Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (129 page)

Eighteenth Generation

HUANGLONG HUINAN

HUANGLONG HUINAN (1002–69) was a disciple of Shishuang Chuyuan. He came from Xinzhou (located east of the modern city of Nanchang in Jiangxi Province). He founded the Huanglong branch of Linji Zen, whose successive generations of teachers resided on Mt. Huanglong for more than 150 years until the line died out.
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Despite the relatively short existence of the school, its influence on Chinese society was widespread. The Japanese monk Myōan Esai, who is often regarded as the founder of Zen in Japan, studied with this school while visiting China.

According to the
Wudeng Huiyuan
, Huanglong first studied under a Zen master named Letan Chenggong, a teacher of the Yunmen school.

Huanglong was traveling with Zen master Yunfeng Yue. One night they were talking about Yunmen’s Dharma and Yunfeng said, “Although Chenggong came after Yunmen, his Dharma is different.”

Huanglong asked, “What’s different about it?”

Yunfeng said, “Yunmen’s Dharma is like making cinnabar with nine turns of the grinder, or touching iron and turning it to gold. But Chenggong’s medicine is old hat to the disciples, and if you stick it in the forge it melts away.”

Huanglong grew angry and threw a cushion at Yunfeng.

The next day Yunfeng apologized and said, “Yunmen’s bearing is like that of a king. Are you willing to die beneath his words? Chenggong also imparts a Dharma to people. Death words. But these death words, can they also give people life?”

Yunfeng then turned to leave, but Huanglong pulled him back, saying, “If that’s so, then what teacher now lives up to your meaning?”

Yunfeng said, “Shishuang Chuyuan’s methods are known everywhere and all the disciples can see that he’s unsurpassed.” Huanglong thought to himself, “Master Yue is a student of [Dayu Zhi], but he’s sending me to see Shishuang. How can this be?”

Huanglong then went to seek out Shishuang. While on the way he heard that Shishuang was not taking students, so he went instead to Mt. Heng, where he visited the teacher Fuyan Xian. Fuyan gave Huanglong the job of temple secretary. Shortly thereafter Fuyan died, and the governor appointed Shishuang to replace him.

When Shishuang arrived, he disparaged everything at the temple, ridiculing everything he saw as wrong. Huanglong was deeply disappointed with Shishuang’s manner.

When Huanglong visited Shishuang in his abbot’s room, Shishuang said, “Chenggong studied Yunmen’s Zen, so he must surpass Yunmen’s teaching. When Yunmen spared Dongshan Shouchu three blows with the staff, did Dongshan suffer the blows or not?”

Huanglong said, “He suffered the blows.”

Shishuang said fiercely, “From morning till night the magpies cry and the crows caw, all of them in response to the blows they’ve suffered.”

Shishuang then sat in a cross-legged position, and Huanglong lit incense and bowed to him.

Shishuang later asked, “Zhaozhou said, ‘The old lady of Mt. Tai—I’ll go check her out for you.’ But where was the place he checked her out?”

Huanglong sweated profusely but he couldn’t answer.

The next day, Huanglong went to Shishuang’s room again. Shishuang berated him unceasingly. Huanglong said, “Is cursing a compassionate way of carrying out the teaching?”

Shishuang yelled, “Try cursing and see!”

At these words Huanglong experienced a great awakening. He then wrote the following verse:

The eminent adept Zhaozhou
Had his reasons for checking out the old lady.
Now the four seas are like a mirror,
And a pilgrim no longer hates the road.

The
Yuxuan Yulu
, a Zen text dating from the Qing dynasty period (1644–1908), offers the following story involving Huanglong Huinan:

A monk was standing and waiting to speak with Huanglong in an interview.
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Huanglong observed him for a long while, and then said, “There are a million samadhis and limitless gates [by which to enter the Way]. If I tell you something will you believe it?”

The monk said, “The master is sincere. How dare I not believe it?”

Huanglong pointed to his left and said, “Come over here.”

The monk then moved to that spot.

Huanglong cried out, “You’re following sound and chasing form!”

When the monk’s time was up he went out. Later, a different monk entered who knew what had transpired in the previous meeting.

Huanglong asked the monk the same question he had asked the previous monk. The monk responded by saying, “I dare not believe you.”

Huanglong again pointed to his left and said, “Come over here.”

The monk stood fast and didn’t move.

Huanglong cried out, “You come to confide in me and yet you don’t obey me! Get out!”

The following passages are from
The Record of [Huanglong] Huinan:

Huanglong entered the hall and addressed the monks, saying, “The dharmakaya is formless, but is revealed in things. Prajna wisdom is without knowledge, but it shines in conditional existence.”

Huanglong then lifted his whisk and said, “When I lift up the whisk, it is called the dharmakaya. But here it is not revealed in a thing. When I bring the whisk down, it is called prajna wisdom. But here it does not shine in conditional existence.”

Huanglong then laughed out loud and said, “If somebody came up here and grabbed me, spit on me, gave me a slap, knocked over the meditation bench and dragged me down to the floor, then I really couldn’t blame them!

“Saying these things is like gnawing on the feet of pigs and dogs. What a state I’ve fallen to!”

Huanglong addressed the monks, saying, “Before I came up here to speak there was nothing in my mind. But now that I’ve come up here there are a lot of questions. I dare to ask you whether the great vehicle of our school is found in such questions and answers. If it were to be found in such speech, then doesn’t the scriptural canon have questions and answers? Yet it is said that [the way of Zen] is transmitted outside of the scriptural teachings. It is transmitted to individuals who are great Dharma vessels. If it can’t be found in words, then even if you ask all sorts of excellent questions, what, after all, is the point of doing so? People on pilgrimages should open their eyes. Don’t do something you’ll regret later.

“If you want to talk about it, then you can say that it can’t be realized through mystical perception or self-perfection. Nor may it be said to be a result of some all-encompassing understanding. The buddhas of the three worlds have only said you must know yourself. In the entire canon of scripture this can’t be explained. In the ancient meeting at Vulture Peak, a vast multitude assembled there, but it was only Mahakashyapa who understood.

“The Fifth Ancestor, Huangmei, had an assembly of seven hundred monks, but he passed the robe and bowl of transmission only to the pilgrim Lu [Huineng].

“How about the likes of you gathered here who are still clinging to delusive greed and ignorance? Can you overcome these things and carry forth our school? Those who leave home must have heroic resolve, cut off the two heads, and practice in seclusion in the house of the self. Afterward they must throw open the door, get rid of the possessions of that self, and then receive and meet whatever comes, giving aid to any in need. In this way the deep compassion of Buddha can be in some small measure repaid. Aside from acting in this manner, there is nothing else.”

Huanglong then struck the meditation platform with his whisk and left the hall.