Shifting Shape, Shaping Text: Philosophy and Folklore in the Fox Koan

Appendix I: Translations of Fox Kōan Commentaries

Appendix I Appendix I Translations of Fox Kòan Commentaries Translations of Fox Kòan Commentaries The wild fox kòan or “Pai-chang and the wild fox” first appeared as a dialogue contained in the section on Pai-chang’s life and teachings in the biohagiographic transmission of the lamp text, the T’ien-sheng kuang-teng lu (chüan 8) in 1036, which was the second main example of the genre of genealogical historical anecdotes following the groundbreaking Ching-te ch’uan-teng lu in 1004.1 After this edition, the kòan text underwent considerable revision and change until eventually two main versions emerged: the T’ien-sheng kuang-teng lu (TKL) version , which appears with minor modifications in Pai-chang’s recorded sayings text, the Pai-chang yü-lu, and a subsequent version with enhanced philosophical and folkloric elements appearing in the Wu-men kuan (WMK) version and other texts that has become the standard edition . In addition to its position in the Wu-men kuan collection of forty-eight cases, the fox kòan is cited, usually with prose and poetic commentary , in many historical records, kòan collections, and recorded sayings texts from Sung China and Kamakura Japan as well as subsequent periods, including the records of Pai-chang. Some of the main texts containing the fox kòan include transmission of the lamp histories such as the Tsung-men t’ung-yao chi (1093, chüan 3, the primary source for what became the standard version), 201 the Tsung-men lien-teng hui-yao (1163, chüan 4), the Chia-t’ai p’u-teng lu (1201), and the Wu-teng hui-yüan (1253). Another category of texts containing the case is kòan collections: in addition to the Wu-men kuan, the fox kòan is found in Ta-hui’s Cheng-fa yen-tsang (1147) and the Hung-chih sung-ku pai-tse (1166, case 8), which were records of how leading masters selected and sometimes briefly commented on key dialogues. This category also includes the Ts’ung-jung lu (1224, case 8, plus a brief reference in case 80), which was based on Hung-chih’s verse collection, as well as the comprehensive Ming-dynasty collection, the Chih-yüeh lu (vol. 8). Moreover, the case is cited in Dògen’s kòan collections—the Mana Shòbògenzo (or Shòbògenzò sanbyakusoku, 1235, case 102) and Eihei kòroku juko (1236, chüan 9 in the Eihei kòroku, case 77)—as well as the two Shòbògenzò fascicles, “Daishugyò” and “Jinshin inga.” A third category of Zen texts commenting on the kòan are the recorded sayings and poetry collections of numerous masters, who often gave formal shang-t’ang (J. jòdò) or informal hsiao-ts’an (J. shòsan) lectures on the case—many of which are contained in two twelfth-century collections, Ch’an-tsung sung-ku lien-chu-t’ung tsi (verses) and Tsung-men nien-ku hui-tsi (prose comments). It is also important to note the texts that do not contain the fox kòan: the Tsu-t’ang tsi (952), a historical record that was an important antecedent to the transmission of the lamp genre, in addition to the Ching-te ch’uan-teng lu—despite the fact that these texts offer the earliest biographies of Pai-chang and frequently use “wild fox” terminology, including the sarcastic epithet “wild fox spirit” as terms of derision in other contexts . Nor does the kòan appear in such collections as the Hsüeh-tou po-tse sung-ku (1026)—which became the basis for the Pi-yen lu (1128)—and the Chi-chieh lu. The absence of the fox kòan from the Pi-yen lu and the Chi-chieh lu means that it was not cited in either of the two prominent collections compiled by Yüan-wu, Ta-hui’s teacher, although he does include it in his own recorded sayings. The WMK and TKL Versions Following the translations is a textual comparison of the WMK and TKL versions. 202 • Appendix I Wu-men kuan Case 2 (T 48:293a–b) [Also in the Tsung-men t’ung-yao chi, Tsung-men lien-teng hui-yao, and Wu-teng hui-yüan] Main Case Whenever Zen master [Huai-hai of Mount] Pai-chang [in Hung...