IV. Still in a Foreign Land 四、尚在客地
Teacher Qi Zhijun | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 〖公案原文〗 |
[Original Text of the Koan] |
| 暹道者久参雪窦，窦欲举住金鹅。暹闻之，夜潜，书偈于方丈壁间，即遁去。偈曰：“不是无心继祖灯，道惭未厕岭南能【老人眉批：不打自招！】。三更月下离岩窦，眷眷无言恋碧层。” |
Layman Xian had long studied under Xuedou. Xuedou intended to appoint him as resident master at Jine. When Xian heard of this, he slipped away at night, wrote a verse on the wall of the abbot’s quarters, and immediately fled. The verse reads: “It is not that I am without the mind to carry on the ancestral lamp; I am ashamed that I have not yet ranked among the capable ones of Lingnan [Elder’s marginal note: ‘You give yourself away without being pressed!’]. At the third-watch moon, I leave the rocky cave; wordlessly and fondly, I linger over the blue-green heights.” |
| 又曰：“三十余年四海间，寻师择友未尝闲。今朝得到无心地，却被无心趁出山【老人眉批：果真到得无心地乎？】。” |
He also said: “For more than thirty years, I have traveled throughout the four seas, never idle in seeking teachers and choosing friends. Today I have reached the ground of no-mind, yet this no-mind has driven me out of the mountains [Elder’s marginal note: ‘Have you truly reached the ground of no-mind?’].” |
| 暹后出世开先，承嗣德山远和尚，续通雪窦书。山前婆子见专使，欣然问曰：“暹首座出世，为谁烧香？”专使曰：“德山远和尚。”婆子诟骂曰：“雪窦抖擞屎肠说禅为你，你得恁么辜恩负德！” |
Later, Xian emerged to teach at Kaixian, succeeding Chan Master Yuan of Deshan and continuing the transmission of Xuedou’s lineage. When an old woman at the foot of the mountain saw the special messenger, she happily asked, “Senior Seat Xian has emerged to teach. For whom does he burn incense?” The messenger replied, “Chan Master Yuan of Deshan.” The old woman berated him: “Xuedou poured out his guts teaching Chan to you, and you repay his kindness and virtue like this!” |
| 〖老人眉批〗 |
[Elder’s Marginal Note] |
| 禅客，禅客，知你尚在客地也。 |
Chan guest, Chan guest—I know that you still remain in a guest’s territory. |
| 〖锯解秤砣〗 |
[Sawing Apart the Scale Weight] |
| 据灯录记载，开先善暹禅师（即此公案中的暹道者）是德山志先禅师的法嗣。《五灯会元》里说：庐山开先善暹禅师，临江军人也，操行清苦，遍游师席，以明悟为志。参德山。见山上堂，顾视大众曰：“师子嚬呻，象王回顾。”师忽有省，入室陈所解。山曰：“子作么生会？”师回顾曰：“后园驴吃草。”山然之。后至雪窦…… |
According to the Records of the Lamp, Chan Master Shanxian of Kaixian (the Layman Xian in this koan) was a Dharma heir of Chan Master Zhixian of Deshan. The Compendium of the Five Lamp Records states: “Chan Master Shanxian of Kaixian on Mount Lu was a native of Linjiang Prefecture. His conduct was pure and austere. He traveled everywhere to visit the seats of masters, aspiring to clear awakening. He studied under Deshan. When he saw Deshan ascend the hall, look over the assembly, and say, ‘The lion growls; the elephant king turns his gaze,’ he suddenly attained an insight. Entering the master’s room, he presented his understanding. Deshan asked, ‘How do you understand it?’ The master turned his head and said, ‘The donkey in the rear garden eats grass.’ Deshan approved him. Later he went to Xuedou . . .” |
| 本公案说他“久参雪窦”，注意这个“久”字。彻底解除粘着，颇费时日。山前婆子说他“雪窦抖擞屎肠说禅为你”，可见雪窦禅师在长时间里为他下了不少功夫。他真的毫无粘着了么？并不见得。 |
This koan says that he had “long studied under Xuedou.” Note the word “long.” Completely releasing attachment takes considerable time. The old woman at the foot of the mountain said, “Xuedou poured out his guts teaching Chan to you,” showing that Chan Master Xuedou had put much effort into him over a long period. Had he truly become entirely free of attachment? Not necessarily. |
| 老人就有质疑：“果真到得无心地乎？”，还说他的诗句“道惭未厕岭南能”是“不打自招”。若不能毫无粘着，那就是“尚在客地”。所以老人眉批：“禅客，禅客，知你尚在客地也。” |
The Elder expressed just such doubts: “Have you truly reached the ground of no-mind?” He also said that the verse, “I am ashamed that I have not yet ranked among the capable ones of Lingnan,” was “giving himself away without being pressed.” If one cannot be entirely free of attachment, then one “still remains in a guest’s territory.” Thus the Elder’s marginal note reads: “Chan guest, Chan guest—I know that you still remain in a guest’s territory.” |
| 若尚在客地，则仍须参学，大可不必“继祖灯”啊。 |
If he still remained in a guest’s territory, then he still needed to study and practice; there was no need at all to “carry on the ancestral lamp.” |
