Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (149 page)

Foguo addressed the monks, saying, “Great waves arise on the mountain tops. Dust rises from the bottom of a well. The eyes hear a thunderclap. The ears see a great brocade. The three hundred sixty bones [of the human body] each reveal the incomparably sublime body. The tips of eighty-four thousand hairs display the chiliocosm sea of worlds of the Treasure King. But this is not the pervasive numinous function. Nor is it the manifested Dharma. If only the thousand eyes can suddenly open, then you’ll be sitting throughout the ten directions. If you could describe this in a single surpassing phrase, what would you say? To test jade it must be passed through fire. To find the pearl, don’t leave the mud.”

The following passages are taken from
The Record of Foguo
.

Foguo entered the hall.

A monk asked him, “In all of the great canon of scripture, what is the most essential teaching?”

Foguo said, “Thus I have heard.”

Then Foguo said, “This was what Ananda said. What do you say?”

Foguo entered the hall.

A monk asked him, “What is the true host?”

Foguo said, “The myriad streams return to the sea. A thousand mountains honor the essential doctrine.”

Yuanwu Keqin ascended the seat and said, “The heat of a fire cannot compare with the heat of the sun. The cold wind cannot compare with the coldness of the moon. A crane’s legs are naturally long and a duck’s legs are naturally short. A pine tree is naturally tall and straight, while brambles are crooked. Geese are white. Crows are black. Everything is manifested in this manner. When you completely comprehend this, then everywhere you go you’ll be the host. Everything you meet will be the teaching. When you carry this pole, you’ll be prepared to fight anywhere. Do you have it? Do you have it?”

Foguo entered the hall and said, “Zen is without thought or intention. Setting forth a single intention goes against the essential doctrine. The great Way ends all meritorious work. When merit is established, the essential principle is lost. Upon hearing a clear sound or some external words, do not seek some meaning within them. Rather, turn the light inward and use the essential function to pound off the manacles of the buddhas and ancestors. Where Buddha is, there is also guest and host. Where there is no Buddha, the wind roars across the earth. But when the mind’s intentions are stilled, even a great noise becomes a soothing sound. Tell me, where can such a person be found? Put on a shawl and stand outside the thousand peaks. Draw water and pour it on the plants before the five stars.”
²²⁰

“All the desires of my original mind are fulfilled by the treasury that is naturally here before me. The sky is up above. Down below is the earth. To the left is the kitchen, and to the right is the monk’s hall. Before me is the Buddha hall and temple gate, and behind me is the dormitory and abbot’s quarters. So where is the treasury? Do you see it? If we stand and sit in a dignified manner, and listen and speak clearly, then brilliant light floods our eyes and there is limitless peace. All sacred and mundane affairs are extinguished and all confining views are dropped away. The Yang-tse River is nectar and the great earth is gold. If from within one’s chest a single phrase were to flow forth, what would be said? ‘Since ancient times it has streamed like white silk.’ ‘Upon the horizon are seen the blue mountains.’”

Yuanwu said to the monks, “There is a bright road that the buddhas and ancestors knew. You are facing it, and what you see and hear is not separate from it. The myriad things cannot conceal it and a thousand saints can’t embody it. It is vibrant. It can’t be carried. It is clearly exposed. It is without impediment. Even if you undergo blows from the staff like rain, and shouts like thunderclaps, you’re still no closer to the ultimate principle. What is the ultimate principle? Blind the eyes of the saints and strike me dumb! When the bell strikes at midday, look south and see the Northern Dipper!”

The master then got down and left the hall.

Yuanwu said, “The sword that kills. The sword that gives life. These are artifices of the ancients, and yet they remain pivotal for us today. Trying to understand from words is like washing a dirt clod in muddy water. But not using words to gain understanding is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. If you don’t use some idea you’ve already missed it. But if you have any strategy whatsoever, you’re still a mountain pass away from it. It’s like the sparks from struck flint or a lightning flash. Understanding or not understanding, there’s no way to avoid losing your body and life. What do you say about this principle? A bitter gourd is bitter to the root. A sweet melon is sweet to the base!”

The master then got down and left the hall.

Late in August in the year 1135, Foguo appeared to be slightly ill. He sat upright and composed a farewell verse to the congregation. Then, putting down the brush, he passed away. His cremated remains were placed in a stupa next to Zhaojue Temple.

TAIPING HUIQIN, “FOJIAN”

TAIPING HUIQIN (1059–1117) was a disciple of Wuzu Fayan. He came from Shuzhou (now the city of Qianshan in Anwei Province). As a young man he was an accomplished scholar and an adept at the study of Buddhist scriptures. According to the
Wudeng Huiyuan
he “got a taste” of insight when, while reading the Lotus Sutra, he encountered the phrase, “There is only this reality. Any other is not the truth.” Fojian then set off to study under the famous Zen masters of his era. He eventually came to the great teacher Wuzu.