Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (55 page)

A man named Liu Shiyu asked Yangshan, “May I hear the principle of attaining mind?”

Yangshan said, “If you want to attain mind, then there’s no mind that can be attained. It is this unattainable mind that is known as truth.”

A monk came to practice under Yangshan. He asked, “Does the master recognize written characters?”

Yangshan said, “I recognize some.”

The monk then drew a circle in the air and acted as though he presented it to Yangshan.

Yangshan acted as if to use his sleeves to erase it.

The monk then made another circle in the air and presented it to Yangshan.

Yangshan received the circle with both hands and then threw it behind him.

The monk then stared at Yangshan. Yangshan looked down.

The monk then walked in a circle around Yangshan. Yangshan hit the monk with his staff.

The monk then went out.

The following story illustrates the arcane and mystical tendencies of the Guiyang school of Zen. The school’s use of symbolism gave rise to apocryphal stories.

Once, when Yangshan was sitting in the hall, a monk came in and bowed. Yangshan didn’t look at him.

The monk said, “Does the master recognize [written] characters?”

Yangshan said, “I recognize some.”

The monk walked in a circle to his right. Then he asked, “What character is this?”

Yangshan then answered by drawing the character for “ten” (+) on the ground.

The monk walked in a circle to his left. Then he asked, “What character is this?”

Yangshan then altered the “ten” character to become the mystical Buddhist swastika. (
)

The monk then drew a circle and offered it to Yangshan, striking the pose of an
asura
holding the sun and moon.
¹⁰⁸
Then he said, “What character is this?”

Yangshan answered by drawing a circle around the swastika. (
)

The monk acted as if to throw the symbol away and then stood upright.

Yangshan said, “Just so! Just so! This is the realization that is protected by all buddhas. You are thus. I am also thus. Uphold and sustain it well!”

The monk then bowed and flew out of the hall into the sky.

A monk asked Yangshan, “What is the difference between heaven and hell?”

Yangshan drew a line on the ground.

A monk named Siyi asked Yangshan, “The sudden enlightenment of the Zen school—what is the meaning of entering this Dharma gate?”

Yangshan said, “The meaning is extremely difficult to understand. In our ancestral school, those of superior ability and wisdom hear this teaching but once and they have a thousand awakenings—complete understanding. People of this type are hard to find. As to those of lesser ability and inferior wisdom, if they don’t calmly practice meditation and quiet their thoughts, they will certainly flounder in ignorance when they hear this teaching.”

Siyi asked, “Besides this teaching, is there another place of entry into the Way or not?”

Yangshan said, “There is.”

Siyi asked, “What is it?”

Yangshan said, “What place are you from?”

Siyi said, “From You Province.”

Yangshan said, “Do you still think of that place?”

Siyi said, “I often think of it.”

Yangshan said, “That which thinks is the mind. That which is thought of is the environment. In the environment are buildings, towers, forests, gardens, people, horses, and other things. If you stop your thoughts, are there still so many categories of things or not?”

Siyi said, “When I reach here, I don’t see any existing.”

Yangshan said, “What you have realized is still within mind. It brings about the stage of belief. It is not the stage of person.”

Siyi said, “Aside from this, is there any greater meaning or not?”

Yangshan said, “There is greater meaning! If there weren’t then it would have no value.”

Siyi said, “After reaching this stage of understanding, what should a person do?”

Yangshan said, “What you have realized up to now is just the first mystery. Now you must sit until you penetrate
it
. Later you will see for yourself.”

Siyi then bowed in gratitude.

Yangshan acted according to conditions to benefit beings and became a great example of the Zen school. When near death, he returned to Dongping Temple. There, a great many disciples were at his side to attend to him.

Yangshan took a brush and wrote a verse for the monks to read:

Countless disciples,
I look across you all, and you gaze back,
Two mouths, one without a tongue,
This is my teaching.

At exactly noon, Yangshan sat on the dais and bade farewell to the congregation. He then recited another verse:

Completing seventy-seven years,
Today it ends.
When the orb of the sun is just at noon,
The two hands fold the legs.

Upon saying these words, Yangshan used his hands to fold his legs into a cross-legged posture and then passed away. In the second year after Yangshan’s death, Zen master Nanta Guangyong transferred Yangshan’s remains back to Mt. Yang. He placed them in a stupa that was built beneath the clouds and peaks. Yangshan received the posthumous name “Great Teacher Penetrating Wisdom.” The stupa was named “Wondrous Light.”