Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (122 page)

Shishuang entered the hall and said, “I have a word that cuts off thinking and leaves cause and effect behind. But even clever people can’t speak it! It may only be transmitted by way of mind. There is another word that may only be directly expressed. What is the word that can only be directly expressed?”

After a pause, Shishuang drew a circle in the air with his staff. Then he shouted.

A monk said, “I’m confused. What should I study?”

Shishuang said, “Xuansha saw Xuefeng arrive.”

The monk said, “What does that mean?”

Shishuang said, “In an entire lifetime, never leaving the mountain.”

Shishuang addressed the monks, saying, “The more medicine that is used, the worse the disease becomes. The finer the fishing net mesh, the more fish that escape.”

Shishuang then left the hall.

A monk asked, “When someone goes on a pilgrimage but doesn’t meet a teacher with whom he finds affinity, then what?”

Shishuang said, “The fishing line twists in the water.”

A monk asked, “I don’t ask about the leaves picked off the branches. What is the actual root?”

Shishuang said, “A willow-wood staff.”

The monk said, “What does that mean?”

Shishuang said, “When a monk goes traveling he carries his clothes with it on his shoulders. When he sits, he holds it in his hand.”

Shishuang entered the hall and said, “Those persons of nonaction with nothing to do—they still have the problem of the golden lock.”

Then, with a shout, he got down from the seat.

Case 46 of the
Gateless Gate
features a famous kōan posed by Shishuang.

Master Shishuang said, “How does one step forward from the top of a hundred-foot pole? An ancient worthy said, ‘Although a person sitting atop a hundred-foot pole has gained entry, he has still not reached the truth. From the top of a hundred-foot pole, he must step into the complete universal body in the ten directions.’”

Shishuang received honors from Emperor Ren Zong, and during the return trip to his temple he said to his attendant, “I feel a paralyzing wind.”

Shishuang’s mouth became crooked.

His attendant stopped and said, “What should we do? You’ve spent your whole life cursing the buddhas and reviling the ancestors. So now what can you do?”

Shishuang said, “Don’t worry. I’ll straighten it for you.”

He then used his hand to straighten his mouth.

Then Shishuang said, “From now on I won’t play any more jokes on you.”

The next year, on the fifth day of the first month, the master passed away.

During a relatively short life, Shishuang taught at several different temples and is said to have had fifty Dharma heirs. His famous students, Yangqi Fanghui and Huanglong Huinan, each established distinctive branches of the Linji Zen line. Besides teaching at Chongsheng Temple on Mt. Shishuang, he is known to have taught at the famous Zen mountains Dong Shan, Gui Shan, and Heng Shan. He received the posthumous name “Zen Master Compassionate Clarity.”

DAYU SHOUZHI, “CUIYAN”

DAYU SHOUZHI (n.d.) was a disciple of Fenyang Shanzhao. He came from ancient Taiyuan (located in modern Shanxi Province). According to the
Chan Lin Seng Bao Zhuan
, Dayu left home at a young age and entered Chengtian Temple in Luzhou (now the city of Changzhi in Shanxi Province).
¹⁷⁰
There, he gained great prominence for his understanding and exposition of the Lotus and Diamond sutras. On one occasion the great Linji lineage Zen master Fenyang Shanzhao appeared nearby, and Dayu went to listen to him speak. After this event, Dayu sincerely opened to Fenyang’s teaching, embraced the way of Zen, and received Dharma transmission in the Linji lineage. He later traveled south to reside and teach at Gao’an.

A monk asked, “What is the style of the house of Dayu?”

Dayu said, “A single uttered word can’t be pursued, even by a team of horses.”