Entangling Vines Read online

  spirit(s); earth, 114; existence of, 61–62; household, 89; of Qiannu, 51–52

  śrāvaka, 89, 180

  staff, 58, 64, 105, 107, 109, 110, 118, 129, 145, 153, 159, 161, 225, 227, 283; applied to the clear blue sky, 108, 109; Bajiao giving and taking away, 79–80; Channgqing and completing a lifetime’s practice, 203; Nanyuan and the s. of the south, 165, 166; Qianfeng drawing a line with, 121; Xutang’s big-talking, 155; Yunmen killing the Buddha with his, 104

  Statements, Three, of Linji, 135–36

  stick, 8, 113, 118, 154, 167–68, 174, 181, 250; Deshan’s use of, 227; Huangbo beats Linji with, 156; Linji’s use of, 249; Mazu’s use of, 252; Nanyuan’s, 154; Shoushan’s “If you say it’s a stick,” 118; and the shout, see shout, and the stick; thirty blows with, 162, 163, 174; three-score blows with, 158, 167; Yunmen spares Dongshan threescore blows, 158, 159; Zhaozhou’s nonuse of, 283

  stone bridge of Zhaozhou, 202

  suchness, 132, 190, 199, 277

  sudden awakening, 49, 179, 180, 219, 226, 229

  Sudhana; bio, 267; seeks herbs for Mañjuśrī, 168; visit to Bhishmottaranirghosha, 90; visit to Meghaśri, 90; misc., 218

  sulu, sulu! 47

  Sumeru Seat, 181; see also Mount Sumeru sunlight, shining through a window, 162

  śūnyatā, 42, 44, 142, 191, 205, 214, 217; philosophy, 254; see also emptiness

  supernatural powers; of the Buddha, 148, 206, 214; of Layman Pang, 257; of Lingshu, 139, 248; of Mañjuśrī, 68; of Maudgalyāyana, 94, 117, 251–52; of Prince Nata, 196; of Vimalakīrti, 102; of Yunmen, 139

  Supplementary “Biographies of Eminent Monks, 226

  Supplementary Biographies of [Mount] Qingliang, 282

  Śūraṅgama Sutra, 121, 180, 187, 221, 236; and requiting the benevolence of the Buddha, 104; and skill in turning things around, 170; on staying awake, 64

  surroundings, 95; Jiashan’s, 95, 244; mind turning with, 50; aren’t outside things, 207; and person, 125, 126, 173

  Sushu, 282

  Sutra in Forty-two Sections, 106

  Sutra of Complete Enlightenment, on inherently perfect buddhas, 146

  Sutra of the Collection of the Original Acts of the Buddha, 104

  Sutra of the Seven Women, 60

  Sutra of the Thousand Buddha-Names, 165

  Sutra Preached at the Request of Brahmadeva, 205

  sutra, from which all buddhas issue, 72

  sweet-olive blossoms, 45

  sword, 129; of Bingzhou steel, 189; s. blade, 81; Blown-hair, 217, 265; that deters unrest, 164; Dharma general’s, 185; diamond s. of the Vajra King, 148; fangs like a row of, 113; general’s, 164, 185; s. master, 37; of the Nāga King, 138; of Mañjuśrī, 251; of wisdom, 37

  Taihang Kebin; bio, 267; and the rice-andvegetable dinner, 114–15

  Takujū lineage, 19

  Tales from the Land of Locust-tree Tranquility (Kaiankokugo), 21

  tathā,” 199

  Tathāgata, 146, 175; Golden-Millet T., 100, 101, 102; skill in turning things around, 170; T. Zen, 272

  tathāgata-garbha, 188

  teacher(s), 149, 150, 157, 159; ancestral, 2; excellent, 150; fifty-three of the Avataṃsaka Sutra, 90; non-Buddhist, 78–79, 214; true, 71; Zen, 136; see also enlightened teacher

  teaching; importance of, 77, 150; true, 65, 66

  ten admonitions of Nantang, 74, 75

  ten realizations of the same reality, 184, 198–99

  Tenryū-ji, 181

  terrapin, becomes a softshell, 62

  tests; Daitō’s three questions, 100; Daitō’s two turning-phrases, 127; Doushua’s three barriers, 36; Foxing’s three turning-phrases, 103; girl hugs a hermit, 133; Huanglong’s three barriers, 38–39; Songyuan’s three turning-phrases, 126; three questions on the dharmakāya eating food, 134; three turning-phrases of Baling, 217; Wuzu’s Mount Sumeru for a brush, 59; Xutang’s three questions, 126

  Tettō Gikō; bio, 268; Admonitions, 175; misc., 10, 17, 18

  The Song of Enlightenment, 278

  thief; has no peace of mind, 37; red-bearded foreigner as, 58; “Zhaozhou’s ‘Juniper Tree’” functioning as a, 59; drawing the bow after the departure of, 107; see also bandit

  think not of good, think not of evil, 34

  Third Patriarch, see Sengcan

  thirty-two distinguishing characteristics of a buddha, 117, 118

  this very mind is buddha, 35

  thorn forest, 46, 47

  thought(s), 81, 101, 107, 130; break through the single t. of not-knowing, 186; deluded, 80, 126, 226; of enlightenment, 191; every t. is buddha-mind, 234; follower of the Way free of t., 106; Linji’s views on, 87, 147–48; marvelous functioning of awareness without, 277; the master cuts of the student’s t., 91; a moment of t. penetrates the three worlds, 90; obstructive, 36; one t.—ten thousand years, 262; stopping, 62, 202; not a single t. of seeking buddhahood, 48; when not a single t. arises, 35

  thousand-year peach pit, 194

  three barriers of Huanglong, 38–39

  three barriers of Doushuai Congyue, 36

  Three Essentials, of Linji, 135–36, 136; seal of, 135, 136

  Three Mysteries and Three Essentials, 184; pointing to this very moment, 184

  Three Mysterious Gates, 136, 184

  three poisons (attachment, aversion, and ignorance), 44, 130

  three realms (desire, form, formlessness), 205, 263; are nothing but mind, 230; three evil r., 78, 79, 179

  Three Statements, of Linji, 135–36

  three vehicles, 187, 188; and the twelve divisions of teachings, 180

  three worlds, 263, 285

  Thus-Come-One, Matrix of, 180, 188

  Tianhuang Daowu; bio, 268; misc., 200, 249, 263

  Tiantai Deshao; bio, 268–69; misc., 207, 273, 279

  Tiger Creek, 155, 242

  tiger; head of, 158; in the middle of the road, 69; roar of (Ciming’s), 145; tail of, 158; whiskers of, 157; Yangsha as, 171

  tile, hitting bamboo, 49; polishing of to become a buddha, 122; no t. to cover his head, 244

  time, 39, 90; of death, 52; of primordial chaos, 41, 42; three periods of, 106; timeless t., 184, 185; without beginning, 170

  Tipo school, 217

  Tōkai lineage, Myōshin-ji school, 18

  torch, paper, 113, 114

  tortoise’s tail hairs, 116, 117

  Toutou Temple Stele Inscriptions, 101

  Touzi Datong; bio, 269; and buddha is the Way, 169; misc., 268, 275, 277

  Touzi Fazong; bio, 269; and his straw sandals, 96

  tower; Chen Cao calling to monks from, 132; Huanglong reciting sutras in, 69; memorial t. of Linji, 218; memorial t. of the Sixth Patriarch, 232; Nanyang’s seamless t., 256; of Vairocana Buddha, 267; Yellow Crane T., 222; of Zhao Sheng, 181; Zhaozhou calling for help from, 98

  training season, 54, 137, 155, 158, 246, 284

  transcendence, 41, 42, 74, 134; and functioning, 84, 85

  Transmission of the Lamp, 10, 17, 151, 173, 175, 200, 208, 214, 226, 236, 247, 249, 255, 256, 270, 276

  transmission verses; of the Buddhas of the Past, 138–39; of Manora, 50

  tray of sticky glue, 149

  Trāyastrimśa Heaven, 35, 117, 118; and Yunmen’s fan, 121

  Treasury of Bright Light, 108

  Treasury of Great Light, 246

  Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, 119, 164, 175

  Treatise on Awakening Faith in the Mahayana, 257

  Treatise on the Transmission of the Dharma in the True School, 233

  tree(s); arjaka, 61; boxwood, 56; dead, 61; giving shade to people, 157; juniper, 37–38, 59, 70, 283; hanging from by teeth, 45; Linji plants pine t., 161; Niaoke Daolin meditating in, 176; and vines, 54–55

  true adept, 193

  true ascetic, 63

  True Dharma Eye, 53; Linji’s, 108, 164; Treasury of the, 119, 164, 175

  True Dharma, age of, 120

  true friend, see friend

  true nature, 36, 194, 206; see also original nature


  true person of no rank, 146–47, 191

  true teaching, 65, 66

  turd, dried, 147

  turn your own light in upon yourself, 34

  turning-phrase, 54, 56, 58; and Bajiao’s staff, 79–80; Baling’s three, 217; Daitō’s two, 127; Foxing’s three, 103; Songyuan Chongyue’s three, 126; on the tiger sitting in the road, 69; of Wuzu Fayan’s Three Buddhas, 82; of Yangqi at Ciming’s woman’s house, 144

  turtle, black, 181

  Tushita Heaven, 251

  Udayana (King); bio, 269; and the buddha image, 117, 269

  Unborn, 179

  unity (equality, oneness) and differentiation (discrimination, distinction), 38–39, 41–42, 104–5; 174–75; 217; see also snow

  upāya, 117, 118, 143; see also expedient means

  Uttarakuru, 35

  Vairocana Buddha, 43, 188, 267

  vajra, 55, 56

  Vajra King, diamond sword of, 148

  Vasubandhu, 251

  verses; on Avalokiteśvara, 189; on the birds in front of the blue cliff, 95; on the Blown-hair Sword, 265; on the bodhi tree and bright mirror, 242; the Buddha’s birth v., 104; on Chaling Yu’s bright pearl, 201; on the cold clouds and hidden rock, 135; on a dead tree on a cold cliff, 133; on the eight-sided millstone, 120; on the final word, 143; on the fragrant southern breeze, 92; on the golden-duck censer, 94; on Hongzhi’s eight phrases, 192; on Jiangnan in the third month, 84; of Kāśyapa Buddha, 247; on last year’s poverty, 272; on Linji’s Four Functions, 174; on Linji’s three-score blows, 167; on Layman Pang’s drawing water and carrying firewood, 257; on Layman Pang’s enlightenment, 48; on Little Jade, 95; of Manora, on the mind, 50; on mind arising, 202; on the mind-ground, 186; on the Noble Voice, 117; on original emptiness and repaying karmic debts, 142; on peddlers in the capital, 128; on Penetrating-the-Mystery Mountain, 269; on peony flowers, 71; on a pillar tiring, 179; on the pink peach blossoms, 172, 173; on the preaching of the sentientless, 229; on the princes reveling in the spring breeze, 53; on Qiannu and her spirit, 51; on seeing it in the twinkle of an eye, 272; on the single road to nirvana, 121; on the sound of the falling firewood, 207; on the sword-master and peach blossoms, 37; on a tile hitting a bamboo, 49–50, 272; on the veteran general of the Dharma assembly, 185–86; Vipaśyin’s transmission v., 139; on white clouds blocking the valley, 106; on Wolun’s stopping thoughts, 202; of Xutang on the board-carrier, 98; of Xutang on cold clouds and the frosty moon, 135; on Zhaozhou’s “Wu,” 65

  vestment, 93, 181; Mahākāśyapa’s brocade, 119; Musō covering his head with, 181; putting on at the sound of the bell, 130; Touzi’s straw sandals in, 96

  vijñāna, 130

  Vimalakīrti Sutra, 146, 179, 187, 188, 196, 205, 260, 269; and the six non-Buddhist teachers, 78–79; and the ten-foot-square chamber, 118

  Vimalakīrti; bio, 269–70; and Fu Dashi, 84, 234; as the Golden-Millet Tathāgata, 100, 101, 102; illness of, 269–70; and lay Buddhism, 269–70; and his ten-foot-square room, 102; and Mañjuśrī, 117; supernatural powers of, 102

  vines, and being and nonbeing, 54–55

  Vipaśyin Buddha; bio, 270; yet to attain the Mystery, 203; transmission verse of, 138–39; misc., 58

  void; breaking through the, 103; casting a single hair into, 113; driving a rivet into, 109; empty, 265; Great, 187; mind is v. from the start, 139; all states are originally v., 232

  Vulture Peak; holding up a flower on, 119; transmission of the Dharma to Mahākāśyapa on, 93

  Wan’an Daoyan; bio, 270; comment on Ciming’s signpost, 128

  Wang Changshi (Jingchu); bio, 270; and the polo game, 178–79

  Wang Jin, Toutou Temple Stele Inscriptions, 101

  Wang Sui; bio, 270; and the emperor holding up the bowl, 201

  “Watch where you step!” 82

  water buffalo, see buffalo

  water; Ciming’s bowl of, 129; dirty, 172; dragon taking to, 160; drenching oneself with, 117; drinking w. and carrying firewood, 257; drop of in the great ocean, 113; East Mountain walks on the, 68, 92; element of, 36, 147, 187; eloquence like flowing, 183; flow of the, 284; fresh, 35; Huizhong’s bowl of, 205; like the moon in the, 263, 284; of a mountain stream, 71; Nāgārjuna’s bowl of, 214; pure, 135; too shallow for a ship to moor, 160; stagnant, 171, 207; standing on, 206; still as the w. of the autumn river, 238; tasting for oneself, 34, 108; throwing baby into, 140; of the West River, 48

  Watson, Burton, 20

  Way; affinity with the, 186; ancient, 50; of all buddhas, 240; doesn’t anger, 193; entering the, 70, 140, 279; follower of the, 48, 63, 106; friend of the, 140; great, 279; as the Great Pure Sky, 42; hear sound and realize the, 89; hear of the W. and die content, 97; in the Latter Age, 120; master of the, 37, 50; mind that seeks the, 70; the mindground can perceive the, 186; ordinary mind is the, 97; in seeking the W. there is no striving with the mind, 214; wisdom is not the, 101; the W. is without form; misc., 136, 169, 214

  wealth, 111; as the source of all evil karma, 120

  weeds; as kleśa, 36; Magu digging, 141; shadowy, 148; wild, 180

  West River, 48

  what is buddha? 35, 46, 74, 80, 169

  what is that! 232

  what is the dharmakāya? 200

  what is the Way? 97, 169, 193, 206, 217

  what is Zen? 169

  wheel king, see cakravartin

  wheel of the Dharma, see Dharma wheel

  wheelbarrow, 197

  whisk, 80, 150, 151, 228

  White Lotus Society, 243

  wind; black, 280; element of, 147, 187; fierce w. blows a ship off course, 60; Sixth Patriarch’s banner in the, 86; violent, 72; watch the w. and set the sails accordingly, 143; misc., 162

  window; lattice, 43; moonlight on the, 91; sunlight through the, 162; watching through a narrow, 184

  wine; of Qingyuan, 102; Mr. Zhang drinks, 70

  winter solstice, 128, 129; and Great Death, 129, 203

  wisdom (enlightenment); bodhisattva of, 40; dharmakāya as the essence of, 43; dragons as symbols of, 204; as a fundamental aspect of Zen training, 151; Great Perfect Mirror W., 42; like flowing water, 183; and its function, 79; light of, 44, 90; and Mañjuśrī, 89, 136, 161, 166, 251, 270; mind is, 263; sameness of, 198, 199; and Śariputra, 260; sword of, 37, 81, 148; is not the Way, 101; where w. cannot reach, 192; misc., 125, 136, 187, 188, 214

  wise friend and teacher, see enlightened teacher

  Wolun, 202; bio, 270

  woman; bowing in the manner of, 190, 191; Ciming’s, 144, 159–60; Qiannu, 51; and samadhi, 67–68, 89; seven wise, 60; and Zhaozhou, 39–40;

  Wondrous Mountain, 90

  wood, sound of, 207

  wooden fish, 159

  word(s); Buddha never preached a single, 143; that can’t be said despite the greatest effort, 176; living and dead, 229; oxen cannot pull from a government office, 81; do not seek for anything within, 179; single w. and a four-horse team, 134; spoken from where wisdom cannot reach, 192; see also final word

  work; cancellation of, 174; and the dutymonk, 174; “no work, no eating,” 105; see also monastic labor

  World-Honored One; “above the heavens and below, I alone am the,” 104; bluelotus eyes of the, 110; holds up a flower, 110, 119

  Wu koan, 65–67; functioning of, 66; Zhongfeng’s question on, 66

  Wu Yuanji, 125, 125–126, 227

  Wujin, Layman; bio, 282; and the final word, 123–24; misc., 245, 280, 284

  Wumen guan (Gateless Barrier), 3, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 29, 30, 271; Case 1, 65; Case 2, 58; Case 4, 101; Case 5, 45; Case 6, 119; Case 9, 69, 197; Case 10, 102; Case 11, 160; Case 12, 39; Case 13, 47, 143; Case 15, 159; Case 16, 130; Case 17, 53; Case 18, 74; Case 19, 97; Case 20, 126; Case 22, 119, 203; Case 23, 34; Case 24, 84; Case 26, 59; Case 27, 163; Case 28, 114; Case 29, 85; Case 30, 35; Case 31, 40; Case 33, 35; Case 34, 101; Case 36, 195; Case 37, 38; Case 38, 43; Case 41, 33; Case 42, 68; Case 43, 118; Case 44, 80; Case 45, 34; Case 46, 49; Case 47, 36; Case 48, 121; postscript, 39; English translations of, 20
–21

  Wumen Huikai; bio, 271; on “Deshan Carries His Bowls,” 143; and “Zhaozhou’s ‘Wu’,” 271

  Wuxie Lingmo, 101

  Wuyong Jingquan, 281

  Wuzhuo, and Mañjuśrī, 136

  Wuzu Fayan; bio, 271; and the bo dove, 61; and the demon, 61; and the evening turning-phrase, 82; comments on the Five Houses of Zen, 86; lineage of, 204; and meeting an accomplished wayfarer, 195; and painting with sky, sea and Mount Sumeru, 59; and the poem on Little Jade, 95; and someone’s servants, 34; and the talk of complete and incomplete, 37; misc., 216, 232, 233, 255, 280

  Wuzu Shijie; bio, 271; and Guishan’s mirror, 131

  Xiang Yu (General); bio, 271–72, 161, 243

  Xianglin Chengyuan; bio, 272; as Yunmen’s attendant, 169; misc., 62, 265

  Xiangyan Zhixian; bio, 272; enlightenment verses, 49–50, 273; and the everyday samadhi of the infant, 192; and the person up a tree, 45; and the sound of a tile hitting bamboo, 49–50; misc., 235

  Xingchan Weikuan, 273

  Xinghua Cunjiang; bio, 273; and the blindoaf monk, 153; and the blind shouts, 109; and further study under Sansheng and Dajue, 109–10; and holding to the center, 72–73; and the rice-and-vegetable dinner, 114–15; scattering pearls, 108, 109; waves his hand twice, 108, 153; misc., 249, 256, 264, 267

  Xingjiao Hongshou; bio, 273; and the sound of the falling firewood, 207

  Xingyang Pou, 181

  Xitang Zhizang; bio, 273; and the autumnmoon turning-phrases, 82; and the teaching of Daoyi, 273

  Xiu; bio, 274; and Nanquan’s death, 208

  Xuansha Shibei; bio, 274; and Bodhidharma not coming to China, 63, 103; on Lingyun’s peach blossoms, 37; not perceiving a single dharma, 135; on stumbling and hurting his toe, 103; misc., 219, 275, 276

  Xuanzang, 226

  Xuanzong (emperor); bio, 274; and Huangbo’s bowing before a buddha image, 196

  Xuedou baize songgu, 275

  Xuedou Chongxian; bio, 274–75; comment on Deshan and the monk from Silla, 163; comment on the person up a tree, 45; misc., 247, 269

  Xuefeng Yicun; bio, 275–76; and Deshan carrying his bowls, 47; enlightenment during pilgrimage with Yantou, 275; and monk leaving to visit Jingshan, 167–68; and Xuansha’s “Bodhidharma didn’t come to China,” 63; misc., 199, 219, 221, 244–45, 258–59, 260, 274, 277, 282

  Xutang Zhiyu; bio, 276; and his big-talking staff, 155; on the chalk line by Bo of Lu, 168; on Ciming’s signpost, 128, 129; on Ciming’s two shouts, 152; commenting in place of Nanquan, 98; on Deshan’s fastening tethers in the stagnant water, 171; lineage in Japan, 17; on the monk’s visit to Nanquan’s hermitage, 127–28; a penniless scholar in the Imperial Library, 207; on raising the old sail, 74; on Shoushan uttering wild fox cries, 207; and the Shūmon kattōshū, 17; as teacher of Nanpo, 254; and his three questions, 126; verse on peddlers pushing carts, 128; verse on “Qiannu and Her Spirit,” 51; on the woman in samadhi, 89; on Xuansha’s single dharma not perceived, 135; misc., 10, 15, 17, 19, 21, 27, 118, 281