Entangling Vines Page 17

  Case 172 Ciming Tends the Hearth

  Ciming’s old woman1 lived near the temple, and no one could fathom her. Ciming would go there whenever he had free time. One morning on a scheduled lecture-day the drum announcing the lecture failed to sound even though breakfast had finished some time before. Yangqi Fanghui, who was then the temple supervisor, asked a lay brother why the drum hadn’t sounded. “Because the abbot is away and hasn’t returned,” replied the brother.

  Yangqi immediately went to the woman’s house and looked inside. Ciming was tending the hearth while the woman stirred some rice gruel. “Today is a lecture day, and the assembly has been waiting a long time,” said Yangqi. “Why haven’t you returned?”

  “If you can give me a turning-phrase, I’ll go back,” replied Ciming. “If not, then the whole lot of you can leave—to the east, west, or wherever.”

  Yangqi covered his head with his bamboo hat and walked several paces. Very pleased, Ciming returned with him to the temple.2

  1.“Old woman” translates , a character indicating either an old woman or a wife.

  2.This case is an example of the qualities of Ciming mentioned in Case 106. See also Case 189 (referring to note 2) for an incident relating to the present koan.

  Case 173 Ciming and the Tiger’s Roar

  Dadao Guquan called upon Ciming. Ciming asked him, “White clouds block the mouth of the valley.1 From where, then, does the wayfarer come?”

  Dadao looked left and right, then said, “Last night a fire somewhere burned out an old master’s grave.”2

  Ciming scolded him, saying, “You’re not yet there! Say more!”

  Dadao made a tiger’s roar. The master struck him with his sitting cloth,3 whereupon Dadao pushed him over. Ciming then roared like a tiger.

  Dadao withdrew and exclaimed in admiration, “I have visited over seventy enlightened teachers,4 but only you succeed to the true teachings of Linji.”

  1.Mujaku: Ciming has closed the gate and allows neither sages nor fools to pass. The wayfarer may be taken to refer to Dadao.

  2.Mujaku: Dadao compares himself to fire that has tested Ciming and revealed his eremitic nature.

  3.For “sitting cloth,” see Case 37, note 2.

  4.For “enlightened teachers,” see Case 13, note 1.

  Case 174 Ciming Takes Off a Shoe

  Ciming Chuyuan had an audience with master Shending Hongyin. At the time Hongyin was held in the highest repute, and it was only the finest of monks who dared enter his gate. Ciming stood there, his robe tattered and his hair long and unshaven, speaking in the dialect of Chu and calling himself a “Dharma nephew.” The entire assembly had a good laugh.

  Hongyin told an acolyte to ask Ciming, “Whose successor are you?”

  Ciming gazed toward the roof and said, “Before coming here I had a heart-to-heart encounter with Fenyang Shanzhao.”

  At this Hongyin himself came out, staff in hand. Looking Ciming in the face, he asked politely, “Is it true that the Lion of West River was at Fenyang’s place?”1

  Ciming pointed behind Hongyin and roared, “The building is falling!”

  At this the acolyte ran off, and Hongyin looked around in alarm. Ciming sat down on the ground, took off one of his shoes, and looked at Hongyin. Hongyin not only forgot what he was going to say but didn’t realize where Ciming was.

  Ciming calmly stood up, straightened his robes, and said, “What I saw of him didn’t measure up to what I heard of him.” Then he quickly walked off.

  Hongyin sent someone after him, but Ciming paid no heed. Hongyin said in admiration, “So, Fenyang had a child like this!”

  1.“The Lion of West River” was a nickname given to Ciming because of the intensity of his practice.

  Case 175 Kanzan’s “Inherently Perfect Buddha”

  The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment asks, “If we all are inherently perfect buddhas, why then have we become ignorant, deluded sentient beings?”1

  1.T 17:915b. The Kattōshū mistakenly attributes the passage to the Vimalakīrti Sutra. No similar passage appears in this sutra, however. The closest equivalent is a passage in the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment that reads:

  World Honored One, if sentient beings have intrinsically accomplished Buddhahood , how can there be so much ignorance? If all sentient beings originally have ignorance, why does the Tathagata say that they have intrinsically accomplished Buddhahood? If sentient beings in all ten directions intrinsically accomplished the Buddha Path and afterward gave rise to ignorance, then when will the Tathagata give rise to vexations again? (Sheng-yen 1997, p. 171)

  It should be noted, however, that the precise term “inherently perfect buddha” originated in Japan, and that use of the koan above began with the Japanese Zen master Kanzan Egen. The concept of the inherently perfect buddha formed a central tenet of Kanzan’s teaching.

  Case 176 Linji’s “Hunk of Red Flesh”1

  Linji took the high seat in the hall and said, “In this hunk of red flesh is a true person of no rank2 who always goes in and out of the gates of your face.3 Those of you who have not yet realized this person, look, look!”

  A monk stepped forward and asked, “What is this true person of no rank?”

  The master descended from his seat, grabbed the monk, and cried, “Speak, speak!” The monk hesitated.

  The master shoved him away and said, “The true person of no rank—what a dried turd he is!” Then he returned to his quarters.

  1.Also Record of Linji, Discourse 3; Record of Equanimity 38, Main Case.

  2.The “hunk of red flesh” can refer either to the physical body or to the heart. The “true person of no rank” is an expression original to Linji but has its roots in the Taoist term “true person” , designating a realized practitioner. It was adopted into Buddhism prior to the time of Linji in order to indicate arhats and bodhisattvas.

  3.“Gates of your face” refers to the facial sense organs.

  Case 177 Linji’s Four Realms1

  Someone asked Linji, “What are the four realms of no-form?”

  The master said, “A thought of doubt in your mind and you’re obstructed by the element of earth; a thought of desire in your mind and you drown in the element water; a thought of anger in your mind and you’re scorched by the element fire; a thought of joy in your mind and you’re blown about by the element wind.”2

  Understand this, however, and you will no longer be tossed about by circumstances; instead you will utilize them wherever you go. You can appear in the east and vanish in the west, appear in the south and vanish in the north, appear in the center and vanish at the border, appear at the border and vanish in the center. You can walk on the water as though it is land and walk on the land as though it is water.3

  Why can you do these things? Because you realize that the four elements are like dreams, like illusions.

  1.Also Record of Linji, Discourse 15.

  2.Earth, water, fire, and wind are the four basic elements according to ancient Indian thought.

  3.The abilities described in this paragraph are the “six earth-shakings” that represent the free working of the awakened person. They are mentioned in a number of sutras, such as the Mahā-prajñā-pāramitā Sutra, which describes the six earth-shakings said to have occurred when the Buddha entered the Samadhi of the Joyful Play of the Lion (T 6:642c), and the Avataṃsaka Sutra, which describes the six earth-shakings and the eighteen movements caused by the Buddha’s supernatural powers (T 10:278a).

  Case 178 Linji’s Four Shouts1

  Linji said to a monk, “Sometimes a shout is like the diamond sword of the Vajra King;2 sometimes a shout is like a golden-haired lion crouching in wait;3 sometimes a shout is like a pole for probing amid the shadowy weeds;4 sometimes a shout doesn’t function as a shout. How do you understand this?”

  When the monk hesitated, the master gave a shout.

  1.Also Record of Linji, Critical Examinations 20.

  2.The diamond sword of the Vajra King is the diamon
d-hard sword of wisdom that cuts off delusion and ignorance.

  3.A metaphor for focused strength and awareness.

  4.The origin of the metaphor is unclear, but it appears to represent the methods a master uses to probe the student’s understanding.

  Case 179 One Shout Remains

  Ma Fang’s “Preface” to the Record of Linji says, “One shout still remains. This one requires further consideration.”1

  1.The full quote from Ma’s “Preface” reads: “I have checked thoroughly and there’s nothing omitted. Just one shout still remains, this one requires a question-and-answer investigation.”

  Case 180 Linji’s “Host and Guest”1

  The head monks of the two halls at Linji’s monastery met and simultaneously shouted.

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

  “Guest and host were obvious,” the master replied. He then said, “If you in the assembly want to understand what I mean by ‘guest’ and ‘host,’ go ask the head monks of the two halls.” Then he stepped down.

  1.Also Record of Linji, Discourse 4. The incident is also referred to in the Blue Cliff Record 38, Commentary to the Main Case.

  Case 181 The Four Guest-Host Relationships1

  Zen master Linji addressed the assembly, saying:

  Followers of the Way, in the view of the Zen school death and life proceed in an orderly sequence. Students of Zen must examine [this] most carefully.

  When host and guest meet they check each other out. At times, in response to something, they may manifest a certain form; they may act with their whole body; they may use tricks or devices to appear joyful or angry; they may reveal half of their body; they may ride a lion or a lordly elephant.2

  A true student gives a shout and begins by holding out a tray of sticky glue. The teacher, not discerning where this comes from, seizes hold of it and performs all sorts of antics. The student shouts again, but the teacher is unwilling to abandon his views. This is a disease impossible to cure. It is called “the guest examines the host.”

  Sometimes a teacher offers nothing, but the moment the student asks a question, he takes it away. The student, deprived of his question, resists to the death and will not let go. This is called “the host examines the guest.”

  Sometimes a student comes before a teacher in a state of pure clarity. The teacher, discerning this realm, seizes it and flings it into a pit. “An excellent teacher!” exclaims the student, but the teacher replies, “Bah! Who are you to tell good from bad?!” The student then makes a deep bow. This is called “the host examines the host.”

  Or a student may appear before a teacher locked in a yoke and bound with chains.3 To these the teacher adds still more yokes and chains, whereupon the student is so delighted that he doesn’t know what’s what. This is called “the guest examines the guest.”

  1.Also Record of Linji, Discourse 18.

  2.“Riding a lion” and “riding a lordly elephant” are allusions to, respectively, the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī (who is represented iconographically as mounted on a lion) and Samantabhadra (who is represented iconographically as mounted on a white elephant with six tusks).

  3.Yokes and chains represent deluded ideas regarding Buddhism.

  Case 182 Baizhang Goes to See Mazu Again1

  Baizhang called on Mazu again.2 Seeing him come, Mazu picked up his whisk3 and held it upright. Baizhang asked, “Are you one with this function, or separate from this function?”4

  Mazu hung the whisk in its original place.5 Baizhang remained standing in attendance for a while. Mazu asked him, “In the future, how will you preach so as to benefit people?”6

  Baizhang took the whisk and held it upright.7 Mazu said, “Are you one with that function, or separate from that function?”

  Baizhang hung the whisk in its original place. Mazu thereupon gave a mighty shout, and Baizhang had a deep understanding.

  In later years Baizhang said to Huangbo, “That great shout of Mazu left me deaf for three days.” Huangbo, shuddering with fear and amazement, stood there open-mouthed with his tongue out.

  1.Also Blue Cliff Record 11, Commentary on the Main Case. Dōmae: This exchange between Mazu and Baizhang followed the incident recorded as Case 53 of the Blue Cliff Record:

  Mazu and Baizhang were walking one day when they saw a wild duck fly by. Mazu asked, “What was that?” “A wild duck,” answered Baizhang. “Where has it gone?” asked Mazu. “It’s flown off,” Baizhang replied. Mazu grabbed Baizhang’s nose and twisted it. When Baizhang cried out in pain Mazu said, “And you said it had flown off!” At this Baizhang had an understanding.

  Blue Cliff Record 53 and Entangling Vines 182 are concerned with the two fundamental aspects of Zen training: the element of wisdom or enlightenment and the element of compassion or function in the world. Blue Cliff Record 53, in which Baizhang experiences a profound awakening to the oneness of all things, relates to the first; Entangling Vines 182, in which Mazu presses Baizhang on how he intends to teach, relates to the second.

  2.At this point the Kattōshū has the line, “As Baizhang stood in attendance, Mazu saw the whisk in the corner of the meditation seat” . This line is an insertion from the Compendium of the Five Lamps; the rest of the koan follows the text as recorded in the Transmission of the Lamp anthologies. The line has been removed as it disrupts the narrative flow.

  3.“Whisk” translates , the Chinese term for the Sanskrit “vyajana,” meaning “fan,” “brush,” or “whisk.” Whisks were used in the Indian sangha to shoo away annoying insects; those made with white hair, in particular, came to serve as signs of authority. In Chinese and Japanese Zen white-haired whisks symbolize the master’s function as a teacher and guide.

  4.The Chinese is ambiguous. Yamada regards the question as asking, “Is the very act of raising the whisk the Buddhadharma, or is Buddhadharma a separate something that raises the whisk?” (1985, 2:109). Mujaku reads it to mean, “Do you function in accord with the whisk, or apart from the whisk?” Katō comments that Baizhang could just as well have asked, “What is it? Wisdom or compassion? Reining in or letting go? Practicing or teaching?” (1939–40, 3:135).

  Interestingly, Chinese translators read this as a statement, not a question, and render it in various ways: “This is the very functioning which one should keep from” (Luk 1974, p. 52); “It is that function, it leaves that function” (Chien 1992, p. 102); “In the very act of using it, you are detached from its use” (Wu 1996, p. 101).

  5.That is, he returns “function” to its origin, “nondoing.”

  6.Literally, “Later, how will you move your two lips so as to benefit people?”

  7.That is, he would take up the whisk and serve in Mazu’s stead.

  Case 183-1 Ciming’s Consecutive Shouts

  Yangqi Fanghui asked Ciming, “What about when ‘an unseen bird, twittering and chirping, leaves the clouds and enters the rugged peaks’?”1

  Ciming replied, “I’ll head for a wild, uncut meadow. You go to a secluded village.”2

  Yangqi said, “Officially even a needle is not permitted,3 but would you allow me another question?”

  At this Ciming gave a shout.

  “A wonderful shout!” Yangqi said.

  Ciming shouted again. Yangqi too shouted. Ciming then shouted twice in a row. Yangqi bowed.

  Ciming said, “It’s because you’re such a man as this that the Great Matter can be entrusted to you.” Yangqi shook his sleeves and left.

  1.ZGJI: “To leave the exalted and enter the humble.” Yangqi’s training under Ciming was ending, and soon he would leave the monastery for Jiufeng , his native province. Ciming would leave for Mount Nanyue .

  2.“You can go where you want, I’ll go where I want.”

  3.This is part of the expression, “Officially not even a needle is permitted; privately even a carriage can go through.” Officially no objections are allowed, but unofficially much is permitted.

  Case 183-2 Xutang’s Dark Valley


  Xutang commented, “Descending from the lofty trees, he enters the dark valleys1—the compassion of a parent! But why did Ciming shout twice?”

  1.Mencius, in the section on Duke Wen of Teng, has the passage, “I have heard of ‘leaving dark valleys to live in high trees,’ but I have never heard of ‘leaving high trees to live in dark valleys,’” meaning that people may leave barbarism for civilization, but not the reverse. Zen turns this around, with “entering the dark valley” indicating descent from the lofty realm of enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings in the “dark valleys” of the suffering world.

  Case 184 Xinghua’s Two Waves of the Hand1

  A fellow student of Xinghua Cunjiang came and entered the Dharma Hall. Xinghua gave a shout. The monk too gave a shout and advanced two or three strides, whereupon Xinghua shouted again. The monk too shouted again, and after a moment came forward. Xinghua held up his staff. The monk again shouted.

  “You see! This dolt is still trying to play the host!” remarked Xinghua. The monk hesitated. Xinghua struck him and drove him out of the Dharma Hall, then returned to his quarters.

  Someone asked, “The monk who was just here—what did he say to deserve the master’s anger?”

  Xinghua answered, “That monk had technique, he had essence, he had illumination, he had function. But when I waved my hand2 in front of him two times he couldn’t respond. If you don’t hit a blind oaf like that he’ll never get anywhere.”