[40] Nanquan: Like a Dream

Pointer: Rest, let go, and cease—then the iron tree blossoms. Is there? Is there? The clever child loses his footing. Even if one moves freely in every direction, one cannot avoid having one's nostrils pierced by him. But tell me: where is the error? Let us examine it.

[40] Case:

Governor Lu Geng was conversing with Nanquan.

Lu said, “Dharma Master Sengzhao said, ‘Heaven and earth have the same root as I; the myriad things are one body with me.’ This is most extraordinary.” [Working away in a ghost cave. Painted cakes cannot satisfy hunger. This too is deliberation amid the grass.]

Nanquan pointed to the flowers before the courtyard, [Saying it this way—bah! Sūtras have their sūtra masters, and treatises have their treatise masters; it is none of this mountain monk’s business. Bah! A true man should at that very moment have uttered a turning word—not only cutting off Nanquan, but also giving the patch-robed monks of the whole world a breath of relief.]

and called to the governor, saying, “People of the present see this single flower as though in a dream.” [Once the mandarin ducks are embroidered, you may look at them as you please; do not pass the golden needle on to others. Do not speak in your sleep! You have drawn the orioles down from the willow branches.]

Governor Lu Geng had long studied under Nanquan. Ordinarily, he devoted his attention to principle and intrinsic nature, immersing himself in Sengzhao’s Treatise. One day while seated, he brought up these two lines, considering them extraordinary, and asked, “Dharma Master Sengzhao said, ‘Heaven and earth have the same root as I; the myriad things are one body with me.’ This is most extraordinary.” Dharma Master Sengzhao was an eminent monk of the Jin dynasty. Together with Sheng, Rong, and Rui, he studied under Kumārajīva; they were called the Four Worthies.

In his youth, he loved reading Zhuangzi and Laozi. Later, while copying an old translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, he had an awakening and only then realized that Zhuangzi and Laozi were still not wholly satisfactory. Therefore, synthesizing the teachings of the sūtras, he composed four treatises. The meaning of Zhuangzi and Laozi is that heaven and earth are vast in form, and my own form is likewise so; both arise from within emptiness and nonbeing. Zhuangzi’s main intent is merely to discuss the equalization of things. Sengzhao’s main intent is to say that all natures return to oneself.

Do you not see what he says in his treatise? “The ultimate person is empty and open, without form, yet there is nothing among the myriad things that is not created by me. Who can unite the myriad things as oneself? Only the sage.” Though there are spirits, humans, worthies, and sages, each distinct, all share one nature and one body. An ancient said, “The whole of heaven and earth is only one self.”

When it is cold, all heaven and earth are cold; when it is hot, all heaven and earth are hot. When there is, all heaven and earth are; when there is not, all heaven and earth are not. When it is right, all heaven and earth are right; when it is wrong, all heaven and earth are wrong. Fayan said, “You, you, you; I, I, I. North, south, east, and west are all acceptable. If they are not acceptable, there is only I; nothing is unacceptable.” Thus it is said, “Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored.”

When Shitou was reading Sengzhao’s Treatise and came to the words, “unite the myriad things as oneself,” he suddenly attained great awakening. Later, when he composed the Cantongqi, its meaning did not go beyond this. Look at how Lu asked: what root do they share? What body do they share? At this point, it is indeed not without something extraordinary. How could it be like ordinary people, who do not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth—how could there be such a thing? Governor Lu asked in this way; it is certainly extraordinary, but it does not go beyond the meaning of the teachings. If the meaning of the teachings were the ultimate standard, why did the World-Honored One again hold up a flower? Why did the patriarchs come from the West?

In his response, Nanquan employed the vital point of a patch-robed monk: he exposed Lu’s sore spot and shattered his nest. He then pointed to the flowers before the courtyard and called to the governor, saying, “People of the present see this single flower as though in a dream.” It is like leading someone to the edge of a ten-thousand-fathom precipice, giving him a shove, and causing his life to end. If you push him down on level ground, even when Maitreya Buddha descends into the world, he still will not know how to end his life.

It is also like someone in a dream who is about to awaken but has not yet awakened, and is suddenly called awake by another. If Nanquan’s eye had not been correct, he would certainly have been smeared over by Lu. Look at the way he speaks: it is indeed not easy to understand. When one whose eye is alive and responsive hears it, it is like the finest ghee. When one dead hears it, it turns instead into poison. An ancient said, “If you see it in phenomena, you fall into ordinary feelings.”

If you calculate beneath the mind faculty, in the end you cannot grasp it. Yantou said, “This is the work of one who has gone beyond; it reveals only a little before one’s eyes, like a flash of lightning.” This is Nanquan’s main intent. He has the skillful hands that capture tigers and rhinoceroses and subdue dragons and snakes. Yet when you reach this point, you must awaken for yourself. Is it not said, “The path beyond is not transmitted by a thousand sages; students wear out their bodies like monkeys grasping at reflections.”

See how Xuedou expresses it in verse.

Hearing, seeing, awareness, and knowing are not separate things. [The dense array of the myriad forms contains not a single dharma. Shattered into seven pieces and eight fragments—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—all at once are a holeless iron hammer.]

Mountains and rivers are not viewed in a mirror. [Here, I have no such message. The tall are tall, the short are short; blue is blue, yellow is yellow. Where would you look?]

Frost fills the sky; the moon sets; the night is nearly half spent. [I have led you into the grass already. The whole realm has never been concealed. Beware of sitting in a ghost cave.]

Who, together with the clear pool, illuminates the cold reflection? [Is there? Is there? Unless you sleep in the same bed, how would you know that the quilt is worn through? Do not speak to a sorrowful person of sorrow; speak of it, and sorrow will kill him.]

Nanquan’s words are the words of a light sleeper; Xuedou’s words are those of a deep sleeper. Though they are dreaming, they have dreamed a good dream. Above, it spoke of one body; here, it speaks of difference.

“Hearing, seeing, awareness, and knowing are not separate things. Mountains and rivers are not viewed in a mirror.” If you say that one sees them in a mirror and only then understands them, then you have not left the mirror. Mountains, rivers, the great earth, grasses, trees, and forests—do not use a mirror. If you use a mirror, they become two parts. It is only that mountains are mountains and water is water; each dharma abides in its dharma position, and the appearances of the world constantly abide. Mountains and rivers are not viewed in a mirror—but tell me, where are they viewed? Do you understand?

At this point: “Frost fills the sky; the moon sets; the night is nearly half spent.” On this side, I have done all I can for you; on that side, you must make your own reckoning. Do you know that Xuedou used the fundamental matter to help people?

“Who, together with the clear pool, illuminates the cold reflection?” Does it illuminate itself, or does it illuminate together with another? One must cut off contrivance and understanding before reaching this realm. Right now, do not even want a clear pool, nor wait for frost filling the sky and the moon setting. What is it right now?

[Xiao Dong]: Teacher, do you remember that I specifically asked you about this phrase, “like a dream”?

Later I thought: since it says, “Heaven and earth have the same root as I,” why cling to “the myriad things” at all? Before Governor Lu asked his question, he had already established the mistaken view that “the myriad things truly exist,” which is why he found it “extraordinary.” When Nanquan said “like a dream,” he was resolving Lu’s mental knot. But this really is not a state, is it?

[lvm]: Who said it was a state?

[Old Man with the Great Hand]: If it is not an object, it is consciousness; if it is not consciousness, it is an object. Both consciousness and objects entrap people. How can one avoid being entrapped?

[lvm]: Extend a great hand to hold it up—how could one be entrapped?

[Xinming]: Like a dream.

Here, one cannot understand the phrase “like a dream” in isolation. One must understand it together with the situation in which Nanquan suddenly pointed at the flower.

Does the dream give rise to the flower? Or does the flower give rise to the dream?

Similar is similar; is is not.

[Xiao Dong]: Oh, I was referring to that particular line.

Teacher said that I was attached to a state … but how is this a state?

[lvm]: Ha ha! It is good if it is not a state—good if it is not.

[Xiao Dong]: Mm~~that is not what I meant either.

What teacher taught me was correct, because when contemplating, one really can have such a feeling. Even before seeing this koan, I had had this “dreamlike” feeling … of course, when I forget to maintain contemplation, it is gone.

At the time, I simply was not drawn to Sengzhao’s Treatise and could not really read my way into it, so I did not understand why Nanquan answered in this way …

[lvm]: A feeling—that is already a state.

At the time, I simply was not drawn to Sengzhao’s Treatise and could not really read my way into it, so I did not understand why Nanquan answered in this way …

* Chan Master Nanquan’s teaching in response to the occasion was originally spoken for people who are very drawn to Sengzhao’s Treatise.

[Xiao Dong]: Oh, no wonder you said that my attachment to a state meant that I was following along with the feeling of disliking Sengzhao’s Treatise.

But even if I ignore that feeling of not being drawn to it, I still, with regard to Sengzhao’s Treatise …

How shameful. I originally wanted to read it carefully. I have read it four or five times, but only once did I roughly finish it by skimming through it.

There are now three choices:

1. Ignore this “feeling,” do not let it carry me away, and finish reading Sengzhao’s Treatise.

2. Ignore these feelings and put aside Sengzhao’s Treatise;

3. Do whatever I should be doing: read it if I feel like reading it, and do not read it if I do not.

Which should I choose?

[lvm]: Choose none of the three. That is the most trouble-free.

[Xinming]: Let me also speak some dream-talk.

Governor Lu Geng was conversing with Nanquan.

Lu said, “Dharma Master Sengzhao said, ‘Heaven and earth have the same root as I; the myriad things are one body with me.’ This is most extraordinary.” [Working away in a ghost cave. Painted cakes cannot satisfy hunger. This too is deliberation amid the grass.]

Nanquan pointed to the flowers before the courtyard, [Saying it this way—bah! Sūtras have their sūtra masters, and treatises have their treatise masters; it is none of this mountain monk’s business. Bah! A true man should at that very moment have uttered a turning word—not only cutting off Nanquan, but also giving the patch-robed monks of the whole world a breath of relief.]

and called to the governor, saying, “People of the present see this single flower as though in a dream.” [Once the mandarin ducks are embroidered, you may look at them as you please; do not pass the golden needle on to others. Do not speak in your sleep! You have drawn the orioles down from the willow branches.]

Here I do not understand Chan Master Yuanwu’s comments. May I ask:

1. “[Bah! A true man should at that very moment have uttered a turning word—not only cutting off Nanquan, but also giving the patch-robed monks of the whole world a breath of relief.]” This clearly does not approve of Nanquan’s method. Is it good to utter a turning word? I do not agree.

If one approves of uttering a turning word, what should that “turning word” be?

2. “[Once the mandarin ducks are embroidered, you may look at them as you please; do not pass the golden needle on to others.]” Is the Chan master not precisely passing on the golden needle in secret here?

Very good—then why say, “Do not hand it over”?

【lvm】: People today see this single flower as though it were a dream.

1. 【Bah! If a true man had then uttered a turning word, he would not only have cut off Nanquan, but also given vent to the patch-robed monks of the whole world.】 This clearly refuses to accept Nanquan’s method. Is it good to utter a turning word? I disagree.

＊Ha ha! What is wrong with it? You disagree, but Nanquan agrees.

If one approves of uttering a turning word, how should this “turning word” be expressed?

＊“Sūtras have sūtra masters, and treatises have treatise masters; it is none of this mountain monk’s business.”

2. 【Once the mandarin ducks are embroidered, let others admire them; do not hand the golden needle to anyone.】 Is the Chan master here not precisely handing over the golden needle in secret?

＊Do not talk in your sleep!

Very good—then why say, “Do not hand it over”?

＊For example: “Very good! Good enough to die for!” One plainly has not died, so why say “died”?

【Dingling】: What does “hearing, seeing, awareness, and knowing are not each individually so” mean?

【lvm】 Literally, it means: hearing is not simply hearing, seeing is not simply seeing, awareness is not simply awareness, and knowing is not simply knowing.

【Mind-Monk】 Teacher, then may I ask what it means beyond the words?

【lvm】 Ha ha! Then there is no meaning.

【Dingling】 One final turn: What does the “iron hammer without a hole” symbolize?

【lvm】 Is it not simply a lump of iron? There is no way to get one’s mouth on it, nor any way to lay hands on it.

【Dingling】 Please saw it apart: shattered into seven pieces and eight fragments. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. All at once, it is an iron hammer without a hole.

【lvm】 Hearing, seeing, awareness, and knowing are not each individually so.

“Shattered into seven pieces and eight fragments—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.” Break apart this “not each individually so,” and it becomes these shattered fragments: “eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.”

“All at once, it is an iron hammer without a hole.” The single phrase “hearing, seeing, awareness, and knowing are not each individually so” leaves one unable to open one’s mouth or lay hands on it.