Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Daxiu Zhu (大休珠禪師語錄)

On the sixth day of the sixth month in the jiawu year of the Shunzhi reign, at the invitation of Grand Coordinator of Guangdong and Guangxi and Grand Defender Zhang Guoxun, the Master took up residence at Nanhua Chan Monastery at Caoxi. The Master entered the monastery on the fifteenth day of the tenth month. On that same day, Grand Coordinator and Grand Defender Zhang Guoxun, together with Zhang Wei, garrison commander of Nanxiong and Shaozhou, his nephew Jinzhong, and the monastery's senior monks, requested the Master to ascend the lecture seat.

The Master approached the Dharma seat, picked up the petition, and said: "Word has arrived from three thousand li away—tell me, does anyone here understand? Had Lord Zhang not earnestly invited me three times, how would I be willing to enter these mountain gates?" When the Karmadana had finished reading the petition, the Master pointed to the Dharma seat and said: "Once committed, I do not stop—now I release the sixfold non-attachment of former days. Let the holy ones of the Ten Grounds and the Three Worthies look on as I fully raise up the supreme matter and respond." Then he ascended the seat, picked up incense, and said: "This single stick of incense I respectfully offer for the Supreme One in the northern palace, praying for the ten-thousand-year longevity of the southern mountain, and for all civil and military officials of the court and all the nobles of the realm: may they protect the nation and its people, and may their rank grow higher and their emoluments richer; may they uphold the principles and maintain order, and may their resolve grow firmer and their achievements more enduring."

He picked up incense again and said: "This is dedicated to the present inviter, Grand Defender Zhang Kuixuan, along with the honored officials of the Shaozhou circuit office, garrison command, prefecture and county offices, and the Confucian academy, as well as the local gentry, the filial and incorrupt, and men of letters, the lay donors near and far, and the elders of this monastery. May they plant the spiritual root of prajna in life after life, and form the seeds of bodhi in age after age."

He picked up incense again and said: "This single stick of incense has been transmitted from Buddha to Buddha and handed down from patriarch to patriarch. It is dedicated to the founding patriarch of this monastery, the Sixth Patriarch, Great Master, and down to the thirty-fourth generation of the Caodong orthodox lineage, the Venerable Xian of Xiangtian, Jinian, in gratitude for the grace of the Dharma milk."

Then he gathered his robe and took his seat. The senior monk struck the gavel and said: "Assembly of dragons and elephants at this Dharma feast, you should contemplate the foremost meaning." A monk asked: "The ancient monastery of Baolin, the Bodhimanda of the Sixth Patriarch—the Buddha Dharma is flourishing again. Please, Master, sing its praises." The Master said: "It is not transmitted by a thousand sages." The monk pressed: "Today we have received the Master's direct instruction—how many can take it up on the spot?" The Master said: "Who is without a share?" Another monk asked: "The cosmos of all ages, a single breeze and moon of this morning—what is the new atmosphere of Nanhua?" The Master said: "A single morning's breeze and moon, the cosmos of all ages." The monk pressed: "Then one alone sits in the realm, using skillful means to draw people in—how many in the world will know to return?" The Master said: "Who is it that speaks such words?" The monk pressed: "The water on the Caoxi rapids turns the mill—still better than Manjushri's supreme device." The Master said: "Letters and rites spread the emperor's civilizing influence; sword and halberd bring Great Peace." The monk bowed.

The Master then said: "The meaning is originally without any intent—like a valley echoing a sound, it merely responds; provisionally it is called the foremost meaning. It only responds to the faculties that come, and originally has no fetters. Since it has no mind toward this or that, how could it have any form of coming or going? When coming from Zhejiang, I never actually came; the brocade sail hung high, beyond all contrivance. If you grasp the true purport within this, eating and dressing—everything is in harmony. Now that I have settled at Caoxi, I have settled; from beginning to end, all is one, with nothing to do. Emerging from emptiness into function is no ordinary matter; to hold the sea and contain the mountains is no easy thing. When all directions come at once, they are not treated as child's play at the forge; smelted until the body resembles a crane's, thought after thought is melted away, and everything is complete."

Suddenly he raised the whisk and said: "All you good people before me—listen to the final phrase." The senior monk again struck the gavel and said: "Contemplate carefully the Dharma of the Dharma King; thus is the Dharma of the Dharma King." The Master descended from the seat.

At the summer retreat assembly, the master took up incense and said: "This little thing has always filled the earth and covered the heavens; today I take it up and it fills the heavens and covers the earth. I offer it into the brazier in honor of Elder Jinian of Xiangtian, to repay the grace of the Dharma's milk." Then he said: "Year after year on this day there is this retreat, simply to accord with a good season. The staff leans against the wall, cold light arises; beneath the bamboo whisk, all is pitch black." He flung down his staff and said: "What is this?" Then in a loud voice he said: "Do not move!" (Questions and answers not recorded)

On the day commemorating the Buddha's enlightenment, Commander Zhang invited the master to the dharma hall. The master said:

"Everyone says Shakyamuni attained enlightenment today. I say Shakyamuni today tumbled headlong into the weeds—this 'true person without rank' got kicked and fell right over. That is why it is said: 'The Way that can be spoken is not the constant Way'—so through the twelve periods of the day, make no contrivances. 'The name that can be named is not the constant name'—what matters is hitting the red center with a single arrow. If you can grasp the true intent within this, then eating when hungry and wearing clothes is already complete as it is. The great rest is originally not called the great rest; manifesting in the monastic assembly, one becomes a teacher. Master Zhang is originally not called Old Man Jing; likewise, his response-body dwells in the Zhang household. One is a master of the Chan school, the other a guest of the Confucian gate—the wheel of a cart, the wings of a bird; their support depends entirely on the strength of one arm. Long years have passed since we parted at Vulture Peak; meeting again in this cold corner, we do not recognize each other. Assembly! Do you see the gathering on Vulture Peak still present before you?"

After a long pause he said: "Do you understand? After the meal, I drag my bamboo staff to look at the mountain colors—green pines fill the eyes, wind fills the ears." He then descended from the seat.

Master Caoxi has never had any buddhadharma; he simply wants everyone to let go of everything. Zhaozhou once said in the past: "Newly arrived monks, have some tea first."

The master took the high seat. A monk asked, "Since original purity is the way things fundamentally are, where does Karma come from?" The master spread out both hands and said, "Original purity is fundamentally so—where does Karma come from?" Then he said: "If you can understand directly right at this kind of question and answer, you do not fall into conceptual thinking. 'Original purity is fundamentally so—where does Karma come from?' And yet even 'purity' cannot be grasped: Sudhana snapped his fingers and saw Maitreya." He then descended from the seat.

The master entered the hall and said: "It thunders in Jambudvipa; it rains in Uttarakuru; seedlings are planted in Purvavideha; rice ripens in Aparagodaniya. When this mountain monk casts his eyes over it all, none of it lies outside my own kingdom." He gave a shout and descended from the seat.

Preaching the Precepts in the Dharma Hall. "Three times ascending the ordination platform, four rounds of the karma ceremony—seen with the true eye, it is all a fine mess of embarrassment. Assembly! Ascending the platform to preach the Precepts is a good thing, so why do I say it is a fine mess of embarrassment?" Striking the staff on the ground, he said: "Ever since the dance has filled the three terraces, every beat has always been nothing but song."

The master ascended the seat and said:

"The buddhas were never deluded—so for sentient beings there is no place of awakening. Sentient beings have never awakened—so for the buddhas there is no place of delusion. This mountain monk has never spoken—so for the assembly there is no place of hearing. The assembly has never heard—so for this mountain monk there is no place of speaking. If you can pass through these several gates, then the sun and moon of ancient and present, the stars of ancient and present, the heaven and earth of ancient and present—I grant that you may skillfully enter the samādhi of all arts and accomplish the forty-two gates of the perfection of wisdom. But if you have not, then do not stir even the slightest hair. Why is this? Only when one reaches the great land does one know the treasure's worth; only when the water reaches the Xiao and Xiang does it taste the same clarity."

He descended from the seat.

The Master ascended the seat. A monk asked, "With the complete mechanism and great function—please, Master, give me a single phrase." The Master said, "I won't strike the old fellow's hide." Then he said:

"Caoxi does not strike the old fellow's hide—how could the Buddha-Dharma ever be lacking or deficient? Right or wrong, thirty blows—who could allow deliberative thought in the midst of this?"

He struck the staff against the ground and descended from the seat.

New Year's Day assembly. After offering incense, he said: "In a hundred years there are thirty-six thousand days, but only this morning is the most auspicious. The emperor's grace and the Buddha's kindness are truly hard to repay—year after year, on the third day of the New Year, I offer incense. This seven-foot black staff has no branches or leaves; it shines through past and present, its body giving forth light. I only fear that you all have not yet understood, so though old, I raise it again and again. Everyone! This mountain monk is about to raise it up." He struck the staff on the ground once.

The Master ascended the seat. The head monk struck the gavel and said: "This assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma feast—you should contemplate the primary meaning."

The Master said: "You've already fallen into the second. Do you want to understand the primary meaning? Understand it before your parents gave birth to you; understand it before this mountain monk ascended the seat; understand it before the great assembly gathered like clouds. If you still don't understand, then rouse the resolve of a fierce man, and investigate within yourself. Investigate to the ultimate limit, until you see that heaven is not heaven, earth is not earth, mountains are not mountains, waters are not waters. Then, turning around right here, you see heaven is again heaven, earth is again earth, mountains and waters are again mountains and waters. Indeed, it is still the same person as before, still the same place of practice as before. Great assembly! Tell me—where then does the difference lie?"

After a long pause he said: "Before the Buddhas and Patriarchs were born, beyond the kalpa of emptiness—how do you want me to explain it to people?"

A monk asked: "Nothing can be spoken—this is called expounding the Dharma. What about the Master's ascending the seat?"

The Master said: "Even this question of yours is superfluous."

The monk pressed further: "If so, then all the heroic spirits of the four seas are being forged and tempered, and every patch-robed monk of the five lakes is under the hammer and tongs."

The Master said: "You, sir, are not outside it either."

The monk said: "Casting a silken line, I've fished out all the moon in a thousand rivers; the golden-scaled fish leaping from the sea attains its freedom."

The Master said: "Thirty blows."

The monk said: "Lightly lifting a foot, I pass through the Dragon Gate, stirring heavenly flowers to rain down upon the earth."

The Master then struck him. The monk bowed. The Master planted his staff on the ground and descended from the seat.

At the ceremony marking the end of the rains retreat, the Master ascended the seat. The West Hall attendant, Xinbai, bowed and rose. The Master raised his whisk and said, "What is this?" The Hall attendant said, "Scooping water, the moon rests in my hand; playing with flowers, their fragrance fills my robe." The Master said, "Had I known you were like this, I would have broken off a branch of spring plum." The Hall attendant said, "The commanding general of the central army can enforce orders without moving weapons, securing great peace." The Master said, "Try carrying out one order." The Hall attendant said, "Split open Mount Hua's beauty reaching the sky, block off the Yellow River so its waters flow backward." The Master said, "Even if you have hands that overturn the clouds, you are still within this monk's grasp." The Hall attendant said, "Relying only on a drop of Caoxi's water, it scatters into spring within the imperial capital's inner gardens." The Master tossed down his whisk and said, "I give you a branch of plum." The Hall attendant said, "It is not that a wild child has great spirit, but only that he once stepped onto the topmost pass." The Master said, "Take care!" Thereupon he handed over the robe and certificate, and said:

"For several tens of autumns I lowered my hand at the river's head, yet saw no golden-scaled fish swallow the hook. In the battlefield of Dharma one can win victory, propping up earth and supporting heaven, emerging as one head above. East, west, south, north—go as you please, but leave no trace behind in Caoxi's mountains. Leap forth and throw yourself beyond a thousand peaks; only when leaves fall and return to the root is it truly autumn."

He raised the document and said, "Great assembly, if anyone can speak one phrase here, today it will be transmitted together with the West Hall attendant." The assembly was silent. The Master said, "Seal the sky, seal the mud, seal the water." He then descended from the seat.

Master Huanji held a communal meal and invited the Master to take the high seat and give a teaching. The Master said:

"In matters and in principle, nothing lies outside what you must know—how could the Dharma of the Buddha permit personal favoritism? Leave it to the bold and capable fellow: one kick knocks it down, and then he goes on his way."

The Master called to the assembly: "Tell me, where has it gone?" He waved his whisk and said: "From the start, the Eastern land has had no news of it; from here to the Western heavens is a journey of a hundred thousand miles."

Then he brought up a former case: "A monk asked an ancient worthy, 'What is original Emptiness?' The worthy said, 'Karmic obstruction.' The monk asked, 'What is karmic obstruction?' The worthy said, 'Original Emptiness.' Assembly! If you understand it in this way, the Tathāgata's Chan and the Ancestors' Chan are strung together on a single thread. If not, listen to this verse:

> Know that karmic obstruction is originally empty; > In speech and silence, in words and talk, this teaching is revealed. > The dragon returns to the great sea—waves surge to the heavens; > The tiger comes forth from the mountain—a single gust of wind."

Then he descended from the seat.

On the Buddha's Birthday, the Honorable Zhou, Military Defense Circuit Commissioner of Nanshao; Zhang, Commander of the General Headquarters of Shaozhou Prefecture; Mei, Assistant Prefect of Shaozhou; Zhou, Vice Prefect of Shaozhou; Xie, of the Nanshao Circuit Hall; and Zheng, Garrison Commander of the General Headquarters, requested the Master to ascend the hall and teach. The Master took his seat, picked up incense, and said: "I reverently honor Shakyamuni Buddha, who abandoned the precious position of the golden wheel-turning king and crossed the city walls at midnight; who cast off the precious dragon robes of royalty and cut his hair in the green mountains." He picked up incense again and said: "This is specifically for the present Emperor's sacred longevity and eternal peace. I respectfully vow that weapons of war be laid to rest and that the eight directions enjoy peace and health. Furthermore, I pray that all civil and military officials of the court and the honored officials of the Dao, zhen, fu, and ting offices may life after life play in the ocean of Dharma as good friends supporting one another, and age after age serve widely as bridges and fords—so that the entrustment of the Dharma may have its foundation." He gathered his robes, sat down, and said: "Pointing at heaven and pointing at earth, his mouth chattered on; if you understand Elder Cao, you'll scold old Cao yourself. The ladle handle has fallen into the hands of sons and grandsons—no avoiding a dousing of foul water over the head. Assembly! Do you understand?" He picked up his staff and said: "Master Yunmen has come." He struck the ground once with it and said: "When the state is pure, the talented scholar is honored; when the family is wealthy, the little child is spoiled."