object:1.04 - Te Shan Carrying His Bundle
book class:The Blue Cliff Records
class:chapter
FOURTH CASE
Te Shan Carrying His Bundle
POINTER
Under the blue sky, in the bright sunlight, you don't have to
point out this and that anymore; but the causal conditions of
time and season still require you to give the medicine in
accordance with the disease. But tell me, is it better to let go, or
is it better to hold still? To test, I cite this: look!
CASE
When Te Shan arrived at Kuei Shan,1 he carried his bundle
with him into the teaching hall,2 where he crossed from east to
west and from west to east.3 He looked around and said,
"There's nothing, no one." Then he went out.4
Hsueh Tou added the comment, "Completely exposed."5
But when Te Shan got to the monastery gate, he said, "Still, I
shouldn't be so coarse."6 So he reentered (the hall) with full
ceremony to meet (Kuei Shan).7 As Kuei Shan sat there,8 Te
Shan held up his sitting mat and said, "Teacher!"9 Kuei Shan
reached for his whisk,10 whereupon Te Shan shouted, shook
out his sleeves, and left.11
Hsueh Tou added the comment, "Completely exposed."12
Te Shan turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his
straw sandals, and departed.13 That evening Kuei Shan asked
the head monk, "Where is that newcomer who just came?"14
The head monk answered, "At that time he turned his back on
the teaching hall, put on his straw sandals, and departed."15
Kuei Shan said, "Hereafter that lad will go to the summit of
a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and go on scolding
the Buddhas and reviling the Patriarchs."16
Hsueh Tou added the comment, "He adds frost to snow."17
22
Fourth Case
23
NOTES
1. The board-carrying fellow, a the wild fox spirit! h
2. Unavoidably he causes people to doubt. He has suffered defeat.
3. He has a lot of Ch'an, but what for?
4. He deserves thirty blows of the staff. Indeed his spirit reaches the
heavens. A real lion cub can roar the lion's roar.
5. Wrong. After all. Check!
6. Letting go, gathering in. At first too high, in the end too low.
When one realizes one's fault one should reform, but how many
people can?
7. As before, he acts like this. It's already his second defeat. Danger!
8. (Kuei Shan) watches this fellow with cold eyes. It takes this kind
of man to grab a tiger's whiskers.
9. He changes heads, switches faces; he stirs up waves where there's
no wind.
10. Only that fellow could do this; he sets his strategy in motion from
within his tent. Nothing can stop him from cutting off the
tongues of everyone in the world.
11. This is the understanding of a wild fox spirit. This one shout
contains both the provisional and the real, both the illumination
and the function. They're all people who can grab the clouds and
grasp the fog, but he is outstanding among them.
12. Wrong. After all. Check!
13. The scenery is lovely, but the case is not yet completed. (Te Shan)
won the hat on his head but lost the shoes on his feet. He's
already lost his body and his life.
14. He lost his interest in the east, and loses his principal in the west.
His eyes look southeast, but his mind is in the northwest.
15. The sacred tortoise is dragging his tail;" he deserves thirty blows.
How many blows to the back of the head would it take for this
kind of fellow?
16. He draws his bow after the thief is gone. No patchrobed monk in
the world can leap out of this.
17. Wrong. After all. Check!
COMMENTARY
Three times I added the word "check." Do all of you under
stand? Sometimes I take a blade of grass and use it as the
24
THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD
sixteen-foot golden body (of Buddha); sometimes I take the
sixteen-foot golden body and use it as a blade of grass.
Originally Te Shan was a lecturing monk, expounding the
Diamond Cutter Scripture in western Shu (Szechuan). Accord
ing to what it says in that teaching, in the process of the
knowledge attained after diamond-like concentration, one
studies the majestic conduct of Buddhas for a thousand aeons
and studies the refined practices of Buddhas for ten thousand
aeons before finally fulfilling Buddhahood. On the other hand,
the "southern devils" at this time were saying "Mind itself is
Buddha." Consequently Te Shan became very incensed and
went travelling on foot, carrying some commentaries; he went
straight to the South to destroy this crew of devils. You see
from how aroused he got what a fierce keen fellow he was.
When he first got to Li Chou (in Hunan), he met an old
woman selling fried cakes by the roadside; he put down his
commentaries to buy some refreshment to lighten his mind.
The old woman said, "What is that you're carrying?" Te Shan
said, "Commentaries on the Diamond Cutter Scripture." The
old woman said, "I have a question for you: if you can answer it
I'll give you some fried cakes to refresh your mind; if you can't
answer, you'll have to go somewhere else to buy." Te Shan
said, "Just ask." The old woman said, "The Diamond Cutter
Scripture says, 'Past mind can't be grasped, present mind can't
be grasped, future mind can't be grasped': which mind does the
learned monk desire to refresh?" Te Shan was speechless. The
old woman directed him to go call on Lung T'an.
As soon as Te Shan crossed the threshold he said, "Long
have I heard of Lung T'an ('Dragon Pond'), but now that I've
arrived here, there's no pond to see and no dragon appears."
Master Lung T'an came out from behind a screen and said,
"You have really arrived at Lung T'an." Te Shan bowed and
withdrew. During the night Te Shan entered Lung T'an's room
and stood in attendance till late at night. Lung T'an said, "Why
don't you go?" Te Shan bade farewell, lifted up the curtain, and
went out; he saw that it was dark outside, so he turned around
and said, "It's dark outside." Lung T'an lit a paper lantern and
handed it to Te Shan; as soon as Te Shan took it, Lung T'an
blew it out. Te Shan was vastly and greatly enlightened. Im
mediately he bowed to Lung T'an, who said, "What have you
seen that you bow?" Te Shan answered, "From now on I will
Fourth Case
25
never again doubt what's on the tongues of the venerable
teaching masters of the world."
The next day Lung T'an went up into the teaching hall and
said, "There is one among you with teeth like a forest of
swords and a mouth like a bowl of bloodi even if you hit him
with a staff, he wouldn't turn back. Another day he will ascend
to the summit of a solitary peak and establish my path there."
Then Te Shan took all his commentaries in front of the teach
ing hall and raised a torch over them, declaring, "Even to
plumb all abstruse locutions is like a single hair in the great
voidi to exhaust the essential workings of the world is like a
single drop of water cast into a vast valley." Then he burned
the commentaries.
Later he heard that Kuei Shan's teaching was flourishing, so
he traveled to Kuei Shan to meet him as an adept. Without
even untying his bundle, he went straight to the teaching hall,
where he walked back and forth from east to west and west to
east, looked around, and said, "Nothing, no one." Then he
went out. Tell me, what was his meaning? Wasn't he crazy?
People misinterpret this as 'establishment,' but that is simply
irrelevant. See how extraordinary that Te Shan wasi this is why
it is said, "To stand out from the crowd, you must be a brave
spirited fellowi to defeat enemies is a matter for a lion's son. If
you try to become Buddha without an eye like this, how will
you ever do it, even in a thousand years?"
When you get here, you must be a thoroughly competent
adept before you will be able to see. Why? In the Buddha
Dharma there are not so many complicationsi where can you
bring intellectual views to bear? This is the action of (Te
Shan's) mindi where is there so much toil? This is why Hsuan
Sha said, "Even if you're like the moon reflected in an autumn
pond, which when striking the waves is not scattered, or like
the sound of a bell on a quiet night, which when hit never fails
to resound, this is still an affair on this shore of birth and
death." When you arrive here there is no gain or loss, no affir
mation or negation, nor is there anything extraordinary or
mysterious. Since there is nothing extraordinary or mysteri
ous, how will you understand (Te Shan's) going back and forth
from east to west and west to east? Tell me, what was his
meaning?
This old fellow Kuei Shan still was not taken in by that (Te
26
THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD
Shan); anyone but Kuei Shan would have been crushed by him.
Look at how the old adept Kuei Shan meets him; he just sits
there and observes the outcome. If he did not profoundly dis
cern the 'oncoming wind,' how could he have been like this?
Hsueh Tou adds the comment "Completely exposed." This is
like an iron spike. In the assembly this is called an added
comment: although it goes for both sides, it does not remain on
either side. How will you understand his statement, "Com
pletely exposed"? Where does the complete exposure take
place? Tell me, is Te Shan completely exposed, or is it Kuei
Shan who is completely exposed?
On his way out Te Shan got as far as the monastery gate, but
then he said to himself, "Still, I shouldn't be so coarse." He
wanted to bring out his guts, his innermost heart, in a Dharma
battle with Kuei Shan; so he went back in with full ceremony
to meet him. As Kuei Shan sat there, Te Shan lifted up his
sitting mat and said, "Teacher!" Kuei Shan reached for his
whisk; Te Shan then shouted, shook his sleeves, and left. How
extraordinary!
Many in the assembly say that Kuei Shan was afraid of him.
What has this got to do with it? Kuei Shan was not flustered at
all. This is why it is said, "One whose wisdom surpasses a
bird's can catch a bird, one whose wisdom surpasses an ani
mal's can catch an animal, and one whose wisdom surpasses a
man's can catch a man." When one is immersed in this kind of
Ch'an, even if the multitude of appearances and myriad forms,
heavens and hells, and all the plants, animals, and people, all
were to shout at once, he still wouldn't be bothered; even if
someone overthrew his meditation seat and scattered his con
gregation with shouts, he wouldn't give it any notice. It is as
high as heaven, broad as earth. If Kuei Shan did not have the
ability to cut off the tongues of everyone on earth, at that time
it would have been very difficult for him to test Te Shan. If he
weren't the enlightened teacher of fifteen hundred people, at
this point he wouldn't have been able to explain anything. But
Kuei Shan was setting strategy in motion from within his tent
that would settle victory over a thousand miles.
Te Shan turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his
straw sandals, and departed. Tell me, what was his meaning?
You tell me, did Te Shan win or lose? Acting as he did, did Kuei
Fourth Case
27
Shan win or lose? Hsueh Tou commented, "Completely ex
posed." Here he makes an effort and sees through the Ancients'
ultimate riddle; only thus could he be so extraordinary. Hsueh
Tou added "Completely exposed" twice, making a three part
judgement; only then had he revealed this public case. He was
like a bystander judging those two men.
Afterwards, this old fellow (Kuei Shan) was unhurried; when
evening came he finally asked the head monk, "Where is that
newcomer who just came?" The head monk replied, "At that
time, he turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his straw
sandals, and left." Kuei Shan said, "Hereafter that lad will go
up to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut,
and go on scolding the Buddhas and reviling the Patriarchs."
But say, what was his meaning? Old man Kuei Shan was not
being good hearted; in the future Te Shan could scold the Bud
dhas and revile the Patriarchs, pummel the wind and beat the
rain, yet he would still never get out of that cave. Te Shan's
whole lifetime's methods have been seen through by this old
fellow. Should we say that Kuei Shan has given him a prophecy
here? Or should we say that when the marsh is wide it can hide
a mountain, that reason< can subdue a leopard? Fortunately
this has nothing to do with it.
Hsueh Tou knows what this public case comes down to, so
he can dare to settle it for them by further saying, "He adds
frost to snow." Once again he offers it up for people to see. If
you do see, I'll allow that you're a fellow student of Kuei Shan,
Te Shan, and Hsueh Tou. If you don't see, beware of vainly
producing intellectual interpretations.
VERSE
One "completely exposed"
*The words are still in our ears. Gone.
A second "completely exposed"
**A double case.
"Adding frost to snow" -(Te Shan) has had a dangerous fall.
*The three stages are not the same. Where (did Te Shan
fall){
28
THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD
The General of the Flying Cavalry enters the enemy camp;
Danger! No need to trouble to slash again at the
general of a defeated army. He loses his body and life.
How many could regain their safety?
**(Te Shan) gained life in the midst of death.
(Te Shan) hurriedly runs past
*He acts like no one is around him.
Although you exhaust the thirty-six
strategems of your supernatural powers,
what is the use?*
(But Kuei Shan) doesn't let him go.
*The cat can subdue the leopard.
(Kuei Shan) pierced his nostrils.
On the summit of the solitary peak, he sits among the weeds;
**After all. To pierce his nostrils isn't out of the
ordinary. But why is he (Te Shan) sitting among the
weeds?
Bah!
**Understand? Two blades cut each other.
Two by two, three by three, they walk the
old road. Singing and clapping go together.
I strike!
COMMENTARY
When Hsueh Tau composed verses on one hundred public
cases, with each case he burned incense and offered it up;
therefore (his verses) have circulated widely throughout the
land. In addition he mastered literary composition. When he
had penetrated the public cases and become easily conversant
with them, only then could he set his brush to paper. Why so?
It is easy to distinguish dragons from snakes; it is hard to fool a
patchrobed monk. Since Hsueh Tau immersed himself in this
case and penetrated through it, he puts down three comments
at those impenetrable, misleading places, then picks them up
to make his verse.
"Adding frost to snow" -almost a dangerous fall. What is
Te Shan like? He is just like Li Kuang, by innate talent a skilled
Fourth Case
29
archer, whom the Emperor (Wu of Han) commissioned as the
General of the Flying Cavalry (Imperial elite corps). Li Kuang
penetrated deep into enemy territory, where he was captured
alive by the King of the Huns. Kuang was weak from wounds;
they tied him prone between two horses. Kuang played dead,
but stealthily observed that there was a Hun near him riding a
good mount. Kuang suddenly sprang up and leaped on the
horse, throwing down the Hun rider and seizing his bow and
arrows. Whipping the horse, he galloped off towards the South;
drawing the bow and shooting back at the riders pursuing him,
he thus made good his escape. This fellow had the ability to
wrest life from the midst of death; Hsueh Tou alludes to this in
the verse to make a comparison with Te Shan, who re-entered
(the teaching hall) to meet (Kuei Shan), and was able to leap out
again, as before.
Look at how that Ancient (Te Shan) sees all the way, speaks
all the way, acts all the way, and functions all the way; he's
undeniably a brave spirit. Only if you possess the ability to kill
a man without blinking an eye can you then become Buddha
right where you stand. Someone who can fulfill Buddhahood
right where he stands naturally kills people without blinking
an eye; thus he has his share of freedom and independence.
When some people these days are questioned, at first they
seem to have the qualities of a patchrobed monk, but when
they're pressed even slightly, their waists snap and their legs
break; they come all to pieces. They totally lack the slightest
continuity. That is why an Ancient said, "Continuity is indeed
very difficult." Look at how Te Shan and Kuei Shan acted; were
theirs stammering, halting views?
"How many could regain their safety? (Te Shan) hurriedly
runs past." Te Shan shouted and left; this is just like Li Kuang's
strategy after he was captured, seizing a bow to shoot and kill
his guard, and making good his escape from enemy territory.
Hsueh Tau's verse at this point has great effect.
Te Shan turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his
straw sandals and left. Some say he gained the advantage; how
far they are from realizing that this old fellow (Kuei Shan), as
before, still doesn't allow (Te Shan) to appear. Hsueh Tou says,
"He doesn't let him go." The same evening Kuei Shan asked
the head monk, "Where is that newcomer who just came?"
The head monk said, "Back then, he turned his back on the
30
THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD
teaching hall, put on his straw sandals and left." Kuei Shan
said, "Hereafter that lad will go up to the summit of a solitary
peak, build himself a grass hut, and go on scolding the Buddhas
and reviling the Patriarchs." When did he ever let him go?
Nevertheless, he's outstanding.
At this point, why does Hsueh Tau say, "On the summit of
the solitary peak, he sits among the weeds," and then add an
exclamation? Tell me, what does this come down to? Study for
thirty more years!
'
TRANSLATOR S NOTES
a.
Someone carrying a board can only see one side, vision being
obstructed by the burden.
b.
A wild fox spirit is usually an expression of blame, referring to
someone who indulges in cleverness. According to an old story,
someone once became a wild fox because he said that an ac
complished yogi is not subject to cause and effect. However, like
all'turning words,' this expression also has a positive side, mean
ing one who has complete freedom of action.
c.
That is, he is leaving a trail. Some commentators explain the
general metaphor by saying that when a tortoise lays eggs in the
sand it covers them to hide them, but as it leaves its tail makes a
track, after all revealing the whereabouts of the eggs. This expres
sion is thus similar to the Ch'an saying about hiding the body but
revealing the shadow.
d.
The alternate version of this saying is that "a cat can subdue a
leopard," meaning that the weaker can subdue the stronger. Con
fusion arose from the similarity between the Chinese characters
used for "cat" and for "reason."
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