Recorded Sayings of Bo Mountain

The Master resided at Mount Bo for many years without ever giving formal lectures. Later, as Chan practitioners gathered and the fourfold assembly requested teachings, he ascended the seat, took up incense, and said:

"This first stick of incense has branches adorned by the golden treasury of clouds, roots nourished by the ocean of fragrant waters. Dragon towers welcome auspicious signs as purple vapors soar; treasure halls are veiled in incense smoke as auspicious clouds spread everywhere. I offer it in the burner, sincerely praying that our current Emperor's sacred life may last ten thousand years, that the Empress may share in his longevity, that the Crown Prince may flourish for a thousand autumns—may their foundations of merit be as magnificent as the Avatamsaka Realm, may their years be as boundless as Vairocana. Furthermore, I pray that donors may extend their blessings and the ocean-like assembly may dwell in peace and harmony.

"This second stick of incense is pure and bright as the sun and moon, vast as heaven and earth. It awakens the nature of emptiness, with no Buddha and no birth. It perfumes all things, establishing causes and their results. I offer it in the burner, especially to my original teacher, the Great Master Wuming from Shouchang Hall, to repay the kindness of the Dharma-milk he gave me."

Adjusting his robes, he took his seat. After the sounding of the gavel, the Master said:

"Buddha does not seek Buddha; mind does not transmit mind. This is like water flowing into water, or gold being forged with gold. If you understand this, 'everything is enfolded right before your eyes—mountain vast, apes cry long.' If you do not understand, still 'everything is enfolded right before your eyes—forest sparse, birds unstartled.' Whether you understand or not, 'everything is enfolded right before your eyes.' The unconditioned teaching of formless verses—even 'this enfolding' must itself be enfolded. The acrobat plays a stringless lute.

"My fellow cultivators! If you penetrate this truth, you can use Mount Sumeru as the four great oceans—white waves surging to the sky. Use the four great oceans as Mount Sumeru—red dust covering the earth. Cook the marrow of empty space and the flavor is ever fresh; light a lamp at the bottom of water and its brightness shines eternally. Here, no rope is needed to bind. Within this, what use is a golden needle? Therefore it is said: 'The path pointing south—the wise see its openness; the one vehicle pointing upward—a stone man claps his hands.' Open Maitreya's tower and you find vows and practices layered upon one another. Step onto the crown of Vairocana's head and a subtle light radiates brilliantly.

Arriving here, every step penetrates the mysterious. Wisdom cannot know it; consciousness cannot recognize it. My fellow cultivators! This is the scene of your true homeland. If you are willing to follow the road and return home, you can turn around and go back to your Father. Are you willing?

'If you do not go home, there is nothing to return to. Once you return, it's yours. Among the misty scenes of the five lakes, who can compete with you?'"

The Master ascended the hall.

"Pour out the mountain torrents, overturn the peaks—the entire earth is wholly gathered in. Sweep away the dust, scatter the ashes—not a single speck remains. 'Wholly gathered' means all-encompassing and vast; you must know the rooster crows at noon. 'Not a single speck' means serene, empty, and clear; who can understand the dog barking in the dusty world?

Buddha comes—I strike. Demon comes—I strike. What does it matter if they come by boat or by land? Hungry—one meal. Full—one meal. And it's a joy that the firewood is dry and the water is at hand.

No trace, don't hide the body—with bare hands, meeting someone, just beg for a single coin. Hiding place, no trace—with two furrowed brows, encountering the Buddha, worthy of three bows.

I was at Yaoshan for over twenty years before clarifying this matter. Words from a close one, spoken by a close mouth—don't let outsiders hear. Where all of you hide, Boshan knows completely. Where Boshan hides, all of you do not know.

Brothers! Today, at this Dharma feast, I cannot avoid presenting it face to face. If you go to other places, when you meet people, do not mistakenly bring it up. Take care."

The master ascended the hall and said:

"Winter is not cold—wait until after the year-end sacrifice to see. The old farmer does not love the snow; the young child cries, his clothes too thin. Only in East Village is there one untidy fellow, hair disheveled, face unwashed, empty-handed and bare-fisted. Cold—he does not fear the cold; heat—he does not fear the heat. In the deepest cold, he sings a song of snow; in the sharpest hunger, he plays the role of a rice seller. Without a single coin, he wants to compete in wealth with all under heaven; without a trace of beauty, he wants to vie in charm with all people on earth. Sometimes at the crossroads, he rides an iron horse backward; sometimes on the Western Ocean, he climbs Mount Sumeru against the current; sometimes in raging flames, he chews ice and gnaws snow; sometimes amid the dust of the mundane world, he picks herbs and trims the lamp. Sometimes he points east and speaks of west; sometimes he calls south north. He takes the three vehicles as a moat to build his gate and walls; he points to the bodhisattvas of the ten stages and calls them his family.

Brothers! Should such a person be kept as a companion or not?"

Then he laughed and said, "He has already been taken in by Boshan."

The master ascended the hall and said: "The ultimate truth does not change, the ultimate achievement does not dominate, the ultimate way has no form, and the ultimate understanding cannot be explained. If you are in harmony with these four statements, you will become a free and easy monk—your eyes untainted by colors, your feet unstained by mud, your mind unattached to phenomena, your tongue untouched by profound doctrines. At this point, your awareness becomes perfectly responsive, your insight all-encompassing; your pure essence rests on nothing, your luminous mind stands beyond comparison.

Thus, Master Xuansha said: 'The cage will not hold it, calls will not turn it back. The ancient sages did not arrange it, and to this day it has no fixed abode.'

Brothers in practice! Nowadays, many who practice Zen do not believe that their own mind is Buddha, so they seek Buddha outside. They do not believe that their own mind is fully endowed with all dharmas, so they seek dharmas outside. Since they are confused about their own mind, even if they engage in great endeavors, it is all just karma of birth and death.

Moreover, you should understand: seeking Buddha and seeking dharmas means relying on something external. Once there is reliance, your own mind cannot be free. It is like a poor child, lonely and suffering, begging for food to survive, while forgetting the priceless jewel sewn in his own robe—is this the way of a wise person?

Master Jiashan wrote in a verse: 'Toiling to grasp the dharma of life and death, Only seeking it from the Buddha’s side. Blind to the true principle right before your eyes, You stir the fire searching for bubbles on water.'

Nothing further. You have been standing long. Take care.

Birthday Lecture at the Hall:

"Originally absent, now present—we laugh at the wild flowers in the mirror. Originally present, now absent—we stir the still water before the cliff. A patch of white clouds spreads everywhere; many flowers and birds lose their way. Crushing the void, being forged in a furnace, Buddhas and Patriarchs raise their precious swords, while a straw sandal saves a kitten. Returning to this one bag of skin, you gain the bright moon on the Five Lakes. Thus the Greatly Enlightened World-Honored One abandoned his royal palace, entered the Snow Mountains, saw the bright star, and opened the eye of the Way. For three times seven days he reflected on this matter, then revealed the provisional to disclose the real, teaching the Three Vehicles. Finally, holding up a flower before the assembly, he said: 'There is a separate transmission outside the teachings.' Looking back, it is all like a dream.

I, Boshan, am born among commoners, with no royal palace to abandon. I wander and teach in the Eastern Lands, with no Snow Mountains to enter. The great earth is dark, with no bright star to see. I cannot tell master from servant, with no eye of the Way to open. Yet although high and low are different, the essential point is the same. I have been pitiable since childhood. Before twenty, I established a family and career. After twenty, I scattered the family wealth. Before thirty, in the northern continent of Uttarakuru, I untied the armor of the Three Mysteries. After thirty, in the southern continent of Jambudvipa, I shattered the flags and spears of the Five Ranks. Before forty, if you wanted to leave, I had a hook to hook you—but Boshan does not hook you; go wherever you wish, a thousand or ten thousand miles. After forty, if you want to stay, I have an awl to pierce you—but Boshan does not pierce you; stay even inside a mosquito's eye. Now it is my fortieth birthday, and both hook and awl have ceased. Boshan is not here.

There is an ancient foundation belonging to Boshan. Since National Teacher Tiantai Shao opened it over a thousand years ago, and Master Yunfeng Xindao continued it for several decades, today's teaching here—is it 'originally present, now absent'? Before you all, there is no telling dreams. Is it 'originally absent, now present'? Before you all, there is no telling dreams. When you see through the dream state, what then? Before you all, there is no telling dreams. Why? Within it, seek birth—no birth can be found. Seek cessation—no cessation can be found. With a foundation, 'have' cannot be found. Without a foundation, 'lack' cannot be found. So what can be taken as a lifespan? Taking the bodies of all Buddhas and all beings as lifespan, saints and ordinary people cannot increase or decrease it. Taking past and future eons as lifespan, sun and moon cannot shift it. Taking the Marvelous Summit and the Sāgara Sea as lifespan, wetness and dryness cannot damage it. Taking all of space and the entire Dharma Realm as lifespan, heaven and earth cannot conceal it. Yet even so, why is today called 'forty years old'?"

After a long pause, he said: "Mist and clouds unfurl before Perching Phoenix Peak; Below Ox-Taming Mountain, it is passed down through past and present."

(Entering the Hall.)

Master Shenzang said: "Knowledge without knowing is not ignorance masquerading as knowledge."

Master Liangsu said: "What Liangsu knows, others do not know; what others know, Liangsu knows completely."

Master Heze said: "The single word 'knowing' is the gateway to all wonders."

Master Gaofeng said: "The single word 'knowing' is the gateway to all disasters."

These great elders each had their unique perspective, singing and knocking while guiding others. Today, I, Boshan, sparing no effort, will explain this thoroughly from beginning to end, simply to inform you all:

"'Knowledge without knowing'—your core intention aligns with this. 'Not ignorance masquerading as knowledge'—like flames singeing your eyebrows, save half of them. 'What Liangsu knows, others do not know'—this is like forcing a good person into slavery. 'What others know, Liangsu knows completely'—do not associate with an old man who knows too much. 'The single word 'knowing' is the gateway to all wonders'—even holding hands, you cannot lead them in. 'The single word 'knowing' is the gateway to all disasters'—yet at every step, the word 'knowing' is not inherently bad."

Dear fellow practitioners! With this explanation of mine, do you fully grasp my intent? Even so, I would never say: "Not-knowing-yet-knowing is true knowing; knowing that one knows is knowing; not knowing is not knowing."

Dear practitioners! Is there anyone here who does not build their practice around the concept of 'knowing,' someone truly exceptional and outstanding? You should understand: the sound of water chimes and pine winds can convey a pure heart; a golden-scaled fish with a red tail will never fall into a fisherman's hands.

Now tell me: Is this approach the same as the ancient masters' or different from theirs?

(After a pause, he continued:) "East, west, south, north—one hundred eight thousand [miles]."

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Master ascended the hall. The Rector struck the sounding block and announced: "In this Dharma assembly, assembled like dragons and elephants, you should contemplate the ultimate truth." The Master said: "How does one contemplate the ultimate truth? If you try to look at it, your eyes go blind. If you try to smell it, your head splits apart. Take a step—and there’s no trace. Move a thought—and it’s beyond birth and death. The eye sees forms, the ear hears sounds—these are the mind; It cuts off all logical paths, breaks through past and present. All sages and saints share the same destination but travel different roads. Mountain Zhongfeng’s lute at the water’s bottom, Master Mazu’s moon in the sky, Master Touzi’s oil in his hand, Master Zhaozhou’s cypress in the courtyard, Mount Boshan has nothing to show— The plum blossoms reveal it on their branches. They spit out green and contain fragrance, Condensing cold, defying frost and snow, Their pure fragrance fills the ten directions. Touch them—your whole body bleeds. Beat your chest and cry out to Heaven. The floating cup, old, becomes tongue-tied. "All of you, fellow practitioners! Back then, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Sakyamuni shook the entire sky to pieces, breaking it into seven flowers and eight shreds. Throughout the entire great earth, not a single person could understand it. That’s why the Jeweled Monastery said: 'If you were not the Mad Old Woman of the Ridge, how could you untie the Heart-Knot?'"

The Master addressed the assembly:

"In delusion, we cling to enlightenment; in enlightenment, we cling to delusion. From the beginning, delusion and enlightenment have seemed like two sides of the same confusion. Today, enlightenment in delusion is not-enlightenment. Cut off both ends—delusion and enlightenment—and what more is there to say about sages and ordinary people?

Raise your eyebrows, and cherish the pupils of your eyes. Open the seams of your robe, and reveal your heart and liver, hard as iron and stone. The lantern and the stone pillar embrace; the Buddha hall and the three gates lock horns. With bare hands, form mud pellets; in a red furnace, forge iron buns. Toss them east, throw them west—in the end, they bury their light and hide their luster.

Let the wild fox spirit shed its shell in the cave, and turn and turn without error. It will make the red-bearded old barbarian laugh to death. Know this: the water buffalo takes rebirth at the foot of the mountain, perfect and complete in every way. It must be the great master Guishan.

All of you, fellow practitioners! Since the great master Guishan became a water buffalo, the horns on Mount Bo have grown long ago. Is there anyone here who can bear witness?"

After a long pause, the Master said: "The great master Bodhidharma has arrived. Let us let one move pass."