Entangling Vines Page 11

  1.“Mortal offenders” translates , people who have committed the five deadly sins of Buddhism: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, shedding the blood of a buddha, and destroying the harmony of the sangha. Such offenders were regarded as incapable of ever attaining enlightenment; according to the ZGJI, they were said to be struck dead by lightning and consigned immediately to hell.

  Since Wuzu uses this term in conjunction with the Linji school, it is instructive to examine Linji’s creative interpretation of a slightly different version of the five deadly sins, found in Discourse 22 of the Record of Linji:

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

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

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

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

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

  “What is meant by ‘burning the sutras and images’?” The master said, “When you see that causal relations are empty, that mind is empty, and that dharmas are empty, and [thus] your single thought is decisively cut off and, transcendent, you’ve nothing to do—this is called ‘burning the sutras and images.’” (Sasaki 2009, p. 30)

  2.ZGJI: Scarlet banners flutter in the distance, like cloud-dragons glimpsed in the mist.

  3.ZGJI: Words and phrases point toward the truth but do not reach it. Room is left for the essential matter.

  4.ZGJI: On an old, broken monument lying across a seldom-traveled road, the inscription is faint and only the clear-eyed can read it. Mujaku: All are puzzled.

  5.ZGJT: In order to apprehend those who are out after the curfew, it is necessary for the watchman himself to break the curfew. As with Mujaku’s traditional interpretation, “the watchman steals at night,” the implication is that, in order to transcend words and letters, words and letters are used.

  Case 85 All the Plants

  According to the Compendium of the Five Lamps, fascicle 3, Layman Pang asked his daughter Lingzhao, “A man of old said, ‘Clear, clear, in all of the plants;1 clear, clear, is the intention of the ancestors.’2 How do you understand this?”

  “Again you speak of such things, old man though you are,”3 replied Lingzhao.

  “Well, how do you understand it?” the layman persisted.

  “Clear, clear, in all of the plants; clear, clear, is the intention of the ancestors,” she said.

  At this the layman laughed.

  1.This clause, , is often translated, “Clear, clear, the tips of the plants,” but Dōmae comments that in this case the character lacks its usual meaning of “head” or “tip,” and simply signifies something to the effect of “regarding…” or “the matter of….”

  It is unknown who the man of old is.

  2.That is, the intention of the ancestors (what the ancestors sought to awaken people to) is clearly manifested even in the plants.

  3.The standard Kattōshū text has , “You shouldn’t talk of such things, old man that you are”; this has been changed in accordance with the original text as it appears in the Record of Layman Pang: (X 69:134b).

  Case 86 Know the Emptiness of All That Exists

  When Prefect Yu Di came to inquire about Layman Pang’s illness, Pang said to him, “I ask only that you know the emptiness of all that exists, and be careful not to take as real all that does not exist. Be well. Life in the world is like shadows and echoes.”1

  1.The Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang has the following passage between the two episodes given in Kattōshū Case 85 and Case 86.

  The Layman was about to die. He spoke to Lingzhao, saying: “See how high the sun is and report to me when it’s noon.” Lingzhao quickly reported, “The sun has already reached the zenith, and there’s an eclipse.” While the Layman went to the door to look out, Lingzhao seated herself in her father’s chair and, putting her palms together reverently, passed away. The Layman smiled and said: “My daughter has anticipated me.” He postponed [his going] for seven days. (Sasaki, Iriya, and Fraser 1971, p. 75)

  Case 87 Why the Woman Came Out of Samadhi

  A monk asked Xutang, “Mañjuśrī was the teacher of the Seven Buddhas.1 Why was he unable to bring the woman out of samadhi?”2

  Xutang answered, “Because he was obstructed by his household spirits.”3

  The monk continued, “And why was Delusion, a low-level Śrāvaka,4 able to make her emerge?”

  “A half-sheet of paper is just right for wrapping,”5 replied the master.

  1.For the Seven Buddhas of the Past, see Case 34, note 2.

  2.See Case 48.

  3.Mujaku: Household spirits are ancestral spirits that generally work for the benefit of their descendants, but occasionally their actions hurt the family fortunes. In the present case, “household spirits” refers to Mañjuśrī’s wisdom, which put him so far above the level of the disciple that he was unable to help her out of samadhi.

  4.A Śrāvaka (“voice-hearer”) is a student who follows the teachings of the Buddha in order to attain nirvana. In Mahayana Śrāvakas were criticized as concerned only with their own salvation rather than with the liberation of all beings.

  5.Mujaku: Just as small objects are more easily wrapped with small pieces of paper than with large ones, so less mature students are often best helped by bodhisattvas near their own level.

  In the standard text of the Kattōshū this line is written , with (“sincerity”) an obvious scribal error for (“a piece of paper”).

  Case 88 To See Form and Enlighten the Mind1

  Yunmen took the high seat and said, “What is it to hear sound and realize the Way; to see form and enlighten the mind?”2

  Raising his hand, Yunmen said, “Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva brings money and buys a sesame rice-cake.” Lowering his hand, he said, “Actually, it’s a dumpling.”3

  1.Also Record of Equanimity 82.

  2.For examples of enlightenment experiences precipitated by seeing forms and hearing sounds, see Case 8, “Lingyun Sees Peach Blossoms,” and Case 26, “Xiangyan’s Sound of a Bamboo.”

  3.Yunmen apparently regarded sesame rice-cakes as a great delicacy; they are mentioned nineteen times in the Comprehensive Record of Yunmen . Dumplings were a plain, everyday type of food.

  Yunmen’s raised arm and lowered arm are usually interpreted to indicate, respectively, the realm of the transcendent and the realm of the relative. The arm gesture is believed to have its origin in the Avataṃsaka Sutra story of Sudhana’s visit to Bhishmottaranirghosha, the eighth of the fifty-three teachers in the “Entry into the Realm of Reality” chapter. Bhishmottaranirghosha raises his hand and touches Sudhana’s head, showing him the infinite worlds of the buddhas, beyond all bounds of space and time. Bhishmottaranirghosha then lowers his hand, and Sudhana is once again in the everyday world, standing in front of the bodhisattva.

  Case 89 A Meet
ing on Another Mountain1

  In a sutra2 it is written that Bhikku Meghaśri dwelt on the summit of Wondrous Mountain and never came down. Sudhana went to meet him but could not find him even after a week. One day, however, he encountered him on the peak of another mountain. After they met, the bhikku explained that a moment of thought penetrates the three worlds, manifested the wisdom-light of the myriad buddhas, and spoke of the unobstructed perception of the infinite buddha-lands.

  Yuanwu Keqin commented, “If Meghaśri never came down from the peak of Wondrous Mountain, how then could he have met Sudhana on another mountain? You may say that he did leave the mountain, but it is written in the sutra that he never descended from the summit of Wondrous Mountain and was always there. So where exactly were Meghaśri and Sudhana?”

  1.Also Blue Cliff Record 23, Commentary on the Main Case.

  2.The sutra referred to is the Avataṃsaka Sutra, where Bhikku Meghaśri appears as the first of the fifty-three teachers Sudhana calls upon in the “Entry into the Realm of Reality” chapter.

  Case 90 Nanquan’s “Water Buffalo”

  Zhaozhou Congshen asked Nanquan Puyuan, “A person who knows it1—where should he go [when he dies]?”

  Nanquan answered, “He should become a water buffalo at the believer’s house by the foot of the mountain.”

  “Thank you, teacher, for this instruction,” Zhaozhou said.

  Nanquan said, “Last night at midnight the moonlight shone on the window.”

  1.See Case 79, note 2.

  Case 91 Yunmen’s Three Statements1

  The three statements of Yunmen:

  It covers heaven and earth, like a lid on a box.

  It severs all flows.

  It rides the waves and sails the swells.2

  1.Also Blue Cliff Record 90, Commentary on the Main Case. The third statement, , is also found in Blue Cliff Record 8, Introduction.

  2.There are various interpretations of the three statements. The most generally accepted is that offered by the ZGDJ, which sees the statements as descriptive of the workings of a true Zen master:

  The master’s functioning perfectly fits that of the student;

  The master cuts off the thoughts and delusions of the student;

  The master matches his guidance to the capacities of the student and presses those capacities to the limit. (77a)

  Case 92 A Fragrant Breeze from the South

  One day Dahui Zonggao of Mount Jing heard Yuanwu Keqin say from the high seat:

  A monk asked Yunmen, “What is the place from which all buddhas come?”

  Yunmen replied, “East Mountain walks on the water.”1

  But I wouldn’t have said that. If someone were to ask me, “What is the place from which all buddhas come?” I would simply say:

  A fragrant breeze blows from the south,

  Giving rise in the palace to a refreshing coolness.2

  At these words Dahui was greatly enlightened.3

  1.See Case 49, above.

  2.Yuanwu quotes from a famous poem by Liu Gongquan (778–865), a Tang-dynasty official known for his calligraphy and poetry. The verses were Liu’s response to two lines presented by Emperor Wenzong (809–40) in a linked-verse contest: “People suffer from the burning heat, but I always love the summer days.”

  3.This was only a partial awakening. For a description of Dahui’s full enlightenment, see Case 32.

  Case 93 Baizhang’s New Paddy

  Baizhang Weizheng (Niepan) of Hongzhao said to the monks, “If you clear a new rice paddy for me, I will explain to you the Great Principle.”

  After clearing the new paddy, the monks returned and asked the master to explain the Great Principle. The master held out his two hands.1

  1.Baizhang indicates that there was nothing to impart, outside of the monks’ act of clearing the paddy itself.

  Case 94 The Avataṃsaka Sutra’s Simile of the Mind

  In the Avataṃsaka Sutra it is written, “The mind is like an artist, ceaselessly producing the five skandhas.1 In all the world, there is nothing that is not produced by the mind.”2

  1.The five skandhas are the transitory “aggregates” that constitute all physical, mental, and other elements in the phenomenal world. The five skandhas are:

  1)form (rūpa);

  2)sensation (vedanā);

  3)perception (saṃjñā);

  4)mental formations, particularly volition (saṃskāra);

  5)consciousness (vijñāna).

  2.T 9:465c. The verse in the Avataṃsaka Sutra reads, “The mind is like a painter / Who paints the five skandhas in all their forms; / In all of the worlds that exist; / There’s nothing it doesn’t create.”

  Case 95 Yun’an Returns the Vestment

  Regarding Yun’an Puyan’s return of Baiyun Shouduan’s vestment1 to his teacher Songyuan Chongyue, [Beijian Jujian] wrote in praise:

  Venerable Puyan, true to Śākyamuni’s transmission of the Dharma to Mahākāśyapa on the Vulture Peak,2

  Rejected the brocade vestment like a pair of worn-out sandals.3

  1.“Vestment” translates , which presently indicates a monk’s robe but which in ancient China referred to the , a large, rectangular clerical garment used in East Asian Buddhism. Worn around the body and over the ordinary robe, with the left shoulder covered and the right shoulder exposed, it corresponds to the original Buddhist robe of India, and thus symbolizes monkhood. It is generally worn only during rituals or, in some traditions, during meditation.

  2.This refers to the Buddha’s transmission of the Dharma to Mahākāśyapa on the Vulture Peak. See Case 135.

  3.Songyuan Chongyue, nearing the end of his life, attempted to transmit the vestment of Baiyun Shouduan, his ancestor in the Dharma, to his disciple Yun’an, who was about to return to his home province, Siming. Yun’an, however, refused to accept it (though he did accept a portrait of Songyuan). The scene was reminiscent of Linji’s refusal of Baizhang’s backrest and armrest:

  One day [Linji] took his leave of Huangbo. Huangbo asked, “Where are you going?” “If I don’t go to Henan, I’ll return to Hebei,” replied Linji. Huangbo hit at him. Linji seized Huangbo and gave him a slap. Laughing heartily, Huangbo called to his attendant, “Bring me the backrest and armrest that belonged to my late teacher Baizhang.” “Attendant, bring me some fire!” cried Linji. “Be that as it may, just take them with you. In the future you’ll sit on the tongue of every man on earth,” said Huangbo. (Sasaki 2009, p. 47)

  Case 96 A Verse in Praise of the Sixth Patriarch

  Yuanwu Keqin said in praise of the Sixth Patriarch, “I prostrate myself before the true Old Buddha of Caoxi;1 for eighty lives he was reborn as a wise friend and teacher.”2

  1.Caoxi was where the Sixth Patriarch resided.

  2.For “wise friend and teacher,” see Case 13, note 1.

  Case 97 When Someone Is Ordained

  When someone is ordained, nine generations of ancestors are reborn in the heavenly realms.1 Why then did Maudgalyāyana’s mother fall into hell?2

  1.The statement that when a person is ordained nine generations of ancestors gain rebirth in heaven is found in several Zen texts, e.g., the Record of Dongshan (T 47:516b), but does not appear in any sutra in the Taishō Canon.

  2.See also Maudgalyāyana in the Biographical Notes. The case draws upon the story that Maudgalyāyana, with his divine eye (one of his supernatural powers), saw his mother suffering in the realm of the hungry ghosts. Wishing to help her, he, together with the entire Buddhist community, made offerings.

  Case 98 Yuanwu’s Enlightenment Verse

  In his enlightenment verse,1 Yuanwu Keqin wrote:

  The fragrance of the golden-duck censer fades in the brocade curtains;

  Singing to the sound of a flute, I’m led home, drunk.2

  The deepest refinement of the youth

  Is for the lover alone to know.3

  1.Enlightenment verses are traditionally written by Zen students to express the gist of their realization.
/>
  2.Dōmae notes that the phrase , translated here as “I’m led home, drunk,” is also the title of an ancient Chinese song.

  3.According to Compendium of the Five Lamps 19, this poem was inspired by a verse Yuanwu heard from his teacher, Wuzu Fayan. A government official called upon Wuzu and asked what characterized the Zen school. Wuzu answered that a general sense of what it is about could be gained from the following poem: “I try to express my feelings but I am not able / Here in this back chamber I convey my sadness / By repeatedly calling my maid Little Jade, for no other reason / Than to have my man hear my voice.”

  “My man” refers to the lover of the young woman who wrote the poem. One day, seeing him near her residence, she wished to let him know that she was there. Careful of her reputation, however, she repeatedly called out to her maid Little Jade, for no other purpose than to let her lover hear her voice and make him aware of her presence.

  Case 99 Jiashan’s Surroundings

  A monk asked Jiashan Shanhui, “What are Jiashan’s surroundings?”1

  Jiashan answered:

  Monkeys clasping their young return beyond the purple peaks Birds with flowers in their beaks alight in front of the blue cliff.2

  Later Fayan Wenyi had a deep insight and commented, “For twenty years I misunderstood this story about Jiashan’s surroundings.”

  1.“Surroundings” translates , a word with various meanings—“physical surroundings,” “boundary,” “circumstances,” “stage,” “state of mind”—that no single English term can adequately cover; here the meanings of “physical surroundings” and “state of mind” are both implied. In addition, the name Jiashan refers not only to Jiashan Shanhui the master but also to the mountain Jiashan , on which the master’s monastery was located and from which the master derived his name. Thus the monk’s question can signify not only “What are the natural surroundings of the monastery on Jiashan?” but also “What is Master Jiashan’s state of mind?” The interrelation of these two meanings is evident in Chinese owing to the strong tendency in Zen to see the dharmakāya as manifested not only in the human mind but also in the phenomena of the natural world (this tendency was particularly strong in the Fayan school, the lineage founded by Fayan Wenyi, the master commenting above on Jiashan’s verse). Master Jiashan’s reply, too, reflects these profoundly meaningful ambiguities.