T2003 The Blue Cliff Record

9. Zhaozhou’s Four Gates

9. Zhaozhou' Four Gates

Introduction

When a clear mirror is on its stand, beautiful and ugly are distinguished by themselves. With a sharp sword in hand, one can kill or ring ife, to fit he occasion. A oreigner oes nd a ative comes; a foreigner comes and a native goes. In the midst of death one finds life; in the midst of life one finds death. Tell me, when you get to this point, then what? If you haven' the eye to penetrate barriers, if you haven't room to turn around, at this point obviously you won't know what to do. What is the barrier-penetrating eye, what is room to turn around in?

Story

A monk asked Zhaozhou, "What s haozhou? (North of he river, south of the river, no one can say. There are thorns in the soft mud. If it's not south of the river, then it's north of the river.) Zhaozhou replied, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate." (Open. "When we'e reviling each other, you may lock jaws with me; when we'e spitting at each other, you may spew me with slobber." It's the issue at hand; but do you see? I strike!) Commentary

Chan study is to understand yourself clearly; avoid picking and choosing among erbal ormulations. Why? s haozhou aid, "The Ultimate Way has no difficulty; / Just avoid picking and choosing." And Yunmen said, "These days Chan followers gather in groups and chatter; they say things like, ' hese are words of igh ability, those are words referring to the self.'" They don' realize that the ancients could not but establish temporary erbal formulations as expedient means for beginning students who had not yet clarified the mind ground or seen the fundamental nature. In the Chan founder's coming from the West for the sole transmission of he mind seal, directly pointing to the mind for perception 58

9. Zhaozhou's Four Gates

of essence and attainment of Buddhahood, where were there any such complications? It is necessary to cut through words, to see truth outside of patterns. When you penetrate through to liberation, this can be compared to a dragon reaching water or a tiger at home in the mountains.

To have seen but not yet penetrated, or to have penetrated but not yet become illumined—among the experienced worthies of the past this called for seeking more instruction. To ask for more instruction when you have seen and penetrated, you must still go over and over the words so there will be no doubtful sticking points. When one who has investigated for a long time asks for more instruction, this would be giving a ladder to a thief. In reality this matter is not in words; thus Yunmen said, "If this matter were in words, are there no words in the Canon? What need would there be for living exemplars? "

Within Fenyang's eighteen categories of question, the one in this story is called a question to examine the host, and it is also called a seeking-out question. The monk's question is indeed extraordinary; anyone but Zhaozhou would have found it hard to reply. The monk asked "What is Zhaozhou?" A true adept, Zhaozhou immediately replied, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate. " The monk said, "I wasn't asking about that Zhaozhou. " Zhaozhou said, "What Zhaozhou were you asking about?"

Later people said this was no-thing Chan, cheating quite a few people. What was their reason? When the monk asked about Zhaozhou, Zhaozhou answered, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate, " so people thought Zhaozhou was just answering about the city after which he was named. If you understand in this fashion, then any rustic from a village of three families understands more about Buddhism than you do. Such an interpretation destroys Buddhism. It's like comparing a fish eye to a bright pearl; in appearance they are similar, but actually they are not the same. As I said, if it's not south of the river, then it's north of the river. Tell me, is there something or is there nothing? This requires you to be thoroughgoing before you understand.

149b

59

149c The Blue Cliff Record

Fushan said, "At the very last word one finally reaches the impenetrable barrier." The inner essence of pointing out the Way is not in words and explanations. "In ten days, one breeze; in five days, one rain. In the peaceful countryside they enjoy their tasks, drumming full bellies and singing hallelujah." This is called the time of great peace. When I call this having no concerns, it is not a matter of covering your eyes and saying you have no concerns. You must penetrate through the barrier, emerge from the forest of brambles, clean and naked, bare and untrammeled; it's up to you. Free in all directions, you will never cling to nothingness or be fixated on existence.

Some people say, "Fundamentally there is nothing, but when we have tea we drink tea and when we have rice we eat rice. " This is vain talk; I call this claiming attainment without having attained, claiming realization without having realized. As they haven't made a penetrating investigation, when they hear talk of mind or essence, of the mysterious and abstruse, they say it is just mad talk and there really isn't anything to be concerned with. This could be called the blind leading the blind. They still don't know that before the Chan founder came people did not call the sky earth or call mountains rivers; why did the founder still come from the West? In Chan centers where they lecture and hold interviews, what do they speak of? The view of nothingness is purely an intellectual construction; when feelings attached to intellectual constructs are ended, only then can you see through. And when you see through, then as ever sky is sky, earth is earth, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers.

An ancient said, "Mind is the sense, things are the objects; both elements are like flaws on a mirror. " When you get to this realm you will naturally be clean and naked, bare and untrammeled. Yet speaking in terms of the ultimate principle, even this is not yet the place of peace and security. People often misunderstand this point; they stay within the realm of unconcern and neglect outward forms. They seem to be right, yet they're all wrong. When questioned, their replies resemble the ultimate principle, 60

9. Zhaozhou's Four Gates

but as soon as they are pressed, they fall to pieces; they sit there with an empty belly and a proud heart, but when they get to their last day they'll wring their hands and beat their breasts, but it'll already be too late.

This monk asked this way; Zhaozhou answered this way; tell me, how will you look for them? This way won't do, not this way won't do either; ultimately, how is it? This is a difficult point, so Xuedou has brought it out in front of you to show you people. One day while Zhaozhou was sitting, his attendant reported to him, "The king has come. " Zhaozhou looked surprised and said, "Felicitations, 0 King!" The attendant said, "He has not yet come to you." Zhaozhou said, "But you said he's come." He penetrated this far, he saw this far, extraordinary indeed. Chan Master Huanglong Human commented on this, saying, "The attendant only knew how to announce a guest, he did not know that he himself was in the imperial city. Zhaozhou went into the weeds to look for the man, heedless of getting his whole body soaked in muddy water. " Do you know the truth of this? Look into Xuedou's verse. Verse

In their words they show their ability in direct confrontation;

(Echoing. When fish swim through, the water is disturbed. Better not slander Zhaozhou.) The adamantine eye is completely void of dust. (Scattering sand, scattering dirt, don't drag down Zhaozhou. Why search the sky and grope over the earth?)

East, west, south, north—the gates face each other; (They're open. Where are there so many gates? If you turn your back on Zhaozhou city, where will you go?) An endless series of hammer blows can't smash them open.

(It's just that your revolving hammer is insufficient. They're open.)

61

10. The Phony

150a The Blue Cliff Becord

Commentary

Zhaozhou faces situations like a diamond sword: if you hem and haw, he cuts your head right off; time and again he will go on to snatch your eyes right away. Nevertheless, this monk dares to grab the tiger's whiskers and pose a question. It's like giving rise to something where there's nothing; yet nonetheless in his words there is ability. Once the monk had shown his ability, Zhaozhou did not turn away from the question; thus he too showed his ability in answering. It wasn't that he acted thus out of whimsy; because he had penetrated, he naturally fit in the same groove with the monk, as if it were all arranged.

An outsider once came to question the Buddha holding a sparrow in his hand. He said, "Tell me, is this sparrow in my hand dead or alive?" The Buddha straddled the threshold and said, "You tell me, am I going out or coming in?" The outsider was speechless; he then bowed. This story is just like the one here; ever since then the bloodline of the ancients has been unbroken. Thus it is said, "The question is in the answer, the answer is in the question." Since Xuedou can see through things like this, he says, "In their words they show their ability in direct confrontation." There is skill in the monk's words, which seem to bear two meanings; he seems to ask about the man and also about the place. Without stirring at all, Zhaozhou immediately replies, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate."

"The adamantine eye is completely void of dust." This praises Zhaozhou snatching away both subject and object, showing his ability in his words, giving an answer. This is called having ability and perspective. The moment the monk turns around, Zhaozhou sees through his innermost heart. If he couldn't do this, it would have been difficult for Zhaozhou to parry the monk's question. The adamantine eye illumines and sees everywhere without obstruction. It can not only make out clearly a tiny hair a thousand miles away but also determine what is false and decide what is true, distinguish gain and loss, discern what's appropriate to the occasion, and recognize right and wrong.

62

10. The Phony

Xuedou says, "East, west, south, north—the gates face each other; an endless series of hammer blows can't smash them open." Since the hammer blows continue without limit, why can't they smash the gate open? It's that Xuedou's vision is like this. How will you get these gates open? Please examine this thoroughly. 10. The Phony

Introduction

So, so; not so, not so. In battle, each occupies a pivotal position. So it is said, "Turn upward, and even Sakyamuni, Maitreya, Manjusrl, Samantabhadra, the myriad sages, and all the adepts in the world all gasp and fall silent. Turn downward, and worms, maggots, all creeping things, all beings, each emits great light, each towers like a wall miles high." If, on the other hand, you face neither upward nor downward, how would you deal? If there is a principle, go by the principle; if there is no principle, go by the example. Story

Muzhou asked a monk, "Where have you just come from? " (This is a probe, for observation.) The monk immediately shouted. (An adept Chan student, but don't pretend to be enlightened. Still he does know how to act like this.) Muzhou said, "I've been shouted at by you once." (A trap to fell a tiger. Why make a monkey of the man?) Again the monk shouted. (Look at the horns on his head. He seems to be right but actually isn't. I'm afraid he has a dragon's head but a snake's tail.) Muzhou said, "After three or four shouts, then what?" (A wave against the current. There's never been anyone who could come forth. Where to go?) The monk was speechless. (After all he searched without finding.) Muzhou hit him and said, (If we let Muzhou carry out his mandate to the full, all the plants and trees on earth would be cut into three pieces.) "You phony! " (If he let the first move go, he'd fall back into the secondary.) 63

The Blue Cliff Record

Commentary

150b Whoever would uphold and establish the teaching of the source must have the eye of a true teacher of the source and must have the functional ability of a true teacher of the source. Muzhou's mental acuity is like lightning. He liked to put scholars to the test; he would usually utter a word or half a phrase like a thicket of brambles that can't be stepped on or touched. As soon as he saw a monk coming, he would say, "The issue is obvious; I'll give you a thrashing. " Or he would see a monk and call out, "Elder! " If the monk turned, Muzhou would say, "Here's a fellow carrying a board." Also, when teaching his group, he would say, "If you haven't gained entry, you must gain entry; once you have gained entry, you still must not turn your backs on me." Muzhou's efforts for people were mostly like this. This monk was also well polished and prepared, but nevertheless he had a dragon's head but a snake's tail. At the time anyone but Muzhou would have been thrown into confusion by this monk. When Muzhou asked him, "Where have you just come from?" and the monk immediately shouted, what was his meaning? The old fellow wasn't flustered at all; calmly he replied, "I've been shouted at by you once. " He seems to take that shout and put it to one side, and he also seems to test him; he leans over to watch him. Again the monk shouted; he seems to be right, but isn't really—he was taken in tow by Muzhou, who asked, "After three or four shouts, then what? " After all the monk was speechless. Muzhou then hit him and called him a phony.

The aim of testing people is to know them intimately the minute they speak. Too bad this monk was speechless, provoking Muzhou to call him a phony. If it had been any of you who had been asked by Muzhou, "After three or four shouts, then what?" how should you have replied in order to avoid his calling you a phony? Here if you can discern survival and destruction and distinguish right and wrong, if your feet tread the real ground, then who is concerned with "After three or four shouts, then what?" But since this monk was speechless, his case was decided by old Muzhou on the basis of the facts.

64

10. The Phony

Verse

Two shouts and a third shout;

(The sound of thunder is tremendous, but there isn't a single drop of rain. Past and present, there's rarely been anyone like this.)

Adepts recognize the opportune moment to change. (If not adept, how can one test? I'm just afraid you aren't so.)

If you call that riding the tiger's head, (Unh! Blind! How can you ride a tiger's head? Many people have understood in this way, and there are still those who entertain this view.)

Both of them would turn out to be blind. (An intimate comment from an intimate. Why only two? Take what's due you and get out.)

Who is blind?

(Who would you have decide? Fortunately there is a last word; Xuedou is on the verge of fooling people completely.)

I bring it out for everyone to see.

(When you look, it's not that it isn't there, but if you stare at it you'll go blind. If you set your eyes to look, you are grabbing empty space with both hands. When you bring it up this way, what level of activity is this?) Commentary

Xuedou does indeed have a way to help people. If one is not adept, one would just be shouting wildly at random. Therefore it is said, "Sometimes a shout isn't used as a shout; then again, sometimes a shout is used as a shout. Sometimes a shout is like a crouching lion, sometimes a shout is like a diamond sword. " Xinghua said, "I see all of you shouting in the east hall and shouting in the west hall. Don't shout at random. Even if you shout me up to the heavens and I fall back down without a trace of breath 150c

65

The Blue Cliff Record

left in me, when I revive I'll tell you it's still not enough. Why? I have never set out real pearls for you inside the royal curtains. As for you all here, what are you doing when you just go on with wild random shouting?"

Linji said, "I've heard you all imitate my shouting. But I ask you, if a monk comes from the east hall and another monk comes from the west hall, and they both shout at once, which one is the guest and which one is the host? If you can't distinguish host and guest, then you must not imitate me any more."

Therefore Xuedou says in his verse, "Adepts recognize the opportune moment to change." Although the monk in the case was taken in by Muzhou, he still could perceive the opportune moment to change. Tell me, where did he do this? Chan Master Lumen Zhi graded this monk by saying, "One who knows the law fears it." Yantou said, "In battle each one occupies a pivotal position." Huanglong Xin said, "When you reach an impasse, change; having changed, you get through. " This is where the teachers silenced everyone in the world. If you recognize the opportune moment to change, then when something is raised, you immediately know what it comes down to.

Some say, "Why worry about Muzhou saying, 'After three or four shouts, then what?"' And they just go on shouting. Let them shout twenty or thirty times, or even go on shouting until kingdom come, and call this riding the tiger's head—if you understand in this way, it's because you don't know Muzhou. Even if you want to see the monk, you're still too far away. To ride a tiger's head one must have a sword in hand and versatility too. Xuedou says, if you call this riding the tiger's head, "The two of them would both turn out blind." Xuedou is like a long sword leaning against the sky, stern and awesome in full majesty. If you understand Xuedou's meaning, you will naturally understand everything at once. Then you will see that the latter part of Xuedou's verse is just making footnotes.

Xuedou goes on to say, "Who is blind?" Tell me, is it the guest who's blind, or is it the host? Or are the guest and host both blind 66

Notice on Overcoming Demons

at once? "I bring it out for everyone to see. " This is the living point where Xuedou finishes the verse all at once. Yet why does he say, "I bring it out for everyone to see"? How will you see it? Open your eyes and you can; shut your eyes and you can too. Is there anyone who can avoid it?

Notice on Overcoming Demons

by Chan Master Wuai of Jiashan

appended by Huifang

I have heard that the road of the three vehicles is wide and that the realm of reality is boundless. When the ocean of wisdom is calm and clear, the ten directions are secure and peaceful. At this time an army of demons arises to invade the mind field. Since the six brigands are strong, the mind king is startled. In the morning they produce a hundredfold weirdness; in the evening they produce a thousandfold perversion. Disturbing true suchness, they fatigue the spiritual body. The road of enlightenment is cut off and made impassable. They destroy Nirvana and ruin the three treasures; the jewels of nondoing are stolen away, and the spiritual wealth of the great treasury is plundered. Material passions block the sun, and the fire of desire spans the sky. They ravage the citadel of the Dharma and burn the realm of sanctity. Having seen such violence, I feared that Buddhism would be hard to preserve, so I discussed the matter with the six perfections, to eliminate it together. I sent essential emptiness as a secret emissary to spy on the demon army and saw that it was garrisoned in the mountains of the five clusters with over eightyfour thousand troops. Knowing its condition, my strategy was a matter of an instant. Finally I activated the heroic soldiers of the eighteen elements, with the emptiness of substance as their common battle cry.

Everyone has the power of nonobstruction; everyone has the ability to be brave and strong. The straightforward mind is the 67

151a

11. Gobblers of Dregs

The Blue Cliff Record

achievement of seeing essence; one right gets rid of the confusion of a hundred wrongs. Putting on the armor of steadfastness, holding the lance of concentration, with the arrows of knowledge, the bow of meditation, and the radiant sword of wisdom, they train in the school of the Great Vehicle; they encamp in the mountains of tranquillity. They fly their flag on the ridge of the three insights and line up along the eightfold right path. Sending great awareness as a general who captures enemies alive, they roam the four quarters looking for the tracks of errant thought. Cutting off the traces of ignorance, they also enable the king of compassion to break through the blockade of the three poisons. The commander of forbearance attacks the citadel of anger, the army of diligence gets rid of the troublemaker of pride, and the soldiers of joy and equanimity capture the thieves of stinginess and greed. While on patrol, the demon army arises up in full force, its murderous atmosphere striking the very skies. Then I lead the great in all at once. At this time the eyes do not look upon form, the ears do not listen to sound, the nose does not smell odors, the tongue does not discern flavors, the body does not sense feelings, and the mind does not cling to objects. Proceeding ahead singlemindedly, not retreating thought after thought, suddenly I find that the demon army has been overwhelmingly defeated and that the six brigands have completely lost. The slaughter knows no bounds, and there is a clean sweep. I capture errant thought and ignorance alive, take them to the place of Nirvana, and cut them into three pieces with the sword of wisdom.

The forest of afflictions is then cut down, and the mountains of others and self turn to dust. The net of folly and attachment burns when it meets the fire of knowledge; the forest of erroneous views is withered by the wind of wisdom. Henceforth the three insights are again clear; the four knowledges are again complete. Inwardly and outwardly flawless, open and clear, the mind king sits in the throne room of joy, and true thusness climbs the tower of emancipation. Inherent essence roams in the halls of nonobstruction, and the three bodies sit on the seat of objective emptiness. 68

11. Gobblers of Dregs

Henceforth the reality realm is peaceful and quiet, forever free from noise and dust. Together we cross the river of birth and death, reaching the shore of enlightenment as one. Once the demon army has retreated, we should announce it on high together. i5ib

11. Gobblers of Dregs

Introduction

The great capacity of the enlightened is under one's control; the lifeline of humans and gods is subject to one's direction. With a casual saying one astounds the crowd and stirs the masses; with one device, one perspective, one smashes chains and knocks off fetters. Meeting transcendental potential, one brings up transcendental matters. Tell me, who has ever been like this? Are there any who know where such a one is at?

Story

Huangbo said to his group, (Drawing water, one is limited by the size of the container. He swallows all in one gulp. No one in the world can leap clear.) "All of you are gobblers of dregs; if you go on traveling around this way," (You said it! You'll wear out your shoes. He overturns the heaven and shakes the earth.) "where will you have Today?" (What's the use of Today? He certainly astounds the crowd and stirs up the community.) "Do you know that there are no Chan teachers in all of China?" (I hadn't realized. He swallows all in one gulp. He too is a cloud-dwelling saint.) Then a monk came forward and said, "Then what about those who order followers and lead communities?" (He gives a good rejoinder; confronting the situation, he couldn't but do so.) Huangbo said, "I don't say there is no Chan, just that there are no teachers." (He just can't explain. Fixations dissolve. He's a fellow with a dragon's head but a snake's tail.) 69

i5ic The Blue Cliff Record

Commentary

Huangbo was seven feet tall; on his forehead was a lump like a round pearl. He understood Chan by nature. Once he was traveling to Mt. Tiantai, he met a monk on the way. They talked and laughed together like old acquaintances. Huangbo looked him over carefully; the light in his eyes was piercing and his appearance was extremely unusual. As they traveled along together, when they came to a swollen valley stream, Huangbo stopped there. The monk tried to take Huangbo across with him, but Huangbo told him to cross over himself. The monk gathered up his robes and walked on the water as though on land. Looking back, he urged Huangbo to come across, but Huangbo upbraided him, saying, "You self-perfected fellow! Had I known you would concoct wonders, I would have broken your legs! " The monk said in admiration, "You are a true vessel of the teaching of the Great Vehicle." As his words ended, he disappeared.

When Huangbo first met Baizhang, Baizhang said, "Magnificent! Majestic! Where do you come from?" Huangbo said, "Magnificent, majestic, I've come from the mountains." Baizhang said, "What have you come for?" Huangbo said, "Not for anything else." Baizhang saw him to have profound capacity.

The next day Huangbo took leave of Baizhang. Baizhang asked, "Where are you going?" Huangbo replied, "To Jiangxi to pay my respects to Mazu. " Baizhang said, "Mazu has already passed on. Tell me, did Huangbo know this when he asked or not?" Huangbo asked, "What did he say when he was alive?" Baizhang then related the circumstances of his second encounter with Mazu: "When Mazu saw me approach, he raised his whisk. I asked, 'Do you identify with this action or detach from it?' Mazu then hung the whisk on the corner of his seat. There was a long silence; then Mazu asked me, 'Later on, when you speak, how will you help people?' I took the whisk and held it up. Mazu said, 'Do you identify with this action or detach from it?' I hung the whisk back on the corner of the seat. Mazu drew himself up and gave a shout that left me deaf for three days." Huangbo unconsciously stuck out his tongue 70

11. Gobblers of Dregs

in awe. Baizhang said, "After this, won't you be a successor of azu?" Huangbo said, "No. Today, through your recital, I've gotten to see Mazu's great capacity and great function; if I were to succeed Mazu, in the future I would be bereft of descendants. " Baizhang said, "It is so. If your view equals the teacher, you have less than half the teacher's virtue; only when your wisdom goes beyond the teacher are you worthy to pass on the transmission. As your insight is now, it seems you have the ability that transcends the teacher." Tell me, did Huangbo know yet deliberately ask, or did he ask because he didn't know? You must see for yourself how father and son act in that house before you begin to understand. Again one day Huangbo asked Baizhang, "How has the vehicle of the school of time immemorial been demonstrated and taught?" Baizhang was silent; Huangbo said, "You shouldn't let posterity be cut off." Baizhang said, "I thought you were the man." Then he got up and went back to his room.

Huangbo was an informal friend of prime minister Pei Xiu. When Pei was commander of Wanling, he invited the master to come to the district capital. He showed the master a composition expressing his understanding. The master took it and put it down without even opening it. After a long silence, the master asked, "Understand?" Pei said, "No." Huangbo said, "If you had understood this way, you would have gotten somewhere; if you're still trying to describe it with paper and ink, where would there still be room for our school?" At this Pei offered a verse of praise: He's inherited the mind seal from a great adept; There's a round pearl on his brow, his body's seven feet tall.

He hung up his staff and stayed ten years by the river Shu;

Today his floating coracle has crossed the banks of the Zhang.

Eight thousand dragons and elephants follow his giant strides;

71

152a The Blue Cliff Record

Over myriad miles fragrant flowers join his excellent cause.

I hope to serve the master as his disciple;

I do not know to whom he will entrust the teaching. The master made no sign of being pleased, but said: My mind is like the boundlessness of the ocean, My mouth spews red lotuses to nurse a sick body. I myself have a pair of hands with nothing to do; I have never received an idle person.

When Huangbo was working as a teacher, his active edge was sharp and dangerous. When Linji was in his group, Muzhou was the head monk. Muzhou asked Linji, "How long have you been here? Why don't you go question the teacher?" Linji said, "What should I ask?" Muzhou said, "Why not ask what the essential meaning of Buddhism is?" Linji then went and asked Huangbo; three times he was beaten and driven out. He took leave, saying to the head monk, "I have been bidden to ask the question three times, and have been beaten and driven out. Perhaps my affinity is not here; so now I will leave." Muzhou said, "If you're going, you should bid farewell to the teacher first." Muzhou went beforehand and said to Huangbo, "The questioning monk is a very rare one; why not work on him to make him into a tree to provide cool shade for people of later times?" Huangbo said, "I know." When Linji came to take leave, Huangbo said, "You don't need to go anywhere but to see master Dayu." When Linji got to Dayu, he related the preceding story and said, "I don't know where my fault was. " Dayu said, "Huangbo was so kind, he exerted himself to the utmost for you; why do you go on speaking of fault or no fault?" Suddenly enlightened, Linji said, "Huangbo's Buddhism is no big deal." Dayu grabbed him and said, "You just said you were at fault, and now you say Buddhism is no big deal." Linji hit Dayu in the ribs thrice; Dayu pushed him away and said, "Your teacher is Huangbo; it's none of my business."

72

11. Gobblers of Dregs

One day Huangbo said to his group, "The great master Farong of Ox Head Mountain spoke horizontally and vertically, but he still didn't know the key of transcendence. These days Chan followers after Shitou and Mazu speak of Chan and Tao voluminously." But why did Huangbo talk like this? It was because of this that he said, "You are all gobblers of dregs; if you travel around like this, you'll be laughed at. As soon as you hear of a place with eight hundred or a thousand people, you immediately go there. It won't do just to seek out the hubbub; if you always take things easy here, then where else would there be this matter of Today?" In the Tang dynasty they used to revile people by calling them gobblers of dregs, so many people say Huangbo was reviling the people. Those with eyes see for themselves what he was getting at. The whole idea is to set out a hook to fish out people's questions. There was a Chan man in the group who didn't fear for his life, so he could come forth this way from the crowd to question Huangbo: "What about those who order followers and lead communities?" He makes a good point, too. After all Huangbo couldn't explain, so he broke down and said, "I don't say there is no Chan, just that there are no teachers." But tell me, where does his meaning lie? The essence of the school of time immemorial involves sometimes holding, sometimes letting go, sometimes killing, sometimes giving life, sometimes releasing, sometimes gathering up —I dare ask you, what would be a Chan teacher? As soon as I speak this way, I've already lost my head. Where are your nostrils? (Pause) Pierced! Verse

His cold severe solitary mien does not take pride in itself; (He himself doesn't know he has it. He too is a clouddwelling saint.)

Solemnly dwelling in the sea of the world, he

distinguishes dragons and snakes.

(It is necessary to distinguish initiate and outsider, and to distinguish absolute and relative.)

73

152b

The Blue Cliff Record

The emperor has been lightly handled;

(What emperor are you talking about? However great, he too must get up from the ground; and even higher, there's still the sky—what about that?)

Three times he personally felt those claws and fangs at work.

(A dead frog. Why so talkative? It's not yet anything extraordinary; it's still a minor skill. When his great capacity and great function become manifest, the mountains, rivers, and earth, the whole world, will be at Huangbo's place begging for their lives.)

Commentary

This verse by Xuedou seems just like a eulogy on a portrait of Huangbo, yet you mustn't understand it as such. Right in the words there's a manifestation of being. Xuedou clearly says, "His cold severe solitary mien does not take pride in itself." When Huangbo instructed the group this way, he wasn't contesting with others or asserting himself, displaying himself, or boasting of himself. If you understand what happened here, you are free in all directions; sometimes you stand alone on a solitary peak, sometimes you stretch out in the bustling marketplace. How could you onesidedly stick to one corner? The more you abandon, the more you aren't at rest; the more you seek, the more you don't see; the more you take on, the more you sink down. An ancient said, "Without wings, fly through the sky; with fame, you become known throughout the world. " Wholeheartedly discard the marvelous wonders of the principles of Buddhism; let it all go at once, and then you will after all have realized something, and wherever you are it will naturally become manifest.

Xuedou says, "Solemnly dwelling in the sea of the world, he distinguishes dragons and snakes." Is it a dragon or a snake? As soon as anyone comes in through the door, he poses a test; this is called the eye to distinguish dragons and snakes, the ability to capture tigers and rhinos. Xuedou also said, "Judging dragons and 74

11. Gobblers of Dregs

snakes—how is that eye correct? Capturing tigers and rhinos— that skill is not complete."

Xuedou also says, "The emperor has been lightly handled; / Three times he personally felt those claws and fangs at work." Huangbo is not just acting bad right here; he's always been thus. As for this emperor, the Tang dynasty emperor Xianzong had two sons, Muzong and Xuanzong. The one referred to here is Xuanzong. When Xuanzong was thirteen, though young he was acute. He used to like to sit in the lotus posture. During the reign of Muzong, once when morning audience was over, Xuanzong playfully sat on the imperial throne and pretended to salute the court. One of the ministers saw this and thought Xuanzong was demented, so he reported it to Muzong. Seeing Xuanzong, Muzong praised him: "My younger brother is indeed a valiant son of our clan." Muzong died in 824, leaving three sons—Jingzong, Wenzong, and Wuzong. Jingzong succeeded to the throne and reigned for two years until the inner court removed him. Wenzong succeeded him and reigned for fourteen years. When Wuzong came to the throne, he always spoke of Xuanzong as an imbecile. One day, filled with hatred for Xuanzong because he had long ago playfully climbed up on his father's throne, he finally had Xuanzong beaten almost to death, thrown out into the back yard, and drenched with filthy water to revive him.

After this Xuanzong went into hiding in the community of Chan Master Xiangyan. Later he had his head shaved as a novice, but did not receive full ordination. He traveled around with Xiangyan. Coming to Mt. Lu, Xiangyan made up a poem about a waterfall: Piercing clouds, penetrating rock, never declining the work;

When the land is distant, you know how high is the place it appears.

Having intoned these two lines, Xiangyan remained silent in thought; he wanted to draw Xuanzong out to see what he was like. Xuanzong continued the verse:

75

152c

12. Three Pounds of Flax

The Blue Cliff Record

How can the mountain torrent be held back?

Eventually it must return to the ocean as waves. Now Xiangyan realized that Xuanzong was no ordinary man, and he silently acknowledged him.

Later Xuanzong joined the group at Yanguan, where he was asked to be the scribe. Huangbo was there serving as head monk. One day as Huangbo was paying respects to a Buddha image, Xuanzong saw him and asked, "If you don't seek from the Buddha, don't seek from the Dharma, and don't seek from the Sangha, what are you seeking by bowing?" Huangbo replied, "I don't seek from the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Sangha—I always pay respects this way." Xuanzong said, "What's the use of paying respects?" Immediately Huangbo slapped him. Xuanzong said, "Too coarse." Huangbo said, "Where is this to talk of coarse and fine?" and slapped him again. Later, when Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, he gave Huangbo the title Coarse Acting Monk. When prime minister Pei Xiu was at court later, he proposed that Huangbo be given the title Duanji Chanshi, Boundless Chan Master. Xuedou know where his bloodline came from, so he could use it cleverly. Right now is there anyone to use those claws and fangs? If so, I'll strike!

12. Three Pounds of Flax

Introduction

The sword that kills, the sword that gives life: this is the standard way of antiquity and the essential pivot for today too. If you discuss killing, you don't harm a single hair; if you discuss giving life, you lose your life. So it is said, "The sages have not transmitted the single transcendental path; students toil over appearances like monkeys grasping at reflections. " Tell me, since it is not transmitted, why then so many complicated stories? Let those with eyes try to discern.

76

12. Three Pounds of Flax

Story

A monk asked Dongshan, "What is the Buddha?" (Iron brambles; no one on earth can leap clear.) Dongshan said, "Three pounds of flax." (Clearly. Worn-out straw sandals. He addresses the matter indirectly.) Commentary

So many people misunderstand this story. It is really hard to chew, since there's no place to sink your teeth into. Why? Because it is flavorless. The ancients had quite a few answers to the question of what the Buddha is. One said, "The one in the shrine." One said, "The thirty-two auspicious marks." One said, "A bamboo whip on a mountain covered with a forest grown from a staff." And so on, to Dongshan, who said, "Three pounds of flax. " He indeed cut off the tongues of the ancients.

Many people base their understanding on the words and say that Dongshan was in the storehouse at the time weighing out flax when the monk questioned him, and that is why he answered this way. Some say that when Dongshan is asked about east he answers about west. Some say that since you are a Buddha and yet you still go around asking about a Buddha, Dongshan answers this in a roundabout way. And there's yet another type of dead people who say that the three pounds of flax is itself the Buddha. These interpretations are irrelevant. If you seek from Dongshan's words this way, you can search until kingdom come and still never see it even in a dream.

Why? Words are just vessels to convey the Way. Not realizing the intent of the ancients, people just search in their words; what grasp have they? An ancient said, "Basically the Way has no words for it, but we use words to illustrate the Way. Once you see the Way, the words are forgotten." To get to this point, you must first go back to your own original state.

This three pounds of flax is like the single track of the highway to the Capital; as you go, nothing is not it. This story is the 77

153a

The Blue Cliff Record

same as Yunmen's "Cake," undeniably difficult to understand. My teacher Wuzu made a verse on it: The cheap-selling board-carrying fellow Weighs it out, three pounds of flax. With a hundred thousand years of unsold goods, He has no place to put it all. You must clean it all up; when defiling feelings, conceptual thinking, and comparisons of gain and loss and right and wrong are all cleared away at once, then you will spontaneously understand. Verse

The sun hurries;

(In the left eye, half a pound. Even a swift hawk can't overtake it. Lay down in flames of fire.) The moon is swift.

(In the right eye, eight ounces. He makes his nest in the palace of Heng O, the Moon Lady.) Has there ever been carelessness in a good response? (As the bell when struck, as the valley echoing.) To see Dongshan as laying out facts according to the situation

(Mistakenly sticking by the zero point of the scale. It's just you who see things this way.) Is like a lame tortoise and a blind turtle entering an empty valley.

(Take your due and get out. In the same pit there's no different dirt. Who killed your hawk?) Flowery groves, clusters of brocade; (A double case; he handles all crimes on the same indictment. As before, they're the same.) Bamboo of the south, wood of the north, (There is also a third level. A quadruple case. He puts a head on top of his head.)

So I think of Changqing and Officer Lu; 78

12. Three Pounds of Flax

(A leper drags his companions along with him. I am this way, and Xuedou is this way too.)

He knew how to say he should laugh, not cry. (Ha ha. Day and night he adds to the suffering.) Ha!

(Tsk! What is this? I strike!)

Commentary

Xuedou can see all the way through, so he immediately says, "The sun hurries; / The moon is swift." This is of the same kind as Dongshan's reply "Three pounds of flax. " The sun rises, the moon sets; every day it's like this. People often make up intellectual interpretations and just say the sun is the left eye and the moon is the right eye; when questioned, they glare and say, "Here!" What connection is there? If you understand in this way, the Chan school will disappear. That is why it is said, "Setting out a hook in the four seas is just to fish out terrible dragons; the mysterious device outside convention is for seeking those who know the self." Xuedou is one who has left the mundane; how could he make up this sort of interpretation? Xuedou easily reveals a little something to let you see where barriers are broken and hinges are smashed; there he adds a footnote saying, "Has there ever been carelessness in a good response?" Dongshan does not reply lightly; he is like a bell when struck, like a valley echoing. Great or small, he responds accordingly, never daring to make a careless impression. At once Xuedou has brought out his heart and presented it to you. Xuedou wrote a verse on being tranquil but responsive: Presented face to face, it's not a matter of multiplicity; Dragons and snakes are easily distinguished, but Chan practitioners are hard to deceive.

The golden hammer's shadow moves, the jewel sword's light is cold;

They strike directly; be quick to look!

153b

79

The Blue Cliff Record

When Dongshan first saw Yunmen, Yunmen asked him, "Where have you just come from?" Dongshan said, "From Chadu." Yunmen said, "Where did you spend the summer?" Dongshan said, "At Baoci." Yunmen asked, "When did you leave there?" Dongshan said, "August twenty fifth." Yunmen said, "I should let you have three score blows of the staff; go meditate in the hall." That evening Dongshan came to Yunmen and asked, "Where was my fault?" Yunmen said, "You rice bag! From one place to another, and still you go on this way." At these words Dongshan was greatly awakened. After a while he said, "Some day I'll go where there are no human hearths and build a hut; I won't store any rice or plant any vegetables. There I'll receive the sages coming and going from the ten directions; I'll remove their fixations and accretions, and make them clean and free, so they can be unburdened." Yunmen said, "Your body is the size of a coconut, yet you can open such a big mouth. " Dongshan then left. His enlightenment at that time was a direct complete breakthrough; how could it have anything in common with limited views? Later, when he worked as a teacher to deal with people's various potentials, the words "three pounds of flax" were understood everywhere merely as a reply to the question about the Buddha; people just make their reasoning in terms of the Buddha. Xuedou says that to understand Dongshan's reply as expressing facts in accordance with the situation is like a lame tortoise or a blind turtle going into an empty valley; when will they ever find a way out?

"Flowery groves, clusters of brocade." When a monk asked Fude Xian, "What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?" He replied, "Flowery groves, clusters of brocade." The monk also asked Mingjiao, "What is the inner meaning of'three pounds of flax'?" Mingjiao said, "Bamboo of the south, wood of the north." The monk came back and recounted this to Dongshan, who said, "I won't explain this just for you, but for the whole community." Later he entered the hall and said, "Words do not express facts; speech does not accord with the situation. Those who accept words are lost; those who linger over sayings are deluded. "

80

12. Three Pounds of Flax

To smash people's intellectual views, Xuedou purposely draws these together on a single thread to produce his verse. Yet people of later times still give rise to even more intellectual views and say, '"Three pounds of flax' is the robe of mourning; bamboo is the staff of mourning; that's why he said, 'Bamboo of the south, wood of the north.' 'Flowery groves, clusters of brocade' refers to the flowers painted on the coffin." Do these people realize their disgrace? They don't realize that "bamboo of the south, wood of the north" and "three pounds of flax" are just like "daddy" and "papa." When the ancients answered with a turn of words, their intention was definitely not like this. It's just like Xuedou's saying, "The sun hurries; / The moon is swift"—it's just as broad. It's just that gold and brass are hard to tell apart; similar written characters get mixed up.

Xuedou has a kindly heart; he wants to break up your feelings of doubt, so he brings in more dead men: "So I think of Changqing and Officer Lu; / He knew how to say he should laugh, not cry." To discuss the verse itself, the first three lines by themselves have already completed the verse. But I ask you, since the whole universe is just this three pounds of flax, why does Xuedou still have so many complications? It's just that he is extremely compassionate; therefore he does this.

When Officer Lu Xuan was Inspector of Xuanzhou, he studied with Nanquan. When Nanquan passed on, Lu heard the sound of mourning, so he went to the temple for the funeral. He laughed aloud. The temple director said, "The late master was your teacher; why aren't you crying?" Lu said, "If you can speak appropriately, I'll cry." The temple director had nothing to say. Lu gave a loud lament, "Alas! Our late teacher is long gone!" Later Changqing heard of this and said, "The officer should have laughed, not cried." Xuedou borrows the essence of this meaning to say that if you make up these kinds of intellectual interpretations, this calls for laughter, not crying. This is so, but at the very end there's a single word that is in fact easy to misunderstand, when he goes on to say "Ha! " Has Xuedou washed clean?

81

153c

13. The School of Kanadeva

Introduction

Clouds are frozen over the great plain, but the world is not hidden. When snow covers the white flowers, it's hard to distinguish the outlines. Its coldness is cold as snow and ice; its fineness is fine as flour. Its depths are hard for even the Buddha's eye to peer into; its secrets are impossible for demons and outsiders to fathom. Leaving aside for he moment nderstanding the hole when art is raised, how does one speak so as to silence everyone on earth? Tell me, whose business is this?

Story

A onk asked Baling, "What s the school of anadeva?" (A hite horse enters white flowers. What are you saying? Check!) Baling said, "Piling snow in a silver bowl." (He chokes you. A profuse outburst.)

Commentary

People often misunderstand this story and say this is a heretical school. What's the connection? The fifteenth patriarch Kanadeva was indeed once an outsider, but when he met the fourteenth patriarch Nagarjuna, who presented a bowl of ater o him, he put a needle into the bowl. Nagarjuna recognized his capacity, transmitted the enlightened mind teaching to him, and invested him as the fifteenth patriarch.

Mazu said, "The Lankavatara Sutra says that the Buddha's words have mind as their source, and that the gate of onbeing is the gate to reality." He also said, "Whenever there are verbal statements, this is the school of Kanadeva; just this he considered principal."

All of ou are guests in the Chan school; have you thoroughly comprehended the school of Kanadeva as well? If you have comprehended it, then all heretics are vanquished by you at once. If 82

13. The School ofKanadeva

you have not been able to comprehend it, you can't avoid defeat. What about it? If you say words are it, this is off the mark; if you say words are not it, this too is off the mark. Where does Mazu's meaning lie?

Later Yunmen said, "Mazu spoke good words, but no one asks about it." Thereupon a monk asked, "What is the school of Kanadeva?" Yunmen said, "Of the many kinds of heretics, you are the lowest."

Once when a monk was taking leave of Dasui, Dasui asked, "Where are you going?" He said, "To pay homage to Samantabhadra. " Dasui raised his whisk and said, "ManjusrI and Samantabhadra are both here." The monk drew a circle and presented it to Dasui; then he threw it behind him. Dasui said, "Attendant, bring tea for this monk. "

Yunmen also said, "In India they cut off heads and arms; here you take what's due you and get out. " He also said, "The red flag is in my hand."

In doctrinal disputes in India the winner held a red flag, while the loser turned his clothes inside out and departed through a side door. Those who wanted to hold debates in India were required to obtain royal permission. Bells and drums would be sounded in the great temples and afterwards the debates began. In Kanadeva's day heretics had impounded the bell and drum in the Buddhist temple in a persecution. Now Kanadeva knew that Buddhism was in trouble, so he made use of his supernormal powers to go up the bell tower and ring the bell, for he wanted to drive out the heretics.

Soon one of the heretics called out, "Who is up in the tower ringing the bell?" Kanadeva answered, "A deva." The heretic asked, "Who is the deva?" Kanadeva said, "I." The heretic said, "Who is T ?" Kanadeva said "T is you." The heretic said, "Who is you'?" Kanadeva said, "'You' is a dog." The heretic asked, "Who is the dog?" Kanadeva said, "The dog is 'you.'" After seven go-rounds like this, the heretic realized he was beaten, so he submitted and opened the door of the bell tower, whereupon Kanadeva came down 154a

83

154b The Blue Cliff Record

holding a red flag. The heretic said, "Why do you not follow?" Kanadeva said, "Why do you not precede?" The heretic said, "You're a knave." Kanadeva said, "You're a free man."

Over and over Kanadeva would respond to questions like this, using his unobstructed powers of intellect to overcome heretics, who would therefore submit. At such times Kanadeva would hold a red flag in his hand, and the defeated one would stand beneath the flag. Among the heretics, to have their heads cut off was generally the punishment for defeat, but now Kanadeva put a stop to this; he only required his defeated adversaries to shave their heads and enter the Buddhist path. Therefore the school of Kanadeva flourished greatly. Later on Xuedou uses this in his verse. As a student, Baling was called the Talkative One. When he was traveling he always sewed sitting mats. He had attained deep realization under Yunmen; thus he was outstanding. Later he became a teacher, a spiritual heir of Yunmen. First he lived at Baling. He didn't compose a document of succession to the teaching but just used three turning words to offer up to Yunmen: "What is the Way? One with clear eyes falls into a well." "What is the razor-sharp sword? Each branch of coral upholds the moon. " "What is the school of Kanadeva? Piling snow in a silver bowl." Yunmen said, "Later on, on the anniversary of my death, just recite these three turning words, and you will have repaid my kindness in full. " Thereafter, as it turned out, he did not hold ceremonial feasts on the anniversary of the death of his teacher Yunmen but followed Yunmen's will and just brought up these sayings. Though people all over have given answers to this question about the school of Kanadeva, they have mostly answered in terms of events. Only Baling speaks as he does, lofty and unique, indeed difficult to understand. Then too, without revealing a trace of his sharp point, he takes on enemies from all sides, and blow by blow finds a way out. He has the skill to fell tigers; he strips off human sentimental views. As for the matter of uniformity, to get here you must have penetrated all the way through on your own, but after all you must meet another before you are done. Therefore it 84

13. The School of Kanadeva

is said, "When Daowu brandished his scepter, one who was his equal would understand; when Shikong bent his bow, an adept would tacitly comprehend." For this truth, if you have no certain transmission from a teacher, what can you use to carry on the esoteric conversation?

Verse

Old Baling

(A thousand soldiers are easy to get, but one general is hard to find. Talkative teacher!) Is truly something else,

(What truth is this? Have you even dreamed of the peak experience?)

He knows to say, "Piling snow in a silver bowl." (The frog can't jump out of the basket. A double case. Quite a few people will lose their lives.) The heretics must know for themselves; (You're included too, but do you know? All are buried in the same pit.)

If you don't know, ask the moon in the sky. (It's farther than far. Take what's due you and get out. Address your plea to the sky.)

The school of Kanadeva, Kanadeva's school, (What are you saying? I'm here. A mouthful of frost.) Beneath the red flag, arouses the pure wind. (Shattered. Having struck, I'll say I've already hit it. Just cut off your heads and arms, and I'll speak a phrase for you.)

Commentary

"Old Baling / Is truly something else." Xuedou has ample praise for him. But how is Baling special? "All words are the Buddha's teaching." When I talk like this, what's the reason? Xuedou subtly reveals a little of his meaning when he says it's just that Baling is 85

14. An Appropriate Statement

i54c The Blue Cliff Record

truly something else. Afterwards he opens up and says, "He knows to say, 'Piling snow in a silver bowl.'"

Xuedou goes on to provide you with further footnotes: "The heretics must know for themselves." Before they can do so, they must acknowledge defeat. If you don't know, ask the moon in the sky. An ancient once gave this answer to this question: "Ask the moon in the sky. "

Xuedou's eulogy finished, at the end there must be a living road, a phrase where the lion rears. He raises it higher for you and says, "The school of Kanadeva, Kanadeva's school, / Beneath the red flag, arouses the pure wind." Baling said he piled snow in a silver bowl; why then does Xuedou speak of rousing the pure wind beneath the red flag? Do you know that Xuedou kills people without using a sword?

14. An Appropriate Statement

Story

A monk asked Yunmen, "What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?" (Even now they're still not finished. The professor does not understand; he's in a cave of complications.) Yunmen said, "An appropriate statement." (An iron hammerhead with no hole. A profuse outburst. A rat gnawing on raw ginger.) Commentary

Members of the Chan school, if you want to know the meaning of the Buddha nature, you must observe times and conditions. This is called the special transmission outside doctrine, the sole communication of the mind seal, directly pointing to the mind for the perception of the essence and the realization of enlightenment. For forty-nine years Sâkyamuni Buddha stayed in the world; at three hundred sixty assemblies he expounded the sudden and gradual, the temporary and the true teachings. These are what are called the teachings of a whole lifetime. The monk picked this 86

14. An Appropriate Statement

out to ask, "What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?" Why didn't Yunmen explain for him in full detail, but instead say, "An appropriate statement"?

Yunmen ordinarily included three statements in one statement. These are called the statement that contains the universe, the statement that follows the waves, and the statement that cuts off all streams. He lets go and gathers in, naturally extraordinary, like cutting nails or shearing iron. He makes people unable to figure him out. The whole Canon of teachings just comes down to three words—"An appropriate statement"—there is no facet or aspect of this that you can rationalize.

People often misunderstand and say, "The Buddha's teaching was appropriate to the conditions of one time." Or they say, "All forms are impressions of a single truth," and call this "an appropriate statement." Then there are those who say it's just talking about that one truth. What connection is there? Not only do they not understand, they go to hell as fast as an arrow. They do not know that Yunmen's meaning is not like this. Therefore it is said, "Even to shatter one's bones and crush one's body is not sufficient recompense; when a single statement is understood, you transcend ten billion." Extraordinary indeed— "What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?" just boils down to his saying, "An appropriate statement." If you can grasp this immediately, you can go home and sit in peace. If not, listen humbly to the verdict.

Verse

An appropriate statement;

(Leaping with life. The words are still in our ears. Strict indeed.)

How utterly unique!

(The onlooker has some part in it. It's not merely like a mile-high wall. Is there any such thing?) He wedges a stake into the iron hammerhead with no hole.

87

15. An Upside-Down Statement

155a The Blue Cliff Record

(He misunderstands the words. Old Yunmen too is washing a lump of dirt in mud; Xuedou too is just pasting on ornaments.)

Under the Jambu Tree I laugh—

(This fellow has never been anywhere. Only those on the same road would know. How many could there be who know?)

Last night the black dragon had its horn wrenched off. (It's not just the black dragon that gets twisted and broken. Has anyone seen? Do you have proof? Dumb!) Exceptional, exceptional—

(Ample praise; it takes Xuedou to do this. Where is he exceptional?)

Old Yunmen got one horn.

(Where is it? To whom is the other horn given? Even Deshan and Linji must fall back three thousand miles. Again, what about that other horn? I strike!) Commentary

"An appropriate statement: / How utterly unique!" Xuedou cannot praise him enough. This saying of Yunmen is incomparable. It is like a precipitous cliff ten miles high. Then, too, it is like a million-man battle line; there is no place for you to get in. It's just that it's too inaccessible.

An ancient said, "If you want to attain intimacy, don't use a question to ask a question; the question is in the answer and the answer is in the question." Of course it's inaccessible, but tell me, where is it that it's inaccessible? No one on earth can do anything about it. This monk was an adept too, and so he could question like this. And Yunmen answered this way, much like "wedging a stake into the iron hammerhead with no hole." Xuedou employs language so artfully. "Under the Jambu Tree I laugh"—In the Scripture on Creation of the World it says, "South of Sumeru a crystal tree shines over the continent Jambu, making all in between a clear blue. This continent takes its name from this great tree; hence 88

15. An Upside-Down Statement

it is called Jambudvipa. This tree is seven thousand leagues high; beneath it are the golden mounds of the Jambu altar, which is twenty leagues high. Since gold is produced from beneath the tree, it is called the Jambu Tree."

Thus Xuedou says of himself that he is under the Jambu Tree laughing. What is he laughing at? He's laughing at the black dragon that got its horn wrenched off last night. All he can do is look up respectfully and praise Yunmen. When Yunmen says, "An appropriate statement, " what's it like? It's like breaking off one of the black dragon's horns. At this point, if there were no such thing, how could he have spoken as he did?

Xuedou has finished his verse all at once, but he still has something to say at the very end: "Exceptional, exceptional— / Old Yunmen got one horn." Why doesn't Xuedou say he got them both? How is it that he just got one horn? Where is the other horn? 15. An Upside-Down Statement

Introduction

The sword that kills, the sword that enlivens; the customary rule of time immemorial is still the pivotal essential for today. Tell me, right now which is the killing sword and which the enlivening sword? Story

A monk asked Yunmen, "When it's not the present potential and not the present situation, what is it?" (Why the leaping about? Fall back three thousand miles.) Yunmen said, "An upside-down statement." (They come out even. Truth comes out of the convict's mouth; he can't be let go. Yunmen stretches out in the wild weeds.) Commentary

This monk is unquestionably an adept, to be able to pose such a question. This is called asking for more instruction. This is a question to 89

The Blue Cliff Record

i55b demonstrate understanding, and it can also be called a question with a concealed barb. Anyone but Yunmen would have no way to cope with this monk. Yunmen possesses such ability that he cannot but reply once the question is raised. Why? An expert teaching master is like a mirror: if a foreigner comes a foreigner is reflected, and if a native comes a native is reflected. An ancient said, "If you want to attain intimate understanding, don't use a question to ask a question. Why? Because the question is in the answer, and the answer is in the question." Since when have the sages ever had anything to give people? Where is there Chan or the Way that can be given to you? If you don't do hellish deeds, naturally you will not bring on hellish results. If you don't create heavenly conditions, naturally you won't receive heavenly rewards. Whatever you do, you experience the results yourself. Yunmen clearly tells you, "When we discuss this affair, it's not in the words. Were it in the words, doesn't the Canon contain words? What further need would there have been for Bodhidharma to bring Chan from India?"

In the preceding case Yunmen said, "An appropriate statement." Here, on the other hand, he says, "An upside-down statement." Since there's only a difference of a single word, why then are there a thousand differences, ten thousand distinctions? Tell me, where is the confusion? This is why it is said, "The teaching is carried out according to facts; the banner of the teaching is set up according to the situation. "

"When it's not the present potential and not the present situation, what is it?" is just worth a nod. Someone with eyes couldn't be fooled one bit. Since the point of the question was abstruse, the answer too had to be thus. In fact Yunmen is riding the thief's horse in pursuit of the thief.

Some people mistakenly say, "Basically these are words of a host, but it was a guest who spoke them; therefore Yunmen said, 'An upside-down statement.'" What is the rush? This monk asked well: "When it's not the present potential and not the present situation, what is it?" Why didn't Yunmen 90

15. An Upside-Down Statement

answer him with some other words? Why instead did he just say to him, "An upside-down statement"? Yunmen at once saw right through him. Still, to say "An upside-down statement" at this point is to gouge a wound in healthy flesh. Why? "The emergence of tracks of words is the source from which divergent opinions are born. " Suppose there were no words; have the pillars and lamps here ever had any words? Do you understand? If you don't understand at this point, you still need to turn over before you will know where the ultimate point of this is. Verse

An upside-down statement:

(Can't let it go.)

Dividing one token,

(Part on your side, part on my side. Half south of the river, half north of the river. Walking together hand in hand.)

Dying with you, being born with you, to give you certainty.

(Washing a lump of dirt in mud. For what reason? Can't let you go.)

The 84,000 disciples of the Buddha were not worthy successors;

(They seemed to be. He greatly diminishes these people's grandeur. The ignorant are plentiful.) Thirty-three people entered the tiger's den. (One can only know for oneself. A single general is hard to find. A band of wild fox spirits.) Distinctly outstanding—

(How is it exceptional? Don't brag so much. Jump as you will.) The moon in the churning rushing water. (Under the bright sun in the blue sky, he mistakes the reflection for the head. Why so busy?) 91

The Blue Cliff Record

155c Commentary

Xuedou is undeniably an adept too. Right under the first line he immediately says, "Dividing one token." Clearly he lets go of the ultimate and joins hands with Yunmen to walk along together with him. Xuedou has always had the technique of letting go; he dares to enter the mud and water for your sake, to die and be born together with you. This is the reason Xuedou praises Yunmen this way. In reality he has no other purpose than to eliminate fixations and hangups.

These days, however, people spin out intellectual interpretations based on his words. As Yantou said, "Although Xuefeng was born of the same lineage as I, he does not die of the same lineage as I. " If Yunmen were not someone whose whole capacity had penetrated through to liberation, how could he die with you and be born with you? Why can he do this? Because he is free from the many leaking points of gain and loss, right and wrong. Thus Dongshan said, "If you would judge whether one going beyond is genuine or false, check for three kinds of leakage: emotional leakage, leakage of views, and verbal leakage. If there is leakage of views, the potential does not leave its position and falls into a sea of poison. With emotional leakage, knowledge always turns toward and against, and one's view is biased. Verbal leakage embodies the marvelous but loses the source; the intellect confuses beginning and end. You should know these three kinds of leakage for yourself. "

There are also three mysteries; the mystery within the essence, the mystery within the expression, and the mystery within the mystery. When the ancients came into this realm, their whole capacity was fully used: if you happened to be born, they would be born together with you; if you happened to die, they would die with you. They stretched out in the tiger's mouth; letting go, they would follow your lead for a thousand miles. Why? You must go back with them to get this one realization before you'll understand. As for "The 84,000 disciples of Buddha were not worthy successors," this refers to the assembly of 84,000 holy people on Vulture 92

15. An Upside-Down Statement

Peak of Spirit Mountain—they were not worthy successors. The Buddha held up a flower, and Kasyapa alone broke into a smile— the others did not know what he meant. Thus Xuedou says that the eighty-four thousand were not worthy successors. "Thirty-three people entered the tiger's den. " Ananda asked Kasyapa, "The Buddha bequeathed to you his golden robe; what special teaching did he transmit besides?" Kasyapa said, "Ananda." Ananda said, "Yes?" Kasyapa said, "Take down the banner in front of the gate." Ananda was enlightened at this. Thereafter transmission continued person to person in India and China, through thirty-three patriarchs. All of them had the ability to enter the tiger's den. The ancients said, if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch a tiger cub?

Yunmen is this kind of person, able to accompany people through birth and death. To help people, a Chan teacher must be like this, making you break open and letting you grab the tiger's whiskers. One must have reached such a realm to be able to teach. If the items of a teacher's equipment are always with one, it is then possible to accompany people through life and death, pressing down the high, lifting up the low, giving to those who lack. Those on the solitary peak the teacher rescues and sends into the wild weeds; those fallen into the wild weeds the teacher rescues and puts on the solitary peak. If you enter a boiling cauldron or a fiery furnace, the teacher also enters the boiling cauldron and fiery furnace. In reality there is no other purpose but to dissolve fixations and untie bonds, to get rid of what blinds and burdens people. Master Pingtian had a most excellent verse:

Spiritual light undimmed,

Ages of good advice.

Once it comes through this door,

Don't keep intellectual understanding.

"Distinctly outstanding—The moon in the churning rushing water." Xuedou unfailingly has a way to manifest in being, and also the skill to bring people to life. He has picked this out to get people 93

156a