T2003 The Blue Cliff Record

3. Master Ma Is Unwell

The Blue Cliff Record

142c monk asked Shishuang, "What is the dragon's song in a dead tree?" Shishuang said, "Still having joy." The monk asked, "What are eyeballs in a skull?" Shishuang said, "Still having consciousness." The monk also asked Caoshan, "What is the dragon's song in a dead tree?" Caoshan said, "The bloodline is not cut off." The monk asked, "What are eyeballs in a skull?" Caoshan said, "Not dried up." The monk asked, "Who can hear this?" Caoshan said, "No one in the world does not hear it." The monk asked, "What book is the dragon s song taken from?" Caoshan said, "I don't know what book it s from, but all who hear it die." He also composed a verse: The dragon's song in the dead tree is true vision of the Way;

When the skull has no consciousness, then the eyes are clear.

When joy and consciousness end, all news is ended; How can one discriminate the pure in the midst of impurity?

Xuedou has great skill in combining all this at once in his verse. Even so, there's been no duality at all.

Xuedou had help for people at the end of the verse when he added, "Difficult, difficult!" It's exactly this that you must penetrate. Why? As Baizhang said, "All words, mountains, rivers, and the whole earth, each come back to oneself." Whatever Xuedou offers and takes back must ultimately be referred to oneself. Tell me, how did Xuedou help people when he said, "Discrimination? Clarity? See for yourself"? He had already created this complicated verse; why then did he say "See for yourself"? The fine coloring he has you see for yourself. What was his true meaning? Don't say you can't understand; at this point, even I simply can't understand either.

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3. Master Ma Is Unwell

Introduction

A device, a perspective, a ord, a statement, temporarily ntended to provide a point of access, is still gouging a wound in healthy flesh—it can become an object of ixation. The great function appears without abiding by fixed principles, in order that you may realize that there is something transcendental that overs eaven and earth yet cannot be grasped.

To say, "This ay ill do, not this ay ill do too" is too diffuse; to say "This ay on' do, not his ay on' do either" is too strict. Without treading either of hese two paths, what would be right? Story

Great Master Ma was unwell. (This guy has broken down quite a bit. He's dragging in other people.) The temple superintendent asked im, "Teacher, how are you hese days?" (Four undred our diseases break out all at once. They'l be lucky if hey'e not seeing off dead monk in three days. This is in the course of uman duty.) The great master said, "Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha." (How fresh and new! Sustenance for his fledgling.) Commentary

Great Master Ma was unwell, so the temple superintendent asked him, "Teacher, how are you these days?" The great master replied, "Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha." If he enlightened teachers had not dealt with others on the basis of he fundamental matter, how could we have the shining light of this Path? If you know the point of his story, then you walk alone through the red sky; if ou don't know, time and again you'l lose the way before a crag of dead trees. If you are someone in your own right, when you get here you must have the ability to drive off the plowman's ox and to snatch away the hungry man's food before you will see how Master Ma helps people.

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These days many people say that Master Ma was taking on the superintendent; fortunately this has no connection. Right now in this assembly there are many who misunderstand; they put a glare in their eyes and say, "It's here; the left eye is the Sun Face, and the right eye is the Moon Face." What relevance does this have? You'll never see it even in a dream. You just stumble past, missing what the ancient master was about. So when Master Ma spoke like this, where was his meaning? Some say he meant, "Fix me some stomach medicine." What grasp has this got on it? At this point, how could you attain tranquillity? This is why it is said, "The single road of transcendence has not been transmitted by the sages; students bother with forms, like monkeys grasping at reflections."

This "Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha" is extremely difficult to see; even Xuedou finds it difficult to put into verse. But since he has seen all the way through, he uses his life's work to the full to make his comment. Do you want to see Xuedou? Look at the text below.

Verse

Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha;

(When he opens his mouth you see his guts. Like two facing mirrors with no image in between.) What kind of people were the ancient emperors? (Too lofty. Don't belittle them. They can be valued high or low.)

For twenty years I have struggled;

(This is your own fall into the weeds—it's none of my business. Here's a mute eating a bitter melon.) How many times I have gone down into the blue dragon's cave for you!

(How was it worth this? Don't misuse your mind. Don't say there isn't anything extraordinary here.) This distress

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3. Master Ma Is Unwell

(He saddens people to death. Sad man, don't speak to sad people.)

Is worth recounting;

(To whom would you speak of it? If you speak of it to sad people, it will sadden them to death.)

Clear-eyed Chan practitioners should not take it lightly. (You must be even more thoroughgoing. Tsk! Fall back three thousand miles.)

Commentary

When the Emperor Shenzong was on the throne (1068-1085), he thought that this verse ridiculed the state, so he wouldn't let it be included in the Buddhist Canon.

First Xuedou quotes: "Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha." Having brought this up, then he says, "What kind of people were the ancient emperors?" What does he mean? I just finished telling you a minute ago; Xuedou is commenting directly. As it is said, "Letting down his hook in the four seas, he only fishes for powerful dragons." This one line has already completed the verse; afterwards, Xuedou versifies how he concentrated on study all his life. "For twenty years I have struggled; How many times I have gone down into the blue dragon's cave for you!" What is he like? He's like a man going into the blue dragon's cave to seize the pearl. Afterwards he broke through obscurity. Though one might have thought this extraordinary, after all it just amounts to "What kind of people were the ancient emperors?" What is Xuedou getting at? You have to take a step back on your own and look before you will see what he means.

So what kind of people were the ancient emperors anyway? People mostly do not see Xuedou's meaning, but only say that he is ridiculing the state. To understand in this way is merely an emotional view. This line comes from Chanyue's poem "The Behavior of Barons, " which says:

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Clothed in flowery brocades, falcons on their wrists, They go about at leisure, their manner arrogant. They know nothing about the difficulties of sowing and harvesting;

What kind of people were the ancient emperors? Xuedou says, This distress is worth recounting; clear-eyed Chan practitioners must not take it lightly." How many people live within the blue dragon s cave? Even if you're a clear-eyed practitioner with an eye on your forehead and a talisman under your arm, shining through the four continents, when you get here you must not take it lightly; you must be thoroughgoing. 4. Deshan Carrying His Bundle

143b Introduction

Under the blue sky, in the bright sunlight, you shouldn't point out this and that anymore; but the conditions of time still require you to give the medicine in accordance with the disease. Tell me, is it better to let go or to hold still?

Story

When Deshan arrived at Guishan (He's being one-sided, the foxy devil.) he carried his bundle with him into the teaching hall, (Unavoidably he causes people to doubt. He's suffered defeat already.) where he crossed from east to west and from west to east. (He has a lot of Chan, but what for?) He looked around and said, "None, none." Then he went out. (He deserves a beating. He's extremely high-spirited. A real lion cub can roar the lion's roar.) Xuedou added the comment, "Completely exposed." (Wrong. After all. Check!)

But when Deshan got to the monastery gate, he said, "Still, I shouldn't be careless." (Letting go, gathering in. At first too high; in the end too low. When one realizes one's fault one should reform, 28

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but how many people can?) So he went back to meet Guishan formally. (As before, he acts like this. It's already his second defeat. Danger!) As Guishan sat there, (He watches this fellow with cold eyes. It takes this kind of man to grab a tiger's whiskers.) Deshan held up his mat and said, "Teacher!" (He changes heads, switches faces; he stirs up waves where there's no wind.) Guishan reached for his whisk, (Only he could do this; he sets his strategy in motion from within his tent. Surely he silences everyone in the world.) whereupon Deshan shouted and left. (This is the understanding of a wild fox spirit. This one shout contains both the provisional and the real, both illumination and function. He's one of those who can grab the clouds and grasp the fog, and he is outstanding among them.)

Xuedou added the comment, "Completely exposed." (Wrong. After all. Check!)

Deshan turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his sandals, and left. (The scenery is lovely, but the case is not yet completed. He won the hat on his head but lost the shoes on his feet. He's already lost his life.) That evening Guishan asked the head monk, "Where is that newcomer? " (He lost his interest in the east and loses his principle in the west. His eyes look southeast, but his mind is in the northwest.) The monk answered, "At that time he turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his sandals, and left. " (The sacred tortoise drags his tail; he deserves a beating. How many blows to the back of the head would this kind of person need?) Guishan said, "Hereafter that lad will go to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs." (He draws his bow after the thief is gone. No one in the world can leap out of this.)

Xuedou added the comment, "This is adding frost to snow." (Wrong. After all. Check!)

Commentary

Three times I added the word "check." Do you understand? Sometimes I use a blade of grass as the sixteen-foot golden body of the 29

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143c Buddha; sometimes I use the sixteen-foot golden body as a blade of grass.

Originally Deshan was a scholar-monk, expounding the Diamond Sutra in western China. According to that teaching, in the process of the knowledge attained after adamantine concentration, one studies the majestic conduct of the Buddhas for a thousand eons and studies the refined practices of the Buddhas for ten thousand eons before finally fulfilling Buddhahood. On the other hand, the southern Chan folk at this time were saying that the mind itself is the Buddha. So Deshan became incensed and went south with some commentaries on his back to destroy this crew of Chan devils. You can see his intensity from the degree of his excitement. When he got to Hunan, he met a woman selling pastry by the roadside; he put down his commentaries to buy some refreshment to lighten his mind. The woman said, "What is that you're carrying?" Deshan said, "Commentaries on the Diamond Sutra." The woman said, "I have a question for you. If you can answer it, I'll give you some pastry; if not, you'll have to buy it somewhere else." Deshan agreed. The woman said, "The Diamond Sutra says, 'Past mind can't be grasped; present mind can't be grasped; future mind can t be grasped.' Which mind does the learned monk desire to lighten?" Deshan was speechless. The woman directed him to call on Longtan.

As soon as Deshan crossed Longtan's threshold he said, "Long have I heard of Longtan (Dragon Pond), but now that I'm here, there's no pond to see and no dragon appears." Master Longtan came out and said, "You have really arrived at Longtan." Deshan bowed and withdrew. During the night Deshan went to Longtan's room and stayed until late. Longtan said, "Why don't you go?" Deshan started to go, but seeing that it was dark outside he turned and said, "It's dark outside." Longtan lit a lantern and handed it to Deshan; as soon as Deshan took it, Longtan blew it out. Deshan was then greatly enlightened. Immediately he bowed to Longtan, who said, "What have you seen, that you bow?" Deshan replied, "From now on I will never again doubt what the teaching masters say." 30

4. Deshan Carrying His Bundle

The next day Longtan went up in the teaching hall and said, "There is one among you with teeth like a forest of swords and a mouth like a bowl of blood; even if you hit him he won't turn around. Some day he will go to the summit of a solitary peak and establish our way there." Then Deshan set all his commentaries down in front of the teaching hall, raised a torch over them, and declared, "Even to plumb all abstruse explanations is like a hair in space; to exhaust the workings of the world is like a drop of water in an immense canyon. " Then he burned the commentaries. Later, hearing Guishan's teaching was flourishing, Deshan went to meet him as an adept. Without even untying his bundle, he went straight into the teaching hall, walked back and forth, looked around, and said, "None, none." Then he left. What did he mean? Was he crazy? People misinterpret this as establishment, but that is irrelevant. See how extraordinary Deshan was; this is why it is said, "To stand out from the crowd you must be a brave spirit; to defeat opponents is a matter for a lion." If you try to become a Buddha without such an eye, how will you ever do it? When you get here, you must be a thoroughly competent adept before you will be able to see. Why? In the Buddha Dharma there are not so many complications; where can you bring intellectual views to bear? This is mental action; where is there so much toil? This is why Xuansha said, "Even if you're like the moon reflected in an autumn pond, not scattered on striking the waves, or like the sound of a bell on a quiet night, never failing to resound when struck, this is still an affair on this shore of birth and death." When you arrive here there is no gain or loss, no right or wrong, nor is there anything extraordinary or mysterious. Since there is nothing extraordinary or mysterious, how will you understand Deshan's walking back and forth? What was his meaning?

Old Guishan did not bother with Deshan; anyone but Guishan would have been crushed by him. See how the old adept Guishan meets him; he just sits there and observes the outcome. If he did not profoundly discern all comers, how could he have been like this? Xuedou adds the comment "Completely exposed." This is like 31

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i44b an iron spike. This is called an added comment; though it goes for both sides, it does not remain on either side. How will you understand his statement, "Completely exposed"? Where does the exposure take place? Tell me—is Deshan exposed, or is it Guishan who is exposed?

On his way out, Deshan got as far as the gate, but then he said to himself, "Still, I shouldn't be careless." He wanted to bring out his innermost heart in a spiritual encounter with Guishan, so he went back to meet him formally. As Guishan sat there, Deshan lifted up his mat and said, "Teacher!" Guishan reached for his whisk; Deshan then shouted and left. How extraordinary! Many say Guishan was afraid of him. What has this to do with it? Guishan was not flustered at all. So it is said, "One whose wisdom surpasses a bird can catch a bird, one whose wisdom surpasses a beast can catch a beast, and one whose wisdom surpasses a man can catch a man. " When one is immersed in such Chan, even if the multitude of appearances, heavens and hells, plants, animals, and humans, were all to shout at once, one still wouldn't be bothered; even if someone overthrew one's meditation seat and scattered one's community with shouts, one wouldn't give it any notice. It is as high as the sky, as broad as the earth. If Guishan did not have the ability to silence everyone on earth, at that time it would have been very difficult for him to test Deshan. Were he not the enlightened teacher of ifteen hundred people, at this point he would have been at a loss. But Guishan was setting strategy in motion from within his tent that would secure victory over a thousand miles. Deshan turned his back on the teaching hall and left. What was his meaning? Did Deshan win or lose? Acting as he did, did Guishan win or lose? Xuedou commented, "Completely exposed." Here he could say this because he pointedly sees through the ancients' ultimate riddle; Natang said, "Xuedou adds 'Completely exposed' twice, making a tripartite division; only then had he made this case obvious. He was like a bystander judging those two." Afterwards, Guishan was unhurried; when evening came he finally asked the head monk, "Where is that newcomer who just came?" The head monk replied, "At that time, he turned his back 32

4. Deshan Carrying His Bundle

on the teaching hall and left." Guishan said, "Hereafter that lad will go up to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs. " What was his meaning? Guishan was not being kindhearted; in the future Deshan could scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs, pummel the wind, and beat the rain, yet he would still never get out of that cave. Deshan's whole lifetime's methods have been seen through by Guishan. Should we say that Guishan has given him a prophecy here? Or should we say that when the marsh is wide it can hide a mountain, that reason can subdue a leopard? Fortunately this has no bearing on it.

Xuedou knows the point of this story, so he can dare to settle the case for them by further saying, "This is adding frost to snow." Once again he offers it up for people to see. If you do see, I'll allow that you're a fellow student of Guishan, Deshan, and Xuedou. If you don't see, beware of vainly producing intellectual interpretations. Verse

One "completely exposed";

(The words are still in our ears. Gone by.) A second "completely exposed";

(A double case.)

"Adding frost to snow" —Deshan's had a dangerous fall. (The three stages are not the same. Where has he fallen?) The General of the Flying Cavalry enters the enemy camp;

(Danger! No need to bother slashing again at the general of a defeated army. He loses his life.)

How many could regain their safety?

(Deshan gained life in the midst of death.) Deshan hurriedly runs past—

(He acts like no one else is there. Though you may exhaust all the strategems of supernatural powers, what is the use?)

But Guishan doesn't let him go.

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(Reason can subdue a leopard. Guishan took him in tow.) On the summit of the solitary peak, he sits among the weeds—

(After all. To take him in tow isn't out of the ordinary. But why is he sitting among the weeds?)

Tsk!

(Understand? Two blades cut each other. Two by two, three by three, they walk the old road. Singing and clapping go together. I strike!)

Commentary

When Xuedou composed verses on one hundred stories, in each case he burned incense and offered it up; thus his verses have circulated widely throughout the land. He also mastered literary composition. When he had penetrated the stories and become easily conversant with them, only then could he set his brush to paper. Why so? It is easy to distinguish dragons from snakes; it is hard to fool a Chan practitioner. Having penetrated this story, Xuedou puts down three comments at those impenetrable, misleading places, then picks them up to make his verse. "Adding frost to snow"—almost a dangerous fall. What is Deshan like? He is like Li Guang, an expert archer, whom the emperor commissioned as the General of the Flying Cavalry. Li penetrated deeply into enemy territory, where he was captured by the chief of the Huns. As Li was weak from his wounds, they tied him prone between two horses. Li played dead but stealthily observed that there was a Hun near him riding a good mount. Li suddenly sprang up and leaped on the horse, throwing off the Hun and seizing his bow and arrows. Whipping the horse, he galloped south; shooting at his pursuers, he made good his escape. This man had the ability to wrest life from the midst of death; Xuedou alludes to this in the verse to make a comparison with Deshan, who reentered the hall to meet Guishan, and was able to leap out again as before. See how Deshan sees all the way, speaks all the way, acts all the way, functions all the way; he's undeniably a brave spirit. Only 34

4. Deshan Carrying His Bundle

if you have the ability to kill a man without blinking an eye can you become a Buddha right where you are. Someone who can fulfill Buddhahood on the spot naturally kills people without blinking an eye, thus having a share of freedom and independence. When some people these days are questioned, at first they seem to have the qualities of Chan practitioners, but when they're pressed even slightly their waists snap and their legs break; they come all to pieces. They totally lack the slightest continuity. Thus an ancient said, "Continuity is indeed very difficult." See how Deshan and Guishan acted; were theirs stammering, halting views? "How many could regain their safety? / Deshan hurriedly runs past." Deshan shouted and left; this is like Li Guang's strategy after being captured, seizing a bow to shoot his guard, making good his escape from enemy territory. Here Xuedou's verse is very effective. Deshan turned away and left. Some say he gained the advantage; they don't realize that Guishan, as before, doesn't allow Deshan a way out. Xuedou says, "Guishan doesn't let him go." That evening Guishan asked the head monk, "Where is that newcomer?" The monk said, "He turned and left back then. " Guishan said, "Hereafter that lad will go to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and scold the Buddhas and revile the patriarchs." When did he ever let him go? Nevertheless, he is outstanding. At this point, why does Xuedou say, "On the summit of the solitary peak, he sits among the weeds, " and then add an exclamation? What is the ultimate point? Study for thirty more years. 35

144c

5. Xuefeng’s Grain of Rice

5. Xuefeng' Grain of Rice

Introduction

Whoever ould phold he teaching of han ust e a rave spirit; only with the ability to kill a man without blinking an eye can one become a Buddha on the spot. Therefore illumination and function are simultaneous, and wrapping up and opening out are equally expressed. Principle and fact are nondual, and both the provisional and the true are carried out. Letting go of the primary, one sets up the gate of he secondary meaning; if ne were to cut off all complications straightaway, it would be impossible for beginners to approach. It was this way yesterday; the matter couldn' be avoided. It is this way today too; faults fill the skies. Still, a clear-eyed person can' be fooled at all. Without clear eyes, lying in the mouth of tiger, one cannot avoid losing one's life. Story

Xuefeng said to his group, (One blind man leading a crowd of he blind. It's not beyond him.) "Pick up the whole world, and it's as big as a rain of ice." (What echnique is this? I myself ave never sported devil eyes.) "Throw it down before you." (I' afraid t can' be thrown down. What ability do you have?) "If ou'e in the dark and don' understand," (Xuefeng relies on his power to deceive people. Take what's coming to you and get out. Better not slight the people.) "I'l beat the drum to call everyone to look." (Blind! The beat of he drum is for the three armies.)

Commentary

Changqing asked Yunmen, "In speaking like this, is there any i45a place Xuefeng asn' ble o appear?" Yunmen said, "Yes." Changqing asked, "How so?" Yunmen said, "One can' always be making wild foxy interpretations.

Xuefeng said, "Compared to above, not enough; compared to below, too much. I am making up more complications for you." He 36

5. Xuefeng's Grain of Rice

raised his staff and said, "Do you see Xuefeng? Tsk! Where the king's rule is a little more strict, it's not permitted to plunder the open markets."

Dagui Zhe said, "I'll add more mud to dirt for you." He raised his staff and said, "Look! Xuefeng has defecated right in front of you. Come now, why don't you even recognize the smell of dung?" Xuefeng said, "Pick up the whole world, and it's as big as a grain of rice." There was something extraordinary in the way this ancient guided people for their benefit. He was certainly rigorous, climbing Mt. Touzi thrice and going to Dongshan nine times. Wherever he went, he would serve as rice steward, just for the sake of penetrating this matter.

When he arrived at Dongshan, he served as rice steward; one day Dongshan asked him, "What are you doing?" Xuefeng said, "Cleaning rice. " Dongshan asked, "Are you washing the rice out of the grit, or washing the grit out of the rice?" Xuefeng said, "Grit and rice are both removed at once." Dongshan said, "What will the community eat?" Xuefeng overturned the basin. Dongshan said, "Your affinity is with Deshan, " and he directed Xuefeng there. As soon as he got there, Xuefeng asked, "Does the student have any share in this matter handed down from time immemorial as the fundamental vehicle?" Deshan hit him and said, "What are you saying?" Through this Xuefeng had an insight. Later, when Xuefeng was snowed in on Tortoise Mountain, he told Yantou, "When Deshan hit me, it was as if my mind had opened up." Yantou shouted and said, "Haven't you heard it said that what comes in through the gate isn't the family treasure? You must let it flow out from your own heart to cover heaven and earth; then you'll have a bit of realization. " Suddenly Xuefeng was greatly enlightened; he bowed and said to Yantou, "Brother, today I've at last realized the Way."

People these days only say that the ancients made up special creations for people of the future to rely on as fixed rules. To say this is just slandering those ancients; this is called spilling the blood of Buddha. The ancients weren't like people today with spurious 37

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shallow talk; otherwise, how could they have used a single word or half a phrase for a whole lifetime? When it came to upholding the source teaching and perpetuating the life of the Buddhas, they would utter a word or half a phrase that spontaneously silenced everyone on earth. There's nowhere for you to produce a train of thought, to make intellectual interpretations, or to rationalize. See how Xuefeng taught his group here; since he has seen adepts, he had the hammer and tongs of an adept. Whenever he utters a word or half a phrase, he's not making a living in the ghost cave of mental patterns, conceptual consciousness, and calculating thought. He simply stands out from the crowd; he settles past and present and leaves no room for uncertainty. His actions were all like this. One day Xuefeng said, "On South Mountain there's a turtlenosed snake; you should take a good look at it." Then Changqing came forward and said, "If so, there are a lot of people here who'll lose their lives."

Another time Xuefeng said, "The whole earth is one eye of a monk; where will you defecate?" Another time, he said, "I have met with you at Wangzhou Pavilion; I have also met with you in the Black Rock Range; and I have also met with you in front of the community hall." Now Baofu asked Ehu, "Leaving aside 'in front of the community hall,' what about the meetings at Wangzhou Pavilion and Black Rock Range?" Ehu hurried back to his room. Xuefeng was always bringing up this kind of talk to instruct his group. As for "Pick up the whole world, and it's as big as a grain of rice" —at this point, can you figure it out by means of intellectual discrimination? Here you must smash through the net, at once abandon gain and loss, right and wrong, to be completely free and untrammeled; you then naturally pass through his snare, and then you will see what he's doing. Tell me, where is Xuefeng's meaning? People often make up intellectual interpretations and say, "Mind is the master of myriad things; the whole world is all at once in my hand." Luckily this has no connection. Here you must be truly genuine and see all the way through as soon as you hear it brought up, penetrating the bone through to the marrow, yet without falling into feeling, thought, conception, or imagination. 38

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If you are a genuine pilgrim, you will see that in acting this way Xuefeng was already indulging to help others. Verse

An ox head disappears;

(Like lightning. Already stumbled past.) A horse head emerges.

(Like a spark.)

In the mirror of Chan, absolutely no dust. (Smash the mirror and I'll meet with you; you must smash it to understand.)

He beats the drum for you to come look, but you don't see; (He sticks you in the eye. Don't take it lightly. Ignoramuses—what is there that is hard to see?) When spring arrives, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?

(Things don't overlap. What a mess! He appears in a cave of entanglements.)

Commentary

Naturally Xuedou sees the ancient; he only needs to go to his lifeline, and in one spurt he produces a verse for him. "An ox head disappears; / A horse head emerges." Tell me, what is he saying? If you see all the way through to the bottom, it is like eating breakfast in the morning and lunch at midday—just being ordinary. Out of compassion, Xuedou shatters with one hammer blow at the outset, and cuts through with a single statement. He is indeed strict, like a spark, a lightning flash. He doesn't reveal his sword point; there's no place for you to fix onto. Can you search it out in your conceptual faculty? The first two lines have said it all. In the third line, instead Xuedou opens a pathway and displays a bit of formal style—already he's fallen into the weeds. In the fourth line, he falls further into the weeds. If you produce words on top of words, phrases on top of phrases, ideas on top of ideas, making up explanations and interpretations, you will not 145c 39

6. Every Day Is a Good Day

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only bog me down, but you'll also turn away from Xuedou. Although Xuedou's verse is thus, his intention is not thus. He never made up principles to bind people.

"In the mirror of Chan, absolutely no dust." Quite a few people say that a stilled mind is the mirror itself. This luckily has nothing to do with it; if you're only concerned with judging and comparing principles, what end will there be to it? Xuedou has spoken clearly; it's just that people do not see. Therefore, being such a dotard, he says, "He beats the drum for you to come look, but you don't see." Do the ignorant see? He says more to you: "When spring comes, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?" One could say he's opening the doors and windows, throwing them wide open all at once for you. When spring comes, in the hidden valleys and wild ravines, in places where there are no people, a hundred flowers burst forth in profusion. Tell me, who else do they bloom for? 6. Every Day Is a Good Day

Story

Yunmen said, "I don't ask about before the fifteenth day;" (Half south of the river, half north of the river. We don't keep old calendar dates here.) "try to say something about after the fifteenth day." (Inevitably it will go from dawn to sunset; just don't say that the next day is the sixteenth. The days and months seem to flow by.) He answered himself, "Every day is a good day." (He's gathered it in. Though the frog jumps, it can't get out of the basket. Whose house has no bright moon and clear breeze? But do you know it? The sea god knows its value but not its price.) Commentary

Yunmen first studied with Muzhou. Muzhou was swift as lightning, so it was difficult to approach him. Whenever he received someone, he would grab the person immediately and say, "Speak! " 40

6. Every Day Is a Good Day

Anyone who failed to reply would be pushed out and scolded for being stuck in a rut.

When Yunmen went to see Muzhou, on the third time, as soon as he knocked on the door, Muzhou said, "Who's there?" Yunmen gave his name. As Muzhou opened the door, Yunmen bounded in; Muzhou held him fast and said, "Speak!" Yunmen hesitated, and was ejected; he still had one foot inside when Muzhou slammed the door, breaking Yunmen's leg. As Yunmen cried out in pain, he suddenly was greatly enlightened. Later, his teaching style was like that of Muzhou. After his enlightenment, Yunmen stayed in the home of the ministry president Chen Cao for three years. Later Muzhou directed Yunmen to go to Xuefeng. There Yunmen came forth and asked Xuefeng, "What is the Buddha? " Xuefeng said, "Don't talk in your sleep." Yunmen bowed. He stayed there for three years.

One day Xuefeng asked, "What is your perception?" Yunmen said, "My perception doesn't differ in the slightest from that of all the sages since time immemorial."

For twenty years Lingshu did not appoint a head monk. He used to say things like, "My head monk is born," "My head monk is tending oxen," and "My head monk is traveling." Suddenly one day he ordered his group to receive their head monk at the gate. Everyone wondered about this, but Yunmen actually arrived. Ling- shu immediately invited him into the head monk's quarters to unpack his bundle. People called Lingshu the Knowing Sage Chan Master, since he knew of past and future events. Once King Liu of south China was going to mobilize his army, and he intended to go ask Lingshu whether conditions were auspicious or not. Knowing of this beforehand, Lingshu sat down and calmly passed away. The king said angrily, "Since when was the master ill?" The attendant answered, "The master hadn't been ill. He just entrusted a box to me to present to Your Majesty when you arrived." King Liu opened the box and took out a card which said, "The enlightened one is the head monk." Understanding the 41

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message, the king dismissed his soldiers and invited Yunmen to teach at Lingshu monastery. Only later did he live at Yunmen. As Yunmen was teaching, the royal attendant Ru posed a question: "Is the fruit of the spiritual tree (Lingshu) ripe yet?" Yunmen said, "When have you ever heard it was unripe?" One day King Liu summoned Yunmen to spend the summer in the palace. Along with several other abbots, he was to receive the questions of the courtiers and expound the Dharma. Yunmen alone did not speak, and no one was on familiar terms with him. One of the palace functionaries wrote a verse and posted it: Only cultivation of great wisdom is Chan;

Silence, not clamor, is in order for the Chan school. Myriad kinds of clever talk are not as good as reality; They lose to Yunmen's total not speaking.

Yunmen usually liked to teach three-word Chan: observing, "Reflect!" "Ha!" He also taught one word Chan: a monk asked, "When you kill your parents, you repent before the Buddha; when you kill the Buddha, where do you turn to repent? " Yunmen said, "Exposed." Another asked, "What is the treasury of the eye of the true Dharma?" Yunmen said, "Universal." There was simply no room for discussion. In ordinary situations, even, Yunmen would revile people. When he uttered a phrase, it was like an iron spike. Later Yunmen produced four sages: Dongshan Shouchu, Zhimen Shiguan, Deshan Yuanmi, and Xianglin Dengyuan. They all were great Chan masters. Xianglin served as Yunmen's attendant for eighteen years; whenever Yunmen dealt with him, he would just call, "Attendant Yuan!" Xianglin would answer, "Yes?" Yunmen would say, "What is it?" It went on like this for eighteen years, when one day Xianglin finally awakened. Yunmen said, "I won't call you anymore."

In Yunmen's usual dealings with people, he would often use the methods of Muzhou; though it was hard to approach him, he had the ability to liberate people. Xuedou said of him, "I like the fresh devices of Yunmen; he spent his life freeing people." 42

6. Every Day Is a Good Day

Yunmen posed a question to instruct his group: "I don't ask about before the fifteenth day; try to say something about after the fifteenth day." He cuts off all distinctions and doesn't let either ordinary or holy pass. He answered himself, "Every day is a good day." The words "before the fifteenth day" already cut off distinctions; "after the fifteenth" also cuts off distinctions. The fact is that Yunmen did not say that the next day is the sixteenth. Later people merely followed his words to produce interpretations; but what relevance has this? Yunmen established a protean style; he surely had ways to benefit people. Having spoken some words, he then answered himself: "Every day is a good day." These words pervade all time and settle everything at once. When I talk like this, I too am following his words to produce interpretations. Killing others is not as good as killing yourself. As soon as you make up a principle, you fall into a pit. Three statements are inherent in each statement of Yunmen; since the basic teaching of his school is like this, when Yunmen utters a phrase it must be returned to the source. Anything but this will always be phony. This affair has no multitude of arguments and propositions, though those who have not yet penetrated wish it were like that. If you do penetrate, then you will immediately see the essential meaning of Yunmen.

Verse

146b

He throws away one,

(Seven openings, eight holes. Where has it gone? He lets up a bit.)

Picks up seven.

(He can't set them out. After all he doesn't let up.) Above, below, and in the four quarters, no comparison. (Comparison to what? Above is the sky, below the earth. East, west, south, north; what comparison is there? Nevertheless, the staff is in my hand.)

Placidly walking along, he treads down the sound of the flowing stream.

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(Don't ask what's right at your feet. It's difficult to investigate it thoroughly. He's gone into a nest of complications.)

His relaxed gaze descries the tracks of flying birds. (In the eye there is no such happening. A wild foxy view; as before, he's just inside the same old den.) The grasses grow thick;

(He pulls the arrow out of the back of his head. What's going on here? He's fallen into equanimity.) The mists overhang.

(He hasn't come out of this nest yet. Beneath his feet clouds arise.)

Around Subhuti's cliff, the flowers make a mess; (Where is he! Stupid fellow! He's been completely exposed.)

I snap my fingers; how lamentable is Sunyata! (The four quarters and eight directions, the whole cosmos; inside Sunyata's nostrils, try to say something. Where is Sunyata?)

Don't make a move!

(What about your previous words? When you move, then what?)

If you move, thirty blows!

(Take what's coming to you and get out. I strike!) Commentary

Xuedou's eulogies of the ancients were always accomplished like this: first he takes the adamantine sword and brings it down once; then he reveals a bit of formal style. Though it's like this, ultimately there are not two understandings.

"He throws away one, / Picks up seven." People often make an understanding based on the numbers and say, "'He throws away one' refers to 'before the fifteenth day.'" Having abruptly put down two lines and sealed it up, Xuedou then instead reveals it for people to see; "He throws away one, / Picks up seven." Avoid turning to 44

6. Every Day Is a Good Day

the words for your sustenance. Why? What soup is there in a cracker? People often fall back into conceptualization. You must gain understanding before the word arises; then the great function will become manifest and you will naturally see it. This is why after the Buddha had attained enlightenment he spent three weeks contemplating this matter: "All things being void of essence, they cannot be conveyed by words; I would rather not teach but quickly enter Nirvana." When he got to this point, even the Buddha couldn't find a way to open his mouth. But by virtue of the power of skill in means, after he had taught the five mendicants he went to three hundred sixty assemblies and expounded the teachings for his age. All these were just expedients. For this reason he had taken off his regal garments and put on rags. He had no choice but to turn toward the shallows within the sphere of the secondary in order to lead his various disciples. If we had him bring up the transcendental all at once, there would hardly be anyone in the world who could understand.

But tell me, what is the supreme statement? Here Xuedou reveals a bit of the meaning to let people see. Just don't see that there are any Buddhas above, don't see that there are sentient beings below; don't see that there are mountains, rivers, and earth without, and don't see that there is perception and cognition within. Then you will be like one who has died the great death and returned to life. With oppositions united in a whole, though you bring them up one by one, you'll no longer have different views. After that, you'll be able to function responsively without losing balance. Then you will see the meaning of the saying, "He throws away one, / Picks up seven; / Above, below, and in the four quarters, no comparison. " If you pass through at these lines, then and there above, below, and in the four quarters there is no comparison. The myriad forms and appearances—plants, animals, people— everything everywhere completely manifests the way of your own house. Thus the saying:

In myriad forms one body alone is revealed;

Only by spontaneous acceptance will one be near. 45

146c

7. Huichao Asks about the Buddha

The Blue Cliff Record

147a In past years I mistakenly searched on the road; Now I see it as ice within fire.

"In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honored one. " Many people pursue the branches and don't seek the root. First get the root right, then naturally everything will follow. "Placidly walking along, he treads down the sound of the flowing stream." As he goes along placidly, he can tread down and cut off even the roar of a torrent. "His relaxed gaze descries the tracks of flying birds. " At a glance it is as if tracing out even the tracks of flying birds. When you get here, you will not consider it difficult to blow out the fires under the cauldrons of hell, or to shatter sword forests and knife mountains with a shout.

Because of his compassion, at this point Xuedou feared that people would settle down in the realm of unconcern, so he went on to say, "The grasses grow thick; / The mists overhang," thus covering everything. Tell me, whose world is this? Can it be called "Every day is a good day"? Fortunately there's no connection. In fact, "Placidly walking along, he treads down the sound of the flowing stream" isn't it; "His relaxed gaze descries the tracks of flying birds" isn't it either; nor is "The grasses grow thick," nor "The mists overhang." But even something entirely different would just be "Around Subhuti's cliff, the flowers make a mess." It is still necessary to go beyond the Other Side.

As Subhuti was sitting in silent meditation in a cliffside cave, the gods showered flowers in praise. Subhuti said, "Flowers are showering from the sky; whose doing is this?" A god said, "I am Indra, king of gods." Subhuti said, "Why are you offering praise?" Indra said, "I esteem your skill in expounding transcendent wisdom." Subhuti said, "I have not spoken a word about wisdom; why praise?" Indra said, "You have not spoken, and I have not heard. No speaking, no hearing—this is true wisdom." And again he caused the earth to tremble and showered flowers. Xuedou once made up another verse about this:

The rain has passed; the clouds are shrinking;

Dawn has halfway broken through;

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7. Huichao Asks about the Buddha

The multiple peaks are like a drawing of blue-green rocky crags.

Subhuti did not know how to sit on a cliff;

He brought on heavenly flowers and quaking of the earth. When the king of gods is shaking the earth and showering flowers, where will you go to hide? Xuedou also said:

I fear Subhuti won't be able to escape;

Even beyond the cosmos, all is filled to the brim. What end will he know to his frantic turmoil? From all sides the pure wind tugs at his clothes. Though you be clean and naked, bare and purified, totally without affliction, this is still not the ultimate. In the end, though, what is? Look carefully at this saying: "I snap my fingers; how lamentable is Sunyata! " The Sanskrit word Sunyata means the spirit of emptiness. Space is her body; she has no physical body to be conscious of contact. When the Buddha's light shines forth, then she manifests her body. When you get to be like Sunyata, then Xuedou will rightly snap his fingers in lament. Again Xuedou says, "Don't make a move! " What's it like when you move? Sleeping with your eyes open under the bright sun in the blue sky.

7. Huichao Asks about the Buddha

Introduction

The sages have not transmitted the statement before sound; if you have never seen it personally, it's as if it were worlds away. Even if you discern it before sound, and silence everyone in the world, you're still not sharp. Thus it is said, "The sky can't cover it; the earth can't support it; space can't contain it; sun and moon can't illumine it." Where there is no Buddha and you alone are called the Honored One, for the first time you've gotten somewhere. Otherwise, if you are not yet this way, penetrate through on the 47

147b The Blue Cliff Record

tip of a hair and release the great shining illumination; then in all directions you will be independent and free in the midst of phenomena; whatever you pick up, there is nothing that's not truth. But tell me, what is attained that is so extraordinary? Do you understand? No one knows the sweating horses of the past; they only want to emphasize the achievement that crowns the age. Leaving this matter aside for the moment, what about Xuedou's story? Story

Huichao asked Fayan, (What does he say? Wearing handcuffs, he hands over his own indictment.) "Huichao asks the teacher, what is the Buddha?" (What's he saying? His eyeballs pop out.) Fayan said, "You are Huichao." (He comes out according to the pattern. Iron scrap stuffing. He fends him off with a counterattack.) Commentary

Chan Master Fayan had this ability to get through to people and make simultaneous contact, and he knew the use of this ability; thus he could answer like this. This is what is called passing beyond sound and form, achieving the great freedom, granting or taking away as the occasion requires, where killing or enlivening rests with oneself. He is indeed extraordinary. Nevertheless, people all over who deliberate about this story are many, and those who make intellectual interpretations are not few. They do not realize that whenever the ancients uttered a word or half a phrase, it was like sparks, like lightning, directly opening up a single straight path.

People of later times just made up interpretations based on the words. Some say, "Huichao is himself the Buddha; that is why Fayan answered thus." Some say, "It's like riding an ox in search of an ox. " Some say, "The asking is it. " What relevance has any of this? If you go on interpreting in this fashion, not only do you turn away from yourself, you seriously demean Fayan. If you want to see Fayan's whole potential, you must be one who doesn't turn around even when struck, one with teeth like 48

7. Huichao Asks about the Buddha

sword trees and a mouth like a bowl of blood, who knows outside the words what they refer to; then you will have a small portion of realization. If one by one they make intellectual interpretations, everyone on earth would be an exterminator of the Buddha's race. As for Chan student Huichao's awakening here, he was constantly engrossed in penetrating investigation; therefore under the impact of one word his mind opened up.

It's like Superintendent Ce; he had been staying in Fayan's congregation but had never asked for personal instruction. One day Fayan asked him, "Why haven't you come for an interview?" Ce replied, "Didn't you know I had an initiatory experience at Qinglin's place?" Fayan said, "Tell me about it." Ce said, "I asked, What is the Buddha?' Qinglin said, 'The lire god comes looking for fire.'" Fayan said, "Good words, but I'm afraid you misunderstood. Can you say something more?" Ce said, "The fire god is in the province of fire; he is seeking fire with fire. Likewise, I am a Buddha, yet I went on searching for a Buddha." Fayan said, "Sure enough, you have misunderstood." Ce left in a huff and went away. Fayan said, "This man can be saved if he comes back; if he doesn't return, he can't be saved." On the road, Ce thought to himself, "He is the teacher of five hundred people; how could he deceive me?" So he turned back and again called on Fayan, who told him, "Just ask me and I'll answer you." So Ce asked, "What is the Buddha?" Fayan said, "The fire god comes looking for fire." At these words Ce was greatly enlightened.

These days there are those who just put a glare in their eyes and interpret that as understanding. As it is said, "Since it is flawless, don't flaw it." With this kind of story, those who have practiced for a long time know what it means as soon as it's brought up. In the Fayan succession this is called "arrow points meeting." They don't employ the five positions of ruler and minister, or the four propositions; they simply talk of arrow points meeting. The style of Fayan's lineage is like this; at one saying you see and immediately directly penetrate. But if you ponder over the words, to the end you will search without finding.

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147c As a public teacher, Fayan had five hundred disciples. At that time Buddhism flourished. Now the future National Teacher Deshao had spent a long time with Sushan, and he considered himself to have understood Sushan. So he gathered Sushan's writings and had a portrait of him, symbolizing succession, and led a band of followers around. When they went to Fayan's community, he himself did not go to encounter the teacher but just had his followers go along with the others for encounters with the teacher. One day when Fayan addressed the assembly, a monk asked, "What is one drop from the fount of Chan?" Fayan said, "One drop from the fountain of Chan. " The monk withdrew, dumbfounded; but Deshao, who was present, was suddenly enlightened when he heard this. Later he became a public teacher, as one of Fayan's successors. He presented this verse to Fayan: The summit of the peak of the mystic crossing Is not human society;

Outside the mind there are no things—

Green mountains fill the eyes.

Fayan gave his approval and said, "This one verse alone can perpetuate my school. In the future kings and lords will honor you. I am not equal to you. "

Observe those ancients; when they awaken like this, what truth is this? It won't do just to have me tell you; you yourself must tune your spirit all day long. If you can attain fulfillment the way those people did, someday you will reach out to others at the crossroads, and you won't consider it difficult, either.

Thus when Huichao asked Fayan, "What is the Buddha? " Fayan said, "You are Huichao." Is there any contradiction here? Did not Yunmen say, "When it is brought up, if you don't take heed, you'll miss it; if ou try to assess it by thinking, in what eon will you awaken?" Verse

In the river country the spring wind isn't blowing; (Where in the world do you find this scene? The pattern is already showing.)

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7. Huichao Asks about the Buddha

Partridges are calling deep in the flowers. (What's the use of this chatter? Blown by the wind into a different tune. Is there such a thing?)

At the three-tiered Dragon Gate, where the waves are high, fish become dragons,

(Traverse this one road. Don't fool the great congregation. Tread on the dragon's head.)

Yet fools still go on scooping up the evening pond water. (Leaning on fences, groping along walls; next to the gate, standing by the door; what use is this for a Chan practitioner? This is standing by a stump waiting for a rabbit.)

Commentary

Xuedou is an adept. The points of the ancients that are hard to get your teeth into, hard to chew, hard to penetrate, and hard to see, impenetrable riddles, he produces in verse to let people see. This is indeed extraordinary. Xuedou knew Fayan's key device, and he also knew where Huichao was at. Still, lest people in the future mistakenly make intellectual interpretations of Fayan's words, he came out with this verse.

This monk's asking like this, Fayan's answering like this— this is "In the river country the spring wind isn't blowing; / Deep in the flowers partridges are calling." These two lines are just one line. But say, where is Xuedou's meaning?

In Jiangxi and Jiangnan many people make a two-part interpretation: they say "In the river country the spring wind isn't blowing" is used to versify "You are Huichao," and that this scene—even if the spring wind doesn't blow, still "deep in the flowers partridges are calling"—is used to compare the endless haggling over these words everywhere to the partridges crying deep in the flowers. But what relevance has this? They still don't know that these two lines of Xuedou's are but a single line. Do you want to have no seam or gap? Clearly I tell you, his speech is true, his words are true; they cover heaven and earth.

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8. Cuiyan’s Eyebrows

The Blue Cliff Record

Huichao asked, "What is the Buddha?" Fayan answered, "You are Huichao." Xuedou says, "In the river country the spring wind isn't blowing; / Deep in the flowers partridges call." If you can make the grade here, you will be able to "walk alone in the red skies. " If you make intellectual interpretations, it will take eons. Xuedou is extremely compassionate in the third and fourth lines; all at once he explains completely for people. Chan Master Huichao's great awakening is like fish becoming dragons where the waves are high at the three-tiered Dragon Gate, while fools still go on dragging through evening pond water. The ancient sage King Yu cut the Dragon Gate, making a three-level passage for the Yellow River. Nowadays, on the third day of the third month, when the peach blossoms bloom, influenced by heaven and earth, if there are fish that can get through the Dragon Gate, horns sprout on their heads, they raise their bristling tails, catch hold of the clouds, and fly away. Those who cannot leap through fail and fall back. Fools who gnaw on words are, as it were, scooping out evening pond water looking for fish, not realizing that the fish have already turned into dragons.

Master Baiduan wrote a verse on this story:

A copper coin

Buys a fried cake;

He gobbles it down into his belly

And then no longer feels hunger.

This verse is very good, only it's too crude. Xuedou's verse is very clever, and he doesn't cut his hand on the sharp point. Librarian Qing used to like to ask people, "What is 'Fish turn into dragons at the three-tiered Dragon Gate, where the waves are high'?" For me, it's not necessary, but now I'm asking you: having turned into dragons, where are they now? 52

8. Cuiyan' Eyebrows

Introduction

If ou nderstand, you can ake use of t on he oad, like a dragon reaching water, like a tiger in the mountains. If ou don' understand, then worldly truth prevails, and you are like a ram caught in a fence, like a fool watching over a stump waiting for a rabbit. Sometimes a saying is like a lion crouching on the ground; sometimes a saying is like a diamond sword; sometimes a saying cuts off he tongues of veryone on earth; and sometimes a saying follows the waves and goes along with the currents.

If ou make use of t n the road, when ou eet ith one who knows ou istinguish hat' ppropriate o the ccasion, you now what's right and wrong, and together you witness each other's illumination. Where worldly truth revails, one ho has the single eye can occupy the ten directions and stand like a mile-high wall. Therefore it is said that when the great function appears it does not eep to fixed patterns. Sometimes e take a blade of rass and use it as the sixteen-foot golden body of the Buddha; sometimes we take the sixteen-foot golden body and use it as a blade of rass. But ell e, hat rinciple does his epend n? o ou eally now? Story

At the end of a summer retreat Cuiyan said to the group, "All summer I' e been talking to you;" (If ou open your mouth, how can you know it to be so?) "see if y eyebrows are still there." (All he's achieved is that his eyes have fallen out too, along with his nostrils, which e's already lost. He enters ell ike an arrow shot.) Baofu said, "The thief's heart is cowardly." (Obviously. This is a thief ecognizing a thief.) Changqing said, "Grown." (His tongue falls to the ground; he meets error with error. After all.) Yunmen said, "Barrier." (Where is there to run to? No one in the world can leap out. Overcome.)

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Commentary

The ancients had morning study and evening inquiry. At the end of a summer retreat Cuiyan turned around and spoke to the group like this, and he was undeniably strict—indeed he startled the heavens and shook the earth. But tell me, in the whole Buddhist Canon with its five thousand forty-eight volumes, in which there is talk of mind and nature, of sudden and gradual, is there such an event? They're all this kind of occasion, but among them this story of Cuiyan is outstanding. See how he talks; where is his true meaning? When the ancients let down a hook, " it was never an empty gesture; they invariably had a reason, to benefit people. Many misunderstand and say, "Under the bright sun in the blue sky, Cuiyan spoke aimless talk, producing concern where there was none; at the end of the summer he spoke of his own faults and examined himself first to avoid others' criticism." Fortunately this has nothing to do with it. Such views are called exterminators of the Buddha's lineage. The appearance in the world of the successive generations of teaching adepts would have been entirely without benefit if they hadn't reached out to instruct people. What would have been the purpose? When you get here, if you can see all the way through, then you will know that the ancients had the method of driving off a plowman's ox and snatching away a hungry man's food.

People today, when questioned, immediately chew on the words, making a living on Cuiyan's eyebrows. See how the people of his house naturally know where he is operating; through innumerable changes and shifts, amid impenetrable complications, everywhere they have ways to come forth; hence they are able to chime in with him like this in response. If there is nothing extraordinary about these words of Cuiyan, why then would these three—Yunmen, Baofu, and Changqing—have replied to him so profusely? Baofu said, "The thief's heart is cowardly." How much intellectual interpretation these words have provoked lately! What does Baofu mean? You must avoid searching for that ancient one in his words. If you give rise to feelings and arouse thoughts, your eyes 54

8. Cuiyan's Eyebrows

are snatched away. People don't realize the Baofu's saying cuts off Cuiyan's footsteps.

Changqing said, "Grown." Many people say Changqing follows Cuiyan's footsteps and therefore says his eyebrows have grown. But this has nothing to do with it. They don't know that Changqing brings out his own understanding when he says, "Grown." Each has expressed himself. Now I ask you, where is the growth? It's like being face to face with an adept brandishing the diamond sword. If you can break through views of the ordinary current and cut off gain and loss, right and wrong, then you will see where Changqing responded to Cuiyan. Yunmen said, "Barrier." This is undeniably outstanding, and hard to penetrate. Great master Yunmen often taught with oneword Chan, though in the one word the three statements were always present. See how this ancient replied to suit the occasion, naturally he was far removed from the people of this day and age. This then is the way to make a statement. Though Yunmen spoke thus, his meaning is definitely not there. Since the meaning is not there, tell me, where is it? You must carefully investigate on your own before you'll find out. If you are clear-eyed, with the ability to illumine heaven and earth, it will be crystal clear immediately. For his single word "barrier" and the words of the other three, Xuedou has strung them together on one verse. Verse

Cuiyan teaches the followers;

(The old thief is corrupting people's children.) For a thousand years, no reply.

(In a thousand or ten thousand, still there's one or a half. He divides a tally.)

The word "barrier" answers him back;

(Didn't you believe what I said? Indeed extraordinary. Only such a person can understand such talk.) He loses his money and suffers punishment.

148c

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(One gulps and keeps silent. Xuedou too has done quite a bit of this. I'd strike while he's still talking.) Decrepit old Baofu—

(Fellow travelers on the same path, still acting this way. Two, three.)

Censure and praise are impossible to apply. (Letting go, holding still. Who is born the same and dies the same? Don't slander him. Luckily there's no connection.) Talkative Cuiyan

(Foxy devil—shut up!)

Is clearly a thief.

(So it may be said. Caught.)

The clear jewel has no flaws;

(Can you tell? No one in the world knows its price.) Who can distinguish true from false?

(Many are just false. I myself have never had the eye. Bodhidharma can.)

Changqing knows;

(A spirit recognizing a spirit; only he could do this. Yet he still hasn't gotten a half.)

His eyebrows have grown.

(Where? From head to foot there isn't a single blade of grass.)

Commentary

How could Xuedou be called a teacher if he hadn't been this compassionate, making a verse to enable people to see? When the ancients did this, it was because there was no choice. Since later students became attached to their words and increasingly conceive intellectual interpretations, therefore they do not see the ancients' message. If someone suddenly came forward right now to overturn the meditation seat and scatter the assembly with shouts, we shouldn't be amazed. Though one acts like this, one would still have to have really arrived in this realm. 56

8. Cuiyan's Eyebrows

Xuedou says, "For a thousand ages there is no reply." Cuiyan just said, "See if my eyebrows are still there." What's so extraordinary that there's no reply for a thousand ages? You must realize that when the ancients uttered a word or half a phrase, it wasn't blurted out; one must have the eye to judge heaven and earth before this is possible.

When Xuedou writes something it's like a diamond sword, like a lion crouching on the ground, like sparks, like lightning. Had he not the eye on the forehead, how could he have seen what Cuiyan was getting at? This lesson that Cuiyan gave the people was such that "for a thousand ages there is no reply." It goes beyond Deshan's staff and Linji's shout. But where is Xuedou's meaning for us? How will you understand his statement, "For a thousand ages there is no reply"? "The word 'barrier' answers him back; / He loses his money and suffers punishment. " What is the meaning of this? Even if you have the eye to pass through this barrier, when you get here you must be most thoroughgoing before you are done. Tell me, is it Cuiyan who loses his money and suffers punishment, or is it Xuedou, or is it Yunmen? If you can penetrate this, I'll allow that you have the eye. "Decrepit old Baofu— / Censure and praise are impossible to apply." Does he censure himself? Does he praise the ancients? Where does Baofu censure? Where does Baofu praise? "Talkative Cuiyan / Is clearly a thief." What has he stolen, that Xuedou says he's a thief? You must avoid being whirled around following after the stream of his words; when you get here you must have your own accomplishment before you'll understand. "The clear jewel has no flaws." Xuedou says that Cuiyan is like a clear jewel without any flaws. "Who can distinguish true from false?" It can be said that rarely is there anyone who can make this distinction.

Xuedou has great talent, so he can string together the whole story from beginning to end on a single thread of verse. Only at the very end does he say, "Changqing knows; / His eyebrows have grown." Tell me, where have they grown? Look quickly! 57

149a