The Record of Linji

Commentary

117 i HuizhaoChanshi慧照禪師,“Meditation Master of Illuminating Wisdom,” is the imperially conferred posthumous title of the master usually known as Linji Yixuan 臨濟義玄. The name Linji derives from Linji yuan 臨濟院, the master’s temple on the Hutuo 滹沱 River in Zhenzhou 鎮州, an area in the central part of the present Hebei 河北 region. See the Introduction for additional biographical material; also zd, 154–157. Huiran of Sansheng.See page 100,n.36. Prefectural Governor,Councilor Wang, FuzhuWang Changshi 府主王常侍.See the Introduction, page 96, n. 20 for a discussion of his titles. To address is a free translation of either 升座 or 上堂, both of which are terms meaning“to take the high seat in the hall”; 鎮州臨濟慧照禪師語錄 住三聖嗣法小師慧然集 The Recorded Sayings of Linji Huizhao Chanshi of Zhenzhou Compiled by his humble heir Huiran of Sansheng discourses 上堂 i 府主王常侍、與諸官請師升座。師上堂云、山僧今日事不獲 已、曲順人情、方登此座。若約祖宗門下、稱揚大事、直是開 口不得、無爾措足處。山僧此日以常侍堅請、那隱綱宗。 The Prefectural Governor, Councilor Wang, along with the other officials ,requested the master to address them.The master took the high seat in the Dharma Hall and said: “Today, I, this mountain monk, having no choice in the matter, have perforce yielded to customary etiquette and taken this seat.If I were to demonstrate the Great Matter in strict keeping with the teaching of the ancestral school, I simply couldn’t open my mouth and there wouldn’t be any place for you to find footing. But since I’ve been so earnestly entreated today by the councilor, why should I conceal the essential doctrine of our school? Commentary 118 | t h e r e c o r d o f l i n j i see Introduction, page 79, for a further discussion of these terms. In the ll the terms are used interchangeably. Mountain monk translates 山僧, a deprecatory term used by Chan monks to refer to themselves. Originally it appears to have signified monks who lived alone in the mountains, and not in communities . Early usages occur in the Zhao lun 肇 論 (The treatises of Zhao), by Sengzhao 僧 肇 (374/78–414), an eminent Chinese disciple of Kumārajīva (t 45: 155a; 155c), and in the section on Xuangao 玄高 (402–444) in the gz (t 50: 397a). Later usages seem to refer also to monks lacking official ordination certificates.The section on Tanqian 曇 遷 (542–607) in the xg contains the following passage: In the spring of [Kaihuang 開皇] 10 [590], the emperor [Wen 文帝] journeyed to Jinyang 晉陽 and commanded Jian to attend upon him…. The emperor said [to Tanqian ],“Your disciple’s journey has brought him here, and he has been informed that there are a great many self-ordained monks 私度山僧 who are requesting government licenses. I am desirous of granting certificates to them. What do you think of this? (t 50: 572c–573a) As early as the early eighth century, however, “mountain monk” was being used by Chan monks as a self-deprecatory term, as seen in several poems of that period, e.g., the Zhengdao ge 證道歌 (Song of enlightenment; t 48: 396c), attributed to Yongjia Xuanjue 永嘉玄覺 (663–713), a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch. The usage also appears in the Guishan jingce 潙山 警策 (Guishan’s admonitions) and in the section on Sikongshan Benjing 司空山本淨 (667–761) in the jc (see t 51: 242c; 243a). Customary etiquette translates 人情, the usual meaning of which is “human feeling, sentiment, kindness,” but which as an ancient colloquial expression meant “traditional custom” or “gifts given as an expression of goodwill” (see Tongsu bian 通俗編 9:180). In Tang colloquial language this term was often used as a verb. Great Matter translates 大事, an important Buddhist term that derives from the following passage in the Miaofa lianhua jing 妙法蓮華經, Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra: “All the buddhas, the world-honored ones, appear in the world only for one great matter 大 事, one great cause” (t 9: 7a). In time, the term came to mean the fundamental truth of Buddhism, the teaching by which sentient beings are brought to salvation. Ancestral school 祖宗 is the term used by Chan adherents to designate their tradition, since they regarded its distinctive feature to be its transmission of the ineffable buddha-mind from master to disciple through a long and unbroken lineage . According to tradition, this wordless transmission first took place when Śākyamuni held up a golden flower and his disciple Mahākāśyapa smiled in understanding . This incident, as related in wg case 6, is as follows: One day at the Vulture Peak Śākyamuni stood in front of the assembly and simply held up a flower. No one reacted except Mahākāśyapa, who smiled. At...