第四則 船子夾山(舟楫)
Case 4: Boatman and Jiashan(Boat and Oar)
示眾云。有時恁麼。羚羊挂角月沉西。有時不恁麼。木馬遊春駿不覉。用行舍藏自由自在。知是何人。
He addressed the assembly, saying:
At times it is like this— like an antelope hanging by its horns, the moon sinks in the west.
At times it is not like this— like a wooden horse roaming in spring, the spirited steed cannot be reined in.
Act when it is time to act, withdraw when it is time to withdraw— free and at ease, master of oneself.
Who, I wonder, is the one who knows this?
舉舡子誠禪師囑夾山云。直須藏身處沒蹤跡(唆猫入枯井)。沒蹤跡處莫藏身(切忌瓮生根)。吾三十年在藥山只明斯事(將謂忘却)。
Master Cheng of Juchuan instructed Jiashan, saying: "You must hide where no trace can be found(like coaxing a cat into a dry well). But where no trace is found, do not hide(be careful not to let the jar take root). For thirty years at Yaoshan, I understood only this matter(thinking I had forgotten)."
師云。秀州華亭舡子德誠禪師。自傳藥山之道。唯好山水自適其意。故泛舟於華亭江上。因得此名。一日泊舡岸邊閑坐。有官人問。如何是和尚日用事。師竪起橈子曰會麼。云不會。曰棹撥清波金鱗罕遇。復有頌曰。有一魚兮偉莫裁。混融包納信奇哉。能變化。吐風雷。下線何曾釣得來。別人只看採芙。蓉香氣長黏遶指風。兩岸暎。一舡紅。何曾解染得虗空。問我生涯只是舡。子孫各自賭機緣。不由地。不由天。除却蓑衣無可傳。與夾山相見機語。投子頌古中已載。茲不復云。相別之際遂囑曰。汝向去直須藏身處沒蹤跡。沒蹤跡處莫藏身。可謂是未到無心須要到。既到無心無也休。端的若是脫洒衲僧。出住自知時節。孔子謂顏淵曰。用之則行舍之則藏。唯我與爾有是夫。此之用舍行藏與吾衲僧何啻天淵。本欲要伊於一切時中外不隨應內不居空。這邊那畔無可不可。故云吾三十年在藥山只明斯事。是知依法作法要常念茲在茲。一片老婆心。千古為龜鑑。且道兼帶一句。合作麼生道。試看丹霞為伊頌出。頌曰。
The master said: The Chan master De Cheng, known as the Boatman of Huating in Xiuzhou, carried on the teaching of Yaoshan. He loved only the mountains and waters, finding contentment in their simplicity. Thus he drifted in a boat upon the Huating River, from which he got his name.
One day, he moored his boat by the shore and sat at leisure. An official asked him, "What is the master's daily activity?"
The master raised his oar and said, "Do you understand?"
The official replied, "I do not."
The master said, "Paddling through clear waves, a golden scale is rarely met."
He then offered a verse:
There is a fish—vast, beyond measure, Merging and containing, truly wondrous. It can transform, breathe wind and thunder; How could a baited hook ever draw it in?
Others only see the lotus being gathered, Its fragrance lingering on the wind‑caressed fingers. Both banks reflected, one boat red— When has it ever managed to dye the empty sky?
Ask of my livelihood—it’s just this boat. Descendants each wager their own opportunity. Not relying on earth, not relying on heaven, Apart from this rain‑cloak, there is nothing to transmit.
His encounter and dialogue with Jiashan are already recorded in the *Touzi’s Verses on Old Cases*; we will not repeat them here. At the moment of parting, he instructed Jiashan, saying, "From now on, you must hide where there are no traces; where there are no traces, do not hide."
It can be said: Before reaching no‑mind, one must arrive; once arrived at no‑mind, even ‘no’ is relinquished.
If you are truly a free‑roaming monk, you will know the proper time to emerge and dwell.
Confucius said to Yan Yuan, "When employed, act; when set aside, hide. Only you and I have this capacity." Yet this "employing and setting aside, acting and hiding"—how can it compare, even to the distance between heaven and abyss, with our monks?
What is intended is that in all circumstances, outwardly you do not follow conditions, inwardly you do not dwell in emptiness. On this side or that side, there is no ‘can’ or ‘cannot.’ Therefore it is said, "For thirty years at Yaoshan, I only clarified this matter."
Thus we know: in accordance with the Dharma, practicing the Dharma, one must always bear this in mind, dwell in it. A heart of earnest compassion becomes a mirror for a thousand ages.
Now, how would you phrase the statement that carries both? Let us see how Danxia expressed it for him in a verse. The verse says:
白雲檻外思悠哉(無心能出岫。有意伴孤鶴)。密密金刀剪不開(渾侖無縫罅)。幽洞不拘關鎻意(去住自由)。縱橫無繫去還來(跋涉不易)。
White clouds beyond the railing, thoughts drift far and wide(Without intention, they emerge from the mountain; with purpose, they accompany the solitary crane). Densely woven, even a golden blade cannot cut them apart(Seamless and without gaps). The deep cave does not constrain the mind's freedom(Coming and going at will). Unbound and unrestrained, they come and go as they please(Yet the journey is not easy).
師云。體空成事。任妄念而漂沉。不變隨緣。守真心而寂滅。不有妙覺其孰能達斯理乎。況此白雲搖曳碧落清明。檻外嵓前天涯海角。無心而出。應緣舒卷而濟物無私。有感必通知時休沐而潤澤有淮。隨風浩蕩映日飄颻。若垂天之翼悠悠漾漾者哉。猶事理之相兼。真俗之通貫。體用之雙彰。境智之相半。綿綿密密雄雄堂堂。所以金刀剪不開也。既幽洞不拘關鎻。想縱橫必使優遊。此寔近取諸身遠取諸物。以喻本分事之不本分也。其或於此未明。獨鶴有時常伴水。好雲無事不離山。
The master said: "When essence is empty, it accomplishes things—letting deluded thoughts drift and sink. Unchanging, yet following conditions—guarding the true mind in stillness and cessation. Without wondrous awakening, who could reach this principle? Moreover, this white cloud sways in the clear blue sky. Beyond the railings, before the cliffs, to the ends of the earth and sea. It emerges without intent, responding to conditions—stretching and rolling to benefit all without bias. Wherever there is a response, it surely knows—resting and bathing in season, moistening with grace. Following the wind, vast and boundless; reflecting the sun, drifting and fluttering. Like wings hanging from the heavens, serene and billowing. It is as if principle and phenomena are united, the absolute and the conventional interpenetrate, essence and function both manifest, object and wisdom share equally. Continuous and dense, majestic and grand—thus, even a golden blade cannot cut it apart. Since the deep cave is not bound by locks, thoughts roam freely, allowing ease and leisure. This truly takes from near—the body, and from far—all things, to illustrate the fundamental matter that is not fundamental. If one does not yet understand this: The solitary crane sometimes accompanies the water; the fine cloud, with nothing to do, never leaves the mountain."