dBET Alpha PDF Version © 2017
All Rights Reserved
BDK English Tripitaka 75
THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD
Compiled by Ch’ung-hsien Commented upon by K’o-ch’in
(Taisho Volume 48, Number 2003)
Translated into English by
Thomas Cleary
Numata Center
for Buddhist Translation and Research 1998
© 1998 by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means
—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher.
First Printing, 1998
ISBN: 0-9625618-8-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-068462
Published by
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2620 Warring Street
Berkeley, California 94704
Printed in the United States of America
A Message on the Publication of the English Tripitaka
The Buddhist canon is said to contain eighty-four thousand different teachings. I believe that this is because the Buddha’s basic approach was to prescribe a different treatment for every spiritual ailment, much as a doctor prescribes a different medicine for every medical ailment. Thus his teachings were always appropriate for the particular suffering individual and for the time at which the teaching was given, and over the ages not one of his prescriptions has failed to relieve the suffering to which it was addressed.
Ever since the Buddha’s Great Demise over twenty-five hundred
years ago, his message of wisdom and compassion has spread through out the world. Yet no one has ever attempted to translate the entire Buddhist canon into English throughout the history of Japan. It is my greatest wish to see this done and to make the translations avail able to the many English-speaking people who have never had the opportunity to learn about the Buddha’s teachings.
Of course, it would be impossible to translate all of the Buddha’s eighty-four thousand teachings in a few years. I have, therefore, had one hundred thirty-nine of the scriptural texts in the prodigious Taisho edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon selected for inclusion in the First Series of this translation project.
It is in the nature of this undertaking that the results are bound to be criticized. Nonetheless, I am convinced that unless someone takes it upon himself or herself to initiate this project, it will never be done. At the same time, I hope that an improved, revised edition will appear in the future.
It is most gratifying that, thanks to the efforts of more than a hundred Buddhist scholars from the East and the West, this monumental project has finally gotten off the ground. May the rays of the Wisdom of the Compassionate One reach each and every person in the world.
Numata Yehan
Founder of the English
August 7,1991 Tripitaka Project
v
Editorial Foreword
In January, 1982, Dr. N umata Yehan, the founder of the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), decided to begin the monumental task of translating the complete Taisho edi tion of the Chinese Tripitaka (Buddhist Canon) into the English lan guage. Under his leadership, a special preparatory committee was organized in April, 1982. By July of the same year, the Translation Committee of the English Tripitaka was officially convened.
The initial Committee consisted of the following members: Hanayama Shoyu (Chairperson); Bando Shojun; Ishigami Zenno; Kamata Shigeo; K anaoka Shuyu; Mayeda Sengaku; Nara Yasuaki; Sayeki Shinko; (late) Shioiri Ryotatsu; TAMARuNoriyoshi; (late) Tamura Kwansei; U ryuzu Ryushin; and Y uyama Akira. Assistant members of the Committee were as follows: Kanazawa Atsushi; W atanabe Shogo; Rolf Giebel of New Zealand; and Rudy Smet of Belgium.
After holding planning meetings on a monthly basis, the Com mittee selected 139 texts for the First Series of translations, an esti mated one hundred printed volumes in all. The texts selected are not necessarily limited to those originally written in India but also in clude works written or composed in China and Japan. While the pub lication of the First Series proceeds, the texts for the Second Series will be selected from among the remaining works; this process will continue until all the texts, in Japanese as well as in Chinese, have been published.
Frankly speaking, it will take perhaps one hundred years or more to accomplish the English translation of the complete Chinese and Japanese texts, for they consist of thousands of works. Nevertheless, as Dr. Numata wished, it is the sincere hope of the Committee that this project will continue unto completion, even after all its present members have passed away.
It must be mentioned here that the final object of this project is not academic fulfillment but the transmission of the teaching of the
vii
~
Editorial Foreword
Buddha to the whole world in order to create harmony and peace among mankind. Therefore, any notes, such as footnotes and endnotes, which might be indispensable for academic purposes, are not given in the English translations, since they might make the general reader lose interest in the Buddhist scriptures. Instead, a glossary is added at the end of each work, in accordance with the translators’ wish.
To my great regret, however, Dr. N umata passed away on May 5, 1994, at the age of 97, entrusting his son, Mr. N umata Toshihide, with the continuation and completion of the Translation Project. The Committee also lost its able and devoted Chairperson, Professor Hanayama Shoyu, on June 16, 1995, at the age of 63. After these se vere blows, the Committee elected me, Vice-President of the Musashino Women’s College, to be the Chair in October, 1995. The Committee has renewed its determination to carry out the noble intention of Dr. N umata, under the leadership of Mr. N umata Toshihide.
The present members of the Committee are Mayeda Sengaku (Chairperson), Bando Shojun, Ishigami Zenno, Ichishima Shoshin, K amata Shigeo, K anaoka Shuyu, N ara Yasuaki, Sayeki Shinko, Tamaru Noriyoshi, U ryuzu Ryushin, and Y uyama Akira. Assistant members are W atanabe Shogo and M inowa Kenryo.
The Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research was established in November, 1984, in Berkeley, California, U.S.A., to assist in the publication of the BDK English Tripitaka First Series. In December, 1991, the Publication Committee was organized at the Numata Center, with Professor Philip Yampolsky as the Chairper son. To our sorrow, Professor Yampolsky passed away in July, 1996, but thankfully Dr. Kenneth Inada is continuing the work as Chair person. The Numata Center has thus far published eleven volumes and has been distributing them. All of the remaining texts will be published under the supervision of this Committee, in close coopera tion with the Translation Committee in Tokyo.
Mayeda Sengaku
Chairperson
Translation Committee of
June 1, 1997 the BDK English Tripitaka
viii
Publisher’s Foreword
The Publication Committee works in close cooperation with the Edi torial Committee of the BDK English Tripitaka in Tokyo, Japan. Since December 1991, it has operated from the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research in Berkeley, California. Its principal mission is to oversee and facilitate the publication in English of selected texts from the one hundred-volume Taisho Edition of the Chinese Tripitaka, along with a few major influential Japanese Buddhist texts not in the Tripitaka. The list of selected texts is conveniently appended at the end of each volume. In the text itself, the Taisho Edition page and column designations are provided in the margins.
The Committee is committed to the task of publishing clear, read able English texts. It honors the deep faith, spirit, and concern of the late Reverend Doctor Numata Yehan to disseminate Buddhist teachings throughout the world.
In July 1996, the Committee unfortunately lost its valued Chair person, Dr. Philip Yampolsky, who was a stalwart leader, trusted friend, and esteemed colleague. We follow in his shadow. In February 1997,1 was appointed to guide the Committee in his place.
The Committee is charged with the normal duties of a publish ing firm—general editing, formatting, copyediting, proofreading, indexing, and checking linguistic fidelity. The Committee members are Diane Ames, Brian Galloway, Nobuo Haneda, Charles Niimi, Koh Nishiike, and the president and director of the Numata Center, Reverend Kiyoshi S. Yamashita.
Kenneth K. Inada
Chairperson
June 1, 1997 Publication Committee
IX
Contents
A Message on the Publication of the English Tripitaka
N umata Yehan v
Editorial Foreword M ayeda Sengaku vii
Publisher’s Foreword Kenneth Inada ix
Translator’s Introduction Thomas Cleary 1
Preface by Puzhao........................................................................................ 5
Preface by Fanghui W a n li......................................................................... 6
Preface by Yucen Xiuxiu............................................................................. 6
Preface by Sanjiao Laoren......................................................................... 8
- The Emperor Wu Questions Bodhidharma...................................... 11
- The Ultimate Way Is without Difficulty......................................... 19
- Master Ma Is U nwell.......................................................................... 25
- Deshan Carrying His Bundle.............................................................. 28
- Xuefeng’s Grain of Rice......................................................................... 36
- Every Day Is a Good D a y................................................................... 40
- Huichao Asks about the Buddha....................................................... 47
- Cuiyan’s Eyebrows................................................................................... 53
- Zhaozhou’s Four Gates.......................................................................... 58
- The Phony............................................................................................ 63
Notice on Overcoming Demons......................................................... 67
- Gobblers of Dregs................................................................................. 69
- Three Pounds of F la x......................................................................... 76
- The School of Kanadeva...................................................................... 82
- Good Snowflakes............................................................
- No Cold or H ea t .............................................................
- Knowing How to Beat the D ru m ................................
- Zhaozhou’s Shirt............................................................
- The Sound of Raindrops...............................................
- Six Do Not Take It I n ...................................................
- Overturning the Tea K ettle........................................
- The Golden Fish That Has Passed through the Net
- Every Atom Samadhi..................................................
- What Is I t ? ....................................................................
- The Stone Bridge..........................................................
- Wild Ducks....................................................................
- Yunmen Extends Both H ands...................................
- Daowu’s Condolence Call.............................................
- One Arrow Smashes Three Barriers..........................
- The Stupid Oaf..............................................................
- Zhaozhou Can’t Explain..............................................
- Why Not Quote It F u lly ? ............................................
- The Staff Changes into a D ragon.............................
- One A tom .....................................................................
- Within There Is a Jewel.............................................
- Nanquan Kills a C at...................................................
- Nanquan Questions Zhaozhou..................................
- An Outsider Questions the Buddha..........................
- Getting Huangchao’s Sw ord.....................................
- Great Adept Fu Expounds a Scripture....................
- What’s Your N am e?...................................................
211
215
219
224
228
231
235
239
243
246
252
255
259
. 262
, 267
. 272
. 275
. 277
. 280
. 284
. 288
. 292
. 294
. 297
.. 302
.. 306
.. 310
xiii
- Three Turning Words...................................
- The Diamond Sutra’s Scornful Revilement
- Tianping’s Travels........................................
- The Ten Body Controller..............................
- Baling’s Sword............................................
418
424
430
436
442
xv
Translator’s Introduction
The Blue Cliff Record (Chinese Biyanlu, Japanese Hekiganroku) is widely considered one of the most important classics of the Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism. Composed in China during the Song Dy nasty (960-1276 C.E.), when Chan literature reached its zenith of development, The Blue Cliff Record soon gained widespread acceptance in Chan circles. It consists of one hundred excerpts from ancient Chan lore and Buddhist scripture, each illustrated in verse by the great Chan poet Xuedou Qiongxian (980-1052) and elucidated in prose by the noted Chan teacher Yuanwu Keqin (1063-1135).
The Blue Cliff Record was first brought to Japan by the great Zen master Dogen Kigen (1200-1253), who is famed as the founder of the Soto school of Zen. Over the following centuries, The Blue Cliff Record was subjected to intense scrutiny by Japanese Zen students and came to be recognized in the Rinzai Zen schools as the foremost of Zen texts, one of the main sources used in the meditative study of Zen lore.
The development of Chan Buddhism in China may be roughly divided into several eras. During the formative period, from the fifth to the eighth centuries C.E., there was a strong undercurrent of Prajnaparamita and Yogacara meditation, and considerable confluence with the contemplative aspect of the emerging Tiantai (Jp. Tendai) school. A series of great masters, generally known as the Chan patriarchs, are commonly cited as representatives of this early phase of Chan.
The second period of the development of the Chan school, from the eighth to the tenth centuries, saw the rise of an independent Chan monastic order (generally associated with the rule of the eighth
1
The Blue Cliff Record
and ninth century master Baizhang Huaihai) and the proliferation of teaching lineages with characteristic styles of presentation. Among the numerous Chan lineages which branched out from the original line of the patriarchs, there were five that are usually singled out in Chan history and referred to as the five houses, or five schools, of Chan. The five houses of Chan were named after their progenitors: the Gui-Yang line, after Guishan Lingyou (771-854) and Yangshan Huiji
(813-890); the Linji line, after Linji Yixuan (d. 867); the Cao-Dong
line, after Dongshan Liangjie (807-869) and Caoshan Benji (840 - 901); the Yunmen line, after Yunmen Wenyan (d. 949); and the Fayan line, after Fayan Wenyi (885-958). Each house had its own particular vocabulary and special symbol clusters which it used in the projection of Chan teaching, yet all were considered one and the same in essence. As Fayan Wenyi, progenitor of the latest line, pointed out in his Ten Guidelines for Chan Schools, the development of sectarianism in Chan was an aberration, a deviation from the spirit and reality of Chan itself.
From the work of the early masters of the five houses derives much of the basic material found in the collections of Chan stories— known as gongan in Chinese and koan in Japanese—that came to be a central focus in Chan/Zen meditation in later times. During the third period of Chan development, from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, this material was assembled, arrayed in various patterns, and elaborated with extensive commentary and analysis in both poetry and prose.
Thus it was that this third phase of Chan activity produced a large proportion of the literary Chan classics, such as The Blue Cliff Record. There is a great deal more recorded about the lives and personalities of the masters of this era than there is about those of previous centuries, and this resulted in a new genre of Chan literature. A new form of teaching called the pushuo (fusetsu), or general talk, also came into vogue, presenting Chan teaching in a discursive form. Chan letters, another new form of Chan literature, also evolved during this period; the most famous collections of such letters are the Essentials o f Mind by Yuanwu, author of The Blue Cliff Record, and the Letters o f Dahui, by one of Yuanwu’s distinguished successors.
2
translator’s Introduction
During this period Chan Buddhism made a great impact on Chi nese culture, particularly noticeable in literature and art. Chan also injected a living element into Confucianism and Taoism, resulting in the development of Confucian Noumenalism (Lixue) and the Complete Reality school of Taoism (Quanzhenzong), both of which employed Chan meditation techniques. Furthermore, though there had been earlier seedings, it was during this era that Chan Buddhism became firmly established in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
The fourth era of Chan in China, from the fourteenth century on, was characterized by increasing syncretism and amalgamation of trends of teaching and practice that had begun to differentiate in the era of the patriarchs. Under Mongol rule, Tibetan Buddhism came to exert a powerful influence on Chinese Buddhism. A tendency to combine Chan with Pure Land practice was also particularly strong, and this continues to mark Chinese Chan to this day. Chan also con tinued to influence the Confucian gentry, both directly and through its presence in Confucian Noumenalism; while through its presence in Taoism, some of its techniques remained permanent fixtures in Chinese psychophysical health lore.
Chan Buddhism professes to be a teaching transmitted outside
of formal doctrine, communicated mind to mind. Emphasizing the Buddhist practice of skill in means, taking effect rather than form as the criterion of teaching, Chan Buddhism rejected rigidification of doctrine into dogma and regarded all systems as temporary expedients rather than final truths. Thus it was that Chan Buddhists could at once claim to reject all writings while drawing extensively on both religious and secular literature, and also create a uniquely dynamic literature of their own.
Chan literature is characterized by a number of features: extensive use of poetry; highly developed symbolism and imagery; focus on the speech and action of human exemplars. All of these features are found in the peculiar Chan form of the gongan (koan) and the special literature associated with this teaching device.
The gongan are usually brief anecdotes from the records of interactions of Chan adepts with each other or with their students. Through their structures their stories reveal specific modes of consciousness
3
The Blue Cliff Record
and dimensions of awareness. As a by-product of increasing concentration on gongan in Chan schools, there developed a vast body of expository literature.
An outstanding characteristic of this expository literature is that it expounds the gongan by means of illustrations of parallel structures rather than by discursive reasoning. It also employs a special type of criticism which appears to deal with the stories themselves, but actually deals with the relationship of the mind of the observer to the stories. The intended result of this method is to bring into play the interaction of the mind with the structure and function of the gongan, penetrating beyond the superficial surface content, to bring about a radical transformation of consciousness.
The Blue Cliff Record is a classic example of this highly articulated phase of Chan literature. As its structure is rather complex, it may be useful to summarize it here in outline form:
- Introduction by Yuanwu, suggesting the overall sense, point of view, or impact of the gongan to be considered.
- Story, a.gongan taken in most cases from classical Chan lore; this is interspersed with parenthetical remarks by Yuanwu. These parenthetical remarks use the Chan technique known as “giving and taking,” sometimes drawing the reader’s attention to a particular point of view, sometimes drawing the reader’s attention away from a particular point of view.
- Commentary on the story, by Yuanwu. These commentaries draw on many sources, including the later lore of the five houses of Chan.
- 4. Verse by Xuedou, poetically illustrating the impact of the story. These verses are also interspersed with parenthetical remarks by Yuanwu.
- Commentary by Yuanwu on Xuedou’s verse.
4
The lifeline of the perfect sages, the great capacity of the successive patriarchs, the miraculous method of changing the bones, the wondrous art of nourishing the spirit—the Chan master Xuedou had the true eye that transcends any sect and goes beyond pat terns. He upheld the true imperative and did not reveal a custom ary standard. He took up the hammer and tongs to smelt and force Buddhas and patriarchs and versified the transcendental noses of the Chan practitioners. A silver mountain, an iron wall; who could dare to try to bore in? A mosquito trying to bite an iron ox cannot manage to penetrate. If you do not meet a great master, how can you thoroughly comprehend the abstruse subtleties?
Here there is an old man, Yuanwu; when he was dwelling at the Blue Cliff, students were confused and asked him for instruction. The old man pitied them and therefore extended his compassion; he dug out the profound source and elucidated the underlying principles. Directly pointing at the ultimate, how could he have set up any opinionated understanding? The hundred public cases are pierced through on one thread from the beginning; the whole crowd of old folks are all judged in turn.
You should know that the jewel of Zhao was flawless to begin with; Xiangru brazenly fooled the king of Qin. The ultimate truth is in reality wordless; masters of our school extend compassion to rescue the fallen. If you see like this, only then do you realize their thoroughgoing kindness. If, on the other hand, you get stuck on the phrases and sunk in the words, you won’t avoid exterminating the Buddha’s race.
Puzhao was fortunate enough to be close to the Master’s seat
and was able to hear what he had never heard before. Companions on the Way compiled it into a volume, and this stupid oaf has reported the root and branches of the matter.
The Blue Cliff Record
At the time it is the last day of the month in late spring, 1128. The monk Puzhao, a participant in study and a successor of the patriarchs, humbly writes this preface.
Preface by Fanghui Wanli
After The Scripture of Forty-two Chapters entered China, for the first time we knew there was the Buddha; after the robe of successorship was passed from Bodhidharma to the six patriarchs, for the first time we had verbal expressions: “Originally there is not a single thing” was the motto of the southern school, while “Dili gently wipe time and again” was the motto of the northern school. At this point the Chan school’s versification of ancient stories circulated in the world; its followers had a method of overturning cases, scolding Buddhas and reviling patriarchs—there is nothing they would not do. Some among them had deeply attained the living art of our poets. But what has the ultimate truth to do with verbal expression? Xuedou and Yuanwu were very kind; Dahui torched it and burned it. Zhang Hui Mingyuan of Yuzhong rekindled the dead ashes and reprinted it—this also can be called kindness.
This preface is by Fanghui Wanli of Mt. Ziyang, on the eighth day of the fourth month of 1300.
Preface by Yucen Xiuxiu
The Blue Cliff Record was set forth by the great teacher Yuanwu. His great disciple, Chan master Dahui, burned the book. Attachment to any sort of worldly thing is to be avoided. Buddhists revere the Buddha most of all, but sometimes they even revile him. This is because there is self and no other; it depends on oneself, not on another. If you abandon yourself to follow something or someone, eventually you will lose yourself.
Mind and the Way are one; the Way and myriad things are one. It fills cosmic space—where is not the Way? It is just that
6
Preface by Yucen Xiuxiu
when ordinary people look upon it, they can see what they see, but do not see what they do not see. They seek it from others, and others explain it to them. It is like Dongpo’s metaphor of the sun. As they turn it over and over in their minds trying to figure it out, they become further away and lose it all the more.
Even Confucius, having comprehended the Way, still wanted to avoid talking about it. How much less could the transmundane law of Buddhism be sought by means of writings and sayings!
Even so, there is that which cannot be abandoned. The wise are few, the ignorant are many; the learned are few, the unlearned are many. The five thousand and more volumes of the Buddhist canon were all established for future ages; if it were all right to forget words, then the Buddha would have kept his mouth shut— why would he have spoken so much?
Universal principle certainly includes that which is not apart from the ordinary, yet it transcends the ordinary. Although it seems easy to know, in reality it is not easy to know; if you do not seek it from others, then you will never get it.
The ancients were famed in their time, outstanding among a thousand people, excellent among ten thousand people. The Tai-a sword is the sharpest sword in the world: in the mountains it slays tigers and leopards, in the water it kills dragons. People’s knowledge of it is consummated here, but there were those among the ancients who could use it skillfully, scaling walls to do battle, wielding it along with the wind; the three armies were defeated by it, blood flowing over a thousand miles. How could this all be at tempted by the abilities of oneself alone?
Ever since I heard about the existence of this book, I searched
for it most eagerly. When Mr. Zhang of Yuzhong was going to reprint the book, he came to discuss his plan with me, and I helped him carry it through, also writing a foreword, in this year of 1305, on an auspicious day in the third month.
Written at a lodging overlooking the bridge at Qiantang, by layman Yucen Xiuxiu, Zhouchi of Liaocheng.
7
Preface by Sanjiao Laoren
Some ask, “Which was right, to compose The Blue Cliff Record or to destroy it?” The answer is that both were right. When Bodhi- dharma came to the East, simply transmitting the mind seal, he did not set up written words—that is certain. But who composed such treatises as The Blood Line and Returning to Emptiness? The ancients who said it is not in writing yet not apart from writing truly knew words. Since people understood the great matter at the rolling up of a blind, at the hearing of a sounding board, at the raising of a finger, at the stubbing of a toe, where is the writing in all this? It was only after the raising of the flower and the smile, after the taking down of the flagpole, that there was involvement in verbal expression. There is no way to effect trans mission without writing, so it cannot be abandoned either.
The practice of calling the writings of Chan teachings public i39 c cases igongan) started during the Tang dynasty, and became popular during the Song dynasty, so it has a long history. The words “public case” are an expression referring to secular official documents. There are three uses. When the work of facing a wall is accomplished and the task of traveling is done, the zero point of
the scale is hard to clarify and the tendency of wild foxes is easy to fall into. Perceptive people test for this, scolding and shouting to see the real extent of attainment, like an old magistrate reviewing a criminal case, seeing all the underlying facts, not missing a single point.
Next, in the early generations of Chan it was easy to get lost on byroads, and guidance was needed to point the way. Guidance was provided out of compassion. Each blow of the staff, leaving a welt, was to make people realize enlightenment. This is like an officer of justice wielding the law, reviewing a suit to make a fair judgment, saving someone from death. This is the second use.
Next after that, damaging crops is a deep worry, and tying up a donkey is a serious matter. Students of chess need to concentrate, and it is easy to lament the color of dyed thread. The great teach ers handed on a bequest to get the mind to die on the cushion,
8
Preface by Sanjiao Laoren
each action, each inquiry like an official promulgating a law, directing people to read the regulations and know the law, extinguishing bad thoughts as soon as they arise. This is the third use. Providing written records, making judgments, presenting potentials and states, forming standards and imperatives, they are like secular books of law. This seems to be why the ancestral Chan teachers set up public cases and left them for the guidance of
Chan communities.
Nevertheless, since the teaching has entered into a degenerate phase, people seek the ineffable mind on paper and entrust the true teaching to talk. Having listed all the ghosts and spirits, they still do not leave the register aside—they invoke the name of the ancients in their poetry and prose, still not getting beyond records of the past. They stand by others’ doors, allowing the appellation of master to be made. The sword fell overboard long ago, but the boat is still notched to mark the spot; the rabbit has got ten away, but the stump was not moved. If you have a bellyful of entanglements, even though you can ask a thousand pivotal questions, it will have no relevance to the important matter of life and death. When the sound of the bell has leaked out all the way, what is the use of it?
Ah, when the ram hangs up its horns, it cannot be sought by traces of form—can those who study inferior wisdom well take step after step toward it? If you know this, you realize that the intentions of both elders were right. Yuanwu was mostly concerned for students of later generations, so he recited Xuedou’s verses and commented on them. Dahui was mostly concerned with saving people from burning or drowning, so he destroyed The Blue Cliff Record. Sakyamuni Buddha spoke the whole great canon of scriptures, yet in the end he said that he had never spoken a single word. Was he fooling us? Yuanwu’s intention was like that of Sa kyamuni speaking the scriptures; Dahui’s intention was like that of Sakyamuni denying that he had ever spoken. Yu, Qi, and Yanzi would all do the same if they changed places with them. Whether you push it or pull it, the main concern is only that the cart go.
9
The Blue Cliff Record
Two hundred years later, Zhang Mingyuan had new wood blocks carved to extend the life of its transmission. Is it that the ancient Chan teaching is reviving? Is it that everything in the world has its time? In either case, the circulation of this book has very serious implications. If you see a stream and identify it with the ocean, or if you take a pointing finger to be the moon, not only
will Dahui worry about you, Yuanwu will also remove sticking points and loosen bonds for you. A poem written by a man of ancient times on a portrait says, “Distinctly clear, the Mr. Zhang on paper—though you call him as loud as you can, he won’t answer. ” Let those who would read this book first contemplate this saying. Written on the fifteenth day of the fourth month, by
Sanjiao Laoren, Elder of the Three Teachings.
10
1. The Emperor Wu Questions Bodhidharma
Introduction
As soon as you see smoke on the other side of a mountain you 140a know there’s a fire; the moment you see horns on the other side of
a fence you know there’s an ox. To understand the whole thing when one aspect is brought up, to judge precisely at a glance, is an everyday affair for a Chan practitioner. Coming to cutting off myriad streams, appearing here and disappearing there, opposing or according, going vertically or horizontally, giving and taking away freely, at this point, whose activity is this?
Story
The Emperor Wu of Liang asked the great teacher Bodhidharma, (Here’s someone talking such nonsense.) “What is the ultimate meaning of the holy truths?” (What donkey-tethering stake is this?) Bodhidharma said, “Empty, nothing holy.” (One might have thought he’d say something extraordinary. The point has already whizzed past. It’s quite clear.) The emperor said, “Who is answering m e?” (Filled with embarrassment, he tries to force himself to be astute. After all he gropes without finding.) Bodhidharma said, “Don’t know.” (Tsk! A second try isn’t worth half a cent.) The emperor didn’t understand. (Too bad. Still, this is getting somewhere.) Bodhidharma subsequently crossed the Yangtse River into the kingdom of Wei. (Foxy devil! He can’t avoid embarrassment. He goes from west to east, east to west.)
Later the emperor brought this up to Master Zhi and asked him about it. (A poor man remembers an old debt. The bystander has eyes.) Master Zhi said, “Did you recognize the man?” (He should
11
The Blue Cliff Record
drive Master Zhi out of the country too. He deserves a beating. Bodhidharma is here.) The emperor said he didn’t know him. (So after all the Emperor Wu has understood Bodhidharma’s case.) Master Zhi said, “ He is Mahasattva Avalokitesvara, transmitting the seal of the Buddha mind.” (An arbitrary explanation. The elbow doesn’t bend outwards.) The emperor, regretful, sent an emissary to invite Bodhidharma back. (After all Wu can’t hold Bodhidharma back; I told you he was a dunce.) Master Zhi said, “ Don’t tell me you’re going to send an emissary to get him!” (When someone in the house to the east dies, someone from the house to the west helps in the mourning. Better they should all be driven out of the country at once.) “Even if everyone in the country went, he wouldn’t return.” (Master Zhi again deserves a beating. He doesn’t know the great illumination shines forth right where one is.)
Commentary
Bodhidharma observed from afar that China had people receptive 140b to the universal religion, so he came by sea, to transmit purely the mind seal to enlighten the deluded. Not establishing verbal formulations, he pointed directly to people’s minds so that they would
see the essence and realize Buddhahood. If you can see in this way, you have a share of freedom and will not be spun around pursuing words. Everything will become manifest to you, and there after you will be able to converse with the Emperor Wu and will naturally see how the second patriarch’s mind was pacified. With out the mental defilement of conceptual comparison, you cut through with one stroke, free and at ease. What need is there to go on distinguishing right and wrong, discriminating gain and loss? Even so, how many people are capable of this?
The Emperor Wu once put on religious vestments and person ally lectured on the Light Emitting Wisdom Scripture, inducing a shower of celestial flowers and a transformation of earth to gold. He studied the Path and served the Buddha, issuing orders throughout his realm to build temples and ordain monks, practicing in accord with the teaching. People called him the Buddha Heart emperor.
12
- The Emperor Wu Questions Bodhidharma
When Bodhidharma first saw the Emperor Wu, the emperor asked, “I have built temples and ordained monks; what merit is there in this?” Bodhidharma said, “There is no merit,” immediately dousing the emperor with foul water. If you can penetrate this statement “there is no merit,” you can see Bodhidharma in person. Now tell me, why is there no merit at all in building temples and ordaining monks? Where does the meaning of this lie?
The Emperor Wu held discussions with Dharma Master Louyue, Mahasattva Fu, and Prince Zhaoming about the two truths, real and conventional. According to the teaching, the real truth is used to explain that things are not existent, and the conventional truth is used to explain that things are not nonexistent. The nonduality of the real and the conventional is the ultimate mean ing of the holy truths. This is the most subtle and abstruse point of the doctrinal schools; hence the emperor picked this ultimate paradigm to ask Bodhidharma, “What is the ultimate meaning of the holy truths?” Bodhidharma answered, “Empty, nothing holy.” No one in the world can get out of this. Bodhidharma cut through for him with a single stroke of the sword. How many people these days misunderstand—giving play to their spirits, putting a glare in their eyes, they say “Empty, nothing holy. ” Fortunately there is no connection.
My teacher Wuzu once said, “If only you can penetrate this ‘Empty, nothing holy,’ you can return home and sit in peace. ” This is creating complications just the same, but nevertheless it breaks through obscurity for others. Bodhidharma is outstanding in this. Hence it is said that if you can penetrate one statement, you pen etrate a thousand, myriad statements, all at the same time. Then you are naturally in command. An ancient said, “Even to crush your bones and shatter your body would not be sufficient recompense; when one statement is clear you transcend billions.”
Responding directly to the emperor, Bodhidharma had already leaked quite a bit. The emperor did not understand, and because he viewed things in terms of self and others, he then asked, “Who is answering m e?” Bodhidharma’s compassion was extreme; he
13
again addressed him, saying, “ Don’t know.” At this, Emperor Wu was taken aback; he didn’t get the point, didn’t know what Bodhi- dharma was talking about. When you get to this point, as to whether there is something or nothing, pick and you fail. Master Duan composed a verse on this story:
Ordinarily a single arrow fells a single eagle; Another arrow is already too many.
Bodhidharma went right back to sit in the mountains; Lord of Liang, speak no more of going to summon him.
He also said, “What wants to summon him back? ”
Since the emperor didn’t understand him, Bodhidharma secretly left the country. All the old fellow got was embarrassment. He crossed the Yangtse River into Wei, at that time under the control of the northern Toba tribe. When Bodhidharma arrived there, he did not appear for any more audiences but went directly to Shaolin monastery, where he sat facing a wall for nine years and taught the second patriarch. People thereabouts called him the Wall-Gazing Brahmin.
The Emperor Wu of Liang later asked Master Zhi about what had transpired at his meeting with Bodhidharma. Zhi said, “Did you recognize the man?” The emperor said he didn’t know him. Tell me, is this the same as Bodhidharma’s “Don’t know”? It seems to be similar, but it really isn’t the same. People often misunderstand and say that Bodhidharma was giving the emperor an answer about Chan, while the emperor was replying to Master Zhi in terms of the knowledge of recognition. This has nothing to do with it.
So tell me, how could Wu have answered when Master Zhi questioned him? Why didn’t he strike him dead with a single blow and avoid looking foolish? Instead the Emperor Wu answered him frankly and said he didn’t know. Master Zhi saw his chance and acted; he said, “He is Mahasattva Avalokitesvara, transmitting the seal of the Buddha mind. ” The emperor felt regret and was going to send an emissary to bring Bodhidharma back. How stupid! When Zhi said, “He is Mahasattva Avaloktesvara, transmitting the seal
14
- The Emperor Wu Questions Bodhidharma
of the Buddha mind,” if Wu had driven him out of the country, that would have amounted to something.
According to tradition, Master Zhi died in the year 514, while Bodhidharma came to Liang in 520; since there is a discrepancy of several years, why is it said that the two met? This must be a mistake in the tradition. But I will not discuss the matter of what is recorded in tradition now; all that is important is to understand the gist of the matter. Tell me—is Bodhidharma Avalokitesvara? Is Master Zhi Avalokitesvara? Which is the real Avalokitesvara? If they are Avalokitesvara, why are there two? But why only two? They are legion.
Later in Wei the precept master Guangtong and the canon master Bodhiruci debated with Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma eliminated formalism and pointed to the mind; because of their biased and limited judgments, Guangtong and Bodhiruci could not bear this, and developed feelings of malice. They tried to poison Bodhi dharma several times; on the sixth attempt, since his mission was completed and he had found people to transmit the teaching, Bodhidharma made no further effort to save himself but sat up right and passed on. He was interred at Dinglin Temple on Bear Ear Mountain. Later the ambassador Song Yun of Wei met Bodhi dharma in the Congling Range in Chinese Turkistan, walking along with one shoe in his hand.
The Emperor Wu mourned Bodhidharma’s death and person ally wrote an epitaph, which said, “Alas! I saw him without seeing him, met him without meeting him, encountered him without encountering him. I will always regret this deeply. ” In a further eulogy, he added, “If your mind is there, you are stuck in the mundane for eternity; if your mind is not there, you experience ineffable enlightenment instantly.”
Tell me, where is Bodhidharma right now? You’ve stumbled past him without even realizing it.
141a
The Blue Cliff Record
Verse
The holy truths are empty; (The point is long gone. Ha!) How to discern the point?
(Slipped past. What is hard to discern?) “Who is answering m e?”
(A second try isn’t worth half a cent. You too go on like this?) Again he said, “Don’t know.”
(A third one, a fourth one, hits the mark. Tsk!) Henceforth he secretly crossed the river;
(Unable to lead another by the nose, now it’s he who is being led by the nose. Heavens! He sure isn’t a great man.)
How could he avoid the growth of brambles?
(The brambles are already several yards deep right here.)
Though everyone in the land pursues him, he won’t return;
(A double case. Why pursue him? Where is he? Where is the spirit of a great person?)
Forever and aye, vain remembrance.
(Wringing the hands, beating the breast, making a plea to the sky.)
Stop remembering!
(What are you saying? This is living in a ghost cave.) What limit is there to the pure wind circling the earth? (After all, even the great Xuedou tumbles into the weeds.)
Then Master Xuedou looked around to the right and left and said, “Is there any patriarch here?” (So you want to retract your statement? You still act like this?) He answered himself, “There is.” (He puts himself to so much trouble.)
“Call him to wash this old monk’s feet.” (Give him another beating and drive him out—it would be no more than he deserves. Acting like this, still he’s gotten somewhere.)
16
- The Emperor Wu Questions Bodhidharma
Commentary
Xuedou’s verse on this story is like skillfully performing a sword dance, sure and relaxed in midair, naturally not running afoul of the point. Without such ability, as soon as one picked it up one would run afoul of the point and injure the hand. For those who have the eye to see, Xuedou offers, takes back, praises, and depre cates, using only four lines to settle the entire case.
Usually verses on ancient stories just explain Chan in a round about way; the general rule for presenting old stories is just to settle the case on the basis of the facts. Xuedou confronts him, saying right off, “ The holy truths are empty; / How to discern the point?” To that first phrase Xuedou adds this latter one, undeniably extraordinary. So tell me, after all how do you discern the point? Even if you have iron eyes or bronze eyes, you will still grope without finding. When you get to this point, can you figure it out by means of ordinary intellect?
This is why Yunmen said, “It’s like a spark, like lightning.”
This bit does not fall within the scope of intellect or conception; what good does it do to talk about it? When conceptual assess ments arise, you’ve already missed the point. Xuedou says, how will all you Chan practitioners discern the point?
“Who is answering me?” To this he adds “Again he said, ‘Don’t know.’” Here Xuedou is being extremely solicitous, redoubling his efforts to help people. But tell me, are “empty” and “don’t know” the same or different? Someone who understands will understand without anything being said; someone who does not yet under stand will surely divide them into two. Everyone usually says that Xuedou was just repeating the story, not realizing that he has thoroughly versified the story in four lines.
After that, out of compassion, Xuedou versifies what happened:
“Henceforth he secretly crossed the river; / How could he avoid the growth of brambles?” Bodhidharma originally came to this country to loosen sticking points and remove bonds for people, to pull out the nails and extract the pegs, to cut away the brambles— why does it say he produced brambles? This does not refer only to
141b
The Blue Cliff Record
that time—the brambles are already several yards deep right where you are now.
“Though everyone in the land pursues him, he won’t return; / Forever and aye, vain remembrance. ” Obviously the Emperor Wu was not much of a man. But where is Bodhidharma? If you see Bodhidharma, you will see where Xuedou helps people in the end. Xuedou, fearing people would pursue intellectual views, turned the mainspring and set forth his own view: “Stop remembering! / What limit is there to the pure wind circling the earth?” Once you stop remembering, how are things right where you are? Xuedou says, right here and now there is a pure wind circling the earth— in the heavens and on the earth, what limitation is there? Xuedou picks up the affairs of all ages and throws them down right in front of you. “What limit is there?” does not just apply to Xuedou at that time—for you right now, what limit is there?
Again, lest people cling to this, Xuedou applied another de vice; he said loudly, “Is there any patriarch here?” He said him self, “ There is.” At this point Xuedou is undeniably sincere in his efforts for people; he again said, “Call him to wash this old monk’s feet.” He certainly diminishes the man’s dignity; at that time one should do one s own work. But tell me, where does Xuedou’s mean ing lie? At this point, can you call it a donkey? Can you call it a horse? Can you call it a patriarch? How will you describe it? People often say Xuedou is employing the patriarch, but fortunately this has no connection. Then tell me, what’s it all about, after all? “I only admit that the old barbarian knows; I don’t admit that the old barbarian understands.”
18
2. The Ultimate Way Is without Difficulty
Introduction
The universe is too narrow to contain it; the sun, moon, and stars are too dark to shed light on it—even if it blows rain down and shouts thunder, this still does not match up to the matter of the religion of transcendence. Even the Buddhas of past, present, and future can only know it for themselves; the leading teachers of successive generations have not been able to bring it out fully. All the teachings in the whole Canon cannot explain it completely; even Chan practitioners with enlightened eyes cannot save them selves thoroughly. At this point, how will you ask for aid? Even to say “Buddha” is trailing mud and dripping water; even to say “Chan” is to be filled with shame. Adepts who have studied for a long time need not wait for it to be said; late coming beginners must look into it.
Story
Zhaozhou said to the assembly, (What is this old guy doing? Don’t make such complications.) “The ultimate Way is without difficulty; (It is neither difficult nor easy.) “just avoid discrimination.” (What is in front of your eyes? The third patriarch is still alive.) “As soon as there are words, ‘this is discrimination,’ ‘this is clarity, (Two heads, three faces. Don’t brag so much. When a fish swims through, the water is turbulent; when a bird flies by, feathers fall.) I am
not within clarity. ” (The thief is already revealed. Where’s the old
fellow going?) “Do you preserve anything or not?” (He’s lost. There’s
one or a half.)
At that time a monk asked, “Since you are not within clarity, what do you preserve?” (He gives him a good rejoinder; that ought to shut him up.)
Zhaozhou said, “Even I don’t know.” (At this deadly rejoinder,
the old fellow has fallen back three thousand miles.)
19
The Blue Cliff Record
The monk said, “Since you don’t know, why then do you say you are not in clarity?” (Watch and see where he’ll run; the monk’s chased him up a tree.)
Zhaozhou said, “You have managed to ask about the matter; you can go now.” (Lucky he has this move. The old bandit!)
Commentary
Zhaozhou often used to bring up this saying, which is simply, “Just avoid discrimination.” This is from the “Poem on Faith in Mind” by the third patriarch, which says, “The ultimate Way is without difficulty; / Just avoid discrimination. Just do not hate or love, / And you 11be open and clear. ” As soon as there is affirmation and negation, this is discrimination, ” “this is clarity. ” As soon as you understand in this way, you’ve already stumbled past; nailed down, stuck in glue, what can you do?
Zhaozhou says, “‘This is discrimination,’ ‘This is clarity’”—Chan students these days either remain in discrimination or settle down within clarity I am not within clarity—do you preserve any thing?” People, if he is not within clarity, tell me, where is Zhao zhou? Why does he tell people to preserve?
My teacher Wuzu used to say, “I reach out to show you; how do you understand?” Tell me, where is the reaching out? Perceive the meaning on the hook; don’t stick to the zero point of the scale. This monk coming forth was indeed extraordinary; grabbing Zhaozhou s gap, he proceeded to press him: “Since you are not within clarity, what do you preserve?” Zhaozhou didn’t strike him or shout; he just said, “Even I don’t know.” Anyone but Zhaozhou would probably have been at a loss when challenged by this monk; luckily it was this old fellow, who had freedom to turn around— that is why he answered him in this way. Chan followers these days also say when questioned, “I don’t know either, I don’t under stand ; nevertheless while they are on the same track they are
not in the same groove.
This monk had something extraordinary about him; that is why he was able to ask, “Since you don’t know, why do you say you
- The Ultimate Way Is without Difficulty
are not in clarity?” An even better challenge. Anyone else would probably have been unable to explain, but Zhaozhou was an adept; he just said to him, “You have managed to ask about the matter; you can go now.” So the monk, as before, couldn’t do anything to Zhaozhou; he could only shut up.
Zhaozhou was a masterful Chan teacher; he did not talk of
mystery or marvel, of potential or state; he only dealt with people on the basis of the fundamental matter. This is why it is said, “While we’re reviling each other, you may lockjaws with me; while we’re spitting at one another, you may spew me with slobber.
While Zhaozhou ordinarily never dealt with people by beat- 142a
ing or shouting, and just used ordinary speech, nevertheless no one in the world could handle him. Because he never had so many conceptions or judgments, he could present sideways and use up side down, oppose or accord, having great freedom. People these days do not understand, and just say that Zhaozhou didn’t answer, didn’t explain to the man; they do not realize they’ve stum
bled right past it.
Verse
The ultimate Way is without difficulty;
(A triple case. He gulps a mouthful of frost. What is he saying?)
The words are true; the speech is true.
(When a fish swims through, the water is turbulent.
It’s fragmented. He smeared it.) In one there are many kinds;
(He should analyze it; what end will there be in just
one kind?)
In two there is no duality.
(Yet there’s four, five, six, seven. Why create complications?)
On the horizon the sun rises, the moon sets;
(It’s presented right to your face; above and below it extends boundlessly. Don’t lift or lower your head.)
21
The Blue Cliff Record
Beyond the balustrade, the mountains deepen, the waters grow chill.
(Once dead, one doesn’t revive. Do you feel your hair standing on end in a chill?)
When consciousness ends in the skull, how can joy remain?
(He twinkles his eyes inside a coffin. Worker Lu is a fellow student of his.)
In a dead tree the dragon’s song is not yet ended. (Tsk! The dead tree blooms again. Bodhidharma
travels east.)
Difficult, difficult!
(A false teaching is hard to uphold. An upside-down statement. What place is this to speak of difficulty or ease?)
Discrimination? Clarity? See for yourself!
(Blind! One might have thought it depended on someone else, but luckily we’re told “See for yourself.” It’s none of my business.)
Commentary
Xuedou knows Zhaozhou’s final point; therefore he versifies like this. The ultimate Way is without difficulty.” Then he follows up with “The words are true; the speech is true. ” He raises one corner but doesn’t come back with the other three; when he says, “In one there are many kinds; / In two there’s no duality,” this is like three corners returning to one. But tell me, where is it that the words and speech are true? In one, why are there nevertheless many
kinds, yet in two there is no duality? If you don’t have eyes, where will you seek?
If you can penetrate these two lines, this is the basis of the ancient saying, “When unified, as ever you see that mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, long is long, short is short, sky is sky, and earth is earth.” But sometimes we call sky earth and earth sky, sometimes we say mountains are not mountains and
22
The Ultimate Way Is without Difficulty
rivers are not rivers. Ultimately, how to attain peace? When the wind comes, the trees move; when the waves swell, the boats ride high. In spring it sprouts, in summer it matures, in fall it is harvested, in winter it is stored; with uniform equanimity, everything
ends of itself.
Thus this four-line verse abruptly cuts off; but Xuedou has extra ability, so he opens up the closed bag and gives a summary account. Yet this is adding a head on top of the head. He said:
The ultimate Way is without difficulty; The words are true; the speech is true. In one there are many kinds;
In two there is no duality.
Though there aren’t so many things, when the sun rises over the horizon the moon goes down, and when the mountains beyond the balustrade deepen the waters grow cold. When you get here, the words are true; the speech is true—everything is the Way and all things are complete reality. Isn’t this where mind and objects are both forgotten, united in one whole? At the beginning of the verse
Xuedou was too strict; at the end he is quite indulgent. If you can 142b
penetrate and see through, naturally it will be sublime. If you don’t forget your intellectual understanding, you’ll be fragmented and definitely won’t understand this kind of talk.
“When consciousness ends in the skull, how can joy remain? /
In a dead tree the dragon’s song is not yet ended.” This is just a bit of combination. These are from stories of ancient questions about the Way, which Xuedou has drawn out, pierced through, and strung on the same thread, to use in versifying “The ultimate Way is without difficulty; / Just avoid discrimination.” People these days don’t understand the ancient’s meaning, and only chew on the words and gnaw on the phrases; when will they ever be done? If you are an adept, then you understand this kind of talk.
A monk asked Xiangyan, “What is the Way?” Xiangyan said, “A dragon’s song in a dead tree.” The monk asked, “What is the person on the Way?” Xiangyan said, “Eyeballs in a skull. Later the
23
The Blue Cliff Record
monk asked Shishuang, “What is the dragon’s song in a dead tree?” Shishuang said, “Still having joy.” The monk asked, “What are eyeballs in a skull?” Shishuang said, “Still having consciousness.” The monk also asked Caoshan, “What is the dragon’s song in a dead tree?” Caoshan said, “ The bloodline is not cut off.” The monk asked, “What are eyeballs in a skull?” Caoshan said, “Not dried up.” The monk asked, “Who can hear this?” Caoshan said, “ No one in the world does not hear it.” The monk asked, “What book is the dragon s song taken from ?” Caoshan said, “I don’t know what book it s from, but all who hear it die.” He also composed a verse:
The dragon’s song in the dead tree is true vision of the Way;
When the skull has no consciousness, then the eyes are clear.
When joy and consciousness end, all news is ended;
How can one discriminate the pure in the midst of impurity?
Xuedou has great skill in combining all this at once in his verse. Even so, there’s been no duality at all.
Xuedou had help for people at the end of the verse when he added, “ Difficult, difficult!” It’s exactly this that you must pen etrate. Why? As Baizhang said, “All words, mountains, rivers, and the whole earth, each come back to oneself.” Whatever Xuedou offers and takes back must ultimately be referred to oneself.
Tell me, how did Xuedou help people when he said, “Discrimination? Clarity? See for yourself”? He had already created this complicated verse; why then did he say “See for yourself”? The
142c fine coloring he has you see for yourself. What was his true mean ing? Don’t say you can’t understand; at this point, even I sim ply can’t understand either.
24
2. Master Ma Is Unwell
Introduction
A device, a perspective, a word, a statement, temporarily intended to provide a point of access, is still gouging a wound in healthy flesh—it can become an object of fixation. The great function ap pears without abiding by fixed principles, in order that you may realize that there is something transcendental that covers heaven and earth yet cannot be grasped.
To say, “This way will do, not this way will do too” is too diffuse; to say “This way won’t do, not this way won’t do either” is too strict. Without treading either of these two paths, what would be right?
Story
Great Master Ma was unwell. (This guy has broken down quite a bit. He’s dragging in other people.) The temple superintendent asked him, “ Teacher, how are you these days?” (Four hundred four diseases break out all at once. They’ll be lucky if they’re not seeing off a dead monk in three days. This is in the course of human duty.) The great master said, “Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.” (How fresh and new! Sustenance for his fledgling.)
Commentary
Great Master Ma was unwell, so the temple superintendent asked him, “ Teacher, how are you these days?” The great master re plied, “Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.” If the enlightened teachers had not dealt with others on the basis of the fundamental matter, how could we have the shining light of this Path? If you know the point of this story, then you walk alone through the red sky; if you don’t know, time and again you’ll lose the way be fore a crag of dead trees. If you are someone in your own right, when you get here you must have the ability to drive off the plowman’s ox and to snatch away the hungry man’s food before you will see how Master Ma helps people.
25
The Blue Cliff Record
These days many people say that Master Ma was taking on the superintendent; fortunately this has no connection. Right now in this assembly there are many who misunderstand; they put a glare in their eyes and say, “It’s here; the left eye is the Sun Face, and the right eye is the Moon Face.” What relevance does this have? You’ll never see it even in a dream. You just stumble past, missing what the ancient master was about.
So when Master Ma spoke like this, where was his meaning? Some say he meant, “Fix me some stomach medicine.” What grasp has this got on it? At this point, how could you attain tranquillity? This is why it is said, “The single road of transcendence has not been transmitted by the sages; students bother with forms, like monkeys grasping at reflections.”
This “Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha” is extremely difficult to see; even Xuedou finds it difficult to put into verse. But since he has seen all the way through, he uses his life’s work to the full to make his comment. Do you want to see Xuedou? Look at the text below.
Verse
Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha;
(When he opens his mouth you see his guts. Like two facing mirrors with no image in between.)
What kind of people were the ancient emperors?
(Too lofty. Don’t belittle them. They can be valued high or low.)
For twenty years I have struggled;
(This is your own fall into the weeds—it’s none of my business. Here’s a mute eating a bitter melon.)
How many times I have gone down into the blue dragon’s cave for you!
(How was it worth this? Don’t misuse your mind. Don’t say there isn’t anything extraordinary here.)
This distress
26
- Master Ma Is Unwell
(He saddens people to death. Sad man, don’t speak to sad people.)
Is worth recounting;
(To whom would you speak of it? If you speak of it to sad people, it will sadden them to death.)
Clear-eyed Chan practitioners should not take it lightly. (You must be even more thoroughgoing. Tsk! Fall back
three thousand miles.)
Commentary
When the Emperor Shenzong was on the throne (1068-1085), he thought that this verse ridiculed the state, so he wouldn’t let it be included in the Buddhist Canon.
First Xuedou quotes: “Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.”
Having brought this up, then he says, “What kind of people were the ancient emperors?” What does he mean? I just finished telling you a minute ago; Xuedou is commenting directly. As it is said, “Letting down his hook in the four seas, he only fishes for power fuldragons.” This one line has already completed the verse; after wards, Xuedou versifies how he concentrated on study all his life. “For twenty years I have struggled; How many times I have gone down into the blue dragon’s cave for you!” What is he like? He’s like a man going into the blue dragon’s cave to seize the pearl. Afterwards he broke through obscurity. Though one might have thought this extraordinary, after all it just amounts to “What kind of people were the ancient emperors?” What is Xuedou getting at?
You have to take a step back on your own and look before you will see what he means.
So what kind of people were the ancient emperors anyway?
People mostly do not see Xuedou’s meaning, but only say that he is ridiculing the state. To understand in this way is merely an emotional view. This line comes from Chanyue’s poem “The Be havior of Barons, ” which says:
27
The Blue Cliff Record
Clothed in flowery brocades, falcons on their wrists, They go about at leisure, their manner arrogant.
They know nothing about the difficulties of sowing and harvesting;
What kind of people were the ancient emperors?
Xuedou says, This distress is worth recounting; clear-eyed Chan practitioners must not take it lightly.” How many people live within the blue dragon s cave? Even if you’re a clear-eyed practitioner with an eye on your forehead and a talisman under your arm, shining through the four continents, when you get here you must not take it lightly; you must be thoroughgoing.
3. Deshan Carrying His Bundle
Introduction
143b Under the blue sky, in the bright sunlight, you shouldn’t point out this and that anymore; but the conditions of time still require you to give the medicine in accordance with the disease. Tell me, is it better to let go or to hold still?
Story
When Deshan arrived at Guishan (He’s being one-sided, the foxy devil.) he carried his bundle with him into the teaching hall, (Un avoidably he causes people to doubt. He’s suffered defeat already.) where he crossed from east to west and from west to east. (He has a lot of Chan, but what for?) He looked around and said, “None, none.” Then he went out. (He deserves a beating. He’s extremely high-spirited. A real lion cub can roar the lion’s roar.)
Xuedou added the comment, “Completely exposed.” (Wrong.
After all. Check!)
But when Deshan got to the monastery gate, he said, “Still, I shouldn’t be careless.” (Letting go, gathering in. At first too high; in the end too low. When one realizes one’s fault one should reform,
28
- Deshan Carrying His Bundle
but how many people can?) So he went back to meet Guishan formally. (As before, he acts like this. It’s already his second defeat. Danger!) As Guishan sat there, (He watches this fellow with cold eyes. It takes this kind of man to grab a tiger’s whiskers.) Deshan held up his mat and said, “Teacher!” (He changes heads, switches faces; he stirs up waves where there’s no wind.) Guishan reached for his whisk, (Only he could do this; he sets his strategy in motion from within his tent. Surely he silences everyone in the world.) whereupon Deshan shouted and left. (This is the understanding of a wild fox spirit. This one shout contains both the provisional and the real, both illumination and function. He’s one of those who can grab the clouds and grasp the fog, and he is outstanding among them.)
Xuedou added the comment, “Completely exposed.” (Wrong.
After all. Check!)
Deshan turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his sandals, and left. (The scenery is lovely, but the case is not yet completed. He won the hat on his head but lost the shoes on his feet. He’s already lost his life.) That evening Guishan asked the head monk, “Where is that newcomer? ” (He lost his interest in the east and loses his principle in the west. His eyes look southeast, but his mind is in the northwest.) The monk answered, “At that time he turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his sandals, and left. ” (The sacred tortoise drags his tail; he deserves a beating. How many blows to the back of the head would this kind of person need?) Guishan said, “Hereafter that lad will go to the summit of a soli tary peak, build himself a grass hut, and scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs.” (He draws his bow after the thief is gone. No one in the world can leap out of this.)
Xuedou added the comment, “ This is adding frost to snow.”
(Wrong. After all. Check!)
Commentary
Three times I added the word “check.” Do you understand? Some times I use a blade of grass as the sixteen-foot golden body of the
29
The Blue Cliff Record
Buddha; sometimes I use the sixteen-foot golden body as a blade of grass.
Originally Deshan was a scholar-monk, expounding the Diamond Sutra in western China. According to that teaching, in the process of the knowledge attained after adamantine concentration, one studies the majestic conduct of the Buddhas for a thousand eons and studies the refined practices of the Buddhas for ten thousand eons before finally fulfilling Buddhahood. On the other hand, the southern Chan folk at this time were saying that the mind itself is
the Buddha. So Deshan became incensed and went south with some commentaries on his back to destroy this crew of Chan devils. You can see his intensity from the degree of his excitement.
When he got to Hunan, he met a woman selling pastry by the roadside; he put down his commentaries to buy some refreshment to lighten his mind. The woman said, “What is that you’re carry ing?” Deshan said, “Commentaries on the Diamond Sutra.” The woman said, “I have a question for you. If you can answer it, I’ll give you some pastry; if not, you’ll have to buy it somewhere else.” Deshan agreed. The woman said, “ The Diamond Sutra says, ‘Past mind can’t be grasped; present mind can’t be grasped; future mind can t be grasped.’ Which mind does the learned monk desire to
lighten?” Deshan was speechless. The woman directed him to call on Longtan.
As soon as Deshan crossed Longtan’s threshold he said, “Long have I heard of Longtan (Dragon Pond), but now that I’m here, there’s no pond to see and no dragon appears.” Master Longtan came out and said, “You have really arrived at Longtan.” Deshan bowed and withdrew. During the night Deshan went to Longtan’s room and stayed until late. Longtan said, “Why don’t you go?” Deshan started to go, but seeing that it was dark outside he turned and said, “It’s dark outside.” Longtan lit a lantern and handed it to Deshan; as soon as Deshan took it, Longtan blew it out. Deshan was then greatly enlightened. Immediately he bowed to Longtan, who said, “What have you seen, that you bow?” Deshan replied, “From now on I will never again doubt what the teaching masters say.”
30
- Deshan Carrying His Bundle
The next day Longtan went up in the teaching hall and said, “ There is one among you with teeth like a forest of swords and a mouth like a bowl of blood; even if you hit him he won’t turn around. Some day he will go to the summit of a solitary peak and establish our way there.” Then Deshan set all his commentaries down in front of the teaching hall, raised a torch over them, and declared, “Even to plumb all abstruse explanations is like a hair in space; to exhaust the workings of the world is like a drop of water in an immense canyon. ” Then he burned the commentaries.
Later, hearing Guishan’s teaching was flourishing, Deshan
went to meet him as an adept. Without even untying his bundle, he went straight into the teaching hall, walked back and forth, looked around, and said, “None, none.” Then he left. What did he mean? Was he crazy? People misinterpret this as establishment, but that is irrelevant. See how extraordinary Deshan was; this is why it is said, “To stand out from the crowd you must be a brave spirit; to defeat opponents is a matter for a lion.” If you try to become a Buddha without such an eye, how will you ever do it?
When you get here, you must be a thoroughly competent adept before you will be able to see. Why? In the Buddha Dharma there are not so many complications; where can you bring intellectual views to bear? This is mental action; where is there so much toil? This is why Xuansha said, “Even if you’re like the moon reflected in an autumn pond, not scattered on striking the waves, or like
the sound of a bell on a quiet night, never failing to resound when
struck, this is still an affair on this shore of birth and death.” When you arrive here there is no gain or loss, no right or wrong, nor is there anything extraordinary or mysterious. Since there is nothing extraordinary or mysterious, how will you understand Deshan’s walking back and forth? What was his meaning?
Old Guishan did not bother with Deshan; anyone but Guishan
would have been crushed by him. See how the old adept Guishan meets him; he just sits there and observes the outcome. If he did not profoundly discern all comers, how could he have been like this? Xuedou adds the comment “Completely exposed.” This is like
31
The Blue Cliff Record
an iron spike. This is called an added comment; though it goes for both sides, it does not remain on either side. How will you under stand his statement, “Completely exposed”? Where does the expo sure take place? Tell me—is Deshan exposed, or is it Guishan who is exposed?
On his way out, Deshan got as far as the gate, but then he said to himself, “Still, I shouldn’t be careless.” He wanted to bring out his innermost heart in a spiritual encounter with Guishan, so he went back to meet him formally. As Guishan sat there, Deshan lifted up his mat and said, “Teacher!” Guishan reached for his whisk; Deshan then shouted and left. How extraordinary!
Many say Guishan was afraid of him. What has this to do with it? Guishan was not flustered at all. So it is said, “One whose wisdom surpasses a bird can catch a bird, one whose wisdom surpasses a beast can catch a beast, and one whose wisdom surpasses a man can catch a man. ” When one is immersed in such Chan, even if the multitude of appearances, heavens and hells, plants, animals, and hu mans, were all to shout at once, one still wouldn’t be bothered; even if someone overthrew one’s meditation seat and scattered one’s community with shouts, one wouldn’t give it any notice. It is as high as the sky, as broad as the earth. If Guishan did not have the ability to silence everyone on earth, at that time it would have been very difficult for him to test Deshan. Were he not the enlightened teacher of fifteen hundred people, at this point he would have been at a loss. But Guishan was setting strategy in motion from within his tent that would secure victory over a thousand miles.
Deshan turned his back on the teaching hall and left. What was his meaning? Did Deshan win or lose? Acting as he did, did Guishan win or lose? Xuedou commented, “Completely exposed.” Here he could say this because he pointedly sees through the ancients’ ultimate riddle; Natang said, “Xuedou adds ‘Completely exposed’ twice, making a tripartite division; only then had he made this case obvious. He was like a bystander judging those two.”
Afterwards, Guishan was unhurried; when evening came he i44b finally asked the head monk, “Where is that newcomer who just came?” The head monk replied, “At that time, he turned his back
32
- Deshan Carrying His Bundle
on the teaching hall and left.” Guishan said, “Hereafter that lad will go up to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs. ” What was his meaning? Guishan was not being kindhearted; in the future Deshan could scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs, pum mel the wind, and beat the rain, yet he would still never get out of that cave. Deshan’s whole lifetime’s methods have been seen through by Guishan. Should we say that Guishan has given him a prophecy here? Or should we say that when the marsh is wide it can hide a mountain, that reason can subdue a leopard? Fortunately this has no bearing on it.
Xuedou knows the point of this story, so he can dare to settle
the case for them by further saying, “ This is adding frost to snow.” Once again he offers it up for people to see. If you do see, I’ll allow that you’re a fellow student of Guishan, Deshan, and Xuedou. If you don’t see, beware of vainly producing intellectual interpretations.
Verse
One “completely exposed”;
(The words are still in our ears. Gone by.) A second “completely exposed”;
(A double case.)
“Adding frost to snow” —Deshan’s had a dangerous fall. (The three stages are not the same. Where has he fallen?)
The General of the Flying Cavalry enters the enemy camp;
(Danger! No need to bother slashing again at the general
of a defeated army. He loses his life.) How many could regain their safety? (Deshan gained life in the midst of death.) Deshan hurriedly runs past—
(He acts like no one else is there. Though you may exhaust all the stratagems of supernatural powers, what is the use?)
But Guishan doesn’t let him go.
33
The Blue Cliff Record
(Reason can subdue a leopard. Guishan took him in tow.)
On the summit of the solitary peak, he sits among the weeds—
(After all. To take him in tow isn’t out of the ordinary.
But why is he sitting among the weeds?) Tsk!
(Understand? Two blades cut each other. Two by two, three by three, they walk the old road. Singing and clapping go together. I strike!)
Commentary
When Xuedou composed verses on one hundred stories, in each case he burned incense and offered it up; thus his verses have circulated widely throughout the land. He also mastered literary com position. When he had penetrated the stories and become easily conversant with them, only then could he set his brush to paper. Why so? It is easy to distinguish dragons from snakes; it is hard to fool a Chan practitioner. Having penetrated this story, Xuedou puts down three comments at those impenetrable, misleading places, then picks them up to make his verse.
“Adding frost to snow” —almost a dangerous fall. What is Deshan like? He is like Li Guang, an expert archer, whom the emperor commissioned as the General of the Flying Cavalry. Li penetrated deeply into enemy territory, where he was captured by the chief of the Huns. As Li was weak from his wounds, they tied him prone between two horses. Li played dead but stealthily observed that there was a Hun near him riding a good mount. Li suddenly sprang up and leaped on the horse, throwing off the Hun and seizing his bow and arrows. Whipping the horse, he galloped south; shooting at his pursuers, he made good his escape. This man had the ability to wrest life from the midst of death; Xuedou alludes to this in the verse to make a comparison with Deshan, who reentered the hall to meet Guishan, and was able to leap out again as before.
See how Deshan sees all the way, speaks all the way, acts all the way, functions all the way; he’s undeniably a brave spirit. Only
34
- Deshan Carrying His Bundle
if you have the ability to kill a man without blinking an eye can
you become a Buddha right where you are. Someone who can fulfill Buddhahood on the spot naturally kills people without blinking
an eye, thus having a share of freedom and independence.
When some people these days are questioned, at first they seem to have the qualities of Chan practitioners, but when they’re pressed even slightly their waists snap and their legs break; they come all to pieces. They totally lack the slightest continuity. Thus an ancient said, “Continuity is indeed very difficult.” See how Deshan and Guishan acted; were theirs stammering, halting views? “How many could regain their safety? / Deshan hurriedly runs past.” Deshan shouted and left; this is like Li Guang’s strategy after being captured, seizing a bow to shoot his guard, making good his escape from enemy territory. Here Xuedou’s verse is very effective. Deshan turned away and left. Some say he gained the advantage; they don’t realize that Guishan, as before, doesn’t allow Deshan a way out. Xuedou says, “Guishan doesn’t let him go.” That evening Guishan asked the head monk, “Where is that newcomer?” The monk said, “He turned and left back then. ” Guishan said, “Hereafter that lad will go to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs.”
When did he ever let him go? Nevertheless, he is outstanding.
At this point, why does Xuedou say, “On the summit of the solitary peak, he sits among the weeds, ” and then add an exclamation? What is the ultimate point? Study for thirty more years.
5. Xuefeng’s Grain of Rice
Introduction
Whoever would uphold the teaching of Chan must be a brave spirit; only with the ability to kill a man without blinking an eye can one become a Buddha on the spot. Therefore illumination and func tion are simultaneous, and wrapping up and opening out are equally expressed. Principle and fact are nondual, and both the provisional and the true are carried out. Letting go of the pri mary, one sets up the gate of the secondary meaning; if one were to cut off all complications straightaway, it would be impossible for beginners to approach. It was this way yesterday; the matter couldn’t be avoided. It is this way today too; faults fill the skies. Still, a clear-eyed person can’t be fooled at all. Without clear eyes, lying in the mouth of a tiger, one cannot avoid losing one’s life.
Story
Xuefeng said to his group, (One blind man leading a crowd of the blind. It’s not beyond him.) “Pick up the whole world, and it’s as big as a grain of rice.” (What technique is this? I myself have never sported devil eyes.) “ Throw it down before you.” (I’m afraid it can’t be thrown down. What ability do you have?) “If you’re in the dark and don’t understand,” (Xuefeng relies on his power to deceive people. Take what’s coming to you and get out. Better not slight the people.) “I’ll beat the drum to call everyone to look.” (Blind! The beat of the drum is for the three armies.)
Commentary
Changqing asked Yunmen, “In speaking like this, is there any i45a place Xuefeng wasn’t able to appear?” Yunmen said, “Yes.” Chang qing asked, “How so?” Yunmen said, “One can’t always be making
wild foxy interpretations. ”
Xuefeng said, “Compared to above, not enough; compared to below, too much. I am making up more complications for you.” He
36
- Xuefeng’s Grain of Rice
raised his staff and said, “Do you see Xuefeng? Tsk! Where the king’s rule is a little more strict, it’s not permitted to plunder the open markets.”
Dagui Zhe said, “I’ll add more mud to dirt for you.” He raised
his staff and said, “Look! Xuefeng has defecated right in front of you. Come now, why don’t you even recognize the smell of dung?” Xuefeng said, “Pick up the whole world, and it’s as big as a grain of rice.” There was something extraordinary in the way this ancient guided people for their benefit. He was certainly rigorous, climbing Mt. Touzi thrice and going to Dongshan nine times.
Wherever he went, he would serve as rice steward, just for the sake of penetrating this matter.
When he arrived at Dongshan, he served as rice steward; one
day Dongshan asked him, “What are you doing?” Xuefeng said, “Cleaning rice. ” Dongshan asked, “Are you washing the rice out of the grit, or washing the grit out of the rice?” Xuefeng said, “Grit and rice are both removed at once.” Dongshan said, “What will the community eat?” Xuefeng overturned the basin. Dongshan said, “Your affinity is with Deshan, ” and he directed Xuefeng there. As soon as he got there, Xuefeng asked, “ Does the student have any share in this matter handed down from time immemo rial as the fundamental vehicle?” Deshan hit him and said, “What
are you saying?” Through this Xuefeng had an insight.
Later, when Xuefeng was snowed in on Tortoise Mountain, he told Yantou, “When Deshan hit me, it was as if my mind had opened up.” Yantou shouted and said, “Haven’t you heard it said that what comes in through the gate isn’t the family treasure? You must let it flow out from your own heart to cover heaven and earth; then you’ll have a bit of realization. ” Suddenly Xuefeng was greatly enlightened; he bowed and said to Yantou, “Brother, today I’ve at last realized the Way.”
People these days only say that the ancients made up special
creations for people of the future to rely on as fixed rules. To say this is just slandering those ancients; this is called spilling the blood of Buddha. The ancients weren’t like people today with spurious
37
The Blue Cliff Record
shallow talk; otherwise, how could they have used a single word or half a phrase for a whole lifetime? When it came to upholding the source teaching and perpetuating the life of the Buddhas, they would utter a word or half a phrase that spontaneously silenced every one on earth. There’s nowhere for you to produce a train of thought, to make intellectual interpretations, or to rationalize. See how Xuefeng taught his group here; since he has seen adepts, he had the hammer and tongs of an adept. Whenever he utters a word or half a phrase, he’s not making a living in the ghost cave of mental patterns, conceptual consciousness, and calculating thought. He simply stands out from the crowd; he settles past and present and leaves no room for uncertainty. His actions were all like this.
One day Xuefeng said, “On South Mountain there’s a turtle- 145b nosed snake; you should take a good look at it.” Then Changqing came forward and said, “If so, there are a lot of people here who’ll
lose their lives.”
Another time Xuefeng said, “The whole earth is one eye of a monk; where will you defecate?” Another time, he said, “I have met with you at Wangzhou Pavilion; I have also met with you in the Black Rock Range; and I have also met with you in front of the community hall.” Now Baofu asked Ehu, “ Leaving aside ‘in front of the community hall,’ what about the meetings at Wangzhou Pa vilion and Black Rock Range?” Ehu hurried back to his room. Xue feng was always bringing up this kind of talk to instruct his group. As for “Pick up the whole world, and it’s as big as a grain of rice” —at this point, can you figure it out by means of intellectual discrimination? Here you must smash through the net, at once abandon gain and loss, right and wrong, to be completely free and untrammeled; you then naturally pass through his snare, and then you will see what he’s doing. Tell me, where is Xuefeng’s meaning? People often make up intellectual interpretations and say,
“Mind is the master of myriad things; the whole world is all at once in my hand.” Luckily this has no connection. Here you must be truly genuine and see all the way through as soon as you hear it brought up, penetrating the bone through to the marrow, yet without falling into feeling, thought, conception, or imagination.
38
- Xuefeng’s Grain of Rice
If you are a genuine pilgrim, you will see that in acting this way Xuefeng was already indulging to help others.
Verse
An ox head disappears;
(Like lightning. Already stumbled past.) A horse head emerges.
(Like a spark.)
In the mirror of Chan, absolutely no dust.
(Smash the mirror and I ’ll meet with you; you must smash it to understand.)
He beats the drum for you to come look, but you don’t see;
(He sticks you in the eye. Don’t take it lightly.
Ignoramuses—what is there that is hard to see?)
When spring arrives, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?
(Things don’t overlap. What a mess! He appears in a
cave of entanglements.)
Commentary
Naturally Xuedou sees the ancient; he only needs to go to his life line, and in one spurt he produces a verse for him. “An ox head disappears; / A horse head emerges.” Tell me, what is he saying? If you see all the way through to the bottom, it is like eating break fast in the morning and lunch at midday—just being ordinary. Out of compassion, Xuedou shatters with one hammer blow at the outset, and cuts through with a single statement. He is indeed strict, like a spark, a lightning flash. He doesn’t reveal his sword point; there’s no place for you to fix onto. Can you search it out in your conceptual faculty? The first two lines have said it all.
In the third line, instead Xuedou opens a pathway and dis plays a bit of formal style—already he’s fallen into the weeds. In the fourth line, he falls further into the weeds. If you produce words on top of words, phrases on top of phrases, ideas on top of
ideas, making up explanations and interpretations, you will not 145c
39
The Blue Cliff Record
only bog me down, but you’ll also turn away from Xuedou. Al though Xuedou’s verse is thus, his intention is not thus. He never made up principles to bind people.
“In the mirror of Chan, absolutely no dust.” Quite a few people say that a stilled mind is the mirror itself. This luckily has nothing to do with it; if you’re only concerned with judging and com paring principles, what end will there be to it? Xuedou has spoken clearly; it’s just that people do not see. Therefore, being such a dotard, he says, “ He beats the drum for you to come look, but you don’t see.” Do the ignorant see? He says more to you: “When spring comes, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?” One could say he’s opening the doors and windows, throwing them wide open all at once for you. When spring comes, in the hidden valleys and wild ravines, in places where there are no people, a hundred flowers burst forth in profusion. Tell me, who else do they bloom for?
6. Every Day Is a Good Day
Story
Yunmen said, “I don’t ask about before the fifteenth day;” (Half south of the river, half north of the river. We don’t keep old calendar dates here.) “try to say something about after the fifteenth day.” (Inevitably it will go from dawn to sunset; just don’t say that the next day is the sixteenth. The days and months seem to flow by.) He answered himself, “Every day is a good day.” (He’s gathered it in. Though the frog jumps, it can’t get out of the bas ket. Whose house has no bright moon and clear breeze? But do you know it? The sea god knows its value but not its price.)
Commentary
Yunmen first studied with Muzhou. Muzhou was swift as lightning, so it was difficult to approach him. Whenever he received someone, he would grab the person immediately and say, “Speak! ”
40
very Day Is a Good Day
Anyone who failed to reply would be pushed out and scolded for being stuck in a rut.
When Yunmen went to see Muzhou, on the third time, as soon
as he knocked on the door, Muzhou said, “Who’s there?” Yunmen gave his name. As Muzhou opened the door, Yunmen bounded in; Muzhou held him fast and said, “Speak!” Yunmen hesitated, and was ejected; he still had one foot inside when Muzhou slammed the door, breaking Yunmen’s leg. As Yunmen cried out in pain, he suddenly was greatly enlightened. Later, his teaching style was like that of Muzhou. After his enlightenment, Yunmen stayed in the home of the ministry president Chen Cao for three years.
Later Muzhou directed Yunmen to go to Xuefeng. There Yun men came forth and asked Xuefeng, “What is the Buddha? ” Xue feng said, “Don’t talk in your sleep.” Yunmen bowed. He stayed there for three years.
One day Xuefeng asked, “What is your perception?” Yunmen
said, “ My perception doesn’t differ in the slightest from that of all the sages since time immemorial.”
For twenty years Lingshu did not appoint a head monk. He
used to say things like, “My head monk is born,” “My head monk is tending oxen,” and “My head monk is traveling.” Suddenly one day he ordered his group to receive their head monk at the gate.
Everyone wondered about this, but Yunmen actually arrived. Ling- 146a shu immediately invited him into the head monk’s quarters to unpack his bundle. People called Lingshu the Knowing Sage Chan Master, since he knew of past and future events.
Once King Liu of south China was going to mobilize his army, and he intended to go ask Lingshu whether conditions were aus picious or not. Knowing of this beforehand, Lingshu sat down and calmly passed away. The king said angrily, “Since when was the master ill?” The attendant answered, “ The master hadn’t been ill. He just entrusted a box to me to present to Your Majesty when you arrived.” King Liu opened the box and took out a card which said, “The enlightened one is the head monk.” Understanding the
41
The Blue Cliff Record
message, the king dismissed his soldiers and invited Yunmen to teach at Lingshu monastery. Only later did he live at Yunmen.
As Yunmen was teaching, the royal attendant Ru posed a ques tion: “ Is the fruit of the spiritual tree (Lingshu) ripe yet?” Yun men said, “When have you ever heard it was unripe?”
One day King Liu summoned Yunmen to spend the summer in the palace. Along with several other abbots, he was to receive the questions of the courtiers and expound the Dharma. Yunmen alone did not speak, and no one was on familiar terms with him. One of the palace functionaries wrote a verse and posted it:
Only cultivation of great wisdom is Chan;
Silence, not clamor, is in order for the Chan school. Myriad kinds of clever talk are not as good as reality; They lose to Yunmen’s total not speaking.
Yunmen usually liked to teach three-word Chan: observing, “Reflect!” “Ha!” He also taught one word Chan: a monk asked, “When you kill your parents, you repent before the Buddha; when you kill the Buddha, where do you turn to repent? ” Yunmen said, “Exposed.” Another asked, “What is the treasury of the eye of the true Dharma?” Yunmen said, “ Universal.” There was simply no room for discussion. In ordinary situations, even, Yunmen would revile people. When he uttered a phrase, it was like an iron spike. Later Yunmen produced four sages: Dongshan Shouchu, Zhi- men Shiguan, Deshan Yuanmi, and Xianglin Dengyuan. They all were great Chan masters. Xianglin served as Yunmen’s attendant for eighteen years; whenever Yunmen dealt with him, he would just call, “Attendant Yuan!” Xianglin would answer, “Yes?” Yun men would say, “What is it?” It went on like this for eighteen years, when one day Xianglin finally awakened. Yunmen said, “I
won’t call you anymore.”
In Yunmen’s usual dealings with people, he would often use the methods of Muzhou; though it was hard to approach him, he had the ability to liberate people. Xuedou said of him, “I like the fresh devices of Yunmen; he spent his life freeing people.”
42
6. Every Day Is a Good Day
Yunmen posed a question to instruct his group: “I don’t ask about before the fifteenth day; try to say something about after the fifteenth day.” He cuts off all distinctions and doesn’t let ei ther ordinary or holy pass. He answered himself, “Every day is a good day.” The words “before the fifteenth day” already cut off distinctions; “after the fifteenth” also cuts off distinctions. The fact is that Yunmen did not say that the next day is the sixteenth. Later people merely followed his words to produce interpretations; but what relevance has this? Yunmen established a protean style; he surely had ways to benefit people. Having spoken some words, he then answered himself: “Every day is a good day.” These words pervade all time and settle everything at once.
When I talk like this, I too am following his words to produce interpretations. Killing others is not as good as killing yourself. As soon as you make up a principle, you fall into a pit.
Three statements are inherent in each statement of Yunmen;
since the basic teaching of his school is like this, when Yunmen utters a phrase it must be returned to the source. Anything but this will always be phony. This affair has no multitude of argu ments and propositions, though those who have not yet penetrated wish it were like that. If you do penetrate, then you will immediately see the essential meaning of Yunmen.
Verse
He throws away one,
(Seven openings, eight holes. Where has it gone? He lets up a bit.)
Picks up seven.
(He can’t set them out. After all he doesn’t let up.) Above, below, and in the four quarters, no comparison. (Comparison to what? Above is the sky, below the earth.
East, west, south, north; what comparison is there? Nevertheless, the staff is in my hand.)
Placidly walking along, he treads down the sound of the flowing stream.
146b
The Blue Cliff Record
(Don’t ask what’s right at your feet. It’s difficult to investigate it thoroughly. He’s gone into a nest of complications.)
His relaxed gaze descries the tracks of flying birds.
(In the eye there is no such happening. A wild foxy view; as before, he’s just inside the same old den.)
The grasses grow thick;
(He pulls the arrow out of the back of his head. What’s going on here? He’s fallen into equanimity.)
The mists overhang.
(He hasn’t come out of this nest yet. Beneath his feet clouds arise.)
Around Subhuti’s cliff, the flowers make a mess; (Where is he! Stupid fellow! He’s been completely
exposed.)
I snap my fingers; how lamentable is Sunyata!
(The four quarters and eight directions, the whole cosmos; inside Sunyata’s nostrils, try to say something. Where is Sunyata?)
Don’t make a move!
(What about your previous words? When you move, then what?)
If you move, thirty blows!
(Take what’s coming to you and get out. I strike!)
Commentary
Xuedou’s eulogies of the ancients were always accomplished like this: first he takes the adamantine sword and brings it down once; then he reveals a bit of formal style. Though it’s like this, ultimately there are not two understandings.
“He throws away one, / Picks up seven.” People often make an understanding based on the numbers and say, “‘He throws away one’ refers to ‘before the fifteenth day.’” Having abruptly put down two lines and sealed it up, Xuedou then instead reveals it for people to see; “He throws away one, / Picks up seven.” Avoid turning to
44
- Every Day Is a Good Day
the words for your sustenance. Why? What soup is there in a cracker? People often fall back into conceptualization. You must gain understanding before the word arises; then the great function will become manifest and you will naturally see it.
This is why after the Buddha had attained enlightenment he spent three weeks contemplating this matter: “All things being
void of essence, they cannot be conveyed by words; I would rather
not teach but quickly enter Nirvana.” When he got to this point,
even the Buddha couldn’t find a way to open his mouth. But by virtue of the power of skill in means, after he had taught the five mendicants he went to three hundred sixty assemblies and ex pounded the teachings for his age. All these were just expedients. For this reason he had taken off his regal garments and put on rags. He had no choice but to turn toward the shallows within the sphere of the secondary in order to lead his various disciples. If we had him bring up the transcendental all at once, there would hardly be anyone in the world who could understand.
But tell me, what is the supreme statement? Here Xuedou re veals a bit of the meaning to let people see. Just don’t see that there are any Buddhas above, don’t see that there are sentient beings below; don’t see that there are mountains, rivers, and earth without, and don’t see that there is perception and cognition within. Then you will be like one who has died the great death and re turned to life. With oppositions united in a whole, though you bring them up one by one, you’ll no longer have different views. After that, you’ll be able to function responsively without losing balance. Then you will see the meaning of the saying, “ He throws away one, / Picks up seven; / Above, below, and in the four quarters, no comparison. ” If you pass through at these lines, then and there above, below, and in the four quarters there is no comparison. The myriad forms and appearances—plants, animals, people— everything everywhere completely manifests the way of your own house. Thus the saying:
In myriad forms one body alone is revealed;
Only by spontaneous acceptance will one be near.
45
The Blue Cliff Record
In past years I mistakenly searched on the road; Now I see it as ice within fire.
“In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honored one. ” Many people pursue the branches and don’t seek the root. First get the root right, then naturally everything will follow.
“ Placidly walking along, he treads down the sound of the flow ing stream.” As he goes along placidly, he can tread down and cut off even the roar of a torrent. “His relaxed gaze descries the tracks of flying birds. ” At a glance it is as if tracing out even the tracks of flying birds. When you get here, you will not consider it difficult to blow out the fires under the cauldrons of hell, or to shatter sword forests and knife mountains with a shout.
Because of his compassion, at this point Xuedou feared that people would settle down in the realm of unconcern, so he went on to say, “ The grasses grow thick; / The mists overhang,” thus covering everything. Tell me, whose world is this? Can it be called “Every day is a good day”? Fortunately there’s no connection. In fact, “ Placidly walking along, he treads down the sound of the flowing stream” isn’t it; “His relaxed gaze descries the tracks of flying birds” isn’t it either; nor is “ The grasses grow thick,” nor “ The mists overhang.” But even something entirely different would just be “Around Subhuti’s cliff, the flowers make a mess.” It is still necessary to go beyond the Other Side.
As Subhuti was sitting in silent meditation in a cliffside cave, 147a the gods showered flowers in praise. Subhuti said, “Flowers are showering from the sky; whose doing is this?” A god said, “I am Indra, king of gods.” Subhuti said, “Why are you offering praise?” Indra said, “I esteem your skill in expounding transcendent wis dom.” Subhuti said, “I have not spoken a word about wisdom; why praise?” Indra said, “You have not spoken, and I have not heard.
No speaking, no hearing—this is true wisdom.” And again he caused the earth to tremble and showered flowers.
Xuedou once made up another verse about this:
The rain has passed; the clouds are shrinking; Dawn has halfway broken through;
46
- Huichao Asks about the Buddha
The multiple peaks are like a drawing of blue-green rocky crags.
Subhuti did not know how to sit on a cliff;
He brought on heavenly flowers and quaking of the earth.
When the king of gods is shaking the earth and showering flowers, where will you go to hide? Xuedou also said:
I fear Subhuti won’t be able to escape;
Even beyond the cosmos, all is filled to the brim. What end will he know to his frantic turmoil?
From all sides the pure wind tugs at his clothes.
Though you be clean and naked, bare and purified, totally with out affliction, this is still not the ultimate. In the end, though, what is? Look carefully at this saying: “I snap my fingers; how lamentable is Sunyata! ” The Sanskrit word Sunyata means the spirit of emptiness. Space is her body; she has no physical body to be conscious of contact. When the Buddha’s light shines forth, then she manifests her body. When you get to be like Sunyata, then Xuedou will rightly snap his fingers in lament.
Again Xuedou says, “Don’t make a move! ” What’s it like when
you move? Sleeping with your eyes open under the bright sun in the blue sky.
7. Huichao Asks about the Buddha
Introduction
The sages have not transmitted the statement before sound; if you have never seen it personally, it’s as if it were worlds away. Even if you discern it before sound, and silence everyone in the world, you’re still not sharp. Thus it is said, “ The sky can’t cover it; the earth can’t support it; space can’t contain it; sun and moon can’t illumine it.” Where there is no Buddha and you alone are called the Honored One, for the first time you’ve gotten somewhere. Otherwise, if you are not yet this way, penetrate through on the
47
The Blue Cliff Record
tip of a hair and release the great shining illumination; then in all directions you will be independent and free in the midst of phenomena; whatever you pick up, there is nothing that’s not truth. But tell me, what is attained that is so extraordinary? Do you understand? No one knows the sweating horses of the past; they only want to emphasize the achievement that crowns the age. Leav ing this matter aside for the moment, what about Xuedou’s story?
Story
Huichao asked Fayan, (What does he say? Wearing handcuffs, he hands over his own indictment.) “Huichao asks the teacher, what is the Buddha?” (What’s he saying? His eyeballs pop out.) Fayan said, “You are Huichao.” (He comes out according to the pattern. Iron scrap stuffing. He fends him off with a counterattack.)
Commentary
Chan Master Fayan had this ability to get through to people and make simultaneous contact, and he knew the use of this ability; thus he could answer like this. This is what is called passing be-
147b yond sound and form, achieving the great freedom, granting or taking away as the occasion requires, where killing or enlivening rests with oneself. He is indeed extraordinary.
Nevertheless, people all over who deliberate about this story are many, and those who make intellectual interpretations are not few. They do not realize that whenever the ancients uttered a word or half a phrase, it was like sparks, like lightning, directly opening up a single straight path.
People of later times just made up interpretations based on the words. Some say, “Huichao is himself the Buddha; that is why Fayan answered thus.” Some say, “It’s like riding an ox in search of an ox. ” Some say, “The asking is it. ” What relevance has any of this? If you go on interpreting in this fashion, not only do you turn away from yourself, you seriously demean Fayan.
If you want to see Fayan’s whole potential, you must be one who doesn’t turn around even when struck, one with teeth like
48
- chao Asks about the Buddha
sword trees and a mouth like a bowl of blood, who knows outside the words what they refer to; then you will have a small portion of realization. If one by one they make intellectual interpretations, everyone on earth would be an exterminator of the Buddha’s race. As for Chan student Huichao’s awakening here, he was constantly engrossed in penetrating investigation; therefore under the impact of one word his mind opened up.
It’s like Superintendent Ce; he had been staying in Fayan’s
congregation but had never asked for personal instruction. One day Fayan asked him, “Why haven’t you come for an interview?” Ce replied, “ Didn’t you know I had an initiatory experience at Qinglin’s place?” Fayan said, “Tell me about it.” Ce said, “ I asked, What is the Buddha?’ Qinglin said, ‘The lire god comes looking for fire.’” Fayan said, “Good words, but I’m afraid you misunderstood. Can you say something more?” Ce said, “ The fire god is in the province of fire; he is seeking fire with fire. Likewise, I am a Buddha, yet I went on searching for a Buddha.” Fayan said, “Sure enough, you have misunderstood.” Ce left in a huff and went away. Fayan said, “ This man can be saved if he comes back; if he doesn’t return, he can’t be saved.” On the road, Ce thought to himself, “He is the teacher of five hundred people; how could he deceive me?” So he turned back and again called on Fayan, who told him, “Just ask me and I’ll answer you.” So Ce asked, “What is the Bud dha?” Fayan said, “ The fire god comes looking for fire.” At these words Ce was greatly enlightened.
These days there are those who just put a glare in their eyes and interpret that as understanding. As it is said, “Since it is flaw less, don’t flaw it.” With this kind of story, those who have prac ticed for a long time know what it means as soon as it’s brought up. In the Fayan succession this is called “arrow points meeting.” They don’t employ the five positions of ruler and minister, or the four propositions; they simply talk of arrow points meeting. The style of Fayan’s lineage is like this; at one saying you see and immediately directly penetrate. But if you ponder over the words, to the end you will search without finding.
49
The Blue Cliff Record
147c As a public teacher, Fayan had five hundred disciples. At that time Buddhism flourished. Now the future National Teacher Deshao had spent a long time with Sushan, and he considered himself to have understood Sushan. So he gathered Sushan’s writ ings and had a portrait of him, symbolizing succession, and led a band of followers around. When they went to Fayan’s community, he himself did not go to encounter the teacher but just had his followers go along with the others for encounters with the teacher. One day when Fayan addressed the assembly, a monk asked, “What is one drop from the fount of Chan?” Fayan said, “One drop from the fountain of Chan. ” The monk withdrew, dumbfounded; but Deshao, who was present, was suddenly enlightened when he heard this. Later he became a public teacher, as one of Fayan’s
successors. He presented this verse to Fayan:
The summit of the peak of the mystic crossing Is not human society;
Outside the mind there are no things— Green mountains fill the eyes.
Fayan gave his approval and said, “This one verse alone can per petuate my school. In the future kings and lords will honor you. I am not equal to you. ”
Observe those ancients; when they awaken like this, what truth is this? It won’t do just to have me tell you; you yourself must tune your spirit all day long. If you can attain fulfillment the way those people did, someday you will reach out to others at the crossroads, and you won’t consider it difficult, either.
Thus when Huichao asked Fayan, “What is the Buddha? ” Fayan said, “You are Huichao.” Is there any contradiction here? Did not Yunmen say, “When it is brought up, if you don’t take heed, you’ll miss it; if you try to assess it by thinking, in what eon will you awaken?”
Verse
In the river country the spring wind isn’t blowing;
(Where in the world do you find this scene? The pattern is already showing.)
50
- Huichao Asks about the Buddha
Partridges are calling deep in the flowers.
(What’s the use of this chatter? Blown by the wind into a different tune. Is there such a thing?)
At the three-tiered Dragon Gate, where the waves are
high, fish become dragons,
(Traverse this one road. Don’t fool the great congregation.
Tread on the dragon’s head.)
Yet fools still go on scooping up the evening pond water. (Leaning on fences, groping along walls; next to the gate,
standing by the door; what use is this for a Chan practitioner? This is standing by a stump waiting for a rabbit.)
Commentary
Xuedou is an adept. The points of the ancients that are hard to get your teeth into, hard to chew, hard to penetrate, and hard to see, impenetrable riddles, he produces in verse to let people see. This is indeed extraordinary. Xuedou knew Fayan’s key device, and he also knew where Huichao was at. Still, lest people in the future mistakenly make intellectual interpretations of Fayan’s words, he came out with this verse.
This monk’s asking like this, Fayan’s answering like this— this is “In the river country the spring wind isn’t blowing; / Deep in the flowers partridges are calling.” These two lines are just one line. But say, where is Xuedou’s meaning?
In Jiangxi and Jiangnan many people make a two-part inter
pretation: they say “In the river country the spring wind isn’t blow ing” is used to versify “You are Huichao,” and that this scene—even if the spring wind doesn’t blow, still “deep in the flowers partridges
are calling” —is used to compare the endless haggling over these 148a
words everywhere to the partridges crying deep in the flowers. But what relevance has this? They still don’t know that these two lines of Xuedou’s are but a single line. Do you want to have no seam or gap? Clearly I tell you, his speech is true, his words are true; they cover heaven and earth.
51
The Blue Cliff Record
Huichao asked, “What is the Buddha?” Fayan answered, “You are Huichao.” Xuedou says, “In the river country the spring wind isn’t blowing; / Deep in the flowers partridges call.” If you can make the grade here, you will be able to “walk alone in the red skies. ” If you make intellectual interpretations, it will take eons.
Xuedou is extremely compassionate in the third and fourth lines; all at once he explains completely for people. Chan Master Huichao’s great awakening is like fish becoming dragons where the waves are high at the three-tiered Dragon Gate, while fools still go on dragging through evening pond water. The ancient sage King Yu cut the Dragon Gate, making a three-level passage for the Yellow River. Nowadays, on the third day of the third month, when the peach blossoms bloom, influenced by heaven and earth, if there are fish that can get through the Dragon Gate, horns sprout on their heads, they raise their bristling tails, catch hold of the clouds, and fly away. Those who cannot leap through fail and fall back. Fools who gnaw on words are, as it were, scooping out evening pond water looking for fish, not realizing that the fish have al ready turned into dragons.
Master Baiduan wrote a verse on this story:
A copper coin Buys a fried cake;
He gobbles it down into his belly And then no longer feels hunger.
This verse is very good, only it ’s too crude. Xuedou’s verse is very clever, and he doesn’t cut his hand on the sharp point.
Librarian Qing used to like to ask people, “What is ‘Fish turn into dragons at the three-tiered Dragon Gate, where the waves are high’?” For me, it’s not necessary, but now I’m asking you: having turned into dragons, where are they now?
52
8. Cuiyan’s Eyebrows
Introduction
If you understand, you can make use of it on the road, like a dragon reaching water, like a tiger in the mountains. If you don’t under stand, then worldly truth prevails, and you are like a ram caught in a fence, like a fool watching over a stump waiting for a rabbit. Sometimes a saying is like a lion crouching on the ground; some times a saying is like a diamond sword; sometimes a saying cuts off the tongues of everyone on earth; and sometimes a saying fol lows the waves and goes along with the currents.
If you make use of it on the road, when you meet with one who knows you distinguish what’s appropriate to the occasion, you know what’s right and wrong, and together you witness each other’s illumination. Where worldly truth prevails, one who has the single eye can occupy the ten directions and stand like a mile-high wall. Therefore it is said that when the great function appears it does not keep to fixed patterns. Sometimes we take a blade of grass and use it as the sixteen-foot golden body of the Buddha; sometimes we take the sixteen-foot golden body and use it as a blade of grass. But tell me, what principle does this depend on? Do you really know?
Story
At the end of a summer retreat Cuiyan said to the group, “All
summer I’ve been talking to you;” (If you open your mouth, how can you know it to be so?) “see if my eyebrows are still there.” (All he’s achieved is that his eyes have fallen out too, along with his nostrils, which he’s already lost. He enters hell like an arrow shot.) Baofu said, “ The thief’s heart is cowardly.” (Obviously. This is a thief recognizing a thief.) Changqing said, “Grown.” (His tongue falls to the ground; he meets error with error. After all.) Yunmen said, “ Barrier.” (Where is there to run to? No one in the world can leap out. Overcome.)
53
Commentary
The ancients had morning study and evening inquiry. At the end of a summer retreat Cuiyan turned around and spoke to the group like this, and he was undeniably strict—indeed he startled the heav ens and shook the earth. But tell me, in the whole Buddhist Canon with its five thousand forty-eight volumes, in which there is talk of mind and nature, of sudden and gradual, is there such an event? They’re all this kind of occasion, but among them this story of Cui yan is outstanding. See how he talks; where is his true meaning?
When the ancients let down a hook, ” it was never an empty gesture; they invariably had a reason, to benefit people. Many misunderstand and say, “Under the bright sun in the blue sky, Cuiyan spoke aimless talk, producing concern where there was none; at the end of the summer he spoke of his own faults and examined himself first to avoid others’ criticism.” Fortunately this has nothing to do with it. Such views are called exterminators of the Buddha’s lineage. The appearance in the world of the successive generations of teaching adepts would have been entirely with out benefit if they hadn’t reached out to instruct people. What would have been the purpose? When you get here, if you can see all the way through, then you will know that the ancients had the
method of driving off a plowman’s ox and snatching away a hungry man’s food.
People today, when questioned, immediately chew on the words, making a living on Cuiyan’s eyebrows. See how the people of his house naturally know where he is operating; through innumerable changes and shifts, amid impenetrable complications, every where they have ways to come forth; hence they are able to chime in with him like this in response. If there is nothing extraordinary about these words of Cuiyan, why then would these three—Yun- men, Baofu, and Changqing—have replied to him so profusely?
Baofu said, “ The thief’s heart is cowardly.” How much intellectual interpretation these words have provoked lately! What does Baofu mean? You must avoid searching for that ancient one in his words. If you give rise to feelings and arouse thoughts, your eyes
54
- Cuiyan’s Eyebrows
are snatched away. People don’t realize the Baofu’s saying cuts off Cuiyan’s footsteps.
Changqing said, “Grown.” Many people say Changqing follows Cuiyan’s footsteps and therefore says his eyebrows have grown. But this has nothing to do with it. They don’t know that Changqing brings out his own understanding when he says, “Grown.” Each has expressed himself. Now I ask you, where is the growth?
It’s like being face to face with an adept brandishing the diamond sword. If you can break through views of the ordinary cur
rent and cut off gain and loss, right and wrong, then you will see
where Changqing responded to Cuiyan.
Yunmen said, “Barrier.” This is undeniably outstanding, and hard to penetrate. Great master Yunmen often taught with one- word Chan, though in the one word the three statements were always present. See how this ancient replied to suit the occasion, naturally he was far removed from the people of this day and age. This then is the way to make a statement. Though Yunmen spoke thus, his meaning is definitely not there. Since the meaning is not there, tell me, where is it? You must carefully investigate on your own before you’ll find out. If you are clear-eyed, with the ability to illumine heaven and earth, it will be crystal clear immediately.
For his single word “barrier” and the words of the other three, Xuedou has strung them together on one verse.
Verse
Cuiyan teaches the followers;
(The old thief is corrupting people’s children.) For a thousand years, no reply.
(In a thousand or ten thousand, still there’s one or a half.
He divides a tally.)
The word “barrier” answers him back;
(Didn’t you believe what I said? Indeed extraordinary.
Only such a person can understand such talk.) He loses his money and suffers punishment.
55
The Blue Cliff Record
(One gulps and keeps silent. Xuedou too has done quite a bit of this. I’d strike while he’s still talking.)
Decrepit old Baofu—
(Fellow travelers on the same path, still acting this way.
Two, three.)
Censure and praise are impossible to apply.
(Letting go, holding still. Who is born the same and dies the same? Don’t slander him. Luckily there’s no connection.)
Talkative Cuiyan
(Foxy devil—shut up!) Is clearly a thief.
(So it may be said. Caught.) The clear jewel has no flaws;
(Can you tell? No one in the world knows its price.) Who can distinguish true from false?
(Many are just false. I myself have never had the eye.
Bodhidharma can.) Changqing knows;
(A spirit recognizing a spirit; only he could do this. Yet he still hasn’t gotten a half.)
His eyebrows have grown.
(Where? From head to foot there isn’t a single blade of grass.)
Commentary
How could Xuedou be called a teacher if he hadn’t been this com passionate, making a verse to enable people to see? When the ancients did this, it was because there was no choice. Since later students became attached to their words and increasingly conceive intellectual interpretations, therefore they do not see the ancients’ message. If someone suddenly came forward right now to overturn the meditation seat and scatter the assembly with shouts, we shouldn’t be amazed. Though one acts like this, one would still have to have really arrived in this realm.
56
Xuedou says, “For a thousand ages there is no reply.” Cuiyan just said, “See if my eyebrows are still there.” What’s so extraordi nary that there’s no reply for a thousand ages? You must realize that when the ancients uttered a word or half a phrase, it wasn’t blurted out; one must have the eye to judge heaven and earth before this is possible.
When Xuedou writes something it’s like a diamond sword, like a
lion crouching on the ground, like sparks, like lightning. Had he not the eye on the forehead, how could he have seen what Cuiyan was getting at? This lesson that Cuiyan gave the people was such that “for a thousand ages there is no reply.” It goes beyond Deshan’s staff and Linji’s shout. But where is Xuedou’s meaning for us? How will you understand his statement, “For a thousand ages there is no reply”? “The word ‘barrier’ answers him back; / He loses his money and suffers punishment. ” What is the meaning of this? Even if you have the eye to pass through this barrier, when you get here you must be most thoroughgoing before you are done. Tell me, is it Cuiyan who loses his money and suffers punishment, or is it Xuedou, or is it Yunmen? If you can penetrate this, I’ll allow that you have the eye. “Decrepit old Baofu— / Censure and praise are impossible to apply.” Does he censure himself? Does he praise the ancients?
Where does Baofu censure? Where does Baofu praise?
“ Talkative Cuiyan / Is clearly a thief.” What has he stolen, that Xuedou says he’s a thief? You must avoid being whirled around following after the stream of his words; when you get here you must have your own accomplishment before you’ll understand. “ The clear jewel has no flaws.” Xuedou says that Cuiyan is like a clear jewel without any flaws. “Who can distinguish true from false?” It can be said that rarely is there anyone who can
make this distinction.
Xuedou has great talent, so he can string together the whole story from beginning to end on a single thread of verse. Only at the very end does he say, “Changqing knows; / His eyebrows have grown.” Tell me, where have they grown? Look quickly!
9. Zhaozhou’s Four Gates
Introduction
When a clear mirror is on its stand, beautiful and ugly are distinguished by themselves. With a sharp sword in hand, one can kill or bring life, to fit the occasion. A foreigner goes and a native comes; a foreigner comes and a native goes. In the midst of death one finds life; in the midst of life one finds death. Tell me, when you get to this point, then what? If you haven’t the eye to penetrate barriers, if you haven’t room to turn around, at this point obvi ously you won’t know what to do. What is the barrier-penetrating eye, what is room to turn around in?
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “What is Zhaozhou? ” (North of the river, south of the river, no one can say. There are thorns in the soft mud. If it’s not south of the river, then it’s north of the river.) Zhaozhou replied, “East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate.” (Open. “When we’re reviling each other, you may lock jaws with me; when we’re spitting at each other, you may spew me with slobber.” It’s the issue at hand; but do you see? I strike!)
Commentary
Chan study is to understand yourself clearly; avoid picking and choosing among verbal formulations. Why? As Zhaozhou said, “The Ultimate Way has no difficulty; / Just avoid picking and choosing.” And Yunmen said, “These days Chan followers gather in groups and chatter; they say things like, ‘These are words of high ability, those are words referring to the self.’” They don’t realize that the ancients could not but establish temporary verbal formulations as expedient means for beginning students who had not yet clarified the mind ground or seen the fundamental nature. In the Chan founder’s coming from the West for the sole transmission of the mind seal, directly pointing to the mind for perception
58
of essence and attainment of Buddhahood, where were there any such complications? It is necessary to cut through words, to see truth outside of patterns. When you penetrate through to libera tion, this can be compared to a dragon reaching water or a tiger at home in the mountains.
To have seen but not yet penetrated, or to have penetrated but not yet become illumined—among the experienced worthies of the past this called for seeking more instruction. To ask for more instruction when you have seen and penetrated, you must still go over and over the words so there will be no doubtful sticking points. When one who has investigated for a long time asks for more in struction, this would be giving a ladder to a thief. In reality this matter is not in words; thus Yunmen said, “If this matter were in words, are there no words in the Canon? What need would there be for living exemplars? ”
Within Fenyang’s eighteen categories of question, the one in this story is called a question to examine the host, and it is also called a seeking-out question. The monk’s question is indeed ex traordinary; anyone but Zhaozhou would have found it hard to reply. The monk asked “What is Zhaozhou?” A true adept, Zhao zhou immediately replied, “East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate. ” The monk said, “I wasn’t asking about that Zhaozhou. ” Zhao zhou said, “What Zhaozhou were you asking about?”
Later people said this was no-thing Chan, cheating quite a few people. What was their reason? When the monk asked about Zhaozhou, Zhaozhou answered, “East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate, ” so people thought Zhaozhou was just answering about the city after which he was named. If you understand in this fashion, then any rustic from a village of three families understands more about Buddhism than you do. Such an interpretation destroys Buddhism. It’s like comparing a fish eye to a bright pearl; in appearance they are similar, but actually they are not the same. As I said, if it’s not south of the river, then it’s north of the river. Tell me, is there something or is there nothing? This requires you to be thoroughgoing before you understand.
149b
The Blue Cliff Record
Fushan said, “At the very last word one finally reaches the impenetrable barrier.” The inner essence of pointing out the Way is not in words and explanations. “In ten days, one breeze; in five days, one rain. In the peaceful countryside they enjoy their tasks, drumming full bellies and singing hallelujah.” This is called the time of great peace. When I call this having no concerns, it is not a matter of covering your eyes and saying you have no concerns. You must penetrate through the barrier, emerge from the forest of brambles, clean and naked, bare and untrammeled; it’s up to you. Free in all directions, you will never cling to nothingness or be fixated on existence.
Some people say, “Fundamentally there is nothing, but when we have tea we drink tea and when we have rice we eat rice. ” This is vain talk; I call this claiming attainment without having attained, claiming realization without having realized. As they haven’t made a penetrating investigation, when they hear talk of mind or essence, of the mysterious and abstruse, they say it is just mad talk and there really isn’t anything to be concerned with. This could be called the blind leading the blind. They still don’t know that before the Chan founder came people did not call the sky earth or call mountains rivers; why did the founder still come from the West? In Chan centers where they lecture and hold interviews, what do they speak of? The view of nothingness is purely an intellectual construction; when feelings attached to intellectual constructs are ended, only then can you see through. And when you see through, then as ever sky is sky, earth is earth, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers.
An ancient said, “Mind is the sense, things are the objects; both elements are like flaws on a mirror. ” When you get to this realm you will naturally be clean and naked, bare and untrammeled. Yet speaking in terms of the ultimate principle, even this is not yet the place of peace and security. People often misunderstand this point; they stay within the realm of unconcern and neglect outward forms. They seem to be right, yet they’re all wrong. When questioned, their replies resemble the ultimate principle,
60
- Zhaozhou’s Four Gates
but as soon as they are pressed, they fall to pieces; they sit there with an empty belly and a proud heart, but when they get to their last day they’ll wring their hands and beat their breasts, but it’ll already be too late.
This monk asked this way; Zhaozhou answered this way; tell
me, how will you look for them? This way won’t do, not this way won’t do either; ultimately, how is it? This is a difficult point, so Xuedou has brought it out in front of you to show you people.
One day while Zhaozhou was sitting, his attendant reported to him, “The king has come. ” Zhaozhou looked surprised and said, “Felicitations, 0 King!” The attendant said, “He has not yet come to you.” Zhaozhou said, “But you said he’s come.” He penetrated this far, he saw this far, extraordinary indeed. Chan Master Huang- long Human commented on this, saying, “The attendant only knew how to announce a guest, he did not know that he himself was in the imperial city. Zhaozhou went into the weeds to look for the man, heedless of getting his whole body soaked in muddy water. ”
Do you know the truth of this? Look into Xuedou’s verse.
Verse
In their words they show their ability in direct confrontation;
(Echoing. When fish swim through, the water is
disturbed. Better not slander Zhaozhou.) The adamantine eye is completely void of dust.
(Scattering sand, scattering dirt, don’t drag down Zhaozhou. Why search the sky and grope over the earth?)
East, west, south, north—the gates face each other;
(They’re open. Where are there so many gates? If you turn your back on Zhaozhou city, where will you go?)
An endless series of hammer blows can’t smash them open.
(It’s just that your revolving hammer is insufficient.
They’re open.)
61
The Blue Cliff Becord
Commentary
Zhaozhou faces situations like a diamond sword: if you hem and haw, he cuts your head right off; time and again he will go on to snatch your eyes right away. Nevertheless, this monk dares to grab the tiger’s whiskers and pose a question. It’s like giving rise to something where there’s nothing; yet nonetheless in his words there is ability. Once the monk had shown his ability, Zhaozhou did not turn away from the question; thus he too showed his abil ity in answering. It wasn’t that he acted thus out of whimsy; be cause he had penetrated, he naturally fit in the same groove with the monk, as if it were all arranged.
An outsider once came to question the Buddha holding a spar row in his hand. He said, “ Tell me, is this sparrow in my hand dead or alive?” The Buddha straddled the threshold and said, “You tell me, am I going out or coming in?” The outsider was speech less; he then bowed. This story is just like the one here; ever since then the bloodline of the ancients has been unbroken. Thus it is said, “The question is in the answer, the answer is in the question.”
Since Xuedou can see through things like this, he says, “In their words they show their ability in direct confrontation.” There is skill in the monk’s words, which seem to bear two meanings; he seems to ask about the man and also about the place. Without stirring at all, Zhaozhou immediately replies, “East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate.”
“ The adamantine eye is completely void of dust.” This praises Zhaozhou snatching away both subject and object, showing his ability in his words, giving an answer. This is called having ability and perspective. The moment the monk turns around, Zhaozhou sees through his innermost heart. If he couldn’t do this, it would have been difficult for Zhaozhou to parry the monk’s question. The adamantine eye illumines and sees everywhere without obstruction. It can not only make out clearly a tiny hair a thousand miles away but also determine what is false and decide what is true, distinguish gain and loss, discern what’s appropriate to the occasion, and recognize right and wrong.
62
- The Phony
Xuedou says, “East, west, south, north—the gates face each other; an endless series of hammer blows can’t smash them open.” Since the hammer blows continue without limit, why can’t they smash the gate open? It’s that Xuedou’s vision is like this. How will you get these gates open? Please examine this thoroughly.
10. The Phony
Introduction
So, so; not so, not so. In battle, each occupies a pivotal position. So it is said, “Turn upward, and even Sakyamuni, Maitreya, Manjusrl, Samantabhadra, the myriad sages, and all the adepts in the world all gasp and fall silent. Turn downward, and worms, maggots, all creeping things, all beings, each emits great light, each towers like a wall miles high.” If, on the other hand, you face neither upward nor downward, how would you deal? If there is a principle, go by the principle; if there is no principle, go by the example.
Story
Muzhou asked a monk, “Where have you just come from? ” (This is a probe, for observation.) The monk immediately shouted. (An adept Chan student, but don’t pretend to be enlightened. Still he does know how to act like this.) Muzhou said, “ I’ve been shouted at by you once.” (A trap to fell a tiger. Why make a monkey of the man?) Again the monk shouted. (Look at the horns on his head. He seems to be right but actually isn’t. I’m afraid he has a dragon’s head but a snake’s tail.) Muzhou said, “After three or four shouts, then what?” (A wave against the current. There’s never been any one who could come forth. Where to go?) The monk was speech less. (After all he searched without finding.) Muzhou hit him and said, (If we let Muzhou carry out his mandate to the full, all the plants and trees on earth would be cut into three pieces.) “You phony! ” (If he let the first move go, he’d fall back into the secondary.)
63
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
Whoever would uphold and establish the teaching of the source must have the eye of a true teacher of the source and must have the functional ability of a true teacher of the source. Muzhou’s mental acuity is like lightning. He liked to put scholars to the test; he would usually utter a word or half a phrase like a thicket of brambles that can’t be stepped on or touched. As soon as he saw a monk coming, he would say, “The issue is obvious; I’ll give you a thrashing. ” Or he would see a monk and call out, “Elder! ” If the monk turned, Muzhou would say, “Here’s a fellow carrying a board.” Also, when teaching his group, he would say, “If you haven’t gained entry, you must gain entry; once you have gained entry, you still must not turn your backs on me.” Muzhou’s efforts for people were mostly like this.
This monk was also well polished and prepared, but nevertheless he had a dragon’s head but a snake’s tail. At the time anyone but Muzhou would have been thrown into confusion by this monk. When Muzhou asked him, “Where have you just come from?” and the monk immediately shouted, what was his meaning? The old fellow wasn’t flustered at all; calmly he replied, “I’ve been shouted at by you once. ” He seems to take that shout and put it to one side, and he also seems to test him; he leans over to watch him. Again the monk shouted; he seems to be right, but isn’t really—he was taken in tow by Muzhou, who asked, “After three or four shouts, then what? ” After all the monk was speechless. Muzhou then hit him and called him a phony.
The aim of testing people is to know them intimately the minute they speak. Too bad this monk was speechless, provoking Muzhou to call him a phony. If it had been any of you who had been asked by Muzhou, “After three or four shouts, then what?” how should you have replied in order to avoid his calling you a phony? Here if you can discern survival and destruction and distinguish right and wrong, if your feet tread the real ground, then who is concerned with “After three or four shouts, then what?” But since this monk was speechless, his case was decided by old Muzhou on the basis of the facts.
64
- The Phony
Verse
Two shouts and a third shout;
(The sound of thunder is tremendous, but there isn’t a single drop of rain. Past and present, there’s rarely been anyone like this.)
Adepts recognize the opportune moment to change. (If not adept, how can one test? I’m just afraid you
aren’t so.)
If you call that riding the tiger’s head,
(Unh! Blind! How can you ride a tiger’s head? Many people have understood in this way, and there are still those who entertain this view.)
Both of them would turn out to be blind.
(An intimate comment from an intimate. Why only two?
Take what’s due you and get out.) Who is blind?
(Who would you have decide? Fortunately there is a last word; Xuedou is on the verge of fooling people completely.)
I bring it out for everyone to see.
(When you look, it’s not that it isn’t there, but if you stare at it you’ll go blind. If you set your eyes to look, you are grabbing empty space with both hands. When you bring it up this way, what level of activity is this?)
Commentary
Xuedou does indeed have a way to help people. If one is not adept, one would just be shouting wildly at random. Therefore it is said, “Sometimes a shout isn’t used as a shout; then again, sometimes a shout is used as a shout. Sometimes a shout is like a crouching lion, sometimes a shout is like a diamond sword. ”
Xinghua said, “ I see all of you shouting in the east hall and shouting in the west hall. Don’t shout at random. Even if you shout me up to the heavens and I fall back down without a trace of breath
The Blue Cliff Record
left in me, when I revive I’ll tell you it’s still not enough. Why? I have never set out real pearls for you inside the royal curtains. As for you all here, what are you doing when you just go on with wild random shouting?”
Linji said, “I’ve heard you all imitate my shouting. But I ask you, if a monk comes from the east hall and another monk comes from the west hall, and they both shout at once, which one is the guest and which one is the host? If you can’t distinguish host and guest, then you must not imitate me any more.”
Therefore Xuedou says in his verse, “Adepts recognize the opportune moment to change.” Although the monk in the case was taken in by Muzhou, he still could perceive the opportune moment to change. Tell me, where did he do this? Chan Master Lumen Zhi graded this monk by saying, “One who knows the law fears it.” Yantou said, “ In battle each one occupies a pivotal position.” Huanglong Xin said, “When you reach an impasse, change; hav ing changed, you get through. ” This is where the teachers silenced everyone in the world. If you recognize the opportune moment to change, then when something is raised, you immediately know what it comes down to.
Some say, “Why worry about Muzhou saying, ‘After three or four shouts, then what?” ’ And they just go on shouting. Let them shout twenty or thirty times, or even go on shouting until king dom come, and call this riding the tiger’s head—if you understand in this way, it’s because you don’t know Muzhou. Even if you want to see the monk, you’re still too far away. To ride a tiger’s head one must have a sword in hand and versatility too.
Xuedou says, if you call this riding the tiger’s head, “The two of them would both turn out blind.” Xuedou is like a long sword leaning against the sky, stern and awesome in full majesty. If you understand Xuedou’s meaning, you will naturally understand everything at once. Then you will see that the latter part of Xuedou’s verse is just making footnotes.
Xuedou goes on to say, “Who is blind?” Tell me, is it the guest who’s blind, or is it the host? Or are the guest and host both blind
66
Notice on Overcoming Demons
at once? “I bring it out for everyone to see. ” This is the living point where Xuedou finishes the verse all at once. Yet why does he say, “I bring it out for everyone to see”? How will you see it? Open your eyes and you can; shut your eyes and you can too. Is there anyone who can avoid it?
Notice on Overcoming Demons
by Chan Master Wuai of Jiashan appended by Huifang
I have heard that the road of the three vehicles is wide and that the realm of reality is boundless. When the ocean of wisdom is calm and clear, the ten directions are secure and peaceful. At this time an army of demons arises to invade the mind field. Since the six brigands are strong, the mind king is startled. In the morning they produce a hundredfold weirdness; in the evening they pro duce a thousandfold perversion. Disturbing true suchness, they fatigue the spiritual body. The road of enlightenment is cut off and made impassable. They destroy Nirvana and ruin the three treasures; the jewels of no doing are stolen away, and the spiri tual wealth of the great treasury is plundered. Material passions block the sun, and the fire of desire spans the sky. They ravage the citadel of the Dharma and burn the realm of sanctity.
Having seen such violence, I feared that Buddhism would be hard to preserve, so I discussed the matter with the six perfections, to eliminate it together. I sent essential emptiness as a secret emissary to spy on the demon army and saw that it was garrisoned in the mountains of the five clusters with over eighty- four thousand troops. Knowing its condition, my strategy was a matter of an instant. Finally I activated the heroic soldiers of the eighteen elements, with the emptiness of substance as their common battle cry.
Everyone has the power of no obstruction; everyone has the
ability to be brave and strong. The straightforward mind is the
151a
The Blue Cliff Record
achievement of seeing essence; one right gets rid of the confusion of a hundred wrongs. Putting on the armor of steadfastness, holding the lance of concentration, with the arrows of knowledge, the bow of meditation, and the radiant sword of wisdom, they train in the school of the Great Vehicle; they encamp in the mountains of tranquility. They fly their flag on the ridge of the three insights and line up along the eightfold right path. Sending great aware ness as a general who captures enemies alive, they roam the four quarters looking for the tracks of errant thought. Cutting off the traces of ignorance, they also enable the king of compassion to break through the blockade of the three poisons. The commander of forbearance attacks the citadel of anger, the army of diligence gets rid of the troublemaker of pride, and the soldiers of joy and equanimity capture the thieves of stinginess and greed.
While on patrol, the demon army arises up in full force, its murderous atmosphere striking the very skies. Then I lead the great in all at once. At this time the eyes do not look upon form, the ears do not listen to sound, the nose does not smell odors, the tongue does not discern flavors, the body does not sense feelings, and the mind does not cling to objects. Proceeding ahead single- mindedly, not retreating thought after thought, suddenly I find that the demon army has been overwhelmingly defeated and that the six brigands have completely lost. The slaughter knows no bounds, and there is a clean sweep. I capture errant thought and ignorance alive, take them to the place of Nirvana, and cut them into three pieces with the sword of wisdom.
The forest of afflictions is then cut down, and the mountains of others and self turn to dust. The net of folly and attachment burns when it meets the fire of knowledge; the forest of erroneous views is withered by the wind of wisdom. Henceforth the three insights are again clear; the four knowledges are again complete. Inwardly and outwardly flawless, open and clear, the mind king sits in the throne room of joy, and true thusness climbs the tower of emancipation. Inherent essence roams in the halls of no obstruction, and the three bodies sit on the seat of objective emptiness.
68
- Gobblers of Dregs
Henceforth the reality realm is peaceful and quiet, forever free
from noise and dust. Together we cross the river of birth and death, reaching the shore of enlightenment as one. Once the demon army
has retreated, we should announce it on high together.
11. Gobblers of Dregs
Introduction
The great capacity of the enlightened is under one’s control; the lifeline of humans and gods is subject to one’s direction. With a casual saying one astounds the crowd and stirs the masses; with one device, one perspective, one smashes chains and knocks off fetters. Meeting transcendental potential, one brings up transcendental matters. Tell me, who has ever been like this? Are there any who know where such a one is at?
Story
Huangbo said to his group, (Drawing water, one is limited by the size of the container. He swallows all in one gulp. No one in the world can leap clear.) “All of you are gobblers of dregs; if you go on traveling around this way,” (You said it! You’ll wear out your shoes. He overturns the heaven and shakes the earth.) “where will you have Today?” (What’s the use of Today? He certainly astounds the crowd and stirs up the community.) “ Do you know that there are no Chan teachers in all of China?” (I hadn’t realized. He swallows all in one gulp. He too is a cloud-dwelling saint.) Then a monk came for ward and said, “Then what about those who order followers and lead communities?” (He gives a good rejoinder; confronting the situation, he couldn’t but do so.) Huangbo said, “I don’t say there is no Chan, just that there are no teachers.” (He just can’t explain. Fixations dissolve. He’s a fellow with a dragon’s head but a snake’s tail.)
69
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
Huangbo was seven feet tall; on his forehead was a lump like a round pearl. He understood Chan by nature. Once he was traveling to Mt. Tiantai, he met a monk on the way. They talked and laughed together like old acquaintances. Huangbo looked him over carefully; the light in his eyes was piercing and his appearance was extremely unusual. As they traveled along together, when they came to a swollen valley stream, Huangbo stopped there. The monk tried to take Huangbo across with him, but Huangbo told him to cross over himself. The monk gathered up his robes and walked on the water as though on land. Looking back, he urged Huangbo to come across, but Huangbo upbraided him, saying, “You self-perfected fellow! Had I known you would concoct wonders, I would have broken your legs! ” The monk said in admiration, “You are a true vessel of the teaching of the Great Vehicle.” As his words ended, he disappeared.
When Huangbo first met Baizhang, Baizhang said, “Magnifi
cent! Majestic! Where do you come from?” Huangbo said, “Magnifi cent, majestic, I’ve come from the mountains.” Baizhang said, “What have you come for?” Huangbo said, “Not for anything else.” Baizhang saw him to have profound capacity.
The next day Huangbo took leave of Baizhang. Baizhang asked,
“Where are you going?” Huangbo replied, “ To Jiangxi to pay my respects to Mazu. ” Baizhang said, “Mazu has already passed on.
Tell me, did Huangbo know this when he asked or not?” Huangbo asked, “What did he say when he was alive?” Baizhang then related the circumstances of his second encounter with Mazu: “When Mazu saw me approach, he raised his whisk. I asked, ‘Do you identify with this action or detach from it?’ Mazu then hung the whisk on the corner of his seat. There was a long silence; then Mazu asked me, ‘Later on, when you speak, how will you help people?’ I took the whisk and held it up. Mazu said, ‘Do you identify with this action or detach from it?’ I hung the whisk back on the corner of the seat. Mazu drew himself up and gave a shout that left me deaf for three days.” Huangbo unconsciously stuck out his tongue
70
- Gobblers of Dregs
in awe. Baizhang said, “After this, won’t you be a successor of Mazu?” Huangbo said, “No. Today, through your recital, I’ve gotten to see Mazu’s great capacity and great function; if I were to succeed Mazu, in the future I would be bereft of descendants. ” Baizhang said, “It is so. If your view equals the teacher, you have less than half the teacher’s virtue; only when your wisdom goes beyond the teacher are you worthy to pass on the transmission. As your insight is now, it seems you have the ability that transcends the teacher.” Tell me, did Huangbo know yet deliberately ask, or did he ask because he didn’t know? You must see for yourself how father and son act in that house before you begin to understand.
Again one day Huangbo asked Baizhang, “How has the ve hicle of the school of time immemorial been demonstrated and taught?” Baizhang was silent; Huangbo said, “You shouldn’t let posterity be cut off.” Baizhang said, “I thought you were the man.” Then he got up and went back to his room.
Huangbo was an informal friend of prime minister Pei Xiu. When Pei was commander of Wanling, he invited the master to come to the district capital. He showed the master a composition expressing his understanding. The master took it and put it down without even opening it. After a long silence, the master asked, “Understand?” Pei said, “No.” Huangbo said, “If you had under stood this way, you would have gotten somewhere; if you’re still trying to describe it with paper and ink, where would there still be room for our school?” At this Pei offered a verse of praise:
He’s inherited the mind seal from a great adept;
There’s a round pearl on his brow, his body’s seven feet tall.
He hung up his staff and stayed ten years by the river Shu;
Today his floating coracle has crossed the banks of the Zhang.
Eight thousand dragons and elephants follow his giant strides;
71
The Blue Cliff Record
Over myriad miles fragrant flowers join his excellent cause.
I hope to serve the master as his disciple;
I do not know to whom he will entrust the teaching.
The master made no sign of being pleased, but said:
My mind is like the boundlessness of the ocean, My mouth spews red lotuses to nurse a sick body. I myself have a pair of hands with nothing to do; I have never received an idle person.
When Huangbo was working as a teacher, his active edge was sharp and dangerous. When Linji was in his group, Muzhou was the head monk. Muzhou asked Linji, “ How long have you been here? Why don’t you go question the teacher?” Linji said, “What
should I ask?” Muzhou said, “Why not ask what the essential meaning of Buddhism is?” Linji then went and asked Huangbo; three times he was beaten and driven out. He took leave, saying to the head monk, “I have been bidden to ask the question three times, and have been beaten and driven out. Perhaps my affinity is not here; so now I will leave.” Muzhou said, “If you’re going, you should bid farewell to the teacher first.” Muzhou went beforehand and said to Huangbo, “The questioning monk is a very rare one; why not work on him to make him into a tree to provide cool shade for people of later times?” Huangbo said, “I know.”
When Linji came to take leave, Huangbo said, “You don’t need to go anywhere but to see master Dayu.” When Linji got to Dayu, he related the preceding story and said, “I don’t know where my fault was. ” Dayu said, “Huangbo was so kind, he exerted himself to the utmost for you; why do you go on speaking of fault or no fault?” Suddenly enlightened, Linji said, “ Huangbo’s Buddhism is no big deal.” Dayu grabbed him and said, “You just said you were at fault, and now you say Buddhism is no big deal.” Linji hit Dayu in the ribs thrice; Dayu pushed him away and said, “Your teacher is Huangbo; it’s none of my business.”
72
11. Gobblers of Dregs
One day Huangbo said to his group, “The great master Farong of Ox Head Mountain spoke horizontally and vertically, but he still didn’t know the key of transcendence. These days Chan fol lowers after Shitou and Mazu speak of Chan and Tao voluminously.” But why did Huangbo talk like this? It was because of this that he said, “You are all gobblers of dregs; if you travel around like this, you’ll be laughed at. As soon as you hear of a place with eight hundred or a thousand people, you immediately go there. It won’t do just to seek out the hubbub; if you always take things easy here, then where else would there be this matter of Today?” In the Tang dynasty they used to revile people by calling them gobblers of dregs, so many people say Huangbo was reviling the people. Those with eyes see for themselves what he was getting at. The whole idea is to set out a hook to fish out people’s questions. There was a Chan man in the group who didn’t fear for his life, so he could come forth this way from the crowd to question Huangbo: “What about those who order followers and lead communities?” He makes a good point, too. After all Huangbo couldn’t explain, so he broke down and said, “I don’t say there is no Chan, just that
there are no teachers.” But tell me, where does his meaning lie? The essence of the school of time immemorial involves some
times holding, sometimes letting go, sometimes killing, sometimes giving life, sometimes releasing, sometimes gathering up —I dare ask you, what would be a Chan teacher? As soon as I speak this way, I’ve already lost my head. Where are your nostrils? (Pause) Pierced!
Verse
His cold severe solitary mien does not take pride in itself; (He himself doesn’t know he has it. He too is a cloud
dwelling saint.)
Solemnly dwelling in the sea of the world, he distinguishes dragons and snakes.
(It is necessary to distinguish initiate and outsider, and to distinguish absolute and relative.)
The Blue Cliff Record
The emperor has been lightly handled;
(What emperor are you talking about? However great, he too must get up from the ground; and even higher, there’s still the sky—what about that?)
Three times he personally felt those claws and fangs at work.
(A dead frog. Why so talkative? It’s not yet anything
extraordinary; it’s still a minor skill. When his great capacity and great function become manifest, the mountains, rivers, and earth, the whole world, will be at Huangbo’s place begging for their lives.)
Commentary
This verse by Xuedou seems just like a eulogy on a portrait of Huangbo, yet you mustn’t understand it as such. Right in the words there’s a manifestation of being. Xuedou clearly says, “ His cold severe solitary mien does not take pride in itself.” When Huangbo instructed the group this way, he wasn’t contesting with others or asserting himself, displaying himself, or boasting of himself. If you understand what happened here, you are free in all direc tions; sometimes you stand alone on a solitary peak, sometimes you stretch out in the bustling marketplace. How could you one- sidedly stick to one corner? The more you abandon, the more you aren’t at rest; the more you seek, the more you don’t see; the more you take on, the more you sink down. An ancient said, “Without wings, fly through the sky; with fame, you become known through out the world. ” Wholeheartedly discard the marvelous wonders of the principles of Buddhism; let it all go at once, and then you will after all have realized something, and wherever you are it will naturally become manifest.
Xuedou says, “Solemnly dwelling in the sea of the world, he distinguishes dragons and snakes.” Is it a dragon or a snake? As soon as anyone comes in through the door, he poses a test; this is called the eye to distinguish dragons and snakes, the ability to capture tigers and rhinos. Xuedou also said, “Judging dragons and
- Gobblers of Dregs
snakes—how is that eye correct? Capturing tigers and rhinos— that skill is not complete.”
Xuedou also says, “ The emperor has been lightly handled; / Three times he personally felt those claws and fangs at work.” Huangbo is not just acting bad right here; he’s always been thus. As for this emperor, the Tang dynasty emperor Xianzong had two sons, Muzong and Xuanzong. The one referred to here is Xuanzong. When Xuanzong was thirteen, though young he was acute.
He used to like to sit in the lotus posture. During the reign of Muzong, once when morning audience was over, Xuanzong play fully sat on the imperial throne and pretended to salute the court. One of the ministers saw this and thought Xuanzong was demented, so he reported it to Muzong. Seeing Xuanzong, Muzong praised him: “My younger brother is indeed a valiant son of our clan.”
Muzong died in 824, leaving three sons—Jingzong, Wenzong, and Wuzong. Jingzong succeeded to the throne and reigned for two years until the inner court removed him. Wenzong succeeded him and reigned for fourteen years. When Wuzong came to the throne, he always spoke of Xuanzong as an imbecile. One day, filled with hatred for Xuanzong because he had long ago playfully climbed up on his father’s throne, he finally had Xuanzong beaten almost to death, thrown out into the back yard, and drenched with filthy water to revive him.
After this Xuanzong went into hiding in the community of Chan Master Xiangyan. Later he had his head shaved as a novice, but did not receive full ordination. He traveled around with Xiangyan. Coming to Mt. Lu, Xiangyan made up a poem about a waterfall:
Piercing clouds, penetrating rock, never declining the work;
When the land is distant, you know how high is the place it appears.
Having intoned these two lines, Xiangyan remained silent in thought; he wanted to draw Xuanzong out to see what he was like. Xuanzong continued the verse:
152c
The Blue Cliff Record
How can the mountain torrent be held back? Eventually it must return to the ocean as waves.
Now Xiangyan realized that Xuanzong was no ordinary man, and he silently acknowledged him.
Later Xuanzong joined the group at Yanguan, where he was asked to be the scribe. Huangbo was there serving as head monk. One day as Huangbo was paying respects to a Buddha image, Xuanzong saw him and asked, “ If you don’t seek from the Buddha, don’t seek from the Dharma, and don’t seek from the Sangha, what are you seeking by bowing?” Huangbo replied, “I don’t seek from the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Sangha—I always pay respects this way.” Xuanzong said, “What’s the use of paying respects?” Immediately Huangbo slapped him. Xuanzong said, “Too coarse.” Huangbo said, “Where is this to talk of coarse and fine?” and slapped him again. Later, when Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, he gave Huangbo the title Coarse Acting Monk. When prime min ister Pei Xiu was at court later, he proposed that Huangbo be given the title Duanji Chanshi, Boundless Chan Master.
Xuedou know where his bloodline came from, so he could use it cleverly. Right now is there anyone to use those claws and fangs? If so, I’ll strike!
12. Three Pounds of Flax
Introduction
The sword that kills, the sword that gives life: this is the standard way of antiquity and the essential pivot for today too. If you dis cuss killing, you don’t harm a single hair; if you discuss giving life, you lose your life. So it is said, “The sages have not transmitted the single transcendental path; students toil over appearances like monkeys grasping at reflections. ” Tell me, since it is not transmit ted, why then so many complicated stories? Let those with eyes try to discern.
76
- Three Pounds of Flax
Story
A monk asked Dongshan, “What is the Buddha?” (Iron brambles; no one on earth can leap clear.) Dongshan said, “Three pounds of flax.” (Clearly. Worn-out straw sandals. He addresses the matter indirectly.)
Commentary
So many people misunderstand this story. It is really hard to chew, since there’s no place to sink your teeth into. Why? Because it is flavorless. The ancients had quite a few answers to the question of what the Buddha is. One said, “The one in the shrine.” One said, “ The thirty-two auspicious marks.” One said, “A bamboo whip on a mountain covered with a forest grown from a staff.” And so on, to Dongshan, who said, “Three pounds of flax. ” He indeed cut off the tongues of the ancients.
Many people base their understanding on the words and say that Dongshan was in the storehouse at the time weighing out flax when the monk questioned him, and that is why he answered this way. Some say that when Dongshan is asked about east he answers about west. Some say that since you are a Buddha and yet you still go around asking about a Buddha, Dongshan answers this in a roundabout way. And there’s yet another type of dead people who say that the three pounds of flax is itself the Buddha. These interpretations are irrelevant. If you seek from Dongshan’s words this way, you can search until kingdom come and still never see it even in a dream.
Why? Words are just vessels to convey the Way. Not realizing the intent of the ancients, people just search in their words; what grasp have they? An ancient said, “Basically the Way has no words for it, but we use words to illustrate the Way. Once you see the Way, the words are forgotten.” To get to this point, you must first go back to your own original state.
This three pounds of flax is like the single track of the high way to the Capital; as you go, nothing is not it. This story is the
153a
The Blue Cliff Record
same as Yunmen’s “Cake,” undeniably difficult to understand. My teacher Wuzu made a verse on it:
The cheap-selling board-carrying fellow Weighs it out, three pounds of flax.
With a hundred thousand years of unsold goods, He has no place to put it all.
You must clean it all up; when defiling feelings, conceptual think ing, and comparisons of gain and loss and right and wrong are all cleared away at once, then you will spontaneously understand.
Verse
The sun hurries;
(In the left eye, half a pound. Even a swift hawk can’t overtake it. Lay down in flames of fire.)
The moon is swift.
(In the right eye, eight ounces. He makes his nest in the palace of Heng O, the Moon Lady.)
Has there ever been carelessness in a good response? (As the bell when struck, as the valley echoing.)
To see Dongshan as laying out facts according to the situation
(Mistakenly sticking by the zero point of the scale. It’s just you who see things this way.)
Is like a lame tortoise and a blind turtle entering an empty valley.
(Take your due and get out. In the same pit there’s no different dirt. Who killed your hawk?)
Flowery groves, clusters of brocade;
(A double case; he handles all crimes on the same indictment. As before, they’re the same.)
Bamboo of the south, wood of the north,
(There is also a third level. A quadruple case. He puts a head on top of his head.)
So I think of Changqing and Officer Lu;
78
12. Three Pounds of Flax
(A leper drags his companions along with him. I am this way, and Xuedou is this way too.)
He knew how to say he should laugh, not cry. (Ha ha. Day and night he adds to the suffering.) Ha!
(Tsk! What is this? I strike!)
Commentary
Xuedou can see all the way through, so he immediately says, “The sun hurries; / The moon is swift.” This is of the same kind as Dongshan’s reply “Three pounds of flax. ” The sun rises, the moon sets; every day it’s like this. People often make up intellectual interpretations and just say the sun is the left eye and the moon is the right eye; when questioned, they glare and say, “Here!” What connection is there? If you understand in this way, the Chan school will disappear. That is why it is said, “Setting out a hook in the four seas is just to fish out terrible dragons; the mysterious device outside convention is for seeking those who know the self.”
Xuedou is one who has left the mundane; how could he make up this sort of interpretation? Xuedou easily reveals a little some thing to let you see where barriers are broken and hinges are smashed; there he adds a footnote saying, “Has there ever been carelessness in a good response?” Dongshan does not reply lightly; he is like a bell when struck, like a valley echoing. Great or small, he responds accordingly, never daring to make a careless impression. At once Xuedou has brought out his heart and presented it to you. Xuedou wrote a verse on being tranquil but responsive:
Presented face to face, it’s not a matter of multiplicity;
Dragons and snakes are easily distinguished, but Chan practitioners are hard to deceive.
The golden hammer’s shadow moves, the jewel sword’s light is cold;
They strike directly; be quick to look!
The Blue Cliff Record
When Dongshan first saw Yunmen, Yunmen asked him, “Where have you just come from?” Dongshan said, “From Chadu.” Yunmen said, “Where did you spend the summer?” Dongshan said, “At Baoci.” Yunmen asked, “When did you leave there?” Dongshan said, “Au gust twenty fifth.” Yunmen said, “I should let you have three score blows of the staff; go meditate in the hall.” That evening Dongshan came to Yunmen and asked, “Where was my fault?” Yunmen said, “You rice bag! From one place to another, and still you go on this way.” At these words Dongshan was greatly awakened. After a while he said, “Some day I’ll go where there are no human hearths and build a hut; I won’t store any rice or plant any vegetables. There I’ll receive the sages coming and going from the ten direc tions; I ’ll remove their fixations and accretions, and make them clean and free, so they can be unburdened.” Yunmen said, “Your body is the size of a coconut, yet you can open such a big mouth. ” Dongshan then left. His enlightenment at that time was a direct complete breakthrough; how could it have anything in common with limited views? Later, when he worked as a teacher to deal with people’s various potentials, the words “three pounds of flax” were understood everywhere merely as a reply to the question about the Buddha; people just make their reasoning in terms of the Buddha. Xuedou says that to understand Dongshan’s reply as expressing facts in accordance with the situation is like a lame tortoise or a blind turtle going into an empty valley; when will
they ever find a way out?
“Flowery groves, clusters of brocade.” When a monk asked Fude Xian, “What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?” He replied, “Flowery groves, clusters of brocade.” The monk also asked Ming- jiao, “What is the inner meaning o f ‘three pounds of flax’?” Mingjiao said, “Bamboo of the south, wood of the north.” The monk came back and recounted this to Dongshan, who said, “I won’t explain this just for you, but for the whole community.” Later he entered the hall and said, “Words do not express facts; speech does not accord with the situation. Those who accept words are lost; those who linger over sayings are deluded. ”
80
To smash people’s intellectual views, Xuedou purposely draws these together on a single thread to produce his verse. Yet people of later times still give rise to even more intellectual views and say, ‘“Three pounds of flax’ is the robe of mourning; bamboo is the staff of mourning; that’s why he said, ‘Bamboo of the south, wood of the north.’ ‘Flowery groves, clusters of brocade’ refers to the flowers painted on the coffin.” Do these people realize their dis grace? They don’t realize that “bamboo of the south, wood of the north” and “three pounds of flax” are just like “daddy” and “papa.” When the ancients answered with a turn of words, their intention was definitely not like this. It’s just like Xuedou’s saying, “The sun hurries; / The moon is swift” —it’s just as broad. It’s just that gold and brass are hard to tell apart; similar written characters get mixed up.
Xuedou has a kindly heart; he wants to break up your feelings of doubt, so he brings in more dead men: “So I think of Changqing and Officer Lu; / He knew how to say he should laugh, not cry.” To discuss the verse itself, the first three lines by themselves have already completed the verse. But I ask you, since the whole uni verse is just this three pounds of flax, why does Xuedou still have so many complications? It’s just that he is extremely compassion ate; therefore he does this.
When Officer Lu Xuan was Inspector of Xuanzhou, he studied with Nanquan. When Nanquan passed on, Lu heard the sound of mourning, so he went to the temple for the funeral. He laughed aloud. The temple director said, “The late master was your teacher; why aren’t you crying?” Lu said, “If you can speak appropriately, I’ll cry.” The temple director had nothing to say. Lu gave a loud lament, “Alas! Our late teacher is long gone!” Later Changqing heard of this and said, “The officer should have laughed, not cried.” Xuedou borrows the essence of this meaning to say that if you make up these kinds of intellectual interpretations, this calls for laughter, not crying. This is so, but at the very end there’s a single word that is in fact easy to misunderstand, when he goes on to say
“Ha! ” Has Xuedou washed clean?
13. The School of Kanadeva
Introduction
Clouds are frozen over the great plain, but the world is not hid den. When snow covers the white flowers, it’s hard to distinguish the outlines. Its coldness is cold as snow and ice; its fineness is fine as flour. Its depths are hard for even the Buddha’s eye to peer into; its secrets are impossible for demons and outsiders to fathom. Leaving aside for the moment understanding the whole when part is raised, how does one speak so as to silence everyone on earth? Tell me, whose business is this?
Story
A monk asked Baling, “What is the school of Kanadeva?” (A white horse enters white flowers. What are you saying? Check!)
Baling said, “Piling snow in a silver bowl.” (He chokes you. A profuse outburst.)
Commentary
People often misunderstand this story and say this is a heretical school. What’s the connection? The fifteenth patriarch Kanadeva was indeed once an outsider, but when he met the fourteenth pa triarch Nagarjuna, who presented a bowl of water to him, he put a needle into the bowl. Nagarjuna recognized his capacity, trans mitted the enlightened mind teaching to him, and invested him as the fifteenth patriarch.
Mazu said, “The Lankavatara Sutra says that the Buddha’s words have mind as their source, and that the gate of nonbeing is the gate to reality.” He also said, “Whenever there are verbal statements, this is the school of Kanadeva; just this he considered principal.”
All of you are guests in the Chan school; have you thoroughly comprehended the school of Kanadeva as well? If you have com prehended it, then all heretics are vanquished by you at once. If
82
you have not been able to comprehend it, you can’t avoid defeat. What about it? If you say words are it, this is off the mark; if you say words are not it, this too is off the mark. Where does Mazu’s meaning lie?
Later Yunmen said, “Mazu spoke good words, but no one asks
about it.” Thereupon a monk asked, “What is the school of Ka nadeva?” Yunmen said, “Of the many kinds of heretics, you are the lowest.”
Once when a monk was taking leave of Dasui, Dasui asked,
“Where are you going?” He said, “ To pay homage to Samanta- bhadra. ” Dasui raised his whisk and said, “ManjusrI and Samanta- bhadra are both here.” The monk drew a circle and presented it to Dasui; then he threw it behind him. Dasui said, “Attendant, bring tea for this monk. ”
Yunmen also said, “In India they cut off heads and arms; here
you take what’s due you and get out. ” He also said, “The red flag is in my hand.”
In doctrinal disputes in India the winner held a red flag, while
the loser turned his clothes inside out and departed through a side door. Those who wanted to hold debates in India were re quired to obtain royal permission. Bells and drums would be sounded in the great temples and afterwards the debates began. In Kanadeva’s day heretics had impounded the bell and drum in the Buddhist temple in a persecution. Now Kanadeva knew that Buddhism was in trouble, so he made use of his supernormal pow ers to go up the bell tower and ring the bell, for he wanted to drive out the heretics.
Soon one of the heretics called out, “Who is up in the tower
ringing the bell?” Kanadeva answered, “A deva.” The heretic asked, “Who is the deva?” Kanadeva said, “I.” The heretic said, “Who is T ? ” Kanadeva said “T is you.” The heretic said, “Who is you’? ” Kanadeva said, “‘You’ is a dog.” The heretic asked, “Who is the dog?” Kanadeva said, “ The dog is ‘you.’” After seven go-rounds like this, the heretic realized he was beaten, so he submitted and opened the door of the bell tower, whereupon Kanadeva came down
The Blue Cliff Record
holding a red flag. The heretic said, “Why do you not follow?” Ka nadeva said, “Why do you not precede?” The heretic saidThe School of Kanadeva
is said, “When Daowu brandished his scepter, one who was his equal would understand; when Shikong bent his bow, an adept would tacitly comprehend.” For this truth, if you have no certain transmission from a teacher, what can you use to carry on the esoteric conversation?
Verse
Old Baling
(A thousand soldiers are easy to get, but one general is hard to find. Talkative teacher!)
Is truly something else,
(What truth is this? Have you even dreamed of the peak experience?)
He knows to say, “Piling snow in a silver bowl.”
(The frog can’t jump out of the basket. A double case.
Quite a few people will lose their lives.) The heretics must know for themselves;
(You’re included too, but do you know? All are buried in the same pit.)
If you don’t know, ask the moon in the sky.
(It’s farther than far. Take what’s due you and get out.
Address your plea to the sky.)
The school of Kanadeva, Kanadeva’s school,
(What are you saying? I’m here. A mouthful of frost.) Beneath the red flag, arouses the pure wind. (Shattered. Having struck, I’ll say I’ve already hit it.
Just cut off your heads and arms, and I’ll speak a phrase for you.)
Commentary
“Old Baling / Is truly something else.” Xuedou has ample praise for him. But how is Baling special? “All words are the Buddha’s teaching.” When I talk like this, what’s the reason? Xuedou subtly reveals a little of his meaning when he says it’s just that Baling is
85
The Blue Cliff Record
truly something else. Afterwards he opens up and says, “He knows to say, ‘Piling snow in a silver bowl.’”
Xuedou goes on to provide you with further footnotes: “The heretics must know for themselves.” Before they can do so, they must acknowledge defeat. If you don’t know, ask the moon in the sky. An ancient once gave this answer to this question: “Ask the moon in the sky. ”
Xuedou’s eulogy finished, at the end there must be a living road, a phrase where the lion rears. He raises it higher for you and says, “ The school of Kanadeva, Kanadeva’s school, / Beneath the red flag, arouses the pure wind.” Baling said he piled snow in a silver bowl; why then does Xuedou speak of rousing the pure
wind beneath the red flag? Do you know that Xuedou kills people without using a sword?
14. An Appropriate Statement
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “What are the teachings of a whole life time?” (Even now they’re still not finished. The professor does not understand; he’s in a cave of complications.) Yunmen said, “An appropriate statement.” (An iron hammerhead with no hole. A profuse outburst. A rat gnawing on raw ginger.)
Commentary
Members of the Chan school, if you want to know the meaning of the Buddha nature, you must observe times and conditions. This is called the special transmission outside doctrine, the sole communication of the mind seal, directly pointing to the mind for the perception of the essence and the realization of enlightenment.
For forty-nine years Sâkyamuni Buddha stayed in the world; at three hundred sixty assemblies he expounded the sudden and gradual, the temporary and the true teachings. These are what are called the teachings of a whole lifetime. The monk picked this
86
- An Appropriate Statement
out to ask, “What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?” Why didn’t Yunmen explain for him in full detail, but instead say, “An appropriate statement”?
Yunmen ordinarily included three statements in one statement. These are called the statement that contains the universe, the statement that follows the waves, and the statement that cuts off all streams. He lets go and gathers in, naturally extraordinary, like cutting nails or shearing iron. He makes people unable to figure him out. The whole Canon of teachings just comes down to three words—“An appropriate statement” —there is no facet or aspect of this that you can rationalize.
People often misunderstand and say, “ The Buddha’s teaching was appropriate to the conditions of one time.” Or they say, “All forms are impressions of a single truth,” and call this “an appropriate statement.” Then there are those who say it’s just talking about that one truth. What connection is there? Not only do they not understand, they go to hell as fast as an arrow. They do not know that Yunmen’s meaning is not like this.
Therefore it is said, “Even to shatter one’s bones and crush
one’s body is not sufficient recompense; when a single statement is understood, you transcend ten billion.” Extraordinary indeed— “What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?” just boils down to his saying, “An appropriate statement.” If you can grasp this immediately, you can go home and sit in peace. If not, listen humbly to the verdict.
Verse
An appropriate statement;
(Leaping with life. The words are still in our ears.
Strict indeed.) How utterly unique!
(The onlooker has some part in it. It’s not merely like
a mile-high wall. Is there any such thing?)
He wedges a stake into the iron hammerhead with no hole.
87
The Blue Cliff Record
(He misunderstands the words. Old Yunmen too is washing a lump of dirt in mud; Xuedou too is just pasting on ornaments.)
Under the Jambu Tree I laugh—
(This fellow has never been anywhere. Only those on the same road would know. How many could there be who know?)
Last night the black dragon had its horn wrenched off. (It’s not just the black dragon that gets twisted and
broken. Has anyone seen? Do you have proof? Dumb!) Exceptional, exceptional—
(Ample praise; it takes Xuedou to do this. Where is he exceptional?)
Old Yunmen got one horn.
(Where is it? To whom is the other horn given? Even Deshan and Linji must fall back three thousand miles. Again, what about that other horn? I strike!)
Commentary
“An appropriate statement: / How utterly unique!” Xuedou can not praise him enough. This saying of Yunmen is incomparable. It is like a precipitous cliff ten miles high. Then, too, it is like a mil-
155a lion-man battle line; there is no place for you to get in. It’s just that it’s too inaccessible.
An ancient said, “If you want to attain intimacy, don’t use a ques tion to ask a question; the question is in the answer and the answer is in the question.” Of course it’s inaccessible, but tell me, where is it that it’s inaccessible? No one on earth can do anything about it.
This monk was an adept too, and so he could question like this. And Yunmen answered this way, much like “wedging a stake into the iron hammerhead with no hole.” Xuedou employs lan guage so artfully. “Under the Jambu Tree I laugh” —In the Scrip ture on Creation of the World it says, “South of Sumeru a crystal tree shines over the continent Jambu, making all in between a clear blue. This continent takes its name from this great tree; hence
88
- An Upside-Down Statement
it is called Jambudvipa. This tree is seven thousand leagues high; beneath it are the golden mounds of the Jambu altar, which is twenty leagues high. Since gold is produced from beneath the tree, it is called the Jambu Tree.”
Thus Xuedou says of himself that he is under the Jambu Tree
laughing. What is he laughing at? He’s laughing at the black dragon that got its horn wrenched off last night. All he can do is look up respectfully and praise Yunmen. When Yunmen says, “An appropriate statement, ” what’s it like? It’s like breaking off one of the black dragon’s horns. At this point, if there were no such thing, how could he have spoken as he did?
Xuedou has finished his verse all at once, but he still has some thing to say at the very end: “Exceptional, exceptional— / Old Yunmen got one horn.” Why doesn’t Xuedou say he got them both? How is it that he just got one horn? Where is the other horn?
15. An Upside-Down Statement
Introduction
The sword that kills, the sword that enlivens; the customary rule of time immemorial is still the pivotal essential for today. Tell me, right now which is the killing sword and which the enlivening sword?
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “When it’s not the present potential and not the present situation, what is it?” (Why the leaping about? Fall back three thousand miles.) Yunmen said, “An upside-down statement.” (They come out even. Truth comes out of the convict’s mouth; he can’t be let go. Yunmen stretches out in the wild weeds.)
Commentary
This monk is unquestionably an adept, to be able to pose such a ques tion. This is called asking for more instruction. This is a question to
89
The Blue Cliff Record
demonstrate understanding, and it can also be called a question with a concealed barb. Anyone but Yunmen would have no way to cope with this monk. Yunmen possesses such ability that he can not but reply once the question is raised. Why? An expert teach ing master is like a mirror: if a foreigner comes a foreigner is reflected, and if a native comes a native is reflected.
An ancient said, “If you want to attain intimate understanding, don’t use a question to ask a question. Why? Because the question is in the answer, and the answer is in the question.” Since when have the sages ever had anything to give people? Where is there Chan or the Way that can be given to you? If you don’t do hellish deeds, naturally you will not bring on hellish results. If you don’t create heavenly conditions, naturally you won’t receive heavenly rewards. Whatever you do, you experience the results yourself.
Yunmen clearly tells you, “When we discuss this affair, it’s not in the words. Were it in the words, doesn’t the Canon contain words? What further need would there have been for Bodhidharma to bring Chan from India?”
In the preceding case Yunmen said, “An appropriate statement.” Here, on the other hand, he says, “An upside-down statement.” Since there’s only a difference of a single word, why then are there a thousand differences, ten thousand distinctions? Tell me, where is the confusion? This is why it is said, “The teaching is carried out according to facts; the banner of the teaching is set up according to the situation. ”
“When it’s not the present potential and not the present situation, what is it?” is just worth a nod. Someone with eyes couldn’t be fooled one bit. Since the point of the question was abstruse, the answer too had to be thus. In fact Yunmen is riding the thief’s horse in pursuit of the thief.
Some people mistakenly say, “ Basically these are words of a host, but it was a guest who spoke them; therefore Yunmen said, ‘An upside-down statement.’” What is the rush?
This monk asked well: “When it’s not the present potential and not the present situation, what is it?” Why didn’t Yunmen
90
- An Upside-Down Statement
answer him with some other words? Why instead did he just say to him, “An upside-down statement”? Yunmen at once saw right through him. Still, to say “An upside-down statement” at this point is to gouge a wound in healthy flesh. Why? “The emergence of tracks of words is the source from which divergent opinions are born. ” Suppose there were no words; have the pillars and lamps here ever had any words? Do you understand? If you don’t under stand at this point, you still need to turn over before you will know where the ultimate point of this is.
Verse
An upside-down statement:
(Can’t let it go.) Dividing one token,
(Part on your side, part on my side. Half south of the river, half north of the river. Walking together hand in hand.)
Dying with you, being born with you, to give you
certainty.
(Washing a lump of dirt in mud. For what reason?
Can’t let you go.)
The 84,000 disciples of the Buddha were not worthy successors;
(They seemed to be. He greatly diminishes these people’s
grandeur. The ignorant are plentiful.) Thirty-three people entered the tiger’s den.
(One can only know for oneself. A single general is hard to find. A band of wild fox spirits.)
Distinctly outstanding—
(How is it exceptional? Don’t brag so much. Jump as you will.) The moon in the churning rushing water.
(Under the bright sun in the blue sky, he mistakes the
reflection for the head. Why so busy?)
91
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
Xuedou is undeniably an adept too. Right under the first line he immediately says, “Dividing one token.” Clearly he lets go of the ultimate and joins hands with Yunmen to walk along together with him. Xuedou has always had the technique of letting go; he dares to enter the mud and water for your sake, to die and be
155c born together with you. This is the reason Xuedou praises Yunmen this way. In reality he has no other purpose than to eliminate fixations and hangups.
These days, however, people spin out intellectual interpretations based on his words. As Yantou said, “Although Xuefeng was born of the same lineage as I, he does not die of the same lineage as I. ” If Yunmen were not someone whose whole capacity had penetrated through to liberation, how could he die with you and be born with you? Why can he do this? Because he is free from the many leaking points of gain and loss, right and wrong.
Thus Dongshan said, “If you would judge whether one going beyond is genuine or false, check for three kinds of leakage: emotional leakage, leakage of views, and verbal leakage. If there is leakage of views, the potential does not leave its position and falls into a sea of poison. With emotional leakage, knowledge always turns toward and against, and one’s view is biased. Verbal leak age embodies the marvelous but loses the source; the intellect con fuses beginning and end. You should know these three kinds of leakage for yourself. ”
There are also three mysteries; the mystery within the essence, the mystery within the expression, and the mystery within the mystery. When the ancients came into this realm, their whole capacity was fully used: if you happened to be born, they would be born together with you; if you happened to die, they would die with you. They stretched out in the tiger’s mouth; letting go, they would follow your lead for a thousand miles. Why? You must go back with them to get this one realization before you’ll understand.
As for “The 84,000 disciples of Buddha were not worthy successors,” this refers to the assembly of 84,000 holy people on Vulture
92
- An Upside-Down Statement
Peak of Spirit Mountain—they were not worthy successors. The Buddha held up a flower, and Kasyapa alone broke into a smile— the others did not know what he meant. Thus Xuedou says that the eighty-four thousand were not worthy successors.
“Thirty-three people entered the tiger’s den. ” Ananda asked Kasyapa, “The Buddha bequeathed to you his golden robe; what special teaching did he transmit besides?” Kasyapa said, “Ananda.” Ananda said, “Yes?” Kasyapa said, “ Take down the banner in front of the gate.” Ananda was enlightened at this. Thereafter transmission continued person to person in India and China, through thirty-three patriarchs. All of them had the ability to enter the tiger’s den. The ancients said, if you don’t enter the tiger’s
den, how can you catch a tiger cub?
Yunmen is this kind of person, able to accompany people through birth and death. To help people, a Chan teacher must be
like this, making you break open and letting you grab the tiger’s
whiskers. One must have reached such a realm to be able to teach. If the items of a teacher’s equipment are always with one, it is then possible to accompany people through life and death, pressing down the high, lifting up the low, giving to those who lack. Those on the solitary peak the teacher rescues and sends into the wild weeds; those fallen into the wild weeds the teacher rescues and puts on the solitary peak. If you enter a boiling cauldron or a fiery furnace, the teacher also enters the boiling cauldron and fiery furnace. In reality there is no other purpose but to dissolve fixations and untie bonds, to get rid of what blinds and burdens people.
Master Pingtian had a most excellent verse:
Spiritual light undimmed, Ages of good advice.
Once it comes through this door,
Don’t keep intellectual understanding.
“Distinctly outstanding—The moon in the churning rushing water.” Xuedou unfailingly has a way to manifest in being, and also the skill to bring people to life. He has picked this out to get people
93
The Blue Cliff Record
to awaken to their own living potential. Don’t follow another’s words; if your follow them, that indeed would be the moon in the churning rushing water. Right now, how will you find peace? I leave it up to you.
16. The Man in the Weeds
Introduction
The Way has no byroads; one who stands on it is utterly alone. Truth is not seeing or hearing; words and thoughts are far removed from it. If you can penetrate through the forest of thorns and untie the bonds of the enlightened state, you attain the land of inner peace, where the gods have no way to offer flowers, where outsiders have no door to spy through. Then you work all day without ever work ing, talk all day without ever talking; then you can unfold the device of breaking in and breaking out, and use the double-edged sword that kills and brings life, with freedom and independence.
Even if you are thus, you must also know that within the me dium of provisional expedients, there is lifting up with one hand and pressing down with one hand. Yet this still amounts only to a little bit. As for the fundamental matter, this has nothing to do with it. What about the fundamental matter?
Story
A monk asked Jingqing, “I am breaking out; I ask the teacher to break in.” (Why raise waves where there’s no wind? What do you want with so many views?) Jingqing said, “Can you live?” (A jab. He buys the hat to fit the head. He meets error with error. Every one can’t be this way.) The monk said, “If I weren’t alive, I’d be laughed at by people.” (He drags others into it. He’s holding up the sky and supporting the earth, but he’s one-sided.) Jingqing said, “You too are a man in the weeds.” (After all. Take what’s coming to you and get out. He can’t be let go.)
94
Commentary
Jingqing was a successor of Xuefeng, and a contemporary of the likes of Benren, Xuansha, Sushan, and Taiyuan Fu. First he met Xuefeng and understood the message. Thereafter he always used devices for breaking through the shell of the ego from outside and inside. He was skilled at teaching according to the potentialities of his listeners.
Once Jingqing said, “Seekers must have the perception and
ability to break out at the same time as the teacher breaks in. It’s like when the hen wants to break into the egg, the chick inside must break out; and when the chick is going to break out, the hen must break in.” A monk asked, “When the hen breaks in and the chick breaks out, from the standpoint of the teacher, what does this amount to?” Jingqing said, “Good news.” The monk asked, “When the chick breaks out and the hen breaks in, from the stand point of the student, what does this amount to?” Jingqing said, “Revealing the face.”
The monk in this story was also a student of Jingqing and
understood his methods. Therefore he questioned like this: “I am breaking out; I ask the teacher to break in.” In the Cao-Dong line this is called using phenomena to illustrate one’s condition. How so? When the chick breaks out and the mother breaks in, they are naturally perfectly simultaneous.
Jingqing too does well; we could say his fists and feet are coordinated, his mind and eye illumine each other. He answered by say ing, “Can you live?” The monk too does well; he also knows how to change with the circumstances. In this one sentence of Jingqing’s there is guest and host, illumination and function, killing and enlivening. The monk said, “If I weren’t alive, I’d be laughed at by people. ” Jingqing said, “You too are a man in the weeds.” Everyone goes into the mud and water, but Jingqing is indeed severe. Since the monk understood enough to question in this way, why did Jingqing nevertheless say he was a man in the weeds? Because the eye of an adept must be this way, like sparks, like lightning. Whether
The Blue Cliff Record
you can reach it or not, you won’t avoid losing your life. If you are this way, then you see Jingqing calling him a man in the weeds.
Therefore Nanyuan said, “Everywhere they only have the per ception to break in and out simultaneously, but not the ability. ” A monk asked, “What is the ability to break in and out simulta neously?” Nanyuan said, “An adept does not break in and out; both are error.” The monk expressed doubt; Nanyuan said, “What are you in doubt about?” The monk said, “Error.” Nanyuan hit him; the monk did not acquiesce, and Nanyuan drove him out. Later that monk went to Yunmen’s community, where he brought up this conversation. A monk said to him, “Did Nanyuan’s staff break?” The first monk was greatly awakened at this. But tell me, where is the meaning?
The monk returned to see Nanyuan, but since Nanyuan had passed on, he saw Fengxue instead. As soon as he bowed, Fengxue said, “Aren’t you the one who was asking our late teacher about simultaneous breaking in and out?” The monk said he was. Feng xue said, “What was your understanding at that time?” The monk said, “At first it was as if I were walking in the light of a lamp.” Fengxue said, “You’ve understood.” What principle is this? The monk just said, “At first it was as if I were walking in the light of a lamp” — why did Fengxue immediately tell him he’d understood?
Later Cuiyan commented, “Though Nanyuan put his plan into operation from within his tent, nevertheless the country is big, the people few, and those who know are rare.” Fengxue commented,
156c “At the time Nanyuan should have hit him right across the back the minute he opened his mouth, to see what he would do.” If you see this story, you see where the monk and Jingqing met. How would you avoid Jingqing calling you someone in the weeds?
Verse
The ancient Buddhas had a family tradition;
(The words are still in our ears. The model for all time.
Don’t slander old Sakyamuni Buddha.) Responsive preaching comes to scornful detraction.
96
The Man in the Weeds
(Why are you under my control? Eight blows pays for thirteen. What about you? He lets the initiative go, so I’ll strike.)
Chick and mother hen do not know each other;
(Since they don’t know each other, why then do they naturally break in and break out?)
Who is it that breaks in and breaks out together?
(Shattered. This is kindness, but don’t misunderstand.) A peck, and he awakens;
(What are you saying? You’ve fallen into the secondary.)
But he’s still in the shell. (Why not come out?)
Once again he receives a blow;
(Wrong! I strike! A double case; triple, quadruple.)
All the Chan practitioners in the world name and describe it in vain.
(He has let go; he needn’t bring it up. Is there anyone who can name or describe it? If there is, that one too is in the weeds. From time immemorial, the darkness is boundless; it is everywhere, but no one understands.)
Commentary
With the one line “The ancient Buddhas had a family tradition,” Xuedou has completed his verse. Whoever comes forth simply won’t be able to approach. If you do approach, you’re ten thousand miles away. As soon as you come forth you’ve fallen into the weeds. Even if you can go freely in all directions, it wouldn’t be worth a pinch.
Xuedou says, “The ancient Buddhas had a family tradition.” It is not only now that it is so; when Sakyamuni was first born, he pointed to the sky and earth, scanned the four quarters, and said, “In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honored one.” Yunmen said, “Had I seen him then, I would have struck him dead with one blow and fed him to the dogs, so that there might be peace in the world.” Only being thus can one reply appropriately. So devices of breaking in and out are all in the family tradition of the ancient Buddhas.
97
The Blue Cliff Record
If you can attain to this Way, you’ll be able to knock down a mountain fortress with a blow of your fist and topple a clifftop temple with a single kick. It’s like a bonfire; approach and it will burn off your face. It’s like a sharp sword; fool around with it and you lose your life. Only those who have penetrated through to the great liberation can be like this. Otherwise, if you miss the source and get stuck on the words, you surely won’t be able to grasp this kind of talk.
“Responsive preaching comes to scornful detraction. ” This is “One guest, one host, one question, one answer.” Right in the asking and answering there’s the scornful detraction. It’s called “responsive preaching coming to scornful detraction.” Xuedou has deep knowledge of this matter, so he can complete his verse in only two lines.
At the end Xuedou goes down into the weeds to explain things thoroughly for you. “Chick and mother hen do not know each other;
/ Who is it that breaks in and breaks out together?” Though the hen breaks in, she cannot cause the chick to break out; though the chick breaks out, it cannot cause the hen to break in. Neither is aware of the other. At the moment of breaking in and breaking
out, who is it that breaks in and out together?
If you understand this way, you still haven’t been able to get beyond Xuedou’s final line. Why? Haven’t you heard Xiangyan’s saying: “The chick breaks out, the hen breaks in—when the chick awakens, there is no shell. Chick and hen both forgotten, response to circumstances is unerring. On the same path, chanting in har mony, through the marvelous mystery, walking alone.”
Nonetheless Xuedou comes down into the weeds and creates complications by saying, “A peck.” This one word praises Jingqing’s answer, “Can you live?” “ He awakens” praises the monk’s reply, “ If I weren’t alive, I’d be laughed at by people.” Why then does Xuedou go on to say, “He’s still in the shell”? Xuedou can distin guish initiate from noninitiate in a flash; he can discern the clue to the whole thing instantly.
Jingqing said, “You too are a man in the weeds.” Xuedou says, “Once again he receives a blow.” This difficult part is it; when
98
- The Living Meaning of Chan
Jingqing says, “You too are a man in the weeds, ” can this be called snatching the man’s eyes away? Does it mean he’s still in the shell? This has nothing to do with it. How so? If you don’t understand, you can travel all over the world and still not be able to requite your debt. When I talk like this, I too am a man in the weeds.
“All the Chan practitioners in the world name and describe it in vain.” Who doesn’t name and describe? At this point, Xuedou himself cannot name or describe it, yet he drags in others, the Chan practitioners of the world.
Now tell me, how did Jingqing help this monk? No one in the
world can leap out.
17. The Living M eaning o f Chan
Introduction
Cut through nails, shear through iron; then you can be a genuine Chan master. If you run away from arrows and avoid swords, how can you possibly be an adept? Where even a needle cannot enter, I leave aside for now; tell me, what’s it like when the waves flood the skies?
Story
A monk asked Xianglin, “What is the living meaning of Chan?” (There have been many people with doubts about this; there is still news of this around.) Xianglin said, “Sitting for a long time, one becomes weary.” (When a fish swims through, the water is disturbed; when a bird flies by, feathers fall. Better shut that dog’s mouth. The eye of an adept. This is difficult to penetrate.)
Commentary
Xianglin says, “Sitting for a long time, one becomes weary.” Un derstand? If you do understand, you can put down your shield and spear on the hundred grasses. If not, listen humbly to the verdict.
99
The Blue Cliff Record
When the ancients traveled, forming associations with chosen companions on the Way, they would set aside illusions to look for truth. When Yunmen was teaching in south China, Xianglin came to him from west China. He was contemporary with Ehu and Jingqing. He first went to Baoci, then later came to Yunmen, whom he attended for eighteen years.
Xianglin learned from Yunmen personally; though his enlight enment came late, still he was a man of great faculties. He stayed with Yunmen for eighteen years; time and again Yunmen would call to him, then when he responded, Yunmen would say, “What
is it?” Then no matter how much Xianglin spoke to present his understanding and exercise his mind, he never reached accord. One day, though, he suddenly said he understood. Yunmen said, “Why not say something above and beyond this?” Xianglin stayed another three years. Yunmen’s eloquent elucidations of states in private conferences were mostly so that Xianglin could enter in ac tively wherever he was. Yunmen’s sayings were collected by Xianglin. Later Xianglin returned to western China. Master Zhimen was originally from eastern China but made a special trip west to see Xianglin, of whose teaching he had heard so much. Zhimen was Xuedou’s teacher. Though Yunmen taught innumerable people, Xianglin’s stream flourished most of all among the wayfarers of that generation. He taught for forty years, living until the age of
eighty. He once said, “Only when I was forty did I attain unity. ”
Ordinarily he would say, “Whenever you go traveling to search for teachers, you must bring along the eye to distinguish initiate from superficialist, to tell shallow from deep. First you must es tablish your resolve, just as the Buddha did when in the causal state; all his thoughts and words were to set his resolve.”
A monk asked, “What is the lamp within the room?” Xianglin said, “If three people testify it’s a turtle, it’s a turtle.” The monk asked, “What is the affair under the patched robe?” Xianglin said, “The conflagration at the end of time burns up the mountain.”
Since olden times many answers have been given for the living meaning of Chan. Only Xianglin, in this story, has silenced
100
17. The Living Meaning of Chan
everyone on earth; there is no place for you to calculate or rationalize. “What is the living meaning of Chan?” “Sitting for a long time, one becomes weary.” These could be called flavorless words, which choke people and leave no place to breathe out. If you would see, just see immediately. If you don’t see, avoid entertaining intellectual interpretations.
Xianglin had encountered an adept, so he possessed Yunmen’s technique and harmonious mastery of the three statements. People often misunderstand and say, “ The Chan founder came to China and sat facing a wall for nine years; isn’t this sitting for a long time and becoming weary?” What is there to hold onto? They don’t see that Xianglin had attained the realm of great independence and had his feet on the ground of reality; without so many theories and views of Buddhism, he could meet the situation and act accordingly. As it is said, “The teaching is carried on according to facts; the banner of the teaching is set up according to the situation. ”
Xuedou uses this wind to fan the fire, and from his position as a bystander points out one or a half.
Verse
One, two, a thousand, ten thousand;
(Why not practice accordingly? Very plentiful; why are they congregating into a crowd?)
Strip off the blinders; unload the saddle bags. (From now on you must be purified, clean, and at
ease. Can you rest yet?)
Turning to the left, turning to the right, following up behind;
(You still can’t let yourself go. Reflections upon reflections, echoes upon echoes. I strike!)
Zihu had to hit Iron Grindstone Liu.
(I’d break the staff and no longer carry out this order.
He draws his bow after the thief has gone, so I strike. Danger!)
101
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
i57 c Xuedou strikes directly, like sparks, like lightning; he pushes it out for you to see, which you can do only if you understand immediately as soon as you hear it mentioned.
Undeniably Xuedou is a descendant of Xianglin; thus he is able to talk this way. If you can directly and immediately under stand in this way, then you are indeed extraordinary.
“One, two, a thousand, ten thousand; / Strip off the blinders; unload the saddle bags.” Purified, clean, and at ease, they are not stained by birth and death; they are not bound by emotional interpretations of sanctity and profanity. Above, there’s nothing to look to for support; below, there’s no personal self. They’re just like Xianglin and Xuedou; how could there be just a thousand or ten thousand? In fact all the people in the world, each and every one, are all like this. The past and future Buddhas are all like this too.
If you make up intellectual understandings of the words, then this is like “Zihu had to hit Iron Grindstone Liu.” In fact, as soon as such interpretations are raised, Xuedou strikes while you are still speaking.
Zihu studied under Nanquan, along with Zhaozhou and Tiger Cen. At that time Iron Grindstone Liu had set up a hut on Mt. Gui. No one could cope with her. One day Zihu came to see her. He asked, “You’re Iron Grindstone Liu, aren’t you?” She said, “I don’t presume to be.” Zihu asked, “Do you turn to the left or turn to the right?” She said, “Don’t tip over.” Zihu struck her as she spoke.
Answering the monk who asked about the living meaning of Chan, Xianglin said, “Sitting for a long time, one becomes weary. ” If you understand this way, you are “turning to the left, turning to the right, following up behind.” But tell me, what is Xuedou’s meaning in such a verse?
102
18. The Seamless Monument
Story
Emperor Taizong (Actually it was Daizong—this is a mistake.) asked National Teacher Huizhong, “What will you need after a hundred years?” (He scratches before it itches. As it turns out, he’ll create a model and draw a likeness; though great and venerable, he acts this way—he shouldn’t point to the east as the west.) The teacher said, “Build a seamless monument for me.” (It can’t be grasped.) The emperor said, “Tell me, what would the monument look like?” (A good challenge.) The teacher was silent; after a while he asked, “Understand? ” (Confined in prison, one increases in wisdom. After all he points to the east as the west and takes the south for the north. All he can do is frown.) The emperor said, “I don’t understand.” (Lucky he doesn’t understand; had he pressed further at this time and made the teacher gulp a mouthful of frost, he’d have gotten somewhere.) The teacher said, “I have a successor, Danyuan, who knows all about this. Please summon him and ask him.” (He’s lucky the emperor didn’t overturn his meditation seat; why didn’t he give some of his own provisions? Don’t confuse the man. He let the initiative go.) After the National Teacher passed on, (What a pity! After all the emperor will mistakenly go by the zero point of the scale.) the emperor summoned Danyuan and asked him what the meaning of this was. (The son takes up the father’s work. He too falls into the second level, into the third level.) Danyuan said, “South of Xiang, north of Tan; (This too can’t be grasped. Two by two, three by three—what are you doing? Half open, half closed.) [Xuedou commented, “A single hand does not make random sound.”] (The blind leading the blind. After all he is following the words to produce interpretations. Why follow false hood and pursue evil?) In between there’s good filling the whole country. (Above is the sky, below is the earth. I’ve had no such news. Whose concern is this?) [Xuedou commented, “A roughhewn staff.”] (It’s been broken. This too is creating a model and drawing
158a
The Blue Cliff Record
a likeness.) Beneath the shadowless tree, the community ferry boat; (The founder has perished. What are you saying?) [Xuedou commented, “ The sea calm, the rivers are clear.”] (Vast waves flood the skies. This still only amounts to a little bit.) within the crystal palace, there’s no one who knows.” (Tsk!) [Xuedou commented, “He’s raised it up.”] (He draws his bow after the thief has gone. The words are still in our ears.)
Commentary
Suzong and Daizong were descendants of Xuanzong. When they were princes, they were fond of meditation. When Suzong came to the throne, National Teacher Huizhong was living on White Cliff Mountain. Though he did not come down from the mountain for more than forty years, word of his practice of the Way reached the imperial precincts. In 761 the emperor Suzong sent an emissary to summon Huizhong to the palace. The emperor regarded him as his teacher and honored him greatly. Huizhong lectured the emperor on the supreme Way; then when he left court, the emperor personally escorted him. The courtiers were angry at this and wanted to make their displeasure known to the emperor. But the teacher, who could read minds, went to the emperor first and said, “In the presence of Indra, I have seen countless emperors, evanescent as a flash of lightning. ” The emperor respected him even more after this.
When Daizong succeeded to the throne, he too invited Huizhong to the capital. The teacher stayed there until he died in 776, teach ing according to the occasion.
There was a certain Chan master, once the traveling companion of the National Teacher; the latter asked the emperor to summon him to court. But this master did not rise to three imperial summonses, and used to criticize the National Teacher for addition to fame and fortune and for liking the company of people.
Huizhong was National Teacher under two emperors, father and son. Both emperors studied meditation. According to the Trans mission of the Lamp, Daizong asked the question in this story; Suzong asked about the Ten Body Controller.
104
When the National Teacher’s life was over and he was about to enter Nirvana, he took leave of Daizong, who asked him what he would need after death. This is just an ordinary question, but the teacher stirred up waves without wind and said, “Build me a seamless monument.” Tell me, under the bright sun in the blue sky, why answer like this? It should have been enough to build a monument; why did he say to build a seamless monument?
Daizong, also adept, pressed him: “What would the monument
be like?” The teacher was silent; after a time he said, “ Under stand?” How extraordinary this little bit is; it’s most difficult to approach. Pressed by the emperor, the teacher, supposedly so great, could only frown. Even so, anyone else would probably have been bowled over.
Many say that the National Teacher’s not speaking is itself
what the monument is like. If you understand in this way, the whole Chan school will be wiped off the face of the earth. If you say keeping silent is it, then mutes too must understand Chan.
An outsider asked the Buddha, “I don’t ask about the spoken or the unspoken.” The Buddha remained silent. The outsider bowed and said in praise, “The Buddha’s great compassion has dispersed the clouds of my delusions and afforded me insight. ” Later after the outsider had left, Ananda asked the Buddha, “What did the outsider realize, that he said he gained insight?” The Buddha said, “Like a good horse, he goes as soon as he sees the shadow of the whip.” People often go to the silence for their understanding— what grasp have they?
My teacher Wuzu said of the seamless monument, “In front,
pearls and agate; in back, agate and pearls; on the east are Ava- lokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta; on the west are Manjusri and Samantabhadra. In the middle there’s a flag blown by the wind, saying, ‘Flap, flap.” ’
The National Teacher asked, “Understand?” The emperor said,
“I don’t understand,” yet he had attained a little. Now tell me, is this “I don’t understand” the same as Emperor Wu’s “I don’t know”? They seem the same, but actually they’re not.
he Blue Cliff Record
The National Teacher said, “I have a successor, Danyuan, who knows all about this. Please summon him and ask him about it.” Putting aside Taizong’s not understanding for the moment, did Danyuan understand? All that was needed was to say, “What would the monument be like” —no one in the world can do anything about it. Wuzu commented, “You are teacher of a whole nation; why don’t you speak instead of deferring to your disciple?”
After the National Teacher died, the emperor summoned Danyuan to ask about the meaning of this. Danyuan then came on behalf of the National Teacher and explained the principle with foreign words and native speech; naturally he understood what the teacher had said and just needed a single verse to explain:
South of Xiang, north of Tan;
Within there’s gold filling the whole country.
Beneath the shadowless tree, the community ferryboat; In the crystal palace, there’s no one who knows.
Danyuan was the National Teacher’s attendant. After he had be come a teacher himself, Yangshan came to see him. Danyuan’s words were severe, his nature harsh and unapproachable. It was impossible to stay there, so Yangshan went to Chan master Xingkong. A monk asked Xingkong, “What is the living meaning of Chan?” He replied, “Suppose a man is in a deep well; if you could get this man out without using any rope, I’d tell you the living meaning of Chan.” The monk said, “These days Master Chang of Hunan is talking this way and that for people too. ” Xingkong then called to Yangshan, “Novice, drag this corpse out of here.”
Later Yangshan took this up with Danyuan and asked, “How can one get the man out of the well?” Danyuan said, “Tsk! Ignora mus! Who is in the well?” Yangshan didn’t understand; later he
i58 c asked Guishan, who immediately called Yangshan by name. When Yangshan responded, Guishan said, “He’s out!” At this Yangshan was greatly enlightened. He said, “At Danyuan’s I attained the essence, at Guishan’s I attained the function. ”
106
- he Seamless Monument
As for this little verse of Danyuan’s, it has led many people into false interpretations. People often misunderstand and say, “Xiang is the xiang of xiangjian ‘meet’, and Tan is the tan of tanlun ‘discuss’. Therein is the seamless monument, so the verse says there’s gold within, filling the country. ‘Beneath the shadowless tree, the community ferryboat’ is the interchange between the teacher and the emperor. The emperor didn’t understand, so the verse says, ‘Inside the crystal palace there’s no one who knows.’ ” Also, some say the first line means south of Xiang province and north of Tan province; “In between there’s gold filling the country” they say praises the emperor. Then they blink their eyes, look around, and say, “This is the seamless monument. ” If you under
stand in such a way, you have not gone beyond emotional views.
As for Xuedou’s four comments, how will you understand them? People today don’t know the ancient’s meaning. How do you un derstand “south of Xiang, north of Tan”? How do you understand “within there’s gold filling the nation”? How do you understand “beneath the shadowless tree, the community ferryboat”? How do you understand “within the crystal palace, there’s no one who knows”? If you can see thus, you will be joyful and happy all your life.
“South of Xiang, north of Tan.” Xuedou says, “A single hand does not make a random sound.” He couldn’t but explain for you. “Within there’s gold, filling the whole country.” Xuedou says, “A rough-hewn staff.” An ancient said, “If you know the staff, the work of your life study is done.” “Beneath the shadowless tree, the community ferryboat.” Xuedou says, “ The sea is calm, the rivers are clear.” He opens the windows and doors all at once—on all sides gleaming clarity. “ Inside the crystal palace, there’s no one who knows.” Xuedou says, “He’s raised it.” He has explained for you all at once, but nevertheless it’s hard to see. It’s fine if you see, but there’s a slight misapprehension, giving rise to literal interpretation. At the end, saying, “ He’s raised it,” Xuedou is getting somewhere. Having clearly made all his comments, afterward he simply eulogizes the seamless monument.
107
The Blue Cliff Record
Verse
The seamless monument—
(How big is this one seam? What are you saying?) To see it is hard.
(It’s not something eyes can see. Blind!)
A clear pool does not admit the blue dragon’s coils. (See? Great waves, vast, gigantic. Where will the blue
dragon coil? Here it just cannot be found.) Layers upon layers,
(Don’t hallucinate. Why are you hallucinating?) Shadows upon shadows—
(The whole body is an eye. You fall into sevens and eights. Two by two, three by three, walking the old road; turning to the left, turning to the right, following up behind.)
For ever and ever it is shown to people.
(See? How will blind people see? Can you catch a glimpse?)
Commentary
Right off Xuedou says, “ The seamless monument—to see it is hard.” Though it stands uniquely revealed with nothing hidden, when you want to see it, it’s hard to see. Xuedou is very compassionate, and tells you more: “A clear pool does not admit the blue dragon’s coils.” Wuzu said, “In Xuedou’s whole volume of poems on old stories, I just like the line, ‘A clear pool does not admit the blue
dragon’s coils.’” Yet this is still a little.
Many people go to the National Teacher’s silence for their sustenance; if you understand in this way, you at once go wrong. Has it not been said, “ Reclining dragons are not to be seen in stagnant water. Where they are not, there’s moonlight and the ripples are settled; where they are, waves arise without wind.” Also it is said, “Reclining dragons always fear the blue pool’s clarity.” As for Xuedou, even if huge waves flooded the sky, he still would not coil up in there.
108
- ne Finger Chan
Getting to this, Xuedou’s verse is finished. Afterwards he ap plies a little bit of eye and carves a seamless monument. Follow ing up behind he says, “ Layers upon layers, / Shadows upon shadows— / For ever and ever it is shown to people.” How will you look upon it? Where is it right now? Even if you see it clearly, don’t make the mistake of sticking by the zero point of the scale.
18. One Finger Chan
Introduction
When a single particle arises, the whole earth is contained therein; when a single flower blooms, the world emerges. But before the particle arises, before the flower opens, how will you set eyes on it? So it is said, “It’s like cutting a skein of thread; when one strand is cut all are cut. It’s like dying a skein of thread; when one strand is dyed, all are dyed. ” This very moment you should cut off all com plications. Bring out your own family jewels and respond every where, high and low, before and after, without missing. Each and every one will be fully manifest. If you’re not yet like this, look into the story below.
Story
Whenever anything was asked, (What news is there? Dimwit!) Master Judi would just raise one finger. (This old fellow too would silence everyone on earth. When it’s warm, all heaven and earth are warm; when it’s cold, all heaven and earth are cold. He snatches away the tongues of everyone on earth.)
Commentary
If you understand at the finger, you turn away from Judi; if you don’t understand at the finger, it’s like cast iron. Whether you understand or not, Judi still goes on this way; whether you’re high or low, he still goes on this way; whether you’re right or wrong, he
109
The Blue Cliff Record
still goes on this way. So it is said, “As soon as a single particle arises, the whole earth is contained therein; when a single flower blooms, the world comes into being. The lion on the tip of a hair appears on the tips of ten billion hairs.”
Yuanming said, “When it’s cold, all heaven and earth are cold; when it’s warm, all heaven and earth are warm.” The mountains, rivers, and earth, the nexus of myriad forms, down to the under world, up to the heavens—tell me, what is so extraordinary? If you know, it’s not worth taking hold of; if not, it blocks you completely.
Master Judi was from eastern China. When he was living in a hermitage, a nun named Shiji came to his hut. When she got there she went straight in; without taking off her hat she walked around his meditation seat thrice holding her staff. “ If you can speak,”
159b she said, “I’ll take off my hat.” She questioned him three times, but Judi had no reply. Then as she was leaving, Judi said, “It’s late—would you stay the night?” The nun said, “If you can speak I ’ll stay.” Again Judi had no reply. The nun then walked out. Judi said sorrowfully, “ Though I’m in the body of a man, I lack the spirit of a man. ” After this he determined to clarify this matter. He meant to leave his hermitage to go in search of a teacher, but that night, after he had prepared his bindle, the spirit of the moun tain told him, “You don’t have to leave; tomorrow a living saint will come and teach you. ”
As it turned out, the next day Master Tianlong actually came. Judi welcomed him and gave a full account of the previous events. Tianlong just lifted up one finger to show him; suddenly Judi was greatly enlightened.
At that time Judi was most earnest and singleminded, so he broke through easily. Later, whenever anything was asked, he just raised a finger.
Changqing said, “Delicious food is not for the satisfied one to eat.” Xuansha said, “Had I seen him then, I’d have broken the finger off. ” Xuanjue said, “When Xuansha spoke this way, what did he mean?” Yunju Xi said, “When Xuansha spoke this way, was he agreeing with Judi or not? If he agreed, why did he speak
110
19. One Finger Chan
of breaking off the finger? If not, where was Judi’s error? ” Caoshan said, “Judi’s realization was crude; he only recognized one device, one perspective. Like everyone else, he claps his hands and slaps his palms, but I look upon Xiyuan as exceptional.” Xuanjue also said, “Was Judi enlightened or not? Why was his realization crude? If he wasn’t enlightened, how could he say he used one-finger Chan all his life without exhausting it? Where is Caoshan’s meaning?” At that time, Judi actually didn’t understand. After his enlightenment, whenever anything was asked, he would just raise a finger; why couldn’t anyone entrap him or break him apart? If you understand it as a finger, you definitely won’t see the ancient’s meaning. This kind of Chan is easy to approach but hard to under stand. People these days who just hold up a finger or a fist as soon as they’re questioned are just fooling around. It is necessary to pierce the bone, penetrate the marrow, and see all the way through. At Judi’s hermitage there was a servant boy. While he was away from the hermitage he was asked what method his master used to teach people; the boy held up a finger. When he returned, he told the master of this. Judi cut off the boy’s finger with a knife. As the boy ran out screaming, Judi called to him; when the boy looked back, Judi raised his finger, at which the boy opened up to
understanding. Tell me, what truth did he see?
When nearing death, Judi said, “I attained Tianlong’s one finger Chan and have used it all my life without exhausting it. Do you want to understand? ” Then he held up a finger and died.
Mingjiao later asked Guotai Shen, “An ancient said Judi just recited a three-line spell and thereby became more famous than anyone else. How can you quote the three-line spell for someone?”
Shen raised a finger. Minjiao said, “If not for today, how could I know this borderlands traveler?” What does this mean?
Mi Mo just used a forked branch all his life. The Earthbeater
would just hit the ground once whenever anything was asked. Once someone hid his staff and then asked, “What is the Buddha?” He just opened his mouth wide. These methods too were used for a whole lifetime without being exhausted.
I l l
The Blue Cliff Record
Wuye said, “Bodhidharma observed that China had people with the potential to be vessels of universal teaching. He transmitted only the mind seal, to instruct those on the paths of illusion. Those who attain it do so regardless of ignorance or knowledge, worldliness or holiness. Much falsehood is not as good as a little truth. Anyone with power will immediately rest right this moment and abruptly still all entanglements, thus passing beyond the stream of birth and death and going far beyond the usual patterns. Even if you have family and estate, it is attained naturally, without ambition.” All his life, to every question Wuye would say, “ Don’t think falsely. ”
So it is said, “Penetrate one point, and at once you penetrate myriad points; understand one device, and at once you understand myriad devices. ”
Generally people these days are not this way; they just indulge in conceptual and emotional interpretations and don’t understand the essential point of the ancients. How could Judi have had no other devices to switch to? Why did he just employ one finger? You must realize that here is where Judi helps people so profoundly and intimately.
Do you want to understand how to save strength? Go back to Yuanming’s saying, “When it’s cold, all throughout heaven and earth is cold; when it’s warm, all throughout heaven and earth is warm. ” Mountains, rivers, and earth, myriad forms and appearances, above and below, are one solitary sheer unity; where will you find one finger Chan?
Verse
For his appropriate teaching, I deeply admire old Judi; (A leper drags along his companions. Only those on the same path know. Nevertheless it’s only one device,
one perspective.)
Since the universe has been emptied, who else is there? (Two, three—there’s still one more. He too should be
struck dead.)
112
- One Finger Chan
Having cast a piece of driftwood onto the ocean,
(It’s all this. So it is, but it’s too inaccessible. Worn out sandals; what use does it have?)
Together in the night waves, we take in blind turtles.
(Dragging the sky, searching the earth; what end will there be? When we take them in, what are they good for? We act according to what is imperative. I’ll drive them toward a world where there is no Buddha. I’ve taken you in, blind man.)
Commentary
Xuedou has mastered literary composition; he’s consummately ac complished. He especially likes to make up verses for obscure and unusual stories. For students of today he censures and praises the ancients; as guest or host, with a question or an answer, he holds
them up before you—this is how he helps people. Thus he says, “For 160a his appropriate teaching I deeply admire old Judi. ” Why does Xuedou admire him? Since the universe began, who else has there ever been?
Just this one, old Judi. Had it been anyone else, inevitably he’d have been inconsistent; only Judi just used one finger till he died. People often interpret this wrongly and say, “Mountains, rivers, and earth are empty; people are empty; the Dharma is empty too. Even if the universe were emptied out all at once, it’s just this
one, old Judi.” This has nothing to do with it.
“Having cast a piece of driftwood onto the ocean.” Nowadays they call this the ocean of birth and death. Within the ocean of doing, beings appear and disappear without understanding them selves, without hope of getting out. Old Judi extends his mercy to take people in; in the ocean of birth and death he uses one figure to rescue others. It’s like setting down a piece of driftwood to res cue a blind turtle. He enables all beings to reach the other shore. “ Together in the night we take in blind turtles.” The Lotus Sutra says, “It’s like a one-eyed turtle sticking its nose through a hole in a floating board—it won’t sink and drown.” When a great teacher receives someone who is like a dragon or a tiger, he directs
113
The Blue Cliff Record
him to a world where there is a Buddha to act in turn as guest and host, and to a world where there is no Buddha to occupy the essential way across. Having taken in a blind turtle, what use is it?
19. The Living M eaning o f Chan
Introduction
Piled in mountains, heaped in ranges, up against walls, pressed against barriers, if you linger in thought, holding back your po tential, you’ll be bitterly cramped. Or else, someone may appear and overturn the ocean, kick over the polar mountain, scatter the white clouds with shouts, break up space, and straightaway with one device, one object, silence everyone on earth, so that there is
no way for you to approach. Tell me, since ancient times, who has ever been this way?
Story
Longya asked Cuiwei, “What is the living meaning of Chan?” (It’s an old tale known everywhere, but still he wants to put it to the test.) Cuiwei said, “Pass me the meditation brace.” (What will he use the meditation brace for? Just about let go. Danger!) Longya gave Cuiwei the brace; (He can’t hold onto it. Given a fine steed, he doesn’t know how to ride it. What a pity that he doesn’t take charge right away.) Cuiwei took it and hit him. (Got him! What is accomplished by hitting a dead man? He too has fallen into the
i 60b secondary.) Longya said, “Hit me if you will, but there is no mean
ing of Chan. (His talk is in the secondary; he draws his bow after the thief is gone.)
Longya also asked Linji, “What is the living meaning of Chan?” (Again he inquires into the commonplace old story; it’s not worth a half cent.) Linji said, “Pass me the cushion.” (If the waves of the Chan stream were alike, countless people would get bogged down. One punishment for all crimes. They’re buried in the same pit.) Longya handed Linji the cushion; (As before, he can’t hold onto it;
114
- The Living Meaning of Chan
as before, he’s not very clever. He’s neither here nor there.) Linji took it and hit him. (Got him! What a pity to be hitting this kind of dead man. Linji comes out of the same pattern as Cuiwei.) Longya said, “Hit me if you will, but there’s no meaning of Chan.” (Obviously. He’s living inside a ghost cave. He thinks he’s gained the advantage. He draws his bow after the thief is gone.)
C om m entary
Master Cuiyan Zhi said, “It was so at that time, but do Chan prac titioners these days still have blood under their skin?”
Guishan Zhe said, “Cuiwei and Linji can be called genuine
Chan masters. Longya was pulling out the weeds seeking the Way, like everyone; and indeed he can serve as a model for people of later times. After he became a teacher, a monk asked, ‘Did you agree with those two adepts at that time?’ Longya said, I agreed, as far as agreement goes; it’s just that there’s no meaning of Chan. Longya looks carefully in front and behind, and dispenses medicine to suit the disease. I, however, am not this way; when asked whether Longya had agreed with the two adepts, whether he un derstood or not, I would have brought my staff down across the questioner’s back. This not only supports Cuiwei and Linji, but also doesn’t turn away from the questioner.”
Shimen Cong said, “Longya is still all right if there’s no one to
press him, but when he’s pressed by a Chan practitioner he loses
one eye.”
Xuedou said, “Linji and Cuiwei only knew how to hold still, not how to let go. If I had been Longya, when they asked for the cushion and brace, I would have picked it up and thrown it right down in front of them.”
Wuzu Shijie said, “The teacher has such a long face!” He also
said, “ The Chan founder’s star of ill omen is over his head.”
Huanglong Xin said, “Longya drove off the plowman’s ox, snatched away the hungry man’s food. Once he’s clear, he’s clear; why then is there no meaning of Chan? Understand? On the staff there is an eye bright as the sun; to tell whether gold is real, see it in fire.
115
The Blue Cliff Becord
When the essential wonder is extolled and the fundamental vehicle is expounded, if you can understand it instantly, then you can silence everyone on earth. But if you vacillate, you fall into the secondary. Linji and Cuiwei may have beaten the wind and hit the rain, startled heaven and shaken the earth, but they have never really hit a clear-eyed person.
When the ancients studied Chan, they suffered some pains; having established powerful resolve, they would traverse mountains and rivers to call on adepts. First Longya met Cuiwei and Linji; later he saw Deshan. There he asked, “How is it when a student holding a sharp sword tries to take the teacher’s head?” Deshan stretched out his neck and uttered a grunt. Longya said, “The teacher’s head has fallen. ” Deshan smiled and said nothing.
Next Longya went to Dongshan. Dongshan asked, “Where did you come here from?” Longya said, “From Deshan.” Dongshan said, “What did Deshan say?” Longya recounted the preceding story. Dongshan asked, “What did he say?” Longya said, “Nothing.” Dongshan said, “Don’t tell me he said nothing; just try to show me Deshan’s fallen head.” At this Longya gained insight. Then he
burned incense and bowed in the direction of Deshan to repent.
When he heard this, Deshan said, “Old Dongshan can’t tell good from bad; this fellow has been dead so long, what’s the use of saving him? Let him wander over the earth carrying my head.”
Longya was basically intelligent and acute. He went traveling carrying a bellyful of Chan, and went right to Cuiwei, whom he immediately asked, “What is the living meaning of Chan?” Cuiwei said, “Pass me the meditation brace.” Longya gave Cuiwei the brace; Cuiwei took it and hit him. Longya said, “Hit me if you will, but there is no meaning of Chan. ” He also asked Linji, “What is the living meaning of Chan?” Linji said, “ Pass me the cushion.” Longya handed Linji the cushion; Linji took it and hit him. Longya said, “Hit me if you will, but there is no meaning of Chan.”
When Longya posed the question, he not only wanted to see the old teachers, but he also wanted to clarify the great concern of his own self. We can say that his words were not spoken in vain,
116
20. The Living Meaning of Chan
that his effort was not expended haphazardly; they issued from this doing his work.
When Wuxie went to see Shitou, he had told himself that he
would stay if there was accord at the first word, but otherwise would leave. Shitou just sat there; Wuxie left. Shitou knew that Wuxie was a vessel of truth, so he had extended his teaching to him; but Wuxie didn’t understand and left. When he got to the gate, Shitou called out to him; when Wuxie looked back, Shitou said, “From birth to death it’s only this; don’t seek anymore for anything else by turning your head and revolving your brain.” At these words Wuxie was greatly enlightened.
When Magu came to Changqing, he walked around the medi
tation seat thrice, shook his staff, and stood there. Changqing said, “Right, right.” He also went to Nanquan, and again circled thrice, shook his staff, and stood there. Nanquan said, “Wrong, wrong. This is something the power of the wind can turn about; in the end it breaks down.” Magu said, “Changqing said right; why do you say wrong? ” Nanquan said, “Changqing is right; it is you who are wrong.” Inevitably the ancients had to take up this one matter and penetrate it. People today, when questioned, are found not to have made the slightest effort; they’re this way today, and they’ll be this way tomorrow too. If you just keep on like this, you will never have a day of completion. You must arouse and purify your spirit;
only thus will you have some realization.
Observe Longya coming out with one question, on the living meaning of Chan. Cuiwei said, “Pass me the meditation brace.” When Longya gave it to him, he took it and hit Longya. When Longya picked up the brace, how could he not have known Cuiwei
was going to hit him? And it won’t do to say Longya didn’t under- i6ia stand, for why then would he pass the brace to Cuiwei? Tell me, at
the moment he understood, how should Longya have acted? He didn’t go to the living water to act, but went into dead water for sustenance. Acting as master throughout, he said, “ Hit me if you will, but there’s no meaning of Chan.”
117
The Blue Cliff Record
Longya also called on Linji and asked the same question. Linji said, “Pass me the cushion.” When Longya gave it to him, he took it and hit him. Longya said, “Hit me if you will, but there is no meaning of Chan.” Tell me, since the two adepts were not of the same lineage, why did their answers resemble each other, why did they act the same way? You must realize that each word, each phrase of the ancients was not uttered at random.
Later, when Longya was teaching, a monk asked, “Did you agree with those two adepts back then?” Longya said, “As far as agreement goes, I agreed, but there is no meaning of Chan. ” There are thorns in the soft mud. To let go for people is already falling into the secondary; Longya held steady—he only acted as an adept in the Dongshan line. To be a disciple of Deshan or Linji, he would have had to realize there is a living side besides. As for me, I am not this way; I would have said, “As far as agreement is concerned, I don’t agree; in essence, though, there is no meaning of Chan.”
A monk asked Damei, “What is the meaning of Chan?” Damei said, “Chan has no meaning.” Hearing of this, Yanguan said, “One coffin, two corpses.” Xuansha, hearing of this, said, “Yanguan is indeed an adept.” Xuedou said, “ Three corpses.” The monk asked about the meaning of Chan; though Damei told him it has no mean ing. If you understand this way, you fall into the realm of noth ingness. Therefore Yuanmi said, “You must study the living word, not the dead word. If you can understand at the living word, you will never forget it; if you understand at the dead word, you won’t even be able to save yourself. ”
When Longya spoke this way, he had undeniably done his best. An ancient said, “Continuity is very difficult.” The ancients did not speak at random; before and after mutually illuminating, with both temporal and real, with both perception and function, guest and host were clear, interchanging vertically and horizontally.
If you want to discern the inside story, since Longya was not ignorant of the fundamental vehicle, how could he have fallen into second place? At the time when the two adepts asked for the brace and cushion, Longya could not but have known their intention. It
118
20. The Living Meaning of Chan
was just that he wanted to make use of that which was within his own heart. Even so, nonetheless his use of it was too extreme. Longya asked this way, and the two elders answered this way; why then is there no meaning of Chan? When you get here you must know there’s something else extraordinary. Xuedou picks it up to show people:
Verse
In Dragon Tusk Mountain the dragon has no eyes; (Blind. Other people may be fooled — This is washing
dirt in mud. Everyone on earth knows.)
When has stagnant water ever displayed the ancient way?
(Should it suddenly come to life, nothing can be done.
He drags in everyone on earth so that they can’t come forth.)
If you can’t use the meditation brace and cushion,
(Who would you have say this? What do you want to do with the brace and cushion? Didn’t he hand them over to you?)
You should just give them over to Mr. Lu.
(But they can’t be given over. Ignoramus, don’t entertain such views.)
Commentary
Xuedou settles the case according to the facts. Though he versifies this way, tell me, where is his meaning? Where does the dragon lack eyes? Where is he in stagnant water? At this point you need the power to transform and pass through. That is why it is said, “In a clear pool there’s no place for the blue dragon to coil.” Has there ever been a fierce dragon in stagnant water? Haven’t you heard it said, “Stagnant water cannot conceal a dragon”? If it is a live dragon, it must go where huge waves flood the skies. This is to say that Longya went into stagnant water and was hit by the
The Blue Cliff Record
others. Yet he did say, “Hit me if you will, but there is no meaning of Chan.” This prompted Xuedou to say, “When has stagnant water ever displayed the ancient way?” Although this is so, tell me, was Xuedou upholding Longya or diminishing his dignity?
People often misunderstand and ask, “Why did Xuedou say, ‘You should just give them over to Mr. Lu’? ” They still don’t know that Longya did indeed give them to others. Whenever you visit teachers for instruction, you must discern in the midst of action; only then will you see where those ancients met.
“If you can’t use the meditation brace and cushion,” Cuiwei said, “pass me the meditation brace.” and Longya gave it to him; isn’t this living in stagnant water? Clearly Longya has been given a fine steed; it’s just that he doesn’t know how to ride it, that he is unable to make use of it.
“You should just give them over to Mr. Lu.” People often say Mr. Lu is the sixth patriarch; this is wrong. Xuedou has called himself Mr. Lu before, in a verse called “Anonymous Bequest”:
I saw its picture that year and loved Dongting; In the waves, seventy-two peaks of blue.
Now, resting on high, I think back to what was before; To the picture I’ve added Mr. Lu leaning against a wall.
Xuedou wanted to walk on Longya’s head, but he still feared that people would misunderstand, so he made up another verse to cut away people’s doubtful interpretations. Again he takes it up and says:
Verse
Since this old fellow couldn’t yet put an end to it, again he makes a verse;
(Obviously. How many people would know? He knew himself that he had gotten only a half; luckily he has a final word.)
Once Mr. Lu has accepted them, why depend on them? (Even if you search the whole world, such a person is hard
to find. Who would you have comprehend your words?)
120
- The Living Meaning of Chan
Sitting, leaning—cease taking these to continue the lamp of Chan.
(A man in the weeds. He sits under the black mountain.
He’s fallen into a ghost cave.)
It’s worth replying: the evening clouds, returning, have not yet come together;
(One, a half. Bring it up and already you’re wrong. After
all he can’t get out.)
Distant mountains without end, layer upon layer of blue. (They block your eyes and ears. Sunk in a deep pit. Study
for thirty more years.)
Commentary
“Once Mr. Lu has accepted them, why depend on them?” What is there to depend on? Here you must understand things directly this way; don’t go on sticking to obsolete methods. Smash through imagination all at once, so there isn’t anything on your mind— make it clean and free. Then what more need is there for some thing to rely on? Whether sitting (on the cushion) or leaning (on the brace), it’s not worth considering it the principle of Buddhism. That is why Xuedou says, “Sitting, leaning—cease taking these to continue the lamp of Chan.” At once Xuedou has brought it up completely; he has room to turn around, and at the end he reveals this scene where there’s a bit of a nice place. He says, “It’s worth replying: the evening clouds, returning, have not yet come together.” Where is Xuedou’s meaning? When the evening clouds have returned and are about to join together but have not yet done so, how is it then? “ Distant mountains without end, layer upon layer of blue.” As before he’s gone into a ghost cave. Here, when gain and loss, right and wrong, are cut off all at once, and you are clean and free, only then do you realize something. “Dis tant mountains without end, layer upon layer of blue.” Tell me, is this Manjusri’s realm? Is it Samantabhadra’s realm? Is it Avalo- kitesvara’s realm? When you get here, whose affair is this?
20. Lotus Flower, Lotus Leaves
Introduction
Setting up the banner of the teaching, establishing the essential message —this is adding flowers to brocade. Strip off the blinders, unload the baggage—this is the season of great peace. If you can discern the statement outside of patterns, then when one part is raised you understand the rest. Otherwise, if you’re not yet thus, as before listen humbly to this treatment.
Story
A monk asked Zhimen, “How is it when the lotus flower has not yet emerged from the water?” (The hook is in an unsuspected place. Washing dirt in mud. How did he get this news?) Zhimen said, “A lotus flower.” (One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. He stumps everyone on earth.) The monk said, “What about after it has emerged from the water?” (Don’t go in a ghost cave to live. Again he goes on this way.) Zhimen said, “Lotus leaves.” (Up north is still all right; the worst suffering is in the south. Two heads, three faces. He kills everyone on earth with laughter.)
Commentary
In treating people according to potential, Zhimen has attained a little; when it comes to cutting off all streams, he’s a million miles away. Is this lotus flower before and after it emerges the same or different? If you can see thus, I’ll grant you’ve gained access. None theless, if you say it’s the same, you confuse Buddha nature and cloud thusness. If you say it’s different, mind and objects are not yet forgotten, and you descend to travel the road of intellectual interpretation—when will you ever cease?
Tell me, what does the ancient mean? In reality there aren’t so many things. So Touzi said, “Just don’t stick to names and words, classification and phrasing. If you have understood all things, natu rally you won’t be attached to them. There is then no multiplicity
122
- Lotus Flower, Lotus Leaves
of gradations of differences; you take in all things, but all things won’t be able to take you in. Fundamentally there is no gain or loss, no illusions or dreams, no multiplicity of names. You should not insist on setting up names for them. Can they fool you? Since you ask questions, therefore I say something. If you didn’t ask, what could you have me say that would be right? All concerns are what you take up—none of it is any of my business.”
An ancient said, “ If you want to know the meaning of the Bud dha nature, you must observe time and condition.”
Yunmen cited this story: a monk asked Lingyun, “ How was it
before the Buddha appeared in the world?” Lingyun raised his whisk. The monk asked, “What about after the Buddha appeared in the world?” Again Lingyun raised his whisk. Yunmen said, “The first time he hit, the second time he missed.” He also said, “With out speaking of appearing or not appearing, where would there be the time of his asking?”
With each answer to each question the ancients accorded with
the time and situation without a multitude of concerns. If you pursue words and follow phrases, there will never be any connection. If in words you can penetrate through words, if in meanings you can pass through meanings, if within devices you can penetrate the devices, and if you make yourself free, only then will you see the point of Zhimen’s answer.
Yunmen said, “For all time it’s just been one thing. There is no right or wrong, no gain or loss, no born or not born. ” Here the ancients laid down one path where there’s an entrance and an exit. One who hasn’t yet understood gropes and clings; if you make him let go, then he goes into a state of wild desolation. Someone who has attained won’t depend on anything at any time. How will you search out someone revealing a device, a perspective, who does not depend on anything?
This monk asked, “ How is it when the lotus flower has not yet
emerged from the water?” Zhimen said, “A lotus flower. This is just an answer that blocks the question, yet it’s exceptional. People say his words were backwards, but how is that so? Haven’t you
123
The Blue Cliff Record
heard how Yantou said, “I always appreciate it when nothing has been said—that is getting somewhere.”
Where Zhimen revealed his mind, he was already leaking. Students these days don’t wake up to the ancient’s meaning, they just go on talking theoretically of “emerged from the water” and not yet emerged from the water.” What connection is there?
A monk asked Zhimen, “What is the body of wisdom?” He said, “An oyster swallowing the moon.” The monk asked, “What is the functioning of wisdom? ” Zhimen said, “A rabbit becomes pregnant.”
See him responding like this; no one on earth can search out the stream of his words.
If someone asked me how it is when the lotus flower hasn’t emerged from the water, I would just answer, “ The pillars and lamps.” Is this the same as the lotus flower or different? If I were asked about after the lotus emerges, I would answer, “ The staff holds the sun and moon, underfoot how muddy and deep!” Tell me, is this right or wrong? And don’t mistakenly stick by the zero point of the scale.
Verse
Xuedou is extremely compassionate, breaking up people’s intellectual interpretations, so he comes out with his verse:
Lotus flower, lotus leaves—he reports for you to know; (Doting kindness. An obvious issue. Its pattern is already
revealed.)
How can emerging from the water compare to before emergence?
(Washing dirt in mud. Dividing them is all right, but you can’t lump them together.)
North of the river, south of the river, ask Old Wang; (Where is the master? Why ask Old Master Wang? You’re
just wearing out your shoes.) Foxy doubt after foxy doubt.
124
- Lotus Flower, Lotus Leaves
(I bury them in one pit. It’s you who doubt. You won’t avoid feelings of doubt without respite. Having struck, I say, “Understand?”)
Commentary
Originally Zhimen was from eastern China; he made his way to Xianglin in western China, then returned after his enlightenment. Xuedou was Zhimen’s true successor; he saw well Zhimen’s most hidden, most subtle point and said directly, “Lotus flower, lotus leaves—he reports for you to know; / How can emerging from the water compare to before emergence?” Here he wants people to understand directly.
I say, how is it when it hasn’t emerged?—the pillars and lamps.
What about after it’s emerged—the staffupholds the sun and moon, underfoot how muddy and deep! But don’t mistakenly abide by the zero point of the scale. What limit is there to people these days chewing over the words and phrases of others?
Tell me, when it emerges from the water, what time is this?
Before emergence, what time is this? If you can see to this point, I’ll allow that you’ve seen Zhimen personally.
Xuedou says, if you don’t see, “North of the river, south of the
river, ask Old Wang.” Xuedou means that you should just go north and south to ask adepts about “emerged from the water” and “not emerged from the water.” If you add two phrases south of the river, add two phrases north of the river, add one load upon an other load, creating doubts over and over, just tell me, when will you be free of doubt? You’re like wild foxes, full of doubt, walking on river ice. They listen for the sound of the water; if there is no sound, they can cross the river. If students have “foxy doubt after foxy doubt,” when will they attain peace?
125
22. The Turtle-Nosed Snake
Introduction
Reality is infinitely vast, yet minute as an atomic particle. Whether to hold on or let go is not up to another; whether to roll up or roll out is up to oneself. If you want to free what is stuck and loose what is bound, you simply must cut away the traces and swallow the sounds. All people occupy the essential crossing point; each towers like a mile-high wall. Tell me, whose realm is this?
Story
162c Xuefeng said to the assembly, “On South Mountain there’s a turtle nosed snake. (If you see something strange as not strange, the strangeness disappears of itself. What a strange thing! Indeed it causes people to doubt.) All of you must take a good look.” (Aha! A case of overindulgence.) Changqing said, “In the hall today there certainly are people losing their lives. ” (A man from the land of brig ands escorts a bandit. He judges others on the basis of himself.) A monk related this to Xuansha. (There’s no different dirt in the same pit. When the manservant sees the maidservant, he takes care. Those with the same disease sympathize with each other.) Xuansha said, “Only Changqing can be like this. Nonetheless, I do not concur.” (He doesn’t avoid forming a wild fox spirit view. What news is this? His poison breath afflicts others.) The monk asked, “What about you?” (He too presses the old guy well.) Xuansha said, “Why use ‘South Mountain’?” (Xuansha the fisherman. Only this wild fox spirit has attained a little. He’s lost his life and doesn’t even realize it.) Yunmen threw his staff down in front of Xuefeng and made a gesture of fright. (Why be afraid of it? One son has intimately attained. All of them are doing mental gymnastics. All of you try to discern this.)
Commentary
If you spread it out evenly, I let you spread it out evenly; if you break it up, I let you break it up.
126
- he Turtle-Nosed Snake
Xuefeng traveled with Yantou and Qinshan. In all, he went to Touzi thrice and Dongshan nine times. Later he called on Deshan, and only then did he break through confusion.
One day he went with Yantou to visit Qinshan. On the way,
they were snowed in on Tortoise Mountain. Day after day Yantou just slept, while Xuefeng constantly sat in meditation. Yantou yelled at him and said, “Get some sleep! Every day you’re on the meditation seat, just like a clay statue in a village. Some day you’ll fool people.” Xuefeng pointed to his heart and said, “I am not yet at peace here; I don’t dare deceive myself.” Yantou said, “I had thought that later on you would go to the summit of a solitary peak, build a straw hut, and spread the great teaching; yet you still make such a statement?” Xuefeng said, “I’m really not at peace.” Yantou said, “If so, bring forth your insights one by one; I’ll approve what’s correct and prune away what’s wrong.”
Then Xuefeng related, “When I saw Yanguan bring up the meaning of form and void, I gained entry.” Yantou said, “Avoid mentioning this for thirty years.” Then Xuefeng said, “When I saw Dongshan’s verse on crossing the river, I had an insight. ” Yan tou said, “This way, you won’t be able to save yourself. ” Xuefeng went on, “Later when I got to Deshan I asked if I had any part in the most ancient religion; he struck me and said, W hat are you saying!’ Then my mind opened up.” Now Yantou shouted and said, “Haven’t you heard that what comes in through the door is not the family treasure?” Xuefeng said, “What should I do?” Yantou
said, “In the future, if you want to propagate the great teaching,
let each point flow out from your own heart, to come out and cover the universe.” At these words Xuefeng was greatly enlightened. He prostrated himself, crying out again and again, “Today on Tortoise Mountain I’ve finally achieved enlightenment!”
Later Xuefeng lived on Elephant Bone Mountain in Fukien.
He left behind this verse about himself:
Human life, so fleeting, is but a brief instant;
How can you dwell for long in the evanescent world?
127
The Blue Cliff Record
At thirty-two, I emerged from the mountains; Now over forty, I return to Fukien.
No use bringing up others’ faults again and again; One’s own mistakes must be cleared away continually.
I humbly report to the scarlet and purple clad nobles who fill the court;
The king of death has no awe of the golden emblems of rank you wear.
Usually Xuefeng would teach by saying, “In every respect cover the universe.” He talked no more of mystery or marvel, nor of mind or nature. He appeared striking, unique, like a great fiery mass; approach and he burns off your face. Like a sharp sword, fool around with him and you lose your life. If you linger in thought, holding back your potential, you lose contact.
Baizhang asked Huangbo, “Where are you coming from ?” Huangbo said, “I’ve been at the foot of the mountain picking mush rooms.” Baizhang said, “See any tigers?” Huangbo roared like a tiger. Baizhang picked up an axe and made a chopping gesture; Huangbo slapped him. Baizhang chuckled and went back and told the group, “There’s a tiger on the mountain; all of you should watch out for him. Today I myself got bitten.”
Whenever Zhaozhou saw a monk, right away he would say, Have you ever been here?” Whether the monk said he had or hadn’t, Zhaozhou would say, “Go have some tea. ” The temple over seer asked, “You always ask monks if they’ve been here or not, then always tell them to go have tea. What do you mean?” Zhao zhou said, “Overseer!” When the overseer responded, Zhaozhou said, “Go have some tea. ”
On the gate at Zihu was a sign that said, “At Zihu there’s a dog. On top he takes people’s heads, in the middle he takes people’s midsections, and below he takes people’s legs; hesitate and you’re lost.” As soon as he saw a newcomer, the master of Zihu would immediately shout and say, “Watch the dog!” The moment the monk turned his head, the master would return to his room.
128
22. The Turtle-Nosed Snake
These stories are just like Xuefeng’s saying, “On South Mountain there’s a turtle-nosed snake; all of you should watch it care fully.” At such a time, how would you reply? Without following in your former tracks, try to say something for me to see. When you get here, you must understand the statement outside patterns; then, when all the Chan stories are brought up, you will immediately know what they refer to. See how Xuefeng teaches this way, without speaking to you of practice or understanding. Can you figure him out by means of intellectual discrimination?
Since Changqing, Xuansha, and Yunmen are his heirs, what they say is exactly appropriate. This is why an ancient said, “On hearing words, you must understand the source; don’t set up private rules.” Words must have that which is beyond patterns; statements must penetrate the barrier. If your words are no more than clichés you fall into a sea of poison.
Xuefeng’s teaching this way can be called flavorless talk that chokes people. Changqing and Xuansha are both his apprentices, so they understand when he speaks this way.
What about “On South Mountain there’s a turtle-nosed snake”?
Do you know what this really means? Here you must have the all- pervasive eye to understand. Have you read Zhenjing’s verse?
Beating the drum, strumming the lute, Two men of understanding meet.
Yunmen is able to harmonize —
Changqing knows how to follow his vagaries. The ancient song has no rhyme.
South Mountains’ turtle-nosed snake; Who knows this meaning?
Truly it’s Xuansha.
When Changqing replied as he did, what was his meaning? To get here you must be like lightning to reach. If there’s anything you can’t clear away, you can’t reach his depths. It’s a pity that people mostly make intellectual interpretations of Changqing’s words.
The Blue Cliff Record
They say, “As soon as something is heard in the hall, this is losing one’s life.” Some say, “Fundamentally there’s nothing at all; to say this kind of thing out of the blue makes people doubt. People hear him say there’s a turtle-nosed snake on South Mountain and immediately doubt.” If you understand in such ways, you have no contact; you just go on living on the words. If you don’t under stand thus, how will you understand?
Later a monk related this to Xuansha. He said, “Only Chang- qing can be like this; nevertheless, I do not concur.” The monk asked, “What about you?” Xuansha said, “Why use ‘South Moun tain’? ” Observe how in Xuansha’s words there is a place where he manifests his being. He said, “Why use ‘South Mountain’? ” If it hadn’t been Xuansha, it would have been very difficult to reply. When Xuefeng speaks this way, “On South Mountain there’s a turtle-nosed snake,” tell me, where is it? To get here you must be a transcendent person; only then will you be able to understand such talk. An ancient said, “Xuansha the fisherman doesn’t like South Mountain; he likes the turtle-nosed snake.”
Then we get to Yunmen; he threw his staff down in front of Xuefeng, making a gesture of fright. Yunmen has the ability to handle snakes and doesn’t run afoul of the sharp point. He strikes home in light and strikes home in darkness too. As he helps people it’s always like doing a sword dance; sometimes he flies onto people’s eyebrows and eyelashes, sometimes he flies three thousand miles away and snatches people’s heads. His throwing down his staff and making a gesture of fright—isn’t this giving play to his spirit? Doesn’t he lose his life too? Expert teachers never make a living
163c on words. Liking the way Yunmen accords with Xuefeng’s mean ing, Xuedou makes his verse on it:
Verse
Elephant Bone Cliff is so high no one reaches it;
(A thousand, ten thousand, search but cannot find. It’s not your realm.)
Those who get there must be master snake handlers.
130
- The Turtle-Nosed Snake
(This is a spirit recognizing a spirit, a thief recognizing a thief. Why gather in crowds? Still, you must be of the same group to make it.)
Changqing and Xuansha can’t do anything—
(Their crimes are listed on the same indictment. They passed up the first move.)
How many lose their lives?
(A crime is not judged twice. He drags in common people.)
Yunmen knows;
(He’s still just attained a little. This old guy has just one eye. The old guy is just being clever.)
Again he searches the weeds—
(He’s fallen in the weeds; what’s the use? After all, where is the snake? I strike!)
South, north, east, west; no place to search. (Is there? Is there? You’re blind.)
Suddenly he thrusts out his staff (Look! Set your eyes high. I strike!)
And throws it down before Xuefeng, its mouth wide open. (One reaps the fruit of one’s own deeds. Even if it
swallows a thousand, ten thousand, what is accomplished? No one on earth can find it.)
The gaping mouth is like a lightning flash;
(A double case. After all. Luckily there is a final word.) Raise your eyebrows and you won’t see.
(It’s already gone by. Search all over the land for such a person, and still it’s hard to find one. Right now where is it?)
Right now it’s hidden here on this mountain;
(Where’s it gone? Even the great Xuedou acts this way too. Today I have been bitten.)
Those who come, one by one observe expedient methods. (Blind! Don’t look where he is; look where you are. He’s
shot an arrow.)
131
The Blue Cliff Record
Xuedou shouted and said, “Look right where you are!” (He draws his bow after the thief has gone. Secondary, tertiary. Repeated words are not worth listening to.)
Commentary
“Elephant Bone Cliff is so high no one reaches it; / Those who get there must be master snake handlers.” Elephant Bone Cliff is Xuefeng’s mountain. Xuefeng’s intellect is lofty and sharp; rarely is there anyone who reaches his place. Xuedou is his descendant; they’re birds of a feather. Answering each other with the same voice, seeking each other with the same spirit, it takes adepts to join in the mutual witness of enlightenment.
Still, this turtle-nosed snake is unavoidably hard to handle; you must know how to handle it before you can do so. Conversely, if you don’t know how to handle it, you’ll be bitten by the snake. Wuzu said, “With this turtle-nosed snake; you must have the ability not to get your hands or legs bitten. Hold it tight by the back of the neck with one quick grab. Then you can walk along with me.” Changqing and Xuansha had this kind of ability. When Xuedou says that they couldn’t handle it, people often say they couldn’t do anything about it, so Xuedou only praises Yunmen. But this has nothing to do with it. They don’t know that there is no gain or loss in the ability of these three men; it’s just that there is far and near. Now I ask you, where is it that Changqing and Xuansha
couldn’t manage?
“How many lose their lives?” This praises Changqing’s saying, “In the hall today there certainly are people who lose their lives. ” To
i64 a get here, first you must be thoroughly versed in snake handling.
Xuedou is descended from Yunmen, so he brushes the others away and just keeps one, Yunmen: Xuedou says, “Yunmen knows;
/ Again he searches the weeds.” Since Yunmen knew the meaning of Xuefeng’s saying, “On South Mountain there’s a turtle-nosed snake, ” therefore “Again he searches through the weeds. ”
After Xuedou has taken his verse this far, he still has more marvels. He says, “South, north, east, west; no place to search.”
132
- The Turtle-Nosed Snake
You tell me where the snake is. “Suddenly he thrusts out his staff.” All along the snake has been right here. But don’t go to the staff for sustenance. Yunmen threw his staff down in front of Xuefeng with a gesture of fright; thus he used his staff as the snake. Once, though, he said, “ The staff has changed into a dragon and swal lowed the universe; where are mountains, rivers, and earth to be found?” Just this one staff—sometimes it’s a dragon, sometimes it’s a snake. Why is it like this? Only when you get here will you know, as an ancient said, “Mind revolves along with myriad phe nomena; the turning point is truly mysterious.”
The verse says, “He throws it down before Xuefeng, its mouth open wide. / The gaping mouth is like a lightning flash.” Xuedou has extra talent; he picks up Yunmen’s poisonous snake and says this gaping mouth is like a flash of lightning—hesitate and you lose your life. “ Raise your eyebrows and you won’t see.” Where has it gone?
His verse finished, Xuedou must go to a living place to help
others; he takes Xuefeng’s snake and picks it up and sports with it himself. Indeed he kills and brings life in accord with the occasion. Do you want to see? He says, “Right now it’s hidden here on this mountain; / Those who come, one by one observe expedient methods.” Xuedou is still too subtle; he doesn’t say “Use it right away,” but instead shouts and says, “Look right where you are.” Since ancient times how many people have picked up the snake and sported with it? Tell me, has the snake ever wounded anyone or not? (Then Master Yuanwu struck.)
133
23. The Summit of the Peak of Wonder
Introduction
Jewels are tested with fire, and gold is tested with a stone; a sword is tested with a hair, and water is tested with a pole. In the Chan school, in one word, one phrase, one act, one state, one exit, one entry, one encounter, one response, you must see whether some one is deep or shallow; you must see whether someone is facing forward or backward. But tell me, what will you use to test people?
Story
Once when Baofu and Changqing were walking in the mountains, (These two guys have fallen into the weeds.) Baofu pointed and said,
Right here is the peak of wonder. ” (He raises a pile of bones on level
ground. Just avoid speaking of it. Dig a hole and bury it deep.) Chang qing said, “Indeed it is. What a pity.” (If you don’t have iron eyes, you 11probably be confused. Those with the same illness sympathize with each other. Both are buried in the same pit.) Xuedou said, “What is the purpose of roaming the mountains together today?” (Xuedou indeed diminishes people’s worth. Still, there’s something to it. The bystander wields a sword.) He also said, “Hundreds and thou sands of years hence, I don’t say there will be none, just that they will be few.” (Don’t brag so much. Here’s another cloud-dwelling saint.) Later this dialogue was quoted to Jingqing. (There’s good, there’s bad.) Jingqing said, “If not for Changqing, you would have seen skulls covering the fields.” (Only those on the same road know. The earth is so vast and desolate it kills people with sadness. When the manservant sees the maidservant, he takes care. Even if Linji and Deshan appeared, they too would have to take a beating.)
Commentary
Baofu, Changqing, and Jingqing were all heirs of Xuefeng; these three attained alike, realized alike, saw alike, heard alike, picked
134
- The Summit of the Peak of Wonder
up alike, used alike. Going in and out, they parleyed back and forth, one after the other. As they were of the same lineage, as soon as one raised something the others knew what it came down to. In Xuefeng’s group it was these three who always engaged in questioning and answering. Whatever they were doing, at all times, the ancients were mindful of this way; that is why as soon as it is brought up they know the ultimate point.
One day when he was walking in the mountains Baofu pointed
and said, “Right here is the peak of wonder.” When Chan folk these days are questioned this way, they only frown; luckily it was Changqing. Tell, when Baofu spoke thus, what was his purpose? When Baofu acted thus, he wanted to test whether Changqing had eyes or not.
Changqing, of like spirit, naturally knew what Baofu was get
ting at; so he replied, “Indeed it is. What a pity.” But what did he mean by this? You can’t always go on this way. Rare are those who are completely free, though there are those who seem so. Luckily Changqing understood Baofu completely.
Xuedou said, “What is the purpose of roaming the mountains together today?” What does this refer to? He also said, “Hundreds and thousands of years hence, I don’t say there will be none, just that they will be few.” Xuedou knows how to point to himself. This is like Huangbo’s saying, “I don’t say there is no Chan, just that there are no teachers.” Xuedou is also indeed strict in speaking thus. If Xuedou hadn’t answered back with the same voice, how could it have been this unique and extraordinary? This is called an added com ment; it comes down on both sides yet doesn’t remain on either side. Later this was quoted to Jingqing. He said, “If not for Chang qing, you would have seen skulls covering the fields. ” A monk asked Zhaozhou, “What is the lone summit of the peak of wonder? ” Zhao- zhou said, “I won’t answer your question.” The monk asked, “Why not?” Zhaozhou said, “I fear that if I answered you, you would fall
onto the level ground. ”
In a scripture it says the monk MeghasrI always stayed on the lone summit of the peak of wonder; he never came down from the
The Blue Cliff Record
mountain. Sudhana went to see him and searched for seven days without finding him. Then one day they met on a separate peak. When he had seen him, Meghasri explained for Sudhana that the world is a moment of thought, and that the wisdom and illumination of all Buddhas is the door to truth that appears everywhere. Given that Meghasri never came down from the mountain, why did they meet on a separate peak? You may say that Meghasri must have come down from the mountain, yet the scripture says he never did, that he was always on the solitary summit of the peak of wonder. At this point, where are Meghasri and Sudhana really? Li Tongxuan wrote a good verse on this:
The lone summit of the peak of wonder Is the teaching of uniform equanimity. Each and every one—they’re all reality;
Each and every one—they’re all complete. Where there’s no gain and no loss,
No affirmation and no negation, There it stands alone revealed; Therefore Sudhana couldn’t see him.
When you get to the point of merging with nature, it’s like the eye not seeing itself, the ear not hearing itself, the finger not feeling itself, a sword not cutting itself, fire not burning itself, water not washing itself. At this point there are many instances of compassionate assistance in the teachings; this is why they let down a path and in methods of secondary truth set up host and guest, devices and perspectives, questions and answers. So it is said, “ The Buddhas have not appeared in the world, nor is there any Nirvana. They manifest such things as expedient means to rescue beings.” But tell me, in the end, how will you avoid Jingqing and Xuedou talking as they did? Had they been unable to clap in unison then, that would have been why “the skulls of all the people on earth cover the fields.” Changqing comes up with this testimony, and both Baofu and Changqing use it this way. Afterwards Xuedou
comes out with a verse more brilliant yet.
- The Summit of the Peak of Wonder
Verse
On the lone summit of the peak of wonder, weeds grow profusely;
(You lose your body too. The weeds are already
several yards deep right where you stand.) Clearly it is brought up—to be given to whom? (And used for what? No one on earth knows. A dry
turd; what is it good for? You got your nostrils but lost your mouth.)
If not for Changqing discerning the real point,
(Wrong! Watch the arrow? He’s caught the thief without even realizing it.)
Skulls would cover the ground, but how many people
would know?
(They won’t live again. They’re extremely numerous.
You got the nostrils but lost the mouth.)
Commentary
“On the lone summit of the peak of wonder, weeds grow profusely.” If you roll around in the weeds, when will you ever have done? “Clearly it is brought up—to be given to whom?” Where is the clarity? This praises Baofu saying, “Right here is the summit of the peak of wonder. ”
“If not for Changqing discerning the real point. ” What truth
did Changqing see that he could say, “So it is. What a pity.”? As for “Skulls would cover the ground, but how many people would know?” —do you people know? Blind!
24. Guishan and Iron Grindstone Liu
Introduction
Stand on the summit of the highest peak, and demons and outsiders cannot know you; walk on the bottom of the deepest sea, and even the Buddha’s eye cannot catch the sight of you. Even if your eyes are like shooting stars and your intellect like lightning, still you won’t avoid being like the sacred tortoise dragging its tail. At this point, what is proper?
Story
Iron Grindstone Liu went to Guishan. (Surely it’ll be hard to stay there. This old lady doesn’t keep to her place.) Guishan said, “Old cow, so you’ve come! ” (Check! This is a probe to test her. Where do you look to see the riddle?) She said, “ Tomorrow there’s a communal feast on Mt. Tai; are you going?” (The arrow is not shot to no purpose. In China they beat the drum; in Korea they dance. The letting go was too fast; the gathering in is too slow.) Guishan lay down; (The arrow struck home. Where do you see Guishan? Who realizes that in the far-off misty waves there is another more ex cellent realm of thought?) Liu immediately left. (She’s gone. She saw the opportunity and acted.)
Commentary
The nun Iron Grindstone Liu was like sparks, like lightning; hesitate and you lose your life. In the path of Chan, if you get to the most essential point, where are there so many things? This meeting of adepts is like seeing horns on the other side of the wall and immediately knowing there’s an ox there, like seeing smoke on the other side of a mountain and immediately knowing there’s a fire. When pushed they move, when pressed they turn about.
Guishan said, “After I die I ’ll become a water buffalo at a patron’s house at the foot of the mountain. On my left flank five
138
Guishan and Iron Grindstone Liu
words will be written: ‘A Guishan monk, me.’ Would it be right then to call it a Guishan monk, or would it be right to call it a buffalo?” When people these days are questioned about this, they are stumped and can’t explain.
Iron Grindstone Liu had studied for a long time; her active
edge was sharp and dangerous. People called her “Iron Grindstone” Liu. She built a hut a few miles from Guishan. One day she went to see Guishan. When he saw her, he said, “Old cow, so you’ve come.” She said, “ Tomorrow there’s a communal feast on Mt. Tai; are you going?” Guishan lay down, and Liu left. Look—through out they seemed to be conversing, but this is not Chan. Can it be understood by calling it no-thing?
Guishan is over six hundred miles from Mt. Tai; how did Liu
want to have Guishan go to the feast? What did she mean? This old lady understands Guishan’s conversation; with consistent continuity, one letting go, one gathering in, they answer each other like two mirrors reflecting each other, without any image to be seen. Action to action they complement each other; phrase to phrase they accord. People now can be poked thrice and not turn their heads, but this woman couldn’t be fooled one bit. By no means is this an emotional view based on mundane truth; like a clear mirror, like a jewel in the hand, when a foreigner comes a foreigner is reflected, and when a native comes a native is reflected. It’s because she
knows there is something transcendent that she acts like this.
Right now you are content to understand this as no-thing. Master Wuzu said, “Don’t take something as no-thing; time and again no-thing is reified into something. ” If you can penetrate this, you will see that Guishan and Liu acting in this way is the same sort as ordinary people’s conversation. People are often hindered by the words, so they don’t understand. Only an intimate acquaintance can understand them thoroughly.
It’s like Jianfeng saying, “If you raise one, don’t raise two; let
the first move go and you fall into the secondary.” Yunmen came forward and said, “Yesterday a monk came from Tiantai and re turned to Nanyue.” Jianfeng said, “You needn’t work today.”
The Blue Cliff Record
Observe Liu and Guishan; letting go, both let go, gathering in, both gather in. In the Gui-Yang tradition this is called merging of perspectives. As the grass stirs in the wind, one comprehends the whole picture—this is called a body-block expression, the meaning is conveyed but the words obstruct. When you get here you must be comprehensive to be an adept.
Verse
Once riding an iron horse she entered the fortress;
(An adept accustomed to battle. Beyond the borders is the general’s place. She’s fully equipped.)
The edict comes down reporting the six states are cleared. (A dog carries the amnesty in its mouth. In the heart of
the realm is the emperor’s place. What about the sea being calm, the rivers clear?)
Still holding the golden whip, she questions the returning traveler;
(What’s the news? Two people are supported by a single staff. They call to each other, going together and coming together.)
In the depths of the night, who will go along to walk the royal road?
(You’re headed southeast; I’m headed northwest. Tell me, why go?)
Commentary
Xuedou’s verses are universally considered the best of their kind. Among the hundred verses this one is the most logical, the most marvelously arrayed and clearly set out.
“Once riding an iron horse she entered the fortress. ” This refers to Iron Grindstone Liu coming as she did to Guishan. “The edict comes down, reporting that the six states are cleared.” This refers to the way Guishan questioned her. “Still holding the golden whip, she questions the returning traveler.” This refers to Liu saying,
140
- Guishan and Iron Grindstone Liu
“Tomorrow there’s a feast on Mt. Tai; are you going? ” “In the depths of the night, who will go along to walk the royal road?” This refers to Guishan lying down and Liu leaving.
Xuedou has such ability: where they hurry he eulogizes their
hurrying, and where they are easygoing he eulogizes their ease. Fengxue too once commented on this story, and his idea is the same as Xuedou’s; people all over praise this verse:
Standing on the summit of the highest peak, Unknown to demons and outsiders;
Walking on the bottom of the deepest sea, Unseen even by the Buddha’s eyes.
Look at Guishan and Liu; one relaxed and lay down, one immediately left. If you go on wandering around, you won’t ever be able to find the road. The meaning of Xuedou’s verse is most excellent. Had he not the same attainment, the same realization, how could he be capable of this—“Once riding an iron horse she entered the fortress. ” But say, what meaning was realized?
A monk asked Fengxue, “When Guishan said, ‘Old cow, so you’ve come,’ what did he mean?” Fengxue said, “In the depths of the white clouds the golden dragon leaps.” The monk asked, “When Iron Grindstone Liu said, ‘Tomorrow there’s a communal feast on Mt. Tai; are you going?’ what did she mean?” Fengxue said, “ In the heart of the blue waves the jade rabbit bolts. ” The monk asked, “When Guishan lay down, what did he mean?” Fengxue said, “Old and worn out, decrepit and lazy, days without concern; lying idly deep in sleep, facing the green mountains. ” This is the same meaning as Xuedou’s.
25. The Hermit’s Staff
Introduction
If your potential does not leave its position, you tumble into a poi son sea. If your words do not startle the crowd, you fall into the streams of the commonplace. If you can distinguish initiate from noninitiate instantly and can decide between killing and enlivening in a flash, then you can occupy the ten directions and tower like a mile-high wall. But do you know such a time exists?
Story
The hermit of Lotus Blossom Peak held up his staff and showed it to his group, saying, (Look! He has one eye on his forehead. Still, this is a cliché for people these days.) “When the ancients got here, why didn’t they consent to stay here?” (You can’t drive stakes into space. The hermit provisionally sets up a magic city.) There was no answer, (A thousand, myriad, extremely many. They’ve attained a little, though. What a pity! Swift falcons on a roost.) so he him self replied, “ Because they did not gain strength on the road.” (If you discern this on the road, you’ll still be struggling for half a month’s journey. Even if you gain strength, what’s it good for? How could there be none at all?) He also said, “In the end, how is it?” (Myriad people are sitting right here. Among a myriad, one or two will understand.) Again he answered himself, “ My staff across my shoulder, I pay no heed to people; I go straight into the myriad peaks.” (Still he deserves a beating, because he only sees one side. If you see jowls on the back of his head, don’t go along with him.)
Commentary
Can you judge the hermit? His feet still aren’t on the ground. He lived in a hut on Lotus Blossom Peak on Mt. Tiantai. After they had become enlightened, the ancients would live in huts or grottos, boiling wild greens in broken legged pots, passing the days, not concerned with fame or fortune, going along with conditions,
142
free. They would impart a turning word, to repay their debt to the enlightened ones and transmit the stamp of the awakened mind. As soon as he saw a monk coming, the hermit would hold up his staff and say, “When the ancients got here, why didn’t they con sent to stay here?” For over twenty years, no one could answer. This one question has both provisional and true, both illumination and
function. If you know his snare, it isn’t worth taking hold of.
Now tell me, why did he ask this question for twenty years? Since this is the action of a Chan master, why did he just keep to one peg? If you can see here, naturally you won’t be running in the dust of sense objects.
During the course of twenty years, there were quite a few people who presented their views to the hermit, trying all their clever devices. Even if someone could speak of it, he still didn’t reach the hermit’s ultimate point. Moreover, though this matter is not in words, if not for words it couldn’t be distinguished. As it is said, “There is basically no word for the Way, but we use words to reveal the Way. ”
So the essential point in testing people is to know them intimately the minute they speak. The ancient spoke a word for no other purpose than to see whether or not you know what is. He saw that people did not understand, so he answered for them, “ Because they did not gain strength on the road.” See how what he says spontaneously accords with principle and meshes with circumstance. When did he ever lose the essential? The ancient Shitou said, “ Hearing words, understand the source; don’t set up private rules. ”
When people these days bump into it, they think that’s enough.
Though they get to it, they’re still fatheaded and confused. When they come before an adept, the adept uses the three essential seals—sealing space, sealing water, sealing mud—to test them. Then the adept sees whether the square peg is stuck in the round hole with no way to come down.
When the time comes, where will you look for one here with the same realization? To one who knows what is, you can open your
The Blue Cliff Record
heart and convey the message; what can be wrong? If you don’t meet such a person, keep it to yourself for the time being.
Now I ask you: the staff is something Chan monks ordinarily use; why does the hermit say they didn’t gain strength on the road? Why does he say that when the ancients got here they didn’t consent to stay? In truth, though gold dust is precious, in the eyes it blinds.
When Shandao was laicized in the persecution of 845, he would show his staff to people and say, “All the Buddhas of the past are thus; all the Buddhas of the future are thus; all the Buddhas of the present are thus. ”
One day Xuefeng held up his staff before his group and said, “ This one is just for people of medium and low faculties.” A monk came forward and asked, “If you should meet someone of the high est potential, then what?” Xeufeng picked up his staff and left. Yunmen said, “I’m not like Xuefeng when it comes to breaking up confusion. ” A monk asked, “How would you do it? ” Yunmen hit him. Whenever you study and question, there aren’t so many things.
Outside you see mountains, rivers, and earth there; within you see perception and cognition there; above you see Buddhas to seek; below you see beings to save: you must simply spit them all out at once, and afterwards fuse all into one at all times. Then, though you be on the tip of a hair, it’s as broad as the universe; though you be in a boiling cauldron or furnace coals, it’s like being in the land of peace and happiness; though you dwell amid jewels and treasures, it’s like being in a thatch hut. In this, if you are adept, you get to the ancients’ reality naturally, without wasting any effort.
The hermit saw that no one could reach his depths, so again he pressed them, saying, “In the end, how is it?” Again they couldn’t deal with him. He said himself, “ My staff across my shoulder, I pay no heed to people—I go straight into the myriad peaks.” What is the meaning of this? And tell me, what place is he pointing to as his whereabouts? Undeniably, there are eyes in his words, but his meaning is outside the words. He gets up by himself, falls down by
himself; he lets go by himself, gathers up by himself.
Once when met a monk on the road, he raised his staff and said, “What’s this?” The monk said, “I don’t know.” Yanyang said,
144
25. The Hermit’s Staff
“You don’t even recognize a staff?” Then he poked the ground with his staff, saying, “Recognize this?” The monk said, “No.” Yanyang said, “You don’t even recognize a hole in the ground?” Then he put the staff across his shoulder and said, “Understand?” The monk said, “No.” Yanyang said, “My staff across my shoulder, I pay no heed to people—I go straight into the myriad peaks.” When the ancients got here, why didn’t they agree to stay here?
Xuedou wrote this verse:
Who, confronting the situation, Brings it up without deception? Such a person is rare;
He destroys the lofty peaks,
Melts down the mysterious subtlety.
The double barrier has been opened wide; Adepts have not returned together.
The moon now round, now partial, The sun seems to fly without flying. Even I don’t know where he’s gone—
Along with the white clouds and flowing streams.
Why did I say, “If you see jowls on the back of his head, don’t go along with him”? As soon as you make a comparative judgment, you make your living in the ghost cave of the mountain of dark ness. If you can see all the way through and trust completely, naturally no one can trap you or do anything to you. When pushed or pressed, you will kill or give life spontaneously.
Xuedou understood the hermit’s meaning when he said, “I go straight into the myriad peaks.” At that point he begins to make his verse. If you want to know the point, look at Xuedou’s verse.
Verse
Dust and sand in his eyes, dirt in his ears,
(Blocked up with tons of it. What limit is there to the confusion? There are other such people.)
He doesn’t consent to stay in the myriad peaks.
145
The Blue Cliff Record
(Where will you go? What scene is this?) Falling flowers, flowing streams, boundless;
(A good scene. With the lightning flash mind, if you vainly toil tarrying in thought, when you look to the left a thousand lives have gone by, when you look to the right, ten thousand eons.)
Suddenly raising my eyebrows to look—where has he gone?
(Right where you are another pair of eyes is given to you. All along he’s just been right here. Have you cut off the hermit’s footsteps? Though like this, it’s still necessary to get to this realm to realize it. I’ll hit, saying, “Why is he just right here?”)
Commentary
Xuedou versifies well; he has a place to turn around and doesn’t stick in one corner. Immediately he says, “Dust and sand in his eyes, dirt in his ears.” This one line eulogizes the hermit of Lotus Blos som Peak. When Chan practitioners get here, they have nothing above to look to, no personal selves below; they are like simple tons. Nanquan said, “Among people of the Way, those like simple tons are hard to come by.” Chanyue wrote, “I often recall Nanquan’s fine words; such simpletons are indeed rare.” Fadeng said, “Who knows the meaning of this? It makes me think back to Nanquan.” Nanquan also said, “The seven hundred eminent monks at the fifth patriarch’s place all understood Buddhism; only workman Lu didn’t understand Buddhism. He just understood the Way, and
that is why he became the new patriarch.” Tell me, how far apart are Buddhism and the Way?
Xuedou brought up this saying of Nanquan’s and said, “Sand can’t get in their eyes, water can’t get in their ears; if there are people who trust totally and can hold fast, they aren’t deceived by others. For them, what a bunch of meaningless noises are the ver bal teachings of the Buddhas and patriarchs! So I invite you to hang up your bowl and bag, break your traveling staff, and just become free wayfarers.”
146
- The Hermit’s Staff
Xuedou also said, “ The polar mountain can be put in their eyes, the water of the ocean can be put in their ears. There are some people who accept others’ haggling discussions and the verbal teachings of the Buddhas and patriarchs like a dragon reaching water, like a tiger taking to the mountains. They must pick up their bowls and bags and put their staffs across their shoulders. They too are free wayfarers. ”
Xuedou also said, “Neither way will do; after that, there is no
connection. ”
Among these three kinds of free wayfarers, if you would choose one to be your teacher, the correct choice is this kind of cast iron person. Why? Whether they encounter evils or wonders, to them what they face is all like a dream. They don’t know there are the six senses, they don’t know there is sunrise and sunset. But even if you get to this realm, you must not cling to the cold ashes of a dead fire; you must not plunge into the flood of darkness. You still must have a way to turn around. As in the ancient saying, Don t cling to the greenness of the strange plants on the cold cliff. If you obliterate the white clouds, the source is not marvelous. ”
So the hermit said, “It’s because they didn’t gain strength on the road.” To get it you must go into the myriad peaks. But what is being called “the myriad peaks”?
Xuedou just likes his saying, “My staff across my shoulder, I
pay no heed to people—I go straight into the myriad peaks. Hence this verse. But tell me, where does he go? Does anyone know?
“Falling flowers, flowing streams, boundless.” Falling flowers in profusion, flowing streams endless; for the lightning flash mind, what is before the eyes?
“Suddenly raising my eyebrows to look—where has he gone?”
Why doesn’t Xuedou know where he’s gone either? It’s just like me raising my whisk just now: where is it now? If you can see, you’re studying with the hermit of Lotus Blossom Peak. If not, go back to your place and investigate carefully.
147
26. Sitting Alone on the Mountain
Story
A monk asked Baizhang, “What is extraordinary?” (There’s an echo in the words. He demonstrates his ability in a phrase. He flabbergasts people. Though he has eyes, he’s never seen.) Baizhang said, Sitting alone on the mountain.” (His awesome majestic air extends over the whole land. The one standing and the one sitting are both defeated.) The monk bowed; (A clever monk. There still is such a person who wants to see such a thing.) Baizhang then hit him. (A competent Chan teacher, why does he not speak much? The imperative is not carried out vainly.)
Commentary
167a He has the eye to face situations unconcerned with danger or death. So it is said, “ How can you catch tiger cubs without entering a tiger’s lair?” Baizhang was like a tiger with wings. Nor does this monk avoid life and death; he dares to grab the tiger’s whiskers and ask what is extraordinary. This monk too has eyes. Baizhang immediately took up the burden with him and said, “Sitting alone on the mountain.” The monk bowed. Chan practitioners must be able to discern the meaning before the question. This monk’s bow was not the same as an ordinary bow; he had to have eyes to do it. He didn t spill his guts. Though they knew each other, they acted
like they didn’t.
When the monk asked what was special and Baizhang told him sitting alone on the mountain, the monk bowed and Baizhang hit him; see how when they let go they both do so at once, and when they gather back they wipe away the tracks and obliterate the traces. But what did the monk mean by bowing? If it was good, why did Baizhang hit him? If it was not good, what was wrong? Here you must be able to tell right from wrong, distinguish ini tiate from outsider, and stand on the summits of a thousand peaks, to begin to understand.
148
- Sitting Alone on the Mountain
The monk’s bow was like grabbing the tiger’s whiskers; he was just contending for a pivotal position. Luckily Baizhang is perceptive; thus he hit the monk. Anyone else wouldn’t t have been able to handle the monk. The monk met mind with mind, con veyed intention with intention—that is why he bowed.
Nanquan said, “Last night at midnight Manjusri and Samanta- bhadra came up with views of the Buddha and the Dharma. I gave them each a beating and sentenced them to be hemmed in by twin iron mountains. ” Then Zhaozhou said, “Who should take your beat ing?” Nanquan said, “Where was my fault?” Zhaozhou bowed.
Chan masters do not idly observe how the other takes action. The moment they are in charge of the situation and bring it into play, they are naturally lively.
Wuzu would often say, “ It’s like coming to grips on the front
lines.” I’m always telling you simply to cut off subject and object all at once—then you’ll be able to hold fast and act with mastery. Only then will you see Baizhang. But tell me, what about when letting go? Look at Xuedou’s verse.
Verse
In the realm of the patriarchs gallops the heavenly colt. (Such a one is boom once in five hundred years. Among
myriad people there’s one or a half. The son takes up
the father’s work.)
Among expedients rolling out and rolling up are not the same path—
(Already so before the words. Baizhang is independent;
it’s a matter of his adept methodology.)
In a flash he retains the ability to change with circumstances. (He came head on, turning left and right. Do you see
where Baizhang helps people?)
How laughable—a man comes to grab the tiger’s whiskers. (He deserves a beating. Where there’s a great reward,
there must be a valiant man. He doesn’t avoid losing his life. I leave this move to you.)
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
Xuedou can see all the way through, so he can come out with this verse. The heavenly colt runs a thousand miles a day, runs back
and forth, up and down, gallops as if flying; so it is called a heavenly colt. Xuedou is praising Baizhang—in the territory of the patriarchs he runs from east to west, west to east, coming, going, free in all directions, without any hindrance, just like the heavenly colt. He is well able to gallop; only thus can we see how free he is. This is because he attained Mazu’s great ability and great function. A monk asked Mazu, “What is the meaning of Buddhism?” Mazu hit him and said, “If I didn’t hit you, everyone in the world would laugh at me.” The monk asked, “What is the meaning of Buddhism?” Mazu said, “Come here and I’ll tell you.” The monk approached; Mazu boxed his ears, saying, “Six listeners don’t draw the same conclusion.” See how Mazu was so free; working with expedients, he sometimes rolled out, sometimes rolled up. Some times the rolling out isn’t in the rolling up, sometimes the rolling up isn’t in the rolling out. Sometimes rolling out and rolling up both aren’t there. Hence the saying in praise of Baizhang’s ability, “On the same path but not in the same groove.”
Xuedou says, “In a flash he retains the ability to change with circumstances.” This refers to the monk’s speed in changing with the situation. Yantou said, “Turning away from things is superior; pursuing things is inferior. In battle each occupies a pivotal position.” Xuedou said, “The wheel of potential has never turned. If it turns, it must go both ways.” And if it can’t be turned, what’s the use? Even great people must know something of changing with circumstances. People these days just offer their true feelings and play into the hands of another. What end will there be?
This monk was able to change in a flash, so he bowed. Xuedou says, “ How laughable—a man comes to grab the tiger’s whiskers.” Baizhang was like a tiger—how laughable that this monk went to grab the tiger’s whiskers.
150
27. The Body Exposed in the Autumn Wind
Introduction
Answering ten when one is asked, understanding the whole when part is mentioned, loosing the falcon on seeing the rabbit, using the wind to fan the flame, not sparing any effort—leaving this aside for the moment, how is it when entering the tiger’s lair?
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “ How is it when the tree withers and the leaves fall?” (What season is this? When the family breaks up, the people perish; when the people perish, the family breaks up.) Yun men said, “The body exposed in the autumn wind. ” (He holds up the sky and supports the earth. He cuts nails and shears through iron. Clean and naked, bare and purified. Walking with even steps
through the blue sky.)
Commentary
If you can comprehend here, you begin to see how Yunmen helped people. Otherwise, if not, as before you’ll be calling a deer a horse; you are blind and deaf. Who arrives at this realm?
Do you think Yunmen answered the monk’s question, or do
you think he was harmonizing with him? If you say he answered his question, you are wrongly sticking to the zero point of the scale.
If you say he harmonized with him, this has nothing to do with it. Since it’s not this way, ultimately how is it? If you can see all the way through, Chan monks’ nostrils are not worth a pinch. Other wise, if not, as before you’ll plunge into the ghost cave.
In general, to uphold the Chan vehicle, you must take up the
burden with your entire being and not spare any effort; you must stretch out in the tiger’s mouth and allow others to pull you back and forth and drag you down. If you’re not like this, how will you be able to help people?
151
The Blue Cliff Record
This monk posed a question that was indeed rigorous. If you look at him in ordinary terms, he just seems to be a monk involved in idle concerns. If you go by the traditions of Chan monks, when you go to his lifeline to look, he undeniably has a subtle point. But say, when the tree withers and the leaves fall, whose realm is this? In Fenyang’s eighteen questions, this is called a question to test the host, and also called a question using things.
Yunmen did not stir at all but just said, “The body exposed in the autumn wind.” He answered most wondrously, and without presuming to turn his back on the question either. Since the question had an eye, Yunmen’s answer too was straight to the point. An ancient said, “To attain intimacy, don’t ask with a question.” If you really know someone, you know the point as soon as it’s mentioned. If you look to the vein of Yunmen’s words, you’ve immediately gone wrong. It’s just that in his sayings Yunmen would often provoke people’s intellectual interpretations. If I made up intellectual interpretations to understand him, I wouldn’t avoid being bereft of my successors.
Yunmen liked to ride the thief’s horse to pursue the thief in this way. Once a monk asked him, “What is that which is not within the reach of thought?” He said, “ Impossible for cognition to fathom.” This monk asked, “How is it when the tree withers and the leaves fall?” Yunmen said, “ The body exposed in the autumn wind. ” In his words he unfailingly seizes control of the essential bridge and doesn’t let ordinary or holy through. You must under stand how Yunmen raises one corner and illuminates the other three, raises three corners and illuminates the other one. If you seek in his three statements, you’re pulling an arrow out of the back of your head. In a single statement of his, three statements are always present: the statement containing the universe, the statement following the waves, and the statement cutting off all streams. There is spontaneous accord. But which of the three statements does Yunmen use to receive people? Try to discern this.
152
- The Body Exposed in the Autumn Wind
Verse
Since the question has the source,
(Profoundly discerning oncoming winds, the arrow is not shot in vain.)
The answer too is in the same place.
(How could there be two? Yunmen is like a bell waiting to be struck. His efforts are not made at random.)
Three statements should be distinguished.
(Above, between, below. Which statement is his answer here? First you must comprehend outside the three statements.)
An arrow point flies far into the void.
(On target. Gone by. Hitting, striking. The arrow flies past the next country.
Over the great plains—chilling wind blasts howling,
wailing,
(Throughout the skies, all over the earth. Do you feel your hair standing on end? He’s let go.)
In the eternal sky—intermittent misty rains.
(The winds are great, the waters vast. Above your heads, boundless vastness; below your feet, boundless vastness.)
Haven’t you seen the traveler sitting so long at Shaolin,
who hasn’t returned?
(Here’s another dunce. He’s gotten others involved. The Yellow River flows turbid from its source.)
Tranquil up on Bear Ear Mountain, a single gathering. (You can see whether your eyes are open or closed. Living
in a ghost cave. You’re blind and deaf. Who arrives at this realm? I’ll still knock out your gap teeth.)
Commentary
An ancient said, “When you hear words, understand the source; don’t set up private rules.” The ancients’ words were not empty
1
The Blue Cliff Record
talk. So it is said, “ To ask about this affair you must have some knowledge of right and wrong. If you don’t know noble from base behavior, if you can’t recognize pure and defiled, if you let your self speak at random, what will be the gain?” Whenever one speaks, it must be like clamps, like tongs, it must have hooks and chains, it must have unbroken continuity. This monk’s question had the source meaning; Yunmen’s answer was also thus. Yunmen always taught people with three statements; this is his ultimate pattern.
Xuedou’s verse on this case is similar in kind to his verse on the eighty-second story. “ Three statements should be distinguished.” Three statements are always present in each statement of Yunmen’s. If you can distinguish them, you penetrate beyond the three statements. “An arrow point flies far into the void.” He shot it so far you must look quickly to see it. If you can see it clearly, you can open out the universe in a single statement.
At this point the verse is completed, but Xuedou has extra talent so he opens out and says, “Over the great plains—chilling wind blasts howling, wailing; / In the eternal sky—intermittent misty rains.” Is this mind, or objects? Is this mystery, or marvel? An ancient said, “The truth of things not hidden—it has always been revealed.”
The monk asked, “How is it when the tree withers and the leaves fall?” Yunmen said, “The body exposed in the autumn wind.” Xuedou’s intent was just to create a single environment. What’s in front of your eyes right now, the whistling wind, is either the southeast wind or the northwest wind. It will be all right only if you understand it thus. If you go on interpreting it as Chan or the Way, this has nothing to do with it.
“Haven’t you seen the traveler sitting so long at Shaolin, who hasn’t returned?” Before he returned to India, Bodhidharma sat facing a wall for nine years, utterly silent. But say, is this “the tree withers, the leaves fall”? Is this “the body exposed in the autumn wind”? If here all past and present fools and sages, sky, earth, and the whole world are all fused into one, then you will see how Yunmen and Xuedou really helped people.
154
- The Truth That’s Never Been Spoken
“ Tranquil up on Bear Ear Mountain, a single gathering.” Bear Ear Mountain is Shaolin. Before and behind, mountains are clustered thickly by the thousands. Where will you see? Do you see where Xuedou helps people? Even if you do, this is still the sacred tortoise dragging its tail, leaving traces.
28. The Truth That’s Never Been Spoken
Story
Nanquan went to see Master Nirvana. Nirvana asked, “Is there a truth the sages have never spoken?” (The master should know. It stands like a wall ten miles high. Does he feel his teeth falling out?) Nanquan said, “There is.” (He’s fallen into the weeds. Why so brash? Then there is such a thing!) Nirvana asked, “What is
the truth that’s never been spoken?” (See how flustered and frantic he is. He adds error to error. Just try and ask!) Nanquan said, “It’s not mind, not Buddha, not a thing.” (After all he suffers de feat. After all he leaks quite a bit.) Nirvana said, “You’ve spoken it.” (Don’t explain it all for him. Even if he goes wrong his whole life, you shouldn’t speak this way to him.) Nanquan said, “I am just thus. What about you?” (Luckily he has a place to turn around. With the long he’s long, with the short he’s short. When the reasoning is superior, he takes to it.) Nirvana said, I am not a great teacher; how would I know whether it has been spoken or not?” (See how flustered and frantic he is. He hides his body but reveals his shadow. He acts totally dead. There are thorns in the soft mud. Though he acts like this, how could he fool me?) Nanquan said, “I don’t understand.” (He can only act this way. Lucky he doesn’t understand. If you understand, I’ll break your head open! Luckily this guy is just this way.) Nirvana said, “I’ve already spoken too much for you.” (He adds frost to snow. Why a dragon s head but a
snake’s tail?)
155
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
When you get here, no need for “it’s mind” or “it’s not mind,” or for “not mind” or “not mind.” Even when you haven’t a single eyebrow hair, you’ve still attained just a little.
This Master Nirvana used to live at Baizhang; he had the monks clear fields for him, while he expounded the great doctrine for them. At this time Nanquan had already seen Mazu, but he was going around to various masters for absolute certainty.
When Nirvana posed this question it was indeed hard to reply to. He said, “Is there a truth the sages have never spoken?” Had it been me, I would have covered my ears and left. See this old guy’s scene of embarrassment. If an adept had seen him asking this way, he would have been able to see through him immediately. But Nanquan just went by what he had seen, so he said, “There is.” This was indeed brash.
Nirvana then added error to error and followed up behind say ing, “What is the truth that hasn’t been spoken?” Nanquan said, “It’s not mind, not Buddha, not a thing.” Greedily gazing at the moon in the sky, he lost the pearl in the palm of his hand. Nirvana said, “You’ve spoken it.” Too bad—he explained in full. I would have simply brought my staff down across his back to get him to feel.
Though it was like this, tell me, where is it spoken? According to Nanquan’s view, it’s not mind, not Buddha, not a thing, it’s never been spoken. So I ask you, why did Nirvana yet say, “You’ve spoken it”? And there aren’t any tracks or traces in Nanquan’s words. If you say he didn’t speak it, then why did Nirvana talk like this?
Nanquan could change effectively, so he then pressed Nirvana by saying, “I am just thus. What about you? ” Anyone else wouldn’t have been able to explain, but Nirvana was an adept; his answer
is indeed extraordinary. He said, “I am not a great teacher; how would I know whether it has been spoken or not? ” Nanquan then said his “I don’t understand.” He said he didn’t understand while actually he did understand; this is not really not understanding. Nirvana said, “I’ve already spoken too much for you.” But tell me, where did he speak?
156
The Truth That’s Never Been Spoken
Had they been two guys playing with mud balls, both would have been covered with slime. If both were adepts, they were like clear mirrors. In fact in the beginning both were adepts; in the end they both let go. If you have eyes, you’ll judge them clearly. But say, how will you judge them?
Verse
Patriarchs and Buddhas never helped people.
(Each guards his own territory. If you have standards go by the standards. If you keep even a single word in your mind, you go to hell like an arrow shot.)
Chan practitioners present and past run neck and neck.
(Having worn out your sandals, break your staff and hang up your bowl and bag.)
When clear mirrors are set up, the range of images
differs.
(Fallen, broken. Come smash the mirror and I’ll meet with you.)
One by one facing south to see the northern dipper,
(Do you see me astride the Buddha hall going out through the mountain gate? In Korea they’ve gone up to the hall; in China they haven’t beaten the drum.)
The dipper handle is hanging down,
(You still don’t know where it comes down. Where is it?) But there’s no place to seek.
(Blind! Too bad! The cup falls to the ground; the saucer
shatters to pieces.)
When you pick up the nose you lose the mouth. (Where did you get news of this? After all, it’s so, so I
strike!)
Commentary
Sakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world and in forty-nine years never said a single word. Throughout his teaching career, “He never
157
The Blue Cliff Record
spoke a single word.” Tell me, was such talk speaking or not? Now it fills the voluminous Canon—how can it not be speaking? As Xiushan said, “The Buddhas have not appeared in the world: forty- nine years of talk. Bodhidharma didn’t come from India: Shaolin has a wondrous secret.” It’s also said, “The Buddhas have not ap peared in the world, nor is there any teaching to be given to people. They were just able to observe the minds of beings, responding to their ills according to circumstances, giving medicines and dis pensing prescriptions; thus we have the Canonical teachings.”
In fact, the patriarchs and Buddhas have never spoken for people. This very not helping people deserves thoroughgoing investigation. I always say, though I were to add a phrase sweet as honey, when properly viewed it’s poison. If you strike them as soon as they blurt something out and push them away, only then are you helping people on an intimate level.
“Chan practitioners present and past run neck and neck.” Everywhere they go they ask questions about is and is not, about Buddhas and patriarchs, about transcendence and accommodation. Though they act like this, if they haven’t arrived at this realm, they can’t do without this questioning.
“When clear mirrors are set up, the range of images differs. ”
With just this one line you can distinguish clearly. An ancient i69 a said, “The myriad forms are all impressions of a single truth. ” It’s also said, “All forms are complete within this. ” The great teacher Shenxiu said, “The body is the tree of enlightenment; the mind
like a clear mirror. Constantly take care to wipe it clean; don’t let it become dusty.” The fifth patriarch said of this that Shenxiu was still outside the gate. When Xuedou talks this way, is he inside or outside the gate?
Each of you has an ancient mirror. All the myriad forms— long, short, square, round—each and every one appears in it. If you go to the loneness or shortness to understand, in the end you’ll never be able to find it. This is why Xuedou said, “When clear mirrors are set up, the range of images differs. ”
Instead you must “all face south and see the northern dipper.” When you’re facing south, why are you nevertheless to look at the
158
- It Goes Along With It
northern dipper? You’ll see where Nirvana and Nanquan met only if you can understand this way. These two lines refer to Nirvana’s confrontation. He said, “I am not a great teacher; how would I know whether it has been spoken or not? ”
At this point Xuedou’s verse has come down into stagnant
water. Fearing people would misunderstand, he turned around and picked it up himself, saying, “ The dipper handle is hanging down right now before your eyes: / Where else will you go to look for it? / As soon as you pick up the nose you lose the mouth.” Xuedou has picked up the nose and lost the mouth.
29. It Goes Along With It
Introduction
When fish swim through the water is disturbed; when birds fly by feathers fall. Clearly discriminating host and guest, penetratingly distinguishing initiate and outsider, one is like a clear mirror, like a bright pearl. When a native comes a native is reflected; when a foreigner comes a foreigner is reflected. The sound is obvious; the form is evident. But why is it so?
Story
A monk asked Dasui, “The conflagration at the end of an eon sweeps through and the universe is totally destroyed; is This One destroyed or not?” (What thing is “ This One”? No one on earth can get hold of this phrase. He scratches in advance, anticipating the itch.) Dasui said, “It is destroyed.” (An iron hammer head with no hole is thrown down in front of him. He’s lost his nostrils. Before he speaks he’s already thoroughly exposed.) The monk said, “If so, then this goes along with it.” (Immeasurably great people are whirled around in the stream of words. After all he misunderstands.) Dasui said, “It goes along with it.” (The first arrow was still light; the second arrow was deep. Just this is what so many people cannot find. When the water rises the boats ride high, with
159
The Blue Cliff Record
a lot of clay the Buddha image is big. If you say it goes along with it, where is it? If you say it doesn’t go along with it, then what? I hit.)
Commentary
Master Dasui studied with more than sixty teachers. Once he was keeper of the fire in Guishan’s community. One day Guishan asked him, “You have been here several years, yet you still don’t know how to pose a question, so I can see what’s what with you.” Dasui said, “What would you have me ask?” Guishan said, “Since you don’t understand, ask what the Buddha is.” Dasui covered Gui shan’s mouth with his hand. Guishan said, “Later you will not even find anyone to sweep the ground.”
After his enlightenment, Dasui spent years making tea and waiting on travelers at a roadside stand. Only later did he become a public teacher.
A monk asked him, “The conflagration at the end of an eon sweeps through and the universe is totally destroyed. Is This One destroyed or not?” This monk just came up with a question based on an idea in the scriptures. Scriptures say there are eons of formation, sub sistence, destruction, and emptiness; when the age of cataclysm occurs, the destruction reaches to the third meditation heaven. Basically the monk did not know the point of this statement.
Tell me, what is “This One”? People often make intellectual interpretations and say it is the fundamental nature of beings. Dasui said it is destroyed. The monk said, “If so, this goes along with it.” Dasui said, “It goes along with it.” As for “This One,” so many people make intellectual interpretations and are unable to find it. If you say that it goes along with it, where is it? If you say it doesn’t go along with it, then what? Haven’t you heard it said that to attain intimacy you should ask with a question?
Later a monk asked Xiushan, “When the universe is destroyed in the eonic fire, is This One destroyed?” Xiushan said, “No.” The monk said, “Why isn’t it destroyed?” Xiushan said, “ Because it’s the same as the universe.” Both “it’s destroyed” and “it’s not de stroyed” utterly stump people.
160
It Goes Along With It
Since the monk didn’t understand what Dasui said, he had this matter on his mind. He took this question to Touzi, who asked him where he came from. The monk recounted his conversation with Dasui; Touzi burned incense, bowed, and said, “Dasui is a Buddha—hurry back to him! ” The monk returned, but Dasui had already passed on. What an embarrassment for this monk!
Later a monk at court said of this, “Clearly there is no other truth—who says the southerner Huineng was approved? The one phrase ‘it goes along with it’ makes a monk run over a thousand mountains. A cold cricket cries in the piled leaves; by night a ghost bows to the lamp before a crypt. The humming stops outside the lonely window; he wanders back and forth, unable to overcome his regret.” Later Xuedou used these lines in making his verse.
Right now, you should not think it is destroyed, and you should
not think it is not destroyed. In the end, how will you understand? Look quickly!
Verse
In the light of the eonic fire he poses his question— (What is he saying? He’s already gone wrong.)
The monk still lingers within the double barrier. (If you squash this man how can he be saved? A
hundred layers, a thousand levels.)
How touching—for a single phrase “going along with that, ”
(All the monks in the world make this sort of
judgment. It’s not even worth it for a thousand, ten thousand sayings. What’s hard about stopping him in his tracks?)
Busily he traveled out and back alone, ten thousand
miles.
(His active consciousness is very chaotic. He stumbled by without knowing it. He’s just wearing out
his sandals.)
161
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
Xuedou takes charge of the situation and comes out with his verse; in his words there’s a place where he manifests his being. “In the light of the eonic fire he poses his question—/ The monk still lingers within the double barrier.” From the first the monk’s question was concerned with whether it is destroyed or not destroyed—this is the double barrier. One who has attained has a place to manifest
169c being whether told it is destroyed or not destroyed. “ How touch ing—for a single phrase, ‘going along with that,’ / Busily he trav eled out and back alone, ten thousand miles.” This refers to the monk taking the question to Touzi, then returning again to Dasui— this can be called being busy for ten thousand miles.
29. Big Radishes
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “I hear you’ve seen Nanquan in person; is that so?” (A thousand hearings are not as good as one seeing. A confrontation. Everyone has a pair of eyebrows.) Zhaozhou said, “Zhen province produces big radishes.” (He holds up the sky and supports the earth. He cuts nails and shears through iron. The arrow flies past the next country. If you see jowls behind his head, don’t travel with him.)
Commentary
This monk too is one who has studied for a long time; to be sure, there s an eye in his question. But he could not do anything to Zhaozhou, an adept, whose immediate reply was, “Zhen province produces big radishes.” This can be called flavorless talk that chokes people. Old Zhaozhou is like a thief who steals in broad daylight. As soon as you speak, he plucks your eyes out.
If you are exceptionally spirited, in a flash, as soon as you hear it raised, you get right up and go. Otherwise, if you linger in thought, holding back your potential, you won’t avoid losing your life.
162
- Big Radishes
In judging this story, the wild sage Cheng called it “asking about the east, answering about the west.” He said that Zhaozhou didn’t answer, didn’t climb into the trap. If you understand this way, how will you get it?
Fushan Yuan said, “This is an expression of a glimpse from
the side.” This is in Fushan’s work Mrce Orbits. If you understand this way, you haven’t seen it even in dreams; moreover, you’re dragging Zhaozhou down.
Some say, “Zhen province has always produced big radishes,
as everyone knows; Zhaozhou saw Nanquan, and everyone knows this too. That’s why, when the monk still asked whether Zhaozhou had seen Nanquan, Zhaozhou said, ‘Zhenzhou produces big radishes.’” But this has nothing to do with it.
If you don’t understand in any of these ways, after all how will
you understand? Zhaozhou has his own road through the skies.
A monk asked Jiufeng, “I hear you saw Yanshou in person; is this true?” Jiufeng said, “ Is the wheat in front of the mountain ripe yet?” This matches what Zhaozhou said to the monk; both are like holeless iron hammerheads.
Zhaozhou is a free man. If you question him carelessly, he
snatches your eyes out. If you know what is, you’ll chew it care fully and swallow it. If you don’t know what is, you’ll be like swallowing a date whole.
Verse
Zhen province produces big radishes—
(Everyone knows. Just don’t say so. Each time it’s brought up it’s new.)
All the Chan practitioners in the world seize upon this as
a principle;
(Nevertheless, it isn’t so. Who has a use for these idle words, this long-winded speech?)
They only know it as extending from past to present;
(Half open, half closed. They’re very numerous. In ancient times it wasn’t so; now it isn’t so either.)
163
How can they discern that the swan is white and the crow is black?
(The whole capacity comes through. What’s long is long of itself, what’s short is short of itself; those who can recognize this are rare. Still, it’s not necessary to discern.)
Thief! Thief!
(Tch! It’s none other; Xuedou himself is wearing fetters, giving evidence of his crime.)
He has taken Chan practitioners by the nose.
(He’s taken them in tow and snapped them around.)
Commentary
“Zhen province produces big radishes. ” If you seize upon this as the ultimate principle, you’ve already gone wrong. When the ancients joined hands and ascended high mountains, they couldn’t avoid the laughter of onlookers. People all know that this answer of Zhaozhou’s is an expression of the ultimate principle, though in the end they don’t know where the ultimate principle is. That’s why Xuedou says, “All the Chan practitioners in the world seize upon this as a principle; / They only know it as extending from past to present. / How can they discern that the swan is white and the crow is black?” Though they know that people past and present have answered this way, when have they ever been able to distinguish the expert from the naive? Xuedou says to understand re ally you must discern the swan’s whiteness and the crow’s blackness in a flash.
At this point the verse is finished, but Xuedou brings out his own opinion and goes to the place leaping with life to tell you more: “Thief! Thief! / He has taken Chan practitioners by the nose.” All the Buddhas of past, present, and future are thieves too; the successive generations of patriarchs are thieves too. They were able to snatch people’s eyes. As for the skill not to blunder, I only ap prove Zhaozhou. But tell me, how does he make a good thief? “Zhen province produces big radishes. ”
164
30. Magu Carrying His Ringed Staff
Introduction
Move and a shadow appears; notice and ice forms. Yet if you don’t move and don’t notice, you will not avoid entering a wild fox den. If you can penetrate thoroughly, trust completely, without any blind ing obstruction, you’ll be like a dragon finding water, like a tiger taking to the mountains. Let go, and even rubble radiates light; hold still, and even real gold loses its color. The ancients’ stories could not but be roundabout, but tell me, what were they discussing?
Story
Magu, carrying his ringed staff, went to Changqing. He circled the meditation seat thrice, shook his staff once, and stood there. (He bursts forth in the same fashion as Yongjia at Caoqi; he startles the heavens and shakes the earth.) Changqing said, “Correct. Cor rect.” (He’s washing dirt in mud. He fools everyone. What talk is this? A donkey-tethering stake.) Xuedou added a word, saying, “Wrong.” (It won’t do to let him go. There’s still a move to go.) Magu also went to Nanquan, circled the seat thrice, shook his staff, and stood there. (As before he’s washing dirt in mud; again he carries on. But though the frog leaps it can’t get out of the bas ket.) Nanquan said, “ Incorrect. Incorrect.” (Why not accept it? He kills the man without blinking an eye. What talk is this?) Xuedou added a word, saying “Wrong.” (It won’t do to let the error go.) Magu then said, “Changqing said correct; why do you say incorrect?” (Where is the master? This guy has been grasping people’s words all along; he’s broken down considerably.) Nanquan said, “Changqing is correct; it’s you that are incorrect.” (Good! When one kills, one must see blood; when one helps, one should do one’s utmost. How many people has he deceived?) “ This is what is turned about by the power of the wind; in the end it breaks down.” (After all Magu is trapped by Nanquan. What about yourself?)
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
When the ancients traveled to visit Chan communities every where, they only had this matter on their minds; they wanted to discern whether the teacher had eyes or not. The people of old would stay if there was mutual agreement in a single word, and would leave otherwise.
See how Magu went to Changqing, circled the seat thrice, shook his staff, and stood there. Changqing said, “Correct. Correct.” To use the sword that kills, the sword that gives life, one must be a true adept.
Xuedou says, “Wrong.” This falls on both sides, but if you go to either side to understand, you will not see Xuedou’s meaning. Magu stood there, but why? Why does Xuedou say “Wrong”? Where is he wrong? Changqing said correct; where is he correct? Xuedou seems to be sitting there reading the judgment.
Magu, carrying this word “correct, ” then went to see Nanquan. As before he circled the seat thrice, shook his staff, and stood there. Nanquan said, “Incorrect. Incorrect.” To use the sword that kills, the sword that gives life, one must be a true adept. Xuedou says “Wrong.” Changqing said correct, Nanquan said incorrect; are these the same or different? The first says correct—why is he wrong? The second says incorrect—why is he, too, wrong? If you attain understanding at Changqing’s saying, you will not even be able to save yourself; if you attain understanding at Nanquan’s saying, you can be the teacher of Buddhas and patriarchs. Even so, Chan practitioners must accept it for themselves before they will under stand, not just take other people’s verbal explanations.
Since Magu’s question was the same, why did one say correct and one say incorrect? If one is a thoroughly competent adept, who has attained great liberation, one must have a life apart. One who has not forgotten mind and objects will certainly be stuck over these two sides. If you want to understand clearly past and present, and silence everyone in the world, first you must clearly apprehend these two “wrongs.” Xuedou’s verse later only deals with these two wrongs. This is so because he wants to bring up the
166
- Magu Carrying His Ringed Staff
livingness. If you have blood under your skin, you will naturally not go to the words and phrases to create interpretations; you will not go to a donkey-tethering stake to make up theories. Some people
say that Xuedou utters these two “wrongs” on behalf of Magu, but
what connection is there? They don’t know that the ancient’s added comments lock off the essential gate; this side is correct, and that
side is correct too, but ultimately they do not remain on either of the two sides. The librarian Qing said, “Holding his staff, circling the seat, ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ are both wrong. The reality of it does not lie herein.”
Have you not read how Yongjia came to Caoqi and saw the
sixth patriarch? He circled the seat thrice, shook his staff, and stood there. The patriarch said, “A monk is to have three thousand modes of dignity and eighty thousand refinements of conduct; where have you come from, that you bear such conceit?” Why did the pa triarch say he bore conceit? This one did not say correct or incor rect; both correct and incorrect are donkey-tethering stakes. Only Xuedou, pronouncing two “wrongs,” has thus attained something. Magu said, “Changqing said correct; why do you say incor rect?” Nanquan didn’t spare any effort; he indulged considerably and said, “Changqing is correct; it’s you who are incorrect.” One might say Nanquan released a falcon on seeing a rabbit. Librar ian Qing said, “Nanquan was excessively doting; whereas he might have let the matter rest with ‘incorrect,’ still he went on to bring out the other’s fault for him, saying, ‘This is what is turned about
by the power of the wind; eventually it breaks down.’”
The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment says, “This body of mine is a combination of four main elements. The matter of hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bone, marrow, and brains all returns to earth. Saliva, tears, pus, and blood all return to water. Warm breath returns to fire, and movement returns to wind. When these four elements separate, where could this illusory body be?” When Magu circled the seat holding his staff, already this was what is turned about by the power of wind and eventually breaks down. Then tell me, ultimately where does the matter of discovering the
167
171a
source of mind lie? When you get here, you must be made of cast iron in order to realize it.
The scholar Zhang Zhuo called on Chan Master Xitang and asked, “ Do the mountains, rivers, and earth exist or not? Do the Buddhas of the three times exist or not?” Xitang said “ They ex ist.” Zhang said, “Wrong.” Xitang said, “Who have you seen?” Zhang said, “I have seen Master Jingshan; whatever I asked about, he said it does not exist.” Xitang said, “What family do you have?” Zhang said, “A wife and two children. ” Xitang said, “What family does Jingshan have?” Zhang said, “ He is a monk; he has none.” Xitang said, “When you are like Jingshan, then I ’ll tell you every thing doesn’t exist.” Zhang Zhuo just bowed his head. A compe tent Chan teacher always wants to melt sticking points, remove bonds, and eliminate fixations for people; one should not just hold to one side but be comprehensive.
See how Yangshan went to Zhongyi to thank him for ordina tion. When Zongyi saw him coming, he beat his hand on his chair and said, “Wa wa.” Yangshan then stood to the east, then stood to the west, then stood in the middle. After that, once he had finished giving thanks, he retreated and stood there. Zhongyi said, “Where did you get this concentration? ” Yangshan said, “I took it off the seal of Caoqi.” Zhongyi said, “Who did Caoqi receive with this concentra tion?” Yangshan said, “Yongjia.” Then Yangshan asked Zhongyi, “Where did you get this concentration?” Zhongyi said, “At Mazu’s place.” Isn’t such conversation by people who understand the whole from the part, who see the root and follow the branches?
Longya said, “Those who penetrate the study must pass be yond Buddhas and patriarchs. Dongshan said, ‘If you see the ver bal teachings of Buddhas and patriarchs as mortal enemies, only then will you have the qualifications for penetrating study.’ If you can’t pass beyond them, you will be deceived by the Buddhas and patriarchs.” At that point a monk asked, “Do the Buddhas and patriarchs intend to deceive people?” Longya said, “Do rivers and lakes intend to obstruct people? Rivers and lakes do not intend to obstruct people, it’s just that people now can’t cross them, so the
168
- Magu Carrying His Ringed Staff
rivers and lakes become barriers. Though the Buddhas and patri archs do not intend to deceive people, it’s just that people now cannot pass beyond them, so Buddhas and patriarchs after all de ceive people, and you cannot say they don’t. If one can pass be yond the Buddhas and patriarchs, one surpasses them. Still one must completely realize the intent of the Buddhas and patriarchs; only then can one be equal to the transcendent people of old. If you have not been able to pass through, if you study the Buddhas and patriarchs, you’ll never have any hope of attainment.” The monk also asked, “ How can I avoid being deceived by the Buddhas and patriarchs?” Longya said, “You must be enlightened your self.” When you get here, you must be like this. Why? When you help people, you should do your utmost for them; when you kill people, you must see their blood. Xuedou is such a man, so he dares to act freely.
Verse
This “wrong” and that “wrong” —
(Be careful not to say too much. This is acting according to the imperative. “In heaven and on earth, I am the sole honored one. ”)
It is important not to take them away.
(A pair of holeless hammerheads; even the Great Compassionate One with a thousand hands cannot lift them. If you take them away, you’ll get a thrashing.)
Then the waves are calm in the four seas;
(No one in the world dares to move. East, west, south, north, all have the same family style. Recently there has been much rain.)
The hundred rivers return to the ocean tide.
(Clean and naked, peace and tranquility in one’s own house is realized; the sea being at rest, the rivers are clear.)
The standard of the ancient rod is lofty, with twelve
gates;
169
The Blue Cliff Record
(How does it compare to this one? There is no eye on the staff. Avoid making a living on the staff.)
In each gate is a road, empty and desolate.
(There’s not a single thing. It belies your everyday life. If you look, you’ll go blind.)
Not desolate—
(After all. Luckily there’s a place to turn around. Already blind—so I strike!)
The adept should seek medicine without disease.
(Once having died you won’t come back to life again. Why are you fast asleep all day long? Why search through the heavens and grope over the earth?)
Commentary
This verse resembles the case of Deshan seeing Guishan: first Xuedou adds two turning words, piercing it through on one string; then he produces his verse. “ This ‘wrong’ and that ‘wrong’— / It is important not to take them away.” Xuedou means that the “wrong” here and the “wrong” there should not be taken away; you’re mis taken if you take them away. It is necessary to add this double “wrong” like this, and thus at once you find “The waves are calm in the four seas; / The hundred rivers return to the ocean tide. ” How pure the wind, how bright the moon! If you gain understand ing at these two “wrongs,” you will no longer have the slightest concern. Mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, what is long is itself long, what is short is itself short; one breeze in five days, one rainfall in ten days. That is why he said, “The waves are calm in the four seas; / The hundred rivers return to the ocean tide.”
The latter part eulogizes Magu carrying his staff: “ The stan dard of the ancient rod is lofty, with twelve gates.” The people of old used a whip for a rod; Chan monks use the staff as a rod. The “ancient rod” is the staff; the pure wind is higher than the twelve vermilion gates of the jewel lake of an ancient goddess. If you can understand this twofold “wrong, ” then your staff will emit light; even the ancient rod can’t be put to use. An ancient said, “If you
170
- Elder Ding Stands Motionless
know the staff, your life’s study is finished.” It is also said, “ This is not displaying form and vainly holding to things; the Buddha’s precious staff has personally left its traces.” This is in the same category. When you get here, through all upsets and downfalls, throughout all times, you attain great freedom.
“In each gate there is a road, empty and desolate.” Though there is a road, it is just that it’s empty. At this point Xuedou feels that he has indulged, so he goes on to strike a smashing blow for you; even so, still there is a place that is not empty. Even if you are an adept, when you have no illness, still you must seek a bit of medicine to take.
32. Elder Ding Stands Motionless
Introduction
The ten directions cut off, a thousand eyes abruptly open; when one saying cuts off all streams, myriad impulses cease. Are there any who will die together and be born together? The issue is at hand, but if you cannot clear it up, please look at the ancients’ complications.
Story
Elder Ding asked Linji, “What is the meaning of Buddhism?” (So many people are at a loss when they get here. There is still this. Why is he so feebleminded?) Linji got off his seat, grabbed Ding, slapped him, then pushed him away. (Today he caught him. He’s very kind. No one in the world can leap clear.) Ding stood there motionless. (He’s already fallen into the ghost cave. He’s already stumbled past. He can’t avoid losing his nostrils.) A monk stand ing by said, “Elder Ding, why don’t you bow?” (On neutral ground
there is one who can see through it all; Ding gets his power. When i 7 ic someone dies in the eastern house, someone in the western house helps in the mourning.) Just as Ding bowed, (He uses diligence to
171
The Blue Cliff Record
make up for incompetence.) he suddenly was greatly enlightened. (Like finding a lamp in the dark, like a pauper finding a jewel. He adds error to error. Tell me, what did he see, that he bowed?)
Commentary
See how he was; directly leaving, directly entering, directly going, directly coming—this is indeed the true school of Linji, to have such dynamic function. If you can go all the way through, then you can overturn the sky and make it into earth, attaining the use of the endowment yourself.
Elder Ding was such a man; slapped by Linji, as he bowed and rose he immediately understood the ultimate. He was a northerner, very simple and direct. After he attained this, he did not teach in public. Subsequently he used the ability of Linji completely, his sharpness unavoidably coming through. One day on the road he met Yantou, Xuefeng, and Qinshan. Yantou asked where he came from; Ding said Linji. Yantou asked if Linji was well, and Ding replied he had passed on. Yantou said they were going to see Linji, and it was their ill fortune to find he had already died; then he asked Ding about Linji’s teaching. Ding recounted this story. Linji said, “ In the lump of naked flesh there is a true person of no sta tion, always going in and out through the gates of your senses; those who have not witnessed proof, look!” Then a monk came forth and asked, “What is the true person of no station?” Linji grabbed him and said, “Speak!” The monk hesitated, so Linji pushed him away and said, “A true person of no station—what a piece of crap!” Then Linji went to his room.
Hearing this, Yantou was awed. Qinshan said, “Why did he not say, ‘Not a true person of no station’? ” Ding grabbed him and said, “How far apart are a true person of no station and not a true person of no station? Speak quickly! ” Qinshan did not speak; his face turned pale. Yantou and Xuefeng bowed and apologized to Ding for him. Ding said, “If not for you two, I would have choked this bedwetting sprite to death. ”
Also, once as Ding was resting on a bridge, he met three pro fessor monks. One asked, “What is the meaning of the saying,
172
- Elder Ding Stands Motionless
‘Where the river of Chan is deep, you must plumb the very bot tom’?” Ding grabbed him and was about to throw him off the bridge, when the other two professors frantically tried to rescue him and apologize. Ding said, “If not for you two, I’d have let him plumb the very bottom.” Observe such methods of his. These are all the dynamic function of Linji. Also look at Xuedou’s verse.
Verse
Huangbo’s entire ability continues in his footsteps;
(The Yellow River is muddy from the very source. The son inherits the father’s work.)
Brought forth, why should it remain at ease?
(Where is it? What can be done about the fact that there is such a person? Can someone without feet or hands attain that?)
The great spirit lifted its hand without much ado
(It scares people to death. Don’t brag so much. Striking once with a whisk, I won’t test any further.)
And split apart Flower Mountain’s ten million layers. (The whole world appears at once. Fallen.)
Commentary
“Huangbo’s entire ability continues in his footsteps; brought forth, why should it remain at ease?” Only Linji alone continued in the footsteps of Huangbo’s great ability and great function. Once it is brought forth, it does not admit of any attempt to discuss it; if you dally, you fall right into the realm of ignorance.
The Surangama Sutra says, “Just as when I put my finger on it, the ocean seal emits light; if you arouse your minds even mo mentarily, anxiety over the material world will come up first.”
“ The great spirit lifted its hand without much ado / And split apart Flower Mountain’s ten million layers.” The great spirit of the Yellow River had great powers; with its hand it broke open Flower Mountain and let the water run through. Elder Ding’s feel ing of doubt was like a massive mountain; struck once by Linji, at once he found it had shattered and dissolved.
33. Zifu’s Circle
Introduction
He does not discriminate east from west, nor south from north, morning to evening, evening to morning; but can you say he is asleep? Sometimes his eyes are like comets, but can you say he is awake? Sometimes he calls south north; but is he mindful or mind less? Is he enlightened or not? If you can pass through here, for the first time you will know the ultimate, and then you will know how the ancients were so or not so. Tell me, what time is this?
Story
Chen Cao went to see Zifu. When Zifu saw him coming, he immediately drew a circle. (This is a spirit recognizing a spirit, a thief recognizing a thief. If he were not relaxed and at ease, how could he discern this fellow? But do you see the adamantine trap?) Chen said, “My coming here like this has already missed the point; how much more so to go on and draw a circle.” (Today he has encountered a man fast asleep. This old thief!) Zifu thereupon closed the door. (A thief does not break into a poor man’s house. He has already entered the other’s cage.) Xuedou said, “Chen Cao has just one eye.” (Xuedou has an eye on his forehead. But what does he mean? He should give him another circle. Clearly. Chen Cao has a dragon’s head but a snake’s tail; he should have given Zifu such a reply that he would have had no gate to advance through and no road to retreat upon. But what further pressure could he bring to bear?)
Commentary
Ministry president Chen Cao was a contemporary of Pei Xiu and Li Ao. Whenever he saw a monk come, he would first invite him to a meal and would give him three hundred cash, wishing thereby to test the monk. One day Yunmen came; seeing him, Chen Cao immediately asked, “I do not ask about what is in Confucian books, and the Buddhist canon has its own professors; what is the purpose of
174
the Chan monk’s journey?” Yunmen said, “How many people have you asked?” Chen said, “I’m asking you right now.” Yunmen said, “Leaving aside ‘right now’ for the moment, what is the meaning of the Canon?” Chen said, “Yellow scrolls on red rollers.” Yunmen said, “ These are writings; what is the meaning of the teachings?” Chen said, “When one wishes to speak of it, words flee; when one tries to think of it, thought vanishes.” Yunmen said, “‘When one wishes to speak of it, words flee’ is to contrast it with that which can be verbalized; ‘when one tries to think of it, thought vanishes’ is to contrast it to false conceptualization. What is the meaning of the teachings?” Chen was speechless. Yunmen said, “I hear you’ve read the Lotus Sutra; is this true?” Chen said it was. Yunmen said, “The sutra says all livelihood and productive labor is not con trary to reality; now tell me, in the heaven beyond thought and thoughtlessness right now how many fall back from that state?” Chen was again speechless. Yunmen said, “Don’t be so careless. A real monk abandons scriptures and treatises to enter a Chan com munity, and can do nothing even after ten or twenty years; so how could you, ministry president, be able to understand?” Chen bowed and apologized.
Also one day when Chen was up in a tower with a group of officials, they saw several monks coming. One official said, “ Those are all Chan monks.” Chen said, “No, they’re not.” The official said, “How do you know?” Chen said, “When they approach, I’ll test them for you.” When the monks reached the foot of the tower, Chen suddenly called out to them. The monks raised their heads. Chen said to the officials, “Didn’t I tell you?” There was only one, Yunmen, whom Chen Cao couldn’t expose.
Chen had seen Chan Master Muzhou. One day he went to see Zifu, who drew a circle on seeing him approach. Zifu was an adept in the Gui-Yang line and always liked to use objects to deal with people. When he saw Chen coming, he drew a circle, but Chen was an adept and didn’t submit to deceit; he knew himself how to make a test—he said, “My coming here like this has already missed the point; how is it worth going on to draw a circle?” Zifu closed the
The Blue Cliff Record
door. This kind of story is called discerning the target without words, concealing ability within a phrase. Xuedou says, “Chen Cao has just one eye.” Xuedou may be said to have the eye on the fore head. But what does he mean? Zifu should have produced another circle; but if he always acted like this, how could a Chan practitioner benefit others? I ask you, if you were Chen Cao at that moment, what could you have said to avoid Xuedou’s saying he has just one eye? Thus Xuedou kicks over everything and versifies:
172c
Verse
Round and round the jewel turns, ringing like jade— (He tries to stir the Yellow River with a three foot pole.
Only Bodhidharma could do it. Made of cast iron.) Horses carry it; asses bear it; load it on an iron ship; (Why do you need so many for? What limit is there? I
give it to you.)
Share it with an unconcerned traveler of sea and mountain.
(There is someone who has no need of it. If one is a real unconcerned traveler, one has no use for it. But you must be a traveler without concern before you will get it.)
When fishing for a tortoise, he lets down a cage-trap. (Coming this way, going this way; none can escape. If
it is a frog, what is the use of it? What’s to be done about prawns, mussels, snails, and oysters? It is necessary to hook a tortoise.)
No Chan practitioner in the world can jump out. (You too are inside it. All are buried in the same pit.
Can you manage to jump out yourself?)
Commentary
“Round and round the jewel turns, ringing like jade— / Horses carry it; asses bear it; load it on an iron ship.” The beginning of Xuedou’s poem just eulogizes the circle. If you can merge with it,
176
Zifu’s Circle
you’ll be like a tiger with horns. This bit requires you to break through your limitations, to end mental machinations; discard gain and loss, right and wrong, all at once, do not make your under standing in terms of principle anymore, and do not understand it as a mysterious wonder.
Ultimately, how to understand? This must be carried by horses,
borne by asses, loaded on an iron ship. You will only get it if you see here. Anyplace else it cannot be imparted; it must be shared with an unconcerned traveler of sea and mountain. If you have anything stuck in your craw, you cannot take it up properly. Here you must not be affected by things or nothing, by unpleasant feel ings or pleasing situations, or by Buddhas or patriarchs; only then can you take it up properly. If there is any Chan to seek, any mea sure of profane or holy feelings, you will surely not be able to fully attain mastery.
But once you have attained mastery, how will you understand his saying, “When fishing for a tortoise, he lowers a cage-trap”? In fishing for tortoises, only a cage will do. That is why Fengxue said, “Used to fishing for whales, I scour the ocean but am disap pointed by a frog crawling in the mud.” He also said, “O great tortoise, do not carry away the three mountains! I want to walk on the summit of the isle of immortals.” Xuedou also said, “No Chan practitioners in the world can leap out.” If one is a great tortoise, one will not entertain the view of a Chan practitioner; if one is a Chan practitioner, one will not entertain the view of a great tortoise.
34. Where Do You Come From?
Story
Yangshan asked a monk, “Where have you just come from?” (Ev eryone in the world is the same. Still it is necessary to ask. This is using the wind to fan the fire. He will inevitably construe it in the ordinary way.) The monk said, “Mt. Lu. ” (A truthful person is hard to find.) Yangshan said, “ Did you visit Five Elders Peak?” (He naturally swings his arms as he walks. How could he have ever passed it by?) The monk said, “I didn’t get there.” (Take a step. Honest speech is better than a red face. He seems to be at a loss.) Yangshan said, “You never visited the mountain at all.” (Too much ado! He should be careful not to say too much. What is the old guy’s hurry?) Yunmen said, “These words were all because of com passion; thus they had a conversation in the weeds. ” (The sword that kills, the sword that gives life. Two, three. If you want to know the mountain road, you must be one who travels on it.)
Commentary
The point of testing people is to know them intimately as soon as they speak. An ancient said, “Immeasurably great people are turned about in the stream of speech.” If you are one who has the eye on the forehead, as soon as it is being brought up you know the point.
See their question and answer; each is distinctly clear. Why did Yunmen say these words were all for compassion, so they had
173a a conversation in the weeds? When the ancients got here, they were like a clear mirror, reflecting whatever comes just as it is; nothing could get past their scrutiny. How was it that there was a conversation in the weeds because of compassion? This is indeed strict; getting to this realm, only such a person could hold up. This monk had come from Mt. Lu; why did Yangshan say he had never visited the mountain?
One day Guishan asked Yangshan, “When there are monks coming from various places, what do you use to test them?” Yangshan
178
- Where Do You Come From?
said he had a way, and Guishan asked him to show it. Yangshan said, “When I see a monk coming, I hold up my whisk and say, ‘Do they have this in other places?’ If he has something to say, I just say to him, ‘Leaving this aside for a moment, what about that?” ’ Guishan said, “This is the tooth and nail of advanced people.”
Mazu asked Baizhang, “Where do you come from?” Baizhang said, “From down the mountain.” Mazu said, “Did you meet any one on the road?” Baizhang said, “No.” Mazu said, “Why didn’t you meet anyone?” Baizhang said, “Had I met anyone, I would tell you.” Mazu said, “ How could this have been happening?” Baizhang said, “My fault.” Mazu said, “No, my fault.”
Yangshan’s questioning the monk was just like these examples.
When he said, “ Did you get to Five Elders Peak?” if that monk had been a real man, he would simply have said, “Disaster. In stead he said, “I didn’t get there.” Since the monk was not an adept, why did Yangshan not act according to the rule, so as to avoid the many complications that subsequently appeared? Instead he said, “You never visited the mountain.” That is why Yunmen said, “These words were all because of compassion, thus they had a con versation in the weeds.” Were it talk outside the weeds, it would
not be like this.
Verse
Leaving the weeds, entering the weeds;
(Above and below, vast expanse. Half open, half closed.
He is so and I am so too.)
Who knows how to seek them out?
(One with the eye on the forehead. You do not know how?) White clouds, layer upon layer;
(A thousand levels, a hundred layers. He puts another
head on top of his head.) Red sun, clear and bright.
(It’s broken through. Blind! As soon as you lift your eyes
you miss it.)
Looking to the left, there are no flaws;
179
The Blue Cliff Record
(Blind! As before, there’s nothing the matter. Why are you displaying so much cleverness?)
Looking to the right, already old.
(One moment is ten thousand years. Gone past.) Have you not seen the man of Cold Mountain? (A leper drags his companion along.)
He traveled so swiftly; (Still he’s not fast.)
Ten years he couldn’t return
(Where is he right now? It’s obvious.) And forgot the road by which he came.
(He has attained freedom. Xuedou passes up the initiative, so I ’ll strike. Better not act so lost.)
Commentary
“Leaving the weeds, entering the weeds; / Who knows how to seek them out?” Xuedou after all knows where they are; when he gets there, he upholds with one hand and pushed down with the other. “White clouds, layer upon layer; / Red sun, clear and bright. ” This
173b is much like “Grasses in profusion, mist overhanging.” At this point there is nothing at all profane or holy. The whole world has never concealed It; each particular cannot cover It. This is called the realm of no mind; when cold it doesn’t feel cold, and when hot it doesn’t feel hot—the whole thing is one great door of liberation. “Looking to the left, there are no flaws; / Looking to the right, already old.”
Master Lazy Can dwelt in seclusion in a stone grotto on Mt. Heng. Emperor Suzong heard of him and sent an emissary to summon him. The emissary went to his grotto and made the announcement, “The emperor has summoned you; rise and give thanks for his favor.” Just then Can poked into his ox-dung fire, took out a yam and ate it; his nose ran, dripping from his chin. He did not answer. The emissary laughed and said, “I suggest you wipe off that snot.” Can said, “What leisure do I have to wipe snot for a worldly man?” After all he never went to the capital. The emissary returned and
180
- Where Do You Come From?
reported this; Suzong praised him highly. Someone so pure and calm, so clear and direct as this, is not at the disposal of others; he just holds still, as though made of cast iron. It is just like the case of Shandao, who after being laicized never again became a monk; people called him “the stone grotto worker.” When he treaded the pestle, he forgot the movement of his feet. A monk asked Linji, “What is the meaning of the stone grotto worker’s forgetting the movement of his feet?” Linji said, “Sunken in a deep pit.”
Fayan’s verse on Perfect Nature reads:
When reason is exhausted, feelings and thoughts are forgotten;
How could there be any adequate comparison?
Wherever I go there’s the frosty night’s moon; It falls as it may into the valley ahead.
The fruits ripe, they are heavy with monkeys;
The mountains go on so long, it seems I’ve lost my way. As I look up, there is some light remaining—
Actually this is west of my dwelling place.
Xuedou said, “ Have you not seen the man of Cold Mountain? / He traveled so swiftly; / For ten years he couldn’t return / And forgot the road by which he came.” In one of the Cold Mountain Man s poems it says, “If you want a place to rest your body, / You can preserve it long on Cold Mountain. The gentle wind blows in the dense pines; / Heard from nearby the sound is even better. Under neath is a man with half-grey hair / Furiously reading Taoist books. For ten years he couldn’t return / And forgot the road by which he came.” Yongjia also said, “ Mind is the sense, phenomena the ob jects; both are like flaws in a mirror. When the defilement of the flaws is gone, only then does the light appear; when mind and phenomena are both forgotten, nature is identical to reality. When you get here, be like a simpleton, and you will see this story. If you do not reach that realm, you will just be running around in the words; what end will there ever be?
181
35. The Dialogue of Manjusrl and Wuzhuo
Introduction
Determining dragons and snakes, distinguishing jewels and stones, separating the initiate and the naive, to settle all uncertainty; if you haven’t an eye on your forehead and a talisman at your side, time and again you will miss the point. Right now see ing and hearing are not obscured, sound and form are purely real. Tell me, is it black, is it white, is it crooked, is it straight? How will you discriminate?
Story
Manjusrl asked Wuzhuo, “Where have you come from?” (It is nec- essary to pose the question. There is still this news.) Wuzhuo said, “ The south.” (He emerges from his nest in the weeds. Why should
he hoist it onto his eyebrows? There is nothing outside the great vastness; why is there nevertheless a south?) Manjusrl said, “How is Buddhism faring in the south?” (If he asked someone else, a disaster would happen. It still lingers on his teeth and lips.) Wuzhuo said, “Monks of the last age have little regard for discipline.” (A truthful person is hard to find.) Manjusrl said, “ How large are the congregations?” (At that moment I would immediately give him a shout. With one nudge he pushes him over.) Wuzhuo said, “Some three hundred, some live hundred.” (They are all wild fox spirits. After all he’s let slip.) Wuzhuo asked Manjusrl, “How is Buddhism faring here?” (He asks back; he turns the spear around and comes back with it.) Manjusrl said, “Ordinary people and sages dwell together, dragons and snakes intermingle.” (He’s suffered quite a loss. In fact he’s frantic.) Wuzhuo said, “ How large are the congre gations?” (Give me back the words. Still he can’t let go.) Manjusrl said, “In front three by three, in back three by three. ” (Crazy words, insane talk. Tell me, how many are they? Even the Great Com passionate One with a thousand hands could not count them all.)
182
- The Dialogue of Manjusri and Wuzhuo
Commentary
When Wuzhuo was visiting Mt. Wutai, he came to a wild, isolated place. There Manjusri produced a temple to take him in for the night. He asked where he came from, and Wuzhuo said the south. Manjusri asked him how Buddhism was faring there, and Wuzhuo said that the monks of the last age had little regard for discipline. Manjusri asked how large the congregations were, and Wuzhuo said three or five hundred. Wuzhuo asked Manjusri how Buddhism was faring there; Manjusri said, “Ordinary people and sages dwell together, dragons and snakes intermingle.” Wuzhuo asked how large the congregations were; Manjusri said, “In front three by three, in back three by three.” Then they had tea. Manjusri held up a crystal bowl and asked, “Do they also have this in the south?” Wuzhuo said no. Manjusri said, “What do they usually use to drink tea?” Wuzhuo was speechless. Finally he left, and Manjusri had a servant boy see him to the gate. When they got to the gate, Wuzhuo asked the boy, “Just now he said, ‘In front three by three, in back three by three’—how many is this?” The boy said, “O Worthy!” Wuzhuo said, “Yes?” The boy said, “How many is this?” Wuzhuo also asked what temple this was. The boy pointed beyond the statue of the thunderbolt bearer; when Wuzhuo turned his head, the magical temple and the boy had vanished—it was just an empty valley. Later that place was called the Thunderbolt Cave.
A monk asked Fengxue, “What is the master of Wutai?” He said, “One statement did not settle Wuzhuo’s question; to this day he is still a monk who sleeps in the fields.”
If you want to penetrate the peaceful equanimity of actual
truth, so that your feet tread on the real earth, get attainment at Wuzhuo’s words; then naturally you may stay in a boiling caul dron or in the coals of a furnace without feeling hot and may stay on ice without feeling cold.
If you want to go through to use solitary sternness, like an
adamantine diamond sword, get attainment at Manjusri’s words; then naturally water cannot wet, wind cannot penetrate.
183
The Blue Cliff Record
Dizang asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” He said, “The south.” Dizang said, “ How is Buddhism there?” He said,
“There is much discussion.” Dizang said, “How can that compare with us here sowing fields and making rice balls to eat?” Tell me, is this the same as Manjusri’s answer, or different? Some say Wuzhuo’s answers were wrong, while in Manjusri’s answers there is both snake and dragon, both ordinary and sage. What bearing does this have on it? Can you clearly discern three by three in front, three by three in back? The first arrow was still light; the second arrow went deep. Tell me, how many is this? If you can pass through here, then a thousand or ten thousand statements are only one statement. If at this one statement you can cut off and hold still, in the next moment you will reach this realm.
Verse
The thousand peaks twist and turn, the color of indigo; (But do you see Manjusri?)
Who says Manjusri was conversing with him?
(Even if it were Samantabhadra, I wouldn’t pay any attention. He’s already stumbled past.)
It’s laughable, “ How many the people?” on Wutai; (What is he laughing at? It’s already there before
saying it.)
In front three by three, in back three by three.
(Please observe it right where you are. There are thorns in the soft mud. The tea bowl falls to the ground; the saucer breaks in seven pieces.)
Commentary
“The thousand peaks twist and turn, blue as indigo; / Who says Manjusri was conversing with him?” Some say Xuedou is just re iterating it without versifying it. It is like when a monk asked Fa- yan, “What is a drop of water from the source of the Chan stream?” Fayan said, “A drop of water from the source of the Chan stream.” And a monk asked Huijiao, “ How does fundamental purity give
184
- The Dialogue of Manjusri and Wuzhuo
rise to mountains, rivers, and earth?” Huijiao said, “ How does fundamental purity give rise to mountains, rivers, and earth?” You cannot say either that these are just repetitions.
Mingzhao also versified the meaning of this, with the ability
to cover heaven and earth:
Extending throughout the world, the beautiful temple; The Manjusri filling the eyes is the one conversing.
Unable to open the enlightened eye at his words, Wuzhuo turned and saw only the blue mountain crags.
“Extending throughout the world, the beautiful temple” refers to the magical temple nestled in the weeds. This is what is called having ability to carry out both provisional and real together. The Manjusri filling the eyes is talking; if you don’t know how to open the enlightened eye at his words, when you turn your head you’ll only see the blue mountain crags. At such a time, could you call it the realm of Manjusri, Samantabhadra, or Avalokitesvara? In es sence it is not this principle. Xuedou just changes Mingzhao’s us age; instead he has a needle and thread—“ Ten thousand peaks twist and turn, blue as indigo.” He does not damage the point or hurt his hand. Within the phrase there is the provisional, there is the real; there is principle, there is phenomena. Who says Manjusri was conversing with him? They talked all night, but he didn’t know it was Manjusri.
Later Wuzhuo stayed on Mt. Wutai and worked as a cook.
Every time Manjusri appeared over the rice pot, Wuzhuo hit him with the ladle. Still, this is drawing the bow after the thief is gone. This time, as soon as he said, “How is Buddhism faring in the south?” he should have hit him on the spine; then he would have
gotten somewhere.
“ It’s laughable, ‘How many the people?’ on Wutai.” There is a
sword in Xuedou’s laughter. If you can understand what he’s laughing about, you will see the saying, “In front three by three, in back three by three.”
185
36. Roaming in the Mountains
Story
One day Changsha went roaming in the mountains. On return ing, when he got to the gate, (Today, one day. He has only fallen into the weeds; at first he was falling into the weeds, later he was still falling into the weeds.) the head monk asked, “Where have you been?” (He still wants to try the old guy. The arrow has flown past the next country.) Changsha said, “ Roaming in the moun tains.” (Don’t fall in the weeds. He’s suffered quite a loss. A man in the weeds.) The monk asked, “Where did you go?” (A challenge. Had he gone anywhere, he couldn’t avoid falling into the weeds. They drag each other into a pit of fire.) Changsha said, “First I went pursuing the fragrant grasses; then I returned following the falling flowers.” (He’s let slip quite a bit. All along he’s just been sitting in a forest of thorns.) The monk said, “ How very much like the sense of springtime.” (He comes following along, adding error to error; one hand holds up, one hand presses down.) Changsha said, “It is even cooler than the autumn dew dripping on the lo tuses.” (He adds mud to dirt. The first arrow was light; the second arrow went deep. What end will there ever be?) Xuedou added, “Thanks for your reply.” (A bunch of people playing with a mud ball. The three have their crimes listed on the same indictment.)
Commentary
Changsha was a spiritual heir of Nanquan, a contemporary of Zhao- zhou and Zihu. He was very acute: if anyone asked about scrip ture, he would explain scripture; if someone wanted a verse, he would produce a verse. If you wanted to have a meeting of adepts, he would have a meeting of adepts with you.
Yangshan was usually considered foremost in intellect. Once as he was enjoying the moon along with Changsha, he pointed at the moon and said, “Everyone has this; it’s just that they can’t use it.” Changsha said, “Quite true. So shall I have you use it?” Yangshan said, “Try to use it yourself.” Changsha kicked him over; Yangshan
186
got up and said, “Respected Uncle, you’re like a tiger. ” Hence people later called Changsha “The Tiger. ”
One day as Changsha returned from a stroll in the mountains,
the head monk, one of his disciples, asked, “Where have you been?” Changsha said, “Roaming in the mountains.” The monk asked, “Where did you go?” Changsha said, “First I went following the fragrant grasses; then I returned pursuing the falling flowers.” Only one who occupies the universe can be like this. The ancients, in their comings and goings, never failed to be mindful of this matter. See how the host and guest shift positions together; con fronting the situation directly, neither defers to the other. Since he was roaming in the mountains, why did the monk ask where he went? Had he been one of today’s Chan followers, he would have said, “I came to the inn on Mt. Jia.” See how that ancient did not rationalize and had no fixed abode; so he said, “First I went following the fragrant grasses, then I returned pursuing the fall ing flowers.” The monk then followed his idea and said, “How very much like the sense of springtime,” Changsha said, “It is even cooler than the autumn dew dripping on the lotuses.” Xuedou says, “Thanks for your reply,” as the final word. This too falls on both sides but ultimately does not remain on either side.
Once a scholar, Zhang Zhuo, having read the Sutra o f the Thousand Names of the Buddha, asked, “Of the hundreds and thousands of Buddhas, I have only heard their names; what lands do they dwell in, and do they teach or not? ” Changsha said, “Since Cui Hao wrote his poems in the Golden Crane Pavilion, have you ever written or not?” Zhang said no; Changsha said, “When you have some free time, you should write one.”
The Tiger’s usual way of helping people was like jewels spinning; he wanted people to understand immediately as they face it.
Verse
The earth is clear of dust—
(Open up the doors and windows—who is under the eaves? None can miss this. The world is at peace.)
The Blue Cliff Record
Whose eyes do not open?
(One must radiate great light from the forehead before this is possible. Why scatter dirt and sand?)
First he went following the fragrant grasses,
(He’s slipped quite a bit. It’s not just one instance of falling into the weeds. Luckily it happens he already said this before.)
Then he returned pursuing the falling flowers. (Everywhere is completely real. Luckily he came back.
Under his feet the mud is three feet deep.)
A weary crane alights on an evergreen tree; (Accompanying him left and right, he adds a phrase.
Still there are so many idle concerns?)
A mad monkey cries on an ancient terrace.
(After all it depends on personal application of effort.
It is impossible either to add a phrase or to take one away.)
Changsha’s boundless meaning—
(I strike. What does the final phrase say? Bury them all in one pit. He’s fallen into a ghost cave.)
Tch!
(A man in the weeds. This is drawing the bow after the thief is gone. Still, he can’t be let go.)
Commentary
Take this story along with number thirty-four above; see if they are the same or different. At this point, mental machinations must come to an end, and conscious knowledge forgotten, so that you have no leaking at all over the mountains, rivers, earth, plants, people, and animals. If you are not thus, the ancients called that still remaining in an aesthetic realm.
Yunmen said, “Even if you realize there is no trouble at all in the world, this is still an expression of transition. When you do not see any forms, this is only half the issue. You must further realize that there is a time when the whole thing is brought up, the single
188
Roaming in the Mountains
opening upward; only then can you sit in peace.” If you can pass through, then as before mountains are mountains, rivers are riv ers; each abides in its own state, each occupies its own body. You will be as though blind. Zhaozhou wrote:
The cock crows in the early morning; Sadly I see as I rise how worn out I am; I haven’t a kilt or a shirt,
Just the semblance of a robe.
My loincloth has no seat, my pants no opening— On my head are three or five pecks of grey ashes. Originally I intended to practice to save others; Who would have thought instead I’d become senile?
If one can truly reach this realm, whose eyes would not open? Though you go through upsets and spills, all places are this realm, all places are this time. “The ten directions are without walls, the four quarters without gates.” That is why he said, First I went following the fragrant grasses; then I returned pursuing the falling flowers.”
Skillful indeed, Xuedou just adds a phrase to his left and a
phrase to his right, just like a poem. “A weary crane alights on an evergreen tree; / A mad monkey cries on an ancient terrace. ” When Xuedou has drawn it out this far, he realizes how he has indulged himself; suddenly he says, “Changsha’s boundless meaning— /
Tch!” This was like having a dream but suddenly awakening. Though Xuedou gave a shout, he still didn’t completely finish the matter. If it were up to me, I’d do otherwise: Changsha’s bound less meaning —dig out the ground and bury it deeper.
189
37. There’s Nothing in the World
Introduction
It’s futile to linger in thought over action like a lightning bolt; when thunder fills the sky, you will hardly have time to cover your ears. To unfurl the red flag of victory over your head, whirl twin swords behind your ears—if not for a discerning eye and a familiar hand, how could anyone succeed? Some people lower their heads and linger in thought, trying to figure it out with their intellect; they hardly realize they are seeing countless ghosts in front of their skulls. Now tell me, without falling into intellect, without being caught up in gain or loss, when suddenly there is such a demonstration to awaken you, how will you reply?
Story
Panshan said, “There is nothing in the world; (Once the arrow has left the bowstring, it has no power to come back. The moon’s bright ness shines, revealing the night traveler. Bullseye. One who knows the law fears it. He ought to have been hit before he finished talk ing.) where can mind be found?” (Best not fool people. It’s not worth bringing up again. Examine for yourself. Immediately striking, I would say, “What is this?”)
Commentary
Panshan was a spiritual heir to Mazu. He himself had one successor, Puhua. When Panshan was about to pass on, he said to his group, “Is there anyone who can depict my true likeness?” They all drew likenesses and presented them, but Panshan scolded every one. Puhua came forth and said, “I can depict it.” Panshan said, “Why not show me?” Puhua turned a somersault and left. Pan shan said, “Later on this guy will appear crazy to teach others.”
One day he said, “There is nothing in the world; where can mind be found? The elements are basically empty; how can a Bud dha abide? The polar star does not move; it is quiet and still, with no tracks. Once it is presented face to face, there is nothing else.”
190
- There’s Nothing in the World
Xuedou takes up two lines and eulogizes them; this is raw gold, a jewel in the rough. Have you not heard it said that curing illness does not take a donkey load of medicine? Why do I say I would have hit him before he finished speaking? Just because he was wearing fetters, giving evidence of his crime.
An ancient said, “When you hear mention of the statement beyond sound, do not seek it in your mind.” What did he mean? Just like a rushing stream crossing a sword; thunder peals, a comet flies _ if you dally and seek it in thought, even though a thousand Buddhas appeared in the world you would grope around without finding. But if you have deeply entered the inner sanctum, pierced the bone to the marrow, seen all the way through, then Panshan will have suffered a loss. If you are muddy and wet, revolving in a pile of sound and form, you have still never seen Panshan even in a dream. Wuzu said, “Pass beyond the Other Side; and only then will you have some freedom.”
The third patriarch said, “Grasp it and you lose balance, sure
to enter a false path. Let go naturally; there is neither going nor abiding in essence.” If here you say there is neither Buddha nor Dharma, still you have gone into a ghost cave. The ancients called this the deep pit of liberation. Originally it was a good cause, but
it brings on a bad result. That is why it is said that an uncontrived, unconcerned person is still oppressed by golden chains. Still, you
must have penetrated all the way to the bottom before you will realize it. If you can say what cannot be said, do what cannot be done, this is called the turning point. There is nothing in the world; where can mind be found? If you make an intellectual interpretation, you will just die at his words.
Xuedou’s view is piercing and penetrating.
Verse
There is nothing in the world; (The words are still in our ears.) Where can mind be found?
(It is not worth the trouble to mention again. See for
yourself. I strike and say, “What is this?”)
191
The Blue Cliff Record
The white clouds form a canopy;
(Adding a head to a head. A thousand layers, myriad layers.)
The flowing spring makes a lute—
(Hear it? They come along together. Each hearing is enough to lament.)
One tune, two tunes; no one understands.
(It is not in A or B, not D or E. He is going by a side road. All notes and tones are distinctly clear. Take what’s yours and go. When you listen you go deaf.)
When the rain has passed, the autumn water is deep in the evening pond.
(The thunder is so swift there’s no time to cover the ears. After all he’s muddy and wet. Where is he? Immediately I strike.)
Commentary
“There is nothing in the world; / Where can mind be found? ” Xuedou makes a verse that resembles the Flower Ornament Cosmos. Some say he sings it out from within nothingness, but anyone with eyes open would never understand this way. Xuedou drapes two phrases around Panshan, saying, “The white clouds form a canopy; / The flowing spring makes a lute.”
When Su Dongpo, the imperial scholar, saw Zhaojiao, he wrote:
The sound of the valley stream is the eternal tongue; Are not the colors of the mountains the pure body? Last night, eighty-four thousand verses;
How could I quote them to others another day?
Xuedou borrows the flowing spring to make a vast tongue; so he says, “One tune, two tunes; no one understands.” Jiufeng said, “Do you know life? The flowing spring is life, profound stillness is the body. Thousands of ripples arising at once is the way of Manjusri; one continuous clear sky is the realm of Samantabhadra. ” “ The flowing spring makes a lute/ One tune, two tunes; no
one understands the harmony of this tune requires you to be a
192
- Workings of the Iron Ox
connoisseur before you can appreciate it. If you are not such a person, it is useless to take the trouble to incline an ear to it. An ancient said, “Even a deaf man can sing a foreign song; good or bad, high or low, he doesn’t hear at all.” Yunmen said, When it is raised, if you do not pay attention you will miss it; if you want to think about it, in what eon will you awaken?” Raising is the essence; paying attention is the function; if you can see before it is brought up, before any indications are distinguishable, then you will occupy the essential bridge; if you can see at the moment the indications are distinguishable, then you have perception and function. If you see
after the indications are distinct, you fall into conceptualization
is very compassionate and goes on to say to you that it
is like “When the rain has passed, the autumn water is deep in the evening pond. ” This verse has been discussed and judged by some one who praised Xuedou for having the talent of an imperial scholar. “The rain passed, the autumn water is deep in the evening pond.” Still you must look quickly; if you tarry in doubt, you will look without seeing.
38. The Workings of the Iron Ox
Introduction
If we discuss the gradual, it is going against the ordinary to merge with the Way, perfect freedom in the midst of a bustling market place. If we discuss the sudden, it doesn’t leave a hint of a trace, a thousand sages cannot find it. If, on the other hand, we do not set up sudden or gradual, then what? To a quick person, one word; to a quick horse, one stroke of the whip. At such a time, who is the master?
Story
Fengxue said in a lecture at the government headquarters in Ying prefecture, (He explains Chan in public; what will he say?) The Chan mind seal is formed like the workings of the iron ox:” (Ten thousand people cannot budge it. Where is the impenetrable
193
The Blue Cliff Record
difficulty? The seal of the three essentials opens, without running afoul of the point.) “when taken away, the impression remains;” (The true imperative is to be carried out. Wrong!) “when left there, the impression is ruined. ” (A second offense is not permitted. Ob serve the time when the imperative is being carried out. A challenge. Immediately I strike.) “But if neither removed nor left there,” (See how there is no place to put it. How difficult to understand!) “is sealing right or is not sealing right?” (Everyone in the world appears and disappears. The design is already showing. But I ask that you turn over the meditation seat and disperse the assembly with shouts.) A certain elder Lupi then came forth and said, “I have the workings of the iron ox: ” (He’s fished out one who’s awakened in the dark. Nevertheless, he’s unusual.) “please do not im press the seal. ” (Good words, but what about the riddle?) Fengxue said, “Accustomed to scouring the oceans fishing for whales, I regret to find instead a frog crawling in the mud.” (Like a falcon catching a pigeon. The jewel net extends throughout space. The wonder horse runs a thousand miles.) Lupi stood there thinking. (What a pity. Still, there’s a place for him to come forth; what a pity to let it go.) Fengxue shouted and said, “Elder, why do you not speak further?” (He captures the flag and steals the drum. The boiling turmoil has come.) Lupi hesitated. (Three times he has died. A double case.) Fengxue hit him with his whisk. (Well struck. This order requires such a person to carry it out.) Fengxue said, “Do you still remember the words? Try to quote them.” (What is the need? He adds frost to snow.) As Lupi was about to speak, (Once having died, he won’t come to life again. This guy makes others out to be fools. He runs afoul of Fengxue.) Fengxue hit him again with the whisk. The governor said, “ The Buddhist law and the royal law are the same.” (Clearly. After all they’ve been seen through by a bystander.) Fengxue said, “What principle have you seen?” (A good rejoinder; he turns the spear around and comes back with it.) The governor said, “When you do not settle what is to be settled, you bring on disorder. ” (He seems to be right but is not really right. Still you must realize the bystander has eyes. When someone in the eastern house dies, someone of the western
194
8. The Workings of the Iron Ox
house helps in the mourning.) Fengxue thereupon stepped down from his seat. (He adds error to error. Seeing the situation, he adjusts. Now the task of study is completed.)
Commentary
Fengxue was an adept in the Linji line. When Linji was in Huang - bo’s community, once as he was planting pine trees, Huangbo said to him, “Why plant so many pine trees here, deep in the mountains?” Linji said, “For one thing, to provide scenery for the monastery; second, to make a signpost for people of later generations.” Then he hoed the ground. Huangbo said, “Though you’re right, you have already taken a thrashing.” Linji struck the ground once more and whistled under his breath. Huangbo said, “With you my school will flourish in the world.”
Dagui Zhe said, “Linji in his way seemed to invite trouble in a peaceful area; nevertheless, only when immutable in the face of danger can one be called a real man. When Huangbo said, W ith you my school will flourish in the world,’ he seemed to be so fond of his child that he was unaware of being unseemly. ”
Later, Guishan asked Yangshan, “ Did Huangbo only entrust
his bequest to Linji, or is there anyone else?” Yangshan said, “There is, but the age is so remote I do not want to mention it.” Guishan said, “You are right, but I still want to know.” Yangshan said, “One man will point south; in Wu-Yue the order will be carried out, and coming to a great wind it will stop.” This foretold of Fengxue, whose name means “Wind Cave.”
Fengxue first studied with Xuefeng for five years. Once he
asked for help with this story: “As Linji entered the hall, the head monks of both halls simultaneously shouted. A monk asked Linji, ‘Are there guest and host?’ Linji said, ‘Guest and host are evi dent.’” Fengxue asked about the meaning of this; Xuefeng said, “In the past I went with Yantou and Qinshan to see Linji; on the way we heard he had already passed on. If you want to under stand his talk about guest and host, you should visit adepts in the stream of his school.”
The Blue Cliff Record
One day he finally saw Nanyuan. He recited the preceding story and said, “I have come especially to see you.” Nanyuan said, “Xuefeng is an ancient Buddha. ”
Once he saw Jingqing, who asked him, “Where have you come from ?” Fengxue said, “From the east.” Jingqing said, “And did you cross the little river?” Fengxue said, “ The great ship sails alone through the sky; there are no little rivers to cross. ” Jingqing said, “Birds cannot fly across a mirror lake and a picture mountain; have you not merely overheard another’s remark?” Fengxue said, “Even the sea fears the power of a warship; sails flying through the sky, it crosses the five lakes. ” Jingqing raised his whisk and said, “What about this?” Fengxue said, “What is this?” Jingqing said, “After all you don’t know.” Fengxue said, “Appearing, disap pearing, rolling up, rolling out, I act the same as you.” Jingqing said, “Casting auguring sticks, you listen to the empty sound; fast asleep, you’re full of gibberish.” Fengxue said, “When the marsh is wide, it can hide a mountain; a cat can subdue a leopard.” Jing qing said, “I forgive your crime and pardon your error; you better leave quickly. ” Fengxue said, “If I leave, I lose. ” Then he went out; when he got to the teaching hall, he said to himself, “Big man, the
176b case is not yet finished; how can you quit?” Then he went back to the abbot’s room. As Jingqing sat there, Fengxue asked, “I have just now offered my ignorant view and insulted you; humbly fa vored by the teacher’s compassion, I have not yet been given pun ishment for my crime.” Jingqing said, “Just awhile ago you said you came from the east; did you not come from Cuiyan? ” Fengxue said, “Xuedou actually lies east of Baogai.” Jingqing said, “ If you don’t chase the lost goat, crazy interpretations cease. Instead you come here and recite poems.” Fengxue said, “When you meet a swordsman on the road, you should show your sword; do not offer poetry to one who is not a poet.” Jingqing said, “Put the poetry away now and try to use your sword a little.” Fengxue said, “A decapitated man carried the sword away.” Jingqing said, “You not only violate the method of the teaching; you also show your own fatheadedness.” Fengxue said, “ Unless I violate the method
196
38. The Workings of the Iron Ox
of teaching, how could I understand the mind of the ancient Bud dhas?” Fengxue said, “Again you grant your allowance; now what do you have?” Jingqing said, “ This monk cannot distinguish beans from wheat. I have only heard of ending without finishing; how can you finish by forcing an end?” Fengxue said, “ The immense billows rise a thousand fathoms; the clear waves are not other than water.” Jingqing said, “When one phrase cuts off the flow, myriad impulses cease.” Fengxue thereupon bowed. Jingqing tapped him thrice with the whisk and said, “Exceptional indeed. Now sit and have tea.”
When Fengxue first came to Nanyuan, he entered the door
without bowing. Nanyuan said, “When you enter the door, you should discern the host.” Fengxue said, “I ask the teacher to make a definite distinction.” Nanyuan slapped his knee with his left hand. Fengxue shouted. Nanyuan slapped his knee with his right hand. Fengxue again shouted. Nanyuan raised his left hand and said, “This one I concede to you.” Then he raised his right hand and said, “ But what about this one?” Fengxue said, “Blind!” Nanyuan then raised his staff. Fengxue said, “What are you doing? I’ll take that staff away from you and hit you; don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Nanyuan then threw the staff down and said, “Today I have been made a fool by this yellow-faced river-lander.” Fengxue said, “It seems you are unable to hold your bowl, yet are falsely claiming you’re not hungry.” Nanyuan said, “Haven’t you ever come to this place?” Fengxue said, “What kind of talk is this?” Nanyuan said, “I just asked.” Fengxue said, “Still I can’t let you go.” Nanyuan said, “Sit awhile and have some tea. ”
See how an excellent student is naturally sharp. Even Nanyuan couldn’t handle him. The next day, Nanyuan just posed an ordi nary question: “Where did you spend the summer?” Fengxue said, “I passed the summer with Attendant Kuo at Deer Gate.” Nanyuan said, “So actually you’d seen an adept when you came here.” He also asked what Kuo had told him; Fengxue said, “He only taught me to be always the master.” Nanyuan then struck him and drove him out, saying, “What is the use of a man who accepts defeat?”
197
The Blue Cliff Record
Fengxue henceforth submitted. He worked as the gardener in i76 c Nanyuan’s community. One day Nanyuan came to the garden and asked, “How do they assess the staff in the south?” He said, “ They make a special assessment. How do they assess it here?” Nanyuan raised his staff and said, “Under the staff, acceptance of birth- lessness; facing the situation without deferring to a teacher. ” At
this Fengxue was greatly enlightened.
At this time the five dynasties were divided and at war. The governor of Ying prefecture invited Fengxue to pass the summer there. The school of Linji flourished at this time. Whenever he questioned and answered, or gave out pointers, invariably his words were sharp and fresh, colorful and ornate, always with a point.
One day the governor requested Fengxue to teach the assem bly. He said, “The Chan mind seal is formed like the workings of the iron ox. Removed, the impression remains; left, the impres sion is ruined. But if you neither take it away nor keep it there, is it right to use the seal or not?”
Why is it not like the workings of a stone man or a wooden horse, only like the workings of an iron ox? There is no way for you to move it. As soon as you go the seal remains; as soon as you stop, the seal is broken, causing you to shatter into fragments. But if you neither go nor stay, should you use the seal or not? See how he gives out indications; you might say there is bait on the hook. Elder Lupi, who was in the audience, was also an adept in the Linji line. He dared to come forth and reply to the device; thus he turned the words and made a question, undeniably unique: “I have the workings of an iron ox; I ask you not to impress the seal. ” But what could he do? Fengxue was an adept; he immediately replied, “Accustomed to scouring the oceans fishing for whales, I regret to find instead a frog crawling in the mud.” And there is an echo in the words. Yunmen said, “ Trailing a hook in the four seas, just fishing for a terrible dragon; the mysterious device beyond con
vention is to seek out those who understand the self.”
In the ocean, twelve buffalo carcasses are used as bait for the hooks; instead he has just snagged a frog. But there is nothing mysterious or wonderful in these words; and neither is there any
198
- he Workings of the Iron Ox
rationalization. An ancient said, “It is easy to see in the phenom ena; if you try to figure it out in your mind, you will lose contact. ” Lupi stood there thinking: “Seeing it, if you don’t take it, it will be hard to find again even in a thousand years.” What a pity. That is why it is said, “Even if you can explain a thousand scrip tures and commentaries, it is hard to utter a statement appropri ate to the moment.”
The fact is that Lupi was searching for a good saying to an
swer Fengxue; he didn’t want to carry out the order, and suffered Fengxue’s unilateral use of the ability to take over. He was unre mittingly pressed back and simply couldn’t do anything. As a prov erb says, “When an army is defeated, it can’t be swept up with a straw broom.” In the very beginning it is still necessary to seek a tactic to oppose the adversary, but if you wait till you’ve come up with one, your head will have fallen to the ground.
The governor too had studied a long time with Fengxue; he
knew to say, “The Buddhist law and the royal law are the same.” Fengxue said, “What have you seen? ” The governor said, “If you do not settle what should be settled, you bring on disorder.” Fengxue was a single mass of spirit, like a gourd floating on wa ter; press it down and it rolls, push it and it moves. He knew how to explain the Dharma according to the situation; if it did not ac cord with the situation, it would just be false talk. He thereupon left the seat.
Verse
Having caught Lupi, he makes him mount the iron ox; (Among myriad people he still wants to show his skill.
The general of a beaten army needn’t be decapitated a second time.)
The spear and armor of the three profundities have never
been easily opposed.
(The one whose move it is is confused. He accepts disaster as if receiving good fortune and accepts submission as if encountering opposition.)
The Blue Cliff Record
By the castle of the King of Chu, the tidal water— (What tidal water are you talking about? Vastly
extensive, it fills heaven and earth. Even were it the four seas, he would still reverse their flow.)
Shouting once, he caused its flow to turn back. (This one shout not only cuts off your tongue; oh! it
startles the iron ox into a run and frightens the colossus to death.)
Commentary
Xuedou knew Fengxue to have such a style, so he eulogized him by saying, “Having caught Lupi, he mounts him on the iron ox; / The spear and armor of the three profundities have never been easily opposed. ” In the Linji tradition there are three profundities and three essentials: within any one statement there must be in herent three profundities; in one profundity there must be inher-
mb ent three essentials. A monk asked Linji, “What is the primary statement?” Linji said, “When the seal of the three essentials is lifted, the red mark is narrow; without admitting hesitation, host and guest are distinct.” The monk asked, “What is the secondary statement?” Linji said, “ How can subtle discernment admit of no questioning? Expedients do not go against the ability to cut off the streams.” The monk asked, “What is the tertiary statement?” Linji said, “Just observe the playing of the puppet on the stage; the pulling of the strings depends on the person behind the scenes.”
In one statement of Fengxue, he is immediately equipped with the spear and armor of the three profundities; fully equipped, he is not easy to oppose. Were he not so, how could he have handled Lupi? Finally Xuedou wants to bring out the active edge of the Linji line. Do not speak of Lupi only—even by the castle of the King of Chu, the great waves flooding the skies all return to the source; just a single shout is all that’s needed to make them reverse their course.
200
39. The Flowering Hedge
Introduction
One who can take action on the road is like a tiger in the moun tains; one immersed in worldly understanding is like a monkey in a cage. If you want to know the meaning of the Buddha nature, observe time and conditions. If you want to smelt pure gold that has been refined a hundred times, you need the forge and bellows of a master. Tell me, when the great function appears, what can be used to test it?
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “What is the pure body of reality?” (He sees the sixteen-foot gold body of the Buddha in a heap of dust. Mottled and mixed up; what is it?) Yunmen said, “A flowering hedge.” (If the point of the question is not real, the answer comes across crude. We bump into it everywhere. The bent does not hide the straight.) The monk asked, “What is it like when one goes on just so?” (He swallows the date whole. Why indulge in stupidity?) Yunmen said, “A golden-haired lion.” (He is both praising and cen suring; two faces, one die. He meets error with error—what is go ing on in his mind?)
Commentary
Do you know the point of these questions and answers? If you do, the two speakers are alike without a single tongue. If you don’t, you won’t avoid being fatheaded.
A monk asked Xuansha, “What is the pure body of reality?”
Xuansha said, “Dripping with pus.” He had the adamantine eye; try to discern it.
Yunmen was not the same as others. Sometimes he held still
and stood like a wall ten miles high, with no place for you to an chor. Sometimes he would open out a path for you, die along with you and live along with you.
201
The Blue Cliff Record
Yunmen’s speech was very subtle. Some people say he was answering at random; but if you understand it this way, then tell me where Yunmen is. This was a household affair; don’t try to figure it out from outside. This was the reason Baizhang said, “Myriad forms, and all words, should each be referred to oneself and made to operate freely. ” He speaks immediately where life springs forth; if you try to deliberate and seek it in thought, immediately you have fallen into the secondary. Yongjia said, “When the body of reality awakens fully, there is not a single thing; the inherent nature of the original source is the natural real Buddha. ”
Yunmen tested this monk; the monk was also a member of his household and was a longtime student. He knew the business of
177c the household, so he went on to say, “What is it like to go on just
so?” Yunmen said, “A golden-haired lion.” But tell me, is this agree ing or not? Is this praising or censuring? Yantou said, “If you en gage in battle, each individual stands in a pivotal position.” It is also said, “Study the living word, not the dead word. If you under stand the living word you will never forget; if you understand at the dead word, you will be unable to save yourself. ”
Another monk asked Yunmen, “Is it true that the Buddha Dharma is like the moon in the water?” Yunmen said, “ There is no way through the clear waves.” The monk went on, “ How did you manage?” Yunmen said, “Where does this second question come from?” The monk said, “How is it when going on just so?” Yunmen said, “Further complications block the mountain path. ”
You must realize that this matter is not in words; like sparks, like lightning, whether you reach it or not, you still will not avoid losing your life. Xuedou is someone who is there, so he produces his verse from that very place.
Verse
A flowering hedge;
(The words are still in our ears.) Don’t be fatheaded!
(Such people are numerous. Still, there are some who are not. Take what’s coming to you and get out.)
202
- The Flowering Hedge
The marks are on the balance arm, not on the scale pan. (Too complicated! Everyone should introspect on their
own. He still talks about principle.) “ Then just be so” —
(He swallows the date whole.)
How pointless!
(Take what’s coming to you and get out. Clearly. You should not mistakenly blame Yunmen.)
A golden haired lion—everyone look!
(He lets out one or a half. Still they are dogs. Yunmen
is also a man from the land of thieves escorting a thief.)
Commentary
Xuedou sizes up the audience to give his order; making the harp- strings vibrate, he distinguishes the tune. With each phrase he continues the judgment. This verse is not at variance with the form for quoting the ancients. “A flowering hedge” —then he says, “Don’t be fatheaded.” People say Yunmen was responding at ran dom; they make up intellectual interpretations to understand him. Xuedou therefore gives his own fodder and says, “ Don’t be fat headed.” The fact is that Yunmen’s meaning is not in the flowering hedge; that’s why Xuedou says, “ The marks are on the balance arm, not on the scale pan. ” This line is extremely indulgent. In the water there is no moon; the moon is in the sky. This is like the marks being on the balance arm, not on the scale pan. But tell me, which is the balance? If you can discern it clearly, you will not turn away from Xuedou.
When that ancient got to this point, he was indeed compassionate. Clearly he says to you. “It’s not here, it’s over there.” But tell me, what place is that “over there”? This finishes the eulogizing of the first statements; afterward he versifies the monk’s saying, “What is it like when one goes on just so?” Xuedou says this monk still has no point. Tell me, is this meeting in light or meeting in darkness? Did he speak this way from understanding, or did he speak thus without understanding? “A golden-haired lion— everyone look!” Do you see the golden-haired lion? Look!
203
40. Like a Dream
Introduction
Cease and desist; then an iron tree blooms with flowers. Is there anyone who can do this? A clever lad loses his profits; even though
i78 a he is free, he cannot avoid being taken in tow. But tell me, where is his error?
Story
Talking with Nanquan, Officer Lu Xuan said, “Master Sengzhao said, ‘Heaven and earth and I have the same root, myriad things and I are one body.’ This is quite marvelous.” (He’s living in a ghost cave. A picture of a cake cannot satisfy hunger. This is also haggling in the weeds.) Nanquan pointed to a flower in the gar den. (What will he say? Tch! For scriptures there are teachers of scriptures, for treatises there are teachers of treatises—it’s no business of a Chan monk. Bah! A powerful man in that instance would have uttered a pivotal word and not only cut off Nanquan but thereby caused all the Chan practitioners to show some en ergy.) He called to the officer and said, “People these days see this flower as a dream.” (When the embroidered ducks are done, you may look at them, but do not give the golden needle away to any one. Don’t talk in your sleep. You have drawn the golden oriole down from the willow branch.)
Commentary
Officer Lu Xuan studied for a long time with Nanquan. He always concentrated on essential nature, and studied the discourses of Sengzhao. One day he brought up these two lines, considering them remarkable: “Heaven and earth and I have the same root, myriad things and I are one body—this is quite marvelous.”
Sengzhao was an eminent monk of the fourth and fifth centuries, one of the great disciples of the translator Kumarajlva. When he was young he was fond of Taoist literature. Later, as he was
204
copying the old translation of the Vimalakirti Sutra, he had an enlightenment. Then he knew that Taoism was not really thoroughgoing. Therefore he compiled Buddhist sutras and composed four discourses.
What Taoism says is that heaven and earth are great, and so
are we; we are alike born in emptiness. Taoism just discusses equalizing things; Sengzhao said that nature all returns to self. Have you not seen how his discourse says, “ The ultimate person is empty, without form; yet none of the myriad things are not one’s own doing. Who can understand that myriad things are one’s own self? Only a sage.”
Though there are spirits and humans, the wise and the sage, and each is distinct, yet all have one nature and one substance. An ancient said, “The whole world is just oneself; when cold, it is cold everywhere; when hot, it is hot everywhere. In terms of exist ence, all exists; in terms of nonexistence, nothing exists. When affirmed, all is; when denied, all is not.” Fayan said, “It, It, It; I, I, I; south, north, east, west, everything is all right. All right or not, only for me there is nothing not all right.” Thus it was said, “In the universe I alone am honorable. ”
As Shitou read the discourses of Sengzhao, when he got to this point, “Understand myriad things as oneself,” he was greatly enlightened. Later he composed the Merging of Difference and Unity, which also does not go beyond this meaning.
See how Lu Xuan questioned; tell me, what root do they share? Which body do they have in common? Here, he was indeed extraordinary; how could this be the same as an ordinary man’s ignorance of the height of the sky or the breadth of the earth? How could there be such a thing?
Lu Xuan’s question thus was indeed exceptional, but he did not go beyond the meaning of the doctrines. If you say the mean ing of the doctrines is ultimate, why did Buddha raise the flower, why did Bodhidharma come from India?
Nanquan’s way of answering used the grip of a Chan monk to pick out the painful spot for the other, and broke up his nest; he
The Blue Cliff Record
pointed to a flower and said to the officer, “People these days see this flower as a dream.” This is like leading the man to the edge of a ten-mile cliff and giving him a push, causing his life to be cut off. If you were pushed over on level ground, you would never be able to accomplish the cutting off of life.
It is also like one in a dream; though he wants to awaken, he cannot; called by another, he awakens. If Nanquan’s eye were not true, he would surely have been befuddled by Lu. See how he talks; undeniably he is difficult to understand. If the action of your eyes is alive, you will experience it like the most superb savor; if you are dead, you will turn it into poison. An ancient said, “If you see it in phenomena, you’ll fall into ordinary feelings; if you go to the intellect to figure it out, you will seek without finding.” Yantou said, “ This is the livelihood of a transcendent person, who just reveals the bit before the eyes, like a flash of lightning.”
Nanquan’s meaning was like this; he has the capability to cap ture rhinos and tigers, to judge dragons and snakes. When you get here, you must understand on your own. Have you not heard it said, “The single transcending road has not been transmitted by the sages; students toil over forms like monkeys grasping at reflections”? See how Xuedou brings it out in verse:
Verse
Seeing, hearing, awareness, knowledge; these are not one and the same—
(In the multitude of forms there is not a single thing.
Opened up. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all at once a hammerhead without a hole.)
Mountains and rivers are not seen in a mirror.
(There is no such scenery here where I am. What is long is itself long, what is short is itself short; green is green, yellow is yellow. Where do you see them?)
The frosty sky’s moon sets, the night nearly half over; (He has led you into the weeds. The world has never
concealed it. I only fear you will go sit in a ghost cave.)
206
- Like a Dream
With whom will it cast an image, cold in the clear pool? (Is there anyone? If they did not sleep on the same bed, how could they know the cover is worn out? Someone
who is sad should not speak of it to another who is sad; the sad speaking to the sad saddens them to death.)
Commentary
Nanquan’s little sleep talk, Xuedou’s big sleep talk; though they are dreaming, they are having a good dream. At first there was talk of one body—here he says they are not the same: “Seeing, hearing, awareness, knowledge, are not one and the same—Moun tains and rivers are not seen in a mirror. ” If you say they are seen in a mirror, and only then understood, then they are not apart from the mirror. Mountains, rivers, earth, plants, trees, forests— do not use a mirror to observe them. If you use a mirror to observe, then you create a dichotomy. Just let mountains be mountains and rivers be rivers—“Each thing abides in its normal state; the forms of the world always remain. ”
“Mountains and rivers are not seen in a mirror.” Then tell me, where can you see them? Do you understand? When you get here, turn to “ The frosty sky’s moon sets, the night nearly half over” —this side he has cleared up for you; that side, you must cross by yourself.
But do you realize Xuedou uses his own thing to help others?
“With whom will it cast an image, cold in the clear pool?” Do you think it is reflected itself, or is it reflected together with someone? It is necessary to cut off mental activity and cut off understanding before finally reaching this realm.
Right now, we don’t need a clear pool, and we don’t have to wait for the moon to set in the frosty sky. Right now, how is it?
41. One Who Has Died the Great Death
Introduction
Where affirmation and negation are mixed, even sages cannot know; when opposition and accord go vertically and horizontally, even Buddhas cannot know. One who is detached from the world, and who transcends convention, reveals the abilities of a great adept who stands out from the crowd. Such a one walks on thin ice, runs on a sword’s edge, is like the unicorn’s horn, like a lotus in fire. When seeing someone beyond comparison, this one knows they are on the same path. Who is an expert?
Story
Zhaozhou asked Touzi, “How is it when one who has died the great death returns to life?” (There is such a thing? A thief doesn’t strike a poor household. When one is accustomed to acting as guest, one has a feel for guests.) Touzi said, “ Don’t go by night; go there in daylight.” (Seeing a cage, he makes a cage. This is a thief recog nizing a thief. If he wasn’t lying on the same bed, how could he know the coverlet is worn?)
Commentary
Zhaozhou asked Touzi how it is when one who has undergone the great death returns to life; Touzi replied that one should not go by night, but in daylight. Tell me, what time is this? A flute with no holes strikes a felt-pounding board. This is called a question to test the host, or an intentional question. All over they praised Touzi and Zhaozhou for outstanding eloquence. Though they succeeded to different masters, see how their active edges accord as one.
One day Touzi set out tea for Zhaozhou. Touzi himself passed him some steamed cakes, but Zhaozhou paid no attention. Touzi had a servant give Zhaozhou the cakes; Zhaozhou bowed to the servant thrice. What did he mean? See how he always went right to the root to uphold this fundamental thing for the benefit of others.
208
- One Who Has Died the Great Death
A monk asked Touzi, “What is the Way?” Touzi said, “The Way.” The monk asked, “What is the Buddha?” Touzi answered, “The Buddha.” The monk asked, “ How is it before the golden lock is opened?” Touzi replied, “Open.” The monk asked, “ How is it before the golden rooster has crowed?” Touzi said, “ This sound does not exist.” The monk asked, “What about after it crows?” Touzi said, “Each knows the time.” Touzi’s conversations were all like this.
When Zhaozhou asked, “ How is it when one who had died the great death returns to life?” Touzi immediately said, “ Don’t go by night; go there in daylight.” Direct as sparks struck from stone, like a flash of lightning. Only a transcendental person like him could do this.
One who has died the great death has no Buddhist doctrines
and theories, no mysteries and marvels, no gain and loss, no right
and wrong, no long and short. When one gets here, one just lets it
rest this way. An ancient said of this, “On the level ground the
dead are countless; only those who can pass through thorns are adepts.” One must pass even beyond the Other Side to attain. Even so, for people today it is already difficult to get to the realm of the great death.
If you have any leanings or dependence, any interpretative
understanding, then there is no connection. Master Zhe called this vision that is not purified. Wuzu called it failure to cut off the root of life. One must die the great death once, then return to life. Yong- guang said, “If you miss at the point of their words, you’re a thou sand miles from home. In fact you must let go over a cliff, trust yourself, and accept the experience. Afterward you return to life. I can’t deceive you—how could anyone hide this extraordinary truth?” The meaning of Zhaozhou’s question is like this. Touzi is an adept, and he didn’t turn his back on what Zhaozhou asked; it ’s just that he cut off his feelings and left no traces, so unavoidably he’s hard to understand. He just showed the little bit before the eyes. So an ancient said, “If you want to attain intimacy, don’t ask with a question. The question is in the answer, and the answer is in the question.” It would have been difficult for anyone but Touzi
209
The Blue Cliff Record
to reply to Zhaozhou’s question. But since Touzi is an expert, as soon as it’s raised he knows the ultimate point.
Verse
In life there’s an eye —still, it’s the same as death. (The two don’t know of each other. Back and forth,
coming and going. If Zhaozhou weren’t well provided, how could he discern whether Touzi was profound
or shallow?)
Why use antiserum to test an adept?
(If you don’t test, how can you discern the truth? Having met, try to give a test—what’s the harm? I too want to question him.)
Even the ancient Buddhas, they say, have never arrived. (Luckily they had companions. None of the sages have
transmitted it. I don’t know either.)
I don’t know who can scatter dust and sand.
(There is quite a bit of this right now. It gets in your eyes whether they’re open or closed. When you bring it up this way, what does it come down to?)
Commentary
“In life there’s an eye—still, it’s the same as death.” Xuedou knows what is, so he can dare to make up verses. An ancient said, “He studies the living word, not the dead word.” Xuedou says that to have eyes in life is still to be just the same as dead. Has he ever died? To have eyes within death is to be the same as alive. An ancient said, “Utterly kill the dead, and then you will see the living; enliven the dead and you will see the dead.”
Though Zhaozhou is alive, he intentionally made up a dead question to test Touzi. It was like taking a substance that vitiates the
virtue of a medicine in order to test him. So Xuedou said, “Why use antiserum to test an adept?” This refers to Zhaozhou’s question.
Afterwards he praises Touzi: “Even the ancient Buddhas, they say, have never arrived.” Even the ancient Buddhas never got to
2 1 0
- Good Snowflakes
where one who had died the great death returns to life—nor have the Chan teachers ever gotten there. Even Sakyamuni and Bodhi- dharma would have to study again before they got it. So Xuedou said, “I only grant that the old foreigner knows; I don’t allow that he understands.”
Xuedou says, “I don’t know who can scatter dust and sand.” A
monk asked Changqing, “What is the eye of a teacher?” Changqing said, “Such a one has a vow not to scatter sand.” Baofu said, “ Don’t scatter any more of it. ” All over teachers sit on fancy seats, using blows and shouts, raising their whisks, knocking on the seat, exhibiting spiritual powers, and acting as masters—all of this is scattering sand. Tell me, how can this be avoided?
42. Good Snowflakes
Introduction
Bringing it out unique and alone is still dripping muddy water. Knocking and resounding occurring together is a silver mountain, an iron wall. If you describe and discuss, you see ghosts in front of your skull. If you seek in thought, you sit under the black mountain. The bright sun lights up the sky; the pure wind circles the earth. Tell me, have the ancients any riddles?
Story
When Layman Pang took leave of Yaoshan, (This old guy is act ing strange.) Yaoshan had ten Chan students to escort him to the gate. (Yaoshan doesn’t take him lightly. What realm is this? Only a Chan practitioner who knows the whole thing could do this.) Pang pointed to the snow in the air and said, “Good snowflakes— they don’t fall elsewhere.” (He makes waves where there’s no wind. The pointing finger has eyes. There’s an echo in his words.) One of the students named Quan said, “Where do they fall?” (On target. He comes on following after. After all he climbed onto the hook.)
211
The Blue Cliff Record
Pang slapped him. (A hit! As it turns out, the thief Quan pulled in ransacked his house.) Quan said, “Even a layman shouldn’t be so coarse.” (Staring eyes inside a coffin.) Pang said, “Though you call yourself a Chan student, the king of death won’t let you go.” (The second ladleful of foul water has been poured over him. Why only the king of death? I wouldn’t let him go either.) Quan said, “How about you?” (His coarse mind hasn’t changed. Again he’s asking for a beating. From start to finish the monk is at a loss.) Pang slapped him again (After all he adds frost to snow. Having taken a beating, reveal the truth.) and said, “You see as though blind, speak as though mute.” (He has another conciliatory statement. Also he reads the verdict for him.) Xuedou added, “When Pang first spoke, I ’d just have hit him with a snowball.” (Xuedou is right, but he draws his bow after the thief is gone. This is still quite indulgent. Nonetheless, I’d like to see a direct confrontation. But what can be done? Xuedou has fallen into the ghost cave.)
Commentary
Layman Pang studied with Mazu and Shitou, and composed verses of awakening at both places. When he first saw Shitou he asked, “Who doesn’t keep company with myriad things?” Before he finished talking Shitou covered his mouth, whereat he had an awakening. He made up a verse saying:
My everyday affairs are no different, Only I myself naturally harmonize. No place is grasped or rejected, Nowhere do I go for or against.
Who considers crimson and purple honorable? The green mountains haven’t a speck of dust. Spiritual powers, wondrous functions— Hauling water, carrying firewood.
Later Pang saw Mazu. Again he asked, “Who doesn’t keep com pany with myriad things?” Mazu said, “I’ll tell you when you can swallow all the water in West River at one gulp.” At this Pang was greatly enlightened. He said in verse:
212
42. Good Snowflakes
The directions, a common gathering— Everyone studies no contrivance.
This is where Buddhas are chosen— Minds empty, they return successful.
Since Pang was an adept, all the Chan communities welcomed him, and wherever he went they honored him. After he had been with Yaoshan for a while, he went to take leave. Yaoshan held him in highest esteem, so he had ten students see him off. It happened to be snowing at the time; Pang pointed nt the snow and said, “Good snowflakes—they don’t fall elsewhere.” When the student Quan asked, “Where do they fall?” Pang slapped him. Since Quan was unable to carry out the order, Pang had him carry out one half. Though the order was put into effect, when Quan responded this way, it was not that he didn’t know what Pang was getting at. They each had a point in their activity, but their rolling up and rolling out were not the same. Even so, in some respects he didn’t come up to Pang. Thus he fell into his trap and found it difficult to get out of Pang’s range.
After Pang had hit him, he went on to explain, “You see as if
blind, talk as if mute.” Xuedou said that in Quan’s place he would have hit him with a snowball as soon as he spoke. Xuedou thus intended not to turn his back on the question; it’s just that his action was tardy. Librarian Qing said, “Pang’s mind is like a bolt of lightning. If we waited for you to grab a snowball, how long would it take? Only if you hit him while he’s still speaking can you cut him off completely.” Xuedou versifies his own hitting:
Verse
The snowball hits, the snowball hits!
(What about falling into a secondary action? It’s not worth the trouble to bring it forth. Overhead, vastness; underfoot, vastness.)
Old Pang’s ability cannot grasp it.
(Again and again there are people who don’t know this. I only fear it’s not so.)
213
The Blue Cliff Record
Gods and humans do not know themselves; (What scene is this? Does Xuedou know?) In eyes, in ears, absolutely clean.
(The arrow points meet. You see as if blind, speak as if mute.)
Absolutely clean—
(How? Where will you see Layman Pang and Xuedou?) Even Bodhidharma would find it hard to discern. (Bodhidharma comes forth; what does he say to you? I’ll
hit, saying, “What are you saying?” They’re buried in the same pit.)
Commentary
“ The snowball hits, the snowball hits! / Old Pang’s ability cannot grasp it.” Xuedou wanted to walk on Pang’s head. The ancients used “snow” to represent uniformity. Xuedou meant that if he had hit him with a snowball then, no matter what abilities Pang had it would’ve been hard for him to handle. Xuedou praises his own
i 80a hitting, not knowing where he’s lost his profit.
“Gods and humans do not know themselves; / In eyes, in ears, absolutely clean.” In the eyes is snow, in the ears is snow too—just at that moment they are dwelling in uniformity. This is also called the realm of Samantabhadra. The phenomenon of uniformity is also called becoming unified. Yunmen said, “Even having no trouble in the world is still an expression of transition. When you don’t see a single form, this is half the issue.” If you want the whole issue, first you must know there is a single road beyond; when you get here your great function must be manifest with no gap, and you are not at the mercy of others.
Thus it is said, “Study the living word, not the dead word. ” An ancient said, “An appropriate statement is a stake on which to tether a donkey for myriad eons.” What’s the use?
At this point Xuedou has finished the verse. But he turns around again and says, “But this cleanness is absolute—even Bodhidharma would find it hard to discern.” Since even Bodhi dharma finds it hard to discern, what more would you have me say?
214
43. No Cold or Heat
Introduction
Ten thousand ages abide by the statement that determines heaven and earth. Even the thousand sages cannot judge the ability to capture tigers and rhinos. Without any further traces of obstruction, the whole potential appears everywhere equally. If you want to understand the hammer and tongs of transcendence, you need the forge and bellows of an adept. Since ancient times, has there ever been such a family style?
Story
A monk asked Dongshan, “When cold and heat come, how can we avoid them?” (It’s not this season. They are right in your face, right on your head. Where are you?) Dongshan said, “Why not go where there is no cold or heat?” (No one can find it. He hides his body but reveals his shadow. A con man sells a bogus city of sil ver.) The monk said, “Where is there no cold or heat?” (Dongshan swindles everyone. The monk rolls along following him. As soon as Dongshan let down his hook the monk climbed onto it.) Dongshan said, “When it’s cold, it chills you thoroughly; when it’s hot, it heats you thoroughly.” (The real does not conceal the false, the crooked does not hide the straight. Looking out over the cliff he sees tigers and rhinos—this is indeed an occasion to be sad. Dongshan overturns the ocean and kicks over the polar mountain. But tell me, where is Dongshan?)
Commentary
Huanglong Xin picked this out and said, “Dongshan tailors the suit perfectly, but nevertheless this monk didn’t like it.” A monk then asked, “ How are they to be dealt with?” After a silence, Huanglong said, “Peaceful meditation does not require mountains and rivers; when you have extinguished the mind, fire itself is cool.
Tell me, where is Dongshan’s trap? If you can clearly discern this, for the first time you will know how the five ranks of the
215
Dongshan tradition interchanging absolute and relative handle people in an extraordinary way indeed. When you reach this tran scendental realm, you’ll be able to be thus without needing any arrangements, and you’ll spontaneously accord perfectly. Thus it is said:
The relative within the absolute:
In the middle of the first night, before the moon shines,
No wonder when they meet they don’t recognize each other;
Each is hidden, still embracing the aversion of former days.
The absolute within the relative:
At dawn an old woman encounters an ancient mirror; Clearly she sees her face—there’s no other reality.
Don’t go on mistaking the image for the head.
Coming from within the absolute:
Within nothingness is a road out of the dust.
If you can avoid violating the present taboo name, You’ll surpass the eloquent ones of yore.
Arrival in the relative:
When two swords cross, no need to withdraw. An expert is like a lotus in fire,
Clearly having a spirit to reach the heavens.
Arrival in both at once:
Who dares to associate with one in neither being nor nonbeing?
Everyone wants to get out of the ordinary flow, But this one after all returns to sit in the ashes.
Fushan Yuan considers this story as being in the pattern of the five ranks. If you understand one, the rest are naturally easy to understand. Yantou said, “It’s like a gourd on water; push it and it rolls over without any effort. ”
216
No Cold or Heat
Once a monk asked Dongshan, “ How is it when ManjusrI and Samantabhadra come to call?” Dongshan said, “I’d drive them into a herd of buffalo.” The monk said, “You enter hell fast as an arrow shot.” Dongshan said, “I’ve got all their strength.”
When Dongshan said, “Why not go to where there is no cold or heat?” this was the absolute within the relative. When the monk said, “Where is there no cold or heat?” and Dongshan said, “When it’s cold it chills you thoroughly; when it’s hot it heats you thoroughly,” this was the relative within the absolute. Though it’s absolute, it’s still relative; though it’s relative, nevertheless it’s complete. This is recorded in detail in the records of the Cao-Dong school. In the Linji tradition, there aren’t so many things; with this kind of story, you must understand directly as soon as it is told.
Some say, “I like no cold or heat very much.” What grasp do they have on the matter? An ancient said, “If you run on a sword’s edge, you’re fast. If you see in emotion or intellect, you’re slow.”
A monk asked Cuiwei, “What is the meaning of Chan?” Cuiwei said, “I’ll tell you when no one comes,” then went into the garden. The monk said, “There’s no one here; please tell me. ” Cuiwei pointed to the bamboo and said, “ This stalk is so tall, that stalk so short.” Suddenly the monk was greatly enlightened.
Also Caoshan asked a monk, “When it’s so hot, where will you go to avoid it?” The monk said, “I’ll avoid it in a boiling cauldron, in the coals of a furnace.” Caoshan said, “ How can it be avoided in a boiling cauldron or in coals of a furnace?” The monk said, “Sufferings cannot reach there.” See how people of the Cao-Dong house naturally understood the talk of people of their house.
Xuedou uses the affairs of their house to make his verse:
Verse
He extends a hand, but it’s still the same as a ten-mile cliff; (Who can discern this without being an adept? Where is
there not complete communion? Once the imperial edict is on its way, the nobles get out of the road.)
217
The Blue Cliff Record
Why must absolute and relative be in an arrangement? (If you do arrange them, where will you have Today?
How will you avoid becoming involved in dualism? When the wind blows the grasses bend, where water runs streams form.)
The ancient crystal palace reflects the bright moon; (Round and full. Just don’t grasp the reflection, and don’t
run right in.)
The sly hound of Han vainly runs up the stairs.
(It isn’t just this time. Stumbled past. Why is he running after a dirt clod? I’ll hit him and say you are a fellow student of this monk.)
Commentary
180c In the Cao-Dong tradition there is appearing in the world and not appearing in the world; there is extending a hand and not extend ing a hand. If you don’t appear in the world, your eyes gaze at the cloudy skies. If you appear in the world, your head and face are covered with ashes and dirt. Eyes gazing at the cloudy skies is “on top of a ten-mile peak”; head and face covered with ashes and dirt is the business of extending a hand. Sometimes head and face cov ered with ashes and dirt is on top of a ten-mile peak, sometimes on top of a ten-mile peak is head and face covered with ashes and dirt. In reality, going into inhabited areas to extend a hand and standing alone on a solitary peak are the same. Returning to the source and comprehending essence is not different from knowledge of differentiation. You must avoid understanding them as dual.
Thus Xuedou says, “He extends a hand, but still it’s the same as a ten-mile cliff.” There’s simply no place for you to cling. “Why must absolute and relative be in an arrangement? ” When it comes time to function, they are naturally like this; it’s not a matter of arrangement. This refers to Dongshan’s answer.
Then he says, “ The ancient crystal palace reflects the bright moon; / The sly hound of Han vainly runs up the stairs.” This re fers to the monk running after Dongshan’s words. In the Cao-Dong
218
- Knowing How to Beat the Drum
tradition they have the stone woman, the wood horse, the bottom less basket, the night-shining pearl, the dead snake, and so on, eighteen kinds of symbols of the absolute.
When Dongshan answered, “Why not go where there is no
cold or heat?” this was like the moon shining in the ancient crystal palace, seeming to have a round reflection. The monk asked, “Where is there no cold or heat?” This is like the hound of Han chasing a clod of dirt; he runs frantically up the stairs to catch the moon’s reflection. Dongshan said, “When it’s cold, it chills you thoroughly; when it’s hot, it heats you thoroughly.” This monk was like the hound of Han chasing a clod, running up the stairs but then not seeing the light of the moon.
The hound of Han was a swift black dog belonging to the Han
clan, the only one who could catch the wily rabbits in the mountains. Xuedou uses this as a comparison for this monk.
What about you—do you know where Dongshan helped people?
(Silence) What rabbits are you looking for?
44. Knowing How to Beat the Drum
Story
Heshan said, “Cultivating study is called learning, ending study is called nearness.” (No Chan practitioner can leap clear of this. An iron hammerhead with no hole. An iron spike.) “Going beyond these two is real going beyond.” (What are you doing with one eye on your forehead?) A monk asked, “What is real going beyond? (What will he say? I’d blot it out with a single stroke. There’s an iron spike.) Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum. (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard.) The monk asked, “What is the real truth?” (What will he say? A double case. There’s another iron spike.) Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum. (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard.) The monk asked, “ I don t
219
The Blue Cliff Record
ask about ‘mind is Buddha’—what about ‘not mind, not Buddha’?” (What will he say? This garbage heap! The three sections are not the same. There’s another iron bramble.) Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.” (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard.) The monk asked, “How do you receive a transcendent person?” (What will he say? This monk will encounter a fourth ladleful of
his foul water. There’s another iron spike.) Heshan said, “Know ing how to beat the drum.” (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard. But what does this really mean? In the morning going to India, in the evening returning to China.)
Commentary
Heshan said, “Cultivating study is called learning, ending study is called nearness. Going beyond these two is real going beyond. ” This saying comes from the Jewel Treasury Treatise. To study till there is nothing to study is called ending study. So it is said, “Shal low learning, deep enlightenment; deep learning, no enlighten ment.” This is called ending study. Yongjia said, “Years ago I accumulated learning, consulted the commentaries, and searched scriptures and treatises. Once one’s cultivation of studies is com pleted and exhausted, one is called a no doing free wayfarer, be yond study. When one reaches the point of ending study, only then is one near the Way. When one manages to go beyond these two aspects of study, this is called real going beyond.”
The monk too was undeniably bright and quick, so he picked up on these words to question Heshan. Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.” This is called flavorless speech. If you want to understand this story, you must be a transcendent person. Only then will you see that these words have nothing to do with reason, nor is there anything about them to discuss. Understand directly and your mind will open up; this alone is where a Chan practitioner rests easy and begins to be able to accord with the meaning of Chan. Thus Yunmen said, “Xuefeng’s rolling a ball, Heshan’s beating the drum, Huizhong’s bowl of water, Zhaozhou’s ‘drink some tea’ —all these are indications of the absolute.”
220
- Knowing How to Beat the Drum
Again the monk asked, “What is real truth?” Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.” In the real truth nothing is set up; in the worldly truth, myriad things are all present. The nonduality of the real and mundane is the highest meaning of the holy truths.
Then the monk asked, “ I don’t ask about ‘mind is Buddha’ — what about ‘not mind, not Buddha’?” Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum. ” “Mind is Buddha” is easy to seek, but when you come to “not mind, not Buddha,” it’s hard, and few people arrive. Then the monk asked, “How do you receive a transcendent per son?” Heshan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.” A transcendent person is one who has passed through, is purified and free.
These four sayings are generally considered a message from the source; they are called Heshan’s four drumbeats.
A monk asked Jingqing, “At the beginning of a new year, is there any Buddhism?” Jingqing said, “Yes.” The monk said, “What is the Buddhism at the beginning of a new year?” Jingqing said, “Initiate good fortune on New Year’s Day and myriad things are all renewed.” The monk said, “Thank you for the answer.” Jingqing said, “Today I lost my profit.” He had six kinds of losses like this answer. A monk asked Jingguo, “ How is it when a crane perches on a lone pine?” Jingguo said, “Underfoot, an embarrassing situation.” He also asked, “ How is it when snow covers the thousand mountains? ” Jingguo said, “After the sun comes out, an embarrassing situation.” The monk asked, “Where did the spirits protecting Buddhism go during the 845 persecution?” Jingguo said, “For the two guardians outside the monastery gate, an embarrassing situation.” These are called Jingguo’s three embarrassments.
Baofu asked a monk, “What Buddha is the one in the temple?” The monk said, “ Try to decide for sure.” Baofu said, “It’s Sakyamuni.” The monk said, “Better not deceive people.” Baofu said, “It’s you who are deceiving me. ” Baofu also asked a monk, “What’s your name?” The monk said, “Xianze (All Wet).” Baofu said, “How is it when you encounter withering dryness?” The monk said, “Who is the withering dry one?” Baofu said, “I am.” The monk said, “Better
The Blue Cliff Record
'
not deceive people.” Baofu said, “It’s you who are deceiving me.” Again Baofu asked a monk, “What work do you do that you eat till you’re so big?” The monk said, “You’re not so small yourself.” Baofu crouched; the monk said, “Better not deceive people.” Baofu said, “It’s you who are deceiving me. ” Baofu also asked the bathkeeper, “How wide is that tub?” The bathkeeper said, “Please measure and see.” Baofu went through the motions of measuring; the bathkeeper said, “Better not deceive people.” Baofu said, “It’s you who are deceiving me.” They call this Baofu’s four deceptions.
Heshan’s story is also like Xuefeng’s four ignoramuses. All these were classical Chan masters. Each produces profound and marvelous teachings and devices to communicate with people.
Afterwards Xuedou draws out a loose thread based on Ynn- men’s teachings to versify this story.
Verse
One hauls rock;
(In the heart of the realm the emperor commands. A leper drags along his companions. A transcendent person comes this way.)
A second moves earth.
(Beyond the borders the general gives orders. Both have their crimes covered by the same indictment. Those with the same illness sympathize with each other.)
To shoot the bolt requires a ten-ton crossbow. (Even with a ten-ton pull it still won’t be able to
penetrate. It is not to be lightly answered. How could it be used for a dead frog?)
Old master Xuefeng rolled balls—
(There’s another one who’s come this way. He had a holeless iron hammerhead. Who doesn’t know?)
How could this equal Heshan’s knowing how to beat
the drum?
(An iron spike. It takes this fellow to understand. One son has attained intimately.)
- Knowing How to Beat the Drum
I report for you to know:
(Even Xuedou himself hasn’t seen it even in a dream.
He’s adding frost to snow. Do you know?) Don’t be careless—
(Again there’s a bit of confusion.)
The sweet is sweet; the bitter is bitter.
(Thanks for the answer. Xuedou wrongly adds a footnote—he should get a thrashing. Has he ever been beaten? I’ll hit! As before, vast darkness.)
Commentary
One day Guizong had his group haul rock. He asked the duty dis tributor where he was going; the duty distributor said, “ To haul rock.” Guizong said, “For now I’ll let you haul rock, but don’t move the tree in the middle. ”
Whenever a newcomer arrived, Muping would first have him
move three loads of earth. Muping wrote a verse for the congregation:
East Mountain Road is narrow; West Mountain is low; Newcomers must not refuse three loads of mud.
Alas, you’ve been traversing the roads so long;
It’s so clear, but you don’t recognize it and get lost.
Later a monk asked Muping, “I don’t ask about what is included in the three loads; what about what’s outside the three loads?” Muping said, “The iron wheel emperor commands in his realm.” The monk was speechless; Muping hit him.
This is why Xuedou said, “One hauls rocks; / A second moves
earth. / To shoot the bolt requires a ten-ton crossbow.” Xuedou uses a ten-ton-pull crossbow to explain this case; he wants you to see how Heshan helped people. You use this crossbow for a fierce dragon or tiger, not for a tiny bird or a little mouse. A ten-ton crossbow does not shoot its bolt at a rat.
“Old master Xuefeng rolled balls.” One day Xuefeng saw
Xuansha coming and rolled three wooden balls together. Xuansha made a smashing gesture. Xuefeng deeply approved.
181c
The Blue Cliff Record
Though these stories are instances of the great functioning of the whole capacity, none equals Heshan’s knowing how to beat the drum. How direct this is—but it’s hard to understand. Thus
Xuedou said, “How could this equal Heshan’s knowing how to beat the drum?”
Again he feared people would just make their living on the words without knowing their source, and so be careless; so he said, I report for you to know; / Don’t be careless.” You still must really get to this realm before you can understand. If you don’t want carelessly to confuse things, “The sweet is sweet; the bitter is bit ter. Though Xuedou picked it up and played with it like this, in the end he himself can’t leap clear of Heshan either.
45. Zhaozhou’s Shirt
Introduction
When he must speak, he speaks—in all the world there is no match for him. When he should act, he acts—his whole capacity does not defer. It is like sparks struck from stone, like a flash of lightning like a raging fire fanned by the wind, like a rushing torrent crossing a sword edge. When he lifts up the hammer and tongs of transcen dence, you won’t avoid losing your point and becoming tongue-tied. But just to give you some avenue of approach, let’s look at this story.
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Myriad things return to one—where does the one return?” (He challenges the old guy. Piled in mountains, heaped in ranges. He should avoid living in a ghost cave.) Zhaozhou said, “When I was in Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds.” (After all Zhaozhou goes freely in all di rections, drawing a net that reaches through the sky. But do you see Zhaozhou? He has taken Chan practitioners in tow. Do you know where Zhaozhou is? If you can see here, you’ll be one with
224
Zhaozhou’s Shirt
the universe. Where water goes a channel forms, when the wind blows the grass bends. If you’re thus, I’m under your heels.)
Commentary
If you understand immediately at a hint, then you’re master of all the Chan teachers in the world, and they can’t do anything to you. Naturally where water goes a channel forms. But if you vacillate, I am under your heels. The essential point of Buddhism is not a matter of verbose speech.
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Myriad things return to one. Where
does the one return?” Yet Zhaozhou answered by saying, “When I was in Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds. If you go to the words to discern, you are mistakenly abiding by the zero point of the scale. If you don’t discern at the words, what about the fact that he nevertheless did speak thus? This story, though hard to see, yet is easy to understand; though easy to un derstand, it’s still hard to see. Insofar as it’s hard, it’s like a silver mountain or an iron wall; insofar as it’s easy, you are directly aware. There’s nowhere for your calculations of right and wrong.
One day a monk asked Zhaozhou, “What is the meaning of Chan?” Zhaozhou said, “ The oak tree in the yard.” The monk said, “Don’t use objects to teach people.” Zhaozhou said, “I’ve never used objects to teach people.” See how at the ultimate point, where it is impossible to turn, he does turn, and spontaneously covers the universe. If you can’t turn, wherever you set foot on the road you
get stuck.
But did Zhaozhou discuss Buddhism or not? If you say he did, when has he ever spoken of mind or nature, of mystery or marvel? If you say he didn’t have the meaning of Buddhism, when has he ever turned his back on anyone’s question?
A monk asked Muping, “What is the meaning of Buddhism?”
Muping said, “This winter melon is so big.” Also, a monk asked an ancient, “Deep in the mountains, on an overhanging cliff, in a re mote, inaccessible, uninhabited place, is there any Buddhism?
182a
The Blue Cliff Record
The ancient said, “There is. ” The monk asked, “What is the Buddhism deep in the mountains?” The ancient said, “ The large rocks are large, the small ones are small.”
Look at such stories; where are the obscurities? Xuedou knows what they come down to; so he opens up a road of meaning and comes out with a verse for you.
Verse
He wraps everything up and presses the ancient awl. What’s the need to press the old guy? They push and
push back—to where?)
How many people know the weight of the seven-pound shirt?
(A second try is worthless; one can only frown. Zhaozhou is one up.)
Right now I throw it down into West Lake;
(Only with the ability of Xuedou could this be done. I don’t want it either.)
The pure wind of unburdening—to whom should it be imparted?
(It is eternal. Is Xuedou harmonizing with Zhaozhou, or putting down footnotes for him? One son attains intimately.)
Commentary
Of Fenyang’s eighteen questions, this one is called a wrapping-up question. Xuedou says, “He wraps everything up and presses the ancient awl. ” He wraps everything up into unity. This monk want ed to press Zhaozhou, but Zhaozhou was an adept. He had a way to come forth where it was impossible to turn; daring to open his big mouth, he immediately said, “When I was in Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds.” Xuedou says, “How many people know the weight of the seven-pound shirt? ”
“Right now I throw it down into West Lake.” Myriad things return to one, but he doesn’t even need the one. Since he doesn’t
226
need the seven-pound cloth shirt either, all at once he throws it down into West Lake. When Xuedou lived on Dongting’s green peak, there was a West Lake nearby.
“The pure wind of unburdening—to whom should it be imparted?” This refers to Zhaozhou’s saying, “ If you’re coming from the north I’ll load up for you. If you’re coming from the south I’ll unload for you. Even if you’re coming from Xuefeng or Yunju, you’re still carrying a board.” Xuedou says, “ To whom can a pure wind like this be imparted?” Loading up means speaking to you of mind and nature, of mysteries and marvels, of all sorts of expedi ent methods. If it’s unloaded, there are no longer so many doc trines and mysterious marvels.
Some people carried a load of Chan to Zhaozhou, but when
they got there they couldn’t use it at all. He would set them straight all at once, making them free. We say of this, “After awakening it’s the same as before awakening.”
People these days all make unconcern an understanding. Some
say, “There is no delusion or enlightenment, it’s not necessary to go on seeking. Even before the Buddha appeared in the world, before Bodhidharma came to China, it could not have been other wise. What’s the use of the Buddha appearing in the world? What did Bodhidharma come from India for?” All such views lack relevance. You must have greatly penetrated and greatly awakened; then as before mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, and all things are perfectly manifest. Then for the first time you can be unconcerned. As Longya said, “ To study the Way, first you must have a basis of enlightenment. It’s like a boat race—though you relax on idle ground as before, you can only rest after winning.”
As for this story of Zhaozhou’s seven pound shirt, see how this ancient talks this way, like gold and jade. Me talking like this, you listening like this—all this is “loading up.” So what is unload ing? Go back to your places and look into this.
46. The Sound of Raindrops
Introduction
With a single stroke the teacher completes the student, who then passes beyond ordinary and holy. The slightest word can break things up, untying what is bound and releasing what is stuck. As if walking on thin ice or running over sword blades, one sits in the heaps of sound and form and walks on top of sound and form. For the moment I leave aside wondrous functioning in all directions. How is it when one leaves that very instant?
Story
Jingqing asked a monk, “What is that sound outside the door?” (He casually lets down a hook. He isn’t deaf—what’s he asking?) The monk said, “The sound of raindrops.” (Undeniably truthful. It’s good news too.) Jingqing said, “People are backwards—they lose themselves and pursue things.” (Something’s come up. He’s used to getting his way. He rakes the monk in. This takes real ability like his.) The monk said, “What about you?” (As it turns out the monk suffers a defeat. He’s turned the spear around; it will be hard to stand up to it.) Jingqing said, “I have reached not losing myself.” (Tch! He just can’t explain.) The monk said, “What is the meaning of reaching not losing oneself? ” (He challenges the old guy, pressing him relentlessly. His first arrow was still light; the second arrow is deep.) Jingqing said, “It may be easy to free oneself, but to say the whole thing is surely difficult.” (Provisions to nourish a child. Though it’s so, where have Deshan and Linji gone? If he doesn’t call it the sound of raindrops, what sound should he call it? It simply can’t be explained.)
Commentary
You too should understand right here. When the ancients imparted their teaching, with one device, one object, they wanted to guide people. One day Jingqing asked a monk, “What sound is that outside
228
the door?” The monk said, “The sound of quail.” Jingqing said, “ If you want to avoid uninterrupted hell, don’t slander the true teaching of the Buddha. ” Another time Jingqing asked, “What is that sound outside the door?” A monk said, “ The sound of a snake eat ing a frog.” Jingqing said, “I knew sentient beings suffer; here is another suffering sentient being.” These words are the same as the present story. If you can penetrate here, nothing can block your independence within sound and form. If you can’t, you are constrained by sound and form.
In other places this is called tempering words. If it were tempering, it would only amount to mental activity. They do not see where Jingqing helped people. This is called penetrating sound and form, clarifying the eye of the Way, clarifying sound and form, clarifying the mind source, clarifying forgetting feelings, clarify ing exposition. Though such explanations are undeniably detailed, nevertheless they are still clichés.
Jingqing asked, “What is that sound outside the door?” The
monk said, “The sound of raindrops.” Then Jingqing said, “People are backwards—they lose themselves and pursue things.” People all misunderstand and call this intentionally upsetting the man, but this has nothing to do with it. How little they realize that Jingqing has the skill to help people. He is so brave he isn’t bound by a single device or a single perspective. Above all he doesn’t spare his effort.
How could Jingqing not have known that it was the sound of
raindrops? Why was it still worth asking? You must realize that the ancient was probing to examine the monk. The monk too pressed back well, saying, “What about you?” What happened then was that Jingqing went into the muddy water to say, “I have reached not losing myself.” The reason was that the monk was losing himself, pursuing things. Why should Jingqing lose him self too? You must realize that Jingqing had a place to get free within the phrase he used to test the monk.
This monk was very dull—he wanted to beat this statement
into the ground, so he asked, “What is the meaning of reaching
182c
The Blue Cliff Record
not losing oneself?” In the schools of Deshan or Linji the blows and shouts would already be raining, but Jingqing put through a path and followed him creating complications; he went on to say, “Though it may be easy to free oneself, to say the whole thing is surely difficult.” Nevertheless, as an ancient said, “Continuity is indeed difficult.” Jingqing illuminated for this monk the great affair in his immediate presence.
Verse
An empty hall, the sound of raindrops . . . (Never interrupted. Everyone is here.) Hard to respond, even for an adept.
(After all he doesn’t know. I have never been an adept. There’s provisional and true, letting go and gathering in, killing and enlivening, catching and releasing.)
If you say he’s ever let the streams enter,
(You stick your head into a bowl of glue. If you don’t call it the sound of raindrops, what sound will you call it?)
As before you still don’t understand.
(How often I’ve asked you! You ignoramuses! Give me back my hopeless iron hammerhead.)
Understanding or not understanding—
(Cut off both ends. The two are not separate. It’s not on these two sides.)
On south mountain, on north mountain, more and more downpour.
(Above our heads, under our feet. If you call it the sound of raindrops, you’re blind; if you don’t call it the sound of raindrops, what sound will you call it? Here you must tread the ground of reality.)
Commentary
183a “An empty hall, the sound of raindrops. . . / Hard to respond, even for an adept. ” If you call it the sound of raindrops, this is losing
230
- Six Do Not Take It In
yourself and pursuing things; if you don’t call it the sound of rain drops, how will you turn things around? At this point even if you’re an adept it’s still hard to respond. So an ancient said, “If your view equals your teacher, you have less than half the teacher’s merit. Only if your view goes beyond your teacher are you fit to receive and carry on the transmission.” And as Nanyuan said, “With acceptance of birth lessness under the staff, one faces situations with out deferring to a teacher. ”
“ If you say he’s ever let the streams enter, / As before you still don’t understand.” In the teachings it says, “First, in the midst of hearing, Avalokitesvara let the streams enter, but was mindless of what was there. Since what came in was quiescent, the forms of motion and stillness did not arise.” If you say it’s the sound of raindrops, it’s not right, but if you say it’s not the sound of rain drops, it’s not right either. If you say he lets the streams of sound and form enter, that’s not right either. If you call it sound and form, as before you don’t understand his meaning. It is compared to pointing to the moon; the pointing finger is not the moon. “Understanding or not understanding — / On south mountain, on north mountain, more and more downpour.”
47. Six Do Not Take It In
Introduction
What does the sky say? The four seasons go on there. What does the earth say? Myriad things are born there. Where the four sea sons go on, one can see the essence; where the myriad things are born, one can see the action. But say, where can you see a Chan practitioner? Detached from speech and action, can you still discern?
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “What is the body of reality?” (So many people have doubts about this. Even sages can’t leap out. He’s
231
The Blue Cliff Record
indulged quite a bit.) Yunmen said, “Six do not take it in.” (He cuts nails and shears through iron. An eight cornered mortar flies through the air. The sacred tortoise is dragging its tail.)
Commentary
Yunmen said, “Six do not take it in.” This is indeed hard to attain; even if you reach it before the first indications are distinct, this is already the secondary. If you understand after the first indications arise, you’ve fallen into the tertiary. If you go to the words to discern, you will search without finding.
But ultimately, what do you take as the body of reality? Those who are adepts immediately get up and go as soon as they hear it raised. If, on the other hand, you linger in thought and hold back your potential, you should listen humbly to this treatment.
Taiyuan Fu was originally a professor. One day when he lectured he spoke of the body of reality saying, “Vertically it reaches through the three times; horizontally it extends through the ten directions.” There was a Channist in the audience who let out a laugh when he heard this. Fu came down and said, “What was my shortcoming just now? Please explain.” The Channist said, “Professor, you only talk about the extent of the body of reality—you don’t see the body of reality.” Fu said, “What would be right?” The
i83b Channist said, “You should temporarily stop lecturing and sit in a quiet room; you will have to see it for yourself. ”
Fu did as he said and sat quietly all night. Suddenly he heard the bell for the fifth watch; all at once he was greatly enlightened. So he went and knocked on the Channist’s door, saying, “I’ve un derstood.” The Channist said, “ Try to tell me.” Fu said, “From now on I’ll no longer twist these nostrils born of my parents.”
Also in the scriptures it says, “ The Buddha’s true body of real ity is like space. It manifests forms in response to beings, like the moon in water.”
Also, a monk asked Jiashan, “What is the body of reality?” Jiashan said, “The body of reality has no form. ” The monk said, “What is the eye of reality?” Jiashan said, “The eye of reality has no flaws.”
232
47. Six Do Not Take It In
Yunmen said, “Six do not take it in.” Some say of this, “ This refers to the six senses, six objects, and six consciousnesses. These sixes all arise from the body of reality, so the six faculties cannot take it in. ” Intellectual interpretations such as this, though, are irrelevant. Moreover, they drag down Yunmen. If you want to see, then see; there’s no place for your attempts to rationalize. As it says in scripture, “ This truth is not something that calculating thought and discrimination can understand.”
Yunmen’s answers have often provoked intellectual interpre tations. So in every statement there must be three statements. And he does not turn his back on your questions; responding to the time, adapting to the situation, with one word, one phrase, one dot, one line, he indeed has a way to express himself. So it is said, “When a single statement is penetrated, myriad statements are penetrated all at once.”
But say, is this the body of reality? Is this the patriarchs? I
give you a thrashing!
Verse
One, two, three, four, five, six—
(Go all the way through, then start again at the beginning. For every drop for water, a drop of ice. Why expend so much effort?)
Even Bodhidharma can’t count up to it.
(Even in three lives, sixty eons. Has Bodhidharma ever even dreamed of it? Why do you deliberately transgress in spite of knowing?)
At Shaolin he deceptively said he passed it on to Shenguang—
(When one person transmits a falsehood, ten thousand people transmit it as truth. It was already wrong from the start.)
Then he rolled up his robe and said he was returning to India.
(He utterly swindled people. How embarrassing.) India is vast; there’s no place to look for him—
233
The Blue Cliff Record
(Where is he? This at last is great peace. Where is he right now?)
He comes back by night to stay here.
(He pokes out your eyes. This is raising waves where there’s no wind. Is this the body of reality or the body of the Buddha? I’ll give you a thrashing!)
183c
Commentary
Xuedou is well able to show his eye where there is no seam or crack and come out with a verse to make people see. Yunmen said, “Six do not take it in.” Why does Xuedou nevertheless say, “One, two, three, four, five, six”? In fact not even Bodhidharma can count up to it. That is why it is said, “I only allow that the old foreigner knows, not that he understands.” Only as a descendant of Yimmen could Xuedou do this. I just said that Yunmen responds to the time and adapts to the season with a word or a phrase. Only if you can penetrate through will you know that the Way is not in words and phrases. Otherwise you won’t avoid making up intellectual interpretations. Wuzu said, “Sakyamuni Buddha was a low-down hired worker.
The oak trees in the yard: one, two, three, four, five.” If you can man age to see truly at Yunmen’s words, you’ll reach this realm instantly.
“At Shaolin he deceptively said he passed it on to Shenguang. ” Shenguang was the second patriarch. Later he said Bodhidharma had returned to India. He had been buried at the foot of Bear Ear Mountain, but an ambassador returned from the West saw Bodhidharma in the mountains returning to India with one shoe in hand. When this was reported to the emperor, Bodhidharma’s tomb was opened, and all that was left was a single shoe.
Xuedou says, “How can this matter really be imparted?” Since there is no imparting it, Bodhidharma rolled up his robe and said he was returning to India. But then tell me, why has China never theless had six Chan patriarchs, handing it on in succession this way? This is indeed a riddle. You must be able to comprehend before you can enter and act.
“India is vast, with no place to look for him— / He comes back by night to stay here.” Tell me, where is he right now? Striking. Blind!
234
48. Overturning the Tea Kettle
Story
When Minister Wang entered Zhaoqing, they were making tea. (A gathering of adepts: there’s bound to be something extraordi nary. Can you stand idly by? Everyone set one eye on them. Wang has invited trouble.) At the time Elder Lang was holding the kettle for Mingzhao. (A bunch of guys playing with mud. Lang doesn’t know how to make tea, so he drags in someone else.) Lang turned the kettle over. (Something’s happened after all.) Seeing this, the minister asked him, “What’s under the tea stove?” (As it turns out, it’s trouble.) Lang said, “ The spirit who holds up stoves.” (After all he runs into Wang’s arrow. Nonetheless, he’s extraordinary.) The minister said, “If it’s the spirit who holds up stoves, why then did you turn over the kettle?” (Why doesn’t he give some real provisions? Something’s happened.) Lang said, “Serve as an official for a thousand days; lose it in a single morning.” (A mis taken indication. What kind of talk is this? There are many phony Chan followers.) The minister immediately left. (Obviously an adept. I allow that he has one eye.) Mingzhao said, “Elder Lang, you’ve eaten Zhaoqing food, but still you go beyond the river making noise gathering charred wood.” (I would go on to thrash him. This master has only one eye. Still, it takes a clear-eyed person to examine thoroughly.) Lang said, “What about you?” (He presses him—and he deserves to be pressed. Never make up such dead senile views!) Mingzhao said, “The spirit got the advantage.” (After all he only has one eye. He was able to speak half. One hand presses down, one hand lifts up.) Xuedou said, “At that time I would have kicked over the stove.” (What can be done about it? He draws his bow after the thief is gone. Even if he acts thus, he still can’t be called a member of Deshan’s school. The lot of them are ras cals—among them Xuedou is the standout.)
235
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
“ If you want to know the meaning of the Buddha nature, observe the conditions of the times.” Minister Wang was in charge of Quan province. He had studied at Zhaoqing for a long time. One day he went into the monastery while Elder Lang was making tea, and
Lang turned over the tea kettle. The minister too was an adept; as soon as he saw him turn over the kettle he asked, “What is under the tea stove?” When Lang said, “ The spirit who holds up stoves,” there was undeniably an echo in his words. Nevertheless, his start and finish contradicted each other, so he lost the source meaning and blundered with the sharp point, cutting his own hand. Not only did he wrong himself, he also offended the other.
Though this is an affair without gain and loss, if we bring it up, as before there is far and near, initiate and outsider. If you discuss this matter, though it’s not in words, nevertheless you must discern what’s alive in words. So it is said, “Study the living word, not the dead word.”
When Elder Lang talked this way he was like a mad dog chasing a dirt clod. The minister left immediately, appearing to disap prove of him.
Mingzhao said, “Elder Lang, you’ve eaten Zhaoqing food, but
still you go beyond the river making noise gathering charred wood.” This charred wood is sticks burnt by wild fire. Mingzhao used this to illustrate how Lang didn’t go to the correct place to walk, but instead ran off outside. Lang pressed him by saying, “What about you?” Mingzhao said, “ The spirit got the advantage.” Naturally Mingzhao had a place to get out, yet without turning his back on Lang’s question. So it is said, “A good dog bites with out showing its teeth.”
Guishan Zhe said, “Minister Wang was like Xiangru carrying off the jewel—in fact his sideburns are sticking out from under his hat. Since Mingzhao couldn’t restrain himself, it was difficult for him to do what was proper. Had I been Elder Lang, as soon as I saw the minister go, I would have put down the tea kettle and laughed. Why? If you see it but don’t grab it, it’s hard to meet with it even in a thousand years. ”
236
Overturning the Tea Kettle
Baoshou asked “Nail Cutter” Hu, “For a long time I’ve heard of Nail Cutter Hu—aren’t you he?” Hu said, “I am.” Baoshou said, “Can you drive nails into space?” Hu said, “I invite you to come smash it.” Baoshou then hit him. Hu did not agree, so Baoshou said, “Some day a talkative teacher will clarify this for you. ” Later Hu saw Zhaozhou and related this incident. Zhaozhou said, “Why did he hit you?” Hu said, “I don’t know where my fault was.” Zhao zhou said, “You couldn’t even do anything about this one crack, yet you told him to break up space.” At this Hu was stopped— Zhaozhou spoke for him, “Well, nail up this one crack. ” At this Hu had an awakening.
When Master Mi Hu (“ Mi the Seventh”) returned from his travels, an old adept asked him, “A piece of rope on a moonlit night, people call a snake. What do you call it when you see the Buddha?” Mi Hu said, “ If there is something seen, it’s the same as an ordinary being. ” The old adept said, “This is a peach pit that sprouts once in a thousand years.”
National Teacher Huizhong asked an imperial attendant monk, “I hear tell that you have explained the Consideration o f Benefit Scripture; is this true? ” The monk said it was. Huizhong said, “One must first understand the Buddha’s meaning to be fit to explain the scriptures.” The monk said, “If I didn’t understand the mean ing, how could I dare say I’d explained a scripture?” Huizhong then had a servant bring a bowl of water, seven grains of rice, and one chopstick. Putting them in the bowl, he passed it to the imperial attendant monk and asked, “What doctrine is this?” The monk said, “I don’t understand.” Huizhong said, “You don’t even understand my meaning; how can you go on talking of the Buddha’s meaning?”
Minister Wang and Elder Lang were not the only ones to have conversations like this.
At the end Xuedou turns around and says, “At the time I would have kicked over the stove.” Though Mingzhao was such, he never equaled Xuedou. When Xuefeng was cook in Dongshan’s congre gation, one day as he was washing rice Dongshan asked, “Do you wash the grit out of the rice, or the rice out of the grit?” Xuefeng said, “Grit and rice are both removed at once.” Dongshan said,
The Blue Cliff Record
“What will the community eat?” Xuefeng turned the bowl over. Dongshan said, “Your affinity is not here.” Though he acted this way, how can this compare with Xuedou’s saying he’d kick over the stove? What time and season was it for them? Their action naturally stands out in the present and shines through the ages; they had a place of living liberation.
Verse
Wang poses a question like creating a wind—
(His arrow was not shot in vain. He happens to be artful yet quintessential.)
Lang’s responsive action was not skillful.
(What end is there of people playing with mud? A square peg in a round hole. Indeed, he ran into an adept.)
How lamentable the lone-eyed dragon
(He only has one eye. He only gets one part.) Didn’t display his teeth and claws.
(He had no teeth and claws to display. What teeth and claws are you talking about? Don’t cheat them.)
Teeth and claws open,
(See? After all Xuedou has gotten somewhere. If you have such ability, kick over the stove.)
Producing clouds and thunder.
(Everyone in the world takes a thrashing at once. All the Chan monks in the world have no place to put themselves. Booming thunder in a parched sky.)
How many times I’ve gone through the waves of adverse currents!
(Seventy-two blows turns into one hundred fifty.)
Commentary
“Wang poses a question like creating a wind— / Lang’s response was not skillful.” The minister’s question was like swinging an axe, creating a wind. This comes from Zhuangzi: a man was plas tering a wall, and a bit of plaster splashed onto the tip of his nose.
238
An axeman said he’d remove it for him, even though it was small as a flyspeck. The axeman swung his axe so fast he created a wind, and removed the plaster without cutting the man’s nose. The man stood there without losing his composure. This is what is called wondrous skill on the part of both. Though Elder Land did respond to the minister’s actions, his words were unskillful; that is why Xuedou said, “Wang poses a question like creating a wind— / Lang’s response was not skillful.”
“How lamentable the lone-eyed dragon / Didn’t display his teeth and claws.” Mingzhao’s speaking was indeed very outstanding, yet he didn’t have the teeth and claws to grasp the clouds and hold onto the fog. The bystander Xuedou didn’t approve; unable to restrain himself, he showed some energy in behalf of Mingzhao.
Xuedou secretly goes to merge with minister Wang’s mean ing. He versifies his own statement about kicking over the tea stove: “ Teeth and claws open, / Producing clouds and thunder. / How many times I’ve gone through the waves of adverse currents! ” Yunmen said, “I don’t expect you to have waves against the cur rent, just have the mind that goes with the current and you’ll be all right too.” Thus it is said, “ If you understand the living word, you’ll never forget. ” The sayings of Elder Lang and Mingzhao seem dead. If you want to see the living place, just look at Xuedou kick ing over the stove.
49, The Golden Fish That Has Passed through the Net
Introduction
Piercing, penetrating, one takes the drum and captures the flag. Fortified, entrenched, one inspects the front and oversees the rear. Even one who sits on the tiger’s head and takes the tiger’s tail is not yet an adept. Though an ox head disappears and a horse head returns, this too is not yet extraordinary. But say, how is it when one who has passed beyond measurement comes?
The Blue Cliff Record
Story
Sansheng asked Xuefeng, “What does the golden fish that has passed through the net use for food?” (Free in all ways. This ques tion is very lofty. You must just know for yourself—then what need is there to ask any further?) Xuefeng said, “I’ll tell you when you come out of the net.” (He diminishes the other man’s reputa tion quite a bit. An expert Chan teacher is naturally indepen dent.) Sansheng said, “The teacher of fifteen hundred people and you don’t even know a saying.” (The sudden peal of thunder re ally startles the crowd. Let him leap about.) Xuefeng said, “ My affairs as abbot are many and complicated. ” (It’s not a matter of victory and defeat. Xuefeng lets his move go. This statement is most poisonous.)
Commentary
With Xuefeng and Sansheng, though there’s an exit and an entry, a thrust and a parry, there is no division into victory and defeat. But what is the eye these two adepts have?
Sansheng received the secret from Linji. He traveled all over and was treated as an eminent guest. Look at him posing this question; how many cannot grasp it! He doesn’t touch on noumenon or Buddhist doctrine; instead he asks, “What does the golden fish that’s passed through the net use for food?” What did he mean? Since the golden fish that’s passed through the net ordinarily does not eat the tasty food of others, what does it use for food?
Xuefeng is an adept; he casually replies to Sansheng with only ten or twenty percent—“I’ll tell you when you come out of the net.” Fenyang would call this a question displaying one’s under standing; in the Cao-Dong line it would be called a question using things. You must be beyond categories and classifications; you must have attained use of the great function; you must have the eye on the forehead—only then can you be called a golden fish that has passed through the net. Still, being an adept, Xuefeng can’t but diminish the other’s reputation by saying, “I’ll tell you when you come out of the net. ”
240
See how the two of them held fast to their territories, towering like gigantic walls. With this one sentence of Xuefeng’s any one but Sansheng would have been unable to go on. But Sansheng too was an adept, so he was able to say, “The teacher of fifteen hundred people and you don’t even know what to say!” But Xue- feng said, “My affairs as abbot are many and complicated.” How obstinate this statement is!
When these adepts met, there was one capture, one release, acting weak when encountering strength and acting noble when encountering meanness. If you form your understanding in terms of victory and defeat, you haven’t seen Xuefeng even in a dream. Look at these two: initially both were solitary and strict; in the end both were dead and decrepit. But say, was there still gain and loss, victory and defeat? When the adepts harmonized with each other, it was certainly not this way.
Sansheng was the temple keeper for Linji. When Linji was
about to pass on, he said, “After I’m gone, don’t destroy my trea sury of vision of truth.” Sansheng came forward and said, “ How dare we destroy your treasury of vision of truth?” Linji said, “What will you do when people ask questions?” Sansheng shouted. Linji said, “Who would have known that my treasury of vision of truth would die out in this blind donkey?” Sansheng bowed. Since he was a true heir of Linji, he dared to respond like this.
Xuedou just versifies the golden fish that has passed through the net, revealing where these adepts saw each other.
Verse
The golden fish that has passed through the net—
(A thousand soldiers are easy to get, but one general is hard to find. What is the golden fish like? Even the sages can’t do anything about it.)
Stop saying it tarries in the water.
(It stands beyond the clouds, leaping with life. But better not make it out to be a fool.)
It shakes the heavens and sweeps the earth,
The Blue Cliff Record
(An adept! This still isn’t the extraordinary part. Let it come out—what’s to prevent it?)
It flourishes its mane and wags its tail.
(Who can presume to discern the whole? A clever trick, coming on with a boast; yet it undeniably startles the crowd.)
When a thousand-foot whale spouts, vast waves fly, (It’s gone over to the other side, indeed outstanding, swallowing everyone in the world in one gulp.)
At a single thunderclap, the pure wind gusts. (Having eyes and ears but being as if blind and deaf.
Who is not frightened?) The pure wind gusts—
(Where? Tsk!)
Among gods and humans, how many know? (Xuefeng holds down the front lines, Sansheng holds
down the rear. Why scatter dust and sand? I hit and say, “Where are you? ”)
Commentary
“The golden fish that has passed through the net— / Stop saying it tarries in the water.” Wuzu said this couplet alone completes the verse. Since it’s the golden fish that has passed through the net, how could it linger in the water? It must be where the vast swelling floods of white foamy waves tower up to the skies. But during the twenty-four hours of the day, what does it use for food? Go back to your places for now and try to see for sure.
Xuedou said, “ This matter is picked up and used according to one’s capacity.” When something like the golden fish “flourishes its mane and wags its tail, ” it does in fact shake heaven and earth. “When a thousand-foot whale spouts, vast waves fly.” This re fers to Sansheng saying, “The teacher of fifteen hundred people and you don’t even know a saying!” He was like a whale spouting giant waves. “At a single thunderclap, the pure wind gusts.” This refers to Xuefeng saying, “My affairs as abbot are many and complicated.”
242
He was like the pure wind gusting with a thunderclap. The over all meaning is to praise the two of them for being adepts.
“The pure wind gusts— / Among gods and humans, how many know? ” What is the point of these lines? When the pure wind arises, how many can there be among humans and celestials who will know?
49. Every Atom Samadhi
Introduction
Passing beyond stages, absolutely transcending expedient means, mind to mind in mutual accord, each statement harmonizing with the other: if you haven’t entered the gate of great liberation and attained great freedom of action, how can you measure the en lightened or be a mirror and guide to enlightenment? When tak ing charge of a situation directly, whether going along or against, vertically or horizontally, how will you be able to speak a phrase to express yourself?
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “What is every atom samadhi?” (All the Chan practitioners in the world make their nests here. His mouth is full of frost. Why is he scattering sand and dirt?) Yunmen said, “Rice in the bowl, water in the bucket.” (A cloth bag filled with awls. Gold dust and sand intermingled. He adds error to error. Inside the palace they don’t ask about the capital.)
Commentary
Can you settle this properly? If you can, you’ve got Yunmen by the nose. If not, Yunmen has you by the nose. Yunmen has sayings that cut through iron. In this one statement three statements are present.
When questioned about this story, some say, “Each grain of
rice in the bowl is round; each drop of water in the bucket is wet.”
The Blue Cliff Record
If you understand this way, you don’t see how Yunmen really helps people.
Verse
Rice in the bowl, water in the bucket—
(It’s obvious. Why scatter sand and dirt? You must wash your mouth out for three years before you’ll get it.)
The talkative teacher can hardly open his mouth.
(He draws in his tongue. Those who know the law fear it.
Why then bring it up this way?)
Northern dipper, southern star—their positions are not different;
(Why call east west? Standing, sitting, still and solemn.
What’s long is the long reality body, what’s short is the short reality body.)
Foaming waves flooding the skies arise on level ground. (Several fathoms deep right where you are. Guest and
host interchange. Suddenly they’re on top of your head—then what will you do? I hit.)
Trying or not trying, (Heavens! Tsk!)
Stopping or not stopping,
(What are you saying? You’re adding more bitterness.) Each and every one is a rich man’s son with no britches. (Quite decrepit! The onlooker laughs.)
Commentary
In his earlier verse on Yunmen’s “appropriate statement,” Xuedou said, “An appropriate statement: / How utterly unique! / He wedges a stake into the iron hammerhead with no hole.” In his later verse on “apart from all permutations of assertion and denial,” he says, “Zhizang’s head is white; Baizhang’s head is black; even clear eyed Chan practitioners cannot understand.” If you can penetrate these stories, you will see this present verse.
244
Xuedou says right off, “ Rice in the bowl, water in the bucket.’ There’s an echo in his words; he shows his capacity in the line, “The talkative teacher can hardly open his mouth.” With this he adds footnotes for you. If you demand conceptualization of myste rious and marvelous principles, it will be even harder to speak.
At first he holds fast; then fearing there’s someone with eyes who’d see through him, he had to forego the primary and bend down to open it up for beginners, coming out with a verse to have people see. As before the northern dipper is in the north and the southern star is in the south. Thus he says, “Northern dipper, south ern star—their positions are not different.”
“Foaming waves flooding the skies arise on level ground. ” When
waves suddenly arise on level ground, what will you do? If you catch sight of it in phenomena, it’s easy; if you seek it in your conceptual faculty, you’ll never find it. This line is like an iron spike: it can’t be pulled out, and you can’t get your teeth into it. If you try to discuss it, though you wish to understand, you won’t understand; though you wish to stop, you won’t stop randomly displaying your load of ignorance. This is precisely “Each and every one is a rich man’s son with no britches. ” A poem by Hanshan says:
Everywhere constantly suffering pain, All over vainly discussing themselves,
Though they’ve talent, it’s abandoned in the swamps; Having no power, they shut their thatch doors.
The sun comes up over the cliff, but still it’s dark,
The mist melts away, but the valley is still dim. The rich men’s sons there are all without britches.
185c
50. What Is It?
Introduction
As soon as there is affirmation and denial you lose your mind in confusion. If you don’t fall into grades and stages, then there is no seeking. But say, is letting go right, or is holding fast right? At this point, if you intellectualize at all you are still stuck in verbal izations. If you’re still involved with devices and objects, all of this is attachment. Even if you arrive immediately at the point of soli tary liberation, you still are ten thousand miles from home. Can you reach it? If not, just comprehend this issue at hand.
Story
When Xuefeng was living in a hut, two monks came to pay respects. (What for? Their crimes are listed on the same indictment.) Seeing them coming, Xuefeng pushed open the door, popped out, and said, “What is it?” (Ghost eyes. A flute with no holes. He raises
his head, wearing horns.) A monk also said, “What is it?” (A mud ball. A felt-pounding board. The arrow points meet.) Xuefeng low ered his head and went back inside. (There are thorns in the soft mud. He is like a dragon without feet, like a snake with horns. This is the hardest of all to handle.) Later the monk came to Yan- tou. (He must ask before he can understand. Only one on the same path would know.) Yantou asked, “Where are you coming from?” (It takes an adept to do this. This monk suffers defeat again and again. If Yantou weren’t Xuefeng’s peer, he might have let him go.) The monk said, “Lingnan.” (What news does he bring? He must convey the news. Did he see Xuefeng?) Yantou said, “ Did you ever go to Xuefeng?” (He’s already been exposed. He mustn’t say he didn t go there.) The monk said, “Yes.” (A truthful man is hard to find. He breaks it in two.) Yantou said, “What did he say?” (You still go on this way?) The monk recounted the preceding story. (He still goes on this way. Again and again he suffers defeat.) Yan tou said, What did he say?” (He should have hit the monk right
246
- What Is It?
off; he’s lost control.) The monk said, “He said nothing; he lowered his head and went back inside.” (Again he suffers defeat. But tell me, what is he?) Yantou said, “Alas! Too bad I didn’t tell him the last word before; (Enormous waves flood the skies.) had I told him, no one on earth could do anything to Xuefeng.” (A leper drags along a companion. Not necessarily. Even the polar mountain would be shattered to bits. But say, where is his trap?) At the end of the summer the monk again brought up this story to ask for more instruction. (This shows the monk is not alert. When the real thief has already been gone for quite a while, he draws his bow.) Yantou said, “Why didn’t you ask before?” (You should turn over his mediation seat. The opportunity’s passed.) The monk said, “I didn’t dare to be casual.” (This staff was originally for the monk to be beaten with. Yantou took him in tow. An imprisoned man increases in wisdom. It’s already a double case.) Yantou said, “Though Xuefeng is born of the same lineage as me, he doesn’t die in the same lineage as me. (He fills the heavens and covers the earth.) If you want to know the last word, ‘just this’ is it.” (Though he utterly swindles ordinary people, I don’t believe him. He al most couldn’t explain.)
Commentary
Whoever would uphold Chan teaching must discern how to take charge of the situation, must know when to advance and retreat, what is right and wrong, when to kill and give life, capture and release. If one’s eyes suddenly blur and go sightless, everywhere one goes one questions when questioned and answers when an swered, scarcely realizing one is under the control of others.
As for Xuefeng and Yantou, they were fellow students under Deshan. When these monks called on Xuefeng their views only reached so far; when the monk saw Yantou, he still didn t com plete his business. He troubled these two worthies to no purpose. One question, one answer, one capture, one release—right up till today this case has been impenetrable and inexplicable for every one. But tell me, where is the riddle?
247
The Blue Cliff Record
Though Xuefeng had traveled all over, at last it was at Tortoise Mountain, because Yantou spurred him on, that he finally attained the annihilation of doubt and the great penetration.
Later, due to a persecution of Buddhism, Yantou became a ferryman by the shores of a lake. On each shore he hung a board; anyone who wanted to cross would knock on the board. Yantou would call out, “Which side are you crossing to?” Then he would come rowing out from among the reeds.
Xuefeng returned to Lingnan and lived in a hut. These monks were longtime students. When he saw them coming, Xuefeng popped out and said, “What is it?” Some people these days, when questioned this way, immediately go gnaw on the words. But these
monks were unusual too, just saying, “What is it?” Xuefeng low ered his head and went back inside. This is frequently called word less understanding. These monks couldn’t grasp this. Some say that, having been questioned by the monks, Xuefeng was in fact speechless, and so he went back inside. They don’t know that there is something deadly poisonous in Xuefeng’s intention. Though Xuefeng gained the advantage, nevertheless while he hid his body he revealed his shadow.
Later one monk left Xuefeng and took this story to Yantou to have him settle it. When he got there, Yantou asked him where he was coming from; he said Lingnan, and Yantou asked him if he had been to Xuefeng. If you want to see Xuefeng, you should quickly look at this last question. The monk said he had been there, and Yantou asked him what Xuefeng said. This question was not posed to no purpose, but the monk did not understand and just followed the vein of his words. Yantou said, “What did he say?” The monk said, “ He lowered his head and went back inside without saying anything.” This monk still didn’t know that Yantou had already put on his shoes and walked around inside his belly several times. Yantou said, “ Too bad I didn’t tell him the last word; had I told him, no one on earth could do anything to Xuefeng.” Yantou sup ports the strong, not the weak. As before the monk was in the dark and couldn’t distinguish the profound from the superficial. Harbor
ing a bellyful of doubt, he really thought Xuefeng didn’t understand.
248
At the end of the summer he brought up the story again and asked Yantou about it. Yantou said, “Why didn’t you ask earlier?” The old fellow was crafty. The monk said, “I didn’t dare to be ca sual.” Yantou said, “Though Xuefeng is born of the same lineage as me, he doesn’t die in the same lineage as me. If you want to know the last word, ‘just this’ is it.” Yantou was indeed generous! In the end, how will you understand?
Xuefeng was the cook in Deshan’s group. One day the noon meal was late; Deshan went down into the teaching hall with his bowl. Xuefeng said, “ The signal for the meal hasn’t been given yet—where are you going with your bowl?” Deshan lowered his head and went back to his room without saying anything. When Xuefeng told Yantou about this, Yantou said, “Even the great De shan doesn’t know the last word.” Deshan heard of this and sum moned Yantou. Deshan said, “So you don’t agree with me?” Yantou secretly indicated his intention. The next day Deshan lectured in a manner different from usual; Yantou clapped and laughed, say ing, “Happily the old guy does understand the last word! After this no one on earth will be able to do anything to him. Neverthe less, he’s only got three years.”
When Xuefeng saw Deshan speechless in this story, he thought
he had gained the advantage. He still didn’t know that he had run into a bandit. Since he had met a bandit, later Xuefeng too knew how to be a bandit. So an ancient said, “At the last word one finally reaches the impenetrable barrier. ”
Some say Yantou excelled Xuefeng. They have misunderstood. Yantou always used this device: he taught, “Clear-eyed folk have no cliches to nest in. Spurning things is considered superior; pur suing things is considered inferior. As for this last word, even if you’ve personally seen the Chan patriarchs, you still won’t be able to understand it rationally.”
When Deshan’s meal was late, he picked up his bowl himself and went down into the teaching hall. Yantou said, “Even the great Deshan doesn’t understand the last word.” Xuedou picked this out and said, “I’ve heard that a lone-eyed dragon has only one eye all along.” You certainly didn’t know Deshan was a toothless tiger. If
186c
The Blue Cliff Record
it hadn’t been for Yantou seeing through him, how could we know that yesterday and today are not the same? Do you want to under stand the last word? “I only allow that the old foreigner knows, not that the old foreigner understands.”
Chan stories from ancient times till now have been extremely diverse, like a forest of brambles. If you can penetrate, no one on earth can do anything to you, and all the Buddhas of past, present, and future defer to you. If you cannot penetrate, study Yantou’s saying—“Though Xuefeng is born in the same lineage as me, he doesn’t die in the same lineage as me.” Spontaneously, in just this one sentence, he had a way to come forth.
Verse
The last word
(It’s already present before anything is said. You might think it’s real. If you look right at it you’ll go blind.)
Is spoken for you;
(The tongue falls to the ground. It can’t be spoken. It has a head but no tail, a tail but no head.)
The time of light and dark pair by pair:
(Complicated old fellow. Like an ox without horns, like a tiger with horns. This one and that one are this way.)
Born of the same lineage, they share the knowledge; (What clan is this? There’s no connection between this
one and that one. You’re headed southeast, I ’m headed northwest.)
Dying of different lineages, they’re utterly separated. (The staff is in my hand. How can you blame me? Why
are you taken in tow by someone else?) Utterly separated—
(Want to take a thrashing? Where is there to search?) Even the Buddha and Bodhidharma have yet to discern. (Everyone on earth is stymied and tongue-tied. I too
am this way; yet others are not. “I only allow that the old foreigner knows, not that the old foreigner understands.”)
250
- What Is It?
South, north, east, west, let us return—
(Xuedou’s gathered everyone in. His trail is still following the five-colored thread. I ask you for a staff.)
And in the depths of the night together look at the snow on the thousand crags.
(There’s still half a month’s journey. Let the world be
covered with snow, filling everywhere; there is no one who understands. You too are just blind people. Do you know the last word? I hit!)
Commentary
“The last word is spoken for you.” When Xuedou made up his verse on this last word, he intentionally went to extremes going down into the weeds to help people. His verse is thoroughgoing as a verse, but he only versified a little of the fine detail. If you want to see all the way through, this is still not enough.
Daring to say even more Xuedou opened his big mouth and
said, “The time of light and dark pair by pair” to open a road for you and also finish it off for you in one line. Then at the end he provided even more explanations for you.
Zhaoqing asked Luoshan, “When Yantou says, Ho, so, not so,
not so,’ what is his meaning?” Luoshan called out, “Great Mas ter!” and Zhaoqing responded. Luoshan said, “Both light and both dark.” Zhaoqing bowed in thanks and left. Three days later he questioned Luoshan again; Luoshan said, “I’ve already told you the whole thing.” Zhaoqing said, “Please light the way.” Luoshan told him to ask what he had doubts about; Zhaoqing said, “What is ‘both light and both dark’? ” Luoshan said, “ Born the same and dying the same.” Zhaoqing then bowed in thanks and left.
Later a monk asked Zhaoqing, “How is it when being born the same and dying the same?” Zhaoqing said, “Shut your dog mouth. ’ The monk said, “Just try to eat with your mouth shut.” The monk then came to ask Luoshan the same question; Luoshan said, “Like an ox without horns.” The monk said, “ Then how about being born the same but not dying the same?” Luoshan said, “Like a tiger with horns.” The last word is precisely this truth.
187a
The Blue Cliff Record
A monk in Luoshan’s group used this idea to put a question to Zhaoqing. Zhaoqing said, “ That one, this one, they all know. Why? If I spoke a phrase on the eastern continent, they would know it on the western continent too. If I spoke a phrase in heaven, they
would also know it on earth. All minds know each other, all eyes perceive each other. ”
Born of the same lineage, they’re still easy to see. Not dying in the same lineage, they’re utterly separate, and not even the Bud dha or Bodhidharma can find them.
“South, north, east, west, let us return.” There’s something of a good world. “And in the depths of the night together look at the snow on the thousand crags.” Tell me, is this both light and both dark, or is it born of the same lineage, or is it dying in the same lineage? Let those with eyes discern.
52. The Stone Bridge
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Long have I heard of the stone bridge of Zhaozhou; but now that I’ve come here I only see a simple log bridge.” (Here’s another one who comes to grab the tiger’s whiskers. This is the proper business of Chan practitioners.) Zhaozhou said, “You only see the log bridge, not the stone bridge.” (Zhaozhou is accus tomed to getting the advantage. He’s selling off his body.) The monk asked, “What is the stone bridge?” (He’s climbed onto the hook, after all.) Zhaozhou said, “It lets asses cross, it lets horses cross. ” (A single net takes in all. In fact all the people in the world have no place to breathe; once dead they don’t come back to life again.)
Commentary
In the state of Zhaozhou there’s a stone bridge, built in ancient times, famed throughout the country. Intentionally downgrading Zhaozhou, this monk questioned him by saying, “Long have I heard of the stone bridge of Zhaozhou; but now that I’ve come here I only
252
see a simple log bridge.” Zhaozhou immediately said, You only see the log bridge, not the stone bridge,” based on the question. This seems like ordinary conversation, but Zhaozhou used it to hook him. The monk after all climbed onto the hook; he followed up behind and asked, “What is the stone bridge?” Zhaozhou said, “It lets asses cross, it lets horses cross. ” Inevitably Zhaozhou natu rally has a place to come forth in his words. He is not like Linji or Deshan, who shout and hit—he just uses words to kill and give life. Take a good look at this story—it seems to be an ordinary battle of wits; yet it is hard to grasp.
One day Zhaozhou was with the head monk looking at the
stone bridge; he asked, “Who built this?” The monk said, Li Ying did.” Zhaozhou said, “Where did he start?” The monk had no re ply. Zhaozhou said, “You’re always talking about the stone bridge, but when asked about where it started, you don’t even know.’
Once when Zhaozhou was sweeping the floor, a monk asked, “You are enlightened—why is there dust? ’ Zhaozhou said, It comes from outside.” The monk asked, “In a pure and clean sanctuary, why is there dust?” Zhaozhou said, “ There’s another little bit.”
A monk asked, “What is the W ay?” Zhaozhou said, Outside the wall.” The monk said, “I’m not asking about that way, I’m asking about the Great Way.” Zhaozhou said, “The great way runs to the capital. ”
Zhaozhou was always using such devices; he would go to the
peace of ordinary reality to help people. He never cut his hand on the sharp point; naturally he was solitary and strict, using these devices most wondrously.
Verse
He doesn’t set up the solitary; in that his way is lofty. (You must get to this realm before you realize. The words
are still in our ears. This is due to his own provisions.) Entering the ocean, he must hook a giant tortoise.
(He occupies the essential crossing and doesn’t let profane or holy pass. Shrimps or clams, snails or oysters, aren’t
187b
The Blue Cliff Record
worth asking about. People of power don’t come by twos and threes.)
His contemporary Guanxi is worth a laugh;
(There’s been another such man who’s come this way, with such ability to use active devices.)
Though he was able to say “whistling arrow, ” his effort was in vain.
(He still has half a month’s journey. He looks alike, but isn’t really the same.)
Commentary
“He doesn’t set up the solitary; in that his way is lofty.” Xuedou is praising Zhaozhou’s usual way of helping people. He doesn’t es tablish mysteries or marvels, doesn’t set up the solitary. He isn’t like those who say that only breaking up space, shattering the polar mountain, producing dust on the ocean floor, and pounding waves on the polar mountain can be called the Way of Chan. Thus Xuedou says his way is lofty in that he doesn’t set up the solitary. Others may tower like gigantic walls to display the extraordinary effects of Buddhism, but though they’re solitary and lofty, this is not as good as not setting up the solitary and simply acting ordi nary, naturally turning smoothly. Zhaozhou doesn’t establish any thing, yet he is high himself. When capacity goes beyond the solitary, only then do we see profound wonders.
Thus Xuedou says, “Entering the ocean, he must hook a giant tortoise.” Observe Zhaozhou: a Chan master with eyes, he casu ally imparts a word and employs a device. He doesn’t hook shrimps or clams, snails or oysters—he only hooks giant tortoises. Indeed he is an adept. This line is used to illustrate a story.
“His contemporary Guanxi is worth a laugh.” A monk asked Guanxi, “I’ve long heard of Guanxi (‘Pouring Mountain Stream’); now that I’ve come here I only see a flax soaking pool.” Guanxi said, You just see the flax soaking pool, not the pouring moun tain stream.” The monk said, “What is the pouring mountain stream?” Guanxi said, “Swift as a whistling arrow.”
254
- Wild Ducks
A monk asked Huanglong, “I’ve long heard of Huanglong (‘Yel low Dragon’); but now that I’ve come here I only see a red striped snake.” Huanglong said, “You only see the red striped snake, not the yellow dragon.” The monk said, “What is the yellow dragon?” Huanglong said, “Slithering along.” The monk said, “What about when it suddenly encounters a dragon-eating bird?” Huanglong said, “Difficult to stay alive.” The monk said, “If so, it’ll be eaten by the bird.” Huanglong said, “Thanks for feeding me.”
These are both cases of setting up the solitary. Though Guanxi and Huanglong are both right, yet they did waste effort. They did not equal Zhaozhou’s ordinary action. Thus Xuedou says, “Though he was able to say ‘whistling arrow,’ his effort was in vain.”
Leaving Guanxi and Huanglong aside for the moment, how will you understand when Zhaozhou says, “It lets asses cross, it lets horses cross”? Try to do it.
53. Wild Ducks
Introduction
The whole world does not hide it—the entire capacity stands alone revealed. Encountering situations without getting stuck, with ev ery move adepts have the ability to come forth. With no partiality in their statements, everywhere they have the intent to kill people. But in the end, where did the ancients rest?
Story
Once when Mazu and Baizhang were walking, they saw some wild ducks fly by. (Two people in the weeds, rolling around in the weeds. Why suddenly notice?) Mazu asked, “What’s that?” (You should know, Teacher. This old fellow doesn’t even know his nostrils.) Baizhang said, “Wild ducks.” (He’s already been taken in tow. He just offers the facts. The second ladleful of foul water will be even more poisonous.) Mazu said, “Where have they gone?” (His first
255
The Blue Cliff Record
arrow was still light; the second goes deep. A second enticing peck. Here too one should know for oneself.) Baizhang said, “Flown away.” (He just rolls along behind Mazu. He’s stumbled past what’s right in front of him.) Mazu then twisted Baizhang’s nose. (The nose born of his parents is in the hands of another. Mazu turned the spear around and twisted Baizhang’s nose around.) Baizhang cried out in pain. (It’s right here. Can it be called wild ducks? Are you conscious of pain?) Mazu said, “When have they ever flown away?” (Better not deceive people. All along this old fellow has been living in a ghost cave.)
Commentary
If you observe with the true eye, unexpectedly it’s Baizhang who has the correct basis, while Mazu is creating waves where there’s no wind. If you want to be teacher of Buddhas and patriarchs, then study Baizhang; if you want to be unable to save even your self, then study Mazu. See how those ancients were never absent from Here, twenty-four hours a day.
At a young age Baizhang left worldly life and became well versed in discipline, meditation, and wisdom. He became a dedi cated disciple of Mazu and served as his attendant for twenty years. At the time of his second calling (Commentary, Story 11), he was finally greatly enlightened at Mazu’s shout.
But these days some say, “Where there is fundamentally no 188a enlightenment they construct the gate of enlightenment, setting this matter up. ” If you view it in this way, you are like a flea on a lion’s body feeding on the lion’s flesh. An ancient said, “If the source
is not deep, the flow is not long; if the wisdom is not great, the vision is not far reaching.” If you think enlightenment is a con struct, how could Buddhism have come down to the present?
Once when Mazu and Baizhang were walking they saw some wild ducks fly by. How could Mazu not have known they were wild ducks? Why did he nevertheless ask like this? Tell me, what is his point? When Baizhang merely ran after him, Mazu then twisted his nose. Baizhang cried out in pain, and Mazu said, “When have
256
- Wild Ducks
they ever flown away?” At this Baizhang had insight. But these days some people misunderstand; as soon as they’re questioned, they make a cry of pain. They can’t leap out.
When Chan teachers help people, they must make them pen
etrate. You see Baizhang didn’t understand; he didn’t avoid cut ting his hand on the point. Mazu just wanted to make him understand this matter. Thus it is said, “When you understand, you can make use of it wherever you are; if not, the conventional truth prevails.” Had Mazu not twisted Baizhang’s nose then, the conventional truth would have prevailed. It’s also necessary when encountering circumstances and meeting conditions to turn them around back to oneself; to have no gaps at any time is called the ground of nature being clear. What’s the use of those who are fixated and half baked?
Observe how Mazu and Baizhang acted; though they seem radiant and spiritual, yet they don’t remain in radiance and spiri tuality. Baizhang cried out in pain; if you see it as such, the whole world doesn’t hide it, and it is perfectly manifest everywhere. Thus it is said, “Penetrate one point, and you penetrate myriad points all at once.”
When Mazu went into the hall the next day, as soon as the congregation had assembled, Baizhang came forward and rolled up the bowing mat. Mazu then left his seat and went back to his room. Afterwards, he asked Baizhang, “I had just gone up in the hall and had not yet lectured; why did you roll up the mat right away?” Baizhang said, “Yesterday I had my nose twisted by you, and it hurt. ” Mazu said, “Where were you keeping your mind yes terday?” Baizhang said, “ Today the nose no longer hurts.” Mazu said, “You have deep knowledge of the matter of Today.” Baizhang then bowed and returned to the attendants’ quarters, crying. An other attendant asked why he was crying; he said, “Go ask the teacher.” The attendant went to ask Mazu; Mazu said, “Go ask Baizhang.” When the attendant returned to ask Baizhang, Bai zhang laughed. The attendant said, “You were just crying—now why are you laughing?” Baizhang said, “Before I was crying, now
257
The Blue Cliff Record
I’m laughing.” Observe Baizhang after enlightenment, turning smoothly; he can’t be trapped; he’s sparkling clear on all sides.
188b
Verse
Wild ducks—
(Gathering in flocks. Here’s another one.) Who knows where they are?
(What do you want with them? They’re extremely
numerous.)
Mazu saw them coming and had a conversation;
(What end is there to creating complications? What did they say? Mazu alone recognizes the outstanding one.)
He told all about the scene of the clouds on the mountains and the moon over the sea.
(The ladle handle of the eastern house is long; the ladle handle of the western house is short. Who knows how many complications he created?)
Still not understanding, Baizhang said they’d flown
away.
(Kaa! Don’t say he didn’t know how to speak. Where did they fly off to?)
He wanted to fly away
(He was in another’s grip. This is already adding footnotes for others.)
But was held fast.
(Extreme kindness. What else did he say?) Speak! Speak!
(What is there to say? Don’t make me speak too. Don’t make a wild duck cry. Heavens! Right where you are you deserve a thrashing. Who knows where they went to?)
Commentary
Xuedou makes his verse directly, saying, “Wild ducks— / Who knows where they are?” How many are there? “Mazu saw them
258
- Yunmen Extends Both Hands
coming and had a conversation. ” This refers to Mazu asking Bai- zhang, “What is that?” and Baizhang saying “Wild ducks.” “He told all about the scene of the clouds on the mountains and the moon over the sea.” This refers to Mazu again asking, “Where have they gone?” Mazu’s intent for Baizhang was to reveal every thing spontaneously. Still Baizhang did not understand, and said, “Flown away.” Twice he missed it.
Xuedou settles the case on the basis of the facts with “He
wanted to fly away / But was held fast.” He also says, “Speak! Speak! ” This is where Xuedou turns himself. How will you speak? If you make a cry of pain, you’re wrong; if you don’t make a cry of pain, then how do you understand? Though Xuedou versifies most wondrously, no matter what he does he can’t leap out either.
54. Yunmen Extends Both Hands
Introduction
Having penetrated beyond birth and death, one sets devices in motion; perfectly at ease, one shears through iron and cuts nails; wherever one goes one covers the universe. Tell me, whose behav ior is this?
Story
Yunmen asked a monk, “Where did you come here from ?” (Don’t say Xichan. This question is a probe, a means of observation. Don’t say east, west, north, or south.) The monk said, “Xichan.” (As it turns out, he’s too literal. At that moment the monk should have given him some of his own provisions.) Yunmen said, “What is being said at Xichan these days? ” (“I want to bring it up, but I fear it would startle you.” Yunmen profoundly discerns all comers. “Xichan was like you, teacher, talking in your sleep.”) The monk extended both hands. (He’s been defeated. He took in a thief and got his house ransacked. This will inevitably cause people to doubt.)
259
The Blue Cliff Record
Yunmen slapped him. (He acts according to the imperative. The monk should be hit. A fleeting chance is hard to meet with.) The monk said, “I’m still talking.” (So you want to change your plea? Still he seems to have the ability to take over.) Yunmen then ex tended his hands. (Danger! The monk is being given an excellent mount, but he doesn’t know how to ride it.) The monk was speech less; (What a pity!) Yunmen hit him. (Don’t let him go. It should be Yunmen who takes this beating. Why? When you don’t settle what should be settled, you invite disorder. How many blows should you receive? Yunmen let up on him a little. If he hadn’t let up, what should he have done?)
Comment ary
Yunmen asked the monk, “Where did you come here from?” The monk said, “Xichan.” This is direct face to face talk, like lightning. Yunmen said, “What is being said at Xichan these days?” This too
188c is just ordinary conversation. The monk, however, is also an adept; contrary to expectations, he goes to test Yunmen—he immediately extended his hands. Had it been an ordinary person who met with this test, he would have been flustered and agitated; but Yunmen has a mind like lightning, and immediately slapped him. The monk said, in effect, “You may hit me, but I’m still talking.” The monk had a place to turn around, so Yunmen opened up and extended his hands. The monk was speechless, so Yunmen hit him. Look—since Yunmen is an adept, whenever he takes a step he knows where the step comes down. He knows how to observe in front and take notice behind, not losing his way. This monk only
knows how to look ahead; he’s unable to observe behind.
Verse
At once he takes the tiger’s head and the tiger’s tail— (The sword that kills, the sword that gives life. It’s only
for this monk. A thousand soldiers are easy to get, but one general is hard to find.)
260
Yunmen Extends Both Hands
His stern majesty extends everywhere.
(He silences everyone on earth. He covers the universe.) I ask back, “ Didn’t you know how dangerous it was?” (You shouldn’t blindly fetter and beat them. After all
Xuedou himself doesn’t know. You are about to get hit yourself.)
Xuedou says, “I leave off.”
(Had he not left off, then what? Everyone on earth loses out all at once. I hit the meditation seat once.)
Commentary
Xuedou’s verse on this story is easy to understand; its overall in tent is to praise the sharp point of Yunmen’s ability. Thus he says, “At once he takes the tiger’s head and the tiger’s tail. ” An ancient said, “Occupy the tiger’s head, take the tiger’s tail, and then at the first statement you’ll understand the source meaning.” Xuedou just settles the case on the basis of the facts. He likes the way Yunmen is able to occupy the tiger’s head and also take the tiger’s tail. When the monk extended his hands and Yunmen hit him, this was occupying the tiger’s head. When Yunmen extended his hands and the monk was speechless so that Yunmen hit him again, this was taking the tiger’s tail. When head and tail are taken together, the eye is like a shooting star.
Yunmen is naturally like lightning; in fact, “ His stern maj esty extends everywhere.” The wind whistles all over the world.
“I ask back, ‘Didn’t you know how dangerous it was?” ’ Un avoidably there was danger. Xuedou says, “I leave off.” But say, right now as I don’t leave off, then what? Everyone in the world will have to take a beating.
Chan followers these days all say that when Yunmen extend ed his hands the monk should have repaid him with some of his own provisions. This seems correct, but in reality it isn’t. Yunmen can’t just get you to stop this way only—there must be something else besides.
261
54. Daowu’s Condolence Call
Introduction
Secure in complete reality, one obtains realization right there. In contact with the flow, in control of things, one assumes responsibility directly. As for cutting off confusion instantaneously, or towering like a gigantic wall, where one sits on the tiger’s head and takes the tiger’s tail —this I leave aside for the moment. Is there a way to help people by setting out a path?
Story
189a Daowu and Jianyuan went to make a condolence call. Jianyuan hit the coffin and said, “Alive or dead?” (What is he saying? He sure isn’t alert. He is lingering in duality.) Daowu said, “I won’t say alive, and I won’t say dead.” (When a dragon howls, fog ap pears; when a tiger roars, wind rises. He buys the hat to fit the head. He’s kindhearted.) Jianyuan said, “Why won’t you say?” (He’s stumbled past. As it turns out, he misunderstands.) Daowu said, “I won’t say, I won’t say. ” (He pours foul water right on Jianyuan’s head. The first arrow was still light; the second arrow goes deep.) On the way back, (Not very alert.) Jianyuan said, “Tell me right away, or I’ll hit you.” (Now he’s getting somewhere. It’s rare to meet an adept; you often encounter people who cling to fixed points of reference. Idiots like this go to hell like a shot.) Daowu said, “You may hit me, but I won’t say.” (He must repeat this again and again. He makes a counterattack. This old guy’s whole body is covered with muddy water. His original attitude is unchanging.) Jianyuan then hit him. (A good whack. But why does he hit him? There have always been people who have received unjust beat ings.) Later Daowu passed on. Jianyuan went to Shishuang and told him this story. (He knows yet deliberately offends. He doesn’t know whether he’s right or wrong—if he’s right, that would be amazing.) Shishuang said, “I won’t say alive, and I won’t say dead. ” (How fresh and new! Yet there have always been people who have this kind of food and drink.) Jianyuan said, “Why won’t you say?”
262
- Daowu’s Condolence Call
(Though his words are the same, his intent is different. Is this the same as his asking before, or different?) Shishuang said, “I won’t say, I won’t say.” (Throughout the universe. If the waves of Chan were alike, innumerable ordinary people would get bogged down.) At these words Jianyuan had an insight. (The blind man! Better not fool me.) One day Jianyuan took a hoe into the teaching hall and walked back and forth. (He has found life within death. He should show some life for his late teacher. Don’t question him— but observe this fellow’s embarrassment.) Shishuang said, “What are you doing?” (He just follows along.) Jianyuan said, “I’m look ing for relics of the late teacher.” (He hangs a medicine bag on a hearse. Too bad he was not so careful at first. What are you say ing?) Shishuang said, “Immense waves spread far and wide, foam ing billows flood the skies—what relics of the late teacher are you looking for?” (Only that adept could say this. Why gather in crowds?) Xuedou added a comment, “Heavens, heavens!” (Too late—he draws the bow after the thief is gone. He should be bur ied in the same pit.) Jianyuan said, “ This is just where to apply effort.” (Tell me, what does this really mean? What has the late teacher ever said to you? All along this fellow has been unable to get himself out.) Taiyuan Fu said, “The late teacher’s relics are still present.” (Does everyone see? They’re like a flash of light ning. What worn out straw sandals are these? Fu has realized a little bit.)
Commentary
Daowu and Jianyuan went to a house to make a condolence call. Jianyuan hit the coffin and said, “Alive or dead?” Daowu said, “I won’t say alive, and I won’t say dead.” If you can immediately penetrate at these lines, if at these words you immediately know the point, then this is the key to penetrating beyond life and death. Otherwise, you will miss it over and over again, even though it’s right in front of you.
Observe how these ancients were always mindful of this mat ter, whatever they were doing. As soon as they got to the house to
263
The Blue Cliff Record
i89b offer condolences, Jianyuan hit the coffin and asked Daowu, “Alive or dead?” Without stirring a bit Daowu replied, “I won’t say alive, I won’t say dead.” Jianyuan was face to face with it, but he stumbled past, running after the other man’s words, going on to say, “Why won’t you say?” Daowu said, “I won’t say, I won’t say.” Daowu could be said to have compassionately met an error with an error. Jianyuan was still not awake; on the way back he again said,
“ Tell me right away, or I ’ll hit you.” What does he know of good and bad? This is what is called a good intention not getting a good reward. Kind as before, Daowu said, “You may hit me, but I won’t say.” Jianyuan then hit him. Even so, Daowu won the point. Daowu was dripping with blood like this to help him, but Jianyuan was unseeing.
After being hit, Daowu told Jianyuan, “You should go away for a while; if the monastery director finds out, he may make trouble for you.” Extremely kind, Daowu secretly sent Jianyuan away. Later Jianyuan came to a small temple where he heard a work man reciting the Avalokitesvara scripture, where it says, “To those who would attain salvation as monks, he appears as a monk to teach them. ” Suddenly Jianyuan was greatly awakened and said, “I was wrongly suspicious of my teacher before. How was I to know this affair isn’t in words?” As an ancient said, “Even people be yond measure can be whirled about in the stream of words.”
Some interpret intellectually and say that when Daowu said, “I won’t say, I won’t say,” he had thereby already said something, and that this is what is called turning a backflip, making people unable to get hold of you. If you understand this way, how will you attain tranquility? If you walk the real earth, you aren’t even a hair’s breadth away.
Once seven women sages were walking through a cremation ground. One pointed to a corpse and asked the others, “The corpse is here —where is the person?” The eldest sister said, “What? What?” and all seven together experienced acceptance of birth lessness. But how many are like this? Maybe one out of ten thousand.
Later Jianyuan went to Shishuang and told this story. Shi- shuang too said, “I won’t say alive, and I won’t say dead. ” Jianyuan
264
asked why not; Shishuang said, “I won’t say, I won’t say,” and Jianyuan was thereupon enlightened.
One day Jianyuan took a hoe into the teaching hall and walked back and forth. He intended to display his insight. Sure enough Shishuang asked him, “What are you doing?” Jianyuan said, “Look ing for relics of the late teacher. ” Shishuang then cut off his foot steps, saying, “Immense waves spread far and wide, foaming billows flood the skies—what relics of the late master are you looking for? ” Since Jianyuan was looking for relics of the late teacher, why did Shishuang nevertheless talk to him this way? At this point, if you can comprehend the words, “I won’t say alive, I won’t say dead,” then you will know that the entire capacity is put to use through out. If you make up rationalizations, hesitate and ponder, then it will be impossible to see.
Jianyuan said, “ This is just where to apply effort.” See how after his enlightenment he can spontaneously speak so extraordi narily. Daowu’s skull bone was golden; when struck it sounded like metal. Xuedou commented, “ Heavens, heavens!” His mean ing comes down on both sides.
Taiyuan Fu said, “ The late teacher’s relics are still present.” Naturally what he said was fitting—at once he put this loose end in place.
But tell me, what is the most essential point? Where is effort
applied? Haven’t you heard it said that if you penetrate one point you penetrate myriad points at once? If you can penetrate “I won’t say, I won’t say,” then you silence everyone on earth. If not, you must study for yourself and awaken yourself. You mustn’t take it easy and let the days go by—you must value the time.
Verse
Rabbits and horses have horns—
(Chop them off. How extraordinary! How fresh and new!) Oxen and rams have no horns.
(Chop them off. What pattern is forming? You may fool others ... )
189c
The Blue Cliff Record
Nary a hair, nary a wisp —
(“In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honored one.” Where will you search?)
Like mountains, like peaks.
(Where are they? Waves arising on level ground. They clog your nostrils.)
The golden relics still exist right now—
(Cutting off tongues, choking throats. I put them to one side; I only fear there won’t be anyone who can recognize them.)
With foaming waves flooding the skies, where can they
be put?
(He lets his move go. They’re right where you are, but you miss them. They can’t be put in your eyes or ears.)
There’s no place to put them—
(After all. Yet Xuedou has managed somewhat. But as it turns out he’s sunk in a deep pit.)
Even Bodhidharma on his way back West has lost them. (What the ancestors do not complete becomes the burden
of the descendants. I’ll hit, saying, “Then why are they here?”)
Commentary
Xuedou knows how to add footnotes exceptionally well. He is a descendant of Yunmen, with the ability to include three statements in each statement. He explains thoroughly where it’s hard to express, opens up the unopenable. He produces the most crucial and essential point in verse, immediately saying, “Rabbits and horses have horns— / Oxen and rams have no horns.” Why do rabbits and horses have horns? Why have oxen and rams no horns? Only if you can penetrate the preceding story will you realize Xue dou has a way to help people.
Some mistakenly say, “Not saying is saying; no statement is a statement. Though rabbits and horses have no horns, Xuedou says
266
- One Arrow Smashes Three Barriers
they do; though oxen and rams have horns, Xuedou says they don’t.” But this has nothing to do with it. They don’t know that the ancients’ myriad changes, manifesting such spiritual powers, were just to break up your psychic ghost cave. If you can penetrate through, it’s not even worth using the word “understand.” “Rabbits and horses have horns— / Oxen and rams have no horns.
/Nary a hair, nary a wisp— / Like mountains, like peaks.” These four lines are like a wish-fulfilling jewel. Xuedou has spit it out whole right in front of you.
The last part of the verse is all settling the case according to
the facts. “ The golden relics still exist right now— / With foaming waves flooding the skies, where can they be put?” This versifies the statements of Shishuang and Taiyuan Fu. Why is there no place to put them? “Even Bodhidharma on his way back West has lost them.” The sacred tortoise is dragging its tail—this is where Xuedou turns around to help people. An ancient said, “Just study the living word, not the dead word.” Since the relics are lost, why is that bunch still struggling over them?
55. One Arrow Smashes Three Barriers
Introduction
Buddhas have never appeared in the world—there is no doctrine to be given to people. The Chan founder never came from India— he never passed on the mind transmission. Since people now do not understand, they frantically search outside themselves. They still don’t know that the one great matter right where they are can not be grasped even by the sages. Right now, where do seeing and not seeing, hearing and not hearing, speaking and not speaking, knowing and not knowing come from? If you cannot apprehend clearly, then try to understand inside the cave of complications.
The Blue Cliff Record
Story
Chan student Liang asked Qinshan, “How is it when a single arrowhead penetrates three barriers?” (Danger! Undeniably extraordinary—a fierce general.) Qinshan said, “Bring out the lord within the barriers.” (He comes on directly. He wants everyone to know. Mt. Zhu is high, Mt. An is low.) Liang said, “So then knowing my fault I must change.” (He sees the opportunity and acts. He’s al ready fallen into the secondary.) Qinshan said, “Why wait any longer?” (There’s capture, there’s release. When the wind blows the grass bends.) Liang said, “A well shot arrow doesn’t hit any where,” and set off. (After all. So he is trying to change his plea. He strikes with his second blow, but Qinshan feels no pain.) Qin shan said, “Come here a minute.” (Summoning is easy, dispatch ing is hard. What good is someone who turns when called?) Liang turned his head; (As it turns out he couldn’t hold fast. He’s hit.) Qinshan held him and said, “Leaving aside for the moment a single arrowhead penetrating three barriers, let’s see you shoot an ar row.” (He lies down in the tiger’s mouth. Waves against the cur rent. Having seen one’s duty but not doing it is lack of courage.) Liang hesitated. (As it turns out he searches without finding. I’d hit, saying, “Too bad.”) Qinshan hit him seven times and said, “I’ll allow as this fellow will be doubting for thirty years.” (The imperative must be so. There’s a beginning, there’s an end. Qinshan is correct at the beginning and correct at the end. It’s Qinshan who should receive this beating.)
Commentary
Liang was undeniably a battle-tested general. In Qinshan’s hand he turned to the left and revolved to the right, bringing down his whip and flashing his stirrups. In the end, what a pity—his bow is broken, his arrows are used up. Even so, “General Li Guang had a glorious reputation, but was never enfeoffed, so it was useless. ”
This story has an exit and an entry, a capture and a release. Taking charge of a situation, one brings it up face to face; face to
268
- One Arrow Smashes Three Barriers
face, taking charge of the situation is swift. Throughout there is no falling into being and nonbeing or gain and loss. This is called mysterious activity. If one lacks strength, one will stumble.
This monk too was a brave spirited Chan monk; he posed a question that really startles the crowd. Being an expert Chan teacher, Qinshan immediately knew the point of the question. How is it when a single arrow penetrates three barriers? Qinshan’s re ply meant, “For the moment leave aside your shooting through; try to bring out the lord within the barriers.” Liang’s saying, “So then knowing my fault I must change” was undeniably extraordi nary. Qinshan said, “Why wait any longer?” See how he replied— this question of Qinshan’s has no gaps.
Finally Liang just said, “A well-shot arrow doesn’t hit any
where,” and turned to leave. As soon as he saw him talking this way, Qinshan immediately called out to him, “Come here a minute.” After all Liang couldn’t hold fast; he turned his head. Qinshan held him and said, “Leaving aside for the moment a single arrow penetrating three barriers, let’s see you shoot an arrow.” When Liang hesitated, Qinshan struck him seven times. After this he went on to pronounce a curse on Liang, saying, “I’ll allow this fel low will be doubting for thirty years.”
Chang followers these days all say, “Why didn’t he hit him
eight times or six times? Why just seven times? Or else why didn’t he hit him immediately as he was asking him to try to shoot?” This may seem right but really isn’t. For this story you must not cherish the least bit of rationalizing calculation in your mind; you must pass beyond the words. Only then will you be able to have a way to penetrate the three barriers at a single statement and to shoot an arrow. If you keep thinking of right and wrong, you will never be able to get a grip on it.
At that time, if the monk had been a real man, Qinshan would
have been in great danger too. Since Liang could not carry out the imperative, he couldn’t avoid it being carried out on him. But tell me, ultimately, who is the lord within the barriers?
The Blue Cliff Record
Verse
I bring out the lord within the barriers for you—
(On target. Face to face, you still miss it. Retreat! Retreat!) You who would shoot an arrow, don’t be careless!
(Once dead, one doesn’t come back to life. Very obscure.
Gone by.)
Take an eye and the ears go deaf;
(In the left eye half a pound. He lets his move go. On the left not advancing, on the right not retreating.)
Let go an ear and the eyes both go blind.
(In the right eye eight ounces. He finds only one road.
Advance and you fall into a pit; retreat and a ferocious tiger bites you.)
I can admire a single arrow point penetrating three
barriers—
(How is it when the entire capacity comes forth this way?
What is he saying? The barriers have been smashed; the barriers have fallen.)
The trail of the arrow is truly clear.
(Dead man! Tsk! I hit, saying, “Do you see it?”) You don’t see?
(A leper drags along his companions. He’s creating
complications.)
Xuansha had words for this:
(Who isn’t Xuansha?)
“A great adept is the primordial ancestor of mind.” (With one line he cuts off the flow and puts myriad
impulses to rest. The great adept is under one’s own control. Before heaven and earth and the world existed, where would you live?)
Commentary
190c Several lines of this verse draw on a verse of Guizong. In Chan this is called talk of the source message, and Guizong was given the name “Return to the Source.”
270
One Arrow Smashes Three Barriers
Later Tongan heard of this story and said, “Mr. Liang was well able to shoot arrows, but he didn’t know how to hit the tar get.” A monk asked, “How can one hit the target?” Tongan said, “Who is the lord within the barriers?” Later a monk cited this to Qinshan. Qinshan said, “Even if Mr. Liang had been this way, he still wouldn’t have escaped my remarks. Although he is right, Dongan is not good-hearted.”
Xuedou says, “I bring out the lord within the barriers for you.” Open your eyes and you can see, close your eyes and you can see too. With form, without form—all is cut into three. “You who would shoot an arrow, don’t be careless!” If you are able to shoot well, you won’t be careless. If you don’t shoot well, obviously you are careless. “Take an eye and the ears go deaf; / Let go an ear and the eyes both go blind.” When an eye is taken, why do the ears then go deaf? When an ear is let go, why do the eyes then go blind? You can penetrate these words only if you have no grasping and rejec
tion; if you grasp and reject, it will be impossible to see.
“ I can admire a single arrow point penetrating three barri ers— / The trail of the arrow is truly clear.” Liang asked, “How is it when a single arrow point penetrates three barriers?” Qinshan said, “Bring out the lord within the barriers.” These statements and everything down to Tongan’s case at the end are all the trail of the arrow.
In the end, how is it? “You don’t see? / Xuansha had words for this: / ‘A great adept is the primordial ancestor of mind.’” It is commonplace to take mind as the ultimate principle of Chan; here though, why is the great adept still the ancestor of this mind even before the universe was born? If you can thoroughly understand this time, only then will you be able to recognize the lord within the barriers.
“ The trail of the arrow is truly clear.” If you want to hit the target, there clearly is a trail behind the arrow. But what is the trail behind the arrow? Before you’ll understand you must apply concentrated mental effort on your own.
271
The Blue Cliff Record
“A great adept is the primordial ancestor of mind.” Xuansha often taught his disciples this. This is from a verse of Guizong’s which Xuedou wrongly attributes to Xuansha. Students of today who take this mind as the original source can study till kingdom come and still never understand. For one who is a great adept, even mind is still just the descendant. “Before the universe” is already the secondary; at just such a time, what is “before the universe”?
56. The Stupid Oaf
Introduction
Before you penetrate, it seems like a silver mountain, an iron wall. Once you have penetrated, all along it was your self that was the silver mountain, the iron wall. If someone asks me, “So what?” I would just say, “Here, if you can reveal the sole poten-
i 9 ia tial and observe the sole object, occupy the essential bridge and not let profane or holy pass, this would not be beyond your inher ent capacity. ” If, on the other hand, you are not yet thus, observe the look of an ancient.
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “‘The supreme Way has no difficulties— just avoid discrimination.’ What is not discriminating?” (So many people cannot swallow these iron brambles. There are many people who have doubts about this. A mouthful of frost.) Zhaozhou said, “In the whole universe I alone am the honored one.” (He heaps up a pile of bones on level ground. All at once he’s taken Chan stu dents in tow. A talisman hard as cast iron.) The monk said, “ This is still discrimination.” (As it turns out he’s rolled along after Zhaozhou. He challenges the old fellow.) Zhaozhou said, “Stupid oaf! Where is the discrimination?” (Mountains crumble, rocks shat ter.) The monk was speechless. (I forgive you a beating. His eyes open wide, his mouth is agape.)
272
- The Stupid Oaf
Commentary
The monk questioned Zhaozhou about the saying, “ The supreme Way has no difficulties—just avoid discrimination.” There are quite a few people who misunderstand. How so? They say the supreme Way basically has no difficulties, but also there is nothing about it that’s not difficult; it’s just that it’s only averse to discrimination. If you understand this way, you won’t even see it in a dream in ten thousand years.
Zhaozhou often used this saying to question people; this monk
turned around and used it to question him. If you look in the words, this monk does after all startle heaven and shake the earth. If it is not in the words, then what? Study for thirty more years. You must be able to turn this little key before it will open. To grab the tiger’s whiskers you need your own abilities.
Heedless of the mortal danger, the monk dared to grab the tiger’s whiskers and said, “ This is still discrimination.” Zhaozhou immediately blocked him by saying, “Stupid oaf! Where is the dis crimination?” Had the monk asked anyone else, he would have seen him flustered and confused. But what could he do to this old adept? Zhaozhou moved where it was impossible to move, turned where it was impossible to turn. If you can pass through, all kinds of vicious words and mundane nonsense are exquisite; when you get to the real point, then you see Zhaozhou’s naked heart. When the monk said he was still discriminating, Zhaozhou said, “Stupid oaf! Where is the discrimination?” The eye of Chan teachers must be thus, like the golden winged bird parting the ocean waters to seize a dragon directly and swallow it.
Verse
Deep as the ocean,
(What measure is this? The abyssal source is impossible to fathom. There is still a half yet unattained.)
Firm as a mountain.
(Who can shake him? This is still only halfway there.)
273
The Blue Cliff Record
191b A mosquito sports in the fierce wind in the sky,
(There are some like this. After all, he didn’t assess his strength; he certainly didn’t measure himself.)
An ant tries to shake an iron pillar.
(There’s no different dirt in the same hole. He’s out of touch.
You’re a fellow student with him.) Discrimination—
(Carrying water to sell at the river. What is he saying?
Zhaozhou is here.)
A cloth drum under the eaves.
(It is already there before anything is said. They’re buried in the same pit, extremely numerous. I hit, saying, “I choke you off. ”)
Commentary
Xuedou explains Zhaozhou’s two lines in the story by saying, “ Deep as the ocean, / Firm as a mountain.” The monk said, “ This is still discrimination,” so Xuedou says that this monk is like a mosquito playing in a gale, like an ant trying to shake an iron pillar. Xuedou praises this monk’s bravery. Why? “The supreme Way has no dif ficulties” is something superior people use, yet this monk dared to talk this way. Zhaozhou didn’t let him go; he said, “Stupid oaf! Where is the discrimination?” Isn’t this a fierce wind, an iron pillar? “Discrimination— / A cloth drum under the eaves.” At the
end Xuedou picks this up to bring you to life. If you recognize it clearly, you are carrying the whole thing yourself. What’s the rea son? “If you want intimate understanding, don’t use a question to ask. ” That is why “the cloth drum under the eaves. ”
274
58. Zhaozhou Can’t Explain
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, ‘“The supreme Way has no difficulties— just avoid discrimination’—isn’t this a cliché for people today?” (A double case. This too is a point that makes people doubt. He’s tread ing on a scale beam hard as iron. There’s still this. Don’t judge others based on yourself.) Zhaozhou said, “Once someone asked me, and I simply couldn’t explain for five years.” (Honest speech is better than a red face. A monkey eats a caterpillar; a mosquito bites an iron ox.)
Commentary
Zhaozhou usually didn’t hit or shout; his action went beyond hit ting and shouting. This monk’s question was also very special; it would have been hard for anyone but Zhaozhou to answer. Since Zhaozhou was an adept, he just said, “Once someone asked me, and I simply couldn’t explain for five years.” The question was like a huge wall, and the answer didn’t make light of it. Just under stand it this way and it’s right here; if you don’t understand, don’t make rationalizations.
When Wayfarer Zong was the scribe in Xuedou’s community,
Xuedou had him contemplate “The supreme way has no difficulties; just avoid discrimination.” Thereby Zong had an awakening. One day Xuedou asked him, “What is the meaning of ‘The supreme Way has no difficulties; just avoid discriminating’? ” Zong said, “Animal, animal.” Later he lived in seclusion. Whenever he went to teach, he wrapped his straw sandals and his scriptures in his vestment. A monk asked, “What is your family style?” Zong said, “Straw sandals wrapped in a vestment.” The monk said, “What does this mean?” Zong said, “ I go downtown in my bare feet.”
Thus it is said, “Making offerings to the Buddha is not a matter of a lot of incense.” If you can penetrate through to freedom, then letting go or holding on is up to you. Since this story is one question
275
The Blue Cliff Record
and one answer, clear and perfectly obvious, why did Zhaozhou say he couldn’t explain? And tell me, is this a cliché for people today
i 9 ic or not? Did Zhaozhou answer him inside or outside the nest of cliches? You must realize that this matter isn’t in words. One who penetrates the bone and marrow, whose trust is thoroughgoing, will be like a dragon in water, like a tiger in the mountains.
Verse
The elephant king trumpets;
(Noblest of the noble, riches of the rich. Who isn’t awed?
Good news.) The lion roars.
(An expert among experts. All the beasts’ brains burst. A good route to enter by.)
Flavorless talk
(When we’re reviling each other, you may lock jaws with me. It’s like an iron spike; where is there to bite into? He couldn’t explain for five years and more; carrying all China in a single leaf boat, far in the distant flats, waves are rising; who knows there is another, better realm of thought?)
Chokes people off.
(When we’re spitting on each other, you may spray me with slobber. Ha! What are you saying?)
South, north, east, west—
(Is there? Is there? In the heavens, on earth. Heavens, heavens!)
The raven flies; the rabbit runs.
(Throughout all time. Buried alive all at once.)
Commentary
Zhaozhou said, “Once someone asked me, and I simply couldn’t explain for five years. ” This is like an elephant trumpeting, a lion roaring, flavorless talk choking people off. “South, north, east, west— / The raven flies; the rabbit runs.” If Xuedou didn’t have
276
Why Not Quote It Fully?
the last lines, where else would he have come from? Since the raven (sun) flies, and the rabbit (moon) runs, tell me, where do Zhaozhou, Xuedou, and I end up?
59. Why Not Quote It Fully?
Introduction
He includes the heavens and encompasses the earth, going be yond holy and profane. He points out the ineffable mind of Nir vana in the midst of all things and decisively establishes the lifeline of Chan practitioners in the midst of trials and tribulations. Tell me, endowed with whose power can one get to be this way?
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “‘The supreme Way has no difficulties— just avoid discrimination.’” (Again it’s hauled out. What is he say ing? A triple case.) “As soon as there are words spoken, this is discrimination.” (He takes a mouthful of frost.) “So how do you help people?” (He presses the old fellow. Kaa!) Zhaozhou said, “Why don’t you quote this saying in full?” (The thief is a small man, but his wisdom surpasses a lord’s. Zhaozhou is a thief who steals in broad daylight. He’s riding the bandit’s horse in pursuit of the bandit.) The monk said, “I only remember up to here.” (Two people playing with mud. The monk has met a robber. When immobile it’s hard to be a worthy opponent.) Zhaozhou said, “It’s just this: ‘The supreme Way has no difficulties—just avoid discrimination.’” (In the end it’s up to this old fellow. The monk had his eyes snatched away; he’s been overtaken.)
Commentary
Zhaozhou’s saying, “ It’s just this: ‘The supreme Way has no difficulties—just avoid discrimination’,” is like a spark, like light ning. Capturing and releasing, killing and giving life—he has such
277
The Blue Cliff Record
free mastery. All agree Zhaozhou has eloquence beyond the com mon crowd.
Zhaozhou often taught with this saying: “‘The supreme Way has no difficulties—just avoid discrimination.’ As soon as there are words spoken, ‘this is discrimination,’ ‘this is clarity.’ I do not
abide in clarity; do you still preserve anything?” Once a monk asked, “Since you do not abide in clarity, what is to be preserved?” Zhaozhou said, “I don’t know either.” The monk said, “If you don’t know, why do you say you don’t abide in clarity?” Zhaozhou said, “You have managed to ask about the matter; you can go now.”
Later a monk picked on his gap to question him; this monk’s questioning was undeniably extraordinary, but nevertheless it was just mental activity. Someone else would have been unable to handle this monk, but Zhaozhou was an adept; he immediately said, “Why not quote this saying in full?” The monk too knew how to turn around and show his mettle: he said, “I only remember up to here.” It seems just like an arrangement. Zhaozhou answered directly, not needing any calculations. An ancient said of this, “Continuity is indeed difficult.” Zhaozhou distinguished dragons from snakes and differentiated right from wrong, after all a true adept. He snatched the monks’ eyes away without running afoul of his sharp point. Without relying on calculation, he was sponta neously exactly appropriate.
It’s wrong to say either that he made a statement or didn’t make a statement; nor will it do to say he neither made nor didn’t make a statement. Zhaozhou left behind all permutations of logic. Why? If one discusses this matter, it is like sparks, like lightning. Only if you look quickly can you see it. If you vacillate you won’t avoid losing your life.
Verse
Water poured on cannot wet;
(What are you saying? Too deep and remote. What is there to discuss?)
Wind blowing cannot penetrate.
278
59. Why Not Quote It Fully?
(Like space. Hard, impervious. Address your plea to the sky.)
The tiger prowls; the dragon walks;
(He is independent, indeed outstanding.) Ghosts howl; spirits wail.
(Everyone cover your ears! When the wind blows the grasses bend. Are you not a fellow student of theirs?)
His head is three feet long—I wonder who it is?
(A strange being. A sage from where? Do you see?) Standing on one foot, he answers back without speaking. (Tsk! He draws back his head and lets his move go.
Mountain sprite? He shouldn’t be let go, so I strike.)
Commentary
“Water poured on cannot wet; / Wind blowing cannot penetrate. / The tiger prowls; the dragon walks; / Ghosts howl; spirits wail.” There’s no place for you to chew on. These four lines refer to Zhaozhou’s answer, which is indeed like a dragon galloping, a ti ger charging. This monk just got an embarrassment. Not only this monk; even the ghosts howl, the spirits wail. It’s like when the wind blows the grasses bow.
Of the final two lines it could be said, “One son has intimately
understood.” “His head is three feet long—I wonder who it is? / Standing on one foot, he answers back without speaking.” A monk asked an ancient, “What is the Buddha?” The ancient said, “The head is three feet long, the neck two inches long.” Xuedou draws on this to use in the verse. Do you people recognize him? Not even I know him. All at once Xuedou has fully depicted Zhaozhou. The real one has always been within—all of you must investigate care fully and try to see it.
192b
60. The Staff Changes into a Dragon
Introduction
Buddhas and sentient beings—fundamentally there’s no difference between them. Mountains, rivers, and oneself—how could there be any distinction? Why then is it all divided into two sides? Even if you can set words turning and occupy the essential bridge, it still won’t do to let go. If you don’t let go, the whole earth isn’t worth grasping. But what is the place to set words turning?
Story
Yunmen showed his staff to the assembly and said, (He transforms according to the occasion. The sword that kills, the sword that brings life. He’s snatched your eyes away.) “ The staff has changed into a dragon” (Why be roundabout? Why change?) “and swal lowed the universe.” (No Chan practitioners can preserve their lives. Did he choke you? Where will you settle and live?) “Moun tains, rivers, the whole earth—where are they to be found?” (In the ten directions there are no walls; on the four sides there are no gates. East, west, south, north, the four intermediate points, above, below. What about this?)
Commentary
“The staff has changed into a dragon and swallowed the universe. Where are the mountains, rivers, and earth to be found?” If you say they exist, you are blind; if you say they don’t exist, you are dead. Do you see where Yunmen helped people? Bring the staff back to me!
People these days do not understand Yunmen’s solitary rev elation. Instead they say he went to form to explain mind, relied on things to reveal principle. But the Buddha couldn’t have been ignorant of this theory as he taught the Dharma for forty-nine years; why then did he also need to hold up the flower for Kasyapa’s smile? The old fellow then caused confusion by saying, “I have the treasury of vision of truth, the ineffable mind of Nirvana—these I
280
- The Staff Changes into a Dragon
pass on to Kasyapa.” Why was there still a need for the specially transmitted mind seal? Given that you are Chan students, do you understand this specially transmitted mind?
If there is a single thing in your heart, then mountains, riv
ers, the whole earth, appear in profusion before you; if there isn’t anything in your heart, then outside there is nothing at all. How can you talk about principle and knowledge fusing, about world and mind merging? What’s the reason? When one is understood, all are understood; when one is clear, all are clear.
Changsha said, “People studying the Way don’t know the real, because they’ve always recognized their cognizing mind; this, the basis of countless eons of birth and death, fools call the original person.” If you suddenly break through the psychophysical ele ments so that body and mind are one and there is nothing else outside your body, you still haven’t attained the other half. How can you talk about revealing mind in form, demonstrating prin ciple by phenomena?
An ancient said, “As soon as one atom arises, the whole world
is contained therein.” But which atom is this? If you can know this atom, you can know the staff. As soon as Yunmen picks up his staff, we immediately see his unconfined marvelous activity. Such talk is already complicating the matter; how much more so is trans forming the staff into a dragon! Librarian Qing said, “ Has there ever been such talk in the Buddhist canon?” Every time he turned to his staff, Yunmen brought out the great function of his whole capacity and helped people in a way that was very lively.
Bajiao said, “If you have a staff, I’ll give you a staff; if you have no staff, I ’ll take your staff away.”
Yongjia said, “ This is not an empty exhibition of form; it is the
actual traces of the Buddha’s precious staff.”
Long ago in the time of Dlpankara Buddha, the future Bud dha spread his hair to cover some mud for that Buddha. Dipankara said, “A temple should be built here.” An elder present thereupon set up a blade of grass there and said, “The temple has been built. ” Tell me, where is this scene to be found?
192c
The Blue Cliff Record
Xuedou said, “At a blow, experience it; at a shout, receive it rightly. ” Tell me, receive what rightly? Suppose someone asks what the staff is—should you turn a backflip? Should you clap your hands? All this would be mental gymnastics, with no connection.
Verse
The staff swallows the universe —
(What is he saying? The staff is used only for beating dogs.)
He vainly talks of peach blossoms floating on the rushing waves.
(Open the passage to the beyond, and all the sages will stand downwind. It’s not a matter of grasping clouds and fog. Being able to say it thousands of times isn’t as good as catching it once.)
For those with tails burnt off, it’s not a matter of grasping clouds and fog;
(On all sides—I just observe. It’s just a stick of dry firewood.)
Why should the exhausted ones necessarily lose their courage and spirit?
(Everyone’s temper is like a king’s. It’s just that you are far, far away. What will you do about being scared?)
I have picked it up—
(Thanks for being so compassionate; you’re kindhearted.) Do you hear or not?
(You can’t avoid falling into the weeds. Why hear?) One simply must be completely free —
(Leftover soup, spoiled food. Where does the universe come from?)
Stop any further confusion.
(One who quotes this rule has already broken it. It’s about to reach your head. I strike and say, “It won’t do to let go. ”)
With seventy-two blows I ’m letting you off easy—
282
- The Staff Changes into a Dragon
(I’ve never carried out this imperative, but if you are going to act according to the imperative, it’s lucky you found me.)
Even with one hundred fifty it’s hard to forgive you.
(A just order must be carried out. How could it only be this many? Even if he gave three thousand blows in the morning and eight hundred in the evening, what good would it do?)
Xuedou suddenly picked up his staff and came down
from his seat;
All at once the assembly scattered and fled.
(Why does Xuedou have a dragon’s head but a snake’s tail?)
Commentary
Ynnmen helps people by a circuitous path; Xuedou helps people by a direct shortcut. That’s why Xuedou discards the transforma tion into a dragon; he doesn’t need such talk, just “the staff swal lows the universe.” Xuedou’s intent is to have people avoid fanciful interpretations. He goes on to say, “He vainly talks of peach blossoms floating on the rushing waves.” There’s no further need for changing into a dragon. At the Gate of Yu there’s a three level rapids; every year in the third month when the peach blossoms bloom and the waves rise, the fish who can go against the current and leap past the rapids change into dragons. Xuedou says that even if they change into dragons, this too is still vain talk.
“For those with tails burnt off it’s not a matter of grasping clouds and fog.” When fish pass through the Gate of Yu a celestial fire burns their tails; they grab the clouds and fog and depart. Xuedou means that though they change into dragons, it still isn’t a matter of grabbing clouds and fog. “Why should the exhausted ones necessarily lose their courage and spirit?” A scripture commentary says, “Even bodhisattvas who have built up practice gasp for breath at the gate of Yu.” This means that the realm of the cosmic unity is not something mastered by small virtue or small
The Blue Cliff Record
knowledge. It’s like the fish trying to pass through the Gate of Yu, where those who cannot pass through fail and fall back, lying in the shoals of stagnant water, exhausted and gasping. Xuedou means that once they fail and fall back, they always lose their courage and spirit.
“ I have picked it up— / Do you hear or not?” Again he adds footnotes; all at once he’s swept it clean for you. All of you “simply must be completely free— / Stop any further confusion.” If you go on with confusion, you have lost the staff.
“With seventy-two blows I ’m still letting you off easy— / Even with a hundred fifty it’s hard to forgive you.” Xuedou has discarded the heavy for the light for your sake. An ancient said, “Seventy- two blows turns into one hundred fifty.” These days people misunderstand and just calculate numerically and say, “It should be seventy-five blows; why is it instead just seventy-two blows? ” They still don’t realize that the ancient’s meaning was outside the words. Thus it is said, “ This matter is not in words.” Xuedou drew on this to use in order to avoid people later on trying to rationalize. Even if you’re truly free, you still rightly deserve seventy-two blows— this is still letting you off easy. If you’re not free like this at all, it would be hard to let you go with one hundred fifty.
Xuedou had completed the verse all at once, yet he picked up his staff again to help some more. Nevertheless, there wasn’t even one with blood under his skin.
61. One Atom
Introduction
To set up the banner of the teaching and establish its fundamental message is a matter for a genuine master. To judge dragons and snakes and distinguish initiate from naive, one must be an accomplished teacher. As for discussing killing and giving life on
the edge of a sword, discerning what is appropriate for the moment
284
- One Atom
with a staff, this I leave aside for the moment; just tell me in one phrase how you will assess the matter of occupying the heartland single-handedly.
Story
Fengxue said, (He rouses clouds and brings rain. He wants to be host and be guest.) “ If you set up a single atom,” (“ I am king of the teaching, autonomous master of the teaching.” Clusters of flowers, clusters of brocade.) “the nation flourishes;” (This is not the busi ness of his house.) “if you do not set up a single atom,” (He sweeps away the tracks and obliterates the traces; having lost the eyes, the nostrils are gone too.) “the nation perishes.” (Everywhere light shines. What is the use of the nation? This is entirely the business of his house.) Xuedou raised his staff and said, (One must stand like a mile-high wall to accomplish this. Bodhidharma is here.) “Are there any Chan practitioners who will live together and die together?” (Return the story to me. Even if you are thus, if you want to even out what is uneven, it is necessary to deal with Xuedou. But do you know? If you do, I admit you are free. If not, you get hit three thousand times in the morning, eight hundred times in the evening.)
Commentary
“If you set up a single atom, the nation flourishes; if you don’t set up a single atom, the nation perishes. ” Tell me, is it right to set up an atom, or is it right not to set up an atom? When you get here, your great function must become manifest before you’ll understand. That is why Fengxue said, “Even if you can grasp it before it is spoken of, still this is remaining in the shell, wandering in limitation; even if you thoroughly penetrate it at a single phrase, you still won’t avoid insane views on the way.”
Fengxue was an adept in the line of Linji; he directly used his own provisions. “If you set up a single atom, the nation flourishes, and the old peasants frown.” The meaning lies in the fact that to
The Blue Cliff Record
establish a nation and stabilize the country, it is necessary to rely on crafty ministers and valiant generals; after that, the unicorn appears, the phoenix soars—these are the auspicious symbols of the halcyon. How could the people of three-family villages know there are such things? When you do not set up a single atom, the nation perishes, the wind blows chill; why do the old peasants come out and sing hallelujah? Just because the nation has perished. In the Dong line they call this the point of transformation: there is no more Buddha, nor sentient beings; no affirmation, no negation, no good, no bad—it is beyond sound and echo, track or trace. That is why it is said, “ Though gold dust is precious, in the eye it obstructs vision.” And it is said, “Gold dust is a cataract on the eye; the jewel in one’s clothes is the defilement of the Dharma. When even one’s own spirit is not esteemed, who are the Buddhas and patriarchs?” Piercing and penetrating spiritual powers and their wondrous action would not be considered exceptional; when one gets here, with the patch robe over the head, myriad concerns cease—at this time, one does not “understand” anything at all. If one were to speak any more of mind, of nature, of the profound, of the wondrous, it would not be any use at all. Why? “One has one’s own mountain spirit realm.”
Nanquan said, “The seven hundred eminent monks at Huang- mei all understood Buddhism; they did not inherit the patriarchy.
Only workman Lu didn’t understand Buddhism—so he became i93 c the patriarch.” He also said, “ The Buddhas of all times do not know what is; cats and oxen know what is.” The old peasants either frown or sing, but tell me how you will understand. And what eye
do they possess, that they are like this? You should know that in front of the old peasants’ gates no ordinances are posted.
Xuedou, having raised both sides, finally lifts up his staff and says, “Are there any Chan practitioners who will live together and die together? ” Had there been someone who could come forth and make a statement, alternately acting as guest and host, that one would have avoided this old fellow Xuedou’s pointing to him self in the end.
286
- One Atom
Verse
The old peasants may frown,
(There is someone three thousand miles away. Delicious food is not for a satisfied man to eat.)
But for now I hope the nation establishes a sturdy foundation.
(Everyone knows the song of peace. When you want to go, go; when you want to stay, stay. The whole world is one gate of liberation. How will you establish it?)
Crafty ministers, valiant generals—where are they now? (Are there any? The land is broad, the people few, and
rarely is anyone met with. But do not point to yourself.) Myriad miles’ pure wind, one only knows for oneself.
(As if there were no one else! Who will you have sweep the ground? Here’s another cloud-dwelling saint.)
Commentary
Previously he quoted both sides; here instead he just raises one side and lets the other go. He cuts down the long and adds to the short, abandons the heavy and goes along with the light. Thus he says, “The peasants may frown, / But for now I hope the nation establishes a sturdy foundation. / Crafty ministers, valiant generals—where are they now?” In one gulp he has swallowed everyone completely. That is why I say that the land is broad, the people few, and rarely is anyone met with. Are there any who know? Come forth and be buried in the same pit. “Myriad miles’ pure wind, one only knows for oneself.” This is where Xuedou points to himself.
287
62. Within There Is a Jewel
Introduction
By means of the knowledge that has no teacher, one produces the marvelous function of no doing; by means of unconditional com passion, one acts unasked as an excellent friend. In one statement there is killing, there is giving life; in one act there is releasing, there is capturing. Tell me, who has ever been thus?
Story
Yunmen said, “Within heaven and earth,” (The land is broad, the people few. The six directions cannot contain it.) “through space and time,” (Stop living in a ghost cave. You already missed it.) “there is a jewel” (Where is it? Light is produced. Just don’t seek it in the ghost cave.) “hidden in the mountain of form.” (A confrontation. Check!) “Pick up a lamp and go into the Buddha hall;” (It still can be discussed.) “take the triple gate and bring it on the lamp.” (Yunmen is right, but undeniably difficult to understand. This seems to be getting somewhere, but if you examine thoroughly, you will not avoid the odor of dung.)
Commentary
Yunmen says, “Within heaven and earth, through space and time, there is a jewel, hidden in the mountain of form.” Does Yunmen intend this as a fishing pole or a lamp? These lines are paraphrased
i94 a from Sengzhao’s Jewel Treasury; Yunmen used them to teach. The main idea is “How can you conceal a priceless jewel in the psycho physical elements?” The Jewel Treasury Treatise is in accord with Chan teaching. Quoting it, Jingqing asked Caoshan, “How is it when there is ultimately no body in the empty noumenon? ” Cao shan said, “Noumenon is thus; what about phenomena?” Jingqing said, “As is noumenon, so are phenomena.” Caoshan said, “You can fool me, but what about the eyes of the sages?” Jingqing said, “Without the eyes of the sages, how could you know it is not so?”
288
- Within There Is a Jewel
Caoshan said, “Officially, not even a needle is admitted; privately, even a cart and horse can pass. ”
So it was said, “Within heaven and earth, in space and time,
there is a jewel, hidden in the mountain of form.” The intent of this is to show that everyone is fully endowed, each individual is complete. Yunmen thus brought it up to show his group; it is to tally obvious—he couldn’t go on and add interpretations for you like a professor. But he is compassionate and adds a footnote for you: “ Pick up a lamp and go into the Buddha hall; bring the triple gate on the lamp.” Now tell me, what does Yunmen mean by this? An ancient said, “The true nature of ignorance is identical to the nature of Buddhahood; the empty body of illusion is identical to the body of reality.” It is also said, “See the Buddha mind right in the ordinary mind.”
The mountain of form is the body-mind. “Within there is a
jewel, hidden in the mountain of form.” That is why it is said, “All Buddhas are in the mind; the deluded seek outside. Though they have a precious jewel within, they do not know it, and they let it rest there all their lives.” It is also said, “The Buddha nature clearly manifests, but people dwelling on form cannot see it. If one realizes that people have no self, how does one’s own face differ from the Buddha’s face? The mind is the original mind, the face is the face born of woman—the rock of ages may be moved, but here
there is no change.”
Some people acknowledge radiant shining spirit as the jewel, but they cannot make use of it, and they do not realize its subtlety. Therefore they cannot set it in motion and cannot bring it out in action. An ancient said, “Reaching an impasse, change; having changed, you can get through. ”
“Pick up a lamp and head into the Buddha hall” —as a matter
of ordinary sense this can be fathomed, but what about “bring the triple gate on the lamp”? Yunmen has broken up emotional dis crimination, intellectual ideas, gain, loss, affirmation, and negation, all at once for you. Xuedou has said, “I like the fresh devices
of Yunmen; all his life he removed fixations and hang-ups for 194b
The Blue Cliff Record
people.” He also said, “I do not know how many sit on the chair of rank; but the sharp sword cutting away causes others’ admiration.” When he said, “Pick up a lamp and go into the Buddha hall,” this has already cut off completely; yet, “bring the triple gate on the lamp.” If you discuss this matter, it is like sparks, like lightning. Yunmen said, “If you would attain, just seek a way of entry; Buddhas numerous as atoms are under your feet, and the three treasuries of holy teachings are on your tongues; but this is not as good as being enlightened. Do not think falsely: sky is sky, earth is earth, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, monks are monks, lay people are lay people. ” After a pause he said, “Bring me the immovable mountain before you.” Then a monk said, “How is it when a student sees that mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers?” Yunmen drew a line with his hand and said, “Why is the triple gate passing through here?” He feared you would die, so he said, “When you know, it’s ambrosia; if you don’t, it becomes poison.” This is why it is said, “When completely thoroughly under
stood, there is nothing to understand; the most abstruse profound mystery is still to be scorned.”
Xuedou again brought it up and said, “Within heaven and earth, through space and time, there is a jewel, hidden in the mountain of form. It is hung on a wall; for nine years Bodhidharma did not dare to look at it straight on. If any Chan practitioners want to see it now, I will hit them right on the spine with my staff.” See how these true teachers of Chan never use any actual doctrine to tie people up. Xuansha said, “ Though you try to enmesh them in a trap, they won’t stay; though you call after them, they won’t turn around.” But even if one is like this, still one is a sacred tortoise dragging its tail.
Verse
Look, look!
(Set your eyes on high. Why look? A black dragon admires a gem.)
On the ancient bank, who holds the fishing pole?
290
- Within There Is a Jewel
(Alone, quite alone; stolid, quite stolid. He draws his bow after the bandit is gone. If you see jowls on the back of someone’s head, don’t have anything to do with him.)
Clouds roll on,
(Cut them off. A hundred layers, a thousand levels. A greasy hat, a stinking shirt.)
The water, vast and boundless—
(Left and right it goes, blocking in front and surrounding in back.)
The white flowers in the moonlight you must see for
yourself.
(When you see them you’ll go blind. If you can comprehend Yunmen’s words, you will see Xuedou’s last statement.)
Commentary
If you can comprehend Yunmen’s words, then you will see how Xuedou helps people. He goes to the last two phrases of Yunmen’s address and there gives you a footnote, saying, “Look, look!” If you thereupon make raising your eyebrows and glinting your eyes your understanding, you are out of touch.
An ancient said, “The spiritual light shines alone, transcend ing the senses; the essential substance is manifest, real and eter nal. It is not captured in writings. The nature of the mind has no defilement; it is inherently complete. Just get rid of delusive clingings and merge with the Buddha that is as is.” If you just raise your brows and glint and sit there forever, how will you be able to transcend the senses?
Xuedou is saying, “Look, look! Yunmen is as though on an
ancient bank holding a fishing pole; the clouds roll, the water is
boundless. The bright moon reflects white flowers, white flowers reflect the bright moon. At this moment, whose realm is this? ” If
you can perceive it immediately and directly, the former and the latter phrases are just like one phrase.
291
63. Nanquan Kills a Cat
Introduction
Right where the road of ideation cannot reach is good to bring to attention; where verbal explanation cannot reach, you must set your eyes on it quickly. If your thunder peals and comets fly, then you can overturn lakes and topple mountains. Is there anyone in the crowd who can manage this?
Story
At Nanquan’s place one day the monks of the east and west halls were arguing over a cat. (It’s not just today that they’re haggling. This is a case of degeneracy.) When Nanquan saw this, he held up the cat and said, “If you can speak, I won’t kill it.” (When the true imperative goes into effect, the ten directions are subdued. This old fellow has the capability to distinguish dragons from snakes.) No one replied; (What a pity to let it go. A bunch of ignoramuses— what are they worth? Phony Chan followers are most plentiful.) Nanquan cut the cat in two. (Sharp! If he hadn’t acted thus, they would all be playing with mud. He draws the bow after the brig and is gone. Already this is secondary; he should have been hit before he even picked it up.)
Commentary
An accomplished Chan master: see his action and stillness, going out and entering in. What was his inner meaning? This story about killing the cat is widely discussed in Chan communities every where. Some say that the very picking up is it; some say it lies in the cutting. But actually these bear no relation to it at all. Had he not held it up, would you still spin out all sorts of rationalizations? You still don t know that this ancient had the eye to settle heaven and earth, and he had the sword to settle heaven and earth.
Now you tell me, after all, who was it that killed the cat? Just when Nanquan held it up and said, “If you can speak, I won’t kill
292
- Nanquan Kills a Cat
it, ” at that moment, if there were someone who could speak, would Nanquan have killed it or not? This is why I say when the true imperative goes into effect the ten directions are subdued. Stick your head out beyond the heavens and look. Who’s there?
The fact is that he really did not kill. The story is not in killing or not killing. This matter is clearly known; it is so obvious. It is not to be found in emotions or opinions; if you go on searching in emotions and opinions, you turn against Nanquan. Just see it right on the knife’s edge. Being is all right, nonbeing is all right, nei ther being nor nonbeing is all right too. Hence the ancient saying, “At an impasse, change; change and you get through.” People nowa days do not know how to change and get through; they only go running to words. When Nanquan held up the cat in this way, he couldn’t have been telling people they should be able to say some thing; he just wanted people to attain on their own, each act on their own, and know for themselves. If you do not understand it this way, after all you will grope without finding it.
Verse
In both halls they are phony Chan followers; (Familiar words come from a familiar speaker. He has
said it all in one statement. He settles the case according to the facts.)
Stirring up smoke and dust, they are helpless.
(Look; what settlement will you make? A completely obvious case. Still there’s something here.)
Fortunately there is Nanquan who is able to bring up the imperative;
(Raising my whisk, I say, “ It’s just like this.” Nanquan
attains a little. He uses the fine diamond sword to cut mud.)
With one stroke of the knife he cuts in two, letting the
pieces be lopsided as they may.
(Shattered. If someone should hold the knife still, see what he would do. He can’t be let go, so I strike.)
293
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
“ In both halls they are phony Chan followers.” Xuedou does not die at the phrase and also does not acknowledge anything half- baked. He has a place to turn, so he says, “Stirring up smoke and dust, they are helpless.” Xuedou and Nanquan walk hand in hand; in one statement he has said it all. The leaders of the two halls have no place to rest their heads; everywhere they go they just stir up smoke and dust, unable to accomplish anything. Fortunately there is Nanquan to settle this case for them, and he wraps it up cleanly and thoroughly. But what can be done for them, who are neither here nor there? So Xuedou said, “Fortunately there is Nanquan who is able to bring up the imperative; / With one stroke of the knife he cuts in two, letting the pieces be lopsided as they may. ” He directly cuts in two with one knife, without further con
cern about unevenness. But tell me, what imperative is Nanquan going by?
64. Nanquan Questions Zhaozhou
Story
Nanquan told Zhaozhou the preceding story to question him. (They must be of like minds before this is possible. Only one on the same road would know.) Zhaozhou immediately took off his sandals, placed them on his head, and left. (He does not avoid trailing mud and dripping water.) Nanquan said, “ Had you been here, you could have saved the cat.” (Singing and clapping, they accompany each other; those who know the tune are few. He adds error to error.)
Commentary
Zhaozhou was Nanquan’s true heir; when Nanquan spoke of the head, Zhaozhou understood the tail; when it is brought up, he immediately knows where it comes down.
294
- Nanquan Questions Zhaozhou
In the evening Nanquan told Zhaozhou the preceding story and asked him about it. Zhaozhou was an old adept; he immedi ately took off his sandals, put them on his head, and left. Nanquan said, “Had you been here, you could have saved the cat.” But tell me, was it really like this or not? Nanquan said, “If you can speak, I won’t kill it.” This is like a spark, like lightning. Zhaozhou im mediately took off his sandals, put them on his head, and left; he studied the living word, not the dead word—each day renewed, each moment renewed. Even a thousand sages could not deflect him a bit. You must bring forth your own family treasure; only then will you see the great function of the total capacity. He is saying, “I am king of the Dharma, free in all things.”
Many misunderstand and say that Zhaozhou temporarily made
his sandals into the cat. Some say he meant that when Nanquan said, “If you can speak, I won’t kill it,” he would have then put his sandals on his head and left—“It’s just you killing the cat, it’s none of my business.” But this has nothing to do with it; this is just mental gymnastics. They still don’t know that the ancient s meaning was like the universal cover of the sky, like the universal support of the earth.
That father and son harmonized with each other; their minds 195b
met. When Nanquan raised the beginning, Zhaozhou knew the end. Students these days do not know the turning point of the ancients, and they vainly go the road to ideation to figure them out. If you want to see, just go to the turning points of Nanquan and Zhaozhou and you will see them well.
Verse
The case completed, he questions Zhaozhou;
(The words are still in our ears. No use to cut any more.
He hangs a medicine bag on the back of a hearse.) In the capital city, he’s free to wander at leisure.
(He has attained such joyful liveliness, such freedom. He picks the plants as they come to hand. I cannot but let you go on thus.)
295
The Blue Cliff Record
His sandals he wears on his head—no one understands. (Yet there’s one or a half. This is a special style. It’s met
in the light, and met in darkness too.) Returning to his native village, then he rests.
(You should be given a beating right where you stand. But tell me, where is the fault? It’s just that you are raising waves where there is no wind. They let each other off. I only fear you will not be thus; if so, it’s quite unusual.)
Commentary
“The case completed, he questions Zhaozhou.” The librarian Qing said, “It is like a man settling a case; eight strokes of the cane is eight strokes, thirteen is thirteen. Already he has settled it completely, yet he brings it up to ask Zhaozhou. ”
Zhaozhou was his disciple and understood Nanquan’s mean ing. He has passed completely through; struck, he resounds and immediately rolls. He has the eyes and brain of a true adept; as soon as he hears it mentioned he gets right up and acts on it.
Xuedou says, “ In the capital city, he is free to roam at leisure.” He is quite a dotard. An ancient said, “ Though the capital is pleas ant, it is not a place to stay for long.” It has also been said, “ The capital is quite noisy; my province is peaceful.” Still, you must recognize what is appropriate to the situation and distinguish good and bad before you will understand.
“His sandals he wears on his head—no one understands.” When he put the sandals on his head, this bit, though without so much ado, is why it is said, “Only I myself can know; only I myself can experience it.” Then you will be able to see how Nanquan, Zhao zhou, and Xuedou attained alike and acted alike.
But tell me, right now, how will you understand? “Returning to his native village, then he rests.” Where is his native village? If he didn’t understand, he surely wouldn’t speak this way. Since he did under stand, tell me, where is the native village? I strike immediately.
296
65. An Outsider Questions the Buddha
Introduction
Appearing without form, filling the ten directions of space, expanding everywhere equally; responding without mind, extending over lands and seas without trouble; understanding the whole when a part is raised, judging grains and ounces at the glance of an eye. Even if blows of the staff fall like rain and shouts are like thunder pealing, you still have not filled the footsteps of a transcendent person. But tell me, what is the business of transcendent person? Try to see.
Story
An outsider asked the Buddha, “I do not ask about the spoken or the unspoken.” (Though he is not a member of the household, still he has a bit of a fragrant air. Twin swords fly through space. Lucky he doesn’t ask.) The Buddha remained silent. (Don’t slander the Buddha; his voice is thunderous. No one sitting or standing can budge him.) The outsider said in admiration, “The Buddha’s great kindness and compassion have opened up my clouds of illusion and let me gain entry.” (A sharp fellow—one push and he rolls, a pearl in a bowl.) After the outsider had left, Ananda asked the Buddha, “What did the outsider realize, that he said he had gained entry?” (He can’t avoid making others doubt; still he wants every one to know. He is trying to repair a pot with cold iron.) The Bud dha said, “Like a good horse, he goes as soon as he sees the shadow of the whip.” (Tell me, what do you call the shadow of the whip? Striking with my whisk, I say that on the staff there is an eye bright as the sun. If you want to know if it is real gold, see it through fire. Having gotten a mouth, eat.)
195c
The Blue Cliff Record
Commentary
Were this matter in words, does not the Buddhist canon contain words? Some say it is right just not to speak. Then what would have been the use of the Chan founder coming from India? As for so many stories that have come down from ancient times, after all how will you see the point?
This story is understood literally by quite a few people. Some call it remaining silent, some call it remaining seated, some call it not answering. Luckily none of this has any connection; how could you ever manage to find it by groping around? This matter really isn’t in words yet is not apart from words. If you make the slight est attempt to assess, you are a myriad miles away. See how after that outsider had intuitively awakened, only then did he realize it was neither here nor there, neither in affirmation nor in negation. But tell me, what is this?
Tianyi Yihuai composed this verse:
Vimalakirti was not silent;
To say he just sat there would be an error.
Though the sharp sword is in its scabbard, its light is cold;
Outsiders and celestial demons all are helpless.
When Daochang was studying with Fayan, Fayan had him con template this story. One day Fayan asked him, “What story are you contemplating?” Daochang said, “The outsider questioning the Buddha.” Fayan said, “Quote it.” As Daochang began to speak, Fayan said, “Stop! Stop! You’re about to understand at the silence, aren’t you!” At these words Daochang was suddenly enlightened. Later, in teaching, he said, “I have three secrets: ‘have tea,’ ‘take care,’ and ‘rest.’ If you still try to think any more about them, I know you are still not through.”
Cuiyan Zhen cited this story and said, “In the six directions and nine states, blue, yellow, red, and white intermingle.”
The outsider knew the four Vedas and thought he was omni scient; everywhere he went he drew people into debate. He posed
298
- An Outsider Questions the Buddha
a question hoping to cut off the Buddha’s tongue. The Buddha did not expend any energy, yet the outsider was immediately awakened. He said, “The Buddha’s great kindness and compassion have opened up the clouds of my confusion and allowed me to gain entry.” But what is the Buddha’s great kindness and compassion? The Buddha’s single eye sees through past, present, and future; the outsider’s twin eyes penetrate the Indian continent.
Guishan Zhenru brought this up and said:
The outsider had the supreme jewel hidden within; The Buddha kindly lifted it on high for him.
Forests of patterns are clearly revealed, Myriad forms are evident.
But after all what did the outsider realize? It was like chasing a
dog toward a fence: when it gets as far as is possible, when there is
no way to get by, it must turn around and come back, now leaping lively. If you cast away judgment and comparison and affirmation
and negation all at once, your emotions ended and your views gone, it will naturally become thoroughly obvious.
After the outsider had left, Ananda asked the Buddha what
he had realized to say that he had gained entry. The Buddha said, “Like a good horse, he goes as soon as he sees the shadow of the whip.” Since then, everywhere it has been said that at this point even he was blown by the wind into a different tune. It has also been said that he had a good beginning but a poor end. Where is the shadow of the Buddha’s whip? Where is the seeing of the shadow of the whip? Xuedou said, “False and true are not separate; the fault comes from the shadow of the whip.” Zhenru said, “Ananda’s gold bell is rung twice, and everyone hears it together. Even so, it is much like two dragons fighting for a jewel. It matured the majestic dragon of that other wise one.”
Verse
The wheel of potential has not turned;
(It is here. After all it doesn’t move a bit.)
299
The Blue Cliff Record
If it turns, it will surely go two ways.
(If it doesn’t fall into being, it will surely fall into nonbeing; if it doesn’t go east, it will go west. The left eye is half a pound, the right eye eight ounces.)
A clear mirror is suddenly set on a stand
(But do you see the Buddha? One push and it turns.
Broken, shattered!)
And immediately distinguishes beautiful and ugly. (The whole world is the door of liberation. I should give
you a thrashing. But do you see the Buddha?) Beautiful and ugly distinct, the clouds of illusion open; (He lets out a pathway. I allow as you have a place to
turn around, but nevertheless you’re just an outsider.) In the gate of compassion, where is any dust produced? (The whole world has never concealed it. Retreat—
Bodhidharma’s here.)
Thus I think of a good horse seeing the whip’s shadow.
(I have a staff; there’s no need for you to give me one. But tell me, where is the shadow of the whip, where is the good horse?)
Gone a thousand miles in pursuit of the wind, I call him back;
(Riding on the Buddha hall, I go out the main gate. If he turns around, he goes wrong. He shouldn’t be let go, so I strike.)
Calling, if I get him to return, I’d snap my fingers thrice. (He neither reaches the village nor gets to the shop. With
your staff broken, where will you go? The sound of Xuedou’s thunder is great, but there is no rain at all.)
Commentary
“The wheel of potential has not turned; / If it turns it will surely go two ways. ” The potential is the spiritual potential of the sages; the wheel is the original lifeline of all people. Xuedou said, “ The spiritual potential of the sages is not easily approached; dragon
300
- An Outsider Questions the Buddha
children born of dragons, do not be irresolute. Zhaozhou stole a gem worth many cities; the king of Qin and Xiangru both lose their lives. ”
After all the outsider was able to hold still and be the master;
he didn’t move at all. How so? He said he didn’t ask about the spoken or the unspoken. Is this not where the potential is whole?
The Buddha knew how to observe the wind to set the sail, how to give medicine in accord with the disease; so he remained silent. The entire potential uplifted, the outsider merged with it com pletely; his wheel of potential then turned freely and smoothly. It turned neither toward being nor toward nonbeing; it did not fall into gain or loss, was not bound by the ordinary or the holy—both sides were cut off at once. Just as the Buddha remained silent, the other bowed. Many people nowadays fall into nonbeing, or else they fall into being; they only remain within being and nonbeing, running either way.
Xuedou says, “A clear mirror is suddenly set on a stand / And immediately distinguishes beautiful and ugly.” This has never moved; it just calls for silence, like a clear mirror on a stand— myriad forms cannot avoid their appearance.
The outsider said that the Buddha’s compassion had cleared his illusion and allowed him to gain entry. Where is the outsider’s point of entry? Here you must seek on your own, investigate on your own, awaken on your own, understand on your own. Then everywhere, in all activities, without question of high or low, all at once it is completely manifest and does not move at all any more. The moment they make judgments and comparisons, or rationalize at all, people are blocked up, and there is no more ability to enter actively.
The last part refers to the outsider’s saying that the Buddha had removed his illusion and enabled him to enter; right away he distinguishes beautiful and ugly: “Beautiful and ugly distinct, the clouds of illusion open; / In the gate of compassion, where is any dust produced?” The whole world is the gate of compassion. If you can pass through, it’s not worth grasping. This also is an open door. Did
The Blue Cliff Record
not the Buddha contemplate this matter for three weeks thinking, “I would rather not explain the truth but quickly enter extinction. ” “So I think of a good horse seeing the shadow of the whip; / Gone a thousand miles in pursuit of the wind, I call him back. ” A “wind-chasing” horse, seeing the shadow of a whip, immediately goes a thousand miles; if you make it return, it returns. Xuedou intends to praise him by saying that an excellent breed rolls at a push, comes back at a call. “Calling, if I get him to return, I’d snap
my fingers thrice” —is this criticism, or is it scattering sand?
66. Getting Huangchao’s Sword
Introduction
Meeting the situation head on, setting a pitfall for a tiger; attack ing from front and side, laying out strategy to capture a bandit; adapting in light, adapting in darkness, letting both go, gather ing both in, knowing how to play with a dead snake —all this is a matter for an adept.
Story
Yantou asked a monk, “Where do you come from?” (He’s defeated before he even speaks. Yantou’s boring into a skullbone. If you want to know where he’s coming from, it’s not hard.) The monk said, “From the western capital.” (After all he’s a petty thief.) Yantou said, “After the rebel Huangchao had gone, did you get his sword?” (Yantou has never been a petty thief. He doesn’t fear losing his head, so he asks such a question; courageous indeed.) The monk said, “ I got it.” (He’s defeated. He doesn’t know where to turn. Ignoramuses are most plentiful.) Yantou extended his neck, came near, and said, “Kaa!” (One must know what’s appropriate to the moment. This is a pitfall to catch a tiger. What is going on in his mind?) The monk said, “Your head has fallen.” (He only sees the sharpness of the awl, not the squareness of the chisel. What good or bad does he know? He’s struck.) Yantou laughed.
302
Getting Huangchao’s Sword
(No one can do anything to him. He fools everyone. No one can find out where his head has fallen.) Later that monk went to Xuefeng. (As before he’s fatheaded and stupid. He is defeated time and again.) Xuefeng asked, “Where did you come from?” (He can’t but tell where he comes from; but still Xuefeng wants to try him.) The monk said, “From Yantou.” (After all he’s defeated.) Xuefeng said, “What did he say?” (If he can recite it, he won’t avoid getting hit.) The monk recounted the preceding story. (Right then he should be driven out.) Xuefeng hit him thirty blows with his staff and drove him out. (Though it is true he cuts nails and shears through iron, why does he only strike thirty blows? He hasn’t yet gotten to the point where his staff breaks. This is not yet the real thing. Why? “ Three thousand blows in the morning, eight hun dred blows in the evening.” Were Xuefeng not a fellow student with Yantou, how could he discern the point? Though this is so, tell me, where do Xuefeng and Yantou abide?)
C om m entary
To go seeking truth you must have the eye of a seeker. This monk’s eyes were like comets, yet he was still thoroughly exposed by Yan tou, and pierced all the way through on a single string. At that time, had he been a real man, whether it were to kill or enliven, he would have made use of it immediately as soon as it was brought up; but he was a rickety dotard and instead said, “I got it.” If you seek like this, the king of death will question you and demand you pay your grocery bill. I don’t know how many sandals he wore out by the time he got to Xuefeng. At that time, had he had a little eye power, he would have been able to get a glimpse.
This story has a knotty complication in it. Though this matter has neither gain nor loss, the gain and loss are tremendous; though there is no discrimination, when you get here, after all you must have the eyes to discriminate.
See how when Longya was traveling he posed this question to Deshan: “How is it when a student wants to take the master’s head with a sharp sword?” Deshan stretched out his neck and said,
The Blue Cliff Record
“Kaa!” Longya said, “Your head has fallen.” Deshan went to his room. Longya told Dongshan about this; Dongshan said, “What did Deshan say?” Longya said, “Nothing.” Dongshan said, “Leav ing aside his having nothing to say, just bring me Deshan’s fallen head. ” At these words Longya was greatly awakened; subsequently he made a gesture of repentance to Deshan. A monk told Deshan about this; Deshan said, “Old Dongshan doesn’t know good from bad; this fellow has been dead for so long, even if you could revive him, what would be the use?”
This story is the same as Longya’s: Deshan went to his room, thus in darkness was most wonderful. Yantou laughs; in his laugh there is poison; anyone who could discern it could travel freely throughout the world. If this monk had been able to pick it out at that moment, he would have escaped criticism for all time. But at Yantou’s place he had already missed it.
Observe Xuefeng; being a colleague of Yantou, he immediately knew what he was getting at. Still, he didn’t explain it all for the monk, but just hit him and drove him out, thereby conforming to the absolute. This is the method of taking an adept Chan practitioner by the nose to help the person; he doesn’t do anything more for him but make him awaken on his own.
When genuine Chan teachers help people, sometimes they trap them and do not let them come out; sometimes they release them and let them be slovenly. After all, they must have a place to manifest. Yantou and Xuefeng, supposedly so great, were on the
contrary exposed by this rice-eating Chan follower. When Yantou said, “After Huangchao had gone, did you get his sword?” —tell me, what could be said here to avoid his laughter, and to avoid Xuefeng’s brandishing his staff and driving him out? Here it is difficult to understand; if you have not personally experienced awakening, in the final analysis you will not be able to pass be yond birth and death, no matter how glib you may be. I always teach people to observe the pivot of this action; if you try to assess it, you are far away. Have you not seen how Touzi asked a monk, “ Did you get Huangchao’s sword after he’d gone?” The monk
304
- Getting Huangchao’s Sword
pointed at the ground. Touzi said, “For thirty years I have been handling horses, but today I’ve been kicked by a mule.” Observe that monk; he too was undeniably an adept—neither did he say he had it, nor did he say he didn’t have it; he was as if an ocean away from the monk from the western capital. Zhenru brought this up and said, “Of those ancients, one acted as the head, the other as the tail, for sure. ”
Verse
After Huangchao’s passing, he had picked up the sword. (What is the use of an impetuous fellow? This is just a
tin knife.)
The great laughter after all needs an adept to understand it.
(One heir is familiar with it. How many could be? How
could anyone else be free?)
Thirty blows of the mountain cane is still light punishment;
(Born of the same lineage, they die of the same lineage.
Three thousand in the morning, eight hundred in the evening. When someone in the eastern house dies, someone of the western house helps in the mourning. But can they bring him back to life?)
To take advantage is to lose the advantage. (He settles the case according to the facts. It is
regrettable not to have been careful in the very beginning.)
Commentary
“After Huangchao’s passing, he had picked up the sword. / The great laughter needs an adept to understand it.” Xuedou immediately refers to the monk and Yantou’s laughter. This bit cannot be grasped by anyone in the world. But what was he laughing at? You must be an adept to know. In this laughter there is the provisional
305
The Blue Cliff Record
and the true, there is illumination and function, there is killing and giving life.
“ Thirty blows of the mountain cane is still light punishment.” This refers to the monk coming to Xuefeng; the monk was crude as before, so Xuefeng acted as was imperative and drove him out with a thrashing. But tell me, why did he act like this? Do you want to understand this story fully? “To take advantage is to lose the advantage.”
67. Great Adept Fu Expounds a Scripture
Story
Emperor Wu requested the great adept Fu to expand the Dia mond Cutter Scripture. (Bodhidharma’s brother is here. This is not unheard of in fish markets and wineshops, but it is inappropriate in the school of patch-robed monks. This old guy Fu is supposedly so venerable and great, yet he acts like this.) Fu shook the lectern once, then got down from the seat. (He’s like a comet burst ing out then disappearing. He seems right but isn’t really. He doesn’t bother to create any complications.) Emperor Wu was astonished. (He’s been fooled two or three times. Fu too makes him unable to get a grasp.) Master Zhi asked, “Does your majesty understand?” (He sides with principle, not emotion. The elbow does not bend outwards. He too should be beaten.) The emperor said, “No.” (What a pity.) Master Zhi said, “Great Adept Fu has ex-
pounded the scripture.” (He too should be driven from the country. Only if Emperor Wu had driven Zhi out of the country at once along with Fu would he have been an adept. They are two people in the same pit, where the dirt is no different.)
Commentary
After Wu became emperor, he made new commentaries on the Confucian classics and gave lectures. He was also devoted to Taoism and
306
- Great Adept Fu Expounds a Scripture
was most filial. One day he thought of attaining the transmundane teaching; as an act of piety he abandoned Taoism and too
nothing can destroy it; because of its sharp function, it can cut through everything. ” Explaining like this could be called expound ing the scripture. But even so, people hardly understand that the great adept Fu only brought up the transcendental mainspring and briefly showed the sword point, to let people know the ulti mate intent, directly standing it up for you like a towering wall. It was only appropriate that he should be subject to Master Zhi’s ignorance of good and bad in saying, “The great adept has ex pounded the scripture.” Indeed, he had a good intent but didn’t get a good response. It was like a cup of fine wine being diluted with water by Master Zhi, like a bowl of soup being polluted by Zhi with a piece of rat dropping.
But tell me, granted that this is not expounding the scripture, ultimately what can you call it?
Verse
197c He does not rest this body by the Twin Trees;
(It’s just because he can’t hold still. How could it be possible to hide a sharp awl inside a bag?)
Instead he stirs up dust in the land of Liang.
(Had he not entered the weeds, how could we see the point? Where there is no style, there is still style.)
At that time, were it not for old Master Zhi,
(One does not need capital to be a thief. There is a leper dragging a companion along.)
He too would have been hastily leaving the country. (His crime should be listed on the same indictment, so
I strike.)
Commentary
“He does not rest this body by the Twin Trees; / Instead he stirs up dust in the land of Liang.” Great adept Fu and Bodhidharma met the Emperor Wu in the same way. When Bodhidharma first ar rived in Liang and saw the emperor, Wu asked, “What is the high est meaning of the holy truths?” Bodhidharma said, “Empty
Great Adept Fu Expounds a Scripture
nothing holy.” Wu said, “Who is here in my presence?” Bodhi- dharma said, “Don’t know.” The Emperor Wu didn’t understand, so Bodhidharma left the country. The Emperor Wu mentioned this to Master Zhi and asked him about it. Zhi asked if the emperor had recognized the man; Wu said he didn’t. Zhi said, “ This is the great being Avalokitesvara, transmitting the seal of the Buddha mind. ” The emperor felt regret and sent an emissary to get Bodhi dharma; Zhi said, “Don’t tell me you’re going to send an emissary to get him; even if everyone in the country went, he would not return.” That is why Xuedou says, “At that time, if not for Master Zhi, he too would have been hastily leaving the country.” At the time, had it not been for Zhi exerting energy on behalf of Fu, he too would surely have been driven out of the country. Since Zhi wa§ so talkative, Emperor Wu after all was fooled by him.
Xuedou’s intent is to say there is no need for him to come to the land of Liang to expound the scripture and shake the lectern. That’s why he says, “Why doesn’t he rest by the Twin Trees, eat ing gruel and rice, passing the time according to his means? In stead he comes to the land of Liang and comments in this way— shaking the lectern once, he gets right down from the seat. This is where he stirs up dust.”
If you want the marvelous, look at the cloudy skies; above you
do not see that there is any Buddha, below you do not see that there are any sentient beings. If you discuss the matter of appear ing in the world, you cannot avoid ashes on your head and dirt on your face, taking the nonexistent and making it exist, taking the existent and making it not exist, taking right and making it wrong, taking coarse and making it fine, presenting it sideways and us ing it upside down in the fish markets and wineshops, making everyone understand this matter. If you do not let go in this way, no one will ever understand. Great Adept Fu was already dragging in muddy water; fortunately he had a sympathizer. If not for Master Zhi, he would probably have been driven out of the country. But tell me, where is he now?
309
67. What’s Your Name?
Introduction
Overthrowing the polar star and reversing the earthly axis, capturing tigers and rhinos, distinguishing dragons from snakes—one must be lively and active before one can match phrase for phrase and correspond act to act. But who has ever been able to be thus?
Story
Yangshan asked Sansheng, “What’s your name?” (Name and re- 1983 ality take each other away. He brings in a thief, who will ransack his house.) Sansheng said, “Hug.” (He cuts off his tongue, takes
his flag, and steals his drum.) Yangshan said, “ Hug? That’s me.” (Each guards his own territory.) Sansheng said, “My name is Huiran.” (He steals in the bustling marketplace. That one and this one keep to their places.) Yangshan laughed. (It can be said that this is the season; he spreads flowers on brocade. No one in the world knows the point. Why? Because the land is broad, the people few, and rarely is anyone met with. This is like Yantou’s laugh, but it is not Yantou s laugh. Both are laughs, so why are they two? Let those with eyes decide.)
Commentary
Sansheng was an adept in the Linji line. Since youth he possessed outstanding abilities; he had the great capacity and great function and rose to prominence while still a student. Later he left Linji and traveled around; everywhere he was treated as a distinguished guest. He went from north to south; first he went to Xue- feng and asked, “What does a golden fish that has passed through the net use for food?” Xuefeng said, “I’ll tell you when you come out of the net. Sansheng said, “The teacher of fifteen hundred people doesn’t even know what to say.” Xuefeng said, “My tasks as abbot are many.” As Xuefeng was going to the temple manor,
310
- What’s Your Name?
on the way he encountered some macaques, whereupon he said, “Each of the macaques has an ancient mirror. ” Sansheng said, “For eons it has been nameless; why do you depict it as an ancient mirror?” Xuefeng said, “A flaw has been created.” Sansheng said, “The teacher of fifteen hundred people does not even know what to say.” Xuefeng said, “My fault. My tasks as abbot are many.”
Later he came to Yangshan, who admired his outstanding acu
ity and accorded him the position of assembly leader. One day an oflicial came to call on Yangshan. Yangshan asked him, “What is your official position?” He said, “I’m a judge.” Yangshan raised his whisk and said, “And can you judge this?” The official was speech less. All the people of the community made comments, but none accorded with Yangshan’s idea. At that time Sansheng was sick and staying in the infirmary; Yangshan had his attendant take these words and ask him about them. Sansheng said, The master has a problem.” Yangshan had his attendant ask, “What’s the problem?” Sansheng said, “A second offense is not permitted.” Yangshan deeply approved of this.
Baizhang had in the past given his meditation brace and cush
ion to Huangbo and his staff and whisk to Guishan; Guishan later gave these to Yangshan. Since Yangshan greatly approved of Sansheng, when Sansheng was leaving Yangshan wanted to give him his staff and whisk. Sansheng said, “I already have a teacher.” When Yangshan asked him about it, it turned out he was an heir
of Linji.
When Yangshan asked Sansheng, “What is your name?” he couldn’t have but known his name; why did he still ask? The rea son is that an adept wants to test people to know them thoroughly. He just seemed to be casually asking his name, speaking no fur ther judgment. Why did Sansheng not say “Huiran, but instead said “Hug”? See how one with the eye is naturally unusual. This
manner of Sansheng’s was not crazy, though; he simply took com- 198b mand. His meaning was beyond Yangshan’s words. These words
do not fall within the scope of common sense; they are difficult to
311
The Blue Cliff Record
grasp. The methods of such a person can bring people to life; that is why it is said, “He studies the living word, not the dead world.” If they followed ordinary sense, they couldn’t set people at rest.
See how those ancients kept their minds on the Way like this: they exerted their spirits to the utmost and only then were ca pable of great enlightenment. Once they were completely enlight ened, when they used it, after all they appeared the same as unenlightened people. In any case, what they said could not fall into ordinary feelings.
Sansheng knew where Yangshan was at, so he said, “My name is Hug.” Yangshan wanted to take in Sansheng, but Sansheng took him in. Yangshan was only able to counterattack with, “I am Hug. ” This is where he let go. Sansheng said, “My name is Huiran.” This too is letting go. This is why Xuedou later says, “Both take in,
both let go—how do you find the source?” With just one line he has versified it all at once.
Yangshan laughed; there was both provisional and true, both illumination and function. Because he was crystal clear in every respect, he functioned with complete freedom. This laugh was not the same as Yantou’s; in Yantou’s laugh there was poison, but in this laugh the pure wind blows chill for all eternity.
Verse
Both take in, both let go—how do you find the source?
(I don t know how many people there are. Crystal clear in every respect. I thought there really was such a thing.)
To ride a tiger always requires absolute competence.
(If you haven’t the eye on the forehead and a talisman under your arm, how could you get here? You may mount, but I only fear you won’t be able to dismount. If you are not such a person, how could you understand such a thing?)
His laughter ended, I don’t know where he’s gone; (Even if you seek throughout the country for such a
person, one would be hard to find. His words are still in our ears. For ever and ever there is the pure wind.)
312
- What’s Your Name?
It is only fitting to stir forever the wind of lament. (Right now where is it? Tsk! Since it is great laughter,
why does it stir the wind of lament? The whole earth is flooded with darkness.)
Commentary
“Both take in, both let go—how do you find the source?” Letting go, alternately they act as guest and host. Yangshan says, “What is your name?” Sansheng says, “ My name is Hug. This is both letting go. Yangshan says, “I am Hug. ” Sansheng says, “I am Hui- ran.” This is both taking in. In reality, this is the action of inter change: when taking in, everyone takes in; when letting go, everyone lets go. Xuedou has all at once completely versified it. What he means to say is that if we don’t let go and take in, if we don’t interchange, then you are you and I am I.
The whole thing is just four syllables; why is there after all
emergence and disappearance, spreading out and rolling up therein? An ancient said, “If you stand, I sit; if you sit, I stand. If we both sit or both stand at the same time, we’ll both be blind.” This is both taking in, both releasing, which can be considered the fundamental essential.
“To ride a tiger always requires absolute competence.” When
you have such a lofty manner, the highest essential of active po tential, when you want to ride you ride, when you want to dis mount you dismount. You can sit on the tiger’s head and also hold 198c the tiger’s tail. Sansheng and Yangshan both had this style.
“His laughter ended, I don’t know where he’s gone.” Tell me, what did he laugh at? He was just like the pure wind blowing chill. Why does Xuedou say in the end, “It is only fitting to stir forever the wind of lament”? This is death without mourning; all at once he has finished adding explanations for you, but yet no one in the world can bite in, and they do not know the final point. Even I do not know the final point; do you?
313
68. Nanquan’s Circle
Introduction
There is no place to get your teeth into; the mind seal of Chan is formed like the works of the iron ox. Having passed through the forest of thorns, a Chan practitioner is like a snowflake in a red-hot furnace. As for penetrating on level ground, this I leave aside for the moment; without falling into entangling ties, how will you act?
Story
Nanquan, Guizong, and Magu went together to pay respects to National Teacher Huizhong. When they got halfway there, (“Among three people traveling together, there must be a teacher of mine. ” What is so special? Still it’s necessary to discern the truth.) Nanquan drew a circle on the ground and said, “If you can speak, let’s go on. ” (He rouses waves where there’s no wind. Still he wants people to know. He casts off a boat that’s foundered on solid ground. Without posing a test, how could one discern the truth?) Guizong sat inside the circle; (When one strikes the cymbal, his compan ions join in.) Magu curtseyed. (When one strikes the drum, all three prove able.) Nanquan said, “Then let’s not go on.” (The one who can extricate himself halfway along is good. A good tune! An adept!) Guizong said, “What’s going on in your mind?” (Lucky he understood completely. He should have slapped him then. Brash!)
Commentary
At that time Mazu’s teaching was flourishing in Jiangxi, Shitou’s way was current in Hunan, and National Teacher Huizhong’s way was influencing Changan. The latter had seen the sixth patriarch; all who had high aspirations wanted to study with him. These three—Nanquan, Guizong, and Magu—wanted to go pay respects to the National Teacher; on the way they enacted this scenario of defeat. Nanquan said, “Then let’s not go.” Since they had each been able to speak, why did he say he wouldn’t go? What was his
314
- Nanquan’s Circle
intention? When he said “Let’s not go,” I would have slapped him, to see what trick he would pull; what eternally upholds the all- embracing school is just this little bit of active essence. That is why Ciming said, “If you want to restrain him, just grab the rein and yank.” Hit and he turns, like pushing down a gourd on water. Many say that Nanquan speaks words of disagreement, but they don’t know that in this matter, when you get to the ultimate point,
it is necessary to leave the mud, get out of the water, remove all 199a fixations. If you make an intellectual interpretation, you’ve missed
it. The ancients could turn and shift well; at this point they could not be otherwise—there must be killing and giving life. See how one sat in the circle, and one curtseyed. That too was very good. Nanquan said, “Then let’s not go.” Guizong said, “What’s going on in your mind?” Brash fellow! He too goes on like this. His whole idea in saying this was that he wanted to test Nanquan. Nanquan always said, “As soon as you call it ‘thus,’ it has already changed.” Nanquan, Guizong, and Magu—after all they were people of one house. One holds, one releases; one kills, one enlivens; undeniably they’re unusual.
Verse
Youji’s arrow shoots the monkey;
(Who dares to advance on the road ahead? Whenever he hits, he is marvelous; he hits the mark before he shoots.)
Circling the tree, how exceedingly direct!
(Without attaining mastery, how could one presume to be thus? North, south, east, west—one family style. They have already been going around for a long time.)
A thousand and ten thousand—
(Most plentiful. A pack of foxy devils. What about Nanquan?)
Who has ever hit the mark?
(One or a half. Not even one. Even one would still be no use.)
315
The Blue Cliff Record
Calling them together, he beckons, “Come, let’s go back”; (A bunch of people playing with mud. Better to have gone
back; then they would have gotten somewhere.) He stops climbing the road of Caoqi.
(Too much trouble. It seems to me that he is not a member of Caoqi’s school. Level off the lowest place and there’s extra; view the highest place and there’s not enough.)
The road of Caoqi is level; why stop climbing?
(Not only Nanquan extricates himself halfway along; Xuedou does too. Even a good thing is not as good as nothing. Xuedou too suffers from this kind of illness and pain.)
Commentary
Youji’s arrow shoots the monkey; / Circling the tree, how exceedingly direct!” Youji was an archer of ancient times. Once when a king went hunting, he saw a white monkey and had someone shoot at it. The monkey grabbed the arrow and played with it. The king had all his courtiers shoot at it, but none could hit it. The king then asked who could shoot it, and they recommended the master archer Youji. Ordered to shoot, as Youji drew his bow, the monkey hugged the tree and howled pitifully; the monkey went around the tree to avoid the arrow shot, but the arrow also circled the tree and struck the monkey dead. This was a supernatural arrow.
Why does Xuedou say it was exceedingly direct? Had it been too direct, it wouldn’t have hit; since it went around the tree, why does Xuedou say it was exceedingly direct? Xuedou borrows the idea and uses it well. Some say that “circling the tree” is the circle; they do not know the import of the words; they do not know where the directness is. These three men are on different roads but re turn to the same place. They are uniformly and equally exceedingly direct. If you know where they’re going, you are free in all directions without leaving your heart. A hundred rivers flow separately but return alike to the ocean. That is why Nanquan said,
316
“Then let’s not go.” If you look at this with the true eye of Chan, this is just giving play to the spirit; but if you call it giving play to the spirit, yet it is not giving play to the spirit.
Wuzu said, “Those three were absorbed in the lamp of wis
dom, absorbed in the supreme array.” Though Magu curtseyed, he never understood it as curtseying; though Nanquan drew a circle, he never understood it as a circle. Without understanding in this way, how will you understand? Xuedou says, “A thousand and ten thousand— / Who has ever hit the mark?” How many could hit the mark every time?
“Calling them together, he beckons. ‘Come, let’s go back.’” This
refers to Nanquan. Nanquan didn’t go on, so “He stops climbing the road of Caoqi.” He destroys the forest of thorns. Xuedou can not hold still and also says, “ The road of Caoqi is level; why stop climbing? ” The road of Caoqi is dustless and trackless, openly ex posed, naked and clean, level, even, and smooth; why stop climbing after all? Each of you should observe where you are.
69. Guishan Attends Baizhang
Introduction
A quick person needs but a single word; a fast horse needs but a single stroke of the whip. Ten thousand years is one thought; one thought is ten thousand years. If you want to know the direct way, it is before any mention is made. But before it is mentioned, how will you search for it?
Story
Guishan, Wufeng, and Yunyan were attending Baizhang. (Haha! Obscure and hard to understand throughout. You’re headed west, I’m going east.) Baizhang asked Guishan, “How will you speak with your mouth shut?” (It is hard to find a general.) Guishan said, “ Please speak yourself.” (Guishan proceeds by Baizhang’s
The Blue Cliff Record
road.) Baizhang said, “I don’t refuse to speak to you, but I fear that I might be bereft of descendants. ” (He is nevertheless being kind. He’s thick-skinned. He adapts to any situation. He makes a counterattack.)
Commentary
Guishan, Wufeng, and Yunyan were attending Baizhang. Baizhang asked Guishan, “How will you speak with your mouth shut?” Guishan said, “Please speak yourself.” Baizhang said, “I don’t refuse to speak to you, but I fear I might be bereft of descendants.” Though Bai zhang acts thus, his pot has already been carried off by someone else. He also asked Wufeng, who replied, “You should shut up too.” Baizhang said, “I gaze out toward you where there is no one.” He also asked Yunyan, who said, “Do you have anything to say?” Bai zhang said, “I have lost my descendants.” Each was a master.
An ancient said, “On level ground there are dead people with out number; those who can pass through the forest of thorns are the skillful ones.” Therefore Chan teachers use the forest of thorns to test people, because they couldn’t test people if they stuck to sayings based on ordinary feelings. Chan practitioners must be able to display their ability in speech and discern the point within
words. As for those who are one-sided, they often die within the words and say, “If the mouth is shut there’s no way to say any thing.” As for those who can adapt successfully, they have waves going against the current, they have a single road right in the question. They don’t damage the point or cut their hands.
Guishan said, “Please speak yourself. ” What did he mean? Here he was like sparks, like lightning; responding to Baizhang’s ques tion, he answered immediately. He had his own way of expression, not wasting any effort. So it is said, “He studies the living word, not the dead word. ”
Nevertheless, Baizhang did not take him up on it but just said, “I don’t refuse to speak to you, but I fear I might be bereft of descendants.” Whenever Chan teachers help people, they remove fixations. People today who say this answer doesn’t approve of
318
- Guishan Attends Baizhang
Guishan and doesn’t accept his words still don’t know that right here is the one path of living potential, towering up like a mile- high wall, interchanging guest and host, leaping lively.
Xuedou likes these words of Guishan, likes his freedom to re volve and maneuver elegantly while still being able to hold fast to his territory.
Verse
“You please speak instead.”
(This contains the universe. He’s already damaged the point and cut his hand.)
The tiger’s head sprouts horns as he emerges from the
wild weeds.
(Very startling indeed. Extraordinary indeed.)
On the ten continents spring ends and the flowers fade and wither—
(Everywhere is clear and cool. No praise is sufficient.)
Over the coral forest the sun is dazzling bright.
(A hundredfold, a thousandfold. Nevertheless, he can’t be found in phenomena. Guishan’s answer covers heaven and earth.)
Commentary
The answers of the three are all different. There’s towering like an immense wall, there’s simultaneous illumining and functioning, and there’s inability even to save oneself.
“You please speak instead.” Immediately in this one line Xuedou has displayed his device. He goes farther into it and presses ever so lightly to make it easy for people to see by saying, “The tiger’s head sprouts horns as he emerges from the wild weeds.” Guishan’s answer is like putting horns on a ferocious tiger—is there any way to approach it?
A monk asked Loshan, “ How is it when born together and dying together?” Loshan said, “Like an ox without horns.” The monk
319
The Blue Cliff Record
asked, “How about when born together but not dying together?” Loshan said, “Like a tiger with horns. ”
Though Xuedou has completed the verse in one couplet, he has ample ability to turn around and change. He goes on to say, On the ten continents spring ends and the flowers fade and wither.” On the ocean there are ten continents where one hun dred years make one spring. Xuedou’s words have graceful el egance, turning freely with great ease. When the spring is over, myriad flowers fade and wither all at once. Only the coral tree forest doesn’t fade and wither—it takes the light of the sun and reflects it back and forth. Then it is amazing indeed. Xuedou uses
200a this to illustrate Guishan’s saying, “You please speak instead.”
71. You Shut Up Too
Story
Baizhang also asked Wufeng, “How will you speak with your mouth shut?” (Hahaha! The arrow has gone past the next country.) Wufeng said, “You should shut up too.” (He takes command. With one saying he cuts off the flow and stops all impulses.) Baizhang said, “ I gaze out toward you where there’s no one.” (Where the land is broad and the people few, rarely is anyone met with.)
Commentary
Guishan held his territory, Wufeng cut off all flows. For this bit one must take it up directly, like a head-on clash in the front lines. There s no room for hesitation. Wufeng functions directly and immediately; his reply is swift, uncompromisingly strict. He’s not like Guishan, who is so relaxed, easygoing and exuberant.
Followers of Chan today just go under the shelf, unable to go beyond him. So it is said, “If you want to attain intimacy, don’t ask with a question.”
Wufeng’s answer cut him off immediately; indeed it was fast and brilliant. Baizhang said, “I gaze out toward you where there’s
320
You Shut Up Too
no one.” But is this approving of Wufeng or not? Is it killing or bringing to life? Seeing him turn so smoothly, Baizhang was just giving him a check.
Verse
“You should shut up too.”
(Already there before anything was said, he cut off all flows.)
Observe his strategy on the battle lines—
(It takes the ability of a great general to be able to do this. He’s fully equipped, an expert accustomed to battle.)
He makes people think of General Li Guang;
(There aren’t many with such marvelous skill. With a horse and spear he covers ten thousand miles and defeats ten thousand men.)
Over the vast horizon a single hawk soars.
(Do you see? Where does it alight? On target. I hit, saying, “It’s flown past.”)
Commentary
“You should shut up too.” In one line Xuedou gives a push and says, “Observe his strategy on the battle lines” —it is as though Wufeng set out two battle lines to burst out and burst in. He has the ability of a battle commander, unrestrained in all directions. One with great strategy freely appears and disappears with horse and spear on the battle lines. How could you surround him? If you’re not such a person, how will you know there is such strategy? In all these three verses what Xuedou describes is like this,
like Li Guang’s miraculous arrows. “Over the vast horizon a single hawk soars.” It is certain that one arrow fells one eagle; there is no more escape. In Xuedou’s verse, Baizhang’s question is like a hawk; Wufeng’s answer is like an arrow. I have been so occupied with praising Wufeng that without realizing it my whole body has been immersed in muddy water.
70. Baizhang Questions Yunyan
Story
Baizhang also asked Yunyan, “How will you speak with your mouth shut?” (“Come out of your hole, frog.” What will he say?) Yunyan said, “ Have you anything to say or not?” (Sticking to his skin, clinging to his bones, he’s covered with muddy water. Before he doesn’t reach the village; later he doesn’t get to the shop.) Baizhang said, “ I have lost my descendants.” (Obviously with an answer like this, half is in front and half is left behind.)
Commentary
Yunyan attended Baizhang for twenty years. Later he went with Daowu to Yaoshan. Yaoshan asked him, “What was your purpose in Baizhang’s group?” Yunyan said, “To escape birth and death.” Yaoshan said, “ Have you escaped?” Yunyan said, “ This one has no birth and death.” Yaoshan said, “Twenty years at Baizhang and your force of habit still isn’t cleared away.” Yunyan left and went to Nanquan; later he returned to Yaoshan and at last understood and was enlightened.
See how Yunyan studied for twenty years and still was un ripe. Something stuck to his skin and clung to his bones; he couldn’t break through. He may have been right, but he didn’t reach the village before or get to the shop later. Haven’t you heard it said, “If your words are no more than old clichés, how will you be able to get out of what covers and binds you? White clouds lie athwart the valley mouth, making so many people miss the source.” In the Cao-Dong line this is called transgression; so they say, “ Throw open the well-guarded phoenix tower, but avoid transgressing the taboo on the emperor’s name.” Hence it is said “To attain it is necessary to pass beyond the forest of thorns; if you do not, you will get stuck in subtleties and be unable to cut them off.”
As I just said, before he didn’t reach his village; later he didn’t get to his shop. Yunyan just went to test the other’s depths. When
322
- Baizhang Questions Yunyan
Baizhang saw him acting like this, he immediately held him and struck him dead.
Verse
“Have you anything to say or not?”
(The case is obvious. Yunyan was following the waves, pursuing the ripples, mixing with mud, mingling with water.)
The golden-haired lion is not crouching on the ground.
(Obviously. What’s the use? Too bad!)
Two by two, three by three, traveling the old road— (How will you speak with your mouth shut? Turn around
and show some spirit! Though it was right under his feet, he missed it.)
On Daxiong Mountain Baizhang snapped his fingers
in vain.
(The dead do not come back to life. Too bad, too sad.
Xuedou adds more grief to his cry of woe.)
Commentary
‘“Have you anything to say or not?’ / The golden-haired lion is not crouching on the ground.” Xuedou concludes the case on the basis of the facts. Yunyan is indeed one, but this golden-haired lion nevertheless is not crouching. To catch its prey, a lion conceals its teeth, hides its claws, and crouches on the ground to rear and leap. Whether the prey is large or small the lion always uses its whole power, to complete the deed. When Yunyan said, “Have you any thing to say or not?” he was just traveling on an old road; so Xuedou says Baizhang snapped his fingers in vain on Daxiong Mountain.
323
73. The Permutations of Assertion and Denial
Introduction
In explaining truth, there is neither explanation nor dogma; in listening to truth, there is neither hearing nor attainment. Since explanation has no explanation or dogma, how can it compare to not explaining? Since listening neither hears nor attains, how can it compare to not listening? Then no explanation and no listening amounts to something. As you are here listening to me explain here, how will you avoid this mistake? Those with the eye to pass through the barrier, try to bring it up.
Story
A monk asked Mazu, “Please indicate the meaning of Chan directly, apart from all permutations of assertion and denial.” (Where did he get this saying from? Where did he get this news?) Mazu said, “I’m tired today and can’t explain for you. Go ask Zhizang.” (He retreats three paces. Those who stumble past don’t even realize it. He hides his body but reveals his shadow. Undeniably the old guy has passed the buck.) When the monk asked Zhizang, (He should have pressed Mazu. He’s stumbled past without realizing it.) Zhi zang said, “Why not ask the teacher?” (The scorched-tail tiger has come out of the weeds. What is he saying? In fact, the monk is bind ing himself with straw ropes—he’s totally dead.) The monk said, “He told me to ask you.” (He’s at the disposal of another. The first arrow was still light, but the second one goes deep.) Zhizang said, “I have a headache today and can’t explain for you. Go ask Baizhang. ” (Indeed Mazu’s eighty-four enlightened disciples all suffer from this kind of sickness.) When the monk asked Baizhang, (He turns it over to another. Holding the loot, he claims he’s been wronged.) Baizhang said, “At this point, after all, I don’t understand.” (He doesn’t make a fuss. At any rate, the obscurity extends endlessly, forever.) When the monk related this to Mazu, (Despite every thing, this monk does have a little eyesight.) Mazu said, “Zhizang’s
324
- The Permutations of Assertion and Denial
head is white; Baizhang’s head is black.” (In the heartland the emperor commands; beyond the borders, the general gives orders.)
Commentary
Zhenjiao said of this story, “You just need to look at Mazu’s first line and you will naturally understand all at once.” Tell me, did this monk understand when he asked, or did he ask not understand ing? This question of his is undeniably profound and far reaching. As for going beyond the permutations of assertion and denial,
the four basic propositions are existence, nonexistence, neither, and both. Depart from these and you cut off all their permuta tions. But if you occupy yourself making up theories, you won’t recognize the point of the story—you’ll be looking for your head without seeing it.
Had it been me, I’d have waited till Mazu had spoken, then bowed thrice, to see how he would have responded. Had I been Mazu, I’d have driven the monk out with my staff when he asked the question, to see if he would awaken.
Mazu just created complications for him. When this guy was right in front of it and stumbled past missing it, Mazu still di rected him to go ask Zhizang. The monk still didn’t know that Mazu profoundly discerns all comers. He went in ignorance to ask Zhizang. Zhizang said, “Why not ask the teacher?” The monk said, “He told me to ask you. ” Watch this bit of his: when pressed he im mediately turns without wasting any more time. Zhizang said, “I have a headache today and can’t explain for you. Go ask Baizhang. ” The monk went to ask Baizhang, who said, “At this point, af
ter all, I don’t understand.” Tell me, why did one say he had a headache and one say he didn’t understand? In the end, what’s what? The monk came back and told Mazu; Mazu said, “Zhizang’s head is white; Baizhang’s head is black.”
If you figure this by way of intellectual interpretation, then you would say they were fooling the monk. Some say it was all just buck passing. Some say all three knew the point of the monk’s question, and so they didn’t answer. All such interpretations
The Blue Cliff Record
amount to covering your eyes and putting poison into the savory delicacy of the ancients.
Thus Mazu said, “I will explain to you when you swallow all the water of West River in one gulp.” This is the same as the present story. If you can understand “Zhizang’s head is white; Baizhang’s head is black, ” you can understand the talk about West River.
This monk took his load of confusion and exchanged it for un easiness; he went on troubling these three adepts, making them enter the muddy water. In the end the monk didn’t catch a glimpse of it. Yet even so, nevertheless the three Chan masters were ex posed by this one-sided man.
People today just make a living on the words. They say white refers to merging in light, while black refers to merging in dark ness. Just occupying themselves with pursuing their calculations, such people are far from knowing that the ancient cuts off their con ceptual faculties with a single saying. You must go to the true life line and see for yourself before you can gain firm accord. Therefore it is said, “At the last word you finally get to the impenetrable bar rier.” If you hold the essential crossing, you don’t let profane or holy pass. If you discuss this matter, it’s like having a sword pressing against your forehead—hesitate and you lose your life. Again, it’s
said, “It’s like hurling a sword into the sky—it’s not a question of reaching or not.” Just understand at the point of glistening clarity. Haven’t you heard of ancients saying, “Ignoramus!” or “Foxy devil!” or “Blind!” Tell me, is it the same as a blow or shout, or different? If you know that myriad differences and distinctions are all one, then naturally you will be able to take on opponents from all sides. Do you want to understand “Zhizang’s head is white;
Baizhang’s head is black” ? Wuzu said, “Mr. Dust Sweeper.”
Verse
Zhizang’s head is white; Baizhang’s head is black— (Half closed, half open. One hand lifts up, one hand
presses down. The sound of gold bells, the flourish of jade chimes.)
326
- The Permutations of Assertion and Denial
Even clear-eyed Chan practitioners cannot understand. (Go travel for thirty more years. After all you are taken
in tow by someone else. Because of this, I frown.) The colt has trampled everyone on earth to death— (In all the Chan groups, only Mazu could do this. Let
the old man out.)
Linji isn’t yet a thief who can steal in broad daylight. (A leper drags along a companion. Even experts have
been caught.)
Going beyond all assertion and denial—
(What is he saying? You too must check into this and see for yourself. “Poppa” is like “daddy.”)
In all the universe, only I know.
(Why use “I”? I’ll snatch away your staff. If there’s no self and no others, no gain and no loss, what will you use to know?)
Commentary
“Zhizang’s head is white; Baizhang’s head is black.” What does this mean? No Chan practitioner can leap clear of this little bit. See how well Xuedou closes up tight at the end; he says that even if you’re a clear-eyed Chan practitioner you won’t be able to un derstand. This bit of news is called the hidden secret of the spiri tual immortals, which is not passed on from father to son. After the Buddha had spoken the teachings of his time, at the end he specially transmitted the mind seal. It is called the diamond sword, the absolute state. Such complications were a matter that couldn’t be avoided—with them the ancients showed a little of their sharp point. If you can pass through, then you will penetrate to great independence. If you can’t pass through, as before you have no penetrating understanding, and the more you talk the further away you are.
“The colt has trampled everyone on earth to death. ” The colt refers to Mazu, an allusion to the sixth patriarch’s prediction of Mazu’s appearance in the world. See how special his way of doing
327
The Blue Cliff Record
things was—he just said, “Zhizang’s head is white; Baizhang’s head is black.” This is where to see how he tramples everyone to death. No one can bite through this line about black and white.
“Linji isn’t yet a thief who can steal in broad daylight.” One day Linji said, “In this naked lump of flesh is a true person with out station, constantly going in and out through your senses. Those
who haven’t proved this, look!” A monk then asked, “What is the true person without station?” Linji came down, grabbed the monk, and demanded that he speak. The monk was speechless; Linji pushed him away and said, “ The true person of no station—what a turd! ” Later, Xuefeng heard of this and said, “Linji is like a thief who steals in broad daylight.”
Xuedou wants to meet Linji, but in observing Mazu’s active edge, it certainly goes beyond Linji’s. Mazu is truly a thief who steals in broad daylight; Linji is not yet such a one. Xuedou has penetrated all at once.
Turning to refer to the monk, Xuedou says, “Going beyond all assertion and denial—in all the universe, only I know.” But don’t go into the ghost cave to make your living! An ancient said, “ The question is in the answer; the answer is in the question.” This monk was already extraordinary—how will you be able to go be yond all assertion and denial? Xuedou says, “Only I can know this matter. ” Even the Buddhas of all times cannot catch sight of it. Since one must know for oneself alone, what are all of you looking for when you keep on coming here?
Zhenru commented, “This monk asking this way and Mazu answering this way went beyond the permutations of assertion and denial. Zhizang and Baizhang didn’t realize at all.”
Want to understand? “ The colt has trampled everyone on earth to death. ”
328
74. Jinniu’s Rice Pail
Introduction
The sharp sword wielded horizontally cuts off the nest of compli cations in front of its point. The clear mirror hung on high brings forth the cosmic seal within a phrase. Where one’s state is peace ful, one wears clothes and eats food. Where spiritual powers wan der at play, how can one linger? Have you fully mastered it?
Story
Every day at mealtime, Jinniu would personally take the rice pail and do a dance in front of the monks’ hall; laughing, he would say, “Bodhisattvas, come eat!” (“You may play the fishing line as you will—without disturbing the clear waves, the intention is naturally distinct.” He applies pure ghee and poison at the same time—and he’s right. Jewels and gems he arrays all at once, but nevertheless those he meets with are few.) Xuedou said, “ Though he acted like this, Jinniu was not good-hearted.” (This is a thief recognizing a thief, a sprite recognizing a sprite. One who comes to talk of right and wrong is a right and wrong person.) A monk asked Changqing, “When the ancient said, ‘Bodhisattvas, come eat,’ what was his meaning?” (Indeed, anyone would have doubts about this. So he hasn’t known where Jinniu is at all along. What will Changqing say?) Changqing said, “ Much like joyful praise on the occasion of a meal.” (He sizes up the audience to give his order, and wraps up the case on the basis of the facts.)
Commentary
Jinniu was an adept in Mazu’s line. Every day at mealtime he would take the rice pail himself and do a dance in front of the monks’ hall; laughing, he would say, “Bodhisattvas, come eat!”
He did this for twenty years. Tell me, where was his intent? If it
was just a matter of summoning the others to eat; usually they
329
The Blue Cliff Record
make a signal to announce the meal; what further need was there for him to take the rice pail himself and do so many tricks? Was he crazy? Was he expounding by design? If he was expounding this matter, why didn’t he lecture formally? Why did he need to act like this?
People today don’t know that the ancient’s meaning was out side of words. Why not take a look at the stated purpose of the Chan founder’s coming to China? What was it? It was clearly stated to be for a special transmission outside doctrine, to transmit the mind seal individually. Jinniu’s device too was just to make you directly realize this. Later people would vainly conceptualize arbi trarily and say, “Why so many concerns? When cold, turn toward the fire; when hot, sit in the shade; when hungry, eat; when tired, sleep.” If we interpreted this way, on the basis of ordinary feel ings, then the Chan school would have died out. Don’t you realize that twenty-four hours a day, from moment to moment, the an cients never gave up wanting to clarify this matter?
Xuedou said, “ Though he acted like this, Jinniu was not good- hearted.” Many misunderstand this line. That which is called the supreme delicacy is converted by such people into poison. Since Jinniu descended into the weeds to help people, why did Xuedou say he wasn’t good-hearted? Why did he talk this way? Chan practitioners must have living potential to begin to understand this.
People today don’t get to the ancients’ realm—they just say, “What mind is there to see? What Buddha is there?” If you con struct such views you have destroyed Jinniu. It takes thorough observation to begin to understand. If today and tomorrow you go on with such facile explanations, you’ll never be finished.
Later when Changqing was asked what Jinniu meant, he said, “ Much like joyful praise on the occasion of a meal.” Changqing was extremely compassionate—he divulged quite a bit. In truth it was joyful praise on the occasion of a meal. But tell me, rejoicing over what?
330
- Jinniu’s Rice Pail
Verse
Laughing in the shadow of the white clouds, (There’s a sword in his laugh. Why the enthusiasm?
None of the Chan monks in the world know the ultimate point.)
He lifts it up with both hands to give to them.
(Is there such a thing? Don’t slander Jinniu. Can it be called a rice pail? If you are a real Chan practitioner, you don’t eat this kind of food.)
If they were offspring of the golden lion,
(They must first be beyond patterns. I’ll allow that they had eyes, but I fear their eyes were not true.)
They would have seen the error three thousand miles away.
(It wasn’t worth half a cent; it’s a slip-up. Where was the error? Blind men!)
Commentary
“Laughing in the shadow of the white clouds.” Changqing says, “Joyful praise on the occasion of a meal.” Xuedou says, “He lifts it up with both hands to give to them.” But say, was he just giving them food, or do you think there must have been something special besides? If you can know the true point here, you’re an offspring of the golden lion. If they had been offspring of the golden lion, there would have been no more need for Jinniu to do a dance with the rice pail and laugh—in fact they would have known his flaw immediately from three thousand miles away.
An ancient said, “Perceive before the act and you won’t have to use the least bit of effort.” Thus Chan practitioners just always function outside of patterns before they can be called genuine adepts. If they just base themselves on words, they won’t avoid indulging in fixations.
75. Wujiu’s Unjust Beating
Introduction
The jewel sword with the spiritual point is perpetually revealed in front of us. It can kill and it can bring life. It’s there and it’s here, gained and lost together. If you want to pick it up, you’re free to do so; if you want to level it, you’re free to level it. But say, what’s it like when not falling into guest or host, when interchanging with out getting stuck?
Story
A monk from Dingzhou’s group came to Wujiu. Wujiu asked, “How does Dingzhou’s teaching compare to here?” (There’s an echo in his words. He wants to distinguish shallow from deep. The question is a probe. He’s really deceiving the man.) The monk said, “Not different.” (Among the dead men there’s a live one. One or a half. Like an iron spike. He’s treading the ground of reality.) Wujiu said, “If it’s not different, then you should go back there,” and hit him. (Obviously. The true imperative must be carried out.) The monk said, “ There are eyes on the staff—you shouldn’t hit people carelessly.” (Only this adept could do this; after all he’s a lion cub.) Wujiu said, “Today I’ve hit one,” and hit him three more times. (What does he mean “one” ? There are thousands.) The monk then went out. (After all the monk’s one of us. In fact he has been wronged. He just sees his opportunity and acts.) Wujiu said, “After all someone received an unjust beating.” (A mute eating a bitter melon. He lets go and also takes in. What good is someone who turns around when hit?) The monk turned around and said, “What can I do—the handle is in your hands.” (It’s this way three hundred sixty-five days a year. After all he is a clever monk.) Wujiu said, “If you want, I’ll turn it over for you.” (Who knows which of them is the lord and which the subject? He dares to lie in the tiger’s mouth. He doesn’t distinguish good and bad.) The monk came up to Wujiu, grabbed the staff from him, and hit him thrice.
332
Wujiu’s Unjust Beating
(Here again only an adept Chan student could do this. Guest and host interchange, releasing or capturing according to the occasion.) Wujiu said, “An unjust beating, an unjust beating!” (Check! Why is this old man in such a rush?) The monk said, “There’s someone receiving it.” (Haha! How many handles are now in the monk’s hands?) Wujiu said, “ I hit this guy carelessly.” (It doesn’t come down on either side. Who knows who he is?) The monk then bowed. (Only one who doesn’t flinch in the face of danger is safe.) Wujiu said, “Yet you act this way.” (Check!) The monk laughed and went out. (An adept Chan student naturally is thus. A fierce tiger must have a pure wind following it. Now we know he finished the begin ning and finished the end. No one on earth can get a grip on him.) Wujiu said, “That’s all it comes to, that’s all it comes to.” (Too bad he let the monk go. Why didn’t he strike him across the back? Where do you think the monk went?)
Commentary
A monk from Dingzhou’s group came to Wujiu. Wujiu was also an adept. If here you can perceive the interplay of these two, then ten thousand are in fact just one. It is so, whether acting as host or as guest; in the end the two merge into one agent for one session of discernment. Whether as guest or host, whether asking or answering, from beginning to end both were adepts.
Look at Wujiu questioning this monk: “ How does Dingzhou’s teaching compare to here?” The monk immediately said, “Not different. ” At the time, if it hadn’t been Wujiu, it would have been hard to cope with this monk. Wujiu said, “If it’s not different, then you should go back there,” and hit him. But this monk was an adept and immediately said, “ There are eyes on the staff; you shouldn’t hit people carelessly. ” Wujiu carried out the imperative relentlessly: he said, “Today I’ve hit one,” and hit him thrice more. At this the monk went out. Observe how the two of them revolved so smoothly—both were adepts. To understand this affair it is necessary to distinguish insider from outsider and tell right from wrong. Though the monk went out, the case was still not finished.
The Blue Cliff Record
From beginning to end Wujiu wanted to test the monk’s reality, to see how he was. But the monk had barred the door, so Wujiu hadn’t yet seen him. Then Wujiu said, “After all someone received an unjust beating.” The monk wanted to turn around and show some life, yet he didn’t struggle with Wujiu, but turned around most easily and said, “What can I do—the handle is in your hands.” Being a master of Chan with the eye on the forehead, Wujiu dared to lay his body down in the fierce tiger’s mouth and say, “If you want, I ’ll turn it over to you.”
This monk had the talisman under the arm; as it is said, “To see what is right and not do it is lack of bravery.” Without hesitating any longer, he came up to Wujiu, grabbed the staff from him, and hit him thrice. When Wujiu said, “An unjust beating, an un just beating,” tell me, what did he mean? Before, Wujiu said, “After all, someone received an unjust beating.” But when the monk hit him he said, “An unjust beating, an unjust beating.” When the monk said, “There’s someone receiving it,” Wujiu said, “I hit this guy carelessly.” Wujiu said before that he had hit someone carelessly; then when he had taken a beating himself, why did he also say he had hit that guy carelessly? If not for this monk’s independent resurgence, he couldn’t have handled Wujiu.
Then the monk bowed. This bow was extremely poisonous—it wasn’t good-hearted. If it hadn’t been Wujiu, he wouldn’t have been able to see through this monk. Wujiu said to him, “Yet you act this way. ” The monk laughed and went out. Wujiu said, “That’s all it comes to, that’s all it comes to.”
Observe how all through this meeting of adepts guest and host are distinctly clear. Though cut off, they can still continue. In fact this is just the mechanism of interchange. Yet when they get here,
they do not say there is an interchange. Since these ancients were beyond defiling feelings and conceptual thinking, both were adepts; neither spoke of gain or loss. Though it was a single session of talk, the two were both leaping with life, and both had the needle and thread of the bloodline. If you can see here, you too will be perfectly clear twenty-four hours a day.
334
- Wujiu’s Unjust Beating
When the monk first went out, this was both sides letting go; what happened after that was both sides taking in. This is called interchanging. Xuedou makes his verse just this way.
Verse
To summon is easy—
(Everyone on earth doubts this. Rancid meat attracts flies. No Chan practitioners in the world know the ultimate point.)
To send away is hard.
(That does not prevent thorough riddance. Mirages appear over the sea.)
Observe carefully the interchange of action points. (One exit, one entry—both are adepts. Two people hold
a single staff. But say, whose side is it on?)
The rock of ages, though solid, can still crumble— (How will you handle the golden hammer in the sleeve?
The thousand sages haven’t transmitted it.)
When they stand in its depths the ocean must dry up. (Where will this be arranged? There are eyes on the staff.
I’ll only allow that they have attained intimately.) Old Wujiu, old Wujiu!
(Too bad this old man doesn’t know good from bad.) How many kinds?
(He’s another one with no reasons. Hundreds, thousands, myriad miles.)
There was no point in giving him the handle.
(Already so before you say. Wujiu’s life was hanging by a thread. He deserves thirty blows. But where was his fault?)
Commentary
“To summon is easy — / To send away is hard.” It’s all falling into the weeds. With his extreme compassion, Xuedou would often say,
335
The Blue Cliff Record
“Calling snakes is easy; sending snakes away is hard.” Right now if I were to toot on an ocarina it would be easy to summon snakes, but when I wanted to send them away it would be hard. Similarly, it’s easy to give one’s staff to someone else, but to take it back from him and send him away is hard. You must have your own ability; only then will you be able to send him away.
Wujiu was an adept with the skill to call snakes and also the ability to send snakes away. This monk wasn’t asleep either. When Wujiu asked, “How does Dingzhou’s teaching compare to here?” — this was calling him. When Wujiu hit him, this was sending him away. When the monk said, “ There are eyes on the staff; you shouldn’t hit people carelessly” —this is the summoning transferred over to the monk’s side. When Wujiu said, “If you want, I’ll turn it over to you,” and the monk grabbed the staff and hit Wujiu, this was the monk sending him away. As for the monk laughing and going out, and Wujiu saying, “That’s all it comes to” —this clearly is each sending the other away appropriately.
Observe how these two exchanged action points with perfect continuity, fusing into one whole. From beginning to end guest and host are clearly distinct. Sometimes, though, host acts as guest and sometimes guest acts as host. Even Xuedou cannot praise this enough. Thus he speaks of the act of interchange and has people observe it carefully.
“ The rock of ages, though solid, can still crumble.” This rock of ages is eighty-four thousand leagues wide and thick; every five hundred years a goddess comes down and brushes across it with a gossamer cloth, then departs for another five hundred years. The brushing continues thus until it wears the rock away—this makes
one age, an eon. Xuedou says that though the rock is solid it can still crumble—though it is strong and solid, still it can be worn away to nothing; but the action point of these two people can never be exhausted.
“When they stand in its depths the ocean must dry up.” Even the ocean, with its vast swelling billows flooding the skies, even the very ocean would inevitably dry up if you had these two stand in it. At this point Xuedou has completed his verse all at once.
336
- Have You Eaten?
At the end he goes on to say, “Old Wujiu, old Wujiu! / How many kinds?” Sometimes catching, sometimes letting go, some times killing, sometimes giving life—in the end, how many kinds is this? “ There was no point in giving him the handle.” This staff has been used by all the Buddhas of all times, and by the succes sive generations of patriarchs, and by the Chan masters, to re move fixations, attachments, obsession, and bondage. How can it be lightly given over to someone else? Xuedou means that it should be used by oneself alone. Fortunately it happened that this monk then just opened up to him—if he had suddenly stirred up thun der over dry ground, we would have observed how Wujiu met it. When Wujiu passed the handle to someone else, wasn’t this in deed without reason?
76. Have You Eaten?
Introduction
Fine as powder, cold as frost, it blocks off heaven and earth and goes beyond light and dark. Observe it where it’s low and there’s extra; level it off where it’s high and there’s not enough. Holding fast and letting go are both here, but is there a way to appear or not?
Story
Danxia asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” (Indeed it’s impossible to have come from nowhere at all. If he wants to know where he’s come from, it won’t be hard.) The monk said, “From down the mountain.” (He has put on his sandals and walked into your belly. It’s just that you don’t understand. There’s an echo in his words, but he keeps it to himself. Is he ripe?) Danxia said, “Have you eaten?” (A second ladleful of foul water douses the monk. Why just the zero point of the scale? He wants to know the real truth.) The monk said, “I’ve eaten.” (As it turns out, he’s collided with a pillar. After all, he’s been taken in tow by a bystander. After all it’s an iron hammerhead with no hole.) Danxia said, Did the
337
The Blue Cliff Record
person who brought you the food have eyes or not?” (Though he’s relying on his power to mystify the man, he is also wrapping up the case on the basis of the facts. At the time he deserved to have his meditation seat overturned. Why act without reason?) The monk was speechless. (After all he couldn’t run. Had the monk been an adept he would have said, “The same as your eyes.”) Changqing asked Baofu, “To give someone food is ample requital of benevolence—why wouldn’t one have eyes?” (He’s still only said half. Is it “throughout the body” or is it “all over the body”? One cut, two pieces. One hand lifts up, one hand presses down.) Baofu said, “Giver and receiver are both blind.” (He acts according to the imperative. One statement says it all. Such a person is rarely en-
countered.) Changqing said, “If they fully exerted their potential, would they still turn out blind?” (What does he know of good and bad? He still isn’t sure himself; what bowl is he looking for?) Baofu said, “Can you say I’m blind?” (The two of them are both in the weeds. A dragon’s head but a snake’s tail. At the time when he said, “If they fully exerted their potential, would they still turn out blind?” I would have just said to him, “Blind!” He only managed to say a half. Since they’re both adepts, why is it that ahead they didn’t reach the village and behind they didn’t get to the shop?)
Commentary
Danxia was Chan Master Tianran. It is not known where he was from. At first he studied Confucianism, intending to go to the capi tal to take the civil service examinations. While he was staying at an inn, he dreamed a white light filled the room; a diviner told him this was a good omen of understanding emptiness. There hap pened to be a Chanist there who asked him where he was going; he replied that he was going to be elected as an official. The Chanist said, “How can election to officialdom compare to election to Bud- dhahood?” Danxia asked, “Where should I go for election to Bud- dhahood?” The Chanist said, “ The great master Mazu is now
teaching in Jiangxi—that is where Buddhas are elected. You should go there.”
338
- Have You Eaten?
So then Danxia went directly to Jiangxi. The moment he saw Mazu he lifted up the edge of his turban. Mazu looked at him and said, “ I am not your teacher—go to Shitou.” Danxia hastened to Shitou and submitted himself to him. Shitou sent him to the mill, and Danxia bowed in thanks. He entered the workers’ hall and labored along with the community for three years.
One day Shitou announced, “Tomorrow we’re going to clear away the weeds in front of the Buddha shrine.” The next day everyone took a hoe to cut down weeds. Danxia alone took a bowl of water, washed his head, and knelt in front of Shitou. Shitou laughed and shaved his head for him. Then as Shitou began to explain the precepts to him, Danxia covered his ears and went out. Then Danxia headed for Jiangxi to call on Mazu again. Before meeting Mazu to pay his respects, he went into the monks’ hall and sat astride the neck of the holy icon. Everyone was upset, and hurried to report this to Mazu. Mazu personally went to the hall to have a look; he said, “My son is so natural.” Danxia then got down and said, “Thank you for giving me a religious name.” Therefore he was called Tianran, “Natural.” Danxia was naturally sharply out standing like this. As said, officialdom isn’t as good as Buddhahood.
Danxia’s words tower like a mile-high wall; every saying has the ability to remove fixations. When he asked this monk where he came from, the monk said, “From down the mountain,” yet he didn’t communicate where he had come from. It seemed that he had eyes and was going to reverse things and test the host. If it hadn’t been Danxia, it would have been impossible to gather him in. But Danxia said, “ Have you eaten?” At first he hadn’t been able to see the monk, so this is the second attempt to test him. The monk said, “I’ve eaten.” After all this confused and ignorant monk hadn’t understood. Danxia said, “Did the person who brought you the food have eyes or not?” The monk was speechless. Danxia meant, “What’s the use of giving food to someone like you?” Had
the monk been genuine, he would have given Danxia a poke to see
what he would do. Nevertheless, Danxia still didn’t let him go, so
the monk was blinking stupidly and speechless.
339
The Blue Cliff Record
When Baofu and Changqing were together in Xuefeng’s group, they would often discuss stories of the ancients. Changqing asked Baofu, “ To give someone food is ample requital of benevolence; why wouldn’t one have eyes?” He didn’t have to inquire exhaustively into the facts of the case; he could take it all in using these words to make a point, in order to test Baofu’s truth. Baofu said, “Giver and receiver are both blind.” How swift! Here he just dis cusses the immediate circumstances—inside his house Baofu has a way of manifestation in being.
When Changqing said, “If they had fully exerted their poten tial, would they still turn out blind?” Baofu said, “Can you say I’m blind?” Baofu meant, “I have such eyes to have said it all to you— are you still saying I’m blind?” Nevertheless, it’s half closed and half open. At that time if it had been me, when he said, “If they had fully exerted their potential, would they still turn out blind?” I would have just said, “Blind! ” Too bad—had Baofu uttered this one word “blind” at that time, he would have avoided so many of Xue- dou’s complications. Xuedou too just uses this idea to make his verse.
Verse
Fully exerting potential, not turning out blind— (They’ve only said a half. Each wanted to test the other.
The words are still in our ears.)
Holding down an ox’s head to make it eat grass.
(They lose their money and incur punishment. Half south of the river, half north of the river. Without realizing it, they’ve ruined the point and cut their hands.)
Twenty-eight and six patriarchs—
(If you have a rule, hold to the rule. Xuedou is dragging down the ancient sages; he doesn’t just involve one person.)
Their precious vessel is brought forth, but it turns out to be an error.
(Everyone on earth laments. Give me back my staff. They’ve dragged me down so that I can’t even show my face.)
340
- Have You Eaten?
The error is profound—
(Extremely profound. No Chan practitioner in the world can leap clear of it. But tell me, how profound?)
There’s no place to look for it.
(Though it’s right at your feet, it can’t be found.) Gods and humans alike sink into the earth.
(All the Chan practitioners in the world are buried in one pit. Is there anyone alive? I let my move go. Heavens!)
Commentary
“Fully exerting potential, not turning out blind.” Changqing said, “If they fully exerted their potential, would they still turn out blind?” Baofu said, “Can you say I’m blind?” This was like “ Holding down an ox’s head to make it eat grass.” To get it right you must wait till it eats on its own; why push down an ox’s head to make it eat? When Xuedou versifies like this, naturally we can see Danxia’s meaning.
“Twenty-eight and six patriarchs— / Their precious vessel is
brought forth, but it turns out to be an error.” Not only does Xuedou drag down Changqing, but at the same time he buries the twenty- eight Buddhist patriarchs of India and the six Chan patriarchs of China. In forty-nine years Sakyamuni expounded the teachings collected in the Buddhist canon; at the end he only transmitted this precious vessel. Yongjia said, “ This is not an empty exhibition of form; it’s the actual traces of the Buddha’s precious staff.” If you adopt Baofu’s view, then even if you bring forth the precious vessel it all turns out to be an error.
“The error is profound— / There’s no place to look for it. ” This can’t be explained for you; just go sit quietly and inquire into his lines and see. Since the error is profound, why then is there no place to look for it? This is not a small mistake; he takes the great affair of the enlightened and submerges it entirely into the earth. Hence Xuedou says, “Gods and humans alike sink into the earth.”
204b
77. Yunmen’s Cake
Introduction
Turning upward, one can take everyone on earth in tow, like a falcon catching a pigeon. Turning downward, one is in the hands of others, like a turtle hiding in its shell. Here if someone sud denly comes forth and says, “Fundamentally there is no upward or downward—what use is turning?” I simply reply, “I know you are living inside a ghost cave.” But say, how will we distinguish initiate from naive? (A silence.) “If you have a rule, go by the rule; if there is no rule, go by the example.”
Story
A monk asked Yunmen, “What is talk that goes beyond Buddhas and patriarchs?” (He opens up. Suddenly there’s thunder over parched ground. He presses Yunmen.) Yunmen said, “Cake.” (His tongue is pressed against the roof of his mouth. Gone by.)
Commentary
A monk asked Yunmen, “What is talk that goes beyond Buddhas and patriarchs?” Yunmen said, “Cake.” Do you feel your hair standing on end with the chill? Chan students have asked about Buddhas and about patriarchs, about Chan and about the Way, about facing upward and about facing downward—there’s nothing more that can be asked, yet this one posed a question and asked about talk that goes beyond Buddhas and patriarchs. Yunmen was an adept, so “When the water rises the boats ride high; when there is much clay the Buddha image is big.” He answered saying “Cake.” It can be said that the Way is not carried out in vain; his effort is not wasted.
Yunmen also said, “Without any understanding, when you see people talking about the intent of the patriarchs you immediately ask for theories of talk that goes beyond Buddhas and patriarchs. But what do you call ‘Buddhas,’ what do you call ‘patriarchs,’ that you immediately speak of talk that transcends Buddhas and
342
- Yunmen’s Cake
patriarchs? Then you asked about escape from the world; but try to bring me the world. What perception and cognition are there to hinder you? What phenomena are there that you can be made to understand? What vessel do you know how to use? On what basis do you entertain views of differentiations? Those ancient sages can’t do anything for you. Though they extend themselves to help people and say that the whole being is entirely real, that in every thing we see Being—this is ungraspable. When I say to you there is no problem, this is already obfuscation.” If you can understand this statement, then you can recognize the “cake.”
Wuzu said, “Donkey manure is like horse manure.” This is what Yongjia called “Going to the root source directly, which the Buddhas have ascertained—picking through leaves and search ing through twigs is something I cannot do.” When you get to this point, if you want to attain intimacy, don’t ask with a question.
Observe how the monk asked about talk beyond Buddhas and patriarchs, and Yunmen said, “Cake.” Does he know shame? Is he
are of indulging? There’s a type of phony who says, “Yunmen
saw a rabbit and released a hawk; thus he said, ‘Cake.’” If you take such a view, that “Cake” is talk going beyond Buddhas and patriarchs, how can there be a living road? Don’t understand it as cake and don’t understand it as going beyond Buddhas and patri archs—this then is the living road. This is the same as “three pounds of flax” and “knowing how to beat the drum” —though he just said “cake,” its reality is hard to see.
Later people often made up rationalizations and said, “Coarse
words and subtle talk all come back to ultimate truth. ” If you under stand in this way, just go be a professor and spend your life collect ing intellectual knowledge. Chan followers today say, “When you go beyond the Buddhas and patriarchs you are trampling both Bud dhas and patriarchs underfoot—that’s why Yunmen just said to him, ‘Cake.’” Since it’s “cake,” how does this explain going beyond Buddhas and patriarchs? Try to investigate thoroughly and see.
There are many verses on this story, but they all go to the side of the question to comment. Xuedou alone has versified it best.
343
The Blue Cliff Record1
Verse
Chan students asking about transcendent talk are especially numerous.
(One after another they come forth and make up this kind of view, countless numbers of them.)
The gap opens—see it?
(It’s already open before anything’s said. One’s own excrement does not seem to smell bad.)
Even the cake stuffed in doesn’t stop him.
(He’s replaced your eyes with wooden beads.) Even now there is confusion all over the world. (I’H draw a circle and say, “Haven’t you been
understanding this way?” What end is there to chewing over the words of others? The whole earth is desolate, killing people with sadness. I strike.)
Commentary
“Chan students asking about transcendent talk are especially numerous. Chan followers are especially fond of asking about this saying. Yunmen said, “You carry a staff across your shoulders and say you are studying Chan, studying the Way, and then go looking for a principle that goes beyond the Buddhas and patriarchs. But I ask you, during all the various activities of the twenty-four hours of the day, is there still any principle that goes beyond the Buddhas and patriarchs? Let those who can speak of it come for
ward. If there isn t anyone, then don’t stop me from acting this way and that as I please.”
Some can no longer tell right from wrong—they draw a circle, adding mud to dirt, putting on chains while wearing fetters. “The gap opens see it? What a big gap there is in this monk posing his question! Yunmen saw it open up in his question, so he used cake to block it up tight. But this monk still wouldn’t agree to stop—instead he went on asking. Thus Xuedou says, “Even the cake stuffed in doesn’t stop him.”
344
- Sixteen Bodhisattvas Bathe
“Even now there is confusion all over the world. Chan follow ers these days just go to “cake” to understand, or else they go to “beyond Buddhas and patriarchs” to make up theories. Since it’s not in these two places, in the end, where is it? Thirty years from now, when I ’ve changed my bones, I’ll tell you.
78. Sixteen Bodhisattvas Bathe
Story
In olden times there were sixteen bodhisattvas. (What s the use of forming a crowd? This bunch of idiots!) When it was time to wash, the bodhisattvas filed in to bathe. (They’ve collided with the pil lars. Why be such ignoramuses?) Suddenly they awakened to the basis of water. (Suddenly their heads are soaked with foul water.) How will you understand their saying, “Subtle contact reveals il lumination,” (It’s no longer anyone else’s business. How will you understand them? “Having knocked it down, it s nothing else. ) “and we have achieved the station of offspring of the Buddha”? (Here all the Chan practitioners in the world seek but cannot find. Why two heads, three faces?) To realize this you too must be thor oughly penetrating. (Each blow leaves a welt. Better not turn your back on me. You’re colliding with it, bumping into it. Have you
ever seen Deshan and Linji?)
Commentary
At the Surangama assembly, Bhadrapala and sixteen bodhisattvas all practiced pure conduct, and each related the basis on which he had experienced the Dharma door of complete pervasion. This is numbered as one among twenty-five kinds of complete pervasion. When it was time to bathe they filed in to bathe and suddenly awoke to the basis of water. Since they didn’t wash off dust, and they didn’t wash their bodies, tell me, what did they wash? If you can understand, then, at peace within, you realize nonratification.
345
The Blue Cliff Record
Then nothing and no one will be able to get near you. As it is said, “Ncnreification of attainment is true wisdom; if there is some thing attained, this is just semblance wisdom.”
Bodhidharma said to Shenguang, “Bring me your mind and I will pacify it for you.” Shenguang said, “When I search for my mind I can’t find it.” This little bit here is the basic root of life of Chan practitioners. There’s no more need for so many complica tions; all that’s needed is to speak of suddenly awakening to the basis of water, and you spontaneously understand.
Since they didn’t wash off dust, and didn’t wash their bodies, what did they awaken to? When you get to this realm, nothing at all is applicable —even the word “Buddha” is to be avoided. They said, “Subtle contact reveals illumination, and we have achieved the station of offspring of the Buddha.” To reveal is to make ap parent; the subtle contact is illumination. Once you awaken to the subtle contact and achieve the station of offspring of the Buddha, you are in the stage of enlightenment.
People these days also bathe, also wash in water and feel it this way; why then don’t they awaken? They are all confused and obstructed by the objects of the senses, which stick to their skins and cling to their bones. That’s why they can’t wake up immedi ately then and there. Here, if there’s nothing attained in wash ing, or contact, or the basis of water, then is this subtle contact revealing illumination or not? If here you can see directly, then this is subtle contact revealing illumination, achieving the station of offspring of the Buddha. People these days feel contact too, but do they perceive its subtlety? Subtle contact is not ordinary feel ing and feeler, where conjunction is considered contact and sepa ration is not.
When Xuansha stubbed his toe crossing the mountains and then awakened, when Deshan hits—isn’t this subtle contact?
Though it is so, to realize this you must be thoroughly penetrating. If you just search in your body, what connection is there? If you are thoroughly penetrating, then what need is there to wash? You will make the adamantine realm appear on the tip of a hair and turn the great Dharma wheel in every atom. If you can penetrate
346
78. Sixteen Bodhisattvas Bathe
in one point, then you penetrate myriad points all at once. Don’t just hold onto a single nook or den—all places are doors by which Avalokitesvara enters truth.
For the ancients too there was “awaking to the Way by hear
ing sound, illumining mind by seeing form. ” A single person may indeed awaken, but how did the sixteen bodhisattvas awaken at the same time? Thus the ancients practiced together and witnessed together, awakened together and understood together.
Xuedou picks up the meaning of their teaching to make people go to where subtle contact reveals illumination to understand. But Xuedou goes beyond the eye of their teaching to let people avoid being trapped in the net of doctrine, half-drunk and half-sober. He wants to make people directly become clean, free, and unbound.
Verse
It only requires one accomplished Chan practitioner— (There’s one right here. I’ll strike three thousand times
in the morning and eight hundred at night. Leap out of the unbreakable trap! Not even one is needed.)
Stretch out your legs on the long bench and lie down. (After all a sleepyhead. He never discusses Chan.)
In a dream you once spoke of awakening to complete pervasion—
(Already asleep, he goes on to speak of dreams. Yet I’ll
allow that you’ve seen it in dreams. Why the sleep talk?)
Though you’ve washed in fragrant water, I’ll spit right in your face.
(Tsk! He adds a layer of mud on dirt. Don’t defecate on
clean ground.)
Commentary
“ It only requires one accomplished Chan practitioner.” What does one accomplish? Once they hear it mentioned, adept Chanists im mediately go carry it out. It just takes one such Chanist—what’s the use of forming a crowd?
347
The Blue Cliff Record
“Stretch out your legs on the long bench and lie down.” An ancient said, In clear illumination there is no such thing as awakening. The idea of awakening deludes people. When you stretch out and sleep, there’s no false and no true—thus there isn’t a single thing on your mind—when hungry you eat, when tired you sleep. ”
Xuedou means that if you speak of washing and awakening to subtle contact revealing illumination, from the standpoint of such a free Chanist this is like speaking of a dream in a dream. So Xuedou says, In a dream you once spoke of awakening to complete pervasion— / Though you’ve washed in fragrant water, I ’ll spit right in your face.” Though it seems like fragrant water, in fact it’s foul water suddenly soaking your head. What complete pervasion can you go on talking about? Xuedou says that this
sort of person quite rightly gets spit in the face. I say this is add ing a layer of mud on dirt.
79. All Sounds
Introduction
When the great function manifests it doesn’t keep to patterns and rules. An adept captures you alive without exerting superfluous effort. But say, who has ever acted this way?
Story
A monk asked Touzi, “All sounds are the voice of the Buddh a- right or wrong?” (He knows how to grab the tiger’s whiskers. A
thunderclap in a clear sky. One’s own feces do not seem to stink.) Touzi said, ‘Right. ” (He totally fools ordinary people. He’s sold his body to you. He’s put it over on one side. What mental activity is this?) The monk said, Don’t fart.” (He just sees the awl is sharp; he doesn’t see the chisel is square. What is he saying? After all he suffers defeat.) Touzi hit him. (A hit. He should be hit—it won’t do to let him go.) The monk also asked, “Coarse words and subtle talk all wind up at ultimate truth—right or wrong?” (Grabbing the
348
- All Sounds
tiger’s whiskers a second time. He’s clutching the loot yet crying he’s been wronged—why? East, west, south, north the reflections and echoes are still present.) Touzi said, “ Right.” (Again he’s sold his body to you. A pitfall to trap tigers. And what mental activity is this?) The monk said, “Can I call you an ass?” (He just sees the awl is sharp; he doesn’t see the chisel is square. Though he has waves against the current, yet he has no horns on his head. With a mouth full of blood, he spits out at people.) Touzi hit him. (A hit. It won’t do to let him go. He should be hit—why does Touzi stop
before his staff is broken?)
Commentary
Touzi was plain and truthful, and he had extraordinary discernment. Whenever he was questioned, he would immediately see the heart of the matter; without expending superfluous effort, he would immediately cut off the questioner s tongue. It could be said that he set plans in motion from inside his tent that decided victory beyond a thousand miles.
This monk had taken his views of sound and form Buddhism
and stuck them to his forehead; whenever he met someone, he would ask about it. But Touzi was an adept, profoundly discerning
all who came to him.
Knowing Touzi was truthful, the monk was making a trap for him from the start—hence his subsequent remarks. Nevertheless it was Touzi who used the ability to trap tigers, fishing out the monk’s subsequent words. This monk received Touzi s answer by saying, “Don’t fart. ” As it turned out, as soon as Touzi set his hook, the monk immediately climbed onto it; anyone else would have been unable to handle the monk, but Touzi had eyes and followed up and hit him. Such ability, like a hound biting a boar, is only possible for an adept. Whether he turned left or right, Touzi fol lowed him smoothly. When the monk made a trap, wanting to grab the tiger’s whiskers, he didn’t yet know that Touzi was above his trap. When Touzi hit him, the monk unfortunately had a start but no finish. As soon as Touzi picked up his staff, if the monk had
349
The Blue Cliff Record
overturned his meditation seat, even if Touzi had used his full capacity he still would have had to fall back three thousand miles.
The monk also asked, “Coarse words and subtle talk all wind up at ultimate truth—right or wrong?” Again Touzi said “Right.” This is just like his previous answer, no different. When the monk said, Can I call you an ass?” Touzi again hit him Though the monk was making clichés, nevertheless he was still exceptional; a teacher without the eye on the forehead would have been unable to crush him. But Touzi did have room to turn around. When the monk made up a theory, he wanted to plunder Touzi’s shop, but in
the end, as before, he couldn’t do anything to the old man.
Yantou said, “In battle each one occupies a pivotal position.” Touzi let go very slowly and gathered in very swiftly. At the time, had the monk known how to turn around and show some life,' wouldn’t he have been able to act with overwhelming effectiveness? A Chan monk either doesn’t act or doesn’t quit. Since this monk was unable to spring back, he was taken in tow by Touzi.
Verse
Touzi, Touzi!
(Obviously there’s no one on earth like this truthful old man.
He spoils the sons and daughters of other people’s families.)
The wheel of his ability is unobstructed.
(What difficulty is there to handling him? There’s a bit indeed.)
He releases one and gets two—
(He replaces your eyes. Where will you see Touzi?) The same for that and the same for this.
(Act this way and you get a thrashing; don’t act this way and you still get a thrashing. If you take this monk’s place I’ll hit you.)
How pitiful the innumerable people playing in the tide;
350
- All Sounds
(The monasteries produce one or a half; they produced these two people. All the Chan practitioners in the world act this way.)
In the end they fall into the tide and die.
(Too bad. What can they do? They can’t get out of the trap. A sad person shouldn’t talk to sad people.)
If they suddenly came to life,
(My Chan seat shakes—he’s startled me. I too fall back
three thousand miles.)
The hundred rivers would reverse their flow with a roar. (Danger! It is useless to stop and think. I wouldn’t dare open my mouth. Old Touzi too must break his staff
before he’s all right.)
Commentary
“ Touzi, Touzi! / The wheel of his ability is unobstructed.” Touzi often said, “You always say Touzi is truthful, but if you suddenly went three steps down the mountain and someone asked you what Touzi s truthfulness is, how would you respond? An ancient said, Where the wheel of ability turns, the actor is still deluded.” The wheel of Touzi’s ability turns smoothly, entirely without obstructions.
Thus Xuedou says, “He releases one and gets two.” Once a monk asked Touzi, “What is the Buddha?” Touzi said, “The Bud dha.” “What is the Way?” Touzi said, “ The Way.” “What is Chan?” Touzi said, “Chan.” The monk also asked, “How is it when the moon is not yet full? ” Touzi said, “Swallowing three or four.” “ How is it after the moon is full? ” Touzi said, “Spitting out seven or eight. When Touzi dealt with people he always used this ability.
When he answered this monk he just used the one word “Right.” The monk got hit both times. Hence Xuedou says, “ The same for that and the same for this.” The first four lines have all at once completed Xuedou’s praise of Touzi.
At the end Xuedou depicts the monk, saying, “How pitiful the
innumerable people playing in the tide.” The monk dared to seize
351
The Blue Cliff Record
Touzi’s banner and drum, saying, “Don’t fart,” and “Can I call you an ass? This is where he played in the tide. When the monk had exhausted his clever maneuvers, as before he died in Touzi’s words,
so Touzi then hit him. Thus the monk “in the end falls into the tide and dies. ”
Xuedou releases the monk and says that if he suddenly came to life and overturned the meditation seat, then even Touzi would
206b have to fall back three thousand miles, and then “the hundred rivers would reverse their flow with a roar.” Not only does my seat shake, but the mountains and rivers quake and heaven and earth are blacked out. If each and every one of you were like this, I’d be beating the drums of retreat. Where will you go to settle your selves and establish your lives?
80. A Newborn Baby
Story
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a newborn baby also have the sixth consciousness?” (The moment is fleeting as a lightning flash. What newborn baby is he talking about?) Zhaozhou said, “Tossing a ball on swiftly flowing water.” (It’s gone by. Even a hawk cannot over take it. You still must check it.) The monk asked Touzi, “What is the meaning o f ‘tossing a ball on swiftly flowing water’? ” (This too is adepts checking together. Understand? It’s gone by.) Touzi said, Moment to moment, nonstop flow.” (He creates complications.)
Commentary
In the Abhidharma this sixth consciousness is set up as the true basis. Mountains, rivers, earth, sun, moon, and stars come into be ing because of it. It comes as the vanguard and leaves as the rear guard. The ancients say that the world is only mind, myriad things are only consciousness. In the stage of Buddhahood the eight consciousnesses are transformed into the four knowledges; in doctrinal schools this is called changing names without changing essence.
- A Newborn Baby
Sense faculties, objects, and consciousnesses are three. Originally we are unable to discriminate among the sense objects be fore us, but the subtle inner faculties produce consciousness, and consciousness manifests discrimination of forms—this is the sixth consciousness. The seventh consciousness, manas, can take hold of all images of the world and cause people to be vexed and troubled so that they don’t attain freedom. As for the eighth consciousness, called the storehouse consciousness, it contains all good and bad seeds. This monk knew the ideas of the verbal teachings, so he used them to question Zhaozhou: “ Does a newborn baby also have the sixth consciousness?” Though a newborn baby is equipped with the six consciousnesses, though its eyes can see and its ears can hear, it doesn’t discriminate among the six sense objects. At this time it knows nothing of good and evil, superior and inferior, right and wrong, gain and loss. A student of the Way must become again like an infant; then one cannot be moved by praise or blame, success or fame, trial or ease. Though one sees forms, one is the same as blind; though one hears sounds, one is the same as deaf. One is like a simpleton, mind immutable as the polar mountain. This is
where Chan practitioners really acquire power.
An ancient said, “My patched garment over my head, myriad concerns cease; at this time I don’t understand anything at all. Only if you can be like this will you have a little attainment. But though one is like this, nevertheless one can’t be fooled at all—as ever, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers. One is without artifice, without clinging thoughts. One is like the sun and moon moving through the sky without stopping, without announcing one has so many names and forms. One is like the sky everywhere covering and the earth everywhere supporting, mindlessly nur
turing all beings without announcing their accomplishments. Since 206c sky and earth are mindless, they last forever—what has mind has limits. One who has attained the Way is like this too. In the midst
of effortlessness, one carries out efforts, accepting all trials and pleasures with a compassionate heart.
When they got to this point the ancient still upbraided them
selves, saying, “When you’ve completely perfectly comprehended,
353
The Blue Cliff Record
there’s nothing to comprehend; even the abstruse, profound mystery is still to be rebuked.” They also said, “All things are thoroughly comprehended and all beings clearly understood—one who has arrived, sensing this, is startled in the dark.” Again it is said, “Without making a sound one goes beyond the ordinary and enters statehood. The reclining dragon is very wary of the blue pool’s clarity.” If human life can be like this always, how can a single label remain in the world? Yet even being this way, one must go on to leap out of the nest.
It says in the Flower Ornament Sutra, “Bodhisattvas in the eighth stage, Immovability, turn the Dharma Wheel in an atom, using effortless knowledge. At all times, in all activities, they don’t cling to gain and loss but let themselves flow into the ocean of omniscience.” When Chan practitioners get here they still must not become attached but follow the occasion freely. When they have food and drink, they partake of it; neither the word certainty nor the word uncertainty can be applied to this transcendental matter. Shandao said, “Haven’t you even seen a newborn baby? Has a baby ever said, ‘I know how to read the scriptures’? At that time it does not know the meaning of having the Buddha nature or not having the Buddha nature. As one grows up one learns various sorts of intellectual knowledge; then one comes to claim ability and understanding, not knowing that this is affliction by acquired defilements. Among the sixteen contemplation practices, the baby’s practice is best. When it’s babbling it symbolizes the student of the Way, detached from the discriminating mind that grasps and
rejects. That’s why I praise infants. I can make a comparison by taking the case of a baby, but if I say the baby is the Way, people of these times would misunderstand.”
Nanquan said, “Eighteen times I was able to make a living. ” Zhaozhou said, “Eighteen times I was able to break up the family and scatter the household. ” He also said, “I was in the south for twenty years and only varied my application of mind at mealtimes. ” Caoshan asked a monk, “In concentration the bodhisattva smells the musky elephant crossing the river very clearly; what
354
scripture does this come from?” The monk said, “From the Nir vana scripture.” Caoshan said, “ Does one smell before or after con centration?” The monk said, “You’re flowing.” Caoshan said, “Receive it on the river bank. ”
The Surangama Sutra says, “Stillness merges into stillness,
going into the bounds of consciousness. ”
The Lankavatara Sutra says, “ Birth of signs is being obstructed by grasping. Birth of conceptions is false thinking. Birth of flows is pursuing falsehood, going round in circles. Even if you reach the state of effortlessness, you’re still in the midst of the charac teristics of flowing.”
One must get out of the third aspect, birth of flows, in order to
be joyfully alive and free. Therefore Guishan asked Yangshan, “How is it with you?” Yangshan said, “Are you asking about my perceptive understanding or my active understanding? If it’s my active understanding, I don’t know. If it’s my perceptive under standing, it’s like a pitcher of water poured into another pitcher.” If you can be like this you can be the teacher of a region.
When Zhaozhou said, “Tossing a ball on swiftly flowing water,” he was already turning smoothly. When you toss it on swiftly flow ing water, in a blink of an eye it’s gone. As the Surangama Sutra says, “Looked upon from afar, swiftly flowing water seems still.” An ancient said, “ In fast-flowing rivers the currents of water never stop and they are unaware of each other—all things are like this too.” The meaning of Zhaozhou’s answer is just like these sayings.
The monks also asked Touzi, “What is the meaning o f ‘tossing a ball on swiftly flowing water’? ” Touzi said, “Moment to moment, nonstop flow, ” spontaneously matching the question. The practice of Zhaozhou and Touzi was so thoroughgoing that they answered as one. They no longer make use of calculations—as soon as you question them they already know what you are getting at.
Although a baby’s sixth consciousness makes no effort, nevertheless from moment to moment it doesn’t stop, flowing on like a hidden river. Of Touzi’s answer we can say that he profoundly discerns whatever comes up.
The Blue Cliff Record
Verse
Sixth consciousness inactive—he puts forth a question. (Though he has eyes, he is like a blind man; though
he has ears, he is like a deaf man. The clear mirror is on its stand, the bright pearl is in the palm. In one line Xuedou has said it all.)
The adepts have both discerned where he’s coming from—
(What’s the need? Still, one must distinguish initiate from naive. Just experience it, then you’ll know.)
On the boundless swiftly flowing water, tossing a ball; (Consistent from beginning to end. Gone past.
What’s he saying?)
Where it comes down, it doesn’t stay—who can watch it?
(Watch it and you’ll go blind. It’s gone. “Receive it on the river bank. ”)
Commentary
“Sixth consciousness inactive—he puts forth a question.” When the ancients studied the Way, they brought themselves to this point; this is called achievement of nonapplication. They were the same as a newborn baby: though they had eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, they didn’t discriminate among the six sense ob jects. In sum, they were nonactive. When you get to this realm, then you can overcome dragons and tigers, die sitting or standing. Right now people should just put the myriad phenomena before their eyes to rest at once. What need is there to get above the eighth stage before you can be like this? Although there’s no activity, as ever mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers.
In a previous verse Xuedou said, “In living there’s an e y e - still, it’s the same as death. Why use antiserum to test an adept?” Since Zhaozhou and Touzi were adepts, he says, “The adepts have both discerned where he’s coming from— / On the boundless swiftly flowing water, tossing a ball.” Touzi said, “Moment to moment,
356
nonstop flow.” Do you know what this really means? At the end Xuedou has people set eyes on it for themselves and watch. Hence he says, “Where it comes down, it doesn’t stay—who can watch it?” This is Xuedou’s living statement. But what does it really mean?
81. Shooting the Elk of Elks
Introduction
One captures the banner and seizes the drums, beyond the ken of the sages. One cuts off confusing obscurities, beyond the reach of myriad devices. This is not the wondrous functioning of spiritual powers, nor is it the suchness of the basic essence. Tell me, what does one rely on to attain such marvels?
Story
A monk asked Yaoshan, “On a level field, in the shallow grass, the elk and deer form a herd. How can one shoot the elk of elks?” (He enters enemy headquarters with his helmet off. He raises his head wearing horns. He pulls an arrow out the back of his head.) Yaoshan said, “ Look—an arrow! ” (He counterattacks. If you’re not running downhill fast, it’s hard to catch up with him. Bulls-eye!) The monk collapsed. (Obviously this monk is unusual, but once dead he doesn’t revive. He’s giving play to his spirit.) Yaoshan said, “Attendant, drag this dead man out.” (He acts according to the imperative. He doesn’t bother to test the monk again. The first arrow was still light; the second arrow is deep.) The monk then ran out. (He opens his eyes inside the coffin; he finds life in death. He still has some breath left.) Yaoshan said, “When will this guy playing with a mud ball ever be done?” (Too bad Yaoshan let him go. He acts according to the imperative, but he’s adding frost to snow.) Xuedou commented, “ Though he lived for three steps, after five steps he had to die.” (One hand lifts up, one hand presses down. Even if he ran a hundred steps he would still have to lose his life. Watch the arrow. Where is Xuedou’s meaning? If he lived the same and died
207b
The Blue Cliff Record
the same, Yaoshan would stare agape. He’s just like an iron ham merhead with no hole—useless.)
C om m en tary
In the Cao-Dong tradition this is called a question that uses things, or a question testing the host, used to clarify the present state of mind.
Ordinarily deer and elk are easy to shoot. Only the elk of elks, the king among deer, is very hard to shoot. This king elk always sharpens its horns on rocks of cliffs, so they’re sharp as swords. It defends the herd with its own body, so even tigers cannot get near.
Likewise, this monk seems intelligent and alert as he draws on this to question Yaoshan to reveal what he would do first. Yao shan said, “Look—an arrow!” An expert teaching master, he is indeed unusual, swift as a spark, a flash of lightning.
When Sanping first called on Shigong, as soon as Shigong saw him coming, he went through the motion of bending a bow and said, “Look—an arrow!” Sanping bared his chest and said, “ This is the arrow that kills—what is the arrow that brings life?” Shigong plucked the bowstring thrice, whereat Sanping bowed. Shigong said, “After thirty years with a single bow and two arrows, today
207c I ’ve finally managed to shoot half a sage.” Then he broke his bow and arrows.
Later Sanping took this up with Datian. Datian said, “Since it is the arrow that brings life, why draw it on a bowstring?” Sanping was speechless. Datian said, “ Thirty years hence it will still be hard to find someone to bring up these words. ”
Fadeng composed this verse:
Of old we had master Shigong; Setting his bow and arrows, he sat. He went on like this for thirty years; Not a single one understood.
Sanping came and hit the target,
And father and son reached harmony. Thinking back carefully,
All along they were shooting the mound.
358
- Shooting the Elk of Elks
Shigong’s strategy was the same as Yaoshan’s. Sanping had the eye on the forehead, so he hit the target immediately given a single phrase. It was just like Yaoshan saying, “Look—an arrow!” and this monk then collapsing, playing the elk. The monk seemed to be an adept too, but he had a start but no finish. He had set his trap to make Yaoshan fall in, but Yaoshan was an adept and kept on pressing relentlessly. When Yaoshan said, “Attendant, drag this dead man out,” it was as if he was extending his battle lines forward. This monk then ran out: he may have been right, but he wasn’t free and clean, his hands and feet were stuck. That’s why Yaoshan said, “When will this guy playing with a mud ball ever be done?” Had Yaoshan not had the last word then, he would have been criticized down through the ages.
Yaoshan said, “Look—an arrow,” whereupon the monk col lapsed. Was this understanding or not? If you say it was, why did Yaoshan say he was playing with a mud ball? This was extremely vicious. It was like when a monk asked Deshan, “ How is it when a student with a sharp sword tries to take the master’s head?” Deshan extended his neck to him and shouted; the monk said, “ The master’s head has fallen.” Deshan lowered his head and re turned to his room. Also, Yantou asked a monk, “Where have you come from?” The monk said, “From the western capital.” Yantou said, “After the rebel Huangchao passed by, did you get his sword?” The monk said he did; Yantou extended his neck towards him and shouted. The monk said, “The master’s head has fallen.” Yantou laughed. Cases of this kind are all traps to fell tigers, just like the present story. Yaoshan wasn’t taken in by this monk—since he saw through him, he just kept on pressing.
Xuedou says, “ Though this monk lived for three steps, after five steps he had to die.” Though the monk knew very well how to look at the arrow and immediately collapsed, when Yaoshan said, “Attendant, drag this dead man out,” he ran out. Xuedou says he’s afraid he won’t live beyond three steps. Had the monk leaped beyond five steps at that time, no one in the world would have been able to do anything to him.
359
The Blue Cliff Record
In a meeting of adepts, from beginning to end there must be an uninterrupted interchange of guest and host; only then is there freedom and independence. Since the monk wasn’t able to con tinue from beginning to end, consequently he meets with Xuedou’s
208a censure. But at the end Xuedou himself uses his words for his verse:
Verse
The elk of elks—
(Look on high. He raises his head, wearing horns.) You should take a look.
(What sort of thing is it? He’s running in the secondary level. If you want to shoot, then shoot, but why look?)
Yaoshan releases one arrow—
(On target. You must realize Yaoshan is an expert.) The monk runs three steps.
(He’s lively, but only for three steps. He’s been dead a long time.)
Had he lived for five steps,
(What for? Leap a hundred steps. How is it when unexpectedly finding life in the midst of death?)
He would have formed a herd and chased the tiger. (The two reflect each other. You should fall back
three thousand miles. All the Chan practitioners in the world let him come forth, but he’s still in a nest in the weeds.)
The correct eye has always been given to a hunter. (Yet Yaoshan doesn’t consent to acknowledge these
words. It’s so for Yaoshan—what about Xuedou?
It doesn’t concern Yaoshan, it doesn’t concern Xuedou, it doesn’t concern me, and it doesn’t concern you.)
Xuedou said loudly, “ Look—an arrow!”
(One punishment for all the crimes. You must fall back three thousand miles from them. I hit, saying, “He’s already choked you. ”)
360
Shooting the Elk of Elks
Commentary
“The elk of elks— / You should take a look.” Chan practitioners must have the eye of the elk of elks and the horns of the elk of elks; they must have devices and strategy. Even if it’s a fierce winged tiger or a horned tiger, the elk of elks can still preserve itself and keep harm at a distance. At that time when this monk collapsed, he was saying of himself that he was the elk of elks.
“Yaoshan releases one arrow— / The monk runs three steps.” When Yaoshan said, “Look—an arrow,” the monk fell down; when Yaoshan said, “Attendant, drag this dead man out,” the monk ran out. He did very well, but he was only able to run three steps.
“Had he lived for five steps, / He would have formed a herd and chased the tiger.” Xuedou says, “I’m afraid that after five steps he had to die; had he been able to leap beyond five steps and been alive, he would have been able to gather his herd and gone to chase the tiger.” The horns of the elk of elks are sharp as spears— when a tiger sees them, even it becomes afraid and flees. This elk is the king among deer, always leading the herd in driving tigers to another mountain.
Finally Xuedou praises Yaoshan for having a way to express himself in that situation. “The correct eye has always been given to a hunter.” Yaoshan is like a hunter who knows how to shoot and this monk is like the elk.
Then, having related this story, Xuedou wrapped it all up in a single bundle and said loudly, “ Look—an arrow!” At once those who had been sitting and standing there were unable to stir.
361
82. The Stable Body of Reality
Introduction
Only those with eyes can know the fishing line. Only adepts can handle devices outside of patterns. But what is the fishing line? What are devices beyond patterns?
Story
A monk asked Dalong, “The physical body decays; what is the stable body of reality?” (His statement makes them into two. Still, it’s all right to separate them.) Dalong said, “The mountain flowers bloom like brocade; the valley streams brim blue as indigo.” (A flute with no holes striking a felt pounding board. The whole can not be broken apart. When someone comes from one place, he goes to another.)
Commentary
2 0 8 b If you search for this thing in words, it’s like trying to hit the moon with a stick—you won’t reach. An ancient clearly stated, “If you want to attain intimacy, don’t ask with a question. Why? Because the question is in the answer and the answer is in the question.” This monk, carrying a load of crudeness, exchanged it for a load of confusion; in posing this question, his defeat is not slight. How could anyone but Dalong manage to cover heaven and earth? The monk asking thus and Dalong answering thus is a single whole. Dalong didn’t move at all; it was like seeing a rabbit and releasing a falcon, like seeing a hole and putting in a plug. Is this situation in the canon? Undeniably his answer is extraordinary, but his words have no flavor and choke people. Thus it is said, “When white clouds lie across the valley mouth, many birds returning by
night can’t find their nests.”
Some say this was just answering glibly. Those who under stand this way are exterminators of the Buddha’s race. They don’t know that with one device, one perspective, the ancients broke
362
The Stable Body of Reality
fetters and chains, that every word and phrase had something precious within.
If one has the eye and brain of a Chanist, sometimes one holds
fast and sometimes one lets go. Illumination and function simultaneous, both subject and object removed, both sides let go and both sides taken in, facing the situation one changes accordingly. Without the great function and great capacity, how would one be able to enclose heaven and earth like this? One is like a clear mirror reflecting accurately whatever comes before it.
This story is the same as that of the flowering hedge, though the meaning is not the same. Here the monk’s question was un clear, so Dalong’s answer was exactly appropriate. A monk asked Yunmen, “ How is it when the tree withers and the leaves fall?” Yunmen said, “The body exposed in the autumn wind.” This is called arrow points meeting. Here the monk asked Dalong, “ The physical body decays; what is the stable body of reality?” Dalong said, “ The mountain flowers bloom like brocade; the valley streams brim blue as indigo.” This is just like “You go west to Qin, I go east to Lu” —since he acts this way, I don’t act this way. Matching Dalong’s answer with Yunmen’s, they’re opposites. It’s easy to see Yunmen acting thus, but it’s hard to see Dalong acting otherwise. Nevertheless, Dalong’s speech is very subtle.
Verse
Asking without knowing,
(East and west not distinguished. Playing with the thing without knowing its name. Buy the hat to fit the head.)
Answered, still not understanding.
(South and north not differentiated. The skull was switched. South of the river, north of the river.)
The moon is cold, the wind is high—
(What is it like? Today is precisely this time. All people have eyes but have never seen, have ears but have never heard.)
On the ancient cliff, frigid juniper.
363
The Blue Cliff Record
(Even better when it’s not raining. A hopeless flute hitting a felt pounding board.)
How delightful to meet an enlightened one on the road, (You must get here yourself too. Give me back my staff.
They come like this, forming a crowd.) Who doesn’t use speech or silence to reply.
(Where will you see Dalong? What would you use to answer him properly?)
His hand grasps the white jade whip (It’s broken to pieces.)
And smashes the black dragon’s pearl.
(It remains for future people to look at. Too bad.) If he hadn’t smashed it,
(If he let his move go, again you’d go on like this.) He would have increased its flaws.
(Why play with a mud ball? He’d seem more and more decrepit; his crimes would fill the sky.)
The nation has a code of laws—
(Those who know the law fear it. “In the morning three thousand blows, at night eight hundred blows.”)
Three thousand articles of offenses.
(He’s only told half of it. There are eighty-four thousand. Countless eons of uninterrupted hell wouldn’t make up for half of it.)
Commentary
Xuedou versifies here with much skill. Before when he versified Yunmen’s “The body exposed in the autumn wind,” he said, “Since the question has the source, the answer too is in the same place.” This case is otherwise: Xuedou instead says, “Asking without know ing, / Answered, still not understanding.” Dalong’s answer was a glimpse from the side that was simply outstanding. His answer was so clear that whoever questioned him this way had already incurred defeat even before asking. With his answer he was able to bend down to the monk and match him perfectly, adapting to
364
- The Stable Body of Reality
the needs of the situation: “The mountain flowers bloom like bro cade; the valley streams brim blue as indigo.” How will you under stand Dalong’s meaning right now?
As a glimpse from the side, Dalong’s answer was truly extraordinary. Thus Xuedou comes out with his verse to make people re alize that the moon is cold, the wind is high and still strikes the frigid juniper on the ancient cliff. How do you understand Xuedou’s meaning? Thus I just said it’s a holeless flute hitting a felt pound ing board.
The verse is completed with just these first four lines but
Xuedou was still concerned lest people make rationalizations, so he said, “How delightful to meet an enlightened one on the road, / Who doesn’t use speech or silence to reply.” This matter is not perception or cognition, not discriminating thought. So it is said, “Direct and truthful, not bringing anything else, moving on alone— what is there to depend on? On the road, if you meet an enlight ened one, don’t use speech or silence to reply.” This is a verse of Xiangyan that Xuedou has drawn on. A monk asked Zhaozhou, “How should one reply, if not with speech or silence?” Zhaozhou said, “Show your vessel.” These sayings are the same as Dalong’s; they don’t fall within the scope of your feelings or concepts.
What is this like? “ His hand grasps the white jade whip / And
smashes the black dragon’s pearl.” Thus the command of the founders must be carried out, cutting off everything in the ten directions. This is the matter of the sword’s edge, for which one must have this kind of strategy. Otherwise you turn your back on the sages of all time. When you get here you must be free, then naturally you’ll have the advantage. This is how transcendent people act. “If he hadn’t smashed it,” necessarily “he would have increased its flaws,” and thus would have seemed broken down and decrepit.
But in the end, how can you be right? “ The nation has a code
of law— / Three thousand articles of offenses.” There are three thousand subdivisions of punishments, and none is greater than that for not being respectful. This monk offended against all three
365
The Blue Cliff Record
thousand articles at once. How so? Because he didn’t deal with people on the basis of his own thing. As for Dalong, he of course was not this way.
83. The Ancient Buddhas and the Pillars
Story
Yunmen said, “The ancient Buddhas and the pillars merge—what level of mental activity is this?” (Three thousand miles away. There’s no connection. Cracked open.) He answered himself, (When someone in the eastern house dies, someone from the western house assists in the mourning. The single compounded form cannot be grasped.) “On south mountain clouds gather;” (Throughout heaven
and earth, they can’t be seen. A knife cannot cut through.) “on north mountain rain falls.” (Not a drop falls. Half south of the river, half north of the river.)
Commentary
Great master Yunmen produced over eighty enlightened teach ers. Seventeen years after he died, his tomb was opened and his body was found upright and sound as in life. His vision was clear, his mind swift. All his pointers, alternative remarks, and statements on behalf of others were direct and uncompromising. This present story is like sparks, like lightning, baffling and ungraspable. Librarian Qing said, “Is there such talk in the Canon? ”
People these days make their living on emotional interpretations, saying, “The Buddha is the guide of the world, the compassionate father of beings. Why then do the ancient Buddhas merge with the pillars?” If you understand this way, you’ll never find it. Some call Yunmen’s saying calling out from nothingness. They don’t know that the talk of Chan masters cuts off conceptualization, cuts off emotional evaluation, cuts off birth and death, cuts off dogmatism, and enters the absolute without retaining anything
366
- The Ancient Buddhas and the Pillars
at all. As soon as you rationalize and calculate, you tie your hands and feet.
But tell me, what did Yunmen mean? Just unify mind and environment; then judgments of good and bad won’t be able to shake you. Then it will be all right whether you say there is or there isn’t; it will be all right whether you have mental activity or not. When you get here, each clap of the hands is the true imperative. Wuzu said, “Yunmen, supposedly so great, really didn’t have much guts. If it were me, I would just have told him, ‘The eighth level of mental activity.’ ”
He said, “The ancient Buddhas and the pillars merge—what level of mental activity is this?” In that moment he wrapped it all up in front of you. When a monk asked him what this meant, Yun men said, “A sash costs thirty cents.” He had the eye to settle heaven and earth.
Since no one understood, afterward he answered himself: “On south mountain clouds gather; on north mountain rain falls.” Thus he opened up a route of entry for future students. That’s why Xue- dou picks out the place where he settles heaven and earth to make people see. But as soon as you blunder into calculation, you stumble past and miss it, though it’s right in front of you. You simply must go to the source of Yunmen’s fundamental meaning to understand clearly his lofty mind.
Verse
South mountain clouds,
(Throughout heaven and earth they can’t be seen. A knife cannot cut in.)
North mountain rain—
(Not a drop falls. Half south of the river, half north of the river.)
The twenty-eight and the six see it before them. (Wherever I look I can’t see. Xuedou is dragging in
others. The lanterns are hung on the pillars.) In Korea they’ve gone up into the hall;
367
The Blue Cliff Record
(Surging up in the east, sinking down in the west. The east guild doesn’t see the profits of the west guild. Where does he get this news?)
In China they haven’t yet beaten the drum.
(Fifteen minutes late. Give me back the story. At first he doesn’t get there; afterwards he goes too far.)
In suffering, happiness—
(Who would you have know this?) In happiness, suffering—
(A double case. Who would you have bring this up?
Suffering is suffering, happiness is happiness. Why two heads, three faces?)
Who says gold is like ordure?
(Those with eyes will discern. Try to brush it off and
look. Uh-oh! Too bad! Tell me, is it the ancient Buddhas or the pillars?)
Commentary
“South mountain clouds, / North mountain rain.” Xuedou buys the hat to fit the head, watches the wind to set the sail. On the edge of a sword he puts down footnotes for you. As for “ The twenty-eight (Indian patriarchs) and the six (Chinese patriarchs) see it before them,” don’t misunderstand. This simply versifies “ The ancient Bud dhas and the pillars merge—what level of mental activity is this?”
Afterwards Xuedou opens up a road and creates complications to let you see Yunmen’s meaning. “In Korea they’ve gone up into the hall; / In China they haven’t yet beaten the drum.” Xuedou goes where thunder peals and comets fly and says, “In suffering, happiness— / In happiness suffering.” He seems to have piled up jewels and put them here.
Finally there’s this little line—“Who says gold is like ordure?” This is from Chanyue’s poem “ Travel is Hard”:
People cannot fathom the ocean’s depth or mountains’ height—
Past and present, more and more green and blue.
368
- Vimalakirti’s Door of Nonduality
Don’t associate with the shallow and superficial— The low ground can only produce brambles.
Who says gold is like ordure?
No more news of friends who fell out. Traveling the road is hard;
The hardships of travel, see for yourself.
And isn’t the territory broad and the people few? Cloud dwelling saints!
84. Vimalakirti’s Door of Nonduality
Introduction
Though you say “it is,” there is nothing “is” can affirm. Though you say “it is not,” there is nothing “is not” can negate. When is and is not are left behind, and gain and loss are forgotten, then you are clean and free. But tell me, what is it in front of you and in back of you? If there is a Chan practitioner who comes forward and says, “In front is the Buddha shrine and the main gate; be hind is the abbot’s room and private quarters,” tell me, does this person have eyes or not? If you can judge, I ’ll allow that you have personally seen the ancients.
Story
Vimalakirti asked Manjusri, (This fellow is making quite a fuss. He should shut up.) “What is a bodhisattva’s entry into the Dharma Door of Non duality?” (He knows yet deliberately transgresses.) Manjusri said, “According to what I think,” (What is he saying? It simply can’t be explained. He’s wearing fetters, carrying evidence of his crime, hauling himself into the magistrate’s office.) “in all things,” (What’s he calling ‘all things’?) “no words, no speech,” (What’s he saying?) “no demonstration, and no recognition,’ (He might fool others...) “leaving behind all questions and answers;” (What is he saying?) “this is entering the Dharma Door of Non duality.” (Why enter? What’s the use of so many complications?)
369
The Blue Cliff Record
Then Manjusri asked Vimalakirti, “We have already spoken. Now you tell us, what is a bodhisattva’s entry into the Dharma Door of Nonduality?” (Not even the Buddhas of all times, let alone Vimala kirti, can speak about this one support. Manjusri has turned the spear around and stabbed one man to death. The arrow hits Vimala kirti just as he was shooting at others.) Xuedou said, “What did
Vimalakirti say?” (Tsk! Xuedou, drawing ten thousand arrows to his heart, speaks the truth in Vimalaklrti’s place.) He also said, “Completely exposed.” (Not only then, but now too, it is so. Xuedou is drawing his bow after the bandit has gone. Though he uses all his strength to help people, nevertheless calamity comes from his own door. But tell me, can Xuedou see the ultimate point? Since he hasn’t even dreamed of it, how can he say “Completely exposed”? Danger! Even the golden lion cannot search it out.)
Commentary
Vimalakirti had various bodhisattvas speak on the Dharma Door of Nonduality. At the time, thirty-two bodhisattvas all took dualistic views of creation and noncreation, of the two truths, absolute and conventional, and merged them into a monistic view that they considered to be the Dharma Door of Nonduality. Finally he asked Manjusri, who said, “According to what I think, in all things, no words and no speech, no demonstration and no recognition, leav ing behind all questions and answers; this is entering the Dharma Door of Nonduality.” Since the other thirty-two had used words to dispense with words, Manjusri used no-words to dispense with words. At once he swept everything away, not wanting anything, and considered this to be the Dharma Door of Nonduality. He still didn’t realize that this was the sacred tortoise dragging its tail, that in wiping away the tracks he was making traces. It’s just like a broom sweeping away dust; though the dust is removed, the tracks of the broom remain.
Since in the end, as before, some traces were left, Manjusri then asked Vimalakirti, “We have already spoken. Now you tell us, what is a bodhisattva’s entry into the Dharma Door of Nonduality?”
370
Vimalakirti’s Door of Nonduality
Vimalakirti was silent. If you’re alive, you’ll never sink into stag nant water. If you make up such views, you’re like a mad dog chasing a clod of earth.
Xuedou didn’t say Vimalakirti kept silent, nor did he say he
sat there silently. Xuedou just went to the critical point and said, “What did Vimalakirti say?” But when Xuedou spoke thus, did he see Vimalakirti? He hadn’t seen him even in a dream.
Vimalakirti was an ancient Buddha who had a family and house
hold. He helped Sakyamuni Buddha teach. He had inconceivable intelligence, inconceivable perspective, inconceivable psychic pow ers, and miraculous abilities. Inside one room he accommodated thirty-two thousand jewel lion thrones and a multitude of eighty thousand, without it being crowded. But tell me, what principle is this? Can it be called supernatural power? Don’t misunderstand; if it is the Dharma Door of Nonduality, only by the same attain ment and the same experience can there be common mutual wit ness and knowledge.
Only Manjusri was able to give a reply. Even so, was he able
to avoid Xuedou’s critical examination? Xuedou, talking as he did, also had to meet with these two. Xuedou said, “What did Vimala kirti say?” and “Completely exposed.” You tell me, where is the exposure? This little bit has nothing to do with gain or loss, nor does it fall into right and wrong. It’s like being on a ten-mile-high cliff; if you can give up your life and leap off, you may see Vimala kirti in person. If you cannot give up, you’re like a ram caught in a fence. Xuedou had abandoned his life, so he produced it in verse:
Verse
Tsk! This is old Vimalakirti!
(Why snap at him? In the morning three thousand blows, in the evening eight hundred blows. Snapping at him doesn’t accomplish anything. He deserves
a thrashing.)
He suffers an empty affliction out of compassion for living beings,
210a
The Blue Cliff Record
(Why have compassion for them? They themselves have the diamond sword. For this idle affair Vimalakirti increased their ignorance. He took the trouble but accomplished nothing.)
Lying ill in Vaisall,
(On whose account does he do this? It involves everyone.) His whole body withered and emaciated.
(Leaving aside his illness for a moment, why did he frown? He can’t eat or breathe.)
ManjusrI, teacher of the seven Buddhas, comes
(When a guest comes one must attend to him. When a thief comes one must beat him. ManjusrI brings along a crowd. It takes an adept for this.)
To the single room that’s been swept repeatedly; (There is still this. After all Vimalakirti is living in a
ghost cave.)
He asks about the Door of Nonduality.
(Were there anything that could be said, it would have been said by him. I hit, saying, “You too have searched without finding. ”)
Then Vimalakirti leans and falls. (Heavens! What are you saying?) He doesn’t lean and fall—
(He finds life in the midst of death; there’s still some breath in him.)
The golden lion has no place to look. (Tsk! Do you see? Heavens!)
Commentary
Xuedou says, “ Tsk! This old Vimalakirti!” Why does he start off snapping at him? Right off Xuedou cuts right through with the diamond sword. Vimalakirti should be given three thousand blows in the morning and eight hundred blows in the evening.
Vimalakirti means Pure Name in Sanskrit. He was also known as the Golden Grain Buddha. A monk asked Yunju, “If he was the
372
- Vimalakirti’s Door of Nonduality
Golden Grain Buddha, why did he listen to the Dharma in the congregation of Sakyamuni Buddha?” Yunju said, “He didn’t pit himself against others.” Someone who is greatly liberated has noth ing to do with becoming a Buddha or not becoming a Buddha. If you say such a one practices to attain Buddhahood, this has even less to do with it. As the Complete Enlightenment Sutra says, “ If you use your routine mind to produce routine views, you will never be able to enter the Buddha’s ocean of peaceful quiescence.”
Yongjia said, “Whether he’s right or wrong, people cannot know. Whether he goes against or goes along, the gods cannot fathom. If he goes along, he turns toward the stage of Buddha hood; if he goes against, he enters the realms of sentient beings.” Chan Master Shou said, “Even if you can perfect yourself and get to this realm, you still can’t follow your inclinations. Only when you have experienced uncontaminated sainthood can you go along or go against.” Thus Xuedou said, “He suffers an empty affliction out of compassion for living beings.” In the scripture Vimalakirti says, “Since sentient beings have illnesses, I also have an illness. ” Xuedou says, “Lying ill in Vaisali, ” because Vimalakirti manifested his illness in the city of Vaisall, “His whole body withered and emaciated.” Vimalakirti used his physical illness to expound the Dharma. He said, “ This body has no permanence, no strength, no power, no stability; it’s a thing that quickly decays; it can’t be relied on. It produces suffering and trouble, a mass of diseases. It is a compound of mental and physical elements. ”
“Manjusri, teacher of the seven Buddhas, comes” —Manjusri was the teacher of the seven Buddhas of antiquity, but he obeyed Sakyamuni Buddha’s instructions to go ask Vimalakirti about his illness. “To the single room that’s been swept repeatedly.” Vimala kirti had cleared everything out of his room, just leaving a bench. When Manjusri arrived, he asked about the Dharma Door of Non duality, so Xuedou says “ He asks about the Door of Nonduality.”
“ Then Vimalakirti leans and falls” —Vimalakirti frowned. Chan followers these days say his speechlessness was the leaning and falling. But don’t mistakenly go by the zero point of the scale.
The Blue Cliff Record
Pushing you up onto a ten-mile cliff, Xuedou then says, “He doesn’t lean and fall.” With one hand he lifts up; with one hand he pushes down. Xuedou has this kind of skill, and the way he uses it is sharp and clear. This line versifies his own comment, “What did Vimalakirti say?”
“The golden lion has no place to look. ” It was not only this way at that time, but it’s this way right now. Do you see old Vimalakirti? Even if the whole world, the mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, and forests all turned into a golden lion, you still would no be able to find him
85. A Tiger’s Roar
Introduction
To hold the world fast without the slightest leak, so that all the people in the world lose their points and become tongue-tied— this is the true imperative for Chanists. To radiate light from the forehead that shines through the four quarters—this is the ada mantine eye of Chanists. To turn iron into gold and gold into iron, to capture suddenly and release suddenly—this is the staff of Chanists. To silence everyone in the world so that there’s no way for them to expostulate and they fall back three thousand miles— this is the mettle of Chanists. But tell me, when one is not this way at all, who is this?
Story
A monk came to the place of the hermit of Tongfeng and asked, “What if you suddenly encountered a tiger here?” (An expert at playing with shadows. There’s one or a half in the nest of weeds.) The hermit roared like a tiger. (He adds error to error. Nonethe less he does have fangs and claws. They are born alike and die alike. “Hearing words, understand the source.”) The monk made a gesture of fright. (Two men playing with mud. The monk saw the opportunity and acted. He seems to be right but really isn’t.) The hermit laughed. (This amounts to something. There’s a sword in
374
- A Tiger’s Roar
his laugh. He can let go and can also gather in.) The monk said, “You old bandit!” (One must see through this. Defeat. Both let go.) The hermit said, “What can you do to me?” (I would slap him across the ear. What a pity to let him go. He adds frost to snow.) The monk gave up. (Thus he was stopped. Neither of them were done. Heavens!) Xuedou said, “ This is all right, but these two wicked bandits could only cover their ears to steal a bell.” (The words are still in our ears. They have been examined by Xuedou. But how should they have acted to avoid Xuedou’s criticism? No Chanist in the world reaches that.)
Commentary
Observe how those two had such knowing eyes and capable hands. Where is the riddle? Though produced to meet the situation, each
device, object, word, or statement of the ancients is naturally alive,
if you see them thoroughly and correctly. Xuedou picked this story to make people know wrong from right and discern gain and loss. Nevertheless, from the standpoint of adepts, though it’s handled in terms of gain and loss, after all there is no gain or loss. If you view those ancients in terms of gain and loss, you miss the point entirely. People today should each find the place where there’s no gain or loss; after that you can discern people in terms of gain and loss. If you only apply your mind to choosing among words and phrases, when will you ever be done?
Yunmen said, “Pilgrims, don’t just wander over the country idly, just wanting to pick up and hold onto useless words. As soon as some teacher speaks, you immediately ask about Chan and the Way, about transcendence and accommodation, about how and what. You make great volumes of commentaries, which you stuff into your bellies to figure out. Wherever you go you put your heads together by the stove in groups, babbling on and on. These, you say, are words of eloquence; these, words referring to self; these, words referring to things; these words from within the essence. You try to comprehend the old fathers and mothers of your house. Once you have gobbled down your meal, you only speak of dreams
375
The Blue Cliff Record
and say you have understood Buddhism. You should know that if you go on this way you will never be done.”
In the temporary exercises of the ancients, there were no such views as victory and defeat, gain and loss, right and wrong.
Tongfeng had seen Linji. At the time of the story he lived in a hut deep in the mountains. This monk came there and asked, “What if you suddenly encountered a tiger here?” Tongfeng then roared like a tiger; he rightly went to the thing to act. The monk too knew how to meet error with error, so he made a gesture of fright. When the hermit laughed, the monk said, “You old bandit!” Tongfeng said, “What can you do to me?” This is all right, but neither of them finished. Ever since then they’ve been criticized. Thus Xuedou said, “ This is all right, but these two wicked bandits could only cover their ears to steal a bell.” Though both were ban dits, still they didn’t take the opportunity to use it; hence they were covering their own ears to steal a bell. With these two elders, it s as though they set up battle lines of a million troops but only struggled over a broom.
To discuss this matter it is necessary to have the ability to kill people without blinking an eye. If you always let go and never capture, or always kill and never bring to life, you will not avoid the scornful laughter of others. Though this is so, these ancients still didn’t have so many concerns. Observe how they both saw their opportunity and acted. Wuzu spoke of the concentration of spiritual powers at play, the concentration of the torch of wisdom, and the concentration of the supreme adornment. It’s just that people of later times don’t have their feet on the ground; they just go criticize the ancients and say there is gain and loss. Some say the hermit clearly lost the advantage, but this misses the mark.
Xuedou said, “When these two met, it was all letting go.” When the monk said, “What if you suddenly encountered a tiger here?” and Tongfeng roared, this was letting go. And when he said, “What can you do to me?” this too was letting go. In every instance they fell into the secondary level of activity. Xuedou said, “If you want to act, then act.” People today hear such talk and say that the
376
- A Tiger’s Roar
hermit should have carried out the imperative for the monk. But you shouldn’t blindly punish and beat the hermit.
As for Deshan hitting people the minute they came in the door, and Linji shouting at people the minute they came in the door, what was their intent? In the end Xuedou makes this verse just like this. But in the end, how will you avoid covering your ears to steal a bell?
Verse
If you don’t grab it when you see it,
(You’ve stumbled by. It’s already a myriad miles away.) You’ll think about it a thousand miles away.
(Regretting you weren’t careful from the first. Heavens!) Fine stripes—
(Take what’s due you and get out. What could he do—
he didn’t know to function.)
But he hasn’t got claws and fangs.
(I only fear the use of them will be unclear. I’ll talk to you when your claws and fangs are ready.)
Haven’t you seen the sudden encounter on Mt. Daxiong?
(If there’s a rule, go by the rule; if there’s no rule, go by the example.)
The vast sound and light shake the earth—
(This tiger after all goes on this way. Still he amounts to something. How many heirs are powerful people?)
Do great people of power see or not?
(Xuedou is so kind. If you can open your eyes, you can be born alike and die alike. Xuedou is creating complications.)
They take the tiger’s tail and grab the tiger’s whiskers.
(How will you take it when it suddenly appears? All the Chanists in the world are taken in here. If someone comes forth, I’ll present a challenge. If none can take it in, I’ll let you have a beating, to make you turn
377
The Blue Cliff Record
around and produce some energy. Shouting and striking, I say, why not say, “You thief?”)
Commentary
“ If you don’t grab it when you see it, / You’ll think about it a thou sand miles away.” Just at the point of danger, the monk couldn’t function at all; when the hermit said, “What can you do to m e?” the monk should have given him some of his own provisions. Had he been able to show his skill, the hermit would have had to have a last word. Both only knew how to let go; they couldn’t gather in. “ If you don’t grab it when you see it” is already white clouds for ten thousand miles; why did he go on to say “You’ll think about it a thousand miles away”?
“Fine stripes— / But he hasn’t got claws and fangs.” This may be so, but this tiger also knows how to conceal his fangs and hide his claws. Nevertheless, he didn’t know how to bite people.
“Haven’t you seen the sudden encounter on Mt. Daxiong? / The vast sound and light shake the earth.” One day Baizhang asked Huangbo, “Where are you coming from?” Huangbo said, “From picking mushrooms on the mountain.” Baizhang said, “See any tigers?” Huangbo made a tiger’s roar. Baizhang took the axe at his side and made a gesture of chopping. Huangbo held it fast and slapped him. That evening Baizhang said to the group, “There’s a tiger on Mt. Daxiong; all of you must watch out when you’re coming and going. Today I myself got bitten.”
Later Guishan asked Yangshan about Huangbo’s tiger story. Yangshan said, “What is your opinion?” Guishan said, “Baizhang should have chopped him to death with one blow then; how did it come to this?” Yangshan said, “Not so.” Guishan said, “What about it then?” Yangshan said, “ Not only did he ride the tiger’s head, but he also knew how to take the tiger’s tail.” Guishan said, “You do indeed have a dangerous statement there.” Xuedou draws on this to illumine the story.
“ The vast sound and light shake the earth.” This bit trans forms freely. Xuedou wants a road to express himself in the words.
378
The Kitchen Pantry and the Main Gate
“Do great people of power see or not?” Do you see? “ They take the tiger’s tail and grab the tiger’s whiskers.” Here again this must be one’s own. Even if you take the tiger’s tail and grab the tiger’s whiskers, you won’t avoid being taken in tow at once.
86. The Kitchen Pantry and the Main Gate
Introduction
One holds the world fast without the slightest leak; one cuts off all flows without keeping a drop. Try to speak and you’re wrong; try to discuss it and you miss. Tell me, what is the eye that pen etrates barriers?
Story
Yunmen said, “Everyone has a light;” (But they are ignorant of it.) “when you look at it, you don’t see it and it’s dark and dim.” (When you look you’re blinded.) “What is everyone’s light?” (Moun tains are mountains, rivers are rivers. Washing ink in a bucket of black lacquer.) He answered himself, “The kitchen pantry and the main gate.” (He is very kind, but why is he creating complications?) He also said, “A good thing isn’t as good as nothing.” (He himself knew that he had only gotten halfway there; still, this amounts to something.)
Commentary
Yunmen said, “All of you, right where you are, each and every one of you has a beam of light perpetually shining, far removed from seeing or knowing. Though it’s a light, when you’re asked about it you don’t understand—isn’t it dark and dim?” For twenty years he handed down this lesson, but no one understood his meaning. Late Xianglin asked Yunmen to answer himself; he said, “The kitchen pantry and the main gate.” He also said, “A good thing
379
The Blue Cliff Record
isn’t as good as nothing. ” Usually what he said on behalf of others was just a single sentence; why are there two here? The first sen tence briefly opens a road for you to let you see. If you’re real, as soon as you hear it you get right up and go. Yunmen feared people would get stuck here, so he also said, “A good thing isn’t as good as nothing. As before he’s swept it away for you.
As soon as they hear you mention “light,” people today put a glare in their eyes and say, “There is the pantry; there is the main gate. But this has nothing to do with it. This is why it is said, Perceive the meaning on the hook; don’t stick to the zero point of the scale.” This matter is not in the eye or in objects. To begin to understand you must cut off views, forget gain and loss, and be come purified, naked, and free; one must investigate on one’s own.
Yunmen said, “You come and go by daylight; you distinguish people by daylight. Suddenly it’s midnight, and there’s no sun, moon, or lamplight. If it’s a place you’ve been to, then of course it’s
possible, but in a place you’ve never been, can you even manage to get hold of something?”
The Merging o f Difference and Sameness says,
Right within light there’s darkness, But don’t see it as darkness:
Right within darkness there’s light, But don’t meet it as light.
If you cut off light and darkness, tell me, what is it? Thus it is said, The mind flower emits light, shining on all the lands in ten direc tions.” Panshan said, “Light isn’t shining on objects, nor do the objects exist. Light and objects both forgotten, then what is this?” Also it is said, “This very seeing and hearing is not seeing and hearing, but there s no other sound and form to be offered to you.
Here if you can understand there’s nothing at all, substance and function may be separated or not. ”
Just understand Yunmen’s final statement thoroughly, then you can go back to the previous one to roam at play. But ultimately, you do not make a living there. Vimalaklrti said, “All things are established on a nonabiding basis.” You mustn’t go here to
380
86. The Kitchen Pantry and the Main Gate
play with lights and shadows and do mental gymnastics. Nor will it do to make up an understanding in terms of nothingness. An ancient said, “ Better you should give rise to a view of existence as big as a mountain than that you should produce a view of noth ingness as small as a mustard seed. People of the lesser vehicles
often fall one-sidedly into this view.
Verse
Spontaneously shining, ranged in the solitary light.
(The myriad forms. Guest and host intermingle. He snaps your nose around. What are you doing, blind ones?)
He opens a route for you.
(Why only one route? Ten suns are shining in concert.
He has managed to set down one route.) Flowers fall, the tree has no shadow—
(What end is there to creating complications? Where
will you seek it? He fills a black lacquer bucket with black ink.)
When looking, who doesn’t see?
(Blind! You shouldn’t always hold onto fences and grope along walls. Two blind ones, three blind ones ... )
Seeing or not seeing—
(Both ends are cut off. Blind!)
Riding backwards on an ox into the Buddha shrine.
(He salutes inside the main gate. Give me back the story. I hit, saying, “Where has he gone?” Xuedou too is just m aking his living inside a ghost cave. Do you under stand? At midnight the sun comes out, at noonday
the midnight watch is sounded.)
Commentary
“Spontaneously shining, ranged in the solitary light. Originally, right where you are, there’s this beam of light; it s just that your usual use of it is dark. That’s why Yunmen set out this light for
381
212a
you right in front of your faces. But what is your light? “The kitchen pantry and the main gate.” This is where Yunmen ar rays the solitary light. Panshan said, “The mind-moon is solitary and full; its light engulfs myriad forms. ” This is the true, eternal, unique revelation.
Afterwards “ He opens a route for you.” Yunmen still feared people would become attached to “the kitchen pantry and the main gate. ” Conceding for the moment the kitchen pantry and the main gate, when the morning flowers fall and the tree has no shadow, when the sun has gone down and the moon goes dark and all the world is vast blackness—do you still see? “When looking, who doesn’t see?” Tell me, who is it that doesn’t see? Here, where “right within light there’s darkness” and “right within darkness there’s light,” both are “like a step forward and a step backward.” You must see for yourself.
Xuedou says, “Seeing or not seeing,” in reference to “A good thing isn’t as good as nothing.” Merged with seeing, you don’t see anymore; merged with understanding, you don’t understand any more. “Riding backwards on an ox into the Buddha shrine.” He’s gone into the black lacquer bucket. You must personally ride the ox into the Buddha shrine to see what it is that he’s saying.
87. Medicine and Disease Subdue Each Other
Introduction
Clear-eyed people have no nest: sometimes on the summit of a solitary peak weeds grow profusely; sometimes they’re naked and free in the bustling marketplace. Suddenly they appear as angry titans with three heads and six arms; suddenly as Sun Face or Moon Face Buddha they emanate the light of all-embracing mercy. In a single atom they manifest all physical forms; to save people according to type they mix with the ordinary world. If suddenly they release the opening upward, not even the Buddha’s eye could
382
Medicine and Disease Subdue Each Other
see them; even if a thousand sages appeared, they too would have to fall back three thousand miles. Is there anyone with the same attainment and same realization?
Story
Yunmen said, “Medicine and disease subdue each other.” (A com pounded form cannot be grasped.) “The whole earth is medicine;” (Bitter gourd is bitter to the root. He’s put it over to one side.) “what is your self?” (Sweet melon is sweet to the stem. Where did he get this news?)
Commentary
Yunmen said, “Medicine and disease subdue each other. The whole earth is medicine; what is your self?” Do you have a way out? Concentrate constantly on “towering like a mile-high wall.” Deshan’s blows fall like rain; Linji’s shouts peal like th u n der- putting this aside for the moment, Sakyamuni is Sakyamuni and Maitreya is Maitreya. Those who don’t know what it comes down to frequently understand by calling it “medicine and disease merg ing with each other. ” For forty-nine years, in over three hundred assemblies, the Buddha set up teachings in accord with poten tials; all this was giving medicine according to the disease, like exchanging sweet fruit for bitter gourds. Having purified your active faculties, he made you clean and free.
“The whole earth is medicine.” Where will you sink your teeth
into this? If you can sink your teeth in, I’ll grant that you have a place to turn around and show some life; then you see Yunmen in person. If you look around and hesitate, you won’t be able to get your teeth into it; Yunmen is under your feet.
“Medicine and disease subdue each other.” This is just an ordi
nary proposition. If you cling to being, he speaks of nonbeing for you; if you are attached to nonbeing, he speaks of being for you. If you are attached to the idea of neither being or nonbeing, he mani fests the golden body of the Buddha for you in a pile of rubbish, appearing and disappearing.
383
The Blue Cliff Record
Right now this whole earth is a profuse array of myriad forms, up to and including one’s own self. At once it’s medicine—at such a time, what will you call your self? If you only call it medicine, you’ll never see Yunmen even in a dream. Ultimately how is it? See
the meaning on the hook; don’t stick by the zero point of the scale. One day Manjusri had Sudhana pick medicinal herbs. He said,
“If there is something that is not medicine, bring it to me. ” Sudhana
searched all over, but there was nothing that was not medicine. So he went back and told Manjusri, “There is nothing that is not medicine.” Manjusri said, “Gather something that is medicine.” Sudhana picked up a blade of grass and handed it to Manjusri. Manjusri held it up and showed it to the assembly, saying, “ This medicine can kill and can also bring life.”
This talk of medicine and disease subduing each other is ex tremely difficult to see. Yunmen often used it in private guidance. One day elder Jin E called on Xuedou; both were adepts in the Yunmen line. They discussed this statement “medicine and dis ease subdue each other” all night until dawn before they were finally able to exhaust its excellence. At this point no learned in terpretations, thought, or judgment can be applied. Afterwards, Xuedou made a verse to see him off:
Medicine and disease subdue each other—most difficult to see;
The myriad locked gates indeed have no starting point. Wayfarer Jin E came calling;
In one night we exhausted the waves of the ocean of learning.
Xuedou’s subsequent verse is most effective. His meaning is in the host and in the guest. You can see for yourself.
Verse
The whole earth is medicine:
(Who would you have discern the point? This is scattering sand and dirt. Put it on a high shelf.)
Why have people of all times been so mistaken?
384
Medicine and Disease Subdue Each Other
(There’s an echo in the words. With one brush stroke all are blotted out. Tsk!)
I don’t make the carriage behind closed doors—
(Great Xuedou uses all his strength to help the assembly. Misfortune comes forth from one’s own door. Calm and clear, totally untrammeled. Who has any spare time? He is making a living in a ghost cave.)
The road through is naturally quiet and empty.
(Wherever you step you enter the weeds. When you get on a horse, you’ll see the road. He picks it up freely, outstanding indeed.)
Wrong, wrong!
(Twin swords fly through space. A single arrow fells two eagles.)
Though your nose be high as the sky, you’re still taken
in tow.
(Your head has fallen. I hit, saying, “ Taken in tow!”)
Commentary
“The whole earth is medicine: / Why have people of all times been so mistaken?” For all time those who have understood by calling it medicine have instantly gone wrong. Xuedou said, “Some don’t know how to cut off Damei’s footsteps but merely say he was in too much of a hurry to go.” Xuedou knew how to cut off Yunmen’s footsteps.
Since this one line of his had thrown everyone in the world into confusion, Yunmen said, “When my staff is waves, you may go freely in all directions; when the whole earth is waves, I’ll watch to see if you float or sink. ”
“ I don’t make the carriage behind closed doors— / The road
through is naturally quiet and empty.” Xuedou speaks to open up a road for you: “If you build your carriage behind closed doors, and it fits the ruts in the road when you bring it out, what has this accomplished? I am not building a carriage behind closed doors here. When I go out the door, naturally it’s quiet and empty.” Here Xuedou reveals a slight crack to let people see.
212c
The Blue Cliff Record
But then Xuedou hastens to say, “Wrong, wrong!” Both the former statement and the latter statement are wrong. Who would have known that Xuedou’s opening up a road is also wrong? Since your nose is as high as the sky, why do you get taken in tow any way? Do you want to understand? Then immerse yourself in this for thirty years. If you have a staff, I give you a staff; if you have no staff, you won’t avoid being taken in tow.
87. Three Invalids
Introduction
To facilitate learning, we may temporarily break two into three; but for profound talking entering into noumenon, it is necessary to penetrate everything. Taking charge of the situation, one hits home and smashes apart the occult barrier of the golden chains. Acting according to the imperative, one obliterates all tracks and traces. Tell me, where is there confusion? For those who have the eye on the forehead, I bring this up to see.
Story
Xuansha said, “The adepts everywhere all speak of guiding and aiding people.” (They set up their shops according to their capacities, according to whether their houses are rich or poor.) “Suppose they met three kinds of invalids—how would they guide them?” (He’s beating the weeds just to frighten the snakes. My mouth is agape, my eyes open wide. You must fall back three thousand miles.) “With blind people, they could pick up the gavel or raise the whisk, but they wouldn’t see.” (Truly blind! This is guiding and aiding people. One doesn’t have to be blind.) “Deaf people wouldn’t hear what they said.” (Truly deaf! This is guiding and aiding people. One doesn’t have to be deaf. Who hasn’t heard?) “Mute people could not be made to speak.” (Truly mute! This is guiding and aiding people. One doesn’t have to be mute. Who hasn’t spoken?) “How would they guide such people? If they couldn’t guide
386
Three Invalids
these people, then Buddhism has no effect.” (How true these words are. I submit. They’ve already been guided. I’ll strike!) A monk asked Yunmen for instruction on this. (He wants everyone to know too. This is pertinent.) Yunmen said, “Bow.” (When the wind blows the grasses bend. Tsk!) The monk bowed and rose. (This monk has broken the staff.) Yunmen poked at him with his staff; the monk drew back. Yunmen said, “You’re not blind.” (Truly blind! Better not say this monk is blind.) Then Yunmen called him closer; when the monk approached, (The second ladleful of foul water douses the monk. Avalokitesvara has come. At that time the monk should have shouted.) Yunmen said, “You’re not deaf.” (Truly deaf. Bet ter not say the monk is deaf.) Next Yunmen said, “Understand?” (Why doesn’t he offer his own provisions? At that time the monk shouldn’t have made a sound.) The monk said, “No.” (A doubled case. Heavens!) Yunmen said, “You’re not mute.” (Truly mute. He’s babbling. Better not say this monk is mute.) At this the monk had an insight. (He draws his bow after the bandit is gone. What vessel is he looking for?)
C om m en tary
Xuansha had reached the point of eliminating emotional defilement and conceptual thought, where he became purified, naked, free; only thus could he speak this way. At this time, when Chan flourished all over China, Xuansha would often say to his group, “The adepts all over speak of guiding and aiding people, but if they met three kinds of invalids, how would they guide them? Blind people wouldn’t see them raise the gavel or whisk; deaf people wouldn’t hear what they said; mute people couldn’t be made to speak. So how would they teach such people? If they couldn’t guide these people, then Buddhism has no effect.” If you now under stand this as being blind, deaf, and mute, you’ll never be able to find it. Thus it is said, “Don’t die in the words.” To attain, you must understand Xuansha’s intent.
Xuansha often used this statement to guide people. One of his longtime disciples once said, “Will you permit me to present a
213a
The Blue Cliff Record
theory of the story of the three invalids?” Xuansha said, “Go ahead. ” The monk then bade them farewell and left. Xuansha said, “Wrong—that’s not it.” Did the monk understand Xuansha’s mean ing? Fayan later said, “When I heard Master Dizang tell about this monk I finally understood the story of the three kinds of inva lids.” If you say the monk didn’t understand, then why would Fayan say this? If you say he did understand, why did Xuansha say “wrong”? One day Dizang said to Xuansha, “I hear you have a saying about three kinds of invalids—is that so?” Xuansha said, “Yes.” Dizang said, “I have eyes, ears, nose, and tongue—how will you guide me?” Xuansha immediately stopped. If you can understand Xuansha’s meaning, how could it be in the words? Dizang’s under
standing was naturally outstanding.
Later a monk took this up with Yunmen. Yunmen immediately understood his intentions and said, “Bow.” The monk bowed. Yunmen poked at him with his staff, and the monk drew back. Yunmen said, “You’re not blind.” Then Yunmen called him closer. When the monk approached, Yunmen said, “You’re not deaf.” Next he said, “Understand?” When the monk said, “No,” Yunmen said, “You’re not mute.” At this the monk attained insight. Had the monk been real, he would have turned over the Chan seat as soon as Yunmen told him to bow; then how could so many complications have appeared? But tell me, are Yunmen’s understanding and Xuansha’s understanding the same or different? The under standing of those two was the same.
See how the ancients appeared and created millions of kinds of expedient methods. “ The meaning is on the hook.” How much exer tion just to make each individual understand this one matter?
Wuzu said, “One person can speak but doesn’t understand; one understands but cannot speak. If these two came calling, how would you be able to distinguish between them? If you can’t distinguish between these two, in fact you will be unable to free people from fixations and bonds. If you can distinguish them, then as soon as you see them come through the gate, you have put on your shoes and walked around several times inside their bellies. If you haven’t awakened on your own, what vessel are you looking for? Go away! ”
388
Now you better not make your understanding in terms of blind, deaf, and mute. Thus it is said, “One sees forms as though blind, and hears sounds as though deaf. ” It is also said, “Though it fills the eyes, one doesn’t see form; though it fills the ears, one doesn’t hear sound—Manjusri is always covering the eyes, Avalokitesvara blocks the ears.”
At this point, only if you see as though blind and hear as though deaf will you be able to be close to Xuansha’s meaning. Do you know where the blind, deaf, and mute are? Look closely at Xuedou’s verse:
Verse
Blind, deaf, mute —
(Already there before anything is said. Eye, ear, and mouth are all illumined. Already made into one piece.)
Dark, without any adjustments to potentialities. (Where will you search? Can you make any judgments?
What have they got to do with it?) In the heavens, on earth—
(Truth is independent. I am also thus.)
Laughable, lamentable.
(Laugh at what? Lament over what? Half light, half dark.) Li Lu can’t discern the true form;
(Blind! A skilled craftsman leaves no traces. Truly blind.) How can Shi Kuang recognize the mystic tune?
(Deaf! No reward has been established for the great achievement. Truly deaf.)
How can this compare to sitting alone under an empty window?
(You must be thus to attain. Don’t live in a ghost cave.
This breaks through obscurity all at once.)
The leaves fall, the flowers bloom—each in its own time. (What time is it right now? You mustn’t understand it as
nothing. Today goes from morning to evening and tomorrow too goes from morning to evening.)
213b
The Blue Cliff Becord
Again Xuedou says, “Do you understand or not?” (Again he speaks the words of the verse.)
An iron hammerhead with no hole.
(Take what’s due you and get out. Too bad—Xuedou let go, so I hit.)
C om m en tary
“Blind, deaf, mute— / Dark, without any adjustments to potenti alities.” All your seeing and not seeing, hearing and not hearing, speaking and not speaking—Xuedou has swept it all away at once for you. In fact, views in terms of blindness, deafness, and mute ness, and calculations and judgment of what’s right to suit poten tials, are at once obliterated; none of them can be applied. This transcendental matter can be called real blindness, real deafness, real muteness, without potentials or adjustments.
“In the heavens, on earth— / Laughable, lamentable.” Xuedou lifts up with one hand and pushes down with one hand. But tell me, laugh at what? Lament over what? It’s worth laughing joy ously that this blindness is not really blind, this deafness is not really deaf, this muteness is not really mute. It’s worth lamenting being clearly not blind, yet still being blind, being clearly not deaf, yet still being deaf, being clearly not mute, yet still being mute.
“Li Lu can’t discern the true form. ” If you can’t tell green from yellow or red from white, then you’re really blind. Li Lu was a man of ancient times known for his sharp eyes. Even Li Lu’s eye can’t discern the true form of this lofty realm. “How can Shi Kuang recognize the mystic tune?” Shi Kuang was a man of ancient times noted for his keen hearing. Though he could hear ants fighting on the other side of a mountain, Xuedou says that even he would be unable to recognize the mystic tune. People who, even though they are not deaf, are nonetheless still deaf, still could not recognize
2i3c the mystic tune of this lofty realm even if they were Shi Kuang.
Xuedou says, “I am not Li Lu, nor am I Shi Kuang—it is better so sit alone under an empty window. / The leaves fall, the flowers bloom, each in its own time.” If you get to this realm, though you
390
The Hands and Eyes of Great Compassion
see, it’s like not seeing; though you hear, it’s like not hearing; though you speak, it’s like not speaking. When hungry you eat and when tired you sleep. You let the leaves fall and the flowers bloom. When the leaves fall it’s autumn; when the flowers bloom it’s spring—each has its own season.
Having swept it clean for you, Xuedou again puts down a path and says, “Do you understand or not?” Xuedou’s strength is ex hausted and his spirit wearied; he can just manage to say, “An iron hammerhead with no hole. ” Set your eyes on this line quickly; only then will you see. If you hesitate, you’ve missed it.
(Holding up a whisk) Do you see? (Rapping the Chan seat) Do you hear? (Coming down from the seat) Can you speak?
89. The Hands and Eyes o f Great Compassion
Introduction
Even if your whole body were an eye, you still wouldn’t be able to see it. Even if your whole body were an ear, you still wouldn’t be able to hear it. Even if your whole body were a mouth, you still wouldn’t be able to speak of it. Even if your whole body were mind, you still wouldn’t be able to perceive it. Now leaving aside the “whole body” for the moment, if suddenly you had no eyes, how would you see? Without ears, how would you hear? Without a mouth, how would you speak? Without a mind, how would you perceive? Here, if you can unfurl a pathway, you’ll be a fellow seeker with the ancient Buddhas. But leaving seeking aside for the moment, from whom would you seek?
Story
Yunyan asked Daowu, “What does the Bodhisattva of Great Com passion use so many hands and eyes for?” (Daowu should have given him some of his own provisions then. Why are you constantly
391
The Blue Cliff Record
running around? Why do you ask?) Daowu said, “It’s like someone reaching back for the pillow in the middle of the night.” (Why didn’t he use his own provisions? One blind person leads a crowd of blind people.) Yunyan said, “I understand.” (He adds error to error. He’s cheating everyone. There’s no different dirt in the same hole. He hasn’t avoided damaging the point and cutting his hand.) Daowu said, “ How do you understand it?” (Why bother to inquire further? He still had to ask; Yunyan should be challenged.) Yunyan said, “All over the body are hands and eyes.” (What does this have to do with it? He’s living in a ghost cave, washing dirt in mud.) Daowu said, “You’ve said quite a bit, but you’ve only said eighty percent.” (There’s no different dirt in the same hole. When the manservant sees the maid, he takes care. A leper drags a compan ion along.) Yunyan said, “What do you say?” (How can one get it by accepting another’s judgment? Daowu too should be challenged.) Daowu said, “ Throughout the body are hands and eyes.” (The frog cannot leap out of the basket. He’s snatched your eyes and made off with your tongue. Has he gotten a hundred percent or not? He’s calling daddy poppa.)
Commentary
Yunyan and Daowu were fellow students under Yaoshan. Yunyan 2 i4 a never lay down to sleep for forty years. Yaoshan produced the whole Cao-Dong school. There were three people whose teaching flour ished: descended from Yunyan was Dongshan; descended from Dao
wu was Shishuang; and descended from Chuanzi was Jiashan.
The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion has eighty-four thou sand symbolic arms. Great Compassion has this many hands and eyes—do you? Baizhang said, “All sayings refer to oneself.”
Yunyan used to follow Daowu, seeking certainty. One day he asked him, “What does the bodhisattva of Great Compassion use so many hands and eyes for?” Right at the start Daowu should have given him a blow of the staff across his back, to avoid so many com plications appearing later. But Daowu was compassionate—he
392
- The Hands and Eyes of Great Compassion
couldn’t act like this. Instead he gave Yunyan an explanation of principle, to let him understand easily. Daowu said, “It’s like some one reaching back for the pillow in the middle of the night.” Reach ing for the pillow at night, with no light—where are the eyes?
Yunyan immediately said, “ I understand.” Daowu said, “How do you understand it?” Yunyan said, “All over the body are hands and eyes.” Daowu said, “You’ve said quite a bit, but that’s only eighty percent.” Yunyan said, “What do you say?” Daowu said, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes. ”
Tell me, is “all over the body” right, or is “throughout the body” right? Though they seem covered with mud, nevertheless they are clean. People today often make up emotional interpretations and say “all over the body” is wrong, while “throughout the body” is right—they’re merely chewing over the ancients’ words. They have died in the words, not knowing that the ancients’ meaning isn’t in the words, and that all talk is used provisionally. People today add footnotes and set up patterns, saying that if one can penetrate this story it can be considered understanding enough to end study. Groping over their bodies, the lamps and pillars, they all make a literal understanding of “throughout the body.” If you understand this way you degrade those ancients quite a bit.
So it is said, “Study the living word, not the dead word.” You must cut off emotional defilements and conceptual thinking, be come clean and naked, free and unbound—only then will you be able to see this saying about Great Compassion.
Caoshan asked a monk, “ How is it when manifesting form in accordance with beings, like the moon in water? ” The monk said, “Like an ass looking in a well.” Caoshan said, “You have said quite a bit, but that’s only eighty percent.” The monk said, “What do you say?” Caoshan said, “ Like the well looking at the ass.” This is the same meaning as the present story.
If you go to the words to see, you’ll never be able to get out of Daowu’s and Yunyan’s trap. Xuedou, an adept, no longer dies in words; he walks right on Daowu’s and Yunyan’s heads to versify:
393
Verse
Is “all over the body” right?
(Four limbs, eight joints. This isn’t yet the ultimate point.) Is “throughout the body” right?
(There’s half on the forehead. You’re still in the nest.
Blind!)
Bringing it up is still a hundred thousand miles away. (It won’t do to let go. Why only a hundred thousand
miles?)
Spreading its wings, the roc soars over the clouds of the six compounds—
(A tiny realm—I’d thought it’d be extraordinary. Check!) It propels the wind against the waters of the four oceans. (A bit of dust—I’d thought no one could cope with you.
Wrong!)
What speck of dust suddenly arises?
(Again he adds footnotes for Chanists. Cut! Where to put it?)
What wisp hasn’t stopped?
(Exceptional! Special! Blown away. Cut!) You don’t see?
(Again this way.)
The net of jewels hanging down in patterns: reflections upon reflections.
(Even the great Xuedou acts this way. Too bad—as before he’s creating complications.)
Where do the hands and eyes on the staff come from? (Tsk! He draws his bow after the bandit’s gone. Can’t let you go. No one has any way to show some life.
Even having let go, one still must take a beating. I strike and say, “ Tell me, is mine right or is Xuedou’s right? ” )
Bah!
(After three or four shouts, then what?)
394
- The Hands and Eyes of Great Compassion
Commentary
“ Is ‘all over the body’ right? / Is ‘throughout the body’ right?” Whether you say reaching back for the pillow is it, or running the hand over the body is it, if you make up such interpretations, you’re doing nothing but making a living in a ghost cave. In the end neither “all over the body” nor “throughout the body” is right. If you want to see this story of Great Compassion by means of emo tional consciousness, in fact you’re still a hundred thousand miles away. Xuedou can manipulate a phrase, bringing it to life: he says, “Bringing it up is still a hundred thousand miles away.”
In the following lines Xuedou versifies what was extraordinary about Daowu and Yunyan, saying, “Spreading its wings, the roc soars over the clouds of the six compounds— / It propels the wind against the waters of the four oceans.” The great roc swallows dragons: with its wings it propels the wind against the waters; the waters part, and the roc captures a dragon and swallows it. Xuedou is saying that if you can propel the wind against the waves like the roc, you are very strong indeed, yet if such actions are viewed with the thou sand hands and eyes of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, it’s just a little bit of dust suddenly arising, or a wisp of hair ceaselessly blown by the wind. Xuedou says that if you take running the hands over the body as the hands and eyes of Great Compassion, what is this good for? In fact this is just not enough for this story of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion. Thus Xuedou says, “What speck of dust suddenly arises? / What wisp hasn’t stopped?” Xuedou said of himself that an adept at once wipes away his tracks. Nonetheless, at the end of the verse as usual he breaks down and gives a comparison—as before, he’s yet in the cage. “You don’t see? / The net of jewels hanging down in patterns: reflections upon reflections.” Xuedou brings out the clear jewels of Indra’s net to use
as a pattern. But tell me, where are the hands and eyes after all?
In the Flower Ornament School they designate four reality realms: first, the reality realm of noumenon, to explain uniform equality; second, the reality realm of phenomena, to explain that
395
The Blue Cliff Record
noumenon in its entirety constitutes phenomena; third, the real ity realm of noumenon and phenomena in harmony, to explain how noumenon and phenomena merge unhindered; fourth, the reality realm of harmony among phenomena, to explain how every phenomenon everywhere enters all phenomena, that all things everywhere embrace all things, all intermingling simultaneously without obstruction. So it is said, “As soon as a speck of dust arises,
2 i4 c the whole earth is contained therein; each atom contains the bound less cosmos. As of each atom so of all atoms. ”
As for the net of jewels, there’s a net of jewels in the Hall of Goodness of the god Indra. Myriads of jewels are reflected in each jewel, and each jewel is reflected in myriads of jewels. Center jewel and surrounding jewels reflect back and forth, multiplying and remultiplying the images endlessly. This is used to illustrate the reality realm of harmony among phenomena.
Once National Teacher Xianshou set up a demonstration using mirrors and a lamp. He arrayed ten mirrors in a circle and put a lamp in the center. If you looked in any one mirror, you saw nine mirrors mirroring the lamp, mirrors and lamp all appearing equally. Thus when the Buddha first achieved true enlightenment, with
out leaving the site of enlightenment he ascended into all the heavens of the thirty-three celestial kingdoms, and at nine gatherings in seven places he expounded the Flower Ornament scripture.
Xuedou uses Indra’s jewel net to impart the teaching of the reality realm of harmony among phenomena. The six aspects are very clear; that is, the totality, the separation, the sameness, the difference, the formation, and the disintegration. Raise one aspect and all six are included. Because people are unaware of it in their daily activities, Xuedou raises the jewels of Indra’s net hanging down in patterns to describe this saying about the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion. It’s just like this: if you are able, amidst the jewel net, to understand the staff and the marvelous functioning of spiritual powers going out and coming in unobstructed, then you can see the hands and eyes of the Bodhisattva. That’s why Xuedou says, “Where do the hands and eyes on the staff come
396
- The Body of Wisdom
from?” This is to make you attain realization at the staff and obtain fulfillment at a shout.
When Deshan hit people as soon as they came through the
door, and when Linji shouted at people as soon as they came through the door, where were the hands and eyes? And why did Xuedou go on at the end to say, “Bah!”? Investigate.
90. The Body of Wisdom
Introduction
Even the sages have not transmitted the one phrase before sound. The single thread right before us is perpetually unbroken. Purified and naked, free and unbound, hair disheveled and ears alert—tell me, what about it?
Story
A monk asked Zhimen, “What is the body of wisdom?” (Through out the body there are no reflected images. Everyone in the world is silenced. Why use “body”?) Zhimen said, “An oyster swallows the bright moon.” (Leaving aside for the moment “the light en gulfs myriad forms,” what about the business of the true eye on the staff? The crooked does not hide the straight. This is adding frost to snow.) The monk asked, “What is the functioning of wisdom?” (Fall back three thousand miles. What does he want “function” for?) Zhimen said, “A rabbit gets pregnant.” (Danger! Bitter gourd is bitter to the root, sweet melon is sweet to the stem. If you make your living in the reflections of a light, you won’t get out of Zhimen’s nest. If someone can come out, is this the body of wisdom or the function of wisdom? In essence this is adding mud to dirt.)
Commentary
When Zhimen said, “An oyster swallows the bright moon,” and “A rabbit gets pregnant,” in both he used the sense of mid-autumn;
397
The Blue Cliff Record
even so, the ancient’s meaning was not in the oyster or the rabbit. 2i5 a As Zhimen was an adept in the line of Yunmen, each of his sayings had to contain three statements: the statement containing
the universe, the statement cutting off all streams, and the statement following the waves. Moreover, without arrangement, there is a spontaneous fitness. Thus he went to the danger point to answer this monk’s questions, showing a bit of his sharp point, undeniably extraordinary. Nevertheless, this ancient never played with
reflections of a light; he just pointed out a bit of a road for you to let you see.
The monk asked, “What is the body of wisdom?” Zhimen said, “An oyster swallows the bright moon.” Oysters contain bright pearls: when the mid-autumn moon comes out, the oysters float to the surface, open up, and swallow the moonlight; from this pearls are produced. If there is moonlight in mid-autumn, the pearls are many; without a moon, the pearls are few.
The monk also asked, “What is the function of wisdom?” Zhimen said, “A rabbit gets pregnant. ” The meaning of this is no different. The rabbit is associated with yin: in mid-autumn when the moon comes out, the rabbits swallow its light and become pregnant. Here too, if there’s moonlight the offspring are many; with out a moon they are few.
There’s nothing much to Zhimen’s answers; he just made temporary use of these ideas to answer about the light of wisdom. But even so, his meaning wasn’t in the words. However, people later made a living on the words. Panshan said, “The mind-moon is solitary and full; its light engulfs myriad forms. The light is not shining on objects, nor do the objects exist—light and objects both forgotten, then what is this?” People today just stare and call this
the light: they produce interpretations from their feelings, driving spikes into empty space.
An ancient said, “Day and night all of you radiate great light from your senses; it shines through mountains, rivers, and earth. It s not only your eyes that radiate light—nose, tongue, body, and mind also radiate light.” To get here you simply must clean up
398
- The Body of Wisdom
your sense faculties so that there’s no reification, and you are purified and free. Only then will you see the point of this story. Xuedou does his verse just this way.
Verse
One piece of empty solidity, beyond saying and feeling; (Try to set your mind on it and you err; stir your thoughts
and you’re obstructed. Not even the Buddhas’ eyes can catch sight of it.)
From this humans and gods see Subhuti.
(Subhuti should be given a thrashing. What do you want with this old fellow? Even Subhuti has to fall back three thousand miles.)
The oyster swallows the moon—deep meaning:
(You’d have to be the one involved to understand. What meaning is there? What further need for “deep meaning”?)
Given to Chan people, it makes them fight and struggle.
(When shields and spears are already at rest, there’s great peace in the world. Understand? I hit, saying, “How many blows have you taken?”)
Commentary
“One piece of empty solidity, beyond saying and feeling.” With a single line Xuedou has versified it well: naturally we can see the ancient’s meaning. When the six senses are still, what is this? It’s just this one mass, empty and bright, solid and quiescent. You needn’t go to heaven to look for it. You needn’t seek it from some one else. The perpetual light spontaneously appears before us: right here in this very place it towers like a gigantic wall, beyond verbalization and ideation. Fayan’s verse on perfect reality says:
When reasoning’s exhausted, saying and feeling are forgotten;
How could this be properly described?
399
The Blue Cliff Record
Wherever I go, the frosty night’s moon Falls as it may on the valley ahead.
The fruits are ripe and heavy with monkeys,
The mountains go on so far it seems I’ve lost my way. As I look up, there’s a remnant of illumination left— Actually this is west of my dwelling place.
Thus it is said,
Mind is the faculty, things are the objects; Both are like flaws on a mirror.
When the defilement of objectification is obliterated, The light first appears;
When mind and things are both forgotten, Nature is real.
It is also said,
I’ve been living in a three-room hut;
In the uniform spiritual light, myriad objects are at rest. Don’t use right and wrong to judge me —
Fleeting life and its rationalizations having nothing to do with me.
These verses too let you see “one piece of empty solidity, beyond saying and feeling.”
“From this humans and gods see Subhuti.” Subhuti was sitting quietly on a cliff when the gods showered flowers in praise. Subhuti said, “Who is showering flowers?” A god said, “I am Brahma.” Su bhuti said, “Why are you offering praise?” Brahma said, “ I honor your skill in expounding transcendent wisdom.” Subhuti said, “I have never spoken a word about wisdom; why offer praise? ” Brahma said, “You said nothing, I heard nothing—no speaking and no hearing is true wisdom, ” and again he caused the earth to tremble and flowers to shower. See how Subhuti expounded wisdom so well, without speaking of body or function. If you can see at this, you can see Zhimen’s saying “an oyster swallows the bright moon” and “a rabbit gets pregnant. ”
Though the ancient’s meaning was not in the words, nevertheless there was demeaning in his answer. This caused
400
- anguan’s Rhinoceros
Xuedou to say, “ The oyster swallows the moon—deep deep mean ing.” Here, “Given to Chan people, it makes them fight and struggle.” The followers of Chan all over have haggled about Zhi- men’s answers noisily; never has a single one seen him even in a dream. If you want to be a fellow student with Zhimen and Xuedou, you must first set eyes on it for yourself.
91. Yanguan’s Rhinoceros
Introduction
To transcend emotion, detach from views, remove bonds, and dis solve sticking points, to uphold the fundamental vehicle of transcendence and support the treasury of the eye of the true Dharma, you must also respond equally in all ten directions, be crystal clear in all respects, and directly attain to such a realm. But tell me, are there any who attain the same, realize the same, die the same,
and live the same?
Story
One day Yanguan called to his attendant, “Bring me the rhinoceros horn fan.” (He creates quite a few complications. How can it compare with the fine scene here?) The attendant said, “The fan
is broken.” (Too bad. Good news. What’s he saying?) Yanguan said, “If the fan is broken, bring the rhinoceros back to me. ” (He’s broken down quite a bit. Yu province is still all right; the worst suffering is in Korea. What does the master want with the rhinoceros?) The attendant has no reply. (After all a hammerhead with no hole. What a pity.) Touzi said, “I do not refuse to bring it out, but I fear the horn on its head will be incomplete.” (This seems like it, but he has two heads and three faces. He’s still speaking theoretically.) Xuedou commented, “I want an incomplete horn.” (What is it good for? He adds error to error.) Shishuang said, “ If I return it to you, I won’t have it.” (What’s he saying? It’s
401
The Blue Cliff Record
right under his nose.) Xuedou commented, “ The rhino is still here.” (Danger! He almost mistook it. Pull its head back!) Zifu drew a circle and wrote the word “rhino” inside it. (Withered grass isn’t worth bringing out. He’s playing with a shadow.) Xuedou commented, “Why didn’t you bring it out before?” (He doesn’t distinguish gold from brass. He too is a man in the weeds.) Baofu said, “ The master is aged; he should ask someone else.” (In a remote region he rebukes an official. What is he doing, avoiding hardship yet speaking of his suffering?) Xuedou commented, “What a pity to have worked hard without accomplishing anything. ” (You your self are included. It would be even better to give thirty blows of the staff. Clearly.)
Commentary
One day Yanguan called to his attendant, “Bring me the rhinoc eros horn fan. ” Though this matter isn’t in words, yet if you want to test someone’s ordinary disposition and ability, it is necessary to be able to use words in this way to reveal it. On the last day of your life, if you can find strength and be the master, even when myriad visions appear you can look upon them without being moved: this can be called accomplishment without accomplishment, effortless power.
Yanguan was Chan master Jian. In ancient times they used to make fans of rhinoceros horn. At the time, how could Yanguan not have known that his fan was broken? He purposely asked the attendant, who said, “The fan is broken.” Observe how that an cient was always within it twenty-four hours a day, encountering it everywhere; Yanguan said, “If the fan is broken, bring me back the rhinoceros.” But tell me, what did he want with the rhinoc eros? He just wanted to test the man to see whether or not he knew where it was.
Touzi said, “I don’t refuse to bring it out, but I fear the horn on the head will be incomplete.” Xuedou said, “I want an incomplete horn.” He harmonizes in a phrase.
Shishuang said, “If I return it to you, then I won’t have it.” Xuedou says, “ The rhino is still here.”
402
- Yanguan’s Rhinoceros
Zifu drew a circle and wrote the word “rhino” inside; because he succeeded to Yangshan, he liked to use objects to illustrate this matter for people. Xuedou said, “Why didn’t you bring it out be fore?” He took him in tow.
Baofu said, “ The master is aged; he should ask someone else.”
These words are most appropriate; the preceding three quotes are after all easy to see, but these words have a profound meaning. Yet Xuedou has still broken through. I understood the reasoning when I was with Librarian Qing in the past; he said, “ The master is old and senile; getting the head, he forgets the tail—before he sought the fan, now he seeks the rhinoceros. It is hard to attend to him, so Baofu said he’d better ask someone else.” Xuedou said, “What a pity to work hard without accomplishing anything.”
All these were model comments: the ancients saw through this matter, so though each was different; when they spoke forth they hit the mark every time, always having a way of living expres sion. Each phrase preserves the bloodline. People today just make up theoretical judgments and comparisons when they are ques tioned; that is why I want people to chew on this twenty-four hours a day, with continuous concentration, seeking the experience of enlightenment. See how Xuedou versified it on one thread:
Verse
The rhinoceros horn fan has long been in use,
(In summer, cool; in winter, warm. Everyone has it; why don’t they know? Who has never used it?)
But when asked, actually nobody knows.
(They know, but they don’t understand. Better not fool people. And you shouldn’t suspect anyone else.)
The boundless pure breeze and the horn on the head, (Where are they? If you don’t understand in yourself, where will you understand? In the heavens and on
earth. The horn has regrown. What is it? He rouses waves without wind.)
Just like clouds and rain, are difficult to pursue when
gone.
403
The Blue Cliff Record
(Heavens! Still this is losing one’s money and incurring punishment as well.)
Xuedou also said, “If you want the pure breeze to return and the horn to regrow, (Everyone has this fan; they have all its power all the time. Why do they not know at all when asked? Can you speak of it?) I ask each of you to say something. (He has already spoken thrice. Yanguan is still alive.) I ask you, since the fan is broken, return the rhinoceros to me.” (There is yet one or a half. Tsk! It would be better to overturn his Chan seat.) Then a monk came forth and said, “Everyone, go meditate in the hall.” (He draws the bow after the bandit has gone. He had the spear taken away. He neither gets to the village nor reaches the shop.) Xuedou shouted and said, “I cast my hook fishing for whales, but caught a frog.” Then he got down from the seat. (He brought this about. He drew his bow after the thief had gone.)
216b
Commentary
“The rhinoceros horn fan has long been in use, / But when asked, actually nobody knows.” Everyone has this fan and has all its power all the time—why is it that when asked no one knows where it’s gone? The attendant, Touzi, all the way down to Baofu—neither do any of them know. Tell me, does Xuedou know?
When Wuzhuo called on Manjusrl, as they were drinking tea, Manjusrl held up a crystal bowl and asked, “ Do they have this in the south?” Wuzhuo said, “No.” Manjusrl said, “What do they usu ally use to drink tea?” Wuzhuo was speechless. If you know what this story is about, you will know that the rhinoceros horn fan has a boundless pure breeze; you will also see the horn towering on the rhino’s head.
The four old men speaking as they did were like the morning clouds and evening rain; once gone, they are difficult to pursue. Xuedou also said, “If you want the pure breeze to return and the horn to regrow, I ask you each to say something: I ask you, since the fan is broken, return the rhinoceros to me.” Then a Chan stu dent came forward and said, “Everyone, go meditate in the hall. ”
404
- The Buddha Ascends the Seat
This monk has usurped the master’s authority. He certainly could speak, but he was only able to say eighty percent. If you want a hundred percent, then throw the meditation seat over for him. Now you tell me, did this monk understand the rhinoceros or not? If he didn’t, yet he knew how to speak this way; if he did, why didn’t Xuedou approve of him? Why did he say he cast a hook fishing for whales but only caught a frog?
Tell me, ultimately how is it? There’s nothing to worry about; try to hold it up to view.
92. The Buddha Ascends the Seat
Introduction
One who can discern the tune as soon as the lute strings move is hard to find even in a thousand years. By releasing a hawk upon seeing a rabbit, at once the swiftest is caught. As for summing up all words into a single statement, gathering the universe into a single atom, dying the same and being born the same, penetrating in all ways, is there anyone who can stand witness?
Story
One day the Buddha ascended the seat. (Guest and host both lose. This is not the only instance of indulgence.) ManjusrI struck the gavel and said, “Clearly observe the Dharma of the Dharma King: the Dharma of the Dharma King is thus.” (One person has intimately understood.) The Buddha then got down from the seat. (Sad man, do not speak to sad people; if you speak to sad people, you’ll sadden them to death. Beating the drum, playing the lute, two masters in harmony.)
Commentary
There was already this scene before the Buddha raised the flower. Throughout his teaching career, how many times did he use the adamantine sword? At that time, if among the crowd there had been
405
The Blue Cliff Record
someone with the spirit of a Chan adept who could transcend, it would have been possible to avoid the final messy scene of raising the flower. While the Buddha paused, he was confronted by ManjusrI and immediately got down from the seat. At that time, there was still this scene; Sakyamuni barred his door, Vimalaklrti shut his mouth—both resemble this and thus have already ex plained it. It is like the story of Suzong asking Huizhong about making a seamless monument, and also like the story of the out sider asking the Buddha about neither the spoken nor the unspo ken. Observe the behavior of those transcendent people—when did they ever enter a ghost cave for their subsistence? Some say
2i6c the meaning lies in the silence; some say it is in the pause, that speech illumines what cannot be said and speechlessness illumines what can be said—as Yongjia said, “Speaking when silent, silent when speaking.” But if you only understand this way, you will never see it even in a dream. If you can immediately and directly understand, then you will no longer see that there is anything ordinary or holy—this Dharma is impartial; it has no high or low. Every day you will walk with all the Buddhas.
Verse
Among the assembled sages, if an adept had known, (Better not slander old Sakyamuni. Leave it up to Linji
or Deshan. It’s hard to find one or a half among a thousand or ten thousand.)
The command of the Dharma King wouldn’t have been like this.
(Those who run after him are numerous. Three heads, two faces. Clearly. How many could reach here?)
Had there been a good interpreter in the assembly, (It’s hard to find a clever one in there. If ManjusrI isn’t
an adept, you sure aren’t.)
What need for ManjusrI to strike the gavel?
(What’s the harm of going ahead and striking the gavel once? The second and third strokes are totally
406
- The Buddha Ascends the Seat
unnecessary. How will you speak a phrase appropriate to the situation? Dangerous!)
Commentary
“Among the assembled sages, if an adept had known.” The multi tude of eighty thousand on Vulture Peak were all ranked among the sages: Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Maitreya, and so on; master and companions were assembled together—they had to be the adepts among the adepts, the outstanding among the outstanding, before they would know what he was getting at. What Xuedou intends to say is that among the multitude of sages there was not a single one who knew what is: had there been an adept, he would have known what was not so. Why? Manjusri struck the gavel and said, “Clearly observe the Dharma of the Dharma King; the Dharma of the Dharma King is thus.” Xuedou says the command of the Dharma King would not have been like this. Why? At the time, had there been someone in the assembly with the eye on the forehead and the talisman at the side, that one would have seen all the way through before the Buddha had even ascended the seat; then what further need would there be for Manjusri to strike the gavel?
The Nirvana Sutra says, “Saindhava is one name for four
actual things: salt, water, a bowl, a horse. A wise attendant who understood the four meanings would bring the king water when he wanted to wash and needed saindhava; when the king asked for saindhava at mealtimes, the attendant brought salt; when the meal was over, he offered him a bowl for tea; when he wanted to go out, he brought a horse. He acted according to the king’s intention without error.” Clearly one must be a good interpreter to do this.
A monk asked Xiangyan, “What is the king asking for as
saindhava?” Xiangyan said, “Come over here.” The monk went; Xiangyan said, “You make a total fool of people.” He also asked Zhaozhou, “What is the king asking for as saindhava? ” Zhaozhou got off his seat, bowed, and saluted. At this time if there had been
407
The Blue Cliff Record
a good interpreter who could penetrate before the Buddha had even ascended the lecturing seat, he would have attained somewhat. The Buddha yet ascended the seat, then immediately got down; al ready he hadn’t got to the point—how was it worth Manjusri’s still striking the gavel? He unavoidably made the Buddha’s sermon seem foolish. But tell me, where was it that he made a fool of him?
93. Daguang Does a Dance
Story
2 i7 a A monk asked Daguang, “Changqing said, ‘Joyful praise on the occasion of a meal’—what did he mean?” (The light shines again. This ignoramus! It is unavoidable to doubt; without asking, you won’t know.) Daguang did a dance. (Do not deceive people. He acts like Jinniu did before.) The monk bowed. (He too acts this way. He’s right, but I fear he’s misunderstood.) Daguang said, “What have you seen, that you bow?” (An appropriate challenge; it’s necessary to be discriminating.) The monk did a dance. (He draws a cat according to a model. After all he misunderstood. He’s playing with a shadow.) Daguang said, “Foxy devil!” (This kind ness is hard to requite. The patriarchs only transmitted this.)
Commentary
The Chan patriarchs only transmitted this little bit; but do you people know the ultimate point? If you know, you can avoid this error; if not, as before you will only be foxy devils.
Some say Daguang wrenched the other’s nose around to de ceive him, but if it were actually so, what principle would that amount to? Daguang was able to help others; in his statement there is a road along which to get oneself out. In general, a Chan master must remove clinging and fixation for people; only then can one be called a benefactor.
Daguang did a dance, the monk bowed; in the end, the monk also did a dance, and Daguang said, “Foxy devil!” This was not
408
- Daguang Does a Dance
turning the monk over; after all, if you do not know the real point and just do a dance, going on one after another like this, when will you ever find rest? Daguang said, “Foxy devil” —these words cut off Jinniu, indeed outstanding. So it is said, “Study the living word, not the dead word.” Xuedou just likes his saying “Foxy devil! ” That is the basis on which he produces his verse. But tell me, is this “foxy devil” the same as “Zhizang’s head is white, Baizhang’s head is black,” “You ignoramus,” “Fine monk,” or is it different? Tell me, are these the same or different? Do you know? That One is met everywhere.
Verse
The first arrow was still light; the second arrow went deep:
(A hundred percent bulls-eyes. Where can you go
to escape?)
Who says yellow leaves are gold?
(Yet they’ll stop crying; but even if you can fool a child, it’s no use.)
If the waves of the Chan stream were alike,
(What limit is there to people playing with mud? He draws a cat according to a model. He lets out a single road.)
Innumerable ordinary people would get bogged down.
(We meet a live one! He has involved every Chan practitioner in the world, and makes them unable to get a hold; he entangles you too, and makes you unable to come forth.)
Commentary
“ The first arrow was still light; the second arrow went deep.” Daguang’s dance was the first arrow. He also said, “Foxy devil!” This was the second arrow. This has been the tooth and nail since time immemorial.
409
The Blue Cliff Record
“Who says yellow leaves are gold?” Yangshan said, “You should each look within; do not memorize my words. Since beginningless time you have turned your backs on the light and plunged into darkness; the roots of your false conceptions are deep, so after all they are hard to pull out all at once. That is why I temporarily set
2 i7 b up expedient methods to take away your coarse consciousness; this is like using yellow leaves to stop a child’s crying.” It is like ex changing sweet fruit for bitter gourd. The ancients provisionally established expedient methods to help people; when their crying has stopped, yellow leaves are not gold. When the Buddha explained timely doctrines, these too were just talks to put an end to crying. “Foxy devil!”—he just wanted to transmute the other’s habitual consciousness; within the processes are provisional and true illumination and function; only thus can you see the grasp of the Chanist there. If you can understand, you’ll be like a tiger with wings.
“ If the waves of the Chan stream were alike” —if all theeverywhere did a dance like this, and only acted like this, then innumerable ordinary people would get bogged down; how could they be saved?
94. Not Seeing
Introduction
The one statement before sound is not transmitted by the sages; the single thread before our eyes is forever without a gap. Pure and naked, bare and clean, the white ox on open ground. Eyes alert, ears alert, the golden lion—leaving this aside for the moment, tell me, what is the white ox on open ground?
Story
The Surangama Sutra says, “When I do not see, why don’t you see my not seeing?” (Good news. W hat’s the use of seeing? Old Sakyamuni has leaked quite a bit.) “If you see my not seeing, natu rally that is not the characteristic of not seeing.” (Tsk! What idle time is there? You shouldn’t tell me to have two heads and three
410
- Not Seeing
faces.) “If you don’t see my not seeing,” (Where are you going? It’s like driving a nail into an iron spike. Bah!) “it is naturally not a thing;” (He pushes down the ox’s head to make it eat grass. What further sound and form is there to speak of?) “how could it not be you?” (To say you or me is totally beside the point. Striking, I say, “Do you see old Sakyamuni?”)
Commentary
The Surahgama Sutra says, “When I don’t see, why don’t you see my not seeing? If you see my not seeing, naturally that is not the characteristic of not seeing. If you don’t see my not seeing, it is naturally not a thing; how could it not be you? ” Xuedou here doesn’t quote the entire passage of the scripture; if quoted in full it can be seen: “If seeing were a thing, then you could also see my sight. If seeing alike were called seeing my seeing, when I don’t see, why don’t you see my not seeing? If you see my not seeing, naturally that is not the characteristic of not seeing. If you don’t see my not seeing, naturally it is not a thing; how could it not be you? ” The words are many, and I won’t record them. Ananda intended to say, “The objects in the world can all be given names; I also want the Buddha to point out this subtle spiritual fundamental illumi nation—what can you call it, to let me see the Buddha’s intent?” The Buddha said, “When I see the incense stand, that can be known; when I do not see the incense stand, then how will you see? Ananda said, “When I don’t see the incense stand, this is seeing the Bud dha.” The Buddha said, “If I say I don’t see, this is my own knowledge; when you say you don’t see, this is your own knowledge— where another doesn’t see, how can you know?” The ancients said that when you get here, you can only know for yourself; you can’t explain to others. Just as the Buddha said, “When I don’t see, why don’t you see my not seeing? If you see my not seeing, naturally that is not the characteristic of not seeing. If you don’t see my not seeing, naturally it is not a thing; how could it not be you?” If you say you acknowledge sight as an existent thing, you are not yet able to wipe away the traces. “When I don’t see” is like the antelope
The Blue Cliff Record
with its horns hung up —all echo of sound, traces of tracks, all breath is utterly gone; where will you search for it? The sense of the scripture is refutation through concession in the beginning and refutation through denial in the end. Xuedou goes beyond the eye of the scriptural doctrines to versify; he does not eulogize things, seeing, or not seeing—he just eulogizes seeing the Buddha.
Verse
The whole elephant or the whole ox—the blinding cataracts, no different.
(Half-blind man! Half open, half closed. What are you doing, clinging to fences and groping along walls? One cut, two pieces.)
Adepts of all time have together been naming and describing.
(All the Chan founders and teachers, so numerous — yet you have still left yourself out.)
If you want to see the Buddha right now,
(Bah! The old barbarian! Blind man! He’s right at your feet.)
Each atom of every land lies halfway there.
(Where you stand you’ve already missed him. What more would you have me say? Will you ever see him, even in a dream?)
Commentary
“The whole elephant or the whole ox—the blinding cataracts, no different. ” A group of blind people groping over an elephant each speaks of a different aspect; this comes from the Nirvana Sutra. A monk asked Yangshan, “When you saw someone come and ask about Chan or the way, you drew a circle and wrote ‘ox’ inside; what is the meaning of this?” Yangshan said, “ This too is an idle matter: if you can understand, it doesn’t come from outside; if not, you certainly don’t recognize it. Now I ask you, what have the adepts in various places pointed out in you as your Buddha
412
94. Not Seeing
nature? Do you consider it that which speaks, or is it that which is silent? Is it that which neither speaks nor is silent? Or do you consider everything it, or do you consider everything not it? If you take that which speaks as it, you are like the blind man who has grabbed the elephant’s tail. If you take that which is silent as it, you are like the blind man grabbing the elephant’s ear. If you take that which neither speaks nor is silent as it, you are like the blind man grabbing the elephant’s trunk. If you say everything is it, you are like the blind man grabbing the elephant’s legs. If you say none are it, you abandon the elephant and fall into the view of nothingness. According to what the blind ones perceive, they just attribute different names and descriptions to the elephant. If you want to do right, don’t grope over the elephant: don’t say percep tive awareness is it, yet do not say it’s not it.”
The sixth patriarch said, “Enlightenment basically has no tree, 218a the clear mirror also has no stand. Fundamentally there is not a single thing; how is it possible to be defiled by dust? ” He also said,
“ The Way basically has no shape or form; wisdom itself is the Way. To attain this understanding is called true transcendent wisdom.” One with clear eyes sees the elephant and apprehends its whole body; the seeing of the Buddha nature is also like this.
The “whole ox” appears in Zhuangzi: Pao Ding, in cutting up oxen, never saw the whole ox; he followed the internal patterns to cut them apart; letting his cleaver glide freely, he did not need to add any further effort. In a trice, head and horn, hoof and flesh separated. He did this for nineteen years, yet his cleaver was still as sharp as though it had just come from the whetstone. This is called the whole ox. Though he was so excellent, Xuedou says that even if you can be like this, the whole elephant and the whole ox are no different from blinding cataracts in the eyes. “Adepts of all time together name and describe” —even adepts still grope inside without finding. All the teachers in India and China and all over the world are just naming and describing.
Xuedou directly says that you can see the Buddha right now;
if you still need to seek, you’re far away; “If you want to see the
413
The Blue Cliff Record
Buddha right now, / Every atom in every land lies halfway there.” Usually we say that every atom is a Buddha land and that each leaf is a Buddha. Even when all the atoms in the cosmos can be seen in one atom, you’re still only halfway there; there’s still another half of the way yonder. But tell me, where is the Buddha? Old Sakyamuni didn’t even know himself; how would you have me explain?
95. Three Poisons
Introduction
Where there is a Buddha, do not stay; if you stay there, your head will sprout horns. Where there is no Buddha, quickly run past; if you don’t run past, weeds will grow ten feet high. Even if you are clean and free, without mental activity outside of things, without things outside of mental activity, you still have not escaped stick ing to an outmoded method. But tell me, without being like any of this, how would you act?
Story
Changqing once said, “Rather say that saints have the three poi sons (Scorched grain doesn’t sprout.) than say that the Buddha has two kinds of speech. (He already has slandered Sakyamuni.) I do not say that the Buddha is speechless, (He is still making a fool of himself; he’s already full of holes.) just that he doesn’t have two kinds of speech. ” (Useless maundering. What third or fourth kind will you talk about?) Baofu said, “What is the Buddha’s speech?” (A good challenge; what will you say?) Changqing said, “How can a deaf man hear?” (He addresses a plea to the sky. It’s burst wide open.) Baofu said, “I knew you were talking on the secondary level. ” (How can you fool a clear-eyed person? He snaps his nose around.
Why only the second level?) Changqing said, “What is the Buddha’s
speech?” (A mistake; yet he’s getting somewhere.) Baofu said, “Go have tea.” (Understood. But do you comprehend? Stumbled past.)
414
95. Three Poisons
Commentary
While in Xuefeng’s group, Changqing and Baofu were always re minding and awakening each other, engaging in discussion. One day casually talking like this, Changqing said, “Rather say that saints have the three poisons than say that the Buddha has two kinds of speech.” Saints have cut off all afflictions, ended contami nation, and established pure conduct; in sainthood, they have nothing more to study. The three poisons are greed, hatred, and folly, the fundamental afflictions. If they have cut off all afflictions, they have cut off the three poisons. Changqing said it’s better to say that saints have the three poisons than to say that Buddhas have two kinds of speech; his general idea was to show that the Buddha does not say anything untrue. The Lotus Sutra says, “Only this one thing is true; any second besides is not real. ” It also says, “There is only one vehicle of truth, no second or third. ” In over three hun dred assemblies, the Buddha taught according to potentials, giv ing medicine according to disease: in myriad kinds of explanations of truth, ultimately there are no two kinds of speech. His idea having gotten this far, how can you see? The Buddha taught the truth with one voice; this I don’t deny—but Changqing actually has not seen the Buddha’s speech even in a dream. Why? It’s just like a man talking about food—that can’t satisfy his hunger. Baofu saw him talking about doctrine on level ground, so he asked, “What is the Buddha’s speech?” Changqing said, “ How can a deaf man hear it?” Baofu knew that Changqing had been living in a ghost cave for some time; he said, “I knew you were speaking on the secondary level.” And after all Changqing lived up to these words; he asked back, “What is the Buddha’s speech?” Baofu said, “Go have tea.” Changqing had his spear snatched away by someone else; supposedly so great, he lost his money and incurred punishment. Now I ask you, how many kinds of Buddha speech are there?
You should know that only when you can see in this way will you see the defeat of these two men. If you examine thoroughly, everyone should be beaten.
415
The Blue Cliff Record
I’ll lei out a pathway, to let others comprehend. Some say that Baofu spoke correctly and Changqing spoke incorrectly; they just follow words to produce interpretations, so they say there is gain and loss. They don’t know that the ancients were like sparks, like lightning. People nowadays do not look at the ancients’ turning point; they just run to the words and say Changqing didn’t act immediately, so he fell into the secondary, while Baofu’s “Go have tea” is the primary level. If you only look at it in this way, you’ll never see the ancients’ meaning. If you are adept, you’ll never
entertain such a view; leaping out of this nest of clichés, you’ll
have your own road upward.
If you say, “What is wrong with ‘How could a deaf man hear?’ What is right about ‘Go have tea’? ” then you are even further from it. So it is said, “Study the living word, not the dead word.” This story is the same as the story of “all over the body, all through the body —there is nowhere you can judge and compare right or wrong. It is necessary for you to be clean and free right where you are; only then will you see where the ancients met. Wuzu said, “ It is like coming to grips on the front line.” It requires a discerning eye and a familiar hand. In this story, if you see it with the true eye, where there is no gain or loss, it distinguishes gain and loss; where there is no near or far, it distinguishes near and far. Changqing still should have bowed to Baofu. Why? Be cause he used this little bit of skill well, like thunder pealing or a
comet flying. But Baofu nevertheless produced tooth upon tooth, nail upon nail.
Verse
Primary, secondary:
(There are no such things in my royal storehouse. The standard for past and present. Why are you following the false and pursuing the bad?)
A reclining dragon does not look to still water— (Only one on the same road would know.)
Where one is not, there is the moon, waves settle:
416
95. Three Poisons
(Over the four seas a solitary boat goes by itself. It is useless to bother to figure it out. What vessel are you looking for?)
Where one is, waves arise without wind.
(He threatens people ferociously; do you feel your hair standing on end in a chill? Striking, I say, “One is here.”)
Changqing, O Changqing:
(Take in a thief and he’ll ransack your house. Don’t appear in a bustling marketplace. He lost his money and incurred punishment.)
In the third month, at Dragon Gate, you’ve got a failing
mark.
(Not one in ten thousand can withdraw and defer to others. One can only fall silent.)
Commentary
“Primary, secondary.” If people only theoretically understand pri mary and secondary, this indeed is making a living in stagnant water. If you only understand this active skill in terms of first or second, you’ll still be unable to get hold of it. Xuedou says, “A reclining dragon does not look to still water.” How can there be a dragon hidden in stagnant water? If it is “primary and second ary,” this indeed is living in stagnant water. There must be huge swells wide and vast, white waves flooding the sky; only there can a dragon be concealed. It is just as was said before, “A limpid pond does not admit the blue dragon’s coils.” As it is said, Stagnant water does not contain a dragon,” and “A reclining dragon is al ways wary of the clarity of the blue pond.” That is why Xuedou says that where there is no dragon, there is the moon, waves settle—the wind is calm, the waves grow still. Where there is a dragon, waves rise without wind; much like Baofu s saying to have tea” —this indeed is rousing waves without wind. Xuedou at this point cleans up emotional interpretations for you and has com pleted the verse. He has extra rhymes, so he makes the pattern
417
The Blue Cliff Record
complete; as before he sets a single eye on the content and again is undeniably outstanding. He says, “Changqing, O Changqing: in the third month, at the Dragon Gate, you’ve got a failing mark. ”
2 i9 a Though Changqing was a dragon who had passed through the Dragon Gate, yet he got a rap on the head from Baofu.
96. Three Turning Words
Story
Zhaozhou spoke three turning words. (What did he say? The three parts are not the same.)
Commentary
After Zhaozhou had spoken the three turning words, in the end he said, “ The real Buddha sits within.” This statement is exceed ingly indulgent. That ancient set forth a single eye, extended his hand to guide people; briefly making use of these words to convey the message, he wanted to help others. If you one-sidedly bring up the true imperative in its entirety, there would be weeds ten feet deep in front of the teaching hall. To avoid the indulgence of that final statement, Xuedou omits it and just versifies three sayings. If a mud Buddha passes through water it will dissolve: if a gold Buddha passes through a furnace it will melt; if a wood Buddha passes through fire it will burn up. What is difficult to understand about this? Xuedou’s hundred examples of versifying ancient stories are complicated with judgments and comparisons; only these three verses directly contain the breath of a Chanist. However, these verses are nonetheless difficult to understand. If you can pass through these three verses, I’ll allow as you have finished studying.
Verse 1
A mud Buddha does not pass through water:
(It soaks off the nose. He raises waves where there’s no wind.)
418
96. Three Turning Words
Spiritual Light illumines heaven and earth;
(Seeing a rabbit, he releases a hawk. What has it to do with others?)
Standing in the snow, if he didn’t rest,
(When one person transmits a falsehood, ten thousand people transmit it as truth. He meets error with error. Who has ever seen you?)
Who would not carve an imitation?
(Upon entering a temple you see its nameplate. Running up and running down twenty-four hours a day—what is it? You are it.)
Commentary
“A mud Buddha does not pass through water: / Spiritual Light illumines heaven and earth.” This phrase clearly completes the verse: but tell me, why does he mention Shenguang (“Spiritual Light”)? When the second patriarch of Chan was born, a spiritual light illumined the room, extending into the sky. Also one night a spirit appeared and said to him, “Why remain here? The time for you to attain enlightenment has arrived; you should go south.” Because of his association with spirits, the second patriarch was eventually named Shenguang, “Spiritual Light.” He lived for a long time near Luoyang and studied many books. He used to lament, “The teachings of Confucius and Laozi only transmit cus tomary norms. Recently I hear the great teacher Bodhidharma is living at Shaolin. ” So he went there to call on Bodhidharma, but the teacher sat still and gave no instruction. Shenguang thought, “When people of ancient times sought the Way, they broke their bones and took out the marrow, shed their blood to appease hun ger, spread their hair to cover mud, threw themselves off cliffs to feed tigers. Even the ancients did this; what about me?” Then there was a heavy snow; Shenguang stood by the wall, and by dawn the snow had piled up past his knees. Bodhidharma took pity on him and said, “You standing in the snow there; what do you seek?” Shenguang sighed and said, “I only beg your compassion, to open
419
The Blue Cliff Record
up the door of immortality and save all creatures.” Bodhidharma said, “The sublime Way of the Buddhas requires zealous effort for eons, practicing that which is difficult to practice, enduring the unendurable; one cannot hope to seek the true vehicle with little virtue and petty knowledge, a shallow heart and an arrogant
mind.” Now Shenguang was all the more earnest for the Way: he took a sword and cut off his own left forearm, and placed in before Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma knew he was a vessel of Dharma, so he asked him, “You stand in the snow and cut off your arm—what for?” Shenguang said, “My mind is not at ease; please ease my mind. ” Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind and I will ease it for you. ” Shenguang said, “When I search for my mind, after all I can’t find it.” Bodhidharma said, “I have put your mind at ease.” Afterwards Bodhidharma changed Shenguang’s name to Huike. Later Huike taught the third patriarch, Great Master Sengcan.
So Xuedou says, “Standing in the snow, if he didn’t rest, who would not carve an imitation?” If he kept standing in the snow, slavish deceivers would imitate him, becoming more contrived bogus imitations. These are the obsequious phony followers. Xuedou is eulogizing “a mud Buddha does not pass through water” —why then does he bring up this story? He had reached the point where there was nothing in his mind; clean and naked, only thus could he versify like this.
Wuzu always used to have people look at these three verses. Dongshan Shouchu composed a verse that he showed to his group:
Atop Mt. Wutai, clouds are steaming rice;
Before the ancient Buddha hall, a dog is pissing skyward. Frying cakes atop a flagpole,
Three monkeys pitch pennies in the night.
And Master Du Shun said,
When oxen in Huai province eat grain,
The bellies of horses in Yi province are full; Looking for a doctor all over the world,
To cauterize a pig’s left arm.
4 2 0
96. Three Turning Words
And Great Adept Fu said,
Empty-handed, holding a hoe, Walking, riding a water buffalo, Someone is crossing a bridge; The bridge, not the water, flows. It is also said,
If the capacity of a stone man were like you, He too could sing folk songs;
If you like a stone man,
You too could join in the opera.
If you can understand these words, you will understand that verse of Xuedou’s.
Verse 2
A gold Buddha does not pass through a furnace;
(It burns off the eyebrows. “ Throughout the universe I alone am the Honored One. ”)
Someone comes calling on Zihu;
(He goes this way too? I only fear he’ll lose his life.) On the sign, several words—
(An illiterate would have no way of understanding even if it were about a cat. No Chanists can get their teeth in. They may lose their lives.)
Where is there no pure wind?
(You go this way too? Above the head, vast and boundless; below the feet, vast and boundless. I also say, “It’s arrived.”)
Commentary
“A gold Buddha does not pass through a furnace; / Someone comes calling on Zihu.” This one phrase has also completed the verse. Why does he bring up someone calling on Zihu? Only with the forge and bellows of an adept is it possible. Master Zihu set up a sign at his gate, saying, “Zihu has a dog: above, it takes people’s heads; in the middle, it takes people’s loins; below, it takes people’s
219c
The Blue Cliff Record
legs. If you stop to talk to it, you’ll lose your life.” Whenever he saw a newcomer, he would shout and say, “Watch out for the dog! ” As soon as the monk turned his head, Zihu would return to his room. But tell me, why could he not bite Zhaozhou? Zihu also once late at night shouted in the lavatory, “Catch the thief, catch the thief! ” In the dark he ran into a monk; he grabbed him and held him, saying, “Caught him!” The monk said, “It’s not me.” Zihu said, “It is, but you just won’t own up to it.” If you can understand this story, you may chew everyone to death; everywhere the pure wind will be chill. If not, you will surely not be able to do anything about “the several words on the sign.” If you want to see it, just pass through completely and then you will see.
Verse 3
A wood Buddha does not pass through fire; (Burned up! One can only know oneself.)
I always think of the Oven Breaker—
(Going east, going west, what is wrong? A leper drags a companion along.)
The staff suddenly strikes,
(It’s in my hands. I still don’t need it. Who doesn’t have it?)
And then one realizes having turned away from self. (Just like you. If you can’t find it out, what use is it?
Alas! After thirty years you’ll finally get it. It is better to be sunk forever than to seek the liberation of saints. If you can seize it here, you’ll still not avoid turning away. How to be able not to turn away? The staff is still in another’s hands.)
Commentary
“A wood Buddha does not pass through fire; / 1 always think of the Oven Breaker. ” This one phrase also has completed the verse. Xue- dou, because of this “Wood Buddha does not pass through fire,” always thinks of the Oven Breaker. The Oven Breaker Monk of
422
Mt. Song was not known by any surname; his speech and behavior were unfathomable. He lived in seclusion on Mt. Song. One day, leading a group of followers, he went among the mountain aborigines: they had a sacred shrine, with just an oven in it. People sacrificed to it all the time, and had immolated very many living creatures. The master entered the shrine, tapped the oven thrice with his staff, and said, “What humbug? You were originally made of brick and mud compounded; where does the spirit come from, whence does the sanctity originate, that you burn living creatures to death like this?” And he hit it thrice more. The oven then toppled over, broke and collapsed of itself. Momentarily there was a man in a blue robe and tall hat standing in front of the master; bowing, he said, “I am the god of the oven; for a long time I have been subject to karmic retribution, but today, hearing you explain the truth of no origination, I am freed from this place and live in heaven. I have come to offer thanks.” The master said, “It is your inherent nature, not my force saying so.” The god bowed again and disappeared. An attendant said, “I and others have been around the master for a long time but have never received instruction. What shortcut did the oven god find, that he was immediately born in heaven?” The master said, “I just said to him, ‘You were originally made of brick and mud put together; where does the spirit come from, whence does the sanctity emerge?’” The attendant had no reply. The master said, “Understand?” The monk said, “No.” The master said, “ Bow!” The monk bowed; the master said, “Broken! Collapsed!” The attendant was suddenly greatly enlightened.
Later a monk reported this to National Teacher Huian. The teacher said in praise, “This man has comprehended things and self as one suchness. ”
The oven god understood this principle, therefore he was thus:
that monk was a body composed of five clusters; the master also said, “Broken! Collapsed! ” Both were enlightened, but tell me, are the five clusters the same as brick and tiles, mud and earth, or different? Since it is so, why does Xuedou say, “ The staff suddenly strikes; / And then one realizes having turned away from self?”
The Blue Cliff Record
Why does one become turned away? It is just a matter of not yet having found the staff.
And tell me, as Xuedou eulogizes “A wood Buddha does not pass through fire, ” why does he cite the story of the oven breaking and collapsing? I will explain it directly for you; his intention is just to cut off feelings and ideas of gain and loss; once clean and naked, you will naturally see his kindness.
97. The Diamond Sutra’s Scornful Revilement
Introduction
If you take up one and let one go, you are not yet an adept; even if you understand three corners when one is raised, you still are turning away from the fundamental essence. Even if you get heaven and earth to change instantly, without rejoinder from the four quarters, thunder pealing and lightning flying, clouds mov ing and rain rushing, overturning lakes and toppling cliffs, like a pitcher pouring, like a bowl emptying, you have still not raised a half. Is there anyone who can turn the polar star, who can shift the axis of the earth?
Story
The Diamond Sutra says, “If one is scornfully reviled by others,” (It lets out a pathway. And what is wrong with that?) “one has done wicked acts in previous ages,” (Assloads, horseloads.) “that should bring one down into evil ways;” (Already fallen.) “but be cause of the scorn and vilification by others in the present age,” (Paying off the roots has effects that extend to the branches. One can only accept it with forbearance.) “the wicked action of former ages” (Where can you look for it? Planting grain will not produce beans.) “is thereby extinguished.” (This is adding frost to snow. It’s like boiling water melting ice.)
4 2 4
- The Diamond Sutra’s Scornful Revilement
Commentary
The Diamond Sutra says, “If one is scorned and vilified by others, the fact is that one has done wicked actions in former ages that should bring one down into evil ways; but because of the scornful revilement of people in this age, the wicked action of former ages is thereby extinguished. ” According to the ordinary way of inter pretation, this is the constant theme throughout the scripture. Xuedou brings it up and versifies this meaning to break up the scholastics’ livelihood in ghost caves. Prince Zhaoming classified this part as the ability to clear away obstruction by karma.
The general idea of the scripture is the efficacy of the scripture: someone like this in former times created hellish karma, but hasn’t suffered because of the power of good. Because of scorn and vilification by people in the present age, the wicked karma of former ages is extinguished. This scripture therefore can extinguish the bad karma of innumerable eons, changing the grave to light, changing the light to inconsequential, and furthermore bringing attainment of enlightenment.
According to scholastics, reciting this twenty-odd page scripture is itself called upholding the scripture, but what connection is there? Some say the scripture itself has spiritual power; if so, place a volume in an uncluttered place and see if there is any effect or not. Fayan said realizing Buddhahood is called upholding the scripture. The scripture says, “All Buddhas, and the teaching of the complete enlightenment of all Buddhas, come from this scripture.” But tell me, what do you call “this scripture”? Is it the actual text? Don’t mistakenly stick by the zero point of the scale.
The diamond is likened to the body of truth, indestructible and capable of breaking through anything. This wisdom is of three kinds: knowledge of the character of reality, observant illuminative knowledge, and verbal knowledge. Knowledge of the character of reality is true knowledge, the one great matter right where you are, shining throughout all time, beyond intellectual knowledge and opinion; it is that which is clean and naked, bare and untrammeled.
220c
Observant illuminative knowledge is the real world; it is that which emanates light and moves the earth twenty-four hours a day, seeing and hearing. Verbal knowledge is the language that can ex press it; that is, the present speaker and hearer. But tell me, is this wisdom or not? An ancient said, “Everyone has a volume of scripture.” It has also been said, “My hand does not hold a scripture scroll, but I am always reciting such a scripture.”
If you depend on this scripture’s miraculous efficacy, why stop at just making the serious trifling and the trifling totally inconsequential? Even if you could match the ability of the sages, that would still not be anything special.
Layman Pang, listening to an exposition of the Diamond Sutra, asked the lecturer, “If, as the scripture says, there is no sign of self or others, who would you have lecture, who would you have listen?” The lecturer had no reply; instead he said, “I just interpret literally; I do not know the meaning.” The layman then said in verse:
No self, no other; how could there be near or far? I urge you to stop going through lectures;
It is better to seek the real directly.
The nature of adamantine wisdom is void of any dust; “I have heard” through “I faithfully accept”
Are all just artificial names.
This verse is most excellent; it has clearly explained all at once.
Guifeng picked out a four-line stanza, saying, “All appearances are unreal; if you see that forms are not forms, you see the Bud dha.” The meaning of this four-line stanza is exactly the same as “Realizing Buddhahood is called upholding this scripture.”
It is also said in the scripture, “If one sees me in terms of form, if one seeks me through sound, one is traversing a false path and cannot see the Buddha.” This too is a four-line stanza; we just take from among them those whose meaning is complete. A monk asked Huitang, “What is a four-line stanza?” Huitang said, “Your talk is degenerate, yet you don’t even realize it.”
Xuedou points out what is in this scripture. If there is some one who can uphold this scripture, then this is the scenery of
426
97. The Diamond Sutra’s Scornful Revilement
everyone’s original ground, the original face: but if you act accord ing to the Chan imperative, the scenery of the original ground, the original face, would still be cut into three pieces; the teachings of the Buddhas wouldn’t be worth a pinch. At this point, even if you had myriad skills you still couldn’t handle it. Nowadays people only recite scriptures and do not know what the principle is at all. They merely talk about how many they have recited in a day. They only recognize the physical text, perusing the lines and counting the ink marks. They don’t realize it all arises from their own original minds, that this is only a bit of a turning point.
Dazhu said, “Pile up several cases of scriptures in an empty room, and see if they emanate light.” It’s just your own mind, in spired in a moment of thought, that is the virtue. Why? Myriad things all come from one’s own mind. One moment of thought is aware; once aware, it pervades; having pervaded, it transforms. An ancient said, “The green bamboos are all true thusness; the yellow flowers are all wisdom.” If you can see all the way through, this is true thusness; but if you haven’t seen, what do you call true thusness? The Flower Ornament Sutra says, “If one wants to know all the Buddhas of all times, one should observe that the nature of the cosmos is all just the fabrication of mind.” If you can discern, then in whatever situations or circumstances you’ll be the master and the source. If you cannot yet get it clear, then humbly listen to the verdict: Xuedou puts forth an eye and versifies the main theme, to clarify the scripture’s spiritual efficacy.
Verse
The clear jewel is in the palm;
(It pervades the sky above and the earth below. What is he saying? Impenetrable on four sides, crystal clear on eight faces.)
Whoever has accomplishment will be rewarded with it.
(Quite clear; it would go along with that one. Were there no accomplishment, how would you award it?)
When neither foreigner nor native comes
427
The Blue Cliff Record
(Inside and outside are void of events. Still this amounts to something.)
It has utterly no abilities.
(More and more out of touch. Where would you look for it? Come break through the darkness and I’ll meet with you.)
Since it has no abilities,
(Stop, cease: who is speaking this way?) The Evil One loses the way.
(Seen through. Outsiders and the king of demons cannot find any tracks.)
Gautama, Gautama!
(Even the Buddha eye cannot see. Tsk!) Do you know me or not?
(Tsk! Seen through.)
Xuedou also said, “Completely exposed.”
(Each blow of the staff leaves a welt. It was already so before it was said.)
Commentary
“The clear jewel is in the palm; / Whoever has accomplishment will be rewarded with it.” If one can uphold this scripture with actual effect, then one is rewarded with the jewel. When one gets this jewel, one will naturally know how to use it: when a foreigner comes, a foreigner is reflected; when a native comes, a native is reflected—myriad forms are clearly reflected. This is having ac tual accomplishment. Fayan said realizing Buddhahood is called upholding this scripture. These two lines have finished versify ing the story.
“When neither foreigner nor native comes, / It is utterly with- 221a out abilities.” Xuedou turns your nose around. When foreigners or natives appear, he has you reflect them; if neither foreigner nor native comes, then what? Here, even the Buddha’s eye cannot see.
But tell me, is this accomplishment, or is it wicked action? Is it a foreigner? Is it a native? It’s like the antelope with its horns hung
428
97. The Diamond Sutra’s Scornful Revilement
up; there is not even a breath, much less any sound or trace— where could you go to look for it? Here there is no road for gods to offer flowers, no door through which demons and outsiders might secretly spy. That is why even though Dongshan lived all his life in a temple, the earth spirit couldn’t find any trace of him, until one day someone spilled some flour in the kitchen; Dongshan aroused his mind and said, “How can you treat the communal sup plies so carelessly?” So the earth spirit finally got to see him and pay its respects.
Xuedou says, “Since there are no abilities” —if you reach the
point where there is no ability, you will make even the Evil One, the king of demons, lose the way. The Buddha regarded all beings as his children: if even one person aspires to enlightenment and acts on that aspiration, the palace of the Evil One trembles and splits because of this, and the demons come to torment and con fuse the practitioner. Xuedou says that even if the Evil One comes like this, still one must make him lose the way and have no av enue of approach.
Xuedou goes on to point to himself and say, “Gautama, Gau
tama! / Do you know me or not?” Do not even speak of demons; even should the Buddha come, would he know me or not? Even Gautama Buddha himself couldn’t see him; where will you search for him? He also said, “Completely exposed.” But tell me, is this Xuedou exposing Gautama, or is it Gautama exposing Xuedou? Let those with eyes try to see for sure.
429
98. Tianping’s Travels
Introduction
Collecting the causes, producing the result, completing the begin ning, completing the end. Face to face, there’s nothing hidden, but fundamentally I have never explained. If someone comes forth and says, “All summer we’ve been asking for instruction; why have you never explained?” I’ll tell you when you’ve awakened. Tell me, do you think this is avoidance of direct confrontation, or do you think it has some other merit?
Story
When Master Tianping was traveling, he called on Xiyuan. He used to say, “ Don’t say you understand Buddhism; I cannot find anyone who can quote a saying.” (He’s let slip quite a bit. This man is right, but he’s like the sacred tortoise dragging its tail.) One day Xiyuan saw him from a distance and called him by name. (The hook is set.) Tianping raised his head: (Got him! A double case.) Xiyuan said, “Wrong!” (He must be tempered in a furnace. He splits his guts and wounds his heart. When the seal of the three essentials is lifted, the red spot is narrow; before any at tempt to discuss it, host and guest are distinguished.) Tianping went two or three steps; (Already he’s fallen halfway behind. He is washing dirt in mud.) Xiyuan again say, “Wrong!” (Splits his guts and wounds his heart. Everyone calls this a double case, but they don’t know it is like putting water in water, like exchanging gold for gold.) Tianping approached; (As before he doesn’t know where to rest. More and more he gropes without finding.) Xiyuan said, “Were these two wrongs just now my wrongs or your wrongs?” (The first arrows were still light; this last arrow goes deep.) Tian ping said, “My wrongs.” (He mistakes a saddle ridge for his father’s
221b lower jaw. As for such Chan monks, even if you killed ten thou sand of them, what crime would it be?) Xiyuan said, “Wrong! ” (He adds frost to snow.) Tianping gave up. (He mistakenly goes by the zero point of the scale. After all he doesn’t know where to rest. I
430
8. Tianping’s Travels
knew he was under the control of another.) Xiyuan said, “Stay here for the summer and wait for me to discuss these two wrongs with you. ” (Xiyuan’s spine is usually hard as iron; why did he not immediately drive Tianping away?) But Tianping then went away. (He still resembles a Chanist, but isn’t really.) Later, when Tianping was teaching, he said to his group, (A poor man thinks of his old debts. Still it is necessary to check.) “When I was first traveling, I was blown by the wind of events to Xiyuan: twice in a row he said ‘Wrong’ and tried to keep me over there the summer for him to deal with me. I did not say it was wrong then: when I set out for the south I already knew it was wrong.” (What can he do about the two wrongs? A thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs—nonetheless it’s all irrelevant. All the more he shows his senility and saddens another.)
Commentary
Xiyuan succeeded to Baoshou. One day he asked, “How is it after trampling down the temporary citadel of Nirvana?” Baoshou said, “A sharp sword does not cut a dead man.” Xiyuan said, “Cut!” Baoshou hit him. Xiyuan said “Cut! ” ten times, and Baoshou hit him ten times; then Baoshou said, “What’s your hurry to submit this corpse to another’s painful cane?” Finally he shouted Xiyuan out. Then a monk asked Baoshou, “ That monk who just asked a question is quite reasonable; deal with him appropriately.” Baoshou hit him too and drove him out. Tell me, when Baoshou also drove that monk out, can you say it was just because he was speaking of right and wrong, or is there another reason? What was his intent? Later both succeeded to Baoshou.
One day Xiyuan went to see Nanyuan. Nanyuan asked, “Where do you come from?” Xiyuan said, “From Xuzhou.” Nanyuan said, “What do you bring?” Xiyuan said, “I bring a razor from Jiangxi; I offer it to you.” Nanyuan said, “Since you come from Xuzhou, how is it that you have a razor from Jiangxi?” Xiyuan pinched Nanyuan’s hand. Nanyuan said, “Attendant, take him away!” Xiyuan left at once. Nanyuan said, “O wow! ”
431
The Blue Cliff Record
Tianping had once called on Jinshan. Because he had gone various places and attained this turnip Chan and put it in his belly, everywhere he went he scornfully talked big and claimed to understand Chan and the Way. He used to say, “ Don’t say you understand Buddhism; I can’t find anyone who can quote a say ing.” His stinking breath affected others, and he only indulged in scorn and contempt.
Before the Buddha had appeared in the world, before Bodhi- dharma had come from India, before there were questions and answers, before there were Chan stories, was there any Chan Way? The ancients couldn’t avoid imparting teachings according to po tentialities; people later called them public cases. As the Buddha raised a flower, Kasyapa smiled; later on Ananda asked Kasyapa
22ic what special teaching the Buddha had transmitted to him. Kasyapa said, “Ananda.” Ananda responded; Kasyapa said, “ Take down the flag in front of the sanctuary.” But before the flower was raised, before Ananda had asked, where do you find any Chan stories? You just accept the useless seals of various centers, and once the seal is set, you immediately say, “I understand the marvel of Bud dhism! Don’t let anyone know.”
Tianping was just like this: when Xiyuan called him to come and then said, “Wrong” twice in a row, right away he was con fused and bewildered, unable to give any account of himself; he “neither got to the village nor reached the shop.” Some say that to speak of the meaning of Chan is already wrong; they don’t know the point of these two “wrongs” of Xiyuan. You tell me, what is the point? This is why it is said, “Study the living word, not the dead word.” When Tianping raised his head, he had al ready fallen into two and three. Xiyuan said, “Wrong!” But Tian ping did not grasp his straightforward action and didn’t pay any attention to him, taking two or three steps, as if to say “I have a bellyful of Chan. ” Xiyuan again said, “Wrong! ” But Tianping was as muddled as before and approached Xiyuan. Xiyuan said, “Were these two wrongs just now your wrongs or my wrongs?” Tianping said, “My wrongs.” Fortunately there is no connection. Already he
432
98. Tianping’s Travels
had fallen into seventh or eighth place. Xiyuan said, “Just stay here for the summer so I can discuss these two wrongs with you. ” Tian- ping immediately went away. He seemed right, but wasn’t really. Then again, I don’t say he wasn’t right, just that he couldn’t catch up. Nevertheless, he still had something of the air of a Chanist.
When Tianping was teaching, he said to his group, “When I was first traveling, I was blown by the wind of events to Xiyuan. Twice he said W rong’ and tried to have me pass the summer there to deliberate with me. I did not say it was wrong then; when I set out for the south I already knew it was wrong. ” He said quite a bit; it’s just that he’s fallen into seventh or eighth place, shaking his head thinking, out of touch. When people these days hear his say ing, “When I set out for the south I already knew it was wrong,” they immediately go figuring it out and say, “Before even going traveling, there is naturally not so much Buddhism or Chan; and when you go traveling, you are completely fooled by people every where. Even before traveling to study, you can’t call earth sky or mountains rivers; fortunately there is nothing to be concerned about at all. ” If you entertain such common vulgar views, why not buy a bandanna to wear and pass your time in a boss’s house? What’s the use? Buddhism is not this principle. If you discuss this matter, how could there be so many complications? If you say you understand while others do not, carrying a bundle of Chan around, when you are tried out by clear-sighted people you won’t be able to use it at all. Xuedou versifies in exactly this way:
Verse
Followers of Chan
(The ignoramuses all have their crimes listed on the same indictment.)
Like to be scornful:
(There are some more. Those who scold Buddhas and revile patriarchs are plentiful.)
Having studied till their bellies are full, they cannot use it.
433
The Blue Cliff Record
(It would be best to have a use. A square peg does not fit in a round hole. You are a fellow student of theirs.)
How lamentable, laughable old Tianping;
(No Chan monk in the world can leap out. He doesn’t fear that bystanders may frown. And he’s gotten people to fret foolishly.)
After all he says at the outset it was regrettable to go traveling.
(He was already wrong before he had gone traveling. Wearing out sandals, what’s the use? He blots it out with one stroke.)
Wrong, wrong!
(What is this? Xuedou has already wrongly named it.) Xiyuan’s pure wind suddenly melts him.
(Where is Xiyuan? What is it like? Do not speak only of Xiyuan; even the Buddhas of all times and the Chan masters everywhere also must fall back three
thousand miles. If you can understand here, you may travel freely anywhere.)
Xuedou also said, “Suppose a Chanist suddenly comes out and says, ‘Wrong’,”
(The crimes are listed on the same indictment. He’s still gotten somewhere.)
“How does Xuedou’s wrong compare to Tianping’s wrong?”
(Xiyuan again appears in the world. He settles the case according to the facts. Totally irrelevant. But tell me, after all, how is it? Striking, I say, “Wrong!”)
Commentary
“Followers of Chan / Like to be scornful; / Having studied till their bellies are full, they can not use it.” This fellow understood, but he just couldn’t use it. He used to gaze at the cloudy sky and say he understood so much Chan, but when he was heated a little in the furnace, it turned out he couldn’t use it at all. Wuzu said, “There’s
434
98. Tianping’s Travels
a kind of person who studies Chan like stuffing cakes in a crystal pitcher; it can’t be turned over, can’t be cleaned out, and breaks the moment it’s bumped. If you want to be lively and active, just study ‘leather bag’ Chan: even if you smash it down from the high est mountain, it still won’t break, won’t burst.” An ancient said, “Even if you can grasp it before it is spoken, this is still remaining in the shell, wandering within limitation; even if you can thor oughly penetrate upon hearing a phrase, you still won’t avoid crazy
views on the way.”
“ How lamentable, laughable old Tianping: / After all he says it was regrettable at the outset to go traveling. Xuedou is saying it’s lamentable that he couldn’t explain to others; it s laughable that he understood a bellyful of Chan but couldn’t make any use of it. “Wrong, wrong.” Some say Tianping didn’t understand and thus was wrong; some say his not speaking was wrong. But what connection is there? They hardly realize that these two wrong s are like sparks, like lightning; this is where those transcendent people tread, like using a sword to kill people, immediately grab bing their throats, whereupon their root of life is cut off. If you can travel on the sword’s edge, then you will be free in all ways. If you can understand these two “wrong”s, then you can thereby see Xi- yuan’s pure wind suddenly melting Tianping.
When Xuedou had finished telling this story, he meant to say
“Wrong.” I ask you, how does this wrong of Xuedou compare to Tianping’s wrong? Study for thirty more years.
435
99. The Ten Body Controller
Introduction
When a dragon howls, mist arises; when a tiger roars, wind arises. In the fundamental design of appearing in the world, gold and
2 2 2 b jade play together; in the strategic action of omnicompetence,
arrowpoints meet. The whole world does not conceal; far and near are equally revealed; past and present are clearly described. But tell me, whose realm is this?
Story
Emperor Suzong asked National Teacher Huizhong, “What is the Ten Body Controller?” (An adept ruler, the emperor of China; he should know this. On his head is the rolled lobe hat, on his feet are unworn shoes.) The teacher said, “Walk on Vairocana’s head.” (He takes his hand and walks together with him on the other side of the polar mountain. There is still this.) The emperor said, “I don’t understand.” (Why don’t you understand his words? What a pity. The details are not imparted. The emperor should have immediately shouted then; what further need did he have to understand?) The teacher said, “Don’t acknowledge your own pure reality body.” (Though he makes complications, he still has a way out. Drunk and doddering, he saddens others to death.)
Commentary
Emperor Suzong was already studying with National Teacher Huizhong when he was crown prince; he honored him even more after he succeeded to the throne, personally greeting him and see ing him off, even bearing the palanquin.
One day he asked the teacher, “What is the Ten Body Controller?” The teacher said, “Walk on Vairocana’s head.” The teacher’s spine was usually stiff as iron, but when he came into the presence of the emperor it was like soft mud. Though he answered subtly, still he had a good point. He said, in effect, “If you want to understand, you
436
99. The Ten Body Controller
must walk on Vairocana’s head before you can.” The emperor didn’t get it; he said, “I don’t understand.” The teacher then was extreme ly indulgent and entered into the weeds; he further commented on the preceding saying: “ Don’t mistakenly acknowledge your own pure reality body.” That refers to what is inherent in everyone, complete in each individual. See how Huizhong lets go and gathers in, taking on adversaries from all sides.
A good teacher sets up teaching according to potential, ob
serving the wind to set the sail; if one just stayed in one corner, how could one interchange? See how Huangbo was a skilled guide: when he met Linji, he beat him thrice and Linji thereupon under stood; but when it came to helping Prime Minister Pei Xiu, he was extremely complicated. Was he not a good teacher?
National Teacher Huizhong skillfully used appropriate methods to teach emperor Suzong; in all it was because he had the skill to take on adversaries from all sides. The Ten Body Controller is the ten kinds of Buddha body as experienced by others. The three Buddha bodies—reality, enjoyment, and emanation—are identical to the reality body, because the enjoyment and emanation bodies are not the real Buddha, not what expounds the Dharma. When remaining in the body of reality, as a single expanse of empty stillness, spiritual luminosity shines tranquilly.
When Taiyuan Fu was expounding the Nirvana Sutra in
Guangxiao temple, there was a wandering monk—actually it was the cook of Jiashan—who, being snowed in, took the opportunity to go listen to the lecture. When the lecture touched on the three bases of the Buddha nature and the three qualities of the body of reality, as Fu spoke profusely of the subtle principle of the reality body, the cook suddenly broke out laughing. Fu looked at him,
and had him summoned after the lecture. He asked, “My simple 2 2 2 c knowledge is narrow and inferior; I interpret the meanings ac cording to the words. Just now I saw you laugh during the lecture;
I must have some shortcoming, so please explain it to me.”
The cook said, “Had you not asked, I wouldn’t speak; since you have, I must explain. I was actually laughing because you don’t
437
The Blue Clif Record
know the reality body.” Fu said, “What’s wrong with my explanation?” The cook said, “ Please explain it once more.” Fu said, “ The principle of the reality body is like space, extending throughout space and time, all-embracing and all-pervasive. It manifests effects according to conditions, reaching everywhere.” The cook said, “I don’t say your explanation is wrong; but you only know about the extent of the reality body, you don’t actually know the reality body.” Fu said, “Granted that you’re right, you should explain it to me.” The cook said, “If you agree, give up lecturing for ten days, meditate correctly in a quiet room; collect your mind, gather your thoughts, give up various fixations on good and bad, and investigate on your own.”
Fu did just as he said, from the first to the fifth watch of the night; when he heard the sounding of the drum, he suddenly attained enlightenment. He went right away to knock on the Chanist’s door. The cook said, “Who’s there?” Fu said, “ Me.” The cook scolded him, saying, “I would have you transmit and maintain the great teaching, explaining it in the Buddha’s stead; why are you lying in the street drunk on wine in the middle of the night?” Fu said, “ Hitherto in my lectures on scripture I have been twisting the nostrils of the father and mother who gave birth to me; from today on I no longer dare to be like this.”
See that outstanding fellow—did he merely go accept this radiant spirituality and fall in front of asses but behind horses? He had to have broken up his habitually conditioned consciousness, so that there is nothing that can be apprehended; yet he has still only realized one half. An ancient said, “If you do not give rise to any thought of practice or study, you’ll always be free within form less light.” Just discern that which is always silent and still; do not acknowledge sound and form; just discern spiritual knowledge, do not acknowledge false imagination. That is why it was said, “Even if an iron wheel is turning on your head, with concentration and wisdom complete and clear, they are never lost.”
Bodhidharma asked Shenguang, “Why did you cut your arm off, standing there in the snow?” Shenguang said, “ My mind is not yet
438
99. The Ten Body Controller
at ease; please ease my mind for me.” Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind and I’ll ease it for you.” Shenguang said, “When I look for my mind, after all I can’t find it.” Bodhidharma said, I have eased your mind for you.” Shenguang thereupon awakened. But tell me, at just such a moment, where is the reality body? Changsha said:
Students of the Way do not know reality
Because they still acknowledge the conscious mind; It’s the root of countless eons of birth and death, Yet fools call it the original being.
People now just acknowledge this radiant awareness and immediately stare and glare, playing with their spirits: but what relevance does this have? As he said, “ Do not acknowledge your own pure
reality body,” but when it comes to your own reality body, you
have still not seen it in a dream—how can you yet talk about not acknowledging it? In the doctrinal schools, they consider the pure reality body to be the ultimate law; why not let people acknowledge it? Haven’t you heard it said, “As long as you are acknowledging it, it still is not so.” Tsk! It’s best immediately to strike a blow. Whoever can understand the meaning of this will for the first time understand his saying, “ Don’t acknowledge your own reality body.” Xuedou dislikes his indulgent kindness, but never theless there are thorns in the soft mud.
Master Dongshan had three roads for teaching people, called
the hidden road, the bird’s path, and extending the hands. Beginners temporarily traveled these three roads. A monk asked, You always tell students to travel the bird’s path—what is the bird s path like?” Dongshan said, “You don’t meet anyone.” The monk asked, “ How can I travel it?” Dongshan said, “Let there be no self in your footsteps.” The monk said, “ If I travel the bird s path, is this not the original face?” Dongshan said, “Why are you upside down?” The monk said, “ How am I upside down?” Dongshan said, “If you are not upside down, why do you take the servant for the master?” The monk said, “What is the original face?” Dongshan said, “It does not travel the bird’s path.”
439
The Blue Cliff Record
You must see as far as this realm; only then will you have a little realization. Even if you clean everything up and make your self trackless and silent, yet in the Chan school this is still the view of novices and children. You must still turn your heads around to the troubles of the world and fully arouse your great function.
Verse
£The Teacher of the Nation” is also a forced name; (What’s the necessity? A flower in the sky, the moon
in the water. When the wind passes over, the treetops move.)
Huizhong alone may flaunt his good fame.
(After all he occupies the essential bridge. Even among a thousand or ten thousand, it’s hard to find one or a half.)
In the Tang dynasty he helped a real emperor— (Pitiful. What’s the use of teaching him? What’s
accomplished by teaching a blind Chan monk?) Once he had him tread on Vairocana’s head.
(Why doesn’t everyone go like this? They would find heaven and earth. How would you tread?)
Then his iron hammer struck and shattered the gold bones;
(Making everyday life happy. It’s already so before saying so.)
Between heaven and earth, what more is there?
(Within the four seas, vast and boundless, there are few who know. The whole body bears the load. He’s scattering sand and dirt.)
The lands and seas of three thousand worlds are still and silent by night;
(Set your eyes high. Hold fast to your territory; are you waiting to enter a ghost cave?)
I do not know who enters the blue dragon’s cave. (Thirty blows of the staff; not one can be omitted. He’s
finished bringing it up, but do you understand? Tsk!
440
99. The Ten Body Controller
People, you’ve been taken in tow by Xuedou. Do not mistakenly acknowledge your own pure reality body.)
Commentary
“The Teacher of the Nation is also a forced name; / Huizhong alone may flaunt his good fame.” This verse is just like a eulogy on a portrait. As it is said, the ultimately perfected person has no name. To call him National Teacher is also a case of having forcibly affixed a name. The Way of the National Teacher is incomparable; he was skillfully able to teach others in this way.
Huizhong alone may be accepted as a master; “In the Tang dynasty he helped a true emperor— / Once he had him tread on Vairocana’s head.” If you have the eye and brain of a perceptive Chanist, you must walk on Vairocana’s head; only then will you see this Ten Body Controller. A Buddha is called the Controller; this is one of ten epithets. One body transforms into ten bodies, ten bodies transform into a hundred bodies, and on and on, to mil lions of millions of bodies; in their totality they are just one body.
The first part of the verse is easy to explain: the latter part refers to the saying, “ Don’t acknowledge your pure reality body and versifies it in such a way that water poured on cannot wet it; it is difficult to explain.
“ His iron hammer strikes, smashing the gold bones.” This refers to “ Don’t acknowledge your own pure reality body.” Xuedou praises Huizhong greatly; the golden bones have been smashed by one blow of his mallet. “Between heaven and earth, what more is there?” It is just necessary to be clean and naked, bare and un trammeled, so there is no longer anything to be apprehended; then this is the scenery of the basic ground. It is just like the lands and seas of three thousand worlds still and silent in the night. In a universe of three thousand great world systems, in the midst of the ocean of fragrant waters, there are infinite lands; in each land there is a sea. Just when the night is deep and still, and heaven and earth are clear and calm, tell me, what is this? Just don t
The Blue Cliff Record
make an understanding of closing your eyes. If you understand in this way, you’ll fall into the poison sea.
“I do not know who enters the blue dragon’s cave.” Stretching out the legs, folding the legs, who is this? Everybody has been taken in tow by Xuedou all at once.
100. B alin g’s Sword
Introduction
All summer I’ve been verbosely making up complications, and I’ve almost entangled and tripped up all the seekers in the land. But when the diamond sword cuts directly, I realize my total incompe tence. But tell me, what is the diamond sword like? Open your eyes and I’ll reveal the sword point for you to see.
Story
A monk asked Baling, “What is the sharpest sword?” (Cut! Dan ger!) Baling said, “Each branch of coral supports the moon.” (The light engulfs myriad forms, the entire land.)
Commentary
Baling does not move his shield and spear, but how many people’s tongues fall to the ground! Yunmen taught people just like this, and Baling was his true heir. Each of Yunmen’s successors had this strategy of action; that is why Xuedou said, “I always admire the fresh devices of Yunmen; all his life he removed fixations for people. This story is just like this; within one statement there are three statements naturally inherent—the statement encompassing the universe, the statement cutting off all streams, and the statement following the waves. His reply was undeniably outstanding. Fushan Yuan said, “For one who has not yet passed through, studying the statement is not as good as studying the intent. For one who has passed through, studying the intent is not as good as
442
100. Baling’s Sword
studying the statement.” Among Yunmen’s students were three 223c adepts who replied about the “sharpest sword. Two of them said, “Complete.” Only Baling was able to give an answer beyond “com plete” —this is attaining the statement.
But tell me, are “complete” and “each branch of coral supports
of the moon” the same or different? Before, Xuedou said, The three statements should be distinguished; one arrow flies through space. If you want to understand this story, you must cut off the defile ments of feelings and conceptions and be completely purified; then you will see his saying, “Each branch of coral supports the moon. If you make up any further rationalizations, all the more you 11 find you’re unable to grasp it.
This expression is from a poem by the Chan lyricist Chanyue,
from which Baling took one line to reply to the sharpest sword. He is quick. A sword is tested with a hair; when a hair blown against its edge splits of itself, the sword is the sharpest sword. Baling just goes to the point of the question and immediately answers; the monk’s head fell without him even realizing it.
Verse
Wanting to even the uneven,
(Tiny as an ant. A powerful person should be like this.) The great adept seems inept.
(He does not stir sound or form. He hides his body but
reveals his shadow.)
Sometimes on the finger, sometimes in the palm; (Look! After all, this is not it.)
Leaning against the sky, it shines on the snow—
(Cut! If you stare at it you’ll go blind.) Even a great smith cannot hone it;
(What do you still want to forge it for? Even Gan Jiang
the legendary smith couldn’t find it.)
Even a master craftsman would never finish polishing it. (No one could do it. Even if Gan Jiang came forth, he too
would fall back three thousand miles.)
443
The Blue Cliff Record
It is exceptional, unique:
(Tsk! What is so special about it? There is something praiseworthy about it.)
Each branch of coral supports the moon.
(In the third watch the moon descends, its light shining in the cold pond. Tell me, where does it go? The world’s at peace. Drunk and doddering, he saddens people to death.)
Commentary
“Wanting to even the uneven, / The great adept seems inept.” In the past there were wandering warriors; on their way when they saw inequity where the strong oppressed the weak, they would let fly with their swords to take the heads of the strong. In this way Chan masters hide a jewel sword in their eyebrows and hang a golden mallet in their sleeves, whereby to settle matters of un rest. “The great adept seems inept” —Baling’s answer was intended to even what was uneven; because his words were exceedingly skillful, they turn out to seem inept. Why? Because he does not attack directly: instead he goes off into a corner and with one stroke secretly beheads the man, while the man is unaware of it.
“Sometimes on the finger, sometimes in the palm; / Leaning against the sky, it shines on the snow.” If you can understand, then it is like the cold severe grandeur of a long sword leaning against the sky. An ancient said, “ The mind-moon solitary and full, its light engulfs myriad forms. The light is not shining on
objects, and the objects are not existing either. Light and objects both forgotten, then what is this?” This precious sword is some times manifest on the fingertip; suddenly it appears in the palm. When Librarian Qing reached this point in his explanation of this text, he raised his hand and said, “Do you see?” Still, it’s not necessarily in the hand or the finger: Xuedou just takes a shortcut to let you see the ancient’s meaning. Everywhere is the sharpest sword. That is why it is said, “When the waves are high at the
4 4 4
100. Baling’s Sword
triple gate, the fish turn to dragons; yet fools still scoop the evening pond water.” *
Xuedou says this sword can lean against the sky and shine on
the snow. Usually it is said that the light of the long sword leaning against the sky can shine on the snow: this little bit of function is such that even a great smith cannot hone it; even a master craftsman could never finish polishing it.
When Xuedou has finished the verse, in the end he reveals the
sword, saying, “Exceptional, unique!” It is undeniably exceptional and has special excellence; it is not like an ordinary sword. But tell me, how is it special? “Each branch of coral supports the moon.”
This can be said to be absolutely unique, occupying the heartland 224b
alone, without any peer.
Ultimately, how is it? People, your heads are fallen. I have one more little verse:
Filling a ship with ten thousand bushels,
I let you haul it away;
Yet for one grain of rice the pot has entrapped the snake. Having brought up one hundred old stories,
How much sand have I thrown in people’s eyes?
The translator omitted an insertion about the legendary smith Kan Chiang, and his sword No Yeh.
***
445
animal(s) 32, 45, 188, 275
antelope(s) 411, 428
ass(es) 176, 177, 252, 253, 255,
349, 350, 352, 393, 438
Avalokitesvara (celestial bodhisattva) 12, 14, 15, 105,
121, 185, 231, 264, 309, 347,
387, 389
Baiduan (master) 52
Baizhang (master) 2, 24, 70, 71,
128, 148-150, 156, 179, 202,
244, 255-259, 311, 317-328,
378, 392, 409
Baling (master) 82, 84-86,
442-445
banner 90, 93, 101, 122, 284,
352, 357
Baoci (master) 80, 100
Baofu (master) 38, 53, 54, 56, 57,
134-137, 211, 221, 338, 340,
341,402-404,414-417
Baoshou (master) 237, 431
Benren (master) 95
bird’s path 439
birth and death 31, 69, 93, 102,
112, 113, 259, 281, 304, 322,
366, 439
boat race 227
Bodhidharma (master) 6 ,8 ,11 -15 ,
17, 18, 22, 56, 90, 112, 154,
158, 176, 205, 211, 214, 227,
233, 234, 250, 252, 266, 267,
285, 290, 300, 306, 308, 346,
419, 432, 438
bodhisattva(s) 283, 345, 347, 354,
369, 370, 392. See also Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, MahjusrI, Samantabhadra,
Vimalakirti
Bodhisattva of Great Compassion 391, 392, 395, 396
Buddhahood 12, 30, 35, 59, 289,
338, 339, 352, 373, 425,
426, 428
buffalo 138, 198, 217, 421
Cao-Dong (master) 2, 95, 217, 218,
240, 322, 358, 392
Caoqi (master) 165, 167, 168,
316, 317
Caoshan (master) 2, 24, 111, 217,
288, 354, 393
cat(s) 196, 286, 292-295, 408,
409, 421
Ce (master) 49, 102
Changqing (master) 36,38,53-57,
78, 81, 110, 117, 126, 129-132,
134-137, 165-167, 211,
329-331, 338, 340, 341, 408,
414-418
Changsha (master) 186,187-189,
281, 439
Chanist(s) 338, 347, 348, 363, 374,
375, 377, 394, 410, 418, 421,
431, 433, 434, 438, 441
Chanyue (master) 27, 146, 368,
443
Chen Cao (master) 41, 174-176
chick 95, 98
and hen 98
colt(s) 149, 150, 327, 328
compassion 5, 8, 13, 17, 39, 46, 52,
56, 68, 81, 105, 108, 124, 136,
178, 179, 193, 196, 203, 264,
282, 288, 289, 297, 299-301,
330, 335, 353, 366, 371, 373,
392, 419
concentration 4, 30, 68, 168, 354,
376, 403, 438
Confucius (sage) 7, 419
Consideration of Benefit Scripture 237
Cuiwei (master) 114,115-117,
120, 217
Cuiyan (master) 53, 54, 55, 57, 96,
115, 196, 298
Daguang (master) 408, 409
Dalong (master) 362,363-366
Danxia (master) 337, 338, 339, 341
Danyuan (master) 103, 106, 107
Daowu (master) 85, 262-265, 322,
391-393, 395
Dasui (master) 83,159-162
Datian (master) 358
Dayu (master) 72
Dazhu (master) 427
dead word 118, 202, 210, 214,
236, 267, 295, 318, 393, 409,
416, 432
deer 151, 197, 357, 358, 361
demon(s) 67, 68, 69, 82, 138, 141,
298, 428, 429
Deshan (master) 28, 29-35, 37, 57,
88, 116, 118, 127, 134, 170,
228, 230, 235, 247, 249, 253,
303, 304, 345, 346, 359, 377,
383, 397, 406
Deshan Yuanmi (master) 42 Deshao (master) 50
Diamond Sutra 30, 424-427, 429
Ding (master) 15, 171-173, 413
Dingzhou (master) 332, 333, 336
Dizang (master) 184, 388
Dongshan (master) 2, 37, 77-80,
92, 116, 118, 127, 168, 215, ’
217-219, 237, 304, 392, 420,
429, 439
Dongshan Shouchu (master) 42 420
donkey(s) 8, 11, 18, 165, 167, 191,
214, 241
dragon(s) 7, 22-24, 26-28, 30, 34,
51-53, 59, 63, 64, 69, 71, 73,
74, 79, 88, 89, 108, 113, 119,
133, 141, 147, 155, 165, 174,
182-184, 198, 206, 223, 238,
239, 246, 249, 255, 262, 273,
276, 278-281, 283, 284, 290,
292, 299, 300, 310, 338, 354,
356, 364, 365, 395, 416-418,
436, 440, 442, 445
drum(s) 36, 39, 40, 60, 83, 129,
138, 157, 194, 219-224, 239,
274, 310, 314, 343, 352, 357,
368, 405, 438
Du Shun (master) 420
Ehu (master) 38, 100
elephant(s) 71, 276, 354, 412, 413
elk 357,358-361
enlighten 8, 12, 15, 19, 25, 30, 32,
37, 41, 45, 49, 50, 63, 67, 69,
72, 80, 82, 86, 93, 94, 100, 106,
110, 111, 117,125, 127, 132,
142, 158, 160, 167, 169, 172,
174, 185,198, 205, 212, 217,
220, 227, 232, 243, 253, 256,
258, 265, 290, 298, 312, 322,
324, 341, 346, 364-366, 373,
396, 403, 413, 419, 423, 425,
429, 438
Essentials of Mind (text) 2 Evil One 428, 429
Fanghui (monk-scholar) 6
Fayan (master) 2, 48-52, 181, 184,
205, 298, 388, 399, 425, 428
Fengxue (master) 96, 141, 177,
183, 193, 195-200, 285
fish 19, 21, 27, 51, 52, 59, 61, 73,
79, 99, 126, 130, 159, 176, 177,
194, 198, 240-242, 283, 288,
290, 291, 306, 307, 309, 310,
329, 349, 362, 404, 405, 445
flower(s) 8, 12, 28, 39, 40, 44, 46,
47, 51, 52, 72, 81, 82, 93, 94,
109, 110, 122-125, 146, 147,
186-189, 201-206, 280, 285,
291, 310, 319, 320, 362, 363,
365, 380, 382, 389, 390, 400,
405, 427, 429, 432, 440
Flower Ornament Sntra 354, 427
flute 208, 246, 362, 364, 365
fox(-es) 8, 11, 28, 29, 36, 44, 56, 91,
124-126, 165, 182, 315, 326,
408-410
frog(s) 40, 74, 85, 165, 176, 177,
194, 198, 222, 229, 322, 392,
404, 405
Fude Xian (master) 80 Fushan Yuan (master) 163,
216, 442
Gautama (Buddha) 428, 429
gold 12, 29, 53, 79, 81, 89, 93, 106,
107, 115, 128,134,140, 141,
144, 165, 191, 201-204, 209,
227, 240-242, 265-267, 273,
286, 297, 299, 310, 323, 326,
331, 335, 368-370, 372, 374,
383, 386, 402, 409, 410, 418,
421, 430, 436, 440, 441, 444
gongan 2, 3, 4, 8
Great Adept Fu (master) 306, 307,
309, 421
Great Compassionate One 182 Great Vehicle 68, 70
Guangtong (master) 15
Guanxi (master) 254, 255
Guifeng (master) 426
Guishan (master) 2 ,28 ,29 ,31 -35 ,
106, 115, 138-141, 160,170,
178, 195, 236, 299, 311,
317-320, 355, 378
Guishan Zhenru (master) 299 Gui-Yang (Chan line) 2, 140,175
Guizong (master) 223, 270,
272, 314
Guotai Shen (master) 111
hawk 78, 321, 343, 352, 405, 419
Heshan (master) 219,220-224
hidden road 439
Huangbo (master) 69,70-76,128,
135, 173, 195, 311, 378, 437
Huanglong Xin (master) 66, 115,
215
Huichao (master) 47, 48-52
Huijiao (master) 184
Huike (master) 420
Huitang (master) 426
Huizhong (master) 103, 104,
220, 237, 314, 406, 436, 437,
440, 441
Huns 34
hut 29, 33, 35, 80, 102, 110,
127, 139, 142, 144, 246, 248,
376, 400
ignorance 68, 112, 173, 205, 245,
289, 308, 325, 372
Indra (god) 46, 104, 395, 396
Iron Grindstone Liu (female master) 101, 102, 138-141
Jewel Treasury Treatise (text) 220, 288
Jianfeng (master) 139
Jianyuan (master) 262, 263-265
Jiashan (master) 67, 232, 392, 437
Jingguo (master) 221
Jingqing (master) 94, 95, 96,
98-100, 134-136,196, 221,
228-230, 288
Jinniu (master) 329, 330, 331,
408, 409
Jinshan (master) 432
Jiufeng (master) 163, 192
Judi (master) 109,110-113
Kanadeva (master) 82,83-86
Kasyapa (Buddha) 93, 281, 432
Laozi (sage) 419
Layman Pang (master) 211, 212,
214, 426
Letters of Dahui (text) 2
light(s) 19, 28, 30, 47, 63, 70, 79,
93, 96,104, 108, 130, 161, 162,
449
165, 170, 173, 181, 184, 188,
203, 208, 209, 211, 219,
250-252, 277, 285, 287, 291,
296, 298, 302, 320, 326-328,
337, 338, 377-382, 389, 393,
397-400, 408, 410, 419,
425-427, 438, 442, 444, 445
Light Emitting Wisdom Scripture 12, 307
lightning 17, 39, 40, 48, 57, 64, 95,
102, 129, 131, 133, 138, 146,
147, 190, 202, 206, 209, 213,
224, 260, 261, 263, 277, 278,
290, 295, 318, 352, 358, 366,
416, 424, 435
Li Guang (archer) 34, 35, 268, 321
Lingshu (master) 41, 42
Lingyun (master) 123
Linji (master) 2, 57, 66, 72, 88,
114-116, 118, 134, 171-173,
181,195, 198, 200,217,228,
230, 240, 241, 253, 285, 310,
311, 327, 328, 345, 376, 377,
383, 397, 406, 437
lion(s) 28, 31, 53, 57, 65, 86, 110,
201-203, 256, 276, 323, 331,
332, 370-372, 374, 410
living word 118, 202, 210, 214, 236,
239, 267, 295, 312, 318, 393,
409, 416, 432
Longtan (master) 30, 31
Longya (master) 114,115-120,
168, 227, 303, 304
Loshan (master) 319
Lotus Sutra 113, 175, 415 Lumen Zhi (master) 66 Lupi (master) 194,198-200
lute 129, 192, 405
Lu Xuan (master) 81, 204, 205
Magu (master) 117,165-167,169,
170, 314, 317
Mahasthamaprapta (celestial bodhisattva) 105
Maitreya (Buddha) 63, 383, 407
Manjusri (celestial bodhisattva) 63, 83, 105, 121, 149, 182-185,
192, 217, 369-373, 384, 389,
404-408
Master Ma 25, 26, 27
Master Zhi 11, 14, 15, 306-309
meditation 1, 2, 3, 32, 46, 56, 68,
103, 104, 110, 114, 116, 117,
119, 120, 127, 160, 165, 194,
215,256, 261,311,338, 350,
352, 405
MeghasrI (master) 135 Mi Hu (master) 237 Mingjiao (master) 80, 111
Mingzhao (master) 185, 235-237,
239
mirror(s) 26, 39, 40, 58, 60, 90, 139,
157-159, 178, 181, 196, 206,
207, 216, 243, 300, 301, 311,
329, 356, 363, 396, 400, 413
monkey(s) 26, 63, 76, 181, 188,
189, 201, 206, 275, 315, 316,
400, 420
moon 10, 19, 21, 23, 25-27, 31, 40,
47, 78, 79, 81, 84-86, 91, 93,
108, 124, 125, 145,156, 170,
181, 186, 190, 202, 203, 206,
207, 216, 218, 219, 231, 232,
237, 258, 259, 277, 291,
351-353, 362, 363, 365, 380,
382, 393, 397-401, 416, 417,
440, 442-445
Mt. Lu 75, 178
Mt. Song 423
Muping (master) 223, 225
Muzhou (master) 40, 41, 42, 63, 64,
66, 72, 175
Nanquan (master) 81, 102, 117,
146, 149, 155, 156, 159, 162,
163, 165-167, 186, 204-207,
286, 292-296, 314-317,
322, 354
Nanyuan (master) 96,196-198,
231, 431
Nirvana 155, 156, 159
Nirvana Sutra 407, 412, 437
noumenon 240, 288, 386, 395
nun(s) 110, 138
ordination 75, 168
original face 427, 439
outsider(s) 62, 73, 82, 94, 105, 138,
141, 148, 159, 236, 297-301,
333, 406, 428, 429
Oven Breaker (monk) 422
ox(-en) 5, 11, 25, 39, 41, 48, 54,
115, 138, 180, 193, 198-200,
239, 250, 251, 265-267, 275,
286, 314, 319, 340, 341, 381,
382, 410-413, 420
oyster(s) 124, 176, 253, 254,
397-401
Panshan (master) 190, 191, 192,
380, 382, 398
Pao Ding (butcher) 413 pastry 30
Path (Buddhist Path) 12, 25
patriarch(s) 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 14, 16,
18-20, 29, 33, 35, 82, 93,
120, 146, 147, 149, 150, 158,
164, 166-168, 177, 191, 233,
234, 249, 256, 286, 314, 327,
337, 340-345, 368, 408, 413,
419, 433
pearl(s) 27, 59, 66, 70, 71, 105,
156, 159, 219, 297, 356, 364,
365, 398
phenomenon(-a) 48, 95, 133, 181,
185, 199, 206, 214, 245, 281,
288, 319, 343, 356, 395, 396
pig(s) 420
pigeon(s) 194, 342
Puzhao (monk-scholar) 5, 6
Qing (master) 52,167, 213, 224-226,
281, 296, 366, 403, 444
Qinglin (master) 49
Qinshan (master) 127, 172, 195,
268, 269, 271
rabbit(s) 9, 51, 53, 124, 141, 151,
167, 219, 266, 276, 343, 362,
397, 398, 400, 405, 419
raven(s) 276
reality 2, 3, 5, 7, 23, 42, 59, 67, 69,
82, 92, 93, 101, 122, 126, 136,
144, 167, 175, 181, 201, 202,
216, 218, 230-234, 244, 253,
261, 262, 289, 310, 313, 332,
334, 343, 362, 363, 365, 395,
396, 399, 425, 436-439, 441
rhinoceros!-es) 74, 206, 215, 310,
401-404
horn 401,402-404
roc 394, 395
saindhava 407
Sakyamuni (Buddha) 9, 63, 86, 96,
97, 157,211,221,234, 341,
371, 373, 383, 406, 410, 414
samadhi 243, 245 Samantabhadra (celestial
bodhisattva) 63, 83, 105,
121, 149, 184, 185, 192, 214,
217, 407
Sanjiao (monk-scholar) 8, 9, 10
Sanping (master) 358, 359
Sansheng (master) 240, 241, 242,
310-313
Scripture of Forty-two Chapters 6 Sengcan (master) 420
Sengzhao (master) 204, 205, 288 seven women sages 264 Shanhui (master) 307
Shoolin (monastery) 14, 153-155,
158, 233, 234, 419
Shenguang (master) 233, 234, 346,
419, 438
Shenxiu (master) 158
Shiji (master) 110
Shikong (master) 85
Shimen (master) 115
Shishuang (master) 24, 262, 264,
265, 267, 392, 401, 402
Shitou (master) 73, 117, 143, 205,
212, 314, 339
451
six senses 147, 233, 399
snake(s) 34, 38, 63, 64, 69, 73, 74,
79, 126, 127, 129-133, 155,
174, 182-184, 206, 219, 229,
237, 246, 255, 278, 283, 284,
292, 302, 307, 310, 336, 338,
386, 445
Song (dynasty) 1, 8, 15, 423
sparrow 62
staff 8, 37, 43, 57, 71, 77, 80, 81,
96, 101, 103, 107, 110, 111,
115, 117, 124-126, 130, 131,
133, 140, 142-147, 156, 157,
165-167, 169, 170, 197, 198,
231, 247, 250, 280-286, 290,
297, 300, 303, 304, 311, 325,
327, 332-337, 340, 341, 344,
349, 351, 364, 374, 385-388,
392, 394, 396, 397, 402, 422,
423, 428, 440
Subhuti (disciple of Buddha) 44, 46, 47, 399, 400
Surangama assembly 345
Surangama Sutra 173, 355, 410,
411
Sushan (master) 50, 95
Sutra of the Thousand Names of the Buddha 187
sword(s) 7, 9, 13, 17, 31, 39, 44, 46,
49, 53, 55, 57, 58, 62, 65, 66,
68, 76, 79, 84, 86, 89, 94, 98,
99, 116, 128, 130, 134, 136,
166, 178, 183, 185, 190,191,
196, 208, 216, 217, 224, 228,
260, 280, 284, 290, 292, 293,
297, 298, 302-305, 308, 326,
327, 329, 331, 332, 358, 359,
365, 368, 372, 374, 385, 405,
420, 431, 435, 442-445
Taiyuan Fu (master) 95, 232, 263,
265, 267, 437
Taoism 3, 205, 306
Ten Guidelines for Chan Schools (text) 2
Tianlong (master) 110, 111
Tianping (master) 430,431-435
Tianran (master) 338, 339
Tiantai (school) 1, 70, 139, 142 Tianyi Yihuai (master) 298 tiger(s) 7, 29, 36, 53, 59, 62, 63, 65,
66, 74, 84, 91-93, 113,128,
147-151, 165, 177, 187, 201,
206, 215, 223, 239, 249-252,
260-262, 268, 270, 273, 276,
279, 302, 310, 312, 313, 319,
320, 324, 332, 334, 348, 349,
356, 358-361, 374, 376-379,
410, 419, 436
tortoise(s) 29, 37, 78, 80, 127, 138,
155, 176, 177, 232, 248, 253,
254, 267, 290, 370, 430
Touzi (master) 37, 122, 127, 161,
162, 208-210, 304, 348-352,
355, 356, 401, 402, 404
Transmission of the Lamp (text) 104
turtle(s) 78, 80, 100, 113, 129, 342
Vairocana (Buddha) 436, 440, 441
Vedas (texts) 298
Vimalakirti (bodhisattva) 205, 298,
369-374, 380, 406
Vimalakirti Sutra 205
Vulture Peak 93, 407
Wei (dynasty) 11, 14, 15
whale(s) 177, 194, 198, 242, 404,
405
whip 34, 77, 105, 140, 170, 193,
268, 297, 299, 300, 302, 317,
364, 365
woman 30, 139, 216, 219, 289
women sages, seven. See seven women sages
Wu (emperor) 11, 12-15,17, 18,
105, 306-308
Wuai (master) 67
Wufeng (master) 317, 318, 320,
321
Wujiu (master) 332,333-337
Wutai (mountain) 183, 184,
185, 420
Wuxie (master) 117
Wuye (master) 112
Wuzhuo (master) 182, 183-185,
404
Wuzong (king) 75
Wuzu (master) 13, 20, 78, 105, 106,
108, 115, 132, 139, 149, 191,
209, 234, 242, 317, 326, 343,
367, 376, 388, 416, 420, 434
Wuzu Shijie (master) 115
Xianglin Dengyuan (master) 42 Xiangyan (master) 23, 75, 76, 98,
365, 407
Xichan (master) 259, 260
Xitang (master) 168
Xiushan (master) 158, 160
Xiyuan (master) 111,430-435
Xuansha (master) 31, 95, 110, 118,
126, 129-132, 201, 223,
270-272, 290, 346, 386-389
Xuefeng (master) 36,37-39,41,
92, 95, 126-134, 144, 172, 195,
196, 220, 222, 223, 227, 237,
240-242, 246-250, 303, 304,
306, 310, 328, 340, 415
Yangshan (master) 2, 106, 168,
178, 179, 186, 195, 310-313,
355, 378, 403, 410, 412
Yanshou (master) 163
Yantou (master) 37, 66, 92, 124,
127, 150, 172, 195, 202, 206,
216, 246-251, 302-305, 310,
312, 350, 359
Yaoshan (master) 211, 213, 322,
357-361, 392
Yongguang (master) 209
Yongjia (master) 165, 167, 168,
181, 202, 220, 281, 341, 343,
373, 406
Yuanwu (master) 1, 2, 4 -6 , 9,
10, 133
Yucen (monk-scholar) 6, 7
Yunju (master) 110, 227, 372
Yunmen (master) 2, 17, 36, 40-43,
50, 53-55, 57-59, 78, 80, 83,
84, 86-90, 92, 93, 96, 97, 100,
101, 123, 126, 129-133, 139,
144, 151-154, 174, 175, 178,
179,188, 193, 198, 201-203,
214, 220, 222, 231-234, 239,
243, 244, 259-261, 266, 280,
281, 283, 288-291, 342-344,
363, 364, 366-368, 375,
379-385, 387, 388, 398, 442,
443
Yunyan (master) 317, 318, 322,
323, 391-393, 395
Zhang (donor) 6, 7, 10, 71
Zhang Zhuo (scholar) 168, 187
Zhaoqing (master) 235, 236, 251,
252
Zhaozhou (master) 19, 20-22, 58,
59, 61, 62, 102, 128, 135, 149,
162-164, 186, 189, 208-210,
220, 224-227, 237, 252-255,
272-279, 294-296, 301,
352-356, 365, 407, 418, 422
Zhenjiao (master) 325
Zhenru (master) 299, 305, 328
Zhimen (master) 100, 122-125,
397, 398, 400, 401
Zhimen Shiguan (master) 42 Zhizang (master) 244, 324-328,
409
Zhuangzi (master) 238, 413
Zifu (master) 174, 175, 177, 402,
403
453
A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripitaka (First Series)
Abbreviations
|
Ch.:
|
Chinese
|
|
Skt.:
|
Sanskrit
|
|
Jp.\
|
Japanese
|
|
Eng.\
|
Published title
|
|
T.:
|
Taishö Tripitaka
|
|
|
Title
|
T. No.
|
1,2
|
Ch.
|
Ch‘ang-a-han-ching (ÄfSJ'a'lf)
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Dirghägama
|
|
3 -8
|
Ch.
|
Chung-a-han-ching ( 4sR ikM.)
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Madhyamägama
|
|
9-1
|
Ch.
|
Ta-ch‘eng-pen-sheng-hsin-ti-kuan-ching ( *** £ < ,■ »*& **)
|
|
9-II
|
Ch.
|
Fo-so-hsing-tsan ( f r i t )
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Buddhacarita
|
|
10-1
|
Ch.
|
Tsa-pao-ts‘ang-ching (ÄÄÜcIS)
|
|
|
Eng.
|
The Storehouse of Sundry Valuables
|
|
10-11
|
Ch.
|
Fa-chü-p‘i-yü-ching )
|
|
11-1
|
Ch.
|
Hsiao-p‘in-pan-jo-po-lo-mi-ching
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Astasahasrika-prajiiaparamita-sutra
|
|
11-11
|
Ch.
|
Chin-kang-pan-jo-po-lo-mi-ching
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Vajraechedikä-prajnäpäramitä-sütra
|
|
1
26
159
192
203
211
227
235
BDK English Tripitaka
|
ll-III
|
Ch.
|
|
|
Skt.
|
|
ll-rv
|
Ch. Skt.
|
|
12-1
|
Ch.
|
|
|
Skt.
|
|
12-11
|
Ch. Skt. Eng.
|
|
12-III
|
Ch. Skt. Eng.
|
|
12-IV
|
Ch. Skt. Eng.
|
|
12-V
|
Ch. Skt.
|
|
12-VI
|
Ch.
|
|
|
Skt.
|
|
12-VII
|
Ch. Skt.
|
|
12-VIII
|
Ch. Skt.
|
|
13-1
|
Ch. Skt. Eng.
|
|
13-11
|
Ch.
|
|
13-III
|
Ch.
|
|
|
Jen-wang-pan-jo-po-lo-mi-ching
Karunikaraja-prajnaparamita-sutra (?)
|
|
245
|
|
Pan-jo-po-lo-mi-to-hsing-ching
|
|
) 251
|
|
Prajnaparamitahrdaya-sutra
|
|
|
|
Ta-lo-chin-kang-pu-k‘ung-chen-shih-san-mo-yeh-
|
|
243
|
|
ching ( ) _ Adhyardhasatika-prajnaparamita-sutra
|
|
|
|
Wu-liang-shou-ching ( # £ j i# 8 )
|
|
360
|
|
Sukhavativyuha
|
|
|
|
The Larger Sutra on Amitayus
|
|
|
|
Kuan-wu-liang-shou-fo-ching (!S$SJi!lP'(i$5®) Amitayurdhyana-sutra
|
|
365
|
|
The Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus
|
|
|
|
A-mi-t‘o-ching )
|
|
366
|
|
Sukhavativyuha
|
|
|
|
The Smaller Sutra on Amitayus
|
|
|
|
Ti-ts‘ang-p‘u-sa-pen-yuan-ching
|
|
412
|
|
Ksitigarbhapranidhana-sutra (?)
|
|
|
|
Yao-shih-liu-li-kuang-ju-lai-pen-yiian-kung-te-
|
|
450
|
|
ching ( )
|
|
|
|
Bhaisajyaguruvaiduryaprabhasapurva-pranidhana- visesavistara
|
|
Mi-le-hsia-sheng-ch‘eng-fo-ching(
|
) 454
|
|
Maitreyavyakarana (?)
|
|
|
Wen-shu-shih-li-wen-ching (i^WflJH?]®)
|
468
|
|
Manjusripariprccha (?)
|
|
|
Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching )
|
262
|
|
Saddharmapundarika-sutra
|
|
|
The Lotus Sutra
|
|
|
Wu-liang-i-ching ($£11118)
|
276
|
|
Kuan-p‘u-hsien-p‘u-sa-hsing-fa-ching
(«»KWKffffiH)
|
277
|
|
Vol. No. Title T. No.
)
BDK English Tripitaka
|
Vol. No.
|
|
Title
|
|
|
|
|
|
T.
|
No.
|
|
14-19
|
Ch.
|
Ta-fang-kuang-fo-hua-yen-ching
|
278
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Avataxnsaka-sutra
|
|
|
20-1
|
Ch.
|
Sheng-man-shih-tzQ-hou-i-ch'eng-ta-fang-pien- fang-kuang-ching
( )
|
353
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Srimaladevisimhanada-sutra
|
|
|
20-11
|
Ch.
|
Chin-kuang-ming-tsui-sheng-wang-ching (£3teWMW»BK)
|
665
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Suvarnaprabhasa-sutra
|
|
|
21-24
|
Ch.
|
Ta-pan-nieh-p‘an-ching
|
374
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Mahaparinirvana-sutra
|
|
|
25-1
|
Ch.
|
Fo-ch‘ui-pan-nieh-p‘an-liao-shuo-chiao-chieh- ching
|
389
|
|
25-11
|
Ch.
|
Pan-chou-san-mei-ching
|
|
|
)
|
|
|
|
418
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Pratyutpannabuddhasammukhavasthitasamadhi sutra
|
|
|
|
Eng.
|
The Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra
|
|
|
25-III
|
Ch.
|
Shou-leng-yen-san-mei-ching
|
|
|
|
|
)
|
|
642
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Surangamasamadhi-sutra
|
|
|
|
Eng.
|
The Surangama Samadhi Sutra
|
|
|
25-IV
|
Ch.
|
Chieh-shen-mi-ching (M'M^'0. )
|
676
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Samdhinirmocana-sutra
|
|
|
25-V
|
Ch.
|
Yii-lan-p'en-ching )
|
685
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Ullambana-sutra (?)
|
|
|
25-VI
|
Ch.
|
Ssu-shih-erh-chang-ching ( |23+I21jtM)
|
784
|
|
26-1
|
Ch.
|
Wei-mo-chieh-so-shuo-ching
|
|
|
|
)
|
|
|
475
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra
|
|
|
26-11
|
Ch.
|
Yiieh-shang-nii-ching (M 0 .0 .0 )
|
480
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Candrottaradarikapariprccha
|
|
|
26-III
|
Ch.
|
Tso-ch‘an-san-mei-ching
|
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
614
|
BDK English Tripitaka
Vol. No. Title T. No.
|
26-IV
|
Ch.
|
Ta-mo-to-lo-ch‘an-ching GiJif# S!f¥ S)
|
618
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Yogacarabhumi-sutra (?)
|
|
|
27
|
Ch.
|
Yiieh-teng-san-mei-ching (T1S A t t ® )
|
639
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Samadhirajacandrapradipa-sutra
|
|
|
28
|
Ch.
|
Ju-leng-ch‘ieh-ching ( A £ S f t p M )
|
671
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Lankavatara-sutra
|
|
|
29-1
|
Ch.
|
Ta-fang-kuang-yiian-chio-hsiu-to-lo-liao-i-ching
|
842
|
|
29-11
|
Ch.
|
Su-hsi-ti-chieh-lo-ching )
|
893
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Susiddhikaramahatantrasadhanopayika-patala
|
|
|
29-III
|
Ch.
|
Mo-teng-ch‘ieh-ching (U P S : ftp )
|
1300
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Matangi-sutra (?)
|
|
|
30-1
|
Ch.
|
Ta-p‘i-lu-che-na-cheng-fo-shen-pien-chia-ch‘ih- ching ( A M f i l M W M n i # ® )
|
848
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Mahavairocanabhisambodhivikurvitadhisthana- vaipulyasutrendraraja-nama-dharmaparyaya
|
|
|
30-11
|
Ch.
|
Ching-kang-ting-i-ch‘ieh-ju-lai-chen-shih-she-ta- ch‘eng-hsien-cheng-ta-chiao-wang-ching
|
865
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Sarvatathagatatattvasamgrahamahayanabhi- samayamahakalparaja
|
|
|
31-35
|
Ch.
|
Mo-ho-seng-ch‘i-lu )
|
1425
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Mahasamghika-vinaya (?)
|
|
|
36-42
|
Ch.
|
Ssu-fen-lii ( HBftW)
|
1428
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Dharmaguptaka-vinaya (?)
|
|
|
43,44
|
Ch.
|
Shan-chien-lu-p‘i-p‘o-sha )
|
1462
|
|
|
Pali
|
Samantapasadika
|
|
|
45-1
|
Ch.
|
Fan-wang-ching ( )
|
1484
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Brahmajala-sutra (?)
|
|
|
45-11
|
Ch.
|
Yu-p‘o-sai-chieh-ching ('®§§l!3$;®)
|
1488
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Upasakaslla-sutra (?)
|
|
|
|
Eng.
|
The Sutra on Upasaka Precepts
|
|
BDK English Tripitaka
|
Voi. No.
|
Title
|
T. No.
|
|
46-1
|
Ch. Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching-yu-po-t‘i-she
Skt. Saddharmapundarlka-upadesa
|
1519
|
|
46-11
|
Ch. Fo-ti-ching-lun ( )
Skt. Buddhabhumisutra-sastra (?)
|
1530
|
|
46-III
|
Ch. She-ta-ch‘eng-lun (fiSAiRfm)
Skt. Mahayanasamgraha
Eng. The Summary of the Great Vehicle
|
1593
|
|
47
|
Ch. Shih-chu-p‘i-p‘o-sha-lun ( )
Skt. Dasabhumika-vibhasa (?)
|
1521
|
|
48, 49
|
Ch. A-p'i-ta-mo-chii-she-lun (IHSlltJifft cHm)
Skt. Abhidharmakosa-bhasya
|
1558
|
|
50-59
|
Ch. Yii-ch‘ieh-shih-ti-lun (ftftWttfm)
Skt. Yogacarabhumi
|
1579
|
|
60-1
|
Ch. Ch‘eng-wei-shih-lun OjScBftHsfm)
Skt. Vijnaptimatratasiddhi-sastra (?)
|
1585
|
|
60-11
|
Ch. Wei-shih-san-shih-lun-sung )
Skt. Trimsika
|
1586
|
|
60-III
|
Ch. Wei-shih-erh-shih-lun (B§|$“ +Im)
Skt. Vimsatika
|
1590
|
|
61-1
|
Ch. Chung-lun ( )
Skt. Madhyamaka-sastra
|
1564
|
|
61-11
|
Ch. Pien-chung-pien-lun (M 41SIm.)
Skt. Madhyantavibhaga
|
1600
|
|
61-III
|
Ch. Ta-ch‘eng-ch‘eng-yeh-lun (ASSfiS^fm)
Skt. Karmasiddhiprakarana
|
1609
|
|
61-IV
|
Ch. Yin-ming-ju-cheng-li-lun (Hi^AIEHfm)
Skt. Nyayapravesa
|
1630
|
|
61-V
|
Ch. Chin-kang-chen-lun )
Skt. Vajrasuci
|
1642
|
BDK English Tripitaka
Voi. No. Title T. No.
|
61-VI
|
Ch.
|
Chang-so-chih-lun ( t&Pfffyltm)
|
1645
|
|
62
|
Ch.
|
Ta-ch‘eng-chuang-yen-ching-lun ) 1604
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Mahayanasutralamkara
|
|
|
63-1
|
Ch.
|
Chiu-ching-i-ch‘eng-pao-hsing-lun
|
1611
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Ratnagotravibhagamahayanottaratantra-sastra
|
|
|
63-11
|
Ch.
|
P‘u-t‘i-hsing-ching (U S lfffi)
|
1662
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Bodhicaryàvatara
|
|
|
63-III
|
Ch.
|
Chin-kang-ting-yti-ch‘ieh-chung-fa-a-nou-to-lo-
|
1665
|
san-miao-san-p‘u-t‘i-hsin-lun
|
63-IV
|
Ch.
Skt.
|
Ta-ch‘eng-ch‘i-hsin-lun
Mahayanasraddhotpada-sastra (?)
|
)
|
1666
|
|
63-V
|
Ch. Pàli
|
Na-hsien-pi-ch‘iu-ching (3|i5tttixS ) Milindapanha
|
1670
|
|
64
|
Ch.
|
Ta-ch‘eng-chi-p‘u-sa-hsiieh-lun
|
)1636
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Siksasamuccaya
|
|
|
65
|
Ch.
|
Shih-mo-ho-yen-lun )
|
1688
|
|
66-1
|
Ch.
|
Pan-jo-po-lo-mi-to-hsin-ching-yu-tsan
|
1710
|
|
66-11
|
Ch.
|
Kuan-wu-liang-shou-fo-ching-shu
|
1753
|
|
66-III
|
Ch.
|
San-lun-hsiian-i (HfroSlÉ)
|
1852
|
|
66-IV
|
Ch.
|
Chao-lun ( Hfà )
|
1858
|
|
67, 68
|
Ch.
|
Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching-hsiian-i
|
1716
|
|
|
|
( )
|
|
|
69
|
Ch.
|
Ta-ch‘eng-hsiian-lun ( )
|
1853
|
BDK English Tripitaka
|
Vol. No.
|
|
Title
|
T. No.
|
|
70-11
|
Ch.
|
Yiian-jen-lun (MAfm)
|
1886
|
|
70-III
|
Ch.
|
Hsiu-hsi-chih-kuan-tso-ch‘an-fa-yao
|
1915
|
|
70-IV
|
Ch.
|
T‘ien-t‘ai-ssu-chiao-i ( A o' HiSt-SS)
|
1931
|
|
71,72
|
Ch.
|
Mo-ho-chih-kuan (JPMltH)
|
1911
|
|
73-1
|
Ch.
|
Kuo-ch‘ing-pai-lu O J iS A S )
|
1934
|
|
73-11
|
Ch.
|
Liu-tsu-ta-shih-fa-pao-t‘an-ching
|
2008
|
|
73-III
|
Ch.
|
Huang-po-shan-tuan-chi-ch‘an-shih-ch‘uan- hsin-fa-yao ( )
|
2012A
|
|
73-IV
|
Ch.
|
Yung-chia-cheng-tao-ko (A S S itife)
|
2014
|
|
74-1
|
Ch.
|
Chen-chou-lin-chi-hui-chao-ch‘an-shih-wu-lu
|
1985
|
|
74-11
|
Ch.
|
Wu-men-kuan (iff3T il)
|
2005
|
|
74-III
|
Ch.
|
Hsin-hsin-ming )
|
2010
|
|
74-IV
|
Ch.
|
Ch‘ih-hsiu-pai-chang-ch‘ing-kuei
( m m a « * )
|
2025
|
|
75
|
Ch.
|
Fo-kuo-ytian-wu-ch'an-shih-pi-yen-lu
|
2003
|
|
|
Eng.
|
The Blue Cliff Record
|
|
|
76-1
|
Ch.
|
I-pu-tsung-lun-lun ( )
|
2031
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Samayabhedoparacanacakra
|
|
|
76-11
|
Ch.
|
A-yii-wang-ching ( I®!# 3 :M )
|
2043
|
|
|
Skt.
|
Asokaraja-sutra (?)
|
|
|
|
Eng.
|
The Biographical Scripture of King Asoka
|
|
|
76-III
|
Ch.
|
Ma-ming-p‘u-sa-ch‘uan )
|
2046
|
|
76-IV
|
Ch.
|
Lung-shu-p‘u-sa-ch‘uan
|
2047
|
|
76-V
|
Ch.
|
P‘o-sou-p‘an-tou-fa-shih-ch‘uan ( S i M & f l M )
|
2049
|
BDK English Tripitaka
Vol. No. Title T. No.
|
76-VI
|
Ch.
|
|
76-VII
|
Ch.
|
|
76-VIII
|
Ch.
|
|
|
Eng.
|
|
77
|
Ch.
|
|
|
Eng.
|
|
78
|
Ch.
|
|
79
|
Ch.
|
|
80
|
Ch.
|
|
81-92
|
Ch.
|
|
93-1
|
Ch.
|
|
93-11
|
Ch.
|
|
94-1
|
Jp.
|
|
94-11
|
Jp.
|
|
95
|
Jp.
|
|
96-1
|
Jp.
|
|
96-11
|
Jp.
|
|
96-III
|
Jp.
|
|
97-1
|
Jp. Eng.
|
|
97-11
|
Jp. Eng.
|
|
Pi-ch‘iu-ni-ch‘uan ( iL fr/E #) 2063
Kao-seng-fa-hsien-ch‘uan (S'fi'SslIAl) 2085
Yu-fang-chi-ch’ao: T‘ang-ta-ho-shang-tung- 2089-(7) cheng-ch‘uan CMjj )
The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions
Ta-t‘ang-ta-tz‘u-en-ssu-san-ts‘ang-fa-shih- 2053
ch'uan
A Biography of the Tripitaka Master of the
Great C’ien Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty
Kao-seng-ch‘uan ( )
Ta-t‘ang-hsi-yii-chi ) Hung-ming-chi ( 3ABJJM )
Fa-yuan-chu-lin ( )
Nan-hai-chi-kuei-nei-fa-ch‘uan
Fan-yii-tsa-ming )
Sho-man-gyo-gi-sho (MHIMUSfE) Yui-ma-kyo-gi-sho ( )
Hok-ke-gi-sho ( )
Han-nya-shin-gyo-hi-ken )
Dao-jo-hos-so-ken-jin-sho ) Kan-jin-kaku-mu-sho )
Ris-shu-ko-yo (# 7 n fil§ )
The Essentials of the Vinaya Tradition
Ten-dai-hok-ke-shu-gi-shu )
2059
2087
2102
2122
2125
2135
2185
2186
2187
2203
2309
2312
2348
2366
The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School
BDK English Tripitaka
|
Vol. No.
|
|
Title
|
T. No.
|
|
97-III
|
Jp.
|
Ken-kai-ron (H f m )
|
2376
|
|
97-IV
|
Jp.
|
San-ge-gaku-sho-shiki ( ill )
|
2377
|
|
98-1
|
Jp.
|
Hi-zo-ho-yaku ( )
|
2426
|
|
98-11
|
Jp.
|
Ben-ken-mitsu-ni-kyo-ron )
|
2427
|
|
98-III
|
Jp.
|
Soku-shin-jo-butsu-gi (IP )
|
2428
|
|
98-IV
|
Jp.
|
Sho-ji-jis-so-gi
|
2429
|
|
98-V
|
Jp.
|
Un-ji-gi ( )
|
2430
|
|
98-VI
|
Jp.
|
Go-rin-ku-ji-myo-hi-mitsu-shaku
c )
|
2514
|
|
98-VII
|
Jp.
|
Mitsu-gon-in-hotsu-ro-san-ge-mon
( « « K S M M H f c f c )
|
2527
|
|
98-VIII
|
Jp.
|
Ko-zen-go-koku-ron ( J W S ! l i l f $ i )
|
2543
|
|
98-IX
|
Jp.
|
Fu-kan-za-zen-gi ( i H )
|
2580
|
|
99-103
|
Jp.
|
Sho-bo-gen-zo (lEiSBSSK)
|
2582
|
|
104-1
|
Jp.
|
Za-zen-yo-jin-ki ( jfrlfi)
|
2586
|
|
104-11
|
Jp.
|
Sen-chaku-hon-gan-nen-butsu-shu
|
2608
|
|
|
Eng.
|
Senchaku Hongan Nembutsu Shu
|
|
|
104-III
|
Jp.
|
Ris-sho-an-koku-ron (S H E S H f m )
|
2688
|
|
104-IV
|
Jp.
|
Kai-moku-sho (13 @j p)
|
2689
|
|
104-V
|
Jp.
|
Kan-jin-hon-zon-sho )
|
2692
|
|
104-VI
|
Ch.
|
Fu-mu-en-chung-ching
|
2887
|
|
105-1
|
Jp.
|
Ken-jo-do-shin-jitsu-kyo-gyo-sho-mon-rui
( E # ± K * « f r S £ : f c S )
|
2646
|
|
105-11
|
Jp.
|
Tan-ni-sho (ifcMfeb)
|
2661
|
|
|
Eng.
|
Tannisho: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith
|
BDK English Tripitaka
|
Vol. No.
|
Title
|
T. No.
|
|
|
|
|
|
106-11
|
Jp. O-jô-yô-shü ( )
|
2682
|
|
107-1
|
Jp. Has-shü-kô-yô ( ASkS ® )
Eng. The Essentials of the Eight Traditions
|
m -
|
|
107-11
|
Jp. San-go-shi-ki ( )
|
|
|
107-III
|
Jp. Map-pô-tô-myô-ki
Eng. The Candle of the Latter Dharma
|
M$\-
|
|
107-IV
|
Jp. Jü-shichi-jô-ken-pô
|
urn-
|
China:
Shenzhen
Shanghai
Chengdu
Beijing
Guangzhou
United States:
New York
Glasgow
California City
Washington
Canada:
Montreal
Baie-d'urfe
Ottawa
France:
Bezons
Ostwald
Paris
Japan:
Kitanagoya
Fukuoka
Yokohama
Tokyo
Russia:
Samara
Kaliningrad
Moscow
Sweden:
Norrkping
Stockholm
Kvissleby
United Kingdom:
Manchester
Bourton
