Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (132 page)

Yangqi asked a monk who had just arrived, “The fog is thick and the road is obscured, so how did you get here?”

The monk said, “The sky does not have four walls.”

Yangqi said, “How many straw sandals did you wear out coming here?”

The monk shouted.

Yangqi said, “One shout. Two shouts. After that, then what?”

The monk said, “I meet you, Master, but you’re quite busy.”

Yangqi said, “I don’t have my staff. Sit and have some tea.”

When another monk arrived, Yangqi said to him, “The leaves fall and the clouds gather. Where did you come from today?”

The monk said, “From Kwan Yin.”
¹⁹¹

Yangqi asked, “How would you say one word from beneath Kwan Yin’s heels?”

The monk said, “I’ve just arrived to see you.”

Yangqi said, “What is it that you’ve seen?”

The monk didn’t answer.

Yangqi said to a second monk who had also come, “You! Can you say something for this practitioner?”

The second monk didn’t answer.

Yangqi said, “Here are a couple of dumb horses.”

Yangqi left thirteen Dharma heirs.

CUIYAN KEZHEN

CUIYAN KEZHEN (d. 1064) was a disciple of Shishuang Chuyuan of the Linji lineage. He came from the ancient city of Changxi in Fuzhou. By some accounts he gained enlightenment when his teacher Shishuang, while lecturing, suddenly pointed at and tapped on Cuiyan’s chest. Cuiyan then gained the moniker “Truth Tap Chest.” He later resided in Hongzhou, as well as on Mt. Dao Wu in Tanzhou. The following account is provided in the
Wudeng Huiyuan
.

Zen master Cuiyan Kezhen was from Fuzhou. He studied under Ziming [Shishuang Chuyuan], and because of this spent a summer with Jinlong and attendant Shan. Shan was Ziming’s highest ranking student, followed by Daowu Zhen and Yangqi Fanghui.
¹⁹²
Cuiyan wished to see [attain the level of] Shishuang. Shan laughed at him, saying that in the entire world there was no one who could do so. Shan then questioned Cuiyan and determined that he had not yet penetrated the truth.

As they traveled together on a summer pilgrimage, Shan verbally challenged Cuiyan. Shan picked up a tile, set it on a rock and said, “If you can provide a turning phrase for this, I’ll concede that you’ve seen Ziming.” Cuiyan glanced around and started to respond. Shan instantly derided him, saying “Halting the thoughts, stopping the function! Feeling and perception won’t penetrate it; what are you dreaming?” Cuiyan was deeply intimidated. They then returned to Shishuang. Ziming saw them coming and called out, “Anyone on pilgrimage must make good use of his time! What’s the matter? The summer isn’t over yet, so why have you already come back here?”

Cuiyan said, “My mind has been poisoned by elder brother Shan. He hinders people. It’s for this reason I’ve come to see you, Master.”

Shishuang suddenly asked him, “What is the ultimate meaning of our school?”

Cuiyan said, “No clouds upon the peaks, the moon sheds waves of mind.”

Shishuang looked at him angrily and yelled, “Gray-haired and clever, yet you still have this sort of understanding! When will you cast off life and death?”

Cuiyan was embarrassed and appealed to Ziming for instruction.

Shishuang said, “You ask me.”

Cuiyan then asked Shishuang the question that the teacher had asked him moments before. Shishuang shouted at him, saying, “No clouds upon the peaks, the moon sheds waves of mind!”

At these words Cuiyan experienced great enlightenment.

Later, when he resided as abbot on Cui Bluff, a monk asked him, “What is Buddha?”

Cuiyan said, “The same earthen dam, no different dirt.”

A monk asked, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the west?”

Cuiyan said, “Plow deeply, plant seeds shallow.”

The monk asked, “What is the place where the student’s body turns?”

Cuiyan said, “A single wall, a hundred walls.”

The monk asked, “What is the place where the student is empowered?”

Cuiyan said, “A thousand days chopping wood, but burning it all in a single day.”

A monk asked, “What is the Way?”

Cuiyan said, “Go out the door and look.”

The monk said, “What is a person of the Way?”

Cuiyan said, “A manacled prisoner is accused.”

Cuiyan, addressing the congregation, quoted a passage by Zen master Longya, saying, “‘Studying the Way is like making fire with a drill. You can’t stop when you see smoke. You must keep at it until there are flames. Then you’ve reached your goal.’”

Cuiyan then quoted Zen master Shending, who said, “Studying the Way is easier than drilling for fire, for as soon as you see smoke you can quit. Before the flames arise it has already burned you from head to foot.”

Then Zen master Cuiyan said, “From the ‘sudden enlightenment’ point of view, Longya’s statement stops halfway. From the ‘gradual enlightenment’ point of view, Shending’s statement still lacks realization. How would you deal with this question?

“Monks! This year many leaves have fallen. How many of them can you sweep up?”