Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (35 page)

Yaoshan asked a monk who had just arrived at the temple, “Where do you come from?”

The monk said, “From Hunan.”

Yaoshan then asked, “Is Dongting Lake full or not?”

The monk said, “It’s not full.”

Yaoshan said, “There’s been a lot of rain lately. Why isn’t it full?”

The monk didn’t answer. ([Later,] Daowu said, “It’s full.” Yunyan said, “Clear, deep earth.” Dongshan said, “In what eon was it ever lacking?” Yunmen said, “It’s here.”)

In the second month of [the year 834], Zen master Yaoshan called out, “The Dharma hall is collapsing! The Dharma hall is collapsing!”

The monks all grabbed poles and tried to prop up the Dharma hall.

Yaoshan lifted his hand and said, “You don’t understand what I mean,” and passed away. The master was eighty-four years old and had been a monk for sixty years. His disciples built his memorial stupa on the east side of the hall. He received the posthumous name “Great Teacher Vast Way.” His stupa was named “Transforming City.”

DANXIA TIANRAN

DANXIA TIANRAN (739–824) was a disciple of Shitou Xiqian. He came from ancient Dengzhou. Spending his youth as an avid scholar, Tianran intended to take the civil service examinations to gain a position in the Chinese government bureaucracy. Traveling to the capital city of Changan before the exams, Tianran stayed at an inn. That night he dreamed that the room filled with white light. A fortuneteller advised him that this was an omen of “resolving emptiness.” Tianran then happened to meet a Zen monk who said, “Can being an official compare with practicing Buddhism?” So Danxia went off to see Mazu, who then sent him on to study with Shitou on Mt. Heng.

When Tianran arrived at Mt. Heng he still held his original intention to earnestly undertake study under Shitou.

But Shitou only said, “Go live in the shed.”

Tianran bowed and took his leave. He thereafter moved into the monks’ quarters and commenced work in the monastery kitchen, where he remained for three years.

Suddenly one day, Shitou informed the monks, “Tomorrow, all of you dig up the wild grass that is growing in front of the Buddha hall.”

The next day, the monks and novices all took hoes and began digging out the grass. But Tianran took a basin of water, and, dumping it over his own head, squatted like a barbarian in front of Shitou. Shitou laughed at this, and soon thereafter he shaved Tianran’s head. But when Shitou recited the ordination precepts, Tianran covered his ears and left the monastery.

Tianran then again went to see Mazu in Jiangxi, but when he arrived at Mazu’s place, before meeting him, he went into the monks’ hall and climbed up onto one of the sacred statues there, straddling its neck. The monks were aghast at this behavior and immediately reported it to Mazu. Mazu entered the hall and, taking a look at Tianran, said, “My natural disciple!”

Tianran then removed himself from the statue, bowed to Mazu and said, “Thank you, Master, for giving me this Dharma name.” From this time forward, the master had the name Tianran [“natural”].

Mazu then asked, “Where have you come from?”

Tianran said, “From Shitou.”

Mazu said, “Shitou’s road is slippery. Did you fall down on it?”

Tianran said, “If I had fallen down then I wouldn’t have come here.” Later Mazu presented Tianran with a staff and permitted him to go traveling. Tianran then spent three years at Huading Peak on Mt. Tiantai. Later, he traveled to Mt. Jing in Yuhang to pay respects to National Teacher Qin.
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During the Yuan He era of the Tang dynasty [around the year 810], Tianran visited Longmen Monastery on Fragrant Mountain in Luoyang. There he became a friend of the monk Funiu.
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Later, Tianran stayed at Wisdom Woods Temple. During some extremely cold weather, he took a wooden statue of Buddha and burned it in the fire to get warm.

The temple director got extremely upset with Tianran and yelled, “Why are you burning my wooden buddha?”

Tianran pulled some burning embers from the fire and said, “I’m burning this buddha to get the sacred relics from it.”
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The temple director said, “How can a wooden buddha have sacred relics?”

Tianran said, “Well, if it doesn’t have sacred relics, let’s burn a couple more of them.”

The temple director was so upset that his eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard all fell out.

Tianran visited the National Teacher [Nanyang Huizhong].

Tianran asked the National Teacher’s attendant, “Is the National Teacher here or not?”

The attendant said, “He’s here, but he’s not seeing guests.”

Tianran said, “This is too far off!”

The attendant said, “Even the buddha eye can’t see him.”

Tianran said, “Dragons give birth to dragons. A phoenix gives birth to a phoenix.”

When the National Teacher woke up, the attendant told him of his conversation with Tianran. The National Teacher gave his attendant thirty blows and drove him away.

When Tianran heard about this he said, “Don’t tell falsehoods to the National Teacher.”

The next day, Tianran went again to pay his respects. When he met the National Teacher he started to spread out his sitting cushion.

The National Teacher said, “Don’t! Don’t!”

When Tianran stepped back, the National Teacher said, “Just so! Just so!”

Tianran came forward again, and the National Teacher said, “No! No!”

Tianran then circled the National Teacher once and went out.

The National Teacher said, “In this time long removed from the time of the saints, most people are lax. Thirty years from now this fellow will be hard to find!”

Tianran went to pay a visit to Layman Pang. He encountered Layman Pang’s daughter Ling Zhao as she was washing vegetables.

Tianran said to Ling Zhao, “Is Layman Pang here?”

Ling Zhao put down the vegetable basket, folded her hands, and stood there.

Tianran again said, “Is Layman Pang here?”

Ling Zhao then picked up the basket and walked away.

Tianran left.

Later, Layman Pang returned. Ling Zhao told him what had gone on before.

Layman Pang said, “You red-soiled ox!”

Another time Tianran came to see Pangyun and they met in front of Pangyun’s house.

Tianran said, “Is Layman Pang here?”

Pangyun said, “Starving, but not taking food.”

Tianran said, “Is old Yun here or not?”

Pangyun said, “Blue heavens! Blue heavens!” then went into the house.

Tianran said, “Blue heavens! Blue heavens!” and left.

When Tianran was traveling to see Mazu, he encountered an old man with a boy on the road.

Tianran asked the old man, “Where do you live?”

The old man said, “The sky above, the earth below.”

Tianran said, ‘If suddenly the sky fell down and the earth sank, then what?”

The old man said, “Blue heavens! Blue heavens!”

The boy then roared like a tiger.

Tianran said, “Only you could father such a child!”

The old man then took the boy and went into the mountains.

Zen master Danxia Tianran entered the hall and addressed the monks, saying, “All of you here must take care of the temple and monastery. Things in this place were not made or named by you, and have they not been given as offerings? Formerly I studied with Shitou, and he taught me that I must personally protect these things. This is not to be discussed further.

“Each of you here has a place to put your cushion and sit. Why do you suspect you need something else? Is Zen something you can explain? Is a buddha something you can become? I don’t want to hear a single word about Buddhism.

“All of you, look and see! Skillful means and expedience, the unlimited mind of benevolence, compassion, joy, and detachment—these things aren’t received from someplace else. Not an inch of these things is evident. Skillful means is Manjushri Bodhisattva.
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Expedience is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.
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Do you still want to go seeking after something? Don’t go using the Buddhist scriptures to look for emptiness!