Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (38 page)

Pei Xiangguo responded, “Yes?”

Huangbo said, “I’ve given you the name.”

Pei Xiangguo bowed.

Six new students came to greet Zen master Huangbo. Five of the students bowed, but the other student lifted his meditation cushion and drew a circle in the air with it.

Huangbo said, “I’ve heard that it’s evil to keep a hunting dog.”

The monk said, “I’m chasing the sound of the wild sheep.”

Huangbo said, “The sheep makes no sound for you to chase.”

The monk said, “Then I’ll pursue the sheep by seeing its traces.”

Huangbo said, “There are no traces for you to pursue.”

The monk said, “Then I will track it.”

Huangbo said, “There are no tracks for you to follow.”

The monk said, “If that’s the case, then the sheep is dead.”

The next day Huangbo addressed the monks, saying, “I want the monk who was looking for the wild sheep yesterday to come forward.”

The monk came forward.

Huangbo said, “The public case we discussed yesterday is not finished. After we finished speaking what did you think?”

The monk remained silent.

Huangbo said, “At first I thought you were a monk of the true teaching, but actually you’re a debating instructor.”

Huangbo then chased the monk out of the congregation.

One day Huangbo made his hand into a fist and said, “All the teachers under heaven are right here. If I let out a string of words about it, it will just confuse you. If I don’t say a single phrase, you’ll never get rid of it.”

A monk asked, “What happens if you let out a string of words?”

Huangbo said, “Confusion.”

The monk said, “If you don’t let out a single phrase and it can’t be gotten rid of, then what?”

Huangbo said, “Everywhere.”

One day, the official Pei Xiangguo invited the master to come for a visit at his offices so that he could present him with a book he had written [on his understanding of Zen]. The master received the book and placed it on his chair without looking at it.

After a long pause, Huangbo said, “Do you understand?”

Official Pei said, “I don’t understand.”

Huangbo said, “If it can be understood in this manner, then it isn’t the true teaching. If it can be seen in paper and ink, then it is not the essence of our order.”

Official Pei then composed and offered a poem that read:

Since receiving the mind seal from the master,
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Pearled forehead and tall,
He dwelt for ten years at the Min waters.
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But today the cup overflows past the banks of the Zhang,
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A thousand dragons follow his great stride,
And because of ten thousand miles of flowers,
All want to become his student.
Who knows to whom the Dharma will be passed?

Huangbo’s stern demeanor remained unchanged. From this event the reputation of his school spread throughout the region south of the Yang-tse River.

One day, Zen master Huangbo entered the hall to speak. When a very large assembly of monks had gathered, he said, “What is it that you people are all seeking here?”

He then used his staff to try and drive them away, but they didn’t leave. So Huangbo returned to his seat and said, “You people are all dreg-slurpers. If you go on a pilgrimage seeking in this way you’ll just earn people’s laughter. When you see eight hundred or a thousand people gathered somewhere you go there. There’s no telling what trouble this will cause.

“When I was traveling on pilgrimage and came upon some fellow ‘beneath the grass roots’ [a teacher], then I’d hammer him on the top of the head and see if he understood pain, and [thus] support him from an overflowing rice bag! If all I ever found were the likes of you here, then how would we ever realize the great matter that’s before us today? If you people want to call what you’re doing a ‘pilgrimage,’ then you should show a little spirit! Do you know that today in all the great Tang there are no Zen teachers?”

A monk then asked, “In all directions there are worthies expounding to countless students. Why do you say there are no Zen teachers?”

Huangbo said, “I didn’t say there is no Zen, just that there are no teachers. None of you see that although Zen master Mazu had eighty-four Dharma heirs, only two or three of them actually gained Mazu’s Dharma eye. One of them is Zen master Guizong of Mt. Lu. Home leavers must know what has happened in former times before they can start to understand. Otherwise you will be like the Fourth Ancestor’s student Niutou, speaking high and low but never understanding the critical point. If you possess the Dharma eye, then you can distinguish between true and heretical teachings and you’ll deal with the world’s affairs with ease. But if you don’t understand, and only study some words and phrases or recite sutras, and then put them in your bag and set off on pilgrimage saying ‘I understand Zen,’ then will they be of any benefit even for your own life and death? If you’re unmindful of the worthy ancients you’ll shoot straight into hell like an arrow. I know about you as soon as I see you come through the temple gate. How will you gain an understanding? You have to make an effort. It isn’t an easy matter. If you just wear a sheet of clothing and eat meals, then you’ll spend your whole life in vain. Clear-eyed people will laugh at you. Eventually the common people will just get rid of you. If you go seeking far and wide, how will this resolve the great matter? If you understand, then you understand. If you don’t, then get out of here! Take care!”

If a monk asked Huangbo, “Why did the First Ancestor come from the west?” Huangbo would hit him. Through these and other methods, his students realized the highest function. Those of middling or inferior ability have never understood the master’s greatness.

Huangbo passed away in [the year 850] on the mountain where he lived and taught. He received the posthumous name “Zen Master Removing Limits.”

WUFENG CHANGGUAN

WUFENG CHANGGUAN (n.d.) was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai. He taught in ancient Yuzhou.
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A monk asked Zen master Wufeng Changguan, “What is the situation of the Five Peaks?”
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Wufeng said, “Danger.”

The monk said, “What about the person there?”

Wufeng said, “Stuck.”

A monk was leaving the temple.

Wufeng said, “Your Reverence, where are you going?”

The monk said, “I’m going to Mt. Tai.”

Wufeng held up one finger and said, “If you see Manjushri then come back here and show him to me.”
⁸⁸

The monk didn’t answer.