1、PrefaceThis book gives a translation of some letters and lectures on Chan by the great teacher Ta Hui. His remarks translated from Chinese here were in the main addressed to people in lay life, so the emphasis is on ways by which people immersed in worldly doings can learn Chan and achieve the liber
2、ation promised by Buddha. Though more than eight hundred years have passed since Ta Hui lived, the gist of his message is not bound to any particular time, place, or mode of expression-hopefully his words will still hit home and help people of today to unfold their potential.About the AuthorTa Hui w
3、as born into the cosmopolitan world of the Sung dynasty. It was an age when both rationalistic philosophy and practical invention flourished, when printed books multiplied and the arts reached a mature sophistication still admired today. Communication and commerce intensified: five Chinese cities ha
4、d populations over a million. Talents from all over the country were drawn to the brilliant circles in the imperial capital.This was no charmed golden age, unself-conscious and unquestioning. The political sensibilities of many upper-class Chinese were affronted by the relative weakness of the dynas
5、ty towards the powerful “barbarian“ states pressing in on the northeast and northwest, and reform measures to strengthen the government and augment its revenue were great issues of controvesy among gentlemen of affairs. The productive classes felt the pressure directly, as it was they who had to fin
6、ance the swollen, ineffective army, and the heavy payments of silver and silk sent as tribute to the enemy. Pressure of taxation undercut the position of the small producers, more and more of whom had to give up their independence for the patronage of a big landlord who could fend off the tax burden
7、 through political pull. As the government tried to increase its revenue, it succeeded more in driving the nations wealth beyond its own reach into powerful private hands, while millions of little people were deprived of their livelihood altogether.Finally in the 1120s the dam broke. In 1126 the for
8、ces of the “barbarian“ Chin state to the northeast captured the capital, Pien, along with the reigning emperor, his retired father, and a large number of high officials and top courtiers. Soon the Chin had set up their own puppets over vast stretches of China north of the Yangtse, and even the citie
9、s of south China were not immune from their raids. The Sung government regrouped around a new emperor and a new capital in the south, and eventually settled on a policy of acquiescence to Chin rule over north China. The old capital of the Northern Sung became the capital of the Chin (Pien, the moder
10、n Kaifeng, just south of the Yellow River) while the Southern Sung ruled from Lin An (the morden Hangchou, in Chekiang).Chan Buddhism by Sung times was outwardly flourishing: it had arrived culturally and socially. The impact of Chan teaching and style had been felt up to the highest level of societ
11、y, and many highly placed gentlemen of affairs considered themselves adherents. When Ta Hui lived some four hundred years had passed since the early greats of Chans florescence had “opened mountains,“ clearing land in remote spots with their followers to farm for their livelihood. Now there were lar
12、ge official establishments, with revenues assigned by the state. Recognized adepts could be summoned by imperial “invitation“ to take up residence and teach at these centers. Control over the possessions and capital of these places could become the object of conflicing desires and power struggles: e
13、stablished Buddhism was certainly not free of the taint of worldly ambition. Ta Huis teacher Yuan Wu often exclaimed how numerous phony Chan followers had become.Ta Hui was born in 1088 in Hsuan Cheng, just south of the Yangtse River in Anwhei, a son of the Hsi family. At school he soon showed a pre
14、ference for Buddhism over worldly studies. Even at an early age he was considered remarkable throughout the vicinity. At the age of sixteen he left home; at seventeen, he “dropped his hair,“ having his head shaved as a monk.He took delight in the doings of the Chan school, and read through the recor
15、ds of all the houses (the “Five Houses“ named for classic masters of Chan; Kuei-Yang, Lin Chi, Tsao Tung, Yun Men, and Fa Yen). He especially liked the words of Yun Men and (his teacher) Mu Chou. But he had doubts about the five sects: since originally there had been but one Bodhidharma, why were th
16、ere so many schools? By nature he was exceptionally talented and not bound by convention.At nineteen Ta Hui began his travels, following the traditional practice in Chan of visiting the various communities and seeking instruction from the teachers there. Even at this early age, Ta Tui would be taken
17、 for a later embodiment of previous Chan Masters. From one he sought instruction on Hsueh Tous hundred verses eulogizing the ancients (Hsueh Tous verse comments on one hundred well-known public cases of Chan, which became the kernel of the Blue Cliff Record of Ta Huis teacher, Yuan Wu). The teacher
18、would not offer a word of explanation, but made Ta Hui express his own view: in every case Ta Hui completely comprehended the subtle meaning. The older master exclaimed, “You must be someone whos come again!“From long contact with the Tsao-Tung tradition communities, Ta Hui understood their message
19、thoroughly, but he saw the formalized, ceremonious way they certified the transmission, and repudiated it, thinking to himself, “If there were transmission in Chan, how could this be the self-realized, self-awakened-to Dharma of the ancestral teachers?“Later he was directed to go to Master Chun of C
20、han Tang. When Ta Hui first got there his intellectualism was unrestrained. One day Chan Tang asked, “Why are your nostrils boundless today?“ Ta Hui replied, “(Because) Im at your place.“ Tang said, “You phony Chan man.“Again, when Ta Hui was reading a scripture, Chan Tang asked, “What scripture are
21、 you reading?“ He answered, “The Diamond Sutra.“ Tang said, “ This Dharma is everywhere equal, without high or low. Why is Yun Chu Mountain high and Pao Feng Mountain Low?“ Ta Hui replied, “ This Dharma is everywhere equal, without high or low. “ Tang said, “You could be a lecturers assistant.“One d
22、ay Chan Tang said, “Reverend Kao (Ta Huis initiatory name was Tsung Kao), you understood my Chan here at once. When I had you explain, you could explain, and when I had you give informal talks or general lectures commenting on and extolling the ancients, you could do that too. Theres just one thing
23、thats not there: do you know what?“ Ta Hui answered, “What?“ Tang said, “You only lack this one liberation thats in the burst of power. If you dont get this one liberation, theres Chan while Im talking with you in private, but as soon as you leave the private room, theres not; theres Chan while your
24、e awake and thinking, but as soon as you fall asleep, theres not. If youre like this, how can you be a match for birth and death?“ Ta Hui replied, “This is precisely my point of doubt.“When Chan Tang was extremely ill, Ta Hui asked him, “If you dont recover, whom should I take as a teacher so I can
25、complete this great affair?“ Tang said, “Theres a fellow from Szechuan named Chin (Yuan Wus initiatory name was Ke Chin). Though I dont know him, you must place your reliance in him, and youll be able to complete your affair. If you see him without completely comprehending, then go on practicing, an
26、d in a later life youll appear and learn Chan.“When Ta Hui met him, Yuan Wu was staying at Tien Ning Monastery (in the imperial capital, Pien). On his way there Ta Hui said to himself, “Ill make nine summers the time limit: if his Chan is no different from the other places, and he falsely considers
27、himself right, then Ill write that there is no Chan. A great scripture or treatise is better than wasting energy and getting bogged down for years. By cultivating the fundamentals, Ill not slip from being a man of the Buddha Dharma in future lives.“ When he got to see Yuan Wu, he was asking for inst
28、ruction all day long.Yuan Wu brought up Yun Mens saying, “East Mountain walks on the water,“ and had Ta Hui come to grips with it. Ta Hui offered some forty-nine replies but Yuan Wu didnt approve. One day Yuan Wu had gone up to his seat (to teach the assembly), and he cited Yun Mens words and said,
29、“I am not this way. If someone asks, What is the place where all the buddhas appear? I just say to them, From the south comes a fragrant wind, producing a slight chill in the recesses of the palace. “Hearing this, Ta Hui emptied out, and thought he was enlightened. Yuan Wu investigated and found tha
30、t though Ta Hui had managed to get before and after cut off, so the aspect of motion does not arise, yet he was settling down in purity and nakedness. He told Ta Hui, “It wasnt easy for you to get to this stage-too bad that having died, you are unable to come back to life. Without a doubt, words and
31、 phrases are a great disease, but havent you seen the sayingHanging from a cliff, let go-And agree to accept the experience.After annihilation, come back to life-I couldnt deceive you.You must be aware that this truth exists.“ Ta Hui said, “Just based on todays attainment, Im already joyous and live
32、ly; I cant understand any more.“Yuan Wu directed Ta Hui to spend time receiving and conversing with gentlemen of affairs who came calling. Whenever Ta Hui entered his room for private instruction, Yuan Wu brought up the same saying every time: “Having words or wordlessness, both are like clinging vi
33、nes on the tree.“ Questioning him with this, Yuan Wu would immediately say “Wrong, thats not it!“ as soon as Ta Hui opened his mouth. Ta Hui said, “This truth is like a dog looking at a pan of hot oil, wanting to taste it but unable to, wanting to give it up but unable to.“ Yuan Wu said, “Youve desc
34、ribed it very well-this is the unbreakable trap, the thicket of thorns.“One day Ta Hui said, “I hear that when you were at Wu Tsus you asked about this saying. I wonder what Wu Tsu said.“ Yuan Wu laughed but did not answer. Ta Hui said, “At the time you must have asked in front of the assembly: what
35、s stopping you from saying it now?“ Yuan Wu said, “I asked the meaning of Having words or wordlessness, both are like clinging vines on the tree. Wu Tsu said, Describe it and it cant be described completely, depict it and it cant be depicted accurately. I also asked, How is it when the tree falls an
36、d the vines wither? Wu Tsu said, It comes along with it. “ At these words, Ta Hui was released, saying, “I understand.“ So then Yuan Wu brought up several particularly difficult cases in order to question Ta Hui, who replied to them all without getting stuck. Yuan Wu said, “At last I know I havent b
37、een deceiving you.“ After Yuan Wu accepted him as the heir to the true school of Lin Chi.After his great penetration, Ta Hui went back to several figure in Chan he had doubts about and asked Yuan Wu about them. Yuan Wu said, “My Chan here is like a great ocean: to get it right, you have to take a gr
38、eat ocean and pour it in. If you just take a bowl, fill it with a little, and stop there, its that your capacity is only like this-what would you have me do about it? Only a few can reach your level. There was one equal to you (among my students), but he has already died.“Before long Yuan Wu had div
39、ided the teaching duties with Ta Hui (showing that Yuan Wu considered his attainment full enough for Ta Hui to be fit to guide others). Soon Ta Hui was widely esteemed throughout the Chan communities. He came to the notice of a high minister and was given a purple robe and the name “Buddha Sun“ as s
40、ign of imperial honor.When the Chin forces took the Sung capital in 1126, Ta Hui was well enough known to be on their list; he had to flee south to avoid being part of the booty. The new emperor Kao Tsung “invited“ Yuan Wu to take up residence at Yun Chu Monastery (just west of Nan Chang City in Kia
41、ngsi). Ta Hui himself went there, and Yuan Wu invited him to be the head monk. Once a Chan Master came forth from the assembly and asked, “How is it when the sword is hanging (right over you pointed) right between your eyes?“ Ta Hui said, “The blood squirts up to heaven.“ From below the (teachers) s
42、eat, Yuan Wu held him back with his hand saying, “Stop! stop! Well asked, even more amazingly answered.“Whenever Ta Hui entered Yuan Wus teaching room, Yuan Wu would always listen to his words. Afterwards one day, as they were going to their private quarters, Yuan Wu said, “If there were a Chan man
43、like me, how would you deal with him?“ Ta Hui said, “What unexpected good fortune if there were! As Tung Po said, having been an executioner all my life, when I meet a fat fellow, I slice.“ Yuan Wu laughed loudly and said, “Rather its you who should enter the room with me (and be my teacher)-youve p
44、inned me to the wall.“ (By tradition in Chan only those who surpassed their teachers were really worthy heirs.)Yuan Wu also asked Ta Hui how hed transmit Bodhidharmas coming from the West. Ta Hui said, “I shouldnt always be making up wild fox spirit views.“ (A “wild fox spirit“ is a metaphor for som
45、eone with unrestrained freedom of action, but it also carries a negative sense of one who indulges in cleverness.)Yuan Wu also asked, “Sitting on the tigers head, gathering in the tigers tail, understanding the source meaning at the first phrase-what is the first (highest, supreme) phrase?“ Ta Hui s
46、aid, “This is the second phrase.“Yuan Wu often said that in recent times Chan had become just a cliche, a nest, for most of the people in the various communities of seekers. But Ta Hui he deeply approved, and considered him the lone worthy successor to the lineage coming through Yuan Wus teacher, Wu
47、 Tsu Fa Yen.When Yuan Wu returned to his native Szechuan, Ta Hui stayed on, building himself a hut behind Yun Chu Mountain. Students flocked to him. Later he transferred his teaching activities to the southeast, to Fukien. In 1137 he received an imperial summons to dwell in a Chan temple on Ching Sh
48、an Mountain, near the new imperial capital Lin An (Hangchou). Within a year over a thousand disciples had gathered, and Ta Hui was becoming known as the great reviver of Lin Chi Chan. Another year, and the congregation surpassed seventeen hundred.High circles in the government were rent with dissens
49、ion over whether to go on the offensive against the Chin and try to reconquer northern China, or to be content with consolidating their southern domain. Repercussions of this political struggle reached Ta Hui when a high courtier with whom he was acquainted ran afoul of the prime minister for opposing his capitulationist policies, so that he and all his supposed supporters were sent into exile. Ta Hui was stripped of his imperial honors and certification, and
