Master Yunmen

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MASTER YUNMEN

F r o m th e R e c ord o f th e C h a n M a ste r

“ G a te o f th e C l o u d s 7

T r a n s l a t e d ' r e d ite d , a n d w ith an in tro d u c tio n b y

URS APP

mK O D A N S H A I N T E R N A T I O N A L

M ew Y o rk * T o h y o ■ L o n d o n


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Kodansha America, Inc.

114 Fifth Avenu e, N ew York, N Y 10011, U.S.A.

Kodansha International Ltd.

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Published in 1994 by Kodansha America, Inc.

Copyright © 1994 by Urs App.

AH rights reserved.

Printed in the United States o f America

94 95 96 97 98 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library o f Congress C ataloging-in-Pu blication Data

App, Urs, 1949-

Master Y un tnen : from the record o f the Ch an M aster “ Gate o f the

Clouds” / Urs App.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-56836-004-5 /ISBN 1-56836-005-3 (pbk. )

1. Y un -m en, 864 -949. 2. Ze n Buddhism-—D octrines. 1. Y un -m en,

86 4-9 49 W orks Selections 1994. II. Title.

BQ998 .U59A67 1994

294 .3 '927 '092— dc20

[B] 93-42824

CIP

Book design by Laura Hough

The text o f this book was set in Bembo,

Printed and bound by R . R . Donn el ly & Sons C om pany , Harrisonburg, Virginia.


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T o Y o s h i t a k a I r i y a


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XV


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C o n t e n t s

■ ■ ■

Lis t of i l lus t ra t ions and Tables

Preface

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A B r ie f H i s to r y o f C h a n

T k e L if e of M a s te r Y u n m e n

T h e T e a c h in g of M a s te r Y u n m e n

T A LK S A N D D I A L O G U E S

C orres pon ding to the O cca sion (Nos. 1—144)

Essent ia l Sayings f rom

the M as ter’s R oom (Nos. 1 45 —22 1)

S t a t em en t s W i t h Answers in P l ace of

t k e A n d ie ne e ( No s. 2 2 2 - 2 6 3 )

Cr i ti ca l Ex am inat ion s (Nos . 2 6 4 —27 7)

Pi lgr image Record (Nos. 2 7 8 —2 85 )

ix

xi

3

17

3 3

8 3

1 5 6

1 9 7

212

220

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C o n t e n t s

M A T E R I A L S

M ajor Sources fo r Y un m en s L i fe and Teac King 2 2 9

T k e H i s t o ry o f t k e Record o f Y unm en 2 3 2

Overv iew o f t ke C on t en t s o f tke

Record o f Y unm en 2 3 9

Y u n m e n - R e la te d K o a ns 2 4 2

Selec tive Bib l iograpky 2 4 6

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List o f i ll us tr a tions an d T Lies

Photograph o f the m onastery at M t. Y unm en, 1990 xiii

W oo d-b lock print o f a preface to the Record X IX

T he ou ter gate tcT the Y un m en m onastery 6

O verview o f C han in history 7

Historical m ap w ith Y u n m en !s itinerary 16

T he m um m y o f Master Y unm en (1928 photo) 30Th e replica o f the m um m y (1990 photo) 32

Calligraphy 47

Photograph of a stream o n Mt. Y unm en and poem 80

Calligraphy 238

Important koans featuring Yunmen 243

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Preface

Jo u r n e y t o M t . Y u n m e n

In the summer of 1990 I made a pilgrimage to the monastery at

the foot o f Mt. G ate-of-the-C louds (Mt. Yunm en) in Southern

China, the place where Chan Master Yunmen taught slightly

more than a thousand years ago. After a seven-hour train ride

north from C hina ’s southernm ost metropolis, G uangz hou (Canton), I arrived after midnight in the city o f Shaogu an— one h u n

dred years ago an outpost feared by Wesleyan missionaries be

cause o f its ho t and h um id climate and rampan t disease bu t today

just another dusty provincia l city. T he next m orn ing a bus to ok

me about twenty-five miles westward to a town called Rjayuan

(“ Source o f M ilk” ), a small settlem ent in the free zon e o f the

Yao people,, a dark-skinned ethnic minority whose striking

blue-and-purple costumes appear exotic even to m ost Chin ese.

A deep blue river wound its way through this town, and above

its tree-lined market streets rose mountains, majestic and green

throughout the year. From the bus station I walked north on a

sand-covered road glimmering in the m idsumm er heat. M aking

my way through a pretty valley dotted with rice fields and ba

nana orchards, 1 en co un tered only a few people: a bo y guiding a

water buffalo, a peasant killing a snake at a roadside well, and agroup o f herd sm en taking a siesta on a meado w.

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After I had walked for two hours, the valley expanded

across a pass into a broad, spectacular plain flanked on the right

by a series o f mounta in s— cascades o f bold curves shim m erin g inever m ore subtle shades o f green and gray u nd er the b linding

midday sun. Due to the consistently warm climate, the entire

plain was a single m agnif icent mosaic o f rice terraces in all stages

o f cultivation. Th ese squares of green, brow n, and yellow w ere

separated from on e an oth er by rows of banana trees waving their

huge leaves lazily in the hu m id heat and by patches o f swamp

adorned with majestic lotus flowers.

On the left this picturesque plain was overshadowed by a

densely overgrown mountain shooting upward in spurts; Mt.

Gate-of-the-Clouds or, in Chinese, Yunmen-shan. A little over

one thousand years ago this mountain had housed the Chan

master called Wenyan who became famous under its name: the

master of M t. Y unm en. Bo m in 864 n ear Shanghai, he had

co m e to this region w he n he was ju st ab ou t sixty years old, and,

at the foot o f the m ountain, had founded the monastery whoselong yellow facade I saw glow ing un de r thousands o f green ro of

tiles.

Today’s monastery buildings were mostly built during the

last ten years. This large construc tion p roje ct was initiated by the

present abbot o f the monastery and partly financed by the re

gional government, which is interested in the monastery not

only as a cultural site but also as an attraction for Chinese and

foreign tourists alike. After entering the walled-in monastery

co m po un d thro ug h an ou ter gate, a visitor first finds himself in a

courtyard with a curved pond. A long, two-story building,

whose yellow facade I had glimpsed earlier, sits on one side of

the courtyard. An open gallery at its center leads through to the

main monastery grounds. There one is faced with a maze of

tree -lined courts and buildings o f various sizes, dom inated b y the

massive Buddha Hall where sutra-chanting and religious cere-

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monies take place every morning and evening. Behind it is the

founder’s hall which used to house the mumm y o f Master Yun-

men. The mummy disappeared during the Cultural Revolution,

and a wooden replica now takes its place. The meditation hall at

the back o f the monastery is comparatively small. It appears to be

little used outside the two traditional three-month periods of

intensive meditation that take place every year. The monastery

also has spacious rooms for study, a small library, and a kitchen

and dining hall o f impressive size. At present, the monastery is

home to about eighty monks living, unlike Japanese Zen monks

who are housed in large halls, in small individual rooms. They

follow a strict schedule o f prayer, religious ceremony, and work.

The monastery also houses the scores o f workers w ho are still

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Preface

busy w ith construction. Forty nuns occupyin g th e nearby b rand-

new nunnery help to run the monastery and participate in the

daily ritual.

The square monastery grounds are enveloped towards the

m ountainside by rows o f trees planted by the last famous C han

master w ho resided here, X uy un (“E m pty C lo u d /' 1858—1959);

he is buried w here they m eet at the back o f the monastery. F rom

that point, a narrow and newly paved path leads into a steep

gorge overgrown with luxurious green trees and plants that is

filled w ith the perfum es o f exotic flowers and the insistent dron

ing of several kinds of cicadas. Playing hide-and-seek with a

rushing bro ok , the p ath winds uph ill until it ends at the foot o f a

waterfall, next to an oval pool overlooked by a small hexagonal

pavilio n. Those prepared to climb can reach tw o m ore waterfalls

farther up the gorge.

Although the m onastery at Mt. G ate-of-the-Q ou ds is no w

w aking up to renew ed greatness it un de rw en t m any centuries of

neglect and decay. W he n the great Japanese researcher o f B uddhism D aijo Tok iw a visited it in 1927, it consisted on ly o f a few

dilapidated buildings. In his repo rt, the great scholar complained

that the o ne rem aining m on k d id no t have the slightest idea o f its

great history and could not even name the master who had

foun ded it. In addition to discovering the mu m m y o f Master

Yunmen and some door plates, Professor Tokiwa stumbled on

two other very imp ortan t rem nants o f the m onastery’s illustrious

past: tw o stone slabs, o r stelae, each th e size o f a m an, standing

abandoned in a corner. Engraved on these stelae, which have

since been set into the monastery court’s walls, are inscriptions

dating from 959 and 964 (ten and fifteen years after Yunmen’s

death). T hey are the m ost impo rtant sources for Y un m en ’s biog

raphy an d also describe the original appearance of the monastery:

I t has m any b ui ldings , l ike c louds form ing o n a ll sides . Like

a palace, it has a penthouse, piilars, soaring eaves, upper

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and low er galler ies , deep gutters , m urm urin g springs , and

d o o r an d w i n d o w o p e n i n g s w h i c h b r ea k th e su m m e r h e at

and let co o l air enter . B ig pine trees and ta ll ba m bo os e m it

the ir s cent and m ing le the ir s ound s m harm ony . I n c lo s e to

thirty years the assem bly co u n ted ne ver less than h alf a

thou sand [persons] . (Stone inscript ion o f the year 959)

W hen the reconstruction o f the monastery started around

19K5, the end o f my second long stay in Japan was already ap

proachin g. T hree years o f th at stay had been devoted to research

on M aster Y un m en and his teachings, wh ich form ed the subjecto f m y dissertation. T he subsequ ent writing in m y n ative S wit

zerland o f that first boo kT en gth study o f the master and his

teachings ran, without my knowledge, almost parallel to the

construction work at Mt. Yunmen. However, unlike the ar

chitects and construction workers who had no idea what the

original buildings ev en looke d like, 1 was lucky to have access to

ancient and relatively reliable sources.T he stone inscriptions o f 959 and 964 constitute, togethe r

with the Record o f Yunmen, the m ost im portan t sources of infor

m ation abou t the life and teaching o f the m aster (see descriptions

in the Materials section). The Introduction following this Pref

ace contains a concise biography o f Y un m en that is based on

these and. other important Chinese sources, as well as a brief

history o f C ha n and a discussion o f C ha n teaching.

In the m ain bod y o f the boo k, I have translated man y of

Y unm en ’s talks and dialogues for the first time. T he leng th o f

the Record o f Yunmen necessitated a stringen t process o f selection;

I chose to translate all of the lon ge r talks and a representative

sample o f the hund reds o f short dialogues that the Record con

tains. All dialogues used in the fo ur major C hinese koa n collec

tions are included (see table, p. 243). Since the first volume of

the Record appears to be the oldes t and most reliable, I decided tocull from it mo re than h alf o f the total vo lum e o f translated parts.

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Preface

In the final po rtion o f this boo k, Materials, the history o f

the Record is traced and an ove rview o f its conten ts given. Addi

tionally, Yunmen’s dialogues that appear as koans in the four

major koan collections as well as relevant literature are listed.

Th is is the place to express my gra titude to my Japanese

and Am erican teachers (without, o f course, implicating them in

the shortcomings that a pioneering effort must entail): to my

teacher Yoshitaka Iriya, the man on this globe who is most fa

miliar w ith the language o f C han texts and who se years o f lec

tures and m any afternoons o f selfless help have m ade h im a

grandparent o f this boo k; to Seizan Yanagida, the director o f myresearch institution, an exemplary Zen researcher and inspiring

man; and finally to Richard DeMartino, whose clear sight has

opened for me more perspectives than I can recount. I encour

age readers interested in m y discussion o f Y u nm en ’s teaching to

read the deep er and m ore extensive analyses o f Z en teaching

fou nd in D eM ar tino ’s writings (see Selective Bibliography). M y

thanks also go to friends, colleagues, and students who have readthe m anuscript or parts o f it and helped m e in various othe r

ways. I am especially indebted to my editors at Kodansha; to

Professors Burton Watson, Victor Mair, and Steven Antinoff;

and to Lee Rose r, Stephan Schuhm acher, and W end i Adamek.

I would like to remind Sinologists, Japanologists, scholars

o f Buddh ism, an d o ther specialists that a separate scholarly edi

tion will be published by the K uroda Institute. It will no t include

the intro du ctory part o f this volume and will feature a veiy dif

feren t set o f footnotes geared to the needs and interests o f spe

cialists and translators. It will also contain, in addition to the

Chinese tex t of all translated passages, an anno tated translation o f

relevant parts o f the oldest stone inscription, a translation o f pref

aces to the text, a m ore detailed accou nt o f the history of the

Record o f Yunm en, extensive lists of biographical and textual

sources, various tables that relate the Record o f Yunmen to other

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Preface

C ha n texts and inscriptions, indices, and a m ore com prehensive

bibliography*

Note to Text and Tr ans l a t i on

This is a partial translation o f the Record o f Yunmen. The fall title

of the original text is Yunme n kuan gzhe n chanshi guanglu (Com

prehensiv e R ecords o f C han M aste r K uangzhen o f Yunm en).

T o keep matters simple, all edition s o f this tex t will be re ferred to

as Record o f Yunmen. This translation contains approximately one

fou rth o f the volum e o f the o riginal text. All longer talks by themaster, and all koans featuring Yunmen contained in the major

koan collections, have been translated- M ost o f the translated

material stems from the oldest parts o f the Record o f Yunmen.

T he tex t used for the translation is fou nd as part o f the

Guzunsu yulu (R eco rd o f the Sayings of O ld W orthies) in Tai

w an ’s N ation al C entra l Library in Taipei* T his oldest ex tant edi

tion o f the Record o f Yunmen dates from the year 1267.Because this Taipei edition is not available to most scholars

and students, I decided to key all references to an edition found

in many libraries in East and West, namely, that contained in

volum e 47 o f the Taisho edition o f the Chinese Buddhist

can on .1 O the r texts co ntained in this largest collection o f C hi

nese Buddh ist texts (for example, the Record o fL in ji and the Blue

C liff Record ) are also cited in the following standard format: T

(standing for Taisho), followed by volume, page, section, and

line identification (e.g., T4 7: 545b 15 for Taisho can on volum e

47, p. 545, section b, line 15). The abbreviation ZZ stands for

the Japanese Zo kuzok yo collection o f Chinese B uddhist texts.

T he original C hinese text indicates the beginn ing o f co n

1 See the Materials section for m ore detail.

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P r e f ace

versations or formal talks by spaces. For more convenient cross

reference and identification, I gave each translated section a

number.

I strove to make the translation as literal as possible while

conv ey ing the flavor and style o f the original. In general, words

that in my op inion are implied in the terse Chinese text were put

in square brackets.1Since such additions often affect the overall

meaning o f the text, I jud ged it necessary to identify them as my

ow n and thus give the reader the op tion o f ignoring everything

in brackets. Words in parentheses have been added to convey

equivalent terms with which some readers might be more familiar.2 The original Chinese text contains neither brackets nor

parentheses.

1For example: “[You must be hungry after such a long trip;] there’s gruel and

rice on the long bench!” (section 104).

2 Th us I have, for exam ple, translated the C hin ese fa as “separate entity (dharma).”

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Steeply Ait, Yunmen rises

Leaving the wh ite clouds way below

Its streams rush so sw ift ly

That no fish dares to linger

A stream on M t. Yun men and a poem

(T 4 7 : 5 5 3 h 2 0 )

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Talksan a

D ialo dues


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ta


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Cor respond ing t o t ke O ccas ion■ ■ ■

J 545a16— 54662

H aving co m e to the Dh arm a Hall [to instruct the assembly],1 the

M aster rem ained silent for a long time and th en said:

“ T he kna ck2 o f giving voice to the Da o is definitely diffi

cult to figure ou t. E ve n if every w ord m atches it, there still are a

m ultitude o f other ways; ho w m uch m ore so w he n I ratt le on

and on? So w ha t’s the po int o f talking to you right no w ?3

1 In this text, formal lectures to the assembly by the master are usually intr o

duced by this expression. Such discourses were formal in the sense that in

principle all mon ks o f a mon astery (and often also visitors) we re ex pe cted to be

present when the master, seated on a wide chair on an elevated platform, ad

dressed them.

3 T he term j i (here rendered as “k nack ”) covers a broad spectrum o f mean ings

such as trigger (of an even t), operating m echa nism , ability, knack, force, m ov

ing powe r, d evice, occasion, etc. Th e follo w ing passage from the Collection from

the Founder’s H alts, 3 .23 , 7 ff., illustrates an aspect o f the knack in ques tion here:

A mo nk asked, “T he A ncients said that the Da o is be yon d words.

B ut if the D ao is beyo nd words, w h o is able to establish this?”

Master Yungai Zhiyuan replied, “Borrowed words give

voice to the Dao; the Dao does not verbalize itself.”

3 The first speech o f Master Linji (R inza i) strikes a similar note (Record of Lttijif T47: 4 9 6 b l l—14; Sasaki translation, p. 1):

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M a ste r Y u n m e n

“ T ho ug h each o f the three collections of Bu ddhist teach

ing 1 has its specific sphere— the vinaya pertains to the study o f

m onastic discipline, the sutras to th e study o f m editative co nc en

tration, and the treatises to th e study o f wisdom — the five veh icles o f the three-pa rt Bu ddhist canon and the eight teachings o f

the five pe riods2 really all boil d ow n to jus t on e thing , nam ely,

the o ne veh icle.3 It is perfect and im m ediate4— and extrem ely

difficult to fathom . Ev en if yo u co uld und erstand it righ t now ,

y o u ’d still be as different from this pa tch -ro be d m on k as earth is

from heaven . If in m y assembly som eo ne ’s ability is manifested

in a ph rase,5 y o u ’ll po nder in vain. Ev en if, in ord er to m ake

Today, I, this mountain monk, having no choice in the mat

ter, have perforce yielded to customary etiquette and taken this

seat. If I we re to dem onstrate the Great Matter in strict ke ep ing

w ith the teaching o f the Patriarchal Sch ool, I simply co uld n’t

open my mouth and there wouldn’t be any place for you to find

footing.

1 Traditionally, the written, teachings o f Bu dd hism are classified in three “ bas

kets” (Pali: pitaka): monastic rules (vinaya), sutras, and treatises (skastras).

2 Th e com men tary in the Collection o f Items from the Garden o f the Patriarchs

(Zuting shiyuan, Z Z11 3: 3 a l8 —b2) points ou t that Master Y un m en is here

probably think ing o f a classification o f Bu ddh ist teachings current in Tiantai

(Tendai) Buddhism. Such classifications were attempts to bring consistency

and continuity to Buddhist teachings by attributing them to specific phases and

occasions o f the B udd ha’s life.

3 Th e singular or uniq ue veh icle (ekayana). In the Chan m ovem ent, one's ow n

realization o f the non-d ual or mindless m ind (Ch. ivushin, Jap. mushift) is re

garded as the one vehicle,

4 Various interpretations o f the Ch inese w ord dun (here rendered by “ imm edi

ate”) have been advanced in specialist literature. I translate it by “immediate”

because this suggests both a temporal dim en sion (“sud den ”) and the lack o f any

mediation.

5 Th e great num ber o f Chan stories and exchanges wh ere som e expression o f

o n e ’s und erstanding is requ ested attest to the im porta nce o f such verbal manifestations o f ability in the form o f word s. S ee also the en d o f section 22.

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C o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e O c c a s i o n

progress , you sorte d out all C han teachings w ith their th ousand

differences and myriad distinctions, your mistake would still

consist in searching for proclamations from other people’stongues.

“ So how should one approach w hat has been transmitted?

By talking in here abo ut ‘pe rfe ct’ and ‘im m ed iate ’? By [this] here

or [that] there ?1D o n ’t get m e wron g: yo u m ust no t hear me say

this and then specu late that ‘n o t per fec t’ and ‘not sudd en ’ are it!

“There m ust be a real man in here! D o n ’t rely on somemaster’s pretentious statements or hand-me-down phrases that

you pass off every w here as y ou r ow n understanding! D o n ’t get

me w rong. W ha tever you r prob lem right now is: try sett ling it

just here in front o f the assembly!”

At the t ime Prefectural Go vern or H o was present. H e per

formed the customary bow and said, “Your disciple requests

your instruction.”

The Master replied, “This weed I see is no different!”2

545b2-5

An official asked, “Is it true that the Buddha Dharma is like the

moon in the water?”3

1 “H ere ” and “ there ” as a pair subsum e poles o f duality such as delu sion and

enlightenment, ordinary and holy, imperfect and perfect, mediated and un

mediated (immediate), etc.

2 Since in Cha n texts “ w ee d ” is used as a metap hor for illusions wh ich the

teacher steps into in order to save his disciples (see, for example, section 147),

Y un m en possibly is saying: “Y ou 're q uite an ordinary we ed , just like the others

here; so wh at 1 said abou t setding your p roblem in front o f eve ryo ne applies to

you , to o!” T he answer may also mean: N o special treatment here!

3 T h e teachings o f the Bud dha and o f the Ch an masters axe regarded as aids that

can, depending on the circumstances (which change like waves in the water), take on various forms. All teachings p oint towards on e’s ow n aw akening (the

moon); one is thus warned not to mistake the teaching device (the pointing

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The Master replied, “ [Even] a pure wave has no way o f

penetrating through [to the m oo n].”

The official pressed on, “By what way did you reach it, Reverend?”

The Master answered, “Where did you get this second

question from?”1

The official went on, “ H ow about my situation right

now?”2

The Master said, “The road across this mountain pass is

totally blocked!”

545b8—10 3

Someone asked Master Yunmen, “Since antiquity, the old wor

thies have transmitted mind by mind.3 Today I ask yo u, Master:

What device do you use?”

The Master said, “When there’s a question, there’s an an>* &swer. 4

finger, or in this case the reflection o f the m oo n in the w ater) for the u ltimate

goal.

1 See Y un m en ’s statement “A co in lost in the river is foun d in the river” (sec

tion 15). Yu nm en appears to poin t out that the questione r’s treasure lies just

wh ere his question is com ing from, as in the C han saying “O n e’s ow n house- treasure is not found on the outside.”

2 T he qu estioner wants the master to tell him w he re h e stands on the path to

the mo on o f awakening.

3 “Transmitting m ind by m ind 5’ is a pivotal C han con cep t w ho se history has

been traced in Esshu Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki, Zen D ust (Kyoto: The First

Z en Institute o f Am erica in Japan, 1966), p . 23 0 ff., and in Seizan Yanagida,

Shoki zenshushisho no kenkyu {Kyoto: Hozokan, 1967), p. 471 ff. It is said to

express the teaching m ethod o f the Buddh a and Bodhidharma.

4 In section 81, Yunmen replies practically in the same words to a question

about teaching methods.

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C o r r e sp o n d i n g t o t lie O c c a s i o n

T h e qu estioner w en t on , “ In this case it isn’t a useless de

vice!”1

The Master replied, “No question, no answer.’*

545b 12-14

Someone asked, “What about the occasion when the hen pecks

and the chick flies?”2

The Master said, “Crack!”

The questioner went on: “Does this apply [to me]?”The Master said, “Slowly, slowly!”3

545b14

Som eone asked, “W h at’s m y central concern?”

T he M aster replied, “ H ey, this question really got m e!”4

1 This is probably an expression o f appreciation: Yo ur teach ing w o n ’t be lost

on me, I accept and appreciate it.

2 What I translate as “ filing” and "p eck ing ” is a Chinese expression consisting

o f tw o characters; the first is an onom atopo eric rendering o f the sound o f filing

and the second o f kn ocking . T hey represent the effort o f a chick to break out

o f its shell and o f the m other hen to h elp it in this endeavor. Th is stands for the

simultaneous and tim ely effort o f teacher and student, resulting in the studen t’s

breaking out o f his shell. See case 16 o f the Blue C li ff Record.

3 This ex pression was used several times by Y un m en for admon ishing his disci

ples to take one step at a time and n ot to im agine h aving reached the end o f the

road before having even taken the first steps. See sections 8, 29, and 46.

4 Literally: “I have sincerely accepted yo ur qu estion !” Professor Yoshitaka Iriya

points o ut that this is likely to be a sarcastic response: “W ow ! W^hat a ques

tion!,” with the undertone “This one is really much too big for you!” Addi

tionally, there migh t be an elem ent o f “Y ou ’re asking me about your own central concern?”

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545b l4 -15

545b l5 -2 7

6

Someone asked Master Yunmen, “How about a phrase chat is

separately transmitted outside the written teachings?”The Master said, “Come on, present this question to the

whole assembly!”

7

The Master said,

“Don’t say that I’m deceiving you today! I simply cannot

help performing a messy scene in front of you; what a laughing

stock I’d be i f some clear-sighted man were to see me! But right

now I cannot avoid this.1

“So let me ask you all: What has so far been the matter

with you?2 What do y ou lack? I f I tell you that nothing whatso

ever is the matter then I’ve already buried you; you yourself

must arrive at that realization! D on ’t give free rein to your

mouths for haphazard questioning. It’s pitch-black in your hearts,

and one o f these days something w ill be very much the matter!3

“I f you’re o f hesitant disposition, then you might turn

your sight towards the teachings o f the old masters and look

hither and thither to find out what they mean. You do want to

1Th is is an aspect o f the th em e treated in section 3; w hat is essential is self

awak ening, and this cann ot be m ediated, just as sme lling and tasting cannot be

conveyed.

2 The Record o fU n ji is on the same line:

Folio wets o f the W ay, right no w the resolute man k now s full

well that from the beginning nothing is the matter. Only because

your faith [in this] is insufficient do you ceaselessly chase about;

having thrown away you r head you go on and on loo kin g for it,

unable to stop you rs elf {T47: 49 8b 13—15; cf. Sasaki translation,

P- 13)-3 This is likely to be an allusion to death.

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attain understanding, don’t you?! The reason [you’re unable to

do so] is precisely that your own illusion accumulated since in

numerable eons is so thick that when in some lifetime you hear

som eone talk [about the D harma], you get doubts. Seek ing un

derstanding by asking about the B uddha and his teaching, abou t

going beyond and coming back [into the conditioned],” 1you move

further and further away from it.2 W he n you direct your mind

towards it, yo u ’ve gone astray; ho w m uch m ore so if yo u use

words to describe it?3W ha t i f ‘no t directing o ne’s m ind’ were it?

Why, is anything the matter? Take care!”4

1The two concepts xiangshang and xiangxia literally mean “up,” “upward,”

“beyond,” “ascending,” and “down,” “downward,” “descending” and were

quite popular in Chan circles around Yunmen’s time. They have the connota

tion o f rising above (xiangshang) everything that is conditioned (including the

Buddha and his teaching)— the central task o f the practitioner intent on

achieving liberation from the shackle o f duality, and thus naturally also a core

them e o f Y un m en’s teaching and Chan teaching in general— and com ing back

down (xiangxia) into the realm o f the c ond itioned (the w orld o f illusion, dis

crimination, and attachment). The downward movement is characteristic of

the activity o f the teacher w h o uses all kinds o f devices as skillful means

(see section 183). See also section 147, p. 157, note 1, and section 210, p. 190,

note 5.

2 All such seeking is still directed towards objects rather rhan the questioner

himself; in this sense such a seeker is “ loo king south to see th e Great Bear [in

the northern sky]” (see also section 113).

3 Compare Master Lmji’s words (Record of Linji, T47: 496b25-cl; cf. Sasaki translation, p. 2):

But the instant you open your mouth you are already way off.

W hy is this so? D o n ’t you know ? T he venerable Sakyamuni said:

“T he essence o f my teach ing is separate from words, because it is

neither subject to causation nor dependent on conditions.” Your

faith [in this] is insufficient, that’s why I have bandied w ords

today.

1This expression was often used by Chan masters at the end o f formal talks to

their community. Just like the English equivalent, it can be both used as an ordinary farewell formula and invested with more meaning.

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545b28-29

5 4 5 k 2 9 —c i

545c4

545c4—6

8

Som eone asked, “W ha t tune do you sing, Master?” 1

T he Master replied, “T he twenty-fifth o f the twelfthmonth!”2

“ W hat if I sing it?”

“Slowly, slowly!”

9

Som eone asked, “W ha t did the Patriarch inten d in com ing from

the W est?”

Master Yunmen replied, “That’s as clear as day!”

10

Som eone asked, “W ha t is the way beyon d?” 3

The Master said, “Nine times nine is eighty-one.”4

1 1

Som eone asked, “W ha t is my T ? ”

T he M aster said, “ It’s strolling in the m oun tains and enjoy

ing the rivers.”

1What is it chat you have to say; what is your message?

2 Th is is the tim e just be fore a year’s end; the expression may correspond to our

“it’s the eleventh hour.”

3 W hat is the w ay b eyo nd suffering, be yon d the shackles o f duality? For

“beyond” see section 7, p.88, note 2.

4 Y un m en was quite fon d o f this expression; it occurs no less than five times in

this text. Professor Iriya found that multiplication tables used in the Tang dy

nasty start out with this. Thus it could correspond to some very basic knowl

edge, something that everybody with minimal education knows. Here it may

mean “first things first” or, more aggressively, “You have not even begun learning to calculate and are already talking o f such b ig numbers?”

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C o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t k e O c c a s i o n

“And what is your ‘1/ Reverend?”

The Master replied, “You’re lucky that the precentor isn’t

here!”1

545c6 - 7

Someone asked, “How about [the Buddha,] the instructor?”

The Master answered, “That’s too rude!”

13“What is the teaching o f the [Buddha’s] whole lifetime?”

“Speaking in tune with any particular [occasion].”2

14

Som eone asked Master Yunmen, “What is the eye o f the genu

ine teaching?”3The Master said, “It’s everywhere!”4

545c7—S

545c 8

1T he precen tor is the m on k in charge o f genera! affairs w h o also assigns the

duties within the monastery and dispenses punishment (including physical

beating; see Holm es W elch , The Practice of Chinese Buddhism, 1900-1950

(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), p. 67 et passim).

2 This short exch an ge forms case 14 o f the Blue C li ff Record, where Master Yuanwu stresses in his comments that in transmitting this teaching one must

take the tim e and conditions into account.

3 “E ye ” signifies the core or essence o f som ethin g. B oth the Ch inese master

Dahui Zonggao and the Japanese master Dogen Kigen chose this expression

(literally, “treasury o f the eye o f the gen uin e teach ing”) as tides o f their central

works.

4 Th is is one o f Master Y un m en's famou s on e-w or d answers. In the original,

the charactet in question has meanings such as: 1. vast, great; and 2. general, universal; all, everythin g, everyw here . Translators includin g m yse lf must capit

ulate, in part because ofY u n m en ’s intentional use o f mu ltiple meanings. D ai-

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54 5c9-10 15

Som eone asked: “W ha t does ‘Sitting correctly and con tem plat

ing true reality’1mean?”

The Master said, “A coin lost in the river is found in the

nver.

545 clO ^U 16

Someone asked Master Yunmen, “What is the monk’s prac

tice?”T he M aster replied, “ It cannot be understoo d.”

T he questioner carried on, “ W hy ca n’t it be und erstood ?”

“ It just cann ot be understood!”

545cl2-16 17

A m on k inquired, "W ha t is the m eaning o f the [Buddhist]

teachings?”

T he M aster asked back, “ W ha t sutra are you reading?”

2

setz T. Suzuki renders this word as “Everywhere!” { Essays in Zen Buddhism,

First Series, p. 352), Charles Luk as “Universality” (K’uan-yii Lu, C h ’an and

Zen Teachings, Second Series [London: Rid er, 1961], p. 20 3), Joh n W u as “AU-

cotnprehensive!” (Golden Age of Zen, p. 2 20 ), Thom as and J. C. Cleary as

“Universal*' (Blue C liff Record, p. 39), and Wilhelm Gundert as “Common!

[i.e., everyb ody has it thou gh it is the m ost unfathom able my stery]” (Bt-yan-lit:

Meister Yuan-wu's Niederschrift von der Smamgdenen Felswand [Frankfurt/M.: U ll-

stein Verlag, 1983], p. 150). See also section 18, where Yunmen answers the

same question in a more definite manner.

1 “Sitting correctly” signifies gen uin e m editation in w hic h e veryth ing is seen as

it really is (Jap. sotio mama)— i.e ., in its true reality,

2 See Master Linji ( Record of Linji , T47: 497b 16—18):

If yo u w ish to differ in no w ay from the Patn arch-Bud dha, just don’t seek outside. The pure light in your every thought is noth

ing other than the Dharmakaya-Buddha within you r ow n house.

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The monk replied, “The Wisdom Sutra.”

T he Master cited: “ ‘All know ledge is pu re .’ Have you

seen this even in a dream?”The monk said, “Let’s leave ‘All knowledge is pure5aside:

what is the m ean ing of the teachings?1’1

Th e Master replied, “ If in yo ur heart you had n ot failed

som eone, you would n ot be blushing.1But I spare you the thirty

blows o f the staff [you deserve].” 2

Corres pondi ng to the Occas i on

18

So m eon e asked, “W hat is the eye o f the genu ine [teaching]?” 3

M aster Yun m en said, “ Th e steam o f rice grue l.”4

19Som eone asked, “W ha t is perfect conc entration (samadhi)?”

T he Master replied, “ Shu t up unless I ask you !”

J Th e reaction o f Master Yu nm en suggests that the mon k blushed wh ile he

asked this.

2 This phrase was frequently em ployed no t only by Y un m en b ut also by his teacher Mu zho u to scold m onks. T hirty blows o f the staff constitute a very

harsh punishment. The master’s reaction can certainly be regarded as lenient

(“ 1 see that you are blushing and have recognized your fault, so Lw o n ’t strike

y ou !>), but there migh t also be a razor-sharp edge to it: “This kind o f behavior

is usually subject to harsh punishm ent— but for wh at 1 see here I w ou ld n’t even

lift my hand!”

3 In section 14, Yunmen answers the same question differendy.

4 Gruel is a broth made from tw o to three parts o f rice to sev en or eigh t parts of

water. This conjee was served for breakfast. Monastic regulations allowed only

one more meal before noon ( zhat , usually rice and vegetables).

5-4 5c 17

545ct7-18

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545c 18- 19

545ci9-20

54 5c20 -

546a5

20

So m eone asked, “W ha t is the place from w hen ce all the buddhas

come?”

Master Y un m en said, “ [Where] the East M oun tains walk

on the river.”1

21

Someone said, “Please, Master, show me a way in!”

T he Master said, “ Slurping gruel, eating rice.”

22

The Master said,

“ I have n o choice;2 if I tell yo u that right n ow no thing is

the m atter, I have already buried yo u. H ow eve r mu ch you w ant

to make progress and seek intellectual understanding by looking

for words and chasing after phrases and setting up questions and

inquiries by means o f a thousand differences and m yriad distinc

tions: it jus t brings yo u a glib tongu e and leads yo u fu rthe r and

furthe r from the Way. W he re is there an end to this?

1A key to this exchange may lie in a poem by the Buddhist layman Fu Dashi (see note to section 170). It is found in the Record of the Mirror o f the Teachings

(Ch . Zo ng jing lu, Jap. Sugyoroku ; T48: 4 48a 21—23):

[Where] the East Mountains float on the river and the West

M ountains wan der on and on, in the realm [ o f this world?] be

neath the Great Dipper: just there is the place o f gen uin e em anci

pation,

2 O the r Chan masters see them selves in a similar bind; Master Linji, for exam

ple, began his very first sermon with these words (T47: 496bl2; Sasaki transla

tion, p. 1):Today, 1, this mountain monk, having no choice m this matter,

have perforce yielded to customary etiquette and taken this seat.

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C o r r e sp o n d in g t o t k e O c c a s io n

“ If this very ma tter could simply be fou nd in w ords— the

three vehicles’ twelve divisions o f teachings certainly do not lack

words, do they?—-then w hy w ou ld one speak o f a ‘transmission

outside the scriptural teachings’?1 If w isdom w ere a func tion o f

studying interpretations, it w ou ld merely be like that o f the saints

o f the ten stages w ho , th ou gh disseminating the D harm a as

[plentifully as] clouds and rain, were still severely reprimanded

[by the Buddha] because they perceived their self-nature as if

thro ug h a veil o f gauze. H enc e w e kn ow that any kind o f ‘hav~

ing m in d’2 is as far away [from w ha t is at stake here] as the sky

from the earth.“However, when someone gets there, speaking about fire

does not burn his mouth. He can discuss the matter all day long

w itho ut it ever tou chin g his lips and teeth and w ithou t uttering

a single w ord . T hou gh he eats and all day long wears his robe, he

never touch es a single grain o f rice nor a single thread.3

“Anyw ay, this is still only talk abou t our teachings; but you

must really make them yours! If w ithin these walls a phrase packs a

punch, th en you will ponder in vain. Even if you can accept

som e statem ent as you hear it, y ou’re still day dr earners.”

At the time a monk asked, “How about such a phrase?”

The Master replied, “Brought up.”

546a5- 1

So m eone asked, “ W ha t is ‘be ing silent while speaking’?”T h e M aster said, “A clear oppor tunity jus t slipped thro ug h

yo ur fingers!”

1See Introduction, p. 12.

2 Th e C hinese character for “ heart” or “m ind ” (xirl) stands here for the deluded subject that experiences physical and spiritual objects, the “I” that

faces any “ oth er.” See Introduction , p. 41 ff.

* See p. 67 ff.

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The questioner went on, “And what is ‘speaking while

being silent’?”

The Master said, “Oh!”1

The questioner continued, “What is it like when one is

ne ither silent no r talking?” ;

W ith his staff the Master drove the q uestioner out o f the /

hall. ■

546a7-8

24

So m eone asked, “W ha t is Y un m en ’s sword?”

The Master said, “Founder.”2

546a8 9

25

So m eon e asked, “W ha t is the place from w hich all buddhas

come?”3

Master Yunmen said, “Next question, please!”

1A n expression o f doubt or surprise. T his character can also be read “sha,” in

which case it would stand for an exclamation without specific meaning:

“Shaaaa!” or "Shhhh!”

2 Th is could also mean “ founde rs” ; the C hinese text here allows no differentia

tion b etw een singular or plural modes. H ow ev er, it is likely that instead o f the

dead founders o f Chan , the text points at “the living patriarch” o f w h om Master Linji said (Record of Linji, T47: 499c 12; Sasaki translation, p. 20): “ You r

mind s and M ind do n ot differ—-th is is called [your] Living Patriarch.” The

sword that takes and gives life stands for the Chan teaching whose objective is

the death o f the self-attached ‘T ’ and the awak ening o f the “ living patriarch”

(True Self) o f each person. Thu s Yun m en's co-disc iple Xuansha says (Extensive

Record of Xuan sha, Z Z1 26: 179b7): “ [The sword] is just you, the very you that

does no t understand!” See also Yosh itaka Iriya’s translation, Getisha koroku, vol.

1 (Kyoto: Zenbunka kenkyujo, 1987), p. 77.

1See the virtually identical question and Yunmen’s different answer in sec

tion 20.

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Correspond i ng t o t he Occas i on

26

Som eone asked M aster Y unm en, “W hat is the absolute con cen

tration w hich com prehen ds every single particle o f dust?”T he Master replied, “W ater in the bucke t, food in the

bow l.”

27

“ H ow about the place o f non -thinking?”

T he M aster replied, “ C og nition can hardly fathom it .” 1

28

“ H ow ab ou t w hen one m akes a hole in the wall in ord er to steal

the neig hbo r’s light?”2

“There it is!”3

546a 10-11

54 6a 1 4 - 1.>

546a 15

1B oth question and answer stem from the Inscription on Trusting in M in d (Xin- xinming, T51: 457b 17-18):

The realm o f non-thinking

can hardly be fa thomed by cognition;

in the sphere of genuine suchness

there is neither “I '1 nor “other .”

2 Kuang H eng , prime minister under em peror Yuan D i o f the former Han

period and famous commentator on Confucian canonical literature, is said to

have been so keen on learning as a poor student that he “stole” the neighbor’s

light. This stands for an extraordinary effort. Here, both question and answer appea rfoc used on the light o f w hic h M aster Linji says (T47: 49 7c 4—7; cf. Sasaki

translation, p. 9):

Follow ers o f the Wa y, min d is w itho ut form and pervades the ten

directions. In the eye it is called seeing, in the ear hearing, in the

nose it smells odors, in the mouth it holds converse, in the hands

it grasps and seizes, and in the feet it m oves and runs. F und am en

tally it is a single subtle radiance, divided into six sensory percep

tions. Y et since this mind is nothin g, one is free, w here ver one is!

3 B oth in the sense o f “E xactly !” and “H ere it is, shinin g brightly!” See again the Record o f Linji (T47: 4 9 7 b l6 —20; cf. Sasaki translation, p. 8):

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546ai9—24

546a24—25

29

The Master said,

“ AH twelve divisions o f the three vehicles’ teachings ex plain it back and fo rth, and th e old monks o f th e w hole empire

grandly proclaim, ‘Come on, try presenting to me even a tiny

little bit o f w ha t it all means!’: all o f this is already m ed icine for a

dead horse.

“ Nevertheless, how many are there w ho have com e even

that far? I do n ’t even dare to ho pe for an echo o f it in yo ur words

or a hidde n sharp p oin t in on e o f yo ur phrases.

A blink of an eye— a thousand differences.

When the wind is still, the waves are calm J

M ay you rest in peace!”2

30Som eone asked, “W ha t is the fundam ental teaching?”

M aster Y unm en said, “N o question, no answer.” 3

If yo u w ish to differ in n o way from the Patriarch-Buddha, just

don't seek outside. The pure light in your every thought is nothing other than the Dharmakaya-Buddha within your own

hou se. . . . Th is threefold body is noth ing other than you w h o are

listening to my discourse nght now before my very eyes,

1The Record o f the Mirror of the Teachings (Zo ngj inglu; T48: 430 c4 —5) says:

Mind and its objects condition each other . . . like the water

which forms waves depending on the winds.

2 A pious enunciation used at Chinese funerals, here probably used in an ironic

sense.

3 See section 3 for another exam ple o f this answer.

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Someone asked Master Yunmen, “How about: ‘The Triple

W o rld 1 is bu t mind, and the myriad things are bu t conscious

ness ? -

Th e M aster said, “T oda y I do n’t answer any questions.”

Th e questioner insisted, “W hy d o n ’t you answer any ques

tions?”

T he M aster said, “W ill yo u unde rstand it in the year o f the

donkey?”3

546a25-27

32

So meone asked Y un m en , “ W hat is the sw^ord [so sharp that it

cuts even] a hair blown [over its blade]?”4

Th e M aster said, “C ho p!”

He added, “Slash!”5

546a27-2 8

1 T he three aspects o f desire, form, and formlessness are said to characterize the

wh ole object-world o f the human being.

2 This was in Chan literature a m uc h qu oted saying o f Vijnaptimatra flavor.

This Buddhist rehgio-philosophical movement asserted that without a subject

(“m m d” or “con sciousness”) there is n o ob ject (“Triple W or ld ”) and vice

versa. See also section 77.

3 Since no such year exists ill the C hine se year-cy cle, this means in effect “You’ll never ever understand it!”

4 Th e sword is in Chan literature com m on ly associated with th e Ch an or Bu d

dhist teachin g and teachin g m eth od in general (as in “ the sabre that kills and the

sword that gives life” ; see also note to section 24). T he sword m entio ne d here

was famous for being so sharp that it cut even a hair blown across its blade.

5 T w o on om atop oetic renderings w ere proposed by Professor Iriya, the first

standing for the sou nd o f cutting b one and the secon d for that o f slicing flesh.

See the answer chat Yunmen’s co-disciple Xuansha gave to the same question {Extensive Record o f Xuansha, ZZ126: 179b7):

[The sword] is just you , che very you that does not understand!

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Som eone asked, “W ha t is the inw ard-and -outw ard radiance?” 1

Master Yunmen asked back, “In what direction is your

question pointed?”

T he questioner said, “W ha t is reaching the light?”

T he M aster asked, “ If som eone suddenly asked you this,

wh at wo uld you say?” 2

Th e questioner continued , “ H ow abou t after reaching the

light?”

The Master replied, "Forget the light; give me first the

reaching!”

546a2Sb2 3 3

546b2 -3 34

Som eone asked Master Y unm en, “W hat is the m ost urgent

phrase?”The Master said, “Eat!”

1This question probably refers to a verse ascribed to Master Tanxia Tianren

(739—824). Tanxia spoke ab out the w ond rou s pearl in each person w hich is

hard to find but can be intimately perceived in the Sea of the Bu ddhist Teac h

ing and then went on to say {Jingde chuandengiu, T51: 463bl6 18; see also

section 245):

This pearl constantly moves around within the five components

(skandhas) o f each livin g b eing, sh ow ing and hid ing itseEf, and its

inward and outward radiance is o f great supernatural pow er. N e i

ther large nor small, it shines day and night and illuminates every^

thing— yet w he n on e look s for it, it is no thing and leaves no

trace.

2 This appears to be on e m ore attempt by Y un m en to tell the questioner that,

since his ow n radiance is in qu estion, n o o ne else should be q ualified to answer this question.

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35

Som eone asked, “W ha t is the o riginal m ind?”

The Master said, “You've raised it; it’s quite apparent!”1


5 4 m

36

Som eone asked Y unm en, “W ha t is the essence o f a patch-robed

monk?”

T he M aster said, “ It’s yo ur turn !” 2

The questioner insisted, “Please, Master, tell me!”

The Master said, “I’m playing the harp for an ox!”3

546B3-5

0 ̂ 2 546b11—15

Having entered the Dharma Hall Master Yunmen said:

“B rothers! Y ou certainly have visited many regions search

ing for knowledge in order to settle [the problem of] life-and-

death;4 and everyw here yo u w en t the re must have bee n masters

w ho gave yo u expe dient words o f compassion. N o w is there any

statement o f theirs that yo u could no t penetrate? C om e forw ard

1Cf. the verse cited in Collection from the Founder's Halls, 1.38:

Just your mind is the original mind, and this original mind is not

something.

2 This expression is used as in a board game: This is your m ov e, it’s up to you!

3 Y un m en c ou ld as w ell talk to a wall. D id h e not already say that the answer to

this question can come only from the questioner himself?

4 Life-an d-death circumscribes the basic framew ork o f hum an life: hav ing to

live and having to die. This is what every person starts out with and has to deal

w ith in on e w ay or another- in the first of his Four N ob le Truths, the Buddha

called this “suffering.’7See p. 37.

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546b19—20

546b20—22

and try rela ting it, so that I can discuss it w ith all of you! Any

thing? A nything?”

Just w hen a m on k w ho had stepped forward was about to

ask a question, the M aster said: “ Go! Go! Y o u ’re fu rther than ahundred thousand [miles] from the road to India.”1

W ith that the M aster left his seat.

38

Someone asked Master Yunmen, “What is most urgent for

1s>me?

The Master said, “The very you who is afraid that he

doesn’t know!”2

39

Som eone asked, “W ha t is the m ooing o f the clay ox o f the snow

peak?”3

The Master said, “Mountains and rivers are running

away!”

“A nd how about the neighing o f Y un m en’s w ooden

horse?”

Master Y unm en replied, “ Heaven and earth black ou t.”

1T his co uld also signify “ the road to the W estern Paradise/' i.e ., the paradise

o f Amitabha Buddha. H ow ever , in this case it may simply mean: “W ay o ff the

mark!”

2 Th is answer occurs one more tim e in the Record of Yunmen (T47: 553b3), that

time in response to the question: “What is my self?”

3 M ooin g clay oxen , neigh ing w ood en horses, laughing stone men, blinking

corpses, and other paradoxical creatures are common in Chan texts as symbols

o f the paradoxical teaching o f the Buddh a (who is said to have taught on the sn ow peaks o f the Himalayas) and o f the masters.

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40

Someone asked Master Yunmen, “How about doing as one

pleases?” 1

The Master said, “It’s your turn!”

41

Having entered the Dharma Hall, Master Yunmen said:

“If, in bringing up a case I cause you to accept it instantly,I am already spreading shit on top o f yo ur heads.2 Even if you

could understand the wh ole w orld w hen I ho ld up a single hair,

V d still be operating on healthy flesh.

“ At any rate, you m ust first truly attain this level of realiza

tion. If y o u ’re no t yet there, yo u must n ot preten d that you are.

R ath er, you ou gh t to take a step back, seek under yo ur very feet,

and see what there is to what I am saying!

“In reality, there is not the slightest thing that could be the

source o f understanding or dou bt for you. R ather, y ou have the

on e thing that matters, each and every on e o f you! Its great func

tion manifests without the slightest effort on your part; you are

no different from the patriarch-bud dhas !3 [But since] the ro ot o f

1Literally, “seven lengthwise, eight across.” This expression is also found in secular literature describing migh ty warriors wh o have mastered the techniq ue

o f handling a sword and are capable o f using it w ithou t contramt,

2 See also sectio n 175.

3 This could also be translated as “patriarchs and buddhas.” T he Record of Lin ji

has several almost identical formulations (T47: 497b8; 497 c 1; 50 2a l3) . Th e

one that is most strikingly similar to the present passage reads:

This very you standing distinctly before me without any form,

shining alone— this can expo un d the Dh arma and listen to it!

Understand it this way, and you are not different from the

Patriarch-Buddha. (T47: 497b28-cl; Sasaki translation, p. 9)

546b2 7

546b2 8-c17

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M a s t e r Y u n m e n

yo ur faith has always been shallow and the influence o f yo ur evil

actions massive, you find yourselves all of a sudden wearing

m any h orn s.1 Y ou ’re carrying yo ur bow l bags2 far and wide

thro ug h thousands o f villages and myriads o f hamlets: w hat's the

poin t o f vic tim iz ing yourselves? Is there som eth in g you all are

lacking? W hic h one o f yo u full-fledged fellows hasn’t got his

share?3

“Though you may accept what I am saying for yourself,

y ou ’re still in bad shape.4 Y ou must neither fall for the tricks o f

others n or simply accept their directives. T he instant yo u see an

old m on k op en his m ou th, yo u tend to stuff those big rocks rightinto yours, and when you cluster in little groups to discuss [his

words], you’re exactly like those green flies on shit that struggle

back to back to gobble it up! W hat a sham e, brothers!

“ T he old masters co uld n ot help using up their wh ole life

time for the sake of you all. So they drop ped a wo rd here and

half a phrase there to give you a hint. Y ou may have u nderstoo d

these things; pu t them aside and m ake som e effort for yourselves,and you will certainly become a bit familiar with it. Hurry up!

H urry up! T ime does no t wait for any man, and breathing o ut is

1Horns are in Chan literature often associated with dualistic attachment or

delusion in general, as are weeds. Cf. Blue C lif f Record, case 95 (T48: 218al9—

21): “ Where there is a buddha, you m ust no t stay; if you do, h orns sprout.

W her e there is no buddha, qu ickly run past; if you d on ’t, the we eds w ill be ten. feet high.”

2These bags were used by monks to carry their begging bowl and a few other

possessions around on pilgrimage.

3See Record of Linj is T47: 499cl0 (Sasaki translation, p. 20):

The non-depend ent man o f the W ay wh o right now before my

eyes is listening to my discourse, clearly distinguishable, [it is you

who've] never yet lacked anything.”

4 Or: ou t o f luck.

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no guarantee for breathing in again! O r do you have a spare body

and mind to fritter away? You absolutely must pay close atten

tion! Take care!”

54 6c 19-2 t

So m eon e asked: “ W ha t is the primary phrase?”

The Master said, “Nine times nine is eighty-one.”1

The monk bowed.2

Th e M aster said, “ C om e here!”T he m on k stepped in front of the Master. T he Master

struck him .

43 546c23—27

So m eon e asked, “ I heard a teaching that speaks o f the pu rity ofall-encom passing wisdom . W ha t is that purity like?”

Master Yunmen spat at him.

The questioner continued, “How about some teaching

m ethod o f the old masters?”

T he Master said, “ C om e here! C ut off yo ur feet, replace

your skull, and take away the spoon and chopsticks from your

bowl: now pick up your nose!”

Th e m on k asked, “ W here w ould one find such [teaching

methods]?”

The Master said, “You windbag!” And he struck him.

1See section 10, note 4.

2 The m on k expresses his gratitude and acceptance o f the master’s teaching—

which is not at all what Yunmen wants.

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546( 27-28

546(28-

547a2

547a4—bl7

44

Someone asked Master Y unm en, “ W hat is Ch an?”

The Master replied, “That’s it!”

Th e questioner w ent on, “W hat is the Dao?”

T he M aster said, “O kay!” 1

45

Someone asked: “How about ‘all things are the Buddha

Dharma’?”Th e M aster replied, “ T he grannies o f a three-h ouse hick

town crowd the city crossing. Do you understand?”

“ N o . ”

The Master said, “You’re not the only one who does not

understand; there’s definitely someone else who doesn’t!”2

46H aving entered the Dh arm a Hall, Master Y un m en said:

“ I pu t the wh ole universe on top o f yo ur eyelashes in one

fell swoop.”3

“You all heard me say this, yet I haven’t the faintest hope

that on e o f yo u will get all w ork ed up, step forward, and give me

a good hard whack. Well, take your time and examine in detail

w he the r you have [the entire universe on y ou r eyelashes] or not!W ha t does it mean?

1Y un m en ’s answers often simply con firm the quality o f a question and push

the student to pursue it thoroughly by himself.

2 In his retirem ent lecture. Professor Iriya took this convers ation as an exa mple

o f h ow Y un m en often attacks the Buddha or other Chan teachers in a sarcastic

and seemingly irreverent manner.

3 See s ection 99,

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“E ven thou gh yo u m ay manage to unde rstand this in here:

as soon as yo u jo in my assembly, yo u ge t bea ten up so m uc h that

you r legs break. The m om en t yo u hear me say tha t there’s a sage

at work somewhere, you should spit me full in the face andoffend my eyes and ears. But since you’re not up to that, you

immediately accept whatever people say. This already falls into

the category o f secondary ac tion.1

“Haven’t you heard that the instant Deshan2 saw a monk

enter the gate, he took up his stick and drove him away? And

M uzh ou,3 seeing a m on k com e in th roug h the gate, said: ‘It’s a

clear case,4 but I spare yo u the thir ty blows [you deserve]!’5

“ And ho w shou ld one deal w ith the rest? W ith this bunch

o f windbags w ho gulp do w n other peo ple ’s pus and slobber >can

recall heaps and loads o f rubb ish, and display the ir donkey lips

and horse mouths everywhere, boasting: ‘I can ask questions in

five o r ten alternative w ays’? Even if yo u ask questions from

m orn ing till even ing with the answers taking yo u into the night:

Will you ever see anything, even in a dream? How will you

apply yo ur strength for the bene fit o f others?

“You resemble those people who, when someone invites

the monks to a donated feast, say: ‘The food is fine, but what’s

1 Th ese are not on e’s ow n realizations but rather reactions to w hat others have

realized. Such secondhand realizations are not “one’s own house-treasure,” a

fact that a master immediately sees, as the examples that follow show.

2 Desha n Xuan iian (780—865), the teacher of Y u n m en ’s master X ue fen g Yicun

(822-908).

3 M uzho u, Y un m en ’s first Chan teacher. See p. 19.

4 Ch. xianzh en g gongesn, Jap. gen jo koati. This is the or iginal mean ing o f this

expression, which acquired much fame, especially after Dogen used it in the

title and as the them e o f the first chapter o f his major w ork Shobogenzo, It

means “ a clear case,’’ as wh en so m eon e is caught in the act w hile com m itting

a crime.

5 See section 17, note 2.

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there to talk about [with the do nor]?’ Som e day yo u ’ll be facing

the King o f Hell, Yam a1̂ -a n d he w o n ’t accept yo ur glib talk!

“My brothers, if there is one who has attained it, he passes

his days in con form ity w ith the ordinary. I f yo u have n ot yetattained it, you must at any price avoid pretending that you

have. You must not waste your time, and you need very much

to pay close attention!

“T h e old m en definitely had some w ord-cree pers2 w hich

could be o f help. F or instance [my teacher] X ue fen g said: ‘T he

w ho le w orld is noth ing b u t yo u .’ M aster Jiashan said: ‘Get hold

o f me o n the tips of the h un dre d grasses, and recogn ize the em peror in th e bustling m arketp lace.’ Master L uopu said, 'T h e m o

m en t a single grain o f dust arises, the w ho le w orld is contained in

it. O n [the tip of] a single lion ’s hair the who le bo dy o f the lion

appears/

“A nyway, try to get a firm hold [on the m eaning o f these

sayings], pon de ring them from all angles— and after days or years

an entrance will open up by itself! This matter does not allow

anyone to step in for you; it is nothing but each person’s very

ow n mission. If some old mo nks com e out into the world, it is

ju st to act as witness for you. I f you have found some entrance or

some clue, yo u sho uldn ’t lose sight o f yo urs elf If as a ma tter o f

fact you haven't attained it yet, no methods applied [by a

teacher] will be o f any use.

“ M y brothers, you w ho all in the same way w ear ou t yo ur

straw sandals on pilgrimages and turn y ou r back on teachers and

1Yamaraja. This figure has different roles in the Vedic, Brahmanic, and Bud

dhist traditions; in the last, he is the terrible K ing o f Hell, the underworld

administrator presiding over the jud gm en t o f the dead.

2 Words are in the Chan tradition often called ‘'creepers ’' because peo ple trip

over them and get caught up in them.

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parents— you absolutely must fix your eyeballs directly on this! If

you have not yet found any clue but have met an undisguised

skillful [master who goes after you] like a dog that bites a boar,

and w ho doesn ’t care abo ut his ow n life and w o n ’t shy away

from going throu gh m ud and water for you, and if he has some

thing good for chewing: then blink your eyes and raise your

eyebrows, han g you r bow l bag high [on the wall], and for ten or

twen ty years exert yourself to the utmost! D o n ’t worry abou t

not bringing your effort to completion: should it happen that

you do not yet achieve it in this lifetime, you will not fail to get

a human bod y in the next one, and then it will turn out that youhave saved labor w ith regard to this teaching. Thus you will no t

idly squander yo ur w ho le life, an d you will also no t let dow n the

patrons o f Buddhism, your teachers, and your parents.

“Y ou must be cautious! D o n ’t idle away yo ur time b um

m ing aro un d in the provinces and loitering in the districts, wan

dering thousands o f miles w ith y ou r staff across yo ur shoulders,

spending a w inter here and a sum m er there* enjoying the b eautiful m oun tains and rivers and doing w hatev er yo u feel like, being

provided w ith plenty o f donate d food and easily obta in in g

worldly possessions. W ha t a shame that is, wh at a shame! [You

kn ow the proverb:] ‘W anting to g et himself one peck o f rice he

ends up losing six m on ths ’ provision s.’ W ha t is the use o f such

pilgrimages? H ow dare you consum e the faithful alm sgiver’s

bunch o f vegetables or even a single grain o f his rice?

“Y ou must see for yourself! T he re is no body to stand in for

you, an d time does no t wait for anyone; one day [you'll be about

to pass away and] you r gaze will fall on the earth. H ow will yo u

manage from then on? You must not resemble a crab that,

dropped into ho t water, flails its legs in a frenzy! B ig words w o n ’t

help you much there, you windbags!

“ D o n ’t carelessly fritter away yo ur time. O nc e you lose

you r hum an b ody yo u w o n ’t regain one for countless eons. This

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547b24-27

547b 2 8 - r1

Is no trifling matter! D o n 't rely on anything present. I f even a

secular m an saidf ‘Should I hear abou t the W ay in the morning ,

I will die con tent in the evening’:5 ho w m uch m ore so we

monks? W ha t is the prob lem w e ough t to deal with? You must

make a great effort! Take care o f yourself!”

47

Som eone asked, “ H o w a b o u t ‘giving life’?”

“I f you had not failed som eone in you r heart, [you wo uld

not blush].”2“An d h ow about ‘taking life’?”

“ O ne must no t auction o ff a m on k’s possessions for three

days after his death.”3

“W hat if one ne ither gives nor takes life?”

M aster Yu nm en chased the questioner o ut o f the hall w ith

his staff.

48

Som eone asked, “ If one kills on e ’s father and m othe r, one can

repen t in front o f the Buddha. W here does on e repen t if one kills

the Buddha and the patriarchs?”

The Master said, “Exposed!”4

1 This qu otation is from the fourth section o f Co nfu cius’ Analects .

2 At other occasions (T47: 545 c 15 and 546b24), Yu nm en uses the full form o f this saying (here added in brackets).

3 The possessions o f a m on k w ere auctioned o ff after his death in order to cover

medical and burial expenses. As in his first reply, Yunmen appears to criticize

the monk for not being in the position to truly ask this question.

4 The same on e-w or d answer appears also iater in the Record of Yunmen (T47:

566c 14): ‘‘The Master once said, ‘What is a phrase that is in accord with under

standing?’ O n b eha lf (o f the silent audience] he replied, “E xposed!’ ”

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49

Someone asked, “Is anything amiss when one does not even

give rise to a single thought?”T he M aster replied, "[As m uch as] Mt. Su m eru.” 1

50

Som eone asked, “ W ha t is the characteristic style o f yo ur teach

ing, Master?”

“ M ay a scholar come and tell you !”

51

Someone asked, “Life-and-death is here; how am I to cope

w ith it?”

T he M aster said, “W he re is it?”

52

Hav ing entered the D harm a Hall for a formal instruction, M aster

Y un m en said:

“You monks must not think falsely; heaven is heaven,

earth is earth, mountain is mountain, river is river, monk is

monk, and layperson is layperson.”2

1 Th is is the m ythical m ountain o f gigantic proportions that is though t to form

the center o f the earth.

2 See the words o f Master Qingyuan in the Compendium of the Five Lamps (Wu-

deng huiyuan, ZZ138: 335a9 ff):

Thirty years ago, before I practiced Chan, I saw that mountains

are mountains and rivers are rivers. However, after having

achieved intimate knowledge and having gotten a way in, I saw

that mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers. But

5 47c 1-2

547e2—3

547(4-5

547c11 -15

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After a long pause he said, “Come on, try picking up that

hill for m e!”

T he n a m on k asked, “W ha t is it like wh en I see that

m ountain is m ou ntain and river is river?”

The Master said, “W hy does the triple-tnonastery gate pass

through [this hall] here?”

T he m onk continued, “ If that is so I’m no m ore deluded

now. ”

T he Master said, “ Give me back your w ords!” 1

547cl6-18 53

Ha ving entered the Dharm a Hal] for a formal instruction, Master

Yun m en said after a long silence:

“ Is the re anybody at all w ho can say it?2 Let the one who

can step forward!”

The assembly remained silent.

The Master picked up his staff and said, “ [My challenge]

before was a small tren ch full o f shit, and [the lifting o f m y stalf]

right now is a big one.”

The Master stepped do w n from his seat.

now that I have found rest, as before I see mountains as moun

tains and rivers as rivers.

’ The monk can keep his wo rds “m oun tain is mou ntain and river is river” only

when he sees the monastery gate pass through the hall.

2 With Dog en — wh o devoted chapter 39 o f his Shobogen zd to this theme—

this ability o f expression acquired overton es that were no t present in C hina.

Th ere this expression had, like many others in Chan literature, b oth a com mon

and a religiously loaded meaning. Questions like “Where are you from?” or

“H ow are you ?” and phrases such as “Take care o f you rself!” belo ng to this

category, H ere, Yu nm en d oes not just ask “C an you tell me?” but challenges

his disciples: “Are you able to express your [awakened] self?”

1 1 2


53/193


54

Someone asked, “The myriad things come to one. Now I do

no t ask ab ou t the one bu t rather: w hat are the myriad things?”Master Yunmen said, “You came in here to bandy words

and to cheat me!”

55

Someone asked Yunmen, “I did all I could and came here. Will

you accept?”

The Master said, “Nothing wrong with this question!”

T he questioner w en t on , “ Leaving aside this question: will

you accept?”

T he M aster said, “ Exam ine carefully w hat you first said!”

56

H aving entere d the D harm a Hall for a formal instruction, M asterYunmen said:

“ Tod ay I shall bring up a case [from the C ha n tradition] for

you .”

The whole assembly listened attentively. After a while a

m on k stepped forward and bowed. W he n he was abou t to ask a

question, Master Yunmen went after him with his staff, crying:

“Y ou resemble those exterminators o f Buddhism, those monk sw ho receive donated food on the long be n ch 1 [and say] ‘W liat’s

there to talk abo ut [with the d ono r]?’ Y ou bun ch o f rowdies!”

Using his staff, Master Y un m en chased them out o f the hall

at once.

1T his was a platform inside the M oiik s’ Hal] on w hich five Co ten peop le cou ld

meditate.

547cl8-19

548a2—4

548a8 -U

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Someone asked Yunmen, “Now that the whole assembly has

gathered like clouds, w hat will you talk abou t?”The Master said, “The text that follows is too loiig. Let's

postp one it to some o ther day!”

T he questioner continued, “H ow abou t leaving it at that?”

The Master said, “Trapped.”

“W here am I trapped?”

Master Yunmen said, “As soon as you’ve gorged food on

the long bench you tell fibs.”

5 4 8 a l l -1 4 5 7

548h2~22 58

Having entered the Dharma Hall, the Master said:

“Ev en if a w ord, the very instant it is bro ug ht up , puts the

thousand differences into a single groove and includes the

m inu test particles, it is still bu t an expression o f salvational teach

ing. W ha t then is a patch-ro bed m on k supposed to say? If he

discusses in here w hat the patriarchs and the B uddha meant, the

Sixth Pa triarch’s un iqu e way will be leveled. Bu t is there any one

w ho can pu t it right? If there is, come forward!”

At the time a m on k asked,1“ H ow about saying something

that transcends the buddhas and goes beyo nd the patriarchs?”

The M aster said, “ Sesame fiatcake.” 2

Th e m onk w ent on: “ W ha t’s the connection?”T he M aster said, “ Exactly! W hat’s the conn ection? !”

1T he present exchange forms case 77 o f the Blue C li ff Record (T48: 204bll) .

2 As I learned from Victor Mair, this is. a baked flatcake four to six inches in

diameter, made from wheat flour dough, baked plastered against the inner side

o f an earthen ove n, and sprinkled w ith sesame seeds. T his is one o f the most

celebrated instances in C han literature o f presenting everyday reality as the highest doctrine.

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T he Master thereupo n said, “W ithou t having und erstood

a thing, you ask abou t statements that transcend the buddhas and

patriarchs th e m om ent you hear people talk about th e in ten t o f

the patriarchal teachers. W ha t are you calling ‘bu ddh a,’ and w hat

are yo u calling ‘pa triarch ’ w he n you speak abo ut statements that

transcend the buddhas and go bey on d the patriarchs? A nd w hen

yo u ask abou t the escape from the three realms (of sensuous de

sire, form, and formlessness): bring me these three realms! Is

there [a perceptive faculty such as] seeing, hearing, feeling, or

kn ow ing to stop you? And w hat ob ject of percep tion is agree

able to you? D o yo u com e to terms with some [teaching] vessel?And what do you regard as differentiating views?1

“W ha t can the sages do w he n yo u p uff yourselves up [and

say]: ‘My whole body is nothing but truth,5and ‘All things ex

hibit the essence7? This is ou t o f yo ur reach. A nd w he n I say

to you ‘R igh t now , is anything the m atter? / I have already bur

ied you. If yo u really d o n ’t have any clue, then fo r a time go into

yourself and investigate tho roug hly o n yo ur own: W ha t, besideswearing a rob e, eating, mo ving bow els and urinating, is the m at

ter?2 W h a t’s the use o f giving rise to so many kinds o f delusive

thoughts without any reason?

“Again, the re’s a bunch o f peop le w ho casually gather in

groups, m anage to quote some sayings o f the ancients, try to

1 Professor Iriva thinks that the C hine se text o f these last few sentences m ight

be corrupt; th e translation o f this passage is tentative. H ow ev er , the teno r of

Yunmen’s words seems clear enough: he attacks his students for mentioning

things that they are unable to handle and challenges them to show him what

they are talking about.

2 Cf. Record o fU n ji , T47: 498a 16-17 :

Followers o f the W ay, the B uddhist teaching does not necessitate

any effort. Just be ordinary and w itho ut concern — defecating,

urinating, putting on clothes, eating food, and lying do w n wh en

tired.

See also the slightly different version in Sasaki’s translation, pp. 11—12.

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548b22-

548cl-

54 8c 8-

m em orize them, evaluate them with their delusive thoughts, and

say: 'I have un de rstood the Bu ddhist teaching!*The y busy them

selves with nothing but discussions and while away their days

following their whims. T hen they come to feel that this does no t

suit the ir fancy; they travel thro ug h thousands o f villages and

myriads o f hamlets and turn the ir backs o n the ir parents as Well as

their teachers. Y o u ’re acting in just this way, you bu nc h o f row

dies. W hat is this frantic pilgrimage y ou’re engaged in?”

And the Master chased them out with his staff.

59

Som eone asked Y unm en, “ [It is said that] one should not leave

ho m e [to becom e a m onk] w ithou t one's parents’ consent. H ow

would one then be able to leave home?”

The Master said, “Shallow!”

Th e qu estioner said, “I do n ot un derstand.”

The Master remarked, “Deep!”

60

Som eone asked Master Y unm en, “W hat is it like w hen all po w

ers are exhausted?”

T he M aster said, “ Bring m e the Bu ddha Hall; then I’ll dis

cuss this with you.”

T he que stioner asked, “ Isn’t that some different m atter?”

The Master shouted, “Bah! Windbag!”

61

H aving entered the D harm a Hall for a formal instruction, Master

Yunmen said:

“ It is well kn ow n that shallowness fof viitue] is the trend o f

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these times, and that this gen eration is living at the end o f the

imitation period o f B uddhism ;1 so nowadays, w hen m onks go

north, they call this ‘w orshiping M an ju sh n /2 and w he n they go

south they say they jou rn ey to N an yu e.’3 [People who] go on

such pilgrimages, thoug h styled ‘m end icant m on ks ,’ just

squander the alms o f the faithful.4 W ha t a shame! W ha t a shame!

W hen asked they tu rn ou t to be [as ignorant as] lacq ue r is black;

they just pass their days follow ing the ir whim. If there are some

o f them w ho , by learning like crazy and inform ing themselves

widely, manage to absorb some sayings and are looking every

where for similar words, they get approved as venerables and


1 Th e secon d o f three penod s o f Buddhist teaching that were distinguished in

China: 1. T he period o f the correct or real teaching (500 years after the Bu d

dha’s death); 2. T he p eriod o f the semb lance or imitative teaching (the follo w

ing 1000 years); 3. Th e period o f the end o f teaching (the follow ing 3000

years). Though Buddhist doctrine and practice do exist in the second period,

they on ly bear resemblance to the true kind; thus the result o f true practice and

basis o f true teaching , awa kening, is said to be lacking.

2 Th e bodhisattva o f W isdom, one o f the most important figures o f the Bud

dhist pantheon . Th e most famous site o f Man jushn (Ch. W en shu ?Jap. Monju)

worship in China was Mt. Wutai (Wutaishan), situated near the northeastern

border o f Shansi provinc e. Sasaki (Record o f Linji, pp. 74-75, note 89) explains:

ManjushtT Bodhisattva was believed to appear frequently on the

mou ntain to teach the D harma, and thousands o f mo nk s as w ell

as com m on people w ould make pilgrimages there to pay hom age

to him.

3 Th e N any ue (or Hengy ue) m ountain range, situated in the H eng zho u pre

fecture o f Hunan province, was famous as the place o f residence o f such cele

brated Ch an masters as N an yu e Huairang (677 —744) and Shitou Xiq ian (700—

790).

4 Master Linji chim es in (T47: 4 98c2 6-2 9; Sasaki translation, p. 16):

Th ere’s a bunch o f students wh o seek Manjushn on W u -t’ai-

shan. W ro ng from the start! Th ere's no M anjushn on Wu -t*ai-

shan. D o you w ant to

Master Yunmen

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