Rujing: A Public Lecture to Lay People

In a public lecture to lay people,¹ Rujing shouted a deafening shout, and said,

This singular shout, to this great assembly, is having "finished before The King with the Awe-Inspiring Voice has appeared."² Yet, even this is already having stumbled past—how much more so for those who have come in today to make replies?

Wild, indiscriminate shouting; shouts of disorder, and confusion—is this not "your butt's making gurgling noises"?³ If there is someone in the assembly, intrepid enough, fierce enough, to come forth, I am going to smack your shit mouth, knock out some teeth, and stuff you down into a pit of crap, so that people avoid having to encounter your haphazard mess, and risk being deceived.

Although I'm like this, there's also a fist made behind my back—"raising one's voice to stop the echo."⁴

Nevertheless, in a roundabout way, it's established that there are manifold gates, so let's open up a single line here—will no one come forth?

Waiting a good while, he said,

Since there's no one, borrow this singular shout a little while—with more messes piling up, the deceitful people will be leaving.

Shouting a deafening shout, he said,

There are hosts, and there are guests; there is the illumination, and there is the function—do you know where it all settles?

If you could realize where it settles, then you can know where it is activated. If you could realize where it is activated, then you can know where it is extinguished. If you could realize where it is extinguished, then, in your daily activity, you can know the total extinction of arising and vanishing, before Nirvana manifests.

You will discover this in the six locations:

In the eye, it is called "seeing;" you are only required to have dug out your eyes, to be far removed, to a place where there is no seeing, after which, you are without a place unseen—only then can it be said that you are seeing.

In the ear, it is called "hearing;" you are only required to plug out the sound from your ear canals, to be far removed, to a place where there is no hearing. After that, you are without a place unheard—only then can you say you are hearing.

In the nose, it is called "smelling;" you are only required to strike off your nose—then fair and foul smells become indistinguishable, after which, you are without a place undistinguished—only then may you be said to be smelling.

At the tongue is "discussion;" you are only required to have pulled out your tongue, and heaven and earth will keep silent. After that, you will burn fiercely, without interruption—only then can it be said to be discussion.

In the body, it is called "a person;" you are only required to break away from the four elements,⁵ to be without dependence, after which, in due course, you will conform to the revelation of your own true features—only then may one say you are a person.

In the mind, it is called "knowledge;" you are only required to persistently desist from climbing and clambering for a mere three empty kalpas. After that, arising and vanishing will never cease, and only then will you be said to have knowledge.

You will discover this according to the six locations stated above—nowhere interrupted.

Previously, it was said, "There are hosts, and there are guests; there is the illumination, and there is the function"—it is only required that guest and host exchange, that illumination and function participate together, to arrive higher than past, present, and future, than Buddhas, and the six successions of ancestral teachers; to reach lower than that those born of animals, than grass, plants, and insects. All these deafening shouts—nowhere is there one lost.

Then you'll see "having finished before The King with the Awe-Inspiring Voice has appeared." Only this is according to now—"having finished before The King with the Awe-Inspiring Voice has appeared" is according to now, and only this.

Without two, is without two to distinguish; without seperation, is without a reason to divide. If you bind these "hill monks" in place for the sake of debate; what is the shouting?

What is there to debate? Originally, there are not so many things, so if you "must always suffer the rod," you have stumbled too far past; to not stumble so far past, Linji has another four shouts for you—following this practice, you are unobstructed, leisurely, and at ease, and with only this, one after another, your nostrils will have been pierced through.

Bah! A deafening shout!

If the shout is like the Diamond Sword of the Vajra King, your shout will be pitching shit into the toilet. If the shout is like the golden-haired lion, crouching on the ground, your shout will send the rats into the cave. If the shout is like a weed-tipped fishing pole, your shout will angle a Chinese frog.

As for the shout that doesn’t function as a shout, well, tonight at Qingliang, there are demons and monsters before the skull, thus it is called "medicine for a dead horse"—even if the living leave off at this deafening shout, how can a case of "your butt making gurgling noises" be avoided?

Even though it's said, "finish before The King with the Awe-Inspiring Voice has appeared," where does that come from? Is it necessary to "attain" this? If this pertains to a kind of "attainment," then there is wild, indiscriminate shouting; there's shouting out of disorder, confusion—

Is there something the matter?

Avoid seeking after rope beds, after those with horns on their heads, with hands held forth and folded.

Perhaps it is not yet like this—if so, whether by clenched fist, or by tippytoe, just avoid losing your temper.

Bah!

...

[0129c23] 喝一喝云。大眾者一喝。威音王未現已前。早是蹉過了也。況復今日更來者裡。胡喝亂喝。是甚麼[尸@豕]沸椀鳴聲。眾中若有人。勇猛出來。劈屎口椎落牙齒。[祝/土]向屎坑裡去。免見狼藉取次欺人。直饒恁麼。也是背後揑拳。揚聲止響。然曲設多門。放開一路。莫有人出來麼。良久云。既無。暫借一喝。重疊狼藉。欺人去也。喝一喝。有主有賓。有照有用。還知落處麼。若知得落處。便知得起處。若知得起處。便知得滅處。若知得滅處。便知得起滅俱滅寂滅現前。於日用中。六處發現。在眼曰見。直須抉却眼睛逈無所見。然後無所不見。方可謂之見。在耳曰聞。直須塞斷耳根逈無所聞。然後無所不聞。方可謂之聞。在鼻曰嗅。直須敲落鼻孔香臭不分。然後無所不分。方可謂之嗅。在舌談論。直須拔却舌頭天地緘默。然後熾然無間。方可謂之談論。在身曰人。直須四大脫除了無依倚。然後隨類現形。方可謂之人。在心曰識。直須永絕攀緣三祇劫空。然後起滅不停。方可謂之識。如上六處發現。無所間斷。前來所謂有主有賓。有照有用。直得賓主互換照用交參。上至三世諸佛六代祖師。下及傍生異類草木昆虫。皆此一喝。無有遺者。便見。威音王未現已前。只是如今。如今只是威音王未現已前。無二無二分。無別無斷故。若約山僧所論。喝箇甚麼。論箇甚麼。本無許多般。總須喫棒。有甚蹉過。有甚不蹉過。更有臨濟四喝。因行不妨掉臂。亦與一一穿却鼻孔。咄一喝。如金剛王寶劍。屎廁籌一喝。如踞地獅子。窟裏老鼠一喝。如探竿影草。釣蝦蟆漢一喝。不作一喝用。髑髏前魍魎。今夜清涼。恁麼喚作醫死馬。縱然活去者一喝。爭免箇[尸@豕]沸椀鳴聲。雖然且道。威音王未現已前。從什麼處得來。還定當得出麼。若也定當得出。胡喝亂喝。有甚麼過。免向繩床角頭叉手覓。其或未然。拳頭脚尖。切忌惡發咄。

...

¹ Ch. pushuo普說

² Ref. The King with the Awe-inspiring Voice [Skt. Bhisma Raja] refers to the primordial Buddhas; the operative inquiry would be, "What is it to be in accord with the ancients before having heard the Dharma?;" see the Lotus Sutra [ch.20]; "Shushan Guangren" in Transmission of the Lamp [vol.17]

³ See "Touzi's 'All Sounds' " [case 79, Blue Cliff Record]

⁴ See Wansong's introduction to "Yanyang's 'Thing' " [case 57, Book of Serenity]; "Layman Xiang" in Transmission of the Lamp [vol.3]

⁵ Ref. Earth, Wind, Fire, Water. Though often referring to the material substance of reality, in Zen, "the four elements" can also sometimes have its own technical definition; for an example, see Linji's record for his lecture on the four elements.

Submitted August 13, 2022 at 07:26PM by surupamaerl2 https://ift.tt/eqNwWti