Residing at Chongyin Chan Temple, Chang'an Mountain, Chongqing Prefecture

The master was invited to give a lecture at the temple upon the completion of the reconstruction of Chang'an Temple by the local officials and gentry. Holding up the invitation, he said: "The essence of the Buddhas' and patriarchs' minds, the eyes of humans and celestial beings—all are contained within this. Do you all see it? If not, I ask the rector to read it aloud clearly."

The Dharma Seat. He pointed with his staff and said: "The lion king ascends the lion throne, fully wielding the true command to reveal the family style. A thousand demons and a hundred monsters have nowhere to hide; his awe-inspiring, chilling majesty shakes the Great Hero." He gave a shout, then ascended the seat.

Offering incense, he said: "This stick of incense is without sound or scent, transcending form and name. The two realms rely on it to complete their dignity; the myriad things depend on it to attain their substance. It illuminates the sun and moon, revolves the seasons, extends horizontally throughout the ten directions, and reaches vertically through the three times. I burn it in the incense burner, dedicated to making offerings to our original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, and to the successive patriarchs of the Western Heavens and Eastern Lands. I humbly pray that its radiance soars through the universe, not empty and not form; its auspiciousness encircles Mount Meru, eternal past and present. In saving the world, may he never forget his compassionate vow; may the Dharma banner be unfurled everywhere, expanding the monastic community.

"This stick of incense, its roots entwine the great earth, its stem fills the mid-heaven. Unmoved by the changes of earth and sky, unchanging through the cycles of formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness. Its golden branches are uniquely splendid, its jade leaves are fragrant. It shelters the six directions, its light hangs down through the eight quarters. I burn it in the incense burner, specifically to pray for the long life of His Majesty the Emperor—ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years. I sincerely wish that when the people's blessings are full, the nation's blessings are full; when people's minds are at peace, the Way-mind is at peace. May all states together celebrate the days of Emperor Yao's heavens, forever fanning the pure customs without difficulty or ease.

"This stick of incense, it rejoices throughout court and country; its principle is wondrous in yin and yang. It wields creation to grasp the pivot of heaven and the handle of earth; it operates the celestial mechanism, embracing the shifting stars and turning dipper. The sound of benevolence greatly resonates; the ultimate transformation spreads afar. It brings blessings to the nation and blessings to the people; it is auspicious, it is propitious. I burn it in the incense burner, specially offered for all civil and military officials of the full court, the dukes and ministers of the entire country, as well as the esteemed officials currently in office of this province and this prefecture, the Dharma-protectors of the current period of rebuilding Chang'an, the village gentry and literati, and the distant and nearby donors. I respectfully wish that in retirement they may obtain nobility, fame, and emolument; in advancement they may honor the Way, virtue, and culture. May their achievements and merits reach people, reach earth, reach heaven. May their life span be like a ridge, like a mound, like a mountain."

Finally, picking up incense, he said: "This stick of incense was obtained from the place of nearly withered skin and bones, nearly severed passion-barriers, from the four extremities exhausted and three times revived, from one life and nine deaths. Today, before the assembly of humans and devas, I cannot avoid bringing it out openly. I burn it in the incense burner, solely to make offerings to my teacher, the Great Monk Poshan, the thirty-first generation holder of the authentic Linji lineage, presently residing in the Drunken Buddha Tower of Jincheng Temple on Jincheng Mountain in Liangshan County, Kuizhou Prefecture. I offer it in repayment for the profound kindness of the Dharma-milk. I only wish that under the blows of the staff and within the shouts, lions and elephants soar; after the words and before the sounds, swift horses and oxen run. With a heart sliced to the bone for the sake of others, piece by piece, each time we meet is another enmity."

He straightened his robe and took his seat. The head monk struck the sounding block and said: "O assembly of dragons and elephants in the Dharma feast, you should contemplate the First Principle."

The Master said: "If you grasp it before the sound, you still fall into second or third. If you undertake it within the phrase, you altogether become a set pattern. Right at such a time, it does not belong to seeing or hearing, does not fall into sound or form. The Buddha-eye cannot glimpse it; worldly knowledge cannot discern it. Is there anyone who can contemplate the First Principle?"

A monk just stepped forward. The Master said: "The sword left long ago." Then he hit him.

The monk advanced and said: "This student hasn't even asked a question yet. Why do you hit me?"

The Master hit him again and said: "You are of the kind who carves the boat—as numerous as hemp and millet."

The monk advanced and said: "The venerable master also shouldn't press the good into becoming the lowly."

The Master hit him continuously and said: "The official verification is clear. No need for further investigation."

A question: "The hall is newly magnificent, the Dharma banner is first erected. What Dharma will you use to teach people?"

The Master raised his staff and said: "This one—every blow leaves a mark, every cut draws blood."

The monk advanced: "Is this it, or is there something else?"

The Master said: "Something else or nothing else—it's not fit for offering."

A question: "The ten directions gather together, each studies the unconditioned. What is the unconditioned Dharma?"

The Master said: "When your mind is empty and you pass the examination, then I'll tell you."

Then he said: "The Dharma-path in Yuzhou has long been desolate and ruined, the rubble and thorns unbearable to see. Today this mountain monk again draws his sword; every household has a road to Chang'an. If it is thus, then the thorns are cut away by themselves, the rubble is removed by itself. The treasure land is opened by itself, the spiritual root flourishes by itself. Arriving here, rivers and mountains take on color, the ocean wilds display auspicious signs. The mirror of wisdom is hung high, the ancestral style greatly resonates. A brand new, pure white world is made; a radiant gate and courtyard are established out of empty space. Unfurl the entire great earth to make a field for selecting Buddhas and selecting patriarchs. Pick up a single hair-tip to reveal the path for taming horses and taming oxen. Let all—humans, devas, demons, brahmas, monastics, laypeople, men, women—come and go vertically and horizontally, thoroughly penetrating in all directions. Hungry, they eat; thirsty, they drink. Energetic, they rise; tired, they sleep. Emerging and withdrawing, rolling up and stretching out—free and at ease. Everyone's heel touches the ground, the constant light appears before them. Each one's nostrils reach the heavens, a sheer cliff ten thousand fathoms high. The measuring of sage and ordinary is not separated by a hair's breadth. How can the roots of foolish and wise be divided into increase or decrease? The myriad phenomena together verify prajna and bodhi. The nine realms and four modes of birth together illuminate the treasury of the true Dharma eye. Therefore it is said: 'The ten directions are cut off, the one path is level and even. Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—the three are without difference.'"

Suddenly picking up the whisk, he flicked it and said: "Assembly! Since the rivers are clear and the seas calm, the Way is peaceful and the people secure, and a monk beneath the forest expounds and promotes the essential teaching—for today's new inauguration, as I arrive at the temple to open the hall for the nation and bless the sage, how shall I express it? For ten thousand ages, the heavens of Yao illuminate the Buddha-sun; forever now, the world of Shun vibrates the ancestral style."

(The expressions of thanks are not recorded.)

He further brought up: "Sansheng said: 'When meeting a person, I do not come out. If I come out, it is precisely for the person.' Xinghua said: 'When meeting a person, I come out. If I come out, it is not for the person.'"

The Master said: "These two great elders—one stands on the highest peak, one walks in the deepest sea. Each draws his boundary and marks his territory, you east, I west—they still cannot avoid being criticized by others. But as for this robe-wearing seat, it is not so. What talk of meeting a person, coming out or not coming out? Everyone is right here. How could it be specifically for a person or not for a person? If asked, each gets thirty blows. Although this is excessively harming compassion, still, the family style is upright."

Then, picking up the staff, he thumped it once, gave a shout, and said: "A true man has another road to the heavens; why tread the path others walk?"

The head monk struck the sounding block and said: "Contemplate the Dharma of the Dharma King; the Dharma of the Dharma King is like this."

Lay devotee Zhou Zhengxin and others requested an ascent to the hall. "Beating the drum of words, speaking of Zen and the Way; wearing tattered robes, entering water and mud. This mountain monk today does not spare lips and teeth, entangling you all in a bit of vine." Then, striking a circle with the whisk, he said: "Do you all see? If you can see through this clearly, then you will see that all Buddhas of the three times are right here radiating light and manifesting auspicious signs, receiving beings and benefiting them; all ancestral teachers throughout the ages are also right here establishing gateways of transformation, dividing schools and lineages; all venerable elders under heaven are also right here raising the banner of Dharma, transmitting the true lineage; all people in the vast earth—whether sages or worthies, monastics or laypeople, men or women, or even those beyond gender—as well as all beings of the four births and six paths, sentient and insentient, all conscious beings—are all right here nurturing their lives, settling their bodies and establishing their destinies. Every dust mote is not separate; every land is impartial. The myriad phenomena, arrayed in full, all reveal the ocean-seal. If you understand this, then a hundred places, a thousand places, are understood at once; if you penetrate this, then a hundred places, a thousand places, are penetrated at once. Why need long periods or short limits, three by day and three by night? Then you may overturn the meditation seat, turn your back and walk away. But if not yet, then listen to one more verse:

The walls of the mind-city stand firm, with little rest; The gate of the realm of principle opens, sitting in the jade tower. The wild horse—for now, tie it with a rope; The lion on the playing field—do not casually toss the ball."

The master ascended the teaching seat. A monk asked, "What is the realm of Chang'an?" The master said, "Mount Tu and Yu's Cave, the Zi River and Dragon Gate." The monk asked further, "What are the people of Chang'an like?" The master said, "They stand with their heads to the sky and feet on the earth, with straight noses and level brows." The monk pressed on, "When neither person nor realm is established, what then?" The master shouted and struck him. Then he said, "Picking a flower and smiling, catching echoes in the void, cutting off an arm to find peace, patching a wound with flesh—if it's like this, then the wondrous way of the Buddhas and patriarchs is just ordinary. Why do you search east and west, clenching your teeth and refusing to accept it?" He struck the whisk and said, "When the time comes, the truth will reveal itself."

Deng Xianruan, a lay practitioner, invited the Master to ascend the hall. He asked, "What is the most immediate and intimate phrase?" The Master said, "In the morning, eat plain porridge." He pressed further, "What is the final and intimate phrase?" The Master said, "In the evening, feel hungry again." He asked again, "When the beginning and the end are cut off, and the middle is not established, then where is the intimate phrase?" The Master said, "The sky shares the dawn with white clouds, water flows with the bright moon." The monk flicked his sleeve and returned to his seat. The Master then shouted.

Another asked, "How about yesterday's matter?" The Master said, "Today is no different." He pressed further, "What about today then?" The Master said, "The same as yesterday." He asked again, "Setting aside yesterday and today, what about the direct phrase right now?" The Master said, "Holding the sword sideways, fully executing the true command, across the peaceful world, cutting through ignorance and stubbornness."

The Master then said, "The sky is vast, yet it cannot cover all; the earth is vast, yet it cannot bear all. Contained within a single hair, carefree and perfectly at ease. Even so, Chongyin speaks in this way—where does it come from?" He struck his staff and said, "Shatter the broken clay bowl, the shards become one piece."