Translation of Mengshan’s Dharma Talks (Translation 1)

[Mengshan’s Dharma Talks] The Master Wanshan saw Mengshan coming up to pay his respects.1 The Master first asked: “Have you yet attained sufficient confidence?” Mengshan said: “If my confidence were inadequate, I wouldn’t have gotten here!” The Master said: “When confidence is at a hundred percent, it’s ever more necessary to observe the precepts. When precepts are observed, numinous efficacy is easily attained. If there is no adherence to the precepts, it is like constructing a multi-storied building in the air. Are you still observing the precepts?” Mengshan said: “Doesn’t it look like I’m observing the five precepts?” The Master said: “From now on, just keep your eye on ...

Introduction to Core Texts of the Sŏn Approach (Sŏnmun ch’waryo禪門撮要‎)

The Introduction presents the early twentieth-century compendium Core Texts of the Sŏn Approach, a work of Sŏn revivalism in Korea, as an attempt to look back over the intervening centuries to the Sŏn of the mid-Koryŏ period (late 1100s and 1200s) in order to compile a compact textual repository of authentic Korean Sŏn. Many modern reference works give Kyŏnghŏ Sŏngu (1849?–1912) as the compiler of this Sŏn compendium, though this attribution is by no means certain. The fifteen texts in Core Texts of the Sŏn Approach, eight by Chinese authors and seven by Korean authors, are described. This is followed by an explanation of the rationale behind the selection of five of the fifteen texts for translation. Two topics singled out for attention are the huatou Chan of Dahui Zonggao and the story of Patriarchal Master Chin’gwi and Śākyamuni Buddha.

Translation of Record of the Treasure Store of the Sŏn Approach (Translation 4)

Aah! If our old man Śākyamuni lit the Sŏn lamp in the mind of Mahākāśyapa and spilled the sea of doctrinal teachings into the mouth of Ānanda, then it is a certainty that Sŏn and the teachings were related by him on different days. But when those who are responsible for the doctrinal teachings hear talk of the [Sŏn] “special transmission outside the teachings,” their faces become flushed [with surprise and anger] and their eyes white, saying: “What kind of talk is this! Bah! This is where egotism gets you!” Therefore, disappointed, I tried to find the courage to use the calabash dipper to measure the sea, the hollow tube to steal a peek at the heavens. I will lay out the fundamentals via three gates. What are the three gates? What is brimming over with confusion is [the relationship between] Sŏn and the teachings. Therefore, the first fascicle of this book sets up “the gate of comparison between Sŏn and the teachings.” Those doing the slandering are lecturers on the teachings. Therefore, the middle fascicle sets up “the gate of the submission of textual lecturers [to Sŏn].” Those who spread [dharma] are the sovereign and his vassals. Therefore, the last fascicle sets up “the gate in which the sovereign and his vassals show esteem and confidence [in Sŏn].” The textual citations in these three gates are all the serious words of the ancients—not mere conjectures. Since they are not conjectural, it is natural that people will come to have confidence in this work. The name of this work is ...

Description of Record of the Treasure Store of the Sŏn Approach (Translation 4)

The identity of the compiler of the Record of the Treasure Store of the Sŏn Approach, which dates to the late 1200s, is problematic. The compiler, often given as Ch’ŏnch’aek, may have been an obscure Sŏn monk called “Moron Hermitage.” Treasure Store contains eighty-six “standards” divided into three gates: the “gate of comparison between Sŏn and the teachings” (twenty-five standards); “the gate of the submission of textual lecturers to Sŏn” (twenty-five standards); and “the gate in which the sovereign and his vassals show esteem and confidence in Sŏn” (thirty-three standards plus an addendum of three). Each of the standards lists at its conclusion the title of the source text, with the Chinese Record of the Lamp of the Jingde Era having the most citations. A striking feature of Treasure Store is its many quotations from non-extant Sŏn texts. This “Description” section is followed by a translation of Treasure Store.

Description of Chinul’s Keeping an Eye on the Hwadu (Translation 3A) and Hyesim’s Diagnosing Illnesses (Supplementary Translation 3B)

Pojo Chinul’s (1158–1210) magnum opus, Excerpts, is dated 1209, a year before Chinul’s death. In the final portion of this text Chinul makes a sharp turn in his orientation: away from the doctrinal teachings of Hwaŏm and toward the huatou practice of Letters of Dahui. Chinul’s “full digestion” of Dahui-style huatou practice comes only with his posthumous Treatise on Resolving Uncertainty about Keeping an Eye on the Hwadu (Kanhwa kyŏrŭiron). However, one is probably on safer ground if one considers this little treatise as a work coauthored by Chinul and his chief disciple Chin’gak Hyesim (1178–1234), who inherited Chinul’s rough draft/notes and “finished” the project. Hyesim compiled another work entitled Diagnosing Illnesses, which focuses exclusively on the mu無‎ hwadu and Dahui’s ten illnesses associated with hwadu practice. This “Description” section is followed by a translation of both Keeping an Eye on the Hwadu and Diagnosing Illnesses.

Chinese Text of Hyesim’s Treatise on Diagnosing Illnesses That Arise in the Practice of theMu無‎ Hwadu (Supplementary Translation 3B)

[3B.1]天童擧。僧問趙州。狗子還有佛性也無。州云。有。僧云。爲什麽。撞入這箇皮帒。州云。他知而故犯。又僧問趙州。狗子還有佛性也無。州云。無。僧云。一切衆生皆有佛性。爲什麽狗子却無。州云。爲他有業識在。師云。趙州道有。趙州道無。狗子佛性。天下分疎。面赤不如語直。心眞莫恠言麁。七百甲子老禪伯。驢糞逢人換眼珠。‎ [3B.2]汎叅道俗。看此話始終問答。隨言定旨。決定作有無之無。殊不知五祖演和尙頌云。趙州露刄釼。寒霜光焰焰。‎ 擬欲問如何。分身作兩段。眞淨和尙頌云。言有業識在。誰云意不深。海枯終見底。人死不知心。如是等頌。不可勝數。‎ [3B.3]或云。這僧自謂得似孩兒。見人空解笑。弄物不知名。又如狗子蒙蒙曈曈。跛跛挈挈。但念水草。餘無分別。以此爲好消息。然未知作家之鑒。可不如何。故借狗子。設問呈似。所以趙州謂直饒伊麽。未徹在。答云。無者。如經云。有情無佛性。無情有佛性。黃檗云。始踏佛階梯。無情有佛性。未踏佛階梯。有情無佛性。又如惠朗禪師問石頭。如何是佛性。頭云。汝無佛性。云。蠢動含靈。又作麽生。曰。蠢動含靈。却有佛性。云。某甲爲什麽却無。爲汝不肯承當等之意也。這僧雖非本意。‎ 且擧狗子分上。‎更問云。一切衆生皆有佛性。爲什麽狗子却無。趙州亦擧狗子。答‎ 云。爲他有業識在。言似隨他。意不在此。‎ [3B.4]或云。好箇狗子上。不可用佛性二字染汚。何故。西施不用‎ 添脂粉也。如云。見山是山。見水是水。見柱杖。但喚作柱杖。見屋喚作屋。何妨見狗子但喚作狗子。故州云。無。‎ [3B.5]如此等邪解不可勝數故。大惠揀云。不得作有無之無。‎ 旣不許伊麽定。‎ [3B.6] 又錯計云。不落有無。是眞無之無。如金剛三昧經云。若離無取有。捨有從空而非真無。今雖離有而不存空。如是乃得諸法眞無。恐如此差排。故云。不得作眞無之無卜度。旣不許伊麽定。‎ [3B.7]又作玄妙道理會。故揀云。不得作道理會。旣不許伊麽定。‎ [3B.8]又低頭冷坐。着意搜尋。故揀云。不得向意根下思量卜度。前旣不許有無眞無會。又不許作道理思量定。‎ [3B.9]又認着眼眨眨。理會不得底爲是。便引古德云。瞬目揚眉‎ 處。明明佛祖機。又有問西來意。答云。當觀密作用。云。如何是密作用。以目開合視之等爲據。故揀云。不得揚眉瞬目處桗根。審前不許理路義路。又不許認取作用定。‎ [3B.10]向沒滋味底言句上起疑。便引圓悟云。不疑言句是‎ ...

Chinese Text of Record of the Treasure Store of the Sŏn Approach (Translation 4)

羌夫我迦文老人。禪燈點迦葉之心。教海瀉阿難之口。則禪之與教。異日噵也決矣。而職教者聞教外別傳之說。則面青眼白。云惡是何言歟。噫。人我之大。一至於斯也。故走慨然賈勇。不揆蠡測管窺。而以三門質之。三門者何。混濫者禪教也。故上之卷。立禪教對辨門。毀謗者諸講也。故中之卷。立諸講歸伏門。流通者君臣也。故下之卷。立君臣崇信門。此三門所引。皆古重言也。非臆說也。非臆說則人信之者儻有焉。目之爲禪門寶藏云。海東沙門內願堂真靜大禪師天頙蒙且‎1序。至元卅年癸已十一月日也。‎ 禪門寶藏錄卷上‎ 海東沙門天頙撰‎ 禪教對辨門‎ 二十五則‎ 1 CBETA, X64, no. 1276 = 旦‎. [4.1]盧舍那佛。菩提樹下。初成正覺。以心傳心。不立文字。‎ 令諸大衆。頓證頓悟。唯迦葉上座。入秘密難思之地。文殊普賢等八萬菩薩衆海。未識迦葉入處。‎ 本生經‎ [4.2]梵王至靈山會上。以金色波羅花獻佛。捨身爲床座。請佛爲群生說法。世尊登座。拈花示衆。人天百萬億衆悉皆罔措。獨‎迦葉破顏微笑。世尊云。吾有正法眼藏涅槃妙心。分付摩訶迦葉。‎ 大梵天王問佛決疑經‎ [4.3]海上由風轉。種種波浪起。出世觀緣故。分別演三千。海底極深故。風影所不到。如來心境界。澹然無有畔。嶺南宗道者注云。波浪者。喻現佛之教海。隨機樂欲。五千教典之詮。海底者。比如海底極深。不是風影之所動。三劫之風不到其底。我佛深趣亦復如是。深之最深。玄之又玄。意不可思。言不可議。‎ 般若多羅海底宗影示玄記‎ [4.4]唐土第二祖惠可大師。問達磨。今付正法即不問。釋祖傳何‎ 人。得何處。慈悲曲說。後來成規。達磨曰。我即五天‎ ...

Chinese Text of Hyujŏng’s Comparative Elucidation of Sŏn and the Teachings (Translation 5)

禪教釋‎ 清虛休靜撰‎ [5.1]清虛病老。在西山金仙臺。一日行珠。惟政。寶晶。三德士。持金剛經五家解。問曰。般若教中。亦有禪旨。以般若爲宗可乎。病老引古答曰。只聞世尊以正法眼藏。付囑摩訶迦葉。不聞以金剛般若。付囑摩訶迦葉也。大抵百草頭上。有活底祖師意。至於鸎燕。常談實相法。況我金剛一句乎。不著文字。則可讀一卷經也。然洗佛光明。非其機。莫能窺。今日爲君禪教二途對辨而釋。其釋也。乃古也。非今也。‎ [5.2]世尊。未離兜率。已降王宮。未出母胎。度人已畢。‎ 此禪門最初句也。古德頌云。釋迦不出世。四十九年說。達摩不西來。少林有妙訣。是此意也。‎ 華嚴十種訣‎ [5.3]世尊。從兜率。降王宮。住胎出胎。出家成道。降魔轉法。至於入涅槃。此禪門末後句也。有云。如月在天。影含衆水。時無礙。處無礙。始終一貫。則末後句亦是最初句。最初句亦是末後句。然我禪門中。本無如是商量。商量則識法者懼也。‎ 拈頌說誼‎ [5.4]世尊。初入摩耶胎。直與三十三人。摠授玄記云。吾有正法眼藏。密付於汝。各傳一人。勿令斷絕。頌曰。摩耶肚裏堂。法界體一如。卅三諸祖師。同時密授記。‎ 般若多羅付法傳‎ [5.5]世尊。在雪山六年。因星悟道。既知是法之未臻極。‎ 遊行數十月。歲在壬午。特尋訪于真歸祖師。始傳得玄極之旨。是乃教外別傳之源也。‎ 梵日國師集‎ [5.6]世尊在靈山法會上。爲迦葉分半座。擧花枝。示雙趺。對衆密付。文殊普賢。八萬菩薩衆海。罔知迦葉入處。是乃教外別傳之派也。‎ 梵王决疑經及宗道者傳‎ [5.7]訣曰。自迦葉阿難二尊者。至六祖慧能大師。所謂卅三也。教外別傳之旨。逈出青霄之外。非徒五教學者難信。亦乃當宗下根。茫然不識。‎ [5.8]問。迦葉阿難位在聲聞。豈堪教外別傳之旨乎。荅。‎ 迦葉阿難。應化大聖。百千三昧。無量功德。與如來不異。況已授密記者耶。‎ 正宗記...

Translation of Hyujŏng’s Comparative Elucidation of Sŏn and the Teachings (Translation 5)

[5.1] I, Chŏnghŏ, Pyŏngno [i.e., the old one who is ill], was at the Terrace of the Golden Transcendent Beings [Kŭmsŏn] on West Mountain [Sŏsan].1 One day the three virtuous monks Haengju, Yŭjong,2 and Pojong brought the text Commentaries of Five Masters on the Diamond Sutra...

Translation of Boshan’s Chan Admonitions (Translation 2)

[2.1] In doing practice-work,1 the foremost essential is to have a rock-hard [resolve] to smash the mind of birth-death; to see right through your body-and-mind-in-the-world—which is entirely a set of nominal conditions, with no real agent. If you do not clarify your innate great principle, then the mind of birth-death will never be smashed. Furthermore, when the mind of birth-death has not been smashed, the killer demon of impermanence from thought-moment to thought-moment will be unceasing. But how do you go about thrusting all this aside? Just take this ...