T2003 The Blue Cliff Record

39. The Flowering Hedge

mb The Blue Cliff Record

By the castle of the King of Chu, the tidal water— (What tidal water are you talking about? Vastly extensive, it fills heaven and earth. Even were it the four seas, he would still reverse their flow.) Shouting once, he caused its flow to turn back. (This one shout not only cuts off your tongue; oh! it startles the iron ox into a run and frightens the colossus to death.)

Commentary

Xuedou knew Fengxue to have such a style, so he eulogized him by saying, "Having caught Lupi, he mounts him on the iron ox; / The spear and armor of the three profundities have never been easily opposed. " In the Linji tradition there are three profundities and three essentials: within any one statement there must be inherent three profundities; in one profundity there must be inherent three essentials. A monk asked Linji, "What is the primary statement?" Linji said, "When the seal of the three essentials is lifted, the red mark is narrow; without admitting hesitation, host and guest are distinct." The monk asked, "What is the secondary statement?" Linji said, "How can subtle discernment admit of no questioning? Expedients do not go against the ability to cut off the streams." The monk asked, "What is the tertiary statement?" Linji said, "Just observe the playing of the puppet on the stage; the pulling of the strings depends on the person behind the scenes." In one statement of Fengxue, he is immediately equipped with the spear and armor of the three profundities; fully equipped, he is not easy to oppose. Were he not so, how could he have handled Lupi? Finally Xuedou wants to bring out the active edge of the Linji line. Do not speak of Lupi only—even by the castle of the King of Chu, the great waves flooding the skies all return to the source; just a single shout is all that's needed to make them reverse their course. 200

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Introduction

One who can take action on the road is like a tiger in the mountains; one immersed in worldly understanding is like a monkey in a cage. If you want to know the meaning of the Buddha nature, observe time and conditions. If ou want to smelt pure gold that has been refined a hundred times, you need the forge and bellows of a master. Tell me, when the great function appears, what can be used to test it?

Story

A monk asked Yunmen, "What is the pure body of reality?" (He sees the sixteen-foot gold body of the Buddha in a heap of dust. Mottled and mixed up; what is it?) Yunmen said, "A flowering hedge." (If he point of he question is not real, the answer comes across crude. We bump into it everywhere. The bent does not hide the straight.) The monk asked, "What is it like when one goes on just so?" (He swallows the date whole. Why indulge in stupidity?) Yunmen said, "A olden-haired ion." (He is oth raising and censuring; two faces, one die. He meets error with error—what is going on in his mind?)

Commentary

Do you know the point of hese questions and answers? If ou do, the two speakers are alike without a single tongue. If you don't, you won' avoid being fatheaded.

A monk asked Xuansha, "What is the pure body of reality?" Xuansha said, "Dripping with pus." He had the adamantine eye; try to discern it.

Yunmen was not the same as others. Sometimes he held still and stood like a wall ten miles high, with no place for you to anchor. Sometimes he would open out a path for you, die along with you and live along with you.

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177c Yunmen's speech was very subtle. Some people say he was answering at random; but if you understand it this way, then tell me where Yunmen is. This was a household affair; don't try to figure it out from outside. This was the reason Baizhang said, "Myriad forms, and all words, should each be referred to oneself and made to operate freely. " He speaks immediately where life springs forth; if you try to deliberate and seek it in thought, immediately you have fallen into the secondary. Yongjia said, "When the body of reality awakens fully, there is not a single thing; the inherent nature of the original source is the natural real Buddha. " Yunmen tested this monk; the monk was also a member of his household and was a longtime student. He knew the business of the household, so he went on to say, "What is it like to go on just so?" Yunmen said, "A golden-haired lion." But tell me, is this agreeing or not? Is this praising or censuring? Yantou said, "If you engage in battle, each individual stands in a pivotal position." It is also said, "Study the living word, not the dead word. If you understand the living word you will never forget; if you understand at the dead word, you will be unable to save yourself. " Another monk asked Yunmen, "Is it true that the Buddha Dharma is like the moon in the water?" Yunmen said, "There is no way through the clear waves." The monk went on, "How did you manage?" Yunmen said, "Where does this second question come from?" The monk said, "How is it when going on just so?" Yunmen said, "Further complications block the mountain path. " You must realize that this matter is not in words; like sparks, like lightning, whether you reach it or not, you still will not avoid losing your life. Xuedou is someone who is there, so he produces his verse from that very place.

Verse

A flowering hedge;

(The words are still in our ears.)

Don't be fatheaded!

(Such people are numerous. Still, there are some who are not. Take what's coming to you and get out.)

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The marks are on the balance arm, not on the scale pan. (Too complicated! Everyone should introspect on their own. He still talks about principle.)

"Then just be so"—

(He swallows the date whole.)

How pointless!

(Take what's coming to you and get out. Clearly. You should not mistakenly blame Yunmen.)

A golden haired lion—everyone look!

(He lets out one or a half. Still they are dogs. Yunmen is also a man from the land of thieves escorting a thief.) Commentary

Xuedou sizes up the audience to give his order; making the harpstrings vibrate, he distinguishes the tune. With each phrase he continues the judgment. This verse is not at variance with the form for quoting the ancients. "A flowering hedge"—then he says, "Don't be fatheaded." People say Yunmen was responding at random; they make up intellectual interpretations to understand him. Xuedou therefore gives his own fodder and says, "Don't be fatheaded." The fact is that Yunmen's meaning is not in the flowering hedge; that's why Xuedou says, "The marks are on the balance arm, not on the scale pan. " This line is extremely indulgent. In the water there is no moon; the moon is in the sky. This is like the marks being on the balance arm, not on the scale pan. But tell me, which is the balance? If you can discern it clearly, you will not turn away from Xuedou.

When that ancient got to this point, he was indeed compassionate. Clearly he says to you. "It's not here, it's over there." But tell me, what place is that "over there"? This finishes the eulogizing of the first statements; afterward he versifies the monk's saying, "What is it like when one goes on just so?" Xuedou says this monk still has no point. Tell me, is this meeting in light or meeting in darkness? Did he speak this way from understanding, or did he speak thus without understanding? "A golden-haired lion— everyone look!" Do you see the golden-haired lion? Look! 203

40. Like a Dream

i78a Introduction

Cease and desist; then an iron tree blooms with flowers. Is there anyone who can do this? A clever lad oses his profits; even hough he is free, he cannot avoid being taken in tow. But tell me, where is his error?

Story

Talking with Nanquan, Officer Lu Xuan said, "Master Sengzhao said, ' eaven and earth and I have the same root, myriad things and I are one body.'This is quite marvelous." (He's living in a ghost cave. A picture of cake cannot satisfy hunger. This is also haggling in the weeds.) Nanquan pointed to a flower in the garden. (What will he say? Tch! For scriptures there are teachers of scriptures, for treatises there are teachers of treatises—it's no business of a Chan monk. Bah! A powerful man in that instance would have uttered a pivotal word and not only cut off anquan but thereby caused all the Chan practitioners to show some energy.) He called to the officer and said, "People these days see this flower as a dream." (When the embroidered ducks are done, you may look at them, but do not give the golden needle away to anyone. Don't talk in your sleep. You have drawn the golden oriole down from the willow branch.)

Commentary

Officer Lu Xuan studied for a long time with Nanquan. He always concentrated on essential nature, and studied the discourses of Sengzhao. One day e brought p these wo ines, considering them remarkable: "Heaven and earth and I have the same root, myriad things and I are one body—this is quite marvelous." Sengzhao was an eminent monk of he fourth and fifth centuries, one of he great disciples of he translator umarajlva. When he was young he was fond of Taoist literature. Later, as he was 204

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copying the old translation of the Vimalakirti Sutra, he had an enlightenment. Then he knew that Taoism was not really thoroughgoing. Therefore he compiled Buddhist sutras and composed four discourses.

What Taoism says is that heaven and earth are great, and so are we; we are alike born in emptiness. Taoism just discusses equalizing things; Sengzhao said that nature all returns to self. Have you not seen how his discourse says, "The ultimate person is empty, without form; yet none of the myriad things are not one's own doing. Who can understand that myriad things are one's own self? Only a sage."

Though there are spirits and humans, the wise and the sage, and each is distinct, yet all have one nature and one substance. An ancient said, "The whole world is just oneself; when cold, it is cold everywhere; when hot, it is hot everywhere. In terms of existence, all exists; in terms of nonexistence, nothing exists. When affirmed, all is; when denied, all is not." Fayan said, "It, It, It; I, I, I; south, north, east, west, everything is all right. All right or not, only for me there is nothing not all right." Thus it was said, "In the universe I alone am honorable. "

As Shitou read the discourses of Sengzhao, when he got to this point, "Understand myriad things as oneself," he was greatly enlightened. Later he composed the Merging of ifference and Unity, which also does not go beyond this meaning.

See how Lu Xuan questioned; tell me, what root do they share? Which body do they have in common? Here, he was indeed extraordinary; how could this be the same as an ordinary man's ignorance of the height of the sky or the breadth of the earth? How could there be such a thing?

Lu Xuan's question thus was indeed exceptional, but he did not go beyond the meaning of the doctrines. If you say the meaning of the doctrines is ultimate, why did Buddha raise the flower, why did Bodhidharma come from India?

Nanquan's way of answering used the grip of a Chan monk to pick out the painful spot for the other, and broke up his nest; he 205

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pointed to a flower and said to the officer, "People these days see this flower as a dream." This is like leading the man to the edge of a ten-mile cliff and giving him a push, causing his life to be cut off. If you were pushed over on level ground, you would never be able to accomplish the cutting off of life.

It is also like one in a dream; though he wants to awaken, he cannot; called by another, he awakens. If Nanquan's eye were not true, he would surely have been befuddled by Lu. See how he talks; undeniably he is difficult to understand. If the action of your eyes is alive, you will experience it like the most superb savor; if you are dead, you will turn it into poison. An ancient said, "If you see it in phenomena, you'll fall into ordinary feelings; if you go to the intellect to figure it out, you will seek without finding." Yantou said, "This is the livelihood of a transcendent person, who just reveals the bit before the eyes, like a flash of lightning." Nanquan's meaning was like this; he has the capability to capture rhinos and tigers, to judge dragons and snakes. When you get here, you must understand on your own. Have you not heard it said, "The single transcending road has not been transmitted by the sages; students toil over forms like monkeys grasping at reflections"? See how Xuedou brings it out in verse: Verse

Seeing, hearing, awareness, knowledge; these are not one and the same—

(In the multitude of forms there is not a single thing. Opened up. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all at once a hammerhead without a hole.)

Mountains and rivers are not seen in a mirror. (There is no such scenery here where I am. What is long is itself long, what is short is itself short; green is green, yellow is yellow. Where do you see them?) The frosty sky's moon sets, the night nearly half over; (He has led you into the weeds. The world has never concealed it. I only fear you will go sit in a ghost cave.) 206

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With whom will it cast an image, cold in the clear pool? (Is there anyone? If they did not sleep on the same bed, how could they know the cover is worn out? Someone who is sad should not speak of it to another who is sad; the sad speaking to the sad saddens them to death.) Commentary

Nanquan's little sleep talk, Xuedou's big sleep talk; though they are dreaming, they are having a good dream. At first there was talk of one body—here he says they are not the same: "Seeing, hearing, awareness, knowledge, are not one and the same—Mountains and rivers are not seen in a mirror. " If you say they are seen in a mirror, and only then understood, then they are not apart from the mirror. Mountains, rivers, earth, plants, trees, forests— do not use a mirror to observe them. If you use a mirror to observe, then you create a dichotomy. Just let mountains be mountains and rivers be rivers—"Each thing abides in its normal state; the forms of the world always remain. "

"Mountains and rivers are not seen in a mirror." Then tell me, where can you see them? Do you understand? When you get here, turn to "The frosty sky's moon sets, the night nearly half over"—this side he has cleared up for you; that side, you must cross by yourself.

But do you realize Xuedou uses his own thing to help others? "With whom will it cast an image, cold in the clear pool?" Do you think it is reflected itself, or is it reflected together with someone? It is necessary to cut off mental activity and cut off understanding before finally reaching this realm.

Right now, we don't need a clear pool, and we don't have to wait for the moon to set in the frosty sky. Right now, how is it? 207

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41. One Who Has

Died the Great Death

Introduction

Where affirmation and negation are mixed, even sages cannot know; when opposition and accord go vertically and horizontally, even Buddhas cannot know. One who is detached from the world, and who transcends convention, reveals the abilities of a great adept who stands out from the crowd. Such a one walks on thin ice, runs on a sword's edge, is like the unicorn's horn, like a lotus in fire. When seeing someone beyond comparison, this one knows they are on the same path. Who is an expert?

Story

Zhaozhou asked Touzi, "How s t hen one who has died the great death eturns o ife?" (There s such a hing? A hief oesn' strike a poor household. When one is accustomed to acting as guest, one has a feel for guests.) Touzi said, "Don' go by night; go there in daylight." (Seeing a cage, he makes a cage. This is a thief ecognizing a thief. If he wasn't lying on the same bed, how could he know the coverlet is worn?)

Commentary

Zhaozhou asked Touzi how it is when one who has undergone the great death returns to life; Touzi eplied that one should not go by night, but in daylight. Tell me, what time is this? A flute with no holes strikes a felt-pounding board. This is called a question to test he host, or n ntentional question. All over hey raised ouzi and Zhaozhou for outstanding eloquence. Though they succeeded to different masters, see how their active edges accord as one. One day Touzi set out tea for Zhaozhou. Touzi himself passed him some steamed cakes, but Zhaozhou paid no attention. Touzi had a servant give Zhaozhou the cakes; Zhaozhou bowed to the servant thrice. What did he mean? See how he always ent ight to the root to uphold this fundamental thing for the benefit of thers. 208

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A monk asked Touzi, "What is the Way?" Touzi said, "The Way." The monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" Touzi answered, "The Buddha." The monk asked, "How is it before the golden lock is opened?" Touzi replied, "Open." The monk asked, "How is it before the golden rooster has crowed?" Touzi said, "This sound does not exist." The monk asked, "What about after it crows?" Touzi said, "Each knows the time." Touzi's conversations were all like this. When Zhaozhou asked, "How is it when one who had died the great death returns to life?" Touzi immediately said, "Don't go by night; go there in daylight." Direct as sparks struck from stone, like a flash of lightning. Only a transcendental person like him could do this.

One who has died the great death has no Buddhist doctrines and theories, no mysteries and marvels, no gain and loss, no right and wrong, no long and short. When one gets here, one just lets it rest this way. An ancient said of this, "On the level ground the dead are countless; only those who can pass through thorns are adepts." One must pass even beyond the Other Side to attain. Even so, for people today it is already difficult to get to the realm of the great death.

If you have any leanings or dependence, any interpretative understanding, then there is no connection. Master Zhe called this vision that is not purified. Wuzu called it failure to cut off the root of life. One must die the great death once, then return to life. Yongguang said, "If you miss at the point of their words, you're a thousand miles from home. In fact you must let go over a cliff, trust yourself, and accept the experience. Afterward you return to life. I can't deceive you—how could anyone hide this extraordinary truth?" The meaning of Zhaozhou's question is like this. Touzi is an adept, and he didn't turn his back on what Zhaozhou asked; it's just that he cut off his feelings and left no traces, so unavoidably he's hard to understand. He just showed the little bit before the eyes. So an ancient said, "If you want to attain intimacy, don't ask with a question. The question is in the answer, and the answer is in the question." It would have been difficult for anyone but Touzi 209

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to reply to Zhaozhou's question. But since Touzi is an expert, as soon as it's raised he knows the ultimate point. Verse

179b In life there's an eye —still, it's the same as death. (The two don't know of each other. Back and forth, coming and going. If Zhaozhou weren't well provided, how could he discern whether Touzi was profound or shallow?)

Why use antiserum to test an adept?

(If you don't test, how can you discern the truth? Having met, try to give a test—what's the harm? I too want to question him.)

Even the ancient Buddhas, they say, have never arrived. (Luckily they had companions. None of the sages have transmitted it. I don't know either.)

I don't know who can scatter dust and sand. (There is quite a bit of this right now. It gets in your eyes whether they're open or closed. When you bring it up this way, what does it come down to?)

Commentary

"In life there's an eye—still, it's the same as death." Xuedou knows what is, so he can dare to make up verses. An ancient said, "He studies the living word, not the dead word." Xuedou says that to have eyes in life is still to be just the same as dead. Has he ever died? To have eyes within death is to be the same as alive. An ancient said, "Utterly kill the dead, and then you will see the living; enliven the dead and you will see the dead." Though Zhaozhou is alive, he intentionally made up a dead question to test Touzi. It was like taking a substance that vitiates the virtue of a medicine in order to test him. So Xuedou said, "Why use antiserum to test an adept?" This refers to Zhaozhou's question. Afterwards he praises Touzi: "Even the ancient Buddhas, they say, have never arrived." Even the ancient Buddhas never got to 210

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where one who had died the great death returns to life—nor have the Chan teachers ever gotten there. Even Sakyamuni and Bodhidharma would have to study again before they got it. So Xuedou said, "I only grant that the old foreigner knows; I don't allow that he understands."

Xuedou says, "I don't know who can scatter dust and sand." A monk asked Changqing, "What is the eye of a teacher?" Changqing said, "Such a one has a vow not to scatter sand." Baofu said, "Don't scatter any more of it. " All over teachers sit on fancy seats, using blows and shouts, raising their whisks, knocking on the seat, exhibiting spiritual powers, and acting as masters—all of this is scattering sand. Tell me, how can this be avoided?

42. Good Snowflakes

Introduction

Bringing it out unique and alone is still dripping muddy water. Knocking and resounding occurring together is a silver mountain, an iron wall. If you describe and discuss, you see ghosts in front of your skull. If you seek in thought, you sit under the black mountain. The bright sun lights up the sky; the pure wind circles the earth. Tell me, have the ancients any riddles?

Story

When Layman Pang took leave of Yaoshan, (This old guy is acting strange.) Yaoshan had ten Chan students to escort him to the gate. (Yaoshan doesn't take him lightly. What realm is this? Only a Chan practitioner who knows the whole thing could do this.) Pang pointed to the snow in the air and said, "Good snowflakes— they don't fall elsewhere." (He makes waves where there's no wind. The pointing finger has eyes. There's an echo in his words.) One of the students named Quan said, "Where do they fall?" (On target. He comes on following after. After all he climbed onto the hook.) 211

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Pang slapped him. (A hit! As it turns out, the thief Quan pulled in ransacked his house.) Quan said, "Even a layman shouldn't be so coarse." (Staring eyes inside a coffin.) Pang said, "Though you call yourself a Chan student, the king of death won't let you go." (The second ladleful of foul water has been poured over him. Why only the king of death? I wouldn't let him go either.) Quan said, "How about you?" (His coarse mind hasn't changed. Again he's asking for a beating. From start to finish the monk is at a loss.) Pang slapped him again (After all he adds frost to snow. Having taken a beating, reveal the truth.) and said, "You see as though blind, speak as though mute." (He has another conciliatory statement. Also he reads the verdict for him.) Xuedou added, "When Pang first spoke, I'd just have hit him with a snowball." (Xuedou is right, but he draws his bow after the thief is gone. This is still quite indulgent. Nonetheless, I'd like to see a direct confrontation. But what can be done? Xuedou has fallen into the ghost cave.) Commentary

Layman Pang studied with Mazu and Shitou, and composed verses of awakening at both places. When he first saw Shitou he asked, "Who doesn't keep company with myriad things?" Before he finished talking Shitou covered his mouth, whereat he had an awakening. He made up a verse saying:

My everyday affairs are no different,

Only I myself naturally harmonize.

No place is grasped or rejected,

Nowhere do I go for or against.

Who considers crimson and purple honorable?

The green mountains haven't a speck of dust.

Spiritual powers, wondrous functions—

Hauling water, carrying firewood.

Later Pang saw Mazu. Again he asked, "Who doesn't keep company with myriad things?" Mazu said, "I'll tell you when you can swallow all the water in West River at one gulp." At this Pang was greatly enlightened. He said in verse:

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The directions, a common gathering—

Everyone studies noncontrivance.

This is where Buddhas are chosen—

Minds empty, they return successful.

Since Pang was an adept, all the Chan communities welcomed him, and wherever he went they honored him. After he had been with Yaoshan for a while, he went to take leave. Yaoshan held him in highest esteem, so he had ten students see him off. It happened to be snowing at the time; Pang pointed nt the snow and said, "Good snowflakes—they don't fall elsewhere." When the student Quan asked, "Where do they fall?" Pang slapped him. Since Quan was unable to carry out the order, Pang had him carry out one half. Though the order was put into effect, when Quan responded this way, it was not that he didn't know what Pang was getting at. They each had a point in their activity, but their rolling up and rolling out were not the same. Even so, in some respects he didn't come up to Pang. Thus he fell into his trap and found it difficult to get out of Pang's range. After Pang had hit him, he went on to explain, "You see as if blind, talk as if mute." Xuedou said that in Quan's place he would have hit him with a snowball as soon as he spoke. Xuedou thus intended not to turn his back on the question; it's just that his action was tardy. Librarian Qing said, "Pang's mind is like a bolt of lightning. If we waited for you to grab a snowball, how long would it take? Only if you hit him while he's still speaking can you cut him off completely." Xuedou versifies his own hitting: Verse

The snowball hits, the snowball hits!

(What about falling into a secondary action? It's not worth the trouble to bring it forth. Overhead, vastness; underfoot, vastness.)

Old Pang's ability cannot grasp it.

(Again and again there are people who don't know this. I only fear it's not so.)

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Gods and humans do not know themselves;

(What scene is this? Does Xuedou know?)

In eyes, in ears, absolutely clean.

(The arrow points meet. You see as if blind, speak as if mute.)

Absolutely clean—

(How? Where will you see Layman Pang and Xuedou?) Even Bodhidharma would find it hard to discern. (Bodhidharma comes forth; what does he say to you? I'll hit, saying, "What are you saying?" They're buried in the same pit.)

Commentary

"The snowball hits, the snowball hits! / Old Pang's ability cannot grasp it." Xuedou wanted to walk on Pang's head. The ancients used "snow" to represent uniformity. Xuedou meant that if he had hit him with a snowball then, no matter what abilities Pang had it would've been hard for him to handle. Xuedou praises his own hitting, not knowing where he's lost his profit. "Gods and humans do not know themselves; / In eyes, in ears, absolutely clean." In the eyes is snow, in the ears is snow too—just at that moment they are dwelling in uniformity. This is also called the realm of Samantabhadra. The phenomenon of uniformity is also called becoming unified. Yunmen said, "Even having no trouble in the world is still an expression of transition. When you don't see a single form, this is half the issue." If you want the whole issue, first you must know there is a single road beyond; when you get here your great function must be manifest with no gap, and you are not at the mercy of others.

Thus it is said, "Study the living word, not the dead word. " An ancient said, "An appropriate statement is a stake on which to tether a donkey for myriad eons." What's the use? At this point Xuedou has finished the verse. But he turns around again and says, "But this cleanness is absolute—even Bodhidharma would find it hard to discern." Since even Bodhidharma finds it hard to discern, what more would you have me say? 214

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Introduction

Ten housand ages abide by the statement hat determines heaven and earth. Even the thousand sages cannot judge the ability to capture tigers and rhinos. Without any further traces of bstruction, the whole potential appears everywhere equally. If ou want to understand the hammer and tongs of ranscendence, you need the forge and bellows of an adept. Since ancient times, has there ever been such a family style?

Story

A monk asked Dongshan, "When cold and heat come, how can we avoid them?" (It's not this season. They are right in your face, right on your head. Where are you?) Dongshan said, "Why not go where there is no cold or heat?" (No one can find it. He hides his body but reveals his shadow. A con man sells a bogus city of silver.) The monk said, "Where is there no cold or heat?" (Dongshan swindles everyone. The monk rolls along following him. As soon as Dongshan let down his hook the monk climbed onto it.) Dongshan said, "When t's cold, it chills you thoroughly; when it's hot, it heats you thoroughly." (The real does not conceal the false, the crooked does not hide the straight. Looking out over the cliff he sees tigers and rhinos—this is indeed an occasion to be sad. Dongshan overturns the ocean and kicks over the polar mountain. But tell me, where is Dongshan?)

Commentary

Huanglong Xin picked this out and said, "Dongshan tailors the suit perfectly, but nevertheless this monk didn' like it." A monk then asked, "How are they to be dealt with?" After a silence, Huanglong said, "Peaceful editation does not equire mountains and ivers; when you have extinguished he ind, fire itself s cool. Tell me, where is Dongshan's trap? If ou can clearly discern this, for the first time you will know how the five ranks of the 215

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Dongshan tradition interchanging absolute and relative handle people in an extraordinary way indeed. When you reach this transcendental realm, you'll be able to be thus without needing any arrangements, and you'll spontaneously accord perfectly. Thus it is said:

The relative within the absolute: In the middle of the first night, before the moon shines, No wonder when they meet they don't recognize each other;

Each is hidden, still embracing the aversion of former days.

The absolute within the relative: At dawn an old woman encounters an ancient mirror; Clearly she sees her face—there's no other reality. Don't go on mistaking the image for the head. Coming from within the absolute:

Within nothingness is a road out of the dust. If you can avoid violating the present taboo name, You'll surpass the eloquent ones of yore. Arrival in the relative:

When two swords cross, no need to withdraw. An expert is like a lotus in fire, Clearly having a spirit to reach the heavens. Arrival in both at once:

Who dares to associate with one in neither being nor nonbeing?

Everyone wants to get out of the ordinary flow, But this one after all returns to sit in the ashes. Fushan Yuan considers this story as being in the pattern of the five ranks. If you understand one, the rest are naturally easy to understand. Yantou said, "It's like a gourd on water; push it and it rolls over without any effort. " 216

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Once a monk asked Dongshan, "How is it when ManjusrI and Samantabhadra come to call?" Dongshan said, "I'd drive them into a herd of buffalo." The monk said, "You enter hell fast as an arrow shot." Dongshan said, "I've got all their strength." When Dongshan said, "Why not go to where there is no cold or heat?" this was the absolute within the relative. When the monk said, "Where is there no cold or heat?" and Dongshan said, "When it's cold it chills you thoroughly; when it's hot it heats you thoroughly," this was the relative within the absolute. Though it's absolute, it's still relative; though it's relative, nevertheless it's complete. This is recorded in detail in the records of the Cao-Dong school. In the Linji tradition, there aren't so many things; with this kind of story, you must understand directly as soon as it is told. Some say, "I like no cold or heat very much." What grasp do they have on the matter? An ancient said, "If you run on a sword's edge, you're fast. If you see in emotion or intellect, you're slow." A monk asked Cuiwei, "What is the meaning of Chan?" Cuiwei said, "I'll tell you when no one comes," then went into the garden. The monk said, "There's no one here; please tell me. " Cuiwei pointed to the bamboo and said, "This stalk is so tall, that stalk so short." Suddenly the monk was greatly enlightened.

Also Caoshan asked a monk, "When it's so hot, where will you go to avoid it?" The monk said, "I'll avoid it in a boiling cauldron, in the coals of a furnace." Caoshan said, "How can it be avoided in a boiling cauldron or in coals of a furnace?" The monk said, "Sufferings cannot reach there." See how people of the Cao-Dong house naturally understood the talk of people of their house. Xuedou uses the affairs of their house to make his verse: Verse

He extends a hand, but it's still the same as a ten-mile cliff; (Who can discern this without being an adept? Where is there not complete communion? Once the imperial edict is on its way, the nobles get out of the road.) 217

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Why must absolute and relative be in an arrangement? (If you do arrange them, where will you have Today? How will you avoid becoming involved in dualism? When the wind blows the grasses bend, where water runs streams form.)

The ancient crystal palace reflects the bright moon; (Round and full. Just don't grasp the reflection, and don't run right in.)

The sly hound of Han vainly runs up the stairs. (It isn't just this time. Stumbled past. Why is he running after a dirt clod? I'll hit him and say you are a fellow student of this monk.)

Commentary

In the Cao-Dong tradition there is appearing in the world and not appearing in the world; there is extending a hand and not extending a hand. If you don't appear in the world, your eyes gaze at the cloudy skies. If you appear in the world, your head and face are covered with ashes and dirt. Eyes gazing at the cloudy skies is "on top of a ten-mile peak"; head and face covered with ashes and dirt is the business of extending a hand. Sometimes head and face covered with ashes and dirt is on top of a ten-mile peak, sometimes on top of a ten-mile peak is head and face covered with ashes and dirt. In reality, going into inhabited areas to extend a hand and standing alone on a solitary peak are the same. Returning to the source and comprehending essence is not different from knowledge of differentiation. You must avoid understanding them as dual. Thus Xuedou says, "He extends a hand, but still it's the same as a ten-mile cliff." There's simply no place for you to cling. "Why must absolute and relative be in an arrangement? " When it comes time to function, they are naturally like this; it's not a matter of arrangement. This refers to Dongshan's answer. Then he says, "The ancient crystal palace reflects the bright moon; / The sly hound of Han vainly runs up the stairs." This refers to the monk running after Dongshan's words. In the Cao-Dong 218

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tradition they have the stone woman, the wood horse, the bottomless basket, the night-shining pearl, the dead snake, and so on, eighteen kinds of symbols of the absolute.

When Dongshan answered, "Why not go where there is no cold or heat?" this was like the moon shining in the ancient crystal palace, seeming to have a round reflection. The monk asked, "Where is there no cold or heat?" This is like the hound of Han chasing a clod of dirt; he runs frantically up the stairs to catch the moon's reflection. Dongshan said, "When it's cold, it chills you thoroughly; when it's hot, it heats you thoroughly." This monk was like the hound of Han chasing a clod, running up the stairs but then not seeing the light of the moon.

The hound of Han was a swift black dog belonging to the Han clan, the only one who could catch the wily rabbits in the mountains. Xuedou uses this as a comparison for this monk. What about you—do you know where Dongshan helped people? (Silence) What rabbits are you looking for?

44. Knowing How

to Beat the Drum

Story

Heshan said, "Cultivating study is called learning, ending study is called nearness." (No Chan practitioner can leap clear of this. An iron hammerhead with no hole. An iron spike.) "Going beyond these two is real going beyond." (What are you doing with one eye on your forehead?) A monk asked, "What is real going beyond? (What will he say? I'd blot it out with a single stroke. There's an iron spike.) Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum. (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard.) The monk asked, "What is the real truth?" (What will he say? A double case. There's another iron spike.) Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum. (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard.) The monk asked, "I don t 219

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ask about 'mind is Buddha'—what about 'not mind, not Buddha'?" (What will he say? This garbage heap! The three sections are not the same. There's another iron bramble.) Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard.) The monk asked, "How do you receive a transcendent person?" (What will he say? This monk will encounter a fourth ladleful of his foul water. There's another iron spike.) Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." (An iron spike, iron brambles. Hard, hard. But what does this really mean? In the morning going to India, in the evening returning to China.)

Commentary

Heshan said, "Cultivating study is called learning, ending study is called nearness. Going beyond these two is real going beyond. " This saying comes from the Jewel Treasury Treatise. To study till there is nothing to study is called ending study. So it is said, "Shallow learning, deep enlightenment; deep learning, no enlightenment." This is called ending study. Yongjia said, "Years ago I accumulated learning, consulted the commentaries, and searched scriptures and treatises. Once one's cultivation of studies is completed and exhausted, one is called a nondoing free wayfarer, beyond study. When one reaches the point of ending study, only then is one near the Way. When one manages to go beyond these two aspects of study, this is called real going beyond." The monk too was undeniably bright and quick, so he picked up on these words to question Heshan. Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." This is called flavorless speech. If you want to understand this story, you must be a transcendent person. Only then will you see that these words have nothing to do with reason, nor is there anything about them to discuss. Understand directly and your mind will open up; this alone is where a Chan practitioner rests easy and begins to be able to accord with the meaning of Chan. Thus Yunmen said, "Xuefeng's rolling a ball, Heshan's beating the drum, Huizhong's bowl of water, Zhaozhou's 'drink some tea' — all these are indications of the absolute." 220

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Again the monk asked, "What is real truth?" Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." In the real truth nothing is set up; in the worldly truth, myriad things are all present. The nonduality of the real and mundane is the highest meaning of the holy truths.

Then the monk asked, "I don't ask about 'mind is Buddha' — what about 'not mind, not Buddha'?" Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum. " "Mind is Buddha" is easy to seek, but when you come to "not mind, not Buddha," it's hard, and few people arrive. Then the monk asked, "How do you receive a transcendent person?" Heshan said, "Knowing how to beat the drum." A transcendent person is one who has passed through, is purified and free. These four sayings are generally considered a message from the source; they are called Heshan's four drumbeats. A monk asked Jingqing, "At the beginning of a new year, is there any Buddhism?" Jingqing said, "Yes." The monk said, "What is the Buddhism at the beginning of a new year?" Jingqing said, "Initiate good fortune on New Year's Day and myriad things are all renewed." The monk said, "Thank you for the answer." Jingqing said, "Today I lost my profit." He had six kinds of losses like this answer. A monk asked Jingguo, "How is it when a crane perches on a lone pine?" Jingguo said, "Underfoot, an embarrassing situation." He also asked, "How is it when snow covers the thousand mountains? " Jingguo said, "After the sun comes out, an embarrassing situation." The monk asked, "Where did the spirits protecting Buddhism go during the 845 persecution?" Jingguo said, "For the two guardians outside the monastery gate, an embarrassing situation." These are called Jingguo's three embarrassments. Baofu asked a monk, "What Buddha is the one in the temple?" The monk said, "Try to decide for sure." Baofu said, "It's Sakyamuni." The monk said, "Better not deceive people." Baofu said, "It's you who are deceiving me. " Baofu also asked a monk, "What's your name?" The monk said, "Xianze (All Wet)." Baofu said, "How is it when you encounter withering dryness?" The monk said, "Who is the withering dry one?" Baofu said, "I am." The monk said, "Better 221

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not deceive people." Baofu said, "It's you who are deceiving me." Again Baofu asked a monk, "What work do you do that you eat till you're so big?" The monk said, "You're not so small yourself." Baofu crouched; the monk said, "Better not deceive people." Baofu said, "It's you who are deceiving me. " Baofu also asked the bathkeeper, "How wide is that tub?" The bathkeeper said, "Please measure and see." Baofu went through the motions of measuring; the bathkeeper said, "Better not deceive people." Baofu said, "It's you who are deceiving me." They call this Baofu's four deceptions. Heshan's story is also like Xuefeng's four ignoramuses. All these were classical Chan masters. Each produces profound and marvelous teachings and devices to communicate with people. Afterwards Xuedou draws out a loose thread based on Ynnmen's teachings to versify this story. Verse

One hauls rock;

(In the heart of the realm the emperor commands. A leper drags along his companions. A transcendent person comes this way.)

A second moves earth.

(Beyond the borders the general gives orders. Both have their crimes covered by the same indictment. Those with the same illness sympathize with each other.) To shoot the bolt requires a ten-ton crossbow. (Even with a ten-ton pull it still won't be able to penetrate. It is not to be lightly answered. How could it be used for a dead frog?)

Old master Xuefeng rolled balls—

(There's another one who's come this way. He had a holeless iron hammerhead. Who doesn't know?) How could this equal Heshan's knowing how to beat the drum?

(An iron spike. It takes this fellow to understand. One son has attained intimately.)

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I report for you to know:

(Even Xuedou himself hasn't seen it even in a dream. He's adding frost to snow. Do you know?) Don't be careless—

(Again there's a bit of confusion.)

The sweet is sweet; the bitter is bitter. (Thanks for the answer. Xuedou wrongly adds a footnote—he should get a thrashing. Has he ever been beaten? I'll hit! As before, vast darkness.) Commentary

One day Guizong had his group haul rock. He asked the duty distributor where he was going; the duty distributor said, "To haul rock." Guizong said, "For now I'll let you haul rock, but don't move the tree in the middle. "

Whenever a newcomer arrived, Muping would first have him move three loads of earth. Muping wrote a verse for the congregation: East Mountain Road is narrow; West Mountain is low; Newcomers must not refuse three loads of mud. Alas, you've been traversing the roads so long; It's so clear, but you don't recognize it and get lost. Later a monk asked Muping, "I don't ask about what is included in the three loads; what about what's outside the three loads?" Muping said, "The iron wheel emperor commands in his realm." The monk was speechless; Muping hit him. This is why Xuedou said, "One hauls rocks; / A second moves earth. / To shoot the bolt requires a ten-ton crossbow." Xuedou uses a ten-ton-pull crossbow to explain this case; he wants you to see how Heshan helped people. You use this crossbow for a fierce dragon or tiger, not for a tiny bird or a little mouse. A ten-ton crossbow does not shoot its bolt at a rat. "Old master Xuefeng rolled balls." One day Xuefeng saw Xuansha coming and rolled three wooden balls together. Xuansha made a smashing gesture. Xuefeng deeply approved. 223

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45. Zhaozhou’s Shirt

The Blue Cliff Record

Though these stories are instances of the great functioning of the whole capacity, none equals Heshan's knowing how to beat the drum. How direct this is—but it's hard to understand. Thus Xuedou said, "How could this equal Heshan's knowing how to beat the drum?"

Again he feared people would just make their living on the words without knowing their source, and so be careless; so he said, I report for you to know; / Don't be careless." You still must really get to this realm before you can understand. If you don't want carelessly to confuse things, "The sweet is sweet; the bitter is bitter. Though Xuedou picked it up and played with it like this, in the end he himself can't leap clear of Heshan either. 45. Zhaozhou's Shirt

Introduction

When he must speak, he speaks—in all the world there is no match for him. When he should act, he acts—his whole capacity does not defer. It is like sparks struck from stone, like a flash of lightning like a raging fire fanned by the wind, like a rushing torrent crossing a sword edge. When he lifts up the hammer and tongs of transcendence, you won't avoid losing your point and becoming tongue-tied. But just to give you some avenue of approach, let's look at this story. Story

A monk asked Zhaozhou, "Myriad things return to one—where does the one return?" (He challenges the old guy. Piled in mountains, heaped in ranges. He should avoid living in a ghost cave.) Zhaozhou said, "When I was in Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds." (After all Zhaozhou goes freely in all directions, drawing a net that reaches through the sky. But do you see Zhaozhou? He has taken Chan practitioners in tow. Do you know where Zhaozhou is? If you can see here, you'll be one with 224

45. Zhaozhou's Shirt

the universe. Where water goes a channel forms, when the wind blows the grass bends. If you're thus, I'm under your heels.) Commentary

If you understand immediately at a hint, then you're master of all the Chan teachers in the world, and they can't do anything to you. Naturally where water goes a channel forms. But if you vacillate, I am under your heels. The essential point of Buddhism is not a matter of verbose speech.

A monk asked Zhaozhou, "Myriad things return to one. Where does the one return?" Yet Zhaozhou answered by saying, "When I was in Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds. If you go to the words to discern, you are mistakenly abiding by the zero point of the scale. If you don't discern at the words, what about the fact that he nevertheless did speak thus? This story, though hard to see, yet is easy to understand; though easy to understand, it's still hard to see. Insofar as it's hard, it's like a silver mountain or an iron wall; insofar as it's easy, you are directly aware. There's nowhere for your calculations of right and wrong. One day a monk asked Zhaozhou, "What is the meaning of Chan?" Zhaozhou said, "The oak tree in the yard." The monk said, "Don't use objects to teach people." Zhaozhou said, "I've never used objects to teach people." See how at the ultimate point, where it is impossible to turn, he does turn, and spontaneously covers the universe. If you can't turn, wherever you set foot on the road you get stuck.

But did Zhaozhou discuss Buddhism or not? If you say he did, when has he ever spoken of mind or nature, of mystery or marvel? If you say he didn't have the meaning of Buddhism, when has he ever turned his back on anyone's question?

A monk asked Muping, "What is the meaning of Buddhism?" Muping said, "This winter melon is so big." Also, a monk asked an ancient, "Deep in the mountains, on an overhanging cliff, in a remote, inaccessible, uninhabited place, is there any Buddhism? 225

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The ancient said, "There is. " The monk asked, "What is the Buddhism deep in the mountains?" The ancient said, "The large rocks are large, the small ones are small."

Look at such stories; where are the obscurities? Xuedou knows what they come down to; so he opens up a road of meaning and comes out with a verse for you.

Verse

He wraps everything up and presses the ancient awl. (What's the need to press the old guy? They push and push back—to where?)

How many people know the weight of the seven-pound shirt?

(A second try is worthless; one can only frown. Zhaozhou is one up.)

Right now I throw it down into West Lake; (Only with the ability of Xuedou could this be done. I don't want it either.)

The pure wind of unburdening—to whom should it be imparted?

(It is eternal. Is Xuedou harmonizing with Zhaozhou, or putting down footnotes for him? One son attains intimately.)

Commentary

Of Fenyang's eighteen questions, this one is called a wrapping-up question. Xuedou says, "He wraps everything up and presses the ancient awl. " He wraps everything up into unity. This monk wanted to press Zhaozhou, but Zhaozhou was an adept. He had a way to come forth where it was impossible to turn; daring to open his big mouth, he immediately said, "When I was in Qingzhou I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds." Xuedou says, "How many people know the weight of the seven-pound shirt? " "Right now I throw it down into West Lake." Myriad things return to one, but he doesn't even need the one. Since he doesn't 226

45. Zhaozhou's Shirt

need the seven-pound cloth shirt either, all at once he throws it down into West Lake. When Xuedou lived on Dongting's green peak, there was a West Lake nearby.

"The pure wind of unburdening—to whom should it be imparted?" This refers to Zhaozhou's saying, "If you're coming from the north I'll load up for you. If you're coming from the south I'll unload for you. Even if you're coming from Xuefeng or Yunju, you're still carrying a board." Xuedou says, "To whom can a pure wind like this be imparted?" Loading up means speaking to you of mind and nature, of mysteries and marvels, of all sorts of expedient methods. If it's unloaded, there are no longer so many doctrines and mysterious marvels.

Some people carried a load of Chan to Zhaozhou, but when they got there they couldn't use it at all. He would set them straight all at once, making them free. We say of this, "After awakening it's the same as before awakening."

People these days all make unconcern an understanding. Some say, "There is no delusion or enlightenment, it's not necessary to go on seeking. Even before the Buddha appeared in the world, before Bodhidharma came to China, it could not have been otherwise. What's the use of the Buddha appearing in the world? What did Bodhidharma come from India for?" All such views lack relevance. You must have greatly penetrated and greatly awakened; then as before mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, and all things are perfectly manifest. Then for the first time you can be unconcerned. As Longya said, "To study the Way, first you must have a basis of enlightenment. It's like a boat race—though you relax on idle ground as before, you can only rest after winning." As for this story of Zhaozhou's seven pound shirt, see how this ancient talks this way, like gold and jade. Me talking like this, you listening like this—all this is "loading up." So what is unloading? Go back to your places and look into this.

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46. The Sound of Raindrops

Introduction

With a single stroke the teacher completes the student, who then passes beyond ordinary and holy. The slightest word can break things up, untying what is bound and releasing what is stuck. As if alking on thin ice or running over sword blades, one sits in the heaps of ound and form and walks on top of ound and form. For the moment I leave aside wondrous functioning in all directions. How is it when one leaves that very instant?

Story

Jingqing asked a monk, "What is that sound outside the door?" (He casually lets down a hook. He isn' deaf—what's he asking?) The monk said, "The sound of raindrops." (Undeniably truthful. It's good news too.) Jingqing said, "People are backwards—they lose themselves and pursue things." (Something's come up. He's used to getting his way. He rakes the monk in. This takes real ability like his.) The monk said, "What about you?" (As it turns out the monk suffers a defeat. He's turned the spear around; it will be hard to stand up to it.) Jingqing said, "I have reached not losing myself." (Tch! He ust can' explain.) The monk said, "What is the meaning of eaching not losing oneself? (He challenges the old guy, pressing him relentlessly. His first arrow was still light; the second arrow is deep.) Jingqing said, "It may be easy to free oneself, but to say the whole thing is surely difficult." (Provisions to nourish a child. Though it's so, where have Deshan and Linji gone? If e doesn' all t he sound of aindrops, what ound hould he call it? It simply can't be explained.)

Commentary

You too should understand right here. When the ancients imparted their teaching, with one device, one object, they wanted to guide people. ne day ingqing sked a onk, What sound s hat utside 228

46. The Sound of Raindrops

the door?" The monk said, "The sound of quail." Jingqing said, "If you want to avoid uninterrupted hell, don't slander the true teaching of the Buddha. " Another time Jingqing asked, "What is that sound outside the door?" A monk said, "The sound of a snake eating a frog." Jingqing said, "I knew sentient beings suffer; here is another suffering sentient being." These words are the same as the present story. If you can penetrate here, nothing can block your independence within sound and form. If you can't, you are constrained by sound and form.

In other places this is called tempering words. If it were tempering, it would only amount to mental activity. They do not see where Jingqing helped people. This is called penetrating sound and form, clarifying the eye of the Way, clarifying sound and form, clarifying the mind source, clarifying forgetting feelings, clarifying exposition. Though such explanations are undeniably detailed, nevertheless they are still clichés.

Jingqing asked, "What is that sound outside the door?" The monk said, "The sound of raindrops." Then Jingqing said, "People are backwards—they lose themselves and pursue things." People all misunderstand and call this intentionally upsetting the man, but this has nothing to do with it. How little they realize that Jingqing has the skill to help people. He is so brave he isn't bound by a single device or a single perspective. Above all he doesn't spare his effort.

How could Jingqing not have known that it was the sound of raindrops? Why was it still worth asking? You must realize that the ancient was probing to examine the monk. The monk too pressed back well, saying, "What about you?" What happened then was that Jingqing went into the muddy water to say, "I have reached not losing myself." The reason was that the monk was losing himself, pursuing things. Why should Jingqing lose himself too? You must realize that Jingqing had a place to get free within the phrase he used to test the monk.

This monk was very dull—he wanted to beat this statement into the ground, so he asked, "What is the meaning of reaching 229

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not losing oneself?" In the schools of Deshan or Linji the blows and shouts would already be raining, but Jingqing put through a path and followed him creating complications; he went on to say, "Though it may be easy to free oneself, to say the whole thing is surely difficult." Nevertheless, as an ancient said, "Continuity is indeed difficult." Jingqing illuminated for this monk the great affair in his immediate presence.

Verse

183a An empty hall, the sound of raindrops . . . (Never interrupted. Everyone is here.) Hard to respond, even for an adept.

(After all he doesn't know. I have never been an adept. There's provisional and true, letting go and gathering in, killing and enlivening, catching and releasing.) If you say he's ever let the streams enter, (You stick your head into a bowl of glue. If you don't call it the sound of raindrops, what sound will you call it?) As before you still don't understand.

(How often I've asked you! You ignoramuses! Give me back my holeless iron hammerhead.)

Understanding or not understanding—

(Cut off both ends. The two are not separate. It's not on these two sides.)

On south mountain, on north mountain, more and more downpour.

(Above our heads, under our feet. If you call it the sound of raindrops, you're blind; if you don't call it the sound of raindrops, what sound will you call it? Here you must tread the ground of reality.)

Commentary

"An empty hall, the sound of raindrops... / Hard to respond, even for an adept. " If you call it the sound of raindrops, this is losing 230

47. Six Do Not Take It In

yourself and pursuing things; if you don't call it the sound of raindrops, how will you turn things around? At this point even if you're an adept it's still hard to respond. So an ancient said, "If your view equals your teacher, you have less than half the teacher's merit. Only if your view goes beyond your teacher are you fit to receive and carry on the transmission." And as Nanyuan said, "With acceptance of birthlessness under the staff, one faces situations without deferring to a teacher. "

"If you say he's ever let the streams enter, / As before you still don't understand." In the teachings it says, "First, in the midst of hearing, Avalokitesvara let the streams enter, but was mindless of what was there. Since what came in was quiescent, the forms of motion and stillness did not arise." If you say it's the sound of raindrops, it's not right, but if you say it's not the sound of raindrops, it's not right either. If you say he lets the streams of sound and form enter, that's not right either. If you call it sound and form, as before you don't understand his meaning. It is compared to pointing to the moon; the pointing finger is not the moon. "Understanding or not understanding — / On south mountain, on north mountain, more and more downpour."

47. Six Do Not Take It In

Introduction

What does the sky say? The four seasons go on there. What does the earth say? Myriad things are born there. Where the four seasons go on, one can see the essence; where the myriad things are born, one can see the action. But say, where can you see a Chan practitioner? Detached from speech and action, can you still discern? Story

A monk asked Yunmen, "What is the body of reality?" (So many people have doubts about this. Even sages can't leap out. He's 231

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indulged quite a bit.) Yunmen said, "Six do not take it in." (He cuts nails and shears through iron. An eight cornered mortar flies through the air. The sacred tortoise is dragging its tail.) Commentary

Yunmen said, "Six do not take it in." This is indeed hard to attain; even if you reach it before the first indications are distinct, this is already the secondary. If you understand after the first indications arise, you've fallen into the tertiary. If you go to the words to discern, you will search without finding.

But ultimately, what do you take as the body of reality? Those who are adepts immediately get up and go as soon as they hear it raised. If, on the other hand, you linger in thought and hold back your potential, you should listen humbly to this treatment. Taiyuan Fu was originally a professor. One day when he lectured he spoke of the body of reality saying, "Vertically it reaches through the three times; horizontally it extends through the ten directions." There was a Channist in the audience who let out a laugh when he heard this. Fu came down and said, "What was my shortcoming just now? Please explain." The Channist said, "Professor, you only talk about the extent of the body of reality—you don't see the body of reality." Fu said, "What would be right?" The Channist said, "You should temporarily stop lecturing and sit in a quiet room; you will have to see it for yourself. " Fu did as he said and sat quietly all night. Suddenly he heard the bell for the fifth watch; all at once he was greatly enlightened. So he went and knocked on the Channist's door, saying, "I've understood." The Channist said, "Try to tell me." Fu said, "From now on I'll no longer twist these nostrils born of my parents." Also in the scriptures it says, "The Buddha's true body of reality is like space. It manifests forms in response to beings, like the moon in water."

Also, a monk asked Jiashan, "What is the body of reality?" Jiashan said, "The body of reality has no form. " The monk said, "What is the eye of reality?" Jiashan said, "The eye of reality has no flaws." 232

47. Six Do Not Take It In

Yunmen said, "Six do not take it in." Some say of this, "This refers to the six senses, six objects, and six consciousnesses. These sixes all arise from the body of reality, so the six faculties cannot take it in. " Intellectual interpretations such as this, though, are irrelevant. Moreover, they drag down Yunmen. If you want to see, then see; there's no place for your attempts to rationalize. As it says in scripture, "This truth is not something that calculating thought and discrimination can understand." Yunmen's answers have often provoked intellectual interpretations. So in every statement there must be three statements. And he does not turn his back on your questions; responding to the time, adapting to the situation, with one word, one phrase, one dot, one line, he indeed has a way to express himself. So it is said, "When a single statement is penetrated, myriad statements are penetrated all at once."

But say, is this the body of reality? Is this the patriarchs? I give you a thrashing!

Verse

One, two, three, four, five, six—

(Go all the way through, then start again at the beginning. For every drop for water, a drop of ice. Why expend so much effort?)

Even Bodhidharma can't count up to it.

(Even in three lives, sixty eons. Has Bodhidharma ever even dreamed of it? Why do you deliberately transgress in spite of knowing?)

At Shaolin he deceptively said he passed it on to Shenguang—

(When one person transmits a falsehood, ten thousand people transmit it as truth. It was already wrong from the start.)

Then he rolled up his robe and said he was returning to India. (He utterly swindled people. How embarrassing.) India is vast; there's no place to look for him— 233