镇州临济慧照禅师语録序

延康殿学士金紫光禄大夫眞定府路安抚使兼马歩军都总管兼知成德军府事马防撰。黄檗山头、曾遭痛棒。大愚肋下、方解筑拳。饶舌老婆、尿床鬼子。这风颠汉、再捋虎须。岩谷栽松、后人标榜。镢头斸地、几被活埋。肯个后生、蓦口自掴。辞焚机案、坐断舌头。不是河南、便归河北。院临古渡、运济往来。把定要津、壁立万仭。夺人夺境、陶铸仙陀。三要三玄、钤锤衲子。常在家舍、不离途中。无位眞人、面门出入。两堂齐喝、宾主历然。照用同时、本无前后。菱花对像、虚谷传声。妙应无方、不留朕迹。拂衣南迈、戾止大名。兴化师承、东堂迎侍。铜瓶铁钵、掩室杜词。松老云闲、旷然自适。面壁未几、密付将终。正法谁传、瞎驴边灭。圆觉老演、今为流通。点捡将来、故无差舛。唯余一喝、尚要商量。具眼禅流、冀无赚举。宣和庚子中秋日谨序。

Preface to the Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Linji Huizhao of Zhenzhou

Compiled by Ma Fang, Scholar of the Yankang Hall; Gentleman of the Gold and Purple Rank in attendance at Imperial Banquets; Emissary in Charge of Keeping Order in Zhending Circuit; concurrently Chief Commandant of Cavalry and Infantry Forces; concurrently Administrator of Chengde Military Prefecture.

On top of Mount Huangbo he met the painful stick.

On Dayu’s ribs he could use his fist.

“Garrulous grandmother!” “Bed-wetting little devil!”

“This lunatic, twice pulling the tiger’s whiskers!”

In a rocky gorge he planted pines, a landmark for later generations.

He dug the ground with his mattock; the others were nearly buried alive.

Having approved the youngster, Huangbo slapped himself right on the mouth.

On leaving, Linji wanted to burn the armrest; he’ll cut off the tongues [of everyone].

If he didn’t go to Henan, he’d return to Hebei.

His temple overlooked the old ferry landing—he carried travelers across the stream.

He guarded the vital ford like an escarpment ten thousand spans high.

Snatching away the man or the surroundings, he shaped and fashioned superlative students.

With his Three States and Three Fundamentals, he forged and tempered black-robed monks.

He’s always at home, yet forever on the way.

The true man without rank went in and out the face.

The monks of the two halls gave equal shouts, but guest and host were obvious.

Illumination and action are simultaneous, fundamentally without front or back.

A mirror confronting a form, an empty valley echoing a sound.

Marvelously responding in any direction, he left not a trace behind.

Tucking up his robe, he journeyed southward, then went to stay in Daming.

Xinghua took him as his teacher and attended him in the Eastern Hall.

Still using the copper pitcher and iron bowl, he closed his room and stopped his words.

As the pines grew old and the clouds idled, he found boundless contentment within himself.

He had not long sat facing the wall when the secret transmission neared its end.

To whom was the true dharma transmitted? It was extinguished upon reaching the blind ass!

Old Yan of Yuanjue has now undertaken to circulate this text.

It has been examined and corrected, therefore it contains no error or confusion.

There is still one more shout coming; it needs further consideration:

Chan students who have the eye [to see], I entreat you not to exploit this text.

Preface respectfully composed on the day of the mid-autumn festival, the year Gengzi of the Xuanhe era [1120].

镇州临济慧照禅师语录

The Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Linji Huizhao of Zhenzhou

住三圣嗣法小师慧然集

Compiled by his humble heir Huiran of Sansheng

上堂Discourses

01府主王常侍、与诸官请师升座。师上堂云、山僧今日事不获已、曲顺人情、方登此座。若约祖宗门下、称扬大事、直是开口不得、无尔措足处。山僧此日以常侍坚请、那隐纲宗。还有作家战将、直下展阵开旗么。对众证据看。僧问、如何是佛法大意。师便喝。僧礼拜。师云、这个师僧、却堪持论。问、师唱谁家曲、宗风嗣阿谁。师云、我在黄檗处、三度发问、三度被打。僧拟议。师便喝、随后打云、不可向虚空里钉橛去也。有座主问、三乘十二分教、岂不是明佛性。师云、荒草不曾锄。主云、佛岂赚人也。师云、佛在什么处。主无语。师云、对常侍前、拟瞒老僧。速退速退。妨他别人请问。复云、此日法筵、为一大事故。更有问话者么。速致问来。尔纔开口、早勿交涉也。何以如此。不见释尊云、法离文字、不属因不在缘故。为尔信不及、所以今日葛藤。恐滞常侍与诸官员、昧他佛性。不如且退。喝一喝云、少信根人、终无了日。久立珍重。

 The Prefectural Governor, Councilor Wang, along with the other officials, requested the master to address them.  The master took the high seat in the Dharma Hall and said:

“Today, I, this mountain monk, having no choice in the matter, have perforce yielded to customary etiquette and taken this seat. If I were to demonstrate the Great Matter in strict keeping with the teaching of the ancestral school, I simply couldn’t open my mouth and there wouldn’t be any place for you to find footing. But since I’ve been so earnestly entreated today by the councilor, why should I conceal the essential doctrine of our school? Now, is there any adept warrior who forthwith can array his battle line and unfurl his banners here before me? Let him try proving himself before the assembly!”

A monk asked, “What about the cardinal principle of the buddhadharma?”

 The master gave a shout.  The monk bowed low.

“As an opponent in argument this young reverend is rather good,” said the master.

A monk asked, “Master, of what house is the tune you sing? To whose style of Chan do you succeed?”

 The master said, “When I was staying with Huangbo I questioned him three times and was hit three times.”

 The monk hesitated.  The master gave a shout and then struck him, saying, “You can’t drive a stake into the empty sky.”

A lecture master asked, “The Three Vehicles’ twelve divisions of teachings make the buddha-nature quite clear, do they not?”

“This weed patch has never been spaded,” said Linji. “Surely the Buddha would not have deceived people!” said the lecture master.

“Where is the Buddha?” asked Linji.

 the lecture master had no reply. “You thought you’d make a fool of me in front of the councilor,” said the master. “Get out, get out! You’re keeping the others from asking questions.”

 the master continued, “Today’s dharma assembly is concerned with the Great Matter. Does anyone else have a question? If so, let him ask now! But the instant you open your mouth you’re already way off . Why is this? Don’t you know that Venerable Śākyamuni said, ‘Dharma is separate from words, because it is neither subject to causation nor dependent upon conditions’? Your faith is insufficient, therefore we have bandied words today. I fear I am obstructing the councilor and his staff , thereby obscuring the Buddha nature. I had better withdraw.”

 the master shouted and then said, “For those whose root of faith is weak the final day will never come. You have been standing a long time. Take care of yourselves.”

 

02师、因一日到河府。府主王常侍、请师升座。时麻谷出问、大悲千手眼、那个是正眼。师云、大悲千手眼、那个是正眼、速道速道。麻谷拽师下座、麻谷却坐。师近前云、不审。麻谷拟议。师亦拽麻谷下座、师却坐。麻谷便出去。师便下座。

One day Linji went to He Prefecture. The governor, Councilor Wang,requested the master to take the high seat.

At that time Mayu came forward and asked, “The Great Compassionate One has a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Which is the true eye?”

The master said, “The Great Compassionate One has a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Which is the true eye? Speak, speak!”

Mayu pulled the master down off the high seat and sat on it himself. Coming up to him, the master said, “How do you do?” Mayu hesitated. The master, in his turn, pulled Mayu down off the high seat and sat upon it himself.Mayu went out. The master stepped down.

03上堂。云、赤肉团上有一无位眞人、常从汝等诸人面门出入。未证据者看看。时有僧出问、如何是无位眞人。师下禅床、把住云、道道。其僧拟议。师托开云、无位眞人是什么干屎橛。便归方丈。

The master, taking the high seat in the hall, said, “On your lump of red flesh is a true man without rank who is always going in and out of the face of every one of you. Those who have not yet confirmed this, look, look!”

Then a monk came forward and asked, “What about the true man without rank?” The master got down from his seat, seized the monk, and cried, “Speak, speak!”

The monk faltered.

Shoving him away, the master said, “The true man without rank—what kind of dried piece of shit is he!” Then he returned to his quarters.

 

04上堂。有僧出礼拜。师便喝。僧云、老和尚莫探头好。师云、尔道落在什么处。僧便喝。又有僧问、如何是佛法大意。师便喝。僧礼拜。师云、尔道好喝也无。僧云、草贼大败。师云、过在什么处。僧云、再犯不容。师便喝。是日两堂首座相见、同时下喝。僧问师、还有宾主也无。师云、宾主历然。师云、大众、要会临济宾主句、问取堂中二首座。便下座。

The master took the high seat in the hall. A monk came forward and bowed. The master gave a shout.

“Venerable priest,” said the monk, “you’d better not try to spy on me.”

“Tell me what you’ve arrived upon,” the master said.

The monk shouted.

Another monk asked, “What about the cardinal principle of the buddhadharma?”

The master shouted. The monk bowed.

“Do you say that was a good shout?” asked the master.

“The bandit in the grass has met complete defeat,” returned the monk.

“What’s my offense?” asked the master.

“It won’t be pardoned a second time,” replied the monk. The master gave a shout.

That same day the head monks of the two halls had met and simultaneously given shouts.

A monk asked the master, “Was there a guest and a host?”

“Guest and host were obvious,” replied the master. He continued, “If you of the assembly want to understand the ‘guest and host’ that I speak of, ask the two head monks of the halls.”

Then the master stepped down.

 

05上堂。僧问、如何是佛法大意。师竖起拂子。僧便喝。师便打。又僧问、如何是佛法大意。师亦竖起拂子。僧便喝。师亦喝。僧拟议。师便打。师乃云、大众、夫为法者、不避丧身失命。我二十年、在黄檗先师处、三度问佛法的的大意、三度蒙他赐杖。如蒿枝拂着相似。如今更思得一顿棒吃。谁人为我行得。时有僧出众云、某甲行得。师拈棒与他。其僧拟接。师便打。

The master took the high seat in the hall. A monk asked, “What about the cardinal principle of the buddhadharma?”

The master raised his whisk. The monk shouted. The master struck him.

Another monk asked, “What about the cardinal principle of the buddhadharma?”

Again the master raised his whisk. The monk shouted. The master also shouted. The monk faltered; the master struck him.

Then the master said, “You of the assembly, those who live for dharma do not shrink from losing their bodies or sacrificing their very lives. Twenty years ago, when I was with my late master Huangbo, three times I asked him specifically about the cardinal meaning of the buddhadharma, and three times he favored me with blows from his stick. But it was as if he were patting me with a branch of mugwort. How I would like now to taste another dose of the stick! Who can give it to me?”

A monk stepped forward and said, “I can.”

The master held out his stick to him. The monk tried to take it; the master struck him.

 

06上堂。僧问、如何是剑刄上事。师云、祸事、祸事。僧拟议。师便打。问、祇如石室行者、踏碓忘却移脚、向什么处去。师云、没溺深泉。师乃云、但有来者、不亏欠伊。总识伊来处。若与么来、恰似失却。不与么来、无绳自缚。一切时中、莫乱斟酌。会与不会、都来是错。分明与么道。一任天下人贬剥。久立珍重。

The master took the high seat in the hall. A monk asked, “What about the matter of the sword blade?”

“Heavens, heavens!” cried the master.

The monk hesitated; the master struck him.

Someone asked, “The lay worker Shishi in treading the pestle shaft of the rice mortar would forget he was moving his feet; where did he go?”

“Drowned in a deep spring!” the master replied.

Then he continued, “Whoever comes to me, I do not fail him; I know exactly where he comes from. Should he come in a particular way, it’s just as if he’d lost [himself]. Should he not come in a particular way, he’d have bound himself without a rope. Never ever engage in random speculation—whether you understand or don’t understand, either way you’re mistaken. I say this straight out. Anyone in the world is free to denounce me as he will.

You have been standing a long time. Take care of yourselves.”

 

07上堂。云、一人在孤峯顶上、无出身之路。一人在十字街头、亦无向背。那个在前、那个在后。不作维摩诘、不作傅大士。珍重。

The master took the high seat in the hall and said, “One person is on top of a solitary peak and has no path by which to leave. One person is at the busy crossroads and has neither front nor back. Which is ahead, which is behind? Don’t make the one out to be Vimalakīrti and the other to be Fu Dashi. Take care of yourselves.”

08上堂。云、有一人、论劫在途中、不离家舍。有一人、离家舍、不在途中。那个合受人天供养。便下座。

The master took the high seat in the hall and said, “One man is endlessly on the way, yet has never left home. Another has left home, yet is not on the way. Which one deserves the offerings of humans and gods?” Then he stepped down.

 

09上堂。僧问、如何是第一句。师云、三要印开朱点侧、未容拟议主宾分。问、如何是第二句。师云、妙解岂容无着问、沤和争负截流机。问、如何是第三句。师云、看取棚头弄傀儡、抽牵都来里有人。师又云、一句语须具三玄门、一玄门须具三要、有权有用。汝等诸人、作么生会。下座。

The master took the high seat in the hall.

A monk asked, “What about the First Statement?”

The master said:

The Seal of the Three Essentials being lifted, the vermilion impression is sharp;

With no room for speculation, host and guest are clear and distinct.

“What about the Second Statement?”

The master said:

How could Miaojie permit Wuzhuo’s questioning?

How could expedient means go against the activity that cuts through the stream?

“What about the Third Statement?”

The master said:

Look at the wooden puppets performing on the stage!

Their jumps and jerks all depend upon the person behind.”

The master further said, “Each Statement must comprise the Gates of the Three Mysteries, and the gate of each mystery must comprise the Three Essentials. There are expedients and there is functioning. How do all of you understand this?” The master then stepped down.

 

10师晩参示众云、有时夺人不夺境、有时夺境不夺人、有时人境倶夺、有时人境倶不夺。时有僧问、如何是夺人不夺境。师云、煦日发生铺地锦、璎孩垂发白如丝。僧云、如何是夺境不夺人。师云、王令已行天下遍、将军塞外絶烟尘。僧云、如何是人境两倶夺。师云、并汾絶信、独处一方。僧云、如何是人境倶不夺。师云、王登宝殿、野老讴歌。师乃云、今时学佛法者、且要求眞正见解。若得眞正见解、生死不染、去住自由。不要求殊胜、殊胜自至。道流、祇如自古先德、皆有出人底路。如山僧指示人处、祇要尔不受人惑。要用便用、更莫迟疑。如今学者不得、病在甚处。病在不自信处。尔若自信不及、即便忙忙地徇一切境转、被他万境回换、不得自由。尔若能歇得念念驰求心、便与祖佛不别。尔欲得识祖佛么。祇尔面前听法底是。学人信不及、便向外驰求。设求得者、皆是文字胜相、终不得他活祖意。莫错、诸禅德。此时不遇、万劫千生、轮回三界、徇好境掇去、驴牛肚里生。道流、约山僧见处、与释迦不别。今日多般用处、欠少什么。六道神光、未曾间歇。若能如是见得、祇是一生无事人。大德、三界无安、犹如火宅。此不是尔久停住处。无常杀鬼、一刹那间、不拣贵贱老少。尔要与祖佛不别、但莫外求。尔一念心上淸净光、是尔屋里法身佛。尔一念心上无分别光、是尔屋里报身佛。尔一念心上无差别光、是尔屋里化身佛。此三种身、是尔即今目前听法底人。祇为不向外驰求、有此功用。据经论家、取三种身为极则。约山僧见处、不然。此三种身是名言、亦是三种依。古人云、身依义立、土据体论。法性身、法性土、明知是光影。大德、尔且识取弄光影底人、是诸佛之本源、一切处是道流归舍处。是尔四大色身、不解说法听法。脾胃肝胆、不解说法听法。虚空不解说法听法。是什么解说法听法。是尔目前历历底、勿一个形段孤明、是这个解说法听法。若如是见得、便与祖佛不别。但一切时中、更莫间断、触目皆是。祇为情生智隔、想变体殊、所以轮回三界、受种种苦。若约山僧见处、无不甚深、无不解脱。道流、心法无形、通贯十方。在眼曰见、在耳曰闻、在鼻嗅香、在口谈论、在手执捉、在足运奔。本是一精明、分为六和合。一心既无、随处解脱。山僧与么说、意在什么处。祇为道流一切驰求心不能歇、上他古人闲机境。道流、取山僧见处、坐断报化佛头、十地满心、犹如客作儿、等妙二觉、担枷锁汉、罗汉辟支、犹如厕秽、菩提涅槃、如繋驴橛。何以如此、祇为道流不达三祇劫空、所以有此障碍。若是眞正道人、终不如是。但能随缘消旧业、任运着衣裳、要行即行、要坐即坐、无一念心希求佛果。缘何如此。古人云、若欲作业求佛、佛是生死大兆。大德、时光可惜。祇拟傍家波波地、学禅学道、认名认句、求佛求祖、求善知识意度。莫错、道流。尔祇有一个父母、更求何物。尔自返照看。古人云、演若达多失却头、求心歇处即无事。大德、且要平常、莫作模样。有一般不识好恶秃奴、便即见神见鬼、指东划西、好晴好雨。如是之流、尽须抵债、向阎老前、吞热铁丸有日。好人家男女、被这一般野狐精魅所著、便即捏怪。瞎屡生、索饭钱有日在。

At the evening gathering the master addressed the assembly, saying:

“Sometimes I take away the person but do not take away the surroundings; sometimes I take away the surroundings but do not take away the person; sometimes I take away both person and surroundings; sometimes I take away neither person nor surroundings.”

Then a monk asked, “What about ‘to take away the person and not take away the surroundings’?”

The master said:

The spring sun comes forth, covering the earth with brocade;

A child’s hair hangs down, white as silken strands.

The monk asked, “What about ‘to take away the surroundings and not take away the person’?”

The master said:

The rule of the sovereign prevails throughout the land;

The general has laid to rest the dusts of battle beyond the frontiers.

Again the monk asked, “What about ‘to take away both person and surroundings’?”

The master said:

No news from Bing and Fen,

Isolated and away from everywhere.

The monk asked, “What about ‘to take away neither person nor the surroundings’?”

The master said:

The sovereign ascends into the jeweled palace;

Aged rustics sing songs.

Then the master said, “Nowadays, he who studies buddhadharma must seek true insight. Gaining true insight, he is not affected by birth-and-death, but freely goes or stays. He needn’t seek the excellent—that which is excellent will come of itself.

“Followers of the Way, our eminent predecessors from of old have all had their ways of saving people. As for me, what I want to make clear to you is that you must not accept the deluded views of others. If you want to act, then act. Don’t hesitate.

“Students today can’t get anywhere. What ails you? Lack of faith in yourself is what ails you. If you lack faith in yourself, you’ll keep on tumbling along, following in bewilderment after all kinds of circumstances and being taken by them through transformation after transformation without ever attaining freedom.

“Bring to rest the thoughts of the ceaselessly seeking mind, and you will not differ from the patriarch-buddha. Do you want to know the patriarch Buddha?

He is none other than you who stand before me listening to my discourse. But because you students lack faith in yourselves, you run around seeking something outside. Even if, through your seeking, you did find something, that something would be nothing more than fancy descriptions in written words; never would you gain the mind of the living patriarch.

Make no mistake, worthy Chan men! If you don’t find it here and now, you’ll go on transmigrating through the three realms for myriads of kalpas and thousands of lives, and, held in the clutch of captivating circumstances, be born in the wombs of asses or cows.

“Followers of the Way, as I see it we are no different from Śākya. What do we lack for our manifold activities today? The six-rayed divine light never ceases to shine. See it this way, and you’ll be a man who has nothing to do his whole life long. Virtuous monks,

The three realms lack tranquility

Just like a burning house.

This is not a place we remain for long. The death-dealing demon of impermanence comes in an instant, without discriminating between noble and base, old and young.

“If you wish to differ in no way from the patriarch-buddha, just don’t seek outside. The pure light in a single thought of yours—this is the dharmakāya buddha within your own house. The nondiscriminating light in a single thought of yours—this is the saṃbhogakāya buddha within your own house. The nondifferentiating light in a single thought of yours—this is

the nirmāṇakāya buddha within your own house. This threefold body is you, listening to my discourse right now before my very eyes. It is precisely because you don’t run around seeking outside that you have such meritorious activities.

“According to the masters of the sutras and śāstras, the threefold body is regarded as the ultimate norm. But in my view this is not so. The threefold body is merely a name; moreover, it is a threefold dependency. A man of old said, ‘The [buddha-]bodies are posited depending upon manifested meaning; the [buddha] lands are postulated in keeping with essential substance.’

Therefore we clearly know that ‘dharma-natured bodies’ and ‘dharmanatured lands’ are no more than shimmering reflections.

“Virtuous monks, you must recognize the one who manipulates these reflections. ‘He is the primal source of all the buddhas,’ and the place to which every follower of the Way returns.

“This physical body of yours, composed of the four great elements, can neither expound the dharma nor listen to it; your spleen and stomach, liver and gallbladder can neither expound the dharma nor listen to it; the empty sky can neither expound the dharma nor listen to it. Then what can expound the dharma and listen to it? This very you standing distinctly before me without any form, shining alone—just this can expound the dharma and listen to it! Understand it this way, and you are not different from the patriarch-buddha. Just never ever allow interruptions, and all that meets your eyes will be right. But, because ‘when feeling arises,

wisdom is barred, and when thinking changes, the substance varies,’ people transmigrate through the three realms and undergo all kinds of suffering.

As I see it, there are none who are not of the utmost profundity, none who aren’t emancipated.

“Followers of the Way, mind is without form and pervades the ten directions.

In the eye it is called seeing, in the ear it is called hearing.

In the nose it smells odors, in the mouth it holds converse.

In the hands it grasps and seizes, in the feet it runs and carries.

Fundamentally it is one pure radiance; divided it becomes the six harmoniously united spheres of sense. If the mind is void, wherever you are, you are emancipated.

“What is my purpose in speaking this way? I do so only because you followers of the Way cannot stop your mind from running around everywhere seeking, because you go clambering after the worthless contrivances of the men of old.

“Followers of the Way, if you take my viewpoint you’ll cut off the heads of the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya buddhas; a bodhisattva who has attained the completed mind of the tenth stage will be like a mere hireling; a bodhisattva of equivalent enlightenment or a bodhisattva of marvelous enlightenment will be like pilloried prisoners; an arhat and a pratyekabuddha

will be like privy filth; bodhi and nirvana will be like hitching posts for asses. Why is this so? Followers of the Way, it is only because you haven’t yet realized the emptiness of the three asamkhyeya kalpas that you have such obstacles.

“A true follower of the Way is never like this; conforming with circumstances as they are he exhausts his past karma; accepting things as they are he puts on his clothes; when he wants to walk he walks, when he wants to sit he sits; he never has a single thought of seeking buddhahood. Why is this so?

A man of old said:

If you seek buddha through karma-creating activities,

Buddha becomes the great portent of birth-and-death.

“Virtuous monks, time is precious. And yet, hurrying hither and thither, you try to learn meditation, to study the Way, to accept names, to accept phrases, to seek buddha, to seek a patriarch, to seek a good teacher, to think and speculate.

“Make no mistake, followers of the Way! After all, you have a father and a mother—what more do you seek? Turn your own light inward upon yourselves!

A man of old said:

Yajnadatta [thought he had] lost his head,

But when his seeking mind came to rest, he was at ease.

“Virtuous monks, just be ordinary. Don’t put on airs. There’re a bunch of shavepates who can’t tell good from bad; they see spirits, they see demons; they point to the east, they point to the west; they like fair weather, they like rain. The day will come when such men as these, every one of them, will have to repay their debts in front of Old Yama by swallowing red-hot iron balls.

“[You] sons and daughters of good families, bewitched by this pack of wild foxes, lose your senses. Blind idiots! Someday you’ll be made to pay up for the vittles you’ve eaten!”

 

 

11师示众云、道流、切要求取眞正见解、向天下横行、免被这一般精魅惑乱。无事是贵人。但莫造作、祇是平常。尔拟向外傍家求过、觅脚手。错了也。祇拟求佛、佛是名句。尔还识驰求底么。三世十方佛祖出来、也祇为求法。如今参学道流、也祇为求法。得法始了。未得、依前轮回五道。云何是法。法者是心法。心法无形、通贯十方、目前现用。人信不及、便乃认名认句、向文字中、求意度佛法。天地悬殊。道流、山僧说法、说什么法。说心地法。便能入凡入圣、入净入秽、入眞入俗。要且不是尔眞俗凡圣、能与一切眞俗凡圣、安着名字。眞俗凡圣、与此人安着名字不得。道流、把得便用、更不着名字、号之为玄旨。山僧说法、与天下人别。祇如有个文殊普贤、出来目前、各现一身问法、纔道咨和尚、我早辨了也。老僧稳坐、更有道流、来相见时、我尽辨了也。何以如此。祇为我见处别、外不取凡圣、内不住根本、见彻更不疑谬。

The master addressed the assembly, saying, “Followers of the Way, it is urgently necessary that you endeavor to acquire true insight and stride boldly [here] under the heavens, not losing your senses owing to that bunch of spirits. [He who has] nothing to do is the noble one. Simply don’t strive—just be ordinary. Yet you look outside, searching side paths and seeking help. You’re all wrong!

“You keep trying to find buddha, but buddha is merely a name. Don’t you know what it is that you are running around seeking? The buddhas and the patriarchs of the three periods and the ten directions appear only in order to seek the dharma. You followers of the Way who are studying today—you, too, have only to seek the dharma. Attain dharma and you’re all done. Until then, you’ll go on transmigrating through the five paths of existence just as you have been.

“What is dharma? ‘Dharma’ is the dharma of mind. Mind is without form; it pervades the ten directions and is manifesting its activity right before your very eyes. But because people lack sufficient faith [in this] they turn to names and phrases, attempting to grasp the buddhadharma through written words. They’re as far away as heaven from earth!

“Followers of the Way, when I, this mountain monk, expound the dharma, what dharma do I expound? I expound the dharma of mind-ground, which enters the secular and the sacred, the pure and the defiled, the real and the temporal. But your ‘real and temporal,’ your ‘secular and sacred,’ cannot attach labels to all that is real and temporal, secular and sacred. The real and the temporal, the secular and the sacred, cannot attach a name to this person.

Followers of the Way, grasp and use, but never name—this is called the‘mysterious principle’.

“My discourse on dharma is different from that of every other man on earth. Supposing Manjuśrī and Samantabhadra were to appear before me, manifesting their respective bodily forms for the purpose of questioning me about dharma. The moment they said, ‘Venerable Priest, what...,’ I would have discerned them through and through. And if a follower of the Way comes for an interview as I sit quietly here, I discern him through and through. Why is this so? Just because my way of viewing things is different; outside, I make no distinction between the secular and the sacred; inside, I do not dwell in the absolute; I see right through, and am free from all doubt.”

12师示众云、道流、佛法无用功处、祇是平常无事。屙屎送尿、着衣吃饭、困来即卧。愚人笑我、智乃知焉。古人云、向外作工夫、总是痴顽汉。尔且随处作主、立处皆眞。境来回换不得。纵有从来习气、五无间业、自为解脱大海。今时学者、总不识法、犹如触鼻羊、逢着物安在口里。奴郎不辨、宾主不分。如是之流、邪心入道、闹处即入。不得名为眞出家人、正是眞俗家人。夫出家者、须辨得平常眞正见解、辨佛辨魔、辨眞辨伪、辨凡辨圣。若如是辨得、名眞出家。若魔佛不辨、正是出一家入一家。唤作造业众生、未得名为眞出家。祇如今有一个佛魔、同体不分、如水乳合、鹅王吃乳。如明眼道流、魔佛倶打。尔若爱圣憎凡、生死海里浮沈。

The master addressed the assembly, saying, “Followers of the Way, as to buddhadharma, no effort is necessary. You have only to be ordinary, with nothing to do—defecating, urinating, wearing clothes, eating food, and lying down when tired.

Fools laugh at me,

But the wise understand.

A man of old said,

Those who make work for themselves outside

Are just a bunch of blockheads.

“Just make yourself master of every situation, and wherever you stand is the true [place]. No matter what circumstances come they cannot dislodge you [from there]. Though you bear the influence of past delusions or the karma of [having committed] the five heinous crimes, these of themselves become the ocean of emancipation.

“Students nowadays know nothing of dharma. They’re just like sheep that take into their mouths whatever their noses happen to hit against. They neither discriminate between master and slave, nor distinguish host from guest. Such as these, coming to the Way with crooked motives, readily enter bustling places. They cannot be called true renouncers of home. True householders are what they are.

“Renouncers of home must possess true insight at all times, distinguishing between the Buddha and Māra, between true and false, between secular and sacred. If they can do this, they may be called true renouncers of home.But those who cannot distinguish Māra from Buddha have only left one house to enter another. They may be described as karma-creating beings, but they cannot be called true renouncers of home.

“Now suppose there were Buddha-Māra, inseparably united in one body like a mixture of water and milk. The King of Geese would drink only the milk, but an open-eyed follower of the Way would handle Māra and Buddha equally.

If you love the sacred and hate the secular,

You’ll float and sink in the sea of birth-and-death.”

13问、如何是佛魔。师云、尔一念心疑处是魔。尔若达得万法无生、心如幻化、更无一尘一法、处处淸净是佛。然佛与魔、是染净二境。约山僧见处、无佛无众生、无古无今、得者便得、不历时节。无修无证、无得无失。一切时中、更无别法。设有一法过此者、我说如梦如化。山僧所说皆是。道流、即今目前孤明历历地听者、此人处处不滞、通贯十方、三界自在。入一切境差别、不能回换。一刹那间、透入法界、逢佛说佛、逢祖说祖、逢罗汉说罗汉、逢饿鬼说饿鬼。向一切处、游履国土、敎化众生、未曾离一念。随处淸净、光透十方、万法一如。道流、大丈夫儿、今日方知本来无事。祇为尔信不及、念念驰求、舍头觅头、自不能歇。如圆顿菩萨、入法界现身、向净土中、厌凡忻圣。如此之流、取舍未忘、染净心在。如禅宗见解、又且不然。直是现今、更无时节。山僧说处、皆是一期药病相治、总无实法。若如是见得、是眞出家、日消万两黄金。道流、莫取次被诸方老师印破面门、道我解禅解道。辩似悬河、皆是造地狱业。若是眞正学道人、不求世间过、切急要求眞正见解。若达眞正见解圆明、方始了毕。

Someone asked, “What is Buddha-Māra?”

The master said, “One thought of doubt in your mind is Māra. But if you realize that the ten thousand dharmas never come into being, that mind is like a phantom, that not a speck of dust nor a single thing exists, that there is no place that is not clean and pure—this is Buddha. Thus Buddha and Māra are simply two states, one pure, the other impure.

“In my view there is no Buddha, no sentient beings, no past, no present. Anything attained was already attained—no time is needed. There is nothing to practice, nothing to realize, nothing to gain, nothing to lose. Throughout all time there is no other dharma than this. ‘If one claims there’s a dharma surpassing this, I say that it’s like a dream, like a phantasm.’ This is all I have to teach.

“Followers of the Way, the one who at this very moment shines alone before my eyes and is clearly listening to my discourse—this man tarries nowhere; he traverses the ten directions and is freely himself in all three realms. Though he enters all types of situations with their various differentiations, none can confuse him. In an instant of time he penetrates the dharma realms, on meeting a buddha he teaches the buddha, on meeting a patriarch he teaches the patriarch, on meeting an arhat he teaches the arhat, on meeting a hungry ghost he teaches the hungry ghost. He travels throughout all lands bringing enlightenment to sentient beings, yet is never separate from his present mind. Everywhere is pure, light illumines the ten directions, and‘all dharmas are a single suchness.’

“Followers of the Way, right now the resolute man knows full well that from the beginning there is nothing to do. Only because your faith is insufficient do you ceaselessly chase about; having thrown away your head you go on and on looking for it, unable to stop yourself. You’re like the bodhisattva of complete and immediate [enlightenment], who manifests his body in any dharma realm but within the Pure Land detests the secular and aspires for the sacred. Such ones have not yet left off accepting and rejecting; ideas of purity and defilement still remain.

“For the Chan school, understanding is not thus—it is instantaneous, now, not a matter of time! All that I teach is just provisional medicine, treatment for a disease. In fact, no real dharma exists. Those who understand this are true renouncers of home, and may spend a million gold coins a day.

“Followers of the Way, don’t have your face stamped with the seal of sanction by any old master anywhere, then go around saying, ‘I understand Chan,I understand the Way.’ Though your eloquence is like a rushing torrent, it is nothing but hell-creating karma.

“The true student of the Way does not search out the faults of the world, but eagerly seeks true insight. If you can attain true insight, clear and complete, then, indeed, that is all.”

14问、如何是眞正见解。师云、尔但一切入凡入圣、入染入净、入诸佛国土、入弥勒楼阁、入毘卢遮那法界、处处皆现国土、成住坏空。佛出于世、转大*轮、却入涅槃、不见有去来相貌。求其生死、了不可得。便入无生法界、处处游履国土、入华藏世界、尽见诸法空相、皆无实法。唯有听法无依道人、是诸佛之母。所以佛从无依生。若悟无依、佛亦无得。若如是见得者、是眞正见解。学人不了、为执名句、被他凡圣名碍、所以障其道眼、不得分明。祇如十二分敎、皆是表显之说。学者不会、便向表显名句上生解。皆是依倚、落在因果、未免三界生死。尔若欲得生死去住、脱着自由、即今识取听法底人。无形无相、无根无本、无住处、活拨拨地。应是万种施设、用处祇是无处。所以觅着转远、求之转乖。号之为秘密。道流、尔莫认着个梦幻伴子。迟晩中间、便归无常。尔向此世界中、觅个什么物作解脱。觅取一口饭吃、补毳过时、且要访寻知识。莫因循逐乐。光阴可惜、念念无常。麁则被地水火风、细则被生住异灭四相所逼。道流、今时且要识取四种无相境、免被境摆扑。

Someone asked, “What is ‘true insight’?”

The master said, “You have only to enter the secular, enter the sacred, enter the defiled, enter the pure, enter the lands of all the buddhas, enter the Tower of Maitreya, enter the dharma realm of Vairocana and all of the lands everywhere that manifest and come into being, exist, decay, and disappear.

“The Buddha appeared in the world, turned the Wheel of the Great Dharma, then entered nirvana, yet no trace of his coming and going can be seen. Though you seek his birth and death, you will never find it.

“Then, having entered the dharma realm of no-birth and traveled throughout every country, you enter the realm of the lotus-womb, and there see through and through that all dharmas are characterized by emptiness and that there are no real dharmas whatsoever.

“There is only the man of the Way who depends upon nothing, here listening to my discourse—it is he who is the mother of all buddhas. Therefore buddhas are born from nondependence. Awaken to nondependence, then there is no buddha to be obtained. Insight such as this is true insight.

“Students do not understand this, and, because they adhere to names and phrases and are obstructed by such terms as ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’, becloud their Dharma Eye and cannot obtain clarity of vision. Take, for instance, the twelve divisions of the teachings—all are nothing but surface explanations. Not understanding this, students form views based on these superficial words and phrases. All such students are dependent and thus fall into causation; they haven’t escaped birth-and-death in the three realms.

“If you want to be free to live or to die, to go or to stay as you would put on or take off clothes, then right now recognize the one listening to my discourse, the one who has no form, no characteristics, no root, no source, no dwelling place, and yet is bright and vigorous. Of all his various responsive activities, none leaves any traces. Thus the more you chase him the farther away he goes, and the more you seek him the more he turns away; this is called the ‘Mystery’.

“Followers of the Way, don’t acknowledge this illusory companion, your body—sooner or later it will return to impermanence. What is it you seek in this world that you think will bring you emancipation? You hunt about for a mouthful to eat and while away time patching your robe. You should be searching for a good teacher! Don’t just drift along pursuing comfort. Value every second. Each successive thought-moment passes quickly away. The grosser part of you is at the mercy of [the four elements:] earth, water, fire, and wind; the subtler part of you is at the mercy of the four phases: birth, being, decay, and death. Followers of the Way, you must right now apprehend the state in which the four elements [and four phases] are formless, so that you may avoid being buffeted about by circumstances.”

15问、如何是四种无相境。师云、尔一念心疑、被地来碍。尔一念心爱、被水来溺。尔一念心嗔、被火来烧。尔一念心喜、被风来飘。若能如是辨得、不被境转、处处用境。东涌西没、南涌北没、中涌边没、边涌中没、履水如地、履地如水。缘何如此。为达四大如梦如幻故。道流、尔祇今听法者、不是尔四大、能用尔四大。若能如是见得、便乃去住自由。约山僧见处、勿嫌底法。尔若爱圣、圣者圣之名。有一般学人、向五台山里求文殊。早错了也。五台山无文殊。尔欲识文殊么。祇尔目前用处、始终不异、处处不疑、此个是活文殊。尔一念心无差别光、处处总是眞普贤。尔一念心自能解缚、随处解脱、此是观音三昧法。互为主伴、出则一时出。一即三、三即一。如是解得、始好看敎。

Someone asked, “What is the state in which the four elements [and four phases] are formless?”

The master said, “An instant of doubt in your mind and you’re obstructed by earth; an instant of lust in your mind and you’re drowned by water; an instant of anger in your mind and you’re scorched by fire; an instant of joy in your mind and you’re blown about by wind. Gain such discernment as this, and you’re not turned this way and that by circumstances; making use of circumstances everywhere—you spring up in the east and disappear in the west, spring up in the south and disappear in the north, spring up in the center and disappear at the border, spring up at the border and disappear in the center, walk on the water as on land, and walk on the land as on water.

“How is this possible? Because you have realized that the four elements are like dreams, like illusions. Followers of the Way, the you who right now is listening to my discourse is not the four elements; this you makes use of the four elements. If you can fully understand this, you are free to go or to stay [as you please].

“From my point of view, there is not a thing to be disliked. If you love the‘sacred’, what is sacred is no more than the name ‘sacred’.

“There’s a bunch of students who seek Manjuśrī on Mount Wutai. Wrong from the start! There’s no Manjuśrī on Wutai. Do you want to know Manjuśrī? Your activity right now, never changing, nowhere faltering—this is the living Manjuśrī. Your single thought’s nondifferentiating light—this indeed is the true Samantabhadra. Your single thought that frees itself from bondage and brings emancipation everywhere—this is the Avalokiteśvara samādhi. Since these [three] alternately take the position of master and attendants, when they appear they appear at one and the same time, one in three, three in one. Gain understanding such as this, and then you can read the sutras.”

16师示众云、如今学道人、且要自信。莫向外觅。总上他闲尘境、都不辨邪正。祇如有祖有佛、皆是敎迹中事。有人拈起一句子语、或隐显中出、便即疑生、照天照地、傍家寻问、也大忙然。大丈夫儿、莫祇么论主论贼、论是论非、论色论财、论说闲话过日。山僧此间、不论僧俗、但有来者、尽识得伊。任伊向甚处出来、但有声名文句、皆是梦幻。却见乘境底人、是诸佛之玄旨。佛境不能自称我是佛境。还是这个无依道人、乘境出来。若有人出来、问我求佛、我即应淸净境出。有人问我菩萨、我即应慈悲境出。有人问我菩提、我即应净妙境出。有人问我涅槃、我即应寂静境出。境即万般差别、人即不别。所以应物现形、如水中月。道流、尔若欲得如法、直须是大丈夫儿始得。若萎萎随随地、则不得也。夫如㽄嗄[上音西下所嫁切]之器、不堪贮醍醐。如大器者、直要不受人惑。随处作主、立处皆眞。但有来者、皆不得受。尔一念疑、即魔入心。如菩萨疑时、生死魔得便。但能息念、更莫外求。物来则照。尔但信现今用底、一个事也无。尔一念心生三界、随缘被境、分为六尘。尔如今应用处、欠少什么。一刹那间、便入净入秽、入弥勒楼阁、入三眼国土、处处游履、唯见空名。

The master addressed the assembly, saying, “You who today study the Way must have faith in yourselves. Don’t seek outside or you’ll just go on clambering after the realm of worthless dusts, never distinguishing true from false. [Notions] like ‘There are buddhas, there are patriarchs’ are no more than matters in the teachings. When someone brings forward a phrase or comes forth from the hidden and the revealed, you are at once beset by doubt. You appeal to heaven, appeal to earth, run to question your neighbors, and are utterly perplexed. Resolute men, don’t pass your days in idle chatter this way, talking of rulers and talking of outlaws, discussing right and discussing wrong, speaking of women and speaking of money.

“As for me, whoever comes here, whether monk or layman, I discern him through and through. Regardless of where he comes from, his words and phrases are all just dreams and illusions. On the other hand, it’s obvious that one in control of every circumstance [embodies] the mysterious principle of all the buddhas. The state of buddhahood does not of itself proclaim, ‘I am the state of buddhahood!’ Rather, this very man of the Way, dependent upon nothing, comes forth in control of every circumstance.

“If someone comes and asks about seeking buddha, I immediately appear in conformity with the state of purity; if someone asks about bodhisattvahood, I immediately appear in conformity with the state of compassion; if someone asks me about bodhi, I immediately appear in conformity with the state of pure mystery; if someone asks me about nirvana, I immediately appear in conformity with the state of serene stillness. Though there be ten thousand different states, the person does not differ. Therefore,

According with things he manifests a form,

Like the moon [reflecting] on the water.

“Followers of the Way, if you want to accord with dharma, just be men of great resolve. If you just shilly-shally spinelessly along, you’re good for nothing.Just as a cracked jug is unfit to hold ghee, so he who would be a great vessel must not be taken in by the deluded views of others. Make yourself master everywhere, and wherever you stand is the true [place].

“Whatever comes along, don’t accept it. One thought of doubt, and instantly the demon [māra] enters your mind. Even a bodhisattva, when in doubt, is taken advantage of by the demon of birth-and-death. Just desist from thinking, and never seek outside. If something should come, illumine it. Have faith in your activity revealed now—there isn’t a thing to do.

“One thought of your mind produces the three realms and, in accordance with causal conditions and influenced by circumstances, the division into the six dusts takes place. What is lacking in your present responsive activity! In an instant you enter the pure, enter the dirty, enter the Tower of Maitreya, enter the Land of the Three Eyes, and everywhere you travel all you see are empty names.”

 

17问、如何是三眼国土。师云、我共尔入净妙国土中、着淸净衣、说法身佛。又入无差别国土中、着无差别衣、说报身佛。又入解脱国土中、着光明衣、说化身佛。此三眼国土、皆是依变。约经论家、取法身为根本、报化二身为用。山僧见处、法身即不解说法。所以古人云、身依义立、土据体论。法性身、法性土、明知是建立之法、依通国土。空拳黄叶、用诳小儿。蒺藜菱刺、枯骨上觅什么汁。心外无法、内亦不可得、求什么物。尔诸方言道、有修有证。莫错。设有修得者、皆是生死业。尔言六度万行齐修。我见皆是造业。求佛求法、即是造地狱业。求菩萨、亦是造业。看经看敎、亦是造业。佛与祖师、是无事人。所以有漏有为、无漏无为、为淸净业。有一般瞎秃子、饱吃饭了、便坐禅观行、把捉念漏、不令放起、厌喧求静、是外道法。祖师云、尔若住心看静、举心外照、摄心内澄、凝心入定、如是之流、皆是造作。是尔如今与么听法底人、作么生拟修他证他庄严他。渠且不是修底物、不是庄严得底物。若敎他庄严、一切物即庄严得。尔且莫错。道流、尔取这一般老师口里语、为是眞道、是善知识不思议、我是凡夫心、不敢测度他老宿。瞎屡生、尔一生祇作这个见解、辜负这一双眼。冷噤噤地、如冻凌上驴驹相似。我不敢毁善知识、怕生口业。道流、夫大善知识、始敢毁佛毁祖、是非天下、排斥三藏敎、骂辱诸小儿、向逆顺中觅人。所以我于十二年中、求一个业性、知芥子许不可得。若似新妇子禅师、便即怕趁出院、不与饭吃、不安不乐。自古先辈、到处人不信、被递出、始知是贵。若到处人尽肯、堪作什么。所以师子一吼、野干脑裂。道流、诸方说、有道可修、有法可证。尔说证何法、修何道。尔今用处、欠少什么物、修补何处。后生小阿师不会、便即信这般野狐精魅、许他说事、繋缚人、言道理行相应、护惜三业、始得成佛。如此说者、如春细雨。古人云、路逢达道人、第一莫向道。所以言、若人修道道不行、万般邪境竞头生。智剑出来无一物、明头未显暗头明。所以古人云、平常心是道。大德、觅什么物。现今目前听法无依道人、历历地分明、未曾欠少。尔若欲得与祖佛不别、但如是见、不用疑误。尔心心不异、名之活祖。心若有异、则性相别。心不异故、即性相不别。

Someone asked, “What about the ‘Land of the Three Eyes’?”

The master said, “When you and I together enter the Land of Pure Mystery we put on the robe of purity and preach as the dharmakāya buddha; when we enter the Land of Nondifferentiation we put on the robe of nondifferentiation and preach as the saṃbhogakāya buddha; when we enter the Land of Emancipation we put on the robe of brightness and preach as the nirmāṇakāya buddha. These Lands of the Three Eyes are all dependent transformations.

“According to the masters of the sutras and śāstras, the dharmakāya is regarded as basic substance and the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya as function. From my point of view the dharmakāya cannot expound the dharma. Therefore a man of old said, ‘The [buddha-]bodies are posited depending upon meaning; the [buddha-]lands are postulated in keeping with substance.’ So we clearly know that the dharma-nature body and dharma-nature land are fabricated things, based on dependent understanding. Empty fists and yellow leaves used to fool a child! Spiked gorse seeds! Horned water chestnuts! What kind of juice are you looking for in such dried-up bones!

“Outside mind there’s no dharma, nor is there anything to be gained within it. What are you seeking? Everywhere you say, ‘There’s something to practice, something to obtain.’ Make no mistake! Even if there were something to be gained by practice, it would be nothing but birth-and-death karma. You say, ‘The six pāramitās and the ten thousand [virtuous] actions are all to be practiced.’ As I see it, all this is just making karma. Seeking buddha and seeking dharma are only making hell-karma. Seeking bodhisattvahood is also making karma; reading the sutras and studying the teachings are also making karma. Buddhas and patriarchs are people with nothing to do.Therefore, [for them] activity and the defiling passions and also nonactivity and passionlessness are ‘pure’ karma.

“There are a bunch of blind shavepates who, having stuffed themselves with food, sit down to meditate and practice contemplation. Arresting the flow of thought they don’t let it rise; they hate noise and seek stillness. This is the method of the heretics. A patriarch said, ‘If you stop the mind to look at stillness, arouse the mind to illumine outside, control the mind to clarify inside, concentrate the mind to enter samādhi—all such [practices] as these are artificial striving.’

“This very you, the man who right now is thus listening to my discourse, how is he to be cultivated, to be enlightened, to be adorned? He is not one to be cultivated, he is not one to be adorned. But if you let him do the adorning, then everything would be adorned. Don’t be mistaken!

“Followers of the Way, you seize upon words from the mouths of those old masters and take them to be the true Way. You think, ‘These good teachers are wonderful, and I, simple-minded fellow that I am, don’t dare measure such old worthies.’ Blind idiots! You go through your entire life holding such views, betraying your own two eyes. Trembling with fright, like donkeys on an icy path, [you say to yourselves,] ‘I don’t dare disparage these good teachers for fear of making karma with my mouth!’

“Followers of the Way, it is only a great teacher who dares to disparage the buddhas, dares to disparage the patriarchs, to determine the right and the wrong of the world, to reject the teachings of the Tripiṭaka, to revile all infantile fellows, and to look for a Person amidst fortunate and unfortunate circumstances.“Therefore, when I look back over the past twelve years for a single thing having the nature of karma, I can’t find anything even the size of a mustard seed. The Chan master who is like a new bride will fear lest he be thrown out of his temple, be given no food to eat, and have no contentment and ease. From olden days our predecessors never had people anywhere who believed in them. Only after they had been driven out was their worth recognized. If they had been fully accepted by people everywhere, what would they have been good for? Therefore it is said, ‘The lion’s single roar splits the jackals’ skulls.’

“Followers of the Way, people everywhere say that there is a Way to be practiced, a dharma to be confirmed. Tell me, what dharma will you confirm, what Way will you practice? What is lacking in your present activity? What still needs to be patched up?

“The immature young monk, not understanding this, believes in these fox-spirits and lets them speak the kind of nonsense that binds other people, nonsense such as, ‘Only by harmonizing the principle and practice and by guarding [against] the three karmas can buddhahood be attained.’ People who talk like this are as common as spring showers.

“A man of old said:

If on the road you meet a man who has mastered the Way,

Above all do not speak of the Way.

Therefore it is said:

When a man tries to practice the Way, the Way does not function,

And ten thousand evil circumstances vie in raising their heads.

But when the sword of wisdom fl ashes forth, nothing remains;

Before brightness is manifest, darkness is bright.

For that reason a man of old said, ‘Ordinary mind is the Way.’

“Virtuous monks, what are you looking for? [You] nondependent people of the Way who listen to my discourse right now before my eyes, [you are] bright and clear and have never lacked anything. If you want to be no different from the patriarch-buddha, just see things this way. There’s no need to waver.

“Your minds and Mind do not differ—this is called [your] living patriarch. If mind differs, its essence will differ from its manifestations. Since mind does not differ, its essence and its manifestations do not differ.”

18问、如何是心心不异处。师云、尔拟问、早异了也、性相各分。道流、莫错。世出世诸法、皆无自性、亦无生性。但有空名、名字亦空。尔祇么认他闲名为实。大错了也。设有、皆是依变之境。有个菩提依、涅槃依、解脱依、三身依、境智依、菩萨依、佛依。尔向依变国土中、觅什么物。乃至三乘十二分敎、皆是拭不净故纸。佛是幻化身、祖是老比丘。尔还是娘生已否。尔若求佛、即被佛魔摄。尔若求祖、即被祖魔缚。尔若有求皆苦。不如无事。有一般秃比丘、向学人道、佛是究竟、于三大阿僧祇劫、修行果满、方始成道。道流、尔若道佛是究竟、缘什么八十年后、向拘尸罗城、双林树间、侧卧而死去。佛今何在。明知与我生死不别。尔言、三十二相八十种好是佛。转轮圣王应是如来。明知是幻化。古人云、如来举身相、为顺世间情。恐人生断见、权且立虚名。假言三十二、八十也空声。有身非觉体、无相乃眞形。尔道、佛有六通、是不可思议。一切诸天、神仙、阿修罗、大力鬼、亦有神通。应是佛否。道流、莫错。祇如阿修罗、与天帝释战、战败领八万四千眷属、入藕丝孔中藏。莫是圣否。如山僧所举、皆是业通依通。夫如佛六通者、不然。入色界不被色惑、入声界不被声惑、入香界不被香惑、入味界不被味惑、入触界不被触惑、入法界不被法惑。所以达六种色声香味触法皆是空相、不能繋缚此无依道人。虽是五蕴漏质、便是地行神通。道流、眞佛无形、眞法无相。尔祇么幻化上头、作模作样。设求得者、皆是野狐精魅、并不是眞佛、是外道见解。夫如眞学道人、并不取佛、不取菩萨罗汉、不取三界殊胜。迥无独脱、不与物拘。乾坤倒覆、我更不疑。十方诸佛现前、为一念心喜、三涂地狱顿现、无一念心怖。缘何如此。我见诸法空相、变即有、不变即无。三界唯心、万法唯识。所以梦幻空花、何劳把捉。唯有道流、目前现今听法底人、入火不烧、入水不溺、入三涂地狱、如游园观、入饿鬼畜生、而不受报。缘何如此。无嫌底法。尔若爱圣憎凡、生死海里沈浮。烦恼由心故有、无心烦恼何拘。不劳分别取相、自然得道须臾。尔拟傍家波波地学得、于三祇劫中、终归生死。不如无事、向丛林中、床角头交脚坐。道流、如诸方有学人来、主客相见了、便有一句子语、辨前头善知识。被学人拈出个机权语路、向善知识口角头撺过、看尔识不识。尔若识得是境、把得便抛向坑子里。学人便即寻常、然后便索善知识语。依前夺之。学人云、上智哉、是大善知识。即云、尔大不识好恶。如善知识、把出个境块子、向学人面前弄。前人辨得、下下作主、不受境惑。善知识便即现半身、学人便喝。善知识又入一切差别语路中摆扑。学人云、不识好恶老秃奴。善知识叹曰、眞正道流。如诸方善知识、不辨邪正。学人来问、菩提涅槃、三身境智、瞎老师便与他解说。被他学人骂着、便把棒打他、言无礼度。自是尔善知识无眼、不得嗔他。有一般不识好恶秃奴、即指东划西、好晴好雨、好灯笼露柱。尔看、眉毛有几茎。这个具机缘。学人不会、便即心狂。如是之流、总是野狐精魅魍魉。被他好学人嗌嗌微笑、言瞎老秃奴惑乱他天下人。道流、出家儿且要学道。祇如山僧、往日曾向毘尼中留心、亦曾于经论寻讨。后方知是济世药、表显之说、遂乃一时抛却、即访道参禅。后遇大善知识、方乃道眼分明、始识得天下老和尚、知其邪正。不是娘生下便会、还是体究练磨、一朝自省。道流、尔欲得如法见解、但莫受人惑。向里向外、逢着便杀。逢佛杀佛、逢祖杀祖、逢罗汉杀罗汉、逢父母杀父母、逢亲眷杀亲眷、始得解脱、不与物拘、透脱自在。如诸方学道流、未有不依物出来底。山僧向此间、从头打。手上出来手上打。口里出来口里打。眼里出来眼里打。未有一个独脱出来底。皆是上他古人闲机境。山僧无一法与人、祇是治病解缚。尔诸方道流、试不依物出来、我要共尔商量。十年五歳、并无一人。皆是依草附叶、竹木精灵、野狐精魅、向一切粪块上乱咬。瞎汉、枉消他十方信施、道我是出家儿、作如是见解。向尔道、无佛无法、无修无证。祇与么傍家拟求什么物。瞎汉、头上安头。是尔欠少什么。道流、是尔目前用底、与祖佛不别。祇么不信、便向外求。莫错。向外无法、内亦不可得。尔取山僧口里语、不如休歇无事去。已起者莫续、未起者不要放起、便胜尔十年行脚。约山僧见处、无如许多般、祇是平常。着衣吃饭、无事过时。尔诸方来者、皆是有心求佛求法、求解脱、求出离三界。痴人、尔要出三界、什么处去。佛祖是赏繋底名句。尔欲识三界么。不离尔今听法底心地。尔一念心贪是欲界。尔一念心瞋是色界。尔一念心痴是无色界、是尔屋里家具子。三界不自道、我是三界。还是道流、目前灵灵地照烛万般、酌度世界底人、与三界安名。大德、四大色身是无常。乃至脾胃肝胆、髪毛爪齿、唯见诸法空相。尔一念心歇得处、唤作菩提树。尔一念心不能歇得处、唤作无明树。无明无住处、无明无始终。尔若念念心歇不得、便上他无明树、便入六道四生、披毛戴角。尔若歇得、便是淸净身界。尔一念不生、便是上菩提树、三界神通变化、意生化身、法喜禅悦、身光自照。思衣罗绮千重、思食百味具足、更无横病。菩提无住处、是故无得者。道流、大丈夫汉、更疑个什么。目前用处、更是阿谁。把得便用、莫着名字、号为玄旨。与么见得、勿嫌底法。古人云、心随万境转、转处实能幽。随流认得性、无喜亦无忧。道流、如禅宗见解、死活循然。参学之人、大须子细。如主客相见、便有言论往来。或应物现形、或全体作用、或把机权喜怒、或现半身、或乘师子、或乘象王。如有眞正学人、便喝先拈出一个胶盆子。善知识不辨是境、便上他境上、作模作样。学人便喝。前人不肯放。此是膏肓之病、不堪医。唤作客看主。或是善知识不拈出物、随学人问处即夺。学人被夺、抵死不放。此是主看客。或有学人、应一个淸净境、出善知识前。善知识辨得是境、把得抛向坑里。学人言、大好善知识。即云、咄哉、不识好恶。学人便礼拜。此唤作主看主。或有学人、披枷带锁、出善知识前。善知识更与安一重枷锁。学人欢喜、彼此不辨。呼为客看客。大德、山僧如是所举、皆是辨魔拣异、知其邪正。道流、寔情大难、佛法幽玄、解得可可地。山僧竟日与他说破、学者总不在意。千遍万遍、脚底踏过、黑没焌地、无一个形段、历历孤明。学人信不及、便向名句上生解。年登半百、祇管, 傍家负死尸行、檐却檐子天下走。索草鞋钱有日在。大德、山僧说向外无法、学人不会、便即向里作解、便即倚壁坐、舌拄上腭、湛然不动、取此为是祖门佛法也。大错。是尔若取不动淸净境为是、尔即认他无明为郎主。古人云、湛湛黑暗深坑、寔可怖畏。此之是也。尔若认他动者是、一切草木皆解动、应可是道也。所以动者是风大、不动者是地大。动与不动、倶无自性。尔若向动处捉他、他向不动处立。尔若向不动处捉他、他向动处立。譬如潜泉鱼、鼓波而自跃。大德、动与不动、是二种境。还是无依道人、用动用不动。如诸方学人来、山僧此间、作三种根器断。如中下根器来、我便夺其境、而不除其法。或中上根器来、我便境法倶夺。如上上根器来、我便境法人倶不夺。如有出格见解人来、山僧此间、便全体作用、不历根器。大德、到这里、学人着力处不通风、石火电光即过了也。学人若眼定动、即没交涉。拟心即差、动念即乖。有人解者、不离目前。大德、尔檐钵嚢屎檐子、傍家走求佛求法。即今与么驰求底、尔还识渠么。活拨拨地、祇是勿根株。拥不聚、拨不散。求着即转远、不求还在目前、灵音属耳。若人不信、徒劳百年。道流、一刹那间、便入华藏世界、入毘卢遮那国土、入解脱国土、入神通国土、入淸净国土、入法界、入秽入净、入凡入圣、入饿鬼畜生、处处讨觅寻、皆不见有生有死、唯有空名。幻化空花、不劳把捉、得失是非、一时放却。道流、山僧佛法、的的相承、从麻谷和尚、丹霞和尚、道一和尚、卢山拽石头和尚、一路行遍天下。无人信得、尽皆起谤。如道一和尚用处、纯一无杂、学人三百五百、尽皆不见他意。如卢山和尚、自在眞正、顺逆用处、学人不测涯际、悉皆忙然。如丹霞和尚、翫珠隐显、学人来者、皆悉被骂。如麻谷用处、苦如黄檗、近皆不得。如石巩用处、向箭头上觅人、来者皆惧。如山僧今日用处、眞正成坏、翫弄神变、入一切境、随处无事、境不能换。但有来求者、我即便出看渠。渠不识我、我便着数般衣、学人生解、一向入我言句。苦哉、瞎秃子无眼人、把我着底衣、认青黄赤白。我脱却入淸净境中、学人一见、便生忻欲。我又脱却、学人失心、忙然狂走、言我无衣。我即向渠道、尔识我着衣底人否。忽尔回头、认我了也。大德、尔莫认衣。衣不能动、人能着衣。有个淸净衣、有个无生衣、菩提衣、涅槃衣、有祖衣、有佛衣。大德、但有声名文句、皆悉是衣变。从脐轮气海中鼓激、牙齿敲磕、成其句义。明知是幻化。大德、外发声语业、内表心所法。以思有念、皆悉是衣。尔祇么认他着底衣为寔解。纵经尘劫、祇是衣通。三界循还、轮回生死。不如无事。相逢不相识、共语不知名。今时学人不得、盖为认名字为解。大策子上、抄死老汉语、三重五重复子裹、不敎人见、道是玄旨、以为保重。大错。瞎屡生、尔向枯骨上、觅什么汁。有一般不识好恶、向敎中取意度商量、成于句义。如把屎块子、向口里含了、吐过与别人。犹如俗人打传口令相似、一生虚过。也道我出家、被他问着佛法、便即杜口无词、眼似漆突、口如楄檐。如此之类、逢弥勒出世、移置他方世界、寄地狱受苦。大德、尔波波地往诸方、觅什么物、踏尔脚板阔。无佛可求、无道可成、无法可得。外求有相佛、与汝不相似。欲识汝本心、非合亦非离。道流、眞佛无形、眞道无体、眞法无相。三法混融、和合一处。辨既不得、唤作忙忙业识众生。

Someone asked, “What about the state where ‘mind and Mind do not differ’?”

The master said, “The instant you ask the question they are already separate, and essense differs from its manifestations.

“Followers of the Way, make no mistake! All the dharmas of this world and of the worlds beyond are without self-nature. Also, they are without produced nature. They are just empty names, and these names are also empty. All you are doing is taking these worthless names to be real. That’s all wrong! Even if they do exist, they are nothing but states of dependent transformation, such as the dependent transformations of bodhi, nirvana, emancipation, the threefold body, the [objective] surroundings and the [subjective] mind, bodhisattvahood, and buddhahood. What are you looking for in these lands of dependent transformations! All of these, up to and including the Three Vehicles’ twelve divisions of teachings, are just so much waste paper to wipe off privy filth. The Buddha is just a phantom body, the patriarchs just old monks.

“But you, weren’t you born of a mother? If you seek the Buddha, you’ll be held in the grip of Buddha-Māra. If you seek the patriarchs, you’ll be bound by the ropes of Patriarch-Māra. If you engage in any seeking, it will all be pain. Much better to do nothing.

“There are a bunch of shavepate monks who say to students, ‘The Buddha is the Ultimate; he attained buddhahood only after he came to the fruition of practices carried on through three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas.’ Followers of the Way, if you say that the Buddha is the ultimate, how is it that after eighty years of life the Buddha lay down on his side between the twin śāla trees at Kuśinagara and died? Where is the Buddha now? We clearly know that his birth and death were not different from ours.

“You say, ‘The thirty-two [primary] features and the eighty [secondary] features indicate a buddha.’ Then must a cakravartin also be considered a tathāgata? We clearly know that these features are illusory transformations. A man of old said:

The Tathāgata’s various bodily features

Were assumed to conform with worldly sensibilities.

Lest men conceive annihilist views,

He provisionally provided unreal names.

Temporarily we speak of the ‘thirty-two,’

The ‘eighty,’ also, are but empty sounds.

The mortal body is not the awakened body,

Featurelessness is the true figure.

“You say, ‘A buddha has six supernatural powers. This is miraculous!’All the gods, immortals, asuras, and mighty pretas also have supernatural powers—must they be considered buddhas? Followers of the Way, make no mistake! For instance, when Asura fought against Indra and was routed in battle he led his entire throng, to the number of eighty-four thousand, into the tube in a fiber of a lotus root to hide. Wasn’t he then a sage? Such supernatural powers as these I have just mentioned are all reward powers or dependent powers.

“Those are not the six supernatural powers of a buddha, which are entering the world of color yet not being deluded by color; entering the world of sound yet not being deluded by sound; entering the world of odor yet not being deluded by odor; entering the world of taste yet not being deluded by taste; entering the world of touch yet not being deluded by touch; entering the world of dharmas yet not being deluded by dharmas. Therefore, when it is realized that these six—color, sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas—are all empty forms, they cannot bind the man of the Way, dependent upon nothing. Constituted though he is of the seepage of the five skandhas, he has the supernatural power of walking upon the earth.

“Followers of the Way, true buddha has no figure, true dharma has no form. All you’re doing is devising models and patterns out of phantoms. Anything you may find through seeking will be nothing more than a wild fox-spirit; it certainly won’t be the true buddha. It will be the understanding of a heretic.

“The true student of the Way has nothing to do with buddhas and nothing to do with bodhisattvas or arhats. Nor has he anything to do with the good things of the triple world. Having transcended these, solitary and free, he is not bound by things. Heaven and earth could turn upside down and he wouldn’t have a doubt; the buddhas of the ten directions could appear before him and he wouldn’t feel an instant of joy; the three hells could suddenly yawn at his feet and he wouldn’t feel an instant of fear. Why is this so? Because, as I see it, all dharmas are empty forms—when transformation takes place they are existent, when transformation does not take place they are nonexistent. The three realms are mind-only, the ten thousand dharmas are consciousness-only. Hence,

Illusory dreams, flowers in the sky,

Why trouble to grasp at them!

“Only you, the follower of the Way right now before my eyes listening to my discourse, [only you] enter fire and are not burned, enter water and are not drowned, enter the three hells as though strolling in a pleasure garden, enter the realms of the hungry ghosts and the beasts without suffering their fate. How can this be? There are no dharmas to be disliked.

If you love the sacred and hate the secular

You’ll fl oat and sink in the birth-and-death sea.

The passions exist dependent on mind;

Have no-mind, and how can they bind you?

Without troubling to discriminate or cling to forms

You’ll attain the Way naturally in a moment of time.

 “But if you try to get understanding by hurrying down this byway and that, you’ll still be in the round of samsara after three asakhyeya kalpas. Better take your ease sitting cross-legged on a meditation platform in the monastery.

“Followers of the Way, students come from every quarter, and after host and guest have met the student will test the teacher with a phrase. Some tricky words are chosen by the student and flung at the corner of the teacher’s mouth. ‘Let’s see if you can understand this!’ he says. If you teachers recognize it as a device, you seize it and throw it into a pit. Whereupon the student quiets down and asks the teacher to say something. As before, the teacher robs him of his attitude. The student says, ‘What superlative wisdom! A great teacher, indeed!’ To which you teachers instantly retort, ‘You can’t even tell good from bad.’

“Or a teacher may take out a bunch of stuff and play with it in front of a student. The latter, seeing through this, makes himself master in every case and doesn’t fall for the humbug. Now the teacher reveals half of his body, whereupon the student gives a shout. Again the teacher tries to rattle the student by using all sorts of expressions having to do with differentiation. ‘You can’t tell good from bad, you old shavepate!’ exclaims the student. And the teacher, with a sigh of admiration, says, ‘Ah, a true follower of the Way!’

“There are teachers all around who can’t distinguish the false from the true. When students come asking about bodhi, nirvana, the trikāya, or the [objective] surroundings and the [subjective] mind, the blind old teachers immediately start explaining to them. When they’re railed at by the students they grab their sticks and hit them, [shouting,] ‘What insolent talk!’ Obviously you teachers yourselves are without an eye so you’ve no right to get angry with them.

“And then there’re a bunch of shavepates who, not knowing good from bad, point to the east and point to the west, delight in fair weather, delight in rain, and delight in lanterns and pillars. Look at them! How many hairs are left in their eyebrows! There is a good reason for this [loss of eyebrows]. Lacking understanding, students become infatuated with them. Such [shavepates] as these are all wild fox-spirits and nature-goblins. Good students snicker and say, ‘Blind old shavepates, deluding and bewitching everyone under heaven!’

“Followers of the Way, he who is a renouncer of home must needs study the Way. Take me, for example—I started out devoting myself to the vinaya and also delved into the sutras and śāstras. Later, when I realized that they were only remedies to help the world and displays of opinion, I threw them all away, and, searching for the Way, I practiced meditation. Still later I met a great teacher. Then, indeed, my dharma-eye became clear and for the first time I was able to understand all the old teachers of the world and to tell the true from the false. It is not that I understood from the moment I was born of my mother, but that, after exhaustive investigation and grinding practice, in one instant I knew for myself.

“Followers of the Way, if you want insight into dharma as it is, just don’t be taken in by the deluded views of others. Whatever you encounter, either within or without, slay it at once. On meeting a buddha slay the buddha, on meeting a patriarch slay the patriarch, on meeting an arhat slay the arhat, on meeting your parents slay your parents, on meeting your kinsman slay your kinsman, and you attain emancipation. By not cleaving to things, you freely pass through.

“Among all the students from every quarter who are followers of the Way, none has yet come before me without being dependent on something. Here I hit them right from the start. If they come forth using their hands, I hit them on the hands; if they come forth using their mouths, I hit them on the mouth; if they come forth using their eyes, I hit them on the eyes. Not one has yet come before me in solitary freedom. All are clambering after the worthless contrivances of the men of old. As for myself, I haven’t a single dharma to give to people. All I can do is to cure illnesses and untie bonds. You followers of the Way from every quarter, try coming before me without being dependent upon things. I would confer with you.

“Five years, nay ten years, have passed, but as yet not one person [has appeared]. All have been [ghosts] dependent upon grasses or attached to leaves, souls of bamboos and trees, wild fox-spirits. They recklessly gnaw on all kinds of dung clods. Blind fools! Wastefully squandering the alms given them by believers everywhere and saying,‘I am a renouncer of home,’ all the while holding such views as these!

“I say to you there is no buddha, no dharma, nothing to practice, nothing to enlighten to. Just what are you seeking in the highways and byways? Blind men! You’re putting a head on top of the one you already have. What do you yourselves lack? Followers of the Way, your own present activities do not differ from those of the patriarch-buddhas. You just don’t believe this and keep on seeking outside. Make no mistake! Outside there is no dharma; inside, there is nothing to be obtained. Better than grasp at the words from my mouth, take it easy and do nothing. Don’t continue [thoughts] that have already arisen and don’t let those that haven’t yet arisen be aroused. Just this will be worth far more to you than a ten years’ pilgrimage.

“As I see it, there isn’t so much to do. Just be ordinary—put on your clothes, eat your food, and pass the time doing nothing. You who come here from here and there all have a mind to seek buddha, to seek dharma, to seek emancipation, to seek escape from the three realms. Foolish fellows! When you’ve left the three realms where would you go?

“‘Buddha’ and ‘patriarch’ are only names of praise-bondage. Do you want to know the three realms? They are not separate from the mind-ground of you who right now are listening to my discourse. Your single covetous thought is the realm of desire; your single angry thought is the realm of form; your single delusive thought is the realm of formlessness. These are the furnishings within your own house. The three realms do not of themselves proclaim, ‘We are the three realms!’ But you, followers of the Way, right now vividly illumining all things and taking the measure of the world, you give the names to the three realms.

“Virtuous monks, the physical body [composed] of the four great elements is impermanent; [every part of it,] including the spleen, stomach, liver, and gallbladder, the hair, nails, and teeth as well, only proves that all dharmas are empty appearances. The place where your one thought comes to rest is called the bodhi tree; the place where your one thought cannot come to rest is called the avidyā tree. Avidyā has no dwelling place; avidyā has no beginning

and no end. If your successive thoughts cannot come to rest, you go up the avidyā tree; you enter the six paths of existence and the four modes of birth, wear fur on your body and horns on your head. If your successive thoughts can come to rest, then this [very body] is the pure body.

“When not a single thought arises in your mind, then you go up the Bodhi tree: you supernaturally transform yourself in the three realms and change your bodily form at will. You rejoice in the dharma and delight in samādhi, and the radiance of your body shines forth of itself. At the thought of garments a thousand lengths of brocade are at hand; at the thought of food a hundred delicacies are before you; furthermore, you never suffer unusual illness. ‘Bodhi has no dwelling place, therefore it is not attainable.’

“Followers of the Way, what more is there for the resolute fellow to doubt? The activity going on right now—whose is it? Grasp and use, but never name—this is called the ‘mysterious principle.’ Come to such understanding as this, and there is nothing to be disliked. A man of old said:

[My] mind turns in accordance with the myriad circumstances,

And this turning, in truth, is most mysterious.

Recognizing [my] nature while according with the flow,

[I] have no more joy nor any sorrow.

“Followers of the Way, the view of the Chan school is that the sequence of death and life is orderly. The student of Chan must examine [this] most carefully.

“When host and guest meet they vie with each other in discussion. At times, in response to something, they may manifest a form; at times they may act with their whole body; or they may use tricks or devices to appear joyful or angry; or they may reveal half of the body; or again they may ride upon a lion or mount a lordly elephant.

“A true student gives a shout, and to start with holds out a sticky lacquer tray. The teacher, not discerning that this is an objective circumstance, goes after it and performs a lot of antics with it. The student again shouts but still the teacher is unwilling to let go. This is a disease of the vitals that no doctoring can cure; it is called ‘the guest examines the host.’

“Sometimes a teacher will offer nothing, but, the moment a student asks a question, grabs it away. The student, his question having been taken from him, resists to the death and will not let go. This is called ‘the host examines the guest.’

“Sometimes a student comes forth before a teacher in conformity with a state of purity. The teacher, discerning that this is an objective circumstance, seizes it and flings it into a pit. ‘What an excellent teacher!’ exclaims the student, and the teacher replies, ‘Bah! You can’t tell good from bad!’ Thereupon the student makes a deep bow: this is called ‘the host examines the host.’

“Or again, a student will appear before a teacher wearing a cangue and bound with chains. The teacher fastens on still more chains and cangues for him. The student is so delighted that he can’t tell what is what; this is called‘the guest examines the guest.’

“Virtuous monks, all the examples I have brought before you serve to distinguish demons and point out heretics, thus making it possible for you to know what is erroneous and what is correct.

“Followers of the Way, true sincerity is extremely difficult to attain, and the buddhadharma is deep and mysterious, yet a goodly measure of understanding can be acquired. I explain it exhaustively all day long, but you students give not the slightest heed. Though a thousand times, nay ten thousand times, you tread it underfoot, you are still in utter darkness. It is without a vestige of form, yet is clear in its solitary shining.

“Because your faith [in yourselves] is insufficient, you students turn to words and phrases and base your understanding upon them. Until you’ve reached the half-century mark you continue dragging [your] dead bodies up blind alleys and running about the world bearing your heavy load. The day will come when you’ll have to pay up for the straw sandals you’ve worn out.

“Virtuous monks, when I state that there are no dharmas outside, the student does not comprehend and immediately tries to find understanding within. He sits down cross-legged with his back against a wall, his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth, completely still and motionless. This he takes to be the buddhadharma of the patriarchal school. That’s all wrong.

“If you take the state of motionlessness and purity to be correct, then you are recognizing the darkness [of avidyā] as master. This is what a man of old meant when he said, ‘Fearful indeed is the bottomless black pit!’ If on the other hand you recognize motion to be correct, since all plants and trees can move, must they then be the Way?

“Thus ‘motion is the wind element; motionlessness is the earth element.’Motion and motionlessness both are without self-nature. If you try to seize it within motion, it takes a position within motionlessness. If you try to seize it within motionlessness, it takes a position within motion.

Like a fish hidden in a pool,

Smacking the waves as it leaps [from the water].

Virtuous monks, motion and motionlessness are merely two kinds of states; it is the nondependent Man of the Way who utilizes motion and utilizes motionlessness.

“As for the students who come from every quarter, I myself divide them into three categories according to their inherent capacities. If one of less than average capacity comes, I snatch away his state but do not take away his dharma. If one of better than average capacity comes, I snatch away both his state and dharma. If one of superior capacity comes, I snatch away neither his state, his dharma, nor himself.But should a man of extraordinary understanding come, I would act with my whole body and not place him in any category. Virtuous monks, when a student has reached this point, his manifest power is impenetrable to any wind and swifter than a spark from flint or a fl ash of lightning.

“The moment a student blinks his eyes he’s already way off . The moment he applies his mind, he’s already differed. The moment he arouses a thought, he’s already deviated. But for the man who understands, it’s always right here before his eyes.

“Virtuous monks, you carry your bowl-bag and lug your dung-sack, rushing up blind alleys in search of buddha and in search of dharma. Do you know who it is who right now is running around searching this way? He is brisk and lively, with no roots at all. Though you [try to] embrace him, you cannot gather him in; though you [try to] drive him away, you cannot shake

him off . If you seek him he retreats farther and farther away; if you don’t seek him, then he’s right there before your eyes, his wondrous voice resounding in your ears. If you have no faith [in this], you’ll waste your entire life.

“Followers of the Way, in an instant you enter the Lotus World, the Land of Vairocana, the Land of Emancipation, the Land of Supernatural Powers, the Land of Purity, and the dharma realm; you enter the dirty and the pure, the secular and the sacred, the realm of hungry ghosts and the realm of beasts. Yet however far and wide you may search, nowhere will you see any birth or death; there will only be empty names.

Illusory transformations, flowers in the sky—

Don’t trouble to grasp at them.

Gain and loss, right and wrong—

Away with them once and for all!

“Followers of the Way, my buddhadharma is that of the correct transmission, a transmission that has continued in a single line through the masters Mayu, Danxia, Daoyi, Lushan, and Shigong, and has spread abroad over all the world. Yet no one has faith in it and everyone heaps slander on it.

“Venerable Daoyi’s activity was pure and simple; not one of his three to five hundred students could discern what he meant. Venerable Lushan was free and true; whether conforming or opposing, his actions were unfathomable to his students—they were all dumbfounded. Venerable Danxia played with the pearl, concealing and revealing it; every single student who camewas reviled by him. As for Venerable Mayu, his activity was as bitter as the huangbo tree; no one could approach him. Venerable Shigong’s activity was to search for a man with the point of his arrow; all who came before him were struck with fear.

“With respect to my own activity today—true creation and destruction—I play with miraculous transformations, enter into all kinds of circumstances, yet nowhere have I anything to do. Circumstances cannot change me.

“Whenever someone comes here seeking I immediately go out and look at him. He doesn’t recognize me. Thereupon I don various kinds of robes. The student, assigning some meaning to this, straightway falls into words and phrases. What a pity that the blind shavepate, a man without the eye [to see], grasps at the robe I’m wearing and declares it to be blue or yellow, red or white! When I remove the robe and enter the state of purity, the student takes one look and is immediately filled with delight and longing. Then, when I cast off everything, the student is stunned and, running about in wild confusion,cries, ‘You have no robe!’ If I say, ‘Do you know me, the man who wears these robes?’ he’ll abruptly turn his head around and recognize me through and through.

“Virtuous monks, don’t acknowledge robes. Robes cannot move of themselves, but people can put them on. There is the robe of purity, the robe of birthlessness, the robe of bodhi, the robe of nirvana, the patriarch-robe, and the buddha-robe. Virtuous monks, these spoken words and written phrases are all nothing but changes of robes.

“Churning up the sea of breath in your belly and clacking your teeth together, you devise wordy interpretations. So it’s clear that these are only illusory transformations. Virtuous monks:

Acts of speech are displayed without,

Mental activities are manifested within.

Because of mental activities thoughts arise, but these are all just robes.

“If all you do is acknowledge as real the robes that are merely put on, even after the passage of kalpas numerous as dust you’ll still have nothing but an understanding of robes, and will continue going round and round in the three realms, transmigrating through birth-and-death. Much better do nothing.

I meet [him] yet do not recognize [him],

I speak with [him] yet do not know his name.

“Students of today get nowhere because they base their understanding upon the acknowledgment of names. They inscribe the words of some dead old guy in a great big notebook, wrap it up in four or five squares of cloth, and won’t let anyone look at it. ‘This is the Mysterious Principle,’ they aver, and safeguard it with care. That’s all wrong. Blind idiots! What kind of juice are you looking for in such dried-up bones!

“Then there’re a bunch of guys who, not knowing good from bad, guess around and speculate about the scriptures and make wordy interpretations of them. They’re like men who, having held dung clods in their mouths, spit them out for the other people. They’re like peasants engaged in playing a passing-the-word game. They spend their entire lifetime in vain, yet declare ‘We are renouncers of home!’ Questioned about buddhadharma, they just shut their mouths, bereft of words. Their eyes are as vacant as black chimney holes and their mouths sag like [loaded] carrying-poles. Such men as these, even though they were to be present when Maitreya appears in this world, would be banished to another region and there, lodged in hell, suffer its torments.

“Virtuous monks, what are you seeking as you go around hither and yon, walking until the soles of your feet are fl at? There is no buddha to seek, no Way to complete, no dharma to attain.

If you seek outside for a buddha having form,

You won’t find him to resemble you;

If you know your own original mind,

It’s neither united with nor apart from [him].

“Followers of the Way, true buddha has no shape, true Way has no substance, true dharma has no form; these three are fused together harmoniously united into one. Just because you can’t understand this, you’re called‘sentient beings with unlimited karmic consciousness’.”

19问、如何是眞佛眞法眞道、乞垂开示。师云、佛者心淸净是。法者心光明是。道者处处无碍净光是。三即一、皆是空名、而无寔有。如眞正学道人、念念心不间断。自达磨大师从西土来、祇是觅个不受人惑底人。后遇二祖、一言便了、始知从前虚用功夫。山僧今日见处、与祖佛不别。若第一句中得、与祖佛为师。若第二句中得、与人天为师。若第三句中得、自救不了。

Someone asked, “What about the true buddha, the true dharma, and the true Way? We beg of you to disclose this for us.”

The master said, “Buddha is the mind’s purity; dharma is the mind’s radiance; the Way is the pure light pervading everywhere without hindrance.

The three are one, yet all are empty names and have no real existence. With the true man of the Way, from moment to moment mind is not interrupted.

“From the time the great teacher Bodhidharma came from the Western Land, he just sought a man who would not accept the deluded views of others. Later, he met the Second Patriarch, who, having understood at [Bodhidharma’s] one word, for the first time realized that hitherto he had been futilely engaged in striving.

“As for my understanding today, it’s no different from that of the patriarchbuddhas.

He who attains at the First Statement becomes the teacher of patriarch-buddhas; he who attains at the Second Statement becomes the teacher of men and gods; he who attains at the Third Statement cannot save even himself.”

20问、如何是西来意。师云、若有意、自救不了。云、既无意、云何二祖得法。师云、得者是不得。云、既若不得、云何是不得底意。师云、为尔向一切处驰求心不能歇。所以祖师言、咄哉丈夫、将头觅头。尔言下便自回光返照、更不别求、知身心与祖佛不别、当下无事、方名得法。大德、山僧今时、事不获已、话度说出许多不才净。尔且莫错。据我见处、寔无许多般道理。要用便用、不用便休。祇如诸方说六度万行、以为佛法、我道、是庄严门佛事门、非是佛法。乃至持斋持戒、擎油不涧、道眼不明、尽须抵债、索饭钱有日在。何故如此。入道不通理、复身还信施。长者八十一、其树不生耳。乃至孤峯独宿、一食卯斋、长坐不卧、六时行道、皆是造业底人。乃至头目髓脑、国城妻子、象马七珍、尽皆舍施、如是等见、皆是苦身心故、还招苦果。不如无事、纯一无杂。乃至十地满心菩萨、皆求此道流踪迹、了不可得。所以诸天欢喜、地神捧足、十方诸佛、无不称叹。缘何如此。为今听法道人、用处无踪迹。

Someone asked, “What was the purpose of the [Patriarch’s] coming from the West?”

The master said, “If he had had a purpose he couldn’t have saved even himself.”

Someone asked, “Since he had no purpose, how did the Second Patriarch obtain the dharma?”

The master said, “‘To obtain’ is to not obtain.”

Someone asked, “If it is ‘to not obtain,’ what is the meaning of ‘to not obtain’?”

The master said, “It is because you cannot stop your mind which runs on seeking everywhere that a patriarch said, ‘Bah, superior men! Searching for your heads with your heads!’ When at these words you turn your own light in upon yourselves and never seek elsewhere, then you’ll know that your body and mind are not different from those of the patriarch-buddhas and on the

instant have nothing to do—this is called ‘obtaining the dharma.’

“Virtuous monks, at present I’ve no other choice than to speak so much trash and rubbish. Don’t be mistaken. As I see it there really aren’t so many problems. If you want to act, act; if you don’t, don’t.

“There are people in every quarter who assert that the ten thousand practices and the six pāramitās constitute the buddhadharma. But I say to you that they are merely means of adornment, expedients for carrying out the buddha’s work; they are not buddhadharma [itself]. Even those who keep the rules regarding food and conduct with the care of a man carrying a bowl of oil so as not to spill a drop, if their dharma-eye is not clear they’ll have to pay their debts, and the day will come when the cost of their food will be exacted from them. Why is this so?

Since he entered the Way but didn’t penetrate the Principle,

He returned in the flesh to repay the alms he’d received.

When the rich man reaches four score and one,

The tree will no longer produce the fungus.

“Even those who live alone on a solitary peak, or who eat their single meal at dawn, sit for long periods of time without lying down, and worship buddha at the six appointed hours of the day—all such persons are simply creating karma. There are others who give away everything as alms—their heads and eyes, marrow and brains, states and cities, wives and children, elephants, horses, and the seven precious things—but all such acts only cause suffering of body and mind and end up inviting future sorrow. It is better to have nothing to do, better to be plain and simple.

“Even if bodhisattvas having the completed mind of the tenth stage were to search for traces of this follower of the Way, they could never find them. Therefore [it is said]: ‘All the gods rejoice, the gods of earth clasp his feet in adoration, and of all the buddhas of the ten directions, there are none who do not praise him.’ Why is this so? Because the person of the Way who is now listening to my discourse leaves no trace of his activity.”

21问、大通智胜佛、十劫坐道场、佛法不现前、不得成佛道。未审此意如何。乞师指示。师云、大通者、是自己于处处、达其万法无性无相、名为大通。智胜者、于一切处不疑、不得一法、名为智胜。佛者心淸净、光明透彻法界、得名为佛。十劫坐道场者、十波罗蜜是。佛法不现前者、佛本不生、法本不灭、云何更有现前。不得成佛道者、佛不应更作佛。古人云、佛常在世间、而不染世间法。道流、尔欲得作佛、莫随万物。心生种种法生、心灭种种法灭。一心不生、万法无咎。世与出世、无佛无法、亦不现前、亦不曾失。设有者、皆是名言章句、接引小儿、施设药病、表显名句。且名句不自名句、还是尔目前昭昭灵灵、鉴觉闻知照烛底、安一切名句。大德、造五无间业、方得解脱。

Someone asked, “[The sutra says:]

The Buddha of Supreme Penetration and Surpassing Wisdom

Sat for ten kalpas in a place of practice,

But the buddhadharma did not manifest [itself to him],

And he did not attain the buddha-way.

I don’t understand the meaning of this. Would the master kindly explain?”

The master said, “‘Supreme Penetration’ means that one personally penetrates everywhere into the naturelessness and formlessness of the ten thousand dharmas. ‘Surpassing Wisdom’ means to have no doubts anywhere and to not obtain a single dharma. ‘Buddha’ means pureness of the mind whose radiance pervades the entire dharma realm. ‘Sat for ten kalpas in a place of practice’ refers to [the practice of] the ten pāramitās. ‘The buddhadharma did not manifest’ means that buddha is in essence birthless and dharma (dharmas) in essence unextinguished. Why should it manifest itself! ‘He did not attain the buddha-way’: a buddha can’t become a buddha again.

“A man of old said, ‘Buddha is always present in the world, but is not stained by worldly dharmas.’ Followers of the Way, if you want to become a buddha, don’t go along with the ten thousand things.

When mind arises, all kinds of dharmas arise;

When mind is extinguished, all kinds of dharmas are extinguished.

When mind does not arise,

The ten thousand dharmas have no fault.

Neither in this world nor beyond this world is there any buddha or dharma; they neither reveal themselves nor are they ever lost. Even if such things existed, they would only be words and writings for placating little children, expedient remedies for illnesses, displays of names and phrases. Moreover, names and phrases are not of themselves names and phrases; it is you, who right now radiantly and vividly perceive, know, and clearly illumine [everything]—you it is who affix all names and phrases.

“Virtuous monks, by creating the karma of the five heinous crimes, you attain emancipation.”

22问、如何是五无间业。师云、杀父害母、出佛身血、破和合僧、焚烧经像等、此是五无间业。云、如何是父。师云、无明是父。尔一念心、求起灭处不得、如响应空、随处无事、名为杀父。云、如何是母。师云、贪爱为母。尔一念心、入欲界中、求其贪爱、唯见诸法空相、处处无着、名为害母。云、如何是出佛身血。师云、尔向淸净法界中、无一念心生解、便处处黑暗、是出佛身血。云、如何是破和合僧。师云、尔一念心、正达烦恼结使、如空无所依、是破和合僧。云、如何是焚烧经像。师云、见因缘空、心空、法空、一念决定断、迥然无事、便是焚烧经像。大德、若如是达得、免被他凡圣名碍。尔一念心、祇向空拳指上生寔解、根境法中虚捏怪。自轻而退屈言、我是凡夫、他是圣人。秃屡生、有甚死急、披他师子皮、却作野干鸣。大丈夫汉、不作丈夫气息、自家屋里物不肯信、祇么向外觅、上他古人闲名句、倚阴博阳、不能特达。逢境便缘、逢尘便执、触处惑起、自无准定。道流、莫取山僧说处。何故。说无凭据、一期间图画虚空、如彩画像等喩。道流、莫将佛为究竟。我见犹如厕孔、菩萨罗汉、尽是枷锁、缚人底物。所以文殊仗剑、杀于瞿昙、鸯掘持刀、害于释氏。道流、无佛可得。乃至三乘五性、圆顿敎迹、皆是一期药病相治、并无实法。设有、皆是相似、表显路布、文字差排、且如是说。道流、有一般秃子、便向里许着功、拟求出世之法。错了也。若人求佛、是人失佛。若人求道、是人失道。若人求祖、是人失祖。大德、莫错。我且不取尔解经论、我亦不取尔国王大臣、我亦不取尔辩似悬河、我亦不取尔聪明智慧、唯要尔眞正见解。道流、设解得百本经论、不如一个无事底阿师。尔解得、即轻蔑他人。胜负修罗、人我无明、长地狱业。如善星比丘、解十二分敎、生身陷地狱、大地不容。不如无事休歇去。饥来吃饭、睡来合眼。愚人笑我、智乃知焉。道流、莫向文字中求。心动疲劳、吸冷气无益。不如一念缘起无生、超出三乘权学菩萨。大德、莫因循过日。山僧往日、未有见处时、黑漫漫地。光阴不可空过、腹热心忙、奔波访道。后还得力、始到今日、共道流如是话度。劝诸道流、莫为衣食。看世界易过、善知识难遇。如优昙花时一现耳。尔诸方闻道有个临济老汉、出来便拟问难、敎语不得。被山僧全体作用、学人空开得眼、口总动不得。懵然不知以何答我。我向伊道、龙象蹴踏、非驴所堪。尔诸处祇指胸点肋、道我解禅解道、三个两个、到这里不奈何。咄哉、尔将这个身心、到处簸两片皮、诳謼闾阎。吃铁棒有日在。非出家儿、尽向阿修罗界摄。夫如至理之道、非诤论而求激扬、铿锵以摧外道。至于佛祖相承、更无别意。设有言敎、落在化仪三乘五性、人天因果。如圆顿之敎、又且不然。童子善财、皆不求过。大德、莫错用心。如大海不停死尸。祇么担却、拟天下走。自起见障、以碍于心。日上无云、丽天普照。眼中无翳、空里无花。道流、尔欲得如法、但莫生疑。展则弥纶法界、收则丝发不立。历历孤明、未曾欠少。眼不见、耳不闻、唤作什么物。古人云、说似一物则不中。尔但自家看。更有什么。说亦无尽、各自着力。珍重。

Someone asked, “What is the karma of the five heinous crimes?”

The master said, “Killing the father, slaying the mother, shedding the blood of a buddha, destroying the harmony of the sangha, and burning the scriptures and images—this is the karma of the five heinous crimes.”

“What is meant by ‘father’?”

The master said, “Avidyā is the father. When the place of arising or extinguishing of a single thought in your mind is not to be found, as with a sound reverberating throughout space, and there is nothing anywhere for you to do—this is called ‘killing the father’.”

“What is meant by ‘mother’?”

The master said, “Covetousness is the mother. When a single thought in your mind enters the world of desire and seeks covetousness, but sees that all dharmas are only empty forms, and [thus] has no attachment anywhere—this is called ‘slaying the mother’.”

“What is meant by ‘shedding the blood of a buddha’?”

The master said, “When in the midst of the pure dharma realm you haven’t in your mind a single reasoning thought, and [thus] pitch blackness pervades everywhere—this is called ‘shedding the blood of a buddha’.”

“What is meant by ‘destroying the harmony of the sangha’?”

The master said, “When a single thought in your mind truly realizes that the bonds and enticements of the passions are like space with nothing upon which to depend—this is called ‘destroying the harmony of the sangha’.”

“What is meant by ‘burning the scriptures and images’?”

The master said, “When you see that causal relations are empty, that mind is empty, and that dharmas are empty, and [thus] your single thought is decisively cut off and, transcendent, you’ve nothing to do—this is called ‘burning the scriptures and images.’

“Virtuous monks, reach such understanding as this, and you’ll be free from the hindrances of names [like] ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’.

“Yet a single thought in your mind is doing nothing but Conceiving an empty fist or a [pointing] finger to be real; Senselessly conjuring up apparitions from among the dharmas of the sense-fields.

You belittle yourselves and modestly withdraw, saying, ‘We are but commoners; he is a sage.’ Bald idiots! What’s the frantic hurry to wrap yourselves in lions’ skins while you’re yapping like jackals!

“Resolute fellows [though you are], you do not draw the breath of the resolute. Unwilling to believe in what you have in your own house, you do nothing but seek outside, go clambering after the worthless sayings of the men of old, rely upon yin and depend upon yang and are unable to achieve [by yourselves]. On meeting [outer] circumstances, you establish relationship with them; on meeting [sense-]dusts you cling to them; wherever you are doubts arise, and you yourselves have no standard of judgment.

“Followers of the Way, don’t accept what I state. Why? Statements have no proof. They are pictures temporarily drawn in the empty sky, as in the metaphor of the painted figures.

“Followers of the Way, don’t take the Buddha to be the ultimate. As I see it, he is just like a privy hole. Both bodhisattvahood and arhatship are cangues and chains that bind one. This is why Manjuśrī tried to kill Gautama with his sword, and why Aṅgulimāla attempted to slay Śākyamuni with his dagger.

“Followers of the Way, there is no buddha to be obtained. Even the doctrines [including those] of the Three Vehicles, the five natures, and complete and immediate enlightenment—all these are but provisional medicines for the treatment of symptoms. In no sense do any real dharmas exist. Even if they were to exist, they would all be nothing but imitations, publicly displayed proclamations, arrangements of letters stated that way just for the time being.

“Followers of the Way, there’re a bunch of shavepates who try to seek a transcendental dharma by directing their efforts inward. A great mistake! If you seek buddha you lose buddha, if you seek the Way you lose the Way, if you seek the patriarchs you lose the patriarchs.

“Virtuous monks, make no mistake. I don’t care whether you understand the sutras and śāstras, whether you’re a king or a high minister, whether you’re as eloquent as a rushing torrent, or whether you’re clever or wise. I only want you to have true insight.

“Followers of the Way, even if you should master a hundred sutras and śāstras, you’re not as good as a teacher with nothing to do. If you do master them, you’ll regard others with contempt. Asura-like conflict and egotistical ignorance increase the karma that leads to hell. Such was the case of Sunakṣātra bhikku—though he understood the twelve divisions of the teachings, he fell alive into hell. The great earth had no place for him. It’s better to do nothing and take it easy.

When hunger comes I eat my rice;

When sleep comes I close my eyes.

Fools laugh at me, but

The wise man understands.

“Followers of the Way, don’t seek within words, for when the mind is stirred you become wearied, and there’s no benefit in gulping icy air. It’s better, by the single thought that causal relations are [fundamentally] birthless, to surpass the bodhisattvas who depend upon the provisional teaching of the Three Vehicles.

“Virtuous monks, don’t spend your days drifting along. In the past when I had as yet no understanding, all about me was utter darkness. But I wasn’t one to waste time, so with a burning belly and a turbulent mind, I ran around inquiring about the Way. Later, however, I got some help and finally today I can talk to you like this. I advise all you followers of the Way not to live for food and clothes. Look! The world passes swiftly away, and meeting a good teacher is as rare as the flowering of the udumbara tree.

“Hearing everywhere of old man Linji, you come here intending to bait me with difficult questions and make it impossible for me to answer. Faced with a demonstration of the activity of my whole body, you students just stare blankly and can’t move your mouths at all; you’re at such a loss you don’t know how to answer. I tell you, ‘Asses can’t bear being trampled by a dragon-elephant.’

“You go around everywhere thumping your chests and whacking your ribs, saying, ‘I understand Chan! I understand the Way!’ But let two or three of you come here and you can’t do a thing. Bah! Carrying that body and mind of yours, you go around everywhere flapping your lips like winnowing fans and deceiving villagers. The day will come when you’ll be flogged with iron rods. You’re not [true] renouncers of home. You’ll all be herded together in the realm of the asuras.

“As for the Way of ultimate truth, it is not something that seeks to arouse enthusiasm through arguments and disputes, nor that uses resounding oratory to refute heretics. As for the transmission of the buddhas and the patriarchs, it has no special purpose. Even though there are verbal teachings, they all fall into [the category of] such formulas for salvation as the Three Vehicles, the five natures, and the cause-and-effect that leads to [rebirth as]men or gods. But in the case of the teaching of the complete and immediate enlightenment this isn’t so; Sudhana did not go around seeking any of these.

“Virtuous monks, don’t use your minds mistakenly. The great sea does not detain dead bodies, but all you do is rush about the world carrying them on your shoulders. You yourselves raise the obstructions that impede your minds. When the sun above has no clouds, the bright heavens shine everywhere. When there is no cataract on the eye, there are no [imaginary] flowers in the sky.

“Followers of the Way, if you wish to be dharma as is, just have no doubts.‘Spread out, it fills the entire dharma realm; gathered in, the smallest hair cannot stand upon it.’ Distinctly and radiantly shining alone, it has never lacked anything. No eye can see it, no ear can hear it—then by what name can it be called? A man of old said, ‘To speak about a thing is to miss the mark.’

“Just see for yourselves—what is there? I can keep on talking forever. Each one of you must strive individually. Take care of yourselves.”

勘辨Critical Examinations

01黄檗、因入厨次、问饭头、作什么。饭头云、拣众僧米。黄檗云、一日吃多少。饭头云、二石五。黄檗云、莫太多么。饭头云、犹恐少在。黄檗便打。饭头却举似师。师云、我为汝勘这老汉。纔到侍立次、黄檗举前话。师云、饭头不会、请和尚代一转语。师便问、莫太多么。黄檗云、何不道、来日更吃一顿。师云、说什么来日、即今便吃。道了便掌。黄檗云、这风颠汉、又来这里捋虎须。师便喝出去。后沩山问仰山、此二尊宿、意作么生。仰山云、和尚作么生。沩山云、养子方知父慈。仰山云、不然。沩山云、子又作么生。仰山云、大似勾贼破家。

One day when Huangbo entered the kitchen he asked the head rice-cook,“What are you doing?”

The cook said, “I’m picking over the rice for the monks.”

“How much do they eat in a day?” asked Huangbo.

“Two and a half shi,” said the cook.

“Isn’t that too much?” asked Huangbo.

“I’m afraid it isn’t enough,” replied the cook.

Huangbo struck him. Later the cook mentioned this to Linji. Linji said,“I’ll test the old fellow for you.” As soon as Linji came to attend Huangbo, Huangbo told him the story.

“The cook didn’t understand—Venerable Priest, kindly give a turningword in place of the cook,” said Linji, who then asked, “Isn’t that too much?”

Huangbo said, “Well, why not say, ‘We’ll eat a meal again tomorrow!’”

“Why talk about tomorrow—eat it right now!” said Linji, slapping Huangbo in the face.

“This lunatic has come here again to pull the tiger’s whiskers,” said Huangbo. Linji shouted and went out.

Later, Guishan asked Yangshan, “What did these two worthies have in mind?”

“What do you think, Venerable Priest?” asked Yangshan.

“Only when you have a child do you understand fatherly love,” Guishan answered.

“Not at all!” said Yangshan.

“Then what do you think?” asked Guishan.

“It’s more like, ‘To bring in a thief and ruin the house’,” replied Yangshan.

02师问僧、什么处来。僧便喝。师便揖坐。僧拟议。师便打。师见僧来、便竖起拂子。僧礼拜。师便打。又见僧来、亦竖起拂子。僧不顾。师亦打。

The master asked a monk, “Where do you come from?” The monk shouted. The master saluted him and motioned him to sit down. The monk hesitated. The master hit him. Seeing another monk coming, the master raised his whisk. The monk bowed low. The master hit him. Seeing still another monk coming, the master again raised his whisk. The monk paid no attention. The master hit him, too.

03师、一日同普化、赴施主家斋次、师问、毛吞巨海、芥纳须弥。为是神通妙用、本体如然。普化踏倒饭床。师云、太麁生。普化云、这里是什么所在、说麁说细。师来日、又同普化赴斋。问、今日供养、何似昨日。普化依前踏倒饭床。师云、得即得、太麁生。普化云、瞎汉、佛法说什么麁细。师乃吐舌。

One day when the master and Puhua were attending a dinner at a patron’s house, the master asked, “‘A hair swallows up the great sea and a mustard seed contains Mount Sumeru.’ Is this the marvelous activity of supernatural power or is it original substance as it is?” Puhua kicked over the dinner table.“How coarse!” exclaimed the master.

“What place do you think this is—talking about coarse and fine!” said Puhua.

The next day the master and Puhua again attended a dinner. The master asked, “How does today’s feast compare with yesterday’s?” Puhua kicked over the dinner table as before. “Good enough,” said the master, “but how coarse!”

“Blind man!” said Puhua. “What’s buddhadharma got to do with coarse and fine?”

The master stuck out his tongue.

04师一日、与河阳木塔长老、同在僧堂地炉内坐。因说、普化每日在街市、掣风掣颠。知他是凡是圣。言犹未了、普化入来。师便问、汝是凡是圣。普化云、汝且道、我是凡是圣。师便喝。普化以手指云、河阳新妇子、木塔老婆禅。临济小厮儿、却具一只眼。师云、这贼。普化云贼贼、便出去。

One day when the master and the venerable old priests Heyang and Muta were sitting together around the fire-pit in the Monks’ Hall, the master said, “Every day Puhua goes through the streets acting like a lunatic. Who knows whether he’s an ordinary person or a sage?” Before he had finished speaking Puhua came in. “Are you a commoner or a sage?” the master asked.

“Now, you tell me whether I’m a commoner or a sage,” answered Puhua. The master shouted. Pointing his finger at them, Puhua said, “Heyang is a new bride, Muta is a Chan granny, and Linji is a young menial, but he has the eye.”

“You thief!”cried the master.

“Thief, thief!”cried Puhua, and went out.

 

05一日、普化在僧堂前、吃生菜。师见云、大似一头驴。普化便作驴鸣。师云、这贼。普化云贼贼、便出去。

One day Puhua was eating raw vegetables in front of the Monks’ Hall. The master saw him and said, “Just like an ass!”

“Heehaw, heehaw!” brayed Puhua.

“You thief!” said the master.

“Thief, thief!” cried Puhua, and went off .

06因普化、常于街市摇铃云、明头来、明头打、暗头来、暗头打、四方八面来、旋风打、虚空来、连架打。师令侍者去、纔见如是道、便把住云、总不与么来时如何。普化托开云、来日大悲院里有斋。侍者回、举似师。师云、我从来疑着这汉。

Puhua was always going around the streets ringing a little bell and calling out:

Coming as brightness, I hit the brightness;

Coming as darkness, I hit the darkness;

Coming from the four quarters and eight directions, I hit like a whirlwind;

Coming from empty sky, I lash like a fl ail.

The master told his attendant to go and, the moment he heard Puhua say these words, to grab him and ask, “If coming is not at all thus, what then?”

[The attendant went and did so.]

Puhua pushed him away, saying, “There’ll be a feast tomorrow at Dabei yuan.”

The attendant returned and told this to the master. The master said, “I’ve always held wonder for that fellow.”

07有一老宿参师、未曾人事、便问、礼拜即是、不礼拜即是。师便喝。老宿便礼拜。师云、好个草贼。老宿云贼贼、便出去。师云、莫道无事好。首座侍立次、师云、还有过也无。首座云、有。师云、宾家有过、主家有过。首座云、二倶有过。师云、过在什么处。首座便出去。师云、莫道无事好。后有僧举似南泉。南泉云、官马相踏。

An old worthy came to see the master. Before presenting the customary gift , he asked, “Is it proper to bow, or is it proper not to bow?”

The master shouted. The old worthy bowed low. “A fine thief in the grass you are!” said the master.

“Thief, thief!” cried the old worthy and started to go out.

The master said, “Better not think you can get away with that.” [Later] when the head monk was attending the master, the master asked, “Was there any fault?”

The head monk said, “There was.”

“Whose fault was it, the guest’s or the host’s?” asked the master.

“Both were at fault,” answered the head monk.

“Where was the fault?” asked the master. The head monk started to go out. The master said,“Better not think you can get away with that.”

Later a monk told the story to Nanquan. Nanquan said, “Fine horses trampling one another.”

08师因入军营赴斋、门首见员僚。师指露柱问、是凡是圣。员僚无语。师打露柱云、直饶道得、也祇是个木橛。便入去。

One day the master entered an army camp to attend a feast. At the gate he saw a staff officer. Pointing to a pillar, he asked, “Is this secular or sacred?” The officer had no reply. Striking the pillar, the master said, “Even if you could speak, this is still only a wooden post.” Then he went in.

09师问院主、什么处来。主云、州中粜黄米去来。师云、粜得尽么。主云、粜得尽。师以杖面前画一画云、还粜得这个么。主便喝。师便打。典座至。师举前语。典座云、院主不会和尚意。师云、尔作么生。典座便礼拜。师亦打。

The master said to the steward of the temple, “Where have you come from?”

“I’ve been to the provincial capital to sell the millet,” answered the steward.

“Did you sell all of it?” asked the master.

“Yes, I sold all of it,” replied the steward.

The master drew a line in front of him with his staff and said, “But can you sell this?” The steward gave a shout. The mas, ter hit him. The chief cook came in. The master told him about the previous conversation.

The chief cook said, “The steward didn’t understand you.”

“How about you?” asked the master. The chief cook bowed low. The master hit him, too.

10有座主来相看次、师问、座主讲何经说。主云、某甲荒虚、粗习百法论。师云、有一人、于三乘十二分敎明得。有一人、于三乘十二分敎明不得。是同是别。主云、明得即同、明不得即别。乐普为侍者、在师后立云、座主、这里是什么所在、说同说别。师回首问侍者、汝又作么生。侍者便喝。师送座主回来、遂问侍者、适来是汝喝老僧。侍者云、是。师便打。

When a certain lecture master came to have an interview with Linji, the master said to him, “What sutras and śāstras do you expound?”

“Insofar as my miserable abilities allow, I have made a cursory study of the Baifa lun,” replied the lecture master.

The master said, “Suppose there was a man who had attained comprehension of the Three Vehicles’ twelve divisions of the teachings, and there was another man who had not comprehended it, would there be any difference or not?”

“For the one who had attained comprehension, it would be the same; for the one who had not attained comprehension, it would be different,” replied the lecture master.

Lepu, who was standing behind the master attending him, said, “Lecture master, where do you think you are, talking about ‘same’ and ‘different’!”

Turning his head, the master asked Lepu, “Well, how about you?”

The attendant gave a shout. When the master returned from seeing the lecture master off, he said to the attendant, “Was it to me that you shouted just now?”

“Yes,” said the attendant.

The master hit him.

11师闻第二代德山垂示云、道得也三十棒、道不得也三十棒、师令乐普去问、道得为什么也三十棒、待伊打汝、接住棒送一送、看他作么生。普到彼、如敎而问。德山便打。普接住送一送。德山便归方丈。普回举似师。师云、我从来疑着这汉。虽然如是、汝还见德山么。普拟议。师便打。

The master heard that Deshan of the second generation said, “Thirty blows if you can speak; thirty blows if you can’t.” The master told Lepu to go and ask Deshan, “‘Why thirty blows to one who can speak?’ Wait until he hits at you, then grab his stick and give him a jab. See what he does then.”

When Lepu reached Deshan’s place he questioned him as instructed. Deshan hit at him. Lepu seized the stick and gave Deshan a jab with it.Deshan went back to his quarters.

Lepu returned and told Linji what had taken place. “I’ve always held wonder for that fellow,” the master said. “Be that as it may, did you understand Deshan?” Lepu hesitated. The master hit him.

12王常侍、一日访师。同师于僧堂前看、乃问、这一堂僧、还看经么。师云、不看经。侍云、还学禅么。师云、不学禅。侍云、经又不看、禅又不学、毕竟作个什么。师云、总敎伊成佛作祖去。侍云、金屑虽贵、落眼成翳。又作么生。师云、将为尔是个俗汉。

One day the Councilor Wang visited the master. When he met the master in front of the Monks’ Hall, he asked, “Do the monks of this monastery read the sutras?”

“No, they don’t read sutras,” said the master.

“Then do they learn meditation?” asked the councilor.

“No, they don’t learn meditation,” answered the master.

“If they neither read sutras nor learn meditation, what in the world are they doing?” asked the councilor.

“All I do is make them become buddhas and patriarchs,” said the master.

The councilor said, “‘Though gold dust is valuable, in the eyes it causes cataracts.’”

“I always used to think you were just a common fellow,” said the master.

13师问杏山、如何是露地白牛。山云、吽吽。师云、唖那。山云、长老作么生。师云、这畜生。

The master asked Xingshan, “What is the white ox on the bare ground?”

“Moo, moo!” said Xingshan.

“A mute, eh?” said the master.

“Venerable sir, how about you?” said Xingshan.

“You beast!” said the master.

14师问乐普云、从上来、一人行棒、一人行喝。阿那个亲。普云、总不亲。师云、亲处作么生。普便喝。师乃打。

The master asked Lepu, “Up to now it has been the custom for some people to use the stick and others to give a shout. Which comes closer?”

“Neither,” replied Lepu.

“What does come close?” asked the master.

Lepu shouted. The master hit him.

15师见僧来、展开两手。僧无语。师云、会么。云、不会。师云、浑仑擘不开、与尔两文钱。

The master, seeing a monk coming, spread his arms out wide. The monk said nothing. “Do you understand?” the master asked.

“No, I don’t,” replied the monk.

“It’s impossible to break open Hunlun,” said the master. “I’ll give you a

couple of coins.”

16大觉到参。师举起拂子。大觉敷坐具。师掷下拂子。大觉收坐具、入僧堂。众僧云、这僧莫是和尚亲故、不礼拜、又不吃棒。师闻、令唤觉。觉出。师云、大众道、汝未参长老。觉云不审、便自归众。

Dajue came to see Linji. The master raised his whisk. Dajue spread his sitting cloth. The master threw down the whisk. Dajue folded up the cloth and went into the Monks’ Hall.

“That monk must be related to the Venerable Priest. He didn’t bow and didn’t get hit,” said the monks.

Hearing of this, the master sent for Dajue. When Dajue came out, the master said, “The monks are saying that you haven’t yet paid your respects to the master.”

“How are you?” said Dajue and rejoined the monks.

17赵州行脚时参师。遇师洗脚次、州便问、如何是祖师西来意。师云、恰値老僧洗脚。州近前、作听势。师云、更要第二杓恶水溌在。州便下去。

Zhaozhou while on a pilgrimage came to see Linji. The master happened to be washing his feet when they met.

Zhaozhou asked, “What is the purpose of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?”

“I just happen to be washing my feet,” replied the master.

Zhaozhou came closer and, cocking his ear, gave the appearance of listening.

The master said, “I’m going to pour out a second dipper of dirty water.”

Zhaozhou departed.

18有定上座、到参问、如何是佛法大意。师下绳床、擒住与一掌、便托开。定伫立。傍僧云、定上座、何不礼拜。定方礼拜、忽然大悟。

When Elder Ding came to see Linji he asked, “What is the cardinal principle of the buddhadharma?”

The master got down from his rope-bottomed chair. Seizing Ding, he gave him a slap and pushed him away. Ding stood still.

A monk standing by said, “Elder Ding, why don’t you bow?” Just as he bowed, Ding attained great enlightenment.

19麻谷到参。敷坐具问、十二面观音、阿那面正。师下绳床、一手收坐具、一手搊麻谷云、十二面观音、向什么处去也。麻谷转身、拟坐绳床。师拈拄杖打。麻谷接却、相捉入方丈。

Mayu came to see Linji. Spreading his mat, he asked, “Which is the true face of the Twelve-faced Guanyin?”

Getting down from the rope-bottomed chair, the master seized the mat with one hand and with the other grabbed hold of Mayu. “Where has theTwelve-faced Guanyin gone?” he asked.

Mayu jerked himself free and tried to sit on the chair. The master picked up his stick and hit at him. Mayu grabbed the stick; holding it between them, they entered the master’s quarters.

 

20师问僧、有时一喝、如金刚王宝剑。有时一喝、如踞地金毛师子。有时一喝、如探竿影草。有时一喝、不作一喝用。汝作么生会。僧拟议。师便喝。

The master asked a monk, “Sometimes a shout is like the Diamond Sword of the Vajra King; sometimes a shout is like the golden-haired lion crouching on the ground; sometimes a shout is like a weed-tipped fishing pole; sometimes a shout doesn’t function as a shout. How do you understand this?”

The monk hesitated. The master gave a shout.

21师问一尼、善来恶来。尼便喝。师拈棒云、更道更道。尼又喝。师便打。

The master asked a nun, “Well-come or ill-come?” The nun shouted.

“Go on, go on, speak!” cried the master, taking up his stick.

Again the nun shouted. The master hit her.

22龙牙问、如何是祖师西来意。师云、与我过禅板来。牙便过禅板与师。师接得便打。牙云、打即任打、要且无祖师意。牙后到翠微问、如何是祖师西来意。微云、与我过蒲团来。牙便过蒲团与翠微。翠微接得便打。牙云、打即任打、要且无祖师意。牙住院后、有僧入室请教云、和尚行脚时、参二尊宿因缘、还肯他也无。牙云、肯即深肯、要且无祖师意。

Longya asked Linji, “What is the purpose of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?”

Linji said, “Hand me the backrest.” Longya handed the backrest to the master. The master took it and hit him with it.

Longya said, “It’s all right that you hit me, but there still isn’t any purpose in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.”

Later Longya went to see Cuiwei and asked him, “What is the purpose of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?”

Cuiwei said, “Hand me the rush mat.” Longya handed the mat to Cuiwei.

Cuiwei took it and hit him with it.

Longya said, “It’s all right that you hit me, but there still isn’t any purpose in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.”

After Longya had become the master of a temple, a monk entered his room to receive instruction. “I have heard,” the monk said, “that when you were on pilgrimage, Venerable Priest, you had the opportunity to interview two eminent elders. Did you acknowledge them?”

“I acknowledged them profoundly all right, but there still isn’t any purpose in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.”

23径山有五百众、少人参请。黄檗令师到径山。乃谓师曰、汝到彼作么生。师云、某甲到彼、自有方便。师到径山、装腰上法堂、见径山。径山方举头、师便喝。径山拟开口、师拂袖便行。寻有僧问径山、这僧适来有什么言句、便喝和尚。径山云、这僧从黄檗会里来。尔要知么、且问取他。径山五百众、太半分散。

Five hundred monks were assembled at the monastery at Mount Jing, but few asked the master for instruction. Huangbo ordered Linji to go to Mount Jing, then asked, “What will you do when you get there?”

“When I get there I’ll know what to do,” said Linji. Upon arriving at Mount Jing he went to the Dharma Hall, still in his traveling clothes, to see the master. As the master raised his head, Linji shouted, and when the master started to open his mouth, Linji swung his sleeves [as he turned] and left.

Shortly afterwards a monk asked the master, “What did you say just now that made that monk shout at you, Venerable Priest?”

The master replied, “That monk came from Huangbo’s assembly. If you want to know, go ask him.”

Of the five hundred monks at Mount Jing, the greater part drifted away.

24普化一日、于街市中、就人乞直裰。人皆与之。普化倶不要。师令院主买棺一具。普化归来。师云、我与汝做得个直裰了也。普化便自担去、绕街市叫云、临济与我做直裰了也。我往东门迁化去。市人竞随看之。普化云、我今日未、来日往南门迁化去。如是三日、人皆不信。至第四日、无人随看。独出城外、自入棺内、倩路行人钉之。实时传布。市人竞往开棺、乃见全身脱去。祇闻空中铃响、隐隐而去。

One day Puhua went about the streets asking people he met for a onepiece gown. They all offered him one, but Puhua declined them all.

Linji had the steward of the temple buy a coffin, and when Puhua came back the master said, “I’ve fixed up a one-piece gown for you.”

Puhua put the coffin on his shoulders and went around the streets calling out, “Linji fixed me up a one-piece gown. I’m going to the East Gate to depart this life.” All the townspeople scrambled after him to watch.

“No, not today,” said Puhua, “but tomorrow I’ll go to the South Gate to depart this life.”

After he had done the same thing for three days no one believed him anymore.

On the fourth day not a single person followed him to watch. He went outside the town walls all by himself, got into the coffin, and asked a passerby to nail it up. The news immediately got about. The townspeople all came scrambling; upon opening the coffin, they saw he had vanished, body and all.

Only the sound of his bell could be heard in the sky, receding away: tinkle...tinkle... tinkle....

行录Record of Pilgrimages

01师初在黄檗会下、行业纯一。首座乃叹曰、虽是后生、与众有异。遂问、上座在此、多少时。师云、三年。首座云、曾参问也无。师云、不曾参问。不知问个什么。首座云、汝何不去问堂头和尚、如何是佛法的的大意。师便去问。声未絶、黄檗便打。师下来。首座云、问话作么生。师云、某甲问声未絶、和尚便打。某甲不会。首座云、但更去问。师又去问。黄檗又打。如是三度发问、三度被打。师来白首座云、幸蒙慈悲、令某甲问讯和尚。三度发问、三度被打。自恨障缘不领深旨。今且辞去。首座云、汝若去时、须辞和尚去。师礼拜退。首座先到和尚处云、问话底后生、甚是如法。若来辞时、方便接他。向后穿凿成一株大树、与天下人作阴凉去在。师去辞黄檗。檗云、不得往别处去。汝向高安滩头大愚处去、必为汝说。师到大愚。大愚问、什么处来。师云、黄檗处来。大愚云、黄檗有何言句。师云、某甲三度问佛法的的大意、三度被打。不知某甲有过无过。大愚云、黄檗与么老婆、为汝得彻困。更来这里、问有过无过。师于言下大悟云、元来黄檗佛法无多子。大愚搊住云、这尿床鬼子、适来道有过无过、如今却道、黄檗佛法无多子。尔见个什么道理、速道速道。师于大愚胁下、筑三拳。大愚托开云、汝师黄檗、非于我事。师辞大愚、却回黄檗。黄檗见来便问、这汉来来去去、有什么了期。师云、祇为老婆心切。便人事了侍立。黄檗问、什么处去来。师云、昨奉慈旨、令参大愚去来。黄檗云、大愚有何言句。师遂举前话。黄檗云、作么生得这汉来、待痛与一顿。师云、说什么待来、即今便吃。随后便掌。黄檗云、这风颠汉、却来这里捋虎须。师便喝。黄檗云、侍者、引这风颠汉、参堂去。后、沩山举此话、问仰山、临济当时、得大愚力、得黄檗力。仰山云、非但骑虎头、亦解把虎尾。

When Linji was one of the assembly of monks under Huangbo, he was plain and direct in his behavior. The head monk praised him saying, “Though he’s a youngster, he’s different from the other monks.” So he asked, “Honorable monk, how long have you been here?”

“Three years,” replied Linji.

“Have you ever asked for instruction?”

“No, I’ve never asked for instruction. I don’t know what to ask,” replied

Linji.

“Why don’t you go ask the head priest of this temple just what the cardinal

principle of the buddhadharma is,” said the head monk.

Linji went and asked. Before he had finished speaking Huangbo hit him.

Linji came back. “How did your question go?” asked the head monk.

“Before I had finished speaking the master hit me. I don’t understand,”said Linji.

“Then go and ask him again,” said the head monk.

So Linji went back and asked, and again Huangbo hit him. Thus Linji asked the same question three times and was hit three times.

Linji came back and said to the head monk, “It was so kind of you to send me to question the master. Three times I asked him and three times I was hit by him. I regret that some obstruction caused by my own past karma prevents me from grasping his profound meaning. I’m going away for awhile.”

The head monk said, “If you are going away, you should go take your leave of the master.” Linji bowed low and withdrew.

The head monk went to the master’s quarters before Linji and said, “The young man who has been questioning you is a man of dharma. If he comes to take his leave, please handle him expediently. In the future, with training, he is sure to become a great tree which will provide cool shade for the people of the world.”

Linji came to take his leave. Huangbo said, “You mustn’t go anywhere else but to Dayu’s place by the river in Gao’an. He’s sure to explain things for you.”

Linji arrived at Dayu’s temple. Dayu said, “Where have you come from?”

“I have come from Huangbo’s place,” replied Linji.

“What did Huangbo have to say?” asked Dayu.

“Three times I asked him just what the cardinal principle of the bud-dhadharma is and three times he hit me. I don’t know whether I was at fault or not.”

“Huangbo is such a grandmother that he utterly exhausted himself with your troubles!” said Dayu. “And now you come here asking whether you were at fault or not!”

At these words Linji attained great enlightenment. “Ah, there isn’t so much to Huangbo’s buddhadharma!” he cried.

Dayu grabbed hold of Linji and said, “You bed-wetting little devil! You just asked whether you were at fault or not, and now you say, ‘There isn’t so much to Huangbo’s buddhadharma.’ What did you just see? Speak, speak!”

Linji jabbed Dayu in the side three times. Shoving him away, Dayu said, “You have Huangbo for a teacher. It’s not my business.”

Linji left Dayu and returned to Huangbo. Huangbo saw him coming and said, “What a fellow! Coming and going, coming and going—when will it end?”

“It’s all due to your grandmotherly kindness,” Linji said, and then presented the customary gift and stood waiting.

“Where have you been?” asked Huangbo.

“Recently you deigned to favor me by sending me to see Dayu,” said Linji.

“What did Dayu have to say?” asked Huangbo. Linji then related what had happened. Huangbo said, “How I’d like to catch that fellow and give him a good dose of the stick!”

“Why say you’d ‘like to’? Take it right now!” said Linji and immediately gave Huangbo a slap.

“You lunatic!” cried Huangbo. “Coming back here and pulling the tiger’s whiskers.” Linji gave a shout. “Attendant, get this lunatic out of here and take him to the Monks’ Hall,” said Huangbo.

Later Guishan, telling the story to Yangshan, asked,“On that occasion did Linji get help from Dayu, or Huangbo?”

“He not only rode on the tiger’s head but also seized its tail,” replied Yangshan.

02师栽松次、黄檗问、深山里栽许多作什么。师云、一与山门作境致、二与后人作标榜。道了、将镢头打地三下。黄檗云、虽然如是、子已吃吾三十棒了也。师又以镢头打地三下、作嘘嘘声。黄檗云、吾宗到汝、大兴于世。后沩山举此语、问仰山、黄檗当时、祇嘱临济一人、更有人在。仰山云、有。祇是年代深远、不欲举似和尚。沩山云、虽然如是、吾亦要知。汝但举看。仰山云、一人指南、呉越令行、遇大风即止。谶风穴和尚也。

When Linji was planting pine trees, Huangbo asked, “What’s the good of planting so many trees in the deep mountains?”

“First, I want to make a natural setting for the main gate. Second, I want to make a landmark for later generations,” said Linji, thumping the ground with his mattock three times.

“Be that as it may, you’ve already tasted thirty blows of my stick,” replied Huangbo.

Again Linji thumped the ground with his mattock three times and breathed out a great breath.

“Under you my line will flourish throughout the world,” said Huangbo.

Later Guishan related these words to Yangshan. “On that occasion did Huangbo put his trust only in Linji, or will there also be someone else?” he asked.

“There will be,” replied Yangshan. “But he’ll come so far in the future that I don’t want to tell you about him, Venerable Priest.”

“Be that as it may, I’d like to know. Come on, try and tell me,” said Guishan.

Yangshan said, “One man heading south: Wu and Yue well-governed.

When one meets the Great Wind he stops.” (Prophesying Venerable Fengxue)

03师侍立德山次、山云、今日困。师云、这老汉寐语作什么。山便打。师掀倒绳床。山便休。

When Linji was attending Deshan, Deshan said, “I’m tired today.”

“Old man,” said Linji, “what’s the good of talking in your sleep?”

Deshan hit him. Linji overturned the rope-bottomed chair. Deshan desisted.

04师普请锄地次、见黄檗来、拄镢而立。黄檗云、这汉困那。师云、镢也未举、困个什么。黄檗便打。师接住棒、一送送倒。黄檗唤维那、维那扶起我。维那近前扶云、和尚争容得这风颠汉无礼。黄檗纔起、便打维那。师镢地云、诸方火葬、我这里一时活埋。后沩山问仰山、黄檗打维那、意作么生。仰山云、正贼走却、逻踪人吃棒。

Once, during group work, Linji was hoeing the ground. Seeing Huangbo coming, he stopped and stood leaning on his mattock.

“Is this guy tired already?” said Huangbo.

“I haven’t even lifted my mattock yet. How could I be tired?” answered Linji.

Huangbo hit at him. Linji seized Huangbo’s stick, jabbed him with it, and knocked him down.

Huangbo called to the duty-monk, “Duty-monk! Help me up!”

The duty-monk came running and helped him up. “Venerable Priest, how can you let this lunatic get away with such rudeness?” he said.

Huangbo no sooner got to his feet than he hit the duty-monk.

Hoeing the ground, Linji said, “Everywhere else the dead are cremated, but here I immediately bury them alive.”

Later Guishan asked Yangshan, “What did Huangbo have in mind when he hit the duty-monk?”

“The real thief escapes, and his pursuer gets the stick,” answered Yangshan.

05师一日、在僧堂前坐。见黄檗来、便闭却目。黄檗乃作怖势、便归方丈。师随至方丈礼谢。首座在黄檗处侍立。黄檗云、此僧虽是后生、却知有此事。首座云、老和尚脚跟不点地、却证据个后生。黄檗自于口上打一掴。首座云、知即得。

One day Linji was sitting in front of the Monks’ Hall. Seeing Huangbo coming, he closed his eyes. Giving the appearance of being frightened, Huangbo returned to his quarters. Linji followed him there and bowed low.

The head monk was attending Huangbo. Huangbo said to him, “Though he’s a youngster, he knows about this matter.”

“Venerable Priest, your own feet aren’t on solid ground, yet you give recognition to this youngster,” said the head monk.

Huangbo gave himself a slap on the mouth.

“It’s all right as long as you know it,” said the head monk.

06师在堂中睡。黄檗下来见、以拄杖打板头一下。师举头、见是黄檗、却睡。黄檗又打板头一下、却往上间、见首座坐禅、乃云、下间后生却坐禅、汝这里妄想作什么。首座云、这老汉作什么。黄檗打板头一下、便出去。后、沩山问仰山、黄檗入僧堂、意作么生。仰山云、两彩一赛。

Linji was sleeping in the [Monks’] Hall. Huangbo came in, and, seeing him, struck the front plank [of the sitting platform] once with his staff. Linji lifted his head, and seeing it was Huangbo, went back to sleep.

Huangbo again struck the front plank, and went to the upper part of the hall. Seeing the head monk sitting in meditation, he said, “That youngster down in the lower part of the hall is sitting in meditation; what’re you doing here, cooking up wild fancies?”

“What’s this old man up to?” said the head monk.

Huangbo struck the front plank once more and left.

Later Guishan asked Yangshan, “What do you make of Huangbo in the Monks’ Hall?”

“Two wins, one match,” replied Yangshan.

07一日普请次、师在后行。黄檗回头、见师空手、乃问、镢头在什么处。师云、有一人将去了也。黄檗云、近前来、共汝商量个事。师便近前。黄檗竖起镢头云、祇这个、天下人拈掇不起。师就手掣得、竖起云、为什么却在某甲手里。黄檗云、今日大有人普请。便归院。后沩山问仰山、镢头在黄檗手里、为什么却被临济夺却。仰山云、贼是小人、智过君子。

One day during the group work, Linji was going along behind the others.

Huangbo looked around, and, seeing that Linji was empty-handed, asked,“Where is your mattock?”

“Somebody took it away from me,” said Linji.

“Come here,” said Huangbo. “I want to talk the matter over with you.”

Linji stepped forward. Huangbo lifted up his mattock and said, “Just this people on the earth cannot hold up.”

Linji snatched the mattock from Huangbo’s grasp and held it high. “Then why is this in my hand now?” he asked.

“Today there’s a man who really is working,” said Huangbo, and returned to the temple.

Sometime later Guishan asked Yangshan, “The mattock was in Huangbo’s hand. How could it have been taken away by Linji?”

“The thief is an inferior fellow, but in cleverness he surpasses his superiors,”answered Yangshan.

08师为黄檗驰书去沩山。时仰山作知客。接得书、便问、这个是黄檗底、那个是专使底。师便掌。仰山约住云、老兄知是般事、便休。同去见沩山。沩山便问、黄檗师兄多少众。师云、七百众。沩山云、什么人为导首。师云、适来已达书了也。师却问沩山、和尚此间多少众。沩山云、一千五百众。师云、太多生。沩山云、黄檗师兄亦不少。师辞沩山。仰山送出云、汝向后北去、有个住处。师云、岂有与么事。仰山云、但去、已后有一人佐辅老兄在。此人祇是有头无尾、有始无终。师后到镇州、普化已在彼中。师出世、普化佐赞于师。师住未久、普化全身脱去。

Linji went to Guishan bearing a letter from Huangbo. Yangshan, who at that time was in charge of receiving guests, took the letter and said, “This is Huangbo’s; where’s the messenger’s?”

Linji slapped at him.

Yangshan seized Linji and said, “Brother, since you know this much, that’s enough.” Then they went together to see Guishan.

Guishan asked, “How many students has my brother Huangbo?”

“Seven hundred,” answered Linji.

“Who is their leader?”asked Guishan.

“He has just delivered a letter to you,” replied Linji. Then Linji, in his turn, asked Guishan, “Venerable Priest, how many students do you have here?”

“Fifteen hundred,” answered Guishan.

“That’s a lot!”said Linji.

“My brother Huangbo also has no small number,” said Guishan.

Linji took his leave of Guishan. As Yangshan was seeing him off, he said “Later on you’ll go to the north and there’ll be a place for you to stay.”

“How can that be?” said Linji.

“Just go,” replied Yangshan. “Afterwards there’ll be a man to help you, my venerable brother. He’ll have a head but no tail, a beginning but no end.”

Later Linji arrived in Zhenzhou; Puhua was already there. When Linji became head of a temple, Puhua was of help to him. But the master had not been there very long when Puhua just vanished, body and all.

09师因半夏上黄檗、见和尚看经。师云、我将谓是个人、元来是揞黑豆老和尚。住数日、乃辞去。黄檗云、汝破夏来、不终夏去。师云、某甲暂来礼拜和尚。黄檗遂打、趁令去。师行数里、疑此事、却回终夏。师一日、辞黄檗。檗问、什么处去。师云、不是河南、便归河北。黄檗便打。师约住与一掌。黄檗大笑、乃唤侍者、将百丈先师禅板机案来。师云、侍者、将火来。黄檗云、虽然如是、汝但将去。已后坐却天下人舌头去在。后沩山问仰山、临济莫辜负他黄檗也无。仰山云、不然。沩山云、子又作么生。仰山云、知恩方解报恩。沩山云、从上古人、还有相似底也无。仰山云、有。祇是年代深远、不欲举似和尚。沩山云、虽然如是、吾亦要知。子但举看。仰山云、祇如楞严会上、阿难讃佛云、将此深心奉尘刹、是则名为报佛恩。岂不是报恩之事。沩山云、如是如是。见与师齐、减师半德。见过于师、方堪传授。

Linji came up to Mount Huangbo in the middle of the summer session.

Seeing Huangbo reading a sutra, he said, “I always used to think you were a man. Now I see you’re just a black-bean-eating old priest!”

Linji stayed a few days and then tried to take his leave. Huangbo said, “You came in violation of the rules of the summer session, and now you’re leaving before it’s over.”

“I came for a little while to pay my respects to you, Venerable Priest,” said Linji.

Huangbo hit him and chased him out. After he had gone a few li, Linji, thinking the matter over, returned to the temple and finished the summer session.

One day he took his leave of Huangbo. Huangbo asked, “Where are you going?”

“If I don’t go to Henan, I’ll return to Hebei,” replied Linji.

Huangbo hit at him. Linji seized Huangbo and gave him a slap. Laughing heartily, Huangbo called to his attendant, “Bring me the backrest and armrest that belonged to my late teacher Baizhang.”

“Attendant, bring me some fire!”cried Linji.

“Be that as it may, just take them with you. In the future you’ll cut off the tongues of every man on earth,” said Huangbo.

Later, Guishan asked Yangshan, “Didn’t Linji abuse Huangbo’s trust?”

“Not at all!”said Yangshan.

“Well then, what do you think?”

“Only one who recognizes beneficence can requite it,” said Yangshan.

“From ancient times to the present, has there been anyone like him?”asked Guishan.

“Yes there has, but he lived so long ago I don’t want to tell you about him, Venerable Priest,” replied Yangshan.

“Be that as it may, I’d like to know. Come on, try and tell me,” said Guishan.

Yangshan said, “At the Śūraṅgama assembly, Ānanda, in praising the Buddha, said, ‘With my whole heart I shall serve all beings throughout the myriad worlds. This is called “requiting the Buddha’s beneficence”.’ Isn’t this [also] an example of requiting beneficence?”

“Just so, just so!” replied Guishan. “One whose insight is the same as his teacher’s lacks half of his teacher’s power. Only one whose insight surpasses his teacher’s is worthy to be his heir.”

10师到达磨塔头。塔主云、长老、先礼佛、先礼祖。师云、佛祖倶不礼。塔主云、佛祖与长老是什么寃家。师便拂袖而出。

Linji arrived at Bodhidharma’s memorial tower. The master of the tower said to him, “Venerable sir, will you pay homage first to the Buddha or to Bodhidharma?”

“I don’t pay homage to either the Buddha or to Bodhidharma,” saidLinji.

“Venerable sir, why are the Buddha and Bodhidharma your enemies?” asked the master of the tower.

Linji swung his sleeves and left.

11师行脚时、到龙光。光上堂。师出问云、不展锋铓、如何得胜。光据坐。师云、大善知识、岂无方便。光瞪目云、嗄。师以手指云、这老汉、今日败阙也。

Linji, while on a pilgrimage, arrived at the place of Longguang. Longguang had already ascended the high seat [to give a discourse] when Linji advanced and asked, “Without unsheathing the point of a weapon, how can one win a battle?”

Longguang straightened up in his seat.

“Has the venerable teacher no expedient [means]?” asked Linji.

Staring fixedly at Linji, Longguang exhaled loudly.

Linji pointed his finger at Longguang and said, “Today you lose, old man.”

12到三峯。平和尚问曰、什么处来。师云、黄檗来。平云、黄檗有何言句。师云、金牛昨夜遭涂炭、直至如今不见踪。平云、金风吹玉管、那个是知音。师云、直透万重关、不住淸霄内。平云、子这一问太高生。师云、龙生金凤子、冲破碧琉璃。平云、且坐吃茶。又问、近离甚处。师云、龙光。平云、龙光近日如何。师便出去。

Linji arrived at Sanfeng. Venerable Ping asked him, “Where did you come from?”

“I came from Huangbo,” replied Linji.

“What does Huangbo have to say?” asked Ping.

Linji said:

The golden ox met with disaster last night,

And no one has seen a trace of it since.

Ping said:

The autumn wind blows a flute of jade;

Who is he who knows the tune?

Linji said:

He goes right through the manifold barrier,

And stays not even within the clear sky.

“Your question is much too lofty,” said Ping.

Linji said:

The dragon’s given birth to a golden phoenix

Who breaks through the azure dome of heaven.

“Do sit down and have some tea,” said Ping. Then he asked, “Where have you been recently?”

“At Longguang,” said Linji.

“How is Longguang these days?” asked Ping.

At that Linji went off.

13到大慈。慈在方丈内坐。师问、端居丈室时如何。慈云、寒松一色千年别、野老拈花万国春。师云、今古永超圆智体、三山锁断万重关。慈便喝。师亦喝。慈云、作么。师拂袖便出。

Linji arrived at the place of Daci. Daci was sitting in his quarters. Linji asked, “How is it with you when you’re sitting erect in your quarters?” Daci replied:

The green of the winter pines endures a thousand years.

An aged rustic picks a flower and in myriad lands it’s spring.

Linji answered:

Forever transcending past and present is the body of perfect wisdom.

Blocking the way to the Three Mountains there is a manifold barrier.

Daci gave a shout. Linji also shouted.

“Well?”said Daci. Linji swung his sleeves and left.

14到襄州华严。严倚拄杖、作睡势。师云、老和尚瞌睡作么。严云、作家禅客、宛尔不同。师云、侍者、点茶来、与和尚吃。严乃唤维那、第三位安排这上座。

Linji arrived at the temple of Huayan in Xiangzhou. Huayan was leaning on his staff, giving the appearance of being asleep. Linji said, “Venerable Priest, what’s the good of dozing?”

“A true Chan adept is clearly different!”said Huayan.

“Attendant, make some tea and serve it to the Venerable Priest to drink,”said Linji. Huayan called the duty-monk and said, “Place this honorable monk in the third seat.”

15到翠峯。峯问、甚处来。师云、黄檗来。峯云、黄檗有何言句、指示于人。师云、黄檗无言句。峯云、为什么无。师云、设有、亦无举处。峯云、但举看。师云、一箭过西天。

When Linji reached Cuifeng’s place, Cuifeng asked, “Where did you come from?”

“I came from Huangbo,” said Linji.

“What words does Huangbo use to instruct people?”asked Cuifeng.

“Huangbo has no words,” said Linji.

“Why not?” asked Cuifeng.

“Even if he had any, I wouldn’t know how to state them,” answered Linji.

“Come on, try and tell me,” said Cuifeng.

“The arrow has fl own off to the Western Heaven,” said Linji.

16到象田。师问、不凡不圣、请师速道。田云、老僧祇与么。师便喝云、许多秃子、在这里觅什么椀。

Linji visited Xiangtian and said to him, “[It’s] neither secular nor sacred—please, master, speak!”

“I’m just this way,” Xiangtian replied.

Linji shouted and said, “What kind of vittles are all these baldpates looking for here!”

17到明化。化问、来来去去作什么。师云、祇徒踏破草鞋。化云、毕竟作么生。师云、老汉话头也不识。

Linji arrived at Minghua’s place. Minghua asked, “What’s the good of all this coming and going!”

“I’m just trying to wear out my straw sandals,” said Linji.

 “What for, then?” asked Minghua.

“Old man, you don’t even know the subject of the conversation!” replied Linji.

18往凤林。路逢一婆。婆问、甚处去。师云、凤林去。婆云、恰値凤林不在。师云、甚处去。婆便行。师乃唤婆。婆回头。师便打。

When Linji was going to Fenglin’s place, he met an old woman on the road. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“I’m going to Fenglin’s place,” replied Linji.

“Fenglin happens to be away just now,” said the old woman.

“Where did he go?”asked Linji.

At that the old woman walked away. Linji called to her. The old woman turned her head. Linji hit her.

19到凤林。林问、有事相借问、得么。师云、何得剜肉作疮。林云、海月澄无影、游鱼独自迷。师云、海月既无影、游鱼何得迷。凤林云、观风知浪起、翫水野帆飘。师云、孤轮独照江山静、自笑一声天地惊。林云、任将三寸辉天地、一句临机试道看。师云、路逢剑客须呈剑、不是诗人莫献诗。凤林便休。师乃有颂、大道絶同、任向西东、石火莫及、电光罔通。沩山问仰山、石火莫及、电光罔通。从上诸圣、将什么为人。仰山云、和尚意作么生。沩山云、但有言说、都无寔义。仰山云、不然。沩山云、子又作么生。仰山云、官不容针、私通车马。

Linji arrived at Fenglin’s place. Fenglin said, “There is something I wish to ask you. May I?”

“Why gouge out [good] flesh and make a wound?” replied Linji. Fenglin said:

The moon shines on the sea, there are no shadows;

Yet the gamboling fish get lost.

Linji replied:

Since shadowless is the moon over the sea,

How can the gamboling fish get lost?

Fenglin said:

Watching the wind I know the arising of waves;

[And see boats] as port on the water with fluttering sails.

Linji replied:

The solitary moon alone does shine—rivers and mountains are still;

One laugh from me startles both heaven and earth.

Fenglin said:

Your tongue may illumine heaven and earth, but

Try speaking a word apropos of the moment.

Linji replied:

If on the road you meet a swordsman, offer him your sword;

To a man who’s not a poet, don’t present a poem.

Fenglin desisted. Linji then recited this verse:

The Great Way defies comparison—one goes east or west at will.

No spark from flint can go so fast, nor lightning flash pass by.

Guishan asked Yangshan, “If no spark from flint can go so fast, nor lightning flash pass by, how did the old-time sages save men?”

“What do you think, Venerable Priest?” asked Yangshan.

Guishan said, “No words have actual significance.”

“Not so,” disagreed Yangshan.

“Then what do you think?” asked Guishan.

“Officially, a needle is not permitted to enter; privately, carriages can get through.”

20到金牛。牛见师来、横按拄杖、当门踞坐。师以手敲拄杖三下、却归堂中第一位坐。牛下来见、乃问、夫宾主相见、各具威仪。上座从何而来、太无礼生。师云、老和尚道什么。牛拟开口。师便打。牛作倒势。师又打。牛云、今日不着便。沩山问仰山、此二尊宿、还有胜负也无。仰山云、胜即总胜、负即总负。

Linji arrived at Jinniu’s place. Jinniu saw him coming and, holding a stick crosswise, sat down at the gate. Linji struck the stick three times with his hand, then entered the [Monks’] Hall and seated himself in the first seat.

Jinniu came in, saw him, and said, “In an interview between host and guest, each should conform to the prescribed formalities. Where do you come from, Elder Monk, that you are so rude?”

“What are you talking about, Old Priest?” replied Linji.

Jinniu started to open his mouth, and Linji hit him. Jinniu gave the appearance of falling down. Linji hit him again. Jinniu said, “I’m not doing so well today.”

Guishan asked Yangshan, “In the case of these two venerable ones, was there a winner or a loser?”

“Call it a victory, then both won; call it a loss, then both lost,” replied Yangshan.

21师临迁化时、据坐云、吾灭后、不得灭却吾正法眼藏。三圣出云、争敢灭却和尚正法眼藏。师云、已后有人问尔、向他道什么。三圣便喝。师云、谁知吾正法眼藏、向这瞎驴边灭却。言讫、端然示寂。

When the master was about to pass away, he seated himself and said, “After I am extinguished, do not let my True Dharma Eye be extinguished.”

Sansheng came forward and said, “How could I let your True Dharma Eye be extinguished!”

“Later on, when somebody asks you about it, what will you say to him?” asked the master.

Sansheng gave a shout.

“Who would have thought that my True Dharma Eye would be extinguished upon reaching this blind ass!” said the master. Having spoken these words, sitting erect, the master revealed his nirvana.

22师讳义玄、曹州南华人也。俗姓邢氏。幼而颕异、长以孝闻。及落发受具、居于讲肆、精究毘尼、博赜经论。俄而叹曰、此济世之医方也、非敎外别传之旨。即更衣游方、首参黄檗、次谒大愚。其机缘语句、载于行录。既受黄檗印可、寻抵河北。镇州城东南隅、临滹沱河侧、小院住持。其临济因地得名。时普化先在彼、佯狂混众、圣凡莫测。师至即佐之。师正旺化、普化全身脱去。乃符仰山小释迦之悬记也。适丁兵革、师即弃去。太尉默君和、于城中舍宅为寺、亦以临济为额、迎师居焉。后拂衣南迈、至河府。府主王常侍、延以师礼。住未几、即来大名府兴化寺、居于东堂。师无疾、忽一日摄衣据坐、与三圣问答毕、寂然而逝。时唐咸通八年丁亥、孟陬月十日也。门人以师全身、建塔于大名府西北隅。勅谥慧照禅师、塔号澄灵。合掌稽首、记师大略。

The master’s name as a monk was Yixuan. He was a native of the prefecture of Nanhua in the province of Cao. His family name was Xing. As a child he was exceptionally brilliant, and when he became older he was known for his filial piety. After shaving his head and receiving the full precepts, he frequented lecture halls; he mastered the vinaya and made a thorough study of the sutras and śāstras.

Suddenly [one day] he said with a sigh, “These are prescriptions for helping the world, not the principle of the transmission outside the scriptures.”

Then he changed his robe and traveled on a pilgrimage. First he studied under Huangbo. Then he visited Dayu. What was said on those occasions has been set down in the “Record of Pilgrimages.”

After receiving the seal of dharma from Huangbo, the master went to Hebei and became priest of a small temple on the banks of the Hutuo River, outside the southeast corner of the capital of Zhenzhou. Because of its location the temple was called “Linji” (“Overlooking the Ford”). By that time Puhua was already there. Pretending to be crazy, Puhua mixed with the people and no one could tell whether he was a sage or a commoner. When the master arrived there Puhua was of help to him. When the master’s teaching began to flourish, Puhua vanished, body and all. This agreed with the prediction made by Yangshan, the “Little Śākya.”

It happened that local fighting broke out, and Linji abandoned the temple.The Grand Marshal, Mo Junhe, donated his house inside the town walls and made it into a temple. Hanging up a plaque there, inscribed with the old name “Linji,” he had the master make it his residence.

Later the master tucked up his robes and went south to the prefecture of He. The governor of the prefecture, Councilor Wang, extended to him the honors due a master. After staying for a short while, the master went to Xinghua temple in Daming Prefecture, where he lived in the Eastern Hall.

Suddenly one day the master, although not ill, adjusted his robes, sat erect, and when his exchange with Sansheng was finished, quietly passed away. It was on the tenth day of the first month in the eighth year of Xiantong of the Tang dynasty. His disciples built a memorial tower for the master’s body in the northwest corner of the capital of Daming Prefecture. The emperor decreed that the master be given the posthumous title Meditation Master Huizhao [“Illuminating Wisdom”] and his stupa be called Chengling [“Translucent Spirit”]. Joining my hands with palms together and bowing low my head, I have recorded in summary the life of the master.

住镇州保寿嗣法小师延沼谨书。镇州临济慧照禅师语录终。

住大名府兴化嗣法小师存奖校勘。永享九年八月十五日板在法性寺东经所。

Respectfully inscribed by the humble heir Yanzhao of Baoshou in Zhenzhou.

Here ends the Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Linji Huizhao of Zhenzhou.

Collated by the humble heir Cunjiang of Xinghua in Daming Prefecture.