere to strike.’ Asked, ‘When one ox drinks and five horses do not neigh, what then?’ he said, ‘Caoshan knows how to observe a food taboo.’ Another version: ‘Caoshan is in mourning for his father.’ Asked who sinks in the sea of birth and death, he said, ‘The second moon.’ ‘Does he seek release?’ ‘Yes, but there is no way.’ ‘Who can receive him at release?’ ‘One who carries an iron cangue.’
僧舉藥山問僧。年多少。僧曰。七十二。藥山曰。是年七十二麼。曰是。藥山便打。此意如何。師曰。前箭猶似可後箭射人深。僧曰。如何免得棒。師曰。正勅既行諸侯避道(東禪齊雲。曹山是明藥山意。自出手。為復別有道理。還斷得麼。只如遮僧舉問曹山。伊還有會處麼。忽爾問。上坐年多少。別作麼生秖對)問如何是佛法大意。曰填溝塞壑。問如何是師子。師曰。眾獸近不得。曰如何是師子兒。師曰。能吞父母。曰既是眾獸近不得。為什麼被兒吞。師曰。子若哮吼祖父母俱盡。曰只如祖父母還盡也無。師曰。亦盡。曰盡後如何。師曰。全身歸父。曰前來為什麼道祖父亦盡。師曰。不見道。王子能成一國事。枯木上更釆些子華。問才有是非紛然失心如何。師曰。斬斬。僧舉有人問香嚴。如何是道。答曰。枯木裡龍吟。學雲。不會。曰髑髏裡眼睛。後問石霜。如何是枯木裡龍吟。石霜雲。猶帶喜在。又問。如何是髑髏裡眼睛。石霜雲。猶帶識在。師因而頌曰。
A monk cited Yaoshan’s asking a monk his age. The monk said, ‘Seventy-two.’ Yaoshan asked, ‘Are you seventy-two?’ ‘Yes.’ Yaoshan struck him. What did this mean? The master said, ‘The first arrow might have been all right; the second pierced deeply.’ ‘How can one avoid the blows?’ ‘When the imperial command is issued, the princes clear the road.’ (Dongchan Qi commented on the exchange and asked what the monk should answer if asked his age.) Asked, ‘What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?’ he said, ‘Fill the ditches and block the ravines.’ ‘What is a lion?’ ‘No beast can approach.’ ‘What is a lion cub?’ ‘It can swallow its parents.’ ‘If no beast can approach, how can its cub swallow it?’ ‘When the cub roars, grandparents and parents are all finished.’ ‘Are they truly finished?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What after they are finished?’ ‘The whole body returns to the father.’ ‘Why did you say the ancestors were finished?’ ‘Have you not heard: “The prince can accomplish the affairs of the kingdom”? Even on a dead tree, a few flowers may bloom.’ Asked what to do when right and wrong arise and the mind is lost, he said, ‘Cut, cut!’ A monk cited Xiangyan’s answer to ‘What is the Way?’: ‘A dragon sings in a dead tree.’ When asked for clarification, Xiangyan said, ‘Eyes in a skull.’ Shishuang later said the dragon still had joy and the skull still had consciousness. The master composed this verse:
枯木龍吟真見道髑髏無識眼初明
The dragon’s song in the dead tree truly shows the Way; in the skull, the eye without consciousness first opens.
喜識盡時消不盡當人那辨濁中清
When joy and consciousness are exhausted, something remains inexhaustible; how can the person discern clarity amid turbidity?
其僧卻問師。如何是枯木裡龍吟。師曰。血脈不斷。曰如何是髑髏裡眼睛。師曰。乾不盡。曰未審還有得聞者無。師曰。盡大地未有一箇不聞。曰未審龍吟是何章句。師曰。也不知是何章句聞者皆喪。師如是啟發上機。曾無軌轍可尋及受洞山五位銓量。特為叢林標準。時洪州鍾氏屢請不起。但寫大梅和尚山居頌一首答之。天復辛酉季夏夜。師問知事僧。今是何日月。對曰。六月十五日。師曰。曹山一生行腳到處。只管九十日為一夏。至明日辰時告寂。壽六十有二。臘三十有七。門人奉真骨樹塔。勅諡元證大師。塔曰福圓。
The monk then asked the master, ‘What is the dragon’s song in the dead tree?’ ‘The lifeblood does not cease.’ ‘What are the eyes in a skull?’ ‘It never dries up.’ ‘Is there anyone who can hear it?’ ‘There is no one in the whole earth who does not hear it.’ ‘What words does the dragon sing?’ ‘I do not know what words; all who hear them perish.’ In this way he instructed those of the highest capacity, never leaving a track to follow. He received Dongshan’s teaching of the Five Ranks and became a standard for the community. The Zhong family of Hongzhou repeatedly invited him, but he declined, sending only one verse from Master Damei’s mountain-dwelling poems. On a night in the sixth month of the xinyou year of Tianfu, he asked an officer the date. ‘The fifteenth day of the sixth month.’ He said, ‘All my life, Caoshan traveled; everywhere I went, I treated ninety days as one summer retreat.’ At the hour of the dragon the next morning, he passed away, aged sixty-two, with thirty-seven years in the precepts. His disciples enshrined his true remains in a stupa. By imperial decree he was titled Master Yuanzheng; his stupa was named Fuyuan.
洞山道全禪師(第二世住亦云中洞山)初問洞山價和尚。如何是出離之要。洞山曰。闍梨足下煙生。師當下契悟。更不他遊(雲居膺進語云。終不敢孤負和尚。足下煙生。洞山雲。步步玄者即是功到)暨價和尚圓寂。眾請踵跡住持。海眾悅服玄風不墜。僧問。佛入王宮豈不是大聖再來。師曰。護明不下生。僧曰。既是大聖再來。何更六年苦行。師曰。幻人呈幻事。曰非幻者如何。師曰。王宮覓不得。問清淨行者不入涅槃。破戒比丘不入地獄如何。師曰。度盡無遺影還他越涅槃。問極目千里是什麼風範。師曰。是闍梨風範。曰未審和尚風範如何。師曰。不布婆娑眼。
Chan Master Daoquan of Dongshan (the second abbot, also called Middle Dongshan). He first asked Master Liangjie of Dongshan, ‘What is the essential way to leave this world?’ Liangjie said, ‘Smoke rises beneath your feet.’ He immediately awakened and traveled no farther. (Yunju Ying added, ‘I will never dare let the master down: smoke rises beneath my feet.’ Dongshan said, ‘When every step is profound, the work is accomplished.’) After Liangjie passed away, the community asked Daoquan to succeed him as abbot. The great assembly was pleased, and the teaching’s influence did not decline. A monk asked, ‘When the Buddha entered the royal palace, was he not a great sage returning?’ He said, ‘The Protector of Light did not descend into birth.’ ‘If he returned as a great sage, why practice austerities for six years?’ ‘An illusory person presents illusory events.’ ‘What of the one who is not an illusion?’ ‘He cannot be found in the royal palace.’ Asked why a pure practitioner does not enter nirvana and a precept-breaker does not enter hell, he said, ‘Having saved all without leaving a trace, he surpasses nirvana.’ ‘What manner is seen across a thousand miles?’ ‘It is your manner.’ ‘And the master’s?’ ‘Eyes that do not spread everywhere.’
湖南龍牙山居遁禪師撫州南城人也。姓郭氏。年十四於吉州滿田寺出家。後往嵩嶽受戒。乃杖錫遊諸禪會。因參翠微和尚。問曰。學人自到和尚法席一箇餘月。每日和尚上堂不蒙一法示誨。意在於何。翠微曰。嫌什麼(有僧舉前語問洞山。洞山雲。闍梨爭怪得老僧。法眼別雲。祖師來也。東禪齊雲。此三人尊宿語還有親疎也無。若有阿那箇親。若無親疎眼在什麼處)又謁德山問曰。遠聞德山一句佛法。及乎到來未曾見和尚說一句佛法。德山曰。嫌什麼。師不肯乃造洞山如前問之。洞山曰。爭怪得老僧。師復舉德山頭落語。因自省過。遂止於洞山隨眾參請。一日問。如何是祖師意。洞山曰。待洞水逆流。即向汝道。師從此始悟厥旨。復摳衣八稔。受湖南馬氏請。住龍牙山妙濟禪苑。號證空大師。有徒五百餘眾法無虛席。上堂示眾曰。夫參學人須透過祖佛始得。新豐和尚雲。祖教佛教似生怨家。始有學分。若透祖佛不得即被祖佛謾去。時有僧問。祖佛還有謾人之心也無。師曰。汝道江湖還有礙人之心也無。又曰。江湖雖無礙人之心。為時人過不得。江湖成礙人去。不得道江湖不礙人。祖佛雖無謾人之心。為時人透不得。祖佛成謾人去。不得道祖佛不謾人。若透得祖佛過。此人過卻祖佛也。始是體得祖佛意。方與向上古人同。如未透得。但學佛學祖。則萬劫無有得期。又問。如何得不被祖佛謾去。師曰。則須自悟去。師在翠微時。問如何是祖師意。翠微曰。與我將禪板來。師遂過禪板。翠微接得便打。師曰。打即任打要。且無祖師意。又問臨濟。如何是祖師意。臨濟曰。與我將蒲團來。師乃過蒲團。臨濟接得便打。師曰。打即任打要。且無祖師意。後有僧問。和尚行腳時問二尊宿祖師意。未審二尊宿道眼明也未。師曰。明即明也。要且無祖師意(東禪齊雲。眾中道佛法即有。只是無祖師意。若恁麼會有何交涉。
Chan Master Jushan of Longya Mountain in Hunan was a native of Nancheng in Fuzhou, surnamed Guo. He left home at fourteen at Mantian Monastery in Jizhou, received the precepts at Mount Song, and traveled among Chan communities. He visited Cuiwei and asked, “I have been at your Dharma seat for more than a month. You ascend the hall every day, yet have not shown me a single Dharma. Why?” Cuiwei said, “What do you dislike?” (A monk later asked Dongshan about this. Dongshan said, “How can you blame the old monk?” Fayan said, “The patriarch has come!” Dongchan Qi asked whether these elders’ words were close or distant.) He also visited Deshan: “I had heard Deshan had a phrase of Buddha-Dharma, but since arriving I have not heard you say one.” Deshan said, “What do you dislike?” Dissatisfied, the master went to Dongshan and asked the same. Dongshan said, “How can you blame the old monk?” Recalling Deshan’s words that his head had fallen, he reflected on his fault. He stayed at Dongshan, attending the assembly. One day he asked the meaning of the patriarch. Dongshan said, “When the water of Dongshan flows backward, I will tell you.” The master then awakened to the meaning and served him for eight years. At the invitation of the Ma family of Hunan, he became abbot of Miaojì Chan Monastery on Longya Mountain, with the title Zhengkong. More than five hundred disciples gathered. He told the assembly, “Practitioners must pass beyond the Buddhas and patriarchs. Master Xinfeng said, ‘The teachings of the patriarchs and Buddhas are like enemies; only then is there something to study.’ If you cannot pass beyond them, they will deceive you.” A monk asked whether Buddhas and patriarchs intend to deceive people. The master asked whether rivers and lakes intend to obstruct people. “Though they do not intend to obstruct anyone, people cannot cross them, so they become obstacles; do not say rivers and lakes are not obstacles. Though Buddhas and patriarchs do not intend to deceive, people cannot pass beyond them, so they become deceivers; do not say they do not deceive. One who passes beyond them has surpassed the Buddhas and patriarchs and embodied their meaning, sharing the understanding of the ancients above. If you cannot pass through, merely studying Buddha and patriarch will bring no result even after ten thousand kalpas.” Asked how not to be deceived, he said, “You must awaken for yourself.” When with Cuiwei, he asked the patriarch’s meaning. Cuiwei said, “Bring me the meditation board.” He handed it over; Cuiwei took it and struck him. The master said, “Strike if you wish; there is still no meaning of the patriarch.” He asked Linji the same. Linji asked for a sitting cushion, took it, and struck him. The master said, “Strike if you wish; there is still no meaning of the patriarch.” Later, asked whether these two elders had clear eyes, he said, “They did, but still there was no meaning of the patriarch.” (Dongchan Qi questioned what this meant.)
別作麼生會無祖師意底道理)問如何是道。師曰。無異人心是。又曰。若人體得道無異人心始是道人。若是言說則勿交涉。道者汝知打底道人否。十二時中除卻著衣吃飯。無絲髮異於人心。無誑人心。此箇始是道人。若道我得我會則勿交涉。大不容易。問如何是祖師西來意。師曰。待石烏龜解語即向汝道。曰石烏龜語也。師曰。向汝道什麼。問古人得箇什麼便休去。師曰。如賊入空室。問無邊身菩薩。為什麼不見如來頂相。師曰。汝道如來還有頂相麼。問大庾嶺頭提不起時如何。師曰。六祖為什麼將得去。問二鼠侵藤時如何。師曰。須有隱身處始得。曰如何是隱身處。師曰。還見儂家麼。問維摩掌擎世界。未審維摩向什麼處立。師曰。道者汝道。維摩掌擎世界。問知有底人還有生死也無。師曰。恰似道者未悟時。問如何是西來意。師曰。此一問最苦(報慈雲。此問最好)問祖意與教意同別。師曰。祖師在後來。問祖師是無事沙門。師曰。若是沙門不得無事。曰為什麼不得無事。師曰。覓一箇難得。問蟾蜍無返照之光。玉兔無伴月之意時如何。師曰。堯舜之君猶有化在(東禪齊雲。是什麼問訊與上坐十二時中是什麼時節)問如何得此身安去。師曰。不被別身謾始得(法眼別雲。誰惱亂汝)師梁龍德三年癸未八月示有微疾。九月十三日夜半大星隕於方丈前。詰旦端坐而逝。壽八十有九。
(Dongchan Qi continued:) “How else should one understand the absence of a patriarchal meaning?” Asked, “What is the Way?” he said, “A mind no different from the human mind.” He also said, “One who embodies this is a person of the Way. Words have nothing to do with it. Do you know the person who strikes? Through all twelve periods of the day, apart from dressing and eating, there is not a hair’s breadth of difference from the human mind, nor any deceit. This is a person of the Way. Saying ‘I have attained’ or ‘I understand’ has nothing to do with it. It is not easy.” Asked the patriarch’s coming from the West, he said, “When the stone tortoise speaks, I will tell you.” “It has spoken.” “What did I tell you?” Asked what the ancients attained before they stopped, he said, “Like a thief entering an empty room.” Asked why the bodhisattva of boundless form did not see the Tathagata’s crown, he said, “Do you say the Tathagata has a crown?” Asked what when one could not lift the staff at Mount Dayu, he said, “Why did the Sixth Patriarch carry it away?” Asked what when two mice gnaw the vine, he said, “Find a place to hide.” “Where?” “Do you still see me?” Asked where Vimalakirti stood while holding up a world in his palm, he said, “Tell me, Vimalakirti holds up a world…” Asked whether one who knows has birth and death, he said, “Just as you did before awakening.” Asked the meaning of the West, he said, “This is the hardest question.” (Bao’en said, “This is the best question.”) Asked whether patriarchal and scriptural meanings are the same, he said, “The patriarch came later.” Asked whether a patriarch is a monk without affairs, he said, “A monk cannot be without affairs.” “Why?” “Try to find one; it is difficult.” Asked what when the moon-toad gives no reflected light and the jade hare has no intent to accompany the moon, he said, “Even the reign of Yao and Shun still required transformation.” (Dongchan Qi asked what sort of question this was and what time it was for the assembly.) Asked how to make this body peaceful, he said, “Do not let another body deceive you.” (Fayan said, “Who is troubling you?”) In the eighth month of the guimei year, the third year of Longde, he fell slightly ill. At midnight on the thirteenth day of the ninth month, a great star fell before his quarters. At dawn he sat upright and passed away, aged eighty-nine.
京兆華嚴寺休靜禪師。師曾在樂普作維那。白槌普請曰。上間般柴下間鋤地。時第一座問。聖僧作麼生。師曰。當堂不正坐不赴兩頭機。師在洞山時問曰。學人未見理路未免情識。洞山曰。汝還見理路也無。曰見無理路。洞山曰。什麼處得情識來。曰學人實問。洞山曰。恁麼須向萬裡無寸草處立。曰無寸草處還許立也無。洞山曰。直須恁麼去。般柴次洞山把住柴問。狹路相逢時作麼生。曰反仄何幸。洞山曰。汝記吾言。汝向南住有一千人。若向北住即三二百而已。師初住福州東山之華嚴。未幾屬後唐莊宗皇帝徵入輦下。大闡玄風其徒果三百矣。問祖意與教意同別。師曰。探盡龍宮藏眾義不能詮。問大悟底人為什麼卻迷。師曰。破鏡不重照落華難上枝。問大軍設天王齋求勝。賊軍亦設天王齋求勝。未審天王赴阿誰願。師曰。天垂雨露不揀榮枯。一日車駕入寺燒香。帝問曰。遮箇是什麼神。師對曰。護法善神。帝曰。沙汰時什麼處去來。師曰。天垂雨露不為榮枯。師後遊河朔於平陽示滅。茶毘獲舍利。建四浮圖。一晉州。二房州。三終南山逍遙園。四終南山華嚴寺。勅諡寶智大師無為之塔。
Chan Master Xiujing of Huayan Monastery in Jingzhao once served as supervisor at Lepu. He struck the wooden board to summon the community: ‘The upper side carries firewood; the lower side hoes the ground.’ The first seat asked, ‘What about the holy monk?’ He said, ‘He does not sit upright in the hall or respond to either side.’ While at Dongshan, he said, ‘I have not seen the path of principle and cannot avoid discriminating consciousness.’ Dongshan asked, ‘Do you see a path of principle?’ ‘I see no path of principle.’ ‘Where did discriminating consciousness come from?’ ‘I ask sincerely.’ ‘Then stand where not an inch of grass grows for ten thousand miles.’ ‘May one stand where not an inch of grass grows?’ ‘You must go just so.’ While carrying firewood, Dongshan held it and asked, ‘What do you do when you meet on a narrow path?’ He said, ‘How fortunate to be pressed from both sides!’ Dongshan said, ‘Remember my words. If you live south, you will have a thousand people; north, only two or three hundred.’ He first lived at Huayan Monastery on East Mountain in Fuzhou. Soon Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang summoned him to the capital. He greatly spread the profound teaching, gathering three hundred disciples. Asked whether patriarchal and scriptural meanings differ, he said, ‘Search the Dragon King’s entire treasury; its many meanings cannot explain it.’ Asked why one who has greatly awakened becomes confused again, he said, ‘A broken mirror does not shine again; fallen blossoms cannot climb the branch.’ Two armies each prepared offerings to the Heavenly King, praying for victory. Asked which army’s wish the deity would grant, he said, ‘Heaven sends rain and dew without choosing flourishing or withered.’ When the emperor entered the temple to burn incense, he asked, ‘What deity is this?’ ‘A guardian deity of the Dharma.’ ‘Where did he go during the suppression of Buddhism?’ ‘Heaven sends rain and dew without favoring flourishing or withered.’ The master later traveled in Hebei and passed away at Pingyang. Relics were obtained at cremation, and four stupas were built: one in Jinzhou, one in Fangzhou, one at Xiaoyao Garden on Zhongnan Mountain, and one at Huayan Monastery on Zhongnan. By imperial decree he was titled Master Baozhi; his stupa named Wuwei.
京兆蜆子和尚不知何許人也。事蹟頗異。居無定所。自印心於洞山混俗於閩川。不畜道具不循律儀。常日沿江岸採掇蝦蜆以充腹。暮即臥東山白馬廟紙錢中。居民目為蜆子和尚。華嚴靜師聞之慾決真假。先潛入紙錢中。深夜師歸。靜把住問曰。如何是祖師西來意。師遽答曰。神前酒臺盤。靜奇之懺謝而退。後靜師化行京都。師亦至焉。竟不聚徒演法。惟佯狂而已。
The monk Xianzi of Jingzhao; no one knew his origins. His conduct was unusual, and he had no fixed dwelling. Having realized the mind seal from Dongshan, he blended into ordinary life in Min. He kept no monastic implements and followed no formal observances. Every day he gathered shrimp and clams along the riverbank for food; at night he slept among the paper money at the White Horse Shrine on East Mountain. Locals called him the Clam Monk. Master Jing of Huayan heard of him and wanted to test whether he was genuine. He hid among the paper money. Late at night the master returned, and Jing held him and asked, ‘What is the meaning of the patriarch’s coming from the West?’ He quickly answered, ‘A wine table before the shrine.’ Jing was impressed, apologized, and withdrew. Later, when Jing taught in the capital, the master also went there. He did not gather students or teach, but only feigned madness.
筠州九峰普滿大師問僧。離什麼處。曰閩中。師曰。遠涉不易。曰不難動步便到。師曰。有不動步者麼。僧曰有。師曰。爭得到此間。僧無對。師曰。賺殺人。問如何是和尚家風。師曰即今是什麼。曰學人不會。師曰。十字路上馬藺華。
Master Puman of Jiufeng in Junzhou asked a monk, ‘Where have you come from?’ ‘Min.’ ‘It is not easy to travel so far.’ ‘It is not difficult; one arrives as soon as one takes a step.’ ‘Is there one who takes no step?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How did he get here?’ The monk had no answer. The master said, ‘You have been cheated!’ Asked, ‘What is the master’s family style?’ he said, ‘What is it right now?’ ‘I do not understand.’ ‘A wild iris grows at the crossroads.’
台州幽棲道幽禪師。鏡清問。如何是少父。師曰。無標的。曰無標的以為少父耶。師曰。有什麼過。曰只如少父作麼生。師曰。道者是什麼心行。問如何是佛。師曰。汝不信是眾生。曰學人大信。師曰。若作勝解即受群邪。師將示滅。有僧問曰。和尚百年後向什麼處去。師曰。迢然迢然。言訖坐亡。
Chan Master Daoyou of Youqi in Taizhou. Jingqing asked, ‘What is the younger father?’ He said, ‘It has no mark.’ ‘Is it called “younger father” because it has no mark?’ ‘What is wrong with that?’ ‘Then what is the younger father?’ ‘What sort of mind and conduct do you have?’ Asked, ‘What is the Buddha?’ he said, ‘You do not believe you are a sentient being.’ ‘I firmly believe.’ ‘If you make a superior understanding of it, you fall among the heretics.’ As he was about to pass away, a monk asked, ‘Where will the master go after your hundred years?’ He said, ‘Far away, far away.’ With these words he sat and died.
後洞山師虔禪師(第三世住也。亦號青林和尚)初自夾山來參。先洞山價和尚問曰。近離什麼處。師曰。武陵。曰武陵法道何似此間。師曰。胡地冬抽筍。價曰。別甑炊香飯供養於此人。師乃出去。洞山曰。此子向後走殺天下人在。師在洞山栽松。有劉翁者從師求偈。師作偈曰。
Chan Master Shiqian of later Dongshan (the third abbot, also called Qinglin). He first came from Jianshan to visit Master Liangjie. Liangjie asked, ‘Where have you just come from?’ ‘Wuling.’ ‘How does Wuling’s teaching compare with this place?’ ‘In the barbarian lands, bamboo shoots emerge in winter.’ Liangjie said, ‘Prepare fragrant rice in a separate pot and make an offering to this man.’ Shiqian went out. Dongshan said, ‘This man will later run all over the world.’ While he was planting pines at Dongshan, an elder Liu asked him for a verse. He composed:
長長三尺餘欝欝覆荒草
Tall and straight, more than three feet; lush and thick, it covers the barren grass.
不知何代人得見此松老
I do not know from which age this person came; may I live to see this pine grow old?
劉翁得偈呈於洞山。洞山曰。賀翁翁喜。只此人是第三世也。師先住隋州土門小青林蘭若後果迴洞山接踵。凡有新到僧。先令般柴三轉然後參堂。有一僧不肯。問曰。三轉內即不問。三轉外如何。師曰。鐵輪天子寰中旨。僧無對。師便打令去。僧問。昔年疾苦又中毒請師醫。師曰。金𲇚撥破腦頂上灌醍醐。曰恁麼即謝師醫。師便打。問久負不逢時如何。師曰。古皇尺一寸。問請師答話。師曰。修羅掌於日月。師上堂謂眾曰。祖師宗旨今日施行。法令己彰復有何事。時有僧問。正法眼藏祖祖同印。未審和尚傳付何人。師曰。靈苗生有地大悟不存師。問如何是道。師曰。迴牛尋遠㵎。曰如何是道中人。師曰。擁雪首揚眉。問千差路別如何頓曉。師曰。足下背驪珠空怨長天月。
Liu presented the verse to Dongshan. Dongshan said, ‘Congratulations, elder. This man is the third generation.’ Shiqian first lived at the small Qinglin hermitage at Tumen in Suizhou, then indeed returned to Dongshan and succeeded him. New monks were first ordered to carry firewood three times before entering the hall. One monk refused and asked, ‘I will not ask about the three rounds. What about beyond them?’ He said, ‘The decree of the Iron-Wheel Emperor within his realm.’ The monk had no answer. The master struck him and sent him away. A monk asked, ‘I have long suffered illness and have been poisoned again. Please heal me.’ He said, ‘A golden probe opens the skull; ambrosia is poured over the crown.’ (The base text has a corrupted character here, meaning “probe.”) ‘Then I thank you for the treatment.’ The master struck him. Asked what if one has long waited but not met the right time, he said, ‘The ancient emperor’s one-foot measure.’ Asked for a reply, he said, ‘The Asura holds the sun and moon in his palm.’ He addressed the assembly: ‘The ancestral teaching is being carried out today. The law is clear; what else remains?’ A monk asked, ‘The treasury of the true Dharma eye is sealed by every patriarch. To whom did the master transmit it?’ He said, ‘The numinous seedling grows from the earth; great awakening does not depend on a teacher.’ Asked the Way, he said, ‘Turn the ox and seek the distant stream.’ Asked about a person within the Way, he said, ‘Snow in his arms, he raises his brows.’ Asked how to understand the many divergent paths all at once, he said, ‘A black dragon pearl lies beneath your feet; you complain in vain of the moon in the vast sky.’
洛京白馬遁儒禪師。問如何是衲僧本分事。師曰。十道不通風啞子傳遠信。曰傳什麼信。師乃合掌頂戴。問如何是密室中人。師曰。才生不可得不貴未生時。曰是箇什麼不貴未生時。師曰。是汝阿爺。問三千里外嚮白馬。及乎到來為什麼不見。師曰。是汝不見幹老僧什麼事。曰請和尚指示。師曰。指即勿交涉。問如何是學人本分事。師曰。昨夜三更日正午。問如何是法身向上事。師曰。井底蝦蟇吞卻月(僧問黃龍。如何是井底蝦蟇吞卻月。黃龍雲。不奈何。僧雲。恁即吞卻去也。黃龍雲。一任吞。僧雲。吞後如何。黃龍雲。好蝦蟇)問如何是學人急切處。師曰。俊鳥猶嫌鈍瞥然早已遲。問如何是西來意。師曰。點額猢猻探月波。
Chan Master Dunru of Baima in Luojing. A monk asked: “What is the fundamental task of a patch-robed monk?” The master said: “Ten roads through which no wind passes; a mute carries word from afar.” The monk said: “What word does he carry?” The master then put his palms together and raised them to his forehead. A monk asked: “Who is the person in the secret chamber?” The master said: “The just-born cannot be grasped; the time before birth is not to be prized.” The monk said: “What is it that is not prized before birth?” The master said: “Your own father.” A monk asked: “From three thousand li away I headed for Baima; now that I have arrived, why do I not see it?” The master said: “It is you who do not see—what has that to do with this old monk?” The monk said: “Please, master, point it out.” The master said: “If I point, it misses the point.” A monk asked: “What is the student's fundamental task?” The master said: “Last night at the third watch the sun stood at high noon.” A monk asked: “What is the matter beyond the Dharma body?” The master said: “The frog at the bottom of the well swallows the moon.” (A monk asked Huanglong: “What is the frog at the bottom of the well swallowing the moon?” Huanglong said: “Nothing can be done about it.” The monk said: “Then it has swallowed it away.” Huanglong said: “Let it swallow as it will.” The monk said: “After it has swallowed, what then?” Huanglong said: “A fine frog.”) A monk asked: “What is the student's point of urgency?” The master said: “Even a swift bird is still deemed slow; in the blink of an eye it is already too late.” A monk asked: “What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?” The master said: “A monkey with a dotted forehead gropes at the moonlight on the waves.”
越州乾峰和尚(或雲瑞峰)問僧。什麼處來。曰天台。師曰見說石橋作兩段是否。曰和尚什麼處得遮消息來。師曰。將謂華頂峰前客。元是平田莊裡人。問如何得出三界。師曰。喚院主來趁出遮僧著。師問眾僧。輪迴六趣具什麼眼。眾無對。問如何是超佛越祖之談。師曰。老僧問汝。曰和尚且置。師曰。老僧一問尚自不會問什麼超佛越祖之談。
Monk Qianfeng of Yuezhou (some say Ruifeng). He asked a monk: “Where do you come from?” The monk said: “Tiantai.” The master said: “I am told that the stone bridge there has broken into two sections—is that so?” The monk said: “Master, where did you pick up this news?” The master said: “I took you for a traveler from the foot of Huading Peak, but you turn out to be a man of Pingtian village.” A monk asked: “How does one get out of the three realms?” The master said: “Call the prior here and chase this monk out.” The master asked the assembly: “For wheeling round through the six destinies, what sort of eye do you have?” The assembly had no answer. A monk asked: “What is talk that goes beyond buddhas and patriarchs?” The master said: “This old monk asks you.” The monk said: “Master, leave it aside for now.” The master said: “This old monk cannot even manage one question—what talk of going beyond buddhas and patriarchs?”
吉州禾山和尚。僧問。學人慾申一問。師還容許否。師曰。禾山答汝了也。問如何是西來意。師曰。禾山大頂。問如何是和尚家風。師曰。滿目青山起白雲。
Monk Heshan of Jizhou. A monk asked: “I should like to put a question—will you permit it, master?” The master said: “Heshan has already answered you.” The monk asked: “What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?” The master said: “The great peak of Heshan.” The monk asked: “What is the master's house style?” The master said: “Eyes filled with green mountains where white clouds rise.”
明州天童山鹹啟禪師(先住蘇州寶華山)僧問。如何是本無物。師曰。石潤無含玉鑛異自生金。伏龍山和尚來。師問。什麼處來。曰伏龍來。師曰。還伏得龍麼。曰不曾伏遮畜生。師曰。吃茶去。簡大德問。學人卓卓上來請師的的。師曰。我遮裡一屙便了。有什麼卓卓的的。曰和尚恁麼對話更買草鞋行腳好。師曰。近前來。簡近前。師曰。只如老僧恁麼對。過在什麼處。簡無對。師便打(十一卷又收在徑山鑒宗下何也)。
Chan Master Xianqi of Tiantong Mountain in Mingzhou (he had earlier dwelt at Baohua Mountain in Suzhou). A monk asked: “What is originally having no thing?” The master said: “A moist stone holds no jade within; a strange ore yields gold of itself.” The monk of Fulong Mountain came. The master asked: “Where do you come from?” He said: “From Fulong.” The master said: “Have you subdued the dragon yet?” He said: “I have never subdued that beast.” The master said: “Go and have tea.” The great worthy Jian asked: “I have come up full of resolution; please give me an exact reply.” The master said: “Here I just take one squat and it is done—what resolution, what exactness?” Jian said: “If you answer like that, master, you had better buy more straw sandals and keep on wandering.” The master said: “Come closer.” Jian came closer. The master said: “When this old monk answers like that, where is the fault?” Jian had no reply. The master then struck him. (This is also recorded under Jianzong of Jingshan in scroll eleven—why is that?)
潭州寶蓋山和尚。僧問。一間無漏舍合是何人居。師曰。無名不掛體。曰還有位也無。師曰。不處。問如何是寶蓋。師曰。不從人天得。曰如何是寶蓋中人。師曰。不與時人知。僧曰。佛來時如何。師曰。覓他路不得。問切切時為什麼不立人。師曰。歸亦蹋不著。曰恁麼時如何成立。師曰。不與時人知。問世界壞時此箇何處去。師曰。千聖尋不得。曰時人如何歸向。師曰。直須似去。曰還有的也無。師曰。不立標則。
The monk of Baogai Mountain in Tanzhou. A monk asked: “In the one leak-free room, who is fit to dwell?” The master said: “The nameless does not hang upon the body.” The monk said: “Is there still a position?” The master said: “No dwelling place.” The monk asked: “What is the precious canopy?” The master said: “It is not obtained from men or devas.” The monk said: “Who is the person inside the precious canopy?” The master said: “Not for the people of the time to know.” The monk said: “When a buddha comes, what then?” The master said: “No road to him can be found.” The monk asked: “In the moment of urgency, why is no person set up?” The master said: “Even in returning one cannot step upon it.” The monk said: “At such a time, how is anything established?” The master said: “Not for the people of the time to know.” The monk asked: “When the world is destroyed, where does this go?” The master said: “A thousand sages could search and never find it.” The monk said: “How are the people of the time to turn toward it?” The master said: “You must simply go to resemble it.” The monk said: “Is there still a mark?” The master said: “No emblem or rule is set up.”
益州北院通禪師在夾山時。一日夾山上堂曰。坐斷主人公不落第二見。師出曰。須知有一人不合伴。夾山曰。猶是第二見。師乃掀倒禪床。夾山曰。老兄作麼生。師曰。待某甲舌頭爛即向和尚道。異日師又問夾山曰。目前無法意在目前。不是目前法非耳目之所到。豈不是和尚語。夾山曰是。師乃掀倒禪床叉手立地。夾山起來打一拄杖。師便下去(法眼雲。是他掀倒禪床何不便去。須待夾山打一棒了去意在什麼處)師在洞山隨眾參請未契旨。遂辭洞山擬入嶺去。洞山曰。善為。飛猿嶺峻好看。師沈吟良久。洞山曰。通闍梨。師應諾。洞山曰。何不入嶺去。師因此惺悟更不入嶺。師事於洞山(時號钁頭通)住後上堂示眾曰。諸上座有什麼事出來論量取。若上上根機不假如斯。若是中下之流。直須團削門屍索索地莫教入泥水。第一速疾省事應須無心。若不無心舉得千般萬般只成知解。與此衲僧門下有什麼交涉。僧問。如何是無心。師曰。不管繫。問二龍爭珠誰是得者。師曰。得即失。曰不失如何。師曰。還我珠來。問如何是清淨法身。師曰。無[黑*古]汙。問轉不得時如何。師曰。功不到。問如何是大富貴底人。師曰。如輪王寶藏。曰如何是赤窮底人。師曰。如酒店腰帶。問水灑不著時如何。師曰。乾剝剝地。問一槌便成時如何。師曰。不是偶然。示滅後勅諡證真大師。
When Chan Master Tong of the North Cloister in Yizhou was at Jiashan. One day Jiashan went up to the hall and said: “Sit down and cut through to the host; do not fall into the second view.” Tong came forward and said: “You should know there is a man who does not keep company.” Jiashan said: “That is still the second view.” Tong then overturned the meditation platform. Jiashan said: “What are you doing, old fellow?” Tong said: “When my tongue has rotted away I shall tell you, master.” Another day Tong asked Jiashan: “‘No dharma before the eyes, yet intent before the eyes; not the dharma before the eyes, beyond the reach of ear and eye’—are those not your words, master?” Jiashan said: “They are.” Tong then overturned the meditation platform and stood there with hands crossed. Jiashan rose and gave him one stroke of the staff. Tong then went down. (Fayan said: “Having overturned the platform, why did he not leave at once? He had to wait for Jiashan to strike one blow before going—where was his intent?”) While at Dongshan, Tong followed the assembly in calling for instruction but did not awaken. So he took leave of Dongshan, meaning to go into the mountains. Dongshan said: “Go well. Feiyuan Ridge is steep—watch your step.” Tong pondered a long while. Dongshan said: “Acarya Tong.” Tong answered. Dongshan said: “Why not go into the mountains?” At this Tong awakened, and went into the mountains no more. He took service under Dongshan. (At the time he was nicknamed Tong the Mattock.) After taking up residence he went up to the hall and told the assembly: “Seniors, if you have anything on your minds, come out and weigh it. Those of the very highest faculties need not bother with this; but those of middling and lesser stock must trim their gates and doors, sweep everything clean, and not let themselves sink into mud and water. First of all, to be quick and free of fuss you must be without mind. If you are not without mind, you may raise a thousand or ten thousand points and they will amount only to knowledge and understanding—what have they to do with this patch-robed monk's house?” A monk asked: “What is being without mind?” The master said: “No concern.” A monk asked: “Two dragons fight over a pearl—which one wins it?” The master said: “To win it is to lose it.” The monk said: “How about not losing?” The master said: “Give me back my pearl.” A monk asked: “What is the pure Dharma body?” The master said: “Without defilement.” (The base text writes this character as 黠 with the black radical, i.e. the character for grime.) A monk asked: “When it cannot be turned, what then?” The master said: “Your effort has not reached it.” A monk asked: “What is a person of great wealth and honor?” The master said: “Like the treasury of a wheel-turning king.” The monk said: “What is a person of utter poverty?” The master said: “Like a wineshop sash.” A monk asked: “When water cannot splash upon it, what then?” The master said: “Bone dry.” A monk asked: “When it is done with a single hammer blow, what then?” The master said: “Not by accident.” After he passed away he was granted by decree the posthumous title Grand Master Zhengzhen (Attested Truth).
高安白水本仁禪師自洞山受記。唐天復中遷止洪井高安白水院。眾盈三百玄言流播。因設洞山忌齋。有僧問。供養先師先師還來也無。師曰。更下一分供養著。洪州西山眾行者來禮拜。問曰。今日不為別事乞師指示。師曰。汝諸人求指示耶。對曰是。師曰。教我委付阿誰。鏡清行腳到。師謂之曰。時寒道者。清曰。不敢。師曰。還有臥單得蓋否。曰設有亦無展底工夫。師曰。直饒道者滴水滴凍亦不干他事。曰滴水氷生事不相涉。師曰是。曰此人意作麼生。師曰。此人不落意。曰不落意此人那。師曰。高山頂上無可與道者啗啄。問如何是西來意。師曰。還見庭前杉樧否。曰恁麼即和尚今日因學人致得是非。師曰多口座主。皎然去後。師知是雪峰禪客乃曰。盜法之人終不成器(皎然後住長生山。有僧問。從上宗乘如何舉唱。然曰。不可為闍梨一人荒卻長生山也。玄沙聞之曰。然師兄佛法即大行。受記之緣亦就矣。厥後眾緣不備。果如仁和尚所記)。僧問。如何是不遷義。師曰。落華隨流水明月上孤岑。師將順世四眾俱集。營齋聲鍾焚香白眾曰。香煙絕處是吾涅槃時也。言訖跏趺而坐。息隨煙滅。
Chan Master Benren of Baishui in Gao'an received the prophecy of awakening from Dongshan. In the Tianfu era of the Tang he moved to the Baishui cloister at Hongjing in Gao'an. The assembly grew to a full three hundred, and his profound words spread abroad. Once, when he was holding the memorial feast for Dongshan, a monk asked: “In making offerings to the late master, does the late master still come or not?” The master said: “Set out one more portion of offerings.” A band of practitioners came from Xishan in Hongzhou to pay homage. They asked: “Today we come for nothing else; we beg your instruction.” The master said: “Are you people asking me for instruction?” They answered: “Yes.” The master said: “Then to whom am I to entrust it?” Jingqing arrived on pilgrimage. The master said to him: “It is cold, wayfarer.” Qing said: “I dare not presume.” The master said: “Do you still have a sleeping sheet to cover you?” Qing said: “Even if I had one, there would be no moment for unfolding it.” The master said: “Even granting that, wayfarer, dripping water freezes as it drips and it is none of his concern.” Qing said: “Dripping water turns to ice—the matter does not touch him.” The master said: “Right.” Qing said: “How is this person's intent?” The master said: “This person does not fall into intent.” Qing said: “Not falling into intent—what of this person?” The master said: “On the summit of a high peak there is nothing to feed a wayfarer.” A monk asked: “What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?” The master said: “Do you see the cedar shrubs before the courtyard?” The monk said: “Then today, on my account, you have incurred right and wrong.” The master said: “Loquacious lecturer.” After Jiaoran left, the master learned he was a Chan pilgrim of Xuefeng's, and said: “A man who steals the Dharma will never become a vessel.” (Jiaoran later dwelt at Changsheng Mountain. A monk asked: “How do you raise the vehicle handed down from above?” Jiaoran said: “I cannot let Changsheng Mountain go to ruin for the sake of one acarya.” Xuansha heard of it and said: “Brother Jiaoran's Dharma will now flourish greatly; the bond of his prophecy is fulfilled.” Thereafter, when conditions failed to come together, it turned out exactly as Master Benren had foretold.) A monk asked: “What is the meaning of non-transformation?” The master said: “Fallen blossoms follow the flowing water; the bright moon rises over the lone peak.” When the master was about to depart the world, the four assemblies all gathered. He arranged a feast, had the bell struck and incense burned, and announced to the assembly: “Where the incense smoke ends, that will be the time of my nirvana.” Having spoken, he sat in full lotus, and his breath went out together with the smoke.
撫州疎山光仁禪師。身相短陋精辯冠眾。洞山門下時有齧鏃之機。激揚玄奧。鹹以仁為能銓量者。諸方三昧可以詢乎矬師叔僧問。如何是諸佛師。師曰。何不問疎山老漢(僧無對)師手握木蛇。有僧問。手中是什麼。師提起曰。曹家女。問如何是和尚家風。師曰。尺五頭巾。曰如何是尺五頭巾。師曰。圓中取不得。師舉香嚴語問鏡清。肯重不得全怤道者作麼生會。怤曰。全歸肯重。師曰。不得全肯者作麼生。怤曰。箇中無肯路。師曰。始愜病僧意。因鼓山舉威音王佛師。師乃問。作麼生是威音王佛師。鼓山曰。莫無慚愧好。師曰。闍梨恁麼道即得。若約病僧即不然。曰作麼生是威音王佛師。師曰。不坐無貴位。洞山(第四世)問。如何是一句。師曰。不道。曰為什麼不道。師曰。少時輩。問恁麼時如何。師曰。將軍不上便橋。金牙徒勞拈筈。問如何是直指。師曰。珠中有水若不信。擬向天邊問太陽。冬至夜有僧上堂問。如何是冬來意。師曰。京中出大黃。問和尚百年後向什麼處去。師曰。背底芒叢四腳指天。師遷化時有偈曰。
Chan Master Guangren of Shushan in Fuzhou. He was short and ill-favored in appearance, but his sharpness in debate stood at the head of the assembly. Among Dongshan's disciples there was a mechanism like biting the arrowhead, stirring up the profound and mysterious, and all considered Ren the one able to weigh and test it. For the samadhis of all quarters one might go and consult the short uncle. A monk asked: “What is the teacher of all buddhas?” The master said: “Why not ask the old fellow of Shushan?” (The monk had no reply.) The master was holding a wooden snake in his hand. A monk asked: “What is that in your hand?” The master lifted it and said: “The girl of the Cao family.” A monk asked: “What is the master's house style?” The master said: “A foot-and-a-half headcloth.” The monk said: “What is the foot-and-a-half headcloth?” The master said: “Within the circle it cannot be taken.” The master raised Xiangyan's words to ask Jingqing: “‘Affirmation cannot be wholly prized’—wayfarer Fu, how do you understand it?” Fu said: “Wholly return to affirmation.” The master said: “What about one who cannot wholly affirm?” Fu said: “Within it there is no road of affirmation.” The master said: “That is the first time you have satisfied this sick monk's intent.” On the occasion when Gushan raised the teacher of Awesome Voice King Buddha, the master asked: “What is the teacher of the Awesome Voice King Buddha?” Gushan said: “You would do well to have some shame.” The master said: “Acarya, for you to say it thus will do; but for this sick monk it is not so.” Gushan said: “What is the teacher of the Awesome Voice King Buddha?” The master said: “He does not sit on the priceless seat.” Dongshan (the fourth abbot) asked: “What is the one phrase?” The master said: “I will not say.” Dongshan said: “Why will you not say?” The master said: “A young fellow like you.” Dongshan asked: “At such a time, what then?” The master said: “The general does not set foot on the footbridge; the golden-fanged guard fingers his arrow-nock in vain.” On the night of the winter solstice a monk went up to the hall and asked: “What is the meaning of winter's coming?” The master said: “In the capital they put out rhubarb.” A monk asked: “After the master's hundred years, where will you go?” The master said: “On my back in the tangled weeds, four limbs pointing at the sky.” When the master passed away there was a verse saying:
我路碧空外白雲無處閑
My road lies beyond the azure sky; the white clouds are nowhere at rest.
世有無根樹黃葉風送還
In the world there is a rootless tree; the wind sends its yellow leaves back.
偈終而逝。又著四大等頌略華嚴長者論流傳於世。
When the verse ended he passed away. He also composed hymns on the four elements and suchlike and a digest of the Elder Huayan's treatise, which circulated in the world.
澧州欽山文邃禪師福州人也。少依杭州大慈山寰中禪師受業。時巖頭雪峰在眾覩師吐論。知是法器相率遊方。二士緣契德山各承印記。師雖屢激揚而終然凝滯。一日問德山曰。天皇也恁麼道。龍潭也恁麼道。未審德山作麼生道。德山曰。汝試舉天皇龍潭道底來。師方欲進語。德山以拄杖打舁入涅槃堂。師曰。是即是打我太殺(法眼別雲。是即是錯打我。更有語句如德山巖頭章出焉)師後於洞山言下發解。乃為洞山之嗣年二十七止於欽山對大眾前自省過舉。初參洞山時。洞山問什麼處來。師曰。大慈來。曰還見大慈麼。師曰見。曰色前見色後見。師曰。非前後見。洞山默置。師乃曰。離師太早不盡師意。問如何是祖師西來意。師曰。梁公曲尺誌公剪刀。問一切諸佛法皆從此經出。如何是此經。師曰。常轉。曰未審經中說什麼。師曰。有疑請問。問如何是和尚家風。師曰。錦帳銀香囊。風吹滿路香。有僧寫師真呈。師問。還似我也無。僧無對。師自代曰。眾僧看取。一日師入浴院見僧蹋水輪。僧見師乃下不審。師曰。幸自碌碌地轉何須卻恁麼。僧雲。不恁麼又爭得。師曰。若恁麼欽山眼堪作什麼也僧雲。作麼生是師眼。師乃以手作撥眉勢。僧雲和尚又得恁麼。師曰。是是為我恁麼便不得恁麼。僧無對。師曰。索戰無功一場氣悶。良久乃問僧雲。會麼。僧雲。不會。師雲。欽山為汝擔一半。師與雪峰巖頭因過江西。到一茶店內吃茶次。師曰。不會轉身通氣者今日不得茶吃。巖頭雲。若恁麼我定不得茶吃也。雪峰雲。某甲亦然。師曰。兩人老漢俱不識語在。巖頭雲。什麼處去也。師曰。布袋裡老鵶雖活如死。巖頭雲。退後著退後著。師曰。豁兄且置。存公作麼生。雪峰以手畫箇圓相。師曰。不得不問。巖頭呵呵雲太遠生。師曰。有口不吃茶人多。巖頭雪峰俱無語。有良禪客參次才禮拜後便問雲。一箭射三關時如何。
Chan Master Wensui of Qinshan in Lizhou was a man of Fuzhou. In his youth he took his training under Chan Master Huanzhong of Daci Mountain in Hangzhou. At the time Yantou and Xuefeng were in the assembly; seeing how the master gave voice to doctrine, they knew he was a vessel of the Dharma, and they went wandering together. Those two gentlemen found affinity with Deshan and each received the seal of awakening. Though the master repeatedly stirred himself in the exchanges, in the end he remained stuck. One day he asked Deshan: “Tianhuang spoke thus, and Longtan spoke thus—may I ask how Deshan speaks?” Deshan said: “Try bringing up what Tianhuang and Longtan said.” Just as the master was about to speak, Deshan struck him with the staff and had him carried into the nirvana hall. The master said: “Be that as it may, you beat me far too hard.” (Fayan's variant reads: “Be that as it may, you wrongly beat me.” Further sayings appear in the chapters on Deshan and Yantou.) The master later found release under Dongshan's words and so became Dongshan's heir. At twenty-seven he settled on Qinshan, and before the great assembly he examined his own faults in the exchanges. When he had first called on Dongshan, Dongshan asked: “Where do you come from?” The master said: “From Daci.” Dongshan said: “Do you still see Daci?” The master said: “I see it.” Dongshan said: “Do you see it before form or after form?” The master said: “I see it neither before nor after.” Dongshan silently let it rest. The master then said: “I left my teacher too early and never fully gained his intent.” A monk asked: “What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the west?” The master said: “Lord Liang's carpenter's square, Lord Zhi's scissors.” A monk asked: “The dharma of all buddhas issues from this sutra—what is this sutra?” The master said: “Always turning.” The monk said: “May I ask what the sutra says?” The master said: “If you have doubts, ask.” A monk asked: “What is the master's house style?” The master said: “Brocade curtains, a silver censer—the wind blows fragrance the whole road through.” A monk painted the master's portrait and presented it. The master asked: “Does it look like me or not?” The monk had no reply. The master answered in his place: “Let the whole assembly take a look.” One day the master entered the bathhouse and saw a monk treading the water wheel. Seeing the master, the monk came down to pay respects. The master said: “It was turning along busily of its own good luck—why did you have to go and do that?” The monk said: “Yet if I had not, how could I have managed?” The master said: “In that case, what is Qinshan's eye good for?” The monk said: “What is your eye, master?” The master then made with his hand a gesture of parting the brows. The monk said: “There you go doing that again.” The master said: “Right, right. For me to act thus is precisely not being able to act thus.” The monk had no reply. The master said: “Suing for battle with no success—a whole bout of vexation.” After a long while he asked the monk: “Do you understand?” The monk said: “No.” The master said: “Qinshan will carry half of it for you.” Once, when the master was crossing Jiangxi together with Xuefeng and Yantou, they stopped at a tea shop for tea. The master said: “Whoever cannot turn his body and let the breath pass gets no tea today.” Yantou said: “In that case I certainly get no tea.” Xuefeng said: “The same goes for me.” The master said: “You two old fellows neither of you understand speech.” Yantou said: “Where has it gone?” The master said: “A crow in a cloth sack may be alive yet is as good as dead.” Yantou said: “Step back, step back.” The master said: “Brother Huo, let that be for now. And you, Cun—what say you?” Xuefeng drew a circle in the air with his hand. The master said: “That cannot go unasked.” Yantou laughed out loud: “Too far off.” The master said: “Many are the folk with mouths who get no tea.” Both Yantou and Xuefeng were speechless. When the Chan pilgrim Liang came to call, no sooner had he finished bowing than he asked: “When one arrow pierces three passes, what then?”
師曰。放出關中主看。良雲恁麼即知過必改去也。師雲。更待何時。良雲。好隻箭放不著所在便出去。師曰。擬射三關且從試為欽山發箭。良近前良久而退。師乃打良七拄杖。良乃出去。師曰。且聽箇亂統漢心內疑三十年。有人舉似同安和尚。安雲。良公雖發箭要且未中的。其僧便問同安雲。未審如何得中的去。安雲。關中主是什麼人。其僧卻迴舉向師。師曰。良公若解恁麼也免得欽山口也。然雖如此同安不是好心。亦須看始得。僧參。師竪起拳頭雲。若開成掌即五指參差。如今為拳必無高下。汝道欽山通商量不通商量。其僧近前卻竪拳而已。師曰。便恁麼合是箇無開合漢。僧雲。未審和尚如何接人。師曰。我若接人共汝一般去也。僧雲。特參於師也。須吐露宗風。師曰。汝若特來我須吐露。僧雲。便請。師乃打之。其僧無語。師曰。守株待兔枉用心神。
The master said: “Release the lord within the pass and let me see.” Liang said: “That means knowing one's faults and being sure to mend them.” The master said: “What are you waiting for?” Liang said: “A fine arrow, but nowhere to loose it,” and went out. The master said: “You who would shoot through the three passes—come now, try loosing an arrow for Qinshan.” Liang drew near, and after a long while withdrew. The master then gave Liang seven strokes of the staff. Liang went out. The master said: “For now let this rowdy fellow nurse doubt in his heart for thirty years.” Someone related this to Master Tong'an. Tong'an said: “Though Mr. Liang loosed his arrow, he never hit the mark.” The monk then asked Tong'an: “May I ask how to hit the mark?” Tong'an said: “Who is the lord within the pass?” The monk went back and related this to the master. The master said: “If Mr. Liang had understood thus, he would have spared Qinshan's mouth. Even so, Tong'an was not well-meaning—that too must be examined.” A monk came to call. The master held up his fist and said: “Opened into a palm, the five fingers stand uneven; now as a fist there is no high or low. Tell me, does Qinshan admit of discussion or not?” The monk stepped forward and simply held up his own fist. The master said: “To act just like that is fitting for a man of no opening or closing.” The monk said: “May I ask how you receive people?” The master said: “If I received people I would be going just the same as you.” The monk said: “I came expressly to call on you; you must disclose the house style.” The master said: “If you came expressly, I must disclose.” The monk said: “Please, then.” The master struck him. The monk had no words. The master said: “Watching a stump while waiting for a rabbit—you waste your spirit.”
行思禪師第六世
The sixth generation of Chan Master Xingsi
前巖頭全豁禪師法嗣
Dharma heirs of the late Chan Master Quanhuo of Yantou
台州瑞巖師彥禪師閩越人也。姓許氏。自幼披緇秉戒無缺。初禮巖頭致問曰。如何是本常理。巖頭曰。動也。曰動時如何。巖頭曰。不是本常理。師沈思良久。巖頭曰。肯即未脫根塵。不肯即永沈生死。師遂領悟身心皎如。巖頭頻召與語徵醻無忒。師復謁夾山會和尚。會問。什麼處來。曰臥龍來。會曰。來時龍還起未。師乃顧視之。會曰。炙瘡上更著艾燋。曰和尚又苦如此作什麼。會便休。師尋抵丹丘終日如愚。四眾欽慕請住瑞巖。統眾嚴整江表稱之。僧問。頭上寶蓋現足下雲生時如何。師曰。披枷帶鎖漢。曰頭上無寶蓋足下無雲生時如何。師曰。猶有杻在。曰畢竟如何。師曰。齋後困。鏡清問。天不能覆地不能載豈不是。師曰。若是即被覆載。清曰。若不是瑞巖幾遭也。師自稱曰師彥。問如何是佛。師曰。石牛。曰如何是法。師曰。石牛兒。曰恁麼即不同也。師曰。合不得。曰為什麼合不得。師曰。無同可同合什麼。問作麼生商量即得不落階級。師曰排不出。曰為什麼排不出。師曰。他從前無階級。曰未審居何位次。師曰。不坐普光殿。曰還理化也無。師曰。名聞三界重何處不歸朝。一日有村媼來作禮。師曰。汝疾歸去救取數千物命。媼怱忙至舍。乃見兒婦提竹器拾田螺歸。媼接取放諸水濱。師之異跡頗多存諸別錄。
Chan Master Shiyan of Ruiyan in Taizhou was a man of Minyue, surnamed Xu. From childhood he donned the black robe and held the precepts without flaw. He first called on Yantou and asked: “What is the fundamental, constant principle?” Yantou said: “It moves.” The master said: “When it moves, what then?” Yantou said: “That is not the fundamental, constant principle.” The master pondered deeply for a long while. Yantou said: “If you assent, you have not yet shed the sense-roots and their dusts; if you do not assent, you sink forever in birth and death.” At this the master awakened, body and mind bright and clear. Yantou repeatedly summoned him to talk, and in the testing of exchanges he never erred. The master then called on Master Hui of Jiashan. Hui asked: “Where do you come from?” He said: “From Wolong.” Hui said: “When you came, had the dragon risen yet?” The master turned and looked at him. Hui said: “On a cauterized sore you lay on more burning moxa.” The master said: “Master, why trouble yourself so?” Hui then let it rest. The master soon reached Danqiu, where he passed his days as though dull-witted. The four assemblies admired him and asked him to dwell at Ruiyan. He governed the assembly strictly and in good order, and was praised south of the Yangzi. A monk asked: “When a precious canopy appears overhead and clouds arise beneath the feet, what then?” The master said: “A man wearing cangue and fetters.” The monk said: “When no precious canopy appears overhead and no clouds arise beneath the feet, what then?” The master said: “There are still the shackles.” The monk said: “After all, what then?” The master said: “Drowsy after the meal.” Jingqing asked: “What heaven cannot cover and earth cannot bear up—is that not it?” The master said: “If it were, it would be covered and borne up.” Qing said: “If it were not, Ruiyan would be in for it.” The master called himself by name: “Shiyan.” A monk asked: “What is buddha?” The master said: “A stone ox.” The monk said: “What is dharma?” The master said: “The stone ox's calf.” The monk said: “Then they are not the same.” The master said: “They cannot be joined.” The monk said: “Why can they not be joined?” The master said: “With no sameness to be same with, what would you join?” The monk asked: “How should one deliberate so as not to fall into grades and stages?” The master said: “It cannot be ranked.” The monk said: “Why can it not be ranked?” The master said: “From the very first it has had no grades.” The monk said: “May I ask what rank it occupies?” The master said: “It does not sit in the Hall of Universal Light.” The monk said: “Does it still work transformation?” The master said: “Its name weighs heavy through the three realms—where would it not come to pay court?” One day a village woman came to pay respects. The master said: “Go home at once and save several thousand lives.” The woman hurried back to her house and saw her son's wife just returning with a bamboo basket, having gathered river snails. The woman took them and released them at the water's edge. The master had many such extraordinary deeds, preserved in separate records.
懷州玄泉彥禪師。僧問。如何是道中人。師曰。日落投孤店。問如何是佛。師曰。張家三箇兒。曰學人不會。師曰。孟仲季便不會。問如何是聲前一句。師曰吽。曰轉後如何。師曰。是什麼。
Chan Master Yan of Xuanquan in Huaizhou. A monk asked: “Who is the person within the Way?” The master said: “At sunset he puts up at a lonely inn.” A monk asked: “What is buddha?” The master said: “The Zhang family's three sons.” The monk said: “I do not understand.” The master said: “Eldest, middle, youngest—and still you do not understand.” A monk asked: “What is the one phrase before sound?” The master said: “Hum.” The monk said: “After the turn, what then?” The master said: “What is it?”
吉州靈巖慧宗禪師福州長谿人也。姓陳氏。受業於龜山。僧問。如何是靈巖境。師曰。松檜森森密密遮。曰如何是境中人。師曰。夜夜有猿啼。問如何是學人自己本分事。師曰拋卻真金拾瓦礫作麼。師後住禾山而終。
Chan Master Huizong of Lingyan in Jizhou was a man of Changxi in Fuzhou, surnamed Chen. He took his training at Guishan. A monk asked: “What is the scene of Lingyan?” The master said: “Pines and cypresses, dense and thick, hiding all.” The monk said: “Who is the person within the scene?” The master said: “Night after night there are gibbons crying.” A monk asked: “What is the student's own fundamental task?” The master said: “Why throw away true gold and pick up tiles and gravel?” The master later dwelt at Heshan, where he died.
福州羅山道閑禪師郡之長谿人也。姓陳氏。出家於龜山。年滿受具遍歷諸方。嘗謁石霜問。去住不寧時如何。石霜曰。直須盡卻。師不愜意乃參巖頭問。同前語。巖頭曰。從他去住管他作麼。師於是服膺。尋遊清涼山。閩帥飲其法味。請居羅山號法寶大師。初上堂日方升座斂衣乃曰。珍重。少頃又曰。未識底近前來。時有僧出禮拜。師抗聲曰。也大苦。僧起擬伸問。師乃喝出。問如何是奇特一句。師曰。道什麼。問佛放眉間白毫光照萬八千世界。如何是光。師曰。高聲道。僧曰。照何世界。師乃喝出。問急急相投請師一接。師曰。會麼。曰不會。師曰。箭過也。問九女不攜誰是哀提者。師曰。高聲問。僧擬再問。師曰。什麼處去也。問如何是宗門流佈。師展足示之。問當鋒事如何辨明。師舉如意。僧曰。乞和尚垂慈。師曰。大遠也。問如何是最妙一句。師曰。披露識麼。僧擬進語。師曰。話墮也。定慧上座參。師問什麼處來。曰遠離西蜀近發開元。又進前問。即今作麼生。師曰。吃茶去。慧猶未退。師曰。秋氣稍暖去。慧出法堂外歎曰。今日擬打羅山寨。弓折箭盡也。休休乃下參眾。明日師上堂。慧出問。豁開戶牖當軒者誰。師乃喝。慧無語。師又曰。毛羽未備且去。僧舉寒山詩問師曰。百鳥銜苦華時如何。師曰。貞女室中吟。曰千里作一息時如何。師曰。送客遊庭外。曰欲往蓬萊山時如何。師曰欹枕覷獼猴。曰將此充糧食時如何。師曰古劍髑髏前。問如何是百草頭上盡是祖師意。師曰。刺破汝眼。問聲前古毳爛意作麼生。師曰。倚著壁。問前是萬丈洪崖後是虎狼師子。正當恁麼時如何。師曰。自在。問三界誰為主。師曰。還解吃飯麼。師臨遷化上堂集眾。良久展左手。主事罔測。乃令東邊師僧退後。又展右手。又令西邊師僧退後。師謂眾曰。欲報佛恩無過流通大教。歸去也歸去也珍重。言訖莞爾而寂。
Chan Master Daoxian of Luoshan in Fuzhou was a man of Changxi in that prefecture, surnamed Chen. He left home at Guishan, took the full precepts when he came of age, and traveled through every quarter. Once he called on Shishuang and asked: “When going and staying give no peace, what then?” Shishuang said: “Just bring it all to an end.” The master was not satisfied in his heart, so he called on Yantou and asked the same as before. Yantou said: “Let going and staying go where they will—what business is it of yours?” At this the master wore it in his heart. Soon he traveled to Qingliang Mountain. The governor of Min, having savored the taste of his Dharma, asked him to dwell on Luoshan and gave him the title Grand Master Fabao (Jewel of the Dharma). On the day he first went up to the hall, he had just mounted the seat and gathered his robe when he said: “Take care.” After a moment he said again: “Those who do not yet recognize it, come forward.” A monk came out and bowed. The master raised his voice: “A great hardship indeed.” The monk rose, about to put a question, and the master shouted him out. A monk asked: “What is the one phrase of wonder?” The master said: “What did you say?” A monk asked: “The Buddha sends forth the white tuft of light between his brows and illumines eighteen thousand worlds—what is that light?” The master said: “Speak louder.” The monk said: “What worlds does it illumine?” The master shouted him out. A monk asked: “In urgent straits I turn to you—please catch me once.” The master said: “Do you understand?” The monk said: “No.” The master said: “The arrow has already passed.” A monk asked: “When the nine maidens are not borne along, who is the one that lifts them up in pity?” The master said: “Ask louder.” The monk was about to ask again. The master said: “Where has it gone?” A monk asked: “What is the spreading abroad of the school?” The master stretched out his foot to show him. A monk asked: “How is the matter at the crossed blades to be discerned?” The master raised his ruyi scepter. The monk said: “I beg you, master, let fall your compassion.” The master said: “Very far off indeed.” A monk asked: “What is the most wondrous phrase?” The master said: “It lies disclosed—do you recognize it?” The monk was about to speak. The master said: “The words have slipped away.” The senior monk Dinghui came to call. The master asked: “Where do you come from?” He said: “Far off I left western Shu; recently I set out from Kaiyuan.” Then he stepped forward and asked: “And right now, what?” The master said: “Go and have tea.” Hui still did not withdraw. The master said: “The autumn air has grown a little warm—go.” Hui went out beyond the Dharma hall and sighed: “Today I meant to storm the stronghold of Luoshan, but my bow is broken and my arrows spent. Enough, enough.” Then he went down and joined the assembly. The next day the master went up to the hall. Hui came out and asked: “When the doors and windows are thrown wide, who is it that faces the porch?” The master shouted. Hui had no words. The master said further: “Your feathers are not yet full-grown—be off.” A monk quoted Hanshan's verse to ask the master: “When the hundred birds bear bitter blossoms in their beaks, what then?” The master said: “A chaste girl hums within her chamber.” The monk said: “When a thousand li make a single breath, what then?” The master said: “Seeing a guest off beyond the courtyard.” The monk said: “When you would go to Mount Penglai, what then?” The master said: “Propped on a pillow, eyeing a macaque.” The monk said: “When you take this for provisions, what then?” The master said: “An ancient sword before a skull.” A monk asked: “How is it that on the tips of the hundred grasses is nothing but the patriarchs' intent?” The master said: “It pierces your eye through.” A monk asked: “What is the meaning of the worn ancient felt before sound?” The master said: “Lean against the wall.” A monk asked: “Before me a ten-thousand-zhang torrent and cliff; behind me tigers, wolves, and lions—right at such a moment, what then?” The master said: “At ease.” A monk asked: “Who is master of the three realms?” The master said: “Can you still eat your rice?” When the master was about to pass away he went up to the hall and gathered the assembly. After a long while he stretched out his left hand. The attendants could not fathom it. He then bade the monks on the east side step back, and stretched out his right hand, and bade the monks on the west side step back. The master said to the assembly: “To repay the Buddha's kindness, nothing surpasses letting the great teaching flow abroad. I am going home, going home. Take care.” Having spoken, he smiled faintly and passed into stillness.