Sayings of Nanquan, 2.1-10

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Part 10: Hold Up Your Head

曰。某甲若自會。The monk replied, "If someone understood [the Way] for themselves,
即不煩和尚。then they would not trouble the esteemed monk [for his understanding].
乞慈悲指示。[We] beg for [you to] mercifully point and reveal [it]!"

師曰。不可指東指西賺人。The Master said, "[One] must not point to the East or point to the West and cheat people!¹
你當哆哆和和時。At the time when you were quivering with laughter,²
作麼不來問老僧。why did you not come ask this old monk [about it]?
今時巧黠。Now [you are being] cunning;
始道我不會。圖什麼。beginning to say [you] 'do not understand'. What are you scheming?
你若此生出頭來。If in this life you come to hold up your head,³
道我出家作禪師。I will say [you have] left home⁴ and regard [you] as a Zen Master.
如未出家時。If [you] have not yet left home,
曾作什麼來。how [could you] have ever arrived?
且說看。Just explain [what you have] observed.
共你商量。Together, you [and I will] discuss [it].

曰。恁麼時。某甲不知。The monk said, "In this case, someone doesn't know."

師曰。既不知。即今認得可可是邪。The Master said, "Since [you] don't know, recognizing now may be iniquitous."⁵

曰。認得既不是。不認是否。The Monk said, "Since 'recognizing' is not it, is 'not recognizing' [the Way] or not?

師曰。認不認是什麼語話。Recognizing or not recognizing, what 'saying' is there to talk about?

Notes:
1. 賺 (cheat) connotes to 'deceive; hoax; swindle' in order to 'make money, earn; gain, profit'.
2. 哆哆和和 (quivering with laughter) This is honestly just my best guess. 哆 means 'quiver; tremble; shiver', and elsewhere there is precedence for 和和 (héhé) being used as an onomatopoeia for the sound of laughter in a Zen text. Numerous people are recorded throughout the Zen tradition as laughing upon thier realization/awakening. If this interpretation is accurate, it would seem Nanquan is asking why the monk hadn't come to him to discuss the matter before, if he'd really had any insight.
3. 出頭 (hold up your head) The phrase can mean 'to free oneself from misery; persecution; a predicament', 'to appear in public (as someone talented or special)', or 'to take the initiative'.
4. 出家 (left home) The meaning of this expression is 'renounce the family/leave home (to become a Buddhist monk or nun).
5. 邪 (iniquitous) can also mean 'demonic; nefarious; evil; dishonest' or refer to 'unhealthy environmental influences that cause disease (Chinese medicine).

Submitted March 21, 2023 at 10:10PM by Surska0 https://ift.tt/r5HkMTg