Entangling Vines Page 8

  9.The original Chinese, , is open to various interpretations depending on the context. ZGDJ has “to understand what the master has said”; ZGJT has “to imitate someone or follow his or her lead.”

  10.The Record of the True School of Linji is a text compiled by Yuanwu that stresses the importance of the true lineage of Linji Zen and recognizes Dahui as a genuine lineage holder. It was presented to Dahui in 1129, four years after his major awakening, when Dahui was forty years of age.

  Case 33 Nanquan’s Sickle

  Once when Nanquan Puyuan was working in the mountains a monk asked him, “Which way is the road to Nanquan?”

  Nanquan held up his sickle and said, “I bought this sickle for thirty coins.”

  The monk said, “I didn’t ask about the sickle. Which way is the road to Nanquan?”

  Nanquan said, “I can use this—it’s so sharp!”1

  1.Or, “I’ve tried this and it cuts very well!”

  Case 34 Baizhang’s Wild Fox1

  Whenever Baizhang Huaihai lectured an old man would sit with the assembly and listen to the teachings. When the assembly left, so would the old man. Then one day the old man remained, and the master asked him, “Who are you, standing there in front of me?”

  The old man said, “I am not human. Long ago, in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha,2 I was the abbot living on this mountain. A student asked whether people of true practice are subject to cause and effect. I said, ‘They are not subject to cause and effect.’ For this I have been reborn as a fox for five hundred lifetimes. Please, I request of you a turning-phrase so that I may be freed from this fox’s body.” He then asked, “Are people of true practice subject to cause and effect?”

  The master answered, “They are not confused about cause and effect.”3

  At these words the old man was deeply enlightened. He bowed and said, “I am now free of the fox’s body, which is lying on the other side of the mountain. I beseech you, perform for me the service for a deceased monk.”

  The master had the duty-monk strike the gavel and announce to the community that there would be a service for a dead monk after the meal.4 The monks wondered about this among themselves, since everyone was well and no one had been sick in the infirmary.

  After the meal the master led the group to the foot of a cliff on the other side of the mountain, where he pointed out a dead fox with his staff. He then cremated it in accordance with the rule.

  That evening the master took the high seat and explained the day’s events. Thereupon Huangbo asked, “Because the old man gave a mistaken answer he was reborn as a fox for five hundred lifetimes; what would have happened to him if his answer hadn’t been wrong each time?”

  The master said, “Come close and I’ll tell you.” Huangbo went up and gave the master a slap.

  The master clapped his hands and said, “I thought I was a red-bearded foreigner, but here’s someone who’s even more of a red-bearded foreigner!”5

  1.Also Wumen guan 2, Main Case.

  2.Kāśyapa Buddha was the fourth of the Seven Buddhas of the Past. The seven were: (1) Vipaśyin, (2) Śikhin, (3) Viśvabhū, (4) Kāśyapa, (5) Krakucchanda, (6) Kanakāmuni, and (7) Śākyamuni (the historical buddha).

  3.The original Chinese is a double negative, which is a strong emphasizer, so that the meaning is, in effect, “People of true practice are crystal clear about cause and effect.”

  4.The duty-monk is the monk in charge of supervising the work and job assignments at the monastery. The term combines , an abbreviation of , “supervisor,” and , the last syllable of the Chinese transliteration of karmadāna (), the Sanskrit term for the monk who filled the same position in Indian Buddhist monasteries.

  5.The term “red-bearded foreigner” has several connotations. In certain contexts it refers to Bodhidharma; here, the commentaries generally agree, the meaning is “bandit” or “thief,” terms that, in the paradoxical manner of Zen, constitute high praise.

  Case 35 Kanzan’s “Works like a Thief”

  Kanzan Egen said, “The koan ‘Zhaozhou’s “Juniper Tree”’1 works like a thief.”

  1.See Case 9.

  Case 36 Two Monks Roll Up Bamboo Shades1

  When the monks had gathered in the hall before the midday meal to hear Fayan Wenyi, the master pointed to the bamboo shades. At this, two monks went and rolled them up, both in the same manner. Fayan said, “One got it, one missed.”

  1.Also Wumen guan 26, Main Case.

  Case 37 Use the Empty Sky for Paper

  Wuzu Fayan said, “Using the empty sky for paper, the sea for an inkwell, and Mount Sumeru for a brush,1 how would you write the words, ‘The meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?’ If any of you can do this, I will spread my sitting cloth and bow before you.”2

  1.In Indian cosmology, Mount Sumeru is the Universal Mountain. See Case 4, note 1.

  2.The sitting cloth (Skt. niṣīdana) is one of the few articles that a monk is allowed to possess. Originally used for sitting, it is now in East Asia used primarily during ceremonies, when monks spread it on the floor or on a cushion to make their prostrations to the Buddha. It is employed in a similar way to show respect for an eminent monk; thus “to spread one’s sitting cloth” is synonymous with “to express respect or admiration for.” See Cases 123, note 5, and 131.

  Case 38 The Wise Women in the Mortuary Grove

  Once, at the time of the Buddha, seven wise women were taking a walk through a mortuary grove. One pointed to a corpse and asked the others, “The corpse is here, but where has the person gone?”

  One of the other women asked, “How about it? How about it?”

  The other women all saw clearly, and each attained enlightenment.1

  1.Also Blue Cliff Record 55, Commentary on the Main Case. This story is found in several sutras, e.g., the Sutra of the Seven Women (T 14:556). Seven princesses who followed the Dharma asked one day to leave the palace and walk among the burial mounds. When the king asked why, they replied that beautiful sights and delicious flavors ultimately bring no benefit, but that death is something everyone must face. They left the palace and walked among the corpses, and each wrote a verse on the reality of death. This drew the admiration of Indra, who said he would give them anything they wished. One woman asked to be born in a tree without roots, branches, or leaves; one asked to be born in a formless place prior to ying and yang; and another asked to be born in a mountain valley that didn’t echo even when shouted into. Indra said it was beyond even his power to grant these wishes, so the women went to study under Kāśyapa Buddha.

  Case 39 Drifting to the Land of the Demons

  The minister Yu Di asked Ziyu Daotong, “What is meant by ‘A fierce wind blew a ship off course and set it drifting toward the land of the rakṣasas’?”1

  The master replied. “Yu Di, you miserable lackey! Why do you ask something like that?”

  Yu Di’s face turned white. The master pointed to him and said, “You have just drifted to the land of the rakṣasas.”

  Yu Di took this teaching to heart.

  1.A line from the Lotus Sutra; T 9:56c; see Watson 1993b, p. 299. A rakṣasa is a demon that devours human beings. For background material on this koan, see Yu Di in the Biographical Notes.

  Case 40 A Scholar Writes a Treatise

  A scholar1 once wrote a treatise denying the existence of spirits. The moment he finished and laid down his brush a spirit appeared before him, saluted, and then demanded, “So, scholar, what are you going to do about me?”

  Wuzu Fayan commented, “If I had seen the demon, I would have put my hands in front of my mouth like the beak of a bo dove and cried, ‘Coo! Coo!’”2

  Nantang said, “Though the scholar knew there are no spirits, he didn’t know why there are none. Though Wuzu knew why there are no spirits, he couldn’t remove the traces and erase the tracks. I wouldn’t have done it that way. When the spirit appeared, saluted, then demanded what I intended to do, I’d have looked at him and shouted, ‘Yan!’3 Even if t
he spirit was the great, powerful Demon-King himself, I’d have cleaved his skull into seven pieces, like the branch of an arjaka tree.4 Tell me, then, what is this word yan?”

  “You said I don’t exist. Ni!”5

  1.The scholar was Yuan Zhan (210–63), mentioned in the Chinese historical text Chronicles of the Shin Dynasty 49.

  2.On clear days the male bo dove is said to call out to female doves, and on rainy days to chase them away with cries that become more rapid. Wuzu Fayan was imitating the dove’s rapid calls, “Coo! Coo!” as a form of spell to drive away the demon.

  3.Yan here may refer to Yanmo (Skr., Yama; J., Enma), the greatest of the demons, who is lord of the underworld and judge of the dead. He is regarded in Buddhism as an alternate manifestation of the bodhisattva Kśitigarbha.

  4.This image comes from the Lotus Sutra, “Chapter on Dhāraṇī” ( ): “If there are those who fail to heed our spells / and trouble and disrupt the preachers of the Law, / their heads will split into seven pieces / like the branches of the arjaka tree” (Watson 1993b, p. 311). The word translated as “branch” is thought to refer in the Chinese Lotus Sutra to the tree’s flower, which is said to break into seven pieces when touched.

  5.This final sentence, , does not appear in the original text, the Comprehensive Record of the Lamp , although it does appear in subsequent sources like the Compendium of the Five Lamps. The last word, ni , is employed in Zen either as a term of sharp challenge or inquiry, or as the equivalent of a shout, in order to jolt students’ minds out of mistaken perceptions and awaken them to the reality of the moment just as it is.

  Although irrelevant to this koan, interesting background information on the word is found in Morohashi, where it is noted that in China spirits were thought to become when they died. Just as humans are terrified of spirits, so are spirits terrified of . Thus writing the character on a piece of paper and pasting it above the entrance to a household was believed to keep all spirits away (9:233).

  Case 41 The Lamp in the Room

  A monk asked Xianglin Chengyuan, “What is the single lamp in the room?”1

  Xianglin replied, “If three people testify to it, a terrapin becomes a softshell.”

  1.The flame represents prajñā wisdom; the single oil lamp burning in the room thus represents the unending lightning flash that must never be extinguished.

  Case 42 Cast Aside Both Mind and Body

  Huangbo Xiyun said to the assembly

  Inner and outer, body and mind—all must be discarded. Most people are unwilling to empty their minds, fearing they will fall into emptiness; little do they realize that mind itself is empty from the start. The foolish eliminate things but do not eliminate thought; the wise eliminate thought but do not eliminate things. Bodhisattvas have minds like empty space—they have let go of everything and have no attachments, even to the merit they have made. Furthermore, there are three levels of renunciation. Great renunciation is when inner and outer, body and mind, have all been cast aside and, like empty space, have no place for attachment; after this, one follows the situation and responds to circumstances, with both subject and object forgotten. Middling renunciation is when one follows the Way and accumulates merit even as one immediately abandons it and retains no attachments. Small renunciation is when one does all sorts of good deeds in the hope of gaining merit but relinquishes such attachments upon hearing the Dharma and realizing that all is empty. Great renunciation is like having a flame in front of you: no longer is there either delusion or enlightenment. Middling renunciation is like having a flame at your side: there are times of light and times of darkness. Small renunciation is like having a flame behind you: you cannot see the pitfalls in front of you.1

  1.From Huangbo’s Essentials of Transmitting the Mind . See also Blofeld 1958, pp. 48–49.

  Case 43 Bodhidharma Didn’t Come to China

  Xuefeng Yicun called Xuansha Shibei of Fuzhou a true ascetic,1 and, whenever he saw him, said, “You’re a reborn sage!2 Why don’t you go on pilgrimage to study Zen?”

  In response Xuansha said, “Bodhidharma didn’t come to China, the Second Patriarch didn’t go to India.”3 Xuefeng accepted this answer.

  1.The term “a true ascetic” translates , which is a transliteration of the Sanskrit dhūta, someone who has abandoned all attachments to food, shelter, and clothing and singlemindedly pursues the Way.

  2.“A reborn sage” , lit., “one who has come again,” refers to a reborn buddha, bodhisattva, or great sage.

  3.Xuansha’s comment refers to the fact that during his training he decided to leave his native Fujian and study with masters in other parts of China. As he reached the pass that connects the mountain-ringed province of Fujian with the rest of China, he stumbled and hurt his toe. At that moment he was deeply enlightened, and exclaimed, “Bodhidharma didn’t come to China, the Second Patriarch didn’t go to India!” He thereupon turned around and returned to Fujian. See also Case 113.

  Case 44 Danxia Burns a Buddha Image

  Once when Zen master Danxia Tianran was staying at the temple Huilin si in the capital on a very cold day he took a wooden buddha image from the buddha hall, set it on fire, and warmed himself by the flames.

  The temple supervisor happened to see this and scolded Danxia, saying, “How can you burn my wooden buddha!”

  Danxia stirred the ashes with his staff and said, “I’m burning it to get the holy relics.”1

  The supervisor replied, “How could there be relics in a wooden buddha?”

  “If there are no relics,” Danxia answered, “then please give me the two attendant images to burn.”

  Later the supervisor’s eyebrows fell out.2

  1.“Holy relics” (Skt. śarīra) refers to the relics of a buddha or sage that remain after cremation and are sometimes said to be indestructible, gem-like substances.

  2.Someone’s eyebrows falling out is the traditional consequence of falsely preaching the Dharma.

  Case 45 Asleep or Awake, At All Times Be One

  In the Śūraṅgama Sutra it is written, “Asleep or awake, at all times be one.”1

  1.T 19:151c. The quote is a slightly idiosyncratic reading of a line in the sutra. The full passage reads:

  Ananda, when a good person who has been practicing samadhi has reached the end of the aggregate of cognition, the usual cognitive processes involved in dreaming will disappear from his mind. For him there will no longer be any difference between waking and sleeping. His awareness will be as luminous, as empty, and as still as a cloudless sky. Images of gross external objects will no longer appear before him as objects of cognition. He will view all the phenomena in the world—the mountains, the rivers, and everything else—as mere reflections that briefly appear in a clear mirror, leaving nothing behind….Only the true essence of consciousness remains. (Buddhist Text Translation Society, 2009, p. 429; the italics are mine)

  Case 46-1 Zhaozhou’s “Wu”1

  .

  A monk asked Zhaozhou Congshen, “Does a dog have buddha nature?”

  Zhaozhou answered, “Wu!” [No!]

  The monk replied, “All sentient beings have buddha nature.2 Why would a dog not have it?”

  Zhaozhou said, “Because it has karmic consciousness.”3

  Another monk asked, “Does a dog have buddha nature?”

  Zhaozhou answered, “Yu!”4 [Yes!]

  The monk replied, “If it has, why then is it still stuffed into a bag of skin?”

  “Because though it knows, it deliberately transgresses,” said Zhaozhou.

  1.The first two sentences form Wumen guan 1, Main Case. The entire koan is found in Record of Equanimity 18, Main Case.

  2.The teaching that all sentient beings have buddha nature is one primarily associated with the Nirvana Sutra (T 12:402c and elsewhere).

  3.“Karmic consciousness” translates (Skt. karma vijñāna), the deluded consciousness that arises through the workings of fundamental ignorance.

  4.The character is read you, but to avoid con
fusion with the English “you” it is rendered here as yu.

  Case 46-2 A Verse on Zhaozhou’s “Wu”

  Zen master Chouyan Liaoyun of Wuzhou wrote the following verse on the koan “Wu”:

  Zhaozhou’s “A dog has no buddha nature,”

  Endless blue mountains hide in the ancient mirror.1

  Barefoot Persians enter the land of China,2

  Eight-armed Nalakūvara follows the true teaching.3

  1.“Endless blue mountains” is a synonym for all of phenomenal existence; the ancient mirror represents buddha nature.

  2.This line is sometimes translated “The barefoot Persian enters the land of China,” with “the barefoot Persian” interpreted as a reference to Bodhidharma. There is, however, nothing to indicate that this is the actual meaning of the expression. Dōmae notes that Zen sources such as the Zen Phrase Lexicon identify the entire line as a Chinese expression meaning “to act ostentatiously or foolishly.”

  3.Nalakūvara is a Buddhist tutelary deity possessed of enormous strength; see Biographical Notes. The term “true teaching” generally refers to the Buddhadharma; in Zen it indicates more specifically the “separate transmission outside the teachings.” “Implementing the true teaching” refers to the use of the shout, stick, and other methods by which the separate transmission is revealed. Dōmae comments that the verse compares the functioning of Zhaozhou’s Wu koan to the delusion-crushing intensity of the guardian deity Nalakūvara.