Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (165 page)

60
Now the city of Ningdu in southern Jiangxi Province.

61
This passage is from the
Transmission of the Lamp.

62
“Naturalism” is the (to Buddhists) heretical philosophy that things have inherent existence and do not come about solely due to cause and effect.

63
The Three Vehicles (in Sanskrit,
Triyana
) are the vehicles that convey beings across samsara to nirvana. They are the three great sects of Buddhism: the Hinayana, Madhyamayana, and Mahayana.

64
A location in modern Jiangsu Province.

65
Yuquan Temple was located on Yuquan (“Jade Spring”) Mountain in what is now Dangyangang County in Hubei Province.

66
Uncertain location. By imperial edict, many temples in China at this time were named “Longxing” (“Rejuvenated Dragon”).

67
Guizong Temple is located at the foot of the famous Buddhist mountain named Mt. Lu near Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province.

68
Kwan Yin (pinyin, “Guanyin”), also named “Kwan Shih Yin,” is the Chinese name of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The name means “hears the cries of the world.” Originally a male deity, this bodhisattva evolved from its Indian origins into a female in the Chinese Buddhist pantheon and is regarded as the “Goddess of Mercy.”

69
The term “scriptural monk” refers to a follower of a Buddhist sect that takes a sutra as the basis of its teachings. This term is used in contrast with a Zen monk, who does not rely on written teachings.

70
During this era, Zen monks often stayed at temples that were not Zen temples, and thus they earned the common moniker “Zen guests.”

71
Tianran’s name translates as “natural.”

72
Located near the Yang-tse River in southern Anwei Province.

73
Xin Zheng is located in modern Henan Province.

74
The term “Old Teacher” (in Chinese,
Laoshi
; in Japanese,
Rōshi
) remains as an affectionate sobriquet for older Zen teachers.

75
Dipamkara Buddha is a legendary buddha, the first of twenty-four mythical buddhas who existed prior to the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni.

76
The four modes of birth are womb, egg, moisture, and transformation.

77
National Teacher Faqin, a teacher of the Oxhead Zen school, founded a temple on Mt. Jing near Hangzhou in the year 742.

78
Zen master Funiu was a student of Zen masters Faqin and Mazu.

79
“Sacred relics” are the remains of a body after it is cremated.

80
Manjushri is the bodhisattva of wisdom. He is commonly depicted riding a lion, holding a sword in one hand and the Prajnaparamita Sutra in the other.

81
Samantabhadra is the bodhisattva of all-pervading good. He is often depicted riding an elephant.

82
The Chinese word
xiu
means “to cease.” Thus the name given to Pei by Huangbo was a play on words, meaning “[Magistrate] Pei! Cease [your karmic actions]!”

83
Baizhang.

84
The “Min waters” refers to Baizhang’s residence on Mt. Huangbo on the coast of Fuzhou.

85
The Zhang River lies between Wanling, where this poem was composed, and Huangbo’s previous residence on Mt. Huangbo in Fuzhou.

86
Yuzhou was located near the modern city of Yunlian, bordering the three modern provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

87
Wufeng’s name means “five peaks.”

88
According to tradition, true monks will encounter Manjushri during their pilgrimage to Mt. Tai.

89
The “four bodies” is one of various ways of describing a buddha. More commonly used is the term “three bodies” (in Sanskrit,
Trikaya
), which include the dharmakaya (the buddha body per se), the Sambhogakaya (the bliss body), and the Nirmanakaya (the transformation body).

90
Zhigong (418–514), also known as Baozhi, was a Buddhist adept well versed in Zen practice.

91
Huang Chao was a bloodthirsty leader of a rebel army in China during this era.

92
Zen master Guling Shenzan was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai.

93
The Chinese term
shan zhi shi
, here translated as “Buddhist worthies,” comes from the Sanskrit words
kaly amitra
, meaning a person who, like a buddha or bodhisattva, lives to guide others to virtue.

94
This monastery, now named Bailin Temple, has been recently rebuilt on its ancient foundations. Among many other structures are Zhaozhou’s refurbished stupa, the Kuan Yin Hall, and the Wumenguan Meditation Hall.

95
Canqing
is a meeting between a Zen student and his or her teacher where the student asks questions and receives instruction.

96
The city of Jianchang was located about thirty kilometers north of the modern city of Nanchang in Jiangxi Province.

97
Shimen Mountain is located near modern Qingtian City in Zhejiang Province.

98
The dharmakaya is the “Body of the Dharma,” or of truth.

99
This passage is from the
Transmission of the Lamp
.

100
Nonaction (in Chinese,
wu wei
) is a term often associated with Taoism, but also used frequently in Zen Buddhism.

101
The name “Longtan” means “dragon marsh.”

102
Ancient Muzhou was located in the region near Jiande in modern Zhejiang Province.

103
A
cangue
is a torture device used in ancient China.

104
The Consciousness-Only school of Chinese Buddhism evolved from the Vijnanavada school of Indian Buddhism. Its fundamental thesis is that everything exists only in consciousness and there is no independent existence for phenomena.

105
The “Western Paradise” is the heavenly kingdom of Amitabha, the buddha worshiped in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism.

106
The five precepts for laypersons are (1) not killing, (2) not stealing, (3) not misusing sexuality, (4) not engaging in slander, and (5) not taking intoxicants.

107
The West River is an allusion to Sichuan, the area where Dasui lived.

108
An
asura
is a demonlike entity. It is categorized as belonging to one of the six Buddhist realms of existence.

109
This passage is from the
Transmission of the Lamp
.

110
Sindhava
is an old Zen term taken from Sanskrit that is applied to a Zen adept or skilled Zen student of advanced understanding.

111
The Record of the Venerable Ancients
(in Chinese,
Guzunsu Yulu
) was compiled by the monk Shouze around the year 1150. It contains the teachings of more than forty Zen ancients, most of whom were not included in the more famous
Transmission of the Lamp
.

112
The Chinese phrase used here by Zihu is a double entendre. One interpretation is “it’s transmitted from left and right,” and a second interpretation is, “circle left and circle right.” While Zihu apparently meant to convey the first meaning, Iron Grinder Liu responded as if to the second meaning.

113
Another pun with the Chinese homonyms “lion” and “master.”

114
A river near Shanxin’s temple was named Xinxing. The Chinese name means “new refreshing.”

115
Liling City is southwest of Changsha in modern Hunan Province.

116
The “four benefits” or “four graces” are the compassionate benefits bestowed on students by their mother and father (who bestow life and support), the Buddha (who bestows the path to enlightenment and to overcoming suffering), and their Dharma teacher (whose teaching efforts lead the student to the realization of the Way). The three existences include (1) desire-existence, including the six realms of heaven, human, ashura, beast, hungry ghost, and the hells; (2) form-existence, which exists apart from the polluted desire-existence in a state of purity; and (3) non-form-existence, which, although empty in nature, still witnesses cause and effect.

117
The Anapana Sutra is a treatise on meditation techniques such as stilling the mind and following the breath.

118
The six senses, as they are traditionally defined in Buddhism, are sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and ideation.

119
The Qinglong Commentaries were famous Tang dynasty annotated copies of the Diamond Sutra authored by the monks Dao Yin and Fengxuan Zongzhao of Qinglong Temple.

120
Part of the meaning of this story comes from a play on the Chinese words “dim sum” (Mandarin,
dian xin
). The words “dim sum” have the generic meaning of any type of small snack. The words also mean “touching mind” or “refreshing mind.” One account of the phrase “dim sum” claims that it evolved from its Zen origin to mean “putting something in an empty stomach.”

121
These terms describe various doctrinal stages of development toward Buddhahood.

122
Zen master Dajue, like Xinghua, also studied under Linji, and was thus Xinghua’s Dharma brother.

123
In Zen temples at this time,
puqing
, meaning “all invited,” was the name applied to a common work session in which everyone, including the abbot, participated.

124
A “wooden goose” was the name applied to a float that was cast out of boats to test the current prior to the boat’s proceeding through a treacherous area.

125
In the Zen tradition, before a candidate for the abbacy of a temple can assume that position, he must demonstrate his understanding to the congregation in a manner that meets their approval.

126
The Chinese words
fu chuan
means “overturned boat.”

127
It is said that when one speaks inappropriately of the Dharma, one’s eyebrows fall out.

128
J. C. Cleary provides an excellent review of Guifeng’s views in the introduction of his book
Zen Dawn
(Boston and London: Shambhala, 1986). See also Peter N. Gregory’s translation with commentary of Guifeng’s
Inquiry into the Origin of Humanity
(Kuroda Institute, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1995).

129
The Surangama Sutra (Sutra of the Heroic One, or Heroic March Sutra) is a popular and influential sutra in the development of Zen and Mahayana Buddhism.

130
The “six
paramitas
” are six practices that lead to salvation. They are (1)
dana
(charity), (2)
shila
(keeping the precepts), (3)
kshanti
(patience), (4)
virya
(zeal), (5)
dhyana
(meditation), and (6)
prajna
(wisdom).

131
The
pratyupanna samadhi
is a severe practice whereby, for up to ninety days, the practitioner, without rest except for short meals, invokes Amitabha Buddha while walking or standing, and thus absolves all accumulated evil karma. The practice leads to the appearance of all the buddhas to the practitioner.

132
“Family style” refers to the teaching methods or style of a particular house or lineage of Zen.

133
The Hui Chang suppression occurred when the emperor Wu Zong, in the year 845, proscribed Buddhist activities. The suppression of Buddhism was extreme until the emperor died the following year.

134
This passage is an excerpt from the
Extensive Record of Zen Master Yunmen
.

135
“Breaking out” and “breaking in” are from the context of a chick breaking out of an egg and the hen pecking at the egg from the outside to assist the chick. Here when Jingqing asks, “Will you live or not?” he is making an analogy to a chick trying to attain life by getting out of the shell.

136
When dots of ink are applied to create the pupils in the eyes of a picture of a dragon, it is believed to come alive.

137
Min is the ancient name of the area now roughly covered by Fujian Province.