Sayings of Nanquan, 2.1-17 (end of lecture)

Part 1 Part 6 Part 11 Part 16
Part 2 Part 7 Part 12
Part 3 Part 8 Part 13
Part 4 Part 9 Part 14
Part 5 Part 10 Part 15

This is the culmination of the lecture. I am considering going back early to create a more polished and smoother to read draft of the lecture section in full, incorporating all the community feedback for translation improvements that were shared, and without the side-by-side Chinese so that it can be experienced as a whole; something closer to what I currently have in mind for how it should look by the end of the project.

Let me know if there'd be interest for that. I'll be moving ahead with the rest of the text either way.

Part 17: Body of Buddha

曰。每聞和尚說。A monk said, "[We] often hear the esteemed monk explain that
報化非真佛。the Retribution and Transformation [Bodies] are not the real Buddha,
亦非說法者。and also explain that it is not the Reality Body.¹
未審如何。[We] have not yet examined how [this is so]."

師曰。緣生故非。The Master said, "Due to [their being predicated on the principle of] 'Dependent Arising', they are not [the real Buddha]."²

曰。報化既非真佛。The monk asked, "Since the Retribution and Transformation [Bodies] are not the real Buddha,
法身是真佛否。is the Reality Body the real Buddha or not?"

師曰。早是應身也。The Master said, "Already, it must be a 'Body'!"

曰。若恁麼。The monk said, "If this is the case,
即法身亦非真佛。then the Reality Body is also not the real Buddha."

師曰。法身是真非真。The Master said, "The Reality Body is the real [Buddha] and it is not the real [Buddha].
老僧無舌不解道。This old monk is toungeless³ and does not comprehend [what to] say.
你教我道即得。You instruct me what I ought to say."

曰。離三身外。The monk asked, "Aside from the 'Three Bodies',
何法是真佛。what Law is the real Buddha?"

師曰。遮漢共八九十老人相罵。This man, together with eighty or ninety⁴ [other] old people all vituperate each other.⁵
向你道了也。[I've] spoken [this way] to you as well!
更問什麼離不離。Furthermore, what [are you] asking about being 'aside from' or not 'aside from' [the 'Three Bodies']?
擬把楔釘他虗空。[You're merely] devising to take hold of empty space by driving in a nail!

曰。伏承華嚴經是法身佛說。A monk asked, "Conceding that the Flower Garland Sutra sustains the explanation of the Reality Body as being Buddha,
如何。what [is your explanation for why it is otherwise]?"

師曰。你適來道什麼語。The Master asked, "What appropriate saying [from that Sutra] have you come here to talk about?"

其僧重問。The monk repeated the question.

師顧視歎曰。The Master turned to look at [the monk] and sighed, saying,
若是法身說。"If the Reality Body is explained [as being the real Buddha],
你向什麼處聽。towards what place are you listening to?"

曰。某甲不會。The monk said, "Someone doesn't understand."

師曰。大難。大難。The Master said, "A catastrophe! A catastrophe!"

Notes:
1. The Trikaya, also known as the Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya, and Dharmakaya.
2. 緣生 (Dependent Arising) A principle asserting the interdependence and interconnectedness of all phenomena, holding that all things arise, exist, and cease to exist due to causes and conditions.
3. 無舌 (toungeless) Refers to poor speech and rhetoric.
4. 八九十 (eighty or ninety) Colloquial way to express a rough range.
5. 罵 (vituperate) The full impact of this character means "to verbally abuse, curse, swear, call names, condemn, rebuke, reprove, scold, accuse," and "blame."

Submitted April 16, 2023 at 07:51PM by Surska0 https://ift.tt/7XwKZj3