第十四則睦州在我
Case 14: Muzhou Says "With Me"
舉睦州示眾云。(有蒲鞋覓一緉)裂開也在我。揑聚也在我。(鼻孔却在萬松手裏)僧問。如何是裂開。(撩撥巨靈神)州云。三九二十七。菩提涅槃。真如解脫。即心即佛。我且恁麼道。汝又作麼生。(祇這箇更別有)僧云。某甲不與麼。(支解了也不識痛痒)州云。盞子落地。楪子成八片。(和尚不如胡釘〔較〕)僧云。如何是揑聚。(險忘了話頭)州斂手而坐。(龜毛索子。衲僧冤害)天童拈云。睦州用處。直是長三短五。七縱八橫。(醉漢口。沒量斗)撒在面前。拋在腦後。(三家村裏祇我大)不妨奇特。(得恁麼眼皮薄)然則門庭施設。自是一家。(夾山處索強)入理深談。不啻百步(石霜處納敗)。
Master Muzhou addressed the assembly, saying, "I have a pair of straw sandals to offer." "It's all up to me whether to spread them apart or squeeze them together." A monk asked, "What is 'spreading apart'?" Muzhou said, "Three times nine is twenty-seven. Bodhi, nirvana, true thusness, liberation, mind is Buddha—I just say it like this. What about you?" The monk said, "I don't go along with that." Muzhou said, "The cup falls to the ground, and the plate shatters into eight pieces." The monk asked, "What is 'squeezing together'?" Muzhou sat with his hands folded.
Tiantong commented: "Muzhou's way of teaching is truly unpredictable—sometimes long, sometimes short; seven in one direction, eight in another. He throws it right in front of you, then tosses it behind your back. Remarkable! Still, his style of guiding students is his own unique approach. But when it comes to deep discussion of principle, it's not even a hundred steps away."
師云。睦州陳尊宿。指教臨濟參黃蘗。接得雲門嗣雪峰。諸方皆推為尊宿。製蒲屨養親。又號陳蒲鞋。佛果讚云。辛辛辣辣。喍喍啀啀。穿臨濟為大樹。推雲門墮險崕。言如枯柴。理不可階。是之為陣蒲鞋。陳操同宗。親炙供養。諸方避諱。久忘其名。萬松偶閱古錄。乃諱道明。因出於此。學者應知。一日示眾云。裂開也在我。揑聚也在我。諸方道。把定真金失色。放行瓦礫生光。謂之有擒有縱。能殺能活。洞上宗風。斥為話作兩橛。決針斷線。不見道。恁麼相續也大難。直須當存而正泯。在卷而亦舒。鈎鎖連環。謂之血脉不斷。然後雙遮雙照。更有遮照同時。遮照不立。直得帝網交羅重重無盡。始是圓頓一乘。於衲僧門下。天地懸殊。更買草鞋行脚。如常啼東請。善財南參。尚云。道曠無涯。逢人不盡。雪竇道。偷得隣家些子光。用作千燈擬流布。阿呵呵。地久天長爭奈何。僧問睦州。如何是放一線道。州云。量才補聀。僧云。如何是不放一線道。州云。伏惟尚饗。裂開便提起一落索。揑聚便斂手而坐。雖然收放自如。大似被他使喚。故天童道。睦州用處。不妨奇特。然則門庭施設。自是一家。萬松參勝默師伯。舉潭柘開山答話道。我是侯家兒。或云。掛塔。這僧在露柱裏者。此話大行。和尚以為如何。勝默道。高臺上坐。拾下半筐甎瓦。來底抧。(仄蟹切)與一箇。有甚難。僧問雲門。樹凋葉落時如何。門云。體露金風。不唯投機。更與他出眼。應時納祜。血脉不斷。所以雲門大師。僧中王也。潭柘睦州。門庭施設。自是一家。勝默雲門。入理深談。不啻百步。不見夾山道。門庭施設。不如老僧。入理深談。猶較石霜百步。天童於石霜公案後。舉睦州家風。厥有旨哉。
The Master said: "Venerable Chen of Muzhou, who was known as Zunsu, directed Linji to study under Huangbo. He received Yunmen and passed the Dharma to Xuefeng. Dharma masters everywhere revered him as a senior. He wove hemp sandals to support his mother, earning him the nickname 'Chen Hemp Sandals.' Buddha-Fruit (Foguo) praised him: 'Sharp and pungent, fierce and bold, he bent Linji into a great tree and pushed Yunmen off a dangerous cliff. His words were like dry kindling; his principles beyond all steps. This is what we call Chen Hemp Sandals.'
Chen Cao shared the same lineage, personally served and supported him. Others avoided his name, forgetting it over time. Wan Song (Wansong) once read an old record and discovered his name was Daoming. I bring this up here so that students may know.
One day, the Master addressed the assembly: 'Cracking open is up to me. Gathering together is also up to me.' Masters elsewhere would say: 'When held firm, true gold loses its luster; when released, even tiles and stones shine.' This is called having both capture and release, being able to kill and to give life. But the Dongshan school rebuked this as speaking in two fragments that cut the thread. Don’t they say: 'Continuing like this is indeed hard. One should remain present yet completely still; stay rolled up yet also spread out.' This is like linking hooks—forming an unbroken chain, which is called the never-ending lineage of blood. Then, after both concealing and revealing, there is still concealing and revealing simultaneously, and finally not even abiding in concealing or revealing. Only when you reach the jewel-net of Indra, woven with infinite reflections, does one realIze the perfect and sudden One Vehicle. Yet from the perspective of a true renunciant, there is as vast a difference as between heaven and earth. One must buy more straw sandals and keep traveling, like the Ancient Weeper who sought teachings in the East, or Sudhana who studied in the South. Still, it is said: 'The path is vast and has no end; you will never meet everyone you should.'
Xuedou said: 'Stealing a little light from a neighbor, I tried to use it as a thousand lamps to spread the teaching. Ah, ha, ha! As long as heaven and earth endure, what can one do?'
A monk asked Muzhou, 'What does it mean to release a strand?' Muzhou replied, 'Measure the talent and assign the job.' The monk asked, 'What does it mean not to release a strand?' Muzhou said, 'We respectfully bid you farewell.'
When cracking open, one promptly brings up a bundle. When gathering together, one folds hands and sits. Although one has free control over gathering and releasing, this still resembles being pushed around by others. Thus, Tiantong said, 'The way Muzhou uses things is indeed extraordinary.' Still, the style of teaching gateways each has its own school.
Wan Song once visited Master Shengmo, who raised a saying from the founder of Tanzhe Temple: 'I am a son of a noble family.' Or sometimes: 'Hang up a banner.' 'This monk is inside a pillar.' This saying was widely circulated. I asked: 'What does the Master think?' Shengmo said, 'Sitting on a high seat, picking up half a basket of broken tiles, handing one to whoever comes, that's easy enough?' A monk asked Yunmen, 'What about when the trees are bare and the leaves have fallen?' Yunmen answered: 'The body is exposed in the golden wind.' Not only does this respond to the situation, it also gives the monk a clear eye. He responds in the moment, bestowing blessings, and the bloodline of the teaching continues without break. That is why Master Yunmen is known as the King of Monks.
Tanzhe and Muzhou each have their own style of gate-teaching. Shengmo and Yunmen have deep discussions of principle—the difference between them is far more than a hundred steps. Have you not heard Jianshan say: 'In gate teachings, others cannot compare to me, the old monk. But in deep discussions of principle, I still fall a hundred steps behind Shishuang.' After presenting Shishuang's case record, Tiantong brought up Muzhou's style. There is deep meaning in this."