Pai Chang's appearences in books written by other Zen masters

Here /r/zen, a quick overview of the appearences of Pai Chang in the Mumonkan, BOS and the BCR, because someone here thought it was suspicious that he isn't mentioned by other Zen masters. So this post will bring up the cases in which Pai Chang appears.

tldr: Mumonkan Case 2; BCR Case 26, 53, 70, 71, 72, 73; Book of Serenity Case 6, 8

Mumonkan

Mumonkan Case 2: The famous wild fox koan Pai Chang is called Hyakujo in my translation, but it's the same guy. Here he appears as Huang Po's teacher. Huang Po is a pretty clever student, but Pai Chang is still superior.

Blue Cliff Record

BCR Case 26:

A monk asked Pai Chang, "What's the extraordinary affair?" Chang said, "Sitting alone on Ta Hsiung Mountain." The monk bowed; Chang thereupon hit him.

Yuanwu: Pai Chang was like a tiger - how laughable that this monk went to grab the tiger's whiskers.

BCR Case 53:

Once when Great Master Ma and Pai Chang were walking together they saw some wild ducks fly by. The Great Master asked, "What is that?" Chang said, "Wild ducks." The Great Master said, "Where have they gone? "4 Chang said, "They've flown away." The Great Master then twisted Pai Chang's nose.6 Chang cried out in pain. The Great Master said, "When have they ever flown away?"

Here he is still as a disciple together with his teacher Mazu.

Yuanwu: If you observe this case with the correct eye, unexpectedly it's Pai Chang who has the correct basis, whereas Great Master Ma is creating waves where there is no wind.

Yuanwu also gives some background story to Pai Chang:

At a young age Pai Chang left behind the dusts of wordly life and became well versed in the three studies (discipline, medi­tation, and wisdom). When Ma Tsu (known as) Ta Chi was teaching at Nan Ch'ang, Pai Chang set his heart on joining him. For twenty years he served as Ma Tsu's attendant, until the time of his second calling (on Ma Tsu, as related in the commentary to Case 11), when he was finally greatly en­lightened at Ma Tsu's shout.

BCR Case 70:

Kuei Shan, Wu Feng, and Yun Yen were together attending on Pai Chang. Pai Chang asked Kuei Shan, "With your throat, mouth, and lips shut, how will you speak?" Kuei Shan said, "Please, Teacher, you speak instead." Chang said, "I don't refuse to speak to you, but I fear that (if I did) in the future I would be bereft of descendants."

BCR Case 71:

Pai Chang also asked Wu Feng, "With your throat, mouth, and lips shut, how will you speak?" Feng said, "Teacher, you too should shut up." Chang said, "Where there's no one, I shade my eyes with my hand and gaze out towards you."

BCR Case 72:

Pai Chang also asked Yun Yen, "With your throat, mouth, and lips shut, how will you speak?" Yen said, "Teacher, do you have (any way to speak) or not?" Chang said, "I have lost my descendants."

In his commentery, Yuanwu mentions an exchange with Yoa Shan, indicating that Yao Shan also knew Pai Chang.

Yun Yen was an attendant for twenty years at Pai Chang. Later he went along with Tao Wu to Yao Shan. Shan asked him, "When you were in Pai Chang's congregation, what was your purpose?" Yen said, "To escape birth and death." Shan said, "Have you escaped yet or not?" Yen said, "There's no birth and death for this one." Shan said, "Twenty years at Pai Chang and your force of habit still hasn't been cleared away yet."

BCR Case 73:

This case is a monk who questions Mazu, who sends him to Chih Tsang for an answer, who then sends him further to Pai Chang.

Some additional mentions of Pai Chang: Commentaries of Case 11 (some conversations with Huang Po) and Case 2.

Book of Serenity

BOS Case 6 is the same as BCR Case 73. BOS Case 8 is the same as Mumonkan Case 2. Possible more mentions in the BOS, but not any I am aware of.

In the commentary of Case 6, Wansong has another story about Pai Chang, showing a connection to Nanquan:

One night these three great men were gazing at the moon along with Nanquan, Mazu said, "What should one do at this very moment?" Baizhang [Pai Chang] said, "Just right to cultivate practice." Xitang said, "Just right to make offerings." Nanquan brushed out his sleeves and left. Mazu said, "The scriptures go into the treasury (zang); meditation goes into the ocean (hai) - only Nanquan alone transcends utterly beyond things." Even here black and white should be clearly distinguished.

In the commentary of Case 8, Yangshan also talks about Pai Chang:

Yangshan said, "Baizhang attained the great capacity, Huangbo attained the great function."

Submitted August 05, 2016 at 01:52AM by kloudspiller http://ift.tt/2ayiFCt